prosciutto tea sandwich

Sandwiches are awesome for breakfast, lunch, and even dinner. I grew up bringing packed lunches to school, and a standard ham and egg sandwich was a regular in my brown paper bag. It was one of the few more American lunches my Mom would make.

These small bites were based on the "Serrano Ham Tea Sandwiches." I couldn't find serrano ham at my local market, so I substituted prosciutto, which is similar in the sense that it is sliced paper thin and salt cured. I used store bought wheat and white bread for assembly. I don't own a flower cookie cutter, so I just used a standard circle in its place; not quite as cute, but worked none the less.

I prepared these in the afternoon and just stuck them in the fridge until ready to serve. I liked them lightly toasted, just enough to warm the prosciutto and slightly melt the cheese. I had a bunch of extra ones, which became snacks for my friends. Overall consensus? A fancier take on a simple ham and cheese.

a refreshing summer drink transformed

For those that know me well know that I love tea. A good hot cup of earl grey can soothe a like no other on a cold rainy night. As such, a crisp iced green tea can be the quencher a dry throat seeks on a scorching afternoon. One of my best friends can attest that we've made more than our (and most people's) fair share of tea runs every summer. Our drink of choice? Iced green tea with aloe.

This cake was inspired by the many drinks at our favorite tea place. I had some white peaches and of course matcha powder left over from before. Each layer has it's own individual accent flavor to combine into a honey white peach matcha green tea cake.

I finally bought a candy thermometer after years without one, forcing me to avoid recipes that called for a pâte à bombe. After a very very long night a couple of Christmases ago with three failed attempts before I finally got the right consistency for the Daring Bakers Bûche de Noël challenge, I never ventured into another pâte à bombe again. The thermometer totally made all the difference in the world. I was even able to make the bubble sugar art for decoration.

I made the same matcha green tea sponge cake, then layered a white peach mousse on top. The mousse was simply white peaches, which I pureed with a bit of lemon simple syrup, folded into the pâte à bombe base along with some whipped cream. I froze the two layers before I piped a honey chantilly and atopped it with a piece of bubble sugar.

The cake was best served at room temperature, when all of the flavors were at their peak. I liked this one more than the matcha green tea with lemon cream and chocolate chantilly; the flavors just felt more appropriate for the warm weather we've been having.

I've enjoyed these layered cakes, which are less complicated than it really looks. My next idea will be based on another tea drink, no surprise there.

sesame-crusted chicken salad tea sandwiches

I've had steamed chicken sitting in my fridge for a couple of days now, leftovers from dinner one night. It was meant to be eaten with salted minced ginger and green onions, a typical Cantonese dish. Therefore, the chicken itself was quite bland, perfectly neutral I thought for this application. Martha Stewart called for a whole boiled chicken, with the boiling liquid reserved as stock for future use. I obviously didn't follow her preparation for the chicken, but mine was cooked with Chinese wine, which worked well in this Asian inspired dish.

  

The sesame oil infused mayonnaise was especially fragrant, pairing well with the stronger flavors of green onions and cilantro. I love the aroma of good sesame oil, reminds me of the bottle my friend has from Korea. Her's was freshly made and bottled right before she flew back home. That intensely toasty and nutty scent was amazing; made me want to steal the bottle, but I didn't.

I used store bought whole wheat bread and toasted it for a crispier textural contrast. Whole wheat bread is actually the bread of choice in my house, just because it is healthier. Toasting also made the bread a bit more palpable, changing the denser qualities to a warm bite with a bit of crunch.

These became dinner for the night, just as the other creations did as well. I liked these little sandwiches the most so far. Perhaps it was just because of the sesames, or maybe it was the chicken. Who doesn't like chicken?

something a bit different

I actually started baking before I ever ventured into cooking and savory applications. This is actually based on a few different recipes, but mostly on Cannelle et Vanille's Bittersweet, Milk Chocolate and Meyer Lemon Mousse Cake. I love her style and presentation, not to mention her recipes and choices of flavor combinations.

I made a matcha green tea cake instead of the chocolate biscuit originally instructed, since I saw her Matcha, Lemon and Chocolate Opera Cake. I love green tea and had some left over matcha powder, so decided to mix the recipe. My matcha cake is actually from an old recipe I kept years ago for a roll cake. It always comes out fluffy and spongy.

My concoction started off with a layer of matcha cake with a lemon simple syrup brushed on top, followed with a layer of lemon cream (I didn't have meyer lemons, so used a regular lemon instead with less zest). My layers looked a bit thin, so I made another layer of cake to add volume. I used a dark chocolate glaze on top of this second layer of cake to act as a foundation for the dark chocolate chantilly. 

