I am HOME

      

     I am home. Wow. Finally. Home and twelve hours of sleep, that's all I really needed. I'm also so sorry about the flan post. The pictures are so awful! That is what sleep deprivation does to me. But, now I am back and oh so bubbly. Being able to sleep and not worry about what I have left in the fridge to eat, it does help my mindset a lot.

You can see me! 

     So, what did I make in this state? Ricotta pudding. Maybe this sounds strange to you. But, this lemon ricotta pudding is my go-to comfort food. I have made it so many times I have lost count, and the recipe book I get it from now falls open to it's page. It's delicious warm, a browned crust, and then oozing citrusy pudding underneath.

     I love this dessert. It makes me feel all warmed up on a cold wintery day, but it is also not too heavy. I think lemon has that lovely property of making desserts feel like they cannot possibly weigh you down - I just realized that could be considered a bad pun, sigh. Regardless, it made me happy. Using the handheld beater and then the electric mixer - oh how I missed a Kitchenaid - also helped with my beautific state.  

Awaiting its baking - in blue roasting pan.

     So, after spending the day resting on the couch, I got up and finally made this pudding. It was - if you haven't already guessed - amazing. It was everything I said it was, and sprinkled with a little powdered sugar, the best end to a meal I finally did not have to cook myself. Ah heaven.

Lemon Ricotta Pudding

Adapted from Dessert by Katy Holder 

1 1/2 cups Sugar

1/4 cup Butter

1 1/2 cups Ricotta

3 Eggs Separated

1/4 cup Flour

1/2 tsp Baking Powder

1/4 cup Lemon Juice

Confectioners Sugar for Sprinkling

        Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees and grease a casserole dish with 6 cup capacity. Set some water to bowl. In one bowl, beat the butter and sugar together thoroughly with an electric mixer. Then, add the three egg yolks and beat them in. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour and baking powder. Add the dry mixture and ricotta alternately to the butter-sugar-egg yolk mixture, beating well after each addition. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites until they are stiff and form peaks (if using the same mixer: clean the whisks well). In two batches, fold the egg whites into the rest of the mixture. Place the casserole dish on a roasting pan, and fill the casserole dish with the mixture. Place them both in the oven, and then fill the roasting pan with water so it comes halfway up the dish. Bake for about an hour (it took me about 45 minutes, or until a toothpick pushed into the center comes out clean and the pudding doesn't jiggle when you pull the pan. The top will be browned, don't worry. Then, let it cool a little, and sprinkle confectioners sugar over the top. Lastly, serve, and eat!

A -Woefully Incomplete- Cast of Characters

     I am on Spring Break! On a six hour bus today from Philadelphia to Boston, I really don't have the time to cook. Oh no! But don't worry, I will not abandon you to boredom if you happen to be reading today. Instead, I thought I would introduce you to some of the people in my life. These are the people I poll about what I should cook and when I should cook. They are my taste tasters, my cheerer up-ers and helper on-ers when I am agonizing over what pictures to post because they are all fuzzy or how I am possibly going to get the blog done before midnight. They are in no particular order, I just went with the flow, and many many people are missing - mainly because they are never around when I have a camera! So, here we go:

     Starting with one of my most culinarily inclined friends: This is NO, who cooks the best Nigerian food around. Of course, I haven't had any other Nigerian food to compare, but her food is really pretty delicious. She is also a fellow experimenter in creating new dishes, and she came up with the most amazing hot wings recipe the other day, with me taste testing along of course.

     Frequently polled for my blog, this is my not-quite-hipster friend BJG who made brownies for his girlfriend (my roommate AT) for Valentine's Day. Yay for him discovering the ease of baking!

     This is him trying to measure 1/4 of a cup of oil. His measuring cup, from what I heard, is a magical measuring cup. Apparently, even when you have 1/3 of a cup and then pour out half of it, there remains 1/3 of a cup. Our friend PVL examined this phenomenon closely, and I'm really sad because the picture of the two of them scrutinizing measuring cup in above position got deleted in my purge of my Pictures folder. It's ok though, I still have the below:

     PVL is most profound. He is a baker of key lime pies, and sometimes key lemon pies. He is also a diligent tv-watcher on the computer and a fellow fan of "Whose Line Is It Anyway," which is just the best show ever. Lastly, he is a most necessary helper outer when it is 11:55 pm, and I keep forgetting that I still haven't finished writing my blog post for the day! (Also, doesn't he look like the Blue Caterpillar from Alice in Wonderland?)

