Writing With My Mouth Full

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    • Soy-Glazed Tofu and Carrots

      This is one of my mother’s favorite side dishes adapted from Martha Stewart’s Everyday Food.

      Ingredients:
      1 block of extra-firm tofu, drained, cut into 16 equal pieces
      half a package of peeled baby carrots
      4 scallions, sliced thinly, lengthwise
      2 tbsps vegetable oil
      3 tbsps soy sauce
      2 tbsps rice vinegar
      2 tbsps sesame oil
      salt

      1. In a large bowl, whisk together vegetable oil, soy sauce and salt. Add carrots and toss. Using a slotted spoon, transfer carrots on a baking sheet. Add tofu to the same marinade turning gently to coat. Transfer to baking sheet as well. Save marinade.
      2. Broil carrots and tofu, turning tofu and removing carrots after 15 minutes. Cook the tofu for 15 more.
      3. Add cooked carrots and tofu in the leftover marinade and toss gently with scallions, sesame oil and vinegar.

      Related post/s:
      Everyday Food at Amazon.com

    • Chicken with Prosciutto and Sage

      Ingredients:
      4 chicken cutlets
      4 fresh whole sage leaves, plus 4 others, minced
      8 slices of prosciutto
      3/4 cup dry white wine
      1/3 cup chicken stock
      1/4 cup all-purpose flour
      1 tbsp butter
      salt, pepper, olive oil

      1. Lay 1 sage leaf lengthwise on each chicken cutlet, then wrap two prosciutto slices around each cutlet, encasing the sage. Set aside.
      2. In a shallow bowl, combine flour, salt and pepper and use to coat each cutlet.
      3. In a large skillet with hot oil over medium-high heat, cook cutlets through until golden brown, about 4 minutes each side. Remove from skillet and set aside.
      4. Add wine and broth to skillet. Cook over high heat until reduced. Remove from heat and let cool for about 1 minute. Then add minced sage and butter. Stir until butter is melted. Spoon sauce over cutlets and serve with slices of French bread.

      Related post/s:
      Good ol’ chicken stock

    • Ratatouille

      Ratatouîa, also known as ratatouille, is a traditional French vegetable stew of tomatoes, eggplant and bell peppers.

      Ingredients:
      1 medium-sized eggplant, peeled and diced
      2 zucchinis, green and yellow, diced
      2 bell peppers, red and yellow, seeded and chopped
      1 can of diced tomatoes
      1 onion, roughly chopped
      3 garlic cloves, minced
      1 tsp dried thyme or herbes de Provence
      fresh basil leaves
      salt, pepper, olive oil

      1. Heat oil in a large Dutch oven. Sauté onions, garlic, eggplant and zucchini.
      2. Add 3/4 cup of water. Simmer. Stir in peppers and let it boil for five minutes. Stir in tomatoes and thyme. Add salt and pepper to taste. Cook in low fire for about 20 minutes. Turn off fire when vegetables are tender and add basil.

      Related post/s:
      Another dish using herbes de Provence

    • Portobello with Leeks, Spinach and Goat Cheese

      I love serving this salad because it’s so different from just a lazy bowl of mixed greens.

      Ingredients:
      3 fresh portobello mushrooms, brushed off dirt using paper towel
      1 leek, roughly chopped and thoroughly washed minus the hard green leaves
      a handful of baby spinach, roughly chopped
      goat cheese
      balsamic vinegar
      salt, pepper, olive oil

      1. Preheat oven at 450º. Drizzle balsamic vinegar and olive oil onto the pleat side of the mushrooms. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake them for about 17 minutes, pleats up.
      2. Top with chopped leeks and spinach. Bake for about 10 more minutes until leeks are soft. Top with goat cheese during the last 3 minutes.

      Related post/s:
      Goat cheese and beets

    • Makimono

      101 Second Avenue off 6th Street
      212/253.7848
      about $125 for two, with two drinks, without tip
      ♥ ♥ ♥

      Updated, 2006: Makimono is now closed

      I love my sushi and I’ve had my fair share from New York City’s finest, but at the end of the day, otoro is still otoro and whether $12 a piece is worth it, a restaurant has to be able to support that price with other items as enticing. At Makimono, the tuna belly melted like butter and awakened the back of my throat. The uni was divine and so were the mackerel, the fluke and even the fishier sardine. The trio tartare of salmon, yellowfin and big eye tuna were all delicious and delicate even with the fried lotus root. The restaurant’s makimonos, rolls named after the traditional Japanese hand scrolls given as gifts, were ironically the least interesting of all, even with avocados and snow crabs.

    • Roasted White Potatoes

      You can use olive oil to roast these potatoes but they would just be more evil if you use duck fat. Sometimes, potatoes call out to be more evil.

      Ingredients:
      1 bag of small white potatoes, rinsed thoroughly, halved
      duck fat
      1 bunch of flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
      salt, pepper

      1. Put potatoes on roasting pan. Drizzle with duck fat. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and parsley. Bake for about 30 minutes.

      Related post/s:
      Even better if you use duck fat

    • Belgian Endive and Grain Mustard Salad

      Nigella Lawson suggested to serve this salad with roasted duck. I didn’t want to disappoint her so I followed her advice.

      Ingredients:
      Belgian endives, separated into leaves
      a bunch of watercress, thoroughly washed, patted dry with a paper towel
      1/2 cup hazelnuts, shelled and crushed into smaller pieces
      1 tsp grain mustard
      2 tsps lime juice
      2 tsps lime juice
      1 tsp honey
      1/2 tsp sesame oil
      1 tbsp vegetable oil
      salt

      1. Toast hazelnuts in a dry skillet. Transfer to a bowl and let them cool.
      2. In a bowl, whisk mustard, lime juice, orange juice, honey, salt, sesame oil and vegetable oil. Set aside.
      3. Toss endives and watercress in a salad bowl, sprinkle with hazelnuts and drizzle with citrus and mustard dressing.

