Nook & Pantry - A Food and Recipe Blog

Thanksgiving 2011

2011-11-24T00:41:00.001-08:00

I'm a night owl. It is officially Thanksgiving as of an hour ago, which marks the start of the holiday season and my favorite time of year. Now it's perfectly acceptable for me to eat a little more than I should, indulge in buttery baked goods, and most importantly, listen to Christmas music. I have been spending Thanksgiving with Steven's parents for many years now. We usually alternate between doing a turkey or prime rib for our main event. In the past, Steven has mentioned more than once that turkey is dry and bland so naturally I didn't think he'd mind that his mom and I were talking about forgoing the turkey entirely and doing something like rack of lamb and duck confit. To my surprise, Steven specifically requested turkey this year. I later discover this is only because I told him about a Cook's Illustrated/America's Test Kitchen version (link to recipe and episode) that involves roasting a salt-pork covered, self-basting turkey. In addition what is essentially...

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Blueberry Muffin

2011-10-16T22:33:00.000-07:00

The fact that this is my seventh muffin recipe on the blog shows how much I love them. I'm certainly not the first to proclaim the muffin top to be the best part. When the muffins are not intended for any occasion the following day, there can be half a dozen mangled muffin bodies after Steven and I are through with them. The tops are best after the muffins have rested for a few minutes after coming out of the oven. This crucial wait allows for the exterior to set into a slightly crunchy crust and allows for the muffin to cool enough for eager fingers to pry the tops off of the unsuspecting body. We can't let the precious tops go to waste. After muffins sit around, you lose the distinction between the top and bottom and the next day, you're left with a plain, uniform muffin. The tops are never the same, even after reheating them in the oven. I wondered why I’ve never seen a pan that capitalizes on muffin-top love like game changing edge brownie pan. But a quick google search...

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Meat Lasagna

2011-09-29T11:53:00.000-07:00

updated from archives Every time I open the pantry, I'm accosted by two lingering boxes of lasagna noodles that have been sitting at eye level for the last two years. They are the final edible remnants from when I catered E's wedding over 2 years ago. I have not made lasagna since then--perhaps it's because I'm still a little traumatized by all the prepping and cooking that went on that week. But if I'm to be successful in clearing out the entire pantry, I had better start making some lasagna. In other news, I'm still working through moderating all the unpublished comments and the hundreds of emails in my blog email. So if you've left a comment on this blog and are wondering where it is or if you've sent me an email and I have not replied, please bear with me. Thank you for your patience! I do love your emails and comments. If you make something from the blog, I wanna hear about it! Even if you didn't like it. Also let me know if recipes are unclear, I'm in the process of...

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Hearty Spaghetti and Meat Sauce

2011-09-01T11:50:00.000-07:00

(updated from archives) I grew up on spaghetti with Ragu. Not the lowercase italicized ragu, but the capital R followed by a copyright sign Ragu. And it was Hunt’s more often than not since it was cheaper. As a child, I always wanted the meat flavor thinking that it sounded better than plain tomato. Then one day, I thought it was odd that there wasn’t actually any meat in the sauce. Upon further inspection, the sauce was merely “flavored with meat.” Gross. When Steven and I first started dating (now nearly a decade ago, crazy right?), he made some spaghetti for me with his mom’s homemade meat sauce. The sauce had actual pieces of real meat, onions, chunks of tomatoes, and oh my god are those herbs? This is also how Steven introduced me to cheese. Like many Chinese people, my family was very suspicious of cheese. Stinky tofu? Bring it on! Fermenting milk? Nooo thank you. But Steven eventually won me over with a little freshly grated parmesan on my pasta. When I started...

