tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84822819645442979402024-03-13T09:55:21.735-04:00Dreaming of pots and pansEmmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08401129336971659599noreply@blogger.comBlogger148125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8482281964544297940.post-83080194582955505102013-10-10T19:57:00.002-04:002013-10-11T12:37:33.499-04:00LetsLunch Guilty Pleasures: Homemade Biscuits and Sausage Gravy<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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And we're back! After two months away from LetsLunch, I finally decided to get back in the game this month for guilty pleasures.<br />
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It was tough choosing my favorite guilty pleasure. I pretty much love all food that can be considered a guilty pleasure. Cake? I love it. Potato chips? I can't even keep them in my house anymore. Pizza? My favorite food since age 4. Large quantities of ice cream? Keep me away.<br />
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In the end, I chose the ultimate breakfast food: biscuits and gravy. Biscuits are one of those amazing foods that are so perfect and versatile, yet hold zero nutritional value.<br />
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Every so often, I make a big double batch of biscuits (I'm partial to this very simple <a href="http://www.amateurgourmet.com/2009/06/easy_biscuits.html">Amateur Gourmet recipe</a>) and freeze them. I'll pretty much eat anything on a biscuit: jam, honey, cheese, chicken, and of course, sausage gravy.<br />
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These aren't exactly your perfect, round biscuits (you don't have to roll them out), but they are tender and fluffy. I think they also hold up really nicely through freezing and defrosting.<br />
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For the gravy, you can use any gravy recipe you like. I usually more or less follow <a href="http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2013/03/drop-biscuits-and-sausage-gravy/">this one </a>from Pioneer Woman. One of my favorites is to substitute breakfast sausage for a nice andouille or even a chicken sausage (you need to add a little more butter for that, since it doesn't produce as much rendered fat).<br />
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Keep it hot until you're ready to serve, then break open the biscuits and pile on the gravy.<br />
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LetsLunch is a monthly meet-up of bloggers from around the world. Check out everyone else's guilty pleasures below, or by searching the Twitter hashtag #letslunch. Want to join us? Send a tweet introducing yourself and use the hashtag.<br />
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Cheryl's Japanese Crisp Choco Bites at <a href="http://atigerinthekitchen.com/2013/10/japanese-crisp-choco-morsels-of-guilty-pleasure/">A Tiger In The Kitchen</a><br />
Lisa's Mars Bar Slice at <a href="http://mondaymorningcookingclub.com.au/2013/10/11/mars-bar-slice-guilty-pleasure-letslunch/">Monday Morning Cooking Club</a><br />
Lucy's Cheesy Apple Casserole at <a href="http://acookandherbooks.blogspot.com/2013/10/my-guilty-pleasure-letslunch.html">A Cook and Her Books</a><br />
Tammi's Pulled Pork Shoulder with Crackling Chips, Sauce and Slaw at <a href="http://insatiablemunchies.blogspot.com/2013/10/spam-aka-shoulder-pork-and-ham.html?spref=tw">Insatiable Munchies</a><br />
Grace's School Cafeteria Peanut Butter Chocolate Bars at <a href="http://hapamama.com/2013/10/10/school-cafeteria-peanut-butter-chocolate-bars/">HapaMama</a><br />
Ann Marie's Breakfast Club Sammy at <a href="http://sandwichsurprise.com/2013/10/11/the-breakfast-club-sammy-the-edible-version/">Sandwich Surprise!</a><br />
Lisa's Nutella Cookies at <a href="http://open.salon.com/blog/lisa_kuebler/2013/10/10/nutella_cookies_my_guilty_pleasure">The Little Good Ride</a><br />
Elizabeth's Purple Yam Jam at <a href="http://asianinamericamag.com/2013/10/halayang-ube-purple-yam-jam-a-guilty-pleasure/">Asian In America Mag</a><br />
Linda's Dark Chocolate Whoopie Pies with Raspberries at <a href="http://spiceboxtravels.com/2013/10/11/dark-chocolate-whoopie-pies-with-raspberries-and-lemon-scented-cream-2/">Spicebox Travels</a><br />
Annabelle's Fresh Figs and Ricotta at <a href="http://glassoffancy.com/2013/10/11/lets-lunch-the-perfect-breakfast/">Glass of Fancy</a><br />
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<br />Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08401129336971659599noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8482281964544297940.post-76101715842534767982013-07-11T20:10:00.000-04:002013-07-11T21:27:36.061-04:00Homemade Pizza Rolls: July LetsLunch<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Happy LetsLunch! This month our group of food bloggers got together to share our favorite foods inspired by "the munchies," in honor of our ring-leader Cheryl Tan's short story being published in <a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Marijuana-Chronicles-Akashic-Drug/dp/1617751634/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1373591565&sr=8-1&keywords=marijuana+chronicles">The Marijuana Chronicles</a>.<br />
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Having never imbibed myself (seriously, not like one of those *wink wink* situations), I consulted with a friend to come up with something munchie-themed. I settled on these simple pizza balls, adapted from a <a href="http://www.jasonandshawnda.com/foodiebride/archives/7195/">recipe</a> I tested last year for the e-newsletter I was editing at the time.<br />
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I started with a store-bought pizza dough, but it would obviously be a bit more gourmet if you made your own from scratch. Sometimes when I make these, I'll chop up small pieces of fresh mozzarella, but I happened to have some string cheese in the fridge, and they were super simple to chop into bite-sized fillings.<br />
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Pinch off a small ball of dough, about the size of a walnut, roll it into a smooth ball, then flatten it out so you can wrap it around your fillings. I tried different toppings, like pepperoni and cheese, as well as cheese with a chunk of pineapple and a sliver of red onion.<br />
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Pinch the dough tightly to seal and place seam-side down in a prepared cakepan.<br />
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Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with an aggressive pinch of coarse salt. Bake at 350 for about 25 minutes or until golden brown.<br />
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While the pizza balls are baking, heat a large can of tomatoes with a pinch of oregano, red chile flakes and olive oil. Pulse with an immersion blender until chunky. </div>
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Serve the pizza balls with the hot marinara sauce. Careful before biting into them, the melted cheese inside will be hot! </div>
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Check out everyone else's posts throughout Friday on Twitter by searching the hashtag #LetsLunch. </div>
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Pat's Sausage Rolls on <a href="http://theasiangrandmotherscookbook.com/2013/07/11/sausage-rolls/">The Asian Grandmother's Cookbook</a></div>
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<br />Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08401129336971659599noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8482281964544297940.post-18409758784533351932013-07-09T22:04:00.003-04:002013-07-09T22:04:31.053-04:00Baking for America: min-pies and crumbles four ways<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Happy birthday, America! </div>
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To celebrate the Fourth of July, most folks probably spent last Thursday drinking beer, grilling burgers and trying to make stuff blow up in their backyards. </div>
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Sadly for Jake and I, we no longer have a grill or a backyard. Last year the Fourth fell right after our move, so we did the whole fireworks on the National Mall, celebrate our nation in the nation's Capital thing. </div>
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This year, we decided to honor America with old-fashioned desserts like pie and crumbles. </div>
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There aren't a ton of fruits that I like to eat cooked. Jake's fillings are on the left: rhubarb mixed with cinnamon, vanilla and bourbon; then strawberries, rhubarb in orange juice. My fillings, made up of the two fruits I will eat cooked: raspberries with orange juice, and blackberries with lemon zest. </div>
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We used a simple butter crust recipe, using Michael Ruhlman's <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Ratio-Simple-Behind-Everyday-Cooking/dp/1416571728/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1373421101&sr=8-1&keywords=michael+ruhlman+ratio">Ratio</a> method. Measurements to create a double pie crust for a standard sized pie dish made enough for these two mini-pies and had some left over.<br />
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This was my first attempt at doing a double pie crust. Jake's rhubarb pie had a simple covered crust with a slit, and I tried a lattice for my blackberry. (Sadly, I burned the lattice a bit)</div>
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Next we moved onto attempting to make fruit crumbles. Jake had a delectable-looking peach crumble down at the Waterfront a few weeks ago, and we've both been thinking about trying out hand at it since.<br />
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Again, having never done this before, most of this was a stab in the dark.<br />
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We learned the hard way, for instance, not to use frozen berries for this. My raspberry filling (above right) was a bit thin and the berries essentially turned to slush. I had a few blackberries leftover from my other filling and added a couple of strawberries to try and bulk the filling up. I also used quite a bit more flour for the raspberry filling than we used for Jake's strawberry rhubarb. </div>
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Doubled up on this tasty crumble topping recipe: brown sugar, oatmeal, pinch of salt and a little flour. We added the zest of a grapefruit to Jake's crumble topping, I added a little cinnamon and chopped pecans to mine. </div>
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All in all, the baking for America was a success. I found I enjoyed the cooked berries in both of my desserts, and got some great use out of my mini pie plates (mine are similar to <a href="http://www.crateandbarrel.com/ruffled-individual-pie-dish/s522000">these</a>).</div>
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Inside peek at Jake's rhubarb pie.<br />
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Raspberry, blackberry and strawberry crumble with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. </div>
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<br />Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08401129336971659599noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8482281964544297940.post-1825290283039344782013-06-08T19:32:00.003-04:002013-06-08T19:32:57.299-04:00LetsLunch: Too Hot to Cook (Let's Make a Cheese Plate)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Once again, I'm a bit late on my LetsLunch offering. This month, hosted by <a href="http://hapamama.com/2013/06/07/cool-off-with-mung-bean-shaved-ice/">Grace of Hapa Mama</a>, we all contributed dishes for when the summer heat is really cranking and it's too hot to cook. </div>
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I cheated a little and popped my bread slices in the toaster oven, but other than that this simple, delicious cheese plate is a breeze to throw together. </div>
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From top right corner moving clockwise: peppercorn white cheddar, strawberries, brie, raspberry habanero preserves, green grapes, honey goat gouda, salad and crostini. </div>
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The black peppercorn cheddar and strawberries are lovely together, and the preserves turned out to be a nice complement to both the brie and the goat gouda. A little prosciutto or nice salumi wouldn't be out of place here either, but I didn't happen to have any on hand. </div>
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Be sure to check out the other fabulous hot weather recipes put together by our LetsLunch crew.</div>
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Cheryl's Mango Key-Lime Pie on<a href="http://atigerinthekitchen.com/2013/06/mango-key-lime-pie-tropical-cool/"> A Tiger in the Kitchen</a></div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; font-style: inherit; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Anne Marie</strong><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px;">‘s Lettuce Sandwich at</span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px;"> </span><a href="http://sandwichsurprise.com/2013/06/07/lettuce-sandwiches/" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; font-style: inherit; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Sandwich Surprise</a></div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Grace</strong>‘s Mung Bean Shaved Ice at <a href="http://hapamama.com/2013/06/07/cool-off-with-mung-bean-shaved-ice/" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">HapaMama</a></div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Linda</strong>‘s Coconut Creamsicle Sodas at <a href="http://freerangecookies.com/2013/06/07/coconut-creamsicle-sodas/" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Free Range Cookies</a></div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Linda</strong>‘s Escape From San Francisco Picnic at <a href="http://spiceboxtravels.com/2013/06/07/escape-from-san-francisco-picnic/" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Spicebox Travels</a></div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Lisa</strong>‘s Campari Granita at <a href="http://mondaymorningcookingclub.com.au/2013/06/07/it-started-as-an-aperol-spritz/" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Monday Morning Cooking Club</a></div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Lucy</strong>‘s “The Girl in a Hat Goes on a Picnic” at <a href="http://acookandherbooks.blogspot.com/2013/06/the-girl-in-hat-goes-on-picnic.html?spref=tw" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">A Cook and Her Books</a></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 1.625em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Monica</strong>‘s Peanut Salad at <a href="http://www.monicabhide.com/2013/06/lets-lunch-peanut-salad.html" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">A Life of Spice</a></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 1.625em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Pat</strong>‘s Harvest Red Rice Salad at <a href="http://theasiangrandmotherscookbook.wordpress.com/2013/06/07/no-cook-rice-recipe/" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">The Asian Grandmothers Cookbook</a></div>
