Food Archives - Page 32 of 56

Korean BBQ Flavor Shortcut

By threejamigos | August 7, 2018 | Comments 0 Comment

Korean bbq comes to mind when summer rolls around and barbecue gets top billing. I love Korean barbecue especially Kalbi and Bulgogi. Kalbi, cross-cut or flanken-style beef ribs, are marinated in a garlicky soy sauce mixture flavored with sesame oil, green onions, sugar to sweeten and fresh ground pepper. The ribs are marinated for at least a couple of hours before they’re thrown on the grill. Cut crosswise (genius), they cook in minutes, a good thing since the aroma the sizzling meat and marinade as it caramelizes makes me hungry. Bulgogi, thin strips of meat, marinaded in a similar manner, is cooked on the grill, wrapped in lettuce along with a bite of rice, a bit of kimchi and dollop of gochujang and then quickly STUFFED in your mouth…hot, sweet, salty, crunchy..so good. Party in my mouth.

I came across a recipe for Bulgogi Meatballs, the perfect answer to when you are craving Korean bbq but don’t have the time to marinade the meat. A combination of ground beef and pork seasoned like Bulgogi, then formed into meatballs and fried or baked is a spot-on stand-in for Korean bbq. The Bulgogi meatballs can be served by themselves with various dipping sauces, wrapped in lettuce, served with rice or made into a slider topped with cheese and kimchi. It’s simple, quick and delicious.

The recipe comes from Everyday Korean, yes, another cookbook I picked up recently. Gorgeous photos and a fusion twist caught my eye. A flatbread topped with a Gochujang Sour Cream and mozzarella will be my next foray in this book. Intriguing, different. I’ll keep you posted.

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Beef Bulgogi Meatballs

This recipe, from Everyday Korean by Kim Sunée and Seung Hee Lee, is a tasty spin on a familiar dish. Shape these into meatballs and serve with the dipping sauces along with lettuce leaves or steamed rice. Or make them into sliders to serve on toasted mini buns with grated Cheddar cheese, mayonnaise and mustard.

Author Everyday Korean

Ingredients

¼ cup low-sodium soy sauce
3 Tbsp dark brown sugar
3 Tbsp minced green onion
2 Tbsp minced garlic
2 Tbsp toasted sesame oil
2 tsp fish sauce
¾ tsp freshly ground black pepper
¼ Asian pear or Bosc or Bartlett pear, grated
1 ⁄3 cup panko breadcrumbs
1 lb ground beef preferably chuck and short rib
1 lb ground pork or veal
1 large egg lightly beaten
Toasted sesame seeds for garnish (optional)

Ssamjang

½ cup doenjang fermented soybean paste or miso
¼ cup gochujang Korean fermented chile paste
2 Tbsp sesame oil
1 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp rice vinegar or cider vinegar
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1 Tbsp minced green onion white parts only
1 Tbsp minced jalapeño serrano chile stems and seeds removed (optional)

Soy Vinegar Dipping Sauce

¼ cup low-sodium soy sauce
¼ cup rice vinegar or cider vinegar
1 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp finely chopped green onion
1 tsp gochugaru Korean red pepper flakes, optional
1 tsp toasted sesame oil optional
Toasted sesame seeds for garnish (optional)

Instructions

To make meatballs::

In a large bowl, mix together first 8 ingredients. Add panko, ground meats and egg; mix just until combined (do not overmix). Cover; refrigerate 30 minutes and up to 2 hours.
Preheat oven to 425°F.
Form meat mixture into 40-50 mini meatballs or about 18 slider patties; place on a foil-lined baking sheet. Bake 18-20 minutes or until golden and cooked through but still tender and moist, turning the pan halfway through cooking time.
OR
Heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Add meatballs or patties to pan, leaving space. Cook, shaking pan occasionally until meat begins to brown on one side (~3 minutes). Gently flip over and cook for another 3-4 minutes. Until just cooked thru.
Garnish with sesame seeds, if desired. Serve with Ssamjang and Soy-Vinegar Dipping Sauce.

To make Ssamjang::

In a small bowl, combine all ingredients. Refrigerate in an airtight container up to 2 weeks. Makes about 1 cup.

To make Soy-Vinegar Dipping Sauce:

In a medium bowl, combine soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, onion, and gochugaru and sesame oil, if desired. Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds just before serving, if desired. Refrigerate in an airtight container in the refrigerator up to 3 days. Makes about ½ cup.

Instant Pot Easy Jook (Rice Soup) Soul Food Breakfast

By threejamigos | August 1, 2018 | Comments 3 comments

Last weekend Jamie played her version of NYT’s 36 Hours. We picked her up at the airport (SFO NOT SJC, grrrr) at 1:00 am Friday night (ok Saturday morning, delays) and dropped her off Sunday at 11:00 AM. Her first words upon seeing her bleary-eyed parents? DID YOU BRING MY SUSHI WITH YOU? I AM STARVING! Lucky we like her.

