We were blessed with two things this last weekend: excellent weather and birthdays! It was Sam’s birthday and being a resident of San Francisco, he wanted to take advantage of the amazing Dolores Park, which happens to be less than … Continue reading
I’m not quite sure if I posted or coved risotto before, but it’s one of my favorites. Mainly because it’s flexible. I probably say that too much about food. I remember a couple weeks ago I was visiting my friend … Continue reading
This might be the beginning of a new series, called “Visit”. Or something. Anyways. One of my friends Eduardo sent me an invite to an event he would be taken part of. I wasn’t sure what kind of event it … Continue reading
Oh you fancy
I remember a long time ago, I went skiing with Ryan in Tahoe; we’re talking about when we were way young. It was lightly snowing, and there was the typical sights of snow piles pushed to the sides of the roads so cars can go by. It was dinner time and we decided to have some Japanese food, so we found a place around the area. This was before Yelp. You know when you just looked for a restaurant. But I remember I order Rolled Chicken stuffed with imitation crab. It had a panko crust and the center was creamy. The portion was huge, but I managed to eat it all with some encouragement from the table. I was so impressed by it I obviously haven’t forgotten. It was the first time I ever saw something rolled into meat, where you see that fantastic spiral stuffing. I’ve never tried to make that exact chicken dish before, but I have made several rolled chicken, made with a variety of stuffings. The idea is simple, take any meat and pound it thin, and put your stuffing in a layer so that when you roll the meat, you get that spiral effect. It’s awesome. The hard part is making it thin.
You will need:
Flank Steak – about 3 Lbs, preferably in thin slices
Half Onion
2 Anaheim Peppers
Garlic, minced
2 Limes
Mint
Parsley
1 tablespoon Honey or Agave
Salt and Pepper to Season
Skewers or twine or toothpicks
This time, I bought thin cut flank steak. I didn’t plan on making this, it just happened. And that steak was totally on sale. At home, I took a pan and tried to pound the steaks thin and evenly; my neighbors definitely hate me. You can pound it as thin as you want. I had to sacrifice some thinness out of courtesy to my neighbors. But I would want it as thin as possible to get a nice texture next time. And it really doesn’t matter what shape it is, just make it even. When you have your thin steaks ready, marinade it with 1 lime, garlic, agave, black pepper and a dash of soy sauce for about an hour. It’s thin so it could even go for less.
The stuffing is really easy and should be done while the steak is marinating. Turn your broiler on high. Toss whole anaheim peppers with olive oil and salt, and place them on a baking sheet, and then under the broiler. In the mean time, finely cut thin slices of onions, about half and onion. As thin as you can. Place the onion slices in a bowl with lime juice, salt, and pepper. Then chopped some mint and parsley and mix it in with the onions. You want to let this mixture sit while you roast the peppers. The acid from the limes is going to break down the onions and really get the flavors going. When the skin of the peppers are blackened, turn them over and blacken that side. Once they are all done, let cool. I was impatient so I put them in foil and threw them in the freezer for about 5 minutes. Once cool, remove the skin, stem, and seeds. Slice the flesh and throw the slices into the onion mixture.
The steaks should be good now (even if it wasn’t an hour, the longer the better) . Remove from the marinade, and pat dry with papper towels. Lay the steaks on a cutting board and layer the onion mixture evenly on each steak. Then take on edge and roll the steaks like you are rolling a poster. Use skewers, or twine, or toothpicks to hold the rolls together.
To cook, sear the rolls in a pan on high heat, rotating it to even look the outside. Because my rolls where medium sized, I finished the cooking in a 375F oven for about 5 minutes. You can always slice into one to see if the center is cooked. I cooked my medium rare. Once done, let the rolls cool on a cutting board for 5 minutes.
I roll steaks like I roll papers, using toothpicks
And there you have it, something that looks awesome and not hard to do at all. That spiral stuffing is definitely a show stopper. I wish I had made a demi glaze with it, I just totally forgot. I served this with a white kidney bean side and some grape tomatoes. You can do this with basically any meat too! So give it a try (if you have forgiving neighbors).
It’s the night before Easter Sunday and I am debating whether or not I should make something to bring for the next day. I was trying to think of things that would be tasty yet simple and effortless to make, and then I remembered how easy it is to make quiche. So BOOM, done, that’s what I was going to make. The steps to making this couldn’t be easier!
