Ming Tsai: Hatosi (Shrimp Toast)

My mother decided that it was about time for her to host a happy hour at our house, especially since all of her friends have already done their turns. So I agreed to help her out as her personal "caterer" for the event. I needed to stay in the realm of very bland since my mother is convinced I am the only person on Earth that enjoys curry, squid, or anything that doesn't appear in a regular American grocery store. So I devised a menu based on Chinese, Japanese, and Korean cuisine with significant American modifications so that it wasn't too "weird." I'm still rolling my eyes over this one.

For Chinese food, I was warned not to make any strange dumpling creations (since I'm apparently also the only one on Earth that knows what dim sum is), so I decided to just do some shrimp toast and be done with it.  As you can probably tell, cooking for me is 90% debate and 10% actual work.  The recipe I pulled came from Ming Tsai and turns out the most luscious shrimp toast I think I've ever had.  These babies put take-out to shame.

Hatosi (Shrimp Toast)
From Ming Tsai

1½ pounds raw shrimp, peeled and deveined

3 large eggs

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into small squares

1 tablespoon truffle oil

Ground white pepper

Sea salt

1 cup finely chopped water chestnuts (fresh or canned)

½ cup finely chopped green onions

1 loaf thinly sliced white bread (I used Mrs. Baird's), crusts removed

¼ cup sesame seeds (optional)

Process shrimp and eggs in a food processor until almost smooth. Add the butter and process until you can only see small bits in the paste. Add the truffle oil, salt, and white pepper, and process just enough to combine (a few seconds). Move to a small bowl, and fold in the green onions and water chestnuts. Store in refrigerator until ready to cook.

Place bread slices on a rack on a baking sheet. Dry the bread in a 200°F oven for approximately 15 minutes per side. Cut the bread slices into triangles or squares. Using a knife, spread shrimp paste over the top of each bread portion. Sprinkle with sesame seeds. You can fry the shrimp toast in a fryer (at 350°F) or in a frying pan with a thin layer of oil on the bottom over medium heat. Always add the shrimp toast with the shrimp paste facing down to start, no matter which method you choose. Flip after the top is finished cooking to allow the toast to crisp. Drain on a paper towel and serve immediately.

Tyler Florence: Cracked Chocolate Earth (Flourless Chocolate Cake)

It's Valentine's Day Singles' Awareness Day.  A day when I wish I could just crawl under the covers and wait for midnight.  But my mother requested that I make a chocolate cake without too many carbs for dessert, so that plan was scraped.  Sometimes I wish I could pout in peace.

I had seen Tyler Florence make a flourless chocolate cake on his show, and it was a dismal flop, quite literally. Flourless chocolate cake is actually a kind of souffle, relying on the strength of the eggs to hold the whole thing up, so unless you're really steady of hand and just leave it to do its thing in the oven without constantly poking it, the whole thing falls and sags. As I watched his cake deflate on air, I couldn't help but wonder why they didn't do another take.  I mean, that's pretty embarrassing, right??

Tyler's recipe calls for unsweetened fresh whipped cream, but I thought it needed a little powdered sugar in the mix. Not too much; just enough to sweeten it slightly. I also served each slice with a couple of blackberries (raspberries would have been delicious, too), since the slight tang of the berries works well with the dark chocolate.

Cracked Chocolate Earth (Flourless Chocolate Cake)
From Tyler Florence

1 pound bittersweet chocolate, chopped into small pieces
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
9 large eggs, separated
¾ cup plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
2 cups heavy cream, cold
Confectioner's sugar, for dusting

Preheat the oven to 350°F.  Butter a 9-inch springform pan.

Put the chocolate and butter in the top of a double boiler (or in a heatproof bowl) and heat over (but not touching) about 1 inch of simmering water until melted.  Meanwhile, whisk the egg yolks with the sugar in a mixing bowl until light yellow in color.  Whisk a little of the chocolate mixture into the egg yolks to temper the eggs; then whisk in the rest of the chocolate mixture.