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Fondue for Two

2011-08-19T14:51:00.000-07:00

I'm in the process of tidying up the blog after months of being away (pardon the dust). While I was going through old flickr photos, I stumbled on this gem: See the date? This episode aired May 3, 2011 according to the wiki. Shoulda copyrighted that gem of a phrase! (You can watch the episode on FOX, which is where I got the image clips) Further similarities: Mr. Bunnington Lord Tubbington Hmm... curious... This feed contains copyrighted photos and text from Nook & Pantry. If you are not reading this material in a feeds aggregator or by e-mail subscription, the site you are viewing may be guilty of copyright infringement. Please contact nookandpantry (at) gmail (dot) com

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Spaghetti alla Carbonara

2011-08-18T23:31:00.000-07:00

Carbonara is Steven's most requested dish. It's one of the few recipes on this blog that I make regularly, so I'm a little embarrassed I haven't updated the recipe since 2007. The ingredient list has stayed the same in the last four years but I added the trick of tempering the eggs with boiling pasta water before adding it to the pasta. On the rare occasion, I get a little fancy but I always go back to the original recipe of 5 ingredients, 6 if you include salt for pasta water. Traditionally you would use pancetta or guanicale, but let's face it, that stuff is expensive and I'm a poor student. Because this recipe is so simple, there are a few things I feel strongly about. First, I don't believe in adding cream; I think it's like cheating. But I unfortunately don't know anyone Italian who can back me up. Second, use freshly ground pepper; this is non-negotiable. This recipe is one of our staples during medical school, because I can make this in less than 30, maybe even 20 minutes....

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my food blog

2011-08-05T13:29:00.000-07:00

My food blog has been an unfortunate casualty of school (as evidenced by the graph below). I've never written much about my personal life on this blog. Some may argue that goes against the very idea of a personal blog but I am a private person. I decided early on that I wanted to keep my medicine world going-ons separate from this blog. I didn't write about seeing open heart surgeries and I never wanted to complain about 30 hour days (don't worry, Steven can attest that I vent enough in person). This blog is about food and the food should speak for itself. It was extremely important to me that I continue cooking regardless of how busy I became. Even though I've written a whopping 4 posts in the last year, I have hundreds of photos I snapped in hopes of eventually getting to writing a post (check out the new recipe graveyard) . So I think this blog has been neglected long enough and it's time for a revamp. a picture of Mr. Bun for fun (or Peter Francis Bunnington...

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Chicken Adobo

2011-08-05T10:54:00.000-07:00

update from April 2007 When I first made chicken adobo 4 years ago, I was a little apprehensive about the seemingly large amount of vinegar the recipe called for. However, the vinegar mellows with cooking and the sauce is amazing over freshly steamed rice. I prefer a 1:1 ratio of soy to vinegar. I reach for a milder vinegar like rice, white wine, or cider vinegar. I personally find plain white vinegar is too monotonous and abrasive. You can marinate the chicken as long as you want but this is rarely something I plan that far in advance. I usually throw all the ingredients together in a pot and let it sit for about an hour (sometimes I skip this part entirely if I feel particularly lazy). Chicken Adobo approximately 2 pounds of dark meat chicken (thighs and drumsticks) 1/2 cup soy sauce (low sodium preferably) 1/2 cup rice or cider vinegar 1 cup of water 1 tablespoon packed brown sugar 5 garlic cloves, smashed with the side of a knife 2 bay leaves 1/2 teaspoon coarsely...

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vanilla pound cake

2011-01-18T20:38:00.000-08:00

Two years ago I bought 2 dozen vanilla beans for a great price. They were my precious babies so I used them oh so sparingly. The vanilla beans won't be a problem to move and I intend on bringing them with me but I am less stingy about using them now. I used a Tahitian bean for its floral notes in homemade marshmallows over the Christmas holiday. This week, I used the creamy Bourbon bean for a simple vanilla pound cake. Pound cake is one of those things that almost requires no recipe. Like the name suggests, one pound of butter, sugar, flour, and eggs, or in my case 8 ounces, and a splash of vanilla, pinch of salt, dash of baking powder. The crunchy corners on the end pieces are my favorite, just like corner brownie pieces. simple vanilla pound cake 8 ounces all purpose flour (approximately 1 3/4 cup) 1 teaspoon baking powder 1/4 teaspoon table salt 8 ounces unsalted butter at room temperature 8 ounces granulated sugar (approximately 1 1/4 cup) 2 teaspoons...

