New England Style Clambake

February 6th, 2010 Filed under Food & Drink, Thomas Keller No Comments

I really really love Thomas Keller’s Ad Hoc at Home book.  It is so user friendly and the instruction are clear and concise and all the dishes are really easy to throw together for the household use.  I have never cooked so many dishes from one book before. I usually am going through different books, blogs and old recipes and going from one resource to another to find the right recipe to use.  I have to admit I am really enjoying this experience about cooking from one book, especially from a man like Thomas Keller.  He is just so talented and offers tons of great tips in the book.

Okay back to the New England Style Clambake. I love this recipe, simple and really show off all the different seafood and his tips about using eggs to see if your clambake is ready was spot on.

Here’s the recipe, plus you will need clean rocks to cover the bottom of a 20 quart pot and one pound of seaweed, rinsed well in hot water.  I had a really hard time find some fresh seaweed/kelp/wakame in the East Side and I had to call a few places to find it, so do your research before you make this dish.  I finally found it at Uwajimaya in Bellevue and had to call twice because they were not sure if they were going to get it in that day, but do not let it deter you – it’s worth the effort.  Plus you will about 2 yards of cheese cloths.

Here are my rocks and seaweed in a huge pot:

  • Kosher salt
  • 2 pounds clam, preferably steamers or Manila
  • 18 extra-large (16-20 count) shrimp
  • 2 pounds mussels, preferably Bouchot, (I couldn’t find any in my area)
  • ***Do a ratio of 10:1 water salt ratio for the salt brine (8 cups of water to 1 3/4 cups salt)
  • clams soak for 5 minutes, then rinse under cold water
  • mussels soak for 5 minutes, rinsed under cold water and removes it beard
  • shrimp soak for 10 minutes, slit down the back of each shrimp and remove the intestinal tract
  • 1 1/2 pounds Red Bliss or other red potatoes (I used Yukon because I had some on hand)
  • Canola Oil
  • Fleur de sel
  • 8 oz andouille sausage, cut into 3 inch long pieces
  • 6 ears corn, shucked and cut in half
  • Three lobsters
  • 2 large eggs
  • Melted butter
  • Malt vinegar
  • Lemon wedges
  • Old Bay Seasoning

With the rocks and half the seaweed in the pot (save the other pot to line your big platter to serve the clambake), add water to come to just below the top of the seaweed.  Basically the ingredients will be steamed and will not come in contact with the water.  Set the pot over high heat and bring to a boil.

Toss the potatoes with the canola oil and generously toss with the fleur de sel. Cut an 18 inches square cheesecloth and placed the potatoes in the center and tied it up.

Wrap the clams and mussels in one cheesecloth.  Wrap the shrimp in another square and the sausages in another square.

Time to cook everything.  First place the potatoes in the center and cook for 12 minutes, then add the corn, sausage and then tuck in the shellfish bundles and add the lobster. Lastly tuck in the two eggs.  Cover and cook 15 minutes.  Remove one of the eggs and crack it open. If the eggs are hard-cooked, then the clambake is ready to be taken out and enjoy. If not, cook for another three minute and check the second egg.

Here’s the clambake ready to be devour!

Verdict:  Everyone thought the clambake was well cooked, not over done, the shellfish, especially the shrimp were juicy and plump.  The corn was another hit but the potatoes were really good, though the husband said it need some butter (which I had some on the table), otherwise it was fluffy and creamy at the same time.

I also made a dipping sauce that I nabbed from Kappo when we went there last year.  It was just butter, soy sauce and sake.  They heated the sauce until the butter had melted and emulsified with the soy and sake. This dipping sauce was just amazing with the shrimp and lobster – luxurious and rich and silky at the same time.

Here’s some fun photos of my friend and I holding the waving lobster before we put it in the pot, a good shot and then a shot right after one of the lobster try to EAT us! (That’s the reason why the photo is out of focus.)  We had fun that night.

 

Check out one of the claws from the lobster.  It was huge and delicious!

and a final picture of the clambake again. This is a great meal to have for a special occasion and to share with your friends.  I want to wish Quyen a very very Happy Birthday and hoped you enjoyed the dinner and your new quilt!

Facing East

February 5th, 2010 Filed under East Side No Comments

1075 Bellevue Way NE
Bellevue, WA 98009

If you go anything between Friday and Sunday, just be prepare to wait.  The line is out the door and when you walk in the door, your tummy just rumble with hunger and it’s saying feed me, feed me!  Don’t worry it won’t break your bank either.  The price for each of the item is so reasonable and the portion was just right too. We had their special citrus fruit tea, an appetizer, two courses and dessert for $30.

