It's officially soup season and I've made this fish soup twice in the past two weeks.
The first time was on my last day in Ann Arbor, when I visited my sister at the University of Michigan. We had originally planned to make this soup for dinner but got lazy and had it for the late lunch/early dinner I had before I boarded my flight. Maybe it's the Asian in me, but noodle soups always make me feel nice and homey and safe. It was a good pre-flight/last meal until Thanksgiving with my sister meal with a Mission St Pale Ale. Considering that my 1 hour flight turned out to be almost 3, it kept me well satiated throughout the ordeal.
The second time was yesterday, after waking up with a terrible head cold and gross nasal drip. Throughout a delirious nap I couldn't think of anything but this fish soup so when I finally woke up, I dragged myself to Whole Foods on 97th (the best Whole Foods in Manhattan by far) just to get the ingredients for the soup. I made enough for me, Andrew, and the next few days. Andrew and I had this soup with a bottle of Orleans Hill Cote Zero 2009 (not bad, not great, good with fish, organic, "sulfite-free," but most importantly, $8.99 at Whole Foods).
The best part about this soup is that it is fast, cheap, and of course healthy (always the shining benefit of a meal). All kinds of variations can be made to it and I'm still working on perfecting the details and ingredients since this is one of my newer dishes. This is a good soup for pre or post travel, a bad head cold, or just change-of-weather-scuffed-boots blues.
Ingredients:
1 carton vegetable broth
2 cloves garlic
1 stalk green onion
A small nubbin (about 2 cents worth) of ginger
Noodles -- the first time we used Chinese wheat noodles, the second time I used rice vermicelli (although I had really wanted the mung bean variety)
1 filet of white fish (tilapia works well)
Leafy greens -- napa cabbage is preferred but it's out of season right now so the first time we used iceberg lettuce and the second time, I used romaine lettuce
Salt
Black pepper
White pepper
Soy sauce
Rice vinegar
Sesame oil
1) Pour vegetable broth into a large pot and set on high heat to boil
2) Add 2-3 cups water
3) Add a few pinches of salt and black pepper
4) Slice garlic cloves, add to broth
5) Mince ginger, add to broth
6) Cube the fish, add to broth
7) Chop or julienne green onion, add to broth
8) Pour in 2-3 capfuls of soy sauce, 2-3 capfuls of rice vinegar, and a dash of sesame oil
9) Let the soup heat to a boil; in the meantime prepare noodles
10) The soup is pretty much ready after it hits a rolling boil and you've lowered the heat and let it simmer for at least 5 minutes. The longer the soup is heated, the more the flavors are unlocked but note that the fish will break down more over time. It is up to you when you want to eat.
11) A few minutes before serving, throw in the leafy greens. Napa cabbage would need 5-10 minutes, iceberg lettuce needs about 5, and romaine lettuce needs 1 minute.
12) Serve with noodles
13) Add white pepper to taste
14) Tastes super good (and great for the sinuses) with Sriracha hot sauce!
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
a thought from mark bittman
ah, the joys of a food processor. i dream of the day i own a state of the art food processor.
September 14th's "The Minimalist:"
The Food Processor: A Virtuoso One-Man Band
i will most definitely make dumplings all the time as soon as i own one of these puppies.
September 14th's "The Minimalist:"
The Food Processor: A Virtuoso One-Man Band
i will most definitely make dumplings all the time as soon as i own one of these puppies.
there are few more pleasurable things in life than a sharpened knife
tonight i took a break from my routine of work, post-work errands, home, crash, sleep and actually came home at a decent hour. my roommate from the month i lived in a barrio in managua, nicaragua during a semester abroad is crashing on my couch tonight so i felt like it would be a good time to cook dinner in large proportions, to feed both me, her, and me in the next few nights.
the menu: broccoli steamed (not really sure what my methodology qualifies as) with garlic, eggplant with garlic and hoisin sauce, cashew chicken with red peppers, and couscous and scallions (i don't eat rice). this is, obviously, influenced by the years i spent around a chinese dinner table.
first and most importantly was the glass of chardonnay that i was hankering for all day -- it was a very long tuesday that was preceded by a very long monday. you can always start a meal right by having taken the time to pour yourself one.
the menu seems complex but is really rather simple and i think i threw it together in about 30 minutes (give or take, as it was a bit impeded by the drinking). i don't eat rice (only on rare occasions), so i replace rice with couscous.
broccoli and garlic:
heat olive oil
add chopped garlic
add broccoli crowns
add water
add salt
add soy sauce paste
add white pepper
cover with lid and let steam/cook until broccoli is crisp but cooked through
voila
eggplant with hoisin sauce:
slice eggplant into bite size pieces (i like to slice width wise into rings and then quarter the rings)
heat olive oil
add chopped garlic
add eggplant
add water if necessary
add a pinch of coarsely ground black pepper
let eggplant cook until soft
add hoisin (i like lee kum kee) sauce (2-3 tablespoons)
let cook until eggplant is cooked through and soft
add tablespoon or so of cornstarch, stir
cook until cornstarch is mixed with sauce
voila
cashew chicken with red peppers:
cube organic, boneless chicken breast (1-2 pieces), place in bowl
add chardonnay
let the chicken and chardonnay sit for at least 10-20 minutes (prepare the chicken first, then do all the other dishes before preparing the cashew chicken with red peppers dish)
in the meantime, dice red peppers
add a tablespoon or two of cornstarch to the chicken and chardonnay, stir until cornstarch is dissolved
heat olive oil
add a small amount of minced garlic
add chicken, cook until about 2/3 done
add red peppers
stir
add a few dashes of soy sauce, a generous amount of sesame oil, a hint of sweetened rice vinegar
add cashews
stir until chicken is cooked through
voila
couscous with scallions:
pour a cup (or whatever quantity you so desire) of couscous into a bowl
set an equal amount of water to boil
thinly slice a stalk of scallion (green onion)
add half to the boiling water, the other half to the uncooked couscous
when the water boils, add to the couscous
let sit for 5 minutes
add olive oil
fluff with fork
voila
serve all the dishes together, family style preferred. with wine, even better.