Happy Hour Any Hour

With Jamie coming home, the call went out for a happy hour, which, due to schedules, morphed into a Saturday morning breakfast happy hour. Any time of day is Happy Hour when it involves friends, food, and fun. It just means tweaking the menu that’s all. We decided on a bowl of fresh strawberries and summer peaches, Belgium Waffles, candied bacon, Jule’s Granola and yogurt. Jamie chimed in with “I want Jook (rice soup) too” Rice Soup is soul food, comfort food, each bite reminds one of being home. With its addition and the various toppings like shredded chicken, assorted sweet and salty pickles, and slivers of green onions to go along, our breakfast menu was complete.

A small stumbling block to this plan, who was going to make Jook (Rice Soup) in the morning? Ugh, the last thing I wanted to do was get up early after a late-night airport pickup. Then it hit me, hello…you have an INSTANT POT, Deb. A quick Google search yielded plenty of recipes so I decided on a mash-up of my Dad’s Jook and a couple of Instant Pot recipes I found online. Yay, I’ll get forty winks and have rice soup ready for breakfast.

Jook in an Instant Pot is so stupid easy it’s a crime. Saute a couple of slices of ginger in the Instant Pot add the washed rice, give it a few good stirs, add skinned chicken drumsticks, fill the pot with water and seasonings, seal it and set the timer for 20 minutes. That’s it. Jook Time. If you have chicken stock, use it for an extra rich and flavorful soup.

I have a confession, if I don’t have homemade stock or even low-sodium commercial chicken broth, I’ll add a tablespoon of a chicken stock base such as Better Than Boullion, or Chicken Powder by LKK or Knorr (a Chinese kitchen staple) just to kick it up a notch. It’s not necessary but it will add some depth of flavor. The soup will look thin when you first take off the lid. Stir it a couple of times to combine the rice and stock, hit the saute’ function, and bring it to a boil. Cook for an additional 5-10 minutes or until the Jook is the consistency you want.

*Notes from a Thanksgiving Table

My favorite post-Thanksgiving meals aka “What to do with your leftovers”.

Turkey Rice Soup (Congee or Jook)

DON’T THROW AWAY THE BONES AND CARCASS.

Get out your stockpot (or any really, really big pot). Throw the carcass, wings, drumsticks (sans stuffing) in and fill with water. Add a smashed chunk of ginger (2-inch piece) 1/2 cup of rice wine, a bunch of scallions, a large pinch of salt and bring it to a boil. Once it boils, reduce heat to a nice energetic simmer. Cover and fuggetaboutit for a couple of hours. You will end up with liquid gold to make any delicious soup you want. For a non-Asian bent, omit ginger and scallions and throw in carrots, celery, yellow onions instead. But honestly, it doesn’t matter, you could make jook with either stock.

I do make the stock separately so that I can strain the stock and remove all those little nasty bone fragments and seasoning vegetables. They have all done their job and can now exit stage left.

The stock will keep in the fridge for about a week or longer in the freezer.

Now go back to the top or to the bottom for the recipe on how to make jook….you’ll thank me, so so good.

Hello….Turkey Sammies a la Dagwood style which means all your Thanksgiving leftovers in between two slices of bread. Yep, turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, gravy, and a couple of slices of cheese from the appetizer plate. Don’t forget the leftover greens from the salad no one ate because WHO eats salad on Thanksgiving-puulease. Oh man-so good.

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Instant Pot Chicken Congee Recipe (Jook)

Jook or congee, the ultimate comfort food, when its cold outside, when you have a cold, anytime.

Course Soup

Cuisine Asian, Asian-American

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 20

Total Time 45

Calories 140kcal

Ingredients

For the Soup:

1 cup long grain Jasmine rice honestly you can use any kind of rice, long, medium or short grain
1.5 Tsp vegetable oil
3 Slices thinly sliced fresh ginger size of quarters
1 tsp salt
3-4 skinless chicken drumsticks or thighs or 2 whole chicken legs, can also add pork such as pork butt 2-3 2 inch pieces
8 to 10 cups water, fill to the 10-cup mark on your IP or use stock and water 1:1
1/8 cup rice wine
1 tbsp Better Than Bouillon (optional) Skip if you are starting with stock

At the Finish Line

2 tsp sesame oil toasted, Asian sesame oil
1/3-1/2 cup scallions-sliced on the bias garnish
1/8 Cup finely shredded fresh ginger garnish
Salt and pepper to taste preferably white pepper

Instructions

Wash rice. Add the rice to a bowl, and add enough water to cover the rice. Swirl the rice around. Drain and repeat a few times until the water is clear. Let drain and dry.
Turn on Instant Pot with Saute function. When hot, add 1 -1/2 teaspoon vegetable oil and ginger. Saute for 30 seconds, add rice and 1 teaspoon salt. Stir to coat rice with oil approximately 1 minute.
Add chicken pieces, bouillon, and rice wine to the pot . **If you are in a rush or feeling lazy, skip sauteing the rice and ginger. Just throw them into the pot, fill with enough water until it reaches the 10 cup mark in the Instant Pot.
Turn off saute, close the lid and make sure the knob is on "Sealing". Choose the "Porridge" button and set the time to 20 minutes.
While congee is cooking, shred ginger and slice scallions and place in small bowls for serving.
When the time is up on the timer, turn the Instant Pot off. Wait 15 minutes natural release before turning the knob from 'Sealing' to 'Venting'. Rice soup tends to splatter a lot, do not do a quick release.
Remove the chicken from the pot, when it is cool enough to handle, shred the meat and discard the bones. If the jook seems thin, turn saute' function on (without the lid on) and cook until desired consistency. If it is too thick, add water or broth.
Add the chicken back into the congee or put it in a bowl and let folks add at the table. Taste, add salt if necessary.
Ladle into bowls and top with desired amount of ginger, white pepper, sesame oil and scallions. Let folks add their own.

