big news and bbq

sorry for the lack of updates, but july was a total whirlwind of events: bling, brides, babies, and bareilles.

after a fairly mellow 4th of july, i went up to montreal with sean for what i thought was some low-key hang time. little did i know i was in for a BIG surprise. after a couple days of chilling in the apartment, we planned a day trip to mont-tremblant (during the summer the ski slopes give way to some pretty good hiking trails). we couldn't have asked for a nicer day, sun shining and puffy white clouds in the blue, blue sky. we took the gondola up to the summit and chose an easy trail for our hike. i, of course, stopped way too many times along the way to take pictures of nature. i mean, how can i resist all those wildflowers? AND mini wild strawberries, butterflies, mossy trees, and amazing views! (i also couldn't help making mini bouquets out of the wildflowers--foreshadowing?)

we took a couple small breaks for snacks and water, and on our last one sean completely surprised me by PROPOSING! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!! the whole thing is still kind of a blur but in the best way~ seriously, best. hike. ever. :)

that evening we celebrated with a nice dinner at le grain de sel:
* a glass of rosé for me, a glass of red for sean
* assorted spreads and toppings for bread
* amuse of onion confit crostini
* watercress salad with radishes and baby turnips
* mushroom ravioli
* beef tartare with housemade slaw and chips
* dessert: paris brest

we didn't have much time to keep the celebrating to ourselves since the next three weekends were booked solid with two weddings, a baby shower, and the sara bareilles concert.

[12 july] first up was tim and stacey's mountaintop, fancy farm-style wedding in massachusetts: major happy tears during the ceremony AND speeches, panorama photo fun, bbq, and bonfires. th116 + llc = <3

[19 july] the following saturday was vida's baby shower in white plains. it was a beautifully planned party with adorable decorations that showcased the pastel circus theme. and let's not forget all the cute babies in attendance; i finally got to meet little dylan!

[20 july] that sunday started with boozy brunch with the ladies of book club (minus the book) at macondo in the lower east side: unlimited mimosas, guacamole, huevos rancheros, and crema de panela. later that evening jade and i went to the sara bareilles concert. this was part of her little black dress tour, and WOW can she put on a show! i had no idea what a great live performer she is. totally worth riding a super slow F train back to brooklyn at midnight.

[27 july] the last weekend of this jam-packed july was dean and rachel's wedding in maine: an outdoor ceremony overlooking a lake, brunch cocktails, huge rainstorm just as we went inside for the reception (talk about good timing!), and lots of parental boogying.

heading into august and the final weeks of summer, we still had/have a few opportunities to celebrate our engagement. sean made a quick visit the first weekend, and we planned a dinner with both our families...a peecharelli dinner, if you will. since we'd all be coming from different locations, we decided to do dinner in the city and picked crispo in the west village. they set us up with our own dining alcove which kept things more intimate and let abby have her own corner to play--totally great. bottles of wine, apps to share (pass the arancini, please!), pastas, veal, seafood, desserts...YUM! not to mention wonderful company. a good time had by all (i hope :P)

the next weekend was my mom's annual bbq! as with every year, she takes care of the meats (chicken satay and korean short ribs) while i focus on side dishes and desserts. this year i chose to do:

* israeli couscous with scallions, sugar snaps, persian cucumbers, and feta

* chopped spinach and strawberry salad with romaine, celery, sugar snaps, bacon (just a little), toasted pecans, and goat cheese

* balsamic marinated grilled zucchini

* ricotta crostini

  - grilled corn and zucchini ribbons

  - basil pesto and baby heirloom tomatoes

* sweet and spicy pork and pineapple kebabs (a total hit!)

i knew leslie would be bringing a cake, so i kept the desserts basic:

* lemon bars (two batches)

* peanut butter rice krispies

* "brookies" (brownie + chocolate chip cookie mash up inspired by baked's brookster)

even though sean wasn't able to join us, there were lots of congratulations and wedding talk all around and even a cake shout out!

