I am always on the hunt for food blogs, and when I found Krissy’s Creations, I knew I had found a great one! Krissy’s recipes are always enticing and her photos serve her baked goods justice. Check out her blog for an assortment of yummy treats! Thanks, Krissy, for the interview! – Lauren
Krissy’s blog, Dainty Chef, is one of the wonderful food blogs that I follow. I am constantly in awe of the crisp photographs and seriously delicious recipes. Krissy makes each post personal and I always feel like I am learning something new from her blog! Thank you, Krissy, for taking the time to answer my questions! – Lauren
Who are your favorite chefs/bakers?
My favorite chefs/bakers would have to be my mother and my grandmother. I have learned so much from both of them growing up in the kitchen with them. They are a true inspiration to me and have kept us well-fed for many years. They pull off dinner parties with such ease & grace that I hope I am able to do the same one day!
What is your favorite meal or dessert you’ve ever made?
This is a tough question because I have made some really delicious things. I think the dessert that knocked my socks off was Tres Leches cake. I served it at a dinner party to some of my college friends and we were all blown away by it. It is currently my choice every year for my birthday cake.
If you could have a guest of honor (from any time in history) over for dinner, who would it be and what would you serve?
I would pick my Grandpa. He died the Monday after my husband & I were married. It was something that we knew was coming, but never did I think he wouldn’t be at my wedding to see me walk down the aisle. He loved my Grandmother and her cooking so much that it would have been an honor to cook or bake for him. Since it wasn’t until I was married that I developed a passion for baking & cooking, he never got to sample anything I ever made. I would serve him one of his favorite meals, Lemon BBQ Meatloaves. For dessert, I would make him a Chocolate Pound Cake for dessert, knowing that he loved that cake so much.
Best baking/cooking tip?
My favorite cooking tip would be to shred your chicken with your KitchenAid mixer. It is a huge time saver! If you place warm chicken into the bowl of your mixer, turn on the speed to medium, and wait a few minutes, you will have perfectly shredded restaurant style chicken.
What is the best piece of advice you would give a baking/cooking enthusiast?
This may be the teacher in me, but knowing that everyone makes mistakes in the kitchen. I have had some pretty bad failures in the kitchen, but knowing that tomorrow is a brand new day to start over is always a good feeling. Another thing I would say is enjoy and challenge yourself in the kitchen. I always have some good tunes on and make sure that I don’t stress. Cooking & baking is supposed to be fun!
What is your favorite movie snack and why?
I love Cinnamon-Sugar popcorn. I just make popcorn in the microwave, pour a little bit of melted butter over it, then sprinkle some cinnamon sugar on top. My mom used to make it for me all the time growing up. Being one of four kids, it was nice to know that she made that special snack just for me.
What is your favorite movie and why?
The Sound of Music or Singin’ in the Rain, I am a total nerd when it comes to musicals. There is just something so magical about both of those stories, I never get sick of watching them.
What would your last bite on earth be?
Chocolate chip cookie dough
{photos courtesy of Dainty Chef}
When I came across Jane’s blog, Buttered Up: Musings From the Belly, I knew right away that I wanted to interview her and pick her brain about baking. Buttered Up not only features stunning photographs, but Jane’s writing is relatable and the dishes she cooks and bakes up make me want to reach through the screen and eat it up! Thank you, Jane, for your thoughtful responses and for the wonderful opportunity to interview you!
Who
Jane Lee from Buttered Up
Who are your favorite chefs/bakers?
The first person who comes to my mind is Chef Lynn Crawford. Not only is she hilarious and egregious on her show Pitchin’ In, she exudes major creativity in her food, her desserts are especially beautiful, I still remember the taste of her chocolate toffee dessert from her restaurant, Ruby Watchco.
The restaurant features a different menu every night based on whatever is fresh and seasonal. The best part is you share each course with your fellow diners, scooping food from a big platter. It’s a cozy and intimate place, the service is great, I’ve even worked up the nerve to say hi and compliment to Chef Lynn too!
What is your favorite meal or dessert you’ve ever made?
I have too many favorites, but recently, I made a rosemary olive oil cake from Heidi Swanson’s blog. It was extraordinary. I never imagined the combination of herbs, olive oil and chocolate would go so well. Not only that, but it’s a beauty to bake.
If you could have a guest of honor (from any time in history) over for dinner, who would it be and what would you serve?
I’d invite Alice Waters, the owner of Chez Panisse. I love how she pioneered schools to incorporate food from the community garden with the school curriculum. She strongly advocated for good school nutrition and transformed an unused lot into a community garden, that is something I admire.
