High Hopes

My new goal: make macarons! I will probably be following this recipe. Wish me luck!

Delayed Gratification

How best to explain my love for the chocolate chip cookie? Sure, these cookies are simple at heart, but the flavors are anything but elementary. With a nice caramelized roundness in taste from the brown sugar, the crispy and chewy textural contrast, and the intense chocolate flavor from the Scharffen Berger bittersweet chocolate (a worthwhile splurge, definitely), these cookies are elevated to a certain sophistication usually reserved for more fancy-schmancy French desserts.

I have since graduated from the Nestlé Toll House slice and bake days of yore in favor of homemade goodness using ingredients that say, actually taste like chocolate and not sugar and flavorings. And I urge you to do the same, especially if you are looking for chocolate chip cookie nirvana, or just about anything nirvana. Of course, I've heard that Ghirardelli chocolate chips, which can be found in most supermarkets, also work great.

Some may recognize these cookies from the definitive David Leite recipe from the New York Times. These have been touted on numerous food sites and blogs, and many have proclaimed them to be "the best chocolate chip cookies ever." And you know what, hyperboles are really fun. I concur a million times over.

But as you might have guessed from the post's title, these cookies really test your patience. What makes these different from the other recipes I have tried is that you have to refrigerate the cookie dough for at least 24 hours, preferably for 36 hours. Since I've generally allowed the dough to sit in the refrigerator for the latter period (amazing will power, I know), I cannot vouch for the quality of the 24 hour batch. But I'm sure you will enjoy these cookies all the same.

Another slight modification I made to the recipe is that I did not use a combination of bread and cake flours as called for in the original directions. While I do have a stash of cake flour to make anything from flaky, tender buttermilk biscuits to genoise cake, bread flour is currently absent from my kitchen pantry. Well, nothing was going to keep me away from my chocolate chip cookie, so I trudged on using just all purpose flour. I'm not really sure why Leite calls for using both bread and cake flours (I'm sure he has a reason texture-wise), but I am more than satisfied with the results I got.

So, whether or not you have the time to let the dough sit for the full 36 hours or have bread and cake flours on hand, it's high time that you make these cookies. Because millions of foodies and home bakers out there can't possibly be wrong.

since i've been gone

Caprese Salad with the last few tomatoes from the garden--summer on a plate

Palmiers from the recipe in Ina Garten's Barefoot in Paris

Pork and some more pork...and of course a piece of cornbread to mix it up a little

He says hi...with his foot

finger lickin' good

Whatever you probably thought about fried chicken up to this point has probably been a complete lie. For one, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Popeye's, and the like has nothing on the homemade version. No sir, none of that mutant-super chicken for me. Secondly, there really is no need to spend half an hour in front of a pot of boiling oil to enjoy the moist and crispy texture of a well-executed fried chicken.

Instead, as I learned from the brilliant Ina Garten, all you need to do is fry your chicken pieces first in an inch of vegetable oil for around three minutes on each side just until it turns a light golden brown and stick it in a 350 degree oven for 30-40 minutes to finish cooking the chicken through. It is really that simple, but you would never have guessed from the results. I modified Ina Garten's recipe a tad by adding baking powder to the flour mixture, which helped give the skin of the chicken (my favorite part) a crispier texture and even coloring.

Grilled chicken can be nice, but fried chicken is a completely different specimen. It's definitely up there as one of the quintessential comfort foods, shortcuts and all.

brown eyed girl

It's 7 in the morning and I want something warm and freshly baked for breakfast. But let us not forget it is 7 in the morning...and it's summer! During times like these, I tend to gravitate towards simple and fool-proof recipes that don't require me to lug out the stand mixer or go hunting for obscure ingredients. Now, don't get me wrong. I am completely devoted to my Kitchen Aid stand mixer, but there is something about an almost one bowl muffin recipe that is so inviting. Thoroughly stirring together the dry and wet ingredients before folding in 2 cups of fresh blueberries by hand, I felt one with the batter. Also, not only is it simple in terms of the number of ingredients and steps, but clean up is a breeze.

