Ciao Bella Gelato & Sorbetto

Another random dessert post from yours truly

Does anyone else love Ciao Bella!??? I recently went to the gelato store in the Town Center in Corte Madera, CA and ordered a new great sorbet flavor-Apple Cider & Clove. Yeah, I know that sounds weird, and definitely not summer-y but whatever cuz it was delicious! The pictures I took were of a half eaten scoop so they're not pretty, but I can tell you it tasted just like apple cider only in ice form!  My mom also ordered pistachio gelato which was rich and had a mellow, nutty flavor. I appreciated that it wasn't artificially colored green, but had crunchy whole pistachio nuts mixed into the gelato to add some color and crunch. Yummers!

Other great flavors they have: mint chip, green tea, cinnamon, blood orange sorbet, key lime graham, and that yogurt one ( srry, forgot the name!)  For their flavor list and more click here:

p.s. the random picture of the leaf-bird cage-sculpture is for fun and totally unrelated purposes. It was nearby the gelato store and looked beautiful. Don't judge, I know I'm weird!

REAL HOMEMADE BREAD!!!!!

Hello all! I just wanted to share some pics of my awesome carbohydrate creations that I made over the last few days. I made one batard loaf and eight dinner rolls using the recipe for French bread in Peter Reinhart's Artisan Breads Every Day.

I'd like to say that bread-making is easy like most of the recipes i've blogged about already, but alas, bread is a pain in the ass to make! You have to knead and make sure the water is at the right temperature...blah blah blah.  I really feel for all of the housewives during the Middle Ages and other "back in the olden days" time periods when they had to make so much bread with so little resources. Despite being tedious to make and time consuming, there is nothing quite like pulling a warm, crusty, golden loaf of homemade bread that you sweated over in 90° F weather out of the oven and eating it burning hot with butter. Yep, i baked bread in a 500°F oven in 90° weather...I had a craving, alright!!!

* Note: DON'T EVER DO THIS!

  I've wanted to make homemade bread for quite some time. Before this instance i'd made a couple of mediocre loaves over the years out of my kid's cookbooks (which are really good btw), such as honey-wheat bread, challah, pizza dough, white bread and sourdough from a kit. But I was really interested in making true artisan bread, the kind that you get at bakeries, the ones that are brown and crusty on the outside and warm, sweet and hole-y on the inside.

 I've also had big dreams for my bread-making, which began one day while i was flipping through the food magazine Bon Appetite. One article was about a woman who exchanged her homemade bread with her friends for favors and fancy food items that cost 2x as much as flour and water. I had a dream that I would start a bakery business in my kitchen, winning awards for my breads and gaining the popularity i would never have in high school with my old lady neighbors. The idea of documenting my bread making through social media sparked my interest in creating a food blog. Such great dreams for a humble peasant food.

When my mom bought this book for me for my birthday two years ago, I was daunted by the amount of text and scary prep time. The book was the real deal. I mean, this book had recipes for croissants and sticky buns that required overnight fermentation and perfect ratios of butter to flour...etc. Good God! I closed that book so fast and hid it out of site, only to occasonally view it for the gorgeous pictures of flaky biscuits and warm sourdough bread (food porn, people).

It took me two years to actually have the courage to take some action on this idea. I started off peeping into that book by Peter Reinhart again, making his interpretation of Ritz Crackers, which were surprisingly successful. Today,  I'm pleased to say that I've successfully made his French bread recipe too...the recipe he states is arguably "the easiest one in the book". aww well, you gotta start somewhere. Its still damn hard though!

Thankfully, its the 21st century and I was blessed with I had the help of my family's handy-dandy Kitchen-Aid, which had the secret weapon of a dough hook! The hook kneaded my dough for me, making it a billion times easier to make the bread. And after wiping the sweat off of my face and eating the bread I made all by myself, I realized that it actually wasn't that hard to make at all if you are patient and have a few tools.

I'll still save the details of how I survived baking the bread for another long post.  I can already tell that i've lost some folks in this bread rant, and I could go on and on and on about this topic and i'm not even Peter Reinhart who's written several bread books discussing the chemistry behind bread-making!

 Unfortunately, I was too into bread-making to take pictures as I was doing it, so I couldn't give out/explain the recipe. Maybe in another post, if people aren't maxed out on this subject?  For now i guess, just enjoy the pretty pictures. :)

Check out Peter Reinharts book, IF YOU DARE!!! 

