Pork Rillettes

PORK RILLETTES

pork belly, pork shoulder, rosemary and duck fat.

finally i think i have conquered the Rillette. for a long time i was fascinated by them , but a little intimidated. meat swimming in it's own FAT and topped with more FAT...how can this be a good thing?... i also thought they might be too involved and too much to take on. not so. when you break it down in layman's terms they are just fancy flavored potted meats topped with duck fat, pork belly fat, clarified butter or a tasty combo of fats.

my first attempt was the pork rillette, for a couple of reasons...I LOVE PORK and the mention of pork belly sold me...also pork is usually inexpensive. i think i spent less than $10.00 for the whole thing. for a first try with a Charcuterie recipe i think i did pretty good. now i'm hooked. the best part is that they keep in the fridge for weeks if sealed properly and make a great impression on drop-by guests, a tasty late night snack or a great addition to any party.

as i mentioned i was fascinated by the "Rillette" for quite a while so i googled around a lot of blogs, websites and thumbed through most of the books i had. came across loads of different techniques and all sorts of flavors. i settled on the something basic and a recipe that wouldn't require a lot of ingredients. pork is cheap, i had duck fat in the fridge and rosemary in the garden...done....i did, however, have to go out and buy the cute little French jars. they cost more than the whole recipe.

PORK RILLETTES

adapted from many recipes, but one in particular had good easy instructions found at a great blog called Eat me Drink Me. i have copied his instructions, but added my recipe ingredients below.

Ingredients i used

1.5 lbs pork shoulder

1.75 lbs pork belly

7 smashed cloves garlic

3 large sprigs fresh rosemary

2 sprigs thyme

2 tsp oregano

2 bay leaves

1 oz veal demi glace (optional)

2-3 cups water

2/3 cup duck fat (not necessary, but good)

Instructions
Cut the rind off the belly. In a Dutch oven, or oven proof pot, combine the pork with rosemary (I used 3 large sprigs), crushed cloves of garlic, and bay leaves and season generously with salt, black pepper and nutmeg - most recipes call for a bouquet garni, not just rosemary, or thyme and parsley instead. But hell. Here's to living dangerously, eh?

Cover with a cup full of water, and bring to a low simmer on the stove. Not quite bubbling. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to gas mark 2. Cover, and place in the heated oven. Read a book. Watch TV. Call you friends. Cooking times vary from 2 to 6 hours. Bake bread to go with your rillette. I cooked by eye, as it were, taking the pot out of the oven every 40 minutes or so, stirring to make sure it didn't stick, and eventually, forking the thicker parts of meat apart to allow it to cook a little more quickly.

The fat should largely melt to a clear liquid, and the pork cook until meltingly soft - it should fall apart in the pot when gently forked. When that happens, drain and reserve the liquid. Discard the herbs, and allow the pork to cool enough to handle. Best to keep it a little warm though. With your hands, or two forks, shred the meat into, depending on your taste, pistachio sized piece, or small threads of pork. Or less even. Taste the pork, and add herbs, salt, pepper - whatever you used originally - to taste. Place in a terrine dish (no grease or bacon required. Any more pork might actually kill you) or a regular bowl, or container, and compress. For ten minutes, or two hours. Again, your preference is, I think, prime, though I only loosely compressed it, and the dish soaked up huge amounts of fat.

Finally, pour over some of the reserved fat to form a thin layer of fat on top of the crock, terrine dish, bowl.....and leave covered, in the fridge, for three days. It can keep for ten days without the fat covering, and longer with.

Eat, with pickled cornichons, or black olives, on bread. To serve, take what you want from the terrine. Allow to come to room temperature, and serve.

Golden Harvest 2

Cantonese food - the food of south-eastern China and Hong Kong - was the first Chinese regional cuisine to gain a foothold in Australia, and has since become the most popular.  Over time it has morphed to suit mainstream Australian tastes, giving us "Chinese-Australian" classics such as sweet & sour pork and beef & black bean, served with a side of fried rice.  Rather than becoming a shadow of its former self, this food court "Chinese food" is real Cantonese food in a funhouse mirror - its proportions all wrong, the colours are oversaturated, and it is only vaguely reminiscent of its origins.

Many Australians grew up eating at "the local Chinese", usually a place with apricot-coloured napkins, knives and forks on the table, and a "mysterious East"-style name like "Jade Pagoda" or "Emperor's Garden."  If you've never tried a real Cantonese restaurant, you're in for a treat.  Golden Harvest in Footscray is a great example.  Like many restaurants of this type, it has its BBQ meats hanging in the window.  I had a "roast on rice" for lunch a while ago and was unimpressed, but penny aka jeroxie highly recommended them, so we decided they deserved another chance.

It was packed that Saturday night and we just squeezed onto a table in the corner.  Waiters buzzed about to the sound of the heavy thock thock of the cleaver on the big wooden chopping board, as the BBQ meat chef chopped up pork bellies or roast duck.

"House soup"

At these BBQ restaurants, you will often get a complimentary "house soup" to start.  If they forget, just ask.

Mixed roast (3 kinds) $29.80

Here we have great soya chicken topped with a ginger "relish," and heavenly crispy pork.  The pork is my favourite BBQ meat - it's like a layer cake with juicy meat topped with a big chunk of fat, then crispy skin icing.  They serve it with a light, sweet soy.  The duck was good, but a bit greasy.

Soft shell crab with spicy salt & chilli, $19.80

If there's a soft shell crab to be found, you can bet the Baklovers will be nearby.  The crabs are harvested at a particular stage of development so that the shell is not fully formed.  This means you can eat the entire thing - shell, meat, and crispy batter in one heavenly mouthful!  I love the "sprinkle" of lightly wokked garlic, spring onion, and chilli that comes over these salt-and-pepper style dishes.  It contrasts so well with the crispy deep-fried goodness.

Pi-Pa bean curd, $19.80

Thank you penny for this awesome rec!  These are deep-fried quenelles of soft tofu, studded with Chinese sausage.  Their sweet name comes from their ovoid shape which resembles a traditional instrument, the pipa, that looks somewhat like a lute.  These came in a light but tasty sauce thickened with cornflour, atop lightly cooked broccoli.

Stir-fried seasonal vegetables, $11.80

What is it about Cantonese-style vegetables that is so good?  Please don't burst my bubble and say MSG.  Seriously though, these were so crunchy, tasty, and fresh.  Cornflour-based sauces are much maligned, and for good reason when you consider the technicolour gloop masquerading as Chinese fare in food court bain-maries.  When used judiciously, though, cornflour makes a light sauce cling to the vegetables, which really brings out their flavour.

I never feel weighed down after this kind of food.  The pork is fatty, but I find that naturally stops you from overeating it.  I could happily eat nothing but the vegetables with steamed rice and a little soy sauce, all washed down with jasmine tea.  The complimentary orange slices were a lovely fresh touch to end a great meal.

Golden Harvest
15 Leeds St, Footscray (map)
Phone: 9689 3821
Hours: Mon-Sun 10am-10pm

HOMEMADE GRAVLAX

HOMEMADE GRAVLAX

who knew it was so easy to make your own...the hardest part is waiting the few days for it to cure...patiently waiting and flipping it over every 12 hours wondering "is it done yet?"

if you're a fan of LOX, need more fish in your life or just want to save some $ money you should really try this at home. i must say i was quite impressed with myself. i've always paid big bucks for this salmon that i considered a Sunday brunch delicacy. it was only around for the special occasion. well, i have now rid myself of that silly myth. this is too easy. salt, sugar, dill and a few days is all you need. i've made it twice in the last 2 weeks. as a matter of fact, i might just make it again this week. it may very well become a staple in my fridge. i've been so wrapped up in all this PORK stuff lately that it's been a nice change to open the fridge, grab a sharp knife and slice off a lovely pink slab of fresh cured salmon. i need a kind of a Yin Yang effect. i have to have something to balance out all the meat, pork, frog legs and turkey tails i've been consuming. i've even tried TOFU ! (i'll be posting about that soon.)

there are a few ways to prepare Gavlax, but i found a common thread in all the recipes i looked at. fresh salmon, salt, sugar, dill(optional),sandwich them together and cure for 48-72 hours.


HOMEMADE GRAVLAX

adapted from Modern Beet and quite a few others i will list for you to check out.
2 lbs. of fresh salmon

a note about the salmon...buy 2 pieces equal in size, or one large to cut in half so you can sandwich them...ALSO, upon further investigation i found a few sites that suggest freezing the salmon for 72 hrs to be sure to rid any bacteria if not buying sushi grade salmon. sushi grade is very expensive. i did not do this the 1st two times and i'm not dead yet, but i DO have my next batch in the freezer right now. i'm curious to see if the freezing effects the texture.



1/4 cup kosher salt

1/8 cup white sugar

1/8 cup brown sugar

1-3 tsp fresh ground pepper

5-6 sprigs fresh dill



Remove all of the pin bones from the two salmon filets using a pair of tweezers. Trim the filets so they are the same size when stacked on top of each other. Place both filets skin side down on a cutting board.

Mix sugar and salt together in a small bowl. Generously sprinkle about 2/3 the mixture over the filets and gently rub in. Flip the filets over and sprinkle skins with the remaining mixture and rub in. Flip the filets again so the skin side is down. Let stand for about 5-8 minutes. Brush off any cure that seems excessive to you.

Trim dill so that it is roughly the same length as the filets. Mound dill on top of one filet in an even layer, then top with other filet so that the flesh is in contact with the dill (think filet & dill sandwich). Wrap the stacked filets tightly in a double or triple layer of plastic wrap. Place in a dish (to catch any juices that should leak out). i used a tupperware...alot of juices will come out and leakage would NOT be a good thing. ALSO, alot of recipes call for a weighted object placed over the filets. i used a tinfoil/plastic wrapped brick. ..anything semi heavy and flat. most recipes call for this. then refrigerate for 2-3 days, flipping occasionally, and pouring off any juices that might have accumulated.

Once the 2-3 days have passed, unwrap salmon, discard the dill, and rinse the filets with cold water. Remove the skin to make cutting easier, if desired. Slice the gravlax thinly with a sharp knife across the grain to serve. Enjoy!

*Note: though it may seem counter-intuitive, choose fish that has been previously frozen, sushi grade or other. If using fresh fish, you should freeze it for at least 1 week in order kill off bacteria, etc.

a few other sites i checked out might be of interest....

this 1st one is on youtube...funny and super EASY, but i don't know about leaving it on the kitchen counter for 18hrs. and NOT in the fridge?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gMOMurjAFug

http://www.foodmayhem.com/2009/01/homemade-lox.html

http://www.myjewishlearning.com/culture/2/Food/american_jewish_cooking/making-lox.shtml

http://chewingonaviancranium.blogspot.com/2006/07/homemade-lox.html

Detour

In the late 1940s and early 1950s the French were watching a lot of the popular films coming out of this country.  After a little while they stopped to pause and wondered what in God’s teeth was going on over here?! In these films there were men coming home from the war to find the women had taken their jobs, their wives cheating on them or leaving them for the men who weren’t even “manly” enough to go to war, and their children were completely alienated from them. We were full of cynical attitudes and sexual motivation. Absolute disillusionment. We were broken people. A broken country.