Via Joy the Baker, I came across an intriguing recipe for blueberry muffins that incorporated browned butter into the wet ingredients instead of the typical melted butter. To make browned butter, I melted the requisite amount of butter in a small saucepan and cooked it down for a couple of minutes until small brown bits appeared on the bottom. Afterwards, I mixed the melted butter into the milk/egg mixture and poured the combined liquid into the flour/baking powder. 

As I stirred, the final batter turned a gorgeous light tan color, and the aroma of slightly caramelized browned butter wafted through the kitchen ever so pleasantly. 

While it may be true that waking up early to bake scones, muffins, and the like for breakfast nearly every morning is a somewhat tiresome task, there is something that draws me into the kitchen regardless of how I feel before my obligatory cup of coffee. And with the smell of browned butter lingering long after the muffins have been baked, cooled, and devoured, I inevitably conquer the temptation to hit that snooze button.  

breakfast of champions

I made scones again from "My Homemade Life" (didn't forget to add the sugar this time) and ate them with a spread of pumpkin butter and a cup of Bewley's Gold Label Tea. Scones make the perfect breakfast in my book. They are simple to prepare and in only about 10 minutes, you have flaky, buttery and piping hot scones on the table.

Oh, what a great start to the day, don't you think?

yeah, it's that important

Thursday dinner of steak, mashed potatoes and gravy, and roasted asparagus with parmesan. It's a no-frills type of meal, but it really hit the spot. Sometimes, I'm just a meat and potatoes kind of gal.

nooks and crannies

I baked coffee cake today in my new bundt pan. However, it seems I need a bit more practice before I achieve that ideal shape though. Ah, but the most important part--taste. I wholeheartedly approve.

blank canvas

For the second time in three days, we had dinner outside to take advantage of the nice early evening breeze. On the menu were burgers and french fries (from Martha Stewart Living Cookbook, p. 223)--quintessential summer eats. Besides the fact that it was difficult to get the timing right for each component of the meal, such as getting the patties cooked, the potatoes double fried, and the buns warmed up on schedule, the meal went off without a hitch.

Hamburgers are one of my favorite foods, especially because it is essentially a blank canvas. You can definitely have a good plain burger, but I personally enjoy playing around a bit with my food to mix-and-match flavors and taste combinations so that no two burgers are exactly alike. In this vein, I like topping my patties with outlandish extras besides the standard burger accoutrements (and those I also like to pile on high). Today, I opted for some barbecue sauce spread on a toasted piece of Sara Lee hamburger bun, mashed avocado seasoned with freshly-ground black pepper, a slice of tomato, numerous slices of red onion rings, and cheddar cheese. Oh my. Isn't summer just delightful?

leftovers

We kept it very simple for lunch today, making "omu-rice" or "omelet rice." Regardless, fried rice cooked with leftover pieces of kalbi enveloped in an omelet certainly makes for a satisfying meal.

that's amore

We love to mix things up here. After a summer feast of Korean barbecue, we follow that up with Italian for dinner. Lasagna, to be exact. This slightly modified recipe comes from Ina Garten's book, Barefoot Contessa Family Style. After having now served it twice, I know it is a winner. Unlike her version, which uses turkey sausages, we used regular pork sausages for that added richness and scattered the top with fresh mozzarella for that unbeatable stringiness it provides.

Lasagna isn't really all that complicated as it may seem. Yes, there is that layering process of sauce, pasta, and cheese; however, this recipe is really almost fool-proof. For one, you don't even have to boil the lasagna sheets. Instead, you place the pasta sheets in a pot or bowl of really hot water for 20 minutes until you are ready to assemble the lasagna. After that, the layering process is a snap, especially if you get the tomato sauce and ricotta cheese mixture ready to go.

why I love summer

Barbecue, al fresco dining, and family

it really works

I was skeptical at first. Surely this defies the laws of science! But it was 15 minutes later when I realized...the cookie doesn't lie. Now, would you really believe that this peanut butter cookie contains exactly three ingredients: a cup of peanut butter, a cup of sugar, and an egg? And the best part...wait for it...no BUTTER or FLOUR. This makes these peanut butter cookies a tiny bit healthier than your average ones (well, only if i ignore the part about the sugar). And since they don't contain any flour, it's the perfect gluten-free treat. Seriously, why would you not make this? It's the perfect recipe for both the novice baker and those with more experience looking for a yummy and quick snack.

