the flaky tart

while visiting my best friend by the jersey shore, i was still struggling with jet lag. so since we were both up early, she took me her favorite bakery, the flaky tart, in atlantic highlands. however b/c of the major snowstorm that hit the east coast, the bakery was practically empty.

but they did have peanut butter cookies that my friend really wanted me to try. it's really a peanut butter cookie sandwich. in between each sandwich is a nice layer of peanut butter. also, they had some croissants that just came out of the oven. they definitely don't skimp out on the butter. these croissants were beautifully flaky and buttery.

it's too bad they didn't have more baked good to try, but i guess that will be for next time.

stick a fork in me cuz i'm done.

my friend invited me over for her famous turkey. she makes the most succulent turkey that is NEVER dry. she rubs butter all over the exterior of the turkey before it goes into the oven giving it a beautiful golden color. also the butter gives the skin a nice crispy texture after it's done. inside she fills it with sliced oranges and other vegetables to keep the inside from drying out.

she knows exactly how long to bake her turkey in the oven. each time, it's perfection! there's never a dry piece of meat on this turkey. i guess after years of practice, she just knows how to prepare an amazing turkey.

she always makes a huge buffet of food! it felt like thanksgiving all over again. i enjoyed turkey, yams, ham, stuffing, homemade cranberry sauce and other goodies.

i went home like the turkey, stuffed and done.

oh wegmans!

one of my favorite places to get a hoagie (sub) sandwich is wegmans supermarket. i always ask for the wheat bread, and today i chose danny's favorite (genoa salami, capicola, and spicy ham) with provolone cheese, sweet peppers, hot peppers, olives, pickles, lettuce tomato and bit of mayo and spicy mustard. that's the way i like it.

it's just that wonderful combination of italian meats in between a delicious sweet wheat roll.

food staging

my brother asked me to take some photos of his food at his restaurant, sammy chon's ktown bbq. in the past, all of my food photos are taken with my little canon digital camera, but he has a nice nikon digital SLR that he got for christmas. i had a lot of fun plating the food and taking photos of some of his dishes. i had to experiment with lighting but overall, i think these photos turned out nicely.

i know i could never be a food critic because i'm not a writer, but maybe i should look into becoming a food photographer. until then, i'll just continue to take photos with my little canon.

a little dutch treat

last weekend, i went to birmingham to the largest german christmas market in the UK. it was pretty crazy. loads of people. at times i felt so claustrophobic.

but it was all worth b/c i was able to try poffertjes, a traditional dutch batter treat! they are little mini puffed pancakes. toppings include powdered sugar, nutella, fruits, etc. i chose to have it with nutella.

i was very intrigued by the pan they use to make them.

ooh.. can't wait to have poffertjes again.

deep fried in the UK

in the states mcdonald's stop deep frying their apple pies, but i found in england, they are still deep frying them!!!

i know the baked apple pie is healthier, but i used to loved the deep fried apple pies when i was kid.

and now, i can return to my childhood.

and they're 2 for 1 GBP (great british pound). that's almost like 2 for $1.

i took the 2 for 1 deal and saved the other one for later.

for those who need gluten free

some of my colleagues are allergic to gluten (wheat) so life can be tough for them. they told me how they recently bought rice paper wraps, but they didn't know what to do with them. i told them that they could use them to make vietnamese spring rolls, but this was something foreign to them.

so i gave them a cooking lesson on making vietnamese spring rolls. Jen was an excellent sous chef helping me prepare all the veg (vegetables as they call it here in the UK). her husband, Ben, also helped us in the kitchen. the great thing was that we could find almost everything we needed except for thai basil. but we had our basics like fish sauce, hoisin sauce, mint, coriander (which is cilantro), limes, etc.

for the dipping sauce i used:
4 tsp fish sauce
1/4 cup water
2 tbsp fresh lime juice
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tbsp sugar

however, i adjusted the ingredients tasting it along the way. but if you start off with these ingredients, you can make your own great dipping sauce.