But we didn’t seem to realize that at the time.

The French called this era, this genre of film, Film Noir. Black film. These films all have elements of German Expressionism and Italian Neo-Realism. They all incorporate low-key lighting, unbalanced compositions, femme fatales, narration, hard-boiled detectives, and non-linear plot structures (a lot of flashbacks and flash forwards). They are almost always self-reflexive. Some perfect examples of these are: The Maltese Falcon, Double Indemnity, D.O.A., The Woman in the Window, The Lady from Shanghai, The Big Combo and Out of the Past. And I just adore The Blue Dahlia. Interestingly, most all of the material for these films evolved from the pulp novels of writers during the Depression (Chandler, Hammet, etc.)

It seems that usually when we, either as a body of people, or individually, go through big changes we don’t necessarily see it until after the fact. It then is something we went through to get to where we are or where we may be going. Change is more easily understood and seen in a future want, like a New Year’s resolution, but most commonly in retrospect. Others can usually identify our changes before we do.

But occasionally we have those times they are a changin’ that we are staring square in the face. You didn’t even make a New Year’s resolution but suddenly look around and every element of your life, especially the thing that is the most secure, is hanging in the balance. Everything is changing before your eyes, like it or not.

Good, bad, beautiful or ugly – welcome to my now. My change. And right at my birthday. And no, I’m not going through menopause.

This is good. Really. But admittedly, exceedingly daunting. I’ll let you know how it turns out when I can be less reflexive and more reflective.

One change that is occurring that I am conscious of and working towards is my panic with certain fruit related issues. I know I’ve touched on it at least once in the past, but let me really explain the way this works for me:

I do like fruit.
I don’t like fruit touching other fruit.
I don’t like hot or cooked fruit, but I’m getting a little better there.
I am usually wary of fruit in my savory dishes, but I’ve come a long way with that one.
Gooey fruit, such as that in most pies, crumbles, compotes, etc. disarms me. It’s unfortunate.
Fruit FLAVORED anything is a big no.
Any citrus is exempt from all of the above.
If I so much as see applesauce, I will leave the table. That will never change.

As I said, I’m working on most of these things. As a foodie it is a major detriment to hate anything edible. I’m aware of that. But I can proudly say that I will eat anything else in the world.
 
As you may know, my mom is the pastry chef for Dinner at Eight. The first dessert incorporated fresh strawberries. They were not cooked but they did have some liquid that made me a little edgy. I tasted every version we tested for that meal and enjoyed each one. But not without hesitation. For this last Dinner at Eight she made a rustic cherry tart with almond ice cream. Warm, cooked cherries. I tasted the first test and second test runs.

On the first tart we used whole, pitted cherries. They looked like bloody eyeballs to me. I did have a small slice, to make sure it was up to par for the dinner party, but no more than that. And it was really good. I just couldn’t get past the cherries staring up at me. Everyone else who tasted it thought it was divine. Round two is what is photographed here and its recipe is below. We just had to chop up those cherries a bit and I was okay with it (mostly). Again, everyone else that tried it was over the moon.

We’ll see what happens with my whole fruit thing. As I mentioned, I’m working on it. And I guess we’ll see what unfolds with all of these other big, broad strokes of my life. As my friend, Brian, used to always say, “Everything will work out. Or not.”

Rustic Cherry Tart with Almond Ice Cream

Crust
 
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 cup + 5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 cup raw almonds
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
8 tablespoons unsalted butter (melted & cooked a little)
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 375.
Toast almonds on baking sheet for 10 minutes.
Cool and place in food processor with sugar; pulse to coarse meal.
Add flour and salt and pulse to combine with almonds.
Transfer ingredients to bowl, add melted butter, vanilla extract and 1 tablespoon ice cold water.
Mix until just combined.
Press dough into a buttered 9" fluted tart pan.
Chill for a minimum of 2 hours.


Filling

1 pound fresh cherries coarsely chopped (chop around pits); toss chopped cherries with 3 teaspoons of sugar and leave in bowl until ready to use
5 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 400
Place butter, sugar, flour, egg and vanilla extract in a bowl; mix until combined.
Remove crust from refrigerator; prick surface with a fork.  Using an offset spatula, spread the mixture evenly over crust and chill 15 minutes more.
Remove tart from refrigerator; spread the cherries evenly over the tart mixture. Bake 20 - 25 minutes.



Almond Ice Cream

2 cups raw (whole) almonds
2 cups whole milk
2 cups heavy cream
4 egg yolks (large)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Preheat over to 375
Toast almonds on baking sheet for 10 minutes.  Cool and chop coarsely.
Put 1 cup of the almonds in saucepan, pour in milk and cream.  Bring to boil over medium heat.  Remove from heat and cover- (30 minutes)-flavors will infuse.
Bring mixture to boil once again.  Remove from heat.
Whisk egg yolks and sugar together in a bowl.  Remove almonds (with slotted spoon or small strainer) from milk/cream mixture.  Whisk 2 to 3 tablespoons of warm mixture into the yolks & sugar.
Add remainder (slowly) while whisking.  Add vanilla extract.  Return to saucepan and cook over medium heat (stirring frequently with rubber spatula) for 8 minutes or until custard thickens and coats the back of the spatula. Strain mixture and chill for 2 hours.  
Process in an ice cream maker (refer to manufacturer's instructions).  Stir in remaining almonds when done.

Sticky Fig Cupcakes with Brown Sugar Glaze

these little/big sticky figgy moist cupcakes are a winner. my ever so cute and fabulous next door neighbor, Wendy, asked if she could borrow our large cupcake tin...little did we know that we would get a sample of this incredible recipe she was testing. she's quite the baker and everything she's brought over is killer good. for my birthday she made some triple chocolate brownie cookies that were gone so fast i couldn't get a picture of them. i wanted to post the recipe with photo, but i guess i'll have to make them myself. the problem would be having them in the house. the whole recipe might just send me over the edge...they were THAT GOOD ! anyway, these cakes are awesome and the subtle crunch from the figs just adds that extra little...hmmm...something...something yummy. served a little warm with fresh whipped cream and oozing brown sugar glaze it's pure heaven.

STICKY FIG CUPCAKES with BROWN SUGAR GLAZE

i copied this recipe from the xerox my neighbor Wendy was kind enough to pass along. i didn't get to ask her where it's from so BIG thanks to the original baker out there somewhere.

makes 6 extra large cupcakes

SAUCE
2 Tbsp.unsalted butter
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
2/3 cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla

CUPCAKES
1 cup water
1 cup (about 4 oz.) dried figs quartered
1 1/4 cup unbleached flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup unsalted butter. room temp.
3/4 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp grated lemon zest
1 tsp vanilla
heavy whipping cream for serving

make the sauce. in a med. sauce pan, heat the butter, cream and brown sugar over med. heat, stirring often, until the butter melts and the brown sugar dissolves. increase the heat to med. high, bring to a boil and boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly. remove from heat and stir in the vanilla. set aside.
make the cupcakes. position the rack in the middle of the oven. preheat to 350F degrees. line tin with liners or Wendy used a non-stick tin. if using liners, spray the inside with non stick cooking spray.

put the water and the figs in a small sauce pan and bring to a boil: set aside to cool while you prepare the batter.

sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a medium bowl and set aside. in a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the butter and sugar until blended and creamy, about 2 minutes. stop the mixer and scape the sides of the bowl as needed during mixing. add the eggs, lemon zest and vanilla, mixing until smooth and thick. you may see a few small pieces of butter which is fine. on low speed, mix in the flour mixture to incorporate it. mix in the figs, with the liquid that remains in the pan.

fill tin with 1/2 cup batter, to about 1/2 inch below the top of the cupcake tin (or liner if using). bake in 350F degree oven. bake until tops feel firm and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out wet, about 20 minutes. remove from oven and reduce the oven to 225F degrees.

spoon 1/2 Tbsp. brown sugar sauce on top of each cupcake. the cakes will have risen to the top of the liners/tin, so some sauce may drip down the sides onto the pan. return the cupcakes to the oven and bake until toothpick inserted in the center comes out dry, about 20 minutes. cool the cupcakes on a wire rack for 10 minutes.

carefully place a wire rack on top of the cupcakes in their pan. protecting your hands with pot holders and holding the pan and rack together, invert them to release the cupcakes onto the wire rack and turn the cupcakes top side up. if any sauce remains in the bottom of the tin, spoon it over the cupcakes. let cool completely.

so serve the cupcakes, warm the remaining sauce over low heat. remove the paper liners and place each cake on a plate. pass a little pitcher of the warm sauce and some warm or whipped cream.

the cupcakes can be covered at room temp for up to 3 days. the sauce can be made ahead, covered, and refrigerated for up to 5 days. warm before baking the cupcakes.

PORK BELLY. Slow roasted and seared.

PORK BELLY...ooooh the possibilities...

cured for 24hrs, slow roasted and seared to order...

a delicious amuse bouche...the perfect bite dipped in maple syrup...
a tasty appetizer will keep your guests wanting more...

sliced and seared for amazing bacon and eggs...

i was completely amazed and fascinated by my first slab of pork belly. #1 i never put 2 and 2 together and figured out this is really just bacon in the raw. #2 i had no idea that the meat enveloped by all that fat is like the best pork chop i've ever tasted.

so far i think i've only scratched the surface on the preparation and consuming of pork belly. i think i like it most in the morning seared to order with a little maple syrup, but also it's pretty darn tasty wrapped in butter lettuce with a little chili garlic sauce.

as a matter o' fact i have one in the oven right now!...i'm trying Jamie Oliver's recipe. it's meant more for a family dinner pork roast with gravy type dinner...of coarse i'm the only one in the house that will be eating it. it looks like i'll be eatin' roast pork belly for a few days

every bite is different. as you can see in the photo above this is one of the cuts from the lean part. this is an example of the delicious pork chop bite i mentioned. i must admit i was a bit worried about the fat content, but quickly got over that when i took my first bite. it's hard to describe. you can't just take a nibble...you have to take a big bite and get the whole experience of the moist meat, the tender fat and the crispy skin all at once.

on with the recipe

there are so many ways to prepare this lovely slab of pork i was confused so i ended up throwing alot of ideas together and came up with something pretty darn tasty...and fairly easy for the first time belly chef.

buy yourself a 2-2 1/2lb. slab of belly with skin...no bones

i like to wash and dry it completely with paper towels

mix 1/4 cup kosher salt

1/4 cup brown sugar

1-2 tsp fresh ground pepper

completely cover the belly with the mixture. place skin side down in non-reactive container just big enough to fit and cover the flesh side with more salt/sug. mixture. cover and let sit in fridge for at least 24 hours. this is the all important curing process. after about 12 hrs you can pour some of the liquid out of the container. i did. after 24 hrs remove and wash remaining salt off under cool water. dry completely. take a sharp sharp knife and cut slits through the skin but not to the flesh. i cut about every inch or so.

place the pork in a roasting dish covered with tinfoil and push foil up against the sides as shown in small photo below. this is to prevent the sides from getting too brown and it also keeps the bottom meat part cooking in it's own fat..kind of confit-like.

put in 225F degree oven for 5-6 hours.

about 3 hours in i basted the sides and the cut slits with some Soy Vay Hoisin Garlic Sauce. Teriyaki or BBQ sauce would work great to. do this every hour or so until you think it done...the flesh is fork tender and it has a little glaze going on the sides. remove from oven and let cool as is. when cool enough put it in the fridge for at least a few hours. this makes for easy slicing and you can keep it there for the week as you whittle away at the slab unless you decide to consume the whole thing with some pork belly lovin' friends.

now what you want to do is slice off about an inch thick piece and sear that on all sides in a very hot pan. i love to use my new SCANPAN. it's non-stick and can withstand high heat. don't forget to sear the skin top side. you'll have to hold it up with your tongs. it's worth it. serve as is and please try dipping it in a little of your favorite syrup...maple, blueberry even caramel...hmmmmm. the perfect bite will change your pork lovin' world.

the picture to the right is an example of how i put it in the oven. there was so much meat showing that i didn't want it to be exposed to the heat for the full 6 hours so i crunched the aluminum up around it.

Indi Hots 2

Bain marie good, bain marie bad?  Bad is what I saw at a major Melbourne hospital recently - in the cafeteria, a bored server slit a plastic pouch from ear to ear and dumped its sloppy contents into the waiting silver pan.  Let food be thy medicine?  Thanks, but I'd rather pack a sandwich.

Indi Hots has a bain marie, but don't stop reading now.  This little diner perches on the far eastern end of Footscray's CBD, watched over by Franco Cozzo... The lovable, somewhat zany patriarch of old Footscray watches as the baton is passed on to a new generation.

The menu is a tiny whiteboard by the kitchen door, on which careful lettering slants endearingly upward.  Service here is delightful.

Mirch bhaji, $3.00

India's answer to the dagwood dog.  Long green chillies enveloped in crunchy chickpea flour batter, served with a creamy mint chutney.  Delicious!

Chilli chicken, $5.95

Many young Indians, when going out to eat, don't choose the rogan josh and butter chicken that non-Indians associate so strongly with Indian food.  You will see many Indian restaurants proclaiming their "Indian Chinese" specialties, as this is often what the younger crowd want.  Chilli chicken is a great example - nuggets of chicken, deep-fried, and tossed with a flavour-packed capsicum, onion and tomato relish.  Yum!

Thali (non-veg), $9.95

Were we in the tropics and not rainy Footscray, we might have a banana leaf thali spread before us, heaped with little mounds of curries.  This silver thali platter might lack romanticism, but it has gravity firmly on side - its deep pockets mean that none of the delicious curries escape.  Chewy, tasty roti bread, made with wholemeal flour, is perfect for scooping up tender morsels of goat in a supremely delicious, tomato-based gravy.  Chicken curry is more-ishly creamy and smooth but packs a chilli sting in the tail, and a simple, dry-fried lentil and vegetable dish is heightened with mustard seeds and coconut.

Indi Hots = bain marie good.  Now if we could just get them the contract for that horrible hospital canteen, I might actually look forward to having a blood test.

Indi Hots

5/68-82 Hopkins St, Footscray (map)

Phone: 9687 4626

Hours: Noon til late, Tuesday - Sunday

Aloha!

Tomorrow I will be heading to one of my favorite places in the world for a birthday celebration/vacation, Hawaii. It also just happens to be one of my favorite dining destinations. In addition to eating, swimming, exploring and shopping at my favorite island farmer's market, on this trip I am looking forward to attending an Obon festival and finally meeting my favorite Hawaiian food blogger.



Since this is my vacation, I will not be blogging from the beach. If you have any hot tips or favorite restaurants on Oahu, please feel free to leave a comment. In the meantime you can check out my Honolulu Dining Guide below.



I will surely be adding to it when I return...

Until next week,

Aloha!

Amy

Archway Cookies: A Nostalgic Review

When I was growing up we didn't have soda or candy in the house, or junk food like Twinkies, but we did have cookies. Sometimes my mom made cookies from scratch, and sometimes she bought them. The thing is, some cookies need to be fresh and homemade, like chocolate chip cookies or oatmeal cookies. They just don't taste right to me if they aren't. But then there are some commercially produced cookies that are just fine and dandy.

When I was growing up I can almost guarantee you would have found pecan sandies, lemon coolers, raisin biscuits, or almond windmills in the cookie jar. Oddly enough most of those cookies are not so easy to find these days. Pecan sandies are a kind of shortbread cookie, flecked with bits of nuts and are the only cookie I still routinely see in the supermarket (though reviews seem to say they aren't as good as they used to be). Lemon coolers were very tangy cookies coated in powdered sugar. Raisin biscuits were affectionately known as "fly biscuits" in my family. They were thin layers of cookie, filled with raisins. They came in long strips that were perforated. Almond windmills later became just "windmills", as the amount of slivered almonds was drastically reduced. Windmills are based on a spiced Dutch cookie called speculaas.

Recently I got an email informing me that Archway was launching an iced lemonade cookie. Was I interested in trying some samples? Little did I know I would receive 13 packages of cookies in the mail. 13. Packages. Of cookies. So for you, my dear readers, I opened virtually every package and tried them. Call it professional responsibility. Somebody has got to try all those cookies and it might as well be me! Not every cookie made the cut, but a few varieties rose above the rest. Here are the ones I think are particularly noteworthy:


Molasses Cookies
These are soft big cookies with a lingering molasses flavor and a bit of crunch from the decorative sugar crystals. Perfect with a mug of black tea and milk.


