Caterpillar Sushi

Caterpillar Sushi from Jane’s Sushi & Teriyaki in Tualatin, Oregon!

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Simply for Inspiration: Dalloyau Cakes

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Waffle Window

It’s a common scene in action movies.  An in-the-know cohort inconspicuously makes his way down a rainy alley.  He looks over his shoulder, then steps up to a closed door and whispers something to the pair of eyes on the other side.  The door creaks open just enough for him to slip in and get a little closer to the goods.

While nothing illegal is sold through Waffle Window’s blue door, be full-warned that their waffles could very well become a new addiction.

The extensive list of toppings aside, the magic’s in the waffle itself.  Bread & Ink Cafe owner Mary Fishback uses two ingredients that make these waffles so memorable: yeast and pearl sugar.  The yeast lightens the waffles, giving them a donut-like texture inside.  The pearl sugar melts down on the iron, then crystallizes immediately, a crunchy crust its only trace.

There’s no code word or secret handshake needed to get your hands on this good stuff.  It’s just a matter of finding the blue door.

Waffle Window is on the corner of Hawthorne and 36th, just off the side of Bread & Ink Cafe.  During the summer, picnic tables outside are occupied by waffle-lovers and crumble-laden paper plates.  The other nine months of the year, the feast is brought into Bread & Ink in their picnic blanket clad section.

The plain, chocolate dipped, and a few others are veterans on the menu.  The rest of the heaping toppings change with the seasons.  This sweet seasonal one is worth racing over to the window for:  Cherry Cherry Quite Contrary.

Tart cherry filling cascading down a dollop of smooth lemon cream cheese (think lemon cheesecake filling), topped with the staple, hearty dose of unsweetened whipped cream and sprinkled with graham cracker crumbs.  All sitting on top of a sugar-crusted waffle.  The balance of flavorful cream, tart cherries, and the sweet, crunchy waffle blends together so well that it tastes like the combinations were meticulously planned by a panel of professionals.  We ate one inside, then went back to the window to get one to go.

So we showed the idea of waffles as breakfast food to the door, now let’s introduce the savory waffle.

Behold, The Three B’s:

Bacon, brie, and basil…brie hiding underneath a crosswork of pepper bacon with chiffonade strips of basil and a spoonful of chunky, house-made peach jam on the side.  If the list of the toppings hasn’t sold you yet, the contrasts will:  warm waffle, cool jam; crispy bacon, creamy brie.  It’s a happily unexpected experience.

Waffle Window’s stealthy location is one to be shared.  At an awesomely low $2-$4 each, these creative combinations constantly change and rarely disappoint.  If you ever find yourself on a dark southeast Portland street, I hope it’s the one that has the blue Dutch door.

Waffle Window, just off the corner of SE Hawthorne and 36th on the side of Break & Ink Cafe, Sunday-Thursday 8am-5pm, Friday & Saturday 8am-9pm.

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Melon Pan メロンパン

Lunch is by far my favorite meal of day.  Lunch in the city is even better!  Come noon time, people are out and about, rushed and looking for something quick, yet satisfying to last them til sunset.  I completely agree with the high value of spending time cooking a meal, then sitting down and savoring it, but my alter ego loves to eat on the run.  Shove me into a grocery store, farmers market, or food cart block and I’ll make it out more than satisfied!  Apita Supermarket’s stand-alone bread bakery on the main floor of the mall I worked in in Japan is one of those place I wouldn’t mind getting shoved into again.

My guilty lunch-time pleasure there was Curry Pan カレーパン, a slightly sweetened dough filled with a spoonful of spicy curry, then, get this, breaded in panko and deep fried.

But, in some unfortunate cases, with the tasty usually comes the scary not far behind,  ie. hot dog bun-shaped rolls, split open, spread with mayonnaise and topped with steamed corn kernels.  Sorry, I didn’t include the recipe for that one.

