Okonomiyaki

Okonomiyaki is literally "as you like it", a popular dish from Japan. The best way to describe it is like a cross between an omlette and pancake.

It has a batter (the same kind used in Tako-yaki I think), and then they add cabbage and your choice of add ins- my favorites are cheese, mochi and asparagus! Then it is cooked in a round flat shape on a griddle (much like a pancake) and served with BBQ-type sauce, mayonaise, aonori (blue seaweed) and katsuobushi flakes.
These pictures are from our dinner at Chibo restaurant in Ebisu Garden Place in Japan.

Daikon Salad

Two different versions- you can change up the ingredients!
We fell in love with the daikon salad at Chibo Okonomiyaki restaurant in Ebisu, Japan (from Ebisu station, follow signs to Ebisu Garden place, then go to 38th floor of the large bulding where all the restaurants are). Daikon is a very mild Japanese radish, it is more like jicama than radish. We ordered this before our okonomiyaki meal.

Here is my stab at recreating it:

Slice 1 daikon into very small matchsticks, then soak in salted water for 10 minutes. Drain, rinse and drain again.

Toss daikon in salad bowl with:
couple sprigs mizuna, chopped into 2 inch lengths (or substitute spinach, cut into strips)
optional: 5 small cherry tomato halves
optional: shiitake mushrooms, thinly sliced
optional: daikon sprouts
optional: abura-age tofu, rinsed and cut into strips

Mix dressing and pour over salad:
2 TB to 1/4 C mayonnaise
2 tea soy sauce
1/4 tea mustard powder
1/4 tea ginger powder
1 TB mirin or water
1- 2 teaspoons rice vinegar (komezu or su)
optional: 1/4 tea lemon zest

Top with:
aonori (powdered nori) or sliced nori
thick strips of katsuobushi (fish flakes)

Chili (with beef and beans)

After eating the chili at Deschutes Brewery, I was hooked! This chili is pretty similar- thick rich flavored chili with some beans and nice chunks of tender steak. I adapted this recipe from Epicurious.

It takes a few HOURS to make, but worth it-- make a huge batch and then freeze a couple dinners for later! Basically, you will need 1.5 hrs to prep (including cutting up the meat), then it will cook for about 3 hours more.

This is great served over brown rice, with sour cream, acovado, lime, and cheese fixins' on top.

Soak 4 large ancho chilies in hot water (or use 2 ancho chilis for less spicy version) . They need to soak for 20-30 minutes so get this started early!

Meanwhile, cut up 3.5 to 4 lbs well marbled beef (brisket or chuck type cuts) into bite size chunks. I like to get free-range, antibiotic free meat from the market for this (cost about $17 from Whole Foods, but worth it!).

Mince, then toss with cut up beef in a bowl:
1 clove garlic
1.5 tea salt
1.5 tea cumin
1.5 tea chili powder (or substitute paprika for less spicy chili)

Chop in a food processor, then scoop into a bowl and reserve:
1.5 white onions (about 1.5 lbs)
2-3 cloves garlic

Puree in food processor for later:
soaked ancho chilies (remove the tops and seeds from inside)
28- 32 oz canned tomatoes in juice (you could use same quantity fresh tomatoes)
1 can (7 oz) chipotles in adobo sauce (or use half can, 3.5 oz for less spicy)
cilantro
2 cloves garlic
1.5 tea salt

In a hot pan with a little olive oil, brown meat in batches, then scoop onto a plate and reserve.

In the same pan with beef bits (fond), add 2 TB more olive oil then saute the chopped onion and garlic mixture for about 8 minutes over medium heat, scraping up beef bits and stirring.

Add to onion mixture and stir:
1 TB cumin
1 TB chili powder (or use paprika for less spicy version)
optional: 1 TB oregano

chopped serrano pepper
tomato mixture from food processor

Now stir in:
beef and juices
2 C water
12 oz beer

Simmer the entire thing for about 2 hours over low heat.

Taste, and add additional serranos if it isn't hot enough. Simmer another hour. Thin with water if necessary.

Shred some of the beef in the pan with two forks, as desired.

Add cooked black beans (either rinsed and drained from a can or beans you have pre-cooked), stir and heat through another 20 minutes or so.

