Mango Salsa

Sometimes you just crave something refreshing and light.  I love this salsa with tortilla chips for a quick snack or accompanied with a nice spinach omelet in the morning.

Ingredients

• 1 ripe mango, peeled, pitted, and diced (about 1 cup)
• 1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
• 1 Jalapeño chile, minced
• 1 small cucumber, peeled and diced (about 1 cup)
• 3 Tbsp fresh cilantro leaves, chopped
• 3 Tbsp fresh lime juice
• 1 medium avocado, diced
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Combine all of the ingredients in a bowl. Season to taste with salt and pepper. If the salsa ends up being a little too hot or acidic for your taste, you can temper it by adding some diced avocado.

Spinach Parmesan Potatoes

I've been on a bit of a veggie kick lately.  My mom decided to buy me a whole 10 pound bag of russets, so I've been eating a lot of potatoes (thanks, Mom).  But that's a good thing.  They're super tasty and versatile and gets me full really fast because of the starch.  Found this recipe on MyRecipes.com and its fabulous.  And you probably have most of the ingredients already in your fridge!

Ingredients 

• 2 large baking potatoes (12 ounces each)
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1/4 cup shredded Parmesan
• 2 TB cup finely chopped green onion
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 cup baby spinach, julienned
• 2 TB butter

Directions 
1) Preheat oven to 400°.
2) Pierce potatoes with a fork, and bake at 400° for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until tender. Cool.
3) Cut each potato in half lengthwise; scoop out pulp, leaving a 1/4-inch-thick shell.
4) Mash pulp with a potato masher. Combine milk and cheese in a large bowl, and stir with a whisk. Add potato pulp, butter, onion, salt, pepper, and spinach; stir well. Spoon potato mixture into shells; sprinkle each half with more cheese if desired.
5) Place stuffed potatoes on a baking sheet; bake at 400° for 15 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Garnish with green onions, if desired.

Chocolate Drizzle Popcorn

I've been plagued with a major sweet tooth. 

The other day I had finished dinner and was desperately searching for something to tame this sweet beast in my belly.  Cake?  No.  Cookies?  No.  Ice cream?  No.  What to do?

Luckily, my boyfriend's mom had given me a box of microwave popcorn (because its a healthy snack ;) 
I see that I have some chocolate chips and white chocolate in my cabinet.  Voila!  Problem solved!

Chocolate Drizzle Popcorn

Ingredients
1 pack of microwave popcorn (butter is ok, to get a sweet salty kick)
1 cup of chocolate chips
1/2 cup of white chocolate chips

Directions
1) Microwave popcorn according to instructions.  Be sure not to burn any.  Once popped, spread on a baking sheet layered with parchment paper.  Let cool.
2) Melt chocolate in microwave or double boiler, whichever is easier or more comfortable for you.  Once melted, drizzle over popcorn evenly.
3)  Let cool and eat!

Brief Hiatus

So, the food truck I work for was invited to the illustrious South By Southwest Festival in Austin a couple weeks back and so it took away from my blogging time.  Slinging sliders and hawking sandwiches at 100 miles per hour was the name of the game.  Tough, hard work but strangely satisfying after it was all said and done.  I'm glad its over but I'm a stronger person for it, I believe!  It was a really warm welcome for our first time in Austin.  Our food was really, really well received and couldn't have asked for more support and kindness from the strong Austin food truck community. 

We shared a gravel parking lot directly adjacent to the Austin Convention Center, the heart of SXSW so the hunger was brought by all of the festival-goers.  Other food trucks who were selling their goods alongside us included The Seedling Truck, Duk Truck, Waffle Bus, East Side Kings, and the oh-so delicious Chi'lantros.

It's so funny because when you're in the food industry, it's strange how little time you actually get to sit and enjoy FOOD!  Sometimes you're just on the go-go-go and you forget to eat because you too busy creating dishes for hungry customers!  But one glorious dish I wanted to brag about while I was at South-By was the Kimchee Yakisoba bowl from East Side Kings.  It consisted of flavorful noodles, spicy kimchee, and crunchy fried chicken all rounded out with fresh cilantro and a spicy mayo.

So if you're in the Austin area, its a must to check out the huge food truck scene in the city.  Click here for a comprehensive site of all of the trucks.

Crispy Radish Chips

Another quick and healthy snack option!

Crispy Radish Chips
Adapted from GroupRecipes.com

Ingredients
About 20 medium-to-large radishes
1 tsp olive oil
1/4 tsp garlic powder
salt, to taste
pepper, to taste

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Slice radishes into very thin chips and spread on a cookie sheet that has been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.  I used my slicer blade in my food processor.  So super fast and quick clean up.

2. Be sure to dry the radishes with paper towels.  (Too much water will make the chips soggy.)

3. Lightly toss the radish slices with the olive oil and seasonings.

4. Bake for 10 minutes, flip, and bake for another 5-10 minutes or until crisp. Time may vary so watch these after flipping.

