Muffin Top

The San Francisco Chronicle’s “Cheese Course” column, written by the wonderful Janet Fletcher, featured one of my favorite cheeses semi-recently: Vento d’Estate. It’s not a particularly easy-to-find cheese, but it’s worth the hunt to sample the wonderful and delicate grassy minty notes in this otherwise very strong cheese. (I have a preference for strong, stinky cheeses).

Another place you can read up on this cheese is at the Cheese Diaries.

Last year, a friend and I played hookie and made ice cream (that is what foodies do when they play hookie, I guess). I had collected, in anticipation of our (pre-planned) sick day, a slew of ice cream recipes: honey and lavender ice cream, french vanilla, maple walnut ice cream, and buttermilk ice cream, just to name a few. I rattled them the list off absentmindedly. “Buttermilk!” she clapped her hands.

So buttermilk ice cream it was. It was an adventure, having never made ice cream before. We didn’t realize the custard needed a 2 hour chilling and so we sat “idly” as it chilled. (Otherwise we would have planned a SECOND food item!) Um, and we thought the custard had to be near solid before putting it in the ice cream maker, so we stuck the custard in the freezer (not an advisable move, by the way).

And we ran the ice cream maker for an hour and a half, about three times too long, until the ice cream was hardened along the sides of the bowl. I didn’t realize at the time that all I had to was run the ice cream maker for about 30 minutes until it was a creamy slush, then allow it to harden in the freezer. That’s how I got a scratch on the inside of my ice cream maker bowl, running a metal spoon, trying to chisel the ice cream out!

But nonetheless, the tangy buttermilk ice cream was delicious. Nothing beats fresh ice cream.

I made a few more batches of ice cream–I tried out the honey lavender recipe. I’ll decrease the honey and increase the lavender next time. It was still delicious. But the ice cream maker has been at rest since last summer–and in an act of questionable intelligence, the thought of making ice cream did not occur to me until today. I mean, there’s been a heat wave, what other perfect food is there?

I collected my ice cream recipes again. Rose petal ice cream fascinated me. And so did blueberry ice cream. But again, buttermilk ice cream beckoned–maybe I’m just really lucky to have found the perfect ice cream flavor on my first try.

This time, I chilled the custard in the refrigerator not the freezer, and I let the ice cream maker run for a proper amount of time, 30 minutes. And after some subsequent chilling in the freezer, served it with strawberries and blueberries. The buttermilk in the ice cream is such a classic flavor pairing with the berries–like strawberry shortcakes! Except with the surprising cold creamy texture of ice cream alongside the fruit, instead of cake.

Try it, you’ll love it too.

BUTTERMILK ICE CREAM
from Bon Appétit
INGREDIENTS:
1 cup whipping cream
6 large egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup cold buttermilk

DIRECTIONS:
Bring whipping cream to simmer in heavy medium saucepan. Whisk egg yolks and sugar in medium bowl to blend. Gradually whisk hot cream into egg yolk mixture. Return mixture to saucepan and stir over medium heat until custard thickens slightly, about 6 minutes (do not boil). Strain into bowl. Stir in 1 cup cold buttermilk. Refrigerate custard until cold, about 2 hours. Process in ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions. (Can be prepared up to 5 days ahead. Freeze in covered container.)

Makes about 2 1/2 cups.

grilled lemongrass beef over cold rice noodles
Originally uploaded by c(h)ristine.

As I mentioned previously, I have an entire freezer filled with frozen meat, mostly beef. At the same time, we have been struck with an unusual heat wave here in Berkeley, the kind that makes for ubiquitous mentions of global warming and armageddon. The kind that makes cooking indoors unbearable, chasing me to our outdoor grill.

So. Infinite beef. Heat wave. Grill.

The first night of the heat wave, I made Korean bulgogi (Korean barbecued beef) for a potluck writers’ meeting. We ate it wrapped in red lettuce leaves while dining al fresco. The combination of meat and lettuce in big crunch was very refreshing, with a balance of hot and cool sensations. (We also had delicious lumpia and carrot sushi rice and other various yummy dishes).

The second night, we did the obvious: we grilled steaks marinated in Korean bbq marinade for dinner. But without getting too repetitive, what could I cook the third night using beef and a grill? (and remember, I am limiting myself to the contents of my freezer: a bunch of steaks, really)

I flipped through my recipe books, facing grilled steak recipe after grilled steak recipe. I began to lose hope–and then my eyes fell upon Mark Bittman’s The Best Recipes in the World, a huge tome of collected recipes. I’d bought it on sale, on a lark, consumed with curiosity about what indeed WERE considered “the best recipes in the world.” Plus, it actually included more than a handful of Korean dishes in the collection. So I decided to reward that–you know, positive reinforcement and all.

