Thyme, Orange, Almond and Chocolate Biscotti

In attempt to fully indulge myself in American culture this year, I have acquired the habit of drinking coffee everyday. I always like to accompany my daily brew with something sweet on which to nibble. Back in England, I would always have a stash of chocolate digestives, chocolate bunnies (around Easter time) and other chocolate treats to consume with my daily cup of Earl Grey. I believe that it is only fair that my coffee has a sweet companion too!

I decided to stay away from the giant cakes and muffins (as I would like to return back to England a similar size to that which I was when I left), and found out that Americans enjoy a nice chunk of biscotti with their coffee. That sounded like the perfectly-sized treat for my coffee!

Needless to say, a student life isn't the most affluent of lifestyles. I decided that by making my own biscotti, I am not only saving money, but have the ability to choose the exact flavours I like!

I decided to try out the combination of thyme, orange and dark chocolate. I was toying with the idea of dipping the biscotti in chocolate instead of adding chocolate chips but actually decided to keep the chips in the mixture. I love it when chocolate chips melt in my mouth with hot coffee... bliss!

As for the flavours, I think that they all go very well together. The thyme and orange add a refreshing aroma to the biscotti, the almonds add the perfect crunch and I have already mentioned the chocolate, above.

The beauty of biscotti is that you can add practically anything to it! Cranberries, figs, cinnamon, anise, rosemary, walnuts, lemon, pistachios, pumpkin, pecans, coffee, brazil nuts, ginger, macadamia nuts, honey, poppy seeds, coconut, raisins and the list goes on and on!

The only issue with these delighful chunks of biscuit is the unfortunate fact that they leave crumbs absolutely everywhere! I guess that'll teach me to use a plate for once...

A Beautiful Butterfly Brunch in San Francisco

I think that I have just experienced the most magical weekend of my entire life. January used to be the one time of the year that I really dreaded. It used to be filled with exams and bad weather. Everyone was depressed because they were poor, fat and/or ill.

In California, however, things seem to be quite the opposite. Winter is still here (many people from England forget that California has winters too) yet depression is far, far away!

Down The Embarcadero - The Bay Bridge in the background

The idyllic weekend started with a very chilled out dinner at my friend's place with lots of yummy food, wine and lovely friends. My Saturday involved a whole day's skiing in Lake Tahoe. This was the second time, only, that I had skied in my life and the last time was seven years ago. I was overjoyed that I managed to remember how to ski and the stunning kaleidoscopic sunset pushed my thoughts further into believing that this was all a dream. I was devastated that I didn't have my Canon with me to capture the sunset but I'm pretty sure that the camera would not have survived!

A sign outside the new Tcho chocolate shop and factory, down The Embarcadero

Sunday included a spontaneous trip to San Francisco with my fellow English friend Jennie and my photography buddy Matt. The aim of the trip was to get some great shots of San Francisco, which we did, and we also experienced an exquisite brunch in Butterfly down The Embarcadero.

Inside Butterfly Restaurant - Pier 33, The Embarcadero

I thought that I should avoid the bottomless mimosas but then thought that I would have just one. Because I can, now that I am 21!

Mimosa inside Butterfly Restaurant

I chose the Smoked Salmon Scramble with asparagus, tobiko caviar, crème fraiche and texas toast, but I asked for my eggs to be poached instead of scrambled (I just love 'em poached!).

Smoked Salmon Scramble - poached, not scrambled

The plate contained a dazzling plethora of colours. The eggs had a wonderfully soft yolk that provided a great sauce for the smoked salmon and al dente asparagus. Each forkful was a multi-textural adventure. The result was ultimate satisfaction!

Texas toast with butter and jam

Delicious salty residues

I had never had Texas toast before, but this gorgeous thick yellow fluffy bread was just perfect for mopping up all the delicious salty residues.

Not a trace left!

The meal was delicious and the picturesque dish was a shocking $12. The three of us almost keeled over with ecstasy after we had completed our meals. It is the experiencing of moments like these that remind me why I am studying abroad.

I thought that I would share a few of my favourite photos of the day. What's the point in taking photos if you don't share them?!

Fog at Lands End Trail

Rusty post on China Beach

The Golden Gate Bridge from China Beach

This photograph of the Golden Gate Bridge was taken from China Beach. When we arrived at China Beach we could not see any resemblance of the bridge. Within minutes, the fog slowly lifted to reveal what my friend calls "The Statue of Liberty of the West Coast". It was as if the Golden Gate Gods were there yesterday. It was a truly memorable experience.

Market Street, San Francisco

This photo of Market Street was taken from a friend's apartment on the top floor of the complex. I could have sat here and stared for hours.

This emotional weekend of bliss and enchantment will remain in my heart forever, California - you're the best!

Peppermint Bark - a little late!

Yes, Christmas is behind us now. However, I bought the ingredients to make peppermint bark in California before I flew back to England for Christmas and, unfortunately, amongst my birthday and end of quarter celebrations, I did not find any time to make it!

So now I am back in California for winter quarter, and lo and behold, the ingredients were still in the cupboard. I finally found some time to make it, with the few remaining candy canes, so here it is!

This peppermint bark is made from a layer of dark chocolate followed by a layer of white chocolate laced with peppermint oil, topped with a little swirl of red food colouring and a generous helping of crushed candy canes.

