Cleaver Chops

2012-08-15T20:31:00.001-04:00

It has been way too long since I've posted here. I have no idea if anyone even reads this but, the juices are flowing again and maybe I should post more. Plus, I'm back to working full time to I can eat out a bit and you might read something about resturants I like instead of what I'm cooking at home for a change.

How about that?

Iron Chef Chen

2011-05-17T20:47:00.000-04:00

Iron Chef Chen is pretty much my favorite of the original Iron Chef's. Although it is a hard fight with Iron Chef Morimoto. I got this book last week and have started messing around with things in it. Some of them obviously have some strange translations and some odd ingredients that probably don't really represent what was originally used by Chef Chen. And there are some odd things as well.

But tonight I made his Chili shrimp. I remember this dish getting mentioned all the time on Iron Chef, about how his dad brought it to Japan and adapted it to the Japanese pallet. Well, it is pretty damn good. I still have some kinks to work out, but the sauce is like the bowl good. I think I might make it a little spicier next time, but this was very yummy and that one dish alone was probably worth the purchase price of the book. I need to work on the texture of the shrimp but once I do that I'll be putting up some pictures. should have taken some tonight, but being the first time I made it, I was too busy cooking to snap a photo or two!

Not cooking tonight

2011-04-25T19:28:00.000-04:00

Sometimes a great meal doesn't really take any hard work or cooking. Or I should say very little cooking. This works great when it is nice out and you can enjoy dinner out on your patio or porch. So here is what we had, some olives, heirloom tomatoes with a little olive oil (got some balsamic reduction there as well), a baguette, a couple of lamb sausages (cooked!), anchovies and some smoked mozzarella and some stinky soft cheese of your choice. A few lettuce leaves to wrap this and that in and you are all set. Most of these sorts of things, of a decent quality, you can find at most snooty type grocery stores. sometimes it is a nice treat to go t whole pay check, I mean whole foods, and get some treats.

Well, all set except a meal like this needs some great wine. We had a Bell Syrah Block 6 for this lovely repast.

Roast Chicken

2011-04-06T22:14:00.000-04:00

Roast Chicken, who doesn't love it? But you know what Mr. Choppy loves better? All the great veggies that are cooking underneath it! I know, I'm surprised myself. But the only way you can get that great flavor in the veggies is to cook a chicken on top of them! There is something about the chicken fat, the olive oil, salt and pepper, and the caramelization of the carrots that gets in my blood sometimes and I fire up the stove and cook this. I know most of the things I've put on this blog so far are asian or Hispanic, but this is pretty darn easy so lets give it a try.

First things first. You need a whole chicken. I typically get a 4-5 lbs one and that is plenty for 4 -5 people or lots of left overs for two people. You will also need 2-3 yellow onions, 2 - 3 fennel bulbs, 3-4 large carrots, a lemon, two heads of garlic, some butter, salt and pepper. Get the oven going to 425 and then start prepping!

First thing is to wash the chicken, remove the guts and make sure there are no feathers or other icky bets. Pat the sucker dry and then season the inside. I typically make up a salt and pepper mixture and have this in a dish to make this easier. Also, kosher salt! And get some good pepper at Penzyes.

Then split a head of garlic and cut the lemon in half Put both inside the bird. I often put a bunch of thyme in the cavity at this point as well, but the thyme looked like crap today so no herbage. But you get the point. You'll want to close up the back end with either some butchers twine or I like the silicone rig I got.

Melt some butter and brush it onto the bird. Cover the outside with a nice layer.

Then sprinkle salt and pepper on the outside. This part can be a bit tricky. How much to put on? Some of that will depend on your taste, but too little you don't get a great crust on the skin. Too much you might as well be eating a salt lick. Take a look at the picture and go for something that looks similar. Then the second time you go around you'll have a better idea of how much to put on.

Rough cut the veggies. Keep them a little on the large side so when they cook down they'll still be a good size. Just cut and throw in the pan. Then splash some olive oil and some salt and pepper on the veggies, and set the bird on top. Try to tuck the wings underneath to keep them from getting too done.

Pop this in the oven and after about 90 minutes give it a check. The skin should be golden brown, the juices from the thigh run clear and the temp in the thigh should be about 160 or so. Depending on the size of the bird it might need another 20-30 minutes but sometimes it is done at this point.

When done let it rest for about 10-15 minutes. While this is going on, pop the veggies back in and let them caramelize and brown a bit if they aren't already. You might have to turn up the heat just a little bit.

Carve up and eat! The fennel will be amazing. And the browned carrots are worth fighting over.

Potstickers - Toronto style

2011-03-23T20:16:00.000-04:00

When I was last in Toronto, I went to a dumpling house in China town. Yeah, the one in the picture below. They have these amazing dumplings that come with a little whispy crunchy thing.

Adds some great texture to some already amazing dumplings. I've been messing with how to create this same effect for way more months than I'm willing to admit. And tonight I'm pretty damn close. I think if I had turned up the heat sooner or if I had let it go just 2 or 3 more minutes I would have it.

Here is my latest conditions. Use hardly any oil at the start. Add 3/4 cup boiling water to dumplings in a medium hot pan. Let the water boil for about 8 to 10 minutes covered. Mix up 3/4 of a teaspoon of corn starch in <1/4 cup of hot water. Add the cornstarch to the pan and turn up the heat. wait until you start to see some browning. Get it out of hte pan by fliping upside down on a plate.

I think maybe a bit less water in the cornstarch, maybe 2/3 of a teaspoon and just a tad bit more heat will do it.

Burgers

2011-03-06T17:19:00.000-05:00

You know what? I just don't seem to make burgers as good as some of the dives I like to go to. I try and try but it is never just right. I think it is the flat top. I need a flat top grill! I want a good juicy greasy burger with cheese. My ideal is "In and Out" but they just aren't on this side of the world. There are two decent places who's burgers I like in the area, The hob nob and the shake pit. These are good decent burgers and are not the $8 burger or $10 burger you see at some places. Just some small place turning out yummy grease. I don't want a 1/2 lb burger with 8 topings either. I want something small and tasty.

