Ingredient 4 – Baby Bok Choy

The idea for this week's ingredient came from my parents.  Over the last year, my mom has made several positive comments about my dad's baby bok choy sautés.  I had planned on getting the recipe from him and making it for the blog, but I was in the mood for stir fry over the weekend and figured that making a stir fry would be a great way to try bok choy.

Both bok choy, Brassica chinensis, and baby bock choy are varieties of cabbage.  The mature variety has white stems and dark green leaves while the baby variety has light green steams and medium green leaves.  The stems are crisp like celery and the leaves resemble Romaine lettuce.

Bok choy has been grown in southern China for thousands for years, but its hearty nature has lead to cultivation in cooler climates, Northern Europe, the United States, and Canada.  It is used in soups, stews, stir fries, and salads. 

When selecting bok choy, look for smooth, blemish free, white steams and dark crisp greens.  Baby bok choy should have smooth, blemish free, light green steams and crisp leaves, free of yellow or brown marks.  Both varieties can be stored in the refrigerator for four to five days.

When making stir fry, I usually include as many vegetables as possible.  However, this time I decided that less would be more.  I didn't want the bok choy to feel like an afterthought.  

  
Chicken and Bock Choy Stir Fry
serves 3 to 4
2 bunches baby bock choy
1lb boneless skinless chicken breast
1 package of mushrooms - I used a blend of Shitake, Crimini (Baby Bella), and Oyster. 
2 cloves garlic
2 tsp chopped ginger
3 tablespoons sesame oil
1/4 cup oyster sauce
2 tbs soy sauce
1 tbs honey
Brown or white rice – I used brown rice.

Begin by preparing the chicken breasts.  Pound them with a heavy object until they are a uniform thickness.  I placed my chicken on a dishwasher safe cutting board, covered it with cling wrap, and went to town on it with a rolling pin.  Don't be shy, the chicken is already dead, take out your pent up frustrations out on that piece of meat.  It may not be as good as therapy, but it is a damn close second in my book.   



Next, cut the chicken into bite sized pieces.  Combine the honey and the soy sauce in a shallow dish and add the chicken.  Gently turn the chicken, ensuring that all pieces are covered in the sauce.



While the chicken is marinating, prepare the vegetables.  Trim off the bottom of the bok choy bunch so you can pull apart the leaves for washing.  Just like leeks, bock choy likely has some soil and sand between the leaves, and thus needs thorough rinsing.  I placed the separated leaves in a colander and rinsed them with cold water before laying them to dry on a paper towel.



Once clean and dry, separate the steams from the greens and chop both sections and place in separate containers.



Next, prepare the garlic and ginger.  Dice the garlic (2 cloves) and use a vegetable peeler to remove the skin of the ginger so you can cut off a piece for dicing (2 tsp).



I purchased a blend of pre-prepared mushrooms.  So I didn’t need to do anything to them.  But if you purchase whole mushrooms, this would be a good time to clean and slice them.

Once all your ingredients have prepared, get your wok or large sauté pan hot (medium-high heat) and add 2 tablespoons of sesame or wok oil.  Then, add half of the garlic and ginger, letting it cook until it has turned light brown, roughly two minutes.  Add the chicken and start turning it with tongs after a minute or two.  The chicken will take between 5 to 10 minutes to sauté.  Once cooked, remove the chicken from the pan and prepare to cook the vegetables.



Begin by, once again, heating your wok or large sauté pan (medium-high heat) and adding 1 tablespoon of sesame or wok oil, once hot.  Then, add the rest of the garlic and ginger, letting it cook until it has turned light brown, roughly two minutes.  Add the bok choy stems and let them cook for 4 to 5 minutes, turning them frequently.



Next, add the mushrooms to the pan, continue to turn the mixture frequently.  Once the mushrooms cook down (4 or 5 minutes), add in the bok choy greens.  Like all greens, these will cook down quickly.



After the greens have cooked for a minute or two, add a 1/4 cup of oyster sauce to the pan.  Push the contents to the sides of the pan, creating an open space in the middle of the pan for the sauce.  Let the sauce warm for a few seconds before mixing the sauce into the ingredients.



