12 July 2011

Farmers' Markets, even in the City!

"That is the most perfect bowl of cherries I have ever seen." My apartmentmate's boyfriend was over for dinner, and I had just brought out dessert. I had just made enchiladas for the first time, to moderate success, and we were all stuffed. But the cherries - Michigan cherries from the 61st St. Farmers' Market - were just too delicious to ignore.
I wish I'd gotten a photo of them in their straight-up glory, but instead I was left with a few cherry muffins to photograph instead. These were born on Saturday, when I had to feed my sourdough starter (known in the apartment as the "bread monster" or "my baby"). I'd been reading up on sourdough and found some recipes for the "discard", or the cup of starter you throw away when you feed the rest. The deliciously tangy-smelling cup had been going into the trash, so once I realized I could use it in baked goods, I pulled my baby out of the fridge for a feeding.
Here you see one of the muffins (recipe to follow) in a whimsical teacup meant for muffins/cupcakes. In the background is the loaf of bread I made from the fed starter! The farmers' market cherries, cup of starter, additional flour, an egg, baking soda to react with the acid in the starter, and a teaspoon of almond extract combined to make delicious muffins, with the perfect crumb.
Here's the starter himself, at home in the fridge, to who we owe such delicious baked goods.

Besides baking, I've been working at the Smart Museum this summer, as a business intern as well as a cafe attendant. I'm also the social media intern for DiningOut Chicago magazine. My duties there involve updating the facebook and twitter pages, and writing the monthly/bimonthly newsletters.
We've also been exploring Chicago. A couple weekends ago, I went with my girlfriend to see Loretta Lynn at the Taste of Chicago! The food wasn't impressive, but the free concert was fun.
Loretta Lynn (the famous "Coal Miner's Daughter") only sang a few songs, and no wonder - she was wearing a huge, high-necked, long-sleeved dress in the summer heat! Luckily the songs were swing-dance-able, so we could dance and impress all the people sitting around us. (Or at least that's what I like to think.)

But now that we have no dining hall (glory hallelujah), cooking is a big part of our lives in our little apartment. I've always been a little scared of frying, but Ash approaches it fearlessly. She's inspired me to make samosas, falafel, and these: egg rolls!Sorry for the long time without posting; between the job, internship, and life, there's not much time. But whenever I have a morning off like today, I'll try to put a little something up. :)

And here's the cherry muffin recipe! I made it into a one-bowl method...we don't have a dishwasher!
(side note: why is it that my gorgeous red cherries turned a little blue? No, they aren't sad, it's just a chemical reaction between the cherries and the baking soda.)

Cherry Muffins

1 cup unfed sourdough starter
1/4 cup olive oil
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp almond extract
1 cup flour (whole wheat or all-purpose)
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup halved and pitted cherries

Preheat the oven to 375F. Pour the starter into a bowl, and leave it while you feed the remainder. Add the flour, salt, baking soda, and sugar, and mix. Your goal here is to combine the dry ingredients, but don't fully incorporate the starter. Make a well in the middle and add the oil and the egg. Lightly beat the egg in the well. Add the extracts, and mix everything together. Be careful not to overmix - too much gluten development will make tough, bread-y muffins. Gently fold in the cherries, and scoop into a greased muffin pan. Fill the muffin cups almost all the way up. Bake for 20 - 25 minutes, or until you can't resist the smell of fresh muffins any longer!

24 April 2011

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter! I made a carrot cake for our Easter brunch (which is happening later this afternoon - brunch hours didn't turn out to be the best for most of my friends, but the menu has stayed the same: strawberry apple crisp, cinnamon raisin bagel bread pudding, asparagus, and bunny cake).
For spring break, I went to San Fransisco to visit a couple friends, one from Spain, and one from Deerfield. Here are the famous trolleys - there are actually hills in the Bay Area!!
The Japanese Tea Garden in Golden Gate Park was GORGEOUS.
The Ferry Building - it's tower is modelled after La Giralda, a tower in Spain - or so we Spanophiles like to think. :)

19 February 2011

7th week, busy as ever!

