Mápó dòufu (hot spicy tofu)
This dish is commonly regarded as one of the signature dishes of the Szechuan province in China. It is pretty easy to prepare. I'm not a fan of this dish, but after watching this prepared in an episode of the comedy anime series Chuka Ichiban (Cooking Master Boy), I got awfully interested in cooking it. Everyone else in my family is proficient at cooking it.
My mom tells me that it isn't complicated at all... "You fry the pork and green onion. Put in the tofu and fry it. Add the sauce and you're done."
My dad's recipe, as it was told over the telephone, went like this: "Take one box of tofu and chop it into whatever shape you want. Fry ground pork until crispy with soy sauce. Add some chicken broth. Put a little salt on it. When it starts to bubble, put the ground pork in. Add 1/2 tsp black pepper. Cook with medium-thick cornstarch until it is a little shiny and sticky. If you like it hot, chop up a red pepper. Put spring onion on it. Add a few drops of sesame oil. Add the hot bean sauce last so that it's not too hot."
My brother's recipe had less of the how and more of the what to put in the dish: sauce is 1/4 c. stock, 1 tbsp hot bean sauce, 1/2 tbsp light soy sauce; green onions, minced ginger, minced garlic, tofu, 1 lb ground pork, and Szechuan peppercorns (btw, these are no longer a banned ingredient in the USA).
Here's what transpired on the stove tonight...
Ingredients:
1 box soft tofu (should be firm, but this is all I had in my pantry)
1/4 pound ground pork
1/2 tsp fresh ginger, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 stalk green onion, sliced, for garnish
1 tsp sesame oil (optional)
1/4 c. chicken broth
2 tbsp olive oil, for frying freshly ground black pepper
Sauce thickener (optional): 1 tsp cornstarch 2 tsp cold water
Sauce (mildly spicy):
1 tsp hot bean sauce (1 tbsp for very spicy)
1 tsp light soy sauce
1/2 tsp salt (up to 1 1/2 tsp salt)
Directions:
1. Cube the bean curd into 1/2" pieces and set aside.
2. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a pan and fry the ground pork until almost no pinkness remains. Set aside.
3. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a pan and add the garlic and ginger. When these start to lightly brown, add the tofu and cook for about 2 minutes. Add the pork, chicken broth, and sauce. Simmer for about 3 minutes.
4. Dissolve the cornstarch with the cold water and pour this into the pan. This will thicken the sauce.
5. Stir in the sesame oil and sprinkle with green onions.
6. Remove from heat and serve. Looked like mapo tofu, tastes like mild mapo tofu. Well, it has all the flavor and very little of the hot spicyness. This can be converted into a vegetarian dish by omitting the ground meat and using a vegetable broth instead.
The Asian shopping list - Dec '07
I only just realized that today is pretty much the last week before Xmas where everyone tries to do as much shopping as possible before that day. I had expected a large crowd at Ranch 99 and was not disappointed when I got there. While maybe 75% of the Chinese population or more in southern California does not celebrate the day, they still like to eat food a lot and any holiday that grants them extra time off to cook even more food is a good thing. Always write down what you think you need before you go to any Asian food mart. Things will be on sale that aren't on your list and you can easily find yourself overbudget and without any fridge space to accommodate it all.
I really only needed a few things from the store. Sure, it is 25 miles away, but these are kitchen necessities. Besides, how was I going to attempt mapo tofu (hot spicy tofu) without hot bean sauce?
A few things came out of this shopping trip. For one, I found that the Ranch 99 carries whole rabbit meat so that'll be an interesting item to pick up next Easter when every kid on the block is out hunting for eggs, I'll be roasting the iconic rabbit. Mmmm. Sounds like a plan. The second thing I found was that I was much less inclined towards the tempting items not on my shopping list. I think mostly it's because I know I could make the item myself but am too lazy to do it. Buying the item pre-made doesn't make me any less lazy, it just makes me fat and lazy. So, I have opted to not toss items like shao bing (flat sesame bread), green onion pancakes, chiao siu bau (?), and fried gyoza into the cart.
The list included ground pork, hot bean sauce, fresh shitake mushrooms, green onions, vegetables (I just pick up my favorites), ginger, garlic, large shrimp, and xiao xing wine (red rice wine). Of the vegetables, I got on choy, baby bok choy, bean sprouts (the mung bean variety, not the soy bean sprouts), a green cabbage, and Taiwan bai chai. Not on the list but also picked up were fresh giant enoki mushrooms (3/pk), normal enoki mushrooms, preserved duck eggs, chestnuts, two frozen ducks, three cans of the litchi-flavored grass jelly drink, and some red bean mochi.
The total bill? $50.
I really only needed a few things from the store. Sure, it is 25 miles away, but these are kitchen necessities. Besides, how was I going to attempt mapo tofu (hot spicy tofu) without hot bean sauce?
A few things came out of this shopping trip. For one, I found that the Ranch 99 carries whole rabbit meat so that'll be an interesting item to pick up next Easter when every kid on the block is out hunting for eggs, I'll be roasting the iconic rabbit. Mmmm. Sounds like a plan. The second thing I found was that I was much less inclined towards the tempting items not on my shopping list. I think mostly it's because I know I could make the item myself but am too lazy to do it. Buying the item pre-made doesn't make me any less lazy, it just makes me fat and lazy. So, I have opted to not toss items like shao bing (flat sesame bread), green onion pancakes, chiao siu bau (?), and fried gyoza into the cart.
The list included ground pork, hot bean sauce, fresh shitake mushrooms, green onions, vegetables (I just pick up my favorites), ginger, garlic, large shrimp, and xiao xing wine (red rice wine). Of the vegetables, I got on choy, baby bok choy, bean sprouts (the mung bean variety, not the soy bean sprouts), a green cabbage, and Taiwan bai chai. Not on the list but also picked up were fresh giant enoki mushrooms (3/pk), normal enoki mushrooms, preserved duck eggs, chestnuts, two frozen ducks, three cans of the litchi-flavored grass jelly drink, and some red bean mochi.
The total bill? $50.
Pumpkin Soup
Somehow I think a regular jack-o-lantern pumpkin would be better for this recipe than a sugar pie pumpkin. But, most squash-like objects will work for this soup in lieu of the pumpkin. Butternut or acorn squash seem likely suspects as a substitute. This recipe is fairly generic, with the exception of steaming the raw pumpkin instead of baking it. I like to steam pumpkin since it cooks much faster. If you wanted to make this vegan, you can always omit the butter and replace the chicken broth with a vegetable broth.
You'll find that fresh cream or crème fraîche (not really the same dairy "product") just adds to the robustness of the flavor and does very little to thicken the soup. Often I find that restaurants put way too much cream into the soup. Anyhow. Cheers!
1 small pumpkin
2 tbsp unsalted butter
1/3 cup shallots, diced
1 tbsp olive oil
2 medium rose or yukon gold potatoes, cut into chunks
3 1/2 c. chicken broth
a sprinkling of salt, pepper, nutmeg, dried oregano (to taste)
crème fraîche or fresh whipped cream (optional)
Cut pumpkin into quarters or halves and remove the seeds and fibers. Steam in a steamer for 45 minutes or until malleable. Let cool. Scrape pumpkin meat into a bowl and set aside. Discard the rind.
Melt butter and olive oil in a large pot on medium heat. Add diced shallots and sauté until the shallots turn slightly translucent (about 2 minutes). Add the pumpkin flesh, cubed potatoes, and chicken broth.
Bring to a boil, then simmer for 30-40 minutes. Using an immersion blender, purée soup until smooth. Season the soup to taste with salt, pepper and nutmeg.
Serve with a dollop of crème fraîche and/or a toasted wedge of French or sourdough bread.
You'll find that fresh cream or crème fraîche (not really the same dairy "product") just adds to the robustness of the flavor and does very little to thicken the soup. Often I find that restaurants put way too much cream into the soup. Anyhow. Cheers!
1 small pumpkin
2 tbsp unsalted butter
1/3 cup shallots, diced
1 tbsp olive oil
2 medium rose or yukon gold potatoes, cut into chunks
3 1/2 c. chicken broth
a sprinkling of salt, pepper, nutmeg, dried oregano (to taste)
crème fraîche or fresh whipped cream (optional)
Cut pumpkin into quarters or halves and remove the seeds and fibers. Steam in a steamer for 45 minutes or until malleable. Let cool. Scrape pumpkin meat into a bowl and set aside. Discard the rind.
Melt butter and olive oil in a large pot on medium heat. Add diced shallots and sauté until the shallots turn slightly translucent (about 2 minutes). Add the pumpkin flesh, cubed potatoes, and chicken broth.
Bring to a boil, then simmer for 30-40 minutes. Using an immersion blender, purée soup until smooth. Season the soup to taste with salt, pepper and nutmeg.
Serve with a dollop of crème fraîche and/or a toasted wedge of French or sourdough bread.
Tea cookies
This is one of those recipes that is so easy to do that I haven't written it down until now; and I'm doing so because I'm always hunting around the kitchen for the recipe only to realize that I haven't written it down; so here it is. The recipe is adapted from the Joy of Baking's "Mexican Wedding Cakes" and has many names: Russian Tea Cakes, Mexican Wedding Cake, an Italian Butter Nut, a Southern Pecan Butterball, a Snowdrop, a Viennese Sugar Ball, and a Snowball. But, none of those names mean anything here since I don't use nuts in desserts. The adaptation is that I use crushed granola in lieu of the nuts.
This is a crowd favorite and always popular among my co-workers. For simplicity, I just call them tea cookies because they are sweetened just enough to be eaten with unsweetened hot tea.
Ingredients:
1 c. crushed granola bars (I use the oat & honey variety of the Nature Valley granola bars)
1 c. unsalted butter, softened
1 c. + 1/4 c. powdered sugar, separated
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 c. unbleached white flour
1/4 tsp salt
Directions:
1. In a mixing bowl, cream together the butter, 1/4 c. powdered sugar, and vanilla extract until light and fluffy. Add sifted flour, salt, and crushed granola. Mix until well combined.
2. Refrigerate the cookie dough until it is firm, about 30 minutes to an hour.
3. Scoop out dough with a teaspoon and form into rounded 1-inch balls.
4. Slightly flatten these onto a parchment paper-lined baking tray. These cookies will expand a little bit, so you can probably fit 12 cookies to a tray.
5. Bake for 15 minutes or until lightly toasted on the bottom. If you can press them lightly with a finger and not leave a noticeable impression, these are done.
