Vietnam

I am currently in Vietnam on holiday. What an amazing country. The cities are modernized yet the country is still very rural. I've been here for a little over a week. I started my holiday in Saigon aka Ho Chi Minh City (most people, including natives still refer to the city as Saigon. Fansinating city crowded with millions of people and their mopeds. My first two days were primary spent recouping from jetlag and shopping and trying the local fare with my mom. Lots of exotic fruits. Most of the dishes I've eaten, pho, bun bo hue, chow mein, stir fries are dishes I've eaten in the states. But, they taste that much better here. Most people buy fresh vegetables, meats, noodles daily for their noon and evening meals. After a couple of days in Saigon, we trekked off on a 5 day tour to the middle of the country. We started in Da Nang then headed off to a small town, Hoi An, just south of Da Nang and finished our trip in Hue. We visited a number of historic sites including the Imperial Citadel of the Nguyen Dynasty in Hue, temples, mosoleum, and a cemetry. The food in the middle regions of Vietnam didn't impress me that much but I guess that's partly because I am use to Southern Vietnamese food. That's it for now. I'll post pictures and post more when I get back.

Holiday Baking

I am behind in posting as usually. Life was quite hectic this past December. I did not finish my last final until December 19th! I managed to do a couple of days worth of holiday baking in time before heading down to NC to spend the Christmas with the family. I wasn’t planning on going hog wild baking this year but ended up baking quite a bit just not as many different kinds of baked goods. Day 1 of baking, I made lemon bars, mint brownies, a modified version of the Nestle Toll House Chocolate chip cookie using Nestlé’s holiday morsels. Day 1 of baking was for my co-workers. Day 2 of baking for the family, I made two loaves of pumpkin bread, more lemon bars, fudge, a different version of mint brownies, and more the modified Toll House cookies. On Day 3 I wrapped up my holiday baking with a pumpkin pie for the family. The recipes for the lemon bars and mint brownies are below.


The lemon bars were a huge hit with my co-workers and dad (he is not a chocolate fan). This recipe is one that I clipped from the Washington Post’s annual Holiday cookie feature in their Wednesday food section. The lemon bars are sweet but not overly sweet with just the right amount of lemon tartness. The Post says the recipe was adapted from Cookies Unlimited” by Nick Malgieri. I have his A Baker’s Tour cookbook but not this cookie book. I need to add this one to my list of books to buy. For Day 1, I used bottled lemon juice. For Day 2, I used freshly squeezed lemon juice. The juice from two lemons is more than enough to equate to 6 tablespoons. Parchment paper sprayed with butter flavored cooking spray works like a charm. I used a handheld mixer instead of my Kitchen Aid, just shear laziness on my part. I sprinkled the confectioner’s sugar before cutting them into squares.

Ultimate Lemon Squares
8 oz softened unsalted butter plus some for the baking dish
½ C. confectioner’s sugar plus some for finishing
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 C. flour
4 large eggs
2 C sugar
1 tbsp finely grated lemon zest
6 tbsp lemon juice

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Set an oven rack on the middle level. Lightly grease a 9 X 13 inch pan lined with oversized buttered parchment paper or aluminum foil.
In a stand mixer on medium speed, beat the butter. Add the confectioner’s sugar and vanilla and beat until light, ~1 to 2 minutes. Reduce speed to low and beat in the flour. Pat the dough evenly in the baking dish. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown and baked through.
Meanwhile, whisk the eggs just enough to break them up in a large bowl. Without over mixing, add the sugar, lemon zest, and lemon juice. As soon as the crust is baked, pour the lemon topping over the crust and return the baking dish to the oven. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until the topping is set and firm. Transfer the baking dish to a rack to cool completely. Lift the parchment paper to a cutting board, work surface, etc to cut the squares. Sprinkle with confectioner’s sugar just before serving.


The mint brownies I made for Day 1 baking is just a brownie recipe from The King Arthur Flour Baker’s Companion jazzed up with some Guittard mint chips that I bought from The World Market. The thick brownies were nice and fudgy. I only use 1 cup of mint chips as I did not want overly minty brownies. One cup was just fine. I bought some peppermint extract which I am going to throw into the recipe next time. When you stir the flour into the melted chocolate/butter mixture, it looks awful. No worries, when you add the mixture to the egg mixture, it comes out beautifully. I really wanted to lick the bowl after the spread the batter into the baking pan.

Brownies
6 oz unsweetened chocolate
12 tbsp unsalted butter
5 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
½ tsp salt
2 ½ C. sugar
1/3 C. light corn syrup
1 1/3 C. unbleached all-purpose flour
Optional add-ins: 1 ½ C. chopped walnuts or pecans, 1 ½ C. mini marshmallows, 1 C. melted caramel, 1 C. chocolate chips (my mint chips here)

Preheat the oven to 375F and grease a 9x13 inch pan. In a medium saucepan, melt the chocolate and butter over low heat. Set aside to cool slightly
In a large bowl, beat the eggs, vanilla, salt, sugar, and corn syrup until light and fluffy. Takes a few minutes.
Stir the flour into the melted chocolate/butter mixture. Fold the mixture into the egg mixture, stirring to combine. Stir in optional add-ins.
Spread the battered into the greased pan. Bake for 35 minutes. Top should be crisp and toothpick inserted into the brownies should be coated with chocolate.


For Day 2 brownies, I used the same brownie base with a nice layer of minty green frosting followed by a chocolate layer. I’ve made these brownies before years and years ago in high school but unfortunately lost my recipe. This is the original recipe for the mint frosting and chocolate topping. I had to double the recipe since recipe is for a 9 x 9 inch pan of brownies. I used 3 drops of food coloring to get the nice minty green color. I found the mint frosting and chocolate topping recipe from http://jas.familyfun.go.com/recipefinder/printrecipe?id=40783 via Google.

Mint Frosting
¼ C. softened butter
2 ½ C. confectioner’s sugar
1 ½ to 3 tbsp of milk
½ tsp peppermint extract
Green food coloring
Chocolate Topping
¾ C. semisweet chocolate chips
3 tbsp butter

Cream the butter and confectioner’s sugar. Add the milk 1 tbsp at a time, beating until it is smooth and spreadable. Beat in peppermint extract and food coloring. After the brownies have cooled completely, spread the mint green frosting over the brownies, chill for 1 hr.
Melt the chocolate chips and butter in the microwave until the chocolate melts. About 1 ½ minute on high in the microwave. Stir until smooth. Spread the chocolate over the frosted brownies. Chill for 45 minutes before serving.