Tag: sesame
Chew On This! Toasted Sesame Cookies

Chew On This! Toasted Sesame Cookies

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How’s the New Year’s Resolution thing going?  I’ve gotten strategic, I only make new year’s resolutions that are fun.  That way I stand a chance of actually following through on them.  One of my perpetual resolutions is to make a concerted effort to actually use the many cookbooks I have collected.  Don’t laugh, it may not sound like a resolution but it is.

Olympic Medal goes to….these cookies!

Last night, sitting on the couch, watching Chloe Kim and Nathan Chen do their thing, and flipping through a cookbook (I can multi-task) I wondered (out loud, unfortunately) how many cookbooks I have that I haven’t ever used.  The hubs laughed and said TOO MANY.

The laugh was pure motivation.  I got up, went to the kitchen, pulled out Jesse Szewczyk’s Cookies: The New Classics, and picked his recipe for Chewy Toasted Sesame Cookies.  Sooo making these now, before my resolve fades or I get distracted by Nathan Chen’s final routine.

So glad I did.  These cookies are delectable!  As much as I love SHORTBREAD type cookies, it was time to go back to fam-fav chewy cookies.  These did the trick. Chewy centers, a bit of crispness on the edges….yum, yum.

Not to say I wasn’t happy.  My current OBSESSION is sesame.  Jesse uses toasted sesame oil in these cookies, which ups the flavor game. Sesame oil, sesame seeds…win, win.

These cookies are pretty easy to make…think Snickerdoodle method. Make the dough, chill it, roll it into balls. Roll said balls in black and white toasted sesames, hit it with some sugar, bake and EAT or in my case, inhale.  Really, that good.

If this cookie is any indication…I will be baking a lot out of his book!

Seeds of Sesame Tips

It may seem fussy, I am sure it was a texture chase, the recipe calls for not only butter, but cream cheese, and oil.  A balancing act to make a moist, chewy, soft cookie with a bit of crispness on the edges.

Sesame Oil, Sesame Seeds

You want TOASTED Sesame oil which can be found easily in Asian markets.  The French brand, La Tourangelle makes a tosted sesame oil that is very good.  It’s a little pricier but generally can be found in your larger grocery stores.  I buy toasted sesame seeds at the Asian markets because I go through the stuff in no time flat.  You can buy untoasted seeds and toast them yourself if roasted seeds are not available.

I was able to form the just-made dough into round balls even though it was pretty soft.  But if you chill the dough for 30-60 minutes, makes it easier to work with.

Best thing since sliced bread, ice cream scoops for cookie dough….just saying. I used a 1.6 tablespoon scoop (#40) and sprinkled each cookie with regular granulated sugar.  Raw or Demerara Sugar would work well too.  Baking time was 11 minutes.  The cookies will puff up but fall and create those neat fissures as they cool.

The hubs is not a fan of sesame seeds so I actually baked a couple that I rolled in chocolate sprinkles.  I nixed his request for raisins (Ewww).  The sprinkles were a hit.  Honestly, this dough is so tasty, it would be good rolled in anything…except raisins.

Put these on your bucket list…like now.

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5 from 1 vote

Chewy Toasted Sesame Cookies

A delicious, chewy, buttery, sesame cookie from Jesse Szewczyk's Cookies: The New Classics.
Course cookies
Cuisine American
Keyword Chewy Toasted Sesame Cookies
Prep Time 20 minutes
Servings 24 cookies

Equipment

  • 1 #40 ice cream scoop If you don't have one, spoon out 2 tablespoons of dough and roll into round balls.

Ingredients

Dry Stuff

  • 21/2 cups All purpose flour (320gms)
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt reg table salt, use 1/8 teaspoon

Fat Stuff

  • 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened (85gms) leave the butter on your counter for a couple of hours approximate temp 68 degrees
  • 2 ounces cream cheese, room temp (57 gms)
  • 1 tablespoon TOASTED sesame oil see post for notes on oil
  • 1/4 cup canola oil (60ml)

The Sweet Stuff

  • 1 cup granulated sugar (200gms)
  • 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar (100gms)

Wet Stuff

  • 1 large egg, room temperature
  • 2 tablespoons whole milk (30ml)
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

