MacaWrongs

Although I've never taken a cooking class or done any sort of extreme baking, I still like to think of myself as somewhat of a good baker. That's why, when I couldn't find a good place for French Macarons in Boston, I didn't think twice about making them myself. Sure they're supposed to be one of the most persnickety cookies out there, but I know how to bake..... right?

I was first introduced to the Macaron in San Francisco at the Ferry Building. I sampled three different flavors: rose, hazlenut, and vanilla, and as soon as I took my first bite I was hooked! The texture of macarons is very interesting. They have a crusty outside, a chewy inside, and a gooey filling sandwiched in between. They get their fluffiness from meringue and their chewiness from almond flour, and come in an infinite combination of colors and flavors.

I decided for my macaron I didn't want to just do the standard vanilla, I wanted to try a rose one because it was my favorite flavor in San Fran. How naive I was, I didn't even make it far enough to actually put the rose flavoring in anything! haha Not only was I going to make macarons from scratch, but I also thought it would be easy to make almond flour. Take it from me, just buy the bag of it at the grocery store! In addition to using almond flour at the right concistency, there is also a delicate balance between under and over mixed macarons. Although my batter came out pretty in pink, apparently I had erred on the side of over rather than under..... The cookies were flat and brown around the edges (not good). I couldn't even get them off of the wax paper (more on that later). They were such a failure I didn't even take a picture of the end product.

Determined not to be beat by the macarons, I made another batch the next day. This time I beat the meringue a little longer and used store bought almond flour instead of my own. They were definitely fluffier this time! Unfortunately they were still inedible.

Ok now for my tangent on wax paper.... HOW did it take me this long to figure out it is NOT the same as parchment paper??! Granted we never had parchment paper growing up, only wax paper, but still.... This whole macaron experiment is becoming to be a very humbling experience!

Still refusing to give up on my macaron dream, I decided to try again today. After my revelation regarding the wax paper, I promptly purchased a silicon baking liner on amazon, and I have been itching to try it out. They actually look like macarons!! Yaaaaayyy!!!

They were still really sticky and hard to get off the mat, but they were edible, which is better than last time :) I'm still not done with this whole macaron business.... I'll get you next time my pretties...

Indulgent Food.... the only way to make it through the Boston Winter

I was going through some pics today trying to pick some for my post, and I can't believe some of the photos I neglected to post.  Before I came to Boston, I had heard horror stories of the winters up here.  I was pleasantly surprised that not only did I not mind the cold (I love you cuddle duds), but I also kinda liked the winter wonderland that engulfed the landscape of the NE.  Nonetheless, I did my fair share of baking to ease the winter chills.  Here's a couple highlights from the past few months:

 

Breakfast: 

Poached eggs with asiago and sopressata over toast 

with a pear arugula salad topped with pecans and goat cheese

Dessert:
Coconut cream pie

Unfortunately I don't have pictures of the carrot cake, cheesy garlic polenta squares with caramelized onions, paella, or andouille sausage pizza, but Summer cooking is just around the corner! =)

The Turkey That Keeps on Giving

What a great Thanksgiving break!  Four work-free days of pjs, apple pie, and shameless tv viewing.  This Thanksgiving was wonderful.  Even Kavan took a day off from studying! (which was more than deserved) Of course the holidays aren't complete without barely avoiding disaster, and this Thanksgiving was no exception.  Come Thanksgiving Day around noon -- turkey-less -- I planned to meet Kavan in front of the Shaw's Super Market to buy the turkey that I should have already been cooking. 

CLOSED in big bold letters was printed on a piece of paper taped to the door. There must be another store that's open right? I bet the other super market, Stop N Shop, is open, or Trader Joes, or Whole Foods, or maybe the Greek grocery has turkeys??? Nope. I walked home chilled to the bone still turkey-less with tears welling up in my eyes. I felt defeated. How was I going to break the news to my roomies who were expecting a turkey for Thanksgiving?? Kavan, however, was still out in full force biking to any grocery or convenience store that showed up on the google map search. He was determined to be the victor of this Thanksgiving Day fiasco.  As the day went on, the probability that he would even find an open grocery store was diminishing by the minute.

Who would have thought that the turkey-that-almost-wasn't was the best Thanksgiving turkey I have cooked to date.  A little over 2 hours into the search, Kavan rang with good news. He had found a turkey, and better yet, the turkey had been killed under kosher rules the day before. (The owner of the Middle Eastern hole in the wall grocery had a few no shows for their turkey orders this year.) SUCCESS!!! Kavan saved the day, and in all of the excitement even remembered to get the ingredients for our Salty Chihuahuas and Cranberry Spritzers. That's my man <3

I don't know if it was the salty chichuahuas or the cranberry spritzers, but I didn't manage to get a picture of the crispy brown turkey when it was all said and done. Luckily at dinner Kavan mentioned how his Mom, Kate, makes broth out of the turkey carcass and creates unbelievable soup from it. I had just found my new project for the break! :) Kate was kind enough to send me her recipe on how to make broth, and now I have 5 frozen ziploc bags of yummy broth stored in my freezer, in addition to the broth used in the soup.  For the soup recipe, I didn't really use one. I looked up some recipes online, and kind of did my own mash up of their ideas.  I remembered my mom always fixing soup with wild rice when I was younger so I wanted to incorporate that into the soup, plus of course the usual carrots and beans and chunks of turkey.  Add some seasoning and Voila! Turkey Soup :)

Luckily, I has not had any salty chihuahuas before cooking the soup, and happily captured some images of the after-turkey cuisine. 

Carrots

 and green beans

and rice

 makes TURKEY SOUP!

MMMmmmmmmmm :-9

Zaftigs - the only name in brunch

I have quite possibly found theee best brunch place I have ever patronized.  Zaftigs Delicatessen, I know we just met, but I have a crush.  Please don't mind my ogling eyes or the dribble slowly leaking from my mouth.  The thought of your Banana Stuffed French Toast made with boubon-vanilla batter topped with date butter and berries sends my heart soaring.

Of course, the view of across the table might play a part in that as well ;)

Turkey hash, potato pancakes, fried matzo, challah B.L.T..... with so many new and interesting flavors to add to my palate, I am willing to bet Zaftigs will be a weekend staple from now on :)

And really, where else does your busboy have on a t-shirt that says "Knish Me I'm Irish"? 

Holy Cannoli

What better way to break the silence from my long hiatus from blogging (and almost all other leisurely activities) than to dabble in the indulgence that is Mike's Pastry cannoli.

This was the first time I had seen Mike's without a line around the block! I felt so justified refusing to wait in line all of those other times... 

 

Of course once Meredith and I got inside there was no refuting there was a crowd. Ahhhh so many pastries so little time.

There is a big battle in the North End on who has the best cannoli. It basically comes down to Modern and Mike's, and after that night all I can say is, mike's Mike's MIKE'S! After giving up on cannoli from Modern, I thought I would give it one last chance... I will never doubt my instincts again ;)

 Ricotta filled chocolate dipped with chocolate chips = heaven

A Taste of Home

Being the foodie that I am, I subscribe to Bon Appetit.  It's always fun to see what the latest food craze is and how I can jump on the bandwagon.  Even more so, since Boston and DC are major US cities, sometimes local restaurants are highlighted.  Last month there was a feature on the Top 10 Best Places for Pie, of course they couldn't list my Nana's house because she is so transient now a days, but a local Boston restaurant Petsi Pies was listed.  Known for it's sweet potato pie and southern pecan pie, Petsi Pies is just a T ride away for me.

Then I started thinking... pecan pie...  when have I ever wanted a pecan pie other than Nana's?  NEVER!  Pecan pie is a staple at her house every fall and I know she would not want me to do without it up here in Boston.  Coincidentally, Nana called to catch up the next day, and I made sure to request her recipe.  She even figured out how to email it to me using her new email!

Go Nana!

WARNING: Don't try this at home unless you have someone around to take the pie away after your first piece.

Supplies ready

My first pie crust from scratch :)

It's goin in!

Success!!

Nana's Pecan Pie

1 c. sugar

1 Tbsp. flour

1/2 c. white corn syrup

1/4 c. melted butter or margerine

3 eggs, well beaten

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 c. pecans (halved or chopped, I liked chopped)

9 in. pie crust (I used a Basic Flaky Pie Crust recipe)

1. Mix sugar and flour together in a medium sized bowl.

2. Mix in corn syrup and butter.

3. Mix in eggs, vanilla, and pecans.

4. Pour mixture into unbaked pie shell and bake at 375 degrees for 40-45 minutes or until center is set when gently shaken.