I thought since it is Easter I would use bright spring colors!
Here’s an ingredient list:
Simply saute everything so it is cooked and mix with cream and eggs, pour into pie shells, and bake at 350 for approx. 30 mins. As far as the secret ingredient goes just use your imagination and creativity! Play around with your food! Make it your own! Most importantly HAVE FUN DOING IT!
That's some pork on pork action
So this was one of those times where I just wanted to throw everything we had in the fridge together into something before they rot and I throw money away. By some divine coincidence everything happens to be a classic pork pairing of flavors. Smokey bacon, apples, Balsamic Vinegar, and pork. The other classic pairing would be fennel and pork off the top of my head. Instead of making something relatively elegant, I went for monster creation.
What does that mean? Wrap the pork chops in bacon, a lot of bacon. Bacon strips, everywhere. So I seasoned the pork chops and wrapped them in 3 or 4 bacon strips. Now in a pan on medium heat with no oil or butter, place the side of the pork chops where the bacon ends meet down on the pan. You want to do this so it holds the bacon on the pork by itself. Next, I put a piece of foil over the pork , and put a bunch of heavy pots on it to press the chops down. I did this because I was afraid the bacon had uneven contact to the pan. I left this going a good 4 or 5 minutes. I checked it to see if the bacon was cooked right, and then turned it repeat. When turned it, I threw in 2 sprigs of rosemary, and 3 cloves of garlic, and basted the chops with the fat. Gross, I know. Once done, I removed the chops onto a cutting board to rest, and I removed the excess fat and rosemary. Then I threw in thin slices of apples skin on, and sauted for about 2 minutes, deglazing with some water.
Put some olive oil in another pan on medium high heat, and then just dropped in some cleaned green beans. I cooked it for 2 minutes to get some color, and then added some water and balsamic vinegar and chopped garlic to the pan and covered. After about 2 minutes or so remove the cover and cook for another 30 seconds to reduce the sauce a little.
And there you have it, a great combination of flavors. This dish is all about cooking the pork chop right. If it’s dry, it’s just wrong. So if you ever want apples for dinner, serve it with pork.
Top with minced Cilantro and maybe some green onions!
Growing up whenever I heard the word “curry” I would always associate it with the Japanese style “curry”, but little did I know that there was huge variety of different styles and tastes of curry all around the world. Recently I have been obsessed with Thai food, especially their style of curry! So you can imagine how excited I was when, shopping at Cost Plus World Market, I stumbled upon a Thai Green curry spice blend. I knew right then that was what I was making for dinner. Making it couldn’t have been simpler. All you need is chicken (any cut works, I used thighs), veggies (I used onions, carrots, bell peppers, and bok choy), Coconut milk, that green curry spice blend (if you can’t find that at least use lemongrass, ginger, ground coriander, ground cumin, cilantro, and basil), lemongrass, ginger, fish sauce, and salt and pepper to taste. Easy as can be! Cook chicken, add veggies, add seasonings, let simmer until everything is cooked through. Serve with rice, Jasmine rice if you are trying to stay authentic.
Thought I would use my nice bowls and serving plate!
ENJOY!
My new challenge: Work Food. Avocado, tomato, spinach, and chicken salad sandmich? Hell yes.
This Quick Nom is relevant to all those in the labor force who get those two 15 minute breaks and 30 minute lunches. What will you do for lunch? I just started so I bring my own lunch. It won’t be until I make the beaucoup bucks that I’ll take a Parisian lunch. So right now I’m looking for ways to make good lunches that will keep me going the rest of the day. This one is one of the easiest and the best tasting. Chicken Salade!
All you do is buy a roast chicken from the deli of any super market, take all the meat off the bones (i used my clean hands) and shred of chop all of it. Then add from finely chopped onions and celery, and season with whatever else you want. Then add about quarter cup of mayonnaise. Not too much, not too little. I like really peppery chicken salade so that’s what I did. You can even put apples, olives, spinach, cheese, whatever! I think next time I’m going to do a chipotle and bell pepper one.
Put it in a pita! Why not
This will seriously save you so much money and time. Just remember you should keep it cold because of the mayo where ever you take it.
St. Paddy's Day, Robin's bad day.
