Imagine my surprise when I got an email that went along the lines of…

Hi Jessie! Sargento is hosting a panini contest in Hyde Park! Culinary Institute of America (CIA) students will be participating. We’d like you to eat their food and tell us which one tastes the best. You interested?

My first reaction. Hyde Park? Like Chicago’s Hyde Park? Long story short, it was Hyde Park, NY. That tells you the breadth of my culinary knowledge. Apparently it’s the CIA’s main campus. So off I went, being shuttled in a black Lincoln and all (my first car service experience). Took all of 4 hours round trip but it was totally worth it. Let me tell you why.

But first a few words on Sargento.

For those of you unfamiliar with the Sargento brand, they’re a Wisconsin based, family-owned cheese business. Founded in 1953, Sargento is a leading national packager and marketer of shredded, sliced, snack, and specialty cheeses sold under their brand. The analyst in me would like to give you some interesting facts/statistics from their 2010 corporate report.

• Sargento achieved +4.5% growth in cheese sales in 2010 and is the #1 brand of natural sliced cheese and #2 brand of refrigerated cheese snacks (wow, I never realized cheese was broken down so specifically…)
• Their Reduced Sodium natural cheeses offers 25% less sodium. Surprisingly, they’re the only national brand offering a reduced sodium cheese in the dairy case.
• Sargento serves seven out of the top 10 and 14 out of the top 25 chain restaurants in the US

Sargento’s competitive advantage is that they’re really the only natural cheese company to have penetrated national supermarkets. There’s also Cabot from Vermont, but they haven’t achieved the same penetration as Sargento. I grew up using Kraft Singles, eating at least a dozen boxes per year (I’m sure I easily consumed over 100 slices each year). The other month, I was cleaning out my fridge when I realized that I still had some Kraft slices in the back of my fridge. Low and behold, they were from 2001 and they looked… NORMAL! Don’t judge, but I opened it and took a tiny bite and… [drum roll] it still tasted great! Think about this. How does slice cheese, older than my youngest cousin, still stay fresh after nearly a decade? I don’t want to know, and I’m sure you don’t, so do your self a favor and buy some real cheese the next time you go shopping.

The highlight of my day: I met the guy whose father INVENTED THE CARPET STEAMER. How cool is that? All joking aside, his wife was the author of 200 Best Panini recipes, Tiffany Collins (who was also a judge). You know how they say Texans know hospitality? Well, they sure fit the prototype. I was a bit intimidated introducing myself to her, but it ended up being a great conversation. More on what we talked about later.

After the event started, I met the other fellow guest judges including Howie Velie, Eric Schawaroch, and Jim DeJoy who all teach at the CIA and James Scher, a business development director at Sargento.

About an hour in, the contestants started plating their food. The event was closed to the public but open to other CIA students. Sargento had picked 6 of the most intriguing recipes from a selection of 13 recipes. They featured gluten-free panini to bulgogi panini to your simple monte cristo panini.

Che Panini- Housemade focaccia with shredded Mexican pork topped with a roasted fresh corn and tomatillo salsa. Pickled red onion and a blend of sharp cheddar habanaro pepper jack provided by Sargento. WINNING PANINI!

Bulgogi Panini- Homemade ciabatta made with Magic Hat Pale Ale (beer), red pepper mayo, Bulgogi (thin slices of sirloin and marinated fire-meat), with a marinade of soy, sesame, Asia pear, and relish onions accompanied by quick picked cucumbers and kimchi.

Lamb Bam Thank You Ma’am- Braised lamb toasted on Guiness sourdough bread. Accompanied by a Guinness note, munster, gouda, arugula, roasted tomatoes, & grilled onions

Assembling the sandwiches

Grill time! Gotta love those costumes…

Tres Amigos- Gluten free bread with cornmeal coating tequila lime and cilantro. Marinated steak, tomato, Colby pepper Jack cheese. Grilled corn and avocado relish.

Team Mumbai- Habanero pepper jack flatbread, mozzarella, chicken mangifera panini with mango salso. Vanilla dulce de leche, tapioca pears and fixed fruit reduction.

On the grill!

Monte Cristo- Turkey- cider glazed turkey, roast ham, baby swiss, balsamic strawberry jam, Challah bread

Che Panini- the winner!

