52 posts tagged “cooking”
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?
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.
Gotta have a little cerveza while you work.
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!
The tamales took a few hours to assemble, but even longer to steam since we had to split our 100+ tamales into batches.
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.
On a recent catering event, Dylan and I totally fell in love with Susan's charmoula marinade. We were downright enthusiastic, threatening to eat it by the spoonful (okay, that was mostly Dylan). Herby, punchy and especially delicious on seafood, it came to mind immediately when I found out one of my dinner guests was anti-red meat. Apparently, lamb is red meat according to B. Surprise, surprise.
I did a bit of research and ended up using Suzanne Goin's recipe for charmoula (also spelled chermoula). As kitchen mishaps go, I overdid the paprika and my marinade tasted straight bitter. The kind of bitter that makes you want to wipe your tongue off. Oh no. How did I ruin it??? I was about to scrap the whole thing when the marinade Gods answered my distress. Susan just happened to called at that very moment to save me from charmoula melt down. Is that fate or what? She suggested some ground coriander and ginger which the recipe had omitted. I also added a tad bit of almond blossom honey to balance it out. Hmm... no more bitterness to be tasted. Nice save, Susan!
Since there was lemon juice in the charmoula and I didn't want the acid to cook the shrimp, I marinated my shrimp just before skewering. All it took was a few minutes on each side under the broiler. I served it alongside Israeli couscous with peas and mint.
I love the way a steaming bowl of stew warms you up from the inside out. Our recent bout of rainy weather was the perfect time to make something super spicy, steamy and flavorful. I drew inspiration from the Zuni Cafe Cookbook - which I am totally LOVING by the way. Judy Rogers has a recipe for a red wine squid stew which sounded yummy. All the recipes in her book sound yummy and I'm having fun cooking and eating my way through it. I followed her technique of simmering the squid for about 45 minutes after a quick flash in the pan. I added a few fresh thai chilis, roasted Korean chilis, diced broccoli stem, carrots, kale, parsley and basil. I served it with toasted ciabatta and finished it with a drizzle of O jalapeno lime olive oil and some more fresh herbs.
Whether curled up on the couch catching up with your tivo (like me), or cooking for a fancy V-day dinner, this stew hits the spot. The squid comes out super tender and the liquid is spicy and perfect for being soaked up by some crusty bread.
While studying abroad in Lyon, I discovered the wonders of bistro and bouchon dining, opening my eyes to the many nuances of French food. I tasted beyond the stereotypes of cream and butter and discovered a gastronomic world deeply influenced by the Algerian culture. To a girl raised on oyster sauce, these new spices piqued my interest and my appetite. Just the mere thought of a sandwich filled with crunchy French fries and fiery lamb sausage makes my mouth water.
When I got my Kitchenaid meat grinder attachment this past Christmas, my second thought was to replicate the spicy Algerian merguez sausage I had loved so long ago. My first thought was to make a pork fennel sausage (like the one at Mozza Pizzeria), but I opted for the lamb since it's much harder to find a good merguez. Like any good student of charcuterie, I did lots of homework in order to find the right fat-to-meat ratio, spice mixture and technique. I always wondered why sausage was so delicious and I discovered that it could possibly, maybe, most likely be due to the amazing amounts of fat. So lots of fat equals deliciousness just as I had suspected. Don't worry. Most of the fat renders out during cooking so sausage is practically a health food. :)
I found many different recipes for merguez, but preferred the ones using harissa, a spicy chile paste. It just seemed more authentic to me. The harissa itself contains ground caraway, coriander and garlic in addition to the reconstituted New Mexico and Guajillo chiles. So it's plenty complex on its own. I diced up my meat and fat and seasoned it with harissa, toasted fennel seeds and salt. Overnight all the flavors melded together. The next day, I ground up the meat and discovered the scarcity of lamb casings in Los Angeles. Everyone seemed to have hog, but when it came to lamb, I had no luck. Caseless sausage was the easy way out, but I have pledged to order them online for round two.
