As Warm as a July Tomato

Seared Tuna with Sesame-Ginger Sauce and Segeumchi Namul

Sat, 19 May 2012 19:30:23 -0500

Oh man, I love raw/rare ocean fish. A nice hunk of tuna marinated then seared over white-hot coals for maybe a minute on the side is sublime. I could eat this a couple times a week, every week, and never get sick of it. Also, this is a pretty low effort meal, perfect for a midweek or lazy weekend dinner.

Ingredient List

2 4-ounce tuna steaks or a 8-ounce loin
1/4 cup light soy sauce
1/4 cup chicken stock or water
2 garlic cloves, minced
1-inch knob of ginger, minced
1 tablespoon sesame oil
4 tablespoons sesame seeds
Thinly sliced scallion
Juice of lime

2 large handfuls of spinach
2 tablespoons light soy sauce
2 tablespoons sesame oil
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon sesame seeds
Pinch of sugar

For the salad, blanch the spinach in boiling water for 20 seconds, remove and rinse under cold water until room temperature. Press out any excess water. Combine the rest of the ingredients in a bowl and add the spinach. Mix and let rest for at least 30 minutes.

Mix the soy sauce, garlic, ginger, and sesame oil together in a bowl. Place the tuna in the bowl and coat. Let marinate for at least 30 minutes. Either heat a pan over medium-high heat or get a hot bed of charcoals going in a grill. Drain off and reserve the marinade. Roll the tuna in the sesame seeds. Place the marinade and the chicken stock in a pan and reduce until it thickens to a syrup.

Oil the pan or grill well with oil and sear the tuna for a minute on both sides if using steaks, on all four sides if using a loin. Let rest for 4-5 minutes. Slice thinly and serve with a drizzle of the sauce, some thinly sliced scallion and a squirt of lime.

Chocolate Wafer Cookies with Orange Buttercream

Mon, 14 May 2012 01:08:42 -0500

This evening, I had a craving for oreos. But not the disgusting store bought ones full of preservatives and voodoo magic which makes the frosting act like it does. Barf. Anyway, after digging through a couple different cookbooks stashed in the kitchen, I found a recipe for chocolate tuiles. I figured by rolling them out a bit thicker, they should substitute just fine for the cookie part of an oreo.

I was right. These are fantastic. They are everything an oreo wishes it was. Chocolaty, crispy, and not overly sweet. They would go well with a cup of hot chocolate or a coffee. Also, it took me just under 45 minutes from start to finish, so it’s not painstakingly difficult either.

Ingredient List

Cookie
8 ounces unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cups AP flour
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Filling
8 oz unsalted butter, room temperature
~1 1/2 cups confectioners sugar
zest of 1 orange
juice of 1 orange
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Whisk the dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Beat the butter into the flour mixture until it just comes together into a dry dough. If you keep mixing and the dough remains dry and crumbly, add a tablespoon of cold water and mix again.

Place half the dough between two pieces of parchment and roll out to an 1/8 inch thickness. Use a cutter of choice to make cookie rounds.

Set the cookies onto a parchment lined cookie tray at least 1/2 in apart. Bake at 350F for 12-15 minutes, or until firm. Remove from oven and let cool on the pan for a few minutes. Remove from pans and cool completely.

For the frosting, beat the butter until light and creamy. Mix in the zest, juice, and vanilla. Add in the sugar and beat until stiff. If the frosting remains too thin, add a small amount more sugar and whip.

Dollop a small amount of frosting between each cooled cookie round and press lightly until the frosting is distributed across the cookie sandwich. These will store in a sealed container for a couple days.

Cochinita Pibil

Mon, 07 May 2012 00:32:06 -0500

Cochinita pibil is a traditional Mexican pork dish that is slow roasted in banana leaves with a citrusy marinade seasoned with a variety of spices and colored a deep red with a large amount of achiote (or annatto) seed. So delicious and damn simple to make. Dressed with pickled onion, queso fresco, avocado, crema, salsa verde, cilantro, and a squirt of lime, this was a fantastic way to have a bit of Cinco de Mayo in cold, rainy Wisconsin.

Ingredient List

4 tablespoons annatto seed
1 tablespoon Mexican oregano
2 tablespoons black pepper
1 1/2 tablespoons cumin seed
1/2 teaspoon cloves
1 tablespoon Mexican cinnamon
1 tablespoon salt
1 head of garlic
1 cup fresh lime juice
1/2 cup fresh orange juice
4-5 pound pork butt or shoulder, cut down if possible into 5” cubes or so
1 package banana leaves

Pickled onions

1 large red onion, sliced thinly
1/2 cup lime juice
1/2 cup white vinegar
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar

If using whole seeds, grind the annatto, oregano, pepper, cumin, cinnamon and clove in a spice grinder until everything is a fine powder. Add the spices to a blender with the garlic, salt and citrus juice. Blend until it is smooth in texture. Note: be careful, annatto stains everything.

