Spring 2023: Inside by penn appétit

spring 2023

out

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Randy Bach MANAGING EDITOR Emily Truong EDITORIAL STAFF Talia Desai, Sarah DiPietra, Lila Dubois, Andie Goldmacher, Bach Hoang, Hannah Kim, Jamie Lee, Anusha Mathur, Kristin Osika, Emily Zhang CREATIVE DIRECTOR Joyce He DESIGN STAFF Alice Choi, Wei-An Jin, Janice Kim, Yune Kim, Cosette LaChance, Lucas Lee, Monika Lee, Delia Rivera, Maggie Song, Olivia Tang, Joyce Yoon, April Zhang, Emily Zhang PHOTO DIRECTOR Katherine Kim PHOTO STAFF Jacob Chu, Paloma Gulick, Eddie Lee, Maggie Miller, Ben Tausner, Liliann Zou DIGITAL CONTENT DIRECTOR Alex Bardwell DIGITAL TEAM Sarah DiPietra, Talia Desai, Lila Dubois, Benjamin Honig, Mina Nair, Connor Nakamura, Malia Sanghvi CULINARY DIRECTOR Christine (Shan Shan) Liang CULINARY TEAM Elle Baker, Chiara Bargellesi, Ava Chen, Luna Chen, Gloria Cheng, Caroline Culmo, Randy Bach, Rachel Fischer Hannah Kim, Kadee Lui, Siena Nason, Kaya Patidar, Tate Park, Eleni Pisinos, Peyton Ronkin, Rihem Sassi, Ben Tausner, Justin Zhou MARKETING DIRECTOR Irene Pak MARKETING TEAM Rene Chen, Jasmine Gambhir, Paloma Gulick, Natalie Lim, Anna Metzger, Redina Rapi, Harjap Singh, Kennedy Tidjani SOCIAL IMPACT CHAIR Alex Song SOCIAL IMPACT TEAM Sindhu Billakanti, Katherine He, Nandakumar, Connie Ni, Zoe Vaz

Riya

EVENTS CHAIR Talia Desai EVENTS STAFF Eitan Goodman, Fiona Luo, Ayesha Menon, Sneha Mokkala, Msangwa Ogada, April Park, Sanjana Patel, Riley Thompson, Madeleine Yeh, Catherine Zeng, Michelle Zhai COMMUNICATIONS Ashrit Challa

LETTER FROM THE

Editor should know by now that if you arrive on time (early) to the family function and hang around the kitchen before dinner is ready, you really shouldn’t be surprised when your grandmother places a bowl of chicken into your (un)open arms and asks you to help out (and you do it without hesitation or reservation). That’s how I found myself outside in the driveway, sitting around a folding table fitted with a thin, plastic tablecloth alongside my younger sister and older second cousin, assigned to chicken shredding duty. Two wide metal bowls sit center, one filled with three boiled, whole chickens and one to be filled with the meat we’re about to process. We sit here, carefully picking each bit of meat off each bone, as more and more of our relatives find their way to my grandparents’ house, entering not through the front door, but through the driveway (filled with folding tables and chairs instead of cars) and past the outside stove and workspace (where my grandmother is now chopping pork), drawn together for the first time in years by loss. Occasionally I hit gold, finding the heart nestled inside each chicken. I carefully pluck out each pearl, feeding them first to my father (outside, browsing the cooler for a beer), then to my mother (inside, chatting with an aunt I vaguely remember meeting years ago), and then to my grandmother (outside, still working with the pork). We don’t exchange a word. I walk up to them, chicken heart held in my outstretched gloved hand, and each offers up a smile as they take the heart, though I’ve already begun walking away. More and more family, both distant and close, continue arriving, filling up the kitchen and living room and dining room and sunroom and backyard and driveway with greetings and hungry stomachs, and we begin to eat. I walk inside the house. You can’t take a step without bumping into someone else. Sounds of stories shared in English and Vietnamese overlap and coalesce, and laughter bridges the two. Hands hold phones with pictures pulled up and paper plates piled with food. Smells of lemongrass and ginger and Maggi seasoning layering and complexing and traveling throughout the rooms and into — Outside. A little quieter in the backyard, but still, answers to “How have you been?” are shared over the sound of wine uncorking and beers opening and soda tabs popping. The massive pot of boiling crawfish brings some warmth to the otherwise chilly air, smells of warm spices comforting. It’s a strange scene seeing a hundred-odd family members gathered in the same city, in the same building, for the first time in years. We’re still freshly grieving, but still we’re celebrating — celebrating life, our love, our history, our future. With food. (Through food?) Over food. There’s something delightfully strange about the duality of food as interior and exterior. Inside and outside. Inside out. I connect food to family, to love, to care. Food reflects our inner emotions and thoughts and feelings, and we share our love in the form of food. Part of me feels at odds with how broad and cliché this statement seems. But then, of course, there is some truth to the cliché, and it’s still even more complex of a relationship than how I’ve just summed it up. This is part of what we’re trying to explore in this double issue: the ins and outs of food. In a literal sense, we’re curious about the ins and outs of the food industry (check out page 10 for an inside look into CookNSolo), of the experience of eating inside and outside (try pages 16, 18, or 22), and of individual foods themselves (find a recipe for your next puff-pastry-enclosed treat on page 20), but we’re also stuck on these questions of what food means, how it makes us feel, and how it reflects what we feel (explore the emotions of happy hours and depression meals on page 24). We hope you’ll join us on this journey as we turn things Inside Out.

