Compost Cookies: Milk Bar Special

Happy New Year! My first post in 2013 and it goes against every resolution I made this year. I've been delaying on writing this entry for a while. And of course, now it comes at the worst of times, when most of us have sworn of sweets for 2013, singing this will be the year I give up sugar! File this one away - you'll want to save the Compost Cookie recipe for a rainy day when those sugar-free-carb-free-calorie-free-taste-free "treats" just won't do. Trust me. Every bite will be worth it.

I first made these cookies for Thanksgiving, when a  bunch of us NYers were getting together to celebrate the holiday. And nothing says New York like Momofuko Milk Bar, so I decided to test out these Compost Cookies.

These are no ordinary cookies (if you've eaten at Milk Bar you know nothing there is ordinary!). These cookies are the perfect combination of sweet and salty - chewy and gooey - chocolate and chips (potato!). Some of the ingredients were hard to track down in Hong Kong but generally these were pretty easy to make.

I got some weird looks while baking these. You're putting those pretzels where?! In The cookie batter?! Traditional cookies these are not. But you're guaranteed to love every bite. 

Milk Bar Compost Cookies

Makes 2 dozen cookies

What You'll need:

chopped Almond Roca

2 C unsalted butter at room temperature 

• 1 C granulated sugar
• 2/3 cup light brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons glucose (available at Olivers)
• 1 egg
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/3 cups flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• • 
    
  • GRAHAM CRACKER CRUST:
• 1 1/2 C graham cracker crumbs 
• 1/4 C milk powder
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 3/4 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 stick melted butter
• 1/4 C heavy cream
• What To Do:                             In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter, sugars and glucose on medium-high speed for 2 to 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, add the egg and vanilla, and beat for an additional 7 to 8 minutes.  
• Reduce the speed to low and add the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Mix just until the dough comes together, no longer than 1 minute, being careful not to overmix the dough. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula.
                                                                  Still on low speed, add the chocolate and butterscotch chips, the graham crust, oats and coffee and mix just until incorporated, about 30 seconds. Add the potato chips and pretzels and beat, still on low speed, just until incorporated, being careful not to overmix or break too many of the pretzels or potato chips. (You deserve a pat on the back if one of your cookies bakes with a whole pretzel standing up in the center.)
  Using a 2-ounce ice cream scoop or a 1/3-cup measure, portion out the dough onto a parchment-lined sheet pan, spacing each portion roughly 4 inches apart. Pat the tops of the cookie dough domes flat. Wrap the sheet pan tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least one hour, up to one week. Do not bake the cookies while at room temperature — they will not bake up properly.
  Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Bake the cookies, one tray at a time on the center rack, 18 to 20 minutes, rotating the cookies halfway through baking for even cooking. The cookies will puff, crackle and spread while baking, and should be very faintly browned on the edges yet still bright in the center. Give them an extra minute or so if needed.
  Cool the cookies completely on the sheet pans before transferring to a plate or an airtight container for storage. At room temperature, the cookies will keep fresh for 5 days; frozen, they will keep for up to 1 month.

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  
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•   Indulge, enjoy and savor!
  

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  • 1 Tsp Kosher Salt
  • 3/4 C mini chocolate chips
  • 1/2 C mini butterscotch chips (I used chopped Almond Roca, available in HK supermarkets)
  • 1/2 C graham cracker crumb (recipe below)
  • 1/3 C rolled oats
  • 2 1/2 tsp ground coffee (not instant)
  • 2 C potato chips (Milk Bar suggests Cape Cod)
  • 1 C mini pretzels

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    graham cracker crumbs

  
  

  
  

  

  a little bit of love (and salt)
  
  
  

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Pumpkin Soup Shooters

Thanksgiving has always been my favorite holiday -food, food, football!  I was sad to not spend Thanksgiving at home for the first time in my life (and of course missed Big Wednesday back in the 'dale), but we had a great time celebrating with our new Hong Kong extended family.

Our friends Rachel and Neal hosted a delicious dinner on Saturday - with all the traditional fixin's! The last few years at home, my contribution has always been a Thanksgiving soup, and so I decided that this year I would bring that tradition to Hong Kong.

Tried and true, I made this soup last Thanksgiving and it was a huge hit! Last year I made it with squash, but this year I used Japanese pumpkin, which is really easy to find pre-cut in any market here.  The original recipe from Sunset magazine suggests serving this soup in mini pumpkins - a beautiful presentation! I served it in tall shot glasses as a passed hors d'oeuvre.

Pumpkin Soup with Pumpkin Seed Mint Pesto

What You'll Need:

For The Soup:
1 large onion, chopped

• 1 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh ginger 
• 2 tablespoons evoo
• 4 large garlic cloves, chopped
• 2 teaspoons ground coriander
• 4 1/2 cups peeled, 1-in. chunks pumpkin or other orange fleshed squash 
• 4 1/2 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 
  
• For the Pesto:
• 1 small garlic clove
• 1/3 cup fresh mint leaves, plus slivered leaves
• 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 cup evoo
• 1/4 cup salted roasted pumpkin seeds

What To Do:

1. Start with the soup: Sauté the onion and ginger in oil in a medium pot over medium-high heat until golden, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and coriander and cook until softened, 1 minute, then add pumpkin, broth, salt, and pepper. Simmer, covered, until pumpkin is very tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Purée in batches in a blender or with an immersion blender until very smooth.
2. Make your pesto: Combine garlic, whole mint leaves, salt, and 1 tbsp. oil in a food processor.  Add remaining oil and pumpkin seeds and pound until coarsely crushed.