Takeaways from the winning team: 1) Impeccable bread- The bread not only had the signature grill marks but it exceeded expectations. It was crunchy yet retained a soft interior. Honestly, the bread won me over. I was torn between two panini and it came down to the bread. 2) Crank that grill up on high- Some of the teams had their panini grills at only 200 degrees, which is an absolute NO in panini making. When in doubt, Tiffany Collins says to err on the hot side. Ideally, the grill should be at 400 to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. And if you’re really in doubt, you can always test the grill by seeing how long a slice of bread takes to cook and gauge it from there. 3) Taste your food- We all agreed that a simple sprinkling of salt would have cured some dishes. The little flavor that the meat had (due to poor seasoning) was further muted by a hodgepodge of other ingredients thrown on top such as the cheeses, dresses, etc… So taste your food and season accordingly. It’s the first thing you should do! 4) Less is more- Some of these panini were overflowing with stuff. We all agreed that a glorified grilled cheese could have easily taken first. Don’t get me wrong. The winning panino had a lot of depth in flavor due to the various ingredients they used, but we were surprised at the lack of “simple” entries. After the event, I was able to interview Tiffany Collins. What made you write a book about panini? As a first time author, I was commissioned to write the book. The person who had originally agreed to write the book backed out so my agent came to me. When I accepted, I didn’t completely grasp the task at hand. I basically had 60 days to come up with 200 recipes since we wanted to get the book onto shelves before the holidays and Cyber-Monday. The publisher recognized that the market share in the panini category was huge. To date, we’ve sold over 100k copies and the book has been translated into French with other languages coming soon. What makes the perfect panino? (panino is singular, panini is plural!) Flavor and Texture. And don’t overstuff it. I’m health conscious so I prefer to use natural cheeses (like Sargento!), lean protein, and half the amount of bread that recipes normally call for. Most importantly, be sure to set the temperature of the grill at 400-450 F. When in doubt at home, just set it on the highest possible temperature. What’s your favorite panini? A classic grilled cheese panini with tomato basil soup to dip. — Overall, this was a great event. I finally got to check out the CIA campus which is absolutely gorgeous and even got to taste some very unique panini. I also met awesome people who not only shared their expertise on food but also encouraged me to continue in my food blogging endeavors. Thanks to all those who made this event possible!

You should also check out:

• Daring Bakers: Orange & Strawberry Tian
• Shoot Macro Shots Without the Expensive Macro Lens
• Xooro
• Sprinkles Cupcakes
• Big Wing Wong

The 2010 March Daring Baker’s challenge was hosted by Jennifer of Chocolate Shavings. She chose Orange Tian as the challenge for this month, a dessert based on a recipe from Alain Ducasse’s Cooking School in Paris.

Jennifer- you picked the perfect month for your Orange Tian challenge. Last weekend, we went to Queens where we often buy our fresh produce. We came across four naval oranges for $1 (which, if you don’t know, is decent price). My mother, being a bit skeptical, bought three bags. When my grandmother cut into one for a taste test, the juice squirted out in all directions and the result was a very sweet and succulent orange. Luckily, we were only a 10 minute walk from the fruit stand so when the guy saw us coming back for more, he offered us a crate, 56 oranges in all, for $12! By the time I finished storing them, my fridge looked like one giant blob of orange.

Usually, I feel bad baking with fruit because they’ve become so expensive and you’re essentially destroying all of its nutrients. But with so many oranges, I was guiltless in wringing out an orange for some fresh juice, segmenting another for the topping, and slicing one last one for the marmalade. And since I didn’t use all the wonderful marmalade in the challenge, I have a tiny jar to use when I’m in a hurry for breakfast. Too bad the challenge only used up three oranges because now I’m forced to consume an inhumane amount every day (like five). My coworker joked that my cubicle is turning into a produce market…

This, surprisingly, is thus far my favorite challenge. I haven’t done many, but I’ve made cheesecake, flourless chocolate cake, and even tiramisu just to list a few. The tian actually turned out the way I envisioned (which never happens, sadly) and tasted equally as delicious as it looked. I first read this challenge with an, “Oh man, really?!” I put it off till the very end, even rushing to complete the whole challenge, pictures and all, for those few precious hours I had free to myself after my 10-11 hour workday. The result is complete exhaustion from a combination of my starting a Flickr 365, training for the half-marathon, and creating these orange and strawberry tians.

So without further ado, here’s the recipe. And you should definitely try this one!

