5 Star Makeover: Margherita Pizza the Chinese Way

This month's 5 Star Makeover theme is... pizza! Loved the theme because pizza allows so much room for creativity. For my pizza, I chose to make Margherita pizza, with a Chinese twist.

Chinese Margherita Pizza

I wrapped the typical Margherita flavors in a Chinese pastry bun. The slight tinge of sweetness in the dough made the classic Margherita pizza that much more interesting. Although the taste of this pizza bun resembles that of a Calzone, the key difference lies in the multiple layers of a Chinese pastry dough. The texture is light and buttery as opposed to heavy and chewy.

Chinese Margherita Pizza served with a Mozzarella, Carrot, and Arugula "stirfry"

Margherita Pizza the Chinese Way
makes 12 buns
Ingredients
Outer Pastry Layer

• 1.5 tbsp of butter
• 2 tbsp of sugar
• 1 cup of all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup of cold water

Inner Pastry Layer

• 1 cup of cake flour
• 4 tbsp of butter
• 1 tomato, juice drained and chopped

Filling

• 1/4 cup of basil leaves
• a handful of toasted pine nuts
• 1 tbsp of shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 tbsp of butter
• 1 tsp of olive oil
• 1 clove of garlic
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 oz of mozzarella cheese, cut into 1" x 2" rectangles

Other

• 1 egg, beaten
• Oregano, sea salt, and pepper for topping

Recipe

1. Mix outer layer ingredients and roll it into a dough. Cover with plastic wrap and let it rest for 30 minutes.
2. Mix inner layer ingredients and roll it into a dough.
3. Separate dough for each of the two layers into 12 balls. You now have 12 outer layer balls and 12 inner layer balls.
4. Roll an outer layer dough ball into a flat circle, envelope the inner layer ball and wrap the outer layer around it. Use a rolling pin and roll the combined dough ball into a flat oval shape. From the short side, roll it up and have the opening face downward on a surface. Let it rest for 15 minutes. Repeat this for all dough balls.
5. Preheat oven to 350F.
6. Flatten the rolls with rolling pin. Then, roll the flat dough up again into a roll. Roll it out into a flat circle. Repeat this for all dough balls.
7. Puree basil, cheddar cheese, pine nuts, garlic, butter in a food processor and season with salt and pepper to taste.
8. On the flat dough circle, put a small piece of tomato, a small piece of mozzarella, and some basil mixture. Enclose the dough around the filling and shape it into a round ball. Brush with egg mixture and sprinkle dough ball with oregano, salt and pepper. Bake the 12 dough balls for about 25-30 minutes until top is golden brown.

As always, thank you to Natasha from 5 Star Foodie and Laz from Lazaro Cooks! for hosting this month's challenge. Looking forward to September!

hosted by 5 Star Foodie & Lazaro Cooks!

A Twist on a Japanese Favorite: Sesame Dorayaki

I remember visiting Japanese shopping centers with my mom when I was younger. The underground level was always a bustling food court that had everything from shabu shabu to beautifully decorated mochi. I could easily spend hours wandering the food halls and sampling a myriad of snacks.

Sesame Dorayaki

One of these delicious desserts was Dorayaki. Dorayaki was basically sweet red bean paste filling sandwiched between two small sweet and fluffy pancakes. These were usually freshly made and served hot.

I made Dorayaki with a sweet sesame paste filling instead. They turned out so well that I told myself I would be making these again soon (with ice cream).

Sesame Dorayaki
Makes about 4 Dorayaki
Ingredients

• 1 egg
• 90g of all purpose flour
• 70g of sugar
• 1/2 tsp of baking soda
• 1/2 tbsp of honey
• 1/2 tbsp of melted butter
• 20g of cold water
• 20g of milk
• Cooking spray
• Sesame filling: 1/2 cup of roasted black sesame, 1/8 cup of brown sugar, 1/8 cup of softened butter

Recipe

1. Beat egg in a medium bowl until bubbly. Add sugar and honey. Continue to beat until thickened slightly. 
2. Add baking soda and milk into the bowl and mix well.
3. Sift flour and add flour to mixture. Let it stand for 15 minutes.
4. Add butter and water to the mixture and stir until well incorporated. 
5. Heat a small nonstick pan over medium heat and coat pan with some cooking spray. Ladle 1 tbsp of batter onto the pan and let it cook until the surface begins to bubble. Flip and cook the other side until the pancake is well browned. Repeat with remaining pancakes.
6. With a mortar and pestle, mix sesame filling ingredients together until well incorporated. Taste and adjust sugar or sesame level if necessary. 
7. Spread some paste on top of one pancake and cover with a second pancake. Enjoy your Dorayaki!