Beat the egg whites in a mixing bowl until stiff peaks form and fold into the chocolate mixture.  Pour into the prepared pan and bake until the cake is set, the top starts to crack, and a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out with moist crumbs clinging to it, 20 to 25 minutes.  Let stand 10 minutes, then unmold.

While the cake is cooking, make the whipped cream.  Whip the cream until it becomes light and fluffy.  Dust the cake with confectioner's sugar.  Serve at room temperature with whipped cream.

Makes 8 servings

Almost from Scratch: Pork Chops with Pepper Cream

I took a cooking class several years ago with Andrew Schloss when this cookbook first came out.  It was about the same time that Sandra Lee started doing her semi-homemade shtick on Food Network, and everyone seemed to want their dinner to look gourmet, but not actually take any time or effort.  I could kinda see getting on that bandwagon, especially if you had a bunch of kids running through the house on a regular basis, but Sandra's stuff just seemed too...packaged.  And unappetizing.  On the other hand, Andrew got very little press that I can remember, but his stuff was...actually good.  Unfortunate for him, but for all those harried moms out there, it means you can actually throw together something halfway decent using things in jars.

Note: I had trouble finding exactly "red pepper pesto", but I found some sort of red pepper-eggplant thick sauce-y thing in a jar, and it was fabulous.  Just grab whatever looks good if the pesto eludes you.

Pork Chops with Pepper Cream
Adapted from Almost from Scratch by Andrew Schloss

4 boneless center-cut pork chops, ¾-inch thick
Salt and black pepper to taste
Olive oil
½ red onion, chopped
2 teaspoons chopped garlic, jarred or fresh
Olive oil
1½ cups light cream
¼ cup red pepper pesto or spread
1 tablespoon chopped flat-leaf Italian parsley

Season the pork with salt and pepper on both sides.

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Coat with olive oil and brown the pork on both sides. Remove the pork from the pan and set aside.  Add the onion to the pan and cook until translucent and tender.  Add the garlic and cook another 30 seconds.  Add the cream to the pan and simmer until slightly thickened.  Whisk in the red pepper pesto, season with salt and pepper, and stir in the parsley.  Return the pork chops to the pan, along with any accumulated juices, and cook for a few minutes more.

Makes 4 servings

Cooking Light: Apricot Lamb Chops

Okay, so I've never been a huge fan of apricots, even the fresh ones.  My dad absolutely loves dried apricots, but there's just something wrong with that wrinkly texture in your mouth.  And once you bite down, they're way too sweet.  On the opposite end of the spectrum, the fresh apricots never seem to ripen, so all you get is hard, sour flesh. This is a no-win situation.

However, I do love lamb chops, and if that means I have to smear them with sweet apricot spread in order to get my family to be open-minded about eating them, that's exactly what I'm going to do.  And these are terrific.  So good I almost reached over onto my mom's plate.

Apricot Lamb Chops

Adapted from Cooking Light magazine, June 2005

½ cup apricot preserves or jam

2 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1 teaspoon soy sauce

½ teaspoon Worchestershire sauce

¼ teaspoon sea salt
⅛ teaspoon ground cinnamon

⅛ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

8 (3-ounce) lamp chops, trimmed of excess fat

Olive oil

Combine first five ingredients in a small bowl and set aside. Sprinkle lamb chops with salt, cinnamon, and pepper on both sides. Heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Drizzle with olive oil and add lamb when hot. Cook for five minutes on each side (for a little bit of red in the middle) or longer for well done. Remove the pan from the heat and pour the apricot mixture on top. Turn the chops in the mixture to make sure they are well-coated. You can set the pan over the warm burner briefly to melt the jam and thin the sauce a bit. When serving, spoon the excess sauce over the chops.

