Category Archives: Lengthy recipe but worth all the whisking, sweat and tears

French Onion Soup – Grandpa Jacques Style

I’ll paint a little picture of a young Emily for a moment. I grew up loving PBS (I’ve always been a public television and radio junkie) and Julia Childs and Jacques Pepin were two of my favorites. I would sit in front of the TV with my head perched in my hands and a smile plastered on my face as I watched these chefs stir up their magic. Between this and my Mom teaching my all the southern ways of cooking, I didn’t stand a chance to not be in the kitchen did I? With Jacques Pepin I always felt like I was learning to cook from an awesome French grandfather and as I got older and started cooking in the kitchen, I realized just how much I loved his recipes too. Fast forward to now, where I’m cooking each night for my wonderful husband in our own cozy little house…ah, life huh? After a few weeks of random dental surgery, we needed soups, stews or anything soft and palatable for a week. I found Jacque’s French Onion Soup and knew this would be a winner for tender mouths and hungry stomachs.

Cooking Light suggests you can use store-bought broth but I followed their recommendation and made my own. Patting myself on the back for that one. Sure, it’s more work and more groceries but you cannot beat this version with any store-bought brand. I felt so Chef-y as I was ladling my from-scratch made soup into the bowls to boil the cheese and bread. It doesn’t take much lambs, obviously.  I’ve made plenty of French Onion Soups in my lifetime and never have I ever gone “MMMMMMMMMMM!!!! OMG!” and pointed at my soup bowl like a 4-year old who’s learned to tie her shoes. That should tell you enough to make this if you are craving some seriously good French Onion Soup.

Tonight we are making David Chang’s Pork Butt (Bo Ssam) with Ginger Scallion Noodles. If you haven’t read the post here you go, and if you haven’t made this dish, please let my husband requesting it once a week inspire you to do so now: http://cookinginsidethelines.com/2011/06/the-momofuku-challenge/

The Momofuku Challenge

As I’ve mentioned before, the Momofuku cook book has intimidated the heck out of me for quite some time. I’m not sure why, but the recipes can be lengthy and it seems a majority of them require a lot of marinating or sitting to make everything work. For someone with a new business, planning a wedding and remodeling a home with their adorable husband-t0-be – time is of the essence right? So I wasn’t sure if had time to tackle or take on lengthy recipes with a lot of steps. Yeah, wrong as usual.

I have three words for Chef Chang: God Bless You. I tried his Fried Chicken (with Octo Vinaigrette) and Ginger Scallion Noodles last week and I can’t get the flavors out of my head. No wonder his restaurants are so successful – the food haunts you. So memorable in fact that I’m trying a pork dish of his on top of, wait for it, Ginger Scallion Noodles. Love, love, love. I can’t wait to go to New York and actually visit one or four of his restaurants to try the real thing. Intimidated no more I am! What I also love about this cook book is Chef Chang’s tone, he can be brusque and drop tons of f-bombs (which is too funny in parts) but I also love his passion for cooking and his belief that his recipes will knock your socks off (they do poodles) which in turn makes you want to roll up your sleeves and let ‘er rip.

Give these a try and it will blow your mind. If I like the pork, I’ll share here too…wait, I did and it was AMAZING. Hands down, my favorite slow-roasted pork recipe ever and all you do is cover it in salt and sugar and sugar. Who knew? Recipes below pandas.

Recipes courtesy of Momofuku Cookbook, Published by Clarkson Potter, 2009

Fried Chicken (Serves 2 to 4)

  • 4 cups of lukewarm water
  • 1/2 cup of sugar
  • 1/2 cup of kosher salt
  • One 3-t0- 3 1/2 pound chicken, cut into 4 pieces (2 legs, 2 breast halves with wings attached)
  • 4 cups grapeseed or other neutral cooking oil
  • Octo Vinaigrette (below)

1. Combine the water, sugar, and salt in a large container with a lid or a large freezer bag, and stir until the sugar and salt dissolve. Add the chicken to the brine, cover or seal, and refrigerate for at least one hour and no more than six.

2. Set up steamer on the stove. Drain the chicken and discard the brine. Put the chicken in the steamer basket (if you are using a stacking Chinese-style bamboo steamer, put the legs in the bottom level and the breast on the top). Turn the heat to medium and set the lid of the steamer  ever so slightly ajar. Steam the chicken for 40 minutes, then remove it from the steamer and put it on a cooling rack to cool. Chill it in the refrigerator, preferably on the rack, for at least two hours or overnight.

3. Take the chicken out of the refrigerator at least 30 minutes before you fry it.

4. In a deep skillet, heat enough oil for the chicken to be submerged to 375 degrees. Fry the chicken in batches, turning once, until the skin is deep brown and crisp, six to eight minutes. Remove to a paper-towel lined plate to drain.

5. Cut the chicken into a few pieces: cut the wine from the breast, cut the breast in half, cut through the knee to separate the thigh from the drumstick. Put in a large bowl toss with the vinaigrette, and serve hot.

Octo Vinaigrette

  • 2 tablespoons finely chopped garlic
  • 2 tablespoons chopped peeled fresh ginger
  • 1 teaspoon finely chopped Pickled Chiles (page 68 of the cookbook) or 1 fresh Bird’s Eye-Chile, seeded and chopped (I used the Bird’s Eye)
  • 1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
  • 1/4 cup of usukuchi (light soy sauce)
  • 1/4 teaspoon Asian sesame oil
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
  • Freshly ground black pepper

Combine the garlic, ginger, chile, vinegar, soy, grapeseed oil, sesame oil, sugar, and a few turns of black pepper in a lidded container and shake well. This will keep in the fridge for 4 to 5 days, and is good on everything except ostrich eggs, which is really the ostrich’s fault than the vinaigrette’s. (love him :) ).

Ginger Scallion Noodles (A must make!)

  • 2 1/2 cups thinly sliced scallions (greens and whites; from 1 to 2 large bunches)
  • 1/2  cup finely minced peeled fresh ginger
  • 1/2 cup finely minced peeled fresh garlic
  • 1/4 cup grapeseed or other neutral oil
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons usukuchi (light soy sauce)
  • 3/4 teaspoon sherry vinegar
  • 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt, or more to taste

Mix together scallions, ginger, oil, soy, vinegar, and salt in a bowl. Taste and check for salt, adding more if needed. Though it’s best aftre 15 to 20 minutes of sitting, ginger scallion sauce is good from the minute it’s stirred together up to a day or two in the fridge. Use as directed, apply as needed.

Pork Butt (MAKE THIS RIGHT NOW)

  • 1 whole 8-to-10 pound bone-in Boston Pork Butt
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 cup plus one tablespoon kosher salt
  • 7 tablespoons light brown sugar

1. Put the pork shoulder in a roasting pan, ideally one that hold it snugly. Mix together the granulated sugar and one cup of the salt in a bowl, then rub the mixture into the meat; discard any excess salt-and-sugar mixture.  Cover the pan with plastic wrap and put it in the fridge for at least 6 hours, or overnight.

2. Heat the oven to 300 degrees. Remove the pork from the refrigerator and discard any juices that have accumulated. Put the pork in the oven and cook for 6 hours, basting with rendered fat and pan juices every hour. The pork should be tender and yielding at this point – it should offer almost no resistance to the blade of a knife and you should be able to easily pull meat of the shoulder with a fork. Depending on your schedule, you can serve the pork right away or let is rest and mellow out at room temperature for up to an hour.