So I'm not going to show you how to make a burger yet, but it would be great if you told me what you look for in a burger. I do have a place in my memory and emotional touch stones for places like white castle or the Wheel bar, which were both places my dad would bring burgers home from. The wheel bar was some little dive in Michigan that had some great grease. Haven't been there in 20 years and don't even know if it still exists.

Vietnamese pork in a clay pot

2011-02-22T22:05:00.000-05:00

This is another fairly simple dish that I'm sure very grandmother, well Vietnamese grandmother as mine didn't know how to make this, has her own special recipe for. There is only one real issue with making this. It is about 10 times better if you use carmel sauce instead of brown sugar. But brown sugar will do in a pinch or when you used up the last of our carmel sauce and were too lazy to make more.

The original recipe I start with is form Pleasures of the Vietnamese Table by Mai Pham. I changed a few odds and ends with this to fit the tastes in my home, but the base is basically there.

Read on to see how this comes together and the changes I made.

There isn't a whole lot to this dish. Probably the tricky thing to get is the clay pot but you can find that in many asian stores or for sure on line. About 3/4 of a pound to 1 pound of pork. Loin is fine, or what ever is on sale. Bones are fine as well, but just getting a chop or something is fine, it all works. A shallot, a yellow onion, fish sauce, chicken stock (water will do in a pinch) and the carmel sauce. All it takes for the carmel sauce is 1/2 cup sugar, wait for that to melt and just start to brown/bubble and then add 1/3 cup boiling water. But be ready for some sputtering and sparks as the hot water and hot sugar are not the best friends. Simple and worth making. It will keep in a jar for at least 2 weeks. In a pinch substitute about a table spoon of brown sugar.

The first thing is just to cut the pork in to bite size portions. What is great about this dish is you can slice a small piece of meat up a bit smaller or thiner and you will fool yourself that there is more there. Give it a try. This is a great dish to try reducing your portion sizes on.

Throw the meat in a bowl and give it about 2 table to 3 table spoons fish sauce and about 1 to 2 table spoons carmel sauce. Give it a few grinds of pepper, mix well and let this marinate a bit.

I've toyed with a few fish sauces and I've come to love three crab brand. If you haven't messed with this sauce be prepared, it smells, well bad. But when cooked it does amazing things. I swear it is magical!

What I get going on the stove is the clay pot. I put in about 1/2 cup of stock or water, a bit more carmel or this is the place to put the brown sugar if you are using that. Let it get hot and throw in some sliced shallots.

I also like to put a sliced onion in this. I know this isn't really traditional, but I like what the sugar and fish sauce does to the onions.

After things are starting to simmer, add the meat. A few more grinds of pepper is a great idea. Put the lid on and bring up the heat to a boil, back down and let it simmer for about 20 minutes or so. You may need to add a little stock on this point, as you want everyone swimming. This is a great time to make some rice or make some salad rolls to serve with this.

Just before you serve it throw in some sliced green onions for some color and flavor and then grab your chop sticks and rice and go to town!

The carmel and fish sauce combines into this to make a rich flavor full sauce, and the onions kind of melt and are just very yummy. Serve with some lettuce wraps and some dipping sauce of your choice and you'll be very happy. I suggest just fishing bits out of the clay pot rather than plating.

A little snack

2011-02-15T21:32:00.002-05:00

I needed a quick snack the other day and I came up with this. Scallion noodles with chinese sausage and some pickled shallots and pickled shitake mushrooms. I didn't take any pictures while I was making it but it turned out great and will have to do some more on it. Basically I made the scallion sauce out of David Chang's Momofuku cook book and threw in some sliced Chinese sausage. You know those scary packs of sausage at the chinese grocery? They are very good if you soak them in some warm water before you cook them. Just stir fried them for a bit and threw them on the noodles. The pickles are out of Momofuku as well. The noodles are just plan ones that you toss with the scallion sauce.

Moroccan Cubanos - served two ways

2011-02-06T13:02:00.000-05:00

Here is another thing from the Top Chef The Cookbook. This is my take on the moroccan cubanos made in season one. They are amazingly good and I think it is the pickled veggies that really make it. The other week I needed something to share at a party. So I made all the fixings for the cubanons, but served them on little rounds of peta bread. What I'm showing here is both how I normally eat and enjoy them and hten as the great little finger version.

Keep reading for how I made these.

These are basically roasted pork that is seasoned with Ras Al-Hanout. When I first made them I didn't have any Ras Al-Hanout, a moroccan spice blend, but I followed some descriptions on the web and in the Top chef book and came up with the following blend: 2 teaspoon each of ground cumin and salt. 1 teaspoon of fresh black pepper, ground chili powder, ground coriander and ground cinnamon. Finally a pinch of ground cloes, about 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon. Get the spices from penzy's. I mix this all up in a dish and make sure it is fragrant. Sometimes I add a dash of ground chipolte as well for a bit more smokey heat. Use this to season the meat.

For the meat I will often use some country ribs rather than the whole pork butt. Coming from the same place but I can control the portion a bit more when I just need enough for a meal or two rather than getting a 5 lbs butt. Getting 2-3 lbs of country ribs with the bone in works very well.

As I said above, season the meat with the spice mix and sear on all sides in a cast iron pan and some olive oil. I prefer to use my dutch oven for this. while it is searing you'll want to preheat the oven to 275. Once you have it seared add about 1 cup chicken stock and 1 cup beef stock. The original recipe calls for veal stock, but I don't usually have it laying around. So I use beef, but doctor it a bit with some demi glaze or beef bullion. Don't laugh, it tastes pretty good. Add a bit more or some water to make it just about cover the pork. Pop into the oven and let it cook for 2-3 hours, until fork tender and falling off the bone.