I tempered bittersweet chocolate the night before and used them as a decorative topping. These went over pretty well at a recent dinner party. I thought the lemon was a bit strong, but my friend enjoyed the tartness it imparted. Perhaps I will use a bit less lemon juice and make a milk chocolate chantilly next time to adjust for sugar levels.

This was my first multi-layered and more intricate cake endeavor. I really enjoyed it, especially the layers of flavor and textures. My head has been working on ideas of other combinations and styles. I'm excited!

stuffed mushrooms

I found these plump baby bella mushrooms the other day without much thought as to what I would do with them. I've always loved mushrooms and their earthy, juicy, almost meaty flavor and texture. These baby bellas offer a bit more taste than your run of the mill button whites, which were what the stuffed mushrooms recipe originally called for.

I ended up making Leek, Celery, and Ricotta Stuffed Mushrooms and Crimini Stuffed Mushrooms with Ricotta. Both were based on the "Leek, Fennel, and Goat Cheese" and "Porcini Stuffed Mushrooms with Camembert" recipes, respectively. There were a total of four stuffed mushroom recipes, the other two being "Broccoli Rabe and Pancetta" and "Polenta." I've only had fennel a few times and thought that the licorice taste would pair well, but I couldn't find any fennel bulbs at my local market, so I substituted celery instead. I got to practice my knife skills for the leek and celery, since I don't own a mandoline quite yet. A milder ricotta replaced the goat cheese since I'm not a big fan of cheeses.

As for the Crimini Stuffed ones, I used all fresh mushrooms chopped finely and topped with ricotta. Figured I already had ricotta, so why buy another cheese that I would only use a few slices of and be left with a big hunk sitting in my fridge?

These little bites became dinner for the night. The celery was an acceptable replacement, however I think the fennel would have added a more distinct dimension of flavor. They were also more texturally satisfying since the greens offered a bit of crunch as opposed to the similar taste and texture of the crimini stuffed ones.

I only made two out of the four stuffed mushroom recipes, so maybe I'll come back to finish the other two when bitter broccoli rabe sounds tasty. Or better yet when I think of a substitution for it.

pan fried tilapia on ginger-jalapeno rice cakes

I wake up in the mornings to CNN these days, and the news of our poor economy fills my kitchen from wall to wall. The other day, a reporter was doing a piece on our job market, indicating that despite the better than expected job numbers in July, much of our sectors are still hurting. Of which, the financial sector is hardest hit with many major players cutting jobs.

Slightly depressed by those words, I decided to start my blogging plan and looked in my refrigerator while flipping through the pages of recipes. I was originally going to follow the book chronologically, but realized that if I bounced around, I would be able to make recipes that coincided with ingredients that I happened to have, rather than needing to purchase everything new all the time.

Although not entirely identical to Martha Stewart's recipe, this one is based heavily on her "Grilled Swordfish on Ginger-Jalapeno Rice Cakes," with just a few minor adjustments. I already had a tupperware of brown rice ready for use and fillets of tilapia waiting for preparation. I followed the recipe for the rice cakes, just opting for my brown rice instead. As for the fish, I followed the marinade, but pan fried it with a bit of olive oil.

The results? Quite good for a first time try. I actually liked the brown rice since it probably offered a bit more flavor and crunch compared to white rice. As for the tilapia, I actually didn't mind the fact that it was a softer fish than swordfish, the flakiness and subtle texture actually worked well with the crispy rice cakes.

Hope all you out there enjoy!

hello

Last year, while at a local flea market, I found a beautiful book filled with amazing photos and recipes for hors d'oeuvres. Although over a decade old, I'm sure good food never loses its ability to capture the attention of eaters. The book, from homemaker extraordinaire Martha Stewart titled Martha Stewart's Hors d'Oeuvres Handbook, is as she puts it, a comprehensive collection of recipes and instructional how-tos.

I've been meaning to delve into its impressive selection of tiny bites for a while now, but after college and finding work, it was pushed aside and collected dust. Whether luckily or unfortunately for me, I recently lost my job and with news of the economy and job front looking bleak, I finally decided to just do it.

Here, I will chronicle my attempts at the recipes featured in the book. Flipping through it this past week, I realized some of the recipes call for ingredients beyond my wallet's means, especially since I'm unemployed. I will make appropriate adjustments and maybe even tweak some parts to my tastes and liking.

I hope you all out there enjoy!