Daring Bakers: Orange Tian (or Strawberry)
Alain Ducasse‘s Cooking School in Paris, France

Preparation time:
- Pate Sablee: 20 minutes to make, 30 minutes to rest, 15 minutes to roll out, 20 minutes to bake
- Marmalade: 20 minutes to make, 30 minutes to blanch
- Orange segments: 20 minutes, overnight to sit
- Caramel: 15 minutes, overnight to sit
- Whipped Cream: 15 minutes
- Assembling: 20 minutes
- Freezer to Set: 10 minutes

Equipment required:
• Cookie cutters . Ideally, you should have about 6 cookie cutters to build the desserts in and cut the circles of dough (see photo). The cookie cutters will be the size of your final dessert, so they should be the size of an individually-sized tart mold. If you don’t have round cookie cutters you could use an individually-sized cheesecake mold without its base.
• A food processor (although the dough could be made by hand too)
• A stand-up or hand mixer
• Parchment paper or a silicone sheet
• A baking sheet
• A rolling pin

For the Pate Sablee:
2 medium-sized egg yolks at room temperature
Granulated sugar 6 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon; 2.8 oz; 80 grams
Vanilla extract ½ teaspoon
Unsalted butter ¼ cup + 3 tablespoons; 3.5 oz; 100 grams ice cold, cubed
Salt 1/3 teaspoon; 2 grams
All-purpose flour 1.5 cup + 2 tablespoons; 7 oz; 200 grams
Baking powder 1 teaspoon ; 4 grams

Directions:
Put the flour, baking powder, ice cold cubed butter and salt in a food processor fitted with a steel blade.

In a separate bowl, add the eggs yolks, vanilla extract and sugar and beat with a whisk until the mixture is pale. Pour the egg mixture in the food processor.

Process until the dough just comes together. If you find that the dough is still a little too crumbly to come together, add a couple drops of water and process again to form a homogenous ball of dough. Form into a disc, cover with plastic wrap and leave to rest in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Preheat your oven to 350 degree Fahrenheit.

Roll out the dough onto a lightly floured surface until you obtain a ¼ inch thick circle.

Using your cookie cutter, cut out circles of dough and place on a parchment (or silicone) lined baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes or until the circles of dough are just golden.

For the Marmalade:

Ingredients U.S. Imperial Metric Instructions for Ingredients
Freshly pressed orange juice ¼ cup + 3 tablespoons; 3.5 oz; 100 grams
1 large orange used to make orange slices
cold water to cook the orange slices
pectin 5 grams
granulated sugar: use the same weight as the weight of orange slices once they are cooked

Finely slice the orange. Place the orange slices in a medium-sized pot filled with cold water. Simmer for about 10 minutes, discard the water, re-fill with cold water and blanch the oranges for another 10 minutes.

Blanch the orange slices 3 times. This process removes the bitterness from the orange peel, so it is essential to use a new batch of cold water every time when you blanch the slices.

Once blanched 3 times, drain the slices and let them cool.

Once they are cool enough to handle, finely mince them (using a knife or a food processor).

Weigh the slices and use the same amount of granulated sugar . If you don’t have a scale, you can place the slices in a cup measurer and use the same amount of sugar.

In a pot over medium heat, add the minced orange slices, the sugar you just weighed, the orange juice and the pectin. Cook until the mixture reaches a jam consistency (10-15 minutes).

Transfer to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and put in the fridge.

For the Orange Segments:

For this step you will need 8 oranges.

Cut the oranges into segments over a shallow bowl and make sure to keep the juice. Add the segments to the bowl with the juice.

For the Whipped Cream:

Ingredients U.S. Metric Imperial Instructions for Ingredients
heavy whipping cream 1 cup; 7 oz; 200 grams
3 tablespoons of hot water
1 tsp Gelatine
1 tablespoon of confectioner’s sugar
orange marmalade (see recipe above) 1 tablespoon

In a small bowl, add the gelatine and hot water, stirring well until the gelatine dissolves. Let the gelatine cool to room temperature while you make the whipped cream. Combine the cream in a chilled mixing bowl. Whip the cream using a hand mixer on low speed until the cream starts to thicken for about one minute. Add the confectioner sugar. Increase the speed to medium-high. Whip the cream until the beaters leave visible (but not lasting) trails in the cream, then add the cooled gelatine slowly while beating continuously. Continue whipping until the cream is light and fluffy and forms soft peaks. Transfer the whipped cream to a bowl and fold in the orange marmalade.
[Tip: Use an ice cold bowl to make the whipped cream in. You can do this by putting your mixing bowl, cream and beater in the fridge for 20 minutes prior to whipping the cream.]

