Death Of Notes : Simply Recipes Food and Cooking Blog

New York Style "Sunshine" Cheesecake - Crack isn't Necessarily Whack

This is my favorite recipe for New York style cheesecake, and includes a great technique for letting the citrus-kissed cake finish in the oven, so that no crack forms when cool. As you'll hear and see in the video, this isn't always the case.

It's ironic that the largest, deepest, most jagged cheesecake crack I've ever experienced would occur on the one I'm filming for a video recipe. I've seen this method used to produce completely crack-free cheesecakes, but I was opening the oven to take photos, and ended up adding more time at the end to compensate, and apparently, from the look of the grand canyon-sized crack, it was a bit too long.

According to my sources deep inside the cheesecake underground, if for whatever reason, the internal temperature goes above 160 degrees F. the cake will crack when cooling. The good news is the taste and texture was absolutely perfect. The moral of the story? Don't be afraid to make cheesecake!
Cheesecake purists believe "crack is whack," but truth be told, slightly overcooking this recipe is not a big problem, and the crevice causes no issues when you serve it (as you'll see with some state-of-the-art Photoshop effects).

Crack or no crack, this is a classic, dense, rich New York style cheesecake with just a hint of citrus, hence the "sunshine" in the title. I paired it with a lovely fresh strawberry sauce, which had a little dash of balsamic vinegar in it. I also filmed that, and will air it soon. With the holiday entertaining season rapidly approaching, keep this super easy cheesecake recipe in mind. Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from Chantals New York Cheesecake on Allrecipes.com

Crust Ingredients:

18 graham crackers

3 tablespoons melted butter

Filling Ingredients:

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup sour cream

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

4 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese

1 1/2 cups white sugar

2/3 cup milk

4 eggs

1 or 2 teaspoons freshly grated lemon zest

1 or 2 teaspoons freshly grated orange zest

Cronuts! Part 2: The Sights and Sounds

As promised, here’s the finale to our two-part cronut extravaganza! The series concludes with me frying the two batches – the first half fried as prepared in the last video, but the second half of the dough received an additional tri-fold, which resulted in a much higher, but less crispy cronuts.

Both were very good, and the second batch was more impressive looking, but I’m thinking that for a true croissant/doughnut hybrid, thinner and with less layers may be the way to go.

Of course, if you’re going to fill yours with vanilla custard, as is the custom in NYC, then the taller, airier cronut is probably a better delivery system. Rest assured, further exploration is inevitable.

In case you’re wondering, the second half of the dough was frozen overnight, and then thawed in the fridge until soft enough to work with, so it seems as though making and freezing this would not be problem. I hope you give this a try soon. Enjoy!

Note: These cronuts were fried in grapeseed oil, at 350 degrees F. for about 1 1/2 to 2 minutes per side. Click here to watch Part 1.

In Memoriam: William D’Arduini

My uncle Billy passed away a few days ago. He’d been having health issues over the last few years, but the news still came as a sudden, and very sad shock. He was one of my earliest inspirations for becoming a chef, and as many of you know, we filmed several recipes together over the years from his kitchen in Manchester, NY.

After I left the California Culinary Academy to start Food Wishes, I gave him one of my chef coats, and whenever I’d visit, he’d be wearing that coat, busily cooking away, looking every bit the part. He was a barber and hairstylist by trade, but Uncle Billy could have been a world-class chef. His passion for food, and for life, was boundless. Running up the stairs from his second, basement kitchen, carrying a giant pan of food, smiling broadly, talking loudly, wearing that old, white chef coat, is how I will always remember him.

I can think of no better tribute than to re-post the videos he was involved in below. In the “Homemades” video, you can actually hear Uncle Bill helping me with the narration. Of course, in true Food Wishes style, we only see his hands, but by watching the stylish way he handles the food, it’s very easy to see that he had a special touch.

Our heartfelt thoughts and prayers go out to my Aunt Angela and the rest of the family. I can’t begin to imagine how difficult this is for them, but hopefully they can take some comfort in knowing just how much pleasure Uncle Billy brought to those around him. Not only did he feed the party, but he was usually the life of it too. He will be dearly missed.

Rest in peace, Uncle Billy. We loved you, and will continue to love and remember you through all the amazing dishes you so generously shared. I know one thing, the food in heaven just got a lot better. Enjoy.

Homemades - Making Pasta with Uncle Bill

Chicken D’Arduini

Arancini - Italian Rice Balls

Ways To Get Pregnant Fast With 5 Steps

Ways To Get Pregnant Fast With 5 Steps At this time I will post a little article about
Ways To Get Pregnant Fast for those of you who are want to get pregnant or want to quickly have a baby. Please read the following tips carefully:
1. Plan your time in touch
One of the most important tips to get pregnant fast is to plan a time to connect with your partner.
Sperm can live for 5 days max in the womb. Therefore, to increase the chance of pregnancy, doing Relationship 2 days before ovulation / release of the egg.
To determine when ovulation, there are some ways that can be used:

calendar system
basal body temperature / Basal Body Temperature
cervical mucus elasticity
and most recently, the fertile strip tester (can be purchased at the pharmacy closest to name Fertility)

2. Stop Smoking and Alcoholic Beverages
Based on a study recently published by the ESHRE conference (Human Reproduction & Embryology) in Barcelona, alcoholic beverages may reduce the level of opportunity for pregnant women normally as much as 44%, and 28% for women smokers. Even smoking not only affects the fertility rate alone .. but also may increase the risk of abnormal pregnancy on the fetus candidate someday.