Ok here’s my excuse for not posting anything for St Paddy’s day, it was St Paddy’s day. But they it doesn’t mean I didn’t make anything for the special occasion. I was just, well, indisposed, for some time…a long time. So what did I want to do? Irish Stew my Funston crew loves to make? Nah. I’ve never made Corn Beef and Hash. I just know it’s very time consuming. Also, my good friend Julie reminded me how good Cabbage and Bacon is. But unfortunately THERE WAS NO BACON!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The shelves at the grocery store were empty, but I knew something was wrong when there was NO BACON. So I had to try it with Pancetta.
Let’s prep the brisket with a brine, which is basically salty water to break the meat down. So I had a 5 pound brisket, and I used about .75 gals of water. Throw the water in a pot (without the meat) and 1 cup of salt, 1 cup of sugar, and any combination amounts of the following brown sugar, cinnamon , mustard seed, black pepper corn, juniper berries, ginger, all spice, bay leaf, a lot of garlic, and mirepoix. I honestly have no idea how much of each I put in. Broil this l flavored water for about 30 minutes. Then let cool until it’s room temperature. When it’s cool enough, submerge the brisket in the brine, and marinade (covered) for at least 1 day.
Then after a whole day of waiting, remove the brisket from the brine (dump the brine), and place in something like a pyrex dish with high sides. Place a couple of gloves of garlice, and a whole onion halves next to the brisket, and fill with water until its half way up the meat. Cover with foil, and bake at 350F for 4 hours. Ya four more hours. I’m sorry but that’s not the end of it.
Fast forward 4 hours, remove the meat from the water, and let cool for 30 minutes. Then take the biggest knife you have (I have a cleaver) and start chopping that bad boy up until it’s basically minced. Now set that aside, and grate some potatoes and onions (half as much) and in a large bowl, mix the meat, potatoes, and onions. Season with whatever you want here, and throw it into a flat frying pan, like you’re making hash browns. Cook on each side for 5 or 7 minutes on medium low or until brown and crispy. Remember to flip!
While the meat is going, roughly chop up cabbage and pancetta or bacon and just throw that all into a hot pan oiled with olive oil. Cook for a minute, then add 1/8 cup of water and cover and reduce to medium low heat. Super easy.
Tip of the hat to Funston Crew
And there you have it, a something that takes a lot, a lot, a lot of time investment. I’ll understand if you don’t have the time to do this. Goodness gracious I shoulda just made Irish Stew, who doesn’t like Irish Stew? Oh that’s why because lamb is SOO expensive! Hope ya’ll had a good one.
I like it when people say "coq au vin" like "cock ao veen"
So we love our traditional French cuisine. And Coq au vin is one of my favorites. A lot of my friends ask me how it is even possible for me to be in the kitchen for 2 hours and not be hungry or tired. I blast music from the speakers (sorry neighbors) and a glass of wine while I cook. It’s pretty awesome. So it was only a matter of time before I remembered to make Coq au vin. It’s really simple and the taste is amazing. Except it taste really really really depends on the wine you choose. Rule of thumb, if you like drinking it, use it. It could be really expensive wine or relatively inexpensive wine. It’s whatever you want.
Also this takes more than a day to marinade so keep that mind. For the chicken, use dark meat, like thighs and drumsticks. I left the skin on, but you can remove it if you want. Some people dust the chicken with flour, but I just seasoned them with salt and pepper. For the marinade, take equal parts of carrots and onions cut in big chunks and put it in your marinade bowl or whatever. It should be big. Then put in half as much celery chunks and two bay leafs, some thyme, little rosemary, and peppercorns. I even threw in some herb de Provence. Just put the chicken in the bowl and drown it in your choice of wine. I went with Malbec. Using so much wine is going to get pricey, but it’s definitely worth it. I used about 3 bottles, 1 for the marinade, 1 for after the marinade, and I drank the one. Now let this marinade in the fridge for 24 hours, or at least over night.
Color = flavor
When it’s ready, just remove the chicken and sear them in a stew pot like a dutch oven. Once done, just pour in the wine marinade over the chicken, a long with another bottle of wine, 2 tablespoons of tomato paste, and about a cup of stock. I used duck stock because I didn’t have anything else. Cover tight and BBR (Bring to Boil and Reduce heat) and leave to simmer for 2 hours. After two hours, remove the chicken, and reduce the sauce on a simmer for another 20 or 30 minutes to get it really pungent. Once finish, taste for seasoning and put the chicken back. And that’s it! No FFF (Fussy French Food). I served it with a baguette. Enjoy!
