Lobster Pad Thai

Lobster Pad Thai

With huge seared scallops. And shrimp. Rice noodles, garlic, snow peas, bean sprouts, cilantro, carrots, and roasted peanuts, I could go on. Rockin’ a lot of stuff here.

Kara and I are making sure we visit our favorite restaurants before we leave LA, and an amazing local Thai place called Ayara is one of them. If/when you’re in LA, you really should go there. When we went the other night, they had a lobster pad thai special. But Kara’s fave is chicken fried rice and mine is their duck curry. So we decided I would make the pad thai myself and we’d stick to our favorites.

This was a challenge, but ultimately a success. When I put this much care into a dish with such expensive ingredients that can be ruined in a matter of seconds, plus rare flavors like tamarind and bold ones like fish sauce, it’s very satisfying to pull it off. Not bragging though; classic dishes like pad thai or even just methods to properly cook shellfish are easy to take for granted and I’m humbled by the experience of others that enables me to eat things this luxurious.

We splurged. We all should.

Bon appétit.

 

Vindaloo is Fun to Say

Not sending this to my entire food email list, but thought you guys might enjoy it. This was last weekend. More from Plenty. They should call it Plenty of Hard-to-Find-Ingredients. Made for a nice meal, pretty picture, and lots of leftovers though. I paired these three dishes on the author’s suggestion. Not sure of his reasoning, but I like a chef’s suggestion...

Fried Lima Beans with Feta, Sorrel, and Sumac

Tender limas lightly pan-fried in butter and olive oil. Sumac, again, is a tart spice, and feta is, of course, a tart cheese. Sorrel is apparently pretty common in many cuisines and goes by many names, but is hard to find here. It is also surprisingly tart and citrusy. I could only find sorrel at Whole Foods in the fresh herbs section in those over-priced 3/4 oz plastic boxes (not even at farmer’s market or Indian specialty shop). Since this recipe uses it as a main component, not an herb, I’d have had to spend $25 to get the full amount! Spinach and lots of lemon juice is a suggested substitute. I did buy one box of the sorrel so I’d know what I was/wasn’t missing. I cooked some and used the rest as garnish. It cooks differently from spinach, and definitely tastes very different, but I’d say his substitute is worth saving over $20 for this recipe.

Green Bean Salad with Mustard Seeds and Tarragon

Very fresh- blanched green beans, snow peas, and English peas tossed with nigella seeds (another new one to me) and mustard and coriander seeds lightly toasted in the hot olive oil that dresses the salad. Mild and refreshing, but every now and then you hit one seed or another for an exotic burst of flavor.

Two-Potato Vindaloo

Very complex flavors, used just about every spice in my cabinet. Between some red bell peppers, tomatoes, a dash of sugar, and sweet potatoes, this was really good, but a bit sweet for me. Warms up well and the flavors deepen after a day or two, so it makes great leftovers. I left out the heat, hoping Kara may be more likely to enjoy it, so it may be my fault the sweetness wasn’t quite balanced. Had to drive halfway across town to find fresh curry leaves for this, easily an hour round trip. Unlike most hard to find ingredients, in this case I stepped to the register and heard, “That will be one dollar.”

Veg

I plan on always eating meat, but I wouldn’t mind eating less of it for many reasons. After my success with the book, Jerusalem, one of the author's earlier books, Plenty, seemed to fit the bill as a contemporary vegetarian bible. Though a few recipes happen to be über healthy and/or vegan, that is not the aim. Many call for lots of egg, cheese, butter, and cream, and some even suggest meat pairings. But they’re all very bold and complex, with a clear focus on veg and unique stand-out flavor combinations.

Here’s my first set of dishes from the past few days:

Beet, Orange, and Black Olive Salad

Citrus and beets go great together- I like to make smoothies with the two. This salad also has radicchio, red onions, parsley, and a nice vinaigrette, but it’s the salty olives that set it off. They’re hard to spot in the picture because beets turn everything they touch vibrant magenta, but there are Greek Kalamata olive halves throughout.

 

 

Marinated Pepper Salad with Pecorino

Roasted red and yellow bell peppers marinated in a sweet Balsamic dressing, tossed with watercress, basil, and parsley, and lots of shaved pecorino cheese and capers. Very sharp, loaded with herbaceous flavor, and still refreshing.

 

Mushroom and Herb Polenta

For something that sounds potentially healthy, my God, it was sinful. Parmesan and rosemary butter in the polenta. Topped with Taleggio cheese, pungent and melty. The mushrooms were coated with truffle oil and tossed with crushed garlic, tarragon, and chervil. Every bite makes you melt. It was too rich to finish in one sitting but leftovers warmed up perfectly.

Stuffed Portobello with Melting Taleggio

Here’s what to do with the fancy cheese left over from the polenta. Mushrooms stuffed with celery, onion, sun dried tomatoes, and Parmesan and topped with Taleggio. Kara said the flavor reminded her of spaghetti (in a good way). Tarragon and sun dried tomatoes shined. Might be fun to do in smaller bite-sized mushrooms.

Pasta and Fried Zucchini Salad

Penne tossed with fried zucchini slices and edamame in a bright basil-parsley sauce topped with lemon zest, capers, and torn fresh water mozzarella. Very delicious and perfectly balanced. Though I served it as a main following the stuffed portobellos, it’s also suggested as the perfect picnic fare, and I think that would work well, too.

 

 

Roasted Chicken with Clementines and Arak

This wasn't a mass email, but it was a pretty dish. It’s as the title says, from my Jerusalem book. Arak is a Middle Eastern aniseed liquor, like Pernod or ouzo. The dish also had fennel in it and I served over bulgar. Very delicious; even Kara liked it. It’s also REALLY easy. In case you want to try it, the recipe is online, too (I halved it and used two large chicken thighs, skipped reducing the sauce, and it came out perfect for 2 people): http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/member/views/roasted-chicken-with-clementines-arak-51179661

Also, on Saturday we had my sister and her family over and I made diner food from scratch. Burgers, fries, lemonade, and ice cream sandwiches. But I mean everything was from scratch- ground my own beef, baked the buns, peeled the potatoes, squeezed the lemons, churned the ice cream, and baked the chocolate crust for the sandwiches. Yummy.

Oh, and finally, Kara and I will be unloading a moving truck in Little Forest Hills on July 1st. Other than that, very much is up in the air.

We’ll be seeing you soon.

-X

Culinary Bachelor Party

Like they always say, "When the cat’s away, the mouse cooks some tasty food, Willie!!"

Jonathan was in LA while Kara was on Spring Break in Dallas, so we had fun in the kitchen. Here’s what we made:

Italian Beef Sandwich

Classic Chicago-style, slow-cooked, thinly-sliced beef with homemade giardiniera, on a toasted roll. Served with microwave potato chips. (see bottom of email for chips recipe)

Pizza

Italian Stallion- slow-cooked ITALIAN beef, cream cheese with HORSEradish, mozzarella, provolone, homemade sausage, peppadew peppers, dusted with chives and pecorino romano

Cal-Italia- shaved asiago, mozzarella, gorgonzola, prosciutto, fig jam, and balsamic glaze drizzled on top. As hard to photograph as it was tasty.

 

Slow-Cooked Duck with Green Olives and Herbes de Provence + Ratatouille

I split a whole duck and slowly roasted it on a bed of aromatics. This came out like a light duck confit, with olives as a side in the pan sauce. Jonathan had never had ratatouille and I have a favorite slow-cooked recipe, so that's what I served on the side.

Poutine

I'd never had nor made, poutine, but had been wanting to for a long time. It's a Canadian classic dish of French fries, gravy, and cheese curds (unique, but pretty similar to mozzarella) traditionally served at places like truck stops and greasy spoon diners, but now gourmet versions are popping up all over. I stuck to tradition. All I will say is that it is exactly as expected.

Memphis Style BBQ — Pork Ribs + Beef Ribs + Two Potato Salad with Creole Mustard and Arugula

I let the ribs sit in a rub all day and made BBQ sauce from scratch. We cooked 'em over a fire pit on the beach at the end of the LAX runway. Held up the grates with cans of Coors. The potato salad was made ahead and was great, too. Rugged, but with mouths full of sand, we did it.

Beer-Braised Rabbit with Jalapeño and Bacon + Butternut Squash and Wild Mushroom Risotto

Exactly how it sounds, this may have been the favorite dish of the week. Bold, but allowed you to taste the rabbit. Jeremy joined us for this one and loved it too. The risotto paired perfectly.

Vietnamese Surf + Turf — Dungeness Crab and Cellophane Noodles + Shaking Beef + Caramelized Green Beans

A few of the recipes from The Slanted Door that I have come to love. Especially the crab one. It's amazing how much crab flavor you can get into those noodles by undercooking them and finishing them with just a couple ounces of $50/lb crab. Genius recipe.

Grapefruit Sorbet

It tastes just like you'd think. We finished off every meal with this. Awesome.

Lamb Rib and Shoulder Chops + Roasted Artichoke + Roasted Potato and Leek Salad

Spring has sprung. I marinated the lamb in lemon juice and rosemary from our garden. Artichoke dipped in lemon-butter is Heaven to me and roasting it brings out a little more flavor than the usual steaming or boiling.

Microwaved Potato Chips Recipe

Slice a potato paper thin on a mandoline, rub a tiny bit of olive oil and salt and pepper on a piece of parchment paper on a plate and lay out the potato slices, NOT overlapping. Drizzle with a tiny bit more oil, salt and pepper, and microwave for about 3 minutes. Watch it- brown is good, black is like burned popcorn. Voila. You'll never buy Lay's again.

The Feast of Saint Patrick

I’ve been getting into these holiday themes lately, prompting me to explore cuisines I wouldn’t have otherwise. The classics for St. Patrick’s Day are arguably corned beef (which gets its name from the curing process that involves large grains of salt sometimes called “corns”), usually served with cabbage, potatoes, carrots, and maybe soda bread (which gets its name from the baking soda used as the leavener instead of yeast). In actuality, corned beef and soda bread are both generally believed to have originated with the first Irish colonial settlers and potatoes are from South America and weren’t introduced to Ireland until almost 1600, so when I'm celebrating Irish heritage in America, I saw this Irish American meal as fitting. But I did some spins on it, too, starting over the weekend.

