How the cookie crumbles...

There is no shortage of chocolate chip cookie options in San Francisco, ranging from supermarket 10 cent cookies to gourmet $3 cookies. So the challenge for the hedonistas this time was, "What is your favorite chocolate chip cookie?"

THE COOKIE FACE OFF

THE TASTERS:
Dave, Dean, Eric, Joyce, Michele, Oliver, Ray, Shipra, Thao, Tiffany, and Timothy

THE CONTENDERS:
Nominated by the tasters

Listed clockwise starting from the top left:

1. Homemade with 66% Tcho chocolate discs (Tiffany, Dean)
2. Nestle Toll House cookie dough (Michele)
3. Hot Cookie (Joyce, Eric)
4. Anthony's Cookies (Joyce, Eric)
5. Whole Food Bakery (The Waldin's)
6. Dandelion Chocolate (Dave)
7. Subway (Michele)
8. Mrs. Fields (The Waldin's)
9. Anthony's Cookies - Gluten Free (Joyce, Eric)

THE TEST:
There were too many contenders for the tasters to do a full rank order, so the 9 cookies were grouped into 3 groups (Michele, Shipra, and Thao did an informal, ad hoc ranking as to place the top contenders in separate groups for the first round). Then, the winner from each group advanced to the championship round to determine the ultimate winner.

Testers were blindfolded or simply asked to closed their eyes. The test administrator randomize the order and gave the testers bite size pieces of cookies. After tasting all 3 cookies in the bracket, tasters ordered their preference. The procedure was repeated for other groups.

Four contenders advanced to the championship round (slight change in rules, since 1st and 2nd place in Group 3 were separated by only one point we agreed to advance both cookies).

THE RESULTS:
Drum roll please...the top three chocolate chip cookies are:

1. Homemade (~$1.00 per cookie)
2. Anthony's ($1.50 per cookie)
3. Dandelion ($3.00 per cookie)

Special thanks to Joyce for administering most of the test, Ray for building a web app to collect the data, and all the testers for breaking their diets.

We look forward to Baby To-Ku joining the tasting crew soon.

Blueberry Muffin Taste Test

After a 6 year break, the Waldin Test Kitchen relaunched with new staff and a Blueberry Muffin Taste Testing. The new researchers are Timothy Waldin and Oliver Waldin. Both have years of experience (7 and 4 years respectively) tasting sweet, treats, and muffins of all variety, with chocolate being their area of expertise.

The experiment had one simple question: Which blueberry muffin tastes best?  Testers tasted four recipes:
1. Mix - Betty Crocker Wild Blueberry box mix
2. Low Fat - a healthy, whole wheat, low-fat recipe
3. Perfect - a no compromise full fat, full sugar muffin
4. Vegan - sure was, no dairy or animal product at all

Mix, Low-Fat, Perfect, Vegan (from left to right)

The independent variables were diligently prepared by Oliver with a bit of help from Thao (aka Mom).

  

The test design and interviews were conducted by Timothy. Each muffin received a code name from The Lego Movie (Emmet, Vitruvius, Batman, and Wyldstyle). Testers were presented with all four muffins at once and allowed to taste the muffins in which ever random order they wanted. Afterwards, they ordered their muffin preferences from 1st to 4th, and asked to identify the muffin recipes.

Drumroll please...The winner was:
#1 Emmet (the Perfect, no compromise muffin)
- avg rank of 1.6, with 7 testers placing it 1st and 5 testers placing it 2nd

#2 Batman (Betty Crocker Mix)
- avg rank: 2.3, with 3 testers placing it 1st and 6 testers placing it 2nd

#3 Wyldstyle (Speckled Palate Vegan)
- avg rank: 2.8, with surprisingly 2 testers placing it 1st

#4 Vitruvius (Skinny Taste Low Fat)
- avg rank:3.2, with all but 2 tasters placing it 3rd or 4th

Tabulating the data

Presenting the results

A secondary objective was to determine if tasters could identify the recipes. The results were surprising. Testers were only correct 29% of the time. The most common mistake was 75% of the testers thought the Vegan muffin was the Low Fat muffin. The most often correctly identified were the Perfect and Mix muffins, both at 45%.

