Thanksgiving Turkey Cake

INGREDIENTS
1 Bundt cake in the flavor of your choosing, 8 inches in diameter and 3 inches deep
Chocolate Fudge Frosting in a pastry bag fitted with the #6 star tip
6 cups white, red, black, yellow, brown and orange Decorator's Buttercream, each in its own pastry bag fitted with the #126 rose tip
1/4 cup black Decorator's Buttercream in a parchment pencil

PREPARATION:

Fill the cake: Pipe the cake full of fudge frosting.
Shape the turkey: Use a serrated knife to cut the cake at one edge where the central hole meets the cake. Set the larger piece of the cake, frosting side down, on a doily-lined cardboard circle on your turntable. Pipe a dab of white buttercream and seal the small piece in place in front of the larger piece. Pipe white buttercream over any gaps between the two sections to create a smooth working surface.
Pipe the plumage: Pipe red buttercream around the high, open end of the turkey in a ruffle pattern. Moving toward the lower, narrower front end of the cake, pipe a ruffled black ring in front of the red, overlapping slightly. Continue in this way, piping overlapping ruffled rings of white, yellow, brown and orange frosting, until you have reached the very front (narrow end) of the cake, starting over with red if necessary. Be sure to finish with white at the very front of the cake. Then cover over the open back of the cake, (that is, where the frosting shows) with overlapping layers of frosting, ideally, orange, white, red and black.
Feather the frosting: Pull the edge of a cake icing spatula through the frosting at 1-inch intervals, starting at the back center-top of the cake and pulling all the way forward to the narrow, lower front to create a feathered effect in the icing
Pipe the break and comb: Using the white buttercream, pull up and out from the bottom front of the cake to make a beak. Use the red buttercream to pipe the comb. Use the parchment pencil to pipe the eyes.

Cake Boss At Miller Auditorium

Valastro will share his story, about the business and working with family, and about how he makes his fabulous cakes, when he comes to Western Michigan University’s Miller Auditorium Thursday with his live show, “Bakin’ with the Boss.”

He said people wonder what he will do for two hours on stage. Well, he wondered the same thing when he did his first live show.

“I’ve got to be honest with you, with that first show, I was shaking in my boots. I thought I was going to have a panic attack,” Valastro said. “It was a sold-out show, and I thought, ‘Oh, my God, I’m going to bomb. They’re going to throw things at me.’ Then, I ran through the crowd and they made me feel like Jon Bon Jovi, like I was a rock star.

“As soon as I got on stage, I felt so comfortable, so cool, so chill.”

Icebox Cookies Recipes

Yield 40 cookies

ingredients

4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for flouring your work surface and hands

1¼ cups vegetable shortening (such as Crisco)

1¼ cups (2½ sticks) unsalted butter

1 cup powdered (10X) sugar

4 extra large eggs

¼ teaspoon salt

½ cup cold water

Directions

1 Put flour, shortening, butter, sugar, eggs and salt in bowl of a stand mixer fit with the paddle attachment. (You can use a hand mixer if you allow the butter and shortening to soften at room temperature before beginning).

2 Paddle at low speed until mixture resembles creamy cookie dough, about 3 minutes. It should be tacky and not run down side of the paddle when the motor is stopped. With the motor running on low, slowly add the water and mix until fully absorbed, about 2 minutes more.

3 Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill in refrigerator for 1 hour or up to 3 days, but do not freeze. Remove dough from refrigerator and let it come to room temperature before proceeding.

4 Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 325 degrees.

5 This is very sticky, difficult dough to handle so you have to generously flour your work surface and your hands. After flouring, transfer half the dough to your surface and gently roll it into a log, reflouring the top of the dough as necessary as you work to keep it manageable. Work the dough into a 12-inch square, inch thick.

Cake Boss Buddy New York City Tours

Buddy kicked off his Bakin’ With the Boss Tour at Town Hall in New York City. He started the day on NBC’s Today Show, then a taping of the Rachael Ray show, followed by a book signing in conjunction with the release of his new book, Cake Boss: Stories and Recipes from Mia Famiglia, then Buddy did a 2 hour show at New York’s Town Hall! It was an incredible show filled with cake decorating, audience participation, and he told both touching and hilarious stories about his family.
After the show Buddy went to the lobby where he signed more books and posed for pictures with fans for over an hour! He took pictures and signed books with his fans for over an hour!
This morning he hopped on a tour bus and is headed for Schenectady, NY and he will be signing at The Book House of Stuyvesant Plaza in Albany, NY. The Cake Boss will be in 17 cities across the country this November for his Bakin’ with the Boss Tour!

Artichoke, Fresh Mozzarella, and Salami Sandwiches Recipes

Ingredients:

Two 6-ounce jars marinated artichoke hearts, drained, chopped
1/2 cup chopped drained oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano cheese
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Four 5-inch diameter or 6-inch long Italian rolls, split in half lengthwise
12 ounces fresh water-packed mozzarella, drained, sliced
6 ounces salami, thinly sliced
8 tablespoons green Olivada

Directions:

Mix first 5 ingredients in medium bowl to blend.

Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Divide artichoke mixture among bottom halves of rolls.

Top with cheese, then salami.

Spread top half of each roll with 2 tablespoons olivada.

Place atop salami.

Press sandwiches lightly to compact and wrap each tightly in plastic wrap.

Refrigerate sandwiches at least 4 hours and up to 1 day.

Bakery in Red Hook Brooklyn

Baked was founded by Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito who came from the world of advertising---Matt was a producer while Renato was a graphic designer. Their thoughts were never too far from cake and coffee, and slowly (even unbeknown to them) the idea for Baked was born.

Lewis wanted to open a bakery that celebrated American desserts beyond the cupcake, while Poliafito had always been hankering to open a neighborhood cafe, so together they scoured New York City for the perfect location. They found a small, storefront church in the largely industrialized and gritty section of Brooklyn, and together with Rafi Avramovitz, set about building their inspiration. Finally, after many long delays, they opened Baked in 2005 on the shores of Red Hook, Brooklyn with just a few ovens, some mixers, and an espresso machine.

While Baked is also well-known for its cookies, biscotti, homemade marshmallows, bars, tarts, pies and brownies, its cakes are also mouth-watering delights. They are old-fashioned with a twist of innovation. Cake varieties include classic coconut, tart lemon layer, green tea, grasshopper, caramel apple, Coca-Cola Bundt, chocolate malted, dark chocolate layer with vanilla icing, double-dark all chocolate and sweet-and-salty.

How to Tie-Dye Fondant Cake

Basically what you got to do is get different colors of fondant that you want and then roll them out into little logs and then twist them all together -- and keep twisting it with your hand. Then just knead it a little bit. But you can’t over-knead it. Just knead it six or seven times.

After that cut it in half down the middle and flatten it out and then roll it into a tie-dye pattern or marble or whatever you want to do.