Bay Area Cooking

ATTENTION! This is a different type of giveaway than I normally run! In order to enter, see the directions at the bottom of the post!!! The nearest good Korean BBQ restaurant is over an hour drive away, simply too far when the best accompaniment to Korean BBQ is several super-cold OB beer alternating with sips of chilled soju (Korean rice alcohol, like Japanese sake). That’s why we love making Korean food at home, but it also means that I have to modify ingredients and cooking methods a bit. You might be more familiar with Bulgogi, a popular Korean BBQ dish that features shaved rib-eye beef slices marinated in mixture of soy sauce, brown sugar and sesame seeds. But the lesser known dish is Kalbi, or thinly sliced bone-in beef short ribs flavored in a similar marinade. Bulgogi and Kalbi are both cooked over an open flame – usually hot charcoal set in the middle of the table! I’ve modified the Kalbi recipe to use pork baby back ribs, since my grocery store doesn’t carry the short ribs cut like this. Regular beef short ribs that are available are too chunky and clunky to eat by hand. Baby back ribs are perfect – tender, flavorful and simple to cook. Oh, and I’m not about to carve out the middle of my dining table to install a charcoal grill, so we’re going with a simpler technique – the oven. But first…learn from my oopsie The first time I played with this recipe, it was a disaster. Not the recipe, but the oven was a crazy mess. I had cooked the baby back ribs on a cookie sheet, thinking it was the perfect size to fit 2 racks of ribs. Unfortunately, I failed to remember that baby back ribs are JUICY and release a lot of FAT when cooking. Guess where that all ended up? All over the bottom of my oven where it then sizzled and burned. Burning fat in a hot oven is just not a good combo. While my family enjoyed the ribs for dinner, I spent the better part of the evening trying to scrub off all of the black, burned spots. I certainly could have used the LG EasyClean™ Double Oven Range. Instead of scrubbing, the LG EasyClean oven allows you to clean the interior with a quick spray of water and the magical button called “EasyClean.” Enjoy dinner WITH your family instead of with the sponge, since cleanup only takes 20 minutes. No chemicals. No super-high heat (that function on normal ovens always freaks me out – I think I’m going to burn down my house!) So, learn from my hot mess. If you don’t have an LG EasyClean Oven, use a roasting pan at least 2-inches high and lots of tin foil! See all these juices? That ends up in the oven if you don’t know what you’re doing! Want to know more? Visit http://www.lg.com/us/kitchen/discovercooking/ranges-ovens.jsp EasyClean™: A Clean Oven in Minutes, Not Hours Not enough time to clean your oven? No worries. LG brings you the new generation of oven cleaning with EasyClean™. All LG double oven ranges provide a quick and convenient way to clean your oven, while still being able to use the conventional self-clean method. EasyClean works in three simple steps. Spray the oven interior with water, press the EasyClean button, then in just 20 minutes, wipe away any residual bits of grime*. No chemicals or high heat needed to keep your oven sparkling clean. *Heavy build-up may require additional manual effort or use of the full self-clean feature. Korean Kalbi Baby Back Ribs Servings: 4-6 Prep Time: 10 minutes Cook Time: 95 minutes Ingredients: 6-7 pounds baby back ribssalt & freshly ground black pepper1/2 onion, grated3 cloves garlic, finely minced2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger2 tablespoons honey1/4 brown sugar1/4 cup soy sauce1 tablespoon sesame seeds1 teaspoon dark sesame oil1 stalk green onion, chopped2 tablespoons rice vinegar (or white/cider vinegar) Directions: Heat oven the 375F. (optional) Using a butter knife to pry it up, separate the membrane from the back of the ribs and discard. Generously s

  Want to dress up corn on the cob in a whole new way? Look no further than “Corn with Hosin-Orange Butter” from the new “The Grilling Book: The Definitive Guide from Bon Appetit” (Andrews McMeel), of which I recently received a review copy. It’s easy as can be — just a matter of grilling [...]