In a large plastic bag or non-reactive bowl, pour the marinade over the meat, tossing to coat. Let marinate in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours, overnight is best.

When ready to cook, line a roasting pan with banana leaf. Lay the meat in the pan, cover with the remaining marinade and fold over the leaves to create a large porky packet. Heat your oven to 325F or get your grill going over medium-low, and place the roasting tray in. If using charcoal, you may have to add additional charcoal occasionally. This should cook for 3-4 hours, or until the meat pulls apart easily.

For the onions, mix the sliced onion with the liquid, salt and sugar. Let sit in a bowl for at least an hour. Drain and serve.

To eat, spoon off the fat from the liquid in the roasting pan. Season with extra salt and pepper if needed. Lightly shred the pork to make it more manageable. Serve with toppings of choice and some freshly griddled tortillas. Oh, and lots of beer.

Double Crust Beef and Veggie Pie

Mon, 30 Apr 2012 16:21:41 -0500

Oh yeah. Nothing like a hearty meat pie on a deary day to warm your body up. Hearty beef and sweet carrots, rutabaga, and peas in a caramelized onion, Guinness, and mushroom gravy, all served up in a puff pastry crust. So delicious.

Also, just like most things I eat, it’s surprisingly easy to make (and looks fancy enough to impress others).

As you can probably see, one of the most important parts of a pie this tall is the crust. I used my quick puff pastry recipe.

Slice approximately 2/3 of the dough for the bottom crust because the amount of filling is going to need a sturdy base. Roll out to a size just large enough to cover the bottom and sides of the pan. I used a 9” springform. A normal pie pan would work as well, but the filling will have to be cut down as well.

For the filling:

2-3 pounds of beef chuck, trimmed and cut into 1” cubes
1 large rutabaga, cubed
2-3 carrots, diced
1 large white onion, diced
1 1/2 cups frozen or fresh peas
1 pound mushrooms, cleaned and diced
1 head roasted garlic
2 stalks celery, diced
2-3 cups good beef stock
2 cups dark beer
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour

Salt and pepper
Fresh herbs
Bay leaf

Salt and pepper the beef and sear in batches in a deep stockpot. Once the meat is all browned, set aside.

Add in the mushrooms and brown until they release all the liquid and are dark brown and dry. Add in the roasted garlic, onion, and celery. Let sweat for 4-5 minutes.

Deglaze with the beer and stock. Add the beef back in and stew for at least an hour, 2-3 hours is better. When the beef is tender, add in the rutabaga and carrot and simmer until a fork can be inserted into a piece of rutabaga easily.

I like to have a really thick filling, so I strained the liquid off of the stew and set it aside.

Add the butter and flour to a saucepan and whisk constantly until it turns a dark caramel color. Add the stewing liquid to the pan and whisk until thickened and no lumps remain. Simmer on low until reduced enough to coat a spoon nicely.

Combine the filling back together, pour into the pie shell, brush the top crust with an eggwash and bake in a 350F oven for 50 minutes to an hour, until the crust is browned and the filling is bubbling.

It is great served with a pint of dark beer and maybe a shred of hard cheese.

Cioppino (San Francisco Seafood Soup)

Sat, 21 Apr 2012 23:50:40 -0500

I’ve been craving mussels like none other for weeks now and I’ve just never been able to get to the store when the fish counter had any in stock. Today I finally was in luck. The fish guy also had some nice looking cod and a good price on shrimp, so cioppino it is.

Cioppino, to the best of my knowledge is a San Francisco thing. Fishermen would make this with the leftovers from the day’s catch. How much truth is in this? I dunno. It is delicious and fairly quick to make though.

Ingredients

1 pound mussels
1 pound peeled and deveined shrimp
1 pound white fish (haddock, cod, etc are all fine)

1 fennel bulb, core removed and diced
1 large white onion, diced finely
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 28oz can of whole tomatoes (San Marzanos if you can find them)
2 cups white wine
2 cups seafood stock (veggie or chicken stock works in a pinch)

Fresh herbs (I had thyme and bay on hand)
Salt and pepper to taste
Chili flake to taste
Flour
Oil

Sweat the fennel and onion in a stockpot for 5-10 minutes, or until softened. Add the garlic and chili flake and let cook for another 30 seconds or so, until fragrant. Deglaze the pot with white wine. Scrape the bottom to release the fond. Add the tomatoes, making sure to crush them with your hand to break them up. Add in the fish stock and fresh herbs. Let simmer for at least 30 minutes.

