December 2009 Daring Bakers’ Challenge: Gingerbread House

The December 2009 Daring Bakers’ challenge was brought to you by Anna of Very Small Anna and Y of Lemonpi. They chose to challenge Daring Bakers’ everywhere to bake and assemble a gingerbread house from scratch. They chose recipes from Good Housekeeping and from The Great Scandinavian Baking Book as the challenge recipes.

Gingerbread Dough for House

Scandinavian Gingerbread (Pepparkakstuga)
from The Great Scandinavian Baking Book by Beatrice Ojakangas

1 cup butter, room temperature [226g]
1 cup brown sugar, well packed [220g]
2 tablespoons cinnamon
4 teaspoons ground ginger
3 teaspoons ground cloves
2 teaspoons baking soda
½ cup boiling water
5 cups all-purpose flour [875g]

1. In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar until blended. Add the cinnamon, ginger and cloves. Mix the baking soda with the boiling water and add to the dough along with the flour. Mix to make a stiff dough. If necessary add more water, a tablespoon at a time. Chill 2 hours or overnight.

2. Cut patterns for the house, making patterns for the roof, front walls, gabled walls, chimney and door out of cardboard.

3. Roll the dough out on a large, ungreased baking sheet and place the patterns on the dough. Mark off the various pieces with a knife, but leave the pieces in place.

4. [I rolled out the dough on a floured bench, roughly 1/8 inch thick (which allows for fact that the dough puffs a little when baked), cut required shapes and transferred these to the baking sheet. Any scraps I saved and rerolled at the end.]

5. Preheat the oven to 375'F (190'C). Bake for 12 to 15 minutes until the cookie dough feels firm. After baking, again place the pattern on top of the gingerbread and trim the shapes, cutting the edges with a straight-edged knife. Leave to cool on the baking sheet.



Gingerbread person footprints!



I found this dough incredibly hard to work with. It was too try to roll out after it chilled in the fridge (covered, of course) so I had to add some water to it to even get it to come together as dough. It was pretty much a disaster, and I was very disappointed.

Fortunately for me, I salvaged it with the water and some elbow grease.

I took this opportunity to use up all the old candy and assorted other items in my baking closet that I felt I would be wasting by just throwing away, saying to myself "I'll find a way to use it, I will." I did! And after it was decorated, and the pictures were taken, I threw the whole thing into the trash, happily.

After making the dough, and chilling it, and then salvaging it from disaster, then rolling it out, and making patterns, and cutting the dough out, and cooking it, and recutting it, then realizing the back of the house shrunk like a cotton sweater accidently thrown into the dryer, then making the icing, and assembling it, and waiting for icing to dry, and.................................you get my point. It was a hellaton of work, and by the time I got to the FUN part (decorating) I was exhausted and couldn't wait to go all Office Space: Kitchen Edition on it (you know..... the printer scene. Only I would have had a meat tenderizing mallet, and the printer was my house....yeah, you get it).


Oh, the royal icing. I used the standard recipe from Annie's Eats with Just White meringue powder, and it was delicious and easy. I had made some sugar cookies and used the green icing, and I didn't want to waste the icing, so green it was!!!!

I will never do this again. But it was KIND of fun. :)

The 2009 Daring Cooks Challenge: Salmon en Croute

The 2009 Daring Cooks challenge was hosted by Simone of Junglefrog Cooking. Simone chose Salmon en Croute (or alternative recipes for Beef Wellington or Vegetable en Croute) from Good Food Online.


I made the salmon version, with a filet of wild Alaskan salmon. Farm raised salmon tastes like what it was fed--pellets of fish food dyed pink. This was the real freakin deal! However, I felt like I wasted the salmon on this recipe--the sauce was underseasoned, and overall it wasn't very satisfying.

Thanksgiving Feast for 2 (with tons of leftovers!)

The Thanksgiving Menu (Featuring recipes from Cooks Illustrated)

Brined Turkey Breast (5 pounds, free-range, organic from Bowman and Landes--semi-local!)
Scalloped potatoes (Cook's Illustrated)
Cornbread Stuffing with Xtra Hot Chorizo (from Loveland Meats, local!) and red peppers (Cooks Illustrated)
Roasted Vegetables with Oregano (we made a much simpler version with sweet potatoes, parsnips, carrots, and Brussels sprouts, tossed with olive oil, dried oregano, S+P)
White and Wheat Dinner Rolls (from a local bread shop)
Mystery Gravy from Bloomingfoods (a local co-op--I've never tried to make gravy, so I picked up some pre-made homemade stuff and some (disgusting) powdered gravy from a pouch (that would have been suitable to pour over the cat's food. I think they were even offended by its chemically smell. Local homemade it was)
Dutch Apple Pie
Whipped Cream




The turkey breast, all cooked and moist and delicious! Surrounded by the roasted root veggies and sprouts.