for the peanut sauce i used:
3 tbsp hoisin sauce
1 tbsp peanut butter
1 tsp finely chopped peanuts

it was a little thick so i added some water.

also, for another filler, we also had ground pork sauteed with garlic, salt and pepper.

here's a link to a video on how to roll up your spring rolls. the key is to NOT overstuff them and to use good quality rice paper that doesn't have cracks.

i really enjoyed prepping with them, but also giving them a lesson on making the spring rolls. of course, we ended up with too much food, but that just means leftovers! personally it was nice enjoying asian food.

hm.. i wonder what we'll cook next. maybe pho? i need some good pho in this kind of weather.

stollen

i apologize for my lack of posts! I can't believe it's been a few weeks. does that mean food in england is scarce? not really.

the other weekend my housemates and i had an open house. my german housemade baked stollen, a traditional german fruit cake. But this is not like american fruit cake. it contains spices, dried fruit and nuts and sprinkled with powered sugar. some have marzipan in the center.

i like spreading a light layer of butter on top of a slice of stollen.

i need to get the recipe from my housemate, but she'll have to translate it first.

thanksgiving in england

i found out a few weeks before thanksgiving that a friend JJ would visit me here in england. so we decided to host a thanksgiving meal for my housemates who had never experienced a traditional american thanksgiving meal.

i asked her to bring tiny marshmallows for the candied yams. all the other ingredients i was able to find in the local supermarkets. i still am amazed how people prepare a whole thanksgiving meal on their own. i prepared the meal over a period of a few days. i did have an issue of storage, but strangely my kitchen is pretty cold so i just kept the dished on the counter. i was a cold thanksgiving.

we prepared a turkey, green bean casserole, cornbread stuffing with leeks and chestnuts, candied yams, homemade cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes and a friend brought over corn and a pumpkin pie! everything we needed to have a thanksgiving meal.

the turkey turned out try, probably b/c we didn't brine it. i've always left the turkey to other people so i'm not the expert in cooking a turkey.

however i did take the left over and put it in a leek and potato soup. that was perfect for these cold winter days over here.

we had lots of leftovers that we continued to enjoy afterwards just like i would in the states.

right tools

having the right tools can really make a difference when you cook. while shopping at bicester village, i found this bargain at the le creuset store. i got a 22cm cast iron pot.

i've always wanted a cast iron pot, but the price has always deterred me from buying one. however, the outlet had a great price.

why do i love my le creuset pot? you can cook so many things in it. soups, stews, sauces, rice, etc. the advantage of a cast iron pot is that you can go from the stove top straight to the oven. it heats evenly all throughout the pot, and it keeps your dish warm even after you've turned off the heat.

jamie's killer jerk chicken

tonight i tried another jamie oliver recipe, jamie's killer jerk chicken, that i saw on his show, jamie's 30 minute meals.

along with the chicken, i made the rice (without beans b/c i forgot the beans), corn and yogurt sauce.

i made a few alterations. i couldn't find chicken breast with skin, so i used chicken drumsticks instead. because i don't have a blender, i just chopped up all the ingredients for the jerk sauce and mixed it all together. i took the easy route and boiled some frozen corn, adding a dash of salt and a pat of butter. the chicken had a nice tangy spicy bite to it. overall, i think it turned out pretty well, if i do say so myself. my housemates were very happy with this dish. i will definitely be making this dish again.

however, i must say... it did NOT take me 30 minutes. i didn't prepare the salad either. i think it took me about 50 minutes. i have to remind myself. i don't cut as fast as jamie. i don't have everything all set up for me when i start to cook, but i do have housemates to clean up my mess. :)

can't wait to see what jamie will cook up next!