Assembling the Dessert:

Make sure you have some room in your freezer. Ideally, you should be able to fit a small baking sheet or tray of desserts to set in the freezer.

Line a small tray or baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone sheet. Lay out 6 cookie cutters onto the parchment paper/silicone.

Drain the orange segments on a kitchen towel.

Have the marmalade, whipped cream and baked circles of dough ready to use.

Arrange the orange segments at the bottom of each cookie cutter. Make sure the segments all touch either and that there are no gaps. Make sure they fit snuggly and look pretty as they will end up being the top of the dessert. Arrange them as you would sliced apples when making an apple tart.

Once you have neatly arranged one layer of orange segments at the bottom of each cookie cutter, add a couple spoonfuls of whipped cream and gently spread it so that it fills the cookie cutter in an even layer. Leave about 1/4 inch at the top so there is room for dough circle.

Using a butter knife or small spoon, spread a small even layer of orange marmalade on each circle of dough.

Carefully place a circle of dough over each ring (the side of dough covered in marmalade should be the side touching the whipping cream). Gently press on the circle of dough to make sure the dessert is compact.

Place the desserts to set in the freezer to set for 10 minutes.

Using a small knife, gently go around the edges of the cookie cutter to make sure the dessert will be easy to unmold. Gently place your serving plate on top of a dessert (on top of the circle of dough) and turn the plate over. Gently remove the cookie cutter, add a spoonful of caramel sauce and serve immediately.

—

Photo du jour: “More like hot & brewed & neglected”

You should also check out:

• Five minute salty & nutty dark chocolate bark
• O clementine olive oil ice cream
• Chocolate coffee & pumpkin spice cupcakes
• Blueberry + strawberry muffins (with crumble topping!)
• Sargento’s extreme panini cook-off featuring Culinary Institute of America students

(This photo would have been much more crisp had I used that macro attachment that you’re looking at)

Let’s face it. Good mouthwatering food photography is generally shot close-up with DSLRs and usually with a macro lens that’s worth more than the body of the camera itself. Sure, some people can take great macro shots with point and shoots, but you have to admit that the majority of successful food bloggers with stunning portfolios use the DLSR set up. But I’m going to tell you how to take those stunning macro shots for under $50 (assuming that you have a DSLR, that is).

A few weeks ago, I got my hands on a Canon Rebel XT and boy was I excited. Imagine my disappointment when I wasn’t able to get the detailed close ups that I wanted in my shots. I didn’t want to spend another $400+ on a macro lens and so I was stuck. That is, until an old friend suggested that I buy a threaded lens.

Threaded lenses are additional lenses that allow for greater magnification for macro shots. In the past with SLRs, you could actually reverse your standard lens, attach it to the camera body with a reversal ring, and shoot macro. Today, they don’t make reversal rings with DSLRs, but they do make these threaded lens. When you buy them, they usually come with a wide angle lens that attaches itself onto the macro lens.

So compare these two photos.

The first is taken with the standard lens, a 18-55mm. It was the closest shot I could take of the quarter without it getting blury. The second is taken with the macro lens that comes with the 0.43x wide angle lens. See the clear difference?

That, my friend, is all you need, although the wide angle lens does make for great shots outside food photography. For example…

(A standard lens would never have given me this wide of a range!)

This is what the whole thing looks like- the wide angle and macro lens in all. You can get it on Amazon (click on the picture) for under $50. I got mine at a corner camera shop in NYC. It’s a Digital Concepts 0.43x professional wide angle lens with macro high definition, but there are tons of other companies that make these lenses too. Just make sure that the filter size is correct and that it’s specified for your camera brand. The filter size is located on the back of your lens cap and on the lens itself. The number will range anywhere from 50 to 80mm depending on what lens you have.

Now, of course, a real macro lens will ultimately take better pictures. But, hey, if don’t want to spend the money, this alternative does offer quite decent macro shots! Here are some other macro shots that I’ve taken with the attachment.

(You didn’t think that this would be a food free post now, did you?)

