July 26, 2010

Blueberry Chick Magnet

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OK, so the original recipe by Smitten Kitchen, was call Blueberry Boy Bait.  But we had to modify the recipe name when my son, and pastry chef for Caffè Victoria, created this deliciously beautiful coffee cake this weekend.  He put his own special twist on it, and has now made into something that is sure to be a mainstay at the caffè.   Blueberry Chick Magnet is quite a catch!

Blueberry Chick Magnet

  • 2 cups + 1 tsp flour, divided

    Serve warm if you like with some fresh whipped cream.

  • 1 Tablespoon baking powder
  • 1  teaspoon salt
  • Zest of one lemon
  • 2 sticks unsalted butter, soft
  • 1 ¼  cups granulated sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • ½ cup whole milk
  • ½ cup sour cream or plain yogurt
  • 1 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen
  • ¼ cup sanding sugar
  • ¼ tsp freshly grated nutmeg

Preheat convection oven to 325  ̊F .  Grease and flour 9″ x 9″ baking pan.

In a medium bowl, sift together two cups flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix in lemon zest.  Set aside

In a steel bowl, beat sugar and butter until fluffy and lemon colored.  Beat in eggs, one at a time.  Add vanilla. Scraped down sides of bowl.  Add sour cream, and half of the milk, mixing until incorporated.  Add half of the dry ingredients mixing until just combined.  Add last of milk and then last of dry, again mixing until just combined.

In a separate bowl, toss blueberries with remaining one teaspoon flour and, using a rubber spatula, gently fold half of blueberries into the batter. Spread into prepared pan. Sprinkle remaining blueberries over top of batter, sprinkle sanding sugar and a dusting of nutmeg over the top of cake.  Bake until toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean, 45 to 50 minutes. Cool in pan 20 minutes, then turn out and place on serving platter.  Cover, and allow to cool completely.  Makes 8-12 servings.

 

July 20, 2010

Summer Love…with the Grill?

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This summer has been full of love.  If food = love, and delicious meats are derived from efforts on the grill…then does it reason that meats + grill + a little effort = major summer romance?

Pick-up a fresh baked pie from Caffe Victoria and serve it with your favorite ice cream. Bam! Dessert is ready!

Maybe.

We grill on a regular basis in the summer months.  After all, just like you, we don’t want to heat the house up by cooking over a hot stove.   So we move it outside.

With the longer days, our dinners usually don’t happen until 7 or 8 p.m.  We stretch our days, with work early until mid-afternoon.  Finishing up our work efforts for Catering by Victoria, most nights we get in some tennis, sailing, cycling or running.  As the evening hours wane, we realize we need sustenance.  We crave meats, and we want something that is easy, delicious and satisfying.

Grilling sweet potato slices and glazed chicken breasts.

In this post, I include some pics and recipes of such dinners.

Last Saturday night, we threw together a salad of fresh bing cherries, cilantro leaves and cucumbers.  Dressed simply with white wine vinegar and extra-virgin olive oil, freshly ground black pepper and sea salt.  So pleasing to the eye, and refreshing to the palate.

Tart, sweet cherries, cool, crisp cucumbers and fresh cilantro make a refreshing summer salad.

Cherries are fantastic right now…so pick up a bag today! We will be gobbling them up for as long as we can get them, and featuring them in a variety of recipes.

For the sweet potatoes, we par-boiled them, then peeled and sliced them into 1/4″ slices.  Drizzled them with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  They were cooked on the grill for just a few minutes, while we glazed the chicken.  The grill gives them a little smokey flavor and a delicious sweetness.  They paired well with the Asian Glazed Chicken.

Brush breasts with Asian Glaze and cook 30-60 seconds longer on each side.

Asian Glaze

6 cloves garlic, unpeeled
1 onion, chopped
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper, if you like heat
1 -1/2 tsp. black peppercorns
1-2 Tbsp. olive or canola oil
3 Tbsp. soy sauce
1/2 cup oyster sauce
Juice of one orange
4 boneless chicken breasts
2 Tablespoons sesame seeds, optional

If your grill is on, wrap the garlic in foil and roast over a medium heat, on lowest rack for 10-12 minutes, turning over half way through.

Meanwhile, in saute pan, roast peppercorns for about 2-3 minutes until fragrant.  Set aside, allow to cool.  Use the same pan to saute onion in oil for about 10 minutes, allowing onions to caramelize.

