Braised Lamb Shanks and Saffron Pearl Couscous with Cranberries and Almonds

I always feel like I’m committing a culinary faux pas braising in the middle of June. I try my best to keep things seasonal but it just doesn’t happen when lamb shanks are on sale. How can I say no when there's marrow involved? Lamb shanks have to be braised (I honestly can't think of any other way to cook a shank cut) but I refuse to turn on the oven for 4 hours so I put the Le Creuset to good use on the stovetop.

I tied the lamb shanks so they would keep their shape while cooking but it was futile. After about an hour of cooking, the shanks contorted out of the strings entirely. Same thing happened when I made Osso Buco. meh, oh well.

Red Wine Braised Lamb Shank
2 lbs lamb shanks, roughly 2 1/2 to 3 inches thick
1 medium onion, small dice
1 medium carrot, small dice
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp tomato paste
3 - 4 large thyme sprigs
2 bay leaves
1 1/2 C dry red wine
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Olive, vegetable, or canola oil
Water or chicken stock as needed
Chopped parsley or chiffonade basil for garnish

Salt and pepper the lamb shanks. Tie the shanks around the perimeter tightly with a piece of twine.

Heat 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil in a Dutch oven over medium high heat. Brown the lamb shanks on all sides, paying particular attention to the two flat sides. Remove the shanks and set aside.

Turn the heat down to medium and add the diced onion, diced carrots, and a large pinch of salt to the pan. Cook the vegetables, stirring occasionally and scrape up the brown bits, until they are translucent. Then add the tomato paste and minced garlic and cook for 30 seconds to a minute for the tomato paste to slightly caramelize. Return the shanks and any accumulated juices to the pan, and add the red wine, thyme, bay leaf, some more salt and pepper, and enough chicken stock or water to barely cover the shanks. Bring the contents up to a boil first then lower the heat to a bare simmer. Cover and cook for 3 - 4 hours or until the shanks are falling apart soft.

When the shanks have finished cooking, gently take them out of the pan and set aside. Take out the bay leaves and the thyme sprig. Turn the heat up to medium and reduce the sauce by half or until it is thick and syrupy. Serve the sauce on top of the lamb shanks and top with a little chopped basil or parsley if desired.

This was the perfect opportunity to cook up the Israeli or pearl couscous I got from Trader Joes. I hate how expensive (8 oz. for $3) this stuff is because I am seriously hooked! It looks so cute and bubbly and each grain, though it's more like a pasta than a grain, is more distinct and has more chew than regular couscous. While looking for a cheaper source, I found a few items on Amazon but I don't want 12 8oz. boxes or one 22 pound bag of it, so the search continues.

I cooked the couscous in a little chicken stock with saffron and added some cranberries and some toasted almonds but pine nuts would be just as good. Next time, I would chop up the cranberries so they can mingle better with the couscous. Steven was really skeptical about the cranberries with the saffron but it really works. The recipe on the back of the couscous box called for raisins so I didn't see why I couldn't sub some cranberries instead. I've never been a fan of raisins but I can eat dried cranberries by the handful. It's one of the few things I can justify buying at Costco. But if raisins are your thing, by all means use them.

Saffron Israeli Couscous with Cranberries and Almonds
serves 4

8 oz. (about 1 1/3 C) Israeli Couscous
1 3/4 C + more if needed chicken stock
Large pinch of saffron
1/4 C dried cranberries, chopped
1/4 C toasted almond slices or slivers or pine nuts
2 Tbsp chopped chives (or sub with parsley)
2 Tbsp chopped parsley
2 Tbsp butter
Salt and pepper to taste
Olive oil

Steep the saffron threads in 1/4 cup of hot but not boiling chicken stock for 15 - 20 minutes.

Bring the remaining half cup of chicken stock to a boil and set aside.

Heat 2 teaspoons of olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the couscous and toast until the pasta is golden brown. Turn the heat down to low and add the saffron liquid, hot chicken stock and some salt and pepper and simmer covered until all of the liquid has been absorbed and the couscous is soft with a slight chew, add more stock or water if necessary, about 12 minutes.

Off heat stir in the cranberries, herbs, and tablespoon of butter. Season with more salt and pepper if needed. Top with toasted almonds or pine nuts.

Basil Fried Rice

Basil fried rice and pan fried salted mackerel

I made a lot of fried rice during the school year. That and ramen (I'm very particular about my ramen)were my staples. The only constants for fried rice is leftover rice, which we always have plenty of, and egg. I would argue you need some sort of herb, which most of the time means green onion, in this case basil, but again that's debatable. If I'm feeling particularly fancy, I'll throw in some seafood (Trader Joe's seafood mix is great for this) or veggies, in an attempt to be healthy. But simple is good too, and fried rice doesn't get simpler than this.

The fancy stuff: Seafood and Veggies Fried Rice with XO Sauce

The basil came from my Aerogarden, a nifty hydroponic tabletop garden. It's pretty sweet but really expensive. If I hadn't gotten it as a gift I would have never considered buying one.

It started as this... (week 2)

aww, so cute!

Grew into this... (week 3)

Then I forgot to keep track...

and it turned into this!

Ahh! (Mint, Basil, Dill, Thyme, Parsley, Purple Basil, and Chives)

It would have been a smarter move to start the Aerogarden in the fall so I could have fresh herbs in the Winter but I wanted to harvest it for E's wedding. I was delusional in thinking that a tabletop garden could produce enough herbs for dinner for 40. I guess I could be growing this stuff outside with all the lovely weather we've been having in Sea-town, but having everything in the kitchen is pretty convenient.

Some herbs are growing better than others. The parsley is pretty slow but the dill and basil plants are growing like crazy and I'm constantly having to prune them. Short of eating the stuff straight, (I'm not that hardcore), I've been adding basil to everything. It worked out pretty nicely in fried rice (I don't think dill would go over as well).

Basil Fried Rice
serves 2

2 C cooked, cold, leftover rice from day before
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 C basil leaves, chopped right before adding to prevent blackening
1/2 tsp kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 - 2 Tbsp soy sauce (as desired, more soy sauce = browner rice)
1 Tbsp vegetable or canola oil (sometimes I use bacon fat, mmm!)

Heat the cooking oil over medium high heat in a nonstick skillet or wok. Add the rice and cook for 2 - 3 minutes. Break up any clumps of rice and cook until the rice is steamy hot. Add the salt and some pepper.

Push all the rice to one side to clear an area of the skillet. Add the beaten eggs to the open spot in the pan and stir to cook the eggs. When the eggs are almost fully cooked but still runny, stir it into the rice and add the soy sauce.

Take the pan off heat, roughly chop or tear the basil, and stir it into the rice. Add just seasoning with more salt if necessary.

-or- w/ Green Onions instead of Basil
1 to 2 (depending on the size and your preferences) green onions, thinly sliced

Instead of adding the green onions at the end like with the basil, add the green onions to the cooking oil before adding the rice and cook until it's fragrant, about 30 seconds, then add the rice and proceed with the rest of the recipe.

Raspberry Lemon Cream Tart

Whoops! Only had 2 minutes to take pics and forgot to take the tart out of the pan.

Short and sweet recipe post today! I still had some cream cheese leftover from the wedding and the giant 3 pound Costco tub was taking up valuable fridge space. I was trying to do something with it but couldn't manage to use all of it. Then I made way too much filling for one tart shell so now not only is the gargantuan tub still sitting in the fridge, but I also have a container of whipped filling taking up even more room. Crap! Now I'll have to think of something else to use up the whipped filling but honestly I'll probably just end up eating it with some fresh fruit.

Too bad I didn't get a photo of the sliced tart because the hidden layer of raspberry jam is a nice surprise-an idea I took from Dorie Greenspan's Hidden Berry Cheesecake. Speaking of which, I bet this recipe would work just as well with blackberry jam and fresh blackberries.

Raspberry and Lemon Cream Tart
1 Prebaked Sweet Tart Crust
2 oz. cream cheese
3 Tbsp granulated sugar
1/2 C heavy cream or whipping cream
1/4 C lemon curd
1/4 C raspberry jam, preferably seedless
1 C fresh raspberries

I scaled the recipe down to make enough filling for one tart. Depending on the sweetness of your lemon curd, you may want to use less sugar. I was using store-bought lemon curd (Trader Joe's makes a good one) and it's very sweet so I used 2 tablespoons of sugar. Homemade lemon curd is more tangy so you may need to use 3 tablespoons of sugar.

