Jade and Steve’s Huevos Rancheros (All Things Chill (Special*Dark)) by specialdark@allthingschill.com

I wanted to make a special breakfast before Steve and Jade flew back to SF, so I grabbed a few things from the Ballard market and mashed it up with the leftover grub from Saturday’s BBQ. Enter: HUEVOS RANCHEROS. WHHEEEEEEEE.

Here’s how I layered these bad boys (from bottom to top):

Fried corn tortilla
Black beans (w/ cumin and Mexican oregano)
Grilled corn (cut off the cob)
Ranchero sauce (tomato / ancho / jalapeno)
Fried eggs
Green onions
Grated monterey Jack cheese
Cilantro

I also had a bowl of crispy mojo pork to pick at too. I also served that with a huge plate of chicken hot wings (thanks Dallas). HAHA. Not the most traditional of breakfast side dishes, but these leftovers aren’t gonna eat themselves AND HEY WE’RE ALL ON VACATION. LOL.

Bfast with friends makes food taste better!

~Spec

Tenderloin in Spring (All Things Chill (Special*Dark)) by specialdark@allthingschill.com

Pork Tenderloin Stuffed with Cremini Mushrooms, Goat Cheese and Herbs served with Roasted Spring Onion Bulbs

Larger view here. Pork tenderloin is available at most supermarkets, but it’s really the quality of the meat that prohibits most people from cooking this tender and juicy cut of meat a second time. Because “today’s modern” pig is leaner than ever, pork tenderloin is often served dry and overcooked… pretty much CARDBOARD. *shudder* I hate eating dry pork. Hate hate hate.

So, what should you do? Go to a real butcher. A REAL ONE. Like with the paper hat and the super wholesome smile (lol just kidding). They will carry pork with FLAVOR and even tell you what to do with it when you’re clueless. Also, you can safeguard yourself from a horrible meal by stuffing the damn thing with delicious goodies inside. It thins the meat for faster cooking and gives you a bit more leeway when cooking your roast.

Before we begin, big ups to our landlords - I procured lemon thyme, sage, rosemary from their garden and some wild fennel fronds (sooo tasty) right outside our front door. I HEART FREE HERBS!!! Quick instructions follow:

Butterfly pork tenderloin in half. Pound out until 1/2” thin. Carefully spread your filling on top, starting one inch from the bottom. Roll from the top down and tie with kitchen string.

Here, you can place in plastic wrap and pull from the fridge when you’re ready to cook - I’d give it a few minutes on the counter to get relaxed when it hits the hot pan.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Preheat saute pan over medium high heat. Add 2 rounds of canola oil and preheat as well. Place the pork tenderloins on the pan and dance to the wonderful sound of “the sizzle” and don’t (OMG DON’T) touch it until you see a golden brown color creeping up the sides. Repeat for the rest of the sides and throw in the oven 20- 25 minutes. Pull out of the oven, let it rest for at least 20 minutes on a cutting board and slice evenly.

Serve with roasted onions, garnish ‘em with an herb of your choice (I used wild fennel fronds), make a quick pan sauce (add shallots & white wine, scrape the stuck bits and a whisk in a bit of butter off heat) and plate carefully (PRETTY ROCKS HELP TOO LOL JOKES).

I’ve NEVER liked those Hormel tenderloins you find at Safeway. Like I said, FIND A REAL BUTCHER AND GET TO KNOW THEIR NAME. If you eat meat, chances are you’ll eat meat 40 years from now - might as well start eating the right stuff right away, right? RIGHT? As always, let me know if you have questions!

WHEEE PORK TENDERLOINZ.

~Spec

Kiss my Halibut Cheeks, Get in my Korean Pork Belly! LOL. (All Things Chill (Special*Dark)) by specialdark@allthingschill.com

Grilled Pork Belly Kimchi Buta with Halibut Cheek and Leek Scrape Buchimgae

I managed to get my hands on a few fatty pieces of pork belly from Ballard Market a few weeks ago and finally found the time to cook it. YAY. I was so excited I jumped out of bed, washed my hands, threw on my gloves, pulled it from the freezer, threw it the sink to defrost, placed my hands on my hips and said to myself…

“…now what.” LOL.

I’ve had a lingering thoughts about this meat/fat layered protein ever since it exploded onto the Internet. There was that peanut-butter pork belly that was all over the webz, the many times I tried it at restaurants around San Francisco (DTRB did it with bitter greens) and the fact that it received so much damn interest because YES VIRGINIA, it is “raw” form of bacon.

I ended up scoring the fat 1/2” deep with a knife and marinated the 2 1lb. slabs in 1/2 cup soy, 1 tbsp. of sesame oil, 1/4 cup of white wine vinegar, a squeeze of honey, a few knobs of ginger, 2 garlic cloves and 1 stalk of “back of knife beaten” lemongrass in a zip top plastic bag overnight to get it sexy for the next day.

I started up my grill (switching to hardwood charcoal next -thanks cb!) and placed the meat on a canola oil greased grate directly over the fire for about 5 minutes each side. I then let it cook over indirect heat for another hour, until the fat separated into cute lil’ diamonds like you can see here:

Sexy. After allowing the meat to rest for 15 minutes, I carefully sliced the meat into uniform chunks - the fat is quite delicate so sharp knives will help in your presentation. I then combined it with kimchi (in honor of Kushibar’s kimchi buta) and a few quicly pickled leek scrape buds for color and sharp onion flavor that I picked up from the Ballard farmer’s market last Sunday.

Assuming you receive a bit of everything in each bite, you’ll instantly feel the heat and tartness from the kimchi, a spike of brightness from the leek, the satisfying bite from the pork and the luscious, rounded layer of fat melting in your mouth, begging to be equalized by a small cloud of piping-hot, freshly cooked white rice…

…ROFL.

*ahem*

WHOA. Got a little explicit with the description there! So to recap: marinade, grill direct heat then indirect, let rest and combine with kimchi and serve with white rice. There ya go!

The side dish was an adaptation of this recipe from MyKoreanKitchen of buchimgae (Korean pancake) using halibut cheeks, leek scrapes, shiitake mushrooms and carrot. I’ve got a bit of batter left, so there might be a video forthcoming! WHEEEE.

YAY. Pork belly!