the whole day was wonderful. the weather was ideal for barbecuing--sunny but cool--kavin manned the grill and i the kitchen, both with the help of our aunt.
there was an abundance of delicious food: betty brought a thousand bags of assorted chips; aurora brought the hot dogs; auntie nid brought some authentic pad thai; ellen carved her intricate fruit bowl. all this food meant all day eating...and what we couldn't finish were leftovers for the rest of the week, hah. i think we made a pretty sizable dent and only had a light selection of leftovers. two things that weren't left, though, were the pork and pineapple kebabs and the brookies. both were new recipes from serious eats (clearly my favorite recipe source) and did not disappoint. the kebabs were incredibly flavorful, seasoned with an excellent spice rub and slathered with a sweet and spicy glaze, and the pairing of grilled pineapple brought out a caramel, smokey flavor. mmm mmm. as for the brookies, how could you go wrong with baking a chocolate chip cookie into a brownie? come on! double whammy of baked goodness. you better believe i'm making these again; same goes for the kebabs, but those might have to wait 'til the next barbecue seeing as i'd need a grill... so for now i'll just focus on the sweets ;)

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:: sweet and spicy pork and pineapple kebabs ::
(recipe from serious eats)
serves 4-6

NOTE: i doubled this for the bbq but probably could have at least tripled. kavin did the grilling, and he mentioned the first few were in too much direct heat which caused them to char, so keep an eye out on the grill heat.

for the brined pork chops:
2 quarts ice cold water
1/3 cup kosher salt
1/4 cup sugar
2 pounds (1 1/2-inch thick) center-cut pork chops

for the rub:
1 tablespoon paprika
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder (*i subbed fresh minced garlic)
1/2 teaspoon onion powder (*i didn't have any but seemed fine without)
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

for the glaze:
1/2 cup apricot preserves
1/4 cup honey
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 tablespoon finely chopped chipotle chiles in adobo

1/2 pineapple, peeled, cored, and cut into 1 1/2-inch cubes
wooden skewers, soaked in water for at least 30 minutes prior to use

for the brined pork chops: in a large bowl, whisk together water, salt, and sugar until solids are dissolved. place pork chops in brine and refrigerate for 30-60 minutes.

for the rub: in a small bowl, mix together paprika, salt, black pepper, sugar, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and cumin. set aside.

to make the glaze: in a small saucepan, whisk together apricot preserves, honey, mustard, soy sauce, vinegar, and chipotle chiles. bring to a boil over medium-high heat. reduce heat to low and simmer until slightly thickened, 5-10 minutes. remove from heat and set aside.

remove pork chops from brine and pat dry with paper towels. cut pork into 1 1/2-inch cubes, trimming any large pieces of excess fat. coat pork cubes liberally with spice rub.

thread pork onto skewers, alternating with pineapple cubes. (*i would suggest having the tip of the skewer be pork since it'll be closer to the heat.)

grill skewers over direct heat until pork is well seared on all sides, about 3 minutes per side. move skewers to cool side of grill and brush with glaze all over. cover grill and continue to cook until center of pork registers 140-145°F on an instant-read thermometer, about 5 minutes longer. transfer skewers to a serving tray and let rest for 5 minutes. serve immediately.

:: brookies ::
(recipe from serious eats)
makes about 2 dozen mini muffin sized cookies

for chocolate chip cookies
1 cup plus two tablespoons all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
1/2 cup chocolate chips

for brownies
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt

adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat oven to 350F. butter and flour muffin tin.

make cookie dough: in a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt. set aside.

in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together butter, sugar, and brown sugar until fluffy, about 4 minutes. beat in vanilla and egg. beat in dry ingredients until just combined. stir in chocolate chips. cover bowl with plastic wrap and place in the fridge while you make the brownie batter.

make brownie batter: melt butter and chocolate and let cool slightly.

in a medium bowl, combine melted butter mixture and sugar and whisk to combine. whisk in egg, followed by flour and salt.

