the fatty chalupa

Christmas Korova Cookies

2012-12-25T21:47:00.001-08:00

Musings on the East Coast

I'm back from the East Coast. I thought I would love the East Coast. I hated the East Coast.

Well I can't really say hate- that is much too harsh of an adjective to describe my overall experience with both Boston and New York. I will say though that I can with one hundred percent confidence proclaim that my heart prefers life on the West Coast, where I can careen along the highway in my car everyday while belting out Taylor Swift's latest teeny bopper hit. I'm not too sure how well the locals of Manhattan would respond to an Asian Kid singing T-Swizzle on the subway during rush hour.

Please don't get me wrong however. While a large part of the pleasure I experienced did have to do with the fact I had the opportunity to volunteer at numerous organizations, some of the people in fact, were genuinely nice! The diversity of a big city will forever enrapture my heart, and rarely (if at all) will you be able to strike up a two hour conversation with a seasoned world traveler at a coffee shop in Orange County like I was able to in Boston.

But as a sheltered West Coast baby from Orange County, where it's considered winter when the mercury falls below the 60 degree mark, I definitely was out of my natural element. The sad reality is that I arrived to the East Coast with the ubiquitous, candy-coated, and in all sense of the word fucked up version of what East Coast city life would be like. I speak from experience- the Devil Wears Prada is not in any way, shape, or form an accurate portrayal of East Coast life. Instead of taking my pre-envisioned, dazzling stroll down 5th Avenue where I would then leisurely ice skate amongst the twinkling glow of Rockefeller Center, I was instead met with and the smell of cigarettes, littered streets, and the constant struggle of navigating the sidewalk amongst the constant hoards of other pedestrians, frantically darting around like a paranoid schizophrenic.

I heard stories about the fast paced lifestyle, but it was another thing to actually experience what I had heard about so much. Never have I jay-walked with so much reckless abandon in my life, where instead of slowing down, taxis and wealthy drivers of the Mercedes S-Class instead sped up through intersections, causing people in the crosswalk to casually jump out of the way as if saving your life was as normal and involuntary as blinking your eye. I was practically jogging in order to keep up with the normal walking pace of everyone else, and for someone with an absolutely horrid sense of direction, navigating the subway was like asking Honey Boo Boo to work a quantum physics problem. What was an even harder obstacle to overcome was realizing how introverted people came off in day to day life. Eye contact was met with a dart to the pavement, holding open a door is equivalent to becoming invisible, and a ride on the subway is 20 minutes of the most awkward silence possible. But then again, who is a random kid from Southern California to paint an accurate portrayal of the East Coast? While I loved expanding my horizons this winter break, I am more than happy to be back on my own couch.

Boston Common

Fenway Park

Boston Chowda Company, Quincy Market

Quincy Market

Madison Square Park, New York

Eataly, Manhattan, New York

23rd Street Subway Station, New York

Eataly, Manhattan, New York

Chelsea Market, Manhattan, New York

Eataly, Manhattan, New York

Chelsea Market, Manhattan, New York

You've probably heard of these famous little gems. Colloquially known as Dorie Greenspan's celebrated World Peace Cookies, I can say with confidence that these fall on my list of top ten cookies. Just don't do what I did and forget the baking soda, or else you wind up with something that is thin, chewy, and crispy (which isn't bad at all) versus something thicker and substantial.

I have to admit, I felt like I was committing a mortal, sacrilegious sin of epic proportions by subtly changing what most would consider a perfect cookie, but I respectfully think you would like this winter variation. A word to the weak though- this is a seriously chocolatey cookie. With such a high ratio of cocoa that is consequently elevated by brown sugar, coffee, cinnamon, and chocolate chips, I don't think of World Peace when I eat these, but instead a chocolatey apocalypse, broken up by the tart zing of cranberries.

One Year Ago: Peppermint Ice Blended Mocha, Eggs Benedict

Christmas Korova Cookies

adapted from Dorie Greenspan via Smitten Kitchen

MAKES ABOUT 36 COOKIES

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 stick plus 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 teaspoon of instant coffee powder
2/3 cup (packed) light brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon fleur de sel or 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
5 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped into chips, or a generous 3/4 cup store-bought mini chocolate chips
3/4 cup of dried cranberries

Sift the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and cinnamon together.

Working with a stand mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter on medium speed until soft and creamy. Add the coffee powder, both sugars, the salt and vanilla extract and beat for 2 minutes more.

Pour in the flour mixture, drape a kitchen towel over the stand mixer to protect yourself and your kitchen from flying flour and pulse the mixer at low speed about 5 times, a second or two each time. Take a peek — if there is still a lot of flour on the surface of the dough, pulse a couple of times more; if not, remove the towel. Continuing at low speed, mix for about 30 seconds more, just until the flour disappears into the dough — for the best texture, work the dough as little as possible once the flour is added, and don’t be concerned if the dough looks a little crumbly. Toss in the chocolate pieces and cranberries and mix only to incorporate.

Turn the dough out onto a work surface, gather it together and divide it in half. Working with one half at a time, shape the dough into logs that are 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Wrap the logs in plastic wrap and refrigerate them for at least 3 hours. (The dough can be refrigerated for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 2 months. If you’ve frozen the dough, you needn’t defrost it before baking — just slice the logs into cookies and bake the cookies 1 minute longer.)

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 325°F (160°C). Line two baking sheets with parchment or silicone mats.

Working with a sharp thin knife, slice the logs into rounds that are 1/2 inch thick. (The rounds are likely to crack as you’re cutting them — don’t be concerned, just squeeze the bits back onto each cookie.) Arrange the rounds on the baking sheets, leaving about one inch between them.
Bake the cookies one sheet at a time for 12 minutes — they won’t look done, nor will they be firm, but that’s just the way they should be. Transfer the baking sheet to a cooling rack and let the cookies rest until they are only just warm, at which point you can serve them or let them reach room temperature.

Leaving on a Jet Plane

2012-12-07T23:45:00.001-08:00

I think one of the most constant things I can rely upon is the fact that no matter how inconsistent I am with my blogging, there is always at least one stranger out there reading my posts. So to that stranger today, thank you.

I don't have a recipe to post today (but I promise that I have at least two dozen waiting in the wings), because as you read I am on my way to Boston. I'll be volunteering next week with a group of 12 other classmates who seem to be a lot more sincere than I am about helping others in need, and I have to admit it really is humbling. However I can finally say that New England will finally be crossed off my bucket list.

And on a side note, if you have as much time as I seemingly have to kill during finals week, then check out this little gem in development... and it's not just because he happens to be my best friend.

http://bradyhiob.blogspot.com/

Roast Pork & Apple Cider Reduction

2012-11-24T00:58:00.005-08:00

A Stereotypical Thanksgiving Post

Yesterday was the first time I've ever spent Thanksgiving away from home. It was a situation I never thought I'd ever be in, but after three months of 12+ hour school days, the only wish I wanted this year was to have a quiet weekend to myself, away from the stress of cooking for 25 people in a kitchen equipped with a single oven and five burners, and instead have a quiet retreat where I could catch up on all of the hobbies I never have time to do (and for once getting a head start on studying).

A low key Thanksgiving for three people was definitely a first for me, but having such a relaxed and intimate dinner in a college apartment was the exact thing I needed to make sure I wasn't going to burn out by the time the quarter is over. This meal helped me remember that no matter how filled up my iCal is for the day, how empty my gas tank seems to constantly be, or how much sleep I lack throughout the week, I am truly a fortunate person. I go to a school that I am extremely passionate about, participate in activities that give me a true sense of fulfillment, have a family who has an unwavering amount of support, and have the privilege to know a group of friends I truly adore.

Cooking for only three people also afforded me the luxury to go balls to the wall- quite frankly this might have been one of the best Thanksgiving meals I've ever had.

Butternut Squash Soup with Croutons and Fried Sage

Herb Roasted Chicken

Roasted Potatoes

Baked Sweet Potatoes

Roasted Parmesan Asparagus

Classic Sage Stuffing

Caramelized Apple Croissant Bread Pudding

Pumpkin Pie

Chocolate Souffle

1) Yes, we had 3 rounds of dessert

2) As much as I was tempted to document this entire meal, for once I decided to forgo the status of food blog whore yesterday night in order to concentrate on the fact that I was spending time with some of my favorite people in the world, and getting the chance to cook for them. Oh, the power of food.

This pork loin was another item from my daring meal this summer. As much as I love a blistery, succulent hunk of roasted protein, the real hero of this entire carousel of fall ingredients was the reduction... oh the reduction. Savory and sweet at the same time, with a splash of umami from a little dash of soy sauce, and maple syrup to round out the acrid burn of the vinegar, it was hard not to douse the plate in the glossy elixir.

So while I am thankful that one of the things I am passionate about is an activity I get to do everyday (it's pretty awesome when you get a kick out of making a sandwich for lunch), I think that I'm more grateful for the fact that I have people so ready and willing to enjoy the results of said passion as much as I do. I would have been happy eating ramen for Thanksgiving as long as I had my friends close by to slurp up some MSG laden broth alongside me.

One Year Ago: Crabcake Salad, Nectarine Frangipane Tart, Chocolate Blackout Cake

Roast Pork with Apple Cider Reduction

pork loin
kosher salt
bacon fat
dijon mustard
fresh rosemary, finely chopped
freshly chopped thyme

apple cider reduction:
apple juice
cider vinegar (about 1/3 of how much apple juice you use)
spoonfuls of brown sugar
a couple tablespoons of maple syrup
a splash of soy sauce
sprig of thyme
salt and pepper
unsalted butter

Season the pork liberally with salt, and leave uncovered in the refrigerator overnight.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Allow the roast to come to room temperature for about an hour before roasting. Mix together some dijon mustard and the chopped rosemary leaves into a paste. Rub the pork down with the bacon fat before brushing on the mustard mixture. Roast the pork until the internal temperature reaches 140 degrees.

Meanwhile, for the apple cider reduction combine all of the ingredients in a sauce pan and boil on medium high heat until it reaches a thick consistency. I wish I could give you more exact quantities for the ingredients, but it really is about your personal preference and experimenting with it all. You just want to bring it to the point where the acidity from the vinegar no longer burns your throat. Once the reduction is to your desired flavor and consistency, add a tablespoon or two of butter to make it glossy and thick.

Bacon and Cremini Mushroom Tagliatelle

2012-11-04T14:01:00.000-08:00

In Season

the happiest city in america

Yesterday I paid $1.25 for a soggy bag of red leaf lettuce from Food4Less. After delicately trying to dry the leaves from the cascade of water misting from the sprinklers overhead, I stored it in the fridge only to find that the next day the lettuce had already wilted and turned into a soppy puddle.

It was a funny occurrence, especially because last week 75 cents at the farmers market bought me a positively massive head of crisp lettuce that made entree sized salads for dinner every night... Oh the price of conveniently going to a chain megamart.

