faBOOless cupcakes

I'm going to catch you in my evil web of buttercream!

These cupcakes may not chill your blood, but they will whet your appetite! Halloween is one of our favorite holidays. Everyone's creative juices are free flowing, there's a chill in the air, and not to mention the sea of fun-size candies that are as prepared to rot your teeth as you are to plow through them. I had so much fun decorating these; it was almost a pity to eat them! (But I got over it.) Happy Halloween everyone!

valleys of buttercream

tastes much better than real candy corn

creepy crawly things

take your pick

like black-bottom muffins, these are "orange-bottomed" (pumpkin, mmmm)

eve's pudding

The Anglophile in me is truly drawn to the simplicity and robustness of British dishes. No room for light mousses nor decadent ganaches, Brit desserts are stick-to-your-ribs, no nonsense creations, yet elegant in their own right. They'd be like the elephants of the dessert kingdom, staunch and reliable, well-built and heavy, and regal and graceful all at the same time. Very rarely do you find a recipe that calls for more than a handful of ingredients or for some esoteric method of preparation.

Eve's Pudding is aptly named after Eve and the apple from the tree of knowledge, mostly for its desirable qualities. Sweet apples are topped with a traditional Victorian sponge cake. Since the sponge acts as a crust, the apples cook by steam, yielding a brilliantly tender layer of stewed fruit, then a creamy light vanilla cake.


We associate puddings with sticky, wobbly, and creamy things, but when the Brits speak of pudding, they're referring to a large array of desserts, mostly cakey things that are steamed or baked. Dense and buttery, these puddings vary with the seasons, capitalizing on the freshest and best fruits of each, whether it be berries for a summer pudding or charlotte, prunes in a sticky toffee pudding, or candied fruits and peels in a Christmas pudding.

This recipe is easy and delicious, and must be eaten all in one sitting. That's an order. (Its texture is wet and creamy, thus keeping it longer for more than two days is probably a bad idea.) It can be done, really.


Eve's Pudding

Sponge Cake:
1 1/4 cup flour
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
pinch salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
6 Tbsp sugar
2 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

3 apples, peeled and cored
1/4 cup sugar
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp cinnamon
pinch salt

1. Slice apples into thin 1/8" slices. Gently toss with 1/4 cup sugar, lemon juice, and cinnamon. Set aside.

2. Preheat oven to 350F. Whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. In another bowl, cream together butter and sugar with a mixer until it becomes smooth and pale. Add the eggs, one at a time. Alternately add in the milk and flour mixture. Do not over beat.

3. Spoon reserved apples into single-serving ramekins or souffle pans (48 oz), about 3/4 of the way full. Pour any remaining juices over the apples.


4. Spoon batter over the apples and with a flat spatula, level out the batter to form a flat seal to cover the fruit. Sprinkle the top with sugar.


5. Bake for 45 minutes. Serve warm with whipped cream.

lager and beef stew

I love taking an inexpensive cut of meat and stewing the hell out of it. Especially in my crock pot. Maybe it should be called crack pot, since it's so addictive to use. Set it and forget it! You can now even find products that make crock pot cooking more convenient, like slow cooking liners, plastic bags you insert into the pot in which the food cooks. Clean-up becomes a cinch.

There's been a bottle of German doppelbock beer that's been sitting in my fridge, from a friend who had brought it along with strings of sausages awhile ago for a house party. Doppelbocks, aka double bock beers, are malty German lagers with a whole lot of body.They are especially dark, with incredible smoky and dynamic flavors. Korbinian, fromWeihenstephaner Brewery, has a uniquely chocolatey after-finish to it. To bring out these earthy flavors, I added 2 squares of dark bittersweet chocolate to the broth.

Wow, the taste was like nothing we've had before. Deep and flavorful, layered with nuances of sweet and earthiness, it was a big bowl of comfort. I suppose the taste can only be described as rich and malty. Instead of potatoes, next time I will add parsnips, and maybe even turnips. They would also be lovely in a dish of this depth. We ate ours with whole wheat naan (it was the only soup-sopper type bread we had), but egg noodles, a hearty polenta, or wide pappardelle pasta would be delicious, don't you think?