I had yet to cook something out of it…but it seemed like it had the most potential to provide me with an out of the ordinary grilled beef recipe. There it was: Grilled Lemongrass beef (I had just bought some lemongrass at the farmer’s market earlier that day). As I read the recipe, I imagined the flavors melding on my tongue, and then I realized there was something missing, something cool. Cold rice noodles! I scrounged up some Korean rice noodles, and cooked them up. The rice noodles cook quickly, shortening stove time ( a good thing in this heat). I rinsed them until they were cold–they were a perfect foil to the spicy beef.

“Where did the steak go?” Ari asked, when I assembled dinner.

“This,” I waved towards the bowl, “Is the steak.”

And that was the last word he spoke the rest of the meal because he (and I) got busy chowing down.

RECIPE
Grilled Lemongrass Beef (adapted from Michael Bittman’s “The Best Recipes in the World”)
Ingredients:

• 1.5 to 2 pounds beef tenderloin or boneless sirloin (I used rib eye steak)
• 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
• 2 lemongrass stalks, trimmed and finely chopped
• 2 large or 4 medium shallots, roughly chopped (I used half an onion)
• 2 largic garlic cloves, roughly chopped
• 1 small dried chile, or to taste (I used a tablespoon of Korean red hot pepper flakes)
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice and 1 tablespoon sugar (I used 2 tablespoons of Limeade)
• 2 tablespoons nam pla (I used 2 tablespoons soy sauce)
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Directions:

1. Freeze the beef for 30-60 minues (I chilled it in the freezer) to facilitate slicing. Meanwhile, combine all the remaining ingredients in a small food processor and blend to a paste, stopping the machine to stir down the sides of necessary.
2. When the beef is semifrozen (I didn’t wait for this it was okay), slice it as thinly as you can. Marinate it for as little as 20 minutes and as long as ovenright in the spice paste (if the paste is too thick, thin it with a bit more nam pla or soy sauce).
3. Start a charcoal or gas grill; the fire should be quite hot and the rack about 4 inches from the heat source. You can skewer the beef slices, using it as you would a needle to weave once or twice through the meat but I didn’t do it, I just threw the beef straight onto the grill. Grill quickly, about 1 minute per side, until nicely browned. Serve hot with cold noodles and some sweet chilli sauce.

There are eggrolls, and then there are eggrolls. While there’s a lot of crossovery-cousin-ish type similarities between many Asian foods, I have to say that lumpia are not just eggrolls; they are just what they are, a deep-fried wrapped stick of meat that could not go by any other name. LOOM-pya. LOVE it. LOOM-pya.

Some non-Filipino men seem to remember this about the Philippines and its people more than anything. They have gone up to me and said things like oh, do you eat/cook lumpia? and kumusta ka, maganda ka!. (Those phrases mean, in this order: hey you are cute, do you cook, too? and hi, I’m a dork, will you go out with me?) They kinda are spitting game and kinda want to sample your lumpia; unfortunately, they really want you to sample theirs.

(Pause for collective “ewwwwwww!”)

Everyone’s mom probably has a different recipe for this dish. Perhaps the biggest difference between lumpia and other eggrolls is that the wrapper is paper-thin, thus fries up very crispy. Re: the stuffing, it varies. Some use pork, some use shrimp, some add shredded carrot, some add corn (note: I do not like corn in lumpia!), others julienned green beans.

I didn’t make lumpia by myself until a few years ago. I wanted to make it for my bf Marcus; you don’t know how pleased I was when he so loved the garlic/vinegar dipping sauce, that he turned to me and said: I could drink this. Anyway, so I had called up mom and prepped all my ingredients and when the rolling began, I think genetics took over. Memories of relatives sitting at a kitchen table, each assembling dozens of these, just set my hands into motion. It’s sort of comforting, like snapping peas, like hanging out the wash on a summer day, something to busy the body and free the mind. All those years of helping the aunties in the kitchen had paid off, and I had a hundred stacked in the freezer before I knew it.

I’m going to share my mom’s recipe because I already foolishly handed out copies of it a bunch of folks at a book club meeting for Tess Urize Holthe’s When The Elephants Dance. I don’t know what I was thinking, maybe I felt the need to represent, but mother would probably not be happy - though it likely wasn’t all hers originally, anyway. Plus, I like to think that, recipes aside, each person adds their own culinary flair and love to their cookery. And that, dear Muffin-Top readers, is the one thing you must add yourself…

Mama Magdalena’s Lumpia Shanghai

Mix the ground turkey with the egg. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Mix in the green onion, water chestnuts and shrimp. Finally, add the soy sauce and oyster sauce.

When you purchase the wrappers, they’ll be frozen, so you will want to defrost them (either a few hours in the fridge or pop them in the microwave for a minute) to make it easier to separate the paper-thin wrappers from one another. I recommend separating a dozen at time so you’ll be able to wrap in batches. They tear, they’re kind of a pain, so get extra packages just in case. Try cutting a bit of the edges too; it helps get them un-stuck.

Rolling lumpia kind of like making tiny burrito: Take a heaping teaspoonful of the filling and place near the bottom of the wrapper, in the center. Fold the bottom edge over the filling, then fold the sides in and finish rolling the whole thing up to the top edge. Seal with edge with you finger, dipped in a little bit of water, as you might with an envelope. Try to make as uniform as possible, and about the size of your finger. (If they’re too thick your raw ingredients may not cook thoroughly.)

Fry’em up: I like canola oil in cast iron, enough oil so they float a bit. Let drip in a colander or paper towels or a clean paper bag.

Serve with plain white rice (sticky is preferable) and a dipping sauce of vinegar, salt, pepper and minced garlic. Mom’s variation: add a touch of brown sugar.

This recipe makes approximately 120 lumpia. Tip: Make whoever is going to be eating it with you help you roll. Another tip: these freeze EXCEPTIONALLY well and you can enjoy these ages from now, unless you’re like me and Marcus and end up having lumpia for dinner 5 times in one month. (Hey, it happens.)

ricepapers dinner: side dishes
Originally uploaded by c(h)ristine.

I’m not an accomplished food photographer by any means–just an amateur who would prefer to improve her shots and do justice to the beauty of food. I have an obsession with documenting my life, and that includes a desire to remember beautiful meals. I certainly do not want to recall a remarkable dessert , only to view a picture of it washed out by the flash of a lightbulb, for instance.

But even though I try to be careful and thoughtful in how I frame my food shots, I don’t feel qualified to share tips. I have, however, come across some great tips from:

Heidi at 101 Cookbooks on the technical aspects of food photography. Number one tip: DO NOT USE FLASH (I agree).

and

maki at “i was just really hungry” on taking pictures in restaurants, a very tricky locale indeed. I myself have come out of Michael Mina with only the disappointing shadows of his “trio” plates on my digital camera.

Enjoy the tips.

My aunt is from the South. Yeah, capital “S” south, that South, not quite Bible-belt country but close enough. Since I’ve known her as Auntie Dianna from the time I was seven, it doesn’t seem weird to me that she’s this blonde-haired, blue-eyed woman originally from Corpus Christi. The story of how my Philippine-born uncle and her fell in love is probably too long and not food related enough for this blog; however, I will quote their son/my cousin by saying: The South and the Philippines have way more in common than you’d think.

Namely, if y’all must know, they both likes their food fried. So bring it on because the oil is hot and ready!

That said, it’s been long that my Auntie D has praised the wonders of cast iron. Tonight, at a writers’ group meeting, I fried up a batch of lumpia (that post coming soon, I swear!) in a friend’s cast iron skillet, and My Lawd, I do declare, but I’ve never seen these fry up so perfectly golden, nevah evah!

How long have I been frying food and never done so in cast iron? It’s almost shameful, when I think of it: flashes of fried chicken sizzling in their floury skins suddenly bring it all back. Whose fried chicken? I don’t know. I keep thinking of that scene in Ray when Jamie Foxx is cooking a batch of it in the dark. Auntie Dianna knew, my friend Rose knew, Ray Charles knew!

Geez, if a blind man can trust frying to cast iron, surely I can, too.

Then, Rose and hostess of the meeting, being a seasoned cook as well as foodie, said she had two skillets the same size. My delight at the fabulously fried lumpia so apparent, she said, “Go ahead and take one of those pans home with you.” This one? Home? It’s fantastic! It’s perfect! It weighs 20 lbs!

And so here it is: my new frying pan. I can see why angry wives threw these, bet this 10-inch pan sure could pack a wallop. Maybe I’ll even keep it by the back door next to the baseball bat (our “security system”); in the meantime, baby, I’m ready to fry (or bake). A batch of chicken or lumpia or cornbread wants this skillet. This skillet dreams of them.

In the dog days of summer, it’s hard to spend a lot of time over a kitchen stove or oven. That is a lot of heat trapped within the four walls of your house, and a sweaty cook is not so sexy. Unless you’re cooking in a swimsuit, maybe, and even then you’d probably look better sans sweat in the swimsuit.

Pause, as I imagine legions of handsome cooks out there cooking in their swimsuits, bodies dangerously exposed to steam and errant sprays of hot oil. Mrmm. Hot. Oil. Steam. Steamy.

Oh–where was I? Oh yes, I was talking about how it can get really too hot to cook indoors during the height of summer (even here in Berkeley, where we are facing an alarming and unusual summer heatwave). In summer time, why lock yourself indoors anyhow? If you’ve got a barbecue, then it’s time to take the cooking outdoors (and dining outside, al fresco, is a wonderful thing on summer evenings).