With a whisk attachment, using a stand mixer or hand mixer, beat the cream cheese and sugar on medium high speed until fluffy. Slowly drizzle in the whipping cream and whip until stiff peaks form. Fold in the lemon curd.

Spread the raspberry jam on the bottom of the baked tart shell. Then add the lemon cream cheese mixture. Top with raspberries and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes before serving.

Prebaked Flaky Pate Sucree
for an 8 or 9 inch pan

1 C flour
1/3 C confectioner's sugar
1/4 tsp salt
6 Tbsp cold butter, cut into 6 pieces
1 egg yolk
2 Tbsp cold milk or ice water
1/2 tsp of vanilla

Add the flour, confectioner's sugar, and salt together in a food processor and pulse once or twice to combined. Add the pieces of butter and pulse until the butter pieces are no bigger than a pea. Alternatively use a fork or pastry cutter to cut in the butter, or freeze the butter and coarsely grate it then use your fingers and rub the pieces into the flour. It is very important to keep the butter cold otherwise it will melt and make the crust greasy and you'll lose all the flaky layers.

Mix the egg yolk, milk, and vanilla together. Drizzle the mixture over the butter and flour mix in the food processor. Pulse again until the dough start to form large clumps. If it looks too dry add a little more milk.

Scrape the dough onto a large piece of plastic wrap and press the clumps together to form a disc. Wrap the dough in the plastic wrap and chill at least an hour up to overnight. Or store it in the freezer for as long as you want.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Lightly flour a work surface and rolling pin and roll out the dough to into a large circle. Move the crust around often to make sure it doesn't stick to your work surface.

Transfer the dough to an 8 or 9 inch tart pan. To make this easier, drape the dough over the rolling pin and lay it over the pan. Lift the edges of the crust and gently press the dough down into the pan. Roll over the top of the pan with a rolling pin to trim any overhanging dough.

Prick the surface of the dough with a fork. Press a sheet of aluminum foil onto a crust and add pie weights, beans, or clean pennies on top. I like using pennies because they are the best heat conductor. Bake on the middle rack for 25 minutes. Remove the foil and baking weights (be careful the weights will be very hot!) and return the crust to the oven to bake for another 10 or so minutes until it is golden. Cool to room temperature before filling

I Catered a Wedding Part 2: Wedding Cupcakes

Tahitian Vanilla Cake with Raspberry Coulis and Matcha Green Tea Frosting

Most of the wedding food was tested repeatedly but none as extensively as the wedding cakes. Even if the food was mediocre, I wanted E.’s cakes to be perfect. In between studying and midterms, I tweaked and adjusted the cake recipes all quarter long. I stopped baking everything else and focused solely on the cake for 2 months. I’ve never spent this long developing and testing a recipe. All that work was worth it because the cupcakes are some of the best things I’ve ever baked.

The Planning
When E. and I first started planning many months ago, we quickly settled on cupcakes instead of a traditional tiered wedding cake. Cupcakes are very trendy right now but we chose them for more practical purposes. A tiered cake would take days to put together and with me doing all of the food, it just wasn’t a feasible option. Cupcakes are also great for quality control. I can taste the cupcakes after baking to make sure it turned out okay and no one will be any the wiser. It would be painfully obvious if a chunk was missing from a large wedding cake.

For variety, we would have both yellow and chocolate flavors. E. loves green tea so that had to be worked in somehow. In addition to frosting the cupcakes would also have a filling, just like a layer cake, because I wanted them to have a little extra something. After all, they're for a wedding!

At first, we planned to make 2 dozen of each flavor but then we upped the number to 3 dozen each in case guests wanted to try both flavors.

Flavor Development & Recipe Testing
I originally planned to make a green tea buttercream but buttercream can be very temperamental. The last thing I wanted was buttercream breaking the night before the wedding, the frosting melting the day of, or hard and dense frosting if the cake was served too chilled. For simplicity sake I went with a cream cheese frosting because it’s easier to make and very stable.

I paired the green tea frosting with the yellow cake and first tried lemon curd as the filling, but in the end, raspberry coulis complemented the tea even better. The yellow, red, and green colors made it the perfect Springtime cupcake. Originally, I planned to make an almond buttermilk cake, but the almond and buttermilk flavors were lost under the raspberry and green tea flavors. I nixed that idea and decided to go with the classic vanilla. Instead of using extract, I used a Tahitian vanilla beans for a rich floral flavor to complement the fruit filling and grassy notes of the matcha.


I won't be writing about E.'s chocolate cupcake because I'd like to keep that recipe just for her. Out of all the wedding food, I spent the longest time working on this one.

Baking the Cakes
It was Friday morning, the day before the wedding, and I was still working on the yellow cake. My last attempt making a yellow cake led to my desperate cry for help on this blog. I want to give a really a big thank you for everyone who left suggestions. I told E. about my problems and she told me to just follow a recipe in a cookbook. If I was a sensible person I would have taken her advice and stuck to a recipe. But I've confessed before about how I can never follow a recipe. Less than 24 hours before the wedding, it still holds true, I still can’t follow a recipe. I’m pretty sure I have a problem and I need professional help.

But in my defense, after looking at nearly 2 dozen recipes, none of them fit my specifications. Either they called for too many eggs or cake flour or looked too similar to the recipe I tried already. Call me stubborn or just plain stupid, but I went with my gut and decided to give my crazy experimentation another go.

Instead of creaming the butter and beating in eggs, I decided to go with a sponge cake technique, beating egg whites to soft peaks and beating the egg yolks and whole egg separately to ribbon stage. I also added in some baking powder because I wanted as much leavening as possible for the fluffiest cake using all purpose flour instead of cake flour. As the cakes baked in the oven, I crossed my fingers hoping that this recipe worked, because I was running seriously low on time. When the cakes came out, they looked fine, no gross deformities and no cave-ins. I broke one in half to inspect the crumb and was completely blown away at how they turned out. The cake was airy and fluffy and looked like a cake made with cake flour. It was moist and flavorful, and substantial enough to be a cupcake. I simply couldn't believe I could make a cake like that without cake flour. Not to be tooting my own horn or anything but this cake was perfect.

I baked the chocolate cupcakes in the afternoon and was so worried something disastrous would happen. Nothing had happened yet but something bad was bound to happen right? I'm always very pessimistic when it comes to baking for an important event.

I made the frostings later that night and finally finished filling and frosting the cakes at 12pm. Then I successfully managed to fit 6 dozen cupcakes in 2 very large hotel pans in our tiny fridge and hope the fridge didn't decide to give out overnight. If I had more time and more piping experience I would have decorated the cakes more elaborately but I did the best I could after 10 hours of food prep. I’m really glad I bought this cupcake decorating set because the 1M tip is essential for making the large frosting swirl.

The cakes were the pièce de résistance and I was immensely proud of them. The texture of the cakes were perfectly moist and fluffy and the flavors were well balanced and harmonious. I wished I snapped more pics of the process but I was totally pooped.

Thank you Veronica for showing me the gorgeous paper cupcake wrappers. The moment I saw those wrappers on your site I immediately forwarded the link to E. and we both fell in love with them. They completed the cupcakes and were the perfect finishing touch!

Yellow Cake
makes 14 – 16 cupcakes or 2 8 inch cakes

3.5 oz. sifted, all purpose flour
1 oz. cornstarch, sifted
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 C melted butter
1/4 C vegetable or canola oil
3 large eggs
1/2 vanilla bean, sliced lengthwise and scraped or 1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 C granulated sugar
1/8 tsp cream of tartar
2 tbsp whole milk

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Add the sifted flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt into a bowl. Whisk it together to evenly mix the ingredients. In a separate bowl, mix the oil and melted butter.

Separate the eggs and put 2 egg whites into a mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer. Make sure the bowl is very clean and dry because any fat or water in the bowl will interfere with the egg whites whipping properly. With a whisk attachment, whip the whites on medium high until they are foamy. Add the cream of tartar and continue whisking. When the mixture starts gaining volume, slowing add 1/4 C of granulated sugar. Whisk until soft peaks form. If you lift up the whisk attachment and the mixture is still shiny and runny and looks like, keep whipping, you’re almost at the soft peaks stage. Scrape the whites into another clean bowl and set aside.