Now comes the real beauty of the dish. The pickled veggies. You'll want to thinly slice some red onion, juileann some carrots and slice some jalapenos. You can deseed the peppers if you want, but best to leave them in. I will typically done one medium sized onion, and two or three carrots.

In a small sauce pan, combine 1 cup red wine vinegar, 1/3 cup sugar, 1 table spoon fennel seeds and 1 cup water. Bring to a boil.

Put the onions, carrots and peppers in a bowl and pour the boiling pickaling solution onto them. Cover with some saran wrap and let sit for 20 minutes. After the 20 minutes, pour off about 80% of the solution and then transfer to the fridge. They'll keep like this fine for a bit and then when you are ready for them bring them back to room temp.

When the meat is done it will look a bit like this. Just shred the meat. Cook down everything that was in the roasting pan and use it to flavor the shredded meant. I bring it down by about 1/2 and use that. But be careful you don't make it too salty by adding too much of the reduced stock or by reducing it too far.

The veggies will look a bit pale after the pickaling, but they should still have a bit of snap to them and will taste amazing. Especially if you use a decent vinegar. Nothing expensive, but not one of those thin ones you can see through.

If you want to serve as little bits or snacks, just use a pastry cutter or other round thing with a sharp edge to punch holes in some warmed peta bread. Make a base with the pickled veggies and the warm meat and you are ready to go!

Or Just stuff some into a split and warmed peta and chow down!

Gung hay fat chow - Pot stickers!

2011-02-02T20:31:00.000-05:00

Happy year of the rabbit! And in due tradition, I coked up some dumplings tonight to go with my gi-lan and oyster sauce. But there were the last ones I had made up, so this weekend time to make another batch! I'm still working on getting them to look like ones I had in Toronto but this is pretty good. Just heat a pan, a bit of peanut oil, put the dumplings and let them just start to think about browning, add a cup of water, cover and turn up the heat. Other dumpling secrets will have to wait until I perfect them.

If you missed my post about how to make them it is here.

Steak Ssam

2011-02-01T21:56:00.001-05:00

No that isn't a typo, it is supposed to be "ssam" but even more so there are supposed to be two dots above the "a". I just don't know how to put the umlat (or what ever the Korean version is!) over the a. What ever you call it, this meal was so simple and so good. It has a number of components but none of them are hard to make and it all comes together some beautifully. This is the first thing I've tired to make out of David Chang's Momofuku cook book. I'm pretty damn happy with the results.

Read on what I did.

As put out in the cook book, this is supposed to be marinated hanger steak ssam with red kimchi puree and ginger scallion sauce. I used a flat iron steak which I believe is the same thing, just called different things in different areas. Since this has a number of parts I'll break it up in sections

The kimchi puree
I have not advanced far enough yet to make my own kimchi, so I just got a jar of store bought at my local asian market. I like it anyways! All you do to make this sauce is throw it in the blender and grind away. You want kind of a chunky puree. Think of it as kimchi salsa and you'll be it right. Throw it in a dish. You are done with that part.

The Ginger scallion sauce
I scaled this down a bit, but I wish I hadn't this was one of the best parts. I've made things similar to this in the past but I think the vinegar really makes it. Combine 1/2 cup finely chopped green onions (including the white part) with 1 1/4 table spoon canolla or grapeseed oil, 1/3 teaspoon light soy, 1/8 teaspoon of sherry vinegar, and 2 table spoons (give or take) of finely minced and pealed ginger. Some kosher salt to taste and let sit about 20 minutes before using. Should store for a day or so covered in the fridge.

Bibb (boston) lettuce,
Wash, dry and separate the leaves. Try to leave intact. That is about it. Oh, put on a nice plate!

The steak
Again I scaled the marinade. It is so simple, 1 cup of apple juice (juice NOT cider), 1/4 cup light soy, 3-4 thinly sliced cloves of garlic, 1/2 a thinly sliced yellow onion. About a teaspoon of black peeper. Throw this all in a bag with the steak and let it sit in the fridge overnight. When you are ready to cook, get a hot fire going in your grill. Char/sear it on both sides. Then reduce the heat or move to a cooler part of the grill and finish to medium rare or rare. Do NOT over cook it. Do not make it well done, do not ruin it! Let it rest properly for 5-10 minutes depending on how thick it is and then slice with a 30 degree bias. Serve with the accompaniments and some rice or noodles. I made some noodles this first time out and that would be my recommendation. I also put out some kimchi as well, but the puree was so yummy I almost forgot to eat it.

Now when you are ready to eat, just mix and match the accompaniments to your taste. I let the juices run down into my noodles and put more of the ginger scallion sauce on them and they were so yummy I'm going to make that for dinner all by itself some time. If the rest of momofuku is this good, I know why people are going crazy for his restaurants.

Cleavers galore!

2011-01-29T14:48:00.000-05:00

Anyone need a cleaver? A whole new batch came in to the local asian market. Must be Strong, must not buy knives I don't need.

Strange-Flavor Peanuts

2011-01-20T20:59:00.001-05:00

What something very cool and different as a little snack? Then you have to try guai wei hua ren, or Strange Flavor Peanuts. See that little bowl of nuts up above? Those are the the strange flavor peanuts and they are so addicting. They have a sweet and sour/spicy taste and every few of them as a zing from sichuan pepper corns.

They are a great little snack all on their own, but I love to make them as a little treat for guests to munch on while I'm getting the rest of dinner going. The original recipe came from Land of Plenty: A Treasury of Authentic Sichuan Cooking by Fuchia Dunlop but I've made some tweaks to fit my taste and hopefully some of you as well. Keep reading to find out how easy they are to make.

You will need 3/4 teaspoon of salt, 1 and 1/2 teaspoons of a good chili powder (Penzeys!), 3/4 cup of white sugar, 1 teaspoon rice vinegar, 8 oz of roasted peanuts, lightly salted is good. Now the last think you need is the sichuan pepper corns. The original recipe called for 1/2 teaspoon of roasted and freshly ground ones. This is fine for me. But these are powerful babies, especially if you can get some good ones (again go to Penzey's spice) so experiment a little and try a little more or a little less to your taste.