Taste and adjust seasonings if needed.

For the seafood, I like to do dredge the fish and shrimp in seasoned flour and sear off quickly in a hot pan to get get them nicely browned. You can also just add the fish to the pot raw and let simmer until cooked. Either way, add the fish to the pot, place the mussels over and cover. Let simmer for 5-7 minutes, or until the mussels and fish are fully cooked.

Serve with crusty bread and a squirt of lemon juice.

Rabbit Marsala with Parsnip Mash

Fri, 20 Apr 2012 23:34:00 -0500

I acquired a delicious rabbit and was clueless about what to do with it for quite a while. While perusing the internet, I stumbled upon a decent looking chicken marsala recipe. Rabbit cooks up similarly to chicken and as long care is taken to not overcook the meat, it makes a great (and far more delicious) substitute in many dishes. This recipe works wonderfully using chicken thighs or breasts too.

Ingredients

2 pounds boneless, skinless rabbit thighs (chicken is a straight substitute)
1/4 pound panchetta (or bacon), chopped finely
1 pound mushrooms, sliced (I used portabellos, use whatever you like. Shiitakes are a nice twist)
3 cloves of garlic, crushed
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 cups of good dry marsala
Juice of half a lemon

Salt and pepper to taste
Herbs for garnish
Oil

Season the meat liberally with salt and pepper. Sear in batches in a pan over medium-high heat with a small amount of neutral oil added. Cook until golden brown on both sides. Remove and set aside.

Add the panchetta to the pan, let render out until crispy and remove.

Place the sliced mushrooms in the pan and let saute for around 5 minutes. You want the mushrooms to be golden brown and most of the liquid released from them.

Once browned, add in the tomato paste and garlic. Cook until the tomato paste caramelizes slightly, then deglaze the pan with the marsala wine.

Scrape the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon to release the built up fond and let simmer and reduce until the sauce can coat the back of a spoon. Squeeze a half a lemon and taste. Adjust your seasoning if needed.

Place the meat back into the pan to coat and rewarm. Garnish with fresh herbs. Serve with side of choice.

I steamed about a pound of peeled and roughly chopped parsnips until tender, then mashed with a couple tablespoons of heavy cream and a pinch of salt and pepper.

Homemade Puff Pastry Made Easy and Cocoa Palmiers

Fri, 06 Apr 2012 01:37:00 -0500

Puff pastry can be a real pain in the butt. Dealing with rolling the dough out and laminating with butter, then re-rolling, waiting, rolling again, and again, and again to get all the flaky layers is just horribly time consuming.

Therefore, I set out to make a puff pastry that takes a lot less rolling and no lamination. I think this resulting recipe is a success. It has all the flaky, crispy, buttery goodness of a traditional puff pastry, but with much less hassle.

The first step for every good pastry recipe, start prepping the butter. This is 20 tablespoons of cold unsalted butter, diced into 1/2 inch cubes. Reserve 4 tablespoons and set aside.

Get 6 tablespoons of ice cold water and 2 cups of AP flour ready.

Add the flour and the 4 tablespoons of butter to a food processor and pulse to incorporate.

Add the rest of the butter and pulse a few more times to break it up into the flour. Pour in the 6 tablespoons of water and add a pinch of salt. Pulse until the dough just barely starts to form, like in the above photo.

Turn out onto a floured surface, form into a rough rectangle, then place between two sheets of plastic wrap.

Roll out into a rectangle roughly 12” by 18”.

Fold into thirds like a brochure, then roll up like a jelly roll.

You want to end up with a square of dough roughly 4” on each side. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour.

There, homemade puff pastry without the hassle. It takes maybe 10 minutes to make, and all the further prep you need to do is just roll the pastry out and use it.

Puff Pastry

2 cups AP flour
20 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, diced into 1/2” squares
6 tablespoons ice cold water
Pinch of salt

To make the palmiers, cut the square of puff in half and dust the work surface with a 1/4 cup of sugar.

Roll out the dough into a rectangle roughly 12” by 9”.

Brush with an egg wash and top how you like. The traditional topping is just some more sugar. These are dusted with freshly grated 60% cocoa chocolate and a bit of cinnamon.

