Showing posts with label breakfast. Show all posts
Showing posts with label breakfast. Show all posts
Sunday, December 23, 2012
Monday, December 3, 2012
Monday, February 28, 2011
Sour Cream Coffee Cake
Hello hello hello friends. How was your weekend?
It sure was cold here in Los Angeles and despite it being sunny in West LA, it was hailing and snowing in the Valley just 10 minutes from me. Freaky weather I tell you!
Like I mentioned on Friday, I spent Saturday with my Brosky and Co. in Pasadena at the Norton Simon Museum.
After getting our culture on, we headed back over the hill (and snow/slush) to my apartment where I cooked a semi-successful dinner of chicken rice. For dessert, Sarah brought over some very delicious Almond cookies dipped in dark chocolate and I had some leftover Sour Cream Coffee Cake that I had baked for a brunch last week.
After rebuffing the Almond Cookies for being too Almond-y, my nephew had a piece of the Coffee Cake and, in between mouthfuls of it, declared that I needed to give him the recipe for it!
As a wanna-be chef, there is nothing that makes me happier! So, my dear dear sweet Luca, here is the recipe for that Coffee Cake.
Ingredients
Streusel
1/2 cup pecan pieces
6 tablespoons packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
Cake
2 cups sour cream
2 large eggs
4 tablespoons pure vanilla extract
2 teaspoons minced fresh orange zest
3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 lb (or 2 sticks) butter, softened
2 cups granulated sugar
Directions:
1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 10 inch Bundt pan.
2. Scatter the pecan pieces evenly around the bottom of the Bundt pan. Combine the brown sugar, 1 1/2 teaspoons of the cinnamon, and the nutmeg into a small bowl. Sprinkle half the streusel mixture evenly over the pecans, reserve the rest.
3. Whisk sour cream, eggs, vanilla extract, and orange zest in a bowl. In another bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, salt and remaining cinnamon.
4. With an electric mixer on medium speed, cream the butter and sugar until fluffy and light. Pour in the sour cream mixture about 1/2 cup at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the flour mixture, about a third at a time, stopping to scrape the bowl after each addition and beating until well combined. The batter will be THICK. Spoon about 1/3 of the batter into the Bundt pan. Leave the surface rather uneven and sprinkle in the remaining streusel mixture. Now spoon in the remaining batter and smooth the surface.
5. Bake on the oven's middle rack for 55 to 60 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Cool the cake for 10 mins in the pan. Then run a knife around the edges and remove from pan by inverting it. Finish cooling top side up on a baking rack. Cool for at least 10 mins before slicing.
Cake keeps well for several days when tightly covered.
Recipe from The Real American Breakfast by Cheryl Alters Jamison & Bill Jamison.
It sure was cold here in Los Angeles and despite it being sunny in West LA, it was hailing and snowing in the Valley just 10 minutes from me. Freaky weather I tell you!
Like I mentioned on Friday, I spent Saturday with my Brosky and Co. in Pasadena at the Norton Simon Museum.
 |
| How Picasso gets this from.... |
 |
| this, I'll never know! |
After getting our culture on, we headed back over the hill (and snow/slush) to my apartment where I cooked a semi-successful dinner of chicken rice. For dessert, Sarah brought over some very delicious Almond cookies dipped in dark chocolate and I had some leftover Sour Cream Coffee Cake that I had baked for a brunch last week.
After rebuffing the Almond Cookies for being too Almond-y, my nephew had a piece of the Coffee Cake and, in between mouthfuls of it, declared that I needed to give him the recipe for it!
As a wanna-be chef, there is nothing that makes me happier! So, my dear dear sweet Luca, here is the recipe for that Coffee Cake.
Ingredients
Streusel
1/2 cup pecan pieces
6 tablespoons packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
Cake
2 cups sour cream
2 large eggs
4 tablespoons pure vanilla extract
2 teaspoons minced fresh orange zest
3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 lb (or 2 sticks) butter, softened
2 cups granulated sugar
Directions:
1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 10 inch Bundt pan.
2. Scatter the pecan pieces evenly around the bottom of the Bundt pan. Combine the brown sugar, 1 1/2 teaspoons of the cinnamon, and the nutmeg into a small bowl. Sprinkle half the streusel mixture evenly over the pecans, reserve the rest.
3. Whisk sour cream, eggs, vanilla extract, and orange zest in a bowl. In another bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, salt and remaining cinnamon.
4. With an electric mixer on medium speed, cream the butter and sugar until fluffy and light. Pour in the sour cream mixture about 1/2 cup at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the flour mixture, about a third at a time, stopping to scrape the bowl after each addition and beating until well combined. The batter will be THICK. Spoon about 1/3 of the batter into the Bundt pan. Leave the surface rather uneven and sprinkle in the remaining streusel mixture. Now spoon in the remaining batter and smooth the surface.
5. Bake on the oven's middle rack for 55 to 60 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Cool the cake for 10 mins in the pan. Then run a knife around the edges and remove from pan by inverting it. Finish cooling top side up on a baking rack. Cool for at least 10 mins before slicing.
