Bacon Cheddar Scones

Ever since I got back from my Napa Valley trip, I have been thinking about Bouchon Bakery’s bacon cheddar scone. I searched all over the web trying to find the recipe and if there is a Bouchon Bakery cookbook. Unfortunately, I could not find any – although now I know that the Bouchon Bakery cookbook is on the work to be released some time in 2012. I decided to use the recipe from Dork-a-thon (thank you, Emma!) because I had to have some bacon cheddar scones soon! They turned out really good although they’re not the same as Bouchon’s scones – maybe not enough cheese & bacon? Next time, I’ll try to add more to the mixture. Now, if only I know how to take good pictures of these scones... it's hard to take a good one!


Ingredients:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons fresh ground black pepper
1/2 cup chilled unsalted butter, grated
1 1/2 cups grated cheddar cheese
4 green onions, thinly sliced
10 slices bacon, cooked and chopped into 1 inch pieces
3/4-1 1/2 cup buttermilk (I used heavy whipping cream instead)
1 large egg
2 tablespoons water

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 400°F .
• Stir together flour, baking powder, salt and pepper in a large mixing bowl.
• Gradually cut butter in with a pastry blender or two knives until the mixture resembles small peas.
• Stir in cheese, green onions, bacon.
• Add in 1 cup heavy cream to the flour and cheese mixture.
• Mix by hand just until the ingredients are incorporated.
• If the dough is too dry to hold together, use the remaining heavy cream, adding one tablespoon at a time, until dough is pliable and can be formed into a ball.
• Stir as lightly and as little as possible to ensure a light-textured scone.
• Remove dough from bowl and place on a lightly floured flat surface.
• Pat the dough into a ball.
• Using a well-floured rolling pin or palms of your hands, flatten the dough into a flat disk about ¾-1 inch thick.
• Cut the dough into 8 to 10 wedges, depending on the size scone you prefer.
• Whisk the egg and water in a small mixing bowl.
• Brush each wedge with the egg wash.
• Place scones on an ungreased baking sheet lined with parchment paper (or silicone mat); bake 20-22 minutes, or until golden brown and no longer sticky in the middle.
• Serve warm and enjoy with a fresh brewed coffee.

Spaghetti with Spiced Meat Sauce

I was not in the mood to make anything complicated and fancy because I was feeling a bit hungover from Saturday night outing so I made this simple & quick pasta dish using Martha Stewart’s recipe. I substituted the rigatoni with organic spaghetti and used ground veal instead and I used the whole (12 oz) can of tomato paste and pasta water to help thicken the sauce and add more flavor. It turned out really good and we didn’t even need to add grated parmesan cheese on top because it’s already so tasty.


Ingredients:
12 ounces spaghetti (or other pasta)
1 pound ground veal
1 medium onion, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 12oz can tomato paste
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 Serrano pepper, finely diced
1 tablespoon aged balsamic vinegar
¼ cup roughly chopped parsley

Directions:

• In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta until al dente; drain, and return to pot. Set aside.
• While pasta is cooking, cook lamb in a large saucepan over medium-high, breaking up with a wooden spoon, until no longer pink, 3 to 5 minutes.
  
• Add Serrano pepper, onion and garlic; season with salt and pepper.
  
• Cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is tender, 4 to 6 minutes.
• Stir in tomato paste and cinnamon, and cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes.
  
• Add 2 cups of pasta water; bring to a boil.
  
• Reduce to a simmer, and cook until slightly thickened, 8 to 10 minutes.
  
• Stir in vinegar, and season again with salt and pepper.
  
• Add pasta to the sauce pot and the chopped parsley, and toss to combine.

Thought For Food - Hands On

Do you like to play with your food or ever wonder how you would cook if the evil kitchen elves place things at the bottom of the drawer and hide all your utensils? Well, if you do, this event does just that. Recently our friend Lisa at Autofuss, an amazing production studio here in SF, invited us to attend a food/cooking experience founded by her office called Thought For Food - Hands On.