Scalloped potatoes and cornbread stuffing (wait, dressing, right? Cause it's not in the bird? Eh.)


Dutch Apple Pie. Made with local Winesap apples. It's the best apple pie I've ever had.

Food, Mammeh. Food plz. I ask nice. I sit in my chair. No paws on table. Wherez mah turkeh? Reggie got his turkey day treats later--his much desired Wellness brand, canned, Turkey flavored.


Local/Regional turkey breast, brined, and stuffed under the skin with a zippy parsley pesto with local roasted chestnuts (it was frakkin' delicious and something we made up on the fly!)


Skin replaced. Sorry to stuff your delicious skin with delicious treats and basically desecrate your (delicious) corpse. When your turkey friends are able to catch me and eat me, I give you permission to do the same to me.


It was a success! Our thermometer broke, and we were terrified we overcooked the bird, but it came out perfect without any rawness or signs of being overcooked. Okay, now time for more pie. :)

The November 2009 Daring Bakers Challenge: Cannolis

The November 2009 Daring Bakers Challenge was chosen and hosted by Lisa Michele of Parsley, Sage, Desserts and Line Drives. She chose the Italian Pastry, Cannolo (Cannoli is plural), using the cookbooks Lidia’s Italian-American Kitchen by Lidia Matticchio Bastianich and The Sopranos Family Cookbook by Allen Rucker; recipes by Michelle Scicolone, as ingredient/direction guides. She added her own modifications/changes, so the recipe is not 100% verbatim from either book.




CANNOLI SHELLS
2 cups (250 grams/16 ounces) all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons(28 grams/1 ounce) sugar
1 teaspoon (5 grams/0.06 ounces) unsweetened baking cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon (1.15 grams/0.04 ounces) ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon (approx. 3 grams/0.11 ounces) salt
3 tablespoons (42 grams/1.5 ounces) vegetable or olive oil
1 teaspoon (5 grams/0.18 ounces) white wine vinegar
Approximately 1/2 cup (approx. 59 grams/approx. 4 fluid ounces/approx. 125 ml) sweet Marsala or any white or red wine you have on hand
1 large egg, separated (you will need the egg white but not the yolk)
Vegetable or any neutral oil for frying – about 2 quarts (8 cups/approx. 2 litres)
1/2 cup (approx. 62 grams/2 ounces) toasted, chopped pistachio nuts, mini chocolate chips/grated chocolate and/or candied or plain zests, fruits etc.. for garnish
Confectioners' sugar

1. In the bowl of an electric stand mixer or food processor, combine the flour, sugar, cocoa, cinnamon, and salt. Stir in the oil, vinegar, and enough of the wine to make a soft dough. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and well blended, about 2 minutes. Shape the dough into a ball. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest in the fridge from 2 hours to overnight.

2 Cut the dough into two pieces. Keep the remaining dough covered while you work. Lightly flour a large cutting or pastry board and roll the dough until super thin, about 1/16 to 1/8” thick (An area of about 13 inches by 18 inches should give you that). Cut out 3 to 5-inch circles (3-inch – small/medium; 4-inch – medium/large; 5-inch;- large. Your choice). Roll the cut out circle into an oval, rolling it larger and thinner if it’s shrunk a little.

3 Oil the outside of the cannoli tubes (You only have to do this once, as the oil from the deep fry will keep them well, uhh, oiled..lol). Roll a dough oval from the long side (If square, position like a diamond, and place tube/form on the corner closest to you, then roll) around each tube/form and dab a little egg white on the dough where the edges overlap. (Avoid getting egg white on the tube, or the pastry will stick to it.) Press well to seal. Set aside to let the egg white seal dry a little.

4. In a deep heavy saucepan, pour enough oil to reach a depth of 3 inches, or if using an electric deep-fryer, follow the manufacturer's directions. Heat the oil to 375°F (190 °C) on a deep fry thermometer, or until a small piece of the dough or bread cube placed in the oil sizzles and browns in 1 minute. Have ready a tray or sheet pan lined with paper towels or paper bags.

