Mock Duck Foo Yung

This picture has distorted color, but the dish really isn't the most vibrant of dishes! I have never had or seen Egg Foo Yung before, so I wasn't really sure how the presentation was supposed to go. I found this recipe, and did what I could with what I had in my kitchen.

• 1/2 onion, julienne
• olive oil, for sauteing
• 10oz mock duck which I found at a local asian foods market--------->
• 3/4 c cooked corn kernels
• 3 eggs, beaten
• a couple Tbs soy sauce
  
• rice vermicelli, I cooked enough for two servings
• thinly sliced scallions, to garnish
  

1. Saute the onion in olive oil, until it begins the caramelize.
2. Add the mock duck pieces and corn and cook for about 3 more minutes.
3. Next, pour over the egg mixture and soy sauce and cook through.
4. I mixed the ingredients sort of into a scramble, but I think its supposed to be cooked more like an omelet.
5. serve the egg mixture over top of the rice noodles, and top with fresh scallions.

This was super decadent, I actually couldn't finish my whole bowl because it was so rich. It was still very delicious. If I make this again I will invite guests. There were probably at least 4-5 servings in the pan.

Sweet Fries with Chipotle Aioli

This snack was an homage to a restaurant I used to work at. One of our most popular tropas was sweet potato fries with a chipotle aioli, so straight forward, and the people were in love.

Sweet Fries: Its to your own discretion, whether or not you like to keep the skins on. I prefer it for the more earthy flavor and the vitamins lie just beneath the skin.
Cut the potatoes length-wise, and then to your preferred thickness, mine were a little less than 1/2" thick. Toss the potatoes in just enough olive oil to coat, and season with cracked pepper and coarse kosher salt. Line them on a foiled baking sheet in a single layer. Bake @ 450 for 15-20.
Depending on the thickness of your fries, you will need to adjust your cook time.

Chipotle Aioli:
This recipe yields about 1 quart (perhaps a little more, I didn't proper measure it). That's a LOT of aioli for one person, so you may want to cut the recipe in half or share some with your neighbors.
In a food processor:

• 2 garlic cloves, minced (in the processor)
• juice of 1 lemon, always roll your lemons first to get the maximum amount of juice
  
• 1 Tbl Dijon mustard
• 3 yolks, I used the yolks from my chicken, so they are probably a "medium" size
• 1 dash Worcestershire sauce
• 2/3 - 1 whole can (7.5 oz) of chipotle peppers in adobo, obviously the more you add, the spicier your aioli will be.
• S & P
• Puree the above ingredients well and emulsify by slowly drizzling in your oil, I used an olive oil/canola oil blend. For this recipe, EVOO would have offered too strong of a flavor. Olive pomace oil is a great choice for aiolis and dressings as well.
• I didn't measure my amount of oil because its slightly different every time. So you will add the oil until you see the mixture starting to slow in motion as it moves around the processing bowl. Its a good idea to stop and check the taste and consistency of your aioli to make sure it doesn't start to just taste like oil(another reason I prefer a lighter tasting oil)!
• Set in the fridge to chill, an hour - an hour and a half should be good.

This dip is good with crudites, good on sandwiches, really its just good on anything you want, it would probably be good as a hollandaise substitute on poached eggs.
As with most food, I would suggested not keeping this any longer than 7 days.

Almost Chicken Fried Tofu

Country Fried Tofu with Mustard Greens and a Raspberry Chipotle sauce
I tend to make dishes only once, which translates to never having made the dish prior. As soon as I started cooking this I knew there were going to be things I wanted to change for an unlikely "next time."

Raspberry Chipotle sauce.
First of all, I get that this sauce is SO played out, but I'd never made one myself. And despite the accusations and turned up nose I may give to a restaurant using such a sauce, I still think the combo of sweet and spicy is a match made in..

Into a small sauce pot over medium heat:

• 1/4 pint (6oz) of fresh raspberries
• 2.5 Tbl chipotles canned in adobo, chopped (More depending on how much heat you prefer)
  
• 1 Tbl additional adobo sauce
• 1 Tbl packed brown sugs (this should probably be increased slightly)
  
• 2-3 tsp Raw unfiltered organic Apple Cider Vinegar
• kosher salt + cracked black pepper, to taste

Let this simmer and reduce to your liking. I didn't put this through a chinois or any sort of sieve because I was lazy and I prefered the appearance of a rustic sauce. However, I would recommend doing so, as raspberry seeds are not very palatable.

For the Country Fried Tofu

• 1/2 block firm tofu drained, cut into 4 slices and set on towels during prep to absorb as much water as possible. I only used half, since I was eating alone and put the other half in a Tupperware with water and into the freezer. I would recommend, if you have the time, freeze your tofu and then thaw before cooking. This gives it a much more dynamic texture, as well as in general it will better absorb any marinade.
• 1 c Buttermilk, pour into a bowl, mix in about 1/4-1/2 c of your seasoned flour and whisk together.
  
• Seasoned flour. You can make it yourself with AP, Wheat flour or even cornmeal, seasoned with salt and pepper. I used this kind from a box called "Kentucky Kernel" which is pretty delicious.

1. Dredge the tofu in the seasoned flour
2. Then transfer the tofu into your buttermilk batter
3. last step is back into your dry seasoned flour.

Don't get me wrong, this is crazy messy. If you plan to become a fry queen, I would invest in some restaurant purpose rubber gloves. Do not start battering your tofu until your oil is hot. And do not put your tofu into the oil until it is hot! I put enough oil in the pan to rise to the center of the slice of tofu, so that it will cook evenly when it is flipped. I don't have a temperature the oil is supposed to be at, I can just kinda tell its ready.
So as each slice is battered, lay it gently into the hot oil, do this in a direction away from yourself so if it splashes, yo ass won't get burned! Fry until GBD, then flip.

Finally drain on paper towels to absorb excess oil, pretty huh?:

Mustard Greens

Pretty straight forward. I got my pan hot, sauteed some garlic in a bit of oil then tossed in the greens and wilted them. I think this dish would be much better with a collard or turnip green. I love mustard greens, but the flavor was all wrong for this dish in the end.



TA DA!

Breakfast of Champions

"Sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast."
-Lewis Carroll

I have included two breakfasts. The first photo has many exciting components where as the second is all about the cheese eggs.

Full Breakfast:

• Farm Fresh Eggs scrambled with Penzey's Northwoods seasoning. This seasoning falls in second place to basil pesto as my top seasoning to scramble into eggs. Third place will follow in cheese eggs.
• Herbed red potatoes and yellow bell peppers. Instead of oven roasting I opted to sautee the reds, thinly sliced in garlic oil (this is made by simply reserving the oil from confit garlic) with julienne bell peppers and finished with fresh Italian flat leaf parsley and rosemary from the garden.
  
• Sauteed turnip greens. I love greens! Any and all greens, and in particular for breakfast. Sauteed with shallot and red pepper flakes for a little kick. I also added a couple Tablespoons of organic apple cider vinegar. This website gives a pretty good job of explaining the benefits of Organic apple cider vinegar.
• Veggie sausage patty. Although this is a MorningStar brand, I prefer Gimme Lean brand sausage because it is more loose like true raw sausage. However, I can no longer find it at my local grocer. Gimme Lean brand is also terrific in making vegan biscuits and gravy.
• Segmented grapefruit. After segmenting fruit, I always squeeze the leftover part of the fruit for any juice as a sweet treat, it is usually no more than a few tablespoons. Tutorial on "segmenting" citrus fruit.
• Texas Pete Hot Sauce.

