Strawberry Shortcake Goodness

I've been meaning to make homemade strawberry shortcake dessert since last May when the TD dining hall at Yale made organic strawberry shortcake for one of our graduation meals. My mentor and boss (who's an excellent baker and has very refined taste), my sisters, my mom, and I loved it. The fluffy, flakiness of the biscuits, the homemade whipped cream that just doesn't compare to bottled whipped cream, and the fresh, sweet strawberries comprise a combination of heavenly things that is unparalleled. One of the main reasons why I haven't made it yet is because I was waiting for the perfect dinner party since I would need guests to help me finish a fresh batch immediately. Otherwise, the biscuits go stale, the whipped cream goes flat, and the strawberries get soggy if not eaten immediately. I probably could have eaten 12 shortcakes with Nick, but it seemed like a selfish idea. ;)

This weekend was the perfect opportunity because I hosted a dinner party with a summer menu. What's more summer than fresh strawberries topped with cool whipped cream?

If you're the on the east coast, you'll be jealous of the ridiculously low prices for fruit in California. Boxes of strawberries have been $0.88 at the store lately. I bought ten and froze a bunch for smoothies. And they taste amazing fresh, of course.

I have to admit I was nervous about following this recipe for all three parts of the shortcake. I was most nervous about the biscuit part because they tend to be dry or hard instead of flaky and fluffy. This one could not have been better. I had to make a second batch because I rolled the dough to less than 1/2" the first time and the biscuits were thin and hard like hockey pucks. The second time was perfect, so make sure you don't over roll the dough!

My new favorite hobby is making whipped cream. It was a magical experience. So simple and pure! All you need is a cup of heavy cream, 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla, 2 T of powdered sugar, and then you whip until it forms peaks. For a while, nothing happens, but then it reaches this threshold and just instantly turns into whipped cream. Wow. So fun!

The strawberry shortcake was definitely my favorite part of last night's meal : ) Dessert often is my favorite part no matter what. I'm already researching and brainstorming for my  next dinner party...about 20 people are coming so it will definitely be more of a balancing act in terms of preparation. But I'm more than up for it--I love dinner parties and the organizational challenge that comes with them!

Here's another good summer recipe to try. I've posted about it before but I tried a different version this time. It wasn't as good though, so I'd still recommend the old one (which I've linked here). I guess the other one just wasn't as complex (linked here) without the soy sauce and garlic.

It's definitely important not to skimp on the quality of the meat. You don't want chewy, gummy strips of beef. Ideally, you'd be able to grill it but we don't have one so it was cooked on the stove top. 

I hope everyone's enjoying their summers so far! We're headed down to San Diego this weekend for a family get-together and hopefully some awesome burritos and beach time ;) I have a lot of great new recipes to share so check back soon!

New York, New York!

This weekend in NYC was absolutely scrumptious. When we got back to Los Angeles and people asked us what we did over the weekend, the answer was simple: "We ate. A lot." I had planned almost every single meal beforehand and was not disappointed by my thorough research (I read almost every single yelp review for each restaurant I went to, got recommendations from east coast residents, and read through a bunch of New York Mag and New York times articles, in addition to analyzing the restaurant menu).

I have to say that going to NYC surprisingly made me appreciate Los Angeles even more. It's definitely not fair to compare the two cities because they're quite different, but almost every place I ate at in NYC had a superior counterpart in LA that was not only on-par in terms of food quality, most likely better in terms of service, but also about 20% less expensive. That being said, there are definitely things in NYC that can't be found in LA and I'll point those out in my recap below!

Day One.

We arrived at 5 pm on Saturday evening after being up since 4:30 a.m. I had bought Vietnamese sandwiches for the plane ride so we ate gourmet even while in transit but we were still starved for real, hot food by the time we arrived.

While taking a walk to loosen our limbs, we encountered the most adorable little chocolatier called Mariebelle. It's in SoHo and is absolutely charming. The chocolates were indeed superb, but since I don't like chocolate that much, I wasn't too stunned. I was however duly impressed with the high quality customer service. One person let us sample their chocolates (which I later found out were $5 each and Nick and I each got one...) and gave me a hazelnut chocolate that was rich, creamy, smooth, and chewy. If you visit their website, you can see the really cute art that they print onto each chocolate!

Nonetheless, I was more caught up with the tea and toffee selection. After smelling the "Dark Obsession Chocolate Rose" tea, I had to get it despite the cost ($12 for 2 oz or ten cups of tea). I know I said I don't like chocolate but the smell of this dark chocolate rose tea was unbelievably unique and enticing. We were also given some amazing chunks of toffee (mine was pistachio and Nick's was hazelnut). You can order their items online, and I plan to do so soon!

My tea purchase was neatly packaged with fabric rose petals! I love the presentation of this store. 

After that wonderful detour, we had to rush to meet friends at Lombardi's. Even so, I came to a complete stop in front of a tiny patisserie called "Ceci Cela." The petite desserts in the window were beautiful! I yelped them while we were waiting in line at Lombardi's for our table, and decided to go back and buy the lemon tart and the strawberry mousse cake.

