Monday, March 19, 2007

Birthday weekend

I had a really nice and relaxing birthday weekend because I got what I wished for! I basically wished for a sushi dinner and an ice cream cake, both of which I enjoyed very much. We had dinner at Sushi Loop, a Japanese/Korean restaurant in Chicago's Greektown (an odd location). I got some uber fresh salmon sashimi and a spicy tako (octopus) roll and J got Korean bbq and chap jae. We were their very first customers of the day and we were the only ones eating in the place until we were about to leave. I mean, really, who goes to an Asian restaurant on St. Paddy's? The service was very attentive and the food was delicious. And thanks to J's big mouth, telling our waitress that it was my birthday, the sushi chef created their special birthday roll (I'm guessing) and gave it to us gratis and the staff sang me "Happy Birthday". It was very nice but a bit embarassing on my part. Thank God no one else was there!

We were both very happy with dinner and it was topped off with ice cream cake from Cold Stone Creamery! Yay! I picked the Peanut Butter playground flavor due to my absolute love for PB and we ordered a small cake that would serve 6. It was surprisingly expensive at a little less than $30 but it was delicious! I must say that it's not peanut buttery enough for me but that might just be the nut in me talking. Even though we both enjoyed the ice cream cake, I don't think it was worth the whole $30 (and probably also not worth the gazillion calories per serving!). I think I'll try making my own ice cream cake next time!
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So the other highlight of my week was my homemade pretzel experiment. Since I've started playing with yeast a few weeks ago, I have found baking with it to be very addictive. Outside of my amateur mistake of killing the yeast with super hot water, I've been successful in NOT killing them, and thus letting them do their job of fermenting and rising the batter. It's very rewarding to see your dough double or even triple in size after some time of leaving it alone in the kitchen. I also love to use my favorite gadget ever, the Kitchenaid mixer with the dough hook, to knead the dough. I know, I know, how can a "real" baker not knead by hand? I guess I haven't graduated to that level yet. I might get there ... some day.

So anyway, after experimenting with cheddar jalapeno bread and pizza dough, I decided to explore the world of pretzels. I love mall pretzels. Yep, those soft, pillowy, fragrant, seductive twines of cooked dough simply sprinkled with coarse salt or topped with more elaborate ingredients like garlic parmesan salt or cinnamon sugar. They're pretty expensive for a snack at about $3 each and that doesn't even include the decadent dipping sauces. Occasionally though, I'll fall prey to their irresistible fragrance and succumb to standing in line waiting to purchase one. So I looked for pretzel recipes on my favorite recipe site, Allrecipes.com and found a very highly-rated and relatively simple one. After reading positive reviews about the buttery soft pretzels, I decided to follow it for my project.