With love, Emily Truong

6 All Wrapped Up: A Guide to Gỏi Cuốn

8 Excuse Me, there's a

Bug in my Frappuccino

10 The Inside Sccop on Solomonov

12 Red Velvet Sandwich Cookies

14 Choose Your Own, Baked Alaska

16 Snack to Pack 18 Lemon Almond Cake 20 Hong Kong Egg Tart and Puff Pastry

22 Beef Empanadas 24 4:30 P.M. Here...

All Wrapped Up: A Guide to Gỏi Cuốn Written by Emily Truong • Illustrated by Olivia Tang

nly once have I rolled a perfect spring roll: stuffed, but not too stuffed, with a carefully arranged clump of rice vermicelli, a few staggered slices of flavorful thịt nướng (lemongrass grilled pork) and fresh cucumber, some shredded lettuce, and a sprig of cilantro, all tautly wrapped in a sheet of rice paper. No rips, no tears, no excess layers of rice paper to slowly chew. No cucumber corners threatening to break out of its confining wrapper or loose noodles escaping into the dipping bowl of hoisin sauce in between each dip and bite. That’s the platonic ideal. You’ll usually find these — called gỏi cuốn in Vietnamese and spring rolls or summer rolls in English (it’s one of those rectangle-square dynamics where all summer rolls are spring rolls but not vice versa) — under “appetizers” as you flip through the thick, plastic menu cover at most Vietnamese restaurants with slightly different, more

traditional filling ingredients: vermicelli, shrimp, pork belly, and mint, with a peanut dipping sauce. Yet spring rolls are so much more than just an appetizer or just a snack. Growing up, my family would make meals out of these, turning the task of preparing and assembling and rolling into a way to interact and collaborate with each other: my parents soak the vermicelli, marinate and grill the meat, and wash and slice the vegetables. My sister sets the table as I carefully fill up the water bowl for the rice paper, slowly taking each step from the sink to the dining table as warm water sloshes out from the tall, skinny plastic bowl and onto the floor, onto the table — and onto myself. We take turns dipping rice paper into the bowl, each of us with different methods ranging from a quick dip for each half to constantly rotating the rice paper for a longer soak. It doesn’t matter whose method was better — it all gets

consumed. The table is a flash of hands, of chopsticks, of forks moving back and forth from plate to bowl and back to plate to deposit vermicelli or meat or vegetables onto the now sticky rice paper. We attempt to carefully roll our spring rolls, laughing whether they turn out well or end up tearing apart. Each roll is unique, a customized ratio of our favorite ingredient pairings, and that’s what I love most about spring rolls. Even within tradition, there’s so much room to explore and experiment, to have fun and to make it your own. So here’s a non-inclusive, but still somewhat comprehensive, list of the best fillings to mix and match in your gỏi cuốn. (And in case you were wondering, it’s pronounced kind of like goy coon.) Treat this as your guide to creating an interactive make-your-own gỏi cuốn dinner party.

Whole shrimp, deveined and boiled. Cucumber. Must be sliced lengthwise. One of my favorite additions for some added crunch. Carrots, julienned. Raw or pickled.

Meat of some sort, traditionally thin slices of boiled pork belly. Switch things up with some sliced thịt nướng (lemongrass grilled pork) or opt for some chicken, some meaty mushrooms, or a just fully veggie spring roll.

Rice paper aka bánh tráng. Thin, round, translucent sheets, made from a paste of rice, water, salt, and sometimes a bit of tapioca starch with a woven design stamped on either side.

Lettuce, shredded. Nothing too fancy here.

Rice vermicelli aka bún. Thin rice noodles that are super easy to prep. Some brands don’t even require boiling!

Fresh herbs. You can’t go wrong with cilantro (my personal favorite addition), mint, or Thai basil to add some brightness and extra flavor Peanut sauce: for those of you who (unlike me) do not sport peanut allergies Hoisin sauce: common in Chinese cooking, but also an incredibly common Vietnamese condiment. You can mix it into a fresh, steaming bowl of pho, or (untraditionally) on top of bánh mí, or in this case, dip your spring rolls into it. Nước chấm: fish sauce base that’s a little sweet, a little salty, a little savory, and sometimes a bit spicy.

How to assemble: If you’ve ever (successfully) rolled a burrito, it’s time to call on that muscle memory. Rice paper is tricky to roll — you have to work fast before the rice paper sticks to your plate and all is lost, but you can’t move too hastily and accidentally overstretch and tear the rice paper. You can’t stuff it too much either, and be left with a lumpy spring roll that’s hard to bite, nor can you understuff it, and end up with a skinny roll where every bite is half rice paper. It’s a total Goldilocks situation. Luckily for you, I’ve (theoretically) mastered the art of the spring roll: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Fill a large, shallow bowl with warm water Quickly dip a sheet of rice paper and lay it flat on a plate Starting with a bed of vermicelli, lay your chosen fillings on the bottom third of the rice paper Fold the sides in, over your fillings Stretch the bottom edge of the rice paper up and over the fillings and roll tightly to seal penn appétit

The Bugs that Died to Make your Dye

Chipotle has famously prided itself on using ingredients that customers can pronounce. But just because you can say “sawdust” as easily as “cilantro” doesn’t mean you want it in your food. Below are four ingredients found in everyday foods that are perfectly edible but not necessarily perfectly palatable.

