a review of a most gluttonous week

My two major activities as of late:

Eat. Sleep. Press repeat.

At first it was just one of those days. Which somehow turned into one of those weeks. And that kind of bled into two weeks… Maybe it’s because I’ve been a little down as of late. Not quite sure what it is exactly but kind of one of those existential, deep funkity funks. Contemplating questions that don’t really have satisfying answers like “What am I doing with my life?” and “What is in that tupperware in the back of the fridge?”

A troubling void that can really only be fulfilled by…. Food. Lots of food.

asado!

argentinian bbq

spicy potato wedges

mimosa brunch with my favorite ladies

lovelies

jon mclaughlin & sara bareilles at the troubador!

hazy memorial day at griffith

hi char!

30 min wait at the new sprinkles ice cream parlor

sprinkles ice cream!

‘

i got excited and forgot to take a picture of my cherry vanilla

penne a la vodka

Penne a la vodka recipe here

merengues!

chocolate merengues

honey bear suicide at industriel!

industriel in downtown

lady rose cocktail

foie gras bread pudding. don’t judge me. i know it’s cruel… but it’s so delicious!!!!

escargot panini and kennebec fries. bougey sandwich.

quinoa salad – mushrooms, pecans, kale

Also had the amazing Pelmeni with rabbit, mascarpone, pearl onions, truffle oil, sage, and shiitake mushrooms a few days ago. Incredibly delicious.

And when I’m a funk and eating doesn’t help, you know what I do?

I bake. I bake bake bake. Bake that stress into something that I can eat. It’s a wonder I don’t weigh 1000 pounds yet. We’ll get there eventually. One stick of butter at a time.

When you’re stressed you need some guilty pleasures. Strawberry cupcakes with strawberry frosting. That totes taste like strawberry milk. Red lipstick that I bust out when I feel extra fancy. Accidentally matching outfits with Steph Yu. Instant mood uplift. Even though I ruined our picture by admiring my friend-bear. (Photo courtesy of Chinita!)

I feel like a chubby bunny but I think I’m ready to face the world tomorrow. Monday morning, I’m gonna own you.

stephanie, me, & cupcakes! i ruined our only photo :(

Sprinkles Strawberry Cupcakes with Strawberry Frosting
from Candace Nelson of Sprinkles
Makes one dozen

2/3 cup whole fresh or frozen strawberries, thawed
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
1/4 cup whole milk, room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 large egg, room temperature
2 large egg whites, room temperature
Sprinkles’ Strawberry Frosting
Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with cupcake liners; set aside.

Place strawberries in a small food processor; process until pureed. You should have about 1/3 cup of puree, add a few more strawberries if necessary or save any extra puree for frosting; set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside. In a small bowl, mix together milk, vanilla, and strawberry puree; set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter on medium-high speed, until light and fluffy. Gradually add sugar and continue to beat until well combined and fluffy. Reduce the mixer speed to medium and slowly add egg and egg whites until just blended.

With the mixer on low, slowly add half the flour mixture; mix until just blended. Add the milk mixture; mix until just blended. Slowly add remaining flour mixture, scraping down sides of the bowl with a spatula, as necessary, until just blended.
Divide batter evenly among prepared muffin cups. Transfer muffin tin to oven and bake until tops are just dry to the touch, 22 to 25 minutes. Transfer muffin tin to a wire rack and let cupcakes cool completely in tin before icing.

Strawberry Frosting

1/2 cup whole frozen strawberries, thawed
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, firm and slightly cold
Pinch of coarse salt
3 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Directions

Place strawberries in the bowl of a small food processor; process until pureed. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together butter and salt on medium speed until light and fluffy. Reduce mixer speed and slowly add confectioners’ sugar; beat until well combined. Add vanilla and 3 tablespoons strawberry puree (save any remaining strawberry puree for another use); mix until just blended. Do not overmix or frosting will incorporate too much air. Frosting consistency should be dense and creamy, like ice cream.

snickerdoodle muffins

I like cinnamon sugar.

Do you like cinnamon sugar?

Cinnamon sugar reminds me of Disneyland churros.

Cinnamon sugar reminds me cinnamon-soaked French toast.

Cinnamon sugar reminds me of waking up to cinnamon buns.

Cinnamon sugar reminds me of college, coffee in one hand, greasy coffee cake in the other.

Cinnamon sugar reminds me of Diddy Riese snickerdoodles.

Cinnamon sugar reminds me of picking off the streusely muffin tops and leaving the rest for someone else to eat.

So.

Do you like cinnamon sugar?

If so…

Let’s be friends.

Cinnamon sugar Snickerdoodle Muffins are not diet-healthy nor figure-friendly. They’re full of fatty dairy buttermilky goodness and topped with heaps of sugar. Yummmm. They’re making this Friday more bearable. WEEKEND. So close… Mmm.

If you look at them from the top, the muffin tops look like big fat cookies.

