A Book, Bubble Tea and Sympathy

So. As the title indicates, I am going to share three things with you.

The book: put in simplest terms, it's wonderful. I just finished it. Anyone interested in food or cooking should race right out and buy it. Saying it is merely a book about a cooking class is a gross understatement. It's a book about understanding food and how it's cooked. It's enticing. It's charming. It's sensual. It is NOT a book of recipes. And it's a lovely story about everyday people who share a love of cooking coming together with all their individual problems. You'll adore it. After you read it, pass it on to a foodie friend. Maybe even someone who isn't. Buy it for a Christmas or birthday gift. The name? The School of Essential Ingredients by Erica Bauermeister.



The sympathy? I am going to take a short break from my blogging to have a hip replacement. Not something I am looking forward to, but as everyone informs me- ad nauseum- it's better than a knee. (Which doesn't give me much comfort, but fine.) And remind me never to say this to anyone else who is having a hip replaced. It's annoying. It makes you feel as though you will be the dunce of the class if you are not up and walking without aid in a week and driving in three weeks. Sans pain. Oh well, hopefully I will be back sooner than I expect, cooking, writing and reading about your cooking experiences.

Which brings me to the third item: Bubble Tea. I think the best thing about cooking, cookbooks, cooking blogs and cooking shows is you never stop learning. Every day there is an unfamiliar recipe, a little known ingredient, a remake of an old favorite- you never know what's coming next. And so it is with this unique and delicious recipe called Strawberry Basil Bubble Tea.

Have you ever heard of Bubble Tea? I bet those of you who live on the west coast have. How best to describe it? It's part drink, part dessert snack and all fun! It's non-alcoholic, non-carbonated and sweet, although it has much less sugar than a typical soft drink. The unique ingredient in Bubble Tea is the large tapioca pearl, which has a consistency of gummy candy. Being heavier than the drink, they tend to always stay near the bottom of the glass. These drinks are served in see-through glasses with an extra wide straw to slurp up the tapioca pearls.

The Bubble Tea craze has been huge in Taiwan and other parts of Southeast Asia for 15 years or so. The original Bubble Tea consisted of a hot mixture of Taiwanese black tea, brown large pearl tapioca, condensed milk and honey. Iced versions appeared soon and then along came green Bubble Tea which uses jasmine-infused green tea instead of black tea. Peach or plum flavoring began to appear, then more flavors were added. Flavors may be added in the form of powder, fruit juice, pulp or syrup, then add to the hot black or green tea, shake or blend with ice until chilled. Cooked tapioca pearls are added at the end.

Much to my surprise, the most recent issue of Veranda magazine had a Bubble Tea recipe in its excellent, albeit small, cooking section. It jumped right off the page at me and I couldn't resist trying it.

First, find the straws: specially made fat ones so you can suck up the tapioca pearls. Which does not sound enormously appealing at first, but turned out to be fun.




Then find the large pearl tapioca; I couldn't find anything but small pearl around here so I mail-ordered it.



Now the strawberry purée might have been a problem but I had ordered three purées from The Perfect Purée Company in California and one of them was strawberry. The magazine says you can find this item at speciality stores, but I can't find it here. (I bet you could improvise here with no problem.)


So, with all the ingredients lined up, I made my first Bubble Tea. It was refreshing, delightful, unusual and I can't wait to serve it to company. I was floored when I tasted this recipe- I loved the flavors. And now that I have the big straws- such fun- everyone will want to take some home. Thank God they come in enormous packages.



Strawberry Basil Bubble Tea
(Adapted from Veranda Magazine, July/August 2009)

Make a simple syrup: 1/2 cup water with 1/2 cup sugar. Bring to a boil, remove from heat and cool completely.

For the Bubble Tea:

Ingredients:
1 quart fresh strawberries, washed and hulled
1/8 cup fresh basil
1/2 cup fresh mint
3/4 tablespoon sugar
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon brewed, iced tea ( I used pomegranate flavored tea; use any you like but the original recipe called for passion fruit tea.)
1/2 cup simple syrup (see above)
1/4 cup frozen, prepared strawberry purée, thawed (available at specialty stores)
1/2 cup large tapioca pearls, cooked per instructions on the box

Method:
Puree fresh strawberries and strain through a fine sieve. Pour 1/2 cup of this purée into a small shallow container and freeze to make granité.

Using a mortar and pestle, combine basil, mint, sugar and 1 tablespoon of iced tea to make a syrupy paste.

In a large mixing bowl whisk together the remaining purée, basil-mint mixture, the remaining iced tea, simple syrup and the thawed, prepared purée. Chill at least 30 minutes. Strain through a fine sieve. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

To serve: fill the bottom of each glass with 1 tablespoon of the cooked large pearl tapioca. Top with the strawberry- basil tea mixture to about 1/2 inch from the rim of the glass. With a spoon scrape the granité and place on top. Add a mint garnish and serve with a wide-gauge straw. (Available at tentea.com or bobateadirect.com.)

