The Scoop on "Oh Yeah"

There is a new ice cream/coffee parlor on Highland Ave (across-ish from Casbah.) It's called "Oh Yeah!" and when I stopped by this evening the guy behind the counter said they'd been open less than 24 hours.

The decor is pretty cool. They have posters emphasizing eating locally. All of the countertops are made from recycled bowling alley lanes. The railings and signpost look like they were made by the folks at Iron Eden. Cuter still, the door handles are oversized ice cream scoops.

They do not make their own ice cream, but rather bring in a few flavors from Dave and Andy's and many from Woo City Creamery: a fantastic place in Ohio. I'm excited to see the product, as pints at Whole Foods are really expensive. They get their coffee from La Prima (yay!)

Oh Yeah! isn't any more expensive than your average ice cream place.They also have Woo City's vegan "woo foo," a sort of vegan ice/ice cream. I really like some of Woo City's flavors: the bailey's, chai, and coffee chip are awesome. They had a good looking peach one too.

There is something about this trend of bakeries/eateries with a huge emphasis on interior design and relentless marketing that makes me feel a little wary though. Conversation with employees/owners can seem slightly tinged with self-promotion. It seems it's not enough just to offer a good product anymore. You need modern furniture, or cute little buttons and packaging.

That said, i'm interested to see how Oh Yeah fares. The ice cream is good, and it's worth a trip.

Wedding Cake (Part One.)

I volunteered to make a friend's wedding cake. I've had one too many grocery store wedding cakes, and I thought it'd be lovely to make something simple, elegant, and delicious. This will be the only wedding cake i've ever made though, so i'm a little nervous!





We made all the frosting tonight. Frosting is a little scary when made in bulk. I six-tupled Flo Braker's recipe for classic buttercream. This took:
6 pounds of butter
6 cups of sugar
nearly a quart of liquid egg yolks.

I added some Nielsen-Massey bourbon vanilla extract too. Despite what you might think, the frosting doesn't just taste like butter. It's fluffy, light, and the vanilla flavor really shines. In the end, we made about a gallon and a half.

Flo Braker's The Simple Art of Perfect Baking is a must-have. It's been re-printed and updated several times. Her recipe for genoise is the only one i've ever had success with. The directions are extremely specific and i've had tons of success with them.

Instead of pouring the sugar syrup into the yolks while the mixer is running, this recipe suggests dumping it all into the middle of the bowl, whisk it a bit by hand, then re-attaching it to the mixer and continuing. This prevents sugar from splattering all over the sides of the mixing bowl. Another handy tip is holding ice cubes against the bowl to get the yolk/sugar mixture to cool to room temperature a little faster.

Cinnamon Currant Walnut Rugelach

Another recipe from the Desserts from Chanterelle book. The dough is really delicious- creaming the butter and cream cheese seems to be a good technique.

While the cookies turned out well, they were really difficult to shape. I think alice medrich's recipe shapes them individually. That might be much easier than managing a 16 inch log.

Labor Day Baking.

This morning I ate some breakfast.



I made a souffle.



I ate a souffle.



Then I worked on nasty homework.

The souffle is from Alice Medrich's Bittersweet. The breakfast is yogurt and bananas, toast with ficoco, and coffee. And I didn't have souffle right after breakfast. It was more like 2pm. Happy Labor Day!

Oatmeal, Milk Chocolate, Raisin Cookies.

I wasn't expecting anything too special from the oatmeal cookie recipe in The Sweet Life: Desserts from Chanterelle. Lately I've been dissapointed by many cookie recipes.

This recipe was fantastic. I love a cookie that's pretty crispy on the edges, but not hard all the way through. These cookies have great texture: not too full of oatmeal, not too chewy from brown sugar.

The book also suggests using dark chocolate and dried cherries or pears rather than milk chocolate and raisins. I thought the original flavor combination was interesting, but the milk chocolate I used didn't have enough flavor. I think this recipe would be great with nuts, chocolate chips, or any sort of add-ins. I'd definitely make it again.

Oatmeal Cookies with Golden Raisins and Milk Chocolate Chips
adapted from The Sweet Life: Desserts from Chanterelle

1 1/4 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
16 tbsp unsalted butter, at room temp
1 cup sugar
1 cup dark brown sugar
2 eggs plus 1 egg white, at room temp
3 cups raw oatmeal
8 oz milk chocolate, chopped into 1/4 inch pieces
1 cup golden raisins

Preheat the oven to 350. Line cookie sheets with parchment or silicone.

In a dry bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, and oats.

Place the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment and beat on medium speed for 1 minute. Add the sugar, and beat on med-high speed until fluffy and light in color, approximately 5 minutes. Add the dark brown sugar and continue creaming for 3-4 minutes, stopping occasionally to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Turn the mixer down to slow speed. Add the eggs and white, one at a time, and continue to beat until they are fully incorporated and the batter looks smooth and glossy, 1-2 mins.

Add the dry mixture, all at once, to the butter mixture. Using a rubber spatula, fold together for a few turns. With the mixer on slow speed, mix the dough until combined. Add the chopped milk chocolate and raisins. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix for another 30 seconds. The dough can be made up to this point and refrigerated for 3 days.

Using 2 teaspoons, scoop the dough into mounds and place 2 inches apart on your cookie sheets. Flatten each mound with the back of a spoon or two fingertips (*I didn't flatten them and they still turned out well.) Bake until the cookies spread and rise, 12-15 minutes until a light golden brown. If you continue to bake the cookies they will color more and result in a crunchy, caramelized cookie.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

I tried this recipe from Emily Luchetti's Classic Stars Desserts. The flavor was good, but they were a little toothsome in an over brown sugared way. I like recipes with a combination of brown and granulated sugar better.

