Cilantro Pancakes

I think the fact that I know I can't get good Chinese food here has made me crave it more. I love me scallion pancakes but when confronted with a wilting bunch of cilantro and no scallions in sight, well, cilantro pancakes it turned into. Do not be put off by the 10 step process, it's really easier than it seems and this recipe is very flexible. I imagine you can substitute with other fragrant leafy greens and the flour to water ratio is simply 2 to 1.

The dipping sauce we made is a simple mixture of fish sauce, lime juice, some sugar, crushed garlic cloves and crushed red pepper flakes, but we got a little fancier than needed. Some soy sauce with crushed red pepper will also be delicious with it.

CILANTRO PANCAKES
(makes 6 pancakes)

• 2 cups cilantro leaves and stems, chopped as finely as you have the patience for
• 1 tablespoon oil (I used sesame, but olive and vegetable oil will also work)
• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon salt
  
• 3/4 cup hot, almost boiling water
• oil for pancake assembly and frying

1. Start with a mountain of chopped cilantro

2. Mix flour with salt and tablespoon of oil. Stir in hot water and stir to mix thoroughly. The texture of the dough will resemble mochi, elastic and a little sticky.

3. Dust work surface with flour, form dough into a ball and knead for a couple minutes, dusting with flour as needed.

4. Roll dough into a log and cut into 6 pieces.

5. Take one piece of dough, flatten it with the palm of your hand and roll out as thinly as possible with a rolling pin (or an empty wine bottle). It doesn't have to be perfectly round.

6. Pour about 1/2 teaspoon of oil and brush it all around on top of the disc. Scatter chopped cilantro on top and roll into a cigar.

7. Pinch one end of the cigar close and curl the cigar into a snail.

8. Dust the work surface and the top of the snail with flour. Flatten the snail with the palm of your hand and roll it out again with a rolling pin.

9. Repeat the process for all pieces of cut dough.

10. Pan fry over medium high heat one pancake at a time, turning after about 3-4 minutes per side or until browned. Make sure to add more oil after each pancake to ensure that it doesn't stick to the pan.

Lahey and Bittman, Sitting in a Tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G...

Do not underestimate this loaf of bread. For an amateur bread baker such as myself, this loaf was the perfect balance of flavor and texture. As I speculated in a previous post, Jim Lahey and Mark Bittman found perfect harmony in their glutenous matrimony.

OVERNIGHT FRENCH LOAF
(adapted from Mark Bittman)

• 2 cups all-purpose flour (bread flour works even better)
• 1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast
• lukewarm water, as needed

In a large bowl, combine the white flour, yeast and 1 teaspoon of the salt. Mix dry ingredients well and stir in 1 cup warm water. Mix thoroughly, cover with plastic wrap and let rest overnight (at least 6 hours and up to 18 hours, the longer the more flavorful the loaf will be).

Incorporate the whole wheat flour and the other teaspoon of salt into the dough, adding a little warm water at a time until dough becomes a smooth, firm ball. If the dough is sticky, add a little more flour and knead into the dough. If the dough is too crumbly, keep adding water, a little at a time until the the smooth, firm ball is formed. Cover with plastic wrap and leave at room temperature for at least one hour, or until the dough has doubled in size.

When dough has doubled in size, gently punch it down in the middle to release the trapped gas. Flour a work surface and dump dough onto it. Flour your hands and sprinkle a little flour onto the top of the dough and knead for about 10 minutes (or until your hands get tired). Keep dusting the dough and work surface with as little flour as is necessary to keep the dough from sticking to the work surface.

Form dough into a ball and loosely cover with plastic wrap or towel. Preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit with a covered, heavy oven-proof pot (i.e. casserole pot or dutch oven) without the lid. When the oven is ready, take out the pot and slide dough into it. Cover with lid and put into oven. Turn the oven temperature down to 425 degrees and bake cover for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, remove the lid and continue baking for another 15-25 minutes.

Bread is done when the crust is a golden brown color. Another way to tell is to tap the bread and if it sounds hollow then it is done. If you have a thermometer, insert into the center of the loaf; bread is ready when the internal temperature reaches 210 degrees Fahrenheit.

MOlasses

For people who arent mentally ill crazy about apples you can make molasses cookies.
BLEND
2 CUPS FLOUR
2 TSPNS BAKING SODA
TSPN EACH CINNAMOM GINGER AN ALLSPICE

MIX TOGETHER SEPERATE
3 TBSP BUTTER
2 TBSP VEGETABLE OIL
1/2 OR 3/4 CUP LIGHT BROWN SUGAR
2 TSPN VANILLA
1/2 CUP MOLASSES
1/4 CUP CAPTAIN MORGAN RUM

Then mix those two together put globs on a sheet and cook at 350 for like 10 or 15 minutes, theyre chewy and thin and pretty strong, you can have them with heated rum and milk and its freakin good. You could add an egg or two too if you want

Here is a picture of the batter where it looks even more like shit


Here is the finished cookie
Come on and party with the captain
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFb9UqELX8w

Oatmeal Apple Cookies

Though I will eat any cookie handed to me, I am very particular about cookies I crave. I like a cookie with some body and oomph to it: thick, chewy and chunky. I made oatmeal raisin cookies the night before and though they tasted fine, it didn't quite have the texture I was craving. For one thing, the ratio of flour to oatmeal was way too high.

