The Cookie, Not the City

The next Great American Bake Sale featured item is the humble kolaczek (kolaczki is plural).  Amidst my eternal indecision of what to bake for the masses, I decided to embrace my heritage and attempt a Polish mass of white ingredients.  

I grew up eating kolaczki, but they were always store-bought or restaurant-made.  Most of the time, they are anemic pieces of dough folded over filled with either more white stuff (cheese), or a fruit jelly, then garnished with powdered sugar (even more white stuff).  The following recipe I got from a great chef who makes the best [foie gras] pierogies I know.  It doesn't include baking powder, which is an ingredient that seems to be up to much debate in online grandma forums.

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Great American Bake Sale Sponsors

Madeleines

Until the Great American Bake Sale on May 7th, I'm going to feature recipes from bakers or myself that will be part of the menu.  There's almost 30 Chicago food bloggers and home-bakers that have signed up to donate so far, in addition to various local businesses, so there's going to be something for everyone.  

The first featured pasty is the madeleine, which gets its name from the unique shape given from the baking vessel used.  Without using the proper mold, this pastry is just another genoise cake.  This version calls for

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Great American Bake Sale

In preparation of the day where I show up to the office hopelessly trying to pawn off cookies and popcorn, I am asking everyone to help raise money for Share Our Strength to fight child hunger.  The Great American Bake Sale is a collection of bake sales hosted around the country by beautiful people like yourself that combine to raise over a million dollars for hungry children.

I'm looking for monetary donations, as well as goods for my sale in Chicago on May 7th.  I'm really excited about the venue and some of the sponsors that have already committed to the cause.  I'll leak more information and featured recipes over the next few weeks.  I hope you can stop by, donate, or even host your own bake sale.

To donate to my team please visit this link <http://bit.ly/glGEtN>.

Thanks!

Bread Revival

Brunch is one of the most difficult meals to make, because it's often too sweet and carbatose.  The balance between sweet and salty is important, but it's important to work in proteins and other nutrition to wash away the previous night's discourse.

Pain perdu is a common overly sweet, dessert oriented brunch item that I struggle with because it's nothing but sugar, carbs, and often ice cream.  I would never eat it as an entree, but I feel it has the potential to be a good dessert course during a meal.  Today I decided to rework the classic 'lost bread' dish into a local, palatable dish to be proud of.

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