julie’s blog

Potsticker & Fried Rice Throwdown

nobody@vox.com(julie) — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 12:28:34 -0700

Unless we're playing flip cup or Scrabble or fantasy football, competitive isn't exactly the word I would use to describe myself. I'm way too laid back for that kind of intensity, but if the occasion should arise, you'll see a whole different side of me. So when Jamie's dad challenged me to a potsticker and fried rice throwdown (a la Bobby Flay), I immediately laughed it off, but once the smack talking got started, so did I. "How does an A.B.C. know how to make potstickers? A.B.C.s don't know how to make potstickers." That's Jamie's dad talking smack on me for being an American Born Chinese. Well, just because I'm not an F.O.B. doesn't mean I didn't spend a good many hours of my childhood folding potstickers. Coincidentally, fried rice was the second dish I ever learned how to make behind my dad's ghetto grilled cheese (Kraft singles with Wonderbread warmed in the toaster oven). I felt like I had the basics down, but there's nothing like a little healthy competition to feed creativity, especially when the prize is a bottle of Blue Label!

Jamie came up with rules and regulations to dissuade any cheating, even though there may or may not have been a few rules bent. We were each allowed one sous chef and our dishes would be judged equally on three categories: originality, taste and presentation. It would not only have to taste good and look good, but we would also have to put our own twist on originals. How would I put my signature on dishes that have been made a hundred times over?

kimchee potsticker

For the potstickers, I knew I had to make my own wrappers. I love making fresh pasta and it really makes all the difference in the world in a simple dish. My filling was pork based, because pork gives you the juiciest dumplings, which just might have something to do with the fattiness. I mixed ground pork with the traditional napa cabbage, shiitakes, ginger, chives and scallions. For bonus flavor points I added dried shrimp, tiger shrimp and kim chee. My trusty sous chef, Misa, helped me assemble the potstickers. Thanks, Mees!

kimchee potsticker filling

For the fried rice, I wanted to present two dishes: one classic and one contemporary. My classic dish was a replica of my mother's fried rice. Chinese sausage, peas, eggs, shrimp and rice, of course. I drizzled in some homemade chili oil spiked with orange zest right at the end. My second dish was an arancini (fried risotto ball) studded with corn, zucchini, carrots, ginger and garlic. I borrowed a bit of inspiration from Italy. Here are the little nuggets rolled in Panko and ready to be fried.

Arrancini

Since my competitor had home court advantage, I did all my prep work at home. Here's everything ready for transport.

Tupperware Party

Even though it was a "blind" taste test, the open kitchen pretty much gave away any secrecy. I'm sure many of you will recognize my plating style too. Without further ado... I give you the side by side comparisons.

Team A Potsticker

vs.

Team B Potstickers

The garnish on this is dried oregano by the way. Maybe too original? The filling is shrimp, crab and pork.

Team A Fried Rice

That's a little chayote slaw on the side. Always nice to have a fresh counterpart to fried foods.

Team A Fried Rice

vs.

Team B Fried Rice

Where's Chiquita Banana? One rice is bacon and ketchup and the other rice is mustard greens, ham and eggs. Team B used Basmati rice, whereas Team a used traditional Jasmine rice.

Team B Fried Rice

Cooking for friends is one of my favorite things to do, and this throwdown gave me an excuse to do just that. Good times were had by all and everybody left with fully distended bellies. Good thing we had that bottle of Blue Label to help us digest. I think it was pretty much a draw in both categories, but I was able to edge them out just a bit with presentation and originality. Here's how we celebrate a night of hard work:

Celebrate

Thanks to the Changs for hosting and letting us destroy the kitchen. Thanks to all our judges!

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Empanadas with Harissa Beef, Peas and Carrots

nobody@vox.com(julie) — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 16:19:48 -0700

Whenever I tell people I cook with lard they look at me like I've just told them I like to kick bunnies for fun. Gasp! Mon dieu... quelle horreur?! I know, I know. Lard definitely has a bad rep around these parts, but there's nothing else that quite gives you the same deliciousness. Just ask any tamale or pie crust and taste the difference for yourself.

Since I had some lard leftover from tamale making and fresh peas were in season, I immediately thought of making empanadas filled with harissa, ground beef, peas and carrots. I also made a vegetarian version with chick peas and a butter crust.

Peas & Chick Peas

Shelling peas and peeling chick peas is definitely a labor of love. I passed the time by watching episodes of The Wire - many of them. Lucky for my finger tips, I had friends to help me form my empanadas.

