Domestic Felicity

Com Chay

2012-01-14T22:01:00.000-08:00

Com Chay is one of my favorite foods, and I made this a while back and hadn't gotten the chance to post it yet. While I'm on the GAPS diet, I won't be able to enjoy this, and Dr. Shanahan's Deep Nutrition book has convinced me to banish vegetable oil from my diet forever, so from now on when I make this in the future, I will be using chicken fat to crisp the rice and a natural-pressed oil for the onions.

Com chay literally means "burnt rice."

Start with fat in a non stick skillet and heat it:

Add cooked rice to the skillet. Stir it around a bit so the rice is coated

Cook the rice without disturbing it so that bottom crisps. This takes a while, and you can shake the rice to the side and peek to see how it's doing. You need a lot of fat for this so that nothing sticks, and you want it to be a saturated fat because those are more stable when you heat them.

Keep peeking until the crust develops to the desired amount. The more golden-brown it is, the more delicious.

Meanwhile, in between checking the crust of the rice, slice some green onions:

Mix the green onions with oil, and slightly mash them to release their flavors into the oil.

Add the onion and onion oil to the com chay and serve. Mmmmmm!

Chicken Broth

2012-01-14T21:45:00.000-08:00

Chicken broth is so comforting to me. I buy chicken bones from Lunardi's, make stock, strip the chicken from the bone, skim off the fat, and try not to let anything go to waste. My chicken broth includes bones, an onion, some ginger, and a handful of cilantro if I have it on hand. If I'm going to make it pho style, I'll throw in some pho spices (star anise, cardamom, cinnamon, coriander). Broth needs to be crystal clear, so all that scum on top will need to be skimmed off. It takes time, but there is something beautifully comforting about standing over a stock pot and fussing over it, tasting it, and skimming it.

The fat is delicious, and when I'm lucky, there's a lot of it. When the broth cools, I pull off the disk of fat that floats to the top and keep a jar of it for cooking.

The meat I strip off the bone is tender, and I pull off all the cartilage with it, then put the bones back in with the broth to continue extracting flavor and nutrients. With the chicken meat, I make chicken pancakes to freeze for snacks. Some of the shredded chicken I just freeze plain for future use.

I'm very busy these days, and since my diet is so restrictive, I need to have a food stash available so I can eat even when I don't have time to cook.

Liver Terrine -- the offal bits

2012-01-14T21:33:00.000-08:00

Dr. Catherine Shanahan's Deep Nutrition has convinced me to incorporate more organ meats into my diet. Her book discusses the four pillars of world cuisine and how the wisdom of traditional cuisines results in optimal gene expression by way of influencing epigenetic markers.

As I'm eating foods to heal my gut and eliminate my food allergies, I've been doing a lot of reading on optimal nutrition through food. A common theme I'm finding is the magic of bone broth. I'm so grateful that my mom made us fresh broths throughout my childhood even though my dad thought it was a waste of time when broth can be had from a can. I also ate a lot of cultured vegetables throughout my childhood. My mom made delicious cultured mustard cabbage and cultured Thai eggplants (using brines of 3 tablespoons salt to 2 liters of water).

This evening I made a terrine that included chicken liver. My friend also gave me some beautiful lamb and beef fat that she had rendered, which I included in the dish as well.

The recipe I used is adapted from Gourmet Magazine (April 2009). I made modifications to make it GAPS-friendly, and I have included my notes for the next time I make this.

1 zucchini squash, pureed
3/4 cup finely chopped onion
3 large garlic cloves, minced
3 tablespoons pork fat/lamb fat
1/2 pound chicken livers, separated into lobes, trimmed, and rinsed

soak them for a few hours in brine to clean them

1 1/2 pounds ground beef
1/4 cup chopped prunes
1/4 cup shelled pistachios
2 teaspoons thyme leaves
2 large eggs, lightly beaten

Preheat oven to 475°F with rack in middle.

Cook onion, garlic, and 1/4 teaspoon each of salt and pepper in fat in a small skillet over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until onion is softened, about 5 minutes. Cool slightly.

Purée livers in a food processor, then transfer to a large bowl. Add beef, prunes, pistachios, thyme, eggs, zucchini, onion mixture, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper and gently mix with your hands until just combined.

Transfer meatloaf mixture to an 81/2- by 41/2-inch glass loaf pan and bake, covered with foil, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into center registers 165°F, 50 to 55 minutes. Let rest 5 minutes. Cover top of meatloaf with parsley before slicing.

NOTES: This terrine was very tasty. I served it with cultured vegetables I had on hand-- a red cabbage/cilantro/garlic and a turnip/green onion/garlic mixture with a bit of Dijon mustard to top it off.

The pistachios did not add much in terms of flavor, and the texture they added was not interesting enough to be worth the trouble of shelling those pistachios. Next time, I will add an extra minced raw onion to the mixture to give it some texture as well as 3 cloves or so of minced garlic. I will also double/triple the chopped prunes since their flavors paired very well with the earthy flavor of liver. This recipe is also in serious want of bacon. Pork is a sweeter meat than beef and would showcase the flavor of liver very nicely.

Lemongrass chicken with thai basil

2011-10-03T17:17:00.000-07:00

With the exception of convenience food and baked goods, I've found that a lot of the foods I eat are already allergen-free since most of my meals revolve around rice.

Here is a lemongrass chicken with thai basil that my mom made. It was simple, tasty, and quick. My mom used chicken breast which she diced and sauteed with lemongrass and fish sauce. Thai basil was added off the heat so that it didn't wilt.

Red Boat Fish Sauce

2011-10-03T17:13:00.000-07:00

I discovered Red Boat fish sauce because I found out I was allergic to the fish sauce brands we had at home. Red Boat is an extra-virgin fish sauce with only two ingredients: anchovy fish and sea salt.

It has a beautiful, clear amber color and has a wonderful flavor. It's pungent, umami, salty-sweet, and not fishy at all. I've been putting it in all my savory dishes, Vietnamese or not.

Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Pizza Mix

2011-10-03T17:04:00.000-07:00

I was disappointed after trying King Arthur's gluten free pizza mix. The dough was difficult to work with, and it gave me a funny feeling in my throat. I suspect xanthan gum or guar gum thickening the saliva in my mouth.

My doctor recommended Bob's Red Mill gluten free pizza mix, and even though that contains the gums, I decided to try it. The dough was easier to work with than King Arthur's, and even though it doesn't taste like good gluten pizza (it tastes like school cafeteria pizza), it'll do for when I am having a pizza craving.

Today I made a red onion and thai basil pizza. I also used a fake cheese since I'm allergic to dairy and soy. The fake cheese is a little creepy, but it did melt and stretch as promised on the label.

Here is my pizza before baking:

And here it is after it's baked:

Banh Khuc -- Mung bean, mochi, and sticky rice

2011-10-03T16:53:00.000-07:00

Banh khuc are among my favorite snacks. The center is a savory mix of mung bean, pork, fish sauce, and deep fried shallot followed by a layer of white rice and sticky rice flour dough and then an outer layer of sticky rice.

