Back to Baking!

If anyone out there has been reading my blog, I know, I've been slacking. So with that, what better way to stage a mini-comeback than with a delicious new treat! During my short disappearance, I had the great pleasure of hearing from the folks at Sun Valley Dairy, makers of Voskos Greek Yogurt.

As I may have mentioned before, I'm interested in making some healthier choices for the restaurant menu, even for some of the baked goods. As healthy as I will be, however, I won't skimp on quality and freshness. Voskos greek yogurt is just that. I hope to serve Voskos regularly on the menu, particularly for breakfast. In the meantime, I like to substitute greek yogurt in pastry recipes that call for sour cream or buttermilk. Its just, well, healthier! Besides, there is enough other stuff :)

Here is the delicious recipe I put together today. Before you try it, remember to buy the Voskos greek yogurts!

Currant Almond Cupcakes with a Cointreau Glaze    
1.25 cups  unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup canola oil
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp fresh orange zest1/2 cup Voskos greek yogurt (non-fat plain is the best for this recipe)
1/2 cup dried currants
1/4 cup sliced almonds

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking tin with paper liners; I used the minis here, but you can choose larger cakes, if desired.

Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a medium bowl and set aside. In a large bowl, beat the eggs and sugar until light and fluffy (about 1 minute or so). Mix in the oil, orange zest, and vanilla until blended. Mix in the yogurt until combined. Blend the flour mixture until completely incorporated and the batter is smooth. Add the currants and almonds.

Add about 2 tablespoons of the batter to each lined mini-cup. The batter should come to about 1/8 of an inch from the top for the cakes to fluff up. Bake for about 13-16 minutes (depending on your oven!)

For the glaze: 1.5 cups Voskos greek yogurt (non-fat plain is best, but you can use vanilla), one shot of Cointreau, one cup confectioners sugar

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix with a hand mixer on high until the mixture thickens slightly. The glaze will still be thin, but creamy.

Remove the paper liners before serving and coat the cakes with the glaze. Garnish with any leftover orange zest.

Rue La La and Zagat Team Up for 48 Hour Once-in-a-Lifetime Event!

Are you a member of Rue La La? This site is so cool! Rue La La is an exclusive, invitation-only online shopping destination where members are invited to discover premier-brand, timed private sale lifestyle (fashion, travel and home) boutiques at incredible value.

They usually feature clothing, accessories, home wares, and an occassional resort spot or restaurant. But this time, Rue La La is teaming up with the source for quality dining, travel and leisure activities, Zagat!

Rue La La and Zagat have teamed up for their first-ever private online sale, offering “once in a lifetime” meals at five famed New York City restaurants! Members can purchase unique packages with customized menus at 21 Club, Aureole, Bouley, Bar Boulud and Butter. Definitely click on these links; the menus look absolutely delicious and amazing!

Here is the kicker: these experiences also come with a complimentary one-year membership to Zagat.com! Membership includes online tools to search, sort, and browse restaurants by reliable Zagat Ratings, Zagat Reviews derived from millions of surveyors and compiled by Zagat editors, make informed dining decisions when you are on-the-go by visiting ZAGAT.mobi from your web-enabled phone, and enjoy savings of up to 25% on Zagat gifts and guides purchased in our online store.

The boutique at Rue La La launches at 11 AM on Friday, May 21 and runs for only 48 hours. Rue La La is invite-only, but readers can click this link to sign up: Ruelala.com/zagat.

Have fun and enjoy!  Questions? Email me!
contact-at-38milesfrommanhattan.com

Business Plan - Company Description

This element of the business plan is the best place to begin. This is where you can really put on paper your vision, dreams, and goals and lay the ground work for the rest of the plan. This is where you start getting excited...where I start getting excited :) So what do you write?

You are starting your own business, so you must have some creativity. Tap into this a write a story. The very first words a potential investor reads in your business plan should grab their attention. The key, is making them want to read more, and ultimately, your entire plan. This section should be about two, or so, paragraphs. Short and sweet. Here is what I have prepared:

Local area residents have seen it before. It’s the place they met with friends, brought their kids to enjoy a special treat, or for local middle and high schoolers to hang out after school. Calming, green walls were adorned with elaborate golden frames holding the hand-painted images of fruit on a tree, or simply as transcribed from still life. The deli case is filled with delectable desserts, irresistible to customers young and old, choosing from the fluffy carrot cake with orange cream cheese icing or the oversized cupcakes topped with chocolate ganache. On a steamy summer day, one couldn’t pass up the refreshing Lemon Freeze Smoothie, blended with rainbow sherbet and homemade lemonade, and a splash of strawberry syrup. The menu favorite, Tomato & Mozzarella Paninni, satisfied the taste buds of hundreds. Each dish was accompanied by a glass of freshly brewed iced tea and completed with a creamy, hand-steamed cappuccino. Whatever the joy, customers will find it at the The Café.