Unfortunately I have yet to find a chocolate chip cookie recipe that I can call my favorite. I'm going to keep trying.

Oat Crisps.

I'm not a huge fan of those placemats, but I suppose oatmeal cookies feel very all-american.

Anyway, Emily Luchetti has fantastic cookie recipes. The more I make them, the more I think we have the exact same taste in cookies. She really has a knack for texture. These oat crisps were wonderfully crispy and delicate. Emily Luchetti seems to appreciate crunch as much as I do.

This recipe came from Classic Stars Desserts. She serves them with creme fraiche and blueberries for desserts and with yogurt for breakfasts. They're simple, fast, and really delicious.

Oat Crisps
adapted from Classic Stars Desserts
2 1/2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
2 tbsp granulated sugar
2 tbsp dark corn syrup
1 cup old fashioned rolled oats

Preheat the oven to 350. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a bowl, combine the butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, and corn syrup and stir until blended. Stir in the oats, mixing well.
To form the crisps, drop the oat mixture, one tbsp per cookie, onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing them about 2.5 inches apart. Bake, rotating the sheets at the midway point, until golden brown and bubbly, about 15 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheets. Then, using a metal spatula, transfer the crisps to a large flat plate to cool.

Pichet Ong's Banana Cake.

This is the first recipe in Pichet Ong's The Sweet Spot and it's a great starting point. Many of the recipes are familiar with interesting twists: ginger pastry cream in a banana cream pie, perhaps a touch of matcha, yuzu, or condensed milk...

I really enjoyed this cake because it's different from your typical banana bread. I used a wildflower honey, but I think something a little darker would have been fantastic. Really try to avoid over mixing. Even if there are a few pockets of yogurt/sour cream, the cake will be incredibly tender.

Banana Cake
adapted from Pichet Ong's "The Sweet Spot"

1/3 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more for greasing the pan
1 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup honey
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup (228g) roughly mashed baby bananas
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 large egg
1/2 cup plain whole milk yogurt or sour cream
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips (optional)

1. Preheat the oven to 350. Lightly butter an 8.5x4.5in loaf pan and set aside.
2. Sift together the flour, baking soda, and baking powder and set aside
3. Put the butter, honey, sugar, cinnamon, and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat the mixture on medium high speed until light and fluffy- about 5 minutes. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl and add the bananas and vanilla, beating on medium speed until the mixture looks "broken" or lumpy, about 1 minutes. The bananas should be smashed, with a few small chunks remaining.
4. Turn the speed to medium low and beat in the egg until incorporated. Turn the speed to low and gradually add the sifted flour mixture, mixing just until no traces of flour remain- about 10 seconds. Add the yogurt and mix until the batter has only a few remaining white streaks- about 5 seconds. Be sure to avoid over mixing. Gently fold in the chocolate, if desired.
5. Transfer the batter to the pan. Bake in the center of the oven until a tester comes out clean, about 45 minutes. Cool the cae in the pan on a rack for 5 minutes, then unmold and cool completely on the rack.

Buttercrunch Toffee.

I love toffee. Yesterday I used David Lebovitz's Recipe which turned out quite well.

I used a combination of toasted almonds and hazelnuts with a smattering of cocoa nibs and fleur de sel on top of 73% El Rey chocolate.

There's not much else I can say other than don't burn the sugar. Burnt toffee is a tragedy.

Ficoco.

Pittsburgh is great because you can find nearly any ingredient you need in a small radius.

For Example: Lotus in the Strip has banana leaves, frozen cassava and coconut meat, palm sugar, and mochi. Prestogeorge occasionally has Nielsen-Massey vanilla for a really gooprice. Penn Mac has salt cod, blanched hazelnuts, and marscarpone for about half the price of Giant Eagle. Penzey's has dried lavender, but you have to ask for it because it's behind the counter. Mon Aimee Chocolat has baking chocolate for 4 dollars a pound. Whole Foods and Giant Eagle also have some great specialty products as well as baking staples.

I love our local Whole Foods. They always have interesting products, they're the cheapest place for Fage yogurt and Ito-En tea, and their layout is really effective. I love that Pittsburgh grocery stores don't have alcohol. In a big California grocery store, you typically find 1-3 aisles or a big nook dedicated solely to booze.

Whole Foods is rather pricy for produce, protein, and cheese, so I usually buy really specific things. Every now and then i'll treat myself to something special: an amazing bar of crispy spanish Turron, a bottle of grass-fed milk, some creamed honey...

My latest find was Ficoco, a Fig and Cocoa spread that's made in Croatia (who finds these things??) If you're a fan of figs, raisins, or other dark tasting fruits you'll love this spread. I think the combination of figs and chocolate is kindof sexy. I ate it for breakfast today on some buckwheat crepes. I think it'd be great spread on some bread or mixed into some yogurt/ice cream too.

Vegetable Soup with Fennel, Herbs, and Parmesan Broth.

This recipe came from the latest issue of Food and Wine Magazine. It's by Viana La Place, who is one of my favorite Italian cookbook authors. Cucina Fresca and Cucina Rustica are great books and I love them for their simple, fresh tastes.

I think this soup really highlights her style: on the page the ingredients seem a little plain, but the finished product is really flavorful and well-composed. Best of all, you don't need to make any stock. The soup gets plenty of punch from the fresh herbs and parmesan cheese.

