Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Saturday, December 10, 2011

Saturday, November 26, 2011

Chestnut Puree Recipe

Chestnut Puree Recipe looks to be similar to that at Cafe Kor




Chestnut Puree



1 1/2 pounds chestnuts
milk as needed
3/4 to 1 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
1 tsp. vanilla
rum to taste
1 pint whipping cream for topping

Put chestnuts in a large saucepan and cover with water. Boil for
10 minutes. Remove outer and inner peel from chestnuts. Take only
a few out of the water at a time as they are easier to peel when
warm. I actually cut the nuts in half and scoop out the meat with
a nut pick.

Put the chestnut meat into a saucepan, cover with milk and simmer
until the chestnut meat is soft enough to easily mash and the milk
is absorbed.

Press the chestnuts through a sieve (though you might also try a
food processor).

Boil the sugar and water to make a thick syrup (don't brown).

Immedieately add to the chestnuts and cool. Add only enough liquid
so that the chestnuts can be put through a potato ricer and still
hold their shape.

Add the vanilla and rum. My favorite rum for this purpose is
somewhat hard to find, and not available everywhere. It is called
"Stroh" and it is from Austria. Technically, it is a "tea rum"
and it is *amazing*! Incredible butterscotch-like aroma and flavor.

Put the chilled mixture through the potato ricer, making a small
mound in the center of individual dessert plates. Top with the
whipped cream. I sweeten my whipped cream slightly and add a bit
of vanilla too. You should balance the sweetness of the whipped
cream to act as a counterpoint to the chestnut puree (i.e. sweeter
puree = less sweet whipped cream, less sweet puree = sweeter whipped
cream). The lightness of the whipped cream will also cut the
incredible richness of the puree

Wednesday, September 07, 2011

Sunday, August 14, 2011

Saturday, July 30, 2011

Thursday, June 09, 2011

Oregon Meatloaf

Oregon Meatloaf

1/2 cup soft white wheat berries + 1 3/4 cup water
cooked for ~1.25 hours
1/2 cup eastern Oregon oatmeal + 1/2 cup water
warmed up

olive oil or butter
~1.5-2 cups chopped onion
2 bell peppers
sautee these

2 eggs beaten
2 lbs grass fed ground beef
couple tablespoons fresh parsley
heaping teaspoon salt
fresh ground pepper
mix with the grains & veggies

cook for 60 mins at 350 in two loaf pans

Thursday, June 02, 2011

My Ramen Broth

Pork Neck Bones 3.6 lbs
Pork Sparerib Brisket Strips 3.75 lbs
1 trotter
Chicken drumsticks 1.7 lbs

Roasted the drumsticks and whatever neck & spareribs that would fit (about 6 pieces) for 40 min at 425
blanched the rest of the pork products in boiling/hot water for about 7 minutes, in batches
put all of it in the big tamale pot with 44 oz of water - 5.5 times of our 8 cup measuring cup

added a thumb size piece of ginger, chopped, around hour 3, could have added it earlier. Note: this ginger had a rather large diameter

around hour 4: added
1 small onion quartered
1 leak chopped
1 whole head of garlic, separated the pieces chopped then in half, some skins went in as well, too lazy to peel it

all, besides it will get strained and
1 piece of wakame seaweed, recipes call for kombu but this is what we have


bonito

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

PTFC Perfect


PTFC Perfect from Juliet Zulu on Vimeo.


http://vimeo.com/24088434

Friday, April 29, 2011

Culinary Foams & Powdered Olive Oil & Spherification

How To Make Culinary Foam
Food Foams & Culinary Foams
How To Make A Culinary Foam Video

How To Powder Olive Oil

Spherification
Fooducation - My First Spherification
Spherification 101

Apple Caviar

Artistre
Food Pairing
Khymos Recipe Collection




Amuse-Bouche
Noma
Alinea


For the olive oil powder you will need a food grade chemical called Tapioca maltodextrin. The company below carries it in small sizes.

http://www.lepicerie.com/customer/product.php?productid=702700&cat=288&page=2

Once you get it you need to use a 60/40 mixture 60 % fat to 40% tapioca. You will also need a food processor to make this work

Place the tapioca in the processor add the olive oil. start the machine and make sure you scrape down the sides and bottom. May need to add more tapioca depending on the texture you are look for. If you want it fluffier pass through a tamis or fine sieve

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

The Minimalist Fried Squid

Fried Squid
Video
HAVING ruined many shirts over the years while frying squid, I decided it was time either to A) buy a commercial deep fryer, B) give up or C) figure this thing out. Option A was undesirable and B impossible, which left C. It turned out not to be that difficult once I accepted that my home is not a restaurant.
Squid spatters, but wet squid spatters more than dry, and lots of squid spatters much more than not so much squid. So if you dry the squid compulsively, at least by my noncompulsive standards, and you cook it in small batches, you solve the problem. A deep pan helps.

This is a compromise, clearly: you can't bring a restaurant-size platter of squid to your table, but you can gather your friends in the kitchen and feed them fresh fried squid for 15 to 20 minutes, long enough to produce a few batches and make everyone cry uncle.

In the process of this little bit of testing, I tried innumerable coatings. I have two conclusions to report: If you like cakey batter, make what amounts to a thick pancake batter. If you just want a little bit of crust (this is my preference), dredge lightly in flour; it doesn't get any simpler or better.

Recipe: Fried Squid Time: 30 minutes
Neutral oil, like grapeseed or corn, as needed
1 1/2 pounds cleaned squid, sliced into rings, tentacles cut in half lengthwise if large
Salt and ground black pepper
All-purpose flour as needed
3 or 4 jalapeños, cut into rings, optional
Lemon wedges for serving.

1. Put 1 1/2 to 2 inches of oil in a deep pan over medium-high heat. Meanwhile, spread about 1/4 of the squid at a time on several layers of paper towels and put another couple of layers of towels on top, blotting squid to rid it of as much moisture as possible. Season squid with salt and pepper; put flour in a bowl.

2. When oil is hot, put about 1/4 of the squid in flour, then move it to a sieve over the bowl and shake to remove any excess. Add squid to oil along with some jalapeños if you like, adjusting heat as necessary so temperature remains nearly constant. Fry until squid is lightly browned and cooked through, about 2 minutes. Do not overcook. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Sprinkle with salt. Start next batch while you eat the first with lemon wedges.

Yield: 4 servings.

Granola Bars

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

40 Rock Songs

Her Strut by Bob Seger
Hair Of The Dog by Nazareth
Saturday Night Special by Lynyrd Skynyrd
The Stroke by Billy Squier
Fantasy by Aldo Nova
All Over Town by April Wine
Tush by ZZ Top
Highway Star by Deep Purple
Renegade by Styx
Carry On Wayward Son by Kansas
Slow Ride by Foghat
Refugee by Tom Petty
Detroit Rock City by Kiss
Life's Been Good by Joe Walsh
Jailbreak by Thin Lizzy
20th Century Boy by T.Rex
Stranglehold by Ted Nugent
School's Out by Alice Cooper
It's A Long Way To The Top by AC/DC
Cherry Bomb by The Runaways
Queen Bitch by David Bowie
Powerman by The Kinks
Any Way You Want It by Journey
Funk #49 by James Gang
Godzilla by Blue Oyster Cult
Fox On The Run by Sweet
That 70's Song by Cheap Trick
Rock And Roll, Hoochie Koo by Rick Derringer
Bitch by The Rolling Stones
Hold Your Head Up by Argent
Never Been Any Reason by Head East
Let It Ride by Bachman-Turner Overdrive
Rock 'N' Roll Machine by Triumph
Mississippi Queen by Mountain
Heavy Metal by Sammy Hagar
Rock The Nation by Montrose
The Breakup Song by Greg Kihn Band
Heavy Metal (Takin' a Ride) by Don Felder
La Grange by ZZ Top
Ah! Leah! by Donnie Iris

Monday, April 04, 2011

Sunday, March 20, 2011

NYTimes Asia Issue: Bangkok

NYTimes Asia Issue
THAILAND
31 Bangkok Hop a Khlong Saen Saep boat taxi at Pratunam Pier (behind Gaysorn Plaza) to Bo Bae. A tiny soi, or side street, off Lang Suan Road leads to Bangkok’s oldest market, Nang Leong. Make an offering at the Chinese temple and then snack on specialties like sai-krok plaa naem (rice topped with sour pork, pickled shallots and shredded fish). Pick up kanom (sweets) at Mae Som Jit and exit past Chalerm Thani movie theater, enitrely made of teak.

32 Bangkok The Grand Palace, with its medley of temples and glittering spires, is Bangkok’s glory. From downtown, skim over the traffic on the Sky Train to the Saphan Taksin stop, go down Exit 2 to the pier and pay 14 baht ($1.35 at 30 baht to the dollar) to ride the Chao Phraya Express public riverboat to Tha Chang. Savor the clamor of food stalls, and sample fried banana, dragon fruit or countless other snacks. Visit the hall of the Emerald Buddha, then walk 900 yards to Wat Po, home of the country’s largest reclining Buddha, to the camphor-scented cool of its famous massage school.

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Edible Soil

Edible Soil Recipe from Andreas Viestad & Nathan Myhrvold

MAKE AHEAD: The mixture can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 1 week.



Makes about 2 1/3 cups

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons dark raisins
1/4 cup mixed nuts
1/4 cup salted smoked almonds
5 ounces (2 thin slices) black bread
1/2 cup crushed dark crispbreads, such as Wasa Hearty (about 7 half-crackers; may substitute toasted bread crumbs)
1 ounce dried porcini mushrooms
2 tablespoons dehydrated onion
2 tablespoons black olive paste, or more to taste
Pumpkin seed oil (optional)
Fresh shoots of vegetables and herbs, for garnish
Directions:

Preheat the oven to 275 degrees. Place the raisins, mixed nuts, smoked almonds and black bread on a rimmed baking sheet in a single layer. Bake for 30 to 45 minutes; the bread should be crisp on top. Turn off the oven and let the ingredients cool thoroughly. The raisins should dry to a hardened state. Coarsely chop the mixed nuts and almonds.

Tear the bread into bite-size pieces and place in the bowl of a food processor, along with the dried raisins, mixed nuts, almonds, crispbreads, dried porcini mushrooms and dried onion. Pulse to form a fairly even, coarse mixture. Add the olive paste, and pulse so the mixture resembles soil in color and consistency. If desired, drizzle in a little pumpkin seed oil and pulse to incorporate.

Divide the mixture among small glass serving containers. Arrange small edible shoots in the containers so they seem to be growing in the soil.


Recipe Source:
Adapted from "Modernist Cuisine: The Art and Science of Cooking," by Nathan Myhrvold, Chris Young and Maxime Bilet (The Cooking Lab, 2011).

Wednesday, March 09, 2011

Friday, March 04, 2011

Pac Man

Yahoo
When you play the game, it might seem as if the four ghosts are actively chasing you. That's not exactly true. Iwatani intentionally avoided programming them with that purpose, since that would have resulted in Pac-Man zipping around the screen with four ghosts always right behind him.
Instead, it's only Blinky, the red ghost, who doggedly pursues you throughout the game. Pinky, the pink ghost (naturally), simply wants to position itself at a point that's 32 pixels in front of Pac-Man's mouth. The blue ghost, Inky, is seeking to position itself at a similar fixed spot. And Clyde, the orange ghost, moves completely at random.
Because the player constantly has Pac-Man on the go, however, the ghosts are always changing direction and trying to achieve their goal, which adds to the challenge of the game.

Saturday, February 19, 2011

Walking and Wind

Today ended up being a walking day. Some of it more fruitful than others. Having taken a benadryl at midnight I was out for a while but Sara was up early reading and having breakfast and working out. My spirits were eventually lifted by a nice cup of coffee. In winter here, the sun never gets very high in the sky and thus has a low angle of incidence with the horizon making for very long sunrises and sunsets, but finally finds its way up a little after nine.

