Chouquettes

By Karen

 Chouquettes, fresh out of my oven

One of the highlights of the trip to Paris that James and I went on this summer was discovering and tasting chouquettes for the first time (and then many times again thereafter).  Chouqettes were, like many of the best things in life, a sweet surprise (which later inspired the name of this blog).

Our hotel was located in a residential neighborhood near the Eiffel Tower, and after a day or two, we quickly made it a habit to stop by the local patisserie for croissants and espresso.  In addition to to wonderfully flakey croissants, this bakery had a number of other breads, pastries, and curious looking treats.  One treat in particular caught my eye - chouquettes.  They were small, round, and golden brown with mysterious white flecks - I knew I had to try them.

While my high-school-level French was sufficient to ask "Qu'est-ce que c'est?" ("What it this?"), it was far too deficient to understand the answer.  (Honestly, I'm not sure why I even bothered to ask.)  After a flurry of incomprehensible French, I remained undeterred and ordered two of them  (my grasp of French was also too poor to understand that the chouquettes are generally only sold in bags of ten).

It was love at first bite. The chouquettes were, surprisingly, hollow on the inside, and consisted of a light, eggy dough studded with crunchy chunks of pearl sugar.  In a word - delicious.  James and I devoured our chouquettes, and quickly ordered a (proper) bag of ten to take with us.  

During the rest of our trip, chouquettes became a constant.  After our morning espresso and croissants, we would toss a bag of chouquettes in my purse and snack on them throughout the day.  We munched on them while waiting in line at the Notre Dame, snuck bites underground while waiting for the Metro, and took chouquette breaks to recharge us on our long walks around the city. 

When I returned home to Seattle, my stomach suffered withdrawals from the regular chouquette doses it received in Paris, and there were sadly none to be found in any of the bakeries in the city.  Luckily, one of the books I happened read in anticipation of going to Paris was The Sweet Life in Paris by David Lebovitz, a well-known American pastry chef and author who loves in Paris.  This book is a collection of short essays with recipes that relate to each story, and was a fantastic read for its insight into finding the best pastries in Paris (and for its insight into Parisian life). 

Imagine my surprise (and joy!) upon coming home and discovering that the Sweet life in Paris had a recipe for chouquettes all along!  I have attempted David Lebovitiz's recipe several times now, and they are (surprisingly) easy to make and have turned out beautiful each time.  While the are not the same as those from the Patisserie in Paris, they still manage to hit the spot when a chouquette craving comes up.

Recipe for Chouquettes (adapted from The Sweet Life in Paris by David Lebovitz)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup water
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small chunks
• 1 cup flour
• 3 large eggs, room temperature
• 1/2 cup pearl sugar

Instructions:

1. Position oven rack in the middle of the oven; preheat oven to 425 degrees, and line baking sheet with parchment paper
2. In a medium sized pot, heat water, salt, sugar, and butter, stirring until butter is melted and water begins to boil
3. Remove pot from heat and dump in all flour at once, stirring rapidly until the mixture is smooth and pulls away from the sides of the pan
4. Allow dough to cool for two minutes, stirring occasionally to release the heat
5. Beat the eggs one at a time (by hand or with a mixer) until the paste is smooth and shiny
6. Drop golf-ball sized mounds of dough by scooping with two spoons on the baking sheet, evenly spaced
7. Sprinkle pearl sugar liberally over the top and sides of each mound
8. Bake the chouquettes for 35 minutes, or until puffed and well browned 

Notes:

• This recipe makes about 25 chouquettes
• The chouquettes are best eaten warm or at room temperature the same day they are made
• Pearl sugar is an essential ingredient, and can be found on-line, at Scandinavian specialty stores (such as Scan Specialties in Seattle), or at some Ikea stores
• I find that the best way to get maximum sugar coverage is to scoop out a mound of dough in one spoon, sprinkle pearl sugar on the dough over a bowl to collect the excess sugar, and then transfer the dough onto the baking sheet with a second spoon

Ira Glass

By James

About two years ago, after I finished work, I was flipping through radio stations while sitting in some really bad traffic.  I happened to come upon NPR and started listening to a show called This American Life. 

The basic concept of the show was to have a particular theme, and to have usually 3-4 stories about that theme.  The particular show I was listening this particular afternoon was called Something For Nothing.  It was a simple concept that they were talking about, getting something for free, but then started going through a series of stories of how hard it is to truly get something for nothing.  One of the most entertaining that evening for me was about how some contestants could win a free truck simply by keeping their hand on a car.  Again, a simple concept, that becomes much more complicated than an average person realizes.

After listening to the whole one hour show (yes I was in traffic for over an hour), I became an instant fan of the show.  It has since become a show that I try to listen to regularly and makes sitting in Friday evening traffic much more pleasant.

