Nook & Pantry - A Food and Recipe Blog

An Update and Strawberry Shortcakes

2008-07-25T01:51:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it's been over 3 weeks since my last post. Eek! An update is long overdue and I want to apologize for my sudden disappearance. A combination of things led to my blogging hiatus like looking for an apartment, finally learning how to drive, my still-somewhat-brand-new camera being on the fritz (so sad... sooo very sad) just to name a few. I still have lots of things to take care but I'm back to blogging and I'll be returning emails, responding to comments, and visiting my other food blogging buds again. I'm sooo sorry if I haven't replied to your email, my inbox is a mess! So if you have an unanswered question, please send me another email. I also want to thank everyone who wished me a happy bday (now I'm finally old enough to buy alcohol for cooking!) and for leaving me so many nice comments during my absence. Y'all are so nice. :)

Okay now onto the food! Isn't that what everyone is here for?

I postponed my June Daring Bakers challenge and when I finally completed it, my camera had some issues and I wasn't able to take any pics, which was too bad. But man oh man was it tasty! At first the idea of making a laminated dough scared the crap out of me. I love yeast but working with a "butter block" is way intimidating. That's like the stuff for professional bakers ya know? "Oh god what if the butter spurts out, what if I don't get any flaky layers?!?! Nooooo..." This is when I make a face that looks like that Edvard Munch painting. But I had nothing to worry about because the dough was really easy to work with. Though, it's not something you can rush, so I watched a movie while making it and just paused every 20 minutes or so to take the dough out of the fridge and give it another turn. (Speaking of movies, everyone needs to go see Batman and Wall-E ASAP!) I filled one braid with strawberry jam and cream cheese and another with shredded coconut and cream cheese and made a little Danish roll with leftover dough scraps filled with Nutella. I have to say this was my favorite Daring Bakers Challenge so far. If you have any fears about making a laminated dough, you have to try this recipe, from Sherry Yard's The Secrets of Baking. Thanks for picking such an awesome challenge Kellypea! I'll go into more detail about making this dough another time because I have no doubts I'll be making this again and croissants too!

And now for a recipe too. :)

Every summer I eagerly await the opening of a neighborhood berry stand that have the OMG most amazing strawberries ever... EVER! Washington state's strawberry season was delayed this year due to the chilly weather back in June. People were afraid the berries would start molding on the plant! All that uncertainty, the crappy weather, June was just a sad and gloomy month. I waited, and waited, and waited for my beloved stand to show any signs of opening. Then, one day I saw it! "Strawberries, Coming Soon!" on the window. Summer was finally here! When the stand finally opened, you could smell it a mile away, okay, maybe not a mile, more like 20 feet. There's no resisting the combined fragrance of dozens and dozens of flats filled with 100% ripe organic strawberries. At first the berries look so unassuming, so tiny compared to the monstrous 5-headed strawberries you see in the supermarket (you know the ones I'm talking about, the ones that look like multiple berries somehow got fused together). Just one of these small, ruby red strawberries packs more flavor than a whole carton of totally forgettable supermarket strawberries. I'm guilty of eating a pound or more of berries in one sitting. Mmm... sunshine and ruby red fingers, isn't that what summer is all about!

Oh and if anyone is interested in the berry stand, it's on 35th and NE 80th in the parking lot just north of the post office. I think the stand is selling raspberries now or maybe they've moved onto marionberries and blueberries. They usually sell strawberries in late June to early July then raspberries, then marionberries and blueberries, and finally finish up the summer with blackberries in late August. Come Christmas time, the berry stand becomes a tree farm. Cute huh? :)

Strawberry season may be over but save this recipe for next year.

Strawberry Shortcake

Strawberries
Sugar
Sweetened Whipping Cream
Shortcakes (recipe see below)

Wash and hull the strawberries and cut them in half or in slices. Depending on the sweetness of the berries add a few spoonfuls of sugar. Let them sit and macerate at room temperature for 30 minutes to an hour.

Split the shortcake in half and top with a generous scoop of berries and sweetened whipping cream.

Shortcake/Cream Scone
Adapted from Joy of Baking

2 C flour
1/4 C sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 C (1/2 stick) butter, cold and cut into 8 pieces
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 C cream (both heavy whipping and regular whipping cream will work)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Cut the butter into the dry ingredients with a pastry cutter, two forks, or pulse it a few times in the food processor.

In a separate bowl mix the egg, vanilla, and cream together. Pour this mixture, into the dry ingredients and gently fold the mixture until just combined. Do not overmix.

Turn the dough until a lightly floured work surface and roll the dough out until it is about 3/4 inch thick. Using a 2 1/2 or 3 inch round biscuit or cookie cutter, cut the dough into rounds. You will get about 8 to 10.

Optional: sprinkle some sugar on top of the dough.

Bake at 400 degrees for 12 - 15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Serve these at room temperature or slightly warm for shortcakes.

Beef Enchiladas

2008-07-02T22:21:00.000-07:00

Okey doke, it's been about a week now and things are getting back on track. I'll never have to get my wisdom teeth taken out again. Yay! I made these enchiladas a few weeks ago when I was craving something bold and spicy. But be warned, they were a bit on the spicy side. I skipped the traditional step of pan frying the tortillas then dipping them in enchilada sauce. Instead, I simply wrapped the stack of tortillas in foil and warmed them in the oven until they were pliable. You can fill them with shredded chicken instead of ground beef (a good way to use up leftover roast chicken), or use Mexican rice instead of meat for a vegetarian version, add extra cheese, or skip the cheese entirely, it's really up to you.

This is a tomato-less chili based enchilada sauce. A lot of recipes just call for 1 chipotle chili but then I just end up with a whole can minus 1 leftover so I used three. You can even use four or five if you can take the heat. Just make sure to remove the seeds, cut the chilies open lengthwise and remove the seeds, otherwise it will be way too spicy. To store leftover chipotles, freeze them individually on a sheet tray then after they are frozen, transfer them to a freezer bag. Store the adobo sauce from the can in a zipper lock bag as well. Keep the bag flat in the freezer so the sauce freezes in an even layer. This way when you need some adobo sauce, you can just break a piece off the frozen slab (much easier than trying to scoop it out of a container when its frozen solid).

Beef Enchiladas
3/4 lb lean ground beef
1 medium onion, diced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
Salt and pepper
Roughly 8 6-inch corn tortillas
1 1/2 C shredded cheddar or pepper jack cheese or a combination of the two

Enchilada Sauce
2 Tbsp lard or bacon fat or substitute oil or butter
3 Tbsp flour
1 rounded Tbsp chili powder
3 chipotle chilies packed in adobo, seeds removed and minced
2 Tbsp adobo sauce from the can of chipotle chilies
2 C chicken stock + 1 C water
Salt and pepper

Optional Garnishes:
Chopped cilantro
Sour cream
Guacamole

In a medium saucepan, heat two tablespoons of lard (or cooking fat of your choice) over medium heat. Add 3 tablespoons of flour and whisk until the mixture, the roux, looks blonde. Add the chili powder and minced chipotle chilies, whisk and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Slowly whisk in the chicken stock and water mixture and the adobo sauce from the can. Simmer the mixture until it is thick and bubbly (if it looks too thick, add some more water). Season with salt and pepper.

Heat 2 teaspoons of oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Add the ground beef and break it up into bite size pieces. Cook the ground beef until it is browned and cooked through. Drain the beef and set aside.

Reserve about 2 teaspoons of fat in the skillet from cooking the beef. Heat over medium heat and add the onions and a pinch of salt. Cook until the onions are soft and translucent. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Turn off the heat. Add the drained ground beef back into the onion mixture and add about a half cup of enchiliada sauce and season with some salt and pepper if needed. Set the meat mixture aside.

Wrap the stack of tortillas in foil. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F and put the tortillas in the oven while it preheats. When the tortillas are warm and pliable, remove them from the oven.

Spread about a 1/4 cup of enchilada sauce on the bottom of an 8x8 baking dish. Add a 1/4 C of the meat mixture and about two tablespoons of the shredded cheese to a tortilla and roll it up. Place the roll seam side down in the baking dish. Repeat with the rest of the tortillas and fill the baking dish. Top with remaining sauce and sprinkle cheese evenly on top. Bake in a 450 degree F oven for 15 - 20 minutes, until hot and bubbly. Serve with optional garnishes or with a side of Mexican rice.

