Chinese Noodles with Sauteed Trumpet Mushrooms, Bone-In Pork Loin and Baby Squash

A few weeks ago I worked a day with Chef Christina Choi of Nettletown in the Eastlake Neighborhood of Seattle, picking cilantro seeds, cleaning fava bean pods, makin’ sauces, sipping on thyme-flavored soda and having honest conversations on farmers, the virtues of recycled toilet paper and how to build a restaurant with your significant other.

One of my favorite parts of the day was a trip to the Columbia City farmers market, which just recived an America’s Best award from CNN. I had the pleasure of meeting new farmers, speaking to them about harvest times and discovering their just picked produce. I also loved seeing that the food that these people picked from the ground would be served at the restaurant the next day. I already understood that owning and running your own restaurant is an incomprehensible task, but visiting family owned farms and actually creating strong relationships through direct contact and a handshake must be one of the most rewarding parts of the job.

When Liana and I had dinner at Nettletown (Fridays and Saturdays at the moment), one of our dishes was the noodles with pork. It had great textures and had a light flavors that were so memorable, I still craved it days later. To appease my appetite, and gain brownie points with Liana’s co-workers, I made a big batch of noodles, strongly influenced by that dish.

Instead of writing down the recipe, In respect for Christina’s brand-spankin’ new restaurant (five months opened, right?), I’ll just recommend that you and your friends visit her at Nettletown. The food is incredibly fresh and is delicious.

Thanks Christina!

~Herschell

Before the craziness of the Tom Douglas Culinary Summer Camp started, I brought some SPAM to make fried rice for the dishwashers and my fellow cooks to get motivated for the long days of work ahead. I HEART THEM.

Restaurant note: a stock pot burner, also fondly called the “lo-boy” because it’s 1/2 as tall as a normal stovetop range, CRANKS out just as much if not more BTU’S / heat than your traditional wok burners. That’s handy if you have a hunk of Spam and some leftover rice that you want to turn into something delicious. If you don’t have that kind of heat in your home kitchen, you could always transform a turkey fryer into a wok station!

Heat wok to insane fire and add rice oil to make a deep pool at the bottom of the wok. Immediately add Spam and cook until you get a definite contrast in color (essentially, you’re frying it). Pull from wok and set aside. Add your rice and let cook until you get crisps at the edges of the chunks (you ARE making fried rice, right?) Make space at the bottom of the walk and pour in a few scrambled eggs and let the eggs set. Add minced garlic, the fried SPAM, a handful of sliced green onions and toss for 10 seconds.

Plate the dish, and serve with strong coffee and a huge bottle of sriracha. Enjoy!

~Spec

This simple recipe came from poking around in my fridge. This was definitely of an excess of free-time and kitchen experimentation. That, and I was eating fried chicken that night and I didn’t want to go all crazy with food. lol.

You’ll taste a slight bitterness from the radicchio that’s offset by the incredibly sweet in-season corn and the vinegar and mustard. The dish’s foundation built on bacon always helps too. Hee hee. Since it’s almost like a lighter take of a German / Austrian sweet and sour cabbage, I’d serve it with roasted chicken or maybe even a lightly smoked / grilled white fish like mackerel or trout. Easy numbered instructions follow below.

1. Sear of bacon and render fat over medium heat. Reserve crisps.
2. Crank heat up to medium high. Toss in one head of radicchio and season with Kosher salt and freshly cracked pepper.
3. After 30 seconds, toss in freshly cut corn from five or six cobs.
4. When the radicchio wilts and slight colorization on the corn, add 1/4 cup of apple cider vinegar, a squeeze of lemon and one heaping teaspoon of Dijon mustard.
5. Scrape the bottom of the pan to get all the crispy bits, stir well and serve immediately.

YAY corn as a sweetener!

~Spec

Manila Clams in White Wine, Stone-ground Mustard and Tomatoes

Rub with Love Pulled Pork, White Corn and Potato Salad with Greens and Pickled Mustard Seed Vinaigrette

Liana and the Dahlia Bakery Blueberry Cake

The Aforementioned Cake’s Beautiful Layers

Wasn’t yesterday a beautiful day in Seattle? After sitting in meetings for next week’s Tom Douglas Summer Camp (OMG IT’S GONNA BE SO MUCH FUNZ), I spoke with Liana and she said that she’d like something summer-y tonight.

YES DEAR, TWIST MY ARM WHY DON’T ‘CHA.

So, because I only had 3 hours to fix dinner, marinating was out of the question. I also didn’t want to grill, since we had a crazy grill fest when her family was in town. Also, using the oven is a great tool to get lots of food cooked in the least amount of time. HERE WE GO!

Pulled Pork Sliders

So, I pulled a regular staple from the Rub with Love repertoire and made BBQ Pulled Pork (recipe riiiight here). If you didn’t already know, one of my jobs in the Tom Douglas company is that I go around the city of Seattle and spread the word about Tom’s products through demos and ALL AROUND GOODWILL TOWARDS MY FELLOW MAN. lol. This is a killer recipe that frees your hands up to make delicious side dishes. I’ve done this recipe a BILLION times in and out of the restaurants and it never disappoints. I served the bbq with warmed Hawaiian bread and some delicious Cougar Gold Cheddar.

Rub a 3 – 5 pound hunk of pork shoulder and rub it with our Smoky BBQ Rub so that there aren’t any “naked” spots. Throw it on a baking sheet and slide it into a 325 degree oven until it is fork tender, about 2.5 – 3 hours. Gently pull the meat apart and finish it off with our Ancho BBQ Sauce.

Steamed Clams with White Wine and Tomatoes

The clams are almost too simple to make, but when made correctly, it definitely shines so many times brighter than the sum of its parts. This preparation is definitely more traditional, but sometimes you just can’t beat the classics. Unless they’re clam freaks (and I totally know some personally), think about buying 1/3 lb. clams per person for a part of a meal.

Essentially, it’s this:

1. Render bacon and pull from pot.
2. Cook onions / shallots
3. Add wine, mustard, garlic and clams
4. Wait for clams to open, garnish and EAT.

Cut thick matchsticks (lardons) of three thickly sliced pieces bacon and saute in a pan over medium heat until they release some fat and also get crispy. Scoop cooked pieces of bacon out and reserve in a small bowl. Add one thinly sliced onion and shallot and cook until soft and translucent. Add Kosher salt and freshly cracked pepper. Jack up the heat to medium high. Add the clams, a heaping tablespoon of mustard (I used stone ground) and two cloves of thinly sliced garlic. Give it a quick stir. Add in 2 cups of white wine and cover the pot. Depending how deep your pot is, it should be about 4 minutes for the wine to turn to steam to cook the clams. Pull the cover, being careful of the steam, and give it a stir. Are 95% of the clams open? If not, steam for another 2 minutes. Add a diced tomato and a handful of parsley. Serve immediately!

Because yesterday felt like a reason to celebrate, I bought an ADORABLE blueberry cake from the Dahlia Bakery. I *loved* the green ribbon at the bottom of the cake. It made everything so FANCY PANTS. Thanks pastry team! xoxo.

YAY SUN AND FOOD AND AWESOMENESS!

~Spec

Dinner for 10 and I was completely happy with everything I prepared. Hopefully, they liked it too.

^____^

~Spec

Tomato Soup with Fried Cheese Curd Croutons, Romaine Hearts with Salmon Spread

It all starts with a “cold for the season” afternoon and your favorite tomato soup. Fry cheese curds in a nonstick pan. Toss curds with your favorite croutons (homemade or otherwise) for a creamy garnish. Throw leftover salmon in a food processor with cream cheese, dill, parsley, Kosher salt and freshly cracked pepper. Enjoy!

~Spec

Teriyaki chicken, soba noodle salad and crispy potatoes with bonito furikake and Kewpie mayo

When we have friends over to chill randomly, I like to throw together some familiar nosh-able grub. Chicken, “pasta” salad and crispy taters? Yes please. Buffet styled plating and a lack of plating? THAT’S OK BECAUSE WE TOTALLY WATCHED GLEE RERUNS. lols.

Teriyaki Chicken

I’m sure you’ve had teriyaki chicken. Bone-in = flavor. Skin = flavor. And the best thing is, most of the time, you’re gonna pay LESS for MORE flavor – many grocery stores pass on the labor costs to make things boneless, skinless. IT’S AMAZING.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Take bone in chicken thighs with skin still on and pat dry with paper towel. Give a light coating of canola oil and a heavy hand of Kosher salt and freshly cracked pepper. Throw it in the oven for 30 minutes and pull from the heat when it hits at least 165 degrees. Brush on your favorite teriyaki sauce *ahem* and throw under the broiler until the sugars in the sauce caramelize. Serve immediately.

Soba Salad

I made this in culinary school a bazillion years ago for family meal and I’ve always held on to it in one form or another. Cold soba noodles are less starchy than regular Italian style pasta, give off a mellower flavor and also have a “dang, this tastes good for me” quality. It totally is.

Boil the soba noodles in water until tender. Toss with grilled portobello mushrooms, grated carrots and blanched broccoli. I also tossed it in a vinaigrette of 1/2 cup of balsamic vinegar, 1.5 cups of canola oil, 1 tablespoon sesame oil, 2 tablespoons soy, 1 minced garlic clove and 1 minced shallot.

Roasted Potatoes

Garnished in the same way as Japanese takoyaki (previously blog’d octopus balls here), these can be eaten plain for the unadventurous (boo).

