Jessica's Dinner Party

Citron Tea

One of my favorite beverages is the citron tea, or yujacha, 유자차. It’s different from regular teas because it is not brewed from dried leaves but from a marmalade like syrup. The citron is a very unique fruit because it is rarely, if ever, eaten peeled. The pulp is dry and little in proportion to the amount of pith and peel. However, it is a very fragrant and nutritional fruit. Many Koreans drink it during the winter months because it is an excellent source of Vitamin C and is also believed to be a natural source of antibiotics. When a cold is caught, instead of orange juice, Koreans give the advise to drink some citron tea.

November 20 2009 | asian and beverage and fruit | 4 Comments »

Running Behind

NaBloPoMo is getting the best of me. I promised myself I wouldn’t do one of those “filler” posts, but alas, here I am. I even had a back up plan, but I guess I needed a back up plan for for that back up plan. So, in the meantime I’m sending you some friendly eye candy in hopes that you will forgive this measly post. I promise, tomorrow will be something yummier.

November 18 2009 | thoughts | 7 Comments »

Sweet Potato Cupcakes

Hypothetically, the best thing about Thanksgiving is the amount of choices you have when it comes to your plate. Yams or potatoes? Cranberry sauce or gravy? Cake or pie? However, does anyone ever choose one over the other? I sure don’t. I pile my plate with full servings of everything and finish it clean. Then, when my pants are unbuttoned and I place my hands on the six month food baby I’ve created in my stomach, I start to think, maybe I should’ve cut back. That’s why you have to bake all your desserts in the mini. It’s faster, cuter, and you feel less guilty if you decide to sample all of the desserts.

November 17 2009 | cake and dessert and recipe and thoughts | 7 Comments »

Buttery Croissants

While I was browsing through Gourmet recipes I came across one for croissants. I immediately tagged it, knowing that I would never come up with the nerve to make them. It would be a reference, in case I ever wanted to know how to make them, or if someone wanted a link to a sound recipe. I really didn’t think I would be baking croissants any time soon, but I guess I surprised myself.

November 15 2009 | bread and recipe and thoughts | 19 Comments »

Nigella’s Scones

A few days ago, I wrote about my search for an English scone recipe. Specifically, the English scone recipe from my mom’s London memories. Luckily, a friendly British, blogosphere neighbor, Kate gave me a link to a tried and true scone recipe (by the way, her blog, Coquette & Dove, is also a fantastic read, full of beautiful things you wish you had and beautiful people you wish you could look like). The recipe comes from Nigella Lawson or the Domestic Goddess. I’ve never tried any of her recipes but have always been very fond of her. I immediately wanted to make them, but decided to wait a few days before baking another batch. I knew I could eat scones for days, but I wasn’t sure if the rest of my family wanted to. If my family didn’t eat them, then that means I would eat all of them, and that would end up being a very ugly site. A lot of thought went into waiting a few days.