summer shopping trip

Matt and I spent a fun afternoon browsing through the three-story Columbus Antique Mall. It was a bit overwhelming, especially since we had just over an hour. They had eight separate rooms of booths, plus a second floor, and a third floor full of just furniture.

There were enough shelves of china and glass (my weakness) to fill several houses. It was probably good that we didn't have much time to look, because I'm sure I would have found many things to my liking.



You could find just about everything imaginable, including this stuffed chicken and a (very necessary) "Beatnick [sic] Cigarette Holder".

korean out and in

Since we got back from Japan, at least half of the recipes I've added to my list to try have been Asian recipes of one kind or another. Actually, more of them have been Thai or Korean than Japanese. I have tried a couple of Korean and Korean-inspired recipes and have really enjoyed them. We also made it Chicago for dinner at Dancen Korean restaurant (it is really, really dark in there).

fire chicken with cheese

seasoned rice balls

I tried making a Korean barbecue chicken earlier this year that turned out just okay. The daeji bulgogi, or barbecue pork that I made recently knocked my socks off. It's sweet, spicy, oniony, and meaty--in other words, pretty complex.

daeji bulgogi, pickled kohlrabi, kimchi, & rice

I can't say how authentic this is since I have never eaten its equivalent at a restaurant. I just know that I thought it was really great.

daeji bulgogi

Daeji Bulgogi
from Serious Eats

I let this marinade for at least 24 hours, and that seemed to be the key to the pork's tenderness.

1 lb pork tenderloin, trimmed of silver skin and excess fat
1/4 c soy sauce
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp light brown sugar
2 tbsp gochujang
2 tbsp mirin
2 tbsp sesame oil
1 tbsp crushed ginger root
1 tsp red pepper flakes
2 green onions, minced
1 small onion, thinly sliced

Place the pork in the freezer until it firms up, about 1 hour (or if frozen, thaw until it is still slightly firm). While the pork is in the freezer, combine the soy sauce, garlic, brown sugar, gochujang , mirin, sesame oil, ginger, red pepper flakes, and green onions in a small bowl.

Remove the pork from the freezer and slice into pieces 1/8 inch thick. Place the pork and sliced onion in a large Ziploc bag, pour in the marinade and seal. Toss to evenly distribute the marinade, then open and reseal the bag, removing as much air as possible. Place in the refrigerator and let marinate for at least one hour to overnight.

Light one chimney full of charcoal. When all the charcoal is lit and covered with gray ash, pour out and spread the coals evenly over the charcoal grate. Clean and oil the grilling grate. Place the pork slices on the grill and cook over direct, high heat until the meat is seared on both sides and cooked through, about 1 minute per side. Remove from the grill and serve immediately with bibb lettuce or rice, kimchi, and quick pickles.

Chinese-style pickled kohlrabi

We're always up for a breakfast sandwich, so we jumped on the chance to have a Korean-inspired bacon muffin. I made some adjustments to the original recipe, swapping out the Canadian peameal bacon for plain old American bacon. I also added a fried egg, which you can see dripping out of the sandwich in the photo and left off the sesame-vinaigrette salad.

bacon, egg, & kimchi sandwich

Bacon, Egg, & Kimchi Breakfast Muffin
adapted from Closet Cooking
makes 2 sandwiches, can be easily multiplied for more

4 slices bacon
1/2 c kimchi (drained and chopped)
2 eggs
3 tbsp mayonnaise
1 tbsp gochujang
2 English muffins (lightly toasted)
1/2 c shredded Cheddar cheese
shredded romaine in a korean sesame vinaigrette, optional

Cook bacon until crisp (we like a cast iron skillet), then drain on paper towels. Pour off all but a couple tablespoons of the bacon fat. Add kimchi to the skillet and saute until a bit caramelized. Carefully crack one egg at a time into skillet, cook over medium until bubbling, then flip and cook just until set, 1-2 minutes.

Mix mayonnaise and gochujang in a small bowl. Sprinkle bottom of muffin with cheese, then top with fried egg. Add bacon, kimchi, and romaine salad, if using. Slather top muffin with gochujang mayo mixture, join the halves, and enjoy!

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new favorite

The people at Cook's Country magazine come across as mad food scientists.  They make and remake and mess with and test a recipe so many times that it makes me impatient just reading about it.  The result is typically a reliable recipe, but sometimes involves ingredients I'd rather not keep on hand (anybody keep apple brandy in the cabinet??).