to assemble: drop brownie batter by the about 1/2 teaspoon into the mini muffin tin.

top each with a teaspoon of chocolate chip dough (you might have some left over).

place tin in oven and bake at 350F until cookies are golden, about 15 minutes. let cool and remove from tin.

it's healthy because it's fruit

i do not like warm fruit.

poached pears in a wine sauce? pass. thai-style fried bananas? nope. warm apple pie a la mode? sure, but make it a double scoop of ice cream and skip the pie. no crumbles or crostatas either. if the fruit is warm, count me out. (pineapple might be my only exception.) i am semi-okay with baked but cooled fruit desserts so long as it doesn't taste "warm."

so, given my dislike for baked fruit desserts it might be surprising that i even attempted joy the baker's triple berry cinnamon swirl bread.
this recipe was part of her summer baking bootcamp, where she invites readers to bake and post pics of the featured recipe. i didn't actually make it in time for the "deadline" but felt the need to try something new. plus, joy's pictures and post made everything look so approachable and delicious. i already had all the ingredients in my kitchen so it was kind of a no-brainer. the instructions were easy to follow, aside from my sloppy bread braid (everything sort of slid out and made a small mess), and the finished bread looked pretty enough... but, alas, my feelings for warm fruit prevailed. in fact, i think tasting cooked berries made them stronger. ::sigh:: i tried~ 
[NOTE: this has no bearing on the actual recipe from joy the baker--that was solid. give it a go if you like (warm) berries and cinnamon bread.]

okay, enough about what i don't like, let's talk about summertime frozen treats: popsicles and ice cream! i put my birthday gifts to the test and made some zoku pops and a batch of ample hills ice cream.

for the zoku pops, i played around with two flavor combos using white peaches. the first was strawberry and peach with a hint of lime. i wanted to keep the fruit pure so i just blended each and didn't add any sweeteners. the strawberry layer was fresh and tart, but the peach flavor was so faint it was almost nonexistent.

i still had a couple peaches left and decided to try cooking them down to reduce the water content and bring out the flavor. i added a bit of sugar and left the skin on the peaches which resulted in a rosy pink purée with a concentrated white peach flavor that was lightly sweet and floral. it's ironic how heat actually improved the fruit in this case--go figure. i mixed some of the purée into plain greek yogurt and layered it with pure purée. the layers were a little messy (haven't quite mastered filling the zoku pop maker...), and the greek yogurt froze harder and icier than expected, but overall the pops were just what i wanted: peachy and juicy.

with all the great fruit available during the summer it's hard to pass up basketfuls of bright red strawberries. the sweet smell of the berries is enough to entice me. as with most berries, i have a habit of stockpiling and then panicking when i can't eat them fast enough. fortunately my latest berry hoarding turned into deliciously creamy ice cream that reminded me of a really good strawberry milkshake. (mmm, milkshakes~)
this was the first recipe i tried from the ample hills cookbook and also the first strawberry ice cream recipe i've tried. it's funny how long it took me to make strawberry ice cream considering it was my childhood favorite--probably because haagen-dazs has sort of perfected the flavor. i was pretty pleased with how this came out, and because there weren't any eggs used there was no cooking involved (always nice when it's 90 degrees out with 85% humidity o.O). the only thing to note is that you have to prep the berries for 6-8 hours before combining them with the milk and cream. next time i would consider adding some strawberry chunks to really amp up the fruit flavor. plus, i like the occasional burst of frozen berry; it's like a mini treasure hunt, digging around for that surprise bite. but for now, i guess i'll have to make do with spoonfuls treasure-less but ultra creamy frozen strawberry deliciousness.

