Chicken Adobo

Posted on August 15, 2011 by daisy | daisysworld.net

In Philippine cuisine, adobo refers to the traditional method of braising meats (mostly chicken and pork), seafood, and vegetables in a highly seasoned mixture of vinegar, garlic, soy sauce, bay leaves and black peppercorns. While the type of vinegar used can be a point of debate, it is the main ingredient of this dish. The vinegar, which loses it’s acidity once it cooks, tenderizes the meats and together with the soy sauce combines to add the balanced sweet, sour and salty flavors Filipinos love. There are as many adobo recipes as there are cooks. Some add coconut milk for a richer sauce , while those who prefer a sweeter version add sugar. Some purists omit the soy sauce altogether, while others add annato powder for color.

For tonight’s dinner, Chris did a quick Google search and found a good basic recipe from Foodnetwork.com. This is the style of adobo I am accustomed to eating. I tweaked the recipe below for a little more authentic taste.

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Semi-Homemade Scones

Posted on August 12, 2011 by daisy | daisysworld.net

I enjoy cooking from scratch and I have chronicled many of my kitchen adventures making cultured butter, pasta, ricotta cheese, and ice cream. However, there are times when the convenience and ease of “semi-homemade” cooking results in something just as good, or even better. Cooking from scratch tends to take longer and I don’t always have the time or the energy, especially after my long commute. Also, once in a while, I get lucky and discover the perfect pre-packaged mix that is both delicious and easy to make. Such is the case with King Arthur Flour Company’s pre-packaged scone mixes. They come in a huge variety of flavors and convenient to make. The mixes are a bit pricey at $7 each, but King Arthur Flour often offers discounts.

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Joe Jost’s Pickled Eggs

Posted on August 3, 2011 by daisy | daisysworld.net

Since 1924, Long Beach locals have been flocking to Joe Jost’s, one of the oldest continually operating bars west of the Mississippi. It was originally a barbershop, but it is now known for serving ice-cold schooners of beer (and rootbeer), Joe’s Specials, a Polish sausage on rye bread with Swiss cheese, pickle, and mustard, Virginia-style peanuts, and the best pickled eggs. EVER!!

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cake batter ice cream

Posted on August 2, 2011 by daisy | daisysworld.net

I love the taste of cake batter. Looking back, some of my best childhood memories involved licking the batter off the bowl when my Mom made a cake, brownies, or even pancakes. Truth be told, I was also an avid cookie dough eater, but that’s another story. Anyway, back to today’s topic….For a while, I was hooked on Coldstone Creamery’s Cake Batter Ice Cream, but a few people got sick from salmonella and the company yanked it from its stores. When it came back, it wasn’t as good as the original flavor, but, I guess, the tradeoff was that it was safer to eat.

Now that Chris and I are on an ice cream-making frenzy, I wanted to make my own version. The result was a very rich and creamy ice cream that taste exactly like raw cake batter. It’s a delicious and festive treat, specially when topped with sprinkles. Who doesn’t love sprinkles?!

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Thin Crust Pizzas

Posted on August 1, 2011 by daisy | daisysworld.net

It has now been several Sundays in a row that Chris and I have stayed home and cooked all day. Yesterday was no exception. After our visits to Sprouts, Smart and Final and Ralphs for all the necessary ingredients, we were delighted to spend the rest of the day in the kitchen. Between the two of us, we made ice cream, simmered pork for ramen, and pickled some eggs à la Joe Jost. We also made marinara sauce and pizza dough for two pizzas – one with pesto sauce and the other with the marinara. While waiting for the pizza dough to rise, Chris managed to make a piña colada for me and a margarita for himself.

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cheddar cheese dip with jalapeños

Posted on July 29, 2011 by daisy | daisysworld.net

Since I’ve got a ready supply of jalapeños at the moment, I’m always looking for ways to use them. Chris recently discovered Trader Joe’s Pub Cheese, a “gourmet spreadable cheese,” reminiscent of Velveeta, but with more flavor. It comes in three flavors: Sharp Cheddar, Sharp Cheddar with Jalapeños, and Sharp Cheddar with Horseradish. For our new favorite dip, I melt the cheese, add a tablespoon or two of drained salsa, and some sliced jalapeños. It is so simple and easy, yet very tasty. Next time, I might make nachos by adding Ortega chiles, canned no-bean chili, diced tomatoes to the melted cheese and then spooning all that gooey cheese over tortilla chips. Yum!!

