Cold Sesame Noodles

I've been searching for a good version of cold sesame noodles for ages. Growing up we would get take-out sushi/Chinese every Friday night from the same restaurant. They made the absolute best cold sesame noodles I've ever tasted and my quest was to find a recipe that best matched my memory of those days. Someone on my cooking board pointed me to Tyler Florence's recipe, which I decided to make as a snack on Saturday.


My main criteria for good cold sesame noodles includes a very pronounced peanut flavor with undertones of sesame, plenty of creamy sauce and a slightly spicy kick. Until Tyler's recipe nothing had ever come close. I knew I'd found a winner when the reviews mentioned there being too much peanut butter. I love, love, love peanut butter and can't imagine there being too much, especially in cold sesame noodles.


I only made a half order of the noodles since I didn't know if we'd like them. It actually ended up being barely 6 ounces of noodles, which is why there ended up being a little too much sauce. Stupid pasta...has anyone else noticed that a pound of pasta isn't actually a full pound? It's approximately 14 ounces, not 16. I measure out 8 ounces and then weigh the other half and it's always about 6 ounces. Cheats!

Anyway, SP loved these. I made a few modifications (see below), but we both felt it had just the right amount of spice, great peanut butter flavor and an excellent creamy texture. I happen to think the recipe calls for way too much sesame oil, but maybe that's just me. Sesame oil is a finishing oil and a little goes a long, long way. One tablespoon seems like a lot and even cutting the recipe in half I still used way less oil then recommended. Next time I'll cook the pasta a bit longer so it has less of a bite to it, but overall this was definitely a winner in our book.

Cold Sesame Noodles
Recipe slighty modified from Tyler Florence

1 pound Chinese egg noodles or spaghetti (I used spaghetti)
Kosher salt
1 (1-inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
3 cloves garlic, smashed
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
1 cup creamy peanut butter
3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
3 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
1 teaspoon red chili sauce (I used chili oil)
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil (I used way less, 1/2 teaspoon for a half recipe)
6 tablespoons water
2 scallions, sliced thin
1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds, for garnish
Fresh cilantro leaves, for garnish (left out because I didn't have any)

Cook the noodles in large pot of boiling salted water over medium heat until barely tender and still firm. (I would cook them until they are soft since shocking in cold water stops the cooking and you don't want hard noodles). Drain immediately and rinse with cold water until cool. Drain the noodles well and transfer to a wide bowl.

In a blender, add the ginger, garlic, sugar, peanut butter, vinegar, soy sauce, chili sauce, sesame oil, and water. Process until the mixture is smooth. Put the blender jar into the refrigerator and let it chill for about 1/2 hour. Pour the peanut sauce over the noodles and toss until well coated. Serve garnished with the scallions, sesame seeds, and cilantro.

Sweet and Sour Chicken

I saw this recipe for Sweet and Sour Chicken on my friend Colleen's blog a few months ago. Sweet and sour chicken or pork is one of SP's favorite dishes at Chinese restaurants so I was hoping this would be a good make-at-home version.


I have to admit, I kept putting off making this recipe because of the instruction to first fry the chicken and then cook it for an hour in the sauce. That seemed like an awful lot of cook time for a little ol' chicken breast. One of my pet peeves about white meat chicken is that it overcooks so easily and I can't stand dry, tough chicken. Plus SP likes keeping the sauce and chicken separate so the coating on the chicken stays crispy. What to do?

After rereading the recipe a dozen times, it finally dawned on me that I could make the sauce and thicken it on the stovetop, then serve it alongside the chicken for dipping. I doubled the sauce recipe and set it on low on the back burner while I made the rice and prepped the chicken and broccoli. Looking back, I should have known this was going to be a disaster when I had a pot or pan on every burner. That's just too much for me to juggle at once. Between frying the chicken and stir-frying the broccoli with garlic, ginger and soy sauce (absolutely delicious and simple, by the way), I wasn't paying enough attention to the sauce. Somehow it went from thin and glossy to the thickness and consistency of wallpaper paste in a matter of seconds. There was no way for me to salvage it either; it stuck like superglue to absolutely everything it touched. The pot, the spoon, the bowl I put it in to try and save it...cleanup was big fun that night, let me tell you!

