Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup from Lorna Yee's Newlywed Kitchen Cookbook

I don’t typically love soup. To me, soup is good but having it as an evening meal usually leaves me dissatisfied and cranky unless I’m sick and ALREADY dissatisfied and cranky.

Then it feels restorative.

Usually.

Right now, we’re trying to eat more at home and make healthier choices in the new year (so we look good for our vacation photos in April. (The Gays are a shallow and vain people---Well, at least THESE gays are). This soup is one of a handful of exceptions to my “Soup is unsatisfying” bias. It’s truly my favorite soup in the world. My good friend Lorna Lee made this for us years ago when she was writing her Newlywed Kitchen cookbook and we were absolutely blown away. Every time it’s cold, blustery and gray in Seattle, I want this soup. I typically make a double batch and freeze it. It reheats really well.

The adaptation I make to this recipe is that after I remove and shred the meat, I run the soup through a cheesecloth-lined chinois a couple of times to help clarify the broth and remove the impurities. I also add both fresh and dried chiles to the initial braise because I like soul-searing heat in this soup. If you can’t get bok choy, Chinese broccoli or broccolini work well.

Taiwanese beef noodle soup

Serves 2, with leftovers for the next day

In Taiwan, beef noodle soup is a vital part of the food culture, much like the hamburger is to America. Taiwanese foodies gather to seek out the best bowl of beef noodle soup in town, much like how Americans enjoy searching for the best burger in their city. Once you try this savory broth, flavored with star anise, five spice, and the addictive, slightly numbing heat of the Szechuan peppercorns, you’ll know why this dish has become an obsession for the Chinese. 

Ingredients:

2 tbsp vegetable or peanut oil

3 lbs. bone-in beef shank or short rib, cut into four equal pieces

3 star anise (or ½ tsp ground star anise powder)

¾ tsp. Chinese five spice powder

1 ½ tsp. whole Szechuan peppercorns

8 cloves garlic, lightly smashed with the heel of your knife

5 slices of ginger, cut 1/4” thick

5 green onions, cut into 4” pieces

3 tbsp Chinese chili black bean sauce

¼ cup Chinese rice wine (Shao Tsing wine, or dry sherry)

1 small piece (about 2 tbsp worth) Chinese rock sugar, or substitute brown sugar

1/3 cup light soy sauce

2 tbsp dark soy sauce

6 cups low sodium beef broth

2 cups water

2-4 fresh, small red chilis, seeded (use 4 chilis if you like things spicy!)

For serving:

Your favorite Asian noodles, cooked and drained

Baby bok choy

2 tbsp cilantro, chopped

Chinese chili oil (optional)

Instructions: 

In a cheesecloth, combine the star anise, peppercorns, and red chilis.

In a large Dutch oven, heat the oil until smoking on high heat. Brown the pieces of meat on both sides, about 2-3 minutes per side. Add the garlic, ginger, and green onions to the oil and stir until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients to the pot, including the spices bundled in the cheesecloth. Bring to a boil, then turn the heat down to medium-low and cover. Simmer for 3 ½-4 hours, until the meat is very tender.

Remove the meat from the pot, and discard the bones. Cut the meat into bite-size pieces. Strain the broth and discard the cheesecloth, ginger, scallions, and garlic.

To serve:

Cook the bok choy directly in the hot broth for 3-4 minutes, until tender. Place a portion of the cooked noodles in each bowl, and ladle the soup over top. Add some of beef shank and bok choy to the bowl, and garnish with a bit of cilantro and a bit of hot chili oil.

Enjoy, and check out lorna’s books.

A Cookbook Review - Tyler Florence: Inside the Test Kitchen

Ok, I admit it. I've been a big time slacker.  It isn't that I haven't been cooking...the past few months I've been cooking a lot of new things, putting recipes aside, and telling myself I'd get to sharing the recipes. But then something else would distract me, I'd be in a mood, whatever. I didn't get to blogging. I WILL post some recipes for some new favorites soon, I promise.

In the mean time, there was Cookbooktober. I've been gleefully up to my neck in new cookbooks. Many good, a few flops, and all of them pissing off my husband when they arrive at the front door. 

He'll get over it.

One of the books I found intriguing was Tyler Florence's new Inside the Test Kitchen book. I don't usually watch Food TV, and most of the celebrity chefs on there just don't interest me. Beginner cookbooks also hold little interest becuase I've sone my time in culinary school and don't often find a lot in those books I find interesting or challenging. Some still make it to the shelves, however, because I like the content, they've done something new, the photography is inspiring....something. This is one of those books. 

I like that instead of teaching you some bullshit Rachel Ray lowest common denominator recipe it actually shows you how to cook with step by step pictures and techniques. I also think it's really cool that the chapters are divided into things like Barbecue, Burgers, Eggs and Souffles, Pasta, etc. It's not the standard breakdown with slight variations on the recipes your mom made. Instead, it's step-by-step technique to make something you'd be proud to serve your friends whether you know how to cook or not. Yes, it teaches you how to make waffles--but they're orange waffles, bacon waffles, pumpkin waffles and banana waffles. Want to loearn how to roast a chicken? Cool! Everyone should know how to roast a chicken. And when you have leftovers, it will also tell you how to make a Thai chicken salad with those. Everyone likes grilled cheese....here's how to do it using an isi CO2 siphon for a modern take. THAT'S COOL!

There are a few recipes in here that make me cringe: Spaghetti carbonara with scrambled eggs. THAT'S A FUCKING ABOMINATION!!! But his bolognese is decent, the pomodoro passes muster, and he makes everything approachable. That combined with the creativity makes this a book worth having, IMHO.

To sum it up:

On a 1-5 Scale:

Content: 3.5

Photography: 2.5

Ease of Understanding / Use: 5

Overall: 3.5

Full disclosure: I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.

A Cookbook Review: The Pizza Bible

Cookbooktober is the best month of the year for cookbook hoarders like me, and this year has offered a HUGE bounty of quality books. Once all of the new releases are in I’ll be doing a blog post on my personal favorites from the season.

One of the books I’m really enjoying right now is Tony Gemignani’s, “The Pizza Bible”. This book is a comprehensive how-to tome on pizza making including a wide range of international and regional US variations, including Neopolitan, Deep-dish, Wood-Fired, Calzones and Focaccia, New York, Chicago and Detroit style pies. I love the detailed “how to” component of this book as well.

As someone who is most inspired by the old school authentic dishes of Italy, this isn’t my favorite specialty pizza book. There are some other quality contenders if you want to go deep into a particular style of pizza, such as Pizza Alba Pezone for Neopolitan pizza. It is, however, a great instructional guide to help you master the basics and then make changes based upon the style you prefer. If you only buy one pizza book, this is a good choice. If you’re a hoarder like me, it’s a good start so you can go deeper with other books. The photography isn’t the most inspiring I’ve seen in a book of this genre, but again—to help you master the basics the step by step photographs map nicely to the instruction set.

This one is worth having in your collection, regardless of the style you prefer. Give it a go. You won’t regret it.

On a 1-5 Scale:

Content: 4

Photography: 3.5

Ease of Understanding / Use: 5

Overall: 4

Full disclosure: I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.

Food & Life, a Cookbook Preview and Meatball Recipe

I love meatballs. Lamb, pork, chicken, shrimp – you name it. LOVE meatballs. Like everyone, I have a couple of prized recipes I consider to be my favorites. As a matter of fact, my Poodle Becky Selengut and I constantly argue about who has the BEST lamb meatball recipe in the world. Mine is garlicky, minty and served in a fiery tomato sauce. Hers is amazing – Indian-influenced in a creamy tomato sauce, full of depth and heat -- it’s the second best lamb meatball ever ;) All of this said, I'm always on the hunt for new and interesting variations. Well, I found one. But first, some background…

I was thrilled to receive a review copy of Joel Robuchon’s new book last week, Food & Life. Like all of the books published by Assouline, it combines appealing recipes with some stunning photography. This book divides Robuchion’s magic into five main areas, focusing on not only the recipes but how they impact the wellness of your body and spirit. Normally such an approach would make me roll my eyes, assuming it was some new age woo-woo pass-the-quinoa-and-kale-salad-while-we-sit-around-the-drum-circle hippie book. It’s not that—it’s Robuchon. He was one of the chefs whose recipes formed the foundation of my French cuisine education when I was in culinary school. Here, combining his creativity and recipe development skills with Dr. Nadia Volf’s focus on the body, they’ve come up with an engrossing, vibrant book full of things I can’t wait to make. Oh, and lest you think it’s all healthy food, there are recipes for things like foie gras, pastas and tarts, seafood and meats. The book and accompanying recipes are grouped into The Magic Of Foods,  Foods that Prevent and Foods That Cure, The Virtuosity of the Magician, Food and Climate, and Celebratory Dishes. Each of the recipes gives detailed instruction and discusses the impact on physical and mental well being. 

The first recipe that caught my eye was the Meatballs with Tomato Sauce, and I vowed to make the dish the same night I received the book. It didn’t take long to throw this dish together, and I was intrigued by some of the Mediterranean spices he included in the recipe. The resulting dish was interesting, had great depth, and by adding the optional eggs to the pan, we had a delicious dinner. This recipe is definitely going into my repertoire for future repeats.

You can find more information on Food & Life directly on the Assouline site, linked here, or pre-order the book on Amazon.

And you should really try Becky's meatballs sometime. They're almost as good as mine.

     

Presidential Oaxacan Black Mole with Chile-Rubbed Ribeyes and Chile Fried Onions

I love mole. It’s truly one of those tasks that has to be a labor of love, because it takes an entire day to do it properly.  THIS particular recipe for black mole is one I read about a few years ago when Rick Bayless made it at the White House for President Obama. He mentioned how difficult it is to procure the chihuacle chiles and talked about the authenticity of using them.

Challenge accepted!

I scoured the web trying to find them. No luck. We went to Mexico with our lesbii for Christmas and I asked everywhere…nada. They’re native to a very small region in Oaxaca. Back to the internet. Zip. I blamed my husband David, because he’s the reason I can’t have nice things. That didn’t work either.

Finally, I found Michael Beary, the chef at Zocalito Latin Bistro in Aspen. He was mentioned in some articles  online and it turns out he also does mail order for hard to find ingredients. You can find chihuacles at his website, www.zocalito.com.

Here’s the deal with mole. Because it’s a pain in the ass to make, MULTIPLY the recipe. It freezes really well. In this case, I made it according to how many chihuacle chiles I bought. I ordered two packages, unsure how the weight would convert into actual chiles. Turns out two was a LOT so I ended up making a quadruple batch. Boo hoo, right? Too much mole. There are worse things.

As with all Bayless recipes, everything worked without exception. His instruction is always golden for me. The only note I’d add is that when you defrost and reheat the mole, it tends to be a bit on the dry side, so I end up adding chicken stock. I also added a tiny bit more piloncillo to taste.

When I made the large batch of this, I did it exactly as described in the recipe below, which I lifted from an article on Huffington Post (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/05/20/bayless-black-mole-recipe_n_583397.html ). Last night,we did a tex-mex theme at our place, so I did a chili-rub on some ribeyes, slapped them on the grill and served them over the mole with some chile-fried onions on top.  We served them with the Firecracker cole slaw from Dean Fearing’s new book, “The Texas Food Bible” and some Mexican street corn. For you cookbook hoarders, the inspiration for the chile rub and the onions came from Stephan Pyles' book, "New Tastes From Texas".

If you decide to give this a go, you won’t be sorry. You’ll just be bored. And irritated at the amount of dishes you have to do. And then bored again as you stir that damned pot….but hey, sometimes pot stirring is fun. Mole is also a perfect example of a dish where you can taste the time going into it—those layers of flavor add a depth and nuance making every minute worth it.

