Post-exam bliss. And chocolate.

Posted on February 13, 2010 by Chelsea

As I mentioned a post or two ago, this Friday I had to take an exam. A very-big-deal exam, the outcome of which determined my ability to move on in the program. And I passed it. This means I am now free to move toward my dissertation, and that I am a doctoral candidate (well, almost, first I have to create and get approved a dissertation prospectus)!

Excitingly, in a project that does have food as a focus (although more the ways of eating it than the preparation and aestheticism thereof), I received some unexpected but delightful well-wishes in the form of food, when I went out to brunch with some friends/colleagues last Sunday morning. As we crowded around our table at Midtown Marketplace, some with omelets, some with pancakes, me with a glorious hazelnut waffle topped with mixed berry compote, they began emptying pockets, purses, jackets, and loaded this impressive loot onto the table before me:

This was far more than I expected, and far more than I needed, but it was so brimming with love and support that I was quite overwhelmed. The breakdown: Dove chocolates (bottom right), always a delicious and reliable standard. I took the bag to my office to share with my office-mates, since they have had to listen to and encourage me throughout the process of preparing for this exam.

The Belgian chocolates (back right) were a selection of five fruit flavors blended with different types of chocolate (milk, dark, and white) and had some delightful combinations. I shared these around the office as well.

The candied ginger spiked chocolate bar, which N. dubbed “crack,” was outrageous. Spicy little chunks of candied ginger in smooth luscious dark chocolate; we finished the bar in two days… now all I want is to make my own candied ginger and wrap it lovingly in a truffle to recreate the experience.

The tea (middle left) is chamomile citrus, and is incredibly beautiful. The ingredients are left whole, and enclosed in transparent little cloth packages sewn together with soft twine. You can actually see the chamomile flowers, little strips of dehydrated orange zest, and the other leaves and blossoms used to create the tea. With a drizzle of honey, it is the perfect not-too-indulgent bedtime beverage. With the addition of a few shortbread cookies (back left), it becomes rather more indulgent. These cookies were so rich and buttery that I thought they would leave my fingertips buttery, like the aftermath of a big handful of popcorn. Just softened in the tea, they were lent an appealing subtle citrus flavor.

For true indulgence, the Ghiradelli cocoa mix is your best bet from this table of luxuries. It is chocolate and hazelnut, so in essence it is like drinking a hot cup full of Nutella. Incredibly rich and delicious. I have only mixed it with water thus far, but the package recommends mixing with heated milk, which would only add to the indulgence!

Finally, the tall bottle in the middle is a Spanish sparkling white wine by Albero, which the bottle claims is made with organically grown grapes. I have not yet popped the cork of this delightful looking treat, but when I do I expect to feel the same sort of rush of relief and unbelieving but effervescent bliss that I did yesterday afternoon, when my adviser and the chair of my examination committee shook my hand and told me “Congratulations!”

Christmas 2009: Gluttony

Posted on January 7, 2010 by Chelsea

Medieval theology and philosophy usually cites Gluttony as the least series of the seven deadly sins. In the division of types, it is one of the sins of the flesh (along with lust), and it is easily conquered through abstinence. You know, the kind so many people embark on after the New Year. Call it a resolution.

Medieval theologians and philosophers never saw these:

These individual bittersweet chocolate soufflés provided the dessert course to our hors d’oeuvre dinner. Our dear family friend L. brought them, and baked them in our oven just prior to serving so we would have as fluffy and elevated a puff as possible. She was wise to do so. Just look at that gorgeous height! The cracked tops provided a lot of textual diversity, which was lovely because the insides were so luscious and creamy and rich.

We served these miniature masterpieces with a generous dollop of whipped cream and a sprig of spearmint, which I happened to have in the kitchen leftover from spring roll production.

They were a really nice, sophisticated blend of flavors. Because the chocolate was bitter- to semi-sweet, the richness of the soufflé wasn’t overwhelming. In fact, the whipped cream leant a very pleasant sweetness to the dish itself. L. added orange zest to the batter for that classic combination, which emerged only as a subtle undertone, very complementary to the relative bitterness of the chocolate. It was like a grown-up throwback to those chocolate oranges that you smack on a table and then unwrap to reveal perfectly molded segments. There were nine of us. There were nine soufflés. We only managed to eat about six of them because they were so decadent, so rich while curiously so airy, and so sinful feeling only moments after that last loving lick of the spoon.