thoughts: next time i might add slices of chicken or tilapia (with cornstarch, to keep it from flaking) to the eggplant. or maybe even shrimp! i had shrimp in my freezer (deal: $5.99 a pound!) but i was too lazy to thaw/defrost it.
make sure your knife is super sharp, it makes everything ten times more pleasant.
the menu: broccoli steamed (not really sure what my methodology qualifies as) with garlic, eggplant with garlic and hoisin sauce, cashew chicken with red peppers, and couscous and scallions (i don't eat rice). this is, obviously, influenced by the years i spent around a chinese dinner table.
first and most importantly was the glass of chardonnay that i was hankering for all day -- it was a very long tuesday that was preceded by a very long monday. you can always start a meal right by having taken the time to pour yourself one.
the menu seems complex but is really rather simple and i think i threw it together in about 30 minutes (give or take, as it was a bit impeded by the drinking). i don't eat rice (only on rare occasions), so i replace rice with couscous.
broccoli and garlic:
heat olive oil
add chopped garlic
add broccoli crowns
add water
add salt
add soy sauce paste
add white pepper
cover with lid and let steam/cook until broccoli is crisp but cooked through
voila
eggplant with hoisin sauce:
slice eggplant into bite size pieces (i like to slice width wise into rings and then quarter the rings)
heat olive oil
add chopped garlic
add eggplant
add water if necessary
add a pinch of coarsely ground black pepper
let eggplant cook until soft
add hoisin (i like lee kum kee) sauce (2-3 tablespoons)
let cook until eggplant is cooked through and soft
add tablespoon or so of cornstarch, stir
cook until cornstarch is mixed with sauce
voila
cashew chicken with red peppers:
cube organic, boneless chicken breast (1-2 pieces), place in bowl
add chardonnay
let the chicken and chardonnay sit for at least 10-20 minutes (prepare the chicken first, then do all the other dishes before preparing the cashew chicken with red peppers dish)
in the meantime, dice red peppers
add a tablespoon or two of cornstarch to the chicken and chardonnay, stir until cornstarch is dissolved
heat olive oil
add a small amount of minced garlic
add chicken, cook until about 2/3 done
add red peppers
stir
add a few dashes of soy sauce, a generous amount of sesame oil, a hint of sweetened rice vinegar
add cashews
stir until chicken is cooked through
voila
couscous with scallions:
pour a cup (or whatever quantity you so desire) of couscous into a bowl
set an equal amount of water to boil
thinly slice a stalk of scallion (green onion)
add half to the boiling water, the other half to the uncooked couscous
when the water boils, add to the couscous
let sit for 5 minutes
add olive oil
fluff with fork
voila
serve all the dishes together, family style preferred. with wine, even better.
thoughts: next time i might add slices of chicken or tilapia (with cornstarch, to keep it from flaking) to the eggplant. or maybe even shrimp! i had shrimp in my freezer (deal: $5.99 a pound!) but i was too lazy to thaw/defrost it.
make sure your knife is super sharp, it makes everything ten times more pleasant.
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
tonight i hate cooking
sometimes the stars are misaligned and things just don't go well. or sometimes you're just so freakin' hungry and weak from the hunger that cooking is the most daunting task and once you lose your focus, everything goes reeling out of control.
i'm sitting here trying to eat this bowl of peanut butter sesame noodles with carrots, cucumbers, and eggs but the cooking experience was just so irritating that i've lost my appetite.
after work i went for a run and during the entire run all i could think about was food and how hungry i was because i really didn't have much to eat today (coffee, soup, granola bar). at around 96th street i decided that i was done and was set on making these noodles, so i headed back to 62nd and forced myself to do some long-procrastinated errands before i stopped by whole foods for the few ingredients i needed to make dinner.
when i got to the columbus circle whole foods, it was -- as always -- swarming with people and i began to feel weaker and weaker as the run and the low caloric intake caught up with me. i circled around and around looking for cucumbers until i finally gave up and asked. i was pointed in the right direction but they were buried under a whole bunch of eggplants and when i finally got to them (having first knocked over three or four eggplants and bumped into people with my gym bag, bags from the pharmacy, and dry cleaning) they were sad and wrinkled and old. i finally found the best of the worst and then went in search of bean sprouts but for the life of me could not find them. i finally gave up my search even though i had a deep hankering for them and proceeded to get a bottle of sparkling water, scallions, and eggs. then i stood in line for 20 minutes just to buy these 4 damn ingredients. i was already feeling annoyed.
when i got home, the third floor walk up seemed to be equal to everest and when i finally got inside i practically collapsed. at this point i really should have just eaten the leftover pizza in the fridge (trust me, i don't always cook) but i was on this weird psycho mission to cook dinner. when i finally set some water to boil i got started but then my phone kept on ringing and dropping calls and making beeps and clicks at me -- sometimes i feel too connected to the world and hate that my phone has to remind me every time i have a call, text message, BBM, instant message, Facebook message, etc. i also hate that i don't know how to ignore it and i allow it to drive me batty.
