Breakfast/Brunch · Desserts/Pastries

Fresh Apple Cake

The Culinary Chronicles14 Comments

Apple Cake Slice

 

Last weekend, my sister and her family came up from Southern California for a visit. And what do the Nguyen’s do when we are on vacation? We Eat….and we Eat a lot. And when we are not eating (or shopping), we like to have Foodventures. So it’s not too surprising that after spending a few indulgent hours at the SF Street Food Fest, we  were hitting the road to Sebastopol to Twin Hill Ranch for some good old apple picking. We filled our baskets with delicious apples (Gravenstein varietal) and also picked up a few jugs of fresh pressed apple cider—absolutely delicious!

We kind of went nuts with apple picking which did leave a slight challenge. What does one do with over 15+ pounds of apples?! I knew we would need to put our hand picked apples to use. My sister (aka. “Head Foodie” of the family) suggested that I make the Fresh Apple Cake that our mom used to enjoy so much. Perfect!

The recipe is from Feasts of Eden and is incredibly easy and quick. Pretty much a dump and stir method–which is great for baking with kids. The glaze that is poured over the warm cake isn’t like the type that I used on the Blueberry-Meyer Lemon Cake. This glaze soaks into the Apple Cake producing a moist and sweet product. A few other things to note:

  • The batter is incredibly thick. But don’t worry! The 3 cups of fresh apples has a lot of moisture and it all works out–I promise!
  • Next time, I will use only 1 cup of granulated white sugar and add 1 cup of light brown sugar.
  • Add 1/4 Cup Molasses – really rounds out the flavors of the spices.
  • The glaze may get lumpy from the confectioner sugar. If it does, strain it before pouring over the warm cake.
  • Leave the cake on a rack when you pour the glaze on it and then transfer to the serving platter. Since the glaze is somewhat thin, it will definitely run over the sides of your plate/cake stand and will leave you a HOT MESS!

Overall, I was pretty pleased with it and my co-workers seemed to enjoy it as well (they often act as my “guinea pigs”, too). The cake really works well as a breakfast pastry—wonderful with a steaming cup of coffee.

And perhaps it’s just me, but knowing that we handpicked the apples ourselves made it taste even better! 🙂

Until next time friends!

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Fresh Apple Cake
From Feast of Eden

Ingredients:

Cake Batter
2 Cups Granulated Sugar
3 Cups All Purpose Flour
1½ Teaspoon Baking Soda
½ Teaspoon Salt
½ Teaspoon Ground Cloves
½ Teaspoon Ground Nutmeg
2 Teaspoons Ground Cinnamon
2 Teaspoons Vanilla Extract
1 Cup Vegetable Oil
3 Large Eggs
3 Cups Chopped Apple

Glaze
½ Cup Unsalted Butter
¼ Cup Water
1 Cup Confectioner Sugar
2 Teaspoons Ground Cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Thoroughly grease a large bundt pan.

Sift dry ingredients together. Add liquid ingredients, stirring well to combine. Add the chopped apples and transfer mixture to bundt pan. Be sure to spread the mixture evenly. Bake for approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes or until a tooth pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 20 minutes before inverting on to a plate.

While cake is cooling, prepare glaze. Melt butter and slowly add confectioner sugar and cinnamon. Stir well to ensure there are no lumps. Add water and mix until combined. Slowly pour over the cake while its still warm.

Pastas/Noodles · Seafood · Side Dish · Vietnamese

Roasted Garlic Dungeness Crab with Garlic Noodles

The Culinary Chronicles23 Comments


Roasted Garlic Crab with Garlic Noodles

Well over 15 years ago when I was still living in LA, my family and I took a trip to San Francisco to visit my sister. Somehow or another we ended up at Thanh Long to try their infamous Roasted Garlic Crab…..and that was it for me. I was in “garlicky-finger licking-good” love.

I am fully aware that I’m not the only one. With throngs of followers, Thanh Long and their other Crustacean locations have been wooing people for over 3 decades with their roasted garlic crab, prawns, garlic noodles and even their shaking beef. Top that off with the knowledge of their “secret kitchen” (an enclosed area within the main kitchen that is off limits to all employees except An Family members) and who can resist?