Add the 3 egg yolks, remaining egg white, 1/2 C of granulated sugar, and scraped vanilla bean seeds to the mixing bowl or stand mixer bowl. Whisk this mixture on medium high until the mixture is thick and pale yellow. Lift up the whisk and the mixture should fall back into the bowl like sheets of ribbon. The trail should be visible on the surface for 3 seconds before disappearing.

Sift in half of the flour mixture and carefully fold the flour into the egg mixture. When the flour is nearly almost all folded in, add the milk and half of the oil and butter mix, and continue folding. Make sure to bring up any oil that sinks to the bottom of the batter. Sift the remaining flour mixture into the batter, and continue folding, add the remaining oil and butter mixture and fold a few more times. Before the batter is completely mixed, scrape in 1/3 of the egg whites and continue folding. Then scrape in all of the egg whites and fold until no streaks remain.

Fill the cupcake tin 3/4 of the way full or divide the batter equally between 2 cake pans.

Bake at 350 for 20 – 22 minutes (may need a longer time for cake pans), or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean and the top springs back when lightly pressed on.

Cool to room temperature before frosting.

I know others were also looking for a good yellow cake recipe. If you try this recipe let me know what you think!

I Catered a Wedding

It’s Wednesday now right? A week of studying, 2 finals, 3 days of food prep, a wedding, and 3 days of downtime including much needed sleep brings me to where I am now. I think I’ve finally recovered enough to form coherent thoughts again. A week ago today, I finished my last exam of the quarter and with that, officially finished my first year of medical school! That thought hasn't completely sunk in yet because right after the exam, I started on the wedding food.

Wednesday:
I tried to make a schedule for the next two days and time points for when food should be chopped, cooked, or baked. I knew it wouldn’t be followed but I had to at least try to delude myself into thinking there was going to be some sort of organization.

Thursday:
E. and I hit up Costco, the local veggie stand, Trader Joes, and 2 local grocery stores for all the food. That night, I made seedless blackberry puree for the salad dressing, 6 dozen gougeres, and the Marsala cream sauce.

Friday:
The majority of Friday was devoted to wedding cupcakes, which deserve their own post.

S. came over to help me with the lasagnas. She also had the very important job of helping me keep it together in case I had a complete meltdown. Luckily, no meltdown. And even better, we successfully put together 2 enormous spinach and artichoke lasagnas.


quadruple the ingredients of a 9 x 13 lasagna

Saturday:
AM: Steven and I packed every appliance, gadget, and cooking tool I could possibly need in the trunk. We had to turn around a few times because I nearly forgot a cookie sheet and my camera. The majority of the prep had to be done before the ceremony but luckily I had 3 awesome helpers, S., D., and Steven. In the 2 hours before the ceremony we had to make the orzo salad, blackberry vinaigrette, balsamic vinaigrette, cucumber sandwiches, and prep 5 pounds of vegetables.

We tackled the orzo salad first. A pound of orzo is deceptively small so I mistakenly thought I could cook 3 pounds of it in only 5 quarts of water. Big mistake. After a few minutes, the orzo sucked up all of the water and the contents of the pot turned into a starchy, bubbly, molten pot of deadly pasta lava. There was definitely a struggle in the great Orzo Battle of 2009, but our heroic Steven successfully managed to get all of the orzo strained, rinsed, and drained, without sustaining any 2nd degree burns. And he did it all using only this tiny sieve.

Meanwhile, I worked on the blackberry vinaigrette. I was following my own recipe but it just didn’t taste right. The blackberry puree I made on Thursday was too tart and I didn’t pack any sugar because none of my recipes called for it. Then I had the brilliant idea of...

wait for it...

diluting it with 7-Up!

First, the debacle with the orzo, then, who would have expected that high fructose corn syrup would be the secret ingredient.

Thank goodness there were no other major problems, otherwise my mental health would have been highly questionable. I won't bore you guys with the details of chopping 6 cucumbers, salt, pepper, and flouring 6 pounds of chicken breast, or how we expertly reheated the gougeres to piping hot perfection.

After the prep, I was able to sneak upstairs and take a few pictures. E. was hands down the most ethereal and angelic bride ever. If anyone disagrees with me I will first politely show you picture proof, and then if there is still disagreement, I will take you down. ;) Everything about the ceremony, the decorations, the music, the vows, flawlessly captured the beauty and essence of the couple, as individuals and together as husband and wife. All I can say is it’s hard to hold a camera still while crying. I’m just glad I wore waterproof mascara.


E.'s mom grew all of the flowers, made all of the arrangements, and decorated the venue

With timing being my main concern, my biggest accomplishment of the day was getting all of the food done at the same time so everything was hot and served at peak deliciousness. I had been bracing myself for something catastrophic for the last 2 days, but thankfully there were no disasters in the kitchen. Long story short, no burns, cuts, lost digits, food poisoning, and not a single stain on wedding clothes.

Oh and I seared 6 pounds of chicken in a satin dress and heels. Hell yeah!

Everything came out the way I was hoping it would and exceeded all of my expectations. I can now say that I’ve catered for 50 people. I’ve thought about starting a catering business on the side in the future, keyword being future. Now I know it’s definitely not something I would want to tackle again without enough counterspace, a second fridge, and a dishwasher in our kitchen. Washing everything by hand in a tiny sink is not an experience I would like to repeat. But in the end, it was a great feeling seeing everyone happy, wellfed, and having a good time. Whew!

appetizers included:
Cucumber and Arugula Sandwiches
Parmesan and Chive Gougeres

the menu:
Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette or Blackberry Vinaigrette
Spinach and Artichoke Lasagna
Spring Vegetables (asparagus, snow peas, fava beans) Sautéed with Mint
Chicken Scallopini with Mushrooms in Marsala Cream Sauce
Orzo Salad with Lemon, Cucumbers, and Dill

I want to say thank you, thank you, thank you to:

D. for being my prep bitch on Saturday and doing all of the grunt work--peeling fava beans, chopping snow peas, bell peppers. etc. I am so grateful. And you did the dishes afterwards. I don’t know how to properly say that you are really kickass.

S. for helping me with lasagnas on Friday and letting those lasagnas hijack your fridge space.

Steven for being the glue that held everything together on Saturday. You know how I work in the kitchen and I couldn’t have done this without you.

LA Trip and Bibimbap

Steven and I went on a short, laid back trip down to LA two weekends ago where we didn't do much but eat, our kind of vacation. It's ridiculous how much good food there is down in SoCal.

First stop: xiao long bao. I’d been dying for a fix since my last Vancouver, BC trip. Steven and I were debating if we should visit Din Tai Fung since they’re world renowned and we’d be within 10 minutes of the only North American branch. After asking both Steven’s sister who’s eaten there and Wandering Chopsticks, we heard that the wait is too long, the dumplings are tiny and overpriced so we decided it wasn’t worth it. We love our soup dumplings but we’re also poor students.

Instead, we visited both Mei Long Village and JJ's based on Wandering Chopsticks’ recommendations. The two restaurants are in the same complex, literally 30 feet away. Maybe we went at an off time, but the pork xiao long bao at Mei Longs barely had any soup. I was pretty bummed. The meat and the soup, albeit very little, was flavorful. The crab dumplings were, however, very mediocre just like WC said. We paid our bill and went to JJ’s, 2 shops away. Their pork dumplings had sooo much more soup. In the end it was a tossup for the pork soup dumplings, Steven preferred the flavor of Mei Long's, I preferred JJ. The crab dumplings at JJ were hands down much better, way more crab flavor and soup. Again just echoing what WC wrote in her original posts about the two dumping houses. The crab dumplings are definitely worthwhile but don’t bother with the sheng jian bao. They’re way too bready and have no soup. For sheng jian bao, WC recommended Kang Kang food court, which we went to later that night for shaved ice but didn’t have enough stomach room left for sheng jian bao.

Later that night, we visited SoCal’s famous Pinkberry. The original flavor is definitely the best. The original with raspberries, almonds, and chocolate made our night. Pass on the green tea froyo, it had barely any matcha flavor and it just didn't taste right. We recently tried some froyo at a place near UW campus and it didn’t come anywhere close to the wonders of Pinkberry. I have a feeling I’m gonna need a fix in the near future.

At around 10pm we met up with WC, who took us to her favorite Hong Kong café, Baccali. Milk tea plus condensed milk with endless refills, Malaysian style roast chicken with curried rice, salted fish and chicken fried rice, deep fried chicken wings, and beef chow fun. It was a diverse array of food but the concept works and tastes even better late at night. Steven and I ate so much, we were in pain for a bit. I think it was the free tea refills that did us in.

We started Day 2 off with lunch at In-n-Out. Animal style cheeseburgers and well done fries. The burgers were delicious and ridiculously cheap! I was expecting the “well-done” fries to be extra crispy but still fluffy on the inside, but these were fried all the way through so they just tasted dry and stale. I’ll skip these next time and just get the regular fries.

For dinner, we drove to Koreatown for Korean BBQ at Chung Kiwa. The seafood pancake was chock-full of delicious seafood but way too pricey at $18. The black angus kalbi and spicy pork (daeji bulgogi) were both very tasty. I liked the rice noodle sheets for wrapping the beef but Steven and I were more used to lettuce leaves. The waitstaff are very attentive and continually checked on us and cooked our food, even though we didn’t understand a word of Korean.

It was a delicious, calorie-filled trip but after 2 days of LA smog, it was good to be back home in Seattle. Thank you to Wandering Chopsticks for being our fearless leader at Baccali and Jen of Use Real Butter for your great restaurant list, I wish we had more time to check out all the fantastic places you recommended.

Now for a short recipe.


I think the most appropriate recipe to follow this trip report would be the bulgogi bibimbap photos I took over a month ago. My favorite is the dolsot bibimbap, bibimbap served in a big hot stone bowl. The crispy rice crust that forms along the side of the bowl is the best part. I have no idea where to buy those cool bowls and it’s probably too much trouble to mess with at home so I’ll leave that to the pros. Bibimbap literally means mixed rice and stirring it up is definitely the best part and looks even more delicious.



I normally throw bibimbap together and have no coherent recipe. I made it again yesterday and I’ve come to the conclusion that I probably won’t ever write down an exact recipe because it’s more work to get the exact measurements than to just wing it and throw stuff together. Cooked zucchini, grated carrot, leftover meat or tofu, steamed rice, fried egg, and bibimbap sauce are the bare minimal. It only takes me 15 minutes to make a bare bones version because I usually don’t go all out and make fresh bulgogi or marinated bean sprouts. Yesterday I covered a small 8 oz. salmon fillet with some the same marinade I use for kalbi, and roasted it in the toaster oven. Prepare as many of the sides as you like, it would take way too much time to make them all.

Bibimbap – Korean Mixed Rice
Steamed rice
Browned ground beef or tofu with a little soy sauce, sugar, and garlic, leftover bulgogi, spicy pork bulgogi, or kalbi
Kimchi
Grated carrot
Grated daikon
Zucchini, julienned and sautéed with salt in a little vegetable oil
Button mushrooms or shiitake mushrooms, sliced and sautéed with salt in vegetable oil, finish with sesame oil drizzle
Seasoned beans sprouts
Spinach
Seasame seeds for garnish
Fried egg for each serving
Bibimbap sauce

Bibimbap Sauce
Gochujang (or substitute Szechuan hot bean sauce – dou ban jiang)
Mix in sesame oil and thin with a little water
Optional: honey + rice vinegar to taste

Red Wine Braised Beef and Sunchoke Creamed Spinach

why, helloooo sexy

When Steven and I went to the local outlet mall, I never expected to come home with a 13 pound addition to the kitchen. I didn’t even want to go inside the Le Creuset store because it’s just filled with gorgeous things I can't afford. *siiigh* Why bother? But Steven convinced me to take a peek and I’m sure glad he did because there happened to be a sale, a damn good one! The 5 1/2 quart Dutch oven was on sale for $150! Holy crap, what a freakin' steal! You bet I'm gonna get one. There was some inner turmoil about whether to get the original Flame or the sexy Cherry Red. It couldn't have been more perfect timing because the enamel on my Chefmate Dutch oven started chipping off. $40 for a pot that only lasted me 2 years or $150 for a lifetime warranty?



The original plan was to get some lamb shanks or beef short ribs (inspired by Jen’s beautiful recipe) to christen the shiny new pot but neither of them were on sale. Instead, I got a chuck 7 bone roast, which is still pretty tasty. Our last CSA box had a bunch of good stuff, asparagus, sunchokes, and spinach. I roasted the asparagus in the toaster oven and made sunchoke creamed spinach after being inspired by Harold Dieterele’s recipe on Top Chef.

I'll have to try this recipe again with the lamb shanks like I originally planned.

Red Wine Braised Beef

1 oz. dried porcinis
4 large sprigs of parsley including stems
2 - 3 large thyme sprigs
2 bay leaves
2 pounds chuck roast or short ribs
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 medium carrot, diced
1 rib celery, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp tomato paste
1 1/2 C dry red wine
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Water as needed

Pour a cup of hot water over the dried porcinis to rehydrate them. When they are soft, use a fork to fish them out of the liquid, saving the liquid, wash them to get rid of excess dirt and grit, and mince. Wet a coffee filter or paper towel and line a fine mesh sieve. Strain the porcini water to get rid of excess dirt. The wet filter will prevent it from absorbing the flavorful porcini liquid.

Tie the herbs in a bundle with some twine so they’re easy to pick out later.

Season the beef with salt and freshly ground black pepper on all sides. In a Dutch oven or large pot, heat a tablespoon of olive oil over medium high heat. Brown the chuck roast (or short ribs, or shanks) until it is browned on all sides. Remove from pan and set aside.

Lower the heat to medium and add the vegetables, some salt, and freshly ground black pepper. Cook until the vegetables are softened and translucent and scrape up any browned bits on the bottom of the pan. Add the porcinis, garlic, and tomato paste and cook until the tomato paste has started to caramelize slightly. Add the porcini water, red wine, and return the beef and any accumulated juices back into the pot. Lower the heat to a bare simmer, cover and let it braise for 2 – 3 hours or until the meat is fall off the bone tender. Add some water if there's not enough liquid in the pot.

When the beef is done braising, remove from the pan and turn the heat up to medium and reduce the sauce by half.

Sunchoke Creamed Spinach
8 oz. sunchokes, washed and peeled, and cut into ½ inch chunks
1 Tbsp butter
1/2 C heavy cream + 1/2 C water
1/2 tsp lemon zest
2 tsp lemon juice
2 large bunches of spinach, rinsed of all grit and dirt
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Saute the sunchokes until they are light brown on the edges. Add half cup of heavy cream and half cup of water and simmer on very low heat until the sunchokes are tender, about 15 – 20 minutes. Puree the sunchokes in a blender or food processor, add some of the cream they were cooked in to thin the mixture.

In skillet heat 2 tsp of olive oil in a skillet over medium heat and sauté the spinach until it is wilted. Pour out until accumulated juices in the pan and use a spatula and press out as much liquid from the spinach as you can. Fold in the sunchoke puree, lemon zest, juice and season with salt and pepper.

Roasted Tomato and Quinoa Soup & Grilled Cheese Sandwich

(updated from recipe archives)

My vegetarian friend complained that my blog has been leaning too far into carnivorism lately. I guess I have to come to terms with the fact that not everyone likes bacon food porn staring them in the face. To switch things up, I'm updating an oldie but a goodie.

Last time I made this soup, I spent a good half day slow roasting tomatoes but because tomatoes aren't in season yet, a good substitute is Muir Glen fire roasted tomatoes. I finally got around to using the quinoa that's been sitting in my pantry since who knows when. Now I can cross off cooking quinoa for the first time off my list. I loved the texture and extra nutrition it added to the soup so I tried to convince Steven to let me add this superfood to our regular steamed rice. I can get away with sneaking whole wheat flour into baked goods and whole wheat pasta into spaghetti but messing with steamed rice? That was a no go.

Whenever I make tomato soup I have to make the obligatory grilled cheese sandwich. I debated if I should even bother posting a grilled cheese recipe. Short version: good bread + good cheese (my fav is Beecher's flagship, loooove it) + heat.

