Spoon Fork Bacon

Blistered Shishito Peppers

Hi Guys! So two nights ago I was lucky enough to see Anthony Bourdain and Roy Choi speak at the Pantages in LA. Did anyone else go? and did anyone else have the best time listening to the ever articulate and brilliant Tony Bourdain and totally awesome and badass Chef Choi?! I loved it! It’s always so refreshing to see and hear two people you look up to so much, pretty much just shooting the shit for 2 hours on stage. Even the audience q&a (which normally I HATE bc man, people can ask some really mundane and self-involved questions and it really sucks sometimes) was really fun and interesting…some people asked really great questions! It was also no matter that I was on a shoot earlier that day that ended up over 50 miles away from the theater! Luckily, the boyfriend was meeting me at the theater bc of the time, bc he probably would’ve had a heart attack in the car with me. I may have been dangerously weaving through cars and I may have been blazing down the freeway much faster than I should be going….but absolutely nothing was going to keep me from attending an event with my boyfriend…. to watch my other two boyfriends, Tony and Roy, speak.

Some of you may know this, some of you may not, but Roy Choi is my current favorite chef. Yes, I’m a little bias because part of my love, for both him (and David Chang for that matter) does stem from the fact that he is an outstanding and creative Korean-American chef, but more so because of the way Chef Choi looks at food and different places he finds his day to day inspiration. I love that he once wrote in an interview how he had an epiphany about how his whole culinary career is based off his obsession with milkshakes! “It’s my nostalgia, but I like blending shit up….. All the Kogi stuff, the sauces and marinades, are all blended. We blend it in a bucket. All my sauces at A-frame. I’m tripping out, man. I’m starting to see how everything I do is blended. It has to go back to milkshakes.” (quote source from firstwefeast.com) How awesome is that?!?!

In the recent (well for the last year) Chef Choi has gone vegetarian in a sense (still eats meat in dishes offered to him, presented to him, but hasn’t ordered a meat dish in about a year) and when it first came out he was highly criticized for turning him back on something that made him oober successful “kogi”, which translates to “meat”. You know what I say to the nay sayers? Get off his back! (see my creepy obsession starting to build?) He’s not turning his back on meat or his successful food trucks as well as his booming restaurants; he’s simply made a personal decision for himself and i’m excited. Why? In my mind, a true chef isn’t measured by the best savory, rich meat dish he/she can make (bc lets be serious, if we all used bacon fat, duck fat, etc in our cooking, everyone’s food would taste amazing), but by the best salad/side dish they can make. No joke. I think it’s much more difficult to push a salad than it is to push roasted bone marrow with buttery toast points or a pappardelle and short rib ragu.

So in honor of Chef Choi and his new found love of veggies we have not a salad for you today, lol, but simple and delicious blistered shishito peppers. I love these things and I love them blistered. I’ve started to see them as small appetizers around a few LA restaurants and that’s exciting. Shishito peppers are a sweeter variety of Japanese peppers with a neat “twisted-like” shape. When you blister them, (either on a grill or in a cast iron skillet), they get a really nice smokey aroma to them and soften just the right amount. For these peppers, I like keeping things super simple and let the peppers speak for themselves. Nothing but a little sesame oil, salt and pepper. Yum-town. Not only is this snack delicious and easily transportable (mid afternoon work snack? Yes, please), but it’s seriously a 10 minute recipe from start to finish. I’m pretty sure these are going to be my new go to healthy snack and hopefully they’re Roy Choi approved. Enjoy! xx, Jenny

Blistered Shishito Peppers
Serves 4 to 6

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 tablespoon sesame oil (plus more for drizzling at the end)
1/2 lb. shishito peppers, cleaned
salt and cracked black pepper to taste
garnish:
toasted sesame seeds

1. Place cast iron skillet over high heat. Once skillet is hot add oils.
2. Carefully add peppers to pan and sauté for 3 to 5 minutes, moving them around the pan frequently. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Once peppers have charred/blistered all around and have begun to wilt remove from heat. Adjust seasonings.
4. Drizzle peppers with sesame oil and top with toasted sesame seeds. Serve.

