Blog Archive

December 24, 2015

Pecan Pie

This pie is my most requested dish come the holidays, with the Strawberry Cheesecake coming in a close second. But come Thanksgiving it’s just expected now that I will show up with one, if not two, pecan pies in tow. I recently asked a friend why he liked it so much and he explained that he loves pecan pie but so often when he gets it, it’s mostly jelly filling with a layer of pecans on top – whereas mine fully incorporates the pecans into the filling. I’ve had others tell me it’s the crust and Jimmy likes to say it’s the maple syrup. My conclusion is this is the end all be all of pecan pie recipes.

I personally love that if you have the time, you can make it from scratch, but if you’re short on time you can grab pre-made pie dough from the store and whip up this filling to still make something homemade-ish in a little over an hour.

This recipe was one that always reminds me of my parent’s home. When I was younger, we had a family friend who always made pecan pie for our big Christmas dinner and when we moved apart, I took the torch and carried the tradition on.

Flaky Pie Dough

In a small bowl, add the salt (a pinch) to the cold water (1/3 cup) and stir to dissolve. Keep in freezer until ready to use.
Put the flour (1.5 cups) in a standing mixer. Cut the frozen butter (10 tablespoons) into 1-inch pieces and scatter the pieces over the flour. Pulse briefly until the mixture forms large crumbs and some of the butter is still in pieces the size of peas. Add the water-and-salt mixture and pulse for several seconds until the dough begins to come together into a ball but is not completely smooth. You should still be able to see some butter chunks.
On a lightly floured surface, form the dough into a ball and shape into a disk
Add some more flour to the surface if needed to ensure it stays lightly dusted, roll the dough into a circle about 1/8-inch thick. Place in pie dish. Trim the dough so it only goes to the edge of the pan then crimp the dough to the edge of the pan with your fingers. If you have enough extra dough, I like to make a personal pie by using metal measuring cups or small glass bowls as the pie tin.
Chill the shell until firm to the touch, 30-45 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 375°F.
Bake the shell until the surface looks light brown, about 25 minutes. If you start to see the shell rise, use a fork to poke a few holes in the air bubbles. Let the shell cool completely before filling – spend this time creating the filling.

Pecan Filling

Have the pie shell nearly cooled and ready for filling.
In a saucepan, combine the sugar (3/4 cup), maple syrup (1/2 cup), corn syrup (1/2 cup), and salt (a pinch). Place over medium heat, bring to a rolling boil, and boil for 1 minute.
Take the pan off of the heat, add the butter (1/4 cup), and whisk as it melts. Let the mixture cool to room temperature. While the mixture is cooling, preheat the oven to 350° F.
Add the vanilla (1 teaspoon) and the eggs (3 eggs) to the cooled mixture and stir to mix well. Add pecans (2 cups) then pour filling into the pie crust.
Okay okay this photo doesn’t look like the rest, it is in fact from the second pie I made because I forgot to take one of the filling the first time around 😉
Bake the pie until the filling is just set, 40 to 60 minutes. If the top is browning too quickly, cover with a piece of aluminum foil. I typically start covering the pie after about 15 minutes to avoid burning.

November 9, 2015

Mom’s “Bulgogi Dduk Bok Ki”

Let me start this by saying this is not your traditional dduk bok ki recipe. Dduk Bok Ki (duck-bow-key) is a traditional street food in Korea, normally drenched in a dark orange super spicy chili sauce, sometimes over noodles, sometimes with an egg – typically served with a tooth pick to fish out your rice cakes from the sea of sauce. This recipe is not that. This is the dish my mom would make growing up because hey you can’t just eat rice cakes for dinner. Also because if you’ve read my Mom’s Korean BBQ Bulgogi recipe you’ll know that she’s more of a… adapt with what you have, kind of chef. Maybe I’ll post a traditional version one day (maybe not, because this one is so good I never make it any other way!) but this is one of my favorites to make because it’s so easy and has such great flavor – and well because it’s how mom makes it.

If you’re looking for where to buy bulgogi, I recommend going to a local korean market and asking the butcher in the back. They’ll know what you’re asking for. Typically you can ask for extra marinade and they’ll package it up with your meat. Alternatively you can make your own marinated beef but we’ll save that recipe for another time!

On a high setting, cook the bulgogi until it’s brown and crispy. If your bulgogi came packaged from the store and you have additional marinade, save this for later to thin your sauce out.
Add the rice cakes to the frying pan with the chili paste and sugar; stir until evenly distributed. Start off with one tablespoon of chili paste and then add the second to your preference. If you accidentally make it too spicy, you can dilute it with a little water, then let it reduce.
Add the garlic and allow it to roast in the pan.
Add water (or marinade if it came with the bulgogi) to create the sauce. Be sure to fully incorporate the chili sauce into the water/marinade so your dish is evenly spicy.
When the rice cakes are soft through the center you’re done! NOM!

WARNING: Rice cakes do not keep well once refrigerated. Do not make this in batch to save for later. Rice cakes are best served fresh 😉

October 26, 2015

Thai Curry with Salmon

For anyone not living in San Diego and reading this, I’ll preface it by saying we’ve been experiencing heat waves and humidity, something we typically don’t get much of here. In response, my herb garden is experience survival of the fittest to the fullest extent. The only herb that has resiliently pulled through without as much as a wilted branch, has been my Thai Basil! What better to do with it than make some Thai curry 🙂

Start by boiling a pot of water and adding a teaspoon of salt. Wash and chop potatoes into chunks about 1/2 x 1/2 x 1/2 inch, boil the potatoes while covered.
Cut onions finely, fry with a few tablespoons of oil under medium heat, add ground pepper. Keep your onions on the heat until soft and caramelized. Add Thai chilies and fresh Thai basil for about 1 minute (or until basil wilts a bit.) You can choose if you want to leave the chilies in or take them out at the end – they’re hot!
Pour in coconut milk, curry paste, sugar and chili powder – let everything simmer under low heat for 10 minutes while you prep the salmon.
Add a few teaspoons oil to frying pan under medium heat, gently add salmon to the pan and sprinkle a little bit of salt&pepper on top to season. Fry for 2 minutes on each side and then remove from heat and let rest for 2 minutes.
Break salmon into chunks and add to the curry mixture along with the potatoes. Stir it gently to get everything incorporated/coated. Keep your pot covered and allow to simmer for about 5 minutes
Remove from heat and serve immediately with rice! NOM!

October 19, 2015

Madeleine’s

I decided to add a new section to all future recipes and that’s the recommended items. You know that feeling you get when you walk into a Crate and Barrel and think, “Man, I want all these things, but do I really need an immersion blending? Can’t I just whisk it by hand? Why would I need a thermometer for my oven? I’ve already pre-set it. Someone told me once to use an ice cream scoop for my cookies but I think I can just eyeball it with a spoon…” While all these things are true (well minus the thermometer, you really can’t trust your oven, but I’ll get into that later) all these things were made for a reason, and it’s to make your life in the kitchen easier and more accurate.

“Okay, we get it, now tell us how to make cookies!”

You got it, but first a quick note about Madeline’s. Despite what you might think by seeing packaged Madeline’s in your local coffeeshop, the lifespan of a freshly baked madeline is really just a matter of hours. Of course you can keep them longer but you’ll notice their texture to change dramatically, the spongy and slightly crispy outer crust will become sticky and stick to the plate, tupperware, or other Madeleine’s that you’ve packaged them with. It’s best to make just enough for you and whoever else you’ll be sharing them with. You can save the batter for a couple of days in the fridge if you’d like to make the rest later. Okay, now onto the recipe!

Blue Bottle’s Ginger Molasses Cookies

This week’s recipe is an adaptation from my all time favorite coffee shop – Blue Bottle. Now while have a strong aversion to ginger – near my sushi, in my salads and especially in my cookies; it appears that my friends do not. Every time we go to Blue Bottle I immediately order a New Orlean-style Iced Coffee, while my boyfriend is quick to order one of their ginger cookies. I remember the first time I had one, thinking it would be like a gingerbread cookie, something that reminded me of the holidays, I was wrong. Typical gingerbread cookies –like the ones you find at holiday parties– are to ginger like… a glass of water with a lemon wedge in it, is to biting down into an actual lemon. To me, ginger is that intense. And so are these cookies.

SO BE WARNED! You better be a big fan of ginger if you’re looking to make these little guys. Do you eat ginger straight from the plate at sushi places? Do you like to drink ginger beer straight? And in your cocktails? Okay, read on.

