Cream Puffs Recipe

Ingredients:
Choux Pastry (makes 12)

1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon granulated white sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1/2 cup water
2 large eggs, lightly beaten

Top Crust

1/2 - 1 ounce butter
1/6 cup powdered sugar
1/6 cup all-purpose flour
Optional: green tea powder or cocoa powder

Whipped Cream Filling

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 tablespoon granulated white sugar, to taste
Optional: green tea powder or cocoa powder


Instructions

Top crust: melt the butter, stir in the sugar, then flour (and green tea/cocoa powder)

Choux pastry:
Preheat oven to 400F.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or lightly butter or spray the pan with a non-stick vegetable spray.

In a bowl, sift together flour, sugar, and salt.  Place butter and water over medium high heat and bring to a boil.  Remove from heat and, with a wooden spoon, add the flour mixture, and stir until combined.  Transfer to a bowl to slightly cool.  Once dough is lukewarm, add eggs one at a time.  Dough will separate and then come together.  Continue until you have a smooth, thick paste.

Spoon or pipe 12 small mounds of dough onto the baking sheet, spacing about 2" apart.

Place thin disks of the top crust dough on top of each.

Bake for 15 minutes at 400F and then reduce the oven temperature to 350F and continue for another 30 minutes, or until the shells are a nice amber color and almost dry inside.  Let shells completely cool before filling with cream.  

Whipped cream: combine all ingredients (cold) and whip until stiff peaks form.

Either poke small holes in the bottom and pipe whipped cream filling, or split shells and sandwich with whipped cream.

Salmon Rillettes Recipe

Ingredients

1 pound center-cut salmon, skin and pinbones removed
8 ounces chilled smoked salmon
2 tablespoons Pernod, optional
8 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup shallots, minced
1 tablespoon creme fraiche
 2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 egg yolks
3 ounces chives, chopped, optional
Salt and white pepper

Instructions

Set out butter and smoked salmon to bring them to room temperature.  Cut smoked salmon into a 1/4" dice.  Place salmon fillet in a glass baking dish and sprinkle each side with 1 tablespoon of Pernod, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/4  teaspoon white pepper.  Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour, turning after 30 minutes.

Set up a pot with a steamer rack and bring the water to a simmer.  Add salmon and steam gently until medium-rare, about 8 minutes.

Meanwhile, melt 1 tablespoon butter in a small pan over medium heat.  Add shallots, season with salt, and saute, stirring until softened.  Don't allow them to brown.

In a small bowl, stir remaining 7 tablespoons of butter until smooth and creamy.  Add creme fraiche and stir to combine.

In a large bowl, combine steamed salmon, diced smoked salmon, sauteed shallots, lemon juice, olive oil, egg yolks, and chives.  Season with salt and white pepper.  Fold in butter mixture and combine well.

Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes and serve on baguette, crackers, cucumber slices, or something else of your choice.

Jalapeño-Cheddar Scones Recipe

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons (1 stick, or 4 oz) cold butter, diced
1/2 cup heavy cream
3 eggs, divided
1/4 pound sharp cheddar cheese, diced
2-3 small jalapeño peppers, minced

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400F.  In a small skillet, melt 1/2 tablespoon butter and saute the jalapeños until soft, about 2 minutes.  Let them cool, then place them in a small bowl with the cheddar cheese and coat with 1 tablespoon of the flour.  Combine the remaining flour with the baking powder and salt.  Cut in the remaining butter with a pastry blender, fork or two knives, until the butter bits are pea sized.

Lightly whip 2 of the eggs and cream and add to the flour-butter mixture.  Using a wooden spoon, fold mixture until it begins to come together.  Add the cheddar-jalapeño mixture to the dough and mix until everything is incorporated.

Turn out the dough onto a well-floured surface and knead gently for less than 1 minute.  Pat dough out to a 3/4- to 1-inch thickness and cut into 8 triangles or the shape of your choice with a biscuit cutter.  Make an egg wash by beating the remaining egg with a teaspoon of water.  Brush scones with egg wash and place on a parchment-lined (or well-oiled) baking sheet.  Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown.