"A t-bone steak, Cheese Eggs and Welch's grape"-Biggie
A few ways to make to make cheese eggs:

• First of all, this is a seriously decadent way to prepare scrambled eggs, so I always add a couple of tablespoons of milk or heavy cream (HC obviously being the most fatty and delicious way).
• When I cook, I hardly measure my amount of seasoning, I just go on a feeling and by tasting constantly. For cheese eggs, because of the salt in the cheese, you will need to use considerably less in seasoning the eggs themselves.
• Three ways to add your cheese:

1. Whisk cheese into eggs before entering the pan.
   
2. Melt the cheese in the pan (in your oil or fat of choice: butter, bacon grease, et cetera), before adding egg mixture.
3. Wait until eggs are about finished, turn off heat and fold in the cheese. This is the method I prefer, the reason for this is that I am neurotic about eating raw egg whites, or rather, NOT eating them. By this method I can be sure that my eggs are cooked to my liking. By way of the first two options, I feel that I can't distinguish between the melted cheese and the raw egg and this makes me uncomfortable. As far as flavor is concerned, I think that option number 2 is actually the best choice. Especially if you like your eggs a little loose, this would be a good choice for you.

• Herbs. Fresh parsley brings a different dynamic to eggs that until you have experienced you are seriously missing out! Fines herbs, classically: chervil, chives, parsley and tarragon, are also delicious. These herbs, because of their delicate nature should always be added last, before serving.
• Lastly, do not cook your eggs over high heat, this will make the protein tough. Go easy on em.
  

N'ayant pas été mangé avec Oeufs frais de la ferme

Do your leftovers right.

1/2 a cup of yesterday's chili, heated over medium/medium low heat.
1 Farm fresh egg. This should have been a sunny side up egg, but I was in a funny mood, translating to an over-medium fried egg. Also, the egg is technically backyard fresh, since it comes from Alice who lives in my backyard. She's pretty consistent with about one egg a day, which is much easier to consume than the three a day we were getting before her sisters (Ethel and Lucy) were attacked my raccoons.
1 slice of toasted sprouted grain bread.
I should also note that the heat index on the leftovers was nowhere near expected. Honestly, either my tolerance grew over night, or the heat actual became much more subtle. I usually prefer stews the second day, and this fellow certainly falls into the category.

A couple benefits of keeping urban chickens.

• Obviously, the eggs. We feed our chickens things like flax seed in addition to her daily meal in order to make the eggs more nutritious to the consumer.
• Compost is free. We kept the compost in her coup, which she began to eat. So basically she is our food scraps disposal. We throw in what would normally go into the compost (raw food scraps) in addition to stale bread, which she really likes. Alice also gets egg shells, which provide her with a good source of calcium. I've been told that if the eggs aren't crushed up to smaller distinguishable (from an egg) shapes that its possible the chickens may become cannibalistic. You know, start eating her own eggs. I don't have any research on that, but as descendants of dinosaurs, I'm not surprised. Also, I have read that if the hen whose egg is being consumed by others is ill, its possible for her to pass on her illness to the other girls, so be aware of their health
  
• Taste. Fresh foods taste better than ones from over produced factory farms. Bottom line.
• Friends. Despite accusations of their idiocity, I find that chickens can be quite clever. As well they all have very distinct personalities. In general I find them neurotic, which actually is quite interesting and entertaining.
• Do gooder type o shit. Know that the chicken is almost always gonna be living a much better and happier life in your backyard than in the inhumane and horrific state that they face living in factory farms. Unless you are some kind of jerk and create that situation for the young lady.
• Updated 8/21: For a more detailed look, I found that a good friend has done a write up as well on chickens.. Endeavors in Domestic Art : A Good Reason to Buy Local Eggs.
  