Ginger Snaps
I like these a lot. They really have a good bite of ginger in them and are not too sweet. They would also be great in desserts. I'd use ginger snap crumbs in place of graham crackers to make a press in type of crust or to top an apple or pear crisp.


Iced Molasses
You have to like molasses to appreciate these chewy little gems, but I enjoyed them even more than the larger soft molasses version.They are really good and strong like a bracing cup of black coffee.


Iced LemonadeThese are not my beloved lemon coolers, but I like them. They are tangy, not too sweet even though they are frosted. Actually I think most of the lemon flavor comes from the glaze. They are small and very crunchy.


Windmills
These are practically as I remember them, just light on almonds. From the photo it's impossible to see any almond flakes, but they are in there. The primary flavor is cinnamon but there are other sweet spices too. Windmills are hard cookies, but not as hard as the ginger snaps. They have an almost melting sandy texture. Are they that delicious or am I just being nostalgic? Hard to say. But I am enjoying them immensely.

You will find these cookies in various supermarkets.

What store bought cookies do you love or miss?

It's Gettin, It's Gettin, It's Gettin' Kinda Hectic.

I am getting nervous. I am nervous.

In just one short week the second Dinner at Eight will be upon us. But this one won’t consist of six of my friends. This guest list includes six of my fellow food bloggers – only some of whom I have met personally. My peeps, yes, but these are also critical minds and educated palates.

I have the menu pretty much put together. I have been and will continue to tweak and test all of my recipes. Plus, I have to shuttle all the samples to Jill at Domaine LA so she can get all of the pairings just right. Sadly, Jill won’t be able to personally attend this next dinner party. I will have to find a substitute Jill. That should be interesting. I’ll add that to my very long Dinner at Eight to do list, now.

The other night I had Doug over to be a taste tester for a few of the recipes. One would think most people would not hesitate to say yes to that invite. But it was the night of the last game of the Lakers/Celtics thing. So, I agreed that we could tune into the game and taste test simultaneously . Awesome meal + Lakers/Celtics thing + my effervescent company? Not for free, buddy. Doug had to install the hardware for my new curtains--a little off my talent chart. That’s a fair trade, yes?

Some things worked out well, some needed attention. Such is life. We had fun. A couple of the recipes that will be involved in the next dinner I have already written about here and here. But today I am going to share with you the recipe for the salad course.

I know I have told you about my moniker from my days (years) in Atlanta. Michael Fancini coined a new name and it stuck. I became known as The Duchess - to me it was endearing and strangely flattering.

According to my Larousse Gastronomique, Green Goddess dressing is a variation of a dressing originated in France by a Chef to Louis XIII who made a Sauce Au Vert (Green Sauce) which was traditionally served with 'Green Eel'. Another story has the dressing invented at the historic Palace Hotel in San Francisco in the 1920's in honor of William Archer's hit play The Green Goddess. Much like my Duchess moniker, I don’t see the royal Goddess parallel anywhere with either of these stories. So, with a few twists and toggles, I have created a Duchess dressing. You saw that coming, right?

This dressing is crisp, cool, tart, and light, yet creamy, rich and delicately textured. It needs very little in the salad-bells-and-whistles department: merely romaine lettuce, avocados, cucumbers and a sprinkle of toasted pine nuts.

Duchess Salad with Romaine, Avocado, Cucumber and Pine Nuts

Serves 6

2 large heads romaine lettuce

1 extra-large egg yolk

1 cup grapeseed oil
1 1/4 cup Italian parsely

1 cup packed watercress, cleaned, stems removed

2 tablespoons tarragon leaves

3 tablespoons minced chives, plus 2 tablespoons 1/2-inch snipped chives

1 clove garlic, chopped

2 salt-packed anchovies, rinsed, bones removed

Juice of 1 lemon

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon champagne vinegar

2 large ripe avocados

1 hothouse cucumber, peeled and seeded

1/2 cup toasted pine nuts

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Remove the outer leaves of the romaine. Trim and separate the leaves, clean and chill in refrigerator.

Place the egg yolk in a stainless steel bowl. Slowly pour 1/4 cup of the oil in bowl, drop by drop, constantly whisking. Continue until mixture is emulsified. At this point whisk in another 1/4 cup of oil in a steady stream.

Purée 1 cup of parsley, watercress, tarragon and minced chives in a blender with the garlic, anchovies, lemon juice and remaining 1/2 cup of oil.

Whisk the herb purée, vinegar, 2 teaspoons salt and 1/2 teaspoon of pepper into the mayonnaise. Taste for balance and seasoning.

Cut avocados and cucumbers into long diagonal wedges and season generously with salt and pepper.

Place the romaine in a large salad bowl, and toss with 1/2 cup of dressing, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and some more black pepper. Gently toss in the avocado and cucumber. Arrange delicately on a plate and sprinkle with pine nuts, parsley and chives.

Printable Recipe

International Incident Party - Noodles

Penny's International Incident Parties are so fun.  They're sort of culinary word-association tests - say "dumplings" or "noodles", and see the cavalcade of different associations passionate cooks tease from them.  For our last party, I was wanton with wontons.  Now, let's canoodle with noodles!

You know those lists that start, "You know you're a... when..."?  Like, "You know you're obsessed with food when you have cookbooks on your bedside table."  Or, "You know you're a blogger when you begin to regale a friend or family member with a great story, and they interrupt you to say, 'I know.  I read it on your blog.'"  Well, I want to start one with, "You know you're a mum when you can make a killer bolognese sauce."  Here in Australia, when you just can't face another uneaten dinner, pasta with bolognese sauce is every mum's little helper.  Stacked in tidy bricks in my freezer, it conceals a myriad of grated vegetables, and still elicits shrieks of joy when it appears on the table atop pasta and covered in cheese.

Sometimes it does get boring, though, and you need to mix things up.  At this party, I want to share with you our other family favourite - "Grandpa's special noodles," also known in our family as Chinese spaghetti bolognese.  This is based on a traditional recipe from Northern China of wheat noodles topped with pork mince in a sweet brown bean sauce.  Julienned or grated cucumber is added at the last minute, to make a dish that is true comfort food.

Zha Jiang Mian (Grandpa's special noodles)

Serves 3-4 people
Note: Australian tablespoons are 20 mL, not 15 as they are in the US.  Please adjust accordingly!

400g dried wheat noodles, or equivalent of fresh, e.g. lo mein or hokkien
2-3 small Lebanese cucumbers
2 Tb vegetable oil
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
5 green onions, chopped
500g pork mince

Sauce
4 Tb brown bean sauce
2 Tb hoisin sauce
2 Tb Shao Hsing rice wine
1 cup chicken stock
1/2 tsp cornflour dissolved in 2 Tb hot water

Mix sauce ingredients (except cornflour) together and set aside.  If using dried noodles, cook in boiling water, drain, and set aside.  Grate or julienne cucumber. 

Heat a wok over high heat until smoking.  Add the oil, drizzling it down the sides.  Add garlic and spring onion and stir-fry for 20 seconds.  Add pork mince and stir-fry, constantly stirring to break it up.  Cook for around 10 minutes until done.  Add combined sauce ingredients (except cornflour).  Cook over high heat for 7 minutes.  Add cornflour and hot water mixture; bring to the boil, allowing it to thicken.  Cook for a few more minutes and serve atop cooked noodles, topped with cucumber.

I hope you enjoy one of our family favourites.  Make sure you check out all the other oodles of noodles below!

• Penny – Jeroxie (Addictive & Consuming) – Homemade ban mian with minced pork and mushrooms
• Christine – Christine’s Recipes – Spicy Pork Mince and Noodles in Crisp Lettuce Cups
• Mardi – Eat, Live, Travel, Write – Ginger scallion & Butter noodles
• Trix – Tasty Trix – Summer ‘Noodles’ with yellow and green zucchini with cool basil oil tomato sauce
• Shirley – Enriching your kid – Vermicilli Biryani with Tahini
• Natasha – 5 Star Foodie – Homemade Soba Noodles
• Anges – Off the spork – Handpulled noodles at home
• Joanne – Second Helping
• Cherry – Sweet Cherry Pie – Coconut noodles with honey glazed pork belly
• Tracey - Tangled Noodle
• Evelyne - Cheap Ethnic Eatz – Incidental Noodles
• Ms Baklover - Footscray Food Blog – Zha Jiang Mian
• Casey – Eating, Gardening & Living in Bulgaria
• Tamar – Koreanfornian Cooking – Tteokbokki
• Billy – Half-Eaten – Pumpkin Miso Noodles in Shitake Dashi Broth
• Nina – Consumed Food Love – Vietnamese Noodle Salad
• Suresh – 3 hungry tummies – Twice cooked pork with rice noodles
• Anh – A food Lover’s Journey – Taco Soba Noodle
• Lori – Wannabe Gourmand – Nonya Curry Laksa

Thanks to Kate from Mommy Monologues for the "You know you're a blogger when..." line.  They all made me laugh!

Chicharron Pancakes

CHICHARRON PANCAKES...

pancakes made with ground pork rinds

NO flour...NO kidding !

well, i don't have to tell you that these are my new favorite thing. what could be better? a pig in a pancake? i seem to be alllll about anything PIG lately and i apologize...wait a minute...no, i don't apologize. PIG STUFF ROCKS!...

about these pancakes...chicharron pancakes are another on of those "i can't believe this is gonna work" type recipes. i mean, how is fried pig skin going to turn into a fluffy pancake? well, it's just a miracle i tell ya....

i like to have one every morning for breakfast with maple syrup, spicy pecans and a slice or 2 of bacon (of course). i mention this because that's how much i love them AND they can be made ahead and rewarmed throughout the week. i don't know about you, but i don't have time to whip up pancakes every morning and breakfast is my favorite meal of the day so whenever i can find something out of the ordinary that can be thrown together in the early morn. ...i'm all over it.

i found this recipe while searching for low carb breakfast ideas and it was on quite a few sites. the real recipe is called "Wonder Waffles". i don't have a waffle iron so i went with pancakes instead and as you can see they come out fabulous. i wish i could try the waffles. i was tempted to by an iron, but just can't fit another gadget in the kitchen right now. i don't know who the original came from, but i would love to give thanks to someone out there...so THANK YOU someone out there...

CHICHARRON PANCAKES
adapted from the Wonder Waffle recipe found in the lo-carb forums

4 large eggs (i used Egg Beaters)
2 Tbls. heavy cream (plus more to thin)
2 Tbls. water (plus more to thin)
1 Tsp. vanilla extract
3 Pkt. Splenda

3-4 ounces of crushed/ground pork rinds (1 bag Mission Pork Rinds)
1/4 Tsp. ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp pumpkin spice

use a food processor to get the pork rinds down to a fine, almost powdery consistency.