~Spec

HD Video Blog: How to Make Lumpia (All Things Chill (Special*Dark)) by specialdark@allthingschill.com

Youtube link here. LUMPIA = FILIPINO EGG ROLLS. YAY. I can’t really add more than what’s already in the video, other than it was made with my Kodak Zi6 and iMovie ‘09. I had a great time making the video since I actually took the time to plan it all out instead of leaving the camera on and hoping for the best. Hee hee.

Equipment list:

Crate and Barrel Veggie Peeler
Wusthof Grand Prix II Chef’s Knife
Cuisinart DLC-5BK 7-Cup Capacity Food Processor
Frying pan (deep fryer for mass quantities)
Baking sheet
Cooling rack
Tongs
Ramekin for sauces

Ingredient list:

2 Carrots
3 Stalks of celery
1 Large onion
2 cloves garlic
2 green onions (put in with the other veggies)
1 lb. ground pork
1 lb. ground beef (85% lean)
3 tbsp. soy sauce
1 tbsp. sesame oil
1 tbsp. cornstarch
Canola oil, enough for 1/2 inch up pan
2 packages of Menlo brand wrappers (30 sheets each)
Shredded cabbage for garnish

Dipping sauce:
1 side Hoisin (LOL NOT HUNAN) sauce
1 side Sriacha sauce

Video notes:

* To defrost eggroll wrappers, leave it out flat on your counter in a container until it reaches room temp. Microwaving / running under cold water makes them mushy.

* While wrapping rolls, keep a damp towel on wrappers so they don’t dry out.

* You can get about 3 eggrolls from one wrapper, two if you want bigger rolls.

* Yes, you can eat the cabbage, but it’s mainly for looks.

* I really like a big container of white vinegar with a bit of soy and a splash of tabasco for my eggrolls… oh AND A BIG POT OF RICE. But that’s just me. Hee hee.

* When you’re finished with your batch, tightly place them in single layers, separating with wax paper. Freeze for a few hours, transfer to big ziptop bags and store for up to 6-months. Go ahead and fry them right out of the icebox, but beware of oil splatters!

* You can quote me on this: Playing Halo makes the marination perform better. LOL.

Like I said before, it was a lot of fun making this video. I hope you enjoyed watching it!

~Spec

Spring Scallops, Shiitakes and Sea Beans (All Things Chill (Special*Dark)) by specialdark@allthingschill.com

Seared Scallop with Shiitake Mushrooms and Sea Beans

Larger view here. Liana and I rolled down to the Ballard Sunday Farmer’s Market to get a few things: eggs, a hot dog (lol) and flowers. We came back with so much more. LORDY. LOL.

During this eversosmall sliver of Spring, so many “windows” are open for interesting seasonal produce. Fiddlehead ferns, which I cooked with a few weeks ago probably have about 2 weeks left. Garlic and leek scapes (think a tender asparagus-like part of a young garlic / leek stalk) just hit the market. The first batches of Spring Mix greens are being sold with tender flower petals strewn in. Green garlic (the bulb of young garlic) will be here for a bit too!

We came home with eggs from Skagit River, a piece of carrot cake from “Honey, I’m Home” catering (OMG HUGE SLAB OF CREAM CHEESE), a few pounds of sea beans and garlic and leek scapes. Liana ended up with a beautiful bunch of peonies too!

Today also marked the inaugural opening out MoshiMoshi’s Sunday brunch! We stopped in to say hello and wish them well and we ended up having two bloody marys that the bartender Eric created. Infused with lemongrass, the vodka was deceptively smooth and had FRESH horseradish AND sriracha (lol). Word to the wise, if you try one (and subsequently finish off your gf’s portion), get from your chair SLOWLY. That first step is a doosy. LOL.

On the way back, I was thinking about the sea beans. Their crisp green bean-like crunch with a rush of briney liquid could only be described as an bite from an unripened watermelon with a heavy hand of salt. They’re DELICIOUS and hilarious to see people sample one. Confusion, then a look of savory satisfaction. I had to HAD TO use them in yesterday’s dinner so we walked a few more blocks over to Ballard Market to pick up some BEAUTIFUL scallops.

On with the dish construction:

Shiitake Mushrooms
I cleaned and sliced the fresh shiitake mushrooms in 1/4” match sticks and set aside. I preheated a pan over medium high heat and then added canola oil and preheated that too (important!). I added the mushrooms and let sit for three minutes before tossing in some minced garlic. Once the garlic has been cooking for 2 minutes, I scooped out the contents, placed it in a small ramekin and set aside for plating.

Sea Beans
The sea beans were soaked in water for 20 minutes (in case there was any residual dirt / sand) and then blanched in boiling water for 45 - 60 seconds. They were removed and placed in an ice water bath to cool and then set aside for plating.

Using chopsticks (if you’re able to), pull your sea beans and mushrooms into a tight circle. Layer the mushrooms and sea beans on top of each other to create some “height” in the dish. Like this:

As for the seafood…

Three scallops (1 per person) were CAREFULLY rinsed with water and pat dry (and I mean DRY) with paper towels. I preheated a stainless-steel pan (not nonstick) over medium high heat. Next, I added clarified butter and canola oil to preheat (again, super important that you preheat). Once you see wisps of smoke, CAREFULLY add your scallops. You should instantly hear a SEARING sound. That’s good. Now, don’t touch them for 4 minutes. You should see that golden brown crust creep up the sides of the edges. After 4 minutes, flip and cook for another 2. Scallops as a rule should be served a bit medium rare, with a bit of translucence in the middle. Place on top of the “nest” and garnish with whatever you had - I used our neighbor’s flowering broccoli raab!

With a squeeze of lemon juice on top and a few drops of good quality olive oil, it really screams SPRING! Since that was our appetizer, I ended up making dijon mustard pork chops and the garlic scapes for our main course - but that’s for another post.

Maybe

~Spec

Still Grillin’ - Clam/Corn Contraption (All Things Chill (Special*Dark)) by specialdark@allthingschill.com

This is what you do when you don’t have much grill space because you bought too much white sweet corn (3 for $1) but you still want to cook the manila clams that you bought ’cause you need more room for the chicken wings and the salsa with roasted anaheim, Jalapeno and dried (and then reconstituted in warm water) New Mexican peppers is running out because that’s all there is to eat but this is how it all came out:

Also, no leftovers. Sad.