On Saturday night, Karen and I got the opportunity to see Ira Glass speak at Benaroya Hall.  We found out about Ira Glass coming into town a couple of months ago and instantly bought tickets.  Despite the fact that we bought the tickets a couple of months in advance, we ended up in the upper deck, two rows from the very back.  We (and I assume a lot of people) bought tickets not even knowing what it was going to be about, but at this point we had become such big fans that it didn't matter.

It was truly strange, yet amazing, to me to think that here is a guy that I and many others have only heard on the radio.  He was having a show at Benaroya Hall talking about who knows what, and yet there we were there to see him.  The place was sold out and he received a rock star reception when he entered.  He sat down behind a single table, with just a mike and CD player.  He talked about what it takes to produce his show, his favorite clips, his funniest moments and whatever else he felt like such as what idealistic journalism is to him.  Overall it was a great talk and lasted two hours.

My personal top 3 favorite This American Life episodes:

1.  Something for Nothing - cause it's the first episode I ever heard.
2.  #1 Party School - about Penn State's reputation as the #1 party school in the nation and what life is like there from different perspectives.
3.  Nummi - about the auto industry in the 1960's and the struggles of the Nummi autoplant, which was a joint venture between Toyota and GM.

Twenty-six years and counting...

By Karen

Where I spend 40-60 hours a week

There is a saying that people like to espouse, which is that one should "work hard and play hard."  What they do not tell you is the consequence of both working hard and playing hard... exhaustion!  With lots of late nights at work (see my lack of posts) and weekends packed with activities (see James's posts), I was beginning to feel a bit run down lately.  Fortunately, everything slowed down just in time to allow me to have a proper birthday celebration.

I turned twenty-six last week.  Twenty-six plants me firmly in my mid-twenties, and fact that is still somewhat startling to me.  Growing up, I viewed the mid-twenties as a time of fabulous adulthood - a time when you would have both legitimate responsibilities and the freedom to to do what you wanted.  And while this has come true to a large extent, I cannot help but feel like I am still just a kid playing dress-up and make-believe. 

After surprising me by sending flowers to my office during work, James took me out to dinner at a new restaurant in the Ballard neighborhood of Seattle called "The Walrus and the Carpenter."  The Walrus and the Carpenter represents a culinary trifecta of my favorite things: french food, local organic northwest ingredients, and oysters!

   

Pretty interior of the restaurant

We had a wonderful meal at The Walrus and the Carpenter, and will undoubtedly add this restaurant to our roster of favorite places to eat in Seattle. The space is small, intimate, and immaculately decorated, with a large back patio for extra seating in warm weather.  The open kitchen is illuminated by a dramatic chandelier, and is flanked by large baskets of live oysters ready to be shucked.  Speaking of oysters, we had two different types of kumamoto oysters (my favorite!) to start off our meal, followed a seemingly never-ending parade of dishes.

We ended up sampling about half of the menu of small plates.  Each dish was fantastic, but the real knockout dish of the night was the beef tartar.  It was the highlight of the meal, and one of the best beef tartars that James and I have ever tasted.  And, to top things off, they had one of my favorite desserts on the menu that evening, a vanilla bean panna cotta with poached apricots.  Thanks James!

 

Since my birthday was on a week-day, I waited until the weekend to celebrate with my friends.  This year, I decided celebrate with one of my favorite summertime activities - a beach bonfire!  We set up a bonfire at Golden Gardens Beach Park in Ballard, and throughout the evening, friends from high school, college, law school, and various points in between came by to celebrate with me.  It was a great Seattle summer evening with a magnificent sunset over the Olympic Mountains, and we ended up staying late into the night until the park closed.  I didn't manage to take any pictures, but my friend Leon, a talented photography enthusiast, managed to take some really nice photographs that evening.  Check the pictures out on his flikr!  Thanks to everybody who made it out!

All in all, it was a wonderful birthday, and I am glad to have been able to share it with so many of the dearest people in my life.  With a handsome fella' by my side and a crop of wonderful friends, this game of make-believe has turned out pretty well.  =)

*Our good friend Gennessey has just recently started her own blog, Welcome to the Gsp0t, and has put up some fantastic (and delicious) pictures from her recent travels to Asia and the Maldives.  Check it out! 

Camping For Two

By James

Lots have been going on lately, thus the lack of anything remotely resembling a post.  I decided to pick the best of most recent, and decided upon the recent camping trip Karen and I recently took...

Two weeks ago, Karen and I decided that we were to go camping with only a few days to plan. We found Dosewallips in the Hood Canal area as one of few places still available.

With only Karen and I going, we found that packing was incredibly easy.  With gear for just two and our cooler barely packed, we found that all we needed was to fold down the seat of my car, with plenty of room to spare.

On the ferry

Campfire lil smokies

We got out of work on Friday evening and immediately left for the Fauntelory ferry to Hood Canal.  It has almost become a standard for Karen and I to have to take the ferry to go camping.  Even though we're less than a hundred miles away, riding the ferry certainly adds to the feeling that we're getting away from it all.