Jamie's Killer Jerk Chicken

Serves 4

Ingredients

For the chicken

• 4 x 180g chicken breasts, skin on
• 1 tablespoon runny honey
• A few sprigs of fresh rosemary
• A few sprigs of fresh coriander

For the salad

• 1 red pepper
• 1 red chicory
• 1 cos or romaine lettuce
• 2 limes
• ¼ of a red onion
• A small bunch of fresh coriander
• 1 punnet of cress

For the rice and beans

• 2 spring onions
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 250g long-grain rice
• 600ml organic chicken stock
• 1 x 400g carton of black beans

For the corn

• 4 large corn on the cob, husks removed

For the jerk sauce

• 4 spring onions
• A small bunch of fresh thyme
• 3 fresh bay leaves
• Ground cloves
• Ground nutmeg
• Ground allspice
• 6 tablespoons golden rum
• 6 tablespoons white wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon runny honey
• 1 Scotch bonnet chilli
• 4 cloves of garlic

For the seasonings

• Olive oil
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Sea salt and black pepper

For the yoghurt

• 1 x 250g pot of natural yoghurt
• A few sprigs of fresh coriander
• 1 lime

To serve

• Cold beer

To start: Get all your ingredients and equipment ready. Fill and boil the kettle. Put a large griddle pan and a large saucepan on a high heat.Turn the oven on to 220°C/425°F/gas 7.

Chicken: Put the chicken breasts on a plastic board and halve each one, leaving them joined at the top of the breast. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt & pepper, then rub all over both sides of the chicken. Put into the hot griddle pan, skin side down, and leave to cook. Clear away the board and wash the knife and your hands.

Corn: Put the corn into the saucepan with a good pinch of salt and cover with boiling water. Put the lid on.

Jerk sauce: Trim and roughly chop the onions and put into the liquidizer with the leaves from most of the bunch of thyme, 3 bay leaves (stalks removed), a large pinch each of ground cloves, nutmeg and allspice, 6 tablespoons each of rum and vinegar, 1 tablespoon of honey and 2 teaspoons of salt. Remove the stalks and seeds from the Scotch bonnet chilli and add the chilli to the liquidizer, then quickly crush in 4 unpeeled cloves of garlic and blitz with the lid on until you have a really smooth paste. Add a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil to loosen, if needed.

Chicken: The undersides should be golden now, so turn the chicken over. Pour the jerk sauce into a snug-fitting baking dish and use tongs to lay the chicken on top, skin side up. Drizzle over 1 tablespoon of runny honey and scatter over a few sprigs of rosemary and the remaining thyme sprigs. Put on the top shelf of the oven and cook for 15minutes, or until cooked through. Carefully pour away the oil from the griddle pan and wipe clean with kitchen paper, then put back on a high heat.

Rice and beans: Put a large wide saucepan with a lid on a medium heat. Trim and finely slice the spring onions and put in the saucepan with the cinnamon stick, a good lug of olive oil and a big pinch of salt & pepper. Stir and let soften for a minute or so, then add the rice and chicken stock. Drain and rinse the beans, then add to the pan. Stir gently. Bring to the boil, then reduce to a medium heat. Pop the lid on and leave for 12 minutes.

Yoghurt: Tip the yoghurt into a small serving bowl. Finely chop a few sprigs of coriander and add to the bowl with a pinch of salt and a good lug of extra virgin olive oil. Finely grate over the zest of ½ the lime and squeeze in the juice. Stir in, then take to the table with the other lime half for squeezing over.

Corn: Use tongs to move the corn to the hot griddle pan and drizzle over a little olive oil. Cook and turn frequently until charred. Once ready, put on a platter and take to the table.

Salad: Get a very large board that you’re happy to serve on. Deseed and roughly chop the red pepper. Put the red chicory and cos lettuce on top and keep chopping until everything is fairly fine. Make a well in the centre. Pour in a few lugs of extra virgin olive oil and squeeze in the juice of 2 limes. Finely grate over the red onion quarter, season to taste, then toss everything together. Tear over the coriander, snip over the cress and take to the table.

Rice and beans:Take the lid off the rice after 12 minutes and give it a stir. All the liquid should have been absorbed. Taste and correct the seasoning if need be, then take to the table.

To serve:Take the chicken out of the oven, sprinkle over some coriander leaves and take straight to the table. When serving, spoon over the jerk sauce from the bottom of the baking dish. Crack open a few cold bottles of beer and enjoy.