Spicy (Hot) Chocolate Cookies

In celebration of all that is good (or bad) about Valentine's Day, you need a good cookie to match. Commercial Valentine's Day has put so much emphasis on chocolate that it would be an obvious flavor option. The cookie needed something hot to mirror the the burning desire of love or the fire of fury from love turned to hate. Not just a spicy flavor, but heat. You should taste the sweet richness of chocolate ending with heat drifting up the back of your throat. Thus, the hunt for a spicy hot cookie began.

Most recipe searches resulted in a spiced cookie rather than one with real heat, best done by chili, peppers, or infused oil. Keep in mind that the aim is heat and not the flavor of something hot. As a fan of the chewy cookie variety, the recipe was altered to replace some of the white sugar with dark brown sugar (in this case muscovado). The extra heat added at the end is to remind you of the fires burning within your own heart. This cookie with its lovely chocolate goodness is slightly chewy with a consistency inside reminiscent of a fudgy brownie followed by subtle heat creeping up your throat and...Success!!!

Spicy Hot Chocolate Cookies
1/2 cup softened butter
1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
1 egg
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
1 big pinch crushed red chili flakes
2 dashes ground cinnamon
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/4 cups flour
1/2 bar chocolate, chopped - or - 1/2 cup chopped chocolate
Sprinkles (optional)

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Beat butter with electric mixer or whisk until creamy. Add sugars and beat until light in color, 3 to 4 minutes. Scrape down sides of bowl. Add egg and beat 1 minute. Add salt, cocoa powder, chili powder, chili flakes, and cinnamon and mix in gently, a few stirs. Mix in flour until dough is made before adding chopped chocolate.

Put some sprinkles on a plate. Make balls of about 1 1/2 inch diameter and press ball onto sprinkles to flatten dough and adhere sprinkles. Place onto ungreased baking sheet and bake for about 11 minutes. Cool on racks.

Ginger Cookies with Lemon Icing

After testing out a chewy chocolate ginger cookie recipe, the chocolate chunks made the cookie a little too rich. Perhaps something lighter to go with the gingery cookie instead. What else does go well with ginger? Maybe something light like lemon? With the afternoon cuppa, sometimes a nice biscuit is enjoyed with the tea. Twinings has a popular tea selection that would also go well with the cookie: lemon and ginger or "LG" as it is affectionately called. Let's get on it.

Molasses is not a common commodity in the UK so a substitute had to be made. Substitute 1 cup of molasses with 3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar and 1/4 cup water. Better than using dark brown sugar (though containing molasses) is muscovado sugar, which has a stronger molasses flavor due to the addition of sugar cane juice. Varities sold in stores include "light muscovado" and "dark muscovado" and tends to be darker than its respective sugar relatives.


Reviews of the original recipe used declared that the ginger flavor was too strong and overpowering, which was most likely due to the fresh ginger. Fresh ginger was omitted and replaced with slightly more ground ginger. The subtlety of a ginger cookie should not overwhelm the palate as you sip your tea. You are trying to enjoy both at the same time. Thus, the chocolate chunk aspect was also removed and replaced with a lemon royal icing.

The cookie is very light and refreshing, but sweet enough to satisfy the sugar tooth. The lemon icing also gave the cookie a nice zing.

Chewy Ginger Cookies with Lemon Icing (adapted)
7 ounces best-quality semisweet chocolate
1 1/2 cups plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
3 somewhat heaping teaspoons ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1/2 cup dark-brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup unsulfured molasses (or substitute)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Sift together flour, ground ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and cocoa. In a separate bowl, beat butter and grated ginger until whitened, about 4 minutes. Add brown sugar; beat until combined. Add molasses; beat until combined.

In a small bowl, dissolve baking soda in 1 1/2 teaspoons boiling water. Beat half of flour mixture into butter mixture. Beat in baking-soda mixture, then remaining half of flour mixture.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or nonstick baking mats. Roll dough into 2-inch balls and roll dough balls in granulated sugar. Put on baking sheets about 2 inches apart and bake until surfaces crack slightly, about 18 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes; transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Drizzle lemon icing over cookie.