I’d be too nervous to serve dinner for such a lovely lady as Alice Waters, but I’d keep it simple. I’d start with a fennel and grapefruit salad, then move on to roast chicken with new potatoes roasted with thyme and rosemary and finish with a lemon tart. Do you think she will approve?
Best baking/cooking tip?
I like using substitutes if there are certain baking ingredients that I don’t always use in my kitchen. For example, I won’t go out of my way to buy buttermilk, I prefer making it at home: mix 1 cup of milk with 1 tablespoon of white vinegar and let it sit for a few minutes before using—works like a charm!
What is the best piece of advice you would give a baking/cooking enthusiast?
Always read through the recipe you’ll be tackling at least once. It helps to know how ingredients should be prepared and how to organize your kitchen so that the baking/cooking process will run smoothly. So many times I’ve made the mistake of skimming through the recipe before realizing that a cookie dough needs to be chilled a few hours before baking, it makes the wait for fresh cookies stretch even longer!
What is your favorite movie snack /meal and why?
I sometimes smuggle a piece of cake or a few cookies I baked during the week and bring it to the movies. Last time I brought something to the movie, it was a slice of that heavenly rosemary olive oil cake and ate it as I watched Mark Wahlberg beat up bad guys in Contraband. Highly recommended (the movie and the cake).
What is your favorite movie and why?
Again, way too many favorite movies for me. I’ve seen Closer a few times, the actors are amazing and I love tragic movies. It’s interesting to watch the dynamics of human relationships stretch to their limits and see how people react, it’s something to learn from and how we can apply it to our own lives.
What would your last bite on earth be?
Can I have two bites? I’d want a big bite of a homemade chocolate chip cookie and Berthillon ice cream, raspberry please.
{photos courtesy of Jane Lee}
Who:
Regina Braun, specialty cake baker
What was the hardest cake you’ve ever had to make?
I would say that was probably the first three-tiered wedding cake I did. Looking back, there wasn’t really anything too complicated or difficult about the design, but the emotional stress probably did me in. So much so, that the even basic things like smoothing the icing and stacking the tiers to sit level did not seem to work. It was horrible at the time, I really did not sleep well, but now I can look back laughingly.
How long does a typical cake take to create from start to finish?
There isn’t really anything ‘typical’ when you are in the business of doing custom cakes. Some simpler birthday cakes can be baked, decorated and the kitchen cleaned in as little as 4 hours. But then there are bigger wedding cakes with all sugar flowers that will take several days and if all working hours are counted together it could be 24 actually.
Where do you draw inspiration for your designs?
There is inspiration all around us. It could be a pattern on the blouse the lady sitting in front of you in church is wearing or some design element of a wedding invitation. Oftentimes customers will send me pictures of cakes they found on the internet, and I myself use the Google image search frequently as well. You can enter almost anything together with the word “cake” and sure enough, someone once created a cake with that theme. You should try it http://www.google.com/imghp?hl=en&tab=wi 😉
Best baking tip?
Make sure your ingredients are at room temperature; especially milk, butter, and eggs. It makes the world of a difference and suddenly it will be easy to have an evenly baked, fluffy and at the same time moist cake.
What is the best piece of advice you would give a baking enthusiast?
Keep on trying different recipes and don’t shy away from new things. For me baking combines art and science. With time you will become better and better at preparing esthetically pleasing creations, and you will also learn to understand the chemistry behind baking. But never forget to enjoy the whole process. From carefully measuring and combining ingredients, to seeing it rise in the oven until this amazing aroma fills your kitchen that tells you it is almost done. Then the grand finale when you get to sit down and spoil your taste buds enjoying the scrumptious results of your efforts.
What is your favorite movie snack and why?
I would have to say popcorn! I grew up in Germany, where popcorn actually is sweetened with icing sugar or caramel. But now I enjoy the buttery kind and even dill pickle flavor. It is quick and easy to prepare and I love how the popcorn aroma fills the house when you are getting ready to enjoy a movie.
What is your favorite movie and why?
I watch movies in phases; there was a Bollywood phase, and a Romantic-Comedy phase. Right now I am in a James Bond phase and try to watch them all. Of the ones I have seen I would say Casino Royale (2006) is my favorite. I usually enjoy movies with a healthy balance of action, romance and humor.
{Photos by Specialty Cake Creations}
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Thank you for the interview, Regina! Your cakes are stunning!
A Dash of Cinema 