Mushroom Risotto

When there's a nip in the air, nothings better than something nice, warm, and creamy to comfort your appetite.  The other day at the grocery store, they had some beautiful mushrooms: snow white button mushrooms, large firm portabello mushrooms, and even some fresh shitakes.  So why not make a lovely risotto?

Mushroom Risotto
Adapted from AllRecipes.com

Ingredients
3 cups vegetable broth
2 TB olive oil
1 lb mixed mushrooms, sliced (portobellos, baby bellas, white, shitake, enoki, etc.)
1 shallot, minced
1 1/4 cup Arborio rice
1/2 cup white wine
2 TB butter
1//3 cup grated Parmesan
salt to taste
black pepper to taste
Chopped chives
Julienne basil for garnish

Directions 
1. In a saucepan, warm the broth over low heat. 
2. Warm 1 TB olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir in the mushrooms, and cook until soft, about 3 minutes. Remove mushrooms and their liquid, and set aside. 
3. Add remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil to skillet, and stir in the shallots. Cook 1 minute. Add rice, stirring to coat with oil, about 2 minutes. When the rice has taken on a pale, golden color, pour in wine, stirring constantly until the wine is fully absorbed. Add 1/2 cup broth to the rice, and stir until the broth is absorbed. Continue adding broth 1/2 cup at a time, stirring continuously, until the liquid is absorbed and the rice is al dente, about 15 to 20 minutes.
4. Remove from heat, and stir in mushrooms with their liquid, butter, chives, and Parmesan. Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Garnish with basil and more Parmesan.

Homemade Baguettes!

I tried to make baguettes the other day and look what happened.

The photo is turned vertical, but as you can see-way too round, way too chubby.  It is adorably cute, though, I have to say and now I'm thinking of writing a comedy series called Mr. Fat Bread.  But I cannot be daunted!  So I scoured the Internet and found another recipe from King Arthur and look at the wonders of this great brand of flour:

Oooh, it looks so good you can almost smell it right through the computer, right?  I was so happy when I saw these lovely, crackly loaves of goodness.  So, 1st and foremost, I would always use King Arthur flour for everything.  Great tasting products always come from them.  And secondly, patience is your friend.  Don't rush the starter or the relaxing stages or fermentation.  You want those yeast to really do their job to develop bubbles and flavor.  So you can find the recipe and directions here.  And now more beautiful photos.

 This is the dough loaves relaxing before they go into the oven.  Be sure to spray the loaves with water prior to baking to recreate the steaming effect.

 That steaming effect gives that classic crackly crust while still have a nice pillowy interior.

 And this is the stack of baguettes when they catch the sunlight just right in the morning before you devour these for breakfast!

Kale Chips

Kale chips.  They're simple.  They're easy to make.  And they're delicious.  Enough said!

Kale Chips
From the Meat Lover's Meatless Cookbook

Ingredients
1 bunch kale (approximately 5-6 cups)
1 TB olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Remove the stem and middle rib of each kale leaf.  I usually just tear off the leaves with my hands to make it easier.  Wash the leaves thoroughly and dry thoroughly with paper towels.  If the leaves are too large, you can tear them into 3 inch long pieces.

Put dry leaves in a bowl and toss with remaining ingredients.  Once thoroughly coated, spread on a lined baking sheet.  Bake at 350F for about 8-10 minutes until crispy.  Remove from oven and enjoy.  You can eat them alone as snacks, sprinkled on salads, or even on top of soups!  Store in air tight container for about 2 days.

Zuppa Toscana

My little brother invited me and our sisters to have dinner with his new girlfriend.  We were all in a tizzy because he's our baby brother and this was his first girlfriend.  Of course, this was a big event for all of us!  Sometimes, I have to remind myself that having three older sisters could be daunting for him, but then I remember, we're so fun though!!

So he told us that her favorite was Italian food and we didn't want to scare her and take her to a fancy-schmancy place with $20 plates, so we decided on somewhere non-intimidating where the food was decent-Olive Garden.  Not my first choice, but this night was definitely not about me.

Needless to say, his girlfriend was a doll and very sweet.  We saw my brother and her holding hands under the table and it made us all sigh, young love!  So this post is dedicated to my little brother and this continual journey of finding your soul mate. 

Even though my entree was nothing to sing about, I did really enjoy Olive Garden's Zuppa Toscana (and how can you not like the endless soup and bread sticks thing!)  So I was able to find a copycat recipe and I have to admit it was delicious and a soup I'll probably be making for a long time to come.

Olive Garden's Copycat Zuppa Toscana
Adapted from restaurant.food.com

1 lb Italian sausage or ground meat
2 large russet baking potatoes, sliced in half, and then in 1/4 inch slices
1 large onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups kale or 2 cups swiss chard, chopped
2 (8 ounce) cans chicken broth
1 quart water
1 cup heavy whipping cream
 

1) Take sausage out of casings (if there are any). Brown sausage in your soup pot.   Alternatively, if you just have some ground pork or chicken, you can use this and season with 1/2 tsp garlic powder, 1/4 tsp chili flakes, and 1 tsp fennel seed.

