waking up to cinnamon rolls..

Valentine’s Day/President’s Day weekend was fairly unremarkable.

It’s hard to enjoy a three-day romantic weekend when you have a ton of midterms coming up and basically no one to spend it with.

But I went home this weekend and woke up on Saturday morning to the smell of cinnamon baking in the morning…  Which canceled out all negative feelings I had. I don’t think there’s a smell that I enjoy more coming from the oven.. The smell of cinnamon wafting through the house is even better than… the smell of chocolate. That’s right. I said it. Cinnamon  >>>>> Chocolate. Of course, this is totally subjective, and I know that chocolate freaks would massacre me for saying that, but I mean that comment only in aromatic senses. In terms of taste, it’s a tossup.

We ate these sticky buns unfrosted, because my dad has diabetes and they were sweet enough inside with a generous slathering of cinnamon sugar and walnuts. Of course, if your cinnamon buns MUST have cream-cheese frosting, feel free to add your favorite frosting recipe to this after cooling the rolls for maybe about 10 minutes.

So delicious, so crunchy yet soft… So cinnamon-y..

Mom’s Cinnamon Rolls

For the rolls:
1 packet active dry yeast
1 cup warm water
1 1/4 cup whole milk
3 tablespoons sugar
2 tablspoons unsalted butter, room temperature
5 cups unbleached flour
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

For the filling:
3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup cinnamon
1/2 cup crushed walnuts (or pecans or peanuts)
[For the filling, combine sugar, cinnamon, and walnuts in a small bowl and then set aside.]

Place yeast in large bowl and add warm water. Let sit until foamy (about five minutes). Add warmed milk, sugar, butter, 3 1/2 cups flour and salt to bowl and mix on low until combined. Then, beat on high and add remaining flour and continue to mix until dough pulls away from the side of the bowl.

Cover bowl with plastic wrap and allow to rise in a warm place until dough has doubled in size. Butter 2 9-inch square or round pans.

Once dough has risen, dump it out onto a well-floured surface. Divide the dough into two and roll each portion onto a 10 x 16 rectangle. Spread half the butter for the filling mixture over the dough, followed by a generous sprinkle of the cinnamon sugar and walnut mixture, leaving a small border.

Roll the dough up starting with the short end. Slice each log as thick as you like (about 1.5 – 2 inches thick). Arrange the rolls into pans, cover, and let rise for a hour or until about doubled in size.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees while rolls are rising and bake 25-30 minutes until golden brown. THEN EAT IMMEDIATELY WHILE THE SMELL OF CINNAMON IS FLOATING AROUND YOUR KITCHEN!

A little close-up. Yummmmm….

military stew & brownies

Our apartment hosted a bit of a very late housewarming party (집들이) yesterday, and we were conflicted about what to cook since none of us really go into the kitchen except to microwave something, make rice, or eat cereal.

After worrying about the dinner menu for a bit, we decided to make 부대찌개, 유부초밥, and 계란말이.

부대찌개 (boo-dae-jji-gae) is a type of stew that Koreans used to eat during the Korean war when they didn’t have food. It was made using sausage, ground beef, and spam that American soldiers brought over to Korea during the war, and usually anything and everything they could find was thrown in. Nowadays, you can get it in restaurants and it usually includes kimchi, ramen, spam, sausage, scallions, and onions. Or whatever vegetables you feel like throwing in.

We also opted for another easy way out by making 유부초밥, or inari sushi. We just bought the packaged inari that comes with seasonings for the rice and made two plates of sushi thirty minutes before everyone came to eat.

Basically, we started making the stew at about 4 p.m. And there is no set recipe for this since I kind of made it up as I went along. Haha.

We were cooking for five big guys who eat a lot so we made about three stew pots worth of jjigae.

We cut up two cans of Spam and two packages of sausage.

Then, we cut up one whole large onion and two scallions.

We divided up everything evenly into three pots along with two big handfuls of kimchi per pot, kimchi 국물 or stock, water, sesame oil, and red pepper paste (고추장). The amount of the red pepper paste and sesame oil is about one tablespoon or more depending on your personal preference.

Bring it all to a boil, throw in a slab of American cheese, and your spicy stew is all ready! Feel free to put in a ramen at this point. No instant and no soup base though. Just the noodles.

As for the inari sushi, all you need is a big bowl of rice and follow the directions on the packaging! The seasoning for the rice usually includes sesame seeds, black and regular, and also vinegar. You can add small diced pieces of ham and carrot, too, if you have the time and feel like giving it some extra flavor.

Today, though, my roommate, Mia, was craving chocolate so I decided to try making brownies again after the epic failure attempt that resulted in a waste of perfectly good ingredients over winter break.