5. Carefully lower a few of the cannoli tubes into the hot oil. Do not crowd the pan. Fry the shells until golden, about 2 minutes, turning them so that they brown evenly.

6. Lift a cannoli tube with a wire skimmer or large slotted spoon, out of the oil. Using tongs, grasp the cannoli tube at one end. Very carefully remove the cannoli tube with the open sides straight up and down so that the oil flows back into the pan. Place the tube on paper towels or bags to drain. Repeat with the remaining tubes. While they are still hot, grasp the tubes with a potholder and pull the cannoli shells off the tubes with a pair of tongs, or with your hand protected by an oven mitt or towel. Let the shells cool completely on the paper towels. Place shells on cooling rack until ready to fill.

7. Repeat making and frying the shells with the remaining dough. If you are reusing the cannoli tubes, let them cool before wrapping them in the dough. Or else you'll have burned fingers, which is just not fun on cannoli day.



PUMPKIN FILLING
1/2 cup (123 grams/4.34 ounces) ricotta cheese, drained
1/2 cup (113 grams/4.04 ounces) mascarpone cheese
1/2 cup (122.5 grams/4.32 ounces) canned pumpkin, drained like ricotta
3/4 cup (75 grams/2.65 ounces) confectioner’s sugar, sifted
1/2 to 1 teaspoon (approx. 1.7 grams/approx. 0.06 ounces) pumpkin pie spice (taste)
1/2 teaspoon (approx. 2 grams/approx. 0.08 ounces) pure vanilla extract
6-8 cannoli shells

1. In a bowl with electric mixer, beat ricotta and mascarpone until smooth and creamy. Beat in confectioner’s sugar, pumpkin, pumpkin pie spice, vanilla and blend until smooth. Transfer to another bowl, cover and chill until it firms up a bit. (The filling can be made up to 24 hours prior to filling the shells. Just cover and keep refrigerated).

2. Dip the ends of the cannolo in whatever you'd like--shaved chocolate, mini chocolate chips, dried fruit, etc. I dipped mine in turbinado sugar and sprinkled on a little bit of cinnamon, and dusted with the traditional powdered sugar!






And there you have it. Cannolis. Nom.

What's this, you ask? That would be my invention. It's a cannolo (singular for cannoli) doughnut. The cannolo popped off of the tube while frying and made a cool hollow in the middle doughnut shape, which I filled with extra pumpkin filling. I'm not wasting my time with the tubes anymore---cannolo doughnuts FOR THE WIN! Much easier, and you get more of the filling. :)

Unfortunately, I also followed the instructions for this month's challenge and also prepared the TWO POUNDS of traditional ricotta filling for the cannoli. The few cannoli I made I filled with the pumpkin filling.

So, if you'd like TWO FRAKKIN POUNDS of cannoli filling, give me a ring. I've got it ready for you :)

THE DARING BAKERS OCTOBER 2009 CHALLENGE: MACAROONS

The 2009 October Daring Bakers’ challenge was brought to us by Ami S. She chose macarons from Claudia Fleming’s The Last Course: The Desserts of Gramercy Tavern as the challenge recipe.



Oh, macarons. I hate you. I hate you so much. Almond meal expensive ($10.49 for a 16oz bag) and the likelihood that I will screw you up is high. I've never made macarons before, nor have I even tasted one, so the entire process was new to me. I had actually forgotten about the challenge, knowing that I would be disappointed with the results. Macarons are notoriously difficult to master, so I wasn't expecting them to turn out on my first try. However, I was kind of hoping I would. Just because I hate wasting food.


After beating the egg whites I felt like I was on the right track. Until I had to add the confectioner's sugar and the almond flour/meal. The folding was making the egg whites quite gooey and gloopy, and I was afraid that I had already over-folded the egg mixture to the point of failure. I then realized that these were not going to taste like anything as I had not chosen a flavor. After quickly reading the information about flavoring and coloring, I panicked, and put two tablespoons of instant hazelnut espresso powder into the mix.


The almond flour was labeled "almond/meal." I believe this is the "meal" part as it would not fit thorugh the strainer holes! Damn you Bob and your shiny Red Mill!



Oh.... the kitchen is a mess. A hot, sticky, eggy mess.

Did my macarons have the much coveted feet? Nope.