I will have to admit that I made these, but had to get outside help to judge how they turned out. Because frankly, I am not one of those ginger people. I pick it off my sushi plate, and think that gingerbread cookies, and holiday beverages with lots of sugar are the only way to go. But when your best friend asks you to make them for her birthday, you suck it up, and have other people taste test your cookies.

I adapted the recipe a little bit from their book, Blue Bottle Craft of Coffee: Growing, Roasting, and Drinking, primarily because I couldn’t find light molasses and because of the cocoa powder I had at home at the time. But it came out really good so this is the recipe I’m sticking with. Also instead of rolling the dough in regular sugar, I skipped that step and only rolled the tops with large sugar crystals. I preferred the look especially when gifting them to a friend.

Sift the flour, cocoa powder, powdered ginger, baking soda, cardamom and pepper into a bowl.

(Just for fun, I got this little lens that clips on my cell phone and one of the lenses is a macro lens. Ever wonder what freshly ground pepper looks like up close? Now you know!)
Use a standing mixer (or handheld mixer) beat the butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar on low speed until smooth, 1-2 minutes. Add the salt and mix on low speed until well combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, then mix on medium speed until light and fluffy, 4-5 minutes.
Add the molasses and fresh ginger and mix until well combined. Scrap down the sides of the bowl, and then add the flour mixture. Mix on low speed just until uniform in texture.
Using a rubber spatula, scrape the dough out into an airtight container and refrigerate for at least 3 hours and up to 5 days.
Preheat oven 350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Roll 1/4 cup portions of the dough into balls, then roll the top of the balls in sugar crystals. Slightly flatten and place on baking sheet, at least 2 inches apart.
Bake 13-15 minutes, or until crackly on top but still somewhat soft to the touch, rotating pan midway through. (The original recipe said 11-13 minutes and I found myself needing a few more minutes on each side, monitor your cookies and your oven and adjust the temperature to your settings)
Let cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes, and then remove. The surface will get firmer as they cool. (If you didn’t flatten your cookies, they might dome a bit, but they will settle again as your cookies cool, so don’t worry!)
Nom!

August 31, 2015

Basil Pesto and Zucchini Pasta

I am a meat eater. That might even be an understatement. Aside from the desserts on this blog, you’d notice that there is a meat component to each dish; and that’s the way it will probably always be. So when I invited my girl friend over the other night for dinner and found out that she was vegetarian now – I blanked. What was I going to make her? I mean I eat chicken on the days I feel like I’ve been eating too much red meat, or maybe a salad but I couldn’t make just a salad, could I? I started bouncing ideas, what can I make with a veggie base, which ended up being harder than I had imagined, considering I normally use veggies on the side of a dish; as an afterthought.

And then I remembered, the train ride I took with some friends where we might have had a little too much wine to drink, and I might have impulse ordered some things from Amazon on my phone. Yes, possibly one of the best tipsy decisions I’ve ever made – the Spiralizer. Now, first and foremost, I am not saying, nor will I ever say that this is a replacement for true authentic pasta. That would be an insult to Italian cuisine, which is one of my all time favorites. But what I will say is that making “noodles” out of zucchini and squash, has been a very pleasant experience, one that has me convinced that if you’re trying to incorporate more veggies into your diet, this is the way to go!

Now, that plus the herb garden inspiring me from my herb garden, it was settled – we were making pesto!

Equipment you’ll need:

Spiralizer
Food Processor

Chop the stem off of your zucchini and place it into the prongs of your spiralizer and spin out your zucchini pasta. Place in a large bowl and coat with a generous amount of salt. Allow it to sit in the bowl for 30 minutes or more to extract the moisture. Zucchini and squash hold a lot of liquid inside, this will make your pasta soggy if you try to cook them fresh.
Pulse together the garlic, salt, pepper and basil leaves. Use short pulses until basil is fine.
Add the pine nuts and pulse again.
Pour it all into a bowl, then add the cheese and oil together and stir. Add more salt and pepper to taste.
Cook your pasta for 3 minutes and then blanch. Serve this dish with some bread. Pesto is a naturally oily sauce, and tastes delicious soaked up into some bread once you’re done!
Nom!

August 26, 2015

Green Onion Bulgogi Quesadillas

I never imagined I’d live in San Diego, I actually was pretty upset about leaving Northern California to come down to a place where beaches are more sacred than land. But what no one told me 7 years ago, was that I was going to find a whole new appreciation for Mexican food. But there are only so many California burritos and carne asada bowls one can eat before you try to mix it up a bit.

Enter, the green onion pancake bulgogi quesadilla. Now before some of you say, “Green onion pancake? That sounds like the worst breakfast ever!” Know that a green onion pancake is nothing like a pancake at all. This is not your regular fluffy buttermilk sunday morning delight. No – the green onion pancake is similar to a tortilla, but imagine it’s flakey, really flakey, and has savory green onion bits inside. It’s the Korean tortilla, so it only makes sense to frankenstein it into my mexi-korean recipe for this week. Now all we need is the carne asada of the Korean world – bulgogi.

Prepare your dough by putting 4 cups of flour into a standing mixer bowl. Microwave 2 cups of water until boiling hot. With the mixer on the slowest setting, pour in the boiling water until the dough is completely formed. You should be able to stick all of the dough together into one ball without any dough crumbs, but it shouldn’t be too sticky that it doesn’t come off your hands.
Split the dough in half, kneed the dough until you can form it into 2 uniformed balls then place the balls back into the mixer bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let it sit for 20-30 minutes.
While the dough is setting, prepare your bulgogi by cooking it on the stove. Pour the excess juices from the frying pan to all for the meet to fully cool. Leaving the juices in the pan doesn’t allow for the meat to crisp up, and you’ll end up with grey-ish brown meat that looks completely uniform.
Cut up your green onion into thin slices and set aside. Note: Green onion is one of my favorite plants because of how quickly it replenishes. Cut your green onion until you’re almost at the white portion, and place the remaining roots in a glass of water. I did it while making this recipe and by the time I was eating, the onions had already started to grow back!
When your dough has finished setting, take one one ball and cut it in half. Sprinkle some flour on a dry clean surface and roll the dough out until it’s thin (but not paper thin, you don’t want your dough to tear)
Using a pastry brush spread a thin layer of sesame oil on one side of the rolled dough and sprinkle on a layer of green onion. Roll up your pancake up like a jelly roll then flatten it with your hands.
Brush on a thin layer of sesame oil on the top and roll it up one more time. It should resemble rolling up a sleeping bag.
Now patting on a little bit of flour on both ends where the sesame oil is making contact with your hands, ball the dough up in your hands and then flatten one more time to create the green onion pancake.
Heat a skillet up on medium, coat with oil and cook each of your pancakes. When almost completely cooked, lay down the cheeses on half of the pancake, layering the cooked bulgogi on top. Fold over the other half of the pancake, flip and serve. If you feel like your cheese isn’t melting fast enough, or your pancake is cooking quicker than your cheese is melting, pour a spoon full of water into the pan and quickly cover the top with foil or a lid. This will allow steam to form and melt the cheese without having to add more cook time and potentially burning your dish.
Cut into 4’s, serve NOM!

August 18, 2015

Almond Biscotti

Whether you know me personally and are aware of my love for coffee, or perhaps we’ve never met before and you’re just looking for a new cookie recipe, I felt that there needed to be something that complimented a good cup o’ joe. For those of you that do know me, you’ll know that there are struggles when it comes to eating certain foods when you’re rocking the adult braces. And let me tell you, the struggles are real. Really real. But worry not, for this is a dunking cookie! So whether you’re blessed with mid-twenties orthodontic care or just like your cookies on the softer side, these go great with coffee, hot cocoa, or just on the side of some tea.

Preheat the oven to 300˚F.
Begin by placing the almonds in a pan on the stove, stir frequently to lightly toast and avoid burning. Once toasted, set aside to cool then chop almonds coarsely.
Mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large mixing bowl.
In a smaller bowl, mix together the eggs, vanilla extract and almond extract. (Always use pure extracts! Artificial vanilla is a product made from guaiacol, a coal tar derivative which needs more chemicals to mask its unpleasant smell and is not healthy for the body!)
Gradually pour in the egg mixture into the dry ingredients bowl until it makes a dough then pour in the chopped almonds.
Prepare your baking sheet by either laying down parchment paper or a silicone baking sheet.
Divide the dough in half and place onto a heavily floured surface. Form two logs then place onto the baking sheet. Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown and firm.
Set aside to cool then using a serrated knife cut ½ inch slices and place the pieces on their sides for 10 more minutes in the oven.
Flip them over and bake another 10 minutes on the other side. Poke and see if they are as crisp as you want them to be then set aside to cool.
Make a cup of coffee, dunk your biscotti, NOM!

August 4, 2015

Creamy Jumbo Shells and Homemade Turkey Meatballs

Sorry fellow Nom-mers, no post from last week because I was out of town. But I’m back! And this week I wanted to veer away from the desserts. So I started by aiming to create a delicious pink sauce, but forgot to add the tomato sauce, and along the way made the best meatballs I’ve ever made. Then what I ended with was a delicious, creamy, cheesey plate of goodness.

Not in the mood for pasta? The meatballs make for great sliders as well!

1. Mix ¼ cup milk with panko in a small bowl and set aside.

2. Heat up a pan to medium high heat, chop up half of the onion and cook for 5 minutes until onions are translucent. Chop up 2 garlic cloves and cook for a minute. Remove pan from the heat and let onion mixture cool.

3. Add turkey, egg, salt, pepper, onion mixture and panko mixture together in a mixer or with your hands. Ground turkey is a very soft meat, if you’re using a mixer, don’t mix for too long or things will get too mushy.

4. Heat the pan back to medium-high heat; using an ice cream scoop, scoop out small balls and place them directly into the pan. If you don’t have an ice cream scoop, you can roll the balls with your hands, just know it’ll be sticky! Make sure each ball is fully cooked. Be careful as turkey meatballs can be loose.

5. Remove meatballs and place them on the side, add remaining onion; cook 5 minutes or until translucent. Stir in remaining garlic cloves, dried crushed red pepper, and oregano; cook for one minute. Add butter to pan, cooking just until melted; whisk in flour. Don’t worry, it will get dry and cluster. Slowly add remaining milk to the pan, whisking constantly until mixture is smooth; add cheeses, stirring until melted. You can always add more milk to thin your sauce out to preference.

6. Boil a pot of water, add a teaspoon of salt, and cook jumbo noodles for 8 minutes. In a medium sized bowl, lightly toss sauce, pasta and meatballs. Serve. Nom!

July 21, 2015

Strawberry Cream & Bourbon Bacon Waffles

Hi, fellow Nommers! Sitting in my hotel room this week, I came to a sudden and accelerating panicked realization. OH NO! I DIDN’T MAKE A POST AHEAD OF TIME FOR ~~NOMDAY~~ MONDAY! HOW AM I GOING TO MAKE SOMETHING WITHOUT A KITCHEN?

In a state of panic, my wonderful boyfriend came to the rescue with a guest post! Well sort of, unable to allow a recipe that involved boxed ingredients, I ended up coming home for the weekend – so it’s a collaborative post! He came up with the great idea of a whiskey cinnamon whipped cream on a savory bacon waffle and I experimented a bit with the Fluffy Pancake Recipe to try to make something that would hold the shape of a waffle and keep the same buttery flavors. And with that, our sweet strawberry and savory bacon whiskey waffles were born!

Pour your milk and white vinegar into a small bowl, mix lightly and let sit for 5-10 minutes. This allows the milk to sour, you can substitute this with buttermilk if you have it on hand, but as most people don’t, milk and vinegar do just fine.
Add the flour, salt, sugar, baking powder and baking soda together into a large mixing bowl.
Whisk the egg and melted butter into the soured milk.
Pour the milk mixture into the dry ingredients and whisk until you don’t have any lumps.
Spray waffle iron with Pam and pour evenly into iron on a medium to hot setting. Make half of the mix on it’s own, add the bacon to the second batch to make your savory waffles.
Refrigerate heavy cream ahead of time and add directly to mixer when ready to make whipped cream.
Add the bourbon, cinnamon and maple syrup and whip until you lift your whisk and create a 1 inch peak.
Place in the fridge until ready to eat. Leaving it out will allow your cream to melt at room temperature. Your whipped cream will start to melt when placed on a hot waffle so keep cool until ready.
Slice up strawberries vertically or any other fruit you’d like to place on your sweet waffles.
Sift powdered sugar over one waffle, dollop on the whipped cream and placed your strawberries on top.
Add the whipped cream to the bacon waffles and sprinkle with remaining bacon bits.