DB challenge postponed for a bit

2008-06-28T23:48:00.000-07:00

Blarg. I got my other two wisdom teeth pulled on Wednesday and I've been in hibernation, again. Unfortunately it wasn't any easier the second time around. It was even more dreadful since I knew what I was in for and oh boy was it as miserable as the first time. It's the second time my cheek swelled up to the size of a softball. My second time getting a post op fever (this time coupled with a sore throat and headache) and I've been sleeping nearly all day and night since the operation. This time around I simply couldn't tolerate sweets or soft foods anymore so no more milkshakes, ice cream, soups, congee. And now that I can't chew on either side of my mouth I haven't been cooking or eating much of anything. I hate complaining like this but I needed to vent.

/endrant

I will make this month's DB challenge when I have the motivation to cook again and am able to chew. But for now please check out the other lovely DB creations by heading over to the blogroll. Sorry for my infrequent postings lately, things have been pretty hectic. Hopefully, I'll start posting some older recipes I have saved up tomorrow.

Caldo Verde - Portugese Kale and Sausage Soup

2008-06-23T13:57:00.000-07:00

It's been about two months since Steven and I started our CSA program. Who knew we would be so excited about fruits and vegetables? In my previous post about CSAs, I wrote that one of the benefits is getting the chance to try new fruits and vegetables. A few weeks ago, our box included a bunch of Red Russian kale. When we first received the list of the box contents, my first reaction was to switch the kale out for something more familiar, like lettuce or spinach, but then I thought, heck I'll keep it and try cooking something new. I know my Asian veggies but stuff like beets, kale, and collard greens are totally foreign to me. I googled for some kale recipes and settled on a soup. I know everyone is probably think "Ahh! It's the freaking middle of June and it's flippin' hot! Why the hell is she making a soup?" Well, when I made this soup earlier this month, while the rest of the country was baking in 80 to 100 degree plus temperatures, the headline in our paper was "Seattle, colder than Siberia!" Sure, it may be June, but it was cold and rainy, and that calls for some good soup.

Notes:
- Use a Spanish or Portugese chorizo (spelled chourico in Portugese), not a Mexican chorizo for this soup, or you can sub the milder flavored linguica.
- The kale we received was very young Red Russian kale, which was very tender and did not require julienning. If you're using the larger blue-green leafy varieties of kale, you will need to julienne it so it cooks quickly, discard the stems if they are too tough (they usually are).

Caldo Verde - Portugese Kale and Sausage
Soup

8 oz chorizo/chourico or linguica, diced
1 large onion,diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
8 cups chicken stock
1 pound Yukon gold potatoes, diced
1 pound kale (or collard greens) cut into a very fine julienne
Salt and pepper
Olive oil

Heat 1 tablespoons of olive oil in a large saucepan or Dutch oven,over medium heat. Add the cubes of chorizo and cook until they are lightly browned. Remove the sausage and set aside. Add the diced onion to the rendered fat in the pan with a little salt and cook until they are translucent. Add the garlic and cook until it is fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the stock and potatoes, and season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then lower heat to a simmer. Simmer until the poatoes are
tender.

Mash half of the potato in a blender, immersion blender, or potato masher. Add half of the chourico and the julienned greens and simmer for 2 minutes, or until the greens are tender. Top the soup with the remaining cubes of chorizo and serve with bread.

Linzer Torte

2008-06-18T14:36:00.000-07:00

After weeks of backyard blackberry picking last summer, I ended up with 2 gallon-sized bags of berries in the freezer to tide me over until next August. I made muffins and jam, which I then used in cakes and cheesecakes. To make berry jam, you can either add pectin to help it thicken, a plant derived gelling agent, cook it with pectin rich fruits like apples, or cook the berries for a very, very long time until it's thick enough to set on its own. The third way is how I make my jams, pectinless freezer jams. I am too paranoid about botulism to can foods, so I opt to store them in the freezer. And I don't have or know (and a little lazy to learn) how to use pectin.

The benefit of pectinless jams is that it is cooked down so much that it is pure berry concentrate, one tiny spoonful is the flavor equivalent of a mouthful of berries so a little will go a very long way. But because it cooks down so much, the downside, though, is that a big pot of berries will yield only 1 or 2 cups of jam, and with seedy berries like raspberries or blackberries, the seed density becomes highly concentrated as well. Sure, seeds are rustic, but when they're so condensed like that, it's not too enjoyable. Some recipes give you the impression that you can simply push the berries through a strainer as if with a few smooshes with a spatula, you'll end up with perfect seedless puree in a bowl and the unwanted seeds left behind in the strainer. If you've ever tried this, you'll know that it's not the case.

blackberries + strainer = no go

I couldn't help but laugh when Jen wrote about the same thing. See? We food bloggers tell it how it is. What really happens is after about 10 minutes of pushing, smearing, and smooshing you end up with about a quarter cup of blackberry juice in the bowl in which you hoped would collect a bounty of seedless berry puree - half cup if you're lucky. And instead you get juice on yourself, the counters, and maybe even a few splotches here and there on the walls, and a strainer still full of mashed up blackberries. This is exactly why I dropped fifty bucks on a shiny new food mill. Gone are the days of stained wooden spoons and bent sieves. It still takes some elbow grease to crank the food mill but it's a helluvalot better than using a strainer. Plus, it's another sparkly toy to add to the kitchen.

I finally used up the last of my blackberry stash and made one last batch of seedless blackberry jam. The jam is sweet, without being cloying, with just the right amount of tart to make your lips pucker a bit and tastes like summer and sunshine. With the last of my 2007 blackberry jam, I made a Linzer Torte, a beautiful lattice topped tart named for the city of Linz, Austria. The buttery, crumbly crust is made from ground nuts (I used a combination of almonds and hazelnuts) and flavored with lemon zest and a hint of spices. It is traditionally filled with a currant or raspberry jam so blackberry jam isn't too much of a departure.

Or you can make linzer cookies.

Linzer Torte

1/2 C hazelnuts
1 C almonds (how to blanch almonds)
1 1/2 C all purpose flour
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp cloves
1/8 tsp salt
1 stick (1/2 C or 4 oz.) unsalted butter
1/4 C granulated sugar
1 egg
2 tsp grated lemon zest (zest from 1 lemon)
1 tsp vanilla extract (or 1/2 tsp almond extract)
1 C jam (any jam would work)
Powdered sugar for dusting

Toasting the hazelnuts:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spread the hazelnuts in an even layer on a baking sheet and bake until they're brown and fragrant, about 8 to 10 minutes. Pour the hazelnuts onto a clean kitchen towel and cover them up in the towel and let them steam for a minute or two. Rub the hazelnuts together in the towel to get their skins off. Remove the hazelnuts and shake the towel out outside or carefully in the trash so the skins don't fly everywhere. Cool the nuts completely before using.

Pulse the hazelnuts, almonds, and sugar sugar in a food processor until they are finely ground. The sugar will keep the nuts from sticking together from the oils. If they are starting to stick together add a few tablespoons of the flour and continue to pulse.

Add the ground nuts to a large bowl with the flour, cinnamon, cloves, and salt, and whisk to combine.

Cream the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer or with a hand mixer. Add the egg, lemon zest, and vanilla extract and continue to beat until fluffy. Slowly mix in the dry ingredients and continue to mix until the dough has formed.

Turn the dough onto a lightly floured work surface. Gather the dough then divide it into two equal pieces. Wrap each piece in a piece of plastic wrap, flatten in a round disc, and chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours or in the freezer for 20 - 30 minutes, or until the dough is chilled and firm but not too hard.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and adjust the oven rack to the lower middle position.

After the dough has chilled, remove one piece and roll it out into a circle large enough to fit into a 9inch tart pan. Press the crust into the tart pan. Trim the outer edge of the dough by cutting off the top 1/2 inch of the sides of the dough, otherwise the sides of the tart will be too tall. Spread the jam evenly in the crust.

The lattice top for this linzer torte is laid at an angle, not woven. Roll out the second piece of dough into a circle that's slightly larger than the diameter of the tart pan. Trim the edges of the piece of dough until it is a 9 inch circle. Cut the dough into 3/4 inch strips. Lay one set of dough strips across the tart in parallel lines. Then lay the second layer of strips at an angle on top of the first layer.

Bake at 375 deg F for about 25 to 30 minutes, until the crust is golden brown.