The Finishing Touches

  • 1/3 cup toasted white sesame seeds
  • 1/3 cup toasted black sesame seeds
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees. I'm a stickler, I bake one sheet at a time in the middle of the oven. To bake two sheets at a time, set your oven racks in the upper-middle and lower-middle positions of your oven. Line sheets with parchment or Silpat. Preference is for parchment as silicon mats retain more heat.
  • In a medium bowl, combine dry stuff, set aside.
  • In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle, toss in the fats, (butter, cream cheese, sesame oil, canola oil), and sweet stuff granulated sugar, brown sugar. Beat on medium speed until smooth and fully blended, about 2 minutes.
  • Turn mixer off and add the wet stuff. Beat on medium speed until light and ribbon-like, about 2-3 minutes.
  • Turn mixer speed to low and gradually add flour mixture, mix until just blended, don't overmix. Rest dough for 10 minutes, it will firm up a bit. If it seems to soft still, chill in fridge for 30 minutes.
  • Using a 1-3/4 inch ice cream scoop (~2 tablespoons), form dough balls, hand- roll each to create smooth round balls.
  • Combine sesame seeds in a shallow bowl. Roll each dough ball in the sesame seeds and place them on parchment-lined sheets 2-1/2 inches apart. Sprinkle with the granulated sugar.
  • Bake 10-12 minutes, turning sheet midway through baking. Bake until golden brown on the edges. Cool cookies on baking sheet for a couple of minutes before removing them to a rack to cool completely.

Notes

Store in an airtight container.
(Hiyashi Chuka – Ramen Salad) Swept Away By A Summer Ramence Summer Madness #2

(Hiyashi Chuka – Ramen Salad) Swept Away By A Summer Ramence Summer Madness #2

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TAs temps edged upward this past week, I began thinking about cold noodle dishes to counter the heat. One of our favorite ramen joints in San Jose features a summer noodle salad that the hubster loves. This prompted me to think it was time to add a cold ramen dish to my repertoire.  I perused one of my favorite sites, Just One Cookbook, and found a classic Japanese cold ramen dish, Hiyashi Chuka.  Bingo, I was off to the races.  At first glance, it seemed very similar to my Somen Salad.  The dressing has soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar, and rice vinegar, for instance.  A big difference is Hiyashi Chuka starts with a thicker, more substantial ramen noodle.

Summer Ramence

The dish is eye-candy, the noodles are hidden by a colorful palette of toppings including julienned pale green cucumbers, orange-tinged crab leg, slivers of green onions, pink honey ham and shreds of fried egg.  Cold noodle salads like this refreshing and delicious Hiyashi Chuka are perfect for summer potlucks, picnics and pool parties.  I hope you will add it to your summer rotation.

The Skinny on Noods

Both fresh or dried noodles work in this dish.  I like using fresh ramen or lo mein. If you can get a hold of ramen noodles by Sun Co. from Hawaii, get it. This brand supplies the bulk of ramen houses in the US. and has a really nice chew or consistency.  In a pinch, you could use linguine or spaghetti but my first choice would be an Asian noodle. If you are gluten-free, rice or yam noodles would be a good substitute.  Confused about the multitude of Asian noodles out there? Here is a great Asian noodle primer from Serious Eats.

Dressing It Up

The dressing is on the sweet side so I would start with two tablespoons of sugar, taste and add more if desired.  You can use Ponzu, a citrus soy sauce, instead of soy sauce. Toppings can be ANYTHING you like or have on hand.  Keep in mind you want the play between sweet and salty, crunchy and soft. I like cucumbers, honey ham, imitation crab, egg, corn, and tomatoes. Don’t like imitation crab?  Use bay shrimp or splurge on real crab.  You can substitute honey turkey, shredded chicken (leftover soy sauce chicken would work really well) or char sir (bbq pork) for the ham. I leave out the lettuce sometimes or substitute shredded cabbage.  I love a good sprinkling of chopped scallions and cilantro.  Oishii!

Ramen Salad
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HIYASHI CHUKA (COLD RAMEN)

A delicious, refreshing cold noodle salad that is perfect for summer!
Course Main Course, Salad
Cuisine Asian
Keyword japanese, Noodle, Ramen, Salad, sesame
Prep Time 45 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Servings 8 Servings

Ingredients

Dressing

  • 6 Tbsp soy sauce Any all purpose soy like Kikkoman will work, or substitute half with Ponzu for a hint of citrus
  • 4 Tbsp sugar Adjust to taste! Start with 2 tablespoons
  • 3 Tbsp rice vinegar
  • 2 Tbsp sesame oil
  • 2 Tbsp water
  • 1 Tbsp white sesame seeds roasted/toasted
  • ¼ tsp ginger grated
  • ½-1 tsp la-yu, optional Japanese chili oil

Egg crepe, shredded

  • 2 large eggs beaten
  • 2 tsp sugar
  • ¼ tsp salt kosher or sea salt; use half if using table salt
  • neutral flavor oil vegetable, canola, etc