OAXACAN BLACK MOLE WITH BRAISED CHICKEN

Serves 8 (with about 10 cups of sauce, which will mean leftovers to make enchiladas or more chicken)

11 medium (about 5 1/2 ounces) dried mulato chiles

6 medium (about 2 ounces) dried chihualces chiles (see note in Variations and Improvisations below)

6 medium (about 2 ounces) dried pasilla chiles

1 dried chipotle chile (preferably the tan-brown chipotle meco)

1 corn tortilla, torn into small pieces

2 1/4-inch-thick slices of white onion

4 garlic cloves, unpeeled

About 2 cups rich-tasting lard or vegetable oil (for frying the chiles)

1/2 cup sesame seeds, plus a few extra for garnish

1/4 cup pecan halves

1/4 cup unskinned or Spanish peanuts

1/4 cup unskinned almonds

About 10 cups chicken broth (canned or homemade)

1 pound (2 medium-large or 6 to 8 plum) green tomatoes, roughly chopped

4 ounces (2 to 3 medium) tomatillos, husked, rinsed and roughly chopped

2 slices stale bread, toasted until very dark

1/4 teaspoon cloves, preferably freshly ground

1/2 teaspoon black pepper, preferably freshly ground

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, preferably freshly ground Mexican canela

A scant teaspoon oregano, preferably Mexican

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

1/2 ripe banana

1/2 cup (about 3 ounces) finely chopped Mexican chocolate

2 or 3 avocado leaves (if you have them)

Salt, about 1 tablespoon depending on the saltiness of the broth

Sugar, about 1/4 cup (or a little more)

2 large (3 1/2- to 4-pound) chickens, cut into quarters

1. Getting started. Pull out the stems (and attached seed pods) from the chiles, tear them open and shake or scrape out the seeds, collecting them as you go.

Now, do something that will seem very odd: scoop the seeds into an ungreased medium-size (8- to 9-inch) skillet along with the torn-up tortilla, set over medium heat, turn on an exhaust fan, open a window and toast your seeds and tortilla, shaking the pan regularly, until thoroughly burned to charcoal black, about 15 minutes. (This is very important to the flavor and color of the mole.) Now, scrape them into a fine-mesh strainer and rinse for 30 seconds or so, then transfer to a blender.

Set an ungreased skillet or griddle over medium heat, lay on a piece of aluminum foil, and lay the onion slices and garlic cloves on that. Roast until soft and very dark (about 5 minutes on each side of the onion slices – peel it off the foil to turn it; about 15 minutes for the garlic – turn it frequently as it roasts). Cool the garlic a bit, peel it and combine with the onion in a large bowl.

While the onion and garlic are roasting, turn on the oven to 350 degrees (for toasting nuts), return the skillet to medium heat, measure in a scant 2 cups of the lard or oil (you'll need about 1/2-inch depth), and, when hot, begin frying the chiles a couple at a time: They'll unfurl quickly, then release their aroma and piquancy (keep that exhaust on and window open) and, after about 30 seconds, have lightened in color and be well toasted (they should be crisp when cool, but not burnt smelling). Drain them well, gather them into a large bowl, cover with hot tap water, and let rehydrate for 30 minutes, stirring regularly to ensure even soaking. Drain, reserving the soaking liquid.

While the chiles are soaking, toast the seeds and nuts. Spread the sesame seeds onto a baking sheet or ovenproof skillet, spread the pecans, peanuts and almonds onto another baking sheet or skillet, then set both into the oven. In about 12 minutes the sesame seeds will have toasted to a dark brown; the nuts will take slightly longer. Add all of them to the blender (reserving a few sesame seeds for garnish), along with 1 1/2 cups of the chicken broth and blend to as smooth a puree as you can. Transfer to a small bowl.

Without rinsing the blender, combine the green tomatoes and tomatillos with another 1/2 cup of the broth and puree. Pour into another bowl. Again, without rinsing the blender, combine the roasted onion and garlic with the toasted bread, cloves, black pepper, cinnamon, oregano, thyme, banana and 3/4 cup broth. Blend to a smooth puree and pour into a small bowl.

Finally, without rinsing the blender, scoop in half of the chiles, measure in 1/2 cup of the soaking liquid, blend to a smooth puree, then pour into another bowl. Repeat with the remaining chiles and another 1/2 cup of the soaking liquid.

2. From four purees to mole. In a very large (8- to 9-quart) pot (preferably a Dutch oven or Mexican cazuela), heat 3 tablespoons of the lard or oil (some of what you used for the chiles is fine) and set over medium-high heat. When very hot, add the tomato puree and stir and scrape (a flat-sided wooden spatula works well here) for 15 to 20 minutes until reduced, thick as tomato paste, and very dark (it'll be the color of cinnamon stick and may be sticking to the pot in places). Add the nut puree and continue the stirring and scraping until reduced, thick and dark again (this time it'll be the color of black olive paste), about 8 minutes. Then, as you guessed it, add the banana-spice puree and stir and scrape for another 7 or 8 minutes as the whole thing simmers back down to a thick mass about the same color it was before you added this one.

Add the chile puree, stir well and let reduce over medium-low heat until very thick and almost black, about 30 minutes, stirring regularly (but, thankfully, not constantly). Stir in the remaining 7 cups of broth, the chocolate and avocado leaves (if you have them), partially cover and simmer gently for about an hour, for all the flavors to come together. Season with salt and sugar (remembering that this is quite a sweet mole and that sugar helps balance the dark, toasty flavors). Remove the avocado leaves.

In batches in a loosely covered blender, puree the sauce until as smooth as possible, then pass through a medium-mesh strainer into a large bowl.

3. Finishing the dish. Return the mole to the same pot and heat it to a simmer. Nestle the leg-and-thigh quarters of the chicken into the bubbling black liquid, partially cover and time 15 minutes, then nestle in the breast quarters, partially cover and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes, until all the chicken is done.

With a slotted spoon, fish out the chicken pieces and transfer them to a large warm platter. Spoon a generous amount of the mole over and around them, sprinkle with the reserved sesame seeds and set triumphantly before your lucky guests.

Advance Preparation: The mole can be completed through Step 2 several days ahead (it gets better, in fact); cover and refrigerate. Completele Step 3 shortly before serving.

VARIATIONS AND IMPROVISATIONS: Chilhuacle chiles are very difficult to find unless you're in Oaxaca (even then they're sometimes hard to obtain). Without them you can make a very respectable black mole with 6 ounces (12 total) dried mulato chiles, 2 1/2 ounces (8 total) dried pasilla chiles and 1 ounce (4 total) dried guajillo chiles.

For the Chile-Rubbed Ribeyes and Red Chile Onion Rings:

(Yields 4 servings)

4 bigassed ribeyes (Bone-in if you want to serve huge, impressive man-steaks)

Spice Blend ( mix 1 cup ground chiles, 1 cup paprika, 1/3 cup sugar, salt and pepper to taste)

Canola Oil for Frying

3 onions, cut into rings

1 quart buttermilk, for soaking

1 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup paprika

1/2 cup chile powder

2 tbsp ground cumin seeds

salt to taste

cayenne powder to taste

For the steaks: Rub spice blend on both sides of ribeyes, place in the refrigerator and allow to marinate 8-12 hours. Remove an hour before grilling and allow to come to room temperature. Grill to desired doneness. We tend to pull them at about 120 degrees and let them rest for 10 minutes before serving.

For the onion rings: Pour enough canola oil in a large frying pan to come 3 to 4 inches up the side. Heat the oil to 350 degrees F or until lightly smoking. Place the onions in a large bowl and cover with buttermilk; let soak for 20 minutes. Combine the flour, paprika, chile powder and cumin in a medium bowl; mix thoroughly. Shake the excess milk off the onions and toss in the flour mixture until well coated. Fry in the hot canola oil until golden. Drain the rings on paper towels and season with salt and cayenne to taste. 

Ladle mole onto plate, place grilled ribeye on top, and scatter onion rings over that. We served this with margaritas and far, far too many bottles of a big red zinfandel. 

Enjoy!

Dan Dan Mien

I haven't shared a new recipe in an inexcusable amount of time. I don't have any new excuses, but I do have this: a FANTASTIC recipe for my favorite Sichuanese street food dish - Dan Dan Mien.

I've talked before about going to Chengdu to cook, hopeful that taking a two week cooking immersion would meet all of my gluttonous dreams. Before I left, I had a list of 15 Sichuan dishes I didn't want to come home without learning to make myself. I learned all of them but one (La Zi Ji, Chongqing Spicy Chicken), and that was due to a translation error when I explained what I wanted to the chef.  The dish at the top of my must-learn list was also the dish I most fell in love with from the street vendors we'd visit every day at lunch: Dan Dan Mien.

The recipe I learned to make at the school was unlike anything I'd had at Sichuan restaurants here. It didn't involve peanuts or sesame (There is a different noodle dish we learned to make which highlighted these ingredients). The meat was a garnish, not a big component like we see here. And it was hot. VERY hot. I came home and made this dish for friends. I made it for David and myself when we wanted some fiery comfort food. I made it for myself when I had a bad day at work and wanted to sit huddled in a corner, rocking back and forth. I always have a vat of homemade chile oil ready to go and I never tire of this dish. It's better than anything I've ever tried in any restaurant.....but as I've mentioned before, when I signed up for the classes I promised not to blog the recipes. I've honored that. This recipe is not that. This recipe is something I found on the LA Times website when I was searching for something completely different. And. It. ROCKS.

This recipe is from Sang Yoon of Lukshon (I've posted one of his recipes before, and it was one I'll make until they put me in the Home). His Dan Dan Mien is much more complex and the flavors more fully developed than the simple street dish I learned to make in China. I prepared it for our friends to eat during the football game last weekend when Seattle stomped the 49ers to go to the Super Bowl. Consensus was it that was even better than the more "authentic" version. The sesame sauce adds depth and complexity. The Sichuan flavor base...well....be warned: It is totally fucking hot. Set-your-lips-into-a-tingly-inferno hot. But the depth of flavor is amazing. If you don't like spicy food, stick with your Italian bolognese. If you can take it, try this Sichuan classic. I think it's one of my favorite dishes I've ever tried.

Some comments: Don't be too put off by the number of steps here. There isn't that much active work time, and the sauces come together relatively quickly. I doubled the sauce quantities because I know we'll be eating a lot of this for a while. All of the ingredients listed in this dish can be found in an Asian market. Prickly ash oil is sichuan peppercorn oil. Everything else should be pretty self-explanatory, but feel free to mail me if you're stuck on an ingredient. And ENJOY! 

Dan Dan Noodles

30 minutes. Serves 8

Oil

1 pound ground pork

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon chopped garlic

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon chopped ginger

2 to 4 cups Sichuan flavor base, to taste (recipe below)

Cornstarch slurry (2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons each cornstarch and water, mixed)

1/4 cup prickly ash oil

1/4 cup chile oil

2 cups dan dan sesame sauce (recipe below)

1 1/2 pounds wheat noodles, cooked

Black vinegar

Crushed peanuts for garnish

1. In a wok heated over high heat, add enough oil to lightly coat the base of the wok. Add the ground pork, chopped garlic and ginger, stirring until the pork is browned, 3 to 5 minutes.

2. Reduce the heat to low and stir in the Sichuan flavor base (add msore or less depending on desired texture and heat). Cook the base with the pork to marry the flavors, then add the cornstarch slurry. Return the heat to high, and cook until the liquid comes to a boil and thickens, stirring constantly.

3. Pour over the prickly ash oil and chile oil and remove from heat.

4. In each of 8 serving bowls, ladle one-fourth cup dandan sesame sauce. Divide the noodles evenly among the bowls. Spoon over the pork and drizzle over a little black vinegar to taste. Garnish with crushed peanuts and serve immediately.

Sichuan Flavor Base

30 minutes. Makes about 1 quart

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons (6¼ ounces) chili bean sauce (doubanjiang)

2 tablespoons (1¼ ounces) hoisin sauce

1 1/2 tablespoons (1/3 ounce) ground red Sichuan peppercorns

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons (3/8 ounce, or around 22 chiles) dried red chiles

1/2 cup (4 ounces) shaoxing wine

2 tablespoons (1 ounce) Chinese sweet soy sauce

3 tablespoons (1½ ounces) Chinkiang black vinegar

1/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons (3½ ounces) chile oil

2 1/2 tablespoons (1¼ ounces) prickly ash oil

Peanut oil, as needed

2 tablespoons (1 ounce) finely minced ginger

1/2 cup (3 ounces) finely minced garlic

1 1/3 cups (10½ ounces) chicken broth

Cornstarch slurry (2 tablespoons each cornstarch and water combined)

3 1/2 tablespoons (1¼ ounces) fermented black beans

1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper, or to taste

1 1/2 tablespoons (5/8 ounce) sugar, or to taste

1. In the bowl of a blender, combine the chili bean sauce, hoisin sauce, Sichuan peppercorns, red chiles, shaoxing wine, sweet soy sauce, Chinkiang black vinegar, chile oil and prickly ash oil. Blend to a smooth paste.