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Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08401129336971659599noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8482281964544297940.post-47577107988496392312013-06-02T20:54:00.001-04:002013-06-02T20:54:43.078-04:00Feels like summer, tastes like summer: easy oven ribs and homemade hushpuppies<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Here we go, trying to get back to blogging recipes on a more regular basis.<br />
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After getting back from a week away in Denver and Colorado Springs, my fridge was completely empty. We picked up a few essentials from the Safeway and I was delighted to find first: that baby back ribs are on sale for a few weeks and second: that sweet corn season has officially started.<br />
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I had to dig around in the bins for a bit to find these good ears, but they were miraculously ripe and delicious. <br />
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After a week of dry heat in Colorado, the humidity of DC was a bit of a rude welcome home gift. This entire dinner was so satisfying and simple to make. <br />
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RECIPE: Easy Oven Ribs<br />
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2 lbs baby back ribs<br />
3 TBS rib rub (or make your own: garlic, brown sugar, paprika, kosher salt, etc)<br />
1/2 cup barbecue sauce (I used Sweet Baby Ray's)<br />
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* Preheat oven to 350 F<br />
* Pat both sides of the ribs liberally with the rib rub and wrap loosely in foil.<br />
* Place on a sheet pan and bake for 45 minutes.<br />
* After 45 minutes, open the foil pack and brush both sides of the ribs with sauce. Wrap the foil back around the ribs and bake another 45 minutes.<br />
* After 90 minutes total baking time, unwrap the foil and baste the ribs with sauce a second time. Leave the foil pack open and return the ribs to the oven, increasing heat to 450 F. Bake for another 20 to 30 minutes.<br />
* Allow to rest 10 minutes before serving.<br />
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RECIPE: Homemade Hush Puppies<br />
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1 1/4 cup each white and yellow cornmeal (or 2 1/2 cups of which ever you happen to have on hand)<br />
2 tsp sugar<br />
2 tsp baking powder<br />
1 TBS salt<br />
1 heaping tsp cayenne powder<br />
1/2 cup finely minced onion<br />
2 cups milk<br />
2 eggs<br />
1-2 quarts vegetable or canola oil for frying<br />
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* In a small saucepan, heat one quart of oil slowly over medium heat.<br />
* While the oil is heating up, whisk the dry ingredients together.<br />
* In a separate bowl whisk together milk and eggs. Add to dry ingredients, allow to rest 5-10 mins.<br />
* Test heat of oil with a drop of batter - it should begin sizzling and frying immediately.<br />
* Use a tablespoon or small ice cream scoop to drop balls of batter into the oil, fry 6-8 minutes until golden brown.<br />
* Cool on a paper towel, serve with honey butter.<br />
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<br />Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08401129336971659599noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8482281964544297940.post-24181330917848859092013-05-09T22:24:00.000-04:002013-05-10T07:57:27.707-04:00LetsLunch: Celebrating Asian American/Pacific Islander Heritage Month <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Happy LetsLunch, everyone!! I am so excited about this month's theme: dishes to celebrate Asian American/Pacific Islander Heritage Month.<br />
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I've written many times about how I often feel trapped between the many cultures I belong to. I've never felt like I could truly identify with being Korean or truly Asian American, since I was not really raised in either culture.<br />
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But food has always been a way for me to feel a strong tie with my Korean roots. Would it have been nice to have learned how to make Korean bulgogi from my <i>weihalmonie</i> before she passed away? Of course. But, the beauty of the Internet is that I had <a href="http://www.maangchi.com/">Maangchi</a>, right in my own home, acting as my own personal <i>ajumma</i> to teach me my favorite Korean foods, like bulgogi.<br />
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So without further ado, here's my quick and dirty guide to making Korean barbecue at home.<br />
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Much of Korean barbecue can be made up as you go. Everyone's mom and grandma makes it differently, as far as I can tell. This recipe relies on finely minced Asian pear and brown sugar for the sweetness. You can also use honey, mashed kiwi or even cola. This marinade, for about 1 lb of meat, is 3/4 cup soy sauce, 1/3 cup rice vinegar, 1/4 cup sesame oil, scant 1/4 cup canola oil, 3 TBS brown sugar, half an Asian pear (finely minced), all whisked together.<br />
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Korean barbecue has gotten quite popular, especially in cities with big Korean populations like Washington, D.C. (where I live) and New York City. Within a 20-30 minute drive from my house, there are literally dozens of <i>kogijibs</i>, or meat houses, where barbecue is the specialty. (Pro tip: if you're looking for an outstanding Korean restaurant, look for one that operates in the native Korean style of specializing in one dish or type of food.) I got an early start on this week's dish. The onion slices, mashed garlic and ginger, and some salt and pepper went into a bag with the meat a day or two before I was ready to cook. I added the marinade the morning I was going to grill.<br />
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Someday, I aspire to own one of those fabulous one-off butane grills and a tilted Korean barbecue grill like the ones they use at restaurants (or like this <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Weber-8840-Gourmet-Barbeque-System/dp/B009IH0POW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1368151813&sr=8-1&keywords=Korean+barbecue">one</a>). For now, I have a fabulous electric wok that I absolutely love, and it creates a really nice sear on meat like this. (if you're feeling curious about the meat, this happens to be skirt steak, but you can use almost any thinly-sliced, tender cut of beef you like. I've made it with everything from eye round to filet mignon)<br />
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While the meat was resting, I also grilled up the marinated onion slices with some lovely enoki mushrooms. Always buy twice as money enoki mushrooms as you think you'll need--they really shrink down when you cook them!<br />
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The benefit of making Korean barbecue at home is you can yank the meat off the grill while it's still medium rare. I'm not a huge fan of how long they usually leave the meat on your grill at Korean barbecue restaurants because it allows the meat to cook completely through. Snip the meat into bite sized pieces with scissors.<br />
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No Korean meal would be complete without panchan (two of these are storebought, one is homemade), so load your plate up and enjoy! At a restaurant, you might be given a basket of lettuce leaves (and bitter perilla leaves if you're feeling extra traditional), some sliced garlic, soybean paste and rice to make cute little lettuce wraps.<br />
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You can also sub little sheets of <i>gim </i>(this is actually nori, but shhh they're so similar) to wrap around your rice, kimchi and meat! I am fairly certain there is a Korean name for eating your food this way, but I've never managed to pick it up (as it's not something you would see on a menu in a restaurant).<br />
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So there you have it, the illustrated guide to Korean barbecue in the home. If you want to make <i>kalbi </i>instead of <i>bulgogi, </i>get short ribs instead of steak. You can get the kind that is pulled off the bone, or the kind sliced sideways, with the bone slivers still in tact.<br />
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LetsLunch is a monthly meeting of food bloggers from around the world. We share themed blog posts via Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest. We would love to have you join us, just tweet using the hashtag #LetsLunch to introduce yourself!<br />
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Check back to see what the others are posting on Friday for Asian American/Pacific Islander Heritage Month:<br />
* Lucy's Chinese Chicken Salad on <a href="http://acookandherbooks.blogspot.com/2013/05/chopsticks-letslunch.html">A Cook and Her Books</a><br />
* Lisa's Sesame, Eggplant and Noodle Salad on <a href="http://mondaymorningcookingclub.com.au/2013/05/09/chinese-sesame-eggplant-and-noodle-salad/">Monday Morning Cooking Club</a><br />
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<br />Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08401129336971659599noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8482281964544297940.post-90374191458889761082013-04-12T09:02:00.000-04:002013-04-12T20:28:43.123-04:00April Let'sLunch: Spring Break Foods<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Happy April's LetsLunch, everyone!<br />
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I volunteered to act as our host this month and suggested the theme: "Spring Break Foods." I've been super excited the past few weeks, planning for my "adult spring break" trip to Disney World.<br />
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I didn't know I was going to make pizza as my Spring Break Food. But, as luck would have it, a friend gifted a set of Mickey pizza plates to me last week and I knew my LetsLunch was set.<br />
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There's nothing fancy about this pizza. I used a garlic herb crust from Trader Joe's, some whole milk mozzarella, and a simple homemade tomato sauce.<br />
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To make the sauce: heat 1 can of whole tomatoes, mostly drained, plus half an onion, and a pinch of salt for about 15 minutes. Remove about half of the tomatoes and most of the onion, and pulse with a hand blender, then break the remaining tomatoes gently with a spoon. Stir the blended tomatoes back into the broken ones. Add a splash of red wine and continue cooking at least 5 more minutes. If the sauce seems too thin, stir in some tomato paste, 1 TBS at a time. </div>
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I pre-baked the crust for about 8 minutes with a little cornmeal underneath to add some texture. Then sauce and cheese (less of both than might think), and back in the oven at 475 for about 15 minutes.<br />
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And, this is the part where you get to see how ugly my pizza turned out. Which is fine, if you ask me. In the competition between food being delicious and beautiful, I'll take delicious. The cheese aggressively sliding off my slice just means it was a) abundant and b) incredibly melty.<br />
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So, I hope the rest of my LetsLunchers are finding ways to get away or find some R&R at home this spring. A week from today I'll be heading to Disney World (again!) to visit a friend of mine who works at Animal Kingdom.<br />
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Let's Lunch is a monthly virtual lunch date made up of foodies and bloggers from all over. Want to join us? Send us a tweet to introduce yourself using the hashtag #LetsLunch.<br />
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Check out what everyone else made this month:<br />
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Jill's Basil-Infused Cotillion Cocktail at <a href="http://eatingmywords-jwl.blogspot.com/2013/04/celebrate-spring-with-sip-of-new.html">Eating My Words</a><br />
Lucy's Pepperoni Pizza Swirl Muffins at <a href="http://acookandherbooks.blogspot.com/2013/04/fangirly-fun.html">A Cook and Her Books</a><br />
Lisa's Beetroot and Salmon with Horseradish at <a href="http://mondaymorningcookingclub.com.au/2013/04/12/beetroot-and-horseradish-a-match-made-in-heaven/">Monday Morning Cooking Club</a><br />
Linda's Instant Carrot Cake at <a href="http://freerangecookies.com/2013/04/11/instant-carrot-cake/">Free Range Cookies</a><br />
Karen's Sourdough Sandwich Bread at <a href="http://geofooding.blogspot.ca/2013/04/soured-on-spring-break.html">Geofooding</a><br />
Linda's Guide to Eating in Cancun at <a href="http://spiceboxtravels.com/2013/04/12/a-food-lovers-spring-break-in-cancun/">Spicebox Travels</a><br />
Ann Marie's Mofongo with Ground Beef at <a href="http://sandwichsurprise.com/2013/04/12/spring-break-sammy-mofongo-on-pork-rind-rolls/">Sandwich Surprise</a><br />
<br />Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08401129336971659599noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8482281964544297940.post-8237384425513860872013-02-08T19:52:00.002-05:002013-02-08T19:55:36.045-05:00#LetsLunch: Super Bowl Wings, Two Ways<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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So far in the new year, I'm continuing to be sadly neglectful to this little blog. But, I was very excited to work on these tasty wings for Super Bowl Sunday last week! </div>
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Our Lets Lunch group picked foods to eat while watching sports on tv this month -- just in time for last week's Super Bowl (or, the Stupid Bowl as I often refer to it).</div>
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I love Super Bowl wings. Ever year, whether I'm with a big group, a small group, or if, like this year, it's just me and my husband, I like to go all out for chicken wings for the Super Bowl. </div>
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Some years I make buffalo wings, other year's I've made sticky teriyaki wings. This year I went with <a href="http://kitchendreamer.blogspot.com/2010/02/other-kfc.html">Korean Fried Chicken</a> again and also pulled together a curry-spiced wing recipe for Lets Lunch. </div>
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I borrowed some techniques for battering and frying chicken from this <a href="http://www.seriouseats.com/2012/10/the-food-lab-korean-fried-chicken.html">Serious Eats Food Lab</a> post. I thought it worked well for the curry wings, but ultimately may not have been worth it for the Korean wings. </div>
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To start, I gave each pound of wings a couple hours of soaking in a buttermilk bath spiced with salt, pepper and coarsely chopped garlic (about 8 cloves for each batch). The curry spiced wings also got a tablespoon of sweet curry powder. After a few hours, I drained the wings from the buttermilk.<br />
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This is the step I borrowed from Serious Eats: coating the wings in a mix of corn starch, baking soda and salt. I think for the curry wings it added a nice crispness to the end result. It made less of an impact on the Korean wings, because of the gochuchang sauce that gets added at the end.<br />