I made tiny patties figuring that each pita half would fit two, or three for ambitious eaters. Other pita fillings included hummus, roasted red peppers, red leaf lettuce, cucumber, tomato & feta salad and harissa yogurt dip. The harissa dip was simply the harissa paste thinned out with Greek yogurt. Easy to make and way too easy to eat.
Sides included roasted vegetable couscous and potato & chickpea stew.
My first foray into the charcuterie world proved to be both addictive and delicious. Now I'm completely hooked!
People who love food love people who love food, so it should come as no surprise that all my girls love to eat just as much as me. What started out as a dinner of lobster fried rice (made with leftovers from Newport Seafood), turned into a tour of Asia/seafood feast mixed with a little Animal Planet in my sink. Our eyes are always bigger than our stomachs, but that never stops us. Thinking that we didn't have enough food, Jamie brought over four giant, and very feisty, dungeness crabs. So on top of Misa's Tom Yum Soup, my Lion's Head Meatballs and Jamie's lobster fried rice, now we had crab and lots of it. This wouldn't be a lot of food for an army, but for three girls and one scrawny boy (sorry B), we ended our gluttonous night with two whole crabs leftover. Trust me, that's a lot of meat. Now what does one do with that much crab meat leftover? Hmm. And though I immediately thought of crab cakes, I wanted something a little more inspired.
Wow. Eating is my favorite hobby!
If I were to be granted three wishes, right after world peace, I would without a doubt ask for some sushi chef/samurai knife skills - both precision and swiftness. Hi-ya! You just never know when you might happen upon a magical genie, right? These butterflied trout, compliments of Whole Foods, got me thinking about how I really want to and need to work on my knife skills. Sounds like it's time for a new year's resolution.
The upside to lacking knife skills is how fast this dish came together. Practically zero fuss. I soaked the farro overnight. Cooked it up with some sauteed ribbons of kale and minced garlic. And since this "risotto" doesn't have the starch of arborio rice, I finished it off with a swirl of cream and a dusting of Parmesan. The already-ready-already trout was simply pan fried in the cast iron for a few minutes on each side. An Italian salsa verde (parsley, capers, anchovies, lemon juice, olive oil, garlic) brightened it all up. I felt like I was Rachel Ray on 30-Minute Meals, minus the annoying Rachelisms of course. :)
Poor B had two weeks in a row of dental work. That meant tons of mashed potatoes and smoothies going on in Julie's Kitchen. Only soft foods on tender, puffy gums. :( So sad... though chipmunk cheeks are undeniably adorable. In my efforts to find new and interesting smoothie ingredients, I discovered Stonyfield's Banilla flavored yogurt. That's right. Exactly as it sounds... vanilla and bananas. A little bit of genius, huh? Though I'm not usually a fan of artificial banana flavors, this convinced me otherwise. It made great smoothies and even better panna cotta. Here I used Mario Batali's recipe as a base and substituted banilla yogurt for plain and added a shot of dark rum for a twist. It definitely had a tropical feel to it, so I added sliced bananas and a dollop of citrusy kumquat compote before serving. This is a must try even if you can eat solid food.
Inspired by Marvin from Burnt Lumpia's recent ode to dried shrimp and my love for Thai food, I present you with "shells" steamed in a broth of dried shrimp, coconut milk and lemongrass. Like Marvin, I also had my own little stash of dried shrimp forgotten and abandoned. I keep them on hand for the few occassions when I'm making a Cantonese-styled soup. It's been a while though.
Since shrimp paste is such a common element of Thai cooking, a pungent dried shrimp broth would echo the flavors yet offer a subtleness. This way, the flavors of the fresh lemongrass and the creamy coconut milk wouldn't be overpowered.