And the most important finding is "Everything is awesome. Everything is cool when you're part of  a team" (set to the tune of The Lego Movie"). We are very fortunate to have you all as regulars in the Waldin Test Kitchen. Thanks to all the testers for participating: Dave, Diana, Euree, Heather, Luice, Michele, Oliver, Ray, Ryan, Shipra, Thao, Timothy, and Vanita.

The Waldin Kitchen is taking nominations for the next test.

After a bit of a hibernation, the Hedonistas are back, after a truly hedonistic day!

Diana hosted a clothing swap at her place, featuring a delicious meal beforehand (of course!).  Some highlights of the feast included Diana's homemade caramelized onion/apple savory tart, her cute fresh-veggie bread cups, Tiffany's homemade plum chocolate cake (which she claims was low-fat, but I have my doubts!), and of course the famous pork buns that we always love.  In true amateur-blogger style, none of these items are actually pictured below.

Another big hit was Mrs. To's garden vegetable harvest, including many varieties of tomatoes, eggplant, and other exotic squashes.  Delicious, and organic!

Afterward the delicious meal, we headed into the salon (normally it's just a living room, but for this occasion, it's a salon) to try on each other's unwanted garments.  How fun!  I only have 1 photo from this part of the day, so here's Thao, looking sleek and stylish in Tiffany's old dress!

 Michele joined us late in the afternoon, and the SF ladies without kids headed out for some drinks.  We drifted down Valencia Street for a while before deciding on St. Vincent's for beer, wine, and food.

 Then we had a drink at Iron and Gold, and ended the night at El Rio.  This all sounds like our good-old days of going out and clubbing, however, I believe we were home by 11PM!  Times change, but friendships remain.  :)

Sonoma Getaway

Imagine being in Sonoma at a luxury estate with three gourmet kitchens indoors (as there are three houses) and one bbq kitchen outdoors for four days and three nights (August 25-28, 2011) with the best group of foodie girlfriends (and their +1)! The culinary possibilities are endless.

Diana, Vanita, Eric, Joyce, Heather, Michele, Luice, Euree, Shipra, Stacy, Matt.
Missing: Mama and Papa To, Ryan, the Waldins, Luc, Toro

This is our second time staying at Casa Nueva Vista. We learned from last time to keep the menu plan simple so as to relax and enjoy all that Casa Nueva Vista has to offer, which is a lot. We all love to cook and eat, and we have a reputation for being overly ambitious when it comes to food. So the game plan was to not stress over cooking and cleaning, scale back to only two meals per day -- lunch and dinner. This was the plan going into the weekend. Read on and decide for yourself how well we did.

Leading up to this trip, it had been a typical San Francisco summer. Fog covered the city for three plus weeks and depression was about to set in. A warm sunny escape to Sonoma was the perfect remedy to our potential blues. Four days to relax, swim, play and most importantly eat and drink in the company of good friends. After a short drive over the Golden Gate Bridge the SF fog was left behind, the sun was beaming brightly. A few more miles and in no time at all, we reach Casa Nueva Vista. Drive through the gates and it is a completely different world -- serene beautiful landscapes, trickling fountains and the knowledge of a weekend full of culinary delights. So it begins...

Thursday Afternoon - Appetizers and Snacks

As if being in Sonoma and a luxury estate isn't enough, upon arrival there was blended watermelon juice and an amazing spread of homemade dips/spreads, cheese, and a bounty of the sweetest summer fruits, courtesy of Luice and Euree. Salsa, tapenade, artichoke cucumber dip, yogurt herb dip, chips, pita, figs, raspberry, pluots, nectarines, grapes, pita, and so much more. All made from scratch!

