The Hunger

Bread Winner.

2012-01-16T14:46:00.000-08:00

Fresh baked bread is an elusive trick that a lot of chef's cannot grasp. I too thought that I needed to make a blood pact with a demon or perhaps perform black magic human sacrifices to pull it off. Pastry is not my forté. Pastry chefs and "regular" chefs are not built from the same cloth. Most pastry chefs were raised in loving environments that encouraged learning math skills for fun. They follow the rules and bake sweets as holiday gifts. "Regular" chefs were mostly beaten or unloved as children and developed just enough math skills by either dealing or taking drugs. Those skills learned in our debaucherous youth helps us measure ingredients by volume (just replace the speed with flour). Frankly we just can't be bothered to measure things by weight. Such a hassle. Recipes are seen as a list of possibilities. It's super rare for us to look at a recipe and follow it word for word. We glance at recipes and then do what we want. Rules are for fools.

Once in a while the swords cross and stereotypes get broken. There are some badass rebel pastry chefs out there. They have managed to overcome the scientific nature of pastry and throw caution to the wind. There are also more and more 'regular' chefs who actually know math (not just drug measuring or money counting math). They can bake and they do it proudly. It's like monkeys learning sign language. It's not that uncommon but still very impressive.

I don't claim to be one of those chefs that have a knack for baking. I don't. However, with a little divine intervention I produced a really yummy loaf of French bread. Crusty on the outside, chewy on the inside. It's never too late to start baking. You may just surprise yourself. I sure did. When I pulled my bread out of the oven it felt as if I had just given birth. I caressed and coddled that loaf of bread until dinner time and then I cut it open and ate it all.

French Bread

5 cups all-purpose flour
.65 ounces (about 2 1/2 packets) packets active dry yeast
1 ½ teaspoons salt
2 cups warm water
1/4 cup cornmeal
1 egg
1 tablespoon water
olive oil
sea salt

In a large bowl, combine half the flour, yeast and salt. Stir in the 2 cups warm water, and beat until well blended using a mixer with a dough hook. Stir in the remaining flour.

On a lightly floured surface, knead to make a stiff dough that is smooth and elastic. Knead for about 8 minutes. Form the dough into a ball. Place dough in an lightly olive oil greased bowl, and turn once. Cover, and let rise in a warm place until doubled.

Punch the dough down, and divide in half. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Cover, and let rest for 10 minutes. Form each loaf into a long oval (French bread shaped)

Preheat oven to 375 F. Using olive oil lightly grease a large baking sheet. Sprinkle with cornmeal. Place loaves on the prepared baking sheet. Cover with a damp cloth. Let rise until nearly doubled, 35 to 40 minutes.

Lightly beat the egg white with 1 tablespoon of water, and brush over the loaves. With a very sharp knife, make 3 or 4 diagonal cuts about 1/4 inch deep across top of each loaf. Bake in a preheated oven for 20 minutes. Brush again with egg white mixture and sprinkle sea salt on top. Bake for an additional 15 to 20 minutes, or until bread tests done. Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack. You have just baked delicious handmade bread! Congratulations.

A Basket Full of Eggs.

2011-12-30T14:56:00.000-08:00

I am a soft boiled egg slut. I love them and I will kill to have them in my mouth. Okay, perhaps that's an exaggeration but I really do love them. Nobody does soft boiled eggs as well as the French. Maybe it's the French chickens (or le poulet as they like to be called). Who knows. What I do know is that I also make a mean soft boiled egg. Not to brag (okay, I am) or anything but I have converted many a egg naysayer with my aptitude for oeuf cookery. Anyhow, one of my favorite meals consists of a perfectly cooked egg, some nice cheese, a little charcuterie, and perhaps something fried (I'm pretty sure all the food groups are covered here).

I soft boiled a couple of eggs, seasoned them with salt and fresh cracked pepper and then garnished with a little scallion and a drizzle of porcini and truffle oil. Served up with some cured duck saucisson, aged manchego cheese, and some fried potato croquettes. Traditionally oeufs are serve with a side of mayonnaise but instead I decided for a little North African flair and made a harissa aioli.
With a yummy glass or three of your favorite French wine I think this is a perfect meal. Very simple and very tasty.

The perfect soft boiled egg:
Put eggs into a pot filled with cold water.
Bring to a hard simmer.
The second you see rapid bubbles remove the pot from the stove.
Let them sit for 6 minutes.
Shock in an ice water bath and then carefully peel. Yum.

P.S. - Sorry it's taken me so long between posts. Life happened. I will post more regularly for those of you who care. xoxo

Where's Violet?

2011-11-14T12:42:00.000-08:00

Good things come to those who wait. xoxo

The Keys To Having A Bad-Assed Pantry: Part 1 - Spices

2011-07-13T15:37:00.000-07:00

Are you one of those people who complain about how expensive it is to cook for themselves? Or perhaps you have a friend who says that all the time. I say to you (or your sad, hungry friend), that's nonsense! The problem is this beginner cook. You don't have a stocked pantry. If you have the basic supplies the times you got the itch to cook it wouldn't cost very much (unless of course you decided you needed to make New York strip steaks with lobster tails and truffle butter sauce. For you my friend yes, prepare to empty your bank account). Once you have a stocked pantry you will be ready to cook up a storm. You'll no longer look like you're on a drunken scavenger hunt for cumin seeds and panko bread crumbs. Now simple recipes will seem easier as pie (actually pie can be somewhat difficult when made from scratch so I hate that dumb saying). Here's what you need to do. Build an impressive pantry. Spend a chunk of change on your pantry now (consider it your tools for creating art) and then when you want to cook it'll be soooo much easier and less expensive. Want a peek inside my pantry (keep your dirty thought to yourself you pervert!). Okay, sassiness aside, lot's of these things I can't live without and when I run out I get more. It's simple, just like that. Today let's talk spices.

Spices you should have: Stay away from that ten year old saw dust sold in the pre-packged jars at your local super mega-mart. If you're really serious about cooking first thing you gotta do is buy a little spice grinder (I use this little coffee grinder for grinding whole spices but once it's designated it for spices don't use it for coffee. No one wants to drink a black pepper, garlic latte. Ick.). Buy your spices at a spice store or bulk bins at some of the nicer grocery stores. They will be fresher. Buy them whole and grind them yourself if you can for better flavor. I also use a pepper mill for fresh cracked black pepper but the grinder will work fine if you don't want more gadgets. Here's what's always in my pantry:

* Kosher Salt (I like Diamond Crystal. Don't use that iodized table salt shit.)
* Sea Salt (Just a little brinier than kosher. Not necessary but yummy for certain things like seafood.)
* Finishing Salts (Pink Hawaiian, Alderwood Smoked Salt, Fleur De Sel. For a little extra flavor after
cooking. Also, not necessary but fun and tasty.)
* Black Peppercorns (For fresh cracked black pepper.)
* White Peppercorns (A bit more potent that black pepper and leaves no appearance of pepper flecks)
* Cumin Seed (You can't cook Latino without it.)
* Cinnamon Sticks (The whole sticks have way more flavor than the powder.)
* Cloves (The spice, not the gothy cigarettes)
* Chili Powder (There are a lot of choices here. I like New Mexican for heat and ancho for smokiness.
You can buy dried chilies and grind them yourself if you have time.)
* Star Anise (They look like cute little star fish and have a licoricey flavor)
* Cayenne Pepper (Bring on the heat.)
* Coriander Seeds (Yummy earthiness used a lot in Indian and in curries.)
* Paprika (I like hot Hungarian and simply cannot live without Piménton - hot smoked Spanish
paprika.)
* Turmeric (Make things yellow and musky in a good way.)
* Red Crushed Pepper (Italian heat.)
* Allspice (Caribbean earthiness)
* Cardamom Pods (Strong and aromatic, used in curries and in Middle Eastern dishes.)
* Mustard Seeds (Great for kick and pickling.)
* Nutmeg (Get the pods and grind them with a fine grater or rasp. Apple pie anyone?)

Here are a few spice mixes, dried herbs, and pre-ground things that recipes sometimes call for that I tend to keep around. Always use fresh herbs when possible otherwise dried will do in a pinch.

* Garlic Powder (Garlic in powder form.)
* Onion Powder (Onion in powder form.)
* Dried Oregano (I actually use this one a lot. Not as good as fresh but still works.)
* Dried Thyme (Not nearly as good as fresh but it'll do.)
* Dried Basil (Nothing near as good as the fresh version but sometimes you need it now.)
* Dried Bay Leaves (The one dried herb I actually prefer over the fresh.)
* Celery Salt (bloody Marys!)
* Curry Powder (If you can take the time to make your own but sometimes in a pinch pre-made curry
powders will certainly do.)
* Chinese Five Spice (It has five Chinese spices in it. Cloves and Cinnamon being the strongest.)
* Old Bay (Great spice mix for seafood)
* Creole Seasoning (For some Bayou cookin')
* Filé Powder (Sassafras root to thicken and flavor Cajun cooking.)
* Sazón (Excellent Caribbean spice packets. I use these all the time for my family's recipes.)
* Adobo (It's a Cuban spice mixture that is also prominent in my family's Cuban recipes.)
* Poultry Seasoning (Don't ask. Just once in a while I reach for it.)
* Chicken Beef Ham Bouillon (Make your own stocks when ever possible for the best flavor otherwise
these little processed salt cubes will have to suffice.)

Now for the really interesting ones in my pantry. These spices are very specialized and exotic.

* Asafoetida (Super intense Indian spice. Smells like feet but tastes like chickeny.)
* Bacon Salt (Also perfect in bloody Marys.)
* Annatto Seeds (Cubans call it poor man's saffron.)
* Bijol (Cubans call it poor man's annatto seed.)
* Za'atar (Ground sesame seeds with dried sumac and other herbs. Middle Eastern citrusiness.)
* Grains of Paradise (Pungent and peppery African flavors. Was a popular spice in the Middle Ages.)
* Black Limes (Smokey sour Middle Eastern sun dried limes.)
* Shichimi Togarashi (Japanese spice mixture of peppers, citrus peels, sesame seeds and nori.)

Okay, I have lots more in my spice cabinet but those are the important one I think. I have lots of different kinds of curry blends, and dried herb blends and ton of different kinds of salts and chili powders. If you live in Seattle or don't have access to fresh spices check out my favorite spice shop World Spice Merchants. They are super helpfully and inexpensive and will ship to your home wherever yo live so there is no excuse to have dingy old sawdust in your spice rack.

Stay tuned for The Keys To Having A Bad-Assed Pantry: Part 2 - Oils, Vinegars, and Condiments. Oh, and let me know if you feel I've left something out. I'm not a robot, ya know.

Rockfish and Roll.

2011-07-07T13:29:00.000-07:00

It's no secret that Seattle is a Caribbean black hole. No Cuban, no Jamaican, no Haitian, and just a tiny bit of Puerto Rican food. Being a Miami girl I get serious craving for island food but it just ain't happening up here in the land of sasquatch. What do you do when you can't find something? You make it. When I lived in North Miami Beach I used to swing by this little Jamaican hole in the wall off 163rd street for the best rockfish in creole sauce ever. That with a few Jamaican patties and I was an extremely happy girl. I would skip school just to get my spicy tropical fix. The cafe was the size of a closet and had a television on the counter blasting soap operas. The friendly in her own way owner would be relaxing in her lazy-boy right in front of the counter making you wait until she found out who cheated on who and whether or not Jimmy survived falling down the hospitals elevator shaft. Without even a glance she would point to one of the three tiny cafe tables crammed in the place. Once the commercials came on she'd get up and briskly ask you what you want. I always got the same, rockfish with creole sauce and two Jamaican patties. She'd yell back to her cook and get back to watching her shows. You just can't find that kind of atmosphere in the NW and I really miss it. To make up for it I recently made Rockfish Creole with spicy ginger green beans. I even ignored myself and watched a little General Hospital to make it feel authentic. Now, if only I had some Jamaican patties. Yum.

Rockfish Creole

2 4-6oz fillets of rockfish
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium onion, sliced thinly
1/2 fennel bulb, sliced
1/2 tsp scotch bonnet, minced (you can use less spicy peppers if you like)
juice of 1 lime
1 packet of sazón seasoning
salt and pepper tt
olive oil

Season the fish with salt, pepper, and the sazón seasoning. Set aside.

For the creole sauce saute the onions, fennel, garlic, and scotch bonnet in a little olive oil until soft with a little color. Add the lime juice. Season with salt and pepper.

In a saute pan on med. high heat cook the fish in a little olive oil for about 2min. each side just until cooked through. Cover with the creole sauce and serve.

*for the green beans I just blanched them off. Sauteed a little garlic, ginger, and scotch bonnet in butter until soft. Tossed in the green beans and cooked another 2-3 minutes. Salt and pepper. Enjoy.

Pork Chop Express.

2011-05-11T14:02:00.000-07:00

The pork chop has a really bad reputation. Often cooked to death until all that is left is a burnt dry mouthful of sawdust. Dry pork is disgusting but it's not the pork chops fault. It's the human that thinks it's okay to commit chuleta de cerdo asesinato (pork chop murder). Look, as long as you're not buying your meat from a shady back alley pork vendor (or grocery store factory farm) you don't have to worry about getting sick if the pork isn't cooked to 170F degrees. Here's a trick that can be very forgiving on your lack of cooking prowess. Brine the meat over night and then if you slightly over cook the pork it will still be juicy. Brine is easy. Equal parts salt and sugar (1 cup) and enough water (1 gallon) to cover overnight.

The next day after brining I made a rub of smoked paprika, chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, allspice and salt and pepper. I then added a little olive oil to turn it into a paste. The bone-in pork chop was coated in the spice mixture and marinated for about 2 hours. I put a saute pan over medium high heat and cooked the pork chops about 4 minutes per side until just cooked through (or until you reach a little under 150F). Let the meat rest after cooking. It should be removed from the hot pan and covered with foil and left the hell alone for a minimum of 8 minutes. Cutting into meat that doesn't rest will bleed out all of the delicious juiciness inside. Resting the meat allows the juices to redistribute throughout the meat making it juicy and tender. To the pan with all the yummy brown pork bits I added a little chicken stock and butter to release the fond (stuck brown bits) and make a spicy yummy sauce.

For a side dish I made a potato and zucchini galette. It's super easy. With a mandolin (if you don't have one, go buy one) slice the peeled yukon gold potatoes and zucchini into super thin discs. In a saute pan, rub the bottom with butter to keep the galette from sticking. Make an overlapping spiral layer of potato. The an overlapping spiral layer of zucchini. Then lightly season with salt and pepper and sprinkle a thin layer of grated manchego cheese. The a layer of potato, then zucchini, etc until the saute pan is full. Sprinkle bits of butter over the top and bake at 350F for about 40 minutes. Stick a knife into it to make sure it's cooked all the way through. Cover the pan with a plate and flip it out onto the plate. Delicious and impressive. Cut out slices like a pizza pie and serve with the tasty smokey pork chops. Enjoy. xoxo

The Eastern Block.

2011-04-22T10:59:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to give a shout out to a newish restaurant up here on Seattle's Cap Hill. Kanape is a cute lil' cafe located on the north tip of Broadway situated next to one of the many tanning salons (who the hell is going to Desert Thunder or whatever it's called, nobody is tan in Seattle?) on the hill. Anyways, a friend and I had lunch at Kanape yesterday and we were greeted by an adorable Latvian girl (the owner perhaps) who warned us that putting our purses on the ground was very bad luck. She brought me a chair for my bag which I thought was very sweet (I myself am a very superstitious person so I can relate). The menu is small but we were told that more substantial menu items (heartier fare like stroganoff and such) were coming very soon. Not that the items on the menu right now aren't worth going for. Kanape serves delicious Austrian kanapes (little open-faced sandwiches) and French Crepes. There is also a nice variety of Eastern European salads and sweets. For lunch I had a chicken liver pate kanape with slivered gherkin and pickled red onion on a slice of toasted baguette and a egg salad and lox kanape with capers and lemon on rye. I also had a Russian Stolichnaya salad which consisted of veal bologna, pickle, egg, peas, organic carrot, onion, and potato and mayo. Everything was light and tasty. The chicken liver was smooth and creamy (I hate when I get grainy liver pate, ick) and it went perfectly with the brininess of the pickle and onion. Very Tasty. Who doesn't like cured salmon and egg salad? Suckers, that's who. So good. I love Russian salad. Like a creamy potato salad but with other yummy vegetables and the chunks of veal bologna made it. So good. The kanapes are small but inexpensive. They are around $2-3 dollars a piece. Order a few and a salad to make a nice lunch. They have an amazing happy hour on weekdays from 4-6pm where kanapes are only $1 and drinks around $3. I will definitely be back. When you go, just make sure you keep your bag off the ground.

Kanape
700 Broadway East Suite D
Seattle, WA 98102
206 7081210

Saucy Bird.

2011-03-29T15:02:00.000-07:00

Saucy saucy goodness. The more butter and cream the better. Smothered and covered. This rainy cold winter has led to lots of heavy one pots and stick to your rib meals. Not that I'm complaining, I love eating stews and comforting casseroles. My waistline my not thank me but my sleepy inner hibernating polar bear in me does. I guess that's what spring time is for. Lot's of "I am so going to start eating less. Smaller portions, ya know? Maybe even the occasional salad. I need to get back to bikini form (haha, I haven't had that since I was like 14)". There is just something so primal and soothing about a big pot of thick stewed meat. I have a tinge of Polish in me somewhere. Hell, I'm such a mutt I probably have a little Arctic penguin in me too. Who knows. I remember in the 70s when Polack jokes were all the rage. I never quite understood why people thought the Polish were so dumb? As a whole America is a much stupider country. Hell, half the country is still scared things like of electricity and gay people. As my Dad would say when I brought home my sub par report cards: "Violet, the world will always needs ditch diggers too". I was too busy skipping school and smoking pot behind the bleechers to worry about things like math or science. It's not like I'll ever need to use that book learnin' shit anyway, right?

Anyways, I love Eastern European food. I remember when I was little my grandmother on my fathers side would come over and cook stuffed cabbage and sour creamy chickeny goodness. It was so foreign to me yet it tasted like the most amazing thing ever. I was used to eating Cuban food and 1950s pre-packed noodle helpers. I loved the occasional peek into some other fantastical world. I would be scarfing up my goulash wondering what life would be like in Eastern Europe. An icy wonderland of dancing bears, fairies and ice princesses (I definitely wanted to be a Fairy Ice Princess.) ;) I wanted a pet bear and a carriage pulled by reindeer. I also wanted one of those cute big furry drum hats and a fur coat made of a hundred baby foxes (just kidding). I practiced writing letters backwards just like they do up there. Haha. Once I got something in my mind, there was no stopping me. At least not until the next night when we went out for Chinese at one of those rural, middle of nowhere Chinese restaurant palaces with the giant foo dogs and dragons meeting you at the door. Then my mind would turn to me being the Empress of China with a million minions at my disposal and a pretty pet fire breathing dragon. I'm not that much different from when I was a kid. Always intrigued by something new. Fine, call me fickle.

Chicken Paprikash w/ Dumplings

2 1⁄2 cups flour
1 egg, lightly beaten
1⁄ 4 cup canola oil
1 3–4-lb. chicken, cut into 6–8 pieces, skin removed
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons sweet Hungarian paprika
1 Italian frying pepper, chopped
1 10oz can of diced tomatoes
1 large yellow onion, minced
1 1⁄2 cups chicken stock
3⁄ 4 cup sour cream
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
kosher salt and fresh cracked white pepper

2 tablespoons finely chopped flat-leaf parsley

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. In a bowl, Season 2 cups of flour with salt and pepper and form a well in the center. Add egg and 1⁄2 cup water to well; stir to form a dough. Knead in bowl until smooth, about 1 minute. Using a teaspoon, scoop tablespoon portions of dough into pot. Boil dumplings until tender, 6–8 minutes. Drain dumplings and rinse in cold water; cover with a towel and set aside.

Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Put 1⁄2 cup seasoned flour on a plate; dredge chicken; shake off excess. Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Brown the chicken, turning once 8–10 minutes. Set chicken aside. Add paprika and half the peppers, along with the tomatoes and onions, to pot. Saute stirring until onions are soft, about 5 minutes. Add chicken and broth; boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, covered, turning chicken once, until fully cooked, 12–15 minutes. In a small bowl, whisk together 2 tbsp. flour and sour cream; whisk in 3⁄4 cup of sauce from pot. Stir sour cream mixture into sauce in pot. Remove from heat. Melt butter in a 12" skillet over medium-high heat, add dumplings and parsley, and cook, tossing occasionally, until hot, about 2 minutes. Serve chicken garnished with remaining peppers and dumplings on the side.

Kiss me, I'm Irish. Well not really, but my wife is.

2011-03-17T13:52:00.000-07:00

Happy St Paddy's day everyone. Eat, celebrate, and stay out of your damn car after drinking. xoxo

Here's a repost of one my corned beef and cabbage recipes:

Corned Beef and Cabbage

6 lbs corned beef brisket
1 1/2 lbs yellow onions, thickly sliced
2 lbs carrots, peeled and cut into large pieces
4 lbs red potatoes, peeled and halved
2 heads cabbage, cut into 6 wedges ea.
1/2 cup malt vinegar
1/2 cup Guinness Irish stout
1 Tbsp mustard seed
1 Tbsp coriander seed
1 Tbsp black peppercorns
1/2 Tbsp dill seed
3 bay leaves

Here's the easy part. Place everything except for the onions, carrots, potatoes and cabbage in a large stock pot and cover with water. Give it a little stir and bring to a boil. Lower the heat to a simmer and cover. Cook for 3 hours. Add the potatoes, carrots, onions, and place the cabbage on top and continue cooking for 40 more minutes covered or until the cabbage and potatoes are fork tender. Season if needed with kosher salt. Slice the corned beef across the grain. Serve with cabbage and vegetables and a good dollop of Dijon or course-grain mustard.

what to do with leftovers
corned beef sandwiches (Reuben!)
corned beef hash and eggs
corned beef soup
corned beef croquettes
Irish tacos

Wash it down with a delicious Black Velvet.

It's basically half Guinness and half champagne. Pour the Guinness half way up a champagne flute. Let the head settle. Using a spoon to diffuse the force of pouring, pour champagne (or a really dry sparkling wine) over the back of the spoon gently filing up the rest of the glass. It's so delicious, sparkly and tart but with that fullness and deep chocolate tones that Guinness is known for.

My Godfather would be proud.

2011-02-28T15:00:00.000-08:00

Okay, so if you've ever read my blog you may have decided that my taste can sometimes be a little suspect. Sure I pop open the occasional can of Spaghetti-Os (I eat it when I'm really nervous) but I know food and have a serious appreciation for the finer things. Is it so wrong that I am capable of enjoying a lovely seared piece of foie gras as well as a microwavable double chili cheeseburger from 7-11? I know the difference. I just see things for what they are (including the deliciously addictive terrible chemicals that make up a lot of junk food). Everybody has vices. While yours may be crystal meth or huffing drain cleaner mine happens to be junk food (washed down with tasty booze treats). But this aint therapy. We're not gonna talk about what we do behind closed doors right now. Remove the image of me with Taco Bell sauce on my face. Time to class things up a bit. This is serious Violet talking now. My culinary diploma is sitting on my desk as we speak just to show you how dead-eyed serious I can be. Like hurricane or cancer serious. Yes, I am that serious. Okay, maybe not that serious but no really, I do have a serious question for you. Do you want to know how to make the Italian beefy-roll wonder dish called Braciole? How about Melted Leek and Crimini Mushroom Bruschetta? Well, do you?! Of course you do. Why wouldn't you? Unless of course you have no arms and haven't figured out how to cook with your toes like that guy on That's Incredible. Then I could see not giving a shit about recipes and whatnot. You, my friend are excused.
Braciole Stuffed with Spinach and Italian Sausage

1 1/2 lbs flank steak
1 lb of hot Italian sausage, casings removed (if the sausage isn't spicy add a pinch of red pepper flakes)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup dried Italian bread crumbs
2/3 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano
1 Tbsp chopped fresh thyme
2 Tbsp chopped fresh Italian parsley
2 cups fresh packed spinach
salt and freshly ground black pepper tt
1 cup dry white wine
3 cups basic marinara sauce (homemade or a good jarred sauce)

Preheat oven to 350F degrees.

In a bowl gently mix together the crumbled sausage, garlic, bread crumbs, parmigiano reggiano, parsley, and thyme.

In a pot of boiling water briefly blanch the spinach (1-2 minutes). Shock in cold water and drain. Wrap the spinach in a towel and squeeze out any extra moisture.

Lay the flank steak on a flat surface. Season with salt and pepper. Starting at one end. Spread the sausage mixture in an even layer about 3/4 of the way down on the steak. At the end you started at, place the spinach. Don't spread it just keep it like a log at the front. Carefully roll the beef into a big pinwheel. It should resemble a Hostess Jelly Roll. Tie it using butchers twine to keep it tight and secure.
Season the outside of the braciole.

Place a a large dutch oven or oven proof pan over medium heat. In 2 Tbsp olive oil brown the braciole on all sides, about 8 minutes. Add the wine to the pan and bring to a boil. Stir in the tomato sauce and cover. Bake until the meat is almost tender, turning the braciole and basting with the sauce every 30 minutes. After an hour, uncover and continue baking until the meat is fork tender, about 30 minutes more.

Slice across into beautiful pinwheels and serve with the sauce.

and if you're still hungry:

Melted Leek and Crimini Mushroom Bruschetta

1 large leek, just the white part, cleaned and diced
1/2 lb crimini mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
1 shallot, minced
1 garlic clove, minced
2 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp sherry
1 fresh baguette
white truffle oil
sea salt & fresh cracked black pepper
olive oil

In a pan over medium heat saute the leeks garlic, and shallots in butter until soft. Add the mushrooms and cook about 3 more minutes until the mushrooms are mostly cooked through. Season with salt and pepper. Add the sherry and cook 2 minutes to cook the alcohol out.

Slice the baguette and brush both sides with olive oil. Cut a clove of garlic in half and gently rub the bread with the garlic. In a grill pan over medium high heat (or an outdoor grill) Toast the bread to get pretty grill marks 1-2 minutes each side. Top the toast with the mushroom leek mixture. Drizzle with truffle oil and season with salt and pepper. Serve with a lovely bold red Italian wine. Mangia!

It's Cold in Here.

2011-02-17T16:12:00.000-08:00

It's really hard to eat healthy in the middle of Winter. All I want is heavy rib sticking fuel to get me through the day. Although I have to say that since (believe it or not) I'm not a logger or a fishing vessel sea captain I don't need to eat 2 pounds of lasagna for lunch. My body is not being subjected to the harsh elements and back breaking manual labor so I can manage on a few less calories. Not to say that I don't eat like a tight end (teehee) for the Seattle Seahawks. This girl can put away chow like nobody's business. I guess I'm just trying to fool myself into thinking I need to eat more healthy. I'm not getting any younger and my metabolism and I are no longer on speaking terms. My brain is like "Hey Vi, it's party time. Order up some pizza and wings sista!" and my belly is like "Well, you never know when you're going to get stranded under an avalanche. I better store all this fat for later." So as I grow older I attempt to once in a while put something green in my mouth. That getting wiser as I get older thing is gonna happen any minute now.

Niçoise Salad is salad greens with tuna (I use a nice Italian canned tuna), hard cooked eggs, Niçoise olives (kalamata will work just as well) and in my version, bacon. Like I said, I have to trick myself a little bit. I made a nice tarragon shiitake mushroom vinaigrette and lightly tossed it with some chopped romaine hearts. You can also add things like roasted peppers or marinated artichokes and that would be yummy. A dusting of finely grated manchego cheese later and it even felt like a for reals full meal. I can eat salads like this all the time. Sure, it's loaded with fatty goodness but it's healthier than a couple of Double Deluxe Dick's Burgers with fries and a Coke. Yum, I sure would eat that right now. What's the sound of mouthwatering?

There Goes One Tasty Dish!

2011-01-31T16:26:00.000-08:00

Some things just don't look that tasty. My mother always said you can't judge a book by it's cover. Actually my mother never said that. She usually said things like "That looks terrible, I'm not eating it." or "That looks like the dog vomited on your plate Honey.". She was brutally honest like that. Perhaps it's where I get my lack of social filters from. Things just pop out my mouth and before I know it I've offended everyone in the room. Oh well, at least you always know where you stand with me.

So yeah, anyways, the delicious Salmon Stuffed Portobello Mushroom I made won't be taking home any beauty awards but it sure the hell would kill at Taste Olympics. I roasted a fresh fillet of sockeye salmon, removed the bones, flaked it off the skin, and mixed it with chopped celery, scallions, bacon, fresh dill, a little smoked paprika mayonnaise to bind, salt & pepper, and a bit of Italian breadcrumbs. Rip out the mushroom stems and stuff away. Stick them in a 375F degree oven for about 30 minutes until the mushroom is cooked through and the salmon is golden. You can use canned or smoked salmon as well, just make sure you adjust the seasoning. I served it with a baby spinach salad tossed with Italian giardiniera and more bacon because that's how I roll.

Welcome to Cajun Country.

2011-01-17T16:10:00.000-08:00

When I was a kid I remember sitting in front on my television on Saturday afternoons. While all of the other kids were outside running around like sugared-up maniacs throwing rocks at each other I was sitting on the floor of my wood paneled and brown shag carpeted family room with one of my mothers aprons on watching The Cajun Cook on PBS. "I gar-un-tee!" I would yell along with Mr. Justin Wilson trying to mimic his wild Cajun "whoops" and pretend like I was ripping the heads off crawfish for a big pot of invisible gumbo. My mother would come downstairs and stare at me blankly, shake her head and roll her eyes, and then walk right back the stairs to where she came from.

I don't have a Cajun bone in my body. Perhaps it's the simple but serious flavors of the cuisine that speak to me. In fact, I think that Cuban Food (which also has some Creole roots) is pretty similar in a lot of preparations. Not to mention the French in my blood. Unfortunately the one time I drove through Louisiana I was a vegetarian. What a shame. No étoufée, no seafood gumbo, not even some boudin balls. Very sad indeed. I did however get to taste some seriously authentic gumbo z'herbes (green gumbo with lots of tasty winter greens). Nope, that trip saw plenty of voodoo shops and drunken frat boys but barely any tasty food. Back in the day, it was really hard to eat out as a vegetarian and going on a road trip was perilous. You thought you might starve to death until you came across a grocery store and made some janky meal in the car. Hmmm, let's see, I bought a can of beans, some bread, and an apple. "Not again! We had your bean and apple sandwiches yesterday." No ma'am, it was eat at your own risk in those days. Vegetables didn't exist in the South back then. It was all fried meat with a side of bacon and gravy.

I couldn't get my hands on any fresh crawfish but I was really in the mood for étoufée. I decided to make it with prawns instead. I'm sure some Cajun grandmothers make the same substitution. Deep and rich in flavor and the filé powder really adds some deepness. Put the film Southern Comfort in the DVD player, make yourself a sazerac cocktail, and cook this meal. I gar-un-tee it'll knock your socks off.

Prawn Etoufée

6 Tbsp unsalted butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 yellow onion, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
1 green bell pepper, seeded & diced
4 scallions, sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
2 tablespoons dry sherry
2 tomatoes, diced
kosher salt and fresh cracked black pepper, tt
1 tsp filé powder (if you can't find it don't worry about it)
1 ½ cups shrimp stock (water, shrimp shells, onion, celery, simmer 30 minutes)
1 lb. large prawns, peeled and deveined
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
steamed white rice for serving

1. First make a roux. In a large pot, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Add the flour and cook, stirring with a whisk, to make a medium roux.
2. Add the onions, celery, bell peppers, green onions, garlic, bay leaves, cayenne, salt, and pepper and cook, stirring, until the vegetables are soft, about 5 minutes.
3. Add the sherry and tomatoes and cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Whisk in the stock, add the prawns and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until thickened, about 5 minutes. Add the lemon juice & stir in the filé powder.
4. Adjust the seasoning, to taste. Serve over rice.

It's a Fish Party.

2011-01-04T16:15:00.000-08:00

Debbie: Duke, let's go do some crimes.
Duke: Yeah, let's get sushi and not pay.

I love that scene in Repo Man. Or how about this one from The Breakfast Club:

John Bender: What's in there?
Claire Standish: Guess? Where's your lunch?
John Bender: You're wearing it.
Claire Standish: You're nauseating.
John Bender: [pointing to Claire's lunch] What's that?
Claire Standish: Sushi.
John Bender: Sushi??
Claire Standish: Rice, raw fish, and seaweed.
John Bender: You won't accept a guy's tongue in your mouth, and you're going to eat that?
Claire Standish: Can I eat?
John Bender: I don't know. Give it a try.

I remember the first time I ate sushi. I was a vegetarian so all I could eat was a cucumber roll and some pieces of tamago (Japanese Omelet). I remember liking it but I'll admit I was quite frightened by the damp slabs of raw fish flesh my counterparts were devouring. As time went by I started eating meat again and really got a taste for sushi. I still have a problem with certain Japanese textures (jelly and slimy are not my friends). I love a good spicy tuna roll and as far as nigiri sushi goes I really love salmon, tuna, eel, and cooked shrimp (ebi). Yeah yeah, not too adventurous but for someone with the gag reflex of a newborn kitten with a two pound hairball and strep throat I do what I can. I love fish there are just certain textures I can't do. I wouldn't last two seconds on Fear Factor.

K and I decided to have a little sushi party so I bought some beautiful sashimi grade tuna and salmon. We also got a few bottles of my favorite sparkling sake. Sushi rice is fairly simple. Wash some calrose/sticky rice until the water runs clear. When cooking rice the ratio is 1 cup rice to 1 1/4 cup of water. Let it sit in the water off the heat for 10 minutes. Turn on the rice cooker and let it cook or if you do it in a pot bring to a boil then turn it down to low heat and cook for 18 minutes. Let it sit for 10 minutes after cooking off the heat. To make it sushi rice cool the rice down in a sheet pan and gently stir in a little bit of rice wine vinegar, sugar, and salt (2 cups rice, 1 Tbsp vinegar, 1 tsp sugar, 1 tsp salt). The you can make rolls, or nigiri sushi. Buy some nori seaweed sheets, sesame seeds, and some wasabi. To start place a bowl of water next to you and dip your hands in it to keep the rice from sticking to them and everything else near you. On a sushi mat (order on online if you don't have a local Asian grocery) lay down a piece of toasted nori, spread a thin layer of rice to about 1 inch from the opposite edge, lay a strip of whatever you want on the side closest to you (ie: chopped up spicy tuna, cucumber strips, hot dogs, whatever), and tightly roll up into a little cigar. Slice with a sharp knife and eat. I like dipping them in soy sauce and wasabi and if that makes me a dumb American who doesn't do the traditional way things should be done I say this. I'm not Japanese so shut up. I'm pretty sure the authenticity police aren't going to lock me up and throw away the key for this tragic offense. Rules are for fools. It's not too hard to do once you figure a few things out. Make sure you drink some sake when rolling sushi as this definitely enhances how much fun you'll have. Also, make sure you wash your hands because nobody wants to eat a dirty tuna roll. I know I don't.

Beef, It's Whats For Dinner.

2010-12-16T14:36:00.000-08:00

Flank steak is the best part of the cow. There I said it. No going back now. Cooked properly (marinated and grilled 2 minutes each side until medium rare) it is so freaking tender and mouthwatering. Growing up in a mostly Cuban household we didn't do much beef. The holy pig was out beast of choice and with the exception of my Mom's famous Hamburger Helper and mi Abuela's rabo encendido (ox tail stew) we never ate steak. Oh, and once in while my French Canadian father cooked up a mean burger and charred a couple hot dogs on special occasions. I remember the first steak I had ever eaten. I was in in my teens and the whole family went to one of those cheesy chain steak restaurants (I think it was an Outback Steakhouse because I vaguely remember my deep fried onion explosion). It was probably from some corporate factory farm where the juiced up super cows are pumped full of growth hormones and stacked into cramped cow towers while getting fatted up for my consumption. It was a tasty steak though. I think it was injected with MSG and braised in cocaine butter and I remember orgasmically seeing the light like I had just been invited into Heaven or Valhalla no questions asked. I was now a steak fiend. I needed it to survive. Steak had become my air, my water. I asked for steak every meal. A couple of months later I became a vegetarian for 11 years. All it took was a PETA video and a few Youth of Today songs (okay, actually the girl I was crushed out on was a vegetarian). I eat meat now like my life depended on it now. Being vegetarian is about where you draw the line. As I got older I decided that my line would be drawn a little higher up the food chain. I just choose to buy my meat from more humane and healthy places. I try to be an educated eater and that's good enough for me.

I made Spicy Marinated Flank Steak and Queso Oaxaca Quesadillas with Cilantro and Almond Salsa. I marinated the flank steak in chipotles in adobo, cumin, oregano, hot piménton, garlic, salt and pepper, and olive oil for about 2 hours. In a hot grill pan I seared the steaks for about 2 minutes each side and then took them off the heat and let them rest for 15 minutes. Quesadillas are one of the easiest things ever. Tortilla, cheese, tortilla. Heat in a lightly oiled skillet, both sides until slightly crispy. Cut into quarters. For the sauce I pureed cilantro, parsley, olive oil, toasted almonds, garlic, scallions, cumin, salt, pepper, lime juice, hot sauce. On a plate lay down the quesadillas, top with the sliced steak (sliced against the grain), and drizzle with the salsa. Garnish with cilantro, parsley, and coitja cheese. Yum.

A Soup That Squashes The Rest.

2010-12-07T14:44:00.000-08:00

It's no secret, I am not a big squash fan. In fact it's one of my least favorite vegetables. My CSA (local farm fresh veggies delivered weekly to your door) sent me yet another trillion apples and a giant butternut squash. Instead of crying about it I decided to make it a challenge. Make squash that I like. You can trick yourself into anything I thought to myself. Remember when I tricked myself into thinking those crunchy Japanese Squid Snacks were in fact pork rinds. Yup, it worked for a minute until the oily over fishy taste came through. I suppose a lot of people would be just as disgusted by pork rinds. To them I say this "you are joyless and have no class". Anyways, I was determined to make a squash dish that didn't make me cringe.

The end result was Curried Butternut Squash and Jonagold Apple Soup with Bacon, Fresh Thyme, and Peppered Rye Croutons. I roasted the squash and a couple of jonagold apples with butter, salt, and pepper until nice and caramelized and soft. I removed the skins and seeds and threw the flesh into a blender. In the meantime I rendered the fat out of a couple slices of bacon and cut some dark rye bread into cubes. I set aside the bacon on a paper towel lined plate and then I seasoned the croutons with salt and fresh ground pepper and tossed them in the bacon fat until crispy. I heated up 4 cups of homemade veggie stock (so easy and way better than the canned stuff) and added a few ladles full into the blender with the squash and apple flesh. Season with salt, pepper, 1 Tbsp curry powder, and a 1/2 Tbsp of fresh thyme. Blend until smooth, strain and add the liquid gold to the rest of the veg stock. Simmer until it thickens. Garnish with the rye croutons, bacon, and fresh thyme.

I was surprised how delicious this soup was. It's a serious stick to your ribs, make you feel all cozy kind of soup. I could see eating eating a small bowl of this with a grilled apple and brie grilled cheese. While I don't see myself eating roasted squash anytime soon, I do see myself making this soup again. And again, and again. Yum yum.

The Lone Star Treat.

2010-12-02T11:50:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to say thank you Texas. Aside from your generally scary politics and unforgiving, dirty, hot summers you created something I can really get behind. You make some awesome food. BBQ, yes Ma'am. Amazing beef, check. Mexican food, well not really your invention but I'll thank you for just being in proximity to delicious Mexico. Frito Pie, Hell yes. Wait, please don't tell me you've never heard of Frito pie. Let's get you back to the School of Deliciousness. Food you can't live without 101. Frito pie is simple. Make a yummy chili. Open a bag of Fritos. Pour chili over Fritos. Top with and ungodly amount of bright orange cheese. If you're fancy add scallions, cilantro, and sour cream. This is an Austin TX specialty. Austin is my favorite part of Texas. It's where aging Seattle punk rockers go to grow old and eat their oatmeal. No offense to all my lovely Austin friends, you know it's true.

Anywho, I just used my recipe for Buckeye Chili and omitted the cinnamon. Buy a bag of plain Fritos. Cover with a ladle of chili. A friendly handful of cheddar jack cheese. Sliced scallions and chopped cilantro because I am in fact fancy. Eat with a fork and lots of napkins. Oh, and don't wear white unless you want your outfit to look like a Jackson Pollock chili painting. A cute way to serve a bunch of Frito Pies is to buy the little individual bags of Fritos and just split them open and serve them in the bag. Very cool. Pop in a DVD of Pee Wee's Big Adventure (the Alamo doesn't have a basement, dummy!) or snuggle up with the new wacky crime novel by G.W. Bush and crunch away.

New Kid on the Block.

2010-11-28T13:08:00.000-08:00

There's a new foodie website in town. Restauranteers.com is a website dedicated to local Seattle culinary news, restaurant reviews, and chefy goodness. It's literally foaming at the mouth with all things Seattle food. If you live and eat in Seattle or just wish you were that cool and you love food check check check it out.

By the way, wanna eat out once a month for free for an entire year? They have a contest going on right now that will make that wish come true. The Contest starts now and the winner will be announced February 14th, 2011. The Grand Prize is dinner for two at two different Seattle-area restaurants a month, for a year. Sign up at Restauranteers.com and enter. If you win I get to be the guest at your table, deal? Okay, I guess that's negotiable. Bye now.

The Art of Layering.

2010-11-23T15:22:00.000-08:00

Lasagna is delicious, true or false? If you answered false you should go cut your tongue out with dull scissors because it's dumb and defective. Lasagna is in fact delicious. It's one of those foods that sticks to your ribs and keeps ya warm all night long. Layers of pasta filled with yummy gooey goodness. I've said it before and I'll say it again. There are lots of ways to make the magical dish and if you ask any grumpy Italian grandmother, their way is the right way. Unless of course you ask the menacing looking Greek guy across the street and you'll get a different point of view on who invented the dish, and by the way, it's called Mousaka not lasagna. Yeah yeah, I hear you both and I agree with both of you. Everybody's got a recipe that's the real authentic thing. There's room for everybody in my culinary world. I make an orzo "risotto" even thought some people would claim there's not such thing. It is what I say it is. I'm pretty sure your name is not Merriam-Webster so shut up. Anyways, where was I? Oh yeah, lasagna. I never had it much growing up. My mother just never really made it. Then again, I'm pretty sure most other kids didn't grow up eating ox-tail stew. My Italian godfather (no joke) made it for special occasions along with homemade pizza and Italian wedding soup. On holidays we always had this strange mix of Cuban, 50s Americana, and Italian food. I loved eating during the holidays. Like a schizophrenic world cuisine feast. Sure I'd love another helping of baked ziti and oh I'll also have some tuna noodle casserole and don't forget the Vaca Frita! I love love loved it.

When I lived in St. Louis I frequented a little Italian joint called Mangia. My favorite thing to get there was a spaghetti dish with a cream sauce that was then covered in marinara and then covered with cheesy goodness and baked. Their lasagna was delicious too. The one thing I don't care for in traditional lasagna is that there is usually too much ricotta. The thing I don't like in moussaka is eggplant (yes, the main ingredient). Anyways, I decided to take the best of both and make a Lamb Sausage and Spinach Lasagna with Feta and Artichoke Hearts and I threw in a little Mangia influence by layering in a cream sauce and a red sauce. So delicious, definitely the best of both worlds. Some chefs say fusion equals confusion. Or was it fusion equals blood transfusions. I can't remember, all I do know is that I say fusion equals inclusion when the fusion has no delusions of seclusion. The rule is generally that too many conflicting ingredients spoil the party like a wasted guy peeing on the carpet. No fun. Keep it simple, only invite your close friends and you'll avoid having to get the carpet cleaned (ie: a nasty confusing dish). The flavors you love don't need to have the boundaries of tradition. Sure there's a place and time for cooking something that is tried and true and has history but it's never a bad time to explore. How do you think those traditions got started in the first place. Someone had to be adventurous enough to put the rotten milk in their mouth and say "Yum, delicious, I think I'll call it cheese".

Lamb Sausage and Spinach Lasagna with Feta and Artichoke Hearts

For the Red Sauce:
3 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
1 28-oz. can peeled whole san marzano tomatoes, with juice
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepperf
1 Tbsp fresh basil leaves, chiffonade

1/2 tsp ground cinnamin

juice of half a lemon

The Béchamel Cream Sauce:
4 tbsp. unsalted butter

1 shallot, minced

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 Tbsp AP flour

4 cups milk

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

1 cup feta cheese, crumbled

kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper tt

freshly grated nutmeg, to taste

The Lasagna

I lb. lasagna pasta (I like the kind you don't have to pre-cook)

2 lbs. lamb sausage, crumbled with casings removed

2 cups frozen spinach, thawed and thoroughly drained

1 Tbsp fresh dill, chopped

1 Tbsp fresh rosemary, chopped

kosher salt and fresh cracked black pepper

1/2 cup feta

1/2 cup parmesan cheese

1. Preheat oven to 375F degrees. Grease up a 9"x 13" baking dish with a little butter.

2. Start the red sauce. Heat up the olive oil in a sauce pot and saute the garlic for a minute or two until it's fragrant. With your clean hands crush the tomatoes one by one into the pot adding all the juices. Season and simmer on low for 20 minutes until the tomatoes have broken down. Add the basil and lemon juice and set aside

3. While the red sauce is cooking start cooking the sausage filling. In a saute pan over medium high heat brown the sausage in olive oil until cooked through. Add the spinach and season. Add the herbs and set aside.

4. Make the béchamel: Heat 4 tbsp. butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add shallots and garlic and cook 3 minutes. Add flour; cook 2 minutes (whisk to make a roux). Slowly whisk in milk and simmer (don't boil). Whisk in the cheese and reduce to medium-low; simmer, whisking, until thick, 10-15 minutes. Add nutmeg and season with salt and pepper.

3. Assemble you lasagna. Start out with a little red sauce. Layer of noodles. Layer of sausage filling. Layer of cream sauce. Layer of Noodles. Layer of red sauce. Repeat until all of your ingredients are nicely layered in the baking dish. Top off with the remaining feta and parmesan cheeses and a few dabs of butter.

4. Cover with foil and place in the oven. Cook for 50 minutes to 1 hour. Remove foil for the last 15 minutes to get a nice brown top. Garnish with fresh dill and have an Italian-Greek party in your mouth! ;)

My Potatoes are Leeking.

2010-11-17T15:29:00.000-08:00

Soup is good food. Especially when it isn't a squishy salt lick that oozes out of a can. When I was a kid I loved Campbell's cream potato soup. In fact, I wouldn't even add any milk to it because I liked how salty it was. Yes I know, I was a strange kid who grew up to be a slightly strange adult. As a little girl I also ate squid out of a can but that's another story. Back to soup talk. Soup is the most comforting of comfort foods. There is nothing better than a warm bowl of liquidy goodness on a cold winter day.

I recently belonged to a local farm's CSA. I got a variety of fresh organic vegetables and fruit delivered to my doorstep every Tuesday. It was pretty rad but I had to stop because we couldn't eat the produce fast enough. I have a giant bowl of like 20 apples that I need to use up. I wish I liked apple pie. Perhaps I'll make a giant batch of potato / apple / chicken Wafuu curry. Anyhow, the last shipment I got had the biggest leek in it I have ever seen. No kidding, it was the size of like three babies arms. Also in the box was a bunch of yummy Yukon gold taters. I love potatoes. My wife is Irish so perhaps that's where the passion for potatoes (wasn't that a movie?) comes from. I decided to make a Creamy Potato and Leek Soup with Spicy Rock Shrimp. I melted one giant leek (white and light green parts only) with a little bit of onion in some butter over medium low heat. In the meantime I boiled about 2 lbs. of peeled potatoes until soft in salted water. The potatoes were then drained and added to the leeks with about 2-3 cups of chicken stock and 1 cup milk (or half and half if you're feeling dangerous). The mixture was then pureed in a blender until smooth and strained back into the pot. Don't forget to season the soup with salt and pepper. Heat it until it thickens. Sooooo easy and oh so satisfying. To contrast the creamy rich soup I topped it off with some rock shrimp that were sauteed in butter with a little lemon juice, piménton and cayenne (and salt and pepper of course). Garnish with some fresh parsley, cilantro, or dill and you have a serious meal on your hands (and in your mouth). I like to make giant batches of these kinds of soups (minus the shellfish) and store it in serving size containers for an easy dinner. As the freezing cold blows through my paper thin windows a bowl of this soup would sure hit the spot right now. That and a nice glass of whiskey. That'll keep me warm.

The Beast Within.

2010-11-08T11:18:00.000-08:00

La Bête (French for The Beast) is a lovely little unassuming restaurant hidden away in the parking hell zone of southwest Capitol Hill. Underneath an old apartment building sits this pretty world of dark wood and dimly lit chandeleirs. A few days ago K and I went to La Bête for our 9 year wedding anniversary and as we entered we were welcomed by the sounds of freshly made pork rinds still popping and unusually sociable smiling chefs. Our friendly server sat us where we wanted to sit and we ordered a couple of delicious cocktails. K got The Bellevue which consisted of rye, sloe gin, lemon, honey, absinthe, and fresh rosemary. It was sweet and herbal. One of those cocktails that is really interesting but one is enough. I had a Sexy Delicious made with aquavit, Dolin Blanc Vermouth, white wine, and lemon. Tart and sour. The kind of cocktail you want many of.

To start we ordered a few small bites like the Pork Rinds with Pickled Shallots. As the pig skin was delivered to our table it was still snapping and crackling. The salty rinds were perfectly complimented by the sour shallots. We had a blast loudly crunching this playful dish. This is the kind of food most Seattleites frown upon because it's noisy and no fun must be had when eating. Foodies are very a very serious lot. Screw that, I loved them. After that we scarfed our way through a plate of Parmesan Gougères with White Anchovy and Egg. The gougéres were light and fluffy little pate a choux pastry sandwiches filled with salty little anchovy fillets and slices of tamago (Japanese omelet). Perfect little bites. We followed up the gougéres with a tray of fresh Shigoku Oysters with Grapefruit Granite and Lemony Pink Peppercorn Mignonette. As always I could eat like one thousand raw oysters daily and be a happy girl. The frozen grapefruit was tart and gave a great texture to the briny oysters. The peppercorn mignonette was spicy and pungent. Very inventive. Thank god for oyster season. Yum. Next up was a special of the night. Spot Prawns with Sauteed Artichokes, White Asparagus, Harrissa, Cream and Spot Prawn Roe. Harissa is a North African spicy condiment that just seem to elevate whatever it's served with. I had never had spot prawn roe. It was salty and savory like little pebbles of happiness. The artichokes and asparagus were tender and fresh and the prawns were cooked perfectly. I wanted to lick the plate. Is that so wrong? For the last savory dish of the night we ordered the Poached Duck Egg with Duck Fat Potatoes, Chanterelle Mushrooms and Lardons. I am a believer in that a poached or fried egg makes everything ten times more delicious. I love cracking a fork into a soft, velvety egg yolk and watch it ooze like a rich yellow river of delicious fattiness over everything on your plate. The potato was like a big tasty latke (shredded potato pancake) sauteed in duck fat. Holy hell it was good. The fresh mushrooms and thick bacon slabs threw this dish over the edge. The perfect breakfast dish for dinner. I dig it. I love bacon and eggs for dinner. To end the meal we shared a giant Banana Split. Sweet's not my thing but K licked the dish clean and the few bites I had were creamy and delicious. This was one of my favorite meals I've had all year. Pretty much perfect.

La Bête not only impressed me it made it way onto my top five restaurant of the year list. Chefs Tyler Moritz and Aleks Dimitrijevic (protégés of John Sundstrom and Ethan Stowell) have opened a serious gem here. Don't let the name The Beast fool you. The food here was delicately prepared with some serious finesse. Perhaps the name is a play on the fact that when you eat there, you'll want to lick the plates. We are the beasts, La Bête has the manners.

La Bête

1802 Bellevue Avenue (at Howell)
(206) 329-4047

The Bird is the Word.

2010-10-22T14:35:00.000-07:00

Stuffing meat into different kinds of meat is an American tradition. Take an ordinary lil' chicken breast for example. You can slice an opening in the side of a nice piece of chicken breast and stuff it with virtually anything and it will be delicious. Well maybe not anything. Bubblegum or soap are two things that I would not recommend stuffing into chicken but anything yummy and fatty and savory would work.

Chicken cordon bleu is one of my favorite all time classic chicken dishes. So delicious. Crispy breaded chicken stuffed with salty ham and gooey Swiss cheese. I decided to do a serious twist on the same idea but instead of ham I used spicy sopressata salami and rich aged Spanish manchego cheese. After tying off the chicken to keep all the yummy stuff inside I seared them off in a little bacon fat (cause that's how I roll) and finished them off in the oven. In the meantime I made a fennel and apple slaw with fresh dill, Spanish olive oil, rice wine vinegar, and honey. Tart and sweet with the tasty anise flavor of fennel. Very delicious. When the chicken was done I pulled it out of the oven and removed the string. After letting it rest for a bit I sliced into it and topped it off with a cherry tomato chow chow (a tasty mix cherry tomatoes, garlic, fresh corn, and fennel fronds). This dish had a great balance and was super duper tasty. It's a great simple dish for a dinner party or date night.

Sopressata and Manchego Stuffed Organic Chicken Breast with a Fennel and Pink Lady Apple Slaw and Cherry Tomato Chow Chow

for the chicken:
4 organic boneless chicken breasts
1/2 lb. thinly sliced spicy sopressata
1/2 lb aged manchego cheese (Parmesean would work if you can't find manchego), thinly sliced
kosher slat and fresh cracked black pepper
bacon fat or butter

Preheat the oven to 400F degrees. Slice a pocket into the sides of the chicken breasts. Stuff the slit with equal amounts sopressata and manchego. Make sure none of the filling is falling out. Tightly tie the breast shut to keep in the goodies. Season with salt and pepper. In a saute pan over medium high heat heat up some bacon fat and sear off both sides of the chicken breast. Transfer the pan to the oven and cook for 12 to 15 minutes until the chicken reaches 155F. Set aside and rest for at least 7-8 minutes before slicing.

for the fennel and apple slaw:
1 large fennel bulb, thinly sliced
2 pink lady apples (you can use whatever apples you have on hand), peeled, cored, and thinly sliced
1 1/2 Tbsp Spanish olive oil
1/2 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
1/2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp honey
2 tsp chopped dill, chopped
2 tsp chopped fennel fronds, chopped
kosher salt and fresh cracked black pepper

Make the slaw while the chicken is cooking. Using a mandoline slice the fennel and apple as thinly as possible. Toss with the remaining ingredients. Season. Refrigerate until ready to eat.

for the chow chow:
1 cup cherry tomatoes
1/2 cup fresh corn kernels
2 cloves garlic
1/2 Tbsp fennel fronds
kosher salt and fresh cracked black pepper
1 tsp pimenton dulce
olive oil

In a saute pan over medium heat saute the garlic in olive oil until soft, add the tomatoes, corn, and pimenton. Season with salt and pepper. Saute until the tomatoes just start to burst open (about 3-4 minutes) Toss with the fennel fronds and set aside.

Place some of the slaw on a plate, top with the sliced chicken breast and a bit of chow chow. Garnish with a little fennel frond and dill. Yum.

A Barrel Full of Crackers.

2010-10-13T13:48:00.000-07:00

If you're from the South, chances are you've been to Cracker Barrel. Part old-timey candy store, part country cookin' restaurant. I used to go nuts when my folks would take the family out to some far away, middle of nowhere Cracker Barrel. They always seemed to be nestled right next to an outlet mall or a seedy truck stop. The second you walk in the door you're transported to a tchotchke filled wonderland of jars and tubs filled with old school sugary concoctions. My favorite was the rock candy on a stick with edges so sharp that you were bound to have an open sore or two in your mouth before you were seated for your meal.

For breakfast I would always get the country ham steaks, sausage, bacon, two fried eggs, hash browns, and grits with cream gravy. A nice light breakfast to start my day. I don't know how I managed to stay thin all those years. My mother insisted that I had a tapeworm. If I do have a worm it must be about 60 feet long by now. Ick, I just seriously grossed myself out. Perhaps I'll sleep with a piece of raw beef on my pillow tonight and see if my wormy friend comes crawling out my mouth. I think I'll name her Slippy. Anywho, lunchtime at Crackertown (that's what I called it when I was a lil' girl) was my favorite. I remember walking past a bright red window filled with gory slabs of meat gettin' smoked right before my eyes. I always knew what I was getting before I even sat down. "Yes ma'am, I'll have the chicken n' dumplings. Can I also get a side of hushpuppies and maybe some red beans and rice. Oh and a side of your famous smoked ham n' biscuits too. Yeah don't forget the ham." I don't know how my mother afforded to keep me around. I ate more than my whole family put together and then when I was finished with my ridiculous amount of food I would continue to eat all of the other unfinished plates on the table. Hell, I bet I would've roamed the restaurant eating off of other people's plates if I knew I could get away with it.

Back to the Chicken n' Dumplings. Although I didn't quite replicate the recipe from Cracker Haven my version comes pretty damn close if not better. I'm pretty sure mine uses better ingredients. The first batch I made came out a little more soupy than I like but it was tasty none the less. I think I didn't stir enough as I was dropping in the dumplings to make that thick creamy gravy. I also added a few vegetables to brighten it up a bit. Here in Seattle, it's hard to get an authentic taste of the South so once in a while I'll give myself a rock candy tooth ache and make some chicken n' dumplings to feel right at home.

Southern Chicken N' Dumplings

3 quarts water
1 3-4 pound chicken cut into pieces
1 teaspoons salt
1 small onion sliced
4 stalks celery, chopped
2 carrots, peeled and sliced
1 clove garlic, peeled and quartered
1 bay leaf
4-6 whole parsley leaves
fresh cracked black pepper and kosher salt tt
1 tablespoon lemon juice

for the dumplings
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 ¼ teaspoons of salt
2 tsp old bay
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons milk

1. Bring the water to a boil in a large pot. Add the chicken, 1 teaspoon of salt, onion, 2 celery stalks, garlic, bay leaf, and parsley to the pot. Reduce the heat to simmer and cook the chicken, uncovered, for 1 1/2 hours. Skim the foam off the top while it's cooking. The liquid will reduce by about one third.
2. When the chicken has cooked, remove it from the pot and set it aside. Strain the stock and set aside. Throw away the aromatics.
3. Pour 6 cups of the stock back into a pot Add fresh cracked black pepper, one teaspoon of salt, and the lemon juice, then reheat the stock over medium heat while you prepare the dumplings.
4. For dumplings, combine the flour, baking powder, 1 1/4 teaspoons salt, and milk in a medium bowl. Stir well until smooth, then let the dough rest for 5-10 minutes. Roll the dough out onto a floured surface to about a 1/2 inch thickness.
5. Cut the dough into 1/2 inch squares and drop each square into the simmering stock. The dumplings will first swell and then slowly shrink as they partially dissolve to thicken the stock into a white gravy. Add one sliced celery stick and carrots. Simmer for 30 minutes or until thick. Stir often.
6. While the dumplings are cooking tear the chicken meat from the bones and discard the skin. Shred the chicken meat into large bite-size pieces and drop them into the pot. Simmer the chicken and dumplings for another 5-10 minutes.
7. When the gravy has reached the desired consistency, ladle into bowls and serve hot.

Pork N' Beans.

2010-10-07T15:13:00.000-07:00

When I was a kid I used to love the pork and beans that came in a can. A congealed mess of mushy beans and unnaturally pink "pork" chunks. I was a pretty disgusting child. I'd eat anything. I loved the mystery food that came from cans. I'm sure I already have my entire lifetime supply of sodium. It's terrible but I still have cravings for the over salted, processed food of my childhood but I manage to fight it most of the time. I tend to have no willpower whatsoever when I'm sick. I always break down and eat a can of squishy, sugary, junk. It's nostalgic and comforting for me and even though it tastes like a salty bowl of chemicals. I need it. Like a relapsing crackhead I feed my addiction for terrible food with the knowledge that I'll feel like hell afterwards and knowingly risk my credibility as a chef. Perhaps I need an intervention. Then again, most chefs are foul, junk eating hooligans with no shame. It's a fact, I will eat Taco Bell that has fallen on the ground. I would never serve a customer food off the floor but I have no problems putting it in my mouth. That being said, of course I'd rather eat a beautiful artisanally made taco served on a clean plate. I'm usually a pretty dainty girl but once in a while the darkness wins and you will catch me eating a floor taco. At least I have the guts to admit it.

The devil on my right shoulder doesn't appear that often. Usually the organic, sustainable, local cooking angel on my left side prevails. I can still have those comforting dishes without needing a can opener. I love to take the classics and make them special. A deliciously modern update on pork n' beans is my Pork con Mojo with Spicy Smoked Pinto Beans. Pork tenderloin is marinated in mojo (lime, sour orange, garlic, cumin, oregano) and slow roasted in a low oven until fork meltingly tender. Add a little chicken stock, capers, and peppercorns to the pan juices to make a delicious tangy sauce. For the beans I soaked dried pinto beans overnight. Drained the water and cold smoked them for a few minutes with hickory chips on the stove. Then the beans are re-covered with fresh water, a split habanero chili, onion, and garlic. As the beans start to become soft add a little cumin, thyme, cinnamon stick, and piménton and cook until the liquid has reduced and the beans are fully cooked. Don't forget to season along the way. The spicy beans are the perfect compliment to the tart garlicky pork. I also made a Baby Spinach Salad with Warm Bacon Vinaigrette and Oregon Blue Cheese. Very simple. Render some bacon, remove bacon but the leave the fat. Saute shallots, garlic, capers in bacon fat. Whisk in sherry wine vinegar. Pour vinaigrette over the spinach and top with bacon and blue cheese crumbles. Much more delicious than a can of Spaghetti-Os or a floor taco.

A Fancy Pork Belly Breakfast.

2010-09-29T11:34:00.000-07:00

I've said it before, I'll say it again. Breakfast is my favorite meal. I mean sure I am not a morning person so I tend to eat breakfast a little later than most. To me, there is nothing better than sausage, bacon, eggs, biscuits, grits, and ham. Throw a little cream gravy over the whole thing and I'm in Cracker Barrel heaven. However let's get something straight, I am not a fan of pancakes, scones, cereal, oatmeal, or any kind of morning sweetness. I like a little maple syrup with my sausage and I can deal with a good savory chicken and waffle with hot sauce and gravy but that's about it. It's all about the pork and eggs.

Let's go upscale for a bit. Sometimes I just want something fancy and interesting. I had bacon and eggs yesterday but today I woke up feeling fancy. The day before I made some Seven Hour Braised Maple Ginger Pork Belly. A beautiful slab of Thunder Hooves organic pork belly marinated for a few hours in soy sauce, maple syrup, coriander seed, fenugreek, garlic, and ginger. Braised in a 250F degree oven for seven hours with a bit of fresh chicken stock. The pork was then rested in it's own juices. Cut into little squares and seared off in a little butter. This is the most luxurious pork you will ever eat. It 's crispy on the outside and the inside melts in your mouth.

I served the pork belly with a little reduction of it's own jus which was dark and slightly salty/sweet and some Point Reyes Blue Cheese Scrambles Eggs and a drizzle of white truffle oil. It sounds like a ton of flavors going on but it worked perfectly. All of the components lived and got eaten in perfect harmony. I got all dolled up in my pretty Oscar de la Renta dress and I poured myself a couple of mimosas. The perfect meal for a fancy kind of day which in my opinion, should be every day.

Fall Cleaning

2010-09-23T14:14:00.000-07:00

It's that time of year again where the The Hunger cleans out it's closet and gives you her hand me downs. No these aren't defective recipes or scraps from the trash. This are a collection of amazingly delicious dishes that weren't quite pretty enough to get a full blown photo spread. You know, kinda like the fourth place winner of an Oklahoman beauty pageant. Pretty, but perhaps one leg is a bit shorter than the other giving you an interesting but unfashionable limp. Squint until slightly blurry and enjoy these hidden treasures. If only you could taste through your computer screen. That would be freakishly odd but at least then you would be able to appreciate how scrumptious these dishes were.

Duck Confit with Braised Collard Greens and Tomato Water Steamed Couscous

Duck confit is one of my top ten favorite foods. It's duck that has been poached and preserved in it's own fat. It's such a luxurious tasting food. The collard greens have been braised with white wine, garlic, and a bit of duck fat as well until perfectly tender. The couscous in this dish was steamed in tomato water which is basically the strained clear juices from fresh, ripe tomatoes seasoned with coriander and cumin seeds.

Galician Cava Steamed Manila Clams with Spicy Lamb Sausage

I strayed from my usual way of cooking manila clams (which I love) of steaming them in vermouth with chorizo. I deviated and experimented and it paid off. A bit more delicate but still packed with flavor. I loved the lamb sausages (similar to merguez) kick and the cava added a tasty hint of sweet/salty/sour. I swear you could "taste" the bubbles even though the carbonation was cooked off. Don't forget the crusty bread to sop up the amazing juices in the pan.

Black Bear Korma with Roasted Peppers and Lemon Couscous

Korma never looks pretty. At best it looks like a lumpy reject sausage that lost it's casing and at worst it looks like your cat missed it's litter box and found your plate instead. Essentially korma is a hand formed sausage or dumpling depending on what culture you talk to. They are freaking delicious. A mix of earthy toasted spices and ground black bear backstrap, this was a pretty unique and tasty take on a Middle Eastern staple. Are there bears in Egypt?

Arepas con Fricase de Pollo y Escabeche

Arepas are fried corn meal cakes that you can stuff or top with any type of yummy filling. I made spicy Cuban mojo braised, shredded chicken thighs stewed with tomato, cumin, adobo, garlic, and onions. Escabeche is basically pickled hot peppers like the jalapenos you see at the salsa bar at the Mexican restaurant. Picante and delisioso! By the way, I already know that I have no concept of where commas belong so shut up you crazy grammar Nazis. Does, this, bug: you?!

Mediterranean Beet Root and Parsnip Lasagna

The Italians don't have a copyright on lasagna. Nope, the Greeks have been making their own versions of the layered pasta dish just as long. I had roasted some root veggies from the farmers market and decided to create my own version of the comforting dish. To counter balance the sweetness of the beets and parsnips I layered in some salty feta and made a spicy Mediterranean style tomato sauce with a little cinnamon and lemon zest. How do you say mangia in Greek?

Polenta Frita with Spicy Lamb Ragu

Right after you make polenta and serve it up make sure you pour what's left in a shallow square dish. That way the following day you can cut it into little squares and fry them off in olive oil for crispy on the outside, creamy on the inside polenta frita. The lamb sugo (which means sauce) is ground lamb sausage, Hungarian hot peppers, onions, garlic, tomato, and fresh basil. Dishes made from leftovers are sometimes better than the original dishes they came from. This is one of those dishes.

Gallo Pinto With Fried Eggs and Chorizo

Stewed pinto beans with white rice on a soft tortilla served with chorizo and fried eggs. The perfect Mexican breakfast. Make this when you're hungover. That's what I did. Uhhh, time to go. I need some aspirin.

The Hunger's Pantry - Vol. 1

2010-09-17T16:28:00.000-07:00

Let's talk about the hot stuff. I am a huge fan of hot sauce. I pretty much add it to most of the things I cook. I love the little hint of sour from the vinegar and the the pop of heat, just spicy enough to clear my sinuses. I don't care for food so hot that it flays my tongue off and all you taste is burning. Just a little kick of heat, that's all I need. Here's a list of my top five must have hot sauces/condiments that I can't live without. If you eat my food, chances are that one of these sauces are in it.

1. Tapatio Hot Sauce. Pronounced ta-pa-tio, not as my lovely friend Jade says Ta-pash-eyo. This is my all time favorite hot sauce. I love the sour kick to it and it has the perfect amount of heat. I put this in nearly everything. Not just for Mexican food my friends. No ma'am. I'll add a little to spaghetti and marinara, cassoulet, scrambled eggs, a turket sandwich, whatever. I trust the little mustached man in the sombrero. I find his smile comforting. If I travel, I'll carry this in my purse like the crazy hot sauce toting Southern Belle that I am.

2. Huy Fong Chili Garlic Sauce. Mixed with a little soy sauce and rice wine vinegar or sesame oil this is probably my favorite for dipping sauces. I also make Asian style BBQ using chili garlic, soy sauce and honey. The garlic really pops out when you add it to some stir fried broccoli or asparagus. I add it to soups, congee, or my favorite breakfast of steamed rice, fried eggs, and kimchi. The rooster on the logo also happens to be on the next sauce as well.

3. Sriracha Hot Sauce (aka Rooster Sauce). Another home run from the Huy Fong family. Sriracha goes great with anything. A little bit tangier and peppery that a lot of other hot sauces. Here in Seattle you'll pretty find sriracha on the tables of most restaurants. It's bright reddish orange color scares that hell out of people that have never tried it before. It looks like it will rip your face off it's so hot but it's actually got a mild complexity to it. Add enough to your big bowl of beef Phó though, and you be filling your soup bowl with sweat.

4. Crystal Louisiana Hot Sauce. Being raised in the South, Crystal was the hot sauce of choice at a lot of my favorite restaurants growing up. I cannot eat fried chicken, fried catfish, hush puppies, gumbo, or collard greens without a few dashes of Crystal. I sure as hell won't eat an almighty Chick-fil-a chicken sandwich with out some Crystal. If you were to rummage through any food loving woman's purse in the south chances are you'll find a bottle of Crystal. God I want some fried chicken right now.

5. Cap Jempol. This Indonesian hot sauce can kick your ass if you don't respect it. It has the kind of heat that slaps you in the face and then settles in for a slow lip numbing burn. However, use a little of it to add a spicy sweetness that can't be beat. Even the label is giving you the thumbs up so you know it's good. I love to use cap jempol to make Indonesian spicy chicken and rice and mixed with a little kecap manis (Indonesian sweetend soy sauce) it makes a purfect dipping sauce for lumpia (Filipino egg rolls). Yum yum yum.

The not quite top five list of sauces that rock:
* Chili Black Bean Sauce - fermented black beans, chilies and garlic. Yum
* Piri Piri - lemon infused African cayenne chili sauce. Very hot and very delicious.
* Sambal Olek - Malay condiment of crushed lime leaves, chilies, shallots, peanuts, and herbs.
* Cholula, Louisiana, Tabasco, Franks Red Hot, El Yucateco. They're all good, just not the best.

Sovereign State #14: Bangladesh

2010-09-14T17:00:00.000-07:00

Bangladesh
The Menu:
Bengali Biryani (Spiced Basmati Rice with Pike)
Palak Masoor Dal (Red Lentils with Spinach and Fenugreek Leaves)
Chingri Malai Curry (Spicy Bengali Prawn Curry)

Okay kids, open your geology books. Bangladesh is not part of India. It was once but it's not anymore. It was also known as East Pakistan for a while as well. A couple of revolutions later the Bengali people forcefully freed themselves from the tyranny of the British and Pakistani rule to become their own sovereign nation. Relatively peaceful since the 1970s the only threats Bengalis have had to face (aside from extreme poverty) are from man eating Bengal tigers and venomous vipers.

The cuisine of Bangladesh takes a few cues a little from it's neighbors and being a fairly new independent country, it struggles to separate it's own culinary traditions from that of it's former landlords. However, like any place creating it's own identity, Bangladesh is slowly starting to show the rest of the world it's own unique traditions and culture. What is authentic Bengali cuisine? Authentic just means honest in my opinion. Every country has their own cuisine. Every region of every country has their own cuisine. Every cook from every region of every country has their own specific way to make these dishes. If a Bengali makes a dish that is different than the way her friend down the street makes it, is it any less authentic? The world is full of uniqueness, and if you stop and look around you just might learn something new. Or at least rediscover something great.

Bengali Biryani is a tasty dish basmati rice cooked with toasted spices such as green cardamom pods, turmeric, cloves, and cinnamon cooked with with fish marinated in yogurt and spices. Traditionally the Bengalis use a native fish called hilsa but I was not able to find such a fish here in Seattle. I was told that the closest thing to it here was pike or shad. I got some freshwater shad and after marinating it for an hour or two in the spiced yogurt I topped the fragrant rice with the de-boned fish and continued to steam until done. The recipe I found had a few fundamental flaws in it and when I cook this dish again (which I will with some tweaks) I'll pull back on a few of the spices as they overtook any flavor that the fish once had. I could see the beauty in the dish though and I know it can be great.

Asafoetida (also known as devil dung, stink gum, and food of the gods) is a strange spice. Primarily used in Indian and Bengali cooking, it sort of smells like a roast beef dinner, salty blood, and ripe cheese all at once. It also reduces flatulence so it's got that going for it. Upon first smell asafoetida did not win my heart over. However when you toast the spice in ghee (clarified butter), something lovely happens. It takes on a nutty mild flavor similar to sauteed onion and garlic. My cupboard has been taken over by the smell (which I have to say, it's grown on me) and my other spices are threatening to kick out their new roommate. A Bengali dish that uses the pungent spice is Palak Masoor Dal, which is a soupy red dal (lentil) with other curry-esque spices and spinach and fenugreek leaves. The dal is tasty, and unique with a slightly sour meaty taste (in a good way, not in a rotten carcass kind of way). I'm now curious to cook other dishes with the interesting spice. Asafoetida ice cream anyone? Yeah, I didn't think so.

I love me some prawn curry. Chingri Malai Curry is a tasty version of the dish with a few interesting spices to turn things on their heads a little bit. The mustard seeds give the prawns a tart pungent kick and the toasted coriander and cumin bring an earthiness that a lot of curries miss out on (no, those aren't rat droppings). It's a tomato based sauce infused with lemon and hot Indian green chilies. Spicy, and umami, and sour and delicious. Chingri Malai is a Bengali dish. Everyone has a version of curry but this one is unique to Bangladesh. My version may not have been one hundred percent authentic (but pretty damn close) but the respect and passion for cooking was there and hopefully I did the country of Bangladesh proud.

For more info on this project, read this: 203 Sovereign States

The republic of South Lake Union.

2010-09-09T14:18:00.000-07:00

South Lake Union in Seattle still has a quiet dreariness to it. Perhaps it's the train-less train tracks that run through the middle of the neighborhood or the uninviting rows of fuel stained loading docks that give the new bustling area it's melancholy air. But the times, they are a changin' down in Paul Allen's playground. Things are happening in what I used to call the REI district. The remnants of industrial warehouses are giving way to new "see or be seen" restaurants and cafes. Condos are sprouting up like wet gremlins and the mighty Amazon has built it's fortress of quality goods surrounded by a moat of (local) star chef outposts and coffee bunkers. All you have to do is hop on the SLUT (South Lake Union Transit), and like the useless Westlake monorail, you'll be transported the 6 blocks to Lake Union which you really could have walked if you weren't such a lazy bastard.

For lunch yesterday K and I went down to SLU and had burgers at re: public. That's the name of the restaurant- re colon public. As Miss Clement of The Stranger already announced, re:public is perhaps not the best name ever thought up, but you can't let a bad name fool you. re:public serves tasty simple food with good ingredients and care. The space is cavernous and perhaps a bit bare. A little art on the walls could go a long way. The service was sweet and helpful. We were sat at a table right next to the wait staff computer which perhaps needed to be thought out a little better. They need to make the wall separating the two a little higher or something because I didn't necessarily want to know what the entire restaurant was ordering or that table two needed extra napkins because they were slobs (my words, not theirs). I needed my obligatory lunchtime booze beverage and my Bloody Mary was stiff and spicy and perfect. We were both craving simple burgers so we each had the Grass Fed Beef Burgers with Crispy Onions and Horseradish-Black Pepper Crème Fraiche. I had mine with frites, and K got the soup. The frites were perfectly crispy, skin on, with classic ketchup to dip. The burgers, although we ordered them medium rare came a bit more medium than I prefer but were still juicy and tasty. The beef had a yummy char grilled taste to them and the crème fraiche added a nice bit of tang. The crispy onions added a nice textural element to the burger and kinda reminded me of Durkees French fried onions which I love. I really liked the dark fluffy brioche buns. They held up to the burger nicely and didn't get soggy. K's soup was (probably) cream of broccoli with a little truffle oil (we were never told what the soup was). It was nice and flavorful. Our waitress was nice and when we asked to move from the wait-station table to a different one she happily accommodated us. All in all it was a pleasant lunch. I had heard that the portions a bit small but that was not the case with the sandwiches. I'd like to go back and try some of the dinner entrees sometime. Amidst the chaos of construction re:public is definitely a place I would re:visit.
photo courtesy of republicseattle.com

re:public
429 westlake ave n.
seattle, wa 98109
republicseattle.com

食べるとホッとする料理 (Japanese comfort food)

2010-09-07T17:54:00.000-07:00

Katsu curry is one the best comfort foods in the world. It consists of a Japanese gravy-esque curry (I use S&B brand) potatoes, carrots, steamed rice, and fried panko crusted pork cutlets. Near my home is a sort of junk food type sushi restaurant that I love called Hana and they make the best katsu curry. So warm and meaty. On a cool Autumn day the dish is like a porky brown gravy hug from heaven. It warms your bones and soul and makes you very sleepy. Arigatou gozaimasu (thank you very much) will be the only words that comes out of your steaming mouth as you shove in another comforting bite. I love dishes that make you feel like everything will be okay. Just got dumped or lose all your money in a pyramid scheme? Eat a steaming bowl of katsu and you'll forget your troubles and afterwords you'll be so full that you'll need a nice long nap. Even more time to forget about how life is terrible. Katsu curry is like that. Your best friend in a crunchy fried meaty form.

Foods that comfort is not a unique Japanese idea. In the states we have burgers and mac and cheese, Israelis have matzo ball soup, the English have shepherd's pie, the French have cassoulet, in Cuba they have arroz con pollo, and so on. Some foods can hold back tears or rid you of a cold. Some foods can calm your nerves and relieve grief. It doesn't necessarily have to be healthy to heal you. These dishes are full of memories and emotions and every time we eat them, we remember that there is pleasure to be had in this life. All you have to do is eat.

Katsu Curry

2 tablespoons butter
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons flour
3 tablespoons curry powder, preferably S&B
3 cloves garlic, peeled
1 1-inch piece ginger, peeled and minced
1 white onion, peeled and sliced
1 russet potato, peeled and large diced
1 large carrot, peeled and sliced
1 celery stick, slice on bias
1 cup chicken broth, plus more if needed
salt and pepper tt

For the pork:
Peanut or canola oil
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup panko bread crumbs
6 thin, center-cut boneless pork chops, lightly pounded
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

3 scallions, thinly slice on the bias
Cooked short-grain sticky rice

1. Make the sauce: Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Saute the onions, ginger and garlic until transluscent (4-5 minutes) Add the carrot, celery, and potato and cook a few minutes more. Mix in the flour and curry powder, turn the heat to low and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, to make a light roux.

2. Stir in the chicken broth and cook, partly covered, over low heat for about 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. If needed, add a bit more stock to loosen the sauce.

3. Prepare the pork: Heat 1 inch of oil in a frying pan and set a candy thermometer in the oil. Place the eggs in a shallow bowl and the panko in another. When the oil is hot, season the pork chops all over with salt and pepper. Toss them one at a time in the egg and then in the panko, and fry in batches until browned, for about 4 minutes per side. Transfer to a paper towel lined plate and let rest a few minutes. Slice the pork chops against the grain. Serve the curry sauce over cooked Japanese rice. Top with the sliced pork and sliced scallions. Serves 6

The pig with three lives.

2010-08-25T18:07:00.000-07:00

Repurpose- verb: To use or convert for use in another format or product

I love when a dish can give you several days worth of pleasure. Leftovers with ninja skills. The edible masters of disguise. Sure you can eat them as is but what's the point of trying to relive the delicious glory days of one or two days ago? Sure, some foods get better after a bit of resting (I'm looking at you soup) but the second you pop that beef stroganoff in the microwave, it's all over. Mushy, grainy, gross, stinky, depressing are descriptive words that come to mind. Okay, so you've progressed to using a full grown adult oven. Still, some foods just aren't going to be the same. They might look and smell like the food you know and love but in fact they are just ghosts of their former selves. It's the Invasion of the Body Snatchers starring yesterdays rump roast.

However, if you and your food have initiative your leftovers can in fact become something new. A whole new identity. Just as Diana Prince becomes Wonder Woman your leftover Swiss steak can become a mighty chicken fried steak or even a crime fighting steak sandwich. All it takes is a little know-how and elbow grease (or perhaps bacon grease).

Take these Spicy Ginger Pork Spare Ribs for example. Marinated in ginger, scallion, chili garlic paste, soy, sesame, and maple. Slow roasted for a few hours until extremely tender. Day one I served them with a tasty Cold Soba & Braised Endive Salad all drizzled with a Ponzu Ginger Vinaigrette.

Day two I served the ribs for breakfast with steamed sticky rice, rice wine braised scallions, a fried egg, and a sour Filipino style spicy adobo. Still the same tasty ribs with a different supporting cast to spruce it up. By the way, steamed rice with fried eggs and kimchi or some kind of spicy chili sauce is one of my all time favorite breakfasts. The pork ribs threw it over the top. So good but I needed a nap afterwards.

On day three it was time for a face lift. I made Chino Latino Pork Rib Tacos with Baby Bok Choy Slaw. Still the same ribs just spruced up for excitement and flavor. I pulled all of the meat off the bones and tossed it with a little black pepper and black bean chili sauce. A quick toss in in a saute pan and piled on a corn tortilla. I then thinly sliced some baby bok choy and tossed it with some scallion, sesame oil, rice wine vinegar, Maggi sauce (best secret Southeast Asian ingredient ever), light soy sauce, and a little pickled chilies. Topped off with a drizzle of Sriracha hot sauce these Asian tacos blew me away they were so good.

Like I said, it's easy to eat leftovers they way they were. There's no shame in reheating food. It's disgusting how much food people waste. They get tired of leftovers or let them go bad and toss them in the trash. I know I've been guilty of this several times. I love taking something tired and making it fresh and new again. I get excited about these kinds of challenges. I don't know about you but I cook because it's fun. It's an adventure. I cook because I have to. It's in my blood, my soul. If I'm not constantly creating then I have become what I fear, mundane. Be in charge of the food in your fridge, don't let it control you. If you're tired of what you're eating it's because your imagination has failed you. You don't have to be Tony Danza to be the boss. Food is like paint. All you have to do is add a little bit of yellow to the blue to make green.

The Salad Days.

2010-08-17T15:42:00.000-07:00

Radish Greens and Heirloom Tomato Salad with Truffle Curry Vinaigrette

(Wash radish greens, slice radishes thinly, toss radish and greens with tarragon and parsley, slice heirloom tomato, season, whisk together olive oil, champagne vinegar, tsp curry powder, salt pepper, tsp truffle oil, drizzle over salad.)

Eating a salad for a meal is not something I usually get behind. Unless of course we're talking about one of those "salads" where a bed of greens is piled precariously high with meat and cheese and other yummy, fatty toppings and then drenched with enough creamy dressing that you can drown out any worries of eating "healthy". I love it when people eat out and while their happy companions are eating burgers and fries they pretend to eat healthy. "Oh my god, burgers are so fattening." "I'll just have a Cobb salad with three pounds of ham and cheese and avocado and chickpeas and bacon. Can I just get that with a quart of blue cheese dressing and a doughnut on the side (most salads come with a bread option)." Just own up to it, that salad is fattier than a double fried bacon tater tot gravy burger ever will be. And if it didn't come with all that delicious nonsense it just wouldn't be worth eating.

La Floridita Cobb Salad

(Cut romaine bite sized, top with avocado, ham or Cuban roast pork, turkey, manchego cheese, mushrooms, hearts of palm, sliced starfruit, cumin spiced croutons, top with favorite creamy dressing)

Okay, so that's not entirely true. There are beautiful salads to be had that are simple little palate cleansers and dainty, delicate, summertime flavors. I had the most simple arugula salad at Mistral a while back and it blew me away. It consisted of arugula, pecorino cheese, croutons, and a tart lemon vinaigrette. Simple, yet an amazing starter to a lovely meal. But to eat a simple salad like this as a main course? No thanks. I'd rather eat fried chicken and go jogging (who am I kidding, I don't "jog"). As a kid I loved going to the all you can eat salad bar. I would pile my plate so high with fixings (my favorites were always the hard cooked eggs, ham, and black olives) and I would forgo the lettuce. Was it still a salad? I don't know. All of the ingredients came from the salad bar so it must be. How would you categorize a towering monument of pork, cheese, eggs, covered in dressing? Is it the lettuce that makes a salad a salad? Is it the dressing? Or is it the artfully stacked, loosely composed construction, that says "I'm a salad". I'm no salad expert, but I say a salad doesn't have to be some weigh watching torture. It can be whatever you like. If it's delicious, I'll eat it.

Warm Turnip Salad with Roasted Poblano Chilies and Bacon Mustard Vinaigrette

(Roast Poblanos in 450 oven 30 minutes, remove skins, set aside, pan fry diced bacon, remove bacon and add butter to bacon fat, saute quartered turnips, season, add sliced poblanos, add bacon, serve with sliced scallion and a drizzle of lemon juice.)

Burger Master.

2010-08-11T17:26:00.000-07:00

I make a pretty damn good burger. Medium rare with just the right balance of toppings and condiments. I use ratio of 80/20 - Beef to fat. Sometimes I grind hanger steak or brisket or even boneless short rib and add 20% pork fat. The fatty gind is the secret to having the most succulent burger ever. If the juice isn't dripping down your arm and drooling off your chin, you made it wrong. The bun is also extremely important in the building of a good burger. Too spongy and soft and the juices will soak and destroy (get it?) the bun before you've finished. Too thick or dense a roll and the meat will get lost like a ugly middle child. Bad bread is a serious burger crime. Also, if you're going to put some veg on your burger such as tomato, lettuce, pickles, onions, kimchi, etc... be sure to use good quality vegetables. I hate when people ruin a perfectly decent burger by slapping a tasteless, out of season, trout gene spliced, slice of beefsteak tomato or slimy, wilted gray lettuce on top. Use great ingredients and great meat and great bread and you will have a great burger. That burger up there is an Thundering Hooves Bacon Cheeseburger with local Brandywine Tomatoes, Arugula, and Irish Smoked Cheddar. It's on a Frans Pub Style roll (which stand up perfectly to the juicy burger) with a little strong Dijon mustard, sliced Alvarez Farms onions and Bubbies dill pickles.

The burger down below is an Olsen Farms Bacon Cheeseburger with Beechers Flagship, Avocado, Black Krin Tomato, and Fry Sauce. Served on those very same Frans rolls. What is Fry sauce you ask? We'll supposedly it was invented in Idaho or Utah depending on who you talk to. It's basically one part ketchup to two parts mayo. I spice it up a little a little hot sauce and a dash of smoked paprika. It's a lot like a spicy Thousand Island dressing. Perfect for dipping fries or slathering on a burger and you don't have to be Mormon to enjoy it. Next time, I think I'll make an Asian inspired short rib burger with Sriracha Aoili, grilled shiitake mushrooms, and pickled carrot and daikon slaw on a steamed bun. Yum.

Here's a few of my all time favorite Seattle burgers:

The $28 Coupage Burger
Ground short rib, foie gras, truffle mayonnaise, red onion "kimchi", served with truffled potato crisps. The Holy Goddess of all Seattle burgers. Those of you who would scoff at the price tag for this burger need to live a little. Thanks to Live To Eat for the photo.

The Dick Deluxe

Go ahead, make your jokes. I've been making them for 13 years and it never seems to get old. Gonna go eat some Dicks? Har har har. Freaking hilarious. All childish hilarity aside, the deluxe is what "fast food" burgers should be. They use fresh, quality ingredients to do old school burgers and the deluxe reigns supreme, Two beef patties, American cheese, lettuce, "special" sauce. Delicious. Plus they are a pretty awesome company and they treat their employees pretty well. Photo courtesy of Stop Screaming, I'm Driving.

Spring Hill Burger

A half a pound of Painted Hills beef teetering on a beautiful crusty bun, covered with a few slabs of bacon, two layers of cheese, and slathered with thousand island. So freaking juicy and rich you will not want to wear clothes that you like when eating this burger because you will get messy. Photo thanks to Seattle Met.

Red Mill Bacon Double Deluxe Cheese Burger

I love Red Mill burgers. This little Seattle mini-chain does a just couple of burgers and they do them right. Apparently Oprah really loves this burger so you know it's good (she knows all). Here's the description according to their menu: Two 1/4 lb. Patties, Pepper Bacon, Lettuce, Tomato, Pickle, Red Onion, American Cheese, Mill Sauce. I don't know what mill sauce but it's delicious. Thanks Seattle PI for the pic.

The Burgermaster

Class since 1952 says Burgermaster's menu. It's true what they say you know. Keep it simple and good and people will love it. That holds true for Burgermaster. The only difference between then and now is that the waitresses don't take your order on roller skates which I am sad about. I sometimes dream about being a drive-in waitress in a cute diner outfit and roller skates and when some idiot gets mad at me for getting their order wrong I "accidentally" dump the tray of food and shakes all over the poor saps lap. Oh well, at least I don't have to dream about getting the delicious Burgermaster in my mouth because they are still here and hopefully will still be here in 50 more years. Thanks Seattle Met for another photo. Yum.

oh, and while you dream about delicious burgers tonight, don't let this happen to you....

Green Gold.

2010-08-05T16:01:00.000-07:00

5 delicious things to do with fresh avocados.

1. Fresh Guacamole. This one's a given. Such an easy sauce/dip/spread to make. Especially delicious with some homemade tortilla chips and a few cold cervezas. It's so easy. With a fork, mash a few avocados and mix in a little chopped red onion, a little minced jalapeno or serrano chili, diced tomato, chopped cilantro, some lime juice, salt and pepper. Sabroso!

2. Put avocado on you torta (that's Mexican for sandwich). A torta can be made with diced chicken, pulled pork, whatever yummy fixin' you like. Try my Torta con Chorizo de Bolita with some sliced avocado in it. Delicioso!

3. Garnish a spicy soup with some slices of the green gold. Like I said in my last post about pozole rojo as well as this classic Hunger recipe for pozole verde, garnishes are the funnest part of eating a composed soup.

4. Avocado ice cream. Yes indeed. Avocado is actually a fruit and it's creamy texture and fattiness makes a tasty frozen treat. Jamie Oliver's recipe is pretty damn delicious. I also love how he served them in eclectic cans. Pretty cool.

5. Okay, so this isn't a food tip but a beauty tip for all you fashionistas out there. Take an avocado, peel and pit it, mash it up and apply it to your face. Leave it on for 15-20 minutes. Wipe it off with warm water and rinse with cold water to close your pores. Your skin will feel soft and your pores will be clean and happy. Just don't forget to wash it off before going anywhere or you'll scare people.

Oh and don't forget this fun fact.

Liquid Breakfast.

2010-08-03T14:36:00.000-07:00

Some days I feel like I need a little more than a two Bloody Mary breakfast. Although I do get the vitamins I need from all the tasty vegetables (ie: celery sticks and olives) I often end up getting really sleepy in an hour or so. I usually only have that kind of liquid breakfast on sunny Summertime days and on any day that ends with the letter Y. Okay okay, don't get your briefs in a bunch. I'm just kind of kidding. All alcoholic jokes aside, I do love me a liquid breakfast (and the occasional Bloody Mary with breakfast). No, not a morning bottle of vodka. I'm talking about pozole. The rich and murky Mexican soup filled with hominy and pork swimming in a spicy broth. I never would've thought to eat soup for breakfast but the Mexicans, Vietnamese, Indonesians, and Chinese (among many others) have been eating an early bowl of soup since the invention of water.

An interesting blurb on Wikipedia claims that at one time, pozole was made of people. Kind of Mexican soylent green. 'Since corn was a sacred plant for the Mexicans and other inhabitants of Mexico, pozole was made to be consumed on special events. The conjunction of corn (usually whole hominy kernels) and meat in a single dish is of particular interest to scholars because the ancient Mexicans believed that the gods made humans out of cornmeal dough. According to research by the National Institute of Anthropology and History and the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, in these special occasions, the meat used in the pozole was human. After the prisoners were killed by having their hearts torn out in a ritual sacrifice, the rest of the body was chopped and cooked with corn. The meal was shared among the whole community as an act of religious communion. After the conquest, when cannibalism was banned, pork became the staple meat, as it "tasted very similar", according to a Spanish priest.' In the name of authenticity I use pork, the other white meat.

Part of the fun of pozole is the garnishes. Piled high with fresh avocado, cilantro, green onions, radishes, limes, tortilla chips, and queso cotija. I like the contrast of textures and colors. So many lovely things to choose from yet you need to find just the right combination or everything gets out of balance. Plus you have to pile it precariously high because you don't want to miss out on anything. I personally like to garnish the bowls of pozole myself if I'm feeding guests because A) I'm a total control freak, B) I have a total lack of faith in people garnishing their own food correctly, and C) I am a total arrogant control freak. "No really, you don't like avocado? Get the hell out of my house." "You don't want cilantro in your pozole? Why do you have so much hatred towards my Hispanic heritage? No really, just leave." I take it personal, ya know? Quit so being picky about your garnishes and we'll get along just fine.

Pozole Rojo
8 cups pork stock or chicken stock
1 lbs pork shoulder or butt
1 large white onion, diced
2 carrots, peeled and sliced
2 poblano or Anaheim chilies, sliced (seeded if you want less heat)
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried Mexican oregano
1 tsp ground cumin
2 Tbsp dried New Mexico red chile powder
1 30-ounce cans white hominy
salt and pepper tt

Garnishes:
fresh cilantro
diced avocado
thinly sliced green onion
chopped white onion
sliced radishes
lime wedges
tortilla chips
queso cotija or jack cheese

Cut the pork into 1" cubes. Season with salt and pepper. In a large pot with little olive oil, saute the pork over medium high heat to get a nice brown crust (4-5 minutes). Remove to a plate and keep warm. Add a little more oil and add the diced onion and saute 2 minutes. Add the garlic, carrots, and peppers and saute a few more minutes until all the vegetables are soft (3-5 minutes). Add the pork back to the pot. Add the chili powder, oregano, and cumin and stir until fragrant. Add the white hominy and pork stock, cover, and simmer over low heat for 1 1/2 hours or until the pork is almost falling apart. Garnish and serve. Such a simple and perfect breakfast. Sometimes I top it with a fried egg. Delicioso!

Time for a beef party.

2010-07-29T10:01:00.000-07:00

Beef Chow Fun. 乾炒牛河 Beef? I like beef. Chow? Well hell yes, I love to eat. Fun? They don't call me Partytime Violet for nothing. Well, I guess nobody really calls me that unless it's written on a bathroom wall that I don't know about. I sure hope it isn't. I'm actually a bit of a homebody. I don't even really like parties. They're so loud and I hate making trivial conversation. Anyway, where was I? Oh yes, beef chow fun (pronounced foon). Ho Fun noodles, also known as shahe fen noodles, are beautiful and chewy Chinese rice noodles originating from Guangzhou, China. The trick with these noodles is that they are very delicate. A quick soak in warm water and then a fast stir fry in a hotter than hell wok. It's all in the wrist action. I know what you're thinking and it's not my fault you have a dirty mind, you dirty bird you. Why does wrist action always equate to masturbation? Just curious. I swear you say something like "I beat off that prowler with some swift wrist action." I am simply talking about how adept I am at defending my home with a bow and arrow. That's all. Show some class and quit thinking so pervertedly. Okay, I forgive you. No harm no foul.

In an attempt to temporarily get your filthy mind out of the gutter in which it resides, let's talk about some fat meaty beef. I purchased some lovely Thundering Hooves boneless beef short ribs from the awesome butcher Rain Shadow Meats. The meat was a beautiful shade of blood red with a treasure trove of delicious fatty marbling. I marinated it in a little soy sauce, garlic, ginger, fermented black bean sauce, and sugar for about an hour. I then seared it of on my trusty grill pan over pretty high heat just to get some color and smoke out the entire apartment building. Upon nearly choking to death because of my terrible lack of ventilation, I moved it to the oven with a little lemongrassy beef stock and slow braised it for about a few hours. The meat was falling apart and so stinking tasty I almost died and went to heaven. The sugars had caramelized and the garlic and ginger permeated throughout. It was slightly sweet and salty and sticky and umami. It was so good I wanted to shoot it into my veins and I'm terrified of needles, that's just how good it was. The chow fun noodles were chewy and had the perfect texture. This dish made me sweat a little but the spice was just hot enough for me. I don't like to eat food so spicy that it kills my taste buds. The next time you have a Chinese noodle craving make some beef chow fun.

Ginger Beef Short Rib Chow Fun

1 package (1 lb) fresh chow fun noodles (or shahe fen noodles)
1 lb boneless beef short ribs

(marinade)
1 Tbsp dark soy sauce
1 Tbsp fermented black bean chili sauce
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 Tbsp ginger minced
1 Tbsp cornstarch
1 egg white
1 Tbsp peanut oil

1/2 cup beef stock (add a few slices of ginger)

(sauce)
1 Tbsp dark soy sauce
1/4 tsp Sugar
1 Tbsp dry Chinese rice wine
1 Tbsp Oyster sauce
1/2 tsp white pepper

Chinese parsley or fresh coriander to garnish

Preheat oven to 250. Mix the marinade ingredients together and marinate the beef refrigerated for 1 hour. Heat the beef stock in a shallow pan with a few slices of ginger. In a hot grill pan quickly sear all sides of the beef ribs. Place the beef ribs into the beef stock pan and place in the oven for 2 1/2 hours or until the beef is falling apart.

Cut the chow fun into noodles about 6" noodles. When the beef is done let it rest at room temperature for 10 minutes and then slice thinly.

Heat a wok or large nonstick saute pan and add 2 T of the peanut oil. Toss the noodles in the oil until they are very hot and begin to color just a bit on the edges. Remove to a plate and set aside.

Mix all of the chow fun sauce in a bowl. Set aside.

To the wok add a little more of the peanut oil. Add the garlic and ginger and celery and green onions and saute for 2-3 minute. Then add the black bean sauce and the rice wine. Cook for 2 more minutes and add the sliced beef and chow fun noodles. Add the sauce and stir fry for a few more minutes. Remove to a platter or bowls and garnish. Take out your fanciest pair of chopsticks and enjoy with a nice cold Tsingtao.

Summertime Crimewave.

2010-07-23T12:04:00.000-07:00

As a kid, I hated Summer. That's right, you heard me. I hated Summer. "How could you hate the warm, beachy, fun in the sun, ice cream eating, slip and sliding, jart throwing, skin blistering, sharks and minowy, picnic eating barbecue days of Summer" you ask? Well, I was grounded most Summers that's why. I would be sitting in my room, staring out into the cul de sac, watching all the neighborhood kids have water gun fight or playing kickball, thinking to myself "how did this happen, again?" Let's get one thing straight, I was a terrible little kid. Always in trouble. I can understand the years I was grounded for doing terrible things. Like flooding our entire house by stuffing towels into every sink and tub drain and turning all the water on full blast. I get that. Or the time I ordered my next door neighbor's kid to bash in all of the walls of his living room with a baseball bat. What can I say, I was a curious kid and I liked to see how things worked and see how far I could push people. Some people would call it maniacal semi-psychotic behavior. I say I was just trying to figure out the world. C'est la vi. We'll just have to agree to disagree. Pronounce potato and tomato anyway you like, I will still eat them.

So where was my mother during all this insane activity? It was the 70s. Back then, you left the house to go play around 11am and wouldn't return until dark. Parents didn't worry about about serial killers and kidnappers back then. The suburbs were safe, or so they thought. I would come home screaming with a broken arm and my mom would freak out but the very next day I'd be rolling around in a puddle of mud banging my cast on the concrete. That's just what it was like back then. I can't even remeber where half of my scars came from. It's probably for the best.

I can't remember why but one bright Summer day, I walked out of my solitary confinement cell to notice two giant watermelons on the kitchen table. For reasons unknown I grabbed a big knife and a whole watermelon, bringing it back to my room. I was 8 years old and I really loved watermelon. Like a deranged one-armed neurosurgeon I hacked into the melon getting it's juices all over myself, my carpet, and my bed. In one sitting I ate the entire watermelon (including the seeds). It turns out that the watermelons were for a church picnic. It also turns out that if you consume a whole watermelon in one sitting you will continue to see watermelon in projectile form for the rest of the evening. Although I tried my best to deny eating said watermelon as my my mother angrily stared at the pink stained crime scene. My room betrayed me like neon fruit blood bath, watermelon seeds stuck to the walls, the carpet covered in bright green rind and my pink slushy bedspread. To say the least I did not receive a pardon that year. I did pretty hard time the next few years. I wasn't always grounded but I don't remember seeing much sunshine as a kid. Did I reform? Not really, but perhaps now I'm just a little more clever at hiding the evidence.

It's taken many years, but I'm happy to say that I can enjoy watermelon again. There is nothing like a fresh slice of melon on a hot Summer day. Granted I can only eat a slice or two before I'm flooded with terrible pink technicolor memories but I do love it's sweet, crunchy flesh. My favorite thing to do with watermelon is contrast it with some sour and salty and make a lovely bright salad out of the fruit. Topped with a little feta or cotija cheese and a a sprinkle of crushed red pepper or chili powder , a drizzle of olive oil and lemon or lime juice and I'm all over it. There was a season of Top Chef where one of the contestants made a salad like this and the judges were pretty confused and baffled. They hadn't been told that they should understand these flavors yet. It's pretty hilarious because now it's a pretty trendy preparation. Just goes to show you, keep an open mind and eat food because you love the adventure of it. Just don't eat a whole watermelon. That's not an adventure worth having.

French Sweets.

2010-07-16T23:23:00.000-07:00

I've been thinking a lot about Canelés lately. The beautiful little French custardy cakes. I want to get some copper molds and make them the proper French way, with a crispy beeswax coating. I came across this lovely video at Chow. I hear that Honore Bakery in Ballard makes a pretty tasty canelé. Just so you know, for Parisian Macaroons the place to go in Seattle is Bakery Nouveau in West Seattle. I usually don't care for sweets but when they look this pretty, I can't help myself.

It's a cruel, cruel, cruel Summer.

2010-07-13T18:45:00.000-07:00

Seattle pretty much has two seasons. Winter and Summer. Summer always starts on July 5th and Winter always starts on October 31st. Like clockwork, these are dates to plan your wardrobe by. This year in a matter of two days it went from 55 degrees and cloudy to 95 degrees and blisteringly sunny. Oh, and Seattle also has a knack for complaining about the weather. Usually around the beginning of June you'll start hearing "I'm going to kill myself if the sun doesn't come out." "Looks like we're not going to have a Summer this year." Then sometime in August as the temperature hits it's peak you'll hear things like "If global warming is making this place hotter and hotter we might as well move to Alaska." or "If it doesn't rain and cool down soon I'm going to go live in the air conditioned mall." Yeah, we love to complain. We do it well. Don't even get me started about what happens when it occasionally snows around here. Lets just say it gets ugly and scenes from The Shining play out all over Seattle. Why yes Jack, you are indeed a very dull boy. Now quit whining about the weather.

What do I do to beat the heat? I eat (wow, that had the makings of a really bad white girl rap song). So let's talk about chilled soups for a minute. I like a good chilled soup when it's done correctly. But chefs need to quit trying to pass off drivel like Chilled Summer Fruit Soup. I'm no dummy, you just served me a bowl of Juicy Juice. Cold tomato soup? Sopa de V-8 coming right up. I like the tried and true cold soups. A nice spicy Spanish gazpacho or a refined French classic like vichyssoise almost always hits the mark. While I definitely encourage ingenuity and imagination when it comes to food, just remember while you're straining boiled pine needles for a soup. The classics are classic for a reason. But then again, someone had to make it first. Recently I made Sugar Snap Pea Soup with Spicy Arugula Crema and Parmesan Garlic Croutons. It's a twist on the classic Potage St. Germain (or chilled spring pea soup). This soup can be served either hot or cold. I can't really decide which way I like it better. Chef Daniel Boulud makes a pretty yummy spring pea soup but I like mine better. No disrespect, I love and admire the chef. I'm just sayin', mine's tastier. Perhaps when I'm long past dead, this soup will be on restaurant menus right next to the lobster thermidor and beef Wellington. Wouldn't that be a kick? A true new classic.

Sugar Snap Pea Soup with Spicy Arugula Crema and Parmesan Garlic Croutons

2 pounds fresh sugar snap peas, ends removed
1 Tbsp minced shallots
1 clove garlic, minced
3 cups chicken stock, homemade is better
salt and white pepper tt
fresh grated nutmeg
2 Tbsp butter
2 tsp fresh lemon juice

for the crema:
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup sour cream
1 cup of fresh washed arugula
1 Tbsp parsley
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
a few dashes of hot sauce

salt and pepper tt

for the croutons:
a few slices of day old bread (white, rye, whatever you like), diced into cubes

2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 cup fresh grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

salt tt

Preheat you oven to 375F. In a large pot of boiling, salted water, blanch the sugar snap peas until they are quite tender but still a pretty and green, about 6 minutes. Don't overcook. When the peas are done, shock them in ice water to stop the cooking keep their bright color.

In the meantime, saute the shallots and garlic in a little butter over medium-low heat until tender (4-5 minutes) Set aside. In a blender, add the peas, garlic, and shallots and puree until very smooth. Add 1/2 cup of chicken stock to get the soup blending.

Strain the soup through a fine mesh strainer or chinoise . Discard the solids. To the thick pea puree add the rest of the chicken stock and season. Add a little nutmeg and the lemon juice.
Once again pass the soup through a strainer into a saucepan. Cook over medium-low heat until the mixture is bubbling. Stir in 1 tablespoon butter. Taste and season.

While the soup is cooking, add all of the ingredients for the crema to a blender. Puree and strain. Season and set aside and keep cool.

Toss the bread cubes with the garlic powder, cheese, and salt. Spread out on a baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes or so until the croutons look toasty and browned. Remove from the oven and let dry.

The soup is done when it has a nice velvety consistency ( about 15-20 minutes). You can either serve the soup hot or you can chill it and serve with a big drizzle of the arugula crema and a handful of croutons. Enjoy.

Sovereign State #13: Bahrain

2010-07-09T18:20:00.000-07:00

Bahrain
The Menu:
Chicken Machboos
Khubz (Bahraini Flat Bread)
Mishmish (Apricot Chutney)

I have to admit, I knew nothing of the Kingdom of Bahrain prior to cooking this meal. Sure, I've heard the name and I knew it was somewhere in the Middle East. Supposedly it's one of the more liberal of Middle Eastern countries and that it's a good introduction to Persian Gulf travel. The name translates to "the Kingdom of Two Seas". Sounds like a lovely land full of hobbits and wizardry. According to the CIA's website, it has a little human trafficking problem (ie: involuntary servitude and commercial sexual exploitation). But hey, nobody's perfect right? On the upside, being an island nation I bet it's got some really beautiful beaches. Oh, and they are also host to the Bahrain F1 Grand Prix. That's right kids, who wouldn't want to see Nascar on a desert island nation? (Don't get your panties in a bunch, I may not know the difference between F1 racing and Nascar but I do know that "rubbin' is racin'". Tom Cruise taught me that in his hit movie Days of Thunder). Hot gasoline fumes and corn dogs in the acrid desert. My idea of vacation. Seriously though, Bahrain looks like a lovely place with lovely people. Hell, America has more than it's share of faults so in no way do I mean to be insulting. A sense of humor about yourself goes a long way towards building a better, kinder world.

Considering I don't work for the international tourism board, I'll spare you facts about how many apple trees grow in Bahrain per year (the answer is zero) or which Bahraini beach is the nakedest. No ma'am, I'm ready to talk about the food (I'm always ready to talk about food). So this was a pretty hard country to research. I came upon countless recipes for universal "Arabic" food but I wanted something that was purely Bahraini. While it may not be distinctly Bahraini, Machboos is a traditional dish that is common on the Bahraini dinner table. It's basically a tasty pilaf served with chicken, meat, or fish. The combination of aromatics like the spice mix buharat, dried black limes, and rose water lend a very unique flavor that is distinct in Bahraini cuisine. I made chicken machboos and it was so frickin' delicious. It just might give my Cuban arroz con pollo a run for it's money.

Khubz is pretty much Arabic for bread. Kind of like a cross between pita and naan. The dough is rolled out like a pizza and then slapped against the sides of a special oven. Not to make excuses but I don't have a khubz oven so I decided to buy mine from the Pike Place Middle Eastern shop The Souk. Plus the fact that we're in the middle of a heat wave here in Seattle, the idea of turning on the oven makes my insides die a little just thinking about it.

The Apricot Chutney went awesomely with the Chicken Mazdoon. It was sour and sweet with a mix of fresh chopped apricots, hot chilies, lime juice, and toasted almonds. Sometimes people make it with dried apricots but I like the sourness that fresh apricots give. It's actually more like a salsa than a chutney. I would eat it on a taco for sure.

Once again, I've eaten a little bit of a country I knew very little about and through it's cuisine, I've gained a little more insight to it's beautiful culture. I now have a few more exotic dishes to impress people with and my international culinary knowledge grows bigger and better. Sure, it was just a taste of Bahrain's culture, but sometimes just getting a taste will make you hungry for more.

Buharat Spice Mix
4 tsp paprika powder
4 tsp black pepper powder
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp cloves powder
1 tsp cinnamon powder
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp cardamom powder
1 tsp nutmeg powder
1 tsp ginger powder

Chicken Machboos
5 cups fresh chicken stock (or water)
3 cups basmati rice
3 tomatoes, diced
3-3 ½ lb chicken
3 onions, finely chopped
1/2 bunch coriander leaves (cilantro), chopped
1 jalapeno chili, sliced
2 black dried limes
1 Tbsp buharat spice mix
1 ½ teaspoons turmeric powder
1 teaspoon cumin powder
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon cardamom powder
2 garlic cloves
1 Tbsp ginger, minced
3 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup lemon juice
3 tablespoons rose water
olive oil
salt tt

Cut up the chicken into pieces (legs, thighs, half breasts, etc). In a bowl, mix the buharat. Sprinkle half of the spice mixture on the chicken and season with salt..

Heat olive oil in a large dutch oven or deep skillet, add the chicken and let the skin get nice and crispy. When you get a good sear on all sides of the chicken remove to a plate and keep warm.

Add the onions and saute until golden brown, then add the jalapeno, garlic, ginger and the black limes (pole a small hole in the limes). Saute for a few minutes and then add all of the spices and toast for a minute or two.

Add the chicken back to the pan. Make sure the chicken gets coated with the spices, add the tomato and 1 cup of chicken stock. Cover the pan and let it cook for about 45 minutes over medium low, or until the chicken is cooked.

Add the rice and the rest of the chicken stock, stir, bring to a boil, cover and turn heat to low. Cook for 25 minutes or until rice is cooked through.

Sprinkle rose water and lemon juice over the rice and place the butter pieces on the top. Serve on a platter with the chicken on top. Garnish with fresh coriander leaves and apricot chutney.

For more info on this project, read this: 203 Sovereign States

Jerseylicious

2010-07-05T18:35:00.000-07:00

The world has a love affair with New Jersey. Families gather round the television to watch Snooki fall down drunk and pantyless on the Jersey Shore or to gawk at the immense height of Olivia's hairdo on Jerseylicious. Not long ago, it was the Sopranos boys eating pasta fagioli and burying bodies in the Pine Barrens. Before that even, The Boss was spreading the gospel of the workin' man from the Garden State. But the times, they are a changin'. Now, Jersey is the punchline to a joke. A not very good joke either. Yeah, yeah I get it. There's really dumb people with silly names in Jersey. Guess what, there's really dumb people everywhere. Drive 10 minutes outside of Seattle and you might as well be on the set of Jersey Shore. Hell, I don't even need to leave the city, I can walk out my apartment and instantly stumble across a ironically dressed drunken idiot on any given night.

Don't believe what you see on TV (but do believe everything you read in this blog) New Jersey is a great place. It has mountains and forest and a creepy goat/bat/demon creature that will rip your throat out and suck your blood. There's a good hockey team, exploding hotdogs, and 24 hour strip clubs. Being a Queens girl, I share a bond with Jersey. A friendly neighbor if you will. The folks from the outer boroughs of NY used to (and some still do) share the same working (wo)man class view as New Jerseyans. Yet, for some reason, to say you're from Jersey is almost shameful to a lot of people. I'd be proud to say I'm from New Jersey. One of my best friends is from Jersey. She curses like a sailor and has a weakness for big ratty hair and aside from the fact that she doesn't own very much denim and has no appreciation for Skid Row (18 and Life, you know?), she's Jersey all the way. I appreciate that. I appreciate authenticity in people. It's pretty hard to find these days.

So let's talk about something that's un-apologetically Jersey. That's right, I'm talking about the Taylor Pork Roll. It's a grayish pink sausage-esque meat product (sounds delicious already doesn't it?) that originated at from the Taylor Ham Factory in Trenton NJ. It's been made the same way since 1856. Some people call it Jersey Spam, Bon Jovi bologna, or Jersey Breakfast. What's in it? Who knows. I'm pretty sure there's pork in it. One thing that I do know that a Jersey Breakfast is delicious. I can imagine Bon Jovi sitting in his kitchen, wearing a snazy cowboy outfit, and singing to himself "...on a steel horse I ride...hmmmhhmmm...SHOT through the heart!!!" while he flips some sliced pork roll in a buttery pan. Perhaps that's the secret to his big shiny hairdo. Anyways, you take some of that pork roll, slice it, and fry it in butter. Put it in a kaiser roll, bagel or whatever bread you got. Top it with a fried egg and some American cheese. Now you got yourself a Jersey Breakfast. Your life can truly begin.

Jersey Breakfast
(serves 1)
4 slices Jersey Pork Roll, about 1/4" thick
1Kaiser Roll
1-2 slices American cheese
1 egg
2 tablespoons butter

1. Preheat your broiler.
2. Slice Taylor pork roll to the thickness desired, around 1/4" is good, two or three slices per sandwich as desired. Cut notches around the edges or they'll bulge up in the middle and not fry well.
3. Slice kaiser roll ("Hard Roll" in NJ) into top and bottom halves but put it back together so it won't dry out.
4. Heat butter and fry Pork Roll until lightly browned. Don't over-fry or it'll shrink a lot and dry out badly. When done, remove from pan and set aside.
5. In the same butter, fry egg over easy. While the egg is frying set your Pork Roll slices on the lower half of the Kaiser Roll.
6. When egg is done, set it on top of the Pork Roll slices. Top with 2 slices of Cheese and slip under the broiler. Check often, the cheese should be well softened but not too runny or it'll drip right off.
7. Pull sandwich from the broiler, place the top of the Kaiser Roll on top and you're ready to serve!

Living the Rich Life.

2010-06-28T11:31:00.000-07:00

As I stepped off my private jet, I walked over to my Aston Martin V8 Vantage and realized I didn't feel much like driving so I had my chauffeur pull up the Rolls. We pulled up to my lovely 18th century French castle and I looked around for K, whom was sitting in the Japanese garden having tea. I pulled out a thick roll of $100 dollar bills and my lighter, lighting the money on fire. We laughed and laughed. "I love to burn money, because I am so filthy rich." I said.

Okay, and then I woke up. No we are not rich. If I was that rich I'd donate a lot of it to charities or I'd buy everyone in the world a Coney Island hot dog with all the fixins cause I'm classy like that. But alas, K and I get by just fine and as for the way we eat, sometimes I feel pretty rich. You don't have to be wealthy to eat well. Some people spend their money on going out to the club, or gas for their stupid gas guzzling Hummer. (btw, Hummer drivers are selfish, ignorant, f**kwads). We spend our money on pretty clothes and yummy food.

Caviar is an interesting thing. One of the most expensive foods in the world. Calling it salted fish eggs doesn't quite have the allure as the word caviar but essentially that's what it is. There are four types of "true" caviar and they only come from a dwindling population of wild sturgeon in the Capsian sea. In order from rarest down are: beluga, sterlet, osetra, and sevruga caviars. Sadly, due to overfishing, it is no longer responsible to be buy true Caspian caviar. People still want their luxurious fish eggs and more local, sustainable "caviars" are appearing on the market. Salmon roe has become pretty popular (the Japanese and Russians having been eating it forever) and Idaho trout roe and Montana whitefish are delicious and affordable substitutes for the wild sturgeon eggs.

A few places such as the Mote Marine Aquaculture Park in South Florida are trying to help create a more sustainable (farmed) sturgeon that will be not only harvested for caviar but for the tasty fish itself. I'm sure a lot of caviar purists would detest American farmed caviar but eventually they'll have no choice (not necessarily American but definitely farmed) if wild sturgeon over-farming practices aren't dealt with.

Caviar feels very much like a special occasion treat to me. Kind of like Champagne & truffles. Last week, my lovely wife K proposed to me to get re-married for our tenth anniversary next year. She slipped a beautiful 1930s deco diamond ring on my finger and I turned bright pink and teary with happiness. To celebrate I purchased some beautiful, sustainable Golden Whitefish Caviar, harvested from the west side of the Great Lakes. The eggs are buttery and clean tasting with a beautiful golden apricot color. I also had some beautiful Smoked Coho Salmon from local Loki Fishery & homemade crème fraîche. I made some lovely Yukon gold potato blini, adapted from an awesome Thomas Keller recipe, and popped open a bottle of our favorite Spanish cava (sparkling wine). It was an incredibly romantic and luxurious celebration. Here's the thing, your date never has to know that you didn't spend a fortune but you'll impress the hell out of anyone with a spread like this. While I was sitting there eating "caviar" and drinking "champagne", with a gorgeous ring on my finger and the most beautiful girl ever next to me, I felt like the richest princess in the world.

Buy sustainable caviar from here:
Seattle Caviar Company
Dean & Deluca

Yukon Gold Potato Blini
1 pound Yukon Gold potatoes (or red bliss potatoes)
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 1/2 tablespoons crème fraîche, at room temperature
2 Tbsp garlic chives, minced (regular chives will work)
2 large eggs
1 large egg yolk
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

In a large pot of boiling water, cook the potatoes until fork tender. Drain potatoes and return them to the pot. Quickly mix the flour into the warm potatoes, then whisk in 2 1/2 tablespoons crème fraîche. Whisk in the eggs one at a time until the batter is smooth. Add more crème fraîche if needed.

Holding the whisk with some of the batter over the bowl, the batter should fall in a thick stream but hold its shape. If it is too thick, add a little more crème fraîche. Season with salt and pepper.

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-low heat. Spoon between 1 and 1 1/2 teaspoons of batter onto the skillet for each blini. Cook until the bottoms are browned, 1 to 2 minutes. Then flip them and cook the second side, about 1 to 2 minutes. The blini should be evenly browned with a small ring of white around the edges. Transfer the blini to a small baking sheet and keep warm. Wipe the skillet with a paper towel between batches. Serve the blini as soon as possible with smoked salmon, crème fraîche, and caviar.

We are proud.

2010-06-26T10:57:00.000-07:00

Happy gay pride weekend everyone. Here are some food suggestions for a lovely pride:

Who doesn't love hot dogs and oysters?

Stick to your ribs.

2010-06-18T13:15:00.000-07:00

Being raised in the South I never understood the concept of the "boneless" ribs. Ribs were meant to be eaten off the bone, to remind you that you are indeed snacking on an animal. They should be slow cooked and slathered with barbecue sauce. Served up with a side of potato salad or coleslaw and a nice cold glass of purple Cool-aid (or as we called it, purple drink) to wash it all down. After escaping my small Southern town trappings as a pre-teen, thankfully I've since seen a little more of the world and managed to be exposed to other cultures. Even though I was definitely a fish out of water being a Cuban, French Canadian, Chinese transgender girl in the middle of rural Georgia, I had a pretty okay childhood. I am glad that the good parts of the South (such as the food, the hospitality, and the appreciation of history) rubbed off on me. It's easy to get stuck, thinking you know what's what. The way things ought to be. It's a large world, look around and you just might change your mind about a thing or three.

The other day I purchased the most meaty, delicious Thundering Hooves boneless, beef short ribs from my favorite new butcher Rain Shadow Meats. I marinated them in some kecap manis, soy, garlic, ginger, Indonesian chili paste, and fresh coriander for a few hours. In the meantime I cleaned my kitchen, "window" shopped pretty dresses on the internet, breezed through a cookbook or two, drank a few cocktails, and oh yeah, cut up my mirepoix (that's French for, getting all your ingredients cut up and ready).

Soba noodles are probably one of my favorite noodles. There are made of buckwheat flour and have a bit of chewy texture to them. They are perfect when tossed with a little soy sauce and sesame oil. Sometimes when I go to Uwajimaya in the International District (Seattle's version of Chinatown) I will stand there and stare at the immense noodle selection for an hour while drooling on myself. I don't know what half of them are and I can't read any of the packages but I know I want to eat all of them. I am a sucker for Asian packaging. Put a cute character on the package and I will buy it. "Hey look, there's a giant laughing panda punching a dolphin in the head with a handful of noodles." "I bet they're delicious!" "Oh look at those! That Jet Jaguar robot is shooting udon noodles out of his ass into that happy kids mouth. Delicious!" Yes, I want them all.

Sesame Soba Noodles with Braised Boneless Beef Short Ribs

For the beef:
1 lb. boneless beef short ribs
2 green onions, sliced on the bias
3 cloves garlic, minced
2" piece of ginger, minced
1/2 bunch of fresh coriander (cilantro), chopped
1/2 cup soy sauce
2 Tbsp kecap manis (sweet Indonesian soy sauce)
2 tsp cap jempol (Indonesian chili sauce), you can sub chili garlic paste or Sriracha

Mix together all of the ingredients and marinate the ribs for at least 1 hour. Preheat oven to 250. Over medium heat in a saute pan sear the beef quickly (if you don't have proper ventilation you will choke so open a window). Add the marinade and cook 2 more minutes. Put the beef in the oven and braise for 2 hours or until meat is falling apart. When the beef is done remove from the oven and let it rest covered with foil.

For the noodles:
1 package (12.5 oz) of soba noodles
2 celery stalks, sliced on a bias
2 green onions, sliced on a bias
1/2 bunch or fresh coriander, chopped
1 Tbsp soy sauce
2 tsp rice wine vinegar
2-3 tsp sesame oil
2 tsp toasted sesame seeds

In a large pot of boiling water, cook the noodles according to their package. In the meantime, saute the celery and green onions in a little peanut oil until soft. Set aside. Mix together the soy sauce, sesame oil, and vinegar. Toss with the finished noodles. Thinly slice or shred the beef and toss with the celery, onion, fresh coriander and noodles. Plate and sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds.

How to pose your meatloaf.

2010-06-14T12:40:00.000-07:00

Food photography is a funny thing. You spend all this time preparing something delicious only to let it sit there and get cold while you set up the perfect picture. The problem is, food isn't always pretty. Sure, someone who is a amazing photographer can probably coax some beauty out of a pile of scrambled eggs or a puddle of gravy. I aspire to be that person one day. I want to create pretty landscapes of mashed potato mountains and a sea of split pea soup. While I lack decent lighting and a fancy camera, I do pretty okay with what I have. I take a lot of food pictures and not all of them are winners. That doesn't mean that the food failed. No, as a matter of fact I sometimes take pictures of really delicious food that is pretty unappetizing to look at. Granted I am extremely hard on myself. I am not trained in the art of posing a pretty meatloaf for the perfect picture but I am learning. I am a classically trained chef. As much as I want to take the prettiest pictures, the thing that matters to me most is how does the food taste? As for how it looks through the lens, as long as the food doesn't get cold, I'm happy to primp a chicken leg for a pretty picture. As the saying goes, you eat with your eyes before your mouth. Creepy literal images aside, my food usually looks tasty. Now I just have to translate that into a photograph.

Here are a couple pictures of food that may not win any beauty pageants but they sure tasted delicious.

Grilled Mad Hatcher Farms Chicken with Indonesian Celery Rice Cakes and Soy Sesame Jus

The organic WA raised chicken was glazed with kecap manis (Indonesian sweet soy sauce), grilled to get a crust and then finished in the oven. The celery cakes are made with sliced celery, cooked jasmine rice, fresh ginger and garlic, cilantro, soy, eggs to bind, and cap jempol (Indonesian chili sauce). Soy, sesame oil, and chili garlic paste were added to the chicken dripping for the sauce

Scrambled Eggs with Dungeness Crab, Heirloom Brandywine Tomatoes, and Fresh Thyme

Dog Mountain Farm free range chicken eggs scrambled with fresh, local dungeness crab meat, tossed with sweet, diced heirloom tomatoes and fresh herbs. Drizzled with a yogurt based herb pistou.

Get a load of the curves on those chickpeas!

2010-06-06T16:33:00.000-07:00

Listen up boys and girls. Sometimes you have to have something besides delicious meat on your plate. I know, it sounds crazy but it's true. Allow me stereotype for a minute. Most intelligent women and "enlightened" folks know this already so if you belong to one of those groups feel free to skip ahead to the recipe. But you tough, power lawnmower drivin', Maxim reading types might want to read on. I know you're a little confused right now. Before you punch the walls of your wood-paneled man cave, think about it. See that poster of UFC Heavyweight Champion Randy Couture on your wall? How do you think he got so big and scary? Yup, he ate lots of salads and vegetables, and drank lots and lots of GNC Muscle Milk (ever see that stuff? really creepy, like breast milk in a can). You want to be big and strong like that don't you? Sure you do. So here's the thing. I'm not saying you have to go out and start eating wild dandelion greens with tofu (although that could be delicious). No, what I'm saying is try adding a bit of vegetables and grains to your meals. Eating healthier might make you a little less puffy and perhaps you'll no longer have to beat your chest when someone weaker than you walks by. Smarter eating breeds smarter people. Eat some vegetables and read a book. It'll make you a nicer person. Now on to the food!

Okay, now that that's over with here's a recipe for a salad that will convert the meatiest of meat eaters. It's a Curried Couscous and Chickpea Salad with Fresh Mint.

1 TBSP olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 ribs celery, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup canned chick-peas (rinsed and drained)
1 tsp curry powder
1/2 tspn cumin
kosher salt & fresh cracked black pepper, to taste
1/2 tsp cayenne
2 sprigs fresh mint, chiffonade
1 cup vegetable broth
1 cup couscous (uncooked)

In a large pot, cook onion, celery and garlic in the olive oil over medium low heat until soft, about 5 minutes. Add chickpeas and spices and continue to cook, stirring occasionally for 5 minutes. Add broth, increase heat and bring to a boil. Stir in couscous, cover, remove from heat and let sit for 8 minutes. Fluff with a fork and toss in the mint. Serve immediately.

You could even add shrimp or chicken if you can't deal with it being meatless. Try it, you'll like it.

The Dregs

2010-05-28T10:51:00.000-07:00

A few people have been complaining that I don't update enough. That once a week is not cutting it. Being the dancing monkey that I am, I have decided to give the people what they want. Towards the end of every week I'll use my amazing gathering skills to compile some of my culinary thoughts, news, and recipes and dump them on to you. Sound good? Too bad, you get what I give. Now, let's begin the show! (BTW, if the words are different colors than black, click on them. They will bring you places)

Food I Made This Week: (but was too busy to take pictures and blog about it. Sometimes, I just want relax and and eat while it's hot, ya know?)

I bought a lovely organic chicken and made these three dishes out of it:

* Roasted Chicken with Garlicky Greek Yogurt Mashed Potatoes and Giblet Cracker Stuffing, all covered in tasty gravy made with the pan drippings. I love the sourness the yogurt gives the mashed potatoes. If you like sour cream mashed taters you'll love these.

* Arroz con Pollo (Cuban chicken and rice) - I used the thighs, legs from the roasted chicken I made the day before. Saffron, rice, beer, olives, hot sauce. Yum.

* Matzo Ball Soup, Miami Style - I usually use Manischewitz Matzo Ball Mix when I'm strapped for time. I like them, they're kinda salty which I enjoy. First I shredded and saved the remaining chicken meat from the chicken bones and I used the chicken carcass, celery, carrots, onions, parsley stem, peppercorns to make a nice flavorful chicken stock. Just cover with water, simmer for 2 hours, skim the impurities. Done and done. Make the matzo balls, slice some celery and carrots (yucca and calabasa would make this very Miami-esque), add the chicken meat & stock. Lemon juice and hot sauce add a little Miami flair to a very simple dish.

I guess I went on a bit of a Mexican kick this week:

* Pork Tacos with Salsa Fresca - Grilled pork tenderloin rubbed with chili powder, garlic, olive oil, salt n' peppa. Wrapped in flour tortillas, with fresh heirloom tomato salsa.

* Huevos de Pato Rancheros (Fried Duck Eggs with Salsa) - That very same heirloom tomato salsa poured over super rich Dog Mountain Farms duck eggs while fried in olive oil.

Read This:

* David Lebovitz makes a tasty looking tomato tart with Springs first tomatoes.

* The New Times: The NYC Board of Health looks to put restaurants out of business with new letter grading system.

* A Hamburger Today shows you how to make the perfect thin cut fries.

Knowing is Half the Battle:

Looks like Spike Mendelsohn of Top Chef fame (you know, the unbearable hipster with all the hats) is coming out with a burger & fries cookbook, The Good Stuff. I wonder if it comes with a free white belt?

In lighter news, the awesome folks at the good ole' USDA wants you to eat factory farmed, hormone infested meat. yay!!!

That's all I got. See ya in a few days folks!

Are you gonna eat that?

2010-05-22T16:38:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I've decided to scour the world wide interwebs for you lovely readers to hunt down some of the most heart attack inducing, artery clogging, monstrosities the food world has to offer. But here's the thing. I'm sort of an closet garbage eater. I would totally eat some of this food. Ya know, if it wasn't made of zombie chicken parts and slaughter house floor scrapings. Sure, it's a hard job and some of this stuff looks a bit vulgar and overindulgent but just think of me as one of those wacky Food TV/Travel Channel jerk offs (you know, like a sickly looking, bald doughy- faced guy or a rock n' roll wannabe, Nascar lovin' good ole boy, hair gel addict that can't seem to work a bleach kit properly). Like the ones that yell a lot and eat the most WILD and WACKY and OUTRAGEOUS things the dregs of the culinary world has to offer. I want to provide you with some of that very same gut busting, eye searing, colon clogging knowledge minus the screaming and squirming. Get ready for AWESOME!!!

#1 The Hudson Hangover - Hudson Tavern, Hoboken New Jersey

A Hamburger Today reader Brian H found this lovely beast at the Hudson Tavern over in Hoboken, New Jersey. It figures that such a beautiful,zinz (Jersey slang for cool) creature would come from New Jersey. It's not officially on their menu but if you ask nicely...who knows. It is made of two bacon grilled cheese sandwiches for buns, a beef patty topped with more cheese and bacon, and a fried egg. This is one of those things that sounds so extremely wrong but for some reason I need to put it in my mouth. You know you're not going to feel good after eating it but you can't seem to stop yourself. It's true you know, a fried egg on top of anything makes it more delicious.

#2 The Garbage Plate - Nick Tahou Hots, Rochester, New York

How can you resist anything called a plate of garbage? I know I can't. This is like the bastard child of of an Irish breakfast and Hawaiian moco loco (breakfast of a burger patty cover in gravy and fried eggs with macaroni salad). It sure ain't pretty but I'd eat it in a heart beat. The Nick Tahou garbage plate is basically home fries or French fries, macaroni salad, and baked bean plus your choice of meats (such as red hots, white hots, cheeseburger, Italian sausage, fried haddock, chicken tenders, ham steaks, or fried eggs) topped with spicy mustard, chopped onions, and the signature Nick Tahou's meaty chili-esque hot sauce. Imagine the drunkest person ever cooking dinner for you. This is probably close to what they would try to make for you. Only you'd never get to eat it because before they finished cooking it they would pass out and set the house on fire.

#3 The T-Rex Poutine - La Banquise, Montreal, Quebec

Does poutine really need to be anymore insane than it already is? According to my wacky French Canadian brethren at La Banquise, there is no such thing as "too much". Just look at their menu. I couldn't even decide if this was the most OUTRAGEOUS poutine they have to offer. Poutine itself, in it's most pristine form is still a plate of starchy, greasy, overindulgence. Crispy French fries covered in gravy and melted cheese curds should do the trick, but no, lets cover that with minced meat, pepperoni, bacon, and smoked sausages. That there is a T-Rex my friends. Make sure you get your heart rate checked before trying to consume this. Do a artery cleanse and hook yourself up to an slow drip IV of blood thinners because if this doesn't put you in a coma, you ain't going nowhere for a while. Just load up the season one DVD of Mama's Family and try your best to digest without falling asleep. Oh, and have a few gallons of water next to your couch because you are going to be so thirsty after building this salt factory in your stomach. Yes, the T-Rex seems delicious but you need to get prepared before embarking on such a challenge. Stop poutine related injuries!

#4 The El Niño Pizza Taco - Anywhere USA

This horrific yet intoxicating mix of two of my favorite foods was submitted to the hilarious blog This is Why You're Fat by the sick, genius minds of Joshua Krezinski, Andrew Chifari, Manny Gardberg, and Sarah Morrison. This here is three whole pounds of taco packet seasoned ground beef, sauteed onions, sour cream, lettuce, tomato and cheddar cheese wrapped in a tasty large pepperoni pizza. I can't believe Taco Hut or Pizza Bell didn't think of this first. Clearly they are hiring people with no eye for the future. Somebody get these kids a marketing job stat! You know, many times I've found myself saying "Self, I wish I had some tacos and a pepperoni pizza to wash it down with." So what do I do? I spend a fortune on delivery pizza and hopefully it's a Tuesday so I'm able to get some tacos in this town. Not anymore. The time is now for getting exactly what I want, how I want it, and when I want it. If my early teen year fast food jobs have taught me anything, it's that the customer is always right. Even the inbred ones that "accidentally" stab their deformed face with a sharp plastic spork drawing blood and then frantically spilling their gallon sized "suicide" soda on baby Bobby-Jo juniors lap (true story). So the next time I roll up to one of those Taco Hut hybrids I'm going to demand an El Niño Pizza Taco. And I better not drop any on my lap or I'll sue the hell out of them. True dat!

#5 The Stoner Dog - Amsterdam, NL – L’Amour Bakery, Pizza, and Hot Dogs

Amsterdam is known as the playground for dumb American stoner dudes looking to get high and pay for sex in public without obtaining a cozy prison cell. Fair enough, but I just have to say that even though I don't smoke pot anymore (I'm paranoid without any help), if I did I sure wouldn't want to get high in some crowded hippie cafe. I'd want to be on my couch with a person that was actually attracted to me with a table covered in tasty pizzas and hot dogs. Hot dogs are also one of my favorite foods (I'm a Queens girl, what do ya expect?), even when I'm sober. Over in the Netherlands, they have figured out a way to fuel frat boy potheads for a night of yelling "Wooooo!" and puka shell necklace shopping. The ultimate Stoner Dog here Croissanterie l'Amour is a 7" skinless hot dog (made by the powers of advanced meat recovery) in a toasted bun, topped with pizza sauce, peppers, onions, sausage, meatballs, pepperoni , and sharp Dutch cheese. You can also get them with different topping such as ham and pineapple (which I think is disgusting on pizza so I don't think it would be any better on a hot dog). The yummiest acid reflux I will ever have. Get one of each and try to go for a bike ride. It's funny!

Stayed tuned for part two of Yummy Food That'll Kill Ya! Only here, on The Hunger Network. xoxo

AWESOME!!!

The Princess of Sandwich.

2010-05-11T10:55:00.000-07:00

Nothing beats a good sandwich. Every culture in the world has at least one version of the famous finger food. It's so perfect, no knife and fork needed (usually), it's all self contained, and you can eat it while walking around. Well, this week in The House That Hunger Built (that's what I call my apartment now) it's Sandwich Week (kinda like TLC's Shark Week only sandwich attacks are not as common) and most of our sustenance has been in the form of two fisted torpedoes of tastiness. I especially love sandwiches because you don't have to take your hand off your cocktail while you eat them. With a cocktail in one hand and a sandwich in the other I'm much less likely to get Ruffied. Not that I really ever go out to places where I'm likely to get a Mickey slipped in my drink. Anyways, see what I'm saying? Sandwiches can save your life.

So the first sandwich of the day is the Sandwich de Cubano. That's Cuban Sandwich in Spanish for those of you who get easily confused. This is a sandwich near and dear to my heart. I grew up eating these buttery pork filled treasures. The only problem with making them up here in the Pacific Northwest is the fact that there is no Cuban bread in sight. You have to make it yourself. The key is using lard. Otherwise it's not the same. Still, a crusty (but still soft) French roll can take it's place pretty admirably. Yellow mustard (I actually prefer Dijon), roasted pork shoulder, sliced black forest ham, Swiss cheese, sliced dill pickles. Smear the outside of the bread with butter and sear on a cast iron pan while pushing down with the bottom of another pan. Or stick it in your Cuban sandwich press. Stay away from those jenky panini presses, they don't work as well.

Okay, so from here on in things get a little wacky. I decided I wanted to invent a sandwich so I surveyed my fridge for possible sandwich ingredients and here's what I came up with: I call it the Brat Patrol (a cross between the terrible 1986 film of troublesome military brats that foil a weapons theft plot and the sandwiches main star, the bratwurst). Pronounced Bräught Pa-trol. And you have to say it with a no-nonsense German accent, otherwise it wont taste the same. So to make the Brat Patrol you start with a toasted artisanal brioche roll. A little spicy German mustard, a few slices of black forest ham, cooked bratwurst sliced in half, cooked black forest bacon, a quick fennel kraut, and some shredded butterkase (or gouda) cheese. Throw it under the broiler for a minute and there you go. Here's how I made the quick fennel kraut:

Quick Caramelized Fennel-Kraut
1 head of fennel (just the white part), thinly sliced
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
1 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp champagne vinegar
1/2 Tbsp Dijon mustard
kosher salt and fresh cracked black pepper

Over low heat melt the butter and slowly saute the fennel and onion. Stir every once in a while. In about 45 minutes you should have a nice golden color. Mix in the vinegar and mustard. Season to taste.

Okay, so I have another crazy sandwich for you only this time I didn't invent it. This one comes from the famous sandwich joint Tony Luke's in Philidelphia, PA. This is a take on Their famous Italian Roast Pork Sandwich. I'm sure I didn't make it exactly the same as the restaurant so I don't want to hear any Philly natives whining that I did it wrong. People love to point out that you didn't clone something properly. Anyways, it's a pretty simple sandwich with one strange exeption. It has sauteed broccoli rabe in it. The flavors are delicious and the contrast in textures is key. Not only that but you get your veggies while eating a fatty pork sandwich. You can't beat that. Okay, so now that Sandwich Week is over where do we go from here? Well, perhaps we'll look deep into the depths of the endless sandwich pool and focus on a sub-category of the species. Perhaps we need to take a closer look at the almighty cheeseburger. It's the Great White Shark of sandwiches, only cheesier and greasier.

Tony Luke's Italian Roast Pork Sandwich

ROAST PORK
1 (2 1/2 lb) pork shoulder
3 tablespoons garlic (chopped)
2 ½ tablespoons fresh rosemary (chopped)
3 tablespoons fresh parsley (chopped)
1 tablespoon salt
½ teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
BROCCOLI RABE
1 lb. broccoli rabe (aka rapini)
salt
3 quarts water
¼ cup olive oil
2-3 garlic cloves, chopped
salt
¼-½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
ACCOMPANIMENTS
long crusty Italian rolls
½ lb. sliced sharp provolone cheese

Preheat oven to 425 F.

Mix the garlic, rosemary, parsley, salt pepper, and olive oil in a bowl. Spread the pork roast out on a clean surface. If there are any large thick sections of meat, score them with a knife. Rub 3/4 of the mixture over all exposed surfaces. Roll the roast back up and truss with kitchen twine. Rub the remaining mixture on the outside of the roast. Place the roast in a dutch oven or heavy pot pot and cook for 20 minutes.

Turn down the oven to 200F cook at least 3-4 hours longer or until the pork is falling apart. Remove pork from truss or netting and shred into large chunks, removing any large pieces of fat that may be left. Save the accumulated juices in the pot.

For the broccoli rabe: Wash thoroughly and cut about 1/2 inch off the bottom of the stems. Cut the florets off the top and set aside. Bring 3qts salted water to a rolling boil.
Add broccoli rabe leaves and stems and cook about 1&1/2 minutes then add the florets and cook until tender, about 5-7 minutes. Remove broccoli from boiling water and drain, but reserve about 1/4- 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid.

In a deep frying pan (which is cold) begin heat olive oil, red pepper flakes and garlic together over medium heat. Once the garlic begins to sauté, begin to time about two minutes (till very lightly browned) add drained broccoli. Sauté the broccoli rabe about 3-5 minutes longer and then add the cooking liquid from the pot.

Assemble sandwiches. Toast sliced roll if desired. Add the provolone to roll before hot meat. then the cheese can melt. After that top with broccoli rabe generously.

BTW Urbanspoon rocks.

Spring Cleaning.

2010-05-03T16:41:00.000-07:00

The pollen is burning my eyes and I'm sneezing like an out of control epileptic. Yup, Spring time is here. Once again it's time to starting going through your closets and get rid of the junk you don't need anymore. That sexy dress that makes you feel like an over-stuffed sausage; gone. Your adorable, half broken, Precious Moments collection; to Goodwill. That corpse you can't seem to find the time to dispose of; dumped in the river. Yes Ma'am every year good old Springtime comes along and tells you that you have too much crap and according to a few popular television shows, you must de-clutter your home or you risk the public shame of being a hoarder. Such a nasty word. I prefer the word collector. It makes it sound as though my trash has value.

Here at The Hunger, Spring cleaning in full effect. I'm emptying out my closets and forcing my unused collectibles on to you. I do not own trash my friends, I just happen to no longer wish for a closet full of unused diamonds. So I'm coming out of the closet (once again) with deliciousness in tow.

The Wedge - You've probably seen it on your local dive bar's laminated menu. I always assume it was added to the menu as some sort of practical joke. Like you order it and the greasy, ironically mustached cook comes out and slaps you for ordering such a dumb thing and hands you a plate of deep fried pizza tots covered in bacon gravy and cheese. Okay, so perhaps you frequent classier joints. This salad is so stinking simple yet it's so wondrous and tasty. Make it for your favorite meat eater and I swear they'll eat it all up. Sure, there's giants strips of bacon on it but still, a salad is still a salad. So to make my wedge I used Thomas Kellers yummy herb buttermilk dressing (from his book Ad Hoc at Home) and some apple wood smoked organic bacon. Quarter a head of organic iceberg lettuce and you're ready to go. Oh, and it looks pretty next to a big bloody steak.

Quiche Florentine - If you've ever been to a baby shower, 1st Communion, Sunday brunch, wake, exorcism, satanic ritual, etc... you've most likely run into a quiche. There are always ten or twelve of them at any morning potluck. Why is this? Because they are easy to make and they are delicious. If you're a slacker (which I know many of you are) you can purchase a perfectly acceptable, already made pie crust from your grocery store freezer, fill it with a velvety egg custard with a hint of nutmeg and grated Gruyere cheese, some bacon batons, and spinach. You can eat it cold or hot. It has great staying power so you can bring it to your next Knight of Columbus meeting and it can sit on the buffet table all day long. In fact, I once came across some quiche that was forgotten overnight sitting at room temperature and I ate it without batting an eyelash. I was a very hungry child. I would've eaten bologna off the driveway in the middle of Summer without even thinking about it. Now, I at least give it some thought before eating trash. Recipe follows post.

Roasted Pork Shoulder with Salsa de Poblano and Honey-Pimenton Glazed Brussel Sprouts -
I am a Cuban. I eat pork like 40 times a day. It's just what we do. Pork shoulder is a pretty fatty hunk of meat but it's seriously full of flavor. Roasting slowly with low heat for 3-4 hours produces a falling apart delicious roast. I usually marinate mine for a bit with garlic, oregano, lime juice, orange juice, cumin, salt and pepper. It's such a comforting dish. I made a quick salsa with tomatoes, garlic, scallions, roasted poblano peppers, lime, spices. For the Brussel sprouts I seared the cut sides in a saute pan with butter. Then I added a Tbsp of honey, 1 tsp of hot pimenton (smoked Paprika), salt and pepper and some chicken stock. Covered and cooked for 5 minutes until just soft. Very simple.

Fideo "Risotto" with Broccoli and Portuguese Linguica Sausage - Say that ten times fast. Fideo is a lovely little Spanish noodle that resembles vermicelli cut into 1" pieces. It's used a lot of the time in soups and paellas. I cooked it risotto style by browning the fideo in butter (kinda like Rice-O-Roni - or as my grandmother used to say "Rick-a-Rooni). Start by adding a little chicken stock while stirring. Once the liquid is absorbed add more. Do this until the fideo is cooked. You will have a super creamy texture almost like you cooked it in cheese but that's just the broken down starches. Toss in some steamed broccoli and cooked linguica towards the end of cooking. Don't forget to season throughout. Sometimes I'll forget to say salt and pepper but always assume I seasoned the food throughout cooking. Unless you have a heart problem don't skimp on the frickin' salt. I hate coming to your house and eating unsalted bland food! Salt, salt salt! But don't over salt! Seriously.

Irish Fry Breakfast - Okay, so those eggs and sausage look somewhat imposing. Go ahead, say it. "Hey Violet, your Irish breakfast looks like a set of cock and balls sitting on a bed of baked beans!" Okay so now that we've gotten over any childish remarks we can safely say that Irish Fry Breakfast is a delicious heart attack in the making. If I ate this all the time I'd have to invest in a closet full of moomoos. You got your eggs, rashers (Irish bacon), bangers (Irish sausage), skizzers (okay I made that up), baked beans, broiled tomatoes, sauteed mushrooms, black blood pudding, white blood pudding (they are delicious but I totally understand how you feel about the words blood and pudding in the same description. In a word; creepy). After you eat this breakfast and of course wash it down with a few Guinnesses and Black Velvets you aren't going anywhere. Just sit down a watch Futbol all day or perhaps Leprechaun 6 - Back 2 Tha Hood. Ninja please!

Tacos de Pollo Picante - That's Spicy Chicken Tacos for to the gringos in the house. Everybody always has leftover chicken laying around. Just check your fridge or between the couch cushions. It's in there. If you have to make it from scratch all you have to do is boil or roast some chicken thighs (you can use breasts if you have to but the flavor is in the thighs). Shred the chicken with a fork. I added some New Mexican chili powder, cumin, sauteed jalapenos, garlic, and green onions. A few dashes of Tapatio hot sauce (pronounced Ta-Pa-Tio until my sweet friend asked for some Tapásheeo and it stuck) and you're ready to construct your tacos. Garnish with some salsa fresco, sliced avocado, and cilantro and your are good to go. I have a demon inside me that craves Taco Bell. It's sad, I can't drive by a TB without drooling all over myself. Like an addict, you can find me some days in the alley behind the dumpster eating a triple decker chalupa. With a little willpower, I have asserted to my brain that my tacos and really any handmade delicious tacos are better than deep fried canned taco beef wrapped in a Mexican pizza.

Maple Bacon Chocolate Chip Cookies - And now for the dessert portion of our show, kinda. Okay so I am not capable of making dessert without adding pork to it. I blame my Latina heritage! The maple in these cookies was delicious and the bacon adds a yummy salty smokiness. I don't even really like sweets for the most part but these are interesting and porky. Bacon and chocolate go very well together. In fact they are best friends. I made these for Christmas and bewildered my friends with lovely packages of goodness. I call em Meat Sweets.

Maple Bacon Chocolate Chip Cookies

Adapted from Susan Russo via One for the Table
5 strips maple smoked bacon (8 strips if you want extra to sprinkle on the cookie)
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 large egg
3/4 teaspoon maple extract
2/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Cook bacon in a large skillet over medium heat until browned and cooked through. Drain on a paper-towel lined plate and chop finely.

In a medium bowl whisk flour, baking soda and salt.

In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugars; about three minutes. Add egg and maple extract and beat until just blended. Add the dry ingredients; beat until just incorporated and the flour is dissolved. Stir in the chocolate chips, walnuts and bacon.

Drop one large Tablespoon of cookie dough 2-3 inches apart. Make sure you only do about 6 cookies on a sheet. If they spread and touch each other, you will have a mess. Bake 10-12 minutes in a 350 degree oven only until the edges are brown and slightly soft in the center. Let them finish cooking out of the oven, on the pan. The edges will get too dark if you leave them in the oven. Transfer to a wire rack and let completely cool.

*Also, I made 3 extra pieces of bacon so I would have enough to sprinkle on the top of the cookie dough. I also pressed in some extra chocolate chips too. This is completely optional.

Quiche Florentine

The Crust:

2 cups flour

1⁄4 tsp. salt

Pinch sugar

8 tbsp. cold butter, cut in small pieces

3 tbsp. cold vegetable shortening, cut in small pieces

1 egg, lightly beaten

The Filling:

1/2 lb. slab bacon, cut into batons

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1 1⁄2 cups heavy cream

1 tsp. salt

1 cup grated Gruyere cheese

1 lb fresh spinach, blanched and drained

Freshly grated nutmeg

Freshly ground black pepper

The Crust

Sift together flour, salt, and sugar into a food processor. Add butter and shortening into flour and pulse until it resembles coarse meal. Sprinkle in up to 6 tbsp. ice water, stirring the dough with a fork until it just begins to hold together. Remove from the food processor and using your hands, press dough firmly into a rough ball, then transfer to a lightly floured surface. Give the dough several quick kneads with your hand to form a smooth dough, then shape into a ball, flatten slightly to make a round, and dust with flour. Wrap round in plastic and refrigerate for 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 400°. Allow dough to soften slightly at room temperature before rolling out on a lightly floured surface into a 14'' round. Fit dough, without stretching it, into a buttered 10'' bottomless metal quiche pan, set on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Press overhanging dough down slightly into sides of ring to make the sides of the crust a little thicker and sturdier. Run the rolling pin over the top of the ring to remove any overhanging dough. Using a fork, prick bottom lightly, then make a decorative edge around the rim. Line dough with parchment, then fill with dried beans or pie weights. Bake until crust is set and edge just begins to color, about 25 minutes. Remove parchment and weights, brush bottom and sides with egg, and continue baking until crust is pale golden, another 2-5 minutes.

The Filling

Reduce heat to 375°. In a saute pan over medium-low heat cook the bacon batons until brown and ans crispy. Transfer bacon with a slotted spoon to a paper towel to drain. After blanching the spinach in boiling water for 3 minutes. Shock in ice water. Then place the spinach in a kitchen towel and squeeze out all of the moisture. Mix with the bacon and layer the dry, cooked spinach & bacon over the bottom of the pie crust

Beat eggs, cream, and salt together in a medium bowl and season to taste with nutmeg and pepper. Pour mixture into crust and bake until custard is puffed and golden and just set in the center, 30-35 minutes. Slide quiche off parchment paper onto a serving platter and remove ring. Serve quiche warm or at room temperature, sliced into wedges.

Sovereign State #12: The Bahamas

2010-04-29T18:05:00.000-07:00

The Bahamas
The Menu:
Roasted Black Cod with Bahamian Creole Sauce
Littleneck Clams Steamed in Dark Caribbean Rum and Lime
Peas n' Rice (Pigeon Peas and Coconut Rice)
Bahama Rum Punch

Aruba, Jamaica ooh I wanna take ya
To Bermuda, Bahama come on pretty mama
Key Largo, Montego baby why don't we go
Jamaica, off the Florida Keys
There's a place called Kokomo
That's where you wanna go to get away from it all

Bodies in the sand
Tropical drink melting in your hand
We'll be falling in love
To the rhythm of a steel drum band
Down in Kokomo

Perhaps the Beach Boys knew something I don't. Kokomo, Indiana does not seem that nice of a place. Is there some hidden beach resort we don't know about, secretly guarded by those sneaky Hoosiers? Huh, who knows? What I do know is that The Bahamas IS the place to be for fun, sun, and a whole lotta Rum! Can I get a high five?! Anyone? While eating our Bahamian diner, tropical drinks melting in our hands, K and I did fall in love all over again. So I guess it's true. Special thanks to the truly random steel drum band that arrived at our little apartment the second I made the Bahama Rum Punch. Man, I could listen to steel drums all day long. In fact, in our first Seattle apartment I did get to hear steel drums all day, everyday when the creepy, naked, dread locked frat boy across the street would turn his stereo speaker out his windows and blast generic reggae all Summer long. It was a real treat. Okay, time to get serious here. I must be taken seriously as a professional culinary journalist. Perhaps my laissez faire writing style and inability to meld into the predictable food blog cesspool will keep me from getting a Pulitzer but nobody's perfect. Sure, I have run-on sentences and sometimes I go nowhere with what I'm saying but that's not the point, the point is... what was I talking about? Enough chit chat...

The Bahamas frickin' rock. I really enjoyed this meal. Lots of flavors that I am comfortable with (I am part Cuban after all) and a few surprises here and there. Living here in Seattle, it's pretty hard to get good Caribbean food. There are a few local restaurants that serve up island specialties but what they tend to lack in flavor they make up for in it by charging outrageous prices, so at least you get to pay a whole lot of money for your bland beans and rice.

I choose using fresh local fish versus something I have to get frozen and imported. For the Black Cod (I wanted snapper but couldn't find any that looked good) I made the creole sauce by sauteing some onions, garlic, leeks and scotch bonnet peppers. By the way, beware of the Scotch Bonnet. They will burn your face right off. No lie. I then deglazed the pan with a little coconut water and lime juice. A couple of cloves, some cumin seed, and cilantro. Preheat the oven 425F. In a Pyrex pour a little sauce on the bottom, place the fish (6 oz fillets) skin side down. Top with the sauce. Cover and cook for about 10-12 minutes until the fish is cooked through. Served on a bed of Peas n' Rice. You can't get any more Bahamian than Peas n' rice. It's basically pigeon peas (also known as No-Eye Peas in some island areas), a sofrito (onion, garlic, celery, peppers), and long grain rice. The pigeon pea is similar to a black-eyed pea (the legume not the "band") only it's green in color and has an even meatier taste. There were a ton of recipes out from as every home cook has their own secrets (I could tell you mine but I'd have to kill you). In my recipe I added coconut milk and chicken stock. Kind of like a Caribbean Hoppin' John.

For the clams I sauteed some garlic and Scotch bonnets in a little butter. Then deglazed the pan with some dark rum and lime juice. Toss in the clams and cover for about 5 minutes until they open (toss out any closed critters, they checked out a while back. Checked out as in died). Chop up some cilantro and scallions and sprinkle over the dish. So simple a dumb kid at a kegger could do it. Maybe.

Speaking of keggers, let's talk about booze for a little shall we? Nothing beats a delicious cocktail in my book. Not that shit made but slackers who don't give a damn and just sling cheap hooch for a quick paycheck. You won't find any nasty, sugary, pre-made mixers in the Violet household, no ma'am. I treat my drink like I treat my food, as a respectable art and I also don't drink to "get wasted". Sure, I love a good buzz to help me forget about how much I hate most people, but first and foremost I love to taste something artisanal and fresh. Something that is lovingly prepared by someone who cares about what they do. I've really gotten into mixology lately and K and I have been on quite a vintage cocktail kick. So anyways, when it came time to do a cocktail for The Bahamas dinner I decided to make a Bahama Rum Punch instead of the nicely named Bahama Mama. After a few cocktails everything was nice and I could faintly hear that naked guy fifteen blocks away blasting his steel drum music and ya know what? I don't miss it one bit.

Bahama Rum Punch

(makes 1 drink)
2 ounce light rum
1/2 ounce campari orange
1/2 oz coconut water
1/2 oz orange juice
1/2 oz pineapple juice

Fill a mixing glass with ice. Pour the ingredients in. Stir with a bar spoon until blended. Serve in old fashioned glass with a lime wedge garnish. If you want to make more just multiply the ingredients and serve in a festive punch bowl.

For more info on this project, read this: 203 Sovereign States

Meat is neat.

2010-04-19T11:07:00.000-07:00

There is nothing quite like a perfectly cooked steak. Who doesn't like a big, juicy, medium rare New York strip steak with a nice charred crust and some creamy mashed potatoes? Aside from crazy people...oh and vegetarians (perhaps there's a correlation there. Just kidding my fine animal loving hippy friends). The problem is, most people love to cook the shit out of their meat and next thing you know you have shoe leather on your plate and even the sharpest of steak knives can't do their job.

Want to have good steaks at home? The first thing you need to do is find a decent butcher. Skip your local SuperDooperMart. Go to a small, locally owned grocery or butcher shop where they care about their product. If the meat looks terrifying and grey, you don't want to put it in your mouth. Next build up a rapport with your butcher. Become pals and before you know it she/he will be telling which cuts are the freshest and tastiest.

Okay, so what kind of meat should you buy? Well, let's have a look at the cow, shall we?

Rib - Just back from the shoulder is the rib section, and this is the home of the prime rib roast, and not surprisingly, the rib steak and the rib eye. Very well marbled and flavorful, the rib section is about the tastiest of all the steaks, and is tender and succulent enough for a quick treatment on the grill. Some common cuts of the rib are:
Rib steak, which if you can imagine is just a slice with the bone of a prime rib,

Rib eye steak, which is just the boneless interior of the rib steak

The Loin - Directly behind the rib section is the loin, and the loin meat is the tenderest section of beef. Although not as well flavored or marbled as the rib, the loin accounts for the most expensive and tender of all the cuts of steak. Some common cuts of the loin are:
The Tenderloin, the tenderest cut, the most expensive, and some say less flavorful.

T-Bone, A bit of everything, the T bone has a T shaped bone which sub divides a small section of tenderloin, with a larger section of strip steak.

Porterhouse, similar to the T-bone, but with a larger section of tenderloin.

Strip loin (NY steak), a rectangular strip of very flavorful steak, like a T-bone without the bone or tenderloin. This is one of may favorite steaks.

Sirloin - Directly behind the loin is the sirloin. Less tender and cheaper than the loin, sirloin steaks are very tasty. Try to pick sirloin steaks as cut close to the loin if possible (if the bone is flat that means close to the loin, and round means farther back).

Round - The round section is the hind leg of the cow, and although some of these can be very flavorful, all are less tender than even the sirloin. I save round cuts for stews and braised dishes. Perfect for chili and carne asada. Some common cuts from the round are:
Top round is an acceptable steak for the grill, inexpensive and flavorful. Marinate or throw on some rub.

Bottom round is OK for the grill, but you should probably marinate well as it can be a bit chewy.

Eye of round is too tough for quick cooking methods. Leave it for stews and long cooking methods.

Okay, so now you know the cow, how should you cook it? There are several ways to do this. If you happen to be one of those lucky people who have a yard and a grill (how come you never invite me to your BBQs?!), grilling over charcoal is the best. Gas grills work fine too but there is something about that delicious charcoal grill smell that turns me on (not in a creepy way, really). If you're like me and don't have a house the next best thing is to get a nice grill pan and throw it over high heat. If that's even too much work ya lazy jerk, for ya grab a nice frying pan and pan fry your steaks. For steaks about 1 to 1 1/2 inches thick about 4-5 minutes each side over high heat will get you a nice medium rare. How can you tell if your steak is done? Here, I'll let this creepy serial killer looking guy tell you how the professionals do it.

So I cooked up some beautiful New York strip steaks on a scorchingly hot grill pan to a perfect medium rare. A little bit of salt before grilling and that's it. After the steaks were done I pulled them off the heat and let them rest for 7-8 minutes to let the juices redistribute through the meat. In the meantime I added some sliced crimini mushrooms and fresh thyme to the grill and let them cook. I then deglazed the pan with a lovely red Bordeaux wine and scraped up all the delicious steak fond (the brown bits of deliciousness on the bottom of the pan). Salt and pepper and a little European butter to give the sauce a nice sheen. I also made a quick smoked Rogue Creamery Oregon blue cheese butter to top off the steaks. Half butter, half blue cheese. Throw it in your mixer and cream for a minute until blended and soft. Roll into a tube using a sheet of plastic wrap. Freeze and slice off some when you want it. With a side of creamy mashed potatoes, you be riving your local steakhouse and saving $150 while your at it. Serve it with a nice bottle of red wine and you'll impress the hell out of anyone. Hell, it might even get you laid. Good luck!

Periscope Up.

2010-04-12T12:56:00.000-07:00

If the only thing you know about submarine sandwiches is that they only cost 5 dollars for a footlong, you need to get your head checked. What the hell does Subway mold their meat out of anyways? I think it's perhaps some kind of poly blend mixed with cardboard and horse hooves. We'll never know. Like every other delicious thing that fast food chains have bastardized, the mighty submarine sandwich has fallen to a lowly place where hamburgers are served by clowns and come with a side of ecoli. A place where a little Mexican dog can whip you up a taco wrapped in a burrito wrapped in a taquito wrapped in a fajita wrapped in a bowl of refried beans. I like hot sauce, but if your little processed pack of hot sauce can eat the finish off a penny I don't want it in my mouth. It's an unreasonable make believe land where no one expects to pay no more than five bucks for lunch. All I know is that you always get what you pay for. I understand times are tough and everyone needs to save a buck. Wanna save your money? Buy some quality ingredients and make lunch yourself. It'll cost you less and be a million more times satisfying than your creepy cardboard sandwich. I'll admit, I grew up on fast food. I am addicted to the stuff. Once in a while I break down and eat some phony food. I'm like a recovering crack addict only my drug of choice used to be seven layer burritos. So I understand, those urges. However, we can choose to build a better and healthier world by fighting those urges and show these corporations that we don't want to eat fake food anymore. The almighty dollar no longer comes first in my food decisions. I want to know where my food comes from and how the ingredients are processed. Support the local little guys, the people who care about the food and your health. Or make something delicious at home. You won't regret it. Unless of course you're a terrible cook in which case you should get cooking lessons stat!

Okay, so my soapbox imploded and now we're just left with the food. Where were we? Ah yes, the submarine sandwich. If your city has an Italian neighboorhood in it, chances are you have your own version of the submarine sandwich. In New York you have The Submarine, the Hero, the Italian Sandwich. In Boston and Eastern New England you have Grinders (the Italian-Americans referred to the dock workers as Grinders). In Jersey you got Torpedos and Bombers. In North Pennsylvania you have Cosmos. In western New England there's Tunnels. In St. Louis you have Poor Boys. In Louisiana there are Po Boys. In England you have Rockets. Where ever you are, a good sub can be found.

The other day I went down to Delaurentis and picked up some sliced mortadella, coppocolla, calabrese salami, and provolone. I grabbed a few fresh tomatoes and a head of lettuce from the market. I also got some Macrina sandwich rolls. I made New England Grinders and I have to say they were delicious. They cost about $4.25 each to make. It took about 4 minutes to make them. If that's not tasty fast food than I don't know what is.

New England Grinders

4 8-10" Italian grinder rolls
½ lb. sliced provolone cheese
½ lb. thinly sliced mortadella
½ lb. thinly sliced spicy coppocolla
½ lb. thinly sliced hard Genoa or Calabrese salami
½ head iceberg lettuce, shredded
2 large tomatoes, diced
½ cup pickled peppers (I use spicy Mama Lil's)
½ cup dill pickles, chopped
1 fl oz extra virgin olive oil
½ Tbsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. red pepper flakes
tt kosher salt
tt fresh cracked black pepper

Preheat broiler.

Slice rolls longways and arrange on a baking sheet cut side up.

Mix together the tomatoes, peppers, pickles, olive oil, red pepper flakes, oregano, salt and pepper.

Toast the rolls under the broiler for about a minute.

Layer the sandwiches with the provolone, mortadella, coppocolla, salami, lettuce, and top with the dressed vegetables.

Yum.

The Great Pizza War of 2010.

2010-04-05T12:24:00.000-07:00

Let me just preface this post by saying that my sweet wifey K can't cook to save her life. She can burn boiling water. Don't feel bad for her, she has a million other amazing talents but the culinary arts is not one of them. When I had walking pneumonia a few years back she panicked and bought me a can of chili for dinner. I thought perhaps I was going to die. I love her dearly but when I can't cook for some reason, the rule is, we get take-out. Our go-to delivery option tends to be pizza. If only we had real deal NY pizza around here. Being from Queens, pizza is in my blood. I like my slices to be somewhat floppy with a good amount of grease that drips down your arm as you fold it in half and eat it. Don't get me wrong, Seattle has some decent pizza including several places that claim they are New York "style" but we just don't have the real thing.

So recently K asked me to teach her how to make pizza. The task seemed daunting but I felt up to the challenge (challenge being the key word). K is a very competitive girl. One minute you're teaching someone how to make pizza and the next minute you're hearing things like "your pizza is going to suck and my pizza is going to kick your ass!" and "after you eat my awesome pizza you'll be asking me to show you how to cook pizza!" And that my dear friends is how the Great Pizza War of 2010 started.

We made the dough from scratch, the sauce from scratch, and we thoughtfully picked out our toppings. Both K and I ended up making "ultimate" style pizzas with way too many toppings but during a competition you tend to pull out all the stops. There is no room for losers in this house!!! Oh sorry, I get carried away when I'm having to prove myself. It must be all those years as a girl playing little league baseball. I used to eat like a whole pack of Big League Chew during practice. My cheeks would be obscenely bulged out and purple drool ran down my chin onto my little sporty mesh half shirt. Where was I? Oh yeah, Pizza: Judges, prepare to be blown away.

In this corner, the Monarch of La Mesa, the Countess of Cali with her super vegetarian (she can't help it, she's from California) explosion pie. Topped with artichoke hearts, crimini mushrooms, black olives, kale, fresh tomatoes, and mozzarella cheese.

In the opposite corner, the lovely and talented Queen of Queens, the Empress of New York with her Spanish coca style breakfast pizza topped with bacon, chorizo, olives, manchego and fontina cheeses and fried eggs.

...And the winner is... The truth is they were both very delicious and ridiculously filling. I'm surprised we didn't have heart attacks that very night. We had a great time making tasty pizza and neither of our feelings got hurt. K can now make pizza and I lived my dream of making the most unhealthy pizza I could think of. Perhaps I'll teach her how to make tacos next. I bet mine will taste better...

Napoletana Pizza Dough

4 1/2 cups (20.25 ounces) unbleached high-gluten, bread, or all-purpose flour, chilled
1 3/4 (.44 ounce) teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon (.11 ounce) instant yeast
1/4 cup (2 ounces) olive oil (optional)
1 3/4 cups (14 ounces) water, ice cold (40°F)
Semolina flour OR cornmeal for dusting

1. Stir together the flour, salt, and instant yeast in a 4-quart bowl (or in the bowl of an electric mixer). With a large metal spoon, stir in the oil and the cold water until the flour is all absorbed (or mix on low speed with the paddle attachment), If you are mixing by hand, repeatedly dip one of your hands or the metal spoon into cold water and use it, much like a dough hook, to work the dough vigorously into a smooth mass while rotating the bowl in a circular motion with the other hand. Reverse the circular motion a few times to develop the gluten further. Do this for 5 to 7 minutes, or until the dough is smooth and the ingredients are evenly distributed. If you are using an electric mixer, switch to the dough hook and mix on medium speed for 5 to 7 minutes, or as long as it takes to create a smooth, sticky dough. The dough should clear the sides of the bowl but stick to the bottom of the bowl. If the dough is too wet and doesn't come off the sides of the bowl, sprinkle in some more flour just until it clears the sides. If it clears the bottom of the bowl, dribble in a teaspoon or two of cold water. The finished dough will be springy, elastic, and sticky, not just tacky, and register 50 to 55F.

2. Sprinkle flour on the counter and transfer the dough to the counter. Prepare a sheet pan by lining it with baking parchment and misting the parchment with spray oil (or lightly oil the parchment). Using a metal dough scraper, cut the dough into 6 equal pieces (or larger if you are comfortable shaping large pizzas), You can dip the scraper into the water between cuts to keep the dough from sticking to it, Sprinkle flour over the dough. Make sure your hands are dry and then flour them. Lift each piece and gently round it into a ball. If the dough sticks to your hands, dip your hands into the flour again. Transfer the dough balls to the sheet pan, Mist the dough generously with spray oil and slip the pan into a food-grade plastic bag.

3. Put the pan into the refrigerator overnight to rest the dough, or keep for up to 3 days. (Note: If you want to save some of the dough for future baking, you can store the dough balls in a zippered freezer bag. Dip each dough ball into a bowl that has a few tablespoons of oil in it, rolling the dough in the oil, and then put each ball into a separate bag. You can place the bags into the freezer for up to 3 months. Transfer them to the refrigerator the day before you plan to make pizza.)

4. On the day you plan to make the pizza, remove the desired number of dough balls from the refrigerator 2 hours before making the pizza. Before letting the dough rest at room temperature for 2 hours, dust the counter with flour, and then mist the counter with spray oil. Place the dough balls on top of the floured counter and sprinkle them with flour; dust your hands with flour. Gently press the dough into flat disks about 1/2 inch thick and 5 inches in diameter. Sprinkle the dough with flour, mist it again with spray oil, and cover the dough loosely with plastic wrap or a food-grade plastic bag. Now let rest for 2 hours.

5. At least 45 minutes before making the pizza, place a baking stone either on the floor of the oven (for gas ovens), or on a rack in the lower third of the oven. Heat the oven as hot as possible, up to 800F (most home ovens will go only to 500 to 550F, but some will go higher). If you do not have a baking stone, you can use the back of a sheet pan, but do not preheat the pan.

6. Generously dust a peel or the back of a sheet pan with semolina flour or cornmeal. Make the pizzas one at a time. Dip your hands, including the backs of your hands and knuckles, in flour and lift I piece of dough by getting under it with a pastry scraper. Very gently lay the dough across your fists and carefully stretch it by bouncing the dough in a circular motion on your hands, carefully giving it a little stretch with each bounce. If it begins to stick to your hands, lay it down on the floured counter and re-flour your hands, then continue shaping it. Once the dough has expanded outward, move to a full toss as shown on page 208. If you have trouble tossing the dough, or if the dough keeps springing back, let it rest for 5 to 20 minutes so the gluten can relax, and try again. You can also resort to using a rolling pin, though this isn't as effective as the toss method.

7. When the dough is stretched out to your satisfaction (about 9 to 12 inches in diameter for a 6-ounce piece of dough), lay it on the peel or pan, making sure there is enough semolina flour or cornmeal to allow it to slide. Lightly top it with sauce and then with your other toppings, remembering that the best pizzas are topped with a less-is-more philosophy. The American "kitchen sink" approach is counterproductive, as it makes the crust more difficult to bake. A few, usually no more than 3 or 4 toppings, including sauce and cheese is sufficient.

8. Slide the topped pizza onto the stone (or bake directly on the sheet pan) and close the door. Wait 2 minutes, then take a peek. If it needs to be rotated 180 degrees for even baking, do so. The pizza should take about 5 to 8 minutes to bake. If the top gets done before the bottom, you will need to move the stone to a lower self before the next round. if the bottom crisps before the cheese caramelizes, then you will need to raise the stone for subsequent bakes.

9. Remove the pizza from the oven and transfer to a cutting board. Wait 3 to 5 minutes before slicing and serving, to allow the cheese to set slightly.

Makes six 6-ounce pizza crusts.

Recipe from The Bread Baker's Apprentice by Peter Reinhart (Ten Speed Press)

Now is the time for change.

2010-03-31T17:22:00.000-07:00

I have a lot more respect for Jamie Oliver than I used to. Viva la food revolution!

The luck of the Irish.

2010-03-29T14:54:00.000-07:00

My lovely wife K is an Irish lass. She's not a drunk or a leprechaun. She just happens to love cocktails and she's just a little bit short. She also rarely wears green and really doesn't care for U2. In fact, aside from her sweet freckles and pretty red hair you really wouldn't know she was Irish (kinda like when I tell people I'm Cuban and they laugh at me). That is of course until I cook some Irish food and then her eyes light up as if St. Patrick himself had flown down and given her a pinch.

So first and foremost in Irish cuisine is Guinness. It's a meal in it's own right. I however am not a huge fan of dark beers. Though I did come across a cocktail that intrigued me. It's called a Black Velvet . It's basically half Guinness and half champagne. Pour the Guinness half way up a champagne flute. Let the head settle. Using a spoon to diffuse the force of pouring, pour champagne (or a really dry sparkling wine) over the back of the spoon gently filing up the rest of the glass. It's so delicious, sparkly and tart but with that fullness and deep chocolate tones that Guinness is known for.

Of course you'll want to serve this cocktail a healthy portion of Corned Beef and Cabbage.

Corned Beef and Cabbage

4 lb corned beef brisket
2 onions, sliced

2 lbs potatoes (russet, Yukon, red bliss, etc..), quartered
1 teaspoon dry English mustard
large sprig fresh thyme and some parsley stalks, tied together

1 head of cabbage
kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

Put the brisket into a pot with the onions, mustard and the herbs. Cover with cold water, and bring gently to a boil. Simmer, covered, for 2 hours. Add the potatoes to the pot. Discard the outer leaves of the cabbage, cut in quarters and add to the pot. Cook for a further 1 to 2 hours or until the meat and vegetables are soft and tender.

Slice the corned beef and plate with the cabbage and potatoes. Serve with spicy mustard and prepared horseradish.

Blueacre is the place to be....

2010-03-26T12:43:00.000-07:00

I never once ate at the lovely Oceanaire Seafood Restaurant. The super swank vintage art deco behemoth of a seafood restaurant on Olive. I'm sort of sad that I didn't but I lost my DeLorean time machine so there's no point on dwelling on the past. One of my favorite chefs in this still rising culinary town, chef Kevin Davis (Chef/Owner of my beloved comfy go-to joint Steelhead Diner) along with his dear charming wife Teresa Davis have opened Blueacre in the old Oceanaire's digs. It just so happens that Kevin used to be the executive chef at Oceanaire prior to opening Steelhead Diner so it's a homecoming of sorts (minus the keg stands and getting felt up under the bleachers). With some minor changes to the decor, Blueacre is more open air and bright color than the classic stylings of Oceanaire, although they did keep a lot of the beautiful deco railings and curves including the amazing revolving front door (of which my fear of getting crushed in can be overcome by the smell of yummy food). There is also a motif of butterflies throughout signifying metamorphosis which I of course can relate to. The dining room is giant and pretty and still inviting. Aside from the gawking, uptight business crowd, it still somehow feels cozy. Perhaps it's just more of that Davis family charm seeping into the woodwork.

But what about the food you ask? It definitely has Chef Davis' style in the form of Americana seafood fare with some Pacific Northwest focus thrown in for good measure. On the menu the sections are broken up into sweet categories such as The Briny Sea, Boil and Bubble, and my personal favorite: The Hunger (which of course Kevin promises he didn't steal this idea from me but from the Catherine Deneuve / Bowie vampire film which is where I got the name as well, but I'll just pretend I was an influence in that decision). So anyways, K and I ordered from a nicely curated selection of local oysters on the half shell. They came with a variety of mignonettes all of which were delicious. Then came the Kasu Marinated King Salmon Collars. They were some of the meatiest, moist succulent salmon collars I've ever had. If you've never tried salmon collars before, do yourself a favor and get these. We also tried the Ultimate Blue Crab cake. It was indeed ultimate but I couldn't decide which I liked better when comparing Steelhead's delicious Dungeness Crab Cake versus Blueacre's Blue Crab Cake. I suppose I now have two favorite crab cakes in Seattle. We had some time between courses due to a misfire in the kitchen (which to to be expected right after a grand opening) but were brought out some Dungeness Crab Bisque while we waited and it was so tasty and rich. Besides, we were enjoying ourselves, our cocktails, and the sun pouring in through the windows and the staff took care of us so we were content. So after a little bit we received the star of the show, the Crispy Whole Idaho Stream Raised Catfish. It was a monster of a fish with amazing crispy skin and delicate buttery flesh. It came with accoutrements to make Vietnamese-esque lettuce wraps. We were so full by then but we still couldn't stop eating. I can imagine the difficulty when frying a whole fish this size, but the presentation itself is impressive enough to knock your sock off. We also had Fried Green Tomatoes but we had to take them home to avoid death by overeating.

So yeah, I'd recommend Blueacre to you. The food was delicious. The atmosphere feels luxurious, and the service thoughtful. Success couldn't happen to nicer people. Oh, and congratulations on your twins Theresa! Pay a visit to Blueacre and don't forget to stop off at Steelhead for a Pink Laser cocktail on your way home.

photo courtesy (or swiped from) blueacreseafood.com

Blueacre Seafood
1700 7th Avenue
Seattle, WA 98101
Phone 206-659-0737

Sovereign State #11: Azerbaijan

2010-03-17T16:36:00.000-07:00

Azerbaijan
Sabsa Govurma Plovu
Azerbaijani Plov or Rice Pilaf
Roasted Lamb Chops with Herb Sauce (pistou) and Toasted Pine Nuts
Limon Sharbati (Lemon Sherbet)

So not that long ago you could have said the word Azerbaijan and I wouldn't have known what the hell you were talking about. As a child of the Reagan-era cold war I was taught that The Soviet Union was a scary backwards place full of nuclear missiles and the stone faced children of Stalin would use them with no care of the impending apocalypse. Back to the days of duck and cover. Those school desks must have been made of some serious special press wood if hiding under it was my last line of defense. Alas, here were are. So back then, Russia and Azerbaijan were all part of the U.S.S.R, one big socialist Soviet extravaganza. But like a girl with a stupid mean boyfriend/girlfriend, eventually they'll want to split. Essentially all of Russia's girlfriends said "don't call me, I'll call you". So now the good ole' U.S.S.R is broken up into like 534 countries or something like that. Okay, maybe it's more like 10 but it seems like a lot. So anyways, Azerbaijan is a pretty neat country with it's own distinct culture and cuisine. It's a land of mutton, saffron, pomegranates, chestnuts, and olives.

Plov is not an appetizing name for a dish. I realize it's another language but knowing that doesn't make it sound more delicious. They need to get a marketing person to come in there and jazz up the name. You know, "Alrighty then, let's say we call it Rice Spectacular, the Azerbajaini treat!" Plov is Azerbaijan's national dish. This tasty rice pilaf goes with everything and there are lots of preparations for the dish. I made a basic style plov which is basmati type rice with saffron and olives. For the lamb I marinated it in olive oil with lemon, garlic, and fresh herbs for an hour or so. Then I got a good sear on a saute pan over high heat and finished them in the oven. For the Azerbaijani herb "pistou" I tossed some fresh cilantro, fresh basil, fresh parsley, fresh lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper, and a little plain yogurt into a blender and pulsed until the sauce came together. Toast some pine nut in a dry pan over low heat. Delicious.

So in the States sherbet is frozen fruit dessert. In Azerbaijan it's their national drink. I made a lemon sherbet with saffron and coriander seeds. It's very refreshing and I could see it being great on a warm summer day. I cut down the sugar to 5 Tbsp versus the usual 10 tablespoons so my teeth wouldn't fall out. It's almost like a spiced lemonade and the saffron give a luxurious feel to it. Very unique and delicious. It would be fun to use this as a starter for a yummy cocktail and I can do so not being from Azerbaijan or Muslim and all. But even on it's own it's super tasty. No disrespect at all or anything, I'm just a lush and feel that all beverages are better with hooch in them. But anyways, here's the rated G version of limon sharbati.

Limon Sharbati

1/8 teaspoon saffron
1 untreated lemon, juice and zest of
1/4 teaspoon coriander seed
5 tablespoons sugar
Directions

Dissolve the saffron powder in 1/2 cup water.
Chop the lemon peel fine and place in a container.
Pour over the peel 2 cups of freshly boiled water and add the coriander seeds. Allow to steep for 4 hours.
Strain and mix in the lemon juice and sugar. Add the saffron infusion and serve the sherbet well cooled.

For more info on this project, read this: 203 Sovereign States

Nuthin' but a po girl.

2010-03-08T12:15:00.000-08:00

So the thing is, I have my reservations about certain holidays. It's those "drinking" holidays that seem to make me sad. You know, holidays like Mardi Gras, St. Pattys Day, The 4th of July, Lent (okay, maybe not Lent). It seems like ever year, these holidays arrive and every idiot fratboy tough-guy crawls out from their "man-cave" to stir up trouble. Their intentions: all you can eat holiday food, get wasted on holiday booze, beat up holiday wimps, start a holiday riot. Seriously, here in Seattle it seems like every Mardi Gras a building in Historical Pioneer Square gets burned down and couple of dozen hate crimes have to be ignored buy the police. It's crazy, you don't see this kind of junk happening on Easter Sunday. "Dude, I'm gonna eat like 76 Easter eggs, 6 choco-bunnies, like a hundred Peeps and then I'm gonna drink Zombies until I blackout and then I'm gonna go flip over cars at the church parking lot. Easter frickin' RULES!" That never happens.

But anyways, I love to celebrate these holidays as idiot free as possible so this Mardi Gras we celebrated at home. Stir up some Sazeracs, turn on some good French music (not Zydeco music, I can't listen to that stuff), and whip up some Shrimp Po-Boys and a pot of Gumbo Z'Herbes.

Gumbo Z'Herbes

3 tablespoons butter
½ cup tasso ham, roughly chopped
4 stalks celery, diced
1 onion, diced
½ cup sliced green onions
¼ cup chopped parsley
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon filé powder
1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano
2 teaspoon Cajun seasoning
2 cups sliced collard greens
2 cups sliced mustard greens
1 cup fresh spinach leaves
6 cups chicken broth
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 tablespoons all purpose flour
½ lb. tasso ham, chopped
2 cups crawfish tails, cooked
salt and pepper, to taste
white rice, cooked

Heat the butter in a large soup pot over medium-high heat. Add the tasso, sauté until lightly browned, about 3 to 5 minutes. Add the celery and onion, and sauté until soft, about 5 to 7 minutes. Add the green onions, parsley, and garlic. Reduce heat to medium-low, stir in the filé, oregano, and Cajun seasoning. Add the collard greens, mustard greens, and spinach.

Add 2 cups of the chicken broth and stir. Cover and cook on low heat until all greens are tender, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes . Remove from the heat. Purée the mixture in a food processor and set aside.

Heat the oil over medium-high heat in the same soup pot and add the flour, whisk until smooth. Continue to cook, whisking constantly, until the mixture turns light brown, about 10 minutes. Whisk in the remaining broth and bring to boil, whisking often. Add the green purée and the the tasso ham and simmer for 30 minutes. Add the crawfish tails and season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve over hot rice.

recipe adapted from Louisiana Cookin by Wynton Marsalis

You're so open faced.

2010-03-01T16:51:00.000-08:00

It's a simple concept. Toast bread, top bread with tasty topping, eat. Every culture has a sandwich. All you have to do to make a sandwich seem fancier is remove the top layer of bread and make it smaller. Now you have canape, crostini, open-faced sammich. You can put pretty much anything on a crostini. For instance, here I made crostini topped with Spanish lupini beans, spicy chicken sausage, smoked fontina, and fresh tarragon. I finished them with a little white truffle oil and fennel salt. The possibilities are endless. Now get out there and make some fancy sandwiches. What will you put on yours?

Dark Rye Crostini with Spanish Lupini Beans and Spicy Chicken Sausage

18 slices dark rye, crust removed, cut into 2 triangles each

olive oil

1 cup lupini beans

1 lb spicy chicken sausage, cooked and diced(any sausage would work well)

2 Tbsp pickled goathorn peppers, minced

2 Tbsp parsley, chopped

1 /2 lb smoked fontina cheese, sliced with a peeler into thin strips

fresh tarragon

white truffle oil

fennel salt

Heat a grill pan over medium heat. Drizzle olive oil on the toast points and grill 2 minutes per side until crispy.

Mix the beans, sausage, peppers, and parsley. Top the toast points with the mixture. Then put a few slices of the fontina over the sausage and bean mixture. Garnish with a few tarragon leaves and a drizzle of truffle oil and a pinch of fennel salt. Eat over a plate because it's messy. Yum.

Tuna Noodle Casserole...oh I mean Mezze Maniche al Tonno

2010-02-17T20:26:00.000-08:00

America isn't the only country that can do white trash. I mean, sure, when you say things with pretty accents or in a sexy foreign language everything sounds delicious. But just because you whipped up some Chien Casserole Chaude doesn't make you fancy. It's still just a frickin' Hot Dog Casserole. Just because you speak French your food isn't any less trashy than mine. I guess I'm being a little bit sensitive. Take my sweet Southern belle voice, for example. No matter what I say, when I talk about food it sounds like I'm talking about Sunday breakfast at The Cracker Barrel. Okay, maybe not that bad but my secret Southern drawl has been known to override my intelligence on occasion. People just don't take you seriously when you got twang.

So anyways, I like to take white trash food and elevate it to fancy status. Being raised somewhat in the South and eating at places like Po Folks and Church's Fried Chicken I developed a real appreciation for the finest of deep fried foods. As a a chef, I pretend that I would never eat those kinds of things anymore but the sad fact is that I'll still eat whatever is put in front of me. A chili cheese burger microwaved at the 7-11? Yup, I'd eat it. How about the leftover fried fish crispies (basically greasy flour) at Captain D's? I crave the stuff. That being said, I try to elevate cuisine to higher level when I'm cooking. I don't completely disregard nutrition as an important part of eating. It's not all "strap the feedbag to your face" for me. As much as I have a weakness for terrible fast food I truly appreciate the more refined things in the culinary world. I love lobster and foie gras and truffles. I like it all. Food just excites me and one of my favorite games to play is "White Trash Fancy Food". I love to take the so called lowly, trashy redneck forms of cuisine and make them fancy. Hell, I'll even say it in Italian so you'll eat it.

Mezze Maniche al Tonno. Tuna Noodle Casserole. They are one and the same. Nobody ever said you had to use a can of Campbell's Cream of Mushroom Soup to make it. It's just easy and these companies prey on the lazy and the stove-top deficient. Too bad it's made from used junkie needles and rat poison. I think I'm just kidding but who knows. I prefer not to use that kind of stuff because it is just salt and chemicals but it has it place in the history of comfort food. To me, it's just as easy to rehydrate some dried shiitake mushrooms in half and half with some salt, pepper, and celery. So much better than the gel from a can. It's not that comfort food is bad for you, it's the ingredients that tend to be used. Of course it tastes good, scientists put all the right chemicals in it to trick your brain into thinking it's delicious. Make it from scratch and use high quality ingredients and these dishes become elevated to a place where you don't need a fancy accent to make them sound delicious.

Mezze Maniche al Tonno

1 medium onion, finely chopped
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 oz dried shiitake mushrooms (about 8-10 large mushrooms)
1/2 cup celery chopped

2 teaspoons soy sauce
1/4 cup Sherry
3 Tbsp cup all-purpose flour
1 cups chicken broth
1 cup whole half and half
1 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1 (6-8 oz) can/jar tuna in olive oil, drained (Ortiz is my personal favorite)
1 pb mezze maniche dried pasta
3/4 cup fine bread crumbs
1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated
1 extra virgin olive oil
kosher salt tt
fresh cracked black pepper tt

Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 375°F. Butter a 2-quart baking dish.

In a sauce pot over medium-low heat steep the mushrooms and the half and half for 30 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Remove the mushrooms and roughly chop them.

In a large skillet over med-high heat, saute the onion and celery in 1 tablespoons of butter until softened (about 4-5 minutes. Add soy sauce and continue to sauté adding the sherry, stirring occasionally, until evaporated. Remove from heat.

Melt remaining 3 tablespoons butter in a saucepan over med-low heat and whisk in flour, then cook roux, whisking, 3 minutes. Add broth in a stream, whisking, and bring to a boil, whisking. Whisk in mushroom soaked half and half and simmer sauce, whisking occasionally, 5 minutes. Stir in mushrooms lemon juice, and salt. Flake tuna into sauce and stir gently. Season sauce with salt and pepper.

Cook pasta in a pot of boiling salted water until al dente. Drain noodles and add to the sauce. Stir gently to combine. Transfer mixture to baking dish, spreading evenly.

Toss together bread crumbs and cheese in a bowl. Drizzle with olive oil and toss again, then sprinkle evenly over dish. Bake until topping is crisp and sauce is bubbly, About 25 to 30 minutes.

Eat with a couple of Stella Lagers (poured into glasses of course) and pretend you're fancy.

Sovereign State #10: Austria

2010-02-08T15:16:00.000-08:00

Austria
Bockwurst mit Bohnen und Sauerkraut

Wurstknöedel

Weiner Schnitzel

Austria, land of fluffy dumplings, meaty sausages, and chocolate cake toothaches. Sure, it was once a hotbed for fascist idealism but times have changed. The Hapsburgs are no longer watching over the country like a creepy, deformed, Bavarian hillbilly cult (sort of like The Hills Have Eyes but wearing lederhosen). These were dark times especially when the Burgermeister Meisterburger no longer let the children play with toys or celebrate Christmas. But that's not the Austria of today. Austria has once again become the lovable cabbage picking nation it was meant to be.

Vienna, the capitol, is actually the heart of Austria and it's cuisine. Perhaps it's most famous creation is Weiner Schnitzel. A simple yet tasty dish of pounded out veal fillets (veal is traditional but some Austrians prefer using pork), breaded and fried. The crispy steak is generally served with parsley and lemon. That's it. So good it hurts. Here's my recipe:

Weiner Schnitzel
2 pounds veal chops, pounded out to 1/2" thickness
1 cup all-purpose flour, seasoned
3 eggs
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
salt and pepper to taste
4 cups bread crumbs, also seasoned
1/8 cup canola oil for frying
lemon wedges
fresh parsley, chopped

Season the veal with salt and pepper. Dredge in flour. In a shallow dish, beat the eggs with 1 tablespoon oil, salt and pepper. Coat the veal with egg mixture, then with bread crumbs. Heat 1/4 cup oil in a heavy skillet over medium heat. Fry veal until golden brown, about 4-5 minutes on each side. Serve with lemon and parsley.

Luckily enough, here in Seattle we are blessed with the amazing Bavarian Meats shop in Pike Place Market which carry a ton of amazing German and Austrian style meats. I chatted with the woman behind the counter a little bit and told her I was going to cook an Austrian meal. She said that I needed to get bockwurst and spicy bratwursts. I took her advice and added some Bavarian bacon to my bag of meat as well. As I was leaving, the nice lady offered me some free weiners and I snacked on my cold hotdogs all the way home. For the wurstknöedel I decided to use the spicy bratwurst for the filling. Wurstknöedel is a dumpling made of mashed potatoes and flour and stuffed with sausage. The sausage was sour, and cheesy, and spicy from the specks of jalapeno peppers. So stinking delicious. I made the dough and rolled out some into wonton sized rounds. Added a Tbsp of chopped up filling and sealed them up into little tennis ball sized dumplings. I think I worked the dough a little too much because the dumplings were a tiny bit gluey but they tasted phenomenal. I served them with a little roasted chicken gravy and sauerkraut.

For the tasty bockwurst I simply simmered them in sauerkraut and made some white beans with fresh dill and bacon. Bockwurst is traditional made from veal and pork and has a slightly sickly look to them. Sort of an off greyish white color. Perhaps like the bloated index finger of a tall, dead person. But don't let that get you down, they are so delicious, kind of like an fat, ugly hotdog on crack. Creamy and meaty. Super yummy. Sometimes they are even made with horse meat but not here in the states so you don'y have to worry if you're an equestrian. The beans were simply made by cooking chopped Bavarian bacon until crispy. I removed the bacon to paper towel, and sauteed some garlic, onion, celery, and carrots in the bacon fat until soft. I then added some drained, canned white beans and simmers for about 5 minutes and finished with fresh dill, parsley, and a squeeze of lemon. Salt and pepper of course. It was a blindingly white arrangement of food but it was a great, simple meal and it was inexpensive to boot. I love Austrian food. Sour and meaty. Two of my favorite things.

For more info on this project, read this: 203 Sovereign States

These are pasta sort of days.

2010-02-01T11:34:00.000-08:00

The kind of pasta I ate as a kid was generally the kind that came out of a can or the sauce came out of a jar. The first time I had spaghetti cooked al dente I thought someone had mistakenly undercooked it. I never knew that a meatball was so big and meaty. Then my New York/Italian godfather moved to Atlanta near us. All of a sudden we had homemade pizza, and Italian wedding soup, and amazing pasta where the sauce was made from scratch. "Keep strring the pot Violet or the sauce will burn" he would say. Or maybe that was Goodfellas, I get them confused. Either way, from then on in my pasta was slightly undercooked and my sauce didn't taste like sugar. During my younger vegetarian years I made a lot of pasta. It was the perfect meal to have when you had no money and needed to be full. I remember one dish that I would make that was basically free was pasta primavera. I would boil some pasta, add a few veggies, and a packet of Ranch powder (I think it was supposed to make dressing). Presto, you have something that is filling and (at the time) tasted delicious. I'm sure my taste buds have developed a bit more now and my skills are a bit more refined but for barely knowing how to cook back then, creating a dish like this was a pretty amazing feat. I felt awesome, like I could take on Chef Mario Batali in a one on one pasta battle. I deserved 5 Michelin stars for this dish.

So, many years later my love of pasta still remains. Once in a while I even crave pasta primavera. Whenever I pass the Hidden Valley Ranch isle in the grocery store, I get that super sour garlic powdered milk taste in my mouth and I think "You know, I wish I had some delicious homemade pasta to get rid of this nasty taste in my mouth". Especially in the middle of Winter nothing seems as satisfying as a nice warm bowl of pasta. Recently I went down to Delaurentis and picked up a few pounds of assorted pastas. Cavatelli was one of them. It's a cigar shaped pasta made of semolina and flour. It's dense and the little curled up center is perfect for sopping up a tasty sauce. I had some beautiful shitake mushrooms and heavy cream so the sauce was a no brainer. In my teenage years I would have used a packet of mushroom gravy for a quick cream sauce but luckily times have changed.

Cavatelli con Funghi Shiitake

12 ounces cavatelli pasta

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 pound shitake mushrooms trimmed, cleaned, and thinly sliced

2 Tbsp shallots, minced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 Tbsp fresh thyme, minced

2 cups heavy cream

1/2 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano, finely grated

kosher salt tt

fresh cracked black pepper, tt

2 tablespoons finely chopped chives or scallions

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook until al dente (just cooked through) Meanwhile, in a large saute pan over medium-high heat add the olive oil. Add the mushrooms and saute, stirring until soft (3-4 minutes). Add the shallots, garlic, thyme, salt, and pepper, and cook while stirring for 2-3 minutes. Add the cream, increase the heat to high, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until the sauce thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 5 minutes. Add the Parmesan and adjust the seasoning. Add the pasta and stir to coat with the sauce. Add the chives/scallions and serve.

Don't mess with the classics.

2010-01-25T12:28:00.000-08:00

Sometimes it's the simplest of dishes that nobody seems to get right. Take the classic shrimp cocktail for example. You can't just dump some sweet, store bought cocktail sauce around some thawed out frozen shrimp and call it a day. This dish is all about the quality and freshness of the ingredients. Shrimp cocktail was the dish that I would "keep an eye on" at every wedding and holiday brunch I ever attended as a kid. Guarding the platter of lovely pink crustaceans, checking the taste and quality every 10 seconds or so. I felt like I was doing the event a service. "No sir, you don't want to eat these, I think they have spoiled" I would say with a mouth full of deliciously sweet shellfish, my eyes tearing from the horseradish infused cocktail sauce. "Perhaps you should move along to the cheese platter. Just don't eat too much of the deli meat because I shall need some of that." I would say. I probably ate several pounds of shrimp at every single one of these events. I was a caterer's nightmare. Deveining, shelling, and cleaning shrimp is a time consuming process. "Somebody yank that damn kid away from the shrimp." I could see them glaring at me but it would take more than a mean look to derail me and my mission.

K and I did a little "cleanse" or "diet" this past week just to put our bodies back on track after a gluttonous holiday season. I think my body had become 80% pork roast by the time the New Year had arrived. I needed some vegetables and seafood stat. One day for lunch I decided to make Pacific Shrimp Cocktail with Pickled Okra and Spicy Brava Cocktail Sauce. The fresh Pacific shrimp, so lovely and sweet. The crispy, smoked pickled okra added a nice textural note and contrasting tartness. For the brava cocktail sauce I used organic tomato ketchup, horseradish, spicy pimenton (smoked paprika), a few spices, and a couple dashes of my favorite hot sauce. Served all pretty in a martini glass. I nearly reverted to my adolescent ways by telling K that perhaps she should have something else to eat because I didn't think it would suit her tastes but my conscience kicked in and we both enjoyed a delicious light lunch.

Grilled Pacific Shrimp Cocktail with Pickled Okra and Spicy Brava Cocktail Sauce

Serves 4

28-32 shell-on (21/25 count) Pacific shrimp

Brava Cocktail sauce:
1 1/2 c fresh organic tomato ketchup
4 tablespoons prepared horseradish
3 tsp spicy pimenton (smoked paprika)
3 tsp fresh squeezed lemon juice

fresh cracked black pepper & kosher salt tt
4 or 5 dashes of hot sauce (I heart Tapatio)

Directions

Using a pairing knife, make an incision down the backside of the shrimp, following the intestinal track. Devein the shrimp and rinse under cool water leaving shells intact.

Heat up a grill pan over med high heat. Brush with olive oil. Season the shrimp with salt and pepper and grill the shrimp for 1-2 minutes each side until just cooked through. Remove to a sheet pan and refrigerate immediately.

For the sauce, place ketchup, horseradish, pimenton, salt pepper, lemon juice and hot sauce in a bowl and whisk to combine. Refrigerate cocktail sauce until ready to serve.

Once shrimp have chilled, arrange with cocktail sauce in a martini glass and serve with pickled okra.

Sovereign State #9: Australia

2010-01-18T11:52:00.000-08:00

Australia

Beef and Cheese Meat Pies

Sausage Rolls

Aussie Lamb Burger with the Lot

Chiko Rolls

Vegemite Scrolls

G'day mate. Forget everything you think you know Australians. They aren't all magical Hobbits, koala bear poachers, or the great, great, great, great grand children of criminals. Most of them wear shoes and don't even own anything made of crocodile. I have a few Aussie mates and I can tell you that they are a kind and friendly sort. Anywhere you go there is probably an Aussie right next to you. These people freaking love to go on walkabouts. Every hostel in every city in the world will consist of 2% Americans, 2% Japanese, 1% Italians, and 95% Australians travelers. So lets see, where have us Americans gotten all of our Australian info from. Well, there's Crocodile Dundee of course. "That's not a knife, this is a knife" and all that. Sure, Paul Hogan was charming and could speak to animals kind of like the Beastmaster. We fell in love with him and everyone started drinking Fosters (it's Australian for beer) all of a sudden. There was the Men At Work song "The Land Down Under". Some guy from Brussels makes some other guy a Vegemite sandwich because he comes from the land down under. It's where beer does flow and men chunder. Can't you hear, can't you hear the thunder? Let me ask this. "Do I really want to know what it means when men chunder?" I don't think I do. Oh yeah, and let's not forget Yahoo Serious, the Carrot-Topesque Aussie comedian whose charming wackiness was a silly, picturesque window into the Outback just as Yakov Smirnoff gave us a hilariously bleak and desperate view into Communist Russia. Australia seems like a lovely place full of talking marsupials and traveling drag queens. How could you not be intrigued? I sure am.

Let's talk about Vegemite. It's a spread made from yeasty goodness and Australians freaking love the stuff. They put it on everything. Now, I tried to be open minded but it is definitely an acquired taste which I have yet to acquire. Here's a recipe for Vegemite & Cheese Scrolls from my friend Liz's Aussie/Kiwi recipe website All Recipes

..and then came the Chiko Roll...

What's that pretty lady on motorcycle eating? Why, she's eating a Chiko Roll. What's that you ask? Well, let me tell you. It's a crazy Australian egg roll with minced sheep meat (mutton) and barley and ketchup and cabbage and soy sauce all fried up in a big crispy won ton wrapper. They have taken bar food and take out to a whole new level in the land down under. It's like the bastard child of an egg roll and a weird burrito. The Chiko Roll, as frightening and disgusting as it sounds, is actually very delicious snack when you are drunk. That is the likeliest time you would eat something like this so I say mission accomplished. It almost seems like this recipe was concocted by some black-out drunk person rummaging through their fridge at 4AM in the morning. They especially seem to be a hit with the motorcycle driving ladies.

...and then there was Meat Pies...

Meat pies and sausage rolls are two of the most amazing foods (let alone Australian foods) ever. The pies are super flaky and buttery on the outside and all gooey and meaty cheesy on the inside. Like the best pot pie you ever ate. Think of a Hot Pocket filled with cheeseburger and crack cocaine and only then can you imagine what a Aussie Meat Pie tastes like. The beef and cheese variety is my favorite and although it is customary to lather it with tomato sauce (ie: Australian for ketchup) I prefer it virginal and untouched. You can also get meat pies filled with things like beef and onions, mushrooms, BBQ chicken, bacon, etc.. Sausage Rolls are little puff pastry burritos wrapped around yummy sausage meat. Very delicious. I actually like these little bad boys with some spicy curry ketchup. Very tasty.

Recently I took a trip out to Burien, about 1/2 hour from where I live to visit the Australian Meat Pie Company. For a few bucks a pie you can stock up and put them in your freezer for later. They'll even sell them to you frozen if you like. After arriving I sauntered up to the counter and said "I'll have a few meat pies please." "Ummm, what kind?" the very friendly man behind the counter said. I guess I hadn't really thought of those kinds of decisions yet and suddenly I realized that I WAS that super annoying person who walks up to counters without knowing what they want. I deserved to be kicked in the spine. I hate those people. Anyways, he was very patient with me and I went with the classics. Beef and Cheese Meat Pies, sausage rolls, and a couple of Lamingtons. I will be making trips to this magical establishment often because I now have a new addiction. I need my meat pies.

...don't forget the Lamingtons...

Lamingtons are giant square chunks of cake that are dipped in chocolate and then rolled around in coconut. My teeth hurt just thinking about them. The Aussies sure love their sweets. Tim Tams, Minties, Pollywaffles, Caramello Koalas, Fruit Tingles, Violet Crumbles. No I'm not talking some Willy Wonka gibberish. I'm just talking sweets.

Everybody eats burgers. McDonalds made sure of that. Hell, they're everywhere. There's even one in the Museum of Communism in Prague. I bet there's one in the deepest jungles of Borneo with some fifteen year old employee, who doesn't give a shit, forcing cardboard burgers upon the toothless headhunters. Anyways, the Australians do the burger a little different than we do. They call it the Burger with The Lot. As in a burger with everything. I made mine out of Aussie Lamb to represent! You know what I'm sayin'? It's topped with bacon, cheddar cheese, dill pickles, spicy peppers, pickled beets (edit: beetroot as the Aussie say), mustard, spicy curry ketchup, and a fried egg and placed lovingly into a giant kaiser roll. Freaking amazing. I wasn't sure I was going to like the beets in there but I did. I especially love the added heart-attack fuel with the fried egg. When the yolk breaks all over it's fattening bliss and you can't help but smile as your right arm tingles.

So in doing this project I learned a lot more about Australia than I ever thought I would. I learned that they have cute goofy names for a lot of things and they love to spread yeast onto stuff and eat it. I also learned that they tend to be kind and sweet people with a love of great food and a great sense of humor. And because of this, I forgive them for Yahoo Serious.

For more info on this project, read this: 203 Sovereign States

Don't squeeze too hard.

2010-01-17T01:19:00.000-08:00

The word Avocado originates from Ahuacatl, the Aztec word for testicle.

Waiter, there's a rabbit in my salad.

2010-01-11T12:51:00.000-08:00

Believe it or not, I was a vegetarian for ten whole years. I was even vegan for one of them. And this was back in the day when if you wanted to eat out your choices involved a burger with no meat (ie: a nasty sauce sandwich) or as many Taco Hell bean burritos you could stomach (I wish I still had my iron gut). Perhaps if I had not been a scrappy, broke teenager at the time of this ethical decision my choices would have expanded but alas, I was a kid and I ate a lot of terrible fast food. I still remember the time I told my parents I no longer wanted to eat meat. From their reaction it felt as if was telling them I had just joined a demonic cult. I think my mother almost cried. I mean, I know being a Cuban means you have pork fat in your veins but I didn't think it would be a big deal. My mother tried to accommodate me but the concept of not eating meat eluded her. She would say things like: "Can't you just pick the chicken out of your chicken soup?" "Oh don't be silly, butter isn't an animal." "Plants are alive too, are you going to stop eating them?" It was a little rough but I persevered and eventually she caught on. My step-Father was another story. I don't how many times he would say "Hey, there's meat in that! HA HA" when there clearly was not or the times that he would make dinner that had meat in it and try to fool me into eating it by saying it was vegetarian. Yeah, we got along swell. So the animal's lives were being spared and the world was going to be a better place with people like me making "the right" decisions. It was so beautiful being so very enlightened all the time. Ahhh, my teen years. Ha ha, yeah right. You couldn't pay me to be a teenager again.

Years later it was a club sandwich that did me in. Turkey, bacon, cheese, mayo, mustard, rye bread. I couldn't help myself. Sure I sold my ethics for a sandwich, but I have to say, I don't regret it. Everyone draws a line in the sand somewhere. I just decided that I needed my line to be a little higher and a little more delicious. In fact, I love animals more than most human beings. But I also know that my body did not respond well to being a vegetarian. My skin was a greenish color which may seem attractive in some hippie circles but to me I just looked sick all the time. I think I was sick all the time. Oh, and my teeth hurt, my joints hurt, and my I couldn't muster enough energy to do much of anything but get high and watch CHiPs. Okay, so I guess you could counteract with "Well, perhaps if you ate something besides Doritos and saucy bread, you would have been healthier." Yeah probably, but what's your point? (don't argue with me when I get irrational, it's useless) Life is all about choices. Don't get me wrong, I love the Veg. I just love meat a little more.

The other night I was making a lovely salad made with fresh baby spinach, toasted walnuts, Point Reyes blue cheese, and these amazing homemade pickled beets that a client of K's gave to us for Christmas, all drizzled with a tasty balsamic Dijon vinaigrette. That was going to be our dinner. After thinking about the salad for minute I realized that it would need something. I got it, it needed some rabbit. So I took some hind quarters of rabbit, marinated them in olive oil, lemon, fresh oregano, fresh thyme, salt, pepper, and garlic. I then roasted them in my oven until golden and juicy. Placed atop the beet and spinach salad, it made perfect sense. My dinner was complete.

Roasted Rabbit and Beet Salad

The Rabbit:

2 rabbit hind quarters, cleaned and trimmed

juice of 1 lemon

Tbsp EV olive oil

1/2 Tbsp fresh rosemary

1/2 Tbsp fresh thyme

2 cloves garlic, minced

kosher salt and fresh cracked black pepper tt

Marinate all ingredients for 1-2 hours. Preheat oven to 350 F. Roast the rabbit for 20-25 minutes just until cooked through. Let the meat rest

The Vinaigrette:

1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

2 Tbsp extra vigin olive oil

2 tsp Dijon mustard

1/2 shallot, minced

kosher salt and fresh cracked black pepper tt

Mix all of the ingredients except for the olive oil. Slowly whisk in the olive oil until emulsified. Season.

The Salad:

1 bunch spinach, washed & stemmed

1 cup pickled beets, sliced

1/2 cup toasted walnuts

1/2 cup blue cheese, crumbled

Lightly toss all of the ingredients together.

Pour some of the vinaigrette over the salad and gently mix to coat. Top with the rabbit. You can also shred the rabbit meat into the salad to make eating easier. Enjoy.

Buckeye Chili.

2010-01-04T11:53:00.000-08:00

I have never once had a nice time in Ohio. I'm sure it's a great state and all but the Buckeye State doesn't seem to like me very much. During my "I'm so punk I refuse to shower, college is for suckers, and I'm almost eighteen years old so I know everything" phase I decided to leave home and have a go at living in the open plains of the good ole Midwest. I packed up my few belongings and headed out for St. Louis, Misery (oh sorry, I meant Missouri). The run down city had it's charm but there wasn't much to do. Hell, throwing broken televisions off an abandoned railroad station bridge and blasting them with shotguns becomes monotonous after a while. It seemed like every other week my friends and I would go on a road trip that inevitably led us to Ohio. Let's see, what are some of my experiences in Ohio? Get beat up by the police for loitering. Check. Get chased by a pack of vicious skinheads. Check. Having the tire of your Honda ripped off by a rogue cinderblock while driving 75 mph on the highway. Check. It seemed like every trip to Ohio ended in tears yet we somehow always ended up coming back. Perhaps the state wanted to tell me something. Perhaps it wanted to tell me how awesome it's chili was. If only I hadn't been a vegetarian at the time maybe I would've listened. I've long since moved out of the middle of the country and in my adult years I have come to appreciate the bounty that the midwest including Ohio has to offer. I just wonder what horrible experience would befall me should I return? Would I drown in a burning river or maybe get swept up by a twister? Or perhaps the Ohio curse been lifted? Maybe one day, I'll find out.

Did someone say Cincinnati style chili? Why yes, I sure did. So, a friend of mine gave me some fresh venison (along with some black bear but that's another story) that her dad recently hunted. I was thinking about all of the tasty things I could do with it and decided that I needed to make chili. Perfect for a cold, wet, winter day. "Venison chili would be delicious" I thought to myself. So I scoured through my semi-organized folders of recipes that I've collected over the years and I came upon a tomato paste (or blood) stained recipe for Cincinnati style chili. I made some adjustments, replaced the ground beef with ground venison, switched out the sirlion for well marbled top round, and added a few ingredients that I thought would enhance the stew. The little hint of cinnamon and coffee in this chili gives it a unique flavor that will blow your mind a little bit and the fact that it is served over spaghetti and covered in cheddar cheese is pure genius. Midwest cooking at it's finest. People give this kind of American cooking a bad reputation but I have to say, it's not the food that makes us unhealthy, it's the amount we eat. What's worse, a bowl of chili, pasta, and cheese or a croissant made with a pound of butter and filled with chocolate? I say enjoy it all, just don't be such a pig about it. Anyways, I'm not going to lecture you how to eat. I am going to tell you how to make the best bowl of chili you've ever had in your life.

Cincinnati Venison Chili
serves 6-8

2 Tbsp. olive oil

2 large coarsely onions, chopped
4 minced garlic cloves
1 lb ground venison
1 lb. top round, cut into 1" cubes
3 Tbsp. chili powder (I use New Mexican chili powder)
2 tsp. ground cumin
2 tsp. smoked paprika (pimenton)
3/4 tsp. cayenne
1/4 tsp. ground allspice
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. tumeric
1/4 tsp. ground coriander
1/4 tsp. ground cardamon
1 8oz. can tomato sauce
1 Tbsp tomato paste
1 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 Tbsp. molasses
4 cups beef stock
1 ½ cups dark beer
½ cup strong brewed coffee
2 Tbsp. cider vinegar
2 cans red kidney beans
Salt and freshly ground pepper

cooked spaghetti
green onion, sliced
cheddar cheese, grated
oyster crackers

In a heavy Dutch oven or pot, cook the onions in oil over moderate heat, stirring until they are softened. Add the garlic and cook for one minute. Add the beef and venison and brown them lightly on all sides. Add chili powder and other spices. Cook mixture for one minute. Add Tomato paste and cook for one minute. Stir in tomato sauce, cocoa, molasses, beef broth, beer, coffee, water, and vinegar. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, or until thickened. Add beans with ½ hour left. Serve over cooked spaghetti and top with green onion, cheese, and oyster crackers. This chili will be even better the next day.