6. Transfer cookies to a cooling rack to cool completely.
7. Dust the cooled cookies with the remaining 1 c. powdered sugar. I use a soup strainer for this step to evenly coat the cookies with the sugar.
This is a crowd favorite and always popular among my co-workers. For simplicity, I just call them tea cookies because they are sweetened just enough to be eaten with unsweetened hot tea.
Ingredients:
1 c. crushed granola bars (I use the oat & honey variety of the Nature Valley granola bars)
1 c. unsalted butter, softened
1 c. + 1/4 c. powdered sugar, separated
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 c. unbleached white flour
1/4 tsp salt
Directions:
1. In a mixing bowl, cream together the butter, 1/4 c. powdered sugar, and vanilla extract until light and fluffy. Add sifted flour, salt, and crushed granola. Mix until well combined.
2. Refrigerate the cookie dough until it is firm, about 30 minutes to an hour.
3. Scoop out dough with a teaspoon and form into rounded 1-inch balls.
4. Slightly flatten these onto a parchment paper-lined baking tray. These cookies will expand a little bit, so you can probably fit 12 cookies to a tray.
5. Bake for 15 minutes or until lightly toasted on the bottom. If you can press them lightly with a finger and not leave a noticeable impression, these are done.
6. Transfer cookies to a cooling rack to cool completely.
7. Dust the cooled cookies with the remaining 1 c. powdered sugar. I use a soup strainer for this step to evenly coat the cookies with the sugar.
Lamb Stew
This is a recipe that I've been making every year for the past few years and always about this time of the year when the weather starts to turn cold and the maple leaves begin to shed their green foliage for a multitude of burnt autumn colors. The stew tastes somewhat sweet because of the ingredients used even though no sugar is ever added. If you see classic, traditional ingredients missing from my recipes, it is because I don't like them. Anyhow..
Ingredients & Directions
1 lb fresh lamb shoulder or chops
4 tbsp olive oil
1 quart broth
3 cloves garlic, sliced
2 c. sliced carrots
1 raw sweet potato, cut into irregular chunks
6 oz tomato paste
1 c. sweet corn kernels
an unspecified amount of water to "thin" the stew
1 bay leaf
2 tsp dried oregano
2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 c. red wine
1. Separate the bone from the lamb shoulder or chops and set aside. The lamb meat should be cut into bite-sized pieces.
2. In a frying pan, add 2 tbsp olive oil and heat it up. Add the lamb meat and brown evenly. Set aside.
3. In an 8-qt stockpot, add 2 tbsp olive oil and heat it until the oil starts to thin. Add the sliced carrots and saute until tender.
4. Add the remaining ingredients to the stockpot: the lamb, the broth, sliced garlic, sweet potato, tomato paste, corn, dried oregano, garlic powder, and a bay leaf.
5. Bring it to a boil, then turn down to simmer. The stew will be done when the sweet potato is tender. Everything else cooks pretty quickly.
5. Add 1/4 c. red wine and simmer until the alcohol has cooked off.
6. Turn off the stove and serve stew.
Side notes:
On pot sizes, I have an 8-qt and a 12-qt stock pot; I use the 12-qt if I'm cooking a whole 3 lb chicken and the 8-qt for all other soups and stews. Does this mean you can't cook this in a 4-qt pot? No.. it just means that I only have two sizes to work with.
On the wine, I used a 2003 Sangiovese from Bray Vineyards. It just happened to be a bottle in my fridge that was already open.
Ingredients & Directions
1 lb fresh lamb shoulder or chops
4 tbsp olive oil
1 quart broth
3 cloves garlic, sliced
2 c. sliced carrots
1 raw sweet potato, cut into irregular chunks
6 oz tomato paste
1 c. sweet corn kernels
an unspecified amount of water to "thin" the stew
1 bay leaf
2 tsp dried oregano
2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 c. red wine
1. Separate the bone from the lamb shoulder or chops and set aside. The lamb meat should be cut into bite-sized pieces.
2. In a frying pan, add 2 tbsp olive oil and heat it up. Add the lamb meat and brown evenly. Set aside.
3. In an 8-qt stockpot, add 2 tbsp olive oil and heat it until the oil starts to thin. Add the sliced carrots and saute until tender.
4. Add the remaining ingredients to the stockpot: the lamb, the broth, sliced garlic, sweet potato, tomato paste, corn, dried oregano, garlic powder, and a bay leaf.
5. Bring it to a boil, then turn down to simmer. The stew will be done when the sweet potato is tender. Everything else cooks pretty quickly.
5. Add 1/4 c. red wine and simmer until the alcohol has cooked off.
6. Turn off the stove and serve stew.
Side notes:
On pot sizes, I have an 8-qt and a 12-qt stock pot; I use the 12-qt if I'm cooking a whole 3 lb chicken and the 8-qt for all other soups and stews. Does this mean you can't cook this in a 4-qt pot? No.. it just means that I only have two sizes to work with.
On the wine, I used a 2003 Sangiovese from Bray Vineyards. It just happened to be a bottle in my fridge that was already open.
Wild mushroom and curry risotto
I read an article online that if you make risotto correctly, the rice becomes naturally creamy in the broth & wine when it cooks in due to its high starch content; and that you should never add butter or cream as the finishing step. I picked up some arborio rice from Whole Foods today. All the recipes that I came across seemed to have a similar theme going on...
Some type of oil + rice + broth >> Simmer >> Add other ingredients >> Add other seasonings >> Simmer >> Add wine >> Simmer >> Serve
For this experiment, I didn't use much curry since I only wanted to color the dish yellow and not have a curried rice dish; much like how saffron is typically used to flavor and impart color to the rice in a traditional risotto. This recipe makes 2 cups of cooked rice.
Ingredients & Directions:
1 tbsp butter or olive oil
1 c. dry arborio rice
Heat a skillet and add the butter. Once the butter has melted, add the rice. No, you're not cooking the rice in the butter. This is to keep it the starch in the rice from sticking to the pan. In a separate pot, rehydrate the dried mushroom with 1 c. boiling water. When softened, drain and reserve the mushrooms. Before the rice has a chance to burn and before all the moisture wicks itself away from the pan, add:
2 c. chicken broth
1 c. broken bits of dried mushroom
Cook on low-medium heat and simmer for 20-30 minutes until nearly all the liquid has been absorbed by the rice. If you're going to watch the director's cut of Dune while cooking, stir and check the rice frequently.
Add some white wine, no more than 1/4 cup or the alcohol won't burn off before its served
When this liquid has all been just about absorbed by the rice or cooked off, turn off the stove and stir in 1 tsp curry powder. The curry taste mellows out when the rice sits refrigerated for a day or so. Salt to taste.
Total cook and prep time: 40 minutes
Notes:
In the mushroom rehydration step, you can reserve the liquid as a mushroom dashi soup base for another dish. The curry powder could also have been added to the butter and heated until fragrant.
Sweet Tamarind Drink
I think tamarind is the foreign equivalent to the lemon in its sourness and use for medicinal and culinary purposes. This is one of the recipes that I've been meaning to try after reading about it in Saveur magazine. Basically you take about a pound of fresh tamarind pods, you'd want them fresher if you wanted a drink or pulp that was less sour. Shell them out and remove whatever harder strings are attached to the pulp. Put them in 2 quarts of water and boil until the pulp is soft (about 15-20 minutes). Strain the water through a sieve and reserve the liquid.
This is where I deviated from the recipe a bit. In the pot where I had boiled the pulp, I added about a quart and a half of cool water and just used my hands to separate the seeds from the pulp. Instead of using a blender, I put the pulp through the sieve to separate the pulp from the seeds.
At this point, you could scrape the bottom of the sieve with a spoon to get your tamarind pulp for other dishes. Anyhow, strain all the tamarind liquid and pulp into an 8-quart pot. Bring that pot to a boil and cool. Sugar to taste and serve.
For 1 cup of tamarind liquid, 2 tsp of sugar seems to sweeten it enough so that it isn't overbearingly tart.
After having made this from scratch, I can see why the advertised pictures of tamarind drink never resembles what it does if you make it fresh. I must say that the whole preparation process tastes better than it looks. The drink itself smells rather earthy, like boiled plants--not vegetables, but like someone cooked up peat moss and served it as a drink. Seeing how it's autumn now, I suppose that sour drinks aren't as refreshing when the weather is cooler.
Kudos to the wild plant gatherer 3,000 years ago who convinced someone else to drink a brownish liquid made from the seed pulp that resembles nearly dried cat sh**.
Beef and Vegetable Soup
It might have tasted meatier if I'd used beef broth instead of vegetable broth, but that's what was already in my pantry. Most recipes of this particular flavor use a bag of mixed frozen vegetables. I remember from my youth that I disliked half the vegetables in that mix, mostly because lima beans tasted pasty, the green beans were way over-cooked, the peas were flavorless, and you didn't nearly get enough of what you did like.
Ingredients:
4 c. vegetable broth
2 white potatoes, cubed
2 carrots, sliced
2 celery stalks, cubed
1 c. fresh corn
5 medium white mushrooms, sliced
1/2 lb. stew beef, cut into smaller pieces
dash of cayenne pepper (optional)
1 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. sea salt
black pepper, to taste
1/2 c. white wine (optional)
1 shallot, chopped
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp olive oil
Directions:
1. Frying pan - On medium heat, add butter, olive oil, and shallots. Once the shallots have been lightly browned, add the beef and stir fry until the beef is nearly done. Set aside the beef. Add carrots, celery, and potatoes and cook until carrots are nearly tender.
2. Covered stockpot - Add broth, corn, and mushrooms, bring to a boil then simmer. Add the vegetables and beef. Add spices. Add the wine (optional). Cook on medium heat for 20 minutes, then simmer until potatoes are almost soft but haven't disintegrated.
Total prep time: 30 minutes
Total cook time: 1-2 hours, or longer
Ingredients:
4 c. vegetable broth
2 white potatoes, cubed
2 carrots, sliced
2 celery stalks, cubed
1 c. fresh corn
5 medium white mushrooms, sliced
1/2 lb. stew beef, cut into smaller pieces
dash of cayenne pepper (optional)
1 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. sea salt
black pepper, to taste
1/2 c. white wine (optional)
1 shallot, chopped
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp olive oil
Directions:
1. Frying pan - On medium heat, add butter, olive oil, and shallots. Once the shallots have been lightly browned, add the beef and stir fry until the beef is nearly done. Set aside the beef. Add carrots, celery, and potatoes and cook until carrots are nearly tender.