Fold the dough in on itself, about a third the way toward the middle. Fold again so the ends meet in the middle of the dough, then fold a third time, like a book.

Cut the dough into 1/2” sections and place on parchment paper. Cook at 350F for 10 minutes, flip and cook for another 10, or until golden brown and crispy on both sides.

Let cool for at least 10 minutes and enjoy.

"Red" Velvet Cake with German Buttercream

Tue, 03 Apr 2012 01:39:28 -0500

This was my first attempt at making a red velvet cake. I try not to post failures, but the crumb was fantastic, the flavor was great, and the frosting was sublime. In other words, it was a complete success as a cake, just not a red velvet cake.

I’m not sure where I screwed up. They were still painfully red when I put the cakes into the oven, but by the time they were finished, I got dull brown.

Anyway, this is my recipe:

Red Velvet Cake

3 1/2 cups cake flour
1/2 cup natural cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 cups canola oil
2 1/4 cups sugar
3 large eggs
1 tablespoon red gel dye dissolved in 6 tablespoons water
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1 1/4 cup buttermilk
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 1/2 teaspoons white vinegar

Preheat the oven to 350F, grease 3 8” cake tins and line with parchment.

Whisk the flour, cocoa powder, and salt together in a bowl.

Place oil and sugar into a large bowl and beat until well blended. Beat in the three eggs, one at a time. Very slowly fold in the food coloring and vanilla.

Alternate folding dry ingredients and buttermilk into the wet mixture. Stir just enough to combine.

Place the baking soda in a small cup and pour over the vinegar. let bubble for 15 seconds or so. Beat the vinegar mix into the cake batter.

Divide the batter between the three cake pans and cook for 40 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out with just a few crumbs. Let cool in pans until room temperature.

German Buttercream

16 ounces whole milk
2 teaspoons vanilla
10 ounces sugar
1 1/2 ounces cornstarch
2 eggs
2 egg yolks
32 ounces unsalted butter, room temperature
1/4 teaspoon salt

Simmer the milk in a pot until heated through.

In a bowl, whisk together the sugar, vanilla, and eggs.

Temper into the egg mixture a cup of the warmed milk. Return to the pan and cook over medium heat, whisking constantly. When the custard begins to thicken, pour into a large bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let cool until room temperature.

When you are certain the custard is cool, place into the bowl of a electric mixer. Slowly add the butter into the custard, and whip continually, until light and creamy. Add the salt and whip to distribute.

Grilled Ribeye and Veggies with Radish and Beet Watercress Salad

Sat, 24 Mar 2012 18:44:00 -0500

This is why I love nice weather. Fresh veggies in the store and beautiful weather outside makes for a perfect combination for dinner.

I really like grilling ribeyes because I don’t have to pay attention as closely to the meat. Their really nice marbling means I can accidentally take them a bit over medium rare and still have a delicious slice of meaty goodness in the end.

Also, I’m bored of really heavy starchy sides with beef. Instead, I grilled some peppers and onions, roasted a beet, sliced some radishes up and make a quick watercress salad and dijon vin to help cut the fattiness of the steak.

So beautiful. These were just shy of two pounds each, and about 1 1/2 inches thick. Take the meat out at least an hour before grilling and bring them to room temperature.

Lube the steaks up with some canola oil, sprinkle a bit of salt on, and slap them on a blazing hot grill loaded with natural lump charcoal.

5 or 6 minutes a side is just about perfect. Pull them off the grill at 145F and let them rest for at least 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, mix a tablespoon of honey with a tablespoon of dijon mustard, a pinch of salt and black pepper, and the juice of a lemon. Whisk in a steady stream of olive oil and you have a delicious and quick dressing. Toss this with a few thinly sliced radishes, a bit of roasted and cooled beet, and some peppery, slightly bitter watercress. Delicious, honest, and classy meal for quite a few.

Granola Bars

Tue, 20 Mar 2012 23:19:04 -0500

What I love about this recipe is that you can really mix and match a lot of different ingredients to suit your current craving.

For instance, this batch is pepitas, dried cherries, vanilla chips, coconut oil, and maple syrup. But it could be apricots, flaxseed, peanut butter and agave if I wanted. Or any sort of combination you want, really. Also, they’re really easy to make and just as delicious as the really expensive hippie ones you get at the fancy organic coffeeshops and the like.

This is the dry portion of my granola bars:

1 2/3 cup quick cooking oats
1/3 cup oat flour (you can just pulse oats in a food processor until ground fine)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup pepitas
1 cup chopped dried cherries
1/2 cup vanilla chips
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt

Mix these all together and set aside.

