deviant domesticity

2008-05-15T20:32:00.001-07:00

too lazy to post, but i've been making bentos semi-regularly. click the photo for a link to my flickr account, which i've been updating with new photos:

a placeholder until i start blogging again for REALS

2008-02-19T20:15:00.000-08:00

so lots of changes since i last posted in april. goddamn, it's been nearly a year! since then, i've graduated college, found a new apt, a new boyfriend, and a new job. also, i've started eating meat again (after 8 years of being a pescatarian).

i'm trying to figure out what direction to take this blog. i considered writing about new discoveries in meat-eating and preparing, but that seems like too big a project to deal with right now (altho one day i SWEAR i will learn how to properly pan-sear a new york strip!) instead, i've resolved to make my lunch everyday (or as often as possible) and practice the art of packing a satisfying, nutritionally balanced bento. eventually, i'd like to work on my style and make something sickeningly cute like this:

photo from fashionablycute.com
meh... sating of appetites first! aesthetic appeal... later.

anyways, this is the adorable bento kit i'm working with (purchased at mitsuwa for something liek $20). i have other bentos, but this is my favorite in terms of functionality (it's got tons of dividers and is much better sealed than my simpler bentos)

these are the lunches that i've packed so far:

2.13.08
mini meatballs with tonkatsu sauce
broccoli dressed with soy sauce and sesame oil
fried rice with peas
daikon pickles

omg, took me FOREVER that one night to roll something like 80 mini meatballs out of 2 lbs of ground beef + pork + herbs + breadcrumbs. now i just have to do something about the 50 or so ones left in my freezer. help me.

2.14.07
"nicoise" style tuna salad sandwich (with capers & sliced hardboiled egg)
spinach with sesame dressing
blueberries & tomato wedges

this was not a particularly successful lunch. the tuna was okay, but tasted a little too fishy. also, half a sandwich does not a full grown adult feed. on top of that, my spinach spoiled. dnno why, but when i tried it, it tasted like... dishwashing soap. i can only suspect that maybe the high iron content reacted with the dressing? (tho the leftover dressed spinach in my fridge was fine)

i should point out that i pack my lunches at night, leave them on the counter overnight and then let them sit on my desk all morning the day after = about 16 hours of unrefrigerated bacteria party time. i keep them out of the fridge mostly because i don't want to refrigerate the rice that i usually pack. sometimes i refrigerate parts of my bento overnight (when i pack silken tofu in the top tier), or wait until morning to pack more perishable parts (like tomato wedges or stuff with mayo in it). sigh, planning for temperature changes, moisture levels and spoilage rates is HARD.

moving along...

2.19.07
gyuudon with curry pickles
broccoli, carrot sticks, tomato slices, blueberries

this lunch was a lot more hearty, but i need to work on my seasonings. i packed the beef at night, and by lunchtime, it was a little dry and bland. in the future i'll reserve some of the sauce/juices in one of my mini condiment bottles.

hmmm, i also just noticed that i need to work on my photography. the yellowness of my work desk is really interfering with the light adjustment. i'll have to put down a white place setting or something...

...more to come soon!

私の大好きなおせんべい

2007-04-17T14:00:00.000-07:00

note: sorry for the bad, blurry photos in this post. i make do with a simple canon sd10 that i inherited from a friend.

煎餅（せんべい, senbei) are japanese rice crackers that are traditionally flavored with a soy sauce-mirin glaze. they are undoubtedly delicious and their addictive crunch is unparalleled. i can (and do) easily go through not one, but several packs in one sitting. there have been instances where i've eaten them to the point where my tongue numbs over from the sodium content.

so yeah, they're pretty damn good. every now and again, i get incredible cravings for them. they range anywhere from salty-sweet to spicy and crispy-flakey to a hard crunch. last week's paper-writing provided a particularly good opportunity to munch on senbei, and i worked my way through 5 packs, of which i have reviewed below:

kameda brand "kare-sen" (curry flavored senbei)

very light and crisp texture, but of the styrofoam-like variety (potato starch is added to the mochi rice). mild curry flavor and not spicy at all. nor salty enough to bring out the richness of the curry. of course freshness is key to any good rice cracker, and here, the product’s shortcomings is probably due the local jas-mart’s (under new management) poor stock maintenance.

kameda brand "soft salad" (salad flavored? senbei)

again, i don't really care for styrofoam-type crackers. however, they tend to have greater variety in terms of flavors (whereas traditional rice ones rarely deviate from the shoyu-mirin combo). nevertheless, these were also disappointing: very little flavor of any sort, reminiscent of popcorn...

kameda brand "onidaiko tamari aji senbei" ("devil's drum" senbei)

these are an oversized version of classic round senbei. these crackers were rather hard and really gave the jaws a workout. the flavor was salty and lightly sweet, but i would've preferred it to have a bit of heat (the angry sumo head would probably agree with me).

masuya brand "onigiri senbei" (riceball crackers)

these were pretty standard senbei, although the riceball shape and mascot were a cute touch. taste-wise, a nice tangy soy sauce & mirin combo with nori confetti to amp up the umami.

toko brand "friendly pack" (a gregarious collection of tiny crackers)

not really senbei proper, this "party mix" type has an assortment of mini-crackers, coated peanuts and peas. i was surprised by how fresh this package was. though we are talking about MSG-laden snacks, it seems to me that this product tasted brighter and bolder than most of the other bags i worked through. the crunch was crisper than that of the others'. the peanuts were especially fresh and their sweetness complimented the spiciness of the half-moon crackers.

toko brand "mamegashi" (coated peanuts & peas)

further deviating from the subject of senbei are coated peanuts (don't really know the correct term here, they’re usually called “mame”-something). my love for these snacks rivals that of my love for senbei. whereas peanuts are a pretty boring snack for most of the world, the japanese have given the lowly peanut new life by dressing it up in different flavors. my favorites in this mix are the yellow ones (curry flavored) and the red ones flecked with nori (spicy squid flavored, i think). there's just so much variety to be had! and yet, each piece has a shelled peanut in the middle, whose nutty sweetness is the perfect accompaniment to its salty, crunchy exterior.

kameda brand "ume no kaori maki" (ume-plum flavored senbei with nori)

my favorite flavor in the senbei family. mostly b/c I ADORE EVERYTHING AND ANYTHING UME. ume is the greatest: it's salty, sour, sweet and umami-y all at the same time (maybe even a little spicy?). i went through these the quickest (you can see there are very few crackers left in the package). the nori was stale though.

toko brand "shisomaki noritsuki" (shiso (beefsteak plant) flavored senbei with nori)

shiso is used to make umeboshi (pickled ume), so i suppose that's why this product tastes almost exactly like the ume flavored crackers above. i liked these better since the nori was crisper and the ume flavor was stronger. both products boast real ume flesh in their list of ingredients, but these crackers simply tasted better. also, plus points for not packaging crackers individually (a wholly unnecessary and wasteful practice)

glico brand "pretz - salad flavor" (pocky’s savory brother)

also not a type of senbei, but they're sort of in the same family of snacks. pretz are buttery little sticks that are made to resemble western crackers in taste and texture. the classic "salad" flavor is my favorite, though in china, i was able to taste other varieties like curry, roasted corn, pizza and butter. though they don’t taste like salad per se, their inexplicably rich taste is addictive. pretz are a testament to the great things that the japanese can do with a little ingenuity helped along by a little MSG.

adventures with ruth reichl, my personal lord and savior

2007-04-16T13:30:00.001-07:00

photo from booksamillion.com

i've been trying to cook my way through ruth reichl's memoirs. though i am more fond of her earlier works that document her gloriously capricious youth, i've been paying particular interest to garlic & sapphires in the interest of writing a paper for my silly little sociology class.

the recipes in her books are straightforward and less time consuming than most of the recipes i've come across in her magazine (yes, her magazine). in an earlier post, i put up a photo of fairly successful gougères:

having never had gougères at a restaurant proper, i have no idea what to expect. still, i was quite happy with my own version of them. i cut the little cubes of gruyère a little too large and the dough fell away from the cheese, creating large pockets of air inside. as a result, they were a little crisper round the edges rather than soft, foofy puffs.

i have to say, the smell of the baking gruyère really stank up my kitchen. surprisingly, this funk was not at all present in the gougères themselves. all in all, pretty tasty, if not slightly on the salty side (prob due to the brand of cheese used). the security guard in my building really liked them. i've been bringing him food every now and then and he lets me into the building without having to swipe my columbia card.

moving beyond gougères...

one sunny monday so long ago (seriously, new york weather has been simply tragic of late), i cooked myself a little ruth reichl dinner of crab cakes and primavera risotto.

i think i used the wrong kind of crab cuz my crab cakes came out more starchy than meaty. last time i was at zabar's, i bought a couple cans of roland white crab meat, but the stuff inside was just tiny little shreds of crabmeat sitting in crab juice. i don't know where reichl expects anyone to buy canned lump crabmeat. maybe that super gourmet cat food maker supplies that sort of thing.

vs.
images from the internets

other than that, the recipe was really simple, adding bulk to the crabmeat with bits of torn white bread and spiced mostly with paprika. i used panko (japanese bread crumbs) instead of regular breadcrumbs cuz i like crunchy bits and also cuz i have a ton of panko left (i should really deep fry more often).

they came out quite tasty. as did the risotto, which was lovingly, lovingly stirred for a full 40 minutes. i tried to tie together the flavors/not waste available resources by using the leftover/squeezed out crab juice (nearly a full cup's worth) to the risotto. i could barely taste the crab broth in the risotto, but this was due to the fact that salty, MSG-powered bouillon cubes kill all other flavors. man, i really gotta learn to how to make stock.

since the recipe had a fairly high yield, and since i was cooking for one, there was the problem of leftovers. for the entire week, i ate asparagus-dotted risotto and suffered through that asparagus-induced funny-smelling pee phenomenon.

risotto doesn't reheat well (rather, i don't know how to do it), so i shaped the cold, sticky risotto into little cakes and cooked them in a pan. this was somewhat time consuming since i couldn't get the cakes to crisp up. even when i tried using extra oil, the rice just wasn't dry enough to form a substantial crust. still, lightly frying the cakes gave it an earthy, caramelized aroma while keeping the risotto rice tender:

i felt kind of bad serving these to my friday night potluck people, because i was trying to get rid of the risotto by that point. they liked them alright, but i was a little sheepish to serve it seeing as i took no joy in eating it myself.

i also considered making balls of risotto and then deep-frying them, but i've been getting fluffy round the middle and thus, am avoiding fatty starchy things (though i love them so).

i quickly broke this rule just days later at the ghetto mart (c-town) and noticed that cream cheese was on sale. i bought 2 packages, remembering there was a recipe for new york style cheesecake in reichl's book.

her cheesecake, modified from a recipe for lindy's famous cheesecake, is just a little unusual and not too heavy (though the ingredient list would have you think otherwise).

the crust consisted of fine graham cracker crumbs and an entire stick of butter, melted. i tossed in about a 1/3 cup of chopped toasted pecans to the mix, thinking the nuts would add texture and richness to the crust. while this seemed like a good idea at the time, i would not recommend making a nutty crust for cheesecake. for fruit crisps and pies, yes, but not for something so delicate in flavor like cheesecake.

the cheesecake portion required all of 3 packages (1.5 pounds) of cream cheese. i only had the two on hand and thought that 3 would be overdoing it, so i just went with what i had. someday, i'll have to make this recipe again at full cream cheese power, though 2 packages turned out a fine cheesecake of respectable density.

the best part of reichl's cheesecake was the layer of sweetened sour cream that formed the last layer of the cake. 16 oz of sour cream with tbsp of sugar, poured on top and baked until set. having never seen a cheesecake paired with sour cream, i was a little skeptical, but the mild sourness really bolstered the flavor of the lemon zest and the silky texture was a nice, moist contrast to the drier cakey layer.

the recipe says that the cheesecake should be chilled at least 8 hours. i've found that the cheesecake needs a full day of sitting in the fridge to really develop its flavors. at the very least, time mellowed out the toasted pecans in the crust so they weren't overwhelming.

cheesecake is not at the top of my list for favorite sweets, but i was proud to serve this rather impressive (if not delightfully lemony) version of the new york classic.

memories from my freezer

2007-04-09T22:22:00.000-07:00

i'm trying to set a good example for my suitemates by doing my part to clear out our overstocked freezer. for several months now, it's been impossible to get anything out of the freezer without rearranging everything inside. we've also learned how to best position ourselves to avoid falling hunks of frozen meat.

