Blueberry & Cream Cookies (MMB)

Blueberry & Cream cookies are far and away my favorite cookies among all the cookies I've ever had in my life. These were actually the first Momofuku Milk Bar items I made, back before I bought a digital camera and started this blog.
There are comparatively few pictures of me actually making cookie dough because honestly you can see the same process in my entries for Compost Cookies and Cornflake-Marshmallow-Chocolate Chip Cookies. We'll start with the component in the ingredient list for the cookies: the unbelievable...

Milk Crumb (MMB)

• 40 g milk powder (1/2 cup)
• 40 g flour (1/4 cup)
• 12 g cornstarch (2 tablespoons)
• 25 g sugar (2 tablespoons)
• 2 g kosher salt (1/2 teaspoon)
• 55 g butter, melted (4 tablespoons [1/2 stick])
• 20 g milk powder (1/4 cup)
• 90 g white chocolate, melted (3 ounces)
  

Mise en place.


Didn't burn the hell out of my white chocolate while melting it down in the microwave. Unlike the first time.


Twenty minutes at 250 degrees F.


Broken into cluster no bigger than 1/2 inch and tossed with more milk powder (A common ingredient in baking recipes in general). I went through a few pairs of latex gloves tossing the result with white chocolate every 5 minutes until it was no longer sticky.
It was probably still a bit sticky by the time I finished tossing.


It doesn't look like a I pulled out WAY too soon even though I had to bang it with a rolling pin a bit before baking these:

Blueberry & Cream Cookies (MMB)

• 225 g butter, at room temperature (16 tablespoons [2 sticks])
• 150 g granulated sugar (3/4 cup)
• 150 g light brown sugar (1/4 cup tightly packed)
• 100 g glucose (1/4 cup [I use 35 g or 2 tablespoons of corn syrup])
• 2 eggs
• 320 g flour (2 cups)
• 2 g baking powder (1/2 teaspoon)
• 1.5 g baking soda (1/4 teaspoon)
• 6 g kosher salt (1 1/2 teaspoons)
• 1/2 recipe Milk Crumb
• 130 g dried blueberries (3/4 cup)

Mise en place.


Unbaked.


Baked to perfection. Planning on doing it all again in the next few days.

Braised Tofu with Peas in Curried Coconut Broth (HCEV)

"This dish features a classic Indian techniques for making a deep-flavored 'gravy.'"--Mark Bittman
Indeed, I found the technique similar to what is according to reviewers on Amazon is the best restaurant-style Indian cookbook The Curry Secret by Kris Dillon. Maybe I would find the technique in Pushpa Bhargarva's From Mom with Love, the most highly rated authentic Indian cookbook, but I've yet to cook out of it. Read it cover-to-cover, but I think when it comes to Indian food I only like it the non-authentic way.

• 3 large onions, quartered
• One 28- or 35- ounce can tomatoes with their liquid
• 2 tablespoons garam masala or curry powder, or to taste [I suggest adding cayenne to taste as well. Though now that I read one of the variations I realized I could've used the dried red chiles I have around but never use]
• 1 1/2 to 2 pounds firm to extra firm tofu
• 1 1/2 cups peas (frozen are fine; defrost in cold water and drain)
• 1 1/2 cups coconut milk, either made from scratch or canned (about 1 can plus a little water)
• Chopped fresh cilantro leaves for garnish [Maybe when I own a cilantro plant again]

The recipe as requested by Will R.:

1. Combine the onions and tomatoes in a food processor and purée; depending on the size of your machine, you may have to do this in two batches. Put the oil in a deep skillet or broad saucepan over medium heat. When hot, add the onion-tomato mixture, along with some salt and pepper and the spice mixture, and cook, stirring occasionally, until it thins and becomes saucelike, about 10 minutes.
2. Add the tofu and peas and cook for about 5 minutes, until the tofu swells slightly and the peas are tender, stirring occasionally. Taste and adjust the seasoning, garnish with the cilantro over rice.
   