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:: ample hills creamery strawberries & cream ::
(recipe from ample hillls creamery)

1 pound (455g)fresh or frozen strawberries
1 1/4 cups (250g) organic cane sugar
1 1/2 cups (360ml) whole milk
3/4 cup (90g) skim milk powder
2 cups (480ml) heavy cream

1. place the strawberries in a medium bowl and sprinkle 1/2 cup (100g) of the sugar over them, tossing to coat them evenly. cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set aside for 6 to 8 hours. unwrap the bowl; you'll notice that the strawberries are now sitting in a pool of red, sugary water. drain the strawberries in a colander in the sink.
2. combine the milk, skim milk powder, remaining 3/4 cup (150g) sugar, and strawberries in a blender. puree until smooth.
3. pour the mixture into a bowl and add the cream. stir to combine. transfer the base to an ice cream maker and churn it according to the manufacturer's instructions.
4. transfer the ice cream to a storage container. serve immediately or harden in your freezer for 8 to 12 hours for a more scoopable ice cream.

brownies for my bro

a very happy father's day to my big brother!

kavin is by far the best guy i know. always there for any of us, supportive and encouraging with a sprinkling of tough love. incredibly generous with his time and full of heart, becoming a father has only made him better. it makes me smile to see him and abby together--love simply radiates.

kavin, i love you and wish you THE best father's day (and lots more to come)!

how about we have some good ol' fashioned brownies to celebrate~

in the past couple years i've been a little 'adventurous' in my baking, trying recipes that feature unusual spices and flavors or adding a little twist on the traditional. kavin, along with the rest of my family, has lovingly been my taste tester. he's had to put up with quite a lot of sweets with cardamom, earl grey, lavender, etc. so i think it's time to bring back the basics. brownies. no hidden black beans or avocado mixed in. no random swirl of caramel (although that might not be a bad idea...). not even walnuts. just chocolate fudgy brownies.

i chose this recipe for its simplicity and because joy the baker is my go-to for most things baked. these brownies were super easy to make and left my apartment smelling like chocolate. (jealous?)

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::joy the baker's chocolate fudge brownies::
(recipe from joy the baker cookbook)
makes one 8-inch pan

3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
3 ounces unsweetened chocolate
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 large egg yolk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

place a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. grease and flour an 8-inch-square baking dish and set aside.

in a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. set aside.

bring about 2 inches of water to a boil in a medium saucepan. in a medium, heatproof bowl, add butter and unsweetened chocolate. place the bowl over, but not touching, the simmering water and allow to melt. stir to incorporate. once melted, remove the bowl from the simmering pot. whisk in brown and granulated sugars. whisk in eggs, yolk, and vanilla. add the flour mixture, all at once, to the chocolate mixture. fold together with a spatula until well incorporated. fold in chocolate chips.

pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 25 to 30 minutes. bake until a skewer inserted in the center of the brownie comes out clean. remove from the oven and cool completely before frosting.
brownies last, well wrapped, at room temperature for up to 5 days.

*note: the original recipe is for frosted brownies, but i left mine unfrosted

time to party...plan

abby's officially one year old! this calls for a big birthday bash!

kavin and jade took care of the venue + food and entertainment, so it left me to figure out decorations, goodie bags (for kiddos only), and anything else i felt like doing ;)

starting with decorations, i kept them to a minimum with two abby-centric displays: one infographic poster and one with month-by-month photos.

i perused pinterest to find inspiration for the infographic and found some helpful diy tips and examples, but the real challenge was designing it myself. i have zero experience using photoshop or the like so it took some time and lots of tinkering to get the poster just right. i used a free photo editor called gimp and downloaded a BUNCH of fonts to play around with (mostly from dafont). once i finished creating the poster, i had it printed at costco as a 20x30" lustre print and mounted it to foam poster board. for my first time playing with a photo editor, i was pretty happy with the result. i think the hardest part was actually picking all the different fonts to use and which of abby's 'loves' to highlight.