But here’s the thing. A dinner for two will easily set you back 100 bucks–and that’s playing it minimal. And with the tough economy and this gal’s expensive food habits, I had to take matters into my own hands. Yes….I’m talking about a Roasted Garlic Dungeness Crab knock-off was in order…..fully equipped with Garlic Noodles. The method below is an adaptation of how my family prepares Cua Rang Me (Crab with Tamarind Sauce). However, with that particular preparation, I like to take the tamales from the crab and incorporate it into the sauce. So good.

Sure, I am well aware that I may be totally off base with this Garlic Crab –probably missing several key ingredients from the original. But since the chances of me getting into the An Family Secret Kitchen are slim to none—this will have to do. And “do”, it sure did! Utterly garlicky, buttery, decadent and fairly easy too. And at a fraction of the cost (dinner for two was way under $20), our bellies were completely happy with moola still left in our pockets.

And that dear friends, is a “Nguyen-Win Situation“.

ENJOY!

Garlic Noodles

Ok–you caught me. I also made GINORMOUS Roasted Garlic Prawns, too.

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Roasted Garlic Dungeness Crab with Garlic Noodles

Ingredients:

Roasted Garlic Dungeness Crab (Serves 2)
¼ Cup Fresh Garlic, minced
3 Tablespoons Shallots, minced
1 Tablespoon Light Brown Sugar
1 Teaspoon Red Chili Flakes
1 Tablespoon Fish Sauce
½ Tablespoon Cracked Black Pepper
8 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
1 Fresh Dungeness Crab, about 2-3 pounds
Lemon Wedges and Chopped Scallions, optional

Garlic Noodles (Serves 6)
1 Pound Chow Mein Noodles*
2 Tablespoons Fresh Garlic, minced
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
4 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter
1-2 Tablespoons Maggi Seasoning*
½ Tablespoon Light Brown Sugar
1/3 Cup Grated Parmesan Cheese

Crab: Carefully clean the live Dungeness Crab. Drop into a large pot of salted boiling water. Par cook for 5-6 minutes. Remove from the pot and let cool. Once the crab has cooled enough to handle, remove the top shell and quarter the body. Using a kitchen mallet, crack the legs and claws but do not remove the meat.

In a dutch oven, heat up the butter and olive oil. Once the butter has almost melted, add the garlic and shallots. Lightly sauté for 1-2 minutes. Add sugar, chili flakes, fish sauce, and black pepper and cook for an additional minutes. Add the crab to the pot and stir well so that the crab is fully covered with the mixture. Cook on medium heat for an additional 2 minutes. Shake the pot to even the crab into one layer and place in the oven on 375 degrees for 8-10 minutes or until crab is completely cooked. Be careful not to overcook or the crab meat will be very dry. Transfer to serving platter. Sprinkle scallions on top of the crab.

Noodles: Cook the noodles according to the direction on the package. Drain the noodles, reserving a few tablespoons of the starchy water. In a large sauté pan, melt the butter and olive oil. Add the garlic and sauté until aromatic but not browned, approximately 2-3 minutes. Add the sugar and Maggi. Stir until the sugar is dissolved. Remove the pan from the heat and quickly toss the noodles into the mixture. Add the cheese and toss the noodles ensuring that it is thoroughly covered. You may add a tablespoon of the pasta water as needed to loosen the pasta.

The noodles can be boiled before preparing the crab. However, I highly suggest waiting until the crab is roasting in the oven before staring the final steps of the garlic noodles.

Serve both the Garlic Noodles and Crab warm with lemon wedges.

*This recipe has been edited since its initial post. I now use chow mein noodles but in a pinch, you could substitute with spaghetti or linguine noodles.

**You will find that I use a lot of Maggi Seasoning in my recipes. Growing up, my family used it in lieu of traditional Soy Sauce. In fact, we grew up calling Maggi “Xì dầu” (soy sauce), although it technically is not and has a unique flavor of its own. If you don’t have Maggi on hand–run out and buy some! 🙂 But in the mean time, you can substitute with a light soy sauce–though I must reiterate that the flavor will not be the same.

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Hitting the Streets for the “SF Street Food Festival”

The Culinary Chronicles4 Comments

This past Saturday, I joined thousands of Food Goers and Foodies at the 2nd Annual San Francisco Street Food Festival hosted by La Cocina.

