'Tis the Season to Start Your Ovens and Bake
Whether you're an avid baker or more inclined to buy store-bought desserts, the holidays are likely to bring out your inner pastry chef. As soon as the crimson colors of fall appear, it's nearly impossible to resist pulling out favorite family recipes, and referencing cookbooks and Web sites for inspiration to bake pies, cobblers, cakes, cookies and other delectable sweets.
To fully enjoy baking and entertaining guests this season, take a moment to review your equipment and upgrade with useful accoutrements that will help you bake and serve with ease, confidence and style.
Begin with the Basics
Now is a good time to assess the condition and quality of your cookie sheets and cake pans. If they're warped and flimsy, invest in a few high-quality pieces. The convenient 5-piece set from Anolon SureGrip Bakeware includes a 10x15-inch cookie pan, 9x13-inch rectangular cake pan, two 9-inch round cake pans, and a nonstick cooling rack. This heavy-duty collection is made of durable carbon steel. It features a long-lasting nonstick surface to prevent sticking and make clean up a breeze, as well as signature SureGripTM silicone enhanced handles for safe, slip-free lifting out of the oven.
Add Mixing Bowls
Battering up can be so much more fun when you have an assortment of beautifully designed mixing bowls in various sizes. Many cooks and bakers like to collect bowls and display their seasonal favorites on kitchen shelves and countertops. New this season is a two-piece stoneware mixing bowl set from the Paula Deen Signature Kitchenware Collection. The 2-quart and 3-quart dishwasher, oven and microwave-safe bowls are crafted with a unique swirl pattern and feature an earthy, dramatic green glaze that's rich and glossy.
Layer on Specialty Bakeware and Cookware
Besides baking for the dessert table, you may want to treat overnight guests and family to a delectable holiday brunch. Seasonal fruit and nut breads and piping hot sweet and savory muffins are easy to bake and a great way to celebrate the start of a holiday weekend. Circulon's high quality nonstick loaf pan and muffin tin will ensure your baked goods pop out fast and easily.
Planning to make pumpkin or sweet potato pie? Baking pros recommend using fresh ingredients for the best flavor, but it can be a chore to boil pumpkin and potatoes. Circulon offers an innovatively designed stockpot that makes boiling fruits and vegetables a lot easier and more convenient. The Infinite Circulon 7-quart Locking Straining Stockpot is just the right size for the holiday kitchen, and comes with a tight-locking straining lid that securely stays in place to easily drain hot liquids directly from the pot to the sink, eliminating the need for a colander.
Creme brulee, one of America's favorite desserts and always a crowd-pleaser, can be made seasonal with recipe versions that feature pumpkin and spices such as cinnamon and nutmeg. BonJour's all-in-one Bain Marie Set includes everything needed to bake restaurant-quality creme brulee at home, as well as other sweet and savory custards. The set comes with a Professional Culinary Torch with fuel level indicator to quickly and safely caramelize sugar toppings, four individual-portion square ramekins, a square nonstick baking pan with silicone grips to hold the water for the water bath, and a chrome rack to safely lift the ramekins out of their water bath when the baking is done. The set also includes a recipe booklet.
A Baker's Power Tools
Pastry brushes and a few good knives are among the most useful and versatile tools in a baker's arsenal. The convenient two-piece pastry brush set in the Rachael Ray Collection can be used to glaze pies with an egg wash, finish sweet breads with a glossy topping of fruit preserves, paint delicate pastry dough with melted butter and otherwise give home baked goods the look and taste of professional bakery treats. Made with nylon handles and durable, easy-to-clean silicone bristles, the two-piece set includes both round- and rectangular-head brushes.
When it's time to serve freshly baked bread, dessert bars, iced cakes or gooey pies, a serrated knife will make the cut clean and easy. Anolon Advanced offers an extra-sharp, generously sized 9-inch bread knife to neatly and evenly slice all baked goods. The serrated blade smoothly cuts through even the most crusty bread exteriors without crushing the soft interior.
Presentation Takes the Cake
The old adage that we eat with our eyes is especially true of desserts. Part of the joy of sweet treats is their visual appeal. Choose beautifully designed and convenient oven-to-table stoneware pieces to bake and serve with panache. The new Rachael Ray Bubble 'n Brown Oval Bakers are made of nonporous stoneware that is oven-safe to 500 degrees. Designed with extra wide handles, the 1-quart, 1.5-quart and 3-quart oval bakers are perfect for serving apple crisp and pear cobbler hot from the oven. The oven-to-table Paula Deen 9-inch Stoneware Pie Baker makes another beautiful addition to the holiday table. Ideal for baking and serving pecan pie, cranberry apple pie and other seasonal favorites, the new pie baker has the look and feel of hand-thrown pottery with a green glazed exterior enhanced with a unique swirl pattern.
Complementary Beverage Service
Complete the holiday experience by pairing desserts with the prefect warm beverage.
Today's wide assortment of well-designed French Press coffee makers and infusion-style glass teapots bring the art and science of brewing coffee and tea to the table.
For rich, smooth-tasting coffee, the Maximus French Press from BonJour offers a classic bistro-style carafe design in Candy Apple Red that's perfect for holiday entertaining. The press's signature Flavor Lock system shuts down brewing with a simple twist of the lid knob to keep coffee at its optimum flavor. Additionally, a patented filtering lid helps eliminate sediments from being poured into cups for the smoothest coffee.
For tea lovers, invite your guests to watch delicate tea leaves unfurl and brew inside BonJour's Swirl Oval Teapot. The new hand-blown glass infusion-style teapot with removable, translucent glass tea infusing basket, comes complete with sugar and creamer in a matching swirl pattern glass design.
Delight guests with a third beverage option that's sure to bring a smile to their face -- hot chocolate. Today, hot chocolate can be as sophisticated and gourmet in stature as a glass of fine wine. To make it easy and fun for everyone, BonJour offers its new Peppermint Swirl Hot Chocolate Pot. Rather than fuss with saucepans on the stove, pour milk inside the ceramic pot and heat in the microwave. Add the desired amount of chocolate, cover with splatter-proof lid and insert the battery-powered mixing unit to blend thoroughly. Within a few seconds, you're ready to serve lush, homemade hot chocolate, right from the sweetly designed, red and white peppermint swirl pot.
Take a look at these Web sites for more information on this comprehensive range of recommended equipment and tools for the holiday baker. For Anolon bakeware and cutlery: www.anolon.com; for Circulon cookware and bakeware: www.circulon.com; for the Paula Deen Signature Collection and Rachael Ray Collection, www.potsandpans.com; and for BonJour products, www.bonjourproducts.com.
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