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The interweb's bulletin board for the husband of a pastry chef. Everyone credits the much deserved women behind every great man, so what do you do when the woman is making all the headlines? For me, I'm gonna share the secrets and rumors about one of San Francisco's rising stars, Jennifer Kenny Nguyen, former Pastry Chef of Salt House and Belden Taverna Restaurants. |
Breaking news everyone. Jen has left Salt House Restaurant for new endeavors. She will be spending time with family and traveling for a while before returning to the culinary world, but look out when she does because she will come out blazing once again.
The folks at Salt House sent her off on her last day today with a very nice bottle of 1997 vintage Laurant Perrier Champagne. She will miss many who made her days bright.
I just read this funny article entitled "The Calculus of Saying 'I Love You'" by Anna Gosline. In the article, she supposes that women should never date a man who knows more math than them, but as a happily married man with a math degree from UC Berkeley, I'm a bit perturbed by this.
The article is based on a statement the boyfriend of the author's friend made stating he would say he loved her when dLove/dt = zero. The author and her friend went into length and even have graphs to ultimately prove that the the boyfriend's statement is misguided. They even suggest a better solution to the problem. Kudos to you girls!
However, this is where my beef with the author's supposition lies. By fact that the author and her friend had to go through so much work to debunk the boyfriend's statement and come up with another solution is evidence that said boyfriend is, in fact, less smarter than the girls in math and does not necessarily know more math than the girls. If he were to know more math than his girlfriend, he should have come up with the better solution proposed by the girls in the first place. Thus, the girlfriend would be better off dating a man who knows more math than her in the first place if she were to save herself all this grief and research to point out the boyfriend's original error. Therefore, the author's supposition is incorrect; women should always date men who know more math than them.
FYI, Jen put out a new dessert on Oct. 12, replacing the much loved Basque Cake. It's called the Quince Upside Down Cake with Chamomile Creme Anglaise. The cake has a layer of housemade membrillo and fresh quince on top of a buttery vanilla cake. There is also poached quince carpaccio on the plate. From what I have heard... sales of this dessert are off the charts. Get your taste before all the quince are gone.
Just a little note from a customer. The post-it note came from the co-worker who delivered it.
I've been meaning to share this one for quite a while now, but sometime on Friday, September 14, 2007, a customer sent Jen's menu back with a little addition.
The funny part about this all was that no one working at Salt House understood what Creme frites were. Apparently, Jen has a loyal following, maybe someone should take notice.
So I'm dying... well, maybe, kinda. I guess everyone is dying albeit just very slowly. Anyways, as some of you might know I have a condition that requires me to get regular blood tests every 3 months. (I'm still kinda touchy about being so open with this info to all of the world, but if you must know, you'll have to talk to me directly.) Nothing really freaky or anything but a preventative measure. My last blood test showed showed an abnormality that triggered a string of other events that included an ultrasound, more blood tests, and as the title suggests, a CAT scan.
As a tech guy, I thought all this medical gadgetry was pretty awesome except that it had to be used on me. And that kinda freaked me out, a lot.
Needles don't bother me much, but the two bottles of barium that I had to drink before the test made me nervous. I found out that they use that stuff as a radiocontrast agent for X-ray imaging and other things like green colored light in fireworks, brake linings, acoustic foams and powder coatings. Mmm.... brake lining for breakfast and dessert. My doctor ordered the CAT scan to check my organs for signs of inflammation. Maybe my drinking days have caught up to me, oh my. (Those who know how much of a cheap date I am better have laughed.)
When I got to my appointment, I had already ran to three Kaiser buildings to find the place. The Kaiser campus in SF is kinda confusing without a map of which services are where. My wait was brief after a quick registration where I acknowledged that I'd be bombarded with X-rays that are potentially harmful to my body. A pleasant nurse soon ushered me to the CAT Scan room that was quite large to house the machine you see above. I was ordered to drop my pants and put on a gown before being led to the CAT bed. There is hooked up to a barium IV that the nursed warned me of a few side affects including a feeling of warmth through my body, a metallic taste on my tongue, and the sensation that I wet myself. The last one made me snicker a little. The whole procedure was fairly quick with 6 passes taking about 10 minutes long. Each pass consisted of me holding my breath while my body was fed into the ring of the scanner. The ring is a track for a X-ray gun and detector to spin around as the body is fed past the detector's plane. The result will be X-ray cross sections of my body, like how one would view rings of a tree. Putting these cross sections together will give a complete 3D image of my internal organs. The barium helps clearly show the shape of the lumina of my organs because radioopaque. The side affects the nurse mentioned to me hit me all of a sudden between the 4th and 5th pass. She was dead on. I felt a warming sensation all over that, I presume, made me feel I wet myself in the nether region as well as the metallic taste in my mouth. All these symptoms quickly went away though, before I even changed back into my clothes.
It's been 30+ hours since the scan; I was hoping I'd hear some result by now, but it's Friday I probably won't know anything until next week. Meanwhile, I'll keep my fingers cross as I try to focus on my studies. The damn test is coming up in one week. ARG!
I'm not a fan of forwards (so don't send me any!), but this one left me in stitches, so I had to pass it on. My friend Irene, the auditor, sent it to me. Very appropriated being that I'm applying for biz school and all.