2) Add chicken broth and water to pot and stir. 

3) Place onions, potatoes, and garlic in a separate pot.
4) Cook on medium heat until potatoes are done.
5) Add to your soup pot with sausage.
6) Salt and pepper to taste.
7) Simmer for another 10 minutes.
8) Turn to low heat.
9) Add kale and cream.
10) Heat through and serve.

Optional:  I added some spinach too for some extra veggies.  Wonderful!

Shrimp and Eggplant in Spicy Chili-Garlic Sauce

In Austin, my family and I have a favorite eatery for authentic Chinese food, Hoa Hoa.  The staff practically know our faces and greet us with warm, knowing smiles.  One of my favorite dishes is their eggplant in garlic sauce.  I'm still trying to tweak my recipe to get it just like Hoa Hoa, but this is a close one with my own little additions.  Feel free to throw in anything that you desire to appease your palette.  You can add mushrooms, bamboo shoots, spinach, etc.  The world is your stir-fry!

Shrimp and Eggplant in Spicy Chili-Garlic Sauce
Adapted from Saveur.com

5 Indian eggplant, about 1 lb. (substitutions: 1 round American or 3 Japanese)
1 zuchinni, diced or cut in thick matchsticks
2 tbsp. chili-garlic sauce
2 tbsp. thin soy sauce
2 tbsp. Chinese red rice vinegar
2 tbsp. shao hsing (rice wine)
1 tbsp. sugar
7 tbsp. vegetable oil
1/4 cup shrimp, shelled and deveined
2 tbsp. finely minced garlic
2 tbsp. finely minced ginger
1/2 cup diced red bell pepper
1/2 cup chopped scallions

1) Trim the stem and ends from the eggplant and cut eggplant into 1/2'' x 2 1/2'' strips.   Prepare zuchinni as indicated.

2) In a small bowl, combine chili-garlic sauce, soy sauce, vinegar, rice wine, sugar, and 2/3 cup cold water.

3) Heat a 14'' flat-bottomed wok or skillet over high heat until hot but not smoking. Add 3 tbsp. oil and half the eggplant and stir-fry 2 minutes, or until some of the eggplant begins to brown and soften. Transfer eggplant to a plate. Repeat with remaining eggplant, zucchini, and 3 tbsp. oil, transferring to the plate with first batch.

4) Add remaining 1 tbsp. oil, shrimp, bell pepper, garlic, and ginger, and stir-fry about 1 minute, or until golden and fragrant. Return the eggplant to the wok.

5) Restir the chili sauce mixture and swirl into the wok. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium, cover, and cook 5-8 minutes or until eggplant is just tender. Stir in scallions and serve immediately with white jasmine rice.

6) Optional: If you like a nice sauce, you can mix 1 TB cornstarch and 4-5 TB water.  Add this to the final stir fry to get a nice sauce.

Columbian Chicken Soup ("Sancocho")

A few summers ago, Mr. Man and I took a hiatus from life and threw our backpacks on and traveled to South America for three months.  It was an amazing experience, to say the least.  Each day was filled with adventure, meeting new friends, and eating delicious food.

Many of the little eateries that we'd dine in for "almuerzo" (lunch/dinner), consisted of a delicious soup followed by a plate of rice, beans, salad, and meat.  This delicious soup we found out was "sancocho."  It was a heartwarming bowl of light broth with potatoes, yucca, corn, and either chicken or beef.  To this day, we still talk about it.

Finally, I decided, "Hey, why don't we try to recreate it here!" Duh!  Thank goodness for the Internet.  There were dozens of food blogs bursting with recipes.  After scouring them all to see which one hit the most authentic note of what we remembered, I gathered all of the ingredients and had a trip down delicious memory lane.

 

Sancocho De Pollo
Adapted from Skinnytaste.com

6 skinless, boneless chicken thighs, diced in 1" pieces
1 tbsp oil
5 scallions, chopped
1 tomato, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 onion, chopped
1 cup chopped cilantro
3 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped into 2 inch pieces
3 pieces of yucca (about 2 cups)
3 ears corn, cut in half
1 tsp cumin
2 chicken bullion cubes
lime wedges (for garnish)
avacado slices (for garnish)
salt to taste

1) In a large pot, saute scallions, onions and garlic in oil.
2) Add tomatoes and saute another minute.
3) Add chicken pieces and season with a little salt.
4) Saute a few minutes, then add yucca and plantain and fill pot with water.
5) Add chicken bullion, cumin and half of the cilantro and cover pot. Simmer on low for about 40 minutes. 6) After 40 minutes, adjust salt and add potatoes, cook and additional 15 minutes.
7) Add corn and cook an additional 7 minutes or until corn is cooked.
8) Serve in large bowls, and top with cilantro and fresh lime wedges.

This taste even better the next day when all of the flavors have melded together.