Lager and Beef Stew
adapted from Cook's Country magazine

2 lbs boneless beef chuck or shoulder, cut into 1 1/2" cubes
1 large onion, chopped
4 strips center cut bacon, diced
32 oz. low-sodium chicken broth
1 1/2 cups lager beer
2 Tbsp brown sugar
4-5 sprigs fresh thyme
1 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped
2 bay leaves
4 carrots, peeled and cut into 1" chunks
1 potato, scrubbed and cut into 1" cubes

1. In a dutch oven, over high heat, sear the meat on all sides in 1 Tbsp oil. Set aside.

2. In the same pot, with heat to medium, slowly cook the bacon until most of the fat is rendered. Add the onions and cook until transluscent, but still firm. Remove, and set aside. Add chicken broth, beer, sugar, chocolate, half the carrots, and the beef to the pot. Stir to scrape up and drippings. Let come to a boil, and skim off any foam that rises to the top. Stir in the bay leaves, thyme, and half the onion mixture. Pour this into your slow cooker/crock pot.

3. Set crock pot to low and cook for 6-7 hours.

4. Add the rest of the carrots, onions, and potato to the crock pot. Let cook for another 1 to 1.5 hours. Pick out the thyme and bay leaves. Add salt and pepper, if needed.

5. Serve hot.

french apple tart

Yesterday was my dad's birthday. I won't broadcast his age, but I can say that he still looks like a vibrant 45, with the athleticism of a 30-something year old. I hope those good genes run the family! He and my mom have logged almost 250 miles hiking this year! We went out to one of his favorite restaurants, Sweet Water Tavern, an upscale brewery that serves up eclectic southwestern dishes with a flair. We skipped dessert there, since I made everyone a special tart from all the apples that are sitting in the fridge from my apple-picking foray.

This is a recipe that produces a thin and buttery, lightly sweetened tart. It's not the best way to use up a lot of apples, definitely the opposite of a mile-high American apple pie. But it is a beautiful sight to behold, and so ethereally light on the palate.

We sat around the kitchen island, drinking tea and eating dessert, as we caught up on everything that happened this past week. It's been hellishly busy (hence why I have been blog-absent for the past week) with me logging many long distance miles on my car, attending a wedding, working on applications, tutoring, and planning my upcoming trip to China next week. So much to do, so little time to cook! It did calm me to get back in the kitchen to make this tart, peeling and slicing the apples, making the pastry...all so methodical and soothing for me. Kitchen therapy. Let's all try it.



French Apple Tart
adapted from Le Cordon Bleu Dessert Techniques

Pâte Sucrée:
1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 sugar
3/4 cup unsalted butter, chilled (1 1/2 sticks)
2 egg yolks
pinch salt

3 baking apples (Granny Smith, Cameo, etc)
2 Tbsp melted butter, for brushing
1/8 cup sugar, for sprinkling

apricot jelly, for glaze

1. For the pastry dough: Mix together flour, sugar and salt. Cut the butter into small cubes and add to the dry mixture. With a pastry cutter, cut the butter into the flour, until it is evenly incorporated and the size of the small peas throughout. Make a well in the center of the mixture, add the yolks, and use your hands to work into a crumbly dough. Form into a ball, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, peel and core the apples. Cut into thin slices, about 1/8" thick. Toss with a few drops of lemon juice to stop them from browning.

3. Preheat the oven to 375F.

4. Roll out the dough between 2 sheets of plastic wrap or wax paper. Drape over the tart pan, gently press into the fluted sides, and trim the excess dough off the rims. Arrange the apples in a circular pattern in the tart. Brush with the melted butter and sprinkle on the reserved sugar. Bake for 45 minutes, or until golden.

5. Let tart cool completely to room temperature. Melt the apricot jelly with a bit of water in the microwave. Brush over the apples for a sweet glaze, and let it cool to set up. Cut and serve.

in print

The November issue of Baltimore Style Magazine is all about food! In an article that highlights 15 local food writers, cooks, and critics, all with diverse and unique styles, there is a mention of yours truly. I am very much flattered and excited. Now you will all know my real name!