I've decided to call them "Natalie's Crazy Cakes" because they are of my own invention and they are making me crazy. I had some leftover dark chocolate ganache from a cake I made in September (hey... it refridgerates well) so I picked up my crazy cake crumbs and sandwiched that shit in between and enjoyed my sticky gooey chocolate egg pancake cookies. And they tasted darn good.


Oh well, right? :)

Oreo Balls Imitating Pumpkins and other Fall Treats

If you are looking for something easy and delicious to do for Halloween sweet treats, it doesn't get simpler than this. All you have to do is take some basic white frosting and a ribbon tip and squeeze short ribbons on top of any flavor of cupcake. Dot with two chocolate chips or other candies and VOILA! You have some spookily cute and creamy delicious mummies!

Gotta love Martha Stewart. Even if it's a love/hate relationship.



I look forward to fall apples every year, and this year I was able to find a plethora of recipes featuring apples. And when the apples are local and not covered with that disgusting "food grade" wax to make them all fake shiny at the store, they taste even better. You can't tell me that an apple picked fresh off the tree isn't worth $0.50. You just can't.

I used half of the vanilla cupcakes that were left over from mummy making to make some apples. I teach a class teaching future teachers how to be teachers (it makes sense if you think about it) and it was the last day of their lab. With under a dozen students, it's easy to do something nice for them like make homemade cupcakes. Plus, they're super funny and cool, and made having to teach the class that much easier.

I couldn't find my red icing, so I colored the icing pink and rolled it in red sanding sugar (much more awesome idea than red icing alone!) and made a quick leaf and stem. Impromptu creativity for the win!



The things you can do with Oreo Balls are pretty much endless (Want the recipe? Okay. One package of Oreos, crushed fine--any flavor will do as long as they aren't double stuffed--and one 8oz pack of cream cheese--full fat, neufchatel, or fat free all work. Beat with mixer, form into balls, chill for 15 minutes, and dip in chocolate and decorate as desired. It's that easy) Make them into pumpkins, jingle bells, the base for reindeer heads... the only limit is your creativity and ability to imitate! I was afraid that these looked a little bit like alien boobs, but I think the pumpkin imagery came through. The stems were chocolate covered sunflower seeds.



I'm already starting to miss fall, even though there's still a month left. The local farmer's market is emptier and emptier each Saturday, and I was informed that last week is the last week for fresh lettuce. Guess it's time to get out the crockpot and root vegetables and settle into the couch with mug of hot chocolate!

But not until my cider is gone.

Pumpkin Gingersnap Caramel Cheesecake

Oh, Pioneer Woman. You have lifted my spirits. You see, I was one of the chosen few who thought they were unable to make cheesecake. My first attempt at making a cheesecake was a disaster. It was a cookie dough cheesecake, with a traditional cheesecake base. I made my own cookie dough, and pushed it into the batter. I followed the directions to the letter, placing the cheesecake into the oven in my newly purchased ($30--jeez, freakin' expensive) spring form pan. After about 20 minutes of baking, I began to smell something sickeningly sweet and burning.

To my horror, upon opening the oven (keep in mind this is in a shitty electric stove in our shitty rental apartment a few years back before we bought our house), smoke unlike any other I had ever encountered began rolling out of the oven. It was a clear and sticky, clinging to everything it touched.

Naturally, the smoke detectors only sensed "smoke" and did not discriminate based on the fact that it was not the precise kind of smoke that came about from something burning, and began to sound loudly.

Cats are freaking out, I'm freaking out, ripping down the smoke detectors, while this cake from hell is smoldering in the backdrop. After things had calmed down, I inspected further to find the ENTIRE inner surface of the oven schmeared with the sticky smoke.

It's like I somehow discovered a magical formula to aerosolize food in the most unpleasant way possible.

This cheesecake was supposed to be a gift, so we had to stop at Cheesecake Factory and purchase a cake to replace it. The ultimate baker's fail.

Needless to say, I've never trusted another cheesecake recipe after that incident and have just stuck to the no-bake variety.

Until now. I bought a mini pumpkin cheesecake pan for $9.99 (TJ Maxx, another hero of mine) and each of the little cheesecake sections has a little pumpkin cutout at the bottom to push the finished product out after baking. Being too nervous to attempt a whole cheesecake, I decided to start small.


Better pictures later when there's some natural light available. I was too excited to wait!!!



