Sweaty Guinea Pig Goes Live

Sauce is absolutely crucial in a dish. A great sauce can lift the
flavor of each ingredient individually and bring them altogether. One
of the basic sauces for seafood is beurre blanc, white butter sauce
(although you can probably have it with poultry or eggs). White wine
and white wine vinegar are reduced with shallots until the mixture has
become syrupy, and then whisks in butter slowly. There are many beurre
blanc recipes out there that have cream listed as one of the
ingredients. However, a real beurre blanc does not have cream (cream
can act as a stabilizer in a sauce to prevent the breaking of acid and
fat). To ensure the sauce does not break, the heat must be kept at
lukewarm while whisking the butter with the reduced liquid.
 
I didn't have white wine with me tonight; therefore, I doubled the
amount of white wine vinegar in my sauce. Although my sauce might have
been little a bit acidic (I actually have never tasted a real beurre
blanc), I adjusted the taste with more salt. I paired beurre blanc
with smoke salmon for dinner. The saltiness and smokiness of the
salmon helped to cover up the acidic taste of my beurre blanc. I also
drizzled a little bit of the sauce on my sauteed spinach, which gave
it a little creamy texture. I was pleased with the sauce; it stayed
together without breaking apart.

       

Click here to download:

Getting_Serious_with_Sauce.zip (6858 KB)

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I have been wrapped up by a lot of work lately. I often don't come
home until 8 or 9 pm, which is one of the reasons why you haven't seen
any extensive meals posted on my blog. I often come home and settle
for a bowl of oatmeal with peanut butter and some fruits on the side.
 
I got sick of oatmeal (because I eat that for breakfast too) the other
night so I decided to spend extra few minutes to make goat cheese
frittata. I buy my goat cheese from a lovely lady at NYC Greenmarket;
the cheese tastes absolutely earthy and fresh (I could even picture
her goats eating healthy grass as I enjoyed her goat cheese). I was
not shy to put a lot of goat cheese and I finished the top of the
frittata with grated Parmesan and chopped kalamata olives and parsley.
Dairy and eggs are my power foods.

     

Click here to download:

Goat_Cheese_Omelette.zip (5520 KB)

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I finally found a way to use the excess egg whites I have stored in my
fridge (I used the yolks to make profiteroles, which I failed
miserably). I made a egg white wrap with 4 egg whites and wrapped it
around 2 slices of smoke salmon. I learned the technique of making an
egg white wrap after watching Hosea, the newest Top Chef, made a egg
white sashimi roll in one of the quickfire challenges. The secret (not
anymore) to make the wrap is to cook the egg whites on the lowest heat
(yes, it does take some patience to make this dish) and move it into
the oven, 300 degrees, for 2 to 3 minutes after the whites are settled
at the bottom of the pan. Do you find this dish to be sexy?

     

Click here to download:

Egg_White_with_Smoked_Salmon.zip (4464 KB)

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Robusting my spirit with Robust Porter from Smuttynose.

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I have recently discovered NYC Pickle Guys while trying to come up
with some side dishes to serve for my catering business. My great
friend, Melanie, suggested me to serve pickles from NYC Pickle Guys because
their pickles are rated number 1 by various places (food-network, Time
Out New York...just to name a few), and their ingredients are
absolutely fresh.
 
The NYC Pickle Guys ships nationalwide and the prices are affordable.
I have only tried New Pickles and Gherkins so far, and the gherkins
are absolutely phenomenal. I am excited to serve NYC Pickle Guys' pickles
with my sandwiches.

     

Click here to download:

Biking_to_The_NYC_Pickle_Guys..zip (6410 KB)

Click here to download:

iFS Catering Menu Spring 2009.pdf (26 KB)

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I wasn't planning on celebrating St. Patty's Day this year. But my
hands were itching to cook something...just anything. I didn't have
any Irish ingredients on hand besides potatoes. I didn't even bother
to do any research on making an Irish potato dish. I just made Mark
Bittman's "potato vegetable pie" from last week's minimalist. Making
the pie is quite simple; do exactly what you'd do for mash potatoes
and mash in some blanched vegetables. However, don't add any dairy,
and add olive oil instead. Top the pie off with bread crumbs and grate
Parmesan cheese, and broil the pie for few minutes until it turns
golded brown on the top. The look of the pie doesn't tell you whole
lot about the dish - it looks boring and unattractive. But the
potatoes tasted quite nice with few dash of Tabasco sauce and pepper.
 
Happy Belated St. Patty's Day.

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Instead of using elbow (or other tube-shape) noodles for the
traditional mac 'n cheese, I used orzo for this comfort food for
dinner tonight. Orzo tastes chewy, which reminds me of risotto. I also
added some chopped fennel and red pepper flakes to enhance flavor.
Orzo works well in this dish because of its ability to hold on to the
sauce and form chunks, which is the essence of mac 'n cheese.
 
I made tomato Provencal as the side dish. I have had a ripe tomato
sitting on my counter for over a week and its flavor has fully
developed. I stuffed the tomato with fresh herbs (parsley, green
onions, and coriander), garlic, and bread crumbs. I baked the tomato
for 10 minutes in 400 degree and broiled it with grate Parmesan for 2
minutes. The side dish tasted well-balanced.

   

Click here to download:

Mac_n_Cheese_Reinvented.zip (3802 KB)

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I am sucker for runny yolks or creamy scrambled eggs.

   

Click here to download:

Sunny_Side_Up_on_Avocado_Mouss.zip (3218 KB)

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After a month of testing different containers to transport iFS food, I
have decided to use biodegradable containers, which is very sturdy and
better for our environment. Not only does using biodegradable
containers reduce the use of plastic, but they also reduce the amount
of food that could go into waste (people tend to take more than
necessary if given a platter, and a lot of food end up in the garbage
can by the end of the party or meeting).
 
I have also made some adjustments to side dishes. I originally wanted
to serve chutney and side salad, but they don't look appetizing in the
container (salad leaves wilt after few hours). Therefore, I created
orzo salad with gremolata and garbanzo beans with honey vinaigrette
salad to serve my diners. I also scout
out an awesome pickle place in New York. The pickle distributor is
called "The Pickle Guys" (www.nycpickleguys.com). Their gherkins are
absolutely phenomenal - one of the perfect finger foods to serve along
iFS sandwiches. The Pickle Guys ship national wide. If you have few
bucks to spare, I highly recommend you to order some and experience
the fresh and palate cleansing pickles.
 
ps. I made Organic Stir Fry Tempeh Sandwich in this batch to test out
the containers.

           

Click here to download:

What_iFS_Will_Bring_to_Your_Do.zip (10820 KB)

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Since iFS took off a month ago, I have been perfecting few sandwiches
to serve the masses. iFS sandwiches are made with real meat (now I
think about it...deli meat is sort of disgusting. Real turkey breast
does not look like...whatever it does under the deli counter).
 
I made Banh Mi (roasted pork version) for the second time today and
brought it to the office for my friends to try. Banh mi has been one
of my favorite sandwiches to make. Although preparing each ingredient
takes some time (pickling vegetables, brining and roasting the pork
loin, making chicken pate, and whisking my own mayonnaise), I was very
pleased when the final product came out delicious. The sandwich has
all the element that I have envisioned: sweet, sour (could be a little
more sour according to Pete), crunchy, gamey (from the chicken liver
pate), salty, pungent, and fatty (from the pork loin and
mayonnaise...awesome!).
 
Currently working on a Asian-flavor vegetarian sandwich, any suggestions?

   

Click here to download:

My_Banh_Mi.zip (3793 KB)

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