GardenFork – Eclectic DIY

Category: Cooking – Recipes

  • The Best Banh Mi Vietnamese Sandwich in NY

    The Best Banh Mi Vietnamese Sandwich in NY

    Recently we were working on a paint job in Sunset Park Brooklyn, and we realized that Brooklyn’s Chinatown was just a few avenues away. Tony, ( who works with me in addition to  writing recipes for GardenFork ) and I had previously visited Thanh Da II ( 5624 8th Avenue, Brooklyn NY ) in Brooklyn’s Chinatown after reading about this Banh Mi sandwich place in the NY Times.

    brooklyn banh mi sandwich
    Eric's Favorite Banh Mi Sandwich

    There are now 4 Banh Mih sandwich places in our neighborhood in Brooklyn, the Ban Mih sandwich craze has reached the point where it was focus of a story on the NPR show This American Life.

    According to Wikipedia:

    Bánh mì or bánh mỳ (English pronunciation: /ˈbʌnmiː/, Vietnamese: [ɓǎːɲ mî]), literally biscuit or cake (Bánh) and flour or wheat (mì), is a Vietnamese baguette made with both wheat and rice flour, but more popularly known as a type of sandwich traditionally made with this type of baguette.[1] There are many global and regional variations of the sandwich, but the most common version features thinly sliced pickled carrots and daikon (known as đồ chua), cucumbers, cilantro, chili peppers, pâté, mayonnaise and various meat fillings or tofu. Popular bánh mì fillings include roasted or grilled pork, steamed or roasted pork belly, Vietnamese sausage, chicken, head cheese and ham.

    The Banh Mi sandwich is a mash up of eastern and western cultures. The French brought their baguette sandwiches of vegetables to Vietnam, and the Vietnamese made it their own.

    Thanh Da Banh Mih shop

    We’ve tried a few of the place in our neighborhood, but the Banh Mi sandwiches at Than Da II win. They are really good. Especially the #4, a BBQ Pork Banh Mi sandwich that I order every time I go to Thanh Da.

    dried mushrooms in brooklyn's chinatown

    An added bonus to going to Thanh Da is getting to check out the asian grocery stores in Brooklyn’s Chinatown. I wish I had a tour guide when I walk the sidewalks and try to figure out what the merchants are selling. Some of the stores write out the items in English, but most don’t. Lots of mushrooms and dried items and tons of fresh fish.

    Tony checks out the produce
    what are these?

    So if you are coming to New York, and want to get off the tourist track, come to Brooklyn’s Chinatown, and then walk over to Sunset Park for real mexican food.

  • Summer Salad with Maple Blue Cheese Dressing Recipe

    Summer Salad with Maple Blue Cheese Dressing Recipe

    If this salad looks simple, that's because it is! Cool down with a summer salad with Maple Blue Cheese Dressing and lots of crumbled bacon.

    I love Blue Cheese dressing with my hot wings or salad. It’s tangy, salty, and creamy with a rich blue-veined flavor. There’s quite a few varieties available, but Roquefort, Stilton, and Gorganzola work the best. You don’t need much, but do get a good Blue Cheese. I like Danish Saga, it’s less salty and much creamier than Roquefort. I found that crumbled cheese is usually much cheaper than the block since it’s made from what’s left after cutting. Everything else you probably have in the fridge. Let’s get busy.

    Danish Blue Saga has more body than Roquefort, and it's less salty.

    Maple Blue Cheese Dressing

    • 1/2 cup crumbled Danish Blue Saga
    • 1/3 mayonnaise
    • 1/3 sour cream
    • 1 tsp maple syrup
    • 2 tbsp white vinegar
    • 1/4 tsp powdered garlic or 1/2 tsp minced garlic
    • 3 tbsp crumbled bacon (optional)

    In a small bowl add cheese and garlic into the mayonnaise and sour cream and mix. Make sure not to overwork the dressing, you do want some chunks of cheese in there. Then add maple syrup and a little vinegar and mix well. Adjust ingredients to suit your taste. I always add more Blue Cheese.

