baby rambutan

from Vietnam, to Morocco, in my dreams.
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the dish arrives with a caveat:
if you do not have a passion for fish sauce, what i call, patis love, look away now, “X” it now, come back another day.
still here?
the reward is a dish worth a pot full of rice both because the sauce deserves to be licked clean and because the spicy punch will need the soothing mouthfuls of starch to cool your mouth down.

the first step is to make this caramel with fish sauce. you must be brave.

you must also add at least one red hot chili pepper.
based on recipes from three cookbooks (authors Nicole Routhier, Corinne Trang, and Mai Pham) and my desire to eat something spicy and saucy, since i had a stuffed up nose with matching dead tastebuds. i had to consult with my favorite testers to check if the flavors (lemongrass, garlic, chili, chili paste, caramel, fish sauce, shallots) were all right .

recipe coming soon follows… (more…)

sometimes the path from “A” to “B” takes some convoluted twists and turns. the craving was for lobsters…as in $2.99 per pound medium size lobsters–i kid you not! the price was too low as to be worrisome…we haven’t seen prices like these since we were teenagers, and we’re talking Maine, straight-from-the-dock prices! good-luck-to-the-lobstermen kind of prices…–
but to get to that, first i had to have chocolate cake.
of the three-layer-punch-in-the-face variety.
i take my job really seriously you know, the job of checking out chocolate cake or brownie recipes that tout themselves to be the best.
now, i’ve proclaimed that i won’t buy any more new cookbooks or food magazines at all. but i forgot that i did subscribe to two family oriented magazines last year, to support my kid’s public school.
when the first issue arrived, the first thing i noticed was the purported “best chocolate cake recipe ever!” which i dutifully decided had to be put to the test.


i was tempted to stop icing the cake right then, and eat the rest of the frosting straight up with a soup spoon….

but i had good self-control. for a change.

then i had to hie off to the newly opened fish mongers at the 4th edition of summer shack. it is a New England institution by now, Jasper White’s humble down home chain of restaurants that evoke hearty New England chowders and lobster bakes. we went to the original location in Cambridge years ago for a mothers’ day dinner–it is so memorable to me because it was the weekend before i’d have to find out if a lump on my leg was something to worry about or not (NOT, as it turned out)…so i was determined to have a great good time.
the food was divine, and i remember sharing a broiled lobster platter with my then 2-year old youngest child, and the fish lumpia (spring rolls) that were so terrific we had to order more.
this 4th franchise has a fish store, and our first peek last weekend the fish monger whispered that there’d be a sale on lobsters, this weekend.
there i was, buying, incredulously at $2.99 a pound…”give me FOUR!” wheee….i was almost in a diabetic shock state from hunger, having just swum 30 lengths at the pool, having just popped a cracker dipped in fish pate from the sample counter, having just walked out to try and get a nice takeaway lunch from the supermarket round the corner…when i literally walked into the towering gent, the what, 6 foot 4 inch tall– the one and only Jasper White himself, seeing some dining customers out the door.
“murrrmpphffaffff!”
i tried to swallow the mouthful of cracker.
“how nice to see you! i’m a fan!” i know, so lame….
he graciously, gallantly shook my hand, laughing,” happy new year!”


i swear, he was right there!

ask me about the chocolate cake recipe, which was fabulous! i’m still too stunned right now….

the day after, i feel like i am the ultimate kulelat of the Boston Marathon, all beat up and crawling to the finish line.
and i feel like giving all the Santa “facilitators”,a great big hug! you know who you are! give yourselves a standing ovation, for helping Santa deliver his presents to all the nice kids and/or not too naughty ones.
christmas morning i made buttery scones for breakfast, having stumbled upon a prettily,accessibly priced jar of clotted cream in one of my favorite salvage storeshaunts.


then i made this really easy yet delicious apple walnut spice cake–everyone overlooked the patchiness of it especially when i hand-whipped the calvados vanilla cream at the party venue (i didn’t want to make a fuss or noise at the hostess’ kitchen, ssshhh!).


it diminished in size so quickly, #1son made sure he scored two leftover slices to take home. i’ll make you some more, promise!
as usual, recipe will be posted upon request! please, bug me if i neglect to respond. my life’s like that!

i hope your Christmas was a joyous one.

someone else’s table, that is.

this year the Family had their Thanksgiving dinner at husband’s niece’s home, and she did a wonderful job with her first 20-lb. turkey, ever. so gracious indeed, we had a great time and my kids loved hanging out with their cousins, playing ping pong well into the night.

the dessert table, left to right: pumpkin tart, Rosie’s Bakery chocolate mousse cake and toll house pie, Russian grandmother’s apple pie cake, whipped cream, a bowl of grapes, and Brigham’s ice creams.

