Chorizo Madness: Eggplant Casserole, Miso Honey Bokchoy, Mashed Potatoes

Chorizos are great! So much flavour is such a small package. It has a smokiness, really salty, and a bit spicy. Like a very condensed pepperoni if I have to compare it with something.

So it's a great enhancer and a great way to spice up a few dishes. So I used it for my eggplant and mashed potatoes.

Eggplant casserole, it is baked with kimchi and chorizo then topped with cheese until golden brown.
Miso honey bok choy, it is stir fried with butter and mixed in a miso and honey sauce.
Mashed potatoes, with a kick from the chorizos.

This serves three people.

Eggplant Casserole



Ingredients:
Chinese eggplants - 3
Kimchi - 2 cups (by which I mean handfuls lol)
Chorizo - 1 stick (120g)
Kraft tex mex cheese mix (I can be trashy sometimes and it tastes good) - as much as you like
Cornstarch - 1 1/2 teaspoon

Instructions:

1. Cut the eggplants in half, (like so they're equal), then in threes.
2. Add some oil in the pan at medium heat and give some browness to the eggplants. (Only half of the eggplants are in that picture)

3. Take the eggplants out, add a bit more oil to brown the chorizo (sliced), when there is some browned bits on the pan, add the kimchi and let the kimchi juice deglaze* the pan.

4. When the kimchi is hot, add the eggplants, then add enough water till it's half way. Turn the heat to low then cover with a lid. Eggplants will shrink down so you don't have to worry that it's too little water. Rearrange the eggplants once in awhile so they all get submerged in the liquid at some time.
5. When all the eggplants are cooked, preheat the oven to 350.
6.make a slurry with the cornstarch and just enough COLD water to dissolve it (so like 2 teaspoons of COLD water) and add it to the liquid. Turn the heat back to medium and wait till the liquid thickens into a more saucy (like pasta sauce) consistency. If it doesn't reach to a consistency to your liking you can add more slurry.
7. Add the eggplants to a pan, should be fairly large since you don't want to stack the eggplants too much. (In fact mines was mostly just one layer of eggplants and than cheese lol) Top the thing off with cheese (don't go too crazy now...)

8. Put the pan in the middle rack for ten minutes, than turn the temperature to broil, put the pan on the top rack and wait till cheese turns all golden brown.

*Note: What is deglazing? Well when you heat something up on the pan, there will eventually be some sort of brown bits stuck at the bottom right? Well that's all flavour, adding some liquid and then using your spatula to lightly scrape the bottom will get it off the pan and mixed in the liquid, adding tons of flavour to it. If the brown stuff turns black you shouldn't use it though because that is just burnt. Also non-stick pans don't do this so when making a nice sauce for your steak or pork chop, always go for the cast iron or stainless steel or something.

Miso Honey Bok Choy



Ingredients:
Bok Choy - 1 bag (1 pound maybe? It's about the same in all Asian supermarkets)
Miso - 1 1/2 tablespoon (or to taste)
Honey - 1 1/2 tablespoon (or to taste)
Butter

Instructions:

1. Wash the bok choy by cutting the ends and submerging it in water. Then dry it off in a salad spinner.

2. Melt butter in a pan at high heat. Add the bok choy.
3. When the leaves are wilted, turn down to low heat, add a bit of water and cover till the stems are soft.

4. Turn it back to high heat, when only a small amount of water remains, add the miso and honey. Stir evenly. You can always change the amount of miso and honey to your liking. There's no screw ups in stirfrying! Well don't burn it...
5. When the sauce is to the consistency and taste you like. Take it off the heat and it's done.

I love stirfrys, so easy and so many ways you can really make it your own!

Mashed Potatoes



Ingredients:
Russet Potatoes - 2 large
Chorizo - 1/2 stick (60g)
Milk - to taste
Salt and pepper - to taste

Instructions:
1. Peel and dice the potatoes, cut the chorizo in quarters (lik 4 long sticks) then slice into little pieces.

2. Put the potatoes and chorizo in a rice cooker*, add water to 1/4 way and turn it on to cook. Check periodically to make sure there is enough water.

3. When the cooker is on 'keep warm' make sure the potatoes are fully cooked (if not just add a bit more water and put the button on cook again) then add the milk until the right consistency, season.

Note: If you don't have a rice cooker, just boil a full pot of salted water, add the potatoes. After 14 minutes, drain the water out and then add the chorizo and milk and stuff. It won't have as much chorizo flavour but it'll still be good!

So this was actually a really easy meal. The chorizo made something relatively simple and sometimes a bit boring (like mashed potatoes) and made it sound and taste more special.

Turkey Day 2011! Third Phase

For part one which have the appetizers.



Right, there's no turkey on turkey day, oh noes! The truth is I am not that big of a fan of turkey and it's just so damn temperamental so I'm going to be Chinese and cook pork! I used pork shoulder because it has more fat and therefore is juicy longer than a regular tenderloin.

For sides I made mushroom casserole, potato rosti, and pan fried vegetables.

