Me and my Cowboy

It went swimmingly well, given the fact that Boyfriend grew up in the country and can speak countryfolk talk, but while at the rodeo, I picked up some kind of tummy bug and was under the weather for a couple of days.

After wallowing in misery, yesterday I decided that what I really needed was one of my all-time favorite feel better foods: Pho.

Just looking at this bowl warms the cockles of my heart.

Pho, pronounced “fuh,” is a Vietnamese dish typically featuring boiling-hot beef broth, rice noodles, and thinly sliced raw beef. Garnishes include basil, Thai basil, mint, cilantro, bean sprouts, green onions, and a variety of crunchy and salty bits. There are tons of different types of pho, ranging from tripe, chicken, and seafood, to pork and tofu.

I’d never made pho from scratch before, and given that Boyfriend loves cooking as much as I do (and is a student and therefore home to take care of me on my day off), we decided a trip to the Asian market and an afternoon of pho-making was just what the doctor ordered.

I love shopping at Asian markets

Asian markets are so cool – so many products I’ve never heard of, or even considered eating, presented in brightly colored packages that remind me of psychadelic candy. Even the sugar aisle is awesome:

Which sugar do I pick??

Way more fun than the boring sugar aisle at HEB.

Anyways, back to the pho: to start the dish, you make a beef broth, first parboiling beef bones, and then simmering them with some charred onions and ginger, along with a variety of spices. The recipe I used came highly recommended from Steamy Kitchen, and when followed properly (I forgot the salt for the first 3 hours of cooking…) yields delicious results.

Parboiled beef bones, being rinsed.

Charred onions and ginger

Some interesting spices: see below

The spices incorporated in pho broth are fascinating: star anise (looks like a starfish), coriander seeds (little round ones), fennel seeds (oval pointy ones), a cardamom pod (looks like a peach pit), a stick of cinnamon, and a chunk of…rock sugar! Yellow rock sugar! How random!?

Other ingredients:

Fish sauce

This stuff smells DISGUSTING but adds a tremendously complex flavor.

So there’s charring, boiling, and then? Pouring!

Immediately after this photo I have one of Matt after burning himself with the boiling broth. Yes, we are a match made in burny-hand heaven.

Finally? At long last?

We eats it!!!

Don’t worry…Mater got some nibblies too.

Ha. Such a cutie.

So. How long did it take us to make the pho? About six hours, all told. How long did it take us to eat the pho? Twelve minutes.

Go phorth and pho. It’s phonomenal. Pho sure.

1. Work is going swimmingly. I flambé items on a regular basis and have yet to light anyone on fire.

2. Cupcake has a boyfriend. More on that one later.

3. Boyfriend comes from a long line of creative types who work with their hands, and guess what? He cooks, y’all. Well.

So, excitement of the week: Boyfriend and I are shopping with his mom for supplies to make wine charms, and Boyfriend found these for me:

Adorable, right?!? They match my cupcake erasers from Friend of the blog Rob, which i received in the mail a few weeks ago. We like Boyfriend. And Boyfriend’s mom, who will be providing the charm tools.

The class itself comprised some 45 Fort Worth natives, myself, and friend Jessica. Held at the Fort Worth Central Market, I had initially pictured the class to involve receiving a bit of lecture, while simultaneously actually getting to prepare one or two dishes. Unfortunately for me, this was not the case, with the class maintaining a lecture format and only David doing any of the cooking.

Strike two was our seating conundrum. Heads up, if you are going to attend any sort of Central Market class, be sure to arrive VERY early…AND be sure to immediately go register. Jessica and I arrived about an hour early, but did not immediately go upstairs. Foolishly, we thought we had time to eat dinner in the café before going up ten minutes before the start time, and we literally ended up in the very last row.

Luckily, though, strike three never came, as from the moment I saw David walk out in a black button-down, trendy dark jeans, and a chef’s apron (waist-down), my mind became a single-focus recorder of every movement (“did he just whip the egg whites for that soufflé by HAND?! Yes. He did. ZOMG.”), tip (here’s one: flatter grapefruit, as opposed to spherical ones, taste better), and recipe (“was that pure chocolate? Or did he add cream??”).

