Vacation: The China Recap

November 28, 2012November 28, 201210 Comments

I’ve been MIA the past few days. Sorry. I got back from China a day late (flight canceled), meaning we got in the day before Thanksgiving. Then of course my stomach decided to explode an hour after landing and I got horribly sick for 3 days. I’ll spare you the details on that one.

Instead let’s concentrate on happier times: a nearly two week trip to China. I’ll give you the lightning recap then get back to the recipes as soon as possible.

The trip started in Shanghai with the tastiest dumplings I’ve ever had in my life filled with soup and pork.

Delicious. Then we headed to Guilin, where we saw tons of natural beauty

Climbed lots of hills and mountains

and ate delicious things, like meat on a stick and rice noodles.

After some days in Guilin, we headed to Xi’an (the old capital and end of the Silk Road). We ate tasty crepe/egg things on the street (that they give you in a plastic bag to eat).

Rode bikes on the city wall (you have no idea how big a feat this is for me. I hate bicycles.)

Saw Pagodas

And the Terracotta Warriors. Pretty Amazing.

After Xi’an, we headed to Beijing.

Beijing was cold.

We’re smiling not just because we’re happy to be in Tian’an men Square, but it was freezing. Then we saw the usual sites, like The Forbidden City

and The Great Wall of China (which was wayyyy bigger and longer and steeper than I expected)

After Beijing, we headed back to Shanghai to see some sites and catch a plane back to the Los Angeles. Shanghai was a huge city. I didn’t expect it to be so big and NYC-like, even though there were traditional Chinese things, like the Yuyuan Garden:

After a flight cancellation and an arrival a day late, we made it back. I think we were both exhausted from the trip. We packed a lot into 12 days.

Here are a few things we found

Weirdest things about China: People asking to take pictures with us.

Tastiest thing about China: Dumplings (see first pic)

Skill Learned: maybe 2 words of Mandarin but we got really good at taking pics of ourselves

That’s it for the recap. Obviously we saw tons of things in the 12 days were there, and I have more pictures but these are just some of the highlights. You can see some on Instagram (check out my online page in case you don’t follow me on Instagram)… like Pies from McDonald’s! Check it out!

Overall, we had a great trip. My post-vacation-illness was totally worth it.

What was your last vacation? Tell me about it!

Off We Go!!

November 8, 2012November 8, 20122 Comments

Here we go. Off to china!! Be back in 2 weeks!

I promise to eat tasty things!

Chocolate Pudding with Peanut Butter Mousse and Maple Candied Bacon

November 5, 201210 Comments

People have a weird obsession with bacon. I’ll be honest. I don’t fully understand it. I mean sure bacon is tasty, but I would much rather eat a chocolate/pb combo over a piece of bacon pretty much any day.

But on top of my affinity for chocolate and peanut butter, I also have a crazy desire to recreate things I eat at restaurants.

So a few weekends ago, Jesse (boyfriend, in case you’re a new reader! Hi!) and I went to the Manhattan Beach Post for our anniversary. We ate some pretty tasty things (some cheddar bacon biscuits I also attempted to recreate, recipe to come), but we were too full for dessert.

One of the things that looked amazing was the “Elvis,” which the menu describes as “a wonderful mess of chocolate pudding, peanut butter mousse, bacon brittle.”

A wonderful mess.

I like that.

And I bet I would have loved it there (because pretty much everything I ate was delicious. White Oak Grilled Sword Squid with marinated gigande beans and lemon curd. Bomb. Try it you’re around there).

So of course I had to recreate it, even though I didn’t really try it.

Here’s my rendition.

I say you should give it a try too.