Gelato at Cafe Spiaggia...mmmmm. (photo credit: http://www.rachelleb.com/images/2010/03/cafe_spiaggia_gelato.jpg)

Life is busy - between spending time with friends, homework, class, going downtown, and dancing (swing, salsa, charleston, lindy, and bachata!) there's hardly any time for cooking. But I make it: life has to keep a balance, and even if I'm about to fall over most of the time, I've been managing to keep it all in the air.
This week is Chicago Restaurant Week - prixe fixe menus at some of Chicago's best - and most expensive - restaurants. Today Ash and I went to Cafe Spiaggia, the lunch offshoot of Restaurant Spiaggia, proud owner of a Michelin star. And it certainly deserves it! When I walked in and saw that each table had a pour-bottle of olive oil on it, I knew Spiaggia would be amazing. We also got the best table in the house: a round table for two tucked into an alcove, both chairs looking out through a floor-to-ceiling window with a view of lake. I enjoyed an appetizer trio of imported olives, nuts, and fried Tuscan kale, followed by a salad of mozzarella di bufala with apple mostarda (caramelized dried apples), thyme, and lemon zest. A beautifully arranged plate of bread arrived, and was fantastic paired with the exquisite olive oil on the table. I dove into memories of travelling through Andalucia and eating our weight in olive oil there...and the mozzarella di bufala reminded me of my week in Sicily, the Recuperos, and the scogli. The main plate was cappacelli - fancy ravoli - with butternut squash, sage, and a brown butter sauce. Ash told me, "Amanda, you are radiating happiness." I couldn't stop smiling. I don't think I've eaten such a good meal since being in Italy, actually. And dessert...I got gelato (three small scoops of giuanduja [hazlenut], stracciatella [chocolate chip], and raspberry), Ash had sorbet (blood orange, lemon, and cinnamon), and we shared it all - and I got an espresso as well, in the true Italio-Spanish tradition, which came with a delightful biscotti. The bitter espresso, the tart lemon, the sweet cinnamon, and the smooth giuanduja...perfect. The only thing I can say about Cafe Spiaggia: go. Even without the great deal of restaurant week, it would be more than worth it. Also, I don't think I've ever seen such great service: Ash told me that when I went to the restroom, leaving my cloth napkin on the table, servers came by and refolded it twice.
Here are some photos, since I should now go concentrate my writing skills on a Locke essay due Monday!

the Trader Joe's a train ride away from campus, right in downtown Chicago - my home away from home!

Heart-shaped macarons at a bakery, E-leaven, right next to Trader Joe's. Yes, I bought one; yes, it was delicious.

Hearts lining Michigan Avenue to raise heart health awareness (and for Valentine's Day!)

Trump Tower...Ash and I managed to ride the elevator to the 16th floor where panoramic windows offered a stunning view!

Spiced Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Mousse and Peanut Butter Frosting

I hosted a fancy dinner party soon after getting back to school - the dress code was red and black. Here I am doing a dish or two in my mini kitchen. The menu also tried to keep to the red and black theme: warm beet salad with gorgonzola and candied pecans,red lentil curry, and bowls of chocolate cake drizzled with honey and layered with white chocolate honey mouse, dark chocolate mousse (the Herve This recipe of water and chocolate), and chocolate macarons with white chocolate honey ganache.


The first floor library in Ida Noyes Hall, where Friday night swing dances and my charleston lessons are held.

Remember the Chicago Snowpocalypse of 2011? UChicago cancelled classes two days in a row, for the first time ever. The reason: the city didn't deal well with getting the streets cleared. This is my street 24 hours afterward - it didn't get plowed until a couple days later.

The ice did leave pretty cool modern-art like patterns on my window, though. Yes...it was cold. I only started biking again this week - we hit 50 degrees - and all the snow is now gone.

02 January 2011

Buche de Noel!


The highlight of Christmas break!
For Christmas dessert, I made a yule log, aka a buche de noel. Mine was pistachio cake rolled around a chocolate mascarpone filling with a fluffy swiss buttercream and meringue mushrooms! Even though my mother and I don't care that much for meringue kisses, we couldn't stop eating the mushrooms - so the extra 4 dozen or so are not an issue! Recipe will soon be up, but in the meantime, here are some photos!
The mushrooms are simple: meringue piped into circles and trunks, connected with chocolate and dusted with cocoa powder.

The cake, rolled up fresh out of the oven.

The log before frosting - this explains the secret of the knot that sticks out!


The finished log! The cocoa-dusted meringue mushrooms, the frosted log with a fork run through it for bark texture, sprinkled with extra ground pistachios for moss and crushed meringue for snow!