Pull in close. I need to tell you something. Closer. I'm not going to bite. Come closer... It's the pasta water. The magic, that is. Sure, the pasta itself should be good, the pesto fresh, the peas just-plucked, the cheese creamy, the night young, the kids cute, the house clean(ish), the weather warm, the table set, the lights dimmed, the mood high. But even if all those things weren't true, even if the pasta were cheap, the pesto old, the peas frozen, the cheese meh, the hour late, the kids homely, the house dusty, the weather cold, the table a mess, even if all that were true, even if all you remembered to do was to salt and save your pasta water, you'd still have a mighty fine meal. When I forget, there's trouble. See, after I dump the cooked gemelli or shells or spaghetti or penne in the colander, my boys always appear within seconds and pluck out tubes or squiggly corkscrews or long noodly strands and suck them down the way kids do, with noise and fanfare and beaming boy-faces. And then they declare: You remembered to salt the pasta water! or You forgot to salt the pasta water! I try not to forget. This magic-water is especially important when making pesto.  I didn't always know how to maximize its impact. I was naive. I'd pour the pesto from the food processor into the pasta pot as the cooked noodles relaxed in the colander, spitting up billowy poufs of steam. I'd then thin the pesto with a few spoons of pasta water and dump the pasta back into the pot. And, you know, it was fine, but this tactic also kind of thinned the pesto and muted its flavor in a way that wasn't altogether satisfying. The pesto and the pasta water never sucked face. This time, though, I added some pasta water -- just a little, mind you -- directly to the pesto as it spun and whizzed in the Cuisinart. The starchy, salty water became one with the arugula! the basil! the walnuts! the olive oil! It emulsified into a single fluid, cohesive pool of green, herbaceous loveliness. And then I mounded the pesto on the pasta, scooped a little (okay, big) mountain of ricotta alongside, and buried it under a torrential Parmesan rain. It's the pasta water. That's the secret. ... Recipe for Pasta with Basil-Arugula Pesto, Peas, Ricotta, and Parmesan This is a classic, quick-to-make weeknight meal. Do yourself a favor: don't make it more complicated than it is. Instead, when you finish making dinner, just celebrate your good luck, go outside, and stare at the horizon. Serves about 8 1 pound gemelli, small shells, penne, or other mediumish pasta1 cup (or more) fresh or frozen peasPlenty of kosher or sea salt1 cup (loosely packed) arugula leaves1 cup (loosely packed) basil leaves1/3 cup walnuts, toasted if you're feeling fancy1-2 cloves garlic, smashed and rough-chopped1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, plus more for grating on top1/3 cup whole milk ricotta cheese Cook the pasta in plenty of generously salted water according to package directions. About 3 minutes before it's ready, scoop out and reserve a cup of water (you won't need it all) and add the peas to the pot. Drain when ready. Meanwhile, make the pesto. In a food processor fitted with the metal blade, whirl the arugula, basil, walnuts, garlic, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and a pinch of black pepper until finely minced, scraping down the sides of the workbowl if necessary. With the machine on, add about 3 tablespoons of the pasta cooking water through the feed tube, then slowly add the oil in a steady stream, again, stopping and scraping if needed. Your pesto should be loose and completely emulsified.  Remove the blade and stir in the Parmesan. Had I thought of it, I would have returned the pasta to the pot and tossed it with the pesto before serving, adding a few extra drips of reserved pasta water just if it needed loosening. Serve

I wake up in the morning and consult the Google calendar. Lately I’m not sure how I could make much of anything happen without it. Tasks are driven largely by to-do lists with breaks for an occasional lunch. And lots of granola baking in between. My yoga teacher hasn’t seen a whole lot of me, and Sam and I finally went grocery shopping for real last night (it’s been awhile). This time of year seems populated by things that other people need done: from the farmers market organizers to new Marge vendors and book-related emails  – there’s a lot to tend to. That is, until the craving to bake cookies strikes on Sunday night and it seems that, actually, everyone can wait. (...)Read the rest of Just Because (777 words) © megang for A Sweet Spoonful, 2013. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us Post tags: farmer's market, Marge Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

Fueled by a burst of summertime energy, I’ve been feeling quite productive at home and work and was looking forward to clearing many more items from my to-do list this week.  But plans... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

