Monday, December 10, 2012

saltine toffee

For future reference, this is Erica's patented saltine toffee recipe!

Saltine Toffee

1. Pre-heat oven to 400F. 2. Lay saltine crackers side-by-side on a 9x13 baking sheet.
3. Heat 1 cup unsalted butter and 1 cup raw sugar over medium heat, stirring until candy thermometer reads 290F.
4. Pour mixture onto crackers and spread with spatula.
5. Bake in oven 5 minutes.
6. Remove and scatter semi-sweet chocolate chips on top.
7. After they are melted (about 3 minutes) spread with spatula.
8. Sprinkle slivered/sliced almonds on top.

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Grandpa

I got an email from my mom yesterday afternoon telling me that my grandfather had died. (Apparently my repeated admonitions about not calling during work hours have been effective.) It wasn’t really a big surprise, as Grandpa’s health had been declining for a few years, but it was still a bit of a shock. He’s the first of my grandparents to go, and somehow knowing it can and will happen doesn’t quite prepare you for it actually happening.

Grandpa was born in 1921 in Japanese-era Taiwan, so he was fluent in Taiwanese and Japanese from a young age. After WWII the KMT occupied Taiwan and he was forced to learn Chinese, and then when he immigrated to the US in 1972 he learned English as well. Once when I was about seven or eight years old I walked into his room and asked him what he was doing, and he said “studying German”. He was a huge fan of German opera and wanted to understand the music in its original form.

Grandpa loved classical music; his collection of CDs probably numbers close to a thousand. My family lived with Grandpa and Grandma from before I was born, until my great-grandfather died when I was eleven. Grandpa had the stereo system in his walk-in closet wired up to speakers all over the house, so we would often hear symphonies and operas being blasted throughout the house. As he grew increasingly deaf, the music got louder. Sadly in his last years he could no longer hear the music clearly enough to enjoy it, so he was deprived of one of his most cherished pastimes. He left most of his (meticulously catalogued) collection at our house when he moved back to Taiwan for good, and I hope someone will take good care of it.

About twenty years ago, Grandpa was diagnosed with colon cancer. He loved rich food and as a result had suffered from gout for some time, but after his cancer treatment (surgery and chemotherapy), he reduced his meat intake drastically, and the cancer never returned. He was extremely strong-willed and would generally accomplish whatever he set out to do; he similarly quit smoking cold turkey about five years prior to his bout with cancer.

About ten years ago, Grandpa started to lose his vision. He was diagnosed with macular degeneration and started to fly regularly back to the US for treatment. Unfortunately the doctors were unable to improve his vision, but after awhile they were able to slow the deterioration. For a time he was able to read using a special machine which magnified and backlight text, but eventually he could not read at all since he could see only light and dark blurry objects. This was a huge blow to him as he was such an avid reader; he would still have people read newspapers to him daily, but I imagine it was immensely frustrating to him not to able to read quickly and independently.

Despite the loss of his vision and much of his hearing, Grandpa continued to do his best to preserve his health. Up to about five years ago, he would walk an hour on a treadmill every day. He was extremely disciplined and had an almost military preciseness about him. I’ve been told he actually was drafted into the Japanese Army during WWII, but the Japanese didn’t trust their Taiwanese conscripts to serve overseas, so he never left Japan. Unfortunately he fell off the treadmill one day due to his vision problems, and it was deemed too dangerous for him to continue any longer. After that his legs started to weaken as well.

Grandpa could be stern and controlling at times. As children we were often afraid that “Grandpa would find out” that we’d been jumping on his bed or messing with the papers on his desk. He would sometimes forbid something for what seemed like poor (or at least inconsistent) reason. For example, he made my brother quit Little League, because as a boy he had a friend who hurt his leg so badly sliding into a base that he was forever crippled. However, he thought it perfectly fine to go skiing. In fact, when I was ten he decided I was ready for intermediate slopes, so he took me up and started teaching me to make parallel turns. At that time he must have been nearly seventy, but he’d learned to ski as a college student at Waseda University in Tokyo, and he was still quite good. Amusingly, later on when I told him I was going to Hawaii, he told me to avoid surfing as it was “too dangerous”.

Earlier this year, D and I took our then-three-month-old daughter R back to Taiwan to visit all of my grandparents (as well as D's grandfather, who also passed away this year). She is the first great-grandchild on both sides of the family, and all four of them were ecstatic about meeting her. Grandpa couldn’t really see her, but he patted her head, and felt her legs, and you could see his eyes watering. At one point R cried, and I was afraid Grandpa would be annoyed, but he just beamed and said “jia yong!” (“very strong” in Taiwanese). I joked to my sister then that it was the first time Grandpa had said anything good about a crying baby.

I will miss Grandpa, but I’m not that sad that he died. He would have been 91 next month, so most of his friends had already passed away, and with the loss of his vision, hearing, and ability to walk easily, he was increasingly bored and depressed over the last couple of years. His health was no longer good and he struggled to walk during the day and to breathe at night. My sister said she was talking with him one day last year and he suddenly said he was tired (of living).

Grandpa was intelligent, well-educated, cultured, successful, and forward-thinking for his time. He had a long and happy life, and in the end he just went to sleep and never woke up, which I bet is exactly what he wanted.

Sunday, May 13, 2012

Mother's Day at La Folie

I had been to La Folie several times before, but the last time was about ten years ago, so I only had vague recollections of our meals there. I do remember that my mom liked the place a lot, so when a coworker went and posted gorgeous photos from his meal, I was inspired to call them up and make a reservation for a pre-Mother's Day dinner. (I hate Mother's Day brunches, and my mom doesn't seem to mind.)