I was lucky enough to score a snazzy media pass from Foodbuzz (THANK YOU!) that allowed me early access to the event along with an insightful tour of the grounds. Our expedition allowed us the great opportunity to meet and greet with several of the vendors, sample delish foods and beverages, (YUM!) and learn in depth information about the amazing Incubator Program coordinated by La Cocina.

From La Cocina:

“By providing affordable, shared, commercial kitchen space, an array of industry-specific technical assistance and services, and access to market opportunities, La Cocina works with entrepreneurs as they launch, grow, and formalize successful food businesses. We focus primarily on women from culturally diverse communities and immigrant communities. Our vision is that our program participants will become economically self-sufficient and contribute to a vibrant and diverse economy doing what they love to do.”

Their three-step model (pre-incubation, incubation, and graduation) truly provides support and encouragement for many low-income entrepreneurs—giving them a real foundation for success as they start up their businesses. After speaking to many of the vendors from the program, it greatly reaffirmed the vital work that La Cocina carries out.

And now…..THE FOOD.

Five city blocks cradled over 40 vendors of delicious goodness. I was absolutely drunk from the mouth-watering aromas. Simply Intoxicating. Noodles, tacos, sandwiches, bacon wrapped hot dogs, cupcakes, ice cream, corn, and on…and on…and on!

“Festival Seating” pulled together with these really cute painted wood planks and milk crates


This is Azalina Eusope–a 5th generation street food vendor and head of “Azalina’s Malaysian”.  Incidentally, she started off as a Pastry Chef 🙂

“Air Bandung” (Coconut-Rose Milk)–Azalina said it’s perfect to accompany many of the fried foods from Malaysia


Chef David Bazirgan of “Chez Papa”

Melon Agua Fresca from “Chez Papa”


Stuff Figs and Sausage Sandwich from “Chez Papa)

Torta de Mole Verde and Tostada de Tinga from “El Buen Comer”–t


Veron­ica Salazar of “El Huarache Loco” whose family also has a restaurant in La Raza, Mex­ico City.

Tacos de Alhambre from “El Huarache Loco”

Vegetarian Banh Bao from “The Slanted Door”

Vanilla Bean Creme Brulee from “The Creme Brulee Cart”

Chef Thomas Odermatt of “Roli Roti“. Chef Odermatt grew up in his family’s butcher shop and was particularly cheerful and friendly to those stopping by his booth. Their booth was clearly the most visited that day. 🙂


Porchetta from “Roli Roti“

Porchetta from “Roli Roti“…..Aaaah-Maaay-Ziiing.

Neal Gottlieb of “Three Twinis Ice Cream”. He insisted we taste the ice cream with the antique silver spoons to increase the experience. And he was right!


Dee-lish Frozen Treats from “Three Twinis Ice Cream”

Soba Noodles from “Hapa Ramen”

Mini-cuppies from “La Luna Cupcakes”

Sisig Tacos from “Hapa SF”

SO good, I had to throw in a close up 🙂


Bacon Wrapped Hot Dogs…OH MY!

Chicken Adobo from “The Adobo Hobo”. We also had their Calamansi-Thai Basil Cooler….VERY refreshing.

Meat goodness…

And MORE meat goodness!

Piroshkies from “Anda Piroshki“

There was SO many different foods to choose from. Even with the media tour/food sampling and an additional 1.5 hours at the festival with the family–we barely made a dent. What were my favorites of the day? Easily the Porchetta Sandwich from Roli Roti –though the Sisig Taco from Hapa SF is quite high up on the list, too. The Porchetta Sandwich was just utter perfection. Unctuously, savory pork with delectably crispy skin in a roll. The pork loin is cooked slowly on the rotisserie which allows the fat and juices to drip down to a bed of fingerling potatoes that are just waiting to soak it all up. Excuse me, my mouth is watering uncontrollably. Chef Odermatt–you are brilliant!!!

