Blackberries and Beeches

Blackberry Vanilla Swirl Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Lime Frosting, Blackberry Drizzle and Candied Lime

Blackberries and Brown Beech Mushrooms are the topics of discussion today, as they were a few of the star ingredients I got to work with this week.

The mister and I finally made it over to the Berkeley Bowl, and I was so excited to see their bountiful produce department.  I think we counted 11 varieties of potatoes, and there must have been at least 10 varieties of mushrooms. Imagine the beauty! I don't think I have mentioned the love affair that I have with mushrooms. So let me just say, I love mushrooms.  I love their earthiness, and fun textures. I love that they are sort of dirty, and spotty, and some of them are unsightly, while some of them are almost graceful. I just adore mushrooms.

Well, I was on a budget so I had to refrain from grabbing handfuls of each type of mushroom, so at the very end of the mushroom aisle I stumbled upon these funny little packaged mushrooms. These were within my budget, so I quickly grabbed one and added it to my basket. I decided on the Brown Beech Mushroom...

I have made these before and knew exactly what I wanted to do with them....pan fry them in butter with fresh garlic and salt and pepper. And then have the best dinner ever!

Also this week, I got to do some birthday time baking for a friend's birthday. I knew that she is quite fond of blackberries, so I decided on making her some blackberry lime cupcakes. Originally I did not want a purple-ish cupcake, and I thought I wanted to use a fresh blackberry as a garnish. More often than not, I find that my original idea and end product is usually different. I guess that is ok. It's all a learning process, right?!

I did know that I wanted the cupcakes to actually taste like blackberries, so I decided to puree them. Half of the puree was to go in the cake batter, and the other half was to be made into blackberry syrup to drizzle on top. Most importantly was to remember to strain the blackberry puree to get rid of the seeds. Nobody wants seeds in their cupcakes!

I found this recipes online, and found it to work out beautifully. I still didn't really want my cupcakes to be completely purple, so I added the blackberry puree very last, and only gently folded it in so that it varied in color...

I whipped up a simple cream cheese frosting, but added lime juice to give it some zing. I think the acid in the lime was breaking down the cream cheese as I found it somewhat difficult to get the frosting to set. I ended up adding more powdered sugar to get it to set. You could still taste the lime so it worked out nicely.

Lastly, I candied some lime slices and used that and the blackberry syrup for garnish....Happy Birthday Connie!!!

Blackberry Vanilla Swirl Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Lime Frosting, Blackberry Drizzle and Candied Lime

For Grape Me Not

Arugula Salad with Roasted Grape Dressing and Pear

Red seedless grapes have been on my mental shopping list lately, and their fate was to meet my oven. Yes, the smoldering, smoking oven that is mine. Well, it's finally kicked it's smoking habit, thank god! So now it's just the smoldering, hot-as-heck oven. It really only smoked that one time, ok two times, when we set off the smoke detector and heard the mysterious woman's voice call out "fire, fire". I never knew that smoke detectors could talk, or that ovens had smoking habits....

Getting back to the grapes. I have had two thoughts on what I wanted to do with grapes. The first idea came from hearing about roasting grapes, as I have been very curious to try them and see what the buzz was all about. So I got me some grapes. I woke up my beast of an oven and set her on to something like 400, laid out some grapes on a sheet pan, drizzled them with oil, and cut some fresh rosemary stems off of my now dying mixed-herb plant, and then we let the roasting begin. Within minutes I heard bubbling and popping, I ran over to check that they weren't going to completely explode and catch fire, ( my oven paranoia kicking in), and they were just fine. The grapes were just starting to burst, and it looked as though most of the skin actually cooks away. I took them out after about 15 minutes, and let them rest for a bit before we tried one.

Once they were cool enough to handle and pop open, I took my first bite. All I could say was "wow!". They were so incredibly flavorful, tangy, sweet, and almost creamy. It almost made the backs of my cheeks tingle because it was just so... wow!

I found a recipe online, here, that sounded like a yummy dish to incorporate my roasted grapes with, so I went ahead and roasted some sweet potatoes as well. And yes, even though this is really just a side dish, it was the perfect meal for me and the bf for a late dinner...

Roasted Grapes over Sweet Potato Goat Cheese Mash

The second idea that has been rolling and clunking around in my head is a grape puree of some sort. And just yesterday I remembered that I had about a cup of roasted grapes left over, so I set out to puree my roasted grape babies. I wasn't exactly sure what I was going to do with this roasted grape liquid, because I wasn't sure how it was going to turn out. But I decided to add some white balsamic vinegar, olive oil, lime juice, salt, ground sage, and dijon mustard, and make a dressing out of it. Oh yes. Yum! I had some arugula in the fridge, and finally just today one of the pears I have had sitting on the counter for days now, is finally ripe and suitable for eating. So I made this beautiful salad for lunch today... Oh, and I finally brought out my good camera today, as you can tell by the quality of this snap...