Vegetable Soup with Fennel, Herbs, and Parmesan Broth
by Viana La Place for Food and Wine Magazine

2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
3 carrots, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced crosswise
2 celery ribs, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced crosswise
2 leeks, white parts only, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced crosswise
1 fennel bulb, halved, cored, and thinly sliced
1 medium tomato, cut into 1/2 inch dice
2 bay leaves, preferably fresh
6 cups water
One 3-inch square Parmigiano-Reggiano Rind
1 Tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 Tbsp chopped fresh basil
1/4 cup grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese

1. Heat the olive oil in a large soup pot. Add the garlic and cook over moderate heat, stirring, until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add the carrots, celery, leeks, and fennel and cook, stirring, until the vegetables begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Add the tomato and bay leaves and cook until the vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes. Add the water and the cheese rind and bring to a simmer. Cover partially and cook over moderately low heat until the vegetables are very tender, about 30 minutes.
2. Discard the cheese rind and bay leaves. Stir in the parsley and basil and season the soup with salt and pepper. Ladle into bowls, sprinkle with the grated cheese and serve.

Muffin Recipes.

Muffins do not equal cupcakes. To me, a good muffin has a hearty quality- usually from the addition of whole grains, tart dairy, or big chunks of nuts of fruit. I don't like them too sweet or soft like cake. They should be fairly simple: worthy of breakfast fare.

I love this pear, ginger, raisin muffin recipe from "Once Upon a Tart." The Chocolate, oatmeal, banana recipe is good, but I probably won't make it again for a long time. It's pleasantly chewy.

Pear Ginger Raisin Muffins
from "Once Upon a Tart"

2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp salt
3 large eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 large, ripe Anjou or Bosc pear, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1/2 cup dark raisins

1. Position your oven racks so that one is in the center, and preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Smear six big muffin tin cups with butter (*I made 12 small ones, but they are damn good big.)
2. Whisk the flours, baking soda, ginger, and salt together in a medium-size bowl.
3. In a seperate, big bowl, whisk the eggs to break up the yolks. Still whisking with one hand, pour in the sugar with the other. Continue whisking for a few minutes, until the eggs begin to pale in color. Whisk in the oil and vanilla.
4. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet, stirring gently with a wooden spoon until there is just a little flour visible.
5. Scoop batter up with your spoon and using a rubber spatula, scrape the batter off the spoon into the cups of the muffin tin, filling them almost to the top. Divide the batter evenly between the cups.
6. Place the tin on the center rack of the oven and bake the muffins for 35-40 minutes (more like 15-20 for small ones,) or until a small knife or toothpick inserted deep into the center of one comes out clean.
7. Remove the tin from the oven, and place it on a wire rack. Let the muffins sit for a few minutes in the tin, until they're cool enough to touch. To remove the muffins, flip the tin upside down and let the muffins fall out onto the wire rack to cool. Or, even better, serve warm.

Oatmeal-Banana Muffins with Chocolate Chips
from "The Foster's Market Cookbook"

1 1/2 cups rolled oats
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup sugar
12 tbsp (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted
3 large eggs
2 very ripe bananas, mashed
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup canola or safflower oil
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
2. Line 12 large muffin cups with paper lines and spray the top part of the pan lightly with vegetable oil spray.
3. Place the oats on a baking sheet and toast for 10 minutes or until light golden. Set aside to cool.
4. Combine or sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl and stir in the oats.
5. Whisk together the sugar, butter, eggs, bananas, buttermilk, and oil in a seperate bowl until well blended.
6. Add the egg mixture to the flour and stir just until the dry ingredients are moist and blended. Do not overmix. Fold in the chocolate chips until distributed evenly throughout the batter.
7. Scoop the batter into the prepared muffin pan with a large ice cream scoop (1/3 cup scoop.) The batter will come to the top of the paper liner or pan.
8. Bake 25-30 minutes, until the tops of the muffins spring back when pressed lightly and a toothpick inserted in the center of the muffin comes out clean.
9. Remove from the oven and cool for 5 minutes. Turn the muffins out of the pan and serve immediately.

Choco-Hazelnut Ice Cream Sandwiches.

You know what- forget everything I said in the original version of this post. I just ate another one of these and they're delicious.

Maybe i'm too much of a perfectionist, but I think ice cream sandwiches are problematic. If the ice cream is too soft, you'll bite into the sandwich and half the ice cream will squash out the other end. If the ice cream is too frozen, it could hurt your teeth. For the most part it's a textural problem.

Chocolate Ice Cream Sandwich Cookies
from David Lebovitz's "The Perfect Scoop."

1/2 cup (115g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup (200g) sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
6 tablespoons (50g) unsweetened dutch process cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups (210g) flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt

Preheat the oven to 350F (175C.) Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
Beat together the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric stand mixer, or by hand, until smooth. Beat in the egg and vanilla.
In a seperate bowl, whisk together the cocoa, flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir the dry ingredients gradually into the creamed butter mixture until completely incorporated and there are no streaks of butter.
Form the dough into sixteen 1 1/2 inch (4cm) rounds. On the baking sheets, flatten the rounds so they're 3 inches (8cm) across, spacing them evenly. You can get 8 on a normal 11x17 baking sheet, with 3 going lengthwise down the sides and 2 in the center in between.
Bake for 20 minutes, rotating the baking sheets midway during baking, then remove from the oven.
Once cool, sandwich ice cream between the two cookies, then wrap each ice cream sandwich in plastic wrap and store in the freezer.

Hazelnut Ice Cream
from Emily Luchetti's "A Passion for Ice Cream."

