Lychee Season

I'm not much of a fruit person. Often, I prefer my fruit cooked rather than fresh and raw. For instance, I'd happily dig into banana cake or banana fritters; and I love a good apple pie or tarte tartin. But you won't soon find me eating a fresh apple or a banana straight from its comb. There are, however, certain fruits that I make exceptions for.

While this is one of those months where everything culminates into workdays and weeks that never seem to end—hence the long stretches between posts (my apologies to those who've been checking in only to find me MIA)—there are still a few little luxuries that I am thankful for. One of which is lychee and mango season, which kicked in about two weeks ago. These are probably the only two kinds of fruit that I eat and eat lots of, and given that my long workdays also mean my diet is completely out of whack (which means I eat anything that can be bought at a hawker stall), the arrival of these fruit at every fruit stand, stall and supermarket is a very good thing.



Few fruit have such sweet, juicy flesh that, when eaten straight from the refrigerator needs nothing more than a damp napkin too wipe the juices off your chin and elbows. It's not often that you find a ripe but sour mango or lychee. At least it's never happened to me before. However, it's not impossible to find yourself with a ripe mango that's relatively tasteless, or worse, lychees that are short on sucrose. Which is exactly what happened to me last weekend, when I picked up a kilo of plump red-shelled lychees from my fruit seller. When I got home and excitedly sat down to a bowl of them in front of the TV, I was disappointed to find that one after the other, the lychees were just short of tasteless, as if someone had forgotton to inject them with their requisite dose of syrupy sweetness.

What to do? Well, if, like me, you've just gotten a new ice-cream maker, you shell and seed the lychees, liquidise them, add water and syrup, and make sorbet. I adapted the recipe for Lime Sorbet in Frozen Desserts by Caroline Liddell and Robin Weir and used the same proportions with my bum lychees.



The results were fab, but I still couldn't get my mind off the thought of biting into fresh, juicy lychees. So out I went again to the fruit seller, who brought out a more expensive batch, which she said was imported from China. I was skeptical at first because of its green hue (which I thought meant they hadn't ripened and would be tart), but she shelled one and literally force-fed it to me. And I was sold. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a whole basket of lychees and some episodes of Lost and Desperate Housewives that I need to catch up on.

The Quest for Parfaitction

Getting out of bed in the morning has always been a challenge for me...I do it, but I don't like it.
About 2 years ago, I discovered a breakfast that made waking up a little less hellish.
When we lived in Murray Hill, Lee and I used to frequent "Penelope", on 30th and Lexington, quite a lot. They had the best Mabel's granola! We used to crave it every weekend. At $10 a bowl, it was no cheap habit! I got smart and asked our usual waiter, Steve, what kind of yogurt they used. The secret lay in the Axelrod Vanilla low fat yogurt. From then on, we have spent much time perfecting the yogurt parfaits. The best granola came when we least expected it. My friend, Corryn, bought me some great jam and granola from "Au Pain Quotidien". Wow ! That is granola! So, now we are addicted to granola that is geographically desirable (only a 3 block walk to get it when I need it !) and UNREAL. If you do not live near a Pain Quotidien, Whole Foods makes good Vanilla crunch granola as well.

Sherri & Lee's Yogurt Parfaits

1/2 cup Axelrod Low Fat Vanilla Yogurt (you can get this at Gristedes and Associated...Fresh Direct & Whole Foods don't have it...SUCKS. This yogurt is available in Canada.)
1/2 cup assorted berries (blackberries, raspberries and blueberries)
1/2 cup Organic granola from Pain Quotidien

This may not be rocket science, but it is one of our faves !
It is also a great healthy breakfast for those who are trying to watch it.
Throwing these parfaits in beautiful milkshake glasses in layers would be beautiful for a weekend brunch.

Bon Appetit !

Everyone needs the Sake beef

This Sake glazed beef was made with Kara and Danna in mind. If anyone likes the beef, it's these two. Adosh. Don't try to understand, you won't.