Toppings

  • 1/4-1/2 pound Bay shrimp
  • 1 Persian/Japanese cucumbers or 1/3 English cucumber, julienned
  • 1 iceberg lettuce shredded, or use romaine lettuce
  • ½ Tomato cut into wedges, or cherry tomatoes quartered
  • 3-4 slices Honey Ham Sub bbq pork, or honey turkey, Canadian bacon, julienned
  • 4-6 imitation crab meat kanikam or splurge and use real crab, or fish cake, shredded or julienned
  • 1/2 cup Kaiware radish sprouts or green onions, chopped

Other toppings

  • Poached chicken or leftover soy sauce chicken shredded, in place of ham
  • Julienned carrots
  • dried wakame seaweed
  • shredded nori seaweed kizami nori

Noodles

  • 2 package fresh ramen noodles 12 ounces each substitute dry ramen noodles, or Lo-mien

Garnish

  • 1 Tbsp white sesame seeds roasted/toasted
  • Japanese karashi hot mustard optional
  • pickled red ginger beni shoga or kizami beni shoga, optional

Instructions

  • Combine dressing ingredients in a medium bowl and whisk together. Set aside or if made in advance, store in fridge.
  • For eggs, make thin egg crepes and cut it into thin strips. Heat oil in non-stick pan over medium heat. Pour the egg mixture into the pan, tilt & swirl pan to distribute egg. Like making a crepe. Cook until set and flip egg over. You will have a few brown spots, but should be predominantly yellow. Slide crepe onto a plate and reserve. When it is cool enough you can roll the egg crepe up and cut it into thin strips.
  • You can use large prawns if you like, but I like using bay shrimp which generally come precooked. Easy peasy.
  • Cut all the topping ingredients as directed.
  • For the noodles, bring a pot of water to a boil and add the noodles. Separate the noodles before dropping into water. Cook according to package directions. Drain the water and rinse the noodles to remove starch. Allow noodles to cool completely. Chill in fridge if desire. Place noodles in a serving bowl and mix half of dressing into noodles.
  • Place all the toppings and pour the remaining dressing on salad before serving. Serve with karashi hot mustard and pickled ginger on the side, if desired. Refer to pics, ingredients are usually arranged in a radial pattern on top of the noodles.
Summer Madness #1: Too Hot (Miso Sesame Chicken Salad to Keep the Gang Kool)

Summer Madness #1: Too Hot (Miso Sesame Chicken Salad to Keep the Gang Kool)

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The weather has been pretty darn warm.  Actually, I’d say damn hot lately.  I grew up in San Francisco, a warm day meant temps in the ’70s. Growing up we spent most of July and August in a blanket of fog.  My first car had an all-black interior and NO AIR CONDITIONING.  NBD.

But now I live in Silicon Valley, 50 miles south of San Francisco.  My cars have AC, my house has AC (a non-negotiable requirement of the Hubster who grew up in Sacramento).  I once scoffed at folks who succumbed to installing air conditioning.  No more.

I will say we do try to keep usage to a minimum, preferring to leave windows and doors open so the evening breeze cools down the house.  We keep oven baking and cooking on the stove to a minimum by eating lots of sushi, salads, and bbq.  We fire up the grill in the backyard and enjoy our meals outside. Summer alfresco dining, what could be better?

I subscribe to NYT Cooking and each week Sam Sifton pops up with a What to Cook This Week column.  This week’s newsletter included a Miso Sesame Chicken Salad from David Tanis.  That caught my eye.

MIso Sesame Chicken Salad

Silky poached chicken, crunchy cucumbers, scallions on a bed of Bibb lettuce topped with a creamy Miso-Sesame dressing.  Karma, I had chicken in the fridge, cucumbers from a friend’s garden and Aedan Miso I had just bought at the Ferry Building Farmer’s Market.

The only cooking required is poaching the chicken.  I decided to make half the recipe so  I opted to poach chicken breasts instead of a whole chicken which took less time and works perfectly for this dish.

No brainer method for the best damn poached chicken.

Like Whole Poached Chicken, this cooking method results in juicy, tender, delicious poached chicken breasts, perfect for salads, sandwiches, or morsels for your favorite doggy…

Fill a saucepan large enough to hold 1 whole chicken breast (split in half) with water. You don’t need to add much to the water except for a good pinch salt.  I cheat and add a tablespoon of Better Than Bouillion Chicken Base just to intensify the flavor, totally optional.  Bring the water to a boil and add the chicken.  Bring it back to a boil, lower the heat so that it is barely simmering.  Cover the pot and simmer for 5 minutes. Turn off the heat and allow the chicken to sit for 15-20 minutes (do this by size, smaller breasts-15 minutes, larger-20 minutes).  Remove chicken from pot and allow to cool until it is easy to handle.  Ta-da, perfect chicken for salads, sandwiches, or Hainanese Chicken and Rice.