We head out with the idea of finding some Icelandic sweaters with their iconic circular pattern around the collar and made of the local sheep wool. We take a long winding route into downtown passing the tall, gaudy cement church which dominates the otherwise short skyline. More interestingly is the statue of Leifer Eiriksson in front which we dutifully snap some pictures of. Even though its almost 10 at this point downtown is mostly empty and we struggle to find a coffee shop open at such an hour on a Saturday morning. We are able to find one finally and get a muffin to share with our coffees.

Noticing that the Handknitters Association is still closed we make our first stop Farmers Market, actually a local sweater shop which is located on the far side of downtown out on a large pier like peninsula. Its once we reach this peninsula that we really start feeling the wind. I quickly remember something that I recently read, it's not the temperature of Iceland that makes it uncomfortable but the wind. I later find out that steady winds are blowing at 30 mph with gusts to 45. We do wind our way to the end of the land where we are greeted with stunning views of the neighboring Mt. Esja across the bay and even more wind. At the very end we find the Farmers Market sign and the front door. We confirm that, "Opið Mán-Fös" does indeed mean open Monday through Friday with a tug on the very locked door handle. Well, it was a nice walk if a bit windy. So, we turn around and head back to town.

On the way back is the sushi place recommended by the tourist information guy, Sushi Smiðjan. With all the fishing around Iceland we had been looking forward to trying some sushi with their ultra fresh fish. Our expectations were easily met. And we ended up being there during two for one time. We both had a mixed plate of 10 pieces, with five rolls and five nigiri, and a bowl of miso. Excellent food and excellent price. We'll be back!

Nearby is the flea and fish market. The bulk of the space is for the fleas with many stalls of locals selling books and jackets and sweaters and knick knacks. Towards the back is the fish market oddly filled mainly with dried fish. We do happen upon one stall with little tubs of white cubes. We recognize these as the dreaded and famous Hakarl, a shark that when fresh is poisonous with acid in its flesh but once left to rot/ferment for a few months becomes edible. Who was the first person to figure that out??? The woman hands us toothpicks with dice sized pieces and tells us not to smell them. I do anyway, smells faintly of ammonia, and then pop it into my mouth. Not to bad, tastes like some overripe cheese. But liking fairly stinky cheeses I find it not completely repellent. We end up buying a little tub for 150 krona.

On the way home is the Handknitters Association store where we make our way to. The back half of the store is filled with shelves, floor to ceiling, packed with sweaters of all styles and sizes and colors. After trying a few I find a charcoal one that I like and that fits pretty well. With sweater in hand we head home through the strong wind for some needed napping.

After waking up we decide on the Iceland Fish & Chips shop for dinner. Its a vaguely Portland style place what with its healthy bent. No wheat, the batter is made with barley and spelt flour. Chips are baked not deep fried. And for a truly local twist, instead of mayonnaise they have various flavored skyronnaise made with the ever present skyr. After dinner we trudge back home facing straight into the seemingly ever present gale force winds.

Saturday, February 05, 2011

Le Petite Province

Pain au Chocolat: Pretty big and heavy feeling. Must be 7" long. Lots of chocolate, almost too much, pretty sweet. Dough looks more like a well risen bread than pâte feuilletée. Nice and fluffy not horrendously flakey. Cooked well, that is, not over baked, a nice golden brown color.

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Some Music

Radiohead - I Might Be Wrong
Radiohead - 15 Step
Radiohead - Bodysnatchers
Elbow - Grounds for Divorce
Elbow - Picky Bugger
Elbow - Fallen Angel
Arcade Fire - We Used to Wait
Arcade Fire - Sprawl II
Led Zeppelin - When the Levee Breaks
Led Zeppelin - Trampled Under Foot
Jonsi - Animal Arithmetic
Bjork - Declare Independence
Amon Tobin - The Killer's Vanilla
Amon Tobin - Keep Your Distance
Amon Tobin - Hey Blondie
Metallica - Orion
Kasabian - Underdog, Secret Alphabets, Fire
DJ Shadow - Number Song
Muse - Supermassive Black Hole
Muse - Hysteria
Tricky - Slow
Tricky - Early Bird (or UK Jamaican, Excess, or Five Days)

Friday, January 21, 2011

East Side Deli

East Side Deli
Looks like and actual independent Deli in Portland, will have to try it sometime

Tuesday, January 04, 2011