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the pantry

2011-01-18T20:07:00.000-08:00

My pantry has become increasingly cluttered over the last few years. The new year was a good time to reorganize and figure out just what is in there. Steven and I are anticipating relocating about a year and a half and I figured we'd better start using some of this stuff up. We've accumulated so much, especially after signing up for a Costco membership, that it will most likely take us the full 18 months to clear out the shelves. the pantry shelf one: teas, cookies, crackers, and snacks shelf two: pastas, noodles, rice, and grains shelf three: dry baking (flour, graham crackers, oatmeal) shelf four: wet baking (sugars, extracts, syrups, chocolate) shelf five: dried goods (variety of fungus including two types of wood ear, nori, bean curd skin) shelf six: sauces, wines, canned (coconut milk, tomatoes, bamboo) I discovered 4 packs of nori. I had no idea I had so much nori. We bought an 8 pack of Spam from Costco because we love musubi. Surprisingly, we only have 2...

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Leftover Turkey and Seafood Paella

2010-11-30T22:18:00.000-08:00

I hope everyone had a spectacular Turkey day. I was too busy eating so I unfortunately don't have any photos of the spread. *sadface* And I'm still recovering from my food coma. As for the actual turkey, I've never been too crazy about it the day of but I do love the leftovers. Aside from the always glorious post-Thanksgiving sandwich, the possibilities for the turkey are endless: soups, chilies, stir fries, casseroles, etc. A paella is a little like a casserole in the sense that it is often served in the same vessel it's cooked in. I've adapted this paella recipe for leftover turkey but leftover roast chicken would work just as well. This recipe is made in a 6 quart Dutch oven because I don't have a paella pan nor do I have a open fire of orange branches and pine cones so I did the cooking in the oven. Leftover Turkey and Seafood Paella 1 cup chicken or turkey stock 1/2 teaspoon saffron threads, crumbled 1 pound seafood of choice or a mixture of shrimp, peeled...

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Thanksgiving 2010

2010-11-25T00:38:00.000-08:00

First I told myself I would blog again after spring quarter, then it was after summer exams, pretty soon after that I planned to put something together while I spent autumn in Alaska. Now it’s been over 6 months since my last post, but hey who’s keeping track anymore? But with Thanksgiving being tomorrow (or later today depending on when I finish writing this), I couldn’t let it go unacknowledged. Thanksgiving to Christmas is my favorite time of year. Two foodcentric holidays flanking a period of butter-filled holiday baking, what’s not to love? Who knows, maybe this year I’ll have enough time to do a third installment of 12 days of Christmas cookies. But before I get carried away and make promises I can’t keep, I’ll do a quick rundown of the Thanksgiving menu. Steven’s mom usually makes a turkey or prime rib. She also makes my favorite side dish: sticky rice, in lieu of stuffing. Not only do I dislike the texture of stuffing, I’m grossed out by the idea of literally stuffing...

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Carrot Cake with Pineapple and Coconut and Brown Butter Rum Cream Cheese Frosting

2010-04-24T01:57:00.000-07:00

I had some flopppy carrots and a half bar of cream cheese that needed to be used up so the obvious choice was a carrot cake. My original idea was to spice things up by adding currants instead of the traditional raisins because I hate raisins. But Trader Joes, my go-to source for quirky ingredients, no longer carries currants and I wasn’t about to go to Whole Paycheck and drop $10 on some fancy heritage currants from the South of France. Instead I got the next best thing, pineapple. I’ve actually never purchased a can of pineapple before or any canned fruit for that matter, so the first step was locating the canned fruit aisle in grocery store, an aisle I avoid like the plague. Who knew there were so many ways you could cut and can a pineapple—crushed, tidbits, chunks, rings? Many recipes call for crushed but that stuff looked a little too beaten up for my tastes, whereas the chunks were way too big. I wanted discernible pieces of pineapple in my cake so the tidbits were perfect. After...

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Banoffee Bread

2010-02-13T14:26:00.000-08:00

Last time I tried to be clever, I attempted to make banana bread, real bread—brioche to be exact. Unfortunately, my dreams of making banana brioche the next big thing in the food world were never realized. Turns out, bread dough plus banana puree, and 15 minutes of kneading resulted in a dough and subsequent bread that was a disturbing ashen gray, taupe color with a gummy consistency. Not the most appetizing thing in the world. So I return to banana bread as we all know it but instead of adding the usual pecans, I added chopped Heath bar instead (pecans always get soggy anyway), borrowing the idea from the British classic Banoffee pie, and voila! Banoffee bread. Clever, no? Any food with a portmanteau for a name is automatically cool in my book. I was hoping the toffee pieces would stay crunchy after baking so the banana bread would be studded with pieces of candy. A few pieces retained the hard toffee crunch but most of the candy melted to form pockets of caramel-like goo...

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we interrupt your regularly scheduled programming

2009-12-04T19:02:00.000-08:00

No recipe today but I just have to share E's (gal I catered for) mom's new Etsy shop for lovely knit scarves and things. Each scarf is one-of-a-kind and the yarn is especially cool. From what her mom told me last time I visited, it's tough to find interesting yarn because supply is very limited and the good stuff gets snatched up very quickly. Of course as she's telling me this, I'm imagining scuffles breaking out in the aisles of Joann's or Michael's between avid knitters over who saw the turquoise chunky yarn first, etc. But I'm sure it never gets violent. Who knows, maybe the yarn business is highly lucrative. Anyway, I digress... my point is, these scarves are gorgeous and feel as soft as they look (I would happily dive into a pile of them if I could). It's getting cold and I just *know*, you're not done with your holiday shopping yet. (nudge nudge) Riiight? So there you go - a beautiful, handmade, unique, and practical present! Doesn't get any better than that! Visit the...

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French Toast

2009-11-11T12:37:00.000-08:00

Breakfast is the one meal where I don't feel guilty about eating a lot. After all, it's the most important meal of the day, right? When I have time to make a big, sit-down breakfast, I like to go all out and hit my major food groups--meat, eggs, carbs, and coffee. Yup, I think that just about covers it. The last time I made French toast was before I started med school so I had aallll the time in the world to make everything fancy and gourmet. I even baked my own bread. If I hadn't gotten accepted, I would probably be making my own Nutella and grinding my own powdered sugar in a mortar and pestle. Luckily, nowadays, I doing something a little more productive with my time. The raisin bread I bought from Safeway makes for some pretty darn good French toast, and I don't even like raisins. Maybe it's the power of butter and maple syrup. Other than PB&J's I can't think of any other good uses for this bread, so it looks like I'll be making a few more servings of French toast with the...

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Guest Post! Shanghai Drunken Chicken

2009-10-10T14:25:00.000-07:00

Shanghai Drunken Chicken at Rasa Malaysia Yes, I'm still here. No, I haven't forgotten about this blog. I know the crickets have been chirping here more than I've been posting. If only I have more free time because right now it's virtually non-existent. I can't remember the last time I've been sick but a bug was bound to get me sooner or later. I woke up this morning with the whole nine yards--fever, sore throat, cough, and aches all over. I tried to catch up on my reading but that wasn't happening. I should have known reading about urine and kidneys gets nowhere when you're sleep-deprived and feverish. So, instead of studying, I resigned myself to spending the day in my pajamas with chicken noodle soup, catching up on food blogs and many issues of Bon Appetit (au revoir Gourmet, you will be missed!). This is long overdue but check out my guest post on Rasa Malaysia! I was torn between drunken chicken or crab cakes; drunken chicken won but I did make some crab cakes after Bee got...