Cake keeps well for several days when tightly covered.
Recipe from The Real American Breakfast by Cheryl Alters Jamison & Bill Jamison.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Bobo
It seems inevitable that whenever I am in New York for the weekend, I just have to hit up a dining establishment for brunch. I fancy myself Carrie from SATC, weekend brunching with her ladies, all in fabulous outfits.
But reality is I'm not Carrie. NYC or not, I most likely do not have a fancy outfit on (it was freezing in New York this particular trip and the LA/Singapore girl in me chose warmth over fashion. Although I will say I did love my over the knee boots I had on) and I definitely am not having any of that Sex In The City. But fancy outfits and sex aside, I was having brunch! Brunch with my friends Shu and Keith, brunch at bobo restaurant and brunch in the City.
Located in a beautiful old brownstone in Greenwich Village, we discovered bobo through some "interwebs" researching and made reservations to brunch there Saturday morning.
Upon entering the restaurant via the conspicuously unmarked basement entrance (Faux Speakeasy anyone,) we walked right into bobo's subterranean bar area. The brunch vibe there was cool and young, very New York.
As I glanced around the room checking out the scene, I found myself feeling pretty pleased to be "weekend brunching" with the cool kids. However, instead of seating us with the young-uns, our hostess lead us right up a flight of rickety stairs to the main dining room, where we were surrounded by two groups of older patrons. WHAT?? Did we just get seated in the "adults" only boring room? Did we not make the cut? Could they tell I was not a New Yorker??
So there we were, with the oldies in the upstairs intimate (and intimate it was, as I found myself sitting way too close to the next table) dining room, surrounded by tastefully rummaged knickknacks (glass-bead chandeliers, old black and white "family" photos and a pastiche of mismatched “antiques.”) and a large scale hexagonal bookshelf stocked with random volumes and hardcovers.
Despite the chic décor that is meant to evoke a bourgeois bohemian’s dinner party, I didn't care too much for the dark antiquated effect the room had. It made me feel like I was eating in a rundown dirty house. I guess I just don't get the boho bourgeois look and feel.
That, or I am still sore that we didn't get seated downstairs with all the popular kids.
Food wise, bobo is a self-proclaimed farm-to-table eatery, which I am always for. After glancing through the brunch menu, I ordered the soft scrambled eggs with tomatoes, potatoes and spicy pepita toasts.
The eggs were cooked to American perfection, and by that I mean that they were nice and dried out, the way Americans expect their scrambled eggs to be. I, on the other hand, have a more European take on scrambled eggs and like mine a little wetter.
That being said, I did appreciate the sweet and tangy tomatoes that were so juicy that it almost made no sense for it not to be summer outside. Additionally, the potatoes had such a lovely crisp and seasoning to them I couldn't help but chow down greedily.
However, my favorite thing from my plate were the pepita toasts. Served atop freshly baked bread from Balthazar (we asked), the pepita spread had a mouth-watering sweet/spicy combo that was refined yet hearty. The masterful combination of the nutty pepita spread and crusty yet chewy bread was relentlessly addictive.
I also have to give a small shout out to the side order of bacon that we ordered (because fat kids are harder to kidnap.) Thick cut, smokey and laden with bacon-tastiness, the bacon was cooked exactly the way I like it- crispy but not burned and most importantly not dripping with oil.
Details:
bobo
181 West 10th Street
New York, NY 10014
212- 488-2626
But reality is I'm not Carrie. NYC or not, I most likely do not have a fancy outfit on (it was freezing in New York this particular trip and the LA/Singapore girl in me chose warmth over fashion. Although I will say I did love my over the knee boots I had on) and I definitely am not having any of that Sex In The City. But fancy outfits and sex aside, I was having brunch! Brunch with my friends Shu and Keith, brunch at bobo restaurant and brunch in the City.
 |
| Source |
Located in a beautiful old brownstone in Greenwich Village, we discovered bobo through some "interwebs" researching and made reservations to brunch there Saturday morning.
Upon entering the restaurant via the conspicuously unmarked basement entrance (Faux Speakeasy anyone,) we walked right into bobo's subterranean bar area. The brunch vibe there was cool and young, very New York.
As I glanced around the room checking out the scene, I found myself feeling pretty pleased to be "weekend brunching" with the cool kids. However, instead of seating us with the young-uns, our hostess lead us right up a flight of rickety stairs to the main dining room, where we were surrounded by two groups of older patrons. WHAT?? Did we just get seated in the "adults" only boring room? Did we not make the cut? Could they tell I was not a New Yorker??
So there we were, with the oldies in the upstairs intimate (and intimate it was, as I found myself sitting way too close to the next table) dining room, surrounded by tastefully rummaged knickknacks (glass-bead chandeliers, old black and white "family" photos and a pastiche of mismatched “antiques.”) and a large scale hexagonal bookshelf stocked with random volumes and hardcovers.
Despite the chic décor that is meant to evoke a bourgeois bohemian’s dinner party, I didn't care too much for the dark antiquated effect the room had. It made me feel like I was eating in a rundown dirty house. I guess I just don't get the boho bourgeois look and feel.
