For "Mileage", the first major single off new album One Fine Day. Jung Yong Hwa is in full glory goofy flirt mode, ie his best side (get him a role for this please). Too bad it's not summer because this song is a perfect top-down palm tree boulevard jam with a funky opener and short measures that promote sass. YDG's just ramblin' rap counterpoint complements the appease me crooning. (Plus "dancing".)
Then there's Yong Hwa in piano/orchestral title track "One Fine Day", which recalls the bitter sweetness of Alex's first solo album paired with a soaring heartbreak-y climax. First real ballad for our pop rocker and showing it with a few weak spots during performances over the longer phrasings and heavy belting. But nevertheless, a welcome demonstration of expanding range. (Plus "dancing" and a kiss.)
The partnerships throughout the album are well chosen to add RESPECT and some harmonic weight to tracks balanced towards Yong Hwa's bright vocal color. The duets are really solid.
"Checkmate" with straight up moody rock and a surprising addition of JJ Lin.
Yoon Da Hyun maybe blows it out of the water in "Cruel Memories", but the two sound great together.
Verbal Jint lends some smoothness to the scatting texture of the lyrics in "Energy".
I might have preferred if he committed to either the stretch of more electronic pop/ballad experimentation, as in Mileage, or an ambient rocker vibe, a la Last Leaf and the strange 70's haze inflected lullaby of 27 Years, with more conviction, conceptually. But I suppose people might have mutinied if they didn't get some strawberries in their basket.
More in the wheelhouse...
Cutesy, bouncy Star, You which premiered at the SBS Gayo.
8 tbsp. unsalted butter, cubed and chilled
3½ tbsp. confectioners' sugar
1 egg, beaten, 1½ tbsp. measured out for use
¼ tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
¼ cup almond flour
Cream butter and sugar in a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment until fluffy, 1–2 minutes. Add 1½ tbsp. egg and the vanilla; mix until combined. With the motor running, slowly add flours; mix until dough forms. Flatten dough into a disk and wrap in plastic wrap; chill 1 hour.
On a lightly floured surface, roll pâte sucrée into a 15" circle, about ⅙" thick. Fit into a 9" tart pan with a removable bottom; trim edges. Using a fork, prick the dough all over. Line dough with parchment paper and fill with pie weights or dried beans; bake until golden, 25–30 minutes. Remove paper and weights and let cool.
Notes: The texture of this pate sucre was very light, but the flavor was overwhelmingly eggy some reason. Even after a thorough chilling (in plastic wrap, and after shaping) and docking and weighting, it puffed up and shrank in the oven, then proceeded to bubble butter on to everything. The bottom and sides never really became golden after 30 min in a glass pie pan (even with blind baking, the pie needed some extra time in the oven at the end.) Overall, this crust felt fatty. Perhaps I will try a different pan? Recipe? Technique?
Almond Cream
5 tbsp. confectioners' sugar
2 tbsp. unsalted butter
½ tsp. vanilla extract
¼ tsp. almond extract
¼ tsp. dark rum
1 egg
5 tbsp. almond flour
2 tbsp. all-purpose flour
Using a stand mixer, cream sugar and butter until fluffy, 1–2 minutes. Add extracts, rum, and egg; mix until combined. With the motor running, slowly add flours until cream is smooth. Cover bowl with plastic wrap; chill until ready to use.
Note: The Bosch is finicky about the temperature of the butter when creaming. Fairly pliable butter is the easiest way to start.
Apple Filling
1¾ cups granulated sugar
½ cup unsweetened apple cider
3 tbsp. unsalted butter
4 large semisweet apples, such as Fuji, peeled, cored, and cut into 8 wedges each
1¾ cups granulated sugar
½ cup unsweetened apple cider
3 tbsp. unsalted butter
4 large semisweet apples, such as Fuji, peeled, cored, and cut into 8 wedges each
Note: This medium-high business didn't work for me, creating layers of sugar on top that solidified and slowly burning caramel underneath. Perhaps adding the cider and water earlier and letting the sugars cook down would take a little longer, but be less scary. Apple timing was spot on.
