Tag: PDX

Anise Ice Cream with Cardamom

Anise Ice Cream // Serious Crust by Annie Fassler

Anise Ice Cream // Serious Crust by Annie Fassler
Anise Ice Cream // Serious Crust by Annie Fassler
Anise Ice Cream // Serious Crust by Annie Fassler

I went to Seattle this past weekend. My aunt was visiting, and I needed to get out of town a bit. It turned out that he was also having this dinner with friends. He has all these friends who cook, and so they’re starting this dinner club kind of thing, like an extremely organized potluck.

It’s really cute – whoever is hosting picks a cuisine or a cookbook, and sends the guests recipes to make. My dad picked the Pok Pok cookbook, and oh my goodness, the meal was incredible. We helped him make the famous chicken wings (which were exactly like the real thing), which was so fun. And for dessert I made this dish I’ve been working on with my baker friend Caitlyn (post coming soon, we still have a bit more testing to do). Wanting something to top it with, I decided to also make some ice cream from David Lebovitz’s The Perfect Scoop. So what goes with a slightly Asian cake, and an incredibly flavorful dinner? I picked the anise ice cream, and decided to add a touch of cardamom.

This ice cream is beautiful – extremely creamy, herbaceous, and perfectly sweet, I could have gladly eaten just a bowl of the ice cream for dessert (or for a snack, which I did the next day). After making (and eating) this ice cream, I proceeded to take pictures of many recipes in The Perfect Scoop so I can make them at home… because unfortunately, I don’t have the book for myself.

Anise Ice Cream with Cardamom

Ingredients

2 tsp anise seeds
2-3 green cardamom pods
2 cups heavy cream
1 cup whole milk
2/3 cup sugar
1 1/2 Tbl good quality honey
pinch of salt
5 egg yolks

Instructions

Toast the anise seeds and cardamom in a small saucepan over medium heat for about 3 minutes, or until fragrant. To the saucepan add 1 cup of the cream, the milk, sugar, honey, and salt. Keep saucepan over heat until the liquid is warm, then cover, remove from heat, and let steep for an hour.

After an hour, re-warm the milk mixture over low heat. Pour the remaining 1 cup of cream into a medium mixing bowl, with a sieve set over the top. In another bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. When the milk mixture is warm, slowly pour it into the bowl of egg yolks, whisking constantly. Then, pour the milk and egg yolk mixture back into the original saucepan and cook over medium heat. Stir it constantly, preferably with a heatproof spatula, until the mixture has thickened and coats the spatula or spoon. Pour this custard through the strainer into the bowl with the cream, and stir it so the cream is fully incorporated. Set this bowl in an ice bath and stir to cool. Refrigerate until cooled through, and then churn based on your machine’s instructions. Enjoy!

Restaurant Review: Maurice

Restaurant Review: Maurice // Serious Crust by Annie Fassler

Restaurant Review: Maurice // Serious Crust by Annie Fassler
Restaurant Review: Maurice // Serious Crust by Annie Fassler

Ever since I first read about Maurice, I had been wanting to go. A pastry luncheonette – doesn’t that sound like the sweetest place in the world?

The nice thing about Jonah working downtown is that sometimes we’ll meet for lunch, and I get to try places that I wouldn’t normally visit (southwest Portland is not a place I really frequent). So when we decided to do lunch last week, I asked if we could go to Maurice.

It’s a tiny little place, right near Powell’s and Thai Peacock. An all white interior makes for a cheery brightness, even on dreary days (which is was when we went). There is one larger table for maybe up to 6 people, a few booths for 2, and a counter along the kitchen. The place has a very European vibe, and the light and simple interior is refreshing to me.

We went on the later side, and they had run out of one of their lunch dishes. So we decided to go with the brioche tartine with melted cheese, rye seeds, served with mustard and carrots, and the lefse with salmon roe and gravlax. For dessert, I decided on a layered mousse cup (caramel and mocha flavors) with a kind of cookie crumble. While I did thoroughly enjoy the food, I must say I was slightly disappointed in the size of the dishes, particularly when you factor in the price ($8.00 for each dish, and $10.00 for the dessert, as it was a special that day). Or rather, the price of the dishes, when you factor in the size. I am not afraid to spend a bit of money on food, but I left feeling… well, hungry. The service was fantastic, the space was lovely, and the food was delicious, but my advice would be if you’re going to go (which I definitely think you should), just know that you’re either going to spend a bit to fill up, or you’re going just for a snack.

200!

Well friends, this is post #200 on Serious Crust. It has been roughly 2 1/2 years since I started Serious Crust, and while 200 seems like both a big number and a small number at the same time, I’m definitely feeling a little proud of myself. I wasn’t sure whether to make this post just a normal recipe post, or a review, or a little recap of some memorable moments. After some deliberation, I decided on the last option. I’ve learned a lot about cooking and eating since we first started this blog, and I want to revisit some of my favorite posts that have really made a big impact on my culinary experiences. So, in no particular order…

1. Sea Salt and Thyme Chocolate Chunk Cookies

200! Top posts: Sea Salt and Thyme Chocolate Chunk Cookies // Serious Crust by Annie Fassler
Perhaps my favorite cookies on the blog…

These cookies are definitely one of my most revisited and recommended recipes. They where, I think, the beginning of my passion for interesting flavor combinations. I love the earthiness of them, the slight saltiness, the melty chunks of chocolate.

