In the news

T (and the top of my head) is in the NY Times! See here for the full story: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/19/arts/television/19conan.html?_r=1

All things pretty

I remember walking into one of my former roommates fussing around the kitchen one Valentine's Day eve. Sighs of discontentment escaped out as she hovered over the making of what came to be very beautiful linzer cookies. I didn't understand her frustration at the time, only how amazing the heart-shaped pretty, buttery, and crunchy cookies she left us were. It was only until I attempted to replicate these valentine-y treats this past weekend that it made sense. These cookies are great, but it does come with some work. Making the dough isn't too hard but the tricky part comes with keeping the dough firm enough that it doesn't fall apart when rolling it out (creating crisp & light but a flavorful nutty cookie) and cutting it into shapes. But besides that, I think it's worth it for its tastiness and pretty looks at least once a year. It just takes some patience.

Linzer Cookies (recipe from Joy Of Baking)

1 cup blanched or sliced almonds, hazelnuts, or pecans, toasted and ground
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
2/3 cup granulated white sugar, divided
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 large egg yolks
Zest of 1 lemon (I didn't use this and it turned out okay still)
Confectioners' (icing or Powdered) Sugar for dusting
1/2 cup seedless Raspberry or Black Currant Preserves or Jam (can use other flavored preserves or jam)

See the directions here.

On another note, T & I enjoyed a plethora of good cooking this past V-day!

I woke up to my favorite - eggs benedict, with prosciutto and homemade hollandaise sauce. Yum, love poached eggs. Love someone else making it for me!


We got to play with our new fondue set (thanks Sally & Joe!) and dished into gruyere and swiss cheese fondue with pancetta and rosemary.
Shrimp & arugula pasta with red chilies and lemon wine sauce.


MEAT!!! (Rib Roast)


Molten Chocolate Cake - this has got to be the most surprisingly easiest but fancy dessert to make. It's basically a slightly undercooked chocolate cake with very little flour and lots of egg. Recipe here. So easy, so good.

Orange you glad?

Lately, after sifting through my favorite food blog Orangette (think food meets story), I became entranced with the photo of orangettes gleaming from the top of the webpage. Images of dazzling sugar-spiked orange slivers peeking out from dark chocolate covers danced around my head...until it set my brain on a one-way track to 'MUST EAT.' After making my rounds online, I could not find them for a price that I wouldn't feel guilty purchasing for a random craving/impulse. Instead, I found, these delicious creations aren't so hard to make - it just requires some time. So this is what I did:

Ingredients:
Oranges
Dark chocolate chips
Sugar
Water

Directions:
1. Slice ends off oranges (pick however many you want, depending on how many orangettes you want), score the peel from one end to the other, and remove the peels from the oranges.

2. Slice the peels into thin strips and trim their edges.

3. Using a medium size pot, place the peels in boiling water and blanch them for a few minutes. Rinse the peels, and repeat this process a second time. This is done to remove the bitterness of the peels.

4. Prepare the simple syrup by combining water and sugar in a 1:1 ratio in a saucepan. Use about 2 oz. water and 2 oz. sugar mixed together for each orange you've used (i.e. 8 oz. water + 8 oz. sugar for 4 oranges). Bring the syrup to a simmer, place the peels in the pot, and simmer for 1 hour.

5. Once the peels have cooked, remove them from the pot, and place on a rack to cool and drain.

6. Melt 16 oz. dark chocolate over a double boiler. Dip the candied orange peels in the chocolate, remove them quickly, and let them cool on a piece of parchment paper.

7. Store newly made orangettes in airtight container.

I'm still working on making them look pretty like this.

I like to think they're healthy. Look at all that vitamin C! Vitamins cancel out calories therefore, it's practically calorie-free.