The window display that took my breath away.

A sign that these were built well: long after they had come down to room temperature and after a half an hour walk home in Manhattan humidity, these treats were still beautifully intact.

Both desserts were perfect. The lemon curd in the tart was the best curd I've had. It was tart, but not too tart, and very firm and solid. The crust wasn't anything too memorable and it neither detracted from or uplifted the curd. The strawberry mousse cake was lined with lady fingers, so it was already a winner in my book. It was so good that I made the decision to go back for breakfast so we could try their almond croissants. More on those in a bit.

Lombardi's was excellent. The pizzas were actually large and not overpriced. We got the margherita and the roasted garlic spinach in size large for two couples and it turned out to be just the right amount. The thin crust was not as good as Mozza's (still the best pizza place this side of the Atlantic) but it was definitely satisfying and not to mention fun to visit what is apparently the first pizzeria in our country.

Day Two.
 For breakfast, we had those miraculously delicate, flaky, buttery, and almondy croissants from CeciCela. Yelpers were right...they're the best outside of Paris if not the same. I wanted to buy the freezer pack of 8 croissants but resisted. The almond filling (frangipane: crême pâtissière) was so perfectly thick and creamy. I would definitely recommend this dessert place if you're in NYC (Bouchon Bakery in Columbus Circle and Grom gelateria in West Village are my two other favorite dessert places).

The coffees were good as well! But the star of the show was the almond croissant. 

I met up with my wonderful friend Becca and her boyfriend at Cookshop near the high line for brunch. Cookshop is a delicious brunch spot, but my friend who recommended it said its lunch and dinner menu are just as tasty. It's a decidedly American cuisine with a healthy respect for the Earth. What does that mean? I think if you see the menu, you'll understand. Natural, organic, fresh ingredients combined in an unpretentious but compelling way.

I ordered the skillet eggs (I can't resist brunch food, no matter what time of day it is) and a peach bellini. The peach bellini was small but strong and tasty (made with real peach puree) and brought on my asian flush : )

The eggs were perfect, if you can't already tell from the picture. The bacon was truly bacon, with lots of fat and flavor. My favorite part might have been the walnut-raisin bread. Perfectly toasted and buttery and thick.

Nick's dish was probably better than mine but I resisted devouring his in an effort to be a more generous and selfless girlfriend (I am such a martyr!). The scrambled eggs were the fluffiest eggs I've had, and the salmon tasted very clean and fresh. My favorite part was the homemade biscuit (of course, the carb part). Fluffy, thick, dense, moist, and just slightly sweet enough to cleverly compliment the salty side of the eggs and salmon. I highly recommend Cookshop!

After watching the wonderful fireworks (they went on for over half an hour!) we dashed over to Lan Cafe before it closed. This is one of my always have to go to while in NYC restaurants. If you know me at all, you've probably already heard me talk about it. I'm less enthused about it now that I've discovered the best vegetarian restaurant ever in Little Saigon, but its low prices, clean flavors, and authentic dishes still attract me. If you need delicious pho on the east coast, I can't recommend any place that's better. (Sorry no photos because it was 10:15 pm and we were hungry)


Day Three
Joe the Art of Coffee.
Best. Latte. Ever. You have not had a latte until you've tried it here. It's everything a latte is supposed to taste like. It does NOT taste like hot milk with a shot of espresso. It tastes like one smooth, creamy element. I can't even describe it but when I tried it, my eyes lit up and I thought: "Now that's a latte!" Wow. I can't even say anything else. Wow.

We had lunch at the very reliable Thai Taste in New Haven with a dear Yale friend. :D I also bought three muffins from my favorite muffin place: Koffee on Audubon. I would give you a more thorough recap of my New Haven ventures but this post is a NYC-focused one. Though I will say quickly that New Haven pizza is stellar (try Bar pizza and the clam one at Pepe's).

For dinner, we got wonderful sandwiches from Sandwich House. This was one of my less planned meals since we had originally expected to spend dinner in New Haven. I chose this place because it was still open, it was in the top ten of best sandwiches in NYC (ranked $6 on yelp) and it was near where we were staying in the Financial District. I doubt any reader will try this place while in NYC but it was definitely a little hidden gem. The sandwiches are a good size for a good price (according to NYC standards) at $8. I got the prosciutto and asiago while Nick got the sandwich with Breseola and Fontina. The sandwiches were prepared as usual: many thin slices of italian meats and cheese, spicy arugula, olive oil, roasted red peppers, and good bread. Nothing extraordinary but every ingredient was high-quality.

That sums up our entirely delicious trip which was more like one long, extended meal! I am eager to return to routine but am so thankful to have seen my wonderful friends on the east coast (holler KT, Becs, Teddy, and Felicity!!!). Work has been exciting because I'm basically in charge (gulp) of a project right now. And Nick and I are hosting a bunch of dinner parties at his place this month so I'm really excited to post about those!

Finally, HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM! I know she doesn't read these but if it weren't for my mom's amazing cooking skills and extremely efficient nature, I would not be able to cook and keep this blog. Thanks for giving me such great genes!!! Love you!