Chocolate Pudding with Peanut Butter Mousse and Maple Candied Bacon

pudding adapted from Smitten Kitchen

Pudding:

1/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 cup sugar
pinch of salt
3 cup whole milk
6. 5 ounces of semi-sweet chocolate chips

Peanut Butter Mousse:

1/4 cup peanut butter, smooth
1/4 cup sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup heavy cream

Maple Candied Bacon:

4-6 slices of bacon
2 tbsp maple syrup

Place milk, sugar and salt in a sauce pan over low heat, stirring constantly to make sure it doesn’t stick to the bottom until warm. In a bowl, whisk together cornstarch and some of the warm milk. Make sure there are no clumps, then add mixture to the rest of the milk. Continue to stir until it starts to thicken and coats the back of the spoon (about 10 minutes). Stir in chocolate chips. Combine to stir until well combined and think (maybe another 5 mins). Transfer to small bowls. Refrigerate until cool.

In a bowl, beat heavy cream until firm. Set aside. In another bowl, beat together peanut butter and condensed milk until smooth. Fold in whipped cream. Refrigerate half an hour.

Next make bacon. Place bacon in a bowl with maple syrup, toss to coat. Heat a frying pan to medium heat. Add bacon, cook until crisp. Lay cooked bacon on paper towels. Allow to cool completely and chop.

Next assemble. Using a piping bag or a Ziploc back, pipe some peanut butter mousse over the chocolate pudding. Sprinkle with pieces of bacon. Serve immediately. Makes 6 servings (or many more in tiny shot glasses). If you’re not ready to serve it yet, pipe the peanut butter mousse over the pudding and refrigerate. About 15 minutes before serving remove from the fridge then sprinkle with bacon when ready to serve.

It’s a bit of a process to make but definitely worth it.

Bonus: bacon makes it a man-pleaser.

Go ahead recreate this. Then tell me how it is. I’ll be in China while you do that. No really, I’ll be in China. I leave on Thursday. I hope I get to eat ridiculously tasty things and see some awesome sites. I’ll tell you all about it.

Any China trip tip or recommendations?

Anyone else want chocolate pudding with peanut butter mousse and maple bacon?

Yeah, we all do. Go make it!

Pumpkin Pecan Bundt Cake

October 26, 2012October 26, 2012Leave a comment

It’s National Pumpkin Day. Woo let’s celebrate!

Ok, I’m really not that excited, but all of a sudden I’m all about food holidays. What could it be?

So as a result of pumpkin day, I re-examined some of my old pumpkin-y recipes.

I used to be all about the previous pumpkin-y things I’ve made…

Like these pumpkin chocolate chip cookies

Pumpkin Pizza

Pumpkin Biscuits

And of course who can forget the Fall Cake with a layer of gingerbread cake and another of pumpkin cheese

But I think I found a new pumpkin love… or maybe just the flavor of the minute since it’s the first pumpkin-y thing I’ve eaten all year? Regardless, this bundt cake is pretty tasty.

I wish I had a cute little pumpkin or plant to stick in the middle of it, but I’m not that festive. This cake is about as festive as it’s gonna get, let’s concentrate on the taste.

Moist, pumpkin-y and spicy. What more could you want?

Pumpkin Pecan Bundt Cake

adapted from Cooks Illustrated’s Pumpkin Bread with Ginger

2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp mace
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 can pumpkin puree
2 cups sugar
2 tbsp dark molasses
1/4 cup sour cream
2 tbsp heavy cream
1/2 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/3 cup crystallized ginger, finely chopped

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease and flour a bundt pan, set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and spices.

In another large bowl, mix together sugar and vegetable oil. Beat in egg 1 at a time. Then beat in sour cream, heavy cream, molasses and pumpkin puree. Beat in flour mixture until just combined. Fold in pecans and crystallized ginger.

Pour mixture into prepared bundt pan, bake 50-70 minutes (depending on your oven) or until you insert a knife into it and it comes out clean.

Serve and celebrate pumpkin day!

Bourbon Caramel Apple Pie

October 16, 2012October 16, 20121 Comment

So today I realized it’s been a while since I’ve written a blog post. I blame it on one thing: The Walking Dead.

I’m about 859395 minutes late to the party, so I spent the last week watching the first two seasons. It was an enormous race to watch all the episodes before the new episode on Sunday. Good news: I’m all caught up.