Let the tart cool to room temperature and can be kept at room temperature for up to 3 days. Some sources say the tart is best on the day it's made while others say it is best after sitting for a day. Dust with powdered sugar or top with whipped cream before serving.

Osso Buco with Risotto Milanese

2008-06-13T16:28:00.000-07:00

I finally made osso buco with the veal shanks I bought from Pike Place two months ago. Luckily, the shanks weren't freezer burned *whew* because they weren't cheap and were pretty difficult to find too. My local grocery stores didn't carry shanks thick enough to even tie a piece of twine around. What the heck are you suppose to do with a shank that's barely a 1/2 inch thick? I called around and found that Don and Joe's Meats in Pike Place carries appropriately-thick veal shanks, at $12.90/lb for frozen ones (slightly more for freshly butchered). At nearly $10 a serving, I would normally skip making a dish like this or use a cheaper alternative like lamb shanks but proper osso buco was on The List so I splurged and bought two whole servings! Cuz yeah, I'm such a high roller. I followed Marcella Hazan's recipes for both the osso buco and the traditional accompaniment risotto milanese (saffron risotto). The full recipe called for 6 - 8 shanks and when I thought about it, if you were making 8 servings of osso buco, the contents in the Dutch oven would be close to $100. *faints* Thankfully, both the osso buco and risotto turned out delicious. Worth the cost? Yes, but it's definitely not something I would make regularly.

Osso buco literally translates to "bone hole" and was most likely named after the marrow. This luscious meat butter is the highlight of this dish. You could use a marrow spoon (though I don't know of anyone who actually owns marrow spoons) or a butter knife to scoop it out or you can just shamelessly suck that baby out. Mmm mm! The surrounding veal was soft and tender, meaty but not beefy. I know some people have ethical objections to veal but there are sources for humanely-raised veal or feel free to use beef or lamb shanks.

This was also my first time cooking with saffron and honestly, I'm a little disappointed. Was I suppose to have a culinary epiphany where from the moment that risotto hit my tongue, I would understand why it's the world's most expensive and prized spice. I mean people pick the stamens by hand for crying out loud. What the heck is saffron suppose to taste like? I don't think I screwed up the risotto that badly because it was still the most delicious risotto I've ever made. I know my saffron (from Trader Joe's) isn't the best quality but I smelled it and it smelled... well, it smelled weird, nothing mind-blowing like the first time I smelled a real vanilla bean. As for the taste? How would you describe it? Because I haven't a clue. Could it be that I just didn't use enough? Some recipes called for just 3 or 4 threads but I used at least 6 to 10..

Hmm... I dunno. But anyway, onto the recipe.

Osso Buco
Adapted from Marcella Hazan (Below is the full recipe with minor changes, I scaled the recipe down to roughly 1/3 since I was only cooking 2 shanks)

6 - 8 veal shanks
Salt and pepper
Flour
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
4 Tbsp butter
1 C diced onion
2/3 C diced carrot
2/3 C diced celery
1 C dry white wine
2 strips lemon zest
1 C chicken stock
1 1/2 C tomatoes in juices
1/4 tsp dried thyme or 1 tsp fresh
2 bay leaves
3 - 4 parsley sprigs

Gremolada
1 tsp grated lemon zest
1/4 tsp finely minced garlic
1 Tbsp minced Italian parsley

Some notes from Marcella Hazan:
- Veal shanks are best no thicker than 1 1/2 inches, otherwise they will not cook evenly.
- Do not remove the white skin/membrane around shank, it adds flavor and creaminess to the dish
- Give yourself enough time to allow the osso buco to cook slowly and gently. It's not something you can rush.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Tie each shank tightly with a piece of twine to prevent them from falling apart during cooking.

Flour both sides of the veal shank and pat off the excess. Heat two tablespoons of vegetable oil in a Dutch oven over medium high heat. Sear the shanks on both sides until a brown crust forms, remove to a plate and set aside.

Turn down the heat to medium and add 4 tablespoons of butter to the Dutch oven. Add the onion, carrot, and celery and cook until the vegetables have softened. Add the wine and cook until it no longer smells alcoholic. Nestle the shanks back into the
vegetables. Add the lemon zest, chicken stock, tomatoes, thyme, bay leaf, and parsley. Bring the contents to a simmer, cover, and transfer to the oven.

Let it cook in the oven for about 2 - 3 hours or until the shanks are fork tender. Baste the shanks by spooning the cooking liquid over them every 20 - 30 minutes. If the pot is getting too dry, add a few tablespoons of water.

Optional step (it wasn't in the cookbook but this is what I did): After the shanks are done, carefully remove them from the pot and set aside on a plate. Puree the contents in the pot (the veggies and braising liquid) in a blender/food processor/immersion blender for a more uniform sauce.

Serve the osso buco over risotto milanese or polenta. Carefully snip the twine around the shank and spoon the sauce over it. Top with a spoonful of the gremolada (which I skipped in the picture).

Risotto Milanese
Adapted from Marcella Hazan

1 Tbsp olive oil (I used bacon fat)
1 Tbsp butter
1/4 medium onion, finely diced
1 C Arborio or Carnaroli rice
A small pinch of saffron threads (I used about 6 - 10?)
1/4 C hot water
1/4 C dry white wine
2 - 3 C chicken stock
1 Tbsp cold butter
1/3 C grated Parmigiano Reggiano

Note:
- Do not rinse the rice, the starches on the outside of the grains is what makes the risotto creamy.
- The chicken stock must be hot when you add it to the rice, so keep it in a saucepan on low heat on the stove while you're cooking.
- Add the saffron threads to the hot water and let it infuse.

Heat the olive oil and butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the onions and cook until softened. Add the rice and cook until the rice is coated with fat and starts to turn translucent around the edges.

Lower the heat to medium low, add the wine and cook while stirring until
the wine has been absorbed.

Add one cup of the chicken stock, keeping it at a simmer, and cook uncovered while stirring constantly until almost all of the liquid as absorbed. After this point add the chicken stock about 1/3 cup at a time. Keep it at a low simmer, and cook the rice while stirring constantly.

About 15 minutes in, after the chicken stock has been absorbed, add the saffron
water (threads too) and continue to cook and stir. If you start running low on
chicken stock, go ahead and use hot water.

Continue adding ladlefuls of broth, waiting until each addition has been almost absorbed before adding the next, cook while constantly stirring until the rice has is al dente, fully cooked but still retains a chew in the center.

Take off heat and stir in a tablespoon of cold butter and grated Parmigiano.

Reuben

2008-06-07T12:28:00.000-07:00

I got some wisdom teeth pulled on Tuesday and I've pretty much been in hibernation, sleeping for about 18 hours a day, ever since. Lemme tell ya, the novelty of eating milkshakes and soups wears off real fast. I've been in a real pissy mood lately because after 5 days of eating mush all I want is some real food, something with texture, something with crunch. I just want a goddamn burger and extra large side of onion rings. Sadly, I won't be eating that anytime soon. But I swear as soon as I'm able to open my jaw again, I am going to make the biggest and best burger ever. Heck, I'll even make the bun from scratch.

In my desperation for real food, I started looking through all the recipes I have yet to post, and unsurprisingly, that didn't make things any better. This is a prime example of what I can't eat right now, which also happens to be one of my top 3 sandwiches. :( A big, fat Reuben that's crunchy on the outside and hot, juicy, and gooey on the inside. *siiigh* It was delicious when I made it a week or so ago though.

Reuben Sandwich

Rye bread (dark is preferable, though personally I like marbled rye because it looks cool)
Corned beef or Pastrami (but then it would be a Rachel), thinly sliced
Sauerkraut, drained
Swiss Cheese, shredded
Russian Dressing or Thousand Island
Butter

Cheater's Thousand Island:
Mix equal parts ketchup and tartar sauce or mayo if you don't have tartar sauce. Add a little vinegar for acidity then some Worcestershire to taste.

Feel free to use a sandwich press or whatever sandwich-making gizmo you like (I hear a George Foreman works well). But I just have a plain old cast iron skillet.

Butter 2 slices of bread, place them butter side down on the skillet. Cover one slice of bread with corned beef, then add some sauerkraut, and top with some dressing. Add shredded Swiss on the other slice of bread (shredded cheese melts faster). Turn the heat to medium low and cover the pan to keep the heat in. Check the bottom of the bread periodically. You want the bread to be a lovely golden brown, the cheese to melt, and the meat and sauerkraut to warm up a bit. Avoid turning the heat up too high otherwise the bread may burn very quickly.

