Happy Turkey Day

It's the day after Thanksgiving, so obviously I had a bowl of turkey, stuffing, and gravy for breakfast. At our house, the Thanksgiving spread is pretty similar every year--Alton Brown's brined turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, candied yams, green bean casserole, cranberries, rolls, plus/minus one new test dish. I'm usually in charge of dessert (this should not come as a surprise to anyone).

This year I decided to try a couple new dishes. I have never tried to make a pecan pie, though it is one of my favorite holiday desserts. I found a recipe online for a pecan pie with a little twist--a splash of bourbon and a sprinkle of chocolate chips really round out this dish. To be honest, there is only 1/4 c bourbon in this dish, but that may have been a little too much. The alcohol did not completely bake out of the pie creating a lingering burning taste in the sugar layer. If I were to make this again, I would definitely decrease the amount of alcohol or use an imitation flavoring.

Many people know, my sister is deathly allergic to nuts (including pecans), so I had to create another non-IgE activating dessert. I found a recipe for Jacque's Pepin's apple tart. It seemed simple enough and absolutely delicious. It has a really easy crust and the apples are placed to make the tart look really fancy. I think I liked this dessert better than the pecan pie. The crust is really buttery, like a shortbread, and it isn't too sweet (a total of 3 Tbsp of sugar in the entire recipe). The pan was completely empty by the end of the night.

These dishes are really simple to make and they look and taste fantastic.

Black Bottom Pecan Pie
from Saveur

1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp. fine salt
7 tbsp. unsalted butter, cubed and chilled
1/4 cup bourbon
1/4 cup cornstarch
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup light corn syrup, such as Karo
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 cup chopped pecans
6 oz. semisweet chocolate chips

1. Combine flour and 1 tsp. salt on a work surface. Using your fingers, rub butter into flour until there are no remaining pieces larger than peas. Make a well in the center and pour in 1/4 cup cold water. With your fingertips, mix water into flour. Shape dough into a disk, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for 1 hour.

2. Roll dough out to a circle 12" in diameter. Fold dough over rolling pin and unfold over a 9" pie pan. Ease dough over bottom and into sides of pan. Trim off overhanging dough with a small knife and refrigerate pie dough for 30 minutes.

3. Heat oven to 350°. In a medium bowl, whisk together the bourbon and cornstarch until dissolved. Whisk in eggs, corn syrup, sugar, melted butter, and pecans. Spread chocolate chips evenly over bottom of pie dough and pour filling on top. Bake until browned and bubbly, 1 hour. Transfer to a rack and let pie cool for at least 2 hours before serving.

Maman's Apple Tart

from Saveur, by Jacques Pepin

1 1⁄4 cups flour

3 tbsp. sugar

1 tsp. baking powder

1⁄4 tsp. kosher salt

5 tbsp. unsalted butter,

 
   cut into 1⁄2" cubes and chilled

3 tbsp. vegetable shortening

2 tbsp. milk

1 egg, lightly beaten

2 large Golden Delicious, Empire,

 
   or Cortland apples, peeled, cored,

 
   and cut into 8–12 wedges

2 tbsp. apricot preserves or jam

1. Heat oven to 375°. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, 1 tbsp. sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add 3 tbsp. butter and the shortening and, using your fingers, rub into flour mixture to form coarse pea-size pieces. Add milk and egg and stir with a wooden spoon until just combined. Bring dough together with your hands. Transfer dough to a 9" glass pie plate and, using lightly floured fingers, press dough into bottom and sides; refrigerate for 30 minutes.

2. Arrange apple wedges side by side on bottom of pie plate like the spokes of a wheel, pushing gently into the dough as you go. Halve remaining apples and put in middle of tart. Sprinkle apples with remaining sugar and dot with the remaining chilled butter. Bake until the crust is golden, about 45 minutes. Using a pastry brush, brush apricot preserves over the tart and bake for 10 minutes more. Let cool for at least 15 minutes before serving.

The Most Dangerous Cake Recipe in the World

I recently stumbled upon the television show The Mind of a Chef on PBS. It features Chef David Chang (Momofuku) exploring the history, culture, and science of food. It is a great show, full of humor and education, with Chang's unique spin on classic recipes and his travel adventures. I definitely recommend it--you can watch most of the episodes online too!

I posted the show on facebook, and and old friend mentioned David Chang's food journal Lucky Peach. I had heard of the magazine, and have been wanting to get a subscription, but just never got around to it. I finally went online and ordered Issues #2-5 (no Issue #1 because it is $140!!) and they just arrived in the mail today. Yahoo!