Eating bugs, to many people’s disgust and horror, has long been touted as the diet of the future. But what most people don’t realize is that they’ve likely been eating bugs their whole lives. One of the most popular red food colorings, carmine, is made from ground-up insects called cochineal. Native to Mexico and South America, cochineals feed on the red berries of prickly pear cacti, stockpiling the deep red pigment in their bodies. Millions of cochineals are then harvested, dried, and crushed every year to create the perfect “natural red 4” or “cochineal extract.” Carmine is used to color everything from maraschino cherries, Airheads, ketchup, and cocktails, to cosmetic products like lipsticks and nail polish. In 2012, Starbucks came

under fire for using carmine in its strawberry Frappuccinos. Customers were distressed not only by the perceived health risk — carmine is FDA-approved, however — but also by the issue posed to vegans. Starbucks responded by making the switch to lycopene, a natural, tomato-based extract. You may wonder why there isn’t a greater shift to more animal-friendly food dyes. While other natural alternatives like beetroot and berry extract do exist, many fall victim to degradation when exposed to light or oxygen. Carmine’s advantages lie in its stability and longevity, and for also being a source of income for many poor farmers, making it a staple in the food industry whether you’re irked or indifferent to it.

Beaver Fever for Vanilla Flavoring The catch-all term “natural flavoring” on your favorite tub of vanilla ice cream may conceal a surprising ingredient: castoreum.

Antique and delicate-sounding, castoreum is a chemical compound that comes from a beaver’s castor sacs. It’s not exactly “beaver butt juice,” as it doesn’t exit from the anal glands, but due to its close proximity to the anal glands, castoreum is often a mix of castor gland secretions, anal gland secretions, and urine. Your jaw is probably hanging open by now but keep it open—castoreum has a musky, vanilla scent pleasant to the nose, a consequence of beavers’ diets of leaves and bark. Taking notes from perfumers who incorporated it into their fragrances, flavor-makers in the 20th century began adding it into vanilla and fruity beverages and goods. Take heart, manufacturers typically only add in less than ten parts per million of castoreum, enough to add intricacy and a more full-bodied flavor profile. In fact, even if you wanted to try it, castoreum is rarely used these days owing to its expensive extraction procedure and its sans kosherness, with an annual consumption down from 683 pounds in 1982 to just under 250 pounds today.

On top of softeners, sweeteners, and flavorings, chewing gum commonly contains lanolin, a waxy secretion from sheep’s skin glands akin to human sebum. Lanolin is an FDA-approved key ingredient in the gum base, giving gum its soft, chewy texture. Since manufactures aren’t required to disclose it in their products, it’s ambiguously wrapped in the phrase “gum base” on many packaging. Ingesting large amounts of lanolin has been shown to cause vomiting and rashes, however, the amount present in gum is negligible so it’s unlikely to cause any serious health issues. For vegans and those who aren’t comfortable with chewing lanolin, look to major gum brands like Extra and Orbit and childhood favorite Hubba Bubba, along with explicitly vegan brands like PUR, for animal-free gum to snap on.

Sawdust in Shredded Cheese Putting sawdust in food has its origins in the 1700s, when European millers and bread makers began combining flour with sawdust as a cheaper way to feed the poor. Today, wood pulp is still used in many foods, but to call it that is misleading. What we’re really eating is cellulose, a plant fiber derived from wood pulp. It’s been FDA approved as a food additive since 1973 and passes unabsorbed through the body’s digestive system. In theory, cellulose can be derived from any plant like spinach or corn, but that would be a waste of food and less cost-effective than using wood pulp. When added to shredded cheese, cellulose serves to prevent cheese from clumping, and in cereals and granola bars it’s used to boost fiber content. An FDA investigation in 2016 found that certain brands of Parmesan contain up to 8.8% cellulose despite being advertised as 100% cheese. So while you may balk at eating less food and more cellulose, there’s no reason to deem it unsafe to eat.

Sheep Sweat Spearmint It’s popular knowledge that animal bones and tendons are found in the form of gelatin in candy, cakes, and jello. But what about sheep sweat in gum? penn appétit

CookNSolo

CookNSolo Chocolate Rugelach from K’Far Cafe! Come in daily between 8am-5pm to enjoy our freshly baked pastries and a cup of coffee.