Lemon Icing
Confectioner's Sugar
Lemon Juice
Slight splash of milk

Combine confectioner's sugar, splash of milk, and a small squeeze of lemon juice and mix to desired consistency. The less liquid you use, the thicker the icing will show up and the quicker it will dry.

Light and Fluffy Buckwheat Breakfast Pancakes

Using buckwheat instead of regular flour results in a taste that is more earthy. It is also valued because it can be used as a gluten-free alternative. The model pancake for comparison are the homemade ones fresh from the griddle from an American diner. Several buckwheat pancake recipes have been tested in vain resulting to dense discs of buckwheat dough. The tried and tested trick to making anything lighter is to separate the eggs and whip the egg whites to soft peaks and folding into the mixture.

The buckwheat pancakes are incredibly light and fluffy. After eating two, the stomach does not feel weighed down by a rich pancake and you are left feeling very satisfied. A light drizzle of the best maple syrup is the perfect way to top off the pancakes.

Blueberry Buckwheat Pancakes
1¼ cups milk
4 large
eggs, separated
1 cup
buckwheat flour
dash of salt
3 Tbsp granulated sugar
1½ tsp baking powder
Butter or canola oil as needed for greasing pan
Small carton of blueberries

Separate eggs. Beat together milk and egg yolks. In a separate bowl, beat egg whites with a whisk or electric mixer until stiff but not dry.

Combine dry ingredients and milk-yolk mixture, stirring to blend. Gently fold in the beaten egg whites; they should remain somewhat distinct in the batter.

Add about 1 tsp. butter or oil to a preheated griddle or skillet. Add batter by heaping Tablespoon, making sure to include some of the egg whites in each spoonful. Sprinkle with blueberries. Cook until lightly browned on the bottom, 3 to 5 minutes, then turn and cook until second side is brown. Serve, or hold in a 200° oven for up to 15 minutes.

Xiao Long Bao

The hunt for good xiao long bao in London is a laborious effort, requiring a significant amount of time trolling the internet for restaurants and blog entries from fellow foodies along with carefully analyzing each one. Xiao long bao is a shanghainese dumpling commonly made with pork or crab with soup on the inside made from a meat gelatin that turns to broth when heated. Outside of Shanghai, it seems that Joe's Shanghai in New York City is the next best match with its lovely parcels of goodness resting on a bed of cabbage in a bamboo steamer.

The proper way to eat xiao long bao is to first gently lift the dumpling from the bamboo basket without ripping the sides. If it rips, all the precious broth will spill out. This has proved to be a difficult feat if the dumplings are stuck together in the steamer, the wrapper gets stuck to the steamer or the paper in the steamer it is sitting on. At Joe's Shanghai, this is easily avoided as the dumplings are on a bed of steamed cabbage to prevent sticking. After successfully retrieving the in-tact dumpling, dip in the vinegar sauce with ginger before placing on the Chinese soup spoon. Over a bowl of rice (a personal recommendation and best to catch and absorb any of the nice bits that may fall off of the spoon) and using the spoon as foundation and chopsticks as support, carefully bite a small piece of the dumpling near or around the top to create an small opening from which you can suck out the hot broth. Now you can also start taking bites of the dumpling inside.

After sampling xiao long bao at the most recommended Chinese restaurants in London, the siu luong bao from Leong’s Legends is the current winner. Although the skin is the slightest bit thin, the xiao long bao is full of broth compared to its counterparts at Chinese Experience and Pearl Liang, edging out its competition. The broth bursts into hot joy in your mouth. The majority of the xiao long bao from Chinese Experience does not have as much broth and breaks or is already broken, though still really good. The dipping sauce at Chinese Experience might be better as well.

Xiao long bao is a deal at Leong’s Legends for a bamboo steamer of 8 for only £5.00, while a steamer of 3 at Chinese Experience is £3.20. Watch out for the “SC” on the receipt, which is the discreetly added service charge. Sampling the xiao long bao at Leong’s Legends is definitely a must while in Chinatown.

