Kimchi Butter

Two of my favorite things!

This is a recipe from MOMOFUKU MILKBAR, possibly my favorite cookbook for desserts. I may continue on with this recipe and make Kimchi Blue Cheese Croissants… 

FULL RECIPE:

• 90 G KIMCHI (1/2 C)
• 115 G BUTTER, ROOM TEMP (1 STICK, 8 TBS)
• 2 G KOSHER SALT (1/2 TSP)
• 1 G FRESHLY GOUND BLACK PEPPER (1/4 TSP)

Kimchi, freshly ground pepper, kosher salt, butter.

You will need 90 g (1/2 c) of kimchi (pureed as best as you can); 115 g room temp butter (8 tbs); 2 g kosher salt (1/2 tsp); 1 g freshly ground pepper (1/4 tsp).

I do use a scale for the ingredients to be accurate but for the spices that come down to 1-5 grams I use the spoon measurements as my scale is not sensitive enough! 

I also just microwave my butter for 10-15 seconds to soften in, and if it has started to melt in the wrapping I throw it in the freezer for a couple minutes. It’s OK if it is slightly melty.

Completed fluffed up butter.

First, fluff the butter (medium speed 2-3 min).

Add Kimchi, salt, pepper.

Then, add the kimchi, salt, and freshly ground pepper. Continue on medium for another 2 minutes.

Finished – before scrape.

After all ingredients have been properly incorporated and fluffed up, scrape down the bowl. Get the parchment paper ready.

Plop butter onto parchment paper.

Once the butter is on the parchment paper, you may want to mark up the sheet that will go on top if you want a specific size butter (for croissant making).

Start flattening.

If you don’t care about the size, simply flatten gently with your hands or a rolling pin.

Re-adjusted a bit to fit 4″X6″ parameter in case of croissant making.

Then if you change your mind and think croissant making is in the near future, find a ruler, mark up 4″x6″, and scrape and press accordingly.

Put it in the fridge to firm up. You can wrap it in plastic and the kimchi butter pad will keep fresh in the fridge for up to 1 month.

Making Crumb

Milkbar cakes have 4 components:

1) Cake

2) Custard type filling

3) Crunchy stuff (crumb)

4) Icing

Making the crumb is a delicate process but it goes a little something like this.

Step 1: Mix flour,  melted butter, salt, sugar, and milk powder until they are clumpy and nubile.

Step 2: Spread on a silpat (or not) and bake until “sandy” but my oven is crap so I don’t know. (BEFORE)

Step 3: After baking should be “sandy”, again…. idk. (AFTER)

Step 4: Add more milk powder! Then add melted white chocolate (not pictured) and stir around until coated with it and delicious. At this point i messed up and thought that melting chips in the microwave would be good enough but in the end you really need that double boiler action for candy melting. #doubleboilerz4lyfe

Results: Milk Crumb (not my final result photo, as I was stressin’ about that melting life, but thanks to Mynikoneatsfood [damn what a beautiful sight *feels bad about self*] you can see the quintessential milk crumb).

Damn, this shit is dope. It goes in Milkbar cakes, or cookies, or on your lover’s body….what?? 

-M

Don’t Need Ketchup

Original Hippie Hash

Last night as I slunk off from a bar called Rush wondering where I should go since I was now inebriated, alone, and had $12 in my pocket(does anyone else “run away” like this or is it just me?). Fleetwood Diner it is. This place is historic in Ann Arbor, MI. It’s like a cousin of the “hole-in-wall”: hole-in-trailer. The diner itself is literally a trailer.

 

It’s very small, and because of it’s popularity in the magical hours of *drunk* the outdoor seating is used year round. 

I wasn’t that drunk actually. So I pulled up a seat at the bar and just ordered their famous dish- Hippie Hash. Veggies over potato hash with eggs and toast+feta. Truly a perfect combo. And trying to be less annoying I opted out of ketchup and you know what America? You don’t actually need ketchup on everything. IT’S GOOD. ALL GOOD.