Garlic Pork Loin:
Servings: 5

Pork shoulder: 1 (like around 1kg?)
Garlic: 1 1/2 heads
Salt and pepper: to taste
Butter: 1/2 stick

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 300
2. Peel the garlic cloves, boil hot water, add the garlic in until soft but still somewhat firm.
3. Trim the outer fat layer and connective tissue on the pork loin.
4. Poke holes around the loin with a knife and stuff the garlic clove in it.
5. Rub the loin with some oil and season with salt and pepper.
6. Put the loin in oven, until it is 145 degrees in the middle (light pinkness), Fahrenheit of course
7. Let butter soften at room temperature, rub it all over the loin.
8. Turn the oven to broil until the outside is brow, flip and repeat.
9. Let it rest for five minutes before slicing.

Mushroom Casserole



Ingredients:
Portabello mushrooms: 5 big ones
Cremini mushrooms: 2 small packs
Shallots: 5
Cream: 150ml
Wine: 150ml
Mozzarella: 200g
Butter
Flour: 1 tablespoon

Instructions:
1. Slice the portabello and cremini mushrooms.
2. Melt some butter in a pan at medium heat, add the mushrooms and some salt.
3. When the mushrooms are cooked, add the flour and put on low heat, stir for a minute.
4. Add the white wine, turn the heat to medium again.
5. When the wine has thicken, add the cream and stir until the cream thicken as well.
6. Put the mushrooms onto a loaf pan, top it off with sliced mozzarella.
7. Turn the oven to broil and put the pan under until the cheese is melted and browned.

Potato Rosti
Serving: 2 rostis


My favourite way to eat potatoes. You get the big potato flavour and texture because it's thick and it's really just potatoes nothing else so the flavour's like unadulterated but also the nice caramelization from frying it on a pan. At the same time because you shredded it first, it feels a lot fluffier than just simply roasting potatoes!

Ingredients
Russet potatoes - 5
Salt and pepper - to taste
Butter

Instructions
1. Heat salted water in medium heat.
2. Wash the potatoes, scrub with a sponge until clean. Put potatoes in pot.
3. When the potatoes are half cooked (fork should be going in with a little resistance), drain and cool.
4. Leave the potatoes in the fridge overnight.
5. The next day, using a grater, shred the potatoes, don't rub it back and forth the grater though, you have to push it down and then take the potato back to the top and push it down, like just in one way don't go up and down.
7. Heat up just enough butter to cover a non-stick pan at low heat, you need bout an 8 inch pan. Add half the potatoes, salt and pepper.
9. Cover with the lid, when the bottom is nicely browned, put a plate on top, flip it around so it's on the plate with the browned part on top and slide it back on the pan.
10. Cover and wait till the bottom is golden brown.
11. Repeat with the second one.

Note: Russets are best because they are the most starchy out of the common varieties so they are less held together and more fluffy, you want a soft texture with a rosti so you go with this kind of potato. As opposed to like the red potato which will be more firm.

Pan Fried Vegetables
Servings: 8



Ingredients:
White asparagus - 1 bunch
Radish - 1 small bag (20 radishes about)
Carrots - 3
White wine
Butter
Salt and pepper

Instructions:
1. Boil salted water.
2. Cut carrots into matchsticks, radishes in half, and trim off the ends of the asparagus on a diagonal bias.
3. Blanch the vegetables first until a fork can go through them but they can't be mushy. (one minute for radishes, 30 minutes for asparagus, and 2 minutes for carrots about)
4. Melt butter on a large pan at medium high heat. Add the vegetables, stir quickly, adding some pepper and white wine to taste.

So that's the mains and sides. Pork > turkey definitely. Still very juicy and have a strong kick with garlic. Also the vegetable sides are delicious and very hearty to complete with the feel of a comforting but interesting meal.

Would You Like Fries With That?

Okay so we can all kinda agree McDonald's is kinda shit right? But there is one thing I just can't escape from: their ORGASMIC fries. It's like deep fried in cocaine or something it's SOOOOOOOOOOO addicting. Of course I later learned it was "natural flavoring" which I'm guessing is as natural as the breasts on those playboy bunnies. So I try to do second best: my own homemade version!



Yep fries with mayo. IT'S A CANADIAN TRADITION OKAY!!! And anyways, nothing is better than homemade mayo, I use to hate mayonnaise too but it's because I thought it was Miracle Whip all this time. But real mayonnaise is creamy with a bit of tang but it's more subtle and does not taste like cheap vinegar you use to clean the tables.

Instructions: http://joyciel.livejournal.com/114981.html#cutid1

Oh god I'm updating this place so little I should call it A Dish A Month or something =/. Hopefully with break soon I can post more =D!

Maybe You're Gonna Be the One to Save Meeeeeeeeeeee

Well not anymore I won't! Noel, you bastard! Well some of you might have heard, Noel Gallagher left his band Oasis and I am very sad, I'm a HUGE fan of them and absolutely depressed that I never saw them live and will never get a chance ever again! Unless they make up of course...I hope they make up o.o.

So I made an I am very sad that Noel left Oasis so I'm going to eat my sadness pie







*sigh* I can't even look at their cute gifs anymore!

Like this:

LIESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!