The "I Love Lemon Loaf" Lemon Loaf

Sweet tooth?  We've all got one.  I have a sweet FANG, if anything!  Citrus is a favorite flavor when it comes to my sweet cravings.  It's mild, subtle tones that blend tangy and sweet is a winner in my book.

My Mr. Man is a sucker for a good lemon loaf cake.  He grew up on store bought lemon loaves: unnaturally yellow dense butter cakes with a thick, hardened glaze of too-sweet sugar.  I showed him what a real, homemade lemon loaf cake was all about.  This recipe is so super moist and bursting of lemon flavor.

I found this recipe on Annie Eats which is one of my favorite food blogs.  I adapted it a bit, since I didn't want to incorporate the syrup that I think may make it a bit too "wet" since the cake is already so moist.  This recipe is divine and is perfect for a lazy Sunday afternoon when you have a hankering to switch on the oven.

Lemon Cake
Adapted from  www.annies-eats.com

Makes 1 9-inch loaf

¾ cup cake flour
¾ cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
1 cup plus 2 tbsp. granulated sugar
4 large eggs
2 tbsp. grated lemon zest (2 lemons)
2 tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
16 tbsp. (1 cup) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
¼ cup sour cream
1 tsp. vanilla extract

For the glaze: 
1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
2-3 tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice

1) Preheat the oven to 350˚ F.
2) Grease a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan (I like using my glass Pyrex loaf dish).
3) In a medium bowl, combine the flours, baking powder, baking soda and salt.  Whisk to blend and set aside.
4) In the bowl of an electric mixer (you can also use a hand mixer), combine the sugar, eggs, lemon zest and lemon juice.  With the mixer on low speed, blend in the melted butter.
5) On low speed, mix in half of the dry ingredients just until incorporated.  Beat in the sour cream and vanilla until combined.  Mix in the remaining dry ingredients, again just until incorporated.
6) Pour batter in loaf dish and bake for 30 minutes.  Reduce heat to 325F and bake for another 45 minutes to an hour.  The baking times may depend on the strength of your oven.  I would check about every 20 minutes with a toothpick to check the doneness.
7) When the cake is completely cool, combine the confectioners’ sugar and lemon juice in a small bowl and whisk to blend until smooth.  Drizzle the glaze over the top of the cake.  Let stand briefly until the glaze sets.  Slice and serve.  It's so good served warm!

I couldn't even get a chance to take a picture of the whole loaf because we started eating it right away!

Brownies-Ooey Gooey Goodness

Usually, I'm not a brownie person.  But this recipe from baking class really became memorable for me.  Not just because these brownies are moist and chock full of chocolate yumminess, but because trimming the brownie edges caused me to end up in the emergency room!!  I was more embarrassed than anything.  It all happened so fast.  The brownies had been cooling and so we were ready to trim the edges and portion out the pieces.  As I was trimming my knife slipped and got me good in the thumb.  I didn't think it was that bad, but it got serious and my instructor said we'd have to either call an ambulance or have someone take me.  I opted for the latter choice since I didn't really want to pay for the ambulance fees.

My boyfriend was actually at a gig and so I had to make him miss his set at the comedy club which I felt horrible about, but I was a damsel in distress!  Of course, he was terribly concerned and didn't bat an eyelash when I called him.  He scurried right over to campus to scoop me up and take me to the hospital to get some stitches. 

While waiting in the waiting lobby for an available doctor, two kids sitting with their ailing father were staring at my hand wrapped in towels.  I could tell they were curious.  Finally, the younger one actually came over and asked me what was wrong with me.  I smiled and sighed, "Brownies, kid.  The brownies got me."

Killer Brownies

Ingredients
6 oz butter
4 oz chocolate chips, melted
1.5 lb sugar
1.25 oz honey
5.5 oz shortening
5 eggs
1.5 oz water
11.25 oz cake flour
2 oz cocoa powder
2.25 tsp salt
7 oz pecans, chopped (optional)
3 oz chocolate chips (optional)

1) Melt chips and butter.  Blend together and set aside
2) Cream sugar and shortening together
3) Add eggs to sugar/shortening mixture.
4) Blend in chocolate to mixture.
5) Sift dry ingredients together and add to mixture.
6) Add nuts and chocolate chips if desired.
7) Pour batter onto greased half sheet pan and bake at 350F for about 30-45 minutes.
8) If you want to be fancy, after the brownies have baked and cooled, you can whip up a quick ganache.  Heat up 6 oz of heavy cream in a saucepan.  Once it reaches a boil.  Remove from heat and mix in 12 oz chocolate chips.  Mix until well incorporated.  You can spread this on top of a nice gooey brownie topping.

Sugar Cookies for Valentine's Day

My local library asked me to teach class on cookies decorating for Valentine's Day.  I thought it was a great idea and tons of fun for the kids.  I finally got through with making 160 cookies!  Hopefully you'll like this recipe as much as I do.

