Archive for Megan
High Altitude Baking
I am often asked by many of our diners how I adapt my baking for the altitude that comes with living up in the high rockies.
When I first moved out here, I was terrified of what the elevation can do to baked desserts and pastries that would normally come out perfect at sea-level. In fact, [...]
The Sunday Harvest Menu
There are only a handful of Sundays left this season for our Sunday Harvest Menu at the restaurant!
Since early June, the Restaurant Kelly Liken kitchen crew shops at the Vail Farmer’s Market every Sunday and then creates an entirely new menu just for that evening, showcasing all of the beautiful produce we were able to [...]
Exciting News!
Hello friends! I am finally back to the blog world. After spending the winter season working out in beautiful Colorado, I decided to stick around. I am about to embark on a new adventure as pastry chef for Restaurant Kelly Liken.
I am very excited about this opportunity, as Restaurant Kelly Liken places a strong emphasis [...]
Pumpkin Butter, Poached Pears, and Preserving Herbs
Shortly before Halloween, I purchased a pumpkin pie pumpkin. Yes, you read that correctly. Pumpkin varieties that work best for baking are the pumpkin pie pumpkin and the sugar pumpkin.
Pumpkin pie and sugar pumpkins have a “smooth, sweet flesh that is much less pulpy and stringy” according to Regan Daley’s In the Sweet Kitchen. This [...]
The Newest Pastry Adventures
Hello friends! It’s time for a little update.
I’m moving to Colorado, which is an adventure in itself. My life will become significantly busier, but I’m determined to keep posting. Every time I’ve lived in a new place, I discover wonderful inspiration for desserts and pastry.
At the moment, this move isn’t permanent, but I’m excited for [...]
Separating The Best From The Rest: The Ultimate Brownie Recipes
For the past month now, we have been dealing with a bit of an oven fiasco. None of the repairmen seem to know what’s wrong with it and how to fix it. As someone who bakes about every day, this has been extremely painful.
Last night we had a glimmer of hope. The lower oven started [...]
Apple Season and Apple Spice Cupcakes
One of my favorite things about Autumn is going to apple orchards and picking our own apples. We always come home with more apples than we had expected…
Fortunately, apples can last a long time when they are stored in a cool place.
I recommend using apples fairly soon after they have been picked for recipes where [...]
Sweet Corn Ice Cream with Blackberry Sauce
Alright, alright, don’t freak out too much. Yes, this is ice cream infused with a vegetable. I know this sounds weird. But think about it okay?
Why do we like corn in the first place? Because it’s sweet! This ice cream perfectly captures the irresistible flavor of fresh sweet corn. This nod to late summer flavor [...]
Key Lime-Cocoa Tartlets
A few weeks ago I bought a bag of key limes. While tiny, key limes are prized for their tartness. Being late summer and all, I thought a lime tart would be quite refreshing in this heat!
I was going to make a sable tart dough and fill it with lime curd when I came across [...]
Lemon Ginger Sand Dollar Cookies
When I first came across this recipe, I knew that I would make these. Perhaps it was the combination of lemon and ginger that got me, or maybe my mind was already on our upcoming family vacation to South Carolina, where we always find sand dollars.
These are one of those thin, chewy, types of cookies. You can [...]
Wild Mountain Blueberries and Peak-of-Summer Berry Crisp
Recently, my brothers and I took a trip down to the Asheville, North Carolina area for a repeat of our sibling adventures last summer. We wanted to fit in lots of hiking and take advantage of the cool refuge provided by the gorgeous Blue Ridge Mountains.
Asheville is a food lover’s paradise, with its numerous locally [...]
Petit fours for a crowd
Last week I made several types of petit fours for my mom’s book club meeting. They were a hit! I love being able to share the taste of French pastry with people. It’s just something we don’t get to taste a lot of here.
I chose to make russians (or pistachio stacks, as I like to [...]
What is Pastry School?
Sometimes I mention my time spent in pastry school in my articles and blog postings. For those of you wondering what exactly pastry school is and all that it entails, I’ve done my best to create a fair summary below.
Subjects Covered:
-Baking theory, history, and science
-Food service sanitation
-Breads and breakfast pastries
-Petit fours (miniature pastries)
-European-style cakes and [...]
Why Pastry School?
I’ve always loved baking. You can probably tell this by taking one look at my blog.
But I wanted to learn more. I wanted to understand why failures in the kitchen happen and how to prevent them. I also wanted to know how to make those fancy, gorgeous plated desserts seen at fine dining restaurants, and [...]
Cupcakes, farmer’s market finds, and pastries
Most of this past week has been spent making cupcakes!
I had an order for one of my personal favorites, red velvet cupcakes. For those of you unfamiliar with red velvet, it is a buttermilk cake, tinted red, with a hint of cocoa. The buttermilk helps make the cake really moist and soft. It satisfies those [...]
Namaste…Peace & Ice Cream
“God, I hope you’re not turning into one of those reclusive cat freaks”, my older brother, Kyle, recently commented to me after I posted a picture of my cat Benny into an online photo album. This thought came back to me yesterday while vacuuming cat litter off of the floor. Then I remembered my lovestruck cooing over the [...]
11Jul2009 | Megan | 2 comments | Continued
Strawberry Season
Ever since I can remember, my mom would take us strawberry picking as kids. We would get up early to beat the heat, and head to Hilger’s Farm Market. Once there, we piled into a trailer that gets pulled by a tractor out to the strawberry fields. I know, it sounds slightly ‘hick’, but it [...]