Russian grandmothers’ apple pie cake is another dessert from Dorie Greenspan’s “Baking,” luscious Golden Delicious apple slices and golden raisins enveloped in a double crust of an almost cookie-cake-like batter. it was a bit of a gamble, seeing that i’d never done this before, but i was confident because everything i’ve made from Dorie Greenspan’s been a whopping success anyway.

what’s left, reserved for #1son.

recipe, upon request!

may i suggest for your Thanksgiving table…

Dorie Greenspan’s sour cream pumpkin tart?

it’s quite simple and easy to put together: pâte sablée crust–pressed! not rolled (flour, confectioners’ sugar, butter, egg yolk)–partially baked, then filled with a mix of pumpkin puree, sour cream, heavy cream, eggs, dark rum, then baked some more.
the flavor is deep and mellow and just perfect with coffee–that is if you’ve left some room in your tummy for dessert after all that food.
(recipe? if you insist! )

pertaining to the preceding recipe for fresh pickin’ raspberry chicken, by Coolio, the ghetto gourmet:
we’ll rate it a “must try,” based on the quantity consumed(all) and the speed by it was consumed (zoom zoom).

it’s a must try, especially considering the novelty of the way it was cooked (sauteing floured chicken in a vegetable mirepoix) but when i questioned the children on whether they’d like to have it again, they all said, hmmmmm. the flavour? tangy fruit with meat though unusual can be delectable (husband just made pork chops with apples, that was a hit in this household–recipe soon!).

verdict: when the mood strikes, we will try it again, if and only if, raspberries are on sale again.

with raspberry sauce
i served it on the side, for the children to decide whether they wanted the fancy catsup or not. for that is what it seemed like, fancy raspberry catsup.

in the spirit of this beautiful and complex land…celebrating its birthday with a beautifully nuanced torte that is attributed mostly to either New Zealand or Australia. Tony Bourdain ate it with kiwi in NZ and challenged its origins, while i’ve always thought that it was dedicated to the delicate ballerina Anna Pavlova while she performed The Dying Swan…possibly in New Zealand?
this is based on two desserts, one from a cookbook and one from the latest issue of Gourmet July 2009. i was going to serve during my annual July 4th cookout but i couldn’t wait to experiment. this has to be eaten up instantaneously, since the frosting is made of whipped cream with Greek-style yogurt that does not keep at all and must be consumed on the spot.
not at all hard to do.
and on the cookout day, we grilled…

everything but the slug.

[postscript, added 11 September 2009: i've had a grand total of two requests for the recipes!
so here they are, thanks guys. for still reading this blog. ]

the hazelnut meringue layers are from epicurious. they are rich and nutty
the cream filling is from “Desserts All Around the Year,” 2008, World Publications group, www.wrldpub.net.

“For meringue:

* Confectioners sugar for dusting
* 1 cup superfine granulated sugar
* 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
* 1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
* 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
* 2 teaspoon distilled white vinegar
* 3/4 cup egg whites (from 5 to 6 large eggs) at room temperature 30 minutes

For berries:

* 1 1/2 pounds strawberries, trimmed and quartered
* 1 pound blackberries
* 2 tablespoons granulated sugar

For cream:

* 1 cup chilled heavy cream
* 1/3 cup chilled sour cream

Preparation

Make meringue:
Preheat oven to 275°F with rack in middle. Lightly butter 3 (8-inch) round cake pans, then dust sides of pans with confectioners sugar, knocking out excess. Line bottom of each pan with a round of parchment paper.

Pulse superfine sugar, brown sugar, and cornstarch in a food processor until well combined.

Stir together vanilla and vinegar in a small bowl.