3. When ready to serve…turn the oven to 500 degrees.

4. Stir together the remaining one tablespoon salt and brown sugar and rub the mixture all over the pork. Put it in the oven for 10 – 15 minutes, until the sugar has melted into a crisp, sweet crust. (Emily just drooled)

No Hurry Curry

I, well, I have no words really to describe this Malaysian Beef Curry from Bon Appétit. It was so rich in flavor and the beef was so fork tender, I kind of whimpered after I ate it. If you are into a kind of lengthy prep and ingredients that may send you on a wee bit of scavenger hunt, then this is for you. With lemongrass, tamarind paste, dried New Mexico chiles, more lemongrass, coconut milk, fish sauce (YAY!), and star anise, it is definitely out of my usual comfort zone for cooking at home but WORTH IT. Ha, just check out the ingredient info from the magazine to see what I mean: New Mexico chiles can be found at some supermarkets and at Latin markets. Fish sauce and coconut milk are sold at supermarkets and Asian markets. Look for star anise, star-shaped seedpods, in the spice section of the supermarket. Tamarind is available in Asian and Indian markets.

Although the spice paste takes a little time the worst part is waiting for this to cook while it fills your house with such a lovely aroma it makes your mouth water. I served this over basmati rice with fresh cilantro and lime wedges. I took a first bite and was like “meh it’s pretty good”. Then I realized I clearly didn’t include enough of the delicious sauce/paste it had cooked in. After topping with a boatload of sauce I gave it a second bite, whimpered and kept saying mmmmmmmmm over and over again.

For those adventurous cooks out there this is a great dish to serve to family and friends. Even if this a wee bit our of your usual dinner plans I urge you to try, it’s an amazingly flavorful dish. Trust me, I’m not an expert.

Oldies but Goodies…

 

Easy Braised Brisket (Photo by John Autry)

Poodles, first and foremost, please make this Easy Braised Brisket from Cooking Light as soon as you can. For something that was made out of five ingredients this was insanely good. I was little thrown off by the olives at first but combined with the tomatoes and oregano they helped round out the sauce beautifully. Mmmm and the brisket was perfectly moist and fork tender. One recommendation, I kept adding more water as I went or I would have burned the heck out the brisket. Just keep an eye on it because a 1/2 cup of water on my stove was just not going to cut it. Besides that small issue, this was amazing and even better the next day for lunch!

Moving on to our menu plan this week, I’m revisiting some recipes to give David a chance to try them too – I think he’s going to love that cheeseburger:

Sunday: Coffee-Rubbed Cheeseburgers with Texas BBQ Sauce and Garlic Fries

Monday: Crab Cakes with Roasted Vegetables and Tangy Butter Sauce

Tuesday: Malaysian Beef Curry

Wednesday: White Pizza with Tomato and Basil

Fingers crossed we’ve got some good dishes coming up! Also, if you are a social media poodle, follow me on Twitter @EAIFood and on the Cooking Inside the Lines Facebook page. I tend to posts quick recipe reviews and food news there as well!

Chile Con Carne

Three simple little words for such a powerful dish. Bon Appetit did a special on chilis from around the country and of course this proud little lady chose the one from TEXAS! Some Texas chili rules. Number one, no beans. EVER! Rule number two, there will be beef.  Rule number three, bring on the spice.  Sometimes following the rules is fun.

Chile Con Carne (Photograph by Marcus Nilsson)

As the magazine states:

Chili is practically a religion in Texas. The thick, meaty “bowl of red” dates back to San Antonio in the 1820s. By the 1880s, the city’s plazas were full of pushcarts run by “chili queens” who would lure customers with live music. And Texans may argue about chili ingredients – but purists agree that the hearty stew would never, ever involve beans.

Roger that. This chili, like most real versions, has a lot going on and takes quite some time – but if you heart chili you won’t mind one iota. I followed this to the letter and it turned out perfect. It’s beefy, spicy and yes, a very dark bowl of red.  I topped with fresh tomatoes, green onions,  cilantro, and Monterrey Jack cheese. YUM! I aslo served with this amazing and so simple to make Cast Iron Skillet Cornbread. The only addition I made was I added pickled jalapenos and sauteed cork kernels for a little spicy/sweet oomph.

