Raw Butter May 29, 2009

I was not one of those first grader’s who got to make butter in their class with the nice teacher. Lucky bastards. I only found out how easy it was to make butter about a year and a half ago when I read Oishi Eats’ post about her lil students making it in class. I was like whoa, that’s so cool. Who knew making butter was so easy? When I was in first grade I was still going to elementary school in Korea and let me tell you, there was no butter making projects involved. 

butter fat

buttermilk

So I did it finally. Made my own butter. I was motivated by the chance to use Organic Pastures’ raw cream. I’ve had their da bomb raw milk before so I knew the cream would be bomb too. The thought of having homemade raw butter was very exciting. I picked up the $10 (yes $10 per pint!) bottle of raw cream and got to work at home. Butter is formed when fat globules are agitated and break allowing the liquid fat to combine together into a mass (On Food and Cooking by Harold McGee). You can agitate the cream by bottle and hand, the manual way. I used my standing mixer with the paddle attachment. I just let the machine keep rolling a moderate speed while I watched on the side doing double duty washing dishes. And to my amazement the fat and the buttermilk were starting to separate.

After the butter mass formed I drained out the buttermilk and rinsed the butter with cold water to rinse off any additional buttermilk on the surface. Then kneaded the mass a bit to squeeze out the trapped buttermilk. After that was done I folded in some fleur de sel. Of course I had to test out the butter right away. I toasted up a slice of Milton’s classic white bread and spread some of the freshly made salted raw butter. Oh my goodness, the flavor of the butter was mind-blowing. Rich, sweet, buttery. Buttery butter. It had so much flavor, not having had that pasteurization thing done. What a simple pleasure with immense satisfaction.

Fava Bean Salad with Feta, Hazelnuts, Sumac May 27, 2009

Oh fava beans. Such deliciousness but such hassle. It must be shelled and skinned. Then you get to the the richly green beans. I separate them by three size grouping – small, medium and large. I always have a little trouble with this part because some of the beans seem to be medium and large, or in between. Medium large. But if I start making subgroups it may be a slippery slope. Who knows, maybe I’ll end up cooking each bean one by one! 

Separating the beans by size helps in the cooking process so that each batch of beans will cook in about the same amount of time. This will eliminate some prospects of having beans that are way over cooked (the teeny ones) and ones that may still have a taste of starchiness (the large ones). It seems like one more step of hassle but after you’ve shelled and skinned your fava beans you probably want to take care that they cook properly. Don’t want to waste all the hassle now.

The handful of pods gave up just enough beans for one person. That’ll be me. So after all that hasslin’ and cookin’ carefully in salted boiling water I was able to make my green, summery, delicious fava bean salad with feta, hazelnuts & sumac. I dressed it with a combination of lemon juice, Champagne vinegar and extra virgin olive oil. I love contrasting flavors and textures in salad – nutty crunchy hazelnuts, bright tender fava beans, salty feta cut into little cubes. The hassle was definitely worth it. But then again I’ve only cooked fava beans once this season.

Raw Tuscan Kale Salad with Walnuts, Pecorino May 26, 2009

I kept hearing about raw kale in salads so I decided to try out for myself. I sliced up very thinly a bundle of destemmed Tuscan kale (also known as cavolo nero, dinosaur kale and Lacinato). I dressed it with lemon juice and extra virgin olive oil and added pungent salty pecorino and nutty warm toasted walnuts. This salad really surprised me. It was delicious, hearty and satisfying. Also mentally satisfying knowing that I was getting all this nutritious greens in me.

Lilacs May 20, 2009

Lilacs from Weiser Farms

A bundle of beautiful purple to make a few moms smile on Mother’s Day.

The Day After Korean Taco Night Rice Bowl May 19, 2009

This is what the day after Korean taco night looked like. A amalgamation of tidbits of leftover but unforgotten ingredients – chopped kalbi, caramelized kimchi, thinly sliced jalapeno and chopped scallion over warm fluffy rice, topped off by a runny yolk fried egg. Of course a tad crusty around the edges just like I like it.

A satisfying and quick to assemble comfort food. Would be perfect with a crisp beer… or after a night of many.

Foodbuzz 24, 24, 24: Korean Taco Night April 26, 2009

Korean tacos have taken over Los Angeles brought to the food fiends by the Kogi truck. For this month’s Foodbuzz 24 event I gathered a few of my friends for my own version of Korean tacos.

SPICY PORK TACO

For the pork tacos I used thinly sliced bulgogi-style pork neck and marinated it with gochujang (red pepper paste), garlic, soy sauce, sesame oil, and sesame seeds, called doejji bulgogi. I added sliced onion to the mix and let it sit for couple hours in the fridge.

I cooked the meat in a pan and then when ready to serve the tacos I broiled it in one-layer to caramelize and char the edges.

Korean perilla (kkaennip)

sambal salsa

For the salsa part of the tacos I took sambal and added seeded and mostly deveined jalapeno. This came out sooo spicy. I should have added sweet onion to the mix or something.

I warmed up the corn tortillas over the open flames of the stove, topped it with the delicious caramelized doejji bulgogi, scallion, cilantro and perilla (kkaennip). On some I added a cute lil fried quail egg.

SHORT RIB TACO

Next up came the short rib (kalbi) taco. I marinted pre-sliced short rib meat with soy sauce, garlic, sugar, and sliced onion. This meat was super delicious. It was not only short rib meat but the meat that lays right next to the bone. Super flavorful. I pan-fried it, chopped it into little pieces then broiled it right before serving.

Here are the kalbi tacos straight up with just scallion and cilantro.

And then here with the greens, fried quail egg and sambal salsa. Short ribs are such a delicious cut of beef. Super flavorful and it was perfect for the tacos cut up into juicy little chunks.

KIMCHI KALBI QUESADILLA

Having some leftover cheese in the fridge I decided to make a kimchi quesdailla too.

I sauteed ripe kimchi in a bit of butter and olive oil until it was caramelized and sweetened. Mmm, grilled or pan fried kimchi is super delicious. I used fontina for the cheese which was perfect for the quesadilla. I stuffed the tortilla with fontina, caramelized kimchi and chopped kalbi. This was sooo tasty.

Julie brought over such an appropriate drink for the night – Korean beer! Specifically Hite. Crispy and light lager, perfect for Korean tacos.

Fresh Bacon April 23, 2009

I made bacon using once again my Charcuterie cookbook. Bacon is one of those thing in my mind that was always store-bought. I had no idea making bacon at home is so easy. All you need is pork belly, salt, sugar, and pink salt. The pork belly is cured with the salt mixture in the fridge for 7 days or so depending on the size of the meat. Traditionally American bacon is smoked after cured (which is tasty!) but you don’t necessarily have to do that when making your own at home. The book instructs you to cook the bacon in a low oven to 150 degrees, which would be the desirable temperature reached when smoking it.

After cooking the slab bacon in the oven I sliced off a piece and fried it up. It was super delicious – dense, meaty and with that distinctive cured flavor. It was definitely a cool moment in my kitchen eating my very own home-cured bacon.

Chicken Fricassee with Red Cabbage April 2, 2009

The simplicity of Marcella Hazan’s Chicken Fricassee with Red Cabbage recipe blows me away. It calls for just chicken, red cabbage, onion, garlic, red wine, olive oil, salt and pepper. That’s it! From those you develop flavors, meld them together, simmer them. There are basically three steps. First is to cook the cabbage until it’s meltingly tender. Second is to brown the chicken. Lastly, it’s the marriage of those two slowly simmering away in a pot together. Instead of tossing the browned chicken pieces in the dark red cabbage sauce like Marcella instructed  I nestled them and let it simmer with the skin side up.

The chicken became so tender and the saucy red cabbage sweet and savory from the red wine. Pure comfort food. You gotta have mad passion and love to make a dish so delicious from just a few ingredients. Italian food has always been inspiring in this way. It’s simplicity at its best.

Foodbuzz 24, 24, 24: Beer Pairing March 28, 2009

I got picked to do this month’s Foodbuzz 24 event and a beer pairing meal was on my food agenda. It’s been a few years since I did my first one so I researched around a bit to gather ideas. I kept things simple and rounded up a few of my beer loving friends and presented  a six-course beer pairing menu.

Gougeres
St. Bernardus Wit

The meal commenced with bite-sized gougeres which had just a breezy hint of cumin. Before being baked off the pate choux mounds were topped with a shaving of parmigiano reggiano. They exited the oven perfectly puffed and were expedited to the hungry diners. St. Bernardus Wit paired nicely with the gougeres with the echoing spice flavors and the nuttiness of the cheese complementing the wheatiness of the beer.

Malpeque Oysters, Meyer Lemon Mignonette
Black Velvet

Next came refreshing course of raw oysters. I served them with a mignonette, a classic condiment for raw oysters, but with a twist using meyer lemon juice and a touch of Champagne vinegar. As I was doing research for this dinner I found out that Irish stouts and oysters are a classic pairing. “Oysters have had a long association with stout. When stouts were emerging in the eighteenth century, oysters were a commonplace food often served in pubs and taverns.” [Wikipedia].

I was very intrigued indeed. I tried the pairing out at a Japanese restaurant – oyster shooters with ponzu and a Japanese stout (the name of the brewery escapes me) to the delight of my taste buds. The pairing was surprisingly harmonius, even more so than the common Champagne or sparkling wine pairing. The briny refreshing oysters and the nutty light stout really complemented each other. To get the best of both worlds though I paired my oysters with black velvet, a beer and sparkling wine cocktail. I poured Guiness halfway into a glass and then topped it off with Zonin prosecco.

Gueuze Steamed Mussels, Saffron, Fried Potato
Cantillon Classic Gueuze

I absolutely love gueuze, a lambic blend, with all its dry, sour and yeasty characteristics. I steamed mussels with Cantillon Gueuze and added a twist with saffron creating another layer of flavor and the vibrant hue. Crispy fried purple potatoes joined the steamed mussels and the broth. We drank the rest of the gueuze with the mussels trying to slurp up every last drop of the delicious broth.

Smoky Mac N Cheese, Bacon
Stone Smoked Porter

Next came the smoky mac n cheese made with smoked Holland cheese, gruyere and bacon. The mac came out great even with my average track record with this iconic American dish. It was just subtly smoky from the cheese which added just a hint of distinct savoriness that makes one’s mouth water. I paired the creamy mac with the roasty, balanced Stone Brewery Smoked Porter. It was not overpoweringly smokey which was perfect for the mac n cheese.

Homemade Garlic-Herb Sausage, Polenta
Westmalle Dubbel

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I made a garlic-herb sausage using the basic pork sausage recipe from Charcuterie cookbook. It was served very simply over creamy polenta and paired with Westmalle Dubbel. Sausages being hearty I wanted to serve a bigger beer with them. At a 7% ABV it was going to stand up nicely to the sausages. I had made a mustard relish to serve over the sausage and I completely forgot it in the fridge. There were no complaints from the diners though since the sausage itself was so juicy and flavorful. They didn’t know they were missing out. Phew.

Apple Crostada, Imperial Stout Ice Cream
Oskar Blues Ten Fidy Imperial Stout

I even made dessert. Yes, very surprising. I found out that apples pies and stouts are also a good pairing. But I was very excited to make the beer part of the dessert, an imperial stout ice cream. There are recipes for stout ice cream floating around but I wanted to up the game with an imperial stout. I used Ten Fidy which stands at a whoppin 10% ABV. This ice cream was straight up delicious. It was roasty with coffee and chocolate notes. It paired so well with the apple crostada, another surprising result.

The dinner was a hit and much fun was had among us beer drinkers. As always good food and good company makes a great night.

Kampachi, Citrus Soy Reduction, Chives March 25, 2009

I had kampachi and supremed citrus with juices left over from making the crudo. These made way for a simple quick meal. I made a citrus-soy sauce reduction with the leftover citrus juices, minced shallot (also left over which meant less work – yay!), soy sauce, mirin, sugar and rice vinegar. I didn’t measure anything – just put in a lil bit of this and that. I simply seasoned the kampachi with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper and cooked it in a pan with a lil bit of vegetable oil. I finished the dish with some chive tips and a sprinkling of shichimi togarashi. The citrus soy reduction was surprisingly good with its balance of savory and fruity flavors. And the hue was beautiful too, striking from the blood orange with all its drama.