Sugar Cookies (for cookie cutting)
Adapted from http://www.annies-eats.com
Makes about 35-40 cookies depending on shape

Ingredients
1 cup butter
1 cup powdered sugar
1 egg, beaten
½ tsp. almond extract
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. salt
2 ½ cups sifted flour

1) Cream butter.
2) Add powdered sugar.
3) Blend in egg, almond extract, vanilla, and salt
4) Add flour 1/2 cup at a time.
5) Chill dough until firm. Roll to ¼” thickness on well-floured surface. Cut with cookie cutters. Place on greased cookie sheets or baking sheets with parchment paper. Bake at 375° for 8-10 min. Cookies should not brown. Frost and decorate when cool.

Key Lime Pie- A Refreshing Treat

When I was younger, my mom would buy us those Yoplait yogurts so we could have snacks after school.  One of my favorite flavors was the key lime pie.  It wasn't until I was much older when I actually had a REAL key lime pie, not out of a yogurt container!!  Crazy, right?

Well, we made key lime pies in baking class and it was delicious.  Many people thought it was too sour, but come on people, it's lime!  It's supposed to have a nice tartness with a subtle sweetness.  So depending on your taste you can either reduce the amount of key limes or increase the sugar.  I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I do.

Key Lime Pie
Adapted from Professional Baking Wayne Gisslen
Yield: Two 9" pies

Graham Cracker Crust
8 oz graham cracker crumbs
4 oz granulated sugar
4 oz melted butter

1) Mix crumbs and sugar in mixing bowl.
2) Add melted butter and mix until evenly blended; crumbs should be completely moistened by butter.
3) Spread mixture evenly on bottom and sides of pie pan.  Press another pie pan on top to pack crumbs evenly.  Or you can use the bottom of a cup or some kind of weight to press the crumbs down.
4) Bake at 350F for 5-7 minutes.  Cool thoroughly before filling.

Key Lime Filling
8 egg yolks
28 oz sweetened condensed milk
10 oz key lime juice (yes, you'll have to squeeze all those tiny limes!)

1) Beat yolks lightly.  Stir in condensed milk.
2) Add lime juice and beat until smooth.
3) Pour into baked, cooled graham cracker crust.
4) Bake in a 350F oven for 15-20 minutes or until firm to the touch.
5) Let cool and then garnish with whipped cream and lime slices or wedges.

Note: Alternatively, if you don't want to bake it, you can refrigerate the pie overnight.  The lime acidity will partially coagulate the egg and milk proteins so that the filling becomes firm.  But if you're worried about the yolks, go ahead and bake the pie.

Cookies: Chocoate Chip vs. Peanut Butter

My local library has asked me to teach a class on decorating cookies for kids.  Though I've had some experience decorating cupcakes, cakes, pastries, etc. I wouldn't say that I'm an expert on the good ol' classic cookie.  I'm not a fan of icing on my cookies anyhow.  But, I've been doing a lot of research and there's so many resources online that anyone can become an expert in a few hours!! 

So, as my butter softens to make my batch of sugar cookies for the kids, I wanted to throw up my recipes for two classics that will never go out of style: chocolate chip and peanut butter.  Personally, chocolate chip is my go-to, but these peanut butter cookies are so nice and buttery, it's a close call.

Chocolate Chip Cookies 
Adapted from Professional Baking Wayne Gisslen

Makes about 2 dozen cookies

4 oz butter (softened)
3 oz granulated sugar
6 oz brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp almond extract
5.5 oz all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
6 oz semi sweet chocolate chips
4 oz chopped nuts

Cream butter and both sugars together in stand mixer.  Add egg and combine thoroughly.  Add extracts.  In a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, and salt.  With mixer running, slowly add flour in wet mixture until completely combined.  Stop mixer and fold in chips and nuts.  Using an ice cream scoop (#40), place mounds of cookie dough on buttered cookie sheet (you can also line baking sheet with parchment paper for easy cleanup).  Be sure to leave about 2 inches of space between each mound.  Bake at 375F for 8 to 10 minutes until golden brown.

Peanut Butter Cookies
Adapted from Professional Baking Wayne Gisslen
Makes about 2.5 down cookies

6 oz butter (softened)
4 oz  brown sugar
4 oz granulated sugar
1/2 tsp salt
6 oz peanut butter
1 egg
8 oz all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda

Cream butter and both sugars together in stand mixer.  Add egg and peanut butter to combine thoroughly.    In a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, and salt.  With mixer running, slowly add flour in wet mixture until completely combined.  Using an ice cream scoop (#40), place mounds of cookie dough on buttered cookie sheet (you can also line baking sheet with parchment paper for easy cleanup).  Be sure to leave about 2 inches of space between each mound.  With a fork, press down on each mound to make a criss cross pattern (hash or pound sign).  Bake at 375F for 8 to 10 minutes until golden brown.

Turnovers! Sweet & Savory Varieties

When I was a little girl, my mom would take me grocery shopping and all I could think about was the bakery aisle and the golden apple turnovers that they sold.  In hindsight, I don't know if they were freshly baked or if they merely heated up frozen pastry, but back then, I could gobble up a dozen!  So I've always been partial to any type of turnovers, whether it be sweet or savory.  This recipe uses the same blitz puff pastry as the palmiers.  So it comes in handy when you  make a huge batch of the stuff and then you can divide and freeze.  Whenever you have a hankering for anything that uses puff pastry, just thaw it out and voila!

