THE CHEFCHARETTE

Another goodbye dinner, that ends with Banana’s Foster Crepes

As I was whisking the eggs into the flour to make crepes, the man fixing the fridge became the fourth stranger who asked me if I was running a restaurant at the Gamble House…& suggested me to. I laughed. That would be lovely. I give him the “I can’t, I have studio” response that we’ve all used: “I can’t go to your party because I have studio…. I can’t sleep because I have studio… I can’t work out because I have studio…. I can’t read because I have studio… I can’t go home because I have studio…. I can’t go home for Thanksgiving because I have studio…. I can’t eat because I have studio.” Studio is the sad excuse from good things. & blame for everything that goes wrong…. “I’m sick because of studio.  I have high blood pressure because I have studio. I’m poor because I have studio. I have insomnia because I have studio. I have anxiety because of studio. I’m breaking out because I have studio. I’m fat & ugly because I have studio.”

My other arch alumni friend (& former Gensler employee) Henry, is leaving to Taiwan to serve. It definitely hurts to let this second all nighter partner go. I remember meeting him in my Freshman year when he was a 4th year.  Since then, he’s encouraged me when I had major designers block or was frustrated with Rhino-modeling or wanted to drop architecture. He’s even come to my old apartment to do Autocad drawings for me at 3AM…..Henry has been such a great older brother/mentor to me.

I will never forget that last night we joined Yulee & Leon’s “charette night” at the Gamble House two years ago.  Henry fell asleep almost immediately under the tables. What was supposed to be a productive all nighter/charette became a night of singing Falling Slowly/playing guitar, procrastination & 6 hour napping sleeping.

So before Henry moved out, he & some of our friends came over for a “goodbye Henry” dinner. Henry is such a gracious & humble man who has strange, but brilliant & hilarious things to say. We’re all going to miss his words & friendly, geeky face.

I asked Henry a few days ago what he’d like for his final dinner, & he asked me to cook the same dinner I cooked & brought to his studio for his very final charette before he graduated. so cute. what an honor. After we settled down the table & took the first bites of our dinner,  we both smiled, looked at each other, & said the same thing: the dishes have improved & are now more flavorful. Practice makes perfect.

Dinner Menu

• Peach ginger iced tea
• Mini fig, proscuitto, arugula & mini pesto pizza’s
• Trader Joe’s Mushroom risotto
• Sauteed garlic asparagus
• Parmesan Tilapia filets
• Banana’s Foster Crepes

I’m starting to realize that I shouldn’t post all my recipes on Tumblr, & must save some/many recipes in the actual cookbook. This banana’s foster crepe recipe has been a huge success among friends, family, & even their friends & family. It will certainly be included in TheChefCharette cookbook, which, is definitely making good progress. :) Feel free to come over to test/get a taste of what (could possibly) will be found in TheChefCharette.

The Chef Charette Cookbook

One of my best friends, a graphic design major at CSULB, was assigned to design & create a cookbook for her studio class. This is the original, & only copy that she has printed & hand-bound with scotch tape.

She asked me if I wanted to collaborate with her. I was honored. While I cooked, baked, & drew, she photographed & designed the layout. Although we had to cram this cookbook within a month, we worked well together. We’ve also agreed to add on more recipes, drawings, & photographs & to complete/publish this cookbook after this semester ends. Thank you everyone, for all of your support & encouragement. I’ll keep you guys updated :)

Pear & Blue Cheese Salad

My lovely architecture friends & old studiomates invited me over for our traditional potluck BBQ.  As much as I love baking, I care for everyone’s health (esp the junk food archies)…& I figured I should probably cut back on that & create something more refreshing & healthy (for the sake of my future kids & my studiomates not becoming overweight)

Salads are a great… & flavorful way to eat your vegetables. All the combined ingredients in this salad enhance each other. & they’re not only flavorful, but they also contain a wide variety of nutrients that make this salad delectable & healthy. Most of all, its tanginess & sweetness will refresh & wake you up from sitting throughout your long night (&/or morning)

Some of you are probably wondering why choose Bosc pears (why not Barlett pears?) Well, realistically you could use either type of pear, but Bosc is usually preferred for salads because they’re crunchier when raw. They’re also in season from Sept-April ,whereas Barlett pears are in season from Aug-Feb. You could peel the skin off before slicing them, but I like to wash them well & keep the skin on (because I’m honestly lazy & use the excuse of the skin giving it more fiber)

& if you don’t like blue cheese or almonds, feel free to substitute gorgonzola or walnuts instead. The great thing about this recipe is that it’s so flexible, simple, & elegant.

Ingredients

• 10 oz spring salad mix
• 1/3 bunch red leaf lettuce
• 1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
• 1/2 C olive oil
• 1/2 C apple cider vinegar
• 2 tbsp sugar
• salt & pepper to taste
• 3 bosc pears, thinly sliced
• 4 oz crumbled blue (or gorgonzola) cheese
• 1/2 C dried cranberries
• 1/2 C caramelized almonds/other nuts (for instructions, see step 2)

Directions

1. Thoroughly wash and drain the spring mix and lettuce. Drain well, cut into bite sized pieces & set aside in a large bowl to air dry.
2. (skip &proceed to step 3 if you already have caramelized nuts) In a lightly greased skillet over medium heat, stir 1/2 C sugar & 2 tbsp water with 1 C nuts. Continue stirring gently until the sugar has completely melted & caramelized the nuts. Carefully transfer the nuts evenly onto a baking sheet with waxed paper. Allow it to cool and break into pieces.
3. For the dressing, blend together olive oil, apple cider vinegar, & sugar in a medium sized bowl. Sprinkle salt & freshly grounded pepper to taste.
4. Pour dressing over salad & toss in sliced red onions, sliced pears, blue cheese crumbles, cranberries, & caramelized nuts. Lightly sprinkle some salt/sea salt. Mix well & serve cold. Enjoy!