The Inside Scoop on Solomonov: MY EXPERIENCE AS A COMMUNICATIONS INTERN FOR COOKNSOLO 1,491 posts 257K followers 1,184 following Andie Goldmacher Article/Photos

ahav, Laser Wolf, K’Far, Goldie— any Penn foodie knows CookNSolo’s iconic Philly restaurants and fast-casual eateries. I eat at K’Far and Goldie basically weekly, and I had two insanely perfect meals at Laser Wolf. However, never in a million years did I think I would be working for them this semester. It all started with a tasting event I attended in New York City over fall break. The woman sitting across from me worked in global PR for Solomonov, and we spent the whole event chatting about Penn and Philadelphia restaurants. On the first day of classes of the spring semester, I received a fateful email from her asking if I would be interested in interning for Solomonov this spring. As an avid foodie and Communications major interested in working in hospitality, I jumped at the opportunity. Two weeks and some class schedule changes later I was hired as a Communications Intern, mainly in charge of managing the Instagram accounts of all CookNSolo restaurants and helping photo shoots run smoothly. My experience at CookNSolo—Steve Cook and Michael Solomonov’s hospitality brand—has been nothing short of life-changing. CookNSolo sets a new, high standard for hospitality. Client experience is truly at the forefront of every Solomonov establishment. At the K’Far manager meeting, they spent 20 minutes discussing how to get espresso drinks to guests faster and what else they can offer diners while they wait or to accompany their lattes and cappuccinos, from free drip coffee to mini tahini chocolate chip cookies. The waiters at Laser Wolf have the friendliest rapport with guests, from giving menu recommendations to tri-

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ple-checking dietary restrictions to making sure they get a free champagne toast to celebrate special occasions. Solomonov has completely changed how I view authentic Israeli food. He uses traditional Israeli methods of cooking, but sources ingredients from local farms based on seasonality. While you may not find broccoli tabouli and kale babaganoush in Israel, this unique take on salatim—a vegetable-forward meal of many small plates—makes it far more unique and fresh than importing all of the ingredients from Israel or other overseas countries. Solomonov’s emphasis on seasonality keeps his inspiration tied to both Philly and Israel and makes diners avid to return to try his newest creations. You may be wondering at this point—what exactly do I do on the daily? Mostly shooting and editing social media content for CookNSolo’s various establishments. From the first day, I was a hands-on member of the team, taking videos of falafel-making at Goldie at 9 am, attending my first K’Far manager meeting at 2 pm, and shooting the new seasonal babka flavor at K’Far after that. From shooting the Valentines pastries at K’Far with the incredibly talented Corporate Pastry Chef of CookNSolo restaurants, Katreena Kanney, to going on solo shoots at Abe Fisher, to creating the social media calendar for Lilah, CookNSolo’s event space in Fishtown, I have found myself doing the craziest things I never thought I would get to experience. While it can take a long time and a lot of adjusting to get the perfect shot, my bosses and I have so much fun playing with the food until we get it right. As we shot the Valentines Day linzer cookies, we

laughed as my boss had to do squats and wall sits under the K’Far sign with powdered sugar falling all over her. When we shot the Zahav Passover meal special for Goldbelly, we chuckled as Chef Joe blowtorched the brisket to get it to shine and snacked on the leftovers from the shoot with forks. My amazing boss has also set up fun opportunities for me to experience the Solomonov magic, such as touring the Zahav kitchen and shadowing frontof-house service at Laser Wolf, followed by a feast prepared by the extraordinarily talented Chef Andrew Henshaw, a current semifinalist for the James Beard Best Chef Mid-Atlantic award, an honor given to Solomonov in 2011. I was initially a little nervous about being the youngest at the company, but everyone I have met at CookNSolo has been so welcoming to me, from the Communications Team to the managers at each restaurant to the chefs to the servers to Cook and Solomonov themselves. (Seriously, when Chef Mike said, “Welcome to the team. We are so happy to have you,” on my first day, I almost cried. Major pinch-me moment.) Clearly, I had nothing to worry about. This experience has completely changed my understanding of how restaurants function and deepened my appreciation for hospitality as a diner. I can confidently say this internship has impacted me forever and made me realize I might want to work in hospitality full-time. So appreciate every meal and every person you meet, you never know who is sitting across from you and the worlds they could introduce you to. And you never regret a meal at a CookNSolo restaurant.

penn appétit

Ingredients Cookies:

Filling:

• • • • • • • • •

• • • • • •

2 ¾ cups all-purpose flour 1 tsp baking soda ½ tsp baking powder 1 cup unsalted butter, softened 1 ½ cups white sugar 1 egg 1 tsp vanilla extract Red food dye Red/pink sugar crystal sprinkles

¼ cup unsalted butter, softened 4 oz cream cheese, room temperature ½ tsp vanilla extract 1/8 tsp salt 2 cups powdered sugar 3 drops red food dye

Directions 1. 2. 3.

4. 5.

6. 7.

Preheat the oven to 375°C. Stir dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, baking powder) together in a small bowl. Cream butter and sugar in a larger bowl until smooth and even in color. Beat in egg, vanilla extract, and desired amount of dye. Gradually beat in dry ingredient mixture. Portion using a tablespoon measure, rolling each piece into a ball and placing two inches apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake for 8 minutes. Remove and let cool on a wire rack. While cookies are cooling, make filling; combine

butter and cream cheese until smooth in the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment. Slowly add in vanilla extract and salt and mix in well. 8. Slowly add powdered sugar, stopping to scrape the sides and ensure all sugar is incorporated. 9. Add food dye one drop at a time, adjusting so that the filling is pale pink in color. Let filling set for a few minutes. 10. Spread flat side of one cookie with filling and place another cookie on top; spread filling on rim of sandwich, and cover rim in sugar crystals. 11. Enjoy!

