Hey ladies and fellaaass,  after being a bit dormant, I’m baaaaccckk! Since some of you freaked out over why my blog was missing for a week, I’d like to explain the few traumatic things that happened to me over these past few weeks.

1. My blog got completely shut down because I carelessly forgot to update my billing and contact information after I’ve moved to America. Thus, I missed a few major deadline notices and had to pay hundreds of dollars to restore a backup. (A big lesson to everyone to read all emails and keep track of major dates).
2. I lost about 80% of my backup files for all my recipes on my computer. (A big lesson to everyone to frequently save and back up all files)

But hey, at least 3 other fascinating things happened:

1. After long phone calls with my hosting provider (after paying that lump of Benjamins) + Benson Ho’s genius work from Tokyo, my blog has been recovered with all my backups and recipes!
2. The ChefCharette turned one year old!! Woooohoooo!!!!!
3. Popcultivate chef Chris contacted me asking me to batch up a new dessert recipe for his next dinner, which pushed me to produce this recipe: Pear Basil Tarts! You can buy tickets for a 4-course fine dining dinner, which features my dessert as a finale, here! Since I’ve been a bit obsessed with preparing mini tarts for guests and my stellar architects that I’ve been working with, I decided to celebrate the flavors of fall by fusing juicy slices of these beautiful barlett pears with some thick honey and dashes cinnamon and turbinado sugar. These Pear Basil Tarts also have one secret ingredient: olive oil, which fuses too wonderfully with honey. (Thanks Tony for sending me the Acaccia honey from Paris!).

Ingredients

Preparation Time

15 minutes

Cooking Time

20 minutes

Ready In

35 minutes

Serving Size

8 Tarts

• 1 pack of frozen puff pastry squares
• olive oil
• honey, plus more for drizzling
• 2 Barlett pears
• Cinnamon
• 1 egg white
• 1/4 Cup turbinado sugar
• 1 small batch  of fresh basil

Directions

Step 1.

Defrost the puff pastry for about 20 minutes and set about 1″ apart on baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Preheat the oven to 400 F

Step 2.

Brush the center of the puff pastry squares with olive oil and honey.

Step 3.

Slice the pears into 1/4″ slices.

Step 4.

Arrange about 3 thin slices of pears along the center of each pie tart, diagonally. Sprinkle desired amount of cinnamon and turbinado sugar over the pears.

Step 5.

Brush the edges of the tart crusts with the egg white. Fold over into pleats and brush egg white over the edges of the tart crusts. Sprinkle desired amount of turbinado sugar.

Step 6.

Bake in preheated oven for 12-15 minutes, or until pastry is golden brown.

Step 7.

Carefully remove the baking sheet from the oven. Drizzle with more honey and sprinkle a few sprigs of fresh basil. Serve immediately!

Once upon a sunny Saturday morning, my friend Alfred Dicioco contacted me, asking me if I wanted his huge bag of pepperoni. As I gazed out at the bright sunny Saturday, I realized that what’s better than going out to enjoy the bright sunny day is to STAY IN to mix up a new recipe with pepperoni and take photos to make the most use out of the beautiful sunlight. (pats myself on the back*)

So I quickly drove out to Alfred’s to pick up my free, giant ass bag of pepperoni slices and invited Cheftofer over to help me come up with this recipe. As you might’ve heard, I’ve been collaborating with Cheftofer (follow him on instagram here) in creating some dessert recipes for his fancy schmancy dinner gigs like popcultivate. Chris is this chill stud / mad-scientist featured on Foodnetwork’s Cutthroat who I really enjoy cooking alongside. Aside from him being a talented chef, ladies – he’s single too ( think!) I give this man full credit for helping me cook the rest of the batches and holding my reflectors while I mainly styled and photographed.

So, what is this okonomiyaki? (oko-noh-mi-yaki) Okonomiyaki literally means “grilled as you like it” in Japanese..Some people refer to it as a Japanese pizza, probably because it looks like a pie, the ingredients/flavors/toppings are limitless, and it’s perfectly shareable! But traditionally, it’s this Japanese pancake that is most popularly served in two ways: Osaka and Tokyo style (sort of like New York style and Chicago style pizza) But hey! Here’s the chefcharette style: Okonomiyaki with pepperoni, shiso leaves, drizzled with a creamy pesto mayonnaise sauce.

Lastly – exciting news. I’m flying back to Japan with 5 other studly architects 11/25-12/05! Follow up with our adventures by following me and my instagram stories!

Ingredients

Preparation Time

15 minutes

Cooking Time

10 minutes

Ready In

25 minutes

Serving Size

4-6

• 1 Cup Okonomiyaki flour
• 2/3 Cups Water
• 2 Large eggs
• 200 g or 2 Cups Cabbage
• Tenkasu / tempura bits (optional)
• Pepperoni
• 1 Garlic clove
• 1 tsp Pesto
• 1/4 Cup Mayonnaise

Directions

Step 1.

Wash and finely slice cabbage and shiso leaves.

Step 2.

Mince some garlic and cut the pepperoni slices and shiso leaves into fine strips.

Step 3.

Mix 1 C all-purpose (or okonomiyaki flour), 2/3 C water into a large bowl. If the batter is too thick, slowly pour more water in. Crack open 2 eggs and mix in the minced garlic and cabbage.

Step 4.

Spray or pour some oil in a fry pan until the pan. Once the pan is hot, Spoon the batter in the center of the pan and slightly turn the pan in a clockwise motion until the batter becomes about 9″ in diameter. Place the thinly sliced pepperoni on top and save desired amount if you’d like to garnish.

Step 5.

Cook over medium high heat for about 5 minutes. Flip, then cook this side for another 3-5 minutes. When cooked thoroughly, remove from pan by bringing a plate and flipping it onto the plate. Repeat the process for the remaining batter and make about 2-3 more okonomiyaki.

Step 6.

Prepare pesto mayo by mixing the 1 tsp of pesto with 1/4 C mayonnaise.

Step 7.

Drizzle with pesto mayo and garnish with freshly chopped shiso leaves. Slice up and enjoy!