Scones & Clotted Cream Recipe

Scone Recipe:

Ingredients (makes 10-12, depending on size)

4 cups plain flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4  cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
4 ounces (1 stick) chopped unsalted butter, cold
1 cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract, optional

1/2 cup chopped raisins or currants, optional

Glaze: egg + splash of milk

Instructions

Combine dry ingredients.  Cut in cold butter until mixture is crumbly and butter is pea sized.  Make a well in the center and add milk.  Take a wooden spoon and mix in from the edges.  Turn out the dough onto a well-floured surface and knead.  Pat out dough and cut with biscuit cutter.  Brush tops with egg wash.  Bake at 400F for 12 minutes.

Clotted Cream Recipe:

Ingredients (makes ~2 cups)

4 cups heavy cream (NOT ultra-pasteurized)

Instructions

Pour heavy cream into a heavy, large, non-reactive frying pan (large surface area).  Place the pan on the stove with the burner set to lowest possible setting.  Scrape off the thick layer that forms on surface and transfer it to a bowl, keeping the top of the fat layer facing upwards if possible.  Repeat until most of the cream has thickened.  Transfer to a tightly sealed container and refrigerate overnight.

Tea Party

I love desserts.  I love sweets.  I love carbs.

Now that I finally have a decent sized kitchen, I've been discovering my inner baker.  First experiment: scones.  As in the British scones, not the ones you usually find in American bakeries that are more like hard cookies.  And of course, if I were to bake, I should share with my friends.  And if I were to share with my friends, then I might as well have a tea party and even more food.

Here are some of the items that turned out well, with links to recipes included.

• Raisin scones
• Jalapeño-cheddar scone sandwiches with chicken
• Salmon rillettes
• Cream puffs

Les Miserables

I love Broadway musicals.  Phantom of the Opera was my first, Wicked is the one I've seen the most, but Les Mis will always be my favorite.  It was the first and only musical I performed (by perform, I mean played in the orchestra pit) in high school.  So you can imagine my disappointment when I came to New York for college and discovered that Les Mis was no longer being performed on Broadway and was only able to see it for the first time in London when I was studying abroad.  And then the Les Mis Revival came to New York...except then I thought there would be no more rush and never bothered going to see it, until now.

Les Mis is ending on Sep 4, so I finally got tickets.  I thought they made a nice use of the screen and projections, although it was strange to not have a turntable set for those familiar with the original staging.  I liked Val Jean and Javert, found Marius to be nasally and Cosette pitchy, but regardless, I thoroughly enjoyed it, and now I have all the songs stuck in my head.  Hope everyone gets to see it before it ends!

The Met: Masterpieces of Chinese Painting Exhibit

I've always been drawn towards Chinese history and art.  There was something so foreign, yet so familiar about it at the same time.  I still remember my tenth grade world history class, where we studied chapter after chapter of European history, from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance, from monarchies to revolutions, from religions to philosophies; when we finally arrived at a chapter on Chinese history, I was so excited to learn about the different dynasties and emperors and everything important that happened in one of the world's oldest civilizations, except it was one of the shortest sections in the textbook.

Now don't get me wrong; I would visit the Louvre everyday and live in Versailles or Schonbrunn if I could.  But there's something about Chinese history and culture that speaks to me on a different level, even though I was born, raised, and educated in the U.S. (unless you count twelve years of weekly Chinese language classes...that sounds like a lot; I guess it should count).

Anyway, I like to make side visits to the Chinese sections of museums when I can, and I try to make it a point to see any special exhibits, which The Met often has.  (Another reason why The  Met is my favorite museum, at least in NYC!)  Currently The Met is showcasing Masterpieces of Chinese Painting over two rotations, the first of which ended in April, but the second will be on view through October 11.  There's a wide range of styles and works from different dynasties, including some pieces from emperors and empresses.  I've included a few of my favorite pieces below.


"Biographies of Lian Po and Lin Xiangru" by Huang Tingxian from Northern Song dynasty (920 - 1127)
黃庭堅《廉頗藺相如列傳》



This is a very long handscroll (over 71 feet long!) telling the story of how the king of Qin (秦昭王) offered the king of Zhao (趙惠文)15 cities in exchange for a very valuable jade disk called He Shi Bi (和氏璧).  As Qin was stronger, the king of Zhao was concerned that if he sent the jade, they might be cheated and receive no cities in return, yet if they refused, Qin might attack.  They ultimately decided to send Lin Xiangru (藺相如) as an envoy with the jade.  As predicted, Qin showed no intention of giving the cities to Zhao after receiving the jade, but Lin Xiangru was able to outwit the king of Qin and return the jade back to Zhao.