5. Cool on a wire rack.

Note: Be careful not to overcook, it should turn out similar to a custard pie.

Thank you Nana! <3

Focaccia Fun

After my little sourdough science fair project ended in a tub of putrid goo and disturbed roommates, I've been leery to try my hand at another loaf of bread.  It wasn't until my cookbook just happened to open up to a recipe of healthy rosemary focaccia bread, did I contemplate trying my hand at bread making again.  I am so glad I did!

Watching my bread rise made me feel like a proud mama, and when it actually doubled in size I felt like my bread child had graduated high school.

Oh how it pained me so to go onto the next step of the recipe, "punch down the dough".

It was now time for my bread child to be put in its pan to rise for a second time.

My bread child was well on its way to becoming the best looking focaccia bread this side of Verndale St.  Then came time to bake, and the true test was underway.  40 minutes in the oven and it was over.  My bread child was now mature enough to handle any topping or dipping sauce that came its way.

Deeeeelish :-9  Last night, I had it with some olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, and pepper, wonderful.  This morning, I created a dish inspired by croque madame using the focaccia bread, drizzled with olive oil, and topped with cheddar cheese and an egg over easy.  Kavan and I ate this lovely breakfast with latte in hand, and for one moment I was transported to a little cafe in France..... Maybe someday...

One more posting dedicated to dairy

and I do believe I have contracted mad cow disease.....  but I promise you will not be disappointed :)

 

I visited J.P. Licks when I first got here, and I immediately knew that I had found one of my staple places of awesomeness (thanks for the tip Debbie)! There are so many options, do I want ice cream, hard yogurt, soft yogurt, tart yogurt a piece of ice cream cake, a sundae, toppings toppings and more toppings aaaaaaahhhhhh stay focused Liz! I decided to go with one of my favorite combos, mint ice cream with oreo cookies. Amazing. Then a few days later I grabbed a cup of the oreo cookie dough ice cream that tasted like the illegitimate brother of my infamous dirt cake dessert :-9

I knew I had to preemptively stop my inevitable addiction to this place, but after two weeks and passing by a sign that said $1 scoops with student (cough Kavan's cough) ID I could resist no longer.  Tonight's indulgence was apple crisp for me, fabulous. The ice cream added an almost cream cheese icing flavor to the fresh apples and crumbley, yet fluffy, cinnamon crisp. Kavan's choice of brownie batter ice cream with miniature peanut butter cups was also a hit!

Plus who doesn't love a place of business with a cow motif? I am going to be eating ice cream all winter long :)

(yes that is turf on the wall)

Yes Virginia, Milkmen really do exist

Who knew? I was browsing down the dairy aisle in Whole Foods when... what to my wondering eyes should appear, but a glass bottle of milk, a sight welcome and dear.

The bottle resembled those old dairy bottles my Granny uses to mix juice from concentrate in. After further examination, I found that the brand, Crescent Ridge Dairy, is a local small dairy that sells its milk to Whole Foods. I thought I had died and gone to heaven! Considering I have dairy farmers on both sides of my family, I wanted nothing more than to buy this small batch milk. I instantly forgot all other groceries I needed, headed to the checkout, and practically skipped all of the way home with milk in hand.

After checking out the Crescent Ridge Dairy website, I learned they have home delivery! For $4 each week (or every other week), I can get fresh, local milk, eggs, ice cream, cheese, you name it(!) to my house by my very own MILKMAN!!!  A small price to pay for supporting local farmers, just like my own family back home :) Sign me up!

 

Boston Cream Pie

Boston cream pie, known for being the official dessert of Massachusetts, was my housewarming present to my roommates and myself this week.  I completed a long interview process on Monday, and decided to accompany my unwinding with some baking therapy.  Although the original recipe for Boston cream pie was created at the Parker House Hotel in Boston, I chose to use a quicker and healthier version from allrecipes.com.  I was not disappointed.... :)

I've always been impressed with my friends' pictures for their blog entries dedicated to food (see DebaRooRoo and DC Food Junkie) and was eager to try my own hand at food photography.  The lighting was a bit off because of a burned out light overhead, but I think I got some good shots in nonetheless.  So here it is, the making of a Boston Cream Pie.

1. Make the cake

2. Make the custard

Make the chocolate icing

4. Assemble

Voila! Boston Cream Pie

So how did I do? Lets see the taste test.....

YES! Kavan tested and Kavan approved :)