Recycled Dinner

Recognize this?

If it sort of looks like last night's dinner, you're right. I wasn't about to waste all the sauce left in the pot after we ate the ribs, so I added: a cup of frozen peas, two diced roasted red bell peppers, two diced roasted carrots, a diced roasted onion, half a pound of cooked pasta, and a heaping cup of yogurt. Yes, I said yogurt. It turned my tomato sauce into a sort of stroganoff sauce. Then I added some grilled spicy Italian sausage and voila! Two dinners from one sauce. And because a heavy dinner should always be paired with a light side, I topped it with some corn and cucumber tossed in lime juice.

Coffee-Braised Beef Ribs

Coffee-braised meats are the latest in "What's new is old" cuisine. It sounds nouveau and unexpected, but the cowboys were stewing meat in leftover coffee grits ages ago, I'm sure. I joined in the fun today with some ribs that I bought for a song at Whole Foods. My sides were paprika dill rice with a squeeze of lime and a simple salad of diced heirloom tomatoes, raw corn, garbanzo beans, and diced onions.

This is how the ribs looked before being thrown on a plate with sides. For a nice big pot, good for multiple meals:

• 9 large beef back ribs
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 tablespoon flour
• 1 cup strong coffee
• 1 cup red wine
• 1 can crushed tomatoes, 12 oz or 24 oz depending on your preference
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 Thai chili
• salt and pepper
• 1 large yellow onion, diced

Rub the ribs all over with salt and pepper. If you have time, do this the night before and let it sit in the refrigerator. In a dutch oven, sear all sides of the ribs on high heat. Set aside and put the onions in to cook with the butter. You can add carrots, celery, or root vegetables, but I didn't have any. When the onions are cooked through, sprinkle the flour over them and cook until slightly browned. Add the wine, scraping the bottom to release any brown bits. Then add the tomatoes, heat, and put the ribs back in along with the chili and bay leaves. Add a little water if the sauce does not cover the ribs, but it's better to use a pot that's small enough that you don't use too much sauce. Salt and pepper to taste, turn the flame as low as it will go, cover the dutch oven, and braise for three hours or until the ribs are tender. I let mine go all afternoon, for almost six hours at the barest simmer. You'll notice the liquid turning a little gooey and sticky when the tendons and fat start breaking down. That's how you know you're getting close to being done. Take the cover off and turn up the head to medium until the sauce thickens as much as you'd like.

Here's the stew halfway through cooking, smelling great but still soupy.

Pride!

Some photos from this year's Pride Parade. What's SF without a big hubbub down Market Street every once in awhile?!

This shot made me wish I'd brought my camera instead of just my Blackberry. It really sums up the spectator vs. spectacle symbiosis that makes a parade work. Plus the boxers in the ring were putting on a great show.

When the Miller Lits float drove by the crowd went crazy! It was hard not to get into it, since the "Miller Guys" on the float were really cutting loose and playing their music extra loud. Nothing like good clean fun! And this really was the good clean part of the parade; there was plenty of x-rated exhibitionism on display, but none of that here!

Hong Kong Lounge and Tajine

Serious good eats alert this weekend! Sadly, I was without a camera at both restaurants, leading me to resort to yelp-stealing for the following photos. I know, it's beneath me, but it was either that or let these amazing meals slide. I could not do that latter.

Hong Kong Lounge is the new name of a dim sum location we've long enjoyed. Lucky for us, the new owners have not only lowered the prices, they have upped the quality! We've only been able to brave the long lines once so far, but dare I say the quality is close to that of Koi Palace in Daly City, with about 2/3 the price tag? Dim sum for two was $30 after tax and tip, and only because we ordered generously off the specials menu. Dishes of note included the coffee-glazed pork ribs, shrimp rice roll (chang fen), and daikon cake. We will be back soon (with a camera!)

And sort of the opposite situation: old favorite Tenderloin spot Tajine re-opened awhile ago in nicer, bigger digs. They share a space with a bar/lounge, but the food is as good as ever. Prices have gone up a few dollars, but portions are also larger. I think because the space now makes more sense for large groups, they've gone the family style route full force. Service was as friendly as ever and the bill for three people (and leftovers) was under $90 after tax and tip. We really enjoyed the white bean tajine, split pea dip, and I thought the cous cous was exceptionally fluffy and flavorful.

Pork Patty Spring Rolls

Tonight's dinner was a "Build-your-own" affair.

Here's the buffet line-up, if you will: spring roll wrappers, red leaf lettuce, carrots, mint, and cilantro. The lychees are in the photo because they're juicy and sweet right now as well as extra large for only $2.99 in Chinatown, but they don't go into spring rolls.

This is the pork patty. About half of one gets crumbled into each spring roll. I really don't have a recipe for this. I take a pound of ground pork and add chopped green onions, a handful of chopped shitake mushrooms, about a tablespoon of sugar, and soy sauce and fish sauce to taste. Then I fry them up and use them for spring rolls. It doesn't need to be pretty or exact, just not too salty.

This meal is good for a leisurely Friday dinner in front of the TV. I keep a shallow plate of hot water on hand because the spring roll wrappers need to be dipped before eating, and we just take our time eating as many as we can.

Pickled Celery and Noodle Soup

I pickled some not-so-fresh celery a few days ago and totally forgot about it! Luckily, the whole point of pickling is that it preserves vegetables.

The celery in this dish is stripped of its coarser fibers, sprinkled with salt, and left to sit for about an hour. The salt is then rinsed off and the celery is squeezed dry. Then it's put into a plastic container with a light coating of sesame oil, a sprinkling of salt, and left to sit overnight. It's best eaten the next day, but a couple of days in the refrigerator doesn't hurt too much. I tossed it with slivered carrots and pressed tofu and topped it with a light drizzle of sesame oil for a cold side dish.

And, ever popular around here, "Throw everything into the pot" noodle soup. Today's noodle soup was cooked in a base of chicken stock, ginger, green onions, anise, rice wine, and sesame oil. The meal itself was made up of shitake mushrooms, chrysanthemum leaves, tofu cubes, dried baby shrimp, green onions, and refrigerated noodles (not dry; refrigerated is more toothsome and flavorful).

Eden's Mediterraneann

The full name of the restaurant where I got this wrap is Eden's Mediterranean Turkish and Greek Restaurant, but who has the time!?

This is the second time I've tried their beef and lamb gyro sandwich, and for $6 after tax I have to say I might be hooked. It's not super cheap, but the meat is extra delicious. Their gyro is extra tender and tastes of "grill," if you know what I mean. There's also a deep buttery flavor that is offset by the crispness of the lettucs, onions, and pickled beets they use. For me, it's a perfect sized lunch that's intensely packed with flavors and textures.

And thanks to our freak heat wave, my basil plants aren't dying! Every year, I try to grow some herbs to cut back on how often I have to purchase them at the market. And every year, I'm sad when the herbs finally die in our perpetual fog. Oh well; it's fun while it lasts!

Motley Dinner

Dinner is usually pretty simple around here: a meat dish, a few vegetables, a carb, and a drink (not always alcoholic).

And dessert, of course, was an ice cream cone. It's a good day.

Scallion "Flower" Rolls

Yummy! Fresh scallion bread from the steamer.

I have a few theories on why I haven't been able to perfect my steamed bread technique, so I'm not going to post a tutorial until I've worked out all the kinks. For now, these are the major issues and my guesses as to the solutions:

• the bread is really tasty fresh out of the steamer, but once it's sat overnight it's rock hard--this might be one of those breads that's like a French baguette and just needs to be eaten ASAP.
  
• the water in the steamer keeps dripping down on the bread, making pock marks and rubbery mottled parts--get a bamboo steamer because the shape and material of the steamer prevents dripping, unlike a dutch oven which is designed to constantly drip water on a slab of meat as it's slow cooked.

Ice Cream Cones

What do I do with all the eggs whites left over after I've made a delicious custard-based ice cream? Usually, egg white omelets. But today, ice cream cones!

Yesterday's ice cream creation was so delicious that it deserves homemade cones. Plus, rolling cones is fun. They sort of taste like fortune cookies, so I think practicing spreading the batter in a thinner layer would make them better. Or, I could always buy a waffle cone machine--not.

One more ice cream photo, this time in the sun where ice cream belongs!

The Perfect Scoop: Toasted Almond and Candied Cherry Ice Cream

David Lebovitz, you are my new hero. Not just for writing a book as wonderful as The Perfect Scoop and including gorgeous photos, but for being generous enough to make most of them available on Google Books (click to link to a web version of almost the entire book).

I've made a lot of ice cream over the years, but this recipe leaves almost all of them in the dust. J said it's one of the best ice creams he's ever tasted, bar none. Part of the ice cream's allure is that it has intense flavors both of fresh toasted almond and candied almond (marzipan). Juicy, gooey, slightly tangy candied cherries offset the sweetness of the ice cream and varied sized chunks of toasted almond add freshness and crunch.

Gratuitous second shot. And a confession: this ice cream was a lot of work. I don't shy away from complicated recipes, but I strongly warn beginning ice cream makers away from this recipe. The end result was more than worth it, but I was very busy all afternoon and had to wash a lot of dishes along the way. Just to give you an idea: the almonds are toasted, half are chopped coarsely and the other chopped finely, the cherries are cooked in sugar and then chilled and drained, some of the almonds are steeped in hot milk, then the milk is strained and cooked with eggs and cream into a thick custard, everything is chilled in an ice bath and then refrigerated, and only then does the ice cream maker even come into the picture. If you are not a diligent cook who cleans as she cooks, you might just go insane! On the plus side, the recipe makes over a quart so I won't have to be doing this again for awhile. But I've already picked out my next ice cream: Salted Butter Caramel Ice Cream!

Savory Soy Milk

This is a weird one, and perhaps an acquired taste, but it's one of my childhood favorites. People who don't like it describe it as curdled soy milk, but if you think about it it's really just a variation on tofu soup.

