Giving Thanks

A certain snarky friend of mine once called Thanksgiving a "bullshit holiday" because it glorifies that time in American history when, according to her, "The colonists were all like - 'Hey Native Americans, why don't you just bend over and take it while we overrun your territory!'" I'm no historian, but I'd say this is a pretty fair assessment of what happened, oh, everywhere that European colonists landed? But I digress.

This is the first Thanksgiving that I've spent away from home, and while I may question the validity of the origins of the holiday, I do appreciate the other values that it stands for - namely family, traditions and food. I miss my family, but they're coming to visit me in a month so instead I'd like to take a moment and reflect on things that I am thankful for.

The first is that, by happy coincidence, I did not go to Israel last weekend as originally planned, and that the friend who I was supposed to visit was safely in the US. As I understand it he has since returned now that the cease-fire is in effect and is staying with family in another part of the country. My thoughts go out to all those whose lives have been affected by the violence. 

I'm thankful for having a family that supports me doing that which makes me happy and who has never pressured me to figure my life out when I wasn't sure what I wanted to do. You are rare amongst parents, much less Asian ones, and I love you for it.

And, of course, my friends. From the new ones here who organized one of the best Thanksgiving dinners ever (that's what you get when everyone you know is a culinary school student) to the ones at home who promptly respond to emails regarding everything from new music to boy problems. I promise I will try harder to stay in touch.

In Search of the Perfect Apple Pie

Pie is hands-down one of my favorite foods - both to make and to eat. And as delicious as French baked goods are, there really is no substitute here for it. Tarts probably come the closest, but their crusts are more shortbread than flaky, and the fillings creamy rather than fruity. I tried to explain to a friend here what makes American pie crusts so great, and ended up describing it as a cross between pâte sucrée and feuilletage. 

Come holiday season I've always been the designated pie-maker in the family, but I have to give it up to the experts at Serious Eats for breaking down some of the best baking tips for ensuring that your pie is far superior to any store-bought crap brought to the holiday party by a lazy guest.

And so, this link here is my gift to you: The Food Lab's Top Nine Tips for Perfect Apple Pie.

Eggs & Co: A Parisian Brunch Experience

Ah, brunch. The perfect combination of sweet and savory with a particular temporal flexibility that all other meals lack. Got a lot of stuff to do? Go early at normal breakfast time. Stayed out too late the night before? No problem. In college Sunday brunch was the meal everyone looked forward to; the only redeeming thing about the one day of the week when people were most likely to do their homework. Brunch is not really a French thing, but as with other food trends (see: burgers, cupcakes, coffee shops) it appears to be catching on. So when I met up with a visiting high school friend this weekend, the logical activity was to check out one such restaurant.

Eggs & Co is located on a tiny side street in the swanky Saint Germain neighborhood. Once seated in the cozy dining mezzanine, the only choice you have to make is how you want your eggs. I went with the only word I recognized: omelette. As per the brunch menu, it was served with potatoes and a mixed salad, followed by fruit salad and a pancake which, unfortunately, was incredibly dense and impermeable to maple syrup.

The bottom line: good ambiance but the food is overpriced. However, Eggs & Co has the distinction of serving brunch every day - most restaurants only serve it on weekends.

 

Alternative Modes of Transportation

About a month ago I signed up for a Vélib membership, granting me easy access to Paris' vast public bike-sharing system. Biking, along with having a private chef to prepare all my meals, is probably one of the things that I miss most about Stanford. I like that it's quicker than walking, less hassle for going short distances than descending into the subway, and physically stimulating enough to make me feel like I'm working out even though I rarely break a sweat. (Paris is relatively flat, but the weather is consistently chilly now that it's November).

Despite how frighteningly aggressive Parisian drivers are, the city is quite bike-friendly. On the main roads cyclists share the center lane with buses and taxis, and most other streets - even the small ones - have designated bike lanes. The biggest challenge is not getting lost, something I struggle with enough even just pounding the pavement on my own two feet.

