the glimmering sesame

Dinner is served!

White BBQ chicken thighs, grilled potatoes, and leafless salad (cucumbers, tomatoes, and avocados). Leafless salad only because SX isn’t a fan of baby spinach, which is the only green we have in the fridge. I was really happy with how it turned out because today was the first time I had used the grill! Thank you America’s Test Kitchen for teaching me how to properly use the grill. Successful dinner!

Pancakes made from scratch

I substituted half of the all purpose flour with whole wheat flour. In addition, I ran out of buttermilk and substituted with whatever dairy I had. If you choose to substitute the buttermilk, you’ll miss out on that delightful tang that buttermilk provides. These pancakes puff up quite nicely.

Nothing like freshly made pancakes to beat the nursing school blues.

Recipe: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/instant-pancake-mix-recipe/index.html

Grown-up version of Oreos

Chocolate sable cookies with white chocolate ganache filling, a fancier version of the Oreo cookie. Making these cookies was extremely frustrating, as the recipes I consulted were poorly written and omitted very important details. In addition, I tried using these new Totoro cookie cutters I received as a gift from a friend. Unfortunately, the combination of such fragile, temperamental dough and workmanship of the cutters was a bad mix. The ears, feet, and whiskers of the Totoros kept falling apart. Using a wine class ended up working much better. Definitely opt for a solid shaped cookie cutter. 

Recipe (but be cautious): http://www.gilttaste.com/stories/4960-tko-recipe-thomas-keller-s-take-on-the-oreo 

Tips: 

- The filling needs to be refrigerated overnight to achieve the appropriate consistency to sandwich two cookies together. 

- Use cocoa powder instead of flour in between cookie cutter usage to prevent sticking. 

- The dough will eventually come together, but it’s very fragile and temperamental  Just stick it in the fridge if you end up needing to work it a lot. 

- This recipe takes a lot of time and patience. So set aside a good amount of time. 

Toast with Soft-boiled egg, Spinach, and Smashed Avocado sprinkled with extra virgin olive oil, salt, and freshly cracked pepper

Strawberries and cream biscuits

I actually pulsed mine together in the food processor, which could be a reason why mine aren’t as fluffy as smittenkitchen.com’s. Clearly, a pastry cutter hasn’t made its way into my cluttered kitchen…yet. Also, could be a mix of old baking powder too. But, I’ll take what I can get after a failed attempt at making dough for calzones; twas a sad baking day in my household for the past few days…

Recipe: http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2012/06/strawberries-and-cream-biscuits/ 

I made soybean milk from scratch and in the process you have a lot of leftover pulp. It’s still pretty nutritious and can be utilized in a variety of preparations.

Here I have stir fried minced pork, minced scallions, minced ginger with some soy sauce, black pepper, oil, and salt. Then once the meat has cooked, I added in the leftover pulp and kept stirring it in the pan until the bean pulp cooked (because it’s only been soaking in water, it’s still raw). It helps to add some water during the process, but the end product should be a bit on the dry, powdery end. 

It’s great sandwiched in manto (plain steamed buns) with you tao (Chinese fried crullers), or even in congee/jook/rice porridge. 

Homemade Crispy Roasted Pork Belly

Surprisingly much easier than I thought. As you can tell from my pictures, I was only able to get strips of pork belly from my local supermarket. Next time, I would ask if I can get a single, whole slab piece, as it’s much easier to work with. 

Recipe from: http://thehungrygiant.net/2012/02/27/chinese-style-crispy-pork-belly/

When the boyfriend is away, I usually just whip up a bunch of easy, fast, colorful salads for meals. Really simple and delicious. 

Magic Custard Cake

One very loose batter gets transformed into three distinct layers during the baking process. I have to admit, I agree with various bloggers and commenters that this loose batter can be a bit nerve wracking, in the sense that you don’t really believe that this watery batter will turn out into this finished product, but it does! And it’s delicious with great texturally-distinct layers. The middle is like a pudding custard, with the top a fluffy cake.

I did use the 4 drops of vinegar added during the egg white whipping method. I also used the whisk to gently fold and mix the stiff egg whites and wet batter together. I used parchment paper for easy cake release from the baking pan. 

Pictures aren’t the best and I was too lazy to find my sifter for the powdered sugar top, but at 4 AM in the morning. Not too shabby pictures.

Recipe: http://whiteonricecouple.com/recipes/magic-custard-cake/

If anything, over the last 8 years I’ve learned how to make a mean steak, how to make a great, simple vinaigrette, appreciate soft ripened cheese, and enjoy luscious slices of prosciutto di parma. 

Blueberry Sweet Rolls

I have a hard time with yeasted baked goods. There are some many variables that can go wrong and it can be very hard to troubleshoot. My apartment is always so cold and sometimes I just don’t have the patience yeasted recipes need to develop that flavor. So, my goal this year was to try harder and be more successful with yeasted baked goods.

Here, I was able to get my dough to proof twice, but I had let them over proof the second time. So, my finished product isn’t as pretty, as the roll layers aren’t as distinct. Also, I may not have kneaded enough times, as I personally thought the texture was a bit off. However, my classmates happily devoured the entire pan quickly. 

Also, I didn’t get that delectable, sticky fruit juice glaze from my blueberries either. So, I was a bit disappointed with the finished product. Next time I’ll stick with the raspberries. I am happy that yeasted goodies are getting a bit easier, as they resemble the end product more. Hopefully the next yeasted baked good will be more successful! 

Recipe: http://sallysbakingaddiction.com/2012/12/16/raspberry-swirl-sweet-rolls/