It’s refreshing to make a meal in the outdoors (I even like to cook while backpacking, while watching the sun set and the stars pop out), and somehow the experience becomes more communal while everyone’s gathered around a barbecue. The grill just seems less intimidating to people, harkening to our primitive caveman days.

My favorite barbecue is NOT Texas barbecue (though I do respect it a lot, and love to eat the wonderful stuff), but Korean barbecue. I’ll even marinate a regular “American steak” in Korean marinade before barbecue’ing it. I grew up on marinated beef, and I’ve never fallen in love with “dry rub” on a steak. It tastes…too dry. For me, anyway.

So I share with you my recipe for Korean barbecue marinade. The requests for my Korean BBQ marinade recipe increases during barbecue season, so I thought I’d just post it up here for all of you. I use it to marinate bulgogi (wafer thin slices of beef), galbi (short ribs…for barbecue: cut the long, thin way), chicken, and “western steak” (rib eye, porterhouse, you name it). I’ll stick the meat and marinade in a ziploc bag and marinate it at least 2-3 hours, and optimally overnight before heading outdoors to the shaded terrace and the beckoning grill.

Korean marinade (makes about 1 cup)
Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1/2 cup dessert wine (sauternes, late harvest zin, auslese, muscat, whatever’s sweet…or vermouth works too…if you don’t have those things, use regular white or red wine and up the sugar)
• 1/4 cup sugar (the marinade should be sweet but not TOO sweet–add more if you put in regular wine instead of dessert wine)
• 2 teaspoons sesame oil
• 3 cloves of garlic chopped fine
• ground black pepper to taste
• a handful of scallions, chopped (optional)
• a handful of minced asian pear, or pear (optional)

Directions:
Easiest directions ever! Mix all the above ingredients together until well blended.

For everyone who is wondering how the bookclub is coming (and its far enough down the list that its gonna drop off soon), here is a link to who is doing what, which recipes have yet to be spoken for - and best of all, the shortlist for September’s selection!

Hello other Muffin Toppers! I wanted to write today about the experience of having foodie friends. Last night I was perusing my bookshelves, looking for something else, when Laurie Colwin’s two books, Home Cooking and More Home Cooking caught my eye. I carried them upstairs to bed with me and read a bit from both of them, feeling both grateful and melancholy. Grateful because I love Laurie Colwin’s writing, and the sense that I have of her as a person. I love her sense of warmth, her humor, her generous spirit. And melancholy, because she died way too early, at the age of 48. When I heard of her death in 1992 I couldn’t help wondering if it had something to do with her penchant for butter balls:

… my mother would make butter balls. She took very cold pats of butter and rolled them between two flat, ridged wooden paddles that had beeen chilled in the freezer beforehand… working them until they became little balls, with crosshatched surfaces. Then, she made a hole in each ball, sprinkled in a pinch of sugar and a drop of lemon juice, and put the balls in the fridge. Later, my sister and I were allowed to eat the butter balls as a treat, and, believe me, they were wonderful.

I believe her. Here was someone who took such pleasure in not only food, but words, and the company of human people. I longed to somehow, someday be her friend, to hang out with her in her kitchen while she whipped up some spicy gingerbread or her mother’s beef stew with buttered noodles. (more butter, mmmmmm) Apparently I’m not the only one who feels that way.

Some of my dearest friends look upon food as a necessary evil. Some of them see it as a drug (they have a point) For some, food is strictly utilitarian. And others are intimidated by things like cookbooks. Some of them would no more likely watch a food show on TV than I would watch a round of golf. (ie, one in ten million)

Speaking of food TV, I would like to bring up Rachel Ray. So many people just loathe and despise her. She’s totally over the top cutie pie, but for some reason, I don’t find her despicable. When I was at Blue Mountain last year, I found this issue of Adirondack magazine that showed the house where she lives in upstate NY with her mom (which she bought for her mom), and it was the most appealing, beautifully rustic place. I think she would be fun to tool around with, traveling and finding unique and fun places to eat at, although I would give much bigger tips than she does. I almost hacked my way through my TV screen when she was on some trip to Maine, eating lobster rolls out on some pier. I wanted to be there so badly! I like people who are enthusiastic about food, rather than suspicious of it or indifferent.

It’s been such a treat to discover that there are foodies among my friends recently. And I can curl up with Laurie Colwin’s delicious words and experience her cooking and her company on a different level.

And now, the unveiling of the Holy Grail of cookbooks: The Complete Keller.

BOTH volumes, The French Laundry Cookbook and Bouchon, in one slipcovered case. Packed for easy consumption. Pre-orders are available at HUGE discounts from the retail price. Guess what I’m asking my very understanding boyfriend for my birthday?