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Japanese Pasta

When I was a kid growing up, my favorite thing to eat [besides Top Ramen and Kraft Mac & Cheese] was a raw egg and shoyu over rice. I loved how the gooey, slimey raw egg just coated the rice making everything slide down the back of my throat so easily. After salmonella became a concern, I decided to give up my favorite meal.

 
 

My fear of killing myself with salmonella poisoning didn’t take my craving for raw eggs away. It wasn’t until my mom grated a Yamaimo [pictured above] and put it over rice with shoyu that I found a decent replacement. It had that same consistency that I loved so much. Thus began my love affair with Yamaimo. Ok, so it wasn’t exactly like that – there may have been a few “just trust me, just try it,” from my mom but it turns out she was right.

Since one can not live on Rice and Yamaimo alone I started my experiments:

 

  Me: “Mom. is it weird to have Tororo [grated Yamaimo] over SOBA??” 

Mom: “No, we do that all the time.”

Me: “Mom. is it weird to put ahi poke over the tororo over the soba??”

Mom: “No, you had it before in Japan but it was with negi toro over rice instead.”

Me: “oh. so i’m not really all that creative then, huh??”

 

darn. i really believed that I was onto something…

My poor budget doesn’t allow me to spend the equivalent of $80 per pound of Otoro tuna so I settled for some really beautiful Blue Fin tuna at $40 per pound [i bought a tenth of a pound].

The Ahi Poke…I had the pleasure of meeting Alan Wong at an event a couple of years ago and had his Ahi Poke. I decided that evening that I loved Alan Wong. I camped out in front of his table, refusing to get out of the way. He tried to tell me how to make it [trow a liddle of dis and a liddle of dat] but the deer caught in headlights look kinda gave away the fact that i didn’t know what a “little” really meant. He ended up asking the Banquet Captain for a to go box, boxed up the rest of the poke and gifted it to me. Let me tell you…there were a LOT of people who were really, really pissed off at me. Here’s what i remembered from the “liddle of dis and dat” conversation which wasn’t much since I already had a couple of drinks by that time. The rest I just had to make up.

Ahi Poke:
1 Tbsp Sesame Oil
1 Tbsp Soy Sauce
1 ½ Tsp Green onion
1 tsp Tobiko [flying fish roe]
1 tsp sesame seeds
1 tsp Mayo [optional, sometimes I just like it spicy tuna style]
½ Tsp Brown Rice Sugar [or honey]
Pinch Sea Salt
Dash of Chili Oil or Sriracha [or to spiciness preference]
Purple Basil or micro Shiso
¼ lb Tuna [sashimi quality]

3 Tbsp Yamaimo [nagaimo], grated

1 to 2 round inches Soba

Instructions:
Cook: Soba in rolling boiling water for just a few minutes until firm but tender

Prepare: Combine all of poke ingredients and marinate the Tuna overnight, if possible.

Grate: Grate the yamaimo and set aside

Plate: Swirl the soba in a circle/mound. Spoon the yamaimo over the soba. Sprinkle some Tobiko over the yamaimo. Spoon some of the poke over the yamaimo. I drizzled some soy sauce over the completed dish to give the yamaimo some additional flavor.

Gyoza

I’m still hi-jacking this travel site and in the full spirit of the hi-jacking, I’ve decided to post up my gyoza adventure.

La Fuji Mama has the most wonderful post on how to make gyoza wrappers from scratch. I looked at it, marvelled at how beautifully perfect her wrappers had turned out, and dismissed it as too much trouble. Then I mosied over to Rasa Malaysia and saw her post on Shrimp & Chive dumplings. Hmmm…i’m craving dumplings. It’s been over a month since I last went to dim sum and I’ve got me a hankering for it.

Of course this revelation came to me while I was not at home and quite unable to do anything about it. So I started formulating my plan…I’ve got flour, salt & water at home…I can MAKE my wonton wrappers. Heck, I’ve even got shrimp at home…hmmmm…

Quite frankly, the gyozas took a wee bit longer than i expected it to…like 2 hours for me to mix, rest, knead, and roll out (mostly because I’m lame). But look how beautifully “rustic” [another term for "it looks like a 3rd grader made it"...learned THAT one from Clemence, as well] my gyozas came out. Some of them actually did look round since I figured out how to roll it out so that it maintained its thickness in the middle, thinner around the edges, and all together ROUND.