Written by: Ashrit Challa Illustrations by: Alice Choi Yields: 12 sandwiches Prep time: 30 min Cook time: 10 min penn appétit

Choose Your Own, {

Baked Alaska

{

YIELDS: 10-12 SERVINGS PREP TIME: 9 HOURS COOK TIME: 40 MINUTES

NOTES: If substituting any aspect of the

baked alaska follow the Assembly instructions.

#1 ☞ RECIPE Dulce de Leche Ice Cream

#2 ☞ RECIPE Mexican Hot Chocolate Chiffon Cake

Ingredients

• • • •

2 cups heavy cream 2 cups whole milk 5 egg yolks 2 tsp ground cinnamon

• • •

1/3 cup white granulated sugar 1 tsp vanilla extract 1 13.4-ounce can dulce de leche, divided

Directions 1. 2. 3. 4.

5. 6.

Chill the ice cream bowl for at least 24 hours or until solid. In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and granulated sugar until smooth and pale yellow in color. Add milk, heavy cream, and 1 cup of dulce de leche to a saucepan over medium. Bring the milk to a simmer and then remove from heat. Be sure not to boil. Add ½ cup of the hot milk mixture to the egg and sugar mixture and whisk constantly until combined. Then, add the tempered egg mixture back to the saucepan with the remaining hot milk. Heat the saucepan on low, stirring constantly until the base has thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon, 2-5 minutes. Strain the mixture into a bowl and stir in the vanilla extract and ground cinnamon. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap so that the plastic wrap touches the surface of the ice cream base. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours or until cold. Churn the ice cream mixture in the bowl of an ice cream maker according to manufacturer instructions, adding the remaining dulce de leche during the last 2 minutes of churning. Assembly: Spray a 5-cup capacity metal bowl with cooking spray then line it with plastic wrap. Pack the base of the bowl with dulce de leche ice cream, leaving a 2-inch space for the cake, then freeze for at least 2 hours or up to 24 hours.

#3 ☞ RECIPE Cinnamon Sugar Meringue Ingredients • •

3 egg whites ¼ tsp cream of tartar

• •

Preheat oven to 500 degrees. In a small bowl combine sugar and cinnamon then set aside. Place egg whites, cinnamon sugar, and cream of tartar in a heatproof bowl. Set bowl over a saucepan filled with two inches of simmering water. Whisk constantly until sugar is dissolved for about 4 minutes. Remove the bowl from heat then beat on high speed for 5-6 minutes until stiff glossy peaks form.

1/3 cups water, room temperature 3 tbsp canola oil ½ tsp vanilla extract 2 egg yolks 2/3 cups (80g) cake flour 1/4 cup (22g) cocoa powder ¼ tsp cayenne pepper ¾ tsp ground cinnamon ¾ tsp baking powder

• • • •

1/3 cup (66g) white granulated sugar, for flour ½ tsp salt 2 egg whites 4 tbsp (50g) white granulated sugar, for meringue

Directions 1. 2. 3.

6. 7.

½ cup (100g) granulated sugar ½ ground cinnamon

Directions 1.

• • • • • • • • •

Start by preheating the oven to 350 degrees. Line an 8-inch round cake pan with parchment paper. Whisk together room-temperature water, oil, vanilla extract, and egg yolks in a small bowl until there is no separation of oil and milk. In a different bowl, mix together cake flour, cocoa powder, white granulated sugar (labeled “for flour”), baking powder, salt, cayenne pepper, and ground cinnamon. Make a small well in the center of the flour mixture and slowly whisk in the water mixture from the previous step. Once all the liquid has been added whisk until all flour is incorporated then set the bowl aside. To another clean mixing bowl, add egg whites and with a hand or stand mixer with the whisk attachment, beat on medium-high speed until thick and foamy. Add a few teaspoons of white granulated sugar (labeled “for meringue”) and continue mixing adding more sugar every 5-10 seconds until all sugar has been incorporated. Continue whisking until reaching stiff glossy peaks. Remove a small scoop of meringue and whisk directly into the flour/water mixture. Then take 1/3 of the meringue and slowly fold it into the cake batter. Repeat until all meringue has been incorporated into the batter. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 25-30 minutes then cool at room temperature. Assembly: Once the cake is cooled, remove the ice cream from the freezer and place the cake on top of the ice cream base. Retiren ice cream cake to the freezer Assembly: Remove the ice cream cake from the freezer. Invert the bowl onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Peel off the plastic wrap from the ice cream cake and then spread the topping over the ice cream, completely enclosing it. Bake the meringue-covered ice cream cake in the preheated oven for 3-4 minutes until the meringue begins to brown. Transfer baked Alaska to a serving plate, slice, and serve immediately. penn appétit