Serves 6-8 as a pre-dessert or 4 as a dessert.

Mother's Raspberry Spring Thaw

Anyone who knew my mother would agree- nobody was a better home cook with the exception of perhaps her mother. In fact my grandmother and her sister owned a bakery in Detroit many years ago. And when Grandma came to stay with us…oh my…. those pastries after school! And her homemade noodles AND her pie crusts. Melt. In. Your. Mouth.

Years later, after we moved to Florida, my mother found some extra time on her hands and she became totally addicted to cooking classes; it makes me smile when I think of it because she probably should have been giving them not taking them! Anyway, Mother never lost her love of the culinary arts and my sister and I inherited her interest.

Pretty much right in the middle of her cooking class frenzy, this recipe made its initial appearance on our table. I think it was originally called Strawberry Spring Thaw- but Mother made it once with raspberries and loved it so she renamed it. Sometimes it’s such fun to make these really old fashioned desserts- they don't even try to be cutting edge- they stand alone- the best of the best. This is one you can make with a hand tied behind your back ( and a nice strong mixer) in no time at all. And freeze it way ahead of serving.

Raspberries are divine right now so use fresh but you can substitute frozen if you want. You could also use strawberries. If you use raspberries and don’t like the seeds, you could puree and then strain them. I don’t find the seeds bothersome in this recipe so I skip that step. Here's the thing: the crunchy nut topping makes this dessert.. I can’t get enough of it; luckily, it’s a generous amount.

When ready to put in the freezer, I use a springform pan but a rectangular pan would be fine. I’ve always thought it was a super ending for a ladies luncheon ( or Valentine’s Day) but it’s also great fun at 4th of July barbecues… serve it on a pretty white plate and add some blueberries for a pretty red, white and blue effect.

Raspberry Spring Thaw

Ingredients:
1/2 cup melted butter
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1 cup flour
1/2 cup chopped pecans
2 egg whites
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 pints raspberries or one 10 ounce package frozen raspberries
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup whipping cream, whipped
Method:
In a large baking pan stir the melted butter, brown sugar, flour and nuts with a fork. Bake at 400° for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring frequently. Set aside to cool. After about 10 minutes, crush the pieces with a fork to make a nice crumb consistency.

Beat whites to soft peaks, gradually adding 1 cup sugar. Add berries, lemon juice and vanilla. Beat on high speed until triple in volume. Fold in the whipped cream.

Spread all but 1/2 cup of the crumbs in a pan of your choice, top with raspberry mixture, sprinkle with remaining crumbs and freeze. ( To puree raspberries, process in processor and force through a sieve. If you sieve, use 2 pints fresh raspberries or two 10 ounce frozen packages.)

Good Things Come In Small Packages

Is sea bass one of those fish we're not supposed to eat? It’s confusing. And no wonder. First it was the “in” fish; then environmentalists got the word out about overfishing and sustainability. As a result, many chefs banned it from their menus. Now once again it's on menus everywhere AND in Gourmet magazine where I found this recipe so I'm guessing it’s OK to eat. Right?

I do love fish- any kind – cooked any old way, but I’m always on the lookout for unusual recipes. And I am not much for sauces, especially when I am watching calories. I want something simple, fast, lo-cal and delicious- yet something spectacular enough to serve to company. That’s the trick. Elegant enough for company without appearing like a skimpy diet dinner.

Well, here's a winner. Gourmet’s May 2009 issue has one of their “quick kitchen” recipes called Sake Sea Bass in Parchment. It looked like such a fun presentation and after reading the ingredients I didn’t see how it could go wrong. (Unless someone’s going to tell me I bought illegal fish from Whole Foods- which I greatly doubt.)

Since I found this recipe I've made it again and again. It's addictive. It’s perfect for dinner serving one or two as well as great fun for company. Just add a salad, a veggie and you’re done. Lovely.

Sake Sea Bass In Parchment

(Adapted from Gourmet Magazine, May 2009)

Ingredients:

1/2 cup sake

1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 teaspoon grated peeled ginger

1 teaspoon sugar

6 (6 ounce) pieces skinless sea bass fillet (about 1 inch thick), any bones removed

1/2 cup sliced scallions

6 (12 to 15 inch) squares white parchment paper and kitchen string

Method:

Preheat oven to 400°. Put a baking sheet on the bottom rack.

Stir together the sake, soy sauce, ginger and sugar in a bowl.

(If fish fillets are more than 4 inches long, fold the ends under.)

Place a fish fillet in the center of each piece of a parchment square and season very lightly with salt. Working with one fillet at a time, sprinkle each portion of fish with scallions and then spoon some of the sake sauce over the top, holding two corners of the parchment paper to stop liquid from spilling out.

Gather the corners of each piece over the fish to form a pouch, leaving no openings and tie tightly with string.

Repeat with the other portions.

Place on the hot baking sheet and bake until fish is cooked through, about 10 to 12 minutes. Cut the string, open carefully and enjoy! Serves 6.