It still boggles my mind that you can just bake peanut butter and have it morph in the oven into a cookie that is slightly crisp around the edges and fabulously moist and chewy in the center. Just like how the ideal peanut butter cookie is supposed to be. I mean, if a cookie is this good without any flour, why take the trouble to add it? It is not like these needed it. Nope, not one bit.

Without the butter or the flour, I felt that the peanut butter flavor was even more pronounced. And for any peanut butter lover like me, that is the major selling point of this recipe. Now, some may deem these cookies too rich. In that case, you might not be able to eat more than one in a sitting. I ate two.

pick me up

4:00 snack consumed when plans to bake a bundt cake fell flat. Butter + eggs not taken out of the fridge to reach room temperature= not a happy camper. But making these little puppies (or fishies?) gave me something to do and something yummy to eat alongside a steaming cup of coffee as I leisurely lounged around my home this afternoon.

The batter is quite simple to make: flour, baking powder, sugar, eggs, and milk (ingredients which you probably have on hand if you bake or make pancakes regularly) All you then need is the mold to get that fish shape and mashed red beans to fill the batter. They are great for breakfast and even better midday. Come to think of it, who needs bundt cake anyways?

semi-homemade

On the lunch menu today: a Sam's Club cheese pizza gussied up with crumbled hot Italian sausages, slices of deli ham, and the obligatory slices of avocado.

twice the fun

The first time that I had katsu curry was at the Mitsuwa market food court in Costa Mesa. Now, it's not that I've never tried either curry or tonkatsu before. It's just that I never thought of putting those two together in one meal. Fortunately, I've learned the errors of my ways.

What I especially enjoy about this dish is the contrast between the crispy breaded pork cutlet, fried to perfection, and the creamy curry. The curry flowed like a well-made sauce but still had enough substance to smother the whole dish and to bind to each pork cutlet. In addition, the pork cutlet was expertly fried to fend off any sogginess from the curry itself. Though I don't eat fried foods often except for the occasional fried chicken or french fries, I am always in the mood for katsu curry.

life is sweet

...when you wrap up a spicy lunch with a plate of sticky sweet slices of Korean melon (chamae).

ice, ice baby

Sorry about the lame post title. The heat makes me do strange things. But while on the topic of the sweltering climate of good 'ol Southern California, I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to talk about one of my favorite summer snacks. Ever since the temperatures began to average over 80 degrees on a daily basis, I've needed a major refresher in the form of "patbingsu," or red bean shaved ice. Of course, you can be just like most people and go to your neighborhood Paris Baguette, Cake House, or other generic Korean bakery/cafe to get your fix, but my family and I aren't like most people. Sure, it may sound odd to some people, but my family makes its own. 

For one thing, it may be cheaper in the long run to make your own patbingsu at home (provided you have already purchased your handy-dandy ice crusher), but it also means THAT YOU GET TO MAKE YOUR OWN PATBINGSU. Seriously, I can't be the only one who has been disappointed time and time again with stingy management giving you a tiny golf ball sized mound of red bean or three measly pieces of mochi for around 5 dollars. In my home, we pile on the red bean (my mom makes her own boiled, mashed, and sweetened red beans) and the chewy mochi, as well as condensed milk and as much fruit as the individual desires. 

Bingsu comes in a variety of manners. I've seen some with a variety of different ice cream flavors, flavored syrups, milk, and even cereal. And of all things, some people even opt to take out the red beans, which to me borders on sacrilege. 

The reason I prefer patbingsu to the more standard summer icy treat such as popsicles and ice cream is the fact that it provides a certain mix of different textural and flavor sensations that ice cream just can't deliver. First, you have the icy cool of the tiny shards of crushed ice (which can't be too small or they will melt much too quickly), which provides the ideal background for a myriad of toppings that makes patbingsu so fun to eat. The red beans, which are mashed to retain a chunky consistency, is toothsome yet creamy. The mochi provides the chewy texture that I so crave, and the fruit brings a nice level of sweetness to the otherwise tasteless rice cake bits. 