A beautiful fig tart by Pastry Chef Jennifer Kenny Nguyen made with organic, homegrown Simmons (Jen's aunt) Figs.
Salt House is being invaded with Buyouts these next few weeks. In fact, there is one this Thursday. Jen's been pretty excited because it means a change in pace but also a lot of work. First, she has to ensure there is enough desserts up to the day of the buyout. Stop regular production the day before the event. Then, she has to make a whole new menu as well as complete production on all the items for the event. The buyout event itself is run by the night crew with all hopes Jen would have made it simple enough for nothing to go wrong. The following day, Jen must purge all her regular menu items for they are now two days old and produce everything on her regular menu all fresh. So, yeah, lots of work, but sometimes, the celebs, themselves, are worth all the work. Two buyouts that were scheduled are KQED, with a book promotion event for Jen's idol, renowned Chef Jacques Pipan, and MTV. Unfortunately, KQED just pulled out citing timing issues, thus, leaving Jen sorely disappointed she would not be cooking for her idol.
On other news, Jen and I attended a MBA fair on Tuesday. 50 schools from all over the world were there to pitch themselves at prospective students. I only went to talk to 4 schools, pretty good use of my time considering my list is only 7 schools long. Upon getting there though, I seemed to have made a slight error. Somehow I misread Northeastern to be Northwestern, my bad. Has anyone ever even heard of Northeastern? Anywho, the representatives of Johnson School of Business at Cornell University and Tepper School of Business at Carnegie Mellon University were excellent recruiters that answered my questions and made me really feel the enthusiasm of apply to their school. In business terms, they sold their brand to me. On the other hand, there was good old USC, the bottom rung of my school application rankings. Unlike the other schools who sent representatives, USC sent the Dean of Admissions himself, Mr. Keith Vaughn. And what a bitch he was. He berated me for asking him a simple question that I asked repeated throughout the night regarding USC's alumni base. He kept going on and on about how my question was a complete "no-brainer" and gave the impression that I wasting his time to talk to him. He then proceeded to talk about schools as brands and how each school's brand will dominate the regional area they serve. And as one of the top four business schools in California, USC is bound to have a large alumni basis in LA and the SF Bay Area. So, the short answer to my question could have been "yes, there is a significant alumni presence in the SF Bay Area." He would have even gone the extra mile to direct me to an alumni chapter member, but he chose not to. Instead, he left me feeling belittled and infuriated Jen. So that shortens my list a little as Jen has forbade me from applying to USC.
Lastly, take a gander at that beautiful fig tart above. Made with organic, homegrown figs from Jen's aunt.
Jen's Fromage Blanc Tart and Apple Pecan Turnover for a home taste test.
It has been a few weeks since I've had a chance to sit down and post an entry. My apologies.
It's been on the menu for almost a week now, but Jen introduced a Fromage Blanc Tart with Concord Grapes and Crème Fraîche Swirl Sorbet, which pushed out both the Fig Tart and Jen's short lived Tapioca dessert. The new tart incorporates halved concord grapes that have been tossed in a port reduction on top of fromage blanc, a fresh cow cheese almost like ricotta but less grainy, from Cow Girl Creamery. As if that flavor combo wasn't enough, Jen also serves the tart with a Crème Fraîche Swirl Sorbet that is Crème Fraîche sorbet and grape sorbet swirled together for a heavenly pairing. Jen's even admitted that after tasting sweets all day she is pretty much over eating anymore dessert except for the swirl sorbet. IT KICKS ASS!
Also, new on Jen's menu is a Warm Apple Pecan Turnover with Rum Raisin Ice Cream and Cinnamon Butterscotch as well as a Fresh Apple Salad for color. True to form, Jen's Rum Raisin Ice Cream is really rummy for you fans that have a little Captain in you. The Apple Salad is served along side the dessert in matchstick form, lightly dressed in lemon and honey with a few pecans.
From the picture above, you can guess that I got to taste both the cheese tart and the turnover and WOW! were they yummy. I will be envious of those of who got to try them in all their warm glory with their sauces, sides, and accompanying ice creams. :) Go get your taste today!
WARNING! WARNING! The following NEW dessert from famed pastry chef Jen Kenny Nguyen seems Asian. But... Just like how Jen's name sounds Asian but she herself is not, this dish sounds Asian but has a flavor profile that matches quite well with the usual Salt House fair. She calls it Coconut Tapioca Pudding with Watermelon and Thai Basil syrup. A refreshing dessert for the tail end of summer fruits.
On another note, my laptop formerly known as "the Baby" is no longer. As of Thursday, September 6, 2007, I was stumbling around in the dark and knocked over a glass of water all over the former Baby. This was my invincible work laptop that I've had for 4.5 years but still was the computing powerhouse that powered much of life's work. (Ok... I sound overly dramatic but if you know me, you know how much that thing meant to my livelihood.) I was able to recover some bits and pieces of data but did lose a big chunk of my programming work. ARG! All weekend long I've been massaging my head with happy thoughts to forget about that event, and the iPhone has helped immensely. Can you avid readers out their figure out what the new "Baby" is?