I had the most inspiring meal last weekend. There was no nine course meal or wine pairings or molecular gastro-anything, but all the same, this meal revitalized my taste buds in a way that redefined "hitting the spot". It's these simple, unadorned meals that leave me and my appetite satisfied. My Thai meal at Jitlada with fellow food lovers Jamie and Susan left me yearning for more boldly spiced food. I was thinking lots of spices and flavors and definitely lots of garlic.
Going through my regular Saturday morning routine of the farmers' market for produce, Italian deli for bread and Santa Monica Seafood for seafood (duh!), I found myself getting embarrassingly giddy over my prospects for dinner. Big food nerd, I know! We had ordered a delicious whole fried Sea Bass smothered with fried garlic bits at Jitlada. The garlic was fried to a deep, dark golden brown. A second longer in the oil and they would have been bitter, but at this point they were perfection. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. Mmm... so good! I wanted to make a rendition of this at home, but frying a whole fish at home was out of the question. Too much oil equals too big of a mess to clean up. Besides the scent of fried fish would linger in the air for days. I decided that I would cook my whole Branzino (aka Loup de mer) en papillote (encased in parchment). It would steam and bake at the same time. How healthy of me right?
I rubbed the outside with a mix of turmeric, toasted coriander, mustard seeds and sea salt. I stuffed the cavity with ginger, garlic and fresh cilantro. After wrapping it up in parchment, I popped it in the oven along with some fresh peanuts (also snagged from the farmers' market). I thought these would be fun served alongside the fish. Interactive eating creates a fun relaxed dining atmosphere.
I fried some thinly sliced shallots and garlic. Don't make the same mistake as me. Use a big pot. The shallots and garlic hold a lot of moisture which causes the oil to bubble up - or over in my case. I was also thrilled to served it with a bunch of tatsoi for a fresh counterpart to all the assertive spices. I couldn't pass up these guys with their delicately curved, spoon-like leaves. Every meal needs a little green.
Lots of aggressive spices, tempered by the mild white flesh of the Branzino left a little heat in your mouth. Now crack open a few peanut shells to enjoy some freshly, roasted peanuts. Have a bite of tatsoi to refresh your palate. Now repeat as needed.
In order to get to the root of "Los Angeles Cuisine", I recently attended a foodie discussion moderated by the one and only, Pulitzer Prize-winning, food writer Jonathan Gold. An impressive panel was comprised of Michael Cimarusti, Evan Kleinmen and Octavio Bercerra. Perhaps these acclaimed chefs and restaurateurs would be able to enlighten me on the truth of what exactly Los Angeles Cuisine might be because I had honestly never given it a second (or first) thought. Los Angeles - I have spent a bulk of my cooking years here, and therefore, much of my cooking style is shaped by the food culture here. So what is it all about? And how has it affected my cooking? That's what I kept thinking during the discussion. "Come on. Can we get to the point," I thought impatiently to myself. Our complex human brains like things to be nice and simplified. I wanted an XYZ answer but after 90 minutes or so of discussion, I realized that there was no clear cut answer. Los Angeles Cuisine was not one dish or style but rather an amalgamation of our diverse cultural make up and the availability of the freshest produce made possible by the most wonderful climate.
I immediately thought of a dish that I had been working on recently. I had been playing with glutinous rice flour, forming chewy, playful dumplings. almost bubble gum-like. Traditionally these dumplings (aka tangyuan) are a simple mix of glutinous rice flour and water. Cold water yields a smoother dumpling though the dough starts out more crumbly than with warm water. Online research mostly turned up the dessert version filled with red bean and served in a syrup. Not exactly what I had in mind though. I was thinking about the savory version... the kind that I had growing up, served in steaming bowls of chicken broth with daikon radish, napa cabbage and chinese sausage. Maybe mom had made it up. I took the basic concept of the dish and put my own little Los Angeles spin on it. I transformed it into a vegetarian soup filled with grilled king oyster mushrooms, crunchy wood ear mushrooms and zucchini. Instead of plain dumplings, I added some spicy chilies to up the ante. Does that make me so L.A. or what?
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