Serve: Drop small spoonfuls of pesto over bowls of soup, garnish with slivered mint, and serve remaining pesto on the side.

Serves 4-5

Enjoy! 

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In Tacos We Trust: Braised Pork Tacos

If there's one thing that's really benefiting from my unemployment it's my gym routine cooking.  So when Pat said he was craving pork tacos, I made it my mission to make killer pork tacos.

Now I'm not a big pork person and, save for that bacon infused vodka I once attempted, I haven't experimented much with pig. So while I usually ignore consider his dinner requests, I jumped to try cooking something new. And with time on my side, I opted for a recipe that called for slowly braising the meat (yes, I do have entire afternoons free to do this!).

The first challenge was finding a pork shoulder. After a few failed attempts, I finally tracked one down at Pacific Gourmet.  Once I had my meat and all of my ingredients ready to go, I was ready to rock.

I can't say there was anything tricky about this recipe - and the most time consuming part of the cooking was just waiting for the meat to braise in the oven (giving me time to online shop job search).  The meat cooked perfectly, shredding easily with a fork and then melting in my mouth. The sauce had a lot of heat and really brought out the flavor in the pork, rather than masking it. I topped soft tacos with the meat and sauce, pickled onions (recipe below), a jalapeno slice and a slice of avocado and served these with a small side of quinoa and black beans.

Pat proclaimed that it was the best meal I've ever made him.  Okay, so maybe two things are really benefiting from my unemployment!

Recipe adapted from Rachael Ray's Week In a Day

What You'll Need:  (serves 2 with leftovers)

Meat+ Sauce:
boneless pork shoulder (about 2lbs)      
salt and pepper
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons evoo
2 onions, cut into wedges with the root on
4 large coves of garlic, smashed
1 red chili
2 bay leaves
8oz beer
1 cup chicken stock                    
1 cup orange juice
1 chipotle pepper, chopped (2 for added spice)
1 tablespoon adobo sauce
2 limes, juiced
corn tortillas
sliced avocado (optional)
sliced red cabbage (optional)
shredded cheese (optional)
pickled jalapenos (optional)

Pickled Onions:
2 small red onions, sliced thin
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 cup white wine vinegar
1 sliced red chili
2 bay leaves





What to Do:



Pre-heat oven to 325F (160C). Season meat with salt and pepper and let it come to room temp (about 30 minutes).  Pat pork dry.



Heat a large oven-safe pot over high heat with the vegetable oil. Place pork in and evenly brown the meat, about 10 minutes. Remove and set aside the pork.

Lower the heat to medium-high.  Add EVOO and heat. Add the onions, garlic, salt and pepper, 1 sliced chili, and 2 bay leaves. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.  De-glaze the pot with beer and stir  in chicken stock and orange juice. Add the pork back into the pot (liquid should cover about 2/3 of the meat) and bring to a simmer.

Cover and put the pot into the oven, turning the meat halfway through. Cook until the meat is very tender, about 3 hours. Remove pot from oven and and remove meat from sauce, placing on a wood board - reserve and tent to keep warm. When the meat cools slightly, pull pork apart using 2 forks.

Simmer the braising liquid and reduce by half. Add the chipotle and adobo and lime juice.  When sauce has cooled slightly, use an immersion blender to purify into a thick sauce. Stir in your meat to coat or reserve to serve on the side.

For the onions:
In a sauce pot, bring the white vinegar, sugar, a teaspoon of salt, 1 chili pepper sliced and 2 bay leaves to a simmer over a low heat. Place sliced red onions into a sealable container. Pour the hot liquid over the onions, cover and shake vigorously. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Top your corn tortillas with meat and sauce and any additional toppings. Best served hot with a cold beer. Relax + enjoy!

PS - Looking for a way to use up those leftovers (if you have any, that is!)? Make a mini taco for a fiesta friendly finger food: Spoon a dollop of the pork and sauce onto a tostito - top with a sliver of onion, jalapeno and a pinch of cheese.

When Life Gives You Lemons….

Tangy and sweet, I love these lemon bars for their amazing blend of flavors. The crust is the perfect bite of a sugary, buttery base, while the inside oozes with the taste of pure lemon perfection. 

Leave it to Ina to always have the best recipe! I paired these lemon bars with Alton Brown’s brownies and served them side-by-side on a platter. They are the perfect summer dessert and your guests will be nothing short of impressed.

