Month: July 2016

Ooh la la! Lemon Palmiers!

Published by Kathy Hunt

Because I lack the patience to wait in long lines, fight the crowds at historic sites and deal with other cranky, sweaty tourists, while friends are off baking at the beach or exploring national parks, I spend the summer tucked in my kitchen, reliving past vacations through food. Few sweets remind me more of poking around picturesque French villages than palmiers. Originating in Southern France, these flaky, caramelized cookies are a mainstay of patisseries and, in my case, the perfect breakfast-on-the-go. What can I say? Whether at home or on the road, I like my breakfasts small, portable and sweet. Palmiers get their name from their unmistakable shape. In French palmier means “palm.” Along with being compared to palm leaves, they have been likened to butterflies, eyeglasses, hearts and elephant ears. If I’m baking these cookies, they might resemble a palm tree or, on an especially harried day, a work of modern art. How do these cookies end up looking like palm leaves? Imagine dozens of layers of buttery puff pastry dusted with sugar and …

Thai Sticky Rice with Mango

Published by Kathy Hunt

I promise that Kitchen Kat isn’t evolving into a Southeast Asian food blog. However, I do have one more tantalizing recipe from this part of the world to share. This time it’s an iconic Thai sweet, sticky rice with mango. One of those rare desserts that is as straightforward as it sounds, here steamed sticky rice or khâo niaw gets paired with cut mango. Sometimes referred to as glutinous rice, sticky rice’s name comes from its texture. When cooked, this short, oval-shaped rice becomes quite gummy. Its color also changes from white to almost translucent, which is the opposite of how white rice looks before and after steaming. Especially popular in Northern Thailand, sticky rice can be eaten by hand. Occasionally sticky rice is consumed on its own. On some rare occasions it is served alongside fresh or dried shrimp, giving diners a sweet-salty-savory experience. Although it usually pairs up with mango, it also goes nicely with such tropical fruits as soursop, pineapple and jackfruit or tart and fruity sorbet. I like it best, though, …