After a weekend of partying, gourmet eats and running around at Disney World, we’re ready for simple, homemade meals. This past weekend, Scott, Todd/Diane and I hosted our 6th Food Blog Forum event at Disney World (well, it’s 2nd time at Disney, 6th conference overall). I’ll be sharing lots of photos and thoughts from the event in another post – we’re all still decompressing! In the meantime, here’s one of our “house recipes” – something I make quite often and practically with my eyes closed. There’s no measurement, no weighing, just what you’d call a dump-n-stir, except this is more like a throw-in-n-stir-fry. The great thing about stir fries is that a little meat goes a long ways. Just 1/2 pound of ground chicken will feed 4 people. You can sub with any type of ground meat – I like chicken best. If you don’t have baby bok choy, sub with Napa Cabbage, regular Bok Choy, or any leafy vegetable like kale! Baby Bok Choy with Ground Chicken Stir Fry Recipe Video *** Bok Choy with Ground Chicken Stir Fry Servings: 4 Prep Time: 10 minutes Cook Time: 5 minutes If you love fish sauce (we do!) use 1 teaspoon soy sauce and 1 teaspoon fish sauce instead. Ingredients: 2 teaspoons cooking oil1/2 pound ground chicken1 stalk green onion, chopped2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger2 cloves garlic, finely minced1 pound bok choy, cut in half lengthwise1 tablespoon water2 teaspoons soy sauce1 teaspoon sesame oil Directions: In a wok or large saute pan over high heat, add the cooking oil. When hot, add ground chicken and saute until browned (but not fully cooked through). Lower heat to medium-high and add green onion, ginger and garlic and stir for 30 seconds or until fragrant. Add bok choy to wok with the water, toss well to coat with the oil, aromatics and chicken. Cover the wok. Allow to cook for 2 minutes or until the bok choy is crisp-tender. Add soy sauce, sesame oil and toss well for 30 seconds. The baby bok choy should be just-tender in the stem, but not too soft. Serve immediately.    ©Steamy Kitchen Recipes, 2013. | Permalink | No comments

About Holdaplate While pursuing his MBA, John Zox, formerly a professional musician, began taking design courses to nurture the right side of his brain.  Hidden in plain sight at those famed biz school cocktail parties was an unsolved design challenge: how to hold both a plate and glass in two hands while also attempting to meet, greet, and eat. The eureka moment was realizing that the heavy center of gravity, the alcohol and glass, had to remain in-hand; current market solutions, all of which involve hanging or balancing glassware off a plate’s edge, were both precarious and inelegant. The Holdaplate™ was thus born, and with the skill of architect and product design partner Ding Liu, brought to life for cocktail partygoers everywhere to enjoy. The 6-inch plate, offered in materials ranging from plastic to paper to porcelain to bamboo, and generally dishwasher and microwave safe, is available online at www.holdaplate.com, or wholesale via special order from the company’s Philadelphia headquarters. Holdaplate – The Cocktail Plate Evolution “The Holdaplate™ is literally the most innovative plateware product I’ve seen in years. It’s that good!” touts International Housewares Association consultant Joanne Stone-Geier.  We’ve all been there: that awkward balancing act performed exclusively during a cocktail party, when we must hold a plate of food and a glass—one in each hand—while attempting to shake someone’s hand or eat. The 2013 A’ Design Bronze® and Good Design® Award-winning and patented Holdaplate finally solves this problem – without hanging or balancing your cup off the side. Product Testimonials A subtle, almost whimsical contour, or LipGrip™, in the plate’s periphery allows for a cup of any size to easily nestle alongside, held in place by the user’s index finger and supported effortlessly by the remaining fingers below.   And unlike party platter solutions on the market, the Holdaplate™ is elegant enough for even the most formal of gatherings (beautiful and simple in form), is easy-to-use (glassware stays in the user’s hand), and is versatile (works with any size cup or wineglass).  Eat. Greet. Finally! Included in this giveaway 6-inch; Dishwasher Safe; Stackable; BPA-Free; Available in Melamine, lightweight plastic, porcelain, and compostable paper at www.holdaplate.com 1 Set (6 Plates) of Lightweight Plastic Dishwasher-Safe Holdaplates (White), MSRP: $12 1 Set (6 Plates) of Lightweight Plastic Dishwasher-Safe Holdaplates (Black), MSRP: $12 1 Set (6 Plates) of Upscale Melamine Dishwasher-Safe Holdaplates (White), MSRP: $25 (Approximate Retail Value Total: $50) How to enter this giveaway Please fill out the entry form below. For good contest karma, like and follow Holdaplate on Facebook and Twitter. ©Steamy Kitchen Recipes, 2013. | Permalink | No comments

Peace. Quiet. Two simple things in short supply these days. With weekdays full of honking cars during dreaded commute traffic, ring tones that jolt, emails that never cease and all manner of pinging high-tech gadgets tethered to us 24-7, our lives are assaulted by so much noise – both figuratively and literally. So, when Folgers [...]

Creating the exotic flavors of Morocco in your own kitchen just got a whole lot easier, thanks to Chef Mourad Lahlou of San Francisco’s Aziza restaurant His new line of gourmet spices, mixes and sauces for Williams-Sonoma transports you to this faraway land with its heady fragrances and flavors. Recently, I had a chance to [...]

Try the Mini Food Gal App — For Free Yes, now here’s your chance  to try a mini version of my Food Gal “Ultimate Guide to Bay Area Dining” – for free. Available at the iTunes store, the  free version has 21 recommended restaurants on it. If you like what you see, you can download [...]