HI I'M BACK

...and in paris! i have returned to chronicle my latest food endeavor: a new batch of macarons each week. i figure that will give me enough time and tries to master them. i don't have class on tuesdays, so that will be my macaron day.

i have made macarons a few times, undaunted by the comments that it is a very specific art: one stir too many and they're ruined. must've been beginner's luck, because the first two times they came out fine and delicious without too much grief. the next time, though, they were a disaster.

mustered up the courage to attempt again today. failed miserably, again. going to have to try a little harder next time, it seems. it was still fun though. for example, TIL: there is only one type of powdered sugar at monoprix, and it comes in a container like this:

?????

anyway, stay tuned until next tuesday, when i will (hopefully) have something more exciting to share! and i hope my counterparts abroad will also soon return to chronicle all things famiree time. until then.

anticipation

THE FAMIREE WILL BE TOGETHER AGAIN SO SOON (in real life)

ice cream endeavor, part 9: vanilla

okay, back from ice cream hiatus. my family moved from the house we'd been living in for 15 years to an apartment half the size in the city. exciting, but stressful and tiring and time-consuming. hence, no time to make ice cream, nor blog about it.

i made this vanilla ice cream before the chaos, but didn't get the chance to write about it. simply put: the best vanilla ice cream, ever. EVER. seriously! it's not quite as creamy as french vanilla but is much creamier than your standard vanilla bean, and so much more flavorful than any store-bought variety, from french vanilla to vanilla bean and everything in between.

vanilla ice cream (from the perfect scoop)

(makes about 1 quart)

1 cup whole milk

3/4 cup sugar

2 cups heavy cream

pinch of salt

1 vanilla bean, split in half lengthwise

6 large egg yolks

3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

warm the milk, sugar, 1 cup of the cream, and salt in a medium saucepan. scape the seeds from the vanilla bean into the warm milk and add the bean as well. [the tiny beans were stuck in clumps and i wasn't sure if they would de-clump while churning or not, so i did a few quick stick blender pulses and they separated immediately.] cover, remove from the heat, and let steep at room temperature for 30 minutes.

pour the remaining 1 cup into a large bowl and set a mesh strainer on top. in a separate medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. slowly pour the warm mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly, then scrape the warmed egg yolks back into the saucepan.

stir the mixture constantly over medium heat with a heatproof spatula, scraping the bottom as your stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula. pour the custard through the strainer and stir it into the cream. put the vanilla bean into the custard, add the vanilla extract, and stir until cool over an ice bath.

chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator. when ready to churn, remove the vanilla bean, rinsing and reserving it for another use, and then freeze the mixture in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.

also delicious with any topping ever. pictured here with fruit, korova cookie crumbles (best cookie ever btw), and homemade magic shell topping.

the world's largest smoothie

or, how to use up all of your frozen fruit

yields one giant bowl of smoothie, or 5 normal-sized smoothies

1. empty all contents of frozen fruit bags into a giant bowl

2. dump in as much yogurt as you have

3. pour a large quantity of juice in (always more than you think)

4. stick blend

(my family is moving, hence the desire to use up random freezer food)

삼겹살 (Korean BBQ Bacon)

For ~$10: An order of bacon, beer, soju, and endless assorted lettuce to wrap the meat in, garlic, steamed eggs (계란 찜), kimchi (to eat raw, but also to barbecue, which tastes really good), seasoned mixed vegetables (green onions and bean sprouts), green peppers, and soybean paste soup (된장 찌개). Possibly one of the best meals I've had in the past five weeks here. I'm going to miss Korea.

MM BLACK SESAME

A while ago, I ventured downtown to get me some black sesame ice cream from the Chinatown Ice Cream Factory. If you ever find yourself ice cream hunting in New York in one of the ridiculous heat waves, stop by here and make sure you get 2 scoops to maximize on their great selection of flavors!

Noryangjin Fish Market: Seoul

This past Saturday, my friend Andrew and I went to the Noryangjin Seafood Market. Basically, it's a giant warehouse where individual vendors sell their goodz. IT WAS SO KOREAN AND GREAT. It's kind of nice to see that, despite how modernized Seoul is today, there are still some things that stay the same. For the seafood you can eat raw, they will prepare it for you on the spot (aka you point to the fish you want, they kill it, and five minutes later it's artfully plated). Watching that happen in a matter of minutes was somewhat unsettling, but at least Andrew and I ate dinner before watching that in full. We ate at a restaurant in the warehouse: spicy seafood soup, fish, unlimited panchan, and rice all for 7,000 won (less than $6). I was so full afterwards I could barely thrust my body forward. Here are some blurry iPhone photos of the market: