Apple Toffee Tart

This tart, adapted from a Hershey's cookbook, is easy, delicious and beautiful to serve! This recipe yields 2 tarts.

Ingredients:
5 large apples
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon powdered ginger
2 frozen pie crusts (already in foil pie pans)
1 1/3 cups Heath Bits 'O Brickle Toffee Bits

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400. Peel apples and slice thin. Toss with sugar, flour, ginger and cinnamon. Sprinkle 1/3 cup toffee bits along the bottom of each crust. Arrange apple slices on the crust. Sprinkle the remaining toffee bits on top of the apples slices. Fold the edge of the crust down over the apple center. Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until the crust is golden. Serve warm. Enjoy!

Tweet

Locally Grown

In the dead of winter, have you ever thought about where the ripe orange you are eating came from? How about the banana you had for breakfast? If you don’t live in a tropical climate, chances are, your piece of fruit traveled many miles to land in your stomach.

next time you eat an orange, think of where it came from

photo by Alice Gao

Why worry about things like that? Well, oftentimes the oranges we eat are grown in the right climate for them and then picked prematurely and shipped very quickly to their destination so that when the oranges reach a local distributor (your supermarket) they are not overly ripe or rotting. Large, commercial farming also uses harsh chemicals and pesticides to produce a commercially viable quality and quantity of produce. Commercial farming enterprises are also promoting deforestation, as farmers clear forests in an effort to grow more commercially viable products.

So lets say you’re worried about your “carbon footprint” and the freshness of fruit from thousands of miles away--what are you to do? Buy local produce! Many ecologically and environmentally conscious people are doing just that, even starting their own vegetable gardens. Recently Michelle Obama started a vegetable garden at the White House. The First Lady placed emphasis on educating the youth of America about healthy eating, but she is also putting forth a very public promotion for “homegrown” produce.

One place you can see more and more locally grown produce and seasonal foods is in restaurants across the country. I was in San Francisco over spring break, and I could not go anywhere without eating a locally grown product or ordering from a seasonal menu. I even ate seasonal pizza! I mean, I think that prosciutto, its main ingredient, is pretty year-round; that’s pretty much the point of cured meats. But, the arugula scattered artistically over the locally produced goat cheese and the spicy prosciutto was very fresh. Now, I can’t unconditionally guarantee that food at a restaurant serving local and seasonal food will taste better than one that does not, but I have to say that the odds are good. The same goes for your own cooking. Fresh food simply tastes better, but you still have to use it well, obviously.

So visit your local farmers market (for Penn students, try Clark Park's, every Saturday at 43rd and Baltimore), or ask at your supermarket where their produce came from. Eat food that is grown when it is supposed to be grown and picked when it is supposed to be picked, in the right hemisphere. Be an informed consumer and eat better, with the great added side effect of being environmentally conscious.

Tweet

Upcoming Food Events - Two Exciting Freebies!

Free Lunchtime Demo
Where: Reading Terminal Market, 12th St. and Arch St.
When: April 1, 12:00 - 1:00 pm
What: A cooking demonstration from Chef Judson Branch of Thirteen, focusing on Easter ham, including great ideas for leftovers.
How Much: Free!

"Fork You" Live!
Where: Foster's Urban Homeware, 399 Market St.
When: March 7, 2:00 pm
What: A live filming of the popular podcast, forkyou.tv. Part of Fosher's free cooking demonstration series.
How Much: Free!

Tweet

When in Florida...

You hear the phrase everywhere. It’s on bumper stickers, the side panels of cereal boxes, on the Food Network; over the past few years, it’s become absolutely omnipresent: “Eat locally.” An organic and local food enthusiast myself, I strive to select my food according to this mantra, but on a recent vacation, the phrase took on completely new meaning for me.

South Florida in early March. It’s a hit or miss time with the weather in this area of Florida at this time of year, but somehow “in like a lion” missed its mark, and a week of perfectly clear skies and shining sun proceeded. There was no reason not to be outside, and I found myself constantly walking the streets and sand of Delray Beach, a small town near Boca Raton hosting a mix of well-tanned snow birds and fully-burned Spring Breakers. In this town, there’s no such thing as rushing—and this easy lifestyle is most present in the lunch crowd, which takes its time savoring the experience of eating.

My family had visited this location several times, and we’d fallen into a food rut—eating at the same main-street restaurant nearly each afternoon. On this trip, however, something changed; perhaps the perfect weather inspired us to explore the area one morning, and so we walked for hours, perusing the streets of gorgeous villas with amazing views of the turquoise Atlantic… and inevitably, all of this walking left us hungry… and a bit off the beaten path. We encountered a small restaurant we’d never seen before. It had only a few outdoor tables, each shaded by a simple umbrella. “Locally grown food” a sign said. I looked beyond the restaurant and spotted a small garden, full of various types of produce growing naturally from the ground. No kidding—this was a local as it got.

The meal that followed was incredible: fresh produce, homemade pasta, and smoothies made with berries picked in the backyard. I could have sworn the food was some of the most delicious I’d ever had. Maybe it was that the lettuce on my plate hadn’t been flown thousands of miles from the field in which it was grown to the plate on which it was served. Maybe the food contained more vitamins and phytochemicals because the crop hadn’t been sprayed with pesticide, and that resulted in better taste. Perhaps the fresher ingredients yielded a better final product. Or perhaps I was convincing myself that local food truly is better. But in any case, for me personally, the experience of eating locally is significantly more fulfilling than doing otherwise. Knowing that there was no convoluted process to get the food to the plate made the meal so incredible and rush-free; and that’s what this beach town was all about.

Tweet

Oranges

fresh orange segments to celebrate the arrival of spring

photo by Alice Gao

Tweet

Friday Blog Lovin' - Cookie Dough Truffles

Blog: Salt and Chocolate

If it wasn't for salmonella, I would never bother with actually baking cookies, because let's be honest, the dough is far superior to the cookies.  Check out this easy cookie dough truffle recipe if you know what's up.  



Note: Click here to see the original post.

Tweet

Crazie about Zazie

This past Spring Break, I ventured to San Francisco, a city of plentiful sunshine, picturesque bayviews, hilly neighborhoods, and of course, exquisite cuisine. Of the different places I dined at, Zazie, a French bistro tucked in the residential Cole Valley, was definitely the most outstanding.

the Baked Chocolat Chaud dessert was a standout at Zazie in San Francisco

photo by Andy Tan

Zazie's unique moniker is derived from its namesake movie from the 1960s Zazie dans le metro - a film about an intrepid young girl from provincial France visiting her uncle in Paris. In an oddly contrary spirit, stepping into Zazie from the streets of San Francisco feels like being transported from a bustling metropolitan city into a small-town, local bistro.

The cozy bistro is along a nondescript row of shops on a mixed-use street that boasts a laundromat, car mechanic workshop, and a liquor store nearby. How much more residential can you get? It's perfectly camoflaged among these neighborhood shops. The interior is not fancy at all - exposed wall with posters, narrow tables for elbow-to-elbow dining, and a charming garden patio with more seating past the kitchen area. It feels almost like dining at a close friend's home rather than a restaurant.

Our party started with a sampler of three appetizers (beet and avocado salad with gorgonzola vinaigrette, chicken liver and brandy pate on grilled garlic bread, and spinach and walnut salad with balsamic vinaigrette) as well as a separate order of mussels, steamed with white wine and garlic. Each of these was a delightful play on the palate - the smooth creamy texture of the pate, paired off with the crunchy spinach and walnut salad, followed by the aromatic succulence of steamed mussels, and not forgetting the sweetness of the beet salad. The plating was simple, nothing was overdone, and we could be very well have been somewhere on the Mediterranean coast.

For the entrees, we had the Cassoulet Pialat, a hearty peasant meal originating from southern France near the Toulouse region. This was similar to a duck confit casserole, slowly stewed with beans, vegetables, and sausages. It was deliciously tender and juicy, with the duck meat literally falling off the bone. We also tried the Black Truffle Ravioli, cooked al dente with wild mushroom, white wine, garlic and parmesan cheese. It was exquisitely creamy and paired really well with the shavings of black truffle.

The desserts at Zazie definitely stole the show. We had the Baked Chocolat Chaud - a soup mug worth of baked molten chocolate topped with a crown of golden-brown toasted marshmallows. We could even smell the caramel from the marshmallows. If this doesn't give you a sugar rush, nothing else will! We also ordered the combination of Pot de Creme du Chocolat (chilled chocolate cream) and Creme Brulee which could be veritable dessert sizes individually. What better way to end the dining experience with a shot of decaf espresso.