Red Bean Chili Stew

I had some leftover corn from a barbeque yesterday, so I just looked through the pantry to make something quick. This took about 20 minutes to make. I used some goat cheese I had in the fridge, but this would go nicely with a little queso fresco or cotija. Also, if I ever make this again, I would definitely serve it with a couple lime wedges and a bit of fresh cilantro on top.
The goat cheese I used, I believe is from Spinning Spider Creamery in Asheville, NC. (I'm unsure because it was picked up at a farmers market by someone other than myself)

• 1 corn cob's worth o corn
• 40.5 oz red kidney beans
• 14.5 oz fire roasted diced tomatoes
• 10 oz can diced tomatoes with lime & cilantro
• 1/2 a red onion, small dice
• 2 garlic cloves minced
• 1 jalapeno, brunoise
• pinch of thyme, allspice, ground ginger
  
• chili powder, to taste
  
• cumin, to taste
  
• cilantro, to taste
  
• goat cheese
  
• kosher salt and fresh pepper

Sweat the garlic and onions with a little salt and then add the spices. Continue to sautee for about another 2 minutes. Next you add the japs, and allow to sautee lightly, then add the tomatoes, beans and corn. At this point I added the cilantro and additional chili powder and cumin to taste, and of course.. s&p. I let this simmer for only a few minutes because I was really hungry. Top with crumbled goat of other cheese. It was considerably spicy already, so the leftovers for tomorrow's brunch should really get the fire alarm goin after it has sat through the night!
As far as leftovers are concerned, the stew will thicken, so it could be warmed and spooned over some crusty bread, which you could first spread with a layer or goat cheese. I also think it would go great in a sort of chilaquilas with a sunny side up egg on top.

Grilled Cheese, Pickles, and McConnell's Farm

Lunch.

Grilled Cheese: fontina on sprouted grain bread.

Homemade pickles. I bought my father a book on pickling and a case of mason jars a couple years ago, and it hasn't stopped since. These weren't spicy, but in general he usually puts at least one jalapeno in each jar, the heat is super intense. The neighbor down the street however, gave us one of his batch where he thought it would be a good idea to put two whole habanero peppers in addition to jalapenos into one single jar! I'm telling you, this is a BAD idea.
Sliced Peaches. It was sweet and had a nice texture (not mealy), but there's nothing like the peaches from McConnell's Farm in Aliquippa, PA.

McConnell's Farm.

I used to live in Pittsburgh, PA and had the pleasure of working in restaurants (Kaya, Eleven, Dozen Bakeshop) that insisted upon having as many local ingredients as per season allowed. I honestly remember my first McConnell's farm peach. We had a dessert on the menu at Kaya that was simply sliced peaches drizzled with a cardamom syrup. This dessert actually changed the way I looked at sweets. Prior to this I primarily baked in order to satiate my sweet tooth. However seeing the flavor of the peach complimented by the light cardamom syrup, instead of masked, made me realize that the raw food itself can often be the best way to be eaten. As well, I started making desserts that were more about whatever fresh ingredients were available, not about sugar. Anyway, the point is, this peach was just fucking amazing. A couple summers later I was now working at Eleven. The farmers pulled up in the back of the restaurant and we were loading in the wooden crates. The Chef was stuffing his face with peaches and had juice dripping all over his face and chef coat. He sets down another crate and peels back the corn husk and just goes right in. It never dawned on me to eat raw corn. This is probably because most corn isn't grown well enough to taste good raw. Oh boy, let me tell you, when I bit into this raw cob, my world was in a whirlwind. How is it that I will ever be able to enjoy a grilled corn cob or a fresh peach ever again if its not from McConnell's Farm? Let me tell you, I had been having a rough summer, but when I tasted that corn I felt a true happiness that I hadn't felt in quite a while.

Pizza Night!

When I eat alone, I tend to make less time consuming meals, which usually only attracts the range, not the oven. Anyway, pizza is an exception. You'll have to excuse the soft lighting on the second photo, it really wasn't that romantic of an occasion.
In general I tend to make most of my dough from scratch (aside from puff pastry), but last night I was lazy and just used store bought dough.
For the pizza:

-After pre-baking, I rub the crust with a wild mushroom grape seed oil. You can obviously use Extra virgin olive oil, but playing with different oils is much more fun!

-Fresh minced garlic.

-Thinly sliced roma tomatoes, I find that thin is crucial for keeping your dough from getting soggy. I also season my tomatoes slightly with cracked black pepper and a little kosher salt.

