Pumpkin Tiramisu Pie

Hi there! So...it's been a while. But we're not completely dead (just yet)!

Before Thanksgiving, BWL subtlely requested this pie - one in a long list of yummy-sounding pies.
It seemed easy enough, so we obliged.

Honestly, the most difficult part was trying to get the strips of parchment to cover the bottom of the pan, while trying to get the bottom latched in. We supposed the point of the strips was to easily transfer the pie to a plate later on, but it really didn't make a difference. Think we'll go with a single parchment piece next time.

K actually has skills (unlike me), taking the effort to pipe on the top layer of frosting, and add in some decorative cookie hearts.

Isn't it pretty? :)

The bad thing about this pie? I couldn't eat it.

Happy Chinese New Year!

Homemade lap cheung bao!

It started with some plain steamed bread as an accompaniment to dinner meats...but a a mom with Chinese sausage at hand will not relent until it is incorporated into your steamed bread. And now we find half of the dinner bao polished off prematurely...

Enjoy the holiday!

Happy Father's Day

(Let's ignore the fact that we haven't posted in 3 months and continue on with the yummies!)

First time using our grill. And our patio furniture.

Happy Daddy Day! :)

Happy Weekend #33

Right, so how long has it been since we last posted? Well, thank you, loyal readers, you.

This weekend post is dedicated to E Yee-Yee. Above is a remake of her famed chocolate cake. We were so grateful that she shared her recipe, but now she leaves us with a greater gift than we could have ever expected.

Please enjoy some randomness by reading THE LAST SEVERAL POSTS here:
Social Eatz
Little Giant
Szechuan Gourmet
White Castle
Bryant Park Grill
Vive la Crêpe!
Starbucks Petites
Aureole
The Best Chocolate Cake In The World



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Happy Weekend #32

Pain de Mie

Wow. We haven't done a weekend post since November?
It's a lazy night. Above and below (in addition to "Straight" Baguettes and Lavash) are the reasons why. I'm taking my first 5-day weekend culinary course in Artisanal Breadmaking. I. LOVE. IT. Look for a career change real soon. These photos are from the first two lessons (Saturday & Sunday). Unfortunately, you're missing about 97.89% of the experience of bread. If only you could at least smell them through these photos...

Brioche

Pain aux Cereales

Bagels & Kaiser Rolls

Happy Weekend!

Read THE LAST FEW MONTHS' POSTS here:
Pancake Month
Cafeteria
A Little Love Shack
Peep Peep!
Ajisai Japanese Fusion
Piccolo Cafe
Joe's Shanghai


Related Posts: Weekend #29. Weekend #30. Weekend #31.

Happy Post-Thanksgiving Weekend #31

HAPPY [INFORMAL] HOUSEWARMING J & M!!! Oh yeah, and D.

In this basket:
Pumpkin Bread
Frosted Carrot Cake
Pound Cake

It's a first making Pumpkin Bread, and while K thought there wasn't enough Pumpkin taste, E begged to differ. And while K thought there was enough carrot taste, E begged to differ again. The only thing we agreed on was that the pound cake was perfectly browned all around, and the carrot cake could have done with a little less density. We hope everyone had a splendid Thanksgiving. Enjoy some quick breads and this/last week's unrelated posts!

(And I guess we'll get a small ad in here) Rawrs!

Read THIS WEEK'S POSTS here:
The Spot
KoFoo

Read LAST WEEK'S POSTS here:
Cuba Cafe

Related Posts: Happy Weekend #28. Happy Weekend #29. Happy Weekend #30.

Happy Weekend #28

With all these individual apple pies cooling on the rack, it looks like we've finally opened that bakery! Unfortunately, no, not so.

After spending the week working on things intangible that will take months to complete, it's nice to take a day (and a half) to work on something with instant (or day-later) results. Plus, said results are so cute!

In case you're unfamiliar with Williams-Sonoma (Say, what?!), these molds come in a variety of shapes. Even though it's more time consuming to make individual pies, the results are just that much more satisfying. Also, you don't have to share...that's always a plus. Great spices to add to your apples include: cinnamon (well, duh!), ground ginger, nutmeg, and don't forget the salt. Just a little of each goes a long way!


Read THIS WEEK'S POSTS here:
brgr
vivo
FoodParc


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Happy Weekend #26

Remember this post back in March, when we said we'd have another installment of taytay-making in a month? Yeah, well, we had it. We just didn't post it.

