Looking Back: 30 Years

Happy New Year (23 days into 2016, so it still counts)! How was your 2015? How were your holidays? I hope everyone had a wonderful end of year. I love how everything feels so festive in December, twinkly lights and decorations everywhere. The atmosphere is fun and light, especially at work when everyone is looking forward to some time off.

I actually made this pie on Christmas Eve because I was hosting a family dinner with my dad and brother. I figured Howard likes citrus flavours and my brother loves meringue that this pie would be the perfect dessert to serve. It was . . . but it tasted better the day after when I brought it to my in-law's for Christmas day dinner. Letting it set and chill in the fridge actually tasted better than fresh!

Speaking of chill, do you have Netflix? We watched a lot of shows during the holidays that had us doing all-nighters. My whole sleeping schedule got flipped thanks to the addicting series. We managed to finish Luther, Narcos, and started Making a Murderer. Have you seen these shows? What did you think? What would you recommend we watch next?

I'm deciding to make this a combination post too. Not only are we celebrating national pie day, I also want to chat birthday. I've also hit a new milestone, I'm officially in my thirties!!! Way to make myself feel old there. My favourite cousin recently turned 13 - gasp, a teenager - and I remember babysitting him as toddler. He's still not taller than me yet, I hope that takes a bit more time (we have a height bet). It's amazing how fast time flies. There has been so many neat changes in the past year alone that I'm excited for this year.

Looking back, here are thirty highlights:

1. WE GOT MARRIED! Finally!
2. Had an amazing and memorable honeymoon in Jamaica. Which reminds me, I want to share that in a post soon.
3. In Jamaica, we visited the Luminous Lagoon. Very cool experience, we'd recommend going if you get a chance.
4. Tried scuba diving for the first time. 
5. Met new relatives that flew in from Taiwan and South Africa.
6. Felt the love at my bridal showers. Good friends and colleagues are hard to come by, so when you do find them, make them bake and cook for you.
7. We were fortunate enough to squeeze in some travel. We visited Chicago and flew Porter for the first time!
8. Work perks: Met Judy Blume and had my book signed. Had my photo taken with Chef Curtis Stone. Ate dinner with Alan Doyle. Shook hands with Al Gore. Saw Chef Michael Smith. Shook hands and had my booked signed by Chris Hadfield. Felt the excitement when Ethan Hawke and Rainn Wilson were in the office. Seen Margaret Atwood roam the floors.
9. Helped plan Anne Michaels' book launch for The Adventures of Miss Petitfour. She's a fantastic reader and there were sea shanties.
10. Gained a godson because we're awesome godparents. Still watching in awe as our goddaughter becomes more vocal.
11. Survived an office move. Boxes of books are incredibly heavy.
12. Made new friends with new colleagues thanks to the merge.
13. Switched from the editorial department to the marketing and publicity department. Every day is a learning experience, but we do such cool things.
14. Working with the coolest children's marketing and publicity team ever, I love my pod.
15. Finished watching Veronica Mars as numerous interns vouched for it. It lived up to the hype.
16. Lost at Pongapalooza. In the first round.
17. Made lots and lots of bunting. Then more and more. I've been given the title Baroness of Bunting.
18. Also been given the title Countess of Cake.
19. Featured in the Globe and Mail as an office model.
20. Had an amazing dinner at Grand Electric's Champagne Room.
21. Discovered my new favourite chocolate chip cookies recipe!
22. Had my hair coloured and my nails done for the first time.
23. Got a waffle maker. Just you wait for all the waffle posts.
24. Saw the Pan Am excitement around the city of Toronto.
25. Gave pop pilates a try and was surprised I enjoyed it.
26. My orchid bloomed!
27. Not getting cable and just having Netflix was the best decision ever.
28. Discovering canelés. Ugh, craving one now.
29. Howard surprised me with a spa date. His first one ever!
30. Booked an ambitious trip to Hong Kong, Vietnam, and Taiwan for 2016.