*If using a grill, toss peppers in oils and season with salt and pepper before placing on the grill. It may also be helpful to use a grill basket, to ensure none of the little peppers fall through the grill grates.

Blistered Shishito Peppers

April 18, 2013 · Party Food · 24 comments · PRINT

Balsamic Grilled Baby Carrots

First, as some of you may know our blog was nominated for Savuer Best Food Blogs of 2013 in the category of Best Cooking Blog. What an unexpected and great surprise for us. If you have not already, you should go to Saveur and vote for your favorite blogs. There are tons of categories and a lot of great people nominated.

I went through this strange phase in college where for a long period of time, longer than I am willing to admit, I ate candied carrots, and nothing else… Except Dr. Pepper. I had a poor diet, but for some reason I was really really into candied carrots. After candied carrots, it was sliced tomatoes with salt. It was one of those weird phases in my life where I think I was subcoinciously trying to see if one could survive on nothing but carrots and Dr. Pepper. The answer is that you can, but your skin will probably turn a weird color. That is what happened when I OD’ed on carrots. Anyway, so obiviously being a big fan of carrots I love this dish. So this great little simple dish is the perfect side for nearly anything, and it’s so pretty!
♥ Teri

Balsamic Grilled Baby Carrots
Serves 3 to 4

Ingredients:
20 baby carrots, cleaned peeled and cut in half, lengthwise
3 sprigs thyme
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup (1/ 2 stick) unsalted butter, melted
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1/2 teaspoon light brown sugar
1/2 lemon, zested
1/2 orange, zested
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Preheat grill or grill pan to medium-high.
2. Place carrots and thyme in a mixing bowl and toss together with oil until all carrots are well coated. Season with salt and pepper.
3. In a small mixing bowl combine the remaining ingredients and whisk together until fully incorporated and sugar is mostly dissolved.
4. Once grill is hot, spread carrots onto grill or grill pan, in a single layer, and grill for 4 to 5 minutes.
5. Brush with balsamic butter and flip. Grill for an additional 3 to 4 minutes, brushing carrots with the glaze every 2 minutes.
6. Once carrots have softened brush with butter mixture and season with salt and pepper.
7. Drizzle with any remaining balsamic butter, top with citrus zest and adjust seasonings. Serve.

Balsamic Grilled Baby Carrots

April 15, 2013 · Everyday Recipes · 20 comments · PRINT

Uni Risotto

Hey Guys! Today we have uni risotto…plus I originally had a great story about my trip to Mexico last week and about how I ate really fresh uni, then became super inspired to make a simple uni risotto dish….but then Instagram threw me for a loop and I haven’t been able to get it off my mind, so here it goes: Kids on Instagram should be a major no no. Or if they’re going to be on instagram, maybe put some sort of regulation on their accounts? (I’m saying like 12-13 yrs old and under) Am I the only one with a strong opinion about this? Do I sound like an old lady??

Here’s why I had this sudden freak out about Kids on Instagram: I was doing my daily “procrastination by insty” the other day, scrolling from photo to photo and stumbled upon a very rude and crude comment made by someone, about a cake that someone else had posted. I was annoyed right then thinking to myself, “Who does that, seriously? So rude, so stupid.” Anyway, that took me to clicking on the rude commentator’s profile to see why he thought he was so great as to be able to leave nasty comments on another person’s photo. What I saw shocked me…. It was a little, pre-pubecent boy! On top of this, his profile was public, he had posted his phone number on his profile and there were a bunch of “selfies” of him standing in front of the mirror, shirtless….with really “grown up” captions!! Whaa???

Okay, so I’m not a mom (except to my precious dog, Dexter) yet, but please, current moms out there (or anyone else out there for that matter), is this normal? okay?? is it safe?? Am I just being crazy about this?? I just feel like there’s something so unsafe and slightly creepy about what looks to be a 9 yr old on instragram posting crude things, topless photos and publicly announcing his home/cell number?

