Pizza weekend

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"Time goes by like a breeze" is a cliche that holds true to most aspects of life. Last month, we ate at a cozy Italian restaurant with Kuya O. Today at exactly 6 PM he boarded a plane; flying back to Japan. The kids and I would surely miss him...

The restaurant's name slipped my mind, it's located just below the Praterstern station. I remember there used to be a replica of the Eiffel Tower in the middle of this restaurant, a curious installment for additional amusement to passersby and diners. Thinking, this must have been newly renovated...from being a French restaurant to Italian.

The ambiance, if it's worth writing about, is superb. There's a separate entrance and area for non-smokers so we "enjoyed" the smell of pizza being cooked and the aroma of herbs on them!

We were served with a basket of breads including a giant pretzel which we munched on while waiting for the Hawaiian and Salami Pizza we ordered.

The little girl asked for some french fries as well so she didn't try any of the pizza. Bigger boy's favorite is salami so he had a number of slices and took home 2 more...the littlest of my kids is the biggest eater. lol. He had a bite of everything on the table and this is no wonder why he grows the fastest among the three.

Kuya O doesn't look like it but he eats a lot too. :D This is one thing I like about him, you get the appetite just dining with him...with stories and jokes as side dishes...and I blame him for the 3 kilos I gained while he was here. lol.

Dear Kuya O, fleeting as it may, thank you for the memories and the food you shared with us. Hontou ni arigatou gozaimashita! We'll see you again...

Pizzeria/Ristorante in Prater Station
1020 Vienna





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Baking Adventure continues

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The week went through with two batches of baking. One for chocolate cupcakes, the other for brownies.

I'm still making use of what I have at home. I have plastic tips that I got from mom-in-law. When the wilton tips I ordered arrive, I'll surely go busy using them. ;)

Cream cheese is becoming a favorite frosting at home. We love its blend with the chocolate cupcakes! I am using mascarpone, cream cheese and whipped cream plus sugar but I forgot where I got the measurements for the most perfect mix! lol.

REcipe here.

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Baking 101

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Whenever I buy things at the grocery I see to it that I get the exact amount of change that I should. You say, how cheap, what's 0.01 cent? Well, if the cashier is friendly I let her have it, but if the person looks deliberately keeping it, I take it...why you ask? A hundred times 0.01 is 1€...and I'm sure that's just not how many people buy from a grocery store...if the cashier takes 0.02 cents, that would be doubled.

I'm saying this because I knew of some people around who does cheat. Too strong a word but that's how it is. They cheat to get a lot more...and it's those little things that annoy me. Something small when put together becomes big....does ring a bell, right? So if you go to the grocery, do ask for your change, it's yours after all.

Baking is something that I am frustrated about...well I got a bit better but not with icing. :( I still need to learn how to pipe! Though I only used whipped cream here...next time I'd surely whip buttercream. Like asking for every bit of cent at the grocery store, baking needs to be exact and if not then it would come to this. :D Uneven!

I think being a domestic goddess wouldn't be complete if one cannot make yummy and beautiful cupcake pieces. Well, it's just me. In my attempt to be a step closer to that goal of being a goddess (lol), the hubby was very supportive and helped me more than I really needed. He was the one who did the kneading of the marshmallow fondant. He also put the red color in it and shaped out two stars. Well, it may take time before I could master this craft but I'll take the long way...

This recipe comes from Joy of Baking, which I think is one of the best online resources for baking. Instead of using the fudge frosting I used some whipped cream and marshmallow fondant.  


Chocolate Cupcakes:

1/2 cup (50 grams) Dutch-processed cocoa powder
1 cup (240 ml) boiling hot water
1 1/3 cups (175 grams) all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup (200 grams) granulated white sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Chocolate Fudge Frosting:

4 ounces (120 grams) unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped
2/3 cup (150 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/3 cups (160 grams) confectioners (powdered or icing) sugar, sifted
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Click here for procedure. :)

Enjoy!

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Mochi mochi! (read like moshi mosh!)

(I already ate some when I took this shot, lol-can't resist!)

I was so ecstatic receiving this "pasalubong" from Senpai (sort of) from Japan. Kuya O came to Vienna to do some research and I am really ecstatic to have someone like him. I can't remember when was the last time I had an intelligent conversant around. ;) Before coming to Vienna he asked me what I want for pasalubong and I can't really tell him what since I have a lot in my head...I asked for Naruto Kamaboko which is not that easy to bring because it should be frozen...he anyway brought me some!!! (Awesome!) Along with it he brought this big mochi package....yaaay! (I would have loved the Hoshi No Ojisama/Little Prince but asked too late, lol.)

I found a new colorful subject for food photography! :) These treats are as yummy as they look! I love the green tea flavor best! Mochi is Japanese rice cake made of glutinous rice pounded into paste and molded into shape. In Japan it is traditionally made in a ceremony called mochitsuki. The rectangular version reminds me of tikoy which is also a favorite! (Coincidentally, I remember them now that it's the Chinese NY.)

 

Orange and Pistachio

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 Macha/Green tea

Sakura and Kuri (Cherry and Chestnut)

Ohagi,similar to mochi and are covered with sweet beans, sesame, or so on. The name, ohagi, came from autumn flower, hagi (bush clover).The most popular ohagi topping is anko (sweet azuki beans) as anko is often used in Japanese sweets. Another popular topping is sesame. Black sesame seeds are used for ohagi topping. Also, soybean flour called kinako is used for the topping. Azuki beans, sesame seeds, and kinako flour are all nutritious, so ohagi can be good sweets for you.

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Looking at these photos again make me wanna eat everything in the box...but happiness is sometimes sweeter with a bit of patience...so yeah, I'll wait until tomorrow hihi.

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