Makes 4 servings

Tapas: Pollo con Limón y Ajo (Chicken with Lemon and Garlic) and Champiñones al Ajillo (Sautéed Garlic Mushrooms)

So here we are with tapas, take two.  I didn't get crazy with some blood sausage (mostly because I couldn't find any), but I did make some pretty delicious lemon chicken and garlic mushrooms.  The mushrooms especially had some pretty nice liquid to sop up with a piece of good bread.  These two dishes could really make a meal themselves, flamenco guitar not included.

Pollo con Limón y Ajo (Chicken with Lemon and Garlic)
From Tapas: Traditional and Contemporary Tapas Dishes

4 large skinless boneless chicken breasts

5 tablespoons Spanish olive oil

1 onion, finely chopped

6 garlic cloves, finely chopped

Grated rind of 1 lemon, finely pared rind of 1 lemon, and juice of both lemons

4 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf Italian parsley, plus extra to garnish

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Lemon wedges and crusty bread, to serve

Using a sharp knife, slice the chicken breasts width-wise into thin slices. Heat the oil in a heavy-bottom skillet. Add the onion and cook for 5 minutes, or until softened but not browned. Add the garlic and cook for an additional 30 seconds.

Add the sliced chicken to the skillet and cook gently for 5 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until all the ingredients are lightly browned and the chicken is tender.

Add the grated lemon rind and the lemon juice and let it bubble. At the same time, deglaze the skillet by scraping and stirring all the bits on the bottom of the skillet into the juices with a wooden spoon. Remove the skillet from the heat, then stir in the parsley and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Transfer the chicken in lemon and garlic, piping hot, to a warmed serving dish. Sprinkle with the pared lemon rind and garnish with parsley sprigs. Serve with lemon wedges for squeezing over the chicken, accompanied by chunks or slices of crusty bread for mopping up the lemon and garlic juices.

Makes 6 to 8 servings

Champiñones al Ajillo (Sautéed Garlic Mushrooms)
From Tapas: Traditional and Contemporary Tapas Dishes

1 pound white mushrooms
5 tablespoons Spanish olive oil
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
Fresh lemon juice
4 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf Italian parsley
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Lemon wedges, to garnish
Crusty bread, to serve

Wipe or brush clean the mushrooms, then trim off the stems close to the caps. Cut any large mushrooms in half or into fourths. Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy-bottom skillet. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds to 1 minute, or until lightly browned. Add the mushrooms and sauté over high heat, stirring frequently, until the mushrooms have absorbed all the oil in the skillet.

Reduce the heat to low. When the juices have come out of the mushrooms, increase the heat again and sauté for 4 to 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until the juices have almost evaporated. Add a squeeze of lemon juice and season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir in the parsley and cook for an additional 1 minute.

Transfer the sautéed mushrooms to a warmed serving dish, then garnish with lemon wedges and serve piping hot or warm. Accompany with crusty bread for mopping up the juices.

Makes 6 servings

Cuisine at Home: Parmesan Crusted Chicken with Sage Butter Sauce

Cuisine at Home really wants you to try their magazine.  It's all I can think about after coming across their initial "free" issue every time I turn around.  Half Price Books must have a whole collection at this point.  But their Parmesan Crusted Chicken just looked too good to put down, so I gave in and made it.  And the recipe turned out a delicious piece of slightly tart, savory, crusty chicken goodness.  So I guess all those free issues did their job after all.

Parmesan Crusted Chicken with Sage Butter Sauce
From Cuisine at Home magazine, October 2002

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 large egg whites
2 teaspoons cornstarch
Juice of ½ lemon
1 loaf Ciabatta bread (to yield 1 cup coarse, dry breadcrumbs)
½ cup grated Parmesan
1 tablespoon chopped flat-leaf Italian parsley
1 teaspoon kosher or sea salt
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
Zest of 1 lemon
Sage Butter Sauce

Cut Ciabatta bread into large cubes and process in a food processor until fine crumbs form.  Dry the crumbs on a baking sheet for 10 to 15 minutes in a 200°F oven until completely dried by not toasted.

Cut chicken breasts in half lengthwise.  Pound flat in a Ziploc bag with a small amount of water added.  Breasts should be an even thickness.