Once the vegetables are thoroughly coated in the sauce, add the chicken back into the pan.  Continue to mix the contents for 2 or 3 minutes, then remove from heat and serve over rice.



This recipe came out really well, I had to call dibs on the leftovers.  The oyster sauce was wonderfully rich but not overwhelming.  The leftovers re-heated well on Tuesday when I took them to work for lunch.  I will definitely be making this again, you can count on that.  Overall grade: A-.

Seriously Delicious Yogurt

A few weeks ago, I found myself perusing the yogurt isle at Whole Foods Foggy Bottom.  I was in the mood to try something different seeing as Fage 2% accounts for 90% of my yogurt consumption.

I ended up finding Noosa, an Australian style yogurt.  It comes in a handful of flavors: blueberry, mango, peach, honey, raspberry, passion fruit, and strawberry rhubarb.  I didn’t purchase any that day because my basket was way too full already.  However, I ended up purchasing some last weekend when I was at Target.

The package contains two four ounce servings and each serving is 140 calories.  I had the yogurt this past Saturday for breakfast.  It was delicious, rich, smooth, and creamy.  To be honest, it tasted a lot like full fat Greek-style yogurt. 

Apparently, Australian style yogurt is basically Greek-style yogurt infused with honey.  The honey is supposed to add a “sweet-tart tang”.  I may have not tried a notably different type of yogurt but Noosa was so delicious I don’t really care.  The two servings were pretty filling and wonderfully decadent.  Next time you are at Target of Whole Foods, pick yourself up a container.  You will  be glad you did.       

Ingredient 3 - Cashews

I love peanuts.  They are tasty, inexpensive, and ubiquitous.  However, this week I decided to work with a nut that gets less attention, the cashew.

Cashews are tree nuts native to Northeastern Brazil.  The nut we consume is found inside the kidney shaped seed that grows at the end of the cashew apple.  These apples have a sweet flavor and are delicacies in Brazil and the Caribbean.   

I was originally hoping to make a snack or energy bar so I could feature a healthy treat.  However, I wasn't feeling any of the energy bar recipes I found via Google and most of the cashew bar recipes I found were basically cookie bars.  So I gave up on being healthy and decided to make cashew cookies instead. 

Almost all the cookie recipes I read featured caramel and chocolate, delicious, but I really wanted to make something that didn't include milk or dark chocolate.  That left white chocolate on the table.  I used the original Nestle Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe as a guide for the recipe listed below.  However, I made a few changes to the base dough:  1. I added baking powder in hopes of getting cookies that weren't flat as pancakes.  2. I used more brown sugar and less granulated sugar.  Many of the cashew cookie recipes I scanned did this.  3. I reduced the flour from 2 and 1/4 cups to 2 cups.  I wanted to see how a little less flour would affect the cookie.  


            

White Chocolate, Cashew, and Cranberry Cookies

- makes roughly 3 dozen cookies

2 cups all purpose flour 

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1 cup (2 sticks) butter

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs 

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup roughly chopped cashews

2 cups white chocolate chips

1/2 cup dried cranberries
 

Let butter soften on counter; this will take 60 to 90 minutes.  20 to 30 minutes before dough preparation, place the eggs on the counter so they can come to room temperature.

While the butter is softening, prepare the nuts.  I bought a can of cashew haves and pieces and chopped the halves into large pieces.  You don't actually need to use a knife, you can break them apart easily with your fingers. 

 

Combine flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda in medium sized mixing bowl.  Mix thoroughly with a fork. 



Crack and beat eggs in separate bowl.




Once the butter is soft (easily spreadable), place it in a large mixing bowl with the two sugars.  Use an electric mixer to cream the ingredients. Start the mixer on low and slowly increase the speed.  Creaming will take about 2 to 3 minutes and the end mixture should appear fluffy.

 

Next, add the eggs and vanilla extract to the bowl with the creamed butter and sugar.  Beat on low for 1 to 2 minutes, until thoroughly combined.




Once combined, add the flour mixture to the bowl in 4 segments, beating on low to medium speed.  Don't worry about mixing the dough perfectly between flour segments.  Just make sure you do not have visible veins of unmixed flour after all segments have been added.



You can use the mixer to incorporate the dried cranberries but do not use the mixer to fold in the nuts and chips.  This is best done with a wooden spoon or spatula.
     




When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 or 375 degrees.  I tried both temps and it did not make a difference in the cookies.  Lightly grease a metal cookie sheet and place 9 to 12 balls of dough on sheet.  Be sure to keep dough balls on the small side and leave room for the cookies to spread, they will.  If the cookies get too big they are prone to breaking when you try to take them off the sheet.  Bake for 10 minutes.



The cookies should be a medium brown when they come out of the oven.  If you take them out when they are light brown they will fall apart when you try and take them off the sheet!!  Be sure to let the cookies cool before removing them from the sheet (15 minutes).




I thought the cookies tasted pretty good but I might add more cashews and cranberries next time.  The cookies had a good texture, soft and chewy, just the way I like.  Next time I make the cookies, I will definitely add back in the 1/4 cup of flour I omitted.  The dough was a little stickier than I liked and I hope the addition of more flour will keep the cookies from spreading out so much on the pan.  Overall grade - B.

A Lunch Fit for a President

 A few days ago I stumbled on a Huffington Post article highlighting the menu for the inaugural luncheon that will be served at the US Capitol on Monday.  A luncheon, in some form, has been served during every inauguration since President McKinley's inauguration in 1897.  This year’s luncheon is being hosted by the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies, headed by Senator Charles E. Schumer of New York.

Usually, the menu for the luncheon features ingredients native to the President and Vice President’s home states.  However, this year the menu will feature ingredients from the chairman’s home state of New York.  I am not exactly sure why the menu doesn’t highlight products from Illinois, Hawaii, or Delaware.  Maybe the committee feels less of a need to follow tradition for a second inauguration?  Maybe Senator Schumer felt it was his right as chairman to throw some tasty bones to producers in his home state?  I believe the latter to be the more likely of the two. 

All I know for certain, the menu is making me green with envy.  I guess my invitation got lost in the mail.

First Course: Steamed lobster with New England clam chowder sauce, served on sautéed spinach with sweet potato hay.
Wine: Tierce 2009 Finger Lakes Dry Riesling (NY)
Main Course: Hickory grilled bison with wild huckleberry reduction, strawberry preserve and red cabbage, red potato horseradish cake, baby golden beets and green beans and butternut squash purée.
Wine: Bedell Cellars 2009 Merlot (Long Island, NY)
Dessert: Hudson Valley apple pie with sour cream ice cream and maple caramel sauce. Aged cheeses and honeycomb will also be served, including Toma Celena and Jersey Girl Colby from Cooperstown Cheese Company (Milford, NY).
Wine: Korbel Inaugural Cuvee (California)

As a lover of apple pie, I am crushing hard on the dessert course.  If I get inspired, I may make it myself.  The inaugural committee posted all the recipes; just in case you feel the need to bust out your best place settings and throw your own mock inauguration on Monday.  The site also features a video of Senator Schumer trying his hand at making the dessert.  It really should be titled Senator Schumer puts food on plate.

Ingredient 2 - Scallops

I selected scallops as my second ingredient because they scare me.  I have a fair amount of experience cooking chicken, beef, and pork, but I get nervous anytime I cook a new fish.  The first time I prepared uncooked shrimp, I paced my kitchen checking the timer every 45 seconds.



Scallops are mollusks.  We eat the white muscle that opens and closes the scallops two shells.  They can be found in all of the world’s oceans but most wild scallop fisheries are found of the coasts of the Northeastern United States, Eastern Canada, and Japan.  Sea and bay scallops are in season October through March.  However, frozen sea scallops are available all year round. 
When selecting scallops, fresh scallops should have white firm flesh with no browning.  They should be odorless or smell slightly sweet.  They can be refrigerated for up to two days after purchase.  Frozen scallops should be solid and shiny and the inside of the packaging should be free of frost. 