Homemade Nutella

photo courtesy of http://www.nutellachocolate.com/. 

If anyone else is having a foodgasm right now just looking at this delicious Nutella spread picture, then you're going to love this recipe I recently tested for HOMEMADE NUTELLA!

Now of course, its pretty easy (and worth it) to go to your neighborhood supermarket and throw a couple of bucks towards this hazelnut-chocolate-ly goodness, but I personally only like to do this on a couple of occasions. I'm not a huge health-nut, but unfortunately i've had to come to terms that Nutella isn't particularly good for you (besides the nutrient-rich hazelnuts, Nutella is basically hydrogenated oils and sugar [sorry Ferrero, but I don't buy those Nutella breakfast ads!])

Fortunately for us, I was lucky to come across a homemade Nutella recipe as I was flipping through the Marin & Wine Country edition of the food magazine Edible . This year's summer edition featured this recipe in the article called "The Lure of Nostalgic Sweets: Why We Want Them and How to Make Them" by food writer and recipe developer Megan J. Gordon. 

After testing her simple recipe at home, I had to share it with you all! It tastes exactly like Nutella sans the artificial flavorings and other mysterious ingredients. The hazelnut taste is enhanced by the rich cocoa powder, giving the spread a much richer, robust and pure flavor than the store-bought kind. 

The only complaints I had were that my spread wasn't as thick as the Ferrero's and it was a bit grainier, but  I think I didn't grind the nuts in the food processor long enough to achieve the right consistency ( I was to anxious and excited to eat it!) 

The following recipe and instructions are credited to Megan J. Gordon. Please check out the magazine for more nostalgic sweet recipes like "Oreos" and "Poptarts". 

Yields: 6 ounces

Ingredients: 

1 cup toasted hazelnuts (see instructions below) 

* These can be $$$, so I (Emma, not Megan) suggest buying them at Trader Joe's for around $4.00 

1/4 cup dark cocoa powder
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4  teaspoon kosher salt
3-4 tablespoons canola oil 

* I suggest starting out with just two, since I found 3 to be too liquid-y

To Prepare:

1. Preheat the oven to 350° F. 

2. Spread hazelnuts on a baking sheet and toast them in the oven for 10 minutes until they are golden brown. Watch them closely so they don't burn!

3. Wrap the hazelnuts in a kitchen towel and rub vigorously to remove the outer skins. Its okay if some of the skin doesn't come off. 

4. Grind the hazelnuts in a food processor like my Cuisinart until they turn into a smooth butter consistency, about 2-3 min. Be patient!

5. Add the rest of the ingredients to the food processor and blend until well combined.

6. You can store the nutella in the fridge for 2-3 months or keep it at room temp for 3 days. IF YOU CAN RESIST EATING IT IN A DAY!

AND WHAT TO DO WITH IT? 

-Basically what you would do with regular Nutella!!!

 Make a banana-vanilla ice cream & banana sundae with generous drizzles of microwaved Nutella and chocolate syrup. Top with a cherry.

"Family-friendly" toast with Nutella! Make it classy with toasted brioche bread, Nutella and a sprinkle of powdered sugar. On one half you can even swirl peanut butter in the hazelnut spread for an even nuttier combination! hehe 

Or keep it simple and 

EAT IT OUT OF A JAR WITH A DAMN SPOON :)

 for more ideas (although I prefer the above) click here

Meyer Lemon & Honey Granita

LEMONS + SUGAR + WATER + HONEY =A DELECTABLE NEW LEMONADE DESSERT

Isn't math so fun?!

This recipe is a sophisticated, tart & sweet alternative to regular lemonade. Its perfect on a hot summer day when you want a cool & refreshing, low-calorie treat. Granita is an Italian ice dessert that is fundamentally flavored and sweetened scraped ice. However, it's different than a snow cone or shaved ice in that the flavor (juice, sweetener, flavoring, etc) is frozen in the ice, not poured on top. 

In this recipe, I used fragrant Meyer lemons from my backyard. The citrus is a cross between a lemon and a mandarin orange; it has a sweet and less bitter taste than conventional lemons. Us Cali folk are fortunate to have Meyer Lemons in supermarkets year-round, but if you live somewhere else or are unable to find them feel free to substitute regular lemons for the Meyer ones. This recipe requires barely any hands on time, however it needs to be put in the freezer overnight before it can be scraped into granita. 

