2016 Cookbooks II: (Momofuku Follow Up)

This will round off the cookbook series of emails unless I get another one this year, but I need a break from these restaurant recipes. I appreciate how they reuse so many things and keep so much cool stuff on hand, and I’ve learned a lot. But to do these things as a home cook, you either have to stock your fridge, freezer, and pantry for making only and all their dishes, or you have to spend days getting things together and reducing recipes for one time use.

So back to Momofuku, I finally made David Chang's two signature dishes:

Momofuku Ramen

This is pretty ironic because at least in college, ramen is thought of as the ultimate easy and cheap meal, yet this version took days and was actually pretty expensive by the end of it. I took his advice and did not make my own noodles, but found a source for very good fresh ones. Still, the broth alone took about 12 hours with multiple components. A lot of that was simmering, but much of it is hands on, and it’s never unattended. It was all worth it for someone who enjoys epic cooking sessions like this and Kara loved eating it too. The toppings include:

• pork belly (6 hours marinating, 2 hrs cooking, with regular basting)

• pork shoulder (I had some frozen from Super Bowl, but that would have been another 6 hrs)

• slow poached egg (45 mins, constantly monitoring the water to be 140º- very cool technique)

• Asian style collard greens (45 mins)

• flavored bamboo shoots (30 mins)

• chopped scallions

• toasted nori

• [I omitted fish cakes because I couldn’t find them. I called my Japanese store in LA just to see, and even they didn’t have it]

Momofuku Pork Buns

I used the same pork belly from the ramen, and the recipe for quick pickled cucumbers is truly fast (like 10 minutes). Add some store-bought hoisin sauce, chopped scallions, and the only thing that took time was making dough and 25 steamed buns (now I have a bunch frozen). These are delicious. He admits to not inventing this recipe—it’s a classic—but for whatever reason, his version has become a huge hit, and we loved it, too.

Bonus: Pickled Shiitakes

Like I said, these restaurant cookbooks don’t waste. So what to do with spent dried shiitakes used just for the broth? We can pickle that! Marinated in soy sauce, sugar, sherry vinegar, with a bit of ginger, they’re a very tasty accompaniment.

 

 

 

2016 Cookbooks IV: Heritage

Heritage is all about local, time-honored recipes, perfected using traditional local ingredients with gourmet touches, in this case, specifically Lowcountry dishes from South Carolina’s coastal region. The book repeatedly stresses that the success of the dishes hinge on using very specific ingredients- flours, peas, cornmeals, grits, seeds, and particularly rice from the region. There’s an especially fascinating history behind rice in South Carolina, how it was the first major cash crop, but as times changed and slavery was abolished, specific types virtually died out. If you’re interested in the history, the author of the book, Sean Brock, is heavily featured in the second season of the PBS series The Mind of a Chef narrated by Anthony Bourdain, which is available on Netflix streaming.

Only recently can you again source these regional ingredients, so I ordered a load of stuff from his vendor, Anson Mills, and set out to duplicate some Lowcountry cookin’. Of course I plated on the classic McCarty’s pottery we have made from Mississippi clay and served with iced tea in Mason jars (I’m a weak Southerner, I only lightly sweetened it).

Lowcountry Hoppin’ John

This recipe was is so important to Lowcountry cuisine, he chose to include the full recipe in the introduction. At it’s most basic, it’s something like black eyed peas and rice (look at the gross wikipedia picture if you want). But this version uses Sea Island Red Peas and Carolina Gold Rice, plus specific rice cooking techniques and a gravy made from the pea’s liquor and homemade chicken stock. It really was pretty amazing and I will be making it again. And again.

Cracklin’ Cornbread

Yes, just skillet cornbread, but cooked with bacon bits and bacon fat, buttermilk, and most importantly, it uses Antebellum Coarse Yellow Cornmeal. It’s hard to ever go wrong with homemade cornbread, but this was very good.