Now for the glue that holds the delicious bits together:

6 tablespoons coconut oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup maple syrup
2 tablespoons corn syrup
1 tablespoon water

Mix thoroughly and proceed to combine with the dry ingredients. Pour into a 8x8 baking dish that was lined with parchment and press down firmly.

Bake in a 350F oven for 40 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown.

Let cool completely in the pan before cutting. These will stay soft and chewy for quite a few days if wrapped well and stored in the refrigerator.

Notes:

You could do any sort of combination of tasty mix-ins. I used about 2 1/2 cups worth of ingredients between the chips, seeds, and cherries. Whatever combination of ingredients that equals to approximately 2-3 cups would work fine in this recipe.
I may have used a bit too much coconut oil. The original recipe called for the same amount of melted butter, so I thought a straight substitution would be fine. I think 4 tablespoons of oil would have been fine still.
I used maple syrup. Honey, corn syrup, agave, or another sugary syrup would probably go well in these. I’m thinking about using molasses or sorghum next time.
1/3 cup of peanut (or another nut) butter adds a great flavor as well as helps keep the granola bars moist and chewy longer.

Char Siu Bao

Mon, 12 Mar 2012 00:25:20 -0500

Okay, so my char siu bao (which is basically a Chinese steamed bun with bbq pork inside) are not the prettiest, and the dough to meat ratio was a bit skewed, but holy cow they were delicious. They were like hot little clouds stuffed with meat candy. Puffy yeasty buns with sweet, spicy, and piping hot meat filling. What’s not to love?

Start with 3/4 cup warm water and mix in 1 1/2 teaspoons of instant yeast and 2 tablespoons of oil.

Sift 3 cups of flour, 2 tablespoons of sugar, and 2 teaspoons of baking powder into a bowl, make a hole in the middle, and add the liquid.

Slowly incorporate the flour into the liquid and mix until you get a loose, shaggy-looking mixture.

Turn it out and knead by hand for at least 5 minutes, or until the dough is elastic and soft.

Reform into a ball and place into an oiled bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled.

Chop up 2 cups of leftover pork and mix in 2 tablespoons of hoisin, 2 tablespoons of honey, 1 tablespoon of dark soy sauce, and 1 teaspoon of sesame oil.

Cut the dough into 10 equal portions, flatten and roll out into a 4 or 5 inch disc. Stuff with a tablespoon or two of meat filling and pleat.

Place onto a steamer basket and steam for 10 minutes. Eat piping hot.

Tonkotsu Ramen

Tue, 28 Feb 2012 00:38:25 -0600

Look at this. Just look. This right here is perfection in a bowl. Tonkotsu ramen with char siu and a boiled egg. I really think this was the best dish I’ve made in quite some time. Everything about this tasted perfect, from the meat, to the broth, to the noodles to the egg.

But holy cow that was way too time consuming. From here on out, I’m going to a restaurant for a bowl. Delicious? Heck yeah. Worth the effort? Maybe this once, but I don’t know if I’d make it again. It’s not difficult, but there’s a lot of steps and time spent in the kitchen waiting.

Right here is where the magic begins. This is just under five pounds of split pig’s feet. From these ugly babies is where you get all the body and flavor of the broth.

To help cut down the cooking time, I used a pressure cooker. To begin, I covered the pig feet with four quarts of water and let boil for 30 minutes. This gets a lot of the nasty bits of blood out of the feet, resulting in a cleaner looking and tasting broth in the end.

Remove and rinse the feet in cold water to make sure they are clean and ready to cool fully.

Add the pig feet back to the pot and place a pound of chicken bones (wing tips work great) in as well. Cover with cold water and bring to a boil again, skimming frequently.

While you skim the stock, heat up a 1/2” of oil in a pan and fry a 2” knob of ginger, sliced thinly and 5-6 cloves of garlic until golden brown and fragrant. Also fry up a large onion, sliced as thin as possible.

Drain and set these aside.

When the stock is skimmed nicely, add the onion, garlic, and ginger to the pot, close the lid up, and cook under 15psi for 2 hours.

When you finally pop the lid off, you get this amazingly velvety and fragrant stock. Strain and reserve the stock for the soup. I like to do this the night before and refrigerate, so you can skim off another layer of fat, resulting in an even cleaner mouthfeel in the end.

To serve, I heated up 3 cups of the stock in a sauce pan. To that, I whisked in a mixture of 1 tablespoon tahini, 2 cloves of grated garlic, 1 tsp kosher salt, 1 teaspoon mirin, and 1/8 teaspoon white pepper.

