Japanese Beef Curry
The Japanese word for hygge is curry.
6 oz. Beef Sirloin
4 oz Cauliflower, Cut into chunks
1/2 Onion Chopped
2 Carrot, washed, cut into chunks
4 oz Baby potatoes, quartered
1 knuckle of ginger, diced
1 bunch green onion, sliced. Reserve green part for garnish.
3 cups beef or vegetable stock
2 cubes of Japanese curry roux-Available on Amazon or any Asian grocer. Link below..
Sauté the well seasoned beef in 1 tbls of vegetable oil over medium high heat. Once the meat is well browned, remove from the pan and add your vegetables. Sauté until nicely browned but still firm. Add the diced garlic & ginger & cook for 3 min…add to the pot: beef, stock, and curry roux cubes. Stir while simmering to insure the curry roux cubes dissolve all the way. Serve over steamed white or brown rice.
Drink suggestions:
Miller High Life, Gewurtztraminer, Pinot blanc.
Gumbo
Crab, shrimp & smoked sausage
Start with a fond: sauté
Sauté the sausage in a pot over medium heat until it’s well BROWN’d. Remove the sausage, and sauté the trinity in the fat…
1/2 C celery- Center stems are best.
1/2 C Sweet peppers
1/2 C Sweet onion
1/2 C sweet potato, diced brunois
Take all that good stuff out of the fat. And add….
1/2 Cup flour…but you may need a bit more or a bit less. The roux, which is literally the most important part of this whole situation, needs to cook slooooow. Turn your flame down and stir constantly until your roux is dark BROWN. Like, real dark.
Then…add all that stuff back into the roux and add 6 C. of cold Stock. (Chicken, beef, veg…whatever.
Turn the flame up.
Stir gently as it thickens.
Add:
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 big bunch of Thyme
2 Bay leaves
1/2 lb. of Shrimp
1 C of Crab meat
Simmer for 15 min
You got gumbo.
Serve over rice baby.
Drink Suggestions- Sazarac!!
Anti-McMuffin
Dont get it twisted, i love a McMuffin, but you know…
1/2 of One English Muffin (Bays or Homemade), Toast well
1 Tbls Almond butter, spread it
5 slices of banana
6 slices of bing cherry
1 date, sliced
6 dried goji berries
6 Pistachios (I like salted because it boosts the sweetness of the other ingredients)
Pinch of nutritional yeast
Pinch of hemp hearts
Biscoff cookies, but not really
Biscoff-chewy magic
Biscoff cookies are good, but I’m not into crumbly cookies. Let’s make them chewy.
Bicsoff Cookies
Wet Ingredients:
Brown sugar- 297 g
Biscoff Butter- 290 g
Eggs- 2 each, whole
Vanilla - 2 Tsp
Butter- 2 Tbls
Fold together
Dry Ingredients:
All Purpose Flour- 198 g
BS- 1 Tsp
Salt- 4 g
Fold dry ingredients into the wet.
Weight each cookie out to 60 grams, and
refrigerate for 30 min. Pre-heat your oven to 350.
Bake the cookies on a cookie sheet, providing at least 4 inches between balls. Rotate after 6 min & bake another 8 min. Cool on a cooling rack.
Drink with: Ice Cold Milk
Lamb, Parsnips & Garbonzo Beans
Serves 2, but if you pit two more shanks in, it’ll scale to 4.
1. Salt two lamb shanks liberally 1 hour before cooking, and rest at room temp. Sear over medium heat in a heavy pot.
2. Once seared on all sides, use a knife to cut the tendons connecting the meat to the bone. These are no bueno. Rest meat while you:
3. Sauté 1 onion & 1 red pepper gently. The liquid from these will deglaze the pan. Add a touch of water if you need to.
4. Add to your vegetables, 2 Parsnips; cut oblique or in chunks, 2 cloves of garlic, 1 knuckle of chopped ginger. Sauté for 5 min. and remove all the vegetables from the pot and reserve.
5. Add your lamb back to the pot with 1 Cup of dried garbanzo beans & two cloves of garlic.
6. Add 3 C. of Rich stock. Beef, chicken or pork, or lamb..what have you.
7. Cover and simmer for 40 mins on medium heat.
8. Add your reserved vegetables, and 2 dates, chopped, 1 bunch of fresh marjoram and 2 bay leaves.
9. Braise in 350 oven for two hours. Remove the tendon portions you scored earlier, and serve over cous cous or rice. Garnish with cilantro & feta cheese.
French Onion Soup!
Serves 6 ish.
French Onion Soup. It’s super easy…if you’re a patient cook.
1. Slice 6 onions across their grain.
2. Put them in a non-stick pan ( a non-stick wok is perfect). Alternatively a heavy pot, with a splash of olive oil & a tablespoon of butter. Season with a generous pinch of salt. Set over medium low heat.
3. Begin folding the onions with a spatula to distribute the heat throughout the onions.
4. Continue stirring!!! This should take at least 45 min to an hour.
Note: The difference between great FOS, and good FOS depends on the depth of your caramelization. You want the INSIDE of the onions to achieve caramelization, not just the outside. This takes time & folding.
5. Once the onion liqueur has evaporated from the pan (dry edges like in the video) begin folding more frequently. You’ll see the caramel become more pronounced.
6. Deglaze the pan with a shot of Apple Brandy or Bourbon. Reduce the spirit to au sec.
7. Deglaze again with 1 Cup of White Wine (the kind you’d drink; not too oaky). Reduce to au sec. Add a big ole bundle of fresh thyme and two bay leaves.
8. Pour in 3 quarts of excellent beef or game stock. Don’t skimp. There aren’t many ingredients at play here, so use the best you can make or buy. @goosethemarket has excellent beef stock.
9. Simmer for 30 min. Add 1 Tbls. Butter and stir gently. Salt and black pepper to taste. Don’t be shy with it.
10. If you have oven proof bowls, pour the soup into the bowls and top with a slice of good quality farm style bread, and top with a generous portion of grated Gruyère cheese. Place bowls on a baking sheet and melt the cheese at 400 degrees, until the cheese is bubbly.
If your bowls are not oven proof (which is the case here) just put the croutons on the pan and melt the cheese on top, and then place the crouton on the soup bowl.
Serve and enjoy the melty rich goodness while looking out the window on a cold, rainy or snowy day. Link in bio for this recipe. #please #share this post! It helps a lot. Thanks!
French Apple Cake with Apple Molasses
This apple cake didn’t fall far from the tree.
110 g flour
3 g baking powder
4 large apples, a mix of varieties, but some sweet, some tart
2 large eggs, at room temperature
150 g sugar
3 tablespoons apple liqueure from macerating overnight.
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 8 tablespoons (115g) butter, salted, melted and then cooled.
• Preheat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC) and adjust the oven rack to the center of the oven.
• Heavily butter and flour an 9-inch (20-23cm) springform pan and place it on a baking sheet.
• In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder & salt
• Peel and the apples, then slice them thinly.
• In a large bowl, whisk the eggs until foamy then whisk in the sugar, then the apple liqueure and vanilla. Whisk in half of the flour mixture, then gently stir in half of the melted butter. Stir in the remaining flour mixture, then the rest of the butter.
Fold in the apple slices until they’re well-coated with the batter and fold them into the prepared spring form pan and smooth the top with a spatula.
Bake the cake for 50 minute to 1 hour, or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Let the cake cool for 5 minutes, then run a knife around the edge to loosen the cake from the pan and carefully remove the sides of the pan.
Drizzle with the fortified apple molasses (recipe linked below) & serve.
Pot Roast is actually pretty cool.
Who knew pot roast was amazing? Old people that’s who.