Long version (nothing groundbreaking)
- Use shredded cheese because it melts faster and evenly
- After I butter the bread, I pile on the shredded cheese and toast it slowly in a covered cast iron skillet over low or medium low heat. This way, the cheese has a chance to melt and the bread and butter won’t scorch.
- Sometimes if I'm feeling particularly unhealthy, I butter and toast one side, then flip over and butter and toast the second side and pile the cheese onto the first toasted side. Double butter, double delicious.
- If I feel fancy, I smear a little Dijon before adding the cheese, because I love Dijon.

Anyone have any other good sandwich making tips? (Don't say panini press because I don't have one and that makes me sad)

Roasted Tomato Soup with Quinoa
2 C roasted tomatoes (from 2 pounds tomatoes) or 2 cans of14.5 oz Muir Glen Fire Roasted Tomatoes
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 small onion or half a large onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 tsp dried oregano
2 - 3 C chicken stock or water, to taste
1/4 C quinoa, rinsed
1/4 C chiffonade* basil (optional)

*chiffonade right before using to prevent the basil from turning black

For Cream of Roasted Tomato Soup
- Add half a cup of heavy cream right after cooking

In a Dutch oven or large nonreactive saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat and add the diced onions. Saute the onions until they are translucent and have softened. Add the minced garlic and saute until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Scrape the onion and garlic mixture into a blender and add the roasted tomatoes or cans of fire roasted tomatoes. Blend until completely smooth, add a little of the chicken stock or water if the mixture is too thick.

Return the puree into the saucepan, add the dried oregano, and the chicken stock or water. Simmer on low to medium low heat for 10 minutes, adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper, add more stock or water if it’s too tomatoey, and add the quinoa. Continue to simmer until the quinoa are cooked through and opened, about 10 – 15 minutes.

Off heat, stir in the chiffonade basil. For creamy soup, stir in the cream after simmering the soup. Add basil at this time too.

Roasted Tomatoes
3 lbs tomatoes
2 Tbsp olive oil
Salt and Pepper

Slow Roasted (adapted from Alanna and Kalyn)
Cut the tomatoes in half and get rid of as many seeds as possible. In a bowl, toss the tomato halves with olive oil, salt, and pepper.

Arrange the tomatoes on a parchment paper lined metal sheet pan or skip the parchment and use a pyrex glass dish.

Roast in the oven at 300 degrees for 6 or more hours, depending on how dry you want them. I only roasted them for about 6 hours because I wanted to keep them juicy since they were going into soup.

Fast Roasted Tomatoes
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

Cut the tomatoes in half and get rid of as many seeds as possible. In a bowl, toss the tomato halves with olive oil, salt, and pepper.

Arrange the tomatoes on a parchment paper lined metal sheet pan (do not use a pyrex in such high temps). Roast until the tomatoes start to color, about 30 minutes.

After roasting the tomatoes are easily peeled off. I forgot to peel them but the skins pureed in the blender and were not an issue.

Beef and Sausage Meatloaf with Roasted Bell Peppers

So many recipes end up in the blog post graveyard because I couldn’t remember how I made it. I never write anything down because I always think I’ll remember everything but two weeks later, I'm racking my brains trying to figure out if it was 1 or 2 teaspoons of x, y, and z. I’ve had this meatloaf sandwich photo in my photostream for over two months because I neglected to write down the recipe the last time I made it. I finally got around to making it again and this time I was extra meticulous in measuring and weighing ingredients. Steven volunteered to be the kitchen scribe so this recipe finally made it down on paper. The roasted bell pepper makes it extra special but I understand if you don’t want to go through the trouble. The best part is the crisp bacon wrapping, that’s something you absolutely can’t skip. I will use any excuse to add bacon to something, preferably copious amounts of bacon. This recipe has one loooong ingredients list but it’s so worth it!

The leftovers are just as good, especially in sandwiches. I prefer hot meatloaf sandwiches, I could never get behind cold meatloaf. I cut the meatloaf into thick slices and sear them in a skillet and sauté some mushrooms and onions. Then all of that gets piled on two slices of thick sourdough with shredded pepper jack or white cheddar, ketchup and mustard, and slowly toasted in a skillet with lots of butter until the cheese is melty and bread is golden. Good times.

I also recently started using Twitter because it seems like the cool thing to do. Actually, I registered my username a few weeks ago but never got around to setting it up. Mysteriously, I started getting followers of my empty Twitter, which pressured/prompted me to try to make things more interesting for all 4 followers. :) Anyway, so if you want to hear me tweet about classes, exams, and food aka my life in three words (more like bitch about the first two and go on incessantly about the third) you can follow me at @nookandpantry. I'm still a total noob at this twitter business so bear with me.

Beef and Sausage Meatloaf with Roasted Bell
Pepper
1 large red bell pepper, roasted, peeled, and diced
8 oz. extra lean ground beef
8 oz. Italian sausage
1/2 large diced onion chopped, roughly 3/4 C cup chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 C chopped Italian/flat leaf parsley
1/3 C old-fashioned or quick oatmeal
1 large egg
1/4 C sour cream
2 Tbsp ketchup
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp Worcestershire
1 tsp ground pepper
1 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp oregano
Tabasco a few shakes to taste
6 - 8 slices of bacon, preferably thick cut

Roast the bell pepper on the stovetop or under the broiler, cut the bell pepper so it lays flat on a baking tray and broil on the top rack until the skin blisters and blackens. Let it sit until it is cool enough to handle before peeling off the skin then dice the roasted pepper. Set aside to cool.

Heat 1 tsp of vegetable oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and a big pinch of salt and cook until the onions are translucent and soft. Add the minced garlic and cook until fragrant. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil.

Mix all of the ingredients – beef, sausage, cooked vegetables, fillers, and flavorings in a large bowl. Turn the meat mixture onto the prepared baking sheet and shape it into a loaf form. Wrap the loaf with bacon, tucking the ends under the loaf. Bake at 375 degrees until the internal temperature is 165 degrees and the bacon is crisp, about an hour. Let it rest for 15 minutes before cutting.

Serve with ketchup because you can't have meatloaf without ketchup.

Pan-Seared Scallops and Leek Risotto (and Blackberry Vinaigrette)

jump to the new blog for more risotto

Leek and Bacon Risotto
*note: omit the bacon for a vegetarian version

2 slices regular thickness bacon or 1 slice thick cut bacon *omit and replace with 1 Tbsp of vegetable oil for vegetarian
1 leek, white and light green part only thinly sliced and washed
1 C arborio or carnaroli rice (do not rinse!)
1/4 C dry white wine
2 1/2 - 3 C homemade chicken stock
1/4 C freshly grated Parmesan
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
Salt to taste
1 Tbsp butter

In a small saucepan, bring the stock to a low simmer and keep it warm.

In a large heavy bottomed saucepan or Dutch oven, cook the bacon over medium low heat until crisp and the fat has rendered. Turn up the heat to medium and add the leeks and a pinch of salt. Cook until the leeks have softened. Add the rice and cook the rice until the rice is evenly coated in the fat and toasty. You will be able to see an outer opaque ring around a white center on the rice grains.

Add the white wine and cook until it has absorbed. Reduce the heat to medium low and add a half cup of the chicken stock and freshly ground black pepper to taste. At a low simmer, cook the rice, while stirring continuously, until all of the stock has been absorbed. Add another half cup of stock and stir continuously. Repeat adding the stock and stirring continuously until the rice is al dente. You may not need all of the stock, or if you find yourself running low on stock, use some hot water. Start tasting the rice after 20 minutes of cooking. It should be tender with a slight firm bite in the center. When the risotto is finished cooking, take it off heat. It will be creamy, moist, and somewhat runny but it will thicken after adding the cheese and while it cools.

Off heat, stir in the Parmesan and butter and taste for salt.

Made these for Valentine's Day. They're perfect on this risotto.

Pan Seared Scallops
3 - 6 Scallops per person
Salt and Pepper
Oil

Keep the scallops in between two sheets of paper towels before you cook them. This will help absorb any moisture from the scallops. Season the scallops on both sides with salt and pepper.

Heat a stainless steel or well-seasoned cast iron skillet over medium high heat and add a tablespoon of vegetable or canola oil.