According to my uncle Chu Nghia,, there is a La Khuc -- a type of leaf -- from which these were originally made. Nowadays, most people use pureed spinach to get the green color of the dough. I decided to go with simplicity and leave the dough white.

My recipe comes from my aunt Bac Lan.

First the mung beans need to be soaked in water overnight

After soaking, the mung beans should be rinsed and then cooked. I cooked it in a rice cooker on the "brown rice" setting, but basically, you just cook them till they're tender to whip into a fluffy mound. Then add salt, deep fried shallot, fish sauce, and sauteed pork until tasty. Divide this into about 40 balls about 1 inch around.

Making the dough was easier than I thought it'd be:

Then wrap pieces of the dough around the mung bean balls.

Mom says round sticky rice is better than the elongated sticky rice. I simply steamed the rice with pinches of kosher salt.

Then cover with steamed sticky rice, let cool, then enjoy!

Gluten Free Banana and Blueberry Muffins

2011-10-03T16:41:00.000-07:00

After reading GlutenFreeGirl's post about gluten free muffins, I've had ambivalent feelings about making my own batch. On the one hand, I was excited to try making a batch of gluten-free muffins because most gluten muffin recipes warn bakers to not overmix the batter to avoid the development of gluten. On the other hand, I'm still deeply suspicious of gluten-free versions of gluten food. GlutenFreeGirl's post about how easy muffins are and how you don't need xanthan gum, guar gum, or any other weird, non-wholesome sounding ingredient seemed too good to be true.

I took the plunge anyway and tried. I had purchased millet flour and sorghum flour yesterday, but didn't use them in today's muffins because I was too nervous about using these flours. Instead I used almond meal and white rice flour since I had used them to make a flourless chocolate cake that turned out very good. (Not just very good for gluten free; very good, period).

12 regular muffins and a loaf

110 grams white sugar
175 grams white rice flour
50 grams almond meal (I bought almonds and pulverized them in a food processor)
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp kosher salt
110 grams applesauce
2 eggs
3 very ripe bananas
1 cup frozen blueberries
Turbinado sugar

1. Mix the sugar, rice flour, almond meal, baking powder and salt together. Set aside
2. In another mixing bowl, beat the eggs with applesauce and then add the bananas and mash.
3. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, mix thoroughly and then add blueberries.
4. Pour batter into loaf pans or muffin tins, sprinkle turbinado sugar on top, and bake till done.

400 degrees Fahrenheit for about 25 -30 minutes

These actually came out pretty good. They didn't rise as much as gluten muffins usually do, but they were very light and tender rather than dense and heavy. I think they were a bit too moist, but better too moist than too dry.

Allergies

2011-08-23T14:51:00.000-07:00

I found out a few weeks ago that I have allergies to several foods (wheat, soy, and peanuts). While I am relieved to have an explanation for why my skin has been acting up, I am quite saddened that I won't be able to enjoy so many of my favorite foods for a while. One thing I was particularly sad about is my allergy to soy, which apparently is in many prepared food items, including many chocolates!

On the other hand, there are plenty of delicious foods that don't have wheat, gluten, soy, dairy, and peanuts; so I will focus on all the foods I still can eat.

pad thai without peanuts
alcohol
mango, pomelo and strawberries with chili-salt
pho
tamarind soup
fruit with lime, salt, and chili
Cesar's paella
In-N-Out hamburger, protein style, mustard only
Com Tam -- broken rice
banh xeo at Thanh's Restaurant in Fremont
potato chips
tortilla chips
cornbread
bun bo hue at My Khe in San Jose
tamales
tacos at El Titanic

I've also made my share of mistakes. Among them include using the wrong fish sauces.
Many fish sauce brands have allergens including:

Tiparos Ingredients: anchovy fish, water, salt.
Three Crabs Ingredients: anchovy extract, water, salt, fructose & hydrolyzed wheat protein.
Squid Ingredients: water, anchovy extract, salt, sugar.
Golden Boy Ingredients: anchovy extract, salt, sugar.

It looks like Tra Chang and Red Boat may be allergen free:
Tra Chang Ingredients: Ingredients: anchovy fish, salt, sugar.
Red Boat Ingredients: Anchovy fish, salt.

I am on the lookout for other brands that are allergen free.

Nocino July 2010

2011-08-23T14:25:00.000-07:00

I'm making nocino again this year with the green walnuts that are now in season. I picked these a couple of days ago and have just mixed them with vodka. Here is the recipe I used this year:

20 green walnuts cut in half
1 L Sobieski Vodka
1 orange peel
3 cinnamon sticks

I put them all in a jar and will be checking on them periodically.

Update August 2011. My second batch of nocino is fantastic. It has really mellowed out now, and now I'm going through an allergy phase, I'm so glad I am still able to enjoy this

Gumbo

2010-07-11T12:40:00.000-07:00

A while back I saw Alton Brown make gumbo on an episode of Good Eats and decided to put it on my to-do list of things to try since I was in a food rut and wanted to try some new flavors. Unfortunately, I've never had the pleasure of visiting the area of the country around New Orleans, and none of the local restaurants in my part of the country has decent gumbo. I'm not quite sure what gumbo is supposed to taste like, but all specimens I've had have been flavorless and boring. I believe California's "let's try to make everything more healthful" mentality is a contributing factor. So other than buying a plain ticket to New Orleans, my other option was to try making it myself.

My boyfriend had spent many Mardi Gras's in New Orleans in his youth and has more experience in eating gumbo than I or anyone I knew, and I wanted his help. Unfortunately, all the help he gave me was that I should find a good recipe and follow that. For soups and stews, I usually don't like following recipes and can't judge a good one just from reading it anyway, so I decided to wing it. The goal was for the gumbo to taste "good," and I think it came out pretty good. When my boyfriend tried it, he was quite annoyed that I had nailed the flavor without knowing what gumbo is supposed to taste like nor following a recipe so that was a bonus because I wasn't really aiming for authenticity of flavor.

In any case, here is a rough description of what I did:

Ingredients:
1 pound of thick cut applewood smoked bacon, cut into small pieces
About 1 pound of shell-on shrimp, peeled and de-veined.
About a haf cup of all-purpose flour
Two chicken breasts cubed (I happened to have these on hand)
2 green bell peppers, chopped
1 large onion diced
2 garlic cloves
Some okra
Sassafras
Toasted garlic and toasted garlic oil
Fish Sauce
Bay leaf
Salt

1. Crisp the bacon in a dutch oven and remove it. Leave the drippings in the dutch oven and mix in the all purpose flour. Yes, you need ALL those drippings; don't remove ANY of it. The mixture of fat and oil is called a roux. I also added in a couple cloves of garlic to infuse into the roux. I removed it when it started to turn golden brown. I mashed the garlic cloves and set them aside.

2. Cook the roux over low heat until it changes color. According to Alton Brown, it's supposed to be brick red and gives gumbo its characteristic flavor. I had never done this before, and chickened out when it got pretty dark brown. Next time I'll be more brave in letting it go darker.

