belgium, continued.

The next morning from Leuven, L accompanied us to the Bruxelles-Midi train station to drop off our luggage at the lockers and send us off on a train to Brugge. We passed farms and lush, green pastures dotted with cows.

In Brugge, we went on a tour of the city by foot, starting from the old belfry in the market square. We passed by numerous lace shops (including one with a somewhat creepy window display),

and walked along the canal. We got a bit lost along the way, but found ourselves enjoying the detour.

After a quick lunch of frites, soda, and a Hoegaarden (which was the same price as the soda), we rushed back to Brussels to see more of it.

In Brussels, we ambled around the Marolles district and browsed through a few antique shops.

We then headed towards the Museum of Musical Instruments, our eyes feasting on so many beautiful sights along the way.

We took a relaxing stroll through Parc de Bruxelles,

and stumbled upon the Grand Place, the magnificent market square of Brussels.

We stopped for cookies at Maison J. Dandoy before wandering down a side street to see the famous Brussels landmark, the Petit Julien (a statue of little boy urinating).

After a whirlwind afternoon in Brussels, we met up with L for dinner at the Armes de Bruxelles. We shared an appetizer of escargot (although the flavor of the garlic and parsley butter was good, I am still not very fond of escargot), and we all ordered moulet frites for our main course. Well, of course we did. Why wouldn’t we?

L walked us to the train station, where we said our goodbyes and parted. J and I then hopped onto the Eurostar to London. How we love the lightning-fast Eurostar! While I napped, we sped through France and the English Channel. In a mere two hours, we found ourselves at the London St. Pancras International, where we met up with our good friends, LW and S.

peach pie

I am running behind on my blogging, but I thought it would be a shame not to include a post on this peach pie.

We live one and a half blocks away from a neighborhood farmer’s market that opens every Saturday. It has been so wonderfully convenient for us to get the freshest organic fruits and vegetables of the season on a weekly basis. We have been hoarding and eating peaches, nectarines, and apricots, and remembering just how long ago it was when these stone fruits came and went, taking summer along with them. Fragrant and ripe, we’ve best enjoyed these fruits by eating them whole over the kitchen sink, with juices dripping. At one point, however, I set my eyes on making a fresh peach pie.

I followed a recipe that I found in Gourmet magazine for Honey Caramel Peach Pie, except I left out the honey. I was afraid that the strong flavor of honey would overpower the natural sweetness of the peaches, and thought that the caramel portion would itself be enough to add a hint of sweetness. In the end, the peaches were the star of the show, aided by a touch of caramel — sweet but still slightly tangy. Honey may have added some flair, but it was certainly not needed.

This may sound a bit crazy, but one of the most satisfying steps in this recipe involves cutting slits in the peaches, and then blanching and peeling them. Especially the peeling part — how the slithering peach skin so easily slips off the flesh, revealing a glossy, smooth, orange-blush of naked peach. It is quite fun, actually. I recommend trying this out if you ever need any summer stress relief.

The peeled peaches are then sliced and mixed with cornstarch, flour, lemon juice, cinnamon, salt, and later on, the stove top-made caramel syrup. The coated peach slices are nestled in the bottom half layer of pie crust, and covered with the top layer of pie crust. (To be honest, I have not made many pie crusts in my lifetime, but I absolutely love this pie crust. I see myself using it again and again in the future.)

After a few slits on top, a smudging of milk (I don’t have a pastry brush) and a sprinkle of sugar, the pie is baked to a bubbly, hot crisp. Despite the instructions, we ate this pie about an hour after it came out of the oven, still warm.

