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Sunday, October 31, 2010

Mint Julep Appetizer

Motivation
This drink is inspired by the molecular mixology recipe for a Mai Tai 3000 I read at this cocktail blog.  I bought my agar-agar at an Asian market.  From reading on the internet you can buy agar-agar in three forms: sticks, flakes, and powder.  I think I bought the sticks.  It was very light and my digital scale didn't seem to be accurate enough to accurately measure it (I would need fractional grams).  Since I couldn't get a good measurement I ended up with using roughly two inches of agar-agar stick.

Ingredients
~2 inches of Agar-Agar
3 oz Water
4 oz Bourbon
Mint Leaves
Course Sugar

Mise en Place
Place water in small sauce pan then break agar-agar into flakes and add to the water.  Heat over low to medium-low heat and whisk until the agar-agar has dissolved in the water.  This may take 5 minutes or so of stirring.  If the agar-agar is not well dissolved the resulting jelly will have chewy bits in it.  Once agar-agar is dissolved add bourbon to pan and stir to integrate well.  Pour mixture into glass container such that it will form a layer about 1/2 - 3/4 of an inch thick.  Cover and place in fridge until set (this sets pretty quickly - maybe a half-an-hour or so).

Method
To serve place a large mint leaf on a big shallow spoon.  Place roughly a tablespoon of bourbon jelly on mint leaf.  Sprinkle course sugar over jelly and serve.

Friday, October 29, 2010

Yeasted Waffles

Motivation
These are my favorite waffles recipe.  They come out crispy on the outside and are soft and fluffy on the inside.  Unlike most waffle recipes they are risen with yeast which means you have to start the night before to give time for the yeast to do its thing (make CO2).  I think it's worth the little extra effort.  Especially since it means you only have to ladle batter into the waffle griddle in the morning while you're still half asleep.  The recipe is originally from Cooks Illustrated (March 2004).  I modified the procedure to remove some of their prescribed hoop-jumping bullshit.

Ingredients
1 3/4 cups Milk
8 tbsp Butter
2 cups Flour
1 tbsp Sugar
1 tsp Salt
1 1/2 tsp Instant Yeast
2 Large Eggs
1 tsp Vanilla Extract


Mise en Place
The night before cut butter into 8 pieces and microwave just enough to melt it.  If there are a few lumps let the heat of the melted butter finish the job.  You want the melted butter to be as close to room temperature as possible, so avoid heating it up more than necessary to melt.

Measure all the dry ingredients into a large bowl and whisk together.  Measure milk,  I usually add vanilla and crack both eggs into the milk measuring cup, then lightly beat them together.  Add warm butter to milk mixture and make sure its cool enough that it won't kill the yeast when added to the dry ingredients.

Mix all the moist ingredients with the dry and stir until smooth.  Cover and place in fridge overnight.

Method
In the morning take out batter and stir it once or twice.  Preheat waffle griddle.  Ladle batter onto hot iron and  cook according to griddle instructions (about 4 minutes for my waffle griddle).  Serve immediately or place in a warm oven.  Hot waffles are the most crisp.

Sunday, October 17, 2010

Breakfast Burrito

Motivation
This recipe was created after making the Country Scramble recipe in Kenny Shopsin's Eat Me cookbook.  The Country Scramble is a seriously good breakfast dish, but it looked a complete mess on the plate.  I decided that it had a "face for radio" and instead turned it into the filling of my breakfast burritos.

What I love about this dish is it's a classic use up whatever leftovers you have on hand to make breakfast dish.  All that is really important is having a bit of greens, meat, eggs, cheese, and a flour tortilla on hand.  The particulars don't really matter.  I've made breakfast burritos with leftover fried chicken, pulled pork, stew meat, etc.  The ingredients I've included below represent my typical rendition of the dish.

Ingredients
1 1/4 cups Meat (left over fried chicken)
4 eggs
2 handfuls Salad Greens (~ half a bag)
Cheese, shredded
2 Burrito-sized Flour Tortillas
2 tbsp Butter
Frank's Hot Sauce

Mise en Place
The meat should be in small pieces, so you might have to dice it small enough that it will work will in a burrito. If the meat is cool from the fridge you might want to microwave it first so it won't suck all the heat out of the skillet when you add it.

Method
Place non-stick skillet over medium heat and add butter to pan.  Once butter is melted swirl pan to distribute butter evenly, then scatter salad greens over butter.  Once greens start to wilt, scatter meat over greens, then break eggs and slide them into the pan.

Sprinkle cheese and Frank's Hot Sauce over eggs.  I usually place my tortillas in the microwave for about 20 seconds to get them warm and flexible so they'll roll without breaking.  Once egg whites start to set, break egg yolks with the corner of the spatula then stir the whole mass a few times to evenly coat with yolks and remaining unset egg whites. Continue to stir until remaining egg whites are cooked, the mixture should still be moist.  Place filling onto tortillas and roll.

Saturday, October 16, 2010

Peking Duck with Plum Sauce

Motivation
Duck.  Roasted, crispy, duck.  What other motivation would I need?  I saw an article on how to make Peking duck from scratch on the Serious Eats blog and I decided to give it a shot.   While I've eaten a good deal of duck in my time, to be honest I've never actually had Peking duck.  So I didn't have a good mental target of what I was shooting for besides awesome crispy duck.

The original recipe called cooking the duck in the oven.  I decided that I wanted to cook my duck on the egg (grill).  The egg is pretty good about holding temperatures on its own, but I also have a Stoker temperature controller to improve my precise grilling.  The recipe also called for slathering the duck in maltose syrup, but I couldn't find that ingredient so I ended up using honey, which was the suggested substitution in the original recipe.

Ingredients
For the Duck

1 Duck, thawed
1/4 cup Honey
2 tsp Soy Sauce
2 tsp Kosher Salt
2 tsp Baking Powder

For the Plum Sauce
1/4 cup Sugar
1/4 cup White Vinegar
4 Plums
1 tbsp Soy Sauce
2 tsp Fresh Ginger, grated
1 tbsp Chili Garlic Sauce

For the Mandarin Pancakes
2 cups Flour
2/3 cup Water, boiling
1/4 cup Sesame Oil

Mise en Place
For the Duck
Chances are you're going to buy your duck frozen so let it thaw in the fridge for 4-5 days.

The day before you plan on cooking take the duck out, rinse off, and remove whatever presents have been hidden in the central cavity.  Using your fingers and/or the smooth back of a long handle spoon gently separate the skin from the meat.  Be careful not to tear the skin or poke through.  Combine honey and soy sauce and microwave for about 20 seconds to soften.  Mix well then slather all over surface of the duck, both sides.  Combine salt and baking powder in a small bowl and sprinkle all over surface of the duck, both sides. Place uncovered duck back in the refrigerator and let sit 12-24 hours.

Right before you put duck on the grill.  Bring 4 quarts of water to a boil.  Place I wire rack in the sink (I used one from my roasting pan) and place duck on the rack.  Pour 2 quarts of boiling water over one side, flip duck, and pour the remaining 2 quarts over the other side.  The skin should shrink and hug the duck firmly.

For the Plum Sauce
Halve the plums and remove pits.  I then sliced plums into smaller sections - maybe 1/8ths.  You can measure out soy sauce, ginger, and chili garlic sauce and add them to the bowl with the prepared plums.  All these ingredients are added at the same time.

For the Mandarin Pancakes
Combine flour and boiling water in medium bowl and stir until dough forms. Knead dough until it become smooth and elastic (~ 5 minutes). Cut dough into 24 even pieces about 1 tablespoon each. Cover with damp towel.

On floured surface (I used parchment paper), roll one piece of dough into three-inch circle. Repeat with second ball. Using pastry brush, coat top of first ball with thin film of sesame oil. Place second ball on top of first. Roll balls together into 8 to 10-inch circle (the thinner the better). I separated each pancake with a piece of plastic wrap.

Method
For the Duck
Set the grill to 350 degrees.  Figure out way to stand the duck up vertical.  The recipe recommends a large beer can.  I have a perforated grill pan designed for the task.  Place duck on grill.  After about 30 minutes rotate duck.  After another 30 minutes reduce grill temperature to 250 degrees.   I had already inserted a probe thermometer into the duck so I waited until the interior temperature of the breast came up above 170 degrees F.  That took another 45 minutes or so.

For the Plumb Sauce
Combine sugar with 1 tablespoon water in heavy-bottomed 2-quart saucepot. Melt over high heat and continue to cook, gently swirling pan, until sugar is deep golden brown (about 3 minutes). Immediately add all of vinegar in one go (sugar will bubble rapidly) and cook until sugar redissolves (about 1 minute).  Add plums, soy sauce, ginger, and chili garlic sauce, reduce heat to medium low, and cook, mashing plums with back of wooden spoon until plums are completely broken down, about 10 minutes. Blend sauce with immersion blender or in standing blender until smooth.

For the Mandarin Pancakes
Preheat heavy-bottomed 12-inch cast iron or non-stick griddle pan or skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Place pancakes on griddle and cook until lightly browned in spots on first side, about 1 minute. Flip and repeat on second sides, about 30 seconds longer. Transfer to plate lined with clean kitchen towel and carefully peel pancakes apart.

Verdict
The duck skin was not mahogany and it was not crispy.  This was a big disappointment.  I suspect this had something to do with my grilling method.  I placed the standing duck rig inside a disposable aluminum pan to catch all the delicious duck fat.  I suppose this was being too greedy.  Only the very top of the duck got mahogany and crispy and I think it was because the aluminum pan prevented the hot air from flowing directly over the whole duck and it ended up being cooking indirectly.  I'll know better next time.

As it turns out, the failure mode was smoked grilled duck - which is not such a bad thing.  The plum sauce had a nice complex flavor and was spicy.  It beat the pants of the sweet premade stuff by a mile.

The mandarin pancakes were good, but a lot of work.  I suspect flour tortillas would have be an acceptable substitute.  Unless I started to add some other seasonings to the pancakes to make them more special.

I think the recipe deserves future attempts to perfect the grilling method.  The plum sauce definitely will be made again.

----- Update ------
I remade the peking duck portion of this recipe.  This time I stood the duck upright using a perforated grill pan pan directly over the charcoal of the grill (no indirect heating due to pan).  The results were everything I was hoping for.  A gorgeous mahogany duck.  This may be my new favorite way to grill whole ducks.

Sunday, October 10, 2010

Technique: Hand Ground Coffee

I recently decided to replace our beloved coffee grinder - Tom Servo.  Actually, I'm the only one that ever showed any love for Tom Servo, everyone else radiated frustration and despise in his general direction.  Tom Servo is based on an old school coffee maker design.  According to KitchenAid, that model was originally designed in 1937 and was the world's first electric coffee grinder.  Our Tom Servo isn't 70+ years old though, at some point KitchenAid resurrected the model and I was attracted to his retro design.

I know he had his problems.  Most people seem to want their freshly ground coffee collected in some sort of container and presented to them.  Tom Servo doesn't play that way.  He has a spout on his side.  I suspect that his designers imagined coffee would issue forth from this spout and the force of gravity would then collect ground coffee in a waiting glass jar beneath.  Perhaps modern 200 watt motors are more powerful than back in 1937, because in practice Tom Servo ejects a beam of ground coffee out of his side at a surprising velocity and it takes awhile for gravity to catch up.  The unsuspecting and uninitiated operator typically flips his switch and is surprised to find they are standing point blank in front of a geyser of ground coffee that will deflect off of them in to the kitchen at large.  

Over the years I've devised some tools and techniques to help tame Tom Servo.  Primary of which is a flexible plastic wall I set up around his spout when I grind to help direct most of the grounds downwards.  But he has never been fully civilized and domesticated.  In his solid cast iron frame still whirls a feral motor that would just as soon turn gravel into flour as operate on something so dainty as coffee.  

The chances are that given that task of replacing a belligerent coffee grinder designed in 1937 most people would look for something a bit more modern.  Perhaps even a grinder designed in the current century.  Bah! You disgust me most people.  Instead of looking forward I decided to look even further back - and I opted to replace Tom Servo with a hand crank manual coffee maker.  

You see, in our household coffee is either about convenience or luxury.  I brew our weekday morning coffee at the office, so the home coffee makers or called into service when we really need a cup of coffee in the evening or on the weekends.  When convenience is the primary motivator we have a single cup Keurig brewer that quickly and efficiently serves up a decent cup of coffee with minimal effort.  When time and effort or not limiting factors we opt for luxury and we brew via a French press

 (I really like that French press in the link. It's a replaceable glass beaker the fits into a rubber and polycarbonate sleeve.  The sleeve does a good job insulating the beaker while the glass beaker is replaceable if we ever drop it.  Most importantly, the plunger is all metal construction so the whole thing is pretty rugged.) 

One of the things that drew me towards a manual grinder is the ability to control the coarseness of the grind.  Most electric grinders give you some latitude when comes to coarseness, but I think they generally expect you to brew using a drip coffee maker and most of them don't grind coffee as coarse as I would like it for our French Press.

The new manual coffee grinder has a huge range of coarseness values that need expiration with.  Instead of a number setting, the coarseness of the grind is controlled via a threaded washer.  To try and record and replicate grinds I've decided to measure how far the inner section of the grinding mechanism protrudes from the outer section on the bottom on the grinder.  I first started with a measurement of about 1/4".  This proved to actually a bit too coarse.  I reduced it to ~3/16" and that seems to be a pretty good setting.  The resulting coffee is robust and favorable without being bitter.