As in all bread baking recipes, it starts with proofing the yeast in some sugar and warm water for about 10 minutes or so, until it froths and bubbles, just to make sure the yeast isn't dead! It turned out super bubbly and frothy probably because the recipe called for quite a lot of yeast (4 teaspoons worth!).
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The dry ingredients are then mixed in the large bowl of the mixer ...
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... before the yeast mixture is added and the whole thing kneaded with the dough hook until it forms a dough.
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The dough is then kneaded for about 7-8 minutes until it looks like this.
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It was then transferred to a bowl that has been oiled thoroughly with a tablespoon of vegetable oil. The oil was distributed evenly all over the dough before it was covered with plastic wrap and left to rise for an hour in a draft-free environment.
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Look at my baby grow! It never fails to amaze me what yeast can do! It's magic!
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Before more dough playing can begin, I dissolved some baking soda in hot water which will substitute for the lye bath that is usually used by hard core pretzel bakers. Yes, you read it right: LYE BATH. The caustic base solution supposedly reacts with the gluten on the pretzel surface to precook it, thus allowing the surface to caramelize in the oven and give it that special pretzel texture. I wasn't about to actually purchase lye just for this so I settled with baking soda in hot water. After all, the thought of handling such a harmful substance in my kitchen, surrounded by my edibles just isn't that appealing, however unique a taste it might impart to my pretzels. The baking soda will fizzle and bubble quite intensely when you dissolve it in hot water.
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After that, I turned the dough onto a lightly-floured surface before cutting the dough into 12 about-equal portions.
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Each portion is then rolled by hand until it is about 12 inches long. Flouring the table surface and your hands will really help with the dough rolling.
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My dough rolling got better with each portion. The first ones were rather fat and pudgy-looking. The last ones are stringier and longer (which is the way I like it, I don't really like pretzels that are too dense). The dough-twisting into a pretzel shape also got easier with practice.
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I let each pretzel swim in the baking soda solution for about 30 seconds before fishing it out with a Chinese-style strainer.
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The pretzels are then lined up on a lined baking sheet before a sprinkling of coarse kosher salt and other topping of your choice, like sesame seeds (for on of them, mine!). Lining the sheet, I find, is uber important because if you don't line it with either a silicone baking sheet or parchment paper, it WILL stick onto your pan! One of my pretzels' sides got stuck to the side of the baking sheet and I had to soak the pan overnight to even barely scrub it off. I suspect the baking soda solution reacts with the heat in the oven to make it super sticky.
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So this is what the first batch looked like: all nicely-browned and it was really fragrant too! I overcooked the first batch slightly so it didn't turn out as soft or as pillowy as I wanted it to but it still tasted very good.
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Here's my sesame topped pretzie.
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The second batch turned out a lot better not only because it's stringier (the way I like it) and I baked it for one minute less than the recipe recommended so it turned out softer and chewier.
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It was a ton of fun making these pretzels at home. Not only is it much much cheaper, they taste as good! J had about 4 of these babies with his beer before I could freeze the rest for future snacking! However, the pretzel texture wasn't the same as the mall pretzies and I think a butter or egg wash glaze might've helped. So the next time I make these (which will be really soon), not only will I glaze them before baking, I'll also try out more adventurous toppings! Garlic Parmesan pretzies here I come!

Saturday, March 17, 2007

Happy Birthday to me!

Hi everyone! Thanks for the kind comments on my quarter-life crisis. I'm feeling a whole lot better with the help of some booze *haha* but I can't be sad on my birthday weekend, can I? Anyway, I find it to be rather impressive that I've been on this Earth for 25 years now. 25 years is a long time in human years but is a mere insignificant blip in the timeline of humankind. So what have I done in the quarter century that I've spent alive?

I have amassed a lot of "useless" knowledge about cooking and baking. I say "useless" only because I'm no pro chef or baker and the knowledge is going to be utilized only for my own pleasure (and the pleasure of the guinea pigs who I feed my concoctions to). I suppose bringing pleasure/joy to the stomachs and taste buds of people isn't THAT "useless". For example, if you're making pretzels from scratch at home, it's imperative to soak the shaped pretzel in a basic bath. Usually some baking soda in water suffices but the hard cores can buy lye (a caustic base that is an ingredient in drain cleaners) at a hardware store instead. The base breaks up the gluten on the surface of the pretzels and pre-cooks them, allowing them to caramelize beautifully in the oven. And how on Earth do I know this? I've made pretzels at home with and without baking soda (yea, I know I'm a geek at heart) and Google happens to be my best online pal. But no, I did not use lye. I'm not THAT crazy.

I have maintained a great relationship with my sister, which I'm oh-so thankful for! Seriously, I cannot imagine life without my sister! I mean, have you met my parents?!? Don't get me wrong, I love my parents to pieces but like a lot of parents, they can get really kooky and they know how to push our buttons without even knowing it! Anyway, my sister is a really awesome sister because besides being a great fellow symapthizer, she's a wonderful friend who listens and is always non-judgmental.

I have fallen in and out of love ... maybe a tad too much. Each time I've learned a lot about myself and I have a better idea of what I want in a life partner. I suppose it's rather greedy of me to want a passionate love affair that at the same time has some stability and peace, but that would be ideal.

My birthday wish?

I would hope that I have made the world a teeny weeny bit better by my being in it. I also hope that I have made some people a teeny weeny bit happier by my presence in their world.

Oh, and an ice cream cake would be divine!

Wednesday, March 07, 2007

Quarter-life crisis

Yes, you read it right. I'm having a bit of a quarter-life crisis here. Well, maybe not just a bit. Make it a lot. I think it was triggered by a few things that happened pretty recently.

First, some people at work are going through a lot of change. One of them is probably moving soon to wherever her husband (who is a soon-to-be med school graduate) is posted for his residency and another has recently got engaged. On the one hand, I'm happy for them with the new developments in their lives, but on the other I'm rather envious. I'm not an easily-jealous person but I can't help but ask myself where is my own life/career/family/relationships heading? I like being in graduate school not only because I enjoy science and the scientific process, but also because it's a pretty "luxurious" stage in my life. I'm lucky enough to have a wonderful advisor who basically lets me roam freely, as to what, when and how I do my experiments. However, I realize that this cannot last forever. Neither do I want it to last forever because that'll mean that I would not progress as a scientist. The path that a science PhD graduate usually takes involves a postdoc stint or two at another lab before starting his/her own lab as an assistant professor. Those who get disillusioned by the challenges of finding independent funding and the fierce competition usually joins "industry" (which is normally considered the dark side of academic research) or becomes a consultant or patent analyst, etc. I will probably do a postdoc or two but I wonder if I'll be able to succeed, or let alone survive, in a super competitice environment?

The second reason I'm going through this is the failure (or lack of results) of my recent experiments. There are multiple ongoing projects in the typical lab not only because the more data, the better, but also because it is expected that not all the projects will yield results. It could be due to mistakes but more often than not, I wish I were lucky enough to be prepared to observe the right thing at the right time. I'm probably graduating within 2 years and this has caused a bit of anxiety in me. I mean, I'm quite happy at the prospect of finally getting my PhD but the idea of what comes after that intimidates me. First of all, if I decide to continue in academia, I'll probably stay in the US to pursue that path, but which lab should I choose to do a postdoc stint in? Not only is the research project important, it is also crucial to have a good mentor. On the other hand, my parents really want me to go back to Indonesia, get married, have babies and all that jazz. I do want to start a family some time in the future but if I do go back to Indonesia, I know that I'll be so depressed and bored that I'll just want to shoot myself.

Gosh, my whining is so irritating that I'm starting to get annoyed by myself! Most of the time, I'm fine with not knowing what tomorrow brings. I don't know if it's just being surrounded by people who are moving on to greater things that brings out this anxious and anal side of me. I suppose sometimes, it just feels nice to have roots and to at least have an idea what tomorrow might be like for me. When this happens (which is not often), I just try not to think about it. Right now, I can console myself with the fact that graduation is still 2 years away and I can just hope for the best that I'll have a clearer picture between now and then. For now, I'm just going to bake, knit and experiment my way to cheeriness!

Cheddar jalapeno bread

I don't know what I was thinking on Friday but I decided to bake bread. I've only attempted to bake bread with a bread machine that a friend gave me. I say "attempted" because the end result was a total failure! The bread didn't rise and it ended up super dense and hard. I probably used water that was way too hot, thus killing my poor yeast. So I approached this mini project with some trepidation but I think I was just bored enough to foolishly continue.

I first saw the recipe for cheddar jalapeno bread in the March issue of Gourmet magazine. The magazine described it as "a delicious variation on a grilled cheese sandwich" and how "it fills the kitchen with an overwhelmingly wonderful cheesy aroma". Seriously, who can resist that? So I bought jalapenos and the cheeses that are required in the recipe. The only "specialty" ingredients required are jalapenos and Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, if you even consider it to be specialty. I don't have these in my pantry because I rarely use them. Who can afford Parmigiano-Reggiano all the time at $17 per pound?

I started by assembling all the ingredients, which is what I don't usually do. This is an extra special occasion because it's my virgin bread!
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(Left to Right, Top to Bottom): AP flour, warm water, olive oil, egg, Parmigiano-Reggiano, jalapenos, Cheddar cheese and yeast.

