Chickety China, the Chinese Chicken...

I forgot my lunch last Thursday. I also walked to work that day, meaning that my usual options (Thames River Greenery, Muddy Waters, a sushi roll from Singapore Grill) were out of the question (even though I could technically walk to several of these places, I could not walk there, order lunch, and walk back in the time allotted to my lunch period). This left me with one option: the Chinese restaurant across from the Shell Station.

I ordered wanton soup. That's all. But as I sat at my desk eating it, I kind of started craving the sticky, fried, MSG-laden gloriousness of the typical Chinese restaurant lunch special. However, I didn't want to go out for dinner or get take-out that night. I had plenty of food at home. So instead, I did some googling and by the end of the day had decided to make sesame chicken for dinner.

Noe was skeptical, to say the least. He was pretty sure the dish would have good flavor, but was not convinced it would have the right texture or stickiness quotient.

Our worries were completely misplaced. The dish tasted EXACTLY like sesame chicken from a take-out Chinese restaurant - so much so, in fact, that I was almost disappointed (shouldn't there be some kind of discernible difference?) The texture - achieved by battering and deep-frying the cubed pieces of chicken and draining them before tossing them in a thick, sticky sauce - was spot-on as well.

 The finished product, sprinkled with toasted sesame seeds

and served with white rice (courtesy of Noe)

Seeing how much sugar/cornstarch/etc went into the homemade version of this dish kind of made me cringe - and made me keenly aware of how much must be in the real take-out version. The unexpected bonus of this awareness is that I ate a much smaller portion than I probably would have out of a take-out container because I DID see exactly how much crap was in it.

One minor caveat - although the flavor was still fantastic the next day, the homemade version of sesame chicken was a little soggy after spending the night in the fridge. Not terribly so, but more so than typical take-out.

You can find the basic recipe I used at AllRecipes.com (as usual, I made some minor tweaks). If I make this again, I will add extra vinegar and chili paste (I had added extra chili paste and garlic but it still came out just a touch too sweet, in my book - Noe thought it was fine) and  cut a little sugar...it's a work in progress.

One other note - I do not have a deep fryer. I fried this in a deep saucepan and it worked fine. Just make sure you test the oil with one piece of chicken to make sure it as at a good temperature, don't crowd the chicken in the pan, and watch it carefully to see when it turns the appropriate golden color. I would test a few pieces and cut into them so you get an idea of how long, time-wise, you want to leave them in the pan.

Do you ever make your own take-out?

When Irish eyes are smiling

I grew up in an area rich in St. Patrick's Day tradition. That tradition was going to one of the crappiest of local bars, the Wooden Nickel, at approximately 6:00 AM to get in line for green beer that would go up in price every hour starting at 7:00 AM.

Sad - or glad? - to say, I never actually participated in the Nickel tradition (I am probably the ONE EMU student that didn't), although I did spend many a St. Patty's day drinking beer on the balcony of someone's crappy apartment (sometimes my own crappy apartment).

Since moving to Connecticut, we have usually celebrated St. Patrick's Day at Hanafin's, our local Irish pub. However, Noe and I usually opt for a fairly early celebration, ending up home by 8:00 or so. This year, Noe stayed home - he didn't feel like dealing with the crowd - and I met up with Scott and Caitlin for my yearly Guinness followed up by a Jameson at Dev's. Then I went home for our own Irish feast.

Outside Hanafin's with Kristina, Max, Caitlin, Scott, and Kevin Lester

Me, Miss Murphy, and the Guinness

For the first time ever, I attempted corned beef and cabbage. I did it in the crockpot, knowing that I wouldn't be able to totally resist the pull of Hanafin's after work on St. Patrick's Day. I chopped all the veggies on Tuesday night and baked a loaf of soda bread in anticipation of sopping up all those delicious meat juices.

 Soda bread - yummm

The meal itself was not fancy: I threw the corned beef brisket and some potatoes, celery, carrots, and onions in the crockpot, sprinkled with the pickling spice that came with the meat, put in enough water to just cover everything, and let it cook for nine hours.

