*BOO!*

If anyone has time in the last two days leading up to Halloween, these would be a perfect project to work on with kids -- LOVE the bat shape!

The last time I visited Bouchon Bakery, I opted for their caramel macaron and chocolate eclair; but these were another eagerly sought-after dessert. Of course, I was too slow to realize that TKO stood for 'Thomas Keller Oreo' -- rather, I thought because it's THAT good of a cookie, it stood for 'Technical Knock Out'. Fair mistake, no? ;)

Picture & recipe courtesy of thekitchn.com, via Bouchon Bakery

Thomas Keller Oreo Bat Sandwich Cookies
Makes 6-8 cookies

For the Chocolate Sablé Dough
12 ounce butter
8.5 ounces sugar
13.4 ounces all purpose flour
Pinch baking soda
Pinch salt
4.5 ounces cocoa powder

In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar together using a paddle on medium speed. Sift the dry ingredients together and add to the butter and sugar mixture until combined. Refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes. Roll the dough out to a thickness of 1/8 of an inch. Cut out cookies into desired shapes. Refrigerate the cut cookies for 20 minutes. Bake at 325°F for 12 minutes and let cool on a rack.

For the White Chocolate Ganache Filling
7 ounces heavy cream
7 ounces white chocolate
1 ounces butter

Chop the white chocolate and place in a bowl. Bring the heavy cream to a boil and pour over the chopped white chocolate and stir until smooth. Add the butter and stir until incorporated. Allow the cream mixture to cool. Transfer the mixture to the bowl of electric mixer. Using the whisk attachment, whip until light and the mixture holds its shape. Refrigerate until needed.

To Assemble: Pipe the filling onto one cookie and top with another.

Chocolate, Glorious Chocolate!

Hello chicky*bits friends!

Hope you all had a wonderful summer. Mine was filled with exciting events, small side trips and of course, lots of [maybe too much?] food :)

I also decided on a career change for the moment, which only partially explains my negligent blogging both here and on eatyourbap. As with anything new, I'm excited and nervous to say the least!

I wanted to share with you one of the MOST delicious chocolate cake recipes I've come across. This summer, I had the fortune of being introduced to one of the most amazing books, Scharffenberger's The Essence of Chocolate, through a good friend J. After trying her wonderful experiments firsthand and reading all the stellar reviews on Amazon, I decided to purchase one for myself -- btw, if the $35 pricetag seems steep, do like I did and get it used (it was in perfect condition for 1/3 the price! I love a good deal :)). I don't regret it one bit as I've gotten quite a bit of use out of it already. There's a good mix of easy --> fancy recipes that it won't discourage the amateur home baker either. The beautiful pictures make it a lovely coffee table book as well.

The first recipe I tried was for the chocolate chocolate (that's right, double) cupcakes with ganache. Oh my. I'm telling you, ganache is so underrated. Forget buttercream or cream cheese frostings (though they each have their place). When dealing with a proper chocolate cake, there's no better topping than the glossy rich ganache. I think I'm salivating right now.

Here is the only recipe I found online, courtesy of this cute blog, Kitchen Musings (it's the 2nd of the two chocolate recipes).

What a treat! Try it the next time someone special in your life has a birthday. Just give yourself enough time to let the ganache set... and give each cupcake a nice, thick layer of ganache (this might require baking the cupcakes a bit more flat, ie: filling each liner only 50%-60%). Happy baking! :D

c*b has a new friend

So I've been thinking a lot about starting a site solely on Korean home cooking. Not that I couldn't address K-food on chicky*bits, but I really feel it's an area that I'd like to concentrate on and learn more about for myself. 

I'd be honored if you moseyed along and visited me at my weekly Korean recipe endeavor, eat your bap --> please bookmark me and subscribe me in your reader! 

Don't worry, chicky*bits is going nowhere! I just have to figure out the right balance for the time being. In the meantime, expect some hiccups and redundancies. 

Thanks for your support and please leave a comment to say hi! :)

PS: Just a note that the latest recipe on eat your bap is not 100% Korean, don't want to mislead any readers out there. ;)

1 Millionth Post Party!

The folks at FoodBuzz threw a great lil' shindig the other day at David Burke Townhouse (formerly David Burke & Donatella -- I know, I was confused too). In celebration of its one millionth post, they gathered all the Featured Publishers together for free-flowing food & drink.