2. In a large sauté pan heated over medium heat, add enough peanut oil to coat the bottom of the pan and add the minced ginger and garlic. Sauté until aromatic. Add the mixture from the blender and stir well to combine with the garlic and ginger. Continue to cook, stirring frequently, until the raw flavor of the garlic and ginger is cooked out, about 5 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, bring the chicken broth to a boil. Whisk in the slurry and cook until the broth is thickened.

4. Stir the thickened chicken broth and black beans into the sauté pan. Season with the white pepper and sugar. The base will keep, covered and refrigerated, up to 1 week.

Dan Dan Sesame Sauce

35 minutes. Makes about 1 quart

Shallot-Chile Jam

3 tablespoons oil

1 pound shallots, peeled and sliced into very thin rounds

1/4 cup sugar

Powdered red chile, to taste

In a heavy-bottomed saute pan, combine the oil and shallots over medium heat. Cook, stirring frequently, until the shallots soften and start to color, 20 to 30 minutes. Stir in the sugar and continue to cook until the shallots are caramelized, an additional 10 to 15 minutes. If the shallots begin to dry out, drizzle over a little water to moisten. Remove from heat and add a pinch of powdered red chile, or to taste; the final "jam" should be a mixture of sweet (from the shallots and sugar) and heat (from the chile).This makes about one-half cup jam.

Dan dan Sesame Base

1 tablespoon peanut oil

2 tablespoons (¾ ounce) minced garlic

1 teaspoon (¼ ounce) minced ginger

Heaping ¼ cup (2½ ounces) shallot-chile jam

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons (3 ounces) shaoxing wine

Heaping ¾ cup (4¼ ounces) toasted peanuts

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons (5¾ ounces) sesame paste

1 tablespoon plus scant 1 teaspoon (5/8 ounce) dark soy sauce

1 tablespoon (½ ounce) light soy sauce

2 cups chicken broth

Ground white pepper

Salt

1. In a large sauté pan heated over medium-high heat, add the peanut oil, garlic, ginger and shallot-chile jam. Cook until aromatic and the mixture begins to form a fond (flavor base) at the bottom of the pan. Deglaze with the shaoxing wine, scraping the flavoring from the base of the pan, then pour the mixture into the bowl of a blender.

2. Puree the mixture with the peanuts, sesame paste, dark and light soy sauces and chicken broth (do not overfill the blender; this can be done in batches and combined).

3. Pour the sauce back into the sauté pan and simmer the sauce (careful not to boil or burn) for 10 to 15 minutes to cook out the raw garlic and ginger flavor. Season to taste with pepper and salt. The sauce will thicken as it cools; loosen with a little water before using. The sauce will keep for up to 1 week, covered and refrigerated.

Sichuan Smoky Eggplant with Garlic (Huo Shao Qie Zi)

Again, I’ve been remiss in posting updates to Baketard when we’ve had new dishes I felt were keepers. I could blame work, a constant flow of houseguests this summer, some work and vacation travel, or my own damned laziness. I think you know which one of the above is to blame as well as I do. Hopefully this dish will help make it up to you. I am in LOVE with this cold appetizer.

I’ve posted a few items describing my latest trip to China and the time I spent at the Sichuan Culinary Institute in Chengdu, and I’ve put up a couple of recipes (with permission) while trying to honor the requests from the heads of the program not to publish what they teach at the school (Because if I did, why would anyone go and have that amazing experience for themselves). I completely respect their wishes.  This said, I still have some Chinese dishes to share. 

This summer, we have thrown a few Sichuan-themed dinner parties, taking what I learned during the program and adding in bits and pieces from cookbooks I’ve acquired abroad, notes from colleagues who are always willing to help me look up and translate cool dishes I’ve had when traveling, and of course, Fuchsia Dunlop’s published recipes. This eggplant dish is one of hers, and it’s a regular at our table. Cool, smoky, spicy, slightly sweet, creamy….it’s got it all, is relatively simple to make and I think it’s a stunning dish. I always double this recipe. Always.

The only modification I’ve made is to use Chinese thin-skinned eggplant (which require a greater number as they yield less flesh), and at the end I roughly chop the mixture rather than leaving them in strips. I also don’t bother with removing the seeds. If you do that with Chinese or Japanese eggplant, there isn’t much left over to work with.

Enjoy this one. It’s fantastic.

Ingredients:

2 eggplant (about 1 ¼ lb/600g)

2 tsp light soy sauce

2 tsp Chinkiang Vinegar

2 Tbsp chile oil with its sediment

1-2 tsp finely chopped garlic, to taste

½ tsp sesame seeds

2 Tbsp finely sliced spring onions

Instructions:

Prick each eggplant a couple of times with a fork, then lay them on a very low gas flame and allow them to soften and char, turning from time to time for even cooking (this can take up to an hour, so its best done when you have other chores in or near the kitchen).

When the skins have blackened and the flesh is soft and pulpy within, remove them from the stove and allow to cool.

Strip away the burned skin and tear the eggplant into strips, discarding the seeds as far as possible. Pile on a serving dish and pour or scatter over the other ingredients. Mix well before eating.

Click here for a link to the book: Every Grain of Rice: Simple Chinese Home Cooking

Grilled Pork and Chorizo Burgers

Summer! SUN! A real summer in Seattle. YAYYYYYYY!!

This summer has been gorgeous, which is something we have lamented not having the past few years in Seattle. Because of the great weather, ours has been a crazy calendar of get-togethers and cookouts, so I haven’t taken much time for actually typing in recipes for the blog. These burgers were so completely amazing, I couldn’t NOT share them.

Until now, I always thought the Lambgasm burgers were the best burgers I’ve ever tried. They’re great. They’re even amazing. These are better. They are adapted from Suzanne Goin's Sunday Suppers at Lucques: Seasonal Recipes from Market to Table, which is one of my favorite books in my cookbook collection. I can honestly say I've made over half the recipes in the book and haven't been disappointed with a single one!  (FYI, She has a new book coming out in the fall from her Wine Bar in LA, The A.O.C. Cookbook and you KNOW I've pre-ordered THAT action. If it's even half of what her original book is, it will be a keeper.

Ok, to the details--Adding the aromatics and bacon inside the burger is one thing, throwing in chorizo is another. Add the atomic romesco and homemade aioli takes it to the next level. To be fair, her recipe for romesco is pretty smooth and not too brutally hot, but I ran out of anchos and the only chiles in the house were a package I found of shredded, dried chiles from Hunan I’d brought back from an asia trip. I followed the instructions below for the romesco, subbing these in. The romesco still tasted like what I expected a romesco to be—it just had an afterburn which pretty much guaranteed we’d be sitting on a sno-cone for the next three days. We powered through anyway.

A few more modifications: 

I added caramelized onions as a topping, because HELLO—what’s better than caramelized onions?

Seriously, what is?

I also subbed in cheap grocery store potato buns for the brioche buns, because while I like brioche in many things, BRIOCHE BUNS ARE BULLSHIT. You end up with such a huge-assed bun, and everything else gets lost. Give me a butter-toasted cheapassed grocery store bun ANY day over the fussy, hoity-toidy brioche bun.

I used aged new Zealand cheddar, pecorino-romano, beer and sodium citrate to make Modernist Cuisine at Home processed cheese. Made with all cheese, but rubbery-melty-good like Velveeta. You can find recipes for this all over the place. While it’s not critical for this recipe, it rounded out all the flavors really well.

Finally, this recipe calls for 2 pounds of pork and a quarter pound of chorizo. Where the hell are you going to find a quarter pound of chorizo? I bought a package of ¾ pound and just threw it all in. It was delicious.

Suzanne Goin says to serve this with a vinegary coleslaw. We did it with a spicy potato salad and the Zucchini and Curried Breadcrumb Tian from last week’s NYT.

Sno-cone anyone?

Suzanne Goin’s Grilled Pork Burgers

Makes 6 burgers

For the burger:

• ·         1 ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
• ·         3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for grilling
• ·         ½ cup diced shallots
• ·         1 tablespoon minced garlic
• ·         1 tablespoon thyme leaves
• ·         2 chiles de arbol, thinly sliced on the bias
• ·         2 pounds ground pork
• ·         ¼ pound fresh Mexican chorizo, casing removed
• ·         3 ounces applewood-smoked bacon, finely diced
• ·         2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
• ·         6 slices Manchego cheese
• ·         6 brioche buns or other good burger buns
• ·         Aioli (recipe follows)
• ·         Romesco (recipe follows)
• ·         2 ounces arugula
• ·         Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. In a medium sauté pan, toast the cumin seeds over medium heat a few minutes until the seeds release their aroma and darken slightly. Pound the seeds in a mortar or spice grinder until coarsely ground.
2. Return the pan to the stove over high heat for 1 minutes. Add the olive oil and shallots. Turn the heat down to medium-low, and cook for a few minutes, sitrring, once or twice, until the shallots start to soften. Add the garlic, thyme, cumin and sliced chile. Season with 1/4 teaspoon salt and a few grindings of black peppery, and cook 3 to 4 minutes, until the shallots become translucent. Set aside to cool.
3. In a large bowl, use your hands to combine the ground pork, chorizo, bacon, shallot mixture, and parsley, being careful not to overmix the meat. Season with 1 1/4 teaspoons salt and lots of freshly ground black pepper. Shape the meat into six 6-ounce patties. Chill in the refrigerator if not using right away.
4. Light the grill 30 to 40 minutes before cooking and remove pork burgers from the refrigerator to come to room temperature (if you made them in advance).
5. When the coals are broken down, red, and glowing, brush the pork burgers with olive oil and grill them 3 to 4 minutes on the first side, until they're nicely browned. Turn the burgers over, and place a piece of cheese on each one. Cook another 3 minutes or so, until the pork is cooked through. (It should still be slightly pink in the center.)
6. Slice the buns in half, brush them with olive oil, and toast them on the grill, cut side down, for a minute or so, until they're lightly browned.
7. Spread both sides of the buns and the aioli. Place a burger on the bottom half of each bun, and dollop with a generous amount of romesco. Place some arugula leaves on top, and finish with the top half of the bun.

For the aioli and the romesco:

• ·         1 extra-large egg yolk
• ·         ¼ cup grapeseed oil
• ·         ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
• ·         1 small clove garlic
• ·         ¼ lemon, for juicing
• ·         Pinch cayenne pepper
• ·         Kosher salt
• ·         5 ancho chiles
• ·         2 tablespoons raw almonds
• ·         2 tablespoons blanched hazelnuts
• ·         1 ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
• ·         1 slice country bread, about 1-inch thick
• ·         1/3 cup San Marzano canned tomatoes
• ·         1 clove garlic, chopped
• ·         1 tablespoon chopped flat-leaf parsley
• ·         1/2 lemon, for juicing
• ·         Kosher salt

1. For the aioli: Place the yolk in a stainless steel bowl. Begin whisking in the grapeseed oil drop by drop. Once the mixture has thickened and emulsified, you can whisk in the remaining grapeseed and olive oils in a slow steady stream. If the mixture gets too thick, add a drop or two of water.
2. Pound the garlic with 1/4 teaspoon salt with a mortar and pestle. Whisk the garlic paste into the aioli. Season with 1/4 teaspoon salt, a squeeze of lemon juice, and the cayenne. Taste for balance and seasoning. If the aioli seems thick and gloppy, thin it with a little water. In addition to thinning the aioli, this will also make it creamier.
3. For romesco: Preheat the oven to 375° F. Remove and discard the stems and seeds from the chiles, and then soak them in warm water for 15 minutes to soften. Strain the chiles, and pat dry with paper towels.
4. Meanwhile, spread the nuts on a baking sheet and toast for 8 to 10 minutes, until they smell nutty and are golden brown.
5. Heat a large sauté pan over high heat for 2 minutes. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil and wait a minute. Fry the slice of bread on both sides until golden brown. Remove the bread from the pan and cool. Cut it into 1-inch cubes and set aside.
6. Return the pan to the stove over high heat. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil and the chiles and sauté for a minute or two. Add the tomatoes. Season with 1/2 teaspoon salt and cook 2 to 3 minutes, stirring often, until the tomato juices have evaporated and the tomato starts to color slightly. Turn off the heat, and leave the mixture in the pan.
7. In a food processor, pulse together the toasted nuts, garlic, and fried bread until the bread and nuts are coarsely ground. Add the chile-tomato mixture and process for a minute more.
8. With the machine running, slowly pour in the remaining 1 cup olive oil and process until you have a smooth purée. Don't worry, the romesco will "break" or separate into solids and oil; this is normal. Add the parsley, and season to taste with lemon juice and more salt if you like.

Shrimp Cakes from Lukshon

I've been dreadfully remiss about posting lately. Naturally, I have excuses:

1.) We were dieting. Who gives a shit about diet food? Besides, I only post recipes here which hit a 9 or 10 according to our palates. Diet food contains no pork, caramelized anything, palm sugar, fat, good carbs, etc. Why the hell would it go on my blog?

2.) We finished dieting and vacationed in Houston (I know, right) and then went for a friend's 40th to spend a week in New Orleans being gluttonous pigs. (More on that later...got some amazing recipes there)

3.) We got MARRIED. Well, we made legal what we committed to in a very large, formal ceremony ten years ago. Since it is finally legal in Washington State, we became legally wed with our best girlfriends who have been together more than 20 years.

4.) Huge re-org at work. All went fine, but blogging was the last thing on my mind.

5.) I was a lazyass.

There. Now that we have that out of the way, let me tell you about these shrimp cakes. I was reading about the new lineup for the upcoming season of Top Chef Masters, and was fascinated with Sang Yoon, the Chef at Lukshon in Los Angeles. The LA Times magazine had a great writeup on him including this recipe, which has all the Southeast Asian things I love in one small bite: Spicy, Sour, Salty, Sweet, FRIED!!!  We made it as a starter for an Asian-themed dinner last weekend and I couldn't get them on the plate fast enough for my gluttonous friends who were greedily shoveling them into their cavernous pieholes.

A couple of notes on modifications:  I formed these into balls and fried them in oil in my wok, as the photo I'd seen of these as they are served in the restaurant were in balls rather than cakes. I think they probably simplified the recipe for the garlic-breathing masses (I hate when they do that)!  Also, the recipe did not provide Chef Yoon's technique for the chile sauce with which these are typically served so I took the lazyassed approach and used a bottle of sweet thai chile sauce from the asian market.

These were so good, I'm making them again this weekend. You should too!

Shrimp Cakes
From: Lukshon chef-owner Sang Yoon.
Note: Yoon seves these with a sweet chile sauce (palm sugar, cilantro, Thai basil, chiles).
Makes: 1 serving, shared or not

2 pounds peeled and deveined white shrimp roughly chopped
1 1/2 ounces chopped ginger
1 ounce chopped garlic
3 finely chopped jalapenos (seeds removed)
2 ounces fish sauce
3 ounces Chinese light soy sauce
1 ounce lime juice
2 minced shallots
1 tablespoon ground coriander seed
1 tablespoon ground hot mustard powder
1/2 cup plain bread crumbs
1 beaten egg
sea salt to taste
white pepper to taste
1/2 bunch chopped cilantro
canola or grapeseed oil for frying

1. Add all the ingredients except the cilantro and frying oil to a food processor and blend until a coarse/chunky paste is formed.

2. Remove from food processor and allow the mixture to sit, covered in the refrigerator, for 1 hour.

3. Mix in chopped cilantro and form 2-ounce patties. Fry the patties in a hot skillet with neutral oil such as canola or grapeseed until light brown on both sides.

4. Once browned on both sides, the patties can be removed from the skillet and placed on a cookie sheet to finish cooking in a 300 degree oven for about 2 more minutes.

Lamb Dolmas with Dill Zabaglione

Things have been pretty boring in the Baketard household the past few months. I mentioned in a previous post that we were cutting out the booze and most of the carbs for the new year, and for the most part we did—David and I completed our diet challenge with our trainer, Anna the Horrible. What does that mean?  Well, she will now be required to do a workout of OUR choosing for an hour while we watch from comfy yoga mats, eating fried chicken. Oh, and in addition to the gloating rights, we both lost between 25-30 lbs each in the process of doing this.  We can get back into our tube tops and hot pants for summer.

Surprisingly, the diet wasn’t too tough, and throwing a dinner party here and there to eat a few things we enjoy didn’t hurt.  I’ll post some of the healthy recipes we loved throughout the diet in a later post (I really did find/concoct some great stuff in SPITE of it being healthy), but in the mean time, let’s talk about one of the splurge dinners and one of my favorite do-ahead appetizers.

I love Dolmas. I’ve had good dolmas, I’ve had bad dolmas, and I’ve had middle of the road dolmas. This recipe makes the best fucking dolmas I’ve ever tasted.  It comes from Wayne Johnson, formerly of Andaluca and now Ray’s Boathouse in Seattle. Chef Johnson taught us to make this recipe years ago at a charity event called Cooking with Class, run by my friend Connie Adams. (You should check this out, because it’s a fun hands-on cooking event with wine pairings, a fun auction and it benefits a great cause where the proceeds go to benefit seniors in our community. Keep gramma off the streets! She’s not to be trusted). These dolmas blew us away then, and they continue to do the same today. Honestly, I made these as one of my dishes for my International Cuisine final in culinary school and they guaranteed me an A.

There’s no big complicated trick here. When I make these I line a half hotel pan with grape leaves, place the rolled dolmas inside and put another half pan on top, weighing it down as much as possible with cans of water (The weight helps with the absorption). You can use whatever pans/dishes you have as long as they’re stackable. The dolmas can be assembled and cooked a day ahead, and re-steamed briefly before serving. They’re fine at room temperature, but better warm.

The zabaglione needs to be made fairly close to the time you serve the dish, but it’s a quick process. These will seriously be the most kick ass dolmas you’ve ever eaten. Trust me. Would I lie to you?

Lamb Dolmas

Chef Wayne Johnson

Yield: 6 Servings

Ingredients:

Dolmas

▪1 Tablespoon olive oil

▪1 pound lamb, lean ground

▪1 pound onion, small dice

▪½ cup red bell pepper, small dice

▪1 cup basmati rice

▪2 teaspoons salt

▪1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

▪¾ cup tomato purée

▪2 Tablespoons currants

▪¼ cup pine nuts, toasted

▪2 Tablespoons craisins™

▪¼ cup Italian parsley, minced

▪2 Tablespoons oregano, minced

▪2 Tablespoons mint, minced

▪3 Tablespoons dill, minced

▪Grape leaves, as needed, rinsed & drained

▪½ cup lemon juice

▪3 cups chicken broth

▪6 sprigs thyme, for garnish

Zabaglione

▪4 egg yolks

▪2 Tablespoons lemon juice, fresh

▪6 Tablespoons chicken stock

▪½ cup olive oil

▪1 Tablespoon dill, fresh minced

▪¾ teaspoon salt, kosher

▪Pinch of white pepper finely ground

Instructions:

For Dolmas: Break up lamb with whisk for small and uniform pieces. In sauté pan over medium high heat cook lamb and onion in olive oil until well-browned. Add bell pepper, rice, salt and cayenne and sauté 2 more minutes.

Add tomato purée, currants, half the pine nuts, craisins, Italian parsley, oregano, mint and dill and heat through. Remove from heat. Let cool to room temperature. Refrigerate until cool.

On work surface, arrange grape leaves, shiny side down. Place 1 ounce filling per leaf, roll up, folding sides in burrito-style. Dolmas must be rolled neatly and tightly to cook correctly.

Line deep casserole with small or torn grape leaves. Place in pan seam-side down. Fit snugly but not packed together. Line entire pan with Dolmas. Cover with additional grape leaves.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Bring lemon juice and chicken broth to boil, then pour over Dolmas. Weigh down Dolmas by placing small, perforated cooling rack upside down on top. Cover pan with foil sealed well. Bake 1 hour or until liquid is absorbed and rice is tender. Remove foil. Let cool. Can be stored up to 5 days in airtight container in refrigerator.

For Zabaglione: Combine egg yolks, lemon juice and stock over double boiler. Whisk constantly over medium high heat until mixture is pale yellow, fluffy and thickened. Slowly add olive oil to incorporate. Whisk in dill, salt and pepper. Remove from heat. Zabaglione will last 4 hours at room temperature.

To Serve: Steam Dolmas 5 minutes or until hot. Place 3 Dolmas per plate, corners on top of each other at right angles. Sauce Zabaglione across Dolmas, covering each one. Sprinkle pine nuts across Dolmas, place dill sprigs in upper right corner of plate.

Torta Della Nonna

Earlier this year, I talked about my cooking trip to Sichuan and the great friendships I made while studying there. One of my fellow students is a journalist, and he wrote a fantastic article for this morning’s Boston Globe. Another is a retired university professor living in China for a year with his wife (who is teaching at the University), and the third, a retired exec from a large international accounting firm. The latter came to Seattle last weekend to stay with us and meet David for the first time. His only instructions were, “Rather than going out to dinner, let’s cook together. You invite your c*ntiest gays, and I’ll do the same when you come to Florida in March”.

I can do that. Game. ON!

Since we spent two weeks cooking Chinese food together, and have both burned out our respective husbands with Sichuan fare since returning to the US, I decided to cook Italian for him.  With the exception of the appetizer tartlets I mentioned recently, every dish came from Nancy Silverton’s Mozza cookbook, with which I am completely OBSESSED. We have used this book in the past for our cookbook club, where every dish blew our minds.

For this occasion with my friend, we started with the tartlets, moved on to a beautiful take on a caprese salad with burrata, pesto, pine nuts and oven-roasted tomatoes, made a pasta dish with homemade sausage, herbs and fennel pollen, and taking the main stage, a stuffed quail agrodolce dish my friend Becky took over and rocked. (It’s always to have a chef friend over for a dinner party. Especially when they ALSO meet the aforementioned “c*nty gay” requirement). I'll be blogging about the quail dish for sure.  This night was one of those perfect dinner parties for a host, where every dish outshone the last,...culminating in this cheese-filled Torta. This is, for me, the most intricate dessert I’ve ever made successfully to the point I’d call it a “10”, other than that Pastel de Tres Leches cake, which was also a bitch to make.

No weird substitutions or anything here, since it is a dreaded baking recipe. I did find unbleached pastry flour but I had to look for a while to find it. I didn’t find the Italian leavening at either of the Italian delis in town, so I used the baking soda/powder mixture and it worked great. I had to search for honeycomb, but if you have a grocery store with a good cheese selection, they're likely to sell it. (For Seattleites, I got it at the University Village QFC). This dessert looks so impressive with the cheesecake topped with the individual cookies and honeycomb. It’s definitely one I will make again, but there’s a significant time investment here.

Cooling the torta and the cookies

This dinner party involved lots of Negronis, many bottles of red and white wine, and we served the last of my homemade Arancello with dessert. After many jokes, puns and jabs at one another to accompany the food and wine, everyone stumbled their happy asses home. As my friend swerved downstairs to the guest room, he gave the concession I was waiting to hear: “Your friends are WAY c*ntier than mine”.

Well done, people.

Well done.

Torta Della Nonna

From Mozza, by Nancy Silverton and Matt Molina

Ingredients

For the crust:

11/2 cups unbleached pastry flour or unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting

3/4 cup confectioners' sugar, plus more for dusting

1/2 cup (1 stick) cold, unsalted butter, cut into cubes

1/4 teaspoon Italian leavening, such as Bench Mate, Pane Angel, or Rebecchi, or 1/8 teaspoon baking soda and 1/8 teaspoon baking powder

Pinch of kosher salt

4 extra- large egg yolks

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract (if not using Italian leavening)

All-purpose flour, for dusting

Unsalted butter, for the pan

1 extra- large egg white

1/3 cup toasted pine nuts

For the filling:

10 ounces Philadelphia style cream cheese

1 cup mild- flavored fresh goat cheese, such as Coach Farms goat cheese

5 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/4 cup mascarpone cheese

1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon unbleached pastry flour or unbleached all- purpose

flour

1 teaspoon kosher salt

3 extra- large eggs

1 cup sugar

11/4 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

For serving the tart:

Honeycomb

Two types of single- flower honeys, such as chestnut honey and wildflower honey

Cooking Directions

To make the crust, combine the flour, confectioners' sugar, butter, leavening, and salt in the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, and mix on low speed until the butter and dry ingredients form a coarse cornmeal consistency, about 2 minutes. Add the egg yolks and vanilla, if you are using it, and mix on medium speed until the dough is smooth, 2 to 3 minutes. Dust a flat work surface with flour and turn the dough out onto it. Knead the dough for a few minutes until it comes together into a ball. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate it for at least 1 hour and up to three days; or freeze it for up to two months. (Defrost the dough overnight in the refrigerator.)