But if you somehow need convincing that shopping locally is exponentially better than browsing the produce section of your nearby value-chain supermarket, look no further than the weekly San Luis Obispo farmer's market.

edible jewels

Aside from the stunning quality of the produce at grocery outlet prices, all of the downtown restaurants line up their booths next to all of the produce sellers and hawk whatever they specialize in, whether it be tri-tip sandwiches, homemade tamales, wood-fired pizza, or bowls of strawberry shortcake. (Though by the time dinner rolls around you're positively stuffed from all of the samples you're allowed to have.)

avila valley barn apples (a.k.a. the only ones I eat now)

There's always some staples I get each week: a pound or two of crunchy apples, a vibrant head of said lettuce, and bunches of grapes that are guaranteed to snap with each bite. Occasionally if I want to splurge I'll buy a bag of addictively salty garlic pistachios or garlic almonds.

The best part (as cliche as this sounds) is that when you go to the farmer's market you're part of a community... The vendors remember your name each week, strangers take the time to make eye contact and say good evening (something that never happens in L.A.), and for everyone it's just another Thursday night.

I could get used to this

I finally chose to post this recipe from my daring dinner because to me it's such a cozy autumn dinner... No fuss, simple, and unpretentious (Not to mention the fact that there's some kick ass mushrooms at farmers).

I'm finally starting to get used to making a decent fresh pasta. What has become one of the banes of my existence is now a fun past time (I'm a dork alright), and there's nothing more therapeutic then turning a powdery volcano of flour, eggs, and olive oil into satiny sheets of toothsome noodles.

bacon roasted mushrooms

one year ago: Toronto Part 6: Soma Chocolatier & Gelato

Bacon and Cremini Mushroom Tagliatelle

SERVES ~4

fresh pasta

adapted from Mario Batali

MAKES 1 POUND

3 1/2 cups of all purpose flour
4 eggs
a splash of olive oil

the add ins
~1/2 pound of bacon
1 - 1 1/2 pounds of cremini mushrooms, halved
a couple sprigs thyme
3/4-1 cup of frozen peas
2 tablespoons of finely chopped parsley
3/4 cup of grated parmesan cheese
1/2 cup of cream
salt and pepper

Mound the flour (reserving 1/2 cup or so) in the center of a large wooden cutting board. Make a well in the middle of the flour, add the eggs. Using a fork, beat together the eggs and begin to incorporate the flour starting with the inner rim of the well. As you incorporate the eggs, keep pushing the flour up to retain the well shape (do not worry if it looks messy). The dough will come together in a shaggy mass when about half of the flour is incorporated.

Start kneading the dough with both hands, primarily using the palms of your hands. Add more flour, in 1/2-cup increments, if the dough is too sticky. Once the dough is a cohesive mass, remove the dough from the board and scrape up any left over dry bits. Lightly flour the board and continue kneading for 3 more minutes. The dough should be elastic and a little sticky. Continue to knead for another 3 minutes, remembering to dust your board with flour when necessary. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and set aside for 20 minutes at room temperature. Roll and form as desired.

Note: Do not skip the kneading or resting portion of this recipe, they are essential for a light pasta.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Lay the bacon out on a cooling rack over a baking sheet and bake for twenty to twenty-five minutes until crisp. Reserve some of the drained fat. Toss the cremini mushrooms and thyme springs in some of the rendered bacon fat, season with salt and pepper, and roast for fifteen to twenty minutes until golden brown.

To assemble the dish, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta for 3-5 minutes, until it is slightly undercooked. Meanwhile heat the cream in a large saute pan. Add the cooked pasta, along with a cup of the pasta water, the cheese, bacon, mushrooms, and peas. Toss together and season with salt and pepper. Add more pasta water if necessary.

Carrot Cupcakes with Candied Orange Zest

2012-10-25T22:31:00.000-07:00

On Having a Fulfilling Career

Today was the second day I woke up at 5:40 AM to go the gym... I'm still wondering how I even managed to do so.

Last Wednesday my day was from 6:00 AM to 2:00 AM, but I loved every single second of it.

Most of what kept me occupied last Wednesday and caused me to wake up so early had little to do with actual schoolwork.

grand marnier and sugar for candied zest

The world outside of academia has given me the most satisfaction I can ever remember- I've technically only been in school for a little over a month, but I feel more accomplished then I have ever been in my entire life, and I can't imagine myself doing anything else. I'm sure by now you're exhausted by the sheer number of posts I write about the stereotypically cliched topics of finding a passion and finding meaning in your work, but I think I've finally started to practice what I've been attempting to preach.

Being a part of student government and various other organizations gives me a reason to wake up in the morning, something I can't really say the same about accounting (though I will say I'm trying harder to like it, I promise!). But when it comes down to it, the sheer irony is that I've learned an immeasurable amount more through being a part of campus life than sitting inside the classroom.

like mayo

tossing in the goods

There's a select amount of recipes that I abhor making simply because I've made it so many times in my life, with these carrot cupcakes taking the top spot on the list. There's something very grating (pun intended) about shredding pounds of carrots and dirtying a sink full of dishes all in the name for a dessert that's gone after two or three bites.

Yet, I still find myself making these cupcakes multiple times a year in double batches no less, rendering the 5 quart capacity of my stand mixer utterly useless.

I did a couple of changes to the original recipe, including increasing the amount of oil (of course), changing the method of making the battter (because the original method was a bit useless), and swapping out sauteed carrots with candied orange zest (because it's just so much better).

By slowly emulsifying the oil with the whipped eggs and sugar you're essentially making a huge vat of sweetened mayonnaise, but what comes out of the oven is a decadently rich, unctuous, and heavily spiced carrot cupcake. While a pile of thickly dense frosting is admittedly much, the candied orange helps cutting through all of the decadence.

crumb coat (the finished cake was too ugly to photograph)

yes please

One year ago: Petra Mediterranean Pizza and Grill

Really Good Carrot Cupcakes with Candied Orange Peel

adapted from Barefoot Contessa Parties!

carrot cake

3 extra large eggs
2 cups granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 pound grated carrot
2 1/4 cups cake
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 1/4 cups raisins
1 1/4 cups walnuts, toasted and chopped
1/4 cup all-purpose flour

cream cheese frosting

3/4 pound cream cheese, softened
1 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3/4 pound powdered sugar

candied orange peel
2 large navel oranges
1/3 cup grand marnier, orange juice, or water
1/2 cup of granulated sugar

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

In a stand mixer, beat the eggs, and the sugar together until pale and fluffy. While mixing, slowly drizzle in the oil until a thick, mayonnaise-like consistency is formed. Add the vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Add the grated carrots and stir to combine. Sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt, and while on low speed add the dry ingredients into the wet in 3 additions, waiting until each addition is completely absorbed before adding the next on low speed. Toss the raisins and walnuts together with the 1/4 cup of flour, and fold them into the batter by hand.

Scoop the batter into lined cupcake pans about 3/4 of the way up. If I'm using regular cupcake (not muffin) tins I can usually squeeze out about 30 cupcakes. Bake for 10 minutes, and then turn the oven down to 350 degrees, and bake for an additional 8-12 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Carefully take them out of the tins and let cool and wire racks.

Beat together the cream cheese and butter on low speed until combined, and slowly add the sifted powder sugar and the vanilla. Keep the speed on low if you want a dense, rich, and sticky mouth feel. However if you want something more light and fluffy whip the frosting on high until you reach the desired consistency.

Zest the oranges: you can either use a coarse cheese grater so you can sprinkle a confetti of peel on the cupcakes, or use a zester for long, decorative strips. Throw all of the ingredients into a saucepan and simmer until the orange peel is translucent.

Crepes with Stewed Cherries

2012-09-29T15:01:00.000-07:00

On Turning Twenty

I'm sure I'm not alone when I say that when growing up, my birthday was the one day out of the year where I was allowed to be ruthlessly conceited and allowed to do anything I want. I was taught that I was special. I became popular for bringing cupcakes to share with everyone in my third grade classroom. My ego became inflated when I logged onto Facebook and saw a sea of "Happy Birthday" posts on my wall. Every September 30th, I was allowed to rule the world.

But there are thousands with the same birthday.

With the exception of 16, 21, and 40, birthdays just don't become special anymore. I don't like being celebrated. I think that you should only be celebrated if you have done something great in the world, and being born isn't really one of them. Everyone is born as well, and along with thousands (if not millions) of people who share the very same birthday as mine, I am thus definitely not special by any stretch of the imagination.

It could just be that there are still some parts of me that are naturally shy and don't like being the center of attention. I think having to sit through Happy Birthday is one of the most awkward and uncomfortable experiences one can go through, so every September 30th I try to find ways to get through those forty five seconds without as much discomfort as possible.

So in conclusion, I really don't think that tomorrow will be different from any other day. I most likely won't be hungover, I won't feel any different, and nothing will have changed from the day before. I won't be anyone special. I'll just be twenty, which is perfectly fine by me.

I've been on a dessert buzz lately (but then again, when am I not on one), and had an extreme hankering to make crepes. Thin, lovely, almond-scented pancakes to wrap around vanilla bean ice cream and nutella- you know, the only things in the world that actually matter.

I also made some stewed cherries to ladle on top, laced with cinnamon and cognac. This dessert definitely does double duty as both a summer and winter dessert.

just another weekend

Crepes with Cherries Jubilee

crepe batter

recipe adapted from Alton Brown

2 large eggs
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup water
1 cup flour
2 tablespoons of sugar
1/2 teaspoon of almond extract
3 tablespoons melted butter
butter, for coating the pan

cherries jubilee
~2-3 cups of bing cherries, pitted and halved
1/4-1/3 cup of granulated sugar
1/4 cup of brown sugar
1 cinnamon stick
1/2 cup of orange juice
3 tablespoons of cognac
2 tablespoons of butter

cognac whipped cream
1/2 cup of whipped cream
2 tablespoons of granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon of vanilla
2 tablespoons of cognac, or any other liquor

to assemble
vanilla bean ice cream
nutella

For the crepe batter, combine all of the ingredients in a blender and pulse for 10 seconds. Place the crepe batter in the refrigerator for 1 hour. This allows the bubbles to subside so the crepes will be less likely to tear during cooking. The batter will keep for up to 48 hours.

Heat a small non-stick pan. Add butter to coat (it should be sizzling). Pour 1 ounce of batter into the center of the pan and swirl to spread evenly. Cook for 30 seconds and flip. Cook for another 10 seconds and remove to the cutting board. Lay them out flat so they can cool. Continue until all the batter is gone. If you find that the batter is too thick as a result of being kept in the refrigerator, thin it out with some water.

In a saucepan combine the cherries, granulated sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon stick, and orange juice over medium high heat. Stew and reduce down until the cherries are soft and the sauce is thickened. Add the cognac and either flambe or simmer for a few more minutes, and finish with butter.

For the whipped cream place all of the ingredients into a chilled bowl and whisk until slightly firm peaks form.

To assemble the dish, smear a tablespoon of nutella near the lower third of each crepe. Gently shape some ice cream and top, and roll the crepe into individual wraps. Spoon the stewed cherries over each serving and finish with a small pillow of the cognac whipped cream.

