Musings on Dance, Food, Geek Stuff
So we had another work social event involving baking a week ago, and I brought something I’m pretty proud of: a Red Velvet Tres Leches cake with Ube Frosting. The occasion was something called “NPR Cake Week” where stations around the country all make cakes around certain themes. I was a bit fuzzy on the…
For Pi Day this year, I wanted to come up with something silly, personal and not too hard. I remembered one of my favorite desserts of all time is Filipino halo-halo. Halo-halo (literally “mix mix”) is a a colorful conflagration of crushed ice, condensed milk, various candied fruits and beans, ice cream, and flan. It’s…
Everyone has their own feelings about steel cut oatmeal. I’ve read a ton of different recipes and discussion about technique. Personally, I favor a thicker, more nutty textured oatmeal, and this is how I achieve it. The key question to successfully make steel cut oatmeal is the ratio of water to oats. Many recipes call…
Yes, these are square biscuits. Why you ask? For superior rise and less wastage of precious buttery dough. Also, they look fancy. I love this buttermilk biscuit recipe (based on Bon Appetit and America’s Test Kitchen) because it is so easy and yet has beautiful lamination and texture. I like to make these ahead of…
This long weekend I decided to work on a baking project I’ve been thinking about for a bit: a Porg Pot Pie. The inspiration was this awesome Porg pie bird that my dad got me two Christmas’s ago. Key parts of this challenge for me were to: make my first double-crust pie, successfully blind bake…
One of my projects during the holiday break has been learning how to make one of my favorite desserts: Danish pastry! Somewhere between a brioche and a croissant, Danish seemed like a good next step in my baking journey. First step was choosing a recipe. After scouring the internets, I decided King Arthur Flour /…
INGREDIENTS 1 4- to 5-pound duck Freshly ground black pepper ¼ cup soy sauce, more or less Equipment: roasting pan rack PREPARATION Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Remove giblets and neck from duck cavity and discard or reserve for another use. Cut off excess fat from duck cavity. Place duck, breast side down (wings up), on a…
I made Filipino turon for the first time! This is one of my favorite Filipino desserts, which is always a hit at parties. It’s a super simple recipe, but very labor intensive. I used plantain instead of Saba banana for the filling , along with jackfruit. I also dialed back the sweetness, which brings out…
Here’s a yummy vegetarian recipe from my colleague Julianna , who was riffing on this one. I made some modifications and added some steps to my version. Ingredients: Olive oil 2 medium eggplants, halved and scored 1 cup walnuts / pecans, chopped 1 cup mushrooms, sliced or chopped 1 tsp garlic powder 1 tsp cumin…
This recipe comes from Nan, a friend of my friend Maria in Holland. I’m still trying to dial it in, but love how fluffy these come out. Might need to steam them for a bit after frying on both sides. Instructions Sift together into a bowl: 2 cups all purpose flour, 4 teaspoons baking powder,…