     And this is RG! BJG's and PVL's other roommate. 

     She has been a helpful taster of all my pork chop dishes. It is always nice to have someone to share a chop of katsu - or two- at midnight. I am sad that the corner of the picture is orange because now it does not do her justice. But still, she is a most wonderful fellow chemistry-studier and food-eater and person who is actually happy for me every time I tell her I have gotten five new views from one new country! 

      And, last but most importantly, this is PN. She is my official taste tester of everything and a great recipient of all foods. I think she is now in 90% of my blog posts. She is also the amazing owner of the camera which I need to upload the pictures for this blog, so I bother her every day to upload upload upload. And she still bears with me. Yay! Note her enjoying my pho, and helping me prepare it. What would I do without her? But most importantly, note her enjoying cake! Even though she doesn't have as much of a sweet tooth as me, she always helps me out with my late night finishing of baked goods.

      So, these are just a few of the people in my life. I hope you enjoyed meeting them! I will be back cooking and posting recipes from tomorrow, safe in home-sweet-home Boston, MA. 

Baked Custard

     What does one do after a very bad day? When one has gone to sleep at 6 am and then woken up at 9 am because one had to read a book that one did not have time to read due to other works earlier? When one has work all morning and class all afternoon and then work at night? Well, one eats baked custard, of course. What else would you do to make yourself feel better?

     I love the idea of baked custard. The recipe I found was Chocolate and Zucchini's and it was French: Oeufs au Lait. But baked custard sounds so deliciously British! I love merging my country-philias. After a long day at class, I came home and started heating up some milk, sugar and vanilla. I added some eggs and put the mixture in the oven. Could anything be easier?

     At least, I meant to make baked custard. I used half of Chocolate and Zucchini's recipe, because I figured that would make sense for my loaf pan. It just shows that I was tired. How could half the recipe for a large casserole dish make sense for a little loaf pan? So, technically, I did not make baked custard. I think I made flan. This meant it took a lot longer to cook than the baked custard would have. My cranky stomach was mad at first. But when I ate it warm out of the oven, slightly sweet but not overwhelming, and all smooth and silky, it made everything seem suddenly bright. Comfort baked in a few eggs and milk, that is all one really needs.

  
Flan-Baked Custard 
Adapted from Chocolate and Zucchini 

2 cups Milk 
1/3 cup Sugar 
1/2 tsp Vanilla 
3 Eggs 

In a medium saucepan, mix the milk, sugar, and vanilla. At medium heat, heat the mixture to a simmer. Then, take it off the heat and allow it to cool. Meanwhile, whisk the eggs in a large bowl. Whisk the milk mixture into the eggs. Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees and put some water to boil. Butter a loaf pan, and pour the milk and egg mixture inside. Put a large roasting pan or baking dish in the oven, and place the loaf pan on it. Fill the roasting pan up to an inch in water, in order to make a water bath for the custard. Bake for about 40 minutes or until the custard looks firm and slightly browned on top. 

Almost There

     

     It's almost my spring break! Did you know? It starts this Friday. I cannot wait to have no class at all and nothing to do...except study for the quiz and two midterms I have directly after break, but hush. I have other things to think about. Such as: since I only have two days left in Philly, I really need to use up my groceries- carrots, chicken, yogurt, milk. That's not so bad. On top of which, I haven't cooked for rather a long time, and I need some curry to help me survive till Friday.

Artistic Marinade

      You know, people keep asking me how I get the time to cook, etc. while I have school. Here's the great thing about writing this blog: I always have food to eat (except on days without cooking), I don't eat out at all (so I am saving money- Yay!), I probably spend as much time cooking/eating with people as we would spend eating out, and cooking a real meal does not take that much more time or effort than frozen food. Especially when you are trying to heat up frozen food and you manage to set off the smoke detector and it just won't turn off for a very long time. That was me, yesterday, in the five minutes right before I had to leave for work. As numerous people told me: There is a lesson in this, just stick to cooking!

     So, that is what I am going back to doing, and I am so happy. Making a simple curry is just the most relaxing thing of all. I defrost and brine my chicken, mix up some yogurt marinade / curry base, dump the chicken in it, cut up some of my carrots (would it be ok to put my last bok choy in a curry? hm. I suppose not. I must cling to the last shreds of my authenticity), and it all simmers away. I love knowing my dinner will be a full and delicious meal.