2. Covered stockpot - Add broth, corn, and mushrooms, bring to a boil then simmer. Add the vegetables and beef. Add spices. Add the wine (optional). Cook on medium heat for 20 minutes, then simmer until potatoes are almost soft but haven't disintegrated.
Total prep time: 30 minutes
Total cook time: 1-2 hours, or longer
Steamed Whole Tilapia
There are three chain ethic supermarkets in southern California near where I live: Ranch 99, Vallarta, and Jons. Meats, seafood, spices, seasonal fruits, and odd-things-to-try-out, etc., are very inexpensive here. At the latter two places I can buy a lot of whole tilapia for a very good price. The following is a relatively generic, but simple way to steam tilapia. I'd imagine that this preparation style is common to asian households.
Ingredients:
1 whole tilapia, thawed and cleaned
2 stalks green onions, sliced
1-2 slices of peeled ginger, thinly sliced
1 tbsp Chinese cooking wine (red or white, doesn't matter)
Before the fish is steamed, you need to make two slits on each side of the fish (through the flesh to the bone but not cutting through the fish, this helps it steam evenly and cook faster). Pour the wine over the fish and place the ginger and green onions on top.
The average whole tilapia will be under a pound, total cooking time is about 20 minutes. This seems like a long time, especially for fish, but I skip the process where you let a steamer come up to temperature then put the fish in. The flesh of the fish should be of a white-ish color when fully cooked. Promptly remove from heat and serve.
Whole fish pairs with steamed rice (brown, white, or "wild"). It goes pleasantly with a dry riesling wine, like Columbia Crest (which you can usually get from Trader Joe's).
I eat this with a sauce that has equal parts rice wine vinegar and light soy sauce.
Ingredients:
1 whole tilapia, thawed and cleaned
2 stalks green onions, sliced
1-2 slices of peeled ginger, thinly sliced
1 tbsp Chinese cooking wine (red or white, doesn't matter)
Before the fish is steamed, you need to make two slits on each side of the fish (through the flesh to the bone but not cutting through the fish, this helps it steam evenly and cook faster). Pour the wine over the fish and place the ginger and green onions on top.
The average whole tilapia will be under a pound, total cooking time is about 20 minutes. This seems like a long time, especially for fish, but I skip the process where you let a steamer come up to temperature then put the fish in. The flesh of the fish should be of a white-ish color when fully cooked. Promptly remove from heat and serve.
Whole fish pairs with steamed rice (brown, white, or "wild"). It goes pleasantly with a dry riesling wine, like Columbia Crest (which you can usually get from Trader Joe's).
I eat this with a sauce that has equal parts rice wine vinegar and light soy sauce.
Pastelitos de guayaba y queso
This dessert goes by different names (pasteles de guayaba, pastelitos de guayaba y queso, guava and cheese strudel) depending on who you ask. I don't see why it wouldn't be more popular among bakers. It is an easy recipe that doesn't involve working with filo dough. Mine came out lighter in color because I don't use egg washes when baking. The recipe comes from the cookbook, In a Cuban Kitchen
by Alex Garcia. I "halved" the recipe because this was a first run, and while I like experimental cooking, I don't like to waste ingredients. It is possible that it's not a popular dessert because the dough requires a chilling step before it is rolled out, then cut into squares.
When I went shopping for guava paste at Vallarta's, I couldn't find any that didn't have red food coloring in it. I picked up a seemingly harmless brick of guava paste. When these bricks are packaged and shipped, the sugar in the paste crystalizes and forms a crusty outer edge around the brick. I sliced off the crystalized sugar part and am saving it for other uses.
I have a third of my "half" dough mixture leftover which I will combine with a new batch tonight. This batch (minus that third) made 11 pastries, 7 cheese pocket-shaped (take a square, put paste in the center, take the corners of two of the opposing edges and fold them to the center) and 4 rugelach shaped (need a rectangle, put guava paste in the center, fold over the edges so that it looks like a small bundle, crimp edges). Tonight I'll make them turnover-shaped (take a square, fill it with guava paste, fold it in half diagonally, and crimp the edges). Finished product looked like this: pic1 and pic2.
Ingredients
8 oz cream cheese, softened
2 c. unbleached white flour
2 sticks butter, softened
guava paste
Directions
1. Blend cream cheese, flour, and butter together. Wrap it in plastic (or put it into a lidded pot) and chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes).
2. After the dough has been chilled, roll it out once. This keeps the gluten in the flour from being all worked up.
3. Add 1 tsp or so of guava paste to a random danish pastry shape.
4. If the pastry shape requires edge crimping, use fork tines to do this or squeeze the edges together with the back edge of a knife.
5. Bake at 350 degrees F for 25-30 minutes, or until lightly browned.
The guava paste didn't melt like all the pictures that I've seen of this dessert. I may have to work with the brick to see if I can reconstitute it into a jam-like consistency. The dough came out quite nice, flaky enough to be crisp and has a little bit of weight because as the dough starts to sweat (need to roll it out while it is very cold), it became rather hard to get it rolled out to the 1/4-inch thickness that the pastry shell requires.
Since it is just a pastry method, I expect that both savory and sweet fillings can be used.
by Alex Garcia. I "halved" the recipe because this was a first run, and while I like experimental cooking, I don't like to waste ingredients. It is possible that it's not a popular dessert because the dough requires a chilling step before it is rolled out, then cut into squares.When I went shopping for guava paste at Vallarta's, I couldn't find any that didn't have red food coloring in it. I picked up a seemingly harmless brick of guava paste. When these bricks are packaged and shipped, the sugar in the paste crystalizes and forms a crusty outer edge around the brick. I sliced off the crystalized sugar part and am saving it for other uses.
I have a third of my "half" dough mixture leftover which I will combine with a new batch tonight. This batch (minus that third) made 11 pastries, 7 cheese pocket-shaped (take a square, put paste in the center, take the corners of two of the opposing edges and fold them to the center) and 4 rugelach shaped (need a rectangle, put guava paste in the center, fold over the edges so that it looks like a small bundle, crimp edges). Tonight I'll make them turnover-shaped (take a square, fill it with guava paste, fold it in half diagonally, and crimp the edges). Finished product looked like this: pic1 and pic2.
Ingredients
8 oz cream cheese, softened
2 c. unbleached white flour
2 sticks butter, softened
guava paste
Directions
1. Blend cream cheese, flour, and butter together. Wrap it in plastic (or put it into a lidded pot) and chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes).
2. After the dough has been chilled, roll it out once. This keeps the gluten in the flour from being all worked up.
3. Add 1 tsp or so of guava paste to a random danish pastry shape.
4. If the pastry shape requires edge crimping, use fork tines to do this or squeeze the edges together with the back edge of a knife.
5. Bake at 350 degrees F for 25-30 minutes, or until lightly browned.
The guava paste didn't melt like all the pictures that I've seen of this dessert. I may have to work with the brick to see if I can reconstitute it into a jam-like consistency. The dough came out quite nice, flaky enough to be crisp and has a little bit of weight because as the dough starts to sweat (need to roll it out while it is very cold), it became rather hard to get it rolled out to the 1/4-inch thickness that the pastry shell requires.
Since it is just a pastry method, I expect that both savory and sweet fillings can be used.
Sautéed shrimp with lime and smoked chipotle sauce
This is the second time I've made this dish, and it tastes pretty good. The portions of spices are whatever you feel comfortable eating. :)
Ingredients
juice of 1/2 lime
1 tsp smoked chipotle sauce
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1-2 tsp peeled ginger, thinly sliced
1/4 tsp sugar
2 tbsp olive oil, for frying
1/2 lb raw shrimp, cleaned (with shells on)
1. In a small bowl, combine lime juice, smoked chipotle sauce, and sugar. Set aside.
2. Heat oil in a skillet, add garlic and ginger. Stir until the garlic is lightly browned.
3. Add shrimp and sauté until shrimp curls and turns a light orange color, or well, that color shrimp turns when it is cooked
4. Add lime juice mix and stir around until the shrimp is coated.
5. Remove from heat and serve.
Looks a lot like this.. (click for pic)
Ingredients
juice of 1/2 lime
1 tsp smoked chipotle sauce
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1-2 tsp peeled ginger, thinly sliced
1/4 tsp sugar
2 tbsp olive oil, for frying
1/2 lb raw shrimp, cleaned (with shells on)
1. In a small bowl, combine lime juice, smoked chipotle sauce, and sugar. Set aside.
2. Heat oil in a skillet, add garlic and ginger. Stir until the garlic is lightly browned.
3. Add shrimp and sauté until shrimp curls and turns a light orange color, or well, that color shrimp turns when it is cooked
4. Add lime juice mix and stir around until the shrimp is coated.
5. Remove from heat and serve.
Looks a lot like this.. (click for pic)
Khinkali, a Georgian meat pastry
My small town certainly has a lot of ethnic grocery stores within walking distance. I found a fairly larger grocery store right up the next block last weekend. The store carries the same assortment of packaged spices, like ground sumac and seven-spice blend, as the Burbank shop I buy my spices from. One of the freezer aisle items were packages of khinkali. It looked like it was worth a try.
As it turns out, the Russian/Georgian pastry was much saltier than expected. The filling was tough, but edible. I don't think any amount of boiling or steaming could make tender. It closely resembles the Chinese xiaolóngbao, but by appearances only. Unless I can get my hands on a sampling of freshly-made khinkalis, I think I'll have to stay away from this freezer item.
I did find a recipe, but I don't have any mindshare on what a good khinkali tastes like.
Dark chocolate chunk cookies
This recipe isn't my own, but it is very good. I've used all types of dark chocolate in this recipe and sometimes I add chunks of milk chocolate into it. You could always just use a bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips but what's the fun in that? I prefer hacking apart the Ghirardelli chocolate wedges with a hammer and chisel. It's very relaxing. If I wanted the chunks to look pretty, I'd use a santoku.
Anyhow, the original recipe. And, have I ever mentioned how wrong it is to put nuts into desserts, especially cookies? If I wanted texture, I'd add more chocolate.. Here's my version, and a pic of the 5/17/07 batch:
Ingredients
1 c. unsalted butter, softened but not melted
1 c. light brown sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 c. unbleached cane sugar
1 egg
Blend these together until creamy in bowl #1.
1 1/2 c. unbleached white flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 c. cocoa powder
Sift these together in bowl #2 before blending them with bowl #1. Don't over mix. Blend until just combined.
Refrigerate the cookie dough for 1+ hours, or overnight.
