Last week felt like winter’s last stand. The temperature dropped, it rained (yay, we can always use the precipitation even when summer is just around the corner) and Jamie and I were hit with the cold/flu bug. So, despite being the month of May I found myself wishing for something hearty, warming and comforting. I stumbled upon an amazing website while looking for a recipe for Galbi Jim, a Korean beef rib stew I knew would chase away my rainy day and cold blues. Just the name of the site alone won me over, Spoonforkbacon. The site is loaded with tips, ideas and recipes and the photography is wonderful. Their food looks absolutely scrumptious. I’ll definitely be wandering over often for inspiration.
This is a delicious Korean version of beef stew. Seasoned with soy, garlic, sesame, sugar and mirin it has that sweet salty flavor profile I love. The Asian pear adds sweetness and serves as a tenderizer. If you can’t find an asian pear a fine stand-in would be a kiwi. I found multi-color organic carrots at TJ’s and fresh shiitake mushrooms that worked beautifully in the dish. Feel free to play with amounts. If you want it less sweet, cut the sugar back to 1/4 cup. I used cross cut short ribs also known as flanken style or hawaiian style ribs. The pieces are much thinner, approximately 1/2 to 5/8 inch thick which shortens the cooking time considerably. If using this cut, reduce the cooking time accordingly. Bring the ribs to boil for only 5 to 10 minutes depending on thickness. Drain ribs, add seasonings and water and cook for approximately 30 minutes until ribs are just tender, add vegetables and simmer additional 20 minutes. Additional water can be added if needed. You can add a medium onion, quartered to this recipe (at the same time when seasonings and water are added to beef) if you like. I also think this stew would work well using pork or chicken. This is really a homey, easy dish, try it before the weather gets too warm! Here is the recipe from SpoonForkBacon. Check out the site, after all everything’s better with BACON!
The ultimate comfort food is the food you ate as a kid. In our family, my Dad was the cook. The last 30 minutes of his workday found him running around Chinatown for dinner groceries. He haggled with the fishmonger for the freshest catch of the day or gossiped with the store clerks as he picked through piles of fresh snap peas. Some of my favorites included steamed fish with soy, ginger and onions, stir-fried beef with pickled vegetables, and scrambled eggs with bbq pork.
My Cooking Roots, from Gung Gung and BaBa
Dad (BaBa) cooked for fun, but for my grandfather (Gung Gung) it was his livelihood. He worked as a chef at the Original Joe’s on Broadway and also at the legendary Tonga Room at the Fairmont Hotel. To this day I have no idea what he cooked at these iconic San Francisco restaurants. Every meal he made for me and my brother was rooted in Chinese comfort food. We ate dinner with him a couple of times a week right before he went off to work.
In his tiny room above Jackson Cafe in Chinatown, he would spread the China Daily on the table, pull out chopsticks, rice bowls, and a tiny shot glass. The shot glass held a “digestive” he would swig right before eating. He cooked in a communal kitchen down the hall. A well-worn oval metal tray, a remnant from his restaurant days, sat wedged between the burners and wall at the ready to ferry our meal to his room.
We usually sat waiting, impatiently, stomachs growling and legs swinging in anticipation, as he made the long trek back to his room. As we ate he regaled us with stories from his childhood. We feasted on steamed pompano with black bean sauce, stir-fried greens with garlic and onions, steamed pork with fermented shrimp paste, or slices of bbq pork (char siu). My comfort food.
These days I make my own Char Siu. The marinade is adapted from a cookbook I found years ago in Chinatown, Authentic Chinese Cooking by Sharon Hoy Wong. Long out of print, it is my go-to cookbook for the down-home food of my childhood. Serve Char Siu as an appetizer, stir-fried with greens or eggs, noodle topping, or as a filling in buns. Our entire family loves the play on the sweet and salty flavor combination.
The marinade is also delicious for grilled baby back ribs.
2-3poundpiece of pork shoulder cut into strips approximately 1.5 - 2" thick3" wide, 6-7" long
or 2 slabs of baby ribs with membrane removed
1-tsp.Salt2 T sugar mixed together rub this on ribs or boneless pork shoulder and let sit for 15 minutes while making marinade.
Marinade:
3Thoisin
2Tcatsup
1Thoney
1Tsoy sauce
1Tsherry
1Toyster sauce or black bean with garlic paste
1/8t5 spice powder
1-2Torange or apple juice
2clovesof garlic crushed
2slicesginger1/4 inch thick each slice
Instructions
Combine marinade ingredients and coat meat. Let marinade for 2-4 hours minimum or overnight in the fridge.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place a wire rack over a baking pan. Place strips of pork on the rack and place in oven. Add 1/2 cup hot water to pan, filling to approximately 1 inch depth.