Espresso Brownie Bites

Are you sleep deprived? Are you pulling an allnighter? Are you hungry & does that cup of coffee not fulfill your appetite? Are you a a girl who’s craving chocolate but that colossal sized brownie at the cafe just won’t do because it’s “too many calories?” Are you willing to take a bite-sized brownie because it’s “fewer calories?” Are you craving a brownie but can’t afford to let the chocolatey crumbles fall & STAIN your clean, white model?

If you said yes to any of these, then this recipe is for you.

but BEWARE- These brownies are loaded with caffeine, much more espresso than your typical espresso brownie. I made the big mistake of first making these brownies at midnight. After testing the batter & eating 3 brownie bites, I was bouncing off the walls… obnoxiously texting my friend, & could not sleep until 3:30 AM. Success in giving energy? I think so.

These espresso brownie bites go great with a nice cup of milk…at any time of the day (or night). with these caffeine loaded brownies, you’re set to draw, study… & because they’re bite sized, you can pop them right into your mouth, while building that clean model of yours all night long.

note: when blending sugar with butter, make sure you start with softened (either almost or completely melted) butter. When blending the butter with the sugar, keep blending it together until it’s well incorporated before you mix it with the other dry ingredients. This way, everything will blend together more evenly and your baked good will come out of the oven with the right texture.

• 1 C (2 sticks) unsalted butter (softened)
• 1 1/4 C sugar
• 4 lg eggs
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 C unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 C all purpose flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 2 tbsp espresso powder (i used Don Francisco’s finely grinded Hawaiian Hazelnut Espresso)
• 1 C semi-sweet chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS

• 1) Preheat the oven to 350 F.
• 2) In a large bowl, cream together the butter, vanilla, and sugar until well incorporated. Beat in the eggs.
• 3) In another large bowl, combine cocoa powder, flour,  salt, baking powder, and espresso powder.
• 4) Gradually mix the cocoa mixture into the butter mixture.  butter/sugar mixture into the cocoa mixture. Stir until smooth. gradually add the chocolate chips and stir it well.
• 5) Fill the brownie batter into each mini-muffin cup. Bake for about 10-12  minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Allow it to cool for a few minutes then remove from pan. Enjoy!

Charette week

not only has the holiday season begun, but it’s charette week. My final project (of this year) is due this Friday. This is probably gonna be one of the best & most memorable weeks ever. I love all of my studiomates; and I’m soooo excited to cook (hopefully nutritious & high protein food) for my studiomates. And I hope that through this experience, I will not do it out of pride, but with really just out of a genuine, generous heart.

HOW TO MAKE SPAM MUSUBI

Apple Cranberry Cookies after a bad deskcrit

I had another bad deskcrit with my studio instructor. I feel like 75% of my deskcrits is him basically asking things like “why haven’t you done this? or this? or that?” and ending it with something like, “you’re screwed, but you can do it.” (and a very unconvincing smiles to make up for) This time he criticized me for placing my kitchens at the corner, facing the courtyards. He argued that my kitchens should be in the central of everything on the floor. For the first time ever, I was arguing with my studio instructor. And about what? About the placement of the kitchen and the qualities it should have.

Although our project’s due this Monday,I’m very behind in studio, and am getting really frustrated with our housing project and (unhelpful?) deskcrits, I’ve just been yearning to cook and bake even more. One thing I hope to do with this blog is to post more healthier and simple recipes that could help and comfort my architecture studiomates, and any other poor sleep-deprived child.

My friend, Crystal, suggested that I bake something for my studio instructor, but I refused to do so, not because I think he’s been such an a-hole to me, but because from my own experience, I haven’t seen any male studio instructor eat anything. All I see is them drinking coffee or diet coke.

So instead of working on tedious studio work, I found comfort in dicing apples and mixing together these fall flavors of brown sugar, cinnamon, and cranberries. And instead of sucking up to my studio instructor, I baked these Apple Cranberry cookies to prepare and comfort my studiomates for our upcoming painful charette.

Apple Cranberry Cookies

(Makes about 30)

Ingredients

• 1/2 C softened butter
• 1 1/4 C packed brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 C, 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
• 1 cup apples - peeled, cored, and finely diced
• 1 cup cranberries (or orange cranberries)

Directions

• 1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
  2. Beat butter and brown sugar together until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and blend thoroughly.
  3. Stir together flour, baking soda, baking powder,  salt, and cinnamon.
  4. Stir half the dry ingredients into creamed mixture. Stir in nuts, apple and cranberries, then stir in remaining half of dry ingredients. Mix well.
  5. Drop by tablespoons about 1 1/2 inches apart onto parchment paper. Bake  for 10-12 minutes until edges start to brown. Allow it to cool about 2-3 minutes. Remove cookies to racks.