 Chopped celery and carrots

Potatoes

When I got home, I removed the meat and veggies and cooked some cabbage wedges in the cooking liquid for about 25 minutes. I also boiled down about 3/4 cup of the cooking liquid until it was reduced by half and mixed with equal amounts sour cream and prepared horseradish to make a sauce.

 Meat and veggies resting while I finish the cabbage and sauce

Dinner was simple, hearty, and good. Corned beef isn't my favorite thing in the world, but once a year it tastes pretty awesome. The leftover meat and the soda bread (delicious - dense and chewy with a nice hard crust) will make amazing sandwiches (topped off with a smidgen of horseradish sauce). I'll probably just eat a bowl of veggies for lunch tomorrow.

 The feast...mmmmmmm!

How did you celebrate St. Patrick's Day?

Pizza Party

I have become a huge fan of happy hour over the past few years. You go out right after work, the drinks are usually cheap, maybe you eat a cheap snack, and you're home in time for dinner. It works out to be ideal both time-wise and economy-wise.

The thing is, though, when you go out for happy hour a lot, it still adds up. And Dr. Scott, Rob, Caitlin, and I were going out to happy hour A LOT. (Plus, we were getting oh-so-slightly sick of going the same places all the time.) So we came up with a solution: move happy hour to our houses and rotate every week. We started out at Scott's, and this past week moved to my house.

 Caitlin and I drinking Laphraoig at Scott's

As hostess, I felt compelled to provide food for my guests. I wanted to keep it fairly simple and casual, but filling. I also wanted to make something that Noe would want to eat when he joined us after his basketball game. I went with homemade pizzas - fairly cheap, pretty easy, and I could offer a variety of toppings.

I cheated a bit - I bought two Boboli crusts and a bag of dough from the refrigerator section of the supermarket. The day before our gathering, I took inventory and built my pizzas around things I already had. I decided to do three pizzas: a pesto/artichoke; a fig/bacon; and a classic Margherita.

For the artichoke pizza, I mashed a few cloves of roasted garlic (purchased from the olive bar at Stop & Shop - didn't have time to roast my own) and spread them on the crust. I then spread a couple tablespoons of pesto (found in my freezer; God only knows how old it was) over top of the garlic. I topped that with some chopped artichoke hearts (I had a can in the cupboard from making spinach-artichoke dip) and some grated cheeses: mozz, provolone, and parmesan.

 Garlic, pesto, artichoke, and three cheese pizza

For pizza number 2, I did purchase a jar of fig preserves. I spread them over the crust like I would sauce, then topped it with chopped bacon and thinly sliced red onion. I topped it off with crumbled bleu cheese (leftover from a bistro steak I made over the weekend).

 Fig preserves, bacon, red onion, and bleu cheese

The third pizza was the classic Italian combo of tomato, basil, and mozzarella. I spread the crust with crushed tomatoes (chunkier than plain tomato sauce). I sprinkled it with some dried oregano and basil from my spice cupboard, topped it with some slices of fresh mozz,and baked it. After I took it out of the oven, I tore up some fresh basil leaves and sprinkled them over the top.

 Classic.

All three pizzas turned out pretty tasty. Scott voted the artichoke the winner. I was a big fan of the bacon/fig/bleu combo. Rob liked the Margherita, but that was mostly because of the chewier crust. We decided to let Noe pick the winner - he went with the fig (probably because he has a bit of a sweet tooth).

(This was a very cheap meal for me to provide, because I happen to be the type of person that has things like imported tomatoes, cans of artichokes, and frozen containers of pesto on hand. But anyone can make a pizza with a pre-made crust, and you don't have to pick expensive or "fancy" toppings. And most of the things I used were not very expensive to begin with. You could buy everything to make any one of these pizzas for less than ten dollars.)

Scott brought a couple bottles of Scotch, one of which we had made a dent in last week. I am really starting to love the smokey, complex taste of Scotch. Scotch is very expensive when ordered in a bar, so
buying it by the bottle has definitely saved us some money (I'll be writing a Scotch post in the near future).

 Scotch and Rob - NOT a match made in heaven,

but what a great photo!