I swear…these bloggers must all think I’m a total stalker (ok, so I am). I ask question after question and they so kindly and generously answer all of them!! Up until now, I didn’t even realize that I enjoyed cooking. I was far too busy trying to kill off my friends and co-workers with “blackened” chicken to realize that, once I got some basic concepts down, it was actually a lot of fun.

Uhhhh. Ooops. Sorry guys…I had the finished results but they came out kind blurry…I started in on the wine a little early tonight.

oh hi…i forgot to mention…you can make DESSERTS with these wrappers. I used some leftover goat cheese mousse (with meyer lemon) and chocolate ganache and filled the wrappers, deep frying them. Hellllooooo, gorgeous!

Tarts

 Key Lime Tart with Mascarpone Mousse

 

I have hi-jacked my own website. This is supposed to be my travel blog and all I want to blog about is baking. I’m sure it has something to do with the fact that I haven’t traveled anywhere but seriously…I’m sure I can pull a story out from one of my previous trips. Oh well. tough cookies…or tarts in this case.

Goat Cheese Mousse tart with mulberry and currants

I took another class from Gourmandise Desserts. A pies & tarts class. I love Clemence. She is just the greatest and most generous teacher I’ve ever had the pleasure of taking a class from. She learned all her mad skills from her family’s auberge just outside of Apt, Provence. I highly recommend looking into taking one of her classes if you’re interested in baking! In order to make sure that I could actually apply what I learned in class, I decided to bake up 3 different tarts for a friend’s kids’ birthday.

lilikoi Mousse tart with figs and mulberry
  

It’s amazing how much you can fudge a basic recipe to suit your needs just by changing an ingredient here and there. Changed a cheese here, fruit filling there…and voila! Key Lime, Goat Cheese, and Lilikoi tarts!

My fancy pie weights that I used.

Best Pate Sablee EVER!!!

 I could go on and on raving about how this is the best tasting crust I’ve ever had and writing out the recipe but why bother when I didn’t change or add a thing on Tartelette’s recipe? and let’s face it, hers LOOKS better, too!!

 

The one change I did make is with the mousse – Lilikoi Mousse & Key Lime Mousse.

Lilikoi/Key Lime Mousse:

 400 ml Heavy Cream

8 oz mascarpone

1/4 cup Lilikoi [passion fruit] pulp or the juice from key limes [yes, i squeezed each one of those little buggers!!]

1/8 cup sugar [or to taste]

 

 

combine the mascarpone with the sugar until dissolved. add the fruit juice/pulp and combine.

whip the heavy cream. add whipped cream into the mascarpone mixture gently folding it in.

fill the tarts with the mousse, add the fruits on top – please don’t be cheap like me – add LOTS of fruits on the tart!!

**i got a text message from my BFF, Sao, at midnight saying she loved the tarts!! my biggest (and only) fan!**

nutter butter cookies

Once upon a long time ago, I spent a lot of time hanging out at my friend, Miles’ house. His mom used to [and still does] keep a tupperware filled with cookies on the kitchen counter. Each week, the cookie selection would change. I was there so often, I would frequently help myself to some of those cookies.

 

One afternoon, I swung by the house and waited for Miles in the kitchen. As I plopped myself down in front of the kitchen counter, I spotted my favorite cookie in the tupperware – a Nutter Butter. There was only one left and it was surrounded by a mound of other cookies I didn’t care for. I grabbed the container and popped the lid open. Exactly one second after I popped the lid, I heard a THUD on the ground, followed by pounding feet as they ran towards the kitchen. My eyes widened like a deer caught in headlights as I realized that Miles was charging straight towards me and my cookie. My survival instinct kicked in and I lunged across the barstools to keep my prize away from him. As he reached over to try to pry the Nutter Butter out of my death grip, I realized I only had one last opportunity to save my cookie…so I licked it.

 

I turned back to him and said, “Here. Here’s your stupid cookie.”

 

Outraged, he screamed, “You licked the LAST Nutter Butter! I don’t want your cooties!”

 

So with a big Cheshire cat grin on my face, I said, “Fine” and took a big @$$ bite out of it.

 

To this day, he’s still bitter about the fact that I ate the very last Nutter Butter. To this day, I still feel extremely victorious over my win.

 

Miles – in honor of our friendship of more than 20 years [and frank shock and amazement that we're actually still friends], this cookie is for YOU…enjoy!