Caramel Peach Pie (adapted from the above Gourmet recipe)
3 lb ripe peaches
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar, divided
1/4 cup water
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
All-butter pastry dough
1 tablespoon milk

1. Cut an X in bottom of each peach, then blanch peaches in batches in boiling water 15 seconds. Transfer with a slotted spoon to an ice bath to stop cooking. Peel peaches and cut into 1-inch-thick wedges.
2. Toss peaches well with cornstarch, flour, lemon juice, cinnamon, and salt in a large bowl.
3. Put a foil-lined large baking sheet in lower third of oven and preheat oven to 425°F.
4. Bring 1/2 cup sugar and water to a boil in a 1 1/2- to 2-qt heavy saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring until sugar has dissolved, then wash down any sugar crystals from side of pan with a pastry brush dipped in cold water. Boil without stirring, swirling pan occasionally so caramel colors evenly, until dark amber, about 5 minutes.
Remove from heat and add butter, swirling pan until butter is melted. Pour over fruit and toss (caramel may harden slightly but will melt in oven).
5. Roll out 1 piece of dough (keep remaining piece chilled) into a 13-inch round on a lightly floured surface with a lightly floured rolling pin. Fit into a 9-inch pie plate. Trim excess dough, leaving a 1/2-inch overhang. Chill shell while rolling out remaining dough.
6. Roll out remaining piece of dough into an 11-inch round on a lightly floured surface with a lightly floured rolling pin.
7. Transfer filling to pie shell, mounding it. Cover pie with pastry round. Trim with kitchen shears, leaving a 1/2-inch overhang. Press edges together, then crimp decoratively. Brush top all over with some of milk, then sprinkle with remaining Tbsp sugar. Cut 3 steam vents in top crust with a paring knife.
8. Bake pie on hot baking sheet 20 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 375°F. Continue to bake until crust is golden-brown and filling is bubbling, about 50 minutes more. Cool pie to room temperature, 3 to 4 hours.

a night in brussels

In Brussels, the four of us went on a hunt for chocolates near Avenue Louise.

Stocked up on chocolates, we bumped into giant, red bunny rabbits and decided to take pictures with them.

Here are A + L + two giant, red bunny rabbits.

We had a cozy and wonderfully prepared meal at Les Brassins.

A first course of roasted white asparagus, sauteed mushrooms, beef carpaccio, and asparagus soup.

A second course of rabbit stew, vegetarian pasta, lamb, and roasted ham.

A dessert of ice cream sundaes and tiramisu.

Afterwards we went for an evening stroll.

In the dark, we gazed up at the Porte de Hal

and this majestic building that once housed retired teachers.

Our nighttime meander took us back to Bruxelles-Midi, where we caught the train back to Leuven for the night.

in maastricht

On our second day in Belgium, A planned a trip for us to the city of Maastricht. Maastricht is situated in the southerly tip of the Netherlands, which meant it was an easy trip from Leuven. We hopped on a train in Leuven, and in the blink of an eye found ourselves in another country. Out of the train station in Maastricht, it was not long before we sighted the Belgian waffle shops scattering the streets. Lured by its pink decor and bright lights, J settled on a freshly prepared waffle from Pinky. Lightly dusted with powdered sugar, it was crisp, chewy, and hot. J’s non-stop grinning in delight of his first Belgian waffle made it difficult for him to take big mouthfuls of waffle.

We also happened upon a beautiful church that had been converted into a bookstore. I like how they made very minimal adjustments to the church and lined the bookshelves in the center in order to preserve the church in its original form.

In the market, everything from fruits and vegetables, dutch clogs, and yards of fabric were being sold.

We weaved around some brightly-hued statues,

climbed up the tall tower of the Gothic Sint Janskerk for an amazing panoramic view of the city,

and surveyed the interior of the thousand-year-old Sint Servaas Basiliek.

After a lunch of sandwiches, dutch sausages and Belgian fries, we continued towards the old city fortifications. We strolled through a quiet and cheery public park…

where we saw roosters, goats, deer, ducks, geese (I think one of the goats posed for me).

This is the Helpoort (translation: hell’s gateway), the oldest standing town gate in the Netherlands. It was built in the thirteenth century.

Within the walls of the Helpoort, a little boy was leaping.

