Wonderful 10 Days with My Sister

By Lu

Ri and I at Tea, I know it's blurry!

When my sister told me she would be stopping by in Chicago to see me, I was so happy. We have been trying to squeeze in a visit during her US states trotting trip this past month, and I was really glad it worked out and I was able to see and spend time with my sister. Living so far away from family, I always try to seize every opportunity I get to see any of my family members when I can. What shame if we didn't see each other and we were in the same country. So, yes...I was one happy sister!

My poor sister, Ri, decided to fly on the day where the big thunderstorm happened to pass through Illinois. Her flight was delayed six times that day. She was supposed to arrive at 5:30 pm, and that didn't happen. She finally arrived the next day at 12:30 AM in the morning. Fun fun fun.

But once she was here, the real fun started. If you knew us, you probably can guess the 10 days were filled with food, food, and food. Yeah, that was about right. We also managed to a get a pedicure, and watched X Men First Class three times - well, twice for Ri and three times for me. I must admit that I recently developed an obsession with Michael Fassbender, the actor who played Magneto. What a magnificent specimen of mankind. Mh..mh..mh...nom..nom..nom, like what my friends would say looking at food. In short, he's hot!

Ri, savoring fries at Lake Park Bistro

Ri and I managed to eat really really well in the 10 days she was in town. She was able to experience Mapo Restaurant twice (with CK & Sab, then with our old friends Ivan & Kiki). If you read our previous post about Mapo, the place is really really fantastic. So, since she read it, she wanted to experience it. Then, we had some great sushi at Wild Fish restaurant; not so good Tea experience at the Ritz-Carlton (with Evi); a brunch at Meli's cafe courtesy of Sandrine where we ran into our mayor, Rahm Emanuel; a lunch at Lake Park Bistro in Milwaukee; and her last night here, we had a nice dinner at Roy's with Tina.

However, the highlight of her visit was that I was able to cook and bake with my sister. We haven't had a chance to be in the kitchen  together since we started this blog. It was really cool because though her visit was not planned, I had a planned engagement to bake for a baby shower during her visit. I had been planning to cook and bake for this shower for months with Sandrine. When Sandrine asked me to help her with the food for our friends, Sabrina and Hui Ling's baby shower, I jumped at the opportunity. I always look for an excuse to bake. I just simply love baking and cooking, and it is always more fun baking and cooking for others rather than just for yourself. I don't even need money for it. What makes me happy is hearing people telling me if my food are delicious. I can smile for days and days. That's what motivates me mostly. The only problem is, I just have to always make sure I make something good each time.

The happy parents to be L-R, CK & Sabrina and Hui Ling & Alvin

Sabrina and Hui Ling found out they were expecting within weeks of each other, and that was one of the reasons for the double header shower. They're so cute in their maternity dresses and the glow they wear on their faces in expectation of a bundle of joy that will be coming anytime now. Both are expecting a boy! How fun!

Evi, Ri, Lu, and Sabrina with the food!

Having an accomplished baker assisting me was also in my favor. Ri has been doing really well in the kitchen and I have been admiring her work. When she made salt bagels for her hubby for one of the high holidays, I was so impressed. We had a very small window in preparing the food and I was assigned three things by Sandrine: two types of finger sandwiches and Scones with Lemon Curd. I made Scones and Lemon Curd last year for Sandrine's baby shower and apparently it was a hit. Thus why, she wanted me to make some more. Or, so I thought that was the reason...hehehe. Let's just go with that.

So, I decided to make Cranberry and orange cream scones with lemon curd, Crab egg salad finger sandwiches, and Curried chicken salad with grapes inside a savory Pat a Choux Pastry. Since Ri had some down time while I was at work, I asked her to practice and make the Pat a Choux.

Pat a Choux is a pretty much the outer shell of a Cream Puff or Eclairs. It is made by making a roux made of water, butter, and flour. Then, after the roux was done, you add egg one at a time and the batter will puff when  you bake it in the oven. It is yummy and I thought it would make a great vehicle for the curried chicken salad instead of just another bread. We made variation to the Choux to make it extra savory by adding finely chopped parsley and parmesan cheese.

Pat a Choux filled with Curried Chicken Salad with Grapes

Ri did really well in executing the Choux as they turned out really really good. This pastry can be tricky as you need to know how to gauge the addition of the eggs. Too much eggs, your batter will be too runny. Not enough egg, your batter won't puff. However, we were doing a good job in gauging as well as making sure they baked at the right temperature. When those babies came out from the oven, I was quite happy looking at the results. So was Ri. This one item would be a hit we had a hunch.

Crab Egg Salad Finger Sandwiches

I wasn't too excited about making the Egg salad at first because it didn't really involve baking. However, I was so surprised with what I learned. Turned out, hard boiling an egg is really hard. Yes, of course you can just boil it in water and it will be hard boiled. However, to have it perfectly boiled for the right presentation took skills I didn't have. A perfect hard boiled egg must not have a dark ring around the yolk when you slice it open. The dark ring forms when the egg is overcooked and the iron inside the yolk started to react to the heat. A perfect hard boiled egg is never boiled, but they are simmered.

