brown sugar

Brussels Sprouts: The Video May be a Re-Run But the Chorizo is all New

23 Oct 2011
Brussels Sprouts with Chorizo

It's that time of year. The time when a young man's fancy turns to Brussels sprouts! Mine particularly because I have a particularly scary Brussels Sprouts video I pull out this time of year. Sure it's a re-run. But if I can sit through A Charlie Brown Christmas every year for 40 years you can sit through my Halloween video one more time!

To accompany this video I do have a new recipe though. Brussels Sprouts and Chorizo by Bill Kim of Chicago's Belly Shack. It comes from Lucy Lean's new cookbook Made In America: Our Best Chefs Reinvent Comfort Food, and I whole-heartedly recommend both the recipe and the book. Because this recipe proves there are lots of great ways to cook Brussels sprouts.

In this video I am Braising the Brussels Sprouts with Pancetta & Balsamic. CLICK here for a printable recipe. But Bill Kim's recipe sees the little buggers sauteed in a hot pan and married to something sweet and something spicy. It's this unusual combination of Asian-Latin flavors (including chorizo) that make this recipe so interesting. I recently served it as a first course at a dinner party. But frankly, I'd eat this all on it's own as a meal.  It's an extremely easy preparation, but there are a few tricks. A good hot  pan ensures you’ll get good caramelization on the outside without cooking the insides to a smelly pulp! So make the jump and watch the video.

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Brussels Sprouts and Chorizo

Brussels Sprouts and Chorizo
By jgreghenry Published October 23, 2011
Prep time: 20
Yield:1 (Servings)

Ingredients:

  • 2 T vegetable oil
  • 3 T unsalted butter
  • 1.5 lb brussels sprouts, peeled then quartered
  • 0.333333 lb mexican chorizo
  • 1 lime, juice only
  • 0.25 c brown sugar
  • 0.25 c asian fish sauce
  • 0.5 T sambal oelek
  • 0.25 c fresh cilantro leaves
  • 0.25 c crushed tortilla chips

Directions

In a wok or large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil and 1 table spoon of the butter. saute the sprouts in batches over medium-high heat until tender and caramelized. Cool and set aside.

In a small pan, saute the chorizo until cooked through. Strain off the excess oil and cool.

In a small bowl, pour the limejuice over the brown sugar and mix to dissolve. Add the fish sauce and sambal. Add 2 to 3 tablespoons of water as needed to balance.

Prior to serving, heat the remaining tablespoon of oil in a large saute pan. Add the chorizo and saute for 1 minute. Add the Brussels sprouts and heat until warm. Add half the lime-sugar mixture, adding more as needed to taste. To finish, stir in the remaining 2 tablespoons butter until melted.

Divide among 6 bowls and garnish with cilantro leaves and tortilla chips.

Source: From Bill Kim- Made In America by Lucy Lean

Sup! Loves Cookbooks: Made In America

06 Oct 2011
Made In America

I like to give my thoughts on new cookbooks from time to time here at Sippity Sup. And that's sorta what I plan to do today.

The new cookbook currently in my hands is from Lucy Lean. It’s called Made In America: Our Best Chefs Reinvent Comfort Food. It’s a visually stunning book, introduced by Joseph Bastianch and filled with American recipes from this country’s greatest cooks. A bushel of the best in fact. I quit counting at 50 and there were still loads left to count.

This book is filled with great recipes reinterpreted by great chefs– just as you would expect. But there are stories attached too. Stories about food, sure, but also stories from the lives of your favorite cooks.

The kind of stories you fantasize hearing as you sit around a big communal table at one amazing dinner party.

Which got me thinking. What sort of story would I contribute to a meal such as this? Well, as I was thumbing through the book, I came across an Apple Chess Pie (pg 310) from Evan Kleiman of Los Angeles’ iconic Angeli café. I knew immediately I would be making that pie for you today and sharing my story about Angeli café– a restaurant that holds a special place in my heart.

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Apple Chess Pie

Apple Chess Pie
By jgreghenry Published October 6, 2011
Prep time: 120
Yield:1 (Servings)

Ingredients:

  • 1 (11-inch) round of rolled out pie dough
  • 5 sweet juicy apples, such as golden delicious or fuji, peeled, cored and sliced (no too thick)
  • 1 T all-purpose flour
  • 2 T brown sugar
  • 1 pn salt
  • 3 large eggs
  • 0.5 c granulated sugar
  • 8 T melted, unsalted butter
  • 2 T freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 1 T fine corn flour
  • 1 pn ground cinnamon

Directions

Once the dough is rolled out, gently fold it in half, and in one movement lift it off the rolling surface and into the pie pan. Unfold the dough circle and gently ease into an 8 or 9-inch pie pan; do not stretch the dough. When it heats up in baking, it will bounce back. If there is excess dough hanging over the lip of the pie pan, simply fold the dough so that the rim of the pan supports it. You can then either crimp the edge with the tines of a fork or flute the edge with your fingers. Refrigerate or freeze for at least 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Remove the piecrust from the refrigerator or freezer. Mix the sliced apples with the brown sugar and arrange then in the cold crust. Cover the pie, including the fluted edge. tightly with aluminum foil. Place in the oven and bake for 30 to 40 minutes, or until the apples are just tender when pierced with a knife.

While the pie is baking, make the chess pie custard. Whisk the eggs, sugar, melted butter, lemon juice, corn flour, and cinnamon together until well blended.

When the apples are done, remove the foil. Don't be scared of the amount of juice you may see, the custard will bind the juice. Pour the custard over the apples using a knife to help the custard fill the gaps.

Return the pie to the oven, uncovered. Bake until the custard is set, the top is dotted with deep golden brown spots, and the crust is done, 15 to 20 minutes. Serve warm or chilled.

Source: Made in America

Why I Hate Cookies: Confessions of a Curmudgeon

07 Sep 2011
lace cookies

I don't really hate cookies. In fact of all the simple sweet treats I like cookies best. The bestest in fact. But cookies are potent symbols for everything that bugs me about Internet food writers. Especially when it comes to chocolate chip cookies. Do you know how many recipes there are on the web for "perfect" chocolate chip cookies? Quite a few it turns out– but nowhere near as many as the phrase "the best" chocolate chip cookies.

Of course we can't blame food bloggers entirely for taking the phrase "the best" and editorially pissing all over it until it means absolutely nothing. Because the revered New York Times may have started this war of the superlatives back in 2008 when it dubbed one recipe the "perfect" chocolate chip cookie. In fact they suggested sainthood for Madame Toll House herself. Talk about effusive!

The recipe I refer to is by Jacques Torres. You can find it just about anywhere. Simply type in the phrase "the best chocolate chip cookies– EVER" and you'll find it. So I won't bother to reproduce it here. Besides I am not really talking about chocolate chip cookies. In fact cookies in general are just the metaphor I choose to use.

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