08-09-2011

I have always loved biscotti.  They're the adult version of cookies and milk (don't tell anyone, I still eat cookies and milk too!).  Like cookies, they can be made in almost any flavor and can be dipped in a variety of things or left plain.  These are chocolate-orange and cranberry biscotti.

08-01-2011

One of the things I hate in this world is coffee.  It smells great and tastes like plumbing.  Bitter plumbing.  Anyway, for those who do like coffee, these buns are pretty little mocha twists with almonds on top.  I'm going to try substituting green tea powder or even black tea for the mocha next time.

07-25-2011

For some reason Japan thinks of Italy when it's summer.  The summer-themed breads at my school are all Italian-inspired this time around.  These lemon cream-filled buns aren't Italian in my opinion, but they are good. The #1 producer of lemons is currently India, where they are thought to have originated.  Italy is #10, but they were first introduced to Europe through southern Italy.  Maybe they were thinking lemon granita!  Anyway, this recipe was exceptionally interesting because it's my first truly filled bun.  This has so many possibilities!

See a variation inspired by this recipe here.

07-19-2011

Pumpkins are fantastic.  You can make art from them, eat the flesh, eat the seeds and so much more.  There are varieties of pumpkins from all over the place, it's great.  The Japanese version, also known as a kabocha, have dark green skin and are smaller than the orange jack-o-lantern varieties.  They're also sweeter, making them perfect for these ultra-sweet pumpkin braids.

07-11-2011

Fish paste weirds me out.  It doesn't matter if it's the shrimp paste Moo Cow uses in his seafood pasta or the anchovy paste in these, it's weird.  But I'll concede it tasted good in these sunny rings.  Part of the summer series at my cooking school, they were named Il Sol, the Italian word for their sunny influence.

07-05-2011

Summer in Japan is defined by fireworks, street food and summer festival games.  This dessert is supposed to resemble the water balloon yo-yos kids get at summer festivals.  It's also made using gelatin and plastic wrap, hmmm.

06-27-2011

Why these cookies were being offered as a class in June I will never know, because I'm certain they're almond Christmas cookies.  They sure taste heavy like Christmas.  Anyway, Christmas in July then.  Although I don't think they know what that is in Japan...

06-21-2011

Japan loves to cook with liqueur.  I think they believe alcohol is luxurious, which would explain the drinking culture here in Tokyo.  Anyway, this orange custard is flavored with Cointreau and can curl your toes while you're making it if you get too close after heating.

It was also a test of my knife skills.  Have you ever cut a half an orange into twelve slices?  I have and nearly got myself a few times, even with safe knife precautions.  A task for a mandolin?  Are they sharp enough to cut oranges?

6-13-2011

The summer seasonal bread classes are truly exceptional. Some of the rotating menus they choose are awful, but I'm very impressed with the Italian-influenced offerings this time around.

This bread is based on semolina flour and olive oil and has olives and chopped bacon inside, making a very pasta-like feeling. It's also a very soft bread, but still has the crust of a real bread. I will definitely make this again.

6-7-2011

This bread really should be called Spicy Bacon Tomato, because Spicy Tomato doesn't really cover the flavors.  The centers are filled with bacon pieces and ground black pepper for a punch.  Ketchup is mixed into the dough to add the tomato flavor and some color.  They were lovely but I wish the bacon hadn't browned so much.

6-1-2011

Does anyone else love blueberries? The blueberry cream filling these is simply divine.  The mint wilts pretty quickly, but the rest is nice.  Frozen blueberries are mixed into the bread dough also.

Fun fact: Mirtillo is Italian for blueberry.

05-24-2011

Today's cooking school project was berry cheese tartlets. They're filled with mixed berry jam and lemon cream cheese.  The dough was very brioche-like, sweet and buttery.

5-16-2011

My cooking school has seasonal bread and cake classes you can take (no cake in spring or summer this year, owing to heat), and this is the final of the three spring bread classes I decided to take. It's like a cinnamon roll made with Earl Grey Tea instead of cinnamon. Interesting, to say the least. They're quite delicious, although I suspect they will get dry pretty quickly. That just means I'll have to eat them quickly or give them away!

5-9-2011

Even though it's May, cherry blossoms are still on everyone's minds. Today in cooking class we made cherry blossom cream to go in this bread. Once I leave Japan I will be on an eternal hunt for the liqueur in the US and Canada...

4-26-2011

In a change of pace, I have made something moderately healthy in cooking class. Too bad they're my least favorite-tasting recipe so far.

4-19-2011

These mini sakura cheesecase and macha desserts are little tastes of heaven.  Now I have to find sakura liqueur, which is apparently not seasonal.  And I also need to find the blossoms used in food...

4-18-2011

Today was a seasonal bread class, although how this is springy I don't know.  Anyway, the bread has carrot juice in it instead of milk or water.  Cubed cheddar is then worked into it before rolling it and cutting the leaf motif on the top.  It's quite tasty, although rather rich.  I like it.

4-17-2011

This cake caught my eye as soon as I signed up with my cooking school. At that time I decided it would be my birthday cake, and so it is. Unfortunately, it's about two weeks late. Still, better late than never. And it's filled with raspberries and white chocolate; two of my favorite things.

4-11-2011

My cooking school for new ovens, and as such my bread seems to be getting darker. This one is Pain au Lait, which uses milk instead of water. It's a very sticky dough and I'm not sure it was worth all the extra work...tasted much like the other breads...

3-28-2011

Gobou (ごぼう), known in English as burdock root, is an extremely healthy Japanese...vegetable. It's not very common in the west, so when it was fed to American POWs, they claimed that the Japanese fed them trees and sticks and it was horrible. What they didn't know is it's extremely nutritious. Since I find gobou fascinating I decided to sign up for the gobou batons class to see how to properly prepare gobou for cooking.