Out & About: Bouchon Bakery

If you follow me on Instagram you may be aware that over the holiday season, I took a mini vacation with my family to New York City. I had only been there once before, in high school with the school band, so this time around I was excited to cross a few things off my list of must-do's in the Big Apple. New York City is an awesome place, everybody knows that, and there is so much to do, see, and eat that it's easy to cram your day full of things and yet miss so much at the same time. Most of what we did day-to-day revolved around bakeries, cafes and restaurants I wanted to eat in, which I'm sure by now is no surprise to you. One of the first on my list was Thomas Keller's Bouchon Bakery.

This bakery is a beautiful place. With open windows to the baking process in the back and an open display of the freshly baked goods - ranging from croissants to macarons to cookies and more - it's difficult to walk out empty handed. Having just had lunch at Hale & Hearty near the Rockefeller, we decided to finish with something sweet and caffeinated from the bakery I had heard so much about. Mom and I split the cranberry-orange and the egg nog macarons, while my dad and brother each had a TLC cookie - nobody was disappointed. The macarons were perfection, perfectly smooth and crisp on top, chewy inside, and not too sweet - oh how I hope to one day make macarons just like 'em. 

Happy to have crossed the bakery off my NYC list, a few days later on Christmas I was pleasantly surprised to open up the beautiful Bouchon Bakery cookbook. It is filled with gorgeous pictures and stories on how the bakery came to be, various baking techniques and suggestions, and of course drool-worthy recipes of items from the bakery itself! I tried out the carrot muffins (post to come) and they were delicious. This book is a great one to add to your cookbook collection, and the bakery is an even better place to stop off for a quick cup of coffee and sweet tooth satisfier. 

Note: None of these pictures are my own - mine were lost to an unfortunate phone+water incident. 

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Out & About: In the Orchard

Fall is now in full swing and I've got autumn recipe ideas bursting out of my head. In the summer one of my favourite things to do is go berry picking and lucky for me the fruit farms don't close up for another few weeks - it's apple picking season! The next couple weeks are full of school deadlines and I took a much needed break this past weekend at Chudleigh's apple orchard to pick my weight (and maybe then some) in apples.

The honey crisps (seriously the best apples ever!) and the McIntoshes are out, and Mom and I loaded up to get ready for some fall baking. The honey crisps are just for eating, but we're planning on making some apple butter, apple chips, apple sauce, and freezing some for future pies, crisps and other delicious apple desserts. Though Chudleigh's is best if you're bringing the whole family along for a day of petting zoos, picnics, and playgrounds, they do have a fantastic apple selection - but if you're looking for straight up apple picking, I'd stick to your regular ol' fruit farm, There will be plenty of apple recipes coming up on the blog in the next few weeks but if you're ready to start some baking now why not try out this delicious apple rhubarb loaf or these apple and oat scones, your taste buds will definitely stay happy.

Out & About: Good Morning Baltimore!

This time last year I said goodbye to a wonderful country and some beautiful people in South Korea. The friends I made there are some of the greatest people I've ever known and even though we're scattered all over the globe I think we do a pretty good job keeping in touch. In need of a summer trip (and a reunion) I booked a trip to visit my friend Jess in Baltimore, Maryland. We spent four days stuffing our faces and being tourists in both Baltimore and Washington D.C. Straight from the airport we headed to Trader Joe's! I picked up a fair amount of chocolate covered goodies and a jar of the famous Speculoos Cookie Butter (which unfortunately was taken from me at the airport). After a short rest, we headed to Matthew's Pizzeria for one of the best pizza's I've ever had - my mouth is watering just thinking of it. We spent the afternoon at the American Visionary Art Museum, which was awesome and then headed to meet Jess's parents for dinner at L.P. Steamers. Now, since March I've been following a vegetarian diet though sometimes eating seafood - which I guess technically makes me a pescetarian but who needs labels right!? Anyways, it didn't seem right to be in Baltimore without trying some of their infamous steamed crabs (with what else but Old Bay on top). At first I was kind of nervous cracking open their shells but I eventually got the hang of it and feasted 'till my heart's content! Our first day was made complete with italian ice and frozen custard from the Cow for dessert- I got frozen hot chocolate and coconut almond ice with chocolate custard on top. 