In the same oven as the chicken, cut red potatoes in half, toss with canola oil and season with Kosher salt and pepper liberally. Cook until golden brown and delicious, about 45 minutes – 1 hour. Pull from oven and toss with furikake, bonito flakes and Japanese kewpie mayo.

It’s totally an “Americanized” Japanese-styled dinner, but it’s accessible and great with beer. lol. Again, questions with ingredients, amounts or whatevs, please ask!

YAY TERIYAKI.

~Spec

Toasted sourdough buns, shaved Italian style beef, horseradish cream and ketchup served with a cup of jus, French fries and melty Beechers cheese curds

The combination of Jus + curds + fries feel like a “runny” poutine. Sometimes, you eat / cook what your stomach tells you.

~Spec

Whole Roasted Rosemary Chicken Legs and Bacon’d White Beans, Served with a Heirloom Tomato and Fennel Salad

Whenever Liana travels away for work, I always try to cook a meal to welcome her back home. Most of the time, it’s comforting and straightforward. It’s also made in less than an hour, since she may or may not be jet lagged. A jet lagged girlfriend is NOT a happy one. I LOVE YOU BABIES.

Roasted Herbed Whole Chicken Legs

Dark meat central = flavor city. Whole chicken legs have both the thigh and the leg and are held together with two bones and a joint. Easy to eat with a knife and fork and even the organic selections are under $2.50 a pound. When roasted correctly, it yields a great amount of tender, juicy meat.

Mix together freshly minced rosemary, Kosher salt, freshly cracked pepper, lemon zest and a scant dusting of garlic powder in a bowl. Pat the chicken down with paper towels and coat it with a thin layer of canola oil with your hands. Rub the herbs and spices on the chicken and throw in a 425 degree oven. To make sure the chicken is cooked, pull out a thermometer and poke the meaty part of the leg and made sure it read over 165 degrees.

Bacon’d White Beans

File this under “add bacon to make better.” It’s a ridiculously easy side dish and hearty to boot.

Fry slices of bacon until crisp and add chopped rosemary, garlic and thyme. Crack open a can of white beans and warm through.

Heirloom Tomato and Fennel Salad

Fresh with fresh, tossed with fresh. It butts up against the hearty white beans and roasted chicken quite well.

Cut stalks from fennel, reserving the fronds for garnish. Slice fennel vertically. Cut out conical core from bulb. Slice in thin strips. Cut tomatoes to your liking. Make a light vinaigrette with minced shallots, fresh lemon juice, Kosher salt, freshly cracked pepper and good olive oil. Place tomatoes, fennel and fronds in a mixing bowl and gently toss in vinaigrette. Top with sea salt and serve immediately.

It’s not a fancy meal, but if well executed, it’s satisfying and comforting. As always, leave comments if you have questions or comments!

YAY WELCOME BACK CHICKEN.

~Spec

Being from Chicago, which I’ve been milking since I’ve got here lol, I get cravings for food that really isn’t available in the Paclific NW. White Castles (yes, I know GROSS), deep dish pizzas and at the time, shredded Italian beef sandwiches, dipped in its own jus / gravy.

I trolled the Internets and found this recipe right here, which called for small amounts of garlic and onion powder, dried oregano, basil and *GASP* BEEF BOULLION CUBES.

I purchased the pantry items I didn’t have at a restaurant supply store, which honestly gave me more bang for my buck – you’ll get 20 ounces for $5 here vs. $7 ounces at your grocery store. Since these are jarred spices, I stored them in a dark and cool cupboard and dated them 1 year from the open date as a reminder to check the strength of flavor. I tend to go through my spices on a regular basis, so when I introduce a new spice I try to think about how I can use the items in everyday cooking – it keeps things fresh and interesting, no?

Normally, after rubbing the meat with the spice rub and cooking it in the oven at 350 degrees until the internal temperature was 140 degrees, I would cut it as thinly as possible with a long bladed knife with a good amount of success, but since I have access to a quality industrial-sized slicer, I was able to create uniform large sheets of beef without much effort. Before you serve, take the leftover jus and gently heat the beef until cooked through. Assembly is quite easy after that.

Slice a hearty French roll (like Turano or a crusty baguette) and place the meat in the bun and top with store bought giardiniera (I’ll try a homemade recipe soon), chopped to the size of your liking. THEN, DIP THE HELL OUT OF THE SAMMICH IN THE LEFTOVER “GRAVY” – THAT’S THE BEST PART. lol. A few sauteed strips of green peppers don’t hurt either. Serve with fries, chips and an ice cold soda. If you’re feeling bold, cook off a few Italian sausages and put that in a bun with the shaved meat for a traditional “combo.”

Honestly, the recipe satiated my cravings, but also created a desire to make a few tweets and create the other components (giardiniera and French roll) from scratch.

SOON MY DARLINGS. SOON.

~Spec