SPICY PORK NOODLE SAUCE

 from Bon Appetit, now behind a pay wall

6-8 servings

Ingredients:

2 T olive oil

2 lb ground pork, divided

1 2" piece fresh ginger, peeled and cut into thin matchsticks

8 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

2 T sugar

2 T tomato paste

2 sprigs basil, plus more for serving

1/3 c sambal oelek

1/4 c soy sauce

1/4 c unseasoned rice vinegar

2 T unsalted butter

Kosher salt

Ramen or spaghetti noodles to serve

Methodology:

Heat oil in a large heavy pot over medium-high heat.  Add half of pork to pot, breaking apart into 6-8 large chunks with a wooden spoon.  Cook, undisturbed, until well browned underneath, about 5 miuntes.  Turn pieces and continue to cook, turning occasionally, until pork is browned on 2-3 sides, about 5 minutes longer.  

Add ginger, garlic, sugar and remaining pork to pot and cook, breaking up pork into small clumps, until meat is nearly cooked through, about 5 minutes longer.  

Add tomato paste and 2 basil sprigs.  Cook, stirring occasionally, until paste darkens, about 2 minutes.

Add chili paste, soy sauce, vinegar and 2 c water.  Bring to a simmer, reduce heat to low, and cook, uncovered and stirring occasionally, until sauce is slightly thickened, 30-45 minutes.  Add butter and stir to combine.

Serve with ramen or spaghetti.  Top with torn basil.

MOIST CORNBREAD

Originally from the web archive for: http://www.chow.com/recipes/30498-easy-cornbread 

Ingredients:

1 1/2 c finely ground cornmeal

1/2 c flour

1/4 c sugar

1 1/2 t baking powder

1 t fine salt

1 1/2 c milk

2 large eggs

6 T butter, plus more to butter the pan

Methodology:

Heat oven to 425°F.  Butter an 8"x8" square baking pan.

Whisk dry ingredients in a large bowl.

Whisk milk and eggs in a medium bowl until the eggs are broken up.  

Pour the liquid into the dry ingredients, top with the melted butter, and stir until just combined.  Scrape into the prepared pan and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.  Allow to cool for 15 minutes and serve.

POPOVERS

From the web archive for: https://web.archive.org/web/20220309052339/https://chowhound.com/recipes/muffin-pan-popovers-30114

Ingredients:

3 T unsalted butter, melted

2 eggs, room temp

1 c milk, room temp

1 t sugar

3/4 t fine salt

1 c AP flour

optional: additional butter, and cinnamon-sugar mixture for topping

Methodology:

Heat oven to 425°F.  Remove all racks but one in the lower third of the oven.  Place a baking sheet in to warm up.

Place 1/2 t butter in each of 12 muffin cups.  

Blend the remaining 1 T butter, eggs, milk, sugar and salt until smooth, about 30 seconds.  Add the flour and blend for another 30 seconds.  Set aside. 

Place the prepared muffin tin onto the preheated baking sheet in the oven and bake until the butter begins to sizzle, 2-3 minutes.  Remove both pans from oven, and fill the muffin cups halfway with batter, pouring from blender.

Return pans to oven and bake until the popovers are puffed and beginning to brown, about 20 minutes.  Don't open the oven.  Reduce the heat to 325°F and bake until the popovers are golden brown, about 15 minutes more.

Remove both pans from the oven, remove the popovers from the pan and enjoy immediately.

Optional: I like to butter the popovers and roll them in cinnamon sugar.

OKONOMIYAKI

 From: the web archive for: www.eatyourkimchi.com/how-to-make-okonomiyaki/

Ingredients:

7 heaping T okonomiyaki flour mix
1/2 head green cabbage, finely chopped 

4-6 stalks scallion, finely chopped

1 egg

3/4 c cold water

5-6 bacon strips, thin

Garnish:

mayonnaise

okonomiyaki/tonkatsu sauce (sub 3 T ketchup, 1 T worcestershire sauce, 1 t soy sauce)

bonito flakes

seaweed flakes

Methodology:

In a large bowl, whisk the egg with the water.  Add the flour and whisk until mixed, but not completely smooth. 

Add the cabbage and scallion, and mix until it's all thinly coated in batter. 

Par-cook the bacon in a large, flat frying pan over low heat 2-3 minutes per side.  It'll continue to cook once it's on the pancake.

Drain the excess bacon grease from the skillet, then rearrange the bacon in the pan and pour the batter over the bacon, in a circle.  Press down, so the bacon adheres to the batter.  Cover tightly, set to medium heat, and cook for 4 minutes.  Flip, then cook, covered, for another 3 minutes.  Check in the center of the pancake to make sure the batter is fully cooked.  If not, cook an additional 2 minutes, periodically checking for doneness. 

Cut into slices, garnish and serve immediately. 

Variation: use bacon lardons, pork belly, shrimp, scallops, cheese, etc.

BIGOS - POLISH HUNTER'S STEW

Adapted from the below recipes, to match the bigos I had when I lived in Chełm, Poland, in 2007.

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/387982
http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/polish_hunters_stew/ 

Ingredients:

1⁄2 lb meat for veal stew
1⁄2 lb pork shoulder (cubed)
1⁄2 lb meat for beef stew
Boczek (Polish pork belly, like salt pork or slab bacon), chopped into pieces
1ʼ, or 1-2 lb kielbasa, chopped into pieces
1 smoked ham hock
1-2 large onions, rough chopped
1 head cabbage, chopped
1 1⁄2 lb fresh mushrooms
25 oz fresh sauerkraut, or more

1 oz dried porcini or other wild mushrooms (soaked, reserving the strained soaking liquid) 

Stock cubes (not actual stock, too much liquid)

Bay leaf 

1 T caraway seeds

1 T juniper berries

1 T black peppercorns

1 C red wine

Handful pitted prunes

Methodology:

Pour hot water over the dried mushrooms and submerge them for 20-40 minutes, or until soft. Grind or crush the juniper berries and black peppercorns roughly; you donʼt want a powder. 

Cut the pork shoulder into large chunks, about 2 inches. Cut the sausages into similar-sized chunks. 

Drain the sauerkraut and set aside. 

Clean off any dirt from the fresh mushrooms and cut them into large pieces; leave small ones whole.

Heat the bacon fat or vegetable oil in a large lidded pot for a minute or two. Working in batches if necessary, brown the pork shoulder over medium-high heat. Do not crowd the pan. Set the browned meat aside.

Put the onion and fresh cabbage into the pot and sauté for a few minutes, stirring often, until the cabbage is soft. Sprinkle a little salt over them. The vegetables will give off plenty of water, and when they do, use a wooden spoon to scrape any browned bits off the bottom of the pot. Once the pot is clean and the cabbage and onions soft, remove from the pot and set aside with the pork shoulder.

Add the fresh mushrooms and cook them without any additional oil, stirring often, until they release their water. Once they do, sprinkle a little salt on the mushrooms. When the water is nearly all gone, add back the pork shoulder, the cabbage-and-onion mixture, and then everything else except the prunes and red wine. Stir to combine.

You should not have enough liquid to submerge everything. Thatʼs good: bigos is a “dry” stew, and besides, the ingredients will give off more liquid as they cook. Bring everything to a simmer, cover the pot and cook gently for at least 1 1⁄2 hours. Add the cup of red wine.

Bigos is better the longer it cooks, but you can eat it once the ham hock falls apart. Check at 2 hours, and then every 30 minutes after that. When the hock is tender, fish it out and pull off the meat and fat from the bones Discard the bones and the fat, then chop the meat roughly and return to the pot. Add the prunes and cook until they are tender, at least 30 more minutes.

LEMON RICOTTA PANCAKES

 New York Times, behind the paywall

Ingredients:

3/4 c / 102g AP flour

1 1/2 t baking powder

3/4 t kosher salt

1/4 c / 50g sugar

1 lemon, zest only

3/4 c / 170g whole milk ricotta

1 1/2 t vanilla extract

3 large eggs

1/4 c / 61g buttermilk

2 T melted butter

Blueberries, optionally

Methodology:

Mix dry ingredients in a small bowl.

Mix sugar and lemon zest together with your fingertips in a large bowl.  Add the vanilla, and whisk to moisten.  Add in the ricotta, and whisk to blend.  Beat in the eggs, then the buttermilk and melted butter.  

Add in the dry ingredients and mix until just combined.