Squeeze garlic out of peel and mince.  Grind pepper and add to saute along with garlic and oyster sauce.  Cook over medium heat for about 1 minute.  Add  soy sauce, orange juice and water.  Allow to reduce  over medium heat for about 5 minutes.  Sauce should be thick.  Transfer sauce to blender and puree until smooth.  Sauce can be made 1 day ahead and refrigerated.

CHEF’S NOTE:  Try this Asian Glaze on a variety of proteins…salmon fillets, skewered shrimp, pork loin, and beef kabobs.  It’s a winner!

 

July 19, 2010

Smoked Pork Ribs with Zippy Rub-a-dub

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Smoked Ribs Rub

Original rub recipe modified by Victoria Queen

1Tbsp. + 1 tsp. salt

2 Tbsp. brown sugar

1 Tbsp. + 1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

1 tsp. cayenne pepper

1 Tbsp. + 1 tsp. garlic powder

1 Tbsp. + 1 tsp. ground cumin

1 Tbsp. + 1 tsp. mild ground dried chile, like Ancho or New Mexico

1 Tbsp. + 1 tsp. smoked paprika

10-12 lbs pork short or spare ribs

Directions verbatim, according to Mark Bittman’s recipe

1. Start a gas grill, using the burners on only one side to achieve a heat of 250–300°F. Put a couple handfuls of wood chips in a tin foil pan and set it over the burners that are on. While the grill heats, mix together the dry ingredients and rub them all over the pork, including under the skin as best you can and in any crevasses you find.

2. Put the pork on the cool side of the grill, cover, and walk away. Check about 15 minutes later to make sure the chips are smoking and the heat is below 300°F. Now you can ignore the pork shoulder almost entirely; check every hour or so to make sure the heat hasn’t escalated too much and the chips or charcoal do not need replenishing. If you’re cooking ribs, turn them every half hour or so.

3. The pork shoulder is done when it reaches an internal temperature of about 190°F, about 4 hours later (less if you used a smaller piece of pork, more if larger). More important, the pork will be very tender. The ribs are done when they have lost much of their fat and developed an unquestionably cooked look, anywhere from 2 to 6 hours later.

4. This next step is optional for the shoulder but a must for the ribs: Just before you’re ready to eat, raise the heat to high (or add a bunch more briquettes and wait a while) and brown the meat on both sides. Be very careful; they should still have enough fat on them to flare up and burn, ruining all your hard work in an instant (believe me, I’ve done it several times). Watch them constantly and move them frequently. Browning will take about 10 minutes. Serve immediately with any sauce you like or refrigerate overnight, slice, and grill (or pan-grill) individual slices.

 

July 9, 2010

Wedding Trends for Fall 2010

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Pantone Fall 2010 colors.

It has been a very busy summer.  We have catered several beautiful weddings, indoors and out.  We’ve also created some wonderful, sometimes stunning wedding cakes.  As our experience grows, so does our passion and expertise.

Exposure to brides, fashion and the food industry lends itself to a compilation of wedding trends. Over the past several months of consulting with bridal couples, MOBs (Mothers of the Brides) and catering various weddings of all budgets, certain trends start to emerge.  Here is what we see trending this Fall and into Winter.

Crochet wedding dresses and accessories exude elegance and refined taste.

Colors & Textures

The Color Pallet we see emerging carries chocolate-brown, with teal, navy, woodbine, and Lime-yellows, golds, coral reds, bright orange, lipstick reds.  Classic Black, always in fashion, remains a desired accent.  Pewter and silver shine.  Leaf green is over. Pantone, Inc. released Fall colors last week, and they are consistent with what we see trending.

View more lace-inspired wedding dresses at HERE

Image Credit:  katyelliott.com

twitter.com/elliottkaty

Fashion Week was in New York at the beginning of this month, and the designers exhibited  fashions and fabrics for this Fall which included some of the following trends:

Lace & Crochet

Sheer Fabrics

Feathers, Faux Fur

Dots, Polka Dots, Hollow-center Dots

Wedding Cakes

Square isn’t square…it’s IN!  Brides are going square on their cakes, immediately stacked.

Floral…Fresh flowers still rule, both cascading down tiers and as cake toppers.  Piped icing flowers or  hand-crafted flora made from pastillage is another elegant way to embellish your cake.

Edible or fabric ribbons and bows remain a common way to wrap a cake in accenting colors.  Watch for rhinestone strand and brooches for a bit of dazzle and bling.