After the initial decription, the following components are included in a little more detail:

• Overview - Pretty much what the description above is but not so creative. More like a paragraph or two of descriptive info about your place. This is where you describe the type of place you are opening, type of food and beverage and any other details that will make your place unique.
• Operating hours and staffing - How many days will you be open and for how many hours? You may want to talk about how many managers you want to have, staff memebers, and anyone else you'll likely add to payroll.
• Menu Items - Run wild here. Develop your menu as much as possible, from beverages to full meals and sides to desserts. Once you have this established, it will help you with the rest of the plan on multiple levels, such as food costing and relating to your target market.

I won't give away the whole plan just yet. But stay tuned for the next section (my fav.) the marketing plan!

More than 38 Miles from Manhattan...

It's official! As of June 17th, for two weeks, I will be in... France! The first 9-10 days I will be in Toulon and Nice (the south) and the last 4 days I'll be in the beautiful, glamourous, delectable city of Paris. It will be an amazing trip.

I do have family in the south, hence my traveling there. However, I'll be blogging daily about the wonderful excursions and delicious food, among other things. I will especially be making notes about any possible restaurant ideas, menu items, and pastries I find. We do have a couple day trips planned to the Bandol Winery and Venti Mille (the France/Italy border). Looking forward to comments and a great trip!

More details to come as we approach take-off....  T-minus 35 days!

Tool Trial - Wilton Silicone 24-mini Brownie Pan

In addition to posting about the business and how things are going, I'll be doing some product trials along the way. My first is with a Wilton Bite-Size Brownie Squares 24-Cavity Silicone Mold. I tried Martha Stewart's butterscotch blondie recipe, which I think I'll need to tweak. But they came out great!

I really liked how easy it was for the blondies to come out of the tray. The size of each piece was pretty good for serving and catering events too. For $9.99, its definitely worth it. Clean up is not great, unless you have a dishwasher. And definitely get Pam or similar cooking spray; the old fashioned butter shmear is not really optimal. I got mine at Michael's, but the link above can bring you to Wilton's website to buy it directly.

I have to say, I didn't really like the blondie recipe. There was way too much salt and the pastry was a little dense, especially since I baked them individually and much smaller than the recipe calls for. I think I would modify with a less salt (about 1/4 teaspoon instead of 3/4); the butterscotch chips and Heath bar bits are already a little salty. I would add a little milk, too, to fluff up the pastry. They were still good, though! 

Next Step: Components of the Business Plan

Let's get back on track here. Ultimately, this blog will feature my steps along the way of opening a restaurant. Will it be called 38 Miles from Manhattan? I'm not sure. I think that will have to come later. In the meantime, I've been researching and pulling together a business plan to entice some potential investors. I've looked at a few business start up books, and have been perusing the web for the massive amount of information it holds, and came to the conclusion that this document should consist of about 8 simple sections. Here is a good place to start:

1. Executive summary - In a nutshell: what's it all about, Austin? Just about every book and resource I have seen has suggested to do this at the end. I agree. How can you summarize something you haven't written yet?
2. Market analysis - Jargon for "what's going on in the area?" What kinds of people live in town; what is their income, marital status, etc? Drive or walk around town a bit. Who looks like they could be a possible competitor? 
3. Company description - Do I really need to explain this one? 
4. Organization & management - How on Earth will I run this restaurant? Are there managers? If so, how many do we hire and what will they be in charge of? If partners are involved in the company, who does what, when, etc? Take a hint from Apple and can the org. chart. 
5. Marketing Plan - How do we let people know about our amazing place? (and ways to measure how they found out about it.) This actually could include your options for menu design, building your website, social media, and other things, not just ads. 
6. Service/ Product line - The menu, catering options, and anything else we'll add that will be physically sold. We probably don't need to talk about how we will be serving the product; I think that is a given...
7. Funding request - The key and shining moment that your investor will likely skip all your hard work from the previous sections to jump to first. I think I'll soften the blow with some chocolate chip cookies...
8. Financials - The top three spreadsheets: Breakeven analysis, Income statement, and Cash Flow. Ok, I will likely be struggling with this one, but I think I've found a couple books that will help. And I do know a couple accountants that might be able to do a quick once over for me. Again, chocolate chip cookies will come in handy here.

I'll go through each one of these elements over the next couple of weeks, so if something didn't make sense, don't worry. I'll add some resources too. And comments, counterpoints, ideas, and suggestions are welcome. Thanks for joining me on this adventure!