Ingredients:
At least two large/ four to five small Meyer Lemons. (You should have about 1/4 cup of juice and one tbsp of  zest, but you can add more to taste)
1 cup water + 1/2 cup water for later
1 cup sugar
2 tsp honey

Instructions:
1. Wash your lemons to clear away any particles of dirt.  Applying light pressure, roll each lemon in between the palms of your hands to release the juices. Carefully zest all of your lemons, avoiding the bitter white pith under the fragrant yellow-orange rind.
* It's OK if you end up with more zest than instructed. You may want to add more.

2. Cut the lemons in half and juice them in a small bowl along with the zest.

3. 

3. Make simple syrup (or sweet syrup). Boil 1 cup water and 1 cup white sugar in a small saucepan, stirring until the sugar has completely dissolved.

4.  Mix in honey.

5. Pour the simple syrup and suggested amount of lemon juice/zest mixture into a large plastic food container thats neither too deep or wide (mine was about 8x5x4)

6. Add the 1/2 cup of water or more if the mixture tastes too sweet. Adjust amounts of zest/juice to your liking, then cover with the lid and place it in your freezer.
  7. Let it rest overnight or until the mixture is completely solid. Remove from the freezer and scrape the ice with a fork to create ice crystals. Keep scraping until all of the ice is fluffy, or you can scrape a single-serving amount.

*Garnish with a slice of lemon, lemon peel or a shortbread cookie! HAPPY SUMMER!!!!

MASTAAAHH CHEF!

photo courtesy of ruesdeparis.blogspot.com

Is anyone loving FOX's show Masterchef?  Sure, its definitely overly dramatic and the judges can be pretty ruthless, but I think the concept is really exciting and engaging. The producers really know how to tug at their viewers' emotions!

The show is a competitive cooking reality show where amateur and home chefs compete in various challenges to win the title MASTERCHEF and receive $250,000.  For example, in most episodes during the first half hour they have these mystery box challenges where the contestants must use ingredients from the mystery box they are given to create a dish of their choice. The winner gets a significant advantage over the others. Its kind of like the show Chopped except these contestants are allowed to omit/add ingredients. In addition, they have off-site team challenges where they work in two opposing teams to win a given cooking task.

I could go on and on about the pressure tests and challenge nights but I don't want to make this show anymore confusing. I guess the biggest thing to mention is the fabulously frightening trio of judges:  Gordon Ramsay of Hell's Kitchen, notorious for swearing and screaming (although he is surprisingly sweet at times on this show), Joe Bastianish (who reminds me of a bald scavenger bird eeek), and Graham Elliot (the nicest of the three). They are really great at coming up with culinary insults. They've definitely made me wanna cry.

I think I'm pretty competent in the kitchen, but i'll admit that I am definitely no Masterchef. C'mon, they had to make six different types of eggs, cooked to perfection in 20 minutes? That's crazy!!! I applaud any home cook one this show. This is one reason why I so admire Christine Ha, a really sweet and amazingly talented contestant who just happens to be blind.  Even though she didn't have to participate in the egg challenge, she has so much raw talent that it has amazed the viewers, the other contestants and especially the judges. I think three contestants that left the show said that she deserved to win.  Even with the overemotional background music, her scenes really get to the hardest of cynics.

Its Season 3 of Masterchef and there are only seven contestants left after tonight's episode.
If you haven't been watching and have a lot of time to kill like I do, you can quickly catch up on http://www.fox.com/masterchef. or http://www.hulu.com/masterchef. 

For a crazy emotional video of Christine, click here.  I'm so glad she's safe. I'm rooting for her or Frank.

Ton Kiang Dinner YAY!

So tonight my dad brought home Chinese food takeout @ our favorite Chinese food restaurant in San Francisco, Ton Kiang.  Ton Kiang (pronounced Ton-Key-ong) is extremely popular and well-known around the Outer Richmond area.

The best time to go there is during lunch when they serve Dim Sum. I ALWAYS order their Shanghai Soup Dumplings, which are pork filled but have the secret surprise of warm soup inside too! Other yummies are their sticky rice with pork and a creamy, bright egg yolk wrapped in a banana leaf. How cool is that!!??!?  The mango pudding is also so delish; i'm getting hungry just thinking about it.

