Sugar Free Banana Bread / Cake for Baby Birthday

 So, uh, I don't think I ever really mentioned this specifically, but I have a child now.  And to my surprise, trying to keep [processed] sugar out of a baby's diet is not that easy.  Everything has sugar.  Even when you google "baby birthday cake" or "smash cake" or "sugar free baby cake" the options are limited and often have "alternative" sugars like stevia or monkfruit or whatever other nonsense.

With some research, I found a recipe that worked for us and that has since been approved by multiple babies AND adults.  Because I'm very anti-waste when it comes to food, I did not like the idea of giving my baby a huge cake and having a bunch of crumbs / messy food that wouldn't actually get eaten.  So I decided to make the "cake" in a mini muffin tin.  It actually works great, because you can cut off the muffin top and build a tiny little layer cake with "frosting."

This recipe made 24 mini muffins and a little 4 inch round cake (which was actually just me trying to use the extra batter).  It keeps well at room temperature for at least 2 days, but probably longer.  In the fridge, it's great for at least 3 days.  I can't speak beyond that because the cake is all gone now.

You'll find that this recipe is basically a banana bread.  If you double the recipe, it should be enough for at least two 6 inch rounds if you want to make a bigger layer cake (according to the original recipe I edited).

You'll notice that this has a good amount of "flavoring agents," aka lemon, cinnamon and vanilla.  That's because I believe that baby food should be flavorful and tasty, and that exposing our kids to strong flavors early in their life helps develop their palates and hopefully result in less picky eaters.  

You can also just use this recipe as an easy way to use ripe bananas when you have no eggs and want to avoid sugar.

Banana Baby Cake

• 2 very ripe bananas (it doesn't matter what size, baking science is not that exact)
• 3 tablespoons butter*
• 1/4 cup full fat oatmilk (what I used) OR breastmilk, regular milk, etc.
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1.5 teaspoons vanilla extract
• Full 3/4 cup flour (I did not sift or level, just scooped)
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350F.  Melt your butter in the microwave.  Get a pastry brush and butter your mini muffin tin.  Use the remaining butter for the cake; it should be more than 2 tablespoons.  Alternatively you can use spray oils for your pan and just melt 2.5 tablespoons of butter for your cake.

Combine all the first 5 ingredients in a food processor / blender: peeled bananas, butter, milk, lemon juice, and vanilla.  Blend / puree until it's all smooth.

Pause and add your flour, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon.  Take a little spatula and stir gently so that the flour is a little bit incorporated.  This just stops it from exploding / splattering all over the place when you turn on your blender.  You can skip if you don't mind flour particles in the air.

Pulse blend several times until all combined and smooth.  People are overly anxious about overmixing. You won't; it's fine.

Pour into the mini muffin tin.  I recommend using a standard cookie dough scoop for this.  One scoop per well.

Bake at 350 minutes for 10 minutes.  If you're making a 4 or 6 inch cake, bake for 20-25 minutes.

Allow the cake to cool before frosting.

PB Frosting 

Combine 2-4 tsp of natural creamy peanut butter with a roughly equivalent amount of heavy whipping cream, slowly. Once the mixture is smooth, add 1 cup of cold heaving whipping cream and beat on high till stiff peaks form.  Keep refrigerated until use.

I prefer using a no salt, no sugar, no other additives peanut butter, but you can obviously use anything.  You could also just use plain whipped cream as frosting, no PB, but I like using common allergens because exposure helps decrease incidence of allergies.  Also you can easily replace with sunbutter or almond butter.

Plum Torte Cake Buckle Heavenly Thing

Write this recipe down on a little sheet of paper and put it on your fridge.  That's what I did.  After I had already made it twice.  Now, that I've made it five times in the span of about two weeks, I can pat myself on the back and say, smart girl, you are.  This is one for the books.

This recipe - which I didn't even know was famous, but apparently, it is - is worth the hype, even if you didn't know it had any hype.  The plums (or peaches, or nectarines... really this is the easiest recipe ever to alter) bake up into these delicious sweet/tart pockets of jam that perfectly complement the light, fragrant, moist crumb of this cake.  Torte.  Buckle.  Heavenly thing, whatever you want to call it.

I can't say much more about this because I have already rambled on too much, but it's so easy to make, you might as well make two, because you're turning on your oven anyway, and you'll regret it if you don't.  Slice the extra one and store the slices in little ziplock baggies in the freezer.  Pull out anytime you need a snack or want to add an extra treat to someone's (aka your own, if you live alone, like I do) lunch.

Bring this to any birthday party, baby shower, picnic, or dinner party and it'll be a hit.  It's easy, elegant, and requires no additional side servings of whipped cream, coffee, or ice cream to be a hit.  But what the heck, it doesn't hurt to add them if you want.

As if typical of me, I took no pictures of this cake any of the times I made it, and now I am sitting in my apartment without enough eggs to make another cake in order to take a picture of it, so the lovely illustration above was done by yours truly for the benefit of whoever is reading this.  I hope you appreciate my artist representation.  If you want pretty pictures of this torte, go here, which the blog where I actually got the idea to make this recipe.

Heavenly Plum Thing

barely adapted from Marian Burro's recipe

½ cup salted butter, softened

¾ cup sugar

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional, but why leave it out?)

1 cup unbleached all purpose flour, sifted

1 teaspoon baking powder

Pinch of salt  (not optional)

3-5 large plums or peaches, or 8-12 small plums (really just use your judgement here, this isn't hard)

1-2 teaspoons raw sugar (optional)

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat your oven to 350F.

Cream the sugar and butter in a bowl.

Add the salt, eggs, and vanilla and beat well.  Let it all get very fluffy.

Add the flour and baking powder, and mix well.

Spoon the batter into a spring form of 8 or 9 inches.

Place the plum halves skin side up on top of the batter. Sprinkle lightly with cinnamon and raw sugar.

Bake one hour, approximately.

Remove and cool.

Eat.  Enjoy.

Repeat as many times as necessary.