Remove the dough from the refrigerator. Dust a flat work surface with flour, cut the dough into chunks, and knead the dough on the countertop to soften it, until it is the texture of Play- Doh. Cut off a 1/3 cup portion (about 3.2 ounces) of dough, wrap it in plastic wrap and return it to the refrigerator.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, butter the inside of an 11- inch flan ring, and place the ring on the baking sheet. Remove the remaining dough from the refrigerator. Dust your work surface and rolling pin with flour and roll the dough out to 2 inches larger than the ring, and to a thickness of 1/8 to 1/4 inch. Gently fold the dough in quarters and place it on top of the flan ring, placing the point in the center and gently unfolding the dough so the ends are flopped over the ring. Gently push the dough down to fit inside the ring, pressing into the crease around the inside circumference so the dough fits snugly against the corners and sides. (Don't stretch the dough to fit or it will shrink during baking.) Dip the knuckle of your index finger in flour and use it to press the dough into the crease to create a straight edge, not sloping sides. Roll the rolling pin over the top of the flan ring to cut the dough. Pull off the trimmed dough and discard. Place the tart shell in the refrigerator to chill for at least 30 minutes and up to one day.

Remove the 1/3 cup of dough from the refrigerator and place it between two sheets of parchment paper. Roll it into an 8-inch circle about 1/16 inch thick. Place the dough sandwiched between the parchment paper on a baking sheet and put it in the freezer to chill until it is firm but not frozen, about 30 minutes.

Adjust the oven rack so it is in the lowest position and preheat the oven to 350ºF and line another separate baking sheet with parchment paper.

Remove the sheet of dough that you rolled very thinly from the freezer, lay it on a flat work surface, remove the top sheet of parchment paper, and use the 8-inch ring to cut a circle out of the dough, working quickly so that it stays cold. Pull away and discard the scraps of dough around the circle and cut the circle into eight or ten equal wedges as you would a pie— however many servings you want the tart to make. Still working quickly, use a metal spatula to carefully lift the wedges one at a time and place them on the prepared baking sheet, leaving about 2 inches between each. Brush the wedges with the egg white. Scatter 2 tablespoons of the pine nuts over the wedges, dividing them evenly, and gently press the nuts into the wedges to make sure they adhere; reserve the remaining pine nuts for serving with the tart.

Bake the wedges until they're golden brown, about 8 minutes, rotating the pan in the middle of the baking time so the cookies brown evenly. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and place it on a wire cooling rack until the wedges cool, and dust them lightly with powdered sugar.

To make the filling, combine the cream cheese, goat cheese, butter, and mascarpone in the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and mix on low speed until the ingredients are combined and the mixture is smooth and creamy, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula occasionally, about 2 minutes. Add the flour and salt, mix on low speed to incorporate, and transfer to a large mixing bowl.

Combine the eggs and sugar in the bowl you mixed the cheeses in. (There's no need to wash the bowl.) Exchange the paddle attachment for the whisk attachment on your mixer and beat the eggs and sugar together until the eggs are thick and fluffy and the sugar is dissolved, about 5 minutes. Add the vanilla and beat just to incorporate. Gently fold one- third of the egg mixture into the cheese, using the flat side of a spatula to smash the cheese and break up the density of the cheese with the egg. Add another third of the egg mixture, folding it in with a light hand so the eggs stay light and fluffy. Fold in the remaining egg mixture, mixing until the ingredients are combined but there are still visible lumps of cheese in the mix. (The filling can be made up to four days in advance. Transfer it to an airtight container and refrigerate until you are ready to bake the tart.)

Remove the tart shell from the refrigerator and pour the filling into the shell to fill it 1/8 inch from the top. (You may not use all of it but you don't want to overfill the ring; discard the excess.) Place the baking sheet with the tart on it in the oven to bake for about 40 minutes, rotating the baking sheet halfway through the baking time for even browning, until the filling is set and the top is golden brown. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and set it aside to cool slightly. Cut the tart into the same number of wedges that you cut cookie wedges. You can serve the tart warm, or set it aside to cool to room temperature. (To rewarm the tart, place the whole tart or individual slices on a baking sheet and put it in a 350ºF oven until it is warmed through; about 5 minutes for slices, about 15 minutes for a whole tart.)

Just before serving, place the cookie wedges on the tart with the outside edges of the cookies about 1 inch from the edge of the tart. Lift the flan ring off the tart. Use a large knife to cut between the cookies, creating even slices using the cookies as a guide. Use a metal spatula to carefully transfer each wedge to a dessert plate. Spoon 1 teaspoon of honeycomb on one side of each wedge. Spoon 1 teaspoon of each of the two honeys into circles about the size of silver dollars on either side of each wedge. Scatter a few of the reserved pine nuts in the center of each pool of honey, but not the honeycomb, and serve.

Chile Verde

February in Seattle usually involves two things: Rain and Clouds. Oh, and more rain. It’s bleak, and it makes me want to stay home in bed, lazing around with my dogs. It provides the perfect excuse for comfort food, too.

THIS, my friends, is comfort food.

I spent last week at a business conference in Phoenix. While I hated to spend any money supporting the tourist industry of the state with the most batshit-crazy Governor, and in a city with the most racist Sheriff in the nation, I loved the conference (great opportunity to network and to see old friends from all over the world) and I ADORE Southwestern food.

We ate well: We had dinner at Jose Garces’ new restaurant, Distrito. He makes incredible modern Mexican fare, and every bite was perfection. Thanks to recommendations from many of my friends, we also arrived early one afternoon to try the pizza at Pizzeria Bianco. This place is known for a long wait, but it truly is the best pizza I think I’ve ever eaten. It’s worth enduring the line to get in. Finally, we ate at an old Southwestern restaurant and had traditional, fiery Carne Adovada with beans and rice. It burned my face off in a good way, and sent me home hungry for more southwestern fare.  Reading through Saveur on the plane, I stumbled across this recipe and it looked so great I made it as soon as I got home. Carne Adovada is next on my list.

This Chile Verde recipe has heat to it for sure, but not unbearably so. It’s absolutely delicious and I hope you like it as much as we did. I doubled the batch—but it didn’t last long. Great heat, killer comfort food, and the tomatillos fill your mouth with a nice fiery tang. Speaking of which, tell your mom "hey" for me...

Chile Verde

SERVES 4-6

INGREDIENTS

¼ cup canola oil

2 lb. boneless pork shoulder, cut into ½" cubes

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

½ cup flour

8 oz. ground breakfast sausage

2 tbsp. ground cumin

1 tbsp. green chile powder

1 dried pasilla chile, stemmed, seeded, and chopped

½ cup chopped scallions

12 tomatillos, husked, rinsed, and finely chopped

2 medium yellow onions, finely chopped

2 serrano chiles, stemmed and finely chopped

2 Anaheim chiles, stemmed, seeded, and finely chopped

1 green bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and finely chopped

2 cups chicken stock

1 (15-oz.) can green enchilada sauce, such as Hatch

Hot sauce, for serving

Roughly torn cilantro leaves, to garnish

INSTRUCTIONS

Heat oil in an 8-qt. saucepan over medium-high heat. Season pork with salt and pepper; toss with flour. Working in batches, add pork to pan; cook until browned, about 6 minutes. Transfer to a bowl; set aside. Add sausage; cook, breaking up with a spoon, until browned, about 4 minutes. Transfer to bowl with pork. Add cumin, chili powder, and pasilla; cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add scallions, tomatillos, onions, serranos, Anaheim chiles, and bell pepper; cook until soft, about 15 minutes. Add reserved pork and sausage, stock, and enchilada sauce; cook until pork is tender, about 30 minutes. Garnish with cilantro; serve with hot sauce.

Flaky Tartlets with Sauteed Leeks, Pancetta and Sage with Madeira-Poached Cherries

Happy Winter!

Posts have been pretty sparse lately, because we’ve been pretty hard core about dieting for the new year. It has been an exercise in creativity making food low in carbs and calories which still tastes good, but it has been easier than I expected it to be. In the past 7 weeks David and I have both dropped about 20 lbs cutting out a lot of the rich food (and booze) which had become our norm. That doesn’t mean we don’t occasionally have a blowout, however, and splurge a little. We had one of those this weekend.

A friend of mine I met on my cooking school trip to China came up from Miami to visit us, and I wanted to be sure I did my job as a good host, ensuring he’d leave stuffed and hung over. Mission accomplished. We did an Italian dinner Saturday night, with most of the dishes coming from Nancy Silverton’s Mozza cookbook. They were all new recipes (to us) and they were all memorable enough, I’ll be putting them up on the blog in the next couple of weeks. A caprese salad made with Burrata, basil pesto, oven-roasted cherry tomatoes and toasted pine nuts. Quail, marinated in an Italian agrodolce, stuffed with pancetta, herbs and onion, wrapped in thinly sliced pancetta and roasted, served over tangy grilled radicchio with honey and fried sage. Roasted broccolini with balsamic and chile, and as a finale, Torta Della Nonna – probably the most ambitious dessert this baketard has ever SUCCESSFULLY made. It was stunning. More to come on all of that…

This starter is one I’ve been making for years, but never got around to posting on the blog. I started making these during culinary school when I was working my externship/stage at the Herbfarm. These pastries were frequent starters on their multi-course menu, they invariably come out flawless, the dough is easy to throw together in a food processor, and they *always* work.  Always. For a pastry recipe to consistently work for me, it’s got to be foolproof. Trust me, you won’t screw this up if you follow the directions. My friend Becky Selengut does a version with Camembert and port-poached cherries. It’s delicious. You can caramelize onions, shallots, leeks—whatever suits your fancy, and add something herby and some dairy to bring it together. The tart shell recipe is consistent, but the filling can change based upon what you have on hand.

Yes, there are three recipes here but my point is they don’t take a ton of work and they’re all do-ahead tasks: The shells can be made ahead and frozen, unbaked. The braiding of the crust takes a little practice but you can always do a simple crimp too. The filling can be made a few days ahead and the cherries can be made up to a month in advance, so this is a great dish for a dinner party or catering. The assembly is relatively quick, and they’re pretty.

I was fortunate enough to have a friend join us for dinner this weekend who is also a food photographer by profession. Her husband was unable to join us (I think he’s either having an affair or he just hates the gays) so I sent home a doggy bag for him. She surprised me Sunday morning with the gorgeous photo above, with a disclaimer that she’d thrown this shot together before letting him at the tarts, and that it was the best she could do at 2am, drunk and stumbling around the house. Girl, if this is your worst, I am even more in awe. Thank you for the thoughtful gift. (You can find more of Kelly’s gorgeous work at www.kclinephotography.com and http://nommynom.com ).

And now, we return to the previously scheduled salads.

Sigh.

Flaky Tartlets with Sauteed Leeks, Pancetta and Sage with Madeira-Poached Cherries

Modified from a recipe in the Herbfarm Cookbook by Jerry Traunfeld

Tart Filling:

6 leeks, sliced

4 ounces pancetta, finely diced

¼ cup duck fat or olive oil

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 to 3 teaspoons champagne vinegar

¼ cup chicken stock

3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh sage

Freshly ground black pepper

1 cup gruyere, grated

½ cup parmesan, grated

12 4-inch Flaky Pastry Tart Shells (Recipe Below)

Madeira and Sage Poached Cherries (Recipe Below)

Preparation:

Making the Filling: Slice the leeks, removing the tough green ends and root end (You want to have just the white and pale green parts). Slice in half lengthwise and then thinly slice into half rings. Melt the duck fat or heat olive oil, and cook the diced pancetta, stirring often, in a large skillet over medium heat until almost crisp. Add the leeks, garlic and salt and cook, stirring often until the leeks are very soft, about 10 minutes. Add champagne vinegar, reduce the heat to medium-low, and continue to cook until the wine has evaporated, using a wooden spoon to scrape up any caramelized bits on the bottom of the skillet. Add chicken stock, and continue to simmer for another 5 minutes. Add the crème fraiche, chopped sage, and cheeses and stir until you have a thick, spreadable and unified consistency. Season with pepper and additional salt, if needed. Be sure to taste the mixture before adding additional salt, as the parmesan will add quite a bit to the mixture. (The mixture can be prepared up to 2 days ahead and stored covered in the refrigerator.)

Filling and baking. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Divide the filling among the tart shells and spread it evenly with the back of a spoon. Bake in the upper third of the oven until the filling is set, about 15 minutes. The filling should still be soft but not runny. Let cool slightly, then transfer the tarts to a cutting board using a large spatula. Just before serving, top with 2-3 Madeira and sage poached cherries. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Variations

For large tarts, prebake 2 10-inch Free-Form Tart Shells. Divide the leek mixture between them and bake the tarts until the filling is set in the center, 20 to 25 minutes. Using a large spatula, transfer them to a cutting board and cut each into 12 wedges.

Herb Substitutions

In place of sage, use an equal amount of finely chopped rosemary, marjoram, savory, English thyme, or lemon thyme.

Flaky Pastry Tart Shells:

Makes 12 4-inch shells or 2 10-inch shells

2 cups bleached all-purpose flour (spoon and level; 9 ounces)

8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes

1/2 teaspoon salt

6 to 8 tablespoons ice water

Egg wash made with 1 egg yolk and 2 teaspoons water

Preparation:

Place the flour, butter, and salt in a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Pulse about 24 times, then open the machine and lift a handful of crumbs. The largest pieces of butter should be the size of raw grains of rice or barley. If there are larger pieces, continue to pulse the mixture. When the butter pieces are the correct size, transfer the mixture to a large mixing bowl. Sprinkle 6 tablespoons of ice water onto the dough. Spread the fingers of one hand as if you were about to grab a large ball, and using your rigid fingertips as if they were a large fork, stir the dough quickly and briefly until the liquid is incorporated. Squeeze a handful of the dough in your palm. The dough should have just enough moisture to stay together. Break the piece in half. If it seems dry and crumbly, cautiously add more water a few teaspoons at a time until you can squeeze it into a ball that will not crumble when broken apart. If your kitchen is reasonably cool, the butter was cold, and you used ice water, the dough should be at just the right stage of malleability for rolling out, and it will be easiest to work with immediately. If your kitchen is very warm, wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate it for about 15 minutes.

Rolling the dough:

Turn the pastry dough out on a lightly floured board and divide it into quarters for small 7-inch tart shells or in half for large 10-inch shells. Shape 1 piece into a disk and dust the top lightly with flour. Begin to roll out the dough, using quick but gentle strokes with the pin. Start with the pin in the middle of the round and roll to the top, then to the bottom. Rotate the dough 1/4 turn each time you roll to be sure the dough is not sticking and use additional flour as necessary. When the round is larger than 9 inches for a small tart, or 12 inches for a large tart, and about 1/8 inch thick, turn a 9- or 12-inch plate or bowl upside down on the dough as a template and cut around it with a sharp knife. Remove the plate or bowl.

Forming the edge:

Fold 1/2-inch edge of dough all around to form a decorative rim. Begin by folding a 1-inch-long section over by 1/2 inch, then overlap the fold by half and roll another piece of dough over, pinching it firmly in place. Continue to roll and pinch, and a twisted rope pattern will. Form. Roll out the remaining dough and crimp the edges in the same manner. Transfer the pastry shells to baking sheets lined with parchment paper and poke the interior of the shells all over with the tines of a fork. Refrigerate the pastry for at lest 30 minutes or up to 24 hours. If you wish, you can freeze the shells on the baking sheets, and when they are frozen, stack them inside freezer bags. Bake the shells without defrosting first.

Prebaking:

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Brush the rims of the tarts with egg wash. Bake the tart shells (1 baking sheet at a time) for 15 minutes, then reduce the heat to 350°F and continue to bake until they are an even golden brown, 8 to 12 minutes longer. Lift a shell with a spatula and check that the underside is evenly brown. If the tart shells puff up during baking, press down the center of the pastry with the back of a large spoon. Let cool on the baking sheet.

Madeira and Sage Poached Cherries

1 cup dried cherries

2 cups Madeira

¼ cup sugar

1 bunch sage

Preparation:

Place all ingredients into small saucepan, stirring occasionally and simmering until cherries are plump and liquid is reduced by 2/3, about 30 minutes. Liquid should be thick and there should be just enough left to coat the cherries. Remove the sage sprigs and store in a covered container in the refrigerator, up to one month.

Liquore di Anice Arancia (Blood Orange and Star Anise Liqueur)

It’s that time of year when we’re on our New Year Diet Plan, so not a whole lot of food or new dishes to blog about. Who wants to hear about salads, salads and more salads? Salad is what FOOD eats. Lots of stir fries (one with Dan Dan flavors may be worth blogging about later), chicken and seafood dishes. Meh. We have pretty much gone dry in the process too, which has been easier than I thought. With all this healthy crap, I’ve been twitchy on the weekends. Saturdays are usually when I go nuts on the more time-consuming meals, fresh pastas, more interesting sauces,…you know. Fun-cooking!

A couple of weeks ago I was digging through the refrigerator, trying to find something interesting and healthy (oxymoron) to do with broccoli, and stumbled across the last few drops of Liquore di Anice Arancia, an orange and star anise liqueur we brought home from Italy earlier this year.  It was the most amazing thing either of us had ever tasted, but we didn’t bring home much in the way of souvenirs and the bottle we did bring home was quickly shared with friends and gone. I saved the bottle in the freezer, just so I wouldn’t forget about it and in case I could coerce one of my traveling friends to bring back a bottle if ever I ran into anyone going to the Amalfi coast.

Our friend Judy, whose blog Over A Tuscan Stove provides constant inspiration, was helping me with a purchase I was trying to negotiate from here and I mentioned the liquor. When I showed her the label, she clarified that what I loved so much was the faint star anise note in the background of the drink, and that it would be child’s play to make at home. She also advised me to get the purest alcohol I could procure, so I ordered a big jug of Everclear online.

What the hell, right? Another new (to me) website I’m really enjoying is La Tavola Marche, from which the Rosemary and Lavender Cake I mentioned in my last post originated. They have a recipe for a Blood Orange Arancello, so I figured it would be pretty simple to add the star anise, triple the recipe and make it my own…..hoping it would taste like what remember.

We finished the liquor last night, and you know what? It tastes EXACTLY like what we remember! This is most definitely a recipe I'll repeat until they wheel my poor, pickled corpse away. Fortunately, in the meantime we have enough orangy, boozy goodness to last at least a week when we’re off these damned diets.

A few notes about the recipe: You will need to skin the oranges carefully, with a very sharp knife. You don’t want to get the bitter pith in with the peel. It took me about 45 minutes to fully peel 20 blood oranges and remove any last bits of pith. Consider it a labor of love. When storing this mixture, both throughout the process and when you have assembled the simple syrup with the infused alcohol, store it in a cool, dry place. The amount of simple syrup used here makes for a liqueur which goes down pretty smoothly. If you want it a little bit boozier, reduce the syrup mixture at the end.

Liquore di Anice Arancia (Blood Orange and Star Anise Liqueur)

Adapted and shared with permission from the kind folks at La Tavola Marche

The two week boozy peel soak

Ingredients: 

1.75 liters Everclear, or as close as you can find to pure grain alcohol. In a pinch, use vodka. 1.75 liters is the huge handled jug. (For professional drinkers)

The skin of 20 blood oranges. 

10-12 (about ¼ cup) star anise

1.75 kilo (3.85 lbs) granulated sugar

3 liters (~12 ½ cups) water

Preparation:

In a large jar with a lid, soak the orange-rind peels and star anise in the alcohol and leave in a cool dark place for about 14 days.

After it has sat for 14 days or so, filter the rinds from the alcohol. Boil the water & sugar, making a simple syrup, stirring to dissolve all the sugar in the water. Then add the orange flavored alcohol. Bottle.

Arancello, like limoncello will last a year or more in proper storage.

If the alcohol is too strong, it is also nice to serve it with a drop of heavy cream or dollop of whipped cream atop - then it is referred to as Crema di Arancello.

Chicken Crostone with Liver and Pancetta Sauce, and Rosemary Cake with Lavender Glaze

Happy New Year!

It’s the time of year when we all have to sit back, reflect on the past 365 days, cringe at the weight we gained over the holidays and make a bunch of healthy eating resolutions we will keep for precisely 16 days before we say, “Screw it” and go out for Mexican food after a rough day at work.

We just got back from a holiday trip to Mexico with friends where we ate too much, drank too much, and came back bloated and full of self-loathing (Ah, holidays). Fortunately, I convinced our trainer Anna the Horrible to help us with our New Year’s fitness challenge this time, so hopefully we’ll make it past the 16-day mark because this time we have greater incentive.  Here’s the deal: We want a 3-month challenge. There are four of us who train with her, all of whom want to lose some weight before the summer so we don’t have to go swimming in t-shirts, puffy coats and parkas. We will weigh in with her this week and she will set aggressive goals for each of us for the three month period. If/when we succeed in our goals, our reward will be that we get to set up a workout for her to do, including all the most torturous exercises she makes us do—VersaClimber, throwing a goddamned bajillion pound medicine ball at the wall while doing squats, medieval torture positions to be held while doing a Plank, etc. While she does these things, we will sit in the private training room, comfy on padded yoga mats, EATING FRIED CHICKEN. (I thought this was a brilliant incentive, if I do say so myself).  After some negotiation, she agreed. What we don’t know yet is what the penalties will be for those who DON’T make it, other than having to join her in the workout.

David and I are weighing in with her on Friday, which leaves us only a couple of days left to eat real food. With this in mind, I made a New Year’s Day delicious hangover dinner last night from a couple of different sources.  First, from the Mozza Cookbook, we made Chicken Crostone (It’s supposed to be guinea hen, but who has that lying around—HELLO) in a chicken liver and pancetta sauce.  It’s one of those slow braises which takes a while to make, but the active time is pretty minimal. It was rich, delicious and completely comforting on a cold, dark, hung over Seattle night.

Next, I made a recipe I found this weekend while bored-bored-bored on an airplane, surfing the web for Italian chef websites. It’s a rosemary cake, which is pretty typical for northern Italy, with a lavender glaze. Two of my favorite herbs in one dessert? SOLD! The recipe came from a website called La Tavola Marche. (Out of respect for their blog, I won’t post the recipe here, but you can get it by clicking this link).

Both dishes came out great, but were tough to photograph. There was little light left by the time I ran outside to take a photo glazing the cake, and the frosting looked a little bit nasty so I couldn’t help myself. I’m immature. Sue me. 

Bukcake or Cakekkake?

The chicken wasn’t done until it was pitch black outside (which is about 4pm) so by the time we had dinner there was no way to take a natural light photo. Oh, and the chicken, the sauce and the bread on which it rests are all shades of beige or brown.  This is basically my way of saying DON’T JUDGE. The photos are crap but the dishes were both relatively simple, hugely satisfying, and absolutely delicious.

I hope you enjoy this as much as I did, and good luck with your new year’s resolutions. I’ll still be thinking of these recipes next week when we are dining on air with a side of dust and a slice of lemon (all of which are part of a healthy Gluten Free diet).

Guinea Hen Crostone with Liver and Pancetta Sauce

Adapted from the Mozza Cookbook, by Nancy Silverton

4 servings

Ingredients

• 8 guinea hen thighs* (we used skin-on chicken thighs)
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Flour for dredging
• 1/4 cup olive oil, more as needed
• 2 1/2 cups diced pancetta
• 3 cups diced Spanish onion
• 12 cloves garlic, sliced thin
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh sage
• 4 cups dry white wine
• 4 cups chicken or guinea hen stock, plus an additional 1 cup for the crostone
• 1 pound (about 2 1/2 cups) cleaned chicken livers, roughly chopped
• 1 tablespoon capers
• 1 tablespoon white-wine vinegar
• 2 lemons, zest removed in long strips, and juiced
• 4 (2-inch thick) slices peasant bread, such as ciabatta, each slice about 7x3- inches
• 1/4 cup whole celery heart leaves, for garnish
• 1/4 cup whole Italian parsley leaves, for garnish

Directions

*Note: You'll probably have to buy guinea hen whole legs rather than thighs. In this case, cut the drumsticks off and make a stock with them, just as you would a chicken stock. Use in the recipe instead of chicken stock.

With a clean kitchen towel or paper towel, pat the guinea thighs dry. Season them with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Dredge in the flour and pat off all excess flour. Meanwhile, heat a large (12-inch) saute pan over medium heat for one minute, and then add the olive oil. It should be hot but not smoking by the time you are done flouring the guinea thighs.

Brown the thighs, skin side down first, adjusting the heat and adding more oil so that the meat sizzles at a nice pace. Cook until golden, 2 to 3 minutes, and then turn the meat and cook another minute or two to color the other side. If your pan is small, cook the thighs in two batches. Transfer the thighs to a plate.

You will now need a 4-quart straight sided saute pan or an enameled cast-iron Dutch oven. This pan should be wide enough to have the thigh pieces fit in single layer and deep enough to hold at least 4 quarts of liquid (a stock pot will work in a pinch). Put this pan over medium-high heat. Add enough olive oil to cover the bottom of the pan. Add the pancetta and sweat for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the onions and garlic and sweat for another five minutes or so, so that the onions are soft and translucent. Add the rosemary, sage, and a small pinch of pepper. (The pancetta should add enough salt to the sauce so don't worry about salting yet.) Sweat for one more minute. Add the wine, 4 cups of the stock, livers, capers, vinegar, and lemon juice. Add the reserved guinea thighs and bring the braise to a simmer. There should be well more liquid than is needed to cover the meat. This is a good thing, as this dish is all about having plenty of sauce and it will reduce as you cook it. Simmer until the guinea is fork-tender and the meat pulls away from the bone easily, 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Carefully remove the thighs and reserve on a plate.

Turn up the heat and boil the sauce, stirring from time to time to make sure it isn't sticking and burning, until it reduces by half. To thicken it slightly, use a blender to puree 1 cup of the reduced sauce and add it back to the pan. Stir and taste for seasoning. Add a couple drops of lemon juice if needed. Salt is probably not needed, but use your judgment for final seasoning.

The dish can be made up to this point a day ahead.

To finish, preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Put the bread slices in a small baking dish that has been generously coated with olive oil. Ladle the remaining 1 cup of stock evenly over all of the bread. Set two thighs on each slice, skin side up. Toast in the oven until the bread has turned a crispy golden brown on the bottom, about 10 minutes; use a spatula to check and be careful as the toast tends to stick. Reheat the sauce.

Remove the thighs from the toasts, and carefully remove the crostones from the pan and turn them over so that the brown side is up.

To plate, set one slice of toast on each plate. Remove the thigh bone from the meat and place the meat from two thighs on each toast. Spoon some of the warmed sauce over each thigh and a little more to run off the crostone. Garnish with celery leaf (inner yellow leaves only), Italian parsley leaf, and long strips of lemon zest.

Gongbao Diced Chicken (Chicken with Peanuts) 宫保鸡丁

Ok, I'm tardy on this one.  I’ve been back from the adventure of a lifetime for about a month now. I’ve been meaning to blog about it, and kept promising to do so, but do you ever have one of those experiences where you have so much to tell, you don’t even know where to begin?  Ok, then. QUIT JUDGING ME!!!

As both of you who read this blog know, I’m obsessed with Chinese food—ESPECIALLY Sichuan food. When Fuchsia Dunlop’s Land of Plenty was published over ten years ago, I became addicted to the balance of chile-fire and citrusy, mouth-numbing Sichuan pepper this cuisine brings. While not all Sichuan food carries these flavors, the dishes which most appealed to me did. I cooked my way through Fuchsia Dunlop’s book, scribbling notes about what I liked, and pestering my Chinese boss and colleagues at work with questions and requests to smuggle some of the more esoteric ingredients to me in between my own trips to China. When Ms. Dunlop’s second book about the cuisine of Hunan came out, I had a similar experience. The recipes work, they’re authentic, they taste of the dishes I’ve had when I’ve traveled, and her books make accessible techniques and flavors I never would have been able to make otherwise. Her third book, Shark’s Fin and Sichuan Pepper, was an autobiography of her time in China, being the first westerner to attend the Sichuan Higher Institute of Cuisine. The book explained the challenges she faced and chronicled her journey from being a westerner to truly being immersed in the food and culture of Sichuan province. I dreamed of getting to experience this for myself. Because of the popularity of her books and Sichuan Cuisine, I was constantly on the lookout for the means to make it happen for me.

In October of this year, I went to Asia for three weeks. While this isn’t uncommon for me with work, it’s the first time I’ve done it alone, purely for fun. A few years back, I stumbled upon a website called Cooking School in China. This site detailed a two-week culinary immersion at the same institute where Fuchsia Dunlop studied. I drooled over the monthly recipes in the newsletter as it was released, and thought, “Some day…” This year, thanks to a supportive spouse who didn’t mind me going off on an adventure without him (he probably relished 3 weeks of peace and quiet), I finally decided to give it a shot. As the date of the trip approached, Diane Drey, the owner and facilitator of this adventure sent us tidbits about the city, things we would see, helpful tips on menus, items we needed to bring along, and finally recipes which began with an authentic Gung Bao (Kung Pao) Chicken challenge for us to try at home before the trip. I followed her recipe and make the chicken along with some other Asian dishes for a dinner party, understanding that what we learned in Chengdu might be a bit different. (It was, but only slightly—it really depends on which chef you have which day). It was DELICIOUS, and drove my excitement through the roof.

I started the trip with a few days in Bangkok with good friends we don’t see nearly enough, where we did our best to drink every drop of liquor and wine in the city in between bouts of power-shopping, eating at some amazing restaurants (I love you, David Thompson), and taking a Thai cooking class at the Oriental.  When my hangover and I arrived in Chengdu, I checked into my hotel, met my colleagues for the trip, and embarked upon the most exhilarating culinary adventure I have ever experienced. We lucked out, really…typically these classes have around 15 people from all over the world. This time, there were only 4 of us. We all had similar political (this was right before the presidential election) and social views, compatible personalities, and we just really clicked well together. This is important when you’re in a long commute each day, immersed in conversation and trying to ignore thinking about how you’re weaving in and out of insane Chengdu traffic).

The Culinary Institute itself is vast, and full of eager, curious kids excited to practice their English skills and find out why these big ol’ white boys were there wearing chef whites at the school.

The main entrance to the school

So shy.

Because there were only 4 in our group, we received an even higher level of individual attention from the chefs and staff than the norm. We had two interpreters named Betty and Nancy who were our culinary experts and liaisons throughout the program, and who were a real highlight of the trip. No matter how random or detailed our questions (and I had a LOT of questions), they either knew or researched the answer to ensure we were getting what we needed. (Fortunately, they were as passionate about increasing their English vocabulary as we were about increasing our culinary skills). 

Oh, how I love getting photos when they're eating.

On the rare occasion we couldn’t land on the English name for an ingredient, I’d take a photo of it on my iPad, send it out on twitter to the girls back home, and get an answer usually within minutes. It was also good for taking photos and scrawling out the names of the ingredients over the picture with your finger (there's an App for that) on the fly as not to forget anything. Gotta love technology!

Hasty finger scribbling

The chefs moved quickly, speaking even faster, and the girls quickly got used to me asking them to stop to ask how much of this or that ingredient went into the pot, what it was called, why they were doing it this way vs. that way, etc. I was pretty much the same pain in the ass I was when I went to culinary school in the US, but I looked at it like this: I’m here to learn everything I can possibly wring from this experience, and I want to be able to fully reproduce every nuance of this at home for my arched-eyebrow-of-judgment Chinese friends, and if I don’t take excruciatingly detailed notes I’m going to forget most of this because it’s so exciting. They were good sports and my colleagues in the class and I came to a compromise where I’d be the chief scribe and they would make sure everything was detailed at the right level, photographed thoroughly, and understood by all. It was a great arrangement for all of us, I think.

Classes typically followed a routine of 3 hours of chef demonstrations in the morning, showing us what we’d be making later in the day, followed by a break for lunch where we’d avoid the school cafeteria and beg the girls to take us to noodle shops outside the campus. These noodle shops were small, dark, and not something the Department of Health at home would be excited to see, but the food…OH MY GOD THE FOOD….it was breathtaking. And cheap. Lunch typically cost us around a dollar per person. We had Dan Dan noodles (one of my favorite Sichuan specialties), Yibin Kindling Noodles (a typically vegetarian dish with a great deal of fire), hot soups with hand-pulled noodles…the list was endless.

Street shop noodles. Amazing!

The proprietors of the shops were fascinated with us and our need to photograph EVERYTHING (I took about 4,000 photos on this trip. Truly). They were also very accommodating when I asked if I could take pictures of or with them and ask (through our saviors, Nancy and Betty) what they were doing or what the ingredients were. Naturally, I’d then scribble down the recipes they gladly shared. In the afternoons, we pulled out our cleavers and cutting boards and then it was our turn to try and reproduce what the chefs had shown us in the mornings.

A very patient chef and an annoyingly enthusiastic student

Fortunately, they were also very helpful and ensured we were successful in our endeavors. After cooking, cleaning and eating the fruits of our labors, we headed back to the city and when we could manage to stuff more food down, went out to local establishments to try the Sichuan fare we wanted most to explore. For me, it was trying to find street food: Dan Dan Noodles, Zhong’s Pork Dumplings in a spicy-sweet sauce that brings tears to your eyes, Ma Po Tofu.  Some nights, we’d all just go back to our rooms and collapse or head out to find a drink. It was magical.

Practicing Garnishing the Plates

I have a lot to share about this trip, and will go into it more as I explore and duplicate more of the recipes at home, but for now let me tell you about the Gong Bao Chicken. This dish is a classic, and one which every restaurant does differently. In the Seattle area where we have a variety of Sichuan options, my favorite comes from a restaurant called Spicy Talk. Their version is very similar to this one: It’s spicy with dried chiles, has the aforementioned mouth-numbing zing of Sichuan peppercorns, and is stir fried with crunchy roasted peanuts and silky bites of chicken “velveted” in a cornstarch mixture with cooking wine, vinegar and a hint of sugar added at the end to pull the flavors together. This chicken recipe will (hopefully) rock your world like it has mine. If you’d like more information about the cooking program, check out their website or mail me and I’m happy to tell you more. It’s the best money I’ve ever spent!

Gongbao Diced Chicken (Chicken with Peanuts) 宫保鸡丁

Ingredients:

7 ounces (200g) Chicken (leg and thigh meat, preferably)

4 1⁄2 tablespoons (40g) Crispy peanuts (roasted)

2 dry chilis (10g) Dried chili - chopped into 3”-long pieces

(add more chili if you prefer it hotter)

2 teaspoons (4g) Sichuan pepper

1 1⁄2 tablespoons (8g) Ginger, - chopped

1 1⁄2 tablespoons (10g) Garlic - chopped

1 scallion (15g) - chopped finely

4 tablespoons (60g) Cooking oil

Spices A: - coating

Pinch (0.5g) Salt

2 teaspoons (5g) Shaoxing Cooking wine

1⁄2 teaspoon (3g) Soy sauce

1 tablespoon (10g) mixture of water and corn starch

Spices B: - thickening sauce

1/8 teaspoon (1g) Salt

1 teaspoon (5g) Shaoxing Cooking wine

1 teaspoon (7g) Soy sauce

2 teaspoons (10g) Black Vinegar

2 teaspoons (10g) Sugar

Pinch (1g) MSG

1 tablespoon (15g) Mixture of water and corn starch

4 teaspoons (20g) Stock

 Preparation:

1. Prepare Spices A

2. Dice chicken into 1.5c cubes, (2/3” cubes) and blend in Spices A and mix well to coat chicken.

3. Prepare Spices B to make thickening sauce.

4. Heat oil in a wok to 140 degrees Centigrade (285 degrees Fahrenheit)
. Add dried chili chunks and Sichuan peppercorn, and stir-fry until aromatic (chiles will become bright red), about 20 seconds. 
Drain and remove.

5. Add a small amount of oil to the wok and add the diced chicken, stir-fry until al dente, about 1 minute. Add ginger slices, garlic slices, chopped scallion and after about 30 seconds add Spices B, the thickening sauce. Cook until chicken has lost its raw color. 
Add crispy peanuts when the sauce is thick and luscious, and season to taste with a little additional vinegar. Mix evenly and then transfer to a serving dish.

Features: brownish and reddish color; tender chicken; crispy peanuts; a rich medley of sour, sweet, salty and zingy tastes pepped up with Sichuan pepper and chili

History: The dish was originally made for Ding Baozhen, the governor of Sichuan during the Qing Dynasty, whose official title is “Gongbao”.

Recipe © Diane Drey, Modified and Reprinted with Permission.

Chilled Grapefruit-Caramel Meringue Pie

I haven’t posted on the blog in a while. It hasn’t only been because I’ve been a slacker, really! 