Unfortunately, I managed to miss the first half of the party. It didn't stop me from getting in my requisite food shots though. ;)



I didn't get to try all the passed hors d'oeurves, but I did tackle the raw seafood bar, sushi/sashimi table and of course, the carving station (which you know is good if you see the eponymous chef carving his own serving!). Standouts included the tuna tartare, lobster flan with fresh peas, sliced sirloin au jus and the perfectly juicy roasted turkey.


The signature cocktail of the evening, a mojito-esque lychee martini, was certainly pretty, but the thyme just overwhelmed it all. I stuck to wine afterward. :P

Overall, it was fun catching up with Foodie in Denial and Chicopea, despite the challenges of juggling plate, wine glass and camera! We even got to meet some of the FoodBuzz team (Ryan, our managing editor, has the cutest pixie cut!), which was nice. I wish I had more time to chat with some of the other bloggers, but knowing FoodBuzz, there definitely will be another occasion to get together again soon.

The signature cheesecake lollipops, in a tree! Oh, the whimsy.

David Burke Townhouse is located at 133 East 61st Street, between Lexington and Park Avenues. 212-813-2121.

Dak Galbi, Korean Spiced Chicken

Shame, shame on me! After several weeks in Asia, I am finally back in New York. Of course, it's all passed in a whirl; but I'll do my best to catch everyone up on some of my delicious eats!

First up, one of my ultimate favorites in Korea: dak galbi, or spicy boneless chicken, pan-fried with assorted veggies and rice cakes. It's a popular, convivial dish to have with friends (and lots of cold beer and soju!), as it's always cooked over a tabletop grill pan. You're often given a half-apron as well, lest you get any fierce gochujang (hot pepper paste) splattered on you . ;)


Just when you think you can't stuff yourself any further with the succulent nuggets of marinated chicken, they come out with your choice of rice or noodles to finish up all the remaining lovely bits in the pan. Let's just say, no matter how full I get, my friends and I always manage to finish up all the warm and crunchy fried rice. I'm actually salivating now, just at the thought!

An interesting culinary note: cheese(!!) is actually a popular topping for your rice/noodle course now at these dak galbi joints. I know for you purists, it sounds totally weird to combine dairy with Korean cuisine, but it's truly sooo freakin' delicious! I'm thinking the creaminess really softens the blow of the other spicy elements. Kinda how hot Indian curries are paired with cool raita yogurt? Try it!

Tokubetsu na unagi-don!

Translation: Special broiled eel over rice!

I think I've mentioned before just how much I love broiled eel, or unagi. I guess the real appeal lies in the sweet and sticky sauce that gets slathered on the eel meat during the grilling process. Over steamed rice, there is no better marriage in the donburi world!

My friend L took me to a great hole-in-the-wall in Tokyo's Asakusa. Normally this area is teeming with tourists taking pictures at the Sensoji-shrine, but after sneaking through some back alleyways, we came across this tasty unagi shop.

This place really has all the hallmarks of a foodie eatery -- slightly hard to reach location, long line, fair prices (at lunch anyway), rustic food, cantankerous head chef. I was in love! Inside, there was even a reverent hush that befell the customers as they waited patiently for their dishes.

Getting caught mid-snap; I'm skurred! Actually he was quite nice and even
bragged about getting coverage by bigwigs like NYT, Le Monde, etc. ;)

We were lucky to snag first row seats at the bar for front and center viewing. L was kind enough to treat me to my first unagi-don there. Depending on the amount of eel you want over your rice, the lunch set price averages about $14-$18US per person. Not bad when you consider the quality and utter buttery deliciousness you get.

I wasted nothing.

Like all good things, unagi is best in moderation. Because of the fish's richness and slight oiliness, it can easily become overwhelming. That's probably another reason why you get it last as a sushi course in restaurants (that, and also because it's cooked).

Unfortunately, I didn't get the name of this place -- L, do you remember it? I would only know how to return by sight. Anyone down for a Tokyo excursion?? ;)

Ultimate Pastime!

One of my absolute favorite things to do when visiting foreign lands (or states, cities, for that matter) is roam the aisles of their markets. In the case of Japan and Korea, there are supremely impressive food marts located in the basements of larger department stores (depachika in Japanese), luring in masses of housewives (as it's usually a woman shopping for her family in these parts of the world). It's samples galore and you can easily find yourself full even before leaving.

There is usually a dedicated grocery/supermarket area where you can pick up sundry items. Then the rest of the floor is devoted to individual merchants hawking their specialties, whether it's prize-winning melons (at more than $30 US in some cases!!), pickled fruits/vegetables, or ready-to-eat items like onigiri/rice balls (my personal fave).