Before going to Whole Foods to purchase my scallops, did a little reading on the America’s Test Kitchen website.  Their site explained it is preferable to buy dry scallops.  Wet scallops are are chemically treated with a solution of water and sodium tripolyphosphate.  This solution is used to increase shelf life and retain moisture.  I asked the man who assisted me if the scallops I was purchasing were wet of dry.  Apparently, they were wet.  I thought for sure that Whole Foods would have sold dry scallops; maybe dry scallops are fairly hard to come by?  

Pan seared and sashimi are my two favorite ways to enjoy scallops.  And because I have no desire to try and prepare sashimi at home, I decided to pan sear my scallops.  After a bit of browsing, I settled on a recipe for Lime Seared Scallops with Spinach and Candied Walnuts from the Whole Foods website.  I was in love with the recipe after first sight.  A simple marinade, sautéed spinach, and candied nuts, I was sold.
          


The recipe serves six, but I decided to half it.  I began by dicing the shallot (1 clove), garlic (1 clove) and tarragon (1/2 tsp) for the marinade. 
   



These Ingredients were placed in a shallow baking dish along with the olive oil (2 tsp).  I then juiced half a lime and added the scallops (1 lb) to the marinade.  I gently turned the scallops a few times to ensure they were fully coated.




Right as I was putting the scallops in the fridge to marinate, I realized I had forgotten the lime zest.  I decided not to sweat it and grated the zest (1/2 tsp) right on top of the scallops.  I do not have the best grater, so I spend a good five minutes banging the zest out of my grater.



While the scallops were marinating in the fridge (20 minutes), I candied the walnuts.  I did not make a half batch of nuts because candying an 1/8 of a cup of nuts seemed silly.  Despite my attempts to continuously shake the nuts, I had to get out a wooden spoon and stir them to prevent a giant nut cluster from forming.

 



Once the nuts were finished, I prepared a paper towel mat to dry the scallops before cooking.  Gently patting the scallops dry before cooking allows the scallops to gain a nice brown crust from the direct heat.



After the scallops were dry, I placed 2 teaspoons of oil in the pan brought it to medium heat.  I placed the scallops in the pan for 2 1/2 minutes before turning them with tongs and cooking them on the other side for the same amount of time.  Once cooked, I immediately placed the scallops on a covered plate to keep warm.

I cooked my scallops in two batches because America’s Test Kitchen said not to let the scallops touch when cooking and I wanted plenty of room to make turning them easy.  I probably could have gotten them all in one pan if I had worked from the outside in when initially placing them in the pan.



Once all the scallops were cooked, I attempted to deglaze the pan with lime juice (juice of 1/2 a lime) like the recipe says.  However, I failed miserably.  The contents of my pan were charred and looked inedible.  There was no way I was putting it on my scallops.

I believe the deglazing failed for one and or all of the following reasons.  1. I did not have enough lime juice for the job.  2. I did not remove the bits of tarragon, garlic, and shallot from the scallops before they went in the pan.  3. My pan got too hot.  I used my hottest burner for the job and had it hot for a while with the two batches.  However, America’s Test Kitchen recommends using high heat when searing scallops.  To be honest, I am not sure what is the best course of action.  Maybe next time I will use a recipe that calls for making a sauce in a separate pan.

After the deglazing debacle, I cut my losses, washed the pan, and prepared the spinach.  I placed a splash of olive oil (approximately 1 tsp) in the pan I brought to medium-low heat and sautéed 1 clove of chopped garlic.

  

Once the garlic had turned light brown, I added 1 package of baby spinach (5 oz) to the pan, turning it until all the spinach had wilted.  I am always amazed by how much spinach cooks down. 
Once wilted, I turned off the heat, added a few grinds of salt and pepper, and plated the spinach, scallops and nuts.



I thought the scallops came out pretty well.  I would give them a B.  I did not taste any lime but that is probably due to the fact I botched the sauce.  Next time I make scallops, I will likely prepare a risotto to fill out the meal.  The spinach and the nuts were both good.  Now that I have candied nuts stovetop; I am sure I will be including them in dishes any chance I get.