Apple Butter
8 semisweet apples, such as Fuji, peeled, quartered, and seeded
6 tbsp. unsweetened apple cider
8 semisweet apples, such as Fuji, peeled, quartered, and seeded
6 tbsp. unsweetened apple cider
Heat oven to 375°. Spread apples in a single layer on greased baking sheets; bake, stirring and rotating baking sheets occasionally, until apples are dark and caramelized, about 3 hours. Let apples cool slightly, then transfer to a blender. Add apple cider, and purée, scraping down sides as needed, until mixture is completely smooth. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator up to 1 month.
Note: This recipe makes 3 cups. I will try to grease the pans only very lightly next time as the flavor of the canola, a fairly neutral oil, was still pronounced. This recipe makes a mess of the pans...
Topping
⅓ cup all-purpose flour
Topping
⅓ cup all-purpose flour
⅓ cup almond flour
5 tbsp. granulated sugar
4 tbsp. unsalted butter, cubed and chilled
½ tsp. kosher salt
5 tbsp. granulated sugar
4 tbsp. unsalted butter, cubed and chilled
½ tsp. kosher salt
Pulse flours, sugar, butter, and salt in a food processor until mixture resembles fine sand; set aside.
Assemble and bake the pie
Heat oven to 325°. Spread reserved almond cream over dough; arrange apples over top. Spoon 1 cup of apple butter over apples. Sprinkle all of the reserved topping on top of the pie. Bake until topping is golden, about 45 minutes. Let pie cool completely. Dust with confectioners' sugar and cinnamon before serving.
Note: The edges of my pie began to brown much more quickly than the sides and bottom. Cover!
mashed potato
roasted asparagus
chicken breast, preferably pounded flat or sliced in half thinly
sauteed mushroom
mozzarella cheese
balsamic vinegar, a few splashes
beef bouillon, 1 or 2 tsp
sugar, 1/2 tsp
madeira, 1-2 cups
Preheat oven to low broil. Season chicken. Saute briefly on both sides. Deglaze pan with balsamic and beef broth. Add sugar and madeira till reduced. Plate and broil until cheese is melted and chicken is cooked through.
A staple of Chinese and Japanese bakeries, the Swiss roll (aka jelly roll, or roulade) cakes are not very sweet, have a relatively fine crumbed, dry sponge, light whipped cream, and layered only on the inside, so slices can be handled with fingers. My inaugural project for the new Bosch Styline Mixer was the Coffee Almond Roll Cake, an more elaborate confection that includes sponge brushed with syrup, slathered frosting, and a coat of candied almonds.
Elements (and their method)
Simple Syrup
Candied Almonds
Sponge Cake (aka French Biscuit, incl. basic Meringue)
Coffee Syrup 1 & 2
Custard (aka Creme Anglaise, Pastry Cream)
Meringue (Italian)
Butter Cream (aka French/Italian)
Many of these elements require a lot of whipping, so the Bosch got a good workout. More elements also meant more steps and more questions and lots of reading. During the execution of the recipe, I discovered that the "right" technique for a particular affect is sometimes just a matter of circumstance. Is the sugar very fine? You do it this way. Is the kitchen hot? Cold? You do the other way. To prevention a particular disaster from occurring, or fixing a disaster already occurred, you might use a microwave/blowtorch/warm hands/hot towel... If you know why, then you know what and how! A mistake (aka method) might yield a new flavor. Who knows until you try it?
COFFEE ALMOND ROLL CAKE
Simple Syrup
1 part water
1 part sugar
Nothing more than sugar dissolved in an equal part of simmered water, make a bunch of syrup and store it in the fridge. Use for lemonade and lots of stuff.
Candied Almonds
120 g almonds, chopped - I used sliced almonds but found that the cake was easier to cut using chopped almonds.
100 g simple syrup
Preheat oven to 180 C/350 F and toast almonds for 8 minutes. On medium, heat simple syrup to a boil. Dump in the toasted almonds and stir. The syrup will form threads and very sticky. Coat as much as possible and lay out on Silpat to cool.