Blend egg whites, cornstarch, and lemon juice with a fork in a wide shallow dish; set aside.  Combine bread crumbs, cheese, parsley, salt, pepper, and zest in a second wide, shallow dish.  Dip chicken breasts first in egg sauce and then crust with breadcrumb mixture.  Let chicken rest at room temperature on a rack for 20 to 30 minutes to set crust.

Preheat oven to 350°F.  Heat a frying pan with olive oil.  Add chicken breasts and brown first side, approximately 3 minutes.  Turn over and brown other side, approximately 3 minutes.  Transfer to oven-safe dish with small amount of olive oil in bottom.  Heat in oven for 8 to 10 minutes.  Serve with sauce.

Makes 4 servings

Sage Butter Sauce
3 tablespoons minced shallot
½ cup dry white wine
½ cup heavy cream
½ cup chicken broth
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
5 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cubed, divided use
1 to 2 teaspoons minced fresh sage
Salt and white pepper
Cayenne pepper to taste

Sauté shallot in 1 tablespoon butter in a small saucepan over medium heat just until soft, 2 to 3 minutes.  Add wine, cream, broth, and lemon juice.  Simmer until reduced by half, 8 to 10 minutes.  Whisk in remaining butter, 1 tablespoon at a time, stirring constantly.  Do not add more butter until previous addition has melted completely.  Finish sauce with sage and seasonings.  Keep warm in a water bath until ready to serve.

Tapas: Tomates Asados con Ajos y Tomillo (Roasted Tomatoes with Garlic and Thyme) and Patatas Aïoli (Baby Potatoes with Aïoli)

The first time I had tapas was in a restaurant in Addison.  You sat at a small table, crunched next to everyone else, and listened to flamenco guitar as you ate.  The night was almost magical, but unfortunately my body decided it didn't like something I ate, so I never went back.  The restaurant has since closed (coincidence??).  Needless to say, I've been a little hesitant to try tapas again.

Tapas are basically the ultimate appetizers.  You order a bunch of little dishes and pick through the selection as you sip your sangria.  It makes for great chatting food, and you can tell that it was made for slow eating.  Normally the tapas are pretty balanced: not too many fried dishes, not too much meat, not too much salt.  But since you pick your poison, you can go whole hog however you would like.

For my re-entry into the world of tapas, I decided to go easy and make a couple of vegetarian dishes.  Roasted tomatoes sounded fabulous, and since I'm a potato girl, I went with potatoes in a garlic mayonnaise.  Not too much work, and both of the dishes boasted flavor that was way above what I expected from such simple preparations.  Maybe next time I'll get more adventurous with some squid in its own ink or blood sausage?

Tomates Asados con Ajos y Tomillo (Roasted Tomatoes with Garlic and Thyme)
From Tapas: Traditional and Contemporary Tapas Dishes

8 deep red plum tomatoes

3 fresh thyme sprigs, plus extra to garnish

12 garlic cloves, unpeeled

Generous ¼ cup olive oil

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 425°F.  Cut the tomatoes in half lengthwise and arrange, cut side up, in a single layer in a large, ovenproof dish.  Tuck the thyme sprigs and garlic cloves between them.

Drizzle the olive oil all over the tomatoes and season to taste with pepper.  Bake in the preheated oven for 40 to 45 minutes, or until the tomatoes are softened and beginning to char slightly around the edges.

Remove and discard the thyme sprigs.  Season the tomatoes to taste with salt and pepper.  Garnish with the extra thyme sprigs and serve hot or warm.  Squeeze the pulp from the garlic over the tomatoes at the table.