When the pan is hot, add the scallops, giving them about 1 - 2 inches of room in between each other. Cook them undisturbed for 2 minutes then using a spatula, gently flip the scallops to the second side, cook for another 1 minute or until the second side is nicely browned also. Take off heat and serve with your favorite side.

For the salad mix in our CSA box, I made a blackberry vinaigrette with the blackberries I painstakingly picked last summer. I still have about a gallon of frozen blackberries and I better hurry up and use them before they start tasting like freezer. Wouldn't that be a waste! I mean, my sweat and blood went into picking those blackberries! This is a great summery, fruity dressing that really relies on fresh berry flavor.

Blackberry Vinaigrette
3 Tbsp fresh blackberry puree
fresh lemon juice (to taste)
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil (to taste)
Salt and freshly ground pepper

If your blackberries are very ripe, sweet, and potent, you can get away using just two tablespoons of puree and add some lemon juice for tartness. My blackberries were not picked at their absolute ripest so they were still on the slightly tart side and I didn't need to add any lemon juice at all. Don't add any acid in the the beginning and just taste as you go.

Whisk the blackberry puree and Dijon together to mix, slowly whisk in some extra virgin olive oil until you get the consistency you like. Add lemon juice for additional tartness. Season with some salt and pepper.

Corned Beef Hash

The best part about corned beef is the leftovers but the hardest part is deciding whether to make corned beef hash or Reubens. Steven and I didn't want to choose this year so after making corned beef hash, Steven and I visited some of Seattle's finest Reuben establishments. Project Reuben is currently incomplete so that will be a story for another day.

St. Paddy's day is long over but hopefully some stores are still selling corned beef. All you really need for corned beef hash is corned beef, onions, and potatoes. I added the red bell pepper to make it a little more interesting and it adds a nice color. I would have preferred Yukon Golds but I had some neglected Russets that needed to be used. Since Steven and I are unabashed carnivores, not only do we have to have a high corned beef-to-everything-else ratio, I threw in some bacon for good measure (cuz bacon makes everything better). Oh and don't forget the fried egg!

Corned Beef Hash

2 slices of bacon regular thickness or 1 slice thick cut, chopped
2 C chopped corned beef 1/2 inch cubes
2 potatoes, chopped into 1/2 inch cubes
1/2 yellow onion, diced
1 bell pepper, diced
1 clove of garlic
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
1/4 tsp dried oregano
Salt and pepper
A few shakes of Tabasco (optional)

Cook the bacon in a nonstick or well seasoned cast iron skillet over medium heat until crisp and the fat has rendered.

Add the diced onions and potatoes. Add more oil if not enough rendered from the bacon. Shake the skillet and flip the potatoes occasionally so the potatoes can brown on all sides. Cook until the potatoes are nearly cooked through.

Add the corned beef, bell peppers, mustard, oregano, and any additional seasoning. Cook until the potatoes are fully cooked through.

Serve with a fried egg, ketchup, and Tabasco.

not-so-secret Chili

Spring break is sadly over, but it was a fantastic two weeks filled with lots of cooking and baking. The freezer had to be cleaned to make room for food I froze for the upcoming quarter. One thing I made was a big batch of chili since it keeps so well, perfect for when we need emergency sustenance.

I haven’t upgraded to making homemade chili powder from whole peppers because I have this giant container of chili powder I got from Costco years ago. I know, I know you’re supposed to throw away spices after 1 year but I can’t bear to do it! It’s still good, I swear! *Note to self*: no more buying spices at Costco even if it’s dirt cheap unless I plan on having it for decades. I probably won’t be making my own chili powder even after I use this stuff up because I’m just too lazy. To make my ancient chili powder more flavorful, I spike the chili with chipotle chilies, extra cumin and oregano. This time I thought I’d make my regular chili a little more interesting. Instead of using ground beef, I used a chuck roast that I cut into small pieces. I was trying to make it more authentic but all attempts at authenticity were moot after I added beans. Oh well, I can’t help it; I kinda like chili with beans, not too much, just a little. I also added some secret-but-not-so-secret-because-everyone-knows-about-them ingredients: coffee and chocolate. I opted not to add peanut butter and/or banana (I'm not that adventurous). Finally, after simmering for 2 hours, Steven and I added some of our favorite chili accompaniments, sour cream, cheese, and Fritos!

Chili v2.0

2 pounds chopped chuck cut into half inch cubes or lean ground beef
1 large onion
2 Tbsp chili powder
1/2 tsp whole cumin
2 – 3 chipotle chilies in adobo, minced (use less chilies and remove the seeds for a milder chili)
2 Tbsp tomato paste
1 Tbsp adobo sauce from chipotle chilies
3 cloves garlic
1/2 tsp oregano
1 large red bell pepper
1 14 oz can of chopped tomatoes
1/2 tsp espresso powder
1/2 tsp cocoa powder
1 28 oz can of dark red kidney beans
To taste:
Freshly ground pepper
Salt to taste
Cayenne

Serve with optional condiments: lime, shredded cheese, sour cream, corn chips

Heat a tablespoon of oil over medium high heat in a Dutch oven or large pot. Brown the beef in batches, first add 1/3 of the beef and cook until browned. Take out the beef and set aside in a large bowl. If a lot of browned bits have accumulated on the bottom of the pan, add some water to scrape those up and pour this flavorful liquid over the browned beef that you set aside. Add some more oil and repeat the browning process with the rest of the beef.

After all of the beef has been browned, add some water and scrape off any browned bits that have accumulated on the bottom of the pot and pour the liquid into the bowl with the beef.

Add 2 teaspoons of oil and add the onions and a large pinch of salt and cook over medium heat until the onions are translucent.

Add the cumin and chili powder and toast the spices until they are fragrant. Add the minced chipotle peppers, adobo sauce, tomato paste, garlic, and lots of freshly ground pepper until the garlic is fragrant. Add the bell peppers, can of tomatoes, oregano, browned beef and juices, cocoa powder, espresso powder. Simmer this mixture for 1 hour with the lid slightly ajar. While it’s simmering, add cayenne to taste and salt, keeping in mind the chili will continue to reduce. If the chili gets too dry, add some water. Then add the beans and simmer for another 30 minutes to 1 hour, or until the beef is tender.

Mac and Cheese

I’m a sucker for interesting pasta shapes. Even though the pantry is currently overflowing with pasta, I couldn’t pass the Barilla sale display without picking up a box of this cool pasta shape. Fusilli bucati corti are spring shaped noodles with a hollow center - way more interesting than rotini or regular fusilli. Now that I think about it, I don’t think I’ve ever used elbow macaroni for mac and cheese. It's just too boring.

I like making mac and cheese on the stovetop because I can control how cooked pasta is and keep the sauce from curdling. I've had sauce curdle on me in the past, which was so not tasty, and it's something I've been paranoid about ever since. I do miss seeing the mac and cheese come out all bubbly and browned from the oven with the toasty bread crumbs on top but it's a sacrifice I've come to terms with. Plus, we don't have a dishwasher and it's one less dish to wash. I just toast some bread crumbs with a little butter and some herbs either in a skillet or in the toaster oven; it's not the same but it's good enough.

The most important thing about mac and cheese is the cheese. Duh. Always use freshly grated cheese because the preshredded stuff is coated in questionable "non-clumping" agents that makes the sauce grainy. Today I used a combination of extra sharp white cheddar and some Parmesan but in the past I've used combination of Cheddar, Monterey, and/or Gruyere. I finished it off with a little splash of white wine, something I borrowed from cheese fondue recipes. Feel free to be creative with the extras. I recently picked up a bag of cooked and shelled langoustines from my local TJ's, which I'm guessing are like mini lobsters or crawfish? I threw some of those in but they are totally optional. You can use kielbasa, ham, Dungeness crab, or leave it plain. I tried to convince Steven to let me put some peas in but that endeavor was immediately shot down.

Mac and Cheese
serves 2 - 3 as entree, 3- 4 as appetizer

8 oz. pasta of your choice
3 slices regular or 2 slices thick cut bacon, cut into thin strips
1 shallot, minced
2 Tbsp flour
1 1/2 C milk, preferably whole
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
4 oz cooked langoustines or whatever extras you feel like adding
Freshly ground black pepper
A little grating of nutmeg (optional)
1/4 tsp cayenne (optional)
2 C shredded extra sharp Cheddar
1/2 C shredded Parmesan or Gruyere
Salt

Cook the pasta according to your tastes for mac and cheese, al dente or soft, up to you.