And if you were just here for the pie. The recipe is from the New York Times, which they adapted from Alice Water of Chez Panisse. If you read the comments, you'll see that lots of people doubled the lemon recipe. I ended up doing so as well and it gave the pie a nice inch of lemon filling. I also found that the lemon filling set better in the fridge, despite the recipe's instruction saying not to place it in the fridge after letting it cool for one to two hours.

Recipes: Flaky pie crust | Chez Panisse Meyer Lemon Meringue Pie

Wedding Cakes

Okay, finally! I'm sharing my favourite wedding project - the cakes! You might not believe this, but there was a time where I didn't think we needed a wedding cake, I figured there was a dessert course in the menu and that would be the sweet ending for the meal. But Howard pointed out that it would be weird for us to not have cake - especially with me being known as being a baker and all. So I thought about it and decided it would kind of be odd and I did like the idea of baking for our guests.

Then came the hard part, what type of cake would I make? What flavours? How would I decorate them? I looked in many cookbooks and my past blog posts. What did we like to eat? What would cause me the less amount of stress?

What I did know was that we wouldn't use fondant. Even though we started this blog showcasing fondant decorations and even though fondant looks really good, we personally don't enjoy eating it. I wanted the cakes to look natural to match the venue. This wasn't a sleek and polished event, it was small, intimate, and homey. I wanted the application of the frosting to look homemade. I wanted one to be naked with no frosting covering it. Then I wanted a cake that didn't look like much, but upon closer inspection, was something special.

So my next project was to figure out what types of cake toppers I wanted to make. Pinterest was extremely helpful in providing ideas and I eventually picked three: a "Mr and Mrs" bunting, a "LOVE" sign, and a "JUST MARRIED" banner. I used cardboard, paper, thread, and wooden skewers to make them. What I liked about these was the extra height it gave my six-inch cakes.

No one else would know this, but it bugs me that I made the mistake in pairing up the cakes with the cake stands. In my original plan and sketches, I had the naked cake on the white cake stand and the white cake on the glass cake stand. In my own nervousness, I accidentally set them up wrong on the day of. I could have also pushed down the skewers a bit more - like maybe an inch. This is just me over-thinking it and being critical. Since I was the one who set up the cakes, I have no one else to blame but myself! The staff did an outstanding job decorating the rest of the table with greenery and candles - seriously, best team ever!

Here we are, our first task as a married couple! Don't we look happy getting ready to cut the cake? (Another reason why I love my wedding dress, it almost looks like another dress when you don't see the bottom part of the gown. This could have been a knee-length cocktail dress since you can't tell with the table covering the bottom.)

We picked the easier cake to cut into. The restaurant provided the knife and cake lifter.

I'm over the moon here. If Howard fed me cake everyday, I'd be the plumpest and happiest wife on the planet.

I'm sure he doesn't feel the same.

When we were finished our photos, the staff took all three cakes back into the kitchen so they could divide them up and plate them. Then they were carried back out and placed on the table as a self-serve station. To my surprise - because a lot of my family members don't have a big sweet tooth - everyone went up for cake. At one point, I thought we didn't have enough (we did, there was like three slices left at the end of the night).

I made a chocolate cake with cream cheese frosting - a classic and one of my favourite go-to cakes.

The next cake I made is one that is a bit more unique. Not a lot of people have tried a mille crêpes cake before and I feel that it's that something extra for special occasions. Plus, it's a favourite of ours ever since we tried it in New York where we got engaged.

The third cake I made was mainly for Howard. Even though the mille crêpes cake is his all-time favourite, he also loves citrus flavours. This was a lemon cake with lime buttercream.

Wedding Photography: Ikonica | Venue: Auberge du Pommier | Cake Knife: Auberge du Pommier | Cake Lifter: Auberge du Pommier | Cakes: A Baked Creation | Cake Toppers: A Baked Creation | Cake Label Signs: A Baked Creation | Glass Cake Stand: Crate and Barrel | White Cake Stand: Crate and Barrel | Wooden Cake Stand: Chapters Indigo | Six-inch cake boards: PME Sugarcraft | Wedding Dress: Mori Lee Blu 5108

Classic French Madeleines

How have you been? I know it's been quite around here, it's been quite hectic at work. Worst of all, I met my nemesis, the flu. The flu kicked me down and knocked me out for a week. I'm still fighting the after effects, but I think I am finally winning.