2. Tamar Adler’s “An Everlasting Meal”

200! Top posts: An Everlasting Meals // Serious Crust by Annie Fassler
Definitely my favorite food-related book.

This book has had a big impact in the way I think about food. I use more of my ingredients, I am more thoughtful of using my leftovers and how I can re-invigorate them, and I am more confident in cooking without recipes. A must read for anyone who likes food, cooking, and eating.

3. Lemon Baked Cod

200! Top posts: Lemon Baked Cod // Serious Crust by Annie Fassler
This lemon baked cod is one of our top hits on Serious Crust.

Funnily enough, of all the things we’ve made on this blog, this recipe is one of the most consistently shared on Pinterest. It continues to be one of the most visited posts on the blog. I can’t remember whether Jonah or I wrote it (it says it’s by me, but I think Jonah is the one who made the fish), but needless to say, it’s delicious, and obviously people like it.

4. Lamb & Love

200! Top posts: Lamb & Love // Serious Crust by Annie Fassler
This leg of lamb made for a memorable night.

This lamb meal was certainly a memorable one for us. First of all, we got a giant leg of lamb in the mail for free. Second, what was supposed to be a dinner gathering for about 6 people quickly turned into 11 people, and while that was stressful, it also ended up being a wonderful evening of delicious food and games with some of my favorite people.

5. Restaurant Review: Besaw’s

200! Top posts: Dinner at Besaw's // Serious Crust by Annie Fassler
What a lovely spot with delicious food for an awesome dinner.

While this dinner at Besaw’s was absolutely delicious, it was also an eye-opening experience for me. It was the first of what would become many media events, and also was the tip of the iceberg that is the food (and food blogger) community in Portland. There are some extraordinary foodie women out there, and they are so inspiring to me. It was ridiculously fun to sit around a table with them (and Jonah), talking and laughing and eating and drinking and learning. I hope to have many more experiences like this one.

Also, keep your eyes peeled in the next week or so for a new look. A little birthday face lift, if you will, for this beauty of a blog.

Matcha Green Tea Madeleines

Matcha Green Tea Madeleines // Serious Crust by Annie Fassler

Matcha Green Tea Madeleines // Serious Crust by Annie Fassler
Matcha Green Tea Madeleines // Serious Crust by Annie Fassler

Everything is melting. Meeeeelllllting! It’s like I’m the wicked witch of the west. Or rather that Portland is, anyway. Which is seemingly appropriate given the hue of today’s baked goods recipe. (In case you missed it, we are officially on the tail end of a large snow storm, at least by Pacific North West proportions, where it snowed for days and no one could drive anywhere and we all got cabin fever.)

I have long been wanting to try some variation of Matcha green tea madeleines. I’m sure, at this point, I have a bunch of recipes on my Pinterest board, and really I was just waiting for the time to come when I actually remembered to purchase Matcha at Tea Chai Té. You’d think it wouldn’t be hard, since I usually visit one of their shops every other week. But remembering is harder than you think.

You know what else is harder than you think? Weighing all of your ingredients. See, every recipe I found for these madeleines had the amounts in weight, or it didn’t have quite enough of this or that for my taste. OR even worse, it had some of the ingredients measured in weight and some in teaspoons or cups. Which is fine, I have a scale. But when it came down to it, and I was finally making these little gems, I was not in the mood to weigh a million things and add a little bit more, a teaspoon at a time, until the weight was exactly right. So… I guestimated. If I was someone else, I would have made this recipe multiple times, adjusting the amounts of ingredients to make sure I was giving you the absolute best variation. But I’m not someone else. I’m me. And this recipe worked. So this recipe is what I’m giving you. I hope that’s ok. And hey, wouldn’t you rather I be me instead of someone else?

Matcha Green Tea Madeleines

Ingredients

2 Tbl Matcha green tea powder
1/2 cup flour (all-purpose)
1 tsp baking powder
8 Tbl butter (1 stick), melted and cooled
3 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

Butter and lightly dust your madeleine pan with flour. Keep the pan in the freezer while you prepare the dough.

In a bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and Matcha powder and set it aside. In a bowl, beat the eggs for 1 minute (I used my electric mixer; a handheld mixer would work too), and then add the sugar and salt. Mix until the sugar/egg mixture is pale and a bit thick, about 5-6 minutes.  Add the vanilla, and mix for another minute. Now add in the flour and Matcha mixture, blending until it’s just combined. You’ll want to be gentle when adding the flour mixture, and may even want to use a spatula and gently fold it together – you don’t want to deflate the eggs. If you’re using an electric mixer, I recommend switching from the whisk to the paddle attachment. Once you’ve mixed in the flour mixture, slowly add the butter and beat until the dough is smooth with the mixer on a low speed, or with your spatula. Cover bowl and refrigerate for at least one hour.

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees, and remove the pan from the freezer. In each little madeleine mold, drop about a teaspoon of batter. Bake for ~8 minutes, or until they have puffed up and are golden brown around the edges. Allow the madeleines to cool in the pan for a minute before removing them. I found it easier to remove them by placing the wire rack upside down over the pan and then flipping it over, then lifting the pan off.  These are best enjoyed the same day, preferably right out of the oven, with a nice cup of tea (and no, it doesn’t have to be green tea).