Brunch at Feast in NYC

I know I've said my piece before about brunch, and I am still not the biggest fan of brunching (I just don't see why people want to pay $10+ for bacon/eggs/potatoes/french toast that you could make in your own kitchen at home?), but we all know that about 90% of social activities revolve around either food or drinks.  Since I don't really drink alcohol, I can't also turn down invitations to food-related activities without becoming a hermit, so yes, I occasionally go to brunch.
The other weekend, my upstairs neighbors T. and V., asked us if I wanted to go out to the city for a brunch date.  V. has had Feast on her places to try for a while, so we decided to eat there.  We made a reservation at the last minute (as in, Sunday morning at 11am) and managed to secure a table at 1:30pm for a party of 4.
The restaurant has a Pinterest "rustic chic" feel.  The decor includes large farmhouse style wooden tables with tall stools, metal flower boxes with "country" flower arrangements (the long stemmed whispery plants that look like you could pick them from a field), empty picture frames on the walls, mounted deer head, and of course, mason jars.
Brunch prix fixe is $29pp for a drink, shared bites, and a main dish. Overall, it was an above average meal, though I do think that the service could be improved.

The drinks offered include a mimosa, a bellini, a "beery mary", oj, or bottomless drip coffee.  The orange juice is served in a teeny tiny glass, less than 8oz, and you don't get refills, which I honestly thought was kind of a rip off.  How is bottomless coffee or an alcoholic drink equivalent to one small glass of OJ?  I wish the OJ had been bottomless.
Since it was hot out, we asked for iced coffee, which the waitress said could be an alternative to the drip coffee (which is hot).  Our iced coffees were served in mason jars that were about 60% ice. In the middle of our meal, when my friend and I asked for refills we were told that since the coffee is cold brew, refills are $5.  Excuse me?  That was not what I understood from the word "alternative."  We were a little upset that our waitress had failed to mention that before.  Also, if the coffee is cold brew, why are you serving it with so much ice?  It just seemed like they were really cutting corners to maximize their profits.

The shared bites are listed as a "bakery basket", yogurt parfait, juice shot, and canape. The bakery basket was smaller than I imagined it would be, especially since it wasn't at all a basket.  There were two tiny slices of a baked goods per person (changes daily). We got a sliver of a cinnamon bun and a tiny slice of carrot cake/bread.  The cinnamon bun was soft and sweet, but nothing special.  It actually tasted like something from a pre-made break-and-bake Pillsbury package.  The carrot cake was also moist and sweet, but again, it was nothing extraordinary.  The yogurt parfait was a shot glass of plain yogurt with granola and some diced pears; there was little flavor to the components so this was not particularly good.  The juice shot was cantaloupe and was refreshing.  The canape was bread with ricotta and truffle honey; it was the best part of the "bites."

For the main course, I tried the smoked salmon with red flannel hash and quail eggs.  This was good. The salmon was fresh, well seasoned, and went well with the hash. I also really like the quail eggs. The runny yolks were sweeter than regular egg yolks, and the combination of flavors was good. It was a lot to eat though, and I wasn't able to finish my dish.

N. (V's sister, who tagged along) tried the banana foster french toast. The french toast was light and eggy, and the bananas and chocolate are a classic combination that works well. She enjoyed this, although after eating about half of it, the overwhelming sweetness of the dish was too much for her, and she could eat no more. We all tried it and agreed that while the flavors were good, the plate would have benefited from a salty or savory touch.

T. and V. both ordered the fennel sausage eggs benedict. The sausage in this dish was *incredible*. We were all in love with it. I don't know what combination of spices were use, but we all called it "pho sausage" because it reminded us of the flavors of the Vietnamese beef soup (and two of us in the group are actually Vietnamese). The poached eggs were perfectly cooked with runny yolks and set whites. This was everyone's favorite dish, although we all agreed that after a while, the dish felt very heavy.  I think it would have benefited from a salad, or a touch of freshness or acidity.  The steamed spinach didn't do much to cut the fat and provided no textural element, which would have been appreciated.

As for the service, we felt a little harried during our meal.  Our waitress kept swooping in to take away plates, sometimes before we were done with our food. I felt like I had to constantly keep my guard up, because if it looked like I wasn't actively eating, she might step in and clear my plate. At one point, she picked up my "shared bites" plate and I had to beg her to wait a moment before she whisked it away so that I could grab my cinnamon bun.  This also meant that as members of our group finished eating, she would come and take away plates, even if other people were still working on their meal.   It was very intrusive and made us feel like we were being rushed to finish.  This didn't really make sense, since we didn't get our food until almost 2pm, and there were no people waiting for tables.  Furthermore, after we were done eating and the table had been cleared, our waitress disappeared and we could not find her for water refills or to get the check.  We ended up sitting at the table for about 30 minutes before we were able to pay the bill and leave.  Though we had enjoyed our food, the experience of our meal was a little marred by the service, which left something to be desired.

Feast
102 3rd Ave
New York, NY 10003
Tel. 212-529-8880
Brunch served Sat & Sun 11am-3pm

Creme Brulee French Toast - my new favorite

This is it.  You've found it: the only thing you'll want to eat for breakfast, brunch, lunch, and dessert for now on.  I mean, who doesn't like French toast?  Now add on the textural component of a crunchy caramelized crust and this dish is irresistible.

I made this crème brûlée French toast (aka The Best French Toast Ever) for the first time when I had some girlfriends coming over for brunch.  I've never actually hosted a brunch before, so I wanted something that was easy, but also really delicious.  Step in New York Times.  A few months ago when I was browsing their food section, I stumbled across this recipe, which I immediately printed out.

The New York Times recipe was for oven baked French toast with a brown sugar caramelized crust.  I typically make my French toast in a skillet (as I assume most people do) and it ends up being very annoying because you can't make French toast and eat it at the same time.  This obviously makes serving breakfast or brunch to other people somewhat difficult if you're trying to do a big batch.  The idea of baking French toast is not unheard of, but it was the caramel that really sold me.