Preheat yer oven to 350 degrees. Bake as usual.
Anyhow, the original recipe. And, have I ever mentioned how wrong it is to put nuts into desserts, especially cookies? If I wanted texture, I'd add more chocolate.. Here's my version, and a pic of the 5/17/07 batch:
Ingredients
1 c. unsalted butter, softened but not melted
1 c. light brown sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 c. unbleached cane sugar
1 egg
Blend these together until creamy in bowl #1.
1 1/2 c. unbleached white flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 c. cocoa powder
Sift these together in bowl #2 before blending them with bowl #1. Don't over mix. Blend until just combined.
Refrigerate the cookie dough for 1+ hours, or overnight.
Preheat yer oven to 350 degrees. Bake as usual.
Dark chocolate pistachio bark
So, last night I tried the JoC recipe for making dark chocolate truffles. Except, here's the thing. The book told me to chill the ganache for 3-4 hours then use a melon baller or pastry bag to pipe out the truffles. Uhh. After an hour in my fridge the ganache was rock hard and I couldn't even spoon it out.
Ingredients:
8 oz dark chocolate, chopped
1/2 c. heavy cream
1/4 c. - 1/2 c. lightly toasted pistachios, whole or chopped
JoC ganache directions:
1. In a small saucepan, scald the cream.
2. Put the chopped choclate in a heatproof bowl. Pour the cream onto the chocolate and stir until the chocolate has melted (glossy and shiny) and the cream is entirely encorporated.
3. Let cool to room temperature, then cover with plastic wrap.
I'd say that if you're going to make truffles, don't refrigerate the ganache. But, you won't be able to make truffles while the ganache is still liquidy. Yeah, I suppose I could always read what other people have done when making this confection but what'd be the point of experimenting? The universe would be a really boring place if everything came pre-explained.
Let's say that you managed to not follow the JoC instuctions through the refrigeration stage and you have a bowl of warm ganache.
Chocolate bark directions:
Line a baking sheet with parchment (or silpat, if you prefer) and pour the ganache onto the parchment. If you don't have an off-set spatula, use the back of a spoon to smooth out the surface so that the chocolate is evenly distributed.
Next, add your whole or chopped nuts. I used pistachios because I had them on hand and you really don't see chocolate pistachio bark at the store. Just about any type of nut can be used, raw or lightly toasted.
Now you can refrigerate the chocolate bark so that it sets in a few hours. The confection is done once the parchment paper peels off cleanly from the bark. Chop it into squares, trianges, or other shapes, or break it apart roughly.
In the ganache step 1, if you wanted add a unique flavor to the chocolate, you can add spices to this step. Just strain out the hard bits before you add the cream to the chopped chocolate.
Ingredients:
8 oz dark chocolate, chopped
1/2 c. heavy cream
1/4 c. - 1/2 c. lightly toasted pistachios, whole or chopped
JoC ganache directions:
1. In a small saucepan, scald the cream.
2. Put the chopped choclate in a heatproof bowl. Pour the cream onto the chocolate and stir until the chocolate has melted (glossy and shiny) and the cream is entirely encorporated.
3. Let cool to room temperature, then cover with plastic wrap.
I'd say that if you're going to make truffles, don't refrigerate the ganache. But, you won't be able to make truffles while the ganache is still liquidy. Yeah, I suppose I could always read what other people have done when making this confection but what'd be the point of experimenting? The universe would be a really boring place if everything came pre-explained.
Let's say that you managed to not follow the JoC instuctions through the refrigeration stage and you have a bowl of warm ganache.
Chocolate bark directions:
Line a baking sheet with parchment (or silpat, if you prefer) and pour the ganache onto the parchment. If you don't have an off-set spatula, use the back of a spoon to smooth out the surface so that the chocolate is evenly distributed.
Next, add your whole or chopped nuts. I used pistachios because I had them on hand and you really don't see chocolate pistachio bark at the store. Just about any type of nut can be used, raw or lightly toasted.
Now you can refrigerate the chocolate bark so that it sets in a few hours. The confection is done once the parchment paper peels off cleanly from the bark. Chop it into squares, trianges, or other shapes, or break it apart roughly.
In the ganache step 1, if you wanted add a unique flavor to the chocolate, you can add spices to this step. Just strain out the hard bits before you add the cream to the chopped chocolate.
The spice pantry
Because I'm culinarily bored with my own cooking, I've recently acquired the following spices:
garam masala
allspice
a random curry
chipotle chili powder
ground cardamom
I will do something with these soon, maybe torment some hacked apart chicken body parts and appendages.
Spices are pretty cheap if you don't buy them from a national or regional supermarket chain. Depending on where you live, you're much better off buying spices from a local ethnic market. They'll be fresher and less expensive. Ralphs grocery store, for example, sells cardamom powder for $16/spice bottle. It's not really a high traffic spice like cinnamon or allspice. So it's priced so that it never makes it off the shelf, or whatever. At an ethnic market you can find ground cardamom for about $3-4, and the quantity will be more than enough.
If you don't live near a dense ethnic (non-white) area, the next best places to shop for spice are Whole Foods market and Cost Plus World market.
KItchen Notes: Mmm, that sauce packet
I'm pretty close taste-wise to deconstructing the ingredient ratio for Annie Chun's udon soup (sold at Trader Joe's). Ok, so what's in the soup is printed on the container which reads: naturally brewed soy sauce, shitake mushroom, sea vegetable, evaporated cane juice, rice wine, and yeast extract. When you pour it out of its packet, it's a dark liquid with no dangly bits and isn't murky. So, the sea vegetable is probably a standard grade seaweed like kelp or kombu; both of which are common to asian soups.
I suppose I really don't have a reason for doing this other than it's a personal quest this year to make homemade udon noodles and a good soup base to go with it. Sea vegetable and shitake mushroom exists in the Annie Chun recipe as a dashi. The yeast extract won't make it into my soup base recipe since it's pretty much MSG.
A basic dashi recipe is that you take a dried ingredient and rehydrate it with water, usually by boiling it until the ingredient softens. The reserve liquid is the dashi and is used in soups and sauces.
A lot of meat/vegetable/potsticker dipping sauces will call for a 2:1:1 ratio of soy sauce, vinegar/wine, water.
This might be as easy as:
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp rice wine
1 tbsp dashi.
Adding sugar to a sauce is generally to taste by its maker, so this recipe would probably include no more than 1 tsp of unbleached cane sugar.
This might be as easy as:
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp rice wine
1 tbsp dashi.
Adding sugar to a sauce is generally to taste by its maker, so this recipe would probably include no more than 1 tsp of unbleached cane sugar.
Float me
The original recipe comes from Alton Brown. I didn't have peach preserves so I might just have to make another batch to see what it tastes like. I'd imagine it'd be slightly sweeter. Last weekend it was pretty warm. I think southern California pretty much skipped spring and hopped along into early summer. I thought I'd make a rootbeer float, except I didn't have any ice cream.. ooh, but I did have the ingredients (half and half, heavy cream, sugar, vanilla bean) and an ice cream maker.
It's a rather easy recipe:
2 cups half and half
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup sugar, minus 2 tbsp
1 vanilla bean, halved with seeds scooped out
In a heavy bottomed saucepan, combine all ingredients and cook to simmer (do not boil).
I don't have a cooking thermometer to tell me when the mixture has reached 170 degrees F, so another way to tell that it's done cooking is to see if it coats the back of a spoon like a thick creamed soup. When it does, turn the heat off.
Strain it into a container and refrigerate for at least 10-12 hours. Alton says that the mixture won't set in an ice cream maker, and that part is pretty much true. There aren't any coagulants like cornstarch in the mixture to help it set or thicken. Anyhow.
Once the ice cream gets to the soft serve stage, scoop it all out to a clean container that can hold 1 qt of liquid and freeze it until firm. It seems like a rather long process just to make a rootbeer float, but it's well worth it and very tasty. I'm not sure I would have liked the peach preserves flavor in my rootbeer float.
Hehe. That's an experiment for another day.
It's a rather easy recipe:
2 cups half and half
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup sugar, minus 2 tbsp
1 vanilla bean, halved with seeds scooped out
In a heavy bottomed saucepan, combine all ingredients and cook to simmer (do not boil).
I don't have a cooking thermometer to tell me when the mixture has reached 170 degrees F, so another way to tell that it's done cooking is to see if it coats the back of a spoon like a thick creamed soup. When it does, turn the heat off.
Strain it into a container and refrigerate for at least 10-12 hours. Alton says that the mixture won't set in an ice cream maker, and that part is pretty much true. There aren't any coagulants like cornstarch in the mixture to help it set or thicken. Anyhow.
Once the ice cream gets to the soft serve stage, scoop it all out to a clean container that can hold 1 qt of liquid and freeze it until firm. It seems like a rather long process just to make a rootbeer float, but it's well worth it and very tasty. I'm not sure I would have liked the peach preserves flavor in my rootbeer float.
Hehe. That's an experiment for another day.
A tofu trick
Ever not have deep fried tofu around? Well, here's tofu you can keep in your freezer until it's needed. Buy a "firm" package of tofu, preferably the one that doesn't come in a vacuum seal. Any brand will do. Put it in your freezer until it freezes. Then thaw it out, drain all the water and squeeze out as much water as you can from the tofu without breaking it. Slice the tofu brick into 4 equal portions. Each portion is about a serving for one person. I am usually cooking for one, so put the rest of the portions into a ziplock bag and back into the freezer.
The portion that remains, slice that into smaller pieces. Put those pieces into your soup. This tofu will soak up much of the flavor in your soup and be very tasty.
The portion that remains, slice that into smaller pieces. Put those pieces into your soup. This tofu will soak up much of the flavor in your soup and be very tasty.
Dark chocolate brownies
Probably the most expensive ingredient for this dessert is the butter or the chocolate that's used; but it's still a fairly inexpensive dessert to make for work--depending on the quality of ingredients. Of the three times I've made chocolate brownies in my lifetime, this is the first batch that didn't come out badly; and by badly, I mean to say nearly inedible.
I made a few edits to the original recipe, but not many. Instead of 1 1/2 cups of sugar, I used 1 cup; and instead of 6 oz of butter, I used 4 oz (1 stick). The order of operations is the same.
Ingredients
6 oz dark chocolate, chopped
1 stick of unsalted butter, sliced into 1 tbsp chunks
3 eggs
1 c. flour
1 c. sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
This batch makes very short brownies if baked in a 9 x 13 baking dish. Instead of relying on the lightly buttered and floured baking dish method, I used silicone-treated parchment paper. No mess there and when the brownies cool, they remove easily without the bottoms sticking to the pan or the paper.