3. While the roux is darkening, make a broth with the shrimp shells. Heat about a quart of water in a saucepan until boiling and add the shrimp shells. For those of you who don't know me, I'm fanatical about "clean" broths and stocks so I skimmed off all the scum, foam and other smelly things that float to the top. I let this simmer for about 20 minutes, skimming off the scrum the whole time to make sure that it doesn't redesolve back into the broth and make it cloudy and smelly. Don't forget to stir and watch the roux. When the shrimp broth is done, drain out the shells and return the broth back to the saucepan. Heat it to a boil, add a pinch of salt and fish sauce and add the shrimp a bit at a time to cook. Cooking the shrimp in the shrimp broth will make both items more flavorful. Don't overcook the shrimp -- remove them and set aside as they finish cooking. Remember to remove all scum that forms in the broth while the shrimp are cooking.

4. After all the shrimp are cooked, add the cubed chicken to the broth to cook a bit at a time in the shrimp broth. Again, take out all the scum that floats to the top of the broth as the chicken cooks since it will release its own protein impurities. Cooking the chicken in the shrimp broth will make the chicken flavorful and the broth more flavorful as well. Remove the chicken cubes as they finish cooking and set aside.

5. When the roux is finished, add the chopped bell peppers and onions, cook for a bit over med/high heat and then add the shrimp/chicken broth. When heated through, add the bacon, mashed garlic, shrimp, chicken, crispy fried shallots, and toasted garlic and garlic oil and let simmer for a few minutes.

6. To serve, ladle into bowls and top with toasted garlic oil and sassafras to taste.

Crispy bacon:

Bacon drippings:

Bacon drippings and flour

Roux starting to develop color

More color

Hotel Chocolate. The Purist. Milke 52% With Vanilla and Cocoa Nibs. Menevava Plantation. Madagascar

2010-07-11T11:23:00.000-07:00

After months and months of not eating any chocolate (I was getting an allergic reaction) I had my first taste of it again a few days ago. I picked a good one to start the habit again -- Hotel Chocolate's "The Purist" a 52% milk with cocoa from the Menavava Plantation in Madagascar.

This is a milk chocolate bar that I absolutely love, which quite surprised me since I have tried many milk chocolate bars only to hate them. Until I tried this bar, the only other milk chocolate bar I liked was the Amedei milk. I think I may like this more than the Amedei milk. This chocolate smells like cocoa butter and vanilla which perfectly foiled with the darker scent of cocoa solids. The flavor was amazing. It was quite rich, creamy with delightfully bitter cocoa nibs that acted as the perfect foil to sweet milk chocolate.

Am I just over-excited because it's been more than 6 months since I've eaten chocolate? Perhaps . . . . But I've heard the feedback from people whose taste I trust that this is, indeed, a very delightful bar.

Nocino 2010

2010-07-10T19:51:00.000-07:00

It's that time of year again when green walnuts are in season. I am making nocino again this year. Here is this year's recipe:

1 liter Sobieski Vodka
20 green walnuts cut in half
1 orange peel, most of the pith removed
3 cinnamon sticks

Freshly picked, beautiful green walnuts washed and ready to go:

Everything just mixed:

Here is the mixture on day 2. It's starting to turn green. By day 4 it looks completely black and there's little point in taking a picture. It smells divine, though.

Canh Chua

2010-07-10T19:32:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite soups is canh chua -- a delicious soup that's flavored with tamarind (me in Vietnamese). My uncle Chu Nghia is a fantastic cook and I have him to thank for the keys to a deliciously aromatic canh chua:

Tamarind fruit is a delicious sour/sweet fruit common in southeast Asian cooking. You may recognize its flavor from certain Asian candies and pad thai.

For canh chua, I suggest you buy a block of seedless tamarind pulp. Despite its name, seedless tamarind pulp is not seedless and often has bits of tamarind shell. To prepare it, mix the tamarind pulp with about a cup of boiling water. Stir it around, break up the pieces, and let it sit for at least an hour.

Then strain out the seeds, shells, and any large pieces of fiber. You'll want to press through the strainer with a spoon to get as much liquid and pulp extracted as possible.

You'll be left with real seedless tamarind pulp.

Ingredients in the soup:
Fresh chicken broth (nuoc ga tui)
Tamarind Pulp (bot me)
Tomatoes (ca chua)
Chayote (trai su su)
Bean sprouts (gia)
Catfish
Toasted garlic -- very important!
Optional -- bamboo, greens, etc.

Bamboo and Tofu

2010-07-10T18:54:00.000-07:00

My mom made this dish when we had dinner with my uncle's vegetarian girlfriend. Bamboo is one of my favorite vegetables -- it has a fantastic texture and a slightly bitter/neutral flavor which I love. This is by far one of my favorite vegetarian dishes.

Start with shallots and oil:

Once the shallots are aromatic, add shredded bamboo:

Once the bamboo are heated through, add julienne deep fried tofu (see my post on bi chay for the technique), some chopped garlic, soy sauce, and sliced red onion and turn off the heat once everything is heated through.

Finally, fold in some bean sprouts which will slightly cook from the residual heat.

Bi Chay

2010-07-10T18:37:00.000-07:00

Bi chay is the vegetarian version of a Vietnamese mixture of shredded pork, pork skin, and toasted powdered rice. I am not a fan of the meat version, but I do love the vegetarian version which I first tried when my Aunt Bac Chi made vegetarian spring rolls in honor of my uncle's new girlfriend, a Buddhist vegetarian. Toasted rice powder gives this its distinctive flavor. I use bi chay as a filling for spring rolls and sandwiches.

Take firm tofu, slice it thinly and microwave it for about a minute or so until it's hot. Then deep fry it until golden brown and delicious. Microwaving the tofu first is a trick that my Aunt Bac Lan taught my mom -- it makes the tofu puff up beautifully when being deep fried so that the texture doesn't get all heavy and greasy. After the tofu is fried, drain it and cut into long thin strips. Add in some shredded jicama and toss while the tofu is still warm and add toasted rice powder to taste.

Green Garlic

2010-03-02T17:58:00.000-08:00

In mid-October last year, the first rain of the fall season had arrived. I remember waking up early to get ready for work, but decided that I would much rather curl up with a blanket, drink hot chocolate, and stay home.

A dear friend of mine had informed me that it was time to plant garlic. Her directions were simple: place a clove of garlic (don't remove the paper) into the ground. Cover the garlic with just a bit of soil -- don't bury it too deeply

Now it's March, and the rain hasn't let up yet, but my garlic have sprouted! I can't wait to eat them all.

Amedei Tasting

2010-03-02T17:39:00.000-08:00

I bought this assortment of Amedei chocolates at Cardullo's when I was in Boston last year. Each package came with four tasting squares. Here are the package notes and my (very brief) notes

Ecuador 70 % -- Intense aroma of forest undergrowth and cacao. A chocolate to surprise you as its immense aromatic flavour develops
My notes: Very pleasant clean earthy scent with red fruit aromas. Flavor is well balanced though finish falls a bit short.