as i progressed in my cooking, i just got more and more irritated as my foot started to itch and i couldn't unitch it and then i remembered that i don't have a vegetable peeler (how have i survived without one for so long??). i couldn't julienne fine enough and i kept dropping things and then i scalded the eggs. the peanut butter wouldn't thin and my foot kept on itching. i mean, it couldn't be THIS DIFFICULT when this is supposed to be a fast and easy meal!!!! by the time i finally finished cooking i hated my life and food and everything and that's when i started writing this. but then my hunger took over my hate and i scarfed it down and while the veggies are a bit on the large side, it's not bad.
well, that's that and i'm feeling better now and if the starts were aligned and my foot wasn't so damn itchy, this is how you would do it:
ingredients:
chinese style noodles (by this i mean the thick, "homemade" style kind)
organic, pure crunchy peanut butter (no added sugar)
eggs
cucumber
bean sprouts
carrots
scallions
1 clove of garlic
rice vinegar
soy sauce
sesame oil
1) boil water for noodles. cook noodles according to package. when noodles are cooked, drain and toss with a generous amount of sesame oil.
2) peel and julienne carrots and cucumbers. be sure to de-seed the cucumbers before julienning (i like to cut it in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds with a teaspoon). set aside.
3) use some of the boiling water to thin the peanut butter. stir the peanut butter until it reaches a thin, creamy consistency.
4) mince garlic. add to peanut butter.
5) heat a medium skillet and bring the heat to low. crack the eggs, beat, and pour onto the skillet, spreading it out thin and evenly on the skillet. pop any bubbles that form and let the egg run through the holes to create a fluffy egg pancake. remove from heat and cut into strips.
6) put the noodles into a large bowl and add peanut butter sauce. add a few capfuls of rice vinegar (according to taste) and a few dashes of soy sauce. toss the noodles.
7) top the noodles with the carrots, cucumbers, and eggs.
8) chop up the scallion and add to the noodles.
9) serve with a dollop of sriracha on the side, according to preference.
if you don't drop anything and scald the eggs and fail in every single way possible, this should take no more than 20 minutes to do. fast and easy and healthy -- especially if you use peanut butter with no added sugar. i like the bits of peanut in the crunchy peanut butter but if you don't like that texture, using creamy peanut butter would serve better. in the past i've also included slices of golden mushroom and boiled chicken but that's under ambitious circumstances and clearly, today, just making dinner was an ambitious goal in and of itself. yeesh.
i'm sitting here trying to eat this bowl of peanut butter sesame noodles with carrots, cucumbers, and eggs but the cooking experience was just so irritating that i've lost my appetite.
after work i went for a run and during the entire run all i could think about was food and how hungry i was because i really didn't have much to eat today (coffee, soup, granola bar). at around 96th street i decided that i was done and was set on making these noodles, so i headed back to 62nd and forced myself to do some long-procrastinated errands before i stopped by whole foods for the few ingredients i needed to make dinner.
when i got to the columbus circle whole foods, it was -- as always -- swarming with people and i began to feel weaker and weaker as the run and the low caloric intake caught up with me. i circled around and around looking for cucumbers until i finally gave up and asked. i was pointed in the right direction but they were buried under a whole bunch of eggplants and when i finally got to them (having first knocked over three or four eggplants and bumped into people with my gym bag, bags from the pharmacy, and dry cleaning) they were sad and wrinkled and old. i finally found the best of the worst and then went in search of bean sprouts but for the life of me could not find them. i finally gave up my search even though i had a deep hankering for them and proceeded to get a bottle of sparkling water, scallions, and eggs. then i stood in line for 20 minutes just to buy these 4 damn ingredients. i was already feeling annoyed.
when i got home, the third floor walk up seemed to be equal to everest and when i finally got inside i practically collapsed. at this point i really should have just eaten the leftover pizza in the fridge (trust me, i don't always cook) but i was on this weird psycho mission to cook dinner. when i finally set some water to boil i got started but then my phone kept on ringing and dropping calls and making beeps and clicks at me -- sometimes i feel too connected to the world and hate that my phone has to remind me every time i have a call, text message, BBM, instant message, Facebook message, etc. i also hate that i don't know how to ignore it and i allow it to drive me batty.
as i progressed in my cooking, i just got more and more irritated as my foot started to itch and i couldn't unitch it and then i remembered that i don't have a vegetable peeler (how have i survived without one for so long??). i couldn't julienne fine enough and i kept dropping things and then i scalded the eggs. the peanut butter wouldn't thin and my foot kept on itching. i mean, it couldn't be THIS DIFFICULT when this is supposed to be a fast and easy meal!!!! by the time i finally finished cooking i hated my life and food and everything and that's when i started writing this. but then my hunger took over my hate and i scarfed it down and while the veggies are a bit on the large side, it's not bad.
well, that's that and i'm feeling better now and if the starts were aligned and my foot wasn't so damn itchy, this is how you would do it:
ingredients:
chinese style noodles (by this i mean the thick, "homemade" style kind)
organic, pure crunchy peanut butter (no added sugar)
eggs
cucumber
bean sprouts
carrots
scallions
1 clove of garlic
rice vinegar
soy sauce
sesame oil
1) boil water for noodles. cook noodles according to package. when noodles are cooked, drain and toss with a generous amount of sesame oil.
2) peel and julienne carrots and cucumbers. be sure to de-seed the cucumbers before julienning (i like to cut it in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds with a teaspoon). set aside.
3) use some of the boiling water to thin the peanut butter. stir the peanut butter until it reaches a thin, creamy consistency.
4) mince garlic. add to peanut butter.