If anyone read this past weekend's edition of the Baltimore Sun, you would have seen one of my photos in the Travel section. It's one that I snapped while in Tangier, Morocco of three local girls coming home from school. It's entitled "Navigating the Crowd."
It's currently online at the Sun's Travel section along with some other really spectacular travel shots from all over the world.

whole wheat banana walnut bread

Not another teen movie! What? Oh, I mean, not another banana bread recipe! We've seen so many, from Grandma so-and-so's to this bed and breakfast's to vegan versions to chocolate chip and nut versions.

I'm sure the world can benefit from another banana bread recipe. Especially one that's whole wheat, but still moist and dense. I've baked this bread twice in the past two weeks already, one for my parents' and mine camping trip, and another for Mr. S this week, as I'm away on vacation in sunny VA Beach.

Lots of fiber, lots of potassium, and lots of good-for-you carbs. What's not to love?


Whole Wheat Banana Walnut Bread
adapted from America's Test Kitchen
makes one 9"x5"x3" loaf

DRY INGREDIENTS:
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup chopped, toasted walnuts (optional)

WET INGREDIENTS:
3 ripe bananas, mashed
1/4 cup plain yogurt
2 eggs
6 Tbsp melted butter
1 tsp vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Grease and flour the sides and bottom of a 9"x5"x3" loaf pan.

2. Mix together dry ingredients. In another bowl, mix together wet ingredients. Add the dry to the wet and mix until just blended. The batter will be thick and lumpy.

3. Pour into the prepared loaf pan. Bake for 55 minutes or until a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean.

shaw orchards

Ever since I was little, my parents would take me apple picking each fall. I was much shorter then, and the apple trees seemed all the more majestic with their ripe fruits hovering over me. I grew to love the smell of fermenting apples and leaves; it was so quintessentially autumn. We used to trod along the rows of trees, my dad working the long apple-picking claw contraption, my mom carrying the heavy bushel basket as it grew heavier and heavier, and me in tow, munching on a freshly picked apple.

To this day, I still love planning trips every fall out to the country to ride on haystacks out to the orchards. This past Saturday, I threw on a pair of old jeans, my running shoes, and my old college sweatshirt, escaped the madness of the Baltimore marathon downtown, and drove out to the Maryland-Pennsylvania state line with Mr. S. Shaw Orchards has been a family owned and run farm since the mid-1800's. There's a country market where preserves, honeys, pumpkin butters, cider, and fresh picked apples and squashes are sold. We went to pick our own. There's great personal satisfaction in being able to forage and gather my own food. It makes you understand where food comes from, and the processes needed to get it.


There's a $5 per person fee to pick apples. Once you bring back your booty to be weighed, they credit you the $5 back. All apples are 50 cents per pound.

Our basket filled up quickly as all the apples looked so incredibly juicy and delicious to me. We picked mostly Cameos, which were ripe that weekend, and we did stumble upon a small grove of Golden Delicious. Next week, Cameos, Galas and Pink Ladies will all be ripening, the last batch of the season. An hour later, the sun hot on our shoulders, we had filled up our basket full of heavy sweet fruit. No tools were needed; all the apples were only an arm's reach away, and in my case, a jump and a reach.


Mr.S drove us home through the scenic country roads, as I happily ate apples, and brainstormed all the different pies, crisps, and grunts I would make with my basket of goodies.

Shaw Orchard
21901 Barrens Road South
Stewartstown, PA 17363

pink lady cake

Everyone loves fluffy pink cake. No? Especially with vanilla buttercream and dark chocolate ganache.

I made a cake for my friend Amy's birthday over the weekend. It's pink, our sorority color, from college. And truly, it is a cake fit for a real l-a-d-y. It's the tallest cake I've made thus far; I couldn't even put the cake dome on without squishing the orchids. Generally, I try to stay away from using food coloring in my cooking, but this time I made an exception. All little girls want a pink cake for themselves. Even some little boys too.