Now, of course, if you  know me, you know that I never follow any recipes, so I had to make some edits.
First of all, the original recipe calls for challah bread.  I don't know about you, but I never have challah bread just sitting around at home.  I also don't know if my regular grocery store sells it all the time.  But I do know that they sell croissants.  In fact, in the "clearance" section of the bakery, where they place items that are close to expiration, there is almost always a container of croissants, which are perfect for making French toast (especially since French toast is best made with bread that is slightly stale).  I also find that croissants make much more attractive French toast and their texture is perfect for absorbing the "custard mixture" while still retaining some wonderful pastry flakiness.
Secondly, I didn't soak my French toast overnight.  To me, this is overkill since I prefer my French toast "crunchier" or "flakier."  Feel free to soak yours though, if you're partial to the bread pudding texture.  I only did a quick dip into the egg mixture and that was enough.
Third, the original recipe had a ridiculous amount of liquid: 6 eggs and 3 cups of liquid.  Too much milk, too much cream, and way too many eggs.  What for?  You just end up throwing away most of it!  It's wasteful!  So I seriously cut back on the liquids.  I wanted to use every single drop.  I also didn't use cream, since this is already a pretty indulgent dish; we don't really need that extra fat content.
Lastly, and most importantly, I wanted the sugar to truly become caramel; I didn't just want wet sugar.  So I actually place the baking sheet with the brown sugar in the oven first, so that the sugar starts to melt and caramelize, and then I put the French toast slices on top to bake.

The result was stupendous.  The croissants were flaky on top, crunchy with on the bottom from the caramelized sugar, and luxuriously decadent in the middle.  Served with some bacon (which can be baked in the oven at the same time!) and some berries, this is a great way to entertain any breakfast guests... or, just you and your partner!


Crème Brûlée French Toast  aka 
The Best French Toast Ever
3/4 cup pack dark brown sugar
3 tablespoons salted butter, cut into small pieces
4 croissants  (alternatively, use 8 one-inch thick slices of challah bread)
2 large eggs
1 cup milk (I use non-fat)
2 tablespoons dark rum  (optional, if you're serving this to children)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
generous dash of kosher salt
pinch of cinnamon (optional)
pinch of nutmeg (optional)




1.  Cut the croissants in half like you're about to make a sandwich.

2.  Spread the brown sugar evenly over a 9x13 baking pan and add the piece of salted butter on top.

3.  Preheat the oven to 350F.  Put the baking pans with the sugar mixture into the oven on the middle rack.  This will start to cook the sugar while you prepare the rest of your ingredients.
*The whole process of making the "custard" and dipping the slices should take you less than 5 minutes.  If it takes you longer than that, don't put your tray into the oven until later; you don't want the sugar to burn.

4.  In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, rum, vanilla, salt, nutmeg, and cinnamon.  

5.  Dip each slice of croissant / bread into the custard mix, making sure to coat both sides evenly.  Make a pile of dipped slices on a plate.

6.  Once all of the slices have been dipped, take the baking pan out of the oven.  The brown sugar and butter should be melted and bubbling hot.

7.  Arrange the croissant / bread slices onto the baking tray, on top of the caramelized sugar.  I placed the cut-sides of  my croissants face-down (in the picture above, the slices were flipped, after they finished baking).

8.  Bake at 350F for 20-25 minutes or until the tops are golden brown.

9.  Serve while hot, with the caramelized brown sugar side up.  Goes well with berries, sliced peaches, and bacon.

10.  Bask in the glory of crème brûlée French toast.

Tasty n Alder Brunch in Portland

One of the most interesting things I read when I was researching restaurants is that Portland is apparently "the city for brunch."  Living near New York City, I always thought that brunch was a NYC thing, but a New York brunch tends to be overpriced and much more focused on alcohol than I'd like (endless mimosas aren't such a good deal when you only drink one glass).  I like Portland's brunch style much more.

The Cast Iron Frittata

My friend G. - who, by my standards, is a Portland expert, given her three years living there - suggested that we eat at Tasty n Alder.  When I checked her suggestion on Yelp (because, let's be honest, I trust my friends, but I'm also a little bit of a Yelp fiend), it was strongly back by positive reviews, and she's been living here for three years, so I saw no reason not to go.
It was Easter Sunday the day we decided to eat here, so G gamely went to the restaurant first to put our names on the list while I stayed at her apartment getting ready (I have to look my finest while I third-wheel my dear friends, right?).
Our group of 3 (G, her fiance D, and myself) were added to the list at around 12:30ish.  We were told the wait would be about one hour.  We ended up killing some time at the coffeeshop across the street, where we all got our morning dose of caffeine.  We got a text that our table was ready a little after 1:30pm.  Having not eaten yet all morning, I was ready to dig into some food!
We ordered the Cast Iron Frittata, the Fried Egg and Cheddar Biscuit with fried chicken, the Bim Bop Bacon and Eggs, and the Whole Toad.
I was hoping for some table snacks while we waited... free muffins? free bread? my stomach was growling.  But alas, nothing.  However, the wait wasn't too long.

The Fried Egg and Cheddar Biscuit was the first dish to arrive. For any non-cheese eaters like myself, this dish can easily be made without cheese, since they just put a slice of cheddar on the biscuit. Unfortunately, I didn't realize this at the time (the name of the dish is kind of misleading), so I didn't eat any of the dish. My friends seems to enjoy it though. The chicken is a thin breaded breast. The egg had a nice runny yolk, and the biscuit came out steaming hot.  Also, my apologies, but we were all so hungry when the dish arrived, I forgot to take a picture.

Bim Bop Bacon and Eggs

Next, came the Cast Iron Frittata (pictured above). This had nettles, roasted asparagus, caramelized onions, and salsa verde.  The combination was stellar.  We requested the cheese on the side (I believe it's supposed to be fontina), and it came in a cute little ceramic bowl so that my cheese-loving friends were able to sprinkle their frittata with as much cheese as they desired.  The frittata had great texture.  It was fluffy, absolutely delicious, and very satisfying. This was actually my favorite dish of the meal.


Then we had the Bim Bop Bacon and Eggs. This come out in a hot stone bowl (like the Korean dish bibimbap). Everything is stirred up, so you get soft bacon, runny eggs, and crispy rice all mixed up. So tasty. Also very filling. It's bigger than it looks!  This dish almost, almost beat the Cast Iron Frittata on the delicious-ness scale, but I'm not a big fan of spicy kimchi, which was almost mixed in with the rice.  I will say that the soft cooked bacon was a discovery.  I normally am a thick-cut crispy bacon girl, but this dish definitely warmed me up to soft bacon.  It wasn't gooey, and it was definitely cooked, but it was... moist?  That's a terrible word to use to convey something delicious, but what I want you to understand is that it was very enjoyable.