We spent the morning of the second day wandering around Hampden, and then heading to lunch at Papermoon Diner. They have any amazing menu but it's really the atmosphere that knocks this place out of the park. It is painted in bright, fun, colours and covered top to bottom with a large (and crazy) collection of toys, dolls and mannequins - seriously one of the coolest diner's I've ever been to. From here we headed to Fell's Point for a wander, a ghost tour, snow balls and Mexican food at Arco's. Mexican food is one of my all time favourites and this place did not disappoint - margaritas, guacamole and fish tacos left me beyond satisfied. 

Our third day was spent in the capital. Lunch was had at SundeVich - a seriously delicious sandwich shop that has sandwiches made with the flavours of different cities from all over the globe. I got the Zurich - a breakfast sandwich with egg, gruyere, apple compote and arugula on a baguette - again, my mouth is watering from the thought. After visiting the White House (and hoping to meet Bo) and Lincoln Memorial we went to the Smithsonian Museum of American History and I got to see Julia Child's kitchen! I took way too many pictures of this enclosed space but hey, excitement took over. We then walked to the capital building, and rested until it was time for dinner. Jess's friend made a reservation for the three of us at Cava Mezze - a Mediterranean inspired tapas-style resturant. The food was fantastic, the best being the flaming cheese. 

Day four was more relaxed as we lazed around in the morning before meeting our friend Hannah for Korean food at Mandu. It may not have been the best Korean food of our lives (but honestly, how can you top the real deal) but it hit the spot and was a great ending to a food filled reunion.  

Out & About: Strawberry Fields Forever

Though I was working most of the weekend, I was thrilled to have the Saturday off so I could head up to my Poppy's cottage for a relaxing day. My grandparents are very "homestyle" people, and my Poppy in particular prefers almost everything to be homemade - especially jam. Every summer they head out to pick berries - strawberries at the beginning of the season, blueberries near the end - and make everything from jams to pies to crisps to everything in between. After a nice lunch,  my mom and I headed out to the nearby berry patch to pick our own. It had been awhile since my last berry pick, so I needed a few reminders on how to get the most out of our time.
Here are my tips:

1. Know when to go.

Keep up to date with your local farm's fruit seasons. The end of June and beginning of July is usually the best time for strawberries (go now!). This way you can be sure the berries will be ripe, but not completely picked through.

2. Bring your own baskets.

You'll be saving a lot of money picking your own berries so you may as well save some more by bringing your own carriers - whether they're previously used berry baskets or old ice cream containers - anything will do.

3. Wear pants, closed shoes and sunscreen. This may seem obvious but as a person with a tendency to be barefoot, I always need this reminder. You'll be in the middle of a field, walking on hay, in the summer - there'll be bugs, mud, and sun - so protect yourself!

4. Pick berries that are plump, fully red, and firm, close to the stem. Yellow-ish coloured berries won't be fully ripe and you'll be disappointed with your fruit. Berries that are darker in colour can be too soft, and often go bad quickly. Be a gentle picker.

We plan on making classic strawberry jam out of ours (recipe post to come!) but I also plan on freezing some for smoothies, pie fillings and other desserts as well as keeping some fresh for my favourite, strawberry shortcake.

Out & About: Tea at the Windsor Arms

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Anyone who knows me will tell you that my soul is more akin to an eighty year old grandmother than it is a twenty five year old. Though I do enjoy a good party now and again (more so if there is karaoke involved), I am just as happy, if not more, cozying up with a nice cuppa tea. That being said, it makes perfect sense that I spent my birthday weekend drinking lots of tea, watching movies, and heading downtown for afternoon tea at the Windsor Arms Hotel. For those of us in North America, Sunday was also Mother's Day so as a dual celebration we made a reservation for four a couple months ago to ensure we had a spot.

