Brine & Dine

Lately, I haven't really had time to relax at home... I set a weight-loss/tone-up goal for August, and I've been sweating my life at the gym after work almost everyday of the week which most often results in me passing out once I get out of the shower- hence no cooking or blogging! Phew!

But I MUST, blog about my most recent kitchen success story that happened over a barbecue patio get-together at my friend Maggie's. I've been friends with Maggie since the 7th grade, and she's one of my friends who love to cook/bake. She actually won one of the categories at a local cupcake competition in April.

I've been meaning to try her "savory" sangria (tomato, basil, white wine), and since we're always up for anything that gives us an excuse to cook/entertain- we thought of gathering a few old friends for a casual cookout to kick off the summer. Maggie, being an infamously fabulous hostess that she is, whipped up not only her sangria but also a spicy peanut butter noodle dish-- and not to mention a perfectly juicy burgers!

Well as for me, I wanted to utilize what was on sale at the store and chicken drumsticks kept popping up in the ads so I thought to make barbecue drumsticks. But, when I got to the stores around 9pm after my daily workout no drumsticks were found anywhere but only mounds of chicken thighs. I picked those up, and also some sweet corn (only 18cents!) to make a roasted summer salsa to go along with barbecued chicken thighs.

After reading about stories of brining, and how much of a difference it makes in dishes- I had to try it. I found an easy brine recipe here, by Tyler Florence. On the same page there is a recipe for a barbecue sauce, but since I'm making the corn salsa I wanted to find a chipotle barbecue sauce recipe. And lo and behold, the great TasteSpotting came in so handy and led me to this awesome raspberry chipotle barbecue sauce recipe! The only tweaking I made was to use the whole small can of chipotle peppers to give it an extra kick.
The verdict? The brine kept my chicken thighs extremely juicy and flavorful while the barbecue sauce kept it tangy and finger-lickin' good! I made the extra batch of chicken in the oven over at my mom's for my sisters and they were equally delicious. I've officially become a brine convert, and I fully believe in all of its delicious power!

To be a kid again

The dreary and the gloomy long past us, sun has been shining in the Midwest for maybe 3 days in a row now. Last weekend, my sisters and I babysat my 3-year old nephew(cousin's son) Julian, and we all got to enjoy and soak up the sun.

Back in high school, I worked at the local fairground selling hotdogs and grilled sausages. I suppose the cook in me started earlier than I had imagined. And unlike other carts in the fair that were located inside air-conditioned buildings, mine was outside in the sun through all those 90+ degrees weather days. I mean, I enjoy summer but when there seems to be zero breeze, and when you're standing next to a heated hotdog cart not to mention the firy grill? Phew, it would get STEAMY. But surprisingly, I enjoyed that job a lot. I liked taking special orders such as to grill the hot dogs that are normally just boiled, and seeing the customers bite into the charred crispy goodies. My usual customers would also be delighted to see that I had memorized their preferences; "Grilled polish with celery salt and pickles? You got it."

With my nephew, my sisters and I went back to the fair as I had oddly missed the atmosphere. The cacophony of different genre of music playing outside, smell of freshly roasted corn, old rusty lawn mowers... nothing seemed to have chanced. Julian seemed to be a bit confused tough, as he didn't know where we were. Antiques and used toys next to a small petting zoo and socks? But he looked like he was having a great time, and I even heard him sing his very own new tune, "We're at the fair! we're at the fair--."

Although I didn't have one of my hotdogs(or bratwursts, which were my favorites), I couldn't leave with out having Texas Beef. I don't remember how I discovered it, but once I found out about it- most of my lunches during work were Texas Beef.
I'm not sure if Texas Beef is an actual dish, but as far as I know it's delicious and I will and must attempt to recreate it sometime in my life. The Texas Beef I know is a sandwich on a big soft hero bun with multiple layers; 1) diced potatoes with ground beef, 2) thin slices of braised beef(not sure which cut, but I should ask next time!), 3) melted white cheddar cheese, 4) shreded iceberg lettuce, 5) chopped tomatoes, and 6) squirt of sour cream. You can stop there, but I ALWAYS get a side of giardiniera. Whoa, talking about this actually made my mouth water.

Even if this is a sandwich, for people with average sized mouths, it is impossible to handle this one like you would any other sandwiches. There needs to be a sort of technique for it. For example, what I do is use one clean hand to tear off the bread, and use the fork to gently pile all the components on to the bread. Put the big bite in your mouth and always throw in the giardiniera next. The combination is sensational. The sandwiches used to be $7, which was not cheap for me when I was in highschool- but I definitely thought it was worth the "splurge." When I went back this weekend, the price seemed to have stayed practically the same- but definitely less meat and potatoes.