I don’t know, there’s something that makes me so uncomfy about the whole thing! Maybe I’ve watched too many episode of Law and Order, but man was I creeped out. Thoughts? Anyway, I guess I’ll just go back to noshing on this giant bowl of uni risotto because when I’m feeling weird or creeped out (like right this very second!) a bowl of this rich, creamy and briny risotto or any risotto for that matter (like here and here) is one of the few things that make me feel safe and a little bit sane. xx, Jenny

Uni Risotto
Serves 3 to 4

Ingredients:
4 oz. uni (sea urchin roe), cleaned
2 1/2 tablespoons heavy cream
2 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened and divided
2 1/2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 shallots, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup Arborio rice
2/3 cup dry white wine
4 to 6 cups vegetable stock or a mild fish stock, warmed
2 oz. Parmesan cheese, finely grated
1 oz. Pecorino cheese, finely grated
salt and pepper to taste
optional garnishes:
quail eggs, separated and whites reserved for another use
toasted and shredded nori

1. Place uni, cream and 1 tablespoon butter into a food processor and blend until smooth. Strain and reserve liquid until ready to use.
2. Place a medium skillet over medium-high heat and sauté shallots for 2 minutes. Add garlic and rice and continue to sauté for 3 to 4 minutes or until a small white dot remains in the center of each grain of rice. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Deglaze pan with wine and stir. Allow almost all the liquid to evaporate then reduce the heat to medium and add 2/3 cup warm stock, stirring frequently.
4. Each time the liquid evaporates add another ladle of stock and continue to stir. Repeat until the rice is al dente, about 20 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
5. Stir in uni puree, followed by the remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons of butter (for a glossy finish), until fully incorporated. Stir in grated cheese and adjust seasonings.
6. Divide risotto into portions and top each with more grated cheese, a quail yolk (if using) and shredded nori (if using). Serve.

Uni Risotto

April 10, 2013 · Everyday Recipes · 29 comments · PRINT

Mezzi Rigatoni with a Wild Mushroom Cream Sauce

As an adult I love mushrooms. As a child, I hated them. I think that parents who claim their kid is a picky eater are maybe feeding them things that are gross. Case in point, I hated mushrooms. So gross. Ew. Yuck. That is because the only mushrooms I had ever come into contact with were button mushrooms. Button mushrooms in my opinion, taste like weeds and dirt. I think they are the worst of the mushroom options. So knowing this, as an adult, I wasn’t super optimistic about trying different kinds of mushrooms. When I finally did, it was a life changer. Now I love mushrooms (the right kinds) on everything, and in everything. I always buy crazy mushrooms at the farmers market, and this is the perfect dish to utilize them. This is a super quick and easy perfect for dinner pasta dish. Rigatoni with a wild mushroom crema sauce. I’m excited about it, and I can’t wait to make it again! Yum!
♥ Teri

Quick and Easy Mezzi Rigatoni with a Wild Mushroom Cream Sauce
Serves 4

Ingredients:
1 lb. mezzi rigatoni
2 1/2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2 medium yellow onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 sprigs thyme, minced
4 ounces cremini mushrooms, cleaned and thinly sliced
4 ounces shiitake mushrooms, cleaned, stemmed and thinly sliced
2 ounces oyster mushrooms, cleaned and roots removed
3 king oyster mushrooms, cleaned and thinly sliced
1 cup red wine
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened (optional)
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for garnish
salt and pepper to taste

1. Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil. Add a generous amount of salt to the water, followed by the pasta. Cook for 7 to 9 minutes or until al dente, stirring occasionally. Drain into a colander and toss with a dash of olive oil. Set aside.
2. Place a large skillet over medium-high heat and sauté onions for about 3 minutes. Add garlic, thyme and mushrooms and continue to sauté for 4 to 5 minutes (if the mixture gets too dry add an additional tablespoon of water). Season with salt and pepper.
3. Deglaze the pan with the red wine and allow the liquid to reduce by 2/3.
4. Lower heat to medium-low and stir in cream and butter, if using.
5. Add pasta and stir together until well coated. Top with parmesan and fold together. Adjust seasonings.
6. Top each plate with extra parmesan and cracked black pepper and serve.