For a big meal for one, or a side of soup each for two people:

• 2 cups unsweetened soy milk (fresh if you can find it)
• 1-2 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon Taiwanese black vinegar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt, or more to taste
• 1 tablespoon chopped cilantro leaves
• 1 teaspoon chopped green onions
• 1 teaspoon dried shredded pork
• a few drops chili oil

Head soy milk over medium heat until just below boil. Take it off the flame and whisk in one tablespoon of rice wine vinegar. Whisk well as the soy milk starts to curdle, then add salt and/or more vinegar to taste. Pour into a bowl or bowls, then top each bowl with black vinegar, cilantro, green onions, shredded pork, and several drops of chili oil.

To me, this soup has a tangy flavor akin to that of hot and sour soup in flavor, but much easier to make and lighter as well. And now that I think of it, it's a little like Greek avoglemono (lemon and pasta) soup as well. Some people don't like restaurant versions because they can be a mush of flavors swimming in an overly sour pool of soy sauce, but if you make it at home you can control that and make quite a tasty dish.

Taiwanese Gua Bao

Ah, dinner. My reward for a day's hard work. Today was one of those days when I didn't really leave the kitchen because there were just too many things I wanted to make. Stay tuned tomorrow for more deliciousness, but here are some resutls for now.

Braised pork belly with green onions. This is a classic home style dish. Pork belly is braised with ginger, garlic, anise, pepper, soy sauce, rice wine, salt, and pepper.

Then I tried my hand at man tou. I gotta say, I am pretty impressed with myself. Maybe it was because I'd just practiced working with bread earlier today with the pita, but i managed to keep the dough really moist, resulting in an extremely soft and fluffy bread.

An interior shot. It was so light and airy!

Some of the dough I shaped into sandwiches instead of buns, and used to make gua bao, one of my favorite Taiwanest street food items. I'm missing the peanut powder, but I have the braised pork and cilantro on a soft bun!

As requested, the pita bread recipe. If you decide flatbreads are your thing, this book has been great for me so far. It has a James Beard award as well, and great reviews on Amazon.com.

The pita recipe is paraphrased below (ingredients are exactly as printed):

• 2 teaspoons dry yeast
• 2 1/2 cups lukewarm water
• 5 to 6 cups hard whole wheat flour, or 3 cups each hard whole wheat flour and hard unbleached flour, or unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 tablespoon olive oil

I halved this recipe and used a mix of whole wheat and white flour. I'm not sure what "hard" flour means, other than that you shouldn't use a finely milled flour like pastry or cake flour.

In a large bowl, sprinkle the yeast over the warm water and stir to dissolve. Stir in 3 cups of flour, one cup at a time, and then stir vigorously in one direction for one minute to activate the gluten in the flour. Let sit for ten minutes to two hours. You'll notice the flour puff up a little.

Sprinkle the salt and olive oil over the flour, then add the rest of the flour one cup at a time until it's hard to stir the dough. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for eight to ten minutes. Use a light hand and turn often, trying not to add too much flour to the dough. Rinse out the bowl and lightly grease it with olive oil, then put the dough in the bowl and cover it with a damp towel or plastic wrap. Let sit for 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

There are a few different ways to bake the dough, but what I did was pre-heat the oven to 450 degrees with a baking sheet in it. I divided the dough in half and put half in a plastic container in the fridge (more on this later). The rest of the dough is divided into eight pieces, and each piece is rolled out to about 1/4 inch thick. The pitas I liked best were about 7 inches in diameter.

Very carefully slide a pita onto the hot baking sheet. Your first few will probably be misshapen, but you'll get the hang of it. Bake for 2 to 3 minutes until the pita has poofed into a ball and browned on the outside. Remove with a pair of tongs, and repeat until you're done.

The leftover dough can be kept in the fridge for several days as long as you remember to gently deflate it daily. I haven't tasted "old dough" pita yet, but I hear it develops a nice flavor due to slight fermentation. Just remember to take out what dough you want and let it come to room temperature before you bake it.

Homemade Mezes Platter

Homemade whole wheat pita! It's been awhile since I've made my own bread, and I thought easy no-fuss flatbread would be a good way to jump back into the game.

Not bad for a first try; it even poofed up like it's supposed to! I made some thick, soft bready pitas like this as well as some thinner ones with crispy centers and chewy edges.

For lunch, I had the pitas with some cabbage slaw tossed with crysanthemum leaves and cilantro. A leftover half of an heirloom tomato rounded out the meal.

I also had homemade hummus! It's a little green because I decided to throw some cilantro in. Why not, I'm not winning authenticity points for any part of my meal here.

And my serving method of choice: a tiny triangular sandwich! The garlic of the hummus, the crunch of the slaw, and the juicy sweetness of the tomato were great with the wheaty pita. I tried various combinations, but all three in one sandwich was the only way to go. And yay! I followed my own rule and didn't eat meat at lunch!