Cook on a skillet over medium heat, with blueberries added in if desired.

PEANUT & PORK RICE NOODLES

Halved and adapted from Bon Appétit

Ingredients:

6 oz rice stick noodles, blanched for less time than the package instructs (instructions range from 4-8 minutes)

Sauce:

1/8 c smooth natural peanut butter

1/8 c soy sauce

1 T rice vinegar

1 1/2 t sugar

1 t crushed pepper flakes

1/2 c water

2 t cooking oil

1" piece of ginger, peeled and cut into matchsticks, or 1 t grated ginger

2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

1/2 lb ground pork

1 bunch swiss chard, thinly sliced

To serve:

1 lime

1/2 c cilantro, thinly sliced

Crushed, roasted, salted peanuts

Huy Fong chili garlic sauce

Methodology:

Combine the sauce ingredients in a bowl and set aside.

Heat the oil in a large pan over medium heat, until shimmering.  Add the ginger and garlic, and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the pork, and cook, stirring, until no pink remains.  Add the noodles, and stir until well mixed.  Add the chard and sauce, and cook until sauce reduces, and noodles are fully cooked. 

Serve with lime wedges, cilantro and peanuts.

CITRUS UPSIDE DOWN CAKE

 From CM, from Karen Sanchez-Eppler, also via epicurious, halved to fit into a 6" cake pan

Ingredients:

Upside down layer

1 large unwaxed lemon, sliced very thinly on a mandoline

50g + 1 T sugar

56.5g (1/2 stick) unsalted butter

1 T lemon juice

Cake Batter (quartered, as reviews said the batter amount was too generous)

78 g AP flour

1/4 t baking powder

1/8 t baking soda

1/8 t kosher salt

1 small egg, or 1/2 large egg

59 g, or 1/4 c olive oil

57 g, or 1/4 c greek yoghurt

50 g sugar

Lemon zest from remaining lemon, if any

1/8 t lemon extract

1/8 t vanilla extract

Methodology:

Preheat oven to 350°F, and butter a 6" cake pan. 

Slice the lemon and toss with 1 T sugar in a bowl.  Reserve.  Zest the rest of the lemon, and juice it.   Toss the zest with the 50 g of sugar for the cake batter.  Reserve zest and juice separately.

Melt the butter.  Remove from heat and whisk in the 50 g sugar, and 1 T lemon juice.

Whisk the mixture until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is glossy and thickened a little. Pour the melted butter and sugar into the prepared cake pan and smooth into an even layer to cover the bottom.  Arrange the lemon slices, overlapping slightly, in the pan.  Place the cake pan in the freezer until the butter and sugar layer solidifies.

In the meantime, whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl.  Whisk the egg with the olive oil in another large bowl until well combined.  Add the yogurt, sugar, zest and extracts. Make a well in the flour mixture and add the wet mixture in three additions, folding in each addition until no dry bits of flour remain. 

Pour the cake batter over the solidified butter/sugar mixture in the cake pan, and place in the oven, atop a rimmed baking sheet.  Bake for 30 minutes.  A toothpick should come out mostly clean, with no raw batter clinging to it.  Transfer to a wire cooling rack and let cool for 15 minutes. Invert the cake onto a serving plate and scrape any remaining lemon syrup out of the pan with a spatula.  Allow the cake to cool for 1 hour more before serving.

Revised Eclairs

 

Ingredients:

For 9 eclairs+:

Crème diplomat:
1 whole egg
1 large egg yolk, reserving egg white for the below pate a choux
1/4 t kosher salt
2 T granulated white sugar
2 T corn starch
1 c whole milk
Seeds scraped from 1 vanilla bean
2 T cold, unsalted butter, cubed
1/2 c heavy cream

Pâte à choux:
1/2 c water
1 t sugar
4 T unsalted butter
pinch salt
1/2 c flour
2 eggs, potentially + some egg white reserved from the above pastry cream
Powdered sugar for dusting (optional)

Chocolate ganache:
2 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips
3 - 4 T heavy cream


Methodology:

Make the crème diplomat first:

Mix the eggs, salt, sugar and corn starch in a bowl.
Heat the milk and scraped vanilla bean seeds to scalding in a pot.
Pour about 1/2 of the milk mixture into the egg mixture, whisking vigorously.
Pour the egg mixture back into the pot with the rest of the milk and heat on low, whisking constantly, until the mixture thickens.
Remove from heat and add the butter cubes, mixing constantly until the butter disappears.
Pour the pastry cream into a bowl, press plastic wrap onto the surface, and chill for at least 2 hours.