by Emily Zhang

01. kinder eggs

snack to pack

ometimes when we are young, we buy things that we do not need (well, I guess I do that at this age too). Nevertheless, whether it’s that eye-catching candy or funky-looking snack, my younger self was always captivated by the fancy packaging of a treat. Specifically, the toys and collectibles and printed packaging that came with the packaging of my childhood snacks… instead of the actual edible part. Now as an adult, however, the only word that comes to mind is capitalism. All of these companies, employing their marketing strategies dedicated towards perfecting that special packaging. To the point that it was almost like witchcraft to my child self, as me and the millions of other children alike were lured to the treat, dragging our parents, no, begging our parents for a purchase. I can’t say I’m mad about it though, money is money—and my child self was overjoyed to toy with these items while half-heartedly munching on the snacks. So whenever I recall these particular treats, the first thing that comes to mind is not the taste. Instead, I recall vivid experiences of messing with these collectible toys. And now, I want to take you down a trip of (my) memory lane, reconnecting with the ‘packagings’ of my childhood. Yes, the packaging. Not the actual snack. Who knows? Maybe you know them as well.

We begin with my utmost favorite—the Kinder Joy. This egg-shaped treat is of the most interesting design, with half of it containing a milky cream and crunchy chocolate sphere in the center. The other half consisted of a collectible toy. How the manufacturers managed to stuff each toy into half of the small egg always astounded me. Sometimes I would get a collectible animal. Sometimes a small DIY build-yourown project. The thought of indulging in a Kinder Joy will always remind me of late afternoon runs to the convenience store with my sister, as we always purchased an egg. With their endless sets of collectibles, my sister and I would always compare our surprises—which often led to a fight about whose was better…

02. fruit bear rolls Here’s a relatively more well-known candy that I hope you’ve heard of… PEZ! Notorious for its elaborate dispensers, PEZ is a compressed peppermint candy—hence its name which comes from the German word for peppermint, “Pfefferminz.” I first learned about this candy from my fourth grade Spanish teacher, who introduced us to the unique treat that you could purchase with a million different designs of dispensers, even to the point that the dispenser became the PEZ trademark. In fact, I can not, to be honest, even recall the taste of these mints. Instead, all I remember is my urge to collect as many plastic dispensers as possible. From those shaped like Sponge-Bob to Donald Duck to Snoopy to Spiderman… the choices were endless—and a nightmare for my indecisive self to pick from.

penn appétit

03. ring pop Now think of elementary school Valentine’s Day. This for me was when every kid in my class and I would bring our cutely decorated shoe boxes and place them on our desks—all while we went around to distribute a little treat into them. Each year, in examination of my candy collection, I noticed a popular treat. The Ring Pop! Of course, none of us were asking for anyone’s hand in marriage. But that could not stop my friends and I from placing these plastic rings on our fingers, tasting the juicy candy gem, and proposing to one another simply for the fun of it. After class, we would walk around with these fake rings on our fingers, showing them off as we ran around the playground, tongues and lips dyed blue and red and purple.

04. gogurt Last but not least, we have one of my most beloved childhood snacks. Yogurt but easy to grab-and-go, Gogurt was one of those treats that I would devour as soon as I got home after school from a long day. With its easy-to-eat tube-like design, I had always noticed the fun prints on the wrappers. Some had a cute riddle for little-me to solve. Others had pictures of popular characters from children’s shows and movies at that time. For some reason, Olaf from Frozen was my favorite wrapper to eat from. But as much as my young self wanted to collect these colorful plastic wrappers, they all eventually went into the trash. Makes sense considering how the insides were left with remnants of sticky yogurt goo after I had eaten the most out of what was inside…

05. pez Here’s a relatively more well-known candy that I hope you’ve heard of… PEZ! Notorious for its elaborate dispensers, PEZ is a compressed peppermint candy—hence its name which comes from the German word for peppermint, “Pfefferminz.” I first learned about this candy from my fourth grade Spanish teacher, who introduced us to the unique treat that you could purchase with a million different designs of dispensers, even to the point that the dispenser became the PEZ trademark. In fact, I can not, to be honest, even recall the taste of these mints. Instead, all I remember is my urge to collect as many plastic dispensers as possible. From those shaped like Sponge-Bob to Donald Duck to Snoopy to Spiderman… the choices were endless—and a nightmare for my indecisive self to pick from.

These treats of my childhood do not just remain in the past. Nowadays, I always find the urge to purchase that supposedly unnecessarily packaged snack on my trips to the grocery store. If any of these treats sparked a special memory within you, grab it. After all, sometimes are we not all buying the snack for the pack?

penn appétit

LEMON ALMOND CAKE ients d e r g In

Mfa

oil epan o greas

2 ups 2 4 c

all

dsug e t a l nu

graseeds py

eflo s o p r u

op sal 2 tbsp p osher r u K o l f e s o 1 12 top all purp milk 3 ups c whole ps I 12 cu gs extract g e a 3 large vanill extract p 242 to almond extract n I top lemo 42 top

ed s u g r e e z d a l G pow eter p u c i 4 u 31 C j e t g u p oraenlted b xtract u C 4 4 e m a l l p i ct 2 tbs van extra 42 top lemon I top

Yields: 12 servings Prep time: 30 min Cook time: 90 min

D I R E CT I O N S 1.

Grease the inside of a 12-cup Bundt pan and coat with flour, dumping out the excess; preheat the oven to 350F.