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Heirloom Tomatoes and Bacon

2009-09-12T00:12:00.000-07:00

The sandwich of summer, the BLT. I think my laptop caught me drooling over the shiny new Macbooks because it decided to die last week, two days before classes started. Awesome. After running every recovery, repair, and restore program, the consensus was that the hard drive irreparably failed. I've noticed that Dell computers start having problems after a year, suspiciously only a few days after the one year warranty expires. Luckily, I purchased a four year warranty with this computer but that means three more years before I can finally make the switch over to Macs. Absolutely everything was on that hard drive-a year of schoolwork, previous work files, blog stuff-everything! And stupid, stupid, stupid me didn't back anything up! Before I launched into a full-blown panic attack once I realized I had lost all of my beloved wedding photos and invaluable lecture notes, Steven was able to salvage everything. Whew! Crisis averted! But boy did I learned my lesson. Always back up on an...

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Macarons, macarons, macarons!

2009-08-25T21:09:00.000-07:00

I have the best friend who brought me the best souvenirs! After a month-long honeymoon hopping across Eurasia from Russia to France, E.’s final destination was Paris. The morning before her flight back to Seattle, she rushed over to Pierre Hermé to buy one of every macaron available that day. After a trans-Atlantic flight with a brief layover in Iceland, a collision in the X-ray machine (the macarons, not the people), 90 degree weather in Seattle, E. and husband E., and a dozen of the prettiest macarons made it back home, well-traveled, tired, and a little sweaty. That night, we hung out, drank French wine, ate French almond cakes and French rum cakes. Before Steven and I overstayed our welcome, we left the weary travelers and drove home with twelve macarons nestled in my lap and an obligatory mini Eiffel Tower. I am one lucky gal! Just look at those beautiful colors! I saved the Pierre Hermé plastic bag, Pierre Hermé decorative paper bag, the two macaron guides, and yes, even...

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Crab Cakes

2009-08-18T23:25:00.000-07:00

Mmm mm! 4 oz. crab cake with Israeli couscous (our current obsession) cooked in crab stock. I’m back! I spent the last month working at a clinic in the coastal fishing town of Westport, WA. I had some of the best seafood ever while I was down there – crab, salmon, tuna, spot prawns all fresh off the fishing boats. Before heading back to Seattle, K., the gal I was staying with, hooked me up with 6 Dungeness crabs to take home. Whoohoo! I also had the clams we dug up the day before, salmon a neighbor brought over from his fishing, and blueberries I picked from the shrubs outside the house. It was some seriously sweet loot to take home. My dad is in town and Dungeness crab is his favorite. We feasted on steamed crab with fresh ginger spiked black Zhejiang vinegar for dipping. I cleaned and picked out the meat from the leftover crabs for crab cakes. Dungeness crab is one of the meatiest crabs but even so, it took two very large crabs to yield one pound of crab meat. Jumbo lump...

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Extra Virgin Olive Oil

2009-07-25T16:56:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago I was asked by Gaea if I'd be interested in reviewing some of their products. I am by no means an olive oil expert but I thought, heck why not, tasting products is always fun. Gaea specializes in extra virgin olive oil but they also make Greek food products like cooking sauces and tapenades. They sent me a free 17oz. bottle of their extra virgin olive oil and a bottle of their Myconos (tuna and kalamata olives) sauce. By now, I’m sure everyone has heard that olive oil is good for you so I won't bore you with those details. An "extra virgin" olive oil is the highest quality and means that it has not been chemically treated or heated in the process of extracting the oil from olives. This is the kind you want to look for because it has the highest vitamins and antioxidant content and the most health benefits. "Cold pressed", olive oil obtained without the use of heat, is ideal but the term is unregulated and is used mainly as a marketing tool. "First press" is an...