Skillet Roasted Chicken with Pan Sauce

A simple recipe he suggests from the start of the book; that’s an entire half chicken on that plate, smothered in pan sauce with lots of parsley, lemon, more homemade chicken stock, and a few cloves of roasted garlic. Delicious.

Pole Beans with Tomatoes and Benne Seeds

Beans braised in vegetable broth and topped with heirloom tomatoes which were roasted in the oven for 8 hours. He calls for heirloom beans (Turkey Craw, greasy, types I hadn’t even heard of), but the best I could get was organic haricots verts, which I love, so I used those. It’s garnished with another Lowcountry classic, benne seeds (pronounced like Benny), which as I understand it are basically sesame seeds grown in the South, and that’s about what they taste like.

Grits Cooked Like a Southerner

I’ve loved grits since I was a kid, but I’ve never had them quite like this. The method for the Antebellum Coarse White Grits I ordered required an overnight soak, then a cooking technique about as elaborate as proper sushi rice. It took an hour and a half with a frequently stirred pot. It’s not the box you get at the grocery store. I followed Sean’s lead and just served them plain, with salt, a squeeze of lemon, a dash of hot sauce, and a pat of butter. Compared to what I’m used to, I noticed a huge difference in texture, and the flavor was certainly more corn than cardboard, but if this is how they used to do grits, I can see why we use quick boxed options now (but I will never buy the packets of microwave stuff, yuck).

Pasta Mash-Up

One of the recipes that compelled me to learn to make my own pasta is in Plenty. It’s Saffron Tagliatelle with Spiced Butter which sounds so awesome, but when it came time to make it, I couldn’t muster the courage to sauce a plate of pasta with nothing but a cup of melted butter (and some seasonings). Instead, I made the pasta as instructed and then used a healthy recipe from Food & Wine for Spaghetti with Mushroom Bolognese. The result is...

Saffron Tagliatelle with Mushroom Bolognese

I can’t say it’s a huge success because the butter would have nicely accentuated the fancy homemade pasta, while porcini and shiitake mushrooms overwhelm it, plus the soft homemade pasta texture is similar to the cooked down mushrooms, whereas perfect al dente cooked spaghetti would have balanced much more nicely. It was still a great experiment and it sure SOUNDS good, and the mushroom bolognese is so delicious you completely forget you’re missing meat.

Here are fun pics of the process. The idea of draping pasta over a chair to dry just a bit was from Plenty as well (yes it was thoroughly cleaned before and after).

 

2016 Cookbooks III: Gjelina

Gjelina was given to me as a house-warming gift (thanks, Jeremy). It’s a restaurant cookbook from a trendy spot on Abbot Kinney in Venice, CA. Their menu is heavily inspired by Italian cuisine. I’ve eaten there a couple times and they’re famous for their pizzas (a couple of which I’ve already made), but they’re really about fresh, local, seasonal ingredients, focusing on vegetables, and not wasting anything, especially animal parts (they use EVERYTHING). As a home cook, I can’t fully keep up with all their restaurant recipes, but I gave some of them my best this past week...

Squid Ink Chitarra with Anchovies

This is my greatest achievement from the book. Kara got me a pasta attachment for my stand mixer and this was my first try at making pasta from scratch, and man, was it amazing. The texture is like nothing else- I was very pleasantly surprised. Of course, leave it to me to do hand-cut squid ink pasta on my first time out, but it worked. The squid ink really does nothing but add a striking color here, by the way, no taste or smell.

“Chitarra” is the name given to this pasta for the instrument that is traditionally used to cut this pasta shape (from the Italian word for guitar), but Gjelina suggests a knife for home cooks and to enjoy the uneven rustic appearance (nailed THAT). The sauce here is light, but bold in flavor. Anchovies and tomatoes melt down into white wine and pasta water to create a creamy, briny, and slightly sweet sauce. Homemade chunky, crispy crouton crumbs are tossed in for texture. Topped with Parmesan and a drizzle of olive oil.