So far, home happy hour has been a huge success (although it does make me want one of those sixties Mad Men-style bar carts with wheels). We've eaten better, consumed higher quality booze, and even saved a little bit of money. Rob's up next - we'll see if he can take up the mantle and continue the tradition.

Happy Valentine's Day

Noe and I have a tradition of NOT going out on Valentine's Day. Neither of us are against the holiday, and we don't make a huge deal out of it or buy presents, but I like goofy cards and Noe likes candy, so it's really sort of a good fit for us. However, almost four years of working in "the most romantic restaurant in Ann Arbor" convinced me that Valentine's Day is one of the LEAST romantic days to go out, and certainly not a great time to try to really get a feel for a restaurant you haven't yet tried. So Noe and I try to collaborate on a really good dinner at home.

Sometimes we run into disagreements because I like to make "fancy" food (Noe considers any meat with a sauce to be "fancy") and things I haven't tried to make before, and Noe likes the tried and true. We also disagree on what constitutes a great dessert. This year, we decided to do things a little differently than usual - instead of Noe selecting the majority of the menu and me cooking it, I made the appetizer, one side dish, and dessert, and Noe made the main dish and one side.

(We did Valentine's Day dinner last night because we have the big New London Main Street bash tonight.)

For an appetizer, I chose seared scallops sauced with white wine, lemon juice, garlic, shallot, and parsley. I served these with a little split of Champagne.

 

Searing the scallops 

 

Scallop appetizer with Champagne...

and look at those awesome glasses...

Noe used our new grill pan to cook up some excellent rib eye steaks from Four Mile River Farm. For his side dish he (of course) chose rice. I went simple and steamed some asparagus.

 

Noe at work on his part of the meal

  

These steaks were huge

 I had to cut mine in half!

Dessert was difficult. I looked at a lot of different options. I finally decided to go decidedly un-fancy with red velvet cupcakes topped with a gigantic swirl of cream cheese frosting. This was my first time baking red velvet cake or cupcakes, and I think the results were spectacular.

 

Cooling and ready to be frosted

 

 Oh, yeah.

All in all, a great collaborative meal. Letting Noe take over the main course every once in awhile might not be a bad idea - and now that we have the grill pan, he can keep his skills sharp for summer.

What did you eat for Valentine's Day dinner?

Farm Fresh

I just received my first order from CT Farm Fresh Express. CTFFE is a great service that some of my Facebook friends turned me on to - basically, they work with a number of Connecticut farms/fishermen/etc to offer local, seasonal product for purchase on a website, and then deliver them right to your door.

I know, it sounds too good to be true, right?  That's sort of what I thought, too. I mean, how good a selection could they possibly have? And were they really going to bring these products to my house?

Well, it turns out the selection is great - and updated every week. It's like going to twelve different farmers markets without ever leaving your house. And, although there is a shipping fee, it's very reasonable. Obviously, the groceries are more expensive than going to Stop & Shop - but they are no pricier than a farmers market and of much higher quality that factory farmed goods.

I just got my first order today. I am so excited to cook with and eat these wonderful, local ingredients. I will keep you posted on how it tastes!

My order: butternut squash, organic salad greens, beef roast,

locally caught cod, and two ribeye steaks - YUM. 

Soup-er Woman

A few weeks ago, I had to go the bank during my lunch break. I do most of my banking at Bank of America on State Street, across the street from where I used to work. Since I was already parked downtown, I figured I might as well head over to Thames River Greenery and grab a quick bite to eat before heading back to the office. I had in my head that I really wanted soup that day, so that's what I ordered. The soup of the day was split pea with ham. Split pea soup has never been one of my favorites, mostly because of its resemblance to baby food, but it smelled good, so I ordered it anyway.

Wow, was that soup delicious. It was possibly the best soup I've ever had. And ever since that day. I've had it in the back of my head that I was going to make split pea soup. I happened to find a recipe while flipping through an old Sara Moulton cookbook, and, since I had a starting point (I almost always modify) decided that tonight was the night, mainly because Noe was at tennis and would eat whatever I made when he got home without complaining about the lack of meat.

