Here is the first of many recipes and shows from my kitchen. Since most of the news department is broadcasting from their homes, I decided to do some shows from my kitchen. Here is a Pistachio Cake I created years ago. It is in my baking book The Complete Baking Cookbook and the recipe is below.
Magee's Nuts and Cashew Butter Cookies /
Food History is all around us. Today I made some Cashew Butter Cookies with Magee’s Nut Butter. Magee’s is located at the Orginal Farmers Market in Los Angeles and online. It was the first stand at the market that was not a produce stand. Magee’s has been around since 1912. Check out the YouTube video below on the story of the business. See which President Stopped past and what the Fab 4 had to say back in the 1960s. I guarantee that the cashews are the best in the world. Also, try the pistachio butters!
To get the “waffle” impression I use a cookie stamp from Nordic Ware. I have included the link below.
Cookie Stamps on Amazon: Nortic Ware Link
♥️Valentine's Desserts on CBS8 San Diego Monday 8am the 10th. ♥️ /
I just finished creating the recipes for this upcoming Monday’s Show on CBS8 San Diego. I will photograph the desserts and add to this post after the Monday Show. You all have seen “reveal” cakes where the center is packed with sprinkles that spill out on your cake plate.. These are cupcakes that do it in your mouth. I hope you enjoy all of the chocolate desserts! It is a time for love. Happy Valentines Day!
Behind the scenes on CBS8… Who knows what I am showing Heather.. But Jacob is catching everything!
Chocolate Strawberry Martini: Recipe
Fudge Heart Brownies.. Here is the recipe
Chocolate Surprise Cupcakes: Recipe
Chocolate Chambord Truffles : Recipe
Marbleized Strawberries: Recipe
Pecan Cake With Praline Glaze /
With this picture you will swear that you could lick the praline drips off of the side of this cake! Tube cakes are fun to make and with so many varieties of pans on the market… It is endless! Try this cake soon!
Here is the Recipe! Pecan Cake
Pucker Up! It is Lemon Time. 🍋🍸. /
I am so lucky to reside in Southern California. A few times a year I head out to the Citrus Groves in Riverside. It reminds me to much of my childhood when we would take Sunday afternoon drives to visit family friends that owned Sunkist Groves in Cucamonga in the 1970’s. This time of year the blossoms are not happening as the trees are packed with fruit. In about 6-8 weeks I will return just to take in the intoxicating aroma.
Gless Ranch Fresh Citrus Groves www.glessranch.com
The Gless Farm is on the same street as the California Citrus State Park, A Park dedicated to the industry in California www.parks.ca.gov. If you have the time the citrus park is well worth the visit. If you check the times of the ranger tours you get a bag of one each of what is in the garden that day. The gift shop has a great display of historical kitchen tools for citrus and also citrus related jams, cookies, books and soaps for sale.
I picked up 25 organic lemons, 12 “pink” Lemons and 7 large avocados for under $12.
Here are three lemon recipes for you to try. I have posted these before and made them on my morning segment, but I thought since I posted on Instagram about the lemons and so many wanted the recipes… Here they are again.. See you soon on CBS8. Valentine Segment!
The Makings of Limoncello. This is the first step.. If you follow the recipe from my former Italian tour guide, you will have winning results. Recipe for Limoncello
Using Limoncello and this puckery Lemon Cake. It is full of flavor! Recipe for Cake
Limoncello Martini.. This is better then a Lemon Drop Martini Try it and let me know what you think! Limoncello Martini
I hope you enjoy this little bit of sunshine from California!
Email for May 2021 France Information. ggeary@aol.com
CBS8 San Diego~ Christmas Appetizers 🌲🎅🏽 /
Monday’s Show and I will post the link to the live show later. If you want to watch the show on the internet go to www.cbs8.com at 8am and click the LIVE feed.
Here are the recipes!
Blue Cheese Pistachio Cheese Truffle Balls
Meatballs with Cranberry Chili Sauce
Monday December 23rd, 8am hour. CBS8 San Diego… My Christmas segment will be 5 fast easy appetizers that you can make ahead so you can get to the gifts!
Blue Cheese Pistachio Truffle Balls
Holiday Cheesecakes on SoCal Restaurant Show December 7th, 2019 /
Here are two of the recipes I mentioned on the show today. Remember to use a cheesecake pan instead of a springform.
Chocolate Peppermint Cheesecake
Chocolate Peppermint Cheesecake
Enjoy and check out The Cheesecake Bible 2nd Edition.