Thursday Dinner - Korean BBQ

Since it was arrival day, the goal was to keep dinner simple in order to start the r&r as soon as possible, perhaps even get in some pool time. So before heading to Sonoma, the Waldins made a quick stop at Kukje Market to get Korean BBQ. As planned, within 30 minutes of arrival we were in the pool and spent the rest of the afternoon swimming and snacking on the gourmet spread of snacks. Then at dinner time, Ray simply grilled the bulgogi (sliced beef), kalbi (ribs), and daeji bulgogi (spicy pork) as the rest of us laid out the egg battered fish, chap chae (glass noodles), kim chi, three kinds of wraps, and an endless assortment of banchan (side dishes). 

Friday Morning/Afternoon - A Traditional Brunch

Our first full day at Casa Nueva started with an amazing brunch of bagels and lox, watermelon feta salad, arugula tomato salad, eggs benedict with crab (at right, the sous vide egg factory to feed a crowd), mimosas, and fruits. Thanks Michele, Joyce, Diana, Luice, Shipra! Oliver and Timothy wanted to contribute too but being 2 and 5 years old they can't cook. Ah ha, they woke up early at 6:30AM (their usual time actually), convinced their mom to make a short drive to Oxbow Public Market in Napa to get the notoriously famous english muffins from Model Bakery. So famous that there is a limit of six per person. Yikes! There are a lot of aunties and uncles to feed. Six just won't do (which was all Thao was permitted to buy). So Timothy bravely got cash in hand, waited in line, and ordered six more. With Thao and Oliver looking on from outside through the glass doors, Timothy scored the additional english muffins and we are back on track for the eggs benedict with crab. Yay!

Friday Dinner - Vietnamese Wraps

Mama and Papa To, and Diana made a perfect dinner for a hot summer night - Vietnamese wraps. Fresh herbs, lettuce, and veggies galore to wrap with noodles in rice paper. Goi cuon (shrimp, pork), bo bia (julienne sauté veggies, Chinese sausage, hoisin sauce), crab egg rolls, do chau (pickled carrots and radish), two dipping sauces, and Joyce's green beans with shitake mushrooms. Thank you Mama and Papa To for wrapping 100+ egg rolls and 3-days of prepping the enormous amount of yumminess.

Saturday Lunch - BBQ Foodie Style!
No summer getaway is complete without a BBQ. There were slow cooked pulled pork sandwiches on sweet Hawaiian rolls (by Joyce), beef sliders made with Pat LaFrieda Ultimate Burger Blend and topped with tzatziki on naan (by Shipra, Walt), sous vide chicken breast and thighs marinated four ways then quickly grilled to add smokiness (by Ray, Thao), grilled summer sweet corn with a light brushing of green onion oil (by Mama Papa To), summer tomatoes (that are sweet as candy) caprese salad (by Shipra), pluot caprese salad (by Thao), pasta salad, a variety of summer fruit, and so much more.

Then after burning off a few calories in the pool, it was time for Euree's carrot cupcakes made from scratch with freshly grated carrots, raisins and nuts, and topped with cream cheese frosting, and chocolate cupcakes. Oh so good warm, right out of the oven. Yum!

The fruit, dips, chips, and spreads made a very welcomed appearance by the pool again, along with Luice's homemade guacamole, Euree's homemade salsa, and the Oliver and Timothy's selection of copa, salami, prosciutto, pates and rillettes from The Fatted Calf in Napa. All of which paired perfectly with a couple of special cocktails by Diana. Bloody Mary accented with homemade pickled radishes and Peony, a delicious light pink/lavender concoction with coconut milk. It was a feast for the eyes and taste buds.

Saturday Dinner - Leftovers + Salmon + Smores

As our stay in Sonoma was coming to an end, we finished off the leftover BBQ, wraps and egg rolls (all still yummy a second time around) and added grilled salmon on cedar planks and a final night "campfire" to make smores.

Sunday Breakfast - Lobster Eggs Benedict

Early risers that trekked to the Waldin house, were treated to lobster eggs benedict. Made with buttery yet light english muffins from Model Bakery in Napa, New England lobster, a sous vide poached egg, hand whipped hollandaise sauce, and finished with a dollop of caviar and sprinkling of chives. No exaggeration. These were made with leftovers, not a single new ingredient was purchased, and not on the menu plan.

