baking Pate de chaud

The past month I made 3 attempts to figure out this pate de chaud pastry.

Batch #1:
Secretly made a batch for a friend's house partay...Thankful that her guest like it...I hope/think


My testing was a competion for the dough:

 pepperidge pastry puff sheet VS safeway(Randalls) pie dough

I used a dumpling mold & it wasn't easy at all. Not to mention lots of dough went to the trash. Yes, I tried to reuse the scraps but it wasn't working out.
My meat fillings were precooked before being wrapped in dough..since pie crust doesn't take long to cook.


I think I overbaked the pastry because it wasn't as flaky as I want it to be.
The pie crust was very very dry, reminded me of this one banh mi joint  on cook and bellaire that sells it, except my dough wasn't sweet like hers.



Pie Crust used with a dumpling mode



Party Puff



Pastry Puff vs Pie Crust




Pastry Puff vs Pie Crust




Batch #2
It was Hello kitty's  surprise party & i decided to have the ladies to be my guinea pigs...We had so much food that night! Thanks Dinosaur for a delicious meal!!
I was relieved & glad the ladies enjoyed it.


This time I stuck with pepperidge farm pastry sheet & used a square pastry cutter instead of a dumpling mode. And I was able to  used up all the pastrysheet! It was pretty cool I was able to make mini ones~


I made two different batches.
I wanted to see if there's a difference with cooked vs uncooked meat.
Sadly, none of us noticed the difference due to the high consumption of food & I couldn't really tell the pastry apart...because I forgot to mark on the pastry.

Need a lot of work in sizing my pastry

Can you tell figure which ones were baked with cooked or uncooked filling?

Batch #3
It was just me, myself, & I for this testing.
This batch knocks off one of the things I have on my bucket list~
I went on a urge to make my pastry puff from scratch. OMG this will be the last time I'm making fresh pastry dough...It wasn't the difficulties in making it, it was the butter portions..let's just say I think I used more butter than Paula Deen! after watching you tube videos & recipes I found...it's crazy the amount of butter you see.
From now on I'm sticking to pepperidge farm...what I don't know, won't kill me!

that's only half of the butter I put in....

Tada! Pastry Puff Dough

I think its time to invest in a rolling pin..

Rounds vs Squares

BAM! I present you pate de chaud from scratch~

The pastry wasn't quite as flaky as I want it to be...I did an error...over mixed the butter and flour -_-

I had a extra box of pie crust from my first batch. I gave it another try & lets just say I will no longer be using pie crust.
I based the inside of the dough with sugar butter...thinking it will have the dough a little moist?
Failed big time!

I even made the top crust a bigger size than the bottom to close the seam...still wouldn't stretched and sadly I made holes:



As you can see my filling wanted to have a peep show~

My next test will be making pickled carrots and daikons!UGH i still want to try Bo NE!!!!
later gators,
bmg

Cook Off Results

Lo and behold I have the results....

I'm not a fan nor eat chili..... amazingly I won 2nd place out of 15 contestants...what what!!
Thanks to my bf for being my hero since I was tortured with a sinus attack!
I wish I can share the recipe but I can't remember...because we pretty much winged it since some of our ingredients contained a little too much sodium. It took us 48+ hours to stew this chili! The chili tasting was quite a tasting...there were some not so edible to whoa can you smell and taste the beer. I didn't try the ones with beans..maybe 1-2? The East team was one of my fav...there were chunks of steaks in it!I made some firecracker crackers, but didn't make enough to share, so I shared it with my friends.

The magic ingridients..JK

Stir.Stir.Stir.

2 hours later...

.

Adding Masa Flour to thicken up Chili

2nd Place Chili Doll



1st place(don't worry there were no Beaver Balls)

As for the bake off I did not win...its all gravy the chili prize was more than the bake off! Ms. K's banana pudding was delicious and the best looking one I've seen. Second pace went to someone who made a Oreo Cake. There were so many deserts to taste, it was overwhelming.

 Cream Cheese Frosting & Frozen Strawberry Slices



FYI that's not bacon....lol  its diced dried strawberries




1st Place..SOOO EFFIN GOOD & it managed to stay in tact for hours!



2nd Place



Nom Nom



Who in the world would actually taste this..bc I didn't ..barf

Hope you didn't drool while looking at these pictures.

Later Gators,

bmg

Pho one

Finally!!! I got my banh mi fling on today!

I was so hungry & couldn't decide so I ordered 2 banh mis!

Well I was craving Vietnamese food big time...and had less than 15 min to figure where to eat lunch. At 11:58 am I called Pho One and placed my order over the phone. I ordered a banh mi chay (tofu) & banh mi ga (chicken).

The person that took my order spoke english and Vietnamese fluently. But, he still managed to mess up my order :( I wanted the banh mi ga (stir fried marinated chicken and yellow onions) I ended up with banh mi ga nuong (char-grilled chicken) I made it to Pho One and back to work about 10 minutes. My banh mi was still nice and warm. However, they were not wrapped in parchment paper and each stuffed in a white paper bag. Not a bad thing, just something I'm not use to.

Now on to the banh mi:Service: Friendly and Fast *accepts credit cards* Took about 3-4 min to pay & pick up my food.
Bread Quality: Freshly baked- not in store, purchased through a vendor.
Meat filling: Not too much, Not too little
Veggie filling: grated pickled carrots, no pickled daikon, a julienne slice of jalapeno, even though I don't eat cucumber, it was nicely cut lengthwise..not too thick, not too thin.
Spread: homemade butter (delicious, you can taste it!)
Presentation: Nicely presented, it was missing black/white pepper
Price: $4.00 Chay $4.50 Ga Nuong

Banh Mi Chay (tofu):
There were 3 thin rectangular fried tofus layered across the bread with butter beneath it.

I was surprised that the soy sauce was drizzled on the bread, normally its drizzled on the veggie or meat filling. I was afraid that I was going to taste a very salty soy sauce sandwich. Come to surprise the sandwich was perfect. Not sure if drizzling soy sauce on the bread evens out the flavor or the soy sauce they use was not that potent. It was still delicious to me. Each bite I took, my Vietnamese craving was satisfied. Its been so long since I ate a authentic banh mi. Ugh I can go for another one right now. Lets just say I ate the entire banh mi chay and only half of the chicken...for lunch

banh mi ga nuong (chargrilled chicken):
The chicken kinda reminded me of
Xa-Xiu
(chinese bbq pork)

I believe there were 3 slices of chicken just like the tofu arrangement. I wish they can give more for the jalapeno, it was just a julienne slice that was a equivalent of 2-3 slices of grated carrots. The banh mi ga nuong didn't satisfy my taste buds. The chicken was good & cooked to perfection. .It just wasn't what I wanted..I'm still sad I didn't get the stir fried chicken. I guess a excuse for me to come back :)
First, I ate half of the tofu and then half of the chicken, but came back and devour the other half of the tofu. I was so done after that. I wrapped the other half of my chicken with a paper towel and store it in the fridge. 3 hours later, it was time to go home for the day. I grabbed my sandwich and ate it on my way home. Not so bad eating a cold banh mi, kinda like cold pizza. The bread was kinda dry, but amazingly the butter was still nice in tact. Haha I think the butter of the banh mi is the most important ingredient to me. From this day, my sisters & I still can just eat a baguette with butter. Oh so bad, but so good.

Off the banh mi subject:

All Green: Green Tea, Pink: Strawberry, Brown: Chocolate, Green & Yellow: Cantaloupe

While waiting for my banh mi, I was debating to get sua da nanh (soy bean drink) until I spotted French Macaroons in their cooler. I got suckered into buying the first box I saw. I believe the flavors were Chocolate, Strawberry, Green tea, & 2 Cantaloupes? There was also Durian ..OMG I wanted to vomit when the owner told me. He joked with me and did agree its a powerful smell. Luckily, it was in a separate box. I don't know how fresh they are, but it was kept in the cooler so it was quite difficult to rate these cookies. The cookie was chewy, no crispy crust...due to the cooler. The flavors were out there. I think my favorite was the cantaloupe. The chocolate was ok, the Strawbery was very berry and the green tea, boy you can sure taste the matcha powder. I did leave it sitting out for 15 min. The texture was still chewy, but no crispy crust.

Next time, I will need to hit up bellaire for some banh mis...because my lunch today for 2 banh mi and 5 macaroon cookies came out to almost $18! Overall, I was satisfied, now I want some Pho! For a pho joint that can serve banh mi like a banh mi joint..kudos for them!
More info on Pho One Click Me

So it looks like the rain is back on...its quite windy and the sky will have nervous breakdown any minute now...Be safe everyone, stay dry & drive carefully!
Shall update my cook off adventure..soon :)

Later Gators,
bmg

Rain, Rain, Go Away

"Rain, rain, go away....Come again another day"

It's been raining cats and dogs for the past few days...looks like we'll be catching a break of rain until Tuesday?!?
Well, I shouldn't be complaining since last year we had a drought in the summer.
I hope everyone switched their clock an hour forward...because I haven't...


I picked up the new Food Network Magazine "the chocolate issue'

They say baking is all about the correct formulas & measurements. It was my first time using a scale to measure my ingredients. Lets just say the cookies didn't come out the way it looks in the magzine.

The first batch I baked on wax paper 375 degrees(per instruction) on Friday night was dry and chalky...not chewy. The instruction said refrigerate at least 1 hr or preferably overnight. 1st batch dough was probably in the fridge for about 45 mins.