Note*: You can't roll up the crepes in advance and keep them in the freezer, or else they get unpleasantly chewy when you serve them.

College Dining Journal 9-21-12

2012-09-21T22:30:00.000-07:00

Little Gifts

I have a confession to make...

I'm absolutely obsessed with the lighting in my apartment kitchen. I'm sure the campus didn't have food bloggers in mind when constructing on campus apartments, but the white laminate countertops, their distance from the window facing the sun, and the shadows cast by the overhead cabinets provide the perfect lighting for journalistic food blogging.

I'm in love.

San Luis Obispo is renowned for its farmers market every Thursday. Words can't express how captivating it is- the entire downtown is transformed each week into a festival, with lights twinkling in the trees as stalls line the street with produce, street food, and flea market merchandise. I meant to document it this week to share with you all, but being the bonehead that I am I carried my camera like an Asian tourist but left the memory card in my laptop at home.

But at the same I don't need an excuse to go every week. The strawberries are sweet year around, the grapes give a tremendous explosion of sweetness with every bite, and the vegetables are always vibrantly colorful. The kicker though is that while everything is remarkably inexpensive, every single vendor grows their produce locally, without any pesticides, with a good majority of it being organic.

Each week that I've been shopping for all of the food I eat I make it a test to see how little I can spend, with the hopes that I can eventually participate in my own Eat on $30 challenge. (Only thirty dollars to feed yourself for the entire week, which is the average amount Americans who live on food stamps have to spend; for an excellent example read Jen Yu's experience.)

This week's budget break down:

Farmer's market ~$12
-a couple of apples, 1/2 pound of grapes, a head of red leaf lettuce (only $1), 3 pints of strawberries
Food 4 Less ~ $11
-deli meat, bagels, english cucumbers, hummus
Trader Joe's ~ $12
-trail mix, salad dressing (too expensive to buy a selection of vinegars and such), ground turkey
Total: ~$35

And finally what I ate today (which was mostly food from last week's shopping).

Breakfast:
A bowl of strawberries from the farmer's market with a nature valley chocolate granola bar crunched on top. Extraordinarily simple but exceedingly satisfying.

Lunch:
I had a couple meetings to run to today, so lunch was half assed bagel spread with hummus, some deli meat, and grapes.

Dinner:
Earlier this week I made boxed mac and cheese with diced celery, onion and chive cream cheese, and lots of red pepper flakes. I had the leftovers with some more grapes for dessert. The beverage as always was water for today.

simple pleasures and little gifts

College Dining Journal 9-19-12

2012-09-19T18:54:00.002-07:00

stereotypical-grass-in-the-setting-sun-picture

For the past 3 days my alarm was set at 6:00AM so I could go to the gym before class. For the past 3 days I slapped snooze and woke up at around 8:00 instead. It'll be a while before I get into the groove of things, but hey, it's still only the first week at least. (I've been compensating by going for occasional hikes, but after getting painfully attacked by ticks or some other sort of insect yesterday I've been starting to rethink that.)

While last year I endured the mediocrity of campus dining, things are different in that I'll finally be in charge of cooking breakfast, lunch, and dinner everyday. While frozen food is definitely convenient, it kind of defeats the purpose of getting off of a meal plan since it can be just as expensive, unhealthy, and just as crappy-tasting.

Breakfast:
Omelette made with egg substitute, some sauteed onions in olive oil, and a sprinkle of cheddar cheese; a small bunch of grapes, and a little apple juice.

Lunch:
A sandwich made with an onion bagel, onion and chive cream cheese (I like onions alright!), and some deli turkey. Along with that was some celery, a granola bar, an apple, and some cheeze-its to power me through the day until dinner. I had a couple bottles of water (reusable bottle of course) throughout the day.

Dinner:
I ashamedly pulled a Sandra Lee kind of dish by sauteeing some mirepoix (MOAR ONIONS) with red pepper flakes, garlic, and salt. Afterwards I dumped in a can of chili from Food 4 Less, pasta (plus some pasta water), and some cheese. Delicious in a this-should-taste-bad-but-is-good-anyway-kind-of-way (if that makes sense).

Raspberry Crisp

2012-09-15T13:12:00.001-07:00

Hello-Goodbye

The last time I wrote a post about moving in to college signaled an era of one post every other month. I would like to think that from then until now I have learned to make better use of my time, though for some reason I feel like this isn't the case.

However, it also helps however when my kitchen this year is much more usable and doesn't feel like I live in a New York studio apartment in Manhattan. Compared to the last year, cooking is a dream; I can actually use the stove and cut some onions at the same time now!

chalupa's old headquarters

the chalupa's new headquarters

It's hard to express in words the feeling of moving back from one home to another. For a short time, the magic of college had temporarily been replaced by dread. As of now, I can't spend all day cooking just because I want to. It's back to cheap, quickly made eats and most likely a diet of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, granola bars, and a slew of various other carbohydrate while studying with roommates.

always prepared for friends to stop by

However, nothing can top being reunited with people you haven't seen for months. Nothing can beat the almost intoxicating sensation of living life on your own and not only being raised up by your own accomplishments but getting beat down by your own follies without anyone to steer you on the right path.

My favorite thing about college, or should I say San Luis Obispo in general though is every single person is genuinely nice. I can't explain it, but this place has a way of making you feel like you belong here. Eating dinner is much more enjoyable in the presence of both new and old friends.

back to an electric burner

the trusty tea kettle from home

Now is also the time where I get to welcome my favorite season of all time- autumn. Not to say that summer didn't treat me well at all though. Summer is when berries are at their sweetest, and when they deserve nothing more than the simplest of preparations. Before pears, apples, and pumpkins storm the downtown farmer's market, it's time to say goodbye to the last batch of summer fruit.

simple (how it should be)

Personally when it comes to such a tart fruit like raspberries, I prefer having a near equal ratio of crumble to fruit. The buttery, brown sugar laced topping contrasts with the sharp, floral aroma of the last batch of summer raspberries.

While of course this is good while still warm, I have to say my favorite way of eating this is right out of the refrigerator, cold, where the fruit, almond extract, and crumble have been given time to meld, and the temperature causes the sweetness of the crisp to be slightly numbed. I don't even need a scoop of ice cream on top, and the only reason I discovered this revelation is because I had this crisp for breakfast throughout the week I made this.

One year ago: Dark Chocolate & Bing Cherry Frangipane Tart

Raspberry Crisp

filling
raspberries
flour (~2 tablespoons per pint of rasberries)
sugar (~3-4 tablespoons per pint of raspberries)
a dash of almond extract
pinch of salt

crisp topping

recipe from Ina Garten

*note: you most likely will not use the whole quantity

1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup oatmeal
1/2 pound cold unsalted butter, diced

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a large bowl gently toss together the raspberries with the rest of the ingredients for the filling. Pour into an oven safe baking dish.

To make the topping, combine the flour, sugars, salt, oatmeal, and cold butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on low speed until the mixture is crumbly and the butter is the size of peas. Scatter over the raspberries.

Bake until the topping is golden brown and the fruit is bubbly (~25-30 minutes). Serve warm, room temperature, or straight from the fridge (although for the last option to taste good it has to either be 12:00 midnight or 8:00 in the morning).

The Triple-D Drinking Game

2012-09-13T19:14:00.002-07:00

I'm busy moving into year #2 of college apartment living, so until I get back to posting weekly recipes, I have a little adventure for you to partake in. Seeing as how FoodNetwork likes to show reruns every night, an opportunity for you to play this game shouldn't be far off in the future...

My beverage of choice: plain old apple juice (and I'm being totally serious... booze doesn't sit well with me)

VERSION 1.0

Take a drink every time Guy puts his greasy, flabby fingers into the food to take a bite.
Take a drink if Guy's sunglasses are wedged onto the back of his sausage neck.
For every piece of bling/jewlery guy is wearing this episode, take a sip.
Take a shot/swig if Guy says "on point" or "fortified".*
Take a shot/swig if Guy mentions something about Flavortown.
Take a second if the word "train" or "manhole cover" is used in the same sentence as
Flavortown.
Chug if Guy says "you can put that on a flip flop and that will taste good."

VERSION 2.0

Drink every time Guy is annoying. (Please be careful)

*Side rant: Dear Guy- using the word fortified doesn't make you sound smart or educated at all.

#bloggerproblems

2012-09-11T17:20:00.000-07:00

For the past month my template designer (how I change this blog's appearance) has been knocked out of commission, and multiple bloggers have experienced the same problem. Turns out anytime you use the "Add CSS" feature of the template designer, it disables the ability to change fonts, etc....

So until I find a fix get used to everything being left aligned for a bit...

Labor of Love

2012-09-04T23:12:00.002-07:00

Well first off, happy belated labor day... and to everyone who sat outside stuffing their face with hot dogs and tipping back icy beverages, all I have to say is that you probably had a lot more fun than I did.

I'll never turn down an opportunity to make a macaron; no matter how overdone they may be in the blogosphere, to me they are their own artform inside the world of pastry. I've made macarons before, and luckily they turned out relatively good on my first try. However, the macaron gods this past labor day decided it was time I experience what macaron hell is like.

Trial 1: Raspberry macarons. I've successfully used freeze dried fruit before in order to flavor the macaron shells. After pulverizing freeze dried raspberries in the food processor, I substituted them for some of the powdered sugar. However for some reason it messed with the texture during macaronage, making the batter thicker than usual. As a result, I kept mixing and mixing, thinking the batter was too viscous. They piped and dried out nicely, but alas, they crumpled and cracked in the oven, and their feet became enveloped under the wrinkly shells.

fail #1

Trial #2: Green tea macs. This was straightforward enough- I overmixed the batter again, and I knew it. The batter was running out of the tip of my piping bag as I was filling it up. As a result the shells burst in the oven, and the feet spread too widely.

fail #2

Trial #3: Almond macs. This time I was completely fed up. I double checked all my measurements, and flavored the them with a teaspoon or two of almond extract, so I knew this time that there was no flavoring that could mess up the macs. I performed the macaronage step pefectly- the batter was still thick, but settled into perfect rounds when I piped them... Except I piped them on wax paper because I was out of parchment.

As they cooled out the oven they settled beautifully into the most perfect macarons one could envision, with smooth, shiny tops and wonderfully ruffled feet. Except they stayed there forever. No matter how much I tried I couldn't pry those little f*ckers off of the wax paper.

fail #3

It's hard not to get discouraged after having three consecutive failures in one day, and I'll admit that for a while I was in a pissy mood- macarons just have that magical power to toy with your emotions.

And for those of you who will view this post and are curious about how my most daring meal went, I will say that it left me with a mixed bag of emotions.

shrimp and arugula salad

It wasn't bad per se, but the amount of time I put into the meal did not necessarily reflect in each meticulously crafted dish. Everyday that week I went to bed with sore feet, prune fingers, and garlicky body odor, too exhausted to do any of the other non-food related tasks I had assigned myself that day. Yet, each dish failed in delivering the epiphany inducing bites I was secretly hoping for.

