Bacon needs no introduction, it begs no accoutrements, but sometimes (just sometimes) it likes to be treated like a GD star. It doesn't take much to put bacon in the spotlight, just of touch of sweet spice and some proper cooking. I like my bacon straight and stiff as a board, thick and crisp. For my tastes, there is no better purveyor of the porky strip than John O'Groats in LA. I base my cooking technique on their expert presentation, and it doesn't fail.
INGREDIENTS
1 pound Bacon, thickly cut
2 tablespoons Garam Masala
2 teaspoons Brown Sugar
BUSINESS
Heat your oven to 475 degrees.
In a medium bowl mix together both the Garam Masala and brown sugar.
Dredge each bacon slice through the spice mixture, coating both sides liberally.
Line a large roasting tray with the bacon slices, keeping them in one layer.
Place a rack on top of the bacon slices, to keep them flat while they bake.
Bake the bacon for 15-20 minutes, or until browned and crisp all around.
Remove the bacon from the oven and, using a fork, take each slice out of the roasting tray while still hot and let it drain on a separate rack.
Whether or not you had an inadvertent overnight guest, take a few minutes and flap some jacks this morning. Pancakes aren't complicated, and if you make them a semi-regular part of your morning routine (say, perhaps, a weekend tradition) you'll find you know the formula by heart in no time. I threw some bananas into the mix, but if you don't have any on hand, skip 'em. Pancakes ahoy!
INGREDIENTS
2 Bananas
1 Egg
1/2 cup Milk (alternatives will work)
2 tablespoons Brown Sugar
1 tablespoon Safflower Oil
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1/2 cup Corn Grits
1/2 cup Millet Flour
1 teaspoon Baking Powder
BUSINESS
Mash bananas in bowl, whisk in egg, milk, sugar, oil, and salt.
Stir in grits, millet flour, and baking powder.
Heat griddle over medium-high flame and ladle batter onto surface.
Cook pancakes for 2-3 minutes, until bubbles appear around edges, then flip.
Cook for another 2 minutes, then remove to plate and enjoy.
Though I'd love to take credit for these brownies, I must bow my head to the inimitable David Lebovitz. He published this recipe for brownies in 2011 and I've been making them ever since. The batter is drop-dead simple with one caveat: you must beat it for at least a minute (as he states). The structural alchemy that occurs during your fervent whisking is what makes these brownies irresistible. They normally emerge from the oven with a crisp top but this time I've taken them for a ride with red wine and raspberry jam, baking a sticky-sweet layer on top of the bitter chocolate.
8 ounces (225g) Bittersweet Chocolate (at least 65%), chopped
1/2 tsp Salt
3/4 cup (150g) Sugar
2 large Eggs
1 tablespoon Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
3 tablespoons (30g) Corn Starch
1/2 cup Raspberry Jam
3 tablespoons Red Wine
1 tablespoon Corn Starch (yes, again)
BUSINESS
Grease an 8 or 9-inch square pan. Heat your oven to 350 degrees.
Melt the coconut oil, chocolate, and salt in a medium saucepan over low heat. Stir until smooth.
Remove the chocolate mixture from the stove, pour it into a medium sized mixing bowl and stir in the sugar, then the eggs one at a time.
Sift the cocoa powder and 3 tablespoons corn starch over the chocolate mixture and stir to combine. Beat the batter vigorously for at least on minute, until it is no longer grainy and nearly smooth. It will pull away from the sides of the bowl a bit. Pour batter into prepared baking pan.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the raspberry jam, wine, and 1 tablespoon corn starch.
Pour the raspberry mixture over the chocolate batter and slide the dish into your oven.
Bake for 30-35 minutes, until the jam is dark and thick and the edges of the brownies are crisp. Remove from the oven and let cool before slicing.
Eating well doesn’t have to break the bank, monetary salvation lies in knowledge. So, arm yourself with information and get to know your butcher. I’m a lover of lamb, but buying the rack every time will rob your wallet of its health. Lamb spare ribs, however, are often overlooked and if you can get your butcher to save some for you, the price will likely surprise you. Unpopular meat is cheap, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t scrumptious.
INGREDIENTS
2- pounds Lamb Spare Ribs
2 cups Red Wine
¼ cup Poppy Seeds
2 large Red Onions
½ teaspoon Black Pepper
½ teaspoon Salt
Balsamic Vinegar for serving
BUSINESS
Trim the lamb ribs of nearly all exterior fat (there will be a lot), leaving a thin layer where you cannot get any closer to the meat without cutting into the muscle. If you are able, pull the translucent skin away from the muscle tissue. If it is too difficult, don’t worry, it will peel away easily after cooking. Add the lamb to a plastic bag or plastic-wrap covered dish for marinating.