Modified a couple recipes and came up with this to make in my Baker’s Edge pan.

Brownies

1 cup butter
1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees and grease 13-by-9 inch pan (I used my Baker’s Edge). Lightly beat the eggs in a small bowl.

Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Remove from heat and then stir in the sugars, eggs, and vanilla. Stir in the remaining ingredients until just incorporated. Be careful not to overmix or you will end up cakey brownies (as I did actually….)

Pour mixture into greased pan and bake in pre-heated oven for 25 to 30 minutes.

I think I may need to work with the recipe a little more though to get the fudgey brownies I’m looking for…. These were slightly cakier than I wanted.

I think next time I’ll try David Lebovitz’s Supernatural Brownie.

dineLA: dolce enoteca e ristorante

dineLA Restaurant Week is a two-week dining event established to introduce diners to the vast array of restaurants in neighborhoods throughout LA County. Local foodies and visitors to LA will have the opportunity to enjoy a selection of specially priced three-course meals from some of LA’s best restaurants during this dining event.

So… My sister and I chose to be deluxe diners .. we’re poor college students, we don’t have the money to do the fine dining experience. If I had more of a choice, I would have loved to try Lawry’s or Yamashiro…

We chose to go to Dolce Enoteca from The Dolce Group for a three course meal at $26 a person.

We made our reservation for 7:00 but were running a little late because it was POURING raindrops the size of my fist for the first time in a long time today in Los Angeles. When I called to say we would be running ten to fifteen minutes late, the girl at the front desk gave me attitude. -_-

We got there on time though, and although there was valet, we found street parking pretty close by, so we walked in and were seated promptly. At first, it was fairly empty but by the time our appetizers came out, Dolce started filling up and getting pretty noisy. Music choice was kind of random. We went from Justin Timberlake to cafe ambiance music to freaking Marshall Mathers within the span of fifteen minutes.

The dineLA menu was:

DINNER
Appetizers
Choice 1 -	Fresh & Crispy – crisp calamari, shrimp and zucchini
Choice 2 -	Tuna Tartar – with avocado and tomato, crisp wontons, and double soy reduction
Choice 3 -	Caprese Italiano – fresh mozzarella, celebrity tomatoes, basil
Entrees
Choice 1 -	Pumpkin Ravioli – with butter and sage
Choice 2 -	Chicken Parmigiana – marinara, mozzarella, parmigiana, and linguini
Choice 3 -	Shrimp Linguini – linguini sauteed with shrimp and gree asparagus in a white wine sauce
Desserts
Choice 1 -	Tortino di Cioccolato
Choice 2 -	Tiramisu al Caffe
Choice 3 -	Cannoli

I went with the tuna tartar, the pumpkin ravioli, and the tiramisu. My sister selected the fresh&crispy, the chicken parmigiana, and the tortino di cioccolato.

I have to say. Ambiance was really nice. Kind of date-like, very LA, very Hollywood. I might not want to go there with a date because it was too dark to see faces very well and a little too loud to hear the conversation, also.

Our waiter was pretty friendly and took our orders quickly, checking up on us often but not too much to the point where he was invading our personal space. You know waiters who do that? Asking you if you want a refill, a drink, a cocktail, “hey this goes well with that pasta would you like to try it,” “hey look at the dessert menu” after you’ve already asked for the check… Yeah. None of that.

And the food came out promptly, although they did try to take my sister’s food several times while she was still in the middle of eating it….

My tuna tartar was pretty good. I liked the seasonings, and it was fairly fresh. I think it was a bit too salty for my taste though, but after I spread it on the Italian bread they gave us, it was a lot better.

My sister’s fried calamari, shrimp, and zucchini. Mehh. It was okay, but the fried batter kept sliding off through mid-chew which was a little less than satisfactory.

The pumpkin ravioli in the butter sage reduction had to be the highlight of the meal. My sister and I both agreed that it was the perfect blend of sweet and buttery but not cloying or gag-inducing in any way. I loved the creamy pumpkin filling and how it felt satisfying but didn’t weigh me down.

My sister and I rock-paper-scissored for her meal. I won. Therefore, she had to order the chicken parmigiana over the shrimp linguine. It was decent. Not spectacular, but the linguine was cooked perfectly al dente which I have to say was a very pleasant surprise. (WHY IS THAT SO MANY RESTAURANTS FIND THIS SO DIFFICULT TO DO? WHAT ARE YOU LEARNING IN COOKING SCHOOL?)

And now… dessert! The best part of any meal.

The tortino. Mmmm..  Very very chocolatey. Very very sweet. But good. When we cut open the crust of the tortino, we found a molten, velvety, gooey chocolate center that came oozing out all over our plate… Delicious…

Tiramisu. Ordinary. Not that it wasn’t a good tiramisu. It was nice and mocha-flavored with a soft crumb. But definitely not earth-shattering or spectacular or special in any way.

So, our rating for Dolce.. Including service, ambiance, and food quality, and price…

I give them a 7 out of 10.

Decent for the dineLA price, but I don’t think I would come back for full price. Unless someone else was paying and I was promised two servings of the pumpkin ravioli.

strawberry walnut shortbread bars

I’m a huge fan of Nicole Weston! I check her blog almost daily, and when I saw this recipe the first time, I made it almost immediately because it looked so promising!
I’m posting this recipe even though I made it a while back because my roommates always tell me that it’s one of their favorite things that I’ve ever baked for them. Which is great because it really requires MINIMAL MINIMAL effort.

I love LOVE this recipe! It’s so easy, but it provides you with a fabulous, flavorful, buttery, fruity snack. And I love that it’s a bar cookie. It produces that crispy crumbley topping that I’m obviously very in love with. And the jam carmelizes slightly around the edges of the pan so I always save those pieces for myself ^_^.

It’s also a really versatile recipe because it can go from being Strawberry Walnut Bars to Raspberry Pecan Bars. Feel free to change up the nuts (I believe the original recipe calls for pecans). I just chose walnuts because I love walnuts in all my baked goods! And my sister has a bit of severe nut allergy, and I wasn’t sure if she was allowed to eat pecans or not. And you don’t have to use strawberry jam either. Nicole suggests anything from blackberry preserves to marmalade. Next time I think I’ll try blackberry or raspberry… MMmmmm… Shortbread is quite wonderful in that it’s very hard to mess up and always tastes great.

Strawberry Walnut Shortbread Bars
original recipe from baking bites

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup walnuts, finely chopped (Or any nut of your choice)
1 cup butter, softened
1 large egg
3/4 cup strawberry jam/preserves

Preheat the oven to 350F. Line a 9-inch square baking pan with aluminum foil and lightly grease.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, salt and walnuts, then stir in the butter and egg until mixture is crumbly, like coarse and wet sand. Set aside 2 cups of the mixture, and pour the remaining mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan. Press down gently, but firmly, into an even layer.

Spread strawberry jam over the shortbread layer. Sprinkle remaining crumbs evenly over the top. If the mixture is too wet to sprinkle, simply break it up with lightly floured fingers and spread it out.

Bake for 40-45 minutes, until lightly browned. Cool bars in the pan before slicing into desired shape and size.

breakfast for dinner: french toast

My mom is so adorable. She’s been on a baking spree lately, and although my dad complains that she butchers every other thing that she tries, she’s become quite good at making two things: milk bread (a slightly sweet Korean bakery-style white toast/sandwich bread) and also banana bread.

My parents came to visit a couple days ago and my mom brought a loaf of bread that she baked the day before, and let’s just say, IT WAS HEAVENLY.

Soft and fluffy but with a nice buttery crust… The bread is perfect for snacking, whether you toast it and spread some butter and sugar on it or just eat it plain and “raw.” The crumb is probably a little too fine for making a sandwich though.

I’ll ask her for the recipe and post it soon.

But for now, the French toast recipe that I made for dinner will have to do.

Do you ever wake up from a nap and your tummy tells you that its morning? I woke up around five p.m. today and had a sudden craving for some French toast… I guess my circadian rhythm was thrown off because I’ve been sleeping and eating and odd hours lately. A lot of late night snacking and sleeping through lunch… I know, I know, it’s bad for you. But I made up for it by running!

Luckily, this French toast recipe won’t ruin any of those New Year’s resolutions that you’ve made. It’s slightly sweet and cinnamon-y, so you can decide to skip the butter and maple syrup if you want to fit into that bikini by spring break.

French Toast

Yield: 2 servings

4 thick slices white bread
1 egg
1/4 cup milk (If you’re watching the calories, go ahead and use 2%)
1 tablespoon honey
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons powdered sugar

In a medium bowl, beat together eggs, milk, honey, cinnamon, and vanilla extract.

Spray a griddle or frying pan with Pam or lightly coat with oil and place over medium high heat.

Dip both sides of slices of bread in the egg mixture and carefully transfer to the hot griddle. Brown on both sides and transfer to a warm plate while remaining slices cook.

Sprinkle toast with powdered sugar and serve hot.

If you want it to be sweeter, you can always pour on the maple syrup on top of everything else. A little syrup never hurt anybody. ^^

It’s like having breakfast for dinner and dessert! And not too much of a calorie bomb either.

I had mine with some juice, a Daily Trojan newspaper, and the Los Angeles sunset.