When both pieces of bread are golden brown, cover the meat/kraut piece of bread with the cheese covered bread (not the other way around or stuff will be falling off everywhere). Smush it down a little to glue the sandwich together, cut in half, and serve hot.

Thai Red Curry Chicken

2008-06-01T23:50:00.000-07:00

When Steven said he didn't like curries, I suggested that he try a Thai curry. Unlike Indian curries that are spice based, Thai curries are made with a paste of aromatics and fresh ingredients and cooked in coconut milk. I made a chicken red curry and at first he was skeptical but after tasting it, he loved it! Hooray! He even told me he liked it more than his mom's curry. Score! +1 point for me. I'm usually not a competitive person, except with cooking, and it made me feel so special when he said that. :D

Thai curry paste contains a bunch of ingredients including: chilies, garlic, shallots, lemongrass, ginger, galangal, coriander root, etc. Red curries are made with red chilies, green curries are made with green chilies, and yellow curry are includes spices like turmeric and cumin. Although it seems counterintuitive, green curries are actually hotter than red curries. For convenience sake, I use a store-bought curry paste (Mae Ploy brand) because it's a lot of trouble making your own curry paste since some of the ingredients are difficult to find. Using a premade paste cuts down the ingredient list by half and makes things a whole lot easier. I like using dark meat so I can slowly simmer the curry without overcooking the chicken. The end result is delicious, flavorful, and reheats beautifully, in fact, it tastes even better the next day.

Thai Red Curry (Chicken)
3 pounds of chicken drumsticks
1 onion, chopped
1 14oz. can of coconut milk (my fav is Chaokoh)
1/4 C Thai red curry paste
Fish sauce (I like Three Crabs)
1 Tbsp palm sugar or brown sugar
Lime/Rice vinegar
Handful of Thai basil leaves

Optional step: Use a large cleaver and cut the chicken drumsticks in half, first cut through the flesh to the bone, then try your best to hit that spot with a strong whack. Sometimes you won't hit the first cut you made spot on, but it will be enough to break the bone. If you don't feel comfortable doing this, skip this step. Please don't hurt yourself doing this. After cutting the drumsticks in half, rinse the exposed bone area under some running water to loosen any bone shards. Do this over a sieve to catch the bone shards so they don't mess up your disposal. This step is completely optional, I just think it makes the curry more presentable and easier to eat.

Do not shake the can of coconut milk. Open the can and skim off the "cream" on top (roughly the top 1/3 of the can) and add it to a Dutch oven or large pan.

The first step is to "fry" the curry paste in the coconut cream. Add the paste to the coconut cream in the pan, stir and cook this over medium heat until the oils separate from the paste. First, the mixture will look soupy and very messy. Slowly, it will begin to cook down into a thick paste, then finally the aromatic oils will begin to separate from the paste. After you see the oil, add the chopped onion and cook the onion for about 1 minute.

Add the chicken and the remainder of the can of coconut milk. Bring this to a boil then lower to a bare simmer. Season with fish sauce to taste, a tablespoon at a time. Add a tablespoon of brown sugar. Cover the pot and simmer gently for about 40 min to an hour, or until the chicken is tender (the meat will start to retract from the bone). When the chicken has finished cooking, stir in the juice of half a lime to start with, taste, and if it needs more tang, add more lime juice. If you don't have a lime you can use rice vinegar. Add more brown sugar if it needs more sweetness (the sweetness should be subtle and not overwhelming). Stir in a big handful of Thai basil leaves that are torn in half. It's important to balance the salty, sour, sweet, and spicy with Thai food. Don't tear the leaves in advance or they will turn black.

Serve with rice.

Green Tea White Chocolate Opera Cake

2008-05-28T22:27:00.000-07:00

Earlier this month I volunteered to bake a cake for a birthday party. I was trying to decide what kind of cake to make but it just so happened that our cohosts this month, Lis and Ivonne, founders of the DB, and Fran and Shea chose an opera cake for the group's monthly challenge. How perfect! The traditional opera cake consists of three layers of joconde, almond sponge/genoise, soaked with a strong coffees syrup, coffee buttercream, and finished with a shiny, dark chocolate glaze.
But this month's challenge was extra special and it wasn't going to be just any opera cake, this opera cake is a tribute to Barbara, fellow food blogger, honorary Daring Baker, cancer survivor, and host of one of the biggest food blogging events, A Taste of Yellow for LIVESTRONG Day. I was so bummed I missed the deadline for A Taste of Yellow this year so I'm very grateful for a second chance to give tribute to not only Barbara but all cancer survivors, those currently battling cancer, and everyone that has been affected by this disease. In honor of Barbara's A Taste of Yellow event, the main rule for this challenge was to keep everything light colored, no browns or dark colors. Instead of the traditional chocolate glaze, we were using a white chocolate glaze. Immediately, I thought of pairing the white chocolate with green tea because that combo is one of my absolute favorites for desserts and the light green of matcha buttercream is very Spring.

Believe it or not, I actually finished the challenge way before the posting date this month. Yay for me! Too bad I can't say the same about posting on time. Oh well, baby steps people, baby steps. This month I had a different deadline to work with, the day of the party. And like a professional procrastinator, I finished the cake with literally minutes to spare before I had to leave for the party.

Okay, moving on to the cake. I kept the joconde plain adding just a little almond extract, made a green tea soaking syrup, a green tea buttercream, and finally the white chocolate glaze (I skipped the mousse because I'm lazy). The plan was to bake the cake and make the syrup the night before then make the buttercream and assemble the cake the next morning (the party being at noon). But whenever you make a plan, something always goes wrong, that's just how it goes right? I ran into an issue with the buttercream; after adding three sticks of butter to the egg yolk syrup mixture I was left with runny buttery glop that couldn't hold a peak to save its life. With only a three hours left, I had to make a new buttercream but this time I played it safe and went with a Swiss buttercream (Dorie's recipe), which I'm more comfortable with. But I was running out of time and my butter needed to be at room temperature and I had just taken it out of the fridge. After some frantic instant messaging to my friend telling him of my failures as a French buttercream maker, he suggested sitting on the cold butter (not seriously of course... I don't think). Gives a new meaning to the word buttercream eh? Anyway, the butter eventually softened enough (no sitting required) to make the buttercream and luckily, the second batch of buttercream turned out perfectly, melt-on-the-tongue ethereal. With 30 minutes left to put the cake together, I haphazardly assembled the joconde layers, brushed on the syrup, spread on the buttercream, and finally poured on the white chocolate glaze, which thank god did not seize because it was my last bit of my white chocolate. I didn't have time to make any decorations or even trim the messy looking edges. I snapped a few photos then ran off to catch the bus. I feel a little embarrassed about my naked cake. No spiffy decorations here but I've seen some drop dead gorgeous decorations this month. Man, this group never ceases to amaze me. So make sure to check out the DB Blogroll to see some beautiful music notes, g clefs, sexy legs, and a gorgeous edible rose.

Now I'm feeling kinda lazy again (actually, I've just been lazy recently, as you can see from the lack of posting) so instead of writing out the recipe, I will link to it because it is veeerrrry loooonggg.

Recipe:
Daring Bakers' Opera Cake

My notes:
- Almond meal can be really expensive but luckily it can be made very easily at home. If you are starting from raw almonds, first blanch them and squeeze them out of the skins (how to blanch almonds). Then be sure to grind them very fine in the food processor. Add a tablespoon or two of the flour from the recipe with the almonds to soak up some of the oils that the almonds release. It will start to get clump so make sure to stop the food processor once in a while and loosen up the mixture. Do not overprocess to almond butter.

- Dorie's buttercream recipe is the same one we used for the March Challenge, Perfect Party Cake. Instead of the lemon juices addition at the end, I dissolved some matcha powder in a few tablespoons of hot water (ideally 180 deg F), then cooled that to room temperature, then slowly added that to the buttercream in the end.

Creme Brulee

2008-05-26T03:33:00.000-07:00

The first time I made creme brulee, I was 17 and totally ill-equipped. I didn't have any ramekins so I used small pyrex bowls and small disposable foil tins, you know the kind from frozen pot pies, yes it was sooo very ghetto. Instead of a vanilla bean I used imitation vanilla extract *shudders* and in lieu of a torch, I used the broiler - luckily the pyrex didn't explode, whew! Even without the proper equipment, the creme brulees turned out pretty decent. That's the beauty of creme brulee, it looks very impressive and seems like it would be complicated to make but it's pretty simple to do. Creme brulee is one of the best desserts to showcase the beauty of a vanilla bean but you can play around with many different flavors like Earl Grey or lavender honey.