Empanadas

I fried a batch until golden brown and also baked some in the oven brushed with olive oil for comparison. It should come as no surprise that the fried ones made from lard won hands down. :)

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Spot Prawns with Sauteed Pea Shoots

nobody@vox.com(julie) — Wed, 27 May 2009 21:23:51 -0700

Did I ever tell you guys about how photographically challenged I am? Before I started this blog I knew less than nothing (seriously) about ISOs and apertures and white balances. I mean come on, how do you balance white? Isn't it just one color? Shoulder shrug. And until I went through B's super intensive photography crash course, that's the way my brain worked. Fortunately for me and my blog, I'm surrounded by some very talented, knowledgeable and most importantly patient people that are always coming to save my day.

Lately I had been on cruise control and pretty darn proud of myself for being all independent. Why is it that disaster always strikes when you're least suspecting? So the sequence of events goes something like this... Take pictures. Look at pictures on camera display. OK we're good to go. Food goes in the belly. Next day, load photos onto computer from CF card. Oh wait. No food photos. POOF they've disappered! Lots of muttering and expletives. @#$%! *&^()! There were only pictures of my friend's adorable puppy. Definitely not food... in my book anyway. ;)

kiba

I immediately call my photographer friend Theo who lives and breathes CF cards. He is as calculated as a surgeon as he questions me. He sends over a magical program that instantly recovers all my food photos. Where were they hiding I wonder and wow that was amazingly easy. Thanks to Theo we avoided Julie's Kitchen meltdown. Maybe he should start a Geek Squad for photography. Wait do they already have something like that? If not I think it's a fine idea that would come in handy for the photographically challenged like myself.

If you love a happy ending keep reading...

Spot Prawns with Sauteed Pea Shoots

This is where the story comes full circle. The "parents" of Kiba, who I was dogsitting, live out in Monterey Park. So while I was out on that side of town, I scored these gorgeous, live spot prawn from 99 Ranch - my favorite place to buy all things Asian. The prawns were so sweet that a simple broil with salt, pepper and olive oil was perfect. To accompany them, I sauteed some pea shoots with tons of garlic, sesame oil, soy sauce and a splash of Shaoxing rice wine. Yay to easy meals, magical programs and great friends.

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Adventures in Tamale Making

nobody@vox.com(julie) — Mon, 18 May 2009 16:36:10 -0700

Have you ever heard of four Asians and a Jew making Mexican tamales? Though it sounds like the beginning to a really bad, non-PC joke, it was actually my Saturday. Believe it! We were inspired by a recent tamale making episode of Alton Brown's "Good Eats" and of course our love of tamales. Most of the ones out on the market seem to be about 25% filling and 75% masa. We wanted super filled, super saucy tamales, so why take chances when we can make them just how we want them. As gung ho as we all were about tamale making, did any of us really have any business venturing into the secret society of abuela work?

Tamales

Thanks to Jamie, our tamale hostess, our filling combinations were endless. We had beef, pork, chicken and even oxtails! Cheeses included Jack, Oaxacan string cheese, panela and echilado cheese. It was nice to use the combination of a meltable, mild cheese alongside a spicy, salty cheese like the enchilado. Vegetables included roasted poblanos, roasted jalapenos, corn and black beans.

Tamale Making Set-Up

Gotta have a little cerveza while you work.

Corn, Pork and Enchilado Cheese

Salsa, Masa and Panela Cheese

Rehydrated and Cleaned Husks

I was a big fan of the "compound tamale" - meat, cheese, beans, corn and roasted peppers all stuffed into a thin layer of masa. Flavor bomb!

Tamales Ready for Steaming

The tamales took a few hours to assemble, but even longer to steam since we had to split our 100+ tamales into batches.

Pile of Tamales

Once our tamales were ready, we really wished that we would have somehow marked them so we could find the oxtail ones first. No problem though. If we had to eat five or ten just to get to one oxtail, well then it was still worth it.

Tamale Destruction

Now that we've got our whole method down, I can't wait to do this again. If anybody has any tips, please shoot them my way. Hooray for tamale success!

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Strawberry Kumquat Preserves

nobody@vox.com(julie) — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 15:32:51 -0700

Are all mothers funny worrywarts like my mom? I sure hope so because it's quite an endearing trait, though I'm certain any teenager out there would refute that. My sisters and I got together for a little Mexico ATVing trip recently, and you would laugh if you could see my sister's luggage. She had to check-in her luggage because it was filled with allergy medicine, sunblock, a Sonicare replacement head, dog snacks (those were actually from my sister, but can you see where she gets it from?) and ten hefty pounds of kumquats - all for me. I made out like a thief and was especially excited about all the kumquats. Yay! I had made a special request for them since we're right in the thick of citrus season. My parents have two super fruitful kumquat trees. My mom had apologized to me since she thought she had only packed enough for me to eat and not to make preserves/compote/jam. Sheesh mom! Ten pounds? How many kumquats do you think one person can eat? There's yet another charming motherly quality.