We cooked a three-course meal without using any utensils, just our hands. No measuring spoons/cups, no forks/spoons/knives, no rolling pin, no whisk – just our two hands, the ingredients, a set of instructions, a couple of bowls, pot of boiling water and diagrams on how to measure ingredients with just your hands. Not to mention the endless glasses of wine.


The menu:

• Italian wine
• Traditional Caesar salad
• Homemade pasta with pesto sauce
• Tiramisu

It was a little weird at first using just your hands to scoop up the mascarpone cheese for the tiramisu and rolling out pasta dough with a carrot, but it brought me back to my childhood playing with playdough. As you can see from the pictures below, Porgy and I were not very successful in creating our pasta dish. Some couples were able to rollout their dough thin enough to make pasta strips and ours looked more like potato chips. Although the pasta texture was a bit chewy, the flavor was fantastic.


All in all, it was a fun and educational evening for us – catching up with old friends, doing some experimental cooking, getting our hands really messy and most importantly, I learned that I am totally dependent on my cooking utensils. If you’re interested in checking out Autofuss' next event, Hunger Tool, go to their site for more information.

Napa Valley

A couple weeks ago, Porgy and I took an impromptu day-off from work and went to Napa Valley for some delicious wine and food loving.


We first stopped at the Bouchon Bakery in Yountville for yummy pastries – I had the bacon cheddar scone and Porgy had the cross bun. Heavenly!


then off to Frog’s Leap Winery to sample their wine flight...


more wine flight at Grgich Hills Estate ...


and finally we had a couple glasses of smooth Cabernet Sauvignon tasting at Silver Oaks.


On the way back we stopped by at BarbersQ to fuel ourselves for the drive home. I got the full rack of baby back ribs while Porgy had the lamb sliders. Their ribs are definitely one of the better ones that I have had since I moved to the SF Bay Area a decade ago. It is annoying that I cannot find a good American-style BBQ restaurant in San Francisco. Do you know a good BBQ restaurant in San Francisco that I should check out?


PS: Since I was the designated driver, I only sipped, swirled and spit the wine. It’s hard for me but it’s the responsible thing to do.

Hawaiian Shoyu Chicken

After hanging with Auntie Sandy and Mo-Fo at the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market, I got inspired to make a Hawaiian-inspired dish since they are from Kauai so the next day I made this Hawaiian Shoyu Chicken. It is a delicious meat dish to be eaten with rice for lunch and with salad for a light dinner.


Ingredients:
½ cup of low sodium shoyu (soy sauce)
½ cup of brown sugar or ½ cup of honey
½ cup of chicken broth or water
2 tablespoons of sake (I used dry white wine)
3-6 cloves of garlic, finely minced
2 tablespoons of fresh ginger, grated fine (skins on)
1 teaspoon of Chinese five spice powder
Hot sauce such as Sriracha to taste (I used Sambal Oelek)
5 pounds of chicken thighs
Green onions and sesame seeds for garnish

Directions:

• Whisk together soy sauce, brown sugar (or honey), chicken broth, sake, garlic, ginger, five spice powder and hot sauce in a large bowl.
• Add the thighs to the marinade and stick in the fridge for one hour.
• Heat up the oven to 350 degrees.
• Pour the chicken and the marinade onto a large baking pan, arrange so the meaty side is down. Cook for about 40 minutes, turning the chicken 3 or 4 times.
• Turn up the oven to 450 degrees our put chicken in a broiler for another 5-10 minutes to brown the chicken, skin side up. Sprinkle with green onions and sesame seeds and serve with white rice.

Carrot Raisin Muffins

The weather had been so bad in San Francisco lately and the forecast called for another wet and stormy night on Friday. Since I didn't want to go out in the rain by myself while Porgy did some work, I went to the Whole Foods during a rain break and got the ingredients to make Carrot Raisin Muffins. I had a similar muffin from the Golden West earlier in the week and totally loving it. I used the recipe from Craft: (check out their site for step-by-step directions and pictures) and added some extra raisins and almonds to add some sweetness and crunchiness to the muffins.


Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups white flour
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
3 cups grated carrot
1 cup raisins, soaked in rum for 5 minutes and drained
1/2 cup sliced almonds
8 tablespoons (1/2 cup) butter, melted
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Zest of 1 orange
Juice of 1 orange
2/3 cup milk
1 teaspoon fresh ginger
powdered sugar (optional)

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 350° F.
  
• Peel and grate about 4-5 carrots, using the regular-sized hole on a box-type cheese grater. Set aside.
• Grate the ginger with a microplane grater until you have a fine pulp. Set aside.
• In a medium bowl, mix together the sugars, eggs, vanilla, orange zest and juice, milk, and ginger until well combined. Stir in the melted butter.
• In a large bowl, stir together the white and wheat flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Mix to combine well.
• Add the grated carrot to the flour mixture and stir to coat and evenly distribute. Make a well in the center of the flour and carrot mixture.
  
• Add in the raisins in the liquid mixture and pour everything into the flour mixture. Add ub the sliced almonds and, using a wooden spoon, stir until combined and moistened. Do not over mix.
• Line muffin cups with paper liners and pour 1/4 cup batter per muffin cup. Bake on the middle rack for ~25 minutes until the muffins are golden brown or until a toothpick inserted into the muffins comes out clean.
• Set on a wire rack to cool for 5 minutes, remove the muffins from the tin and let them cool another 10 minutes.
• Sprinkle powdered sugar and some more sliced almonds on top.
  

Roast Pork Hash

After eating the Roast Pork Shoulder for several days in a row for lunch and dinner, both Porgy and I were getting bored with it so I had to figure out what to do with the 2-lb meat leftover. I remembered reading a NYTimes article on hash and, interestingly enough, one of the recipes was called Country Pork and Apple Hash which uses Pernil-style Roast Pork. Unfortunately, since I do not have any cast-iron pan, I had to use my non-stick pan to cook the hash so it was hard to get the meat and potatoes crisped. All in all, it was a delicious dish and it was specially satisfying to be able to eat it with a sunny side-up egg on top for a Sunday brunch.


Ingredients:
4 large russet potatoes, peeled and diced
Salt
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 onions, minced
2 pounds roast pork, leftover or pernil from Latin American restaurant
1/2 cup chicken broth
4 sprigs thyme, leaves only
Poached or sunny-side-up eggs, for serving

Directions:

• In a large pot, cover potatoes with cold salted water, bring to a simmer and cook until barely tender (do not overcook, or boil rapidly). Drain.
• Melt butter in a very wide skillet. Add onions and cook, stirring, until softened and golden around edges, about 10 minutes. Add pork and broth; cook over medium-high heat for 3 to 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add potatoes and thyme leaves and cook, stirring occasionally and pressing mixture in pan until hot and edges are crisped. Serve topped with eggs, if desired.

Sausage Buns

At least once or twice a week, I would stop by at a Chinese bakery in Chinatown on the way to work to get a Sausage Bun. I thought that it would be interesting to try making it this weekend so I don't have to do a pit stop on the way to work and save some money. After searching for the recipe online, I finally settled on this one on Toxo Bread because there's a detailed step-by-step instruction.


From this experience, I am convinced that baking bread is NOT my forte because it's just too complicated for me and I only had 1 bun came out looking decent and the other 7 were an embarrassment. Although they tasted good, I'd rather spent $0.95 to get one in Chinatown instead.

Ingredients:
300 grams (2 cups) all-purpose flour
5 grams (1 teaspoon) instant dried yeast

10 grams (2 teaspoons) white granulated sugar

6 grams (1 teaspoon) salt

1 egg, lightly beaten
220-230 grams (1 cup) lukewarm milk

2.5 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
8 pieces of hot dog sausages

egg wash: 1 egg, lightly beaten

sesame seeds, for topping

Directions:
Follow the step-by-step direction at Toxo Bread.