I finally got it. My cheap ass got the boost it needed from Jen after she kicked me into forking out my credit card when I was still hesitant after the price drop. For those of you who didn't hear (what rock have you been sleeping under?), Stevie J announced a new line of iPods on Wednesday and also a huge $200 drop on the iPhone. The day I heard about it I was giddy as a girl seeing a pony for the first time. I tried subtly hinting to Jen in hopes to get it as a Christmas gift, but what all I learned was to not suggest gifts because I suck at it. The suggestion led to an argument about not listening and hurt feelings. Completely not worth the breath we wasted on it. However, it prompted Jen into action to get me to an AT&T store and buy the darn thing.
Many of you guys probably know, I'm a frugal guy. Case in point is my whole Apple stock scheme. At its peak, I actually made over $800 profit, enough to buy an iPhone and all the accessories when it still cost $600. However, I got so worried about capital gains that I just let it sit all the while I am without the iPhone and my poor Treo was dying by the minute. Oh the Treo, you must know I got the Treo for used and for free from my cousin. First, the audio electronics died, and I had to do some circuit board surgery to revive it. Second, my speaker died, so no more speakerphone or ringing at all. Then, my vibration motor died, which didn't leave many ways to know I was receiving a call. The only way I could tell without staring at my screen all the time was to listen to my bluetooth headset, but I would have a tendency to leave it in my pocket, instead of looking like a dork and wearing it all the time, which left my callers very frustrated because my headset would pick up leaving me unaware I was on a phone call and they could not reach my voicemail. Then, this week they announced the $200 price drop, an instant 33% savings on the hottest gadget in the world. Despite the Treo problems, the profit from the Apple stock, and a huge price break, I still couldn't bring myself to buy the Jesus Phone and even contemplated I wait until Christmas to get it as a gift. Leave me a comment if you can top that story for the Crown of Cheapest Cheap Ass.
Although Jen provided the necessary motivation, I walked away with a smile because I figured out a scheme to get a deal out it all. If I was going to buy a $400 phone, Jen better be getting free sh*t. We first headed out to the AT&T store on Geary Blvd. The salesman was cordial and did have the iPhone in stock, but the way the store worked there was not a single free phone in the store with the cheapest still ringing in at $30 after a $30 rebate. This meant we'd have to pay $60 + taxes out of pocket for Jen's POS phone when we are already paying for a family plan, data package, and the iPhone from them. With the Apple store and them being the only places in town to get an iPhone, I went ahead and just purchased it there. We then headed over to Impact Communications on Irving St. where we got a great deal on two new Samsung Sync phones for $100 + tax with a $50 rebate for each and a family plan for Jen and I. I then simply came home and activated my iPhone with my new plan and added on a data package. In the end, we ended up with 2 Samsung Sync Phones, 1 iPhone, a family plan, and a data package that's a better phone model and an extra phone than what was available from the AT&T store for the cost of taxes and stamps for rebates over the AT&T store price.
Well, I can say now I'm extremely happy with my iPhone. It has so many features I'm still discovering and then some. In fact, I wrote some of this post with its beautiful web browser.
Enjoy my silent (I don't know what happened to the sound) video of my unboxing of the Jesus Phone.
Amid the hubbub and excitement of yesterday's news, I haven't had a chance to post about Jen's new dessert. She test ran it Friday and got the rubber stamp of approval on Saturday. The tasty morsel is a Poached Peach with Sabayon and Cardamom Streusel. Think poached pear but with a peach instead. In developing this concept, she made my mouth water just with the thought of using one of the greatest summer fruits in the world. Mmmm...peachy!
With a bing and a pow, Jen is introducing her second new knockout in 4 days. On Saturday, she sent the highly acclaimed (and her favorite dessert), the Coffee Vacherin, to pasture. In its place, Jen unveiled the Fig Almond Tart with Mascarpone Sorbet. According to Jeff McClure's Yelp friend, the dessert has been received well. Time will tell if this tart will also win Jen's approval as her favorite item on the menu. Tonight, she will present a Chocolate Semifreddo with Brownie and Orange Pistachio Biscotti. Unfortunately, with a new chocolate dish means the parting of the old chocolate favorite, say good-bye to the warm chocolate cake.
Jen finally took down her Raspberry Poppyseed Cake with Lemon-Mint Granita last Friday as it was time for a refresh. It was also one of those rare, fortunate days, Jen brought home the rejects for me to taste. It didn't have the full plate up and was missing the granita entirely, but man, the cake as Mmm...mmm...good and so moist and flavorful. I am not a cake person, either, but balance of sweetness and tartness and the depth of the flavors was very enjoyable to me. Jen did have a friend complain that the cake was too dry, but I think he was off his rocker that day. However, that dessert is no more, and for those who missed it, you better get into Salt House before you miss Jen's other creations.
To replace the poppyseed cake will be a Basque Cake with Honey Plum Sauce served with Earl Gray Ice Cream. For the uninitiated, the cake is named after the Basque region of France where it is a specialty that has pastry cream encased in a light shortdough pastry. The Earl Gray ice cream should be a nice contrast to the sweetness of the honey plum sauce as well serve to highlight one of Jen's favorite drinks in the world, Earl Gray tea.
