Inedible Garnishes: Brioches Chinoises, Macarons and More

Brioches Chinoises

So, as I mentioned in the last post, "brioches chinoises" (a particularly fluffy and delicious version of bao--Chinese steamed dumplings) have long been one of my favorite things to eat in Paris. Jeremy was perhaps even more excited about them than I when I introduced him earlier this month. We took a few back to our apartment and did our best to figure out everything that was in them because, while they may only be 80 centines a piece in Paris, Paris is a long way from Iowa.

Today was our first attempt at recreating them at home. Our dough and the dough:filling ratio (we got a little greedy) definitely need some work, but we consider our first attempt a success because the filling came out nearly perfect. You can't see it in the photo, but we also pan-fried the bottoms of the buns after steaming to create a crisp bottom crust.

Filling: pork shoulder, shiitakes, dried shrimp, fish sauce, cabbage, sesame oil, leek, scallion, soy sauce, oyster sauce
Dough: mushroom/shrimp soaking liquid, AP flour, sesame oil, sugar, yeast

Macarons (au Café et Pandanais)
The other thing that I have been really wanting to make since Paris is macarons. I have never made them before, although I have always wished to do so. My first try were the pandan ones (in green). They did not come out too badly, but I think the batter was a bit thin and it did not help that I dropped all of the cookies on the floor. The second batch was much closer to the real thing, with the batter being just a touch thick.

Macarons are a tricky thing to master, but they are very very tasty. I'm currently craving durian macarons.

Macaraon au Café: Cookie (Almond flour, egg whites, sugar, instant coffee, vanilla bean) and Coffee French Buttercream (Butter, Sugar, Eggs, Instant Coffee
Macaron Pandanais: Cookie (Almond flour, egg whites, sugar, pandan extract) and chocolate caramel sauce

Attempt #2: Beautiful and delicious

Attempt #1: Fell on the floor...but still tasty

Fresh Greens and Chicken with Hot Mushroom Vinaigrette
We love getting fresh garden vegetables and are lucky to have a friend who likes to share them. Salads are entirely different with fresh greens.

Here I used some duck fat to cook the chicken, deglazed my pan with red wine and used those ingredients as the basis for a vinaigrette which I fattened up with some of the shiitake cream sauce we have frozen. It wilted the greens slightly and accompanied the chicken beautifully. Bean sprouts provided a crisp cold crunch even amongst the wilted greens

Vinaigrette: Duck fat, red wine, shiitake cream sauce, rice wine vinegar, lime juice, s/p

Sumac Omelette

Granola and Yogurt
I've recently been getting back into making yogurt, which could not be much easier than with the premium dehydrator I have. Yogurt and granola is one of Jeremy's favorite breakfasts, and because it is so quick we eat it often.

Yogurt: Milk, yogurt
Granola: Oats, almonds, cherries, maple syrup, brown rice syrup...

Snack: Bread with Chèvre and Chalula

Shiitake Miso
I discovered that avocado is pretty good in miso.

Broth: Dashi, miso, shiitake soaking liquid
Garnish: Shiitakes, Soy sauce-coated boiled egg, cilantro, avocado, beet greens

Egg Salad Sandwich
Using up old eggs. I don't really remember what I threw in this.

Sushi Rice Bowl
This goes along with the miso above: kind of a use of the leftovers. My favorite part of this was probably the salsa verde. Salsa verde + sushi rice = tasty.

Rice: nishiki, rice wine vinegar, simple syrup
Garnish: Shiitakes, Soy sauce-coated boiled egg, cilantro, avocado, salsa verde

Tossed Salad with Sausage
I am not totally sure what kind of sausage this is, but the thin, bias-cut slices worked well for topping a salad with a medium-bodied dressing. I've been playing with such dressings lately, here using tahini, with good results.

Salad: spring lettuce, bean sprouts, shiitakes
Dressing: Tahini, lime juice, lemon juice, rice wine vinegar, grapeseed oil, s/p

Salsa Negra Pork Tacos!
Oh my; these are the most delicious thing we've made lately. We made these for Jeremy's family.

This goes back to the pork competition entry we came up with a few months ago but in taco form. We also threw some of the salsa negra in with the salsa verde, giving it a deep structural complexity.

Meat: Pork spare ribs (pressure-cooker braised), salsa negra (anchos, garlic, piloncillo, grapeseed oil), fish sauce
Et cetera: Corn tortillas, queso fresco, tomatoes, salsa verde (tomatillos, poblanos, jalapenos, fish sauce, cilantro, salsa negra), onion, cilantro, lime

Pandan Cherry Tarts with Key Lime Curd
Jeremy's grandmother lives in the same town as us and has a cherry tree that is fruiting right now. We spent one morning over there and collected just over five gallons of cherries. We've consumed some of them straight or with granola and in smoothies, but we still have four frozen gallons for later.

On Sunday we went to a wine club meeting and I decided to make little tarts with the cherries and with some key limes I picked up on the cheap at our local Mexican market. Pandan cherry is one of the best combinations.

Crust: Flour, butter, salt
Key Lime Curd: Key limes, egg yolks, sugar, butter, pandan leaves
Cherries: Cherries, pandan leaves, pandan extract, cornstarch, sugar

This is our refrigerator with large containers of cherries on each shelf, and some of the free-run juice.

Tomato Soup with Cream and Grilled Cheese
I picked up this recipe from my friend Nic, and I crave it frequently. It's quite simple: roast tomatoes, onions, peppers, garlic, etc. in a hot oven until juicy in then purée. This time I decided to focus primarily on tomatoes with just a poblano and an onion in the mix. I also pressed it twice through a strainer, yielding a very smooth soup. These are photos from two meals, one with just corn tortilla and one with grilled cheese.

Soup: Tomatoes, poblano, white onion
Garnish: Cream, Salsa Verde
Sandwiches: Whole wheat French bread, Jarlsberg, chèvre

Spicy Cube Steak
I've been trying to find Japanese seven spice (Schichimi Togarashi) without ordering it online to save some money. I finally found a large bag in Paris. I am quite pleased! It works well for adding some light spice while still having some other floral and peppery components.

Egg with Mystery Pasta
This pasta was ridiculously tasty--lemony and creamy--but unfortunately Jeremy cannot remember what ingredients he used. Damn! It would have gone well with mussels. I paired it with a map of Pouilly-Fuissé since we did not have a bottle available to drink.