Finally, the last dish to come to the table was The Whole Toad. This is a baked egg bread pudding, which comes with even more bread. Carbs on carbs.  No problemo.  Except... is there cheese in this bread pudding?  I don't know, but I wasn't particularly fond of this dish.  There was a slight sourness or tartness to the egg pudding, and the ratio of eggs to bread leaned more heavily on the latter, while I had been hoping it would be the other way around (more eggs than bread).

As a drink, I ordered The Driver's Seat which is a non-alcoholic drink with earl grey syrup, mint, and lime juice. Sadly I didn't get any hints of earl grey, as the lime was very overpowering.  But the drink was refreshing and did go well with brunch.  My friends both ordered orange juice, which is freshly squeezed, but comes in a tiny glass (maybe 6oz?), so it's a little overpriced.

We considered ordering a sweet dish, but after these four plates came out, we were so stuffed, we called it quits. Next time though, that Griddled Banana Walnut Bread will be mine!  The table next to us ordered it and it looked and smelled delicious.
Over all, we had great service in a very comfortable environment. I'd happily come back again.

Tasty n Alder
580 SW 12th Ave
Portland, OR 97205

Ken's Artisan Bakery and Portland

If there's anything you surely must know about me, it's that I am a dessert person.  Above all else (except, maybe, sleep), I love sweets.
So when I started looking up places to eat in Portland and I heard about Ken's Artisan Bakery and the croissants, macarons, and other pastries that come out of their ovens, I knew that I had to go.
In fact, on my first day in Portland, this was the first place I went to start my morning.  It was a great decision.  Friendly service, yummy pastries, good food, and reasonable prices.  I had no complaints!

I walked in at around 10ish on a Friday morning, and many of the tables were taken. I took that as a good sign. I lingered near the cash register for a while, debating what to drink and what goodies to try. I apologized for not being able to make up my mind, but the man behind the counter was really patient with me.  I ended up ordering an Oregon croissant, a blood orange macaron, and a cafe latte (as per the suggestion of the man behind the counter).

I settled down at one of the empty tables I managed to snag to enjoy my breakfast. The coffee wasn't that strong and wasn't that hot, so I didn't really enjoy it much, but that might also be because lattes aren't normally my thing and this place obviously isn't a coffeeshop. On to the sweet stuff!
The Oregon croissant has marionberries baked into the flakey pastry, and its flecked with sugar crystals, which add a nice combination of soft tartness and sweet crunch. I polished this off quickly, and I liked it so much, I ended up coming back to the bakery before I left the city to buy two more to keep me company on my travels home. The croissant is the perfect breakfast since it isn't too sweet.

The blood orange macaron I ordered was also delicious. The candied kumquat on top added a perfect little bit of acidity to offset the sweetness, and the texture of both the macaron itself and the filling were perfect.

I also decided to eat lunch here with my friend G, who lives in the city.  We both went with their lunch deal, which is either a half soup or half salad with a half sandwich combo.  G. went with salad and sandwich while I went with soup and sandwich.  For a mere $8, I had an egg salad sandwich and white bean soup. Both were delicious. The soup was warm, hearty, and perfectly seasoned. It was great for a drizzly day. The egg salad sandwich was well balanced - egg wasn't chopped too small, there wasn't an overwhelming amount of mayo, and there was just a slight bite from the mustard. The bread they used was sturdy but not heavy, and I liked their plating with the edible violet.
If I lived in the area, I think this would be my go-to spot for sweets and lazy day lunches.

Brunch at The 420 Smokehouse

When I was growing up, my parents occasionally took us up to Montreal to visit some close family friends.  We fell in love with Schwartz's, a Montreal Hebrew Delicatessen that serves this smoked meat that is to die for.
While planning this Canada trip, I knew that a drive to Montreal would be a bit far, but I hoped to find something similar in Toronto.  I looked for restaurants and delis that serve smoked meat and after some searching, came upon The 420 Smokehouse, a restaurant which actually smokes all of their own meat, and which had received rather good Yelp reviews.  I immediately sent the menu out to my friends, all of whom quickly approved of it, and we decided to make it our first meal stop in Toronto.

We arrived on a Saturday at around 11:30am, ready for our first meal of the day.  It was myself, B., and our two friends.  We easily found street parking and headed inside, to the empty restaurant.  I was a little surprised that there was no one else there, but our server was friendly, and we picked a cozy table near the window.
We started our meal with some spiked drinks, all of which are 6.50 CAD each.  We tried the Ski Jump, which is hot chocolate with Peppermint Schnapps and Frangelico.  Unfortunately, we were told that they were out of Frangelico, so we had it with just peppermint.  It was okay, but very sweet. We also tried the Spanish coffee (with Kahlua and Brandy) and the Irish coffee (with Irish whiskey and Irish Mist).  Both were strong, and were topped with a generous serving of whipped cream and shavings of chocolate.

One of my friends ordered the Breakfast Burger (12 CAD), which is a 4 oz. beef patty with bacon, cheddar cheese, a fried egg, and homefries.   He enjoyed it, and actually couldn't even finish all of it.

I ordered the smoked chicken and waffles (12 CAD), which was not very impressive.  The plate had two large waffles and two pieces of breaded chicken breast.  The serving was large, but the chicken was rather dry and uninspired.  I was also a bit disappointed that it was all white meat, as I was hoping for some dark meat (though this may be a little bit my fault, since I didn't ask).

B. ordered the 420 Breakfast which includes 2 eggs any style (he had them poached), with
bacon, lightly smoked sausage, home fries, and toast (11 CAD). The eggs came out a big soft for him, but everything else was fine.
My other friend ordered the smoked meat poutine (large, for $15). This was okay overall. The smoked meat was delicious, but everyone felt that there was a distinct lack of cheese, and the fries seemed to have been tossed in gravy a while before serving, since they were not very crispy.  There also wasn't as much gravy as we were hoping there would be. The little bits of smoked in the poutine were so good though, I asked if I could order a plate of this alone. Our waiter asked the kitchen and then told me that a plate would be $8, which was fine by me. It was delicious. Fatty, full bodied smokey flavor that just melted in the mouth. Perfection. This was the best part of the meal.