The first thing I did was chop up an onion and cook it in olive oil until is was soft. Once the onion had been cooked enough, I put two ham hocks, a quartered ham steak,  a pound of split peas, some chopped up carrots and celery, and eight cups of chicken stock into the pot, brought it to a boil, and let it simmer for about an hour.

Cooking the onions

Ham hocks

 

Adding everything to the pot and bringing to a boil

After I determined that everything was sufficiently simmered (mostly because it smelled so good I just couldn't take it anymore), I fished out the meat and pureed the soup in batches in the food processor. I added some heavy cream while I was pureeing to thicken it up a little (it looked slightly watery) and to smooth out the texture a bit (I didn't add a lot - maybe a quarter cup).

 

The meat removed

 

Halfway pureed

After I pureed the soup, I put it back in the pan and back on the stove on low. I shredded the ham steaks and the little meat I could get from the hocks and added it to the pan. I also dumped in about a palm full of sea salt and a few generous grinds from the pepper mill.

I finished it off Sara Moulton-style by adding a quarter cup of dry sherry. Just for fun, because the sherry bottle said "try over ice with a twist," I decided to try some, over ice, with a twist.

Sherry on ice with a twist

Yeah. That ended up down the drain pretty quickly. Polly Duncan in the Cat Who mysteries may have been a sherry drinker, but she was also a boring 50-year old small town librarian. I quickly determined that sherry (at least the $5.99 variety) was NOT for me.

Anyway, after thoroughly rinsing my mouth out, I tried the soup. It was tasty. It wasn't quite as thick and meaty as the Greenery version, but it was good. The sherry really added a nice dimension to it and gave it some depth that wasn't there before I added it. I didn't feel like the meat had a lot of flavor, though - it seemed like it was just kind of there.

Stop & Shop ciabatta

  Mmm, mmm good!

I ate this with some crusty bread. I thought it was pretty good, but want to continue to play with the recipe and see if I can get that rich meaty thing happening. If you have any tips, let me know!

Double, Double, Toil and Trouble - Fire Burn and Caldereta Bubble

With memories of Eduardo's still fresh in our minds, Noe and I decided to start perfecting another Filipino recipe. We decided on beef caldereta, a rich beef stew simmered in tomato sauce. Much like the adobo, we combined recipes from several Filipino cookbooks and made some personal modifications.

We started with 2 lbs. of beef stew meat. Both recipes mentioned using less stew meat and also using beef or pork liver. We didn't do this because the grocery store was actually out of liver, but if you're squeamish about liver, this would be a good alternative for you.

I browned the meat in a couple tablespoons of oil, then dumped the meat, oil, and beef drippings into a stock pot.

2 lbs. of cubed beef

 

Browning the beef in oil

After I transferred the beef to the stock pot, I added a chopped up onion (a large one), four cups of beef stock (I used Emeril beef stock- it had less additives than the other grocery store stocks and I just have not had the time to make beef stock lately), and a couple cups of water. I brought this all to a boil and then let it simmer.

 

Adding onions and stock to the beef

 

While my pot of beef and onions simmered away, I added a little more olive oil to my beef skillet and threw a whole head of minced garlic in there (tip - if your hands/knife/counter/cutting board reek of garlic after this chopping bonanza, rub them with half a lemon before washing - it neutralizes the odor). The recipe said to cook the garlic until fragrant; as my kitchen was already pretty pungent, I just sort of winged it.

 

Garlic browning in oil

After I determined the garlic was fragrant enough, I added about 1.5-2 cups of tomato sauce or puree and 1/3 cup of white vinegar. After giving it a stir, I added some grated parmesan (one recipe said cheddar, one said parm - I had parm in the fridge, so parm it was), salt, pepper, and two tablespoons of sugar. I stirred this together and simmered for about six or seven minutes.

 

Adding vinegar to the garlic and tomato sauce 

 

Parm, sugar, salt, and pepper

After the tomato mixture came together, I added it to my simmering stock pot of beef and onions. I let that all simmer for 30 minutes, then gave it a quick stir, added some tomato paste (to thicken it up) and some chopped up carrots, then let it simmer for another 30 minutes. At that point, I threw in a chopped red pepper and let it go while Noe cooked the rice. When the rice cooker light went off, we determined dinner was ready.