Toppings and Fixins'

My Dad's Jook calls for potatoes, I love them in my soup. Any kind of potato will work, peeled and quartered for large potatoes. Add at the same time as the chicken when making the soup.
For meatballs, follow instructions under Dad's Jook. This can be added at the end after pressure cooking. Remove lid and press saute function. When the rice soup comes to a boil, add meatballs and cook until done 2-3 minutes.
Additional toppings include cilantro leaves, fried garlic slivers, shredded fresh ginger, salted peanuts, shredded lettuce (iceberg works well)...the list goes on. Anything you eat with rice can be added. NO Rules!

Pickled Obsession (Pork and Kimchi)

By threejamigos | July 20, 2018 | Comments 0 Comment

My last trip to the Hankook Korean Supermarket, I took the plunge. Yep, finally bit the bullet and bought a BIG jar of Kimchi. No more little pint size containers for me. I didn’t go completely crazy and get the gallon size, although I thought about it for a fleeting moment since it was on sale, lol. I refrained and prudently bought a quart size jar.

The question running through your brain right now, which Kimchi did she buy? Am I right? Lucky for you I did the exhaustive, backbreaking, mentally draining research-so you don’t have to. I stood in the Kimchi section of HMart for an hour, watching which Kimchi customers were buying and then I repeated this at Hankook Market (much to Hubster’s chagrin). I also “interrogated” my friends and forced them to reveal their favorite Kimchi. Okay, I just texted them and they replied, consensus was Ocinet or Tobagi brands were good. So there I was in Hankook Market, upgrading to the quart size jar of Kimchi by Ocinet.

With a large jar of kimchi to consume, I searched for quick and easy Kimchi dishes to try. I scored big time when I found a Pork Belly Kimchi recipe on the blog, Spice the Plate. The kitchen gods were smiling on me, I had sliced pork belly, kimchi and Gochujang in the fridge, didn’t even need to make a grocery run. This dish literally comes together in minutes. While the rice is cooking, you have plenty of time to prep, cook and plate the Pork and Kimchi.

The pork is marinaded in Gochujang, soy sauce and a touch of sugar. While the pork marinades, thinly slice a yellow onion, grab some kimchi and slice the bigger pieces into strips. A couple of minutes of stir-frying, garnish with toasted sesame seeds and green onions to make it pretty, voila’ dinner is served. This pork and kimchi dish hits the spot, spicy with a touch of sweetness from the Gochujang, heat and crunch from the kimchi, and a bit of nuttiness from the sesame oil. This is “party in my mouth” food. Delicious and soooo easy.

I managed to pop a taste in my mouth before heading out for a meeting, pretty yummy. I foolishly thought I’ll have some when I get home. When I got home, the bowl was empty and my kid, a sheepish grin plastered on his face, gave me the two thumbs up. Consolation I guess.

Good thing I bought a big jar of Kimchi. To help you pick your own bottle of pickled goodness, Serious Eats also reviewed Kimchi which you can find here.

Update:

I love this simple, homey dish and it has become part of my regular rotation. Starting with ingredients like kimchi, Japanese curry blocks or Thai Curry pastes are such a boon to homecooks. A flavorful meal in minutes!

Added cellophane or bean thread noodles to this dish to give it even a little more “oomph” without adding more pork. Bean thread noodles are made of mung bean and once cooked are transparent, and are absolute flavor magnets.

A Deep Dive On This Thread

Cellophane Noodles are found in just about every Asian cuisine, Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, Thai…you get the picture. The confusion begins with labeling. Bean thread noodles, glass noodles, and vermicelli refer to noodles made of mung bean or sweet potato. BUT the term vermicelli noodles are also used for thin rice noodles. Both come dry and look very similar.

On the left is bean thread noodles made of mung bean. Hydrate them in water and they turn transparent. On the right, once hydrated rice noodles or vermicelli are opaque white. If you have had pho or Pad Thai, the noodles are made of rice. Hawaiian Long Rice (don’t get me started), or Korean Japchae, the noodles are made of mung bean. I could be wrong, but most Cantonese dishes use glass noodles not rice noodles.