9Jul2009 | Megan | 0 comments | Continued
It’s Done
Pastry school is finished! I graduated. I am now a pastry chef.
I did a very poor job of updating my blog with what was going on at school for the last 2 or 3 months. A brief synopsis: chocolate candies unit (molding, casting, tempering, enrobing, ganaches, pralines, truffles, rochers, gianduja…basically a chocolate lover’s dream), sugar showpieces, and chocolate [...]
Salted Peanut Butter Toffee Cookies
When I was younger and naive to the extent of flavors and ingredients in the culinary world, I thought there was only one type of salt- iodized table salt that people needed in their diets to prevent goiters.
Then I grew older and wiser, a natural progression. In fact, there are numerous varieties of salt available [...]
Saffron and Cardamom Panna Cotta
When I go grocery shopping, there are three things I practically stockpile every time: butter, heavy cream, and eggs. If I could carry Sam’s Club or Costco-sized loads of these products home on each occasion I would.
Living in a city where you have to carry your groceries for blocks completely changes your perspective on needs [...]
Lavender-Scented Vanilla Bean Shortbread Cookies
This cookie was inspired by a number of things- the approaching holiday celebrating all things motherly, springtime in Chicago, and a recent trip to a spice merchant. I wanted to make something that is perfect for giving to moms this time of year; perhaps a bit floral, a bit feminine, fresh, and sweet.
Let me [...]
Chocolate Stout Milkshakes
I’m sitting on a lot of ice cream, folks. Nothing makes ice cream disappear faster than making a couple of milkshakes.
I love the incredible pairing of Guinness beer and chocolate and it’s a combination that’s been on my mind lately. So, naturally, when I was going through cookbooks (something I do frequently, for fun) I [...]
Pastry School Update: Sugar Candies, Ice Creams and Sorbets, Plated Desserts, & Jam-Making
Again, it’s been awhile since I’ve posted about school. I’ve never experienced such a period in my life where the days, and weeks…and months literally fly by. But I am back, and hoping to stay around a bit. I’ve got a zillion recipe ideas crashing around in my head and I want to try them [...]
4May2009 | Megan | 1 comment | Continued
Pastry School Update: Gumpaste Flowers & Wedding Cakes
This unit was definitely a break from our regular kitchen routine- we did almost no baking- rather, we sat at our kitchen stations and created the beautiful and realistic creations known as gumpaste flowers.
Prior to pastry school, I had no knowledge of gumpaste flowers. It wasn’t until our chef for this unit, Chef Laura Ragano, began [...]
Pastry School Update: Tarts and Cakes
Having completed the petit fours unit, it was time to move on to tarts, with Chef John Kraus. We had a little bit of experience making tart doughs and rolling out tart dough from the tartlets we made in the petit fours unit, but I still have a difficult time rolling out some of the [...]
16Mar2009 | Megan | 0 comments | Continued
Pastry School Update: Petit Fours and 1st Exam
So far the petit fours unit has been my favorite unit in pastry school. Everything is small and bite-sized, and therefore cute.
We started the unit by making pate a choux, which is the thick, rich paste used for making eclairs, cream puffs, and other pastries. It has the amazing ability to puff as it bakes, [...]
Pastry School Update: More Breads, Breakfast Pastries, and Petit Fours
This week was the conclusion of our breads and breakfast pastries unit. This was a good thing because I was beginning to run out of room in my freezer!
We made brioche dough again, but this time we shaped it differently. The brioche has been one of my favorite breads we’ve made, especially when it is sprinkled [...]
Pastry School Update: Breads and Breakfast Pastries
Another week in the kitchen for our breads and breakfast pastries unit has passed, and ohh, the abundance of baked goods.
I think I have been following a strict butter diet. On to the food…
Photograph (right): Pear danish
TUESDAY:
We didn’t have class on Monday due to MLK Day. Tuesday arrived with a bang, as we made french [...]
Marble Bundt Cake
Earlier this month, we celebrated my younger brother’s birthday. Cam is a simple guy, and he likes his desserts that way too. Nothing too fancy, just classic flavors for classic goodness.
When I came across this recipe, I knew it would be perfect for ringing in his birthday. The cake is made in a bundt pan, [...]
Pastry School Update: The First Two Weeks
This week at pastry school was our first week in the kitchens. Last week was mostly orientation, food safety/sanitation, and lecture classes, which were inspiring. Some of the chefs spoke to us about the different areas of the food industry our talent could take us.
The great thing about being a pastry chef is that you [...]
Hi Kyra, you can get as creative as you wish with a dessert like tiramisu. I recommend layering it in ...
this recipe seems really simple. but does it have to be served in squares? is there a way to make ...
Hello Megan,
Its Andy from work. Just wanted to let you know that I checked out your blog and, Im ...
Beautiful!! 
I live in the Mid-west, but am a beach girl at heart. I've baked shell thyme cakes for parties and ...
Hello Meghan,
I think your own business sounds like a fantastic idea. Where in Colorado? Beaver Creek with Michelle? ...
Meg! Your food looks sooooo yummy! I'm trying out a few of your recipes this weekend with a friend. I'll ...
Congratulations, fellow FPS'er! Good luck out there. This is the first I've seen of your blog, so I'll ...
Wow.. everything looks amazing. That makes me even more anxious to attend the French Pastry School in January! Congrats and ...