-The cheese: I just use whatever I can find in the fridge, it helps that there is always plenty of cheese. Grated with a medium grater (no micro-plane here!).

• parmigiano reggiano
• Rosenborg danish bleu
• Semi-hard mystery cheese from the cheese drawer
• A little bit of sharp cheddar

-Now its time for toppings:

• greek black olives, pitted and sliced
• marinated artichoke hearts, chopped
• red onion, julienne
• orange bell pepper, julienne

-To finish, I drizzled honey across the crust and over the pie itself.

This was served with a simple salad of romaine hearts with dried cranberries, almonds, and a ginger vinaigrette.

The Refinery, Tampa

This past Friday my beau and I went to The Refinery, which is located in the Seminole Heights neighborhood of Tampa. They have been open now for about six months, yet this was my first time. Their whole thing is about offering local and seasonal cuisine, which is a hard thing to do in the middle of summer in Florida, but they are DEFINITELY pulling it off. Also, they basically offer fine dining quality at a tiny fraction of the cost, which is just super cool. They carry a limited selection of wine, but the bottles they do carry were very good (I tried the pinot noir and also some Argentinian wine whose name escapes me) . They have a good draft beer selection consisting of all craft brews as well as a nice bottle selection, both rotating often which reflects the ever changing menu which is rewritten every Thursday. Oh, and they are BYOB.

First Course:
-Crispy Pork Belly (the largest portion I have ever seen on one plate) with braised cabbage and rosemary/chili cashew brittle
-Vichyssoise with a candied leek.
-Roasted beet salad with strawberries, red onion, balsamic, and a bleu cheese whose name was not reveal on the menu.

ALL very good. My man ate the porkbelly, it was his first time. I absolutely love the smell of pork and I love to cook with it as well, despite the fact that I don't eat it. This is a bizarre phenomenon that I have yet to truly understand.

Second Course:
-Roasted Chicken with roasted fingerlings and ratatouille.
-Shrimp & Polenta with sauteed chard in a lemon-tomato broth.

Something I always do when I eat with someone who orders chicken, is touch their chicken to see if the skin is crispy (I try to remember to ask politely before I begin playing with someone else's food). The skin on this chicken was GBD and crispy! Another miracle is that my boyfriend hates summer squash and tomatoes, but he really loved the ratatouille.
As for my shrimp and grits, I really couldn't get over how excited I was to see the shrimp come out with the heads on. This is something that I find hard to come across, because a lot of folks are so afraid of knowing what they are eating. I on the other hand much rather look my food in the eye. There is also a lot of flavor in the head that is lost when the shrimp is cooked without it. Delicious!

Dinner July 26th

Tea: mint iced green tea
Salad: shaved carrots, sliced pears (granny smith apples would work here too), chopped Italian flat leaf parsley.
Curried honey vin (yellow curry powder, local honey, white wine vinegar, s+p, olive oil)
Pasta: whole wheat linguini, green beans, tomatoes, fresh garlic, ricotta cheese.

Cafe Boulud, Palm Beach.

This was my first experience eating at a Daniel Boulud restaurant. This probably has something to do with the fact that when I visit New York city, I tend to eat off of tavern menus, at gastro-pubs, as well as vegetarian restaurants. We went for lunch and ordered the prix fixe option. In Florida I have found it somewhat difficult to find high quality food. However, as his reputation precedes him, Boulud in Palm Beach was absolutely stunning. My friend and I even had an opportunity to see the kitchen and tour the walk-ins (some of the cleanest I've seen, might I add). I appreciated that the line cooks were given some freedom in that they each had their own terrine working in one of the walk ins, and some as well were making their own charcuterie.

As will become apparent in this blog, I am not a vegetarian, but I often cook vegetarian. I was for about 9 years, and have since been a pescatarian (one whose living protein consumption consists of sea/freshwater life). My intention for this blog is to create a forum through which I may share my own recipes and cooking experiences at home, as well as my experiences eating out. Also, I just really LOVE food porn!