Success. Major, major success. Delicious, sweet success. All because of this recipe. I had so much batter I made 24 mini pumpkin cheesecakes and a small 8" cheesecake. I had to make some additional crust, but I have cheesecake out the wazoo now. And no sticky aerosolized film of death.

Caramel Pumpkin Gingersnap Cheesecake
also known as: PW’s Pumpkin Cheesecake

Adapted by SweetTweets

Crust:
12 ounces storebought gingersnaps (I used Kroger Brand with great success)
1/2 cup chopped pecans (I used walnuts)
6 tablespoons butter, melted
2 tablespoons brown sugar
Dash of salt (omitted)

Filling:
4 packages cream cheese (I used Neufchatel---1/3 less fat!)
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 15-ounce can pumpkin puree (NOT pumpkin pie filling)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon allspice (I used a sprinkling of cloves instead)
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
4 eggs
2 tablespoons heavy cream
1 jar caramel topping (I made my own with a 1/2 bag of Kraft caramels and 1/3 c. heavy cream, nuked, and stirred until creamy)
Extra chopped walnuts
Extra crushed gingersnaps

In a food processor, crush gingersnps. Add chopped walnuts, melted butter, brown sugar, and salt, and pulse (or mix) until thoroughly combined.

Press into bottom and sides of a pan of your choice. I used an 8" Fat Daddio's pan double lined with aluminum foil, and my super special mini pumpkin cheesecake pan. I put two level tablespooons of the crust into each of the little pumpkin sections, and pressed firmly! Chill for 20-30 minutes.

In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until light and fluffy. Add pumpkin and spices and mix again. Add eggs one at a time, mixing for 20 seconds between each addition. Add cream and mix until just combined.

Remove crust from fridge. Gently pour cheesecake filling in pan. Even out the top with a flat spatula if necessary.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes for the small pan, or 25-30 minutes for the individual pumpkin pan, or until no longer soupy. Cheesecake should still be somewhat jiggly, but set on top. Cool on counter for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes, pour the desired amount of caramel topping over the top of the cheesecakes. You can smooth it flat, or drizzle, or make a cool spiderweb or something else artsy-fartsy, if you're in the mood. I poured and drizzled. Cover and chill cheesecake for another four hours or overnight.

Slice and savor! Sprinkle each slice with extra crushed gingersnaps and freakin' enjoy it like never before.

Gum Paste, You are a Sticky Lady

Chocolate.

Orange.

More chocolate.

More orange.



Icing was more like modeling chocolate. It was not spreadable, and I had to MOLD IT ON BY HAND. I have no idea what I did to eff it up! I made a full batch, when I typically make a half batch. Perhaps that was it. But, in the spirit of Tim Gunn, I "made it work."




These are my first gum paste babies. I made a simple flower and center, and simple leaves for my maiden voyage. Gum paste dries fast, folks, so work fast, or place the extra under a glass to keep it moist! Cake decorators make it look so easy.




Happy Birthday, Sonya!!!

Bakerella's Mini Cupcakes

Oh, Bakerella. You make me so happy, with your exploration in the miniature. Bite sized cuteness follows, as I tried to imitate my mini-hero.


I think I did well!
I had to eat one. Too cute to just look at. :)

Gimmie a Break!!

I saw this cake idea on Paige's Pantry over the summer and had to try it out. It's a horrible, horrible cake. Don't eat it, it's disgusting.


Let's talk about this by the numbers.

Number of King Sized Kit Kat Bars: 7

Pound of M&Ms: 2

Pounds of chocolate cake: 3.5

Pounds of powdered sugar for the icing: 2

Calories: 0 (There is no guilt here where the tweets are sweet)

Before Summer Started to Fade...

I made this fruit tart earlier this summer when fruits and berries were in their prime.

I baked a basic sweet tart dough and filled it with sweetened cream cheese fluffiness (cream cheese with powdered sugar, added to taste). I arranged the fruit according to what fit where best, and topped it with 1/2 cup of apricot glaze (apricot preserves heated, and then strained of chunks, with a tbsp of coconut rum added to thin it).

Easy peesy, and something you can do yourself without a recipe! Even if it ends up looking crazy, it WILL taste delicious. What you don't see here is that the tart actually broke into several pieces and I was able to repair it with some cream cheese as glue. But it looks good, no!?