I can't help that it's yellow...it just is yellow!

      So, carrots, yogurt, milk, chicken. All check. Delicious curry dinner, certified by PN who had some (of course), check. She ate it without anything because I was too lazy to simmer it down into thickness, and it did make a very good soup that way. For my part, I had some on rice with more yogurt because that is the way I do. The carrots were nice and soft, the curry was flavorful and not too spicy, the chicken was perfectly cooked. Yay food!

Carrot and Yogurt Chicken Curry 

1 lb Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs 
1 cup Yogurt 
1/2 cup Milk 
1 tsp Ground Coriander
1 tsp Garam Masala 
1/4 tsp Turmeric
1/4 tsp Ginger Powder 
1/8 tsp Salt 
1/8 tsp Red Chili Powder
2 Green Cardamom Pods 
2 tbsp Vegetable Oil 
3 mid-sized Carrots, Diced

Chicken Prep: 

Soak the chicken thighs in a large bowl filled with water, a spoon of salt, and a spoon of sugar. After preparing your marinade, take the chicken thighs out and cut them into bite sized pieces (1 in cubes).

Marinade and Curry:

In a large bowl, mix the yogurt, milk, ground coriander, garam masala, turmeric, ginger powder, salt, and red chili powder. Add the bite sized pieces of chicken and mix in thoroughly. Leave for ten minutes. Meanwhile, peel the carrots and dice them.

Then, heat the oil in a large saucepan. Add the cardamom pods and fry them for a minute. Next, draining the chicken of as much liquid marinade as possible, sear the chicken on both sides at medium heat. Don't crowd the pan: you can sear one batch of chicken, place it in a bowl, and then sear another batch. Once all the chicken has been seared, dump it all back into the saucepan, pour in the marinade, and add the carrots. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer the curry for ten minutes or until the carrots are soft. If you want the curry thicker, simmer for slightly longer. 

The Simple Things

     

     Isn't it sad that after all those amazing pictures, we have come back to this. Pictures I took at 2 am in the night, i.e. no natural lighting, while excessively tired and without much aesthetic sense? No, I'm not fishing for compliments. It just makes me sad that this post must follow the last. Or at least, it would make me sad if I didn't like the food of this post so much. The food being the bread of course, and this bread being brioche.

     For those who may not know, I am an Anglophile and an Asia-phile, an India-phile, and a Francophile. I just can't help it. Such beautiful places...with such amazing foods. I love crepes and croissants as much as the next person, I treasure my memory of being a fourth grader visiting Paris and walking around a grocery store munching on a fresh baguette, but this Saturday I craved something else. Also because, apparently I've gotten to the point where I enter a supermarket, look at the bread, and think: but why would I buy bread? I can just make it at home. It is a lovely point. So, putting two and two together: I made French bread - easy French egg bread - I made brioche! Ta da.

     I did this on Saturday and saved it up for now because I knew I would have absolutely no time to cook between then and now. Physics midterm people, and it ate up all my time. But you know the great thing about making bread? You mix a little, you let it rise and you study for a few hours, then you knead a little, and then study for an hour. It's a great process. Of course, that's if you actually study in between and don't start watching Friends. So, you study while you knead to make up for it!

     What can I say about this bread? It's delicious warm out of the oven. It's good toasted and with a lot of butter (well, obviously). It makes great French Toast. (It is the French cousin of Challah bread after all.) Why would you not make your own bread? Especially when it is as simple as this. The smell of freshly baking bread will reward you, and then the taste will take it over the top.

Brioche
Adapted from La Tartine Gourmande 


1 2/3 cup All Purpose Flour
2 3/4 oz Butter, Room Temperature
2 Eggs, Room Temperature
1 tbsp Yeast
2 tbsp Sugar
1/3 cup Warm Milk
1 pinch Salt
1 Egg Yolk

In a large bowl, mix the flour and yeast. Make a well in the middle and add the warm milk slowly. Then, add the sugar and pinch of salt. After mixing (you can use a wooden spoon or your hands), add the butter a small piece at a time. Mix each piece in before adding the next. Then, add the eggs one at a time. Mix well after each, then work the dough until it detaches easily from your fingers and is elastic. I had to add a little more flour at this point to make the dough less sticky. Cover the dough and let it rest in a warm place for two hours, until its size has doubled. Work the dough for ten more minutes, and divide it into four balls. Place them in a greased loaf pan, and cover. Let rise for another hour. Then, pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees. Brush the tops of the brioche with egg yolk mixed with a dash of sugar. Use scissors to make small cuts at the top of each of the balls. Bake for 10 minutes at 400 degrees then reduce the heat to 350 and bake for another 20 to 30 minutes. Once it is golden brown, remove from the oven and unmold.

