Am's Summer Salad

Last week, I had the opportunity to attend a Michael Pollan book talk which included a lunch and signing. I enthusiastically signed up, not really taking into account what I'd be doing that week. As the event approached, my orders piled up and I became more and more anxious about missing two hours of my workday for it. 

But, of course, the talk was amazing and I'm so glad I went. Not only was it a great time for Cate and I to bond, but we savored a lovely three course meal from Moulin and took in some wise words from Michael Pollan.

Cheesecake Ice Cream Swirled with Red Velvet Cake

This past weekend, one of my favorite couples, Sumee and Neil, came to visit. We hardly get to see them and often have to plan our trips far in advance. We usually meet in random cities so this was the first time they would get to stay with us. Joe was a little bit worried because Neil is a vegetarian and Sumee only eats chicken and fish--my boy loves meat with pretty much every single meal of the day.
We didn't run into any dietary problems though, and by the end of a very delicious food-filled weekend, I think I might actually want to, *gasp* try being a vegetarian.

Raspberry Crumb Bars & Updates

I haven't posted in a while, with good reason. I've been busy baking macarons for my business and have had less time to experiment with making new recipes for the blog. But it's been a wonderful past few weeks and I have lots of scribble-scrabble notes jotted down for future dessert ideas that I can't wait to share.

An Insanely Good Brownie

I want to be president someday, so I have not smoked marijuana. I ate a brownie once. At a party in college.It was kind of indescribable really. I felt like I was floating. It turns out that there wasn't any marijuana in it, it was just an insanely good brownie. --Leslie Knope, Parks and Recreation, "The Stakeout"

This is an insanely good brownie. I've mentioned before that I'm not a huge fan of brownies (besides just nibbling the crusts) and I had found another recipe fairly recently that I was satisfied with for a while. 
I don't know what made me suddenly crave them--maybe being holed up inside due to the weather, or maybe that quote above from Parks & Rec, my new favorite show. I finally sat down and devoured all the episodes far too quickly for my own good. I think Leslie Knopes is my spirit animal. Also, there will be many more waffle posts in the future, thanks to her.

Red Velvet Cake Bars

What do you guys do with leftover cake scraps or stale cake? I know most people like to nibble on it (I'm in that club) but I was trying to think of more inventive ways to use the pieces. I hate wasting any bit of my food especially with all the statistics of the amount of people who go hungry and the amount of food that generally goes to waste in the world.

Banana Tarte Tatin

On rainy days like today, I prefer to stay in PJ's all day and bake lots of things for no particular reason. Luckily, this rainy day fell on a Sunday so I could do just that. 
I baked some honey oat sandwich bread because I'm getting tired of finding the right kind of sandwich bread in stores (any bread that doesn't have high fructose corn syrup or sugar in the first 4 ingredients). Then I made some buttermilk biscuits to enjoy with our lobster dinner that we'll be having tonight (yesssss!).

Black Sesame Panna Cotta w/Ginger Honey Tuiles

Before I started a blog, I hardly ever read food blogs. In fact, I wasn't even that interested in cooking or baking until I created one. But the blog venture pulled me in, and once I discovered TasteSpotting, I became obsessed with gorgeous photos of food and trying out recipes. One particular blog I kept coming across was Smitten Kitchen, run by a New Yorker named Deb. She had the most beautiful photos and all the dishes were relatively simple. More importantly, her writing style was so funny and relaxed. I bookmarked a few of her recipes at first, but as the years past, I realized I had bookmarked nearly everything. She inspired me to try cooking savory dishes instead of just sticking to dessert and she's the only blogger from whom I get consistently great results in my dishes. 

Red Wine Chocolate Cherry Cake Balls

This was supposed to be a bundt cake, and this was supposed to be something I wouldn't be tempted to eat, which is why I opted for dried fruits. 

Let's get one thing straight, right now. I'm not a fan of dried fruits. I'm especially not a fan of dried cherries. The only cherries I eat are the ripest ones in the peaks of summer. And most importantly, I do not combine fruit and dark chocolate of any kind. 

And yet, somehow, I ended up nibbling on far too many of these little cake balls. The dried cherries added a chewy and tangy flavor to the chocolate cake. But shh, don't tell my younger self.

Triple Vanilla Cupcakes

If you type “vanilla cupcake recipe” into a Google search, you will find at least 2,470,190 results. Everyone has a vanilla cake recipe they swear by. Your preference really just depends on what vanilla means to you. I used to confuse vanilla cake with something overly sweet and headache inducing. Whenever anything boasted of being all-vanilla, the essence of vanilla was almost always buried in masses of sugar. I wondered why people would ever want vanilla anything without at least a little bit of chocolate to ground that wallop of sugar. I mean, how boring.

Blackberry Crostata

I miss my friend, Cate. Fun-sized girl, full of spunk 'n sass, used to live across the hall from me and is currently going on many adventures in Vietnam. And when she returns, she'll soon be off to save the world as Dr. Le. 
We formed our friendship quickly (we met less than a year ago), instantly bonding over food and music and blogs and many other things...she's the one I made that carrot cake for. 
Instead, now we have some old people living across the hall and every time they shut their door to leave, they don't come knocking and then plop themselves down on our couch in PJ's. Sad. (I suppose they could but they haven't, yet).

Coffee Crème Caramel & A New Year

"Whatever fortune brings, don't be afraid of doing things." -Herman Melville

Is it too late to be saying Happy New Year? Because I'm going to say it anyway. 
Happy New Year! 
It's been a while since my last post. I spent my New Year's Eve on an overnight train to the mountains in Vietnam, trapped in a four-person sleeper with a crying baby, but at least I had Joe with me. I hope yours was better.
Regardless, our trip to Vietnam was beyond amazing--filled with language barriers and plenty of gesturing, random acts of kindness, adorable kids and stray dogs...
And the food... oh, the food. I tried to photograph everything we ate but there were still a few times where my mouth got ahead of the camera.

Espresso Chocolate Eclairs

This may be one of my favorite recipes ever.
I've never been crazy about eclairs or cream puffs, not like some of my family is. Mainly because I don't find them sweet enough. Now that I'm a baker, I realize that there simply isn't much sugar in the dough, and the cream fillings are known more for their texture and consistency rather than sweetness. That being said, I do love puffs or eclairs filled with a chocolate based cream, since the chocolate adds just the right amount of sweetness for me.

Pie Pops & a 3-Year Blog Anniversary

It's been three years since I've had this lil blog... Three years since I finally found some direction in my life, and somehow ended up in an awesome city--baking, blogging, and meeting a variety of very cool people. Three years ago, I was walking barefoot in circles through my living room and kitchen (I still remember the feeling of switching between carpet and wooden floors) whining to Joe on the phone, trying to think of what to do with my life because I was sick of my desk job.

Twisted Chocolate Chip Cookies & Thanksgiving Break

Since last updating the blog, I visited Atlanta and just got back yesterday, with a cold and cough. My trip home was fun albeit very busy. My niece and nephew have only gotten cuter but between playing with them and meeting up with friends, I had barely any time to use my laptop or get any work done. Of course, it was totally worth it :)

One thing I did make time for was my annual Friendsgiving party. I made a huge spread, as always, and this time I decided to make most of the savory dishes as well, with the help of a few friends. Of course, in the blur of friends showing up, my dog doing tricks for table scraps, and making sure the drinks were stocked, I completely forgot to take photos. 
Luckily, a few of my friends instagrammed the dessert spread...

Barack-y Road Pie

In honor of the newly (re-elected) US president, I created this Barack-y Road Pie riff off of Rocky Road pie for election night. 
Or rather, "pah!" as the South would say it... Joe and I have been watching a lot of Friday Night Lights quite obsessively because it's amazing and it makes us really want to speak in charming Southern accents all the time...!

It's a simple brownie pie--I use the term "pie" loosely, since I didn't make a crust to go with it, so technically it's more like a brownie baked in a pie pan--jazzed up with walnuts and marshmallows. Now, as far as ice cream goes, I never choose anything chocolate-based, so I'd never even tasted Rocky Road ice cream till last year. When I found it in Joe's freezer, I was surprised to learn that his roommate, Ran, loves it. Surprised because Ran doesn't eat sweets and avoids anything saccharine. I thought marshmallows would deem it too sweet for him but he insisted there was "just something about Rocky Road". I'd have to agree.

Meatloaf Balls n Spaghetti

It's fall! The best part of the year... just before it gets unbearably cold--perfect for sipping on warm things and being cozy. Getting an extra hour is awesome... pretty much the only downside is that the sun sets so early. But it's nice that for a couple of days I'm waking up around 7 and getting to see the sunrise.

These meatloaf balls were one of the first savory recipes I ever followed and made on my own. I was visiting Joe in St Louis and wanted to show him I could make a successful and delicious meat dish. I honestly hardly ever cook with meat (outside of slices of chicken sausage, occasionally) when it's for myself, but Joe has to have meat for most of his meals, such a manly man. And because he does, he's the one who does the buying and cooking for it, like the ideal manly man should.

I don't know what got into me, trying this out...I remember being so nervous and following the recipe down to a T. It's hilarious now because I can't imagine following any cooking recipe verbatim anymore. But at the time, it was so new and 1/2 tsp black pepper meant a full half teaspoon that I'd measure out. 

I also remember burning the garlic a couple of times, and having HLi freak out about it over gchat (YOU CAN'T EAT BURNED GARLIC! At the time I thought he was being overdramatic but now I wholeheartedly agree). I've come so far since then...

Peanut Butter Nutella & Banana Tart

I cannot get over this amazing fall weather! I've literally just been taking photos nonstop on my walks with Mila. This weekend is looking bleak so hopefully everyone in StL is making the best of it! Looks like this little one sure is... 

One of my favorite snacks is a slice of toast with peanut butter and Nutella. I like to smear the peanut butter on one side of the bread and Nutella on the other, and sometimes I add a few slices of banana.