Don't get me wrong- my guests (family members of course) were as entertaining as always, and I sat in the candlelit glow of good company and slightly dry pork loin. No matter how critical you may be of your own work, there will always be people there to give you a kick in the gonads and tell you that no matter how pessimistic your feel there's always a redeeming quality in everything.

roast pork loin

Even still, to be honest I felt slightly unfulfilled by the end of the meal. Was the bar set too high? Admittedly perhaps, and it is always disappointing to reach below your expectations. After spending this entire week in the kitchen, I felt like the payoff wasn't as big as I wanted it to be, and at the end of the day I just want to eat something a little more humble and a little less pretentious. While my riff on Keller's candied apple for dessert was still very delicious, ironically at the end of the meal all I was craving was that homey, juicy fruit crisp I couldn't stop thinking about but wrote off anyway during my menu planning.

winding down with conversation

P.S. Thank you Brooke of FoodWoolf for your captivating email.

One year ago: Dark Chocolate & Bing Cherry Frangipane Tart

in the home stretch

2012-09-01T00:24:00.002-07:00

I'm almost there. Just one more day and the most complicated and involved meal I've ever made in my near twenty year lifetime is coming to a close.

My feet are once again sore from standing on cold kitchen tile, and I basically scrubbed off my top layer of skin in the shower in order to get rid of the meaty particulates and grease that have been accumulating over the course of cooking bacon on a hot and humid august day.

I can't get the smell of onion off of my fingertips, and I'm having recurring daydreams of my tagliatelle turning into a gummy mess in the boiling water. Right now my brain is trying to figure out how many disasters I can have right before dinner is served.

But most of all, I'm dreading all of the dishes that are going to be passing through the sink tomorrow night, and how my fingers, in addition to smelling of onion, will eventually be resembling dried prunes.

How to Make a Fancy-Schmancy E-Menu

2012-08-30T22:12:00.002-07:00

It's 9:00 pm, and I'm writing this blog post with extremely sore feet. I spent today and yesterday shopping and cooking in 90+ degree heat, and I feel like my pores are clogged with either sweat, flour, or grease. Aside from purchasing all of my ingredients from Costco, Whole Foods (which refuses to stop raping my wallet), and Albertsons, my kitchen has already toiled away making:

-homemade lemon ricotta cheese

-almond tuiles

-homemade candied apple ice cream

-vanilla buttermilk cake

-world peace cookie dough

-2 pounds of fresh tagliatelle pasta (rolled out by hand, mind you)

-poached apples

Tomorrow, the day before the dinner I'll be...

-baking off the world peace cookies

-shelling and deveining shrimp

-marinating said shrimp

-prepping veggies and the pork loin

-making the brandy apple caramel sauce

-making orange vinaigrette

-cooking 2 pounds of bacon

-practicing how to properly shape a quenelle

-grilling corn and bell peppers for the crostini

Needless to say I don't have the willpower or strength within me to write an exhaustive post about food, so instead I'll be showing you how to impress some frivolous friends with a dinner party e-vite such as this one!

Okay first off go to Photoshop (if you don't have or want to pay for Photoshop, I'm quite certain GIMP, which is a free program can do the exact same thing; however this tutorial will be tailored for Photoshop users). We're going to be opening up a new blank canvas on which we will create our masterpiece.

I like to do a 50 by 50 inch canvas- don't worry, the final piece isn't going to be that big (we'll be cropping it down to size), but it's better to be safe and start off with a huge canvas.

Now a word about the picture you use- you want one that is a direct overhead view of your food/subject, with a plain neutral background. This will give you an easier time, and if you don't have any good pictures in your library, I'm sure there's a stock photo floating around the internet that will do.

Open your picture in photoshop...

And simply drag and drop it onto your new canvas.

Now our next task is to expand the background of your image so you have a place to write your text. I will note that there are literally dozens (if not hundreds) of ways to perform a task in Photoshop and GIMP due to the staggering amount of tools and features they offer, so I'm only going to show you the method I personally know how to use.

Click on the clone stamp tool. Like its name suggests, the clone tool takes one part of image, and copies it (or clones it) to another spot. In this case, we're going to be cloning the cloth background.

Now in order to replicate the cloth as seamlessly as possible (versus blotchy and obvious), make sure you set the hardness to 0%.

Now here's the part that will take some practicing. Spot an area that you wish to clone. Alt+click on that area. Now move your mouse to the area where you want this area to be cloned. Click and drag your mouse around and that voila! You've just used the clone stamp tool!

Now just keep on going...

Until you've got this!

Now time to start adding text- click on the text tool...

And click wherever you want some text and start typing. You'll notice that every time you create a new group of text it appears as a new layer. If you want to edit pre-existing text, make sure that layer is selected in the layer menu (on the right side) first, click on the text tool, and then click on the text you want to edit.

If you want to change the size or placement, click on the layer corresponding to that text in the layer menu, and press Command + T. It will box the text and give you anchors to adjust the size and will allow you to move it around. When you're finished, press Enter to exit the transformation.

When you want to transform text (versus editing the text itself), make sure you are using the pointer tool. If you're still in the text tool, it will only let you edit the text.

To change/edit the font itself, there is a font menu on the right hand side near the layers menu.

Now on a word on how you arrange your text so that it's pleasing to the eye:

You'll see I was able to fit the menu, but ran out of space for the time and date.

After putting it in, it created a sense of imbalance: the menu is heavily weighted to the left side with a lot of negative space on the right.

So I just did a simple switcheroo!

Now to save your masterpiece:

Your guests can't open a Photoshop file when they it comes in an email unless they have the program itself, and chances are the file is WAY too big to fit in an email in the first place. So we're going to save it as a simple, standard, everyday jpeg file.

While a jpeg is exponentially smaller in size than a photoshop file, chances are your jpeg file is still uncomfortably big; remember we want to keep an email attachment to a couple hundred kilobytes for convenience sake; so I'll play around with the percent until it's a comfortable size.

and you're all set!

...in which I plan my most daring meal yet

2012-08-28T23:50:00.001-07:00

Lately I've been frustrated by the kind of food I've been making lately. I love you family, but cooking for 25+ is a pain in the ass, and I'm always limited by what I can make due to the need for feeding the masses. I've always dreamed of going all out on a very special dinner for once, with multiple courses- a meal I can say I am extremely proud to have cooked. That is why for my final dinner before leaving for school I'm going all out for a small group. This is my excuse to cook for 3-4 days straight with reckless abandon, and lose myself in a craft I have been practicing for the majority of my life. Evidently, it's also a reason for me to start using excessively flowery language in my blog posts.

Now on to the menu...

I think menu planning is the bane of my amateur culinary existence. This took me three (3!) days to plan, damnit. It's trying to find a way to venture into the daunting universe of incorporating fine dining into my cooking, when I'm so used to beef and chicken. In the 10 or so years that I have been seriously cooking, this will be my very first time roasting a loin of pork (though that in itself isn't really a fine dining accomplishment)

poorly drawn venn diagram

While California affords the luxury of almost year-round produce, I actually decided to do what I should have done a long time ago and plan a seasonal menu. Since we are almost at the cusp of fall (well, actually it's a month away, but august --> september is a big step to me) I came up with the idea of a transitional menu. Starting off with in season summer produce as the appetizer/first course, and ending with fall's best offerings for dessert. After making sure I had the dictionary definition down pat, I named the menu Equinox, in honor of the theme. By this point I was giving myself multiple back pats to make me feel better about the fact that this is what I do on a summer night.

Since each course gradually moved towards fall ingredients, I renamed the appetizers as August, the entree as September, and dessert as October. As I typed that up at 1:15 a.m. I was stupidly giddy and bouncing in my chair in excitement. I felt like I was about to run a real restaurant, which as I think back is an emotional accomplishment of sheer delusion. While I finally feel I'm creeping out of my comfort zone onto more adventurous culinary waters, it could also just be that the copious amounts of adjectives on the menu I typed up is very well feeding my ego.

Starters
I wanted to include produce that only tastes legitimately good in summer- in this case sugary, juicy, cherry tomatoes, bright yellow corn, and vibrantly red bell peppers. Since there's a half gallon of whole milk in the fridge (and I can only stomach skim), some house made ricotta will be in order for the crostini. That paired with a light salad with roasted shrimp should be pretty good as far as first courses go.

Entree
This was a bit on the tougher side to come up with... What entree makes you immediately think of autumn? Roast duck legs? A bit too rich. Beef or chicken? Too common. Pork Loin? Perfect, but a bit foreign to me. I'll be playing it safe by just roasting it with some vegetables and herbs, and making an apple cider reduction.

I also desperately wanted to use some mushrooms, and after a bit of foodgawking, I saw an awesome idea for a simple roasted mushroom pasta with wilted spinach. While in my heart I knew fresh pasta would be the bee's knees, I couldn't even stomach all of the time intensive sweatiness I would have to go through, since pasta dough for me has always been like trying to roll out a rubber band. However, after doing some research, I realized that I have been using a crappy pasta recipe all along, and after a test run today, I am recklessly doing hand made tagliatelle for the side dish.

Dessert
When I think of fall fruit I think pears, apples, and cranberries. Problem is, the only think I could remotely come up with to do with them was a fruit crisp, or crumble... that's a bit of a cop out after all of the dishes preceding it. Just a simple crisp, when my main goal is to go outside my boundaries. Sure, it'll probably be tasty, but it's disappointing after all the effort I went through for all the other courses.

I then remembered the trials and tribulations of Carole's experience in the French Laundry at Home, in which she makes Keller's Candied Apple. I surely knew I might stick my head into the oven if I tried to pull that off in its entirety, so I'm doing a ~~slight mockery~~ semi-tribute to it. Buttermilk cake, with a poached apple on top, some cinnamon gelato, and an almond tuile on top. Somehow if I find the time and resources I may spring for homemade apple ice cream instead of making a pit stop at the gelateria.

UPDATE: I'm springing for homemade candied apple ice cream.

You probably know the korova cookies better as Dorie Greenspan's infamous, and utterly addictive World Peace cookies. To tie in to the autumn theme, I'm incorporating cranberries and a hint of cinnamon.

So there we have it... A full menu where the only thing I'm not making is a baguette for the crostini...

Saturday, September 1st, 10 people, 7:00 pm. It's on.

Oh and by the way, here are some of my favorite standbys for a dinner soundtrack

Beyond the Sea by Robbie Williams
Bella Luna by Jason Mraz
Don't Know Why by Norah Jones
Quando, Quando, Quando by Michael Buble (or anything Buble)
The Ratatouille Soundtrack by Michael Giacchino

Brûléed French Toast

2012-08-22T21:57:00.000-07:00

Brunch-a-tize Me

Every year I hold two big brunches: one during summer, and the other during winter when I'm home on break from school. It's a massive undertaking, one person cooking for sometimes thirty-five to forty people, but in the end, I'm left with an excuse to eat copious amounts of bagels and belgian waffles. Plus, there's nothing more relaxing (or repulsive, you be the judge) than napping off a food coma in an air-conditioned house at 1:00 PM on a Sunday.

el menu

You'll notice that usually the menu doesn't change at all whenever I make brunch, because

1) I need to justify the purchase of a waffle maker, and
2) I don't mess with something that isn't broken.