Leong’s Legends. 4 Macclesfield Street, London, W1D 6AX

Paticlan Dolmasi (Stuffed Eggplant)

The light and delicious stuffed eggplant from Çiya Sofrasi in the Asia Side neighborhood Kadıköy in Istanbul induced an intense craving for more. No longer reaping the benefits of the foodie destination, a home-made version of this dish was attempted.

When roasting the eggplant, the skin was left on for its nutritional value. After roasting, the eggplant shells were a little tough and pliable, not soft for easy cutting. Perhaps this was user error as the oven used tends be hotter than the dial indicated and the eggplant did not need to be roasted as long. The original recipe for the filling was generous requiring more eggplants. The extra filling would perform well in a wrap with fresh greens as it is flavorful and wholesome.

The final result was more aesthetically pleasing though the taste was not what was expected. Although the flavor of the meat in this recipe was subtle, the stuffed eggplants served at Çiya were made without meat and if they were, the taste was even less noticable.


Recipe ideas that resulted from this run were:

• Leaving more of eggplant pulp in the shell
  
• Substituting ground beef for roasted eggplant pulp
  
• A combination of the first two

Patlican Dolmasi (Stuffed Eggplant) Serves 6 People adapted
6 Japanese eggplants uniform in shape
Olive Oil
1/4 cup water
1 Tbs Lemon juice

For stuffing:
2 Tomatoes, sliced thin
1 lb very lean Ground Beef
1 large or 2 medium Onions, chopped
1 small can Diced Tomatoes
1/2 bunch Parsley
1/2 cup Pine Nuts
4 cloves chopped Garlic
1 tsp Allspice
1 tsp Cumin
1/4 tsp Clove
1/4 tsp Dried Mint
1/4 tsp Dill
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper (add more if desired)
1/4 tsp Black Pepper
1 tsp Salt
Olive Oil
1/2 cup basmati rice

Cut eggplants in half (not lengthwise). Remove pulp. Slather the eggplants with olive oil. Place in baking dish and cook in the oven at 375°F until tender (about 1 hour).

In a large skillet, sauté onions, garlic and pine nuts in olive oil. Add ground meat and brown, making sure the ground beef is in uniform small pieces. Add spices, currants and stir well. Add can of tomatoes and rice. Stir, reduce to simmer and cover until rice is cooked (about 20 minutes - you may want to add more water for rice). Remove from heat.

Remove the eggplants from oven. Place the ground beef mixture in the center of each eggplant. Place tomato slices on top. Drizzle liberally with water and lemon juice to the baking dish and cover the dish so that it is air-tight. Bake at 450°F for 30-45 minutes. Serve.

Afghani Chicken with Spinach

A delicious meal at Afghan Kitchen off Upper Street in the London Borough of Islington inspired experimentation in the kitchen to recreate the experience. After trolling the internet for an authentic sounding recipe with ingredients found in most major United Kingdom grocery stores, the attempt to cook this unfamiliar dish could commence.

A whole evening was set aside for the endeavor as traditional stews take a significant amount of time to come to fruition. Most stews have humble origins originally being cast aside as food from the peasants, but usually that is where the best dishes come from. A slight change was made to the original recipe to adapt to a modern palate. Instead of using lamb, chicken breast was substituted. The taste of lamb is quite heavy, so chicken breast is suggested so the eater would not feel so heavy after the meal.

The only disappointment with this recipe is that the outcome did not result in a predominately spinach dish, lacking that deep green color expected. Cardamom was also neglected from the dish from haste and no suitable substitute could be found.

Time and patience paid off to excellent results. Overall, this dish was amazing and full of exotic flavor. The texture was thick and somewhat creamy, going well with basmati rice. Next time it is prepared, more crushed red pepper should be added to match the heat of the dish’s color.