4 large egg yolks
6 Tbsp sugar
1/8 tsp kosher salt
1/3 cup milk
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1/3 cup hazelnuts, toasted, skinned, and coarsley chopped

In a bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, 3 tbsp of sugar, and the salt*. Combine the milk, cream, hazelnuts, and remaining 3 tbsp sugar in a heavy saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally until almost simmering. Turn off the heat, cover the pan, and let the nuts infuse in the milk for 10 minutes. Slowly pour the milk mixture into the egg mixture, whisking as you pour. Return the egg mixture to the saucepan. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly with a heat resistant plastic or wooden spatula, until the custard reaches 175F and lightly coats the spatula.

Pour the custard into a clean bowl and cool over an ice bath until room temperature. **Refrigerate the custard for at least 4 hours or overnight. Strain the custard, discarding the hazelnuts. Churn in an ice cream maker according to manufacturers instructions.

*I usually wait to combine the yolks and sugar until the milk is infused and ready to go. Yolks and sugar tend to curdle when they sit.

**I usually just chill it in an ice bath until it's pretty cold to the touch.

My Favorite Flan.

I took this photo a while ago, but I never posted the recipe. I recieved this recipe from my 7th grade french/spanish teacher. I immediately loved it because it tasted just like the 10-inch flans my father would bring home from the now closed Cafe Noir in San Pedro, CA.

I hate overly eggy or slimy flans, and this one is neither. It's creamy and light with a caramelish taste accentuated by the evaporated milk. It beat Frankie's Argentinian grandmother's recipe when we had an impromptu flan-off. I find it's also very hard to mess up!

NOTES: I have never used a gas oven for this. Electric is just fine. I also usually caramelize the sugar in a saucepan and then dump it into the baking dish, as i'm not sure what my cake or pie pans would do on the stove. I also usually use a Pyrex 9in glass pie pan instead of the cake pan. I used a 9 inch metal cake pan once, but it was a little harder to unmold.

Flan
1 3/4 c. sugar
3 egg whites
8 egg yolks
2 cans (13oz each) evaporated milk
2 tsp vanilla extract
6 Tbsp brandy or rum (I have actually done the igniting part. I bet it'd be cool though.)

Put 1 cup sugar into a deep pan (9 inch round cake pan) in which the custard is to be baked. Place it on top burner over low flame, stirring constantly until the sugar melts and turns golden. Tip the pan around until it is entirely coated with the caramel, then cool while making the custard. Beat the whites and egg yolks together, add milk, remaining sugar, and vanilla, mixing well. Strain into the coated pan, cover, and place the pan in a larger pan containing hot water (In Spanish this is called a bano de Maria, or "Mary's Bath.") Bake in a gas oven at 350 for about 1 hour, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool somewhat but turn out onto a platter while still warm, or the caramel will not come loose from the pan. Flans are at their best when made hours before and thoroughly chilled. When ready to serve, pour heated brandy or rum over the flan and ignite. Serve while it is still flaming. Yield: 8 to 10 servings.

Banana Cakes, Room Progress.

This is the banana cake from "Bill's Open Kitchen" by Bill Granger. It's about the third time i've made it, and I unfortunately can't post the recipe right now because I returned the book to the library again.

Basically you make a caramel with butter, brown sugar, and maple syrup and layer the bananas and butter cake batter on top. I used honey instead of syrup this time around and it was really delicious.



This is where i'm at in room decorating land. I definitely want to buy a new chair. Once again i'm feeling stuck though.

I feel much more moved into the new place, so i'll probably start baking again. I made hazelnut and salted caramel ice creams today which are chilling at the moment.

Hiatus.

I won't be updating with baking photos for a little while because:

a) I am busy with moving and starting a new school.
b) There is no one to eat my baked things right now.

See you in an indefinite amount of time!

Where to Eat in Pittsburgh.

I've made a google map of some of my favorite places to eat and buy food in Pittsburgh.

You can find it here.

I think the only place that isn't on here right now is Cafe Richard in the Strip District. It is located right next to Mon Aimee Chocolat. I might be missing a few other places, but these are most of my favorites. I will try and divide them up by type/price later.

Turkey Burgers.

Sara Foster's Casual Cooking has some great easy recipes. This one is a good example of something relatively simple that yields fantastic results. The burgers are just a little bit spicy, and very flavorful considering the meat isn't fatty.

Grilled Turkey Burgers
adapted from Sara Foster's Casual Cooking

1.5 lbs ground turkey
1/2 cup fresh breadcrumbs (I used panko.)
3 Tbsp mayonnaise
2 Tbsp chopped fresh chives
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbsp hot sauce, such as texas pete or tabasco
2 scallions, minced (white and green parts)
4 fresh basil leaves, thinly sliced
1 tsp sea salt, plus extra to taste
1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper, plus extra to taste

Prepare a hot fire in a charcoal or gas grill, or heat a grill pan over medium high heat until hot.

Combine the turkey, bread crumb, mayo, chives, Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco, scallions, basil, salt, and pepper in a large bowl and work the mixture with your hands just to mix. (Do not overmix or the burgers will be tough.) Form the meat mix into four 1-inch thick patties.

Season both sides with salt and pepper and grill them for 5-6 minutes per side, or until they're just done. Remove the patties to a platter, cover them loosely with foil to keep warm, ad set them aside to rest for about 5 minutes.

Serve on hamburger buns and top with tomato or pickle or whatever you fancy. I ate mine in a pita pocket with tomato, arugula, and avocado.

A Very Aromatic Brioche.

I'm a huge fan of Bostock: day old brioche brushed with syrup, slathered with almond cream, and baked to a crisp. Michel Richard is my favorite place to eat almond brioche, hands down.

I used Melissa's recipe for vanilla bean/brown butter brioche, and Clotilde's recipe for the almond cream.