In the case of their "New Mexican Pork Stew", the result is a delicious and fairly simple posole.  When deciding to make this recipe, I did something I really shouldn't do.  I decided to make an ethnic dish from a recipe when I had never tasted any other version of the dish, good or bad.  I've attempted this foolishness with varied results.  Spanikopita was only so-so.  Korean bulgogi was actually pretty great.  And so was this posole.  The problem is, I don't know whether these recipes even begin to approximate the authentic dish.  If you're some kind of posole expert, please enlighten me.  I guess when it comes right down to it, I don't particularly care--this stew is that good.

Many meals in our home either start out spicy or get some kind of spice added to them later (red pepper flake, jalapenos, sambal).  This was not one of those meals, and yet we both found it immensely satisfying.  The ancho chiles, which Wikipedia tells me are a dried poblano, are not particularly spicy.  Instead, they are smoky and earthy.  Between the chiles and the intensely corny hominy, this dish reminds me of the first particularly earthy Mexican dish I ate, a tortilla soup at La Mestiza in Madison.  This is one recipe that will be going into our regular rotation.

One major benefit of Cook's Country (and they don't pay me to say this) is the mad scientist's report on the process which led to the recipe.  While mind-bogglingly involved, it does provide the justification for each step of the recipe that might seem unnecessary, like, say, browning hominy.  Steps that I might be tempted to skip, which would be very silly of me.  I will not be typing up Cook's Country's introduction to the recipe.  Just trust me and follow the directions.  As a side-note, the pork ribs from our butcher had little bones in a few of them, but they had no adverse effect.  Just pull them out when you shred the pork.  Also, my grocery store doesn't carry 15-ounce cans of hominy, so I went with two huge 28-ounce cans.  The more hominy, the better, I say.

New Mexican Pork Stew (Posole)
from Cook's Country-January 2011

3/4 oz dried ancho chiles (about 3 chiles)
8 c low-sodium chicken broth (I used homemade)
2 lbs boneless country-style pork ribs
salt & pepper
3 tbsp vegetable oil
3 (15-oz) cans white hominy, rinsed and drained well
2 onions, chopped
5 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp minced fresh oregano (or 1 tsp dried)
1 tbsp lime juice
chopped avocado, cabbage, and radishes for serving (optional)

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees.  Place chiles on baking sheet and bake until puffed and fragrant, about 6 minutes.  When chiles are cool enough to handle, remove seeds and stems.  Combine chiles and 1 cup broth in medium bowl.  Cover with plastic wrap and microwave until bubbling, about 2 minutes.  Let stand until softened, 10 to 15 minutes.

Pat pork dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper.  Heat 2 tablespoons oil in Dutch oven over medium-high heat until just smoking.  Cook pork until well browned all over, about 10 minutes.  Transfer pork to plate.  Add hominy to now-empty pot and cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant and hominy begins to darken 2 to 3 minutes.  Transfer hominy to medium bowl.

Heat remaining oil in now-empty pot over medium heat until shimmering.  Add onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.  Stir in garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.  Puree onion mixture with softened chile mixture in blender.  Combine remaining broth, pureed onion-chile mixture, pork, oregano, 1/2 teaspoon sald, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper in now-empty pot and bring to boil.  Reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, until meat is tender, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

Transfer pork to clean plate.  Add hominy to pot and simmer, covered, until tender, about 30 minutes.  Skim fat from broth.  When meat is cool enough to handle, shred into bite-sized pieces, discarding fat.  Return pork to pot and cook until heated through, about 1 minute.  Off heat, add lime juice.  Season with salt and pepper.

Posole can be refrigerated in airtight container for 3 days.  We did not really skim the fat off the soup, thus the shiny spots in the photo.  We did, however, scrape some of the congealed, bright-orange fat off the top of our leftovers before reheating.  Only some though.  Matt's turned me into an animal-fat fan.

this weekend's finds

This weekend Matt and I were at his annual family reunion and we stopped by a nice little antique mall. Here are some of the things I picked up:

silk scarves, thrifted, $2.00 (left) and $6.00 (right)

hair clip, thrifted $6.00
locket pendant, thrifted, $4.00

During our almost weekly trip to the great vintage store, Good Style Shop, I picked up a pair of heels I'd been eyeing for months, plus a cute pair of wedges.