"Sake Steak and Rice" (serves 2)
2- 5 oz filets
1 cup basmati rice
2 cardamom pods
1-2 tbsp fresh cilantro to serve

For the marinade:
1 tsp english mustard
2 tbsp worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp garlic or chili oil (I just mixed some fresh garlic with a tbsp of olive oil)

For the sauce:
1/4 cup sake
1 tbsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp nam pla (aka fish sauce) - get it at any grocery store near the kikkoman soy sauce!
1 tsp worcestershire sauce
1 tsp english mustard

In a plastic freezer bag, combine marinade ingredients and add the steaks. Leave to marinate for a few hours or up to 2 days. The longer, the better ! Bring steaks to room temperature before cooking. Heat a grill pan/griddle and then give the steaks, out of their marinade, 2 minutes on each side. Remove steaks and double wrap in foil. Let them rest for 10 minutes on a wooden board or pile of newspapers (I couldn't find a Times, so I skipped this !)

Bring sake to boil in a small sauce pan. Take pan off the heat and add other sauce ingredients. Unwrap the steaks, removing them to a wooden board for carving and pour the red juices from the foil into the saucepan. Put steak on rice (sliced on the diagonal) and garnish with cilantro.

To make this healthier, I made broccoli and roasted mushrooms with thyme, garlic, olive oil and worcestershire sauce. Quite honestly, the rice would be amazing with it to soak up the steak juices and sauce. I didn't slice either.....

This recipe is great cause it's made for two....no complicated math at the end of a long day :)
and you marinate for 2 days, so it doesn't take long to make when you get home.

In the words of my almost husband, Lee, the beef was "succulent", the way Danna and Kara like it !

Chocolate Malt Ice Cream

Chocolate and malt are some of my favourite childhood treats. When I was a kid, I would eat spoonfuls of Horlicks straight out of the bottle, or use whatever leftover pocket money I had to buy Horlicks sweets. I love a tall glass of ice-cold horlicks spiked with a spooful or two of condensed milk. And when the local supermarket started selling Malteses, I bought and ate so many packets that the roof of my mouth was sore for a whole week.

No surprise then, why this recipe jumped out at me from Claudia Fleming's The Last Course. I recently acquired a lovely ice cream maker which a kind and unsuspecting friend (I didn't tell him it weighed 11kg) lugged it home for me all the way from Perth, Australia. Since then, it's been ice cream galore for me and my neighbours, as I experimented with all sorts of flavours from vanilla and raspberry ripple to lime, lychee, coconut and dulce de leche. Using 1.25 cups of malt powder to 4 ounces of chocolate, this ice cream was super-malty (which I really like), though I think it could benefit from a stronger dose of chocolate. Next time I might experiment with using less milk and more cream and using more bitter chocolate and less milk chocolate to richen the texture and the chocolate factor. But for now, it ain't half bad at all.

Sinful MMM Moltens

MMM good. This is my favorite recipe of all time. Talia & Corryn like to make fun of me...they say that I think everything is delicious.

Promise me you will try them, they are easy and VERY impressive. I impress myself over and over again !

I recommend using Scharfenberg 70% bittersweet-go cheap and you'll taste the difference.

Molten Chocolate Cakes

5 oz bittersweet chocolate

10 tbsp (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter

3 large eggs

3 large egg yolks

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1/2 cup all purpose flour

Prehear oven to 450. Butter 6 3/4 cup ramekins. Stir chocolate and butter in a medium saucepan over low heat until melted. Cool slightly. Whisk eggs and egg yolks in large bowl to blend. Whisk in sugar, then chocolate mixture and flower. Pour batter into ramekins.

You can keep these in the fridge for a day, if you do, bake for 14 minutes- WATCH them after 11 minutes.

If you bake them right away, 11 minutes.

Let me know how they turn out !

Barefoot Awe

Today was a big day for me. I took a lunch break with Lee to run up to Williams Sonoma in Columbus Circle to meet Ina Garten, the Barefoot Contessa. Williams Sonoma did a book signing right before mother's day and launched her "barefoot contessa pantry" pre-made sauces and mixes. Ina is as sweet as she is on the Food Network!! I got my 3 cookbooks signed...very happy.