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The other aspect I borrowed from Serious Eats was in the batter, though, instead of following the recommendation for using half water and half vodka, I took a chance with a beer batter. This was absolutely the right choice (I used about 3/4 of a Blue Moon) and it was delicious. After prepping and frying the Korean wings, I mixed a tablespoon of Moroccan spice rub, a tablespoon of sweet curry powder, and a teaspoon of cayenne pepper into the batter for the second half.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-I_gEv8JVGSQ/URWTYRqtsJI/AAAAAAAADhU/PUynW2YaVZw/s1600/photo-781399.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" height="480" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5842738136851787922" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-I_gEv8JVGSQ/URWTYRqtsJI/AAAAAAAADhU/PUynW2YaVZw/s640/photo-781399.JPG" width="640" /></a><br />
It took about a bottle and a half of mixed peanut and canola oils to fill my wok to acceptable frying levels. In the past, I have sometimes steamed the wings first to ensure that they cook completely. This year, I went with a slightly longer frying time (around 10-12 minutes) to get a nicely browned outside on the wings.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5MBYiTUW-KI/URWTdoXatLI/AAAAAAAADhg/zH0xYcvmEK0/s1600/photo-701660.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" height="480" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5842738228844213426" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5MBYiTUW-KI/URWTdoXatLI/AAAAAAAADhg/zH0xYcvmEK0/s640/photo-701660.JPG" width="640" /></a><br />
In the end, the Korean wings get tossed with a sweet and spicy gochuchang sauce and topped with toasted sesame seeds and green onions. The curry wings get an aggressive salting as soon as they're removed from the wok.<br />
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Lets Lunch is a digital monthly meet up of food bloggers and writers.<br />
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Check out other posts from around the web here or on the hashtag #LetsLunch<br />
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<b>Cheryl's </b>Mongolian Buuz at <a href="http://atigerinthekitchen.com/2013/02/mongolian-buuz-a-perfect-tv-dinner/">A Tiger in the Kitchen</a><br />
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<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 1.625em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<b><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Annabelle'</span>s</b> Idiazabal and Black Pepper Gougeres at <a href="http://glassoffancy.com/2013/02/08/lets-lunch-idiazabal-and-black-pepper-gougeres/" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Glass of Fancy</a></div>
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<b><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Grace'</span>s</b> Taiwanese Beef Sliders at <a href="http://hapamama.com/2013/02/08/taiwanese-beef-sandwiches/" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">HapaMama</a></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 1.625em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><b>Jill</b>'</span><b>s</b> Spiced Pecans at <a href="http://eatingmywords-jwl.blogspot.com/2013/02/spiced-pecans-too-good-to-save-for.html" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Eating My Words</a></div>
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<b><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Karen'</span>s</b> Sporting Eats at <a href="http://geofooding.blogspot.ca/2013/02/sporting-eats.html" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">GeoFooding</a></div>
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<b><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Linda'</span>s</b> Trio of Salsas from Oaxaca at <a href="http://spiceboxtravels.com/2013/02/08/a-trio-of-salsas-from-oaxaca/" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Spicebox Travels</a></div>
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<b><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Lisa'</span>s</b> Sausage Rolls at <a href="http://mondaymorningcookingclub.com.au/2013/02/08/who-doesnt-love-a-sausage-roll/" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Monday Morning Cooking Club</a></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 1.625em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<b><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Lucy'</span>s</b> Crabcakes with Chipotle Mayo and Citrus Salad at <a href="http://acookandherbooks.blogspot.com/2013/02/eating-with-spiritual-compassand-marcus.html?spref=tw" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">A Cook and Her Books</a></div>
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<b><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Rashda'</span>s</b> Finger Lickin’ Good Curried Ribs at <a href="http://hotcurriesandcoldbeer.blogspot.com/2013/02/finger-lickin-good-curried-ribs.html" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Hot Curries & Cold Beer</a></div>
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Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08401129336971659599noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8482281964544297940.post-33690050971830559842013-01-11T08:30:00.000-05:002013-01-11T08:30:00.722-05:00January #LetsLunch: Trying Something New<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This month, our #LetsLunch host challenged us to try something new in the new year. Many of us will be posting recipes we've tried for the first time, or something we've always wanted to tackle.<br />
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My parents came to visit over the summer and we went to a Washington Nationals baseball game. My dad got super excited when he saw the concessions stand was offering up gluten-free soft pretzels.<br />
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I decided to try and recreate those pretzels for my dad when I was home over Christmas last month. He seemed to really enjoy them, and mentioned how much he used to love soft pretzels when he was younger.<br />
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I adapted <a href="http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2012/09/gluten-free-soft-pretzels.html">this recipe</a> from Serious Eats, using the homemade blend of gluten-free flours my dad uses for baking. The original author calls for a blend of white rice flour, brown rice flour and tapioca starch. I used a blend of white rice, tapioca starch and potato starch and thought they tasted delicious.<br />
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What I liked about these pretzels was how simple they were to make. The biggest pain with them is the hour and a half of dead time while you're waiting for the dough to proof. The other downside is that you get a fairly small yield. The recipe calls for 12 pretzels, but they would be pretty tiny. I went with splitting the dough into 8 pieces.<br />
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When you shape the pretzels, I found it's better to make them a bit fatter and smaller, like the near one in this photo. You can see a skinnier, larger pretzel in the background there. Most of those were difficult to remove from the soda bath because the pretzels broke off into pieces (see below).<br />
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The other place I diverged from the original Serious Eats recipe is in brushing the finished pretzels with a little melted margarine. It gives them that extra layer of flavor you'll get in the ballpark -- a little buttery, a little sweet, a little oily.<br />
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You can see my experimentations with the sizes and widths of the pretzels here. The second batch I made were much more uniform in shape. Also, for a gluten-free snack, they were very delicious! I was tempted to eat some of these but decided it was best to save them for my dear-old-dad.<br />
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Overall, I would say this was one of my more successful attempts at gluten-free baking for dad. In the past treats have had that characteristically gritty texture or generally haven't held up well (the cinnamon rolls debacle of Christmas 2011 comes to mind). I think for one, the use of xantham gum in this recipe is a huge help in binding the dough and giving it some stretch. Secondly, I think my dad really has perfected the homemade blend of flours and starches. I had much better luck with his blend than using a store brand "gluten-free baking mix"for the cinnamon rolls last year.<br />
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RECIPE: Gluten-Free Pretzels -- adapted from <a href="http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2012/09/gluten-free-soft-pretzels.html">seriouseats.com</a><br />
3 3/4 cups homemade gluten-free flour blend (combine white rice flour, tapioca starch and potato starch)<br />
1 teaspoon salt<br />
1 teaspoon xanthan gum<br />
1/2 teaspoon baking powder<br />
1 cup warm water plus 2 tablespoons<br />
1 packet (2 1/4 teaspoons) active dry yeast <br />
1 large egg<br />
3 tablespoons light corn syrup<br />
2 tablespoons vegetable oil<br />
1/4 cup baking soda<br />
2 tablespoons sugar<br />
4 tablespoons melted margarine<br />
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* In a small bowl, combine 1 cup warm water and yeast and stir until foamy. Allow to stand for three minutes while you whisk together flours, salt, xantham gum and baking powder. Add the egg, corn syrup, vegetable oil and yeast mixture to the flours and mix until a dough forms.<br />
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* Knead dough gently for five minutes until it becomes smooth. You may need to put a little white rice flour down to knead the dough (the kitchen I was working in had granite countertops and I didn't need it). Transfer to an oiled bowl, cover and allow to rise in a warm place for 90 minutes or more.<br />
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* Bring 4 quarts of water to a boil and preheat the oven to 425. While the water is coming to a boil, split the dough into eight pieces and cover with plastic wrap or a damp towel while you work. Take each ball one at a time, roll into a long skinny log, about 14 inches long. Twist into a heart-shape, then press the ends to the bottom. You may need to rewet the bottom edges and press firmly in order make them stick during the boiling process. (Serious Eats has a good <a href="http://www.seriouseats.com/2012/09/how-to-make-gluten-free-soft-pretzels-slideshow.html#show-271693">photo slideshow</a> of the shaping process)<br />
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* Add baking soda and sugar to the water bath. Boil pretzels one at a time until they float. If a pretzel looks like it is beginning to break, remove it immediately. Place boiled pretzels on a parchment-lined baking sheet and sprinkle with kosher or pretzel salt.<br />
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* Bake for about 25 minutes, rotating your baking sheets about halfway. Brush the hot pretzels with the melted margarine immediately and serve while hot. You can also freeze the cooled pretzels and reheat in a toaster over later.<br />
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Yield: 8 pretzels<br />
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LetsLunch is a monthly meetup of food bloggers from around the globe. We post themed recipes on the first Friday of each month and share via Twitter and Facebook.<br />
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Want to join us? Send us a tweet using the hashtag #letslunch and say hello. I'm @emmacarew<br />
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Take a look at what everyone else has posted for this month's new recipes for the new year:<br />
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<br />Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08401129336971659599noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8482281964544297940.post-42300827088529628072012-12-14T13:04:00.001-05:002012-12-14T18:37:55.751-05:00#LetsLunch December: Celebrations from around the world<div align="center">
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So, after a long hiatus from this blog (and LetsLunch), I'm making my triumphant return. <br />
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What have been up to in the meantime? In September, I agreed to start developing a series of recipes for a friend's blog, <a href="http://beinggeekchic.com/tagged/nerd-recipes">Being Geek Chic</a>. In October, I took a new job (actually, it's pretty much the same as my old job) at <a href="http://philanthropy.com/section/Facts-Figures/235/">The Chronicle of Philanthropy</a>. In addition to working on our signature surveys (collecting and analyzing data about the nonprofit world), I've been growing my skills at creating <a href="http://philanthropy.com/article/Donors-Who-Use-Their-Work/136139/">interactive graphics</a> and contributing <a href="http://philanthropy.com/blogs/prospecting/social-media-power-givingtuesday-holiday-giving-effort/36414">social media reporting</a>. In November, Jake and I drove up to Penn State to watch my brother play a hockey series (it's his senior year), and I also spent Thanksgiving with my extended family in New Jersey.<br />
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And, I almost didn't make it to today's edition of LetsLunch.<br />
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My contribution to today's celebration lunch may surprise you: latkes. We're not Jewish, but my college roommate was, so I spent a good amount of time in college at the campus Hillel. Some of what we did there was relating to the culture, some relating to the religion. But what stuck with me was the food.<br />
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In the spirit of Hannukah, I decided to make some latkes last night. I had attempted latkes previously, first, in our college apartment, just winging it (they were too wet, too gummy and took way too long to hold our interest), then a couple of years ago using a recipe from <a href="http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2008/12/potato-pancakes-even-better/">Smitten Kitchen</a>. They were easy enough to make, because you shredded the potatoes using the food processor, but I didn't love them. These were essentially hashbrowns.<br />
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So, last night, I went back to box grating. I kept the recipe small, only using three Russet potatoes. In exchange for the time it took to grate the potatoes, I skipped the steps that usually go into trying to keep the potatoes from oxidizing (cold water, ice, etc). I alternated between using a coarse grate and a fine grate. After using my <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Flour-Towels-Commercial-Grade-12-Pack/dp/B003BS4856/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1355507515&sr=8-1&keywords=flour+sack+towels">flour sack towels</a> to squeeze, squeeze, squeeze as much moisture from the potatoes as I could, I also added about 2/3 of a grated onion, an egg and about 2/3 cup of flour. If I had really planned ahead, I probably would have used matzoh meal.<br />
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What I liked about these is that they were crisp on the outside, and nice and potato-y on the inside. Three potatoes yielded about 20 latkes. They're best served immediately, while they're still hot (salt them immediately), but I had a few for breakfast this morning, and they heated up nicely in the toaster oven. </div>
