OSI: Lauren of Upper East Side Chronicle

Today we are learning all about Lauren of East Side Chronicle.

Lauren is a pastry chef, and she grew up in a candy store.   What a childhood!

Lauren picked the Four Star Chocolate Bread Pudding.   Thanks Lauren for a great pick.

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1.  When did you start baking?

Always in the kitchen with my mother baking chocolate brownies, marble cake and banana bread and licking the spoon!

2.  What is your favorite kitchen tool?

Like many of the TWD bakers, it’s the KitchenAid mixer but a runner-up would have to be my Silpat mats. I have quite a few.

3.  Which TWD blog is your favorite?

Oh, so many, it’s hard to pick just one. The dedication, creativity, humor, photography. I’m still thinking….I’ll get back to you.

4.  What has been your favorite TWD recipe so far?

The first one since I joined the group that got me hooked…..The Most Extraordinary French Lemon (Orange) Cream Tart. It’s unlike any other.

5.  What TWD recipe has been a dud for you?

I’m not sure if it’s the recipe or me. I would like to redo/rethink Cherry Rhubarb Cobbler. It deserves another chance.

6.  Which recipe are you dying to make that no one has picked yet?

Just because, Tiramisu. It’s a classic and I would like to see how we could push the envelope on this one.

7.  If you could live anywhere in the world for a year, where would it be?

Italy, probably Sicily. Cooking teacher Giuliano Bugialli has inspired me with his classes and techniques and philosophy about food. I love the simplicity and freshness of Italian food.  It would be an amazing experience. One day!

8. If you knew could you try anything and not fail (and money was no object), what would you attempt?

First, to regain my Hulu Hoop title and then launch a food related business.

9.  If you could have a superpower, which one would it be, and why?

Make everyone in the world good and refom those that evil. We must maintain hope. Does that count as a superpower?

10.  If you had a day to yourself, what would you do?

A day at a spa.

11.  What is the strangest food you have ever eaten?

MacDonald’s.  Really.  When I was 10, and on a class trip to Washington D.C., the only food available on the roads was MacDonald’s.  Up until then, mom made home cooked meals and eating a hamburger from this odd place with golden arches, well to me that was strange.  It still is!

12.  What kitchen tool would you purchase for yourself if money were no object?

A professional soft serve ice-cream machine. That would be a treat!

13.  Give us three adjectives to describe yourself.

I like to think I’m a kind person. Also, I can think outside the box, so I’m creative. Lastly, I have a sense of loyalty.

14.  What spice do you use over and over again?

Salt

15.  When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?

An artist.  I did go to art school and then professionally, ended up at a corporation for way too many years.  Baking is going back to my roots.  It’s creative and my heritage.