    Crumbled bacon is optional but I never leave it out. Cut streaky bacon into 3″ strips. Coat a hot skillet with a little oil. Cook the fattiest pieces first to make enough fat for frying. Fry until evenly golden, drain fat, cool and crumble into small pieces. Add about 3 tbsp of bacon to the dressing, reserve the rest for the salad.

    My friend Lindsey says her mother makes some kick-ass Blue Cheese Dip. Mrs. McCosh was more than happy to share her recipe with us. This Midwestern classic dip is made with Roquefort and cottage cheese. It’s light with a hearty texture — guaranteed to take the sting out of any hot wing.

    The bluest of the blues — Roquefort is an age-old classic cheese.

    Mrs. McCosh’s Blue Cheese Dip

    • 1/2 cup Roquefort Cheese
    • 1/2 cottage cheese, small curds
    • 1/2 yogurt
    • 3 tbsp white vinegar
    • 1 tbsp sugar
    • 1/4 tsp dried dill
    • 1 tsp minced garlic

    Dissolve sugar in the vinegar and set aside. Crumble Roquefort in a bowl using a fork then add the rest of the ingredients and mix well, salt an pepper to taste. The cottage cheese hold everything together perfectly, lumps and all. Adjust ingredients to your taste. Pour Blue Cheese dressing into a container and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before serving. It’s served best the next day — then it’s thick enough to stand a fork.

    For salad, tear Romaine lettuce into bite sized pieces, toss with thinly sliced white onion and red grapes and plate up serving portions. Add hard boiled egg and drizzle Blue cheese dressing, and (optionally) top with more bacon. Diner is served!

  • How to make easy pie & pastry crust by Chez Pim – a video how to

    How to make easy pie & pastry crust by Chez Pim – a video how to

    Trying to actually chart how I find cool people and neat stuff on the web can be interesting. I was showing my sister the Tartine Bread video made by 4SP films, and I saw that 4SP also had produced a video about Chez Pim making a pie – pastry crust. The recipe is super simple, what really interested me was the technique of making the dough by hand on a piece of marble. So many of us – me included – pull out the food processor to make pie crust. Next time I’m using Chez Pim’s method shown here in this well done video:



    Pim has published a book, The Foodie Handbook, information is on her website here.

  • Artisan bread in 5 minutes a day using a dutch oven update

    Artisan bread in 5 minutes a day using a dutch oven update

    I’ve been making bread using the Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day method, ( we made a GF video about artisan bread here ) and the original recipe calls for placing the dough on a bread peel to rise, then sliding it onto a pizza stone in the oven to bake. This pizza stone method yields a good loaf, but after baking bread with the No Knead Bread Recipe, ( here’s a video we made about the No Knead Bread Recipe ) I wanted to get that crunchy bread oven style crust on the Artisan Bread, so I thought I’d try using a dutch oven to bake the artisan bread. I’ve been baking the Artisan Bread in a cast iron dutch oven with good success.

    the dough stores in the fridge in this container

    If you are new to the Artisan Bread in 5 minutes a day method, you make a large amount of bread dough and it stores in your fridge. The beauty of this is that you don’t have to think ahead if you want to make bread. Just grab a hunk of dough, preheat your oven and dutch oven, and bake.

    risen dough floured and scored

    I had been having problems scoring or cutting the top of the dough to get those neat cuts in the bread, then I read that flouring the top of the loaf before scoring it allows the knife to cut easier.

    not bad for baking in a propane oven I got out of a camper

    I let the dough rise on a piece of parchment paper, then grab the corners of the parchment paper and lower the risen dough into the preheated dutch oven. Its ok to have some of the parchment paper sticking out of the sides of the lid.

    To bake the Artisan Bread in 5 in a dutch oven, I bake it in a 450F oven, and bake the dough with the dutch oven lid on for 30 minutes, then I remove the lid and bake the bread for another 20-30 minutes with the lid off.