Rolling them in sugar is the fun part. But the dough is a little sticky and soft so if you’re not careful you get cinnamon sugar dough all over your hands. What a klutz. It’s okay though. You’ll figure something out.

More good news – it’s going to be 75 degrees this weekend, warming up in time for a spontaneous trip to San Diego! Off to combat some of this cinnamon sugar butter sticking to my gut with some….. carne asada fries and Phil’s BBQ. OHJYEAH.

Snickerdoodle muffins = Roadtrip muffins!

Snickerdoodle Muffins
Yield: 15-18 muffins

2 ¼ cups flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 sticks (16 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup sour cream
1/4 cup buttermilk

For the Topping:
2/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Line muffin cups with muffin liners.

In a large bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cream of tarter, nutmeg, and salt; set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla extract. Beat in half of the dry ingredients. Beat in the sour cream and buttermilk. Beat in remaining dry ingredients until just incorporated (batter will be soft).

To make the topping, in a small bowl, combine the sugar and cinnamon.

Using an ice cream or large cookie scooper, drop the scoop of batter into the bowl with the sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle the dough with the mixture and roll it around until it is covered completely in cinnamon sugar. Place the ball into the muffin liner. Repeat with remaining batter. Sprinkle the leftover cinnamon sugar onto the tops the muffins.

Bake until muffin tops are golden brown, 18 to 22 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out with a few moist crumbs attached. Set on wire rack to cool slightly, about 5 minutes. Remove muffins from tin and serve warm.

Woohoo!

new york. so much to eat, so little time.

I gained four solid pounds in New York. Shameless.

At least it was worth it… Good food everywhere! Dessert after every meal! Chicken and rice!

Going out with a delicious bang as I say goodbye undergrad, goodbye summer, goodbye OC. Moving to downtown LA next week and starting work soon thereafter. Putting on my big girl pants! (I don’t want to grow up.)

And yes, I’m totally one of those annoying Asian girls who stops everyone at the dinner table and waits for the food to get one degree colder while I take a picture for my own selfish personal gain.

Here’s a little NYC food guide for anyone interested:

Levain Bakery
167 West 74th St
Between Columbus and Amsterdam
Note: Amazeballs chocolate chip walnut and oatmeal raisin cookies. The olive and goat cheese pizza was okay. Nothing to write home about.

Maison Laduree
864 Madison Ave
Between 70th and 71st
Note: Be prepared to wait forever… Worth it? YES. Rose, citron, and pistachio macarons were amazing.

Lady M Cake Boutique
41 East 78th Street
Between Madison and Park Ave.
Note: Twenty-Layer Crepe Cake… The chestnut version was incredible. Paper-thin light crepes layered with creamy, barely sweet chestnut creme. I want this as a birthday cake so I can eat the whole thing by myself.

Celeste
502 Amsterdam Ave
Between 84th and 85th St.
Note: cash only classic Italian fare… small and cozy with fresh, amazing food. Get the quattro pizza… everything you want on one slab of dough.

Pommes Frites
123 Second Avenue
Between 7th and St. Mark’s Place
Note: Belgian fries with a huge selection of dips. Perfect for after drinking… Vietnamese Pineapple Dip was ridiculously delicious. Sweet Mango Chutney good, too.

Shake Shack
366 Columbus Ave. (The original is in Madison Square Park)
Between 77th and 78th St.
Note: The Shroom burger is pretty good; a portobello “patty” filled with cheese. But it ain’t no In-N-Out. I’ve been riding on the In-N-Out bandwagon for forever and I won’t be getting off any time soon.

Financier
6th Ave and 23rd St.
Note: The classic financiers are delicious with coffee. Sweet, buttery, and probably a million calories but who cares. They’re miniature-sized.

Momofuku Noodle Bar
171 1st Ave
Between 10th St & 11th St.
Note: Pork buns were probably the best thing I had all week. The ramen… not so much. But the PORK BUNS. Also. Find the closest Milk Bar near you and stock up on compost cookies. (They have brown sugar, butterscotch chips, choco chips, potato chips, graham cracker crumbs, and pretzel chunks in them. What the what?! They’re basically just incredible.)

Katsu-Hama
11 E 47th St
Between 5th Ave & Madison Ave
Note: Kurobuta Katsu. I love kurobuta. Need I say more?

Red Jacket Orchards
Union Square Greenmarket
Note: The greenmarket is a cute place to go just to see how expensive local, farmer’s market produce can be. Red Jacket has really good juices though. I tried almost every flavor and probably pissed off the sample dude. Ended up buying the Blackcurrant Apple and the Lemon-Apple (summer blend.)

City Bakery
3 W. 18th St.
Between 5th and 6th Ave
Note: Famous for their pretzel croissants (buttery croissant interior with a crisp salty pretzel exterior) and hot chocolate. Yes, I was drinking thick, creamy Belgian hot chocolate while it was 85 degrees and 90% humidity outside. Yes, it was worth it.

