Deanos Dragon Breath Bombs Food

DRAGON EGG CAKE

Steps:

• For the egg cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and lightly flour a 6-by-9-inch 3D egg cake pan.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and granulated sugar until lightened in color and fluffy, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Mix in the vanilla extract.
• Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt in a separate bowl. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture in 3 additions, alternating with the milk; begin and end with the flour mixture. Beat until the batter is smooth and thoroughly combined.
• Divide the batter among 3 bowls. Tint one bowl with the red food color, one with the orange and one with the yellow. Fill each half of the egg pan alternately with the batter colors. Use a butter knife or skewer to swirl the batter together.
• Bake until a toothpick tester inserted near the center comes out clean, about 1 hour. Transfer the cakes to wire cooling racks and let them cool completely before frosting. When the cakes are cool, level them with a serrated knife, if needed.
• For the simple syrup: Combine the granulated sugar and 1 cup water in a small saucepan. Heat over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, until the sugar is dissolved. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract. Let cool for about 15 minutes before using.
• Place the cakes dome-side up on a wire rack or baking sheet. Use a pastry brush to coat the cakes with the simple syrup. Use about two-thirds of the syrup on the cakes and reserve the remaining syrup for later use.
• For the vanilla buttercream: In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whip attachment, cream together the butter and confectioners' sugar on low speed until crumbly. Add the vanilla extract. Beat again, adding milk or cream 1 tablespoon at a time to thin the mixture. When the mixture starts to appear creamy, increase the mixer speed to high and beat until light and fluffy. Add more milk or cream to bring to spreading consistency.
• Place one egg cake on a 9-inch cake board or serving plate dome-side down. Cover with a thick layer of buttercream and sandwich with the second egg cake, dome-side up. Use the buttercream to completely cover the outside of the egg cake, smoothing it as much as possible with an offset spatula. This doesn't have to be perfect because the cake will be covered with fondant dragon scales. Refrigerate the cake until the buttercream is firm, about 20 minutes.
• For the marshmallow fondant and décor: In a large microwave-safe bowl, combine the marshmallows and 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon water. Microwave in 30-second intervals until the marshmallows have expanded to twice their size, 60 to 90 seconds total. Stir to deflate.
• Add one-third of the confectioners' sugar into the marshmallow mixture and stir to combine. Add more confectioners' sugar and stir until very stiff. When the mixture becomes difficult to stir, knead with your hands. Add the remaining confectioners' sugar a little at a time, until the fondant is very smooth and elastic and holds a firm ball shape.
• Remove a third of the fondant to a work surface and cover the remaining fondant with plastic wrap to prevent drying. Dust the work surface with confectioners' sugar. Knead a few drops of brown gel food color into the portion until a light tan is achieved. If the fondant feels too dry, knead in 1/2 tablespoon of vegetable shortening. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and set aside to rest.
• Re-dust the work surface with confectioners' sugar. Knead the remaining fondant with 1/4 teaspoon moss green gel food color until a consistent green hue is achieved. Roll the fondant to 1/8-inch thickness using a fondant rolling pin. Use a 2-inch fondant serrated leaf cutter to stamp as many 'dragon scales' from the fondant as possible. Transfer the scales to baking sheets lined with parchment paper and cover with plastic wrap so they don't dry out. Re-roll the fondant and cut more scales. Repeat the process until all of the fondant is used.
• Roll out the tan fondant to 1/4-inch thickness and cut out a 6-inch circle with a 6-inch pastry cutter (or use a dessert plate as a template). Use a kitchen-dedicated paintbrush to lightly coat one side of the fondant with the simple syrup and then press it onto the bottom rounded part of the egg. Use the end of the paintbrush to pock the fondant. Use a butter knife to scrape irregular markings into the fondant to create a distressed appearance.
• Use the paintbrush to apply a small amount of simple syrup to the back of a fondant scale. Place the scale halfway over the edge of the 6-inch round of fondant. Repeat the process, overlapping the scales slightly. After the first row of scales is applied, begin the second row by placing a scale's point between 2 scales of the first row. Repeat the process of brushing, applying and overlapping scales until the entire cake is covered.
• In 3 separate small cups, combine each of these food colors with a few drops of clear extract: emerald green, moss green and neon yellow. Lightly dip a clean brush into the emerald green food color mixture. Brush it onto the top third of the scaled portion of the cake. Dampen a food-dedicated 3-inch round sponge with water and wring out completely. Use the sponge to tap the color into the fondant, so that it has a mottled appearance. Repeat the process with the moss green food color on the middle third of the scales, followed by the yellow on the bottom third of the scales. Use the sponge to mottle color onto the distressed tan fondant. Use every color to create lots of color variation. Refrigerate the cake until the color is set and dry, about 15 minutes.
• Dip a dry soft-bristle paintbrush into the gold luster dust. Lightly brush over the scales to create a metallic shine.
• Slice the cake in front of your guests to reveal the fiery interior--then ENJOY!