What's going with the world? Most mornings I peruse the net for headlines and news from around the world, and a few days ago, I was just hit with a string of articles that made me just ask, "what the hell is going on here?" I mean fine it's normal to see this stuff in the paper every once in a while... all in the same day.
It began with a story of two girls in Arizona who were duped with counterfeit bills at the lemonade stand. I bet they didn't think of that as an option in Lemonade Tycoon. Seriously, though, it's hard enough to be a kid these days with a war going on, threats of terrorists everywhere, kidnappers, rapers, and now you'll even be targeted by scammers at your lemonade stand.
And talking about war... In Tampa, Fl, junk yard workers found a discarded surface-to-air missile, a.k.a. SAM, lying about.
Experts were drafted in from the nearby MacDill Air Force Base, who quickly identified the object as a Patriot. They said that it was harmless, as it was missing its warhead. MacDill spokesman Lt. Omar Villarreal confirmed that the missile did not contain, in his words, 'the part on top that goes boom.'Gee... that makes it all better except that the article went on to say that "the missile still had its rocket motor and guidance system." Don't these things cost millions of our tax dollars? And aren't countries like North Korea and the "bad guys" trying to amass this technology? God help us while we simply dump our missiles in an unprotected junk yard and not tell the workers.
Kathryn Ford of Louisville, Ky., the gambler who alerted the casino, said going after the other patrons was unfair.At least one person has her head on straight, even if the prosecutors and the casino don't seem to have their head on right.
When a slot machine jams and gamblers lose money, they don't get it back, she said.
"It doesn't work in the reverse," Ford said. "They need to forget it and move on."
Shop assistant Sriaram Nagarajan said: "He's got it down to a fine art. He waits until there are no customers around and I'm standing behind the till, then he raids the place.The bird is even picky as he only takes one particular kind. He has become quite a celebrity with the locals too. They have named him Sam and even pay for the bird's chips. I'm lost for words when even the wildlife get into it. Thanx Susan for this one.
Linger on the sidewalk where the neon signs are pretty
How can you lose? The lights are much brighter there...
You can forget all your troubles; forget all your cares, and go
Downtown -- things will be great when you're
Downtown -- you'll find a place for sure
Downtown -- everything's waiting for you
-From Petula Clark's Downtown
Oh my iPhone...
Not marble, nor the gilded monuments
Of princes, shall outlive this powerful rhyme;
But you shall shine more bright in these contents
Than unswept stone, besmear'd with sluttish time.
When wasteful war shall statues overturn,
And broils root out the work of masonry,
Nor Mars his sword nor war's quick fire shall burn
The living record of your memory.
'Gainst death and all oblivious enmity
Shall you pace forth; your praise shall still find room,
Even in the eyes of all posterity
That wear this world out to the ending doom.
So, till the judgment that yourself arise,
You live in this, and dwell in lovers' eyes.
-William Shakespeare, Sonnet 55
In honor of the Wine Club meeting tonight, I'm going to give my nod to Italian Sparkling Wines.
Every couple months or so, Jen and our good friend call together a meeting of the Wine Club which they both founded. The format is for each person to buy a bottle between $8-20, Jen would research the wines, and then she would report her findings while members do tastings over dinner. It's a great social affair as well as a fun way to learn about wine. I am not a member because, well, I don't really drink wine among other factors, but I do learn a lot from the Jen's research on wine.
For the Wine Club meeting tonight, our esteemed friend, Amit Shah, choose an Italian Red Sparkling Wine. What makes his wine interesting is that most people in America are used to French-style sparkling wines, and also, among the less common Italian sparkling wines, a red sparkling is even more rare. Furthermore, the red sparkling wine was a style highly regarded by European royality and that was one of the inspirations for why the winery choose to make this wine. What makes Italian sparkling different than the French variety is the Italian use of carbonation to make the bubbly part as opposed to French-style of bottle fermentation. They do not pump gas into the wine like carbonated soda but trap it by what is called the charmat method. The Italian also have grades of their bubbles, spumante and frizzante, meaning full sparkling and slightly sparkling, respectively. These grades are more easily created using the charmat method.
One of my all-time favorite wines to drink is Moscato d'Asti. It's a sweet semi-sparkling from Italy's Piedmont region. I would liken it to grape version of Orangina but with higher quality bubbles. Epicurious says of it to have "a mild level of sweetness balanced by vibrant acidity." We got a few bottles from our friend Rachel and her husband David a little while back. Whenever a bottle was opened and despite my lack of interest in wines, I'd drink the Moscato like it was water on a hot day without even knowing it.
Jen took off her Corn Custard Tart with Blackberries and Apricot Soda yesterday. She took a couple of the remaining tarts home and, god, were they good! Corn custard was apparently too savory for one of the owner's tastes. Such a shame...sometimes I wonder if the restaurant is limiting Jen's creativity. In any case, she's come up with a new concoction: the Chèvre Panna Cotta with Blackberry Compote and Macadamia Tuile. This should be a real treat for you goat cheese fans and may even surprise those of you who are unfamiliar with or not fans of chèvre.
