Bahn Mi oh My!

Since my trip to Vietnam in March 2009 I have been in hot pursuit of recipes and classes to help me recreate the exotic flavors that I experienced there. The smell of grilling pork from street food vendors that envelopes the streets of Saigon has stained my mind forever.

My husband lives and breathes my Vietnamese obsession and when he found a recipe for Vietnamese Pork Sandwiches on FoodGawker, he gleefully yelled down the stairs, "Hey babe! You're going to love me for this one!" I didn't hear anything come crashing out of the closet where I store our Kate Spade wedding china so I thought he must have found something online. And boy, did he find something online!

Hong and Kim of Ravenous Couple, my favorite new food blog, posted their recipe for Bahn Mi Thit Nyong. Bahn Mi is the name for Vietnamese sandwiches or "Saigon sub's" as they are sometimes called. Bahn Mi can be stuffed with many protiens, mainly pork, but all contain pickled carrot and daikon radish as well as cilantro and peppers for a little kick.

Here are some photos of our (my husband helped) attempt at making Bahn Mi Thit Nyong.

Shredding daikon for pickling - Have you ever purchased whole daikon? It's massive! The one I bought was about three feet long!







grilled pork ready to be sandwified










the final product
















The sandwiches were heavenly. I think this is definitely going to become a favorite of ours and perhaps something new and exciting we could even serve at our next back yard barbecue.

The thing that I can not, or at least have not attempted to make, is the crusty, silky-smooth-on-the-inside bread that these sandwiches are served on. The bread is traditionally made from a combination of wheat and rice flour and the result is a thin, crusty outside with a pillowy, smooth, fluffy inside. If anyone knows how to make this bread or is willing to have me over to their house to give me a lesson in Vietnamese baking, please contact me.

Poached Eggs

I enjoy making eggs for an occasional weekend breakfast but get bored with traditional omlettes, over easy versiona, or scrambles with toast. I read about Michael Roux's book Eggs on Alexis Stewart's blog and decided to order it for inspiration and instruction. The book is gorgeous! It is smaller than most cook books and includes full color glossy pages, complete instructions for many methods of preparation, and best of all, the book is full of beautiful foodtography.

















Anyway, back to the poaching. The first two attempts turned out perfectly. I'm not sure if it was luck or just that poached eggs are easier to make than I thought.

















The second batch (I was making two for the hubby and two for me) didn't turn out that great. One was successful, the other just wasn't.


















So, I changed the water in the pan and tried a third time - success!

















I served the poached eggs over the top of a whole grain english muffin, monterey jack cheese, and a slice of delicious Brandywine heirloom tomato.



















Housewife hint: Poach just a few eggs at a time and change the water in between poaches. Eggs can be "rewarmed" without over poaching with just a quick swim in hot water on a slotted spoon.

Attention Bakers: Check out this online store!

A friend recently sent me a link to a very good Web site for baking supplies, decorations, and various other accoutrements. Fancy Flours looks like an excellent source for cupcake bakers, especially.

I haven't ordered from the site yet, but fully intend to and will report back later. If you have ordered from Fancy Flours, please comment about your experience!


















It's not Fancy Flour, but it is a fancy flower! This Electra rose bush borders part of my tomato garden and attracts pests that would normally love to feast on my tomatoes. Planting roses near vegetables and fruits is a great way to deter insect pests.

Beware the Slim Jim!

What's inside of a Slim Jim? Wonder no more...

Wired magazine has deconstructed the skinny, plastic-wrapped staple of gas stations across America and they've found some pretty interesting ingredients. I call them interesting because I didn't know that a lot of the things listed were even edible such as "tougher tissue" and "partially ossified vertebrae." Mmm. Make mine a double.

Now don't get me wrong, this food rant has nothing to do with any opinions about making packaged food illegal to serve to school children. I'm not being political - we'll leave that to Ms Waters. I'm guilty of the occasional pre-packaged high-fructose corn syrup containing taste of the rainbow from time to time but you will never catch me eating "partially ossified vertebrae." Eww.

I hope you find the small article largely entertaining. Here's What's Inside of a Slim Jim.

Oh, and as a follower of What's Inside, I've read some other very interesting ingredients. Here is one of my favorite:

Cool Whip: A delicious blend of sugar, wax, and condom lube


YUMMY!

A Very Special Pasta Sauce

My Italian friend gave me a bag of dried pasta from her home town. She has scouered the UK, where she now lives, and I've scoured my area and neither one of us can find it anywhere. It is a truly special and rare treat that is deserving of a special ragu so, I made Perbacco's 5 Hour Pork Sugo for the second time in my life. Why only the second time? Because it's an all day labor of love to make this sauce but it's worth every moment.

The coveted pasta from Lecce


















Perbacco's 5-Hour Pork Sugo
Serves 8-10

This sauce is from (genius!) Staffan Terje of Perbacco. The recipe makes enough to freeze some for later. If you do plan to freeze some, wait to add the cream until just before serving.

Ingredients
1 carrot, trimmed
1 onion, peeled
4 stalks celery
2-3 juniper berries (look on shrubs in your yard or neighborhood)
1 allspice berry
2 cloves
2 peppercorns
4 ounces dry porcini mushrooms, soaked in 1 quart warm water, liquid strained and reserved (confused? see photos)
1/4 cup olive oil (Italian cold pressed works great)
2 pounds sustainable ground pork
Salt and pepper to taste
1 bottle red wine, such as Barbera or Dolcetto
1 quart low-sodium beef broth
1 tablespoon rosemary leaves, finely chopped
1 tablespoon thyme leaves, finely chopped
1 tablespoon sage leaves, finely chopped
1 bay leaf
1 cup crushed tomato
1 cup cream
1 1/4 to 1 1/2 pounds fresh pasta or dried short pasta
Butter, to finish
Parmesan cheese, to serve

Instructions
Chop the carrot, onion, celery and mushrooms in a food processor.
In a spice grinder or, using a mortar and pestle, grind the juniper, allspice, cloves and peppercorns until fine, and set aside.

chopped carrot, celery, and onion
















In a large Dutch oven, sweat the vegetables and mushrooms in the olive oil over medium heat until they become soft, 5-7 minutes, then add the pork, stirring until cooked through. Season the pork lightly with salt and pepper.



Sweating the vegetables in olive oil just before adding the mushroom liquid and bottle of wine














Prepare the mushroom liquid. Add the dried mushrooms to 2 cups of warm water. Let them sit until they reconstitute. Take them out of the liquid and place them in a strainer, gently pressing on the mushrooms to remove more liquid. Reserve the liquid!




















Strain the mushroom liquid using a paper towel or coffee filter. You'll be surprised how much sand you will strain out!

Straining the mushroom liquid throug a filter to remove sand, etc.
















Add the wine, broth, herbs, spices, and mushroom liquid. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and reduce by half. This takes about 1-1 1/2 hours. Add tomatoes and simmer on very low for at least another 5 hours. I recommend finding something to do with your time so you don't cheat and taste the sauce as it's simmering. Don't ruin the magical first bite moment! My husband and I stirred and sniffed every hour of so, just so we could tease ourselves into a "I can't wait to get my fork in that" frenzy.

When you are ready to serve, add the cream to the portion you are eating immediately and allow the sauce to simmer gently until it has emulsified, about 20 minutes.

Boil the pasta in well-salted water, according to package directions. Garnish with Parmesan cheese. Enjoy!

A delicious finished product
















Original Article from SFGate.com with printable recipe

Heirloom tomatoes with roasted poblano & tomatillo dressing

To make enough for one salad , brush all ingredients with olive oil and grill as follows:

1 medium poblano pepper (grilled until soft and blistered)
8 tomatillos (grilled until soft)
1 small garlic clove (grilled until soft)
1/2 sweet onion (grilled until wilted and separating)

Set aside:
Juice of 1/2 lime
1 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper to taste


After grilling, allow the ingredients to cool. Peel the tomatillos, garlic. Peel the poblano and deveign the pepper. In a food processor, puree all ingredients, adding one tablespoon of olive oil and the juice of 1/2 lime. Salt and pepper to taste.

Slice heirloom tomatoes and drizzle with the dressing for a sweet and slightly spicy side that will add color and tons of flavor to any meal.

PS - I was so excited to eat the salad that I forgot to take a photo of the finished product. Sorry!

A Visit with My Italian Friend

I was recently able to visit with a friend in the UK who is originally from the Lecce region of Puglia in Italy. She treated me to a sampling of some of the food she makes at home. She is an amazing cook who is comfortable and happy in the kitchen. After a day at work we agree that we both love nothing more than to come home and make a meal for family or friends. Not only is my friend a talented cook, she is one of the most delightful people I have ever had the pleasure of knowing which makes her food even better.























Dinner preparation began with a tour of her garden while enjoying a delicious cocktail similar to a Pimm's number one cup but made with and Italian liquor instead. We then sat down to a meal of grilled sausages, herbed chicken, and ribs along with with caprese salad made with fresh basil my friend picked fresh from a basil plant in her kitchen. There was also boiled fingerling potatoes, a very simple carrot salad made with shaved carrots, balsamic vinegar, and a dash of salt that was out of this world. The sweetness of the carrots was exaggerated by the tart of the balsamic vinegar - it was so simple I couldn't get over it. We also had a crusty Italian bread and pasta dressed with olive tapenade, a feta-like cheese, tomato, olives, and olive oil. I have tried to recreate the pasta dish at home but failed miserably. I think it has something to do with the personality of the cook that made it so divine.

Ensalata Caprese














Of course we couldn't get through the evening without talking about pizza so my friend promised to take me later in the week for a real Italian native approved pizza. I ordered pizza rustica, which is a thinner, more authentic crust than straight up pizza one might find elsewhere. The crust was paper thin and covered with sweet tomato sauce, a dab of buffalo mozzarella here and there, and topped with arugula and parma ham.


















It was a good thing my hotel had a treadmill and, I used it.