That, or I am still sore that we didn't get seated downstairs with all the popular kids.
Food wise, bobo is a self-proclaimed farm-to-table eatery, which I am always for. After glancing through the brunch menu, I ordered the soft scrambled eggs with tomatoes, potatoes and spicy pepita toasts.
The eggs were cooked to American perfection, and by that I mean that they were nice and dried out, the way Americans expect their scrambled eggs to be. I, on the other hand, have a more European take on scrambled eggs and like mine a little wetter.
That being said, I did appreciate the sweet and tangy tomatoes that were so juicy that it almost made no sense for it not to be summer outside. Additionally, the potatoes had such a lovely crisp and seasoning to them I couldn't help but chow down greedily.
However, my favorite thing from my plate were the pepita toasts. Served atop freshly baked bread from Balthazar (we asked), the pepita spread had a mouth-watering sweet/spicy combo that was refined yet hearty. The masterful combination of the nutty pepita spread and crusty yet chewy bread was relentlessly addictive.
I also have to give a small shout out to the side order of bacon that we ordered (because fat kids are harder to kidnap.) Thick cut, smokey and laden with bacon-tastiness, the bacon was cooked exactly the way I like it- crispy but not burned and most importantly not dripping with oil.
Details:
bobo
181 West 10th Street
New York, NY 10014
212- 488-2626
Monday, June 14, 2010
May the Force Be With You
"Luke I am your father!" Or if you've seen the Hokkien version, "Luke wah si lim lao pei!"
Everyone loves pancakes, but who can resist pancakes fashioned after Yoda, Darth Vader or a stormtropper?
Meshing my love for being a geek and my love for food, these Star Wars Pancake Molds are too cute for words. As Father's Day approaches, don't just take your Pa boring ol' pancakes in bed, use these pancakes molds and help him honor his favorite galactic hero or villain.
Seriously! How can anyone not smile at the thought of a stack of Yoda pancakes drenched in your favorite syrup?
Details:
Star Wars Pancake Molds
Williams Sonoma
$19.95 for a set of 3
Monday, March 1, 2010
Clementine Cake
Regardless, citrus fruits are very versatile ingredients with clear, intense flavors that brighten up any dish. I first tried out this clementine cake recipe last Christmas. With an idiot proof recipe and seasonal clementines, I've declared it a staple in my winter repertoire.
The clementine cake is perfect either as a dessert with some crème fraîche, or as a cake to be eaten for tea.
Ingredients:
4-5 clementines (about 1 lb total weight)
6 eggs
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
2 1/3 cup ground almonds
1 heaping teaspoon baking powder
Directions:
1. Put the clementines in a pot with cold water to cover, bring to boil and cook for 2 hours. When cooled, drain and cut each clementine in half and remove seeds. Chop skins, pith and fruit finely in a food processor.
2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees and butter a 8 inch springform pan.
3. Beat the eggs and add the sugar, almonds and baking powder. Mix well and add the chopped clementines.
4. Pour the mixture into the pan and bake for an hour or when a toothpick comes out clean. You might have to cover the cake with foil after about 40 minutes to stop the top from burning. Remove from the oven and leave to cool on a rack, but in the pan. When the cake is cool, remove from the pan.
This cake is better the next day when all the flavors have had a chance to mix and mingle, but can one really wait a day before tucking in?
Recipe courtesy of Nigella Lawson from How to Eat.
Monday, January 25, 2010
Monkey Bread
Growing up in Singapore, I'd never come across Monkey Bread, yet alone heard of it. I first encountered the idea of Monkey Bread when a good friend mentioned that her step-mom makes a killer monkey bread. Killer? Monkey? What? I was intrigued.
This past Christmas season, I decided that it was the perfect time to take this 'mysterious' Monkey Bread into the kitchen. Let me tell you, Monkey Bread, worth the hype! The results were simply delicious (almost sinful) and the smell alone is to die for.
Ingredients:
2 Cans of Buttermilk Biscuits (Non-Flaky Ones)
1 cup Sugar
2 Teaspoons Cinnamon
1 stick of Butter
1/4 cup Brown Sugar
A Bundt Pan
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
Open both cans of biscuits and cut each biscuit into quarters.
In a 1 gallon ziplock bag, combine 1 cup regular sugar with 2 teaspoons of cinnamon. Shake to mix.
Drop all of the quartered biscuits into the zip lock bag. Seal and shake vigorously to coat each individual piece with cinnamon-sugar. Don't worry if you have extra cinnamon-sugar, that's okay.
Arrange pieces in your bundt pan and build layers as you go. Some recipes called for greasing your pan but I figured that since I was going to drown the biscuits in a gallon of butter (see next step), I would be safe.
Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, melt the stick of butter with 1/4 cup of brown sugar (light or dark). Stir over medium heat until well mixed. Pour mixture over layered biscuits.
Bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes or until the crust is a deep dark brown. Cool for 15 minutes before turning out onto a plate. Pull apart (or if you want to be civilized, use utensils) and enjoy!
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