Roast for 45-50 minutes. Turn pork over midway through.
With about 10 minutes to go, increase temperature to 400 degrees, drizzle pork with honey and roast an additional 10 minutes to glaze the pork or pork can be transferred to a grill for the last 10 minutes.
Pork Ribs
Place ribs on grill (underside of ribs faced down) and cook over indirect heat, (medium heat 350-400 degrees) in a covered grill for 15-20 minutes. Flip ribs over, brush with additional marinade and grill additional 15 minutes.
To finish ribs, move ribs over direct heat and continue cooking ribs uncovered. Baste ribs with honey and flip every couple of minutes to avoid burning ribs but you do want a little bit of char for flavor and texture. Grill over medium heat additional 10 minutes. This is for baby back ribs, times will be longer for larger ribs.
The kids are home! These cookies disappeared crazy fast (which makes me happy). Who doesn’t like a buttery, crumbly, tender shortbread-like cookie with a hint of citrus and filled with sweet, tart jam? Bah humbug if that’s you!
Here is Mariah Carey’s All I Want for Christmas to launch this post!
Bam, I LOVE Jam
I have a weakness for toast with butter and jam, PBJs and day-after-Thanksgiving turkey sandwiches with stuffing and cranberry jam. Ok, so I’m cheating, it’s cranberry sauce but if it’s between slices of bread it’s jam to me. My first-holiday cookie post highlighted Dorie Greenspan’s Jammers. While they are worth the effort, there are times when you just need to bust out a batch of yummy cookies. These thumbprint cookies fit the bill. The recipe comes from Food Network, Emeril’s Holiday cookies. Yes, THAT Emeril, BAM! Delicious cookie. The original recipe calls for raspberry jam surrounded by a tender buttery cookie kicked up with lemon zest and juice. Like many recipes, this one lends itself well to “alterations”. I used orange zest and juice. I’m sure just about any citrus juice and zest will work. Dancing in my head? Not sugarplums but visions of thumbprints made with lime + strawberry jam and lemon + blueberry jam . Let me know if you come up with a winning combination. Use your “jamagination”.
Jest Jammin’
The original recipe mixes liqueur with the jam, I skipped this step. But a Chambord or Framboise would work well. Just stir the liqueur, 1 tablespoon, into the jam before filling the cookies. Chill the dough for 30 minutes to 1 hour before forming cookies. Form the cookies, place them on a cookie sheet, and chill again for approximately 10 minutes so that the sheets are cold and the dough is firm. This helps the cookie from spreading too much. I used a 1-ounce ice cream scoop to measure out the dough. I might make them a little smaller for holiday gift-giving. The cookies did not need the full 20 minutes of baking time. Start checking at 13-15 minutes. They will brown quickly.
Bam! Raspberry Lemon Thumbprints adapted from Emeril!
Course cookies, Dessert
Cuisine American
Keyword Almond Cookies, emeril, jam, thumbprints
Prep Time 15 minutesminutes
Cook Time 8 minutesminutes
Ingredients
Recipe adapted from Emeril Lagasse
Dry Ingredients
2 1/4cupsall-purpose flour
1teaspoonbaking powder
1/4teaspoonsalt
Wet Ingredients
2sticks1 cup butter, at room temperature
2/3cupsugar
2large egg yolks
1tablespoonfinely grated lemon zestfeel free to substitute orange zest
1tablespoonfresh lemon juice
1teaspoonpure vanilla extract
Jam Finish
1/2cupraspberry jamor jam of choice, anything works
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Line baking sheet with parchment or silpat sheets
In a small bowl, combine the dry ingredients, whisk to blend.
Using a mixer, beat butter and sugar until light and creamy. Add egg yolks, lemon zest, lemon juice and vanilla and beat until well combined.
Add the flour mixture in 2 additions and beat just until moist clumps form.
Gather the dough together into a ball and wrap in plastic wrap.
Chill for 30 min-1 hour until dough firms up.
Pinch off the dough to form 1-inch balls. Place on the prepared baking sheets, spacing 1-inch apart. Use your floured index finger or 1/2 teaspoon measuring spoon press center of each ball making a depression. I use the end of a wooden spoon.
Fill each indentation with about 1/2 teaspoon of the jam mixture.
Bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes.
Transfer the cookies to wire racks to cool completely.