(Recipes for Belgian Waffles, Oeufs en Cocotte, and Vegetable Cream Cheese)

And here was my approximate schedule for those who ask how I pulled this off...

Thursday:
   Go shopping for the big stuff at Costco; sausages, nice plates, berries, butter, heavy cream, eggs;
   place an order for mini croissants at the best bakery ever (Au Couer de Paris)
Friday-Saturday:
   Family vacation in SLO
Saturday Afternoon:
   Go to the Asian Market, Albertsons, and Party City for everything else I need
Saturday Evening:
   Cousin's birthday celebration at Cham Sut Gol (all you can eat korean bbq)
Saturday Night (9:00PM~1:00AM)
   Make waffle batter, saute leeks and bacon for eggs, make fruit smoothies, cut fruit and assemble
   platter, make vegetable cream cheese, make spice muffins, macerate berries for waffles, whip the    the cream, clean the kitchen, and conk out
Sunday Morning:
6:15 AM: groggily wake up and realize that I didn't take out my contacts last night hence my eyes
                   being glued shut. Profusely moisturize with eye drops before brushing teeth and getting
   ready
6:30 AM: assemble all 50 individuals oeufs en coccote; empty the dishwasher
7:15 AM: go pick up the croissants, buy smoked salmon from whole foods, and pick up bagels
8:00 AM: realize the spice muffins are bland, so make a quick cinnamon butter; assemble smoked
                   salmon platter; continuously wash dishes so the kitchen stays clean
9:00 AM: set up the buffet and all the tables outside; bar with champagne, juice, and plastic flutes
                   are arranged
9:30 AM: sear and slice the sausages and tent under foil; put the breads, jams, spreads on the table
10:00 AM: realize I have nothing left to do so watch tv for 45 minutes; realize that the Pioneer
                   Woman is a terrible show
10:45 AM: Put the oeufs en cocotte in the oven
11:00 AM: Start making waffles; guests start to arrive; take the eggs out; put the waffles in to warm
                   and crisp up slightly; heat up the sausages as well.
11:15 AM: Eat, and then clean
1:00 PM:   Food coma nap

See... it's easy!

While I absolutely adore a plate of waffles, french toast is just as delicious in my book. I remember my mom used to make it using wonder bread as a kid with lots of cinnamon, and over time it evolved from skinny slices of eggy goodness to fat little bricks.

I usually don't go out of my way to measure the ingredients I use in cooking, which becomes a fault on my part when it comes times to post them on the blog. Usually I use whatever just looks right, so I apologize for any frustrations in advance.

no syrup necessary

Torching these babies does wonders- it adds an important textural contrast to the soft, eggy toast, while that burnt caramelized top adds an edge to the sweetness of the syrup. I was also a big fan of the orange and almond combo.

okay, maybe a little

or a lot

One Year Ago: Toronto Part 1: Cora's, Toronto Part 2: Shopsy's

Brûléed French Toast

french toast
challah or any other kind of egg bread, thickly sliced
eggs (I usually use a ratio of half whole eggs and half egg yolks)
half and half or milk (about twice as much as the amount of egg used)
a teaspoon or two of cinnamon
brown sugar, to taste
granulated sugar, plus more for dusting
pinch of kosher salt
vanilla extract
almond extract
splash of grand marnier
a teaspoon or two of orange zest

macerated strawberries
strawberries, chunked into large pieces
dash of kosher salt
sugar, to taste
1 teaspoon of orange zest
a couple tablespoons of orange juice
splash of grand marnier

For the strawberries mix all of the ingredients in a bowl and store in the fridge until ready to use.

Dry out the challah slices on a rack on the counter overnight. The morning after, whisk together the eggs, half and half, cinnamon, brown sugar, sugar, salt, vanilla, almond extract, grand marnier, and orange zest to make a custard. Briefly dunk the slices (no more than 30 seconds, or it will fall a part in the pan), and griddle in butter over medium to medium high heat for 3-4 minutes on each side.

Sprinkle an even layer of granulated sugar on the french toast slices, and brulee with either a blow torch or under the broiler until a golden crust of hard sugar is formed on each slice. Serve immediately with the berries and maple syrup.

Raspberry & Dark Chocolate Frangipane Tart

2012-08-14T22:46:00.000-07:00

How Will You Measure Your Life?

One of the more interesting books I've read this summer for the leadership course I will be helping to teach next year is Clayton Christensen's How Will You Measure Your Life. It's geared towards an older demographic, but I have to say one of the most relevant pieces of information I found was this following tidbit:

We choose a profession based off of two factors:

Hygiene factors: things that make us not dissatisfied with our job- believe it or not, this includes salary in addition to job security, work conditions, and elements such as an effective management
Motivating factors: the things that really cause us to love our jobs- challenges, recognition, responsibility, growth, and genuine interest. While to an extent some hygiene factors or necessary, we will find a truly fulfilling profession based off of motivating factors.

As I was reading this section, I couldn't help but think back to the overly long blog post on my quarter life crisis... Food and photography gives me genuine interest, but they give little in the way of hygiene factors, and let's face it- there's not a terrible amount of growth and recognition in the food and photography word. Yet, at the same time, a genuine interest in something can carry you a long way....

Southern California has finally been experiencing a heat wave, and being the idiot I am I picked today to go teach conceptual photography to a friend. So in ninety degree heat, the two of us hiked up a mountain (for a scenic setting), with me in a long sleeve button up (to look presentable in a photograph), wearing sandals (I wanted to be barefoot in the photos). By the time we got to the top we were both winded, I was sweating profusely in all the wrong areas, and my feet looked like I had been dancing in a pit of razor blades.

But then I began teaching her how to properly do the Brenizer method, and walked her through a conceptual photography piece- a swarm of paper butterflies emerging from a tattered book into the sunset. All of that pain we endured going up the mountain became a distant memory. Three hours later we wrapped the day with a couple of simple portraits, and the last thing I remember doing was taking out my memory card to let her use my camera, and supposedly stashing that little sucker in my pocket.

When I got home however that memory card was nowhere to be found, and needless to say I was crushed. I checked the car a good 4 or 5 times, thinking that it would magically appear the next time I opened the door. I groped the insides of my pockets with the tenacity of a registered sex offender, hoping I would find it there. After the umpteenth attempt at looking for the damn card, I gave up and eventually faced the truth that the photos I was so looking forward to editing are long lost, along with the pictures for 3 recipes I had shot for this blog that had not been transferred to my computer yet. I honestly cannot remember the last time I have been so disappointed.

Yet, at the same time I can't help but look at the glass half full. The fact is, I was able to teach someone something new, and walk her through the steps of something she didn't know how to do before. As ~~devastated~~ bummed as I am that a memory card full of food pictures and 4 unedited conceptual photography pieces are probably laying somewhere in the bastardly hills of Irvine, I can't deny how satisfied I felt being a teacher. I'll admit it truly made me happy.

It also doesn't matter that the battle scars on my feet will be causing some discomfort for quite a while, or that my legs are still sore from hiking in sandals that barely have any tread left. Once I got to the top of the mountain and started photographing, I started doing something that felt fulfilling. Those motivating factors were doing there thing.

After this ordeal, I did a little thinking- maybe I've been taught that I have to be measuring my life through hygiene factors rather than motivating factors (instead of the other way around). After all, I went to a school that had a parking lot resembling a luxury car dealership. I've grown up thinking that money --> happy career --> happy family --> happy life. In fact, the importance of hygiene factors has become so ingrained into my mind that I genuinely think it is foolish to follow a dream career if it leaves you living paycheck to paycheck and without any time to spend with your family. Sometimes I wonder to myself why can't I just get the same excitement I get with food and photography out of medicine or computer science... I think life would be a heck of a lot easier :p.

________________________________________________________

It's no secret that I'm obsessed with frangipane tarts. I've already made nectarine and black cherry ones in the past, and they always turn out to be winners in my book. What can I say, almonds make me a happy camper!

Since my food processor broke ages ago and making pie crust by hand can be an annoying clusterf*ck, my trusty KitchenAid came to the rescue, and I have to say, did a pretty damn good job. The best part is, it's hard to over process butter in a stand mixer compared to a food processor.

I decided to make a double batch of frangipane since I had enough crust for two tarts. I tried experimenting by baking the second one in a spring form pan so I would get high sides and a tart that resembled an elegant cake. However, the excess crust collapsed without any filling holding it up, so I ended up with something a bit more... rustic. It was still delicious and more like an almond-tastic cake rather than a tart, which I liked, but trimming the excess crust will be a duly noted step next time.

I don't know what it is about raspberry frangipane tarts that make them turn out so ethereal in photographs- they just kept shimmering in a way that made all my pictures look like a fine painting (not that I'm complaining of course). I guess that means I'm going to have to make more tarts so I can experiment with different fruit to see if they turn out just as shiny hehe!

And that's the great thing about my love of food and photos- I could wake up and practice them every single day and never get tired or burned out. Yet here I am complaining to you about how they could never be a feasible career, because I simply measure my life by the wrong standards. So as you read this post, ask yourself the very same question I've been pondering this past week-

How will you measure your life?

tarte aux framboises et au chocolat (thanks google translate!)

Raspberry & Dark Chocolate Frangipane Tart

SERVES 12

pate brisee

adapted from Martha Stewart

ENOUGH FOR TWO 9" TARTS

2 1/2 cups of flour, plus more for rolling
1 teaspoon of salt
2 tablespoons of sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) of butter, cubed
~1/2 cup of apple juice, iced

In the bowl of an electric mixer, mix together the flour, salt, and sugar. Toss in the butter and chill in the freezer along with the paddle attachment for fifteen to twenty minutes.

Mix on low until the butter become the size of peas and the overall mixture is like pale, yellow gravel. With the mixer still on low, slowly drizzle in around 1/3 cup of the apple juice, adding more if necessary until the dough comes together. Be careful not to overmix. Shape the dough into 2 flattened discs, wrap in plastic, and chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.

almond frangipane

recipe via Use Real Butter

MAKES ENOUGH FOR A 9" OR AN 11" TART

4.5 oz (125g) unsalted butter, softened
4.5 oz (125g) icing sugar
3 eggs
1/2 tsp (2.5ml) almond extract
4.5 oz (125g) ground almonds
1 oz (30g) all purpose flour

Cream butter and sugar together for about a minute or until the mixture is primrose in color and very fluffy. Scrape down the side of the bowl and add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. The batter may appear to curdle. In the words of Douglas Adams: Don’t panic. Really. It’ll be fine. After all three are in, pour in the almond extract and mix for about another 30 seconds and scrape down the sides again. With the beaters on, spoon in the ground nuts and the flour. Mix well. The mixture will be soft, keep its slightly curdled look (mostly from the almonds) and retain its pallid yellow color.

to assemble
1/2-3/4 cup of raspberry jam
4-5 oz of grated dark chocolate
1 pint of raspberries
1/4 cup of apricot jam

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Roll out the pate brisee and line the tart pan. Spread a layer of raspberry jam on the bottom, followed by a snow of dark chocolate. (The amount is up to you). Carefully top with the frangipane, and dot the top with raspberries so they're like rubies peaking up from the pale yellow batter. Bake for around 30 minutes, or until the frangipane is golden brown.

