Just because you can doesn't mean you should

I'm taking a side step away from talking about what's in our kitchen, to what's outside.

Today KFC is releasing its "double down KFC sandich" with the following specs: The sandwich consists of two pieces of fried chicken fillets that serve as "bread" to sandwich two slices of Monterey Jack and pepper jack cheese, two slices of bacon and a special sauce. It contains 540 calories, 32 grams of fat, and 1,380-1420 milligrams of sodium (92-95% of your daily recommended sodium intake). The blogosphere has been abuzz with reviews mostly from those who are curious about this gimmicky creation and those who are appalled that it actually exists.

While I'm pretty grossed out by it too, in all fairness, in spite of all the hullabaloo, the specs aren't that much worse than what's in other fast food fare on the market. For example, the Big Mac is also 540 calories, with 29 g of fat and 1040 mg of sodium.

What really is generating all the negativity is that in essence, KFC is saying a big F-U! to the first lady's attempts to fight childhood obesity and the newly passed health care bill. "So, you want Americans to eat better and have healthy habits? Well, we'll make a sandwich that is going to be so sensational that it'll publicize itself." Basically, it's a sandwich that Big Agriculture and Tea partiers can rally behind.

Nevertheless, how to get people to eat better is not an easy thing to tackle. On one hand, I don't like how it seems that our food choices are often controlled by a combination of marketing, food prices, brand labeling, etc and the fact that there are hundreds of commercials for sugary, fatty, food products, yet none for the humble tomato. On the other hand, I don't think banning bake sales in schools (cough cough New York) or having a sugar tax will actually change people's eating habits. It seems pointless to allow bad choices to exist and thrive and then punish people for choosing them. What else are you supposed to do if you don't have access to fresh produce and every major street corner is dominated by a brightly-lit fast food joint? Side story: I remember in high school, a friend of mine counted how many McDonald's were on Beach Blvd, a 10 mile long major street. There were no fewer than 10! That's at least one every mile. It's easy to see how they can boast "Billions and Billions served."

You cannot demand people to make better choices without making those choices better. Here's an old article about the messy behemoth that shows the infuriatingly contradictory relationship between the food and healthcare industries: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/10/opinion/10pollan.html

Any thoughts you'd like to contribute to our dinner table?

Tortilla Espanola

Chef Anna here. This photo is from a while ago, when I decided to make a Spanish themed dinner (or at least it's my conception of what one would like... it's probably not that accurate). Anyways, this dish is called tortilla espanola (Spanish omelet). It's sort of tricky to actually make but the preparation is easy. Basically several pounds of potatoes are cut into circular slices and are fried in a pan with onion. A few eggs that have been whisked are then added. The tricky part is keeping the potatoes, the onion, and the egg formed into an object that looks like a pie. Just like paella, the bottom is browned before serving. However, unlike paella, the tortilla espanola is served bottom side up so you get a beautiful brown top as seen in the picture.

I served the tortilla espanola with a bit of romesco sauce, a Spanish sauce made with pimiento peppers, red pepper flakes, garlic, paprika, tomato, and almond paste. It is EXTRAORDINARY!

The salad is simple, being just a bunch of spring greens and dried apricots, tossed with balsamic vinaigrette, and some parmesan cheese on top (so maybe that's not totally Spanish, but whatever). I'm dipping into my Italian roots there. =)

L'amour du chocolat

I've experimented with a few truffles recipes and I've finally settled on Alton Brown's recipe. However instead of using brandy in the truffles, I prefer to use Grand Marnier or some other flavored alcohol. So far I've tried Bailey's, homemade cherry brandy, and peppermint schnapps.

Truffles are surprisingly not that hard to make if you're not trying to get a crispy outer chocolate shell. It's dark chocolate, butter, cream, corn syrup and some flavored alcohol in a pot, all melded together into chocolatey deliciousness.

The truffles you see above are the ones that I made for Jay on Valentine's Day. They were quite a success. =)

Here's the link to Alton Brown's recipe if you want to try it:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/chocolate-truffles-recipe/index.html

Beef Ragu

This is Italian comfort food or at least I think it is. What is better than stew meat simmered in red wine, tomatoes, onions, fennel seeds, oregano, basil, and other veggies for hours until the meat becomes all stringy and tender? This meal was rather cheap to make since the beef and red wine were both on sale. I suggest getting a table red wine for this meal. You'll end up putting a lot of the wine into the sauce but having some extra left to drink makes the meal that much better.

Seared Albacore Salad Nicoise

As complicated as this dish looks, it took only 20 minutes to make and even less time to put together.

1. Cut 3 large red potatoes into quarter and boil until softened, but not so that they fall apart.
2. Steam green beans
3. Rub 2 tuna steaks (1-1.5 lbs) with salt and pepper, olive oil and sear in a pan, about 2-3 minutes per side. Slice into 1/2 inch wide slabs.
4. Toss potatoes and tuna in large bowl with the following: 2 TB dijon mustard, 1.5 TB white wine vinegar, 1 tsp dried tarragon, 1/2 cup fresh parsley, 1 TB olive oil, 1/2 cup red onion slices and pepper.
5. Plate tuna/potato mix over salad greens with green beans, tomatoes and olives.

After a long 2 weeks, Anna and I had a chance to sit and enjoy a nice dinner with a bottle of reisling. =D

Persimmon

Every weekend A and I take a walk around the neighborhood to see what wonders we can find. Sometimes its fresh rosemary and mint, other times a cool looking stick that could make a 3 foot tall sling shot. This time it was a persimmon!

The story behind getting this persimmon is sort of funny. A and I saw it from a block away near Hawthorne and Euclid. My fingers twitched and my eyes brightened, and A thought to himself, "Oh no, Eileen's going to try and get the fruit. She's always getting into trouble." Of course, I coerced him to help me. You should have seen our human ladder. He hoisted me up and tried to balance as I frantically lunged for the fruit. Several people passed us during these minutes and must have thought we were nuts.

Not quite sure if taking fruit off someone else's tree is lawful since it is "poaching" but if anyone asks, the fruit needed to be picked. At my future home, if I have any fruit trees in the yard, there'll be a clear sign saying "Please take whatever fruit you can reach."

Pandan Chiffon Cake

Anna turned 24 earlier this week (the baby of the house!) so we surprised her with this creation. She got home before we go the chance to decorate it, so I ended up hiding the cake and frosting it in my room, with no one the wiser. So what is this curiously green cake? It's a pandan flavored chiffon cake with coconut frosting between the layers and a sweetened whipped cream frosting with fresh pineapple. Pandan is a flavoring used in Southeast Asia that tastes like a cross between vanilla, taro and hazelnut.

Sharri was the first to introduce me to Pandan. Thanks girl!

Pancakes so fluffy, you'd want to roll up in them!

Buttermilk pancakes are really the only ones worth making. Once you've made them, they'll become a brunch staple.

This is probably one of the fluffiest buttermilk pancake recipes I've come across that has generous amount of both baking powder and baking soda. Here's a little info on what makes these similar chemicals different.

Here are the basics for this recipe.

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 3 cups buttermilk
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, plus 1/2 teaspoon for griddle

The full recipe can be found here. We halved this recipe and added 1 tsp of vanilla extract to make them more delectable. They are so lightly sweet and fluffy that they're great just on their own.

Fractal Broccoli

Awesome fractal broccoli at Monterey Market.

Vegan Creamy Asparagus Soup (with Cashew Cream)

This cream of asparagus soup is so creamy and yet so vegany--oh the wonders of cashew cream. It doesn't taste at all nutty. This is the recipe from vegan chef Tal Ronnen as recommended by Yumi garnished with spinach and sunflower seeds.

Home made Horchata and Soy Milk

Soy milk and horchata is kind of like mayonaisse. When asked where it comes from you respond "Obviously, it comes in a jar or container." It never really occurs to most people that these foods can be made at home. There's good reason why...it's a bit labor intensive for what you get. But, the results are fantastic.


For soy milk:

Step 1: Soak beans overnight by covering them with water so that there's 1/4 inch of water on top. About a cup of dry beans (50 cents!) will make well over a half gallon of milk depending on how "beany" you like your drink.
Step 2+3: Once the beans are soft, use a food processor to blend them. Boil blended beans in pot with 4-5 cups of water over medium heat. Make sure you don't burn the beans or you'll get a burnt flavor. Boil for 20-25 minutes. Strain mixture.
Step 4: Adjust flavor, dilute with water to the consistency you like and if you like add sugar 1 tsp at a time until you get it to the sweetness you like. I like my soy milk very beany with just barely a touch of sweetness.