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Stir-Fry Pork and Kimchi

Course Main Course

Cuisine Asian

Keyword stir-fry pork and kimchi

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 10

Total Time 25

Ingredients

1/2 pound kimchi larger pieces cut into strips
1/2 pound pork belly sliced (or pork shoulder or butt would work also)
1/2 yellow onion thinly sliced
1 tablespoon oil
1/2 tablespoon sesame oil
Toasted white sesame seeds

Marinade for the pork:

1 tablespoon Korean hot pepper paste Gochujang
1 tablespoon soy sauce Kikkoman is fine
½ teaspoon sugar

Instructions

Marinate the pork with Korean hot pepper paste, soy sauce and sugar for about 10 minutes.
Heat oil over medium high heat, stir-fry the onion for about 3 minutes until soft and browned.
Add the pork and cook for 3-4 minutes until pork loses pinkness.
Add in the kimchi and stir fry for another 2 minutes.
Drizzle with sesame oil and sprinkle with toasted white sesame seeds and green onions.
Serve with rice

Notes

I had some tteobokki (rice cakes)so I threw those in too. Yummy

(Grilled Peppers and Torn Mozzarella Panzanella) Smittened Again

By threejamigos | July 16, 2018 | Comments 4 comments

This past weekend we had dinner with our “Gourmet Club”. A group of us, 5 couples, started the club when our kids were in preschool. It was a way of committing to a grown-up event, enjoying a nice meal and great conversation, sans kids, balloons, and crayons.
Initially, our goal was once a month, and we would each take a turn at hosting. The host picked the menu and made the main dish. The other couples provided the rest.

Well, with baseball, hockey, soccer practices, piano lessons, homework, not to mention work…monthly became every couple of months. As the kids went in different directions, so did we, and our dinners became much more sporadic. The old adage, time flies rings true. It has been at least 8 years since our last get-together 🤦🏻‍♀️. Our kids are now all in their twenties…I gotta chew on that for a minute, so it was time to have another dinner. We were long overdue.

Good Food, Great Friends

We talked, laughed, bragged, and complained about our kids, parent’s prerogative. We drank way too many Mai Tais and ate way too much food. Besides Glen’s traditional toast, the best part of the evening was just being together again and enjoying each other’s company.

The days of “gourmet” meals are long gone, perhaps a reflection of where we are in our lives now, the food is unfussy, delicious, and comforting. We were such blowhards back in the day, now, if we want a fancy-schmancy meal, we’re going out. Casual is probably not quite accurate as our buffet included a platter of warm Roasted Cauliflower with a Raisin Caper Sauce from Serious Eats, a classic Greek Salad of garden tomatoes, cucumbers, feta, and onions, and a delicious stuffed pork roast.

I know, y’all are thinking, ok Deb…What did you bring to the table?

As I was looking for inspiration, a mouthwatering Grilled Peppers and Torn Mozzarella Panzanella popped up on my feed from Smitten Kitchen. Deb Perelman rocks. Maybe it’s a Deb connection, but this isn’t the first time a Smitten Kitchen recipe has popped up when I needed something delicious.

This dish couldn’t be easier. Why? Peppers, red onions, and a nice crusty bread are tossed in garlic, oil and GRILLED and…yay for me, hubby does ALL the GRILLING in our house. Yep. I prepped the veggies and bread and handed them off to Wes. Just like magic, while I was eating Bon Bons (jk), they came back perfectly grilled. Call it the grillin’ and chillin’ method. He grills while I chill-perfect! All I had to do was make a simple vinaigrette, let the peppers soften, tear up the bread and mozzarella, and toss it all in a bowl with the dressing, fini, and Panzanella ready to go. So good, so easy. Folks, you need to file this under “so gonna make this”.

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Grilled Peppers and Torn Mozzarella Panzanella

Course Salad

Cuisine Italian

Keyword Panzanella

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 20

Total Time 40

Servings 6 people

Ingredients

Hubby's Part:

4 1- inch slices bread country-style
3 large red bell peppers halved, seeds removed
1 medium red onion peeled and cut into 1/2-inch wedges
3 tablespoons olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

My Part:

2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
1 garlic clove minced
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoons capers drained (rinsed if salted)
4 ounces mozzarella torn into bite-sized pieces, or 4 ounces bocconcini
Fresh herbs — snipped chives basil, or parsley or a mix thereof — to finish (optional)

Instructions

First Part is Mine: Place bread, pepper halves, and onion wedges in a large bowl and drizzle with 3 tablespoons olive oil, then sprinkle 1 teaspoon kosher salt and many grinds (or about 1/4 teaspoon) black pepper. Use your hands to toss everything together until oil coats everything.
Part I Get to Ignore: Heat your grill to medium-high. Spread peppers and onions across grill grates and grill, lid down, flipping as needed until onions are charred in spots (they’ll be done first) and peppers are blistered and blackened in many spots and beginning to soften. Transfer onions to a plate as they’re done; transfer peppers to a bowl. Use bread in bowl to swipe up any excess salt, pepper, and/or oil in it and place slices on grill. Grill until toasted on both sides. Transfer to plate with onions.
Back to Me: Place foil or a lid over peppers in bowl to trap heat. Once they’re cool enough to handle, remove as much of the skin as you can. Cut peppers into 1/2- to 1-inch wide strips.
In the bottom of a large bowl, whisk together sherry vinegar, remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil, sugar, about 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt (and more to taste), and garlic. Add capers. Add peppers to the bowl and let them marinate for as little as 5 minutes or up to a day, even. The longer they souse, the more pickled they’ll taste. After 5 minutes, however, they still have plenty of flavor.
To assemble and serve: Right before you’re ready to serve the salad, add onions to the bowl with the peppers. Tear bread into chunks and add to bowl, along with mozzarella. Mix gently, making sure the dressing coats the bread. Taste and add more seasoning if needed. Finish with basil and chives.