I added some strawberries on a whim and was pleasantly surprised when they resulted in a very aromatic and delicious brioche. I am a huge fan of the strawberry/almond extract combination, and these bostock really played up those flavors. I highly recommend them with some coffee or a glass of orange juice.

Thanks for all the nice comments from newer readers. It's nice to know that people actually look at this blog.

Mushroom Tart

My mom encouraged me to make this tart because the picture in the book looked really delicious. I love Deborah Madison's recipes for their clean, simple flavors. This tart might seem like a lot of work, but it isn't really. If you make the tart shell ahead of time, the rest of the process will be a cinch. If I can make all the components in a few hours, so can you.



Mushroom Tart
adapted from Vegetarian Suppers in Deborah Madison's Kitchen

Crust:
1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp All purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
3/8 tsp sea salt
5 tbsp butter
3 tbsp sour cream (I actually used some tart yogurt and it came out fine.)
ice water.

Pulse the flours and salt in a food processor. Add the butter and pulse until it looks like fine crumbs. Add the sour cream and pulse again until combined. Add ice water 1/2-1 tbsp at a time until the mix barely comes together. You don't want it to be too wet or sticky.

Refrigerate the dough for 15-30 minutes. This seems short, but I had no problem at all with dough shrinkage. Roll the dough out to fit a 9 inch tart pan (about 1/4 inch thick) and fit it into the pan. Poke a few holes in the bottom with a fork. Freeze for 15-20 minutes, or until firm. Preheat your oven to 425. Pre-bake for 20-25 minutes until it just starts to color.

Mushroom Filling:
1/2 cup dried porcini mushrooms
1/2 cup dry white wine (...or water if you don't have any.)
olive oil
1 large white onion, finely diced
1/2 lb sliced portobello mushrooms
1/2 lb white or cremini mushrooms, sliced
1 tsp tomato paste
1-2 Tbsp parsley, thyme, or marjoram (or any combo) chopped finely
1 egg
2/3 cup half and half, cream, or mushroom stock (I used a combo of cream and stock.)
salt and pepper to taste.

Heat the dried mushrooms, wine, and 1/2 cup water in a small saucepan until boiling. Remove from heat and set aside for 30 minutes. Strain the mushrooms, reserving the liquid, and chop them into a rough dice.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large skillet. Saute the onion until it starts to color (about 5 minutes.) Add the portobello and cremini mushrooms and about a tsp of sea salt and turn the heat to high. Saute until they are browned but try not to overcook them. (5-10 minutes) Add half the herbs and tomato paste, and the porcini mushrooms. Add a few tablespoons of the soaking liquid- and add more a little at a time until the mushrooms are glazed and cooked.

Pour the hot filling into the prebaked tart shell. Mix together the egg and half and half and pour over the tart. Bake in the 425 oven for 25-30 minutes, until the custard is set. (Mine was done in about 20, but I didn't use all the custard.) Sprinkle the finished tart with the rest of the herbs, and brush the top with a little oil if you like.

Cheesecake.

I'm not the biggest fan of cheesecake, but my little brother loves it. I made him a plain cheesecake with meyer lemon zest and vanilla on a gingersnap crust. The recipe comes from The New York Times Dessert Book, but i'm not going to post it. There are much better recipes out there.

Sandwich Cookies.

These are from Donna Hay's Off the Shelf. Most of Donna Hay's cookbooks have great recipes for simple, crispy butter cookies. This particular recipe called for a sweetened condensed milk caramel filling, which I didn't care for. I suggest filling the cookies with ganache, dulce de leche, or another filling you've tried before. You could also dip the tops in sugar and eat them plain.

Caramel Filled Biscuits
adapted from Donna Hay

8 oz butter, chopped
1 cup powdered sugar
1.5 cups all purpose flour
1 cup cornstarch
1 egg

Put all the ingredients in a food processor and process until a smooth dough forms. Roll tablespoons of the mix into balls and place on parchment lined baking sheets. Flatten the dough slightly with your hand or a glass and chill for about 10 minutes until firm. Bake the biscuits in a preheated 350 oven for 10-15 minutes until lightly golden. Cool on racks. Fill with a filling of your choice.

Espresso-Chocolate Semifreddo

Usually I don't care for semifreddo; it's not quite ice cream and not quite a substantial torte, cake, or pudding. I picked this recipe out of food and wine magazine because the picture was really pretty, and i'm happy to say it turned out quite well.

I'm a fan of Sherry Yard's recipes. They're usually very sophisticated, though sometimes a little hard to execute at home. This recipe didn't give an indication of just how much batter it produced. Make sure you use a very large mixing bowl.

This recipe was also a good excuse to play with my dad's huge La Cimbali espresso machine. I brewed shot after shot and tasted them all before measuring them out for the recipe O.o

If you like Tiramisu, I think you'll like this. It's got great coffee taste and a really nice texture. It'd be great with some raspberry coulis, or at least some muddled fruit.

Espresso Chocolate Semifreddo
(adapted from Food and Wine Magazine)
1.5 cup sugar
3/4 cup water+ 2tbsp
1.25 cup strongly brewed espresso
1/2 cup whole milk
1 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped
1 tsp gelatin dissolved in 2 tsp water
2 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped
4 large eggs
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1.25 cups heavy cream
18 dry ladyfingers
1 tbsp cocoa for sprinkling
Raspberries, for serving

1. In a small saucepan, combine 1 cup of the sugar with the 3/4 cup water and 1/4 cup of the espresso. Bring to a simmer over moderate heat and stir to dissolve the sugar. Let the espresso syrup cool.