Mushroom Toast

Sounds a bit boring, but tastes anything but that. Grilled ciabatta topped with five types of mushrooms slathered in a white wine-crème fraîche sauce with fresh herbs. Crème fraîche is basically a thicker, French version of sour cream that doesn’t break as easily when heated. I almost served this as an appetizer, but I’m so glad I didn’t. This thing eats like a meal- a side salad with fresh mixed greens is all it needs and you’re stuffed. 

Spaghetti Pomodoro

Gjelina is big on saucing pasta lightly, as done in this dish. The pomodoro sauce is used sparingly and it’s super fresh- lots of tomatoes cooked down with nothing but sea salt, olive oil, and fresh basil. Even though I worked hard to make the sauce, the pasta is not covered with it, just lightly coated. Simple and delicious.

Mixed Lettuces with Yogurt Dressing & Warm Croutons

The dressing is quite complex, with mint, chives, parsley, shallots, and garlic, all mixed with white wine vinegar and Greek yogurt. The croutons are crisped in a pan with oil from garlic confit used in other dishes. And for the salad, I just used every mix of herbs and lettuces I could find. The salad is certainly not lacking depth of flavor.

Meatballs Braised in Red Wine and Tomato

This is one of their “most requested recipes” and I can see why. Pork shoulder and pork belly freshly ground at home by yours truly with a mixture of herbs, Pecorino Romano, cream, and day old bread cubes, made into perfect meatballs. They’re heavily seared before being braised in a red wine and pomodoro sauce to finish the cooking. Served with grilled bread and the above salad. You can imagine; rich, filling, and delectable.

Sinful

This was for Valentine’s...

Lobster Carbonara

For a refresher, carbonara is basically a super creamy, Parmesan-cheesy sauce, infused with pancetta (or bacon). I kind of invented this particular recipe based on others and used three lobster tails for the two of us, and fettuccine rather than the classic spaghetti. It came out perfectly, bordering on too rich. Served with a side salad with homemade vinaigrette, butter and garlic ciabatta bread, and chocolate brownie pudding- one of the very few desserts I make (but always a winner).

* In case you didn’t receive my carbonara email from a couple years back, I still think the origin and history/etymology of the dish is interesting: Wikipedia on Carbonara

2016 Cookbooks II: Momofuku

There will be a follow up email about this cookbook at some point because the quintessential recipes are really for ramen and pork buns and I have not (BUT WILL) make those. In the meantime, I made this Korean meal for our Super Bowl party because the introduction in the book suggests it for exactly that. A bonus was that the day also kicked off traditional celebrations of the lunar new year for most of East Asia. Everything was delicious.

Bo Ssäm

This is essentially a build-your-own lettuce wrap kind of thing with a slow-cooked Boston pork butt coated with caramelized brown sugar as the star. I don’t want to undersell it though, as simple as it is, the dish required several days of prep and a trip to my unfortunately distant Asian market for ingredients.

So, you start with beautiful butter lettuce and then add components of your choosing: amazing fall-off-the-bone pork, Japanese rice, kimchi, puréed kimchi, a ginger-scallion mixture, ssäm sauce (sherry vinegar, and two types of Korean pastes made of bean and chiles), and finally, oysters (my first time shucking and I give myself a C, but not a fail). I also want to add that I love saying the Korean ingredients I’ve learned. It’s just fun to say kochukaru, ssämjang, and kochujang.

Kimchi, for those who might not be familiar, is one of the most common and traditional Korean dishes, usually a side. It’s essentially some type of vegetable, often napa cabbage, with Korean seasonings, mostly chile powder, and then fermented usually with a seafood component. Think spicy Asian sauerkraut. I made my own, but bought some good jarred stuff, and guests said they preferred mine- that was nice to hear. It’s supposed to get its famous flavor by fermenting for weeks, but mine just got a couple days. In fact, its been suggested that not completely fermented, still kinda crispy kimchi, led to the development of the dish, bo ssäm, because it so well complimented the tender pork.

