Mock Apple Pies

This year at school I'm taking a course called "Cooking with Chemistry"....which is basically the best thing ever! In the class we learn how to cook pretty basic recipes, but we learn the chemistry behind it all, and why each food does what it does. It's super informative, and will surely help later on in life when everyone in college has no idea how to properly boil and egg, or the meaning of the term "blanche". (because i will!)

So a few weeks ago, we learned how to make a "mock" apple pie. Otherwise known as an apple pie without apples. Sounds preposterous, right?! How in the world can one possibly bake this good ol' American classic without those signature granny smith apples? 
Well, it's actually very simple. And easy. And mind-blowing.
It begins with a store bought graham cracker crust. The ingredients consist of butter (of course), sugar, vanilla, lemon juice, baking soda, cinnamon, and....get ready....RITZ CRACKERS. Crackers! Like snacking food. Somehow, these ingredients get combined, thrown in the oven, and come out tasting and looking exactly like an apple pie. 

We first began by slightly crushing up the ritz cracker into pieces. The idea behind this is that once baked, the pieces look just like apple slices. And whether you want to believe it or not folks, appearance is a big factor in the way food ends up tasting. Aesthetics is key when it comes to cooking and baking, because when you see something that looks good, you eat it. 

The melted butter, with lemon, vanilla, sugar and cinnamon were all added to the pieces, and made into a sort of mixture. Then we topped it off with a little bit more butter (obviously) and popped in the oven. 

Now, the lemon juice was another interesting ingredient. We added it to contribute the tangy, tart flavor that apple pie usually has. You wouldn't think twice about it, but it was truly an essential ingredient to this fake apple pie. 

The mass amounts of melted butter not only helped these puppies taste delicious, but it was absorbed by the ritz crackers which gave the pies that almost mushy texture that a true apple pie would have. 

And there you have it! A mock apple pie. Bring it to a party, and tell everyone it's a homemade apple pie. 
They will believe you.
It looks like apple pie,
it tastes like apple pie,
and that's all that people will care about.

Axe Restaurant

This weekend my father and I went to Los Angeles for a quick weekend getaway/college tour and obviously, we were itching to eat at some of the best hipster locations in town.
Thankfully one of my dad's coworkers had a list of about 4 or 5 restaurants stacked up, so the issue was really just deciding where to go.
I decided we should try out this super cute, simplistic restaurant called "Axe". Pronounced "ah-shey", it comes off as a pretty pretentious institution....but apparently axe (or ah-sheyyyy) is a Nigerian word meaning "good blessings", used before eating meals. So that justified the cockiness of the name. 




Now, lets get down to the real business of this post: the food.
As soon as we walked in, I looked around and just about every table was noshing on this amazing looking piece of bread, rolled up, with different dips on the side. Immediately I knew...WE ARE ORDERING THIS. It was love at first sight.
I searched for it hard on the menu and ordered it right off the bat; it was a starter of grilled flatbread and spreads- including hummus, greens marmalade, shallot yogurt, muhumara, and roasted eggplant.

As soon as it arrived, there was a maddening rush to get a picture of the dish before our mouths were able to eat it. My dad especially, was very, very hungry. It was a little bit of a stressful experience to eat it just because it was that good. Both of us wanted to eat it all, but we couldn't. So it was a quick paced race to finish the flatbread and spreads. The entire time, my dad just kept repeating "wow" every other minute. 

It was quite a scene.

Axe does most of their dishes tapa style, so we ordered a few (probably a few too many) more things. We honestly could've been fine with just this flatbread starter and the salad, but there was too much good stuff on the menu to pass up. 

(*disclaimer: please excuse the extremely crappy quality of my iPhone food photos...the flash really does these dishes no justice whatsoever)....

This was the fresh dungeness crab salad with lettuce cups, avocado, cilantro, chili and lime dressing. 

