heart treats

I returned from Berlin on Sunday all eager to edit my photos from a weekend of gluttonous dining and instead went right to bed as I came back with a 24 hour cold.  Literally, all symptoms were on deck and then disappeared in 24 hours.  I think the massive 16 quart Le Creuset stock pot of chicken soup, that my fiance made, helped! I’ve consumed at least one quarter of the pot.  Apparently chicken soup is as good as penicillin.

Back to Berlin, I visited four or five new restaurants in Berlin that I can’t wait to share with you, plus some of the greatest baklava you could ever imagine eating (coming soon) and had a lovely meeting and taste-test with a new macaron business in the city (more details to come soon).

Finally, I have been spending a bunch of time on Pinterest, my new favourite inspiration site, and put together some adorable heart treats for Valentine’s Day.

Red for Valentine’s Day: Eating and Buying

We’re in the home stretch for Valentine’s day.  Start your engines for present time.  I am personally a fan of the homemade Valentine’s day gifts, especially homemade baked goods.  You know, something small, a token to say “I am thinking of you,” “you’re sweet,” “I love you so I slaved in the kitchen all day.” Here are some ambitious and adorable Valentine’s day baking ideas that would be perfect for next week such as Martha Stewart’s heart shaped pancakes for a V-day morning surprise or Love and Olive Oil’s Vanilla Almond Cupcakes with Blackberry Buttercream or Camille Styles Red White Strawberry Cream cake and finally Joy the Baker’s Chocolate Beet cake with Beet Frosting.  Fiance take note, I will gladly accept any of the aforementioned desserts! 🙂

On another note, it is interesting to observe how V-day crazy, some cities go around promoting gifts, sweets and chocolates for the holiday.  I have noticed a couple heart shaped items in Prague such as cookies and candies but nothing over the top.  Maybe Valentine’s day is not a big here.  Oh well, either way, on the “buying side” here are some more ideas for you all.

Gingerbread Cookie Packaging

This week, I am teaching two classes on products and new product development.  In light of the theme of my class, I wanted to share an example that I found while researching content.

I love the packaging for Kanniston Leipomo’s Christmas gingerbread.  The minimalist packaging demonstrates exactly how effective market research can be in terms of influencing package design and the success of the product.  The package design company took the time to examine the attitudes, cultural meaning and behaviours of the customers toward gingerbread and gingerbread consumption over the holidays.    The result is a simple, luxurious package, where you clearly know what you are purchasing. Additionally, the packaging incorporates elements of Scandinavian heritage represented by the heart shaped gingerbread.

The package design was created by Packlab Partners in Finland for Kanniston Leipomo, a bakery that has been around since 1914 in Helsinki.

both photos via Packaging of the World

I made flat chocolate chip cookies

My cookie making career has come full circle.  In the early days, inspired by the cafeteria cookies in Grade 7, my friends and I used to clamor for flat, gooey, semi-raw chocolate chip cookies.  And the funny thing, is that I remember our cookies that we baked, turned out just like the one’s at school-flat, gooey and undercooked.

Then I graduated to baking mounds of dense chocolate chip cookies that rose in the oven instead of spread out, which soon became my new favourite.  I scooped these cookies out in ice-cream scoops or by the quarter cup and molded the domes on the baking sheet.  However, I came full circle on Sunday when I tried a new recipe out of The Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook, which was a holiday gift from my sister-in-law-to-be.   When I was organizing my ingredients, for some reason I thought there was a lot of butter and a lot of brown sugar, but maybe it was because I haven’t baked chocolate chip cookies in a while.  It turns out, the batter was a bit on the sticky side and not the consistency I was used to working with so I added more flour.

The result, the recipe produced flat, chewy, gooey chocolate chip cookies (the first batch were semi-raw, a homage to the good old days) and they were tasty. The batch left my house this morning and were sent to the office and were gobbled up according to the reports.

Recipe from The Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook

225 g of butter
350 g of brown sugar
2 eggs (room temp)
1/2 tsp of vanilla extract
400 g of flour
1/2 tsp of salt
2 1/2 tsp of baking soda
225 g of chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F or 170 degrees C-

In a mixer, mix butter and sugar until fluffy.  Beat in eggs one at a time.  Scrape down bowl after each egg.  Add the vanilla, mix again. Combine flour, baking soda and salt in a separate bowl, mix and then add to wet ingredients.  Add chocolate chips and scoop out onto baking sheet.  I baked mine for 10 minutes and they were golden brown- but of course watch and adjust depending on your oven temperature.

Enjoy with milk!

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Torvehallerne Market

Copenhagen got a bit more fabulous in September 2011 with the opening of its Torvehallerne Market on Israels Square.  Torvehallerne market is an upscale, culinary emporium which is spread across two buildings and houses a mix of local delicacies and foreign goods.

From fish, and meat, to bakeries and coffee and everything in between, this new food market, in a city that is increasingly being recognized for its cuisine, is a welcomed addition to the area that was once known for pigeons and cars.  Come to think of it, Prague could do with one of these!  Prague architects and developers take note.

I am super excited about Torvehallerne, and when I eventually travel to Copenhagen, the market will be tops on my list of places to visit.  If you are interested in reading what others are saying about Torvehallerne, there are some good reviews in the New York Times Travel Section, 60×80, The Daily Meal and CPH Private Guide.

via TMagazine Blog

via Spiselig

via cheery observations

via valdemasro

via aok guide

Chinese New Year Treats

via the smiling baker