next, i enlisted jade to narrow down thousands of abby pictures to just twelve to use for the monthly photos. this was not an easy task, but after a few nights of scrolling through pictures and a final vote, we had our top picks. i used card stock in varying hues of purple and assorted decorative paper to mount and frame each 5x7" print. (only after i laid out the pictures in order did i realize that each row and column never repeated colors or patterns; it was like an accidental craft sudoku!) instead of creating a poster board, i decided to attach ribbons to the photos and hang them in a grid, which i felt was more visually appealing. (looking back, i probably should have included numbers to indicate each month, but even without them everyone seemed to enjoy seeing all the pictures.)

on to the goodie bags. we expected 23 kiddos, ranging from 3 months to 11 years old. i decided early on that i'd bake treats for all and vary the non-edible favors based on age. the general dividing age was 3 years old with some exceptions for the oldest and youngest. i picked up some simple chalkboard-labeled gift bags that i personalized with each kid's name and filled them with an assortment of toys from target, party city, and homegoods:
  * mini bottles of bubbles (wrapped with tissue paper to look like purple flowers)
  * play doh
  * glitter bouncy balls
  * fun-shaped mini erasers
  * 'very hungry caterpillar' jumbo crayons
  * squirty bath/water toys (for the under-3's)
  * mini 'feelings' board books (for the under-3's)

last to go in the bags were the edible treats, which i baked and packaged the day before:
* italian rainbow cookies (in shades of purple instead of the usual red and green)
* bite-sized rice krispie treats
* brown butter chocolate chip cookies
* oatmeal raisin cookies
i packed the rainbow cookies and rice krispies in dixie cups turned mini treat boxes and the cookies in clear bags with purple fuzzy twist ties shaped into tiny hearts. (i brought the leftover goodies to kavin and jade and got their mmm's of approval.)

now, what kind of birthday party would it be without cake?? thankfully, i was only in charge of abby's personal smash cake. since there were going to be close to a hundred guests, kavin let costco provide the birthday cakes for everyone else (two sheet cakes: one chocolate, one vanilla, to which i added a couple homemade cake toppers--gotta keep things pretty and on-theme :P).

::phew:: i don't think i'm quite up for baking cakes to feed 100...a mini 6" cake, though? i'm down. i knew exactly what i'd make for abby: a purple ombre vanilla cake with vanilla buttercream.
i baked a test version of the cake a week before to see how the colors would turn out and made slight adjustments for the final cake. (i had some reservations about using food coloring, but i figured in small doses it's okay...) i wanted distinct yet well-transitioned layers and kept the buttercream plain. i completed the cake with a small cluster of tiny purple flowers and a personalized cake topper.

when it came time for abby smash, we got more of a 'pat the cake and have grandma wipe my hand clean' moment. she's such a little lady :) took a few more pats and pokes before we decided to just feed her some cake directly, haha. from the looks of it, she seemed to enjoy it. success! baby's first cake~

after weeks of putting together all the details, the party was a major hit. the food was tasty, and katie balloons was beyond awesome. i hope all the kiddos liked their goodie bags and that everyone got to check out the poster and pictures. the smash cake was so pretty i'm secretly glad abby didn't smash it. but most importantly, we got to celebrate my favorite little being: miss abby peechaphand!

happy 1st birthday, abby!

can you believe it's been a year since this happened???

in just twelve months, abby has grown into the most lovable, sweetest, happiest, silliest little person. did i mention super adorable, active, and smart too? ::proud aunt moment::

i can't wait to see what every day, week, month, year brings with this girl. she's truly the best~

happy birthday, abby, i love you!

mother's day bonus: mini pretzel dogs

when i was still planning the menu for brunch, i casually mentioned pretzel dogs to jade, and she enthusiastically responded with, "yes, hot dog anything." haha. so, as a special treat to our newest mom, i baked up some mini pretzel dogs as a bonus mother's day snack.

i had been meaning to try this recipe ever since joy the baker posted it. i never got around to it because yeasted doughs intimidate me, and i never had a 'reason' to make 16 mini pretzel dogs. so finally i had a reason. i only had to figure out the timing/baking since i knew i wouldn't be able to get it all done at my mom's. luckily at the end of joy's post, she mentioned that the dogs could be stored in the fridge/freezer and reheated--granted they wouldn't be as good as fresh out of the oven (most things aren't).