The only saving grace was that it tasted great. It was impossible to dip the chicken in the sauce so I kinda smeared it on the chicken pieces as best I could. Regardless, SP absolutely loved this meal. As he was eating he told me I needed to make it again ASAP. The cornstarch coating on the chicken was fantastically crispy and the flavors of the sauce were great. I can only imagine how much better it would be if the sauce was able to coat the chicken.

Mac & Cheese with Creamed Spinach

One day last week (again, I'm sorry I can't remember which day), I wanted a simple yet comforting dinner. What's more comforting then mac & cheese and creamy, luscious spinach? Not much, in my opinion.


I took the other half of the mac & cheese I made a few weeks ago out of the freezer to defrost. When I got home from work the next evening all I had to do was pop it in the oven and let it cook for about 40 minutes at 350 degrees.


The color in this photo is awful, but the buttery bread crumb topping was nicely golden brown and crispy. While it was cooking I decided to make creamed spinach using a recipe my friend Melissa over at Alosha's Kitchen recently raved about.


Just look at that creamy goodness. Again, I apologize for the horrible lighting but I couldn't resist taking a photo of the luscious spinach while it was cooking. I cheated and used frozen spinach because I couldn't be bothered trimming and blanching fresh, not to mention the whole reason I made the recipe was because I had two bags of frozen spinach taking up valuable real estate in my freezer. The frozen mac & cheese somehow fared better then the other half I'd put in the fridge. It was creamy and delicious:


And the spinach. Oh the spinach. There really are no words. I've loved creamed spinach since I was a kid (what kid likes spinach? What can I say, I was a weird child), but my mom always served Seabrook frozen spinach for the convenience factor. Only recently have I started making my own and this is, by far, my favorite recipe. The shallots and garlic add just the right hint of flavor and the nutmeg accentuates the flavor of the spinach. Utterly delicious.

Pan Pizza

The days are blurring together lately so in the interest of full disclosure I have no idea when I made these pepperoni and black olive pan pizzas:




They were quite delicious, as always. I love the crispy crust and how easy they are. I can prep the whole thing before SP even leaves work and then just pop them in the oven when he's about 20 minutes from home.

Pernil and Arroz con Gandules

My stepsister-in-law is Puerto Rican so she decided to make one of her favorite meals, Pernil and Arroz con Gandules.


The pork was delicious with the flavors of the herb marinade and was fork-tender:


I love rice and this was a gorgeous yellow color, with excellent flavors from the Sazon and sofrito (the recipe linked above is a good version, but V used her rice cooker and a few shortcuts to make it easier):


Here's the rice in the cooker:


... and the pork as my stepbrother K was cutting it into chunks for serving:


It was a delicious meal and it was great to see K & V after all this time. I can't wait to cook in their kitchen...it's truly, breathtakingly gorgeous. Can you say double oven and huge island?

Roasted Pork Shoulder (Pernil Al Horno)
Recipe from Bobby Flay

1 boneless pork shoulder (about 4 pounds), skin on
4 garlic cloves, smashed
1 handful fresh oregano
4 tablespoons Kosher salt (1 tablespoon for every pound of meat)
1 tablespoon coarsely ground black pepper
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar

Place the pork, fat-side up, in a roasting pan fitted with a rack insert, and using a sharp knife, score the surface of the meat with small slits. Mash the garlic, oregano, salt, and pepper into a paste on a cutting board with the flat side of a knife; place the adobo in a bowl and stir in the oil and vinegar. Rub the garlic paste all over the pork, being sure to get into the incisions so the salt can penetrate the meat and pull out the moisture - this will help form a crust on the outside when cooked. Cover the pork with plastic wrap and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours or up to overnight.

Allow the meat to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before cooking. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Roast the pork for 3 hours, uncovered, until the skin is crispy-brown. Let the meat rest on a cutting board for 10 minutes before slicing.

Profiteroles

Look at these beauties:


On Saturday we went to my stepbrother's house for dinner. Since this was our first time seeing him and his wife in quite awhile we wanted to make something special for dessert. SP thought profiteroles would be nice and it just so happened that Everyday Baking showed an episode where they made profiteroles the week before. Everything can be made in advance, so it was perfect for traveling. SP was in charge of making the dough, which I then carefully measured out on the greased baking sheets:


The dough puffed nicely and was beatiful and airy:


We packed them up, along with the chocolate sauce and vanilla ice cream, and assembled them once we got to K & V's house. I cut each puff in half, scooped some ice cream, topped with the other half of the puff and then drizzled on the sauce. I loved how they looked plated:


And the best part was they were delicious. A perfect end to a tasty meal.

Cream Puffs with Ice Cream and Hot Fudge Sauce
As seen on Everyday Baking

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces, plus more for baking sheets
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 egg yolk beaten with 1 teaspoon water, for egg wash
2 to 3 pints vanilla ice cream, for serving

Hot Fudge Sauce
1/4 cup light corn syrup
6 ounces semisweet chocolate, broken or cut into small pieces
3/4 cup heavy cream

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. with racks in upper and lower thirds. Butter two large rimmed baking sheets.

Combine butter, 1 cup water, and salt in a 2-quart heavy saucepan; bring to a boil over high heat, stirring until butter melts. Reduce heat to medium. Add flour; cook, stirring with a wooden spoon, until mixture pulls away from the sides of the pan and forms a ball, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Remove from heat; cool 1 minute.

With an electric handheld mixer, beat in eggs, a little bit at a time, until completely incorporated (dough should look shiny and be soft enough to slowly fall off a spoon).

Drop heaping tablespoons of batter onto baking sheets (you should have 24 to 28), about 2 inches apart. Using a pastry brush, lightly brush puffs with egg wash (do not let it drip on sheets).

Bake, rotating sheets between racks halfway through, until puffed and brown, about 25 minutes. Remove from oven; turn oven off. With a toothpick, poke a hole in each puff. Return to oven (still off) for 10 minutes (this helps puffs dry out).

When cool, halve each puff horizontally with a serrated knife. Working in batches (to prevent ice cream from melting), place a small scoop of ice cream (2 to 3 tablespoons) in each bottom half. Replace tops; press gently. Arrange on one rimmed baking sheet; freeze until firm. Cover with plastic wrap; freeze up to 2 days.

Arrange 3 filled puffs in each of eight shallow bowls; drizzle with warm Fudge Sauce. Serve immediately.

Hot Fudge Sauce

In a small saucepan, combine corn syrup and chocolate. Stir over medium-low heat until smooth, 4 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Whisk in heavy cream until smooth. Serve right away, or let cool to room temperature before transferring to an airtight container. (Sauce can be refrigerated for up to 3 weeks. To serve, warm over low heat or in microwave.)

More Take Out

On Wednesday we experimented with a new hoagie shop but on Friday we went back to our first love, M's. Yes, we got similar take out meals twice in the same week. Sue us, it was a rough week. The first time we went to M's SP noticed they had a pizza called The Works and he waxed rhapsodic about how when he was a kid pizza places used to have this pizza topped with pepperoni, sausage, mushrooms, onions and green peppers and explained how it was called The Works because that was all the toppings available. Apparently this was in the days before pineapple, anchovies, and the like were standard issue. It was his favorite and he's been dying to order it from M's, so we got a large:


It was delicious! I have to admit, I was shocked. I thought all those toppings would be too much but everything worked well together. And since this was our first foray into pizza at M's I'm happy to report it's just as good as their hoagies.


Speaking of which, I got my cheesesteak hoagie:


... and was pleased to see a return to the fresh toppings piled high on top of the meat.


This is one delicious cheesesteak hoagie, hands-down the best I've ever had. I doubt we'll be straying again.

Skillet Beef Stroganoff

Another quick weeknight meal and a family favorite, Skillet Beef Stroganoff:


While the egg noodles were simmering away in the skillet I thought I'd snap a quick picture:


I do love one-pot meals.

Take Out

We recently found a fantastic pizza/hoagie shop near our house, which I will refer to as M's. Despite loving everything we've ever gotten from M's, SP decided he wanted to try another hoagie shop, just so he knew for certain that M's was really the best around. He picked up dinner for us on Wednesday at a new place, S's. We started with an order of fried mushrooms:



... served with a horseradish-based dipping sauce. SP is a huge fan of mushrooms so these were mostly for him. He liked them, but he prefers the batter-dipped variety. I've been loving fries lately so I got an order of cheese fries:


They were good, but there was way too much cheese sauce. I liked that the fries were skin-on and had survived the trip fairly well, but I couldn't eat the ones soaked in cheese sauce. My staple at any new hoagie place is the cheesesteak hoagie. I love the contrast of the hot, cheesey beef mixed with the cool, crisp lettuce, tomato and onion. When I unwrapped my hoagie I was dismayed to see this:


I was worried they'd given me a regular cheesesteak by mistake but no, this was a cheesesteak hoagie - the lettuce, tomato and onion were buried under the meat. While I can appreciate the fact that the toppings didn't fall out with every bite, being buried under the hot meat meant they weren't cool or crispy. Wilted lettuce is very unappetizing. This was a decent cheesesteak hoagie, but it just solidified my love for M's. SP got a roast beef hoagie:


... and admittedly went a litle overboard on the toppings. He told me he said yes to just about everything they offered to put on it, which made for too many contrasting flavors.

All the food was OK, but my ultimate test is in the leftovers. Obviously we didn't eat all that food in one sitting. I like to reheat the other half of my cheesesteak hoagie the next day for lunch and I pay special attention to the bread. I've never met a roll that can remain sturdy overnight (until we went to M's) and S's fell prey to the soggy factor. It was a decent version but when M's is right across the street I see no reason to stray.

Meatloaf, Potato Gratin, Broccoli

We love a nice, hearty meal on Sundays. I was in the mood for my favorite potato gratin and we had some broccoli crowns that needed to be used. SP suggested meatloaf to round out the meal.


I'm not sure what happened with the potato gratin but for some reason my mandoline cut the potatoes much thicker then usual. It still tasted fantastic, but the large chunks of potatoes were different texturally:


I used Ina's recipe for turkey meatloaf, substituting meatloaf mix for the turkey.


It was a delicious meal all around. While we were eating SP and I decided to reinstitute the Sunday dinners we used to have before we started saving for, and eventually buying, our house. Hopefully we can start inviting family over soon, although I don't think we're going to do it every week.

Birthday Dinner Leftovers

For my birthday we went out to dinner with my parents and stepgrandmother. I usually don't take photos at restaurants unless we're on vacation, but I ended up bringing home some of my dinner so I took a photo of the leftovers. This was my pork paprikash with spaetzle:


SP has ordered this dish a few times so I knew it would be good, but I didn't know how good. Absolutely delicious. The pork was succulent and juicy, falling apart at the mere touch of the fork. The spaetzle was almost creamy and all I could think as I ate was that it was a big bowl of comfort food.

Happy Birthday to Me!!

Today is my birthday. My 28th birthday, to be exact. I've always loved birthdays, especially my own. I mean really, what's wrong with a day that's all about wonderful, fabulous YOU! :) I know so many people who hate getting older and hate their birthdays because it reminds them of this fact, but every January 5 is like a special holiday just for me. It's not even about the gifts, although that's always nice. It's just about being happy I'm alive, smiling and feeling good about life.

Obviously my birthday is pretty close to Christmas. Growing up my parents always made a point to separate Christmas and my birthday so I wouldn't feel cheated, but one of the perks of having a birthday so close to the holidays is that it extends them. We always keep the Christmas tree and decorations up until after January 5, it means more fun dinners out and presents and family time. Thanksgiving through today always meant special times.

As regular readers know, these past few months have been rough for us. I hit a low point on New Year's Eve (SP was sick, we'd had to cancel plans with our friends and I spent most of the day on the couch feeling sorry for myself) and all I could think was "I can't wait for 2008 to be over!" We ushered in 2009 with the burning of the bad from 2008 and the planting of our hopes and dreams for 2009. At my first birthday celebration on Saturday, when I blew out the candles on my delicious cake, in addition to my real wish I wished for things to be different in 2009.