Now I freak out when my lights flicker, but that’s okay. If fictional tv shows freak you out (like they do me), just think of pie.

Then head into the kitchen to make this…

Bourbon Caramel Apple Pie

Single Pie Crust:

175g All Purpose Flour
1 tbsp Sugar
pinch of Salt
1 stick of Butter, cold
2 tbsp (maybe more) Ice Water

Filling:
6 apples, peeled and thinly sliced
1 tsp cinnamon
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup flour
3 tbsp bourbon/whiskey

Caramel:

1 cup sugar
3 tbsp butter, softened
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 tbsp Bourbon
few pinches of salt

Topping:

1/2 cup Flour
1/4 cup Brown Sugar
2 tbsp White Sugar
1/2 tsp Cinnamon
pinch of Salt
3 tbsp Butter
1 tbsp bourbon

Prepare pie crust by combing flour, sugar and salt. Using your fingers, break the butter into the flour mixture until it resembles very coarse crumbs (even pea sized is fine). Add ice water and bring it all together into a ball using your hands. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate a few hours. You can make this up to two days in advance.

Once your dough has rested sufficiently, you can start to assemble your pie. Roll our dough and place into a 9inch pie dish, trim the edges, make them look pretty if you’d like.

Next make the caramel. In a deep saucepan, melt sugar over medium heat. Do not stir. Once it reaches a golden brown color, remove from heat. Stir in butter (it will bubble a lot, keep stirring), then stream in cream while stirring then stir in bourbon and salt. If you get some clumps it’s not a big deal. Set aside to cool slightly.

Preheat the oven to 350F. Stick the prepared crust in the freezer while you make the filling and topping. For the filling, I like to throw all the ingredients into a large ziploc bag, close it and toss it around. A bowl works too.

Set aside while you make the topping. Next make crumble topping. Combine dry ingredients. Add butter and using your fingers work it into the mixture. Drizzle in bourbon and toss to combine. The mixture should look sort of like crumbs.

Next assemble the pie. Pour a bit of the caramel into the pie crust and spread. Next lay in half the apple mixture, pour some more caramel sauce (maybe 1/3 of it? also note if your caramel cooled too much and hardened just warm it up a bit on the stove). Add the remaining apples and drizzle with some more caramel. You should have about 1/4 of the caramel left over. Sprinkle the crumble topping on the apples, then drizzle remaining caramel on top. Place pie on a baking sheet and bake 45-60 mins or until golden and the fruit is bubbling in the middle.

Remove from oven, allow to cool completely then serve!

I recommend having this with a glass of bourbon while watching The Walking Dead (or maybe Vampire Diaries is more your supernatural style?).

Oven Not-Fried Pickles

October 3, 2012October 3, 20123 Comments

A few weeks ago, I moved. I think I told you about this but in case I didn’t… I moved. Not far. Just to the unit downstairs. You’re probably thinking why go through all the trouble to move all your stuff down stairs?

Answer: For a patio.

You know what patios mean in Southern California? Outdoor space for dinner parties pretty much year round. When you live in a studio, having people over is awkward. Oh hey friend, why don’t you sit on my bed while I make you a cocktail and serve you a cheese platter? Borderline creepy.

Now I have outdoor space where I can have people sit without being a creeper. My most recent dinner venture was Southern themed. I’ve never been to the South (well I don’t count Florida as the South. Do you?) but here’s my south-inspired menu: Pulled Pork Sandwiches, Homemade Coleslaw, Baked Beans and Peanut Butter Cream Pie.

But what’s a dinner party without appetizers?

So in keeping with my Southern theme and the fact that my last impulse buy at the grocery store was a huge jar of pickles, I thought fried pickles might be the right choice. The only issue is I hate frying things. So crisis averted…

Oven Not-Fried Pickles

adapted from Skinny Taste

1 jar of pickles (I used dill oval cut chips)
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup cornmeal
1/4 whole wheat flour
1 tsp cajun spice
pinch of salt
1 egg
2 tbsp milk

In a bowl combine breadcrumbs, cornmeal, flour, cajun spice and salt.