Every supermarket and convenience store I came across in Japan had a renowned crust-less sandwich section lined with rows of pre-packaged staples:  peanut butter &　…peanut butter; egg salad;  tuna (never accompanied by visible vegetables!  veggies in sandwiches send Japanese kids running for McDonald’s); jam & margarine; ham & cheese, you get the bland idea.  These Wonder Bread pillows, with mechanically sealed edges, came in a pack of two.  My awesomely beefy 5’10” brother laughed at the thought of these being considered a meal (it took three packs to remotely fill him up).

But what the supermarkets and convenience stores generally lacked in savory, bread-encased meals-on-the-run, they made up for one sweet treat and one treat alone:  Melon Pan メロンパン.

Yes, this one’s made by “Smile Oven”.  It just can’t get any better.

Melon Pan, or melon bread, is called such because the markings on the surface as supposed to resemble a melon (cantaloupe) and pan is the Portugese word for bread that the Japanese borrow.  Traditionally, Melon Pan doesn’t taste like melon, but some companies have started adding melon flavor to the dough. It’s made by forming rolls with an enriched white dough, then encasing the rolls in sugar cookie dough, scoring the top, sprinkling the whole thing with sugar, then baking.

What get me about this bread is the textures!  Usually dense bread in the center, a crunchy cookie crunch, and granulated sugar sprinkled on top.  Some brands put mini chocolate chips in between the bread dough and cookie layers — yes.  Very yes.

Check your local Japanese or Asian food market for Melon Pan メロンパン (or Curry Pan or the mayo-corn hot dog bun, we won’t judge!).  In the Portland area, Melon Pan is available at Uwajimaya, 10500 Southwest Beaverton-Hillsdale Highway, Beaverton, OR 97005, of which there are also locations in Seattle, WA and Bellevue, WA.  Have you seen it sold near you?

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Simply for Inspiration: Pierre Hermé’s Ispahan Croissant

This mouthwatering piece of pastry is the brainchild of Paris’ top pâtisserie chef Pierre Hermé.

The Ispahan flavor concept is a melodic combination of rose, litchi, and raspberry.  The red flecks clinging to the outside?  Dried raspberry.  The almond cream hiding inside the croissant is flavored with rose water and studded with litchis.

Caravans of students from school would grab the metro to the nearest PH store for these babies, bringing them back for the people who didn’t have time to get away!  Hands down, the best school snack I’ve ever had!

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Simply For Inspiration: Marionberry Lemonade

A sweet reminder that cloud-cover doesn’t really last all year long!

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Not the Average French Fry: Burgerville’s Portobello Wedges

Three drool-inducing words come in one brown, recyclable bag:  Panko Portobello Wedges.

You read right — hand-battered Portobello mushroom wedges that are coated in Japanese breadcrumbs.  When Portobellos are cooked correctly, they’re soft, not chewy.  I had faith in Burgerville, but when the woman behind the counter, who picked up on us staring at the Portobello poster, said, “You have to tryyy thoooose!  They’re warm and soft – perfect for winter!”  my anticipation rose.

The Panko Portobello Wedges are served with a flavorful garlic aioli dipping sauce, which should not be missed!!  The posters lining Burgerville’s windows call the wedges “A serious threat to french fry dominance”.  The panko crunches, the warm mushroom is tender to the bite, the cool aioli rounds out the experience.  Burgerville serves some delicious burgers, but I was so busy reeling in texture and flavor contrasts of the wedges that I never made it to the main dish!

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Behold Dave’s Killer Bread’s Sin Dog

There’s a carb-lover’s gold mine in Milwaukie, Oregon where an ex-con cranks out bread so delicious that it doesn’t need a spread to make it palatable.  Dave’s Killer Bread, run by the big man himself, is made and sold at his combination bakery and storefront in Milwaukie, just off Mcloughin Blvd.  Dave has an inspirational story of change and hope that took him from 15 years in prison to pioneer some unique, tasty changes and his family’s bread-baking company.  Watch an inspirational video on Dave’s story here.

But, can we just pause for a second and talk about Dave Killer Bread’s Sin Dog?

At the bare bones, this loaf is comprised of Dave’s Killer bread, spread with molasses and cinnamon, rolled up into a “dog”, and coated with a melange of seeds.  The intention is to take the dog (which is sold fresh or frozen, for a fraction of the price) and slice it into cinnamon rolls.  But it’s not just about the basics.  The gooey molasses-based filling oozes out when the individual rolls are cut.  And although it’s 100% organic, all-natural, vegan, and coated in a mixture that looks like what birds eat for breakfast, the combination of quality ingredients and intense flavor make this dog very, very sinful…like eye-rolling sinful!

Find your local Dave’s Killer Bread source here.  It’s available at certain locations in Oregon, Washington, California, Idaho, Utah, Alaska, and Montana.  Bread can also be ordered online and shipped anywhere in the US — and it’d be worth it!

Bon appetit!

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Hyper-colored Christmas

Believe it or not, the colors in this picture haven’t been artificially amplified.  At culinary school in France, I was introduced to French chefs’ perceptions of how American use food coloring.  We spent one lesson coloring plain marzipan and then making Troll-sized characters out of them.  “Zennifairr,” the sweet-hearted, lazy-eyed chef cooed from the practical room door, “Use very little color!!  The American girl in my practical this morning used such American colors!  They were so bright, I could barely look at them!  No Shrek Green, okay?”  “Oui, chef,” I squeezed out while trying not to laugh too loud, understanding his serious tone, but taking it with a grain of salt, as I did most American stereotypes I heard in France.

It wasn’t until I returned to the States and excitedly explored grocery store baking sections that I completely understood what Chef meant.  Check out this bad boy:

Quick bread loaves are great canvases for twisting.  But maybe not quite like this.

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A Twist of East and West: Sadaharu Aoki

Sadaharu Aoki is a master of all masters when it comes to twisting classic recipes with unexpected flavors.  Aoki was born and raised in Japan.  After finishing culinary school in Tokyo, he moved to Paris, France looking for job to improve his talents.  It was there that Aoki started capitolizing on pairing classic French pastry recipes with unique Japanese flavors.  His first shop, Pâtisserie Sadaharu Aoki, opened in 2001.  Eight years later, he has three shops open in Paris and two in Tokyo.  His shops are Japano-Francophiles playlands!

The cases gleam with blindingly bright colored twists inside.  And believe it or not, those intense hues are all naturel — Aoki doesn’t use any artifical colors or flavorings.

His Black Sesame éclair (accompanied with an Ume macaron in the picture) is a prime example. Aoki adds Japanese black sesame paste to French pastry cream, then encases it in pâte à choux – providing a slight variation on the traditionally chocolate or coffee flavored éclairs.  With a perspective outside of traditional, Aoki also makes French flavored éclairs with caramel and sea salt.  The fondant on top glistens smoothly, the pastry cream-pastry ratio is spot on (no messy overflow or cracks), and the intesity of the flavors is enough to yell “THIS ISN’T YOUR AVERAGE ECLAIR”, yet still leaves you wanting seconds.

Aoki also uses macarons, chocolates, cakes, and ice cream sandwiches to showcase flavors, among others!  Yuzu is a sour Japanese citrus fruit that tastes like a mixture of grapefruit, lemon and tangerine.  Ume, a sour plum, is eaten many ways in Japan:  dried, pickled, wrapped in a triangle of rice, and thanks to Aoki, also in dessert.  Genmaicha is a mixture of green tea and toasted brown rice.  You can see the tea leaves and puffed brown rice grains that expanded while roasting on the top of Aoki’s Genmaicha éclair.  Azuki beans are sweet red beans, that are either left whole or crushed into a paste and used as dessert fillings.  And probably the most spoken Japanese dessert flavor, green tea.  But from Aoki’s macarons to his éclairs or his “Bamboo” cake (a green tea-flavored Opéra), the green tea flavoring is delicate and deep, never grassy or over-powering

Sadaharu Aoki’s talent in twisting unexpected marriages rings around the world and shouldn’t be missed next time you’re in France or Japan.

Paris locations:

-35, rue Vaugirard 75006

-56, boulevard Port Royale 75005

-Galerie Lafayette Gourmet; 40, boulevard Haussemann 75009

Tokyo locations:

– 3-14-1 Shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku

– 3-4-1 Shinkokusai BLD Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku

– 9-7-4 Akasaka Minato-ku, Tokyo Midtown B1F

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