Jun-Blog » Holidays

Corgi Neckties and Hot Cocoa with Marshmallows

Jun Belen — Fri, 24 Dec 2010 17:44:33 +0000

The tree is lit. A new jigsaw puzzle is brewing on the table. In the kitchen, the turkey is roasting. Bibingka is baking. Hot cocoa is simmering.

And Stanford is dressed to the nines. Charming as ever.

This Christmas, we hope you surround yourself with food, family and friends. As this year draws to a close, we thank you for following Jun-blog and we hope you’ll continue to join us for more deliciousness in the New Year.

Happy Holidays!

Hot Cocoa Recipe, makes two servings

2 cups milk
1 tablespoon sugar
4 tablespoons cocoa powder
peppermint or vanilla marshmallows (optional)

Simmer milk in a small saucepan over medium to low heat. Add the cocoa powder and sugar and stir well using a whisk until completely blended. Pour hot cocoa in cups and top with peppermint or vanilla marshmallows.

Blue Moon in San Francisco

Jun Belen — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 01:56:37 +0000

If round things are a symbol of good luck and prosperity then I think there will be lots of it in the New Year. We may just need to work doubly hard to find it.

Here’s hoping for the best for everyone. Happy New Year!

12 Round Shaped Sweet Treats for Good Luck: A New Year’s Tradition

Jun Belen — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 01:21:52 +0000

Every New Year’s Eve, it has been my mom’s tradition to gather 12 round fruits to bring us good luck in the coming year. It has to be twelve, she says, one for each month of the new year. And it has to be round-shaped for prosperity, abundance and wealth. So she buys grapes, oranges, melons and even watermelons to ring in the new year.

This year, I’m starting my own tradition. I’m gathering 12 round shaped sweet treats to welcome the New Year! These are my San Francisco favorites culled from past blogs plus teasers for future posts. It’s definitely not a comprehensive list since I can only cram twelve. And I guess, that’s what the New Year is for, a whole new year to try new tasty treats! Send me a note and let me know what’s on your list.

And by the way, I define round shaped very loosely here. It can be spherical or circular in shape or served in a spherical or circular container.

Fried Dough.

1. Dynamo Donut’s maple glazed bacon apple doughnut. “The saltiness of the little chunks of crispy bacon complements the sweetness of the maple glaze very well, which makes the maple glazed bacon apple an instant favorite.”

2. I Preferiti di Boriana’s bomboloni. Italian doughnuts filled with chocolate ganash and tossed in sugar. Pure bomboloni bliss.

Street Sweets

3. Creme Brulee Cart’s Cap’n Crunch Creme Brulee. “But as he sprinkled colorful Cap’n Crunch pieces on my cup, for some reason, I got so excited. I knew I was in for a sweet treat!”

4. Wholesome Bakery’s Sweet Potato Pie. Healthy baby sweet potato pies that actually taste great. The sweetness of the sweet potato shines.

I Scream for Ice Cream

5. Bi-Rite Salted Caramel Ice Cream. “One of the best things in life is real good ice cream. And Bi-Rite Creamery’s artisanal ice cream is beyond good.”

6. Humphry Slocombe’s Ice Cream. Yes, you read it right: salt-n-peppa ice cream. Crazy, one-of-a-kind and out-of-this-world, yummy flavors are what makes Humphry Slocombe truly special.

Cupcake Heaven

7. Kara’s Cupcakes. “A pink box full of Kara’s pumpkin spice cupcake, moist carrot cupcake, and banana cupcake with caramel filling, all topped with Kara’s silky smooth cream cheese frosting, makes me extremely crazy, stupid happy.”

8. Baked’s Red Velvet Cupcake. This small bakeshop in Potrero Hill is a real neighborhood find with baked treats like cookies, peanut brittle, and delightful red velvet cupcakes.

Filipino Finds

9. House of Silvanas Bakeshop’s Ube Silvanas. “They are best enjoyed frozen. The crunchy wafers and the yummy buttercream just delightfully melt in your mouth.”