Serve over brown rice, with condiments like:
sour cream
avocado slices
chopped tomatoes
cilantro sprig
grated cheddar cheese
lime wedges

Murgh Makhani (Indian Butter Chicken)

I know it's not truly "authentic" but we love butter chicken anyway- creamy buttery spicy sauce with delicate pieces of chicken- very good on indian breads like nan and pooris.

After scouring the web and a couple tests in the kitchen, this is it!

Prepare ahead by food processing equal parts garlic and ginger until minced or like a paste. Reserve and use as directed below.

Cut 500 grams raw chicken (preferably chicken breast) into thin slices, mix with:
1 tea ginger garlic paste
1 tsp Red chilli powder
1/2 tea coriander powder
pinch salt

In hot pan, shallow fry chicken in 2 TB olive oil until half-cooked and set aside chicken.

In oiled pan with chicken fond (from above), add & cook covered for a bit, pulling up the chicken fond:
2 TB oil 1/2 tsp cumin seeds 1 onion 1 tea garlic ginger paste 4 piece cashew nuts ¼ tea fenugreek seeds little bit of water

Then add:
2 green chilies (Serrano) 2 tea coriander powder 1 tea cumin powder 200 grams tomatoes, chopped (2-3 tomatoes) optional 1/2 tsp Crushed fenugreek leaves (kasuri methi)

Cook it slowly, so the tomatoes are fully mashed. If you don’t cook the tomatoes enough, they will have too much acid- which causes texture problems when you add the cream later. Pour into a blender and whirl until smooth.

In empty pan, melt 100 grams (about ½ C) butter. Be careful not to burn the butter, so do this over low heat.

Add and stir over medium heat:
any water that oozed out of the chicken
whirled tomato-onion mixture
optional: water if needed for consistency

Add ½ C (or 100 grams) cream, stir. DO NOT substitute half & half, it doesn’t have enough fat and will separate when you add it to the sauce.

Add & mix:
¼ tea salt 1/2 tea sugar 1 tea ketchup optional red food coloring
Add half-cooked chicken, cook over medium heat until chicken is fully cooked and sauce is warm. Add sprinkle garam masala at the end.

Caramel Sauce

I tried a few recipes before settling on this to make a small amount (1/2 C) of caramel, just enough to dip apples in or drizzle over ice cream or dessert. The first recipe I tried didn't require a candy thermometer, so I didn't get the right flavor or consistency (I ended up with sweetened condensed milk). I think the important points to a caramel recipe are to use at least some butter (for flavor) and to carefully measure the temperature.

The basic idea is to make sticky caramel and then add cream at the end to make the finished caramel the right consistency.

Melt a little less than 1 TB butter in a small heavy duty saucepan.

Once melted add:
3/4 C brown sugar
3 TB water

Stir over low heat until sugar dissolves, this should just take a couple minutes. After this point, DO NOT STIR as you may re-introduce sugar crystals which will ruin the silky caramel texture. If you do inadvertently do this, you can re-heat the mixture back to the soft-ball stage.

Then cover the pot and let it bubble over medium-low heat for 2 minutes (this is meant to wash any still-crystallized sugar down the sides of the pot).

Now lift the lid, and attach candy thermometer to the pot. Without stirring, continue to cook over medium-high heat until thermometer registers 234 F (soft-ball stage).

Promptly take the pan off heat and let cool for a couple moments. Then add 1/8 tea salt and optional vanilla extract or beans.

Slowly drizzle 1/4 -1/2 C warm cream (you can warm it in the microwave) into the hot caramel, stirring lightly (but don't scrape the edges of the pot). Add as much cream as you need to reach desired consistency.

If you later want a thinner sauce, you can just warm up some cream and slowly mix it into the caramel. Don't try re-heating the whole thing on the stove or you risk ruining the smooth sugar texture.

Thanksgiving 2009

I finally have clearance to do Thanksgiving this year!! Here is my tentative menu so far (trying to keep it "traditional" this year):

Appetizers/Snacks
apple/cheese appetizer plate: granny smith, fuji apples, with blue cheese, extra sharp white cheddar, gorgonzola/brie, "fromage fort" cheese spread. Willamete Valley Cheese Company's "perrydale" cheese

Side Dishes
mushroom risotto with wild rice and Parmesan-Reggiano cheese: use rehydrated shiiatkes, cut up some cremini mushrooms, use white wine (sauvingon blanc) and broth for liquid, wild/brown rice mixture and pressure cook

spinach, goat cheese crumbles, sliced organic gala apples and maple/cinnamon dressing
OR
greens (mizuna, watercress, mesculun), almonds, raspberry vinaigrette

roasted butternut squash slices with goat cheese/herb dressing

Meat
Brined, rubbed, roasted turkey from Diestel Farms. According to this site, you need about 1.5 lbs of raw turkey (with the bone) per person.