We had a fabulous time; Mom had the tasting menu, and the rest of us ordered a la carte, so we got to see/taste a wide variety of dishes. As the lighting got dimmer throughout the evening, my photos got noticeably worse, but luckily my favorite dish (the quail and squab) came out okay. Also, D ordered the 5-course menu, and he nearly ate himself sick, so I would say the portions are very generous, especially with the seared foie gras.

summer truffles (we didn't order any):


amuse bouche #1 - shortrib w/ hummus, parsley, pickled ramp (a little bit bland):


slow poached egg w/ potato crisp & chive:


lobster, mushroom, & English pea risotto (really good, with tender peas and very fresh mushrooms):


seared foie gras, foie gras soup (part of Mom's tasting menu; her favorite dish all night was the soup):


sauteed snails served in veal bone (didn't try, Dad said they were good):


tempura poached egg w/ sweetbread pancake, walnut & apple compote, shaved black truffle:


seared foie gras w/ cherries, star anise, & bourbon maple syrup (the giant foie gras that defeated D that night):


seared scallop w/ fennel & artichoke:


seared foie gras w/ potato & scallop, rosemary & asparagus:


butter poached Maine lobster on butternut squash ravioli>:


rack of lamb, lamb loin wrapped in spicy lamb sausage, butter beans & lamb tongue (sausage was a bit salty, rack was the best as usual):


beef tenderloin w/ croquette, potatoes & mushrooms (good but uninteresting):


duck breast w/ peach, cherries, & crispy rice:


quail & squab stuffed w/ mushrooms, wrapped in crispy potato strings, & natural jus w/ truffles, egg in a basket (didn't order this, but liked it so much I stole a bunch from D):


carabina cheese (fine, not remarkable):


tomme de savoie, sofia, & birberousse cheeses (I chose the cheeses myself, and I did like them):


bergamot mint pudding w/ cocoa powder:


cheese souffle w/ lemon cheese ice cream (the cheese flavor was perhaps too subtle):


baked Alaska w/ basil & huckleberry ice cream & pear & huckleberry gelee:


chocolate bread pudding w/ strawberry ice cream & white chocolate creme anglaise & green tea sauce (really tasty!):


chocolate mousse, canele, madeleines, huckleberry gelee (okay...the canele were a bit disappointing):

Saturday, May 05, 2012

Luce at the Intercontinental

We celebrated my cousin's birthday at Luce, which had been recommended to us awhile ago by a friend. Our overall impression that the food was good, but the service was a bit spotty. Nothing was "wrong" exactly, but it just wasn't as polished as we expected. Still, it was nice that we were able to get a reservation at a late date and we had a good time.
amuse bouche - crab custard with uni foam (not quite enough crab flavor):

foie gras "chaud & froid" - quince, celery, walnuts, & honey-lavender brioche:


kampachi w/ trout roe & toasted buckwheat (I liked this one quite a bit):


seared scallop & abalone - pumpkin & duck consomme:


butter poached lobster - squash, sunflower shoots, lemon verbena (also very tasty):


slow cooked pork loin - parsnip, brussel sprouts, pickled mustard:


textures of dark chocolate & olive oil (birthday treat, fun to eat):


hazelnut financier, banana ice cream, gianduja cremeux, milk chocolate feuillentine (not as good as above):


strawberry & pineapple gelee:

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Wakuriya revisited

I've been having a string of good meals at restaurants where my first experience was not the best. This continued with our recent revisit to Wakuriya.

The restaurant is only two miles from our house, so D and I first checked it out shortly after it opened, in January of 2009. Perhaps it was too new then, but although it was good and we enjoyed the experience, we thought that Kaygetsu was better.

Alas, Kaygetsu has now closed, so when we had a craving for good kaiseki early this year, we decided to go to Wakuriya. It turns out that it's now much, much harder to get a reservation. Luckily, they had closed over the holidays and hadn't taken any reservations during that time, so when we called there were still some weekdays available. We took the first available which was a random Wednesday night, and invited my parents to join us.

pear-flavored sake (surprisingly sweet and yummy):


homemade yaki goma dofu - oven-grilled sesame tofu & wasabi on a tiny iron pan (my least favorite of the evening; it had an icky texture):


assorted appetizers - Snake River Farms American "wagyu" beef nigiri, aori ika sashimi & uni, deep-fried renkon mochi (lotus root cake) w/ miso sauce, dried persimmon w/ shiso marscapone cheese (much much better than the appetizers last time, especially the beef!):


gindara to ankimo no chiri-mushi - steamed Alaskan black cod, monk fish liver, vegetable, "buna shimeiji" mushroom, served w/ "momoji oroshi" (spicy grated daikon) & ponzu sauce (I only ate the mushrooms, which were fine):


chef's choice sashimi - ama ebi, kanpachi, tai (delicious, but sashimi doesn't leave much room for creativity):


New Caledonian "tenshi no ebi" no tempura - deep-fried angel shrimp and "sato-imo" (Japanese taro) in "kasu-jiru" (sake lees soup) w/ Kyoto shichimi pepper:


organic carrot & yuzu sorbet:


"kamo" no sukiyaki - Maple Leaf Farms duck, funghi porcini, green onion, & "maru-konnyaku" (jelly potato ball) simmered w/ sweet umami soy sauce (really delicious, my favorite dish of the meal):


tai chazuke - snapper sashimi mixed w/ sesame paste over rice in hot dashi broth (did not eat):


kanitama ankake gohan - Alaskan snow crab omelet over rice w/ thickened dashi sauce:


green tea & white chocolate mousse w/ crunchy kinako (soy flour) & black sesame cookie:


Overall we were more impressed this time around. I especially liked the appetizers; both the beef nigiri and the deep-fried renkon were delicious. The duck sukiyaki was also a highlight.

 

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