Back to the salad.  I love the textures in this salad.  Tender, silky chicken and crisp cold cucumbers.  You can use romaine or iceberg but I like using Bibb.  Instead of slicing the cucumbers I rolled-cut them and lightly smashed them. The Miso and Sesame Sauce has a touch of lemon zest which adds a hint of citrus.  I used Gochugaro, a Korean chili powder instead of cayenne to add some spice.

This is a tasty addition to the summer salad rotation.  Enjoy!

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Miso Sesame Chicken Salad

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons Asian sesame paste or tahini
  • 4 tablespoons white shiro miso I used Aedan Mild White Miso
  • 3 tablespoons rice-wine vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon mirin
  • 1 teaspoon grated ginger
  • ½ teaspoon sugar
  • ½ teaspoon grated lemon zest
  • ½ teaspoon roasted sesame oil
  • ¼ cup vegetable oil
  • Salt and pepper
  • Small pinch of cayenne optional, I used Gochugaro Powder instead
  • 1 3-poundchicken, cooked poach chicken breasts instead of a whole chicken as directed in post
  • 2 heads small Bibb or Boston lettuce can use Little Gems or romaine hearts
  • 2 medium cucumbers, peeled and sliced 1/8-inch thick, lightly salted I prefer Persian or English cucumbers
  • 3 tablespoons thinly sliced scallions or chives
  • 1 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds for garnish
  • 1 teaspoon toasted black sesame seeds for garnish

Instructions

  • Put sesame paste, miso, vinegar, mirin, ginger, sugar and lemon zest in a small mixing bowl. Whisk together until well combined. Whisk in sesame and vegetable oils. Check seasoning and adjust with salt, pepper and cayenne, if using. You should have about 2/3 cup dressing. If it seems too thick, thin with a tablespoon or 2 of water.
  • Remove skin from chicken and pull all the meat from the carcass. Shred chicken meat into 1-inch strips and put in a medium mixing bowl. (Refrigerate or freeze any remaining skin, fat, bones and cartilage for making broth.) You should have about 4 cups shredded chicken.
  • Separate the lettuce leaves and arrange on a large platter, leaving space for the chicken at the center, then scatter with cucumber slices.
  • Gently toss the shredded chicken with salt and pepper. Pour all but a few tablespoons of dressing over the chicken and gently toss to coat. Transfer dressed chicken to center of platter and nap with remaining dressing. Sprinkle scallions and sesame seeds on top and serve.

Notes

I made a half recipe which was plenty for the two of us.  
Sure Thing Wings

Sure Thing Wings

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Our original novice women’s group got together the other night. Four of us are still rowing but the others have since moved on to other sports or endeavors. I can’t imagine why, doesn’t everyone love getting up at the crack of dawn four days a week?  We met at Moultrup’s house, Gidge, 2-seat, Snookies, Way-way, and Aimster to catch up, eat, drink and be merry.  We talked about lots of things, our kids, husbands, politics, books, fears, and of course rowing. We laughed, argued, reminisced, and teased each other just like families do when they get together..

087

Since I had to work that day I needed a quick and easy dish I could prep early and grab and go after work.  One of my absolute favorite blogs is Smitten Kitchen, great recipes, wonderful writing, very entertaining. Her recipe for Sticky Sesame Chicken Wings fit the bill and is a favorite with my kids, hubby, friends, well, just about anyone who has tried them.  I threw the wings into the marinade before heading to work, came home and popped them into the oven.  Easy peasy lemon squeezy.

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Sticky Sesame Chicken Wings

Ingredients

  • 3 pounds chicken wingettes or chicken wings see note up top
  • 1 large garlic clove minced
  • 1 teaspoon coarse or kosher salt plus more to taste
  • 2 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
  • 2 tablespoons mild honey
  • 1 teaspoon Asian sesame oil
  • Pinch of cayenne or dash of Sriracha (I use the chili garlic paste ~1 heaping tsp
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons sesame seeds lightly toasted
  • 1 scallion finely chopped

Instructions

  • Make the marinade. Stir together garlic, salt, soy, hoisin, honey, sesame oil and cayenne or Siracha
  • Add wings to marinade and mix well. Marinade at least 30 minutes to overnight.
  • Heat oven to 425°F. Line a large shallow baking pan with foil and lightly oil it.Spread wings and any sauce that fell to the bottom of the bowl out on the prepared baking pan in one layer.
  • Roast, turning over once, until cooked through, about 35 minutes. Transfer wings to a large serving bowl* and toss with sesame seeds and scallion.
  • If wings need more color, broil for a couple minutes on high heat or finish the wings on the grill, decrease baking time by 5-10 minutes