5) heat a medium skillet and bring the heat to low. crack the eggs, beat, and pour onto the skillet, spreading it out thin and evenly on the skillet. pop any bubbles that form and let the egg run through the holes to create a fluffy egg pancake. remove from heat and cut into strips.
6) put the noodles into a large bowl and add peanut butter sauce. add a few capfuls of rice vinegar (according to taste) and a few dashes of soy sauce. toss the noodles.
7) top the noodles with the carrots, cucumbers, and eggs.
8) chop up the scallion and add to the noodles.
9) serve with a dollop of sriracha on the side, according to preference.
if you don't drop anything and scald the eggs and fail in every single way possible, this should take no more than 20 minutes to do. fast and easy and healthy -- especially if you use peanut butter with no added sugar. i like the bits of peanut in the crunchy peanut butter but if you don't like that texture, using creamy peanut butter would serve better. in the past i've also included slices of golden mushroom and boiled chicken but that's under ambitious circumstances and clearly, today, just making dinner was an ambitious goal in and of itself. yeesh.
Hamburgers for the in-laws
Last Sunday, my boyfriend proposed to me during a lovely outing to The Cloisters and since then life has been a flurry of activity as we get prepared to throw the biggest party of our lives. Of course we are very focused on making sure that the food and drink is amazing (and, you know, that we're well prepared for marriage!), but in the meantime we needed to have an "in-law convention" and figure out our budget, game plan, and guest lists.
My parents volunteered to host the convention at their lovely house in Princeton, NJ and Andrew suggested that he and I cook dinner for our prospective future in-laws. This was a very nerve-wracking idea but at the same time, I felt like it would show our sincerity and it would be a nice gesture. At first we had some grandiose ideas of steak and homemade gnocchi and then I contemplated a Chinese-style beef noodle stew but all of these things would wind up being too stressful for something already kind of stressful so we decided to go a bit more low-key and Labor Day appropriate and went with hamburgers, potato salad, and clams casino.
It was a lovely and perfectly temperate day and when we got to the house, my mom was already bustling in the kitchen preparing a beautiful fruit salad. She had champagne grapes, red grapes, strawberries, green grapes, and slices of mango artfully placed in a glass bowl and she quipped that while she doesn't really like to cook, she certainly loves to arrange. There was also boiled peanuts (very Chinese) and steamed edamame to entice our appetites. AND of course their fridge was stocked with beer and we had our choices of Yeungling, Red Stripe, and Corona.
Cooking in their kitchen was a welcome change from my itty-bitty kitchen in Harlem and there was plenty of room to move around and loads of counter space to prepare on. It was a fun environment as we all had our individual cooking projects but we talked and bantered and it was one of those quintessential bonding-in-the-kitchen moments.
To begin with, my dad provided a couple of bottles of wine (including a stellar riesling) from his increasingly stellar wine collection as well as amazingly delicious hamachi kama (Japanese cuisine: the grilled jaw/cheek of yellowtail tuna) served with ponzu and scallions for an appetizer. This is one of our family's all time favorite foods and apparently we even get these cuts of tuna from a special dealer -- you can't just get them in the store. My dad lived in Japan for a while when he was a young boy so he is well versed in Japanese cuisine and it is always such a special treat when we have hamachi kama. It is a meal in and of itself!
Following the hamachi kama were Andrew's clams casino and I wish I had paid more attention (but I couldn't because I was preparing food too) to what he was doing because it was a symphony of tastes and I couldn't get enough. I don't know much about seafood, especially products with shells and this was thoroughly impressive. What was even more impressive was that he managed to portion it all perfectly; a common problem that I face is that I always make too much or too little but he managed to have the exact amount of everything. I am so grateful that I will be marrying a man who can cook.
My contribution was the hamburgers and potato salad -- once again, two dishes that I know are a sure thing because I've done them on numerous occasions. One thing that I've learned over the years is that when you need to 100% impress, go with something you know you can do. Friends are always a good guinea pig group, but future in laws seems like an audience that you should feed with confidence.
My hamburgers are a hit at home but this was the first time I was making so many patties so, in true Angelica fashion, I once again over estimated and wound up buying nearly 4 pounds of ground Angus beef. This resulted in 12 patties! As always, I never really know how much of everything I put into my food, I do it by feel, taste, and knowing my ingredients. So first I took the ground beef and dumped it into a large mixing bowl. Then I took a bag of Cape Cod reduced fat kettle chips (reduced fat is better because there is less salt) and smashed them up into fine crumbs. I use these as a kind of breadcrumb and also in this way, I don't actually ever have to add salt to the mix (which I feel like sucks out the moisture in the meat). Following this, I minced up about half a bulb of garlic and 2/3 of a large yellow Spanish onion (or a small one, I guess). The last main component is chopped portobello mushrooms (I prefer mature portobellos, not baby bellas). I don't really skimp on any of these ingredients as they really provide taste and texture to the burgers. Of course the main star is the beef, but I would say that for 2 parts beef there is 1 part onion and 1 part mushroom.
Into this mix I added soy sauce paste (I like Wan Ja Shan), Worcestershire sauce, red pepper flakes, ground black pepper, minced fresh parsley, and a generous dose of finely grated parmesan cheese. Three eggs were beat and then added for cohesion and then I mixed this all up by hand, trying to avoid handling it too much because I've heard that the more you handle it, the less likely it will stick well in patty form. I usually then take a small sauce pan and heat it up and taste test -- I very rarely get the right taste down on the first try so I'll cook up a small amount and then add more of the sauces and spices until it tastes just right. After everything was mixed up, I let it refrigerate for at least an hour. Dad grilled these babies up and we topped them with Swiss cheese, onions, romaine lettuce, and tomatoes.
