Almond Soufflé Crêpes

Remember when we made too many crepes and had a crepe marathon? Here? and Here?

Here was another way that I had to use up the last two crepes!

Normally, a crepe souffle is made with each crepe folded in half and the edges touching so that the end result resembles that of a butterfly, but I had too much filling, so no butterfly here! The dangerous part is the timing. You cook it until it rises to its full potential, but a minute too late and you will be left with an overcooked and deflated souffle. What pressure!

I was one step away from setting this thing on fire and turning it into some sort of a crepe suzette, but the rational part of me won out so no crepe-set-on-fire action this time. Maybe next time?

Multi-layered pancake

Few people realize that there is a wide range of Chinese food and that the difference between Northern Chinese cuisine and Southern Chinese cuisine is quite drastic. Authentic Chinese food does not necessarily fit the palettes of all Chinese. The meals and flavors are based on the weather, local produce, and heavily on tradition. For instance, the spicy foods from the Sezchuan region is actually a result of their harsh cold winters where they used the spicy foods to help warm them up. In other instances, the heat from the spice led people to eat more of the abundant rice rather than the scarce meat dishes, while in others the acidity of the spice and salts helped to kill of pathogens and cure meats for longer shelf life. As an over-generalizing rule of thumb, dishes from the north are usually richer in color and flavor and food from the south are lighter and a bit more bland (reminder: very general).

In fact, China is so large that there is also a difference between the very far north (with lots of Korean influences and vice versa) and that of just northern Chinese cuisine. My mom adds a lot of dough based dishes to our family--dumplings, bao-zi (buns with meat inside), large pancakes, buns, breads, noodles, etc. Having grown up with her amazing cooking/baking/artistic culinary abilities, I often crave foods in the general domain. The problem is they are always the hardest to make and no store truly can provide you with "home cooking"

Tresse

Tresse, the French word for braid, is the name of this soft and fluffy bread. The repetitive risings and braiding process gives it a complex yet light and fluffy, melt-in-your-mouth, texture.

It is a slightly sweeter egg-based dough and the final product reminds me of a brioche (or it practically is one). We usually toast it and eat it with jam in the mornings, and the smell of this sweet bread along with memories of its soft/crunchy juxtaposition is enough to get me out of bed...

Unfortunately, it's so good that it is also the first to go, thus leaving you with nothing but an empty tray of crumbs to cry over. That is, until the next braid comes out of the oven.

Summer

Right after a typical Boston thunder storm.

Sour Cream Cake

I was told that sour cream cakes were all the rage.

Mostly by Smitten Kitchen, Secret Ingredient, and the display case at Flour Bakery

so when it was time to whip up something fast, that's what I turned to. Following everyone else, I added a sour yet sweet blend for the topping using a yogurt sweet cream mixture and a sour raspberry puree. The result was delicious, light, and just the right balance of sweet and tart. The best thing is, in an unbiased taste-off against the professionals (David and I eating what they sold at Flour Bakery), the professional cake didn't match up to what we had at home. (Or at least that's what the unbiased judges concluded)

I'm sure there are many home-bakers out there who know exactly what this small triumph feels like. Wohoo followed by a mini-dance!

Chinese Dessert

To be honest, work life has been taking a toll. It's busy--too busy to breathe and realize how busy it really has been.

I keep dreaming about taking a few months off to go master my French, go to South America, or apprentice at a bakery.

For the last of my top three options, I find myself a little torn on what that would entail. As I play around with the French pastry recipes, I often find myself craving an Asian dessert the very next day. They're stark in contrast: the first super rich and very sweet based around butter, eggs and cream; and the latter softer, fluffier, with a mild sweetness based in whipped cream, egg yolk, or red bean and sesame seeds. I'm not sure which type of bakery I would want to work at, and few people know that I deep down I often ponder which one would be the right one to open. I joked that I should open an Asian bakery in Europe, but David and I both wondered just how much the two palettes overlap.

Spinach and mushroom stew

Not really sure what this dish would be classified as, but it's a healthy and rich mixture of 6 different kinds of mushrooms, spinach, and potato noodles.

Gluten-free bars

Another adventure into the world of gluten-free and dairy free.

Almost what you would think of a hearty trail mix bar but substitued with gluten free flakes, peanuts, maple syrup, and peanut butter. Very rich but the crunch offsets the sweetness.

BBQ with friends

We had the most colorful and fresh ingredients for a BBQ a while back. While looking through my photos, they made me so happy that I had to post them.

AWAY

I have been away and my people (I didn't realize that I had readers, really) started to complain.

I must apologize for my absence. A whirlwind month was filled with multiple visitors and trips that took me away to Europe, Maine, Montreal, Rhode Island!...But now I am back. I must admit that there were times when I thought about closing this thing down, but the fact that I get to use it as an excuse to keep in contact with some of my friends is reason enough. Plus, this gives me an excuse to cook more and to play more...

So to all of you, thanks for reading! Your echos of enthusiasm and comments really cheer me on even outside of the studio and kitchen.

More to come with lots to update!