~Spec

HD Video Blog: Cheese and Wine Weekend in Washington (All Things Chill (Special*Dark)) by specialdark@allthingschill.com

Youtube link here. Liana, Don, Matt, Deb and myself hit up the Seattle Wine and Cheese Festival last weekend. Pike Place Market is even MORE overwhelming on a festival day compared to a regular sunny weekend. Taste of Chicago overwhelming (shudder lol). Everyone was pleasant and very conversational aaaaannnnddd… surprisingly… there weren’t any drunkards out and about in the afternoon (I’M LOOKING AT YOU OAKLAND lol).

From what I can tell from my chicken scratch and my random notes, we tried the following wines at the wine garden (read: cramped tent with tables for each vendor). The notes below the vineyard were from the wine garden flyer - kinda fluffy, but pretty much spot on. I stayed mostly with white wines because it was such a sunny day out and I didn’t want to get the red wine sweats. LORD KNOWS I’VE BEEN THERE BEFORE. Here we go!

Spain
Licia Albarino
Fresh and elegant on the palate with a clean, crisp finish
Cheese pairing: Cypress Grove, Midnight Moon

Vina Reboreda
A light refreshing white wine from Spain. Crisp and clean with a bright finish. Perfect with seafood.
Cheese Pairing: Cypress Grove, Midnight Moon

Italy
Kris Pinot Grigio
Pale yellow with aromas of citrus and tangerine as well as hints of apricot and almonds. Clean and refreshing.
Cheese Pairing: Sierra Nevada, Caprae Chevre

France
Campuget Tradition Rough
Scents of ripe fruit dominated by black currants mingle with hints of spice and pepper. Round and harmonious
Cheese Pairing: Kerrygold, Dubliner

I enjoyed all of them except for the French wine - way too spicy. It would have been nice if they served cheese with them (or hell if I’m complaining, caviar lol) but they weren’t very stingy with the pours and people were willing to answer any question about grape varietals and tasting notes.

We tried cheeses from all around the world and the only one that really stood out to us (besides Cypress Grove Cheese, which we’re already quite familiar with) was “Remembrance” from Tumalo Farms in Oregon. Information from their site follows:

A creamy farmstead goats milk cheese made with high desert rosemary. It has soft, clean, pleasant aroma and taste of rosemary. The finish is wonderfully long.

Texture: Semi-soft; cooked,pressed. Scattered rosemary leaves
Affinage: 8-10 weeks, wiped and turned daily. Cellar aged at 58º F and 85% RH
Available all year - Sold by the pound
Suggested Wine Pairings: Sauvignon Blanc / Viognier
Ingredients: Pasteurized Grade-A goats milk, culture, rennet, salt and high desert rosemary

If you try any of the wines or cheeses, let me know. I’d love to hear any other recs you can dish out! Also, one more thing…

YAY TO NON-LACTOSE INTOLERANCE!

~Spec

A Chicken Supreme, Where Culinary Inspiration Comes From (All Things Chill (Special*Dark)) by specialdark@allthingschill.com

Sauteed Chicken Breasts with Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Fiddlehead Ferns and Sauce Supreme

Thanks to the fine folks whom I met yesterday at the Seattle food blogger / writer meetup (more on that later!), I had an insane desire to cook something refined using some of the produce that I bought locally around this fine city. Geeking out with like-minded people (who may or may not be geeks lol) always gets the creative juices flowing. I don’t think I’ve said it before, but I really love Seattle. WHEEEEE. Fabrication deets follow below:

Chicken Breast
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Preheat saute pan over medium-high heat. Add in canola oil and preheat for another minute. Pat chicken breasts dry and add healthy pinches of Kosher salt and freshly cracked pepper to the chicken breasts. Add the “presentation side” of the chicken breasts down on the pan and let sit for 4 minutes (seriously, don’t touch!), or until you can see the edges crisp up and become golden brown. Flip breasts over, add 1 tbsp. of butter and throw the pan in the oven for another 8 minutes, or until cooked through.

Garlic Mashed Potatoes
Staple side dish. The potatoes were peeled and started in a pot of cold water with 5 hearty pinches of Kosher salt. Bring to a boil and bring it down to a simmer until fork-tender. While you’re waiting, throw 3 heads of garlic, minced into a pan with 1 tbsp. of butter and let it sweat over low heat until the potatoes are done. Drain the potatoes, add chicken stock (if you have any), a splash of milk or cream and add the garlic and butter. Mash to your heart’s content!

Fiddlehead Ferns
The fiddlehead ferns from Sunday’s Ballard Farmer’s Market, following the instruction I received from the people at the meetup yesterday (awesome, btw), only need a quick blanch (35 seconds) in boiling water to get them clean. Drop in an ice bath and serve simply. I liken them to a crisp and hollow green bean - super light and tasty!

Sauce Supreme
The sauce supreme requires 2oz. of unsalted butter and flour (yes, by weight). Melt the butter in the pan over medium heat and slowly whisk in the flour and cook until you start smelling roasted nuts and the color is a VERY light beige. If you think you messed up, start over, it only costs $0.20 for both ingredients!

Once your roux is sexy and thick, slowly whisk in 2 cups of good quality chicken stock (homemade makes everyone happy!) until completely combined. Set aside. ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED: Congrats, you’ve made veloute, one of the French mother sauces! But wait, there’s more!

In another pan, add 2 tablespoons of butter and saute off 1 tablespoon shallot. Add 1 glug (lol. 1/4 cup) of white wine and reduce it until 80% has evaporated. Add the 1/2 cup of cream and heat until barely simmering. Sloooooowly add the cream to the roux / stock mixture until combined. Add in Kosher salt and black pepper (white if you’ve got it) so it tastes a bit saltier than you actually want and serve! I’ve always thought that sauces should always taste a bit stronger so that the mellow flavors in the dish can counteract them - more harmony with flavors, rather than “individual notes.”

NOW, just plate how you would like! I spooned the sauce on the bottom of the plate, added the mashed potatoes in a metal round (for shape), sliced the chicken breasts on the bias and TIGHTLY laid them next to the potatoes, added the fiddleheads on top and garnished with minced parsley for freshness and color.

Whew.

IT’S NOT AS BAD AS YOU THINK LOL. As long as you keep tabs on what’s going on your stove and in your oven, you’ll be fine. If you have questions, let me know! I’m always here to eat… er… HELP.

HELP.