Mise en place. Minus the two onions I had Dan L. buy. I bought me red onion (I didn't specify) which I groaned over a bit but the dish didn't fail.


Had already processed the onions and tomatoes a bit before remembering to take a photograph.


Not perfectly smooth, but I assumed it was good enough.


Simmering them until they become thin and sauce-like. I don't think this really happened.
I also neglected the fact that I should have added the garam masala in at the beginning.


Adding the tofu, peas, and coconut milk and cook for five minutes.


On top of brown basmati rice. Both Dan L and my roommate Adam W said it was quite spicy. But that's how I like to do things here.

Tosi wins James Beard Award

My girl Christina Tosi won the James Beard Rising Chef of the Year on Monday.  I'm floored by this.


The James Beard Foundation Awards were established in 1990 and are often called "The Oscars of Food."^[1] Held on the first weekend in May, the Awards honor the finest chefs, restaurants, wine professionals, journalists, cookbook authors, restaurant designers, and other food professionals in the United States. The awards are voted on by more than 600 culinary professionals. Recipients receive a bronze medallion etched with the image of the late James Beard and a certificate from the Foundation.^[2]
The foundation also administers the Who's Who of Food and Beverage in America awards.

Filipino Chicken Adobo (ATK)

• 8 (5-7 ounce) bone-in chicken thighs, trimmed
• 1/3 cup soy sauce
• 1 (13 1/2-ounce) can coconut milk
• 3/4 cup cider vinegar
• 8 garlic cloves peeled
• 4 bay leaves
• 2 teaspoons pepper
• 1 scallion, sliced thin [Eh]

Mise en place for what is broadly considered as the Filipino national dish.


Toss the thighs with the soy sauce and marinate in the fridge for at least 30 minutes and up to 1 hour.


Brown the skin.


Braise for about 35 minutes.


Finished dish. It struck me as truly remarkable that such a relatively simple amount of prep (the most arduous thing was probably peeling the garlic) could provide such an enormous return on flavor. The first time I made this somehow I misread the list and bought boneless, skinless breasts instead of bone-in, skin-on thighs. It stilled turned out quite well.
Here my mistake was in walking away for too long to play with my Ipad and letting the sauce over-reduce until I only had fond and fat left in the pan. Oh well. But this is definitely something I'll break out every now and then since it's so good and nearly entirely based on pantry items. Right next to Chicken Marsala (which I haven't made in a while) and Chicken and Lima Beans (which I seem to drag out once a month).

Grasshopper Pie (MMB)

Well, I'll get to the ingredients list for Grasshopper later in this entry, but its first ingredient is a Brownie Pie (also MMB) made through step 8. Upon looking it up I realize I totally messed up on my own in pouring the brownie batter before the Mint Cheesecake (MMB as well. Yes, these are all individual components of a Grasshopper Pie; somehow I realized that didn't necessarily make it challenging).
As I was saying, the first ingredient in Grasshopper Pie is a...

Brownie Pie (MMB)

• 3/4 recipe Graham Crust [See my entry on Compost Cookies. Phenomenal stuff but I wouldn't sit around and snack on it by itself.] (255 g [1 1/2 cups])
• 125 g 72% chocolate (4 1/2 ounces) [I made a strong effort to stick close to that percentage. I used some Valrhona (the world's best) Trader Joe's has begun to carry and some leftover Ghiradelli from again failing to execute a flourless chocolate cake from a Top Chef Cookbook. Oh the days before I owned a stand mixer.]
• 85 g butter (6 tablespoons)
• 2 eggs
• 150 g sugar (3/4 cup)
• 40 g flour (1/4 cup)
• 25 g cocoa powder, preferably Valrhona (3 tablespoons) [I used Ghiradelli.]
• 2 g kosher salt (1/2 teaspoon)
• 110 g heavy cream (1/2 cup)

Mise en place.


A lot of chocolate and butter to microwave until melted. Screw the double-boiler, Christina Tosi says, and just nuke the stuff. Set it for increments of 15-30 seconds and stir each time. I remember the first time I tried this I was melting white chocolate for just a minute and it burned. Still used it.


