The New Recipe Challenge: Pumpkin Meringue Pie

The most beautiful pie in the world

Look at this pie. It's like, the most beautiful thing in the world. Just read the caption; it says it right there. This pic is not mine. It is not the pie I made. I am a mere mortal, incapable of creating such a heavenly pie. Here is mine. 

My photography skills are fierce, eh? The secret: have 2 Old Fashions, use unnatural light only and work with your phone camera. Ok back to the pie.

I brought this to a Christmas dinner that some friends were hosting. I ran out of time, so I whipped up the meringue and placed in a ziplock bag at home. After dinner I piped the topping and browned under the broiler in my friends' kitchen. Not sure if the meringue lost volume in the transportation, but I got nowhere near the height shown in the recipe's image. Jeez Louise, I forgot how much I love meringue though. I'm realizing that anything with egg whites is an instant win in my book. Meringue, marshmallows, egg white drinks, egg white omelets... Just kidding about the omelets. I mean, they're ok and all. Anyway- PIE! I was talking about pie. The pumpkin portion was fantastic, a little sweeter and darker than a typical pumpkin pie. The meringue was amazing against the custard-like filling. 

The dessert was a success with the rest of the dinner guests as well. One asked for the recipe, another went back for a large second helping, and James started raving and didn't stop until two days later. 

Some modifications I did: I don't care for (american) cinnamon, so I used only half a teaspoon and added a tablespoon of cardamom instead. I have no 8" spring form pan so I just used my regular 9.5" pie pan. (I also used my go-to pie crust recipe, from Joy of Cooking.) This meant no "deep dish" presentation, and surprisingly, the pumpkin filling part of the pie took perhaps an additional 15 minutes to cook. 

Repeat Factor: Absolutely will make this again. 

Next Time: Cut the sugar in the meringue and work on incorporating an additional flavor into it instead? Maybe the cardamom can go here. Or fresh ginger?

Deep Dish Pumpkin Meringue Pie

The New Recipe Challenge: Green Tea Shortbread Cookies

I've had a bag of matcha in the cupboard for a while now. I think originally for flavoring/color in icing? Anyway, was invited to a cookie exchange recently, so I thought it was a good excuse to try out that green tea powder. These Green Tea Shortbread Cookies were simple enough to try. Not sure if the powder breaks down after some time, but my dough, while definitely green tinted, was nowhere near as vivid as the dough shown with the recipe. 

As far as the flavor, this was a nice shortbread. The green tea flavor was very subtle (another sign that the powder may have been old?) After dusting with sugar, I dusted the cookies again with straight matcha powder in an attempt to layer up the tea flavors. However, whenever any hint of moisture hit the powder, the tea bloomed into a dark smear. While this didn't negatively affect the taste, it made for a certainly unattractive cookie. No one likes eating what appears to be a moldy cookie.

Repeat Factor: Possible, but Low

A decent recipe, but not really wowing my pants off, if you know what I mean. 

Next Time: Lay off the powder at the end. ;)

the New Recipe Challenge: Coconut Noodle Salad with Caramelized Limes

EEEEGAAWWWD where to even start with this one. First off, the recipe is sorely lacking in detail. Of course I take this as free license to start freestyling right off the bat. Heavily. I've got about a 50% success rate when I do this with new recipes. That's pretty good odds of strong, unequivocal failure. And I'm chalking this one up on the FAIL side. 

Where did it all go wrong? Well, Numero Uno Bad Sign: I suspect this is supposed to be a cold noodle salad. But nowhere does it REALLY say that. So I decided to make it hot. No protein mentioned in recipe, so I decide to add shrimp. The amount of noodles seemed large, but that's the one thing I apparently didn't have the mind to question. Dressing is supposed to be on the side; I'm going to cook the shrimp in it instead. An entire tb of sugar? I do half. Oh and hey- why don't I try to do this in one pan, just to make it fun? 

Verdict: Overcooked shrimp on a massive amount of almost gummy, bitter rice noodles, not enough discernible liquid left over for moisture, no real understanding what the hell the limes are doing on this plate, blah blah blah. The limes were a mystery all to themselves. They never caramelize- just seeped copious amounts of juices that had to be drained half way through. The peels made for a very bitter component, especially contrasted against the juice-soaked sugar (this flavor combo was the only redeeming element of the experience.) While not exactly palatable on their own, the pulp squeezed from them was intriguing when blended with the dressing. Speaking of dressing, the dish was edible once another side of the coconut cream and fish sauce was added for moisture (this time, with the sugar.) The dish fared better when eaten as leftovers for lunch the next day- debased to the microwave status of ready-to-heat dishes like Annie Chung Pad Thai. 

Next time: What of these limes? Must explore.

Repeat factor: Non-existent for this recipe. 

Another bad sign: I don't like how "caramelised" is spelled in the dish's name. Click through to see for yourself.  

the New Recipe Challenge: Chocolate-Caramel Pecan Tart

Ah holidays; yes! My favorite excuse to overeat sugar! I made this tart for a Thanksgiving dinner. While pumpkin pie is normally my go-to, the friend that had invited me had already called dibs on creating the most awesomest of all holiday pies. Seemed a perfect time to venture out into the great unknown. Tarts. And now, with no further adieu, Chocolate-Caramel Pecan Tart.

Verdict: DELICIOUSNESS IN SMOKY NUT FORM
Smoky nuts, salty hint, flakey crust- this is nowhere near the cloying goo of a typical pecan pie. 

I had no tart pan with removable bottom, but just threw the crust into a spring-form cake pan. At first I was dismayed to find that my crust shrank in considerably from the edges, but really, turned out to be no big thing. So don't worry about what kind of baking pan you use. 
The bit about cooking the corn syrup for 8-10 minutes... complete lie. Just watch it carefully- it turns fast. Luckily, Mama was on hand and coached me through most. Including a bit where she stopped me from scraping gritty bits of sugar back down to the goey mass. Apparently that is a big no-no in candy making, and I narrowly escaped turning my batch into a gruesome crystalline mess. Or something. 
Next Time: I doubled the salt as well- and I probably could have used even more. Other than that- I'm not changing a thing. 
Repeat factor: Very high. 

the New Recipe Challenge: Chipotle Pumpkin Soup with Chorizo & Apples

Wow, it's been a while! So hectic, much time, blah blah blah. 
Ok, now on to the good stuff; I've been pushing myself to try one new recipe a week. 
Last week I made a large batch of this Chipotle Pumpkin Soup. The recipe can be found here.

Verdict: A solid recipe, that definitely got me thinking about other directions to take this, should I attempt again. 
I usually find smoked paprika a bit heavy handed, and that was no different here. I doubled the coconut milk. The chorizo (as much as I detest cooking it, the oil, ugh) was absolutely necessary to the texture of the soup,  that fatty grease was perfect drizzled over the top! The apples were also an awesome addition- I wanted much more than what the recipe called for. The acorn squash halves functioning as bowls? Completely superfluous, but I had to. 

Next time: Double the coconut milk and omit the cheese. Change out the spices to perhaps some star anise, coriander seed, cardamom, or a chili blend a little more sophisticated. Rethink the protein addition? Halve the recipe as well. 

Repeat Factor: Yes, but doubtful in this exact form again. 

A hot dog walks into a bar...

Stopped by Bird Dog and had a chicken fried hotdog covered in sausage gravy. The illustrious Jr had a rueban dog and some really greasy chili fries. We then vowed to return and eat sausage until the end of the world. This is a hard life. 

Mayodaise and Time Clarifications

Photo from Bon Appétit

James and I decided to have a festive and indulgent breakfast this morning, or actually, perhaps I should say I decided to have a festive breakfast morning (Mother's Day! Yeah... I have a mother... I should eat steak), fueled by visions of the "fool-proof" hollandaise sauce featured in my recent Bon Appétit issue. You may remember my past hang-ups about hollandaise,  the fear and terror it creates in me, juxtaposed against my insatiable urges for the sauce. 
The process outlined in Bon Appétit claims you, yes YOU, can create easy, fool-proof hollandaise sauce in 5-minutes, using a blender and ... uh... one pan. Since James was able to do it the old fashioned method and it turned out fantastic, I figured perhaps this dumbed down version could be my personal introduction into the (previously denied) culinary world of cream sauces.