© Daisy’s World. All rights reserved. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Daisy’s World with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

a classic combination: tomatoes and basil

Posted on July 26, 2011 by daisy | daisysworld.net

Perhaps there is no better combination of flavors and textures than the classic pairing of tomatoes and basil, whether in a Caprese Salad or in a simple pasta dish. This is specially true in the summertime when the tomatoes are at its sweetest and at its peak of flavor and the fragrant basil grows quite fast. The small basil plant I bought at Trader Joe’s is very happy by my sunny kitchen window and has produced all the basil I need, and much more. It was a much better investment than buying a bunch at the grocery store for the same price.

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razzleberry ice cream with dark chocolate chips

Posted on July 17, 2011 by daisy | daisysworld.net

In 1984, President Ronald Reagan signed a proclamation declaring the third Sunday in July as National Ice Cream Day and designated July to be National Ice Cream Month. It coincides with our own proclamation naming this year, 2011, as The Year of the Ice Cream. As you know, Chris has been the diligent ice cream maker, churning ice cream at least once a week. Today, to mark the Day, Month, and Year of the Ice Cream, it was my turn to create a cold concoction – Razzleberry Ice Cream. My inspiration for this flavor came from Marie Callenders’ Razzleberry Pie, which is made with blackberries and raspberries.

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harvesting jalapeños

Posted on July 10, 2011 by daisy | daisysworld.net

Today, only 49 days after planting the little seedlings (see May 22 entry), I harvested seven jalapeño peppers. With ample water and sunlight, the scrawny plants have now grown to about 2 feet, with minimum care. The ripe jalapeños were about 3-inches long with a bright shiny green color. There are still about 10-15 peppers ready to be harvested, and many more blossoms. I will harvest more in a couple of days, but leave some of them on the plant until they turn red. The red jalapeño peppers are sweeter and not quite as hot.

Since I don’t use jalapeño peppers regularly, I need to figure out what to do with all these peppers since I don’t want them to go to waste. I can probably freeze or pickle them, preserve them in olive oil, or add them to homemade salsa. In the meantime, we sliced the peppers for Southwest burgers, stuffed them with goat cheese for poppers, and added to some pub cheese (another good buy from Trader Joe’s) for nachos. None of our dishes were very original or creative, but they were all very tasty!

© Daisy’s World, 2011-2013. All rights reserved. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Daisy’s World with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

i say kumato, you say tomato

Posted on July 4, 2011 by daisy | daisysworld.net

I discovered these brown tomatoes at Trader Joe’s the other day. They are called Kumato tomatoes and they have an unusual brownish-reddish appearance. They are firm, juicy tomatoes that are sweeter than traditional tomatoes. The label says that they are distributed and sold exclusively by Trader Joe’s. I was originally drawn to its unusual color and I thought it would make for a unique presentation in a Caprese salad or a bruschetta.

Chris and I have been cooking from scratch lately and we came up with a decidedly un-Fourth of July dinner, using the newly discovered Kumatos – roasted tomato and basil pasta and rosemary-olive bread. Chris made the fresh angel hair pasta and we collaborated on the sauce. I roasted the Kumatos in the oven in olive oil with a little balsamic vinegar and garlic for about 15 minutes. I transferred it to a sauce pan with more olive oil and garlic and added red pepper flakes, parmesan cheese, basil, and salt and pepper.

As Chris was draining the pasta, he saved some of the pasta water so I could add it to the simmering sauce. The starchy water and the olive oil simmered together, forming the base for the sauce. When the sauce was almost done, I added the pasta and mixed it to coat the pasta evenly with the slightly thickened tomato sauce. I seasoned generously with salt and pepper and garnished with more cheese and basil.

For the bread, I made french baguettes again, but this time added rosemary and diced Kalamata olives. From start to finish, it took a few hours to make dinner, but result was a simple and deliciously satisfying meal we enjoyed making together. It was a lovely way to end the holiday weekend.

everything’s better with butter

Posted on July 2, 2011 by daisy | daisysworld.net

Homemade bread is good. Homemade bread with homemade butter is even better! Yes, you read it right. I made my own butter this morning! As it turns out, butter is surprisingly easy and fun to make. Essentially, heavy cream is just whipped until it breaks and the fat separates from the liquid. The fat is the butter and the liquid is buttermilk. How easy is that? I used a stand mixer, but a food processor works as well. Shaking the fermented cream in a mason jar for about 20-30 minutes will supposedly work but I prefer to have my kitchen gadgets do the heavy work.