The wedding plans are also coming along (mostly?). I don't think there's anything left for us to do this year. All the things that need to be booked ahead of time are done (I hope, I think?), so we just wait until we're closer to the date. I'd like to think we're ahead of schedule or at least on track! I wish I could tell you more, but I'm an odd believer that I'll jinx it if I do. Some things were too good to be true and then fell through, so I'll wait until it's all over before I say any more!

I'm still loving little madeleines though. These tiny tea cakes make good afternoon snacks. I hope you all get madeleine pans this holiday and make these tasty little morsels.

Classic French Madeleines
Recipe from Madeleines: Elegant French Tea Cakes to Bake and Share
(Makes about 24 regular or 48 minis)

1 stick of unsalted butter + 4 tablespoons for the pan
1 cup of all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
3 large eggs
2/3 cup of granulated sugar
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoon of fresh lemon zest

1. Preheat the oven at 175°C or 350°F.
2. Place the butter in a microwavable bowl and melt on lower power for about a minute. Let it cool to room temperature. Butter up with the 4 tablespoons! Make sure you brush soften butter into all the nooks and crannies of the pan for easy lift up after.
3. Using a mixer, beat the eggs and sugar together until it is light and fluffy, about 3 to 5 minutes.
4. Add in vanilla extract and lemon zest, mix for another minute until combined. Fold in the flour and baking powder. Don't over mix at this stage, the flour just needs to be incorporated completely.
5. Use a spoon or scoop to fill the pan molds until they're almost full. You can smooth out the batter if you like, but I find that it'll melt nicely into the mold in the oven's hot temperatures.
6. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes for regular sized madeleines and 5 to 6 for the mini sizes. They should puff up to show that signature madeleine hump and be golden in colour.
7. Remove from the oven and let the madeleines cool. Eat them right away. Seriously, they're best when they're fresh!

I'm thinking these will make great gifts this holiday at the office. I've made macarons two years in a row, it's time to switch it up!

One more thing, don't skip the lemon zest, it gives the cakes such a great boost in flavour. Not to mention, the aroma!!

Cook the Cover: Canadian Living October 2014

Whether we like it or not, autumn is here. Chilly nights, jackets, leggings, and boots. Time to add on the layers when you step outside. Don't forget to boost your immune system, it's also the time of year you're most likely to catch a cold. I know I did, but I'm thankful that my sick days were kept to a minimum.

With September almost over, it's time to think of the lovely fall harvest. Soups and comfort food is on everyone's radar and don't forget that Thanksgiving is October 13 this year!

When I saw this month's cover, I panicked a little bit. Turkey? Such a huge undertaking! I've never roasted a turkey before! Aren't they tricky? What's the best way to fully cook the bird and not dry it out? I almost decided to skip this challenge, but then when would I ever get around to my first turkey attempt? What better way could there be than to have other bloggers go through the same cooking experience? Let's do it!

Lemon and Thyme Roast Turkey With White Wine Gravy
Shopping List: turkey, fresh thyme, garlic, dry white wine, sodium-reduced chicken broth, all-purpose flour, butter, lemon zest, salt, and pepper.

The shopping list was fairly easy. Most people already have garlic, wine, chicken broth, flour, butter, and your staples: salt and pepper in the kitchen. We only had to go find the turkey, thyme, and pick up a lemon. The short grocery list was another reason that I wanted to try this recipe. It's fairly straightforward and simple. No stuffing or bed of vegetables to tackle.

First up, make the lemon and thyme butter: In a bowl, melt the butter (a few seconds in the microwave), stir in the thyme, lemon zest, salt, and pepper.