Our overall brunch experience was just average, but the smoked meat was delicious. I probably would only come back for the meat, but I don't think I'd do brunch here again.  Maybe we should have come for the lunch and tried the sandwiches and entrees.  Oh well.  On to the next meal!


*Other things to note: Service is a bit slow, but friendly.  They do have free Wi-Fi. The bathroom is clean.

The 420 Smokehouse
420 Parliament Street
Toronto, ON M5A 3A1
Canada

Brunch at Public in Manhattan

I have to admit, I'm not a big brunch person.  I know, to say this is almost sacrilege, especially considering how much New Yorkers around me seem to love their brunch, but I find the meal to frequently be overpriced and uninspired.  I can make delicious pancakes at home, and honestly, charging me more than $14 for poached eggs, no matter what you serve them with, is kind of a rip off.  But when my sister up from DC to visit me, she sent me the menu for brunch at Public, and I immediately okay-ed it.
First of all, there is a great variety of creative dishes on the menu, it's not too expensive, and most important of all, I saw a brunch dish that included foie gras.  Sold.  Get your purse, we're going out to eat.
Because my sister was taking the morning bus from DC to NYC, she ended up arriving at the restaurant before I did.  She put our names down for a table, and then sat down at the bar at around 11:30am and ordered a latte while waiting for me.  I joined her a little bit before noon.  The hostess came and asked if we wanted a table since there was space, but we decided to stay at the bar, since it was brightly lit, not loud, and there was a good view of the restaurant.  Plus, it fun to watch the bartenders make everyone's morning cocktails.

After some deliberating over the menu, I ordered the Black Pudding Waffles with red wine poached pears and whipped foie gras butter.  This sounded a little risky even to me - the avid lover of all things foie gras - but the bartender assured me it is delicious.  I'm glad I decided to try it because it was excellent.  I would order this again in a heartbeat.  In fact, even as I write this, I am contemplating going back for brunch immediately so that I taste this once more.  The waffles were decadent and smooth; if I wasn't told they were made with black pudding, I wouldn't have known, but they had a delicious savoriness that was really nice.   I also loved the foie gras butter and poached pear combination. I cleaned my plate.

My sister ordered the Tea-smoked Salmon with poached eggs on multi-grain bread.  This was also a big hit.  The salmon filet is fragrant from being smoked with tea.  The poached egg had a perfectly runny yolk, and we loved how the hearty bread stood up to the flavors and the moistness of the egg yolk.  I would be happy to order this again too.

We also were given two little black sesame biscuits, drizzled with lavender honey. The biscuits were alright, but the honey was like heaven. I'd eat that stuff on its own.

For brunch drinks (which, honestly, I wouldn't have ordered, but the bartender kindly gave us two free glasses, perhaps out of pity for the two girls at the bar avidly staring at every drink he sent out to the tables), we tried the Salty Dog, which has gin and grapefruit juice.  It was light and refreshing from the grapefruit, but had a fairly strong alcohol kick.

For dessert, my sister and I split the Concord Grape Panna Cotta (not pictured, because, sadly, it wasn't that attractive).  This is served with a grape sorbet with prosecco foam and candied peanuts. The peanut and grape combination kind of reminded me of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, minus the bread.  Neither my sister nor I were fans of the foam, as it was made with egg whites and was not strongly flavored with prosecco; it tasted kind of strange.  The panna cotta was fine, as was the sorbet, but after the amazing main courses, I was expecting a little bit more wow factor from dessert.  Maybe my opinion is being swayed by the fact that I don't really like grapes.

My sister got the brunch prix fixe deal which is $24 for a coffee (they let her latte count), entree, and dessert.  My dish was $14 (a steal!). Our cocktails were a gift from the bartender and the biscuits were free (I think all tables are given them) so our lovely meal was less than $40 before tip.  Not bad for the delicious brunch.  I can't wait to go back!

Public
210 Elizabeth St
New York, NY 10012
Tel. 212-343-7011

Strawberry Rhubarb Oat Bars / Rustic Tart

I love summer fruit.  I could easily eat several pounds of strawberries for a meal.  In fact, I have.  That's one of my favorite things about going berry picking.  But what this means is that I rarely ever bake berries when I have them because I find the fresh product so tantalizing.  It's hard to save any for a cake or pie.  This year, however, I impulsively bought some rhubarb at the market and I knew they'd go well with some strawberries, and since you don't eat rhubarb raw, one thing lead to another and before I knew it, I was in the kitchen making these bars.

I want to call them oat bars because the name has a healthy sound that seems to justify my eating them for breakfast.  Both times I made this recipe though, I actually used a 9-inch spring form tart pan and I thought it worked beautifully and would be a lovely way to make this for a picnic or dessert when entertaining so hence why I am also calling this a rustic tart.

This recipe is so simple - it honestly takes no more than 10 minutes of prep time, and that includes washing and cutting the fruit.  There are weight measurements for the oat base, which makes it easy to do everything with a kitchen scale, just kitting the "Tare" button as you go.  Then, the ingredients are mixed in whatever pan you'll be baking with, and the fruit is only lightly sweetened, so the natural flavor is really allowed to shine.

I have a feeling that if you make this once, you may find yourself eating it for breakfast, lunch, and dessert, just as I did.


Strawberry Rhubarb Oat Bars
adapted from Smitten Kitchen
yields one 8x8 pan OR one 9 inch tart pan


1 cup (80 grams) rolled oats
3/4 cup (95 grams) all purpose flour
2 tablespoons (15 grams) whole wheat flour (if you don't have this on hand, just use all purpose flour)
1/2 cup (95 grams) light brown sugar
pinch of salt (1-2 grams)
6 tablespoons (85 grams) salted butter, melted
1-2 stalks of rhubarb, diced small
1 cup (1/2 pin) small-diced strawberries
1 tablespoon (15 grams) granulated or raw sugar

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F.  Lightly butter an 8x8 baking pan or a 9-inch tart pan.
Combine the oats, all purpose flour, whole wheat flour (if using), brown sugar, and salt in bottom of baking pan and mix.
Pour the melted butter on top and stir until clumps form.   I find it easiest to do this with my hands.
Optional: set aside 1/3 cup of the crumble mixture if you want a topping.
Press the rest of the crumb mixture evenly against the bottom of the pan.
Spread your diced berries and rhubarb evenly over the crust.  Sprinkle with granulated or raw sugar.
Scatter reserved crumbs (if using) over the fruit.
Bake bars on the middle rack of your oven at 375F for 30 to 35 minutes.
Allow to cool in pan before cutting.
Note that bars will crisp up in the fridge if placed there for a few hours after cooling.