I like to combine all the dry ingredients before I get started.

Place 1/3 cup of water in your wok or pan and the 3/4 cup of sugar and put it under medium high heat. What you are going to do is melt the sugar and take it up to about 240F, just shy of the hardball stage. Guess what? if you don't have a candy thermometer or an inferred one, you can still do this. Watch the bubbles. As they get like fish eyes, and pop very slowly and are still kind of big then you are at the right temperature.

Add the spice mix and vinegar. Mix. Fast. It is going to be a little scary as when the vinegar hits the hot sugar it gets kind of exciting.

You should be smelling intense chili and some vinegar smells when you do this. Add in the peanuts and kill the heat. In Fuschia's recipe she kills the heat soon, but I have better luck with keeping it on a little longer since I'm using electric and I'm sure she has a very cool gas set up.

You want to work fast and mix the peanuts into the mixture to coat everything well.

Once everything is coated, pour out onto a parchment paper lined cookie sheet. Grab a couple of forks and break up the peanuts or you'll end up with brittle. Which isn't bad, but not what we're going for here. Just pull apart the clusters of nuts and allow to cool.

You'll end up with some yummy treats that have a little bit of sweet, a little salty, a good chili flavor and then, zing! the Sichuan pepper will hit you and make the end of your tongue sing.

I should go make a batch now.

Pork Tacos at Home

2011-01-16T16:37:00.001-05:00

Saying I have issues with tacos is an understatement. I started off life with the fried hard shell tacos with ground hamburger and was happy. Then I moved to Southern California and experienced something outside of that Americanized chain that will not be named. And it was like seeing new colors. And I'm not even talking about fish tacos yet!

More often than not some of the best tacos you will ever have will come off a truck or a small resturant where lovely smells come out of. But, you might not have such things in your neck of the woods or maybe you want to introduce your friends to something more than hamburger with some chili powder tossed on to it. Well, here is something yummy and with a little work you'll be craving these things all the time.

Keep Reading

I've search long and hard to find a good way to braise pork so it tastes yummy and extra good for tacos. Or for other things for that matter. What I have come up with is a modification of Braised Pork Shoulder in Orange Mojo based upon Howie Kleinberg from season 3 top chef. His original recipe is in Top Chef The Cookbook.

But I've modified it a just a bit to deliver more of what I was looking for. What you'll need: pork shoulder about 2-3 lbs more or less, salt, pepper, olive oil, 10-15 cloves chopped garlic, a medium sized shallot choped, chicken stock, 1 large orange, 1 lime, 1/2 cup perl river light soy, 1/2 cup red wine vinegar, 3/4 cup dark brown sugar, fresh ginger, cinnamon sticks, star anise and for the garnish, cilantro, onion and of course corn tortillas. If you can get some from a tortilla factory then do so!

First off, season the meat well with salt and pepper and then brown with the olive oil in a dutch oven or something similar. Make sure you get a good sear on all sides. Remove to a resting plate. To the pot add the garlic and shallot and stir until softened and just starting to brown. Add about 2 cups of chicken stock, juice the orange and the lime and add that to the pot. The soy, vinegar, and brown sugar go next. Stir to desolve the sugar. Then add two cinnamon sticks 1 -2 star anise and put in 3 to 4 slices of ginger, about the size of a quarter that you have bruised with the cleaver.

Taste this. Does it need salt? Does it need to be sweater? can you feel the tang of the soy and vinegar? Does it smell rich and deep and flavorful? If not adjust a bit by adding small amount of the required element. Add back the pork and if you need a bit more fluid to almost cover the pork use some chicken stock.

Bring this all up to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Cover and let simmer for about 2 hours. I also like to turn the meat a bit at the half way point, just so everyone gets to be submerged for a time.

After cooking for a few hours, you might have something like this. Some great complex smells should be coming off the pot as well. The meat should be fork tender. Bring it out of the pot and allow to rest for a good 15 minutes. Then shred with a fork. You can also reduce the braising liquid some and add that back to the meat for some added flavor. But typically it doesn't need this.

Serve with warm fresh corn tortillas, cilantro and finely diced raw onion. Heaven.

And you can turn the left overs (what left overs!) into Korean tacos, which I'll do a separate post on.

Pot Stickers

2010-12-31T12:28:00.002-05:00

Pot stickers from Toronto, Hong Kong, Toronto again, Singapore, and my unworthy ones in Florida

Pot stickers. How can you not love these? how can you not go to the ends of the earth to try every variety? The first time I had really good pot stickers was when I first moved to LA. So magical, so transcendental. I've been making my own for years but I still experiment and play with the fillings and try new ways to cook them. I had some in Toronto a couple of years back that had a magical crust, which I've been trying to reproduce with moderate success. But the ones I had in Hong Kong at Peking Shui Jiao Wang were so perfectly cooked I could cry.

For New Years I figured it would be good to show you my attempts at making pot stickers and a few tricks I've learned. Once you make your own you will never want to look at those frozen bags of dumplings in the store ever again never mind cook them.

As you might imagine there are a gazzion recipes and things to put in your pot stickers. What I like with mine is a good mix of pork and veggies. For the filling you will need about 1/2 lbs of ground pork, 3-4 cloves of garlic, minced, about a tablespoon of minced ginger, 3-5 green onions diced, and some napa cabbage, chopped.

You will also need about 1 tbl of light soy, 1 to 2 teaspoons of sesame oil, and a dash of white pepper. Put all of the filling ingredients into a bowl and mix with your hands.

Basically I'm looking for an even ratio of pork to veggie. So add more cabbage and green onion so that you get that ratio. To my mind you need the right about of meat to veggie to have a really good pot sticker. Many times the ones I've had in restaurants are nothing but meat, and that just isn't what I think of as a truly great potsticker.