Sunday Lunch - Grilled Pizza

Heather with a crew of sous chefs (Euree, Luice, Michele, Shipra, Vanita) expertly crafted four kinds of pizza that were cooked on the grill -- BBQ Chinese duck, BBQ chicken, carmelized onion with pear and gorgonzola, and a nectarine and cheese pizzas. On the side was a salad (Thao) made with leftover butter lettuce, tomatoes, nectarines, cucumbers from the To garden and lobster tossed with balsamic vinaigrette.

It was a great finish to a great getaway and a great summer.

"WT" Wednesday

Read on and guess what "WT" stands for. . . Another memorable Wednesday Night Dinner but with some very tough rules for gourmet foodies:

- No fresh ingredients -- no visiting the organic produce section or farmers market

- Shelf-life that is beyond our ages -- aka preservatives, preservatives, preservatives

Otherwise known as cheap, comfort foods from our youth. Bring on the high carb, high fat, high sodium, and unrecognizable ingredients. 

Tuna Noodle Casserole (Joyce): The most famous of all casseroles but tried by few in the group. Ingredients: canned tuna, noodles, can of cream of mushroom soup, and Lays potato chips.

Spam Matsubi (Diana): While technically within the rules, someone found a loophole and made gourmet teriyaki to season the spam. Ingredients: spam, seasoned rice, homemade teriyaki sauce and nori.

Tater Tot Casserole (Thao): The name is a bit deceptive as it is mostly cheese, cheese, and then more fat. Ingredients: tater tots, ground beef, cheese soup (who know there was such a thing), cheddar cheese, and sour cream.

Vegetarian Corn Dogs (Michele): From the freezer. Ever wonder what the faux dogs are made of?

Bomb Shelter Desserts (Shipra): All-American favorites -- Twinkies, HoHos, and generic canned fruit salad.

Drinks (Ray): Budweiser and the evening's house cocktail was the "WT" -- ginger ale and cheap vodka.

World Class Sliders

Around the world in five sliders and much much more! Our culinary journey begins in the USA, then moving westward across the Pacific Ocean to a couple of islands, reaching Asia and Europe, until we arrive back home again . . . but never leaving the Waldin Kitchen.

We begin with a bbq pulled pork slider from the good ol' South. Succulent and tender pork, slow cooked and infused with the perfect balance of spice, zing and zang. 

(Joyce & Eric)

Then onward to a southern California institution, Original Tommy's for chili cheese fries. The Los Angeles dish was recreated with twice cooked fries, American cheese, and of course the infamous chili.
(Ray)

Before leaving North America, we were treated to some salads from our Canadian friend -- 1st an heirloom tomato salad, and 2nd a spinach-n-mushroom salad with EVOO and balsamic vinegar. 

(Beth)

We move onward and traverse the Pacific for a Hawaiian slider. Grilled patties, caramelized pineapple, homemade mayo spread and teriyaki. Accompanied by a macaroni salad sweetened with grated carrots. 
(Diana)

Continuing across the ocean, we sample an Asian Fusion Toro slider of seared tuna, perilla leaf, and topped with slaw. 

(Tiffany & Dean)

We leave the islands and go into the Middle East for a tasty Pakistan lamb kafta with dill yogurt and grilled flat bread. 

(Shipra)

Westward we go, finally arriving in Europe. We begin this leg with a Mediterranean pita appetizer, which includes a duo of yogurt and tomato dips. A bounty of organic summer veggies. A cool refreshing interlude on our slider journey.

(Luice)

We finish our journey in "The City of Lights" with a luxurious foie gras slider, accompanied with mixed greens and a drizzle of sweet port reduction sauce. 

(Heather)

Our good friend Michele could't join us but was in nearby Amsterdam. Her influence was present with a carrot-n-snap pea appetizer with a sour cream, dill dip and a summer fruit salad of strawberries, blueberries, and grapes.
(Thao)

Throughout our journey, we were reminded of home with Sonoma wines (from Walter) and American beer (from Jeanne & George).

We returned our taste buds to home and capped off our adventure with good old-fashioned chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry milkshakes. (Ray)

Anxiously waiting for our next culinary adventure.