Asian Bolognese “Zha Jiang Mian”

By threejamigos | July 12, 2018 | Comments 0 Comment

When I lived in Los Angeles my favorite place to eat was a tiny dumpling shop in Chinatown. Before entering I would stop and watch the woman in the window folding dumplings, it was mesmerizing. She would roll the dough into a long rope, deftly cut it into pieces and then with a small rolling pin, flatten each piece into a thin round disc. A spoonful of filling plopped in the center of the wrapper, a couple of turns, and a perfectly pleated potsticker was born.

Hoisin-sweet sauce, Sweet Bean flour is a bit more pronounced in flavor, Bean Sauce is salty with a fermented flavor-umami central. If you don’t have an Asian market near you, I have posted product links in the 3Jamigos Shop for **Hoisin** **Sauce** and **Bean Sauce**-but it would be WAY cheaper at an Asian market!

As delicious as the dumplings were, I actually went for the noodles. Their Zha Jiang Mian was “drop the mic” delicious. The literal translation is fried bean sauce noodles. Stir fry ground pork or chicken with shiitake mushrooms, garlic, ginger, sweet bean paste, and ground bean sauce-throw in some water and simmer. Toss with the warm noodles and top with slivers of green onions, crisp carrots, and refreshing cucumbers, it is really yummy.

If a celestial chef decided to create the perfect bowl of noodles-this would be in the running.

My quest to make my own perfect bowl of noodles started with the recipe on the blog “The Woks of Life” (mom, dad & 2 sisters blogging from different parts of the world, check it out). The recipe calls for ground bean sauce and either sweet flour sauce or Hoisin. I like Zha Jiang Mian with a touch of sweetness so I used Sweet Bean Paste and Hoisin with the Bean Sauce. Stir fry the pork, seasonings, and mushrooms and add water to create the sauce. Reduce the sauce until it has thickened and has a nice sheen. Pour over noodles, add your veggies, dunzo. A little bowl of goodness ready to eat. Sadly, the little shop is gone and it’s a long drive to LA just for noodles anyways. It’s a good thing I can make my own Zha Jiang Mian.

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Zha Jiang Mian 2 Ways

Zha Jiang Mian Korean style and Chinese Style, both delicious!

Course Main Course

Cuisine Asian

Keyword Zha Jiang Mian

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 20

Total Time 30

Ingredients

6 oz. ground pork
¼ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cornstarch
½ teaspoon oil plus 1 tablespoon
⅛ teaspoon white pepper
3 slices ginger minced finely
4 cloves garlic minced
2 tablespoons sweet bean sauce I used 2 T Hoisin/1 T Sweet Ben Sauce
3 tablespoons ground bean paste Reduce to 2 T
1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
1 cup water
8 oz. fresh noodles flour-based noodle. Fresh or dry. I've used udon and a combination of spinach and plain

Additional Chinese Ingredients

4-6 fresh shiitake mushrooms* finely chopped
1 cup julienned carrots
1 cup julienned cucumbers
½ cup julienned scallions garnish

Additional Korean Ingredients

3 fresh shiitake mushrooms diced
1 medium Yukon Gold Potato* 1/2 inch dice for Korean version
1 small zucchini 1/2 inch dice for Korean version
1/2 cup carrots 1/2 inch dice for Korean version
1/2 small yellow onion diced
1/4 head cabbage shredded, optional
1/2 cup green onions chopped
1/2 cup cucumbers diced

Instructions

Marinade the pork with the following for 15 minutes: ¼ teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon cornstarch, ½ teaspoon oil, ⅛ teaspoon white pepper.
Heat a tablespoon oil in your wok over medium heat, add the marinated ground pork to the wok. Cook for a minute to brown it, and then add the ginger, garlic, and mushrooms* Stir fry everything together for another 2-3 minutes.
**Add the Hoisin, sweet bean sauce, bean paste, dark soy sauce, and water, stirring everything together well. Lower the heat and cover the wok. Simmer the sauce for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking.
Meanwhile, cook the noodles according to the package directions.
Top noodles with the sauce and garnish with the julienned carrots, cucumbers, and scallions.

Korean Style*

Stir fry pork, ginger, and garlic for 30 seconds add diced vegetables. Stir fry for 2-3 minutes. Continue with recipe**
If you like, add shredded cabbage in the last couple of minutes of cooking.
Place a mound of noodles in your bowl, top with sauce and garnish with cucumber and green onions. Plop yourself down in front of the telly and enjoy!

Blueberry Avocado Spinach Salad (It’s Gettin Hot In Here, So Take Out All Your Salad Greens)

By threejamigos | July 7, 2018 | Comments 0 Comment

Woohoo, it is going to get really hot this weekend! When the temperature hits 3 digits it’s time to get out of the kitchen as fast as you can. Time for al fresco dining-cool, refreshing salads, sweet and juicy summer fruits along with an array of cheeses. A pitcher of thirst quenching Sangria…just maybe we can get through this heatwave. I found a tasty and eye-catching salad from Over Easy by Joy the Baker (latest book and amazing blog) that I love. It’s my salad of the season, specifically, blueberry season, Blueberry Avocado Spinach Salad. The list of star-studded ingredients includes toasted hazelnuts, blueberries, avocados, and cucumbers. Dressed with a sweet, slightly tart dressing, it reminds me of the classic Spinach Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing from back in the day, it’s dee-licious.

Get to the farmer’s market now and pick up sweet, juicy peaches and nectarines along with your salad fixins!

I have gone crazy with this salad with additional yummies like pancetta “cracklins” or crispy bacon bits, thinly sliced red onions for some bite, or sliced hard-boiled eggs for protein, YUM. The toasted hazelnuts have no substitute, their crunch and flavor are hard to beat in this salad and they go so well with blueberries, like Fred and Ginger.

The dressing is easy and quick. Start with a squeeze of lemon juice, a dollop of dijon mustard, glop of honey and whisk in some EVOO. Alternative easy method: throw it all in a bottle and shake, shake shake. Season with salt and pepper to taste and that’s it. You don’t need no stinkin’ supermarket bottle stuff, nope.

This is a lovely salad, I hope you will try it. Share it with friends and family.

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Blueberry Avocado Spinach Salad

Perfect during blueberry season, a spinach salad with avocado, slices of hard-boiled egg and hazelnuts all of which compliments blueberries dressed with honey mustard dressing.

Course dinner, first course, lunch, Salad

Cuisine American

Keyword avocado, blueberry, Caesar Salad, hazelnuts, honey mustard dressing, spinach

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 15

Total Time 30

Ingredients

The Dressing

2 tbsp Honey
1 tbsp. Dijon mustard
¼ tsp. sea salt
¼ tsp. black pepper
4 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
¼ cup olive oil

The Fixings

6 cups Baby spinach (generous cups) washed, rinsed and dried
1 cup fresh blueberries
1 cup English or Persian cucumber thinly sliced
1/3 cup toasted hazelnuts coarsely chopped
1 ripe avocado thinly sliced
1-2 hard-boiled eggs sliced

Instructions

Whisk together honey, mustard, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Whisk in lemon juice. Add olive oil in a slow, steady stream, whisking constantly, until mixture is emulsified and thick. Taste, and season with additional salt and pepper as desired.
Toss together spinach, blueberries, cucumber and 1/2 of the hazelnuts in a large bowl. Drizzle dressing over the salad, and toss to combine. Sprinkle with remaining hazelnuts. Top with avocado.

Notes

Optional adds:

2 hard boiled eggs, sliced, Bacon or pancetta bits fried crisp, as little or as much as you like,

1/4 small red onion, thinly sliced, or

2 green onions, sliced

Bananas for Clementine Bakery’s Banana Cake

By threejamigos | July 6, 2018 | Comments 1 comment

I am always on the look-out for recipes that use those over-ripe bananas frequently found on my countertop. I already have an amazing banana bread recipe so what I have been on the prowl for is a banana cake recipe. There are those occasions when you need to step it up a notch. When only cake will do, especially cake with a creamy luscious frosting or a rich decadent icing. Well, I have stumbled across a recipe that fits the bill.

Oh My Darling, Clementine, Love Your Banana Cake

I found it by way of a recent post on Ipso Fatto (love this blog) for a banana cake she made from Sally’s Baking Addiction. Touted as “The Best Banana Cake I’ve Ever Had”, we just had to try it. It was good but “The Best Ever?” Hmmm. It seemed a little too dense for me. I’ll admit it was a big hit with the “fam”, but I think Jamie’s tweak, a layer of chocolate ganache in the middle, had a-lot to do with that. At the end of Ipso Fatto’s post was a link to an archived recipe, Clementine Bakery’s Banana Cake (originally posted in the LA Times). I made a mental note, next bunch of over-ripe bananas I was going to try it. I did, and I LOVE this cake.

It’s really moist and tender with a very nice crumb. The addition of buttermilk gives it a slight tang that goes well with the sweetness of the bananas. It’s topped with a cream cheese frosting that is not too sweet and finished with a bit of sour cream that loosens the frosting making it even creamier. It’s decadent and lovely.

Pastry flour gives the cake its tender bite. In place of the pastry flour, I used White Lily Flour which has a similar protein content and is milled from soft red winter wheat. Every trip to Tennessee I return home with bags of White Lily Flour just to make biscuits and it worked perfectly in this cake. Bob’s Red Mill and King Arthur Flour carry pastry flour which you can find online or at most supermarkets.

To say the bananas I used were over-ripe would be an understatement, they released a ton of liquid. Next time I would drain the liquid, reduce it by half and then add it back to the batter. This will hopefully thicken the batter and concentrate the flavor. If your bananas are super-duper ripe I would definitely reduce the liquid.

The cake can be baked in a 9×13 pan or a 10 inch round cake pan. I used a 10-inch pan which required a couple of extra minutes. I had enough batter left to make a couple of cheater’s cupcakes (no one will know you have already had cake) that took about 20-22 minutes to bake. The center of the cake seems to brown quicker than the rest of the cake. If this happens, when the cake is set, place a piece of parchment over the center to prevent the cake from getting too brown.

The cream cheese frosting is made with butter, cream cheese, powdered sugar and sour cream. I added a dash of salt and a 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla to round out the flavor. The Wednesday Chef also featured this cake with a twist on the frosting. She reduced the sugar and replaced the sour cream with creme fraiche, double decadence. I personally like the “sweet level” of the original recipe but creme fraiche, I’d give that a “swirl”.

