So, I have been busy lately celebrating me getting closer to my midlife crisis. The big guy picked me up in the office and took me to a fancy place for lunch. The kiddos drew colorful abstract paintings, wrapped it carefully with at least one roll of Christmas paper wrap and two rolls of tapes, and surprised mommy in the morning. To slam any attempt of reminding me of my old age, I ran 5K with my 5-yr-old on Sunday! Well, technically, we mostly walked. But the good intention counted!
Anyway, my hubby and I walked hands-in-hands to this fancy Italian place for lunch. It was a sunny day, so lots of people were out as well. The food was great. The sun and the cloud and the birds were awesome. After our waiter cleared the table, my hubby popped out a jewelry box (actually two boxes) and hopped to one knee.
Me (getting excited): Are we renewing our vowels?
Hubby: A… I….E…. U…. O…
(totally killed the mood!)
We then walked to Rare Sweets for dessert. Their cake selection was quite limited. Their cookies and sweet treats didn’t look too appetizing to me (Tout de Sweet was by far the best). But their olive oil ice cream and passion fruit-jalapeno sorbet are crazily addictive. I will definitely come back. Next challenge is to re-create their olive oil ice-cream. Please give me a shout if you have a good recipe to recommend. Thank you!
Here is the over-due recipe for chouquettes (or sugar puffs). A few weeks back, I had a afternoon tea party with my favorite ladies, and brought these sweet little puffy treats. The ladies loved them and I promised to send the recipe right away. Little did they know that my concept of time was quite different.
Chouquette (sugar puffs)
(Make about 30 mini puffs, or 20 big ones)
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen
250ml water
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbs sugar
6 tbs unsalted butter
135g all-purpose flour (finely sifted)
4 eggs
1 egg yolk + 1 tsp milk to glaze (optional)
Pearl sugar, or coarse sugar, or mini chocolate chip for topping
- Preheat oven to 400F.
- Line 2 baking sheets with parchment papers or silpat.
- In a medium sauce pan, heat the water, salt, sugar, and butter until bubbles form and butter is melted.
- Remove the pot from the heat heat and stir in all the flour.
- Use a spatula or wooden spoon, mix vigorously until the mixture forms a smooth ball and pulls away from the sides of the pan.
- Allow the dough cool slightly (about 5 mins), then add one egg at a time, mix until the dough is smooth and shiny.
- Use a spoon, or a piping bag fitted with a wide tip, form or pipe the dough into a walnut size (for mini-puffs) or a ping-pong size (for a super big puffs) on the lined baking sheet.
- Optional: Brush the top with some of the egg glaze.
- Press toppings (pearl sugar, coarse sugar, mini chocolate chips) over the top and the sides of the dough.
- Bake for about 20 minutes, or until puffed and well-bronzed.
Nga's cuisine 