Before the cold slips away (YAY!) make this bowl of chili today. I just wicked rhymed that without meaning to.

The Anniversary Dinner

January 15, 2010 will be on of my favorite days of all time because it’s the day that David walked into my life. Neither of us were looking for any sort of potential partner, in fact I was against the idea before I met David, but then a mutual friend saw the potential and introduced us immediately. For the next few hours, we sat and talked and talked, something we are still very good at by the way. I owe our dear friend a lot for making the introduction and now one year later here we are. Just goes to show that life can you throw you very amazing curve balls – always embrace them lambs.

Beef Short Ribs with Red Wine Gravy and Swiss Chard (Photo by Craig Cutler)

It has been rainy, cold and just icky here in Austin the past week and on our anniversary day it was, wait for it, cold and rainy. Instead of going out to dinner we decided to stay in and make it ourselves. I chose this Braised Beef Short Ribs with Red Wine Gravy and Swiss Chard, Potato Gratin with Bacon and Thyme and Citrus Pudding with Whipped Topping. Over achiever much? I didn’t care, it was so worth it.

Potato Gratin with Bacon and Thyme (Photo by Mark Thomas)

I’ve made the Beef Short Ribs before so I knew this would be a huge win with David. I still don’t have a food mill but ran the sauce through the food processor and reheated as necessary. The potato gratin was creamy, bacony and so full of delicious flavor; a perfect complement to the ribs. After the ribs, chard and potatoes the pudding was a delightful, bright and not-too-sweet ending to a perfect anniversary meal. Paired with a 2002 Silver Oak Cab? Perfection all around and David loved all of it.

Citrus Pudding with Whipped Cream (Photo by Anna Williams)

Even if it’s not a special occasion this meal would be a great Sunday night supper or something to impress guests at a dinner party. One year down and hopefully many, many more to go right David? :)

Guinness Lamb Stew

We’ve got a thing for Irish stews in this house. It couldn’t possibly be that we’re both of Irish descent, heck, David has an Irish passport – Dublin here we come!  With that in mind and the cold weather hitting the gentle ATX, I thought this Guinness Lamb Stew would be very much welcomed into our home. Now you may recall that we tried one of Cooking Light’s Staff Favorites Beef and Guinness Stew back in November and it was quickly a David Favorite or Davorite as I’ll call it. Could this recipe beat that one? The Beef and Guinness Stew had a little bit more fussiness to it with caraway seeds and raisins and the Guinness Lamb Stew had two things we love, lamb and potatoes! Ay, we are Irish aren’t we? 😉

I followed this recipe to the letter and yes it does take a while, 3 1/2 hours, but it’s a stew so we all know those take a while to develop the lucious layers of flavor. I loved this more than the beef version because of the two additions mentioned above. It was savory, comforting and a perfect Irish stew. What I really liked about this was the addition of the whole grain mustard at the end. It provided a nice bite and rounded out the dish beautifully. I think I know what I’ll be making for the crew on March 17th!

On a seperate note, the BCS National Championship is tonight! Who do you think is going to win? No matter your personal opinion of him, I’m not sure if Cam Newton can be stopped. It reminds my of Vince Young back in 2005 against USC…ah, those were the days UT, those were the days.

Guinness Lamb Stew (Photo by John Autry)

Saigon Chicken Salad

Or as I like to call it, the kitchen sink salad. Lambs, this has a SERIOUS ingredient list- 22 to be exact. The only reason why I was even pondering giving it a try is because it comes from the kitchen of one of my chef super poodles, Susan Feniger!This little beaut of a salad graces the January cover of Bon Appetit and is the centerpiece for their healthy eating focus. 