Ace of Cakes Celebrity Chef Makes Appearance at Boston Pops Anniversary Opening Gala

Celebrity chef Duff Goldman (Food Network’s “Ace of Cakes”), made a surprise appearance on Opening Night of the Boston Pops 125th season, Tuesday night, May 4, to unveil a cake baked in honor of the Pops 125th Birthday, and conduct “The Stars and Stripes Forever” to end the concert.

Would you look at that cake! Amazing! I can only dream of such artistry. In the meantime, I think I'll stick to the basics. Thanks to the Boston Symphony Orchestra for sending this along and the  following info.  

A little on the event:
The three-part program honored the distinctive legacies of its most famous conductors – Keith Lockhart, John Williams, and Arthur Fiedler. The concert, which features guest soloists Broadway sensation Idina Menzel (Wicked, Rent), legendary trumpeter Doc Severinsen (“The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson”), and pianist Michael Chertock, an artist who’s work Keith Lockhart has championed throughout his 15-year tenure with the Pops, celebrates the orchestra’s rich tradition of performing an innovative blend of great music, from beloved classics to cutting-edge contemporary favorites.

And a little on the Boston Pops:
Celebrating its 125th anniversary this spring, May 4-June 19, the Boston Pops Orchestra has distinguished itself as the founder of and leader in its genre, presenting the best of a wide variety of music from jazz to pop, indie rock to big band, film music to the great American songbook, and Broadway to classical. Affectionately know as "America's Orchestra," the Boston Pops is the most recorded and arguably the most beloved orchestra in the country, beginning with the establishment of the modern-era Pops by Arthur Fiedler and continuing through the innovations introduced by John Williams and the new-millennium Pops spearheaded by Keith Lockhart. For tickets, schedules, and events visit http://www.bso.org/

(photo by Michael J. Lutch)

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What's in an Idea?

Anything and everything we do stems from an idea. Usually it is based on something we love or at least somethig we do well. My passion is food. I love the smell of fresh cilantro, the texture of a well cooked filet of salmon, and simply putting a bunch of random things in a bowl and creating something sweet and delicious. You may like to compute food costs and stare a spreadsheets all day..... well, nobody is perfect.

The point here is that everything stems from an idea. The trick is, if you open your own restaurant, your idea needs to be profitable, not just good. It's not what your idea is about but rather what you do with it or how it is executed that will make you successful in the long run.

My idea is this: over this past weekend, I decided that my stengths lie in serving breakfast, lunch, and select bakery items. So I'll work toward planning some sort of cafe, maybe offering coffee and teas. The idea.

Now is when the beloved business plan comes into play. Or, ultimately, research. Lots and lots of research to make sure your idea is simply not just an idea. Here's an example. Let's say I start researching and planning out my cafe. I soon find out there are two delis, a Starbucks, a full service bakery, and a breakfast shop in the area. Great idea!! Open a cafe? What, am I crazy?!

Clearly, a nice idea, but it won't make much money. There is too much going on in the area that is too close to my possible concept. Here's the take home: what can you do to stand out? and always ask yourself  "so, what?" And it might be a good idea to take a trip to this place that every town has that stores lots of books. Its called a library, and it can be a wonderful friend.

Bakerella Cake Pops... with a twist

If you haven't heard about the amazing cake decorator behind Bakerella, you should. She really has a talent for food decorating, and had this wonderful idea to put cake, on a stick. After perusing her site, however, I noticed that the basic recipe consisted of using a box of cake mix combined with a jar of icing. I don't roll that way.

I make EVERYTHING from scratch. Sure, I'll use a can of crushed tomatoes for a Bolognese sauce or bouillon cube to make soup, but my baked goods are always from scratch. So... that said. I tried the cake pops for the first time this weekend. I think I added too much icing, but they came out great! I forsee many different cake and icing combinations with a different candy coating... Thing is, would you buy one for $.50? $1.00 ?? Maybe 3 for $1.00?? Feedback is always welcome...

Some creations...

I thought I would share a few of my own creations. Ultimately, I love to bake. I'll incorporate this into the new restaurant, offering everything from layer cakes, pies, cookies, cupcakes, and anything else I can get to come out of the oven tasting the way it's supposed to.

Oh, and the cupcake decorations in "Hello, Cupcake!" by Karen Tack and Alan Richardson, (Houghton Mifflin, $15.95) are easier to do than they look. Really! Check out our vegetable garden. Just coated a chocolate cupcake with simple vanilla frosting and chocolate graham cracker crumbs (although Oreos would have been better).

Some more pics of the garden: