Thanksgiving 2008

Here are my cooking notes from Thanksgiving 2008. The carrot soup recipe I got from T. at a dinner party many moons ago. I make it so frequently now that I didn't even write out my recipe! Thanks, T.! The green beans recipe came from Mollie Katzen on NPR. I followed her directions word for word, and they came out perfectly. She's a genius with the veggies. The cranberry relish was also from NPR--in a very entertaining article by Susan Stamberg. The audio version neglects to mention the 3/4 C. sour cream, which is an ESSENTIAL ingredient. Listen to it anyway because it's funny. And if you want to know how to make delicious turkey, you'll have to ask my girlfriend.

Tiramisu

When my lady requested tiramisu for her birthday cake, I was a little panicked. I had NO IDEA what went into tiramisu or what the method was. It turns out that it's pretty easy, and my girlfriend was super-impressed by my practice efforts. There's an excellent website already in place to tell you all about it: Heavenly Tiramisu. I used the recipe called "Better Safe Than Sorry," because I don't want to accidentally poison anyone with salmonella.

I followed their recipe almost to the T--I just changed the two cheeses to mascarpone, and I had to use cream in my yolk mixture because I didn't have any milk:

Ingredients

8 egg yolks
1 C. Sugar
1/4 C. Milk
2 C. Whipping Cream
16 Oz. Mascarpone Cheese
3 - 4 C. Hazelnut Coffee, brewed and cooled
3/4 C. Amaretto
50 or more Lady Fingers
2 squares Bittersweet Baker's Chocolate, chopped finely
A sprinkle of Cinnamon

Method

1. Whisk egg yolks, half the sugar, and the milk in a 2-quart saucepan until smooth and blended.
2. Heat to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly.
3. Refrigerate and cool.
4. Whip the whipping cream to very stiff peaks. Set aside in the refrigerator.
5. Mix the cheese and remaining ½ cup of sugar together.
6. Stir in the yolk mixture.
7. Then fold in the whipping cream.
8. Combine the coffee and Amaretto in a large mixing bowl.
9. Quickly dip each ladyfinger in the coffee mixture and place on the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish.
10. Sprinkle with half the chocolate.
11. Cover with half of the cheese mixture.
12. Add another layer of dipped ladyfingers.
13. Sprinkle with chocolate and finish with the cheese mixture.
14. Sprinkle cinnamon over the top and garnish with coarsely grated chocolate.
15. Refrigerate overnight for best flavor.

A fun little game from Very Good Taste

Here’s what VGT wants you to do:

1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.
2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten.
3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating.
4) Optional extra: Post a comment at www.verygoodtaste.co.uk linking to your results.

The VGT Omnivore’s Hundred:

1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoises
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomoatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S'mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchang
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant.
85. Kobi beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harisa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee
100. Snake

"Thai" pumpkin custard

So, most Thai restaurants at which I've eaten in NYC have some version of a pumpkin custard on the menu, and there are a TON of "Thai pumpkin custard recipes" on the internet. My good friend and roommate, V. says that this is clearly one of those made-up American things, like French fries or chop sooey. Never the less! I have made my own Thai pumpkin custard! Both of my loyal readers know that this is in large part because my sweetheart adores all things pumpkin. This custard is quite delicious, even if it's not authentic--whatever that means. And, as you can see from the attached photo, it's a nice-looking dish, too. You can also see the lovely color of our new living room: Benjamin Moore's 'Pumpkin Pie.' It's spot on, right?

1 smallish pumpkin (but bigger than the one in my picture by a little bit)
9 eggs
1 1/2 C. Coconut milk from a can
2 C. Sugar
1 pinch Salt
1 tsp. Vanilla

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Cut a hat out of your pumpkin, and then scrape and spoon the guts out as though you were going to make a jack o'lantern. I toasted my seeds with salt, and they were quite delicious. Set this all aside while you make the custard.

The Custard:
Break the eggs into a large mixing bowl. Using a fork or whisk, beat by hand until fluffy (1 minute). Add the coconut milk, vanilla, and half the sugar. Beat again for 1 minute, or until well mixed. Add the rest of the sugar, stirring to dissolve it in the egg mixture.

Pour the custard into the pumpkin until it is within a half inch of the top. Set the custard-filled pumpkin in a shallow baking dish or a roasting pan and pour water into the pan until it comes up to about 1/2 an inch on the pumpkin. Put this all into the oven and bake for 90 minutes. The custard will rise as it cooks, but don't worry, it will sink back into the pumpkin when you cool it. It's possible that the custard won't have completely set in 90 minutes, so you may need to leave it in for another 15 to 30 minutes. You can roast your pumpkin's little lid, too, but not for 90 minutes--take it out after 45 minutes or so, so it doesn't burn up completely.

Allow the custard to cool on the counter for 30 minutes at least before taking it out of the hot water. Custards are served room temp or cool--I refrigerated mine overnight before slicing it like a cake.

This didn't happen to me, but apparently if your custard doesn't set properly, it's a BIG mess when you slice the pumpkin open. Good luck! And invite me over for some, I LOVE this stuff!

No more pancake mix

A. and I have been trying--in difficult economic times no less--to buy more local food and avoid processed foods. One thing that A. really prefers, though, is pancakes from a mix. She likes Arrowhead Mills brand a lot, and we also get the Cracker Barrel pancake whenever we take a road trip out of the city. I don't want to be too optimistic about this, but I think I've finally found the recipe that will break the pancake mix habit. I present it here:

1 C. Flour I'm thinking about using whole wheat flour one of these days)
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1-2 T. sugar
1 egg slightly beaten
1 1/2 C. butter milk

Mix your dry ingredients, then mix your wet ingredients. Pour the wets into the dries. Stir until mixed and not too lumpy. My friend Angela tells me that you shouldn't over mix cakes because it causes the glutens to fall apart, and then you get not-so-fluffy cake. Maybe that's true for pancakes, too? At any rate, don't over-mix, but you don't want lumps.

This recipes makes enough pancakes for me and A. I like my pancakes about 1 1/2 to 2 inches in diameter, and she likes hers about 4 to 5 inches. I make some of both sizes.

Thai Sticky Rice with Mango

It's starting to be chilly outside, so I have the uncontrollable urge to make desserts...naturally. Although the it is the cold weather that gave me inspiration, my taste buds are actually clamoring for something tropical: sticky rice with mango. Luckily, I live in the land of plenty, and mangoes are available most times of the year, so I'm going with it. Glutinous rice is available in Thai and Indonesian groceries, and also in many pan-Asian groceries in NYC. It comes in big bags, so I've been working through my stash of it for maybe two years now. Glutinous refers to its "gluey-ness," not to gluten. So, my gluten-intolerant friends, you may partake in this dessert!

Ingredients
1 and 1/2 C. Glutinous Rice (also sold as sticky rice or sweet rice)
About 1 and 1/2 or 2 T. Coconut Sugar (get it where you get the sticky rice--or substitute regular white sugar)
1/2 tsp. or so Salt
1 can Coconut Milk
A Mango

Method
Start early! You must soak the rice for 6 to 8 hours. First, rinse it at least three times until the water that runs off the rice is pretty clear. Then cover the rice with water and let it soak.

Once your rice it soaked, drain the water and wrap the rice in cheese cloth. Now, if you have a Thai wicker basket for making Thai sticky rice, you are probably not reading this blog to get the recipe, so I will assume that you (like I) do not have one. I use the steaming tray on my rice cooker to do this. Put your bundle of rice in its cheese cloth bundle on your steaming tray and give a good steam--about 20 to 30 minutes, or even longer, depending on your steamer. You will know it's done when it's a little translucent, steamy hot, and sticky.

In the meantime, make this sauce: heat the cocnut milk on the stove, stirring in the salt and sugar until it's hot and the salt and sugar are dissolved (this is so easy!!). Slice your mango.

When the rice is ready, you can unwrap it, and put it in a bowl of some sort. (At this point it's a good idea to steal a little, mash it into a ball with your fingers and eat it. No one will know!) Mix most of the coconut milk sauce into the rice. To serve, spoon some rice on to each plate--I use an ice cream scoop to make pretty little scoops--and arrange some mango nearby on the plate. Spoon the remaining coconut milk sauce over each dish of rice and mango.

Food photos

I wanted to print and frame these two photos I took in a wet market in Singapore, and hang them in the kitchen. However, the people with whom I live vetoed the plan. I post these B&W photos taken with 35 mm film here instead. Maybe I can hang them in the living room?