After a couple of hours roaming around the fair(I did score a whole case of blackberries for only $4) and arcade games, we didn't want to waste such a beautiful day, so we went to the park. Quite frankly, Julian enjoyed the park more than the fair which was meant to be the main event.

We all picked up a cup of Georgie Porgie's milkshakes, and giggled like how we used to years back when we were still kids. Actually I think my sisters and I enjoyed it more than Julian did, it was a bit nostalgic- definitely glad to have done it.

Can you see the pure excitement and happiness in his face? This sums up that day for me.

PS. I really want a camera. Canon PowerShot SD1400 to be exact. It went on sale for $230. I can't afford it yet, it is a sad, sad story. Darn you money, stop controlling my life! :(

PPS. With the case of blackberries along with strawberries that I also bought on sale, I've been making a LOT of these for breakfast:

My kind of "baking"

Baking was never my thing. I was too clumsy to measure anything accurately, not to mention too impatient for anything that required multiple measuring spoons creating a mess on my counter... And I don't know exactly when the epiphany occurred, but now I've come to appreciate the art of baking hence my attempts at creating desserts from scratch. I've also been meaning to try baking my own bread, like challah and focaccia, so I suppose my baking journey has just begun.

Before these days of stocking up on AP flour and investing in bakeware, instead of baking- I would sort of.. cheat.

And by cheat, I mean boxed cake mix. The boxed cake mix frenzy started when I began baking for high school extra credit projects, end-of-the-year gatherings, etc. I never was a fan of the grocery cakes with butter cream, and I also didn't love everyone's favorite- ice cream cake. So I wanted to be in control of the level of sweetness as much I could, given my lack of baking skills.

The Korean bakeries that I remember from my early childhood would usually top super light cakes with freshly whipped cream and sweetened fruit, which I still think of as the typical birthday cake- and to recreate the fond memory I would bake basic yellow cake, top with whipped cream, and decorate with lightly macerated fruit such as kiwi, mango, strawberries, blueberries, and mandarin oranges.

Here is one of the anniversary cakes I made for Matt a while back... The short-cut is really simple.

1. Bake your favorite cake mix
2. Slice or dice your preferred fruit of choice
3. Sprinkle couple of tablespoons of granulated sugar (or Confectioner's sugar for a thicker mixture) on the prepared fruit. Squeeze a 1/2 lemon. Let the mixture sit about 15-20 minutes.
4. Once the cake is cooled, slice into two layers.
5. Brush in between the two layers with the liquid drawn out from the fruit mixture. You can also do so with fruit preserves/jam.
6. Top the cake with freshly whipped cream (I suppose you can even add real vanilla if you have some!) and decorate with the fruit - which should be drained if too watery.

Another short-cut I take in more of an entertaining aspect is with cupcakes. Here is what I made for my friend and my 21st birthday party back in Brooklyn.

1. Bake your favorite cake mix. Cool the cupcakes once they come out of the oven.
2. Peel the cupcake lining and carefully slice the top off each cupcake.
3. Spread fruit preserves like glue to put back the tops on the cupcakes(in this case I baked a chocolate cake & used raspberry preserves).
3. Mix your frosting(homemade or store-bought) with a few tablespoons of the fruit preserves that was used in step 3.
4. Sprinkle with topping of choice - my favorites are chocolate chips, toasted nuts, or lemon zest.

These really aren't "recipes," but quick tips for those like me who are beginner bakers. They are super delicious, and nobody has to know that they came form the boxes! ;)

Mm, mm, mmMMmm. Seriously.

When looking for affordable protein in any grocery stores, you can always count on good ground beef(I prefer 80% lean, 20% fat). So when I found awesome ground beef for only $1.99/lb earlier this week, I bought about 3lbs planning to make mini meatloaves and stretch the meat even more for some roasted garlic cheeseburgers.

And of course, my weetle Blackberry's been so diligent in documenting the process, since there is no camera for now.


Although I have one of her cookbooks, I've never tried any of Ina Garten's recipe until this one. And let me tell you- it was easy, simple, and SO tasty. When the meatloaves were about to come out of the oven the whole apartment smelled like a ketchupy giant hamburger, and I don't know about you but I happened to LOVE the aroma. The meatloaves were juicy and flavorful; every bite simply melted in my mouth.

[waiting...waiting... getting there...]

The only problem I had was with my thermometer. It's fairly new so I suppose I should be patient until we become better friends and work more in tandem...

BUT the important thing is that the meal was rib-stickin' delicious and so good that Matt asked for me to make them again next week. He scarfed down the whole plate in about 8 minutes tops. Now I'm definitely stoked to whip out some more of Ina Garten's recipes soon(Individual Meatloaves recipe HERE)!


PS. I made a quick cheddar sauce pasta dish today using a 'high-fiber' pasta(don't know how it got to my pantry). IT WAS NOT GOOD! The texture of the pasta was so grainy and even with the creaminess of the sauce, it really turned me off! yuck...

When in doubt, wrap it in bacon.

Aside from the melange of past pictures left from my (now deceased) Power Shot, my cooking these days is being documented by my good ol' Blackberry. Too bad for my current lack of a digital camera, cause cooking's been quite an adventure this past weekend.

The topic of being camera-less reminds me of another inevitable subject on hand. Being a poor folk. Recently a good chunk of my change has been directed to the state of Illinois toll fees(bleh), rising gas prices, and kitchen stuff that I "need." And by I "need," I mean like the pig shaped cutting board I found for $5 yesterday. Oh silly me... So long story short, I don't have the money to splurge on a cooking spree. So most of my time is spent planning how to efficiently use inexpensive and accessible ingredients either at my local grocery store or my refrigerator.

Yesterday I decided to thaw out a chunk of pork tenderloin leftover from a past weekend and whip up a nice impromptu weekend lunch. I also happened to have some sweet maple bacon, so I figured 'why not kill two birds with one stone?'


Matt said wrapping pork with bacon was like having pork on pork explosion(as if that's a bad thing), but I thought the end result was pure juicy goodness. Bacon got crispy on the outside and thanks to the bacon's double duty, the pork tenderloin stayed moist. To go with the porky dish, I made some smashed new potatoes with thyme. Although equally delicious, I honestly think the bacon wrapped pork triumphed over my weetle supporting actor golden potatoes. I also think the medallions will go great with a nice citrus salad just to balance out the fattiness, but also to pair well with a simple tangy wine reduction that tops them! :)



Clearly I had too much time on my hands, because I also made my very first chocolate souffle yesterday. Due to my unmeasured, taste-and-season-as-you-go cooking style attributed to my mom, I don't bake often. I don't have much of a sweet tooth, so to go through so much trouble for such a short moment of satisfaction never drew me in. However, I've gained a new-found appreciation for baking hence my investment in a new hand-mixer. Oh by the way did I mention that I was inspired to make chocolate souffle, because of my another kitchen item I "needed" -- Le Creuset ramekins for $5?!

Bacon wrapped pork medallions (4-6 servings)
printable version

Ingredients:
- 10, 2.5" thick pork tenderloin medallions
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 4 bacon strips
- 2 tbsp chopped garlic
- 1/2 cup white wine (I happened to have White Zinfandel, which worked out well)
- 10 toothpicks
- 3.5 tsp salt
- 1 tsp freshly ground pepper

Season the pork medallions with salt and pepper. Keep in mind however the saltiness of the bacon, so season sparingly.

Slice bacon strips into lengths that will wrap each medallion. I slice mine to about 5 inches.

Wrap each medallion with the bacon, securing the ends with a toothpick.

Heat oil in a saute pan on medium-high heat, and start searing the bacon wrapped medallions. Sear for about 3-4 minutes per side.

Take the medallions off heat to rest, slowly removing the toothpicks.

On medium heat saute the garlic in the bacon drippings on the pan. Slowly pour the white wine off heat. Let the combination reduce for about 4-5 minutes on medium-low heat.

Pour the white wine sauce over the pork medallions and serve warm!


Chocolate Souffle - I had a difficult time finding the right recipe that allowed me to easily interpret different ratios since I was only baking for two. I found it here, courtesy of EatingWell.com.


Oh and please don't let me forget. I have to wish my mom who I adore, who is also at times a pain in my little booty, the Happiest belated Mother's Day. Thank you for the constant inspiration umma!

A new kid on the block & photo flashback #1

Testing, testing… 1, 2. 1, 2, 3...?

Ahhh, here it goes again – Another trial on an outlet for my random rants about everyday life in an ever-so-growing Wide World of Web.

The idea initially came to me back in March, sitting at my new workspace after a recent relocation from Wisconsin to Illinois. I was inspired while browsing through the wonderful and (disgustingly) creative blogs. I’m also not the most organized person; therefore blogging, offering an easy method to a compilation of my life’s little pieces, definitely got me.

So why now, almost 2 months later, did I decide to put up my first post?

Absence of my point-and-shoot: Being a visual person myself, I couldn’t even imagine trying to construct a blog without pictures.

BUT!!!

I can’t escape all of my thought bubbles buzzing in my head seeking for a home….and spending most of my time practically alone, there was really nowhere else but here.

There is hope however, as I’ve made a promise with myself to invest in a decent digital camera around when Best Buy (hopefully) will hold its annual Father’s Day Sale. I know, I know it’s more than a month away but better late than never! The long-term goal is to save up enough to invest in a DSLR after I can replace my junkie laptop- but that's a whole another story.