Hello! Before you get all excited to read what cool new post this blog has to offer, let me stop you right there. It’s time to get really excited because, yes, this is not Debbie writing. Fortunately, good ‘ol Deb here decided to let her daughter, Jamie, (that’s me!) take a whack at blogging. So buckle up readers and followers (all 3 of you?) for an exciting glimpse of what it’s like to be a 19 year old girl living all alone for the first time, a good 2,000 miles away from her family in the—rather stormy—city of Houston, Texas.
Whenever I tell people that I’m living in Houston for the summer, they always ask…..why..? Why would you ever leave the great state that is California, equipped with superb weather surrounded by mountains and beaches and awesome food? And for a second, I nod and smile, and in my head wonder if I am, in fact, a crazy person for doing such a thing. Houston definitely is different from Los Gatos. It rains here, a lot. And I’m not talking just a light drizzle every now and then. I’m talking hurricanes and tropical storms(whaddup trop storm Bill?) that DUMP rain and wind onto Houston and cause flash floods and rattle the windows in my room.
Did I mention that it’s a constant 90-plus degrees, too?
I also am not in possession of a car, which is quite inconvenient to get around Houston, and if it weren’t for my 8-5 job, I would probably stay holed up in my room watching Netflix all day—which is what I do after I get home from work. But after that second is over, I realize that I wouldn’t trade it for the world. Houston is an awesome city, once you get out and about. It’s diverse and fast-paced and always fun to explore. For once in my life I’m earning a steady paycheck, paying rent, buying my own food, navigating through a completely new city, and making my own decisions. I feel like a grown-up, and I’m pretty darn proud of myself.
Have You Eaten Yet?
But what you never realize before you start living on your own is how much you’ll miss your mom. I never notice until I go home and follow her around like a puppy dog. So, on days when I especially miss her, I like to cook recipes that she always makes me. The other day, I decided to make her chicken tortilla soup—a slightly spicy, warm, and cheesy bowl of goodness that reminds me of home.
Note: Skip the tortillas and serve tortilla chips on the side for folks to add with other garnishes, Or fry tortilla strips and serve them on the side instead of adding to the soup. Yes, they thicken the soup but sometimes I’m going for a lighter soup.
Sometimes my mom will add corn or black beans to the soup transforming the soup into a hearty meal in a bowl! It is a super flexible soup, add any veggies you like, chayote, and squash would go well. Think of this as a yummy version of Stone Soup.
1/2-1cupchopped yellow onionOh for goodness sakes, 1 medium onion, use the whole thing
3clovesgarlicpeeled and finely chopped
3/4teaspoonground cuminlike cumin? Add more
3/4teaspoondried oregano
1/4teaspoonchili powderspicier? Add more
1/4teaspoonpepper
8cupsfat-skimmed chicken broth
14ouncesfire-roasted tomatoes (canned)diced canned tomatoes can be substituted
4ouncecan of Dice Green Chilisor use any fresh pepper, green bell pepper, Anaheim pepper, saute' with onions. Or you can char-grill them and peel and dice and add to soup.
1 1/2poundsboned, skinned chicken breastsor start with bone-in chicken breasts, bones add flavor. Allow to simmer a little longer,~ 15-20 minutes.
Salt
6corn tortillas6 in. wide See notes for substitute
The Garnishes
1firm-ripe avocadocubed or thinly sliced
2tablespoonsfresh cilantrochopped
8ouncesAny cheese that melts would workCheddar, Monterey Jack, Mozarella, Cotija
Diced green onions or white onions
Tortilla strips or chips
1lime cut into wedges
Adds-feel free to add more veggies or beans to this soup!
1cupCorn, canned or frozen
115 ouncecan Black Beans, drained
1chayote, zuchinni-diced and added to soup during simmer
Instructions
In a 5- to 6-quart nonstick pan over medium heat, stir onion, garlic, cumin, oregano, chili powder, and pepper until spices are fragrant, about 1 minute. Add broth, tomatoes (including juice), and green chilies. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat.
Add chicken breasts to the broth and return it to a boil over high heat then reduce heat immediately and simmer until chicken is cooked through (cut to test), about 10 minutes. Remove chicken and set aside to cool.
Meanwhile, stack tortillas and cut into 1/8-inch-wide strips. Add to boiling broth. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. This is the traditional way of making tortilla soup. Add optional vegetables, corn or beans at this point also. See notes for blasphemous shortcuts, lol...
Shred chicken. Cut the avocado in half, remove the pit and peel it. Thinly slice or cube and place in a shallow bowl. Shred cheese and place in a bowl.
Before serving, season soup to taste with salt and pepper. Ladle into soup bowls, garnish with cilantro, avocado, green onions and cheese. I usually leave all these fixings in bowls for folks to help themselves!