We crossed the Sint Servaas bridge on the way back to the train station, where we would catch a train to Brussels and meet L for dinner.

in leuven

In Leuven, we met up and stayed with our dear friends A & L. Our first afternoon there, A took us around to see the beautiful, quaint city of Leuven.

We saw many delightful statues that were gifts to the city from the Men of the Year.

This bright patch of over-ripe tulips on the university campus made me very happy.

It was a perfect day for wandering the peaceful streets of Leuven.

We gazed lovingly at the town hall for awhile.

At a cafe across from the town hall, we dipped and swirled around lollipops of belgian chocolate in steamed milk for some wonderful hot chocolate.

We sipped, sat, and chatted as the sun set on the main market square.

salted caramel

You can find salted caramel everywhere these days. In the confectionaries, ice cream shops, cupcakeries, you name it. Oh no, I’m not complaining. Not at all. You see, I have always loved caramel. And the salt? There’s just something about the salty-and-sweet that makes the party in your mouth all the more ragin’. Take honey-roasted peanuts, for example. If I’m not careful, I can polish off a whole can by myself. Salty + Sweet = Addictive. So bring on the salted caramel!

I made these salted caramel cupcakes for a group of high school students, and by 2nd period, they became a quickly sought-after breakfast. Some students had seconds, and even thirds. (Teenage metabolism — I’ve forgotten what it’s like to have one. I ate so much junk in high school.)

Since nothing goes better with caramel than chocolate, it had to be a chocolate cupcake with caramel frosting. And just when it couldn’t get any better, it was topped with Heath Bar bits.

The recipes for the chocolate cupcake and caramel buttercream can be found here and here. For salted caramel buttercream, I increased the amount of salt in the caramel buttercream recipe to 1 Tbsp, so take note. It sounds like a lot of salt, but with the brown sugar, and later the addition of confectioner’s sugar, it will taste just right.

In a couple of hours we will be heading off to the airport. We’ll be flying to Europe to see our friends in Leuven and London. Stay tuned to read about our adventures. I am so excited!

pink lady crisp

When it comes to the presentation of dessert, I tend to love cute, individual servings a little more. That is why I’ve had my eye on ramekins for awhile now, but couldn’t justify accumulating dishes that I don’t necessarily need, or have the space for. “But just think of all the possibilities,” the other little voice in my head would say. “Custards! Crisps! Souffles! Oh my!”

Two weeks ago, the little voice succeeded in winning me over. When I had an urge to make apple crisp for dessert, I went out and bought myself some ramekins. Armed with eight ramekins — I am obviously daydreaming about all the dinner parties (that or all the desserts) we’ll have in the future — I was prepared to make eight servings of apple crisp, each in its own little dish. Sure, I could have made an apple crisp in a Pyrex baking dish, but it just wouldn’t have been the same.

I bought Pink Lady apples for the crisp. As far as tart apples go, I consider these my favorite. Pink Lady Apples are crisp, sweet, and tart, but not as tart as pucker-inducing green apples.

These apple crisps can be made hours ahead of time. All they need is a bit of reheating in the oven. Serve ramekins of piping hot Pink Lady crisp (be careful if they are coming straight out of the oven – an additional holding plate is advisable) with a large scoop of vanilla ice cream on top. Melting vanilla ice cream meeting baked cinnamon and sugar-coated apples, with a touch of crisp…I still have dreams about this dessert. Let’s just say that I made sure we had enough leftover apple crisp to keep us giddy for a few days.

