Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Super Money-Saver Mayo!

I decided to make tuna salad for lunch today only to find I was nearly out of mayo.  Fortunately, Brittany happened to, at that very moment, come across a recipe for it while looking up corned beef in Charcuterie. So I made some.


This stuff is almost stupidly simple. And remarkably cheap, you probably already have all the ingredients already in your house. I don't think I'll ever buy mayonnaise again.

Adapted from Charcuterie:

1 egg yolk
1 tsp water
1/2 tsp salt
1 to 2 tsp lemon juice, to taste
1 pinch white pepper (or black, white is just more aesthetic)
1 cup veggie oil
1 Tbsp white vinegar

(yields about 1 cup)

Mix the yolk, water, salt, lemon juice, and pepper in a small bowl with a whisk.
Once combined, slowly (very thin stream) add the oil while whipping.
Once the mixture starts to combine and thicken you can start adding the oil a little faster.
Once it's all blended together, mix in the vinegar. This wasn't in the original recipe, but mine came originally came out tasting a bit strongly of the veggie oil so I read the jar of Best Foods and saw vinegar on there so I tossed some in. Perfect! Tasted just like the store-bought stuff!
Add more lemon juice and really pretty much any other seasoning you like (garlic, chipotle, etc.) to taste.
If it comes out too thick, whip in a little more water.

Done! The hardest part is all the whipping.

Enjoy!

Monday, February 27, 2012

Mmm... Bagel sandwich...

Not a recipe this time, just a picture of yummy food.


Over-easy egg, cheese, avocado and a mix of homemade sausage and leftover Costco rotisserie chicken on a sesame bagel. Delightful.

Monday, February 20, 2012

Hawaiian Treat! Boots and Kimo's Banana-Mac pancakes

Once again, this is one of my favorite recipes.  I first experienced these incredible pancakes while on Oahu for a friend's wedding. One morning we drove to Kailua because he insisted there isn't really any point in going to Hawaii without making a stop at Boots and Kimo's.  This place really made me feel at home; it was the only place I saw on the island where people were queued around the block before the place was open.  Truly cured any home-sickness I may have had for Screen Door or Jam.

What they look like at Boots and Kimo's.

I don't remember the pancakes themselves being anything special, though I'm sure they were... It's the magical vanilla cream sauce that makes this dish.

Sauce:
1 cup Whole milk
1/3 cup Sugar (or 3 Tbsp honey)
2 Tbsp Butter
1 tsp Vanilla
2 Tbsp Flour
A pinch of Salt

Mix and boil for three minutes, cool for five.  Stir constantly to avoid burning milk to the bottom of the pan.  Careful not to cook too long or the stuff will get thick and custard-y (as happened to mine this time around).

Amazingly simple, and remarkable how so few ingredients can yield such an insanely good flavor.

Pancakes:
Really, it doesn't matter what pancake recipe you use, I used Krusteez because that's what I had laying around and I was lazy.  The important thing is to make them into Banana pancakes by throwing some sliced-up banana into the mix.

Presentation:
Now it's just a matter of plating the pancakes with a healthy drizzle of sauce and top with a handful of chopped macadamia nuts.  Definitely a rich breakfast and not something you're going to eat every day, but if I'd thought ahead, I would have posted this a week ago and given you fellows a leg up for V-Day breakfast.  Oh well. Enjoy.

What mine look like (better I think)

Monday, February 13, 2012

All of the best things, all in one place; bacon-cheddar-chive biscuits

Seriously, this is one of my all-time favorite recipes.  I first experienced this flavor trifecta way back in the good-ol' days of heading to the Bakery Bar after crew practice (2007ish; back when there was still a Bakery Bar down on Water Ave.).  Now they only exist on NE Glisan somewhere and I've never been there.  Definitely go there though, they make amazing cakes as well as pretty much any other sort of baked happiness.


Let's get started:

2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup cold butter
3 eggs
1/2 cup half-and-half  (I used 1% this time around)
2 cups sharp cheddar, shredded
4 slices bacon, crispy, chopped (sadly I used store-bought this time because I've been lazy lately and
   haven't cured any recently)
1 Tbsp fresh chives, chopped (I pretty much always use green onions. whatever.)


Preheat oven to 425 deg.
This is usually when I chop and crisp my bacon.  Someday I will be thrilled to use my own bacon for this recipe, I just didn't plan enough ahead this time.
Mix flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl.  I also just now remembered that I think I usually mix in a couple solid dashes of pepper just for good measure, but I totally forgot this time.  Oh well, definitely worth trying.
Cut in butter with a pastry cutter or two knives until it resembles coarse crumbs.
Beat together two eggs and cream until blended, add to dry mixture and stir until the mix is just moistened.
Stir in the cheese, bacon, and green onion; form into a ball. 
Knead the dough ten or so time.  It's important to not overwork the dough because you don't want the butter to melt and blend in with the mixture; it's those tiny chunks of sold butter that give biscuits their wonderful crumb texture once they are baked.
Roll out the dough on a heavily floured surface (and flour your hands, this stuff gets sticky) to about 1/2 inch thick and either cut with biscuit cutter or cut into triangles. Or I suppose you could just free-form them if you're feeling particularly adventurous.
Place on a lightly greased (or parchment-lined) baking sheet.
Beat the remaining egg with a splash of water and brush over biscuits (egg-washes are magic, and give baked things an amazing color/texture).  If you don't have a pastry brush; just smear it with your fingers, that's what I did for the first two or three years I made these.
Bake 14-16 minutes until they are lightly browned.

DEVOUR.

  
nomnomnom...