How to make Horchata:

Step 1: Take 3/4 cup of white rice and pulse to break into small powdery pieces. In large pot, add blended rice, 1 cup of blanched or slivered almonds, 2 cinnamon sticks or cinnamon powder and cover mixture with 6 cups of water. Set for 3 hours. After 3 hours, remove cinnamon sticks, blend the mixture in a food processor and strain liquid.



Horchata is the perfect drink for a humid day.

Meyer Lemon Marmalade

Its citrus season and the meyer lemon tree out back has been a baby making machine =D, so we made some lemon marmalade with whole cloves based on this recipe. It's amazing how when sugar is heated it becomes syrupy and when you heat up fruit, it becomes jelly! Chemistry in action. Even if you're not into jam, making lemon clove marmalade just makes the kitchen smell so inviting.

Here's Aleister investigating our lemon marm-topped yogurt.

Spinach-Shitake mushroom Tofu Dumplings

A standby favorite recipe from my vegetarian soul-mate Yumi

Dumplings are such comfort food. Whatever form they take, perogis, wontons, potstickers, mandoo!, samosas, ravioli, etc, they will warm your heart and stomach. They're also great because it doesn't matter what you put in them. They will be good no matter what.

Does everyone get this much comfort from dumplings? Maybe it's the case especially for me because growing up, on Sundays, my dad and I would fold dumplings together. We'd compare how "neatly" pleated our dumpling folds were. "Like this--90 degrees, see? Like this?" My dad would say as if he had somehow engineered the perfect dumpling folding technique. Sometimes we'd make over a hundred to store in the freezer! As soon we got enough made to feel confident that we were making progress, my mom would run over, take our wrapped works of art and toss them into boiling water. We'd eat them just as quickly as we made them.

This particular dumpling is normal gyoza skins. The filling consists of shittake mushrooms, minced garlic and ginger, drained frozen chopped spinach, crumbled firm tofu, scallions, pepper and soy sauce. Sautee dumplings in a pan and for the dipping sauce try a 1 part soy sauce to one part water with a bit of lemon juice and minced ginger. I dare you to try saving some because they will disappear! One time Yumi and I made 60 of these and ate all of them in one sitting. This is why we are best friends.

Spanakopitas

A's part Greek and his family always makes this spinach pie over the holidays, so we make a point to make it every year---because honestly, NOBODY DOESN'T LIKE SPINACH PIE! He insists that we use the recipe that his grandma uses, even if this means sometimes making multiple long-distance phone calls because we forgot. But for now, a copy was given to us and now after 3 years its a well-creased, stained 8x11.5 sheet of paper-- well-loved no doubt.

This year, we made the traditional sheet spinach pie and with the extra phyllo made cupcake versions that was good to grab on the way out as a buttery breakfast. Let us know if you'd like the recipe!

Apples

This is a photo from November, when it was still apple season. Every fall, Berkeley Bowl carries near 12-15 different varieties of apples. Not only is that freaking amazing, but the checkout folks have to keep track of all of them too. So A and I started to wonder what's so different about them? Here's a sampling of 4 we set out to try from left to right: washington, granny smith, jazz, and golden delicious. Golden delicious and Jazz were my favorites from this batch. Aren't the colors just gorgeous?

Purple Bliss

This is from a recipe that appeared in the Health section of the New York Times. It became an instant favorite of this household, being both flavorful and healthy! Here's the link to the recipe:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/05/health/nutrition/05recipehealth.html?_r=1&em

Basically, it's a concoction of eggplant, basil, crushed tomato, chickpeas, onions and garlic. Served hot with whole wheat pita bread on the side, it's fantastic. I imagine cous cous with raisins and pine nuts would go well, too.

Next up on my list of recipes to attempt is jalapenos en escabeche (pickled jalapenos, carrots, and onions). It's one of those yummy things you find at taco trucks and I really want to have some here. This is the link to the recipe I'll be trying (stay tuned for results): http://www.mexconnect.com/articles/2386-pickled-jalapenos-jalapenos-en-escabeche

Dancing to a Curiously Hypnotic Beet

We cut into some beets and found this beautiful pattern underneath, it's like a LSD laden tie-dyed party in there.

Butternut Squash Savory Tart (with arugala, onions and gruyere)

This tart is wonderful anytime of year because it's got a whole host of intertwined flavors.

First make the dough- this is just your basic pastry dough you can find anywhere online. We used 1/2 whole wheat because it makes us feel better about eating this tart. It's fun to use your fingers to spread the dough into the pan.

Skin a butternut squash, cut into cubes, rub with olive oil, sprinkle salt pepper and a dusting of cayenne pepper, and roast in oven at 350 until tender but still firm, like 25 min?

Slice onions into thin slivers and sautee with salt, pepper and some thyme until soft.

Create layers of squash, onions, arugala and sliced swiss cheese and bake at 350 until cheese is melty and crust is crusty about 35 min?.

Voila! Just looking at these photos makes me crave some of this lovely pie.

A tale of Sugary Sweet love

Alan and I were making chocolate coated almonds one day and experimenting with making chocolate letters. Well known in our social circles for his knack of making cute tokens of affection, he made me this chocolate heart. Aww....shucks.

The Most Quintessential Raspberry Chocolate Cake

Presenting the world's most decadent 3-layer-rasberry filled chocolate cake. For my mom's birthday, she casually requested a chocolate raspberry cake. Let me say this---it did not disappoint. It was an epic tour-de-force of a cake because it is a 3-layer cake with a meringue-based buttercream frosting. I was handicapped though because my folks only had 1 cake pan and no electric beater. Whipping eggs by hand is brutal--but miraculously it all came together after.

Here's the recipe for the cake, the frosting was based on Martha stewart's buttercream frosting with added coco powder, and the raspberry filling.

To decorate, melt semisweet chocolate in a double boiler. Put into a frosting cuff or tough ziploc bag with a tiny hole. To create letters, write words with chocolate onto wax paper and cool in refrigerator.

You will love this cake!

Tofu Peanut Soup With Brown Rice

Chef Anna speaking. =)

This is the peanut soup topped with tofu that I made the other night. Lately, we chefs here have been trying to eat vegetarian for health and cost reasons. Peanut soup is one of the most delicious vegetarian dishes I know. I've been really into peanut soup ever since I had a bowl of it at a Ghana restaurant in Berkeley. It's very humble really, consisting mostly of some spices, some sweet potatoes, and tomatoes. However, if you bulk it up with brown rice and some golden tofu, it becomes a very satisfying meal.

To make the golden tofu, you need to take a block of tofu, drain it, and cut it up into small squares. Then you want to press down on the squares with a paper towel a few times to remove a lot of the liquid. This will help them fry a nice golden brown color. Once they've been drained of a lot of their liquid, stick them in a pan that contains about 2 Tbsp of peanut oil that has already been heated. Let the tofu cook there until one side is golden brown. Then keep flipping it until all sides are golden.

This link tells you how to make the peanut soup. I prefer to use crunchy peanut butter when making it because I like a little bit of crunch in the soup. We also used brown rice instead of regular rice since we consider it to be a healthier option. Anyways, enough rambling; here's the recipe:

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Peanut-Soup-with-Rice-and-Scallions-103559

Bon appetit!

Poached Anjou Pear Tart

Oh my lord this tart is good, so good that after making it the first time, I was making it like every weekend. Fattiness increased--> self-esteem slightly decreased--> more tarts made as comfort food. See how this is a viscious cycle?

First the pears:

1) Boil 3 large anjou pears completely submerged in water with whatever spices you want, vanilla, cardamon, cinnamon, cloves, etc. They are ready when the skins, which were green, turn a light yellow brown and if the skin comes off when you touch it. You don't want to remove the skin too soon before the dough is done because the pear flesh will brown. When you are ready for the pears, peel the skin with your fingers, a knife is too hard and will go right through the flesh of the fruit. Cut 1/2 inch slivers, removing core.