How cute is she ??

Bridal Shower Bliss

For those who know me, you know I have a few food related weaknesses. Ok, actually a lot of weaknesses when it comes time to dessert. Aside from Rockaberry Apple Crumb pie (if you are in Montreal, you must got to Rockaberry's !), creme brulee, key lime pie and chocolate molten cakes, I also have a soft spot for Magnolia Bakery. This small bakery on the corner of West 12th and Bleecker in the West Village is a "must stop" if you're in NY. Magnolia has the best cupcakes, period. Their luscious icing melts in your mouth.....anyway, let's keep this clean. Knowing about this weakness, my sister, Cara, and my mother, Lisa, made a "create your own cupcake" station at my bridal shower last weekend. Lisa thought the 28 yr old ladies would be too mature for this...not so ! The ladies were behaving as though they were unleashed at a Barney's sale....So for all those Montreal ladies who just want a piece of the heaven that is Magnolia, here we go...

Magnolia Vanilla Cupcakes

Cupcakes

1 & ½ cups of self rising flour
1 & ¼ cups of all purpose flour
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter softened
2 cups of sugar
4 large eggs at room temperature
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Icing (recipe follows)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Line 2 twelve cup muffin tins with cupcake papers
In a small bowl, combine the flours, set aside

In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter until smooth
Add the sugar gradually and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes
Add the eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition
Add the dry ingredients in three parts, alternating with the milk and vanilla
With each addition, beat until the ingredients are incorporated but do not overbeat
Using a rubber spatula, scrape down the batter in the bowl to make sure the ingredients are well blended. Carefully spoon the batter into the cupcake liners filling them about ¾ full
Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into the center of the cupcake, comes out clean. Cool the cupcakes in the tins for 15 minutes
Remove from the tins and cool completely on a wire rack before icing
Ice with vanilla butter cream.

Makes about two dozen cupcakes

Note: If you’d like to make a layered cake instead of cupcakes, divide the batter between two nine inch round cake pans and bake the layers for 30-40 minutes.

Vanilla Butter Cream Icing

Ingredients
1 cup unsalted butter softened
6-8 cups of confectioners’ sugar
½ cup of milk
2 teaspoons of vanilla extract

Place the butter in a large mixing bowl
Add 4 cups of the sugar and then the milk and the vanilla
On the medium speed of an electric mixer, beat until smooth and creamy (about 3-5 minutes). Be sure to do it for this amount of time to achieve desired creamy texture.

Gradually add the remaining sugar, one cup at a time beating well after each addition (about two minutes) until the icing is thick enough to be of good spreading consistency.
You may not need to add all of the sugar. If desired, add a few drops of food coloring and mix thoroughly. Use and store the icing at room temperature because icing will set if chilled. Icing can be stored in a air tight container for up to 3 days. This makes enough for 1 two layer, nine inch cake or 2 dozen cupcakes.

Make sure to keep the icing at room temperature, do not put it in the fridge, as it will harden.

Enjoy !!! YUM.

Jam Thumbprints

I can't help but think that these are the closest Western equivalent to our Chinese pineapple tarts which Chinese women whip up in truckloads come the Lunar New Year. So very more-ish and terribly addictive, these Jam Thumbprints from Claudia Fleming's The Last Course just melt in your mouth before an explosion of the sweet jam bursts onto your tastebuds. The recipe is really for Quince Jam Thumbprints. But the quinces proved too tart for me, even after hours of simmering over a stove, so I substituted it with raspberry jam instead and we were happy campers indeed. Strawberry jam didn't work so well; the combination was overly sweet for my liking. As Fleming suggests, these cookies can be eaten on their own as well, with a dusting of icing sugar. Neat, they reminded me of yet another Chinese cookie, the Walnut cookie, which is sold in every traditional Hong Kong confectionary.