Needless to say, you don't have to leave the cool comforts of your own home to enjoy a refreshing treat. And just thinking about that makes the heat just a tad bit more bearable. 

best of both worlds

One of my favorite "korean" dishes really isn't all that korean when you consider its Western influences and relative novelty. Budae jjigae, loosely translated to mean army stew, is basically a dish that was concocted after the Korean War when a surplus of Western canned meat products (Spam, hot dogs, and the like) entered the country. Add some of the requisite hot chili paste (gochujang), and you have yourself the foundation for a really homey meal that is also great for using up whatever is left in your fridge. As I have already mentioned, while budae jjigae is a pretty popular dish in more populous cities of South Korea such as Seoul and Busan, it is common for many living in outlying cities to have never even heard of this dish. Yet, I still crave it, especially during those times at school when I miss home, and most of all, my mom's cooking. 

You can basically add almost anything to the stew besides sausages and spam, and it is common in our household to include bacon, kimchi, mushrooms, tofu, rice cakes, instant ramen noodles, zucchini, and bean sprouts.  

Serve alongside your choice of banchan (korean side dishes) and a steaming bowl of rice, and dinner is served. 

good eats

What do you do when you have a fridge stocked with perfectly ripened avocados on the verge of rotting? Well, make simple yet delicious sandwiches, of course. Monday's lunch was a sandwich of crumbled goat cheese, avocados, and vine-ripened tomatoes (picked from our garden) between slices of warm mini ciabatta rolls slathered with 'wichcraft's balsamic onion marmalade. 

comfort food

For me, baking can either be a stressful chore in which I accidentally put baking powder instead of baking soda into the flour mixture or over-knead my biscuit dough, or a relaxing and fulfilling activity in which nothing can hit the spot quite like the smell of cinnamon and bananas mingling happily together in the oven. Luckily, my experience baking banana bread yesterday afternoon leaned towards the latter description. As it has only been my second time tackling banana bread, I turned to a trusted source, Orangette, for another one of her numerous recipes for banana-based baked goods.

 

Since I had already made Molly's banana bread with semi-sweet chocolate chips, I decided to tackle another recipe. The only change I made to it was that for some reason I didn't include the cinnamon crumble topping. Maybe it was because of this omission that I found that the top of the bread browned a little too quickly. When it finally came out of the oven 55 minutes later, the top was a tad too browned but the inside of the bread was another story. Tender, moist, and delightfully light on the tongue, I found that the name "banana bread" was a bit of a misnomer. Yes, it was certainly substantial, but the inner crumb, stabbed throughout with small caramelized bits of banana, made me think that "banana cake" would be a more accurate description. Needless to say, this one will be going into my ever-expanding repertoire, and it should become a part of yours, too.  

Just thinking about that texture makes me swoon. I am so excited for breakfast.  

pinkies up

Bewley's Gold Label tea; mixed berry scone

Ever since my trip to Dublin, I've been obsessed with drinking tea. We do have a nice assortment of tea pots and cups in our home, so it hasn't been hard recreating the Irish tea-drinking experience in the comfort of my own home.

this is why I travel...

L'As du Falafel

Pain au chocolat

Pain aux raisins

Pierre Hérme's macarons

Fauchon's madeleines

Nutella and almond crepe

Pierre Hérme's display case

Ladurée's display case

...because it is fun to eat. (And don't worry, I did the required touristy activities, too)

the third time is the charm?

Sure, I've made more than a few layer cakes, but it's been a while since my last attempt. As you can see (probably not so obviously), I'm a little rusty. 

For some reason, the layers did not rise in the oven, so the end-product was downgraded to four layers from its original six.
Technical problems aside, there really was nothing to complain about taste-wise. Like all of Ms. Greenspan's recipe that I have tried thus far, this cake did not disappoint. The chocolate flavor, which was boosted by the addition of both cocoa powder and chopped chocolate, was spot-on, as was the texture of the cake. Delightfully light on the tongue yet satisfyingly rich with the addition of the whipped cream frosting, this is definitely a cake that I will make again. It's also not as lovely as the one gracing the cover of Dorie Greenspan's book, but I presume it was just as tasty.

Still, it is a really stunning cake to look at.