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You can see in the fun .gif file above, I fried mine in a shallow, nonstick pan in batches of about three or four. I used an ice cream scoop that was about 3/4 full for each latke. If you can, dip the spatula in the oil before pressing down on the scoop of potato batter to flatten, it helps with the sticking. </div>
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I'm pretty basic with my latkes, so I serve them with sour cream and a little coarse salt.<br />
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Check out the rest of the Let's Lunch posts today by following the hashtag #letslunch on Twitter or clicking through below. If you would like to join us next month, send us a tweet introducing yourself! I'm @emmacarew on Twitter.<br />
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Cheers to this month's host, <a href="http://www.hotcurriesandcoldbeer.com/">Rashda</a>! See all of the fabulous blog posts on her <a href="http://pinterest.com/minakhan/celebrations-around-the-world-letslunch/">pinboard</a>.<br />
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Annabelle's Pecan Slices at <a href="http://glassoffancy.com/2012/12/14/christmas-cookies-fort-worth-style/">Glass of Fancy</a><br />
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Linda's Sorrel Cocktail at <a href="http://spiceboxtravels.com/2012/12/14/christmas-libations-in-trinidad-sorrel/">Spicebox Travels</a><br />
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Lucy's Ham and Cheddar Cheese Scones at <a href="http://acookandherbooks.blogspot.com/2012/12/the-christmas-ham-letslunch.html?spref=tw">A Cook and Her Books</a><br />
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Grace's Persimmon Salad at <a href="http://acookandherbooks.blogspot.com/2012/12/the-christmas-ham-letslunch.html?spref=tw">Hapa Mama</a><br />
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Joe's <a href="http://www.joeyonan.com/2012/12/heres-honey-cake-honeys.html">Orange Honey Cake</a>Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08401129336971659599noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8482281964544297940.post-7242407988165865532012-09-13T12:19:00.003-04:002012-09-13T12:19:38.127-04:00Korean snacks: deconstructed tteok-bogi and kimchi pancakes<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Since moving to DC, most of my cooking has fallen into two camps: recipe testing for the newsletters I'm continuing to write for The Cooking Club and lots of Korean food. </div>
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Jake made some baked tofu recently with a sweet and spicy gochuchang-based sauce. We used the leftover to make a tteok fondue of sorts. I had these extra long rice cakes in the freezer and I made them the Momofuku way for dipping in the red sauce. </div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-scpbdv8TDVQ/UFH6uEpvg-I/AAAAAAAADdM/SRYkA7J8xrc/s1600/2012-09-09+17.52.00.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-scpbdv8TDVQ/UFH6uEpvg-I/AAAAAAAADdM/SRYkA7J8xrc/s400/2012-09-09+17.52.00.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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The rice cakes went into a very hot cast iron grill pan with vegetable oil until they started smoking. Once they were browned on all sides, I brushed them with sesame oil and took them off the heat. I served them with grilled odeng (the fish cake) and dipped them in the warmed gochuchang sauce.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CpWdI04f8XU/UFH6zSqv1dI/AAAAAAAADdk/6jium6wgOiw/s1600/2012-09-09+17.52.16.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CpWdI04f8XU/UFH6zSqv1dI/AAAAAAAADdk/6jium6wgOiw/s400/2012-09-09+17.52.16.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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The gochuchang sauce includes brown sugar, grated ginger, minced garlic, soy sauce, sesame oil and gochuchang. It's a bit stronger and sweeter in flavor, I think, that your typical tteokbogi sauce.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fd5YYVUWGOg/UFH7NZmrT1I/AAAAAAAADd8/BO0U-DXfbmI/s1600/2012-09-12+18.34.56.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fd5YYVUWGOg/UFH7NZmrT1I/AAAAAAAADd8/BO0U-DXfbmI/s400/2012-09-12+18.34.56.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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There comes a point in every jar of kimchi when you take a sniff and there's only one word to describe your result: funky. It's that point where the sharp, pungent taste of kimchi has ripened a bit over the edge. It's not that you can't eat the kimchi any more, it's just not as delicious as when you first break open a brand new jar.<br />
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Thankfully, there are plenty of options for extra ripe, funky kimchi. One option, great for the fall and winter months is to make a steaming, bubbling pot of kimchi chiggae. Better for the summer months, I'm a fan of kimchi pajeon (above).<br />
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I also had some homemade Korean radish pickles in the fridge that had also gotten a little funky, so I chopped it up with the kimchi and mixed them into the pancakes. It's always hard to get these crispy enough (as soon as you put them on a plate, the steam trapped between the hot pancake and the plate condenses), but they are fabulous dipped in soy sauce and sprinkled with toasted sesame seeds.<br />
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Korean snacks have definitely been one of the highlights of moving back to DC this summer. Enjoy!Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08401129336971659599noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8482281964544297940.post-42466050455119956902012-09-07T11:59:00.000-04:002012-09-07T13:43:29.577-04:00#LetsLunch September: three grandmothers' recipesThis month for Let's Lunch, our group decided to post recipes from our grandmothers to honor our friend Pat, whose book <a href="http://theasiangrandmotherscookbook.wordpress.com/2012/08/22/and-the-paperback-launches/">The Asian Grandmothers Cookbook</a> came out in paperback recently.<br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Asian-Grandmothers-Cookbook-American-Kitchens/dp/157061556X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1253496504&sr=8-1" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://theasiangrandmotherscookbook.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/paperback2.jpg" width="257" /></a></div>
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What I like about this book is that it's a great primer to Asian cuisine. Pat includes a sections on techniques and common ingredients in addition to the great recipes. </div>
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I felt like a kindred spirit to Pat reading the introduction of the book, growing up in a country away from her heritage. Like Pat, I also learned to connect with my culture through food, she via her mother, me via a mishmash of culture camps, dance moms and later, blogs and YouTube videos.</div>
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I grew up far away from all of my grandmothers. My paternal grandmother died when I was very young, and we lived halfway across the country from my maternal grandmother. I only met my Korean grandmother a handful of times before she passed away last year. </div>
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So, needless to say, I'm not exactly a wealth of family recipes. My favorite recipe from my Nan is her Irish Soda bread, which I posted last year for <a href="http://kitchendreamer.blogspot.com/2011/02/tiger-in-kitchen-launch-day-family.html">Cheryl's Family Recipe Day</a>. </div>
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I've made this bread time and time again since first receiving the recipe for it in college. The oven temp is boldly written at the top of my recipe book page because the first time I made it, I misread the emailed instructions and baked my bread at 450 for an hour. Not quite "burnt" but definitely tougher than expected. </div>
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I didn't spend much time around my dad's mother -- in fact, I'm not sure I can even remember having a meal she cooked. But I know that she used to cook Polish food, a nod to a small slice of her heritage. </div>
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Two years ago, I jumped at the chance to head north a day early to help my aunt make stuffed cabbage rolls and pierogies for Easter. I had never gotten the chance to do this with my Grandma, but this was the best substitute I could have had. </div>
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(These are the actual cabbage rolls we made for Easter two years ago, and the pierogies on the right are ones I made last summer. Recipe is <a href="http://kitchendreamer.blogspot.com/2011/09/pierogies.html">here</a>.)<br />
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And, being an adoptee who has searched for and found my biological family, I'm in the strange position of having had three grandmothers during my life.<br />
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My wei-halmonie, my birth mother's mother, first came into my life in 2005 when I went on my first trip to Korea. She made dinner for my mom and I when we went to visit the family's home in Inchon. The dish I hoped to someday learn to make is captured in my chopsticks above. I'm not entirely certain sure what they are called, but they're sort of a small, Korean vegetable/fish pancake thing. They're about the size of a silver dollar and awesomely delicious.<br />
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Next time I'm in Korea, hopefully someone in my family can teach me how to make them, since my halmonie passed away last spring. I'm also hoping to learn the name of these yummy nibbles.<br />
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So, cheers to our friend <a href="http://theasiangrandmotherscookbook.wordpress.com/2012/08/22/and-the-paperback-launches/">Pat</a> and do check out her awesome book, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Asian-Grandmothers-Cookbook-American/dp/157061752X/ref=tmm_pap_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1341936582&sr=1-1">The Asian Grandmothers Cookbook</a>.<br />
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Check out the rest of the Let's Lunch posts today by following the hashtag #letslunch on Twitter or clicking through below. If you would like to join us next month, send us a tweet introducing yourself! I'm @emmacarew on Twitter.<br />
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<b>Karen's</b> Ode to Nana on <a href="http://geofooding.blogspot.com/2012/09/ode-to-nana.html">Geofooding</a><br />
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<b>Linda's</b> Taiwanese Oyster Omelet on <a href="http://beautifulmemorablefood.wordpress.com/2012/09/07/taiwanese-oyster-omelet/">Spicebox Travels</a><br />
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<b>Lisa's</b> Polish Potato Cake on <a href="http://mondaymorningcookingclub.com.au/2012/09/07/a-grandmothers-cooking-polish-potato-cake/">Monday Morning Cooking Club</a> <br />
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<b>Cheryl's</b> Gambling Rice on <a href="http://atigerinthekitchen.com/2012/09/gambling-rice-a-grandmothers-tale/">A Tiger in the Kitchen</a><br />
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<b>Jill's </b>Stuffed Cabbage on <a href="http://www.eatingmywords-jwl.blogspot.com/2010/12/stuffed-cabbage-but-not-from-grandma.html">Eating My Words</a><br />
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<b>Charissa's</b> Gluten-Free Depression-Era Cake at <a href="http://zestbakery.com/blog/apple-pecan-and-raisin-depression-cake-gluten-free">Zest Bakery</a>Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08401129336971659599noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8482281964544297940.post-50386437913572627712012-09-06T17:38:00.002-04:002012-09-06T20:11:01.134-04:00Pumpkin Pasties<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kmmz5S1U4ac/UEkFDy0AD-I/AAAAAAAADbI/AjiImiRG1Uk/s1600/2012-09-06+16.00.07.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kmmz5S1U4ac/UEkFDy0AD-I/AAAAAAAADbI/AjiImiRG1Uk/s640/2012-09-06+16.00.07.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Harry Potter is one of my favorite books ever. I've read them each about 100 times and have the British version of all seven audio books, which I've also listened to about 100 times each. <br />
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So when my recipe testing last week turned up an extra half can of pumpkin, I knew exactly how I wanted to use it up: Pumpkin Pasties.<br />
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Last year, Serious Eats did a "Cook the Book" series from an unofficial Harry Potter cookbook that included a <a href="http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2011/08/pumpkin-pasties-harry-potter-recipe.html">recipe</a> for Pumpkin Pasties, one of the treats Harry buys on the train during his first journey to Hogwarts.<br />
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The basic gist of the recipe is to make a homemade pie crust and fill it with pumpkin-y goodness. Mine were a little smaller than the Serious Eats ones, I think, so I baked them at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.<br />
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I mixed my half-can (the big size) of pumpkin with some cinnamon streusel topping that I also had leftover from recipe testing last week. I used a butter pie crust recipe from Michael Ruhlman's Twenty, brushed with an egg wash and sprinkled with sugar. The result was a nice, not-too-sweet filling with a flaky pastry.<br />
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If you don't have leftover cinnamon streusel, I would guess mix about 1/3 cup brown sugar, 1/4 cup rolled oats, 1/4 cup diced pecans, 2-3 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp nutmeg and stir into the pumpkin.Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08401129336971659599noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8482281964544297940.post-28402226748223138772012-07-11T20:16:00.005-04:002012-07-11T20:16:49.824-04:00Mango Salsa and Chipotle Black Bean Tostadas<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I made a big batch of mango salsa last week but have been a little slow eating it up, so I picked up a sleeve of tostadas to put the salsa to good use. I layered seasoned black beans, 4-cheese blend and a squeeze of lime with the salsa to make these for a quick dinner.<br />
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Start by warming the tostadas for about 5 minutes in the toaster oven at 375 F.<br />
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Spoon seasoned black beans over the tostada shell. I cooked 2 rinsed cans of black beans (to attempt to lower the sodium) with 1 small can of chipotle peppers in adobo for about 20 minutes, then used an immersion blender on the beans.<br />
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Sprinkle with cheese and a squeeze of lime juice. I only had 4-cheese blend but crumbled queso fresco would have been nice too. </div>
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Finally, pile on the mango salsa and enjoy! </div>
