All-Clad Stainless Fry Pan

After hours and hours spent drooling over the reviews and recipes involving stainless steel skillets at cooksillustrated.com (brought to you by the good people who make America's Test Kitchen on PBS, or whatever your public broadcasting station is), I decided to spring for an All-Clad.

I haven't even used it yet and I am having dreams about pan-searing a NY strip steak, deglazing the pan with red wine, scraping fond, and adding some rosemary to the steak sauce. Must wait...for...instant-read thermometer...to arrive...from Amazon. Will review when I finally cook with it.

Baked Alaskas

Reading this review makes me want to make a Baked Alaska with vanilla ice cream (complete with specks!) on an Adult Brownie from Andronico's that much more. http://adultbrownie.com/


ICI (5 Stars)

Wow. This place makes your night. Literally.
If you had a bad day, just go to Ici. I'm pretty sure you'll look back on it and just remember what flavors you got on your double-scoop cone from heaven.

Since they change their flavors constantly, I'll just advise tasting 2 or 3 (yeah, sorry for those waiting, but I waited for you too) flavors and just picking your favorite(s). It's all about the flavors. They are just so piquant and fresh that each visit makes for an unforgettable, unique experience every time. I am confident that you will make a great flavor decision.

But I want to talk about two other treats that I love from Ici. Wait, they serve things other than ice cream?! I'm sure you've eyed, or maybe even fondled, the display of treats next to the cash register, but always walk away due to the price and the already scrumptious cone you have sitting in your hand. I just have to promote the Rosemary-Pine Nut Brittle. Wow. I love the flavor of rosemary in general, but to mix it with the buttery brittle and earthy flavor of pine nuts is just divine.

Also, and I know this probably just classifies as an ice cream variant, try their bombes for a special occasion. Their baked alaska is a real treat. They give it to you with the meringue uncooked, so you can just put it in the oven (yes, the oven) so that the meringue gets browned and crispy, while the ice cream stays frozen in it's little fluffy cocoon. They even stay frozen on the transport home (they must keep them in a special superfrozen freezer).

So, yes, it's worth staying in Ici's long line. Just bring a friend and, before you know it, you'll be enjoying ice cream in the bitter cold of Berkeley and having the time of your life.

Spring Break: Pechanga Casino

So, I'm writing to you from the beautiful city of cookiecutter homes and compulsive habits: Temecula! I'm at the Pechanga casino here, yes, with my mom.
Last night comprised of me drinking gin and tonic, while my mom gambled. Sounds like a Maury Povich show to me.
So here's my Yelp review of Pechanga casino since I feel like I should start posting restaurant reviews on this blog for my roommate Tristan. Here ya go:

PECHANGA BUFFET (2 Stars):

It's a buffet. There's food and a lot of it. It's pretty much a gorgefest of haphazardly prepared entrees. One of my pieces of what seemed to be char siu was just pork fat. There's variety of course: Italian (greasy pizza AND polenta), Mexican (greasy cheese chiles rellenos), Chinese (greasy fried potstickers), and even American (greasy...)!
Is there a uniting factor in all of this? I'm being rough, there is always Hometown Buffet to show this place up.

The saving grace: the soft serve was not yogurt, but ice cream. Soft serve ice cream that is rich, creamy, and everything you wanted old school, heart attack ice cream to be. Fantastic.
Also, they really splurged on every aspect of decor at Pechanga. The buffet area looks like I'm on the line for Splash Mountain or some crap.

But yeah, maybe it's just me, but the people eating at buffets at casinos outside of Las Vegas are kind of depressing (possibly myself included). I mean, let's follow up impulsive gambling, smoking, and drinking with excessive eating! Fuck trifectas!

Hamentashen

My favorite tri-point treat: Hamentashen

 

For those who did not grow up in a Jewish home, this is not only a foreign word, but kind of a weird one that has a phlegmy aftertaste.  But it signifies one of the easiest and greatest cookie recipes in the Jewish cookbook.