We started the meal off with some hot citrus fruit tea.  The base of the tea is black tea with oranges, lemons and limes slices added in with a bit of honey to sweeten it.  It was yummy.

 

Then we had what every Yelp review said to get was the Pork Burger and boy were we glad we did.  It was so good!  Basically it was a very tender pork belly with a bit of meat with some pickled cabbages, and sweet and salty peanut mixture and house sauce.  The bun was made of hum bao or banh bao bun, soft and tender, a great carrier for the great fatty pork.  It reminded me of Momofuku steamed pork bun dish in New York but in a different way.  This pork appetizer really whetted our appetite for the next dish we were to have.

So the main reason why we went to this restaurant is to get the spiced pork stew over rice.  Yvonne Wong was the first person to tell me to order this dish.  I want to shout out and say “Thanks Yvonne it was so good! I loved this dish!!!”  I’ll just say this dish is fantastic…fatty, flavorful and delicious!

The next dish our waiter actually recommend and said it would pair well with the pork over rice and it did. It had lots of vegetables, which I think was the Vietnamese water spinach, and meat, lamb.  I love the fact this dish had a great lamb flavor without being overly lamby and that the vegetables was not overcooked.

We polished all the food off and had a bit of room left for their shaved ice.  We order the Everything Shaved Ice with red beans, taro root, boiled peanut, green bean, grass jelly, pinto bean, press barley and then topped off with condensed milk.  I like the fact that they added a flavored simple syrup on the shaved ice before topping it off with all the toppings. 

We ate and drank everything we ordered.  It was a very satisfying meal and the perfect amount of food (We walked away happy and full, but not in a food coma way, which is good).  I can’t wait to get some of my friends together so we can try more dishes. I also wanted to say the wait staff there are super friendly and efficient.  My husband without me propping gave them a very very nice tip, which he never ever do.  Good job honey!

Latest Quilt

February 5th, 2010 Filed under Arts & Crafts, Quilting 3 Comments

Here’s my latest quilt for my good friend, Quyen.  She is just the coolest person around that I know here and I love her and her family to bits and pieces!  I just gave her the quilt last night so I can post her quilt up.  We both just love the fabric on the back. It’s an Asian print of butterflies and dahlias.  So pretty.  The front is a combinations of different fabrics but mainly Joel Dewberry (Orchids and Butterfly print) both in green and dark fuchsia, and then I threw in some Amy Butlers and a few other that I have been collecting the past few months. The white is from Kona. 

Here’s a close up of it

This quilt was surprisedly quick to make, it only took me one day to cut all the fabric and sew them together and another day to quilt it and then two days to hand bind it.  I came across this pattern when Wise Craft featured this Marquee pattern from this book, The Modem Quilt Workshop, written by Bill Kerr and Weeks Ringle last year and I saved the link for future reference.  Last month I was over at Raindrop Stitches’s house and she had the book, and I was able to thumb through it and fell in love with the book. Lots of great patterns and easy instructions to understand.  This is a great book to add to your quilt library.  I’m already planning another quilt from this book, but first I need to finish my tea towel swap and whip up another baby quilt for a baby shower in two weeks!

The last two Thomas Keller’s meals

February 5th, 2010 Filed under Food & Drink, Food & Drinks, Thomas Keller 1 Comment

was a big hit.  This is going to be a long post but filled with lots of recipes.

We had  these amazing giant fresh sea scallops that my friend, Vy, brought over.  Keller advises that you do a 10 minute sea salt brine, dry it off and then seared it.  That’s it, that’s the recipe.  It was simple but delicious way to cook excellent scallops. The flavor was sweet, rich and flavorful from the brining.  I highly recommend brining all your seafood in the future, from shrimps, clams, mussels, which which did for a New England Clam Bake, a post will coming up shortly for that.  His ratio is 2 cups of hot water to dissolve the 2 cups of kosher salt and then an additional 8 cups of cold water.

I also made the Summer Vegetable Gratin and that was so good.  I’m going to save the recipe to write up later this summer when I harvest my own vegetables to make this.  If you need the recipe sooner, just let me know, otherwise, please wait until later this summer.

The soffritto was the key to make this vegetable gratin extra special.  Go the extra effort and make the soffritto.  Soffritto is basically a onions and tomato mixture that is cooked low and slow and add so much flavor and oomph to any dish!

Here’s his recipe:

  • 3 cups finely diced Spanish onions, about 1 pound
  • 1 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • Kosher salt
  • 1 pound plum tomatoes, about 6, grated, skin and seeds discarded
  • 1/2 teasp minced garlic

This recipes does take about 5 – 6 hours to make, so if you are making veal stock, this is a good time to make this and keep in hand all the time.  Basically you are cooking the onions for about 2.5 hours until the onions are a rich and golden color, and the oil is clear. Then you add the tomato puree and cook for another 2.5 hours.  The paste will separate from the oil.  Turn off the heat and then add some salt and garlic.  Keep refrigerated.

I’m so sorry this pic is not so great, but overall this dish was a hit! Caramelized Leek Bread Pudding.

If you were to make any dishes that I have posted, you HAVE to make this dish.  That weekend I made three of them and brought them to three separate parties and it was one of the first dishes to vanish and declared what a delicious dinner it was!

Here’s the recipe, you just have to make.

  • 2 cups 1/2 inch thick slices leeks (white and green parts only), clean from dirt and sand
  • Kosher Salt
  • 4 Tblsp (2 oz) unsalted butter
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • 12 cups 1-inch cub crustless Brioche or Pullman Sandwich loaf
  • 1 Tblsp finely chopped chives
  • 1 teasp thyme leaves
  • 3 large eggs
  • 3 cups whole milk
  • 3 cups heavy cream
  • Freshly grated nutmeg
  • 1 cup shredded Comte

Preheat oven to 350F

Put the leeks in a medium sauté pan over medium-high heat, season with salt and cook, stirring often, for about 5 minutes.  As the leeks begin to soften, lower the heat to medium-low.  The leeks will release liquid. Stir in the butter to emulsify and season with pepper to taste.  Cover the pan with a parchment lid and cook, stirring every 10 min, until  the leeks are very soft, 30 to 35 minutes.  If at any point the butter breaks or looks oily, stir in about a tablespoon of water to re-emulsify the sauce.  Remove and discard the parchment lid.

Meanwhile spread the bread cubes on a baking sheet and toast in the oven for about 20 min, until dry and golden brown.  Transfer to a large bowl and add the leeks to the bread and toss well, then add the chives and thyme.

In another bowl, lightly whisk the eggs in another large bowl.  Whisk in the milk, cream, a generous pinch of salt, pepper to taste and a pinch of nutmeg.

Sprinkle 1/4 cup cheese in the bottom of a 9 by 13 inch baking pan.  Spread half the leeks and croutons in the pan and sprinkle another 1/4 cup cheese. Scatter the remaining leeks and croutons over the top with another 1/4 cup cheese.  Pour in enough of the custard mixture to cover the bread and press gently on the bread so it soaks in the milk.  Let soak for about 15 minutes.

Add the remaining custard, allowing some of the soaked cubes of bread to protrude.  Sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup cheese on top and sprinkle with salt.

Bake for 1 1/2 hours, or until the pudding feels set and the top is brown and bubbling.

Notes:  I actually thought he had too much custard, or maybe I didn’t have enough crouton to soak all the custard up, so use your judgment on the the custard to crotons ratio.  Definitely use Comte cheese…it lent a buttery and lovely taste to this dish that another cheese would not have offer.  Make this for Thanksgiving, because I know I will.  So good!

We also had the marinated skirt steak.  The marinade was quite different from my usual Asian style marinade because his is a emulsified herb oil of

  • 6 thyme spring
  • Two 8-inch rosemary sprigs
  • 4 small bay leaves
  • 1 tablespoon black peppercorns
  • 5 garlic cloves, smashed, skin left on
  • 2 cups extra virgin olive oil

Bring this to a simmer over medium heat, then remove from heat and cool to room temperature. 

Add your Six 8 oz trimmed outer skirt steaks and refrigerated for at least 4 hours or overnight. 

Half another before serving, remove your meat from the marinade and let sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes before cooking; discard the marinade.  Dry the meat with paper towels. Season well with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Preheat the oven to 350F.

  • For after the marinade
  • Canola oil
  • 2 tablespoon (1 oz) unsalted butter
  • 4 thyme sprigs
  • 2 garlic cloves, smashed, skin left on

All the above ingredients to the pan and then sear each piece and constantly basting the meat the with the flavored oil.  Then transfer the meat to the oven and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until the center register 125F.  Remove from oven and let rest for 10 minute before slicing/serving.