Leftovers can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 days (if they last that long!).  Bars do get a little softer on the second day, but they remain just as delicious on day 3 as they are when fresh out of oven.

Vietnamese Food that isn't Pho - A recipe for Bánh Bao

Being a non-Caucasian in America, I often get asked what my ethnic background is.  When the question is phrased as something less vague than "Where are you from?" (which normally prompts me to respond, "Maryland," because I now live in New Jersey and I am surrounded by the Jersey born-and-bred), I tell people that I am Vietnamese.  More than 90% of the time, the response I get is, "Oh my god, I love pho!"  The last word is always pronounced "foe."

I find it very weird.  Can you imagine if you told someone you have an Italian background the person replied, "Cool, I love spaghetti!"  It's strange.  There is so much more to my heritage and cultural background than phở, which, by the way, is pronounced "fuh-ah?"  Because Vietnamese is a tonal language, "phở" is pronounced like a question and as if the word had two syllables.

So instead of sharing a recipe for a Vietnamese noodle soup like bun bo hue or pho, today I want to share with you how to make Bánh Bao.  First, of course, I will tell you what it is.  Think of a stereotypical pork bun you get in Chinatown.  Now imagine that the doughy outside is fluffy and light and the inside has ground pork, eggs, and vegetables.  That is a bánh bao.

When I was growing up, this could serve as my breakfast, a snack food, or lunch.  The filling can be changed to be whatever you want, but the standard bánh bao has a piece of hard boiled egg, some ground meat, and normally lap xuong (also known as Chinese sausage, for all you non-Asians).  I love them.  They're nutritious and healthy, and once you make them, you can store them in the freezer for at least a month, steaming them in the microwave for about a minute whenever you want to eat one.

While writing this recipe, I was faced, yet again, with the problem of transcribing a Vietnamese family recipe into a recipe that others can follow.  On one hand, I was lucky that this recipe is one of the ones that my mother actually has written down, since most things she makes from memory.  On the other hand, the notes she had written read something like this, "half a bowl of milk, add to the flour until it feels right.  If it doesn't feel good, add more milk" and "1/4 bowl of sugar, if you like it sweeter (it tastes better like this)."  I had to ask my mother exactly what "one bowl" measures out to.  Thankfully, we made these together and I could get some measurements down for you.

Custard-Filled Corn Bread

A good recipe for both Thanksgiving and Christmas — or really anytime of the year when it's cold outside and you want comfort food — is corn bread.  I love corn bread.  It is filling, sweet, savory, and cornmeal gives the bread a lovely texture that is both crumbly and cake-y.

This cornbread is everything you're looking for. When it comes out of the oven, it has beautifully crispy edges and a soft and delicate crumb.  What sets this apart from other corn bread recipes though is the moist interior... the creamy and luscious custard layer.  When it is cold, from the fridge, the creamy custard layer is like a savory icing, inside of a corn bread cake.  I wish I could describe it better.  I only know that after Thanksgiving, when I went Black Friday shopping with my mom and my sister, I kept thinking about how I wanted to go home and eat this cornbread for lunch.  It's that good.

The Best Banana Bread You'll Ever Taste

This is the stuff, my friends.  Look at it.  Moist, dark, full of flavor.  Well, you can't tell the last thing just by looking at the picture, but I assure you it is true.  This banana bread has rum, dark chocolate, caramelized sugar, and deep vanilla and warm spice tones.  What more could you ask for?
It is delicious sliced cold with a glass of milk for breakfast.  It tastes good fresh out of the oven, and it tastes even better on the second day, once the flavors have really melded together in the fridge.  This is breakfast, lunch, afternoon snack, dessert... heck, you can have this for dinner.

One-quarter cup of rum and one full tablespoon of vanilla extract go towards making this the most flavorful banana bread I've ever eaten.  The salt also rounds out the flavor of the banana and the dark chocolate chips that are studded throughout the bread elevate this to the status of heavenly.

The first time I made this recipe I actually forgot to count how many cups of flour I had put into the batter so I wasn't sure if it was 2 cups or 3 cups.  The batter seemed liquidy in the pan, but when it finished baking, it had a lovely bread-pudding texture that I absolutely adored.  The second time I made this, I actually used the right amount of flour and I got a true banana bread.  I actually prefer the bread-pudding results, but it's a personal preference thing, so both ratios are included below.

Cold Brewed Coffee

I try to keep my life simple.  I like my sleep, and so in the morning I keep my routine to a bare minimum.  I don't wear make up, I don't do much with my hair, I don't spend a lot of time picking out clothes, and I don't drink coffee.  I don't want to have to deal with the issue of coffee grounds, filters, hot water, and cleaning up.  I also don't own an espresso machine, Keurig, coffee maker, French press, or anything like that.

It's not that I don't enjoy coffee -- I actually think it's great when made properly (i.e. not Starbucks) -- I just don't find it to be worth the hassle.  Sometimes though, with my terrible sleep schedule, I feel like I need a cup of joe to start my day.  So one day I gave in, set my alarm 10 minutes earlier, woke up, fumbled with grounds, hot water, and a filter, was annoyed by the process and, ultimately, disappointed by the results.  It was simply awful.  I don't know if it's because I was impatient and didn't give the coffee enough time to "steep" (is that word only acceptable to use with tea?), but it was both weak and bitter.  I bought the exact same coffee my dad drinks at home (classic, French roast) and so I knew the problem wasn't the coffee, but rather my method of making my cup of joe.  But there has to be a better way to make coffee, without going out and spending $50 on a clunky machine.

Then I remembered something I had read once in the New York Times about cold brew coffee.  I googled it for the exact ratios and decided to to try the cold brew coffee method.  I prefer my coffee cold anyhow, so it didn't seem like I had much to lose.  I altered the ratios of coffee grounds to water just a bit and then gave it a go.