An awesome day in SF filled with passionate chefs, an organization with a wonderful mission, endless amazing foods, and quality time with loved ones. I only wish I had a spare tummy to try all of the goodies. But then, maybe I’ll just leave the massive eating to this guy………

Joey Chestnut–World Champion in Competitive Eating. Yup, he was there, too. 🙂

So until next time friends–hit the streets for some good eats! 🙂

Pastas/Noodles · Pork · Vietnamese

Bún Thịt Nướng (Vietnamese Grilled Pork over Vermicelli Noodles)

The Culinary Chronicles70 Comments

Bún Thịt Nướng (Vietnamese Grilled Pork over Vermicelli Noodles)

Our Mom was THE BEST cook…..seriously. She had a knack of creating such delicious flavors out of the most modest ingredients. And like most Vietnamese mothers, along side your serving of dinner, you would get several quick-tongue remarks and sharp attitude. 🙂

Lately, I have been finding myself missing my Mom a lot. And when those times come, I tend to gravitate towards recreating dishes and flavors that came out of her kitchen. Truth be told, most of my “mom-meal knock offs” aren’t 100% authentic. But that sure isn’t do to lack of trying! She was so quick maneuvering around the kitchen–throwing a little of bit of this and a little bit of that into pans that we could never keep up. Let’s not even begin to get into how she never measured!

So, on one recent weekend, I found myself recreating a meal that we often had growing up– Bún Thịt Nướng or Vietnamese Grilled Pork over Vermicelli Noodles. It’s not a dish that I eat (or more like “order“) often these days but when I do get the chance to enjoy it, I am reminded of how it really is a great depiction of Vietnamese cuisine. An extremely savory and mutli-layered flavor protein, combined with tons of fresh herbs, pickled veggies, cold noodles, various textures, and all enhanced by a spicy nước chấm (dipping sauce). And like many Vietnamese dishes, Bún Thịt Nướng is not difficult to make but it does take some time preparing as there are many steps and components to the dish.

I spend most of the time below describing steps to preparing the pork so if you have any questions, about the condiments in particular, feel free to shoot me an email. Since I was too lazy to pull out the grill, I ended up using my tried and true All-Clad grill pan to cook the pork. It worked fairly nicely but if you want the true authentic flavor, I’d recommend using an outdoor grill with with one of those wire mesh grilling baskets. You can pick one up for really cheap at most Asian grocery stores. You can’t beat the slightly charred flavor produced by cooking it that way. Plus, if you’re ever in Việt Nam, you’ll see that it’s the way my peeps do it.

I was quite pleased with the final dish. The warm grilled meat over the cold veggies and noodles are a perfect pairing–particular for warm summer days. And although I know it wasn’t exactly like Mom’s, I am sure she would have been quite proud.

Until next time Friends……Always cook with your heart 🙂

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Bún Thịt Nướng
Serves approximately 4-5

Ingredients:

Thịt Nướng (Pork)
2 Tablespoons Fresh Garlic, minced
3 Tablespoons Shallots, minced
3 Tablespoons Lemongrass, very finely minced (sả bằm)
2 Green Onions, chopped
3 Tablespoons Cilantro, finely chopped
1 Tablespoon Brown Sugar
1 Tablespoon Honey
1 Tablespoon Fish Sauce (nước mắm)
2 Tablespoons Soy Sauce
1 Teaspoon Fresh Cracked Pepper
1 Pound Pork Shoulder, sliced into 2-3 inch strips

 

Accouterments
1 Package Vermicelli Noodles, prepared according to package directions
1.5 Cups Slightly Pickled Carrots and Cucumbers*
2 Cups Fresh Lettuce, roughly chiffonade
1.5 Cups Fresh Bean Sprouts
1 Cup Fresh Cilantro Leaves
½ Cup Roasted Peanuts, crushed
½ Cup Green Onion infused Oil (hành mơ)**
1½ Cups Dipping Sauce (nước chấm)***

Thịt Nướng (Pork): In a large bowl, add honey, fish sauce, soy sauce, and sugar. Mix until the sugar is dissolved. Add the rest of the marinade ingredients to combine. Add pork and mix to ensure that the meat has been thoroughly covered. Refrigerate for 30-45 minutes.

