Beef and Broccoli (Romanesco)

Sadly, my Year of the Pig/Boar has come to an end...however, Happy Lunar New Year!

And what perfect timing. I have a mildly Chinese recipe to post, and what better time to post than Chinese New Year.

Three days before the Superbowl party and I am frantically trying to cook everything in my fridge to make way for the massive amount of groceries required to feed 45 people. And I come across this THING in my fridge. The thing that looks like an alien Christmas tree. Quite beautiful actually, but, what IS it?



It's romanesco. As mentioned previously, I received romanesco in my Mysterious Thursday box. After a bit of research, it turns out romanesco is part of the cabbage/brussel sprouts/cauliflower family. Many websites and blogs described it as a nutty cauliflower. Maybe I'm just a bad foodie. Blindfolded, I wouldn't be able to tell you the difference between this and broccoli. And at 9:30pm when I'm hungry, that's the treatment it's going to get. Beef and broccoli, er romanesco, time. Oh the irony of a white washed Chinese/Taiwanese girl making beef and broccoli for a white boy and herself.

I quickly chopped up the romanesco and some leftover beef. I briefly sauteed the beef and romanesco separately, then threw it all back in to coat it in sauce. Thrown on top of some rice and I was golden. Sorry, no real measurements here due to the "quick, feed me before I get grumpy" cooking style.

Beef and Broccoli (Romanesco)

Thinly sliced beef
Romanesco/Broccoli florets
Minced garlic
Minced shallots
Olive oil
Sesame oil
2 T soy sauce
2 T sherry
1/3 c oyster sauce
1 T cornstarch mixed with water

Quickly saute the beef until just before cooked. Remove from heat and set aside.

Quickly saute the broccoli/romanesco until cooked. Set aside.

Mix soy sauce, sherry and oyster sauce in a small bowl. Taste - dilute with water if necessary.

Heat up garlic and shallots in a mix of olive oil and sesame oil. Add beef and broccoli. Add sauce mixture and coat beef and broccoli evenly. Add cornstarch/water mixture and stir well. The sauce should thicken upon mixing. Serve on top of hot rice.

Romanesco links of interest:
Food meets math?
Cook (almost)Anything at Least Once's romanesco
Buy romanesco seeds from Amazon

Chocolate Decadence Cake with Raspberry Sauce

Since it IS currently the header picture of my blog, it's about time I post the recipe for the chocolate decadence cake. This cake scared me at first, I'll admit. My staunch "I cook, not bake" attitude would be completely destroyed if I baked a cake, other than baking with my good friend Betty Crocker. Granted, a large number of the recipes on this blog so far are of cookies, but for some reason, cookies seem to defy the baking category, at least in my state of denial towards baking. Yes, serious baking scares me because you have to be so precise with measurements and to me, that takes away the "a little bit of this, a little bit of that" fun that cookings brings me. But, in order to properly bribe, I mean motivate, a member of my project team, I promised chocolate cake. And chocolate cake it was.

This is a surprisingly easy recipe, and I think it would be even easier now with my lovely Kitchen Aid companion. I followed the instructions line by line and ended up with a beautiful and quite tasty cake that made many break their diets. *insert evil laugh here* As the magnet on my fridge says, "Lord, if you can't make me skinny, please make all my friends fat."

Chocolate Decadence Cake with Raspberry Sauce

I didn't have any raspberries or raspberry flavored liquer, so I used strawberries instead. The liquer would have given it that extra oomph, but it was just fine without.

For the raspberry sauce:
2 1/2 cups fresh raspberries or thawed frozen unsweetened raspberries
1/2 cup superfine sugar
1/4 cup framboise or other raspberry-flavored liqueur (optional)

For the cake:
1 lb. semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped
10 Tbs. (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
4 extra-large eggs, at room temperature (I didn't have XL eggs, so I used 4 large eggs + one egg white)
1 Tbs. sugar
1 Tbs. all-purpose flour
1 cup heavy cream, whipped


To make the raspberry sauce, place the raspberries, sugar and framboise, if using, in a blender or in a food processor fitted with the metal blade. Puree until smooth. If you prefer a seedless sauce, pass the puree through a sieve.

To make the cake, position a rack in the middle of an oven and preheat to 425ºF. Butter an 8 or 9-inch springform pan or a layer cake pan. Line the bottom with a circle of parchment paper or waxed paper cut to fit precisely. Butter the paper and dust with flour; tap out any excess.

Place the chocolate and butter in a large heatproof bowl or the top pan of a double boiler. Set over a pan of gently simmering water but not touching the water. Stir occasionally until melted and combined completely. Remove from the heat and let cool slightly.

Place the eggs and sugar in a bowl. Using an electric mixer set on high speed, beat until light, fluffy and tripled in volume, 5 to 10 minutes. Reduce the speed to low and beat in the flour. Using a rubber spatula, fold one-third of the egg mixture into the chocolate to lighten it, then fold in the remaining egg mixture, taking care not to deflate the batter. Pour and scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top.

Bake for exactly 15 minutes. Let cool completely to room temperature. Do not refrigerate or the cake will stick to the pan. Invert the cake onto a flat serving plate and peel off the paper.

Cut into small wedges and serve each wedge atop some of the raspberry sauce. Top with whipped cream. Makes one 8 or 9-inch cake; serves 12.

Cheesestraws

These cheesestraws are a quick and easy tasty treat to make, perfect for party appetizers. As an added bonus, they look as good as they taste. These were served at the Superbowl party (thanks Lauren), and as usual, guests ate them right up.

Cheesestraws

2 sheets frozen puff pastry (Trader Joes has some good ones), defrosted overnight in the refrigerator
Flour, for dusting
1 extra-large egg
1 Twater
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
1 cup finely grated Gruyère cheese
1 t minced fresh thyme leaves
1 t kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper

"Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Roll out each sheet of puff pastry on a lightly floured board until it is 10- by 12-inches. Beat the egg with 1 tablespoon of water and brush the surface of the pastry. Sprinkle each sheet evenly with 1⁄4 cup of the Parmesan, 1⁄2 cup of the Gruyère, 1⁄2 teaspoon of the thyme, 1⁄2 teaspoon of the salt, and some pepper. With the rolling pin, lightly press the flavorings into the puff pastry. Cut each sheet crosswise with a floured knife or pizza wheel into 11 or 12 strips. Twist each strip and lay on baking sheets lined with parchment paper.

Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, or until lightly browned and puffed. Turn each straw and bake for another 2 minutes. Don't over bake or the cheese will burn. Cool and serve at room temperature."

(from Barefoot in Paris)

...Go!

While the rest of the sports fans world celebrates/tries to forget the upset on Sunday, I still have two sinks full of dishes (down from about five) remaining at home...perhaps a sign of a successful party? The second annual Super Sunday was a tremendous success. We had about 45 people pass through during the game, with a good 30 or so staying the whole time. While we expected a good handful of people to remain by the food and on the balcony the entire time, almost everyone had their eyes glued to the two tv's. Don't worry though, the food didn't completely take a back seat to the game. And so as ESPN, sports fans and bloggers analyze play by plays of the Giants' big win, here's my take on the more important aspect of Super Sunday.

Lessons Learned (because what else would a good consultant do?):

1. NEVER shop the Saturday before Super Sunday. The big grocery run took a total of FOUR hours (Costco, Trader Joes, Safeway) because the aisles were packed and people weren't moving. It reminded me of traffic on 101 that I encounter every day.
2. (Detailed) plans are essential, but be ready to deviate from them. I originally planned to do most of the prep work and baking during the week to avoid a last minute crunch. Of course, nothing ever goes as planned and the only thing I crossed off my list during the week was to make the chili (quite essential for the flavors to combine). Luckily, because I had listed out all the different tasks in order, it made the hectic Saturday night/Sunday morning much smoother because we always knew what needed to be done next. Of course, my list was nothing compared to this.
3. Delegate, delegate, delegate. Again, having the list really helps, especially when you have people that aren't familiar with the recipes or what needs to be done.
4. Take pictures of food at least an hour in advance of when guests are to arrive. This goes right along with planning. People showed up early this year (they must have taken the evite suggestion to show up early for a good seat seriously), so there was a good amount of hovering waiting for food to be done. I managed a few quick shots of the food before it was devoured, but it would have been nice to get some quality shots next time.
5. Chafing dishes are a godsend. During past parties, I was constantly at the oven, putting in new food to warm up. The chafing dishes gave me the freedom to heat all the food in the beginning and actually eat/drink/watch the game this go around. And of course, it just makes me look like that much better of a cook :)
6. Enjoy yourself. People have always enjoyed the parties, which always makes me happy. I think as a host though, it's easy to forget to enjoy yourself.