      Related post/s:
      Roasted duck with blueberry sauce

    • Roast Duck with Blueberry Sauce

      I love roasting ducks just so I can save the duck fat afterwards. The collected duck fat is great for roasting Brussels sprouts or potatoes and using it as dressing on some bitter greens like endives and watercress. Just transfer it to a ramekin, cover with plastic wrap and store in the freezer until ready to use.

      Ingredients:
      1 whole fresh duck, excess fat trimmed, giblets removed

      For blueberry sauce:
      2 cups blueberries
      1 Granny Smith apple, peeled, quarted, cored, finely chopped
      1/2 of a white onion, finely chopped
      1/2 cup brown sugar
      1/4 cup white sugar
      2 pcs whole star anise
      grated zest of 1 lime
      grated zest of 1 orange
      1/2 cup white wine vinegar

      1. Heat oven at 325º. Place duck on a rack of a roasting pan to drain fat. Bake uncovered for 3 hours, periodically draining off collected fat in pan. Raise heat to 400º and roast an additional 30 minutes for crispy skin.
      2. Make the blueberry sauce while roasting the duck. In a small saucepan, put all the ingredients together and simmer over low heat. It should be thick but leave some of the fruit chunks for more texture. Adjust the taste by adding sugar and white wine vinegar alternately.
      3. To serve, remove ducks from the oven and cut away meat from the rib cage on a carving board, discarding bones.

      Related post/s:
      Where to get a fresh, whole duck
      Serve this duck with some bitter greens
      Save that duck fat!

    • Cold Sesame Noodles

      A staple of Chinese takeouts, sesame noodles is an easy, protein-rich dish that can be both spicy and sweet. The key is using Skippy’s smooth peanut butter so as not to complicate the recipe and not use any more sugar since peanut butter off the supermarket shelves is already too sweet. I used soba noodles here because I already have them, but use Chinese egg noodles for more authenticity.

      Ingredients:
      soba noodles
      a handful of string beans, julienned
      1 red bell pepper, julienned
      1/2 cup Skippy’s smooth peanut butter
      1 garlic clove, minced
      1/4 cup soy sauce
      1/4 cup rice vinegar
      2 tbsps sesame oil
      salt

      1. Cook soba noodles in boiling water for about 5 minutes. When done, drain and fluff with a fork to keep the noodles from sticking together. Toss noodles with the vegetables.
      2. In a blender, purée the rest of the ingredients. Stir in some warm water to liquify the dressing. Pour dressing over noodles and vegetables. Toss to coat.

      Related post/s:
      Where to buy egg or soba noodles

    • Brown-Buttered Brussels Sprouts

      This recipe calls for clarified butter. In a small pan, melt a few sticks of butter over low heat. Brown the butter until there is no more sizzle, but remove from heat to avoid burning it. Using a cheesecloth, strain to remove the burnt sediments. Transfer to a ramekin and put inside the fridge to solidify. You can use regular butter if you think that’s too much work. Make sure it’s good quality butter, though, like Lurpak.

      Ingredients:
      Brussels sprouts, halved
      3 tbsps butter
      salt, pepper

      1. In a Dutch oven, brown butter over medium heat. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Add sprouts when butter is hot and cook until browned on both sides.

      Related post/s:
      Brussels sprouts without butter

    • EN Japanese Brasserie

      435 Hudson Street between Leroy and Morton
      212/647.9196
      about $125 for two, with two drinks, without tip
      ♥ ♥

      Our Ethan Hawke lookalike waiter at EN Japanese Brasserie seemed nervous, stuttering whenever he had to answer a question; maybe we asked too many questions. The cocktails we ordered as soon as we were seated took fifteen minutes to come and when the boy’s bourbon was served without my lychee martini, he tried to explain in so many words why. But the restaurant is known for its yuba, or homemade tofu, not for its waiters, and if you come at the right time, you can catch the next fresh batch that’s scheduled to be made. What impressed me was their otoro, or the belly, the most expensive part of a tuna fish. We had them two ways, sashimi and seared, and they were both exquisite. The sashimi was magnificent, like butter melting in your mouth, while the seared otoro was served in garlic-soy and tasted like perfect slabs of steak. After an uni sashimi, we asked for a recommended light palate cleanser. A burdock root salad was served which I thought was too heavy to be eaten in between dishes. For dessert, we ordered the yuba sorbet but a soufflé came instead. Our waiter apologized but it was never comped from our bill.

      Space is hard to find in New York City, but EN has plenty of it. An inexperienced waiter can ruin a visit but EN holds its own with more pluses than minuses. High ceilings, dark wooden carvings and twigs of cherry blossoms take you away from the big city as you walk past the heavy curtains. The entire staff harmoniously greets every customer out loud in Japanese as soon as they come in and that alone can transport anyone to Shinjuku.

    • White Anchovies Appetizer

      When I’m at Di Palo’s in New York City and they happen to have white anchovies in olive oil, I buy a small container of it and I make a separate trip to Dean and Deluca to pick up a jar of grape leaves. There was another time when I had anchovies but I could not get the grape leaves, so I used the nori, or roasted seaweed I had left in my pantry.

      Ingredients:
      1 small jar of white anchovies
      1 small cucumber, julienned
      several grape leaves
      olive oil
      pepper

      1. On a serving plate, arrange one or two anchovies on top of a single grape leaf. Drizzle with a little bit more olive oil and add a dash of pepper.

      Related post/s:
      Where to buy grape leaves and white anchovies
      What to do with all that grape leaves?
      It all comes from Snack