However, in case you didn't notice, the world has not imploded, pigs do not fly, hell has not frozen over and I found a way to fuck hollandaise up once again. Ok, check out the recipe:

Blender Hollandaise (from Bon Appétit)

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cups (2 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, cubed
• 2 large egg yolks
• 2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice, plus more
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preparation

• Fill a blender with hot water; set aside. Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat until foaming. Remove pan from heat. Drain blender and dry well. Put egg yolks and 2 Tbsp. lemon juice in blender; cover and blend to combine. Working quickly and with blender running, remove lid insert and slowly pour hot butter into blender in a thin stream of droplets, discarding the milk solids in bottom of the saucepan. Blend until creamy sauce forms. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and with more lemon juice. Serve immediately.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Pretty simple sounding, oui oui? Well, after the meal was consumed (errant sauce and all) I checked out the vid to see what differences in preparation must have occurred. And seriously, check it out: here it is.
  After I got over the excitement of realizing this was Eric Ripert's recipe, I watched him blend the sauce for about, oh... 10 seconds? Seriously: watch it and time it for me please. Ripert and the other dude even refer to it as "60 second" hollandaise. Ugh. You can't mess around with me and sauces! I need guidelines! Strict measurements! Hard and fast rules! The freaking printed piece called it 5-minute hollandaise! I blended that shit til I got mayo. Specifically, I blended that shit for 5 minutes. When I pressed that stop button and ventured a taste, that stuff was THICK. 
  
  
  Creamy, delicious, lemony mayo, but nonetheless, mayo. It was so good though, that I still poured that all over my plate and wondered how commercial mayo sucks so much.  
  
  
  
  Mayo: it's breakfast!

Caught between breakfast and dinner

Fried calamari and cucumbers. 

Shaved fennel, remesco sauce and crab cakes. 

Chopped preserved lemon and jalapeños on pita. 

I'm hungry and these pictures make me feel like I've never had a sandwich before. 

Saveur Chef Sandwiches: complete with recipes. 

Musings on green pastes

A while back I got Paris this book, which I read before I gave him (as I do with all books that I buy as gifts.) However, back to the point- this author, Robert Wolke, says that outside of Japan what passes as wasabi is in fact regular HORSERADISH, dyed green. Apparently, wasabi is tricky to grow, and thusly more pricey. He also says though, that true wasabi is a delicate and nuanced taste, perhaps less suited to the american habit of excessive condiment slathering.
Of course, this sort of language makes me crazed with the desire to have some true wasabi. (Perhaps not quite as crazed as Paris gets when it comes to tortas, but I may be prone to hyperbole.) So when this earth-shattering book of culinary secrets mentioned how a wasabi farm can now be found in Florence, Oregon, I was like, hellz YEAH.

Pacific Farms
"Back in 1992, we took up the difficult challenge to grow authentic wasabi in North America. Along the central Oregon coast we found the perfect weather that matched the premier wasabi growing regions in Japan. Here we began our journey. By 1995, we were growing the finest varieties of Japanese wasabi right here in Florence Oregon." 6x small tubes = $20.75

On a different note, this umami paste has me intrigued as well. A heavenly description by Dean de Luca has me salivating: "Rich, deep and intensely savory, umami exists in a number of foods, many of which are blended into this mouthwatering puree of tomato, garlic, anchovy paste, black olives, balsamic vinegar, porcini mushrooms, parmesan cheese, olive oil and just a touch of sugar and salt."
On the Dean de Luca website, check out the customer reviews below the product pricing for evidence of how crazed the rest of the world is; one woman claims her sister dabbed it behind her ears and received compliments. 
13.95 for a 3 pack on Amazon



 And last but not least: an NPR story, including tasting reviews, about the many flavors of KitKat candy bars in Japan, including soy sauce and "Intense Roasted Soy Bean."

Revelations and a slew of crappy pics

It's been so long ago that this actually happened; I think I can only talk about the major points here:

1. Tara had some savory tarts while in Spain that inspired us creatively. We created flat ones, cup-shaped and pop-tart style tarts, filled with amazing things.

2. Actual caramelized onion and/or fruit is delicious. Previously, I believe anything I've ever had that claimed to be caramelized was truly only greased up and warmed. Don't get me wrong: warm and greasy can be just what I need sometimes- but these pears! They were something else.

3. Regular pie crust dough can be used for tarts but must be rolled as thin as you can possibly stand it.

4. I can drink the crappiest champagne in the world as long as I have raspberries to muddle.

5. My phone takes the crappiest photos in the world. Especially when you have food smeared across the lens and don't realize until the end of the night.

Detours

Went to Detour Cafe the other day and had the most delicious and eggy french toast, made with a housemade cardamom bread. Reminded me kind of this. It may be hard to tell from these grainy phone pics, but the place was super cute, with HUGE mimosas, little doll house booths and a rack of gourmet food magazines. Detour has huge family style dinners some nights, all at one table and some crazy cool egg sandwich specials during week days. Afterwards, we wandered around and looked at some streets covered in chalk drawings.