Arugula Salad with Pear and Roasted Grape Dressing

Got Carrots?

Carrot Cake Cupcakes with Candied Carrot Peel

There was a someone-special-in-my-life-birthday this past weekend, (my little brother), which gave me the perfect opportunity to do some birthday-time baking. Yay! My brother and I have, on more than one occasion, discussed our love for carrot cake. I think we were both surprised to learn that it was each our favorite dessert. Well, if we absolutely had to pick just one, anyway!

So there really was no question on what to bake for him. But in all honesty, I was hesitant because I had never made carrot cake before. What?! Yes, it's true. I quickly turned to my trusty google search bar and did a little online recipe hunting. My fear immediately dispersed and I realized that carrot cake cupcakes were going to be perfectly manageable. And even better, I had almost all of the ingredients in my pantry, just waiting to be made into perfect little cupcakes.

I decided on the recipe that I found here, at A Sweet Pea Chef. I liked the simplicity of her recipe, the use of brown sugar, and ginger. Carrots and ginger are a wonderful match. I did have a few simple adjustments of my own, adding about two drops of vanilla extract, and golden raisins to the mix. I also grated my carrots more finely as I prefer that over the thicker strips of carrot. And I really wanted a fun garnish for these. So I peeled an additional carrot, using my potato peeler, and made very short peels that were 1" and under, and candied them. I took 2 cups of white sugar, 1 cup of water, brought that to a low boil, added the carrot peels, and let simmer for about an hour. I then strained out the liquid, and laid the candied peels onto parchment paper, and let sit out for about 2 hours to cool and harden. What fun! And they came out pretty PRETTY! Oh, and the cakes were delicious too. I will definitely be making these again....

After baking the carrot cake cupcakes, I had some carrots still left in my fridge, sitting in the veggie tray next to a few bunches of broccoli. I decided to make a soup, because I just love soup. Can I say that again? I love soup. I don't know why. What is the big deal about soup?? Well, it's warm, and it's delicious. It's filling, and it is generally healthy. Ok, I guess that answers my question. But I know, it is still just soup....

Broccoli soup with Cream and Croutons

So I made soup. A broccoli soup, with carrot too. And crisped up some croutons from a mini french baguette. I began first by making my own veggie stock. It's one of my new favorite things. I keep most of my veggie choppings from the week and save them in one bag. And when I need stock, I throw it all in a pot, along with some aromatics such as fresh thyme, sage, bay leaf, and black peppercorns. Cover with cold water and bring to a boil, let simmer for 45 minutes to an hour, and strain. And there, we have our very own veggie stock.

Leisurely Lunch at Technique Restaurant, CCA

Today, my bestie and I made a quick drive over the bridge and in to the city for lunch at the Technique restaurant located inside the California Culinary Academy.  It is managed by the chef instructors, and all of the cooking and plating is done completely by the students, (with some help by the instructors of course!). The restaurant was unfortunately not a part of my curriculum, so I did not have the opportunity to work at the restaurant during my time at CCA. And from what I hear, the restaurant will not be around for too much longer, as the school is no longer offering the class in the new curriculum. What a shame! I think the restaurant should be an experience that every culinary student should, well, experience.


As we arrived at the restaurant, we were immediately greeted with a warm and genuine smile from Beth, the floor manager. She took us to our table, and we were promptly welcomed by our student waiter, Ryan. We had water on the table in a matter of a minute, and house made bread with oil and balsamic shortly followed. I was impressed with the timeliness and organization. And because the chef knew we were coming in for lunch today, we found this sweet surprise in our menus....

Our drinks came out shortly after being ordered, and my hot tea pot was refilled twice with hot water, (much appreciated on this cold and rainy day). I wasn't thrilled to see that there was not a vegetarian option on the menu, but I didn't give it a second thought as I knew the chef would be happy to make me a special veggie plate. And for just $10 for a three course meal, I would have been happy with just soup and salad.

I had the soup, a special veggie plate, and the chocolate mousse. My friend had the beet salad, salmon, and chocolate mousse. I thoroughly enjoyed the hot tomato soup on this rainy day, and my friend loved her beet salad (she usually orders it wherever we go!). And then our entrees came out. I was so pleased to see a plate piled nicely with an assortment of colors and textures. And then I took my first bite, the quinoa cake was the most flavorful quinoa I have ever tasted. I think there was a fennel sauce, with sauteed asparagus and arugula, ciopollini's, pickled onions, roasted tomato, and arugula micro greens. We both cleaned our plates. Our chocolate mousse was a generous serving in a wine glass, and was pure chocolately-airy-goodness!

After lunch, we decided to drive over to the Ferry Building, to tour the artisanal shops and enjoy a glass of wine. We both appreciated the smell and colors of all the fresh produce, the perfectly packaged handcrafted chocolates, fresh baked breads, blocks of smelly cheese, oh, and let's not forget the "Salty Pig Parts", as one of the vendors signs read. It was pure culinary delight!