Mezzi Rigatoni with a Wild Mushroom Cream Sauce

April 8, 2013 · Everyday Recipes · 30 comments · PRINT

Sun Dried Tomato Olive & Goat Cheese Palmiers

Sometimes the world becomes an exhausting place to exist. Sometimes it seems like everything is not on your side, and things are just not going your way. Like when you’re in the middle of a really good episode of West Wing and your Netflix stops buffering and then it tells you the show is unavailable. Or when your cheap landlord blames a broken sink handle on you when its really because the sink has probably been there since 1923. Or when your landlord then asks you if you’re expecting because you are wearing a baggy shirt and unattractive sweats. That’s cool. That’s fun, and that is life. Sometimes though, when life gives you lemons, you just want to hurl them with everything you’ve got at your landlords face, because you know what? I don’t feel like making lemonade. Sometimes, when life happens, you have to make something delicious so that you yourself can eat it all, and not give any to anyone else. Sometimes for me, those little gifts of deliciousness are something savory, and sometimes they are really effing cute, and puffy, and perfectly sized so I can eat like a million. Sometimes those little ‘make it all ok’ treats are these Sun Dried Tomato and Goat Cheese Palmiers. When life happens, eat cute things. It’s my new motto.
♥ Teri

Sundried Tomato, Olive and Goat Cheese Palmiers
Makes 16 to 20

Ingredients:
olive and sundried tomato filling:
3 green olives, pitted and minced
6 kalamata olives, pitted and minced
5 sundried tomato halves, minced
4 ounces goat cheese, softened
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 lemon, zested
salt and pepper to taste

1 sheet puff pastry, thawed (about 8”x 9”)

1. Preheat oven to 425°F.
2. Place all filling ingredients into a small mixing bowl and mash and stir together until fully combined.
3. Spread mixture over the thawed puff pastry, leaving a 1/4 inch boarder.
4. Beginning at one end, begin tightly rolling the sheet until you get to the center, then tightly roll the sheet from the other end until you have two rolls meeting in the middle.
5. Slice 1/2 inch slices from the log and place onto a baking sheet lined with parchment (if the puff pastry has gotten too soft, place the log in the freeze for 15 minutes before slicing).
6. Place baking sheet in the freezer for 20 minutes before baking. Bake palmiers for 17 to 22 minutes or until golden brown. Allow palmiers to cool for 5 minutes before serving.

Sun Dried Tomato Olive & Goat Cheese Palmiers

April 5, 2013 · Everyday Recipes · 24 comments · PRINT

Root Chips

Hey Guys! Today it’s all about roots…and chips. I love root vegetables in all forms. Mashed, roasted, grilled, braised, pureed, fried, glazed. There’s really so much you can do with them. Today we have a triad of root chips! I’ve always had a thing for Terra brand chips and love the root veg. concept of them. So flavorful, so yum. Today we have a combo of purple sweet potatoes, yucca and red beets! I love the sweetness of these veggies together with a good sprinkling of kosher or sea salt. So good! The colors are also super pretty together. The photos above are of the deep fried version, but we’ve also provided you with baking instructions and shallow pan fry directions because we know that everyone likes to deal with homemade chip making differently. My preferred methods are the deep and shallow fry because they just really produce better, consistent chips, but the baking works as a good, healthier alternative. One thing to note is that while you want to get the slices pretty thin, you don’t want to go paper thin bc you’ll end up with shriveled burned things with no body…no buéno. Anyway, enjoy! xx, Jenny

Root Chips
Serves 3 to 4

Ingredients:
1 medium purple sweet potato, peeled
1 medium yucca root, peeled
2 medium red beets
salt to taste

vegetable oil for frying

1. Preheat oil to 350°F.
2. Using a mandolin or a sharp knife thinly slice root vegetables, about 1/8-1/16 inch slices.
3. Line beets in a single layer between sheets of paper towels and top with a baking sheet to draw out any excess moisture.
4. Take one root vegetable at a time and fry, for about 4 to 5 minutes or until crisp and lightly browned around the edges (stirring the chips around with tongs occasionally so they don’t stick together).
5. Drain onto paper towels and season with salt. Repeat with remaining root vegetable slices. Allow chips to cool completely before serving.