Have mixer, will bake.

With the holidays fast approaching, I'm daydreaming of all the delicious recipes I've been stockpiling. I FREAK out come the end of the year, getting preoccupied with making sugary sweets, frothy eggnog and all sorts of roasted spicy things. It gets a little insane at times, until before I know it, Tara and I are trying to shape home made marshmallows out of cookie presses, surrounded by champagne or trying to force people to try our eggnog meringue. Getting into the spirit of things, Tara and I have begun compiling a list of all goodies we will be attempting (and possibly even failing at a few, but who cares when it involves ingredients like these.) Here's my check list so far- all from recipe sites that I really enjoy- lots of other great non-sugar related recipes on most all of them:

Dulce de Leche Marshmallows from: The Spiced Life
My marshmallow love knows no bounds. I've killed hand mixers on batches of them, experimented with espresso and cocoa mixes and am now ready to move on to the next.

Buckeyes from: Smitten Kitchen
I have made a home made peanutbutter cup thing in past years, but now I'm looking forward to trying these. They look a bit more sophisticated, but that may just be the beautiful photography that Smitten Kitchen consistently provides.

Cherry-limade Bars from: Cheeky Kitchen
The lemon bar is a CLASSIC. My cookie book's page that holds this recipe is neatly annotated by my mother's hand but is gummed down by layers of sugar and lemon. I'm not quite sure I can get behind the maraschino cherries and food coloring called for in this version, but it opens up some great possiblities that I never imagined. Layered lemon bars? Holiday colors? Yes. YES

Salted Gingersnap & Hazelnut Bark from: Bitchin Camero
I LOVE how grown up this looks. Like, Harry and David good. Like, I ordered this from some catalog just for you this Christmas. But wait, I actually made it! This is what I imagine the conversation will go like when I gift my friends sweet packets of this salted chocolate confection. Oh, and I also love how freaking EASY it sounds to make. But I leave that part out of my imaginary conversations.



French Bread Pudding from: Epicurious
Tara and I are also going to be doing a bread pudding- however, most recipes I have been looking at call for chocolate, french toast, sweet breads, caramel and other extras when all I really want is plain good bread, eggs, cream and sugar. This recipe looks simple enough to satisfy those cravings, with dried cherries to add some tartness.


Burnt Sugar Lollipops from: Fig & Kindle
These rustic candies look so unassuming. I imagine all the better to appreciate all the differing degrees of caramelization. I can see these wrapped up in stiff cellophane and brown bows.


Hooray for the holidays! Time to dust off those rolling pins and start stocking up on refined sugars. YES. What are YOU guys making for Thanksgiving/Christmas/whatever?

Hold on a minute, summer

I love fresh corn. And cherry tomatoes. I could eat those all day long come summer. Tried out a corn pancake recipe from Smitten Kitchen this morning. I'm not particularly into pancakes- they've got nothing on waffles, IMHO. But man, these fresh corn ones were doing right: very light and fluffy, savory and soft, with chunks of fresh corn folded throughout. Smitten Kitchen suggested they may pair well with fresh tomatoes, so I made a topping of cherry tomatoes, some more fresh corn (lightly sauteed in the breakfast sausage juice), tons of basil, green onion and a pinch of salt, sugar and thyme. I took one bite and kind of freaked out. James added syrup to his plate, but I did fine without.
I will def be making these again. They would be a prime candidate for upping the savory factory- perhaps some green onion or shallots would be good thrown into the batter...

Grillz

Had some Korean BBQ ribs at Rontoms last night. Served on a large chunk of grilled lettuce with some charred edges. Does EVERYTHING get 20 times better if it's cooked on a grill? I'm about to go on a all-grill diet.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

I swear I don't eat that many burgers

Willamette Weekly just put out an article with a run down of the top ten burgers of Portland. Knowing how Paris has his Seattle Hamburger Project and is making his rounds, I thought perhaps he could be persuaded to expand his feeding frenzy. Not to mention, most of these are sorely tempting to myself. Making number 4 is Foster Burger, which you may remember I have already mentioned. I am ashamed to admit that Foster Burger is the only burger I have had so far on this list. Aghk. Also making the list though is Wildwood - hoo boy!

I've stolen some shots from the article- with this double decker cheese monster being number 1. Although I am sure it probably sicks Moni out, James is intrigued, to say the least.