Cook your noodles to preference, pour the broth over the top, and top as desired. I added freshly roasted char siu, a boiled egg, scallion, sesame seed, and nori.

Slurp until the bowl is empty, repeat until full.

Ingredient Lists

Tonkotsu Base

5 pounds split and rinsed pig feet
1 pound chicken bones
2” knob of ginger, sliced thinly
5-6 cloves of garlic
1 large onion, sliced thinly

Water
Oil for frying

Tonkotsu Broth

3 cups tonkotsu base
1 tbl tahini
2 cloves of garlic, grated
1 tsp kosher salt
1tsp mirin
1/8 tsp white pepper
Freshly cooked noodles

Condiments to garnish, like roasted meat, boiled egg, strips of nori, scallion, sesame seed, etc.

Blood Orange Curd

Sat, 25 Feb 2012 22:42:42 -0600

Yum. I love when blood oranges are in season. They’re so much more complex, flavorful, and beautiful than valencia or navel oranges. Most of the time I just eat them solo or drink the juice. But, having a craving for something a bit sweeter, I decided to make some curd. Fruit curds are simple enough, lots of egg yolk, a mound of sugar, and some fruit is all that’s required.

12 egg yolks
1 cup sugar
1 cup blood orange juice
2 sticks butter, chilled and sliced
2 tablespoons blood orange zest

Mix the first three ingredients together in a double boiler and place over a pan of simmering water. Whisk the mixture continually until it begins to foam and thicken. Continue until the blood orange mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.

Pull off the heat and whisk the butter and zest into the liquid. Pour into a container to store. Strain first for a smoother texture.

Serve on cake, fresh biscuits or scones, ice cream, or just by itself, eaten with a spoon.

Angel Food Cake

Fri, 24 Feb 2012 00:46:55 -0600

Because of other fun times in the kitchen, I recently found myself with a large glass bowl with a dozen egg whites left sitting on the counter. I could do meringues. I could make the world’s most boring omelet. Or, I could make angel food cake. Who doesn’t love angel food cake? It’s light, it’s sweet, and it’s fairly hard to screw up. What’s not to love?!

Ingredient List

1 1/4 cup sifted cake flour
1 1/2 cup white sugar
1 1/2 cup egg whites, room temperature
1 tsp cream of tartar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbl fresh lemon juice
2 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat an oven to 350F and have a 10” angel food/tube pan ready to go.

Sift together 3/4 cup sugar with the cake flour and set aside.

Beat egg whites until foamy. Add the cream of tartar, lemon juice, and salt. Whip until soft peaks start to form. Beat in the second 3/4 cup sugar, a tablespoon or so at a time. Continue beating until the egg whites form stiff peaks.

Sift the flour over the egg whites, about a quarter of the amount at a time. Gently and quickly fold the flour into the egg whites, being careful to not deflate the peaks too much.

Pour batter into the tube pan and run a large knife through the middle to deflate any large air pockets. Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Immediately after baking, invert the pan on the neck of a wine bottle or a glass and let cool. This allows the cake to cool without deflating and shrinking.

When cooled, run a knife around the edges of the cake and turn out.

Serve with a fruit sauce, whipped cream, or just by itself with a glass of milk.

Beef Tongue Bulgogi

Fri, 17 Feb 2012 12:09:22 -0600

This was probably one of the more interesting experiments I’ve done lately. I’ve made bulgogi numerous times in the past, but I’ve usually stuck to pork belly or “normal” cuts of beef for the dish. Well, not this time. I picked up an untrimmed cow’s tongue for cheap, and decided to see if it would work.

It did, quite wonderfully too. So many times you get slices of beef that are sliced so thin that there’s almost no texture to it and will just fall apart in your mouth. Even after a long soak in marinade, the sliced tongue had a slight chew to it, which was nice.

This tongue was about 3 pounds untrimmed. After taking the outer membrane and extra fat off, it looked like this and just over 2 pounds remained.

Freeze for at least an hour and slice as thinly as possible.

Mix with the usual marinade, which consists of:

Juice of 1 asian apple and 1 onion pureed and strained
1/4 cup of dark soy sauce
3-4 cloves of garlic, minced
3 tablespoons fish sauce
2 tablespoons mirin
2 tablespoons sesame oil
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
Pinch of black pepper

This time, I added a tablespoon or so of Korean chili flake to the marinade as well.

Place the meat in the liquid and let marinate for at least an hour, overnight is best.

Pull your container of meat out and let sit on the counter for at least an hour prior to cooking.