Until then, it will most likely be flashbacks…the remnants of my dearly beloved Power Shot and teeny pictures from my Blackberry. But who’s to say "epic fail" when Ruth Reichl manages to vividly draw a mental picture in my head with her image-less tweets, right?

When browsing through pictures of food on my laptop, I couldn't resist the consistent re-occurrence of meatballs. Well, if you know me- it might seem a bit random. I grew up chowing down my mom's spicy Korean concoctions and now have an infinite affinity for exotic cuisine. BUT, my boyfriend Matt is 75% Italian, and he constantly raved about his bisnonna's(great grandmother) melt-in-your-mouth meatballs when we first started dating.

Now about 4 and a 1/2 years(whoa!) and more than a hundred batches of meatballs later, meatballs have been my go-to Italian meal that Matt and my friends and family LOVE. Although it's not quite comparable to his bisnonna's legendary meatballs(she passed in the early 2000s when she was over the age of 100 and nobody knows her meatballs secret), when asked if he prefers steak or meatballs for dinner -- Matt most often opts for meatballs. C'mon, meatballs over steak? That's when I know that my meatballs are becoming more and more legit every time I make 'em!

Growing up in a house without measuring cups and spoons(for the most part anyhow), writing recipes is really difficult for me. But with the help of my growing collection of cookbooks and more time spent in my kitchen, I'm slowly getting the hang of measurements but not quite there yet! So here is a rough estimate of a recipe for my meatballs!



Wannabe Bisnonna's Meatballs (6-8 servings)
printable version

Ingredients:
- 1.5 lb ground chuck (80% lean)
- 0.5 lb ground pork
- 3/4 cup grated parmigiano reggiano
- 1/2 cup grated mozzarella
- 1/2 cup chopped Italian parsley (more if you prefer that green herby bite)
- 3/4 cup breadcrumbs (I use Progresso Italian style)
- 1 large egg
- 1/4 cup 2% reduced fat milk
- 1.5 tbsp kosher salt
- 0.5 tbsp ground black pepper
- 5-8 cups tomato sauce (I use Prego Traditional)
- 1/2 cup of extra virgin olive oil

Mix the meat with 1/4 cup of the chopped parsley, 1/2 cup parmigiano reggiano, all of mozzarella, 1/4 cup breadcrumbs and the egg. Mix with your hands until you see a homogeneous mixture while trying not to overwork it. Slowly add the milk in batches to make sure that it doesn't get too watery.

Put the remaining breadcrumbs on a plate.

Take a big spoonful of the meat mixture, roll it into a circle in your hands. Give the meatball a roll on the plate of breadcrumbs to get a nice crumb coating.

Heat oil in a large saute pan on medium-high heat.

One all of the meat mixture is made into meatballs, start browning the meatballs in batches once oil is hot. A batch of about 10 - 12 meatballs should take no longer than 3-5 minutes to brown. Once each batch is browned, put them in a baking dish(I use a lasagna pan).

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

After the last batch of meatballs are browned, pour the tomato sauce atop the meatballs just enough so that the bottom half of the meatballs are in the sauce while the top half is "naked."

Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes, test a meatball to make sure that it is cooked through. Sprinkle with the remaining parmigiano reggiano, and enjoy!

Most prefer it over spaghetti with garlic bread, but I've seen it go so beautifully on top of roasted potatoes in Nolita's Bread, and my family loves to put leftovers on a hero bun for sandwiches.

Easy Garlic Bread
Sprinkle some olive oil onto think slices of crusty bread and either grill to get nice char marks or broil on high for about 2 minutes on each side. Slice a garlic bulb in half with peel attached. Once the bread is grilled or broiled, rubbed the garlic half onto the bread while still hot. Sprinkle with cheese and a bit of parsley.

Back to the present time- Although Matt's super-carnivorous ways make it so darn difficult, I've decided to practice cutting out a big chunk of my red meat consumption. So I am going vegetarian for a day or two a week, and today happens to be my first! I had my usual bowl of cereal for breakfast and for lunch, some roasted potatoes, carrots and onion with rosemary and thyme leftover from the other night's roasted chicken dinner.

And for dinner? I've been making a fair share of zaru soba, which is a cold buckwheat noodle dish that you dip in chilled dashi broth with wasabi, daikon and chopped scallions topped with slivered nori. To be honest, I chickened out a little on the broth(when I even had konbu and other stuff thanks to mom), and used a store bought broth that I diluted in a bit of cold water. Last two times I've made it with daikon, I just couldn't get the right ratio so I'm sticking without it for now.

Well, here's to a better me and a better world!