This salad requires a few unique ingredients so spots where you see Sparkled Unicorn Horns OR you can use light brown sugar or Fluffy Clouds from a 78 degree sky OR you can use red radishes, I always went with the latter. I’m being mean I know, but seriously who wants to go find palm sugar and keffir lime leaves? I sometimes don’t mind for a recipe,  but typically  if I’ve got cost-effective but still tasty alternative  that doesn’t make me go all over Austin then I’m down.

Saigon Chicken Salad (Photo by Jose Picayo)

Let’s get to the marinade shall we? AMAZING. Amazing. Amazing. That is all. I will use this for marinating chicken whenever I can. Wow. Granted there is lemongrass in it which can sometimes be hard to find but hey, it’s worth it.

Second, the salad. It was good. The dressing was spicy, sweet and easy to make. And this dish had a flotilla of vegetables. I swear lambs I felt my whole body getting healthier while eating this, just look you’ve got: cabbage, radishes, carrots, tomatoes, green onions, garlic, green beans, cucumbers etc, etc. You know what my inner Emily said when I read this recipe? “I seriously should think about purchasing a Slap Chop before I do this.” To be honest it wasn’t that bad and the chicken didn’t take too long. My goodness, I’m still thinking about how amazing that chicken was.

Overall, I would definitely make the chicken (you are saying “no crap Emily, really?” aren’t you?) and then pile on top of whatever salad vegetable goodies you have floating around the kitchen!

Ribollita

Soup and bread – two food soul mates. I for one know I don’t like a yummy bowl of soup without some delicious crusty bread. Now kick that up a notch with this Tuscan version of soup known as Ribollita or in Italian Reboiled that has delicious crusty bread in it. Yep…IN IT. I’ve never heard of this soup but when I saw it in the Cooking Light November issue I thought I would save it for a cold, blustery day. Well, it’s here, right now actually, swishing the trees outside our windows and is very brisk indeed. A Ribollita is nothing fancy, just vegetable scraps and day-old bread but it does take time to make – three days from what I could find in my research. This one only took a few hours for chopping, baking, and of course building the soup so eh, that’s not so bad.

Ribollita (Photo by John Autry)

Y’all, this soup was super gentle. The flavors of the kale, tomatoes, beans, carrots, potatoes, yadda, yadda, yadda and yes, my delicious bread made this SUPER hearty. This bad boy is packed with good-for-youness and it’s vegetarian. We loved this for a gentle lunch on such a cold, windy day. Tonight, it’s Scallops with Green Tea Cream if I actually get around to making them this time. I swear, aliens are going to abduct me to ensure I don’t. More on this issue later and oh! if you haven’t yet, be sure to become a fan of Cooking Inside the Lines on Facebook today. Warm reboiled hugs.

Me with a Chance of Meatballs…or Bolognese?

So poodles, I tried one of my all-time favorites last night again, the Spaghetti and Meatballs All’Amerticiana (you should hear me say this out loud, it sounds like I’m having a seizure) from Bon Appetit . Now, I followed this recipe exactly as instructed again except we made the meatballs (as the recipe says you can do) the night before.

That’s it.

Spaghetti and Meatbals All'Amertriciana (Photo by Craig Cutler)

However our delicious meatballs as I cooked them fell apart and became a ground beef mixture with bacon paste…bacon paste, yes I’m still in awe thank you very much.

While this was good, it wasn’t as good as I recalled. I mean don’t get me wrong, it has delicious layers of flavor and the sauce rocked. I also noticed the marjoram this time around which gave it nice little floral notes if I do say so myself but it just wasn’t the same.

I’m getting all Sherlock Holmes about this because I can’t figure out why this failed this time. Could it be because I made them the night before? One would think that would hold them up even better due to the fridge/tightening up time. Could it be that I’m still practicing on the gas range and messed it up that way…most likely poppets. Either way it was delicious but in a less meatballish kind of way.

Oh well, onward and upward lambs, tonight it’s braised chicken with dates…fingers crossed!