In the meantime, make the pâte à choux eclair shells:

Pre-heat the oven to 350°F.

Heat the water, butter, sugar and salt in a pot until the butter melts.
Add the flour and cook, stirring, until the mixture comes together to form a ball and pulls away from the sides of the pot.
Place the dough in a bowl and beat with a hand mixer for a minute to cool.
Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing until thoroughly blended into the dough.  The dough should form a "v" shape off the end of the hand mixer, so drops of the egg white left over from making the pastry cream, if necessary, to achieve the "v".
Scoop the dough into a piping bag fitted with large tip, and pipe 4-5 inch wands of dough onto a parchment paper covered baking sheet.
Dust lightly with powdered sugar.
Bake in an oven preheated to 350°F for 40 minutes, or until the shells are baked through.  Do not open the oven until 40 minutes have elapsed.
Once the 40 minutes have elapsed, turn off the oven.
Pierce each end of the eclairs with a skewer to allow steam to escape, and let the eclairs cool inside the propped-open oven.

Fill the eclairs:

Beat the cream to stiff peaks, beat in the pastry cream and mix thoroughly.  Place it in a pastry bag fitted with a bismark tip.

Make 2 holes in the underside of each eclair with a chopstick, each about 1/4 of the eclair's length from the ends, and enlarge the holes slightly.

Pipe the pastry cream into the eclairs, until the eclairs feel full, and pastry cream threatens to protrude from the ends.
Clean up any cream with a butter knife.

Make the ganache:

Heat the cream to steaming in a pot, and pour over the chocolate.  
Let it sit for 5 minutes, then whisk vigorously to combine.
Spoon, pour or pipe the ganache over the eclairs.

Chill for an hour, and enjoy!

Sources:
Recipe for the pastry cream: Food Wishes

Recipe for the pâte à choux: Food Wishes

Recipe for the ganache: Laura in the Kitchen

Methodology for baking and filling the shells: Home Cooking Adventure

*****Edited 4/27/2022: Changed the pastry cream to crème diplomat, and halved the recipe. Also halved the sugar, as it was terribly sweet.  Removed the instruction to open the oven after 10 minutes baking the shells. 

BORSCHT

Adapted from the SFC and Food Wishes

Ingredients:

Leftover brisket, cut into 1/4" x 3/4" pieces
Leftover onion-apple gravy
4 T leftover beef tallow, or butter, divided

Group 1:
3 large beets, peeled and cut into 3/8" cubes
3 bay leaves
3 sprigs thyme
3 yukon gold potatoes, cut into 1/4" cubes

Group 2:
4 carrots, diced
1 leek, dark and light parts cut in 1/4" slices, separated
4 stalks celery, cut in 1/4" slices

1/4 head red cabbage, cut into 1/4" x 1/2" pieces

Toppings:
Dill
Sour cream
Dark bread


Methodology:

Add 4 c water to the onion-apple gravy in a large soup-pot.  Add the bay leaves, thyme and beets and bring to simmer, cooking until the beets are firm-tender.  Add the potato and continue simmering until the vegetables are tender.

Meanwhile, saute the dark leek slices in 2 T tallow in a large lidded skillet until softened (cover with a lid for the first few minutes), then add 2 more T tallow and the carrots, leek and celery.  Saute uncovered, stirring frequently, until the vegetables are tender.

Add the group 2 veg, sliced brisket, and red cabbage to the group 1 pot.  Simmer for a few minutes, and serve topped with sour cream and dill.

This soup is also delicious served atop the leftover mashed potatoes from the previous night's brisket meal.

MICHELADAS

Ingredients:

1/4c lime juice
2 t worcestershire sauce
2 t hot sauce
1 t Maggi or soy sauce
3 t tomato paste

1 1/2 c beer (Negro Modelo)
Black pepper


Methodology:

Mix the first 5 ingredients well.  Pour the mixture into two chilled glasses, top with the beer and a few grinds of fresh pepper, stir to blend.