Once cool, heat the apricot jam with a splash of water and brush the top of the tart.

Dirty Carbonara

2012-08-07T22:42:00.002-07:00

I've been frantically, cooking as much as I can the past couple weeks in order to crank out as many posts I can before I leave for school in a month. A scheduled work day at the library turned into a marathon crepe making session in 90 degree heat... the things I do for you guys ;).

A couple things went wrong when I was making this- I didn't have the patience to roll out each noodle individually, so I made the sheet of pasta as thin as I could and cut out some fettuccine, which wasn't thin enough. Also, aside from the doughy and thick noodles this was a pretty heavy dish, even by my standards. Eat with caution.

I don't know what makes a dish qualify as being "dirty", but all I know is that I had a bunch of browned crud stuck to the bottom of my pan. After a quick deglaze with pasta water, what was supposed to be a normally pale carbonara turned into something more brown and darkly rich.

after the deglazing

carbs + bacon + eggs + cheese = <3 + (<3 attack)

One year ago: Belgian Waffles, The Summer Sandwich

Dirty Carbonara

SERVES ~2

fresh pasta
1 1/2 cups of all purpose flour
2 eggs
splash of olive oil
pinch of salt
finely minced parsley

for the sauce
~1/4 pound of thick cut bacon, diced
olive oil

1 yellow onion, chopped
2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
pinch of red pepper flakes
salt and pepper to taste
2-3 eggs, beaten
1 cup of grated parmesan or pecorino

On your workspace make a well with the flour; fill it with the eggs, oil, parsley, salt and pepper. With a fork, start beating the liquid ingredients in the center while gradually incorporating the flour. Keep doing this until the dough begins to form and becomes too stiff to handle with the fork. Begin kneading the dough with your hands until a smooth ball of dough forms (you may or may not need extra flour). Wrap with plastic and allow the dough to rest for a half hour to an hour.

To make pasta rags by hand, cut the dough in half, and make thin slices crosswise. Take each slice and roll it out until 1/8 inch thick or thinner- it should be slightly translucent. Allow the rags of pasta to air-dry until ready to use.

For the sauce, saute the bacon in a little bit of olive oil until it starts to crisp. Add in the onion, garlic, red pepper flakes, and salt and pepper and continue to cook until it gets crisp. Deglaze the pan with a little bit of the water used to boil the pasta to make a cohesive sauce. Add in the boiled pasta and toss well; take off the heat. Beat together the eggs and parmesan, and add to the pasta. Toss together vigorously to heat the eggs through. Garnish with more cheese and parsley.

Flank Steak Sandwich

2012-07-30T15:22:00.001-07:00

From Days Gone By, Part 5

part 1

part 2

part 3

part 4

I'm always hearing about the power of food, and how it can not only connect people together, but also keep memories alive. I used to think all of that was utter b.s., but since I am now on the cusp of being twenty years of age, (which, in my mind, feels like the worst birthday behind forty), I have been thinking back about being a carefree (and careless) kid and have realized that in fact, most of my vivid childhood memories have all revolved around food.

Outside of the kickball field, lunch was one of the more competitive parts of elementary school. It was all about who had the best lunch and whether you could jip someone into trading for your food. Bartering was usually over Doritos or cookies, but at times kids would even swap whole sandwiches. When you first think of a sandwich in Vietnamese cuisine, one's mind automatically thinks of the nirvana that is Banh Mi, a delight that I relished growing up eating. However, I went to a private school in a less than diverse area, filled with sheltered kids who thought that no matter what part of Asia you were from, your cuisine solely consisted of orange chicken and fried rice.

(Just for kicks, I remember word for word a conversation I had in seventh grade.

Me: My parents own a restaurant

Classmate: What kind?

Me: A vietnamese one.

Classmate: Oh sweet, so you have like fried rice and egg rolls?

Me: *mental facepalm*)

I knew that if I dared bring a banh mi sandwich to school, the aroma of pungent pate, pickled carrots, and salty headcheese and gio would immediately attract unwanted (and most likely negative) attention. Thus, growing up everyday my mom packed me a sandwich consisting of untoasted wonder bread, kraft miracle whip, iceberg lettuce, and a couple slices of foster farms turkey, cut in half diagonally, and then wrapped in foil. It was honestly the most boring sandwich you could possibly come up with, and after years of eating that sandwich every single day it was a struggle trying to finish it. While everyone always looked forward to lunch to see what surprises awaited in their lunch box, I became totally indifferent to it, knowing that I would always have a water bottle, a bag of cut up apples, and that damn sandwich. By third or fourth grade after repeatedly taking home uneaten sandwiches, I "graciously" asked my mom if I could start making my own lunches from that point on.

Now, please don't get me wrong. Did having what I thought an inferior lunch make me dislike my mom? Of course not, but it definitely did make me strive to build a better lunch bag.

As a kid I didn't think having a competent lunch would even be an issue, but this was a private elementary school in an affluent area, where I felt that every action that everyone did was a way to show off. I would constantly look with envy at flaunting kids whose lunches seemed never ending. Even worse was that there were some stay at home moms (nothing against them personally) who showed up in a tracksuit everyday to hand deliver food (from god damn restaurants no less) to their eagerly awaiting child. I distinctly remembering an incident where one mom brought an entire pizza, and suddenly the boy no one liked for one day was making new friends left and right... and I, ashamedly, was one of them.

I will say though that I did beat everyone at one thing, and that was the use of a brown paper bag. While everyone in first to third grade carried around hulking igloos and metal crates, I slyly pulled a brown package from my backpack, knowing that I was cooler and more mature than them. By 6th grade, brown paper bags was a sign you made it into junior high, and everyone had them. Of course, there were people with eco-unfriendly plastic bags, but that was because it was a plastic bag from a sushi bar, as their moms had just hand delivered that day's lunch.

Because the brown paper lunch bag started becoming so ubiquitous in the classroom, there were bound to be some mix ups. One day in fourth grade, I opened my bag and low and behold, was a pack of gushers. On the inside I weeped with joy, and gleefully I started peering through the bag to see if there were any other surprises. Once I saw the lack of a tin foiled wrapped sandwich and an uncharacteristic bottle of Sunny Delight, I made the sad, devastating, realization. I begrudgingly rushed back into the classroom, to see the teacher showing the contents of my lunch (which that day was the infamous bland turkey sandwich, a cut up apple, and a water bottle) to a forlorn and obviously disappointed girl, trying to convince her to make do with it. Once I mixup was cleared, the girl happily waltzed to the lunch tables, and I followed after her, my hopes and excitement shattered.

As a result of all of these shenanigans, I began diligently waking up early to make my own sandwiches. Over the years they were as simple as the summer sandwich, to something as elaborate as a baguette filled with leftover steak au poivre I had made for dinner the night before, complete with cognac peppercorn cream sauce instead of mayo. The best part was eating it in front of jealous eyes, and as a sick and twisted form of unnecessary revenge after all those years of eating mediocre sandwiches, openly relishing every bite.

However making these sandwiches proved to be time consuming and a draining activity in the morning, and by 8th grade the novelty of having a unique sandwich wore off. I began resorting to taking a minute and thirty seconds to microwave a hot pocket each day, which was much easier and faster, and in my mind tasted just as good.

Come high school, I went through the hellhole that was zero period each morning, leaving me even less time to make my own lunch. While I often ate what was actually extremely delicious cafeteria food such as chicken tenders, french fries, barbecue pizza, and mexican burrito bowls, most of that food was expensive and let's face it, pretty fattening. Thus, in the sheerest form of irony, my lunches (still made by me) for the most part consisted of a sandwich (this time with bread modernized to grocery store wheat), turkey, mayo, lettuce, and sometimes some tomato. Completely unremarkable, but easy to put together, and the money I saved sometimes went towards buying warm cookies in the cafeteria.

this would've come in handy 10 years ago

So, in short, after roughly twelve years of bringing bag lunches to school, I have learned one very important lesson. Just f*cking pack a peanut butter and jelly and call it a day.

one year ago: Vanilla Pudding, Blueberry Crumb Cake, Vegetable Cream Cheese, Oeufs en Cocotte (for a crowd)

Flank Steak Sandwich

leftover grilled flank steak
olive oil
a crusty demi-baguette
bleu cheese
pecorino romano
red leaf lettuce
roma or cherry tomatoes

sauteed red onions
red onion, sliced thinly
butter
pinch of red pepper flakes
salt and pepper
a teaspoon or two of sugar
tablespoon or two of worcestershire sauce
a couple dashes of soy sauce

garlic mayo
mayonnaise
minced garlic
black pepper
salt
worcestershire sauce
tabasco sauce
minced parsley

Heat a pan with the olive oil over high heat. Sear the flank steak until browned.

Meanwhile, over medium high heat saute the red onion in butter. Season with salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, and add a couple pinches of sugar to help with the browning process. As the onions brown, add a 1/4 cup of water periodically in order to deglaze the pan and speed up the softening process. When the onions are almost tender, add the worcestershire, and cook until reduced down.

For the garlic mayo, mix all of the ingredients together.

To assemble, cut the baguette in half lengthwise, and broil in the oven until golden. Smear both sides generously with the mayo, and on one side layer the steak and bleu cheese, and on th eother the sauteed onions and pecorino. Put back under the broiler until melty. Top steak side with tomatoes and lettuce, and place the top on.

Cinnamon Toast Crunch Ice Cream

2012-07-24T11:41:00.001-07:00

The Quarter Life Crisis

This post took me a long time to write, (4-5 hours to be exact), mainly because it deals with a topic that has bothered me for the past four to five years, and has been fervently racing through my mind with increased tenacity, especially in the past couple months.

I've noticed that frequently my professors extol the virtue of following something you're truly passionate about, despite the financial rewards it may or may not present to you. Class after class, I hear the importance of chasing your dream early on, lest you wake up one day and realize you lived a life of regret, and as a result, these discussions consequently move towards a simple question that I encounter not only in the classroom but in day to day life... "What are you passionate about?"

My first answer is usually food... I show people my passion for food. I make them a meal that tries to break their expectations, in order to show what the difference is between "I like to cook" and "I am a passionate cook." I complain about the downward spiral of the Food Network (I'm pointing my finger at you, Cupcake Wars), while simultaneously praising the writings of Michael Ruhlman, the pantheon of blogs bookmarked in my browser, the culinary inspiration that is Thomas Keller, and the cinematic masterpiece that is Pixar's Ratatouille. I spend every moment of my free (and sometimes not so free) time reading about the culinary world, various new techniques, and recipes, and then I dream of the day when I can dine at the French Laundry, Le Bernadin, Scarpetta, Les Halles, and the other restaurants named on my bucket list.