Now a word about the wrappers. Yes you can buy ready made wrappers but if you are going to the trouble to make your own pot stickers do you really want some one else's wrappers? A big part of the texture issues come back to how the wrapper cooks and the store bought ones are too thin and break way to easily. They just don't give the right texture. And making your own is way too easy.

Combine 2 1/2 cups of unbleached flour, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, 1 table spoon lard (yes lard! but crisco works) and 1 cup boiling water. Mix and kneed so you get a nice well incorporated mound of dough. Let rest for about 20 minutes covered. Work the dough into a long snake shape about 1 to 1 1/2 inches in diameter. When you are ready to start rolling, cut off small bits of dough, roll into balls, lightly dust with flour, flatten and roll out a round shape as I have here. Take a little practice and I'm sure you'll have some odd shaped ones at first and some that are too thin. But shoot for something that is about 3" in diameter and about 1/8" thick or a bit thiner than that. It should be lightly dusted with flour. I will make up 5 or 6 of these at a time and then fill them. Or if you have a helper, it is great to have one person rolling and one person filling.

Here is a little video that Ms. Choppy helped me make on how to fill the pot stickers.

As you fold them, lay them out on a cookie sheet and you can freeze them like this and bag for later feasting. From this size batch I've described, I'll get enough to have for dinner (along with a nice green, like bok choy) and freeze the rest for one or two meals down the road. Often nice to double up and use a whole pound of pork. Scale the rest appropriately and you'll have a couple trays worth of these babies.

I bet you are dying to know how to cook them? I think that might need to be another post as it has its own tricks. You can boil them, steam them or best of all pan fry them. Which is what I typically do. But I'm still trying to get mine to come out like the ones from Toronto or Hong Kong and that is taking a bit more practice.

Gringo Chicken Tacos

2010-12-27T14:50:00.003-05:00

I turned this frozen hunk of chicken and a few other ingredients into what I call Gringo Tacos.
Frozen chicken in the bag. Something you used to find at only the big box stores but now many others carry them now. I hate to admit it but I usually keep a bag of these in the freezer just in case.

Yesterday was a just in case day. I came up with something that was supper yummy and figured I better put it up here before I forget how I did it. Plus, it isn't Asian!

Gringo because I fried the tortillas a little bit. Instead of the traditional street style of warmed fresh tortillas or grilled flour ones I ran these through some oil just like a Gringo.

Keep reading for how I put this together.

Some other time I'll show you more traditional street tacos.

What you'll need: 1 thawed chicken breast
2 chipotle pepers, shallot, clove of garlic, small yellow onion, cilantro, lime, and two roma tomatoes.
Also, on the spice side you will need some good chili powder and cumin. Do yourself a favor and try it from Penzeys.

This also works with left over chicken, but if you are starting off with the thawed frozen beast, start some water in a small pan to boil. Put one of the chipotle peppers into the boiling water and the chicken. Let it come back to a boil and then reduce to a simmer for about 15 minutes. Allow the chicken to cool a bit and then shred.

Dice the shallot and garlic. Cut about half of the onion into halved rings that are about 1/8" thick. Heat some olive oil and put the shallot, garlic, and onion in to sweat a bit. Add the other chipotle pepper and add about 1/4 to 1/2 tps chili powder depending on your taste and the quality of the pepper. About the same amount of cumin as well. Let that develop and cook just a bit.

Dice the tomatoes and them and about 1/3 to 1/2 cup of water or chicken stock. Season to taste and add a bit more cumin or chili if you think it needs it or if you are not smelling those spices. Squeeze in the juice from half of a lime. While that is coming up to a bit of a boil, sprinkle some chili powder, cumin and just a little salt on the shredded chicken and then add to the pan. Cover and bring down to a simmer. Let that cook for about 10 minutes or until the tomatoes have reduced down and you are getting more of a sauce.

While that is cooking heat some oil and run the tortillas through it. I didn't go for crunchy nacho chip, I went for just barely having a texture on them so they still fold. Plus it cooks the corn just a enough and awakens that flavor a bit.

Finish the tacos with chopped onion and cilantro. From that one frozen chicken breast I got about 8 tacos, more than enough for dinner for 2 or 3.

Bell Wine

2010-12-24T09:58:00.002-05:00

Small wineries making interesting things. Besides Spanish and South American wines these are the type of wines I love to drink and Bell Wines is a great example. Anthony Bell started Bell Wines in 1991 and has really done interesting things with different Cabernet clones. What has all ways fascinated me is the scientific approach he has taken in understanding clonal variation and other important topics in regard to his craft. He is a scientist as well as a master craftsman to my view of things. As someone who has studied genetic variation in other biological systems it is fascinating to see it done in the pursuit of creating such wonderful wines.

I first tried Bell Wines about 5 or 6 years ago at the sun cost wine festival. Anthony had a little table with some interesting things that stood out from a festival that was dominated by way too many Merlots that year. Tasting his great Cabs and his lovely claret was a real treat. For some reason he loves coming to this part of the country and hold wine tasting and dinners that allow you to sample some amazing things. The other interesting thing I find is how he has worked out relationships with other vineyards to grow the clones he is interested in so you get a melding of terre and the clonal variations. The "yummy" Syrah they produce from the Canterbury vineyard in the Sierra foothills is a great example.

If you chose to give their wine a try, you can't go wrong with the Syrah, Claret and the lovely Sauvignon Blanc. These three wines have a special place in my memory and on my table. While I've enjoyed just about everything Bell wine creates and the Cabernets are amazing by the way, these three are a great place to start in exploring their wines.

Thanks Anthony and your staff for making such great things!