Not to toot my own horn, but I once made an apple pie that was described by some (my ever loving roommate) as a religious experience. It was that damn good. I love baking with apples because baked spiced apples will make anything taste good; and when you add cognac to the mix, it only gets better. Though I do most of my cooking through improvisation, I tend to bake according to recipes. But with the apples all diced up and swimming in cognac and spices (I was planning an apple crisp of sorts) and the memory of the success of the aforementioned apple pie bloating my baker ego, I let my craving for thick, chewy and chunky cookies take charge and ventured forth uncharted territory, namely baking without a recipe

What resulted were very good cookies (in my apple and nut loving opinion) and you can definitely taste the cognac in the apples, though William refused to taste a whole cookie (he has a thing against apples). I will admit that these cookies do not have mass appeal as there is an obvious lack of chocolate and only the bare amount of butter. But you know, chocolate chip cookies never did it for me.


OATMEAL APPLE COOKIES

• 2 cups apple, washed, peeled, cored and diced as finely as you have the patience for
• 3 tablespoons cognac (brandy will also work)
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
• 6 tablespoon brown sugar (or more if you want sweeter cookies)
  
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup butter
  
• 1 cup rolled oats
• 1/3 cup chopped nuts (I used macadamia, which added a rich, butter taste but walnuts or pecans will also be tasty)

Wash, peel, and core apples into pea size chunks. Save all apple peels and core and place in a small sauce pot, add brown sugar and just enough water to cover. Bring to boil and simmer over medium low heat until sugar is completely dissolved and liquid reduced down to 1/2 cup. Strain and chill.

While sugar mixture is simmering, dice apples into pea size chunks and toss with cognac, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and allspice. (To keep chopped apple chunks from browning, first put the cognac in the bowl, add the apple chunks as you chop them and add the spices last. The alcohol keeps the apple chunks from browning)

Put apple mixture back in the fridge to keep chill.

Cut butter up into small chunks and mix with flour, salt and baking soda by hand. The butter and flour mixture will not be blend smoothly but it is okay, as long as butter chunks aren't larger than pea size. Mix in egg evenly and add chopped nuts and oats.

Add spiced apple chunks to the flour mixture and mix evenly. Pour in chilled sugar/apple peel syrup (doesn't have to be cold but it should at least be room temperature) and mix evenly.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. While oven is heating up, put the dough in the fridge or freezer to chill (this will render it chewy).

Spoon onto baking sheet with two inches between cookies and bake for about 12 - 15 minutes, depending on how the coldness of the dough and the size of each spoonful. The batch I made took 12 minutes but I like my cookies small so that I can eat it in one or two bites.

Fish Candy

Again, please pardon the terrible picture. I should put out a disclaimer that though I am not much of a photographer, I don't think I am as terrible as these pictures would suggest. I make the best out of what I have to work with, which is a shitty camera to begin with coupled with a broken LCD screen and this is what we get.

We finished our second bag of flour today with pancakes for breakfast and cake for dessert after dinner. This means that we had consumed over 10 lbs of flour in two weeks time; even for us that is a record. I like to heat up maple syrup on the stove to serve with pancakes, and after we drowned our pancakes in syrup this morning, there was only about 1/4 cup of syrup left. Rather than storing it back in a jar for the next pancake breakfast (likely to be no more than two days from now), I thought I might use it to make a marinate of sorts.

I had mackerel fillets defrosting and ventured forth to cook it in the maple syrup. We had the fish with plain rice and the maple syrup lime marinate reduced to a thick sauce and was delicious. The lime and maple syrup blended really well together and created a sort of bitterness that was offset by the sweetness of the syrup. William proclaimed that it tastes like fish candy.

LIME AND MAPLE SYRUP PAN SEARED MACKEREL

• 4 fillets of mackerel (other fish will also work)
• thumb size piece of ginger, peeled and finely chopped
  
• about 1/4 cup of maple syrup (make sure it's real maple syrup and none of that Aunt Jemima stuff, no offense against Aunt Jemima)
• juice of 1-2 limes, according to your taste
• pinch of crushed red pepper
  
• sea salt (or kosher salt)
• fresh ground pepper
• vegetable or canola oil

Rinse fish fillets and drain. Place fillets on a plate and rub in salt and pepper.

In a bowl, mix in maple syrup, lime juice, crushed red pepper and ginger.