**To Bake: Preheat oven to 350°F. Follow steps 2 and 3 from above. Toss vegetable slices with 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil or coconut oil and a generous sprinkle of salt and arrange in a single layer onto baking sheets. Bake for about 20 minutes or until the edges begin to dry out. Flip each chip over and bake for an additional 10 to 15 minutes or until chips have crisped. Season with salt and allow chips to cool completely before serving.

**To Pan Fry: Fill a skillet with 2 inches of vegetable, peanut or coconut oil and preheat to 350°F. Follow steps 2 through 5 until all chips have been fried. (it’s important to use this method in small batches to ensure a nice and even fry all around)

Root Chips

April 3, 2013 · Everyday Recipes · 27 comments · PRINT

Pear & Bubbles

How was everyone’s Easter weekend? I had people over to watch Game of Thrones, made paella and saltine panna cotta. I also forced my guests to eat crazy totally disgusting Jelly Bellys. If you don’t already know, Jelly Bellys has this product called “Bean Boozled,” where in they basically have twin jelly beans. One is the good delicious twin, and the other is the evil disgusting twin. They look the exact same, so if you get a gross one then you have been bean boozled. I said this all night in my best impression of Joey from Friends when he is auditioning to be a game show host for a game called bamboozle. It was fun. Let me just tell you, the gross flavors are totally totally so disgusting. I think the worst is barf, jelly belly nailed the acidity in that one. I would have loved to be in the room while their flavor scientists were taste testing. We had some left over boxes and I tried to convince my boyfriend to bring them into work and leave them in a dish in the kitchen for April fools. He didn’t. Probably because he is a really nice guy, and I would have totally done it because I am mean.

Gross Jelly Bellys have nothing to do with this cute little drink we have. Do you like the pear star? It is really easy to make. I am also very into bubbly drinks. Jenny is a huge bubbly drink fan, and whenever we go out for lunch we now both get something bubbly. It is so nice in the middle of the afternoon because it’s not some crazy heavy sugar thing. Bookmark this for Mothers Day. Drink up!
♥ Teri

Pear n’ Bubbles
Serves 6

Ingredients:
6 bosc pears, peeled and chopped
1 1/2 tablespoons light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
pinch ground cardamom
1/2 lemon, juiced
1 (750ml) bottle sparkling wine or Champagne, chilled
garnish:
1 bosc pear

1. Preheat broiler to low setting.
2. Place pears, sugar, cinnamon, and cardamom onto a baking sheet and tosstogether until pear is well coated.
3. Place under broiler for 3 to 4 minutes or until pears begin to caramelized.
4. Pour mixture into a blender and add lemon juice. Puree until smooth.
5. Strain mixture and chill for at least 30 minutes and up to an hour.
6. Divide pear juice between six glasses and top each with sparkling wine/champagne. Top with pear-flower garnish and serve.
7. For garnish: Using a 1/4 inch melon baller, scoop out six small balls (skin-on)from one side of the pear. Set aside.
8. Slice a ¼ inch slice from the remaining sides of the pears. Place each slice cutside down onto a cutting board and thinly slice. Pierce three or four of the thin pear slices, and finish with a pear ball.

Pear & Bubbles

April 2, 2013 · Happy Hour · 19 comments · PRINT

Quiche Pockets with a Mornay Sauce

Hi Guys! Today we have quiche pockets for you! Think old school hot pockets, but breakfast-style, tasty, with a fun new shape! (I totally grew up on hot pockets, so I’m really not one to judge) I like to think of this is the most portable way to eat quiche! I know there are the little quiche bites you can make in a mini muffin tin, but these are much more fun and much more conducive to dipping…oh yea, there’s totally a cheesy dipping sauce for this. I mean why not, right?