I followed this cultured butter recipe from the Seattle Times, which calls for culturing, or fermenting the cream, before churning. I had no luck in finding a good quality, organic cream, so I settled for a pint of the Trader Joe’s brand. The resulting butter is a pale yellow color and creamy with a little bit of tang to it. Better quality cream would have resulted in a deeper yellow color and a richer flavor. Next time, I can experiment with adding different herbs and flavorings to make compound butter.

homemade french baguette

Posted on July 1, 2011 by daisy | daisysworld.net

There is nothing like the fragrant aroma of bread baking in the oven and it is actually simple and easy to do. There are only six ingredients for these french baguettes, most of them common pantry items – water, sugar, yeast, flour, salt, and cornmeal. When it all comes together, the dough requires kneading, which is one of my favorite parts of baking bread by hand. I love the feel of the dough as it turns from a sticky, squishy mess to a soft, smooth ball. It does takes at least 10 minutes of kneading and a couple of hours for yeast breads to rise and double, but the effort and wait are well worth it. The resulting baguettes are crusty on the outside and soft and on the inside. Slathered with butter, it is absolutely delicious!

Here’s my serving suggestion for the baguette – Sirloin Steak Crostini with Chimichurri Sauce, adapted from Martha Stewart’s Sirloin Kebabs. Chris made a half batch of the Chimichurri Sauce and marinated a little piece of steak so we could taste test the recipe before serving it to Paul and Tracey for dinner tomorrow. Chris grilled the steak perfectly and my homemade baguette soaked up all the tasty olive oil from the Chimichurri Sauce. Absolutely delicious! I hope Paul and Tracey will enjoy it, too.

cooking channel

Posted on June 5, 2011 by daisy | daisysworld.net

Our new favorite television channel is The Cooking Channel, an edgier and more contemporary spinoff of the Food Network. The Cooking Channel brings the focus back to food and cooking, instead of the Food Network’s increasing push to give us reality-based shows with the endless array of challenges and competitions, complete with contrived kitchen drama. The Cooking Channel lineup still includes some familiar faces like Giada, Emeril, and Bobby, doing what they do best – teach us how to cook and tell us where to find good food! If you want to learn what to do with a secret ingredient like skirt steak (pictured above), give Michael Symon’s show, How to Cook Like an Iron Chef a try. If you want to know what Montreal restaurant chef Chuck Hughes cooks on his day off, watch Chuck’s Day Off. Both these chefs will entertain you while teaching you a thing or two about cooking.

We also like to watch Unique Eats, a show that gives us a peak at the new and exciting culinary trends in restaurants today. It is a bit New York-centric, but the show does manage to venture out to show that there are unusual and innovative restaurants in many other cities in America. No trip to NYC is complete without visiting a restaurant that we’ve seen on this show. So far, we’ve been to Buttermilk Channel for their version chicken and waffles, Fette Sau for barbecue amid the hipsters in Brooklyn, and stood in line for 45 minutes at Shake Shack in Madison Square Park for some good burgers and custard.

Last night, we had a small dinner party and we served Skirt Steak with Tomatillo Salsa and Creme Fraiche. Everyone seemed to enjoy it so I thought I’d share the recipes with you all from Michael Symon’s How to Cook Like an Iron Chef.

homemade ice cream

Posted on June 2, 2011 by daisy | daisysworld.net

Our current obsession is homemade ice cream – Chris, with making it, and me, with eating it. Since January, he’s made sure our freezer is stocked with his delicious creations such as Meyer Lemon-Olive Oil (pictured above), Salted Caramel, and Pistachio ice creams. There were a couple that did not make the cut – Hazelnut Mascarpone and the Salted Almond – but I applaud his efforts and encourage his pursuit of inventive and out-of-the-ordinary flavors. My current favorite is the beautiful pale green Pistachio, with little flecks of the nuts left in. Yummy! The cost for a quart is about $5, a little more expensive than the store-bought kind, but it’s totally made with a special ingredient – love!

Bring on the long hot days of summer! I’ve got my spoon.

homemade pasta dough

Posted on May 27, 2011 by daisy | daisysworld.net

Once again, Karen was an inspiration. Actually her blog entry on Fettuccine with Fresh Basil was the inspiration for both our lunch and dinner. We dusted off the pasta machine and leafed through my huge notebook from Intro to Cooking Class to find the basic pasta dough recipe I had made 10+ years ago. It is truly amazing how four ingredients – flour, eggs, salt and pepper can turn out to be delicate pasta. We made the ravioli for lunch and Fettuccine Alfredo for dinner. Yummy!

Pasta Dough

Ingredients:
1 cup Semolina flour
1 cup All-Purpose flour
2 eggs
Salt and pepper, to taste
Water, as needed

Method:
Combine all dry ingredients. Make a well in the center. Mix eggs and pour into well. With a fork, start incorporating the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients. Add water, 1 tablespoon at a time, if needed to have the dough come together. Once it comes together, knead the dough until it springs lightly when pressed. Wrap in plastic and let rest in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. Take out dough and cut into halves or quarters, depending on the size of dough. Roll out, according to pasta machine directions. Cook in salted boiling water until al dente.

Daisy’s World. All rights reserved. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Daisy’s World with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.