The other nice thing about the manual grinder is its ability to handle oily beans.  Different roasting methods can produce oily beans.  I used to avoid oil beans because after awhile they tended to gunk up Tom Servo and require more frequent cleaning.  The manual grinder seems to handle the oily beans with greater ease.  I suspect this may be a good thing, being that oil on freshly roasted beans may well carry flavors I usually opt out of (or so I hope).  Did I mention that there is now a coffee shop that roasts beans on the premises not a mile from my house?



Current coffee recipe:
Grind beans with ~3/16" setting.
Steep in hot water for 5 minutes in French press.

Sunday, October 3, 2010

Food, Eated: Scallop and Butternut Squash Bisque + Butternut Squash Pasta





The Breakdown
I pared these two butternut squash and sage dishes together to make one awesome fall inspired feast.  I was very happy with the results.

Roasted Butternut Squash Penne Pasta

Motivation
I made this dish as a fall inspired side dish to accompany a butternut squash bisque.  The recipe is from the October 2010 (Issue 83) if Cuisine at Home.


Ingredients
2 cups Butternut Squash, diced (about 1 large squash)
8 oz Bacon, diced
8 oz Penne Pasta
2 tsp Garlic, minced
1/2 cup Parmesan, grated
2 tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
2 tbsp Sage, mined
2 tbsp Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper

Mise en Place
Bring water to simmer to cook pasta.  Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.  Peel, halve, de-seed, and dice butternut squash into bite-sized pieces.  Toss squash in oil, salt, and pepper.  Place on cookie sheet lined with aluminum foil.  Roast squash for 15 minutes, turn pieces about half-way through.

Mince sage. Dice bacon.  Cook pasta.

Method
Use a skillet large enough to add pasta to once it's done cooking and place over medium heat.  Add bacon and cook until crisp.  Then add garlic, roasted squash to the pan and cook.  (I meant to add spinach here, but forgot).  Add pasta to the pan and stir to coat.  (The magazine recommends adding some starchy water from the pasta pot if you want to build a bit more of a sauce - add 1/4 cup at a time - I didn't end of needing to do this.)  Add sage and Parmesan to pan then toss.

Scallop & Squash Bisque

Motivation
This recipe if from the October 2010 (Issue 83) of Cuisine at Home magazine.  The recipe suggested searing the scallops first, then building the bisque in the same pot.  I guess that would mean leaving the seared scallops sitting around for an hour while your making the bisque.  Instead of doing that we sous vide the scallops ahead of time and seared them after the bisque was prepared.

Ingredients
(for scallops)
1 tsp Kosher Salt
1 tsp Black Pepper
1 tsp Cinnamon, ground
1/2 tsp Nutmeg, ground
1/2 tsp Allspice, ground
12 Sea Scallops

(for bisque)
8 cups Butternut Squad, diced (about 2 large squash)
1 cup Onions, diced
1 tbsp Garlic, minced
2 tsp Sage, minced
1/2 tsp Red Pepper Flakes
2 bottles Clam Juice (8 oz each)
2 cups Chicken Broth
1 cup White Wine, dry
1/4 cup Heavy Cream
Olive Oil

Mise en Place
Sous vide scallops at 140 degrees for at least 30 minutes.  We did this a day a head of time, left the scallops in their vacuum bags and chilled them down in a ice water bath after cooking then refrigerated.

Peel, halve, and de-seed the butternut squash then dice.  Everything is going to be pureed in a blender so the squash needs to be diced into a pieces that are easy to blend.  Dice onion and garlic (I used a garlic press).  Mince sage.

Measure and mix together all the spices for the scallop dry rub.

Method
Pour a couple table spoons of olive oil into a small stock pot and set to medium heat.  Toss onions, garlic, sage, and red pepper flakes in the oil and sweat for about 5 minutes.  Add clam juice, chicken broth, and wine to the pot and bring pot to a simmer.  If you sous vide the scallops you should add any scallop broth reserved in the bags.  Simmer for about 20 minutes.  Puree soup in batches in a blender then return to pot and add cream to the soup.  (The magazine recommends adding warm cream to the soup to prevent curdling - I didn't bother though.)  Keep bisque warm while you sear the scallops.

Blot scallops dry then dip each side in the spice rub.  Add oil to a pan and set on medium-high heat.  Once oil is very hot sear scallops on each side.  Since the scallops had already been cooked via sous vide I just seared them for a minute on each side to get a nice crust on the spices.

Ladle bisque into a wide bowl then place scallops in the middle.  Ideally the scallops will not be covered by the bisque.  (The magazine recommends drizzling a little maple syrup over them, but I didn't this time).

Verdict
Very tasty bisque.  The scallops were perfectly cooked and the spice rub was surprisingly spicy.  Once you get the butternut squash diced this is a pretty quick and easy recipe.