Croissants in the Summertime

August was flaky pastry month at ABC. The actual process of making croissants is hard enough to begin with, but the added pressure of the warm summer heat threatening to melt your butter is not ideal. Croissant 101: Butter is gradually added and rolled throughout the dough to make lots of delicate dough-butter-dough-butter layers. When you bake the dough, the the water from the butter turns into steam and puffs the dough up, creating all those flaky layers you know and love.

I made these croissants on a warm August evening and though it was a lot of work (mix, chill, roll, pound, flip, chill, roll, pound, fold, chill x 4) it was totally worth the sweat and stress. Warm croissants, (even on a warm night) there's just nothing like it.

ABC Cooking School :: Dutch Crust

I finished the basic bread course at ABC in the Spring and am now onto the Master Course. These breads are, in theory, more difficult than the basic set, but they're actually not that hard. Each month focuses on a thee or technique. July was French bread month, so obviously I made...Dutch Crust rolls? No matter, I love this bread. My dad would occasionally buy dutch crust rolls on the weekends for our weekly German brunches. 

So, to honor that tradition, the 6 Foot Eater and I made sandwiches for dinner after class. There's nothing like a sandwich made with right out of the oven bread. 

** Yes, that is another nickname change for the boyfriend formally known as Squidward and Blammo. He would like me to point out that he is actually 6'1". 

ABC Cooking School :: A to Z (with a few missing in between)

This isn't actually new news, but I finished my basic bread baking course at ABC Cooking School this past winter. 27 breads - some good, some bad - all under my belt. I really enjoyed my Monday night classes with ABC Cooking School and our favorite teacher, Abe-sensei. So much so, that I signed up for the Master Course. It sounds like a fancy name, but I think it's just a marketing thing. The other options were "Twinkle Course" and "Club Riche". At some point, I'll be making a real baguette and croissants. Hoorah! Now that, in theory, I've know the right kneading and shaping techniques from the Basic course, I can really get some good practice in during the Master Course. At least I hope. If not, it's just more casual/awkward Japanese language practice for me.

I wish I had been more diligent about taking pictures of all the breads we made. Some of them were pretty boring so at the time, I didn't see a reason to document the non-event. In any case, here's a little taste of what the last 9 months of Mondays looked like for me:

A - Kabocha and Paprika Gallette

B - Maple Almond

F - Berry Cream Cheese

G - Spicy Tomato Hearts

K - Pain de Mie

M - Wiener Branch (a personal fave both in name and flavor)

N - Twin (?) Cream Kuchen

O - Honey Cinnamon

P - Pizza Tomato & Anchovy Sauce

V - Mille Tea Raisin (Maybe? I can't figure out the translation on this one) 

X - Stollen 

Y - Cream Custard Pie 

Master Classes 

My first Master class - a Japanese classic! Mushipan (steamed bread...think steam buns) These were mugwort flavor, hence the green color. 

Another Japanese stable, Curry Pan! Fried bread with a curry filling. 

ABC Cooking Studio Review: If you're interested in taking classes at ABC Cooking School and you live in Tokyo, I suggest visiting the Tokyo Midtown branch. They do offer 1-Day Classes conducted in English, so they have a few teachers there that can answer any questions you may have. Aside from the very first bread class which I took with an English speaking teacher, the rest of my experience at ABC Cooking School was all in Japanese. But really, my Japanese is Upper Beginner at best and it wasn't a problem. Monkey see, monkey do and once you get a hang of it, you'll fit right in and learn a lot of Japanese along the way. I would recommend their classes and courses if you're interested in cooking and mingling with Japanese girlfriends and housewives. 

ABC Cooking Studio Bread Course :: Orange and Almond Buns

mMMmmmMMm! Now that's what I'm talkin' 'bout! Class number 2 had us baking a sweet bread with an almond and candied orange topping. They are divine. I was worried that with all the sugar and almond paste, it would be too sweet but the candied orange peels really balanced things out. 

All purpose flour is not common in Japan (or I just haven't come across it in the grocery store.) Instead, flour is is divided into two types: strong (bread flour) and weak (cake flour). The kabocha bread we made in class 1 only used strong flour. This sweeter almond bread used a mixture of weak and strong and you can definitely tell the difference. This bread was lighter and more resembled a bun. 

Our teacher this time around didn't speak any English but the ABC staff was overly helpful in preparing us. They are really nice and though we didn't need help with translating, it was comforting to know that they were keeping an eye one us. If any other expats in Japan are interested in taking these courses at ABC, I highly recommend starting out at the Tokyo Midtown branch. Since it's in the heavily foreigner populated Roppongi area, their staff is much more skilled with their English. I'm learning a lot of vocabulary and am starting to feel more comfortable using my limited grammar constructions. Thankfully, the Japanese language employs a few very common words for certain situations and I have those ones down pat. (Delicious! Looks delicious! So skilled! Ok! Difficult!) In English, you might sound like you have Tourette's, but in Japanese, it's perfectly normal to just shout out verbs and adjectives and expect people to understand you. 