~Spec

HD Video Blog: CSA Brka - Brka - Breakdown (All Things Chill (Special*Dark)) by specialdark@allthingschill.com

Watch it in HD here! We got our second New Roots Organics CSA delivery yesterday and I did a quick video to show what was inside. Essentially, I give them $25 every other week, and I get a box full of beautiful organic produce! Think a “less-evil” Peapod - LOL JUST KIDDING YOU GUYS. Here’s what we got:

Braeburn Apples x4
D’Anjou Pears x4
Minneola Tangelos x4
Butter Lettuce x1 Bunch
Asparagus x1lb
Broccoli x1 Bunch
Carrots x1 Bunch
Zucchini x1 lb
Strawberries x1 lb
Spring Onions x1 lb
Hass Avocados x2

Everything looked great (even though I think I was missing another avocado hee hee)! We haven’t had any problems so far. I’m super excited for the butter lettuce - uuultra light salad - and the spring onions - chicken served en papilote - just with REAL parchment paper this time. Hee hee.

If you’re looking for a CSA for your home, check out localharvest.org. They have tons of information on online retailers, farm blogs and seasonal recipes to make whenever and wherever you are. If you’re still on the fence, my friend Jeters has been doing a “CSA vs” series on her blog. CHECK IT OUTS!

YAY Seasonal eating!

~Spec

Champion of Champong, Bulging from Bulgogi! (All Things Chill (Special*Dark)) by specialdark@allthingschill.com

KOREAN FOOD TUESDAY! lol jokes. It’s been cooooold and rainy here in Seattle the past few days, and with me being a bit sick, I needed to make something with a bit of bite to jump start my work week.

Bulgogi - made just like my video on kalbi with the only difference being the choice of meat. Ballard Market had a special on big 2lb. hunks of boneless chuck roast ($5!!!), which has a good amount of fat and a great beefy flavor.

Normally used for long braises because the meat and connective tissue take a long time to break down, chuck roast *can* be cooked quickly IF sliced thinly. So I broke down the slices with a long 10” slicing knife (you could totally use a sharp 8” chef’s knife for this) and marinated the slices in a bowl overnight - the acids in the marinating liquid break down the meat and make it tender and easy to eat! All you need to do then is spread the pieces evenly on a foil-lined baking sheet and broil on high until bits get charred on top! *pushes glasses up with a finger* ENOUGH FOOD SCIENCE, MOAR COOKING!

The champong, spicy Korean seafood soup, is always mandatory when Liana and I head out to a Korean restaurant. It’s her favorite. It was kinda last-minute, but I threw in…

8 cups of homemade chicken stock (use broth if you want)
1 bunch of green onions chopped into 1.5” pieces
a healthy handful of bean sprouts
3 garlic cloves
1 small nub of ginger
3 tablespoons of Korean red pepper paste

…in a pot and brought to a boil. I then dropped in some shredded chicken breast and (previously frozen) calamari rings and lowered it to a light simmer for 30 minutes. I scooped it in a bowl and dropped an egg inside and threw down immediately with a big bowl of rice! I made the soup without the use of any of the traditional Korean flavor bases like KELP or indigenous (lol did I just write indigenous?) veggies. I’m sure it made a difference, but I’ll make it right next time, next time. Hee hee.

Oh, if you were wondering, the list of “accoutrements” follow (top to bottom):

Tofu with sesame oil, sesame seeds, a touch of soy and green onions
Kimchi, straight up
Corn (added furikake afterwards in honor of Playground)
Quick pickle (salt, sugar rice wine vinegar) of cucumber and red onions

It was a tasty meal that could have fed 4 to 5 people - more than enough for leftovers the next day. Hee hee.

Check out the aftermath. LOL.

~Spec

Newsflash - Tuna Tartare “Beets” Death! (All Things Chill (Special*Dark)) by specialdark@allthingschill.com

1st Course: Beet and Tuna Tartare with Wasabi Cream
2nd Course: NY Strip Steak with Zucchini Ribbons and Chimichurri Sauce

Tuna tartare isn’t dead! YAY. I’ll be honest. I have to give credit where credit is due. The one time I have seen this delicious combination of beets and tuna was 3 years ago at the Lark Creek Steakhouse in downtown San Francisco under chef Jeremy Bearman - who incidentally is the new chef at Rouge Tomate NYC. Jeremy sent this out to me between courses of chorizo butter (omg yes I know) and the most sexy ribeye and luxurious sauces, so remembering the exact flavors were impossible to recollect… but I *did* remember something:

It started with the deep maroon color. I mentioned to the server that the colors were beautiful and the cream had such a distinct shade of green from the wasabi paste - he waited for me to taste it first before he told me the basic ingredients: beets and sashimi grade tuna. It blew my mind.

So, when I remembered I had beets waiting for me at home, I decided to stop by Pure Food Fish (they’re a bit pricier, but they’ve never let me down) and grab a small chunk of tuna and give it a shot. I mean, if I struck out, I’d be out $8, right? RIGHT. ADVENTURE COOKING AHOY. LOL.

Beet Component
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Take 3 beets, cut off tops with a paring knife, sprinkle with Kosher salt and pepper and individually wrap in foil. Place beets on baking sheet and bake for at least one hour, or until beets are fork tender (trust me, it’ll be at least an hour). Pull out of oven to cool and use a paring knife to take off the thin layer of skin. Carefully slice into 1/4 inch cubes.

Tuna Component
8oz. of sashimi grade tuna, cut into 1/4 inch cubes and set aside. 15 minutes before serving, add 1 tablespoon of dark soy sauce and carefully mix with your hands or a spoon.

Wasabi Cream Topping
Take 2 teaspoons of wasabi paste and 1 cup of ice cold heavy whipping cream and beat until you see soft peaks from your whisk. You may have to play around with the ratios since different people have varying degrees of wasabi tolerance - and that’s saying it politely. Hee hee.

Right before you plate, ccaaarrreeefully mix the beets and tuna together. You’ll notice that the beets will impart a bit of its color onto the fish cubes. Spoon into serving vessel and then top with wasabi cream. Serve with slices of lemon!

The sweetness of the beets butts up right against the salty soy and freshness from the tuna. The wasabi cream reminds the brain that each bite is somehow familiar… but the overall experience is new.

As for the steak and chimichurri sauce, you can find them here and here (I subbed mint for cilantro for the sauce). For the zucchini, I just took long slices of the squash with a veggie peeler and boiled them for a minute and tossed with olive oil, Kosher salt and freshly cracked pepper!