I've also decided that swiss meringue buttercream is my favorite kind of frosting. Butter frostings, cream cheese ones, fondants, glazes- all pale in comparison to this light, creamy, melt-on-your-tongue goodness. The texture renders it perfect for frosting layer cakes. It's like mortar for bricks, but a million times more magically delicious.


The recipe for the cake and buttercream is one I've used before. I simply added a few drops of pink food coloring to the cake batter. On top of that, instead of using all cake flour, I used half AP flour, half cake flour this time to make a sturdier cake, better for cutting and frosting.


The ganache recipe is simple (from America's Test Kitchen). Heat 1/2 cup heavy cream, 1 drop light corn syrup, 1/2 tsp vanilla extract, and 1 Tbsp sugar to a low boil in a small saucepan. Pour over 4 ounces of finely chopped dark chocolate. Good quality, no less. Stir well. While still warm, pour over the frosted cake and let it drip off the sides. Refrigerate to set.

Be sure to let the cake, or any butter cake, come to room temperature before you serve it, to allow the buttercream to fully develop their flavors once it hits the palate. It really makes a difference.

sweet pea pudding

For a while there, I was utterly obsessed with Mario Batali's Babbo cookbook. It still remains one of my favorites to peruse when I need a jolt of inspiration. The composition and coloring of the photographs, along with the simplicity and authenticity of the recipes, truly makes this a prized cookbook in my collection. The following recipe is inspired by Batali's Sweet Pea Flan.

So I know this is like the complete antithesis of a fall dish. But sometimes you got to just say "to hell with seasonal!" and simply cook with the ingredients that you want. Alice Waters would probably be plotting my death if she ever heard that, but whatever, I cook with what inspires me, be it seasonal or not. Plus, this dish is just so pretty, and really honest-to-God mouth watering.

The pea shoots were a little gift from my father, who picked them up for me at the asian market. A little tip for picking out fresh pea shoots: look for crisp, green, and tender ones. The smaller the better, and pay attention to the tendrils- look for a clean, delicate curl. This recipe calls for carrot juice. I juice my own carrots, which I highly recommend, but if you don't have a juicer, get a bottle of Fresh Samantha's or Odwalla from the store. Lastly, I use a steamer to make the puddings, but a bain-marie (a water bath in the oven) would equally work.

Yes, fall flavors rock, but a little "spring break" can put a huge grin on my face too.


Sweet Pea Pudding with Pea Shoot Salad
serves 6

3/4 lb. frozen or fresh sweet peas
3 eggs
3/4 cup heavy cream
1 tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp salt
fresh ground pepper

2 cups packed fresh pea shoots
1/4 cup sweet peas

3/4 cup carrot juice
1 Tbsp honey
1/4 cup champagne vinegar
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling

1. For the puddings: In a food processor, blend together the peas and eggs until smooth. Spoon into a mixing bowl, and whisk in heavy cream, lemon juice, salt and pepper.

2. Grease the bottom and sides of 6 ramekins. Pour equal amounts of pea mixture into each and steam in a large steamer, on medium-high heat, for 20 minutes. Remove and let cool to room temperature.

3. For salad: Rinse and dry the pea shoots, and set aside with the 1/4 cup of peas. Whisk together carrot juice, honey, vinegar, and olive oil. Pour over the shoots and lightly toss.

4. To serve: Run a knife around the inside edge of the ramekins. Invert onto a serving plate. Add a mound of salad on top of each pudding. Drizzle with any remaining reserved dressing and olive oil around the plate.

vanilla, bay leaf poached guava

I picked up a guava fruit from the market the other day, and was disappointed to find the pale green flesh upon cutting it open. Where was the beautifully ripe, pink center that's so common of a guava? Well it seems like I purchased an apple guava, one of the more popular varieties here in the Western hemisphere. Guava that is indigenous to Hawaii and Southeast Asia have the more typical pink flesh.

Here, I poached slices of guava and green apple in a simple syrup infused with vanilla bean and a bay leaf. Poached fruit always reminds me of fall; these flavors are perfect to welcome in the new season, and of course, even better when served with a dollop of crème fraîche whipped cream.


Vanilla, Bay Leaf Poached Guava and Apple

1 guava fruit, peeled, seeded and sliced
1 apple, any variety, peeled, cored and sliced
2 cups water
1 cup sugar
2 Tbsp lemon juice
1 vanilla bean
1 bay leaf

1. In a saucepan, combine water, sugar, lemon juice, vanilla and bay leaf together, and bring to a boil. Lower heat to medium and let reduce for 5 minutes.

2. Add the guava and apple slices. Cook until fruit is tender, about 10 minutes. Let cool completely.

kaddo borawni

Hands down the best Afghan restaurant in Baltimore is The Helmand. Dining there is equivalent to dining at a good friend's home, intimate and warm, inviting and familiar. You grow to know the faces of the staff over the years, and grow to love the hearty and filling dishes you can always count on.

The first time I tasted kaddo borawni, I almost fell off my chair it was so good. Pieces of pumpkin are roasted with sugar until they are soft and dripping with sweetness, and served with a garlic-infused yogurt sauce. I have to stop here for a moment, as I wipe the drool off my face.

There are other versions to this dish that in addition to the yogurt, a meat sauce is also served with the pumpkin. I thought, what an interesting combination. I just had to try this out at home. Each component was incredibly simple to make, except for the pumpkin prep: cutting it into pieces and peeling each one with a knife, since the skin was too thick for a vegetable peeler. Here's a quick tip: to open up a pumpkin, just drop it on your kitchen floor a couple of times. The impact will split it open for you.

The resulting dish is so delicious you'll really want to stock up on pumpkins this fall. The flavor combinations are all so unique, and it works! Of course, you can make this dish vegetarian by omitting the meat sauce, just like the way the Helmand serves it up.


Kaddo Borawni

1 sugar pumpkin (about 3 lbs)
4 Tbsp vegetable or corn oil
3/4 cup sugar

2 8-oz. containers yogurt
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
1/2 tsp salt

1/2 lb lean ground beef
1 small onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp fresh minced ginger
1 8-oz. can tomato sauce
2 Tbsp tomato paste


1. For the pumpkin: Split open your pumpkin, clean out the seeds and fibers from the core, and cut into small pieces, about 2-3 inches on each side. Carefully peel with a sharp knife or vegetable peeler.

2. Heat the oil in a large stockpot on high heat. Add the pumpkin, stir to coat with oil, cover and cook for about 5-7 minutes, stirring every few minutes. Transfer the pumpkin into a dutch oven or a large cast iron pot, sprinkle evenly with the sugar, cover, and bake for about 30 minutes in a 350F oven.

3. Meanwhile, make the yogurt sauce. Stir yogurt, garlic, and salt together. Set aside to allow the flavors to intensify.

4. For the meat sauce: Cook the onion in a skillet over medium heat until transluscent. Stir in the beef and cook until lightly browned. Add the garlic, coriander, nutmeg, cumin, and ginger. Cook about 2 minutes to release all the flavors. Add the tomato sauce and paste. You may need to add 1/2 cup of water to thin down the sauce if it is too thick. You want a wetter sauce at this point, as you will need to let it reduce down. Cook for 5 minutes more.

5. To serve: Spoon the pumpkin onto a plate and drizzle with yogurt and meat sauces. Serve warm.

notes from my father's kitchen

As cooks, we all have had or still have great influences in our lives- those persons who have influenced our perspective of food and of the kitchen. That person who taught us to chop vegetables while guarding our small fingers, to make a simple cake batter then let us lick the bowl, to understand the joy of planting seedlings in the spring and reaping the bounty of the earth in our own backyards. These persons, for me, are my parents. They've taught me much, but the example they set in the kitchen has influenced me in ways that are both subtle and profound.

My father has shown me the value of hardship in the kitchen, as he used to work as a chef in a Chinese restaurant. He's also taught me the value of speed, efficiency, and style when it comes to cooking. There's a dramatic flair to his movements in the kitchen, an attitude that puts Yan Can Cook to shame. My mom, on the other hand, is a self-proclaimed non-cook, but in a pinch, can magically whip out a delicious homecooked meal in mere minutes. She did cook for the two of us on many a night when as a kid my dad had to work late. Beyond cooking on the fly, she, most importantly, has instilled in me a love of hostessing, a joy of entertaining. She's always the one to make the first toast, to write labels for dishes in numerous languages to accomodate the non-english speaking guests, to ensure that the bar never goes dry.