Heat oil in a pan over medium high heat, when oil begins to bubble, add fish one at a time. Pan sear fish about 4 minutes on each side, flipping when one side has browned. (My tendency is to always flip the fish too soon and they fall apart. The key is to have patience and flip the fish only once)

When both sides of fish has been browned, pour in maple syrup mixture and turn heat down to medium low. The mixture will reduce and thicken; turn off heat and serve when the desire amount of sauce is left.

Chinese Five Spice Meatballs Wrapped in Cabbage

I woke up with a dim sum craving, which would be fine if I were still in New York, but here in East Farnham, Quebec it is a problem. Growing up in the Bay Area I had dim sum at least once a week but it's been at least three months since my last dim sum feast. While starring into the fridge trying to decide what semblance of dim sum I can concot, I spotted the ground beef and cabbage and remembered the beef balls my brother used to always order.

Now I have no idea what the recipe for those beef balls are but I'll bet it starts with ground beef. I had salvaged a packet of Chinese five spice powder from the onslaught of our moving out with the intention of making tea eggs with them, but the pu-erh tea container busted and we had to shake tea out of all our clothes back in Minnesota. Perhaps the beef and five spice powder will hit it off here in Canada?

What I ended up with wasn't exactly like the beef balls I remembered, but it was still tasty and I would definitely make it again. The beef I used was super lean and I think fattier ground beef would've worked better in getting the super soft texture I remember from those beef balls.


CHINESE FIVE SPICE MEATBALLS WRAPPED IN CABBAGE
(Serves 4)

• 1 lb ground beef
• 1-2 eggs
• 1 heaping tablespoon of Chinese five spice powder (can be found in most Asian grocery stores, the five spices are cinnamon, anise, fennel, ginger and cloves)
• 1 piece of ginger root about the size of a thumb, peeled and chopped finely
• crushed red pepper and ground black pepper
• 3 tablespoon soy sauce
• pinch of salt
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 water chestnuts, peeled and chopped finely (optional)
• cabbage leaves, about one small head (lettuce will work better though I've always liked the taste of cabbage more)

Rinse the cabbage leaves and tear off the stem. Set aside to drain

Mix the ground beef with all other ingredients.

Form a meatball about the size of a golf ball and wrap it in the cabbage. It doesn't have to be perfectly round or enclosed. The cabbage provides a bed for the beef so that it doesn't stick to the steamer, also because it is tasty and juicy. Arrange single layer in a steamer and steam covered on high heat for 5-7 minutes. It is done when the center of the meatball is not red.

(5-7 minutes doesn't sound like enough time to cook through a thick wad of meat, but if the meat is overcooked it will be tough)

(any leftover cabbage and the torn off stems can be turned into a stir fry or quick soup)

Onion Pita Tart

Pardon the terrible picture but it really does not do justice to the subject. The refrigerator had little more than condiments and the pantry nothing but herbs and spices; there were two and a half pita, some onions, a can of anchovies and a few olives and I had to think fast before we passed out from starvation. These tarts were delightful and was oh so easy to put together.

Yesterday I made fresh pita bread and we ate it with skordalia and warmed olives for super. It was the first time I had made pita and it was much easier than I had anticipated and tasted way better than ones found in plastic bags in stores. The skordalia is adapted from a New York Times recipe, except I used pine nuts instead of walnuts, less oil and more garlic than the original calls for. It tastes like flavored mashed potatoes, nutty, garlicky and slightly tangy.

The onion tart idea came from a recipe in Sarah Woodward's The Classic Mediterrean Cookbook, but the original recipe seemed too time consuming as it calls for the sliced onions to be cooked in low heat covered for an hour. The only time I cook anything on the stove for an hour is chilli or soup and even then I always end up having a bowl before it's completely done.

ONION PITA TART
(serves 2)

• 2 pita pockets
• 2-3 onions, chopped into half moons (yellow or white onions work better as they are sweeter than red onions)
• anchovies (smoked herring, or any other sort of salted/smoked fish)
• olives, pitted
• 4-6 cloves of garlic, or to taste, chopped
• dried herbs (I used tarragon, thyme, dill, and corriander but other combination will also work)
• spices (I threw in some cumin and paprika but again, whatever you prefer)
• pepper (fresh ground black pepper and some crushed red pepper is it's on hand)
• salt
• olive oil

Preheat oven to 325 degrees Farenhait.

Heat oil over medium heat and add onion and garlic when hot, sautee for 1-2 minutes. Add herbs and spices, salt and pepper. Turn heat down to medium low and cook onions covered for about 10 minutes.

Onions should be soft and only browned at the edges. Arrange pitas on a baking sheet and pile onions on top. Add anchovies and olives and bake for 10-15 minutes in middle rack of oven.

DELICIOUS FACTORS:
The twiced baked pita turns crispy and provides the perfect bed for the slightly carmelized sweet onion; the tart olives and salty anchovies compliment the sweetness. That's three flavors in one bite!