Stop eating boring tuna -> stop having a boring life (thx Clint!) LOL.

YAY for great color contrasting plating!!!

~Spec

Back to Chicken Breasts (with Pasta) (All Things Chill (Special*Dark)) by specialdark@allthingschill.com

CHICKEN CHICKEN CHICKEN. LOL. Last month, I decided that I’ve favored the beautiful chicken thigh/leg meat to breast meat for far too long. I always choose it due to the fact that it has a deeper flavor profile during stews and marinades… which is true, but that doesn’t mean that breast meat isn’t delicious too!

Thankfully my local QFC (Think the midpoint between a Safeway and a Whole Foods) had a great deal on locally grown organic chicken breasts so I picked up 2-three pound packages and portioned out two breasts to each zip top bag, tagged them with “what” and “when” and threw everything in a freezer. It was even cheaper than breaking whole chickens down themselves! All I have to do now is pull them out in the morning and when I get home, I have two beautiful chicken pieces to work with!

Chicken breasts don’t need long to cook, so I made a quick saute of chicken scallopini with a lemon-caper sauce on pasta with mushrooms and arugula. Instructions follow bellloooowwwwww:

Cut 1 chicken breast in half lengthwise, lay a sheet of plastic wrap on top and pound each slice out with a mallet / pan until thin - about 1/3 of an inch’. Coat chicken with flour, Kosher salt and freshly cracked pepper and preheat a pan over medium high heat. Add oil (I used a mixture of olive and canola -eyeballed 2 to 1 ratio) and wait for wisps of smoke and CAREFULLY lay the chicken AWAY from you so oil doesn’t splatter on your favorite shirt. Cook until golden brown on one side and then flip for another minute.

Once you pull the chicken from the pan, drain excess oil and add minced shallot and garlic - about 1 tablespoon each. When fragrant, add red pepper flakes (1 tsp) and 1 cup of tasty white wine. If you’re also making pasta, add about 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid, the juice of 1/2 a lemon, some sauteed mushrooms and arugula. Reduce by half, take off the heat and whisk in 3 tablespoons of butter cut into small cubes.

Combine the sauce and drained pasta (I used spaghetti, would’ve liked linguine!) and top with crispy chicken. Garnish with parsley, Parmesan cheese or toasted nuts and serve.

The meal was brought to you by Ella and Louis Again, another vinyl gem we found scourging the thrift stores during our trip in Portland last weekend.

It’s a simple dish that has a bit of crunch, a creamy sauce, peppery notes from the arugula, earthiness from the mushrooms and a bit of brightness from the lemon juice. Perfect for a weeknight meal, but unfortunately, it doesn’t allow for leftovers the next day. Hee hee.

YAY CHIX + PASTA

~Spec

Taterpot, Taterpot, Does Whatever a Taterpot Can (All Things Chill (Special*Dark)) by specialdark@allthingschill.com

Taterpots! Liana and I picked this lil’ guy up from Greg’s on Hawthorne street (OMG cuuuute neighborhood) last weekend. Clifford, his newly ordained name, has the ability to look totally like a potato *AND* grow small herbs out of a little hole in his head. Doesn’t he look happy in the picture AND in the video? Aren’t we great at following really simple directions? Hee hee.

They come in two different shapes (slim and shorty) and have a good amount of herb choices available - we chose basil just in case we get a hankering for a simple pasta dish. We’ll keep a weekly (maybe bi-monthly) account of his progress, so stay tuned! Hee hee.

YAY CLIFFORD!

~Spec

There’s a Flower on my Kale (Raab)! (All Things Chill (Special*Dark)) by specialdark@allthingschill.com

A few weeks back, Liana and I subscribed to New Roots Organics, a CSA based not far from where we live. CSA stands for community supported agriculture - essentially, you pay a CSA money for access to tons of in-season, local (when possible), organic and sustainable produce. Some have a pickup service at specified locations and others, like New Roots, leave a hefty Rubbermaid container on your doorstep.

Well, we received our first shipment yesterday ON EARTH DAY. YAY. We received two of the following: cameo apples, minneolas, D’Anjou pears and a cute pint of strawberries as well as a big hefty bunch of arugula, some fatty carrots, two crowns of broccoli, romaine lettuce, 1 leek, 2 zucchini, 3 potatoes from Oregon and locally grown wkale raab - kale that has been allowed to flower.

I decided to cook the kale raab first, since it looked like the most delicate item in the box. Since it’s a CSA, I gave it a good rinse in the sink and allowed it to dry a bit before cooking - organic doesn’t mean CLEAN, k? Kaies.

I preheated a pan over medium heat, then added good Spanish olive oil and preheated that until wisps of smoke emit from the pan. I then added the kale raab and sprinkled a heavy hand of Kosher salt and freshly cracked pepper on top. After 3 minutes, I added three cloves of minced garlic and a pinch of red pepper flakes for heat. 1 minute later (or when the garlic fragrance is strong), I splashed in 3 tablespoons of chicken stock (you could use veg. stock or white wine here) and carefully plated it. I garnished with a few toasted hazelnuts and finished it with a squeeze of lemon juice and a bit of olive oil around the plate (pretty, no? hee hee). FINISHED!

I’d rock these out with a fatty pork chop or a perfect filet of halibut. I ate the WHOLE plate with the support of a crunchy toasted baguette and creamy slices of brie. I *love* eating in season - it’s mother nature’s way of planning a menu!

Thank you Spring!

~Spec

New New New! Our New Kitchen Nook / Dining Area (All Things Chill (Special*Dark)) by specialdark@allthingschill.com

A bit of a serious-toned night shot and an informal HAY LIANA WHAT ARE YOU DOING ON OUR NEW TABLE video blog! I know you probably don’t peruse the IKEA catalogs regularly, but our table is the UTBY, a great wood / stainless modern combination bar table used for our lil’ kitchen nook! If you didn’t notice, the picture is more recent with a few of my favorite food photographs hung on metal frames. ON TO THE FOOD!

The salad was made mostly of mixed baby greens. I toasted some hazelnuts and crushed them in a kitchen towel and a meat pounder to achieve that “aquarium gravel” size (sorry, that’s the best comparison I could think of LOL) while the pomegranate and cranberries were dried and reconstituted for a few minutes in hot water. I added a bit of champagne vinaigrette and dressed the salad by hand. (Note: I didn’t realize that hazelnuts and pomegranate seeds go wonderfully together. It doesn’t necessarily convey “OMG SPRING IS HERRREEEE,” but it was nice to file that flavor combination away in my head.)

The steak was seared on a medium high heat pan and finished in a 350 degree oven until a juicy medium rare - finished off with a bit of fleur de sel (fancy French sea salt) for a tiny crunch and savoryness!

YAY FIRST MEAL AT THE TABLE!

~Spec

ATTENTION: Miso Butter Will Rule the World. (All Things Chill (Special*Dark)) by specialdark@allthingschill.com

WOW IT’S BEEN A WHILE, HUH? LOL SORRIES. It was supposed to be 72 degrees outside yesterday, so I invited Deb and Matt over to have dinner since they originally asked us to go to a baseball game today. INVITES BEGET INVITES - KARMA PEOPLES, KARMA!

So, I twittered (follow that link Joy!) the following:

Dinner with Deb & Matt! Negima (Chicken/GrnOnion Skewers), Salad with Ginger Dressing & Strip Steaks with Mushrooms & Miso Butter

Fabrication deets follow

Negima (Grilled chicken with green onions on a skewer)
Cut chicken breasts into 1” pieces. Cut green onions the same length and cook directly over the grill, basting with teriyaki sauce.

Marinated Mushroom Skewers
Marinade mushrooms in 1/2 cup soy sauce, 3 tbsp. sake, 1 tbsp. mirin, 2 minced cloves of garlic, 1 slice of ginger minced, 1 tsp. of red pepper flakes and a few drizzles of canola oil in a ziptop bag for at least 1 hour. Skewer and grill next to negima.

Strip Steaks with Miso Butter
Pat steaks dry with paper towels and coat with freshly cracked pepper and Kosher salt. Throw on an insanely hot grill and sear for at least 4 minutes. Flip for another minute (3 for well done), set aside on a clean platter and add a nub of miso butter to melt while the meat rests for at least 15 minutes.

Miso butter
2 tablespoons of lightly colored miso, 1/2 cup of unsalted GOOD QUALITY butter, 3 minced cloves of garlic, lemon zest and minced parsley. Work everything in a bowl and once everything is combined, carefully place the mixture on a sheet of plastic wrap and roll out until it forms a cylinder with a 1” diameter. Freeze and cut slices off whenever you want!

So what’s most interesting is that the butter absolutely transforms this firmer cut of steak (as opposed to the ribeye) into something MEATIER than it already is. Why?

Well, I’ve noticed in a lot of vegetarian recipes, there’s the addition of an umami component - what’s called the “5th basic taste” - added to boost the oomph value with sweet, bitter, sour and salty flavors. You can get umami from mushrooms, soy sauce, seaweed and… MISO PASTE. If you add umami to MEAT, THE MOST UMAMI-EST THING EVER, what do you get? OMG DELICIOUSNESS.

I will TOTALLY keep a batch of the butter around just in case a dish is in need of a lil’ somethin’ somethin’ - you should too! Butter is an unbelievable tool in the kitchen!

WOOP WOOP BUTTA BUTTA.

~Spec

St. Patty’s Day Lunch / Dinner / Breakfast(?) (All Things Chill (Special*Dark)) by specialdark@allthingschill.com

Happy St. Patrick’s day! Stayed up late two nights ago to start / finish a package of local hunk of 30-day brined (!!!) corned beef. I finally got to finish it off today by straining the liquid (filled with whole cloves and other spices) and cook big luxurious leaves of cabbage (lol yes, luxurious). Packing it up for lunch (omg I love white rice lol) and saving some for our dinner tonite… but tomorrow.

Tomorrow will be delicious. REAL CORNED BEEF HASH. It will be DEEEELICIOUS! Stay tuuuned!

YAY corned beef!

~Spec

Video Blog: How To Braise Lamb Shanks (All Things Chill (Special*Dark)) by specialdark@allthingschill.com

Another installment of “take video, edit and overdub vocal track.” YAY. I doubled the speed and when I recorded the audio, I felt really rushed - even though I had a makeshift outline / script to help me out - so sorry in advance if you’re stressed out by the end of the video. LOL.

The video really provides the basics (AND MY ULTRA FAST KNIFE SKILLZ HAHA), but if you’d like to check out a more detailed recipe, head over to this page where you can see one of the photos that was featured on San Pelligrino’s website! Hee hee.

As far as taste goes, the lamb’s “game-iness” gets quite subtle after cooking for so long. Since it’s pea season, I’ve been meaning to get the leftover meat into ravioli, top with some of the braising liquid and toasted hazelnuts and carefully place them in a fresh minted pea puree. I even got these really cute plates for them. LOL.

I hope you enjoy the mini-show!

~Spec

Bento Box Brussel Sprouts (All Things Chill (Special*Dark)) by specialdark@allthingschill.com

Bento box! LOL. Pork loin stuffed with a mushroom and bacon stuffing and my honest to goodness RIGHT NOW favorite vegetable: brussel sprouts.

Seriously!

I’ll pick some up tomorrow and shoot a quick video, but all you need to do to prep them is to rip off the outer leaves cut them in thin slices with a bit of the root intact (so they keep their shape). My favorite way of cooking them is a simple four step process:

1. Blanch 1 pound of sliced sprouts in salted (Kosher or sea) boiling water for 10 seconds - the slices are thin and don’t take long at all.
2. Pull out slices with a slotted spoon and shock in ice water
3. Dry with paper towels and lay on a sheet pan with 2 cloves minced garlic, good quality olive oil, Kosher salt and freshly cracked pepper.
4. Broil on low for two minutes until some pieces have a wonderful golden color on the edges.

What you’ll get are little nuggets of salty and semi bitter greens with a satisfying crunch here and there. Add some bacon and potatoes and top with a poached egg and you’ll have yourself a really GREAT breakfast hash.

Look for the video later this week - try and pick up a pound tomorrow in preparation!

YAY BRUSSEL SPROUTS!

~Spec

Just Another Steak & Salad. SRSLY. (All Things Chill (Special*Dark)) by specialdark@allthingschill.com

Busy at works. Ribeye steaks, soft-boiled eggs and an avocado, orange salad with a champagne vinaigrette (add some julienne’d red onion if your girlfriend isn’t allergic hee hee) . Something for me and something for her. Trying to cook more this week!