The Dubliner Pizza

Dubliner cheese (nutty and fairly sharp) and corned beef, topped with cole slaw, and a drizzle of Russian dressing, a nod to the Reuben sandwich with a traditional Irish-American spin (cabbage and carrots instead of sauerkraut, Dubliner instead of Swiss, etc) all on a grilled pizza.

When I set out to make the pizza, Kara claimed she didn’t like corned beef, and she stuck to that until she tasted it. I slow cooked a brined brisket in beer, brown sugar, cloves, nutmeg, ginger, and juniper berries, giving it a very warm flavor that she loves. So, only then did we do the traditional:

Corned Beef, Potatoes, Cabbage, Carrots, and Soda Bread

The veggies were boiled in the broth from the corned beef so that was yum. This was my first time making soda bread and I’d noticed a lot of people complain that it’s too dense. I used a recipe that claimed to solve this problem, and while it’s the only one I’ve used, I have to say this came out great, definitely not too dense. It reminded Kara of cornbread (though there’s only plain flour in it).

FINALLY, I made a couple of completely non-Irish desserts just because they’re green, and not necessarily served together, I was just already in the kitchen and they’ll last the week so why not? The original color associated with St. Patrick was actually blue, but again, I’m observing the New World traditions here.

Matcha Tea Cake Cookies

Matcha is a concentrated powdered form of green tea, very healthy. There are a few specific ways to prepare it for drinking and it’s occasionally used in baking for a green tea flavor and color. I’d made these before and they’re a hit- more scone or biscuit-like than cookies, with just a hint of green tea and not too sweet.

Lime Sorbet

A lime sorbet is actually so pale it’s almost white. But I’ve been really into green smoothies lately and noticed how much color you can get from spinach and how well fruit overpowers the flavor, so this is actually a spinach-lime sorbet, but you’d never know it. Kara asked why I didn’t just use green food coloring and the answer is FD&C No. 3, Fastgreen FCF, and E143. Not that I think it’ll kill you, but if I can use fresh greens for the same effect, I’ll take it.

 

 

Not My Mom's Tabbouleh

Jeremy and Vicky just flew into LA so I decided to cook us a meal from the cookbook, Jerusalem, which Jeremy gave me last year. We had:

Open Kibbeh

Our main course, kibbeh is considered the national dish of several Middle Eastern countries, and is essentially ground meat with bulgur (kind of like a cross between couscous and brown rice). Kibbeh is traditionally served as a stuffed dish in meatball-like form, but I made a deconstructed cake-like version, hence OPEN kibbeh. It was very tasty; a layer of bulgur serves as the bottom crust, then a blend of onions, chiles, and pine nuts mixed with ground lamb spiced with cinnamon, allspice, and coriander is topped with a lemon-tahini “frosting” and garnished with more parsley and pine nuts, then finally sprinkled with sumac, a ground spice that imparts a nice citrusy finish.

Tabouleh

I was fortunate to have grown up with a mother who often kept tabbouleh in the fridge for after school, not a common snack for the average teenage Texan. However, my mom's tabbouleh, while ultimately very similar in flavor profile and still quite tasty, is not much like the traditional recipe offered in Jerusalem. The author explains that tabbouleh is essentially a parsley salad rather than a bulgur (or (GASP!) couscous) salad, and quotes his co-author’s mother's advice to teenage girls, "If you want to find a good husband, you’d better learn how to chop your parsley properly.” This tabbouleh was light and refreshing, loaded with parsley and mint, and balanced with bulgur, tomatoes, shallots, and pomegranate, dressed with olive oil and lemon juice, and seasoned with black pepper, coriander, cinnamon, cloves, allspice, cumin, cardamom, and nutmeg, all served in lettuce cups. Fantastic. Jeremy even complimented it as a perfect pairing for the kibbeh, which I admitted was the author’s suggestion.

Spiced Cookies

Made from pretty basic biscuit-like dough, these were flavored with currants (like small, sweet raisins) soaked in cognac, lemon and orange zest, cinnamon, allspice, ginger, and nutmeg, and a lot of grated dark chocolate, then glazed with lemon frosting. Dense, but not too sweet, they’re a nice complex combination to round off a meal. We played a game where Jeremy and Vicky guessed the ingredients and they picked out everything but the cognac and the chocolate, which were two very prominent flavors to me, but then, I knew the cards. I think I might have picked out the chocolate and failed at the rest. The dress is blue and black, by the way.

I’d also made Hummus in advance, in anticipation of the intended serving time for this meal drifting further and further off course (which it did). Again, there’s really not much to hummus besides personal taste in balance, seasoning, and garnish, so the store bought stuff is usually pretty great, but even if it’s just psychological, putting some love into overnight soaking, cooking, and pureeing your own chickpeas seems to elevate it a notch.

Photos of kibbeh and tabbouleh courtesy of Jeremy Liebman: