Super Savory Souffle!

Finally got a chance to try out Mark Bittman's Savory Zucchini Souffle recipe tonight...here's the play-by-play

Simple ingredients...delicious results!

Shredded zucchini, minced garlic, and chopped onion

Saute the onions on medium-high heat with garlic...

Then add the zucchini and cook out most of the moisture (7-8 minutes) so that it looks like....

This.

Separate the eggs and beat the whites till you get semi-stiff peaks (semi-stiff...hah hah)...cream of tartar can help it hold peaks. (Note: Don't get any of the yolk in the whites or it won't work at all!)

Then in a separate bowl, beat the egg yolks together with the....

Cheese (Mozzarella, Gruyere, whatever you want actually...about a cup's worth)

Then add in the cooked veggies and mix (salt, pepper)

Add about 1/3 of the egg whites and mix thoroughly (Don't have to be gentle at this point)

Add in the rest of the egg whites and gently fold into mixture...don't work it too much...gotta keep it light!

Make sure you have buttered ramekins (buttered well...all up the sides)

Then bake in a pre-heated 325F oven for about 30-35 minutes...

And.....You Get This!!!

Must be eaten immediately as the poofiness goes away very quickly...very, very quickly...

Light, Cheesy, Crispy-on-the-Edges.....FTW!

Just a quick Hot Pot....

Quick post...more to come this week! Whipped this together for dinner tonight....Spicy Ma-La Hot Pot!

Thin-sliced Lamb, Frozen Tofu, and Broccolini.

Assorted balls (Balls!!):

Fuzhou Fish Balls (with pork centers)

Shrimp Balls (I didn't know shrimp had balls?!)

Pork Meatballs

For the stock, I used the packaged Little Fat Sheep Brand...

They make a pre-packaged Hot Pot base where all you need to do is add garlic cloves, green onions, and water....always comes out delicious!!

This is their spicy version...they also have a non-spicy soup base that comes in a green package!

Finally it was all ready to go!

Spicy Hot Pot for One!

Dipping Sauce:

finely chopped Cilantro

finely chopped Green Onions

finely chopped Garlic

Sriracha Sauce

Chinese BBQ Sauce (Sa Cha Sauce)

Soy Sauce

Sesame Oil

Lucky for me, the weather got a little chilly tonight....Hot Pot is great when the weather is cold!

Choc-Choc-Chocolate Souffle!

Having never done this before, I thought it was high time for me to try my hand at the delicate art of the souffle....

might as well make it Chocolate!

Buttered ramekins....Ready!

(then coat with granulated sugar)

Melted 8oz. of semi-sweet chocolate and 4 tablespoons of butter in a double-boiler...

Nicely melted...now add 1/8 teaspoon of salt, 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract, 

and 1 tablespoon of Grand Marnier....

Glossy and beautiful!

8 egg whites beaten to stiff peaks...thank god I have a stand-mixer...whew!

(with 1/4 teaspoon Cream of Tartar and 2 tablespoons of Confectioner's Sugar)

6 egg yolks beaten with simple sugar syrup

(1/3 cup of granulated sugar melted in 2 tablespoons of boiling water)

Fold it all together and what do you get?

Chocolate Souffle!!! Ready to be frozen and baked whenever you need them.

(Bake frozen in 400 degree oven for 18-20 minutes)

I'll post the baked pictures after I bake them...fingers crossed, hope they come out alright!

After freezing the 4 ramekins, I took two over to a friend's place for dessert....400 degree oven, 22 minutes...

and here is one that's unbroken....

I think it would have risen higher if it wasn't frozen beforehand, but with the freezing, I can keep chocolate souffles in the freezer and ready for anything/anytime!

And it came out delicious...crisp exterior, light moussey interior...retained all of the lightness and chocolate flavor!!! FTW!

Snap, Crackle, Popovers!!!

Nice winter's day breakfast....Mark Bittman's Popovers.
Kinda like Yorkshire Pudding...but no beef fat (which I'm actually kinda sad about)....because as we all know....Fat = Flavor!

So basically, it's a baked egg batter....but the trick to get it to puff up and "pop over" the edges of the muffin pan is preheating the muffin pan with the butter in it....

Here's the butter in the bottom of the muffin pan....

Now....into a 425 F oven to heat up.

While that's heating up, let's get the batter ready!

1 cup flour

1 cup milk

2 eggs

2 tablespoons melted butter

2 teaspoons salt (I used Bacon Salt)

1 teaspoon sugar

1-2 teaspoon(s) dried or fresh herbs (I used an Italian Mix)

Oh yeah, you'll need a whisk and a 1/4 cup scoop for dishing out the batter into the muffin pan

By now the pan should be nice and hot and the butter should be sizzling (maybe even a little browned)

Scoop in about 1/4 cup of batter per "hole"...it should be about halfway up the side...

and then put it back in the oven at 425F for 15 minutes.

After that, turn down the heat to 350F and let if go for another 10-15 minutes....

until it gets golden brown and crispy on the edges!

*Note: if you can, don't open the oven to check on it too much (or at all) so the popovers don't collapse.

Sure they look a little funny, but that's the point...to get them to "pop over" the edges of the pan!

Oh right, they should be eaten immediately while still hot and crispy on the outside and custard-y on the inside!

Great breakfast!

or you can use them as accompaniments to a meal...

like Yorkshire Pudding with a Prime Rib Roast...a little gravy on top would be good too!

Chinese Street Food!!

So in celebration of the New Year....I thought I'd make some Chinese street food for lunch today.
On the menu: Grilled Chicken Hearts and Scallion Pancakes!