Stay tuned.

~Spec

Writing Again: Food Instead of Tech! (All Things Chill (Special*Dark)) by specialdark@allthingschill.com

It’s been a while, but I used to write for Arstechnica.com as a tech journalist back in the day - THEY JUST REDESIGNED CHEX IT OUTS. I’m what Jacqui Cheng called an “Arstechnica Alumnus” - seriously it’s true! So, to get back into the swing of things, I wrote an article about the “Top 5 Knives Every Cook Should Own” today! Food instead of tech, but hay… s’all good. YAY.

In the article, I touched on why you should own a chef’s, carving, paring, bread and a special Japanese knife that really hasn’t hit the mainstream (yes, I know I give it away in the screen capture, but WHATEVS). You can find it on today’s (yesterday’s?) Bakespace newsletter here. READ IT PLZ.

Other items in the newsletter include a Sausage, Capsicum & Sweet Potato Frittata by Kitchen Wench. There are also a few other links to some knife (1) related (2) discussions (3). Join in the conversation!

Sign up for Bakespace if you’re looking to learn through a culinary community! I’ll try my best to write for them again - it was fun to tap into that world in my head. Hee hee.. I’m special*dark there too. DUH.

YAY ARTICLES.

~Spec

Spanish Rice with Mojo Pork for 8, Steak for Two (All Things Chill (Special*Dark)) by specialdark@allthingschill.com

Since I had some free time on my day off, I made Liana and her office mates a lunch of mojo pork, Spanish rice, a simple cilantro and onion condiment and corn tortillas yesterday. FREE CATERING: I GIVES THEM. LOL. I used this uber simple recipe from Emeril (yeah I know, but seriously it’s REALLY GOOD) for the mojo pork and adapted the cooking times a 2lb. hunk of meat - 2 hours in the oven covered, 45 minutes uncovered. I’m pretty sure they liked it, considering the containers the food came in had lil’ scraps! YAY.

Cooking the rice was a bit troublesome, as I wanted it to be very fluffy and with a lot of flavor. So, after digging around in my notes, this is what I came up with:

Spanish Rice

2 ripe tomatoes, seeded and quartered
4 cloves of garlic
1 large onion, quartered
1 tsp. of cumin
2 tbsp. vegetable oil
4 cups of rice
8 cups of chicken stock, broth or water
Two heavy pinches of Kosher salt
Freshly ground pepper

Throw tomatoes, cumin, garlic and onion in a food processor until it turns into a paste. In a heavy bottomed pot, heat oil over medium high heat and cook the rice so that each piece has been toasted for about 8 minutes. Add the paste, liquid, salt and pepper and pepper. Stir and bring to a boil. Lower the heat to low to simmer and cover for 20 minutes. NO PEEKING. Fluff with a fork and serve!

Later yesterday evening, I seared off a steak, attempting to stretch the rice for the next few meals, which is what you see above. Since it was a cheap cut of meat (I think it was slice off the top round), I made a tasty sauce of red wine vinegar, chopped herbs (cilantro and parsley) and a few cloves of chopped garlic - a sorta chimichurri sauce on the fly.

Cooking for others is fun!

~Spec

Video Blog: A Kalbi Non-Cooking, Cooking Video (All Things Chill (Special*Dark)) by specialdark@allthingschill.com

Watch it in HD here. I made a few variations from my original recipe from last year, but either or will taste great.

I made this about a month ago just for kicks and finally decided to put it on the blog. Again it was a one-take affair, so bear with me - I’d hate to throw out all those ingredients and start again! There’s more in the works (for better or worse hee hee), I promise.

Stay tuned!

~Spec

Macrina Bakery is Scone Paradise (All Things Chill (Special*Dark)) by specialdark@allthingschill.com

Lots of great casual Seattle eating lately! To jump start out Saturday, Liana recommended that we try Macrina Bakery in Belltown. At first blush, it looks like an hustlin’ breakfast / brunch joint with a small carry-out counter. It does seem like it was filled with people from the neighborhood, but it’d be a great place to check out if you’re a tourist (I’m looking @ your Joy)!

Liana and I shared a “rocket muffin” and one of the dill scones WITH whipped cream cheese AND lox. To tell you the truth, I was kind of taken aback when I saw the scone because it fit perfectly into the theme from “Where do you put your flavor?” on Ideas in Food. Thoughts:

The supporting herb, dill, could theoretically been placed anywhere - cream cheese and lox both love it. I would have whipped it with the cream cheese, but that would require several batches of different cream cheeses in storage (sun dried tomato, strawberry, etc) - not financially feasible.

One could place a mince of it on top of the lox, which would really impart a freshness to each bite, but that would be just one more step in labor that might be lost of forgotten. So, why the scone? Probably because it would be able to stand by itself, without the accoutrements. A dill scone (with what I believe was Asiago on top) would be able to be interesting enough to serve on its own, or pair beautifully with a simple slather of cream cheese and a slice or two of lox. Just a two step process after the scones were baked off to go for sale. Efficient, without sacrificing time or money. LOL. Maybe I’m over analyzing. ANYWAY…

You can preview Leslie Mackie’s Macrina Bakery Cookbook here (via Google) - just click on the “preview” button under the book’s picture. Scones are an easy to make, great breakfast and mid-afternoon food (with tea!) - make a batch from Leslie’s cookbook and tell me what you think!

YAY SCONES!

~Spec

Liana and I. Steak and Salad. (All Things Chill (Special*Dark)) by specialdark@allthingschill.com

Porterhouse or the “T-Bone” steak. You know the tenderloin, right? Those lil’ sexy “filet mignons” discs of tender beef that you order at fancy restaurants? I paired it with pea shoots and daikon a while back. Well, that’s the smaller part of the porterhouse. Crazy, huh?

The larger area is the “strip” steak, more famously known for that real meaty texture - See where I’m going here? You can find other applications of strip steak here (with a balsamic glaze) and here (with romesco sauce).

What did we just learn? Porterhouse = BEST OF BOTH WORLDS AND I MADE ONE FOR DINNER! I salted liberally with fleur de sel (fancy French sea salt from Market Spice in Pike Place market) and a heavy hand of freshly cracked black pepper. Seared on one side over medium high heat, flipped it and finished it off in a 350 degree oven - making sure to let stand at least 10 minutes so it can slip into something more comfortable the juices can go where they’re supposed to go.