Directions
1. In a separate bowl, whisk eggs and vanilla extract together. Set aside.
2. Using a double boiler method, whisk together the chocolate and butter until the chocolate is melted and glossy.
3. Turn off the heat, but leave the mixing bowl where it is (assuming you used the double boiler method to melt the chocolate). Whisk in the sugar, a little at a time until it is all incorporated.
4. Whisk in the egg mixture, a little at a time so it doesn't curdle or get scrambled.
5. Sift and whisk in the flour until it's blended in.
6. Pour the chocolate mixture into a prepared 9 x 13 baking pan.
7. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until a toothpick tester comes out clean from the center.
8. Cut into bars when completely cooled.
This is one of the reasons why my co-workers aren't losing weight with their diets. :)
I made a few edits to the original recipe, but not many. Instead of 1 1/2 cups of sugar, I used 1 cup; and instead of 6 oz of butter, I used 4 oz (1 stick). The order of operations is the same.
Ingredients
6 oz dark chocolate, chopped
1 stick of unsalted butter, sliced into 1 tbsp chunks
3 eggs
1 c. flour
1 c. sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
This batch makes very short brownies if baked in a 9 x 13 baking dish. Instead of relying on the lightly buttered and floured baking dish method, I used silicone-treated parchment paper. No mess there and when the brownies cool, they remove easily without the bottoms sticking to the pan or the paper.
Directions
1. In a separate bowl, whisk eggs and vanilla extract together. Set aside.
2. Using a double boiler method, whisk together the chocolate and butter until the chocolate is melted and glossy.
3. Turn off the heat, but leave the mixing bowl where it is (assuming you used the double boiler method to melt the chocolate). Whisk in the sugar, a little at a time until it is all incorporated.
4. Whisk in the egg mixture, a little at a time so it doesn't curdle or get scrambled.
5. Sift and whisk in the flour until it's blended in.
6. Pour the chocolate mixture into a prepared 9 x 13 baking pan.
7. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until a toothpick tester comes out clean from the center.
8. Cut into bars when completely cooled.
This is one of the reasons why my co-workers aren't losing weight with their diets. :)
A good chai latte
You'd think it would be easy to find loose leaf decaf black tea (or green tea) in any non-asian grocery store, but it's much harder than one would think. I have yet to find a local supply of good quality decaf loose leaf black tea. I may just have to order it or make a special trip to that hole-in-a-wall tea shop on Garvey Avenue in Monterey Park, the one that's across the street from T.S. Emporium. Although, to ask for decaf black tea would be really insulting most tea connoiseurs, so I'll probably just get what I need from the emporium.
I started from this recipe, and have since then been trying to replicate the chai spice blend of an instant chai latte mix (of Middle Eastern origins) to something that isn't overly pungent (too much cloves) and has an overall warming effect (from the spices used, e.g., ground ginger, ground cinnamon, etc). I used 2 cups of filtered water and 2 cups of organic whole milk for the tea base. The original recipe was fair and mildly spicy, but it didn't really encourage me to brew the concoction again. It lacked depth.
The current blend I'm using is about right, but not quite. There is something still missing but I can't quite figure out what. I'm inclined to say that it's the lack of allspice, an ingredient missing from my spice rack. I've seen allspice used in chai recipes and haven't used it in mine yet.
The spice ratio:
1/2 tsp ground cardamom
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1 cinnamon stick
6 cloves
1 teabag (per person) worth of black tea or green tea
Any sweetners (sugar, honey, stevia, etc.) used should be placed in the cup.
In my experiments, I can recommend that you not use whole cloves and ground cloves together in the same chai recipe. There is a pungent aftertaste and it doesn't taste very good at all.
Since I lack plain black tea, I used a Bigelow teabag called "Constant Comment" which imparts an orange citrus flavor to the tea. I suspect the "sweet spices" noted on the bag's ingredients are probably nutmeg, cardamom, mace, and perhaps allspice.
I really have no memory map as to what allspice distinctly tastes like, only that it is a key spice in the pumpkin pie spice blend.
(Update: 2/27/2008) I have found the "depth" I was seeking in the taste of the chai tea. It's from a combination of honey and the ratio of milk to water. More milk than water and certainly not a half-and-half ratio like noted above. Also, evaporated milk really brought out a little bit of the creaminess I was seeking but it didn't overpower the taste of the tea. Powdered milk (organic and regular) seemed to have little impact on the depth. The next ratio experiment would be to replicate the milk content of evaporated milk with powdered milk seeing how I don't quite have any fresh milk on hand at the moment.
Chocolate stout cupcakes
Sure, I probably could have asked friends for guidance on stout since I don't drink beer or any of its derivatives, but then my head would have been swimming with the intricacies of the types of stout and what they taste like. Fortunately, Trader Joe's made it easy and I went for the only stout that said, "buy me." The chocolate stout. Contrary to Wikipedia's definition of chocolate stout merely being named that way for the rich dark brown color of the brew, the Young's Double Chocolate Stout I used contains dark chocolate and chocolate malt.
The cupcakes taste fine although they do have a slight alcoholic twist. I have a lot of cream cheese sour cream frosting leftover. Maybe I'll use the other half of the bottle to make a chocolate stout cake, but I probably don't have enough stout if the recipe calls for more than a cup.
Ingredients/Directions:
(bowl #1) Whisk together:
1 cup chocolate stout
1 cup milk*
3/4 c. organic sour cream
1/2 c. extra virgin olive oil
3 eggs (add one at a time)
(bowl #2) Sift together:
2 1/2 c. unbleached white flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 c. organic cane sugar
3/4 c. cocoa powder
(bowl #3) The frosting (blend until smooth):
8 oz cream cheese, room temperature
1 1/4 c. sour cream
1 tbsp vanilla extract
Enough powdered sugar for sweetness
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. If you're going to use those paper cupcake liners, use two instead of one.
Recipe edits: The original recipe called for 2 cups sugar, but I dropped it by 1/2 a cup because the cocoa I used was Ghirardelli's sweet ground cocoa powder. I didn't have milk, so I used 1/2 cup heavy cream plus 1/2 cup soy milk. On the frosting, I didn't measure the powdered sugar. I may have used three handfuls. What can I say.. I was baking after slogging through a 12-hour workday. I just wanted to eat something sweet and chocolatey for dinner.
The cupcakes taste fine although they do have a slight alcoholic twist. I have a lot of cream cheese sour cream frosting leftover. Maybe I'll use the other half of the bottle to make a chocolate stout cake, but I probably don't have enough stout if the recipe calls for more than a cup.
Ingredients/Directions:
(bowl #1) Whisk together:
1 cup chocolate stout
1 cup milk*
3/4 c. organic sour cream
1/2 c. extra virgin olive oil
3 eggs (add one at a time)
(bowl #2) Sift together:
2 1/2 c. unbleached white flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 c. organic cane sugar
3/4 c. cocoa powder
(bowl #3) The frosting (blend until smooth):
8 oz cream cheese, room temperature
1 1/4 c. sour cream
1 tbsp vanilla extract
Enough powdered sugar for sweetness
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. If you're going to use those paper cupcake liners, use two instead of one.
Recipe edits: The original recipe called for 2 cups sugar, but I dropped it by 1/2 a cup because the cocoa I used was Ghirardelli's sweet ground cocoa powder. I didn't have milk, so I used 1/2 cup heavy cream plus 1/2 cup soy milk. On the frosting, I didn't measure the powdered sugar. I may have used three handfuls. What can I say.. I was baking after slogging through a 12-hour workday. I just wanted to eat something sweet and chocolatey for dinner.
Lemony lemon bars
So, I started with this basic recipe, and ended up with a more-tangy-than-sweet product in the end. Lemon drop makers would be proud to eat this creation. Juice and grated rind of 5 lemons might just be overkill and needs to be washed down with a cup of mildly hot tea. Alas, I took no pics of the process, but it has less than 1-hour prep/cook time.
Ingredient/method adaptations:
Crust: 1 1/2 sticks of butter (instead of 2 sticks); sifted unbleached white flour and powdered sugar together, then added melted butter and mixed by hand.
The filling: juice of 5 small lemons, grated rind of 5 lemons, 1 1/2 cups granulated organic sugar (instead of 2 cups), 4 eggs. Blended with a hand mixer.
I cut the bars after they cooled, then dusted the batch with sifted powdered sugar before taking them into work. The crust is definitely tasty. The filling is a wee bit too tart for me and needs less lemon juice
Ingredient/method adaptations:
Crust: 1 1/2 sticks of butter (instead of 2 sticks); sifted unbleached white flour and powdered sugar together, then added melted butter and mixed by hand.
The filling: juice of 5 small lemons, grated rind of 5 lemons, 1 1/2 cups granulated organic sugar (instead of 2 cups), 4 eggs. Blended with a hand mixer.
I cut the bars after they cooled, then dusted the batch with sifted powdered sugar before taking them into work. The crust is definitely tasty. The filling is a wee bit too tart for me and needs less lemon juice
Food gathering, asian style
Sunday I went to the Ranch 99 in Arcadia to pick up items missing from my pantry. I must say that using a grocery list is a good way to not spend too much and to keep yourself focused on specific dishes you want to create. I only deviated by a half dozen items that weren't on my list. I don't buy these all the time. With each trip and usually my shopping list will have an entry that just says "fish", and whatever is picked up is whatever looks the freshest.
Shitake mushrooms (fresh or dried) and fresh ginger are two ingredients that I can't not have in my pantry. This trip was prompted by a lack of dried shitake mushrooms.
The list: shitake mushrooms, fresh ($3/lb) and dried ($2.50-$3.00 per package) freshly beheaded shrimp ($4/lb, on sale) fresh whole fish ($2-3/fish, tilapia, striped bass, or trout) 2-lb packs of frozen shelled clams ($5/each, never on sale but cheaper than restaurants) vegetables (on choy, bok choy, napa cabage, green onion) garlic and ginger (slightly cheaper but fresher) lite soy sauce ($3/litre) 2-3 pkg spicy Shimun ramen (I use the spice packet in other dishes) dried udon noodles red rice wine dried seaweed (kombu, wakame, or other variety, for soups) 1/2 gallon soy milk tofu (fried, soft, or hard) taro root (peeled & packaged) A Chinese supermarket that services a local population of 100k+ residents is usually a good benchmark for prices of what to expect for the usual items. The aforementioned prices reflect what's available in southern California.