Serves 6

Patatas Aïoli (Baby Potatoes with Aïoli)

From Tapas: Traditional and Contemporary Tapas Dishes

1 pound baby new potatoes

1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf Italian parsley

Sea salt

Aïoli

1 large egg yolk, at room temperature

1 tablespoon white wine vinegar or lemon juice

2 large garlic cloves, peeled

5 tablespoons Spanish extra-virgin olive oil

5 tablespoons corn oil

Salt and pepper

To make the Aïoli, place the egg yolk, vinegar, garlic, and salt and pepper to taste in a food processor fitted with a metal blade and blend together.  With the motor still running, very slowly add the olive oil, then the corn oil, drop by drop at first, then, when it begins to thicken, in a slow, steady stream until the sauce is thick and smooth.  Alternatively, use a bowl and whisk to make the Aïoli.  For this recipe the Aïoli should be quite thin to coat the potatoes.  To ensure this, blend in 1 tablespoon of water to form the consistency of sauce.

To prepare the potatoes, cut them in half or fourths to make bite-size pieces.  If they are very small you can leave them whole.  Place the potatoes in a large pan of cold salted water and bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat and simmer for 7 minutes, or until just tender.  Drain well, then transfer to a large bowl.

While the potatoes are still warm, pour over the Aïoli sauce and gently toss the potatoes in it.  Adding the sauce to the potatoes while they are still warm will help them to absorb the garlic flavor.  Let stand for 20 minutes so that the potatoes marinate in the sauce.

Transfer the potatoes with Aïoli to a warmed serving dish.  Sprinkle over the parsley and salt to taste and serve warm.  Alternatively, the dish can be prepared ahead and stored in the refrigerator, but return it to room temperature before serving.

Serves 6 to 8

Stickyrice.com: Sushi Rice

My favorite food ever?  Easy, it's sushi.  I love everything about this food.  Its delicious flavors, soft slightly-sweet rice, fresh fish, crunchy toppings...  I wish I had three stomachs to fill with sushi.  Not sure my bank account could keep up, but still.  And now I've learned how to make sushi, which makes life so much easier.  And delicious.

Philadelphia Roll: smoked salmon, cream cheese, cucumber strips
Eel Roll: broiled freshwater eel (unagi), avocado, cucumber strips, eel sauce on top
Spicy Tuna Roll: raw sushi-grade tuna, cucumber, sriracha sauce on top

Sushi Rice
From stickyrice.com

Pre-prepare a vinegar-water solution called tezu. Mix together 1 cup of water, 2 tablespoons of rice vinegar, and 1 teaspoon of salt. Set aside.

2 cups raw sushi rice (short- or medium-grain)
2 cups plus 2 tablespoons water
4 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt

Wash the rice several times until the water is clear. Move to a colander and drain for an hour. Transfer the rice to a heavy pot or electric rice cooker and add the measured water. Make sure there is a tight-fitting lid and bring to a boil. Simmer over low heat allowing the rice to steam for 15 minutes more with the cover on at all times. Now remove from the heat, remove the lid momentarily to stretch a clean tea towel over the pot and replace the cover. Let it remain covered and without heat to finish steaming for another 15 minutes. Meanwhile, mix the rice vinegar, sugar and salt together in a small saucepan. While stirring, heat the mixture until the sugar dissolves. Set aside the mixture to cool to room temperature. After the rice has steamed properly, take a wooden spatula or spoon and cut and fold the rice. Do not use beating or stirring motions as you want to avoid smashing the grains.

Dampen a cloth using the pre-prepared tezu and rub the insides of a bowl. The traditional bowl to use is the flat-bottomed wooden sushi oke or hangiri. The wood absorbs excess moisture and the large surface allows the rice to cool more quickly and evenly. Put the hot rice into the bowl and quickly add the seasoned rice vinegar solution. Mix with the same cutting and folding motion. After mixing, fan the hot rice mixture in order to remove moisture as well as to cool it. This should take about 10 minutes. The rice grains will have a nice sheen. The result will be ideal sushi rice with a slightly chewy consistency and just a touch of stickiness.

The rice is not to be refrigerated and should be used within an hour after preparation. Keep the rice covered with a clean cloth and at room temperature until you are ready to make your rolls.