You’ll all notice in the recipe that it says to create sort of a filling “paste” it might sound off, but it’s very important the filling be thick and not runny at all. Because we’re not “cupping” these into anything, it’s best the filling be thick so when you’re forming your pockets, things are a bit easily to handle and you’re not left with an eggy mess. Don’t worry though because there will still be lots of yummy egg goodness in the pockets once they bake up.

I’ve also had a few questions in the past each time I make a cheese sauce of sorts because I always toss my grated cheese into lemon juice. Why do I do this? Because tossing the cheese in a bit of acid will make it so your cheese sauce is nice and smooth and not stringy at all….I do hate me a stringy sauce.

Anyway, I’m sure most of us will be brunching this Sunday, whether we celebrate Easter or not, and these are perfect brunch-y like snacks to bring to whatever get together you may be going to. They also freeze and reheat well, so you could make a whole batch of these quiche pockets, freeze half of them and pop them out whenever you want a really eggy, yummy snack! Not into the alsacienne-like filling? No worries! Create whatever filling you want according to your taste…just remember the importance of the thick filling! Enjoy! xx, Jenny

Side note: Yes, this is a traditional empanada crimping…why? because it’s super cute!

Quiche Pockets
Makes 14 to 16

Ingredients:
flaky pie crust (dough):
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) cold, unsalted butter, cut into 1/4 inch cubes
3 to 4 tablespoons ice water
filling:
1 cup smoked ham, diced
1 yellow onion, lightly caramelized
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon whole milk
2 ounces gruyere cheese, coarsely grated
2 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, coarsely grated
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste
black pepper-mornay sauce:
1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 tablespoon all purpose flour
1 cup whole milk
4 to 5 ounces gruyere cheese, coarsely grated
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon cracked black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt

1. For pie dough: Place flour, baking powder and salt in a mixing bowl and whisk together. Add butter and cut into the dry ingredients using your fingers or a pastry knife until a fine mealy texture forms. Add water, one
tablespoon at a time, mixing, until the dough just comes together. Form dough into a flat disc and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill for at least 30 minutes before using.
2. For filling: Place ham and onions into a small mixing bowl and toss together. Add eggs and milk and mix together. Fold in cheeses until fully incorporated. (you should have more of a loose paste texture, instead of a runny filling).
Season with salt and pepper and set aside until ready to use.
3. To assemble: Preheat oven to 425°F. Roll chilled dough out onto a clean, lightly floured surface. Roll until slightly thinner than 1/8 inch thick . Cut out 4 inch circles, using a circle cutter, and fill the center of each circle with
1-2 tablespoons of filling. Continue until all of the dough and filling have been used. (For egg wash: In a small mixing bowl beat together 1 egg and 2 tablespoon water.) Brush egg wash around the edge of each circle and fold together. Egg wash the sealed seam and starting from one edge push the seam over and squeeze the dough slightly. Use the dough you have squeezed and fold it over the seam again. Continue squeezing and folding until you have crimped the entire seam of the quiche pocket. Place pockets onto a baking sheet, lined with parchment, and pierce the top of each to allow steam to escape, while baking. Place pockets in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes. Brush the tops with remaining egg wash and bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown and the filling has set. Allow to cool for 5 minutes before serving.
4. For mornay sauce: Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Sprinkle flour over surface and whisk together for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the milk and whisk together until no lumps remain and the mixture is thick enough to coast the back of a spoon. Toss cheeses in lemon juice and whisk into the béchamel sauce. Continue to whisk until no lumps remain. Season with salt and pepper and stir. Serve as a dipping sauce for quiche pockets.

Quiche Pockets with a Mornay Sauce

March 29, 2013 · Everyday Recipes · 17 comments · PRINT

Free Form Potatoes Au Gratin

Happy Monday! Today we have this great free form potatoes au gratin. I would like to think of myself as a potato advocate. Whenever I am at breakfast and the side choices are salad and potatoes, it’s potatoes. Obviously. Duh. No question. Eating a sandwich? Put potato chips on it! Getting a burger? French fries on the side. In fact, French fries are good on the side of anything, or as a meal on its own, like our yummy poutine we just posted.

