Linda Shiue's Open Salon Blog

Images of San Francisco's Chinatown, Year of the Dragon 2012

Fri, 17 Feb 2012 08:02:32 -0500

Last weekend marked the official end of the Chinese/Lunar New Year Celebrations ushering in the Year of the Dragon. I had the chance to meander through the oldest Chinatown in the United States, in San Francisco. The photos show the old and the new, commerce and tradition, ending with a classic Chinese poem that sums up the immigrant path to achieving the American dream. Enjoy the stroll.

Diligence is the path up the mountain of knowledge

Hard work is the boat across the endless sea of learning

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Were you hoping for a recipe? Here are several for food traditionally eaten during the Lunar New Year for good luck and prosperity:

Lucky Shrimp Dumplings for Chinese New Year

Tea eggs

Potstickers

Flowering chive omelet

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service

Mon, 16 Jan 2012 09:01:23 -0500

mural by Precita Eyes Mural Center

and the students of Martin Luther King, Kr. Middle School,

San Francisco, California

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once said, "Life's most persistent and urgent question is: 'What are you doing for others?'"

If you can, consider honoring the memory of Martin Luther King, Jr. today by helping others. To find a service project in your community, visit the official website for the MLK Day of Service.

Peace, Linda

Pain d'Epices au Chocolat (Chocolate Spice Bread)

Tue, 13 Sep 2011 09:09:12 -0400

This is the third installment in a series on the French-themed trip I took this summer, which included two weeks in Paris. In my first post, I fill you in on how I became such a Francophile. In my previous post, I wrote about a Parisian food tour inspired by David Lebovitz. As promised, here is the recipe for David Lebovitz's pain d'épices au chocolat, or chocolate spice bread.

Thanks for reading and please check back in, there's a lot more to come!

* * *

Until my trip this summer, I had never heard of pain d'épices, a honey-rich, dense spiced bread that is often served with a slice of paté and other savory accompaniments. When I had a chance to try it, I found it to be sweeter and less spiced than I had expected. I didn't love it, to be honest. But when I read David Lebovitz's The Sweet Life in Paris, I was intrigued by his take on the classic recipe-- his version has the untraditional but faultless addition of rich chocolate. After all, I can't think of many things chocolate doesn't make better. The recipe reminded me of the chocolate chai I so enjoy sipping, so I had to try it out. It was fantastique! I made only a few small changes: I omitted the whole anise seeds because I couldn't easily procure any, so I increased a bit of the other spices (ground ginger, cinnamon and cloves). He recommends serving this dense bread/cake with coffee and with fresh or poached pears. Because California strawberries are in sweet season now, I am pairing this cake with strawberries instead, and a dollop of creme fraiche.

David Lebovitz's Chocolate Spice Bread (Pain d'Epices au Chocolat)

Adapted from The Sweet Life in Paris, Broadway Books, 2009.

Makes 1 9-inch round cake.

Ingredients

7 tablespoons (100g) unsalted butter, cut into pieces (I used Kerrygold)

7 oz (200g) bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped (I used two bars of Valrhona Le Noir Amer 71% Cacao)

1 1/4 cups flour

3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

1 tsp baking powder

3/4 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp ground cloves

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp whole anise seeds (if unavailable, substitute an equivalent amount of the above spices)

2 large eggs, at room temperature

2 large egg yolks

1/4 cup honey

2/3 cup sugar

Technique

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Butter a 9 inch round cake pan, line bottom with parchment paper, and butter that as well. Dust insides of the pan with flour or cocoa powder (David's genius tip!) and shake out excess.

2. Melt chocolate and butter together in a double boiler (or in a microwave, as I do, 30 seconds at time at medium power and stirring well in between zapping in the microwave).

3. In another bowl, sift flour, cocoa, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and salt. Add anise seeds, if using.

4. In another bowl use an electric mixer to whip together the eggs, yolks, honey, and sugar until thick and mousselike, about 5 minutes on high speed.

5. Fold half of the whipped egg mixture into the melted chocolate and butter. Then fold in the other half.

6. Add the dry ingredients one-third at a time using a spoon to combine slowly.

7. Scrape batter into the prepared pan and bake 30-35 minutes, until it is barely set in the center, but still moist.

8. Remove from oven and cool for 15 minutes in the pan. Then cool completely on a rack. Wrap completely in plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature for 24 hours to let flavors meld.

