Covering Tawn

It's immodest to brag, but I just had to share this with you because I'm so proud. This is the cover of the February issue of Travel + Liesure magazine's Southeast Asia edition. It features one of Tawn's outfits and was taken at the Naka Island resort in Phuket during a December photo shoot for which Tawn was the stylist.  I think it is beautiful.

Hopefully, within about two more weeks he'll be ready to launch his brand and I can share the website and more photos with you. Tawn leaves this evening for another shoot in Phuket, this one for five nights.

Baked Donuts

A few weeks ago a couple of friends came down from Chiang Mai and so I invited them over for brunch.  Since they don't have an opportunity to enjoy good old fashioned American breakfasts that often, I decided to make something special for them: baked donuts.  (Recipe here at 101cookbooks.com)

Left: the dough about half-rised; Right: freshly-cut donuts starting the second rise.

Baked donuts start out very similar to their more common, Krispy Kremed cousins.  They are a basic yeast dough that is allowed to rise, is rolled and cut out, and then allowed to rise a second time before cooking.  But instead of going through the hassle of deep frying (and having your house smell for days afterwards), you put them into the oven.  While you can glaze them, I opted for a brush of butter and a sprinkle of cinnamon-sugar.  The end result is fluffy and delectable - different from deep-fried donuts but still very enjoyable - and with the cinnamon-sugar, it has a classic element.

We couldn't be bothered with a tripod so as to fit all three of us into a single picture.

For dessert, I thought it would be nice to do something refreshing and relatively healthy.  It was a bit of a splurge to buy raspberries and blueberries, both of which are imported, but they were really sweet and juicy.  Paired with a bit of natural yogurt and homemade granola, the berries made for a very celebratory parfait and a tasty concusion to a special brunch.

Hidden Dangers: the Bangkok Gem Scam

Jenny Forster is a contributor at catandnat.com, another site where my writings appear.  She recently wrote an article about gem scams, a type of deceit all too commonly propagated against tourists in Bangkok.  Every guide book warns of the scam and locals caution their visitors to be aware, and yet thousands of people each year fall for this trap.

The end result is that you get taken for a very literal and unwanted ride.  The tuk-tuk driver who was supposedly going to give you a half-day tour of the city or drive you to a special temple "because (insert name of popular tourist destination you were headed for) is closed for a national holiday," ends up taking you to a supposedly government-owned shop offering special prices ("today only!") on gems, or suits, or gold.

Whether out of foolishness, guilt, or a sense of intimidation, you end up buying items whose true value is a fraction of what you pay.  Your avenues of recourse are dead-ends and your pleasant Thai holiday ends up leaving a bitter taste in your mouth.

Here's a video that Jenny included in her article.  It isn't originally by her, but it is a very handy summation of how the scam typically works.  If you ever plan on traveling to Thailand, you should watch this video and educate yourself.

Note that 99.999% of Thais are wonderful, kind, honest, and helpful people.  But in the touristy areas, there are people who will seek to take advantage of you.  By all means, come visit Thailand.  Just say "no" to anyone who offers you a deal that sounds too good to be true.

Happy Lunar New Year

Illustration courtesy our Singaporean cartoonist friend, Otto Fong - author of the Sir Fong series.

Baking Pecan Tarts

Every time I visit the US, I make a trip to Costco and buy several pounds of pecans and walnuts.  Nuts (with the exception of cashews, peanuts, and macadamias, all of which are grown locally) are very expensive here in Thailand and I enjoy adding nuts to salads, pestos, and of course desserts.  Recently, I perfected a pecan pie recipe that makes wonderful two-bite-sized tarts.

The recipe started out from one contributed by an unknown source on the Food Network's site.  As such, they warned that the recipe had not been tested.  Certainly not, as I found out after an initial mishap.  Let's put it this way: adding beaten eggs directly into boiling sugar syrup makes for sweet scrambled eggs - not a proper pecan pie filling!

Instead, I rewrote the directions and, after testing two batches, made some adjustments to the ingredients to reduce the sweetness and richness of the filling while adding some depth of flavor thanks to the use of maple syrup.

Pecan Pie or Tarts

1 stick butter (4 oz or 115 g)
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup¹
1/2 cup maple syrup²
2 eggs plus 3 egg whites, beaten well
1 1/2 cups chopped pecans (or 1 cup plus whole pecans to layer the top of the pie)
1 unbaked 9-inch pie shell, or 12 small tart pans lined with pastry dough³

Preheat oven to 350 F (175 C). In a saucepan, melt the butter but don’t let it brown. Mix in the sugar, corn syrup, and maple syrup and cook, stirring constantly, over medium heat until the sugar dissolves.

Temper the eggs by slowly pouring the sugar mixture into them while whisking continuously. Stir in the pecans then pour the mixture into the pie or tart shells. If you want to decorate the top(s) with whole pecans, you can do so.

Bake 1 hour or until firm when shaken. Let cool before serving.  If you are making the tarts in a muffin tin, you should carefully remove them to a wire rack after ten minutes of cooling, so they do not stick.

¹ Note that the corn syrup you buy in the store (like Karo brand) is not high-fructose corn syrup. 
² I think the Grade B maple syrup, which has a richer flavor, is nice to use.  If you have only regular maple syrup, that is fine, too.  You can also substitute corn syrup if you do not have maple syrup.
³ Instead of tart pans, you can also use a muffin tin.

Pecan pies and tarts freeze beautifully after they are cooked.  They can be warmed up in the oven for about 15 minutes before serving and they'll be just as nice as if they were freshly-baked.