Potatoes au gratin bring back a lot of memories for me. I used to work at this French restaurant in college. I only lasted three months, people have bad attitudes! After experiencing what it is like to be one, I have major respect for them. Anyway, we had these amazing creamy potatoes au gratin, and we would run out on busy days on occasion and people would have meltdowns because the only other thing I could offer them is a side salad. I got it, I understood, you come to a restaurant expecting to have a fatty side of potatoes au gratin and instead get offered a salad. It is my worst nightmare. NOW you can have them all the time! Best part, because this recipe is free form, you could make really fun shapes. First ideas that pop into my head are a cat face, and heart. I feel like if you know me those answers are really predictable. Enjoy!
♥ Teri

Free Form Potatoes Au Gratin with Béarnaise Sauce
Serves 5 to 6

Ingredients:
gratin:
8-10 small new potatoes (or large fingerling potatoes or both), thinly sliced
1 cup heavy cream
1 shallot, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened
salt and pepper to taste
béarnaise sauce:
1 tablespoon minced tarragon, divided
1/2 cup vinegar
1 shallot, diced
4 egg yolks
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted (and clarified, if desired)
salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
2. Place sliced potatoes into a mixing bowl and top with cream. Toss gently to coat. Season with salt and pepper. Allow potatoes to sit for 5 minutes.
3. Line a baking sheet (with a lip) with parchment and begin placing the potatoes in a single layer, slightly overlapping one another. Sprinkle the surface with some shallots, garlic and cheese. Dot the surface with a small amount of butter and lightly season with salt and pepper.
4. Continue layering potatoes and shallot mixture until all the potatoes have been used, placing small dots of butter between each layer.
5. Top gratin with remaining butter and season bake for 15 about 15 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle with remaining cheese. Place back into the oven for another 10-15 minutes until the potatoes are fork tender and the cheese has bubbled and browned on top. Allow gratin to cool for 5 minutes. Cut into wedges and serve with béarnaise sauce.
6. Béarnaise sauce: Place 2 teaspoons tarragon, vinegar and shallot into a small saucepan and reduce by half. Strain and set aside until completely cooled.
7. Place egg yolks and vinegar reduction into a stainless steel or heatproof glass bowl and whisk together until the mixture doubles in volume. Place mixture over a pot with simmering water (make sure the water from the pot does not reach the bottom of your bowl) and begin whisking. While whisking, begin to add melted butter, in a slow and steady stream, until fully incorporated and the béarnaise is thick and smooth. (the sauce should gradually thicken as you add the butter) Remove from heat and add remaining tarragon and season with salt and freshly cracked black pepper.
8. Drizzle sauce over gratin wedges and serve.

Free Form Potatoes Au Gratin

March 25, 2013 · Everyday Recipes · 27 comments · PRINT

Black Garlic Braised Short Rib Poutine

It’s Friday. Yes! It’s been a really long and exhausting week. I’ve been holed up in my kitchen frying, grinding and candying 40 lbs of bacon, grinding and seasoning about 3 hogs worth of chicharrones and a number of other kind of weird things, with a couple photo shoots scattered throughout the weeks cooking madness. Needless to say, my kitchen’s a mess, my back hurts and I’m so ready for this weekend….and this poutine. Oh poutine, what a glorious, glorious dish you are. French fries topped with whatever you want and eaten as a meal. Genius. This stuff is literally what dreams are made of and the 12 yr old fat kid in me freaks out every time it graces a menu. The awesome thing about poutine also is that I think each time i’ve had it, it’s been completely different. I’ve had the basic French fry, gravy and cheese curd poutine, all the way to a Mexican style carnitas one that reminding me more of loaded nachos than poutine! Poutine possibilities are endless!