My father bought me lots of interesting bars of chocolate as part of my Christmas present (along with my new macro lens, thank you Daddy!) yet none of these chocolate bars included peppermint - a flavour I am rather fond of. I have been nibbling at these random chocolate bars every day with my cup of Earl Grey - salted hazelnut milk chocolate, dark chocolate with pink peppercorns and my personal favourite; Montezuma's orange and geranium dark chocolate (so in love with the taste of flowers!). Now I have another chocolate to add to the collection - some beautiful peppermint bark!

I guess you could say that this recipe isn't late and is actually a way of using up any leftover Christmas confectionary! I'm sure you could add any type of chocolate or candy to it, or make a completely different type of bark with whatever you have leftover. The only remaining confectionary I had from Christmas, however, were the candy canes and some very unpleasant chocolates from my $1 advent calendar, and I was most certainly not going to include those!

A Merry Christmas in Woking

I hope all my fellow friends, family and food bloggers had a wonderful Christmas filled with a stupendous amount of exquisite food and tipple!

This year my father went that little bit further with his lobster and king prawn cocktail; dusting it with cayenne pepper, dill, sesame seeds, rocket, beetroot and a drizzle of lime juice. Perfect with a glass of Champagne!

My father also creatively designed some Cognac and Coca Cola jellies to accompany our flaming Christmas pud. They were the most incredible-tasting jellies I have ever eaten! The Coca Cola was added for fizz, however, the fizz did not really set with the jelly. Instead, the flavour of the Coca Cola went overwhelmingly well with the Cognac, well done Daddy!

And here is one of our flaming pud! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

P.S. Someone let the cat in!

21st Birthday High Tea at Ciocolat

The day of my 21st birthday finally arrived on Friday December 10th 2010. What better way was there to spend my birthday afternoon other than with a luxury mini tea party at my favourite cafe in Davis - Ciocolat?

We sat down to a beautifully laid table with floral gold-rimmed cups, plates and saucers. We were offered a selection of fine teas to choose from. We were also generously offered a complementary bottle of Champagne to make the afternoon that extra bit special!

The four courses included cranberry and white chocolate chip scones with raspberry preserve, savoury croissants and sandwiches, an assortment of miniature desserts and fresh berries with chantilly cream to finish.

The savoury croissants and sandwiches included wholemeal bread with tomato, mozzarella, basil and olive oil, sliced cucumber and herb cream cheese on white bread and warmed baby croissants with black forest ham and Provolone cheese. Delicious little bites!

The mini desserts included black decadence cake and mini tropical and milk chocolate mousses. The chocolate decadence cake was a definite favourite!

Thanks for a lovely day my beautiful American/International friends!

Cheers!

Mikuni Sushi - Davis, CA

I am a complete novice when it comes to sushi. It is one food that I am not familiar with at all, yet very intrigued by. As embarrassing as it is to admit, I had only ever tried sushi in a plastic box from a supermarket shelf! So it's no surprise that I felt completely overwhelmed after my first sushi restaurant experience. It was at Mikuni in downtown Davis during my first week here in California.

In one of my lectures, I learnt that the Japanese use over 400 words to describe the texture of food, which is a staggering number compared with 78 words for the USA. Some of the most popular Japanese texture words included slippery, creamy and chewy (which can be related to sushi). This information can lead us to believe that the Japanese have a huge variety of textures in their foods that the rest of the world is afraid of or just not used to.


I started the meal with a miso soup...

...followed by sharing some flaming 'shrooms - mushrooms stuffed with crab mix, cream cheese, jalapeño, lightly fried, drizzled with a special sauce and topped with shaved bonito flakes. These were delicious and very different to anything I have ever had before.

I chose the Spicy Johnny Roll as I enjoyed it so much on my first visit - deep fried shrimp, spicy tuna, eel, avocado, masago (orange fish eggs) and onion. The tuna was raw and the eel was cooked which was the perfect balance for me - an explosion of gorgeous salty fishy flavours and an interesting variety of textures.

Our side of noodles had two pieces of cold crab on top... which seemed rather separated from the rest of the dish and perhaps a little lost...!

To complete the meal... a delicious (if a little small) lava cake for dessert.

My second visit to Mikuni did not live up to my first. This has happened to me a few times with restaurant experiences. I guess I must exaggerate the first visit in my head each time! It's still the best sushi I have ever had.... so far anyway!

A Spot of Pudding at Ciocolat

So one afternoon I found myself with a powerful urge to eat something sugary and fattening. This was probably due to the fact that I'd spent a rather long time glued to my laptop browsing food blogs. What did I do about this strong feeling inside? Well, I went to Ciocolat of course! (I would like to clarify that I was not alone, although I'm sure that it wouldn't surprise many people if I was...)

Chocolate decadence cake with a touch of espresso... rich and seductive. $4.75

Chocolate mousse cake with candied pecans (I think!)... Smooth and creamy. $4.75
I think I would prefer this without the layers of chocolate cake in between, however, this would probably make it just a chocolate mousse which we also ordered....

A small milk chocolate mousse - because it looked cute! $2.50

And a white one - so we would get equally fat! $2.50

Again, I did not enjoy the layer of cake on the bottom. It felt like a slice of plastic bread, but the mousse was nice.

Overall, they were not the most perfect desserts and I think that my cappuccino cup felt a little lost without a saucer. Also, we were asked to collect our drinks from the counter instead of the staff delivering them to our table... but that's just me being snobby and particular I guess! My pudding craving was was definitely satisfied, so mission accomplished!