Enough rice for 4 sushi rolls

Sara Moulton: Tarte au Pommes (French Apple Tart)

I know it's probably a bit late to be blogging about Thanksgiving festivities, but this time of year I always feel like I have too much to do, and no time to do it in. For this year's Thanksgiving, my family had a pretty normal spread, but I did bring a newcomer to the table. For dessert I contributed a French Apple Tart that I saw Sara Moulton cook, but it's in Gourmet magazine, and much harder to make than she lets on. Everything was delicious, and we all ate until our stomachs were ready to split open, so I feel the cooking was successful in every way!

Tarte au Pommes (French Apple Tart)
From Sara Moulton

1 recipe Pastry Dough
6 Golden Delicious apples, peeled, cored, halved and sliced ⅛-inch thick
¼ cup granulated sugar
4 tablespoons (½ stick) cold butter, sliced thin
½ cup apricot jam, heated and strained
Vanilla ice cream or sweetened whipped cream, as an accompaniment

Preheat oven to 375°F.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough into a 13-inch round and fit it into a 10-inch tart tin with a removable fluted rim, trimming the excess.  Arrange the apples decoratively on the pastry shell, overlapping them.  Sprinkle the sugar on top of the apples, top with butter slices, and bake in the middle of the oven for 45 minutes or until the crust is cooked through and the apples are golden.  Brush with the heated apricot jam while the tart is still hot.  Serve each portion with a small scoop of ice cream or a small spoonful of whipped cream.

Pastry Dough

1 stick cold unsalted butter
1¼ cups all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon salt
2 to 4 tablespoons ice water

To blend by hand: Blend together flour, butter, and salt in a bowl with your fingertips or a pastry blender until most of the mixture resembles coarse meal (roughly pea-size lumps).  Drizzle 2 tablespoons ice water evenly over and gently stir with a fork until incorporated.

To blend in a food processor: Pulse together flour, butter, and salt in a food processor until most of the mixture resembles coarse meal (roughly pea-size lumps).  Add 2 tablespoons ice water and pulse 2 to 3 times, or just until incorporated.

Test mixture:  Gently squeeze a small handful: it should hold together without crumbling apart.  If it doesn't, add more ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time, stirring or pulsing 2 to 3 times after each addition until incorporated (keep testing).  If you overwork the mixture or add too much water, the pastry dough will be tough.

Form dough:  Turn out onto a work surface and divide into 4 portions.  With heel of your hand, smear each portion once in a forward motion to help distribute the fat.  Gather the dough together and form it, rotating it on the work surface, into a disk.  Chill, wrapped in plastic wrap, until firm, at least 1 hour.

Cooking Light: Lightened Beef Stroganoff

Who doesn't love a plate of noodles topped with creamy beef and mushrooms?  Not anyone I know.  But you can't eat like that everyday, so I clipped this recipe for a lighter version that can be a little more forgiving on everyone's waistlines.  The tomato paste is an interesting addition, but it all kind of works.

Lightened Beef Stroganoff
From Cooking Light magazine, March 2005

1 (8-ounce) carton reduced-fat sour cream
3 tablespoons tomato paste
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
½ cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
⅛ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 pounds boneless sirloin steak, cut into (2-inch) strips
1 tablespoon butter
½ cup chopped onion
1 (14-ounce) can less-sodium beef broth
2 cups sliced mushrooms
Chopped fresh parsley (optional)
8 cups cooked medium egg noodles (about 7 cups uncooked pasta)

Combine the first 3 ingredients in a bowl. Set aside.

Lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine flour, salt, and pepper in a large zip-top plastic bag. Add beef; seal and shake to coat beef with flour mixture.

Melt butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion to pan; sauté 2 minutes or until tender. Add beef and flour mixture to pan; sauté 3 minutes or until beef is browned. Gradually add broth, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Add mushrooms; cover and cook 5 minutes or until mushrooms are tender. Reduce heat to low; gradually stir in sour cream mixture. Cook, uncovered, 1 minute or until heated (do not boil). Stir in parsley, if desired. Serve over the egg noodles.

Makes 8 servings