The most nerve-wrecking part, I thought, was the first step: proofing the damn yeast. This time, I used the "wrist test" where I dipped the water with a finger and splashed it a bit on my wrist. If its temperature is about what one would feed a baby, then we can proceed. I know it doesn't sound very scientific, especially coming from a science graduate student (God knows how I was admitted into grad school), but that was how I did it. I wasn't sure that it foamed but there were some pretty small bubbles and it looked creamy after 10 minutes so I proceeded with it anyway. The next step was to mix the dissolved yeast with olive oil, the rest of the water and the flour. And for this, I used my lovely KitchenAid mixer with the special dough hook that basically did all the work.
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I poured in the cheeses and jalapeno before it was mixed further and left at room temperature for the first rising of the batter.
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This is what it looked like after rising, all puffy and smooth. My baby is growing! Mwahahaha!
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After rolling the dough out into a rectangle, I folded it into thirds and plopped it into a greased loaf pan for the second rising.
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God, isn't it friggin' big or what?
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I sprinkled leftover Parmigiano and shredded cheddar on top before putting it in the oven for extra crispness and cheesy goodness.
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And look at my perfectly browned cheddar jalapeno baby!
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Even though it was already 2.30am by the time this baby was done, I cooled it for an hour on the wire rack before slicing a piece of it to taste it. The bread was evenly studded with cheese and jalapeno.
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It didn't disappoint! It tasted like a spiced grilled cheese without the gooey-ness of the cheese (which is a shame). If I do this again, I will probably add more jalapeno because even though th bread had a kick to it, it wasn't nearly spicy enough for me. Also, I'd probably make this a weekend day project instead of starting it on Friday evening after work. Nevertheless, even though it was close to 4am Saturday morning by the time I was finished up with my mini project, there's nothing like the taste and texture of freshly-baked bread! The bread lasted for about 10 days primarily because the boyf was a bit freaked by it and didn't favor it too much. My favorite way to have it is to pile on a slice of cheese (one can never have too much cheese!) and some cold cuts like the turkey pastrami on this baby, before toasting it.
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Saturday, March 03, 2007

Shrugs in action!

I've been browsing around for a new, more ambitious knitting project recently. I've made a couple of bags, a very utilitarian afghan, a number of scarves and some random stuff (coasters, cable sampler, etc). There are only so many bags/scarves/knick-knacks I can have around the house before I become a total hippy so I've decided to graduate to clothing! Argh! Rather antsy about it because I'm positive it won't be that great. The first anything I knit usually doesn't turn out so well. For instance, I didn't line the first 2 bags I made with cloth so they were free to stretch (and stretch) forever from the weight of their contents, resulting in lopsided bags. I subsequently learned to line my bags with fabric so they'll stay pretty forever!

Anyways, the two projects I decided on are two cardi/shrug type thingies. The first one that I'm currently making good progress on is the Flirty Shrug which I encountered on the DIY network website. The directions are rather vague at best and do not include diagrams that could've helped in putting together the pieces to create a shrug. I suppose that's what you get when you don't want to pay for patterns, but anyway, I've finished knitting all the pieces. One of the hardest parts for me is sewing/seaming all the pieces together. Somehow, I'm not as motivated when it comes to the last stretches of assembling my knitting projects.
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The only thing I'm a bit hesitant about it the crocheted lining. I don't know how to crochet (yet) but I used to when I was in secondary school. For some reason, I have lost that skill over the years. I hope that I can acquire it quickly once my new book arrives. Looking at the crafty and cool things DIY Network has on its site, I wish I had DIY Network on my cable TV package! *SIGH* So I suppose the next best thing to having it on my TV is being able to enjoy the free patterns and cool tutorials on their website.

The second pattern I found appealing was for a delicate, lacey shrug from the book "Knit 2 Together". I fell in love with it the moment I saw it and thought it would be oh-so pretty for spring! I bought the recommended silk/alpaca combo yarn, which is the most luxurious (read: expensive) yarn I've bought for my hobby.
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Before this, the yarn I've been using are on the cheap side from Joann.com. However, I've been getting tired of the cheap yarns that have a synthetic feel. The yarns I've purchased except for the ones I used to make a scarf has some acrylic in it. I think acrylic is to knitting like plant starch fillers are to food: hollow and tasteless.