Note:


My loaf pan only fit three of the dough balls, so I made the last one into a bun as you can see above. I just rolled the dough into a round and baked it on the baking sheet for slightly less time than the loaf (about 15 minutes). 

A Visitor in the Kitchen Part II: Dessert

Dessert on Display (and me sitting back to enjoy)

      I do not believe that a meal is complete without dessert. My roommate AT asked me yesterday what food I would pick if I could only eat one food for the rest of my life. My answer? Something sweet. I don't think I could live without cakes and cookies and chocolates; my sweet tooth is far larger than my um... love... of healthy living. But, just because I like sweet things, doesn't mean that the desserts I like are always overwhelmingly sweet. The cakes I have made so far are good everyday cakes, the kind you could have for breakfast or with a cup of tea. The cake I am making today falls right into this category, it has the same amount of deliciousness with an extra dash of sophistication.

     What cake is this? Blood Orange Olive Oil Cake. You know, I saw this recipe on Smitten Kitchen, and I knew right away that I had to make it. I haven't had an olive oil cake for a long time, and the lovely fragrance of the oil really elevates the homey-ness of loaf cake. Apparently, other people don't feel the same way. People were so confused when I told them what I would be making. Apparently olive oil cakes are not common? Apparently people are not sure what blood oranges are and many people have never had one? I guess I am a foodie after all.

     I was actually almost positive I would be making this cake without the blood oranges because where in the world would I buy blood oranges? Reading Terminal, apparently. It is the best place ever, do not ever come to Philadelphia without visiting it. Anyway, point being, after my little Chinatown trip with PN, we went to Reading Terminal and ate a scrumptious apple dumpling, and I bought more fruits and veggies. And blood oranges! Aren't they just gorgeous?

     Everyone who has not had a blood orange really should. They are milder than regular oranges and generally sweeter, but if you put them in dishes, or make a sauce from them, or just cut them up and then stare at them for a bit, their color alone is worth it.

     Making the cake was tons of fun with Katch around. She took so many amazing pictures I didn't know which ones to choose! We listened to high quality music (Disney songs), and I danced around because that is what I do in the kitchen, and apparently I can't stop myself even when other people are around. I also made up an absolutely delicious sauce using fresh blackberries and the leftover blood orange. Then, once the dancing and the orange cutting and the sauce making was all over, we ate cake!

     It was ridiculously moist, it had that depth of flavor from the olive oil (Katch couldn't taste the oil, so if you have never had an olive oil cake just know the flavor is not overwhelming, it just adds another tone to the cake), and it had that sweet citrus taste. The little orange segments in some of the slices were amazing too, next time I make it I might just add more so I don't have to hunt for them. Though, if hunting always involves eating more pieces of cake till I got to a part with orange segment, so be it. The blackberries also worked amazingly in the sauce, which added a whole new sweet tanginess to my creation. I love dessert, don't you? And definitely look at Katch's blog for her account of cake making: http://katchiree.com/blog/!

Blood Orange Olive Oil Cake with Blackberry Honey Sauce 

Adapted from Smitten Kitchen 

For Cake: 

3 Blood Oranges

1 cup Sugar 

1/2 cup Plain Yogurt 

3 large Eggs 

2/3 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil 

1 3/4 cups All-Purpose Flour 

1 1/2 tsp Baking Powder

1/4 tsp Salt 

1/4 tsp Baking Soda

     First, pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees and butter the loaf pan. Next, pour the sugar into a large bowl. Grate the zest from 2 of the oranges and put the zest in the bowl with the sugar. Rub sugar and zest together with your fingers so the zest is distributed throughout the sugar. Then, supreme the two oranges. To supreme: cut the top and the bottom of the orange so that it can stand upright and you can see the fruit inside. Following the curve of the orange, cut the peel and pith away from it. Then, cut the segments of orange out of the connecting membranes and let them fall into a small bowl. Halve the third orange and squeeze its juice into a measuring cup. You need about 1/4 of a cup of juice. Then, add the yogurt to the juice until you have 2/3 cup of liquid together, and mix them. Whisk the mixture into the bowl with the zest and sugar. Then, whisk in the eggs and olive oil. 