Creme Brulee
from Cook's Illustrated
4 ramekins or 6 shallow ramekins

2 C heavy cream
6 egg yolks
1/3 C sugar
Pinch of salt
1/2 vanilla bean or 1 tsp of vanilla extract but skip the steeping of the cream
4 - 6 tsp of turbinado sugar or Demerara sugar

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.

Combine 1 cup of the cream, sugar, and salt in a small saucepan. Cut the vanilla bean in half lengthwise and scrape the seeds with a paring knife and add to the cream. You can either submerge the pod in the cream as well or leave it out and save it for making extract. Bring the cream mixture to a gentle boil over medium heat, remove the pan from heat, and let steep for 15 minutes.

Place a kitchen towel or silicone baking mat in the bottom of a large roasting pan and place the ramekins in the pan. Bring a kettle of water to a boil.

After the cream has steeped and cooled, stir in the remaining cup of cream. Whisk the egg yolks in a bowl and whisk in the cream mixture. Strain into a 2 cup measuring cup.

Pull out the oven rack and place the roasting pan on the rack. You can either pour the custard mixture into the ramekins first then pour the boiling water in the roasting pan, or pour the boiling water first, then the custard. I like pouring the boiling water first into the pan followed by the custard into the ramekins to minimize splashing water into the custard. Pour the water until it reaches 2/3 up the side of the ramekins. Carefully slide the rack back into the oven.

Bake until the center of the custards are barely sit, not sloshy but a little jiggly. The center should read about 170 - 175 deg F, 30 - 35 minutes (25 - 30 minutes for shallow fluted dishes). Begin checking the temperature 5 minutes ahead of time.

Transfer the ramekins to a wire rack to cool to room temperature, about 2 hours. Then transfer to a rimmed baking sheet, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until cold at least 4 hours or up to 4 days.

Before bruleeing, place a paper towel on the surface on the custards to soak up any moisture. Sprinkle about 1 teaspoon of turbinado sugar on the surface (may need to use more for shallow dishes), tilt and shake the ramekin so the sugar covers the surface completely, and brulee until the sugar forms a caramel colored crust.

Optional: refrigerate uncovered for 30 - 45 minutes to re-chill.

Korean Pancake - Pa Jeon/Pa Jun

2008-05-22T21:59:00.000-07:00

I had my first Korean pancake, pa jeon/pa jun, while visiting Steven's parents. It was so good I had to ask Steven's mom how she made it. She said "Oh it's easy" and pointed to a mix on the counter. Is it snooty of me that I dislike using anything from a premade mix? I looked at the ingredients and saw it was mainly flour, a little msg, and one or two more minor ingredients that I can't remember anymore. But his mom warned me, she's tried using just flour before and it didn't turn out the same. Still I was undeterred, thinking that homemade will always trump convenience. I found the generic Korean pancake recipe after a short google search: 1 cup of flour, 1 cup of water, and an egg. I seasoned the flour with a little salt and white pepper and added a grated carrot, grated zucchini, chopped green onions, and chopped shrimp. I fried up the pancakes and made a chili, soy sauce, vinegar dipping sauce to go with. But Steven's mom was right, it wasn't as good as the pa jeon made from the mix. :( I tried replacing a bit of the all-purpose flour with rice flour and another time tried replacing some of the flour with cornstarch but it still wasn't the same. It's hard to put my finger on the exact difference but the pancakes made from the mix were more tender and less heavy on the inside. Don't get me wrong, the ones I made were still delicious and pa jeon are suppose to be dense, but I guess what bothers me is that, they're just not the same. Hmm... anyone wanna share their pa jeon secrets?

Unlike fluffy breakfast pancakes, Korean pancakes are savory, crispy on the outside, dense and packed with seafood or veggies on the inside. Instead of shrimp you can use chopped squid or omit the seafood all together for a vegetarian pancake. You can substitute other veggies for the carrots and zucchini or make a basic pa jeon with just green onion.

Korean Pancake - Pa Jeon/Pa Jun with Shrimp and Vegetables
2 C flour
2 C water
2 eggs
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp white pepper
4 oz shrimp, peeled, deveined, and chopped
1 carrot, grated
1 zucchini, grated
3 green onions, thinly sliced
or substitute a handful of Chinese chives cut into 2 inch lengths

Dipping Sauce
Soy sauce
Sambal Oelek
Rice vinegar

In a large bowl add the flour, salt, white pepper, eggs, and 1 1/2 cup of water. Whisk until smooth, adding more water if the batter looks too thick. Mix in the shrimp, grated vegetables, and green onions/chives.

Heat a tablespoon of vegetable oil in a nonstick or cast iron skillet over medium high heat. Ladle a quarter of the mixture into the pan and spread the batter out. Turn the heat down to medium and cook until the bottom is crisp and golden brown. Flip and cook on the second side until crisp and golden brown. Repeat with the rest of the batter.

Cut the pancakes into 8 wedges and serve with dipping sauce.

For the dipping sauce, mix equal parts of the soy sauce and chili sauce together then add rice vinegar to taste.

Hunan Eggplant

2008-05-18T21:23:00.000-07:00

I hated eggplants as a kid. Eggplant dishes were always mushy, watery, tasteless, just plain "bleh". Doesn't inspire much confidence in an already weird looking vegetable. Since then, I've avoided buying and cooking with eggplants. But after reading about all the flavors and ingredients of Hunan cooking in Fuchsia Dunlop's Revolutionary Chinese Cookbook, I was inspired to create a Hunan style eggplant dish. Insipid eggplant dishes are now a thing of the past! I won't lie, it doesn't look very pretty but the taste more than makes up for it. I'm not bragging here but this was hands down the best eggplant dish I've ever had. I made it for my dad when he was in town and he was surprised that eggplant can taste so good. This could be the dish to convert even a diehard eggplant hater like me.

I would only recommend using Chinese/Japanese eggplants because they are less bitter and are less watery than the globe variety that's commonly found in supermarkets. The most important flavoring ingredient is the chili bean paste so choose a good one that's made with fermented broad beans (aka fava bean) or a combination with fermented soy beans rather than only fermented soy beans. Lee Kum Kee is a good brand (it's made with both fermented broad beans and soy beans). The dried shrimp add a lot of umami flavor but feel free to omit it for a vegetarian version. Chinese picked mustard tuber, zha cai, is also called Szechuan/Sichuan picked vegetable. It's the salted and pickled stem of a type of mustard green. Rinse the vegetable before using to get rid of any excess salt and fermenting liquid.

Hunan Eggplant
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 oz. zha cai, Chinese/Szechuan/Sichuan pickled mustard tubers, minced
2 Tbsp dried shrimp, minced
1/4 C chili bean sauce
3 green onions, white parts only, thinly sliced
1 tsp minced or grated ginger
4 cloves of garlic, minced or pressed
4 Chinese/Japanese eggplants
2 Tbsp soy sauce (more to taste)
1/2 tsp sugar
White pepper
Salt to taste

Garnish
Green onion, green part, thinly sliced

Soak the dried shrimp in a few tablespoons of hot water for about 5 minutes. Drain, rinse, then mince the shrimp.

Cut the eggplant into chunks on the bias (see picture). Cut at an angle, then rotate the eggplant a half turn, then cut on the bias again, repeat.

Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a wok or large skillet over medium high heat. Add the chopped zha cai and minced dried shrimp, cook for a minute or two in the hot oil. Add the chili paste, green onions, minced ginger, and minced garlic and cook until the mixture is fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the eggplant and stir to coat the pieces in the chili mixture, cook for a minute. Add the soy sauce, sugar, white pepper, and about a 1/4 cup of water. Cover and steam until eggplant are tender but not mushy. Stir occassionally, don't be too rough or you'll smash the eggplant. Season to taste with more soy sauce or salt.

Garnish with sliced green onions (green part only). Serve with rice.