Pour red wine and poppy seeds over the ribs and slosh them around in the bag to spread the marinade. Let the ribs soak in wine for at least a few hours, if not overnight (or even a few days).
Hear your oven to 250 degrees. Remove the ribs from the fridge and let them warm up to room temperature while you heat the oven.
Slice the onions thinly and scatter them in the bottom of a large roasting tray.
Remove the ribs from the marinating bag, sprinkle with salt and pepper on both sides then lay the ribs meat-side down directly on top of the onions. The bones should curve up toward you like fingers reaching out of the tray. Pour the remaining marinade (from the bag) over the ribs.
Roast the ribs for 2.5-3 hours, until they're fork tender. Remove the lamb from the oven and crank the heat up to 500 degrees.
Cut the ribs into individual bones and flip them over, so the meat is on top now. When the oven is up to heat, slide the tray back in for 10-15 minutes. The ribs should be crackling and crisp by the time you take them out again.
Remove the ribs to a plate and drizzle a touch of balsamic vinegar over them before serving.
This date night meal needed some heft (I intend to put my dear friend into a food coma) and what adds more power to a meal than the humble potato? Boiled, smashed, and pan fried, this potato has everything: a tender center, a crisp skin, salt, garlic. It was only missing one thing: intrigue. Enter caraway. You think of it as the flavor of rye bread, and it's the perfect compliment to a smashed potato.
INGREDIENTS
6 Red Skinned New Potatoes
1/4 cup White Wine Vinegar
Olive Oil for pan frying
1 head Garlic Cloves, smashed and peeled
1 tablespoon Whole Caraway Seeds
BUSINESS
Clean your potatoes and place them in a large stock pot. Cover them with cold water, until it is at least an inch above the potatoes. Put a lid on the pot and bring it to a boil. Cook until the potatoes are fork tender, about 35-40 minutes.
Remove the potatoes from the water, drain them and let them cool. When they're cool enough to handle, use a heavy pan to press them down (or smash them) until they're relatively flat.
In a wok or cast iron skillet, heat a good pour of olive oil. Add the garlic and sprinkle in some caraway seeds (judge the amount depending on how many batches of potatoes you'll be frying). Cook garlic and caraway until fragrant.
Add potatoes (don't crowd the pan, maybe only two at a time) and fry until golden brown, then flip and cook again until golden.
In an effort to serve foods with a natural blush for my practice date I picked up a head of red cabbage at the market. Cabbage has a bad rap for being smelly, cheap, and mushy, and the fault for such a reputation sits heavily on the shoulders of mid-century cooks. Cabbage is a riot of color and texture, the tender leaves contrast mightily with the crunchy veins. I toss mine with apple cider vinegar and miso for a punch of acidity and flavor. No mush over here.
INGREDIENTS
2 medium Red Onions
3 tablespoons Olive Oil
1 head Red Cabbage
1/2 cup Apple Cider Vinegar
2 tablespoons White or Yellow Miso
Salt and Pepper to taste
BUSINESS
Cut the onions in half vertically, then slice the halves thinly.
Heat the oil in a wok or large stock pot, then add the onions and sauteee for 6-10 minutes over medium-high heat until translucent and slightly charred.
While the onions are cooking, cut up the cabbage. Chop the head in half vertically, then cut out the core of each half. Slice each half into thin strips.
Add the cabbage to the onions and stir to combine. Sautee for 5 minutes.
Pour the vinegar around the edges of your pot, then immediately cover with a lid and cook on high heat for 5 minutes.
Remove the lid, add miso, salt, and pepper, stir to combine and cook another 5-7 minutes, until the cabbage is your desired texture.
I could ruin an entire meal by nibbling snacks before dinner, and these nuts only contribute to my mealtime treason. Roasted nuts are easy to make ahead of time in large batches. They keep well in the freezer so you'll always have something on hand to feed those precocious guests arriving before you've finished in the kitchen.
Mix the nuts in a large bowl and then spread them evenly over two cookie sheets. Make sure to keep them in one layer for even roasting.
Roast the nuts for 12-15 minutes, or until toasted and fragrant. Remove them from the oven and set aside while you make the coating.
Reduce your oven temp. to 250 degrees.
In a large bowl whisk together the egg whites, rosemary, garlic, palm sugar, balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder and paprika. Whisk until everything is just incorporated and slightly foamy- we’re not looking to really turn this into a meringue.
Dump the dry roasted nuts into your egg white mixture and mix everything up. Use your hands, your favorite spatula or your kids, just make sure the coating is evenly distributed over all the nuts.