Pot Roast:
1 (3-pound) boneless chuck pot roast
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons butter
2 large onions, peeled and quartered
4 medium carrots, peeled, halved lengthwise, and cut into 3-inch chonks
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 cups beef broth
1 large sprig fresh thyme
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
1 1/2 to 2 pounds Yukon gold or fingerling potatoes cut to chonks like the carrot
2 Tbls ap flour
Method
1. Heat Dutch oven over medium low. Pre-hear the oven to 300 degrees.
2. Salt your chuck roast and rest at room temp 5 min.
3. Heat the butter in the Dutch oven and add the roast. Gently brown on both sides. Remove the roast, but keep it close.
4. Sauté the onion & carrot over medium low heat for 10 min. You want color here but still want the veggies to be quite firm. Develop those sugars ya’ll. Add the sliced garlic. Brown & remove and reserve.
5. Put the roast back in the Dutch oven and sprinkle both sides with flour. Gently cook, still over medium low heat, until the flour begins to brown a bit. Add the stock.
6. Add the potatoes.
7. Cover the Dutch oven and roast in the oven for 2 hours.
8. Remove from the oven and add the carrot, onion, garlic & the thyme and rosemary bundle (which you tied with butchers twine for easy removal).
9. Cook for one hour. Turn the oven to low, and hold the pot roast until you’re ready to eat.
10. Fork the meat apart and serve with the veggies and some of your gravy.
Just think, if you’d have added wine to this, you’d be French now.
Serve with a fruity Pinot noir or Miller High Life.
Date & Pistachio Bread Pudding
Sweet, but not too sweet
Preheat oven to 350.
Butter & flour a loaf pan. These are generally 9x6 but if yours varies a little, it’s fine. Non-stick is mighty helpful. In a mixing bowl, combine this stuff…
1 loaf Challah, cut into cubes
1/4 C. Dates, pitted and diced
1/2 Cup Apple cider
….Rehydrate the diced dates in the apple cider. Reserve.
1/4 pistachio, chopped (avoid large pieces of nut, but don’t pulverize these. You want some texture, but not graininess.)
1/4 Local honey
1/4 Evaporated milk or heavy cream
3 eggs
2 Tsp vanilla extract
1 Tbls Dark Brown sugar
Mix with your well washed hands. As the bread absorbs the wet ingredients, it will have a tendency to lose its shape, be gentle while mixing so the cubes remain intact, and pour the contents into your prepped pan.
Bake in the center of the oven for 20 minutes. Give it a quick rotate so it cooks evenly, and bake for another 25 min.
Remove once a toothpick comes out clean. Rest for 10 min & remove from pan. Cool for 10 minutes and slice. Serve immediately with honey or try these uses:
French toast
Put a slice in a waffle iron
Just. Butter
Make a breakfast sandwich
Drink with: Milk, chai, White Russian, coffee
Umami Vegetable Stew
This beauty goes all over Asia, and it works!
1 potato, diced
1/2 onion, diced
1/2 head broccoli, cut into florettes
1 handful of green beans, cut into thirds
1 Tsp ginger, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 Tsp. MSG
1 Serrano chili, sliced thin
3 C. Dashi
2 Tbls. Red or Brown miso
1 Tbls. Chinese Chili BBQ paste (pictures on Instagram)
1 Tbls. Phillipino Crab Paste
1 Tbls Okonomiyaki Sauce
Garnish with:
3 Tbls. Chinese Fried Onions
1 Tbls. Chili Crisp
1 Big pinch Bonito Flakes
Sauté the vegetables, all of them together, until the garlic just starts to brown. Add the Dashi.
Then add condiments, and stir.
Cover and simmer until the green beans no longer taste raw & the potatoes are just tender. About 12 minutes.
Spoon into a bowl and put all those cute little garnishes to work.
Cucumber, quinoa, mint & caper salad
Pack it to go, or to enjoy on the lake or river.
1/4 Cup Quinoa, cooked in stock & refrigerated
1 whole cucumber, cut into bite sized pieces, and salted & drained. Reserve the liquid from the cucumbers.
1/2 C Fresh Mozzarella, cut into bite sized chunks
1/4 Dill, minced
1/4 Parsley, minced
1/4 Spanish onion, chopped
1 C. Baby spinach, warshed & dried
1 Tbls. Capers, rinsed well
2 Tbls Pine nuts, toasted
1 Tbls. Apple Cider Vin
1 Tbls. Cucumber water
2 Tbls. Olive oil
Sea salt
Pepper
Orange zest
Mix it all up and season with salt & pepper until it’s balanced and delicious. Allow to sit 1-24 hours to make it better.
