Dark Chocolate: Healthy?

Recently after reading a Lancet editorial that more or less bursts the chocolate bubble stating dark chocolate’s fat and sugar content may counteract the benefits provided by flavanols. (chocolate bars ARE fatty and bad for you…shocking!) It also points out the fact that many manufacturers process their chocolate [...]

Tackling Yeast: Two Bread Recipes

In the past when I’ve tried a yeast recipe, I’ve found myself lacking the patience to let things rise or some accident left the yeast a little…ummm….dead, like horrible yeast massacre dead. One time the water was too warm, another setting the dough left to rise by an over enthusiastic radiator precooked half of it. [...]

Happy Holidays!

I REAAAALLY wanted my own tree this year. But given the fact that I wasn’t really willing to haul it up to my apartment and then haul it down to dispose of it, I opted for a more utilitarian approach. Instead I bought a rosemary mini tree. After the season is [...]

Chocolate Raspberry Pavlova

For me one of the best parts of the holiday season is the desserts; and few desserts can top a fluffy rich pavlova. This recipe is from one of my favorite cookbooks Nigella Lawson’s Forever Summer. The pavlova is flavored with cocoa and bittersweet chocolate chips, topped with a generous pile of raspberries and sweet [...]

Porcini Mushroom Risotto with Truffle Butter

I had a hankering for risotto and just bought dried porcinis and truffle butter for a steal. With an old bottle of Muscadet in the fridge, it seemed all the ingredients were ready and waiting to be cooked. The results were exactly what I was itching for. Each rice grain was tender with a [...]

Vosges Chocolates

Featuring an ever widening range of unique chocolate combinations, Vosges is the ultimate in tastebud experimentation. I’m proud to say that the company started in Chicago and since has exploded on the international scene. I recently snagged a box of truffles and each round morsel was a surprise. You might not find [...]

Singapore: Hawker Centers

Home of some of the best foods Singapore has to offer hawker centers are basically food courts that can be outdoor covered areas or within shopping malls. Each features a vast array of cheap eats. The tiny nation is dotted with these eateries and thanks to its famously hygienic government they are very clean too. [...]

NYC Moment: Max Brenner’s Chocolate Experience

This past weekend I made a short trip to NYC. It was a brisk chilly afternoon and walking around without a scarf seemed suddenly like a horrible mistake. Luckily as I climbed my way out of the Union Square subway entrance, there was the looming figure of Max Brenner’s Chocolate Shop. As [...]

Leftover Beer Bread Pudding

 
Although many of my friends do not believe that a bottle should be left unmanned until empty (a certain friend of mine has a strict No Booze Left Behind policy), I often find my fridge occupied by opened unempty bottles that tend to linger. Alas, my fridge door as well as [...]