Beat egg whites with a pinch of salt using an electric mixer at medium speed until they hold soft peaks. Increase speed to medium-high and add sugar mixture 1 tablespoon at a time. After all sugar has been added, beat 1 minute more. Add vinegar mixture, then beat at high speed until meringue is glossy and holds stiff peaks, about 5 minutes. Spoon meringue into pans (about 2 1/2 cups per pan) and smooth tops.

Bake until meringues have a crisp crust and feel dry to the touch, about 1 hour (insides will still be marshmallow-like).

Turn oven off and prop door open slightly with a wooden spoon. Cool meringues in oven 1 hour. (Meringues may sink slightly and crack while cooling.)

Run knife along sides of cake pans and carefully turn meringues out of pans. Carefully peel off parchment (meringues will be fragile and the crust may crack further). Carefully turn right side up.

Macerate fruit while meringues cool:
Toss berries with sugar and let stand at room temperature until ready to use (up to 1 hour).

Assemble dessert:
Beat heavy cream with sour cream using an electric mixer until it just holds soft peaks. Put 1 meringue on a serving plate and spread one third of whipped cream over it. Spoon one third of fruit (with juice) over top. Repeat with remaining meringues, cream, and fruit.

Cooks’ note: Meringues can be frozen, individually wrapped, up to 1 month; thaw, still wrapped, at room temperature for at least 2 hours.

prepare the meringue layers, as directed from the recipe above. leave to cool, then transfer to a serving platter.
whip 1 cup heavy cream and 1 tbsp. orange juice just until thick. stir in 2 tbsps. thick and creamy yogurt (i used Greek-style) and spoon on to the meringue. top with the fruit and drizzle over 1-2 tbsps warmed redcurrant jelly.
serve immediately!

no, not mine! Julia Child’s, that is. i now declare myself officially “forever 25″ years old.
she would have been 97 years old this year, and her birthday is on August 15, but one bite of this cake and you’ll see why i had to make it.
this was concocted by Marcel Desaulniers–serious foodies will remember him, he’s one of the real chefs who truly deserved a cooking show, *sniff.
the description of the cake alone will convince you to try and make this cake. the combination of flavors truly honored the very essence of the woman to whom it was dedicated: butter. almonds. liqueurs. raspberries. chocolates. cream.
it took me two days to put it all together–due to time constraints, much to my children’s chagrin. i finally assembled the 4 9-inch cake layers with the mousse and ganache and served it to my favorite kids.
it only comes once a year (thank goodness) and though it’s alarming how aged we feel now, the joy of birthdays that the kids feel is quite contagious. the thrill of waiting for their birthdays makes my kids so ecstatically happy that it somehow makes up for the glaringly real ageing process their parents must go through now.
i’ll be the first to admit that it looks nothing like the photograph in the book–i think it suffered quite a lot from the very warm 90 degree days, so anomalous for spring, as much as from my amateurish baking skills, but here it is….mommy’s birthday cake, dedicated to the children i birthed.

4 layers of chocolate almond cake, filled with chocolate red raspberry mousse, and smothered with a combination of 12 ounces of dark chocolate and 4 ounces of unsweetened chocolate ganache.
you want to make?
let me know and i’ll type in the recipe.
recipe follows: (more…)

this is to prove to myself that i still can bake, i still know how to make cookies. Tuesday i made the kids some of my favorite (not theirs, they complain “why always this, ha mom? ha mom?”) oatmeal chocolate chip–the oatmeal makes me feel like i’m a good mommy, serving fiber to the children heehee–
but they turned out disastrous by my standards: flat, thin, and had to be cut with a cookie cutter.
embarrassing! the three were quick to finish them off though, since my three favorite “customers” are always looking for snacks, and they said it was still delicious.
this one’s got a hint of coffee, not much, and it’s very chocolatey chewy. from “Mrs. Fields Cookie Book.” the aroma brought the kids to the kitchen like zombies in a trance: “must eat cookies must eat cookies” and they ate them hot off the sheets. behind my back. *tsk tsk tsk*

(recipe to follow later…after Angels and Demons! yippeeee!)

recipe after Rob Pattinson…

dedicated to my favorite Knitting Mommy….

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