Also, I have a little secret to tell which is Jen has a new assistant. As reported earlier, Jen's old assistant, Marty, left Jen for green pastures up in Oregon almost two weeks ago. Jen's been trying out new assistants ever since while having to cope with a broken ice cream machine and working longer and more days to cover what two people would have done. I can't name the new assistant just yet but stay tuned. Jen's very happy to have found this person.
On July 12, I posted a story about the Chinese cooks putting chemically flavored cardboard into steamed pork buns, and now, apparently the Chinese government is saying it was all a rouse, put on by an unethical reporter. The freelance reporter has been detained and confessed to police that he produced the fake story under pressure for having nothing after spending two weeks investigating pork bun quality. The news station where the original story aired issued a profound apology and "vowed to prevent inaccurate news coverage in the future." Check out the new story here.
I, on the other hand, am suspicious of the whole chain of events. This may sound a bit like a tin-foil hat story, but I come from a family that escaped the communist take over of Vietnam. I have been to communist Vietnam and have experienced first hand the power of the communist propaganda machine. With the Olympics coming up in 2008, China has much to lose by letting any negative reports leak out about food, safety, or security. Even in the financial sector, I've heard of many analysts speculate that the Chinese Government would use all its power to prevent any large dip in the Chinese market at least until after the Olympics. And you cannot deny the fact that China doesn't not have a great track record when it comes to free and unadulterated speech. They don't call it "the Great Firewall of China" for nothing. So who's to say they didn't arrest this poor sap and put out the story to clean up his mess. Maybe I do want to go to the Olympics now...if just to verify the story myself. ;)
Some of you may have heard or even used yelp, and others of you may even be one of those infamous Yelpers. Either way, it's a place to get reviews restaurants and businesses by regular, everyday patrons. I'm not a friend or foe to yelp as they have not been particularly friendly to my favorite pastry chef nor have they been even-handed in many of the reviews I've read but they do offer something to the growing masses. A rather infamous yelper, who is a friend of a friend, did write this comical review of an old standing, exclusive establishment that goes by the nickname, "the drunk tank." Read it here.
We all know what happens when you add mentos to diet coke.. but what happens when you add mentos to beer?
I was gonna write a big post about wide world of peas or do a shoutout to Anne (we miss you, btw! Hope you still read this.) But I found the best rap video ever! For those you know Jen... you'll understand why...
Read A Book!
Lyrics:
Yeah! Wazzap, y’all? This yo’ boy G-Mic. See, I usually do songs with, like, hooks and concepts and shit, right? Well, fuck that, man! I’m tryin’ to go platinum, so I’m gonna rock this shit! Check this out, y’all:
Read a book! Read a book! Read a motherfuckin’ book!
Read a book! Read a book! Read a motherfuckin’ book!
Read a book! Read a book! Read a motherfuckin’ book!
Read a book! Read a book! Read a motherfuckin’ book!
R-E-A-D A B-O-O-Kaaaay
R-E-A-D A B-O-O-Kaaaay
R-E-A-D A B-O-O-Kaaaay
R-E-A-D A B-O-O-Kaaaay
Not a sports page, not a magazine, but a BOOK, nigga! A fuckin’ book, nigga! Yeah!
Not a sports page, not a magazine, but a BOOK, nigga! A fuckin’ book, nigga! Yeah! Not a sports page, not a magazine, but a BOOK, nigga! A fuckin’ book!
Raise yo’ kids, raise yo’ kids, raise yo’ goddamn kids!
Raise yo’ kids, raise yo’ kids, raise yo’ goddamn kids!
Raise yo’ kids, raise yo’ kids, raise yo’ goddamn kids!
Raise yo’ kids, raise yo’ kids, raise yo’ goddamn kids!
Now, yo’ body need water, so drink that shit!
Yo’ body needs water, so drink that shit!
Yo’ body needs water, so drink that shit!
Yo’ body needs water, so drink that shit!
Buy some land! Buy some land! Fuck spinnin’ rims!
Buy some land! Buy some land! Fuck spinnin’ rims!
Buy some land! Buy some land! Fuck spinnin’ rims!
Buy some land! Buy some land! Fuck spinnin’ rims!
Brush yo’ teef, brush yo’ teef, brush yo’ goddamn teef!
Brush yo’ teef, brush yo’ teef, brush yo’ goddamn teef!
Brush yo’ teef, brush yo’ teef, brush yo’ goddamn teef!
Brush yo’ teef, brush yo’ teef, brush yo’ goddamn teef!
And wear deodorant, nigga!
Wear deodorant, nigga!
Wear deodorant, nigga!
Wear deodorant, nigga!
Wear deodorant, nigga!
Wear deodorant, nigga!
Wear deodorant, nigga!
Wear deodorant, nigga!
It’s called Speed Stick! It’s not expensive!
It’s called Speed Stick! It’s not expensive!
It’s called Speed Stick! It’s not expensive!
It’s called Speed Stick! It’s not expensive!
Now read a book, read a book, read a motherfuckin’ book!