Two noticeably particular things happened on this shopping trip. As I was headed to the checkout line, my shopping cart looked awfully familiar.. like it had the same composition of food stuffs my folks have when they go Chinese grocery store shopping. And, other shoppers moved away from the line I was in because they simply didn't want to wait that long for me to check out. I didn't buy that much, really! My bill came to about $50. I see good eats ahead for this week. Mmm..
The list: shitake mushrooms, fresh ($3/lb) and dried ($2.50-$3.00 per package) freshly beheaded shrimp ($4/lb, on sale) fresh whole fish ($2-3/fish, tilapia, striped bass, or trout) 2-lb packs of frozen shelled clams ($5/each, never on sale but cheaper than restaurants) vegetables (on choy, bok choy, napa cabage, green onion) garlic and ginger (slightly cheaper but fresher) lite soy sauce ($3/litre) 2-3 pkg spicy Shimun ramen (I use the spice packet in other dishes) dried udon noodles red rice wine dried seaweed (kombu, wakame, or other variety, for soups) 1/2 gallon soy milk tofu (fried, soft, or hard) taro root (peeled & packaged) A Chinese supermarket that services a local population of 100k+ residents is usually a good benchmark for prices of what to expect for the usual items. The aforementioned prices reflect what's available in southern California.
Two noticeably particular things happened on this shopping trip. As I was headed to the checkout line, my shopping cart looked awfully familiar.. like it had the same composition of food stuffs my folks have when they go Chinese grocery store shopping. And, other shoppers moved away from the line I was in because they simply didn't want to wait that long for me to check out. I didn't buy that much, really! My bill came to about $50. I see good eats ahead for this week. Mmm..
Chocolate Chunk Cookies
I hate nuts in cookies. Nuts just don't belong in cookies, breads, or cakes. If I really wanted texture, I'd add more chocolate or oatmeal. I found that slaying a block of chocolate with a hammer and 1" blade chisel was very therapeutic during this recipe adventure.
In this batch, three types of chocolate were used: Ghirardelli dark chocolate, organic unsweetened cocoa, and a dark European chocolate.
1/2 c. unsalted butter (2 sticks, softened)
1 c. light brown sugar
1/4 c. organic cane sugar
1 large egg
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 c. unbleached white flour
1/4 c. organic cocoa powder
1/4 tsp salt1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 1/2 c. dark chocolate, chopped
Preheat oven oven to 375 degrees.
Bowl #1: Sift flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, salt, and nutmeg together.
Bowl #2: Cream butter, sugars together. Add eggs and vanilla extract. Mix well.Mix dry with wet, until just combined. Stir in chocolate chunks.
Line baking pan with parchment paper and drop by rounded teaspoonfuls about an inch apart.
Bake for 8-10 minutes. Cool cookies on a wire rack.
In this batch, three types of chocolate were used: Ghirardelli dark chocolate, organic unsweetened cocoa, and a dark European chocolate.
1/2 c. unsalted butter (2 sticks, softened)
1 c. light brown sugar
1/4 c. organic cane sugar
1 large egg
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 c. unbleached white flour
1/4 c. organic cocoa powder
1/4 tsp salt1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 1/2 c. dark chocolate, chopped
Preheat oven oven to 375 degrees.
Bowl #1: Sift flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, salt, and nutmeg together.
Bowl #2: Cream butter, sugars together. Add eggs and vanilla extract. Mix well.Mix dry with wet, until just combined. Stir in chocolate chunks.
Line baking pan with parchment paper and drop by rounded teaspoonfuls about an inch apart.
Bake for 8-10 minutes. Cool cookies on a wire rack.
Chocolate Bundt Cake
I'd taken a few liberties with the basic bundt cake recipe for lack of ingredients in my pantry. I didn't have heavy cream nor buttermilk, so substitutions were used to some degree of success. This produces a dense, yet moist chocolate cake. I used Dutch-processed (contains alkali) cocoa; it doesn't make much of a difference in taste.
2 1/4 c. unbleached white flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp nutmeg (optional)
1/2 tsp allspice (optional)
3/4 c. unsweetened cocoa
1 tsp instant coffee (or decaf)
3/4 c. hot water
1 1/2 c. organic cane sugar
1/3 c. extra virgin olive oil
2 large egg whites1 large egg
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup soft tofu (optional, or use 1/2 c. buttermilk)
1. Preheat oven to 350°. Grease 12-cup Bundt pan.
2. Mixing bowl #1: sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, nutmeg, and allspice
3. In a 2-cup measuring cup: whisk together cocoa, instant coffee, and hot water until blended; set aside.
4. Mixing bowl #2: Blend on low speed--sugar, oil, egg whites, and whole egg. Increase speed to high; beat until creamy, about 2 minutes. Reduce speed to low; beat in cocoa mixture, chocolate, and vanilla. Add flour mixture alternately with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Beat just until combined, scraping bowl occasionally with rubber spatula.
5. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake 45-60 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean. Cool in pan on wire rack 10 minutes. Loosen cake from side of pan; invert onto wire rack. Cool completely.
6. Serve with chocolate rum sauce.
2 1/4 c. unbleached white flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp nutmeg (optional)
1/2 tsp allspice (optional)
3/4 c. unsweetened cocoa
1 tsp instant coffee (or decaf)
3/4 c. hot water
1 1/2 c. organic cane sugar
1/3 c. extra virgin olive oil
2 large egg whites1 large egg
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup soft tofu (optional, or use 1/2 c. buttermilk)
1. Preheat oven to 350°. Grease 12-cup Bundt pan.
2. Mixing bowl #1: sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, nutmeg, and allspice
3. In a 2-cup measuring cup: whisk together cocoa, instant coffee, and hot water until blended; set aside.
4. Mixing bowl #2: Blend on low speed--sugar, oil, egg whites, and whole egg. Increase speed to high; beat until creamy, about 2 minutes. Reduce speed to low; beat in cocoa mixture, chocolate, and vanilla. Add flour mixture alternately with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Beat just until combined, scraping bowl occasionally with rubber spatula.
5. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake 45-60 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean. Cool in pan on wire rack 10 minutes. Loosen cake from side of pan; invert onto wire rack. Cool completely.
6. Serve with chocolate rum sauce.
Chocolate Pudding
1 c. heavy cream
1 c. whole milk
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/4 c. sugar
2 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tbsp. cornstarch
1/8 tsp. salt
2 tbsp. unsalted butter
3 oz. semi-sweet chocolate, finely chopped
1. In a medium saucepan, whisk cream, milk, and egg.
2. In a medium bowl: whisk sugar, cocoa, cornstarch, and salt. Add to saucepan mixture.
3. Bring to a boil over med-high heat, whisking constantly.
4. Strain the pudding in a glass baking dish. Stir in butter and chocolate until melted.
5. Refrigerate for 30 minutes or until chilled.
Note: The color will be off from what you're used to. It is ok. This is how it is supposed to look like without any of those unnatural artificial colors. Also, if you don't want a "skin" to form on top of the pudding, you may place parchment paper on top of the pudding as it chills.
1 c. whole milk
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/4 c. sugar
2 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tbsp. cornstarch
1/8 tsp. salt
2 tbsp. unsalted butter
3 oz. semi-sweet chocolate, finely chopped
1. In a medium saucepan, whisk cream, milk, and egg.
2. In a medium bowl: whisk sugar, cocoa, cornstarch, and salt. Add to saucepan mixture.
3. Bring to a boil over med-high heat, whisking constantly.
4. Strain the pudding in a glass baking dish. Stir in butter and chocolate until melted.
5. Refrigerate for 30 minutes or until chilled.
Note: The color will be off from what you're used to. It is ok. This is how it is supposed to look like without any of those unnatural artificial colors. Also, if you don't want a "skin" to form on top of the pudding, you may place parchment paper on top of the pudding as it chills.
Egg Custard
This one recipe that I actually wrote onto an index card before ever trying it. The idea was to create a dough that would be moist enough to withstand being rolled out more than once. The "hockey puck" consistency is one I often encounter when making pastry-like desserts such as this. #1 reason is from overworked dough. This recipe, however, does not yield the flaky crust from using shortening or lard. Believe it or not, I came across this crust from making cranberry bread (a total flop!). It makes a great base for tartlets.
Crust:
3/4 stick butter, softened
1 egg
1 c. unbleached white flour
1 tbsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 c. sugar
Filling:
2 eggs
1/3 c. water
1/4 c. sugar
1. Boil water and sugar together until sugar dissolves.
2. Whisk sugar syrup into eggs. Strain.
3. Press crust dough into tartlet tins to form an even layer and up the sides of the tin.
4. Fill tartlet shell with filling 1/2 to 3/4 full.
5. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
6. Bake for 20-25 minutes on a baking sheet until light golden brown on top.
7. Remove and serve.
Makes 8 tartlets.
I used 10cm loose bottom tartlet tins for this recipe. The removable center makes it easier to unmold the tartlets.
Pumpkin Bread (with tofu)
This is a pretty good dessert to bring into one's workplace. People always like eating healthy things, mostly.
Dry ingredients:
3 c. whole wheat flour
1 tsp. each cinnamon, nutmeg, ground cloves, salt
2 tsp baking soda
2 c. granulated sugar
Wet ingredients:
2 c. pumpkin flesh, mashed
One 10.25 oz pkg. soft tofu, any brand
2/3 c. milk
4 eggs, beaten
Directions
1. Mix wet with wet. In a separate bowl, mix dry with dry. Gradually add dry to wet and mix until blended thoroughly.
2. Grease bread pan with olive oil and dust lightly with flour. Fill bread pan with mixture and bake at 350 F for 1 hour.
3. Let cool on rack before emptying the pan.
Makes 2 loaves.
Dry ingredients:
3 c. whole wheat flour
1 tsp. each cinnamon, nutmeg, ground cloves, salt
2 tsp baking soda
2 c. granulated sugar
Wet ingredients:
2 c. pumpkin flesh, mashed
One 10.25 oz pkg. soft tofu, any brand
2/3 c. milk
4 eggs, beaten
Directions
1. Mix wet with wet. In a separate bowl, mix dry with dry. Gradually add dry to wet and mix until blended thoroughly.
2. Grease bread pan with olive oil and dust lightly with flour. Fill bread pan with mixture and bake at 350 F for 1 hour.
3. Let cool on rack before emptying the pan.
Makes 2 loaves.
Peach Cobbler
This is a basic cobbler recipe with biscuit-shaped dough baked on top of the peaches. It is good for anyone with at least one peach tree in their backyard. I've tried using store-bought fruit with this recipe but just doesn't have the same taste.
Peach mix:
10 ripe peaches, pitted and sliced
1/4 c. cornstarch
2 tbsp. dark brown sugar
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
Dough mix:
1/4 c. granulated sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
6 tbsp. cold unsalted butter
1 large egg
2/3 c. heavy cream
1. Heat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Put peaches, cornstarch, brown sugar, and cinnamon in a large bowl. Toss until well combined. Pour mixture into an 8 1/2" by 11 1/2" baking dish.
3. In another bowl, combine flour, 1/4 c. granulated sugar, baking powder, and salt. Cut in butter until mixture resembles a coarse meal.
4. Whisk together egg and cream in a liquid measuring cup. Slowly add this mixture to dry ingredients. Mix with a fork until dough just comes together. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured board and roughly shape a log. Using a knife, cut log into 12 equal portions.
5. Place rough balls of dough on top of peach mixture. Sprinkle remaining 2 tbsp. of granulated sugar on top of the dough. 6. Bake until golden brown, about 40-45 minutes.
Peach mix:
10 ripe peaches, pitted and sliced
1/4 c. cornstarch
2 tbsp. dark brown sugar
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
Dough mix:
1/4 c. granulated sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
6 tbsp. cold unsalted butter
1 large egg
2/3 c. heavy cream
1. Heat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Put peaches, cornstarch, brown sugar, and cinnamon in a large bowl. Toss until well combined. Pour mixture into an 8 1/2" by 11 1/2" baking dish.
3. In another bowl, combine flour, 1/4 c. granulated sugar, baking powder, and salt. Cut in butter until mixture resembles a coarse meal.
4. Whisk together egg and cream in a liquid measuring cup. Slowly add this mixture to dry ingredients. Mix with a fork until dough just comes together. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured board and roughly shape a log. Using a knife, cut log into 12 equal portions.
5. Place rough balls of dough on top of peach mixture. Sprinkle remaining 2 tbsp. of granulated sugar on top of the dough. 6. Bake until golden brown, about 40-45 minutes.
Asian Pear Bundt Cake
This is recipe was conceived on paper and born of a need to use several homegrown Asian pears. Our pears aren't that large and in a good season might even grow to be as large as your fist. Well, that is, if you're able to pick the fruit as its peak ripeness before the birds peck it to death. You don't see Asian pears in recipes that often and certainly not for cakes or breads because the flesh is quite dense with lots of water and fiber. There aren't that many bundt recipes calling for apples either. This experiment came out pretty well.
About 1 quart Asian pear slices, cut into 1/3-inch pieces
3 tbsp. plus 1 c. sugar
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
2 tsp. almond extract
3 large eggs
1 c. light olive oil
1/4 c. orange juice
3 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. saltpowdered sugar
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Oil and flour a 12-cup Bundt pan if it's not a non-stick pan.
1. Bowl #1: Mix apple slices, 3 tbsp sugar, ground cinnamon and nutmeg.
2. Bowl #2: Combine sugar, olive oil, orange juice, and almond extract. Whisk to blend.
3. Stir dry ingredients into wet ingredients and combine.
4. Form a thin layer of batter in the bottom of the Bundt pan.
5. (Optional) Can use any other baking fruit (peach or pear slices) for the bottom fruit layer.
6. Spoon some batter on top of the 1st fruit layer.
7. Fill with Asian pear slices. Put remainder of batter on top.Basically it should be: batter, peach/pear slices, batter, Asian pear slices, batter, etc. until all the batter and fruit is used up.
In a bundt pan, what you put on the bottom will end up at the top when you invert the pan to take the cake out.
Bake cake until top is brown and tester inserted near the center comes out with moist crumbs attached, about 50 minutes. Cool cake in pan on rack 15 minutes. Run knife around sides of pan to loosen. Turn cake out onto rack. Cool at least 30 minutes. Dust with powdered sugar. Serve slightly warm or at room temperature.
Makes 8 to 10 servings.
About 1 quart Asian pear slices, cut into 1/3-inch pieces
3 tbsp. plus 1 c. sugar
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
2 tsp. almond extract
3 large eggs
1 c. light olive oil
1/4 c. orange juice
3 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. saltpowdered sugar
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Oil and flour a 12-cup Bundt pan if it's not a non-stick pan.
1. Bowl #1: Mix apple slices, 3 tbsp sugar, ground cinnamon and nutmeg.
2. Bowl #2: Combine sugar, olive oil, orange juice, and almond extract. Whisk to blend.
3. Stir dry ingredients into wet ingredients and combine.
4. Form a thin layer of batter in the bottom of the Bundt pan.
5. (Optional) Can use any other baking fruit (peach or pear slices) for the bottom fruit layer.
6. Spoon some batter on top of the 1st fruit layer.
7. Fill with Asian pear slices. Put remainder of batter on top.Basically it should be: batter, peach/pear slices, batter, Asian pear slices, batter, etc. until all the batter and fruit is used up.
In a bundt pan, what you put on the bottom will end up at the top when you invert the pan to take the cake out.
Bake cake until top is brown and tester inserted near the center comes out with moist crumbs attached, about 50 minutes. Cool cake in pan on rack 15 minutes. Run knife around sides of pan to loosen. Turn cake out onto rack. Cool at least 30 minutes. Dust with powdered sugar. Serve slightly warm or at room temperature.
Makes 8 to 10 servings.
Zucchini Bread
Almond extract isn't a necessary component to this recipe, but I like it because it enhances the sweetness of the apple and adds a hint of an unexpected flavor.
2 eggs
3/4 c. unbleached cane sugar
1/3 c. olive oil
2/3 c. plain (or vanilla) yogurt
2 c. all purpose unbleached flour
1 c. grated zucchini (2 medium zucchini)
1 large apple, grated (optional, can also use 1/4 c. apple sauce)
1 tsp. almond extract
1/2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
a dash of nutmeg, optional
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Bowl #1: Beat together eggs, sugar, oil, yogurt, and almond extract
3. Bowl #2: Mix flour, spices, baking soda, salt, and baking powder together.
4. Combine dry ingredients (#2) into wet ingredients (#1). Fold in grated zucchini and grated apple. (You can also add grated carrots for color).
5. Pour into 2 lightly buttered loaf pans and bake for 45 minutes.
6. Cook in pans for 10 minutes then cool on rack.
[update: 9/16/2009] - If you are using mini loaf pans, fill the loaf pan until it is no more than 3/4 full and bake for 35 minutes. Let cool on a rack before removing from pan(s).
Photo below is of a mini-loaf:
2 eggs
3/4 c. unbleached cane sugar
1/3 c. olive oil
2/3 c. plain (or vanilla) yogurt
2 c. all purpose unbleached flour
1 c. grated zucchini (2 medium zucchini)
1 large apple, grated (optional, can also use 1/4 c. apple sauce)
1 tsp. almond extract
1/2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
a dash of nutmeg, optional
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Bowl #1: Beat together eggs, sugar, oil, yogurt, and almond extract
3. Bowl #2: Mix flour, spices, baking soda, salt, and baking powder together.
4. Combine dry ingredients (#2) into wet ingredients (#1). Fold in grated zucchini and grated apple. (You can also add grated carrots for color).
5. Pour into 2 lightly buttered loaf pans and bake for 45 minutes.
6. Cook in pans for 10 minutes then cool on rack.
[update: 9/16/2009] - If you are using mini loaf pans, fill the loaf pan until it is no more than 3/4 full and bake for 35 minutes. Let cool on a rack before removing from pan(s).
Photo below is of a mini-loaf:
Oatmeal Cookies
Dry ingredients:
1 1/2 c. unbleached white flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. each: sea salt, nutmeg, ground cloves
1 c. brown sugar
2 c. rolled organic oats, coarsely ground in blender
Wet ingredients:
2 medium eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
3/4 c. butter
1 c. raisins or currants (optional)
1. Mix dry ingredients together. Add eggs. Stir. Add butter. Stir. Add raisins, then mix. Add vanilla extract. Mix thoroughly, but don't overwork the dough.
2. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto a cookie sheet.
3. Bake at 375 degrees for 10 minutes, or until golden but not brown.
1 1/2 c. unbleached white flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. each: sea salt, nutmeg, ground cloves
1 c. brown sugar
2 c. rolled organic oats, coarsely ground in blender
Wet ingredients:
2 medium eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
3/4 c. butter
1 c. raisins or currants (optional)
1. Mix dry ingredients together. Add eggs. Stir. Add butter. Stir. Add raisins, then mix. Add vanilla extract. Mix thoroughly, but don't overwork the dough.
2. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto a cookie sheet.
3. Bake at 375 degrees for 10 minutes, or until golden but not brown.
Chocolate Rum Sauce
2 tbsp butter can accommodate up to 8 oz dark chocolate and 3/4 c. of any liquid; the sugar added is merely for sweetness and most chocolate sauce recipes will call for 2 tbsp, regardless if dark or bittersweet chocolate is used.
1/4 c. half 'n' half1 tbsp organic cane sugar
2 tbsp unsalted butter
4 oz dark chocolate, chopped
1/4 c. dark rum
1. In a heavy saucepan, bring half 'n' half, sugar, and butter to a boil.
2. Add chopped chocolate and whisk until smooth.
3. Remove from heat, and when entirely melted, whisk in rum.
4. Pour over dessert, serve, or whatever.
Basil Vinaigrette
Though basil isn't on my list of frequently used herbs, it does make certain sauces taste really good. This can be poured on top of sliced avocados, eaten with a leafy green salad, or served up with toasted slices of bread.
Ingredients
1 c. basil leaves, washed, drained, with stems removed
2 large garlic cloves, sliced
2 tbsp Dijon mustard
1/8 c. balsamic vinegar
1/4 tsp sugar
3 tbsp water
1 c. olive oil
dash of salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper
Directions
Pureé all in a food processor until smooth. Makes about 1 cup. Goes well with tossed salad greens.
Ingredients
1 c. basil leaves, washed, drained, with stems removed
2 large garlic cloves, sliced
2 tbsp Dijon mustard
1/8 c. balsamic vinegar
1/4 tsp sugar
3 tbsp water
1 c. olive oil
dash of salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper
Directions
Pureé all in a food processor until smooth. Makes about 1 cup. Goes well with tossed salad greens.