I fell asleep dreaming about the leftovers. The next morning after a triumphant gift-exchanging ceremony, the Husband and I jetted off to spend the big day with his family, while my sister and her boyfriend did the same.

N.’s family does a very traditional style Christmas dinner after the fashion of a traditional Thanksgiving dinner: an enormous turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, the works. It kept our dog’s nose, and desires, busy all day.

The next day, feeling repentant, we set off to share lunch with my sister and her boyfriend, whose parents live only a few miles from N.’s old homestead. After a few days of richness, what could be more penitent and healthy than rice and fish? Perhaps many things, if that rice and fish looks like this:

This jewel-encrusted carbuncle of sushi beauty is courtesy of Mikuni Japanese Restaurant and Sushi Bar , my favorite sushi establishment, and perhaps even my favorite restaurant in California. The rice is chewy and nutty and sticky, the fish is extremely fresh and expertly handled, and as you can see, the combinations and toppings are imaginative and beautiful. N. and I shared three rolls which, as you can see, I forgot to document until it was almost too late. Such are the consequences of gluttony.

Trick or treat!

Posted on November 3, 2009 by Chelsea

Since Halloween was on a Saturday this year, we donned devil horns, walked downtown, and found a window seat at Davis’ Restaurant and Bar. Right across the street from John Henry’s, Jameson’s, and The Horsehead, it offered a tantalizing view of the night’s revelers. We whetted our appetites for the festivities with the Mezze plate, which consisted of babaganoush, hummus, and tzatziki with warm pita triangles. I thought the cumin flavor in the hummus was a little bit too strong, but the babaganoush was really excellent. Then our server brought around the dessert tray. Among other delicious looking choices (two flavors of cheesecakes in tiny round presentation, a huge and luscious parfait, and a butternut squash pie) there was a creme brulee. A chocolate and cayenne creme brulee. I had to have it.

Sweet, spicy, hard crackling sugar shell with a soft and creamy chocolate mousse underneath, dark and delicious. A perfect Halloween treat. And trick.

Wedding Cake Redux

Posted on July 16, 2009 by Chelsea

Yesterday, N. and I celebrated our second wedding anniversary. I know, I know, we’re practically newlyweds still, and maybe that’s why I wanted to make something special for us to eat. N. wanted to go out to dinner, since I cook a lot, and so I hatched a plan for dessert. I’ve been getting a subscription to Cuisine at Home, and a few months ago I received an issue with a recipe for Pink Champagne Cake. At our wedding, the cake flavor was champagne, and the filling was fresh strawberries. It looked like this:

Chelsea_Nick-264

Though this recipe didn’t call for strawberries, the idea behind it seemed perfect, so early yesterday morning while N. was in a class, I set to work on what was easily the most complicated cake I have ever baked. The first part was easy:

Like any cake, the layers needed to cool completely before frosting them, which was convenient because it gave me ample time to clean up the incredible mess I had created in the kitchen. Not only do I enjoy creating food, apparently I like to throw my whole self into the process. When the cakes were cooled and the kitchen was clean(er), I embarked on step two: frosting. This cake was more complex than my normal baking projects not only because the batter involved champagne, two mixing bowls, and egg whites, but because the frosting was a multi-step process as well. The first frosting step was for the filling between the two layers. Here I decided to go a few extra kilometers in recreating our wedding cake, and arranged slices of fresh strawberries atop the frosting layer:

Next, after carefully stacking the cake and performing some fancy heating, cooling, whipping, and folding with gelatin, heavy cream, and the remaining already mixed frosting, I carefully stacked on the second layer, frosted the bejeezus out of the whole thing, and then covered the cake and refrigerated it so that the frosting could set up a little before eating. When it came out, it looked like this:

Then we ate it. The addition of strawberries was really wonderful, both for reminiscence sake and because the frosting was powdered sugar based, which is often too sweet for me. The tart juiciness of the strawberries cut the almost overwhelming sweetness of the icing, and the layer of red in the middle was pretty, since I didn’t use the food coloring required to make the “Pink” part of the recipe’s title. This didn’t seem necessary, both because our wedding cake was not pink, and because I didn’t want to spend the money on food coloring. This is a change I would advise keeping. My only other critique of the cake, which was ultimately my fault, would be to use white shortening in the frosting. Mine was butter flavored and yellow, which is usually fine, but it did make the frosting on the cake a creamy color, when bright white would have been a little more aesthetically pleasing.