2. In a small saucepan, boil the remaining 1 cup of espresso over high heat until reduced to 1/4 cup (about 8 minutes) Pour into a medium heatproof bowl.

3. Warm the milk with the vanilla bean and seeds over moderate heat until bubbles form around the edge. Remove from heat and stir in the gelatin until melted. Discard the vanilla bean. Add the hot milk to the reduced espresso and whisk in the chocolate until melted.

4. In the bowl of a standing mixer, beat the eggs at high speed until light yellow and foamy. In a small saucepan bring the corn syrup, the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar, and 2 T of water to a simmer. Cook over moderately high heat until the syrup registers to 235 on a candy thermometer*, about 5 minutes. With the mixer on medium speed, gradually beat the hot syrup into the eggs. Continue beating until the mixture is very pale and has tripled in volume, about 4 mins. Fold in the espresso mixture**

5. In a bowl, whip the heavy cream until stiff peaks form. Fold into the mousse mixture until no streaks remain**

6. Spoon about 1/4 of the mousse into a 9 inch springform pan. Dip 6 lady fingers into the espresso syrup until just soaked through. Arrange the ladyfingers over the mousse in rows. Repeat the process 2 more times, then top with the remaining mousse. Cover with plastic wrap and freeze at least 6 hours.

7. Before serving, warm a thin sharp knife under hot water. Run the knife around the edge of the semifreddo and remove the ring (you can refreeze after this if the sides are a little melty) Sift cocoa over the top of the semifreddo. Cut into wedges and serve with raspberries. The semifreddo will keep frozen for up to three days (so says the magazine.)

*If you don't have a candy thermometer, you can cook the syrup and periodically drop a little of it into a bowl of cold water. You want to cook it until a little before the soft ball phase. You should be able to shape the cold syrup with your fingers, but it shouldn't form a really dense ball. It takes a little practice sometimes.

** I was running out of room in my bowl, so I just gently whisked in these ingredients. It didn't deflate the mix or anything.

San Francisco

I spent this past weekend in San Francisco.



We went to the ferry building farmer's market. I think I spent all of Saturday eating...Chocolate/Cherry Rugelagh, Almond Croissants, Peaches, Summer Squash Tamales, Nutella Doughnuts, Spiced Sandwich Cookies, Fruit Crostata, Panna Cotta, Chocolates, Hummus, Cappucino...

It was a little too ambitious to buy produce and expect it to survive a 7 hour drive unscathed. My peaches and little strawberries rather died.

I didn't like San Francisco as much as I thought I would. Part of the problem is I stayed in Union Square- which wasn't suited to my personality at all. The city was busier than I expected it to be, and I encountered snooty, hurried service in many of the bakeries and restaurants I visited.

On a positive note, I did eat at some wonderful places. All the baked products I purchased tasted fresh, as opposed to many I bought in Manhattan. Here's the lowdown:

Delfina was recommended by Dave Lebovitz and the food was really fantastic. The buttermilk panna cotta and profiteroles were to die for, as well as one of the two table breads. The fruit budino was dissapointing (I could hardly eat it because in my head I kept thinking it had to be made from leftover bread...) We had grilled calamari, marinated sardines, some fantastic salt cod spread, steak, roast chicken, and salmon...all in all it was a great meal. The only problem was our service was -excruciatingly- slow. It was a busy night though.

Recchiuti Confections was very good, though I think I need to try more chocolates before I know how much I really like it. Of the five pieces I tried, my favorites were the burnt caramel and the sesame nougat.

Some people say Tartine is way overrated and the service is bad, but I found it really enjoyable! All of their cookies were fantastic, especially old favorites like shortbread and mexican wedding cookies. They had fantastic looking croissants too.

Citizen Cake had great service and a very streamlined design. Everything I sampled was good, and the brunch offerings looked AMAZING. Fresh doughnuts with butter and jam...mmm. Poached eggs over potatoes. I'd definitely go there again. They had interesting ice cream flavors too.

I was supposed to intern at Miette but I ended up finding a paid position. Everything at Miette was pretty, but not really to my taste. I did have a panna cotta/pot de creme that was fantastic though- worth ordering again.



Sears makes a damn good breakfast.

That was the notable eating. Everyone should read restaurant and bakery reviews with a certain amount of caution. Consider questions like "How much does atmosphere and clientele affect my enjoyment of a place?" "Will I enjoy my food if I feel very rushed, or if there isn't anywhere to sit down?" "How do I feel in crowded places where the staff doesn't have much time to be personable?" "Do I like restaurants that are trendy or homey?"

I think different cities are better suited to different personalities. It's really worth planning ahead to make your vacations enjoyable.

Tiramisu 101.

I've tried a few tiramisu recipes lately. Most recipes have similar ingredients but different techniques, suggestions, and flavors. I hate bad tiramisu, so I try to stick to a few rules.

1) Do not use bad coffee. You're better off using reconstituted instant espresso powder than bitter, mediocre coffee or espresso. When I don't have a giant espresso machine handy, I usually use the powder.

2) Do not use bad alcohol. I'm not a fan of Marsala in my Tiramisu, tradition or no. Cheap alcohol can ruin a good tiramisu.

3) Do not oversoak the ladyfingers. It might take a few tries to get this right. You want the ladyfinger to be almost completely saturated, but not squashy or soggy. If you oversoak, you'll end up with an ugly pool of coffee whenever you cut a slice out of the pan.

The recipe I used above came from Viana LaPlace and Evan Kleiman's Cucica Rustica. It adds raspberries and ground hazelnuts between the layers. I thought it was pretty good, though it still isn't the tiramisu of my dreams.

