A primer on baking with apples, from someone who should know (or at least knows whom to ask).

By Wendy Brannen

I know that Bed, Bath & Beyond is a great resource for purchasing household goods—and for 20% off, at that, with those ubiquitous coupons—but until recently I didn’t realize the big-box retailer has an excellent blog.

“Above & Beyond” blipped on my radar when a fun and friendly freelancer called to ask me about baking with apples for a consumer blog story. That’s also when I realized, “You know, I work for the U.S. Apple Association. I really should know more about baking with apples!” Thus, I tried to go “above and beyond” to find out a little more from a handful of subject-matter experts.

Jane Bonacci is a dear friend and food blogger from San Francisco who has a tsunami-sized love of food—and creating good food recipes. I love her advice for a simple-but-saucy baked apple. (No crisps or crumbles needed here, folks!) Says Jane, “If you want to make baked apples, leave them whole, peel them about halfway down from the top, leaving the bottom half with peel on for structure. Remove the core and fill the hole with hard sauce—Oh, my!”

For a seventh year, Kendall College will sponsor the CAFÉ/Kendall College Green Award, the industry’s premiere program lauding successes of culinary-arts and hospitality-management programs that practice and train students in ecological responsibility.

Kendall College proudly announces it has renewed its partnership with CAFÉ for 2015 and a seventh consecutive year.

Through its partnership, Kendall College will continue to sponsor the annual CAFÉ/Kendall College Green Awards—the first national awards to recognize secondary and postsecondary culinary-arts, baking/pastry and hospitality-management programs for their commitment to sustainability and teaching its tenets. The objective of the awards is to build the body of sustainability resources in foodservice and hospitality education. Selection criteria are based on the integration of sustainability into educational programs and/or operations.

The annual menu-trends survey of chefs conducted by the National Restaurant Association discovered that culinary cocktails, doughnuts and brown rice are gaining in popularity among customers, while kale salads, housemade sodas and hybrid desserts are cooling down. 

Local sourcing, environmental sustainability and healthful kids’ meals keep gaining steam as the top trends on restaurant menus in 2015, according to the National Restaurant Association’s (NRA) annual What’s Hot culinary forecast.

The NRA surveyed nearly 1,300 professional chefs—members of the American Culinary Federation (ACF)—to find which foods, cuisines, beverages and culinary themes will be hot trends on restaurant menus next year.

“As consumers today increasingly incorporate restaurants into their daily lives, they want to be able to follow their personal preferences and philosophies no matter where or how they choose to dine,” said Hudson Riehle, senior vice president of research for the NRA. “So, it’s only natural that culinary themes like local sourcing, sustainability and nutrition top our list of menu trends for 2015. Those concepts are wider lifestyle choices for many Americans in other aspects of their lives that also translate into the food space.”  

15^th-annual report highlights top tastes driving the future of flavor and menu innovation.

Sparks, Md.-based McCormick & Company releases its McCormick® Flavor Forecast® 2015, highlighting eight enticing trends that will shape the future of flavor. Now in its 15^th year, the much-anticipated report drives flavor innovation and exploration throughout the food industry and in professional kitchens everywhere.

Reflecting the rapidly increasing demand for bolder, more intense flavor experiences, the McCormick Flavor Forecast 2015 pinpoints adventurous global tastes on the rise. The report also showcases new ways to elevate pantry essentials to starring roles.

AI Pittsburgh instructor Culp helped Culinary Team USA place third overall in Luxembourg, while U.S. chef-educators in individual competition represented their nation well.

Shawn Culp, CEC, department chair of culinary arts, baking/pastry and HRM at The Art Institute of Pittsburgh, Bridgeville, Pa., was part of the outstanding performance of ACF Culinary Team USA at the 12^th-annual Villeroy & Boch Culinary World Cup 2014 in Luxembourg, Nov. 22-26. Garnering two gold medals and the highest score in the cold-food competition, the ACF team representing the United States placed third overall in one of the largest international culinary competitions in the world.

Culp (pictured) and five other chefs comprising ACF Culinary Team USA competed in the hot-food kitchen Nov. 22, where they prepared a three-course dinner for 110 people in six hours. On Nov. 25, the team competed in the cold-food portion of the competition, where they presented finger foods, a cold buffet platter, starters, a three-course vegetarian menu and a pastry-arts menu and showpiece.