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RECIPE (makes about 6 cups of salsa)</div>
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Mango Salsa</div>
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4 to 6 ripe mangoes (should be very soft to the touch)</div>
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1 can petite diced tomatoes</div>
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1/2 medium red onion</div>
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1 bunch cilantro</div>
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1 jalapeno </div>
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2 limes (more if they're on the small side)</div>
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pinch of cayenne pepper</div>
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salt to taste</div>
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Dice the mango and squeeze the lime juice over. Set aside while you chop the remaining ingredients. </div>
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Rinse the tomatoes well and add to the mango. </div>
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Dice the red onion and jalapeno (remove seeds if you like it less spicy), then finely chop the cilantro. </div>
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Toss with the mango and tomatoes and season with cayenne and salt to taste. </div>
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The flavors in this salsa are better the next day. Keep refrigerated up to one week. </div>
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<br /></div>Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08401129336971659599noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8482281964544297940.post-3710062316369562332012-07-06T17:51:00.002-04:002012-07-06T17:51:21.921-04:00#LetsLunch: miso-glazed grilled veggies and polentaHappy July edition of #LetsLunch!!<br />
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This month's theme for my LetsLunch group is grilled foods. I was a little bummed when we first chose this, because in our move we had to leave our <a href="http://kitchendreamer.blogspot.com/2012/04/start-of-grilled-pizza-season.html">giant grill</a> behind during the move last month.<br />
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But, as my LetsLunch friends pointed out on Twitter, it just meant that much more of a creative challenge.<br />
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So, I broke out my cast iron grill pan and went to work in my new smallish, DC kitchen.<br />
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First, I made some polenta and chilled it for a few hours. I grilled the pieces on both sides, using my other cast iron as a weight.<br />
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I whisked together a quick garlicky honey-miso glaze and grilled spears of eggplant and zucchini squash in batches, soaking them in the glaze before throwing them in the pan.<br />
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Use the left over glaze to brush the polenta and sprinkle the veggies with toasted sesame seeds just before serving.<br />
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LetsLunch is a monthly "meeting" of food bloggers from around the world. We select a theme and each blog our lunch on the first Friday of every month. Interested in joining? Just search #letslunch on Twitter and send us a tweet introducing yourself!<br />
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Recipes:<br />
Grilled Polenta Wedges<br />
(Adapted from Mark Bittman's <a href="http://dinersjournal.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/10/19/featured-recipe-polenta-without-fear/">The Minimalist</a>)<br />
2 cups coarse ground cornmeal<br />
2 cups water (or milk for creamier polenta), plus 1-2 cups more<br />
Optional: 2 bouillon cubes<br />
4 TBS olive oil or butter<br />
1/2 tsp red chile flakes<br />
salt to taste<br />
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Melt butter (if using) in a medium saucepan, otherwise bring the water and olive oil to a boil.<br />
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Lower heat slightly and add the bouillon (if using), a generous pinch of salt and the chile flakes, then pour in the cornmeal while whisking continuously.<br />
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Continue stirring the polenta, adding more water a few tablespoons at a time as the mixture gets too thick. Cook 15-20 minutes until the polenta tastes cooked.<br />
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Pour into a cake pan or pie plate and chill for a couple hours. Slice into 8 wedges.<br />
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Brush a cast iron grill pan with oil and heat over medium high heat. Grill polenta wedges 2-4 at a time, using a second pan to weigh them down. After five to seven minutes, flip the polenta and grill the other side.<br />
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Keep warm until ready to serve.<br />
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Honey Miso Glaze<br />
2 cloves garlic, minced<br />
3 TBS miso paste<br />
1/3 cup soy sauce<br />
2-3 TBS honey<br />
1 tsp red chili flakes<br />
up to 1 TBS water (to take the salty edge off, add slowly to taste)<br />
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Whisk ingredients together, brush on zucchini and eggplant spears before and after grilling.<br />
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Brush onto polenta just before serving.<br />
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<br />Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08401129336971659599noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8482281964544297940.post-5945835583100757032012-06-11T14:03:00.003-04:002012-06-11T14:03:58.245-04:00Happy 25th birthday to us!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kLvOV2J9aPE/T9YveQkELiI/AAAAAAAADVE/naRqQK63v9w/s1600/Photo+May+26,+12+25+56+PM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kLvOV2J9aPE/T9YveQkELiI/AAAAAAAADVE/naRqQK63v9w/s400/Photo+May+26,+12+25+56+PM.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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A couple of weeks ago, over Memorial Day weekend, Jake and I celebrated our 25th birthdays, mine on a Friday, his on a Monday.<br />
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Having our birthdays this close together usually means we're willing to up the ante a little how we would normally otherwise celebrate, since it's a group effort.<br />
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Back in January, I came across a great deal on plane tickets from MSP to LGA and decided to surprise Jake with a trip to one of his favorite places: New York City.<br />
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After laying down false track (Jake thought we were going to his parents' on Saturday and out to lunch with friends on Sunday to celebrate), I proceeded to pack a suitcase in secret, then wake my husband up at 4 a.m. to give him the news we were running away for the long weekend.<br />
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It was insanely hot in the city, so most of our photos turned out to be of food, rather than snapshots of us enjoying the city. So, here's a quick rundown of our delicious food tours of NYC:<br />
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Our first stop after dropping our bags in our hotel (we stayed near Penn Station) was a walk over to K-Town on 32nd St. where we had bossam and oysters for lunch.<br />
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Jake found a description of the <a href="http://www.landbrotbakery.com/">Landbrot Bakery</a> in the current issue of New York magazine during our flight, so we stopped in for brezeln and a beer. The staff were incredibly friendly and we had a great mini-meal.<br />
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After grabbing pizza at Brookyln's famous <a href="http://www.grimaldis.com/">Grimaldi's</a>, we went to the Brooklyn Brewery with a college friend. We took the "tour," which was more like "The History of Our Brewery While Standing in a Production Space."<br />
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Ordered the Cheese and Crackers at McSorely's Ale House (and I also discovered that I enjoy porter beers)<br />
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Veselka's pierogies -- a longtime favorite! Great way to start out the meal. I also snagged the cookbook so we can make more Ukranian food at home now.<br />
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Was very thankful not to have to hunt down the Big Gay Ice Cream Truck in the heat. Just waited in the line outside their new shop for a bit. Tasty stuff!<br />
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Inspired by <a href="http://www.amateurgourmet.com/2012/02/the-welcome-to-new-york-tasting-menu-at-the-2nd-avenue-deli.html">this</a> post on Amateur Gourmet's blog about the Second Avenue Deli, we met my cousin here for brunch one day. We had the absolutely delicious matzoh ball soup (not something Jake or I had had before, having grown up in Minnesota). At the end of the meal, they brought us tiny chocolate sodas!<br />
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While wandering the East Village, we stopped into Murray's Cheese just to gawk and enjoy one of the best smelling stores I had ever been to.<br />
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To celebrate Jake's birthday "officially" we went back to K-Town and had a huge table full of Korean barbecue (before and after shots) <br />
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And we liked Second Avenue Deli SO MUCH we went back a second time.<br />
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The very awesome pickles and coleslaw. Below, our first ever knish, Jake's grownup chocolate soda, and another plate of pierogies.<br />
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My foodie souvenirs! What could be better than picking up the cookbooks at two of the awesome restaurants we ate at? The 2nd Ave Deli book has been a great read so far -- lots of cool stories about the owner and the history of the restaurant.<br />
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Happy birthday Jake!! Your turn to plan something awesome for 26.... :)Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08401129336971659599noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8482281964544297940.post-34723395621456572382012-06-08T09:23:00.002-04:002012-06-08T09:23:40.699-04:00#LetsLunch: Food to Honor Dads<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fBIHm23182c/T9H3yFPCzoI/AAAAAAAADUY/PeN_cR4e4gw/s1600/Dad.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fBIHm23182c/T9H3yFPCzoI/AAAAAAAADUY/PeN_cR4e4gw/s400/Dad.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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(photo by <a href="http://glenstubbephotography.com/">Glen Stubbe</a>) </div>
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Ah, my poor neglected food blog. It's been a busy couple of weeks. The biggest news of the last month is that Jake and I are on the move yet again and are currently in the process of moving our lives back to Washington, D.C.<br />
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So, due to packing up our home, wrapping up my current job, and a host of other blah blah blah reasons, I almost sat this round of #LetsLunch out. But, we're doing posts about food to honor our dads (in the U.S it is Father's Day on June 17th), and I really like my dad, so I am pulling this one together for him.<br />
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Above is a photo of my dad (and my mom) giving a toast at our wedding in September. We skipped a lot of the dad-ly duties like giving me away or a father-daughter dance, so I somehow do not have a photo of just me and my dad from the wedding.<br />
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The funny thing about picking a food to honor my dad is that the man doesn't really like food all that much. He's been gluten intolerant since he was about 18 or 20, or approximately 30 years before companies started pumping out half-way decent GF options.<br />
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So, the recipe I'm sharing today isn't a gluten-free one, but it's the closest thing to an "old family recipe" we have. Ham and Rice is a leftover from my parents' broke and newlywed days, and it is exactly what it sounds like. It embodies a lot of the things that come to mind when I think of my dad and food: simple, not a ton of ostentatious flavors, and easy to make.<br />
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To start, measure out about 1 cup of rice per person (yes, uncooked rice). It's a very generous portion but trust me on this. Feel free to use whatever white rice you have in the house, but my dad swears by <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Kokuho-Rose-Sushi-Rice/dp/B00348H2YC">Kokuho Rose </a>rice. If long ago your kid insisted you own a rice cooker for her benefit, then start your rice cooker and set it aside. If not, go about your business making rice however you normally do.<br />
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Next, take a large amount of ham, cube it and fry it in butter or margarine. This gives the butter a nice hammy flavor which goes toward seasoning the rice. The trick here is not to make the pieces of ham too big or too small. About the size of an M&M (but square-ish, obviously). The amount you make will vary, but at our house, this is a family favorite, so when we make it for 4-6 people, we usually make enough to actually feed 10. This is an old step-shot, but I think this is about two hamsteaks.<br />
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The final step is pretty easy. Mix the two parts together. We usually do the ham in a large skillet with high sides and dump the rice in. What's the correct ham to rice ratio? You're looking at it. Basically, you want to be able to get one, two, maybe three cubes of ham in every bite of rice you scoop up.<br />
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That's it, folks. No further seasoning (but we do serve ours with salt and pepper at the table), nothing. Just serve it up in bowls and enjoy. And, if you're health conscious at all, consider serving with a large green salad.<br />
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The "recipe" as it were:<br />
Ham and Rice<br />
* about 2 hamsteaks to feed 4 people, or maybe 1/2-2/3 cubed ham per person.<br />
* about 1 cup uncooked rice per person (you'll probably have leftovers, but it's great leftover<br />* 1 stick of butter per 4 people<br />
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Cook the rice according to directions or in a rice cooker. Set aside and keep warm.<br />
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Cube the ham and fry over medium heat for 8-10 minutes.<br />
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Toss the rice into the ham mixture until fully combined and rice is coated in the butter.<br />
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Serve with salt and pepper.<br />
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#LetsLunch is a monthly "lunch date" of food bloggers from around the world. We meet on Twitter and would LOVE to have you join us! Just send us a tweet on the hashtag (I'm @emmacarew) and introduce yourself.<br />