Wide navy ribbon is contrast with a narrow bright teal ribbon at the base of each tier of this fondant cake.

Double ribbons…if one ribbon binding the bottom or center of tiers is good…two is even better.  This pulls the accenting colors into the simple, elegant cakes.

Round Cakes look whimsical with polka dots and hollow dots (rings) in trending accent colors.

Combining square and round tiers, with contrasting colors and images.

Fondant is re-emerging with better flavors and consistency, as well as beautiful, elegant finishes.

Cake Flavors – Green Tea,Pumpkin Spice, German’s Chocolate and Red Velvet are very popular right now.  Cupcakes and individual desserts buffet also remain trendy and desired.

In addition to traditional cakes, we have seen cupcake towers with mini ceremonial cakes, luscious cake truffles, “whoopie”

Matcha is delicious in Green Tea cupcakes and Meringue Butter Cream.

pies, cream puffs, and decorated chocolate-dipped strawberries.

Credit: Rings of Eternity Cake, http://www.bridella.com/

Themes

Having a theme for your wedding is completely optional.  However, themes are a thoughtful way to tie together the very many details of the reception. With some many decisions to make throughout the planning process, a theme can help a planner stay focused.  Here are some themes we are working within for upcoming Fall and Winter weddings.

Cowboy, Boots, Fringe, Leather, Suede, Studs

Tropical, Hibiscus, Exotic, Tribal, Feathers

Elegance, Clean, Classic

Foods

Asian &  Sushi

Sushi is perfect hors d'oeuvre for an exotic or tropical wedding theme.

Ethnic Stations

Traditional American Comforts, with Fusion

Backyard bar-be-qu is passé and overdone.

At Catering by Victoria, and Cakes by Victoria (that Victoria is one busy lady!) we are passionate about what we do.  We are excellent are creating magical events that will be remembered for a life time, your life time.  Our professional staff is here to assist you with the details for your reception.  Our chef-managed catering staff can provide food for bridal showers, rehearsal dinners, the day-after brunch…it goes on and on.

Consider having some neat-to-eat tasty bites for your bridal party to munch on as they prepare themselves for the walk down the aisle.  On such an exciting day, it is easy to forget to eat.

Contact Victoria to schedule a consultation to discuss your wants, wishes, budget and all the pertinent details.  She’ll take the time with you personally, make sure to incorporate as much of these details as is possible for your reception.  Feel at ease, attending one of our upcoming Cake Tastings.  Sample a variety of flavors and icings to help you pinpoint the right combination for your cake.

We hope you will consider us for your catering, and/or your  wedding cake, as we would very much love to assist you.  (970)686.5005.  You will certainly get our very best. More Catering Images

 

July 7, 2010

I Love Sugar Cookies

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Chocolate Cosmos

I do.  I love them in any shape, for any occasion.  The shape of a sugar cookie is only limited by your imagination.  When I decide upon a shape, if I don’t have they cutter for it, I make a template.  I first draw it on paper.  If the shape is symmetric, I first fold the paper in half, sketch it, cut it out and

Chocolate Bridal Cookies ~ Great for showers, favors, or dessert buffet.

lay it flat.  Does it look right?  Once I am happy with it’s basic shape, I will glue that paper to some heavy card stock or thin cardboard.  Using the paper as the guide, I carefully cut out the card stock, completing the template.  It is now only awaiting the dough to be rolled out.  A sharp, short bladed knife works excellent for tracing the template.

I find that the best sugar cookies are 2.5 – 3.5″ across.  These are substantial enough to sell individually or by the dozen.  This size allows nice decoration and details, and the will neatly fit into a standard size

Hand piping royal icing on to heart-shaped vanilla cookies.

cellophane goodie bag. I prefer the clear ones, as the cookies, when finished are decoration enough

when the bag is tied with a coordinating ribbon, rafia or twisty-tie or lace.  A gift tag also finishes the favor and allows personalization.

Royal icing "run outs" before final piping.

Chocolate, almond, cinnamon or vanilla flavored, it doesn’t matter to me.   A butter recipe is a must.  Your baked cookie should be about 1/6″ of an inch thick.  It should have a firmness to it, and a slight hint of golden color.  When you bite into the cookie, the mouth feel should be tender, not tough.  An over-baked cookie will be hard, crumbly and fragile.  A soft cookie will win you accolades.