To Purchase: Amazon
Thanksgiving Tips,🦃 Tricks and Fixes... Monday November 25th 8am hour /
Recipes from Todays Show and Tips with Timelines for the week! Enjoy!
It’s kinda funny. I get asked… Are you cooking for Thanksgiving? Honestly, I think it has been 25 years since I cooked for the exact day of Thanksgiving. I teach pie baking for weeks prior, so many will enjoy the art of perfect pies. I jump on TV on morning shows from Thanksgiving Sides to How to fix your turkey. For 8 years, every Thanksgiving I was on a ship. A few years ago I got a call from Holland America on Wednesday before Thanksgiving with a panic. “ Are you in SoCal? Any chance you can jump on a ship tomorrow for 6 days out to the South Pacific .. We will fly you anywhere you need to go? So drove early Thanksgiving morning to the docks of San Diego and passed about 6 WalMarts with lines out the parking lot for those $100 TV Sets.. I sailed into in Tahiti almost a week later after teaching classes and lectures. Flew home from the island.. A few times I was in London for the holiday… Mom asked, where are you going to have Thanksgiving? Well Mom.. they don’t celebrate it.. Something about us leaving the Mother Ship…
Here are some of the recipes for tomorrow mornings show… Also, a timeline as to how to prepare for your week..
Menu:
Cornbread and Sausage Stuffing
Items every kitchen must have for holiday emergency
1. Vodka
2. Turkey Stock
3. Kahlua
4. Whipped Cream
Timeline:
ASAP: Set Table and Get all bowls/utensils out
Thaw Turkey (in COLD water), replace every 30 mins
Tuesday/Wednesday:
Make:
Soup
Potatoes
Cranberries
Pies
Stuffing
Thursday AM:
Make:
Turkey
Thursday Late Afternoon:
After Turkey is setting (30 mins). Place: Potatoes and Stuffing wrapped in foil into oven
at 375°F for 35 minutes.
Heather and I last years Turkey Makeover!
Apple Season! Fall is in the Air 🍏🍎🍏🍎 Oak Glen and Recipes /
Shocking for some, but Southern California has two large apple growing areas. One in Riverside County in the area of Oak Glen and the second in San Diego County in Alpine.
Last weekend I made my yearly fall pilgrimage to Oak Glen, CA. It has not changed since the first time I visited when I was in single digits. Oak Glen has about 2 dozen independent family apple farms which grown about 60 varieties of apples over the season. Oak Glen also has a number of restaurants and gift stores selling “everything apple”. The season tends to start around Labor Day and ends close to Thanksgiving with the annual Apple Butter Festival. I strongly suggest going on a weekday. If you must go on a weekend, get to the area about 10am and have lunch at 11:30am so you beat the crowds.
If you are traveling to the area, get off of Beaumont Rd, off the 10 freeway, travel north towards Oak Glen, it turns into Oak Glen and continue to drive into the hillside, you will pass all of the orchards, making the loop (about 15 miles) you end up at the 10 freeway.
Here are a few of my favorite orchards. All are family owned and if you go during the week, the owners are normally very happy to talk with you regarding apples. Some of the orchards have other items for sale, which I mention below. I suggest that you call (not email) the orchards in case you have a certain variety of apple or need. Keep in mind the apples are higher than at your local market, but you get to sample all of the apples and also keeping a local farm in business.
The Oak Glen Apple Growers:
You can take a look at all of the growers on this site
Snow-Line Orchards
39400 Oak Glen Rd
909-256-0405
Since 1898
Over 44 varieties of apples, Apple-cider Mill, Apple Spice Mini-Donuts, Apple butter.
3 flavors of cider, Original, Raspberry and cherry. Wines also.
Riley’s Farm
12281 Oak Glen Rd.
909-797-7534
Many varieties of apples, strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, pumpkins and sunflowers. A restaurant and bakery are onsite. Specializing in heirloom apples. Living History Tours are on the weekdays. They also have overnight accommodations. Closed on Sundays.
Mom’s Country Orchards
38695 Oak Glen Rd.
909-797-4249
Since 2002
When you drive in you can see the signs as to the varieties of apples they have on hand. Take a look at their antique equipment still in use. Besides the apples, the back room has dozens of flavors or butters, jams and jellies and the like. They have samples galore of everything. I know you will be leaving with a few jars of the jams and apples!
Of course, I purchased too many apples. Tonight, I made a Double Crust Apple Fall Leaf Pie.
Enjoy!