While the pasta is cooking, start the sauce. If the pasta finishes cooking before the cheese sauce, drain the pasta and set it aside.

In a large saucepan or Dutch oven, cook the bacon over medium heat until most of the fat has rendered and it is beginning to crisp. Add the minced shallot and some salt and cook until the shallots have softened.

Add the flour and cook the flour until it is golden brown. Slowly drizzle in the milk while whisking. Make sure to whisk out all the clumps of flour.

Add the langoustines, Dijon, black pepper, nutmeg and cayenne if using, and whisk the bechamel until it has thickened and is bubbling. Stir in the white wine and turn off the heat.

Wait until the bechamel is no longer bubbling to add the cheese. Whisk until the sauce is smooth and then salt to taste. Stir in the pasta and serve.

Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies with Dried Cranberries and Pecans

jump to the new blog and oatmeal cookie recipe

Chicken and Basil Stir Fry

I never understood why so many people like white meat over dark meat. White meat is so bland and boring and ridiculously easy to overcook. Dark meat on the other hand, is succulent and flavorful, nearly impossible to overcook, and actually tastes like chicken. Oh well, to each his own! It works out better for us dark meat lovers anyway because thighs and drumsticks are always cheaper than breasts. But no worries, this stir fry is delicious no matter what kind of chicken you like. Just be more careful about the chicken drying out if you're using a breast or tenderloin cut.

I'm trying to post more student-friendly, easy/quick to cook recipes. Do you guys think a recipe like this would qualify? The ingredient list isn't terribly long and most of them aren't hard to come by. Prep and cook time was maybe 30 minutes?


Chicken and Pepper Stir Fry with Basil
1 pound chicken thighs or breast sliced into strips or slivers
1 large red bell pepper sliced
1 large shallot, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp grated fresh ginger
1 Tbsp soy sauce
2 Tbsp fish sauce
2 tsp brown sugar
1 - 3 Thai red chilies, seeds removed and thinly sliced or sub some jalapenos(to taste)
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 C fresh whole basil leaves (sweet or Thai varieties are both okay)
1 Tbsp vegetable oil for stir frying
Fresh lime juice (optional)

*Note: if you use a rice cooker, start cooking your rice first.

In a small bowl, mix the fish sauce, soy sauce, and brown sugar.

Heat 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil in a nonstick skillet over medium heat and add the shallots. Cook the shallots until they are translucent and soft, about 3 minutes. Turn the heat up to medium high and add the chicken, bell peppers, grated ginger, minced garlic, ground pepper, and sliced chilies. Continue to stir fry until the chicken is nearly cooked through, about 2 minutes, then add the sauce. Cook for another minute and the sauce will thicken. Add more soy sauce or salt if you need to. Stir in the fresh basil at the end. Squeeze a little lime juice on top if you have some limes on hand. Serve over steamed rice.

Chinese Tea Egg

I made a big batch of Chinese tea eggs this weekend because I had way too many eggs in the fridge (always seems to happen after a trip to Costco...). Tea eggs are one of my favorite snacks, a favorite afterschool treat growing up, but they're also good for breakfast, over plain steamed rice (with some of the tea brew on top) or in ramen for lunch. Don't worry, not all on the same day! Damn cholesterol! The best part is the longer they sit in the soy sauce tea brew, the more flavorful they become. I think they taste best after 2 days in the fridge. Oh did I mention, they're really cool looking too?

The tea you use doesn't have to be the best quality, just use black tea and not green. Sometimes when I'm lazy, I just peel the whole egg after hardboiling the first time instead of cracking it. You don't get the pretty design but it's easier to eat later. *nomnomnom* I'm thinking about braising some chicken with my leftover tea brew. Tea braised chicken?

Cha Ye Dan/Chinese Tea Leaf Eggs
6 - 8 large eggs
1/4 C soy sauce
2 Tbsp black tea leaves or 2 black tea bags
1 star anise
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
Roughly 2 C water

Put the eggs in a saucepan that can fit the eggs snugly and cover with water. Bring to a boil and gently simmer for 7 minutes. Drain the eggs and rinse them with cold water until they have cooled off enough to handle. Use the back of a spoon gently tap the shell all over or just hit them against the countertop.

Return the eggs to the saucepan, add the soy sauce, tea leaves or tea bags, star anise, salt, and enough water to cover. You'll want to use a saucepan that can fit the number of eggs you're cooking perfectly. You don't want to use a saucepan that's too big otherwise, you'll need a lot of water to cover the eggs and it will dilute the tea brew. Simmer them in the tea soy sauce brew for 2 - 3 hours. You can even cook them for a few hours in a slow cooker. Halfway through the cooking time, turn the eggs over, add more water if necessary.

After cooking, store the eggs in the brew at least overnight so the flavors can permeate the eggs completely. I like to cut them in half and spoon a bit of the soy sauce brew onto the yolk before eating, it makes the yolk creamy and more flavorful.

A Healthy Muffin: Whole Grain Almond Poppyseed Muffin

I felt like baking something healthy for a change, or at least try to. I usually sub a little whole wheat flour for all purpose flour when I bake - it may not make a big difference, but it makes me feel better. This time, I wanted to bake something that went a step beyond adding a few scoops of whole wheat flour. I wanted to use healthier fats and sugars too, which sounds a little oxymoronic now that I think about it.

This is the first time I baked without butter and sugar, two ingredients I can’t live without. I’ve never been a fan of butter and sugar substitutes so I used olive oil and agave nectar instead. Olive oil is still oil so the calories are still there but it's high in polyphenols and monounsaturated fats, both of which have heart healthy benefits. Choose a light, fruity olive oil so the flavor will not dominate. In the end, I couldn’t even taste the olive oil flavor in my muffins. I went to my local TJ's and picked up some agave syrup because I've heard how it’s natural and low glycemic. But I dug a little deeper and found some alarming information; while it’s true that agave syrup is low in glucose, which is responsible for it’s low glycemic properties, it is unusually high in fructose and overconsumption of fructose causes even more health problems than glucose. Hmm... maybe this stuff isn’t as good as I thought. The whole wheat flour and ground flax are probably the least controversial healthy ingredients. I think everyone can agree that whole grains and the omega-3s from the flax are good for you.

I’m still looking for a healthy sweetener so this is still a work in progress. Good news is that the muffins taste great, considering how much good-for-you stuff is in them, you’d think they would taste, you know... “healthy.” Granted, it’s hard to beat a Costco almond poppyseed muffin, one of my favorite guilty pleasures, but these muffins didn’t make me feel dirty after I ate one.

Disclaimer: this is the first time I tried to calculate the nutritional info for something homemade and it took way more time than I thought it would. Hopefully I didn’t fudge up my math... No guarantees. ;)
Each muffin has approximately 200 calories, 8 grams of good fat, 12 grams of sugar, 4 grams of protein, 2 grams of fiber (from whole grain sources).

Healthy Whole Grain Almond Poppyseed Muffin
1 C unbleached all purpose flour
1 C whole wheat flour
1/4 C ground flax (store this in an airtight container in the fridge or freezer after opening)
2 Tbsp poppy seeds
2 1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 C low fat buttermilk
1 large egg
6 Tbsp agave nectar or honey *work in progress
6 Tbsp olive oil *choose something light and fruity
2 tsp almond extract

Optional garnish:
Raw sugar
Sliced almonds

Preheat the oven to 350ºF, adjust a rack to the middle position. Line a muffin tin with paper baking cups or spray the tin with nonstick spray.

Whisk all purpose flour, wheat flour, ground flax, poppy seeds, baking powder, and salt in a large mixing bowl and set aside. Whisk egg and nectar until the egg is thoroughly beaten, then add the buttermilk, olive oil, and almond extract until combined.

Add the buttermilk mixture to the flour and fold to combine. There should be no large pockets of flour, a few small streaks are okay. Do not over mix. The batter will be fairly thick.

Divide the batter evenly into the tin, a 1/4 cup ice cream/cookie scoop is best. Optional: top the muffins with a light sprinkling of raw sugar and almond slices. Bake for 20 – 25 minutes at 350 degrees F on the middle rack or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Set aside to cool.