I was just skimming through Issue #3 and reading an article on the history of cake with a runny center. I was always under the impression Jean-Georges Vongerichten invented the original molten lava cake after he accidentally undercooked a chocolate sponge cake. Apparently, over 20 years before that discovery, a housewife entering a Pillsbury bake-off created a Bundt cake filled with a pudding-like tunnel center. Who knew? Yay for knowledge!

At the end of the article, there is a recipe for a Two-Minute Chocolate Mug Cake. I've heard of baking a cake in a mug popped in the microwave, but I never believed they would be any good. But this recipe is published in Lucky Peach! It must be delicious! It looked simple enough and I had all the ingredients on hand, so I figured I'd give it a try. Wow! I am so surprised. This cake turned out light and fluffy with a slightly undercooked bottom that was like a gooey fudge--probably from the chocolate chips settling on the bottom. From start to finish, this took about 3.5 minutes, you can't beat that. I also dusted a bit of powdered sugar on top, just to make it fancy. Make this cake, now!

"Why is this the most dangerous cake recipe in the world? Because now we are only 2 minutes away from chocolate cake at any time of the day or night."

Two-Minute Chocolate Mug Cake
from Lucky Peach Issue #3

1 egg
3 Tbsp milk
3 Tbsp neutral oil
3 Tbsp flour
4 Tbsp sugar
2 Tbsp cocoa powder
3 Tbsp semi-sweet chocolate chips
small splash vanilla extract
pinch salt
1 small or medium coffee mug

Add wet ingredients (including the egg) to a small or medium coffee mug and mix well. Add the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly. Add the chocolate chips and vanilla extract, and mix again. Put your mug into a 1000-watt microwave for 2 minutes. The cake will rise over the top of the mug, but don't be alarmed. Allow to cook and tip out onto a plate if desired. EAT! (This can serve 2 if you want to feel slightly more virtuous).

Japanese Inspired Fish

Everyone knows I really enjoy True Food Kitchen. They have some great dishes that I don't feel too guilty eating. JC and I make their Tuscan Kale Salad on a regular basis, and now we have another dish to add to our recipe book.

One of my favorite entrees is their Miso Glazed Black Cod. It is slightly sweet with a definite Japanese influence. The cod stays nice and juicy, and it is served on a bed of bok choy with mushrooms. I was thumbing through Harumi's Japanese Home Cooking which is a great cookbook for anyone that wants to try simple Japanese cooking at home. Her recipe for Poached Red Sea Bream caught my attention because it reminded me a lot of the dish at True Food Kitchen, sans the miso. I decided to give it a try since it calls for a very short list of ingredients, and it blew me out of the water. This dish tastes exactly like the Miso Glazed Black Cod. The fish retains its moisture in the sauce and is just a tad sweet. I also threw in some oyster mushrooms and served it with a side of wakame seaweed as Harumi suggests. I also substituted black cod since they did not carry red sea bream at the store. We served it over a bed of stir-fried bok choy.

Poached Red Sea Bream
from Harumi's Japanese Home Cooking by Harumi Kurihara

• 1 lb red sea bream (I substituted black cod)
• 1/4 c. sake (I substituted rice wine)
• 1/4 c. mirin
• 1/4 c. soy sauce
• 1/4 c. water
• 3 Tbsp sugar
• 1 Tbsp fresh ginger, sliced

1. Cut each fish fillet into 3-4 pieces
2. In a large shallow pan, mix together the sake, mirin, soy sauce, water, and sugar and bring it to a boil. Add the fish pieces into the broth, taking care to arrange them so they sit side by side. Sprinkle the sliced ginger over the fish.
3. Back back to boil, cover with drop lid made from foil or wax paper (*see below) and simmer for 5-6 minutes. When the liquid has reduced to just less than half, turn off the heat and leave for a short while for the fish to absorb some of the remaining liquid. 
4. Remove the fish and ginger from the pan and place on a serving dish. Pour over any remaining sauce from the pan. 

*Drop Lid (Otoshibuta) according to Harumi: "Traditionally, drop lids were made of wood. They are placed in a pan, directly on top of food as it cooks. It is a technique frequently used in Japanese cooking to ensure even distribution of flavor. These days, most households use lids made of aluminum foil or greaseproof paper with a hole in the middle. You can fashion a disk easily, making sure it is slightly smaller than the inside of the pan. It is a different way of cooking but it is very useful and very Japanese."