Bell Wines at the 9th Sun Coast Wine Festival

Key West

2010-12-23T10:54:00.003-05:00

Earlier this mouth Mr. Choppy and some friends went down to Key West. There is the drunken crazy Key West but there is also the Key West of old homes, quiet streets, and good food. I've reviewed a number of places and posted to my Yelp! page. So here is the link to go check those out key west on yelp. I'm planing on updating some of them and adding one or two more but Key West as a foodie destination is one of my favorites.

I also encountered two great wines on this trip. A 2006 Bonarda from Finca El Reposo and 2009 Altos Las Hormigas Malbec. I would love to get you a link to the altos web site but it seems to be down. Taking a quick online both of these are available in the $9 to $10 range. While I paid restaurant prices when I tried them, I would say they are well worth tracking down at this price point and getting a case. Here is an interesting page about Bonarda in general that I'm now going to go and spend some time reading as I love many of the Argentinean wines.

Bread Making Fun II

2010-12-21T22:49:00.002-05:00

I've all ways loved good bread. So making my own should be a no brainer, right? Well when I lived somewhere that you could get great rustic breads and baguettes down the street and they were reasonably priced why make your own? But that is no longer the case, the only places I've found bread I like are a bit of a hike and paying $5 is kind of crazy. Plus I've gotten so sick of grocery store "artisan" breads that don't live up the name I decided it was time to get serious about baking.

I started with baguettes, but that was before I started this blog and lately I've been making this rustic type show here based on a Chiabatta recipe in Peter Reinhart's The Bread Baker's Apprentice: Mastering the Art of Extraordinary Bread. Things are coming out pretty good and these are a decent example. The shaping and prep is pretty easy with this bread and it is making for some killer sandwich making and the best grilled cheese with this bread.

Know that post I did about how I measure while cooking? Well it ignore it when I'm talking about baking. I measure and weight things when I bake. Get a decent scale and get used to grams! MR. Choppy lives by the metric system! Although he will translate for everyone else here.

With many of Mr. Reinhart's recipes you start with either a Poolish sponge or Biga starter. I'm more partial for the poolish versions of his things at the moment.

I start the night before with 2 cups unbleached flour, 1/2 cup whole wheat flour, about 1/4 teaspoon instant yeast and 1 1/2 cups of water. Put this in the mixing bowl of a mix master or something similar. Get one if you don't have one! Add the water and mix well. Just a few minutes with the paddle attachment is good enough. It should be like thick pancake batter. And then let it sit covered with plastic wrap overnight, although old Peter says a few hours is fine, I think overnight is better.

You should end up with something like this the next day. Now the book says you can break this up and store in the fridge but it is a bit sticky and hard to manage in my opinion so I just use the whole thing the next day. The whole wheat added during the poolish stage works out very nice and helps keep some moisture in the bread once it is done. Plus makes the flavor a little more complex.

Next you want to add 3 cups of unbleached flour, 2 teaspoons of salt, 1 teaspoon instant yeast, 2 table spoons olive oil, and about 3/4 of water. I use a little less yeast to slow things down, especially in the summer when the house is hot. Put the paddle attachment back on the mixer and start to mix.

I usually add the water slowly as the mixer stats to turn. Add the oil at this stage as well. Just mix to incorporate and add a little more water if you are seeing dry flour in the bottom of the bowl. I will stop and scrape the paddle once or twice to also make sure there isn't a big lump of dry flour hiding in there. After it is all incorporated but still wet and bit sticky looking, switch to the dough hook and give it about 2 to 3 minutes on low speed or until it separate from the mixing bowl.

Put a light dusting of flour on a board and pull the dough out of the bowl. Make sure your hands are wet so the dough doesn't stick. Don't be afraid of the wet sticky dough. Having enough water is key with this bread and having wet dough is a good sign. But if it is dry at this point, just keep going it is took late to fix it at this point and it will be ok just not great. Now you want to next is the strech and fold.

Here is my best imitation of what I think you are supposed to be doing based on Peter's photos. Pretend you are folding a letter. YOu want to let it rest covered and oiled at this point for about 30 minute depending on how warm your kitchen is. Then repeat this process and let set for about 2 hours until it just about doubles in size.

After the dough has doubled, you want to divide it in half and set it up to proof. See, I have a handy video here that is easier than me trying to tell you in words. Get a pastry scraper, it works wonders for moving things around like this. Also, just a light towel dusted in flour works great for setting the loaves up to proof. Let your two little loaves sit for about 30 minutes and they should continue to grow a bit. While this is going on heat up your oven to 500F and set your baking stone about 2/3's of the way up.

Once the oven is nice and hot and the loaves have proofed you are ready to get cooking. Put some corn meal on a pizza peal and transfer a loaf onto it. Use the pastry scraper to support the loaf. Then transfer from the peal to the stone. Repeat with the other loaf. Let the oven recover a bit and then spray the sides of the oven with water. Close it up and wait 30 seconds and spray again. Set the timer for 15 minutes and DO NOT OPEN until the timer goes off. Now take a peak, they should be getting golden brown. Might need another 5 depending on your oven. When they are a lovely golden color, pull them out and put them on a cooling rack. Don't mess with them for at least 30 minutes. The crust still isn't like a good Ciabatta yet but it is getting there. Just playing with the temp and steam to get it right. But this is damn yummy as it is right now.

Next time baguettes!

Mapo Tofu

2010-12-14T20:37:00.004-05:00

Don't turn your nose up at tofu, when cooked properly it is amazing. And even better when cooked with pork! Mapo tofu is one of those dishes that are a touch stone for me. For many years it was what I used to judge if a Chinese restaurant really knew what it was doing and if I should come back. The combination of tofu, pork, and spice served on rice is one of those great pleasures. Since moving to Florida I've found this to be a mistake and almost every time I've ordered it I've been disappointed. Most places in florida serve up a bland version overly thickened with corn starch. So I've stopped ordering it. Except from Lucky Star in Bradenton or if I travel to Toronto or California.