Non-Sweets #1 Ethiopian Spiced Stuffed Fairytale Eggplant

See the full post on my other blog, Cutabitch!

October 2009 Daring Cooks’ Challenge: Vietnamese Chicken Pho

The October 2009 Daring Cooks’ challenge was brought to us by Jaden of the blog Steamy Kitchen. The recipes are from her new cookbook, The Steamy Kitchen Cookbook.

Pho!

I've never made Vietnamese food before, so this was truly daring! Until I realized I had all the ingredients on hand to make it--then it became less daring. As a person who loves Asian cuisine, I tend to have the pantry staples required to make an Americanized stir fry, or a nice rice dish. Heck, I even have a liter of fish sauce! How many white people have a liter of fish sauce that they don't curse every time they open the fridge? "What possessed me to buy an entire liter of fish sauce for that Thai recipe....I should just throw it away... but that would be wasteful. What if I need it again?" And so it sits, taking up precious space in the door of the fridge, staring at you, daring you to use it.

Luckily, I use mine frequently but a LITER is excessive. When I shop the Asian markets, I am surprised by the size of the packaging on staples items. Example: gochujang, a delicious spicy fermented pepper paste. I have a hand sized container, which typically takes us about a year to go through. But, there's an even tinier, Barbie-toy sized version all the way up in size to the 5 gallon bucket (NO JOKE) economy size for what I could only assume would be a massive Korean church barbecue.

Asian ingredients are more of a staple item in our household than most American items. Except cheese, of course. My long winded point is that I was able to make the pho for dinner the night the recipe was released! How's that for convenient!

First, we absolutely have to start with homemade chicken stock!!



I freeze my stock into cubes for easy measuring. It's so nice to know that 10 of my cubes equals one cup of liquid. CONVENIENCE IS PARAMOUNT! Especially when I spent a whole day MAKING the stock--time saved later is an epic WIN.


Smashing ginger is more rewarding than trying to mince it fine, but less rewarding than taking a microplane zester and shredding it to mush. I also have no idea what was up with these onions, but they made my eyes burn like I had just been in some kind of protest and doused with pepper spray. It was like Niagara Falls, baby. I had to stop and splash my face and clean my glasses. The tears were not welcomed.



I saved the chicken from the carcass I boiled for the homemade stock. Super tender, super juicy, and just right for pho!


And here are all the members of the cast: red onion, cilantro, chicken, lime wedges, rooster sauce, bean sprouts, hoisin, and delicious delectable broth. Well, and noodles, but they were busy working the curtain and didn't want to take a bow. But they are featured in the next scene.

Ingredients:

For the Chicken Pho Broth:
2 tbsp. whole coriander seeds
4 whole cloves
2 whole star anise
2 quarts (2 liters/8 cups/64 fluid ounces) store-bought or homemade chicken stock
1 whole chicken breast (bone in or boneless)
½ onion
1 3-inch (7.5 cm) chunk of ginger, sliced and smashed with side of knife
1 to 2 tbsps. sugar
1 to 2 tbsps. fish sauce

1 lb. (500 grams/16 ounces) dried rice noodles (about ¼ inch/6 mm wide)

Accompaniments:

2 cups (200 grams/7 ounces) bean sprouts, washed and tails pinched off
Fresh cilantro (coriander) tops (leaves and tender stems)
½ cup (50 grams/approx. 2 ounces) shaved red onions
½ lime, cut into 4 wedges
Sriracha chili sauce
Hoisin sauce
Sliced fresh chili peppers of your choice

Directions:

1. To make the Chicken Pho Broth: heat a frying pan over medium heat. Add the coriander seeds, cloves and star anise and toast until fragrant, about 3-4 minutes. Immediately spoon out the spices to avoid burning.
2. In a large pot, add all the ingredients (including the toasted spices) and bring to a boil.
3. Reduce the heat to medium-low and let simmer for 20 minutes, skimming the surface frequently.
4. Use tongs to remove the chicken breasts and shred the meat with your fingers, discarding the bone if you have used bone-in breasts.
5. Taste the broth and add more fish sauce or sugar, if needed. Strain the broth and discard the solids.
6. Prepare the noodles as per directions on the package. I used delicious Trader Joe's Rice Sticks.
   
7. Ladle the broth into bowls. Then divide the shredded chicken breast and the soft noodles evenly into each bowl.
8. Have the accompaniments spread out on the table. Each person can customize their own bowl with these ingredients.