Next, remove the giblets and neck from turkey; place the neck in roasting pan. Fill the turkey's cavity with thyme and garlic (ahhh I placed my hand in there!!). Place the turkey on a rack in the roasting pan (thank goodness the turkey fit). That lemon and thyme butter? Brush it all over the turkey.

Roast in 325°F (160°C) oven, basting every 45 minutes. To baste, take the pan out. Using oven mitts, tip all the juices to a corner and gather with baster. Pour the juices over the turkey to keep it from drying out.

The turkey is ready when the thermometer inserted in thickest part of breast reads 170°F (77°C). This takes about three and a half hours.

Isn't it beautiful?? That lovely golden skin and my home smelled soooo good!

Take the turkey out and gently tip to pour juices from the cavity into the roasting pan. Transfer turkey to carving board and cover loosely with foil. Let it rest for half an hour.

To make the gravy, discard the turkey neck from the pan. In a small pot, bring wine to a boil over medium-high heat. Whisk the turkey's juices with the broth and flour until smooth. Pour the wine into the roasting pan. Place the roasting pan on the stove and bring to a boil. Keep whisking as it'll thicken fairly quickly. Another first for me, making gravy from scratch!

Howard had the honours of carving the turkey (sneaking in bites now and then) and we set out sides for everyone to help themselves - buffet style. Mixed green salad, hasselback potatoes, stuffing, and cauliflower-broccoli gratin. The turkey and gravy still the star of the meal. The skin was delicious and we even ended up pouring the light gravy over the salad, stuffing, potatoes ...

I'm sure there are no-muss and no-fuss turkey recipes out there with no basting. But I think this is still a pretty easy and minimal prep recipe, plus the results were stellar. Give it a try if it's your first turkey! I would recommend having two timers on hand, one for every 45 minutes and one for the total cooking time. And the most important tool was the leave-in meat thermometer for peace of mind, you wouldn't want to carve the turkey and pop it back in the oven after finding it still cold!

Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post by Canadian Living and I received compensation for it. There was no requirement to produce a positive review of this recipe. All opinions are our own.

Bake it Forward

Last year, Redpath Sugar Acts of Sweetness asked ten Canadian bloggers with a passion for baking to send them one of their favourite recipes. Now, after a year of baking, mailing, and secret keeping, we’re finally sharing the delicious results with you!

What's really neat about the Bake it Forward collection is that it travelled across Canada! The package went out west, and it's first stop was in Surrey, BC, after which it travelled east, stopping in each of our kitchens as it makes its way back to the Acts of Sweetness headquarters in Toronto. The package contained instructions, recipe cards, as well as pre-paid postage, and lots more fun stuff!

We each had a custom made recipe card to fill out and we would jazz it up with pictures and stickers. Once we filled out our recipe card, we would reseal the package and mail it on to the next baker in the chain.

I was the second last baker to receive the package, so I had the pleasure of reading through everyone's favourite recipes. It was a lovely way to spend the afternoon! That weekend, I got baking!

I made mini lemon doughnuts and you'll be able to find the recipe on the Redpath Sugar website now. You'll even get to see how we all filled out the recipe cards!

I would highly recommend that you use a piping bag to get the batter into the doughnut pan.

Above: Before!

Above: And after!

If you butter or oil the doughnut pan, they should pop right out. I like to let them cool off in a sieve.

After they're cooled, melt some chocolate and glaze the doughnuts. Add some sparkle with sprinkles!

Here are the links to the Bake it Forward recipes, you have got to check them out!

Ilan's Cinnamon Hot Chocolate

Stephanie's Sugar Cookie Stacks

Julie's Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

Valerie's Homemade Angel Food Cake

Candice and Kira's Vegan Raspberry Burst

Sylvia's Chocolate and Lemon Doughnuts

Rosie's Triple Chocolate Sprinkle Birthday Cookies

Renee's Raspberry Jam Jams

Melissa's Ann Chases Chocolate Cake

Marjorie's Strawberry Cake Roll
You'll probably recognize a lot of these bloggers and blogs, enjoy!

