Kimchi

Following in the vein of preserving foods, pickling, fermenting, etc - we decided to try Kimchi, a korean pickled cabbage and radish dish. There are a lot of different variations to this, but the recipe we used sounds like it's pretty traditional, basic kimchi. We made a half batch, based this on this recipe from epicurious, with a few modifications. This was really simple, only has to ferment for a few days before eating (as opposed to 2-3 weeks for sauerkraut), and tastes great. The only problem is that based on that recipe (or maybe the chili peppers we used), it almost makes my face explode, and I'm pretty spice tolerant. I would use 1/2 to 3/4 the ground chilies this says to use, unless you really like your eyes to water while eating - or experiment with different types of chilies to find the one you like best.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup plus 1 tbsp sea salt (I didn't actually carefully measure the salt)
• 1 head napa cabbage
• 1/2 bulb of garlic, cloves separated and peeled
• 1 inch piece of ginger root, peeled.
• 1/8 cup fish sauce
• 2 daikon radishes, one grated, one chopped.
• 1/2 bunch green onions, cut in 1 inch pieces
• 1/4 cup ground dried red chilis
• Handful of bean sprouts

Directions

1. Separate cabbage leaves, and rub salt thoroughly on each leaf, then set in a bowl or dish for soaking.
2. Fill the dish with water so the cabbage is covered, and let soak for 3-4 hours at room temperature.
3. Using a mortar and pestle, or a food processor, mash the garlic, ginger and fish sauce so you have a kind of liquidy paste.
4. In a large mixing bowl, combine radish, green onion, bean sprouts, garlic mixture, chili powder, and 1 tbsp salt.
5. Mix together well using a fork or spoon. If you use your hands, wear gloves to avoid chili burns.
6. Remove the cabbage from the water and rinse thoroughly in a colander, squeezing extra water out of the leaves.
7. Chop the cabbage leaves into large-ish pieces.
8. Mix the cabbage leaves in with the spice mixture very thoroughly, making sure the leaves get well-coated, and then divide up between jars, pressing the contents firmly to the bottom of the jar.
9. Let sit at room temperature for about 3 days before eating.

New Kitchen Gear

In the category of things that are very helpful in the kitchen, a double-boiler helps for making sauces, chocolate candies, anything where you don't want direct heat applied to the contents of the cooking vessel. In the past we've fudged this by just putting a metal bowl inside a larger pot filled with water, but we found this gorgeous copper and ceramic double boiler on Etsy for cheap, cheap, cheap, and we couldn't pass it up.

Get ready for posts on the 5 Mother Sauces of French Cooking: Béchamel, Velouté, Tomate, Espagnole, and Hollandaise.

Well, the Espagnole may be tricky, since it uses veal stock... but I suppose we could do a beef stock version :)

Bon appétit, and happy cooking! :)

Perfect Mac & Cheese

We are strong believers in comfort foods, and one that stands tall above most others is gooey baked macaroni and cheese. This last batch we made was maybe the best one we've ever done, and we made it based on this recipe from Martha Stewart. This isn't something you'll want to be making all the time (4 1/2 cups milk/cream, 6 1/2 cups of cheese), but man is it good when you just really need that mac and cheese fix.

Ingredients

• 2 cups bread crumbs
• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, plus more for dish
• 2 1/2 cups milk
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons kosher or sea salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tsp prepared mustard
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp worchestershire sauce
• 1 pinch of red pepper flakes
• 4 1/2 cups (about 18 ounces) grated sharp cheddar
• 2 cups (about 8 ounces) grated Gruyère
• 1 pound macaroni

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
2. Butter a 3-quart casserole dish (approx. 9"x11"); set aside.
3. Fill a large saucepan with water. Bring to a boil. Add macaroni.
4. Cook 2 to 3 fewer minutes than manufacturer's directions, until outside of pasta is cooked and inside is underdone (Different brands/types of macaroni cook at different rates; be sure to read the instructions).
5. Transfer the macaroni to a colander, rinse under cold running water, and drain well.
6. In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt 2 tablespoons butter. Toss butter with breadcrumbs, making sure all the breadcrumbs are moistened. Set the breadcrumbs aside.
7. In a medium saucepan set over medium heat, heat milk and cream together. Melt remaining 6 tablespoons butter in a high-sided skillet over medium heat. Add mustard, paprika, garlic, nutmeg, salt, pepper, and pepper flakes. Cook for approximately 1 minute.
8. Add worchestershire sauce and flour. Cook, stirring constantly, 2 minutes, until you have a nice roux.
9. Slowly pour hot milk into flour-butter mixture while whisking. At first, make sure the flour mixture absorbs all the milk before adding more, this will help avoid lumps in your sauce. As your sauce gets saucier, you can add more milk at a time. Continue cooking, whisking constantly, until the mixture bubbles and becomes thick.
10. Remove the pan from the heat. Stir in 3 cups cheddar, and 1 1/2 cups Gruyère.
11. In a large mixing bowl, combine partially cooked pasta and cheese sauce, mix well.
12. Pour the mixture into the prepared casserole dish. Sprinkle remaining 1 1/2 cups cheddar and 1/2 cup Gruyère on top; scatter breadcrumbs over the top.
13. Bake until browned on top, about 30 minutes. Let dish cool for about 5 minutes before serving.

Good Old Oatmeal

This weekend we made oatmeal for breakfast, and it reminded me what a good, simple and cheap meal this is. Very versatile as well. We topped ours with brown sugar, chopped almonds, and chopped dates, but you can use anything that sounds good - honey, molasses, cream, buttermilk, bananas, mango, chocolate, hazelnuts, cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom - the possibilities are endless. This recipe serves about 4 people.

If you don't have time to make it for yourself in the mornings before work or whatever, make a double batch on a weekend, and keep it in the fridge in individual servings, reheat it on the stove or in the microwave.

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 cup steel cut oats
• 3-4 cups water (check the packaging of the oats for exact proportions)
• Toppings

Directions

1. Bring your 3-4 cups of water to boil in a pot.
2. In a medium-sized saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat, and then add the oats.
3. Cook oats for 1-2 minutes to toast them slightly.
4. Add the boiling water to the oats and butter, and cook for approximately 30 minutes with the saucepan covered (again, check packaging of oats for exact directions), stirring occasionally, until most of the liquid has been absorbed by the oats.
5. Dish up the oatmeal into bowls, and add toppings.

So(ba) Lovely

We've been on a bit of a Japanese food kick lately, and one of my personal new favorites is soba noodles.

The other day we made a nice, quick lunch by cooking the soba noodles along with some chopped shiitake mushrooms, draining them and rinsing in cold water, and topping with sesame seeds and chopped green onions, then adding some soba noodle soup base (we bought pre-made soup base, but you could make it yourself and just keep it around). In this case, the soup base is really just a thin sauce to coat the noodles, not to make it like an actual soup.

This was really tasty, and made for a nice, quick, 10 minute meal.