I like to grill my meat over a charcoal grill as blazing hot as possible. Slap the meat on the grate and cook for maybe 30 seconds a side. Serve with sesame seeds, sliced scallion, kimchi, and steamed rice.

Ingredient List

2 pounds thinly sliced beef tongue
Juice of 1 asian apple and 1 onion pureed and strained
1/4 cup of dark soy sauce
3-4 cloves of garlic, minced
3 tablespoons fish sauce
2 tablespoons mirin
2 tablespoons sesame oil
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
Pinch of black pepper
Sesame seed
Rice

Radish and Carrot Kimchi

Wed, 15 Feb 2012 01:05:52 -0600

In celebration of the first annual kimchi week ever, I decided to make a different kind of kimchi than normal this last weekend. Instead of the usual chili paste + napa cabbage + fermentation, I decided to make something lighter, more colorful, and a lot less time-consuming.

Ingredient List

1 cup thinly sliced radish
1 cup shredded carrot
1 cup cold water
1/4 cup kosher salt

3 scallions, sliced thin
3 tbl Korean chili flake (less if you’re using generic chili flake, it is much hotter)
3 tbl fish sauce
4 cloves of garlic, finely minced
1 tsp sugar
Sesame seeds for garnish

Wash and thinly slice radish into rounds. Peel and julienne (or shave into ribbons like I did) the carrots. Cover with cold water and salt and let sit for at least 10 minutes.

Mix the scallion, chili flake, fish sauce, garlic, and sugar together to form a loose paste.

Rinse the veggies thoroughly and let drain. Combine with the kimchi paste and let sit at room temperature for at least a half an hour. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and enjoy this crunchy, slightly salty, and slightly fiery side dish with some steamed rice.

Ribeye and Roasted Asparagus with Beef Fat Hollandaise

Sat, 11 Feb 2012 15:21:37 -0600

Just a simple meal this time. I saw a nice ribeye on sale at the store and the asparagus looked nice and crisp, so I combined the two for a nice late night meal (and leftovers for breakfast too).

This is a pretty straight forward recipe.

1 ribeye steak, at least 1.5” thick, 2” or more preferably
Salt and pepper
Canola oil

1 pound fresh asparagus, woody ends trimmed
2 egg yolks
1/4 cup reserved beef fat (or enough melted butter to make up the difference)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Salt and pepper
Olive oil
Cayenne pepper

Let the ribeye come to room temperature. Lightly oil and salt all sides of the steak. Sear the fat side of the pan until dark brown and crispy. Sear one side of the steak for approximately 45 seconds, flip and immediately place in a 500F oven for 5 minutes. Pull out, flip and cook for another 4-5 minutes.

I personally like to shoot for 140F for my ribeyes, otherwise the fat ends up undercooked and chewy.

Let the steak rest under some aluminum foil for at least 10 minutes. This also gives you time to cook the asparagus.

Place the asparagus on a sheet pan with a drizzle of olive oil and roast in the oven for 10 minutes or until just tender.

While the asparagus is roasting, beat the two egg yolks together with the tablespoon of lemon juice in a stainless steel bowl until thickened and frothy. Place over a pot of simmering water and whisk constantly while drizzling in the beef fat and butter mixture. Keep whisking until hot and thick. Remove from the heat and whisk in a pinch of salt and a pinch of cayenne pepper. Pour over asparagus immediately.

Steamed Mussels with Roasted Tomatoes and Leeks

Sat, 04 Feb 2012 17:46:00 -0600

Here it is. If I had to pick a last meal, I think a huge bowl of steamed mussels would be right up there at the top of my list of potentials. There’s something amazing going on when you steam mussels with a bit of delicious vegetable and some wine. When the shells open up, the resulting broth in the bottom of the pan is absolutely to die for. When I order mussels the actual meat is secondary to that delicious ambrosia in the bottom of the bowl, just waiting to be sopped up with a hunk of fresh baguette or even drunk straight out of the dish.

Also, it’s shockingly easy to make.

Ingredients

1 pint grape tomatoes
1 leek, washed and sliced thin
3-4 cloves of garlic, smashed
1 medium shallot, minced finely
2 cups mild white wine (I used an unoaked chardonnay)
4 tablespoons of butter
Fresh herbs of your choice (I used thyme and parsley)
Cleaned and de-bearded mussels (a pound a person seems to be sufficient)
Olive oil
Salt and pepper

Lay the sliced leek, tomato, and garlic out on a baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Roast in a 400F oven for at least 30 minutes, or until soft and tender. Set aside and let cool.