Afghani Chicken with Spinach (adapted)
3 Chicken breasts
1/3 cup olive oil
3/4 lb onions; diced large
4 tsp Chopped garlic
2 tsp turmeric
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp Ground cardamom
1 tsp crushed red pepper -- or to taste
1/2 tsp cinnamon
32 oz Can tomatoes; drain & chop
1 cup chicken stock
1/3 lb Fresh spinach; wash & drained
1/2 cup yogurt (natural Greek was used)
1 Tbsp Grated lemon peel
Salt; to taste
1/4 cup pine nuts (pan roasted for about 3 minutes)

Sear chicken in olive oil in a large skillet or Dutch oven. Remove chicken and cover with foil to set aside. Add onions and sauté for 2 minutes. Add garlic and sauté for 1 minute. Add turmeric, nutmeg, cardamom, crushed red pepper and cinnamon and sauté the mixture for 1 to 2 minutes more, being careful not to burn the onions or garlic. Add tomatoes and chicken stock and stir. Cut up chicken breasts and add to pan, mixing well.

Cover the dish and bake at 350 F for about 1 hour until the meat is tender. Remove the dish from oven and add spinach, stirring until the spinach is wilted and blended in. Allow stew to cool slightly. Add yogurt, lemon peel and salt to taste. Sprinkle with roasted pine nuts.

**Optional: Extra frozen spinach (thawed) to make spinach more pronounced

Lokum At Its Best

Where else is the best place to get quality lokum than its native country, Turkey? Every corner at every sweet food stall and confectioner vendors are proudly displaying their variety of Turkish delight. The difference between the Turkish delight made in Turkey (Istanbul, in this case) and other countries, such as the United Kingdom, is that the confection is not too sweet. Another difference is the significance in flavor. Instead of being "lemon-flavored" or "rose-flavored" where the taste implies a sweetner that happens to have a tinge of lemon or rose, the lokum is infused with the essence of the lemon or tastes exactly like the scent of a rose. As just sweet enough, the proper flavor intended comes through. Other Turkish delight varieties which are popular are pistachio, hazelnut, and walnut. Some stands offer varities that combine flavors such as rose and pistachio (particularly good) or pistachio with milk or walnut and lemon. If you do happen to find yourself in Turkey, make a point of sampling the local Turkish delight. If or when you decide to bring some home, be sure to make your own box instead of the pre-packaged boxes to ensure freshness.

The Mission - SoMA

Quickly becoming a brunch institution in San Diego is The Mission, whose good name is spread mainly by word of mouth. “Oooh. My friend/brother/sister’s friend’s boyfriend went there and said it was awesome. And I heard you have to order those strawberry banana pancakes or that French toast.” The Mission sounded too good to resist on a beautiful weekend morning.

The specific restaurant visited (there are three – Mission Beach, North Park, and Downtown) is located on J Street in the East Village right next to the home of the Padres. The restored vintage structure is light and airy with exposed beams and original art flushing the room with bright color. Immediately upon entering, the aromas screaming “tasty, (relatively) healthy, simple breakfast” hit the olfactory system flooding the mind with memories of childhood comfort food. The room is already full of people having leisurely breakfast with sounds of delight as patron’s orders arrive or neighbors glance over and see what gastronomic excitement is in store for them.


Jumping the local bandwagon, the recommended breakfast staples do make an impression. Large slices of strawberries and bananas decorate the triple pancake stack surrounded by a blueberry purée. The optional sides of rosemary potatoes and bacon are another generous meal in itself. Thick slices of cinnamon bread used in the French toast are decadently cinnamon flavored with perfect caramalization. Other highlights include the Huevos Rancheros Verdes served on a generous portion of beans soaking up the salsa verde. The only disappointment was the chicken apple sausage, which could have found greater satisfaction from a fatter cut.


Do not hesitate to indulge at The Mission to fuel yourself for a sunny weekend in San Diego.

The Mission - SoMa. 1250 J Street, San Diego, CA 92101

The Double Club - Bar

“Half art, half not.” - Carsten Höller


You are in two places at the same time. Think Congo meets the west. The Double Club, new art-installation-slash-club opened this month in Islington for 6 months in a space where you can linger between Congolese and western cultures. Art, food, and music exist in this single space encompassing dual worlds. The space is sub-divided by the restaurant, the bar, and the club. It is a refreshing place compared to the well-trodden West End stomping grounds.