Another variation would be a chocolate ganache frosting or chocolate icing like the one from Silver Palate in place of the cream cheese frosting.

So, the next time you have overripe bananas try this cake. It is simply delicious. Clementine Bakery’s cake is exactly what I was looking for in a banana cake; it’s a winner.

Tip Alert: Can’t wait for those bananas to get to that lovely over-ripe state? I found this post on how to ripen bananas quickly from Spoon University, Just in case you want to make this cake NOW. You’re welcome. Update: A method I just used that worked beautifully, place unpeeled banana on parchment or a silicon mat in a 300-degree oven for 10-15 minutes. Boom-manufactured overripe bananas-you’re welcome, again.

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5 from 1 vote

Banana Cake

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword banana cake

Prep Time 30

Cook Time 45

Total Time 1 15

Servings 12 servings

Ingredients

Banana Cake

2 2/3 cups pastry flour
2 2/3 cups sugar
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
3 large or 4 small very ripe bananas
3 eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk
3/4 cup canola oil
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Cream Cheese Frosting

1 cup plus 1 1/2 tablespoons cream cheese at room temperature
5 tablespoons butter room temperature
1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons sour cream

Instructions

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Into a large bowl sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, or in a large bowl with a hand mixer, mash the bananas. Mix in the eggs, one at a time, until each is completely incorporated, then mix in the buttermilk, oil and vanilla. Finally, mix the dry ingredients into the batter just until thoroughly combined.
Pour into a 9-by-13-inch greased pan. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until golden-brown on top, a toothpick inserted comes out clean and the cake springs back when lightly touched. Cool on a rack.

Frosting

In the bowl of a stand mixer, or in a medium bowl with a hand mixer, beat the cream cheese until smooth and there are no lumps. Add the butter and whip until incorporated, then add the powdered sugar and the sour cream. Frost the top of the cooled cake, then slice and serve.

Notes

From Clementine Bakery in Los Angeles. Pastry flour is available at baking and cooking supply stores. Each serving: 580 calories; 7 grams protein; 79 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams fiber; 29 grams fat; 9 grams saturated fat; 90 mg. cholesterol; 375 mg. sodium.

Squash-O-Rama (Zucchini Bread)

By threejamigos | July 1, 2018 | Comments 0 Comment

We returned home from our road trip to Minneapolis to the first zucchini of the season. Yay! Of course by the end of the season I’m not sure I will still be cheering but for now, it is a welcome sight. Grilled and roasted tops the list in our house, BUT you can only roast or grill so many zucchinis. At the height of the season, we need to expand our repertoire on what the heck to do with all that squash.

1001 Ways to Use Your Squash, just kidding but I do have a couple that will keep you from pulling your hair out and screaming “Noooooo!” at the sight of another green courgette.

Zoodles! Replace a portion of noodles in your favorite pasta dishes with julienned zucchini. This cuts down all those dreaded carb calories and adds flavor and texture to summertime pasta dishes, a WIN-WIN if you ask me. Julienned zucchini ribbons don’t require much cooking, I toss zoodles in with just-drained pasta. The heat from the noodles is enough to cook the zucchini. Try this Tomato, Bacon and Arugula Pasta/Zoodle dish, quick, easy and delicious.

From Ottolenghi’s Jerusalem cookbook, a recipe for Turkey Zucchini Burgers can put a dent in any bounty of squash. Make em’ big and use them for burgers, make em’ small for a perfect happy hour appetizer.

Zucchini bread!!! When everyone is really tired of eating all that squash, this is the sneaky way to use up your store without your family knowing they are eating MORE zucchini.

There are thousands of zucchini bread recipes out there, not quite rock star banana bread numbers but enough to make your head spin. I’m going to make it easy for you…King Arthur Flour Zucchini Bread is moist, flavorful and damn delicious. Lightly spiced with cinnamon, sweetened with brown sugar, and finished with walnuts and golden raisins it’s a winner. Its so easy the title is Simple Zucchini Bread. You can substitute or add just about anything but the kitchen sink. I didn’t have raisins so I used KA’s Jammy Bits (little fruit flavor bombs), or you could use any dry fruit, like cranberries or apples. Don’t like walnuts? Use pecans or almonds. Instead of a loaf of bread, make muffins, just remember to decrease the baking time to approximately 20-25 minutes. Whatever you do, keep this recipe in mind the next time you are looking at a bushel of squash and wondering what to do with it.

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Simple Zucchini Bread

A delicious, easy quick bread

Course Snack

Cuisine American

Keyword zucchin bread

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 55

Total Time 1 5

Ingredients

3/4 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons boiled cider apple juice, orange juice, milk, water, or the liquid of your choice
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon optional
1 3/4 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
2 cups grated or shredded zucchini somewhere between firmly and lightly packed
3/4 cup chopped walnuts toasted until golden
3/4 cup raisins or currants golden raisins preferred
2 tablespoons brown sugar for sprinkling on top optional

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease an 8 1/2" x 4 1/2" loaf pan.
In a medium-sized bowl, beat together the brown sugar, boiled cider or other liquid, vegetable oil, eggs, and vanilla until smooth.
Whisk the baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon into the flour, then add the dry ingredients to the liquid ingredients in the bowl, stirring or beating gently until smooth.
Stir in the zucchini, walnuts, and raisins or currants.
Scoop the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing it if necessary. Sprinkle with brown sugar, if desired.
Bake the bread for 55 to 65 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. The top (just under the crust) may seem a bit sticky; but so long as the toothpick doesn't reveal wet batter, it's done.
Remove the bread from the oven, and cool it in the pan for 10 minutes. Turn it out of the pan onto a rack to cool completely. For best results, don't slice until it's cool.
Store the bread at cool room temperature, well wrapped, for several days; freeze for longer storage.

