Chef Edwin « DinnerCakes

Asparagus In Wine, Balsamic and Soy Reduction

March 15th, 2010

by Chef Edwin

In my quest to appreciate the fungus known as mushrooms, I’ve been perusing some of the cookbooks at the local library. On amazing dish I came across was for roasted Portabello mushrooms from the book Veganomicon. By far the best mushroom dish I’ve had.

I decided to try a variant of this with asparagus, as this vegetable is showing up in markets quite heavily as spring begins to roll in. While not as tasty as the original recipe, I like how the reduction works with this vegetable. There is plenty of liquid, which I sopped with couscous, but consider this as optional.

Asparagus In Wine, Balsamic and Soy Reduction

1/2 cup cooking wine (red)
2 tablespoon soy sauce
2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cloves garlic; minced
1 pound asparagus; woody ends removed and chopped into 1-2 inch pieces.

Preheat the oven to 400. Combine and mix everything but the asparagus. Place the asparagus in a large baking pan and pour in your “sauce”. Roast for 20 minutes, serve and enjoy.

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Saying Goodbye To Winter – Oven Baked Yukon Golds

March 10th, 2010

by Chef Edwin

The first signs of Spring came out in style this past weekend with some excellent sun, a light breeze and warm temperatures that helped you forgot the horror that snowpacolypse. On Sunday a group of of us went on our first outdoor climb of the new year at Great Falls. Despite rather high water levels we had a blast and got some excellent climbs in.

Inspired by the weather, I ventured out to the Falls Church Farmers Market on Saturday, which has actually been open since January. Props to that. There’s something calming about Farmers Markets; centering. Scores of people walking about just talking, sampling food; no rush, no place they have to be. It’s just a contrast from the usual everyday life in DC where actually forget about how much stress and urgency we’re practically swimming in.

With us being on the tale end of winter, I honed in on the root vegetables; beets, leeks, potatoes… and a few apples of course (huuuuge Fuji’s. yum!) The leeks ended up in a nice simple, but delicious potato leek soup and I have visions of a small batch of borscht for the beets. The potatoes, yukon golds to be exact, had their own destiny.

A very smart person once said that the secret to good food is to use fresh ingredients and do very little to them. While it’s easy to to consider the potato as nothing more than bland, there is an essence of flavor somewhere and simplicity is the best way to draw that out. Local fresh is key here. Potatoes start with a rather thin skin when just yanked out of the ground and this thing tends to get thicker as the months roll by (which I can promise you is happening with spuds at your local megamart). When looking for potatoes at your local market, look for paper thin and you won’t be disappointed. Then, toss with a bit of oil, some salt and pepper and then whatever herbs you may like (fresh if you got em but dried if you don’t).

Oven Baked Yukon Golds
Consider this a guideline. Throw out the cookbook (or, put it back on the shelf).

Yukon Gold potatoes
herbs (rosemary, thyme…)
salt
pepper

Preheat your oven to 400°. Cut your potatoes into 1.5 piece cubes, most likely just in half unless there notably large; in which case quarter them. Toss with a tablespoon or two of olive oil. Start with one and add more if necessary for a light coating. Throw in a tablespoon of fresh herbs or a teaspoon of dried and set on a sheet pan. Sprinkle with a bit of salt and pepper and bake for 30 minutes until the pieces are easily pierced but still firm. Let cool briefly, serve and enjoy.

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Food Photography – Florentine Eggs Benedict at Founding Farmers Market

March 3rd, 2010

by Chef Edwin

My friend Lindsey is a fellow connoisseur of food and on occasion we like to visit new (to us) restaurant in the area; usually brunch because brunch friggin’ rocks. Good food and good conversation with a good friend always makes for an enjoyable Sunday. A few weeks ago we took a trip to Founding Farmers Market in Northwest DC that she had heard good things about. The decor and environment were very nice; very subdued considering the close proximity some of the two-seat tables were. Under Lindsey’s insistence we ordered the hot chocolate and yeast doughnut holes. Both quite good. I usually find vegetarian brunch options somewhat limited once you filter out your usual suspects of pancakes, waffles, etc, but was pleased to find a delicious Florentine eggs Benedict dish with leek hash. The egg dish was fabulous and the hollaindaise sauce was the best I’ve ever had. The leek hash? Not so good. Couldn’t even taste the leeks, but rather just some burnt potato scraps. Still an excellent experience and I recommend Founding Farmers Market for breakfast.

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Simple – Split Pea Soup

March 1st, 2010

by Chef Edwin

I like simple. Simple pleasures, simple life, simple food. Simple is flexible. Go with the flow. Simple is something you can make when it’s 2am and you just got home from a late night at the bars and, suddenly, have this weird craving for soup. Yes sir, simple is my friend.

Take this recipe as a gentle suggestion on the path towards deliciousness; with many side trails to take and trees to climb. Don’t like the green color? Go with yellow, or half and half (I tossed in some leftover yellow). Tarragon not your thing? Go with thyme, or rosemary, or whatever fresh leftover herbs you have sitting in your fridge, otherwise destined for the trash. Go nuts. Hooray simple.