A Food Tour of Paris with David Lebovitz as My Muse

Tue, 6 Sep 2011 09:09:32 -0400

This summer I had the wonderful opportunity to travel for a month on a French-themed trip, which included two weeks in Paris. I've written before about how I became such a Francophile. Starting this week, I'll begin a series of posts on my food adventures. Thank you for coming by, and please come back soon to hear more about my explorations.

* * *

My trip this summer fulfilled a lifelong dream I’ve had since first falling in love with the French language and culture in my childhood. With more than three decades of built-up anticipation, I made sure I was prepared. I started my preparations by tuning up my rusty high school French. Time didn't allow for taking classes at the Alliance Française, which is what I would do the next time. So instead I listened to the Pimsleur CDs in the car during my commute for a month leading up to the trip. While some of the vocabulary was either archaic or overly formal (nobody I spoke to referred to les e-mails as les courielles), it was definitely worth my time to listen to spoken French and to practice my pronunciation. I also purchased too many guides, I think six in total. Of those, I ended up packing three. One was the most recent edition of Time Out Paris, which provided the most detail of my three guides, but was too heavy to tote around on our explorations. The second was City Walks Paris, a set of 50 cards published by Chronicle Books, each of which outlines a recommended walking tour in various parts of the city. My family and I really enjoyed using these cards as a loose guide to our wanderings (it made us feel adventurous and more local), and the detail map on the back of each card was generally better and easier to use than any of the Paris city maps we had.

And as a food lover and blogger, I of course needed advice on the best places to eat in Paris. Who better to ask than David Lebovitz, former Chez Panisse pastry chef and American-expat-in-Paris food blogger extraordinaire? Alas, lacking the connections to ask him directly (he does not read this blog), I had to make do with reading his witty memoir with recipes, The Sweet Life in Paris. His amiable and chatty style makes you feel like he is ton ami, and I was so grateful for his "personal" recommendations I jotted down in my Moleskine notebook I brought along in lieu of my laptop. More than just my source for les meilleures choses a manger in Paris, I found The Sweet Life in Paris to be my best cultural guide, hands down, to les Parisiens. David does this through funny, self-deprecating anecdotes about his own personal follies as an expat in Paris, and he's not shy about sharing. These tales are threaded through The Sweet Life in Paris, but for a brief introduction I encourage you to check out his "My Paris" post on his blog. On this he has distilled some essential tips to having your own Sweet Life in Paris, some obvious and others not so much. Par exemple,

"It’s taken me a few years to get used to the fact that I can’t run to the corner bakery for bread wearing sweatpants and flipflops, nor can I wolf down pastries on the métro without getting disapproving stares. So don’t be afraid to dress a bit better than you would at home and to practice a few words of your high-school French."

"Don’t assume your waiter is rude just because he doesn’t introduce himself by name and tell you his life story and rush over to refill your water after each sip."

"There is a perception the French are rude which is probably because you never come across anyone rude in America. In Paris, it’s imperative to say ‘Bonjour Madame/Monsieur’ when entering a shop or restaurant, and ‘Merci Madame/Monsieur’ when leaving. There is an equally incorrect perception that Americans are impolite since they don’t acknowledge the salesclerks in their shops, which is like being invited into someone’s home and stepping inside without saying hello."

* * *

So with the words of my trusted guide and mon ami imaginaire, David, in my head, I dragged my husband and kids along on several food treks, hunting down some of David's favorite places in Paris. These are just a few of the many that were well worth the trip. I've listed them with their street addresses, arrondisements, and closest Métro stop. For opening hours, check before going, as these seem to change on a whim, particularly in August, when most of Paris shuts down for its annual congé. (Live and learn.)

Angelina 226, Rue de Rivoli (1st; M: Tuileries)

This is the place to go when you're looking for an elegant salon de thé near the Jardin des Tuileries and the Louvre. Angelina is best known for its rich, dense hot chocolate, called Le Chocolat Africain on its menu. We enjoyed that smooth, rich, chocolate brew along with a sampling of macarons, and were lucky enough to be seated next to a table of women who were having a tea party straight of La Belle Epoque.

* * *

Au Levain du Marais 28, Boulevard Beaumarchais (11th; M: Bastille)

David likes this neighborhood boulangerie for its croissants, which he thinks are the best in Paris. And who am I to disagree? They were flaky, buttery and crispy, perfect with jam or chestnut paste. We also picked up a beautiful tart for dessert, filled with pistachio cream and topped with red fruits.

* * *

Pierre Hermé 72, rue Bonaparte (6th; M: Saint-Sulpice or St Germain de Pres )

This is an iconic place to get macarons. We braved a surprise rainshower and lined up with other tourists outside the tiny shop near the Jardin de Luxembourg to see what the fuss is all about. The display was dazzling and the flavors exotic. We tried olive oil and vanilla, jasmine, milk chocolate and passionfruit, and salted caramel.

* * *

Poilane 8, rue du Cherche-Midi (6th; M: Saint-Sulpice)

I knew that the rustic, round loaves of miche bread here are famous, but I did not know until later how crazed people around the world can get about le Pain Poilane. Apparently there are forums and fan pages dedicated to the subject. We found the Poilane bread to be very good, especially heated or toasted. But to be honest, I think we're spoiled by the bread at Tartine in San Francisco, which, lucky for us, is not only just a few minutes away, but also-- dare I say?-- far superior to Poilane's.

* * *

I did not have a chance to visit another one of David's recommendations, A La Mere de Famille (35, rue du Faubourg Montmartre), a legendary traditional gourmet shop which sells pain d'épices, a honey-rich, dense spiced bread, among other French classics. I had a chance to try a slice of pain d'épices elsewhere, served alongside paté. I found it to be sweeter and less spiced than I had expected. But I was intrigued by David's take on the classic recipe-- his version has the untraditional but faultless addition of rich chocolate. Reading the description made me think of the chocolate chai I so enjoy sipping, so I had to try it out. I'll be sharing the results in my next post, coming soon!

Bicycles, Books, and Ginger Beer on the 4th of July

Fri, 1 Jul 2011 02:07:03 -0400

I am daydreaming of those lazy summers of my youth, where bicycle trips to the local library would reward me with global adventures, if only in my imagination. I was in 5th grade when I stumbled upon a tattered paperback copy of Five Fall Into Adventure, one of the volumes in the expansive Famous Five series by British children's author Enid Blyton. I may have been a shy and bookish girly girl reading in a pleather armchair in the basement of our Long Island home, but when I opened Five Fall Into Adventure, I was Georgina, the brave tomboy heroine my age, always on a quest for adventure (of course). Georgina, or George, as she insisted upon being addressed, spent her summers pedaling the English countryside with her cousins. It's been decades since I read the book, but I haven't forgotten the images of them taking rather civilized breaks from their sometimes dangerous dallyings to have a proper picnic of homemade sandwiches washed down with ginger beer. Beer? thought my incredulous 10 year old American mind-- kids drinking beer? It took me many years and a trip to the Caribbean to understand that ginger beer is a strong brew, but a non-alcoholic one.

So if you're looking for a refreshing cold drink for the 4th of July and want something a little more adventurous than the standard icy cold beer, have some ginger beer. Celebrate Independence with this non-alcoholic beverage enjoyed in the (other) former British colonies in the Caribbean. It has an intense zing, much more potent than ginger ale. Cheers!

Ingredients

1 pound fresh ginger

1 lime

4 pints water

granulated white sugar, 1 to 2 pounds (to taste)

4 pints sparkling water

Technique

1. peel and grate the ginger root

2. juice the lime, and reserve the peel

3. place the above ingredients into a large jar with the water

4. place the jar in the sun for an entire day-- go out on your bicycle and fall into adventure!

5. strain out solids, and sweeten the liquid to taste

6. allow to settle in the refrigerator for 2 days

7. add sparkling water to taste or desired fizziness

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Tired of the same old burgers and hot dogs? Here are a few twists to help you celebrate the 4th of July in style:

Silk Road Lamb Burgers

Gyro Lamb Hot Dogs

Looking for some other great books to magically transport your kids to other places and cultures? Take a look at my list of books to raise globally aware readers.