Out & About #664 | Week #27 Quarantine Update Feat. Smile Cookies

9/20/2020

Another blur of a week has passed us by, and with it another assemblage of kitchen creations.

1) Crackle-Top Brownies courtesy of Sunday Baking

The rice flour layer had been excluded due to lack of time, which yielded a drier finish. It was nonetheless delicious, though perhaps a tad sugary in the absence of chewy mochi.

2) Coconut Brown Butter Cookies

Another amazing compilation from the ever-formidable SK, these cookies were nutty, crisp, and impeccably delicious - a harmonious assembly of seemingly inconspicuous, common pantry items. While comparatively labour-intensive in comparison to no-chill doughs, the addition of brown butter is a quintessential element that truly shines in this formula. Chewiness is heightened by the presence of brown sugar, though the texture of coconut flakes, as recommended in the original recipe, is conceptually more superb.
Do beware that the dough spreads significantly and preserve several inches between each for good measure.

Do beware that the dough spreads significantly and preserve several inches between each for good measure.

3) Roast Chicken w/ Charred Carrots and Cherry Tomatoes

Did I mention charred? Some of my carrots had blackened thoroughly, so do keep an eye on the ones residing outside the impact area of dissipating chicken juices.

Countless attempts later, it was concluded that thorough defrosting was critical for success. The three-pounder was cooked in a manner akin to previous iterations, along with a quick brining method inspired by a buttermilk roast recipe.

4) Pork Chop w/ Pear-Grape Compôte and Caramelized Onions

Drawing inspiration from Mama Cheung's take on a HK Café staple, I set out for a method that involved little to no frying. The result was a two-step cooking process that commenced on the stove and finished in a preheated oven.

The condiments were the simplest to compile: the distinctly fuscia compôte was derived from my go-to frozen-seasonal-fruit-meets-breadmaker formula, while caramelized onions are, well, sliced yellow onions pan-fried to the point of caramelization.
Searing the pork chops in a smoldering cast iron pan with a generous knob of salted butter caused oil specks to spurt in all directions, even landing on the floor and singing my uncovered big toe. The results were well worth the smoky efforts (and consequential fanning of the smoke detector), though more rigid safety protocols shall be in place for the next round.

5) Sailing the Three Seas (Cs: Cheese, Chicken, and Cream Sauce)

Shall I proceed to name my pizzas?

Plentiful chunks of chicken breast, roasted cherry tomatoes, and a homemade dill-infused, umami-packed cream sauce were the primary constituents of carb-laden creations. Half & half cream and 2% were substituted in the absence of heavy cream, while dried shrimp, frozen celery, sweet onion, and a margarine-flour roux assisted in coagulation. The yield was likely still too damp, for generous dollops across the surface resulted in quite a substantial amount of moisture.

Utilized in this round was the 8-hour SK dough, made rich with cream sauce and crunchy with a newly-acquired (!) pizza pan.

6) Roasted Chicken Thigh

No further explanations required - these have made an unthinkable number of appearances since the start of COVID-19 and shall only continue to do so.

Unlike me though, ensure that the chicken is shifted to the lower third of the oven prior to broiling. The skin was crisp, yet also heavily burnt.

Moving onto snacks of the week, one of the first items of consumption was a plump Hot Dog Bun from Akko Cake House, a local Chinese bakery frequented countless times over the course of my childhood, most commonly after school. Their portions have teetered over the years, resulting in the diminished visit count. The recent encounter had re-instilled the sense of familiarity that had departed when my former Chinese school classmate assumed role as a part-timer.

Smile Cookies are back for another year! Timmies is quite frankly the last place I'd bother with, despite my arguably overbearing patriotism. But similar to Akko, the unpredictable and occasionally wonky faces summon nostalgia, and perhaps a crooked smile in return.

The cookies are absurdly sweet, yet comically cute in their rightful respects. Past memories of my Atlantic travels were conjured with the week's first Smile Cookie of many.

Oakville Place was the destination of Mall Run #6. A convenient and compact attraction for retail therapy, the corridors were largely vacant during the early afternoon, drawing attention to the countless physical distancing stickers situated throughout.

Contrary to popular belief, L.L. Bean was neither a cafe nor coffee wholesaler. Rather, it was an apparel store along the lines of Eddie Bauer.

After stopping by Miniso, which I hadn't realized the existence of, and vocalizing affection toward the Avocado family, I meandered over to the food court. The space was reminiscent of Erin Mills Town Centre prior to renovations.

Easily spotted was Tim Hortons, where yet another Smile Cookie was purchased.

The next day was spent back in Peel, with age-old cornflakes and leftover compote, lattes in 12 oz. whisky glasses, and CoCo. Passion Fruit Black Tea with Coconut Jelly is a classic combination; QQ Milk Tea (taro balls!) with Grass Jelly was delicious as well.

Given that Smile Cookies are exclusive to a mere 7 out of 365 days, I bit the bullet and drove into northwest Toronto on its third-last day of availability.

The visit had intentionally been scheduled to coincide with the shift times of the Thai ahgase.

We proceeded eastbound afterwards, for coffee at the nation's coffeehouse is wretched beyond comprehension.

The GTA's sole outpost of the Starbucks Reserve Bar is located within Shops at Don Mills. Our attempt to pop in on Mother's Day had been in vain, so it seemed only fitting to retry when I had already found myself at the halfway point.

Menu offerings were consistent with that of our nation's capital in ByWard Market. Sampled a second time was the Hazelnut Bianco Latte - as velvety as my mind can recall - and the comparatively bitter Dark Mocha.

High traffic volumes were witnessed within the store, however patrons were surprisingly obedient, residing on or near the designate floor markers until their order was called.

Merchandise in the form of brewing equipment, tumblers, and Reserve roasts were placed along the waiting area. My line of sight fell upon Microblend No. 21.

240 grams of "supposedly candied citrus flavors enrobed in dark chocolate", the small-lot coffee revealed itself far deeper in hue than its description alluded; the darker-than-dark roast blend was deemed fit for various slow extraction methods. And after a few rounds of experimentation, it can be confirmed that the rapid extraction of espresso shots is not a medium in which the beans particularly shine. I shall be foraying into pour overs at my next opportunity.

Prior to departure was the inevitable visit to LCBO for seasonal beers. Big Rig was nowhere to be spotted amongst the festive array, though I did manage to secure two variations of Pumpkin Ale and a cider compressed in gold packaging.

Five minutes away was Oomomo, where I proceeded to browse until prime suppertime had past.

Under the constraint of time, sustenance was sought from the nearby Pho 88. Vermicelli cravings from earlier in the week had subsided; the decision had merely materialized for the sake of maintaining schedules.

< Pictured below: A04 Cold Shrimp Roll, V08 Pork Meatball & Minced Shrimp on Sugar cane Vermicelli >

The experience could be summarized into twenty-two dollars of poor judgement: sour service, a lengthy wait (with no more than four occupied tables), starch-thickened "meat"balls, a limp wand of "sugar cane shrimp", and a rancid peanut sauce. Never in my existence had a condiment so foul, so grotesque made its way to my possession.

Even the notoriously no-fail fresh rolls were despicable, complete with half-centimetre-thick defrosted shrimp, unsliced scallion strands, and, worst of all, the sheer lack of individual wrapping. (Is plastic wrap really that rare???)