The club entrance is off a narrow street, easy to miss if it is not being explicitly sought out. Security at the door was kind and the reception by staff was helpful, quickly taking burdensome coats to expedite the experience. The Double Club Bar is an open space with the candle-lit restaurant and throbbing club in view on either side from windows. Elements of Kinshasa are seamlessly juxtaposed with Western roots through the art covering the high walls as well as the furniture and the texture of the floor. On the particular Saturday night, the music – different from the club room – oscillated between African beats and Western grooves, depending on the mood of the DJ. The platform the DJ booth rests on rotates so smoothly that the dancer hardly notices while moving into the Congo and back to the West that is London.

Cocktails at this bar are noteworthy and memorable. The sensation of a hot climate seeps through the Jamaican Mule, which was heightened by Afro-Caribbean music playing at the time. One of the bartenders, Abu, is energetic and even offers to enthrall the drinker with inventive cocktails and shots not listed on the menu. One standout shot was the Bellini shot. So tasty. Specialty cocktails ranged from £7.50 while champagne cocktails were at £8.50.

The vibe of the club is not pretentious as the fashionable clientele ranged from those basking in the atmosphere, migrating over from the restaurant hosted and operated by Mourad Mazouz, appreciating the art, and enjoying the music. The Double Club is a chill venue to cross time and space while dancing to a global grove and indulging in its cocktail delights.

THE DOUBLE CLUB. 7 Torrens Street, London EC1V 1NQ. Telephone: +44.207.837.2222

Día de Acción de Gracias

Thanksgiving is a major holiday in the United States that is slightly more difficult to prepare for and celebrate in other countries, in this case Spain. Preparation already begins at a disadvantage since common commodities such as certain spices and other ingredients vital to a Thanksgiving feast are not readily available. Grocery stores are not to the same size and caliber as those in the United States, so visits to several different locations is necessary to find everything on the shopping list. Larger kitchen appliances and fancy gadgets are required for the basic staples of the meal. This includes a larger oven (or a second oven altogether), a baster, gravy separator, roasting pan with rack, needle, and twine and basics of measuring cups and spoons. Hesitation to acquire these materials amounted to the fact that the cost on a low budget superseded the utility of the items.

The centerpiece of the feast is the turkey, difficult to find for the non-native in a country that produces every pork product imaginable. As well as being available in the neighborhood mercados, the turkey was found at a local pollería and special ordered at approximately at 5.3 kilograms. Turkey is generally perceived as bland and dry, so this year the turkey was a bit spiced up. Drawing from a highly rated recipe and recommendations by its reviewers, el pavo was marinated the day before roasting with a spice rub consisting of coriander, cumin, peppercorns, cinnamon, smoked sweet paprika, cardamom, and anis.

Concern was centered on the Spanish oven with its numerous options and complicated dials along with the warning that the heating mechanism is inadequate. What is "turbo"? Microwave and grill at the same time? The greatest fault of the oven is that it turned off any time the oven door was opened after the release was pressed. The oven was also very small and could barely accommodate the size of the turkey and the pan to catch its drippings. For lack of a roasting pan, the turkey rested on a grill shelf and a large glass pan was set underneath to catch drippings and hold stock used to steam the bird as it simultaneously roasted, which took up all the available oven space. The method for cooking the bird using this particular oven was to turn the heat up at the highest setting and let the bird cook for one hour with 1 1/2 cup of stock in the pan, then 2 cups for 2 hours, then dousing the turkey with remaining 2 cups stock and covering the turkey lightly with foil for one hour. The recipe instructed that the oven be set to 450°F the first hour and lowered to 350°F for the remainder of the cooking time using an 18-20lb turkey. Considering the inadequacy of the oven, this was compensated for. The traditional baster was substituted by two people pouring stock over the turkey with large spoons and maneuvering carefully to not get burned by the heat retained in the oven walls yet still cover the entire bird evenly. After the allotted amount of time, the bird was removed from the oven and allowed to rest wrapped over a butcher block with foil. Checking to ensure the internal temperature of the bird registered 175°F was forgone for the lack of a proper thermometer.