If you're looking for a special gift, there's no dearth of stunning products, usually desserts that are individually wrapped (I know, not the greenest, but so pretty!) or beautiful tins of teas that have you craving your favorite scone.
I love food shopping! Especially in Asia!!

Lunch at Roppongi Hills

I had the great fortune of catching up with a dear friend last Thursday. A-chan, now a busy mother of THREE, took time out of her busy schedule to meet me for lunch in Tokyo's sparkling new Roppongi Hills.

Roppongi Hills did not exist the last time I was in Tokyo. It's a massive city-in-itself with a number of buildings containing great shops, restaurants and businesses (many foreign banks are housed within this complex). It was a great escape on a day when winds were whipping around us! That, and a sleeping [adorable!!] baby were in tow. :)

We managed to find two seats at a great Beijing-Chinese restaurant called Lao Hu Dong Yi Ju. I was really startled to see that smoking indoors (especially within the confines of such a foreigner-focused building!) was still allowed. It really made me appreciate NY that much more, believe it or not!
The food, however, managed to make up for the smokiness. A-chan ordered a hot 'n sour type soup-based ramen; I had the black sesame noodle soup -- delicious! I'd never tasted anything like it before and upon further research, it seems it's the Japanese version of Chinese tan tan men noodles. It was earthy, spicy, and gorgeous to look at. A bit heavy, but not as unctuous as tonkotsu (think Ippudo), or pork-based ramen soups. We shared a couple of loooong gyoza that reminded me of those long body pillows you got at Wal-Mart during your college days. ;)

What's a catch-up session without coffee? We picked up a couple of delectable macaron (mmm... caramel salt -- I know it's everywhere now, but for a good reason!) from La Boutique de Joel Robuchon, who I didn't realize had brought his famous L'Atelier to Tokyo not too long ago. Unfortunately, space is tight in there, so we opted to park ourselves and the baby cart at the Starbucks not too far away.

There's really nothing like a good cawfeetawk with girlfriends. I only wish A-chan lived closer so we could do it more often!!

(Incidentally, the ham/cheese baguette sandwiches looked absolutely delightful at La Boutique -- I'm thinking they make all the bread, in addition to the pastries, on the premises.)
Lao Hu Dong Yi Ju is located on the 5th floor of Roppongi Hills. Click here for more detailed info. and a floor map.

LA BOUTIQUE de Joel Robuchon is located on the 2nd floor of Roppongi Hills. Click here for more detailed info. and a floor map.

Greetings from Tokyo!

I'm back in this great city after more than 8 years away. To say that I'm excited is a gross understatement!!

I'm so looking forward to reuniting with old friends, taking in the beautiful sakura (if spring's finicky rain cooperates) and of course, eating my way through this awesome foodie town!

I got in early yesterday evening and despite my exhaustion, took a walk through Shinjuku's center to re-energize with all the hubbub and lights around me. I turned around once the rain really started to pick up and I realized I was sans umbrella. :)

On my way back, I stopped by one of the twelve conbini, short for convenience store, surrounding the hotel and picked up some quick snacks so that I wouldn't go to bed hungry. Here's just some of my booty:

Clockwise from top left: Kirin "Green Label;" lemon chu-hi, a canned spritzy alcoholic drink;
fatty tuna/green onion/wasabi onigiri (rice ball); tuna/mayo onigiri (my fave)

I LOVE the conbini here in Japan. While it does have its fair share of unhealthy, fast food treats [that I also adore], the ones here have great ready-meals and snacks that are great for people on the go. I love browsing the refrigerator cases for all the great variety of teas and beers!

More to come! :8)

PS: Despite my slow-as-a-snail-Mac, it still manages to reap the benefits of crazy-speed internet here. Love it!

California Dreamin'

O and I had the great fortune of making a trip to LA this past weekend for a dear friend's wedding. The minute the beautiful couple announced their nuptials would be in Pasadena, you know In 'N Out was on my mind . :)

My favorite snack stop!

Unfortunately, our weekend on the left coast was way too short. Too much food left uneaten (I couldn't bear the thought of a 2 hour wait for the famed Kogi truck!), too many Coffee Bean iced Americanos left unhad. Hopefully the next time we go, the weather will cooperate just a touch more!

As an aside, it's interesting to see just how HOT (no pun intended) Korean food is becoming in this country. Of course, it was only a matter of time in my humble opinion, but it's always nice to see it being appreciated in black & white.