The side dish was potato salad -- simple, but certainly not the healthiest! First I set a pot of salted water to boil and then I take russet potatoes (5 -- again, overdoing it) and chop them up into small cubes. When the water boils I dump them in and let them get soft but not so soft that when I later stir them they become mashed potatoes. You still want some form of the cube so keep an eye on them and don't let it over boil. In the meantime, I hardboiled 5 eggs (set salted water to boil, then add the eggs and let boil for 10 minutes, drain afterwards). When they were cool, I peeled them and cut them up into cubes. I then boiled (briefly) carrots and frozen peas. (When short on time, frozen peas and carrots are fine, but for some reason I prefer to boil my own carrots, but peas are great either fresh or frozen.) I also chopped up some Yellow Spanish onion and a bunch of mini pickled gherkins (aka cornichon). I also usually cube some ham but this time around we had dashed around the grocery store and it was the one ingredient I forgot. When the potatoes were ready, I drained them and added in all the just mentioned ingredients, along with a generous heaping of mayonnaise and dijon mustard. I added ground pepper and minced parsley for taste and mixed it all to the desired consistency. Something to remember is that the more you stir, the creamier it gets. After everything was all mixed up, I threw this into the fridge until sufficiently cold.
So we feasted like kings and followed it all up with tiramisu and tea for dessert. It's a surprise that after all of this we were able to stay awake to discuss the logistics of the impending wedding. If one thing is for sure with my future in-laws and my parents, it's that neither Andrew nor I will let the other starve! It was a perfect Labor Day meal that reflected both our American and Chinese/Asian tastes. Moreover, since I live in the city now, it was the rare chance to have something grilled. I love the smell of a charcoal grill and it certainly felt like the last hurrah of Summer, as some trees are already changing color. Soon it will be pies and stews and hot pot and turkey. How time flies, and the craziest part -- by next Labor Day, I will be married!
My parents volunteered to host the convention at their lovely house in Princeton, NJ and Andrew suggested that he and I cook dinner for our prospective future in-laws. This was a very nerve-wracking idea but at the same time, I felt like it would show our sincerity and it would be a nice gesture. At first we had some grandiose ideas of steak and homemade gnocchi and then I contemplated a Chinese-style beef noodle stew but all of these things would wind up being too stressful for something already kind of stressful so we decided to go a bit more low-key and Labor Day appropriate and went with hamburgers, potato salad, and clams casino.
It was a lovely and perfectly temperate day and when we got to the house, my mom was already bustling in the kitchen preparing a beautiful fruit salad. She had champagne grapes, red grapes, strawberries, green grapes, and slices of mango artfully placed in a glass bowl and she quipped that while she doesn't really like to cook, she certainly loves to arrange. There was also boiled peanuts (very Chinese) and steamed edamame to entice our appetites. AND of course their fridge was stocked with beer and we had our choices of Yeungling, Red Stripe, and Corona.
Cooking in their kitchen was a welcome change from my itty-bitty kitchen in Harlem and there was plenty of room to move around and loads of counter space to prepare on. It was a fun environment as we all had our individual cooking projects but we talked and bantered and it was one of those quintessential bonding-in-the-kitchen moments.
To begin with, my dad provided a couple of bottles of wine (including a stellar riesling) from his increasingly stellar wine collection as well as amazingly delicious hamachi kama (Japanese cuisine: the grilled jaw/cheek of yellowtail tuna) served with ponzu and scallions for an appetizer. This is one of our family's all time favorite foods and apparently we even get these cuts of tuna from a special dealer -- you can't just get them in the store. My dad lived in Japan for a while when he was a young boy so he is well versed in Japanese cuisine and it is always such a special treat when we have hamachi kama. It is a meal in and of itself!
Following the hamachi kama were Andrew's clams casino and I wish I had paid more attention (but I couldn't because I was preparing food too) to what he was doing because it was a symphony of tastes and I couldn't get enough. I don't know much about seafood, especially products with shells and this was thoroughly impressive. What was even more impressive was that he managed to portion it all perfectly; a common problem that I face is that I always make too much or too little but he managed to have the exact amount of everything. I am so grateful that I will be marrying a man who can cook.
My contribution was the hamburgers and potato salad -- once again, two dishes that I know are a sure thing because I've done them on numerous occasions. One thing that I've learned over the years is that when you need to 100% impress, go with something you know you can do. Friends are always a good guinea pig group, but future in laws seems like an audience that you should feed with confidence.
My hamburgers are a hit at home but this was the first time I was making so many patties so, in true Angelica fashion, I once again over estimated and wound up buying nearly 4 pounds of ground Angus beef. This resulted in 12 patties! As always, I never really know how much of everything I put into my food, I do it by feel, taste, and knowing my ingredients. So first I took the ground beef and dumped it into a large mixing bowl. Then I took a bag of Cape Cod reduced fat kettle chips (reduced fat is better because there is less salt) and smashed them up into fine crumbs. I use these as a kind of breadcrumb and also in this way, I don't actually ever have to add salt to the mix (which I feel like sucks out the moisture in the meat). Following this, I minced up about half a bulb of garlic and 2/3 of a large yellow Spanish onion (or a small one, I guess). The last main component is chopped portobello mushrooms (I prefer mature portobellos, not baby bellas). I don't really skimp on any of these ingredients as they really provide taste and texture to the burgers. Of course the main star is the beef, but I would say that for 2 parts beef there is 1 part onion and 1 part mushroom.
Into this mix I added soy sauce paste (I like Wan Ja Shan), Worcestershire sauce, red pepper flakes, ground black pepper, minced fresh parsley, and a generous dose of finely grated parmesan cheese. Three eggs were beat and then added for cohesion and then I mixed this all up by hand, trying to avoid handling it too much because I've heard that the more you handle it, the less likely it will stick well in patty form. I usually then take a small sauce pan and heat it up and taste test -- I very rarely get the right taste down on the first try so I'll cook up a small amount and then add more of the sauces and spices until it tastes just right. After everything was mixed up, I let it refrigerate for at least an hour. Dad grilled these babies up and we topped them with Swiss cheese, onions, romaine lettuce, and tomatoes.
The side dish was potato salad -- simple, but certainly not the healthiest! First I set a pot of salted water to boil and then I take russet potatoes (5 -- again, overdoing it) and chop them up into small cubes. When the water boils I dump them in and let them get soft but not so soft that when I later stir them they become mashed potatoes. You still want some form of the cube so keep an eye on them and don't let it over boil. In the meantime, I hardboiled 5 eggs (set salted water to boil, then add the eggs and let boil for 10 minutes, drain afterwards). When they were cool, I peeled them and cut them up into cubes. I then boiled (briefly) carrots and frozen peas. (When short on time, frozen peas and carrots are fine, but for some reason I prefer to boil my own carrots, but peas are great either fresh or frozen.) I also chopped up some Yellow Spanish onion and a bunch of mini pickled gherkins (aka cornichon). I also usually cube some ham but this time around we had dashed around the grocery store and it was the one ingredient I forgot. When the potatoes were ready, I drained them and added in all the just mentioned ingredients, along with a generous heaping of mayonnaise and dijon mustard. I added ground pepper and minced parsley for taste and mixed it all to the desired consistency. Something to remember is that the more you stir, the creamier it gets. After everything was all mixed up, I threw this into the fridge until sufficiently cold.
So we feasted like kings and followed it all up with tiramisu and tea for dessert. It's a surprise that after all of this we were able to stay awake to discuss the logistics of the impending wedding. If one thing is for sure with my future in-laws and my parents, it's that neither Andrew nor I will let the other starve! It was a perfect Labor Day meal that reflected both our American and Chinese/Asian tastes. Moreover, since I live in the city now, it was the rare chance to have something grilled. I love the smell of a charcoal grill and it certainly felt like the last hurrah of Summer, as some trees are already changing color. Soon it will be pies and stews and hot pot and turkey. How time flies, and the craziest part -- by next Labor Day, I will be married!
Sunday, August 29, 2010
A night in Little Italy
Natalie came up the other evening for a night in the city. Even though it was a Saturday, I had to stop by the office for a few hours to get some work done and hadn't eaten much throughout the day. By the time she got here I was so hungry and I was craving Italian food and wanted to go down to Little Italy.
I haven't been down to Little Italy in years, so we headed down there with the mission to find the best pasta we could. After a few parking debacles (namely finding a spot two seconds too late and getting it jacked from us by some Canadians) we finally strolled down the streets of Little Italy and came across Grotto Azzurra, a restaurant that has sat in the heart of Little Italy since 1908. Yelp reviews waver on this establishment, but that evening, it was perfect for two hungry ladies who had a penchant for heaps of pasta. The host lured us in with promises of half priced drinks so we took an outdoor seat and people/tourist watched and sipped cocktails.
I had a blood orange martini which was divine and Natalie's mango pear martini was also delicious -- so delicious that a tippling fly dove right in for a sip (and its death). Natalie and I have been best friends since the 6th grade, so something about that evening was really significant to me as we chatted about our lives and some major turns they have been taking. I think that at that moment I was struck with a moment of true, unadulterated gratitude for life, a best friend, good food and drink, a job that paid for this all, and the opportunity to live in this wonderful city. I felt like we were finally women, grown from the days that we bickered over who would call Domino's Pizza for delivery or cried over broken teenage hearts.
The food came out and it was one of those thrilling food moments -- to see so much food piled on your plate. Definitely one of those eyes bigger than your stomach moments. Natalie had seared scallops on pesto risotto and I had gnocchi with gorgonzola and walnuts. We washed it down with a bottle of French chardonnay and I ate until my stomach hurt.
After dinner we skipped dessert and desperately needed to walk around so that I didn't feel like a potato sack full of wet dough. We searched for bubble tea, but the strange phenomenon of Chinatown seems to be that it shuts down at 8PM. Even on a Saturday night. We found a place that was serving papaya bubble tea but then they realized they had no more tapioca so Natalie was left with papaya tea that was ultimately, not very good.
Nonetheless, the dinner was delicious and was warm and satiating and exactly what I had been craving all day. That, in and of itself, is one of the greatest feelings in the world but it was coupled with a lovely moment with a best friend and I couldn't ask for anything more than that.
Next step: make my own gnocchi and make it ten times better!
I haven't been down to Little Italy in years, so we headed down there with the mission to find the best pasta we could. After a few parking debacles (namely finding a spot two seconds too late and getting it jacked from us by some Canadians) we finally strolled down the streets of Little Italy and came across Grotto Azzurra, a restaurant that has sat in the heart of Little Italy since 1908. Yelp reviews waver on this establishment, but that evening, it was perfect for two hungry ladies who had a penchant for heaps of pasta. The host lured us in with promises of half priced drinks so we took an outdoor seat and people/tourist watched and sipped cocktails.