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German Pancake/Dutch Baby with Apricot and Raspberry

2009-07-21T11:23:00.000-07:00

Steven and I bought a half flat of the biggest raspberries we'd ever seen from our local berry stand. We're lucky enough to live blocks away from the only Seattle location of the Spooner Farms berry stand. One more reason why I love our neighborhood. Raspberry season is coming to a close in Washington state and they will eventually be replaced by blueberries and blackberries. If you live in the North Seattle area or close to any of the other locations, I recommend you check out Spooner Farms and stock up on these amazing raspberries while you still can. Between the car ride home and breakfast, we polished off one half pint. Any suggestions for what I should do with the remaining 5 half pints? Steven and I aren’t big breakfast people but when I do make breakfast, I go all out. Bacon and eggs usually make an appearance, sometimes I do waffles, sometimes pancakes, and sometimes I get crazy and put everything together. The German pancake, also called Dutch Baby, is like a crepe...

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Duck Noodle Soup

2009-07-05T13:48:00.000-07:00

I walked into the Asian market only needing some tofu but walked out with over $80 of groceries and a whole roast duck. $1.28/lb white peaches, heck yeah! 99c/lb bok choy, yeah I need that too. Whoa, fish sauce is on sale?! Well, I still have some at home but it doesn’t hurt to have a backup right? As for the tofu I needed? Well, I got 2 shapes of deep fried tofu, a pack of pressed, firm, and silken. I had to restrain myself from those damn cute tofu knots. The roast duck, which was also on sale so how could I not get it, was the highlight of the trip. I brushed the sweet plum sauce on the skin and reheated it in the toaster oven to restore the skin to its original crispness. I asked to keep the head and neck so I could turn it into duck stock. Then, putting that 99c bok choy to good use, I added it to the stock for a simple but perfect lunch - somen, roast duck, bok choy, in a simple duck soup. It's comfort food, Chinese style. Simple Roast Duck Stock 1 roast duck head...

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Korean Pancake - Pa Jeon/Pa Jun

2009-06-30T21:59:00.000-07:00

updated from archives A few years ago when I was visiting Steven's parents, his mom made some Korean pancakes for us. They were so good, I just had to ask her for the recipe. Then I was shocked to see her pull out a packaged mix from the pantry. I always thought that homemade always trumps convenience but that may not be the case with pajeon. After looking at the ingredients in the package, which was mainly flour, I thought I could go home and recreate it. But Steven's mom warned me that she's tried doing that too and the pancakes didn't taste the same. Well, she was right, and with my first attempt, my pancakes were dense and gummy. After my original post over a year ago, I asked readers to share their pe jeon secrets and you guys offered some pretty good suggestions. I decreased the number of eggs from 2 to 1 and substituted some rice flour for all purpose flour. The resulting pancakes were excellent and the closest I've come to replicating the ones made from a package. ...

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Braised Lamb Shanks and Saffron Pearl Couscous with Cranberries and Almonds

2009-06-23T15:33:00.000-07:00

I always feel like I’m committing a culinary faux pas braising in the middle of June. I try my best to keep things seasonal but it just doesn’t happen when lamb shanks are on sale. How can I say no when there's marrow involved? Lamb shanks have to be braised (I honestly can't think of any other way to cook a shank cut) but I refuse to turn on the oven for 4 hours so I put the Le Creuset to good use on the stovetop. I tied the lamb shanks so they would keep their shape while cooking but it was futile. After about an hour of cooking, the shanks contorted out of the strings entirely. Same thing happened when I made Osso Buco. meh, oh well. Red Wine Braised Lamb Shank 2 lbs lamb shanks, roughly 2 1/2 to 3 inches thick 1 medium onion, small dice 1 medium carrot, small dice 4 cloves garlic, minced 2 Tbsp tomato paste 3 - 4 large thyme sprigs 2 bay leaves 1 1/2 C dry red wine Salt and freshly ground black pepper Olive, vegetable, or canola oil Water or chicken stock as needed Chopped...

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