Recipe adapted from The Food Network

What You’ll Need:

Crust:
1/2 pound unsalted butter at room temp
1/2 C granulated sugar
2 C flour
1/8 tsp salt


Filling:
6 eggs at room temp
3 C granulated sugar
2 Tbs lemon zest
1 C fresh lemon juice
1 C flour
Confectioner's sugar for dusting

What To Do:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (175 Celsius). Make the crust: In an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light. Combine the flour and salt and slowly add to the butter until just mixed. Gather the dough onto a floured surface and make into a ball. With your hands (flour them first!) flatten the dough and press into a 9 by 13 by 2-inch baking sheet, building up a 1/2-inch edge on all sides. Chill.

Bake the crust for 15 to 20 minutes, until very lightly browned. Leave the oven on. Let crust cool.

Make the filling: whisk together the eggs, sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, and flour. Pour over the crust and bake for 35-45 minutes, until the filling is set. Let cool to room temperature.

Cut into triangles or squares and dust with confectioners' sugar.

Chocolatey Goodness Brownies!

This weekend we had some friends over for a good old-fashioned BBQ. After all, it was Memorial Day in the states and nothing says summer kick off like grilling! So while we don’t celebrate Memorial Day here in Hong Kong, it was nice to have a little taste of home.

We kept it simple with a green salad, grilled zucchini and burgers with all the fixins.

For dessert, I was craving a simple chocolatey treat and so I attempted my first Hong Kong baking and made Alton Brown’s brownies. 

The prep was ridiculously easy, calling for only a handful of ingredients that I already had in my cabinet. This is a great recipe to have on hand for a last minute dessert emergency (as if you don’t have those often!).

The brownies turned out to have a nice, crisp top to them but were all chew and goo on the inside. They boast deep and sweet chocolate notes without being too rich. One-bite brownie? No way. Be prepared to go back for seconds.

Recipe adapted from The Food Network

What You’ll Need:

4 large eggs

1 C Sugar

1 C brow sugar

8 Oz butter, melted + square of butter for greasing pan

1 ¼ C cocoa powder, unsweetened

2 tsp vanilla extract

½ C flour + extra for dusting the pan

2 pinches kosher salt

What To Do:

Grease an 8x8 pan with butter and dust with flour. Preheat oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit.

Using an electric whisk, beat the eggs on medium until light and fluffy. Add both sugars and mix. Add butter, cocoa, vanilla, flour and salt. Mix all ingredients until batter is well combined.

Pour batter into greased pan. Bake at 300 for 45-55 minutes. To test, insert a toothpick in the center – when it comes out clean, your brownies are done.  Let brownies cool. Cut and serve.  Enjoy!

Celebratory Ceviche

This week I finally got around to making our celebratory “first meal in the apartment” dinner. Just one week after moving in – not too bad. On the menu was a scallop ceviche. Okay, not quite Asian, but I pulled this one out of my “special occasion” bag of tricks and I’d say it did the trick (as in…while you were at work all day I mastered this impressive restaurant-quality scallop ceviche!)

This meal wins the prettiest presentation award and so I have to give proper thanks where thanks are due. So a shout out to....unemployment! My day started by hitting the markets around 10am. I then spent a leisurely day looking for ingredients and wandering through streets of Hong Kong. I finally was back in the late afternoon to start prep work and make sure that all of my ingredients were nicely washed, chopped, diced and spiced. I even was able to take the time to plate my dishes and have everything ready by time Pat got home.  It was a rare occurrence in my kitchen: a perfectly timed and orchestrated symphony of shop, prep, cook, serve.  While I had the better part of the day to spend in the kitchen, the true beauty of this dish is that you really don’t need more than 1 hour to create this ceviche.

This scallop ceviche dates back to my recipe book started in 2004. It’s a tear-out from Hamptons magazine and is a dish from an east end restaurant. It’s light and refreshing with flavorful bursts of citrus and a rich avocado topping. And while it's simple to make, it looks quite impressive (if I do say so myself)!

Enjoy this with a side salad for your main or with a crostini or crunchy bread for an app.  Serves 6.

What you’ll need:

1 lb raw scallops, cleaned and finely chopped

3 limes, juiced

2 lemons, juiced

1 orange, juiced

salt

white pepper

cayenne pepper

1 tbs olive oil           

zest of 1 lime

1 lb tomatoes, seeded and diced

2 tbs tarragon, chopped

1 tbs aged sherry vinegar

4 avocados, mashed

zest of 1 orange

2 tbs orange juice

Tobasco sauce

What to Do:

In a glass bowl (or other non-reactive bowl) combine lime juice, lemon juice and orange juice. Macerate scallops in all of the juices. Make sure all of the scallop pieces are coated, cover and refrigerate for 45 minutes (or longer).  When ready, drain scallops and combine with lime zest, olive oil, pinch of salt, pinch of pepper and pinch of cayenne pepper. Set aside. Seed and chop tomatoes. Combine with tarragon, vinegar. Set aside.  Mash avocados with orange juice, orange zest and tobasco sauce, to taste.  Set aside. When ready to serve, layer all ingredients starting with your scallop at the bottom, then tomato and top with avocado.