While pork is marinating, prepare the accouterments:

*Pickled Carrots and Cucumbers: Cut carrots and cucumbers into small matchsticks and place in a small bowl. Cover them with Rice Wine Vinegar and a pinch of Sugar.
*Scallion Oil (hành mơ): In a sauté pan, slowly heat ¼ cup of canola oil. Add ½ cup chopped scallions. Cook the scallions on very low heat until they are wilted but still bright green. Approximately 2-3 minutes. Pull from heat and set aside.
*Dipping Sauce (nước chấm): Combine ½ Cup Fish Sauce, ½ Cup Sugar, ½ Cup Fresh Lime Juice, ¼ Cup Warm Water and stir until sugar is dissolved. Add 1 Teaspoon Chili Paste. Adjust amounts to desired to taste.

Remove pork from the refrigerator 5-10 minutes before grilling to take the chill off the meat. Heat your grill pan to medium-high and lightly cover with cooking spray (or prepare outdoor grill). Grill meat for approximately 1-2 minutes on each side until browned. Since the meat is thin, it does not take long to cook.

To Assemble: In a bowl, place the cooked vermicelli noodles, lettuce and bean sprouts. Plate the warm grilled pork on top of the bowl, alongside with the pickled veggies and cilantro. Brush the meat with the scallion oil and sprinkle with the crushed peanuts. Serve with your preferred amount of nước chấm.

 

Desserts/Pastries

Nutella Chocolate Chip Cookies

The Culinary Chronicles9 Comments


Not too long ago, I had stumbled upon a post by Sugar Cooking for Nutella Chocolate Chip Cookies. Oh yes, you read correctly….Nutella and Chocolate Chips in a Cookie!

Now I was intrigued. Sure, at first I was a little skeptical of the cookie’s flavor. Would it be true to the Nutella flavor or would it taste like a regular chocolate cookie??? Oh dear friends, I am happy to report that it does do justice to the luscious hazelnut-chocolate spread. Had I added additional hazelnuts to the dough,  it may have tasted even more like Nutella. However, I am a sans-nut kind of gal for my cookies and brownies. My exception is of course, White Chocolate Mac Nut Cookies—delish!

I made very little adjustments to Sugar Cooking’s interpretation of the cookie. I also chose to make the cookie a little smaller than my usual preferred cookie size–about a 1 tablespoon round versus a 2 tablespoon. I wanted to go for a smaller cookie that would only require a bite or two so that you could pop one in your mouth whenever your sweet tooth was calling.

I do have to caution you though, these chewy-chocolatey-nutella honoring cookies are darn addictive. You simply can’t just have one. 🙂

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Nutella Chocolate Chip Cookies
Slightly Adapted from Sugar Cooking
Makes Approximately 30 Cookies

Ingredients:

1⅓ Cups All Purpose Flour
1 Tablespoon Unsweetened Cocoa
¼ Teaspoon Baking Powder
¼ Teaspoon Baking Soda
½ Teaspoon Salt
8 Tablespoon Unsalted Butter, room temperature
⅔ Cup Granulated Sugar
⅓ Cup Light Brown Sugar
⅔ Cup Nutella
½ Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1 Large Egg
½ Cup Chocolate Chips

Mix together flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside dry ingredients.

Cream together butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Mix in Nutella and vanilla extract. Mix in egg. Add flour mixture and mix until just incorporated. Add chocolate chips. Refrigerate dough for approximately an hour.

Drop approximately one tablespoon of dough 2 inches apart onto parchment lined baking sheets. Bake at 350 for about 11 minutes until the edges look set. Cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes then carefully remove to cooling racks.

Breakfast/Brunch · Pork

SPAM….The True American Offal

The Culinary Chronicles13 Comments

Folks are always asking me if we ever eat “regular” food. That question always puts a smile on my face because the BF and I have a vast array of eating/cooking habits. For one meal we may spend an entire day prepping and cooking dishes that are complex and laborious. But then there are those nights that all we eat for dinner is ice cream. True Story.

So what is one of our favorite “regular” dishes? I am proud to say it is SPAM, Eggs, and Rice….The Breakfast of Champions. Easy, quick, nostalgic, and just darn good. And it makes perfect sense since we were both raised on this goodness (I was born in the midwest and the BF is Hawaiian).