I've made various versions of Mapo tofu since I started cooking. Originally I worked from a recipe from the frugal gourmet's book, The Frugal Gourmet Cooks Three Ancient Cuisines: China, Greece, and Rome. But more recently I've found what I consider a better starting point in Fuchia Dunlop's book Land of Plenty: A Treasury of Authentic Sichuan Cooking. What I do is a variation on both of these but they are good starting points.

(click to see how I make this)
You will need 1/2 lb of ground pork, a medium sized shallot, a couple of cloves garlic (minced), a block of firm or soft tofu, soy sauce, spicy red bean paste, sichuan pepper corns, about a cup to a cup and half of chicken stock and some green onion for garnish. You want to dice the shallots and garlic and get all the other things out and ready to go. Remove the tofu from whatever wrapper, container or what have you that you bought in in and let it drain while you do your other prep. Cube it just before you are ready to get started with the steps below.

One thing that has made a huge difference in this dish is using a good spicy bean paste/sauce. This one I have here works very well for me. But you'll want to experiment with what you can get and what tastes right to you. Also, go to the effort to get sichuan pepper corns. They are magic. You can get them from Penzeys, which is a great place to buy a lot of spices.

The pepper corns are best if you toast them slightly in a pan. You can toast a few table spoons of the pepper corns and keep in a sealed jar for a reasonable amount of time.

Start off by heating your wok. Add about 1-2 table spoons of oil and get it just before it starts to smoke. Add the garlic, chopped shallot and mix for about 10 seconds until you get that great shallot smell. Then add about 1 to 2 table spoons of the hot bean paste. The oil should turn red and you should get a great smell of spice, garlic and shallot. Don't burn it at this point or you might as well start over. Mix it a bit and then add the pork.

Break the pork up and stir to let it cook evenly. When it is about 75% cooked, judge by the ratio of pink to brown. Add about 1/3 of a cup of light soy, basically fill the tool that I have pictured here with a good soy sauce (see my post on measuring). I recommend pearl river bridge soy sauce if you can find it. Then add the stock, tofu and some sichuan pepper corns. You can substitute some sriracha or other hot chili sauce at this point but the pepper corns are better. I often use both pepper corns and red chili paste for some extra kick.

How much sichuan pepper to add you ask? Well, that depends. About 6 to 12 pepper corns is enough to give you the taste and a bit of surprise when you eat one. More than that you are a serious pepper corn freak. Also depends on who you are sharing this with. No fun if your guests can't handle it and all they can taste is the pepper corns. Try using just a few and in later batches mess with the number to see how you like it. The pepper corns are not really hot but will make you lips and tongue go numb for just a little bit. It is best if you get one maybe every 4th or 5th bite in my experience. Plus at this point they are just adding to the flavor of the dish as you simmer it.

At this point you should have something that looks like this, bring back to a boil and then turn down the heat so you get a good simer. I've found simmering this dish for a good 10 to 15 minutes really helps develop the flavors. I think that is where many restaurants go wrong and hurry this part. But making it at home means you can take your time and let it really develop. It will also concentrate the stock some and become a nice stew like consistency. You may need to add a little more stock or water at this point and just keep it going and don't let it cook down to nothing. I usually time it so that my rice is getting close to being done while this is simmering.

You can, and I often do, use just a little corn starch in water to thicken this just at the end. I know I bitched about restaurants doing it, but it is one thing to add just a little bit to thicken it and another to replace the simmer with a ton of corn starch. Once you have it at a nice stew like thickness either by cooking down or using the starch, serve it on rice and garnish with the green onion.

Yes, I know people turn their nose up at tofu and it is supposed to be for veggies but this is a great peasant style Chinese dish and well worth mastering. Just enough spice to make you sweat and a great flavor plus plenty of protein. Give it a try and enjoy.

Measuring

2010-11-30T22:19:00.001-05:00

You might have noticed that I'm a little imprecise with my measurements so far. Part of that is just the way I cook. Some of my experience has been about "is the smell right?", "is the color right?", "does the oil make the right sound?". I figure out if I need a little of this or that by looking, smelling and tasting.

Also, being a science geek I know what 20 grams of something looks like because I've had to weigh out so many chemicals in my life. So I won't measure when something says add a table spoon as I pretty much know what it looks like and how long it might take to pour out that much. But one thing I will use is this tool pictured here. It holds about a 1/4 of a cup and is perfect for measuring out oil for the wok, amounts of soy or other liquids. You can also use it to measure solids, but you have to have the right containers to use it that way. Learn to love this crazy long handled ladle thing. One of the best tools in the kitchen.

Thanksgiving 2010

2010-11-26T14:39:00.004-05:00

The last three years we've gotten together with friends and created a tasting menu. Small plates of lovely things paired with some wines that we love or want to try out. This year we probably went over board with the wine. Actually one of these we didn't drink but that is ok. There was plenty of good food and interesting wine. We started with a decent Spanish cava from Cristalino, moved to the lovely Bell 2008 Sauvignon Blanc, up next was the sake, then the deep rich Bell 2006 Clone 6 Cabernet Sauvignon. Then we had the duel between the Peterson 2006 Syrah and the Peterson Bradford mountain 2004 zin. Drunk yet? Because we still had the kung fu girl Riesling and some Eric Ross port before we were done. How much wine can 5 people drink?

The better question is what did we eat with all this wine?

First up was the amuse. I tried making soupless french onion soup. Something that came up on Top Chef this season so I gave it a try. Worked pretty well. Made an onion marmalade with demi glaze, toasted a baguette and melted gruyere cheese on it. Served with the Cava on the porch. As you ate it, you got the beefy stock, the chewiness of the bread and then a hit of the cheese as that came through.

Next was tacos three ways. Just little taco bits, trying to keep things small. One was a traditional style carnitas taco with onion and cilantro. Number two was five spiced grilled chicken taco, and finally number three was Korean style with kim chi. Always a winner. But on re-order I ended up making mostly the carnitas ones. How about that? I guess I might have to do a post on making them. The Bell Sauvignon Blanc went well with this course and paired really well with the korean taco.