Dessert
Silky pumpkin & coconut milk panna cotta

Champagne/sparkling wine: WinCo sells "Ballatore gran spumante" for $5 or less a bottle

Bread Pudding with Cinnamon Raisin Bagels

I have been making variations on cinnamon-raisin-bagel bread pudding, which C really likes. I am finally writing down today's version, with a mashed up banana:

Cut up 2 cinnamon raisin bagels into 1/2 inch slices or smaller.

Mix together:
2 eggs
1 overripe banana
1/2 C half & half (or milk)
2-3 TB sugar
1 tea vanilla
pinch (or 1/8 tea) salt
1/4 tea cinnamon
optional: additional raisins

Layer the bagels (or bread) in a baking dish, or individual ramekins. Pour the liquid mixture over the top, and let set a couple minutes to soak into the bread.

Bake in 350F oven for 30 minutes or so, or until the pudding has set. The pieces of bagel that are sticking out of the liquid should be slightly toasty.

Delicious as is, or serve with whipped cream, caramel sauce, or apple slices.

Roasted Elephant Garlic Butter

Elephant garlic is a huge version of the regular store garlic, and has a mellow garlic taste. Each clove is quite big, which makes it nice for roasting or for making garlic chips. This spread is delicious on crusty bread.

1. Remove papery skin from outside of elephant garlic to expose the cloves. Leave the individual cloves still wrapped.
2. Cut the elephant garlic in half horizontally
3. Place garlic in foil, drizzle 1-2 TB olive oil. Wrap the foil around the garlic, then poke a couple holes with a fork for steam.
4. Bake in a 350 degree oven for at least 40 minutes. Check for doneness- the garlic should be very soft.
5. Remove from the oven. Let cool slightly for saftey. Unwrap foil and slip garlic from the paper skins.
6. Mash roasted garlic with a fork.
7. Add 1-2 TB butter and 1/4 tea salt and mix until combined.
8. Serve on bread or with pasta

Berry Crisp

Pies take a lot of work, and cobblers have too much of that floury dumpling topping for me, so I turn to crisps! It's pretty simple, macerate some berries, mix up some oat/cinnamon crumble, assemble and bake! It is so simple, you can assemble it and freeze until you need it, and then thaw and cook in the oven. Perfect for a potluck!

1. Macerate 4 or so cups of berries with about 2 TB sugar for raspberries, the amount of sugar depends on how sour your berries are. I like my crisp to have a little tartness, so I often add a teaspoon of lemon juice as well. Also add a tad bit of vanilla extract. If you have very runny berries/fruit, you can add a teaspoon or so of thickener like small tapioca pearls or all purpose flour.

2. Soften 1/4 C butter in a medium size bowl the microwave

3. Add to the softened butter and mix with a fork until combined and crumbly:
1/2 C rolled/quick cooking oats
1/2 C brown sugar
1/4 C whole wheat pastry flour (or use all-purpose if that's all you have)
heaping 1/2 tea cinnamon (Costco sells deliciously fresh Saigon cinnamon for a good price)

4. Assemble the crisp: layer the macerated berries in the bottom of a suitably sized pyrex oven safe pan. Then layer the crumble topping.

5. Bake at 350 degrees F for 30-45 minutes (depends on how soft your fruit was, for example if you substituted apples you would want to cook longer, i.e. 45 minutes).

Red Currant Syrup

Red currants are very pretty, and have a great flavor, but don't harken the u-picker to eat off the bush because they are too sour. A syrup is a great way to enjoy red currants, especially over waffles/pancakes or ice cream.

Clean 1.5 -2 C red currants

Add currants to small saucepan over medium heat with 1/4 C water and 1/4 C sugar (or use less depending on your taste)

Simmer for 15 minutes or so until berries are plump

Strain through fine mesh strainer and enjoy!