Apple Crisp (adapted from here)

3 pounds tart apples (I used Pink Lady apples)
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup rolled oats
4 tablespoons cold butter (1/2 stick)

Peel, core and chop the apples (I sliced each apple into 12 wedges, and then sliced those wedges into halves). Throw them in a bowl and add the lemon juice. In a separate bowl, combine the nutmeg, cinnamon, and brown sugar; add to the apples and stir. In another bowl combine the oats, flour, and sugar. Cut the butter into eight small pieces; mix the butter and flour with a pastry blender, or by using two forks until the mixture is crumbly. Butter a 9 inch square baking dish (I used 8 – 6 oz ramekins). Spread apple mixture in the bottom of baking dish (pile the apples high if using ramekins) and sprinkle flour mixture on top. Bake at 375° for 30 – 45 minutes, or until apples are tender and topping is lightly browned. Serve warm to hot. Can be served with vanilla ice cream or a little heavy cream, if desired. (Ice cream, of course!)

roasted brussels sprouts with lemon

What started out as a pursuit of artichokes for an attractive recipe of braised baby artichokes unexpectedly led to something else.

While thinking to myself that it was way too early for artichoke season (except perhaps in California), I insisted on replicating the recipe and tried my luck at the supermarket. I searched high and low in the produce aisles; no artichokes in sight. Then, out of the corner of my eye, I spotted a netted bag of brussels sprouts. Bearing the resemblance of mini dark green cabbages, they seemed at least appropriate in size compared to trimmed baby artichokes. Braised brussels sprouts it was.

Brussels sprouts. I have marveled at them at the supermarket and read about them, but ne’er a single brussels sprout had crossed the threshold of my lips until only a couple of weeks ago. A bane to most children and even adults in its overcooked, odiferous form, brussels sprouts seem to be a familiar offering in all-American households. In my ethnic-American upbringing, my dad loved to cook and serve the family American food on occasion (i.e. fried chicken, french fries), but he never ventured into the realm of non-Asian vegetables. Hence, my lack of familiarity with brussels sprouts. Given the stories I’ve heard of traumatic experiences with the vegetable, I’ve also been guilty of being prejudiced towards these poor brussels sprouts, and avoided trying them out for myself. That is, until now.

I loosely followed the recipe for braised baby artichokes in the March issue of Cook’s Illustrated, and in the end decided to roast the brussels sprouts instead. In this recipe, brussel sprouts are tossed in olive oil, salt and pepper in a baking dish. Water is added, and herbs tucked in, along with several slices of lemon. More lemon slices are added to the top. The dish is then roasted for twenty minutes, covered, and then for another ten minutes, uncovered.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Lemon

about 30 brussels sprouts, washed and trimmed
olive oil
1 tbsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 lemon, sliced
1 cup water
3 sprigs thyme
2 bay leaves

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Drizzle enough olive oil over brussels sprouts to lightly coat; season with salt and pepper and toss around in a large baking dish. Pour 1 cup water into baking dish, and tuck fresh thyme, bay leaves, and several slices of lemon underneath brussels sprouts. Scatter the rest of the lemon slices on top of the brussels sprouts. Seal baking dish with foil and place in 450 degree oven for 20 minutes. Uncover baking dish, and roast for another 10 minutes.

I am happy that I finally gave brussels sprouts a chance, and I have the absence of spring artichokes to thank for putting an end to my unfounded assumptions. I can now say for myself that brussels sprouts are quite tasty roasted. Firm, yet tender. Sweet and sharp. And since they were only lightly cooked, they did not stink at all!*

*Personal communication. I have not experienced stinky brussels sprouts myself, but I hear that the longer you cook them, the more they stink.

vancouver, bc

Last week, we took a little road trip.
We ate a lot.
We walked a lot.
It was fun.

We walked across the Granville Street bridge, and watched the little aquabuses go by.

We had the best-tasting fish n’ chips and oyster po’ boy. Ever.

We walked around Granville Island. There was a lot of art, and a lot of food.

We walked around Stanley Park,

took a detour to see the beautiful Lions Gate bridge,

and watched the sun set.

We had ramen for dinner.

The next day, we had brunch.
I had eggs and soldiers for the first time. I loved it so much! I love eggs…

J had a sandwich of prosciutto, blue brie, pears, and toasted walnuts on a baguette (pictured below).

Inspired, the Sandwich Man made these for us after we got back.

We then went on a hike. There was a suspension bridge and waterfalls.

The water was turquoise blue in some places.

Vancouver was lovely.

More pictures here.

banana coconut cake

Silly as it seems, my favorite dessert at this Seattle chocolate cafe is their banana coconut cake. My first time there I ordered a hot chocolate and got their banana coconut cake so I wouldn’t overdose on chocolate. (Is there even such a thing as overdosing on chocolate?) Every visit thereafter, this cake would scream out to me from the menu, “Pick me! Pick me!” And I always obeyed. Try as I might, I could not resist the dreamy layers of genoise cake, filled with airy chantilly cream and sliced bananas, and draped with more chantilly cream and flaked coconut.

Since I had the opportunity to create a celebration cake last week (a birthday!), it did not take long for me to choose a cake to bake. I found a recipe for a soft, light cake by baking guru, Dorie Greenspan, on this blog (I am in awe of this blogger — she has gone through a crazy number of Dorie Greenspan’s recipes and more), and I pounced on it. It isn’t quite a genoise, but is something closer to angel food cake. Something that would go very well with chantilly cream, I thought.

The cake is baked in two round pans. After they cool, they are split in half horizontally to make four layers of cake. The heck is beaten out of the heavy cream, sugar, and vanilla to form the chantilly cream. A layer of cake is then topped with chantilly cream, sliced bananas (I used about three ripe bananas in all), some more chantilly cream, and a drizzle of flaked, sweetened coconut, before another layer of cake is plopped on. This is repeated until the top layer is set into place, and then the whole cake is covered in chantilly cream. Because the cake will be covered in flaked coconut, the final assembly of this cake is very forgiving, in terms of presentation. You do not have to achieve a perfect, smooth coat of chantilly cream before packing coconut onto the top and sides of the cake. It will look beautiful no matter what. Coconut is wonderful like that.

Nom nom nom.

Perfect Party Cake (from here)
From Dorie Greenspan’s “Baking: From My Home to Yours”

Makes 12 to 14 servings

For the Cake

* 2 1/4 cups cake flour
* 1 tablespoon baking powder
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1 1/4 cups whole milk or buttermilk
* 4 large egg whites
* 1 1/2 cups sugar
* 2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
* 1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
* 1/2 teaspoon pure lemon extract

Getting Ready: Center a rack in the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter two 9-x-2-inch round cake pans and line the bottom of each pan with a round of buttered parchment or wax paper. Put the pans on a baking sheet.

To Make The Cake: Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt.

Whisk together the milk and egg whites in a medium bowl.

Put the sugar and lemon zest in a mixer bowl or another large bowl and rub them together with your fingers until the sugar is moist and fragrant. Add the butter and, working with the paddle or whisk attachment, or with a hand mixer, beat at medium speed for a full 3 minutes, until the butter and sugar are very light. Beat in the extract, then add one third of the flour mixture, still beating on medium speed. Beat in half of the milk-egg mixture, then beat in half of the remaining dry ingredients until incorporated. Add the rest of the milk and eggs, beating until the batter is homogeneous, then add the last of the dry ingredients. Finally, give the batter a good 2-minute beating to ensure that it is thoroughly mixed and well aerated. Divide the batter between the two pans and smooth the tops with a rubber spatula.

Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the cakes are well risen and springy to the tough – a thin knife inserted into the centers should come out clean. Transfer the cakes to cooling racks and cool for about 5 minutes, then run a knife around the sides of the cakes, unmold them and peel off the paper liners. Invert and cool to room temperature right side up. (The cooled cake layers can be wrapped airtight and stored at room temperature overnight or frozen for up to 2 months.)

Vanilla Chantilly Cream (from here)

2 cups heavy cream
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a large mixing bowl, beat the heavy cream, sugar, and vanilla extract together on high speed until soft peaks form in the mixture. Chill any unused Chantilly cream.
Makes enough cream for one average-size cake or pastry recipe.