The hotel is beautiful. It is classic, small and chic and located in the luxurious Yorkville, Toronto. The tea room has three spaces of slightly different decor that seats a fair number of people without being too crowded, and design that gives your afternoon outing the right amount of elegance without being overdone.

We were seated in the contemporary 'Purple Room' and afternoon tea started with our choosing of one of about twenty loose-leaf teas. I chose a passion fruit green tea that was the perfect combination of earthy and sweet. Next came the tiers of treats. The top plate featured four different kinds of miniature cakes (from a white chocolate cup with edible gold to a mini dark chocolate cupcake), the middle plate had a variety of tea sandwiches (such as smoked salmon with caviar and sun-dried tomato cream cheese with cucumber) and the bottom plate held four homemade scones. Of course it wouldn't be a proper afternoon tea if Devon clotted cream (bringing me back to my exchange student days) and jams - mixed berry and strawberry-guava - weren't provided. Since most of the other guests were there celebrating Mother's Day it was assumed we were as well, but my Dad informed our server that it also happened to be my birthday. After we finished our plates of goodies, out she came with a white chocolate and pistachio dipped strawberry courtesy of the chef! The final course was a raspberry sorbet with a small shot of champagne poured over top - delish.

Needless to say my family and I experienced a major sugar crash-food coma afterwards, but it was well worth it. The service was impeccable, the atmosphere was cozy and elegant, and the food was nothing less than perfection. If you are ever in the Toronto area I highly recommend making time for tea at the Windsor Arms. Thanks to my wonderful family and friends for a fantastic birthday - and to my mother for giving me a birthday to celebrate!

Out & About: Parisian Macarons

Pink Macaron with Vanilla Buttercream

At Christmas I like to try out at least one new recipe, and I usually try going against the average Christmas cookie recipes available. This past Christmas we took a shot at making those beautiful, little french cookies - macarons. After two tries we were moderately successful and very proud of our petite delights. They weren't perfect, but they still looked cute and tasted great. Since then we've been discussing how to make them just right, and looking through various recipes and books to figure out how we could perfect our macarons. So a couple months ago my mother and I decided to sign ourselves up for an afternoon class at Le Cordon Bleu. They have an extensive list of short courses available to the public and I was eager to try some out, but given the high price we had to narrow it down to just one. We chose "La Ronde des Macarons".

Chef Jocelyn preparing the cookie shells.

The class begins with a demonstration for both the cookie shells and fillings by two pastry chef instructors of France origins. They were both funny and knowledgable and taught us the exact process to making the perfect macarons - including the history, timing, and science behind them. I took as many notes as I could so that in the practical portion, I could replicate their creations.

Making the buttercream filling.

Next we're sent up to the kitchens and given ingredients, tools and uniforms to start the process. It was great to be able to ask questions to the chefs along the way to ensure we were doing things properly and that our cookies would turn out just right. I chose to make pink macarons with vanilla buttercream filling and Mom chose beige macarons with coffee buttercream filling. We were both very happy with the end result and now have a house swimming in macarons! It was the perfect afternoon for learning something new, having some fun, and eating something delicious.

This recipe is very simliar to the one we used however based on what I've learned, here are my suggestions:
- Heat the oven to 250 F
- Add a small pinch of cream of tartar to the eggs before beating, this helps them to form the soft peaks you're looking for
- During the deflating process (step 5), add the food colouring of your choice half way through
- Let the macarons rest for at least half an hour
- Do not open the oven before 10 minutes of baking have passed. At 10 minutes rotate the baking tray and bake for another 10 minutes for a total of 20 minutes baking time. 

Beige Macarons with Coffee Buttercream.