To appease the girlfriend, Liana requested a salad. So we decided on mixed greens, diced tomatoes, corn off the cobb omg I wish, crumbles of blue cheese and a champagne vinaigrette (something like the recipe here). Looks homely, doesn’t it? That makes things taste better!

We also ate everything with a few warm petite baguettes from the local market and a few glasses of this from Saint Cosme. There was meat, salad, wine and bread. Perfect for a week night that can be recreated over and over - assuming that your cholesterol doesn’t skyrocket. Hee hee.

YAY STEAK!

~Spec

Dim Sum’s Elusive Flavors, Gotta Catch ‘Em All! (All Things Chill (Special*Dark)) by specialdark@allthingschill.com

Steamed baby bok choy with oyster sauce and broiled pork chops with “salt and pepper” calamari.

There’s a certain flavor at dim sum houses that I can never really put my finger on. You can find it in the fried calamari and chicken wings - the combination has a very strong savory bite and finishes very sweet in the back of your throat. It’s something that I always get on those fortunate Sunday mornings. It’s anise? Chinese 5 spice? MSG (probably)!?!!??! ARRGGGHHHHH!??!

I recently purchased an ounce of Szechwan peppercorns thinking that it was the answer to all of my desires, but sadly it was not. I toasted them in a dry skillet with an equal amount of sea salt and put them in my spice mill (converted my second coffee bean grinder). I then added a bit of Chinese five spice, but it just wasn’t the same. Luckily, Liana’s grandma sent over a few seasoning packets of the real stuff, which only infuriated me more because I still couldn’t get it right.

As for the food you see above, I steamed baby bok choy for a few minutes and drizzled oyster sauce on top - one of Liana’s favorites. I broiled some choice pork chops from (yes, again) Don and Joe’s meats that were marinated in soy sauce, garlic, ginger and rice wine vinegar - going straight to the butcher REALLY makes a difference in taste when cooking pork products. Safeway / your local chain places really have dry chops compared to these babies.

For the squid, I took a calamari steak (just like Benihana lol), cut it into strips and scored them so they wouldn’t curl. I then added the szechwan peppercorn / salt mixure to 1 cup of corn starch and dredged all the pieces in. I dropped them into oil and cooked until GBD (golden brown and delicious) and garnished with slices of serano pepper and green onions.

The meal was an experiment of sorts for the peppercorns, and while the squid didn’t quite hit that “flavor sweet spot” (okay, it did cause I added that packet of the good stuff lol), I won’t rest until I get it right!

YAY BRINGING RESTAURANT FLAVORS HOME!

~Spec

Chops & Eggs for Breakfast (All Things Chill (Special*Dark)) by specialdark@allthingschill.com

Practicing my breakfast skillz a bit. Seared center-cut pork chop with a zucchini, spinach and goat cheese omelet. Uhh… sear the pork chop and then make an omelet and put zukes, spinach and goat cheese inside. LOL. OKAIES.

(awkward silence)

LOL.

~Spec

Blast From the Past: Grecian Chicken (All Things Chill (Special*Dark)) by specialdark@allthingschill.com

In memory of Dempster Gyros. Located in Morton Grove, IL, a small, predominantly Polish neighborhood, my parents would sometimes take me there on a Saturday afternoon after running some errands as a reward for being well behaved (LOL NEVAR JK). Even though it no longer exists, the gyros were something I use as a reference point for gyros even to this day - LAVASH BREAD IS WRONG, PITAS RULE. Their cheesy Italian beef with the HOTTEST “makes your lips throb in pain” PEPPERS were always a good test of manhood. Apparently, Scala’s Beef now delivers so now you can have your Italian beef wherever you live. EVEN BARREN SEATTLE. But I digress…

They also had a “Grecian Chicken Platter,” which had 1/2 of a roasted chicken with an intense lemony flavor, double fried french fries (YESSSS) and a simple iceberg lettuce salad. If I was feeling bold (and extra hungry), I’d order this because I’d get the most bang for my (or my parents’) buck - even then I was calculating food costs. Hee hee.

That’s where I found my inspiration a few days ago when I found a really great deal on whole chickens at Pike Place Market (SUPS DON & JOE). I butchered the whole chicken in half, took out the breast bones and sectioned off the wing and set aside - I’ll explain later in another blog post. You can totally use bone-in thighs as a substitute.

Quick fabrication instructions: I placed the chicken in a baking dish with 4 cloves of minced garlic, a splash of red wine vinegar (for tang), 3 tablespoons of dried oregano, 1/2 cup of olive oil, a heavy hand of Kosher salt and freshly cracked pepper and about 1/3 cup of fresh (please!) lemon juice. Marinade that for a minimum of two hours and throw into a preheated 350 degree oven for 40 minutes or until the juices run clear.

You’ll notice that the marinated chicken is super tender and moist. I served it with some sauteed zucchini for a healthier alternative to french fries EVEN THOUGH I REALLY WANTED THEM LOL. Yesterday, I shredded the leftover chicken and tossed it in a lemon and white wine sauce with boiled zucchini and fettuccine. Easy peasy!

YAY GRECIAN CHICKEN!

~Spec

S. Pellegrino Loves Polenta and So Do I. (All Things Chill (Special*Dark)) by specialdark@allthingschill.com

Two (TWO!) of my food photographs were used on San Pellegrino’s website (it’s Flash-based, so iPhone users beware) for their article Polenta: from peasant to gourmet food. The first dish, cod with tomato sauce had a crispy polenta cake, while the other dish was a braised lamb shank with a creamy polenta application. I’m so happy they were used for something other than my humble blog. Hee hee.

Thanks Besanopoli for choosing my pics!

~Spec

Continental Steak - Sorta (All Things Chill (Special*Dark)) by specialdark@allthingschill.com

Ribeye steak with hot horseradish cream, asparagus and a baked potato with Irish butter. I keep wanting to say that it’s a continental - a style of cooking that includes the better-known dishes of various western European countries - version of prime rib, but I mean… what’s the point (lol). It’s a baked potato with really great butter, asparagus that’s been boiled and finished off with Kosher salt and a good cut of beef with some spicy horsey sauce (YOU ARBY’S PEOPLE KNOW WHAT I’M TALKIN’ ABOUT). Simple and clean flavors and kinda appropriate for the holidays. DO IT. DO IT.

YAY STEAK.

~Spec