 

Nutter Butter Cookies

[Bouchon Bakery's Nutter Butter Cookies without the oats & nuts]

 

COOKIE DOUGH

2 cups all purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

4 tsp baking soda

1 lb unsalted butter, room temperature

2/3 cup creamy peanut butter

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

2 large eggs

1 – 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

 

FILLING

1/4 lb unsalted butter

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

1 – 2/3 cup confectioners sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

 

Cookie dough:

In a bowl, mix together flour, baking soda, baking powder, set aside. Using a mixer with a paddle attachment, cream together butter and peanut butter. Add sugars and beat at medium speed for 4 minutes, scraping down bowl.

At low speeds, add eggs and vanilla. Add flour mixture and beat at low speeds until well mixed, frequently scraping down bowl. Drop 2 inch balls on parchment lined baking sheets approximately 3″ apart. Bake until cookies have spread and turned a very light golden brown, approximately 10 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside to cool and firm up, approximately 5 minutes. Transfer to rack to cool completely before filling.

 

Filling:

Using an electric mixer, combine peanut butter, butter, & confectioners sugar until very smooth.

I melted down some chocolate and dipped my cookies in. Yum.

Macarons – 3, Jenny – 0

My latest quest to feed my Type A [but inherently lazy] personality is to figure out how the heck to make a macaron. I hate paying $2.00 +/- for each cookie so I figured, I’m a smart girl…I can LEARN how to make it. I used David Lebovitz’s recipe for the French Chocolate Macarons with instructions from My Tartelette in Desserts Magazine. The only thing I added was infusing the powdered sugar with lavendar. For the filling, I used a pomegranate curd recipe that I found on LisaMichelle’s website.

Sadly, as you can see from the photo above, my first batch came out miserable – cracked cookie, no “foot” [tasted great - looked sad]. Luckily, my co-workers were all Macaron virgins and I was able to dump that batch on them [as I do most of my failed projects]! That miserable single attempt at Macarons started me on my quest to figure out how to make a macaron. [In spite of someone's facebook comment to me, "why make it when you can buy it??" clearly he doesn't realize the depth of my stubborness, cheapness...or unwillingness to be beaten by a baked good]

After questioning some co-workers who are enrolled in various pastry classes throughout the city, I decided to try out Gourmandise Desserts class. Gourmandise Desserts operates out of two locations – one in Venice and another in Culver City at Surfas. The class I took was based in Venice at the St Josephs’s Center, which operates a non profit culinary training program during the day. I arrived 20 minutes early to find our instructor, Clemence, in a flurry of activity prepping for the class. Clemence is not a classically trained pastry chef but is just a fount of information. My ultimate goal is to understand the CHEMISTRY behind baking and that woman has that knowledge in her head and is more than willing to share her knowledge not only in her classes but her “hotline” as well! She welcomes us to call her with any questions we may have! Her warm hospitality drew me in and set the tone for the class.

  

Keeping in mind that I had read the detailed instructions by Helen of my tartelette, who said that people were shocked to find how aggressive she was with mixing her batch, I still couldn’t picture how aggressive and how much it needed to be broken down. I was shocked when I saw Clemence go to town on it. “but…but…what if you overmix it?” I asked in hushed tones. She took my stupid comment with all seriousness and said, “just watch. you’ll learn and know by the end of tonight how much to mix and how to tell when it’s done.”

 Indeed we each had an opportunity to process, whip, beat, combine, and pipe the little bites of deliciousness. “Who here feels like they can go home and make this on their own??” she asked, scanning the class with her bright blue eyes. i slowly raised my hand half way up…then set it back down. Hey, i may FEEL like i can do it but let’s keep in mind that I also feel like i can finish a triathlon in a month. clearly sock smoking runs rampant in my life.

There’s no better way to test myself on my macarons baking ability than to just do it….

…

…

…

 

Ok. back. Just did TWO batches and…well, disaster. Last time I checked, macarons should not spread…all. over. the. place. stay tuned. I gave up tonight but i have not given up the battle. GRRRRR.

 

Birthday Cake for Boss…

I don’t know what has come over me. I think it’s reading all these darn beautiful food blogs but I’m like a woman possessed! I have to, have to, have to…BAKE. My boss, Michael, had his birthday on Friday and I offered to bake his birthday cake. I asked him what he didn’t like, what he liked…and then I picked something that I liked better. Whaaaat?? I have to at least make him think that he’s part of the decision making process. Job security.

 

He did mention that he liked “fruity” cakes. Having worked at a bakery for many years, I automatically thought of the fresh fruit filled cakes with custard. Knowing Michael, however, I realized that he’s just not the fresh fruit kinda guy. He much prefers the preserves/jammy sweetness to fresh fruit which may or may not be sweet.