With Just Fat and Flour, Life Goes On...

How often do we think about the use of all of our 5 senses when cooking and eating? Think about it, most people are mainly concerned with taste, the flavor of the food they are cooking and/or eating. Some people will think about both smell and taste. But how many of us consider our other senses just as important? How our food feels to the touch, how it sounds when we bite down on it, and how it looks. I think those senses are just as important as the first two.

I have always justified my picky palate as having do with my "issue with texture". I do have a love-hate relationship with food when it comes to texture. That is one of the main reasons that I am a mostly-vegetarian. Something can absolutely taste fantastic, but if it does not look appetizing, or has an unappealing texture to me, I will wish not to continue eating it. The sound of food is sometimes overshadowed, or non-existent. But there are certain foods that immediately come to mind, such as oysters are not appetizing to me simply by the way they sound when being eaten, or slurped out of their shell. Asparagus, if cooked right, have a very appetizing sound of a crisp crunch to the bite.

I got to thinking about all of this after watching a movie recently. The movie is called Perfect Sense. It's main stars are portrayed as a chef and a scientist who fall in love amid the worldwide spread of a disease that slowly robs people of their senses, one by one. The chef is forced to deal with life, and life as a chef, at first with no sense of smell. The next sense to go is taste. And the chef learns to adapt his cuisine to focus on texture and sound. Fascinating. He is not willing to give up on the joys of life and simply provide his diners with just fat and flour. With this onset of human devastation, life goes on.

And so without giving away too much of the movie, though you can probably imagine what happens next, the chef is ultimately reduced to the very basics of life and cooking - fat and flour. But life does go on....

TGI Friday, the 13th!?!

Today is Friday the 13th. I am not a superstitious person, so it doesn't mean much to me, other than it's FRIDAY. But I did have a little scare that began sometime in the middle of the night last night....I won't go into the details but it had to do with my dog, her recent vaccinations, some unworldly smells and substances coming her from tiny body, repeated visits to the shower to hose her off, a visit to the vet, and a thorough cleaning of my apartment, she now seems to be fine. Wasn't that fun?!?

Moving on. I was inspired to do some writing today after a really interesting chat with a former classmate, a very cool cat of whom I value his opinion. He reminded me of a few important things that I have lost sight of somewhere along my culinary journey. He reminded me of what some of my original ideas, goals, and plans were as I was just starting my culinary education. And he reminded me why I even began this whole blogging thing, too. And that even if it''s just me, myself, and I, (oh, and my auntie and grandma) reading this thing, that I should still keep it up because in his opinion, I have a decent writing style all my own, and who knows what could come of it.

So as I sit here waiting for my rice pilaf to cook on the stove, I thought I would do some writing today....

Goodbye 2011, Hello 2012!!

So I am way behind in my writings here, and a lot has happened since my last update. On December 16, 2011, I graduated from the California Culinary Academy, with a perfect 4.0 gpa. I completed my externship at Station 1 on December 15, with a very nice and positive review from chef Ryan. I had a decently fun time working at the restaurant, and I certainly learned some valuable lessons. And I am looking forward to going back to the restaurant to enjoy a beautiful meal soon. To share with you some of my work from my time there, here are two pics of the dishes that I plated each night during service...

Beet Salad

Mixed Green Salad

After I left the restaurant, I quickly needed to focus my attention to my upcoming move. My lease was about to be expire on December 31, and with the holidays also right around the corner, I had a lot to get done! And to my surprise, and huge relief, I found a great apartment in Alameda. I was excited to get settled in to the new place and get to know my new surroundings. I had some wonderful helpers that helped me move the masses of boxes, the ginormous bed, and couch that had to be taken apart in order to fit through the doorway( thanks guys, I couldn't have done it without you!). Once we got everything moved in to the new place, and somewhat made into a liveable space, it was time for Christmas.

This year, I wanted to do some baking. I thought I would break in the new kitchen with baking off some Christmas cookies....looking back, that probably wasn't the best way to test out the oven. But now I know, the oven runs hot! And I can not leave anything on top of the stove, especially plastic, because they will melt! I also have about a third less counter space in this place as I did in my last place, so trying to bake multiple cookies, and also make some dinner at the same time, was really not a great idea. The losses of the evening were: a melted pepper grinder, burned cherry sauce, burned saffron rice, one batch of burned macaroon cookies, and an apartment filled with smoke. The wins: two good batches of yummy chocolate orange macaroons, peppermint meringue cookies, and the knowledge of what not to do in my new tiny overheated kitchen. But, after a few glasses of Bailey's martini's, all was right with the world again.....

Chocolate Orange Macaroons, and Peppermint Meringues

And now that the school is all done, I am mostly settled in to my new apartment, and the holidays are over with, I gotta get in to gear and figure out what my next step is....till then, Happy New Year!