tie-up heels, vintage, $28

textured wedges, vintage, $15

Thai spicy chicken with basil

2 tbsp. vegetable oil
2 tsp. sesame oil
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tbsp. peeled and grated fresh ginger (jarred ginger works too)
4 small red chili peppers, halved and seeded*
1 red bell pepper, seeded and sliced
1 lb. skinless chicken thigh fillets, cut into 1-inch cubes (I used chicken breast)
2 tbsp. soy sauce
2 tbsp. water
2 tsp. brown sugar
1/2 c. fresh basil leaves
6 scallions, cut diagonally into 1-inch lengths
steamed jasmine rice, for serving

*I had a hard time deciding just which peppers I wanted. I'm sure any of the dried Mexican varieties of red peppers would work, but I used 2 fresh jalapenos instead. Adjust to your taste and preferences.

Warm vegetable and sesame oil in a wok or frying pan over medium heat. Add ginger, garlic, and chili peppers and cook until aromatic, about 1 minute. Raise heat to high, add bell pepper and chicken and stir-fry until chicken is golden. Stir in soy sauce, water, and brown sugar. Reduce heat to medium and cook until chicken is cooked through, about 5 minutes. Stir in basil and scallions. Spoon into bowls and serve with steamed jasmine rice.

from Asian Hot and Spicy by Vicki Liley

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summer/winter

Tonight we took advantage of Madison Restaurant Week and had dinner at fresco for a great price (I'll post pictures of the meal later). When we left, I had Matt snap a picture not unlike one he took of me on Valentine's Day, the first time we went to fresco. They are both on the steps from fresco to the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art.

7/26/09
navy shirt-dress, Forever 21
belt, shoes, and feather pin, thrifted
bag, Etsy
(click photo to enlarge)

2/13/09

Today's outfit included a lot of new summery thrifting finds, which I will share here as well.

shoes and belt (same from photo above), thrifted, $2.65 and $0.99 respectively
pleated wool skirt, Good Style Shop, $5

tassel necklace, Good Style Shop, $10
leaf necklace, thrifted, $1.99
feather pin (same from photo above), thrifted, $1.99

Also, here are a few snippets of wintery finds that I picked up for a good price. Yes, that is a fur collar you see, but I don't feel so bad since it's second-hand. The coat is also in pristine condition, so it was hard to resist. Then, below is the interesting collar and scarf of a gorgeous, albeit slightly smelly and holey, 60's Italian virgin wool dress. It fits like a dream, so there's a lot of potential to be had--once I sort out the stink and the holes.

3/4-length coat, thrifted, $14

wool dress, thrifted, $6

Finally, possibly the best find lately, a set of iced tea spoons from the great Atomic Interiors in Madison. I know iced tea spoons seem like an unnecessary purchase, but I really do love my iced tea. Plus, these are amazing.

"Ebony Elegance" Iced Tea Spoons

swanky anniversary dinner

Dinner at L'Etoile

first bite: flaky cracker with herbed goat cheese and hickory nut

amuse bouche: strawberry puree with muscat wine, buttermilk blue cheese,
edible flower, and toasted brioche

rolls with whipped butter

iced tea with strawberry-rhubarb puree and elderberry syrup

my entree: pan-seared Alaskan halibut with mashed potatoes, house-cured bacon, spring vegetables, and Pinot Noir-bacon sauce

Matt's entree: pan-seared pheasant and crispy pheasant confit with mashed potatoes, braised bok choi, and brandy jus

last course: hickory nut popcorn cluster, dark chocolate-covered applewood-smoked bacon, sugared rhubarb gel

Dessert at fresco

my dessert: honey-poached pears brulee with honey sauce and lemon whipped cream

Matt's dessert: dark chocolate soup with pound cake croutons and peanut butter mousse

day dresses

The past week has brought me some great finds. And with the return of "Mad Men" to AMC in the past few weeks, I'm even more excited when I come across beautiful vintage dresses that would have fit right into the office at Sterling Cooper.

flower & cross-hatch dress, Good Style Shop, $28
tie heels, Good Style Shop
belt, Target

close-up of fabric pattern and button

cotton block dress, Good Style Shop, $20

wedge sandals & locket, thrifted

The second dress has a couple of small tears at the seams that will need to be fixed, but nothing major. I also picked up two cute and very cheap items at garage/estate sales on the way back from the farmer's market Saturday.

scale, 25 cents
says "Weighs 30 Pounds by Ounces"

leaf-patterned vase, 10 cents