CSN $50 Gift Certificate Winner

The $50 gift certificate to CSN has closed, and the winner is...Comment #5!

Deb commented that she would purchase the Caphalon Fruit & Vegetable Set:

Congratulations! Deb, can you please email me (tarascupcakes@gmail.com) and let me know your mailing address so I can have the gift certificate mailed to you? Thank you everyone for entering!

CSN Stores Giveaway!

I know I've been very neglectful of this blog lately, so this post comes at perfect timing. After the skillet giveaway went well, CSN would like to give a $50 gift certificate to one lucky Cupcake Obsessed reader.

Le Creuset baking set

CSN is great because they have everything from dining room sets to cookware to bedding. It's a serious one-stop shopping destination for all your home needs. Perusing their sites, there's so much there I have on my "wish list." The pictures here are what I'd buy if I had the $50 gift certificate.

Rolling pin like we use at school

To enter to win the CSN gift certificate, just leave a comment by next Wednesday, July 29 5:00 pm saying what you would purchase at CSN if you won the gift certificate with your contact information.

Winner will be selected at random. This contest is only open to residents of the U.S. and Canada. Good luck!

The Skillet Winner!!!

As promised, I picked a winner shortly after 3:00 today (work delayed it a bit). Using random.org, a winner was selected.

The lucky winner is commenter #5 - throuthehaze! Congratulations! I'll be in contact with you soon to get your contact info to pass on to CSN so they can be sending you your skillet! If you end up making the tarte tatin, send pics!!

Thanks everyone for entering, and a big thank you to CSN and Cookware.com!

I have a lot of photos to upload from the past two weeks of school, so check back soon!

Skillet Giveaway and Tarte Tatin!

I mentioned a couple weeks ago that CSN had contacted me, wanting me to do a product review from their site cookware.com and host a giveaway on my blog. Anxious to remake the tarte tatin I loved in the puff pastry unit, I selected a nonstick skillet. If you're impatient and want to get straight to the details of the giveaway, scroll down to the bottom of this post.


The skillet is a nonstick Farberware skillet. It's very lightweight, but felt sturdy when I was using it. And it is certainly nonstick. This tarte has a lot of gooey caramel that usually sticks to the bottom of the pan when it's flipped over (tarte tatin is an apple tart that is baked in a skillet, upside down, and then flipped over), but when I flipped it over this time, there was no caramel left on the bottom. I think it's pretty great so far, and can't wait to use it more. The only drawback to the pan though is that the handle is metal, and it can get really hot when you use it. This is true of almost all skillets, and all the pots and pans we use at FCI, but I felt that I should point it out.

Tarte fresh out of the oven, look at how clean the skillet looks

Ok, time for the recipe. Whether or not you win the skillet, I highly recommend trying this out. It's my perfect dessert - simple, delicious, and apple. Before we go into the details, I have a confession to make...I used store-bought frozen puff pastry. I fully intended making my own, but it's a time consuming process, and time is not in abundance for me lately. If you can make your own, I recommend doing it, but if you don't have time, frozen puff pastry will work just fine.

Shhhhh...don't tell Chef Cynthia

Ingredients:

Pastry dough, enough to cover the pan (I used puff pastry, but you could use a pate sucree or pate brisee)
5 tbsp unsalted butter, cut in pieces
1 1/4 c sugar
5 Golden Delicious apples
1 tbsp vanilla extract

Tarte covered in puff pastry, before going into the oven

Directions:

1. Roll out puff pastry or thaw if you are using store-bought.
2. Peel, halve, and core the apples.
3. Put the apple halves round side down in the pan (crowd them in there together, I only used 4 apples in the 12" pan, but wished I had 1 more).
4. Put the pan on the stovetop over medium heat. When the apples start to brown, add the sugar.
5. Lower the heat and cook until the sugar caramelizes.6. Add the tbsp of vanilla extract over the top of the apples.
7. Remove the pan from the heat and allow to cool.
8. Cover the apples with the puff pastry, tucking the extra into the pan (do not allow pastry to hang over the edge of the pan).
9. Bake the tart at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes, or until the pastry is nicely browned and baked through.
10. Remove the tart from the oven and immediately unmold it onto a plate or serving dish. Be very careful - the caramel will be extremely hot. I put the plate over top the pan and then in one rapid motion (wearing oven mitts), flip it over.

Finished product!

Ok, so now the good part, the giveaway! It's very simple to enter - just leave your name and email address in the comments section, and I'll use a random number generator to pick the winner. Tarte tatin has been my favorite dessert featured on my blog, so feel free to let me know what yours has been in the comments. You have until this Friday at 3:00 pm EST. One entry per person! Good luck!

Stay Tuned...

I know the CSN giveaway was supposed to be this week, but my skillet is still en route, and I can't make the tarte tatin without it! There was a slight hold up because we had to switch products (the cast iron was on back order). The new skillet is a bit of an upgrade and is this Farberware Premium Nonstick Skillet:

Check back next week for the chance to win!

Upcoming Tarte Tatin Recipe & Product Giveaway!!

Remember this from my puff pastry unit? It was a delicious blend of apples, puff pastry, caramel, and apple brandy, and I was lucky enough to have it in my apartment when I was snowed in during the last snow storm. It was so amazing that I ate the whole thing by myself. In one day. I'm not too embarrassed to admit that. I've been wanting to recreate that tarte tatin (upside down apple tart) since that day, but haven't had a cast iron skillet that the recipe needed. I've had my eye on one like this, but acquiring one keeps slipping my mind.

Last week I was contacted by CSN, one of the internet's largest home and office goods distributors. In addition to an awesome selection of cookware and bakeware, they have a site dedictated to home bars. I'm thinking one of the smaller ones would look great in my apartment. The best part is they want me to do a product review and giveaway on Cupcake Obsessed! I was so excited to be able to share something with my readers, and began perusing one of their sites, Cookware.com. I was delighted and overwhelmed with all the amazing baking products they offer; it's really incredible. They have 222 results for spatulas alone!! After spending last week browsing some kitchenware stores in New York City, CSN's prices were also a major relief to me. They have a wide selection of sale items, and everything feels reasonably priced.

After browsing the incredible selection and falling in love with this, these, and this, I decided that this cast iron skillet should be the featured giveaway. It's an item that everyone needs, if only to make the tarte tatin. Fortunately, you can make a ton more in a skillet like this.


Next week I will be featuring the recipe for the tarte tatin and giving away one Universal Housewares 10.5" skillet to 1 lucky blog reader, complimentary of CSN. Stay tuned next week for your chance to enter!