To make a great looking hard boiled eggs you need to do the following:

• Never use fresh eggs as these will be hard to peel. Use 4-5 day old eggs, and have them in room temperature before boiling.
• Add eggs to a pot and fill it with room temperature water. 
• Place pot on the stove, uncovered, and boil just until water reach a rapid or rolling boil.
• Remove from heat, and cover. Set timer to 17 minutes.
• After 17 minutes, soak water in cold water for at least 10 minutes.
• Peel! Hopefully you won't have ring.

They said this method is fool proof. I didn't find it so. I had to do a couple batches of egg boiling. Some came out perfect and some had the ring though very faint. But, everything worked out, as I used the not so perfect eggs for the Egg salad.

The Scones... oh.. I can make scones in a jiffy. Scones are so easy to make. You just mix everything, cut it and bake. If you want recipe of the perfect scones, check out my old post.

Cranberry and Orange Cream Scones

Because the Choux was so similar to Eclairs, it was crazy if we didn't make some Custard filled Eclairs too. So, we made some sweet ones, filled it with rum laced egg custard, and topped with melted semi-sweet chocolate. Then, I had some oranges which I used the rind for the scones. I thought I needed to re-purpose them fruits, so then I transformed it into fruit salad and added grapes (leftover from the Curried chicken salad), mangoes, grapefruits, kiwis, nectarines, strawberries and blueberries. It looked really nice and fresh.

Mixed Fruit Salad

Eclairs and More Goodies..

The shower was a success. I have never seen or been to one with more food than this one. I thought Sandrine's shower had food that could feed several countries at once. This one had even more food! On top of what Ri and I prepared, there were Kahlua Fruit Dip, Bacon and Dates Tapas, Fruit Tartlets, Angkoo Kuih, and Veggie Crudites courtesy of Sandrine and her mom, Aunty Karen. Then, there were also Beef Noodles, Roasted Chicken, and Stuffed Tofu that Sabrina and CK provided to the guests. Further, Evi and Nate brought some Indonesian specialty: a complete Nasi Tumpeng and its fixing and Es Teler (some type of Indonesian iced drink). Wow! There were also maybe some other stuff that I missed. There were so many of them. Oh, yeah..not to forget the baby shower cakes and cup cakes!

It was a really great time! Not only for eating but I think the expectant moms were really enjoying themselves. I think Ri had tons of fun too eating great food that she missed because of living in Nepal. Who knew we would be eating Tumpeng? Tumpeng is a traditional festive food for Indonesians, and often is used in lieu of a cake. It is usually made with rice that was cooked with coconut milk and turmeric so it has this yellow color, and then molded into a cone/mountain. Around the rice mountain, there will be side dishes usually consist of fried or roast chicken, sliced omelette, eggs cooked in chili, Rendang or beef stewed in coconut milk, etc. Rendang is getting pretty popular now even the new winner of Top Chef Master, Chef Floyd Cardoz, won because of his rendition of Rendang! Man, who knew I could win Top Chef Master as I am sure Indonesian made Rendang will be better than an Indian Chef making it. Hehehe.

Indonesian Nasi (Rice) Tumpeng

Further, we made some new friends who are really really nice people. I was happy Ri was able to meet my friends here and I just really enjoyed myself the last 10 days with her and every one.

On Father's Day Sunday, we all went for Dim Sum in Ming Hin in Chicago China Town. That was awesome and this will be its own post, so stay tuned. We feasted in Chinese breakfast and tea just the day after. CK surprised us by picking up the tab. He said he paid it with the proceed from selling scones. He's full of it! I was so shocked that he paid for everything. Thank you, CK and Sabrina!

That night, Ri begged me to see X Men again and I was hesitant as it would be my third time. So I said to her..sure but she would be paying for it. She said okay as she saved a lot of money as CK kept feeding her. LOL! So true :)

Miso Soup at Roy's

We closed her visit with a nice dinner at Roy's. Roy's is a Hawaiian Fusion Restaurant owned by Chef Roy Yamaguchi. He owns hundreds of restaurants, and I found the service was impeccable. I definitely loved the Edamame they served with special seasonings, and the desserts were to die for. The Chocolate Souffle was worth the 25 minutes wait. I also loved loved their Miso Soup. It was filled with some yummy things in it like mushrooms, shrimps, bok choy, and noodle. Yum!

Then, the next day, she's gone. I took Ri to the airport at 7 AM, and that was good bye for now. She's back in Khatmandu now, looking at the mighty Everest again.

I love seeing my family as I always feel this immense joy whenever I have them around. However, when they're gone, they leave this void in my life, and all of a sudden I feel really alone. It usually takes me a week or two to recover and back to my own routine.

I really really miss you, Ri. Till we see each other again. Love you!

** Baby shower pictures courtesy of Kinzie Chye Photography.