Being in their kitchen is more than just being at home for me; it's a classroom of culture, the arts, and the technique of food making.

I was at home this past weekend for a camping trip, just me and my parents in the Shenandoah Valley. On the second day, we hiked 11 miles, drove home, where my parents proceded to cook an extravagant feast for us and a dinner guest. I took notes....

purple skinned broad beans


steamed Chilean sea bass in ginger and scallion sauce

steamed Japanese baby eggplant, from our garden

chili pepper and chicken sauce for the eggplant

for dessert, watermelon from the garden

entangled in cucumbers

this is no illusion

silver speckled heirlooms

chinese-style roast beef sandwich

For a quick dinner tonight, I made roast beef sandwiches on ciabatta, using predominantly Chinese seasonings. My dad made is famous roast beef tenderloin for me, marinated in soy sauce, ginger, garlic and scallions. We eat it at home thinly sliced, with a soy-garlic dipping sauce, as a cold appetizer. Traditionally, instead of using the lean tenderloin, we use a cut of beef that includes some tendon, to give a chewier texture. My grandfather usually will make a cold meat platter that includes this beef, stewed tongue, liver, and other assortments of tripe and tendon.

For the roast beef: you can use thin shaved deli beef.

Cilantro-Five spice mayonnaise: Mix together 1 tsp finely minced cilantro, 1 tsp five spice powder, with 2 Tbsp mayo.

Caramelized onion and pepper in oyster sauce: Saute thinly sliced vidalia onion and red bell pepper in oil until browned and soft. Add 1/2 tsp sugar and continue to saute another minute. Add 1 Tbsp oyster sauce and stir to combine.

Cut open ciabatta rolls and lightly toast. Smear a layer of mayo on the bottom ciabatta slice, stack the beef, top with a mound of onions and pepper, and cap off with ciabatta top.

zucchini cheddar madeleines

Madeleines, for me, epitomize everything that is good and right about the biscuit. It is 1) highly dunkable, preferably in a steaming cup of coffee or tea, 2) the most perfect texture, crispy on the outside, soft on the inside, 3) so delicious and buttery with just the right amount of sweetness, and 4) elegantly shaped with scalloped ridges to soak up the aforementioned coffee or tea.

But what about a savory madeleine? Can it be done?

Why, yes! These madeleines are soft and porous on the inside, with the same crisp exterior, made even better with the addition of cheddar cheese. I added grated zucchini for flavor and texture. Have these as a dipping agent for soups, a side to salads, or just to munch on, warm straight from the oven. Of course, you can use any type of cheese you like, gruyere, parmesan, roquefort...along with any type of grated vegetable- try butternut squash or shredded carrot. Savory madeleines are the newest thing, I'm telling you first...


Zucchini Cheddar Madeleines
makes 24

3 zucchini, medium, shredded
4 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tsp salt
1 small onion, diced
1 cup flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
4-5 large eggs (more for a fluffier biscuit)
2 Tbsp milk
1 heaping cup grated sharp cheddar cheese
1 clove garlic, minced fine
1 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp black pepper

1. Preheat oven to 400F. Grease and flour 2 madeleine pans (standard, not mini size).

2. In a large bowl, toss zucchini with salt, and let stand for 30 minutes. Rinse the salt off with water, and in batches, use your hands to squeeze out any moisture.

3. In a skillet, heat 1 Tbsp of olive oil, and saute the onion until lightly browned. Let cool.

4. In a bowl, mix together flour and baking powder. In another bowl, whisk eggs, milk, remaining olive oil, cheddar, garlic, basil and pepper together until blended. Gently fold in zucchini and onion, then the flour mixture. Be careful not to overmix, as you are aiming for a tender batter.


5. Spoon the batter into the madeleine pans, to the rim of each. Bake for 15-18 minutes, or until golden and puffy. Cool for 10 mintues, and invert pans to loosen. Serve warm.

Give me more!