First batch (before)

First batch (after)

I decided to wait 48 hrs later to bake my second batch on Foil 350 degrees....the texture was a lot moist and somewhat chewy. but the size is still kinda thick. (not thin like the magazine) I guess because I measured the dough with a tablespoon, when in the instruction it states ' drop heaping tablespoonfuls of dough'

Left: 1st batch vs Right: 2nnd batch

Next time I will just wing it with my measuring cups and have tablespoonfuls of dough to bake.
Too bad it's not Christmas for me to leave all these cookies for santa ^_^
This week is my Chili & Desert cook off at work! I hope I win in one of the categories! Soo much food activity going on this weekend, looks like I won't be able to have a banh mi fling :(
I'm still dying to try Bo Ne after seeing more pictures of it online!
Time for bed...Sunday Funday will be over in 5 minutes :(

Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies   (For Reviews & Recipe Click Me)
ACTIVE: 30 min TOTAL: 1hr 10 min (plus chilling & cooling MAKES: about 30 cookies


2 1/4 Cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1 3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Fluffy butter & sugar

1. Sift the flour, salt, Baking powder & baking soda together into a large bowl.

All combined

2. beat the butter, brown sugar & granulated sugar in a bowl with a mixer on medium-high speed until pale & fluffy, about 4 minutes (use paddle attachment for a stand mixer). Beat in the eggs one at a time, then beat in the vanilla. Reduce the mixer speed to low. Add the flour mixture and beat in the vanilla. Reduce the speed mixer to low. Add the flour mixture and beat until combined. Stir in the chocolate chips by hand. Press plastic   wrap directly onto the surface of the dough & refrigerate at least 1 hour or preferably overnight.



stir by hand

3. Preheat the over 375 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Drop heaping tablespoonfuls of dough onto the prepared baking sheets, about 2 inches apart. Bake until the cookies are golden around the edges but still soft in the middle, about 12 minutes. Remove the cookies from the oven & let cool 10 minutes on the baking sheets, then transfer to racks to cool completely.

Last but not least- I want to wish Biff a Happy 21st Birthday!!! Hope it was wonderful

Good Night-Later Gators,
bmg

Dunobaby

I just want to say thanks for the help & motivation biff.jr.dyc.schmiggy.trannart. If not, I think I'll still be hella lagging with this blog.

When I had decided to finally start my banh mi adventure/blog, Dunobaby was my first fling. We hooked up about 3 months ago...here's the story


Dunobaby was one of the first boba-slushie that opened in HK4(Hong Kong Market)
I remembered ordering my usual green apple slushie with lychee jelly and sometimes strawberry milk ice with my gfs.
About 10 years ago they opened another location out in the westchase area...If it wasn't for Yelp I thought the place had went out of business. According to the reviews on Yelp, its under new management. I been here a few times for the past year and only saw another customer in there besides myself ONCE. You would think it would be busy for a lunch rush. My god, the menu is so overwhelming to look at. Its like House of bowls mix with Tap House food, along with crepes and banh mi. I was afraid to order something out of the ordinary like seafood pasta. Ever since I watched Kitchen Nightmares and Restaurant Impossible I'm terrified that I'm going to eat something bad because the place looks so dead. I had the basil chicken nuggets lunch meal.. not bad...taste like from any other boba joints. As for the drinks, I only had jasmine green tea. College Students that lives in Alief or Westchase area, this would be a good place to study..not sure how late they're open.

Part of the picture menu

On to the banh mi:
Service: being the only customer there...it took about 8-10 minutes to get my banh mi
Bread Quality: purchased through a vendor, more than a day old
Meat filling: good amount
Veggie Filling: soggy grated carrots & Daikon (they were not mixed together), sliced round jalapenos, no cilantro or cucumbers (not a fan)
Spread: No taste, not sure if it was american mayo
Presentation: Sloppy
Price: $4.99 for a meal (Drink & choice of snacks from the basket)

Veggie banh mi:
It took me about 5 minutes to get back to work.
There was Fried tofu and dried wood ear mushrooms (the mushrooms in vietnamese eggrolls) topped with xiu-mai sauce. My banh mi was soggy from the xiu-mai sauce and the bread was so stale. There was no texture except mushiness.

Unmixed pickled carrots & daikons

Can you see how soggy it is

Teriyaki Philly Steak banh mi:
Hmm this was the first banh mi I tried last year...sadly I can't remember what it taste like. It wasn't great for a fact. I believe it was alright & edible. For sure it did not look like it was advertised in the picture.
<>

Overall, I don't think I'll come back unless I really want a banh mi and don't have any cash on me to go to bellaire. Good news, they except credit cards! There are two other places that accept credit cards and serves banh mi in the westchase area, Pho One & Kim's Teahouse.
Don't expect me to have another fling with Kim's Teahouse...it was disgusting. I want to barf just thinking about it.
Even though Pho One main courses are rice plates & Pho. Their banh mi have authentic ingredients. However, the one time I ordered a Thit Nuong there was no mayo spread. It was like ying with out the yang. I will give Pho One another chance. BTW their food is quite pricey.


For more info:
Dunobaby
Kim's Teahouse ( I think it should be called Kim's CrapHouse)
Pho One

March has been a busy month for me...and my calendar is full till mid April! Hoping I can squeeze in a fling somewhere. I'm hoping to try Bo Ne, even though it's out of the banh mi zone, but there's a few similar concept to it.
Have a nice weekend!

Don't forget to set your clock an hour forward for Daylight Savings March 11th!

Later gators,

bmg