I had a blood orange martini which was divine and Natalie's mango pear martini was also delicious -- so delicious that a tippling fly dove right in for a sip (and its death). Natalie and I have been best friends since the 6th grade, so something about that evening was really significant to me as we chatted about our lives and some major turns they have been taking. I think that at that moment I was struck with a moment of true, unadulterated gratitude for life, a best friend, good food and drink, a job that paid for this all, and the opportunity to live in this wonderful city. I felt like we were finally women, grown from the days that we bickered over who would call Domino's Pizza for delivery or cried over broken teenage hearts.
The food came out and it was one of those thrilling food moments -- to see so much food piled on your plate. Definitely one of those eyes bigger than your stomach moments. Natalie had seared scallops on pesto risotto and I had gnocchi with gorgonzola and walnuts. We washed it down with a bottle of French chardonnay and I ate until my stomach hurt.
After dinner we skipped dessert and desperately needed to walk around so that I didn't feel like a potato sack full of wet dough. We searched for bubble tea, but the strange phenomenon of Chinatown seems to be that it shuts down at 8PM. Even on a Saturday night. We found a place that was serving papaya bubble tea but then they realized they had no more tapioca so Natalie was left with papaya tea that was ultimately, not very good.
Nonetheless, the dinner was delicious and was warm and satiating and exactly what I had been craving all day. That, in and of itself, is one of the greatest feelings in the world but it was coupled with a lovely moment with a best friend and I couldn't ask for anything more than that.
Next step: make my own gnocchi and make it ten times better!
Thursday, August 19, 2010
A warm house
Back in July, as a "thank you," I had a housewarming party for the people who had helped me move in to my new apartment in Harlem. It was an exciting event for me because it was a) my first dinner party in my new digs, b) the first time some of my closest friends would be meeting my boyfriend, and c) an experiment in gathering some people who did not know each other well and who's only connection was mostly me.
I've always been intrigued by the challenge of throwing the perfect dinner party -- inviting the right mix of people, maintaining interesting conversation, coming up with a menu that pleases all guests, providing enough wine/cocktails, and being able to cook, socialize, mingle, and entertain all at the same time without breaking a sweat. Needless to say, I broke a sweat.
I had invited my boyfriend Andrew, my best friend from since childhood Natalie, my best friend from since high school Jan, and my college roommate (and the best penpal) Kari (theme: people from different stages of life?). Natalie brought over Dogfish Head Raison D'Etre (one of my favorites), sorbet from The Bent Spoon, and a toy for my cat. Jan, knowing the kind of wino that I am, brought me an amazing 8-glass set of Reidel wineglasses, which truly make the perfect "ting" when set down on the counter. Kari had made from scratch one of the most amazing cheesecakes I've ever had in my life and hauled it all the way from Brooklyn. Andrew provided labor, assistance, and the coolest turkey/bird of paradise constructed from two pineapple.
The menu was organic pork chops with a pineapple-honey sauce, served with brussels sprouts salad and whipped cauliflower.
To start with, I made hummus as the appetizer, just a little to whet the appetite. I usually try to keep myself stocked with cans of garbanzo beans (aka chickpeas) and tahini so if I have an unexpected visitor or hunger, I can whip up hummus real fast. I just dump a can of garbanzo beans (with the liquid) into a blender, add a ton of tahini and olive oil, a clove of garlic, a pinch of sea salt, some lime juice, and then blend away. I like to serve the hummus on a flat plate with a little well in the middle for some olive oil and then sprinkle the edges with paprika (and no, you cannot substitute chili powder for paprika). What was sad was that I had bought and cut into triangles whole wheat pita from Whole Foods and it was disappointingly stale.
I was also bummed that I hadn't had enough time or money at the time to go out and buy materials for cocktails. I like to be able to provide a gin and tonic or vodka and cranberry if one doesn't want wine or beer, but moving is hard and one has to make priorities. Unfortunately, hard liquor was not on the top priority list of "things to buy" at the time.
A few hours prior (around 2PM), I had trimmed the pork chops (when preparing meat, I always go organic; I'm uncomfortable with conventional meat) and marinated them in Yellowtail Chardonnay, crushed black pepper, slices of garlic, and a very small amount of sea salt. I marinated both sides of the meat for about 1-2 hours on each side. I pan-seared these babies in olive oil -- it took forever and I wish I had a grill or was more confident about broiling. I served the pork chops with a sauce that was made out of pineapple, wildflower amber honey, dijon mustard, and a clove or two of garlic (I had blended it altogether). I was generous with the dijon mustard which gave it a good kick and an interesting component. I would have liked to marinate the pork chops in this mixture -- I think maybe next time I would just combine the pineapple sauce with the white wine and marinade the chops for like, 2-3 hours each side.
The brussels sprouts salad is nice because it seems fancy but is the most ridiculously simple dish. I don't know why everybody hates on brussels sprouts when they are adorable and delicious! Anyhow, I quartered brussels sprouts and cooked them until they were at the cusp of tender (but still crispy) in olive oil. Then I tossed in feta cheese, chopped walnuts, and slices of cherries (if cherries are out of season, dried cranberries would work too).
Unfortunately the second causality of the night was the whipped cauliflower. The point is to cook the cauliflower and garlic in olive oil until brown and then whip it in a blender/food processor. It comes out the consistency of mashed potatoes and the cauliflower has a natural buttery taste that melta in your mouth. I've done this side dish a few times but this time it was a disappointment because I was feeling the time crunch and didn't cook the cauliflower long enough. As a result it did not whip/blend well and instead caused Andrew to battle with the blender for a while (I really need a quality food processor). Anyway, lesson learned with the cauliflower -- got to make sure it is cooked thoroughly.