the whole process of making the dough went surprisingly well. the dough came together all smooth and elastic and rose just like it should have. phew~ i portioned it out into 16 little balls and began rolling them into ropes to wrap around the hot dogs. as i made my way through the dough and dogs, i discovered that the pack of dogs i got only had SEVEN, instead of the expected eight. hmph, thanks a lot, hebrew national. once i was certain i didn't accidentally lose a hot dog, i made the last two dough balls into mini twisty pretzels.

with all the hot dogs wrapped up, into the baking soda boiling water they went. the baking soda is what gives the pretzel their distinct shell and chew. after a quick dip in the water, an egg wash, a sprinkling of salt and pepper, and some time in the oven, the pretzel dogs were ready to eat. they had the perfect brown pretzel shell but were still nice and soft inside. yay! they came out great :) and were relatively easy. my worries about working with yeast were put to rest, and reheating the pretzel dogs later worked just fine (but definitely better fresh from the oven).

hot dogs wrapped in pretzel dough--seriously, where can you go wrong?

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:: mini pretzel dogs ::
(recipe from joy the baker)
makes 16 pretzel dogs (made from cutting hot dogs in half)

1 ½ cups warm water (between 110 and 115 degrees F)
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
2 ¼ teaspoons (1 package) active dry yeast
22 ounces all-purpose flour (about 4 1/2 cups)
2 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled
about 14 cups of water
1 cup baking soda
1 large egg, beaten, with a splash of water
salt and pepper for topping

in the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, combine warm water and sugar. sprinkle the yeast on top of the water and set aside for 5 minutes. the mixture will begin to foam and froth. if it doesn’t, throw the mixture away and start again with new yeast.

once the yeast and water is frothy, add the flour, salt, and melted butter. using the dough hook, mix on low speed until well combined. increase the speed to medium and knead the dough until it is smooth and pulls away from the side of the bowl, creating a ball of dough around the dough hook. beat on medium speed for approximately 4 minutes.

remove the dough from the bowl. the dough will be soft, pliable, and just a bit sticky. that’s perfect. scrape any residue out of the bowl and coat the bowl with a bit of vegetable oil. place the dough back in the bowl, sprinkle with flour, cover with plastic wrap, and store in a warm place to rise. allow dough to rise, until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

place baking racks in the center and upper third of the oven. preheat oven to 425 degrees F. line two baking sheets with parchment paper, and lightly brush the paper with oil. it’s important to brush the parchment paper or the pretzels will stick!

combine water and baking soda in a large pan (8 quart is fine) saucepan and bring to a boil.

while the water comes to a boil, turn the dough out onto a clean, slightly oiled work surface. divide dough into 8 or 16 pieces, depending on how large you’d like your pretzel dogs. 8 pieces of dough for whole hot dogs. 16 pieces of dough if you’re doing to slice the hot dogs in half.

start with the fingers of both hands in the center of the dough, and roll, moving your hands outward as you roll. roll the dough along the oiled surface until you have about a 24-inch or 12-inch piece of rope (depending on how large your piece of dough was...the more dough the longer the rope).

wrap pretzel around a hot dog, making sure to seal the ends.

when water has come to a boil, gently lower a few pretzel dogs into the boiling water. boil for 30 seconds. remove carefully, using a flat, slotted spatula. place on prepared baking sheet. brush boiled pretzels with beaten egg, and add coarse sea salt and fresh cracked black pepper.

bake until deeply golden brown, about 12 to 14 minutes. transfer to a cooling rack for a few minutes before serving warm.

soft pretzels are best enjoyed the day they are made.


if you’re not going to enjoy all your pretzel dogs, double wrap them in plastic wrap and store in the freezer. when ready to serve, transfer out of plastic and into a piece of foil. wrap well and bake in a 350 degree oven for 12 minutes, or until heated through.