Guacamole

2008-05-12T23:12:00.000-07:00

I looove guacamole. Not only is it my favorite dip (chips are just the vehicle for large scoops of guac), but it's also my favorite topping for tacos, burritos, burgers, sandwiches, breakfast bagels (try it on a bagel or toast with scrambled eggs, mmm...), or whatever else I can think of that would benefit from a hit of avocadoey goodness. So I knew right away what I was going to make with the two avocados in our CSA box. Everyone makes guacamole a little differently. It can be smooth or chunky, with or without tomatoes, and include a few herbs and spices. Here's how I make my guacamole. First of all, it has to be chunky with no dairy fillers, so no mixing in sour cream or *shudders* mayo into the guacamole. I throw in some diced tomatoes because I like the bright red color adds. I skip the cilantro because Steven absolutely hates it due to a genetic quirk that makes cilantro taste gross and soapy. I could add parsley as a substitute for cilantro but I didn't have any today. I don't add any spices, but I do like just 1 clove of finely minced garlic. There has to be enough tang from the citrus (both lime or lemon is fine) juice to cut through the richness of the avocado and finally some salt and freshly cracked black pepper.

Now go on and try that guac on a hearty slice of toast with some scrambled eggs, maybe throw on some bacon or a slice of ham on top.

Guacamole
2 ripe Hass avocados
1 small tomato, seeded and diced fine
1/4 small onion, diced fine
1 jalapeno or serrano, seeded and diced fine
1 garlic clove, minced by hand
Juice of 1 lime
Salt and pepper to taste

Halve the avocados, remove the seed, and scoop the flesh into a bowl. Add the rest of the diced and minced ingredients and gently mix and mash with a fork until it is as chunky or smooth as you like. Season with salt and pepper.

To store, press a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the guacamole to prevent the guacamole from turning brown due to oxidation (keeping the seed in the guacamole is a myth).

Serve with tortilla chips, or on anything else your heart desires. :)

Mizuna and Minced Chicken Stir Fry

2008-05-09T13:06:00.001-07:00

Steven and I recently signed up for a local CSA. CSAs are growing increasingly popular and I bet many of you are already familiar with the concept but we just learned about them a few weeks ago (man I feel so behind the times). CSA or Community Supported Agriculture is a program where you establish a relationship with a local farm and you receive a weekly, biweekly, or monthly box of produce that the farm grows. It's a great way to 1. eat locally and support local farms, 2. eat seasonally, 3. eat more fruits and veggies (because okay, let's be honest, who gets their 5-a-day, not me...) and 4. try fruits and veggies that you've never tried before. The great thing about our CSA is the variety and flexibility. Everything in our box is organic. Some items come from the main farm, other items come from other farms in Washington State, and some come from outside of the region to give subscribers a little variety. We can make substitutions, pickup either weekly or biweekly, or cancel or put our subscription on hold at anytime.

Last week our box contained:
2 Russet potatoes
1 bunch Carrots
1 Leek
.75 lb Zucchini
.75 lb Shallots
2 Hass avocados
4 Valencia oranges
2 Tommy Atkins mangos
2 Lemons
1 Romaine lettuce
1 bunch Mizuna
.34 lb Spring Mix

Organic carrots taste so much better than the giant supermarket carrots and Bunny was happy that the carrots came with green leafy tops attached, which he quickly nommed away.

After looking at our produce list for the week, Steven asked me what mizuna was. I wouldn’t have had a clue if he had asked me the day before, but it just so happened that I had just read a post about mizuna on Susan's blog, Food Blogga. I felt pretty sharp when I replied, "Oh, it's a Japanese mustard green." So I knew what it was, but I was at a loss of how to prepare it. Google to the rescue! I found a recipe for a mizuna and chicken stir fry from Whole Foods, and while I liked the idea, that recipe called for all sorts of random ingredients. I just wanted a simple mizuna and chicken stir fry. Mizuna, I discovered, cooks down a lot. It’s like spinach, you start out with a huge bunch and 2 seconds later, poof, it shrinks down to nearly nothing. I kept a 1:1 ratio of mizuna to chicken in this recipe but feel free to use more or less chicken. The mizuna also cooks very quickly. I added it after I took the pan off the heat and the residual heat of the cooked chicken and hot pan was enough to gently wilt the mizuna. If it's cooked too long, the greens will be limp and lifeless.

Mizuna and Minced Chicken Stir Fry
Inspired by Whole Foods

3/4 lb chicken breast
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp Shao Xing rice wine
1 Tbsp cornstarch
1/2 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp white pepper
3/4 lb mizuna
Salt to taste

Pulse the chicken breast in a food processor to mince it finely until there are no large pieces remaining but do not grind into a paste. Or alternatively mince it with a chef's knife. Mix the minced chicken with soy sauce, wine, cornstarch, sugar, and white pepper and set it aside to marinate.

Meanwhile, trim the ends off the mizuna. It's easiest to keep the mizuna in a bunch and trim the ends off all at once then untie the bunch to wash. My mizuna was pretty dirty, so wash it a few times to loosen and wash away any dirt on the stems and leaves.

Heat 2 tsp of oil in a wok or skillet over medium high heat. Add the chicken
and stir fry until it is fully cooked through, about 4 - 6 minutes. When the chicken is fully cooked, turn off the heat and add the mizuna. Toss the mizuna in the hot pan with the chicken and it will start to wilt and cook down, season to taste with salt.

Serve with rice.

More about CSAs:
If you live in the Pacific Northwest area, there are many different CSAs to choose from (we signed up with Full Circle Farms). To find a local CSA in your area go to this website: http://www.localharvest.org

Beef Stroganoff

2008-05-04T12:59:00.000-07:00

Beef stroganoff is traditionally made by sauteing strips or cubes of beef but I have bad luck cooking beef this way. Sometimes my beef stir fries/sautes turns out great but many times it ends up kinda chewy and tough. So instead of a saute, I opt to braise the beef for my stroganoff. Braising takes longer but I love the way it magically transforms a cheap tough cut into something moist and fork tender. And this way I won't screw up cooking a pricey piece of meat. One of my local supermarkets had a 7-bone chuck roast (great braising cut) on sale for only $1.29/lb, quite the bargain compared to a $5/lb steak or tenderloin. I know some people dislike mushrooms but I can't have stroganoff with lots of them. Finally, a white wine sour cream sauce with thyme, dijon mustard, and teensy bit of soy sauce brings it all together.

Not all roasts are created equal. Here's a guide from Cook's Illustrated that rates the flavor of various cuts most widely available at the supermarket: http://www.cooksillustrated.com/images/document/howto/ND02_BeefRoasts.pdf
I like using the top blade roast or chuck 7-bone roast because those cuts are already thin so it's easier to cut into 1 inch cubes.

For a quick version, skip the braise and saute a strips of a tender cut like tenderloin, sirloin steak, or flank steak instead. Or you can even use ground beef.

Beef Stroganoff
Braise
3 lbs braising beef cut, cut into 1 inch cubes
2 Tbsp soy sauce
2 bay leaves
1/2 C chicken stock + 1/2 C water

Veggies and Sauce
2 Tbsp butter
1 large yellow onion, diced
1 lb crimini or white button mushrooms, sliced
1 Tbsp fresh thyme leaves
1/2 C white wine
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1 1/2 C sour cream
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
Vegetable oil
Salt and pepper

Serve with:
Egg noodles or rice

Trim off any excess fat and cut the beef into 1 inch pieces and season with salt and pepper.

Heat 2 teaspoons of vegetable oil in a Dutch oven over medium high heat. Add 1/3 of the beef and sear until browned on all sides (or a 2 - 3 sides if you want to cheat like me since I get impatient). Transfer to a boil and repeat the searing. If the browned bits on the bottom of the Dutch oven are accumulating and turning too brown, add some water and scrape up the browned bits. Pour this flavorful liquid into the bowl with the already seared pieces of beef and then resume the searing.

After all of the beef has seared, return the beef and any juices back into the Dutch oven. Add the chicken stock and water, two tablespoons of soy sauce, and bay leaves. Bring to a simmer then lower the heat until the contents are barely simmering. Cook for about 3 hours or until the beef is fork tender, stir occasionally to make sure all the pieces get cooked evenly. Transfer to a bowl and reserve one cup of the braising liquid.