 

Culinary Adventure Quest

I was watching Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern  during a lull on my spring break vacation. Kiawah Islands of South Carolina were quite beautiful, but vacation is vacation and you have to sit on the couch some of the time and do things you always do. So yes, I did go all that way to watch t.v?! Anyways, Andrew’s episode was less “bizarre” and more normal. Like Chicago, normal. I wasted no time in noting all the joints he visited and have made it my next adventure to eat at these restaurants:

Alinea

 

This place is more like eating a science experiment than eating at a restaurant. They freeze things, they take the essence out of foods and drink them and make cocktails out of test tubes and eat dessert that looks like an art piece… incredible stuff.

I can’t get over how cool the desserts are. You just eat it right off the table. RIGHT OFF THE TABLE.

Also, don’t even know what these are or taste like….but would one bite= one drink??!!?

So much to ponder.

Xoco

om nom

If you have ever caught a Rick Bayless tutorial on tv, you understand that he’s a cool guy. I have recently become obsessed with Mexican food- and street food is the bomb. It is risky, it is fried, it is delicious. Also Rick Bayless seems like such a nice guy. Hoping to run into him at Xoco and seem like a really cool foodie, chill, young woman, just out enjoying some Mexican street food, hi.

Other restaurants that were mentioned were:

• Blackbird
• Graham Elliot (junk food in a high class wrapper. Modern food essentially)
• Uncle John’s (so low key it don’t have a website)
• Maxwell Street Market (not really a restaurant but um hello mexican food)

 

I can’t wait to try these restaurants! I LOVE FOOD. 

Apple Pie Layer Cake- My Growing Obsession with CHRISTINA TOSI

Momofuku Milkbar Recipe-
Made with Barely Brown Butter Cake, Liquid Cheesecake, Apple Pie Filling, Pie Crumb, Pie Crumb Frosting, and Apple Cider Soak.

Ever since I cashed in on my Discover card points and bought this cook book on Amazon… my outlook on dessert has never been the same. Christina Tosi is the artist+queen of these creations- and they truly are creations. The cook book is an interesting read as well as an instructive. Thanks to this book I now have two 6 inch cake rings, a quarter sheet, and acetate sheets  (all of which were not carried anywhere in a 20 mile vicinity…like really?). I now know the importance of letting something set (and sit; not to be confused). Her crack butter sugar powerpuff girls concoction soaks itself perfectly into the body of the pastry or cake or pie and when you bite into it, it’s like your brain just created another brain and they mated and you now are able to experience a plethora of sensual tastes and smells that were previously impossible and quite frankly insane. A new era of your life has just begun.

In addition to this cake I have so far made these items:

• Birthday Layer Cake
• Crack Pie
• Carrot Layer Cake
• Brownie Pie
• Peanut Butter Cookies
• Blueberry and Cream Cookies
• Volcanoes
• Bagel Bombs

Wow. I have been so involved in eating these goods I have not blogged/taken photos of them. Oops.

 

recipe: meyer lemon pound cake

MADE IT!

Although, I found a few mistakes with this blog post.  The sour cream wasn’t mentioned in the steps (so I omitted it) and the buttermilk was also skipped in directions. The original blog post from Martha Stewart did include the directions for the buttermilk, and did not include the sour cream.

It is very good ! I found that 50 min at 350 F was good for baking the inside but burned the outside slightly. Be sure to use foil on the outside when you start seeing it getting too golden (probably around 20-30 min). 

Madey Edlin

Good morning, Friends!

First off I have a good excuse for not posting: I am back in school full time. And seeing as I am an ex-homeschooled high schooler, it has taken me quite a while to get in the swing of things. Actually I need to stop talking because I am late to class.

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Buttermilk Cheddar Biscuits

Twitter is a really fun way to record thoughts that you forget about!

Forgotten Thoughts:

• What was that song did I sing at Karaoke?
• Oh yea, it was Videophone. And I didn’t know any of the lyrics so I laughed the whole time.
• An Asian Captain America literally tried to beat me up.
• I suggested we go outside, implying I have a black belt in jujitsu or something.
• His friend convened and I commented on the peace and good in people. Bless them, right?

The tweets no longer exist, much like the actual memory of the moment. One tweet that is still there is something that subconsciously influenced this post, I watched a video about biscuits. It was cool. And then I made these. Thanks Ina!!!