Dippy Eggs and Soldiers

Some of my most cherished moments with my 8 month old son happen on weekend mornings. Right after I get ready and my husband takes his turn to shower, I announce to my son "foodie time!" and I start to get my breakfast ready while letting him crawl around me in the kitchen.

The bread has been made the night before. I boil the eggs, toast the bread, put on butter, brew a cup of English Breakfast tea, and set a relatively elegant and complicated breakfast onto our dining table. Then I put my son in his high chair and hand him his banana. And we both just dig into our food, like two ferocious animals who haven't eaten in days. At the end of the feast, we look at each other, and laugh uncontrollably for no apparent reason. Him from his sugar high, and me from my egg/butter/bread/caffeine/sugar fix.

This egg/butter/bread/caffeine/sugar is possibly my favorite food combo. Or, we can call it by its fancier name: dippy eggs and soldiers. It's really just soft boiled eggs where you dip your sliced toast in them to scoop out the runny yolk. Simple yet decadent.

To make the homemade buttermilk soldiers:

I have tried many buttermilk bread recipes, and after numerous tweaks here and there, this is my favorite recipe which I have memorized. The key ingredients are wheat gluten and dry milk powder.

Ingredients (yields a small 1lb loaf):
2 and 1/4 cups of King Arthur bread flour
1 egg
1/2 cup of buttermilk
2 and 1/3 tablespoons of butter
1/4 cup of water
1 tablespoon of wheat gluten
1 tablespoon of all purpose flour
1 tablespoon of dry milk powder
1 and 1/2 tablespoons of sugar
1 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of yeast

Directions:

• Follow directions from you bread machine
• Or follow directions from this recipe

To make dippy eggs:

Ingredients:
farm fresh eggs (or whatever good quality eggs you can find)

Directions:

• Boil a small pot of water.
• After water boils, lower carefully the eggs in water along with an egg timer.
• Turn down the heat so the water is simmering.
• While waiting for eggs to cook, slice your bread, butter them, and brew your tea.
• Depending on how hard you want your eggs, it will take between 3 to 5 minutes to cook an egg with fairly runny yolk.

Sake Ochazuke (porridge with broiled salmon)

At a glance, a bowl of porridge with a piece of no-dressing, no-marinade salmon sounds almost sad. As in, it's-Saturday-night-I-am-home-alone-slurping-instant-ramen sad. But in fact, this dish is full of rich and nice flavors and has quickly become a staple at my house.

The key is to get the right ingredients and not under- or over-cook the salmon. Once you assemble the porridge with a hint of green tea and that dashi stock umami with the fatty crispy salmon skin and slightly salty salmon flakes, the flavor combination just doesn't get better than that. Oh wait, it does, put some roasted seaweed on top. Now you've got the texture, the taste, and the warmth all from a single bowl of pure goodness.

Ingredients
4oz Salted Salmon Belly
1/2 sheet Roasted Seaweed ( like Yamamoto nori)
2 cups Cooked Rice (use Nishiki brand rice)
1 cup Green Tea (use Japanese green tea such as genmaicha for its nuttiness)
1 cup Dashi Stock
Canola Oil
Salt

Direction

• Rub the salmon with a generous amount of salt
• Cover and let it refrigerate overnight
• Remove the salmon and rinse under cold water to remove the salt
• Dry the salmon with paper towels or a kitchen towel
• Drizzle oil over salmon and place under a broiler in low setting
• Broil for 15 minutes until a nice crust has formed; if the skin is still not brown enough, you can turn the broiler to "high" for a couple of minutes and monitor closely to make sure the salmon doesn't burn
• Break apart the salmon into flakes and set aside
• Add rice to a bowl with salmon flakes and seaweed on top
• When you are ready to serve, mix the hot green tea with the stock. You can add as much liquid as you would like, as long as you remember to use it in the ratio of one part tea one part dashi stock.