George
CBS8 San Diego.. Pumpkins are Happening! 🎃 October 25th /
San Diego Morning News.. Here are the recipes from todays show. Fast and easy!
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
I was on the morning news an hour earlier at the 7am hour. Just in time for you to see the traffic before you head to work! Next week is Halloween! Here are a few savory and sweet dishes for you to try. Let me know how they work out.
Try making your own Pumpkin Puree!
Recipes:
Pumpkin Chocolate Cookies (Pictured above)
Have a Great weekend!
CBS8 San Diego! Watermelon Day.. for 4th of July 🍉🇺🇸 /
Today’s show was focused on Watermelons! I sure wish you could find seeded watermelons.. When consumers say they do not want any GMO food products than it also means they have not eaten a watermelon for years. The industry modified watermelons to be seed free. I think the seeded varieties are much more flavorful. Back in about 1990, when I worked at Disney they wanted to put in a fresh fruit cart on Main Street. Lots of fresh produce…The former CEO Michael Eisner had his family farm’s apples shipped (nobody bought them). We had watermelon wedges, they only lasted a weekend as kids realized they could take them up on the sky buckets and spit the seeds on the guests below.. The sky buckets are gone and so are the seeds… Asia watermelons are grown in glass square boxes so they grow into squares. This makes it easier to store and display in the store. Here are some facts on the melon!
5 Watermelon Facts:
California is one the top state watermelon producers
High in Fiber and Vitamins A & C
By Weight: 92% water, 6% sugar
Over 1200 varieties: Red Orange, Yellow and white fleshed :
Largest Melon grown was 350 pounds
If you would like to get professional looking pops, you need to purchase a Pop Mold. Here is a link on Amazon with the exact one I used. LINK.. Check the recipes…
If you would like to watch the segment you can click here: The Watermelon Show
Here are the recipe for the show.
Pops:. Recipe
Disneyland's Big Thunder Ranch Cornbread & France 2020 /
With the excitement of the new land since ToonTown in 1992: Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge opening this week at the Disneyland California resort, I thought I would look back..
Big Thunder Ranch
Opened: Summer of 1986
Closed: January 2016
It was a petting zoo, craft area and also Big Thunder Barbecue. I always said at the time it was the best food at the park for the least amount of money. It was a buffet style with a few options. Some of the best smoked ribs mass produced! The ribs had to be smoked 8 hrs prior to opening of the restaurant so if the weather called for rain, the restaurant would close, and all of the pre-smoked ribs and chicken would end up in the Cast members cafeteria’s (The In-Between and the Deck) for a great price.
Daily the bakery would make about 800-1200 servings of corn bread. A lot of cornbread to also have to go to the cafeteria’s when it rained out. Some of you know about the iconic corn dogs I created for the parks in the 1980’s. It came from this recipe for the cornbread. A few changed but it is a wonderful cornbread that I have in my baking book.
Big Thunder Ranch is gone, and Star Wars has replaced it. But the recipe for the cornbread is still in my archives. This recipe makes one 9x13-inch pan. Our one recipe would make 15 sheets with each sheet yielding 56 servings.
Here is my original recipe and the one for home use.
Here is the cornbread recipe. Try it out and let me know how you like it.
Class of 2019, France Tour
I just returned from a fantastic tour of France. Our 25th year, 32nd season. If you would like information about May 2020, You can email ggeary@aol.com or download the brochure/forms.
South of France May 2020 Tour! Registration now open. /
My annual tour of the South of France! May 17th - 23rd, 2020
YES! Fresh Baguettes ever day in the South of France!
The South fo France is so special! I have been touring groups since 1993! From the little villages of where Julia Child purchased olive oil to blown glass. Chef taught classes and more. Classes, lodging in a remarkable villa in a quant little village, all ground transportation is included. Check out the brochure for all of the details. If you are interested we are limited to 4 couples. Email ggeary@aol.com to serve your space ASAP.
See you in France!
George Geary
Multi-Award Winning George Geary Culinary Tours
Monday is Strawberry Day! on CBS8 San Diego! /
Strawberry Day on CBS8 San Diego!
Here are the recipes ahead so you can follow along! Happy Berry Day!
I will post the link to the show if you are not in the San Diego area!
Banana Chocolate Chip Cake /
A very moist and flavorful cake.. I like to use very very ripe bananas that are very dark. The sugars come up and wow.. so much flavor. Use any kind of Bundt tube pan for this recipe.