Peach-Raspberry Crostata

This recipe came from Sarah Foster's Casual Cooking. I own all three of the Foster's Market cookbooks and they're all fantastic. The recipes are always fresh and easy to execute.

This crostata dough was particularly good. Adding egg yolk and milk made the dough a little more tender than a pure short crust, but it still was really really crispy. The filling had a hint of ginger and cinnamon, and enough cornstarch to keep the crostata from becoming too liquidy.

Peach Raspberry Crostatas
For the crust:
2 cups all purpose flour
3 T sugar
1/4 tsp kosher or sea salt
2 sticks cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes
1 large egg yolk
3-4 T ice water or milk (i used milk.)

For the filling:
2 pounds peaches, peeled, pitted, and thinly sliced
1 cup fresh raspberries
1/3 cup sugar plus extra for sprinkling
3 T cornstarch
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp kosher or sea salt
4 T unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces (I omitted this.)
1 large egg
1-2 T milk

To make the crust, stir the flour, sugar, and salt together in a large bowl. Add the butter and blend it in with the flour using a pastry blender or two knives in a crisscrossing motion until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Whisk the egg yolk and 3 T of milk together in a small bowl and add it to the flour mixture. Stir until the dough just comes together and starts to form a ball, adding the remaining milk if necessary. Dust your hands lightly with flour and press the dough together to form a fat, round disk. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator to chill for at least 1 hour or overnight.

Lightly grease 2 baking sheets or cover with parchment and set aside.

To make the filling, combine the peaches, raspberries, sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, ginger, and salt in a large bowl and stir gently to mix.

Remove the dough from the refrigerator and cut it into 8 equal size pieces. Lightly flour the work surface and roll each piece into a 6 inch round. Place the rounds onto prepared baking sheets.

Scoop the filling and juices into the center of each round, dividing it evenly and leaving a 1 inch border around the edges. Place a piece of butter on top of the fruit, if you like. Folkd the dough over the fruit all the way around to form an edge.

Whisk the egg and milk together to make an egg wash. (I usually strain this to avoid ugly lumpy bits of egg.) Brush the edges of each tart and sprinkle with sugar. Put the tarts in the fridge and chill for about 30 mins.

Preheat the oven to 375. Bake the tarts for 40-45 minutes, rotating the sheets halfway through, until the crusts are golden brown and the fruit is bubbling. Cool the tarts slightly and serve warm. (I like a little dollop of vanilla ice cream on top :))

Blueberry Hand Pies

Lately i've noticed the growing popularity of the hand pie. People hail it as "a gourmet pop-tart." I decided to try some hand pies because they looked so darned cute.

I used this recipe for the crust, and a recipe from The Foster's Market Cookbook for the filling.

The crust is different. It is flaky, but not nearly as crispy as i'd like. My favorite crust recipes either combine butter and shortening or use tons of butter. In retrospect, I wish i'd have used my favorite crostata dough.

I baked them at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes. They did leak some blueberry filling, but not much.

Honestly, hand pies aren't my favorite. They take a long time to make, and you really can't fit much fruit in them. I'd much rather have a crisp or a big slice of berry pie. Still, if you are a big crust or pop-tart fan, these could be your new favorite thing.

Back from a week in NYC.

I'll have a real update soon- promise.

I'm also going to try and be more disciplined about posting the recipes of what I make, per your requests.

Anyway, I was in Manhattan last wednesday through this tuesday. Most of my time was spent eating and walking, and i'm happy to say I found some fantastic places worth your time. Here's a summary of the damage I did:

1) Once Upon A Tart was fantastic. I've had their cookbook for years. I recommend the Pear Ginger Raisin muffins, but many people swear by the scones and cookies etc. They usually open around 8 and it's great to enjoy a coffee and pastry at one of the tables in front of the store.

2) Balthazar, despite being very busy all the time, makes a -fabulous- breakfast. Some of the more delicious looking things were pastries, quiches, granola, omlettes...pretty much everything. I highly recommend the smoked salmon and the side order of fried tomatos. I saw plenty of people picking up beverage and pastry from the small boulangerie and eating it on the benches outside.

3) Chikalicious was just great. The service, atmosphere, and food were all fantastic. I hear it can get very busy (long lines) but I went right at opening on sunday and got right in. My dessert tasting menu included kiwi gelee with cantaloupe sorbet, lavender marinated kiwis with yogurt sorbet and crispy kataifi, and a petit four plate with a coconut marshmallow, lemon-poppyseed shortbread, and a chocolate/nib pudding bite. All of the desserts looked fantastic- particularly the ganache filled raspberries. They were the hugest berries i'd ever seen. The iced tea was great too, and some of the other cocktails I saw looked really pretty.

4) I always try and hit Payard when i'm in New York. The pastries are quite good, though the service can be a little snooty. I love their canneles and croissants in particular as well as the orange-carrot tart. Just watch out and make sure the pastry you've ordered hasn't been sitting in the case for days.

5) Ceci Cela was recommended to me by a good friend. Unfortunately, i've been there three times and each time it was -awful.- You could taste that the (rather pricy) pastries had been sitting in the case for far too long. Soggy crusts, blandish pastry, and horrible horrible service. I've been ignored by staff there so many times. It's a pity really because everything always looks so pretty. Honestly, unless they make major changes I won't be going back.

6) Thomas Keller's Bouchon Bakery in the Time Warner Center was nice too. I wish i'd had a chance to try more. I only had time to order a few things to go. Their macarons are fantastic. Though not as crunchy as I might have liked, they were substantial, huge, and packed with flavor. I had caramel and pistachio and they were amazing. It's worth a try, but again, keep an eye out for things that have been in the case too long.