In another bowl beat together egg and milk. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 450F. Pat dry the pickles using a towel/paper towel. Dip one into the egg mixture then toss in the breadcrumb mixture. Place on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Repeat until all pickles are breaded (or you’re tired of doing this).

Bake 8-10 minutes, flip and bake another 5 minutes or until golden.

Serve hot with ketchup for dipping.

These were winners, but trust me on this. They taste better when they’re hot… and with a cold beer… and preferably on a patio (not your bed… unless you’re into that kind of thing, in which case I’m not judging).

Is your mouth watering yet? Mine is.

Whole Wheat Peanut Butter Butterscotch Cookies

September 19, 2012September 19, 20125 Comments

This is what happens when you are cheap and you go to the grocery store hungry.

Ok that’s not really what happens. What happens is you buy butterscotch chips that are 50% off, then rack your brain for 2 weeks trying to figure out what to make with them. Don’t worry if this happens to you make cookies. Cookies are generally a good idea.

Whole Wheat Peanut Butter Butterscotch Cookies

adapted from Food Network

1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup butterscotch chips

Preheat oven to 350F.

In a large bowl, cream together brown sugar, butter and peanut butter until smooth. Beat in egg and vanilla extract. Add whole wheat flour, baking soda and salt until almost combine. Fold in butterscotch chips.

Form dough into golf ball sized balls, place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and flatten slightly. Bake 12-15 minutes or until golden on the bottom. Place on a cooling rack to cool. Then serve!

Makes about 20 cookies.

In other news, these cookies were the first thing I made in my new kitchen.

Then I roasted vegetables, made another avocado pie and make an EPIC birthday cake for a co-worker’s bday tomorrow.

Slowly but surely, I’m catching up. What should I make next?

Avocado Pie

September 3, 2012September 3, 201211 Comments

My boyfriend told me that the first time he heard about me (right before we met over 2 years ago on a random trip to Las Vegas) he thought I was going to be a rich snob. Makes sense. I went to Cornell at the time and when I first meet people I tend to be quiet. I guess that translated to rich-bitch-face for me. But luckily, we moved past that.

2 years later, he’s coming to find that I’m quite the opposite. I might be the cheapest person I’ve ever met (after my mother that is… I had to get it somewhere right?). Yesterday, I had us walk to Costco before going to the movie theater so we could buy the cheaper tickets there. $8 savings! I say yes.

My frugality translated to food as well. For a long time, I would NEVER buy avocados. $1+ for an avocado seemed outrageous. But now, I’m growing up. And guys… I buy avocados. In fact, I just bought 2 right before writing this post. Is my cheapness fizzing away?

I don’t think so (the avocados I just bought were on sale), but if you’re cheap like me but want to use your avocados to your full potential, here’s how:

In pie form.

Yes, it’s sweet. Not savory, and truth be told, I don’t really taste the avocado in it. What I do taste (and trust me I tasted this one a lot, I ate it for breakfast 3 days last week…) is delicious creamy-ness.

Avocado Pie

from Blue Ribbon Pies (mostly)

1 stick of butter, melted
1 1/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1 large avocado (or 1 1/2 small, which is what I used), lightly mashed
1/4 cup lime juice
2 egg yolk
1 tsp vanilla
1 can (15 oz) sweetened condensed milk
1 cup sour cream
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup sugar

Prepare crust by mixing together melted butter, graham cracker crumbs and 1/4 powdered sugar. Press into a 9” pie pan. Put in the freezer until ready to use.

Preheat oven to 325.

Our lime juice over avocado slices and set aside. In a large bowl, beat egg yolks until thick (few minutes took me about 5?). Add avocado and lime juice and beat, add vanilla and continue to beat. Add sweetened condensed milk and beat until well combined. Pour mixture into prepared graham cracker crust. Bake 20 minutes.