Above, we have the sake marinated, grilled all-pasture filet of beef on the left

and grilled local squid with braised beans and aioli

 This dish I'm saving for last because it was my favorite (besides the flatbread). These were roasted beets with shallot cumin yogurt, cucumber mint relish, and toasted pistachios. Oh man it was soooo good. Both the beets and our amazing flatbread starter had very Moroccan/middle eastern vibes in their flavors. I really enjoyed the way the cold creaminess of shallot cumin yogurt paired with the usually weird taste of the beets; and then the toasty crunch from the pistachios! heaven. 

To conclude, let's just take another look at the flatbread dish, from a different angle. 

You're welcome.

Portuguese Nommin'

Just a few days ago I returned from a family vacation in Portugal, where I was fortunate enough to have some of their fresh, simple, and delicious food! The Portuguese are known for a few specialties: the fish, the bread, and the pastelerias (pastry shops), where they sell the infamous pastry, "Pastel de Nata". While most nights we cooked our own food, there were a few dishes I could not get enough of... 

This simple salad was called the "Portuguese salad" and was the first meal I had in Portugal. Certainly a great way to start the trip! 

This is the gazpacho they served at our hotel. I probably had this for lunch 3 or 4 times...it was served with prawns (shrimp) and a drizzle of olive oil on top. It was simply the most delicious thing ever, especially with some of that delicious Portuguese bread dipped in!

simple chicken kabobs with a mango sauce

To the left is a dish I ordered while dining at a traditional "Fado" restaurant; whilst we ate, different Fado singers came up and sang gloomy songs for about 10 minutes. It was actually a bit annoying because all movement stopped in the restaurant in order to avert all attention to the singer. So it took a lot longer for us to be served...

But I ended up ordering the black pepper grilled pork served atop a chestnut puree (the best part!) and grilled zucchini. As you can see, they served me a lot more pork than I'd bargained for. It was certainly enough for three people! The chestnut puree was delicious; I ate all of it. The pork? I was only able to finish 1/3 of! 

Another night we ate at a very traditional seafood restaurant overlooking the ocean. To order, we had to get up and go to the butcher himself behind the counter of fish and tell him what we wanted. All the starters and entrees were on display (in their raw state), and we had to scramble to tell the impatient Portuguese man what we wanted. He was a tad snappy, but I thought it was more authentic that way. 

For a starter, I ordered the Prawn salad (top left). It was probably the most delicious thing ever. It was so incredibly simple too! It consisted of cooked prawns, sliced onion, tomato, green peppers, basil, shredded carrots, and dressed lightly with olive oil and vinegar. 

I ordered the grilled salmon for my entree, and I personally loved how simple it all was. It was served with just steamed veggies and two cooked potatoes, no extra spices or flavorings. All the focus was kept on the fish. 

The last night, we went to this amazing restaurant called "Flavours". I ordered the Cataplaina, which was served in a giant pot. The waiter brought the pot out and served you some of the stew onto a plate for you. They also brought out a plate of rice that you could help yourself to. 

The dish itself was a chicken version (traditionally it's a seafood medley), which included chicken, sausage, bacon, potatoes, and an amazing sauce. I loved it. It was like Portuguese comfort food! Once again, it was so simple, yet so satisfying and tasty. 

We've definitely been inspired by many of the dishes from Portugal! you can expect some homemade Portuguese dishes to come in the future.

Not Your Average Salad

As typical as this may seem, given the fact that I'm a teenage girl, I love salad.
This is something I am proud to admit...Not because I come off as "dainty" or "healthy" or "lady-like" when I eat them, but because they are so versatile. Salads don't have to be limited to lettuce and cucumbers!! You can put almost ANYTHING in them.
Take for example, The Blue Barn Cafe on Chestnut street. They are known for their creative and colossal salads, which defy the standards of your average salad. The menu consists of 11 different salad options, plus a seasonal one, which include anything and everything from ahi tuna, soba noodles, pita chips, blanched asparagus, crumbled egg, niman bacon or even pomegranate---and much more. 
They give you the option of ordering one of the salads on the menu or you can create your own. You can add things to your salad from each and every category (greens, crunch, sweet, salty, etc), even a "protein", which includes chicken, falafel, quinoa, steak, etc...


