Kitchen Disaster: Blueberry Coffee Cake

Oh, what is that?

I see sugar on top of it, so it must be something promising.
Let’s take it out of that bundt pan.

Why, it’s a cake!
It’s a cake with blueberries inside!
Let’s grab a slice!

So far so good…

Well that’s odd.

Why did all the blueberries sink to the bottom?
And cause the cake to fall apart?

I better go back and look at the recipe.
Would you look at that. It says that if you use really fresh blueberries, you should decrease the amount of blueberries and buttermilk, so they won’t sink to the bottom.
Humph.
I didn’t think that I would actually need the Critical Thinking class I’m taking this semester.
But, at least the cake still tastes good, especially with a dollop of butter.

What kitchen disasters have you experienced lately?

Gimbap (김밥)

Once in a long while, among the dozens of sweet treats and savory concoctions that I chat about on this blog, there comes a dish that I feel extra-super-duper excited to talk about.

Gimbap is one of those dishes.

The quickest and easiest way to explain Gimbap (pronounced “gheem-bahp”) to the uninitiated is to call it the Korean version of sushi. Note that I say that's the quickest and easiest explanation--Gimbap is another dish entirely. Dried seaweed, topped with steamed, short-grain rice, and plenty of yummy fillings are all wrapped up into a tight roll. Following these basic guidelines, you can tailor Gimbap into whatever sort of dish you want. Typically, Gimbap is filled with julienned carrot, sautéed spinach, and pickled daikon radish. After these basic cornerstones, anything goes! Add meats, cheeses, other veggies, kimchi—whatever sounds good. Gimbap falls into that glorious realm of recipes that allow you to completely clean out your fridge as well as experiment with a lot creativity.

What follows is my personal version of Gimbap, so I encourage you to use it as merely an example and a guideline as you find you own way down this yellow brick road of deliciousness.

Grilled Asparagus with Orange Vinaigrette and Crisp Pancetta

Happy New Year guys! I hope you had a great time celebrating it, hopefully with no major headaches or hangovers the next day. Personally, I spent it with my family drinking champagne out of a martini glass. Partaaay!
But I have to admit, it was fun see all the random, questionably legal fireworks going off in nearby neighborhoods and tease my little sister about taking it easy on that glass of Sprite she was drinking.
Even though we’re only three days into 2012, I’m sure that many of you are already well on your way to completing any number of New Year’s resolutions. In all honesty, even I have jumped on the resolutions train this time around, mapping out goals ranging from prepping for the GRE exam to not watching Korean dramas before doing my homework.
Something tells me that one of those goals will be more attainable than the other.