Pine Nut Cookies

My amazing aunt and uncle from New York City are visiting us this month. My aunt and mom went to Costco to pick up ingredients for our dinner tonight and brought back pine nuts. My aunt asked me to make pine nut cookies and my mom was going to attempt it, but she never follows recipes properly, so I took the project over.

Mom pulled out a book I bought her years ago, Biscotti, which happened to have a pine nut cookie recipe!

Pinolate (Pine Nut Cookies)
Recipe from Biscotti: Recipes from the Kitchen of the American Academy in Rome
Makes about 15-20 cookies

200 grams of pine nuts
85 grams of almonds
85 grams + 3 tablespoons of granulated sugar
2 grams of lemon zest
1/4 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1 egg white

1. Preheat your oven to 150°C (300°F).
2. Spread the pine nuts on a cookie sheet and toast for 10 minutes. Let it cool.
3. Using a food processor, pulse the almonds, granulated sugar, and 50 grams of the toasted pine nuts until they become sandy in texture.
4. Transfer the nuts and sugar to a mixing bowl. Add the lemon zest, vanilla extract, and egg white. Mix well.
   
5. Cover the dough and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
   
6. Preheat your oven to 160°C (325°F).
7. Form the dough into cherry-sized balls and roll each ball in the remaining toasted pine nuts.
   
8. Evenly space the dough on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, leaving about 2cm (1.5 inches) between each cookie.
9. Bake for 9-10 minutes, until golden brown.
   
10. Eat these cookies, they're best on the day of, but will keep for up to 1 week in a sealed container.

I love how the centres are still gooey, chewy, and yummy!

Best of all, my aunt said they were as good as the ones she gets from the Italian bakery in New York! =)

Summerlicious: Bymark

Bymark

66 Wellington Street West

Toronto, ON M5K 1J3

(416) 777-1144

Mark McEwan. Pretty much the reason why we picked Bymark to try during Summerlicious. He's the head judge for Top Chef Canada, so his grocery store and restaurants are pretty much featured for restaurant wars and shopping. Having tried Fabbrica, we thought we would take advantage of the prix fixe deal at one of his fancier restaurants.

Having walked by it in the underground PATH before, it was nice to finally go inside! Our party of four were greeted in the front and led to our table near the middle of the restaurant. I didn't realize how small the place was! The restaurant is dim and quiet before the dining room filled up - we felt like we had to whisper at first. =)

I felt really shy about taking my camera out during the appetizers. The room's ambiance was still hushed and I knew that the shutter sound would be unnerving to me. But regrets now, because the dishes were beautifully plated and delicious. I tried the Albacore Sashimi with shaved and pickled radish, snow peas, plums, and honey mustard yuzu (a citrus fruit). Howard tried the Beef Carpaccio with endive, Saint Agur (a type of blue cheese), herb croutons, and ranch dressing.

As the dining room filled up, our friends pointed out that lots of people had their cameras out. Sure enough, I look behind me and a group will serious camera gear were snapping away. At least my camera is still relatively small and I wasn't going to be out of my seat. . . .

I don't know, what's your take on this? I love taking photos of restaurants, dishes, and food products - but feel that some places, it doesn't seem proper to do so.

Above, Howard's main course was the BBQ Duck Confit and Seared Scallop with sweet peas, cauliflower, northwood mushrooms, passion fruit, and duck sauce. Howard was kind enough to give me a bite of the duck - it was very tasty! Sorry that the scallops are blocking the view in the photo!

I tried the Pan Seared White Fish with green curry lentils, prawns, and coriander scallion chutney. Comparing it to the duck confit, it just wasn't as good. We found the halibut a bit dry (more chutney would have helped) and bland. I should have ordered the duck!

For dessert, Howard's Tart Lemon Slice with honey lavender ice cream. I think he liked the ice cream more than the lemon tart!

I ended the night with a Double Chocolate Cake with minted white chocolate mousse. It looks like a fancy cupcake, doesn't it?