• ALL PURPOSE FLOUR
• 1 TBS BAKING POWDER
• 1 1/2 tsp KOSHER SALT
• 12 TBS (1 1/2 STICKS) COLD UNSALTED BUTTER, DICED 
• 1/2 C COLD BUTTERMILK, SHAKEN
• 1 COLD XL EGG
• 1 C GRATED EXTRA-SHARP CHEDDAR
• 1 EGG BEATEN W/ 1 TBS WATER OR MILK

1. preheat oven to 425 F.
2. using electric mixer combine 2 c flour, baking powder, salt. Add butter on low. Mix until butter is pea sized.
3. combine buttermilk+egg in measuring cup with a fork. quickly add to flour mixture until moistened.
4. in small bowl mix Cheddar with handful of flour, then add cheese to the dough- mix only until roughly combined.
5. knead dough 5-6 times, getting all the loose dough incorporated.
6. slap onto a well floured surface and roll it out into a 5×10 rectangle. (or whatever)
7. cut with a knife into whatever you feel like, 8 rectangles, or biscuit penises, or whatever.
8. put the pieces on parchment lined cookie sheet and brush with egg wash (1 egg+ 1 tbs water).
9. sprinkle with sea salt and Cheddar cheese. Bake for 20-25 min.

*Do 1-8 at night and 9 in the morning for super unhealthy and yummy breakfast!

I used Kerrygold Butter (salted) and Tillamook Extra-Sharp Cheddar. O-inducing.

Recipe from Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics– Ina Garten

Spaghetti with Spicy Eggplant

So I have been trying to think of a food that I only ate as a kid that would take me flyin down memory lane, and it’s lead me to think of a lot of other things from my childhood that shaped me. I moved around a little as a child, so my influences are eclectic at best.

I spent most of my childhood indoors watching t.v and reading (I did not play outside or climb trees), so I think T.V is the most important aspect to examine.

• SHOWS I ASSUMED WERE CANADIAN (BECAUSE I LIVED IN MICHIGAN)

1. ARE YOU AFRAID OF THE DARK?- This actually is a Canadian t.v show (Thanks again, Michigan) that I enjoyed for a bit. I remember it was kind of like Goosebumps. Actually I don’t really remember much, but WHATEVER. Here’s Ryan Gosling on it.
2. AROUND THE TWIST- I couldn’t remember the name of this show for the life of me, but I guess googling the only part of any episode I remember “guy uses magic remote to win spaghetti eating contest“ actually came up with the answer: Around the Twist. I thought it was Canadian, but it is Australian. Why was it playing in Michigan? I will never know.

• ACTUAL AMERICAN TELEVISION 

1. POWER RANGERS- I loved the Power Rangers. I made sure I came home every day in time to watch my line-up of 4 1/2 hrs of television- IT WAS NO JOKE. No one disturbed me during this time, it was just me, my family’s tacky 90’s couch with velvet pillows, and a glass of extra salty buttermilk (I’m as clueless on that one as you are). The most concerning aspect of this memory is not that I liked a violent children’s t.v show, that I watered down my buttermilk and put alarming amounts of salt in it, or that I used to watch 4 1/2 hours of television a day as a 6 year old, but that I would pretend I was Divatox. As I watched Power Rangers I literally would take on the role of Divatox in my mind and  I would become her. I would drink my buttermilk like she would have, I would practice the Divatox laugh, I felt evil, and I enjoyed it as a natural part of my day. At the time it was a lot of fun and my family never really questioned me, bless them. I guess it was just the actress in me.
2. BARNEY- No explanation needed. This show was amazing. I even remember a poignant moment in first grade when I got the “troublemaker/bad ass” of the class to admit to me that Barney was cool and that we both had a mutual love for the music bro! To prove that this kid was indeed the “troublemaker/badass” I’ll have you know that he killed some of our class butterflies and always made people cry. What a troublemaker and badass. The one aspect of Barney that comes back to haunt me is that (I think) I recognize when current actors were  kids on Barney. IMDB doesn’t back me up on this but I swear Tina Majorino was on Barney. Apparently Selena and Demi were on Barney though??

