Monthly Archive for March, 2008

Japanese marinade

Published
by
marc
on March 29, 2008
in Ingredients
. 0 Comments

This is a universal marinade used in Japanese cooking. Used fresh it’s great for marinating meats or fish and when cooked down, it makes a fabulous teriyaki sauce for grilled things (yaki-mono). I use this all the time and yet until today I never actually measured anything out. I tried to keep the proportions equal to make it easier to remember, it’s basically equal parts soy sauce, mirin and sake then half a part sugar and some garlic and ginger.

Depending on what you’re using it for (and your tastes) you can vary the proportions and of course I encourage you to experiment with different ingredients. Sometimes I’ll put some grated apple or honey for sweetness, other times I’ll use chilli powder or sauce to give it a bit more kick. You could also put other stuff like scallions, sesame seeds or sesame seed oil to take it in another direction.

1 Tbs sugar
2 Tbs soy sauce
2 Tbs mirin (Japanese sweet cooking wine)
2 Tbs sake
1 clove of garlic crushed
1 tsp ginger grated

Whisk all the ingredients together and use.

You could probably make a lot of this in advance and keep it in the fridge as it’s got a fairly high salt content, though it’s so easy to make I’m not sure why you’d want to take up the room with another bottle of sauce.

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Lemon icebox cake ice cream

Published
by
marc
on March 26, 2008
in Dessert
. 5 Comments

Lemon icebox cake ice cream

Since the strawberry buttermilk ice cream turned out so well, I thought I’d try the concept with some different ingredients. I picked up a few pounds of Meyer lemons from Whole Foods the other day, so that got me wondering what Meyer lemon ice cream would taste like. Then I started thinking about lemon icebox cake and it struck me that I had some lemon pound cake sitting around.

Like the strawberry buttermilk ice cream, this recipe uses no eggs or cream and does not need to be cooked. You just whisk it all together and dump it in an ice cream maker.

2 C buttermilk
2/3 C sweetened condensed milk
1 Tbs sugar
zest of 1 Meyer lemon
juice of 1 Meyer lemon

1/2 cup pound cake cut into little cubes

Whisk the buttermilk, condensed milk, sugar and lemon zest+juice together. Put it in the fridge for 30 minutes to chill.

Once it’s nice and cold, dump it into an ice cream maker and follow the manufacture’s directions. Once the ice cream is done, take it out of the ice cream maker and mix in the pound cake. Serve soft, or put it in the freezer for a bit to set up.

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Warm winter salad

Published
by
marc
on March 26, 2008
in Fall, Salad, Vegetable and Winter
. 1 Comment

Warm winter salad

Continuing on the no-meat kick after the ridiculously-bad-for-you-but-oh-so-delicious braised bacon, I decided to start experimenting with grains. Stopping by the Union Square Whole Foods, I picked up some roasted buckwheat and quinoa. What I really wanted was some delightfully chewy wheat berries, but they were completely out so I decided on the subway that I’d give the buckwheat a go.

The smoky roasted buckwheat reminded me of barley tea and added some nice depth to the salad, but next time I’m definitely going to hunt down some wheat berry. The salad is served warm with roasted winter veggies and a sweet balsamic vinaigrette. The celery adds some nice crunch in there, but I was thinking sunchokes or asian pear would work just as well. A soft poached egg on top lends some creaminess and body that makes this a one plate meal.

for salad
1 cup cooked wheat berries (or some other whole grain)
1/3 C celery cut into small cubes
1 Tbs chopped parsley

1 Tbs good olive oil
1 C cubed kabocha or butternut squash
1/2 C cubed parsnip or celery root
1 spring onion sliced (or small sweet onion)
1 tsp kosher salt

for dressing
2 Tbs good olive oil
2 Tbs real balsamic vinegar
8 sage leaves cut into thin ribbons
1 tsp salt
freshly ground black pepper to taste

for serving
1 poached egg per serving
Mache or Frisée

Prepare the wheat berries according the the box directions and dump it into a large bowl. Toss the hot wheat with celery and parsley in a large bowl.

Heat 1 Tbs of good olive oil over medium heat and saute the kabocha, parsnip, onion and salt until the vegetables are soft enough to eat (but not mushy). Add to bowl with wheat.

Whisk together the dressing ingredients and pour enough on the wheat and veggies, tossing gently, to lightly coat everything.

To serve, put down a bed of greens, layer on the wheat and veggies, top with a soft poached egg and drizzle on a little more dressing.

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Sorry for the downtime

Published
by
admin
on March 26, 2008
in Note
. 0 Comments

My web hosting provider was acting up yesterday which is why you may have had trouble seeing the site. They assure me all is well now, so I’ll make it up to y’all and post another ice cream recipe:-)

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Ratatouille

Published
by
marc
on March 25, 2008
in Dinner, Side and Vegetable
. 0 Comments

Ratatouille

I know I’m about a year late to the party, but I have a new found love for this dish after seeing the movie. I even serve this with my bright and sunny lemon linguine.

Movie references aside, this is a relatively simple dish that does a great job showcasing the flavors of the fresh vegetables. When tomatoes aren’t in season I like using cherry tomatoes as they are pretty sweet no matter what time of year. In a pinch a can of good stewed tomatoes (like Pomi) will do just fine.

Just make sure the squash and eggplant are fresh as both tend to get bitter when they’ve been sitting around for a while. I’ve also been thinking this should work with winter squashes like butternut and acorn.

Traditionally this dish is supposed to be a stew, but I’ve come somewhere between the original and Thomas Keller’s Confit Byaldi with my own interpretation. Basically I put tomato confit between layers of veggies and throw it in the oven.

1 Tbs + 1 tsp olive oil
1 large spring onion sliced thin
3 cloves garlic crushed
1 Tbs tomato paste
3-4 ripe tomatoes peeled, seeded & chopped (or 1 pint of cherry tomatoes sliced in half)
kosher salt & pepper to taste

1 tsp kosher salt
2 Japanese or 1 Italian eggplant sliced thin (1/8″)
1 medium zucchini’s sliced thin (1/8″)
1 medium yellow squash sliced thin (1/8″)
leaves from a couple sprigs of thyme
freshly ground black pepper
olive oil

Sprinkle the sliced eggplant with 1 tsp of salt and toss to coat. Let stand for about 20 minutes to release some of the water in the eggplant.

Saute the onions and garlic in the olive oil until the onions are nice and caramelized. Add the tomatoes and tomato paste and cook until the tomatoes are soft.

Heat the oven to 350 degrees.

Stack a few pieces of eggplant on paper towels and squeeze out excess water. Repeat with the rest of the eggplant.

Toss the eggplant, squash, thyme and pepper with enough olive oil to lightly coat each slice (should be shiny but not greasy).

Layering veggies for ratatouilleIn a baking dish (about 8″ x 8″) put down an even layer of sliced vegetables then cover with tomato confit. Repeat twice more, ending with the tomato confit.

Cover with parchment paper and bake for about 45 minutes or until the vegetables are soft but not mushy.

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