Uncle Nick’s Greek Cuisine
747 9th Ave
Between 50th St & 51st St
Note: Inopikilia for 2 – a sampler platter of Greek appetizers. YUM. With a lot of pita. And the lamb kebab.

Alice’s Tea Cup
102 W 73rd St
Between Amsterdam Ave & Columbus Ave
Note: I thought this would be a good place to grab brunch and catch up on reading in peace and quiet. Wrong. Surrounded by sorority-type girls talking really loudly about their boyfriends or almost-boyfriends or soon-to-be ex-boyfriends and how some beeyatch is not cool enough so they don’t want to invite her out on Thursday. But the berry and pumpkin scones were delicious. The best part is the homemade clotted cream.

Pisticci
125 La Salle St
Between Broadway & Claremont Ave
Note: Neighborhood Italian restaurant in Harlem. Classic spaghetti with meatballs was delicious and so was the roasted vegetable rigatoni. They have a little outdoor patio you can sit on which was perfect for nice weather.

53rd and 6th Halal Cart
Note: BEST. STREET. FOOD. EVER. White sauce is crack sauce so dump that junk on and red sauce is death sauce so use sparingly.

Epicerie Boulud
1900 Broadway
Between 63rd and 64th St.
Note: Daniel Boulud’s market style take-out or stand up and dine-in patisserie. Great sandwich and cheese selection. I had the grilled cheese which had goat cheese and olive spread and tomatoes. Heard the fusion bahn mi is really good, too. One day I’ll be baller enough to eat at Daniel… One day… Hopefully soon. I can’t wait to get my first paycheck.

Ten-year anniversary of 9/11. Strange feeling being in NY the day of… I’ve never been somewhere important before on a day of historical relevance. I regret not researching more on how to visit the memorial site because all the tickets were booked by the time I got there, but it’s definitely something I’ll remember forever.

epicasiatrip: taipei

So, this next series of posts is coming a good six weeks too late but I’ve been really busy since coming back from my trip and I just didn’t really have the energy to go through everything and to be honest, I wasn’t much in a blogging sort of mood.

But here we go… Taipei! This was the beginning of our month-long excursion through Asia. Spent four days here. It was mostly rainy, but we had a few lucky days of sunshine. Mostly we just stuffed our faces. People aren’t kidding when they say Taiwanese people like to eat. Night markets, boba, dessert shops, breakfast places… It never stops.

Not that I’m complaining or anything.

The famed original Din Tai Fung!

Xiao long bao! <3

Peanut mochi!

Breakfast time :) Big pieces of fried dough. You tiao.

Do jjiang: A savory soy curd with green onions and vinegar. Surprisingly addicting. Perfect for our rainy morning. And dunking the you tiao into this was … amazing.

Spicy hotpot. Another memorable meal.

Pork floss! My best friend in elementary school was Chinese and she shared this stuff with me all the time. :)

Beef noodle soup.

Stinky tofu. Really Stinky. Capital S. In fact, it should be STINKY tofu.

Egg tarts!

More Chinese breakfast. :)

Finished the trip fittingly with tapioca milk tea. :)

double post, say what?? mm cookies..

Two posts in one day!

Aren’t I crazy?

:)

Haha.

My sister and I actually went on a baking spree yesterday.

After we finished making our cheddar scones, we decided to make something sweet to balance out the savory.

flat as heck

We took an awesome basic chocolate chip cookie recipe and replaced the chocolate chips with toffee bits and white and milk chocolate swirled chips. DELICIOSO! oooo baby.

These were seriously a labor of love. While I was checking on the scones in the oven, I forgot to measure out the rest of the flour, and we ended up only putting in one cup instead of two, but realized after the first batch went in! Haha. It was hilarious. They spread like crazy and we ended up throwing them away. Then, we added some more flour to the watery dough and they ended up being fine.

These cookies are more thin and crispy with a chewy center. I looooove. If you like cake-like, soft cookies.. Yeah, this cookie is not for you. There’s a lot of sugar and melted butter that guarantees a yummy crisp instead of a soft-baked cookie.

I need a name for these cookies. What should we call them??? Help me think of a name!

toffee chewies?

Chewy Toffee Crisps

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 egg
1 egg yolk
3/4 cup toffee bits
1 cup white&milk chocolate swirled chips

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets or line with parchment paper.

Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.

In a medium bowl, cream together the melted butter, brown sugar and white sugar until well blended. Beat in the vanilla, egg, and egg yolk until light and creamy. Mix in the sifted ingredients until just blended and stir in the chocolate chips/toffee bits/whatever you like.

Drop cookie dough 1/4 cup at a time onto the prepared cookie sheets. Cookies should be about 3 inches apart (Trust me these will spread a lot!) Bake for 15 to 17 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the edges are lightly toasted. Cool on baking sheets for a few minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.