Grilled Cheese Month: Harissa Dreamin’ April 23, 2008

Although there’s been waaay too much grilled cheese in my life I made a new one today to dedicate it to the Grilled Cheese Month. Let’s just call it Harissa Dreamin’. On La Brea Bakery’s crazily priced $9.75 walnut bread I layered harissa flavored cheddar, smoked gouda, pimenton-stuffed olives and a pinch of za’atar. Then grilled it in goat butter and speared it with a whole pimenton-stuffed olive. Let me tell you, this was delicious! I love the earthy spices the harissa brought to the cheddar and the slight sharpness of the goat butter. I wish now I went with my first instinct and also included goat cheese inside the sandwich. The olives also added a nice salty briny touch. Oh and the bread? Really really good. However $9.75 still seems quite steep for a loaf of bread. I need to start baking more bread.

1st 6th Annual Grilled Cheese Invitational! April 21, 2008

Hi folks! So I entered the Grilled Cheese Invitational for the first time along with two of my friends. I decided to give it a go for each of their four category and I made it into the top ten rankings for two of em. Complete list of results are here.

Missionary
St. Yoon’s Missionary

The rules for the Missionary category was strictly white bread, yellow cheese (American or cheddar), and regular butter. I used Cake House’s “buttered bread” which browned nicely, a mix of Kraft American singles and sharp cheddar, and a delicious fleur de sel French butter. This was my favorite of all my sandwiches. I have a soft spot for classics. Any other grilled cheeses are just an homage to the og sammy.

Spoons 8th place!
Spoony Yoons

Now the Spoons category expands the boundaries a bit by allowing any kind of bread, any kind of cheese, and any kind of butter. However no extra ingredients whatsoever are allowed. I ended up making my spoons sandwich with Trader Joe’s garlic-cheddar sourdough, sharp cheddar, comte, truffled Italian cheese, and black truffle butter. The sourdough crisped up so nicely and looks appetizing speckled with truffles for the truffle lover. That would be me! I got 8th place in this category. I wonder what the other winning sandwiches were like. My friend Allison got 9th place with her Ultimate Queso sandwich.

Kama Sutra 6th place!
Queso Nirvana

Kama Sutra was a freestyle category. The only thing a contender had to abide by was to keep the ratio of cheese to other ingredients 6:4. I ended up baking a bacon-gruyere loaf for the Spoons category but accidentally ended up using it for this category. By the time I had smeared romesco on the slices it was too late to salvage them. But it ended up working out because the garlic-cheddar worked well for the truffle flavored sandwich and the bacon-gruyere bread turned out to be perfect for my romesco inspired sandwich. After the smear of romesco on one side the sandwiches were layered with pepperjack, smoked gouda, chopped Nueske’s bacon, and roasted jalapenos. Since Nueske bacon is super smoky the toasting bread gave off such a nice aroma. When I was serving them at the competition I topped each mini sandwich with a round sliver of fresh jalapeno for an extra kick and final little juicy crunch. I got 6th place in this category. Number one spot was gloriously snatched up by Chef Eric Greenspan of Foundry.

Honey Pot
Cinna Toast Redux

I didn’t get placed for the Honey Pot category which is a dessert version of the freestyle similarly just requiring 60% cheese. My sandwich which started off as a cinnamon toast somehow turned into a strawberries and cream sorta ‘wich. Whipped cream cheese flavored with lemon and orange zest, brown sugar and honey was sandwiched between two slices of brioche along with macerated strawberries and toasted hazelnuts. It was then dusted with cinnamon powdered sugar and speared on top with a little section of a strawberry. Unfortunately I forgot the strawberry and sugar on about half of my samples so that might have cost me. My friend Ellen got an honorable 7th place with her Moons Over My Sammie sandwich though!

All in all it was a fun silly time. Sooo much bread, cheese and butter. Allegedly there were many contestants cheating but I was too busy grilling my sandwiches to really notice. No matter how arbitrary an event seems cheating at something like grilled cheese seems a little ridiculous. Kind of takes all the fun out of it, no? I hope all the cheating didn’t affect my rankings at all because that would really suck big time. For the pounds of cheese and loaves of bread I went through, and minutes spent grilling it up (and perhaps inches gained on my waist) I think I at least deserve a fair chance! Now time to go work off the cheese…

Dinner for the Folks March 28, 2008

Often when my parents have relatives or friends visiting they ask me to cook dinner for them. My immediate answer is usually maybe since I would have to give up a chunk of my leisure hours to undertake the project. But then my mind gets churning with ideas and I start thinking of menus. There’s no turning back at that point. Plus since my parents would be paying for the ingredients I have an opportunity to be a bit more extravagant than usual [although trying to convince my parents they must have Champagne and caviar on their menu hasn't come to fruition]. My great aunt and uncle were visiting recently and here is what I cooked for them and my parents…

Gougere - Lillet Blanc

I started off the meal with hot gougeres straight from the oven accompanied by a glass of lillet blanc on ice. Gougeres will be the death of me - I inhaled three as soon as they were puffed, browned, and crusty on top. As you can see these were huge.

Scallops, Forbidden Rice, Braised Endive, Vandouvan Butter - Donna Luna Fiano

Next was seared scallops served on forbidden rice with braised endive and a drizzle of vadouvan butter. To my delight Julie got me a bag of vadouvan, a French curry mix, from Le Sanctuaire for my birthday which inspired this dish. I paired this with Donna Luna Fiano which I previously had with my truffle butter pasta. The medium body of the fruity wine and the touch of acidity paired well with the butter sauce and the touch of citrus in the curry spice mix.

Romanesco Veloute, Foie Mousse, Crispy Pork Belly - Domaine La Bastide Roussane

For the third course I served romanesco veloute with a quenelle of foie mousse and deep fried slivers of pork belly. I was planning to make the foie mousse myself but once I got to the store they told me I had to preorder them. Duh! So instead I got premade foie mousse I think from D’Artagnan, which actually saved me some time and sanity. For the soup I made a light veloute sauce in which I simmered the romanesco florets. Once tender I put the mixture through the blender and sieve to ensure a velvety texture. Then finished it with butter, cream, and egg yolks to enrich and thicken it. This dish was inspired by the veloute and royale I had a Manresa. Taking a cue from their wine pairing I wanted to pair my veloute with a Roussanne also. Simon over at Larchmont Village Wines chose the inexpensive Domaine La Bastide for me which went great with the velvety soup and the bit of rich foie mousse.

Red Wine Braised Beef Tenderloin, Aligot, Shiitake Frites - Red Shed Cabernet Franc 2004

The final savory course was beef tenderloin that I had seared and braised in red wine and beef stock. I served it with aligot potatoes and “frites” for a meat & potatoes or steak & frites kind of deal. Aligot is a potato dish from Auvergne, France, made with tomme cheese and beat into an elastic texture that leaves it with a cheesy-stringy texture. I substituted Cantal since I could not find tomme d’Auvergne. I didn’t achieve the correct texture perhaps because I didn’t put enough cheese in. For about 2lbs of potatoes I put in 1/2lb of cheese. However the potatoes were soooo tasty. I mean really tasty. The “frites” were made my dredging shiitake slices with panko and deep frying them. I salted them when they came out of the oil. Simple as that and also very addicting.

Cowgirl’s Creamery Red Hawk & Gruyere

I added a small cheese course and served Cowgirl Creamery’s delicious triple creme Red Hawk and Gruyere.

Boca Negra with Dark Chocolate-Orange Ganache, Pistachio

Then finally dessert. I stick to easy things when baking since I’m really more of a savory person. I baked a boca negra which is a flourless chocolate cake loaded with chocolate and eggs and also a good amount of booze, in this case it was whiskey. I topped it with a warm dark chocolate ganache flavored with orange zest and sprinkled toasted and chopped pistachios on top.

There was a lot of room for improvement but in the end I was happy with what I cooked because more importantly the diners were happy.

Roncal, Spiced Kumquat Compote, Cracked Pepper January 25, 2008

After the delicious meal of duck confit I was left with surplus spiced kumquat compote. I searched around for ideas and came across this recipe which pairs its compote with aged cheese and cracked pepper. It sounded like a perfect way to use up my leftovers without getting a whole bunch of new groceries. I opted for an aged sheep’s milk cheese because I love the tanginess of it and thought it would be really good with the spiciness of the savory compote. I hit up the Whole Foods cheese section and picked up a wedge of roncal which is an aged sheep’s milk cheese from Spain. With a sprinkle of cracked pepper on top the roncal and spiced kumquat compote made a nice pairing veering on the savory side, just the way I like it.

A Light & Casual Wedding Lunch Affair May 24, 2007

About two and a half weeks ago my brother’s friends Sarvi and Aaron contacted me about catering for their wedding party. It was supposed to be a more casual event held at a artsy and hip neighborhood bar/art gallery, providing guests with a light lunch. I was free so I took on the task with the help of my friend Ellen. So I began the menu planning keeping in mind that the food would have to be finger food so guests can eat easily while standing and drinking, the food would have to go with some nice wine, and of course something delicious.

The menu:

Hummus, Muhammara & California Harissa with Fresh Baguette Slices

Marinated Feta & Olives with Rosemary & Lemon Zest

Bacon-wrapped, Parmesan-Stuffed Dates

Goat Cheese Mousse Tartlets with Candied Pepitas

Romesco Pulled Pork Canape with Pecorino Salsa Verde

Tuna Tartar with Pickled Red Onion & Chives (Ellen’s hor d’oeuvre)

Prosciutto di Parma, Buffalo Mozzarella, Basil & Wild Arugula Sandwich

Balsamic Roasted Onion, Sun-dried Tomato, Ricotta & Wild Arugula Sandwich

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Hor d’oeuvres would work great for this event since they are finger food but the menu also needed other items to round it out. So I made a trio of dips - muhammara, California harissa and hummus. I made the hummus using Clifford A. Wright’s recipe by using dried chickpeas, not canned. This was the first time I made hummus from dried chickpeas and although a bit laborious due to the peeling of the beans the results were very delicious. As with many dishes made from scratch for the first time, you realize how much you’ve been missing out.

I used Paula Wolfert’s recipe for the muhammara which was so delicious! Muhammara is an eastern Mediterranean dip made from roasted red peppers, chili, walnuts and pomegranate molasses. The whole roasted serrano chili I added gave a real nice kick to it. Yup I added seeds and all since the recipe said add to taste. Nutty, sweet, savory and lightly spiced, this is definitely one of my favorite dips now.

The California harissa is Suzanne Goin’s recipe which I’ve used in so many different recipes and dishes. She is like the goddess of flavor combinations and the most flavorful rustic sauces. Just in this menu I used three of her sauces. Once you get a few of her recipes down the combinations are endless since the sauces are so versatile. But they are also delicious on their own with some fresh rustic bread.

I also made some marinated olives and feta and served them in this great elongated dish I picked up at Ross for only $6. Yeah, I am a discount dish junkie. It does pay off to keep your eyes open at these discount places because you can find quality stuff once in a while for very cheap - like $0.99 for a Le Creuset ramekins. Back to the food - I marinated the olives and feta in olive oil, rosemary, lightly crushed garlic just to infuse the oil, and lemon zest.

I’ve never met anyone who didn’t adore A.O.C.’s roasted dates, so I put them on the menu, and as expected people went crazy for them. Ellen made about 120 pieces of these and they were all gone. This is a super easy recipe so if you love A.O.C.’s dates or you love bacon or parmesan do make these at home. All you need are pitted dates, parmesan, and thinly sliced American bacon from the deli. Now stuff, wrap with half a slice of bacon, and roast at a high temp.

Romesco is one of my favorite condiments and I always turn to Suzanne Goin’s version (what can I say, she is awesome). Pork is another one of my favorite things, as a hunkin piece of meat and in all its cured, salted, smoked incarnations. Romesco is a great condiment for any meat but I thought pulled pork tossed with romesco would be meaty and delicious. Normally I would have made feta salsa verde to top the canape but since I already had the marinated feta I turned to pecorino romano.

I made the base from wonton skins which I greased and baked in mini muffin pans. I ran out of spray oil at about the 60th skin out of the 140 I needed to make. Doh! I thought just brushing on the oil would be the same but for these wonton shells spray oil is really the method of choice because it coats it a lot lighter. After baking all of em I brush off the excess flour on each wonton skin with a pastry brush, a step which I didn’t take the last time I made these shells which made them sorta floury.

The pulled pork was juicy and the romesco added such a great nutty chili flavor to it. Serious yum. I froze the chunk of leftover pork since I won’t have time to eat it this week. But a romesco pulled pork sandwich will surely rear its beautiful head sometime in the near future.

For my second hor d’oeuvre I turned to the always dependable and delicious goat cheese mousse which I’ve served many times since I came across Thomas Keller’s recipe which actually calls for beautiful parmesan crisp baskets. I knew it would be way too time consuming and insane to make 120 parmesan crisp baskets because of their delicate nature and the crazy speed required to form the baskets immediately after they come out of the oven. So instead phyllo dough was used to form the base. Ellen took over the duty of the phyllo shells, which would have been impossible for me to do with my oven being invaded by the baking of all the wontons, the roasting of the pulled pork, and the roasting of the balsamic onions for the sandwiches. I added my own touch to the goat cheese mousse by sprinkling candied pepitas (also Goin), which were made with butter, sugar, cinnamon, paprika, and cumin. I love the sweet and saltiness of the seeds, accented by warm spices.

I originally had cauliflower soup shooters on the menu but soon took it off because we weren’t able to find a good-sized disposable shot glasses and since the bar didn’t have a full kitchen and no servers were hired for the small event renting shot glasses for the event would prove some difficulties. In its place Ellen offered up her version of Emeril’s tuna tartar, flavored with shallots, dijon, olive oil, and wasabi creme fraiche. Pickled red onion was added for a nice crunch and tartness along with a garnish of chives. The tartar was served on sesame crackers.

To add some heft to the menu, we offered some delicious Italian sandwiches which we made with freshly baked Bay Cities bread. One had beautiful prosciutto di parma, creamy soft buffalo mozzarella, fresh basil and wild arugula from Maggie’s Farm. The vegetarian offering had roasted onion marinated in balsamic onion, sun-dried tomatoes, creamy ricotta, and likewise some peppery wild arugula.

All the guests were very happy with the food and more importantly Saarvi and Aaron were super happy. It was an honor to be hired for their special day considering they’ve only had my food a few times at my brother’s gatherings. It was a great time and the event was a breeze and with guests saying the food was “incredible”, “amazing” and “so delicious” it makes all the effort worth it. And thanks to Ellen for helping out with making the hundreds of pieces of the dates, phyllo shells and the tuna tartar!