The proprietor of the Spanish kitchen in use said something along the lines of "a real cook does not use measurements." Improvising to guesstimate the portions measured out for the stuffing as well as the southern biscuits. One useful tool is a sports water bottle with milliliter and ounce scales drawn on its sides for measuring approximations. Baking is a chemistry. However, southern cooking (including biscuits) does not require the use of accurate measurements. Quick mental conversions from Imperial to Metric scales were also made on the fly while cooking. In place of buttermilk, a substitute was created using the recipe-given measurement of milk plus a tablespoon of lemon juice. The substitute may be used to maintain the consistency of the batter and is only good for cooking or baking. The milk in Spain did not thicken properly, so natural unsweetened yogurt was used with milk and a tablespoon of lemon juice and sugar (to add a hint of sweetness) at a ratio of 2:1, proving to be more effective.



For further Thanksgiving convenience, multiple items were crammed into the oven to complete cooking, baking, and reheating. This included the sweet potato casserole offered by a guest.


The final outcome overall was successful and food disappeared quickly from the Thanksgiving table. The experience of preparing the meal without having an adequately outfitted kitchen was a test of adaptability, flexibility, and improvisation. Of course, a good attitude and patience helped give confidence towards a delicious Thanksgiving meal.

Spice Rub
2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon coriander seeds
1 1/2 teaspoons cumin seeds
1 1/2 teaspoons whole black peppercorns
1 cinnamon stick, broken in half
2 tablespoons coarse kosher salt
1 1/2 tablespoons smoked sweet paprika (pimentón dulce)
1 1/2 teaspoons each of cardamom and anis (optional, by recommendation)

Cognac Gravy
1 ounce cognac
1/3 cup dry vermouth
4 tablespoons turkey drippings
1/3 cup flour

Separate fat and pan juices. Keep about 4 tablespoons on reserve. Set roasting pan on burner with medium-high heat and deglaze with cognac and vermouth, scraping up the caramelized bits with a wooden spoon. Add degreased pan juices. In a separate saucepan over a medium-low flame, heat turkey fat and add flour to create a rue. Whisk constantly for about 3 minutes so the flour is evenly mixed and cooked. Add pan-juice mixture, season with salt and pepper, and whisk until smooth and thickened.

Stuffing
1 large baguette or baton of crusty day-old bread, cut into cubes (over 2 cups)
3 medium onions (almost 3 cups)
4-5 stalks celery (about 2 1/2 cups)
1/2 cup or 1 stick butter, maybe more
1/3 cup chopped Italian flat-leaf parsley
1 cup or so chopped spinach
2 Tablespoons dried sage
1-2 Tablespoons dried thyme
1-2 Tablespoons dried rosemary
2 dashes of dried oregano
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 1/4 cup turkey or chicken broth or stock

Over medium heat in a large, heavy skillet, melt butter so it is hot but not smoking and cook celery and onion for about 15 minutes. In a separate pot, wilt spinach for a couple minutes with about 2 tablespoons of water. If bread is not day-old or older, cut into cubes and spread evenly on a baking sheet and toast in the oven until the bread cubes feel dry so it will soak up the broth. In a large bowl, hand mix vegetables and herbs before tossing bread cubes. Pour in stock and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Bake in 450°F oven until cooked through and crusty on top, about 50 minutes.

Buttermilk Biscuits
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
Rounded 1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 stick (1/4 cup) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
3/4 cup buttermilk or substitute (see reference above)
1 tablespoon milk or cream for brushing biscuits

In a bowl, mix flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Cut in butter. Add buttermilk until mixture looks scrappy. Sometimes more buttermilk is needed to make the batter wet enough. Be careful not to over-mix. On floured surface, pour out batter from bowl and knead gently about 6-8 times, adding more flour if necessary. Roll out to about ½ inch thickness. Using a sharp round cutter, create biscuit rounds and place on a baking sheet ensuring that all the biscuits touch. Brush tops with milk. Bake biscuits in 450°F oven for about 15 minutes or until lightly golden.