In a skillet heat two tablespoon of butter over medium heat. Add the diced onions and cook until translucent and slightly browned on the edges. Add the sliced mushrooms, a little salt, and pepper. The mushrooms will release some liquid so cook until all of the liquid has reduced and the pan is dry. Add the white wine, reserved cup of braising liquid, and thyme. Turn up the heat to medium high and cook until this liquid is reduced and thickened. Season with a little soy sauce (about 1 - 2 tablespoons), salt, and pepper. Stir in the braised piece of beef and take the pan off heat. Off heat, stir in the dijon mustard and sour cream. Serve over buttered egg noodles or rice.

Cheesecake Pops

2008-04-27T16:43:00.000-07:00

(clockwise from the top: Oreo, Butterscotch Coconut, Dark Chocolate with White Chocolate Powder, Graham Cracker, Chocolate Covered Espresso Beans)

They say food tastes better on a stick. It’s hard to improve on something as delicious as cheesecake but put it on a stick and sure enough, I daresay it might be tastier than the not-on-a-stick original. Not only are these cheesecake pops as creamy and decadent as a slice of cheesecake, but they get bonus points for being so gosh darn cute! They're so addictive it’s easy to lose count how many you’ve already devoured and if you make many different flavors, watch out because you may find yourself sampling each one!

Our lovely co-hosts for this month Elle of Feeding My Enthusiasms and Deborah of Taste and Tell chose this recipe from Sticky, Chewy, Messy, Gooey by Jill O’Connor so that each Daring Baker could put their own personal touch on the cheesecake pops. I really loved this challenge because the pops were fun to decorate, absolutely adorable, and sinfully delicious - you can't ask for more! Be sure to check out all the creative ways other DBs decorated their pops by visiting Daring Baker Blogroll.

Dark Chocolate Pistachio Cheesecake Pop

Notes:
- Shaping the pops and decorating is quite messy. It's probably better to wear a pair of gloves so you don't get cheesecake all over your hands. I eventually got cheesecake all over everything, the counter, ice cream scoop handle, trays, the faucet, the cupboard (how the hell did that happen? I don’t really know). Then during decorating, I got crumbs all over the kitchen floor. But I still think the end result was worth it.

- I also found that the pops were too soft when stored in the fridge, so I kept them in the freezer. It might be because I pulled the cheesecake out too quickly from the oven but I didn't want to overbake it. They're delicious straight out of the freezer, like cheesecake ice cream, and they don't get too hard, still soft enough to bite through even after a few days in the freezer. Or you can let them warm up a bit before eating.

Cheesecake Pops
from Sticky, Chewy, Messy, Gooey by Jill O’Connor

Makes 30 – 40 Pops (*I made half the recipe)

5 8-oz. packages cream cheese at room temperature
2 C sugar
1/4 C all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
5 large eggs
2 egg yolks
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 C heavy cream

Boiling water as needed

Thirty to forty 8-inch lollipop sticks (I used bamboo skewers snapped in half)

1 lb chocolate, finely chopped
2 Tbsp vegetable shortening
(Note: White chocolate is harder to use this way, but not impossible)

Possible decorations:
Chopped nuts
Colored sugar
Sprinkles
Crushed peppermints
Mini chocolate chips
Chopped chocolate covered espresso beans
Cocoa nibs
Toasted coconut
Crushed graham crackers
Crushed Oreos

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F and adjust an oven rack to the middle position. Bring some water to a boil.

In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese, sugar, flour, and salt until smooth. Add the eggs, egg yolk, vanilla, and cream and beat until smooth.

Grease a 10 inch cake pan (or some ramekins if you made half the recipe). Pour the batter into the prepare pan(s). Place the pans into a larger roasting pan and pour water into the roasting pan until it comes up halfway up the sides of the cake pan. Bake until the cheesecake is firm and slightly golden on top. The recipe said 35 – 45 minutes but for a full recipe I’m guessing it will take closer to an hour since my half recipe baked in 30 – 40ish minutes.
Cool the cheesecake to room temperature then cover the cheesecake and refrigerate until it is very cold, 3 hours or up to overnight.

When the cheesecake is very cold and firm, scoop the cheesecake into 2 ounce balls and place on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. I wore a pair of gloves and used a 1 tablespoon ice cream scoop since I have no idea how big a 2 ounce ball. Be warned, this step is pretty messy. Insert a stick into each ball and freeze until they are very hard, 1 – 2 hours.

First prepare all your desired toppings. When the cheesecake pops are frozen, prepare the chocolate before taking them out. First use only half the chocolate and shortening. Melt the chocolate and shortening in a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water. Stir until completely smooth. Do not overheat the chocolate; turn the heat down so that the pot of water is barely simmering.

Work with only a few pops at a time and keep the rest in the freezer. Quickly dip each pop into the melted chocolate and swirl to coat it completely, then immediately roll it in a desired decoration. The frozen pops will harden the chocolate very quickly so you’ll need to work fast. Set the finished pop on a clean parchment paper lined sheet. The recipe said to refrigerate until ready to serve but I think the pops store better in the freezer. Let them warm up a little bit before serving but they taste great straight out of the freezer too. For longer term storage, keep them in an airtight container in the freezer.

French Onion Soup

2008-04-26T18:10:00.000-07:00

(updated from archives)

The Ram is a restaurant and brewery better known for brewing their own beer and the ginormous 1 pound burgers but I will always remember their absolutely atrocious French onion soup. The last time I went was a few years ago, back when Steven and I were still college kids with gastronomic knowledge limited to fast, cheap, and/or microwaveable consumables. When our soup arrived we were faced with a whole, uncut, and still somewhat crunchy red onion (at least they took the peel and root off) covered in a meager bit of cheese sitting in pool of insipid brown liquid. At this point, Steven and I stared at this "interpretation" of French onion soup and we both whispered to each other, "Is it supposed to be like this?" We were confused as to what we should do with the thing. Was the onion some new and innovative centerpiece that we missed the memo on? Do we eat around the onion or do we eat the onion too?

We didn't know any better so in the end we didn't complain and finished the broth, ate the cheese, and ate about half the onion. We don't like to waste food but at the same time, we had reached our onion limit. Now I know better. How dare they call that lousy excuse of a soup "French onion soup"?! Where were the caramelized onions and cheese-topped toasted baguette slices? That soup was definitely not French onion soup. Anyway, the other day I made my own French onion soup with homemade beef stock and properly caramelized onions. As for The Ram? I'm tempted to go back, order that soup, and if served the same thing, I will give them a piece of my mind!

French Onion Soup
2 Tbsp butter
2 lbs of yellow onions
6 C homemade beef stock (I like the take the meat of the ribs and shred that into the soup)
1/4 C dry red wine
1 bouquet garni: 2 sprigs of parsley, 1 sprig of thyme, and 1 bay leaf
1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
Salt and ground black pepper
Baguette or French bread cut into 1/2 in to 3/4 in slices
3 oz. Gruyere or Comte, sliced coarsely grated

Melt the butter in a Dutch oven over medium high heat. Add the onions and 1/2 tsp of salt. Once the onions are starting to turn translucent, lower the heat to medium or medium low depending on your stove. Cook the onions, stirring occasionally until they are syrupy and an even brown. This should take about an hour depending on the heat you use. Thomas Keller likes to do this for 4 hours but I'm not known for my patience.

Stir in the beef stock, dry red wine, bouquet and simmer for about 30 to 40 minutes. At the end, stir in the balsamic vinegar and ladle the soup into oven proof bowls.

Top each bowl with a slice of bread, either 2 baguette slices or 1 slice of french onion. Cover the bread with a layer of shredded cheese. Broil until the cheese is melted, spotty brown, and bubbly, about 10 minutes.

If you do not have an oven proof bowl:
1. Place the bread slices on a baking tray then cover with the cheese and bake/toast this in an oven or toaster oven until the cheese is melted and spotty brown. Then remove the slices of bread and float these in your bowls.

Cream Scones

2008-04-26T00:27:00.000-07:00

One of the biggest events of the year here in Western Washington is the Puyallup Fair (Pew-allup not Pooyallup). For many, going to the fair is an annual tradition, but I've lived in Seattle for almost 10 years and have never gone. Steven says he can't remember ever going either and isn't particularly interested in it. I guess it's just not our thing, not to mention we have to drive nearly an hour, assuming there's no traffic, to get there. But last year I was really tempted to go, not because I felt like I was missing out on the quintessential fair experience, but for the scones. I had read an article in the Seattle Times about the Fair's most popular and famous food item, the Puyallup Fair scones. People will wait in line for almost an hour, maybe longer, for these buttered and jam smeared scones, and many buy a dozen or dozens to stock up on. So naturally, I wondered what the big fuss was all about. But Steven and I weren't gonna drive all the way down there, pay admission, and wait in line just for a scone.