Sure, it’s somewhat questionable to what SPAM is really made of. Hormel says that it is a combination of pork and other stuff but this is one example of when I don’t question the contents and just enjoy the goodness. Come to think of it, this may be the only kind of offal that I will eat 🙂 Folks can’t even agree to what the acronym stands for though some have come up with some clever versions. My favorites that I have heard are: “Something Posing As Meat”, “Specially Processed Artificial Meat”, “Spare Parts Animal Meat” and “Special Product of Austin Minnesota”. Hilarious.

This gal prefers her SPAM sliced thinly and prepared crispy (kind of like bacon). The BF likes his sliced thicker and just lightly fried. Add rice, a fried egg, and a sprinkle of furikake and I am a happy camper! Though I also won’t pass up a good SPAM Musubi, either.

SPAM…you can’t get any more “regular” than that. But I do have one last question…..Anyone want to meet me at the SPAM Museum?

Until next time Friends, SPAM Fanatic signing off!

Desserts/Pastries · Ice Cream

Toasted Coconut Gelato

The Culinary Chronicles22 Comments

Second Coconut recipe in one week?! Yes, I admit it…..I have a Coconut addiction.

In an attempt to keep up my goal of utilizing my ice cream maker throughout summer, I dabbled with a recipe to bring one of my favorite flavors into gelato form. Loosely basing it off my Mint Chip Gelato adventure, I took toasted coconut, coconut milk, and coconut extract to make this easy and delish gelato. And because of the three forms of coconut that I employed, the end result was truly packed full of coconut flavor.

For a little experiment, I took half of the gelato from the ice cream maker and swirled it with caramel and left the other half as is. I had hoped that the caramel would provide a luscious surprise in each bite but unfortunately the flavor was not able to hold its own. My sister later told me that Ben & Jerry’s had said on an episode of Unwrapped that Caramel Ice Cream was challenging because if you don’t make the caramel thick enough, it blends too much into the rest of the ice cream. Not going to lie—that made me feel better 🙂

Even though the caramel spin wasn’t as successful, the Toasted Coconut Gelato by itself was delicious and I’ll definitely make it again. Perhaps next time with the addition of fresh young coconut strips? Delish!

Until next time Friends, “Coconut Addict” signing off!

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Toasted Coconut Gelato

Ingredients:

2 Cups plus 3 Tablespoons Whole Milk
1¾ Cups Coconut Milk (I prefer this brand)
1 Cup loosely packed Toasted Unsweetened Coconut Flakes, plus additional for garnish
½ Cup Sugar
1 Teaspoon Coconut Extract
1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1 Tablespoons Cornstarch
Pinch salt

In a heavy sauce pot, add 2 cups of milk, coconut milk, sugar, and salt. Bring to a low boil on medium low heat. Be careful not to scorch. With the remaining milk, add corn starch to make a slurry. When milk and coconut milk come to a boil, add the slurry and extracts. Cook on low and whisk often so that clumps do not form. The mixture is cooked when you can run a line on the back of a spoon without the mixture coming back together.  Cool the mixture to room temperature and then chill in the refrigerator for a minimum of 12 hours.

Add the mixture to your ice cream maker and follow the manufacturer’s directions. When half the time has elapsed, slowly add the toasted coconut allowing it to be thoroughly incorporated in the mixture.

Transfer to a storage container and freeze until desired firmness. Before serving, allow the gelato to sit on your counter for a few minutes for a better texture and because its easier to scoop. Serve with a sprinkle of toasted coconut flakes.

ENJOY!

Desserts/Pastries

Put the “Lime in the Coconut” Cookies

The Culinary Chronicles6 Comments

It’s a well known fact that I love Citrus and Coconut. So when you put them together…WOWZAH!!!

I stumbled upon this recipe on one of my many “research” nights and was instantly drawn in because of its two main ingredients. Sounds like a winner to me! And the icing on the cake? Simple, easy steps. Combine those factors and this gal was a HAPPY CAMPER!

And friends, it really was delish! Imagine a fabulous sugar cookie….light, chewy, slightly crisp from the rolled sugar. And then add the rich flavors of coconut with the bright flavors of lime. Sound amazing? Well it sure was!

Shame on me as I only made a half batch of these goodies–which I often do when testing out recipes. After all, butter isn’t cheap! But after one bite, I totally regretted it. <Sigh>….I guess I’ll have to make it again.