I want to share some of the recipes from the classes because bread baking it really fun and actually quite easy. However, when we signed up, I signed a crazy 3 page contract (all in Japanese) and I think one of the 100 points was that I wouldn't share or sell their recipes. The details are hazy and I'd rather not risk it. So, I'm planning on coming up with some variations of my own and will post back later. 

And of course, apologies to my Gluten Free gals out there...I'll be sure to cook up a nice juicy steak in a future post as well. 

ABC Cooking Studio Bread Course :: Paprika Kabocha Bread

It's been a year since I first went to ABC Kitchen to make a low calorie brunch. I guess their policies have changed since then because I am now allowed to take their bread and cake courses even though I speak very little Japanese. I suppose they've learned that for the most part, the monkey see, monkey do approach to learning works pretty well. (No offense to us foreigners. That was an unintentional reference to us being monkeys.)

I took my first class tonight with a friend. She's much more talented with handling bread dough. I was a little lost and got a tiny bit behind, but everyone was very encouraging. It helped that there were 2 other English speaking expats in the group that had taken a few classes. They were nice enough to show us the ropes. Our teacher also spoke quite a bit of English, but we were warned not to get used to it. Message received! Trying to read all the kanji and baking jargon in Japanese was pretty overwhelming, but in my defense (or not) I didn't really prepare too much. Despite this, I had a lot of fun. At one point, I emphatically stated to my cooking partner that I was having so much fun. It's true!  It's a really satisfying experience. You get your hands dirty, work up a sweat kneading and the final outcome is pretty and delicious. Maybe this is what men feel like when they beat each other up or grow beards in the woods.

There are 8 classes in this first introductory course. This first class gives us a foundation for all the breads we'll be making in the future. It's a simple flour, water, yeast, butter, salt and sugar mixture then topped with red peppers (paprika apparently...who knew?), black olives and kabocha (Japanese pumpkin). Underneath the veggies is a healthy smearing of mayonaise mixed with mustard. It is a pretty typical recipe for Japan. For us monkeys, it may sound and look pretty weird but in the end, it tastes delicious. Next class is Monday!

ABC Cooking School Part 2 :: Singaporean Cuisine

When I first moved to Japan, I wrote about ABC Cooking School International at Tokyo Midtown. I had a lot of fun, made a low calorie brunch and got to chat with a young Japanese girl who loved Whitney and Lauren from The Hills. I had every intention of going back for another class...but it just didn't happen. Last week, I finally made good and went back for a class on how to cook Nasi Goreng, Singaporean fried rice. This wasn't my first choice of courses, but it worked best with my schedule. Fried rice is after all, kind of beginner.
Along with the fried rice, we made a very simple curry soup and fried shrimp chips. The rice was pretty good, however I am always hesitant to cook anything that requires shrimp paste, because it will make your apartment smell for DAYS. I saw some more interesting classes for November and hope to drop in on one...particularly the Japanese Party Platter which teaches you how to make a salmon sushi roll and green tea mochi. Here's hoping I make it to one of those classes!

ABC Cooking School :: Low Cal Brunch

In an effort to get out of the house and perhaps make a friend or two, I decided to take a cooking class at a nearby cooking school. I remember when I first visited Tokyo, I was super envious of all the ladies at ABC Cooking Studio at Tokyo Midtown. Upon further research, I learned that it is a popular place among young women and you can learn how to bake bread shaped like pandas as well as classic Japanese food. I was impatient, so I signed up for the first English class available which was how to cook a healthy brunch for less than 350 kcal total. This consisted of seafood risotto, steamed veggies with a cheese dip and coconut meringues.

I was told to arrive with an apron, a hand towel and house-slippers. My teacher for the day was Sumiko and she spoke very good English but I don't think we're going to be friends because she kept bringing up the fact that I don't know how to use chopsticks. There was one other person in the class, Miho. Miho is a Japanese girl around my age that wore a Chanel top to class. This is unrelated, but should be noted. She also is a big fan of Whitney Port from The City and "Rauren" from The Hills. She hates Spencer and Heidi and loves Linkin Park and Dr. House.

For low fat cooking, this meal was very tasty and filling. The seafood risotto used a mixture of rice and barley and was mixed with clams, octopus and prawns in a tomato broth. I've never cooked with clams or octopus, so I was happy to try something new. I learned that I enjoy eating clams and that you have to smash octopus before you cook it or else it will be to gummy. The steamed veggies were nothing to write home about, but they were tasty and inspired me to steam some broccoli last night. Other than helping make my own lunch, I had to wash a lot of dishes in the process, but it was a good opportunity to chat with Miho.

I hope to take another class at ABC, preferably cooking something that looks a little more like a panda.


ABC Cooking School International
Tokyo Midtown, B1F 


Roppongi Station (Hibiya, Oedo)