Savory Experimentation

I have ideas swimming in my head; all food-related all the time. I spend countless hours browsing food blogs, food blog aggregate sites, kitchenware sites, chef blogs etc etc etc. (Chefs are my rockstars, I would be speechless to meet someone like Joël Robuchon but that's another story for another time.) I don't recommend browsing food sites on an empty stomach though - crazy cravings are due to set.


One of the things I really miss from back home is good pizza. Don't get me wrong, California-style pizza is good in its own right but there are days when I just want a slice of crispy thin crust, oozing w. bubbling mozzarella w. just the right amount of red sauce. "NY-style" pizza here is just not the same. So my pattern for food that remind me of home is to just make it at home because I know I will never be satisfied with what is served to me at a restaurant.


The craving of the moment was calzones. Calzones are like pizza pockets/turnovers. Think of it as an Italian dumpling... The size can range from palmful to faceful & the stuffing combinations are endless, sauce inside or sauce on the side. I personally prefer sauce on the side. With the idea of calzones planted I set out for the grocery store to buy supplies when another craving set - sausage & peppers. Supplies in tow, I went home to prep. 


In order to lighten it up a bit I chose to make a whole wheat pizza dough recipe. I sliced some onions & bell pepers, chopped some garlic, threw it all in a pan w. some oil & left it alone until the onions carmelized a bit. Sliced up some smoked spicy sausage & warmed it up in a pan. I portioned out the dough into 4 & rolled out the dough & assembled my lunch in the not too distant future... took a small baking pan & lined it w. some foil, sprinkled some cornmeal & placed the pocket of goodness on top. I cut a couple air vents in the top (otherwise the crust would balloon from steam while baking) & brushed the top w. a little bit of oil.

calzone with a side of roasted garlic tomato sauce

mangia!

Baby Shower

I remember at another baby shower in the past, my friend (who was born & raised in Taiwan but moved to the States for college) asked me why it was called a "baby shower" - I had to think about it for a minute since I really didn't know the answer either. I blurted out the first thing that came to mind: you get together with your friends & loved ones to shower the mama to-be & baby w/ love, affection & presents! =P I heard that in some areas of the country they do a sip 'n see: sip on tea or some more adult libations & see the baby (after it's born). *shrug* either way it's an excuse to have a party & have some bonding time w/ friends.

I decided for this latest baby shower I would make cupcakes. I made the buttercream frosting the night prior so I could concentrate on putting together the cupcakes on Saturday morning. I decided to use buttermilk in the cake recipes to give them a little something extra. I was going at a leisurely pace until I looked up at the clock - cutting it close!

The party was so much fun! Girlfriend who hosted did such a great job decorating & putting together games... She made pozole (spicy Mexican soup w. hominy & chicken) from scratch - so good. My other friend made hot dog buns (like the ones you find at the Asian bakeries). We made a point to skip lunch - hahaha. Hostess even provided sangria - the best I've ever had.

As one of the games we each wore a plastic diaper clothes pin on a ribbon around our necks & the point was not to say "baby" otherwise we forfeit our charm. Somehow, baby daddy to-be ended up with the most pins towards the end of the party (and he wasn't even really trying). We were all taking a shot trying to get him to say the b-word but to no avail. Baby mama to-be even stood over him, grabbed his collar & demanded that he say it! He gladly relinquished the charms. It was such a fun afternoon hanging with the girlfriends & the baby daddy to-be (it wasn't too painful for him to be surrounded by so much estrogen I think).

giftbox of cupcakes for the parents to-be to enjoy at home

chocolate cupcakes topped with vanilla buttercream, vanilla cupcakes topped with chocolate buttercream

Treats for a Prego Friend

As of late, I find myself volunteering to make something for a friend's baby shower when that time comes... I don't know why - I think it has to to with my innate need to feed people. And who else would appreciate food more than a pregnant woman?? Seriously, I can imagine how hectic it will be trying to put together a decent home-cooked meal after the baby is born so I guess I just feel the need to help in the food department? Anyhow, this weekend is my college girlfriend's baby shower & I'm making vanilla & chocolate cupcakes - from scratch. ( I just refuse to make anything that came out of a box but that story is for another day) Today's food story is actually from food I made for another friend's baby shower about a year and 1/2 ago - let's call her Mrs. P.

A little background on Mrs. P: I'm friends with her through her hubby. Her other 1/2 and I attended the same church until they got married... Went to the wedding: it was a weather questionable day but all in all it was a lovely ceremony & fun reception albeit a bit EARLY (it was a late morning ceremony w/ a lunch reception)... Ok before I go off on too much of a tangent, fast forward to the weeks leading up to baby shower. Her sister graciously put together her cute shower - such attention to detail. Anyhow, I decided I wanted to make something that both Mrs. P & Dr. P (but only if he deserved it - j/k) could enjoy with little effort on their part. I decided on lasagne - could easily be frozen but then reheated & maintain taste. I was on a cinnamon roll making binge so I made a batch of those as well.  

I made turkey & spinach lasagne to lighten it a bit... I do tend to cut down on the salt in the recipe though - you want the flavor of the food to come through but you don't want to feel like you're licking a salt brick... Some lasagne recipes call for a mornay sauce layer (scalded milk w. butter & flour whisked in and some cheese) but I find that sauce to be unnecessary - it tends to make an already substantial pasta dish too heavy in my opinion.

On to dessert - cinnamon rolls... My favorite part of cinnamon rolls is definitely the middle coil. Whenever my sister & I made the Pillsbury cinnamon rolls in can we would always fight over the center roll in the pan. Anyhow, I wanted to make the rolls for Mrs P airy with the right amount of chewy factor not a hockey puck. I let the dough rise once before rolling it out and then I let it rise again in the pan before popping them in the oven... Whenever I see a recipe I like I inevitably change it a little bit to give the end product a little something something. This time around when the recipe called for granulated sugar I swapped it with turbinado sugar (aka Sugar in the Raw) & I used good quality organic unsalted butter. For the frosting I added some ground cinnamon into the whipped cream cheese frosting - I did make a bit extra just in case Mrs P wanted to dip the  rolls into extra frosting.

I arrived to the shower with gift & food in hand... Mrs P asked me if it was ok if she shared the goods with the guests which of course I agreed to - both were a hit. =) I did make 2 square pans of each so Mrs P shared the rest w/ Dr P.

 cinnamon rolls ready to go in the oven

close up

it's like a bucket of frosting

 turkey spinach lasagne

closeup (I think the edges were a bit overdone but nonetheless it was enjoyed)

This weekend I hope girlfriend enjoys the cupcakes~ (I will share the story & pics soon)

Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day everyone! My favorite memories of this day are back in elementary school times when I would drag my mom to the local pharmacy so I could pick the BEST tear-off Valentine's Day cards. I wanted Transformers but my mom thought Strawberry Shortcake would be better. Valentine's Day was so simple back then...

Anyhow, to celebrate the day i decided to make sugar cookies w/ royal icing. Now I'm still a newbie when it comes to decorating cookies with royal icing so it's all still a bit of a trial/error period for me... I don't really like the flavor of sugar cookies (for their name they tend to taste either like cardboard or salt) so I opted for a shortbread recipe. I found heart-shaped sprinkles on sale so I shrugged & said "why not?"

shortbread cookies waiting to cool down

all dressed & sprinkled

my royal icing flooding needs some work...