Tim Tam Slam

A while back, I was asked if I’d be willing to review Pepperidge Farm’s newly released Tim Tam cookies. A Tim Tam is a sandwich cookie with 2 light and crisp chocolate wafers, chocolate cream filling, and completely covered in chocolate. They're Australia's favorite cookie and haven't been available in the States, until now! I agreed to review them because I've always wanted to try these cookies and do the famous Tim Tam Slam. (And turning down triple chocolatey cookies? I do no such things.) However, I never got the logistics of how to do a Tim Tam Slam - I knew it was something about biting the ends off a cookie and using it as a straw for a hot beverage. Sounds cool. So I looked it up on Youtube, and whadoyaknow, I found a video of Natalie Imbruglia teaching a talk show host how to do a Tim Tam Slam. Perfect! Gotta love the internet.


The next morning I made a cup of strong Vietnamese coffee (I looove Trung Nguyen) and black tea and Steven and I did some Tim Tam Slams for breakfast.


First you bite a little corner of the cookies diagonally like so. Then you dip the cookie in the beverage and suck until you can feel the drink in your mouth and quickly eat the whole cookie. Don’t try to bite the cookie in half (I made this mistake) because it will squirt and fall apart so just eat the whole thing in one big bite. And you have to do this quickly otherwise the chocolate coating will melt and the cookie will fall apart as you're holding it.

I think it’s traditional to do the slam with tea but being partial to coffee myself, I much preferred the combination of strong coffee and chocolate. I also tried it with some cold milk because I thought cookies and milk was always a delicious combo but not in this case. The cold milk made the chocolate exterior cold and waxy and the cookie just didn’t taste right filled with cold milk - pretty gross actually. A hot beverage is definitely the way to go because the chocolate shell gets gooey and the insides are warm and melty. Mmm...! I really liked the caramel center in the caramel Tim Tam but the chewiness distracted from the overall soft gooey interior when you're doing the Tim Tam Slam, whereas the chocolate cream variety resulted in a uniformly soft and gooey cookie.

My conclusion? The Tim Tam Slam is a transcendent experience that everyone needs to experience. I would definitely urge people to try both kinds and see which you prefer. The only downside? Two cookies are 25% of your daily saturated fat! Ouch! I dunno what kind of magical ingredients they put in these to make them so damn tasty but it ain’t good for you that’s for sure. Another bummer is that these cookies are only available for a limited time in Target. You can get a $1 off coupon at http://www.ilovetimtamcookies.com/index.html. You need to do a Tim Tam Slam ASAP, you'll be glad you did.



Disclaimer and other ramblings:
While I love these cookies, they're a bit pricey. My local Target carries them for $3.34 for a 7oz. box. I think I will still get a few more boxes for the occasional treat because they are tasty. Now as for the other Pepperidge Farm stuff, I only buy Pirouettes, which are my favorite holiday treat. Pepperidge Farm stuff overall is usually on the expensive side. I've heard that Milanos are noticeably smaller nowadays, which is very disappointing, but I guess what brand hasn't been cutting back on costs with the economy being like this. Pirouettes are tasty except the Cappuccino flavor, which is horrendously disgusting. Being a coffee lover, I was obviously drawn to this flavor. I made the mistake of getting two tins and I hate them. They taste overwhelmingly of cinnamon and when I looked at the ingredient list, cinnamon shows up before coffee flavoring! I have never ever put cinnamon in my coffee, and I wonder who does?! Ugh, so gross!

Guinness Chocolate Cupcake with Bailey's Cream Cheese Frosting

jump to the new blog and guinness cupcake recipe

Valentine's Day

We went for a walk in the Arboretum. I have no idea what this is, but it sure smelled nice.

For Valentine's Day, Steven and I did what we've done for the last three years, instead of going out for an overpriced and cliched meal, we stayed at home enjoyed a quiet and sweet dinner. I'm not a fan of Valentine's Day food because oh my god, everything is heart shaped! Just because the crabcakes are heart shaped does not make it romantic! And being surrounded by other couples cooing and swooning doesn't make it a special occasion, only awkward. Anyway enough ranting. I really love our Valentine's Day tradition. We started it not long after I began cooking so it's nice to see the meals getting better and better. This year, we really splurged and bought some really great ingredients - black tiger prawns, giant sea scallops, and organic ribeye steak. I really went all out this year because it just happened to be a long weekend after a grueling exam. It's a rare occasion to have so much free time to unwind and enjoy some great food for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.


Who needs lobster tails when you have prawns. Rawr! Roasted butterflied shrimp with garlic, lemon, parsley, and lots of butter.


For Steven, it always has to be steak, specifically ribeye, cooked medium with mushroom sauce. We added a little blue cheese because according to Heston Blumenthal (our new chef idol), the nutty aroma is supposed to mimic the aromas from a long aging process. Hey, if it's good enough for Heston, it's certainly good enough for us. I also made some unbelievably delicious double cooked potatoes roasted in duck fat (also courtesy of Heston). Oh. My. God. They deserve their own post and trust me, it'll be worth it.


Typically I go with a seafood dish and this year I chose to make scallops. The last time Steven and I went out for dinner to a supposedly great local restaurant, Enotria, I was really let down with my scallop entree (and the restaurant overall, but I digress). The scallops arrived beautifully but deceptively seared because once I flipped the scallop over, the second side was completely colorless. I felt a little cheated! One side of the scallop was overly salted and the other side was completely bland. I dunno about you, but I prefer my food evenly salted and cooked. And the fact that I only got 3 scallops, pretty wimpy... Overall it was very disappointing for an entree that was nearly $20. So for Valentine's Day, I spoiled myself by cooking a generous 6 scallops (even though the picture only shows 3).

Now just for kicks... let's revisit an old photo. Valentine's Day 2007.

Kalbi - Korean Barbeque Short Ribs

N&P is now 2 years old! The local store had a special on flanken style short ribs and I thought it was the perfect opportunity to revisit the very first recipe I posted back in 2007, Kalbi, or Korean BBQ. It was also the perfect occasion to use the shiny new indoor grill that I got Steven for Xmas, part of my not-so-secret-anymore ploy to get him to cook for me. I'm hoping I can tap into that innate man and grill bond. I started making Kalbi not long after my first Korean barbeque restaurant experience. I thought the fact that each table had their own built-in grill was just the coolest thing (what can I say, I'm easily amused). Of course the ventilation system can never keep up with 20 tables simultaneously grilling, so Steven's parents wisely advised me to leave my coat in the car. The whole process of cooking your meal at the table is so much fun and very family/group oriented. If you've never been to a Korean BBQ place, I highly recommend you round up some people and go.

Yikes! Can you believe this ancient picture?!

At home I would either sear the short ribs on the stove top or broil them in the oven. Back in the college days, when we still had a George Foreman, that worked out pretty well too, albeit a little bacheloresque. Now that we have this new indoor grill, we can get those pretty grill marks.



Note: Flanken-style short ribs are ribs that have been cut across the bone.

Galbi/Kalbi – Korean Short Ribs
2 pounds flanken-style short ribs/spare ribs
1/2 C soy sauce (look for brewed soy sauce rather than artificially flavored and colored sauces)
1 pureed pear or 1/4 C orange juice
1/4 C rice wine
1 Tbsp dark brown sugar or honey
1 Tbsp toasted sesame oil (my favorite is Kadoya)
4 garlic cloves, smashed and roughly chopped
4 - 6 green onions, smashed, cut in half lengthwise then cut into 2 inch segments
6 slices of ginger 1/8 in thick

Optional Garnish
Toasted sesame seeds

Serve with
Romaine lettuce or perilla leaves
Steamed rice
Ssam jang mixed with a little sesame oil (add a few drops of water if it's too thick)

Mix the marinade and pour over ribs in a dish or in a zipperlock bag. Marinate in fridge for 6 hours to preferably overnight. Turn ribs or flip bag once during marinating time.

Lightly oil your skillet or grill grate.

Sear on medium high heat, broil at 500 deg F on the top rack, or grill the ribs on medium high heat to your desired doneness. I usually like to cook them until no red juices come out of the bones and they have a nice sear, about medium - medium well.

Garnish with toasted sesame seeds and serve with ssamjang and rice. If you want you can also include Romaine lettuce leaves or perilla leaves to wrap a bite-size portion of beef and rice with a dollop of sauce.