Sour Cream + Blueberry = Waffle!

How practical is a waffle maker, exactly? It makes one thing - waffles. Even knowing that, I still had it on my wedding registry. Surprisingly, I have been using it whenever we have a long weekend or a nice relaxing morning, and it really starts the day right. Seeing and eating waffles would make anyone happy (right?).
 


Sour Cream Blueberry Waffles with Blueberry Syrup

This time, I made a sour cream blueberry waffle for brunch, with blueberry syrup drizzled all over it.

You can find All-Clad's Sour Cream Blueberry Waffle Recipe Here

Here is the recipe I used for fresh blueberry syrup that is not overly sweet. I used it the next day as an oatmeal topping too!

Blueberry Syrup
Adapted from Taste of Home
Ingredients

• 1/6 cup of sugar
• 1 tbsp of corn starch
• 1/3 cup of cold water
• 2 cups of fresh blueberries

Recipe

1. Combine sugar, corn starch, and water in a medium saucepan. Stir until smooth.
2. Add blueberries and bring to a boil over medium heat.
3. Cook and stir for 4 minutes until thickened.

Ready for Snack Time?

In my free time over the past week, coupled with a visit from our good friends (and newlyweds), there were quite a few snacks being concocted in the kitchen. I love snacks - for appetizers, for coffee time, for breakfast and just for whenever. So here's a few for your enjoyment:

Italian Sausage and Ricotta Stuffed Pasta, Mushroom Caviar, and Apple Sausage Pie

The Trio

Mini BBQ Brisket Slider, Onion Bun

BBQ Brisket Slider

Olive Oil & Thyme Monkey Bread (Credits go to MB and I)

Monkey Bread

Praline (Credits go to Jason and DB)

Praline

Creme Anglaise with Praline (Credits go to Jason and DB)

Creme Anglaise with Praline

Garlic Olive Crostini (Credits go to MB and I)

Garlic Olive Crostini

Craving yet?

Alinea's Cheese in Cracker

I came across a short, easy, fun recipe in the Alinea cookbook called Cheese, in Cracker. The simplicity of a cheese cracker in the Alinea book was all it took to draw my curiosity, so I went about my afternoon snack of cheese crackers.

Cheese, in Cracker

The dough was made the day before and baked the day of. After the crackers puff up, I made a melted cheese sauce. Right before serving, the hot sauce was injected into previously punched holes on the crackers. A bite into the crunchy cracker with hot melted aged Wisconsin cheese, and you will understand why Chef Achatz had to put this simple snack in his book. Seconds later, I found myself making a second batch of crackers. Compared to other dishes in the book, this cheese cracker snack lacks complexity and layers of flavors. The combination of crackers, cheese, and milk also seems rather traditional. What makes this so special, however, is the pure cheesiness in one, hot explosive bite.

Here is a quick recap of the process:

Cutting dough into 1-inch squares

Puffed Crackers out of the Oven

Injecting Hot Wisconsin Cheese Sauce into Crackers

Melted Cheese inside of Each Cracker

My Very First Blogger Award!!

The best part of every day is that you never know what each day brings. You wake up in the morning, proceed about your plans for the day. Then, ta da!, I check my emails and received my first blog award - the Stylish blogger Award! What I am most thankful for is that this award is passed on by other bloggers who are just as obsessed over food as I am. That's right. Those who have amazing culinary skills and incredibly high expectations actually wanted to pass this award on to me! I am so flattered. Made my day. So thank you.

To receive this Stylish Blogger Award you must:

1.  Write a post and link back to the person who awarded you this award

2.  Share 7 things about yourself. (oh my, please continue visiting my blog even after you discover these)

3.  Award 10 recently discovered great bloggers.

4.  Contact these bloggers and tell them they’ve won!

Thank you to Chris and Amy from A Couple in the Kitchen and thank you to Steph at okie dokie artichokie for the wonderful award! I knew I had to find a way to express my thanks to you somehow, so I woke up bright and early to bake you cookies. Thank you! xoxo.

Chocolate Mint Shortbread xoxo Cookies from Jessica

xoxo.

Here comes the 7 things about me... 

1. Jason is my amazing husband. Coincidentally, my Chinese name is also "Jason".
2. I am 1/4 German, and so, coffee time is an official meal. Yes, in addition to the 3 meals + snacks. 
3. Jason and I were married last September in Santa Monica, and I am still in wedding bliss.
4. The very next day, we flew to Scotland to spend our honeymoon. I enjoyed every second of our dinner at Andrew Fairlie, the only 2-Michelin starred restaurant in Scotland.
5. I have recently (okay, maybe not that recent) been transformed into a complete sci-fi nerd. BSG, Big Bang Theory, online gaming, fantasy novels - Yippee!
6. At the age of 13, I broke my own sleeping record by sleeping a full 23 hours after an exhausting trip. My mom visited my room numerous times to ensure that I was still breathing.
7. I am trying to finish P90X and have a body like Tony Horton's (just kidding, maybe 'slightly' less muscular). 