Simple Split Pea Soup

1 onion; chopped
1 large carrot; chopped
1 celery stalk; chopped
1 russet potato; chopped into 1 inch pieces
1 1/2 cups split peas; rinsed and drained
4 or more cups of stock (or water)
1 tablespoon dried parsley
1 teaspoon dried tarragon
salt to taste

Heat your pot medium and sweat the onion, carrot and celery until the onion is transclucent. Add the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Simmer for 20-30 minutes, until everything is soft and smells (tastes!) delicious. Remove from heat and let cool a bit and either blend with an immersion blender or in a standard drink blender a few cups at a time. Enjoy.

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Second Time’s a Charm – Tempeh Curry Salad

February 23rd, 2010

by Chef Edwin

It’s funny, with there being so many different dishes out there, more than one could ever hope to cook or eat in one lifetime, it’s easy to forget about the ones you’ve tried before. You find an interesting recipe, maybe you make some improvisations, maybe you don’t. Maybe it comes out great, maybe it comes out decent and you have some thoughts for “next time” Then you forget about it, lost forever in the past.

This is one of those dishes. I made a curry dish from Totally Vegetarian and, well, I was not knocked over by it’s awesomeness. It wasn’t bad, but if I was a restaurant, I would not come back to me and order this (if that makes any sense). SO, back to the drawing board. Whole Foods has this awesome curry tempeh dish they have sometimes at their hot bar and apparently if you add mayonnaise it becomes a salad, which blows my mind. I shall be calling club sandwiches salads from now on. I gotta say, I was quite happy with how this came out. It was delicious and the whole wheat couscous I paired it with worked quite well. I encourage you to try this and next time someone tells you to eat healthier, whip this sucker out.

Tempeh Curry Salad
For the curry, I used one teaspoon hot, two teaspoons sweet and for me it was perfect. However, I am quite the spice-wuss.

2-3 tablespoons olive oil
1 white onion; chopped
2 garlic cloves; minced
1 teaspoon ginger; minced
1 tablespoon curry; any kind
1 teaspoon mustard powder
1/8 cup tamari (soy sauce in a pinch)
1 cup fresh peas (or thawed and drained)
8oz tempeh; chopped into small quarter inch pieces
1/2 cup mayo (I used vegan, but any should work)
2 tablespoons white vinegar
1 tablespoon honey
salt and pepper to taste

Under medium high heat, saute your onion in a large pan with the olive oil until translucent and slightly browned. Reduce the heat to medium and add your garlic, ginger, curry and mustard; stirring to mix well and prevent burning. Once fragrant (1-2 minutes), add your tempeh and tamari. Stir and cook for a few minutes until the tempeh has been heated up and the liquid has either mostly been absorbed or cooked away.

Add your remaining ingredients and stir to mix well. Cook for a few minutes and remove from heat. Serve immediately or cold; both ways are delicious. Enjoy.

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Even MORE Rainbow Ideas

February 19th, 2010

by Chef Edwin

In case our Rainbow Week left you wanting for even more crazy rainbow food recipes, take a quick trip to CafeMom for their lineup of rainbow recipes on the interwebs.

I gotta say those pancakes kinda freak me about a bit

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Kitchen Tips – Better Control Through Oil In A Bottle

February 19th, 2010

by Chef Edwin

Pop quiz: what ingredient do you use most often? Onions? Pasta? Salt? I have a feeling it’s probably oil; olive, peanut, take your pick. There is rarely a recipe in one’s repertoire that doesn’t pair heat with oil (I suppose baking is the most notable excepting with butter taking the crown). Oh, oil, how we love you.

Working with cooking oil isn’t a particularly complex area of the cooking process. Sautéing, roasting; it’s all just lubrication with a subtle touch of taste. I do feel a little constrained at times when I want to do something with finer control. Ever see those purtty photographs of soup with the broken circle of oil on top? Or maybe you just want to throw some veggies on a baking pan, coat them a little and roast. I have a difficult time getting an even spread with the bottle it comes in (especially if it’s a large one), so I moved my olive oil to a squeeze bottle. The smaller spout and squeeze-ness (technical term, for reals) allows me much more control.

I used a frosting bottle leftover from a Drop In & Decorate event I hosted, but any kind would work; one of those condiment bottles you’d find at most restaurants, for example. Just be sure there’s a tight seal or you’ll find yourself with an oily mess. Of course, there’s also dressing bottles, but I prefer to use that just for my really good olive oil.

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Carrot Zombie!

February 18th, 2010

by Chef Edwin

Hahaha, hilariousness from Bent Objects.

While we’re laughing about the best playing-with-your-food application I’ve ever seen, what’s your favorite parsnip recipe? I’ve done a simple roasted dish with nothing but salt and attempted to make a mashed concoction, much like I did with cauliflower. Neither were bad, just, ‘meh’. How do you like yours?

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Food Photography – Fried Cinnamon Buns!

February 17th, 2010

by Chef Edwin

I don’t usually eat that much fried food, I swear. But with Florida, all bets were off. As if a deep-fried Oreo sundae wasn’t enough, the following day we reached new heights of culinary delight with deep-fried cinnamon rolls! Words fail to describe this the the full extent. This is something that must be experienced. Another delight from HUE.

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Steak Alchemy?

February 16th, 2010

by Chef Edwin

Can you make higher quality meat with nothing more than a little salt and time? Jaden Hair of Steamy Kitchen claims you can. In Steak: How to Turn Cheap “Choice” Steak into Gucci “Prime” Steak, Jaden goes into some great detail on how salt tenderizes and changes the protein in side meat. Very sciency, very cool and something I’ll definitely try.

Photo by Steamy Kitchen

Via xenbu

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