Grilled Polenta
Polenta by itself is just awful. Grilled polenta is even worse if it isn't served up with a tasty sauce. This recipe exists as a reminder why I never want to make it again.
1 c. medium-coarse stone ground organic cornmeal
3 1/2 c. water
1 1/2 tbsp. unsalted butter
salt, freshly ground pepper to taste
olive oil for brushing
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an ovenproof pan.
2. Add cornmeal, water, 1 tbsp. butter, 1 tsp. salt and stir well.
3. Bake polenta uncovered for 45 minutes. Stir polenta and bake for 25 minutes more.
4. Remove polenta from oven. Stir in remaining 1/2 tbsp. butter and season with salt and pepper. Let stand for 5 minutes.
5. Pour polenta into an 8-inch loaf pan. Let cool. Cover and refrigerate until firm.
6. Heat a grill pan. Unmold polenta onto work surface and cut the loaf crosswise into 8 slices. Lightly brush slices with olive oil and grill over low heat to crisp slowly, turning once. About 15 minutes per side. Makes 4 servings.
Sweet Herbed Rolls
Ever try a recipe printed on the back a yeast packet? This is one of them. It's pretty tasty, though much softer than the texture of a French dinner roll with a crusty exterior.
3 c. bread flour
1 package active dry yeast
3/4 c. milk
1/4 c. butter (1/2 stick)
1/8 c. sugar
1 tsp. salt
2 large eggs
3 tbsp. butter, melted
Herbs: 1 tsp. each, dried basil, dried oregano, crushed -or- 2-3 tbsp. fresh rosemary, chopped
1. In a large mixing bowl combine 1 cup of the flour, yeast, sugar, salt, and herbs; set aside.
2. Heat milk to boiling (120 to 130 degree F) and stir in butter until it almost melts.
3. Combine dry mix and milk/butter combo in a mixing bowl. Beat 2-3 minutes on medium speed. Add eggs. Beat 1 min.
4. Stir in enough remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time. Knead dough on floured surface 5-7 minutes or until smooth and elastic. For knot rolls, use greased muffin tin.
5. Bake in 350 F preheated oven, 10-15 minutes or until light golden brown. 6. Lightly brush with melted butter.
3 c. bread flour
1 package active dry yeast
3/4 c. milk
1/4 c. butter (1/2 stick)
1/8 c. sugar
1 tsp. salt
2 large eggs
3 tbsp. butter, melted
Herbs: 1 tsp. each, dried basil, dried oregano, crushed -or- 2-3 tbsp. fresh rosemary, chopped
1. In a large mixing bowl combine 1 cup of the flour, yeast, sugar, salt, and herbs; set aside.
2. Heat milk to boiling (120 to 130 degree F) and stir in butter until it almost melts.
3. Combine dry mix and milk/butter combo in a mixing bowl. Beat 2-3 minutes on medium speed. Add eggs. Beat 1 min.
4. Stir in enough remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time. Knead dough on floured surface 5-7 minutes or until smooth and elastic. For knot rolls, use greased muffin tin.
5. Bake in 350 F preheated oven, 10-15 minutes or until light golden brown. 6. Lightly brush with melted butter.
Green Onion Pancakes
This recipe also goes by the name of "spring onion crepes", "lotus pad pancakes", or "scallion pancakes". They are pancakes because of their shape and size, although mine tend to come out quite square and oblong in shape.
1 1/2 c. unbleached white flour
3 oz. boiling water
up to 1/4 c. cold water
2 stalks green onions, finely minced or sliced
2 tbsp. olive oil
1. In a bowl, combine flour and 3 oz. of boiling water. Let cool 5 minutes. Add 1/8 c. cold water. Mix until just combined.
2. Turn flour mixture out onto a floured board. Knead gently until the dough sticks together. Roll into a log and cut into equal portions, about 8 pieces.
3. In a small bowl, combine green onion and olive oil. This is the "filling" of the pancake.
4. Roll out a piece and place about a 1/2 tsp. of green onion in the center. Fold in half and then in half again. Set aside on a plate until all the flour sections have green onion folded in them.
5. Now for the layering. Take one of the double folded pieces and roll it out (with a rolling pin). Spread a thin layer of oil on its surface and fold it in half and in half again. Roll it out a second time. It should be no more than 1/4" thick. Set aside for frying.
6. Repeat with the remaining pieces of flour. Take care that you do not overwork the dough or the end result will not be a soft pancake.
7. Heat a skillet on medium. If you use a cast-iron pan, you shouldn't need to add any oil to the pan. Air bubbles are likely to form. The pancake needs to be lightly browned on both sides. Restaurant quality green onion pancakes have several layers and are extremely tasty because lard is used. For this recipe I have substituted olive oil for lard.
This recipe comes from a book on Chinese appetizers. When I find the book, I'll upate this post with its details.
Spicy Dipping Sauce
A tasty sauce that is good warm or cold, for hot or cold appetizers. This sauce is typically used with a Chinese chicken recipe called Bai-zhan gi (or cut white chicken).
Ingredients
2 stalks green onions, finely chopped
3 slices of ginger, peeled and minced
3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
1 small dried hot pepper with seeds removed
2 tbsp red wine or rice wine vinegar
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp water dash of salt (optional)
1 tbsp sesame oil
Directions
1. In a small sauce pan, heat oil until it just begins to pop. Add ginger, garlic, green onions, and hot pepper. Stir until lightly browned. Simmer on low-medium. Do not let the ingredients burn.
2. In a small bowl combine vinegar, soy sauce, sugar, and water. Add this combination to the sauce pan.
3. Add sesame oil and bring to a boil. Remove from heat.
Ingredients
2 stalks green onions, finely chopped
3 slices of ginger, peeled and minced
3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
1 small dried hot pepper with seeds removed
2 tbsp red wine or rice wine vinegar
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp water dash of salt (optional)
1 tbsp sesame oil
Directions
1. In a small sauce pan, heat oil until it just begins to pop. Add ginger, garlic, green onions, and hot pepper. Stir until lightly browned. Simmer on low-medium. Do not let the ingredients burn.
2. In a small bowl combine vinegar, soy sauce, sugar, and water. Add this combination to the sauce pan.
3. Add sesame oil and bring to a boil. Remove from heat.
Deep-Fried Stuffed Taro Balls
I have only done this recipe once in my lifetime. It is one of the hardest recipes in my collection, but it's a good appetizer to impress the guests with. There is a reason why this dish is expensive at a restaurant. Give yourself a few hours for the prep work on this recipe, plus another hour for frying.
Depending on how large you make the taro balls, this recipe yields about 18-24 taro balls.
Filling Ingredients
1/2 lb. ground pork
3 shitake mushrooms, finely chopped
1 tsp. rice wine
2 tbsp. vegetable oil (for frying)
1 lb. peeled taro (can be bought from an Asian supermarket)
Seasoning
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 tbsp. light soy sauce
1 tsp. sesame oil
1 slice ginger, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. sugar
Cornstarch or potato starch
Enough vegetable oil for deep frying
Directions
1. Heat 2 tbsp. oil in frying pan. Add ginger and garlic and stir until lightly browned. Add ground pork and fry until lightly browned. Add remainder of filling ingredients and seasoning. Stir-fry until combined. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
2. Cut taro root into 1"-2" sized chunks. Put in pot and with enough water to cover the taro. Boil until taro is soft, about 40 minutes. Remove from heat and drain (you may reserve the liquid the taro boiled in to make a sweet dessert soup).
3. In a large bowl, mash the taro into a paste. Add salt and sugar. Mix well. Add cornstarch (or flour) until the mixture is smooth and workable. It will be sticky regardless of how much you try to fight with it.
4. Use a tablespoon to scoop out the taro paste onto your hand. I'd suggest putting a bit of flour in your hand first. Flatten the taro paste into a circular mass, enough to accommodate about 1 tsp. of the filling. It will look a lot like mashed potatoes.
5. Fold and pinch the edges together to form a ball of some sort. You want it in such a way so that none of the filling is showing. Set aside and work through the remainder of the taro paste and filling.
6. You may lightly coat each ball with some flour or cornstarch to keep it from sticking to the plate, your fingers, or other taro balls. It may or may not work depending on how much moisture is in your taro paste.
7. Heat frying oil on medium heat. Deep fry taro balls until golden brown. Remove taro balls from oil and let drain on paper towels. Serve hot.
8. Taro balls can be reheated by frying in fairly hot oil for about 30-45 seconds.
This recipe does come from a Chinese cuisine cookbook called China the Beautiful cookbook.
Depending on how large you make the taro balls, this recipe yields about 18-24 taro balls.
Filling Ingredients
1/2 lb. ground pork
3 shitake mushrooms, finely chopped
1 tsp. rice wine
2 tbsp. vegetable oil (for frying)
1 lb. peeled taro (can be bought from an Asian supermarket)
Seasoning
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 tbsp. light soy sauce
1 tsp. sesame oil
1 slice ginger, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. sugar
Cornstarch or potato starch
Enough vegetable oil for deep frying
Directions
1. Heat 2 tbsp. oil in frying pan. Add ginger and garlic and stir until lightly browned. Add ground pork and fry until lightly browned. Add remainder of filling ingredients and seasoning. Stir-fry until combined. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
2. Cut taro root into 1"-2" sized chunks. Put in pot and with enough water to cover the taro. Boil until taro is soft, about 40 minutes. Remove from heat and drain (you may reserve the liquid the taro boiled in to make a sweet dessert soup).
3. In a large bowl, mash the taro into a paste. Add salt and sugar. Mix well. Add cornstarch (or flour) until the mixture is smooth and workable. It will be sticky regardless of how much you try to fight with it.
4. Use a tablespoon to scoop out the taro paste onto your hand. I'd suggest putting a bit of flour in your hand first. Flatten the taro paste into a circular mass, enough to accommodate about 1 tsp. of the filling. It will look a lot like mashed potatoes.
5. Fold and pinch the edges together to form a ball of some sort. You want it in such a way so that none of the filling is showing. Set aside and work through the remainder of the taro paste and filling.
6. You may lightly coat each ball with some flour or cornstarch to keep it from sticking to the plate, your fingers, or other taro balls. It may or may not work depending on how much moisture is in your taro paste.
7. Heat frying oil on medium heat. Deep fry taro balls until golden brown. Remove taro balls from oil and let drain on paper towels. Serve hot.
8. Taro balls can be reheated by frying in fairly hot oil for about 30-45 seconds.
This recipe does come from a Chinese cuisine cookbook called China the Beautiful cookbook.
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