Recently, however, I discovered the real use for Vélib bikes; the one that its founders probably did not intend but that which I shall probably use my membership for the most in my remaining time here.

You see, the Metro closes relatively early (about 1am on weekdays and 2am on weekends)*​ and taxis are much more trouble than they're worth. (Not only are they expensive but you can only catch them at designated stretches of the sidewalk. So on a Friday night in say, Bastille, you could be waiting a very long time for a ride).

But now, after a night out, I can simply bike home. I will admit from personal experience that biking in heels after a few drinks is not the easiest feat, but it can be done. There's also something quite refreshing about cruising down Boulevard du Montparnasse at 3am when it's practically devoid of cars with the cold early morning air whipping through my hair - a welcome respite from the sweaty, suffocating atmosphere of the dancefloor.

Many Parisians are game to simply stay out long enough for the Metro to reopen at 5am. In fact, I'm told that's the reason why they tend to go out later. But even after living here for almost 5 months I still haven't fully adjusted to their downshifted schedule. Whereas at home I'm used to eating dinner at 6, pre-gaming by 10 and going out by 11, everything in France happens a good 2 or 3 hours later.

Maybe it's a sign that I've already exceeded my partying prime, but I'm lucky if I can make it to 4am without falling asleep.

*I once read somewhere that this is for cleaning purposes, but quite honestly I don't know who they're kidding. NYC's subway system managed to operate 24-hours a day and still feel safer and cleaner than the Metro.

An Antidote for the Chronic Shopaholic

If you already know me pretty well and are reading this right now, I'm sure I don't need to beat around the bush when I say that I have a money spending problem. I haven't gone to therapy for it or anything (yet) but in the past there have been many poor fiscal decisions made on my part. The summer that I worked at Nordstrom during the annual Anniversary Sale, fell prey to the temptation of the employee discount and ultimately spent more than I earned (which was actually quite a lot; nothing like getting paid on commission to light a fire under one's ass) comes to mind. Usually it's clothes and accessories that get me, but I've also made some pretty bizarre and frivolous purchases. (See: the six wide-mouth quart-size Mason jars currently sitting in my brother's attic from when I went through my mixologist phase).

There is an entire psychology behind shopping, believe it or not, but in layperson's terms this piece on Man Repeller really hits the nail on the head. At the peak of my shopping addiction, which I would say spanned my university years, every time I felt the urge to buy coming on I would sit at my computer, meticulously add things to my virtual shopping cart at my favorite online stores (sometimes scouring several at once in different tabs), take a deep breath, and then - whoosh - hit command + Q. Urge temporarily sated and zero money spent. If that's not a win-win I don't know what is.  

These days it's a little different. The only online shopping I do now is the occasional purchase through Amazon.fr, because the mere thought of international shipping costs from my usual haunts sends an uncomfortably large chill down my spine. But, more importantly, I have a new job that somehow provides the same catharsis as Shopping Cart Syndrome.

As a Paris contributor for Shopikon, I go around making appointments with independent retailers to interview them and take photos of the stores. There are a lot of things that I enjoy about the process, namely the chance to meet cool people and talk to them about what they're most passionate about, practicing my French, getting to know my DSLR more intimately than ever, and exploring parts of the city that I haven't seen before. On occasion I might even get some free swag.

It's also refreshing to be inside a shop in a purely professional context. Without the pressure and expectation to make a purchase I...actually don't buy anything. Since I only pick stores that are of personal interest, of course there are things I see inside that I wouldn't mind owning. But want and need are two very different things.

Call it reformation, growing up, whatever, but I'm doing much better. So while I'm still relying on my savings to pay the rent, the money I'm earning through freelancing and other part time work at least covers food, transportation and the additional odd expense.