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In place of listing everyone's posts, I've started a <a href="http://pinterest.com/emmacarew/letslunch-food-to-honor-dads/">Pinboard</a> round up of all today's posts, which I'll update throughout the weekend.<br />
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See you next month!Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08401129336971659599noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8482281964544297940.post-86087184638254601912012-05-03T22:53:00.000-04:002012-05-04T09:58:49.480-04:00May LetsLunch: Food across two cultures<div style="line-height: 0px; padding-bottom: 2px;">
<a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/189291990558186206/" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://media-cache1.pinterest.com/upload/189291990558186206_1bIs1ecE_c.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Source: <a href="http://www.pingram.me/p/hVNut/emmacarew" style="color: #76838b; font-size: 10px; text-decoration: underline;">pingram.me</a> via <a href="http://pinterest.com/emmacarew/" style="color: #76838b; font-size: 10px; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank">Emma</a> on <a href="http://pinterest.com/" style="color: #76838b; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank">Pinterest</a></div>
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It all started here. Wildly delicious kimchi bulgogi fries from a food truck in Austin.<br />
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When my LetsLunch group mentioned doing fusion foods for this month's virtual lunch date, I knew that this was a perfect time to try and adapt this recipe.<br />
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Where I landed instead was a little further from the basket of deliciousness I first bit into back in January, but an equally tasty option, I think.<br />
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<a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/189291990558186193/" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://media-cache1.pinterest.com/upload/189291990558186193_VV7YYt0T_c.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Source: <a href="http://www.pingram.me/p/KL287onE5c/emmacarew" style="color: #76838b; font-size: 10px; text-decoration: underline;">pingram.me</a> via <a href="http://pinterest.com/emmacarew/" style="color: #76838b; font-size: 10px; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank">Emma</a> on <a href="http://pinterest.com/" style="color: #76838b; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank">Pinterest</a></div>
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Kimchi bulgogi nachos. <br />
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The thing you have to understand about me is that I really love nachos. And they don't even have to be good ones at a halfway decent Mexican restaurant. I actually really love the super salty chips with the questionably plastic cheese product dispensed from a warm bag that you get at the town hockey rink. (Can you tell I grew up in Minnesota?)<br />
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I adapted the cheese sauce recipe found <a href="http://smells-like-home.com/2012/01/soft-pretzel-bites-with-cheese-sauce/">here</a>. We already had a giant bucket of <a href="http://kitchendreamer.blogspot.com/2010/12/homemade-kimchi.html">homemade kimchi</a>.<br />
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If you have those two things, you are more than halfway there (and really, for the average person, a perfectly nice storebought kimchi works well too -- just get it a good Korean market, not that crap they sell in mainstream grocery stores!)<br />
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So, start by draining about 1 1/2 cups of kimchi. You can squeeze some of the extra liquid out with your hands if you like. Chop this coarsely and set aside.<br />
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The rest of your toppings: beef bulgogi (marinate rib eye or other nice cut of beef in 3 parts soy sauce, 1 part each: sugar (or honey), sesame oil, rice vinegar, then grill), diced onion and cilantro.<br />
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Throw down your chips (I used Trader Joe's multigrain and low-fat blue corn) then drizzle your cheese sauce on top. I added a few dashes of cayenne and a teaspoon or two of mustard powder to my cheese sauce to give it a little kick.<br />
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Then pile on the toppings (be extra generous with the kimchi!). I also gave mine a good squirt of Sriracha rooster sauce for a little extra kick.<br />
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I actually liked these better than the french fries I had in Austin - the crispy chips were a good base to really load up each bite. And the Korean-Mexican fusion trend has been popular elsewhere, with Korean tacos and the like, so the flavors complement each other really well.<br />
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--<br />
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Be sure to check the LetsLunch hashtag throughout the day Friday (and into the weekend, we often have stragglers --hell, I'm usually one of them) to see the delicious fusion offerings of the rest of our gang!<br />
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<b>edit: </b>Or check out my <a href="http://pinterest.com/emmacarew/letslunch-food-across-two-cultures/">Pinterest Board</a>, where I've pulled all of the links together!<br />
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Interested in joining us? Send us a tweet with #LetsLunch and introduce yourself! I'm <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/emmacarew">@emmacarew</a>.Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08401129336971659599noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8482281964544297940.post-88164132203853436712012-04-22T21:09:00.004-04:002012-04-22T21:09:54.984-04:00The start of grilled pizza season!<div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;">
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It seems like pretty much everyone on the internet was talking about pizza at home and grilled pizzas this week. Inspired by the New York Times dining section's <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2012/04/18/dining/the-pizza-issue.html?ref=dining">Pizza Issue</a> and this <a href="http://www.amateurgourmet.com/2012/04/if-you-have-a-grill-you-should-be-grilling-pizza.html">post</a> from Amateur Gourmet. </div>
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So, Jake and I made big plans (which were threatened by the on-again-off-again rain all weekend) to make grilled pizzas. </div>
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This morning, I made Mark Bittman's pizza dough <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/18/dining/basic-pizza-dough-recipe.html?_r=1">recipe</a> and let it sit for a few hours. I subbed 1 cup of whole wheat flour into the recipe and it was a little shaggier than I expected (it didn't come together quite as firmly as in the video), so I ended up making a second batch. </div>
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We used the cheese-sauce-toppings method described on Serious Eats' <a href="http://slice.seriouseats.com/archives/2011/07/the-pizza-lab-how-to-top-grilled-pizzas.html">Pizza Lab post</a>. My best pairing of toppings is this one: brussels sprouts, garlic and bacon. </div>
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Action shot of Jake checking the pizzas.<br />
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Four delicious mini-pizzas, grilled to perfection. </div>
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<br /></div>Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08401129336971659599noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8482281964544297940.post-8673831905171403382012-04-11T17:06:00.000-04:002012-04-11T17:06:52.970-04:00Cardamom Pavlova with Pistachios and Lime Whip<div class="mobile-photo">
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You're looking at our Easter 2012 dessert -- which followed an impressive spread from Jake's dad Dave (fried risotto balls, garlic spaghetti, pancetta-wrapped pork loin... and so on).<br />
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Jake and I finally got around to trying <a href="http://thebachelorfarmer.com/">Bachelor Farmer</a> a couple weeks back, where we we thought we might run into our "neighbor" the governor (his two sons own the restaurant) but instead, almost brushed elbows with Sen. Al Franken (he was two tables over).<br />
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We had a dessert that was similar to this, and I knew I needed to learn how to make pavolova -- which is essentially a ginormous meringue.<br />
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I've had ground cardamom from Penzey's for a few months now that I haven't really found a good use for. I followed this recipe from <a href="http://www.chow.com/recipes/29539-pavlova-with-lemon-curd-and-fresh-berries">Chow.com</a> as a reference. I added 1 1/2 tsp of ground cardamom in the last step.<br />
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Having never really worked with meringue before, I decided to to a dry run the night before (as we were making our Easter pierogies):</div>
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Here's the dry run. I kept poking at this one every few minutes between 55 and 65 minutes of bake time to see how well done it was in the middle. In our Breville toaster/convection oven, 65 minutes at 250 F with convection on was perfect.<br />
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I didn't have enough heavy whipping cream to make two batches, so I just topped this version with some boozy berry sauce I threw together (1 cup frozen strawberries, 1 cup mixed frozen blackberries and raspberries, 1/2 cup sweet white wine, 1/4 cup sugar, combine over medium heat for 10-15 minutes, stirring frequently).<br />
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I mixed the zest of two limes, some powdered sugar, and a teaspoon of vanilla extract into one cup of heavy whipping cream to make the whipped topping. I would have liked a little more whip, but this was the perfect amount to cover the 8-ish inch pavlova.<br />
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So, after the pavolva comes out of the oven, allow to cool slightly, spread the whipped cream, sprinkle with 2-3 good handfuls of shelled pistachios, then top with 1-2 cups of sliced strawberries.<br />
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RECIPE:<br />
Adapted from chow.com<br />
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For the pavlova:<br />
4 large egg whites with no traces of yolk, at room temperature<br />
Pinch fine salt<br />
1 cup granulated sugar<br />
2 teaspoons cornstarch<br />
1 teaspoon distilled white vinegar<br />
1 teaspoon vanilla extract<br />
1 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom<br />
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(use a stand mixer with wire whisk attachment)<br />
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* Beat egg whites and salt until bubbles start to disappear (1-2 minutes), then slowly stream in the sugar. Increase whipping to medium and beat for 3-4 more minutes until stiff peaks form. Your mixture will be glossy and sticky, like marshmallow fluff.<br />
* Sprinkle cornstarch over the surface, then pour in vanilla, vinegar and cardamom. Fold in gently until combined.<br />
* Turn the mixture out onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Use a rubber spatula to make a nice round shape and try to smooth it out as best you can.<br />
* Bake at 250 F for 65 minutes if you have convection, about 75 if not.<br />
* Cool slightly, then top with lime whipped cream, pistachios and berries.Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08401129336971659599noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8482281964544297940.post-9057196818819062792012-04-06T11:14:00.002-04:002012-04-06T11:14:41.264-04:00Eggs In A Hole for April LetsLunch<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Just in time for Easter, our Let's Lunch group chose to make egg dishes for our monthly "lunch date" today.<br />
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I just got back from a great week in Orlando covering the 45th Pillsbury Bake-Off and visiting some friends (including my first trip into the Wizarding World of Harry Potter!). So, I knew I wouldn't have much time this week for prepping a fancy egg dish.<br />
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Since joining Pinterest a few months back, I've been amazed by the number of eggs-in-a-hole style dishes I've come across. Eggs baked into toast. Eggs in a potato. Eggs in half of an avocado. It became kind of a joke for me, and I dedicated an entire Pin board to <a href="http://pinterest.com/emmacarew/eggs-in-a-hole/">Eggs-In-A-Hole</a>.<br />
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So, I thought it would only be fitting for me to finally try my hand at a fried egg in a toast hole today.<br />
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The bread I have at home right now is on the smaller side so I first made the hole using a small biscuit cutter.<br />
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The method for this delicious breakfast treat is super easy: you cut a hole into each slice of bread, then butter each piece. Heat a non-stick skillet, place the bread butter-side down, then crack an egg into the hole.<br />
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The first attempt: you can see the egg white sort of overflowed here. So I went back and used the next size up on my second toast.<br />
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When the egg sets on the bottom (three to five minutes), flip the whole slice of toast gently. I only left it on the other side for about a minute to let the other side of the egg set. But I'm a fan of runny egg yolks.<br />
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The best part about Eggs-In-A-Hole? Saving the cutouts to make an itty-bitty grilled cheese sandwich. I also sprinkled the leftover shredded cheese over my egg toasts.<br />
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--<br />
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LetsLunch is a monthly "meetup" of food bloggers from all over! Each month we choose a theme, set a date and post on the day (it's usually the first Friday of the month).<br />
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Check out the posts from the rest of our group today:<br />
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<div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 1.625em; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
– <b>Cheryl's</b> Chai Poh Scramble at <a href="http://atigerinthekitchen.com/2012/04/chai-poh-scramble-easter-singapore-style/">A Tiger In The Kitchen</a></div>
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<div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 1.625em; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