Read a book, read a book, read a motherfuckin’ book
Read a book, read a book, read a [explosion]
The Associated Press put out an interesting food article today about Chinese Pork Buns. The headline was... Beijing steamed buns include cardboard. Yes, you read that right. The original report comes from China Central Television where they led an undercover investigation on baozi, or steamed pork buns, in the growing Chaoyang district of Beijing. Baozi are a common snack in China as they are in China Town restaurants across America. Steam cooked in large bamboo baskets, they have an outer skin made from wheat or rice flour and a filling of sliced pork, but the new filling recipe called for 60% minced, caustic-soda-soaked cardboard and 40% fatty meat with some powdered seasoning for good measure. Even the interviewed cook admitted it didn't taste like much.
"This baozi filling is kind of tough. Not much taste," [the reporter] says. "Can other people taste the difference?"
"Most people can't. It fools the average person," the maker says. "I don't eat them myself."
If you been by to the Salt House lately, looking for some of Jen's yummy ice cream to cool down from the summer weather, you may have noticed there is none to be had. Jen's ice cream machine, the contraption at the center of such controversy, has been finicky since the day it came it. Its short history has included starting rivalries, requiring a 20-minute reset cycle, leaking lid, and shorting out electrical receptacles, and now it even electrocuted Jen's assistant, not too badly thank god. He is in good health and with all his hair not permanently spiky. With such a hazard, it has been taken out of commission for the time being to see if it will even be salvageable. Thus, Jen has reverted to a modified limited menu. Many desserts will be without ice cream and others will be replaced with anglaise.
Those of you who are not in the know may be surprised to learned that ice cream requires a machine. It's function is to whip the ice cream base, or anglaise, while it's being frozen. The whipping motion incorporates air and breaks up ice crystals to make a fine, pleasing texture for the ice cream. The anglaise sauce is simply the unfrozen, unwhipped, but beautifully flavored ice cream base. The same flavor concepts will apply to Jen's modified desserts, but the original intended textures (and temperatures) will be off.
Let's all cross our fingers, and hope that the ice cream machine will be fixed soon.
This weekend Jen and I were in Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA to celebrate the wedding of our our good friends, Liz McMunn & Keith Tetangco at the La Playa Hotel. The event was an amazing affair filled with magical energy of love and happiness. Jen was the Private of Team Honeydew, as the bridesmaids called themselves. 
Her teammates were Captain Honeydew, a.k.a. Amanda Molina, and 
First-mate, Hannah Dworkin.
The wedding had a sea theme, hence the nautical titles, fitting for a wedding in a town "by the sea." Seashells and starfish adorned all the beautiful decorations including the name tags, center pieces, and the garland around the gazebo, and the reception was held in the Poseidon Room. 
Moreover, the bride and groom have never looked so happy. We already knew the two were ridiculously in love; their wedding was a beautiful affirmation and joyous celebration of that love.
Along the way, I got to spend time with a lot of old friends like Dr. Colin Dewey, Elmo Pittenger, Peterangelo Vallis, Captain Honeydew, and Brent McCullough. I also made lots of new friends: Cindy, The San Diego Twins, Elmo's girlfriend, and a cute little girl, named Amanda, who loved to dance. Stop by my flickr photostream to see pictures of the wedding. I can't say my photos are any good for this event... I was just having too much fun to stop and pull out my camera.
Bonus sidenote... the wedding happened 7-7-07! A lucky day for the lucky couple. Liz & Keith's Wedding even made their local paper in Merced.
On Saturday, I felt like I lost one of my nine lives. Coming home from a leisurely trip to Jen's parent's in the Sunset District, I came to the intersection of Taraval and 19th. It was a very common experience for me to take Taraval to Laguada Honda to get over the hill. Easy peasy ... or so I thought.
I was in the left lane of east bound Taraval right behind a Toyota Corolla. When our light turned green he pulled up into the intersection, stopped, and turned on his left turn blinker. I HATE PEOPLE who don't indicate to show their intentions. Not knowing he was going to turn, I had pulled up behind him, fully stuck in the intersection. Well, Mr. Toyota didn't have it very easy and had to wait until the light turned red before the westbound traffic paused for him to go. That left me with a problem, I am stuck in the intersection and have a red light. My instinct was pull forward and go through the intersection. Well, 19th is very wide 6 lanes, center divider and some extra for parking. Before I even got to 3/4ths of 19th Ave, the northbound cars were already moving. Sh*t! The van in the farthest lane also gunned it putting him in a perfect trajectory to broadside my little "Island Girl" pickup truck. That instant I had to swerve nearly 15 feet around the path of the van to barely clear my pickup from an early demise, let alone save my own heath. After pulling though that ordeal the driver of the van, who is obviously at fault because my being in the intersection gave me the right of way, had the tenacity to still honk at me. Just thank goodness no one was hurt.
Later that same day... that overwhelming feeling that I lost another one of my nine lives came again. This time it happened in Oakland at my house that I'm currently selling. I was mowing my lawn when a crazy driver rounded a corner too fast and actually RAN INTO MY HOUSE!!! My house sits a little off to the right of a T-intersection and is uphill significantly from the street. This driver was speeding up the center stick of the T and made wide right that he could not control. 
He ended up careening into the side of my stairs that leads up to the house. 
The impact actually lifted up and broke a huge cement slab that was my walkway.
The idiot driver actually got out of his car looking all dazed and confused. I was gonna run and see if he was ok and check if there was anything I can do to help.