10 recently discovered great bloggers! Please check them out - it's inspiring, creative, and so fun to read.

1. Sommer from a Spicy Perspective 
2. Rich from Oil and Butter
3. Natasha from 5 Star Foodie
4. Kimberly from UnrivaledKitch
5. Junia from Mis Pensamientos
6. Charmaine from Speakeasy Kitchen
7. Sandra from Sandra's Easy Cooking
8. Lizzy from That Skinny Chick Can Bake!!!
9. Amy from Fragrant Vanilla Cake
10. Liz from Blog is the New Black

Homemade + Traditional - Chinese New Year

Yes, Chinese New Year deserves two separate posts. Why? Because there's too much food consumed to fit into just one. In the previous post, I made many "lucky" dishes prior to Chinese New Year because I knew I would be traveling and would not have as much time to cook. Now, I would like to share delicious family homemade food that I was able to enjoy over the last few days.

Fried Red Bean Rice Cakes for Breakfast



Quinoa Tabbouleh, Sesame Vermicelli Salad, and Lemongrass Salmon

 

Wild Salmon Spring Rolls

Chinese Pork Tamale

Thai Coconut Dessert

Happy Chinese New Year, everyone! 

Festivities of Food - Chinese New Year

It is almost Chinese New Year again. This year it falls on February 3rd. It is going to be the year of the Rabbit. As traditional as my family is, I feel that these traditions have been slipping away from me slowly year after year. I used to spend my Chinese New Years in Taipei, and the festivities ran from street stalls selling Chinese New Year specialty food to department stores decorating their ceilings and walls with splashes of red and gold. It was hard not to be a part of the traditions and celebrations. Today, it is still a holiday I treasure because it is one of the few times people look back and remember the rich 5,000 years+ of Chinese history and culture.

I have my own way of a Chinese New Year pre-party and that involves, of course, making a lot of Chinese food.

Oxtail Steak and Tricolor Eggs

 
I started with my spin on steak and eggs. I made an oxtail stew as steak and served it with tricolor eggs made with pickled eggs, duck eggs, and chicken eggs. Duck eggs, like many other food, represent good luck because of its pronunciation which resembles other words that mean good fortune and good luck. 

Whole Wheat Pasta Sheets

Fresh Tagliatelle

We made whole wheat tagliatelle from scratch. Not Chinese, I know. But having noodles is important because the long strands represent longevity. We stir-fried the noodles with Taiwanese sausage and garlic, adding some oyster sauce and sugar in the mixture. It was fresh and delicious.

Sweet Sesame Rolls

Using the fresh pasta dough, I made some sweet sesame paste and rolled it up for a sweet pastry. Sweets bring a sweetness to life and that is one tradition I cannot pass up!

Traditional Chinese Pastry

Sweet Mung Bean Filling

Mung beans, not eaten as often in the Western culture, have many health benefits. One of which is a cooling factor to your body to balance the yin and the yang. That is why many drink sweet mung bean soup in the summertime. Mung bean can also be made into a sweet paste and used as a filling in pretty much anything. I made a traditional mung bean pastry with layers of flaky pastry wraps and a sweetened mung bean paste in the center. Chinese tend to like enjoying food that is either long (noodles) for longevity or circular (pastries like this one) to represent family unity.

That concludes my chinese cook-off over the weekend for fortune and for everything good in life. Eat a lot and you will bring all the luck to you and your family!

Indulge, in chocolate, kahlua and frosting

Kahlua makes a wonderful ingredient in drinks and desserts during the holiday season, especially for coffee lovers like myself. I have never been much of a baker, which is why the easiest way to enjoy my Kahlua would be to add it to some hot coffee and steamed milk - creating my very own version of post-dinner coffee.

Mini Kahlua Chocolate Cupcakes with Kahlua Frosting

 
Well, enough of the coffee for now. Family was coming over for dinner and I am sure they would appreciate some cute and delicious mini-cupcakes. So, I combined chocolate, espresso, and Kahlua and made the best tasting cupcakes of all time! The Kahlua was infused by poking some holes into the mini cupcakes while they were still warm. After they cooled, I ladled some Kahlua frosting over the top and added semi-sweet chocolate chips to resemble snowy mountains, or the holiday version, winter wonderland.