I made a Port mushroom gravy to go with this meat, you do not need it but it was tasty with it.

Minced up one large shallot, caramelized, then add in your sliced mushrooms, cook it down until all the water is evaporated, then add your port, reduce the sauce by half and then season to taste and take the sauce off the heat and then add bits of butter (about 2 tablespoons) to the sauce and let it just melt away, stir gently.  This will make your sauce silky and rich and just beautiful  That is one of the reason why I love butter!

I also made a Chocolate Caramel Banana Cake and served it with faux banana ice cream, and the ice cream was a huge hit. All you have to do is freeze really ripe bananas and then put it in the blender, add a little bit of liquid (I add a bit of vanilla soy milk that I had on hand) to puree the whole thing and then just serve like ice cream.  The texture and taste was amazing… it tasted exactly like ice cream but without all the calories and dairy!  This would be great for kids who want something sweet and cold this summer.  A really healthy treat to have on hand and easy to whip up with a blender!

Future Kitchen

February 4th, 2010 Filed under Personal Thoughts 2 Comments

I have been collecting lots of picture for my ideal kitchen, but it won’t happen for a long time, maybe another decade or so.  I am happy with my kitchen, though I wish it had more cabinet and counter space, and I wish the space was larger to accommodate more cooks.  I have a lot of friends that love to cook and several people has asked me to giving them cooking lesson, which I am seriously considering but my kitchen probably wouldn’t allow more than two students at a time.

This morning I woke up to early and started browsing through my RSS feed and came across this kitchen and realized this is exactly what I want, and Gwyneth Paltrow had it!  Check it out – found via Bijou Kaleidoscope.  Check out the two white gorgeous chandeliers, her grill stove top and her two ovens and the black glass cabinets. Love Love Love!  I also love her huge woodblock island and that she has such a huge window on one side, and she also has sky lights to bring in more light. Just lovely…I am in love and totally want!

Here are some more random pics that I have been saving for a long time. I’m sorry I can’t give credit out, but if you recognize, please let me know and I’ll update it!

Here’s another view of her kitchen that I have had for a long time and didn’t even realize it belong to her

As you can see, I am loving the color black or the dark charcoal grey and white combinations with open space and lots of lights and windows.  I think that is a must for me because I love the outdoors and cook so much with fresh and local ingredients, aka my P-Patch! 

As for the appliances, I had a Viking stove when I had my catering business and would go back to them hen I get my stove top and a definitely two ovens because most dishes do not cook at the same temperature.  If possible two dishwashers, one for the heavy duty items and another for all the glassware and chinaware.  I would love to get a Sub Zero fridge and wine storage too since we are talking about my ideal kitchen.  Plus a walk in pantry area to store all the dry items and to store all my heavy duty food equipments and machines.  I think also really important is to have a heavy duty hood over my Viking stove because I believe in searing and grilling your food before cooking it.

What is your ideal kitchen?

Saimin Says, a must go!

February 4th, 2010 Filed under Restaurant Reviews, Seattle 2 Comments

A recent breakfast at Saimin Says, that I highly recommend going if you love Hawaiian Food. It is a little bit out of the way, but definitely worth the drive because it is in Kent; but if you are going to IKEA that day, stop in for breakfast and power up for all the walking you will do later.

26218 Pacific Hwy S.
(between 260th St & 268th St)
Kent, WA 98032

If you come here order, make sure you order a side of Kalua pig and Cabbage. It was so flavorful and yummy, and don’t forget to order an extra side of Portuguese Sausage.  Oh and also go with a few people so that you can actually taste it other food, because I couldn’t decide what to order because everything looked so good.  In your group, make sure at least one person order this

and also this

The pancake is the Macadamia Nut Pancake (so fluffy, light and just sweet goodness) and the French toast is the Sweet Bread French Toast (omg so delicious, if you love the Hawaiian King Bread, which we all did!), and don’t forget to order the coconut syrup to go with these two dishes.

Other things we order the Loco Moco, Haleakala Sunrise, which comprise of two eggs, fried rice and Portuguese sausages, Fried Rice Omelet, Spam Musubi and a Rainbow Cake.  Everything was so good and homey.  It was a perfect breakfast for me that day. I had a taste of the Loco Moco and it was good.  I think it was the gravy that pull the whole hamburger patty, rice and fried egg together.  The fried rice in the omelet was a great consistency to go with the omelet, and a great tip that I learn from my Japanese friends from college is eat it with ketchup! Yup – ketchup.  Somehow the tangy and sweet ketchup just make the dish even better, the only bad note of the dish was the toast that was served with it.  It was a little bit too dry for me.