Feel like the Islands are calling you? Why not try these cookies? They are simply delightful….all that’s missing is a pina colada  🙂

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Coconut Lime Chewy Sugar Cookies
From Rock Recipe

Ingredients:

2¾ Cups All Purpose Flour
1 Teaspoon Baking Soda
½ Teaspoon Baking Powder
½ Teaspoon Salt
1 Cup Unsalted Butter, room temperature
1½ Cups Granulated Sugar
1 Large Egg
½ Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
Zest of one Large Lime
3 Tablespoons Fresh Lime Juice
½ Cup Unsweetened Toasted Coconut
½ Cup Sugar for Rolling Cookies

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.

In a small bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

Using a mixer, beat together the butter and sugar until smooth and very fluffy. Beat in egg, vanilla extract, lime juice and lime zest. Gradually blend in the dry ingredients and toasted coconut.

Roll rounded teaspoonfuls of dough into balls, and roll in sugar. Place on lined cookie sheets about 1 1/2 inches apart.

Bake 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until lightly browned.

Let stand on cookie sheet two minutes before removing to cool on wire racks.


Appetizers/Small Plates · Condiments/Sauces · Vegetables/Vegetarian

Roasted Garlic Hummus

The Culinary Chronicles7 Comments

Roasted Garlic Hummus

I love Hummus. So tasty, so many “flavors” it can come in, and so versatile in how it can be served. Great as an appetizer with pita chips, bread, and veggies—it’s also delicious as a spread in sandwiches for a scrumptious vegetarian option. And let’s be honest, any way we can squeeze in extra veggies is a good thing.

And here’s a secret….it’s so easy to make. How easy? So easy that I often kick myself when I buy prepared tubs from my local grocers.

The following recipe is my standard “go-to” take on Hummus. However, I often use it as a base for my “specialized hummus flavors”.  I also used to use fresh garlic in my hummus but have found that by using roasted garlic, you’ll still get great flavor that’s slightly more mellow. But hey, if you’re a fresh garlic kind of person, be my guest. 🙂 However, I would try using only 2-3 garlic cloves as the flavors will be much more intense.

If you’re looking for a kicked-up hummus, try the following recipe but throw in some sundried tomatoes or fresh cilantro and jalapeno. DELISH!

Until next time Friends, Cheers!

**photo updated on 4/1/2013**

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Roasted Garlic Hummus

Ingredients:

15 Ounces of canned Garbanzo, drained with juices reserved
2-4 Tablespoons Liquid from Garbanzos
1/3 Cup Tahini
¾ Cup Fresh Italian Parsley
4 Tablespoons Lemon Juice
2 Tablespoons Roasted Garlic, minced finely
3 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 Teaspoon Kosher Salt
½ Teaspoon White Pepper
¼ Teaspoon Paprika

In a food processor, pulse the parsley, lemon juice, olive oil and tahini. Add garlic, beans, 2 tablespoons of garbanzo liquid, salt, pepper, and paprika. Blend until smooth but still thick. Add remaining garbanzo liquid, if needed, to reach desired consistency. Adjust seasonings as needed.

If serving as an appetizer, garnish with a drizzle of additional olive oil, paprika, and chopped parsley.

Desserts/Pastries

French Macarons…..The Holy Grail of Pastries

The Culinary Chronicles25 Comments

 

Chocolate Macaron with Chocolate Espresso Ganache

 

I finally did it. Or more accurately, WE finally did it.

I, along with thousands of other aspiring bakers, have been meaning to try my hand at the elusive French Macarons. But for some reason or another, I always found myself pushing it off. “Why?”– you ask. Well, as the song goes….

“At first I was afraid, I was petrified……….”

It’s true. These finicky “Cookie Sandwiches” had me extremely intimidated. Simple in the number of ingredients—yet so much room for possible error. The amount of precision required to create them was simply daunting. But ever since I had my first bite of a Macaron from the famed Bouchon Bakery, I’ve been dreaming about them….Macarons—The Holy Grail of Pastries.

I cannot recount how many posts and articles I have read about Macarons to prepare myself for the day that I could muster up the courage to make them. But reading can only do so much—as I highly doubt I could fly a plane by just reading instructions alone! If I wanted to make Macarons, I’d just have to do it! Time to put on my big girl panties (or apron, in this case) and face my fears!

I entered this daunting experiment with my friend Carol and her sister Christine. Both ladies are quite the bakers and I figured it may be better to attack in numbers. In fact, the few days leading before our big baking day were filled with emails back and forth with various recipes and grocery lists. Heck, we were prepared!

I will not bore you all with the nitty gritty details of all 4+ hours we had in the kitchen but I will simply fast forward to the results (and some pointers). After all the stress and the worry, we were pretty darn successful!! We ended up making two types of Macarons that day. The first, a Chocolate Macaron with Chocolate Espresso Ganache (care of Annie Eat’s) and the second, a Lemon Macaron with Lemon Buttercream (care of Tartlette). Our Chocolate Macarons were the highlight of our day, warranting in my opinion a B+. Unfortunately, our Lemon Macarons were not so successful—-actually kind of a hot mess! The shells (or cookie) were suprisingly quite flavorful but just looked terrible….C- . Strangely enough, we did better with our first Macaron (chocolate) then our second batch (lemon)! We’re hoping it’s not beginners luck!

Here are some notes from our Chocolate Macaron with Chocolate Espresso Ganache:

  • We used Almond Meal that was ground with their skins intact (figured it was going to be chocolate so the speckles should be ok). Next time, I’ll try the Almond Meal without skins as the shells were a tad bumpy;
  • We had VERY good success using silpat mats but did not try parchment paper. Hey, why mess with a good thing?;
  • Getting a stiff peak with the egg whites is quite important before incorporating dry ingredients;
  • We tried both piping methods—piping “straight with a point” and as “commas”. The straight point yielded better tops – don’t worry about the points as they flattened anyhow;
  • We piped our shells on the slightly larger side–almost 2.5 inches. I’d recommend a little bit smaller…perhaps 1.5 inches;
  • Cookies were left for about 30-40 minutes to get the “hard shell” before baking
  • We baked each sheet for 9 minutes but it could have gone another 1-2 minutes (unfortunately there is no way to tell if they’re done than taking a bite into it). Also, the Macarons appeared to taste better the next day. “Aging” may possibly assist in texture/consistency;
  • If filling with Ganache, a thicker consistency is much easier to handle;
  • Using a scale to weigh things (as opposed to measuring) makes a difference.

Allowing the batter to rest after piping is imperative to achieve the macaron “crust”

Hallelujah!!! We have FEET!

Chocolate Macaron with Chocolate Espresso Ganache…..these little guys make me smile.


Here are some notes about our Lemon Macaron with Lemon Buttercream:

  • We didn’t weigh out everything but measured with cups, spoons, etc. to see if it made a difference. Turns out, it does.;
  • Egg Whites may not have been the precise measurement (see above);
  • We ground Almond Slivers instead of using Almond Meal and could not get a fine enough grind that resulted in grainy batter;
  • By using Almond Slivers, there potentially could have been more natural oils in the mixture thus causing inconsistency in the batter;
  • The meringue we added was very stiff….perhaps too stiff;
  • We could have used more confectioner sugar in the buttercream.

At this point, they still looked like they had potential…..

AGGGHH!! These aren’t French Macarons—they look like shiny cookies!

Ladies and Gentlemen…..this is what you call a HOT MESS! EEEeekk! (Photo by Carol Le)

I do have to reiterate that although our Lemon Macarons looked a bit crazy, it tasted REALLY yummy! The freshly ground almonds gave a wonderful, “true” almond flavor to the shells. We even considered just calling them a cookie versus a macaron. That way, we’d feel better about it 🙂

Our Little Babies (Photo by Carol Le)

Now, with the first attempt out of the way, I’m happy to report that it wasn’t as ridiculous as I had expected. Tedious, yes…but not impossible. It did help TREMENDOUSLY to have two great gals to work with (a little sparkling wine didn’t hurt either!) to whom we could each bounce back ideas and suggestions to. Thanks Carol and Christine–I’d bake with you two anytime!

The Moral of the Story? I’ll have to quote Julia Child on this one:

“The only real stumbling block is fear of failure. In cooking you’ve got to have a what-the-hell attitude.”

I’m am sure that other attempts are in my near future 🙂