Two of my personal favorites from Blue Barn are the Fattoush salad and the Spicy Tuna salad. The Fattoush is a greek-style salad, and is composed of romaine, chicory chop, cherry tomatoes, red onions, cucumber, scallions, chickpeas, nicoise olives, herbs, crispy pita, feta cheese and a champagne-sumac vinaigrette. It's even better if you add avocado or grilled chicken; or both!

The Spicy Tuna salad (pictured above) includes mixed greens, chicory chop, spicy ahi tuna, avocado, mango, snow peas, cucumber, scallions, sesame seeds, soba noodles, and a miso-ginger vinaigrette. 
Blue Barn is notorious for having salads so big that people are simply unable to finish them. I've seen some pretty big guys who aren't even able to finish them! 
But let's be honest folks....the only reason they can't finish them is because people are simply shocked at how full they are from just a salad, and therefore "cannot" finish them. Pretty lame if you ask me.
Because I've never not finished one of these salads. Sure, initially it may feel as if you're really full, but that feeling immediately goes away once you remember how delicious it is. 
So please, get yourself over to Blue Barn and try one of these salads. And finish it. 

Good food I've had lately

Looking through my iPhone, I realized how many pictures of food I have. Which should be unsurprising really, given the fact that I'm a foodie and any delicious meal gone undocumented is quite a regretful experience. SO I decided that I'd create a post/compilation of all the good food I've had lately! Prepare yourself for some tasty pictures...hereeeee we go!

Fat Face Popsicles: Mango Sticky Rice and Rich Espresso Fudge (Off the Grid)

3-Sum Eats: Rice Krispy Crusted Fried Chicken Sandwich!! (Off the Grid)

BFF Breakfast: Mochas with whipped cream and giant cinnamon rolls :)

beef brisket sandwich with a side of coleslaw 

hot bowl of curry Pho

  homemade pizzas

a true breakfast of champions (made by yours truly)

froyo...what could be better

Made by my mother: a fresh tomato couscous salad  

Lovejoy's Tearoom fresh fruit, raisin scones, tea cookies, and a variety of small tea sandwiches!

Asaab: Eritrean Cuisine!

A few nights ago I was introduced to an entirely new world of foodie goodness. We went to a West African restaurant called Asaab on Geary st. They specialize in Eritrean cuisine (that's a country in Africa, for all you "Miss America"'s out there), which consists of veggies, meat, and the most important part of the dish, injera!
The way to approach a typical Eritrean meal is sans silverware. 

see the spongy stuff? thats injera.

YES, I just said that.
A.k.a, you eat with your hands, and of course, the injera. Now what exactly is injera you ask? well it is a soft, spongy, pancake-like, sourdough tasting bread disk thing. Sort of difficult to describe, but basically you use this amazing goodness to eat your food with.


We ordered about 6 entreés (for 4 people...reasonable, right?), which included beef, lamb, chicken, potatoes, lentils, spinach, and a salad came along with it. The way it is served is family style; everything piled on one massive plate atop the injera. 

Protocol for eating this meal? Rip off some injera, and grab whatever you can, and stuff your face. BEST THING EVER. 

OH. MY. GOD.

At this point we were eating out of pure deliciousness. It was just so good. All the flavors and spices went amazing with each other, and most of the time I didn't even really know what I was eating. But let me tell you, I was SO INCREDIBLY FULL afterwards.

Let me also tell you that I intend on returning many, many times.

Naked Lunch

A few weeks ago over my spring break, my dad decided to take me out on an exclusive, super hipster, foodie adventure! Who knew he was in the loop?! 