I was particularly excited to see this scroll and read the story (rather, the portion that was displayed), as I had just finished watching Legend of MiYue (羋月傳), which referenced this exact story!  (MiYue was China's first Empress Dowager, and she was also the mother of this particular Qin king.)


"Night-Shining White" by Han Gan, from Tang Dynasty (618-907)
韓幹 《照夜白圖》

This painting by Han Gan, a leading horse painter of the Tang dynasty, is a portrait of one of Emperor Xuanzong's horses.  It's been made famous by all the seals and inscriptions added to the painting by later owners (including other emperors of later dynasties).


Frontispiece "Capturing the Deer" written by Emperor Qianlong of Qing Dynasty (1644 - 1912); original painting from either Northern Song (960 - 1127) or Jin (1115 - 1234)  dynasties

Emperor Qianlong (乾隆, reigned 1711 - 1799) is one of my "favorite" emperors.  He brought the Qing Dynasty to its height, and there are certainly no shortages of him as a character in many Chinese period dramas today!  And he clearly also has beautiful calligraphy.

Scrolls depicting Emperor Kangxi and Emperor Qianlong's Southern Inspection Tours

Emperor Kangxi (康熙), whose reign was the beginning of "High Qing" and prosperity (also Emperor Qianlong's grandfather), is my other favorite Qing dynasty emperor.  The two of these emperors were known for their "inspection tours" to different areas of the country.  I'm so impressed by the attention to detail on these paintings, which give a bit of insight into daily life of a Chinese city during the 18th century.  Here's a zoomed in picture:

Play a Different Game

For my inaugural post, I wanted to share some background behind the inspiration for this blog.

Last month (July 2016), Piaget unveiled the Polo S, with the theme for the the new timepiece being "Play a Different Game."  Now, I'm not exactly a watch person, but Piaget named nine international "game changers" to wear the new watch, one of whom was my favorite Chinese actor, 胡歌 Hu Ge.

I'll admit I was not immediately drawn to the theme; in fact, I thought it sounded cheesy and cliche, like so many popular buzzwords and corporate slogans that aim to inspire but have long lost their punch.  However, instead of fading altogether, the message actually resonated more and more as I continued to come across 胡歌 Piaget photos and videos.  Each Piaget ambassador had shared a personal story about a game changing experience, and 胡歌's anecdote was about how he took a year-long hiatus from all TV and film opportunities to instead try theater in order to challenge himself with something different and thereby improve his acting.  What he didn't mention but his fans would know, is that early in his career he suffered a near-death car accident that left him with severe injuries, both emotional and physical.  At the time, he thought his career as an actor was over, but after great encouragement from friends and colleagues, he felt obligated to return to the screen a year later, despite feeling ill-prepared and unconfident because of his changed appearance.  Long story short, ultimately he did overcome those shadows and accept his "new" self, and clearly he has been very successful since then.  In recent interviews, he's often quoted a line from his character in the popular 2015 drama, Nirvana in Fire (琅琊榜): "既然我活了下來, 就不會白白地活著," which translates to "since I survived, I will not live in vain."

In an age where start-ups have become the "it" thing and glamorous success stories make the front page as opposed to the other 90%, it's been too easy for me to idolize others but chalk up their successes to some stroke of genius, luck, or non-ordinary circumstances.  However, the fact that 胡歌 chose to share the seemingly simple story of taking the risk of leaving the big screen in order to improve his skills, rather than talking about the arguably more traumatic comeback post-accident, served as a good reminder to me that making a difference begins with ourselves and the little things we do have control over.  It's about the small steps we take, the daily decisions we make; it's about self improvement.

So here I am, going back to basics.  Starting with simple goals, like writing more and expanding my horizons and learning new skills.  Starting with recognizing the many positives in everyday life and sharing those with others.  Starting with a commitment to myself for a better me.