This is a picture of one guest’s plate that I took, but the spread is actually impressive and I should have gotten that too. I’m including one from the book, just imagine it on our Mississippi pottery (it looked better).

Momofuku Chicken Wings

What’s a Super Bowl party without wings? These are basically chicken confit with bacon to make them smoky (the restaurant recipe is more elaborate) then seared and tossed in taré, which is like Japanese barbecue sauce; bony chicken parts cooked down with sake, mirin, and soy sauce. It’s hard to take a pretty picture of a pile of chicken wings when you’re trying to cook, eat, watch TV, and enjoy a party, but I think this looks pretty edible...

In case you’re still reading and care, the name of the book and restaurants, Momofuku, translates to “lucky peach” in Japanese. It is also the name of the man who invented instant ramen, and finally, the fact that it sounds a little like a certain English curse word is why the chef, David Chang chose it. I find that interesting and clever.

2016: Cookbooks I: Brunch at Bobby's

I got a whole bunch of cookbooks around Christmas. Most were gifted to me by people on this email list, so you know who you are and thanks!

However, I’ve noticed that my penchant for high end cookbooks is getting me into some hot water (cooking pun!). Almost all these books require mail order ingredients and/or a week or so of advance planning because they’re all restaurant recipes, where the restaurants can keep these things on hand, but no home cook has this stuff, or the time. But I plan to use them all extensively and will start with the recipes they’re either famous for or mention in the introduction, hence the beginning of this "2016 Cookbooks” series.

My dear mother-in-law always picks out cookbooks that are not that high end and usually less healthy than I prefer to cook. BUT, I do like Bobby Flay’s recipes, and this book she gave me, Brunch at Bobby’s, seemed the simplest to cook from at a busy time in my life when I still wanted to be in the kitchen. Of course I cooked all day and I bit off more than I could chew (what’s with these puns?). This weekend we had brunch for a late dinner of...

Crab Cakes Benedict with Old Bay Hollandaise and Johnny Cakes

This was delicious. A poached egg on top of a homemade crab cake on top of a Johnny Cake, all drizzled with spicy hollandaise. 

A Johnny Cake is basically a cornbread pancake, and one of the earliest truly American foods, attributed to Native Americans and quickly adopted by southern settlers and then some central and south Americans. There’s a chance its name comes from “Shawnee Cake” but its etymology actually has an elaborate and debatable history likely going back to a word from England in the 1500s that was changed over time, perhaps finally transformed by African American slaves.

The dish also pointed out one thing I struggle with as a cook- my emulsions almost always break. I’m awful at making mayonnaise, and hollandaise is no different. It tasted okay, but I broke it like I always do. Most likely because one of my greatest faults is lack of patience.

Cast-Iron Home Fries with Roasted Green Chiles and Creamy Garlic Dressing

Out of focus in the picture here, this was as delicious as it sounds. Crispy potatoes, roasted poblanos, and radicchio tossed in a very tasty garlicky dressing.

Maple-Mustard-Glazed Canadian Bacon

The glaze was simple and super tasty, but I don’t know where Flay gets Canadian bacon that crisps in the oven the way he instructs. Mine was tasty, but waaaay leathery. I kind of expected that while following the recipe, but did it anyway. Bad, Bobby Flay!

Earl Grey Spritzer and Mojito Champagne Cocktail

I don’t usually do cocktails, but these were easy and befitting of a dinner-brunch. Champagne over simple syrups infused with Earl Grey tea and mint, respectively. The mojito one gets a small splash of rum too (thanks, Nora). Ironically, I made the Earl Grey for me and the mojito for Kara (she hates bergamot and loves mojitos) and she ended up trading drinks with me! Shrug. Cheers!