3. Vitamin drink
To get pregnant quickly, consumption of foods containing vitamins and substances needed for fertility is very important for you and your partner.

Vitamin C, one of them, can improve sperm quality.
Vitamin E can improve male and female fertility.

And women who take folic acid pregnant have a better chance than those who did not consume them. Folic acid also plays an important role in the formation of the fetal brain tube later.

4. Choose the right position during intercourse
For couples who have longed for the presence of the baby, the missionary position is the most recommended. Given this position allows the penetration is deep enough so that the uterus can store sperm for a longer time. But avoid the woman on top position, because the uterus to minimize the possibility of storing sperm.

5. Control Your Body Weight
Normal weight or balanced to a large extent increase the chance of pregnancy. Not infrequently we find most of the couples who have problems with their weight will generally also have problems with her pregnancy.
Overweight will bring adverse effects to the level of your fertility. Try to achieve the ideal body weight first.

Cronuts! The Doughnuts That Make People Go Nuts! Part 1: The Dough

I’m assuming that since you’re on a food blog you've probably heard about “cronuts,” but just in case, here’s a quick review.

This croissant/doughnut hybrid was invented by Dominique Ansel at the Dominique Ansel Bakery in New York City. It became an overnight sensation, and now people stand in line for hours just for a chance at getting one of the precious few that are made each day.

Why all the hype? Very simple – it has the shape and flavor of a doughnut, yet features the crispy, flaky texture of a buttery croissant. What’s not to hype? Anyway, after seeing like two dozen new reports on the craze, and receiving a scary number of food wishes for it, I decided to give it a go, if for no other reason than to save a few of my NYC friends the humiliation of being Instagrammed standing in that line.

Since I’ve never tasted a cronut, what follows is purely an educated guess, but I think I got pretty close. Maybe one of you New Yorkers will mail me one, so I know for sure? My game plan was simple. Make a slightly sweet, yeasty, doughnut-esque dough, which I’d then layer with butter, using the classic croissant technique.

It’s a procedure I do all the time, as in once, back in culinary school, thirty years ago. So, instead of going by the book, or even looking in a book, I winged it, and not only that, I streamlined things too. Instead painstakingly pounding out perfectly sized slabs of cold butter, I decided to try simply spreading softened butter instead. I also threw caution to the wind, and pulled off the rare and terrifying “double fold and turn,” and lived to tell the tale.

Like I said in the video, we’ll cover the final results in Part 2, but spoiler alert…these were awesome. I did two different versions, one regular, and one with an extra “fold and turn” which resulted in a taller, and even more impressive cronut. Stay tuned!

Ingredients for 16 Cronuts:

1 package dry active yeast (2 1/4 tsp)

1/2 cup warm water (105 degrees F.)

1 teaspoon fine salt

2 rounded tablespoons white sugar (add an extra if you want a sweeter 'nut)

1/2 cup milk

2 tablespoons melted butter

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

1 large egg

1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 pound all-purpose flour, more as needed

6 ounces soft, unsalted, "European-style" butter (12 tablespoons)

Fist steps:

- Combine yeast and warm water, and let sit five minutes.

- Add the rest of the ingredients, except for the flour and the European-style butter, and whisk to combine.

- Add the flour, and knead for about three minutes or until a soft sticky dough ball forms.

- Wrap dough in plastic, and refrigerate for 20 minutes.

- Roll dough out into roughly a 18 x 9-inch rectangle.

- Proceed with butter as shown!

Articles About Indonesia

Articles About Indonesia - Indonesia or the Republic of Indonesia (RI) is a country located in south east asia. Indonesia is the largest archipelago in the world because of the many islands located in Indonesia, Indonesia also has many ethnic groups ranging from Javanese, Acehnese Tribe, Tribe Alas, Tribe Alor, Ambon Tribe, Ampana Tribe, Tribal Children, Jamee Aneuk Tribe, Tribe Arab, Aru tribe, Asmat, Abung Tribe and many more others.

Jakarta is the capital city of Indonesia. Indonesian land borders with Malaysia on Borneo island, with Papua New Guinea on the island of Papua and East Timor on the island of Timor. Other neighboring countries include Singapore, Philippines, Australia, and the union territory Andaman and Nicobar Islands in India.

Indonesian history influenced by many other nations. Indonesian archipelago became an important trade region since at least the 7th century, when Srivijaya kingdom in Palembang religion and trade relations with China and India. Hindu kingdoms and Buddhism has grown in the early centuries AD, followed by the traders who brought Islam, as well as various European powers fought one another to monopolize the spice trade in the Moluccas during the era of ocean exploration. Once under Dutch colonialism, Indonesia which was then called the Dutch East Indies declared its independence at the end of World War II. Indonesia subsequently received various obstacles, threats and challenges of natural disasters, corruption, separatism, a democratization process, and periods of rapid economic change.

The end of my article may be useful :) by Miela Tahril

A Tomato and “Dirt” Salad You’ll Really Dig

It’s not unusual for me to steal a recipe idea from a local restaurant, but it’s not everyday that I’m inspired by something I eat at a bowling alley. This happened recently at the Mission Bowling Club, a fun and funky, six-lane bowling alley located just a few blocks from our home, which despite the cacophony, features some of the City’s best bites.

In addition to an otherworldly fried chicken appetizer, and a “granulated,” aged beef burger some (including my wife Michele) consider the best in the City, the MBC also features daily specials, and one such offering was described as an “heirloom tomato salad topped with a crispy rye crumble.”

That sounded great to us, and our server vouched for its excellence, so we happily included it among our starters. What we didn’t know at the time, was that our server had defied the kitchen and refused to use the dish’s official name, “tomatoes and dirt.”

She made this stunning admission as we raved about its deliciousness, and admitted to going rogue and changing the name because she just didn’t think that “dirt” sounded appetizing. What?! I thought this plate of tomatoes and “dirt” was just about the most creative thing I’d heard/seen/tasted in a while.

I was this close to going into that kitchen, ratting her out, and maybe getting a free dessert for my trouble, but thought better of it, and decided to quietly finish the salad, knowing that I would share it here, dirty name and all. Anyway, this is my version, and I hope you give this a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 4 Small Portions:

8 oz burrata cheese, or fresh ricotta

Enough freshly sliced tomatoes for 4 portions

Wine vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper to taste

Fresh sliced basil leaves

For the crumbs:

2 tbsp olive oil, more if needed

3 large brown mushrooms, minced fine

big pinch of salt

3 slices of dark rye, made into crumbs

1 rounded tablespoon ground almonds (aka almond meal, almond flour, or just crush your own)

Holiday Pumpkin Bread in Theory and Practice

I could have just Googled a pumpkin bread recipe. I'm sure there are hundreds of excellent ones, tested and retested, right there for the taking. But I didn't, because I had something better, a theory. Theoretically speaking, there is nothing better than a good theory.

My theory was that if I took my banana bread recipe, which is one of my absolute favorites, and used pumpkin puree in place of the mashed, ripe bananas, I would have an equally impressive loaf.

So, what were the results of this grand pumpkin bread experiment? A very decent loaf of quick bread, which would make a handsome addition to any holiday dessert table! Having said that, next time I make it, I will be tweaking some things.

This was very good, but didn't have the I-can't-stop-eating-this-ness of the banana bread recipe. Considering the obvious fact that bananas and pumpkins are not the same thing, I will adjust the sweetness and fat content a bit to compensate.

Anyway, stay tuned for future updates, and if you happen to make any variations on this, I'd love to hear about it! Thanks, and enjoy!

Pumpkin Bread Recipe Ingredients:
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, soft
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 (15-oz) can pumpkin puree
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon Chinese 5-Spice
1/8 teaspoon allspice
Mixed in a bowl:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon table salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup chopped roasted walnuts
Bake at 325 degrees F. for about 1 hour

The Surf is Usually Tougher Than the Turf

I’m sure you’ll have no problem coming up with lots of meaty ideas for tomorrow’s Labor Day cookout, but new and exciting seafood options can be a little more challenging. So, just in case you’re going to eschew the traditional four-legged fare, here are some alternative ideas to surf through. If any of these catch you hook, line and sinker, just follow the link in the caption to see the original post, and get the ingredients. Enjoy!

Grilled Tuna with Fresh Horseradish

Grilled Salmon with Garlic, Ginger & Chilies

Grilled Swordfish Bruschetta

Fennel-Smoked Salmon

How to Make Special Fried Rice and Practical

How to Make Special Fried Rice and Practical - Fried rice is food in the favorite by many people because of the way the author is quite simple and practical, and does not require a long time. On this occasion I will share a very special recipe nasigoreng easy for you to make at night or when you're hungry and can not wait to eat hehe. Here's the recipe :

Simple Fried Rice Recipe
Ingredients:

500 grams of white rice
1 Grain Eggs
3-4 tablespoons soy sauce
6 tablespoons oil for sauteing
1-2 tablespoons tomato sauce

Seasoning:

3 cloves of garlic
6 spring onions
3-5 pieces of red pepper or to taste
1/2 tsp shrimp paste
salt to taste

How to Make:

Blend all spices fried rice first, then add the oil to the skillet, then enter 1 egg and scrambled until cooked. Remove and let cool.
Saute the spices that have been mashed until fragrant.
Enter the white rice, and stir until blended.
After wrapping, put tomato sauce, soy sauce and egg, then mix well.
Lift and fried rice ready to serve.