food

Foodie on the Half Shell: Macarons can be easy

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I was never much of a “tea-time” child. I never had Mr. Snuggy Buggy and Miss Oatmeal sitting around a make believe tea table with pretend cookies and pretend tea. I wanted the real cookies and the real (but not so boring) tea, but as a seven year old, I couldn’t just make crumpets whenever I wanted to. At 20, I still am not a tea-time girl, but I do love tiny cookies, such a macarons.

I’ve only heard baking nightmare stories when it comes to making your own macarons, so I have strayed away from the idea in the past. Today though…today I conquered those little French goodies. In my French class, I have the opportunity to make a French food and get points for it. I feared what my final French grade would look like without French food, so I went for it! Macarons are time consuming, but they are so worth it, and you feel like a chef master afterwards.

You can make any kind of macaron by adding any kind of flavor extract into the cookie batter, and you can fill them with literally anything. Today, I made plain cookies and I filled them with good old fashioned, peanut butter and jelly. This recipe makes a lot of cookies, but you will probably have a “mess up” batch the first time, so it is a lot of dough to help you through the process.

What you will need:

1 cup almond flour/almond meal (I made my own)

1 teaspoon salt

2 cups powdered sugar

½ cup granulated sugar

4 egg whites

Creamy peanut butter

Any kind of jelly (I used raspberry)

Start by adding the almond flour, powdered sugar and salt together. Sifting is preferred, but you could also just mix it together very well. Next, you will be making a meringue with the egg whites and the sugar. First, beat the egg whites with an electric mixer until they are foamy. Next, add the granulated sugar slowly and beat the heck out of it. It took me about seven minutes to get the thick meringue I wanted. Combine the meringue and the dry mix carefully. The meringue will break, but that’s okay! Just don’t over mix; you will be able to feel what’s right and what’s wrong. The dough should be thick and very sticky.

Now you will pipe circles of the dough onto a baking sheet with wax paper on it. For piping, I used a plastic gallon bag and cut the tip off. These cookies don’t grow much, so make sure to make them about the size you want them. Don’t make them too thin with dough, or they won’t have that “crispy on the outside, and chewy on the inside”, type of thing going for them. Let them sit at room temperature for an hour, or until they are dry to touch. Put them into the oven at about 315 degrees, for about 15 minutes. They should be a little soft when they come right out of the oven; but don’t worry, they will harden. After they are cool, fill with peanut butter and jelly (or whatever you’d like)! Enjoy these treats, and stay confident and patient!

Foodie on the Half Shell: A taste of Mexico

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Mexican night at my house is never complete without guacamole. The recipe is from my dad who grew up in Southern California, where Mexican food is a prominent genre of cuisine. He gave me vague directions the first time I made it, and I was left to improvise. It wasn’t until only about a year ago that I was given a cook- book put together by my late grandmother on my father’s side.

My grandma liked to take pictures and do arts and crafts, the way grandparents do, and so in the nineties, she put together one of those family recipe books. She got a hold of some close friends and family members, got some pictures together, and put all of the recipes and pictures into a binder. I believe she gave them out to a group of the family members.

My dad and his sisters were pretty busy people, and this sort of weird crafting wasn’t exactly their cup of tea. My Aunt Kim (the cookbook was orginally hers, and was given to me when she passed away), told my grandma that she’s “just too busy”, so my grandma put a lovely picture of Aunt Kim in the binder anyhow along with that quote, and wrote next to it “with those looks, who wouldn’t be busy?!”

The funny thing about this cookbook, is that it is a union of a bunch of family members who normally, would not be united in any other way. So it’s a tiny bit of normalcy that I like to look at from time to time.

Now, honestly, none of the recipes are spectacular. My dad grew up on pretty basic things like meatloaf and fish sticks, but being from Cali he also had taco night. In the binder, my dad actually offered a recipe and it is his guacamole! My dad always has critiques about my guacamole, so I thought I finally found the key to perfect guacamole.

Well, the story ends with the fact that I will never make the “perfect” guacamole for my dad, but he loves it all the same. I never said I was a perfect cook anyhow. I prefer the word “rugged”.

My guacamole is many of my friend’s favorite guacamole, and it is so flavorful and perfect on top of tacos, chips, or even in your favorite sandwiches! Make this and I promise that you will impress anyone who tastes it, even if it’s only you!

What you’ll need:

3 avocados

¼ finely chopped red onion

½ finely chopped tomato

½ finely chopped green pepper

A bunch of chopped cilantro

½ lime

A scoop of your favorite salsa

    This is the easiest recipe because all of the ingredients go into a bowl, and get mashed together. Don’t mash too much, because a nice chunky guac is the best kind of quac. Finish with a sprinkle of salt and a nice bit of freshly ground pepper, and there you have it: a delicious bowl of guacamole!

Foodie on the Half Shell: A little pricey, but worth every penny: Review of Soba

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Last Friday night was date night for my partner and I. I like to go to new places, keeping my column always in mind. I wanted to dress up a bit, so I made reservations at the hip spot in Shadyside, Soba. Soba is a pan-Asian restaurant with a complex selection of wine and cocktails and an impressive selection of seafood on their menu.

You walk in and automatically feel cool and at ease. The dark hard wood floors, and the water wall create a very modern and hip ambiance. I had a great time, and very little was lacking in my experience.

My partner, Ben, is of age (lucky man) and ordered a very interesting cocktail called “The Variation”, he described the drink as sweet and citrusy with a hint of lavender from the Crème de Viollete. He said he would have preferred something not so sweet, but it was very interesting and tasty.

The cocktail list was full of trendy drinks, but the cheapest drink you can buy there is $9. Most of the cocktails are about $12. So, if you plan on having more than one drink, expect your check to be heavier. Personally, I think a good drink is worth every buck, especially with fantastic liquors such as the Crème de Viollete. There is also a saké selection, which is always a great accompaniment to any pan-Asian meal.

For dinner, you are given the choice of ordering a bunch of smaller plates, or ordering off of the entrée selection. Ben and I ordered four smaller plates and were very satisfied by the end of the meal. We chose the calamari, the eggplant mushroom dumplings, the mussels, and the lobster maki (sushi).

The eggplant shitake mushroom dumplings were out of this world. The texture was perfect, and the dumplings themselves were like little pillows of earthy goodness, with a punch of heat from the sauce. I don’t even like mushrooms!

Our letdown of the four dishes was definitely the sushi. The lobster did not make for a good sushi because of the chewiness, and there was absolutely nothing special about the taste. Also, the roll itself was pretty small. I am used to a nice big mouthful of sushi goodness, but these were just tiny bites of sushi.

It was fine, but that’s it. If you want sushi, do not expect anything great from Soba. Stick with the other seafood dishes, such as their calamari; although lightly fried, you could tell the calamari was of great quality. The small plates were about the same price as the drinks; very reasonable. The entrees are much more expensive, but I really do encourage anyone who goes there to go for the “share” plates.

Last but definitely not least, I would like to speak on behalf of the salty sweet goodness that I ended my meal with. The “pretzel stack” topped off my night with crunchy pretzel chips layered between thick globs of chocolate mouse. HELLO! So sweet and rich! I can only say that there should be maybe a little less, since it was such a big dessert. For all of you chocolate lovers, though, this is a stack of heaven.

Soba is a fantastic restaurant/bar/lounge. The Big Burrito company can’t help but turn out spectacular places for us to eat. Enjoy the great service, the wide range of tastes, and the romantic atmosphere. Maybe save your bucks for a special occasion, or treat yourself because you deserve it! Either way, you will leave Soba without regret and with a tummy full of sweet and spicy goodness.