Even though I didn't go there for lunch,  I am lucky to eat their dinner food tonight.  I'm really excited because I decided to order something new there, a vegetarian dish called "Braised Tofu with Black Mushrooms and Tender Greens." Doesn't that sound so good!?!?!? For some reason "Tender Greens" just sound so tantalizing...and it turned out that it was! The tofu skins were chewy but tender and the mushrooms were perfect in soaking up all of the rich sauce. Yum!

My parents also got their regular entrees which are also very good. They get the "Spareribs in  Sweet Orange Sauce" and the "Crispy Fried Chicken". The spareribs are oozing with sauce and the meat is succulent. The fried chicken is so flavorful and moist even without sauce. Its isn't like southern fried chicken;  it tastes baked and herb-y. 

 Anyone in the area love Ton Kiang too? What's your favorite dish?

For more information (like their menu and reviews), check out their website here. 

Peanut Balls

Here's another tasty recipe courtesy of Jane and family! 

These chewy, salty & sweet treats are made of glutinous sweet rice flour, which is the main ingredient for Japanese mochi and the wrapper of popular American mochi ice cream balls. The flour has a similar consistency to regular wheat flour mixed with cornstarch. You can most likely find glutinous rice flour in the boxed brand called Koda Farms: Mochiko Sweet Rice Flour at asian grocery stores, Whole Foods and Safeway. Otherwise, you can order it on Amazon.com here. 

Once again, this recipe doesn't require exact amounts, perfect when you need to satiate a hankering for something sweet. fast. 

 Ingredients: 

Glutinous rice flour "Mochiko"

water

white sugar or sugar substitute

peanuts

Directions: 

1.  Pour about a cup of glutinous rice flour in a bowl. 

2. Splash a little water in the bowl and mix with the flour. Continue to add water and stir until you form a dough ball. 

3. Boil some water in a medium pot. 

 4. Roll small pieces of the dough into balls and gently ladle them in to the boiling water.  Cook until they become plump and float to the top. They should have a nice sheen and glutinous texture. 

5.  Remove the balls from the water and place in a smaller bowl filled with a little water to prevent sticking.

 6. Meanwhile, put peanuts in a sandwich bag and pound them into bits with a hammer. For the tech savvy, you can use a Cuisinart or other food processor to grind them up.  However, there is something rewarding about pounding the hell out of nuts with a hammer on someone's deck. :)

 7. Pour the peanuts in a bowl and mix in as much sugar as you wish.

 8.  Roll a dried mochi ball in the peanut-sugar mixture until completely coated.  Its best to eat them immediately, but I don't think that will be a problem... :)

Quick Fridge Chicken Dumplings

Last Friday a few of my friends and I got together at our friend Jane's house to make homemade chicken dumplings. Jane was kind enough to share her "sort of recipe", which fundamentally involves throwing whatever you have in the fridge into the filling mixture. No exact measurements required; my kinda recipe. We created the following.
"Rough" Ingredients: feel free to add/omit an ingredient without a asterisk
Filling:
 Ground chicken (we used Foster Farms brand) *

one block of firm tofu ( we used Azumaya brand) *

chopped Scallions

Minced ginger

chopped onions

minced garlic

Necessary Sauces for both filling and dipping: 

Soy Sauce*

Siracha sauce (red spicy chili sauce) 

Ponzu sauce (Japanese dumpling sauce) optional

white vinegar

sesame oil

Round or Square wonton wrappers (sold at Asian markets or specialty stores)

Directions:

 1. Put all of the filling ingredients into a bowl and mix together with a wooden spoon or clean hands until it forms a uniform mixture ( I know, it sounds gross but it turns out really good!!!)






 2. Add a generous amount of soy sauce, a splash of siracha (or more if you want them spicy) and a splash of sesame oil. Mix well.

Easiest Folding Method

3.  Have a small bowl of water nearby your dumpling folding station. Dip a finger into the water and outline the edge of a wrapper with the water. 

4. Place a very small dollop of the filling mixture  (a little less than a tablespoon) into the center of the dumpling. You can keep adding a little bit more at a time if its too small, but you don't want the filling to ooze out of the wrapper when you fold it.

5. Fold the wrapper in half and seal the edges with water. Make sure that they are completely sealed or else the filling could seep out when they are boiling.

* For round wrappers, follow the same instructions:  wet the edges, put a little filling in the center, then fold over. They'll look like half moons; so pretty.