I love when they’re iced, and suddenly come “alive”!

Easter cookies.

Icing the cookies has some variation, depending on the finish product you hope

One is prettier than the next...

to achieve.  Flavor-wise, it is difficult to beat them iced with a butter cream frost, and simple sugar crystals.  Butter cream will also take tinting.  A butter cream will help the cookie keep its soft, tender texture for several days kept in an airtight container.  They do not, however, stack well.

Royal icing, in varying consistencies, can help you achieve great results.  Because royal icing is made from egg whites (or meringue powder), flavoring and powdered sugar, it will dry completely firm.  You may keep it’s nature white, or tint it to desired colors.  I recommend food coloring gels, as they are easy to incorporate and they do not add a significant

Gingerbread skelletons and green-tinted witch fingers.

amount of moisture to the icing.  Liquid food colorings can make your royal icing running because they are water based.  You can control the

Pumpkins with cinnamon royal icing.

consistency of royal icing by adding a few drops of water to thin it, or more powdered sugar to stiffen it.

Bridal cookies.

I  love when they’re iced, and suddenly come “alive”!  Holidays become special when cookies are decorated and add to the festivities.  You can count on Caffè Victoria to have special sugar cookies for Valentine’sDay, St. Patricks, Easter, Halloween, Thanksgiving & Christmas, as well as other holidays, throughout the year.

Special occasion cookies can be ordered by the dozen by calling Victoria, 970/686.5005, and we have successfully shipped our cookies throughout the continental US.

Surprise someone special to you with a batch.
 

July 5, 2010

BB-Q for the 4th of July

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Short ribs smokin' on the gas grill

Red, White and Blue Pies

I was on Twitter this morning and read a tweet from bittman, a.k.a. Mark Bittman from New York City.  He’d posted some recipes on his blog  http://markbittman.com/sunday-supper-4th-of-july-menu as suggestions for a Fourth of July menu.  CLICK HERE for Victoria’s Rib Rub Recipe.

I was particularly intrigued by his ribs recipe because they have a good sounding rub, and that it precisely the way Scott likes them.  I’d never prepared smoked ribs with a rub, and thought I was up for the challenge.

Mixed green salad with fresh berries and avocado.

Scott grilled some perfect looking brats.

I cut the rack of ribs in half, they weighed about 5lbs.  To his rub recipe, I did add a teaspoon of garlic. You see, garlic is one of those mandatory ingredients in our cooking.  My mother, when she was teaching me to cook, told me that I should always put garlic or  vanilla into everything I cook/bake, but never together.  I also used a smoked paprika, because that is what I had available.  It added a nice depth of flavor.  The New Mexico chile powder I included in the rub was medium spicy which contributed some warmth for the palate.

The wood chips I had on hand were from the Aspen trees in our yard.  I don’t think they add much flavor-wise, but the

Scott's plate.

smoke smelled yummy.  I think next time, I will try them with some Apple or Oak chips.  All in all, the ribs cooked on the grill for about 3 hours.  The color on the ribs was really beautiful, and the smell of them was mouth-watering.

I enjoyed making these ribs, and the quality of the finished product was equally on par with the best ribs we have ever eaten.  Considering this fact, I would easily try some of Mark’s other recipes in the future.

With our delicious, slightly spicy ribs, we rounded out our menu with some grilled bratwursts, a mixed green salad with fresh berries, red onion and crumbled goat cheese.  I liked the way the cool, cream goat cheese soothed our mouths from the spicy ribs.  We drank some unsweetened berry ice tea, fresh water melon, and salt Lays® potato chips.

Cherry & blueberry pies topped with vanilla ice cream and blueberry compote.

For dessert, we enjoyed fresh baked individual cherry & blueberry pies with top quality vanilla ice cream and a good drizzle of blueberry compote.  With our dessert we all enjoyed a glass of Gysler Spätburgunder Rose Beerenauslese, 2003.

Thank you, Mr. Mark Bittman for the inspiration.

 

July 4, 2010

3rd of July ~ Food

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The skies are charcoal grey, it’s a dreary downtown day….but the sun is trying to peak out.  There is promise for a bright, celebratory day, this July 4th.  Good food always makes things better.  Tell me one example of when this statement is not true. 

Last night we enjoyed grilled pizzas made with some fresh mozzarella cheese which Chef Victoria made from whole, un-homogenized milk.   It took a little over an hour from start to finish.  The results of the cheese were “udderly” delicious!