for tonight's dinner, i finally extracted the vegetarian chili i made in january. yes, JANUARY.

mostly, i followed the recipe for black bean chili in the Gourmet cookbook. unfortunately, at that time in my life, i had not yet discovered where to purchase chipotle peppers in adobo. ah... the naivety of youth. i vaguely remember nearly burning the toasted paprika and stirring the pot for ages. it came out quite well, though not as superflavorful as the stuff you can make with instant packets. i could never figure out how they got those envelopes of taco spice to be so potently pungent.

so 3 months later, i've confirmed that chili is yet another food that can keep well in the freezer. especially when you reheat it and spruce it up with meat/protein (veggie burger in my case) and some sort of cheese (nearly inedible shredded cheese product in my case). i ate it soup-style with a bit of leftover baguette from the fancy dinner i made for jack (this update coming soon).

so many memories came to me while i defrosted, reheated, and plated the chili. i thought about what the weather was like when i first made this chili. i thought about who i wanted to eat it with and who i wanted to save some for. it had been a very special chili. a chili that required lots of prep. i even bought a green pepper for the occasion. i really don't like green peppers. that may have been the only green pepper i have ever purchased in my entire life.

so much has happened since i last ate this chili. so many people in and out of my life. so many lessons learned and bad habits still uncorrected. such are my musings on leftovers.

i feel uncomfortably gassy.

my snacks

2007-03-25T17:20:00.000-07:00

i've gotten into the expensive habit of having afternoon snacks. while i have been known to get sudden "pregnant woman" cravings (one time, i wanted to eat an entire pie from the middle with a spoon), i usually don't have much of a sweet tooth. i am, however, a sucker for carbs in all their glorious forms.

lately, i've been popping into bakeries between running errands. i figure my body deserves a little something to keep up its energy. if i'm willing to make the 10 block trek, my dessert dealer of choice is silver moon bakery. their decor is delightful, their baked goods are consistently tasty (though a little overpriced), and the staff is cheerful (though they could stand to give you a few minutes to decide between the 724809278348 choices available). i can still remember the taste of the juicy raspberry tart i had there last year. i can't wait for fresh fruit to be in season again.

unfortunately, the lemon tart (4.50?) i had there some time ago was tough and unpleasant. the crust was very hard and the plastic fork they gave me could barely pierce the armor-like shell. lemon curd is difficult to get right and this one was too eggy and too acidic, making for an unsavory sensation in your mouth. even the blackberry was shockingly sour:

last saturday was saint patrick's day, and i was in the grand central area, distributing brochures for columbia japan society's matsuri. i traveled further north and east, into the "turtle bay" neighborhood. it was there that i was bombarded by masses of out-of-towners, decked in green and laden with beads, stupid hats, and obnoxious novelty sunglasses. they were everywhere: pouring out of taxis, tripping over the piled up snow, screaming from bar balconies. manhattan had turned into a big drunken high school sleepover and everyone was invited.

during my wanderings, i found buttercup bake shop, magnolia bakery's arch-rival. now i really don't get why specialty cupcakes have become such a big deal, but i do admire their clever marketing strategy. it's brilliant, creating an adult/luxury version of happy childhood treats that they can sell at $24 per dozen.

i chose to bypass the rows of cupcakes slathered with green, paint-like frosting and went for a slice of red velvet cake (another inexplicably widespread cake fad):

my slice (4.95) was ridiculously large since it was left over from the previous cake rather than cut from the one on display. my first bite was nondescript, but as i chewed, i found the cake to be very moist and rich, with a lightly sweetened (though otherwise heavy) cream cheese icing. i was surprised that the cake did have a distinctive flavor of its own, a hint of dark cocoa against all that dense, buttery comfort.

the cake was good, but the massive slice was simply too much for one person to handle. i made it through maybe 2 of the 3 layers before i gave up and reluctantly tossed the rest. maybe i will go for a cupcake next time.

this past week, i've been frequenting the local french joint, le monde. moderately priced, but still out of the range of most collegiates, the bistro is known for classic, though unremarkable, french fare. however, after reading in our campus paper that the chef de cuisine used to be a champion patisserier, i was convinced i needed to sample all those gleaming confections in their pastry case.

on wednesday, i had an intense craving for macaroons. real macaroons, not those silly mounds of coconut that come in cans during passover. i couldn't think of anywhere around campus that would have them and i wasn't too keen on making a special trip all the way to columbus circle just for a bag of bouchon's. i walked into le monde and sure enough, they had a few pastel-colored macaroons on display, next to a row of similarly pastel éclairs.

i bought one of every flavor: strawberry, vanilla, pistachio, chocolate and lemon (not pictured). they were small, not quite 2 inches in diameter and sold six for $5. the adorable korean girl behind the counter was really nice and threw in an extra macaroon for me.

the strawberry and pistachio ones were my favorites. the lemon one was kinda weird. i may try to make my own sometime though they're quite difficult to master. i've also not had a good relationship with egg whites in my past. heavy cream and i get along fine, but eggs are rather tricky. i learned that the hard way when i was trying to make madelines and they came out with hard little clumps of flour baked in.

yesterday, i made another le monde trip to tide me over between proper meals. the weather was nice so i didn't wanna coop up in the library but it was also too cold out to wander ‘round the city. thus, i gathered my books and had myself a little snack & study session at le monde. the hostess was reluctant to give me one of the prized window tables, but couldn't really refuse me as it was only 4 pm. i ordered a pain chocolat (3) and cafe au lait (3.50) and started reading. service was kinda off since my waiter didn't bring any water until asked and never bothered to remove the menus. he also asked if i wanted any sugar even though it was already at the table.

i finished the croissant in just a few bites (flakey, buttery, but cold and a little dense). several pages later, i was in need of more sustenance, so i foolishly ordered their gigantic napoleon (5):

the marbled icing was a little on the sweet side (i prefer my treats very faintly sweet). the pastry layers were a little tough and i struggled to cut them with my fork, but that's to be expected of a mille feuille that isn't assembled to order. the pastry cream was heavenly: light yet custardy, gently sweetened, and not too eggy. i couldn’t finish the whole thing right then, but now i crave more. i was surprised at how big this thing was, considering the rest of le monde's pastries came straight from munchkin land: baby fruit tarts, mini-éclairs, not even the madelines were full-sized.

...and then later that evening, i made gougères for the first time! (yes, i'm tacking the photo onto this post cause i can't be bothered to do a write up for it)

baking. a japanese tradition.

2007-03-20T21:44:00.000-07:00

over spring break, i spent my days a-cookin’. at the end of the tragically short week, i decided to make something very labor/time-intensive. i baked an pan. no, that wasn't a typo. an pan (あんぱん) is a very popular asian bread that is filled with sweet azuki bean jam. also, it is what this guy's head is made of:

it being spring break and all, i went all-out hardcore and dug up a recipe off e-recipe.org. in JAPANESE. i then spent nearly an hour meticulously translating the 17-step recipe:

though the recipe wasn't quite as tedious as it looks, it provided way too much info about the basics of bread-making, which just aren't all that fascinating for someone who's baked before and wants to plow through the prep. still, practicing my rusty japanese was quite fun and i discovered interesting little tidbits like the characters for "bread flour" (強力粉) literally translate as "strong flour."

on that note, the recipe called for a little too much "strong flour" and really should've used a mix of regular and bread flours. the end product was a little too chewy and dense for a light snack-type bread.

not to go too much into the tedious recipe (which was further complicated by the metric measuring system), but the ingredients consisted simply of bread flour, sugar, salt, egg, dry yeast, warm water and butter. prep was pretty standard: mix, knead, 1st rising. de-gas, shape, 2nd rising. fill, shape, proof & bake.

the filling was something of my own concoction since i was too cheap to buy canned anko. i've also been told a few unnecessarily gruesome stories about the unsanitary conditions at anko factories, so that justified my purchasing of a $2 bag of beans rather than a $5 can of them in mashed, sugared form. my own version of anko took nearly 4 hours of boiling:

it was quite tasty and pleasantly sweet, but i foolishly decided to forgo the addition of any fats. later, i would discover that my attempt to be health-conscious resulted in a crumbly (rather than creamy) filling that just wasn't sweet enough (despite several tastings and countless heaping spoonfuls of sugar). i've now learned my lesson and will respect the full fat and sugar content of future pastry-making endeavors.

shaping and baking went pretty well. only 3 or so of my an pan buns leaked their fillings! ...out of 12. still, they're quite beautiful, non? a very lovely breakfast when toasted and served with a side of lightly sugared strawberries:

making pasta II

2007-03-19T22:49:00.000-07:00

the january issue of bon appetit had a feature on the "top trends of 2006." they named gnudi as the “dish of the year”. gnudi, meaning nude, is most often described as a "naked ravioli." consisting of ricotta and flour held together by egg, it's as fluffy and cheesy as gnocchi could ever dream to be.

bon appetit's gnudi recipe was delightfully easy, but required a lot of wait time (maximize your time: prepare this while you’re busy with something else. i made it while baking an pan):

1) drain 1 cup fresh ricotta over paper towels for half an hour
2) beat 1 egg and mix with 1/3 cup pecorino romano, 1/2 tsp salt, and a bit of white pepper as you see fit (i used black)
3) mix in ricotta
4) sprinkle 3/4 cup flour and gently combine
5) cover & chill for 1 hour
6) roll 1 tsp of gnudi dough into a ball, toss with flour to coat and shape (i made mine to look like deceptively like gnocchi)
7) cover with plastic wrap until ready to cook

to cook, simply throw the gnudi in lots of boiling water seasoned with salt. the recipe said to boil it about 8 minutes, but i found that to be too long. pasta's ready once it floats. i think just 4 minutes does the trick. it's fully cooked through by then.

gnudi is pretty flavorful just on its own, so you don't need heavy sauces. still, it pairs just fine with a little canned marinara:

three days later (today), i cooked up the last bit of gnudi. having not gone grocery shopping for some time, i was at a loss for how to serve it. i wanted some protein, so i started frying some crumbled veggie burger. in another pan, i attempted to make a brown butter sauce. i melted a big pat of butter, waiting for it to stop bubbling and caramelize. unfortunately, i was hungry and didn't have the patience to let it brown properly. for flavoring, i added minced garlic, then some lemon juice to slow the cooking, and stirred in chopped parsley and basil to finish. finally, i tossed the gnudi and veggie burger in the butter to coat. it was very tasty and not at all greasy.

making pasta - a foray into italian cookin'

2007-03-19T22:11:00.000-07:00

i've been on an italian stint lately. building up experience so i can cook italian food for M when i visit him in taipei. i don't know why, but when you're in an asian country for an extended period of time, you begin to seriously crave italian food. when i was in china this summer, i ached for a slice of thin crust. i pined over cannoli. in the bigger cities of asia, you can get fancy french food, some sort of hamburgers and fries, and ridiculous attempts at cheesecake, but you simply can't find any decent italian. the chinese serve pizza with carrots and corn for toppings.

last week, i made a trip to chinatown. mainly to pick up some wonton wrappers to substitute for ravioli dough, but also to stock up on cheap groceries (a bunch asparagus for only $2!). once i completed my chinatown run, i ventured into the adjacent little italy to see if i could find some fresh ricotta. i popped into a bakery to (1) ask the clerk about neighborhood cheeseries and (2) treat myself to a cannoli. at the counter was a heavyset man with a deep italian (gangster) accent.

i plopped down in their outdoor seating area, and the man took the table next to me. beguiled by my interest in soft italian cheese products, we got to a-talkin'. i told him about my quest for ravioli and he waxed on about his mother's unparalleled meatballs. i complained about the banality of life as an econ major and he talked about getting his undertaker's license and running an auto body shop (i kid you not). eventually, i found out he was in the neighborhood for a shoot. turns out the guy was an actor, taking an espresso break while waiting for the crew to finish setting up… to film the sopranos!

before we parted ways, i asked him for a restaurant recommendation. he pointed to il cortile at the end of the street. "it's pricey, but it's the best. just... the best" he said. walking down mulberry, i passed a whole slew of italian restaurants, each with a silly looking waiter (one guy was wearing a suit identical to the one in my cousin vinny). it's kind of sad how chinatown is slowly squeezing little italy off the island. i think a turf fight is in order. unfortunately, i’m torn over which side to offer my fists to. i’d do well for the italians as a double agent…

my ravioli involved a lot of cheating. rather than make my own pasta dough, i utilized pre-packaged wonton wrappers (as per recommended by epicurious.com recipes). and after reading through several recipes, i discovered that you can fill ravioli with just about anything. i went through my fridge and mixed together leftover mushroom ragu with a few spoonfuls of ricotta and finely chopped parsley.

i then assembled the oversized ravioli and sealed them carefully, taking care to squeeze out all the air bubbles (which causes fillings to burst during cooking). i kept them from drying out by covering them with a linen kitchen towel:

all the while, i simmered a mushroom broth of shitake with onions, infused with thyme, parsley, garlic and bay leaf on the stove. the shitake was a little too strong, so i cut the broth with more water and a little msg-laden veggie bouillon. the final product was decent, if not a little salty. it looked suspiciously like wonton soup:

later in the week, casey and i finished off the rest of the ravioli along with a side of asparagus with balsamic vinegar:

the ravioli was simply boiled in a large pot of water for about 3-4 minutes, drained, and topped with grated parmesano reggiano. the asparagus was steamed, then tossed with a small pat of butter, salt and pepper while hot. a nice, syrupy balsamic vinegar was served on the side.

the catch-up: japanese restaurant week

2007-03-13T21:00:00.000-07:00

banner courtesy of japanese restaurant week

japanese restaurant week concluded last saturday. i first found out about this event while searching for info about the recently closed honmura an. a quick google search serendipitously referred me to a guide new york magazine posted on its grub street blog and lo, i found out just in time.

i had formulated lofty dreams of trying out several places, but most of my friends were busy (it being the last week of midterms before spring break). i have to say that their unavailability was a blessing in disguise because i'm sure i would've broke the bank on this adventure. as the week rolled to an end, i was only able to taste test one establishment: restaurant nippon in midtown.

my friend casey picked the location and we squeezed in a late lunch between our respective busy schedules. the restaurant boasts opening new york's first "authentic sushi bar" and having served not one, but two official kaiseki dinners to the showa emperor and empress (way back in '75). after reading that they made their own soba noodles from their private buckwheat farm in canada, we were sold.

for those unfamiliar with the restaurant, a single look at its frosted glass door with an industrial handle/lock and one would assume that the place was abandoned. one would never know that inside existed a labyrinth of a dining room, snaked around several hidden private quarters, each table filled with japanese and american salarymen alike. the architecture and decor were beautiful if not a little busy and cramped. the interior had several more tables than the fetching picture below would have you believe:

photo taken from restaurant nippon’s website

even though i had made a reservation in advance (which, for just 2 people, was pretty pointless), my friend and i had to wait a good 20 minutes for a table. their lunch rush seemed pretty hectic as there was an unrelenting string of people walking into the restaurant.

luckily, when we sat down to order, all we had to do was simply point to the soba kaiseki special. casey and i decided to order both set a & set b so we could split each course. after a mix-up over the service trays, our bumbling, middle-aged filipino waitress barked at a younger waiter to fetch our tea.

after a good wait, our first courses arrived. or rather, my first course arrived. my lacquered tray was filled to capacity with a dish of pickled squid and a serving of nimono, followed by a tray of sushi and a plate of fluke sashimi, with their accompanying sauces. meanwhile, casey's bowl of age dashi dofu (deep fried tofu in seafood stock) and spinach gomae (spinach with sesame) looked forlorn next to my appetizer extravaganza:

i apologize for the poor quality of these photos, we were sat in a darker section of the restaurant, our light sourced blocked by the screen separating us from the next table. i also refrained from using flash, not only because it washes out the colors of the food, but because...

as soon as my tiny, unobtrusive camera came out, our waitress popped out of nowhere, screeching, "WHY YOU TAKE PICTURE?" every bit the short-statured yet exceptionally intimidating asian mom-type, she glared at me accusingly. to which, i could only manage a meek " i always take photos when i go out to eat." though she didn't raise any more fuss, i couldn't help but feel ill at ease throughout my meal, fearing she would come back and confiscate my camera. or berate me for not studying for my midterms.

>> back to the food:
the fluke was beautifully sliced, yet tasted like nothing at all, lacking in any salty trace of the sea. the nimono was disappointingly bland for vegetables simmered in stock. the sushi was good, but a single piece of salmon nigiri-zushi is hard for gauging quality (i politely but reluctantly offered the tuna to casey).

the saving grace was the little dish of pickled squid, which i was told was specially marinated in sake. the squid was tender, yet retained its characteristic bite. the little slivers were salty and incredibly flavorful, tasting of sweet mirin and offering a hint of spiciness.

my companion's spinach gomae and age dashi tofu were tasty but average. i had a lingering feeling that he resented me for not letting him order the more adventurous age dashi mozzarella.

my next course was some kind of non-descript dumpling floating in a thick, clear broth. the giant deep-fried taro dumpling was creamy and luxurious, but the glutinous shitake broth was a little strange:

(sigh. sorry for these terrible photos. the lighting was atrocious.)

casey's second course was one of restaurant nippon's house specialties: soba salad. this was our first taste of real, handmade soba. the noodles were smooth and slippery, cooked just enough (though short of al dente) for a great, characteristic bite. the salad was dressed lightly with more vinegar than oil (as cold asian dishes tend to be), and was incredibly flavorful. the soba salad was laced with fresh greens, shreds of carrot and nori, bits of puffed rice and toasted sesame, elements that complimented but took no attention away from the superstar soba. swept away by the flavors and textures, i brazenly asked to take more and more bites from casey's plate as he (for all his engineering prowess) lamented his inability to wind the slippery noodles around his chopsticks.

[note] i forgot to take pictures of casey's food, so you'll have to deal with stock photos from the restaurant's website. his soba salad was like this, albeit served in a more appetizing arrangement and sans the seared tuna:

photo courtesy of restaurant nippon

my third course, tempura, was served in a cute little basket. my parsimonious side suspected that this was to divert our attentions away from the puny serving size. later, i was grateful for the small portions since a single bite of the rich fried shrimp proved to be the perfect mouthful. the oil would've been too much to handle had casey not been there to share the rest.

shortly thereafter, casey was presented with his final course: beef negimayaki. an original creation, it was first made at the prompting of the late ny times restaurant critic craig claiborne. casey and i agree that the dish was too western; flavors were strong, heavy and one-dimensional. the raw scallions were fresh, but i would've preferred soft, cooked scallions against the tender chewiness of the sliced beef. the teriyaki sauce was unimaginative, and too much of it was added to the sizzling platter. congratulations to craig claiborne, for setting back japanese cuisine by encouraging americans to eat this second-rate benihana fare.

again, the restaurant’s crappy photos. sorry!

my last course, zaru soba, arrived just as we consumed the last bites of the meaty beef negimayaki. (service was good about staggering the courses once they noticed we were splitting all the food.) our fitful little waitress began to laboriously explain the proper way of eating cold soba, but i cut her off, haughtily explaining that i knew my way around zaru soba.

i was delighted at the sight of the condiments: next to the airy heap of sliced scallion was an amorphous green mound--freshly grated wasabi! tasting it in its pure state, i was surprised to discover how delicate it was in comparison to its artificial, tube-confined cousin. rather, this true wasabi possessed the juicy freshness of cucumber (or was it cut with daikon?), very low heat, and a subtle essence all its own.

i mixed the entire lump into the dipping sauce of dashi, mirin and soy sauce and stirred in all of the spring onion to flavor the sweet broth. snatching a few strands from the bamboo tray, i bathed them in the dipping sauce before happily slurping them into my mouth, savoring every toothsome bite.

uninterested in the green tea ice cream offered for dessert, casey and i hurriedly asked for the bill, remembering the long wait suffered by our neighbors behind the screen. but first, we were presented with cute little packages of expertly wrapped green washi. inside was a soft pillow of daifuku, a perfect, gently-sweetened end to our meal.

a rant about coffee

2007-03-12T20:14:00.000-07:00

lately i've been terribly confused by all those weirdly named coffee & espresso beverages out there. not to mention the ever-extensive list of sugar bombs that starbucks is gleaning. now i, like every other hot-blooded soul out there, enjoy my coffee morning, noon, and night, but surely our choices don't have to be so goddamn confusing!

after some extensive wiki-ing, i made major headway into getting my caffeinated delights straightened out. however, i still have no idea what to make of these things:

image taken from amazon.com

espresso = hot water is forced, under high pressure, through compressed, finely ground coffee. yields 1 to 1.5 oz.

[espresso variations]
americano = one shot espresso thinned with enough hot water to make a normal 8 oz. cup. dubbed americano b/c it is to be consumed "american style" with milk and/or sugar.
> it's essentially normal coffee!

macchiato = a single espresso topped w/a dollop of frothed milk.
> basically, espresso with an almost unnoticeable hint of dairy

(so that's what i ordered at bouchon! i felt like a fool expecting a moccachino)

cappuccino = a single or double espresso topped with equal parts milk foam.

[coffee and hot milk]
cafe latte = italian. weaker than a cappuccino, a single espresso + 8 oz or so steamed milk. often flavored with syrups. lately it's been fashionable to "draw" in the foam:
<--OMG
various images found on the internets

cafe au lait = french counterpart of cafe latte. strong, dark roast coffee + separate container of heated (not frothed) milk to be mixed before consumption. served in a bowl rather than a cup.

moccachino = a single espresso + some kind of chocolate flavor addition + steamed milk/foam.
> a chocolate latte

cafe mocha = a single espresso + steamed milk + chocolate syrup, topped with whipped cream.
> same as above

[cold coffee beverages]
iced coffee = coffee chilled by pouring over ice. make coffee stronger than usual so it won't turn sour when the ice waters it down. great for strong-brewed leftover coffee

thai iced coffee = coffee over ice, flavored with cardamom and sweetened with condensed milk. served layered so the customer can mix the condensed milk into the coffee:

image borrowed from someone's flickr

frappé = greek ice coffee made from instant coffee topped with foam. what all those god-awful sugary frappuccinos are (loosely) based off of. i’d like to try the true greek version someday.

i have to say that not all starbucks beverages are evil. terribly overpriced? yes, but what isn’t these days? way too much sugar and excessive whipped cream? yes and yes. but those baristas do brew a strong cup of plain old java and their flavored coffees are my secret shame. i am especially a fan of their gingerbread coffee. but being the smart cookie that i am, instead of shelling out $3 for a latte, i concocted my own version of gingerbread coffee.

sorry, but this recipe requires quite a bit of special equipment and ingredients:

1. for each cup of coffee, add two pinches of ground ginger, 1/2 a clove & a pinch each of nutmeg and cinnamon to however much coffee beans you use for 1 serving.
2. grind everything together in a coffee grinder (coffee can't really be ground in a food processor)
3. drip in your normal coffee maker. (i got mine free off those gevalia people, but my true love is the proctor-silex 48524 )
4. enjoy with sugar to taste and your choice of dairy accompaniment

happy sipping!

the catch-up: inexpensive seafood dishes

2007-03-12T14:10:00.000-07:00

i've concluded that the fishmonger on amsterdam is not that great. sure, they specialize in seafood, but their prices are pretty much on par with those of the nicer groceries like citarella or garden of eden. i really wish zabar's would go to the trouble of supplying fresh seafood, but they're happy enough with selling the prepared stuff.

i picked up a little sack of mussels for a dinner date with my buddy yi. i scanned the offerings for some fish, but the tuna had bad color and the salmon looked tired. i chose to gamble on some white fish and bought a pound of monkfish filet, aka poor man's lobster.

for mussels, around 5 bucks will get you about 4 pounds' worth, which is plenty for up to 3 people. i cooked them in the classic french style with butter, shallots, wine & parsley, serving it with a loaf of crusty bread. yi brought crisp cucumbers cut into sticks and we ate our hearty meal entirely sans utensils.

(yi takes really maniacal photos of me. i am actually holding up a pair of tongs in my hand)

onto the monkfish: monkfish are really horrid looking creatures, but their flesh is delicate in taste and meaty in texture. (photo below comes courtesy of livescience.com’s “top 10 ugliest animals” poll)

i looked through my cookbooks and was inspired by a recipe for monkfish medallions. the cream sauce was sort of my own creation. i made this a month ago so the details aren't very clear in my head, but i think it went something like this:

1. cut monkfish filet(s) into 1.5 inch thick medallions, season with salt, pepper, dried thyme & rosemary
2. add oil & butter to a skillet and sear monkfish on each side for a few minutes
3. remove fish, add more butter to pan and sauté 1 diced shallot until soft while scraping up the bits of fish stuck to the pan
4. deglaze with a little white wine
5. turn heat to low, stir in some heavy cream and a pinch of chopped parsley. season with salt & pepper to taste
6. pour sauce over monkfish & serve with some kind of starch

(sigh. i love cream sauces.)

recently, i made tilapia with israeli couscous. i've been itching to make israli couscous for awhile now. turns out it's a really quick and easy dish: simply sauté a diced onion until soft, add in the couscous to toast, then pour in stock, broth or water and let it simmer until all the liquid is absorbed. i had expected couscous to cook like rice, but it's really more like pasta in that it only needs about 10 minutes.

inspired by the couscous, i decided to make up a mediterranean spiced fish dish to go with it. at the local morton williams, i had been shocked at how cheap tilapia had gotten: 2 small filets for only $3! in the kitchen, i went through my spices and chose cumin, coriander, paprika, and cayenne. after combining them into a small bowl to get the quantities right, i rubbed the spice mixture and some crushed garlic onto the tilapia and let that sit while i prepared the couscous.

cooking was straightforward but a little tricky. dry-cooking fish always confuses me. since there's no liquid present, there's a large risk of burning the surface while having a raw interior. first, i scraped off the excess spices. i tried to prevent burn by using a generous amount of olive oil and covering the pan with a lid so steam convection would help cook the fish through. nevertheless, the inside was still a little undercooked when the surfaces were done so i had to stab it with a fork and continue cooking. the fish came out decently moist and well-spiced. the part that was stabbed with a fork fell apart so i hid it with a sprig of parsley:

last thoughts: tilapia gets a bad rap for being a cheap, bland fish, but on the flip side, it absorbs flavors exceedingly well within just a few minutes so it’s a versatile choice when you’re short on time.

the catch-up: sandwiches

2007-03-12T12:01:00.000-07:00

a couple of weeks ago, i discovered le pain quotidien, a belgian bakery-café with branches all over the world (they got 3 in kuwait!). their overpriced cafe au lait and pain au chocolat are my new favorite afternoon treat:

however, the sandwich i picked wasn’t quite up to standard. i ordered their smoked salmon with dill tartine (10), but the bread was tough and the smoked salmon was stringy, getting stuck in my teeth. on the plus side, the arrangement of salad greens and radish was fresh. and the slice of melon was a great touch, the taste of a juicy summer day against all the blistering cold outside.

>>skip forward to…
last week, after ice skating in central park with asian youth program (my volunteer activity), i walked over to columbus circle and treated myself to lunch at bouchon bakery.

everyone complains about the mall atmosphere, but i found it rather pleasant. diners can choose to look down on the fast pace of the world outside or sit back to the din of indoor human traffic. sure, there's distraction (and poor service), but it didn't detract the least from the pure pleasure of the food. even when i was sat at the worst seat on the floor:

yes, a quarter of my dining space (at the bar, no less) was taken up by a comically large bottle of bubbly.

i didn't have to look at the menu to know that i wanted the tartine of tuna niçoise (13.25), renown by almost every reviewer as the ultimate tuna salad sandwich. needless to say, my first brush with the legendary thomas keller was nothing short of magical.

every ingredient in the sandwich was perfectly matched: the hit of garlic in the aioli, the creamy yolk of the hard-boiled eggs, the crunchy discs of radish, and finally, the sliced olives dotting the sandwich like tasty purple jewels. i was totally bowled over, though would've preferred a little less egg and a little more radish for a fresher taste. but oh, that gigantic mass of tuna! it's hard to tell from the photo, but the portions were generous: the sandwich was very meaty and filling. the salad greens were well-dressed and tastier than most house salads.

my favorite part of the sandwich platter was the three little cornichons (french gherkin pickles). they were sweeter than most pickles, but delightfully vinegary and incredibly crunchy. being the pickle fiend that i am, i had to really force myself to eat them slowly so they would last me through the sandwich.

while i was enjoying my meal, i also peered over to see what my neighbor was having: butternut squash soup and CB&J (cashew butter and homemade apricot jam) on thick slices of brioche. the woman who replaced him ordered the thanksgiving-inspired pepper-crusted turkey, served with spiced cranberry relish.

for dessert, i chose chocolate bouchons with coffee ice cream (8), despite the fact that i was still freezing from ice skating. the little chocolate cakes were too dry/chewy and should've been served much warmer. cutting into one with my fork, i found that tiny nooks of melted chocolate dotted the interior of the cake (made using chocolate chips). zero complaints about the coffee ice cream: soft, dark and bittersweet, it was the perfect accompaniment to the dense mini-cakes:

i can't wait to go back, maybe try a pastry from their bakery section. this is a great casual-upscale place (with mid-range prices) to take a visiting friend. show them how sophisticated a new york sandwich can be once it's been transplanted from california.

a sunny day in new york

2007-03-11T13:24:00.000-07:00

yesterday was really a beautiful day. it was warm enough for me to take off my coat and walk about in just a turtleneck and jeans. it was pleasantly sunny, but not blinding. a perfect prelude to spring.

after putting in 2 hours at my odd job, i wandered around the upper east side and came upon designer resale too, a consignment shop (think designer thrift shop) that was having a spring pre-sale. quite lovely stuff, altho the prices were a little steep. after a bit of digging, i did walk out of there with a lovely french-inspired flowered shirt-dress. i was also tempted by a pair of christian louboutin slingbacks (the only pair i've ever seen that didn't have sky high heels), but restrained myself.

happy from my consumerist high, i wandered about some more, taking in the city blocks full of people walking children and newly sweaterless dogs. there were a lot of joggers about. shortly after deciding against going to the met (was not in the mood for indoor date with louis comfort tiffany), i discovered demarchelier restaurant. their chalkboard sign looked promising: mussel soup, pate de foie gras, eggplant terrine...

walking in, i numbered another body in their steady stream of lunch rush customers. service was spotty, but any requests were immediately satisfied once you managed to flag down a waiter. i ordered set 2 on the "express menu," consisting of soup of the day, salad and chocolate mousse (only $15):

the food came immediately. i barely read a page of the book i brought with me (my hero ruth reichl's comfort me with apples). the mussel soup was very smooth, rich and fulfilling. i couldn't figure out why the soup had a green tinge (peas?), but did distinctly taste mussels and well-prepared seafood stock.

i was so happy with the soup that i decided to spring for a glass of wine. choosing a white at random, i went with a sauvignon blanc. tasting it, i was unexpectedly impressed by its quality. really good stuff at $8 a glass!

thoroughly engrossed in my meal, i spooned soup, tore bread (tough, but served with supergood butter), and sipped at my wine. but suddenly, tragedy stuck. as i ripped at a particularly stubborn slice of baguette, i knocked over my wine glass, spilling the entirety of its near-full contents on the floor. luckily the mother-daughter pair next to me was no longer present to bemoan the soaked tablecloth, but i blushed as my neighboring diners gazed at my mess.

thankfully there was no broken glass. a busboy was promptly on the scene, bearing a mop and a kind wisp of a waitress removed my glass, replacing it with a new one (at no extra charge!).

i resumed enjoying every spoonful of my mussel soup. the house salad was perky and minimally dressed, but as unspectacular as one would expect raw bitter greens to be. the pace of the day slowed with each sip of crisp sauvignon blanc. i even started to turn my attentions on the kansas vs. kansas state game playing at the bar:

dishes were cleared shortly after i finished eating and chocolate mousse rounded out the meal. by now i was so enchanted by food and beverage that i forgot to take a photo of dessert. i remembered only after making a sizable dent:

at first, i wasn't too big on it (not a chocolate fan). but it was really light in texture and rich in taste, with a smooth, buttery finish. it had a very full flavor to it, without any metallic or chalky tones that would betray the use of poor quality chocolate. i'm always looking for darker, more coffee-like notes, but this was a good, solid milk chocolate dessert. and not too sweet at that!

when i paid my bill and stepped out to sun-filled streets, i was in such a good mood that i decided to cut through central park and walk the 2.5 miles home:

exhausted from my walk (making a stop at zabar's added yet another mile to my journey), i came back and collapsed into my bed. i made myself a mimosa, uncorking the bottle of Mumm Napa blanc de noirs i picked up on the way home ($17). then i sat back and watched children of men while waiting for my dinner buddies to call.

around 7ish, i started to cook. i've been meaning to learn some Italian dishes. mostly so i can make some for M when i visit him in the future (he's in taiwan). i'd been flipping through old issues of gourmet (january was italian themed) and made up my mind that i would make my own ravioli from scratch. i also intend to make ricotta dumplings and some eggplant dishes... but for that night, the menu was decidedly polenta with mushroom ragu:

(sorry it's not the most appetizing photo, but this was actually some of my best cooking yet)

polenta was pretty straightforward: cook 1 cup of cornmeal in 4 cups water + a generous sprinkling of salt. the recipe said not to use stone-ground cornmeal, but since that’s what i had on hand, i went with it and everything turned out just fine. i don't get why polenta has a rap for being so difficult to make. sure you gotta whisk vigorously in the beginning, but it's not such tough going. after that, you just stir every couple minutes when you catch a break from prepping something else.

mushroom ragu (ragu/ragout = meat sauce) was an original creation. i boiled the hell out of 2 dried shitake mushrooms for their broth (snap off the stems while dry so they'll cook through). once they were near tender, i sliced them up (cut the stems especially thin) and threw them back in to cook down more.

in another pot, i sautéed 1 diced shallot in a big chunk of butter. once they were soft, i threw in an entire container's worth of mushrooms, sliced thinly. i let that simmer over low heat, covered, so that the mushrooms would cook in their own juices. next came the herbs: mostly thyme with a little rosemary, marjoram and nutmeg. a few minutes later, i stirred in a big spoonful of tomato paste, added the shitake + broth from the other pot, and let that reduce.

in yet another pan, i fried up some chopped veggie burger (boca burger brand works best) until the bits were browned and very dry. this is a great vegetarian trick since the dry pieces of veggie burger will absorb less liquid and thus, have a meatier texture. i stirred them in at the end of the cooking process so they wouldn't get too spongy/mushy from the liquid in the mushroom sauce (or the steam released from its latent heat).

the sauce was surprisingly rich for something entirely vegetarian--vegan, at that. i was quite proud. the polenta was fluffy and soft, though not as nutty as i had hoped. i suspect it's the stone-ground white cornmeal. next time i'm springing for the coarse yellow stuff.

lower east side delights

2007-02-26T18:28:00.000-08:00

yesterday, after a somewhat painful and very exciting trip to ny adorned, i decided to treat myself to some edible goodies.

the temperature was dropping and light snow started to fall so i went in search of hot beverages. since i was still a little jittery from my procedure, i wasn't up for anything caffeinated. i passed by max brenner's "chocolate by the bald man," but wasn't really enticed by the prospect of cocoa. after walking about for another 10 minutes and finding only starbuck's and ice cream shops, i gravitated back and decided to try some bald man chocolate. it's been reviewed by the venerated columbia spectator, after all.

the interior of the shop really is a mini-wonka factory, if not a sickening chocolate love explosion:

i waited at the cramped "bar" (basically a 3-foot wide counter space) for my order. i had wanted the "orange chocolat" (funny pseudo-european spelling = thick hot chocolate beverage), but they were out (hmph! frustrated asian face! >_<). i settled for a small dark chocolat ($3.90). serving sizes are quite small: regular = 6 oz, which is wise for such a thick chocolate beverage, but i couldn't help thinking that i wasn't getting my money's worth.

taste wise, i was initially really disappointed by the chalkiness, but this mellowed out (or i got used to it) by the third sip or so. not the best hot chocolate, not by far. i liked how they didn't sugar it to death, but there was just no excuse for the blandness of the actual chocolate. especially for a dark chocolate, which should be characterized by a deep, coffee-like richness. sadly, this was just a plain thick chocolate with an unimpressive, one-dimensional flavor.

once properly warmed up from the quickly cooling cocoa, i walked over to 9th street and caught a late lunch at soba-ya. they kept rushing me to order, but that was my fault since i sauntered in 10 minutes before the kitchen was scheduled to close. service was pretty quick and i was quite happy with my hot "chirashi" soba with inari zushi ($14.95):

i especially liked the little tray of side dishes that came along with this lunch special (hidden behind the giant bowl): some kind of fish cake, some kind of tofu thing and two delicious slices of japanese sweet potato marinated in what i think was mirin.

the soba itself wasn't inspiring. i don't think i got the hand-made kind (do they not serve that at lunch?). the broth was nice enough, though i'm not a huge fan of the sweet-sour dashi stock + mirin combo. the thick slab of fish cake floating on top was unexpectedly flavorful and the tempura battered tiny shrimp was rich and added just the right amount of oil to the light broth. the slice of sweet omelet was a little out of place.

i'd like to go back and try their plain homemade soba, zaru soba style--served cold on a bamboo sieve with cold dipping sauces. i'll have to test all the features on their toto toilet next time as well. i'm still kicking myself for not trying out that damn bidet (it had 2 spray settings!).

re-working recipies

2007-02-24T20:39:00.000-08:00

my love of carbs is going to be the death of me.

i made pizza again today. finished up the last bit of mozzarella i got at zabar's. this time, i added onions to my tomato sauce and sprinkled some white truffle oil and shaved parmigiano reggiano over the assembled pizza before it went into the oven. truffle oil (olive oil infused with truffles) doesn't taste all that crazy delicious in its raw state, tho it does perk up a bowl of pasta like nothing else. but once cooked a little in the oven, the sharp earthiness of the oil mellows down and all you taste is an inexplicably rich flavor. it was like i deep-fried the pizza or something. THAT DELICIOUS. and then i had to take a nap for 3 hours.

earlier in the week, i purchased a copy of bon appetit (a decent read, but does not compare to the gourmet for hoity toity recipes), which did a feature on pizza. giada de laurentiis (that hot italian chick on food network) offered a painless recipe for making your own pizza dough:

1. mix 1 packet yeast into 3/4 cup warm water
2. pulse 2 cups of flour (i used unbleached), 1 tsp sugar & 3/4 tsp salt in a food processor
3. throw in 3 tbsp olive oil and the yeast mixture into the flour and mix until a ball of dough forms, then knead smooth (it's a very nice, soft dough)
4. let dough rise in a big oiled bowl (covered with plastic wrap) for 1 hr
5. punch down and roll out for pizza (makes 2 snowshoe-shaped crusts)

i sort of made up my own sauce: cook ½ a diced onion in olive oil, add minced garlic, add 2-3 peeled, diced tomatoes and season with salt & pepper. put a lid on and let that simmer/cook down for 15 minutes or until thickened, stirring occasionally. add oregano and basil if you feel like it.

preheat oven to 475°F. sprinkle cornmeal on some foil and put your rolled out pizza dough on it. spread the sauce and place your fresh mozzarella on top (cut it in big slices rather than go through the mess of grating). sprinkle with olive oil (or a flavored/infused oil) and shove it into the oven. in 15 minutes or so, you will get a nice thin crust pizza:

earlier this week (same day as pizza day #1), i also made another chocolate truffle tart so i could taste what i missed at the secret lovers party:

this time, instead of using overpriced nabisco famous chocolate wafers, i used anna's thins. i was hoping they had a chocolate flavor, but it was chocolate-mint. i'm not a huge fan of that combo, so i went with cappuccino:

image found on the internets

unfortunately, these cookies have much less mass and so, didn't hold up to the 3/4 stick of melted butter so well (lack of foresight on my part). i ended up pressing the crust mixture into a pie pan and soaked up the excess fat with napkins (went through about 8 or so).

in keeping with the mocha theme, i ground up some coffee beans into a powder and added that to the mixture. i also used a microplane and added a bit of very fine orange zest as well. ultimately, it was the orange that everyone really noticed. next time around i'll go with an orange cookie crust and an entire orange worth of zest.

i'm a little torn in deciding on the cooking time. cooking the tart for less than 20 minutes gives me a velvety truffle texture but this is a little too dense for my tastes. however, cooking it longer than 20 minutes gets you a lighter texture, almost reminiscent of soufflé. however, this is disadvantageous since one's likely to eat more of this highly caloric tart, thinking that its texture is so light (the edges of the tart were the first to disappear).

hmm... what would bourdain do? i know exactly what he would do. that hedonist would never count calories! taste over waist! praise butter!

my brief affair with chocolate

2007-02-11T22:14:00.000-08:00

so i've flagged a couple of recipes in my Gourmet mag and showcased my dessert creation at the 906's secret lovers party. in the spirit of the choco-aneurism that is saint valentine's day, i decided to make the highly recommended chocolate truffle tart:

i’ll have you know that i'm not a baker at heart. i'm far from that girly-girl typecast. i don't particularly care for chocolate or ice cream nor do i ever bake choco-chip cookies or cupcakes. no, that kind of sugar orgy never seduced me. i've also never had a thing for george clooney.

but in the spirit of romancing my fellow valentine-minded party attendees, i made the bold decision to try my hand at some baking. i spent all week researching and buying the best (overpriced) bittersweet chocolate in the neighborhood. i learned that lindt rox, ghirardelli is crap (waxy and tasteless) and hershey's is of laughably poor quality (supersweet and metallic indeed!). i concluded on 2 bars of lindt swiss bittersweet and 1 bar of lindt excellence 70% cocoa (grand total: about $8):

image found on the internets
i also had to forage through 3 groceries before i finally tracking down a box of Nabisco Famous chocolate wafers ($4.00):

image found on the internets
having never heard of this particular product and having my expectations heightened by the $4 price tag (for only 1 sleeve!), you can understand my disappointment when i discovered that the wafers taste almost exactly like cream-less oreo cookies.

while hunting for ingredients took up quite some time, actual prep of the tart was a cinch. making the crust consisted of grinding the cookies in a food processor (another use for my beloved Cuisinart), combining the crumbs with melted butter, pressing that into a pan and baking. all pretty painless stuff. the filling part was a little more work-intensive:

1. melting the chocolate (a perilous task since you're supposed to do this directly in the pot, no double boiler action!)
2. whisking together eggs, cream, sugar, salt and vanilla (this took extra long because a suitemate lent my whisk out and i had to wait for her to retrieve it. in the end, i realize i could've just gone with a fork.)
3. whisk chocolate and egg mixture together (so fun! it was the consistency of puddin'!)
4. pour the filling into the crust and wait for air bubbles to settle out

baking was rather foolproof: there was no risk of burning since you bake until the filling is half-set, then let it finish cooking as it cools.

now the description of the dessert (in the magazine) praised its ease of prep, citing: "the easy cookie crust, which requires no rolling, takes only minutes to make, and is completely foolproof;" "we've added butter and eggs to the standard chocolate and cream (without adding significant prep time)." what they don't tell you is that the actual recipe calls for nearly 6 hours of cooling and chilling time! most of which proved to be utterly pointless since i had to cool the tart to room temperature, chill it in the fridge, then bring it back to room temperature since it got too cold. seriously, just let the thing rest on a counter for an hour, sprinkle some cocoa powder on it and EAT. i really don't understand all this unnecessary sitting in the refrigerator nonsense.

a couple minutes before i headed down to the party, i removed the aluminum foil (a breeze of a task, thanks to a ¾ stick of butter in the crust!), slid it onto a big platter and garnished with a sprig of mint and fresh flowers. since i was worried about airborne contaminates, i fretted about how to properly cover the dessert without ruining its delicately crafted surface. an overturned pyrex mixing bowl proved to be the perfect improvised cake dome!

at the party, i kind of lost track of my tart after placing it in the kitchen, along with a bouquet of plastic spoons. i kept bragging about my creation and encouraging everyone to eat it, but no one was willing to take that first destructive bite. some hours into the party, i hovered back into the kitchen area and got to sample a couple spoonfuls, but by that point, my senses were so dulled by vodka that i couldn't make out the taste of the chocolate. i do remember, however, that the texture was pretty top-notch: satiny smooth and dense. i can only assume that others approved of it, judging from the ravaged remains:

inspired by the february issue of Gourmet magazine

2007-02-11T12:21:00.000-08:00

i've been meaning to make french onion soup for some time now. there was a really romantic article in Gourmet about this woman's Le Creuset. all her talk of sunny cast iron, golden gratin, and yellow fingerlings inspired me to action.

i wanted to go through the whole complicated process (save for making my own stock, which i will save for another rainy day). i finally had every last ingredient together: vermouth (which i now try to keep on hand perpetually), cognac, worstershire, parsley (which i still sometimes confuse with cilantro), thyme, peppercorns, bay leaves, butter, onions and gruyere (a very stinky cheese, i discovered).

i spent forever chopping up 1.5 pounds of onions (= 10 medium onions). i tried the candle trick but don't know how effective that was cuz i began to build up a tolerance as i went along. i also think i cut the onions too thin cuz some of it cooked down into mush so i had to be super vigilant, making sure that they didn't burn during the caramelization process. i was also quite proud of the fact that i made my first bouquet garni:

actual cooking took FOREVER:
1. softening the onions................15 minutes
2. caramelizing the onions...........20 minutes
3. cooking the soup....................30 minutes
4. making the toasts...................15 minutes
5. baking & broiling the soup........20 minutes

2 hours of sweating over a hot stove later...

quite delicious, though i went a little too heavy with the salt. also, a little too boozy. my potluck dinner buddies seemed to enjoy it well enough. i really liked the toasts floating on top. one's supposed to use baguettes, but i just sliced up my last bit of rye from orwasher's, which worked just as well. buttered and toasted for 15 minutes, i then rubbed a garlic clove on both sides, which imparted such a nice, sharp garlic flavor.

the next day, i decided to travel across the mediterrean and cooked up some turkish-style braised green beans. the recipe called for 2/3 cup of olive oil, which i cut down to a half cup (still too much for my tastes). into that i threw in a sofrito of garlic, onions (scallions actually since the gratinee ate up my entire onion supply) and tomato. next went frozen green beans. i figured since they were going to be cooked down it wouldn't matter too much and it was a good way to get rid of frozen green beans that i never eat (they're tough and taste horrible if not stewed down).

as i was waiting for the liquid to cook down, i decided to jazz up the beans and make it into a heartier stew. i threw in some cubed potatoes, baby cut carrots (SO convenient to have in your fridge!), and what was left of my frozen spinach. served with a soft roll, it made for a pretty tasty light dinner:

adventures with sugar

2007-02-10T17:13:00.001-08:00

so other than help old ladies dust off their libraries, i also work as a personal assistant on the upper east side. yesterday i trekked over to my boss's gorgeous apartment and helped her organize and run errands. afterwards, i decided to poke about the neighborhood in search of material for a yet-to-materialize column for the school paper. i've got a lot of ideas, the main one being: "find the best ______ in the city." i'd go on adventures, seeking out the flakiest croissant, the juiciest fruit tart, the creamiest crème brûlée, and the like.

last week i went to the new bakery near campus, Chokolat patisserie. the interior of the place is somewhat small, with only a narrow bar with 4 stools for seating. i ordered a mixed fruit tart ($4.50):

seeing as how it's not the right season for fruit desserts, i forgave them for their fruit, which was not quite the peak of freshness one would expect in a fruit tart. the strawberry was way overripe, the blackberries & blueberries tasteless, but the kiwi was alright. the pastry cream was also nothing special: bland, a little dry. the saving grace, however, lied in the crust, which was very well-executed: light in texture and sweetness, buttery with a nice crumb, and yielded easily to my fork without losing its form. really an exemplary crust. overall, the buttery crust overpowered the dullness of the other ingredients, but i'd like to go back when the weather gets warmer and produces some decent fruit.

yesterday, after work, i came upon Corrado bread & pastry, a small chain bakery with locations in chelsea and grand central. the interior was really cute and cozy (see pix via the link), with small mosaic tables lined against an upholstered bench built up against a wall of windows. i ordered a cranberry scone ($2.00):

sigh, what can i say? it was cold, tough and dry. really buttery, but suspiciously so. i'm guessing something artificial in the flavoring. nothing that buttery can be so stiff in texture. as for sugar content, they could've spared a little something to counterbalance the extremely tart cranberries hidden in the scone. all precious three of them. i was muchly disappointed.

next stop on the list (yes, an actual, physical list of nyc bakeries) was Payard patisserie & bisto. after asking the entirely useless pastry counter man for a recommendation ("they're all good"), i spent some time poring over my choices and decided on the "sweet relief" ($5.75, but $6.50 if you eat in and $8.00 if you're nice enough to shell out tax & tip. >_<). the overly long-winded description of the dessert read: "mango mousse, pineapple soufflé, roasted pineapple, swiss meringue."

hmph. again, really lovely décor coupled with utterly disappointing food. i didn't even finish this dessert (and for $8, it really pained me to do so). the meringue was sickeningly sweet and what supposedly passed for mousse and pineapple soufflé was distinctly stale and overwhelmingly dry. the roasted pineapple was nonexistent. i washed down what i could with my giant glass of water and concluded that i should no longer spend my pennies on desserts i'm not even interested in. from here on out, only fruit tarts and custards for me!

oh, and i also embarrassed myself by picking off the little Payard tag and tasting it, assuming it was made of chocolate. wrong! good thing no one was looking as i gingerly removed the piece of plastic from my mouth. yarg, what's up with inedible garnish? i thought top chef taught america that that was no longer acceptable!

sigh, is it so difficult to find a decent patisserie in the city? will someone kindly step up and set a proper standard for the sugar content of pastries?

right now i'm coping with my patisserie disappointments by eating what was once my favorite cereal, basic 4 ($5.00):

image found on the internets

basic 4 now faces stiff competition for my cereal love from costco's cranberry macadamia nut crunch (a cereal so elusive there exists no photos of it in the vast network of the internets).

i have a passionate love of breakfast cereals, especially as a substitute meal for dinner. although tonight, as i was happily crunching my way through my second bowl, i got to thinkin: why is it called basic 4? the byline on the box reads: a delicious blend of sweet and tangy fruits, crunchy nuts and a wholesome variety of grains, with those four words in boldface. now, i dnno about you, but i don't think "delicious" counts as an ingredient. no, i don't think the FDA would be cool with that at all.

saturday fooding

2007-02-04T17:58:00.000-08:00

yesterday's freezing temperatures did not make for good conditions to food forage on the upper east side. i've done good by taking odd jobs in the early morning to force myself to get up. this particular day began by helping a certain nice old dame organize her late husband's dusty old book collection. i help her carry stuff, fetch things from high shelves, shoot the breeze. all in all, a pretty good gig. i work only for an hour or two, since the entire dusty affair tuckers her out. afterwards, i get a few pretty pennies for spending on my beloved baked goods.

having finished "work" at around noonish, i decided to forgo a conventional lunch and nourish myself on bakery treats instead. on my way to lady m (more below), i stopped at the very cramped anneliese's bakery and had a cold, tasteless (and overpriced!) pumpkin tart.

moving along, i was quite lucky to come across orwasher's handmade bread. when i first stepped into the place, i was pleasantly surprised by the wafts of fresh yeasty goodness. located in a quiet neighborhood on 78th street, it's really a lovely place. very warm and inviting. apparently, it was named one of the top ten bakeries in america by epicurious.com (i fully intend on visiting the rest of the list sometime in the near future). i bought a loaf of their lightly seeded rye. the rye flavors were lighter than i expected, but the bread was delicious and excellent, i expect, for sandwich-making. the texture, though, was really something quite special. delightfully chewy, but neither heavy nor dry.

so onto the main event! after discovering and reading through the entirety of the hungry hedonist, i was itching to try the mille crepes at lady m confections. the caramelized crepe that topped off the cake was very flavorful, a smoky toffee. i was pleased by the layers of incredibly thin yet impossibly fluffy crepes and highly impressed by their light-handed, prudent use of sugar in their signature cake:

image courtesy of lady m

unfortunately, the vanilla crème spread between the layers wasn't anything to write home about. another disappointment was the fact that the caramelized top crepe got a little tough and wouldn't yield to my fork. i really wanted to get a morsel of that caramelized crepe with each bite of cake (for a uniform flavor), but couldn't do so without destroying the structural integrity of the neatly layered crepes.

the worst of the experience was their terrible espresso. numbed with cold from the long walk to madison ave, i wanted something strong and warm. my tiny little serving of espresso came in a very charming gold-rimmed cup. one sip, however, and i grimaced at the terrifyingly acidic brew.

despite lady m's shortcomings (the hungry hedonist really pumped this place up for me), i'm definitely going to make a return trip to try their tarte aux fruits, which is the only dessert i really strongly care for. sweets aren't really my thing, but i do have a special place in my heart (and gullet) for a good fruit tart:

image courtesy of lady m

a subway and a FOUL bus ride later, i walked on home and decided to concoct a reviving soup for dinner. having not gone on a proper grocery run for weeks now, i made do with what i had left in my fridge: onions, potatoes, frozen spinach.

i caramelized onions and kept them moist with little splashes of vegetable stock (from bouillon). in another pot, i boiled potatoes in stock with thyme springs and a bay leaf, then dumped that to the onions. BIG MISTAKE. i didn't cook nearly enough onions for the high volume of potatoes and MSG-laden stock and thus, lost all the delicate flavor of my painstakingly caramelized onions. next time i think i'll concoct all flavors from scratch. maybe boil potatoes in stock, but then drain the stock and add milk. next, i mixed in half a package of frozen chopped spinach (too much), which contributed an expected metallic-ness, but also an unwelcome sour taste to the soup. i tried to balance this out with a cup of whole milk, but the spinach taste was overpowering.

texture wise, the potatoes came out really nicely and the bits of spinach just kinda disappeared into the soup. i ate my concoction with slices of orwasher rye, toasted with a sprinkling of olive oil. all things considered, not a bad attempt for something whipped up out of leftovers:

gastronomical adventures with M, international man of mystery

2007-02-02T15:46:00.000-08:00

lately i've had my share of food escapades but haven't really been so good about photographing them. the main reason for the lack of updates is the dubiously named M, a devastatingly charming young man who has stolen not only my heart but also a pair of my panties. you see, M visited last week and captured every bit of my attention, much to the chagrin of my academic and social life on campus.

during his glorious week-long visit, we roamed new york and conducted a rigorous investigation of several reputable dining establishments. being a vegan, M's dining options are even more limited than my own pescatarian pickings. still, we occasionally turned a blind eye to certain unavoidable animal products in the interest of politeness and happily ate our way through most of midtown.

going out for afghan was M's idea. after a quick scroll down citysearch.com, we decided on Ariana afghan kebab restaurant (rated 9.0), located in hell's kitchen. as per the recommendation of some idiot on said citysearch, we ordered the pumpkin appetizer, which was tasty and tender, but really nothing more than a couple of cooked pumpkin slices + yogurt. our entrées, however, were well worth its long journey to our table. M and i hedged our bets and ordering two veggie combos for a total of 4 vegetarian curries: okra, spinach, pumpkin and eggplant. surprisingly, the okra was my favorite, despite my usual indifference to the slimy vegetable.

most notable about this particular experience was our zany host/waiter/chef. since we had dined in on a weekday night, there were only two other parties in the restaurant. after we had finished our meals, the chef came out and chatted awkwardly with us. he was even so kind as to offer us an experimental batch of hummus he had concocted, which, though chunky, was too dry to really be a hummus. it was also dangerously garlicky. nevertheless, a heartwarming touch.

the best chirashi i've ever had in my life was at Chiyoda, which was memorable mainly due to their perfectly prepared rice. i intended to take M there to at least try some of their vegan-friendly cucumber or pickled veggie rolls, but unfortunately the sushi side of the eatery was closed! we made do with picking up some onigiri and super delicious stewed renkon in the cafeteria-style section of the shop.

when M was in the mood for a bowl o' ramen, i hit a foul while trying to find a new joint instead of sticking to the tried and true. a second bad ramen experience with M, the first being at the usually reputable Menkuitei (east village location pictured above). we ended up going to Sapporo, as recommended by the highly useful JETAA guide. upon entering the place, we were greeted by an immediate wave of rich broth aroma. then, we stood around awkwardly until the hostess waved at us, indicating that we could sit wherever.

M and i each ordered a version of the vegetable ramen. i regret not ordering more corn in mine (i love biting into sweet corn that contrasts with the salty miso broth it swims in). while the noodles were tasty, there was something off about the broth... it tasted vaguely of misused vinegar? also, way too much scallion nor did i welcome the unsavory addition of cabbage to the mix.

all in all, should've headed to david chang's Momofuku noodle bar instead, regardless of how long it takes to get into that cramped little bit of heaven.

M's stay in new york exposed him to some dreadfully cold weather. we sought refuge from the bitter winds by indulging in sweets and snacks. our late evening foray upon Ted's montana grill capped off one of the best dates either of us could remember.

M ordered us a plate of monstrously large onion rings, served with nearly a bowlful of horseradish sauce. M's glass of knob creek bourbon was a big as a bucket. but somehow, i was served barely a squirt of cappucino. it was M's theory that there existed a direct correlation between serving size and how cowboy-worthy one's food choices were. thus, whisky:bucket::pretentious coffee:thimble.

somewhere after we polished off the onion rings before the long-awaited arrival of dessert, i began to take in the atmosphere of the place. what i had initially taken for a kitschy family-oriented cowboy bar was really quite a romantic eatery. while our table was situated under a giant buffalo head, the appropriately dim lighting, faux leather tablecloth topped with butcher paper and comfy booth-style seating made for an unexpectedly upscale feeling. the soothing 20's music, with the occasional vinyl crackle and pop, was incredibly endearing. M and i were even tempted to get on the floor and softshoe a little. but what really did for this place was... the gorgeous bathrooms. the frosted glass on the doors were something straight out of a dick tracy movie.

right when i came back, our waitress stealthily snuck away to the kitchens and returned promptly with a sizzling platter of apple crisp a la mode. for $7 (seriously, $7!), we were treated to a sumptuous, freshly made-to-order heap of apples, nutty crumb topping, and light vanilla bean ice cream. the thing was big enough to serve 4 people. quite a step up from your local applebee's sugar-a-thon.

one of my favorite things in the world is the activity of restaurant hopping and there's no better place in the city to do it than chinatown. unfortunately, this particular romp proved to be somewhat disappointing due to overly greasy pan-fried noodles at our second stop which led to an inopportune inability to stomach dessert.

we started off well enough at my favorite thai place: pongsri thai restaurant. apparently the oldest thai joint in the city (dubious), this place will eternally warrant a gold star in my book. cute decor, cheap prices, uniformly delicious dishes (except for one bad run in with the "vegetarian duck," but that's just cuz i don't care for seitan), and unbelievably quick service = a must eat!

a few notes:
*their pad thai is tasty but the quality has deteriorated in recent years (still, a good fill for $6)
**a spiciness level of two stars is the perfect amount of heat, in my opinion (you can shoot for three if you feel the need to impress someone)
***any curry with the peanut sauce is rich and delicious

on a down note, their dessert guy is out of the country and as a result, no more water chestnuts in pink tapioca. =(

Chickpea by st. mark's was a much needed unexpected surprise. i've passed by this place so many times yet never bothered going in cuz the facade looked too corporate-spiffy to house any decent ethnic food. NOT TRUE! my falafel sandwich was assembled in seconds by a pita-stuffing expert, who was clever enough as to stuff falafel, greens and veggies in batches! no chewing through half a sandwich of salad to get at the falafel, every mouthful is perfectly balanced! what a lovely, lovely sandwich man!

as an added plus, i just found out (via their website) that their pita bread is made in house! no wonder it was so perfectly moist and chewy!

during one of our many exploits in the city, M and i chose to take afternoon tea at our local Hooters. being resourceful, we ordered dr. pepper (spiked with M's emergency flask of whisky), curly fries and key lime pie.

for some reason, our adorable petite waitress gave us forks when serving our fries and then steak knives (i kid you not) for our pie. though puzzled, M and i had not the heart to bring this to her attention. instead, we turned our attention onto tiny orange shorts. as any patronizer of hooters restaurants knows, this establishment is really not so much about the t's as the a's. apparently some kind of trade secret.

* all images in this post courtesy of the internets

i have a fishmonger!

2007-01-08T20:50:00.000-08:00

#2 on my new year's resolutions is to go out at least once a day. living in a high-rise where there's a workout station equipped with treadmills on the 16th floor and a computer lab on the 10th, i'm pretty set so long as i have groceries (accessible across campus or 3 blocks south). i tend to hole up in here a lot, making food and geeking out online and not much else. dormitory living is too comfortable for my own good.

so i walk out today, find that the atm at the hospital is dead, my gourmet magazine's not yet arrived, and the fruit vendor on the corner took the day off. luckily, i ran into allen, an ex-suitemate, and we caught up while talking shit about school.

i then ventured beyond campus and bought a cheap bottle of vermouth, a fortified white wine (thanks williams sonoma kitchen companion!), with the intention of making me some seafood. i watched "big night" the other day and was inspired by tony shaloub's stubborn devotion to food. i didn't care for the movie's inconclusive end, but i suppose finishing anything off with a breakfast of eggs and crusty bread is good enough for me.

i did some online digging on manhattan fish markets. the most reputable (sayonara fulton fish market) have all moved up to the bronx for greener pastures and lower rents, so i decided to try my chances with local fishmongers. i clicked to google maps, which is amazing in its own right (the satellite feature lets me see people's driveways!), but quite unreliable when it comes to locating businesses. it often mistakes manhattan & brooklyn listings, is unable to find certain locations, and keeps listing businesses that have long closed down. today i attempted to check out what was supposed to be atlantis fish market on 110th between broadway & amsterdam and instead, found a synagogue. however, in my own bemused wanderings, i located a decent looking fish market a block away from the lion's head pub and got myself a $4 bag of mussels.

ignoring the warnings of anthony "no fish on monday" bourdain, i proudly toted home my bag of half-frozen mollusks. since i was cooking for one (tragic, non?) and wouldn't dream of reheating mussels in tupperware, i dutifully picked through the shells (tossing away about 1/5 of them that had opened up), cleaned them, and set aside half for a future dinner for one.

loosely following the french preparation for moules mariniere, i cooked some diced onion & garlic in butter, added a few splashes of dry vermouth, a grind of black pepper and a pinch of dried herbs (for lack of a bouquet garni). in went the mussels and within a few minutes, every last one of those suckers opened up beautifully.

i hit a bit of a speed bump when my fettucine refused to cook up on time (what, 13 minutes & still not enough??) while the mussels cooled. once acceptably al dente, i quickly tossed the noodles in the reduced white wine & mussel broth, threw the mussels back in to warm up and plated an overflowing dish of seafood:

i was a disappointed by the fact that i reduced the broth too much and my mussels were a little dry (so i was robbed of the pleasure of slurping their juices out of the shell), but they were quite sweet, tender and satisfyingly plentiful.

ode to korean food

2007-01-05T12:15:00.000-08:00

lately, what with all my watching of korean dramas, i've been craving korean food nonstop. when i went home to jersey, i headed out for bbq with my buddy johann. unfortunately, the korean population in essex county isn't concentrated enough to warrant good korean joints. johann had bulgogi (too sweet) and i had the spicy squid (tougher than usual). the appetizers (banchan) weren't that great. even the kimchee was off (too vinegar-y and not spicy enough for my taste). our pajuon was also kinda soggy and too greasy. all in all, $60 worth of disappointment!

i was lucky enough to come back to new york in time for new year's, on which i ate my two favorite korean foods: dukbokki and soon doo boo. soon doo boo usually has pork in its stock, but i just ignore that little detail. in fact, i've been pretty lenient with my pescatarianism of late, taking a meaty bite here and there for the sake of expanding food horizons. i even had a meatball at ikea!

after tasting their piping hot and appropriately spicy soon doo boo, my faith in, or rather my willingness to dine at the mill has been reinstated (last time i got their grilled mackerel and it made me sick). newly inspired, i hopped over to the local m2m mart & bought a quart of kimchee to make my own version of kimchee tofu stew.

the weaponry:

making it up as i went along, i sautéed some minced garlic, sliced onions & scallions. then i dumped boiling water into that and added a couple spoonfuls of doenjang (korean miso paste), a ton of kimchee and a block of silken tofu.

put that on low heat and let it bubble slowly for about ½ an hour (a perfect chunk of time to go for a 3 mile treadmill run!), and i enjoyed this after my afternoon workout:

a look back at 2006

2007-01-04T12:22:00.000-08:00

March 4th
dinner for maggie & tian: teriyaki salmon (extra scorched cuz maggie & i have a love for carcinogenic foods), spinach with peanut sauce, glazed carrots, rice & green tea

April 7th
yurika & okonomiyaki:

April 22nd
cheapo blue crabs from a trip into chinatown:

...skip to November 27th
my first taste of quorn! (that's some kind of weird veggie chicken made from processed fungus... yum!)

December 2nd
one of my brunches showcasing my newfound ability to make pancakes:

December 19th
and finally, my take on spaghetti, with fresh tomato, mushroom & herbs: (sappy korean movies will have you believe that spaghetti is the most romantic food in the world)

how i spent the holidays

2007-01-04T11:41:00.000-08:00

i don't really hold christmas in my heart. i'm not religious at all, i'm not close to my family, and i'm not as interested in the activity of gift-giving as i used to be. still, i made an attempt to get in the spirit and check out the ruckus over at rockefeller. the light show always gets me.

i also decided to do something nice for my parents for once.

2 days before christmas dropped, i tricked them into driving into the city under the guise of helping me pick up extra luggage (usually they make me schlep home via public transportation, laden with laundry stuffed duffle bags). i told them to come at around 5 or 6. while they spent the day shopping in flushing, i slaved away cooking up a pre-christmas, non-holiday-themed feast.

the menu consisted of:
warm potato salad (didn't come out so well b/c i boiled the potatoes in large pieces)
haricots verts with crushed almonds (fancy term for string beans)
sautéed mixed mushrooms (one of my specialties, it's so easy and tasty)
salmon filets en papillote with a light tomato cream sauce
-->sigh, sorry, didn't take any good photos of the table.

and for dessert,
strawberry lemon curd tart (i forgot to glaze it)
muscat dessert wine

the next day, i made a gingerbread house with my sister. problem is, i used a recipe for actual gingerbread cake instead of the drier stuff they suggest for making gingerbread residences. after a slew of other headaches: mom bought the wrong kind of icing, the mini-candy canes were broken, molasses are just plain god awful to deal with (they smell like death!)... marila and i came up with an acceptable, though somewhat inedible house:

all the jelly beans disappeared mysteriously by the 27th.

four-ingredient comfort food

2006-12-18T15:49:00.000-08:00

tonight, i wasn't particularly hungry. i craved a taste of something sour, so i ate some takuon pickles. doing so opened up my appetite. no clue what i wanted to eat. i was tired of dairy (this week's been filled with cream sauce pasta and that damn cheesecake that's still sitting in my fridge).

inspired by one of my suitemates, who came up and made some sort of ramen with canned corn and eggs, i decided to break out the last of my rice and make my favorite favorite comfort food: a lightly fried egg over plain white rice. i'm not adventurous enough to eat tamago kake gohan, especially not in the states, where our eggs are kept in refrigeration for god knows how long. so i compromise and make this:

despite the simplicity of this meal, it is one of the most insanely delicious and satisfying dishes one can prepare. (also, supercheap) the four integral ingredients are as follows: a fresh bed of plain white rice, an egg (two if you like), kikkoman soy sauce (preferably from a packet) and a sprinkling of very thinly sliced scallions.

rice must be cooked perfectly, as always. so many of my friends love nishiki rice, but my fav is the kokuho rose brand (available at any chinese/asian grocery, i believe). nishiki is a little too sticky and doesn't have as much bite to it.

image found on the internets

eggs, too, must be cooked perfectly: get a non-stick wok or a frying pan very hot and add about a tablespoon of oil. all is lost if the egg sticks to the pan and the yolk springs a leak. over high heat, crack your egg into the pan (or crack the egg into a small bowl then slide it into the pan, if you tend to break eggs), making sure the yolk is neatly cradled in the center of the white. fry, uncovered, only until the bottom of the egg is solidified enough to be flipped. cook the other side briefly, less than a minute.

transfer your perfect, still-wobbly egg onto a bed of rice and stab open the yolk with chopsticks. sprinkle (don't splash) 1 soy sauce packet over the egg and toss some scallion bits over it. enjoy warm.

[optional] sometimes i toss a light layer of toasted sesame seeds and/or nori flakes over top. it adds an extra oomph of umami

my first deep frying experience!

2006-12-12T12:18:00.000-08:00

i bought my first gourmet magazine. i never bothered to before since all their recipes are available online, but i needed something to read on the train down to jersey. i got the xmas issue. i really love it, even if it's all about cookies, cookies and hors d'oeuvres. there were a couple of really insightful egg preparations, mostly notably the deep fried poached eggs:

image from epicurious.com

despite the fact that the recipe seems somewhat troublesome, it's really not all that intense. poaching-->breading-->deep frying. no biggie. my poaching didn't work out so well: the whites were overcooked while the yolks were incredibly runny. the water was boiling a little too hard. god, i really hope i don't have salmonella. i just bought the eggs today so hopefully they were safe enough.

man, i love deep frying. it's so much fun! you just pop something in there for a couple seconds and watch it turn golden brown. it's all bubbling and crispy and delighful. not greasy at all. i was quite pleased. i think i'll make potato chips next!

also, the creamed spinach was delicious. frozen spinach + cream + shallots (onions and garlic for lazy, cheapo me) = a super rich vegetarian dish. full of dairy fatty fat fat.

(mine doesn't look as crispy delish cuz i didn't do the deep fried serrano ham bits)

my freshly re-sparked affair with bread

2006-12-11T15:39:00.000-08:00

random poster found on the internets

so the "bread baker's apprentice" doesn't sit so well with me. every review i've seen of the thing is so approving. but for me? it's a little... much. too much detail. too involved.

furthermore, recipes take forever to complete:
making pate fermentee.............1 hour + refridgerating overnight
unchilling pate fermentee..........1 hour
kneading................................10 minutes
fermenting..............................2 hours
proofing..................................1 hour
actual baking...........................20 minutes
cooling...................................40 minutes

PLUS, the confusing wording: "ferment at room temperature for 2 hours, or until the dough doubles in size. if the dough doubles in size before 2 hours have elapsed, knead it lightly to degas and let it rise again..."

i don't get it. with my previous experience with bread, i know for a fact that there has to be 2 fermentations: the primary and the secondary. so... do the instructions suggest that you just ferment just once for 2 hours? what if the dough doesn't double in size before the 2 hours? god, i'm so nitpicky. but still! you have to degas! you simply must!

all in all, the bread came out pretty well. my kneading skills could use some work, but my dough came out pretty well. a lot softer and more pliable this time. blending all-purpose flour with bread flour makes the kneading much easier. i also did a lot better on my windowpane testing this time around.

the bread was pretty good. not even my addition of butter to the dough could make it taste richer. keeping the pate fermentee overnight really developed some good flavors. so yeah, peter reinhart knows what he's doing, but he's too advanced for me. i'm but a petit, naive little baker:

who produced this in only 5 hours flat:

appliances that i greatly fear

2006-12-08T12:23:00.000-08:00

a couple of kitchen items out there just freak the hell out of me. i used to REALLY dislike microwaves and any cooking involved with microwaves. mostly because:
1) microwaves turn food into rubber (how can anyone suggest cooking eggs in a microwave? that's insane!)
2) i HATE the smell of microwave popcorn (the SMELL, it just won't go away! it permeates EVERYWHERE)
3) does anyone actually know how it really works? (+1 if you remember that episode of pinky & the brain)

i've been more approving of the microwave lately. however, i will only use it to reheat rice (there's really no other way of doing this), defrost things and melt butter. i may just add make microwave popcorn to the list since i met some hawaiian girl last night who introduced me to the delicious wonder that is hurricane popcorn:

this delicious treat is popcorn with nori and little rice crackers. created by the island people, it, of course, is a world of delicious.

but back to my fear of kitchen applicances: i don't believe i'll ever invest in a toaster oven. i fear the high probability of losing flesh to it. not so much like , but more so
+ NOT PAYING ATTENTION =

my ex had one and never used it cuz the outer surfaces would get ridiculously hot. several minor burns taught him that it was better to just go with a regular toaster. still, it's real nice for making pizza bagels and bruschetta and the like.
>>would i ever buy it? hmmm, only if i built a non-heat-conducting safety case around it.

another kitchen thing i fear is the benriner. aka the mandoline, lots of pros endorse this thing because of the ease with which you get uniform slices and shreds and juliennes. however, every single customer review i've read of this thing warns against how dangerous it is and how someone's spouse lost a finger or something. what's the point of having perfect cucumber slices when you look like you just got in a fight with edward scissorhands?
>>would i ever buy it? only if it comes with a free pair of chain mail butcher's gloves

* all images in this post courtesy of the internets

food loves your attention

2006-12-07T22:39:00.000-08:00

i've found that when trying out a new recipe/technique/ingredient, one should really focus all of one's attention. like, devote one's attention on the new addition to the family and ignore all the little snot-nosed demons on the side.

i really thought i could multi-task and attempt to cook brussel sprouts + handle george foremanning a salmon burger, making a lemon-pepper sauce for it, heating up frozen corn and unloading & loading the dishwasher (incidentally, one of my all-time favorite activities). didn't seem like such a daunting task... until i noticed that my brussel sprouts had sat in the fridge a bit long and i had to remove the outer leaves off all of them, trim their stalks & split them in half... while my salmon burger dried out.

i roughly followed the one brussel sprout recipe offered in the Gourmet but was suspicious of its instructions to cook the sprouts (cut side down) for 10-15 minutes. uncovered! i stuck through for 8 minutes, then got discouraged and hit the pan with a little water + covered to steam. they came out real dry anyway. and a little scorched. maybe there wasn't enough butter. maybe it was the terrible terrible generic brand butter (more on this later). sigh. i don't think sprouts are best when "roasted" in a nonstick pan. i think i prefer them smothered in butter with pearl onions and root veggies. mayhap i'll try that next.

my lemon-pepper sauce (more like a glaze) tasted real nice though. the corn... well, it was just boil-heated frozen corn.

in other news, i made scones again and they came out wonderfully. winning remarks from all who tasted them (cept myself, i thought the frosting/glaze that ran down the side/bottom got a little burnt). even though i had no distractions (no other dishes to take care of), i'm pretty sure it's the forgiving nature of scone-making that resulted in such a good end product. again, they were todd's mom's recipe (i'm taking so much credit for this woman's recipe filtering).

preheat oven to 425F

combine:
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
2 tbsp sugar

add 1/3 cup butter (cut up) & do that rubbing the fat into the flour thing til you get small pea-sized butter-flour pellets.

mix in ½ yogurt (low-fat, full-fat, whatev), 1 egg, 2 tsp lemon zest (i microplaned a whole lemon's worth of zest, yum!) & knead into a dough.

shape dough into 2 rounds & cut each into 6 wedges or go nuts with your own shaping of choice. transfer to a cookie sheet lined with aluminum foil (dull side up! i can't believe how many people don't know this!). oh, best to butter up that foil, too.

whisk together 1 ½ tbsp lemon juice with 1 cup confectioner’s sugar to make a frosting/glaze. brush a thick layer of the frosting onto the tops of each scone (taking care not to get any on the foil, where it will caramelize, glue the scone to the foil and/or burn).

bake for 12-15 minutes or until golden/pretty/edible-looking.

my precious little cooking library: a topical review

2006-12-04T13:16:00.000-08:00

1) i've been randomly reading the "williams-sonoma kitchen companion" lately:

it's an amazingly thorough but succinct guide for amateur cooking enthusiast like myself. just for fun, i'll flip to a random page and read up on what a cherimoya is. flip to another and i'll learn that escarole and endive (those unfamiliar greens in your "spring mix" salads) are part of the chicory family. another page will tell me that an opened carton of heavy cream can stay fresh in the fridge for 4 days. the best feature of this tome is that it has sections on selecting, storing & preparing that offer expert accounts on the handling as well as the serving of foodstuffs.

2) another of my favorite texts is the ever indispensable "gourmet cookbook". i got it as a christmas/winter solstice gift from a baking friend and have put it to good use every time i decide to cook something new:

i just did a search on amazon.com and the new 2006 version (which comes with a dvd!) is selling for only $26.40 (list price is $40). seriously, this is the best $25 bucks a foodie might ever spend. at 1000+ pages, it's quite the collection. it also includes several useful inserts about ingredient handling and prep techniques. not to mention there's more than a thousand straightforward, lovingly drafted recipes. i made a very well received upscale mac & cheese from this book: "the best macaroni & cheese i have ever tasted in my life. in my life!"

also, i used it to make hard-boiled eggs today. the gourmet touts the following as its "perfect" method:
1. place eggs into a large heavy pot & cover with 1 ½ inches cold water. partially cover & bring to a rolling boil.
2. reduce heat to low, cover pot completely & cook 30 seconds
3. remove from heat & let eggs stand in hot water (covered) for 15 minutes
4. run eggs under cold water to stop cooking

i never really understood why the green/grey ring around the yolks was such a big deal. still, this method did execute perfect hard-boiled eggs: it delivered on the “bright yellow velvety yolks” that were promised, plus the whites were very tender (no hint of rubbery-ness at all).

3) because i'm thrifty, an eager consumer, and easily attracted by shiny things/pretty pictures, i can't help but buy cookbooks like this:

i'm sure you've seen it before in bargain book displays at your local barnes or borders. i love it for the illustrations; love how every step has a little photo to guide your progress. in terms of recipes, it's decent. not always perfect, not always gourmet, but you should play around with these recipes and supplement them with insights from other cooking guides. all in all, a good deal at $6.

4a) lastly, a remnant of my brief flirtation with bread baking (which i will be sure to nurture into a full on affair once i have the time), a nice little book i should've stolen from my roommates last year:

using bernard clayton's "new complete book of breads," i made a couple of somewhat decent loaves (adding butter to dough adds a delightful richness). i also tried out the recipe for a french baguette using egg white, but i don't think it really made the bread all that more light. then again, bread's a difficult animal entirely foreign to my regular stovetop world.

4b) i purchased this highly recommended/reviewed book at the strand, but have not yet had the pleasure to test out recipes yet.

i have flipped through it in its entirety and it is full of high quality illustrations + detailed (ugh, sometimes so detailed i got bored) explanations of each microscopic step of bread making. i'll get on recipe reviews once finals are over.

* all images in this post courtesy of the internets

tea accessories

2006-12-01T10:51:00.001-08:00

i’m not too big a fan of my pretty little cast-iron (tetsubin) teapot. sure, tetsubin are stylish, maybe “sophisticated,” but too trendy and a touch pretentious unless you’re mr. miyagi.

its selling point is that it keeps tea “extremely” hot. but i haven’t observed that. ceramic does the job just as well. plus, it requires less upkeep and is more sanitary. with ceramic, i can see the brown tea residue left and get at that with a sponge. but a black enamel-coated interior… that’s about as unpredictable as a korean girlfriend. tetsubin need to be dried out completely to prevent rust from forming.

on the other hand, i’m sure it’d be a bitch and a half to clean a gorgeous pot like this as well:

photo from met museum of art

an electrical teapot is an essential that i would recommend for any and every kitchen. i use it every opportunity i get: for tea, for boiling water to prep pastas & noodles, even for personal hygiene when the hot water in my building goes out (this happens rather regularly). of all my kitchen appliance children, i’d characterize this one as my reliable firstborn. i got it for $32.99 during one of amazon.com’s many excellent bed, bath & kitchen sales ($25 off $125 + free shipping, how can you say no?).

i use this thing several times a day. it’s incredibly fast and convenient. trust me, you NEED it in your life:

image from amazon.com

pre-gaming: the unsuspected cocktail party

2006-11-30T14:26:00.000-08:00

for the collegiate, the art of the cocktail party is... incongruous with our lifestyle. cocktail parties stir up images of stuffy suits and boring strapless black dresses with updos. let’s wreck that.

there’s nothing wrong with a cocktail party if there’s some genuinely good conversation and you get to meet entertaining people. for the college socialite, the closest you can get to a true hoity-toity cocktail hour is the oft-overlooked potential of the pre-gaming party.

having frequented a healthy number of college parties this year, i’ve been regularly disgusted by the sweat, spills, and shoeprints of their wake. not to mention the transformation of your bathroom into a vomitorium once the clock hits 1 am. in contrast, the virtues of a pre-gaming party will have people lauding your impressive hostess skills rather than grumbling about regretful hook-ups and reeling hangovers.

the greatest advantage of pre-gaming is that you’re guaranteed your guests will get the hell out when you want them to. not only this, even college guests will do the unthinkable: they will offer to help you clean. since you will be leaving your dorm/apt with your guests, they’ll feel obligated to lend a hand once you make a show of glancing at the time and collecting cups & napkins. thus, your space is left acceptably sanitary and everyone sets out together comfortably buzzed, not to mention dressed to kill for a night on the town. even travel time is more enjoyable since the liquor’s got everyone nice and chatty.

another invaluable advantage is relative sobriety, which characterizes the pre-gaming party. despite the fact that the purpose of pre-gaming is to liquor up, the distinction is that your guests get buzzed, not piss ass drunk. this results in more self-confidence→mingling→witty conversation. also, people will actually be able to REMEMBER the new faces that they meet.

in terms of logistics, i figure you don’t need as much liquor since you’re only responsible for wetting the tongue, not making sure everyone’s smashed all night. thus, you should afford to serve slightly nicer drinks (save the pabst and coors light for frat party entrance fees). this also a great opportunity to test out new cocktails, so break out blenders (margaritas) and pitchers (sangria). it’s post-dinner, so just lay out simple snacks: chips + cookies if you’re in a rush; thinly sliced baguette w/curried egg salad (inexpensive) + frozen grapes if you wanna get more lavish.

most importantly, go out there and be the life of the party. flirt with your guests, fill their glasses (or dixie cups) and get them energized for the next leg of your adventure: clubbing, karaoke, bar hopping, etc. just make sure someone else is responsible for the sweat and slop part of the night. ^_~

most popular combos:
• whiskey and coke (my personal poison)
• vodka + juice (be innovative with this, make ridiculous martinis!)
• mojitos (just cuz I have a pet mint plant)

essential equip:
• middle rack booze: bacardi rum (terrible stuff, but a necessary mixer), skyy vodka, cuervo tequila, jack daniels whiskey (with a secret stash of crown royal just for me!)
• oj, other juices (white grape is quite lovely with vodka)
• cola, sodas, seltzers
• lemons/limes
• music!!! (anything potentially danceable to)

except know substitutions

2006-11-28T09:30:00.000-08:00

on sunday i made my first successful batch of pancakes.

pancakes have always thwarted me. mine would always turn out either tough or undercooked. i've been decent at making dorayaki pancakes, though those tend to be more eggy and thus more resilient/less fluffy. my ideal pancake texture is rich, yet light and somewhat cake-ish. of course consistency of texture throughout the pancake is key. no tough edges or sticky middles!

having made up my mind to thoroughly conquer the world of pancake, i set about constructing something acceptable over the course of this last week. along the way, i've realized two INVALUABLE bits of insight:

1. once poured into a hot pan, a pancake must NOT be molested!!! this is integral to developing a fluffy pancake. any attempt to spread the pancake out will result in a tough, rubbery thing! so long as there is sufficient baking powder/leavening in your mix, trust the pancake to cook through on its own. cuz baby, it has so much love to give!

2. be wary of substitutions. even something as seemingly innocent as swapping unbleached flour for bleached. both are touted as “all purpose,” but apparently (according to pillsbury), bleached flour “goes through an aging process, which improves its baking performance.” just what is this mysterious aging process and how does it result in magically improved baking performance? lies!!!

~additionally, and this was simply me being lazy/impractical/stupid, do NOT try to substitute varying amounts of butter, soy milk, and/or yogurt for whole milk. it's just not meant to be. kindly make the damn 2-block trek to the grocery.

~also, please note that yogurt does not substitute well for sour cream in recipes that require heat.

…yogurt’s not very dependable lately. not at all.

below is the recipe that i've tried twice (one failure due to unwise substitutions, one success from sticking to the ingredients). it comes courtesy of my friend todd's mom (with help from fannie farmer).

griddlecakes
1 egg
2 tbsp melted butter
½—¾ cup milk
1 cup white flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp sugar
½ tsp salt

preheat oven to 200F. set aside a large oven safe plate.

mix dry ingredients together. lightly beat egg, melted butter and milk + add to dry ingredients. stir just enough to combine (don't overbeat!). add more milk to thin if necessary (and yes, it will be necessary).

heat a griddle/large nonstick pan & butter that bad boy (don't let it brown, darling). pour griddlecakes onto hot griddle (use ~¼ cup batter per pancake→3-4 inches in diameter each) & don’t touch it! flip once surface is bubbling & the underside is brownish.

place finished griddlecakes on the oven safe plate and relocate them to the oven (this will keep them warm without getting soggy from steam release).

note: i was actually quite surprised by how little attention todd's mom paid to cooking these. she would flip them over while they were still dripping and batter would ooze out, but they all came out well cooked and scandalously buttery-tasting. an amateur friendly recipe!

i like my pancakes with maple syrup and freshly whipped cream (topped with nutmeg & clove). i think pouring syrup over the top is a bad idea cuz you can't taste the syrup once it’s absorbed by the pancake. thus, you end up pouring more syrup and consuming excess sugar.

my own process for eating pancakes is kinda weird, but quite delightful. i mix the syrup into the whipped cream so i get a goopy maple cream. i then take a pancake, spoon the maple cream over it (using it as an icing) and eat that one pancake. repeat until full.

photo of oolong the bunny found on the internets