August 29, 2006

Baking with her majesty

I didn't waste any time sending an email to Lori of Dessert Comes First (DCF) when I saw her post inviting her readers to a baking demo. I reserved two slots for Joey and myself and made sure I had nothing planned for the afternoon of Aug. 26. I had already missed her tea party, I wasn't going to miss this one.

I was so excited. Not only because Lori was kind enough to show us how to make three of her favorite and most popular desserts: Cheesecake, Buttermilk Scones and Coconut Creme Brulee, but because the host was Lori herself! A celebrity in her own right, Lori is the authority on all things sweet or yummy and is, as Carlos affectionately calls her, the "dessert queen". Hmm, Lori...queen of the dessert. Has a nice ring to it. :)

Lori, deftly working her torch on the creme brulee

The Julius Maggi Kitchen of the Nestle Center in Rockwell, was already abuzz with fellow sugar enthusiasts and DCF groupies. The kitchen studio was impressive, just like those you see on the Food Network. We were thoughtfully provided with sheets of the coveted recipes, which made it very easy for us to follow as the show went on. Mine were filled with scribblings, mostly notes on the science of baking as taught by Lori. Very useful tidbits of information.

There was also a contest for the audience, questions about DCF and the Nestle Food Club. Those who answered the questions correctly took home goodie bags filled with Nestle products. I tried to win one myself, but carelessly mistook the question "Who can name 2 home bakers featured on the blog" to mean "Who can name 2 home bakers featured in the top 10 best desserts in Manila". That's what happens when your mind is consumed with thoughts of all the dessert you knew you were going to be stuffing yourself with in a few minutes! :)

Lori was a natural both in the kitchen, and in front of a crowd. She not only impressed us with her baking skills (she handled that creme brulee torch like a pro!), and enlightened us with kitchen wisdom, but she also charmed the room with her wit and grace. She was obviously in her element.

The demo could have ended right then and we would have left happy and satisfied. But Lori had kicked it up a notch by inviting her readers to bring their own homemade desserts so we could have a mini tea party after the session. Well, there was nothing mini about it! There was everything from cupcakes and cookies to pies and cakes to crumbles and homemade ice cream. Oh the sheer sinfulness of it all. I gained 10 lbs just by looking at all of it displayed on the counters. (I took the lazy route and brought the Brown Derby of Polly Garilao).

Everything was excellent, and I'm grateful to all those who brought desserts. Tasting each one was like a sweet peek into the warmth and comfort of the baker's home.

Being the sucker that I am for all things crumbly, sweet and cinnamon-y, my knees buckled when I took a bite of the Apple Crisp. I had to steady myself on the counter as I weakly called out for Joey, urging her to try it too. I had to find who made this little piece of heaven. I asked around and when I met her I had to restrain myself from literally pouncing on her, a very sweet lady named Glo.

She said the recipe came from an aunt and I took a chance and asked if I could have the recipe, knowing I would totally understand and respect her wishes if she preferred not to share this well-guarded secret. She caught me off guard when she answered me with "sure!" and started to rattle away the ingredients. I was like "oh wait, wait" and took out a pen and notebook from my purse. She even offered to write it all down for me and! I was overjoyed and I couldn't praise and thank her enough. :) You can expect me to be making this very soon and posting the recipe. This is so good, it needs to be shared.

All in all, it was a most pleasurable and delightful afternoon. We learned baking techniques, made new friends, and sampled lots of homemade desserts. Thank you to Nestle Phils., Inc. for sponsoring the event, and warm congratulations to Lori who was responsible for its success!

12 comments:

SeƱor Enrique said...

I would have loved to have attended this demo and tea party :)

Next time!


Eric

christine said...

Hi Eric! Because of it's success, I'm pretty certain it won't be the last. I hope there are more to come, and maybe then you can join us. :)

Anonymous said...

I love baking/cooking demos...always something new to learn and eat!

Regarding your comment on the cheese, raclette party...ooooh yeah!

Anonymous said...

Just found your site through Joey of 80 breakfast. I enjoyed reading your blog for about an hour and will certainly be dropping by regularly. Keep up the good works! By the way, may be you can try your new apple crisp recipe and share it with us all? Thanks!

christine said...

Hi Rowena! This was my first live baking demo and I learned a lot. But I didn't expect to have as much fun as I did. Now I'm on the lookout for others I can join, until Lori hosts another. :)

Hi Elna, thanks for dropping by! I'm happy to hear you're enjoying my blog, thank you for the nice words. It's your lucky day! I am actually making the apple crisp tonight with my sister and my nieces. I'll have the recipe and hopefully some decent pictures up by then. :)

briliantdonkey said...

wow that looks and sounds like it had to be a great time. BTW, Im telling M you stole his line. "kickin it up a notch".....one of us is going to get royalties from you one of these days.

BD

christine said...

Well, if you don't tell me who M is, how am I supposed to defend myself? :)

briliantdonkey said...

"m" as in EMERIL,,,,,,,I call him M cause we are tight like that. Well we were, till he figured out I don't even know how to plug in a crock pot.

BD

christine said...

I knew it was Emeril! But "M" threw me off. Do you know first time I heard about him was from you four years ago? When you told me about his Essence. (ok that didn't sound good). I made some of it and used it on lotsa dishes. When I start shouting "Bam! bam!" as I season my food, THEN he can charge my royalties. :)

christine said...

*me* not my

Lori said...

Hi Nena, I just saw this now. How sweet you are. I'm glad you had a good time. I've saved that "on fire" photo you took of me.

christine said...

I did, Lori! And maybe someday I'll be brave enough to try making those scones and pot de cremes, they were so good! The cheesecake was heavenly as well! I did attempt your recipe a few months ago, but the pictures I took were not post-worthy. I'll have to do it again soon. :)