NACHO DEANO'S TACOS OF LOVE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F.
• For the tomatillo sauce: On a baking sheet, combine the tomatillos, garlic, Anaheim peppers, jalapenos and onions. Drizzle olive oil over everything and hit it with salt. Place in the oven and roast until the vegetables are browned and soft, roughly 45 minutes.
• For the pork: Combine the cayenne, coriander, cumin, garlic powder, dry mustard, oregano, paprika, thyme and 1 teaspoon each of salt and pepper in a bowl and mix well.
• Trim the excess fat off the pork butt and belly and cut into 3- by 3-inch chunks. Put the pork in large bowl. Pour the spice rub mixture onto the pork a little at a time and toss the pork to make sure every piece is coated with the rub. Let sit.
• Heat the vegetable oil in a large frying pan. When the oil gets super hot, add a few pieces of pork and put a nice sear on it. Brown the meat on both sides and remove from the pan. Continue to sear off the remaining pieces of pork, adding more oil if needed.
• When all the pork is seared, put it in the pressure cooker and add all the juices from the frying pan into the pressure cooker. Don't forget to get all the little brown bits off the bottom of the pan. This is called fond and it's full of flavor.
• Add the garlic, Anaheim peppers, jalapenos and onions. Give it a good stir and turn up the heat.
• When things are sizzling and rocking and rolling, deglaze the pot with the beer. (You're not going to have a lot of room to move in your pressure cooker pot, but get a spatula or wooden spoon down in there and give the bottom of the pot a good scrape to loosen the fond off the bottom to get them into the mix of peppers, pork, onion and garlic.) Hit the pot with a good pinch of salt and some pepper, then put the pressure cooker top on and cook for 45 minutes. Then release the steam from the pressure cooker very carefully. (Note: Please follow manufacturer's instructions for this.)
• To finish the tomatillo sauce: Remove the tomatillos and peppers from the oven. Remove the stems from the tomatillos and place them in a blender with the roasted vegetables. Rip all the leaves off of a bunch of cilantro and add that to the blender. Blend until smooth. Adjust the texture of the sauce with a few tablespoons water. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Put in the refrigerator to chill and set up.
• Remove the pork from the pressure cooker and place on a baking sheet. With the back of a fork and a pair of tongs, shred the pork, and mix the belly and butt together. This should be easy to do after the pressure cooker has worked its magic.
• With a slotted spoon, remove the peppers, onion and garlic and put them all into a blender. Add one third of the liquid from the pressure cooker and blend. Use the liquid to adjust the consistency so you have a sauce that is not too thick. Taste and season with salt if needed.
• For the tacos: Heat the vegetable oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Cook the chorizo until browned and cooked through.
• In a hot frying pan with some vegetable oil, add a handful of the shredded pork in silver-dollar-pancake-size portions. We want to get a little crust on the outside of the pork.
• In another frying pan over medium heat, warm up the tortillas one by one and cover with a towel to keep warm.
• Place a crispy pork pile on 2 stacked tortillas, then top with 1 teaspoon of the braising sauce, some chorizo, some shredded cabbage, 1 tablespoon of tomatillo sauce and some crumbled Cotija cheese. Sprinkle with cilantro, then hit it with a squeeze of lime and enjoy. It seems labor intensive, but trust me, the flavor will blow your sombrero off!