7) Cafe Sabarsky on 5th ave and 86th street is a hidden treasure. I don't think i'd have found it without a friend's recommendation. It is a viennese style cafe that features excellent service, food, and desserts. I went back three times during my trip and managed to sample the apple strudel, streuselkuchen, sachertorte, quark cheesecake, chocolate feuillete, and several cups of espresso. It's fabulous.

8) Tom Colicchio's 'wichcraft wasn't really anything special. It's a good place to get good, fast eats though.

9) 'ino is my favorite place for sandwiches and bruschetta. I've probably had the best sandwich/bruschetta of my life there. I went three times during this trip.

10) I went to an Italian pastry place on Bleeker street called Cafe Bruno, i think. It was pretty good, but I don't really remember it. Many of the cookies tasted similar and were a little stale :(

11) Sfoglia was one of the best dining experiences i've had in a long time. Good lord, GO THERE ALREADY. The bread they serve is out of this world. We had a delightfully spicy and moist roast chicken along with strawberry-basalmic spaghetti, a beet and bean salad, and some antipasto. The restaurant is beautiful and the service is fantastic. It is much easier to get in for lunch than dinner. I wish I could have gone back...

12) Lupa is one of those places I didn't know was popular until after I ate there. It was also UTTERLY FANTASTIC and reasonably priced. We all tried the tasting menu which included a huge assortment of antipasto, good focaccia, two pasta courses, a meat course, a cheese course, and dessert. There were good olives, amazing prosciutto, a baccala salad, a beet salad...curly pasta with AMAZING asparagus ragu, ricotta gnocchi with a fennel sausage sauce, fish with a meyer lemon sauce, spicy chicken diavolo, roast port shoulder, goat cheese, sheep cheese, cow cheese...panna cotta and tartufi that were to die for...I highly recommend it. Zagat calls it "Babbo on a budget."

13) I also made two trips to Kitchen Arts and Letters. It's the best cookbook store i've ever been to, and Matt has given me excellent cookbook and restaurant recommendations. They answer their email, they will ship you anything you like, and generally, if you tell them your favorite cookbooks they'll be able to make you an educated recommendation. They also have rare and out of print things. If you ever need help finding a restaurant to your taste that isn't too touristy, you should give them a call.

Wow...I ate a lot of food last week O.o

I'm probably heading back in July. I have a few places left on my curiosity list including:
Hearth
P*ONG
Good sushi
Good dim-sum
...More bakeries.

Feel free to make recommendations.

Melting Moments

I'd never heard of Melting Moments until recently. They remind me a little of rosketti- a simple chamorro corn starch cookie that melts in your mouth. Mexican wedding cookies also have that similar crumbly, sandy texture.

These are from Donna Hay's Modern Classics 2. The best part is they're incredibly simple and fast to prepare. They're filled with a simple lemon frosting.

Melting Moments
adapted from Donna Hay
175g (about a stick and a half) butter, softened
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup all purpose flour, sifted
1/4 cup corn starch, sifted
60g butter (about half a stick), softened
2 tsp lemon juice
2 tsp lemon zest
1 cup powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350.
Cream the butter, sugar, and vanilla until smooth.
Add the flour and cornstarch and mix until it comes together.
Put the batter in a bag and with a fluted tip and pipe 1" circles onto parchment lined baking sheets.
Bake 12-14 minutes until golden brown.

For the frosting, cream the butter, sugar, lemon juice and zest.
When the cookies are cool, sandwich them together with some frosting.
Makes about 16 sandwiches.

Apricot Ice Cream

Apricots have such an unfortunately short season. Maybe that makes them more special; I remember my mother bringing plastic bags loaded with apricots from various farmers' markets. I would usually eat 4-6 at a time.

This is Apricot Ice Cream from The Perfect Scoop. David Lebovitz has made another brilliant combination of tangy, creamy, and fresh flavors.

I recommend eating this right after it is churned, as it seems to freeze just a tad hard.

The flavor of fresh apricots is heavenly though.

My Job.

I work at the cafe on an old millionaire's estate. Pittsburgh piano trio performed a few weeks ago and we made ten trays of pastry. Two came back, mostly finished off. It's a good feeling when you work hard and everyone eats everything.

Kumquat Poundcakes, Revel Bars and More!

Kumquat Poundcake from Hidemi Sugino's Dessert Book.


Oatmeal cookie type bar with thick chocolate ganache in the middle.




Chocolate covered Ice Cream! Lemon/soft gingersnap, green tea, panforte, and turron.




Kumquat Compote in process.


Apple and almond pudding from Bill's Open Kitchen.


Orange and Buckwheat Crepes filled with nutella and oranges.


Pierre Herme's Lemon Tart.

Roasted Banana Ice Cream

I'm officially hooked on David Lebovitz's The Perfect Scoop.

So far, i've made the following flavors: salted butter caramel, turron, eggnog, honey-lavender, and roasted banana. I'm looking foward to trying green tea, panforte, gianduia, and many others!

I really love that this book introduces some flavors that are familiar, but different. I'd never think to make a roasted banana ice cream. This recipe was incredibly simple (no cream or egg yolks!) and bursting with flavor. I'd recommend smothering it with chocolate sauce or using it to make chocolate covered bon bons.

Honestly, the Turron ice cream stole my heart. I didn't take a photo because I ate it all. Turron is a spanish nougat often studded with toasted almonds, pistachios, and candied orange peel. David's recipe also adds honey, a touch of orange flower water, and orange zest. It is DIVINE. It reminded me of being in Sevilla.

Tonight is my senior cello recital. Think good thoughts for me!