Blitz Puff Pastry

8 oz Bread Flour
8 oz Pastry Flour (or All purpose)
1 lb Butter, slightly softened
0.25 oz Salt
8 oz Cold water

1) Sift the two flours and salt into a mixing bowl.
2) Cut the butter int othe flour, leaving 1 inch lumps.
3) Slowly add water to flour and mix until absorbed.  I use my hands to mix gently.
4) Let dough rest for 15 minutes.
5) Roll out the dough into a rectangle.
6) Fold the dough into 3 folds.  Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 15 minutes.
7) Take chilled dough out, roll out again in rectangle and fold into 3 folds.  Refrigerate into 15 minutes.
8) Once again, take chilled dough out, roll out again in rectangle and fold into 3 folds.  Refrigerate into 15 minutes.  Now your dough is ready.

Sweet Filling (Apple) 
2 TB butter
3 medium-large apples (Granny Smith, Fuji, or Gala are good choices), peeled-cored-diced
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 TB brown sugar

Saute apples in melted butter for about 8 minutes.  Sprinkle sugar and cinnamon on top and saute for another 10 minutes until tender.  Set aside until cool.

Savory Filling (Spinach and Mozzarella)
Olive oil
2 cups fresh baby spinach
1 cup shredded  mozarella
1/4 cup shredded parmasean

Saute spinach in olive oil until wilted.  Season with salt and pepper.  Let cool.  Once cool, drain any excess liquid from spinach.  Combine cheeses and spinach for filling.

Turnovers
If you need to thaw out your pastry, go ahead until it's easy to roll out.

1) Roll out your puff pastry so that its about 1/8" thick.
2) Cut out 4" x 4" squares.  Dab egg wash on two edges of the square.
3) Place about a 2 TB amount of filling in the center of each square and fold over into a triangle.  The egg wash should seal the dough together.
4)  Use a fork to seal edges and use a knife to make slits on top so air can escape.  Brush tops with egg wash.
5) Bake on a buttered baking sheet for about 20 minutes until golden brown.
6)  Let cool and then enjoy!

Jalepeno Cheese Cornbread...and an apology.

I woke up this morning and was catching up on emails and what not when I realized....'Annie, you didn't post anything yesterday!'  Mentally beating myself up and rolling around on the floor like a madwoman, I slapped myself a few times and gathered my bearings.  Today, there will be TWO postings!  Hazaa!

If, in any case, you were wondering what happened yesterday, I will tell you.  I've been working on a local food truck and it's been really fun, overall.  Since the weather has been warming up, and our location is at a popular park here in town, it draws the crowds and families out who crave to see what's up with this trendy food truck scene since typically there's about five or six who roll out there.  In these instances where the perfect storm has brewed (sunny weather, destination location, popular food scene), the lines at the truck can be 30-40 people deep.  Let me tell you, it's pretty intimidating if you're at the grill, busting your butt and burning your wrists, to turn around and see out the window, the long mazelike tail of people, all dripping with hunger and expectations. 

At least in a brick and mortar, the kitchen is shielded (for the most part), and you're only faced with a rail of tickets when you're in the proverbial 'weeds.'  But here you can actually see people's anticipation; it's tangible.  And of course, our truck is so good, we don't let people down.  But, man, when you're grueling away in a tiny truck space for 8 hours straight, time flies (and you get really thirsty)!  So when I finally got home, hydrated, and washed the grease away and tended to my burns, I fell straight to sleep.   So sorry, for not posting yesterday (I guess I'm just really apologizing to myself, because I don't think anyone's even reading this blog! hazaa!)  Now here we are.

We made this Jalepeno Cornbread recipe in my baking class last semester and I thought it was the bee's knees.  It also was one of our recipes that we made for our final practical in which I aced with flying colors; so it holds a dear place in my heart.  And it doesn't hurt that it's delicious!

Jalepeno Cheese Cornbread
Adapted from Professional Baking, Wayne Gisslen

Ingredients
10 oz pastry flour (or all purpose)
10 oz cornmeal
3 oz sugar
1 oz baking powder
1.5 nonfat milk solids
.375 salt
4 oz eggs, beaten
1 lb 1 oz water
1 oz cornsyrup
6 oz butter, melted
1-2 jalepenos, depending on your desire for that spicy kick
6 oz shredded cheddar cheese

1) Sift all dry ingredients together (first 6 ingredients)
2) Combine all liquid ingredients in a separate bowl.
3) Add liquid mixture into dry ingredients.
4) Gently mix until just incorporated.  Lumps are still okay.
5) Gently fold in the cheese and jalapenos.
6) Grease a baking sheet, pan the batter, and bake in a 375F oven for about 25-30 minutes.
You can also  use a muffin pan.
7) Let cool before eating.  Bon appetit!