The finished product over rice

All in all, this turned out pretty well. It had a nice richness, probably from the beef stock along with the drippings and oil added at the beginning. The tomato sauce was nice and tangy, but Noe and I agreed that perhaps more sugar to balance out the acidity would have made this even better. Both recipes had various things that we did not add (one had peas, one had olives, one even had pickles) which may have enhanced the overall flavor, but Noe and I were happy with just the onions, garlic, carrots, and pepper.

If you're into comfort food and looking for an alternative to beef stew, this recipe might be a good option for you. Play with a little bit - Noe and I will be!

A little bit of the islands, nestled in Indianapolis

Even though I live with a native of the Philippines, I have not been exposed to a lot of Filipino cuisine. Noe and I have done a few experiments, most notable our ever-evolving Adobo recipe (which we think we're getting pretty good at). Other than adobo, we haven't really tried out any other recipes yet. So when Joan (Noe's sister) told us about a Filipino restaurant in Indiana that she swore "tastes like mama's cooking" we had to check it out.

Exterior of Eduardo's

Eduardo's doesn't look like much on the outside. It's in a pretty run-down section of town. It's actually pretty confusing, because the sign next to the door says "Charlie Bigg's Chicken" - you have to look at the door itself to see "Eduardo's" spelled out in barely visible red letters. Inside, it looks like a (remarkably clean) fast food chicken restaurant - which it is. Apparently, the owners do a lot of regular weekday business with the fried chicken and fish crowd. However, when they started putting their Filipino dishes on the menu, a new crowd started seeking them out.

The owners actually have a Filipino catering business and a cart that they take to fairs and events. Seeing how well the food went over at these events, they decided to add several Filipino dishes every day to their otherwise standard fried chicken menu. On weekends, they have a whole buffet spread of Filipino food, but we were there on a Tuesday afternoon, so we had about four dishes (rotating daily) to choose from.

The woman behind the counter (one of the owners) was kind enough to let us sample everything before we made our decisions. Although the pork adobo was excellent, Noe and I were both swayed by the beef caldereta.

Beef Caldereta

Beef caldereta is basically a tomato-based beef stew that includes vegetables such as onions and peppers and is served (like many Filipino dishes) over white rice. Eduardo's caldereta was extremely flavorful - I definitely could taste some garlic, and there was some spice I couldn't exactly pinpoint in the background. It was warm and filling and perfect for a cold winter's day (which is exactly what we were facing, weather-wise).

Noe's brother Jan ordered the adobo, which, with it's pickle-y vinegar tang and subtle soy sauce flavors, did not disappoint.

Pork Adobo

We all ordered pancit noodles, which I had never heard of prior to this trip. Pancit noodles are skinny rice noodles, fried with soy sauce and a bit of something else (citrus? I couldn't quite pinpoint it, but it added some depth to the soy) and served with some shredded meat (in this case, chicken) and thinly chopped vegetables.
These noodles were amazing. I could probably eat them for lunch every day.

Pancit Noodles

We rounded out our meals with some mini lumpia (egg rolls) - which the Eduardo's staff fried up specially for us so we could have them extra-fresh and extra hot.

Lumpia

I couldn't resist finishing off my meal with a dessert. I ordered flan. I have a love-hate relationship with flan. Sometimes it can be slimy - more like Jell-O than a custard. I am pleased to report that Eduardo's flan was of a non-offensive consistency. In fact, it was almost creamy when it hit the tongue.

Possibly the best flan I have ever had

I have to give one more mention to the cleanliness of the building and the friendliness of the staff. I have been in sit-down restaurants that haven't been as clean and where I haven't been treated nearly as nicely as we were at Eduardo's. Ask questions about the food if you're not sure about something - not only will you get an explanation, but you'll probably get to try before you buy.

Noe enjoying his meal at Eduardo's

 

Eduardo's may not look like much, but if you're in the Indianapolis area and are interested in Filipino food (or if you're just looking for a warm, filling meal or an interesting alternative to Chinese, Thai, or other rice/noodle-type cuisines) I would highly recommend it. The three Filipinos in our group all gave it two thumbs up. Don't let the fast food atmosphere fool you - this is quality comfort food, island-style.

