Have been cooking quite a bit, but not blogging as much. Need to get back on that.

It's been raining hard and steady here in SF, so yesterday did the Momofuku ramen broth which is really, really good. This is probably the 4th or 5th time I've made it, and this time I went pressure cooker. You don't have control over the simmer really, which leads to a cloudier broth, but the results are really good.

While I was making the broth, I roasted a tri tip and did some brussels with the momofuku octo vinaigrette for dinner. Tri tip was pepper corn crusted and salted a few hours prior to roasting with a chimichurri. Both came out fantastic.

Today I recycled the tri tip into a sandwich with a fresh, spicy aioli and some caramelized onions, aged white cheddar on dutch crunch while roasting a pork shoulder that I salt and sugared last evening. I've also salt and sugared a pork belly which I'm going to roast a bit later this evening.

All there is to do now is slow poach some eggs, though I've never loved the results tbh. Going to try a bit higher temp than most this time as I really need the white to be completely set - more like a soft boiled egg or standard poached egg than I've seen from the slow poaching technique.

Might actually try my hand at making alkaline noodles as well as I have some alkaline salt solution laying around along with bread flour.

damnnnnnnnn do want

Thanks for posting about the ramen broth Snipe. Between the 16th of December and the 2nd of January I only work 3 days, and with all that free time, I have been trying to think of what to cook. Momofuku ramen is pretty much at the top of my list, nice to see someone else has tried it. Makes me even more eager to try it!

Snipe did you defat the ramen broth before eating it? Seems with a pound of bacon it would be quite greasy.

Also, I read somewhere that the yield was a bit low. Did you find there to be enough for 4 people?

The fat is a big part of the ramen broth. Fatty, salty, umami packed flavor is what it's really all about. Some even go as far as adding minced fatback to the broth just before serving.

That said, with all my stocks, I tend to refrigerate overnight before skimming the fat. With the amount of bone and meat in the recipe, there's plenty of collegen and flavor.

Quick note - the recipe for ramen broth requires tare, which is basically a chicken infused teriyaki sauce. This is not optional, but rather a necessary component as it adds all the salt along with additional depth of flavor. The first time I tasted the broth, I was impressed, but underwhelmed at first. After tasting with the tare I understood all the hyperbole about it being the other half of the equation. I understood the charming individuality of how each ramen shop carefully crafts their own tare with various drippings and such.

Also - for any Costco goers - it's pretty good for this recipe as you can pick up a couple of whole chickens there along with the pound of applewood smoked bacon you need. The double pack of chickens will yield the legs, thighs, and wings - which gets you to about 4 lbs - while the wing tips, backs, and carcasses can be used for the tare. The breasts can be saved while the giblets can be fed to your dog for max efficiency.

lol no way my dog is getting the giblets, that's the best part! Fry 'em up in bacon fat with extra salt and eat them while they're still too hot.

Did the Heston chicken with 2 limes instead of a lemon and found it noticeably better. Left it to rest in the oven for ~30 minutes after the second cooking phase and it was a perfect temperature to eat after coming back from a run.

Made Kumbu stock braised daikon with spicy miso glaze per this recipe: http://www.tastingtable.com/entry_de..._recipes/11607. Really happy with how it turned out.

Second picture also shows bok choy salad and red pepper and avocado chickpea dips.

What is the point of the rice in the daikon recipe?

Originally assumed it was starches or something but after some googling it appears that the rice helps cook the daikon softer and more quickly and removes the astringent/harsh flavors.

http://books.google.com/books?id=43p...0water&f=false.

http://edibleearthscape.wordpress.co...daikon-steaks/

Saw a nice dish made on The Layover (Toronto) the other day, and tried to replicate it last night from what I could remember from the episode:



Takes 10 mins total (bought pre-peeled & deveined prawns).

Tasted very nice.

Hollowed out cucumber with prawns cooked in lime juice, chilli, garlic & cilantro and then topped with feta and green onions

that looks awesome, i'm going to try it

Cooks,

I made some chicken cutlets (breast meat left, thigh meat right):



Came out perfect!:



Technique:

Flatten to about 1/3 in thick.
Dredge in flour.
Dip in egg.
Dredge in breadcrumbs (with salt/pepper/seasoning salt/paprika mixed in).
Heat a few tablespoons of grapeseed oil a little higher than medium.
Cook about three minutes each side til golden brown.

El D,

What did you eat them with. They look tasty even by themselves, but I could imagine them being a very nice part of something more.

Melk,

This was just a lunchtime experiment (had no idea how they'd turn out) so I hadn't prepared anything else and just ate them w/ some BBQ sauce and some ketchup-mayo-sriracha combo sauce.

Made xmas bfast: mascarpone cream cheese pancakes with homemade apple butter and of course bacon. Pretty tasty, imo

Trying to work on my crappy presentation skills, fire away





Roasted almonds added:






Bonus: I'm not gonna lie, this is best homemade almond toffee on the planet:

Impulse bought myself a pasta maker.

looks great!

I just bought one too, and can't wait to start making all sorts of pasta.

Omnomnom the pancakes and toffee!

yim, Phat:

Big thumbs up to both!

That looks damn good! Which one did you buy? Anything stand out you like or don't like about it?

Cooks,

Baked marinated chicken breast: This requires me to either put the chicken into a plastic bag with the marinade + chicken (seems wasteful to throw out a plastic bag every time I cook) or fill a shallow dish with the marinade + chicken (requires a ton of marinade that also seems wasteful).

Am I missing an easy solution to this pretty trivial problem?

you could wash the plastic bag

Err, tupperware?