Thanksgiving Side Dishes

Jayne

Wow! We are getting so close to Thanksgiving and I’m already starting to plan. This year I don’t have to cook the entire holiday meal because my daughter-in-law just called me and invited me over for Thanksgiving Dinner and I’m going to take her up on it. 

If you don’t know already I love to cook so I volunteered to bring a couple things and I just have to share what I am bringing because they are fabulous. The first recipe I decided to make something a littler lighter. It’s called Grapefruit & Pomegranate Salad. It has so many awesome flavors in it like avocado and feta cheese! It’s sure to be a favorite all year long as well as a great side dish for the Holidays! 

Then I’m going to bring something hot since it’s been so cold lately! So I have this awesome recipe for Cranberry Brussels Sprouts with Bacon. It’s a favorite for us because we are mad about Brussel sprouts in our family. Again, this is an extremely easy recipe and is ready in no time. The best part is the easy clean up and only needing one sheet pan to make it! 

These recipes will really delight your guests and make your Thanksgiving prep work so much easier. Enjoy and have a wonderful Thanksgiving meal!!!

Jayne, 
Coborn’s, Inc. Merchandising Specialist Team Manager – Bakery & Deli

How To Slice A Bone-In Ham

How To Slice A Bone-In Ham

Many families have a traditional ham every Easter as the centerpiece on their dinner table. The Easter ham is something almost everyone looks forward to on Easter Sunday. Maybe you’re a pro at carving the ham by now, or maybe it’s your first time. Either way, you’ll find some useful tips in this quick video on how to slice a bone-in ham!

If you’re looking for the perfect recipe for your Easter Ham, try this Citrus-Molasses Glazed Ham or this Spiced Orange Glaze. They will make sure your perfectly carved ham tastes as amazing as it looks! We have lots of great recipes to help you this Easter over at our Easter Headquarters page – check it out now!

Kevin Connor,
Merchandising Specialist Team Manager for Meat and Seafood

Continue reading

7 Tips for Making Healthy Choices while Eating Out

Happy March! I feel like yesterday I was putting up my Christmas decorations, and now it is already March…where has the time gone! Throughout the year we find that we face different nutritional and health challenges. Continue reading

How to Ice a Cake with Roll Fondant

How to Ice a Cake with Roll Fondant

www.cobornsblog.com The art of Cakes with Amanda

Amanda

Time to get fancy! Let’s talk fondant. Get out your rolling pin and nonstick mat and prepare those arm muscles for a little work out. I’ve included a little video to see the process but let’s also discuss the process from supplies to cake.

First thing you’ll need, a few special supplies. A cake, lightly iced. When you put the fondant on top it can get a bit too squishy and create a mess if your frosting is too thick. I’m going to be covering an 8” round, double layered, cake. I used 1 lb. of fondant to cover my cake but you could use a little more to give yourself a little wiggle room when covering. You should also have a fondant smoothing tool, a paddle like looking device, and a nonstick silpat mat for rolling on. Most important you need a rolling pin. I like a big heavy rolling pin for the job. You’ll also need to sprinkle powdered sugar, I like to use a shaker for this, but you could do it by hand too. I also like to use a pizza cutter for trimming my cake. It will roll smoothly around the cake. I don’t use a knife, those I keep far away from the silpat mat. Any knicks or cuts you leave behind when using a blade will show up forever after when you roll out fondant.

Ok, now to get rolling. If you want to color your fondant go ahead and do that first, then cover it up to keep it from getting crusty. Next I base ice my cake and then keep it close as I go back to start on the fondant again.

Knead your fondant, a lot. Keep kneading until it feels silky and smooth. Your hands should warm it up and make it pliable. The more you knead it the better your fondant covering experience will go. If your fondant feels dry and stiff, keep kneading. There should be a little stretch. Once it’s warmed up you can start rolling it out.

SuppliesDust your mat with powdered sugar and place your flattened ball of fondant in the center of the mat. I usually squish it out a little into the shape I want, a circle or a square. Dust the top a little with powdered sugar then start rolling. Keep rolling and rolling. Work the fondant into the shape you want. Rotate your pin, rotate the fondant. If it gets too oval or rectangular don’t be afraid to stretch back into the shape you want with your hands. Covering your cake will be easier if you can keep your fondant in a shape relatively similar to your cake. Keep checking the thickness. Give a little more muscle to the parts that are thicker. It can be tempting to use a thick a slab of fondant on your cake in the excitement of covering your cake, but be patient. A thick slab isn’t going to taste good and can squish your cake down creating slouching and puckering after an hour or so. Go thin. Shoot for about ¼” or less for a typical cake, but a little on the thicker side of that for a shaped cake to allow for stretching.

Now that you are at your desired thickness and size you are ready to cover. How big should it be? The height of your cake x 2, plus the width of the top. Then add a couple inches to allow for fidgeting and fussing.

You want to do the next steps in one, uninterrupted step. Don’t answer the phone, don’t stop for a snack. The fondant is already drying and getting a skin and if you walk away it will wrinkle and tear when you try to do anything with it, then you get to start all over.

Move your iced cake over next to your fondant slab. There are many way and tricks to picking up fondant. I don’t use them. I just pick it up like a pizzeria guy. Do it quick, yet gentle, and keep the fondant moving and you shouldn’t get any tears. If you stand around thinking with it draped over your fingers, yes, it will get deformed, but why are you just standing there? Place your fondant over the cake. There should be a little moisture left in the frosting to make it stick. If you think you are going to take more than 15 minutes to roll out your fondant covering your cake wouldn’t be a bad idea.

Lay your fondant across the top, let the sides drape down. Use your hand to smooth out the fondant from the middle to the outside. Then use your smoothing tool to briskly rub the surface. Apply pressure, just enough to work out any air bubbles. Try to work from the middle to the outside to move out any bubbles. Work quickly; your sides are starting to firm up.

Now for the tricky part, the sides. You need to start smoothing the fondant to the frosting. Work in small areas, going in a circle around your cake. You Using Fondant Icingdon’t need to stick it all at once. Imagine there are horizontal lines on your cake, about an 1 or so apart, just work from the top imaginary ring down to the next. By the time you get to the bottom half you’ll need to gently tug and stretch at the fondant to avoid the folds and pleats. Keep moving, keep working at it, and keep being patient. Smooth as you go to avoid air bubbles.

Once you have your cake covered you can trim the excess off from around the bottom with your pizza cutter. Now pick up your smoother again and start rubbing all over. At this point you are trying to polish the fondant up. Rub out any ripples, move any air bubbles down and out. If you have any stubborn bubbles you can poke a small hole with a thin pin and let the air out. This will leave a hole, but sometimes it’s worth the trade off on stubborn bubbles.

Congratulations! You did it! You have a smooth fondant cake. Have fun dressing it up from this point. You can paint it, stick fondant to it, and quilt it. And don’t forget the important part, you can eat it.

Amanda
Coborn’s Cake Decorator
Sartell, MN – Pine Cone Road

Click Here for more articles written by Amanda

www.cobornsblog.com - The Art of Cakes with Amanda

Vegetable Grilling Tips

Vegetable Grilling Tips

There’s nothing complicated about grilling vegetables – just choose your favorites, chop, and throw on the grill. Here are just a few helpful hints we’ve found that can make you look and feel like an old pro:

  • Start with clean grates and lightly coat the surface with oil using a cloth or grill spray prior to preheating the grill. The oil will seal the pores of the grate’s surface and minimize sticking. Tossing vegetables in a little oil is another no-stick trick.
  • Preheat the grill on medium-high heat. If you can hold your hand five inches above the grill for only three to four seconds, then the heat is just right.
  • Cut vegetables into equal-sized pieces to ensure vegetables will be finished cooking at the same time.
  • Turn the vegetables every three minutes or so for even cooking, and remove from grill before getting too soft. They’ll continue cooking after being removed from the grill.
  • For a flavor boost, marinate vegetables in equal parts olive oil and balsamic vinegar, minced garlic, fresh herbs such as basil, oregano, marjoram and/or rosemary, and salt and pepper.