Kumquats & Strawberries

I had more than enough to make preserves and with National Grilled Cheese Month in full swing, I thought that a mascarpone cheese with strawberry and kumquat preserves would make a nice dessert sandwich. It would also highlight California's seasonal fruits. Kumquats are sweet on the outside and tart on the inside offering a nice foil to the sweet strawberries.

Sliced Kumquats

The abundance of tiny seeds makes the process a bit tedious, but once you get in a rhythm, it goes pretty quick. The payoff is well worth it too. The kumquat rind, like most citrus fruits, contains a good amount of pectin so there's no need to add any extra to help it set up. Just add a little sugar and water and simmer until it's thick to your liking. Here's the finished product with some homemade raw fleur de sel butter made by Susan.

Raw butter with Strawberry Kumquat preserves

Delicious classic combo. Butter and preserves. I'll be eating lots of this since homemade butter has a short shelf life. Oh darn. I HAVE to eat all this yummy butter quickly. Thanks Susan! How about some more pictures you ask? Yes, I too love photo heavy blog posts! Here you go.

Raw butter with Strawberry Kumquat preserves

The whole reason I made the preserves was to make a dessert grilled cheese, so let's not forget that. Here it is...

Strawberry Kumquat Preserves and Mascarpone Grilled Cheese Sandwich

This post was made possible moms and their motherly ways and sisters that double as pack mules.

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Tongue Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

nobody@vox.com(julie) — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 14:40:43 -0700

Tongue Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

Grilled cheese was two slices of Wonder bread with a slice of Kraft American cheese back in the day, but now that I'm all grown up so has my grilled cheese. With April being National Grilled Cheese Month and all, I had a dinner party centered around this ooey gooey treat. I'll take any excuse to eat more bread and/or cheese.

I got the idea to use sliced beef tongue in my grilled cheese sandwich while doing research on passover recipes. Apparently tongue is not only a prominent food in Latin culture, as I had originally thought. I love lengua tacos and tortas, so why not a lengua grilled cheese sandwich. It would be like a pressed torta.

Cooking tongue is not for the faint of heart. It's ugly and covered with taste buds and downright gross, but once it's cooked and tender, oh the deliciousness. I made a grilled cheese sandwich with sliced tongue, panela, aged white cheddar, pickled jalapenos and cilantro. I served it with wedges of lime and roasted green onions.

Tongue Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

How will you be celebrating National Grilled Cheese Month?

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As Promised... Fish Tacos to Compliment your Pickled Carrots

nobody@vox.com(julie) — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 19:33:25 -0700

When I told you that my spicy, pickled carrots were so good that you'd want to plan a meal around them, I was speaking from experience. From first tangy crunch, I knew that a taco night was imminent. Do I sound like I mean business or what?

Beer Battered Cod Tacos

Last weekend I had come so, oh SO very close to eating at The Best Fish Tacos in Ensenada, but vegetarian appetites had other plans and we ended up dining on jackfruit carnitas at Pure Luck. Very tasty in its own right, but I was left with a crazy hankering for fish tacos. Crazy. Must eat fish tacos. Now imagine me with whirly zombie eyes, irises replaced with goldfish crackers. That was me all week, basically.

If Santa Monica Seafood and I were boyfriend and girlfriend, we would be broken up. Game over. We were honeymooning for a while there and high on aquatic life eating our way through the freshest seafood. Then somewhere along the way, they moved into their new fancy pants storefront and got lazy and dumb. Beauty does not replace quality or knowledge people. Let me explain. Last Thursday, I walk in and before I can peruse the whole counter I get asked if I need help by a guy that we'll call Mr. SMS. I say, "I'm making fish tacos tonight. I'm thinking of a firm, white fish." Mr. SMS asks, "When's the last time you made fish tacos?" I think, "Why does that matter?" but I say, " Never. Is your tilapia fresh?" He replies, "No it's been frozen but I think the white roughy would be good." He's pointing at the Basa, which is out of the question, since it's actually a type of catfish and B thinks catfish tastes like dirt. This guy totally just made up a type of fish and I found this article to prove it. They are trying to pass off catfish as roughy. Jeez. Try to dupe me. Just give me a cubic zirconia already and call it a day. Long story short, or really I should say, short story long, I went with the black cod and was happy with my choice until I found rows of pin bones running down the fillets. Now tell me why I pay a premium on fish from Mr. SMS and why I should stop watching Youtube videos about objectophillia.

Getting back to the eats now. After tedious tweezing of the pin bones and much cursing under my breath, I battered my strips of cod in a batter of Dos Equis Amber beer and flour. To punch it up I added a spoonful of chile powder, salt and pepper. A quick bath in hot Safflower oil and they were all set to be nestled in warm corn tortillas with a red cabbage slaw and lots of salsa. Also quick squeeze of lime is essential.

Salsas

So I get a little overzealous with my salsas, but my goal was to have every bite taste different. Bite taco, now have a bite of carrot, now add as much salsa as your taco will hold and eat more. Each bite is going to be a little different. Going clockwise from top-right we have my standard salsa made with roasted onions, roasted jalapenos, cilantro, Muir Glen fire roasted tomatoes and lime juice. Next up is a roasted poblano pepper, cilantro and tangelo juice salsa. Yup you read right. I got a bag of super tart tangelos that were way too sour for eating but a perfect replacement for lime in this salsa. Surprisingly good. I also wanted to include a hot sauce-style salsa made from dried chiles. I used Ancho, New Mexico and Chile de Arbol and blended it all together with its rehydrating liquid. Lastly, I used my standard salsa as a base and added fresh chopped tomatoes and yellow corn. B adores corn so of course he devoured this one.

Having a refreshing salad of jicama, radishes and oranges cuts nicely through the heat and any richness from the battered fish.

Jicama, Radish and Orange Salad

Cravings be gone.

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Spicy Pickled Carrots

nobody@vox.com(julie) — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 15:26:51 -0700

These spicy, taco stand-style, pickled carrots are so good that you'll want to plan a whole meal around them.

Spicy Pickled Carrots

Equal parts white vinegar and water make up this brine, along with a few bay leaves, garlic cloves, onion slivers and halved Serrano peppers. I used fresh, young carrots from the farmers' market. You know the baby ones with their tops still on. These come in the perfect size. Don't you dare throw those tops away. They make an excellent addition to vegetable stocks.

I simmered my peeled carrots in the brine until they were cooked but still really crunchy. They will continue to cook a bit as the brine cools. Once at room temperature, transfer your jars to the refrigerator to chill. I couldn't resist eating a few that night, but I think they were best after a few days. Refreshing, crunchy and spicy these were great just out of the jar. B and I also cut these up into slivers for sandwiches and used them in place of pepperoncinis/pickles. Delicious!

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St. Patrick's Day Dinner

nobody@vox.com(julie) — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 20:14:26 -0700

Even though I forgot to wear any green clothing (shame on me), I still made sure to celebrate St. Patrick's Day in my own way. I cooked up a little green-themed meal, so I'm pretty sure that puts me in the clear for any pinching.

Whenever I have dinner guests arriving at different times, I like to make a few things for my early guests to snack on. This way their stomachs don't eat themselves and it also buys me a little time to finish up on the warm dishes. For last night, I made a Cannellini bean puree with tons of parsley and mint to give it a pretty mint green color. I also mixed soften goat cheese with toasted walnuts, thyme leaves and basil oil. This offered a more subdued pretty speckled green. Even our one anti-goat cheese diner liked this one. I served these with buckwheat lavash crackers that I sprinkled with cracked black pepper, fleur de sel and a fine grating of Parmesan. This is totally my new favorite topping. Next up is truffle salt. Mmm!

Cannelini Bean Puree & Herbed Walnut Goat Cheese

Another trick to having a smooth dinner party is to prep, prep, prep. I do whatever I can the night before. In this case, I made my lavash crackers along with the split pea soup the night before.

Split Peas

Since there were vegetarians and non-pork eaters joining us, I 86ed the usual addition of a ham hock. I made it completely vegetarian and I thought it was still flavorful and delicious. As to not deprive my other guests (or myself), I crisped up paper thin slices of Ferrari prosciutto to add a little smokiness. It simply took about 10 minutes in a 400 degree oven.

Split Pea Soup with Prosciutto Chip

Besides a green salad and roasted vegetables, I beefed up the meal with pesto orecchiette. I added sauteed kale to make it extra green. This was my first time making orecchiette pasta and I'm happy to say that it was a success. I'm always shocked when things turn out on first attempt. It's an eggless dough made from an equal mixture of semolina and all-purpose flour. Though a tad time consuming to dimple each piece, the cute little dimples hold onto the sauce. Think flavor transporter.

Pesto orecchiette with kale

Hope you all had a wonderful and pinchless St. Paddy's day!

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Homemade Mustard

nobody@vox.com(julie) — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 17:06:33 -0700

Homemade Mustard

Forget the mayo and forget the ketchup, but never, ever forget your spicy, tangy mustard. This is my favorite condiment of all time - without a doubt. I would even eat a mustard sandwich. :) It just so happens that the same ingredients used for pickling vegetables are the same ingredients used to make mustard, just in different proportions, of course. Mustard seeds, vinegar, honey, onions, peppercorns and garlic all jarred up and looking pretty. At first taste, the spiciness was crazy. I mean CRAZY!!! It was way too intense and even sort of bitter, so I'm going to give it a few weeks to mellow out and age. If this works out for me, it's on. Mustard making extravaganza 2009!

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