"Any other hobbies?"

I then show people my Flickr account, detailing my food journal and the senses I try to stimulate when one sees a picture of a thickly sliced piece of golden french toast, blanketed in powdered sugar and accented with the reddest strawberries you can find. I also show them my conceptual photography portfolio, which provides me an escape from everyday life, and translates all of the thoughts crowding my mind that I can't express with words into a fantasy world for anyone who views it to take part in. Finally, I let them view all of the painstakingly edited pictures I have taken over the years of my travels that capture the whirlwind of emotions I get when embracing another culture.

The second question I frequently get asked is, "Then why aren't you pursuing a career in photography or food?"... and my answer to that is an awkward stutter, followed by, "I honestly don't know."

Actually, I probably do know, and it comes right down to being afraid. I've lived for the most part a sheltered life, blissfully unaware of what it means to live on a budget. I don't know what it's like living paycheck to paycheck, or saying "no" to something I can't afford. I spent my high school career taking the toughest classes possible, staying up until 2am every weeknight in order to get the highest SAT score, and G.P.A. I possibly could, all while juggling the responsibilities of being on ASB, so I could get in to a college that could eventually land a 9 to 5 career and a steady paycheck. For me, pursuing a "lowly" education and career in photography or culinary arts meant throwing all of that hard work away. I was convinced that if I was able to succeed doing that, then eventually as an adult I would have the time and money to pursue cooking and photography outside my forty hour work week, which would hopefully... maybe... perhaps... satiate these two passions. This compromise seemed much more reasonable than the financial insecurity and not uncommon seventy hour work weeks that both a photographer and restauranteur/chef might experience.

Had I not experienced honors chemistry in high school, I immediately sacked the archetypal Asian dream of majoring in medicine, as I knew that could very much lead to me (figuratively, of course) shooting my brains out. Thus, I chose business, thinking that if I didn't fall into the trap and temptation of an accountant or financial banker's salary, that I might be influenced to actually follow the two passions I've exhaustively written about and open some sort of photography or food related business. Or perhaps, the creativity marketing has to offer might fulfill my interest in digital media and lead to a job I might actually enjoy as much as a career in food or photography. However as I've come to realize, studying the material that will help open a business is much different and less satisfying than studying what your business will eventually be about.

If you've actually read all the way to this point (kudos to you), don't get me wrong - I love what I do in college. I love the growth I've experienced in the past year, and the broadening of my horizons through living in a tight knit, on campus community. While I don't necessary like economics or accounting, I like the leadership opportunities I have been presented with and jumped upon, and believe it or not, I kind of like the idea of working in the corporate world. I think it affords me even greater opportunities in making a change in the world. I have a hard time imagining myself being a prominent figure or philanthropist in society by working late nights in the kitchen or staring behind a computer screen editing photos. But at the same time, while I do dream of being a leader in business, the idea of donning a black, pinstriped apron and serving a room full of strangers in a cozy, dimly lit bistro at times is a stronger desire drifting through my mind.

However, both my culinary and photographic repertoire is admittedly shallow: I can't disassemble a lobster without mangling its meat, properly truss a roast, or take a whole fish and reveal its perfectly portioned filets. I safely stick to what I know how to cook: stews, roasted chickens, fresh pasta, and humble tarts. I also have zero expertise at using artificial lighting, and lack a lot of knowledge about light metering and advanced photographic terms and techniques. But studying these two areas isn't like the studying that goes on in a college library, because for me it doesn't feel like studying at all.

One of my favorite teachers and mentors this past year said that, "It's a sad day when you wake up and realize the only thing holding you back from doing what you love was you all along." As I lay down at night, I sometimes think of my worst fear of waking up one day in the future and being unable to go to work, realizing that I wasted the past decades of my life. I know... these are deeply cynical thoughts for someone who only finished his first year of college.

I have a terrible habit of collecting miscellaneous appliances. As of now, the following machines are sitting somewhere in the kitchen:

-KitchenAid stand mixer

-an immersion blender

-waffle maker

-a cheap, plastic shaved ice machine

-2 qt ice cream maker

-2 in 1 blender/food processor

-juicer

-crock-pot

Out of all of those, I would say I only use the first 3, and the blender when it actually works. The shaved ice machine is admittedly a failed purchase, and the juicer is in use when I'm in an imaginary health kick; I'm alright with not touching the crockpot since it was won in a game of White Elephant and I didn't actually have to pay money for it. The ice cream maker was something I thought I'd be using every other week in the summer, when in reality I think I used it only once this year, and that was to make this cinnamon toast crunch ice cream.

Okay, I cheated for this- I melted down some vanilla Haagen Dazs to use as the ice cream base. But this idea would not get out of my head and I needed instant gratification, so if you're too lazy to go through the trouble to make a real custard base, then get away with doing that.

My original idea for this was to have a cinnamon toast crunch cereal infused ice cream base, studded with bits of caramelized cereal. Also, because cinnamon toast crunch + bananas is a killer combo, some form of the fruit in the ice cream. However, I feared that if I just pureed roasted bananas into the base, the flavor would mask the cereal and would be too overwhelming, so I settled on finding a way to make a "roasted banana swirl". Usually frozen bananas turn into hard rocks when frozen, so I tried preventing that from happening by smoothing out the roasted banana paste with some of the ice cream base. However, the banana swirl still turned out to be quite icy, so maybe next time I'll add some more of the ice cream base to it.

I also wanted some actual crunch in the ice cream, so I baked some cereal with brown sugar and butter until it caramelized and became a touch more crisp. This process also added a slightly burnt/bitter edge, which was nice since it provided a nice balance to the sugary cereal. For extra measure, I baked off some leftover Apple Crisp topping I had in the freezer, which I tossed with some extra cinnamon.

As for the final product? Pretty darn delicious if I do say so myself- it reminded me of being a kid and eating a bowl of cinnamon toast crunch with sliced bananas, with a deeply rich flavor. However, it was not without some imperfections. Because the ice cream was a bit runny when it came out of the ice cream maker, the caramelized cereal got soggy during the hardening process, so perhaps adding them an hour or two after you stash it in the freezer would solve this. As I mentioned above, the banana swirl was still quite hard with large ice crystals. The secret home run winner overall though was the chunks of baked crumble, which had stayed delightfully crisp during the hardening phase, and added a rich, buttery crunch to the ice cream.

Cinnamon Toast Crunch Ice Cream with Roasted Bananas, Caramelized Cereal, and Cinnamon Crumble

MAKES APPROX. 1 QUART

*note: the following quantities are all approximations

cinnamon toast crunch ice cream
a plain ice cream base (I recommend David Leibovitz or Alton Brown)
a cinnamon stick
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
3 cups of cinnamon toast crunch cereal

roasted banana puree
2 bananas
2 tablespoons of butter
3 tablespoons of brown sugar
a pinch of cinnamon

caramelized cereal
1 cup of cinnamon toast crunch
2-3 tablespoons of butter
2-3 tablespoons of brown sugar

cinnamon crumble
6 tablespoons of flour
3 tablespoons of granulated sugar
3 tablespoons of brown sugar, packed
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon
1/4 cup of oatmeal
1/2 stick of cold, unsalted butter, diced

Heat the ice cream base until scalding along with the cinnamon and cinnamon stick, turn off the heat, and dump in the cereal. Allow to steep for 15-20 minutes. Don't let it go for too long, or it might become too starchy. Strain the mixture, and allow to cool in the refrigerator or in an ice bath until the temperature reaches at least 40 degrees.

To make the banana puree, slice the bananas and toss them with a pinch of cinnamon, salt, and the brown sugar. Roast in a 400 degree oven for 5-10 minutes on a greased baking sheet, until the bananas turn golden brown. Mash with a fork until it becomes a paste, and add in some of the ice cream base to prevent it from freezing hard.

For the caramelized cereal, toss the cinnamon toast crunch with butter, a pinch of salt, and brown sugar. Bake in a 300 degree oven for 7-10 minutes until they darken in color. Be careful, as they burn quickly.

Finally, for the cinnamon crumble, mix all of the ingredients in the bowl and mash with your fingertips until the butter is broken down into small pieces and the mixture turns, well.... crumbly. Bake in a 350 degree oven.

Churn the ice cream base according to your manufacturer's directions. Before putting it in the freezer to harden completely, fold in the caramelized cereal and baked crumble topping, before swirling in the roasted banana.

pardon the dust

2012-07-20T01:34:00.000-07:00

...as I do some construction around here.

-TFC

Grilled Herb Marinated Chicken

2012-07-18T14:21:00.001-07:00

When watching a food travel show one day, I heard the host having a foodgasm over chicken that actually tasted like pure, unadulterated chicken, as opposed to what comes shipped to us in vacuum packed cellophane packages over at our local Albertson's. Intrigued, I got to wondering- is the stuff you can get at Whole Foods really that much tastier and chicken-y? But then again, I'm just too damn stingy to fork over the premium for a free range bird, when I can get pre-cut, mass produced chicken from Costco. Does it make me a hypocritical foodie with poor taste? Most definitely. But until then, I guess I shall cover up my bland, factory farmed chicken with a slew of different marinades.

I usually don't like salting my marinades themselves, because it's hard to judge how much salt you need for the amount of protein you have. Instead I just salt the meat directly, and then pour on the marinade- no need to worry about over or underseasoning.

ready to bake

I love grilled chicken for huge crowds because a) it's cheap, b) it tastes good, and c) everyone likes chicken. However for me they're a bitch to cook, because only the back half of my grill stays hot, meaning I would have to do 2-3 batches of chicken that take a half hour each to cook. Big no no.

So instead, I opted to pre-bake my chicken pieces for the sake of convenience until they were done, and let them cool in their own rendered fat and juices so they would stay moist before I chucked them on the grill on high heat for 2-3 minutes. Perfect, fast, chicken!

It is crucially important that you pat dry the chicken pieces though- the pre-baking process renders out an insane amount of chicken fat from the thighs, and if you just slap it on the grill, not only will there be a sh*t-ton of grease flare ups, those flare ups will leave a burnt, sooty flavor.

*If you're only cooking for a few though, definitely take the extra effort to cook it entirely on the grill, because it tastes a lot more smokier and the charred flavor permeates the meat.

let's be honest- just skip the salad

I absolutely love this chicken- the skin gets crispy, and you can actually taste the marinade. It's great served cold on a picnic (or cold from the fridge for that matter). But overall it's an easy meal to pull together, and makes for some great ~~midnight snacking~~ leftovers

Grilled Herb Marinated Chicken

inspired by Ina Garten

1 onion, roughly chopped

3-4 cloves of garlic

1 teaspoon of grated lemon zest

1/3 cup of lemon juice

1/2 cup of basil

1/2 cup of chopped parsley

2-3 green onions, roughly chopped

3 tablespoons of dijon mustard

1 tablespoon of soy sauce

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 teaspoons of black pepper

1/3-1/2 cup of vegetable oil
chicken thighs and legs
salt

Put all of the ingredients except the chicken and salt in a blender and puree until smooth. Season the chicken pieces with salt, and pour over the marinade. Allow to sit in the fridge to marinate for at least an hour, but preferably overnight.