We also order the spam musubi which was great, because it came out freshly made and hot!  It was good, but I have to admit my older sister can better version of it.  She fries her spam first so it is extra crispy and then caramelized the sauce so it is sweet and sticky and so good to eat. To finish off our great meal, we all shared the rainbow cake.  Surprisedly it disappoint us, because it was so fun to look at and smelled so tropical and delicious.  It turned out to be a little bit bland.  I was really expecting the guava and the passion fruit to really pop out, but it didn’t.

Overall the food here was delicious and priced really well.  All the dishes we order was under $8 and the portion side was a good size.  We all walked away in a food coma but happy!  I can’t wait to go back and try their signature Saimin Noodle Bowl. Yum!

Color Me Katie

January 27th, 2010 Filed under Links No Comments

Magic Curtain from katie sokoler on Vimeo.

Isn’t she just adorable?  I wish I lived next to her and could be her friend.  Her blog is so fun and just darn happy, and I just love her photo wall.  She is so imaginative and talented.

Moo from katie sokoler on Vimeo.

the 411

January 20th, 2010 Filed under Links No Comments

How to hang wall art evenly

What’s the difference between turbinado sugar and granulated? 

How to get around those darn luggage fees (I really like the jacket idea!)

Need some new books to read?

Another reason why you should eat/drink more blueberries

Be more financially savvy

found via swissmiss via minordetails

Deals

January 20th, 2010 Filed under Buy! Buy! Buy! No Comments

Have you heard of Groupon?  Each day Groupon offers a interesting and fun deal to do in your city.  Seattle, Los Angeles, Dallas and even Oklahoma City are some of the cities that Groupon is participating in! 

Here are some interesting deals that I wish I knew about (all from the Seattle area):

Another favorite site that can be bad for your pocket is 6pm.  Right now they have New Balance, Pumas and Rockport 50% off or more.  Beside buying shoes there, you can purchase clothes and bags for a hefty discount. 

I also love Wantnot.net.  Her site is full of great shopping gems and to top it off  her writing style is humorous and fun.  She find alls the latest and coolest deals available online and let you know as soon as she finds out, so you don’t have to.  Plus she is always doing amazing giveaways and contests.

Two deal gathers that is top notch is Deal Catcher and Brad’s Deals.  There are more of course like Fat Wallet, Slick Deals, Bargainist, and Ben’s Bargains.

Now for more couture deals at usually 70% and higher discount, check these sites out – ideeli, hautelook, Gilt, One Kings Lane (let me know if you want entrance to these links. I can send you an invitation to get in.).

Yay for deals!

food in the fridge…

January 18th, 2010 Filed under Personal Thoughts 4 Comments

I thought I would list the items in my fridge because I thought you might be interested and I’m trying to figure out what to make for dinner tonight…

  • 10 containers of Yoplait yogurt, a good source of calcium!
  • one bottle of Martinelli’s Apple Cider, unopened
  • half a gallon of vanilla soy milk, apparently both my husband and I are lactose intolerant
  • three pounds of unsalted butter, because I can’t live without butter as all my friends can contest
  • three cucumbers
  • less than half a bag of mini sweet bell peppers
  • one head of romaine
  • some feta cheese and parmesan cheese
  • freshly laid eggs, only four left, must make a note to call and see if I can pick up more
  • a small container of honey butter that I made a couple of weeks ago
  • a jar of delicious pickled vegetables that my aunt made me a long time ago…I won’t mentioned the date but I think it’s still good.
  • half container of sour cream
  • a bit of cardamom cake left over from last week
  • half a jar of colossal olives stuffed with jalapeños
  • a jar of red wine vinegar cherries, delicious with some stinky cheese and red wine…must remember to pull that out for dinner this week as an appetizer dish
  • a container of red miso paste…mmm maybe we’ll have a salad with a red miso vinaigrette
  • half a jar of harissa , I think I need to buy some tri-tip roast and make this dish
  • on the door, as this is an Asian household, it’s a requirement for us to have a wide assortment of condiments and I mean wide, from jams, jellies, ketchup, bbq sauce, a nice selections of pickled vegetables, and lots of different Asian sauces

hmmm for dinner I think we will have creamy parmesan polenta with 4-minute poached eggs with some pickled chili bamboo shoots and maybe later on tonight I’ll make chai tea using this simple recipe. 

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