I was so busy trying to find something on the Food Network website that I took my eye off the ball, while making this batch of rice pudding. I looked just in time and I saved (most of) it. Rice Pudding (6 servings) Adapted from The Joy Of Cooking cup jasmine rice 1 cups water 2 1/2 cups milk 2 cups half and half a generous cup sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla cup raisins, soaked in 2 tablespoons of rum or brandy if you wish 1 teaspoon cinnamon Bring rice and water to boil in large saucepan or Dutch oven. Cover and turn heat to low. Cook for 15 minutes. (Water will have been absorbed.) Stir in milk, half and half and sugar. Bring to boil. Cook, uncovered, 25 to 30 minutes on medium to medium low heat, simmering gently until mixture is thick and creamy.  read more »

It’s quite crazy how those past five days went by. I arrived home. Unpacked my (thousands of) bags. Baked a little. Filled in paperwork. Visited Pascal Lac to say hello and make sure he still wanted me to work for him. Answered an interview. Put some green tea recipe together for an online magazine. And then, October showed up. So did deadlines. Can you believe I forgot about the daring bakers ‘ challenge. Yes, forgot! And I do really feel sorry for that. However, I did not forgot about you guys who sent me terrific pictures and recipes for delicious and creative cupcakes . You made my day, week and even month! So here comes the first part of it. Thirty six lovely cupcakes . Just what I need to cheer me up. I’m starting my internship tomorrow and I am downright scared. ps. thanks to all of you who so kindly offered to send me s’mores kits. You truly rock and I’m so happy to count you as my friends. However, Allison of the best blog ever for sushi addicts like me: Sushi Day . So thank you all, and now… onto the cupcakes. Enjoy!  read more »

Jeff went through some of the holiday baking magazines that we've picked up over the last couple of weeks and went a little crazy with post-it notes to let me know what he thinks we should make. So, for this week's Wednesday Treat Day, I randomly picked one of those notes and opened the magazine to find these Maple Walnut Thumbprint Cookies . The dough for these is a basic vanilla-laced shortbread that is rolled into balls, rather than pressed into a pan or refrigerated to be made into slice-and-bake cookies. I found the dough to be a dream to work with - neither sticky nor dry - just moist enough to form a smooth ball. Once I portioned out the batch and gently shaped each buttery piece in my palms, they went for a dip in egg whites and a roll through a river of finely chopped walnuts. You can use whatever tool you like to make the indent in the center of the cookies, be it the back of a teaspoon or the end of a wooden spoon - however, I found it quickest to just go down the rows with my thumb. You don't want these to take on a lot of color in the oven - just lightly golden around the edges... this is enough time to set the cookie and gently toast the nuts. To fill up those divots in the center, a maple-flavored frosting combined of confectioners' sugar, butter, a pinch of salt (not too much, just a little to balance the sweetness), milk to thin and maple extract for that full flavor. The extract is an excellent use in these situations as you wouldn't be able to use enough maple syrup to get that depth of flavor without making the frosting too runny (or sweet!).  read more »

Michele and I had a nice dinner tonight at the Jasmine Garden, a Vietnamese restaurant a few blocks from our flat. In case you've never been, many Vietnamese dishes are served with a side plate of garnishes, including lots of mint and basil. I brought home some of the mint, since I've never seen it before, and I'm hoping that someone out there can tell me what it is.  read more »