Grill the chicken on low to medium low heat for 20-25 minutes, with the lid down while flipping occasionally until the internal temperature reaches around 160 degrees. Cover with foil and allow to rest before serving.

Alternatively, if you are cooking for a large crowd, transfer the chicken along with the extra marinade into an oven safe dish and bake at 325 degrees until fully cooked (160 degrees). Allow the chicken to cool in the liquid to room temperature. When you're almost ready to eat, drain the liquid and pat the chicken pieces dry. Grill on high heat until the skin is crisp and brown.

Toronto Part 8: Terroni

2012-07-11T01:02:00.004-07:00

While I try best to choose where we eat on vacation via Yelp as much as possible, sometimes you can't ignore the recommendations of experienced locals, which is how our group found ourselves at Terroni. It wasn't just one local that recommended this restaurant however- it seemed like every other person we asked told us to drop what we were doing and spring on over to the restaurant before the dinner rush. While we tried to get there as swiftly as possible, we still ended up waiting around an hour amongst the cozy shelves filled with canned tomatoes, pasta, and olive oil.

I honestly can't describe the atmosphere of this place other than sexy. Everything is a smidge closer together than they should be, and the dimly lit lights made it so that the streets of Toronto outside lit up the restaurant just as much as the lamps inside themselves. I couldn't help but just gawk at everything around me. From the food, to the textured wood dining tables, to the glimmering lights outside reflected in the wet pavement, and finally to the fashionably well dressed patrons sitting inside, everything was just beautiful to the eye.

While we perused the menu deciding on what to eat, we were served a complimentary loaf of bread along with a plate of olive oil and balsamic vinegar. The bread, while decent, was disappointingly cold and was only eaten to settle our growling stomachs from hours of walking the city.

Aside from each ordering our own individual entrees, we decided to share a pizza so no one would have to agonize over choosing pasta or a pie. The Smendozzata ($16.95 CAD), consisting of house made sausage, red onions, gorgonzola, and mozzarella did not disappoint. The crust was deliciously thin, and shattered on the outside every time you took a bite, but still had a substantial and satisfying chew. The bitterness of the charred crust was balanced by the sweet, fruity tomato sauce, while the sausage provided a rich, fatty juiciness. A minimal (and dare I say perfect) amount of cheese held the pie together.

The Garganelli Geppetto ($16.95 CAD) for me was the 'meh' dish of the night. While I appreciated the idea of little to no sauce in order for the dandelion greens, homeamde sausage, fontina, parmigiano to shine through, extra virgin olive oil wasn't enough to keep the whole thing together, and I just found the plate mediocre.

The Spaghetti in Canna a Mare($16.95 CAD) had clams, mussels, calamari, scallops, and tiger shrimp in a delicate tomato sauce. I appreciated how light the sauce was and its role in accentuating the seafood.

One of my favorite pasta dishes of the night was the Agnolotti di Ricotta di Bufala ($17.95 CAD). The agnolotti, which is a type of ravioli from the Piedmont region of Italy and are characterized by a square shape (according to Wikipedia hehe), were tender yet toothsome. The slight acidity of the yellow tomato sauce cut through the richness of the buffalo milk ricotta and mozzarella hiding inside.

Despite each of us having our own entree, we were all hankering to try another pizza after how good the last one was. Upon recommendation of our waiter, the Puzza (16.95 CAD), with mascarpone, mozzarella, gorgonzola, mushrooms, and ham again showcased how the people of terroni know how to make a damn good pizza.

Why is everywhere in Toronto hipster central?

Service, while although not glaringly bad was also nothing to write home about. With how crowded the restaurant was when we were dining, our waiter was stretched thin.

However despite the slightly high prices, (or it could be my innate stinginess), eating at terroni gave me a mini culinary epiphany. It was the idea that cities such as Toronto offer literally an unlimited amount of places to dine, where one could have a genuinely good dinner every day for the rest of his life. What struck me about terroni was the authenticity of everything- from the handmade ravioli to the excellent thin crust pizza, and thus consequently realizing how many other similarly authentic restaurants are waiting out there.

True, I live in relatively close proximity to Los Angeles, which could also be considered a culinary mecca in itself, but I think it takes traveling to another country to realize the gastronomic opportunies a bustling metropolis offers. Walking out of the restaurant left me feeling satisfied not only from having a tasty meal, but realizing that I was walking back out into a city that is a ~~fat kid's~~ food lover's dreamland. It's amazing how just a simple restaurant and the food it offers you to eat can shape your opinion about an entire city, and in essence can make you wish you could live there for the rest of your life.

Terroni

Taste: A-

Service: B

Price: B

Overall Grade: B+

720 Queen St W

Toronto, ON M6J 1E8

(416) 504-0320

http://www.terroni.ca

Hours:

Mon-Sat 9AM-11PM

Grilled Flank Steak

2012-07-04T22:57:00.001-07:00

Summer Gloom

Fourth of July this year was a quiet affair- I wasn't in the mood to deal with the mobs at the beach, and plus, we've been having unusually cloudy and damp weather. As a result my cousins and I ended up taking my grandma to breakfast before taking a break at home, and then returning back to her house for dinner (which consisted of takeout pizza). Afterwards we ended up watching fireworks on the front porch.

carbo loading for breakfast

I've become increasingly frustrated as summer progresses. I meant for these months to be a time of growth and development both artistically and personally, but living at home has brought out my old lazy streak. I have to force myself to the library in order to get any work done, or else I end up watching reruns of Family Guy on Hulu. You know you're up to nothing when all the days start melding together and you can't tell the difference between Friday and Tuesday. I blame it all on our stinkin chihuahua.

In my quest for somehow providing steak while entertaining for the masses, I decided to give flank steak a second go. The first time I tried making one it turned out tough, chewy, and bland, so in order to prevent failure I turned to the trust worthy recipes of Kenji Lopez over at Serious Eats and the Food Lab. If you haven't heard of the Food Lab, go spend five hours right now reading all the articles.

all the other stuff

In accordance with my lazy streak, I ended up being too bothered to break out the measuring spoons and cups, so I just eyeballed and estimated everything, going heavy on the tomato paste, just because I like the flavor and adding in red pepper flakes and scallions.

criss cross (apple sauce)

The end result was pretty good- this flank steak actually had flavah!!! However in my paranoia of overcooking meat, the steak was still pretty rare and had a bit of chew to it. This recipe is still a bookmark/keeper for sure though.

Grilled Flank Steak

adapted from Serious Eats

SERVES 4-6

2 tablespoons of tomato paste

3 tablespoons of brown sugar

2 tablespoons dijon mustard

1/4 cup of soy sauce

1/2 cup of worcestershire sauce

1 tablespoon of anchovy paste

1 shallot, chopped

2 cloves of garlic

3-4 green onions

1/2 cup of vegetable oil

1 teaspoon of red pepper flakes
1 whole flank steak, about 2 pounds

Place all of the ingredients except for the steak in a blender and puree until smooth. Place marinade and steak in a ziploc bag and marinate for at least 1 hour and up to 12.

When ready to cook, pat excess marinade off the meat. Sear steak on very high heat for 3 minutes on each side until well charred. Then, either transfer to a 350 degree oven or to the cool side of the grill and continue cooking until the internal temperature reaches approximately 125 degrees for medium rare. Allow to rest before slicing thinly against the grain.

Red Velvet Cupcakes

2012-07-01T22:30:00.000-07:00

Confidence Booster

Dear Barbara,

Although you do not know who I am, nor have you ever met me, I know you ~~were~~ are a very extraordinary individual. Just the fact that you have a food blog (that I wish I found out about sooner) makes you special in my book, but judging by the blogosphere you are a person held dear to many hearts. I don't even know you enough to know if you like cupcakes, but either way these red velvet ones are dedicated to you. Rest in peace.

if i could, i would have the flags at half mast

Ever since I had Sprinkles Cupcakes, I've had an obsession over finding the perfect red velvet cake. In fact, it has become my life mission, with a whole set of bookmarks in my browser dubbed "The Red Velvet Collection", and I have slowly gone through each recipe in hopes of trying to find a recipe that closely replicates the Sprinkles taste.

For the past two years, red velvet cake, alongside cornbread, pancakes, and white rice was on the list of things I could never conquer in the kitchen... until now. I have finally found my perfect red velvet cake recipe, courtesy of Smitten Kitchen (Thanks Deb!).

Being able to overcome an obstacle as niggly and seemingly insignificant such as this may seem trivial to most, but to me it's as if I climbed Mount Everest (which I will never do). This red velvet cake really has been a confidence booster for me, and as I start to conquer more in the kitchen, I feel this blog maturing right alongside me. Two years ago I could never dream of taking pictures as half decent as the ones in this post, and I can't wait to see what another two years brings.

the bounty of summer

The cupcakes were luxuriously moist yet subtly sweet, thus requiring (and I mean it) swirls of cream cheese frosting dolloped on top. While most recipes have a useless tablespoon or so of cocoa, you could actually taste the mild, bitter flavor of deeply dark chocolate. In fact, in my own very biased and conceited opinion, these morsels are quite comparable to the infamous Sprinkles red velvet cupcakes that I adore so much.

And on a final note, the flags are indeed quite tacky and are something that I usually don't fall for, but come on- when else am I ever going to get the chance to buy flag toothpicks?

Red Velvet Cupcakes

adapted from Elissa Strauss via Smitten Kitchen

MAKES ~35

cake

3 1/2 cups cake flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa (not Dutch process)
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 cups canola oil
2 1/4 cups granulated sugar
3 large eggs
6 tablespoons (3 ounces) red food coloring or 1 teaspoon red gel food coloring dissolved in 6 tablespoons of water
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1 1/4 cup buttermilk
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 1/2 teaspoons white vinegar

frosting

1 1/2 sticks of cream cheese, softened

2 sticks of butter, softened

1 pound of powdered sugar, sifted

1 1/2 teaspoons of vanilla

to garnish
blueberries
strawberry halves

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Whisk cake flour, cocoa and salt in a bowl. Place oil and sugar in bowl of an electric mixer and beat at medium speed until well-blended. Beat in eggs one at a time. With machine on low, very slowly add red food coloring. (Take care: it may splash.) Add vanilla. Add flour mixture alternately with buttermilk in two batches. Scrape down bowl and beat just long enough to combine. Place baking soda in a small dish, stir in vinegar and add to batter with machine running. Beat for 10 seconds.

Divide batter among cupcake pans, place in oven and bake until a cake tester comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Cool completely before frosting.

Place cream cheese and butter in a medium bowl. With a handheld electric mixer, beat until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add sugar and vanilla. Beat, on low speed to combine. If too soft, chill until slightly stiff, about 10 minutes, before using. Liberally frost each cupcake, and if you so desire, top with a strawberry half, some blueberries, and a tacky flag toothpick.