Scott opened his first batch of home-brewed pale ale.  It was “hoppy” to oblige.  It went wonderfully with our grilled pizza and made for a tasty summer evening dinner, accompanied with Kirsten’s mixed green salad with avocados, red onion and simple dressing of red wine vinegar and extra-virgin olive oil.  

OK – all that took place July 3rd…so what is on the menu for today, the 4th????

 

June 28, 2010

Cupcakes by Victoria

Posted by Chef Victoria under Caffè Victoria, Cakes by Victoria, Catering by Victoria | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , |
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White Gardenia Cupcakes

Chef Victoria Queen creates individual desserts for special occasions, as well as premium cupcakes in 3 sizes.

Cupcakes can be ordered by the dozen.

  • Minis $18/dozen
  • Medis $22/dozen
  • Megas $24/dozen

* Some cupcakes flavors/designs carry an upcharge, such as our tremendously popular rainbow cupcakes. Contact Victoria for pricing for you unique circumstances.  (970)686.5005

Disposable cupcake stands are available, or we have stand rentals that may work best for your event.

Cupcake Flavors

Enchanted Black Forest

Traditional White

Luscious Lemon

Blissful Carrot

German’s Chocolate*

Buttermilk Chocolate

Enchanted Black Forest*

Luxurious Red Velvet

Dark Chocolate

Tiramisu

Pumpkin Spice

Rainbow*

White Chocolate Raspberry*

Rainbows with White Vanilla Butter Cream

Chocolate Hazelnut

Banana

Banana Chocolate

Green Tea

Italian Creme*

Vanilla Bean

White Chocolate Roses dec out the cupcakes which are iced in tinted Vanlla Butter Cream

Mocha

Creme Brulee*

Flourless Chocolate*

Embellishments and custom decorations for your cupcakes which tie into your event theme are available upon request.

Bridal couples often request a ceremonial cake, such as a 6″ or 8″ round layer cake to cut at the reception to celebrate tradition and utilize in special pictures.  Visit our CAKES page for more information or register for our next Cake Tasting event.

 

June 28, 2010

Next Cake Tasting Event

Posted by Chef Victoria under Caffè Victoria, Cakes by Victoria, Catering by Victoria | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , |
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CAKES BY VICTORIA periodically hosts Cake Tasting Events.

 

Red Velvet and Chocolate Cake Truffles in pink White Chocolate

 

Upcoming Dates at Caffè Victoria:

  • Saturday, July 24th
  • Sunday, August 15th
  • Saturday, September 12th @ The Ranch in Loveland, CO (12-4p.m.)

Tastings held:  3 – 5p.m.

Join us to sample a variety of delicious cakes, meet our cake artists, and view our extensive portfolios and cake gallery.

Reservations are greatly appreciated and include samples of the following flavors:

  • Traditional White Cake filled with Vanilla Butter Cream & Fresh berries
  • Buttermilk Chocolate Cake filled with Chocolate Fudge Butter Cream
  • Luxurious Red Velvet Cake filled with Cinnamon Butter Cream
  • Italian Creme Cake filled with Sweetened Mascarpone
  • Pumpkin Spice Cake filled with Cream Cheese Butter Cream
  • Blissful Carrot with Vanilla Butter Cream

     

    7 cakes and our wedding sugar cookies

View our cake models and page through our wedding and specialty cakes portfolio.

Refreshments provided by Caffè Victoria.

Pre-registration is sincerely appreciated to attend the cake tasting event.  Register by phone at 970/686.5005, or you can register the day of the event, space allowing.

 

June 23, 2010

Gift Basket Specialty Items (An Open Invite)

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Open invitation for you to present information on your specialty items that could be included in our holiday gift baskets.

Catering by Victoria is expanding our services to include holiday gift baskets.  While we have created these in the past for special clients, the growth and request for us to provide this service has been in demand.  Due to these growing requests, we have decided to venture into this arena.  With all things by Victoria, we want to do it right.  Our gift baskets will be a true treat for those lucky enough to receive them.

In order to find the brightest and the best basket items, we are putting out this open invitation for those of you with special items to send us information on them.

Merchandisers may email information to: giftbaskets@caffevictoria.com.

Deliver or ship samples  to:  Caffè Victoria, 1296-A Main Street, Windsor, Colorado 80550.

With your product information, please include wholesale pricing and shipping information, if applicable.

 

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