Third time's a charm, right? Eh...almost. As many times as we've attempted getting the perfect dough, we just don't know the right combination. Our magic touch ain't so magic either.

Our aunt starts off the early morning by mixing the ingredients in her kitchenaid mixer (I bet this wasn't part of grandma's recipe back in the day). We knead the dough a little more by hand, trying to get it to the right consistency. Our hands and plates are powdered, and if the timing is right, our Starbucks delivery arrives (note: the timing is most often OFF T__T).


Somewhat of a combination of the previous two taytay adventures, we use both types of filling, in similar shapes, but two different types of dough. We start the morning making the clear triangular-shaped taytays, filled with: mushroom, scallion, pork, water chestnut, & chinese sausage (lap cheung). While these are steaming, we start on the more difficult dough - it's always too sticky, too stretchy, or too thick, and always uncooperative. They're the same triangular shape, but filled with ground nuts + sugar (these used to be E's favorite until she started making them -.-;;).


I have a feeling we're due for another taytay-making adventure SOON. Anyone wanna join us?


Read THIS WEEK'S UPDATES here:
soba-ya
Ça Va

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Happy Weekend #25

To our utter astonishment, the end of July has crept up on us, burned away in the blazing heat of greenhouse gases. To your utter astonishment, it appears we've started blogging again. Yeah. Sorry about the hiatus. (But if you aren't currently gasping in surprise at this post...Then, we're not so sorry. Ha.)

This week we're cleaning out the cobwebs in our minds as a means to clean out our Blogger Garage. Enjoy...whatever we can remember. And this Carrot Cake test.

We've come across a few Carrot Cake recipes that also incorporate Pineapple. Always ones to test, this recipe is a compilation of a few recipes. Verdict? Pineapple lends a downright crunchy texture to the cake that we can't say we're too fond. On the bright side, that Dream Creamy White Frosting (yes, that's what it's really called) was a success. It's a great (not quite perfect) combination of White Chocolate, Cream Cheese, Butter, and a wee bit o' Sour Cream and Almond Extract. Let the testing continue!

Read THIS WEEK'S UPDATES here:
Turning Point
Bar Pitti
Bridgeway Diner

Read LAST WEEK'S UPDATES here:
Boqueria Soho
Gregory's Coffee

Read LAST [LAST, LAST] WEEK'S UPDATES here:
Gelato on a Stick
Veniero's (with Pictures)


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Happy Weekend #24

[Insert excuse #29483 here.]

With great Spring weather comes the promise of hot, sunny Summer days to come. And when we start off May with a fried picnic (coordinated by J) and a fine prospect (Holla!), nothing screams, "Summer's A' Coming!" like Homemade Fruit Tarts. With dozens of people arriving (dozens of which we don't really know and some we don't really "know") for loads of Korean Fried Chicken, it's hard to know everyone's palate preferences. So what's better than a Make Your Own Sundae Fruit Tart (grown-up style)??


We baked the individual tart shells, cooked up the vanilla pastry cream, and brought strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, apricots, kiwi, cantaloupe, honeydew, and grapes. Everything was prepared at home then packed in separate plastic containers for people to choose on their own. Let's do it again! As soon as we get more tartlet pans... -_-;; What would you put on?

Read THIS WEEK'S UPDATES here:
Panera

Read LAST WEEK'S UPDATES here:
Baoguette
Boi Noodles

Read LAST-LAST WEEK'S UPDATES here:
Borba
Coconut M&M's
Red Mango

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Happy Weekend #20

In anticipation of E returning from her trip to London/Paris, this week's posts are dedicated to the delightful Macaron, simultaneously chewy, crunchy, and melts-in-your-mouth. These are pictures of our second stab at homemade macarons. Don't be fooled by the simplicity of the recipe. To get that perfectly circular shape, the perfectly smooth top, and the perfectly crusty bottom is much trickier than anticipated. A trickiness that, quite obviously, remains unmastered. These cookies are expensive for a reason.

Read THIS WEEK'S MACARON UPDATES here:
des macarons français. français?
Macarons GRATUITEMENT, Le Premier
Macarons GRATUITEMENT, Le Deuxième
Ladurée


Related Posts: Happy Weekend #17. Happy Weekend #18. Happy Weekend #19.

Happy Weekend #18

Here's to a completely Asian-themed post!