Gazing with the Food Eye

On Thursday night as a study break I attended a food photography workshop at school led by Emilie, aka The Food Eye. Having retained a surprising amount from photography class regarding shutter speed, aperture and ISO (wish I could say the same of other subjects), instead what I gained from the most were her tips on styling. Emilie's work has a distinct and almost child-like vibrance to it, particularly in the way she plays with color and texture. Definitely some artistic inspiration for the future. 

After a brief presentation she let us play around with some props, studio lighting, and desserts prepared by one of our chefs. Results below.

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I stuck around afterward hoping that we would get to eat something (IMO the best types of free things are food, wi-fi and drinks, in that order), but alas this was not part of the agenda. Luckily chef took pity on me and let me try some anyways.

However, not everything was as delicious as they appeared to be. The wafer is, indeed, a cookie topped with raspberry jelly, while the chocolate dessert is actually just a plain old bar of chocolate. Chef said that the macaron was "fake" but...my friend and I stealthily split one when no one was looking and it tasted real enough to us. 

It's Intermediate, My Dear

The final exam for the second of three courses in my program at LCB is this Saturday, so to prepare I have studiously been going over all my notes and photos. A couple weeks ago the chefs gave us a list of ten recipes we've worked with throughout Intermediate, but only one of which we are expected to make in under three hours on exam day. And we won't know which one until the day of! Fun, right??

When I look back on Intermediate Pâtisserie I will probably remember it as the time that I had to prepare a great many mousses, creams and dacquoises by hand (read: lots and lots of whisking). I'm not really sure why they make us do this, because even in demos the chefs will say that no one actually does this in real life -  in professional kitchens they use machines. I suppose they think that it builds character or something. Muscle tone, maybe? I always make sure to switch hands periodically lest I end up looking like tennis player Rafael Nadal.

And now, the pastries!

Macaron Anis-Framboise / Raspberry-filled Macaroons with Anise-flavored Pastry Cream

Thanks to a fellow classmate misinforming us that the pastry cream called for six leaves of gelatin (rather than  six grams, which is only three leaves), several students ended up with a mixture that had the approximate consistency of cottage cheese. Not ideal for filling the delicate shells. Chef also wasn't pleased that my macaroons were not of uniform size; trust me, piping is harder than it looks. But they still tasted good!

Fraisier

This Frenchified strawberry shortcake is probably one of my favorite recipes. Strawberries and mousseline cream sit between two layers of genoise sponge cake, which is topped with toasted Italian meringue and fresh fruit.

Streusel / Streusel Cake

My puff pastry base topped with fromage blanc, apricots and streusel was ruined when I placed it in the broken oven, which was mostly disappointing because I was looking forward to eating it after class. However since I failed at crimping the edge of the pastry in an attractive manner, maybe it's better that chef gave me a pity grade of 3/5.

Tarte Passion-Framboise / Passion Fruit and Raspberry Tart

Whereas in Basic the only fruit we got to work with was apple, Intermediate had us using some more exotic flavors. After blind baking, the tart shell is filled with a layer of raspberry coulis before being topped with passion fruit cream and neutral glaze.

Jamaïque / Jamaica

A chocolate joconde biscuit flavored with coconut, almonds and pistachio surrounds a bottom layer of coconut mousse with poached pineapple, topped with a nice mango-passion fruit mousse.

Opéra

The dreaded Opera cake is right up there with brioche in terms of things I love to eat but hate to make. It consists of thin layers of cake imbibed with coffee syrup, coffee buttercream and chocolate. Delicious, yes, but an absolute pain in the kitchen because there are so many steps. Naturally this is one of the potential exam recipes.

Chocolats Café et Truffes / Coffee Chocolates and Truffles

Part two of a series of lessons on tempering chocolate, the process of melting, cooling and reheating the substance to specific temperatures in order to achieve a final product that sets quickly, looks shiny and breaks evenly. It's not hard, but requires a lot of patience. The truffles are dark chocolate rolled in white and then coated with cocoa powder. The square ones are marzipan flavored with coffee extract, then dipped in white chocolate and decorated with dark.