Combine the sugar and dry ingredients (poppy seeds, baking powder, salt, and flour) in the bowl of a stand mixer and mix with the paddle attachment.

Add the wet (remaining cake) ingredients and beat on low until combined; once combined, beat on medium for two minutes or until batter is smooth and thick.

4. Fill the pan with the batter and bake for 80 to 90 minutes, until the top is risen, split, and golden brown (a cake tester should come out dry). 5. After letting the cake cool in the pan for 15 minutes, separate the cake from the inner and outer edges of the pan; invert and poke holes all across the cake. 6. Whisk together ingredients for glaze until smooth in a medium-sized bowl; Brush glaze all over top and sides of cake and let absorb. 7.

Enjoy at tea-time or any other time!

Recipe by Ashrit Challa Illustrations by Cosette LaChance

港式蛋撻 HONG KONG EGG TART & PUFF PASTRY

Yield: 12–18 servings (depending on mold size)

Recipe by Shan Shan Liang Illustrated by Wei-An Jin

Prep time: 1 hour

Cook time: 30 min

INGREDIENTS butter dough:

• •

1 cup all-purpose flour 3/4 cup cold, unsalted butter, diced

water dough:

• • •

1 cup all-purpose flour 2 egg yolks (save the egg whites for the filling!) 1/4 cup cold water

simple syrup:

• •

1/3 cup sugar 1/2 cup water

egg custard:

• • •

3 large eggs + reserved egg whites from earlier 1 cup milk 1 tsp vanilla extract

Step 9: Now, this is the final roll out! Fold this dough in 4,

cover, and place in the refrigerator for 10-15 minutes.

Step 10: Again, repeat step 6 – this creates 108 layers!! Just to

DIRECTIONS

Step 1: Use a food processor to make pulse butter dough

review, we have folded and rolled out in a 3x3x4 pattern. The dough is ready to be cut out and baked now.

Step 11: Now moving on to the egg filling, we make a simple

syrup by microwaving water and dissolving sugar in it. Set aside.

until just combined. Shape it into a little square of dough, cover in plastic or foil, and refrigerate to keep cold.

Step 12: Whisk together eggs, milk, and vanilla. Once simple

Step 2: Use the food processor again to pulse together

Step 13: Run this egg filling through a sieve 3 times to create

the water dough. Roll the water dough out in a rectangle until ¼ inch thick Step 3: Take the butter dough out of the refrigerator and

place it in the middle of the rolled water dough. Using the water dough, take all four sides and wrap the butter dough up. The butter dough should be wrapped up like a present inside the water dough!

syrup has cooled slightly, mix that in as well. a smooth, creamy filling.

Step 14: Time to assemble! Take a circle mold (I just use a

bowl) with ~4 inch diameter and cut out circles of dough. Press this circle into your tart mold and even out the edges. If you don’t have individual tart molds, you can use a muffin pan! Step 15: Once you have assembled the dough in the molds,

Step 4: Roll this combined dough out until ¼ inch thick –

this creates the first 3 layers of the flaky pastry dough

take a fork and prick each mold 2-3 times. This helps steam escape as the egg tarts are baking and prevents bubbles or air pockets.

Step 5: Fold this dough in 3, cover, and place in the

Step 16: Bake at 400º F for 25 min or until crust is light brown.

refrigerator for 10-15 minutes.

Step 6: Take the combined dough out of the refrigerator,

Step 17: Take out, let the egg tarts cool, and enjoy!

keep it in the folded shape, and roll out until ¼ inch thick – this creates 9 layers in the dough! Step 7: Fold this dough in 3, cover, and place in the

refrigerator for 10-15 minutes.

Step 8: Repeat step 6 – this creates 27 layers in the dough!

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INGREDIENTS: • • • • • • • • •

3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, divided 2 lb. ground beef 2 medium onions, chopped 2 small red bell peppers, seeded, chopped Salt and pepper 3 tbsp cumin 2 tbsp paprika 1 tbsp dried oregano ¼ tsp cayenne pepper

• • • •

1 ½ cups low-sodium chicken stock 2 tsp sugar 3 packages (12 each) empanada pastry dough discs ½ cup pitted green olives, cut in half lengthwise (optional)

Yields: 36 empanadas Prep time: 4 hours Cook time: 30 min

DIRECTIONS: 1. 2.

Heat 2 tbsp of oil in a large pan over high heat. Cook the beef, breaking up with a spoon until browned (6–8 minutes). Transfer the beef to a bowl with a slotted spoon, using a paper towel to remove some of the excess grease (as desired). Reduce the heat to medium and add onions, bell peppers, and remaining oil, cooking until the onions are translucent (6–8 minutes). Now for the spices! Season with salt and black pepper, and add cumin, paprika, oregano, and cayenne. Cook, stirring until fragrant (about 1 minute). Add chicken stock and return the beef to the pan. Stir in sugar, 4 tsp salt, and ¼ tsp black pepper. Bring to a simmer and cook until most of the liquid has evaporated (15–20 minutes). Season to taste. Transfer to a medium bowl, cover, and chill at least 3 hours. This step helps to keep our filling from bubbling out of the empanadas when

they cook in the oven. 7. Preheat oven to 375°. If using frozen dough, let it sit at room temperature for 15 minutes so they are flexible enough to work with. 8. Assembling time! Place 2 tbsp filling in the center of each dough round and 2 olive halves. 9. Brush water around half of the outer edge of each round. Fold the dough over the filling, pinching the edges to seal and crimping them with a fork. 10. Transfer empanadas to a parchment-lined baking pan, 1 inch apart. 11. Bake empanadas, rotating the tray halfway through, until your kitchen smells amazing and they are golden brown and slightly darker around the edges (25–35 minutes). 12. Serve alone, with garlic aioli, or with chimichurri. Enjoy!