Eduardo's 
2412B East Raymond Street, Indianapolis, IN 46203-4557
(317) 788-9615

Champagne wishes and oyster dreams

I've always liked shellfish. Even when I was younger and a fairly picky eater, I still ate shrimp (they were fried, but hey, it counts). Since moving to New England, I have become completely enamored with almost anything in a shell. You can get shellfish of amazing quality out here. Local lobsters and scallops pepper the menus at fine-dining restaurants and roadside shacks alike.

Yet as I devoured any shrimp, scallop, lobster, or clam put in my path, I neglected one shellfish completely for two whole years: the oyster.

I get why some people think eating oysters is a little weird, or even gross. If you have problems with texture, oysters may not be for you - at least, not in their raw form. Oysters are versatile enough to show up in a variety of cooked dishes, adding a little briny shellfish-sweetness to almost anything they touch.

I was lucky enough to attend (another) local dinner at the River Tavern in Chester last Tuesday night, this one focusing heavily on local oysters farmed in Noank, a small village near Mystic. Steve Plant from the Noank Oyster Co-op not only provided the oysters, but also provided lively commentary about oyster farming, sustainable aquaculture, and a slew of other topics.

As usual, I attended with my fabulous Foodie Friend Loree, who once again took pictures for this post.

You might think that a four-course dinner designed around oysters would be a one-note affair - but not with James Wayman (left, standing) in the kitchen. Using other locally farmed meats and produce, James crafted a meal that highlighted the subtle flavor characteristics of the oysters to their best advantages.

Cooked oysters were served in a warm salad of sorts comprised of onions, celery, and that glorious thick-cut bacon I've had in other River tavern dishes. The second course consisted of (very) lightly smoked oysters, still in the shell, lightly sauced with something lemony (I always wish I had a printed menu from these dinners) and served with a brown butter crouton. The little bit of smoke gave a little "oomph" to the oyster's natural saltiness. It didn't taste smoky - it just seemed like the natural flavors had more depth.

These appetizers of sorts were follwed up with two meat-centric blockbusters: smoked duck from Soeltl Farm, served with carrots and brussels sprouts with a mustard-y sauce; and James' version of Korean barbecued pork and cucumber kimchee. (Cucumber kimchee is a genuis idea. The cool, crisp cucumbers are the perfect foil for the heat.) Two gigantic fresh oysters were served in shells alongside the pork, providing a refreshing finish to the dish (well, they provided me with a refreshing finish - I am sure other people may have started with them).

Duck from Soeltl Farm

Pork, kimchee, oysters

The conclusion to this meal was a savory dessert: a poached pear served over a bed of creamy ricotta cheese and topped with a crunchy chocolate biscotti. The poached pear brought to mind mulled or spiced wine - perfect flavors for a cold night.

Poached pear with ricotta

I would have been happy to simply drink water alongside this meal. After all, what beverage can compete with oysters, smoked duck, barbecued pork, and kimchee?

As it turns out, there's only one: Champagne. I'm not talking about the $4.99 stuff you buy to serve to 27 people on New Year's Eve (yes, I buy it, too) - I'm talking about real Champagne, grower Champagne from smaller French vineyards that shows amazing character (not just bubbles) in a glass.

I'm only just beginning to explore Champagne, and this dinner was a delightful introduction. You can really pick up the flavors of the grapes used in these smaller-produced varities. A Chardonnay-based Champagne has a heady, almost yeasty smell and taste. A rose Champagne made with Pinot Nior grapes tasted heavily of strawberries - but was not the least bit sweet. In fact, it was bone-dry - a perfect example that "fruity" and "sweet" are not synonyms.

Going to this dinner was sort of a Christmas gift to myself - and if that weren't enough, I recevied an actual Christmas gift when Donna Lesczczynski of Soeltl Farm presented all of us that attended with golden goose egg ornaments. Mine is hanging on my tree, and every time I look at it, I will think of this wonderful night of great food and amazing company.