Venezuela 70% -- Flora aroma with dried fruit sensations. A balanced chocolate with a pleasant aromatic richness
My notes: Smells a bit sharp -- like cheese and tart red fruit. Flavor is mellow and coffee-like

Trinidad 70% -- Aroma of toasted cacao and tobacco. A classic chocolate with a hint of walnut
My notes: Aroma is similar to Venezuala but brighter and fruitier. Flavor is creamy and rich. Nice finish of caramel and coffee.

Grenada 70% -- Aroma of exotic spices. A creamy and pleasantly balanced chocolate.
My notes: Scent reminds me of pho (star anise, and coriander). Flavor starts out a bit weak and ends a bit chalky-tasting.

Jamaica 70% -- Intense aroma, mediterranean fruit flavours. A highly captivating, decise, and powerful chocolate
My notes: Scent is smoky and minty and reminds me a bit of sauvignon blanc. Flavor is caramel-ly, smoky, and a little flat.

Roti Canai

2010-03-02T16:39:00.000-08:00

I have been obsessed with making roti canai ever since I first tried it at Layang Layang, a Malaysian restaurant in San Jose, CA. I experimented with many recipes but could not duplicate the flaky-but-tender layers of this Malaysian flat bread. I tried using buter, canola oil, and clarified butter to no avail. Finally, I succumbed to using margarine (Yech!) which has produced the best results so far. Next time I will try this recipe using ghee and report how it turns out.

The recipe below comes from Shiok, a book by Terry Tan and Christopher Tan

Ingredients:
500 grams (1 lb 2 oz) plain flour, sifted
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
125 mL (1/2 cup) lukewarm water
4 T lukewarm milk
150 grams (5 and 1/4 ounces) vegetable ghee or melted margarine
Makes 12-14 roti canai
Cooking time: 4 minutes per roti canai
Prep time 40 min plus 45 min standing time

1. Combine flour salt and sugar in mixing bowl. Mix water, milk, and 2 T of margarine with hands and knead gently but constantly for about 7 minutes adding more water or flour as necessary for a soft coherent dough. Pinch off pieces the size of large plums and shape into balls. Roll balls in remaining margarine to coat and place on plate. Cover with plastic wrap and let stand in cool place for 45 minutes

2.Have a frying pan set at ready over medium high heat

3. Lightly grease work surface or large chopping board. Place dough ball on it and dab with more melted margarine. Flatten and stretch dough outwards.

4. Fold two opposite edges to center and then other two edges to make square.

My notes:
I took “plain” flour to mean “all purpose” flour
Stretch dough out by putting it on a greased surface and massaging it out
Let dough rest after stretching and shaping before you cook it.
This recipe produced decent layers and flakiness, but the flavor wasn't particularly interesting. Perhaps using ghee will improve the flavor

Roti Dough Balls

Stretching the dough out

Folding

Cooking

Served with a curry dipping sauce

Salt Preserved Citrus

2010-03-02T16:13:00.000-08:00

I came across a bounty of meyer lemons and oranges and decided to preserve some with salt using a Moroccan recipe. It's fantastic with chicken, tuna salad, and tomato sauce. I also added some to a ratatouille dish I made. My mom also says that there are Vietnamese drinks that use salt-preserved citrus for flavor but I haven't tried that yet.

Preserved Lemon

Preserved Orange

Ingredients:
10 meyer lemons
1/2 cup kosher salt

Directions
1. Quarter the meyer lemons but don't cut all the way through so they remain attached at base.
2. Take a quartered meyer lemon and squeeze its juice into a jar and rub kosher salt into the flesh.
3. Place the salted lemon into the jar with the lemon juice.

4. Repeat with remaining lemons and salt being sure to squish the lemons into the jar so they're packed tightly. Ideally, the jar would have no airspace when you're finished. If airspace remains, fill it up with more lemon juice or try to squeeze in another lemon or two.

5. Let jar sit for a few weeks before using.

For the preserved oranges, I followed the same steps but used oranges instead.

Valentine's Day 2010

2010-03-02T15:57:00.000-08:00

Braised short ribs with cauliflower puree, braised celery, and julienne leeks

Short Ribs:
Marinated in malaysian curry powder, five spice powder, white vinegar, balsamic vinegar, palm sugar, honey, soy sauce, garlic, shallot, fish sauce, tamarind paste.

Browned ribs, then add water to cover and let braise for 1.5 hours with celery. Strain out the liquid, add one diced Asian pear, palm sugar, honey, rice wine vinegar and cook until pears are soft. Puree the mixture and put it back on the heat to bubble away until it's significantly reduced.

Julienne leeks -- butter, salt, leeks.

Cauliflower puree -- butter, cream, crispy shallot (hanh phi)

Deep Fried Shallots

2010-01-08T12:55:00.000-08:00

Vietnamese Deep Fried Shallots (aka Hanh Phi)

I love deep fried shallots and always have some on hand. They add a very nice crunchy, savory flavor when used as a topping for grilled salmon, casseroles, and salads. In Vietnamese cuisine, they're also eaten with glutinous rice, broken rice, and "burnt" rice (com chay in Vietnamese) which is the burnt rice found at the bottom of the rice pot if you cook it "incorrectly."

Deep fried shallots have a wonderful flavor. There's no sulfurous, biting, sharp edge and they're not sweet like they would be if you cook them low and slow. I think they're fantastic stirred into soups and simmered for a few minutes. I also save the cooking oil which my family uses for making fried rice. I also use it to drizzle onto rice and soup.

Deep fried shallots add a very distinctive rich, savory flavor. When I'm making a soup, and it tastes like it's "missing something" I'll add deep fried shallots which impart a lot of deep umami flavor without my having to resort to MSG (which I don't use in my cooking) or meat (which I don't always have a spare piece on hand).

I often see directions for making deep fried shallots in cookbooks and other websites, but I think it's much more helpful to have pictures of the process along the way because this is more about recognizing what to look for than following a recipe. The first few times I made these, I waited until the shallots were a beautiful golden brown before I drained it. This is a mistake because the shallots continue to cook while they're drained and by the time they cool off, they're acrid and bitter. Then I made the mistake where I ended up accidentally making the shallots soft and mushy because the heat of the oil I used was too low. The onions ended up sweating rather than frying -- I added chicken broth and made an impromptu onion soup which didn't taste bad-- but it wasn't what I was looking for. Don't be afraid of high heat.

Directions:
1. Peel and thinly slice shallots
2. Heat some vegetable oil in a dutch oven or saucepan.
3. When the oil is hot, put the sliced shallots in and stir. There should be lots of bubbles and vigorous activity in the saucepan. If the shallots aren't "dancing" around much, the oil's temperature is too low and you'll need to turn up the heat.
4. When the shallots are ready (see pictures below), drain them and let cool.

Pick out some shallots

Trim and peel

Thinly slice

After oil has heated up add the sliced shallots. There should be a lot of bubbles as the water from the shallots boils off. If you're new to frying, don't be afraid of all the noise. It's normal. Just don't put your eyeballs close to the action.

Continue to let the shallots cook. After a few minutes, you'll see some pieces that are starting to tan.

Gradually more and more of the shallots will change color. Here, the mixture between the purple shallots and the tan shallots is about 50/50.

Continue to let them cook a bit more.

When it looks like this, drain it. I know that not all of the shallots have tanned up yet, but they'll continue to cook as you drain them.

Here they are freshly drained and a bit shiny from the oil. They are still cooking a bit at this point so don't worry about some of those pale guys -- they'll tan up in a few minutes.

After a few minutes of cooling, they start to dry and crisp up and finish

Golden, brown, and delicious!

The BEST Method for Removing Wax From Glass Candle Holders

2009-12-21T16:55:00.000-08:00

There have been a few times in my life when I have come up with an idea that I must immodestly say is so brilliant, that I should really win some sort of award. I know I will never win an award, however, because my ideas aren't really going to do anything to solve world hunger, cure cancer, or promote world peace. They are ideas that help solve some frivolous domestic problem I am having.

Like many people, I have thrown away many glass candle holders just because I didn't want to bother with cleaning the used wax out of them. I had tried all the usual methods -- scraping away chip by chip, swirling hot water into the holder, putting it in the freezer, etc.

A couple of days ago, I came up with my method, and I am very excited about it. And it's the first instance I can think of in which my degree in science has equipped me to solving a practical problem.

Here are the directions:
1. Fill the candle holder with water

2. Microwave this until the water is boiling vigorously and the wax has completely melted. I microwaved the candle holder pictured below for 4 minutes. It normally takes about 1 minute to boil a mug of water in my microwave, but I had to microwave the candle holder below for about 4 minutes. Midway through, you may want to stir it a bit to loosen the wax at the bottom of the candle holder. You want the wax to be in a liquid state. I know there's that rule of not microwaving metal, and there is a bit of metal at the bottom of the wick. It's such a small piece though, that I wasn't afraid to microwave it, and there were no sparks or fires when I did this step. If you don't believe me or are too frightened, don't use this method.

3. Remove the candle holder from the microwave and give it one last stir to loosen any wax bits on the bottom and sides that haven't already floated.

4. Leave undisturbed for a few hours or overnight. The wax, being less dense than the water, will float to the top. Once the wax cools and hardens completely, you can just pop it out.

Here are some pictures of what the process looks like. PLEASE be cautious when handling the hot candle holder with the hot wax/water.

Here is what it looks like after I took it out of the microwave. As you can see, the wax has floated to the top. This was is rather dark, so it's easy to see. When I tried this method with white candle wax, it's difficult to see the wax floating to the top. Don't worry -- it'll be there.

Here it is after I let it sit overnight.

Now you can pop the wax right out! Easy as pie.

Yes. You'll still need to wash the candle holder, but it's not so bad. I just rub some canola oil in there to bind with the wax, and then wash it with soap which will bind to the oil-wax.

Persimmon Punch

2009-11-20T17:01:00.000-08:00

Cool fall evenings often call for rich, hearty foods that comfort and warm you. Unfortunately, I often overindulge when eating these foods and in such cases, a digestif is a perfect way to finish the meal. What follows is a recipe for a drink made from ginger, cinnamon, and persimmons based on the Korean sujeonggwa which I have seen translated as persimmon tea or persimmon punch. Sugeonggwa is served as a dessert or digestif at special occasions. Ginger's ability to settle the stomach and relieve nausea are well documented, and the cinnamon beautifully highlights the echo of warm spice aroma in dried persimmons.

Recipe:
about a 2 inch knob of fresh ginger, peeled and sliced
4 cinnamon sticks
4 cups water
2-3 dried persimmons (aka hoshigaki)

Simmer the ginger and cinnamon in water for about 1 hour, replenishing water as necessary to maintain about 4 cups (evaporation caused about 1-2 cups of my water to evaporate while it was simmering)

Ingredients

Sliced Ginger

Chopped Persimmon

Persimmon Punch

Dried Fuyu Persimmons

2009-11-19T21:00:00.000-08:00

With my persimmon tree producing another bounty this year, I decided to make my version of hoshigaki or dried persimmon. My pilot experiment included just a few to see how they'd turn out. I dried some in an oven a 130 degree oven for 3 days. I massaged them a few times during the process as that's part of the artisinal hoshigaki-making process. I also tried drying one by hanging it in my closet. After a few days, it had a beautiful sugar bloom on the outside, but unfortunately also got a little moldy so I threw it away.

I love the flavor of these dried persimmons. I didn't dry mine out completely, so there is a an array of flavors and textures. The outside of the dried persimmon is chewy, sweet and pleasantly leathery while the inside has a firmish-custardy texture, subtly sweet, with a slight cinnamon aroma.

Here are the pictures of my pilot persimmon project:

Persimmons washed and ready for peeling

Perssimmon peeled and arranged in oven

Day 2

Day 2 a little later

A little dryer

Dry!

A cross section of one of the finished pieces.

References:
http://cesanjoaquin.ucdavis.edu/files/17038.PDF
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/347867

Defense of White Chocolate Part I

2009-11-04T17:12:00.001-08:00

My experience with eating, buying, and talking about chocolate has lead me to notice an interesting phenomenon. Maybe you’ve noticed it too – there appears to be a chocolate hierarchy in which dark chocolate is at the top, milk chocolate is in the middle, and white chocolate is at the bottom. I try to refrain from this type of hierarchical thinking for the case of chocolate (and a few other cases too) because I believe it’s erroneous to believe something is better just because of its color.

Please don’t think that I’m a subjectivist when it comes to chocolate. I do think there are objective standards and it’s not just about “Whatever’s good for you is good, dude.” Hierarchies can be very appropriate depending on the context. For example, an appropriate chocolate hierarchy would involve high quality delicious chocolates at the top, and disgusting low quality chocolates at the bottom. But segregation should occur based on the merits of the chocolate, and not strictly on its color.

I love white chocolate, and I’m very tired of having people look down their nose at me when I admit it like it’s supposed to be some shameful secret amongst people who proclaim to love chocolate. I would like to discuss and refute some of the objections I’ve heard about white chocolate. As you can probably tell from the title of my post, this is not the definitive post on my defense of white chocolate. I will be adding more in the future. I will also eventually post an Ode to White Chocolate.

Objection 1. “It’s technically not real chocolate” (ITNRC)

This is one of the most common objections I hear against white chocolate. This objection to white chocolate comes from FDA’s definition of chocolate -- If it’s very important to you, you can check out 21CFR163.111 http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/SCRIPTs/cdrh/cfdocs/cfcfr/CFRSearch.cfm?fr=163.111&SearchTerm=chocolate

If you want to see FDA’s definitions for white chocolate, check out 21 CFR 163.124.

For something to be considered chocolate by FDA, the product must contain chocolate liquor. Chocolate liquor is what results from grinding cacao nibs. That means that chocolate liquor consists of cocoa solids and cocoa fats. Without one of these components, the item is not considered chocolate. The issue with white chocolate is that it does not have cocoa solids, and therefore, people say is not “real” chocolate.

Personally, I find all the focus on cocoa solids to be a red herring that takes our focus away from cocoa butter – the beautiful, unique, gorgeous fat that comes from cacao nibs. As long as the public is focused on and up in arms about protecting cocoa solids, companies that mass-produce low quality chocolate can lobby FDA to allow for the substitution of cheap vegetable fats for the cocoa butter. Substituting vegetable fats for cocoa butter allows these companies to sell the cocoa butter to cosmetic companies. This means they can make money from selling cocoa butter to cosmetic companies AND they can increase their profit margin by substitution a cheaper fat for the cocoa butter. This focus on the cocoa solids at the expense of cocoa butter also allows people to think things like “Well, all the important qualities of chocolate are in the cocoa solids, so it doesn’t matter what fat we use.” (Sorry for my digression into conspiracy theories. . . )

One objection I have to the “it’s not real chocolate” statement is “Who cares what FDA thinks?” FDA does not define food products by how good they taste, how well they were made, and how much care was put into their development – all factors that I think are far more important than the stale definition that FDA came up with. If you were to use FDA to guide you then that waxy, bitter, and sour chocolate -- Hershey’s Special Dark is “real chocolate” while the beautifully balanced, fragrant, flowery but not perfume-y Amedei White is “not real chocolate.” Does FDA really dictate to you what you consider a food or drug? Is St. John’s Wort an herbal supplement or a drug? FDA officially considers it an herbal supplement, but it could qualify as a drug based on FDA’s definition. Practically speaking, St. John’s Wort has many potentially dangerous side effects especially if consumed with certain food items. This does not make it “bad” – it just means that it, like any drug, can potentially be very dangerous. Is Revitalash a cosmetic or a drug? Does FDA consider shampoo to be a cosmetic or soap? Often the answers to these types of questions has little to do with the ingredients and more to do with the marketing and labeling.

Also, “chocolate” is a culinary term. It is not jargon of the legal or scientific community, so why take all the fun out of chocolate by attempting to be pedantic and overly-technical? There seems to be a lot of pointless debate of what something “really” is – like in the case of tomatoes. Some courts have ruled that the tomato is a fruit; some have ruled that it is a vegetable. Botanists say it’s a fruit, but botanists also have no jurisdiction over the term “vegetable.” So why can’t they be both vegetable and fruit? How about they’re
“fruit” when used in a tomato cake (like what David Kinch did for his Tomato Modernista dinner in 2006) and “vegetable” when used in a savory sauce? In any case, even if all the lawyers, lawmakers, chefs and scientists were to one day officially agree that the tomato is a fruit, would that really change anything important? Are we going to make the Campbell Soup Company stop selling V8 as vegetable juice just because there are tomatoes in it?

When people say “white chocolate isn’t real chocolate” nothing has been elucidated other than their desire to recite some piece of trivia about cocoa liquor, cocoa solids and cocoa butter. Usually they haven’t even stopped to consider why cocoa solids are required for something to be considered chocolate by FDA, what role cocoa butter plays, and where cocoa liquor fits into everything. In fact, I suspect the real reason why they bring this up at all is to confuse and alienate people so they can arrogantly look down their nose at how little other people know. Now, I don’t necessarily mind arrogance. I think it can be one element of a very charismatic personality. However, this works ONLY IF you have a good reason to be arrogant, e.g., you’re a renowned expert in your field, you’re highly-accomplished in something, etc. But if the source of your arrogance comes from the fact that you happened to hear a sound bite about “real chocolate” on The View, your arrogance in this subject is not justified.

My other major objection to ITNRC is more philosophical. Philosophically, it can be debated that words don’t actually denote real classes that exist in the noumenal world. These words were invented by human beings to take them out of their solipsistic existence and allow them to relate to other human beings and the world around them. Therefore, the focus of chocolate shouldn’t be whether not it’s “really chocolate” because it really doesn’t matter. Quibbling over this word and its definitions is pointless. The focus should be more about whether it tastes good, how it can be used in recipes, how it can be enjoyed with family and friends, etc. In contrast, pickiness when it comes to words like “fermentation” and “oxidation” is okay because they are more meaningful in that they actually denote very different processes and there is a practical advantage to not misusing these words because it clarifies to others that you’re talking about one natural process and not the other.

My other philosophical objection to ITNRC has to do with pragmatism. Does it really make a difference in your world whether or not white chocolate is “real chocolate?” I alluded to this concept when I spoke about chocolate being a culinary term. If, one day, the powers-that-be decided that the confection formerly known as “white chocolate” will forevermore be called “bianca-beans” it really wouldn’t change anything. You will like or not like the flavor of this product based more on your perception and taste rather than what it’s called. Therefore, if your objection to white chocolate is that you don’t like the way it tastes, then you don’t like the way it tastes. You can’t possibly not like white chocolate just because it isn’t “real chocolate” – that doesn’t really make any sense. If it were true, does it mean that you also don’t like eggs because they’re not “real chocolate?” How about peanut butter? That’s not real chocolate either.

I don’t expect everyone to like white chocolate (I am a bit perplexed by the notion though – I suspect those who don’t like white chocolate either have never eaten a worthy specimen or they’re just saying they don’t like it so they can fit in better with the snobs. Just kidding! I’m sure there are some people who just don’t like white chocolate just as there are people who don’t like butter, tomatoes, and meat). In any case, I don't think that there are no good reasons to not like white chocolate. I know many who just don't enjoy the flavor, texture, smell, whatever. These reasons are valid enough. My objections are to those who "don't like white chocolate" for reasons that are guided by politics and principles rather than flavor, taste, and enjoyment.

Amedei Chuao and 9

2009-10-27T22:04:00.000-07:00

While snooty chocolate connoisseurs insist that we all convert to eating only single-origin bars, I really disagree. I think as more people became interested in good chocolate, a backlash among chocolate snobs resulted in fads like single-origin bars, organic chocolate, fair-trade chocolate and a disdain for milk and white chocolate. At the point where the fads dictate taste, people will mindlessly consume terrible-tasting single-origin bars just because somebody told them that they're "better" than blends.

The blending of cacao beans is a wonderful thing. In fact, I tend not to enjoy single-origin bars as much as a good blend. Blending is done to balance flavor profiles of different beans. Different beans lend different characteristics to the flavor of a finished bar. A particular bean variety may have fantastic fruity flavors but fall short on the finish. Some beans are quite acidic and wouldn't be pleasant on their own, but provide balance to other beans that may be short on acidity. Generally, I tend to find single-origin bars interesting to taste, but not quite pleasurable to eat. Having said that, there are some fantastic single-origin bars. One of these is the the Amedei Chuao-- I think Chuao beans are so interesting. I'm always amazed when I eat this bar how balanced the flavor profile can be given that it consists of only one type of bean. It starts off with bitter coffee flavors that are perfectly balanced by acidity. Toward the middle I get dark cherry flavors and blueberries, and at the very end I taste earthy enoki mushrooms.

While Chuao beans are considered by many to be the best beans in the world, the Amedei Chuao bar is not my favorite. My absolute favorite bar ever is the Amedei 9 bar. The 9 bar is the bar that got me obsessed with chocolate. It's the bar that inspired me to spend the money I work so hard for on other $15 chocolate bars in hopes of finding another gem, drive an hour away from my home to a famous chocolate shop where parking costs $20, and bore my friends by talking way too much about chocolate. The scent is complex -- dark, rich, with the subtle "cat pee" aroma of sauvignon blanc but not as bright or acidic. It's a blend of beans from 9 different plantations. I'm not familiar with any of the plantations, but there is definitely the enoki mushroom flavor of Chuao beans that I enjoy in there somewhere along with blueberries, and chili pepper. Beyond these flavor notes, my tasting notes for this bar are rather vague and metaphorical, and I won't bore you all with poetic raptures that cannot be empirically verified. I've tried to sit down and taste the Amedei 9 bar and take systematic notes, but I've never been successful. I enjoy the experience of eating the Amedei 9 too much to intellectualize it.

The Chocolate Boutique in my Room

2009-10-22T00:06:00.000-07:00

Last week I invited a friend of mine over for a chocolate tasting . She said yes, but didn't seem as enthusiastic as I had wanted her to be. Thinking that she must not have understood how much fun this would be, I decided to take out my chocolate collection and lay it out in a relatively pleasing way and took a picture to send to her for the e-vite. I love chocolate, and I compulsively buy different ones the way many women buy clothing, shoes and bags. I've spent a lot of money on chocolate in the last few years. What you see here wasn't everything -- it's just the stuff I haven't eaten yet. So yes, it is getting more and more similar to the many women who compulsively shop and end up with a bunch of shoes that they've never worn.

Anyway, my friend saw the picture and confirmed her attendance with a lot more enthusiasm.

I know it's not a good idea to have all the chocolate just sitting out like this, but it looks so pretty and enticing. Tomorrow, after the tasting, I will put the chocolate all away again. . .::sigh:: Ideally, someday I'll have a nice big temperature-controlled box to display my chocolates in so that I can visually enjoy them without exposing them to the varying temperatures of my room.

Green Onion Pancakes

2009-10-15T23:31:00.000-07:00

I made these green onion pancakes using Cecilia Chang's recipe from The Seventh Daughter: My Culinary Journey From Beijing to San Francisco.

The recipe called for sesame oil, which gives it a wonderful flavor that is distinctly Asian. I think next time, though, I will adapt this recipe and use a technique from Vietnamese cuisine and make green-onion oil. Green onion oil is a mixture of sliced green onions mixed with a neutral oil (I usually use canola). After mixing the two together, I use the back of a spoon to "mash" some of the green onion pieces against the side of the bowl to release their flavor.

These green onion pancakes were yummy. Its pleasant oiliness went well with oolong tea.

Risotto Nazi

2009-10-15T21:14:00.000-07:00

About a year ago I came across one of the most infamous posts on the food website Chowhound.com

Joe H. posted the "Absolute Best Risotto You Will Ever Eat" -- a toasted pistachio and gorgonzola dolce risotto recipe that had won him $10,000 and a trip to Italy. While some people commented that the risotto was too heavy, I have never had any issue eating extremely rich food and was intrigued to try the recipe for myself.

The opportunity came on a visit to Cambridge where my friend and I visited the famed Formaggio Kitchen, an amazing grocery store that Julia Child used to frequent. I figured they would be the perfect source for the ingredients Joe H. listed in his prized recipe. Joe H. says this recipe will serve 8-12 people, and although there were only 3 of us eating, Joe H. did not want people to experiment the first time we made this recipe. I've tried another Joe H recipe, have read many of his posts, and trust him. So we ended up with a lot of risotto.

Among the ingredients I got from Formaggio Kitchen:

From the label:

"Vialone Nano is the preferred rice in the kitchens of Venice and the Veneto region of Northern Ialy. This grain is shorter and rounder than all other types of Superfino rice. Riso Vialone Nano absorbs more liquid and plumps up beautifully when cooked.

"Principato de Lucedio is one of Italys finest rice growing estates. Located in the heart of the Piemonte region, the 800-year-old farm is home to Contessa Rosetta Clara Cavalli d'Olivola. The Contessa's father bought the historic estate in 1937, with its 12th century Cisternic abbey.

"The rice of Lucedio is grown in the flood plains surrounding the estate and is harvested once a year in September. After a few months of drying and storage, the grains are husked only when orders are received to ensure its freshness. The Contessa is proud to bring to your table an Italian rice with no equal."

Joe H. called for grated Parmigiano Reggiano from the "best and most moist brick you can find." There were several choices for Parmigiano Reggiano from Formaggio Kitchen. I thought this would be good enough. Joe H. spends about $13/pound for his Parmigiano Reggiano, so I didn't feel compelled to splurge for the $25/pound Parmigiano Reggiano they had.

Joe H. was adamant about using gorgonzola dolce. No other gorgonzola would do. This was such a beautiful cheese that I almost didn't want to go through with putting it in the risotto lest I ruin it. This cow-milk cheese came from the Piedmont region of Italy and is aged for 3 months. The texture was softer than other gorgonzola's I've had, the aroma little funkier, and the flavor sweeter and milder.

Formaggio Kitchen gave us three choices for butter: Cabot, Plugra, and this one. I think my friend and I were bewitched by the French writing, the circular shape, and the paper wrapping. It was pale yellow and very mild in flavor. Without a doubt, I would have been much happier using the Cabot or Plugra and I'll know next time that this recipe is not the proper venue for trying out an unfamiliar butter.

We also got a bottle of wine from Formaggio Kitchen which was recommended to us by a staff member. I remember it being a bit oak-y, with notes of ripe apple. It was nice to drink, but I wish that it had had more acidity to balance all the rich ingredients in this recipe. I've always had trouble picking out wine because it can be so personal. There are way too many varieties and brands, and you can't really tell if a wine is going to be acidic enough until you've bought the bottle, opened it, and tasted it. In the end, we sprinkled in lemon juice even though Joe H.'s recipe didn't call for it. (I'm sorry for modifying the recipe, Joe. But I really felt like my risotto needed it.)

Joe H. notes that we need a 1/2 cup of toasted pistachios that we shell ourselves. We picked out exactly 1/2 a cup of unshelled, unsalted pistachios from Formaggio Kitchen that were quite tasty. Unfortunately, I didn't take into account how many pistachios I would eat as I shelled them and not all of them made it to the final product.

Joe H. called for real chicken stock. Being unfamiliar with this area of the country, I didn't know where to go for good chicken to make the stock. We ended up stopping by a "regular" grocery store and picking up chicken drumsticks to make the chicken stock. I simmered the stock for over 24 hours, and there was hardly any flavor in the stock at all. I was so ashamed -- I pride myself on making great stock. I should have known better -- I remembered afterwards that my mother had told me once that drumsticks don't make for good broth. I think this ultimately really hurt the outcome of this dish. The next time I make this, I will be sure to be more careful about the source and types of chicken scraps I use.

It's a great recipe, I was overall pleased with the results, and I learned some things to be mindful of for next time: I will use Cabot or Plugra butter, use a wine with higher acidity, make sure my chicken stock is perfect, and make sure I buy enough pistachios to munch on. Delicious!

Joe H. mentions that this dish doesn't re-heat up very well. While I found this to be true, I enjoyed the risotto reheated anyway. It was also delicious cold. I frequently stopped by the refrigerator to carve out pieces to snack on. For some reason, I also felt like this would be comforting to eat cold as a hangover cure, but I was not going to get a hangover on purpose just to test this.

Thank you, Joe H, for being so generous with us and sharing your recipe.

Chocolate Macarons

2009-10-15T20:53:00.000-07:00

I first tasted macarons when my mom came back from her first trip to Paris. Amid the scarves, skirts, and sweaters she brought back, she also brought back a box of cookies that resembled baby hamburgers. I was intrigued by these French cookies, which I had never seen or heard of before. They were beautiful to look at, and the flavors were exotic to me at the time -- rose, pistachio, almond. Before seeing these macarons, I had always considered a cookie without chocolate not worthy of eating.

I recently re-discovered macarons after a phase of eating them quite frequently at Fleur de Cocoa in Los Gatos, CA. The crust was thin and shattered when I bit into it, leading to a chewy merengue interior. The flavors were nuanced, subtle, and sophisticated. Inspired, I decided to try my hand at making macarons for myself.

Based on suggestions from others, I left the egg whites out uncovered for about 4 hours to age them and then beat them by hand to shiny white soft peaks. I know they should be whipped to stiff peaks, but my arms couldn't take much more.

I made chocolate macarons by adapting Davod Lebovitz's recipe. Instead of his chocolate/prune filling, I made a chocolate/peanut butter filling (Michel Cluizel chocolate, Trader Joe's Valencia peanut butter, and Cabot butter, mixed in proportions until it tasted good to me).

My first batch of macarons don't look as refined as other macarons I've seen. They were not slim, posh, or glossy. The drab brown color and gloppy filling make them look absolutely frumpy as far as cookies go.
Despite their dowdy appearence, I was proud of them. While the flavor combination of peanut butter and chocolate can be considered unsophisticated, I found it to be delicious and comforting. I was also quite pleased with the texture of my macarons -- the chewy interior served as a foil to the delicate crust that shattered as I bit into it. The best part was being able to indulge in them with a gluttonous zeal that I had always refrained from doing when they looked too pretty to eat.

Nocino 2009

2009-10-15T20:45:00.000-07:00

I dream of one day having a little alcove of my home devoted to beverages -- an apothecary of mismatched bottles of home-made alcoholic infusions, custom tisane blends, and unique glassware. With this dream in mind, one of my summer projects this year was making nocino, a green-walnut liqueur.

I was quite pleased with the results -- it has a dark medicinal flavor highlighted by a sublte pine-ness that gently brightens up the flavor. It reminds me of some combination of Moxie, root beer, and cola. The recipe I used is an amalgamation of my research of nocino recipes. Next year I may tweak it a bit. Enjoy.

Recipe
30 green walnuts (I picked them around July 6) split in half or in quarters
5 cloves
2 cinnamon sticks (about 3 inches each)
zest from one lemon
1 L Absolut Vodka
1 star anise
about 2 inches of a juniper branch
2.5 cups real maple syrup (i.e., NOT Mrs. Butterworth)

I mixed everything except the maple syrup and let it sit in a glass jar for about a month, shaking it every couple of days. After about 1 week, I removed the star anise (its flavor was starting to dominate too much). I secured a layer of paper towel instead of a lid because I read somewhere that this mixture needs oxygen. After about a month, I strained out the walnuts and spices. At this point, the liquid was very bitter. I added the maple syrup to balance out the bitterness.

By mid-August, the bitterness of the liqueur has mellowed, and I feared the maple syrup was overpowering everything when I tasted it at room temperature. But served with ice, it was perfect.

April Fool's Cupcake 2009

2009-10-15T20:32:00.000-07:00

For April Fool's Day this year, a coworker brought three different types of cupcakes to work: "peas and carrots," "corn on the cob," and "spaghetti and meatballs."
They were absolutely darling, and I kept going into the break room just to look at them.

"Peas and carrots" cupcakes were made from green M&M's peas and Starburst carrots

"Corn on the cob" cupcakes were made using Jelly-Belly corn kernels and Starburst butter

"Spaghetti and meatball" cupcakes were made using icing noodles, jam sauce, and Ferrero Rocher meatballs.

Alive and Kicking Lobster

2009-10-15T19:42:00.000-07:00

On my trip to Boston this year, I had the pleasure of eating at Alive and Kicking Lobster. This no-fuss "restaurant" looks like the proprietors converted their home garage into a business. I tend to like the no-fuss approach because when restaurants are a little too posh-looking, I start to become suspicious that the flavor of the food is not a priority.

My sandwich was great. The lobster was fresh and sweet, and the varying textures of the meat was delightful. Tail meat is chewy and substantial; claw meat is tender and delicate. The mixture was simple -- just enough mayonnaise to hold it together and lots of black pepper. The generously buttered toasty bread complemented the the filling perfectly. I only wished there was a wedge of lemon -- lemon and lobster are friends.

After lunch, I bought some live lobsters from them to take home for dinner with my friends. The woman who helped me was wonderful. She took her time to engage me in conversation about the best size lobsters to get and the best way to cook them.

Her traditional method was to boil some water, put the lobsters in tail-first, and let the water come to a second boil before putting the timer. She let me in on a secret though -- the real pros cook their lobsters in the microwave! You put two in a heavy-ish plastic produce bag facing in opposite directions. You don't need to add water -- the lobster will cook in its own reserves.

I'm sorry for not being more specific about cooking times. The notes I feverishly took as she dictated them to me have since been lost.

Boston is Beautiful

2009-10-15T19:21:00.001-07:00

I had the pleasure of visiting Boston a few months ago for the first time. It is such a beautiful place.

Harvard University School of Business

City landscape from the bridge on the Charles River

The Christian Science Center at night is gorgeous.

I also spent a day exploring Boston Library and the neighborhood around it

Boston at Dusk

Persimmon Spice Cake Fall 2007

2009-10-13T12:59:00.000-07:00

Every autumn my persimmon tree gives me more fruit than I can possibly eat plain. A couple years ago, I experimented with what to do with my bounty. One of those experiments resulted in this spice cake. It was yummy -- flavorful, tender, and perfect on a fall evening with a cup of tea.

Recipe for Persimmon Spice Cake:
3 firm fuyu persimmons peeled and chopped into half-inch cubes
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup softened butter
1 2/3 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp lemon juice
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp table salt
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1 cup walnuts

1. Mix the chopped persimmons with the 2 tsp of baking soda.
2. Cream together the butter and sugar.
3. Add the eggs to the butter-sugar mixture
4. Add the lemon juice and vanilla extract to the egg-butter-sugar mixture
5. Mix together the flour, baking powder, salt, cloves, cinnamon, and nutmeg together. Combine this mixture with the persimmons.
6. Finally, mix the persimmon mixture with the egg-butter-sugar mixture and combine.
7. Pour into a pan. I used a Muffin Bundt pan.

Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 50 minutes.

Peeled persimmons

Persimmons -- peeled and diced

Diced persimmons with flour

Mixed with wet ingredients. As you can see, it's very thick