 

I cooked up a batch of Raspberry jam mostly because I just like the deep red color and partly because my boss had specified that he liked raspberries. I had two requests for chocolate cake – one from my boss and the other from my boss’ boss (Jack). I decided to go with a white cake instead. (For those who are wondering – yes, this is EXACTLY what it’s like to have me as an employee…)

I can’t seem to get past the 1-2-3-4 cake from the back of the Swan’s Down box. The raspberry recipe was actually really easy that I found on epicurious and adjusted for taste by adding meyer lemon zest and less sugar. And the Swiss Buttercream frosting recipe from Smitten Kitchen is the BEST frosting recipe I’ve ever had the pleasure of using. It’s not overpoweringly sweet at all and goes onto cakes like a dream. I don’t know if I’ll ever use another frosting again.

I’m happy to report that no one died from food poisoning from my attempts at baking. The biggest disaster of the day was the fact that I dropped the 1/2 eaten piece of cake on my super cute shoes. SIGH. I was forced to cut myself another piece and start over again.

Colombia Travel

A couple of weeks ago, I received an email from the ProExports Colombia to attend an event to find out more about Colombia as a MICE (meetings, incentives, congress, expo) destination. A few people that I work with have gone to see rose growers in Colombia and have expressed what a beautiful destination it is. While they never had any fear for their lives, they understood that the concerns were there.

Someone please tell me that they’ve got other things than just FRIED stuff in Colombia!!

 I was waffling on whether or not to attend. I just didn’t see it as a safe destination for my group – you’ve heard it all: shootings, kidnappings, murders, muggings, robbery, drug trade, civil wars…the list goes on and on. However, my curiousity of the unknown got the best of me and I decided to attend.

Preserved Fig in Arequipe (dulce de leche)

 Let me explain something – I hate going to industry events. Don’t get me wrong – they’re always well run with free flowing booze, food, prizes and take aways. The problem is that I’m a department of one and as such I have to attend these big events by myself. And since I’m on my own, the only people for me to talk to are the vendors. I’m not big on small talk (I’ll generally ask all kinds of personal questions that are none of my business within 5 minutes of meeting you) so these types of functions actually kill me slowly and painfully.

 

As Eli Gorin, CMP from Miami was giving the presentation from a US meeting planner’s perspective, I started to perk up. Benefits:

 

• about 8 hours or so from LAX to Bogota
• 2 1/2 to Cartagena from Miami
•  produce and foods grown/produced locally without relying on imports (cost savings if you do events)
• strong dollar
• no tax for foreign companies
• PADI 5 scuba diving, water sports, culture, history, shopping

Did I mention the strong dollar value??

 

As for safety, I’m no dummy. I realize the challenges that are faced there. I also realize that some of it really relies on the common sense that you would use when you travel anywhere. Don’t wear flashy jewelry, don’t flash the cash, lay low, and be respectful. Why wouldn’t you follow that premise where ever you go?? Kidnappings in Bogota are usually of government officials, military officers, wealthy businessmen, etc etc. It’s not going to be some meeting planner from LA. I’m poorer than the kidnappers. By the time the presenation was over, I was totally on board and thinking about visiting Cartagena or Medellin for my vacation this year!

That’s when it happened: I answered a question correctly and won a 2 night stay in Medellin! Woah. That never happens! A few minutes later, they announced that they were going to do the grand prize drawing – Airfare AND hotel at the Intercontinental…and they picked ME!!! I won a trip to Medellin, Colombia!!! Dates are still TBD but I’m actually excited about going! (despite the “don’t get kidnapped” comments I’ve been receiving.) Incidentally, I’ll probably get some sort of insurance – I’m not completely out of my mind.

**Incidentally, the only thing that I know about Medellin comes from watching Entourage and, as I was reminded, Clear and Present Danger…sad, I know…

Experience traveling…

I’ve been traveling from as far back as I can remember – first in those dreaded (now looked upon with fond memories) road trips in the station wagon with my brothers, then on my first flight to Japan, first solo trip (sans parents) to Hawaii, and beyond. Through all my years traveling, I’ve learned the difference between being a spectator and being a participant. It took me a heck of a lot of years to know the difference and to finally understand why being a spectator isn’t nearly as much fun as being a participant (i’m very, very slow).

 

So my new resolve was to try to experience something unique about the region I’m traveling to. It’s what I do for my incentive trip guests, so why shouldn’t I travel that way on my own?? It’s crazy not to!!

