What will the new year bring?

First, I just can't help but share these awesome presents.

You know he's a keeper when...

He supports your blogging habits by buying new dishware!

I swear Steven and I probably only have like five different dishes for taking food photos. It gets old. It's so nice to have some new dishes to use. Yay!

He buys you a freaking Thermapen!

Okay WOW. Just wow. This totally opens up a whole new world of cooking for me. I've never ventured into roasting, candy making, or some types of baking for fear of totally screwing up because I have no way to measure the temperature. Now I'll know exactly when my custards reach 180 degrees, my caramel at the right stage, and prime rib is perfectly medium rare (this is what Steven is most interested in). So you see, he gets prime rib, I get a $90 thermometer, it's WIN WIN!

And what else? No more trying to frost cakes with a butter knife (gift from Bettina, Yay! <3 thanks Bettina!). No more bending soup spoons in the ice cream container. I'm not planning to use the butter warmers for their intended purpose, rather they will be used for individual fondues. Another cookbook to add to my growing collection, which started at a mere 3 books earlier this year. And last but not least, a silicone mat (good for candy making, bad for my teeth and bum).

I love this man. Not just because he buys me awesome stuff, but hey that doesn't hurt! :D

Anyways, on with the show!

New Years Resolutions!
for the blog that is...

1. Post more regularly to eliminate the troublesome blog clog.
2. Post more Pantry Spotlights, one reason why this blog is named what it is.
3. Keep the recipe index up-to-date.
4. Blog redesign.
5. Try to cook earlier and take more photos under natural light conditions. (Not easy in the winter, when it's not only perpetually gray but gets dark at 4pm.) I took the photo above before the new year so I haven't broken this one yet! :)
6. More of my favorite Chinese recipes! It seems I rarely blog about the type of food that I grew up with, cook and eat most often, and love the most. We need to change that!
7. ???

What other blog resolutions should I make? Which ones will you make?

Feel free to share your culinary loot and resolutions, blog or not (yes, I will exercise this year)!

Happy 2008 everyone!

Day 2: Shortbread Bars with Mango Jam Filling

Sometimes on especially cold days, I can't help but reminisce about the glories of summer. These mango shortbread bars served as my departure to a warm, tropical place. The original shortbread recipe comes from my very first cookbook "Butter, Sugar, Flour, Eggs" by Gale Gand - a great title and a great book about the main ingredients a baker cannot live without. The "Austrian raspberry shortbread" recipe of the butter chapter is one of my favorites from the book. You can tell because the book practically opens to this page. Though these are delicious with raspberry jam, you can substitute any jam or preserves for the filling. In this case, I made some mango jam with mango that I saved in the freezer from summer.

The baking powder in shortbread dough make the cookie a little lighter and the egg yolks make it even richer. The most unique step in this recipe that I have never seen in any other shortbread recipe is that the dough is first frozen, then grated into a baking pan, creating a much lighter and delicate cookie. Grating the dough by hand on a box grater is time consuming, I won't deny it, but it's something I've been doing with this recipe for the past couple of years. But for you lucky folks with a food processor, the grating can be done in less than a minute without any scraped knuckles. These are great paired with a cup of tea.


The recipe is slightly adapted from the original. I halved the sugar because the original recipe was much, much too sweet and I also decreased the butter and baking powder. The recipe can be halved and baked in an 8 x 8 pan.

Shortbread Bars with Mango Jam Filling
Adapted from Gale Gand

3 1/2 sticks of unsalted butter
4 egg yolks
1 C sugar
4 C AP flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 to 1 1/2 C mango jam (recipe below) or your favorite jam or preserves
Powdered sugar for dusting

Cream the butter with the paddle attachment of a stand mixer or with a hand mixer until light and fluffy. Add the sugar and egg yolks and beat (originally wrote cream but that was confusing) until evenly mixed.

In another bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Slowly add this to the butter and mix until the dough comes together.

Divide the dough in half then in half again for 4 equal portions. Shape these pieces into a log shape for easy grating (and if you're using a food processor, make sure it can fit into the feed tube). Freeze the dough for at least 3 hours and it will keep in the freezer for up to a month.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Working with 1 bar of dough at a time, grate 2 portions of the dough onto the bottom of a 9 x 13 baking pan. I like to use a Pyrex pan so I can monitor the color of the bottom of the shortbread. You can line the bottom of your pan with parchment paper for easy removal of the cookies after baking but you won't be able to monitor the color of the bottom. Make sure the pan is evenly covered with pieces of the dough.

Using a spatula or the back of the spoon, spread jam evenly over the dough leaving a 1/2 in border around the edges. Then grate the remaining half of the dough on top of the jam.

Bake on the middle rack until golden brown 30 to 40 minutes but I've had to bake longer sometimes. After baking, cool the cookie completely. Then dust with powdered sugar and cut into bars.


Mango Jam
2 C mango cut into 1/2 inch cubes
2 Tbsp to 1/4 C sugar (or more depending on the sweetness of your mango)
1 Tbsp lime juice

In a nonreactive saucepan, sprinkle the sugar over the mango cubes and let the fruit macerate for about 20 - 30 minutes.

Add the lime juice and cook the mangoes until the liquid has evaporated and the fruit is thick and chunky. You can mash some of the mangoes if you prefer.

Keep this in the fridge and use on toast, in a baked good filling.

Day 1: White Chocolate Cashew Macadamia Butter Cookies