Cookie of Champions
Its a breakfast buffet in the snake pit circa 1989
1.5 C Flour
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1 C. Granola of your choice
2 tsp Vanilla Extract (use the good stuff here)
1 egg
1 Stick of butter, melted
Pinch of sea salt
1 twist of black pepper
1/2 Tsp nutmeg
2 strips of bacon, cut into lardon, and cooked crispy
1 Tbls Bacon drippings
1/4 C. Dried Fruit (I used Goji)
1 C. Dark chocolate morsels
1 C. Semi-sweet chocolate morsels
1/4 C Honey
1/4 C Dark Brown Sugar
Preheat oven to 375.
Mix all this up in a bowl, and scoop out using a #2 scoop or whatever. These cookies can be made quite big.
Bake for 12 min on the center oven rack.
Chonky Style Mashed Potatoes —
Great for holidays as a side, or alone after a particularly bad day. Serves 6…or just me.
Pre-heat oven to 350.
1.5 lbs Russet potatoes, peeled, cut into mirepoix
1.5 lbs Yukon Gold, samesies
1 Tsp. Salt
Cover with water and simmer until fork tender.
Drain & place potatoes in hot oven until there is no visible steam coming from them.
Add:
3 Tbls. Unsalted Butter, room temp
5 Oz. Evaporated milk
2 Oz. Crème Fraiche. You may sub sour cream of course, but CF is the move.
Season with:
1 Tsp Kosher Salt
5 grinds black pepper.
Mash it all up.
Taste.
Add a bit of salt and keep tasting until they are perfect.
These will hold, unlike pomme purée, in a warm oven for several hours. Or serve straight away.
Biscoff Butter & Bitter Cocoa Brownies
Makes 10 or so.
Preheat oven to 350. Line a pan with buttered parchment paper.
In a bowl combine:
113 g Butter
113 g Semi-sweet chocolate
Melt together & gently in a Bain Marie
300 g Hashahar Bitter Cocoa Spread
67 g Granulated Sugar
2 Large Eggs
Using a paddle, cream the sugar into the butter chocolate spread on medium. Add eggs, scrape sides, and mix 3 minutes.
Add butter & chocolate mixture. Mix 2 minutes on medium.
Add:
1 Tsp. Vanilla extract
96 g AP Flour
Pinch kosher salt
Mix 3 min.
Pour into pan, and add in the Biscoff butter on top.
Add 1 Tsp. Vanilla on top.
Gently and minimally swirl Biscoff butter and vanilla into batter. The goal is to have pockets of BIG flavor.
Bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool. Slice.
Drink with: Milk, Guinness, Pinot, Lambrusco
Escebeche Citron —
Makes enough for a great party, or to store in the fridge for weeks.
1 small head of purple cabbage, shaved
2 medium carrots
1 sweet onion
2 large jalapeños
2 serrano pepper
2 bay leaves
1 tsp Mexican oregano
1 tsp peppercorns
1 Dried ancho chile, split in half
1/3 cup grapeseed oil
1 cups white vinegar
1 Lb Key limes, juiced
2 cups water
2 Tblsp sugar
1 Tblsp
Knife skills:
Shave the cabbage with a sharp knife.
Cut the carrot into 1 inch sheets, and then into sticks, viola, Julienne.
Slice the onion in half, and then into thin slices going across the grain.
Slice the chilis. Wash your hands before you go tinkle.
Split the ancho chili in half. Deseed & destem.
Reserve all this stuff, but have it done before this step:
Put all remaining ingredients into a non-reactive saucepan and bring to a simmer. Easy Peasy.
Pour that liquid over your vegetables, and seal. Refrigerate overnight for good results, and two days for dope results. Put this stuff on anything.
Tacos
Hotdogs
Burgers
Bagels with lox
Grilled cheese
Fried chicken sandos
Drink: Mexican style lager, crisp dry wines, ciders, seltzers, mezcal, tequila, whatever
Orange Chicken
Serves 4 plus
Marinade:
1 large egg white, whisk until soft peaks form.
Add:
2 tablespoons dark soy sauce
2 tablespoons Shaoxing wine
2 tablespoons vodka
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3 tablespoons corn starch
1 pound skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1/2- to 3/4-inch chunks
Krispy Koating:
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 Tsp garlic salt
Sauce: MIX ALL THIS UP IN A BOWL SO YOU CAN JUST ADD IT TO YOUR WOK. (Not yellin, just emphasizing)
1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
2 tablespoons Shaoxing wine
2 tablespoons Chinese rice vinegar
3 tablespoons chicken stock
4 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon sesame seed oil
2 teaspoons grated zest
1/4 cup juice from 1 orange
4 strips orange peel (dried is best, but fresh will work)
2 teaspoons peanut, vegetable, or canola oil
2 teaspoons minced garlic (about 2 medium cloves)
2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger (about one 1-inch piece)
2 teaspoons thinly sliced scallion bottoms (about 1 scallion)
Marinate the chicken in the egg white flavor cloud for at least 45 min. Preferably 2 hours.
Heat your fryin’ oil to 375.
Mix the krispy koating well and add chicken. Ensure all the pieces are well coated and assort on a sheet pan. Room temp is fine, this will go fast.
Speaking of fast, if you’re gonna serve this with rice (you are) cook it now, or 35 min ago. Same with broccoli. Steam that now too.
Combine:
1 tablespoon corn starch
3 tablespoon chicken stock
Mix well, and have handy to thicken your sauce.
Go ahead and fry your chicken now. Don’t worry, you’re going to add this to a scalding hot sauce, so if it gets a bit cool, it’s fine. Or you can hold it in a 140 oven.
To a hot wok add:
Add all the ingredients for the sauce, bring it up to a rapid simmer.
Add the cornstarch slurry, stir until the sauce gears shiny & viscous.
Add your chicken to it, and toss, coating all the chicken bites in sauce.
Pour over rice & brocolli & garnish:
Scallion greens
Sesame seeds
Orange zest
Eaaaat!
Drink: Spice forward white wine, pilsners, hot black tea, Guinness, Chinese beer, super cold shochu
Chocolate Chip Pancake Balls
In the style of Takoyaki
For the batter:
2 eggs
1.5 C. Milk
2 C Flour
1 tsps. Baking powder
1 tbls. Allulose or Granulated Sugar if that’s how you roll.
2 tbls. Melted Butter
Pinch of kosher salt
Mix this all together. It’s ok if there are some lumps.
Heat your takoyaki pan over medium or medium low heat. It’s better to have a bit more control using lower heat until you get the hang of making the balls.
Using pan spray, coat the pan and put a tbls or more of the batter into the center wells.
(
Note: I’m using the insert over a gas flame. If you buy the whole griddle set-up, you can fill more wells at once because the heat distribution will be better and as intended)
Keep turning the balls, tucking the cooked batter into the center and in some cases adding batter. It’s gonna look messy at first, but as you keep turning the balls they will clean up. Cook the balls until they are golden brown and crispy on the outside and fluffy inside.
You can serve them on skewers and dip them, or use your fingers.
Dip them in any imaginable sauce, like Cream Chese Icing.
Roasted Vegetable Caesar Salad
Why did the chicken cross the road? To escape from being put in boring salads.
Roast:
2 carrots, cut into 1/4 inch pieces
1/4 Onion, sliced 1/8 inch
1/4 Red Pepper, medium dice
1 zucchini, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
6 broccoli florettes
3 C. Greens of your choosing. I like baby spinach, arugula, baby kale, little gem, and romaine hearts for crunch.
Preheat Oven to 400 degrees
Toss your chopped vegetables in a Tbls of olive oil, and a generous pinch of salt. AND a rare grind or two of fresh black pepper.
While the vegetables roast, make your dressing and wash and chill your greens.