– <strong style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Denise</strong>‘s Beet Dye & Pink Deviled Eggs at <a href="http://chezus.com/2012/04/03/beet-dye-and-pink-deviled-eggs/" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Chez Us</a></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 1.625em; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
– <strong style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Felicia</strong>‘s Perfect Sandwich at <a href="http://alwayshungry-felicia.blogspot.com/2012/04/sandwich-nearly-perfected.html?m=1" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Burnt-Out Baker</a></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 1.625em; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
– <strong style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Grace</strong>‘s Scrambled Eggs & Tomatoes at <a href="http://hapamama.com/2012/04/scrambled-eggs-and-tomatoes-real-homestyle-chinese-food/" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">HapaMama</a></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 1.625em; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
– <strong style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Joe</strong>‘s Kim-Chi Deviled Eggs at <a href="http://www.joeyonan.com/2012/04/lets-lunch-kimchi-deviled-eggs.html?m=1" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Joe Yonan</a></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 1.625em; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<strong style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">– Linda</strong>‘s Home-made Cadbury Eggs (Maple Chocolate Eggs) at <a href="http://freerangecookies.wordpress.com/2012/04/06/homemade-cadbury-eggs/" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Free Range Cookies</a></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 1.625em; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
– <strong style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Linda</strong>‘s Taiwanese Tomato Eggs at <a href="http://beautifulmemorablefood.wordpress.com/2012/04/06/which-came-first-the-egg-or-the-chicken/" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Spicebox Travels</a></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 1.625em; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
– <strong style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Lisa</strong>‘s Legendary Egg & Onion at <a href="http://www.scribd.com/mobile/doc/88228950" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Monday Morning Cooking Club</a></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 1.625em; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
– <strong style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Lucy</strong>‘s Old-Fashioned Boiled Dressing (& Chicken Salad) at <a href="http://acookandherbooks.blogspot.com/2012/04/noblest-of-emulsions.html?spref=tw" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">A Cook And Her Books</a></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 1.625em; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
– <strong style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Rashda</strong>‘s Bombay Toasts (Spicy French Toasts) at <a href="http://hotcurriesandcoldbeer.blogspot.com/2012/04/bombay-toasts-spicy-take-on-french.html?spref=tw&m=1" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Hot Curries And Cold Beer</a></div>
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Want to join us? Send us a tweet and introduce yourself using the hashtag <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/search/%23letslunch">#letslunch</a></div>
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What's your favorite egg dish?</div>Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08401129336971659599noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8482281964544297940.post-44291216253559946802012-03-04T14:15:00.001-05:002012-03-04T14:31:12.750-05:00Baking marathon: red velvet cake, funfetti cake, mocha cake and salted caramel cake.Last week I embarked on my second largest baking project ever. My high school journalism program, ThreeSixty Journalism, asked me to donate a few cakes to their mid-winter fundraiser for people to win as prizes.<br />
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Last Saturday, I baked a red velvet cake, two batches of the chocolate cake I made for Karyn's wedding, and a funfetti cake, based on <a href="http://sweetapolita.com/2012/02/funfetti-layer-cake-with-whipped-vanilla-frosting/">this</a> recipe. I also baked a batch of red velvet cupcakes to bring along for volunteers or anyone else to nibble on. I wrapped the cooled cakes in plastic wrap and left them in the fridge until Wednesday.<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3MuKIxJheTg/T1Onxr2Lk9I/AAAAAAAADD4/iFl5zSPGfCo/s1600/DSC_0007-1.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3MuKIxJheTg/T1Onxr2Lk9I/AAAAAAAADD4/iFl5zSPGfCo/s320/DSC_0007-1.JPG" /></a> </div>
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Wednesday, I made three large batches of vanilla buttercream and a double batch of cream cheese frosting for the red velvet. I flavored two batches of the buttercream with espresso and salted caramel sauce (I doubled <a href="http://ruhlman.com/2011/06/salted-caramel/">this</a> recipe from Michael Ruhlman's blog). I was very impressed with both of these flavors. You can see all of my favorite cake gear here: the cake boards stacked in the back, our awesome cupcake carrier (a wedding gift from a great friend), lot and lots of plastic wrap to keep the cakes fresh and safe between baking and decorating, offset and flat spatulas for icing, my cheap but reliable cake turntable, and in that white plastic bin in the front, that's where I keep my decorating tips and pastry bags.<br />
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I was also testing a product for the Food Now! newsletter, a cake slicing kit. I was able to make the funfetti and red velvet cakes into four layer cakes (I thought they looked very nice), and the single 10-inch layer of mocha cake into a slim two layer. The kit worked really well - but definitely better with the funfetti cake, which was a butter cake and much more firm.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FGjGR-e6apM/T1OnyChDqmI/AAAAAAAADEQ/fEpEOJGklv4/s1600/DSC_0021.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FGjGR-e6apM/T1OnyChDqmI/AAAAAAAADEQ/fEpEOJGklv4/s320/DSC_0021.JPG" /></a> </div>
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Here's the salted caramel getting the crumb layer of icing. I filled between the layers with the rest of the caramel sauce. I think it was a bit too thin though, it was hard to keep it from running out the sides.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yOGqOllRtbM/T1Onyc5ZLHI/AAAAAAAADEc/2Lr4sDnM5Ek/s1600/DSC_0027.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yOGqOllRtbM/T1Onyc5ZLHI/AAAAAAAADEc/2Lr4sDnM5Ek/s320/DSC_0027.JPG" /></a> </div>
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My freezer is jam packed, but thankfully it was a chilly day outside. I used my porch as a freezer to help firm up the icing after the crumb coating. This is the 10-inch mocha cake and the 8-inch salted caramel.<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7bOq4Ty63DM/T1OnypTzqFI/AAAAAAAADEk/QZWur1LAFjo/s1600/DSC_0033.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7bOq4Ty63DM/T1OnypTzqFI/AAAAAAAADEk/QZWur1LAFjo/s320/DSC_0033.JPG" /></a> <br />
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Not surprisingly, I was in a rush on my way out the door, so I forgot to take photos of the finished and decorated cakes. I was worried about transporting them, but each finished cake sat outside for probably 30 minutes before driving, so the frosting was firm, and the dollop of frosting between the cake board and the cake carrier had time to set, which minimized sliding. </div>
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Here are the cakes out for display with some of the others donated by volunteers and staff. On the far left, my four-layer red velvet, topped with cream cheese frosting, and decorated with strawberries and pecan halves. In the middle an M&Ms and KitKat bar cake baked by one of my former editors. On the far right, the 10-inch mocha cake, decorated with crushed Oreo pieces. </div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--FVGI-r6iug/T1OqstjLg4I/AAAAAAAADE0/5epVTHJPuqQ/s320/photo+%25284%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--FVGI-r6iug/T1OqstjLg4I/AAAAAAAADE0/5epVTHJPuqQ/s320/photo+%25284%2529.JPG" /></a></div>
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Top left: the 8-inch salted caramel chocolate cake, with caramel sauce filling and salted caramel buttercream, decorated with a star pattern around the edge. Top right: a vanilla frog cake by one of the staff. Botton: the 8-inch vanilla funfetti cake with vanilla buttercream and topped with tons and tons of sprinkles. </div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-laf1g6ZtKs0/T1Oqs2GD0SI/AAAAAAAADE8/vUmEbFj9ZDk/s320/photo+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-laf1g6ZtKs0/T1Oqs2GD0SI/AAAAAAAADE8/vUmEbFj9ZDk/s320/photo+%25282%2529.JPG" /></a></div>
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The fundraiser was a success and I had a ton of fun baking all of these cakes. </div>
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Recipes: </div>
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<b>RED VELVET CAKE </b></div>
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(adapted from Paula Deen's Food Network recipe) </div>
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*Note: After baking this cake a few times per year, I can tell you purchasing red food color each time is a pain--also somewhat expensive. I finally purchased a large bottle (maybe 20-30 ounces) of red food color in bulk at my local Asian grocery (Twin Cities friends: I bought mine at the Shaung Her in Minneapolis) for $8, or the cost of 2 or 3 of those little bottles.</div>
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<b>For the Red Velvet Cake:</b></div>
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<li class="li2" style="text-align: left;">2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour</li>
<li class="li2" style="text-align: left;">1 teaspoon baking soda</li>
<li class="li2" style="text-align: left;">2 tablespoons cocoa powder (I like natural cocoa from <a href="http://www.penzeys.com/cgi-bin/penzeys/p-penzeyscocoapowder.html">Penzey's Spices</a>) </li>
<li class="li2" style="text-align: left;">1 1/2 cups granulated sugar</li>
<li class="li2" style="text-align: left;">2 eggs</li>
<li class="li2" style="text-align: left;">1 1/2 cups canola or vegetable oil</li>
<li class="li2" style="text-align: left;">1 teaspoon vinegar</li>
<li class="li2" style="text-align: left;">1 ounce (1-2 TBS) red food coloring*</li>
<li class="li2" style="text-align: left;">1 teaspoon vanilla</li>
<li class="li2" style="text-align: left;">1 cup buttermilk (or 1 cup milk + 1 TBS white vinegar, at room temperature)</li>
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<b>For the cream cheese frosting:</b></div>
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<li class="li2" style="text-align: left;">2 sticks butter at room temperature</li>
<li class="li2" style="text-align: left;">1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese at room temperature</li>
<li class="li2" style="text-align: left;">3-4 cups powdered sugar (about 1 lb, or half a bag)</li>
<li class="li2" style="text-align: left;">1 tsp vanilla</li>
<li class="li2" style="text-align: left;">1-2 TBS milk or cream, as needed.</li>
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* Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare two cake pans with nonstick spray, flour and parchment paper. </div>
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* In a medium sized bowl, sift together dry ingredients until completely combined. </div>
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* In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle, mix eggs, oil, color and buttermilk. </div>
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* Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients in three batches. Drizzle in vinegar and vanilla and mix only until fully combined. </div>
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* Split evenly among the cake pans then bake for 24-26 minutes, or until cake tester comes out clean. </div>
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* Cool completely before frosting. </div>
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>> To make cream cheese frosting: beat butter and cream cheese on medium high until fluffy and fully combined. Add the vanilla then lower mixer speed and add powdered sugar 1/2 cup at a time. Mix on medium 5-7 minutes, then test texture. If the frosting still feels grainy, mix another 3-5 minutes until smooth. </div>
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<b>CHOCOLATE CAKE</b></div>
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(Ina Garten's Beatty's Chocolate Cake recipe)</div>
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Serves 12 or makes 24 cupcakes.</div>
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Note: This is a time to break out the really good cocoa powder. From "The Barefoot Contessa," by Ina Garten, who recommends extra-large eggs in her recipes, though large will work fine.</div>
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• Butter, for greasing the pans</div>
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• 13/4 c. flour, plus more for pans</div>
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• 2 c. sugar</div>
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• 3/4 c. unsweetened cocoa powder</div>
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• 2 tsp. baking soda</div>
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• 1 tsp. baking powder</div>
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• 1 tsp. kosher salt</div>
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• 1 c. buttermilk, shaken</div>
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• 1/2 c. vegetable oil</div>
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• 2 eggs, at room temperature</div>
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• 1 tsp. vanilla extract</div>
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• 1 c. freshly brewed hot coffee</div>
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Directions</div>
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Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter two (8-inch) round cake pans. Line with parchment paper, then butter and flour the pans.</div>
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Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment; mix on low speed until combined.</div>
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In another bowl, combine the buttermilk, oil, eggs and vanilla. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry. With mixer still on low, add the coffee and stir just to combine, scraping the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula.</div>
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Pour the batter into the prepared pans and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool in the pans for 30 minutes, then turn them out onto a cooling rack and cool completely. (If brushing with Raspberry Glaze, see directions at right.)</div>
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Place one layer, flat side up, on a flat plate or cake pedestal. With a knife or offset spatula, spread the top with frosting. Place the second layer on top, rounded side up, and spread the frosting evenly on the top and sides of the cake.</div>
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(Source: http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/taste/recipes/131156498.html) </div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>VANILLA BUTTERCREAM</b> (the starting point for 3 of my cakes): 6 sticks of butter (room temperature), one 2 lb. bag of powdered sugar, 1-2 tsp clear vanilla flavoring (you can use regular vanilla for the salted caramel and espresso batches), 1-2 TBS milk or cream as needed. </div>
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> Mix the butter on medium high in a stand mixer for 7-10 minutes until shiny and fluffy. Slowly add the powdered sugar with the mixer on low 1/2 cup at a time. When desired consistency has been reached, turn the speed on the mixer up to medium again, and mix 5-7 minutes, then test for graininess. </div>
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Variations: Mix 2-3 TBS very strong espresso (I used 4 TBS Cafe Bustelo coffee grounds with about 6 ounces of water, then strained.) with the butter on low before adding the powdered sugar OR mix 1 1/2 cups salted caramel sauce with the butter before adding the powdered sugar. </div>
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</div>Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08401129336971659599noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8482281964544297940.post-51617899224595053732012-02-11T12:27:00.000-05:002012-02-13T11:04:46.421-05:00Let's Lunch: Food Inspired by Music<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The last few months when #LetsLunch came around, I really dropped the ball. This month, I actually took some time, thought up a recipe idea, and set time aside to test it and get it photographed ahead of LetsLunch publishing.<br />
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I was a little worried about the theme, Food Inspired by Music, at first. I even threw the question out on the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/CookingClub">Facebook page</a> I manage for my new job at The Cooking Club, hoping our members would give me some inspiration. (They didn't.)<br />
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So, I give you: Put the Lime in the Coconut Macaroons. Ha, get it? (if not, refer to the video clip of the Muppets below!)<br />
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I was a little worried about how the flavors would turn out, but it's actually really nice.<br />
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So, start by zesting 4 limes. I know you see 6 limes in the basket above. I didn't end up using all of the zest, so it got thrown into the Corona/lime Superbowl Wings, along with the juice from the limes.<br />
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Then whip two egg whites with a pinch of salt, stir in one can of sweetened condensed milk and two teaspoons of vanilla. Add two bags (two!) of flaked or shredded coconut. Honestly, I should have used a bigger bowl. But really mix it around, make sure all of the coconut gets some of the egg whites/condensed milk goop on it.<br />
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Next, sprinkle in your lime zest and mix it around. Feel free to sing "Put the lime in the coconut" while you're doing it. If you're not afraid of raw egg whites, taste a little spoonful to make sure you have enough zest.<br />
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Bake the macaroons at 325 for about 22 minutes (rotate pans halfway). Definitely use parchment-lined cookie sheets for this. I found my small cookie scoop was the perfect size for making these. Cool completely.<br />
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In a double boiler, or a bowl set over some simmering water, melt about 1 1/2 cups of coarsely chopped chocolate, or as much chocolate as you can find in your house. Mine was a mix of dark and extra dark chocolate bars from Trader Joe's and some semi-sweet chocolate chips. As the chocolate melts, add 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream and stir until completely mixed in. You might need to add one or two more tablespoons of cream to get the ganache to the right consistency.<br />
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I did most of the macaroons dipping one half into the chocolate. I also experimented with doing some just chocolate on the flat bottoms. I like that too, because then you get a little chocolate in every bite. But, I think it takes longer to dip them that way. Allow the chocolate to cool overnight.<br />
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RECIPE: Put the Lime in the Coconut Macaroons<br />
adapted from <a href="http://www.marthastewart.com/339849/coconut-macaroons">Martha Stewart</a><br />
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2 egg whites<br />
pinch of salt<br />
1 can sweetened condensed milk<br />
2 tsp. vanilla<br />
2 bags flaked or shredded coconut<br />
Zest from 4 good-sized limes<br />
1 1/2 to 2 cups coarsely chopped chocolate (mix of dark and milk)<br />
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream<br />
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1. Line two cookie sheets with parchment and preheat the oven to 325** (Martha's recipe called for 20 minutes at 300. Mine looked sad and pale after 20 minutes, so I upped the temp to 325. Just be sure to rotate the pans so that the bottoms don't burn)<br />
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2. Whip the egg whites with salt in a large mixing bowl for about two minutes until foamy.<br />
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3. Mix in the sweetened condensed milk and vanilla. Add the coconut and mix well, until completely combined.<br />
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4. Sprinkle in and stir the lime zest.<br />
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5. Drop tablespoon sized cookies onto the cookie sheets and bake 22 minutes, rotating the pans and switching top/bottom racks halfway.<br />
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6. Cool completely.<br />
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7. Melt chocolate in a double boiler (or similar), slowly stir in the cream. Add additional tablespoon or two if neccessary for dipping.<br />
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8. Dip each macaroon (either the bottom, or one side) in the chocolate mixture and set on parchment lined cookie sheets to cool.<br />
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--<br />
<br />
Lets Lunch is a monthly, online lunch date of food bloggers around the world. Want to join us? search the Twitter hashtag #<a href="https://twitter.com/#!/search/%23letslunch">letslunch</a> and let us know you want in! I'm @emmacarew on Twitter.<br />
<br />
Here's a roundup of all the other LetsLunch posts this month:<br />
<a href="http://www.mariasgoodthings.com/?p=351&preview=true">Smoked Brown Sugar Creme Brulee</a> at Maria's Good Things<br />
<a href="http://geofooding.blogspot.com/2012/02/one-meatball.html">One Meatball</a> at GeoFooding<br />
<a href="http://www.patrickglee.com/2012/02/10/organ-sounds-and-the-munchies-a-dilemma/">Organ Recital and Donut Holes</a> by Patrick Lee<br />
<a href="http://hotcurriesandcoldbeer.blogspot.com/2012/02/song-memory-besame-mucho-banana-bread.html">Besame Mucho Banana Bread</a> at Hot Curries and Cold Beer<br />
<a href="http://cowgirlchef.com/2012/02/10/tiger-cakes/">Tiger Cakes</a> at Cowgirl Chef<br />
<a href="http://grongar.wordpress.com/2012/02/10/jewish-vegetarian-kishke/">Jewish Vegetarian Kishke</a> at GrongarBlog<br />
<a href="http://www.showfoodchef.com/2012/02/chicken-and-dumplings-roxie-waller.html">Chicken and Dumplings Roxie Waller Style</a> at Show Food Chef<br />
<a href="http://kitchentrials.wordpress.com/2012/02/10/coconutcake/">Coconut </a><a href="http://kitchentrials.wordpress.com/2012/02/10/coconutcake/">Cake</a> at Kitchen Trials<br />
<a href="http://freerangecookies.wordpress.com/2012/02/10/how-the-bee-gees-inspired-a-gluten-free-thin-mints-recipe/">Gluten-Free Thin Mints</a> at Free Range Cookie<br />
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/notes/monday-morning-cooking-club/lets-lunch-post-for-febby-lisafood-and-music/268533949884190">Honey Mac Wafers with Coconut</a> at Monday Morning Cooking Club<br />
<a href="http://alwayshungry-felicia.blogspot.com/2012/02/lets-lunch-tommys-chili-and-rock-n-roll.html">Tommy's Chili burger</a> at Burnt-Out Baker<br />
<a href="http://beautifulmemorablefood.wordpress.com/2012/02/10/buena-vista-social-club-inspired-frijoles/">Frijoles, Plantanos y Mojitos</a> at Spicebox Travels<br />
<a href="http://www.beyondtheplate.net/sweets/pear-frangipane-tart/">Pear Frangipane Tart</a> at Beyond The Plate<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/1wg_L0wGTyA" width="420"></iframe>Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08401129336971659599noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8482281964544297940.post-517949921756251492012-01-05T22:25:00.001-05:002012-01-05T22:56:42.407-05:00#letslunch: Dave's Chili RecipeOK, so I really fell down on the clock for #letslunch this month. As usual, it snuck up on me, like, WHAM!<br />
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So, what I have to offer up this month, is not my own recipe, not even a dish I cooked this week, but it is the most recent bowl of chili I have eaten:<br />
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Dave is my very dear father-in-law and every year on New Year's Day he makes a big pot of his very excellent chili. I missed out on the day-of festivities this year, but Jake brought some home for me, and it was just as delicious as ever.<br />
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So, here's the recipe Dave emailed me a couple months ago. I think the key is mixing the beef and the pork. It adds a little something I can't quite put my finger on to describe, short of just calling it "general awesomeness."<br />
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I'll try to update Friday afternoon with other #LetsLunch posts from around the country and globe! Want to join our monthly lunch date? Send us a tweet on the hashtag! I'm @emmacarew<br />
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<b>DAVE'S CHILI RECIPE</b> <br />
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1. Cook two diced onions in oil until soft.<br />
2. Add two pounds of ground beef and one pound of pork. Cook till no longer pink and browned well. 3. Add three large cans of tomato sauce<br />
4. Add one can of dark red kidney beans (we never liked beans all that much. It is all about the meat!)<br />
5. Stir in three packages of McCormick's Chili Seasoning. Us the regular seasoning, not the mild or spicy. (Sorry for cheating, but I think it turns out great and tastes the same time after time). Cover and cook at a very low simmer for about 1 hour. It is a good base and you can always add from there if you want. Such as more heat.<br />
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<b>Dave's notes: </b>I always liked to make it a day in advance, as I believe it tastes better the more times you reheat it.
I also liked to serve with plenty of oyster crackers, cheese, sour cream and of course beer and chips..Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08401129336971659599noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8482281964544297940.post-36680182238692547452011-12-12T19:49:00.001-05:002011-12-14T09:01:11.883-05:00Homemade char siu porkI finally got around to checking out the Minneapolis-based counterpart to my local Asian market, Shuang Her, over the weekend.<br />
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It was a little disappointing to know how much better the Minneapolis store is in terms of meat selections -- there is a real butcher-type counter, rather than just a large fridge case of packaged meat.<br />
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So, I grabbed three pounds of skinless pork butt for about $9 and decided to try my hand at homemade char siu pork.<br />
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Char siu is one of those things that usually seems easier to buy, given how hard it seems to make at home.<br />
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I adapted <a href="http://rasamalaysia.com/bbq-pork-recipe-char-siu/">this</a> recipe and technique that I found online, and I'm thrilled with the result. My two favorite ways to enjoy char siu is wrapped in fluffy white dimsum buns or mixed into a sticky rice recipe from my friend Wendy (though, this was so tasty, I found myself just munching on it).<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lHo6gna4eg4/TuahD98cs9I/AAAAAAAAC_8/EFX1FCJXqLE/s1600/photo-759079.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5685408669141611474" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lHo6gna4eg4/TuahD98cs9I/AAAAAAAAC_8/EFX1FCJXqLE/s320/photo-759079.JPG" /></a>
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<br />
<b>Ingredients:</b><br />
3 lbs
of skinless pork butt and cut into pieces a little smaller than my
fist<br />
<br />
<b>Sauce:</b><br />
4 tablespoons light corn syrup (use maltose if you have it/can find it) <br />
4 tablespoons honey<br />
4 tablespoons hoisin sauce<br />
4 tablespoons soy sauce<br />
3 tablespoon<b> Chinese rice wine (shaoxing) </b>-- note, the original recipe calls for "Chinese Rose Wine" so again, if you have it on hand or can find it, go with it. <br />
3 dashes white pepper powder<br />
1 tsp red coloring (optional) <br />
2 teaspoons five-spice powder<br />
2 teaspoons sesame oil<br />
4 tablespoons vegetable oil <br />
<br />
<b>Method:</b><br />
Add all ingredients, except the pork, to a large bowl and whisk to combine. <br />
Marinate the pork butt pieces with 2/3 of the char siu sauce overnight. Reserve the rest of the marinade for brushing during cooking.<br />
<b> </b>At
400 degrees, roast the meat uncovered for 20 mins, flip and roast another 15
mins.<br />
Then, on a flat baking pan covered in foil, brush the meat with
half the remaining sauce, and broil for 5 minutes until it starts to
smoke, and you get a few areas starting to turn black and crisp. Flip
the meat, drain the sheet pan if there is too much liquid, and broil the
other side. <br />
* if you don't live in Minnesota in December, you could also grill the meat for the final steps over a high heat grill.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-plpOVwaz0f0/Tuag4DyrnOI/AAAAAAAAC_k/Sf_8vZz9kMg/s1600/photo-711926.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5685408464552828130" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-plpOVwaz0f0/Tuag4DyrnOI/AAAAAAAAC_k/Sf_8vZz9kMg/s320/photo-711926.JPG" /></a>
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The pork after first round of roasting<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GpTx-sAPeFk/Tuag-guyOEI/AAAAAAAAC_w/NY3YQwaugNY/s1600/photo-738147.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5685408575400327234" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GpTx-sAPeFk/Tuag-guyOEI/AAAAAAAAC_w/NY3YQwaugNY/s320/photo-738147.JPG" /></a>
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The pork after broiling. I used our *awesome* new toaster oven for the roasting and the broiling.
Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08401129336971659599noreply@blogger.com0