Let's start with the meat.

Chicken hearts

Marinade:

Soy Sauce

Shaoxing Cooking Wine

Five Spice Powder

Garlic Powder

Sugar

Then skewered and grilled or broiled in the oven (if there's 6 inches of snow outside)

Meat on a stick is at least twice as good as regular meat!

This was followed by Scallion Pancakes.

A simple dough rolled out thin.

1 cup Flour

1 Egg

1/2 cup Water

1/4 teaspoon Baking Powder

1-2 teaspoons Salt

1 tablespoon Butter

Mix together and roll out half the dough (see above)

Brush with Vegetable Oil and cover with sliced Scallions (Green Onion)

Roll the whole thing up!

Slice into 2 inch pieces and then stand them up on end and smoosh them down

(smoosh is a technical cooking term)

Roll them out with a rolling pin till they're about 3-4 inches in diameter and pan fry in oil on medium-high heat

(not crazy hot, because you have to let them cook through before they burn)

A minute or two per side (depending on how golden brown you want it)

Deliciously crisp and flaky

Use a dipping sauce if you want:

Soy Sauce

Toasted Sesame Oil

Chili Garlic Paste

These are great hot off the stove....don't let them sit around too long!

Cabin Fever Cooking!

So, I've been iced in for a couple of days with the Snowapocalypse.....This has basically screwed up my entire sleep schedule and I've been up cooking in the middle of the night/crazy early in the morning. Here's what I made this morning....

Plain dough...just some flour and water...

Rolled into rounds...or in my case cookie-cuttered into rounds...

Add seasoned ground pork and scallions.....

Put it all together and what do you get?

Chinese Pork Dumplings!!!!

So that was at around 6 a.m....finished up a couple of plates of dumplings and put them in the freezer for later.

Then with the leftover ground pork and dough....

I made a stuffed scallion pancake.

Which was pan-fried to Golden Perfection for breakfast!!!

Delicious Breakfast...now back to bed!!!

Some of my favorite things.....

Smoked Leg of Turkey,

And Blueberry Muffin,

Dozens of Cookies,

And Turkey with Stuffin'

Moist, Slow-cooked Brisket 

And Fried Onion Rings...

These are a Few of My Favorite Things!

Absolutely top of my list is any type of charcuterie - Head Cheese, Blood & Tongue Sausage, Salami, etc.

Delicious flavors and textures...maybe not for everybody, but definitely for me!

Kuby's in Snider Plaza has an amazing assortment of forced meats, cured meats, sausages, and charcuterie!

Deep Fried Cajun Turkey from Dickey's BBQ.

Crispy, Spicy outer crust with moist, tender meat...even the breast meat was juicy and delicious.

Available with pre-order at all Dickey's locations...right around $50

My own Thanksgiving feast from 2010

Wild Boar Sausage Stuffing with Sage

Roasted Rosemary Potatoes

Smoked Turkey Legs

Mediterranean Roasted Pork Tenderloin

Classic French's Green Bean Casserole (A must-have!)

Pillsbury Croissants (Dozens and Dozens!)

Cranberry Sauce/Gravy

Pumpkin Pie

We're just now getting into Crawfish Season 2011!!! 

One of my favorite places is Nate's Seafood in Addison...

They have a Turbo Spice Mix that will sear the flavor right into your mouth.

One of the best things to eat in Dallas....

Buffalo Tacos at The Ritz-Carlton.

Straight from Dean Fearing's kitchen...these are the trimmed bits off the Bone-In Buffalo Ribeye that they serve in Fearing's....grilled and served on corn tortillas with salsa, queso fresco, and Sriracha sauce.

This is absolutely the most amazing bar food to be had in Dallas....

Get your ass down to The Ritz and get some right now!

Look at the size of these prawns!!! Amazing!

At Sam Woo's Cantonese Restaurant - a Cali institution

These were literally the size of my hand and oh-so beautifully tasty...They were alive about 10 minutes before they hit our table!

In my opinion, the absolute best Ramen...period.

Daikokuya in Little Tokyo, LA.

Their broth is made in secret at an off-site undisclosed location.

You can order the Tonkotsu (Pork Bone) Broth and amp it up to 11 by adding "Kotteri" flavor...it's extra-flavorful broth made from the back fat!! 

It's ridiculous good...I'd consider a $300 plane ticket to get this tomorrow....

Probably top of my list for Hangover Food...a hot, steaming bowl of Pho!

One of my favorites is the Number 1 Special Combination at Pho Que Huong...

Fat Brisket, Tendon, Tripe, Eye Round Steak, Flank Steak...

Then you squeeze in some lime, tear in some sweet basil and bean sprouts....Heaven.

Homemade Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Buttercream Frosting

It doesn't get much better than this!

The BEST Pork Chop in The World

BBQ Dry Rubbed then Slow-Smoked and finished on the Grill

This is a three-bone pork chop carved table-side into three parts:

The Eyelash - tender, fatty, top piece

The Tenderloin - juicy, meaty center cut

The Ribs - finger-lickin' sweet meat close to the bone

All of this is surrounded by a crust that is formed from the dry-rub and smoking that will have you licking the plate...Where do you get this, you ask? Perry's Steakhouse in Uptown...Friday's two-bone lunch portion is only $10.99!!!

And something to wash it all down?

Korean Soju with yogurt drink (Yakult)

Shot after shot after shot.....then pass out!!

Hope you enjoyed this initial list of some of my favorite things....check back for updates all the time!!! 

So many good things, so little time....