Hamentashen (pronounced Ha. Men. Tosh. In.) is a filling-filled triangle of dough usually eaten during the holiday of Purim, which was celebrated on March 10th this year.

Purim is a fun holiday, and like most Jewish holidays, is summed up in one sentence: "We were almost killed, we survived, let's eat".  The Purim story takes place in Shushan, modern day Persia, where an evil man named Hamen (ahh..sound familiar from our favorite cookie?) plotted to kill the Jewish population until Queen Ester, who was an undercover Jew, persuaded her husband, King Achasverosh (don't even bother with pronouncing it) to let the Jews live and instead kill Hamen.  Well, that's it in a sentence.

The holiday usually consists of dressing up, reading the story, getting drunk, and eating.  Sounds like a cool religious holiday to me.

Hamentashen either symbolizes the hat or possibly the misshapen triangular ears of Hamen.  Seriously, there ya go for the background.  Pretty anti-climatic, but delicious nonetheless.

But the recipe is simple and the results are a nearly moist cookie that is customizable with any type of filling you want.  My mom made these every year ever since she was 19 and she got it from a friend from Israel. 

So here's the ingredients for around 50-60 cookies.

-5 1/2 cups flour 

-3 tsp. baking powder

-1 1/2 cups sugar

-4 whole eggs

-1 cup oil (yeah I know, you can try the half applesauce trick although I haven't, but it does make a lot of cookies to make you feel better)

-2 tsp. vanilla extract

-3 cans filling

Now, before we start, let's talk about the filling.  It's completely up to you to test and try any c

ombination you want.  The weirdest one I've tried is banana-chocolate and it didn't turn out too well, but was worth the effort.  But I would highly recommend, if this is your first batch, to go with Solo pie and dessert fillings (pictured).  They are not too wet so do not sog down the cookie, but still give a nice moist center.  Traditionally, fruit fillings and poppy seed fillings are used.

Steps:

1. Mix the dry ingredients (flour and baking powder) in a large mixing bowl.

2.  Mix the "wet" ingredients (eggs, sugar, vanilla and oil) in another bowl.  Yeah, I didn't know sugar goes with the wet either.  Mix well until homogenous.

3.  Pour the wet ingredients into the dry in two batches or so to incorporate it evenly.  You should eventually get a soft, moist dough, that does not crack easily and is a little oily.  You may add any additional flour if you want, but you want this to be easy to roll out and too much flour can give some cracking.

4.  Roll out a portion (not all!) of the dough using a rolling pin to around 1/16- 1/8 inch thick.  The thickness is really variable and up to you.    

If you pick it up and it tears easily, make it thicker.

If you try to fold it into a triangle and it won't really fold, make it thinner.  

This recipe makes enough for some trial and error.

5.  Use a circular cookie cutter or the top of a large-rimmed glass to make circular cut-outs of dough.  (pictured).  They should be about 2 inches in diameter).  You will probably have to do multiple batches into the oven so I like to do enough circles that can fit on one cookie sheet then do all the filling, since you need to use your fingers to scrape the filling and should all be done at once.

6.  Place around a tablespoon of filling in the center of each circle.

7.  Fold the circle up on three sides and pinch together the three corners.  I hope this makes sense so either comment or see the finished pictures if this is a geometrical nightmare to you.

8.  Bake at degrees for around 17 minutes on tin foil on top of a cookie sheet (makes clean-up easier and it stuck to my non-stick cookie sheet).  To tell that they are done, just check that the edges a little golden, but the best indicator for me is that the bottoms are golden brown.  You do not want them to blacken since they will continue cooking a little once you take them out.

9.  Take out of the oven and let cool.  Then remove with hands or a spatula and enjoy!

Be careful with storage since the filling likes to stick to the bottoms of other cookies so maybe putting a layer of saran wrap between them after they are cooled will do the trick.

It is traditional to give friends, family, and neighbors gift baskets (or Mishloach Manot) with some Hamentashen, dried fruits, nuts, wine, and other food/drinks before the holiday.