In the end, we never did make it to the fair last year. Plus, Steven was skeptical, how can a scone be that good? Aren’t scones bone dry, tasteless, and usually served with tea because you need something to wash it down? Then the other day I found a half pint of heavy cream that had hit the sell by date. Don’t worry it wasn’t opened and it didn’t smell funky so I couldn't just let it go to waste. I thought why not try making some cream scones. So what’s the difference between a biscuit and a scone aside from shape (round vs. wedge) and country of origin (American vs. Scottish)? Well, to be honest, I don't really know. The lines are kinda fuzzy but for the most part a biscuit is eaten with savory foods like gravy or fried chicken (or both... mmm mm!) whereas scones are sweeter and paired with tea. Meh, technicalities don't matter, as long as it tastes good!

Oh man did the scones smell good when they were baking! When you think about it, how can something with heavy cream and butter not be delicious? After they came out of the oven, I couldn’t resist and immediately broke off a corner to taste test, you know, for quality control. They were so rich and tender and were hands down, absolutely the best scones I've ever had. After waiting anxiously for the scones to be cool enough to handle, I split one in half and smeared it with butter and homemade blackberry jam. Yummmm... Steven and I are now scone converts. Are these scones better than the ones from the fair? I can't say for sure since I've never had the ones at the fair. I'm gonna say yes because after reading the article more closely, the scones are made from a mix with water! Not heavy cream! On the other hand, the Fair Scones do come with the whole package, the mooing cows in the background or whatnot. But it's good to know I don't have to wait all year then drive an hour to get a good scone when I can make it in my kitchen.

Cream Scones

2 C all purpose flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
4 Tbsp (1/2 stick) cold unsalted butter cut into 1/2 in cubes
2 Tbsp honey
1 C heavy cream

Preheat the oven to 400 deg F and adjust the oven rack to the middle position. Line a baking sheet with parchment or a silicone mat.

Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Using a pastry cutter, two forks, or your hands, rub the butter in the flour until it's pebbly (or you can use a food processor and pulse the butter in the flour a few times).

Whisk the honey with the cream and pour this into the dry ingredients. Fold the cream into the flour, at first it will be sticky, and bring the dough together with your hands without overworking it.

Lightly flour a work surface and turn the dough out. Form the dough into a round disc then roll it out until it is about 7 inches in diameter. Cut the dough into 8 pieces (first in half, then quarters, then each quarter in half into eighths). Transfer each wedge onto a baking sheet and bake for about 18 - 22 minutes, or until their tops are golden.

Let them cool for 10 minutes and spread with butter and jam. For an extra special treat, mix some honey into softened butter before smearing on your scone, just like the honey butter at the Fair.

Store in an airtight container and they're great the next day warmed in the microwave or toaster oven.

Duck Confit

2008-04-20T23:05:00.000-07:00

For the longest time, I've had a food crush on duck confit. It was duck, and I love duck, and it was French, so it sounds all sexy. I knew it had to be delicious, even before tasting it. Sometimes, when you have high expectations, the real deal can let you down. But not duck confit. When I ordered it for the first time, every bite was as delicious as I thought it would be. It was love at first bite.

One of my most prized ingredients is my container of duck fat. I had been saving the fat from my previous roast ducks in hopes of collecting enough to make confit. While I love ordering confit de canard, I wanted to try to making it home, even if it was just once. My main concern was the cooking temperature. Duck legs (the breast will also work) are immersed in fat and slowly poached ideally at 180 - 190 deg F, no higher than 200 deg F, any higher and the meat will be stringy. The problem is that many home ovens can't go lower than 200 deg F, not to mention my home oven is a little unreliable. Then I had the great idea to use my slow cooker since the "low" setting should hold contents at around 170 - 180 deg F.

Instead of buying duck legs, I started with a whole duck since it was cheaper and I like having the giblets and bones. Aside from confiting the duck legs and breast, I made a duck soup with the wing tips, neck, and carcass, braised the wings, gizzard, and heart, and made a pate/rillette out of the liver. After cooking, I covered the confit in fat to ripen in the fridge for a week. Confit was first used as a preservation technique and the meat can be stored submerged in fat for many months, but I wasn't interested in keeping it for that long, I wanted to eat it. Finally, after waiting a week, it was finally ready to be eaten. I crisped up the skin in a cast iron skillet and then pan fried some Yukon Golds in more duck fat to accompany the confit. Potatoes cooked in olive oil is eh, cooked in butter is good, but cooked in duck fat is absolute perfection; the two are just meant to be together. The fat from the confit can be reused many times for confit until it gets too salty but then you can use a little bit to cook with (potatoes, fried rice, vegetables, etc.). I don't think I could ever bear to throw away duck fat.

Duck Confit/Confit de Canard
Adapted from Bouchon

4 whole duck legs (I used 2 duck legs and 2 breasts)
Enough fat to cover the legs, 4+ cups

Green salt
4 Tbsp kosher salt
1 bay leaf
1 Tbsp thyme leaves
2 Tbsp packed parsley leaves
1/2 tsp black peppercorns

Add the ingredients for the green salt in a small food processor or spice grinder. Process until well combined and bright green.

Trim off any excess fat or skin on the duck legs, rinse, and pat dry. Rub the duck with green salt, using about 1 tablespoon per leg or breast. Place the duck in a baking dish in one layer flesh side up. Cover and refrigerate for 24 hours to cure.

After the cure, rinse the legs (or breast) and pat dry. Preheat the oven to 190 deg F. Place in an ovenproof pot with lid and cover the duck with rendered fat. Place the pot in the oven and cook for 10 hours. Alternatively, place the duck in a slow cooker insert and set the slow cooker to high for 1 hour then turn it down to low for 9 more hours. (A note about slow cookers: some newer slow cookers will heat contents past 180 def F even on the low setting, so be sure to check the temperature of the contents once in a while to make sure it's not above 200 deg F.) The duck is done with it is very tender and the meat will pull away from the bone on the drumstick and shrink towards the thigh. The fat should be clear, meaning that the meat is no longer releasing any juices.

Remove the pot from the oven or take out the insert from the slow cooker and cool the duck slowly to room temperature. When the duck has cooled, gently lift the legs out of the fat and transfer to a container, place them skin side down in the container. Cover the duck completely with fat and store in the fridge for a week. It can be stored for months but you must be extremely careful about not getting any meat juices in the container, as that will cause the meat to spoil.

Save the meat juices. It's intensely flavorful and gelatinous so it will add great body to sauces. It can also be mixed with shredded confit meat and fat to make a rillette. To separate the fat from the juices at the bottom, chill the fat and when it is firm enough, you can remove the fat with a spoon, taking care not to disturb the gelled meat juices at the bottom (the aspic).

To Serve
Bring the container of duck confit to room temperature to soften the fat. Preheat the oven to 375 deg F.

Gently lift the legs out of the fat, scrape off any excess fat. Heat a nonstick or cast iron skillet over medium high heat. Add the duck skin side down and cook until the skin is golden brown and crisp, about 5 - 6 minutes. Transfer the legs to a baking pan, skin side up, and bake for an additional 8 minute to heat them through.

Serve with the traditional side dish of pomme salardaise (potatoes pan fried in duck fat) or a green salad.

Duck Rillette
This spread is a combination pate and rillette because it has both a duck liver that came with my duck and shredded confited duck breast. There's really no recipe for this since it was just something I threw together, a duck liver, some shredded duck confit, some aspic (gelatin meat juices) from the confit, and duck fat all mixed together. It was delicious spread on baguette slices with a strong Dijon mustard (like Maille) and cornichons. Soak the duck liver in some milk for a few hours before cooking (to draw out the blood), then cook it in some duck fat until it is just pink on the inside. Puree the liver with duck fat and aspic, then mix in shredded confit meat. Pour a thin layer of melted duck fat on top to seal.

How to Render Fat
Cut the skin and large pieces of fat into small 1/2 inch pieces. Place in a saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a simmer then turn down to the lowest heat to slowly melt the fat. Cook until all the water is evaporated and the fat is clear and golden. Don't boil the fat or it will overheat and begin to break down and will be unusable. Strain the fat and reserve the pieces of skin and fat to make cracklings if you wish (bake in the oven at 250 deg F until they are crisp).