Beef Empanadas

Written by: Rachel Fischer Illustrations by: Alice Choi penn appétit

HERE... article By: HANNAH KIM · recipe by: randy bach · Design by: yune kim

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…you just finished another rough week at Penn and are in Center City. The restaurant is packed with people, but they are not having dinner. The atmosphere is lively, and some tables are strewn with empty glass cups, and straws are being dipped into different drinks. Some people have one drink each and leave, hurrying to the next place, while some have sat at their spot for two hours. This cultural phenomenon seems like it has always been around. It’s commonly shown in entertainment, and the memorable name is something most kids in the U.S. have at least heard of by their teen years. But there had to be a start to it, and like most alcohol related activities in America, it all began with Prohibition. Because restaurants were not allowed to serve drinks, people started to host small gatherings to drink in the afternoon, which was where the entire concept of drinking before dinner began. When this activity was tied down with the term ‘happy hour’ is not completely certain, with the phrase being used by Shakespeare in 1599 in his play King Henry V, and then navy sailors in the early 20th century when referencing their break time, where the phrase became associated with a brief period of entertainment from work. After Prohibition, restaurants caught on to the phenomenon and began selling cocktails at discounted prices right before dinnertime, which led to what it is today. Philly, our beloved food city, of course does not skimp on opportunities for happy hour. During the height of the pandemic many restaurants had to cut their opening hours including this very not-social-distancing-safe pastime, but now it is back and stronger than ever. Philly SIPS, which could be considered the happy hour equivalent of Restaurant Week, ran for the first time since the pandemic last summer from the beginning of June to the end of August with discounted drinks and appetizers at 63 different locations every Wednesday. However that does not mean there are any less deals outside of that summer period. Heading to Center City on a Friday afternoon means finding

multitudes of people walking around, either with set plans on where to go or just wandering and taking the gamble on if places have open seats. You really can’t go wrong with spots here: there are Mexican restaurants with fresh, fruity margs each with their unique flavors and cheap tacos with amazing guac1, oyster places that shuck them right in front of you for $2 a piece with specialty cocktails2, Asian places that serve soju and stretch the boundaries of fusion in respective cuisines3, and more higher end feeling American places with pizza under 10 bucks and beautiful interior4. Philly’s ever-expanding cuisine is also reflected in the happy hour options, and although it may be tempting to stick to the safe options like margs and chips, challenging yourself to go to a different place every week might lead to some amazing hidden finds. How the term happy hour will evolve in the coming years and decades is unpredictable, but as long as there are people who want a simple way to momentarily take a break after a long nine-to-five, they are fortunately here to stay. And for us students, most of us will only be in this vastly under-rated food city for four years, so why not have some fun in that time to knock off restaurants in the cheapest and fun way possible? 1 Loco Pez has two locations: one near University City and another around 19th street, Mission Taqueria has some great interior and is a very quintessential representation of happy hour. 2 Oyster House can get a bit of a wait, but is definitely worth the experience and price. Pearl and Mary is another similar option.

Spiced Citrus Ginger Beer Yields: 2 mocktails Prep Time: 5 minutes Cook Time: 15 minutes Ingredients ˙ ¼ cup of ginger, minced ˙ 1 blood orange, juiced ˙ ½ lemon, juiced ˙ 4 cardamom pods ˙ 1/4 cup sugar ˙ ½ cup water ˙ 12 oz. club soda ˙ Ice Directions 1. Add spice to your cocktails by combining ginger, orange juice, lemon juice, cardamom pods, sugar, and water in a small saucepan. Bring to a light boil over medium heat and then reduce to low and simmer for 10 minutes. Take off the stove and set the juice aside to cool. Tip: don’t let the juice thicken too much or else it won’t mix well in the shaker! Adjust water amount (depending on juiciness of fruits) and simmer time as needed. 2. Strain the juice and throw away leftover solids. 3. Pour ice into a shaker along with half of the juice (should be around 2 oz) and 6 oz of club soda. Shake for 15 seconds and pour into a glass with fresh ice. Repeat and pour another one for a friend. Top with a thin orange slice or a mint leaf. Great for sipping on a hot, humid day or for a fun night in!

3 Sampan is on many locals’ lists for both great deals and food. Double Knot is a perfect mix of cocktail and sushi bar, with the matching flavors of drinks to go with bang-for-your-buck rolls. 4 Harp & Crown is so beautiful inside, almost worth just for the seating but the food is amazing as well. Prohibition Taproom uses locally sourced ingredients and specializes in a wide range of beer.

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