When ready to steam the mussels, saute the shallot in a tablespoon of butter and a drizzle of oil until translucent. Add in the roasted veggies and let cook over a medium heat for a minute or two. Place the cleaned mussels in the pan, add some fresh herbs, and pour the 2 cups of white wine over. Cover and let steam until the majority of the mussels have steamed, approximately 8-9 minutes. If after this amount of time some of the mussels have not opened, discard them, for they probably died before cooking.

Place the mussels in a large bowl and pour the broth over top. Serve with fresh french fries or a baguette.

Buckwheat Pancakes

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 10:45:00 -0600

When I was young, one of my favorite breakfasts to wake up to was buckwheat pancakes with sausage, drenched in good maple syrup and fresh butter.

After not being able to find buckwheat at a reasonable price for quite some time, I stumbled upon a big bag of it a few weeks ago. Finally I can shovel these delicious, rich pancakes in my mouth once again.

Mix together 3/4 cup AP flour, 3/4 cup buckwheat flour, 3 tbl of sugar (I used brown sugar), 1/2 tsp salt, and 1 tsp baking soda. Whisk together to combine.

Mix in 3 tbl of melted unsalted butter.

Crack an egg into 2 cups of good buttermilk.

Fold the buttermilk into the dry ingredients and mix until just combined, yet still lumpy.

Fry in a lightly greased skilled for 3-4 minutes on one side, or until fairly bubbly. Flip and fry for another 2 minutes.

Serve with good Grade B maple syrup or sorghum syrup and lots of fresh butter.

Ingredient List

3/4 cup AP flour
3/4 cup buckwheat flour
3 tbl sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
3tbl melted unsalted butter
1 egg
2 cups buttermilk

In Depth: Buttermilk Fried Chicken

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 00:12:55 -0600

Inspired by Ad Hoc at Home, I decided to fry up a chicken for dinner this last Sunday.

This chicken is fantastic. The heavily flavored brine adds a nice subtle flavor and juiciness to the final product, and shallow frying the pieces makes for an incredibly dark brown and crunchy crust, which is what everyone wants, right?

When I pulled the recipe up, I realized I didn’t have any honey. After hunting through my pantry, I saw a jug of super dark and delicious Grade B maple syrup. People love chicken and waffles, drenched in syrup, so why not add it to the brine itself, hm?

Also, when I pulled my chicken out, I realized the package had 2 split breasts, 4 thighs, and 2 intact butts. Wow. Oh well, when live gives me a mutant chicken, I guess I just have to go with it.

Despite having to modify the ingredient list slightly, as well as getting a mutant chicken, this came out wonderfully, and I would suggest anyone with enough time and oil to fry up this chicken as well.

This is my brine: 8 cups of water, 1/2 cup salt, 1/8 cup maple syrup, 6 bay leaves (fresh is better if you have it), 1/2 head garlic, split open, 1 tablespoon peppercorns, a small bunch of thyme, and a lemon split in half and juiced.

Combine and boil for a minute, allowing for the salt to dissolve. Let cool to room temperature before use.

Pour over the chicken pieces and chill for 8-12 hours.

Pull the chicken out at least an hour before cooking. Rinse and let come to room temperature.

While waiting for the chicken to come to temperature, make the coating. This is 3 cups AP flour, 1/8 cup garlic powder, 2 tsp smoked paprika, 1 tsp cayenne, 2 tsp kosher salt, and 1/2 tsp black pepper. Mix up to combine.

Also, just before frying, get another bowl and fill with 2 cups of buttermilk for dipping.

When you’re ready to fry, dip the chicken in the flour to coat.

Dip in the buttermilk, then back into the flour mixture to get a thicker coating on the skin.

Fry at 320F in a dutch oven or large skillet with at least 2” of oil in the pan (it should not fill more than a third of the pan’s height). It should take 10-12 minutes for the chicken to be golden brown and ready to eat.

After frying the chicken, toss in a few stems of thyme in the oil and let crisp up. Toss with the chicken and serve.

I served my fried chicken with red beans and rice and brussels sprouts roasted with garlic.

Ingredient List

Brine

8 cups water
1/2 cup kosher salt
1/8 cup maple syrup
6 bay leaves
1/2 head of garlic, cut horizontally
1 tbl black peppercorns
4-6 thyme sprigs
Grated zest and juice of 1 large lemon

Coating
3 cups all purpose flour
1/8 cup garlic powder
1/8 cup onion powder
2 tsp smoked paprika
2 tsp cayenne
2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

2 cups buttermilk
Peanut oil (or another high temp oil) for frying