Today I happened to wake up at 12:00am on the dot. All I could do was smile and wish myself a happy birthday. And I haven't stopped smiling since. Between the happy birthday hug and kiss I got from SP while I was still in that blissful sleep/wake state all snug in bed this morning to the sushi lunch, homemade cupcakes, cards and gifts from my coworkers to the promise of a fantastic Mexican dinner tonight, it's just been a great day. After feeling so low for so long it almost feels wrong to be happy. Maybe I'm just out of practice, but it feels sore, almost like a muscle I haven't exercised in awhile. I keep searching deep within myself to find that little pang of sadness, but it isn't there. I'm just enjoying my day, smiling to myself and feeling, in the very dark and dusty parts of my heart, as if something has changed. Something feels different. I can't put my finger on it, but I think 2009 is going to be a good year. I hope I'm right. We could really use some goodness in our lives, but for now I'm not going to worry about that. I'm just going to enjoy this feeling and the last few hours of my special day.

Happy birthday to me
Happy birthday to me
Happy birthday, happy birthday
Happy birthday to me!

Pizza

On New Year's Day we decided to make pizza for dinner. We had a few mushrooms in the fridge so I sliced them up to go on top of the pizza, along with sliced pepperoni.


The lighting is bad, but as you can see I cooked this pizza the traditional way on the pizza stone instead of in the deep dishes.

Baking with Brooke

My office was closed the week between Christmas and New Year's so Brooke and I decided to get together to tackle one of my biggest fears - baking bread. She thought Hawaiian rolls would be a good place to start. After a few minor mishaps involving an errant mixer and needing to run to the store for more yeast this is what we produced:


Delicious, sweet, pineapple-y rolls. SP loved these, especially with a pat of butter. We cheated and used her breadmaker, which gave us this huge ball of dough after an hour and a half:


We separated the dough into two pieces so we each got 9 rolls. We rolled the dough into balls and placed them in baking pans:


After the dough went into the pans it needed to rise another hour so we took the opportunity to make cookies. Since SP loves peanut butter cookies and we all love the combination of peanut butter and chocolate we decided to make these peanut butter cookies.


The cookies are a pretty basic recipe. We added copious amounts of chocolate and peanut butter chips:


... before rolling them in sugar and pressing them down with the tines of a fork. Here they are ready to be baked:


SP said these were the best peanut butter cookies he has ever had, and that says a lot because he loves peanut butter cookies. I have to say, they are truly amazing. We've been rationing them out because we could have eaten them all in one sitting if left to our own devices. Delicious!

Thanks for a fun day, Brooke! We have to do it again sometime. :)

Breakfast

Last weekend I made us a quick breakfast. SP wanted an omelet but I was in the mood for gooey egg yolks so I poached myself two eggs and served them eggs Benedict-style:


... on toasted English muffin halves with strips of crispy bacon. The eggs were perfectly cooked and delicious.


I also cooked some mushrooms with garlic:


They were good, but SP said the garlic pieces were too raw to be eaten whole. Next time I'll leave them off our plates, but they did impart a nice flavor to the mushrooms.

Scallop Gratin

The last time I made this dish I used shrimp and scallops and didn't follow Ina's recipe exactly. I wasn't thrilled with the results so this time I used only scallops and actually used the butter in the recipe and it was delicious.


I didn't have Pernod so I left that out and I subbed bacon for the prosciutto. I haven't used my broiler since it's a tray underneath the actual oven so this needed a little more time to finish cooking and browning. I served it with a mixed greens salad tossed with lemon juice, oil, salt and pepper:


I love how this looked before it went into the oven. All that gorgeous butter laced with bacon and seasonings and the crunchy panko crumbs:


This is easy to prepare, although it reminds me why I need gratin dishes. I think this would be even better in individual serving dishes.

Tuna Melt

For lunch one day this week I decided to make an old favorite, the tuna melt:


I mixed the canned tuna with mayo, finely chopped onion and celery and seasoned it with salt and pepper. I toasted one slice of bread and piled the tuna on top, then topped that with slices of cheddar cheese. The whole thing went into the toaster oven to heat through and then I turned on the broiler for a few seconds to lightly brown the top.

Birthday Dessert

For dessert my stepdad picked up a cake from a local bakery, a framboisier:


... which is three layers of dark chocolate cake and chocolate truffle topped with fresh fruit:


Here's the cake after we'd tucked into it:


It was very rich, which made the fruit a nice counterpoint.