Y’all…this man is awesome. He whipped out such nibbles as the floating island (a very traditional French café dessert featuring a wedge of baked yet tender meringue laid in a sumptuous pool of ice cold crème anglaise) topped with a drizzle of blood orange caramel and candied almonds, and a delicately spiced hot chocolate cake that had the consistency of a just-solid lava cake, with a hint of Mexican spice to it (shhh – it’s ancho chile powder, but trust me, it tastes nothing like chile).

He regaled us with stories of his quest for French citizenship (evidently it helps if you’re a good-looking female) which has thus far been denied, and answered questions about the various desserts he prepared. And best of all? I got to talk to him after the class was over! Jessica and I waited in line to get his autograph on our cookbooks, so of course when it was my turn, the conversation went like this:

Lisa (barely waiting for the woman in front of her to shut up and pick up her autographed copy of The Sweet Life in Paris, which you should go buy): [bounces] “Hi!!!!!! I’m Lisa!!! You know, I quit my job after reading your post on why not to be a chef?!?!!! I want to go to pastry school in Paris!!! I’m Lisa!!!”

…[Jessica covers face with hands]…

At which point his eyebrows raised, he looked speechless for a moment, then subtly tried to warn me about my chosen path to insanity…

David: “Um…well…you might be better off going to school here…do you speak French?”

Me: “Oh, yes!!!”

David, unconvinced: “Oh. You know, I once had a friend who worked for a baker in Paris. She quit because he kept making her work really heavy batches of dough, and once he told her her blouse made her look delicious.”

Lisa (with exactly three months of experience AS A WAITER): “Oh yes, I know, working in a kitchen you have to be ready for anything!!!!”

David: “Yeah…well, the chef was also a retired fashion designer who didn’t speak very good English, so I think he was actually trying to be complimentary. Anyway, you should be fine. By the way, the recipe on the cover of this book [Ready for Dessert]? You should leave the frosting at room temperature. They cut that line out, I don’t know why.”

Lisa: “OK!!! I will!!!”

…David signs Lisa’s book and hands it back to her…

…awkward silence…

Lisa (gestures toward Jessica, and her copy of the Perfect Scoop): “Oh, you can keep talking while you sign hers!!! We’re together!!! She’s Jessica!!!!!!!!!!”

End scene.

Awesome, peeps. Awesome. I NEVER get starstruck, y’all. Never.

So, on that note, time to go have dinner with my family and dream of David’s cooking. Had a blast. Thanks again, Jessica* at Fudgebudget, for drawing my attention to the proximity of David Lebovitz to myself. Made my 2011!

Note: There are two Jessicas in this story, one of whom (Jessica at Fudgebudget) does not live in Texas, and was thusly not the Jessica who was humiliated by my gushing at David Lebovitz. Jessica at Fudgebudget would probably be too busy with hero worship of her own to be affected by my ramblings of ridiculous, but who knows.

Good thing the iPhone has a decent zoom!

Mission. Accomplished.

This, dear readers, is caramelized French toast. Caramelized, naturally, by way of:

Buttah. Lots. And lots. Of buttah.

(Sorry, y’all, I watched Divine Secrets of the Yaya Sisterhood last night)

This recipe is smashing, folks, with a hint of nutmeg, cinnamon, and as previously mentioned, it is caramelized in oodles of brown sugar butter.

The bread I used wasn’t French, but it was tasty and full of hearty grains and nuts. In any event, the toast came out crispy on the edges, caramelly in flavor, and absolutely delicious.

Recipe: recommended.

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Caramelized-French-Toast-with-Cinnamon-and-Berries-359230

Enjoy!

One of the things I find incredibly useful about the iPhone is its ability to look up recipes instantly. I have an app or two downloaded for this purpose, plus the general awesomeness of Safari at viewing mobile versions of my favorite websites (does this sound like a loveletter to Steve Jobs yet?) means I can find macarons at midnight, eggnog on Christmas Eve, and, in this case, Crab and Mint Risotto with Peas while I’m in the process of shopping at Whole Foods with my best friend since childhood, Merideth!