A trick I tell all of my students when you are making a Bundt cake… No need to grease and flour the pans as it is too difficult to get into all of the cracks and crevasses.. Spray pan with a non-stick spray. After the cake has completely baked, set a timer for exactly 10 minutes. Then invert directly on a cooking rack. The pan will lift off perfectly.
Academy Awards Segment on CBS8 San Diego /
Sunday is the day that Hollywood Goes Crazy! I was out on Hollywood Blvd last week, about a block from the theater that houses the awards.. The street was closed and everyone was getting ready for the big night.. I will be on CBS8 San Diego on Friday doing my segment on the Awards dinner. Here are the recipes for the show. All of them have something to do with “Old Hollywood” I hope you enjoy!
Chicken Piccata
Sour Cream Raisin Biscuits
Berries Romanoff
Recipes:
Chicken Piccata: A great dish from the famed Dan Tana’s on Santa Monica BLvd. This is where so many stars go out after.
Sour Cream Raisin Biscuits: Award Winner Clark Gable’s Favorite! He would order them from The Brown Derby.. They even catered his 40th Birthday and served them!
Strawberries Romanoff: Romanoffs is where you went to be seen. Swifty Lazar used to have his annual party here prior to Spagos
Canola Taco Popcorn: I created this for an event n Hollywood for Canola Oil. Enjoy!
"CC" Chocolate Chip Cookies /
Chocolate Chip Cookies
Nestle Toll House Cookies. It was probably the very first recipe you ever made. I bet you do not even have the recipe in your memory bank or written down since you know it will be on the back of the 12oz package of semi-sweet chocolate chips. I don’t think I have purchased a bag of those chips since 1985 (About the time that they stopped melting in the cookie dough and just roll out of the dough when you break a cookie in half). I created a recipe that is a little off the norm… “CC” stands for Chewy and Cakey Chocolate Chip Cookies. Read my entire post and shopping tips before you make these.
I always say in my classes..” If you have the best ingredients and tools you can make anything perfect”. The differences in a good cookie and an award winning cookie is the ingredients I use. In the recipe I have placed hyperlinks as to the best items I use. Here is a list and why.
Silpat: These are silicone mats that you make your cookies on. The first came from France. When I worked in my first French ran kitchen the pastry chef had one since they were $50 at the time. They do last a life time.
Half-Sheet Bun Pan: These will fit in most all ovens. They have sides so the cookies will not fall off when you pull them out of the oven. Heavy duty thickness they will last forever. Get a few sets! The Silpats fit perfectly in them.
#20 Disher: Also known as a portion scoop. The number is in the “flipper” which means how many scoops you get out of a quart of something like ice cream or mashed potatoes. DO not use these as ice cream scoops as the flippers will break. The come in sizes 6 to 100. a number 100 is very small.. enough for a bonbon.
Belgium Chocolate Chunks: Pastry chefs have been using these for years. We melt the chunks down for icings and desserts. They are pricy.. But you are worth a real chocolate chunk.
Nielsen-Massey Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla Extract: Ok. let’s face it. Vanilla is skyrocketing. By the time you buy a bottle the price will change in a day or two. Nielsen-Massey is the best on earth unless you make your own from beans that you have harvested in the jungles in Madagascar (Ok I have done this). Honestly, for the full flavor if you use another vanilla you will not get that perfect cookie. And seriously… You use less than 20 cents per batch. It is just the initial outlay.
Nielsen-Massey Pure Almond Extract:: A few years back N-M started making extracts. Lemon, Orange, Cinnamon.. Almond. Not fake tasting what’s so ever. Try all of them!
I hope you enjoy the cookies.. While most of the nation is under a very cold spell and here in California we have something coming out of the sky that they call “Rain”. Stay safe!
George
All About the "Spritz" /
Sprits cookies are some of the simplest fastest cookies you can make! Here is a great recipe. Just add your own sprinkles you like! Recipe
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Oxo Cookie Press on Amazon. Buy it Here. It really is the best on the market with disks for every holiday!
San Diego Living CBS8 ~ "Christmas Morning Fast Brunch" /
Well it is my TV Anniversary this week. 25 years from when I started doing Live in LA on the local station in Los Angeles. I moved a few months later to Mike and Maty Show which was national. Then worked for the Food Network traveling around the country to talk about the new network all on food! Well this past week I will have been on 3 stations. Two in San Diego (My regular and a new one) and Hallmark for Home and Family. Here are the recipes for Fridays Show. Enjoy!
Pecan Cheesecake Pancakes