So when you next travel west to San Francisco for a culinary vacation, Zazie should be at least one of your stops . . . as long as you keep this our little secret. :)

Tweet

Tapas

Life at Penn can be very stressful; every day just seems to whizz by! Perhaps that’s why I enjoyed the leisurely pace of life in Spain, while I was there over spring break. Its not that people are lazy, or just spend three hours of the day snoozing during ‘siesta’- there’s just no rush. I discovered that the term “siesta” encompasses relaxing in the park, spending time with family, and more importantly, eating and cooking. Lunchtime can span three hours, usually 2pm-5pm, and after people have digested their food, they hit the bars a few hours later for drinks- and tapas. Many tapas restaurants I have visited in Philly just serve different variations of toppings on bread; the true Spanish tapas experience is however very different. Just to give you a taste, here are a few of the tapas that really stood out!

tapas, like this plate of huevos revueltos con jamon, represent a different way of eating as well as a different way of life

photo by Karuna Meda

Huevos revueltos con jamon
This rather hodge-podge of ingredients consists of scrambled egg, potatoes and Serrano ham. You can eat it with or without bread, either way, the simple combination of the blandness of the eggs and the spicy succulence of the ham is heavenly.

Patatas bravas
This was a standard at most of my tapas adventures, and one of the few vegetarian options on the menu. Cubes of potatoes are fried to a perfect crisp, and served with a spicy tomato sauce.

Pulpo a la Gallega
This is octopus cooked in Galician style, meaning it is boiled or grilled as opposed to fried. Even though I’ve eaten calamari, I was still surprised by the texture; I never realized how effective the crispy dough is in concealing the rubbery feeling of the octopus. Nevertheless, the octopus, if cooked just right, soaks up the olive oil, sweet Spanish paprika, and garlic. Divine.

Tortilla de patatas
A very typical dish of Spain, this is essentially a potato omelet. Potatoes and onions are fried in oil, and then raw beaten eggs are added, and fried to make almost a fluffy quiche like omelet, using a special utensil called "vuelve-tortillas". Eaten hot or cold, tortilla de patatas is probably the most popular in Spain.

Don't forget, tapas cannot even be called as such without drinks. One can choose from beer, wine, Sangria, and good old soft drinks. I truly miss the evenings where we just ate and drank, not to stuff our face with food and get drunk, but to take part in a cultural activity that the Spanish have immense respect for - savoring a meal.

Tweet

Burmese Tea Leaf Salad

Tea Leaf Salad (La Phet Thote) is a traditional Burmese dish. If you order this in a restaurant it will generally be presented with the ingredients separated on the plate and the waiter will mix it at the table, similar to a traditional Caesar salad. It's a specialty of Burmese restaurants that taunt their American customers with a delicious dish that is incredibly hard to replicate unless you have a contact in Burma who can ship you the pickled tea leaves that are central to this dish. I have tried to recreate this dish as best I can making good use of the local asian supermarket and the wonders of the Internet, and once you've gathered all the ingredients it is a very easy salad to assemble.

Ingredients:
5 garlic cloves, sliced
1/3 cup La Phet (pickled tea leaves)
Peanut Oil
2 tsp Dried Shrimp
1 tsp Toasted Sesame Seeds
2 tsp Fried Yellow Beans
Chopped cabbage or lettuce
3 tsp Chopped Peanuts
2 Roughly Chopped Tomatoes
Lemon Wedge

Directions:
Fry the garlic slices in a small amount of peanut oil until golden brown. I suggest buying pre-made fried yellow beans though. Add 3 to 4 tsp peanut oil to the La Phet and let sit for 10 to 15 minutes.

Place chopped lettuce on plate and place the La Phet in the center of the plate and then place the sesame seeds, peanuts, tomatoes, dried shrimp, fried yellow beans, fried garlic and lemon wedge around the center of the plate. This can then be mixed at the table. Squeeze the lemon juice on top of the tea leaves and then toss the salad. If this presentation is not desired, feel free to mix all the ingredients in one bowl and toss.

Note: You can find La Phet in some Asian supermarkets, but you might have more luck looking online for a Burmese supplier; there are a few that carry La Phet.

Tweet

Natural Cures

Medicine does not always mean a little white pill. Everyday foods that we eat can actually have curative powers. Here is just a sampling of the "natural cures" that you can find right in your own kitchen.

almonds are one of many natural cures for our ailments

photo by Diane Dao

Milk
We've all experienced the heat from a little too much hot sauce, but whatever you do, don't down that glass of water! Instead, have a glass of milk handy. Milk relieves the burn on your tongue more effectively than water, as it washes away the oils in the spices, while water doesn't.

Bananas
Feeling bloated from polishing off that bag of pretzels last night? Bananas, which are high in potassium, help regulate the fluid balance in your body, which can counteract bloating.

Eggs
Bui's is not considered the best hangover cure for nothing! The secret? The eggs in the sandwiches. Eggs contain enzymes that combat the toxic by-products of alcohol being metabolized by the liver.

Almonds
When that 3 p.m. afternoon slump hits, skip the coffee and grab a handful of almonds instead. These nuts are not only rich in protein, but they also contain magnesium, a mineral that plays a vital role in converting sugar into energy.

Tweet