The melted chocolate and butter. And the eggs and sugar whisked until fluffy and pale yellow to the ribbon state.


Paddled together until homogenous.


Followed by the dry ingredients. Oh how beautiful and dark you are.


Mmm, additional Graham Crust.


Oops, I guess I shouldn't have scraped the batter in first. Oh well.

Mint Cheesecake (MMB)

• 60 g white chocolate (2 ounces)
• 20 g grapeseed oil (2 tablespoons)
• 75 g cream cheese
• 20 g confectioner's sugar (2 tablespoons)
• 2 g peppermint extract (1/2 teaspoon)
• 1 g kosher salt (1/4 teaspoon)
• 2 drops green food coloring

Mise en place.

Mint Glaze (MMB)

• 30 g white chocolate (1 ounce)
• 6 g grapeseed oil (2 teaspoons)
• 0.5 g peppermint extract (scant 1/8 teaspoon) [I think I was a lot closer to 1/4 teaspoon.]
• 1 drop food coloring

My camera clearly didn't like to photograph green very well. I don't think the list of the ingredients for this component was compelling enough to garner a picture.
And finally:

Grasshopper Pie (MMB)

• 1 recipe Brownie Pie, prepared through step 8
• 1 recipe Mint Cheesecake Filling
• 20 g mini chocolate chips (2 tablespoons)
• 25 g mini marshmallows (1/2 cup)
• 1 recipe Mint Glaze

Prepped to bake at 350 degrees F for 25 minutes.


Baked and allowed to cool at room temperature. Or until it was late enough that I had to wrap it up and throw it in the fridge instead.


"Now the pie needs to be Jackson-Pollocked with mint glaze."


Who would bake a Brownie Pie when they could have this? Cake would have been marbled from top to bottom if I had poured the right things in the right order. Still awesome and less of a shock to the system than Crack Pie.
I guess the green color is more vivid because I turned on macro on my camera?

Kidney Beans with Apples and Sherry (HCEV)

• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil or butter, plus a little more for garnish (optional)
• 2 shallots, sliced, or 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 1/2 cups chopped or sliced Golden Delicious or Granny Smith apples
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme leaves (Yet another example of me leaving things off the grocery list for some reason.  Perhaps I didn't think the dish through I realize it required fresh herbs.  Just bought some thyme, rosemary and parsley plants today, and hopefully I don't kill them.)
• 3 cups cooked or canned kidney beans, drained but still moist
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Mise en place.


Softening the shallots and apples.


Bittman suggests that this is a complete meal with boiled cabbage and multigrain bread.  The bread is a demi-ciabbatta from Stop and Shop.  Not multi-grain.
I don't eat an awful lot of sandwiches and buying artisanal loaves of bread when cooking for one doesn't make an awful lot of sense.  This is probably why it will take me longer to get around to baking bread for the first time than say making pasta and bacon for the first time.

Stuck-Pot Rice with Potato Crust (HCEV)

• Salt
• 1 1/2 cup white or brown basmati rice
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter or 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• Large pinch saffron threads (optional)
• 1 large or 2 small waxy potatoes, like Yukon Gold or other thin-skinned variety
• 1 medium fennel bulb, trimmed and thinly sliced

Mise en place.

 
 I parboiled the brown basmati I used for 15 minutes.


Sauteing fennel until soft.


Above layer over half of the rice.


Potatoes layered over the rest of the rice.  Nicked my thumb with the mandoline slicing the potatoes since the guard I have for it must have gotten lost at some point.


I wrapped the lid in a towel while cooking the rice in order to prevent evaporated moisture to drip back down into my dish, enabling me to perhaps brown the potatoes.


Argh, potentially the heat was too low (Bittman suggests you cook it over "very low" heat).  I know he also says that when "potatoes start to smell toasty--you will know", but I was impatient and kept bending down sniffing the pot in search of subtle hints that perhaps this was happening.
Oh perhaps next time, if there is a next time.