I was basically out of town the entire month of October. I went to Brazil for a conference and business trip (don’t even get me started on how amazing the food was, once I had some time on my own to go and find it) and then to Bangkok and China for the cooking adventure of a lifetime. Since returning home, I have been buried at work and honestly, I have so many photos and so much I could write about the trip to the Sichuan Culinary Institute, I haven’t known where to begin. I’ll try to jump into that this week, and share some of the recipes and experiences with the people who read this blog from time to time.

Yes, I’m speaking to both of you.

Since coming home, I’ve been trying out the Sichuan fare I learned on David and some of our friends, and to my delight, so far every recipe has been delicious. I’ve found little tweaks here and there, scribbled notes in the margins of my notebook on how I’d adjust the recipes in the future when I bite the bullet and make them for my mean, cruel, judgy Chinese girlfriends (you bitches know who you are), but overall have been completely thrilled.

Typically when I’m focusing so much on the savory courses, I cheat with dessert. Ala Mode Pies in Seattle delivers, (Did you hear me? THEY DELIVER. TO YOUR DOOR. SAME-DAY. Put down your bong for a moment and contemplate that) and their pies are out of this world. More than once I’ve had to call these guys at the last minute to have something amazing delivered, and they always come through. (My personal favorites, the apple and ginger pear pie and the coconut cream pie. Watch out, Tom Douglas—you have some competition here.)

This weekend I decided to man up and try one of the bajillions of dessert recipes I have found and saved in my cooking file. This recipe from Food and Wine Magazine caught my eye, and I couldn’t stop thinking about it. I breezed through the recipe while making my shopping list for the weekend and thought, “Even this baketarded idiot can pull this one off”, not thinking about the time factor. This isn’t a recipe you can pull off in a few hours. There’s not a ton of active work, but there are a lot of delays in between steps as you wait for components to cool and freeze. When you’re executing an ambitious menu and are as easily distracted OH LOOK! A BUTTERFLY!!! as I am, it’s not the ideal.  Turns out, it was completely worth it. This dessert looked great when it was completed, and I was fascinated by how quickly the meringue colored when using a brulee torch. It was magical for someone who had never done that before. I even had to call David into the kitchen to watch. The slightest touch of heat colored the meringue in broad brushstrokes, like painting on the computer.

I know, the real bakers out there are going, “Get over it, Mary, it’s meringue for fuck’s sake”. Yeah, yeah…I know. It was still cool.

You can adapt this with any citrus you like for the curd. I thought it was amazing with pink grapefruit juice as the base, but anything will work. You can also flavor the caramel with something like, oh I don’t know, marijuana butter if you want to add a little something special to finish off dinner. Allegedly.

Naturally, since it isn’t legal here until next month, I wouldn’t dream of doing such a thing. I just want both of you to have options, should you choose to take them.

Happy thanksgiving, kids. Next up, I promise some insights into cooking in Chengdu.

Chilled Grapefruit-Caramel Meringue Pie

Modified from FROM GRAPEFRUIT-CARAMEL MERINGUE PIE

PUBLISHED JANUARY 2006

Food and Wine Magazine. Recipe by Deborah Snyder.

ACTIVE: 1 HR

TOTAL TIME: 3 HRS PLUS 5 HR FREEZING

SERVINGS: 12

Ingredients:

1 cup fresh pink or Ruby Red grapefruit juice

Coarsely shredded zest of 3 pink or Ruby Red grapefruits (1/2 cup)

1 dozen large eggs, 6 eggs lightly beaten, 6 eggs separated

3/4 cup plus 1 1/3 cups sugar

2 sticks (1/2 pound) unsalted butter, softened, plus 4 tablespoons melted

9 whole graham crackers

1/2 pound cream cheese, softened

Caramel Sauce (Recipe Below)

3/4 cup heavy cream

Directions:

1) Bring a medium saucepan filled with 2 inches of water to a simmer over moderate heat. In a medium heatproof bowl, whisk the grapefruit juice and zest with the 6 whole eggs, 6 egg yolks and 3/4 cup of the sugar. Set the bowl over the saucepan and cook, stirring frequently, until a thick curd forms, about 15 minutes; don't worry if the curd looks slightly curdled. Strain the curd through a fine sieve set over a bowl, pressing on the solids; discard the solids. Whisk the softened butter into the curd until blended. Place a sheet of plastic directly on the curd and refrigerate until set, about 3 hours.

2) Meanwhile, in a food processor, crush the graham crackers; pour in the melted butter and pulse just to combine. Pat the crumbs over the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

3) In a medium bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese until fluffy. Beat in 3/4 cup of the Caramel Sauce. In another medium bowl, beat the heavy cream until soft peaks form. Fold the heavy cream into the caramel cream cheese.

4) Spoon the grapefruit curd into the springform pan and tap gently to form an even layer. Spoon the caramel cream on top in a smooth, even layer. Drizzle the remaining 3/4 cup of Caramel Sauce all over the caramel cream and freeze until slightly set, about 1 hour.

5) Meanwhile, bring a medium saucepan filled with 2 inches of water to a simmer. In the bowl of a standing electric mixer, combine the 6 egg whites with the remaining 1 1/3 cups sugar, set the bowl over the simmering water and whisk over low heat until the sugar is dissolved and the egg whites are hot to the touch. Transfer the bowl to the mixer fitted with a whisk and beat at medium-high speed until the whites are stiff and glossy, about 8 minutes. Spread the meringue over the caramel. Swirl decorative peaks in the meringue. Freeze the pie until firm, at least 4 hours.

6) Before serving, preheat the broiler and position a rack 8 inches from the heat. Broil the meringue just until it begins to brown, about 2 minutes, shifting the pan for even browning. Alternatively, brown the meringue with a propane torch. Carefully remove the ring and transfer the pie to a platter. Let stand in the refrigerator for 30 minutes before serving.

MAKE AHEAD The pie can be prepared through Step 5 and frozen for up to 2 weeks. Cover once it's frozen solid.

Caramel Sauce

Ingredients:

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

2 tablespoons light brown sugar

1/3 cup dark brown sugar

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions:

1) In a medium saucepan, combine the butter with all three sugars and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Cook over moderately high heat for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the cream and boil for 2 minutes longer. Transfer the caramel sauce to a pitcher. Stir in the vanilla and salt and refrigerate until cold, at least 2 hours.

MAKE AHEAD The caramel can be refrigerated for up to 1 week. Whisk to combine before serving.

Queso Fundido with Chorizo

Cheese. I just love Cheese. Reaaaaaaaaaaally I do.  If you're not old enough to remember that Loony Tunes line, begone. We are unable to use cheese, say cheese or think of cheese without blurting out this line. I can't remember what I had for dinner last night, but ridiculous cartoon lines from childhood are seared into my memory forever.

What are the lines you can't get rid of?

This recipe is one of my favorite easy Tex-Mex beauties from Chef Stephan Pyles' book, New Texas Cuisine. It's one of three Tex-Mex books he has published, all of which play largely into our repertoire when we cater Southwestern or Mexican themed parties. His recipes work--every time--and this one has always been a hit. It doesn't hurt that you can assemble the main mass of cheeses well in advance of the party, sautee your chorizo (you want the ground, crumbly and spicy Mexican chorizo for this, not the harder, cured Spanish type), chiles and onions ahead of time and have them ready to go. You can throw these ingredients together after the initial melting of the queso base and blast 'em in the oven as instructed below right before your guests arrive (Unless you're a complete glutton and have decided to shove three quarters of a pound of cheese into your own piehole in one sitting, in which case I applaud and am slightly repulsed by you).

For the photo above, I doubled the recipe for a hungry crowd. And since it's hard to get just 4oz of chorizo, I bought a pound, increased the onions, chiles and spices accordingly, and piled that on to the melted cheese mound for the last few minutes in the oven. What's not to love about more meat? (Just don't. It's too easy).

It's not fancy. It's not my norm with all the Asian and Italian recipes I toss up to this blog, but I love Southwestern, Tex-Mex and true Mexican food, and while I was going through photos and recipes this morning this one caught my eye. Besides, you'll appreciate how all that cheese binds you up before you dig into the later courses of beans and spices. Trust me.

And I still want to hear the lines from childhood you can't get out of your head.

Queso Fundido With Chorizo

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 small onions, chopped
• 1 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 jalapenos, seeded and diced
• 2 ounces chorizo sausage
• 4 ounces mozzarella cheese, cubed
• 4 ounces monterey jack cheese, cubed
• 3 ounces goat cheese, crumbled
• 6 small flour tortillas

Directions

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place an 8 inch casserole in oven while preparing the fundido.
• Heat oil in skillet over medium high heat until slightly smoking. Add onion, garlic and pepper and cook for one minute stirring constantly.
• Add chorizo and break up while coooking for about 10 minutes.
• Remove the casserole from oven. Spread the cheeses over hot bottom of dish. Return the dish to oven and bake until cheese is just melted, about five minutes.
• Remove from oven and sprinkle chorizo mixture over top. Return to oven and heat for about three minutes.
• Serve with warmed tortillas.

Thai Galloping Horses - Ma Hor

Ok, kids…Ready for some of the most intriguing and delicious Thai food you’ve ever tried? This is one of those recipes where you completely control that delicate balance of hot/sour/salty/sweet for which Thai food is so well known.  And as an added serendipitous surprise, the recipe (called Ma Hor) is named after your mom! How could you NOT try it?

This recipe is modified (via Australian Gourmet Traveller--best cooking magazine in the world, IMHO) from David Thompson’s book, Thai Food (or Thai Cookery if you couldn’t wait to order the book when it was released in the US, and ordered it from Australia. It’s the same book either way). If you like Thai cuisine, both his Thai Food book and his Thai Street Food tome are the authoritative books on the subject. Supplement it with Chef McDang’s Principles of Thai Cookery and you’ve got the wide spectrum covered at a high level.

Ok, it can be a bitch to find quail if you don’t have an Asian grocery. Seattleites, I found it frozen at Uwajimaya for about 8 bucks for 4 semi-boneless quails. Yes, it’s a little bit of work to remove the meat from their tiny little bodies, but this dish is seriously worth the effort. If you can’t find quail or you’re a lazyass, you can substitute chicken thigh meat for the poultry in this recipe. If you’re going to do that because you’re a lazyass, you can also substitute a cup of Mrs. Butterworth’s mixed with a can of tuna for the fish sauce caramel, and a 7-11 package of corn nuts for the fried peanuts and shallots. And then you can fuck off. How dare you shortcut your mother's namesake dish?!?!?

Not kidding, this recipe was our hit of the summer. I’ve made it as an appetizer a few times and it instantly disappears from the serving plate every time. You can make the meat and caramel mixture (up through step 3 below) ahead of time and reheat it once you want to serve it on the pineapple slices. Just be sure to add the last half of the fried items and garnishes at the end (step 4) so they don’t get soggy. It’s how your mom would want it.

Ma hor (Galloping horses)

Serves 12

Cooking Time Prep time 40 mins, cook 20 mins (plus cooling)

2 tbsp peanut oil

150 gm each coarsely minced pork and minced quail (see note)

150 gm  peeled medium uncooked prawns, coarsely chopped

165 gm  crushed light palm sugar

125 ml (½ cup) fish sauce

80 gm each fried shallots and fried garlic (see note)

50 gm  roasted unsalted peanuts, coarsely crushed

1  pineapple, quartered, core removed, thinly sliced

To serve:  julienned long red chilli, kaffir lime leaf and coriander leaves

Coriander and garlic paste

8 coriander roots, scrubbed

8 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped

½ tsp white peppercorns

2 tbsp peanut oil

1. Heat one-third of oil on the flat plate of a barbecue, cook pork until cooked through (2-3 minutes), season to taste, remove, drain on absorbent paper, set aside to cool. Repeat with quail and prawns, cooking separately.
2. For coriander and garlic paste, pound coriander, garlic and peppercorns in a mortar and pestle to a fine paste. Heat oil in a frying pan over high heat, add paste and fry until fragrant (1-2 minutes).
3. Add palm sugar and fish sauce to coriander and garlic paste, simmer until slightly thickened (4-5 minutes). Add pork, quail and prawns and stir until reduced (3-4 minutes). Stir through half of each of the fried shallots, fried garlic and peanuts and set aside to cool slightly.
4. Top pineapple slices with pork mixture, scatter with julienned chilli, lime leaf and coriander and serve with remaining fried shallots, fried garlic and peanuts.

Note You will need to order minced quail from your butcher. If it's unavailable, you can mince it yourself, or substitute coarsely minced chicken thigh. Fried shallots and fried garlic are available from Asian grocers.