It seems like we've been making a lot of these tay tays lately, and despite the undesirable 9AM start on Sunday mornings, we do welcome the practice and family bonding time :)

Unlike the peanut-filled ones we made last month, the filling in these consists of mushroom, scallion, pork, water chestnuts, and the irresistable favorite - Chinese sausage (aka lap cheung, 臘腸). And as you can see, the different filling also calls for a different shape. These are usually everyone's favorite of the different types, and it's no surprise when whole take-out boxes are finished within minutes. Well...at least that held true when grandma made them.

We haven't mastered the perfect dough, thickness, or shape/size consistency, but hey - I think we've still done a pretty good job. Who cares if they're not as pretty, as long as they're still yummy! Don't worry Grandma - we'll keep practicing.

Keep a lookout for our third installment of taytay-making in another month - back to the peanut filling, but a whole new shape! ;)

Read THIS WEEK'S UPDATES here:
Sapporo
Ginger's
Weng's Palace
U-Yeeeeeeee
Crown Palace



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Happy Weekend #17

With vacation to the UK on our minds, all we can seem to focus on is Shortbread; shortbread this, shortbread that. So, Thanks, Scotland!

These Shortbread sandwiches were made for Valentine's Day and transported directly to Chinatown for the Lunar New Year. Since shortbread is pretty much all about the butter, never skimp on it and always use a high quality butter like: Organic Valley Cultured, Hotel Bar, or Land O' Lakes. Shortbread is a simple recipe to follow, but heightens with spices, extracts, or citrus zests. Also, it's one of the few cookies that retains its shape through baking. So whip out them cookie cutters. Huzzah!

Read THIS WEEK'S UPDATE here:
Cafe 360


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Happy Weekend #16

No excuse prepared for last week's lack of updates. So, pretend it never happened and skip to this week!

With week-long threats of a dreary End O' the Week, the perfect way to get through a damp day is most definitely with some piping hot food. This week's posts suggest a variety of food types from different meals, but honestly, you can't finish off a dark day without some-- DESSERT! (Yeah, we know we all see mind-to-mind.)

Here's some APPLE PIE for your eyes.

From Christmas. In the Emile Henry Artisan Ruffled Pie Dish from Williams Sonoma (Thanks KM!). The pie crust cut-outs were done using holiday mini-cookie cutters from Crate & Barrel.

Read THIS WEEK'S UPDATES here:
Macaroni Grill
Korean Pick-Me-Up
Soho Park


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Happy Weekend #15

This week's theme is Readers' Pick. Lucky you. Will it be:
A) Sweets to Welcome Luck for the Lunar New Year
B) Lent Temptations
C) Fastest Posts Possible, OR
D) Hodgepodge, YUM!

To continue with whichever theme you chose this week, here is PINEAPPLE UPSIDE DOWN CAKE.
As a first attempt, the cake appeared to be the epitome of "Funky". But, no worries. Appearances can be deceiving. It tasted just as scrumptious as a non-funkified cake. It's a Martha recipe (again...), but next time (Oh, yes. There will be a next time) we'll definitely be changing things up a bit; less sugar and a less crumbly cake, maybe White Chocolate or Yellow Cake from my trusty cookbook. If you've never had this type of cake before (caramelized pineapple? chewy, crunchy, crusty edges? all with a vanilla cake?), "Holla!" at us, and we will definitely have to HOOK. YOU. UP.


Read THIS WEEK'S UPDATES here:
Crumbs
O_O
Sunshine Bakery
Cookie Monster

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Happy Weekend #14

This one was definitely a Home Adventure at its best. We banded together with our Mom and Aunt to make these 煎堆仔 and 鹹煎堆仔 for the New Year. The ones pictured are filled with ground nuts and sugar. The savory version is filled with Chinese sausage, pork, shitake mushrooms, scallions, and water chestnuts.

We've already gone through this process a few times. Yet, no matter what tricks we pick up each year or what we make sure to write down, we can never get these exactly right. Maybe you have to reach the status of Grandma before you can even begin to replicate Grandma's Home Cooking. (I mean measuring cups? Those are for newbs.)

Well, no matter, we've already patted ourselves on the back for coming up with a finished product that both looks like Grandma's Home Cooking and is edible (key factor). Go us!

HAPPY LUNAR NEW YEAR!

Read THIS WEEK'S SAKE UPDATES here:
Sake, Part 1
Sake, Part 2
Sake, Part 3


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Happy Weekend #13

For the upcoming dreaded Valentine's Day, we present to you an apropos update dedicated to SWEETS!

As we mentioned in our previous update, our Mom's bday was this past Saturday. It's always a question of what kind of cake to get, but nothing beats a homemade K cake!

K in action spreading the ganache - and check out the ooey-gooey, mouth-watering
ganache spilling out of the cup -mmmmmmm....
Trying out some new recipes from K's newly acquired cookbook - Rose's Heavenly Cakes, this two layer cake is made up of Lemon Sponge Cake, Lemon Curd, and Midnight Ganache. The heaven of Midnight Ganache uses a Caramel base, mixed with a 62% cacao, differing from the typical Chocolate Ganache (usually just cream, sugar, and chocolate). We need a side-by-side taste test to really tell you our favorite Ganache, but this one has an amazing smooth-like-butta texture. And, mixed with a bit of tart Lemon Curd, it's like a birthday party in your mouth.

The finished product!

Party on(!) and Read THIS WEEK'S SWEET UPDATES here:
Mid-day Snack at Teleon
Rainbow Cookie Maker
STOP for Cupcakes


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Happy Weekend #12

Congruent with the concept of weekly themes, this week we celebrate birthdays! In bunches! Birthdays of the far past, recently past, present, and immediate future. This first week of February offers many reasons to celebrate. So, to all those birthday boys and girls, we offer you-- a picture of our Dad's birthday cake! From January.

It's a 10" round Sugar-Free Cheesecake. One of the easiest cakes you can set your mind to. Just 5 basic ingredients (plus 5 not-so-secret ingredients for depth) and you have yourself a homemade cake. From scratch! The top is decorated with miniature Chocolate Shortbread Cookies (place them on before baking). Their cute doughnut shape allowed for a piped dollop of blue-tinted Cheesecake batter.

NOTE: If you're wondering about the wonky crack, it's way too easy to make an imperfect cheesecake, especially if it's sugar-free. Tips: Make sure you bake with a water bath, pop surface bubbles before baking, don't over-bake, and never poke any hole into it! This particular one was... over-baked. Urgh!

Happy Birthday to J (2|3), A, A & A (2|4), C (2|5), & Mom (2|6)!

Read THIS WEEK'S UPDATES here:
McCormick & Schmick's
McCormick & Schmick's, Jr.
McCormick & Schmick's, III


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Happy Weekend #9

In honor of this week's Asian-inspired posts, we present to you-- something totally unrelated.

Introducing: Æbleskiver.

Having thoughtlessly amassed several recipes for these Danish treats, K finally thought to request the Æbleskiver Pan on her Wishlist. Obviously, the wish was fulfilled. Twice (thanks, J!). A little chopping, a little whipping, a little butter, a little heating and then a pouring later, followed by some frantic mumbles, requests for E's help, and some 4-hand-action-over-a-single-burner later-- these emerged.

Though many ideas came to mind regarding possible fillings, the hustle-bustle of the pouring, and the filling, and the pouring, and the turning of these spherical buggers only allowed us to attempt two kinds this first time, apple and chocolate. Plus the recipe only made about 24.

Can't wait to try it again! And you're invited!

Read THIS WEEK'S UPDATES here:
Tokyo Japanese Hibachi & Sushi Buffet
Spice Market


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Happy Weekend #6

Christmas just passed.

...Which is just another way of saying, "We're sorry once again that we cannot keep up with this week-end schedule of posting, but it is a crazy time on our end with the year closing as we prepare for gift-giving, cooking, cleaning, baking, cleaning, eating, shopping, cleaning, decorating, and (oh yeah!) cleaning."

After the new-recipe-thanks-for-nothing-martha-stewart pie mishap, we didn't have much time to do much else than re-make the thanks-for-my-sanity-back-williams-of-sonoma pie crust and these coconut macaroons (four ingredients and they are POW! done.). That pie crust is a whole other post. Here are the macaroons:
They ended up a tad bit overcooked, but that didn't stop our once COCONUT-LOATHING cousin to convert to a COCONUT-LUVA. [credit to our new COCONUT-LUVA for the pics-- her family stole the cookies before we got a chance to take our own photos]

Hope everyone had a great holiday!

Read THIS WEEK'S UPDATES here:
Le Peep
Kyotofu


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