     In another bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together. Stir these dry ingredients into the wet ingredients gently. Lastly, fold the orange segments into the batter. Pour the batter into the loaf pan, and bake the cake for 50-55 minutes till the top is golden. Cool the cake in the pan on a wire rack for 5 minutes and then unmold it onto the rack, allowing it to cool right side up for another 10 minutes. Cut, top with sauce, and enjoy!

Blackberry Honey Sauce

1 Blood Orange 

1 small box Blackberries 

2 tbsp Honey 

Black Pepper 

     Halve the blood orange and squeeze its juice into a small saucepan at medium heat. Next, add half of the blackberries to the saucepan. Using a wooden spoon, squish the blackberries against the side of the pan. Alternately, squish them in your hand as you drop them into the saucepan, as I did. Stir in the honey, and allow the sauce to come to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, add a dash of black pepper, and then stir in the rest of the blackberries. Allow the sauce to simmer for a few minutes, and then serve. 

Note: 

You could really make any sauce to compliment the cake, Smitten Kitchen made a blood orange honey compote. Use what you have on hand! 

A Visitor in the Kitchen

     

     Today we will flash back to the past. Not too long in the past, just to this past Tuesday. Why was this Tuesday special, you might wonder. Well, I had a visitor in the kitchen. Her name is Katch, and she is my supervisor at work. But, more importantly, she is a free-lance photographer! And, after seeing my blog, she suggested taking photographs for it! IT WAS SO EXCITING!!!! Yes, this deserves capitals.

     So, I made some special foods. This will be a two part story because I made two dishes. The first, which I am posting today, was a Coconut Chicken Curry. Generally, I make everyday sorts of curries. They are tomato based or yogurt based, not heavy cream-based like restaurant curries, which is why they are not overwhelmingly thick and rich. This is a kind of compromise. The coconut milk makes it richer than most of my other curries and a great break from the ordinary. This also makes it great for parties!

     Even though creamy chicken is not the most beauteous of foods, Katch manages to make it look so amazing. Yay! Anyway, to get to the cooking. Before we even started, we did have some issues trying to open the can of coconut milk. I knew I had a reason to hate my can opener: it broke instead of opening the can. Luckily, I had other tools at hand. The front of the spoon failed actually, but the back of a spoon is the ultimate weapon!

     This curry might be slightly fancier than my ordinary style, but that does not mean it is any more complicated. I followed my usual pattern of creating a marinade, marinating the chicken, searing it, and then dumping the marinade on top to turn it all into a delicious curry. I told you Indian food was easy.

     So, thank you so so so much to Katch for taking all these gorgeous pictures. You will see more of her amazing work tomorrow! And make sure to visit her blog http://katchiree.com/blog/ to see more of her great work. Thank you to her so much! Also, in case I sound abrupt, it's time for the Oscars people!

     

Coconut Chicken Curry 

Very Loosely Adapted from The Best Ever Curry Cookbook

Makes 4 servings 

1 lb Boneless, Skinless Chicken Thighs (or de-bone and de-skin yourself, as I did)

1 can Coconut Milk (14 oz) 

1/2 cup Yogurt 

1 tsp Coriander 

1 tsp Garam Masala 

1/2 tsp Red Chili Powder 

1/4 tsp Ginger Powder 

1/4 tsp Salt

1 tbsp of Vegetable Oil 

Chicken Prep: 

Place chicken thighs in a medium bowl filled with water, 1 spoon of sugar, and 1 spoon of salt. Let it brine while gathering other ingredients. Then, trim the excess fat off the chicken thighs and cut it into bite sized (1 inch) cubes. 

Prepare Marinade: 

In a large bowl, mix the coconut milk, yogurt, coriander, garam masala, red chili powder, salt, and ginger powder. Then, add the cubes of chicken. Allow them to marinate for 15 minutes. Then, heat the oil in a large saucepan at medium heat. Shake the marinade off the chicken pieces as you lay them in the pan. Sear them on both sides to seal. Then, pour in the marinade, lower the heat, and simmer for about ten minutes or until the curry is the thickness you desire.