I’m an amateur photographer so if I’ve gotten anything incorrect (or if you have anything to add), please let me know!

You should also check out:

• Sargento’s extreme panini cook-off featuring Culinary Institute of America students
• Published! in ‘Foodies of the World’
• Fauxlaroid Project: MoMA
• Daring Bakers: Orange & Strawberry Tian
• Photographs from… 2 years ago?!

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Picture 1 of 10

Defined

I admit it. The first time I passed by this place with Jano and Steph, I thought it was a tapas place. I mean, “Premium Spanish Fritters”? I hope that I’m not the only one who doesn’t think of churros when I hear Spanish Fritters. But one day after they left, I was really in the mood for some savory tapas and… yeah. But churros are good too!

The first time, I got a regular churro with a Tiramisu creme filling. All of the plain churros with fillings are $3.69 without tax.  A bit disappointing because the filling felt like it was made out of Splenda or something. There was at aspartame-y sort of taste. But the churro itself was amazing. Crisp on the outside, and light and chewy on the inside. But my hands were covered in grease after I finished…

I came back again, after two weeks, with Kun. This time, I ventured out to trying their “premium” churros, which not only have a filling, but also are dipped and coated in chocolate and then a topping. All of these are $3.88 without tax.

I was so tempted to get the maple bacon, but I ended up getting the Tortoise, which is a caramel pecan filling coated with chocolate and then peanuts. God, it was so divine. As you hold the churro, your body heat warms up the chocolate and it starts melting. Melted chocolate and peanuts are so good together!

Kun got the Jordan, which is a nutella filling coated in white chocolate and then drizzled with milk chocolate. I took a bite and though it was good, the Tortoise was obviously much better…

They seem to be understaffed whenever I walk by. There was only 1 person taking the orders and right when we walked in, a group of 5 girls walked in too. So the poor guy at to take all of the orders before working on the churros. There was a lady in the back who helped him, but it still took a bit longer than it should have.

They have these really cute to go containers too. But we stayed to eat and there’s 2 tables that fit 4 each. I’ve never quite seen the place crowded so even though we shelled out $4+ (after tax) for a damn churro, I’m still trying to figure out how exactly they’re surviving/making money…

You should also check out:

• Sargento’s extreme panini cook-off featuring Culinary Institute of America students
• Daring Bakers: Orange & Strawberry Tian
• Shoot Macro Shots Without the Expensive Macro Lens
• In-and-Out Burger
• Diddy Riese’s

Only LA could rival NYC in the current cupcake war. I guess Sprinkles is the Magnolia of the West Coast and honestly, I think it’s so much better. The cupcakes are indeed a bit more expensive, but their endless assortment of flavors really makes the extra $.25 worth the while. Certain flavors are only made on certain days and they have a little card that has a wonderful display of this.

For the past few days, everyone at Houston’s has been raving about the Key Lime Pie. The stupid flavor was stuck in my head and I just had to get something with key lime. So while Janice and Steph were plagued with this panicky feeling of “Oh no, which one should I get?!” I knew right away which one I wanted.

(If only cupcakeries in NYC had such flavors!)

I had a tiny bite of Steph’s Mocha which was so rich and intense with the coffee flavor. But I think that mine was alot better. That’s only because I prefer my cupcakes sweet (usually). The Key Lime actually tasted like a key lime pie! Better yet, the frosting wasn’t as rich and sweet at Magnolia. It was a beautiful cupcake aesthetically and tasted divine. I mean, that button really gives it that extra oomph.

Yet despite everything, it’s still not the perfect cupcake. The cake, while not as dense and dry as Magnolia, could be a bit more moist. The frosting is beautiful but still too excessive. But all in all, cheers for a very good effort!

And you might want to think about when you want to visit this place if you haven’t yet. Lines do wrap around the entrance and that’s not fun.

*A special thanks to Stephanie Khoo for providing the pictures!!*

MENU
9635 Little Santa Monica Blvd
Beverly Hills 90210
(Btwn N Camden Dr & N Bedford Dr)
Show Map
Phone: (310) 274-8765

You should also check out:

• Sargento’s extreme panini cook-off featuring Culinary Institute of America students
• Daring Bakers: Orange & Strawberry Tian
• Shoot Macro Shots Without the Expensive Macro Lens
• In-and-Out Burger
• Diddy Riese’s