 

Take this photo below, for instance. This was in Langhirano, home of the Prosciutto di Parma festival…all tours conducted in ITALIAN only. Do you think Erin & I understood Italian? Heck no. But once the owner’s son clued into the fact that we didn’t understand a word of what was going on, he ran to get his girlfriend so that they could walk us through step by step! Wonderful couple, wonderful experience!

  

Mixing perfume has got to be one of my favorite things to try! I discovered that while I don’t have a “nose”, I can at least mix up something that I like…and I finally came to understand how perfume is made and what I like!

 

  No visit to London is complete without having High Tea. It was probably the most expensive meal of our trip, but so worth it! Lots of food…lots of pretense…lots of fun.

 

Ok, admittedly, this next one did not pan out well. I hated paddling and i just didn’t have the leg strength to stand up. As you can see, it was pretty sad overall. I had high hopes for myself that one day I’d be the Big Kahuna of surfing. All I became was…well, Big.

 

 

Dancing at my cousin’s wedding was truly a privilege. It was great because I didn’t really have a call to be nervous. After all, I didn’t know most of those people at the wedding and those I did know, I was related to so stress levels were very, very low. How often can you say you’ve danced in a kimono (worth more than my car) in Japan at a wedding??

Oh, ziplining in Costa Rica. Now THAT experience is the top of the top. I’m terrified of heights but thankfully, I didn’t let that stop me. My fear would’ve forced me to miss out on one of the most breathtaking (literally) views and activities I’d ever had in my life. I had a great time traveling with these friends (former co-workers) and I will always cherish our quick weekend in Costa Rica together!! ahhh…the memories!

I love parmesan. Why wouldn’t I go and visit the factory where the original big mama was made?? Of course I would!! Wow. I was considering stuffing one under my protective clothes but those suckers are HEAVY. and expensive.

Ok, we all know I don’t know squat about cooking but seeing as how I love Italian food, it also made sense to me to learn how to make it in ITALY! It gave me a chance to meet other people from all over the world!! and now I know how to make Gnocchi!!

I don’t know how this mess became gnocchi, but it did. Best gnocchi I’ve ever had!! 

 

 

 

 

Good luck and happy travels!

 

All that to say, it’s great to just go with the flow and VIEW the historical monuments, famous paintings, temples, churches, blah blah blah…but be sure to schedule some time to interact and experience the real culture and lifestyle of where you are visiting. It’s never been easier to gather up free, timely information off the internet! Even for obscure locations, you’ll be surprised how much information is out there. Go forth and conquer!

WLA Obon

Normally, I avoid the Obon season like the black plague. I hate running into people I haven’t seen in years…mostly because I can place a face, but not always a name to a face. Oh and the small talk. I hate the small talk. It’s always the same: “So, how are you?” [Fine]; followed by, “What have you been up to??” [ummm...not much...work...travel...enjoying life...]; followed by “so do you have kids? married?” [someday I will say, yes, 7 kids, all with different fathers but not married to any of them, just to see their expressions]

Obon in Japan, is the celebration/honoring the departed spirits of my ancestors [not just mine...]. It’s typically celebrated around August 15th and I will inevitably get a call from my family in Japan as they gather to participate in Ohakamaeri to clean the graves and honor the deceased. What follows after usually consists of food, sake, and if the timing is just perfect, a trip to the Obon. In the US, it’s about gathering around and seeing people you haven’t seen in years, eating, dancing, and playing games.

 
Here’s the thing, two of the most adorable kids came over to attend the WLA Obon and I just couldn’t say no. Look at them…could YOU?

Another reason I do like to go is to eat [shocker, I know]. I slurped up my udon so fast I didn’t have time to take a photo of it, otherwise, I’m sure I would’ve added that to the photos below. The teriyaki chicken leg was surprisingly moist unlike the dried out chicken I get from other carnivals.

Ok, let me be super honest…the real reason I like going is for the item below. Shave Ice. I love this simple, cheap summertime treat. It’s super easy to do but it’s such a treat for me since I refuse to buy a snow cone maker.

 I thought about breaking out my alter ego, Fujima Yumie, to dance bon odori [I can teach anyone who's interested!] but it was way too crowded for me to have enough patience to deal with it. Plus, they took out all my stand by dances that I used to know!! What on earth? Granted, it was super easy, just not as much fun as I remembered.

Incidentally, I did go back for another Snow Cone on Sunday. It was just too tempting to pass up.