10. Hilda’s Hopia. Hilda’s Filipino favorite bean filled pastry is flaky, buttery and sweet.

Breakfast Bites

11. Dottie’s Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Pancakes. “The neighborhood may be dicey and the wait may be long but breakfast at Dottie’s is always a treat. The food is simply scrumptious.”

12. Tartine’s Bread Pudding with Apples. There are so many tasty treats to try at Tartine (and a lot of alliterations, too); from delicious croissants and tarts to amazing bread pudding.

My Little Corgi Poinsettia

Jun Belen — Fri, 25 Dec 2009 19:16:27 +0000

Happy Holidays to everyone!

May the joy of the Holiday season fill your homes today and throughout the New Year.

On Thinking about Perfect Stuffing Balls and Pumpkin Pies While Wishing the Rain Would Just Go Away

Jun Belen — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 21:55:38 +0000

Thanks to the rain, I was able to finally post photos from Thanksgiving. Kudos to my pie maker extraordinaire, Dennis made a lovely Thanksgiving dinner from perfect stuffing balls to tasty pumpkin pie. The roasted turkey this year was outstanding, too.

I just love the holidays. But I wish it’d be a tad warmer and drier.

On Making Pie Crust from Scratch

Jun Belen — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 18:09:17 +0000

Making pie crust from scratch isn’t too hard. Okay, scratch that. Watching Dennis make pie crust from scratch isn’t too hard. But seriously, it’s one of those things that seem too laborious, too tedious to do but it’s actually not.

The Awl has an awesome recipe for homemade pie crusts and here is a documentary in photos of the flaky buttery goodness that Dennis made over Thanksgiving.

A few key things to remember: flour, butter and water must be chilled before making the dough. Mix 1-1/2 cups of flour, a few pinches of salt, a smidge of sugar, 2 sticks of butter, and about a cup of cold water into a lumpy dough with chunks of butter. Do not mix it thoroughly. Let the dough rest in the freezer for at least about half an hour before rolling it.

Clean your counter thoroughly and spread a generous amount of flour all over it. Flatten your dough four to six inches wide, fold it in on itself and roll it out using a clean bottle with no labels or, of course, a rolling pin if you have one. If it’s too dry and it breaks a lot, fold it back in on itself and glue back bits and pieces with some water. If it’s too soft, which means it’s too wet, put some more flour. Continue rolling and turning for a few more times until it’s dish size.

While Dennis was busy rolling the dough, my friend Alvin and I were busy making the apple filling. Seriously, peeling, coring and slicing 2-1/2 pounds of apple (5 to 6 large ones) into 1/4 inch thick slices is the more tedious part of the entire apple-pie-making exercise compared to making the crust. We used Pink Lady apples because Dennis thought they were pretty but also because we wanted a sweeter apple pie. Granny Smiths, Jonathan, Jonagold and Pippin are great choices for a sweet-tart apple pie but stay away from Gala, Red Delicious and Golden Delicious apples because they tend to become too mealy. From the Joy of Cooking, mix the apples with 3/4 cup sugar, 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, a pinch of salt. Let it rest for 15 minutes an pour the filling into the bottom crust. Add 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter, cut into small pieces, on top of the apple filling. Cover the pie with the top crust and sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon.

Bake for 30 minutes at 425F. Slip a baking sheet under the pie, reduce the temperature to 350F and bake until the apple feels tender when a knife is poked through a steam vent, 30 to 45 minutes more.

Baking was actually the most exciting part of the day. I guess for some reason Dennis added much more butter than what the recipe called for and it melted, spilled out of the pie and burned inside the oven. While smoke enveloped the entire loft and the smoke detector madly went off, we tried frantically to save the apple pie! After all the rolling, peeling, and coring we had to do, we were determined not to let too much butter ruin the day! In the end, we persevered. And seriously, butter is always a good thing.

Embarcadero Holiday Lights: Let the Holidays Begin

Jun Belen — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 16:03:53 +0000

The lights have been turned on and the holiday season in the city has officially begun. With more than 17,000 lights illuminating the Embarcadero Center, the San Francisco skyline is more stunning than ever.

Now it’s time for some turkey and pumpkin pie.