Spread the now coated nuts back onto their cookie sheets (again for even roasting) and put the trays back in the oven for 4 minutes to 1 hour, or until the coating looks baked on and toasty.
Remove the trays from your oven, let the nuts cool on the trays and then break apart and serve!
The perfect appetizer for a small group. Make a batch and let your friends gather in the kitchen to nibble the crisp edges as you scrape these off the hot griddle.
INGREDIENTS
9 tablespoons White Rice Flour
6 tablespoons Sorghum Flour
1/2 tablespoon Tapioca Flour
1/2 tablespoon Potato Flour (flour, not starch, take heed)
1/4 teaspoon Xanthan Gum
1/2 cup Boiling Water (boil first, measure later)
Salt and Pepper
Sesame Oil
~1/4 cup finely chopped Scallions
Oil for pan frying
GET BUSY
In a small bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients.
Pour the boiling water over the flour mixture and stir everything together. The dough will be tough, so get in there with your hands and knead it toward the end.
Pinch off some dough the size of a ping pong ball. Dust your counter with some extra rice flour and roll the dough out into an oblong shape, about 1/8 inch thick.
Brush the flattened dough with sesame oil and sprinkle gently with salt and pepper.
Scatter about one tablespoon of chopped scallion on the dough.
Roll the dough up like a cigar and pinch the ends to secure.
Roll the cigar into a spiral.
Using your rolling pin, roll this spiral out to about 1/4 inch thick. You should have a pancake roughly 5 inches in diameter.
Heat some oil in a saute pan until it is almost smoking.
Pan fry the cake for 2-3 minutes per side, or until golden brown and crisp all over.
Let the cakes cool on a paper towel to absorb some of the oil, then slice and serve!
If my family is going out for dinner, the odds are high that we're having Chinese food. With Linda at the table we're never stuck ordering American standbys (General Tsao's is just fried chicken, you know that, right?) and my favorite dish is the whole braised fish. To celebrate the new year I decided to serve a few of my friends whole striped bass. Best part? No one fought me for the cheeks.
INGREDIENTS
Sauce
3 tablespoons Sesame Oil
2 inches Ginger, sliced thinly
3 Garlic Cloves, sliced thinly
3 Scallions, minced
1/2 cup Preserved Black Beans
1/2 cup Shaoxing Rice Wine
2 cups Chicken or Veggie Stock
1 tsp Corn Starch
Fish
1 Striped Bass, ~2 pounds
2 inches Ginger, sliced thinly
3 Scallions, roughly chopped
Stems and Roots of one bunch Cilantro
BUSINESS
Begin with the sauce. In the base of a wok heat oil over medium-high heat. When hot, add ginger, garlic, and scallion. Stir fry for 5-7 minutes, until browned and fragrant.
Rinse black beans under hot water until the runoff is relatively clear. Add washed beans to hot wok. Stir fry for another 5 minutes.
Add rice wine to wok, stir to deglaze pan.
Add stock to wok and drop heat to simmer. Whisk in corn starch and cook for ~10 minutes, until slightly thickened.
Prepare the fish. Have your butcher remove the scales, gills, and guts, but leave the head, tail and spine intact. Stuff the raw fish with sliced ginger, and scallions. Using the back of your knife, bruise the cilantro stems until they are fragrant, stuff into fish.
Slide fish into hot wok with sauce. Increase heat to medium. Cover wok with lid or large bowl. Cook fish for 8 minutes, remove lid and flip the fish. Replace lid and cook for another 8 minutes, until the flesh is white and tender. Serve with pan sauce.
Do yourself a favor and scour Chinatown for veggies. You'll see things you never knew existed. Like this, Fu Gwa. It's known as Bitter Melon in America and the name is no joke. Be prepared for an intriguing taste at your table. The texture is close to zucchini, but firmer. Chop it up, stir fry it with some shitake mushrooms and put it on the table. It'll be gone in no time.
INGREDIENTS
2 cups Dried Shitake Mushrooms
Hot Water
2 pounds Fu Gwa
3 tablespoons Sesame Oil
3 cloves Garlic, chopped
3 tablespoons Soy Sauce
BUSINESS
Soak the mushrooms in hot water for at least 30 minutes, until they're tender enough to cut. Cut them into bite sized pieces.
Cut the Fu Gwa in half and scoop out the seeds, then chop it into rounds or cubes.
Heat the sesame oil in the base of a wok and add the garlic when it's hot. Stir fry until garlic is browned.
Add mushrooms and stir fry for 7-10 minutes.
Add Fu Gwa and Soy Sauce, stir fry for 5-7 minutes, then serve.
Without a doubt, Dou Miao is my favorite vegetable. The pea shoots are easy to cook, tender and crunchy all at once, sweet and savory. I can eat more Dou Miao in one sitting than any other vegetable. I guess I should tell my parents they raised me well.
INGREDIENTS
3 tablespoons Sesame Oil
3 Cloves Garlic, sliced thinly
3 cubes Fermented Tofu (they're small but mighty)
2 pounds Dou Miao, washed
3 tablespoons Shaoxing Rice Wine
BUSINESS
Heat oil in wok over medium-high heat. Add garlic and stir fry until golden.
Add fermented tofu, mash into paste.
Add Dou Miao, stir fry until reduced by at least half (about 7 minutes)
Pour in rice wine, deglaze pan, toss veggies and serve.
It's remarkable how many times I change a dessert when menu planning. What began as chocolate cupcakes with ginger sabayon morphed three times until it ended up as mossy green ramekins of matcha custard. I love the herbal note to end a meal, it feels complete.
Preheat your oven to 325 degrees. You will need 6 ramekins or one large casserole dish set on top of a dish towel in a large baking pan (more on this later).
In a sauce pan combine the coconut milk, almond milk, matcha, and vanilla bean scrapings over low heat. Whisk until the matcha is incorporated into the milk (no clumps allowed)
Fill a tea kettle or another sauce pan with water and bring it to a boil. You’ll need this later.
In a bowl, whisk together the eggs, egg yolks, sugar and salt until pale yellow and slightly thickened.
Remove the milk mixture from the heat and drizzle it slowly into the egg mixture, whisking all the time. If you pour too quickly you’ll end up with scrambled eggs.
Pour the custard base through a strainer and then ladle it into each ramekin, roughly 2/3 cup per dish. Set the filled ramekins on top of the towel in the baking pan. The towel helps to prevent burnt bottoms.
Slide the baking pan into your oven and then pour the simmering water in the pan, around the ramekins. Be careful to keep the water out of the ramekins and fill the baking pan until the water is about 2/3 up the ramekins. This will help evenly bake the custards.
Bake the custard for 28-32 minutes or until the custard is gently set. It should tremble ever so slightly when you give it a tap on the side.
Remove the ramekins from the water bath and allow them to cool for an hour on a rack. Then cover them tightly with plastic wrap and set them in the fridge to chill.
A good cup of tea needs a strong biscuit, and my green tea custard is no different. These cookies have a touch of ginger and a handful of black sesame seeds to ring in the Chinese New Year. Mix the dough with your hands, save a spoon.
INGREDIENTS
1 cup Oats
1/2 cup Brown Sugar
1/3 cup Millet Flour
1/3 cup Black Sesame Seeds
3/4 teaspoon Ground Ginger
1/2 tsp Salt
3 ounces Coconut Oil
BUSINESS
Heat your oven to 350 degrees.
In a small bowl mix all ingredients with your hands. Squeeze and massage the mixture until there are no visible clumps.
Press the crust into a 9-inch pie dish (or some equivalently sized glass baking dish). Bake the cookies for 15-20 minutes or until just brown around the edges. Remove dish from the oven and cut it into slices while it's still hot. Let it cool before removing from dish.
The best way to keep your kitchen cool this summer is to cook outside. Hit the grill and have a taco party. Easy to make for a crowd, simple enough for one.
As winter thaws I look through my window and crave a well packed picnic basket. Gingham lining, a nice, dry salami, and a container of lentil salad; this is the picture that soothes my cramped brain. Roast what's left of your winter store of veggies and toss them with lentils for a quick salad.
What sensible person lives without a seasonal cake recipe stashed up their sleeve? Not this gentleman, that's for damn sure. I make this cake no matter the weather, with fruit foraged from the bottom of my refrigerator. Pear and Almond? Divine.
Let me add my voice to the thousands admonishing you for skipping breakfast. Darlings! Breakfast is your first chance of the day to fill your tummy with fuel! Make sure you put some gas in your tank before the long drive ahead.
It's positively frigid where I am right now, and my tour through America has me yearning for a giant pot of soup. Start your new year with a steaming bowl of soup and you'll be warm all winter long.
Winter baking is full of spice and warmth, none of those lemony midsummer desserts. Looking for a way to kick that old fruitcake in the bum? Try this cinnamon topped cranberry bread using Arrowhead Mills' Gluten Free All Purpose Baking mix and you'll be nibbling before it's had time to cool.
Toast the new year with a charming dinner for two. Elegant and ever so luscious, you'll be happy to stay at home with a friend and a glass of champagne.