Palmiers...once you start, you can't stop!

Palmiers...those lovely heart shaped cookies you see.  Some people call them angel wafers, elephant ears, etc.  Looking at them, you'd think that they'd be pretty complicated to make, but surprisingly after making them in my pastry class, I was shocked at the simplicity.  If you're ready to up your level and gain some serious baking-street cred, take the plunge and make these for your friends.  They'll be so impressed!


So  you need to make Blitz Puff Pastry first, which is as follows:

Blitz Puff Pastry

8 oz Bread Flour
8 oz Pastry Flour (or All purpose)
1 lb Butter, slightly softened
0.25 oz Salt
8 oz Cold water

1) Sift the two flours and salt into a mixing bowl.
2) Cut the butter int othe flour, leaving 1 inch lumps.
3) Slowly add water to flour and mix until absorbed.  I use my hands to mix gently.
4) Let dough rest for 15 minutes.
5) Roll out the dough into a rectangle.
6) Fold the dough into 3 folds.  Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 15 minutes.
7) Take chilled dough out, roll out again in rectangle and fold into 3 folds.  Refrigerate into 15 minutes.
8) Once again, take chilled dough out, roll out again in rectangle and fold into 3 folds.  Refrigerate into 15 minutes.  Now your dough is ready.

Palmiers
Recipe from Professional Baking, Gisslen
You'll need the blitz puff pastry that you just made and lots of sugar.  Spread a generous amount of sugar in your rolling area.  Take out your chilled dough and begin rolling into a rectangle on top of the sugar to coat.  Keep rolling until the dough is rolled out to about 12-inches wide and 1/8 inch thick.  Sprinkled more sugar on top of the dough.  You want a nice coating of sugar on both sides of the dough.

Determine the center of the dough.  Fold each side halfway to the center.  Then fold each side again so the two folds meet in the center.  Fold one half over the other to make a strip that is 6 layers thick.  Cut into 1/2 inch slices.  Dip each slice into more sugar.

Lay on prepared sheet pan.  Press down each slice with the palm of your hand to flatten lightly.

Bake at 375F until golden brown, about 10 minutes.  Turn the palmiers over and bake a second time for about 5-8 minutes.  Transfer to wire rack to cool.

They should be golden, flaky,  and crispy!

 

Shrimp on Sugarcane Sticks (Chao Tom)

Both of my parents were born in Saigon, Vietnam.  Our ancestors were originally from Guangzhou, China.  Like many Chinese families, they migrated away from China once the war broke out.  After living in Vietnam, my parents migrated to the United States in 1979 for a better future.  From this history, lots of the foods I eat have both Chinese and Vietnamese influences.  

My mother loves grocery shopping, especially at little Latin markets.  She loves how they have vegetables and fruits similar to an Asian market like fresh guavas, bean sprouts, tamarind pods, and  sugar cane.  Whenever there's fresh stalks of sugar cane, my mom buys at least five.  Some to cook with and some to chew to get the delicious sweet nectar.  One of the favorites in our family is Chao Tom, or shrimp paste on sugarcane sticks.  The savory shrimp blends nicely with the sweet, toasty sugarcane.  

Recipe adapted from www.vietworldkitchen.com

Ingredients:
1 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
Salt
2 teaspoons cornstarch
2 teaspoons light brown sugar
Generous 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, freshly ground preferred
2 teaspoons fish sauce
1 large egg, lightly beaten
2 cloves garlic, minced and crushed into a paste
2 tablespoons minced shallot
1 tablespoon canola oil
Half stalk of sugarcane cut into three inch pieces

1. Rinse shrimp under cold water and drain well. Blot dry with paper towel.

2. Coarsely chop the shrimp.

3. Add a rain of salt, the cornstarch, sugar, pepper, fish sauce, egg, garlic, and shallot to the shrimp. Transfer to a food processor and process just until a coarse paste forms. Transfer to a bowl, stir in the 1 TB of canola oil, cover with plastic wrap, and set aside for 15 to 30 minutes. This allows the shrimp paste to stiffen.

4. Meanwhile,  if you haven't done so already, cut your sugarcane into sticks.  Be careful and use a sturdy knife because the stalks are quite tough to chop through.  You should probably lay newspaper on the kitchen floor and shop there for a sturdy surface.  Use a sharp knife. You need only about 12 sugarcane sticks depending on how much shrimp you put on each stick. Blot cut sugarcane sticks dry with paper towel and set aside.

5. Line a steamer tray or bamboo steamer with parchment paper and oil the parchment. Ready a pot of water for steaming.


6. Assembly: Put about 2 tablespoons of paste in the palm of your hand, spreading it out into circle about 2 1/2 inches wide and a good 1/4 inch thick. Center a sugarcane stick on the paste, then close your hand to make the paste adhere to the stick and surround it. Smooth out the surface. Set on the prepared steamer tray. Repeat to make 11 more. Its easier if your hands are wet since the paste will be sticky.