Beat the eggs then add the cream, water, and vanilla extract and beat some more. Mix the Splenda with the cinnamon and then add that to the eggs. (Mixing the cinnamon with the Splenda before adding helps to keep the cinnamon from clumping up as much.) When well blended mix in the ground pork rinds.
Let the mixture sit for a couple of minutes until it thickens. Then stir and check the consistency. It should be thick, but not to thick to spoon easily. If too thick, add a little water. i found that i needed to add quite a bit of water and maybe a little more cream. If too thin, add a little bit more pork rinds, but i doubt it will be too thin. now go ahead and make your cakes as you normally would. i found that spreading them out with the back of the spoon as they hit the pan helps. they shouldn't be too thick...do a few testers.

as i said, these keep in the fridge and are great warmed up in the microwave for a quick bite.

i'm thinkin' tomorrow morning i might even make a sandwich with peanut butter and apricot preserves...what do you think about THAT ?!...

the possibilities are endless...

Kazu ..... The Sumiyaki Holy Grail?

Indecision on the part of my companions urged me to force my way into Kazu, although nobody was too keen on sumiyaki that very Friday evening. I made a call for reservations and was told that 8pm schedule was all filled up unless I am able to finish dinner by 9pm. No way! I politely decline and assert that I would rather visit another day to enjoy than rush through Kazu's sumiyaki meal. On hearing that, the manager actually take the pain to redo the seating arrangements and got us our table. Domo Arigato Dozaimasu! Kazu has escaped me ever since I heard about them serving mouth watering sumiyaki. Finally, I got a reservation, so, no ulcer's gonna stand between me and Kazu.

There were choices of counter seats other than the tables that were spread throughout whatever space can be spared without creating obstacles to the service staff. We were seated at a table near the entrance and near the cashier. Above the cashier is Kazu's owner "Hole in One" certificate. Indeed, this sumiyaki experience in Kazu had been nothing but "hole-in-one".

I drawn a "good luck" divine sticks out from the container that suggested that I would get what I desire that day and true enough I managed to 'force' my way in Kazu without calling way ahead. Of course not, these are just the wooden skewer sticks (just half way through the meal) from Kazu's sumiyaki.

Garden Salad with miso base dressing

Knowing that we will spare no thoughts about ordering an abundance of meat, we decided to line our stomach first with garden salad which was refreshing from the fresh crunchy greens and a great tasting miso base dressing. We had a little Sashimi moriawase which easily faded in comparison to the sumiyaki dishes that were to be served.

US Wagyu wrapped Enoki

The tender, thinly sliced wagyu wrapped enoki was superb. Flavoured fats enricking the enoki and the crunchiness of the enoki adding more texture for the 'munching' process.

Chicken Balls

The chicken balls had the chicken meat minced finer than Nijumaru. It taste good but I thought Nijumaru Izakaya's chicken balls much better, more for nostalgic reasons, my first dinner date.

Pork Belly wrapped Asparagus

It's a standard sumiyaki dish but Kazu's seemed less greasy and salty.

Bacon wrapped scallop and prawns

This by comparison to the other dishes wasn't too impressive, I thought it was rather bland but the controlled grilling still maintained juiciness in the scallops and the prawns.

US Beef

This was the normal US beef grilled to still lock in the beef juice. Even though it was not wagyu, I thought it taste good and tender.

Pork Belly wrapped Japanese tomatoes

Maybe the close up of this dish looked a bit distasteful, but highlight here was the Japanese cherry tomatoes. The tomatoes tasted very sweet, enhanced by the savoury taste of the pork belly. Juice 'oozingly' good!

Chicken Wings

Kazu's sumyaki was not as heavily salted as the other sumiyaki places that I've been. This was demonstrated in the chicken wings. It was marvelously grilled but I prefer more salt to it. I did a self help on the salt right on the table.

Foie Gras

This was the highlight of the sumiyaki in Kazu, grilled foie gras. I thought it was one of the best I've eaten in Singapore, including all my other foie gras tasting in overseas trips. I had some fun enhancing the heavenly 'melt-in-your-mouth' feeling by gently closing my eyes, slight tilting of my head upwards in agreement with heaven. It was some lousy exaggerated B-grade acting but the feeling was genuine. This grilling was so well controlled for that slight crisp exterior and the melt-in-your-mouth interior.

Grilled Fresh Saba Shioyaki

The price difference between grilled frozen saba and grilled fresh saba can be about 5~7 folds. One can easy taste the difference. The grilled frozen saba is usually dried, very contrasting to the juicy tender meat of the grilled fresh saba. W noticed that the saba was grilled very skillfully such that the meat just close to the bones had a very slight tinge of red implying a grilling that would best lock the juices and tenderness in. However, it was arguable if it's worth paying the 5~7 folds for grilled fresh saba.

Japanese Sweet Potato

The gist of this dish was simply great ingredients. When eaten freshly grilled, complimented with a little slab of butter, this humble looking Japanese sweet potato became one of the best dish among the list that we've eaten in Kazu.

One thing that was very noticeable and I'm impressed with, their exhaust system. I left the place without the smell of charcoal grilled pork or beef clinging over me. However, I'm most impressed with the sumiyaki that they served. Generally, Kazu were not as heavily salted and greasy compared to Shunjuu. There's extra serving of salt if you need more. Is Kazu the Holy Grail of sumiyaki in Singapore? Go judge for yourself. It's now the top of my list for sumiyaki in Singapore. Oh....... before I forget, please do an advanced reservation. Don't depend on your luck.

5 Koek Road

#04-05 Cuppage Plaza

Singapore

Tel : +65 6734 2492