Hungarian Kifli

December 31, 2017 By Korena in the Kitchen 7 Comments

Christmas took me by surprise this year – December flew by in a blur of work projects and deadlines, and then suddenly it was December 25 and just as suddenly, it’s now the last day of 2017. Not that this stopped me from my regularly scheduled annual Christmas Cookie Madness – it just stopped me from telling you about it until now. These Hungarian Kifli were a new addition to my Christmas cookie menu, brought about by the twelfth and final instalment of Around the World in 12 Plates, destination (you guessed it) Hungary.

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Swedish Kanelbullar and Chokladbiskvier

November 30, 2017 By Korena in the Kitchen 4 Comments

To make up for the fact that I’ve been a slacker these last few months with Around the World in 12 Plates, I’m bringing not one but TWO recipes to this month’s party. Sweden was November’s destination, and similar to their Danish neighbours’ appreciation for hygge – enjoying simple pleasures and general coziness – the Swedes have a serious appreciation for fika, which you could sort of think of as coffee break hygge. But fika is not buying a to-go coffee and inhaling it in your car on the way to somewhere else – it is intentionally slowing down to drink a cup of coffee (or tea), eat some kind of delicious baked good, and enjoy yourself – either alone or with friends. It is so much a part of Swedish culture that workers have fika breaks built into their work days.

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Turkish Simit Bread

July 31, 2017 By Korena in the Kitchen 9 Comments

With our Around the World in 12 Plates leader, Gabby, spending the month of July in Turkey on an archaeological dig (#lifegoals), it only made sense that this month’s destination was Turkey! Seeing her post delicious-looking photos of her meals on Facebook, I was intrigued by her mention of a bread called “simit” that is commonly eaten at breakfast (although it is also popular as a snack any time of day). Simit is sometimes called a “Turkish bagel” because of its round shape, hole in the middle, and sesame seed-covered exterior. Made with a very simple lean dough (just flour, water, yeast, and salt), the dough is rolled out into long ropes and twisted together before being shaped into rings, giving simit its characteristic coiled look. Before baking, each ring is dipped in a mixture of pekmez (a fruit-based, molasses-like syrup – I improvised with half regular molasses, half pomegranate molasses) and water, then coated in sesame seeds and baked until crisp. Once cooled, the crust softens slightly and yields to a deliciously stretchy, soft yet chewy inside.

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Vietnamese Fried Spring Rolls {Chả Giò}

June 30, 2017 By Korena in the Kitchen 6 Comments

There is a certain local Asian noodle bar that has built an entire business model on its take-out boxes of delicious noodle dishes, but what keeps me coming back are their spring rolls. Piping hot and crisp, full of savoury pork, carrots, bean thread noodles, and general umami-ness, they are served with crunchy green lettuce leaves and sprigs of fresh cilantro to wrap around them and salty-spicy-sweet nước chấm for dipping. They are insanely delicious and I could easily eat half a dozen in one sitting, but sadly each order only contains two rolls.

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Uri Scheft’s Challah

May 31, 2017 By Korena in the Kitchen 12 Comments

I’m a sucker for beautiful bread, and Israeli-Danish baker Uri Scheft makes some of the most beautiful bread I have ever seen. I found a Google Books preview of his recent book, Breaking Breads, and his challah – OH THE CHALLAH – is so lovely I could weep. It reminds me of some rare and mysterious sea creature. Seriously, go look at it right now. Page 41. I’ll wait.

[…whistles, twiddles thumbs…]

Anyway, when Israel was announced as the Around the World in 12 Plates destination for May, I knew immediately that I would be making Uri’s challah. So I did! I’ve made challah before and gotten fancy with the braiding, but this time I got extra fancy with both the braiding AND the garnishing, because challah is a special occasion bread, after all.

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Greek Kataifi

April 30, 2017 By Korena in the Kitchen 1 Comment

Greek kataifi is a cousin to baklava, a similar combination of chopped nuts and crispy dough soaked in syrup, only instead of being made with thin, stacked sheets of phyllo dough, kataifi is made with what is commonly described “shredded phyllo”: fine strands of dough wrapped around a nut filling like a little bundle of hay. Only when I decided to make kataifi for this month’s Greek installment of Around the World in 12 Plates, I discovered that kataifi dough isn’t shredded phyllo at all, but actually something quite different.

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Brazilian Bolo de Rolo

February 28, 2017 By Korena in the Kitchen 11 Comments

When Gabby announced that February’s Around the World in 12 Plates destination was Brazil, I quickly realized that I knew absolutely nothing about Brazilian cuisine. I ended up on a Wikipedia page listing common Brazilian foods so that I could figure out what to Google, which is how I found out about bolo de rolo, a jelly roll-like cake from the Pernambuco state of Brazil, traditionally filled with guava paste and boasting EIGHTEEN extremely thin layers of rolled cake. As soon as I read that, my Daring Baker’s heart leapt and I knew I had found my recipe for this month.

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Hong Kong Style Pineapple Buns

January 31, 2017 By Korena in the Kitchen 7 Comments

I’ve been feeling a little bereft after the disbanding of the Daring Kitchen last month – those challenges have been a constant in my life and on this blog for the past six (!!) years, and they always provided me with that nudge to get in the kitchen, make something, and post about it, no matter how busy or unmotivated I might otherwise be. So, I’m pleased to have found a new monthly challenge to take part in, hosted by Gabby, aka The Food Girl in Town. Myself and eight other bloggers will be cooking, baking, and eating our way “Around the World in 12 Plates” (or ATW12P), expanding our horizons and learning about other cultures through my favourite medium: food! Each month will feature the cuisine of a different country and our task is to do some research, choose a recipe (or several), and make something we haven’t made before. I am all about baking, so that’s how I’ll (most likely) be participating.