But the important thing here is the flavor. It was delicious. The cake was moist and a bit dense, and though it was not particularly strong, there was definitely a hint of champagne flavor in there. It was definitely more complex than a simple white or yellow cake, and maybe with a simpler frosting – just whipping cream, sugar, and a splash of champagne – this would be a perfect showy dessert. In fact, with so much left in the fridge, I might just have to taste it again and make sure it’s as good as it was last night…

Shots of Summer

Posted on June 30, 2009 by Chelsea

Just a few quick shots to remind us that summer has finally arrived. I’m proud to say that some of this produce is from my own tiny backyard garden plot!

Soft, sweet, whole bulbs of roasted garlic:

Cherries from the Saturday Market, tart and taut:

Lunch one weekday – spicy stir-friend rainbow chard with half a wheat bagel:

Snap pea, squash blossom, and nasturtium risotto:

Goodies from Sweet Life Patisserie – I love the hand-painted look of the tiny flowers on the square of chocolate:

Christmas Food part 1: Mom’s tradition

Posted on January 1, 2009 by Chelsea

Though it is a bit late for a Christmas entry (or three), between driving up and down the western coast of the country through dubious weather, packing and unpacking car, dog, and husband, and figuring out up- and downloading procedures for the new camera, whose glories are displayed below, this is the first chance I’ve had to share my festive food frolickings.Since this is (or was) a time of year for celebrating togetherness, family, and traditions, I’ll start with a contribution from Mom.

In the late days of the 20^th century (hah!), my mom cut a recipe for Cranberry-Nut Bread out of her local newspaper.Since that time, she has probably made at least 50 loaves of this moist, crumbly, fresh tasting holiday quickbread.Okay, some of them were made in the mini aluminum tins that you give out to neighbors you don’t feel that close to, but still… We’ve distributed these loaves of tart tastiness to not only neighbors, but family friends, teachers, coworkers, and this year I took up the tradition, handing out a few to our neighbors before arriving in California just in time to make more!

One of the nicest things about this bread is that it is not overly sweet.Not only do the cranberries contribute their customary tartness, but the walnuts add an edge of strangely creamy bitterness that cuts through what might otherwise be a dessert-like batter.The walnuts, and the small amount of fat in the recipe, also keep this from being an overly oily bread, though it is still quite moist.Using fresh orange juice rather than juice from a carton results, I have found, in a bread that tastes bright and sparkling, almost as if it were carbonated.The flavor is fine with premade juice, but the extra oomph from the fresh squeezed is worth the minimal extra work, in my opinion.

Mom says I can share the recipe, since after all, she received it through an act of free and willing disclosure in the first place:

Mom’s Cranberry Nut Bread

2 cups flour

1 cup sugar

1 ½ tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

½ tsp. baking soda

¾ cup orange juice (I prefer freshly squeezed)

1 TB finely grated orange peel (rind only, no white pith)

2 TB shortening

1 egg, well beaten

1 ½ cups fresh cranberries, coarsely chopped (the food processor works well for this.Otherwise the cranberries roll and burst all over your cutting board, kitchen counter, and floor)

½ cup chopped walnuts

pc230233

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.Grease a 9×5 inch loaf pan.Mix together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and baking soda in a large bowl.Stir in the orange juice, orange peel, shortening, and egg.Mix until well blended.Stir cranberries and nuts into the thick batter.Spread evenly in the loaf pan and bake for 55 minutes or until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean.Sometimes this takes as long as an hour and ten minutes, depending on the batter and the oven.Cool on a rack for 15 minutes before removing from the loaf pan to cool completely.If distributing these as gifts, it is nice to cook them in disposable aluminum tins, so that you can leave the loaf in the tin, wrap it in colored saran wrap, and bedeck with ribbons of festive colors.Makes a lovely presentation, and a welcome snack, in the late morning on Christmas Day.

"blackberry-eating in late September"

food, in so many words.

Category Archives: Sweets of sin