The process is very easy.  Simply combine  ⅓ cup coffee grounds with 1 ⅔ cup water.  It doesn't matter if the water is tepid or cold.  Let this sit for about 12 hours (though sometimes I leave it for a day and it doesn't affect things too much) at room temperature or in the fridge.  Strain through two coffee filters.  Refrigerate or drink.  For me, this makes 2 servings of coffee.  The coffee is concentrated enough that you can "dilute" it with ice or milk and it still tastes strong.  In the fridge, covered, it will keep for about 2-3 days before you start to lose the lovely flavor profile.

I know I said I don't normally drink this coffee with
milk, but I thought it made for a nice picture

For each of my cups of coffee, I found I barely needed a teaspoon of sugar to sweeten up a cup (normally I stir in about 4 spoonfuls of sugar) and I didn't need milk.  The cold brew method results in coffee that isn't bitter.  Instead, it is mellow, warm, almost chocolate-y in taste.  I really truly enjoy drinking it; so much so that I now make this every week or so and keep it in a bottle in my fridge so that it is always on hand when I want or need some coffee.  The method is convenient and simple, and it results in great tasting coffee.  Somehow this method of flavor extraction brings out naturally sweeter notes for a very different flavor experience.  The coffee is rounder, fuller on the tongue.  It is smooth.  It is exactly what I want in a cup of coffee.

Enjoy the flavor and the experience of a cup of coffee with none of the hassle.

Baked Egg Breakfast Souffle

With the holidays coming up, an important recipe to have on hand is always a good, fast breakfast item.  As popular as pancakes are for family breakfasts and brunches, I rarely go with them because they should be eaten hot and often the cook ends up staying by the skillet turning out food for everyone and waiting to eat last.  A better recipe is one that allows everyone to eat together and doesn't require the cook to wake up an extra 30 minutes earlier than the rest of the family.  I've used this recipe for several years now, loving it for the fact that it is fast and easy to make and yet seems fancy enough to impress everyone at the table.

These baked egg breakfast souffles are light, airy, and almost ethereal in quality while the yolk provides just the right amount of substance.  Filling without being heavy, this recipe is my absolute favorite for family breakfasts.  We ate it this Thanksgiving morning -- the first meal the whole family had had together since the beginning of August -- and we've had it Christmas morning too, but this works as a great recipe for impressing any visiting guests who have stayed over.

This baked egg souffle takes no more than 5 minutes to throw together and then the oven does all the cooking for you.  Ten minutes later -- just enough time to wash up and change from your pjs into real clothes -- and breakfast is served!

Monkey Bread

When I bake or cook with my friends, I have a tendency to keep things simple.  Even though it is, most of the time, me just cooking with my friends around me watching, I don't like making things unnecessarily complicated, should someone want to help out.  Hence, our desserts together are often from cake mix, which I spice up a little bit with espresso powder, cocoa powder, cinnamon, or rum (among other things).  This time, I decided to go with an incredibly easy childhood classic: monkey bread.

For those of you that never had monkey bread growing up, it's like cinnamon buns, but easier.  In other words, this stuff is sweet, addictive, unhealthy, and will make your house (or apartment) smell like heaven.  It is everything you shouldn't eat, combined together, and baked to form a gooey, buttery, fluffy mess.

I learned this recipe from my cousin, who got it from her school, which was the only school in our county that still taught Home Ec. when we were growing up.  We used to make it during sleepovers.  Eating it the other night brought back great memories of my middle school days.

Warm monkey bread, a glass of cold milk, and a couple great friends: happiness can be so simple.

Buttermilk Biscuits with Rosemary and Thyme

I love how the name of this recipe just rolls off the tongue: buttermilk biscuits.

I probably sound like a broken record now, always calling my recipes versatile and easy to make, but this one definitely is.

Why do I keep stressing this idea of simplicity? Because I recognize that the reason why a lot of people don't develop a love of cooking is because of this idea that cooking is a long and complicated process that involves special kitchenware or tools. This isn't true though.

I bake all the time, and yet I don't keep yeast in my kitchen, ever, and I don't own biscuit cutters. I try to only buy things that I use often. My kitchen has one kind of flour: all purpose flour. I have a food processor and a mixer and that's about as fancy as I get with my kitchen gadgets. I love to cook, but I never see any reason to go out and buy special ingredients or tools/gadgets. So I try to keep things simple. For my sake and yours.

These biscuits are great free form biscuits. meaning they require no rolling out of the dough, and you don't need to run out and purchase biscuits cutters. The recipe is also very novice-friendly and forgiving.

It's great to make if you have friends over, and especially good for children. One key thing that I think helps make this recipe fairly difficult to mess up is this: freezing the butter. I know that sounds weird, but really if you take your butter and cut it into fairly small chunks you can handle the dough for a long period of time without worrying about any negative consequences (e.g. cakey or tough biscuits). Freezing butter when making biscuits and pie doughs is important because it keeps the butter cold and the cold pieces of butter distributed throughout your biscuit dough are what helps to make your biscuit flaky during baking.

This biscuit recipe is also a great recipe for anyone who wants biscuits but doesn't want to have to plan a special trip to the grocery store just to make some biscuits.

You don't even need to have buttermilk on hand! (I've actually never bought buttermilk) Just get some milk and some lemon juice (or lime juice) following the ratio below, combine, and allow to sit at room temperature and you've got beautiful buttermilk. And yes, don't worry, there are suppose to be those curds forming.

As for flavoring of the biscuits, you can really mix things up. I used rosemary and thyme, but you could make oregano biscuits, tarragon biscuits, cheese biscuits (although you'll want to decrease the salt in the recipe then), ham biscuits, onion and sage biscuits, whatever floats your boat.

So, without further ado, a biscuit recipe from me to you.

Buttermilk Biscuits with Rosemary and Thyme
adapted from Dot’s Diner

275g all purpose flour (scant 3 cups)
2 tsp sugar
4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
¾ cup (1½ sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into small chunks
½ tsp thyme
1 tsp rosemary
1 cup buttermilk (scant cup milk + juice from ½ lemon)
2 tbsp melted butter (optional)

Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and baking soda in large bowl. Finely chop rosemary and thyme and mix to combine.