It’s simple. It’s delicious.

Pumpkin Risotto

This year seems to be all about learning to cook with foods I never knew much about. I know every October is all about the pumpkin in America, but it wasn't till this year, spending every weekend in a farmer's market, that really drew my attention to it. I've only ever had one pumpkin pie in my entire life, I've still never gotten the pumpkin spice latte from Starbucks (although we were just given a gift card there so I may finally try it). 
I've also never cooked with a real pumpkin before, only with canned purees. Apparently Indians do cook savory dishes from the squash family all the time, but I've just never noticed, according to my mom.
When I saw an adorable photo of risotto served in mini pumpkins in Feast magazine, I really really really wanted to try it.
So I found 4 impossibly adorable mini pumpkins last week... and one Sunday morning, I put in some time and effort making the most delicious and satisfying risotto in this unexpectedly chilly weather.

S'Mores Greatest Hits

I've started compiling some of the most creative and unique sweet creations I keep coming across the internet. I know there are lots of compilations everywhere, but I'd love to make my own; to share with you guys, and to keep on my blog for future reference. 

S'MORE (a contraction of the phrase "some more"): a traditional nighttime campfire treat popular in the United States and Canada consisting of a roasted marshmallow and a layer of chocolate sandwiched between two pieces of graham cracker.
(source: Wikipedia)

I never really thought much of s'mores until my friend Lucy suggested I try making a s'mores ice cream. I toasted marshmallows with my kitchen torch and swirled them in, along with a fudge ripple and some graham crackers. It turned out amazing! I really have not eaten a real s'more since I was a little kid but this inspired me to start again. So I thought I'd make a nice collection of awesomely clever s'mores ideas from fellow bloggers.


Click ahead to see the source behind the photo and check out their blogs for the recipes...

Nutella S'more Pulls - Plain Chicken

Clementine Cake w/Chocolate Ganache

I knew I had to make this cake as soon as I read the instructions. Boil entire clementines for two whole hours and then throw them all in a food processor, as is? It was too intriguing not to. Joe had also just bought a gigantic bag of clementines from Costco. I love oranges and clementines and tangerines, but I hate when they're sour. And I hate that it's really hard to tell when they're going to be sour or sweet so I'm usually very cautious. I'll wait for someone to give me a sweet one before I deem it safe to purchase my own, and even then, there's no guarantee. Le sigh. First world problems, fo sho.

Dutch Babies

This is my second time making Dutch Babies, AKA German Pancakes. The first time, I made it at night so I didn't bother with photographing it. Since the recipe makes two, I made one savory one and one sweet one and Joe and I split both. The savory one was like eating a crepe-like omelette; I omitted the sugar and added a bunch of herbs and black pepper instead. I sauteed some veggies and tossed it in the center of the pan after it was done baking, and then melted some cheese on top. It was so yummy.

For the sweet version, I opted for some lemon curd and fresh berries, topped with some maple syrup. This is, of course, my favorite way to eat these.

The Best Brownies

It's fall! My favorite time of year...And especially wonderful to be living in a new apartment in the best part of St Louis. We had a tenant appreciation party this past weekend and we got to meet more people from the block. They were all pretty awesome. Plus Joe and I somehow each won a $20 gift card to the local grocery store! I never win things, so this was especially cool :D

In celebration of fall, I decided to whip up some brownies, which is rather out of the norm for me. I rarely make them anymore (it's been years), but when I was a kid, they were my go-to box mix. I loved eating the chewy edge pieces so much that I’d exclusively eat the edges and give the rest away. 

Fig & Honey Mascarpone Cake

I had seen a gorgeous photo of a fig cake floating around Pinterest and had it bookmarked ever since my friend drew my attention to it. Although the only figs I'd ever tried were fig newtons (not nearly even remotely close to the real fruit), I was drawn to the vibrant color and unique shape of them, along with this creamy looking cake. I didn't think I'd ever really get the chance to make it though, since I had no idea where to get figs.

Turns out, I just wasn't looking for them. Has that ever happened to you? I have a bad habit of turning a blind eye to certain things, until someone points it out and then I start to see it everywhere... 

Brazen Bars

A cookie crust, laden with pecans... smeared with smooth dark and milk chocolate... top that with crunchy, salty, spiced potato chips, and drizzle those chips with salted caramel. These bars are bold and sassy and in yo face.

A reader of the blog sent me a similar recipe and suggested I try it. I was immediately intrigued and moved it to the top of my list. Salty + sweet? I'm sold. Thanks, Laura!

Lemon Tart w/Candied Raspberries

I've had this tart bookmarked for so long now. I'd been craving a lemon tart all summer, but was too busy/too lazy to put it together. Making a crust and a filling? Aw naw, I make too many macarons as it is :P 
I'm glad I finally decided I had to try to knock some things off my growing "to-try" list and pushed myself to make this yesterday. It is sinfully good, and much easier than I could have ever expected.