Coffee Sponge Cake
Sponge
30x30 cm pan (12x12 inch)
3 large eggs, separated
1 tsp instant coffee
Meringue 1: Egg whites go in to the machine and get foamy. I used the balloon whip, started the mixer on the lowest setting and then brought it up to the highest setting.
Meringue 2: Meringue coming together quickly with little fuss. Watching the gaps from the whipped cap and bowl is the best indicator of the ETA.
Egg Yolks 2: I didn't clean the bowl fully before adding the egg yolks. The amount of meringue getting incorporated, told me how well the mixer was performing. Not having any other experience, I thought it did well - scraping out the bowl took care of any leftovers. Here, the egg yolk is forming ribbons.
Coffee Syrup
60 g sugar, divided
55 g cake flour
10 g cornstarch
1/8 tsp salt
Prepare pan. Preheat oven to 180 C/350 F. Beat egg whites until they are foamy, then add sugar. Continue beating until whites form stiff peaks. Mix in coffee, sugar, and egg yolks. Rest until coffee begins to dissolve. Beat until mixture is smooth and forms ribbons.Whisk together cake flour, cornstarch and salt. In stages, first fold 1/3 of the egg whites and egg yolk mixture together. Then, whisk in 1/3 of the flour. Continue till the ingredients are combined.ASAP, Pour batter into pan and smooth the top. Use less batter towards the first and last edges. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Remove the cake and parchment from the pan and let cool on a rack.
Prepare pan. Preheat oven to 180 C/350 F. Beat egg whites until they are foamy, then add sugar. Continue beating until whites form stiff peaks. Mix in coffee, sugar, and egg yolks. Rest until coffee begins to dissolve. Beat until mixture is smooth and forms ribbons.Whisk together cake flour, cornstarch and salt. In stages, first fold 1/3 of the egg whites and egg yolk mixture together. Then, whisk in 1/3 of the flour. Continue till the ingredients are combined.ASAP, Pour batter into pan and smooth the top. Use less batter towards the first and last edges. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Remove the cake and parchment from the pan and let cool on a rack.
Egg Yolks 1: Bright yellow egg yolks mixed with a balloon whisk.
Coffee Syrup
20 g simple syrup
1 tsp instant coffee
1 tbsp rum
Meanwhile, while egg is meringue-ing, warm simple syrup, mix instant coffee and rum. Cool.
Flip over the cooled sponge and carefully peel off the parchment paper. Brush syrup on the "ugly" side of the sponge, whichever side that is.
Coffee Butter Cream
Custard
30 g egg yolks (about 2 large)
Flip over the cooled sponge and carefully peel off the parchment paper. Brush syrup on the "ugly" side of the sponge, whichever side that is.
Coffee Butter Cream
Custard
30 g egg yolks (about 2 large)
50 g sugar
75 g milk
Coffee Syrup 2
2 tsp instant coffee
2 tsp golden syrup (or honey, maple syrup)
Bring milk and coffee up to just below a simmer. While it is heating, whisk the egg yolks and sugar to ribbons. Temper and set the mixture back on the heat until the temperature reaches 175° F, or custard passes the spoon test (like Moses, part the custard sea on the back of a wooden spoon.) The custard cannot b e raised above 182° F or it will scramble. If you strain it, it will taste overly eggy. Avoid using the strainer! Stir in the golden syrup. Let cool completely. Butter Cream
150 g custard (ref to above)
180 g unsalted butter (about 1.5 sticks)
Beat room temperature butter into the fully cooled custard 1 tbsp at a time until everything is fully incorporated.
Italian Meringue
35 g egg white (about 2 large)
70 g sugar
15 g water
On medium heat, allow sugar and water to come to boil. As the syrup reaches 100°C/220°F, start beating egg whites to soft peaks. When the temperature of the syrup reaches 120°C/238°F (the syrup will have thickened and viscosity will slow the bubbles rising and breaking at the top), pour the syrup into the eggs in a steady stream. Beat the eggs till they have cooled and the meringue forms very stiff peaks and is glossy rather than foamy at the surface. The meringue balls up on the balloon whisk, so I knew it was close to complete. Immediately, beat buttercream into the meringue until the mixture is homogeneous, without noticeable bubbling, and has a very satiny in texture and glossy appearance.