The Hot Table

This was taken before everything was completely out, so we're missing a couple things. Items from the top: Left crockpot - Chili, Baby crockpot - Hot artichoke spinach dip, Right crockpot - Meatballs and chipotle smokies in Bourbon BBQ sauce, Hidden induction pot - Mac n cheese, Left chafing dish - Crabcakes (paired with mango salsa in bowl), Chipotle chicken skewers, Right chafing dish - Sriracha buffalo wings, Pineapple sausage pigs in a blanket with garlic mustard dipping sauce. Not pictured: Cornbread with honey butter.

The Cold Table
Items from Left to Right: Shrimp spring rolls with peanut dipping sauce, Veggies, Chocolate chip cookies, Cheesesticks, Shrimp ceviche, Deviled eggs, Peppered salami/garlic/pepperocini rollups. Not pictured: ranch, onion and hummus dips.

The Side Table
Items from top to bottom: Salted pita chips and pita, Peanut butter munchies, Chips and pretzels, Roasted tomato salsa, Guacamole

Warm Scallops and Tatsoi "Salad" with Mustard Vinegarette

Tatsoi, also known as spinach mustard, spoon cabbage or Chinese flat cabbage, has dark green, oval leaves, with a lighter-tinged stem. It looks a bit similiar to baby Bok Choy (no surprise, it's also in the same family as bok choy, mizuna, and rapini), but it looks much more full and lush. It's often used for salad or sandwich greens, but is always great sauteed with garlic or wilted. And just like all those other healthy green veggies, tatsoi is full of vitamins A and C, calcium and folate.

I much prefer vegetables like Bok Choy cooked to take away some bitterness, so I took the same route when adapting Gourmet's Tatsoi and Warm Scallop salad to more of a standard meat/vegetable/starch dinner. This meal amazed both AB and me as well as confirmed that locally grown produce IS that much superior to what you buy in the grocery store.

The Gourmet recipe mixes seared scallops with tatsoi, avocado, and spicy pecan praline with a light mustard almost vinegarette. I left out the pecan praline because there was just so much going on already (plus I ate half the container from Whole Foods while cooking). The next time I try this, I may crush the pecan praline and mix it with the dipping flour used to coat the scallops to give the scallops even more of a crispy texture on the outside.

Most of the reviews on the Gourmet website suggest using spinach as a substitute for tatsoi. While this is surely tasty, I'd advise using baby bok choy or bok choy instead to give it that slightly bitter/mustardy flavor.

Warm Scallops and Tatsoi "Salad" with Mustard Vinegarette

3/4 pound sea scallops
1 T all-purpose flour
1 t sea salt
1 t ground cumin
1/2 t cayenne
1 T unsalted butter
2 T olive oil
3 t fresh lemon juice
3 t extra-virgin olive oil
1 t Dijon mustard
1 large firm-ripe avocado, sliced
7 cups tatsoi (thick, spoon-shaped Asian greens), baby spinach, baby boki choy or bok choy quickly blanched and immersed in cold water (to stop from cooking)

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Meanwhile, wash the tatsoi very thoroughly. Quickly blanch the tatsoi (no more than 30 seconds), then rinse with cold water to stop the cooking and to keep the vegetable crunch.

2. Rinse and pat dry scallops. Combine flour, sea salt, cumin and cayenne pepper in a small bowl or dish. Lightly coat the top and bottom of the scallops in the flour mixture.

3. Heat the butter and olive oil in a pan over medium high. Cook the scallops on both sides until golden brown.

4. In a medium size bowl, whisk lemon juice , extra-virgin olive oil, mustard, and salt and pepper to taste until emulsified.

5. Assemble the dish, putting the tatsoi on the bottom, then scallops, and finally topped with avocado. Drizzle the mustard sauce over the dish.