Ultimately I was thrilled with the dinner party -- we ate well and then sat around talking and sharing stories. Natalie cracked us up with some hilarious tales and Kari awed us with the most delicious homemade cheesecake I have ever tasted (truly comparable to the cheesecake at Cafe Fiorello). Seriously. It was everything a cheesecake should be (creamy, cheesy, sweet, perfect graham cracker crust) and I am in awe of the Cheesecake Queen because as much as I like cooking, I'm a mediocre baker. Jan kind of just stayed quiet (suddenly shy?) and Andrew revealed some embarrassing secrets about me. It was truly good company and they were all great sports about not having a large table to sit at or an air conditioning unit to keep us from melting under the hot halogen track lighting in my living room. It was honestly one of those nights where I felt like the luckiest girl in the world and my house was truly warmed by friends, food, and the stove. Now, if only the cauliflower had been fluffier...
I've always been intrigued by the challenge of throwing the perfect dinner party -- inviting the right mix of people, maintaining interesting conversation, coming up with a menu that pleases all guests, providing enough wine/cocktails, and being able to cook, socialize, mingle, and entertain all at the same time without breaking a sweat. Needless to say, I broke a sweat.
I had invited my boyfriend Andrew, my best friend from since childhood Natalie, my best friend from since high school Jan, and my college roommate (and the best penpal) Kari (theme: people from different stages of life?). Natalie brought over Dogfish Head Raison D'Etre (one of my favorites), sorbet from The Bent Spoon, and a toy for my cat. Jan, knowing the kind of wino that I am, brought me an amazing 8-glass set of Reidel wineglasses, which truly make the perfect "ting" when set down on the counter. Kari had made from scratch one of the most amazing cheesecakes I've ever had in my life and hauled it all the way from Brooklyn. Andrew provided labor, assistance, and the coolest turkey/bird of paradise constructed from two pineapple.
The menu was organic pork chops with a pineapple-honey sauce, served with brussels sprouts salad and whipped cauliflower.
To start with, I made hummus as the appetizer, just a little to whet the appetite. I usually try to keep myself stocked with cans of garbanzo beans (aka chickpeas) and tahini so if I have an unexpected visitor or hunger, I can whip up hummus real fast. I just dump a can of garbanzo beans (with the liquid) into a blender, add a ton of tahini and olive oil, a clove of garlic, a pinch of sea salt, some lime juice, and then blend away. I like to serve the hummus on a flat plate with a little well in the middle for some olive oil and then sprinkle the edges with paprika (and no, you cannot substitute chili powder for paprika). What was sad was that I had bought and cut into triangles whole wheat pita from Whole Foods and it was disappointingly stale.
I was also bummed that I hadn't had enough time or money at the time to go out and buy materials for cocktails. I like to be able to provide a gin and tonic or vodka and cranberry if one doesn't want wine or beer, but moving is hard and one has to make priorities. Unfortunately, hard liquor was not on the top priority list of "things to buy" at the time.
A few hours prior (around 2PM), I had trimmed the pork chops (when preparing meat, I always go organic; I'm uncomfortable with conventional meat) and marinated them in Yellowtail Chardonnay, crushed black pepper, slices of garlic, and a very small amount of sea salt. I marinated both sides of the meat for about 1-2 hours on each side. I pan-seared these babies in olive oil -- it took forever and I wish I had a grill or was more confident about broiling. I served the pork chops with a sauce that was made out of pineapple, wildflower amber honey, dijon mustard, and a clove or two of garlic (I had blended it altogether). I was generous with the dijon mustard which gave it a good kick and an interesting component. I would have liked to marinate the pork chops in this mixture -- I think maybe next time I would just combine the pineapple sauce with the white wine and marinade the chops for like, 2-3 hours each side.
The brussels sprouts salad is nice because it seems fancy but is the most ridiculously simple dish. I don't know why everybody hates on brussels sprouts when they are adorable and delicious! Anyhow, I quartered brussels sprouts and cooked them until they were at the cusp of tender (but still crispy) in olive oil. Then I tossed in feta cheese, chopped walnuts, and slices of cherries (if cherries are out of season, dried cranberries would work too).
Unfortunately the second causality of the night was the whipped cauliflower. The point is to cook the cauliflower and garlic in olive oil until brown and then whip it in a blender/food processor. It comes out the consistency of mashed potatoes and the cauliflower has a natural buttery taste that melta in your mouth. I've done this side dish a few times but this time it was a disappointment because I was feeling the time crunch and didn't cook the cauliflower long enough. As a result it did not whip/blend well and instead caused Andrew to battle with the blender for a while (I really need a quality food processor). Anyway, lesson learned with the cauliflower -- got to make sure it is cooked thoroughly.
Ultimately I was thrilled with the dinner party -- we ate well and then sat around talking and sharing stories. Natalie cracked us up with some hilarious tales and Kari awed us with the most delicious homemade cheesecake I have ever tasted (truly comparable to the cheesecake at Cafe Fiorello). Seriously. It was everything a cheesecake should be (creamy, cheesy, sweet, perfect graham cracker crust) and I am in awe of the Cheesecake Queen because as much as I like cooking, I'm a mediocre baker. Jan kind of just stayed quiet (suddenly shy?) and Andrew revealed some embarrassing secrets about me. It was truly good company and they were all great sports about not having a large table to sit at or an air conditioning unit to keep us from melting under the hot halogen track lighting in my living room. It was honestly one of those nights where I felt like the luckiest girl in the world and my house was truly warmed by friends, food, and the stove. Now, if only the cauliflower had been fluffier...
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