Reserve 1/4 of the finished butter cream and spread the rest on the cake (syrup side up). Roll up the sponge like sushi, making sure to pull the parchment to tighten. Rest on the seam side and frost with the rest of the butter cream. Press almonds all over to make a tasty armadillo shell coating! Serve at room temp.
Notes:
75 g milk
Coffee Syrup 2
2 tsp instant coffee
2 tsp golden syrup (or honey, maple syrup)
Bring milk and coffee up to just below a simmer. While it is heating, whisk the egg yolks and sugar to ribbons. Temper and set the mixture back on the heat until the temperature reaches 175° F, or custard passes the spoon test (like Moses, part the custard sea on the back of a wooden spoon.) The custard cannot b e raised above 182° F or it will scramble. If you strain it, it will taste overly eggy. Avoid using the strainer! Stir in the golden syrup. Let cool completely. Butter Cream
150 g custard (ref to above)
180 g unsalted butter (about 1.5 sticks)
Beat room temperature butter into the fully cooled custard 1 tbsp at a time until everything is fully incorporated.
Italian Meringue
35 g egg white (about 2 large)
70 g sugar
15 g water
On medium heat, allow sugar and water to come to boil. As the syrup reaches 100°C/220°F, start beating egg whites to soft peaks. When the temperature of the syrup reaches 120°C/238°F (the syrup will have thickened and viscosity will slow the bubbles rising and breaking at the top), pour the syrup into the eggs in a steady stream. Beat the eggs till they have cooled and the meringue forms very stiff peaks and is glossy rather than foamy at the surface. The meringue balls up on the balloon whisk, so I knew it was close to complete. Immediately, beat buttercream into the meringue until the mixture is homogeneous, without noticeable bubbling, and has a very satiny in texture and glossy appearance.
Reserve 1/4 of the finished butter cream and spread the rest on the cake (syrup side up). Roll up the sponge like sushi, making sure to pull the parchment to tighten. Rest on the seam side and frost with the rest of the butter cream. Press almonds all over to make a tasty armadillo shell coating! Serve at room temp.
Notes:
- Learn the master recipes for baking, then build on them
- Know the standard ratios and ranges of ingredients by weight
- Review the methods
- Back up any weight or method modifications with science when applicable
- Make the basics ahead of time if possible
- I was thinking about creating an excel spreadsheet that categorized the confusing number of names, methods, ratios (fat, sugar, etc), weights of various bits of master recipes listed in a specific recipe, but then I came across the Ron Viloria website and the work was already done for me. How awesome is this?!
- The base recipe is essentially the Almond Coffee Roll Cake from dailydelicious (lovely site with lots of entremet). But... The base layer is a foam sponge (the white and yolk are separated during beating ie biscuit) rather than genoise (eggs are not separated during beating). In lieu of Kahlua, I substituted dark rum and instant coffee. I omitted vanilla powder because I didn't have any.
- How to make a basic custard (Ron Viloria)
- How to size an egg (Crafty Baking)
- How to make a basic meringue (Le Cordon Bleu) - Do you really need lemon, a copper pot, or cream of tartar? Why do you put the sugar a little at a time?
- Scalding milk and why bother? - If heating is used to infuse flavor in the milk (ice cream), pasteurize milk to kill bacteria (un-pasteurized milk), kill bacteria in pasteurized milk capable of competing with yeast in breadmaking (not applicable), denature proteins that inhibit the rise of bread (not applicable), speed the warming process (temp x + temp x = temp x?)... then why not just whisk eggs, coffee and milk together and heat to 175 F?
- Types of cake (Ron Viloria) - Apparently, I don't much like American cake, ie leavened cake cake, ie oil cake, ie buttercream made with flour.
- Types of buttercream (The Tough Cookie: Battle of the Buttercreams)
- How to fix a broken buttercream - It's all about temperature!
- Stages of cooked sugar (Crafty Baking) - What am I making really?
- What are golden syrup and invert syrup - Prevent crystallization!
I happen to like the nice fluffy meatballs that come out of my food processor, though this may not be to everyone's taste. For a more meaty solution, reserve some chunky ground meat and stir it in after processing.
Meatballs
1/4 cup onion, finely minced, squeeze out the water
1 clove garlic, finely minced
1/2 lb ground pork
1/2 lb ground beef, 85%
1/2 tsp parsley, freshly minced and dried
1/4 tsp oregano, ground - finely minced fresh is good too
1/4 cup milk
1/3 cup matzo meal or fine breadcrumbs
2 eggs
pepper
salt
Sauce
pinch crushed red pepper
1/2 cup red wine
1 tsp garlic paste (leftover from Zankou)
2 large of cans of crushed tomato
1/2 tbsp sugar
pepper
salt
1-2 tbsp butter
opt. pinch of oregano, dried
Blitz starting with onion and garlic. After adding meat, pulse a few times and scrape. Pulse a few more times (not everything will be fully combined). Scrape into a bowl and fold a couple turns to fully incorporate. Adjust milk or matzo if necessary.
Heat a large saucepan with 1/8" oil. My mixture was rather soft, so I used a round 2 tbsp measure, slightly mounded, and tapped it out into my oiled palm. After giving it a couple of light rolls to tuck in loose bits, lay meatballs into the oil to, searing in batches. They will end up misshapen, but if you roll them around a few times, they smooth out a little. Remove seared meatballs on a plate and dump out most of the oil except a few tbsp.
In the same pan, raise the heat. Deglaze the red wine and dissolved sugar till just beginning to reduce. Add crushed tomato and heat till bubbly. Adjust seasoning. Swirl in butter, add the oregano, and return meatballs to the pan. Braise at a simmer for 20 minutes. According to the indian curry method... the sauce will separate slightly at the end, and then you know it's ready!
Resource:
Meatballs
1/4 cup onion, finely minced, squeeze out the water
1 clove garlic, finely minced
1/2 lb ground pork
1/2 lb ground beef, 85%
1/2 tsp parsley, freshly minced and dried
1/4 tsp oregano, ground - finely minced fresh is good too
1/4 cup milk
1/3 cup matzo meal or fine breadcrumbs
2 eggs
pepper
salt
Sauce
pinch crushed red pepper
1/2 cup red wine
1 tsp garlic paste (leftover from Zankou)
2 large of cans of crushed tomato
1/2 tbsp sugar
pepper
salt
1-2 tbsp butter
opt. pinch of oregano, dried
Blitz starting with onion and garlic. After adding meat, pulse a few times and scrape. Pulse a few more times (not everything will be fully combined). Scrape into a bowl and fold a couple turns to fully incorporate. Adjust milk or matzo if necessary.
Heat a large saucepan with 1/8" oil. My mixture was rather soft, so I used a round 2 tbsp measure, slightly mounded, and tapped it out into my oiled palm. After giving it a couple of light rolls to tuck in loose bits, lay meatballs into the oil to, searing in batches. They will end up misshapen, but if you roll them around a few times, they smooth out a little. Remove seared meatballs on a plate and dump out most of the oil except a few tbsp.
In the same pan, raise the heat. Deglaze the red wine and dissolved sugar till just beginning to reduce. Add crushed tomato and heat till bubbly. Adjust seasoning. Swirl in butter, add the oregano, and return meatballs to the pan. Braise at a simmer for 20 minutes. According to the indian curry method... the sauce will separate slightly at the end, and then you know it's ready!
Resource:
- Among the recipes I looked at, Lidia Bastianich's Spaghetti and Meatballs was the one I went to. Of course, I use what I have on hand (matzo meal), and remove what I don't like (parmesan - in the meatball, not on the pasta).
- Gastrique (The Paupered Chef) - Why not a backbone of bright flavor like a wine or balsamic sauce?
Sour Cream Topping (revised)
1/2 cup sour cream
1 tbsp of sugar.
1 Bosch Styline Stand Mixer**
Apply electricity for a few minutes. Done.
The previous recipe for Sour Cream Topping called for 1/2 cup each cream and sour cream, 1 tbsp sugar, and 1 whisk. Instructions involved the efforts of two people, furiously tag team beating, over the course of what seemed like eons, a stubborn mound of ingredients, sometimes on to the walls and floor. The revised recipe - using the Bosch mixer - is faster and less liable to induce cramping than what I used previously, a hand-me-down 70's handheld electric beater. The results are dramatically bigger, nearly double the volume, and the texture is lighter, smoother, and more uniform. Quality.
NOTE:
A bottom-heavy, metal bowl has an asymmetric lip (to indicate placement when locking into the base) and is convex on the inside (to path with whisk rotation). Sliding on the cover involves popping the tilt-head slightly (the machine will stop by itself). All the pieces fit together smoothly and stay secure while mixing.
Initially I was frustrated to find the whip always stopped in my line of sight but had to acknowledge my user error eventually. Instead of letting the machine come to a stop, I had been lifting the tilt-head too early and interfering with the whip's automatic "parking" motion towards the rear of the bowl. Now I know to let the machine do its job!
Although the Bosch will never be as sturdy as an all metal Kitchenaid or Hobart, for a plastic appliance, everything is decently constructed. The streamlined surfaces and accessories are easy to rinse and wipe. The light weight makes the unit easy to move around in my small apartment kitchen and the small size tucks under my low cabinets.
Amazon Warehouse offered a fair discount on open box merchandise that was pretty much mint. And so, with some measure of relief, I evade buyer's remorse.
This recipe is a 2 day affair, for the sake of the flavored rice, but is in fact very very little effort. You can get a similar effect in one day by first rendering chicken fat - requiring much trimming and tending - or secondly, laboriously harvesting fat with a skimmer. Or you can just poach chicken, make the scallion sauce, and finish the rice the next day.
Hainan Chicken
chicken, skin on - whole (and chopped up later), or a combo of dark meat thighs and drums. Breasts can be used but the cooking time will be a bit less, maybe 5 minutes
lots of salt
rice wine
aromatics are optional green onion - 2" lengths, rings
garlic, whole
ginger, sliced
jasmine rice
garnish - cilantro or green onion sliced in rings
Rinse chicken and rub salt very generously all over. Drizzle with rice wine and rest for 30 min so the chicken is close to room temp. Heat water until only tiny bubbles are slowly rising to the surface. The temperature should never maintain a steady simmer. Poach chicken and aromatics, cover on.
After 20 min, the chicken should be cooked through but still pink at the bone. Remove from heat and let cool. Chill until fat forms on top of the broth - the easiest is to refrigerate overnight - then skim the chicken broth of congealed fat. Make Jasmine rice as usual, substituting chicken poaching broth for water, and stir in the skimmed chicken fat.
While the rice is steaming, warm the chicken and broth. Plate chicken over hot rice and moisten with a spoonful of broth, sprinkle a pinch of white pepper, and top with green onion rings or cilantro. Serve with scallion sauce.
Scallion Sauce
green onions, ginger - finely shredded or minced, in equal parts
canola oil - enough to drench the aromatics (about 1/2 part ratio)
salt - to taste
Pour smoking hot oil over the mixed ingredients. Stir. More detailed instructions here...
Garlic Cucumber
cucumber - a less wet and seedy type is best. I prefer japanese or persian.
1 or 2 cloves garlic, crushed and minced
1.5 tbsp rice vinegar
2 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp of light soy sauce
salt to taste
1 tsp sesame oil
1.5 tbsp canola oil
With flat of a cleaver against the cucumber, lightly "hammer" until the cucumber splits open. Chop roughly to bite size chunks. Heat the oils to smoking and pour over the ingredients. Mix well and marinate for several hours or overnight. Serve chilled.
Bon Bon Chicken Sauce
1 tbsp szechuan peppercorn, crushed well
1 clove garlic
3 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp black vinegar
2 tbsp sesame oil
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp chili oil - opt. fresh chili, sliced
opt. 1 tsp. sesame paste or peanut butter
cilantro
1 tsp
Blitz in the food processor till emulsified. Stir in cilantro and chilies if using. Dress the pre-poached and shredded chicken (leftover roast chicken is also fine.) An hour or two of rest will let the flavors soak in. Serve over sliced cucumbers and garnish with shredded green onion.