Adapted from Gourmet's Tatsoi and Warm Scallop Salad with Spiced Pecan Praline

Coming Up Next: Broccoli Romanesco (aka space age broccoli)

Mysterious Thursdays

A little week until Super Sunday and my fridge looks like I tried to cram a farm into it, which come to think of it, is essentially what I've done. Yesterday was my first Mysterious Thursday with Marquita Farms. A week prior, I sent an email reserving my box. We exchange cell numbers. I make a withdrawal from the bank. I pull up to the back of the restaurant on a dark rainy night, cash and vegetables are exchanged and I'm on my (cold and slightly damp) merry way. Finally, at home, I examined my bounty:

- Baby Carrots

- Red Carrots
- Parsley Root

- Tatsoi

- Celery Root

- Potatoes

- Little Gem Lettuces
- Romanesco

- Sibley Winter Squash

- Puntarelle

- Escarole


I'll admit - I had to do some research online just be able to match the list to the vegetables. The roommate and the boy just shook their heads in amazement at my craziness, although boy DID admit it sure tasted better fresh. I have my work cut out for me - I must consume all these vegetables in the next 5 or 6 days (minus three for the Tahoe trip) so I can prep for Super Sunday.

If this works out, I may give in and subscribe to Two Small Farms' CSA, something I've been dying to try out, but had a hard time justifying with a consulting gig that you never know where you could end up. This could also help me towards my goal of using local and seasonal ingredients, cooking more often and healthier, and saving money by bringing lunch to work (aka leftovers).

Being unfamiliar with many of the vegetables, I welcome any recipes or suggestions! Or a friendly volunteer to come over for dinner :)

What I'm thinking of trying:

Tatsoi and Warm Scallop Salad with Spicy Pecan Praline from Gourmet
How to prepare puntarelle
Puntarelle from Becks and Posh
Moroccan Baby Carrot Salad from 101 Cookbooks
Celery Root and Potato Mash with Horseradish from Tyler Florence
Escalore and Pine Nuts from Mario Batali
Braised Escarole with Garlic and Lemon from Tyler Florence
Escarole and Bean Soup from Giada

P.S. Current pictures courtesy of Marquita Farms. My own to come as I use the vegetables.

Ready, Set...

Last year's Superbowl party was my first party to host entirely on my own. Since then, I've had the Fourth of July and the Second Annual Fleet week, both of which were pretty successful. This year's party should be even more of a success, just judging by the fact that people were asking me before I even had a chance to get the invite out if I were still having the Superbowl...because if I was, they were going to be there for sure. I'm pretty stoked.

I'm still working on how to manage to feed a hungry lot of people with a wide variety of pseudo-gourmet food without 1. going broke 2. spending all my time in the kitchen during the party and 3. not completely exhausting myself. I'm learning to balance home-made with store bought and I'm attempting to learn how to delegate tasks in the kitchen (I've had a pretty nice handful of volunteers this go around).

1. Going broke - I'll quote the party invitation (which was a premade one from Evite, btw...not my not-so-subtle hint that I created myself). Show Up. Bring beer. Lauren has also suggested a "tip" jar by the food. Something along the lines of a threat of no more future parties due to a chef gone broke. That should encourage them!

2. Spending all the time in the kitchen - I am the proud new owner of two Vollrath Trimline II chafing dishes. These things mean business. I've also made sure to balance the menu (see below) with cold, hot and room temperature foods.

3. Not completely exhausting myself - OK, this is probably not possible because I derive my fun out of overwhelming and stressing myself out. Pseudo-masochistic, I know. But heeding my mother's advice, I'm attempting to plan ahead for once, which brings me to the party menu:

Cold
Chips with roasted salsa and guacamole
Vegetables
Hot spinach artichoke dip
Ranch dip, hummus, onion dip
Shrimp spring rolls with peanut sauce
Shrimp ceviche
Deviled Eggs
Pepperoncini/salami and ham/cheese rollups

Hot
Chipotle chicken skewers
Pigs in a blanket
Meatballs in Bourbon sauce
Crabcakes with mango salsa
Roasted potato fries
Chili
Buffalo wings
Mac n cheese

Room temp
Pretzels
Cheesestraws
PB chocolate cookies
Bruschetta
Chocolate chip cookies

Of course, I'm open to suggestions and always looking for new things to serve...