Risotto deliciousness

I found the website through my Epicurious app, and Merideth thought it sounded phenomenal (and so did I), so voilà!

I also thought I’d put the iPhone through its picture paces, to see how it did with lower lighting and bright colors.

iPhone loves ya, Mer!

One thing I’ve found is that the WordPress app on iPhone only allows you to put one picture at a time into a post. So I’m editing this post on my laptop, unfortunately. But that’s probably my only complaint.

Pretty!

The photos are a touch blurry, but I could get a better quality image if I chose to keep a higher file size (higher resolution, higher size).

Anyway, back to the risotto – the recipe was pretty good, with some bright flavors from the lemon zest and mint, and a creamy finish from the parmigiano reggiano. The crab was a little strong at first, but once we gave the dish enough time to meld, it was superb.

Such pretty colors!

Can I just say for a moment how awesome it is that A. Merideth and I are still such good friends after (ahem) 22 years of friendship, B. Merideth and her parents enjoy things like crabmeat and mint risotto with peas, and C. Merideth and her parents chose to celebrate their wedding anniversary with me!

Happy Anniversary, Merideth Parents!

To complement the meal, Merideth’s mom put together a beautiful Christmas tablescape:

I learned the word Tablescape from watching Semi-Homemade Cooking with Sandra Lee

And our lovely placesettings:

Merideth's mom has such an artistic eye. I love it!

And finally, this post would not be complete without…

dessert!

Merideth made ginger cookies. (OK, technically Williams Sonoma made them, but Merideth baked and decorated them!)

Delicious! And fun. I’m so glad I have such wonderful friends and family, now at the holidays, and always.

A cupcake apron!
And a cupcake ornament and a ceramic cupcake candle and some pinch
bowls and…some gingerbread people made of rice krispies (by my
cousin) and another cupcake ornament and…they love me. Merry
Christmas!!!

“The Snap of Citrus in Desserts” – a cooking class taught by DAVID LEBOVITZ in TEXAS!!!

AAaaaaaaAAAAAaaaaaaAAAAAAAaaaaaaagh!

I am SO excited I am literally vibrating in my chair! Wait, wait, wait. Who is David Lebovitz, you ask? [while exposing yourself as NOT an obsessive fan of my blog?]

Well, he’s this ice cream guy, the guy who introduced me to macarons, the brainchild behind my giving post, my source for those maple creams I just could not seem to fix,  and gougères, baby, gougères.

Not to mention he’s actually this super famous pastry chef and author, with such phenomenal recipes as his butterscotch pudding, which I made last week:

Butterscotch pudding

and Chocolate Idiot Cake, and salted butter caramel ice cream, and… oh! and did I mention he lives in Paris??

Ladies and gentlemen, this man has the life I want. He lives in an adorable flat with roof access in Paris, with a hot Frenchman, and he writes about and generates pastries for. a. living.

And now, at long last, I can see him IN ACTION and IN PERSON!!! I’m so excited I’m so excited I’m so excited I’m so excited…

!!!

So, what does this mean for you? HELLO! Pictures! And possibly recipes. And jealousy. Ha!

UPDATED

Here is the menu for the class:

• Meyer Lemon-Buttermilk Ice Cream Sandwiches with Nonfat Gingersnaps;
• Spiced Hot Chocolate Cakes with Caramelized White Chocolate, Candied Tangerines & Dark Chocolate Shards;
• Goat Cheese Soufflés with Mixed Citrus Compote in Sparkling Champagne & Yuzu Jelly;
• and Tangerine Floating Island with Blood Orange Caramel.

Did your head just explode? Cuz mine did.

HECK YES.

(Patio outside work)

What, then, people?!

I’m awesome.*

*While this statement is objectively true, on this instance, my parents are the awesome ones. But I am too by association. And I’m the one iPhone-posting…so I still win.