Dressing:
3 oil-packed anchovy fillets, chopped
1 large garlic clove, microplaned
¾ teaspoon (or more) kosher salt
1 large egg yolk
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
¾ teaspoon Dijon mustard
¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
Mound anchovies, garlic, and salt on a cutting board. Using the side of a chef’s knife, mash until well combined, continue to work mixture holding knife at an angle until a smooth puree forms.
Whisk egg yolk, lemon juice, and mustard in a medium bowl.
Adding drop by drop to start and whisking constantly, drizzle a few drops of oil into yolk mixture. Continue, going slowly, until mixture looks slightly thickened and glossy. Continue to whisk- your arms are gonna be huge, gradually adding oil in a slow, steady stream until all oil has been used and mixture looks like mayonnaise. Add a Tsp of water and whisk, adjusting with more water if needed, until dressing is the consistency of sour cream.
Add anchovy mixture and Parmesan and whisk until smooth. It’s ready!
Once the vegetables are roasted, allow them to cook slightly, but do not chill them.
Combine chilled & drained greens, vegetables and dressing and toss.
Add a few generous micro-shaves of parmigiana reggiano & serve.
Egg Rolls
Maybe the best vehicle for leftovers, ever
Egg Rolls
1/2 cabbage, thinly sliced
1/2 Cup Celery, julienne
1/2 C Carrot, julienne
1 C. Canadian Bacon, minced (or leftover poultry, ground venison, elk)
10 Shrimp, salt wash, squeeze liquid from shrimp, blanch, shock in ice water.
1 Tblsp Sugar
1 Tbls Tamari
1 Tblsp Oyster Sauce
Blanch and ice water shock the cabbage, celery, and carrots. I separate the carrots and celery so they can blanch a bit longer than the cabbage. Drain the vegetables well, pressing the water out of them if needed. Set aside.
Shrimp: wash the shrimp in salt water. Remove and squeeze as much water out of the shrimp as possible. Break the mass apart and prepare to blanch.
Blanch the shrimp in the same water, for about 30 seconds. Drain & cool & mince.
Sauté the minced pork. Add a pinch of salt, the sugar, Tamari, and Oyster sauce & allow the liquid to reduce and glaze the pork. Add the minced shrimp., and sauté until the liquid reduces again. Remove & set aside.
Combine the pork, shrimp & cabbage mixture together.
For the wonton wraps. Rub the two fat edges of each wrap with water to create a “glue”. Arrange each wrapper corner to corner- in a diamond shape, and put 2-3 Tbls of the filling in each side. Fold the bottom corner over the filling, gently tucking it over the filling and pulling toward you to compress the filling. Do this gently so you don’t tear the wrapper. Then fold each corner inward, on top of the first fold. Then roll the egg roll up, sealing the roll and all its corners. Set aside seam side down.
Fry at 350 degrees for 5 min or until golden.
Sauce:
1 cup Jam- I’m using strawberry, but apricot or orange are ideal.
1 Tbls Tamari
1 Tsp. Sesame oil
1 Tsp. Black vinegar (Apple cider vin sub if you need to)
Mix it all up.
Egg Nog —
The best way to morning drink during the holidays.
#EggNog
6 Large Eggs
2 Egg Yolks
1/2 cup of sugar
Whisk these together. Put in a cold sauce pan and add...
3.5 C. Milk or Oatmilk
1/2 Heavy Cream (Or Cashew Milk)
2 Tbls. Good quality vanilla extract or the seeds of of one whole bean.
1 stick of Mexican Cinnamon
1 Tsp. Nutmeg
1 Pod Star Anise- steep for 5 min and remove
Turn heat to low, and stir with a silicon spatula for 20 or so minutes. Until the custard thickens enough that it’s visibly clinging to the spatula.
Once it gets creamy (it may take a touch longer than 20 min., remove from heat and allow to cool at room temp thirty minutes. Then refrigerate.
*Add the alcohol after you’ve thickened the custard. Alcohol of 80 proof or more can coagulate egg proteins, so it’s best to denature the proteins first by cooking, then adding the booze.
This will hold in the fridge for literally weeks if you add the alcohol directly to the nog mixture, and at least a week without the alcohol. It’s rich, so serve in small doses.