Bavarois aux Trois Chocolats / Three Chocolate Bavarian Cream

Lady finger sponge cake serves as the base for three layers of chocolate Bavarian cream: dark, milk and white. Topped with chocolate glaze and white chocolate decoration. The gelatin in the Bavarian cream recipe gave the chocolate layers a thick, custardy consistency that I didn't particularly care for (I prefer mousse) but it's still a nice cake.

Douceur Chocolat / Heavenly Chocolate

Chocolate on chocolate mousse on hazelnut dacquoise. Need I say more? The hardest part is not over-beating the mousse. As you can see mine is starting to fall apart. Chef was not pleased.

Plaisir / Pleasure

Chocolate mousse and vanilla supreme are sandwiched between two layers of Joconde sponge cake. The top is a caramelized egg yolk and sugar mixture with glaze smoothed over it. What I remember most about this cake is thinking how much more annoying it is to work with square molds than round ones.

Petits-Fours Salés / Savory Petit Fours

Probably one of the yummier things we've made, and almost certainly the only time we'll be incorporating meat - chorizo, cocktail sausages, ground pork - in the recipe. We also used inverted puff pastry, which is exactly what it sounds like; you combine the dry butter with a bit of flour and fold the détrempe dough up inside of it. After the first turn it feels pretty much the same as normal puff pastry.

Tresor Vanille-Fraises des Bois / Wild Strawberry and Vanilla Treasure

I loved the flavors in this cake - almond dacquoise base, wild strawberry mousse and vanilla Chiboust cream - but the shape isn't terribly appetizing, IMO. I've never had a Baked Alaska, but I would imagine it's something like this.

Dôme aux Marrons / Chestnut Mousse Cake

Since I'm not a huge fan of chestnuts, I found the chestnut mousse and cream to be a little off-putting. Why couldn't we have used chocolate instead?

Entremets Passionata / Raspberry and Passion Fruit Cream Cake

A coconut dacquoise base with passion fruit cream, raspberry mousse and glaze. The Jackson Pollock effect on the side is achieved by dyeing a small portion of cigarette batter two different colors, piping squiggles on a piece of parchment paper, freezing it, and spreading the Joconde sponge batter over it before baking.

Triomphe aux Noix / Walnut Cake

The dominant flavor in this cake comes from the caramel base that is used in the imbibing syrup, mousse and glaze. Cooking it to the correct color is daunting; too dark and it will taste bitter, but too light and it won't look good. Chef didn't offer much helpful advice regarding when to remove the caramel from the burner...sort of like when you're rolling out dough for a tart and all they say is, "Not too thick, not too thin." Chefs just have a sixth sense for these things, I guess.

Croquembouche

The practical so labor-intensive it had to be split into two classes. On day one we prepared the nougatine base (basically sugar cooked to caramel stage with almonds folded in at the end). Nougatine hardens as it cools, so the only way to mold and cut it is when it's hot. Chef had heat-proof gloves when he prepared it in demo; we just used our bare hands. Many burnt fingers ensued. Day two consisted of preparing the cream puffs: first baking the choux pastry, filling them with pastry cream, and finally dipping them in caramel. (Read: more burnt fingers). Putting the final cone together is challenging since there's no mold or anything inside to guide you; it's up to you to attach the cream puffs together (using more caramel) in a way that looks even from all sides.

Pain Blanc et Pain de Mie / Baguette and Sandwich Bread

Last practical: introduction to bread-baking. It seemed a lot easier than when we made brioche in Basic, but then again chef did a lot of the work as far as putting our dough in the oven and proofing box so that it would rise quickly enough to finish baking everything in two hours. I'm still a little sick of baguettes from when I went to Cannes in May and ate nothing but sandwiches for ten days straight, but the sandwich bread was delicious.