We went to a small popup sandwich place called "naked lunch"; during the night time hours, it's a spanish restaurant, but during the day they open up the kitchen and turn it into a cute little makeshift lunch spot. 

Apparently the menu is different every day, there are always vegetarian options, along with a daily soup and salad. All the ingredients and combinations were SO new, so fresh, so hipster! 

It was very difficult to decide what to get, even though the menu wasnt huge. i was very excited.

I decided to with the mary's farm fried chicken sandwich, with pickled carrot, fresno chili, cilantro, arugula and lime!

My dad opted for the crispy pork belly sandwich, which included herb chèvre, toasted almond, meyer lemon, and a mustard vinaigrette. 

After ordering, we sat outside for a very short while before they brought our sandwiches out to us....my mouth was watering.

on the left is the fried chicken, on the right is the pork belly!

Now, both sandwiches were delicious and had unique flavors, so of course I had to get a bite of my father's option. After one bite of his I decided that I liked it so much that I asked if we could switch sandwiches! And I'm his daughter, so he kind of had no choice :)

After woofing them down, i was a very happy girl. So i ordered another: 

...just kidding. i just really like posing in pictures with food.

hahhaha

La Cucina Italiana: Dolci!

It was our final day of Italian cooking, and the week had gone by quickly. Day 5 of "La Cucina Italiana" called for my favorite course...dessert!! Or dolci!
On the dessert menu for the day was cannolis, a hazelnut sponge cake, and a delicious passover pie. All traditional Italian desserts!




I was ever so luckily placed in the cannoli making group, which was exciting because I simply ADORE cannolis. The shells were store bought, because we had a lot of dessert to make and making those from scratch would probably add another 3 hours to our day. So we stuck with making just the cannoli filling, which was surprisingly incredibly easy!
It had ricotta cheese, powdered sugar, chopped toasted almonds, little chocolate chips, almond extract, and orange zest (a very good addition!) All we had to do was simply mix the ingredients together in a large bowl and refrigerate it for about 30 mins. 
(we really wanted to just eat it alone, with a spoon....)

Filling the shells was the fun part. The filling was in a ziplock bag, and all we did was cut a hole in the corner and squeeze it in, just like the professional pastry chefs we really are. 

look at these beauties!!

At the same time, the rest of the group was busy at work, making meringues and crusts for the pie, and chopping hazelnuts for the spongecake. 

preparing the spongecakes, and pies ready to bake

The end to our long day of baking with a nice lunch in the courtyard, with tons of bread, meat, and leftovers! Pasta, soup, sauce, pesto, ham....and then we dug into dessert! Everything turned out wonderfully. 

It was a fun week...I'd definitely do it again!

La Cucina Italiana: Segundi

Day four of Italian cooking = SEGUNDI, the second course! 
On the menu for today was eggplant parmesan, chicken marsala and meatballs. We were sure to stick to the very traditional and very Italian ways of making these meals; meaning we go light on garlic, don't cook the basil in super early, and focus on fresh ingredients. bellisimo! 


It began with peeling, slicing, and draining the bitter juices out of the eggplant. We then made two separate eggplant parmesan dishes; one where the eggplant slices were covered in flour and an egg wash, and the other was eggplant in flour, egg wash, and bread crumbs (my personal favorite of the two). 

After preparing the eggplant, we popped em on the fryer for a few minutes in order to prepare them for the casserole dish. 

it smelled so good....and so dangerously tempting

We stacked the slices of eggplant similar to how one would prepare a lasagna. There were layers of eggplant followed by a tomato based sauce, slices of mozzarella, and tons of parmesan cheese sprinkled atop! so yum.

There was so much to be done today, that the eggplant parmesan was the main dish I got thoroughly involved in. At the same time, meatballs were being rolled and chicken marsala was being cooked! After all the second course dishes were finished and ready, we feasted in the sunny courtyard. It was a long day, and this was by far the most satisfying meal of the week.