Notes

Shredded zucchini varies a lot in weight, depending on the season, the freshness of the vegetable, the fineness of the shred, and how firmly you pack it into the cup. Measure your zucchini by volume in this recipe, not weight; don't fret if your weight doesn't match the weight in the recipe.
To toast chopped walnuts, spread them in a single layer in a baking pan, and toast in a preheated 350°F oven for about 6 minutes, or until they're golden brown and smell "toasty.

Another Day, Another Chocolate Chip Cookie (Brown Butter Toffee Chocolate Chip Cookie)

By threejamigos | June 25, 2018 | Comments 2 comments

What is your favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe? The one on the back of the Nestle’s Chocolate Chips bag? A treasured family recipe handed down? Mine was given to me by a friend who swore it was the original Mrs. Field’s recipe. I can’t vouch for that claim, but it is pretty darn good. Over the years I have tweaked the recipe by adding oatmeal, reducing the amount of chocolate (don’t hate me), and adding nuts. Yep, the perfect cookie. It is my go-to chocolate chip cookie…until now. A serious challenger, Brown Butter Toffee Chocolate Chip Cookies, has entered the best CCC sweepstakes.

You can have more than one go-to chocolate chip cookie, right? There might be a new player in town.

What makes these cookies so delicious? BROWN BUTTER for a toasty rich, caramel flavor-yum. Chunks of toffee bars for crunch and another layer of caramel flavor-double yum. Finally, Chocolate wafers instead of chips, stay gooey and soft longer creating a luscious texture-triple yum. Upon finding this recipe I immediately headed to the store to look for those chocolate wafers. I found Guittard’s 67% semi-sweet wafers-YAY. A bag costs about eight dollars-BOO. It’s a splurge that’s for sure…but so worth it.

Fold in chocolate and toffee pieces and chill dough for at least 30 minutes in the fridge before baking. Scoop dough balls with a #24 scoop (1.5 ounces) or #30 (1.125 ounces) for a touch smaller cookie. They spread so place cookie dough 3″ apart, especially if you don’t chill the dough.

These cookies will brown quickly so watch them like a HAWK. Start checking them at the 8-minute mark. To create the crevices in the cookies, rap the baking sheet on the oven rack (at the 6-7 minute mark), and repeat 1-2 minutes later. This will cause the cookie to deflate creating those lovely nooks and crannies.

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Brown Butter Toffee Chocolate Chip Cookies

Another chocolate chip cookie? You bet!

Course cookies, Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword brown butter, chocolate chip cookie, toffee

Prep Time 30

Cook Time 15

Total Time 45

Servings 20

Ingredients

Dry Stuff

2 cups all-purpose flour preferably KIng Arthur
1 teaspoon baking soda
¾ teaspoon kosher salt

Wet Stuff

1 cup unsalted butter 2 sticks
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
⅓ cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

The Add-Ins

2 chocolate toffee bars (1.4 oz bars) Skor, Heath or Trader Joe Toffee Bars, chopped into ¼-inch pieces
1½ cups chocolate wafers disks, pistoles, fèves; preferably 72% cacao, although I used 67% Guittard -yum
Flaky sea salt

Instructions

Whisk flour, baking soda, and kosher salt in a medium bowl. Set aside
Cook butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring often, until it foams, then browns, 5–8 minutes. Scrape into a large bowl and let cool slightly.
Add brown sugar and granulated sugar to browned butter. Using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat until incorporated, about 1 minute. Add eggs and vanilla and beat until mixture lightens and begins to thicken, about 30 seconds. Reduce mixer speed to low; add dry ingredients and beat just to combine. Mix in toffee pieces and chocolate wafers with a wooden spoon or a rubber spatula.
Let dough sit at room temperature at least 30 minutes to allow the flour to hydrate. Dough will look very loose at first, but will thicken as it sits. For less spread, chill dough in fridge.
Place a rack in middle of oven; preheat to 375°. Using a 1½-oz. ice cream scoop, portion out 10 balls of dough and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet, spacing about 3" apart (you can also form dough into ping pong–sized balls with your hands). Do not flatten; cookies will spread as they bake. Sprinkle with sea salt.
Bake cookies until edges are golden brown and firm but centers are still soft, 9–11 minutes. Let cool on baking sheets 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely. Repeat with remaining dough and a fresh parchment-lined baking sheet to make 10 more cookies.
Do Ahead: Cookie dough can be made 3 days ahead; cover and chill. Let dough come to room temperature before baking.

Notes

To create ridges in cookies, at 7 minutes open oven and rap pan on oven rack which will cause cookie to deflate and create ridges.