• 
  
• The pastry dough for a 9- inch tart!
• 
  
• 2) In a food processor, pulse together 1 cup all-purpose flour, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon sugar and 1/2 cup of softened unsalted butter cut into small pieces. The dough should be crumby. Don't let it become completely smooth. Stir in enough cold water about 3 TB to pull the dough together. Shape into a disc (so that it's easier to roll out later) and wrap in plastic wrap and let rest in the refrigerator for 15-20 minutes. Preheat oven to 350.

3) Roll out pastry dough into a circle that it is about 10-12 inches wide. You can arrange the pears in anyway you want, just leave room for the crust. I'm not sure how to explain the method of folding the dough to achieve the twisted crust pictured about, but you can also just roll the dough over the pears, pinch together loose areas and use a fork tines to add a notched decoration on the crust. Sprinkle the entire tart with sugar. Pop in oven until golden brown. To get the glazed crust as pictured without using a torch, add extra sugar on the crust and after the tart is done baking, put the broiler on and quickly broil the tart so the sugar melts and crystalizes. You must be attentive at this step as you may easily burn your beautiful tart!

Most importantly have fun!

Wonderful Winter Portobello Mushroom Stew

This is Chef Anna speaking. Here's a picture of a really simple meal to make and one that is especially comforting on a cold, rainy day. The portobello mushroom serves as the meat of this stew, making it very satisfying indeed. We got this amazing recipe from Deborah Madison's "Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone," one of our favorite cookbooks so far (other than the Julia Child one I got for Christmas). Served over egg noodles, this stew creates an orgasmic taste experience in your mouth.

Anyways you need these ingredients:

-- olive oil
--onion
--chopped rosemary
-- pepper, red pepper flakes
-- garlic cloves
-- mushroom broth (or water)
-- sherry
--white vinegar
--tomato paste
-- butter
--parsley
-- portobello mushrooms
--white mushrooms

I imagine this stew would go really well with a wine like a Chianti or some other strong red wine since it is so meaty. If you try it with a wine that goes well with it, let me know. =)

Bon appetit!

Flourless "Pterophyta" Chocolate Cake

This is the pterophyta cake that helped us win a nifty little popcorn maker at the PostBacc Bake Off last fall.

The name of this cake is the result of a really really bad pun. All the chefs contributed to this cake, but it's a recipe that Chef Eileen taught us after interning at Chez Panisse. First of all, it's a flourless chocolate cake. Secondly, if you look carefully you'll see that the stencil made by Chef Anna looks unintentionally like a fern. Chef Caroline, our resident biology expert, made the astute observation that ferns (pterophyta) don't have flowers. Our cake didn't have any flours in it. Thus, pterophyta cake was born and the name just sort of stuck. =)

*****

Eileen here: Here is a couple more photos of this flourless chocolate cakes that we've experimented with. I don't quite have an exact recipe, as I've been working mostly by taste. Here's the basic gist though:

Preheat oven to 350.

1. In a double boiler, melt equal parts unsweetened chocolate and unsalted butter. (1/2 cup each) Make sure to use a high coco-butter content chocolate like Guittard (available in the bulk section from Berkeley Bowl). Do not use nestle "chocolate chips" as they will give you a dry burnt mess!

2) Dissolve about 1/2-3/4 c of sugar into melted chocolate mix, or to taste. You may want to make it a tad sweeter than you would like because the rest of the mix will dilute it a bit. Take off heat and cool so that it's not steaming, warm to touch but still liquidy.

3) Whip 5 egg whites until they form stiff white peaks. Save egg yolks! Sometimes when you whip eggs, there will be some liquid underneath the foam that will kinda deflate the volume of the mix so make sure as much of it gets all whipped.

4) Mix the egg yolks into the melted chocolate mix which is warm and shouldn't cook the yolks.

5) Transfer chocolate mix into a large mixing bowl. Fold in egg whites.

7) Butter a 9 inch round or square pan--spring form round pans are the best! Pour in mix to fill no more than half the height of the pan, and smooth out. Bake for 50 minute or until the cake gets a nice crusty top and when you prick the center with a toothpick it comes out clean. Because it's an egg white base, the cake will rise a bit (POOF!) and deflate, but it'll still be delicious!

8) Great with powdered sugar or raspberry puree!