Preheat oven to 425°F.

Using fingertips, rub the chilled butter into dry ingredients until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add buttermilk and stir until evenly moistened.

Form biscuits using approximately 1/4 cup dough for each. Biscuits don’t spread too much in the oven, so 1-2 inches of space between biscuits should be fine.

Optional: decorate with a small bunch of rosemary. Brush with butter.

Bake until biscuits are golden, about 15 minutes. Serve warm.

Makes 12-13 biscuits.

Note: If freezing your butter, you only need to toss it in the freezer about 15-20 minutes ahead of time.

Almond Croissants

I’ve always had a weakness for almond croissants. We used to have a bakery near my house called La Vie de France which made the most wonderful almond croissants, but then one day they closed, and I mourned the loss of my croissants for months. They were so good!

There are other places that do sell almonds croissants, but for some reason they always lacked the amount of almond flavor and almond filling that I was looking for. They were, quite frankly, disappointing. And then one day it occurred to me that rather than continuously buying these disappointments and hoping that they would not fail me, I could, instead, try my hand at making them.

Since then, I haven’t bought an almond croissant. This is one of those cases where the homemade product is significantly better than the store bought product. It is also a breeze to make. Just buy some croissants from your grocery store/bakery (or you can make them yourself, but that will be another post, another day) and then with about 10 minutes of prep and 15 minutes of bake time, you will have some of the most delicious croissants ever.

The filling can also be made ahead 1-2 days of time and refrigerated, and any extra filling can be baked as little cookies (a take on florentines, if you will) at 350°F for 10-15 minutes, until golden brown.

Croissants aux amandes

150g sugar
150g almonds
100g (1 stick) salted butter, cut into pieces
1 egg
Splash of milk
½ tsp almond extract
8-12 croissants
*optional: a dash of vanilla powder or a few drops of vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Combine the almonds and sugar in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until of a desired consistency. (I like my fine, but if you like bigger pieces of almonds, don’t grind for as long)

Add the butter, pulse to mix. (If using unsalted butter, add in a generous pinch of salt)

Add the egg, milk, and almond extract , pulse to mix.

Cut the croissants in half (like you would a sandwich bread), then spread 1-2 tbsp of the filling inside. How much filling you put it is up to your personal preference and the number of croissants you have.

Optional: Spread 1-2tsp of filling on top of your croissant. This creates a nice crispy topping, but isn’t all that attractive, so it’s all about personal preference

Bake for 15 minutes on middle rack. Allow to cool (seriously), then enjoy!

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

I think that by the time you reach your mid twenties, if you're a baker, you must have a banana bread recipe. It's just one of those things, kind of like how everyone has a way in which they like their salad.

Well, here's how I like my banana bread: nut-free, fat-free (you read that right), moist, filled with chocolate chips, and covered with a beautiful cinnamon sugar crust. In fact, now that I've got this recipe, I no longer feel the need to try any other banana bread recipes, because this one is the one. It's like they say: sometimes, you just know.

And the great thing about this recipe is that it is very forgiving. I appreciate forgiving recipes. This is not because I am a klutz in the kitchen, but because no one wants cooking or baking to be a stressful activity. It's supposed to be relaxing. Forgiving recipes help you relax.

This recipe is especially nice because it is flexible in terms of the star ingredient: the banana. I have made this many times, and it seems that this bread works just as well with two bananas as it does with three bananas, or five; just scale up or down. The ripeness of your banana also doesn't seem to be a huge factor in the quality of the final product, so if you're a little impatient and can't wait for your bananas to get that spotted black, really ripe look (the paper bag trick never seems to work as quickly as I'd like it to), that's okay. A plain yellow banana should work just fine. Just remember to really mash the fruit up.

Lastly, because I've always liked the "crusts" of bread (I've never been particularly fond of the slightly boring texture in the middle of breads, cupcakes, or muffins), I tend to spread my batter out of a little thinner in pans. So while this recipe can be made in a loaf pan, I like to make it in an 8x8 pan, simply because I like edges and crusts more (especially this cinnamon-sugar crust). If you know you like more substance to your bread though, and you want more of a bread shape than a cake shape, bake in the appropriate sized pan.

This recipes makes two pans, which may seem like a lot, but then you should remember that it's incredibly healthy and can be easily frozen and defrosted or given away to friends. So, make the whole recipe. Don't scale it down. I actually scaled it up from the original recipe, since one little pan was never enough.

Banana Bread with Chocolate and Cinnamon Sugar

Adapted from Orangette’s recipe

5 ripe bananas (any size will do)
3 large eggs
1½ cup granulated sugar
3 tsp ground cinnamon
1½ tsp vanilla extract (or vanilla sugar)
2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
1½ tsp baking soda
1 ½ cups semisweet/bittersweet/dark chocolate chips

For topping:
4 Tbsp granulated sugar
1 Tbsp demerara sugar (if you have it)
½ tsp ground cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 375 °F. Butter two 8-inch square pans.

In a medium mixing bowl, mash the bananas with a fork or potato masher (this can also be done in a food processor). Add the eggs, and mix well to combine. Add the sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon, and mix till smooth. Add the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and mix until just combined (don’t worry too much though; I’ve never had a problem with overmixing). Add 1 cup of the chocolate chips, and stir. Distribute the batter into the buttered pans.

In a small bowl, combine the topping ingredients. Sprinkle evenly over the batter in the pans, and then top with the remaining ½ cup chocolate chips.

Bake for 35-40 minutes in the middle rack, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

This banana bread is delicious out of of the oven, delicious after it has cooled on the kitchen counter, delicious after sliced and toasted in a pan with a little pat of butter, delicious out of the fridge, and delicious out of freezer. (Yes, I've tried it all of these ways.) And really, I have to say, if you've never tried baked goods fresh out of the freezer, do it. It is amazing what a difference it can make. Sometimes I'll freeze my chocolate chip cookies or my cupcakes (sans frosting) and then eat them like that. The crumb texture doesn't change, but somehow the flavors are different. Certain flavors become muted when cold, and then when they hit the warmth of your tongue, they just explode; the difference is astounding.

Happy baking!