So all I can really glean from this analysis is that I liked salty buttermilk and spaghetti? So I’ll skip the buttermilk for now and make a grown up version of Around the Twist spaghetti: Spaghetti with Spicy Eggplant.

Serves 6

• 2 medium eggplants, with skins, 1 in cubes
• 1 Tbs kosher salt
• 1 1/4 c extra-virgin olive oil
• 4 c diced fresh tomatoes
• 10 canned piquillo peppers OR 3 roasted bell beppers (skins and seeds removed, cut in 1/2″ strips)
• 2 Tbs minced garlic
• 2 c Salsa Rossa* OR canned tomato sauce
• 1 c fresh basil leaves, cut in strips
• pinch red pepper flakes
• 2 Tbs fresh oregano
• 2 Tbs chopped Italian parsley
• 1 lb spaghetti
• shaved Parmigiano

1. Cover eggplant with salt so it can dehydrate, leave in a colander for an hour
2. When dehydrated, heat 1/4 c olive oil in skillet and crisp eggplant pieces, one layer at a time, one side at a time. They should be crispy and delectable.
3. In wide pot, heat 1/4 c olive oil, add diced tomates and peppers, cook on high, stirring 3 min. Lower heat, add garlic, cook 2 min. Add eggplant, Salsa Rossa, cook, stir gently, add basil, red pepper flakes, oregano, parsley.
4. In a large pot, boil pasta till done. Reserve some water just in case it’s needed later. Add pasta to the sauce and add water if too dry. Top with shaved Parmigiano.

*Salsa Rossa

• 3 Tbs extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 lb very ripe tomatoes, coarsely chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• pinch red pepper flakes
• 10 fresh basil leaves, chopped
• salt/pepper

You have to make this ahead of time if you want to use it. (Use it, it’s so much better!)

1. Heat olive oil in skillet, add tomates, garlic, red pepper flakes, saute until tomatoes are soft.
2. Stir in basil, add salt/pepper to taste.
3. Puree or leave chunky.

This recipe is from Best of the Best Vol 11 and more specifically Cristina’s Tuscan Table– Cristina Ceccatelli Cook

GRADUATION

As graduation nears I find myself feeling a tumult of emotions:

• Elation- Finally I will have a summer free of classes, free in the truest sense. FREE! My current denial of grad school also has given me a peace of mind I have never known before.
• Weariness- Knowing I must find a job of some sort. Knowing that the search will be long and hard and imagining the amount of positive thinking and effort I will need to put in will be enormous.
• Hope- That I am finally going to be an adult. Not just a kid pretending to be an adult whose parents’ still pay for everything, but an adult who will finally be able to be proud of her possessions and accomplishments because she did them all by herself (well, with a little help, just a little).
• Sadness- That I will be leaving my friends. My best friends that I have made over these 4 amazing years. My roommates are amazing and I know that I won’t have times like these again! These will be the years that we will always miss. We might move away and be unable to see one another for years! It will be very strange.

My good friend, KB, graduated a semester early. At the time, I didn’t even realize all these emotions would be running through me as my graduation approached. To me it was just a bummer that my friend was leaving before us (“You better come back for Little 5! PROMISE?!”) Now I feel her pain/joy. AND it was her birthday AND it was Christmas. WHAT A CLUSTERF***. So to celebrate her birthday/graduation/the holidays I made her these cupcakes. I have been too busy this semester and my cooking buddy, Kristy, also graduated early, so it’s tough to cook yourself and take the pictures. Chocolate cupcakes with cream cheese frosting! I hope she enjoyed them!

MoMo

Black Bottom Banoffee Pie

This pie was interesting, but difficult to make. Instagram photo sesh.

Hand grinding cardamom for the pie. I mixed sugar into it to help grind. Strong spice, use sparingly.

Hand ground pretzels for crust.

98% dark was too dark, it made the pie very bitter. Try milk chocolate.

What a hot mess. Couldn't make it with condensed milk. I'm officially terrible at making caramel! This is a bag of melted caramels with a little cream. Too chewy.

White chocolate for the whipped topping. Delicious, but much too heavy for the cream. Also I had to buy a replacement whisk, terrible.

Finished product. Will not make it again. 😦