7. Steam the shrimp sticks over boiling water for 3 to 4 minutes, until opaque, slightly puffed, and just cooked through. Then you can either grill the steamed sticks or pan fry them to get a nice golden color and a bit of caramelization going.  I prefer to pan fry since its simpler.  Voila!  Delicious.  You can eat the shrimp sticks as appetizers.  You can also eat this with rice noodles and fresh herbs and lettuce.  Another option is wrapping the shrimp and vegetables in rice paper (banh zhang).  Enjoy!

Mr. Man Could Eat Pizza Forever

My Mr. Man can sometimes be a fussy eater.  Picky's not my thing, though, and so sometimes it can get a bit complicated.  Whereas I don't bat an eye to eat chicken feet, he freaks out at the sight of the bone in a fried chicken leg.  When I can think of nothing better than to eat a plateful of fresh seafood, he thinks lobsters look too much like large red cockroaches and gags.  But, we've managed to make it work.

He enjoys when I cook "normal" food, of which includes PIZZA.  I love a nice thin crusty pizza, simple with light tomato sauce and a drizzle of mozzarella and fresh herbs.  But, he loves a nice greasy pizza with plenty of carnivorous meats.  When I told him that we were going to make our own pizza, including the dough, he thought it impossible.  He could have died happy thinking DiGiorno's was as good as it got.  But not in my lifetime!  So we made it together and there was no going back to the frozen stuff.  No more pizza boxes or delivery receipts from Pappa John's. 

Thin-Crust Pizza
Recipe adapted from The Best of America's Test Kitchen.  Makes 2 pizzas.

Dough
3 cups bread flour
2 teaspoons granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon instant yeast
1.5 cups ice water
1 tablespoon canola oil
1.5 teaspoons salt

Toppings
1/2 cup favorite tomato sauce
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
Optional according to your tastes can include: diced bell peppers, mushrooms, sliced onions, olives, sliced pepperoni, Italian sausage, basil, crumbled hamburger, anchovies, sweet potatoes, the sky's the limit!

1) For the dough, process the flour, sugar, and yeast in a food processor for about 5 seconds to mix it up.  Slowly add cold water to flour mixture.  Combine until no dry flour remains.  Let dough rest in processor for about 10 minutes.

2) Add oil and salt to dough and process until dough becomes a ball.  Remove from processor bowl and knead for about a minute.  Shape dough into a smooth ball and place in an oiled gallon size Ziploc bag.  Refrigerate for 24 hours-3 days.  (It can also be frozen at this point and saved for another day.  Remember to wrap it tightly and label with date if you do this.)

3) Take your dough out of the refrigerator and divide in half.  Shape each piece into a ball.  Let stand for 1 hour while oven heats to 500 degrees.

4) With your hands or a rolling pin, roll out dough ball into desired thickness.  I like mine really thin.  Transfer dough to a pizza pan.  Spread with tomato sauce.  Sprinkle with cheese.  Add remaining toppings.  I also like to add a rain of fennel for that lovely, pungent taste.

5) Bake for about 10-12 minutes depending on you oven heat until bubbly and golden brown on some spots.    Let cool for a few minutes ( I know that will be hard!)  slice and serve.

6)  Repeat these steps for the 2nd dough ball.

30! 30! 30!

Last year I turned 30 years old.  The movies and sitcoms out there typically portray this stepping stone as a downhill spiral into wrinkles, old age, and "nothing left to live for" syndrome.  However, deep down I know that I'm better now that I'm 30 than I was in my twenties.  More knowledge has absorbed into my intricate brain.  More experience has absorbed into my resilient bones.  And more confidence has absorbed into my hungry soul.

By now, I was working at a local environmental company writing technical report and doing some marketing things.  It would sound fancy if I went into more detail and it always impressed people when I was met with that horrid, teeth-cringing question, "What do you do?"  But something about it felt very empty.  Everyday I would walk into an office and dread it whenever I clicked on the computer.

So my only solace from that daily 8-hour stint (other than my family and friends, of course!)  was that I would walk into my kitchen and the ideas swirled in my head regarding what would be on the menu for dinner that night.  The mountain of cookbooks lining my desks and walls were like portals into a world I knew I could belong to.  That led to me quitting my day job and my enrollment in culinary classes at the local community college.  The fancy-pantsy culinary schools were financially out of reach for me, but I'm sure they're worthwhile (despite the price tag, OUCH!)  To keep my bills at bay, I took a part time job on a food truck and have been slinging bratwursts and sliders for the masses every since.  Learning about this new food trend is pretty cool, too.

I'm hoping to hone my skills by keeping up with this blog.  I watched a recent Ted Talks video regarding how doing something for 30 days is a good way to start good habits and to stick with them.  So I'm hoping to try a new recipe for the next 30 days and the sky's the limit!

Either it be from one of my cooking volumes or my cooking textbook, I look forward to discover new flavors, new ingredients, and creating beautiful dishes.  I hope this blog inspires you as much as food inspires me.