However, when he saw me standing there, he got into his car and just sped away... 
leaving a trail of car fluids, tire marks from burning out, 
car parts strewn about, 
and of course, the damage to my house.
I seriously was in a state of shock and could not believe what happened but did my best to catch his license plate. Well, immediately after, Jen came out of the house and a salesman who was up the street and saw the whole accident came to the scene. The three of us could produced a partial license plate, the fact the car was a new model Chrysler or Dodge sedan, and that the driver was a 5'10"-6' black male with bald head light tee shirt and jeans. Jen hopped on the phone and told the cops everything we had. They said they'd be on there way. Well it took nearly two and half hours for the cops to show up to take our statement. But in that time, we did uncover a critical piece of evidence... 
The idiot left his license plate behind.
This is gonna end up being an insurance claim and nothing more, but if you see a newish silver or green Dodge with frontal damage with the license plate 5QTD395, call the cops and give me a holler. I'd love to have a few words with that idiot.
Apologies to the readers who have been looking forward to new posts on Man Behind the Chef and have not gotten their fix. I'd like to share news that Jen's yummy, warm Rhubarb Tart is off the menu... and in its place our favorite pastry chef has created a Corn Custard Tart with Blackberries. This concoction is a recipe derived from one of the most difficult projects she's ever embarked on, a corn flan. The dessert also comes with an extra treat of Apricot Soda Shot on the side! The soda base is apricot poached in vermouth infused with juniper berries. The vermouth and juniper berry flavor combination is a classic from gin martinis (gin is flavored with juniper berries). Also, many chefs poach with white wine, and vermouth is a type of white wine with aromatics. When served, the soda water is mixed with the base to form a spritzy shot.
Last weekend, Jen was at Disneyland celebrating her good friend's, Liz McMunn, bachelorettehood. While she was in vast land of the angels, Jen picked up an Oprah favorite as a treat for the house. Featured on such shows as The Oprah Winfrey Show, Good Morning America, and The Tyra Banks Show and in print such as Bon Appétit, The New York Times, Sunset Magazine, and New York Magazine, I'm talking about a half-dozen cupcakes from Sprinkles Cupcakes. The self-proclaimed original cupcake bakery has revolutionized the pastry world by building a name for itself through miniature albeit full flavored cupcakes.
At $3.50 each, they weren't cheap, but Jen saw people leaving with the yummy treats by the dozen. San Francisco's Citizen Cupcake is our local equivalent though they some how manage to charge $4.50 a cupcake, making Sprinkles look like a bargain. Costs aside what matters most is the tastes. The cupcakes are baked daily from scratch. And despite their expansive list of flavors only a handful are served each day. Jen brought home a half dozen of which I tasted 4 flavors: fragrant lemon cake with lemon-vanilla frosting with zest, Belgian dark chocolate cake with rich mocha frosting, southern style light chocolate cake with cream cheese frosting, and Madagascar bourbon vanilla cake with coconut cream cheese frosting. The lemon had great flavor but was a bit could use more of it. The looks of the red velvet was certainly most interesting with a color of red beans found in Vietnamese dessert drinks. Its flavor was most forgettable though. The mocha cupcake was by far Jen's favorite with rich coffee flavor in the frosting atop deep chocolaty cake. Coconut would have been probably just as good with its great frosting flavor but being a few days old the cake hand dried out significantly. (Yes, we somehow had cupcakes sitting in our house for more than a few days. Go figure.)
All in all, Sprinkles does deserve praise for an innovative business concept and pretty good execution but maybe not all of what people are clamoring about. At $40 for a dozen cupcakes, that's bordering on highway robbery to me. Then again, if Oprah's endorsing you, I guess you can charge anything you damn well please.
Jen has put up two new desserts over the weekend to replace the out-of-season Pineapple Coconut Ice Cream Cake and wintry Carrot Cake. The first, which is her new favorite, is the Coffee Vacherin. It consists of layers of meringue discs and coffee ice cream with an Irish coffee sauce and roasted cocoa nibs. Jen gave me a taste of the coffee ice cream as a late birthday gift and, man, was it yummy! The second dessert is the Raspberry Poppy Seed Cake served with a Lemon Mint Granita. Doesn't that sound refreshing after a long, hot summer day? Once again, I invite everyone to come on by the Salt House and checkout Mrs. Celebrity Chef Jen's newest offerings.
A few weeks ago I posted lyrics to a little song in the tune of Brian McKnight's Back at One. My inspiration was that on Friday, April 27, 2007, we saw him in concert at the Oakland Paramount Theater. If you have been to a R&B concert there, you will know what I'm talking about. Attendees treat an evening at the Paramount like how most people imagine you'd dress to go to the opera or ballet. People are dressed to the nines. Of course, you get the few folks that think a sweat suit is formal wear but on average, people were wearing their Sunday best. Well maybe not their Sunday best but evening wear best. The show featured a number of headliners including:
Yes... I have dusted the cover of that old jacket and brought out my high school French to announce Jen's new dessert, Chocolate Fondant Cake. The dessert was unleashed unto the world two days ago on Wednesday. It's a chocolate fondant cake with pistachio ice cream and cherries on top. By the way, when you read fondant... don't think wedding cake... think more like the French word, fondre, meaning to melt. Mmmmm... The thought of the chocolaty, melty goodness makes my mouth salivate just writing this. Try it out today!
In another note, Google Street View was unveiled recently. Lo and behold, guess what it caught... my old BMW. Check it out here.
So I've been slacking. My new obsession has already gone wayside to my newest struggle to be an adult: trying to sell my house. I own a home in Oakland, CA. It was a financial adventure I choose to take instead of moving in with Jen almost 3 years ago. Some of you may have even heard the results on the day I got my keys... I called Jen up told her how I had made a mistake and should have took her up on the offer. In any case, it all worked out, and here I am today with too many living options and too few monetary choices.
My goal was to have it up on the market today, May 15, 2007. A lot of my friends and family (probably, even you) have wondered why Jen and I have disappeared. Well, its because we became spackling, painting, woodworking, gardening, plumbing, tiling, and moving experts. Every spare moment has been dedicated to getting the house to be ready for sale. We even moved over for a few nights, setting up a temporary bedroom and stocking the refrigerator. So here we are on the day of the deadline, we aren't done completely. We'll have to keep on pluggin away until we get it done.
In the meantime, come check out Jen's new dessert creation. It called the Strawberry Trifle, and it served in a glass canning jar for every to visually oohh and ahh about all yummy layers. Salt House just got a load of new jars, so hopefully, they won't sell out so quick!
Warning: this post isn't for the squeamish. It contains talk and images of eye surgery.
On Tuesday, I had the honor of taking my good buddy, Seth St. Martin, to Dr. Mandel of Horizon Vision Center in San Leandro for Wavefront Lasik Surgery. The boy had some of the poorest vision I know of all my friends. His mother would had fears about him getting hurt because if anything happened to his glasses he would be useless. But with a stroke of luck and some very generous parents, Seth was able to alleviate his mother's fear for now he is seeing better than ever.
The whole procedure took all of 15 minutes, but the preparations and the waiting dragged on for almost 3 hours. The timing all worked out though as Seth and I used the ample time to chat and catch up. In three hours, there was paperwork to sign, eye drops to be administered, and Valium to kick in as Seth was such a worry wort. One of the coolest parts of the preparations was when Seth asked if I wanted to watch the operation. I happily volunteered. By the time Seth was up, we watched a packed waiting room empty out, and at $4000 a person, we quickly realized how well this profession is doing. Eventually, Seth was called to the OR where he laid down with a worry stone in one hand and a teddy bear clinched in the other. The nurses, the surgeon, and hunking, beige laser machine were hovering all around his head. After he settled in, a nurse came and delivered his glasses to me and brought me in back. It was quite inspiring to know I was the last person to hang onto them while they were still useful. 
The nurse had led me to the "gallery section" which basically consisted of waiting room chairs along the hallway that faced a large, mini-blinded window of the operation room. I opted to stand right up to the window, though, to get the best view possible, but most of the time, I ended up watching the monitor that focused on Seth's cornea the whole time. 
The procedure happens on one eye at a time; for Seth, it was his right then his left. They begin by numbing the eye with a topical anesthetic and inserting a speculum to keep is eye open. Next, the surgeon marks the edges of Seth's cornea with a circular stamp giving the surgeon a reference to realign the cornea at the end of the procedure. 
Then a metal ring is placed over the cornea that is the exact size of Seth's iris. At that point, a electric device is attached to the ring and shaves a thin flap off the top of the cornea. The nurse clears the device, and the surgeon then carefully flips open the corneal flap to expose a lower portion of the cornea where the laser removes a microscopic layer that corrects his refractive error. 
All that is left is to rinse with antibiotics, carefully fold the flap back in place, and realign it so the circles match up.
As soon as it was over and the surgeon gave the thumbs up, Seth was led to an optometrist's chair to have his flaps examined up close. Despite instructions to keep is eyes closed, he had already noticed he could make out faces and read signs better than before. We were both blown away how quickly the results were. Unfortunately, during the initial trial of his new eyes, he somehow managed to ruin the alignment of this right corneal flap. So, the surgeon had to come in and brush the flap back into place. 
It was nerve racking as hell for my good buddy, but the whole procedure was remarkably quick and painless. Seth spent the evening with this friends and loved-ones supposed keeping his eyes closed as instructed. His girlfriend (Susan), Jeff, and I were charged with being the eye police to keep his eyes closed. Seth spent the following day with Susan shopping for expensive sunglasses.
| Bridal size 14 (fits regular size 10-12)
Strapless, ball gown style.
Ivory satin dress with light taupe band accenting hem and bodice.
Lovely bead work on the bodice.
Long train, buttons up the back for multiple bustling options.
Includes petticoat.
Retails at $850. Asking for $400 or best offer.
Click here |
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Drinking beautifully now! Ripe black fruit and spice.
Beautiful wooden gift box, each bottle individually wrapped.
1999 Robert Mondavi Winery Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve (Unfiltered) Six Bottles.
Kept in controlled temperature environment 55 degrees.
Makes a great gift!
Asking $450 or best offer. Click here |
