Bouchon Bakery TKO Cookie

One of the best dining experiences I've ever had was when my mom took me to Bouchon Bistro in Beverly Hills for my undergraduate graduation dinner. I remember sashaying in with my stole still around my neck, then nomming on some french bistro-style gnocchi with my proud mama. That dinner was during my last few days in Los Angeles. I haven't been back to LA since graduation, but I always think of that dinner fondly as marking the end of an incredible college experience.

Fast forward a few years later: I went to a cooking class at my local Williams-Sonoma a few weeks ago to learn some pizza-making tips. Before the class started, I dug around in the clearance food section comme d'habitude, and I found this boxed mix by Bouchon Bakery! Totally snagged a box for nostalgia purposes, obvi. Also because I wanted to try out the recipe, which made what look like gourmet (read: "bougie") Oreos.

This is called the "TKO" cookie, although I'm not quite sure what the name stands for (Technical Knockout? Thomas Keller Oreo?). They say ignorance is bliss, and man, is that SO TRUE in the context of knowing what's inside your favorite baked goods. These cookies are like 90% butter.

But if you're gonna splurge, these are so totally worth it. The ingredients are super-premium, like Guittard cocoa. Along with the fancy ingredients comes a more complicated recipe, however. For example, I had to melt chocolate chips for the filling. But again, #worthit.

I did a mix of star shapes and mini sakrua (cherry blossom) shapes.

I wasn't able to get the icing quite as beautifully beaded as shown on the package, but I'm still really happy the way my cookies turned out. My mom loved them, and she is a hard-core sandwich cookie connoisseur.

The flavor of the cookies is what makes them really great. The high-end ingredients really do shine and work together to create a simple-yet-complex, exotic-yet-familiar, delicious cookie.

If you'd like to sample these delectable cookies yourself, you can go about it one of three ways:

1. Grab yourself a box of mix like I did from Williams-Sonoma (or other fine retailers...if others carry it? Not sure.)

2. Go get a cookie from a Bouchon Bakery. Click on the link for locations.

3. Try this recipe for TKO cookies which appeared in the Bouchon Bakery cookbook (click link).

And there you have it! The perfect cookie for the kidult in us all. An epicurean way to enjoy an old standby.

Spring Dining

I went to Le Voltaire–a fancy-pants french resto on Quai Voltaire right off the Seine–a few nights ago with some friends to sample the oeufs mayonnaise, which according to Le Figaro, are the best in Paris.  Our server walked us through the handwritten menu, helpfully pointing things out to me that were vegetarian-friendly. He mentioned that I should get the asperges blanches (white asparagus), as they were in peak season and it is a traditional spring dish, but I had already been seduced by another entrée option, and thus declined. The table next to ours ordered the asperges blanches, and when they was delivered, I had one of the most serious cases of FOMO in my entire life. They looked amazing, and came with a tasty-looking sauce. The neighboring diners made sounds of contentment as they nommed into the asparagus. I enjoyed the food that I ordered, but I couldn't help but think about those asperges blanches. I don't believe in regrets, but I came pretty close to regretting my decision that night.

The oeufs mayonnaise

Killer dinner, but nary an asperge blanche in sight...

Rather than blow my dining-out budget by going back to Le Voltaire, I decided to make some asperges blanches myself. I went with a recipe I found on marmiton.org, as I had been pleased with the outcome of the ratatouille I'd made from a recipe I'd found on the same site.  I invited a friend over for dinner to keep me motivated. The menu: a vegetarian salade nicoise, asperges blanches, and Ben and Jerry's for dessert!

A little pre-dinner apéro.

First course: salad nicoise à la végétarien

The salad: lettuce, tomato, chickpeas (garbanzo beans) hardboiled egg, artichoke, shallots, sundried tomato, haricots verts. Topped off with homemade dressing. 

My lovely dining companion.

The dishes seemed simple enough, but required a bit of technique to execute. I had to blanche the haricots verts, and the sauce had to be put in a bath of hot water to cook, but not too hot to risk cooking the egg in the sauce. I cooked it a bit too long, but since I was serving it to someone else, I decided a bit of cooked egg was a lesser evil than salmonella poisoning. Kitchen gaffs aside, my guest remarked at the end of the meal that the salad was good, but the asperges blanches was "amazing". I was so proud :)






So there you have it! I don't know about the availability of white asparagus in the U.S. (or elsewhere), but if you can get your hands on it, I highly recommend trying this dish. It's milder and more tender than it's green cousin, and the sauce that goes with it is really good.

Ratatouille Time!

It's winter, which means that solar radiation and the energy and heat it brings are at a minimum, and coldness is at a maximum. Not to whine too much, as this winter has been a mild one (thanks, climate change!), but still...How to remedy the winter blues, you ask? Well, you could drink a lot (ill advised),  take bubble baths (a personal favorite) or eat warm food. Along the lines of the last option, I decided to make some ratatouille. Ratatouille is actually more of a summer dish, as that's when all of the veggies and fruits (looking at you, tomato) in the dish are at peak freshness. But it's warm and it's not choc-full of cheese and cream*, so I decided to make it.

We all know and love the classic Disney film, Ratatouille, which is certainly reason enough for any Remy the mouse fan to try their own hand at making some, but for me, ratatouille has a bit of a sentimental bent as well. After two less–than–ideal homestay experiences during my first sojourn in Paris, on the third attempt I was finally placed with a nice woman who, grace à dieu, respected my dietary restrictions and tried to make me veggie-friendly stuff during the program-mandated weekday dinners we had together. It was during those dinners that I ate large quantities of homemade ratatouille, which was delicious and tasted like love and care.

Anyway, so I made some. It requires a lot of chopping, but is certainly well worth the effort. If you have access to your parents' mandoline (or are a real adult and have your own cooking supplies), this would be an ideal recipe to break it out, and the results will be more uniform and "fancy". As I am oven-less, I looked for a recipe that was stovetop-friendly. The recipe can be found here, and is highly recommended by the interwebz. It is in french, but I can certainly translate if asked (also, I think Chrome can do it for you).

The recipe calls for fresh thyme and laurel, which is sold together in handy little bundles in many stores here in France, but can also be found in any decent U.S. grocery store worth its sel. Other than that, the ingredients are pretty standard: zucchini, eggplant, onion, garlic, tomato, red and green peppers, salt, pepper, and olive oil.

With a teensy sprig of thyme on top!

And there you have it. Mine turned out a little soupy at first, so I cooked off some of the excess water, but you don't want the ingredients to be too mushy, so be careful not to over-cook. It's a great dish and adds some color to a dreary January day. Le Figaro recommends a Costières-de-Nîmes as a wine pairing. Bon appétit!



*A side note on the "cheese and cream" comment: cheese and cream are delicious. I've just decided to cut back for health reasons, which has been one of the more difficult decisions of my life lol.

"Francegiving" and Madrid

Hello, amigos. I am chilling here in the Berlin Shönefeld Airport, trying to regroup after missing my flight due to a time conversion-based snafu (I'm not sure if I'll ever get used to converting from military time), so what better use of my time than to finally update the old blog! A lot of cool stuff has happened recently :)

I'll start with Thanksgiving, or "Francegiving" as I like to call the wonderful dinner I had chez Liz on Thanksgiving night. I thought that I would be a-ok not doing Thanksgiving at home, but when the day finally arrived, it was suffering from a serious case of struggs and at first I couldn't put my finger on why. I've celebrated Thanksgiving at the homestead with my family for literally every previous Thanksgiving (even during 1L when I had a major freakout about needing more time to study for finals). This was the first time celebrating away from home, and despite my self-assurances to the contrary, I think I was a bit upset about it. Liz had invited me to a Thanksgiving dinner she was graciously hosting, so I had plans, but then I had a minor freakout (a theme arises, methinks) when I realized it is difficult to find cheddar cheese here in France: a key component for classic mac and cheese, which I had volunteered to bring. I decided to do emmental instead and "make it work", à la Tim Gunn.

#Murica

All the anxiety totally went away when I arrived. Everyone at the dinner party was super nice, even when I was doing weird things like trying to avoid "faire-ing la bise" (I get shy sometimes :). The apartment was gorgeous and so "french-chic", and the matron of the house purchased some adorable "American" napkins to help set the mood.

Adorable and kitsch, just the way I like it lol.

I whipped up the mac and cheese à la francais, and luckily, everyone seemed to really like it...either that or they were super polite :). Liz and I were the only Americans present, but everyone there made a really good effort to help us celebrate, which I appreciated a lot.

My contribution: ze mac and cheese

After dinner, I walked past Place de la République, which I hadn't seen since before the attacks. The monument in the center was surrounded by candles, flowers, toys, and other tributes to the victims. It was a solemn and very beautiful tribute.

That weekend, I went to Madrid to visit my friend and fellow law student and study-abroader, Aly. She'd stayed with me for a night in Paris, but we didn't get much of a chance to hang out due to illness/too much schoolwork on my part. This time, we had plenty of time roam the calles of Madrid and talk about important things like boys. Aly was an excellent host and guide: she showed me all the best parts of the Prado (it's all about El Greco, Velázquez, and Goya, people! Pro Tip: don't save El Bosco's masterpiece El Jardín de las Delicias until the end, unless you wanna experience some serious sensory overload! ), the cool plazas, markets, El Escorial, and an amazing tango show. I was only there for two nights, but thanks to her, I feel like I was able to see all the best parts of Madrid.

Espanya!

#allthemanchego. We ate this for literally 3 days. 

El Prado!

Velázquez's "Las Meninas"...so glad I finally got to see it IRL!

One of Goya's "black paintings". This part of the museum is a must-visit. 

Giant tree in Puerta del Sol

No trip to Spain is complete without paella verduras.

I definitely would recommend the day trip to El Escorial even if you're only there for a short time, like I was. Well worth the bus ride out!

An El Greco in El Escorial

"There is no one who lives forever, for the living know that they will die."

Crypt of Spanish kings and queen mothers

This view is bae.

Spanish royal palace...I wonder if the ever-stylish Queen Letizia was there?

Colors of Madrid.

A glass of vino tinto and my ticket for tango! (For video, check my Insta: lazeez90)

Monday morning, while Aly had class, I walked over to Parque del Retiro and just as I was about to cross the street, I noticed I'd accidentally stumbled onto Museo Reina Sofía. What a happy accident: MRS has one of Picasso's most famous paintings, El Guernica (no pics allowed, sorry guys :/ ) as well as tons of great pieces from Miró, Dalí, Man Ray, et cetera. There were some really awesome surrealist paintings there, some of the best I've ever seen. Highly recommended.

Some Spanish christmas cookie-treat thingies I picked up on my way there!

Miró

Dalí

Picasso

Churros, yo.

Parque del Retiro

Also I got to take a pic with this giant stormtrooper helmet outside of the museum. #winning.

The people of Madrid were super nice, and would chat with me in Spanish even though I'm at beginner/intermediate status. I had a wonderful second visit to Spain (see post about Barcelona here), and I hope to volver soon!