* Like in these photos, you too can experiment with other fancy folds, like the five-point star fold (fold edges 5x at the top to look like a star) or the traditional potsticker fold (use your thumb and index finger to pinch the edges of a square folded wrapper). Or try making them look like tortellini by pinching the ends of a half-moon together.

A good video tutorial (FYI: Gyoza are Japanese potstickers)
Here's a clearer image of different styles of folds

 Cooking Methods (if you don't freeze them):

Boil (our method for the night): Place about a third of your dumplings (with one pkg of chicken and tofu we made these TWO plates of dumplings) in gently boiling water for about  four minutes. They should rise to the surface of the water for about twenty-seconds before they are ready.

Steam:  Place potstickers in a steamer for about five-six minutes or until tender. 

Fry: Pan-fry in a large heated pan  with two-four tablespoons peanut oil (better for high heat). Place potstickers in hot oil and sear for one to two minutes until golden brown. Splash a little water in the pan and quickly cover with a lid for another minute.
* If you make as many as we did, you will need to follow these steps several times to cook all of the dumplings!

To Make a Yummy Sauce for Your Cooked Dumplings!

-Mix soy sauce, white vinegar and a dash of both siracha and sesame oil in a small bowl. Adjust amounts of any sauce to your liking. You can even add spicy mustard like they do @ PF Changs!
ENJOY!

Cheese Crispies

These are my absolute FAVORITE snacks. If you're a cheese fanatic you will adore these little crisps made of pure baked Parmesan cheese.  In Italy they are known as "Frico", and are commonly known as simply "Cheese Crisps" here in the States. After some experimenting with a bag of shredded cheese at my house (one troubled experience involving a small fire heehee), I created this simple recipe. They are so easy to make and require only one ingredient.

Ingredients:
As much shredded hard or semi-hard cheeses as you have (you'll want to eat them all!!). I prefer Parmigiano Reggiano (fancy name for Parmesan). You can also experiment with other cheeses like Romano, Asiago or Cheddar. 

Optional seasonings of your choice such as lemon pepper, garlic powder, chili power, etc. 

Directions:  1. Toss the cheese with your desired seasonings and place cheese mounds of any size one a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
I used 1/2 cup of cheese to make four one-tablespoon cheese crispies. Make sure that each mound is flat and about two inches apart from each other.

 2. Bake the crispies in a 350º oven or toaster oven for about five minutes. Watch them closely. They are finished about a minute and a half after they begin to bubble. They should be golden brown around the edges.

* You can also take them out around three minutes if you want them chewy rather than crispy.

3.  3. After they are out of the oven, let them cool for thirty-seconds and with a knife or flat spatula, carefully lift them off of the parchment paper.

4. You can make them into shapes like cups or bowls!!! While they are still soft and pliable, gently mold them around the bottom of a cup or roll them to fill with dips later.

5. Place the crispies on a paper towel to cool and soak up any extra oil from the cheese. They are now ready for eating!!!

BUT WAIT! 

If you can resist chomping them down two seconds after they've cooled, why not try adding them to a salad or making them into an appetizer!?

1. Instead of sprinkling plain old shredded cheese on a salad, why not make them into crisps to crumble in it or eat on the side?

I made a butter lettuce salad with fresh raspberries, sauteed whole garlic and a homemade lemon-olive oil-vinegar dressing! The sweetness of the berries perfectly complements the salty cheese.

2.  One of my favorite foods is pasta, specifically pesto pasta with melted parmesan sprinkled on top. So why not try a creamy pesto-yogurt sauce in a cheese crispy bowl?

The sauce is so easy: Just combine non-fat plain Greek yogurt  (I like Fage brand) with a store-bought pesto sauce (which is basically pureed basil with olive oil, parmesan and pine nuts).  Mix well and spoon into a cheese cup. Cut up some chives  for garnish and voila!!

3.  The ultimate toast has got to be artisan sourdough topped with parmesan cheese and balsamic vinegar.  The tangy bread tastes amazing with the salty cheesiness and the surprisingly sweet and rich vinegar.

Just toast the bread, spread the vinegar on it with a pastry brush/drizzle it on and then top with a cheese crispy brushed with more vinegar. Perfection!!!

Do you guys have any tasty recipes for Cheese Crispies? Feel free to comment below :)