One of our guests made this lovely soup. A miso based soup with seared scallop, some mussels, tofu and little bits of chorizo to make it extra yummy. We had Sho Chiku Bai Nigori sake with this course. Simple and supper tasty.

With this great blood orange and roasted beet salad we had the Bell Clone 6 Cab. The hint of argualla our friend put into this gave it a nice bite, plus there was some mint hidden throughout that really gave it a fresh feel.

We paused to make some surprises. One, which was the sambal banana fritters featured in one of the Singapore episodes of top chef turned out great. but the picture didn't turn out so well, so you'll have to imagine it. But this little palette cleanser made by a guest was so perfect. Just a little bit of strawberry, basil, pepper and a little sugar. So yummy. I want more for my pancakes.

The next course was handled by another guest. These lovely lamb chops, creamed carrots, and roasted potatoes were served with a smack down duel between two Peterson wines. Not really a loser in the bunch. We ended up with two wines here because Mr. Choppy's wife wanted this great peterson zin and the chef who was creating this dish thought a Syrah would work as well. So we had both. No losers and more wine!

This course was supposed to go earlier but it ended up near the end and it worked out really nice after the lamb. It is inspired by the shrimp and grits at SOMA diner. My reinterpretation of their wonderful version of the dish. The base is polenta, some wilted Gai-lan, and then velvet fried shrimp with a spicy-sweet sauce on top. The kung fu girl riesling worked wonderfully with this. Plates were licked before we moved onto dessert.

I don't have a good picture of dessert. I have to see if any of the guests got a better one than I did. Of course by this point we had been cooking and eating for hours, never mind the drinking part. But dessert was a great berry and fruit tart with creme fresh. Yummy.

Another great Thanksgiving and it couldn't have happened without our wonderful friends who make so many great things.

Thanksgiving last year

2010-11-25T08:55:00.001-05:00

For Thanksgiving Mr. Choppy doesn't mess with a big bird and the traditional things. He gets together with friends and family. Together they create a tasting menu with paired wine. Here is a little of what we did last year. For this year, you'll just have to wait as it is still early!

Crab Tower

Pork, polenta, and greens

the libation

The crab towner was taken from On the Line, a great book about Le Bernardin and its crew. First time I ever tried to make a tower and it came out great. I added the roasted beats for some color and add an earthy note. The pork, polenta and dandelion greens is my take on a recipe from Top Chef Voltaggio. There were three other courses but that is another post. And then there was the wine, although I think a bottle is missing in there somewhere.

Pizza and Wine

2010-11-21T22:28:00.000-05:00

Dinner tonight. I will have to go through some of the crazy pizzas I make but this one is pretty basic. Just crushed up some tomatoes, mixed with roasted garlic, fresh oregano, fresh basil, a splash of red wine vinegar and some salt and pepper. Throw that on some good mozzarella and some home made dough and your are set. And don't forget the wine! Tonight was 2006 Bell Claret.

Beef in Oyster Sauce

2010-11-20T22:34:00.000-05:00

This is one of those dishes that is so simple and so often screwed up at home. Beef in Oyster Sauce. Mr. Choppy used to turn his into shoe leather and screw it all up to hell. Originally I made it according to the recipe in the cook book that came with my wok. I have no idea the name or the author as I lost it many moves ago, and it did have some good things in it, but not beef in oyster sauce.

The key was working from Ken Hom's New Chinese Cookery. The trick is so simple and this dish is a piece of cake once you know it. What is great with this dish is, depending on your knife skills, you can turn a relatively small portion of meat into enough for two. You just need to slice the steak up into thin bite size portions, serve with rice and a veg you got a pretty decent meal without having huge portions. This dish is a great thing to make along with the baby bok coy I did earlier or other greens. But before you get started you need a few things.... (cont)

Typically I get a New York strip steak for this dish. About 0.7 to 0.8 lbs for two people, scale up from there for more. The idea is to keep the portion to about 8 oz or less per person. The other things you will need is Shaoxing rice wine, corn starch, Oyster Sauce, green onion and some oil. That is all that goes into this!

I'll work up some pictures on how I slice the meat up, but for now just imagine taking your cleaver (don't even come here with a chef's knife!) and slice the steak into strips, about 1/4" inch or less thick. Then dived each strip into 3 or three pieces. Cut off any large chucks of fat or connective tissue.

Place the pieces in a bowl and add about 1/4 cup of the rice wine. Mix, add about 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of corn starch and mix. You want this to set about 20 minutes or so. This is usually enough time to get your rice going or other parts of the meal. You know your own skills at getting things out together so you can figure the timing out that works best.

You want to get your wok heated up. Once it is hot, put in a bit of oil. I never measure this part, I just put some in the walk so it looks good. More of my qualitative cooking issues. If i had to guess, about 2-3 table spoons but use your judgment and try it a few different ways. You need enough to cook the meat but not so much that you are deep frying! Swirl and let it heat and then add the meat.

Depending on your stove this will take just a few minutes, you want to avoid overcooking the meat or you will end up with shoe leather.

You are getting close here, just as the last bit of pink disappears, remove the meat from the wok, and drain off the oil with a spider strainer. Give the walk a quick clean under running water and put it back on the heat drying the water.

Ok, here is the trick I learned from Ken Hom's book. You heat the wok back up and then pour in a good helping of oyster sauce. No oil, nothing else, just the oyster sauce. Let it start to caramelize and bubble around the edge. then add back the meat. Turn off the heat and just work it all together to combine.

That is it. Just put in your serving dish with some chopped green onions or spring onions if you can get them and serve. Cooking the oyster sauce just that little bit adds a nice flavor and makes it a little different than just dumping the old sauce on the meat. Also, don't over cook the meat at the first part!

Doesn't this look good? I hope so because it tastes damn amazing. A bit of the baby bok choy and you are all set.