Tuesday, January 13, 2009

How I almost died

oreo cheesecake

From embarassement, that is. It all began on a snowy Saturday morning when I decided to make a pilgrimage to Vanille Patisserie, owned and run by my teacher to be- Chef Dimitri Fayard and his wife Chef Keli Fayard. By the time I got down to the nearest bus stop,which is another 5 minutes walk to the patisserie, the snow was ankle deep and a thought of turning back flashed through my mind.

"Everything is a test", I reminded myself of what Chef Jacquy Pfeffeir mentioned in one of our class session and persisted. I felt like a little penguin walking down the quiet and snowy street. Determined that nothing could stop me from getting to my final destination.

As I got there, I ordered some entrements, a macaron and a cup of cappucino. I also took the opportunity to introduce myself to Chef Dimitri, who was at the counter. Everything was cool and chef went on to prepare my drink.

And then, the unimaginable thing happened. I couldn't find my wallet! I must have put it in another bag when I went out on Friday night. My face was flushing and I stammered out what had transpired to chef and promised to come pay in the next day.

What a way to make an impression. That is certainly not a positive one. Although Chef Dimitri was nice about it, I tracked down the same trail later that day to pay.......

oreo cheesecake

Embarassement aside, the 2 entrements I bought were awesome. They were not overly sweet, but so full of flavors. I would highly recommend Vanille Patisserie for anyone visiting Chicago and have a craving for desserts. I tried to take pictures of the entrements, but the poor lighting in my room didn't do them justice.

As I was eating the first entrement in my tiny studio, the electricity went off. I couldn't even see my fingers, but I was strangely calm and satisfied. I continued to eat the remaining half of the entrement in dark and went straight to bed after that.

The mini oreo cheesecakes you see in the pictures are not from Vanille Patisserie. They were something I made for our post Christmas party before I came to Chicago. I used the leftover Trader Joe's peppermint jo-jo, which was only available around Christmas time.I used this recipe but incorporared oreo style cookies in the batter.You can put as much or as little cookies as you wish; But here, I separated the sandwiched cookies and used half of them as the base of the mini cheesecake and crumbled the remaining to mix in the batter. The mini cheesecakes turned out a tad dry for my liking, probably because I substituted one block of cream cheese with the low fat variety. Or I could have overbaked them, while trying to multitask at the same time.

As long as you don't repeat the mistakes I made, you will be rewarded with delicious mini cheesecakes which take a lot less time to prepare than a conventional one.

Vanille Patisserie
2229 N Clybourn Ave Chicago, IL 60614


Snooky doodle said...

Ha you made me smile. You sure was determined to go to that patisserie and eat even without money :) These cheesecakes look yummy and the snowman on top looks so cute

Bunny said...

I bet that gave you a rush of adrenaline when you couldn't find your wallet! It's over,I hope that's the worst thing that happens to you for the whole year. The little cheesecakes are adorable!

Anonymous said...

Wow, those are pretty. Pretty, pretty.

thecoffeesnob said...

That happened to me once too! I was at Subway, absolutely starving, when i got to the cashier's and realized i left my wallet at home. I was so embarrassed but the cashier was so amused. Thank goodness i stayed just a 5 minutes walk from the place- and it has never happened again :)

Those are some really cute cupcakes by the way!

Anonymous said...

aww those cakes are soo cute! when i saw the post title i was so shocked!!! hahaha i was worried!

Y said...

One of my worst fears! Getting to the till and not having any or enough money! Argh.

veron said...

Oh, Mandy I was thinking of you when Chicago had a blizzard warning. Oh the no-wallet experience is something that almost happened to me....luckily I had my notebook which I have put some cash in between the pages.

Clumbsy Cookie said...

You poor you! I can only imagine! I would have almost die as well! That happened to me once, but gladly I was with friends, so I survived!
The little oreo cheesecakes are adorable!

Katie said...

The snow this year has been horrible. But I agree with you that Vanille is fantastic.

Mandy said...

snooky doodle,
yes, I was really determined before I found out I forgot the wallet. But in the end, the entrements and macarons made it all worthwhile. :)

yes, I can literally feel blood gushing up my face as I confessed that I forgot the wallet to chef.


hmmmm....that makes me feel better knowing that I am not alone. :D

opps, sorry for making you worried about silly me. You are so kind.

I know! especially when facing some one I admire!

Thanks for thinking about me!yeah, some places had it bad. My electricity was cut out for about an hour.....

Clumsy cookie,
lucky you!this won't happen if I went with someone. :(

yes! I can imagine myself trying each and every creations from Vanille in time to come!

Related Posts with Thumbnails