The closer we got to Dosewallips, the darker it got.  We barely had enough time to set up our tent and put up a campfire to enjoy our marshmallows and lil smokies.

Tarp then clamming!

Once morning hit, we woke up to cloudy skies, but came prepared with a tarp and rope.  We quickly put it up and had breakfast of ham/egg/cheese crepes.  Afterwards, we went down the road to start our newest hobby, clam digging!

With shovel, bucket and shellfish licenses in hand, we started getting to work.  On our last clamming trip, we dug up butter clams, which were about the size of your palm.  This time around, we dug up your standard super market manila clams.  We also found that there was quite a bit of oysters, but came without oyster shuckers (state law requires that you shuck the oysters on the spot).  As time went by, the tides pushed us back further in and the clouds started sinking lower.  It was a clear sign that it was time for us to head back to our camp site for lunch.

As we got back to our camp site, it started sprinkling. We tightened our tarp rope, with each tie getting progressively more and more elaborate. Despite our efforts, there was still ponding on the edge of one part of our tarp and I was forced to poke a hole. We took advantage of our dripping fresh water by placing our bucket of clams underneath for them to spit out their sand.




After getting our tarp situation straightened out again, we prepared and ate our lunch of Korean BBQ.  This idea stemmed from our love of Korean BBQ and last year's camping trip at Lake Wenatchee.  Last year, we were bestowed by the deliciousness of Soo's cooking and her idea of having Korean BBQ for dinner...while camping.  This year, we took the Korean BBQ out of the campfire, onto a camping stove, with a grill.  It's amazing how simple it is and makes me wonder why anyone would ever want to eat a burger or hot dog while camping.  It might even be easier to prepare and make than most camping foods, just bring the grill, the meats (some pre-marinated) and bring some potato salad.

Post awesome lunch, the rain decided to definitely set in with no end in sight.  Under the protection of our tarp, with a warm rain, a nice campfire and stomachs full, we sat back and relaxed with our own favorite books.  Despite the weather, it was definitely nice to be clamped down by the rain and forced to open up a book, reading is something I definitely do not do often enough.

At Xinh's

With some solid reading time in, we cleaned up and headed one hour south towards Shelton.  It is here, where we got to enjoy one of our favorite restaurants, Xinh's.  The first time we came here was last year while at Alderbrook Resort.  We've been trying to find a reason to go here ever since, but due to Shelton being close to nothing, we had been unable to find a reason to go or pass through there.  Camping was a good enough reason for us.

Xinh's was opened by a Vietnamese lady (named Xinh of course), who worked for Taylor's Shellfish Farm as an oyster shucker.  She also just happened by to be the oyster shucking champion for something like ten consecutive years.  Along with being known for her oyster shucking, she was known for her good cooking.  As a result, Xinh's was born.

The food is quite simply amazing here.  I'm not sure if it's the fact that it's in the middle of nowhere, or that Xinh is right there to greet you, or the massive amount of food that is what makes this place terrific.  But the three combined does make for something quite delicious.  Karen ordered some mussels, which meant she had a plate of literally 40 mussels.  I ordered the oysters, which meant I had a plate of literally 30 oysters.  All the dishes are cooked in distinctly familiar southeast Asian flavors.  It is definitely worth the trip if anyone is able to find a reason to pass through Shelton.

One of the most enjoyable parts of this trip was driving back from Xinh's.  As the sun was setting, the clouds started to clear.  There is something unexplainable about driving through fresh evening air, through windy roads, while taking in the waters of Hood Canal.  Karen and I have been through Hood Canal three times, twice for camping and once at a resort.  Every time, there is something new to see, and every time I look forward to the consistent beauty of driving through there.  As we got back, we set up our last campfire of our trip and enjoyed our last smores and lil smokies.

The next morning Karen and I packed up and headed out.  As we drove back, trying to soak in the final views of Hood Canal, we ran into a herd of elk.  Cars were pulled over with everyone struggling to keep their distance.  There must have been at least 50 in total, mothers, fathers and baby elk.  They struggled to get across the road, which really explains the elk crossing signs and eventually gave up.  We eventually gave  up on them crossing also and headed towards the ferry.

While waiting at the ridiculously long ferry line, we ran into one last surprise, Mora Ice Cream.  This is a place Karen and I had heard of before, but never thought we would have a chance to try.  There are a couple of locations, all of which are located in the Hood Canal area.  The ice cream was creamy and smooth; and absolutely helped in our long wait to get back across towards Seattle.  This place could give Molly Moon's a run for their money.

Going to Hood Canal has definitely become a once a year affair for Karen and I.  Despite the fact that we couldn't fly our kite or see the stars and milky way, because of the rain and clouds, it was a successful trip.  Summer is coming to an end soon, but we will for sure look forward to another trip next year full of camping, shellfishing, eating, reading, kite flying, star gazing and whatever else might come up.  Who's in for next year?  Rain or shine.