Allow to cool completely. Meanwhile, mix together sour cream, vanilla and 1/4 cup sugar. Once the pie is completely cool, spread sour cream mixture over the pie. Chill for a few hours (I chilled it over night) then serve!

Ok so cheapness aside, I can’t take credit for this recipe. I owe it to my lovely friend, Rhoda. She shares my affinity for pies and cost-effectiveness, which I greatly appreciate.

But take my word for it, make this pie no one will think you’re a cheap-o. They’ll think your awesome for 1. giving them pie, 2. making an amazing pie that looks crazy but tastes great!

Things That Don’t Make It on the Blog

August 23, 20121 Comment

I’m not sure what I did before I had a blog. Did I just prepare food and eat it or give it away? Wait, let me think back a few years…

Oh, yeah. I guess not. I didn’t always try to attractively plate my food and photograph it. (Duh, only crazy people do that)

Truth be told, I don’t always photograph things. But friends, there’s another strange phenomenon that happens behind the Foodologie scenes…

Sometimes I make things, photograph them and DO NOT blog about it.

Gasp. You’re probably thinking, oh man what missed opportunities!

I know. It breaks my heart too.

So obviously this raises the question: are other blogger doing this too? Making things and then having the audacity to NOT share it with readers? I might be the only jerk out there who withholds baked goods from the blog world.

So I guess it’s time for me to repent. In the spirit of transparency, here are a few things that didn’t make the blog…

Exhibit A: Espresso Chocolate Chip Cookies

I baked and mailed them to a friend…

I think they were delicious; it was a while ago, but yes, I remember them being tasty. I had this grand idea of a series of blog posts involving friends, sadly this friend did not follow through, neither did another one for whom I made some hazelnut pinwheel cookies. Such is life. I’m not losing sleep over it.

Exhibit B: Bourbon Apple Pie

Haven’t I given you enough pies with bourbon in them? Sometimes I worry you all will tire of my pies. I still make them and feed them to people, but sometimes I just don’t feel the need to repeat a recipe, change one thing then call it something new. Hint: if you make my bourbon peach pie and replace the peaches with apples, you’ll get the pie photographed above.

Exhibit C: Peanut Butter Banana Caramel Bars (renamed by my office: Karmely Yum Bars)

Yes they were that delicious. They even got named for their goodness.

I’m not sure why I never blogged about these. Oh yeah, I completely forgot how I made them. Note to self: write down your ingredients when you create a recipe.

I’ll try my best to remake these, because honestly, they were to die for.

Exhibit D: My quest to make the perfect lemon pound cake.

Really I’ve tried at least 10 times. It’s still not perfect. I’ve gotten close but not quite. I refuse to post a recipe that’s anything less than divine. The last one I tried, this past week, was close. I took it to work and it was gone before noon.

That’s a good sign, but I wasn’t pleased. The quest continues. If I post a lemon pound cake recipe on this blog, be assured that is really is the most amazing thing on Earth.

So there you have it. I’ve let it all out. No secrets here. Isn’t that nice of me?

Truth be told: I can’t promise I won’t do this again… Like with those ceviche spring rolls I made a few weeks ago…

Foodologie

A Blog about Balancing Health with a Constant Desire to Eat Cake

Category: Uncategorized

Vacation: The China Recap

Off We Go!!

Chocolate Pudding with Peanut Butter Mousse and Maple Candied Bacon

Chocolate Pudding with Peanut Butter Mousse and Maple Candied Bacon

Pumpkin Pecan Bundt Cake

Pumpkin Pecan Bundt Cake

Bourbon Caramel Apple Pie

Bourbon Caramel Apple Pie

Oven Not-Fried Pickles

Oven Not-Fried Pickles

Whole Wheat Peanut Butter Butterscotch Cookies

Whole Wheat Peanut Butter Butterscotch Cookies

Avocado Pie

Avocado Pie

Things That Don’t Make It on the Blog