Today we have one with braised short ribs…black garlic braised short ribs. Can we talk black garlic for just a sec? I feel like black garlic had it’s moment as a food trend ingredient about two years ago, where black garlic roasted chicken was EVERYWHERE and then it went away. Oh how I hate “food trends”…but I won’t go down that dark road…not today at least. I grew up with black garlic and if you have never had it…oh man, its really awesome! It’s basically garlic that has been fermented….yep, us Koreans LOVE to ferment! The flavor you get from black garlic is very different and not too reminiscent of “typical” garlic. It has a very umami taste to it (for lack of a better word), with what almost seems like hints of smokiness. You can find it at some specialty markets, Asian markets and even markets like Whole Foods carry it, depending on where you live. We’ll also be posting a tutorial in the nearish future, so look out for that!

Anyway, back to awesome poutine! The black garlic flavor in the short ribs is very subtle, but really tasty! We’ve swapped out cheese curds for oaxaca because I LOVE the sharp, salty flavor and it melts SO well! The braise recipe itself is great on its own…paired with some mashed potatoes and roasted veg. and you’ve got dinner!…then maybe make some poutine with the leftovers…just maybe. If you’re looking to indulge and totally “treat yoself” you’ve found the perfect dish for that! Enjoy! xx, Jenny

Black Garlic Braised Shirt Rib Poutine
Serves 4 to 6

Ingredients:
braised short ribs:
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
3 1/2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
6 (bone-in) short ribs, trimmed
1 1/2 onions, diced
3 carrots, peeled and diced
3 ribs of celery, diced
12 cloves black garlic, divided and roughly chopped
1 inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and grated
2 tablespoons minced thyme
3 1/2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 (750ml) bottle red table wine
2 cups beef stock
1 cinnamon stick
3 star anise
1/3 cup light brown sugar
salt and pepper to taste
poutine:
about 6 cups frozen shoestring cut French fries, fried
4 to 6 ounces oaxaca cheese, shredded
chives, thinly sliced

1. Preheat oven to 325°F.
2. Place butter and flour in a small bowl and using the back of a fork, mash together until fully combined. Set aside until ready to use. Pour 1 1/2 tablespoons oil into a large Dutch oven and place over medium-high heat.
3. Generously season short ribs with salt and pepper and sear for 2 to 3 minutes on each side. Remove short ribs from pot and set aside.
4. Drain excess fat from pan and add remaining oil. Add onions, carrots and celery and sauté for about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add 10 cloves black garlic, and ginger and continue to sauté for an additional 3 minutes. Stir in tomato paste and thyme and stir.
5. Deglaze pot with red wine, making sure to scrape any browned bits that may have stuck to the bottom, with a wooden spoon. Boil until liquid has been reduced by one third. Add short ribs back to the pot, in a single layer and top with broth.
6. Add the cinnamon stick, star anise and brown sugar and stir together. Bring to a boil, cover and place into the oven for 2 1/2 to 3 hours or until ribs are fork tender.
7. Remove short ribs from braising liquid and set aside. Skim excess fat from top of braising liquid and remove cinnamon stick and anise. Pour liquid into a blender (leave the center cap off and replace it with a damp towel, folded a couple times and your hand placed over it… this will prevent your blender top from exploding off [ due to the steam] as you blend) or using an immersion blender, add remaining cloves of black garlic and blend together until smooth. Return puree back to the pot and simmer over medium-low heat. Whisk in butter-flour mixture until the sauce thickens and becomes smooth and glossy. (if gravy is too thick you can thin it out with some beef stock and adjust the seasonings)
8. Remove bones and excess fat from short ribs and shred with two forks. (or my preferred way….with your hands!) Ladle 1 1/2 cups of gravy over shredded meat and toss together, add cheese and continue to toss together.
9. To assemble: Place a mound of fries onto a baking sheet and top with short rib mixture. Broil for 2 to 3 minutes or until the cheese just melts. Top with more gravy and sliced chives. Serve.

Black Garlic Braised Short Rib Poutine

March 22, 2013 · Everyday Recipes · 30 comments · PRINT

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