    I’m really amazed at the bread I’ve been able to make with this and the No-Knead Bread Method. Check out the Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes site here.

    What have your experiences been? let us know below:

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  • How to make Pesto, Parsley Pesto : GardenFork.TV Video

    How to make Pesto, Parsley Pesto : GardenFork.TV Video


    Looking for a pesto recipe? or how to make pesto? Watch our Pesto Recipe with a new twist, we’ll use parsley instead of basil. This same recipe works great for basil pesto BTW. Parsley is super healthy and easily found in the store or your backyard garden.

    Eric’s Parsley Pesto Recipe

    1 bunch of flat leaf parsley

    2 cups grated Romano cheese

    1 cup walnuts, whole or chopped

    1 clove garlic, crushed

    quality extra virgin olive oil

    Grab your bunch of parsley and swish it around in a large bowl of water or you salad spinner filled up with water.

    Cut off about 2 inches of the stem end off the parsley bunch. Then cut the parsley bunch into thirds, drop into a salad spinner and spin away. You want to remove as much of the water as possible. If you don’t have a salad spinner, you can roll up the parsley leaves in a dish towel to dry them out.

    Add the parsley to your food processor, and pour in about 1/4 cup of the olive oil. About 6 glugs, I think.

    Turn on the food processor and get the parsley cut up and mixed in with the oil.

    Take the walnuts and toss them into a pan and toast them lightly. Don’t forget them on the stove, as they burn easily. I know this from experience.

    Take the grated cheese and walnuts and crushed garlic and add to the food processor.

    Top off with more olive oil, 6 glugs or so, and turn on the processor. If the machine sounds like it is bogging down, add more oil. Process to the consistency you like. I like it not over-processed.

    You can now add this to pasta or spread on bread or garnish soups with. Its real good.


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    What do you think? Do you have a pesto recipe or suggestion or idea? Let us know below:

  • How to grow rhubarb & a rhubarb crisp recipe : GardenFork.TV

    How to grow rhubarb & a rhubarb crisp recipe : GardenFork.TV

    Growing and Cooking Rhubarb was one of the first how to videos GardenFork made, and as our rhubarb plants are just now popping out of the cold soil, I thought it a good time to pull one of our shows from the archive and repost it for those who may not have watched it.

    Eric’s Rhubarb Crisp Recipe

    1 quart of rhubarb chopped into roughly 1/2″ pieces

    1/4 cup sugar ( you can add more if you like, but i think this works best )

    Zest from 1/2 of a large lemon or all of it from a small lemon ( you can also use orange zest of a mix of lemon and orange ) and some juice from the lemon or orange.

    3/4 of a stick of butter, cold ( leave in fridge until you need it )

    1/2 cup flour

    3/4 cup brown sugar

    1/2 cup walnuts

    1/2 cup oatmeal – old fashioned style, rolled oats is best

    1/2 teaspoon cinnamon – Penzy’s Spice has real good cinnamon

    mix together the rhubarb, regular sugar, lemon/orange zest, and lemon/orange juice in a bowl and let it sit while you make the crisp, ( the part that goes on top of the rhubarb )

    Get out your food processor and put in the cold butter, which you’ve chopped into cubes, add the flour and brown sugar with the cinnamon pulse this until the flour coats the butter and breaks it up a bit. It should still look chunky, not like sand.

    Then add the walnuts and oats into the flour butter mix in the food processor , and pulse a few more times to mix them in and chop up the walnuts a bit. Over pulsing is bad here. Err on the side of less mixing.

    Grease a 8″ baking dish. The glass ones are best for this, I think. Pour in the rhubarb mix and then cover the rhubarb with the flour oat butter mixture. Don’t over think this, the flour oat mix doesn’t have to be a super even layer over the rhubarb.

    Put this in a preheated 375 degree oven for about 45 minutes. As always, your oven temp and baking time will vary from mine. I think those new convection ovens bake faster than mine. But then my oven was pulled out of a junked camper trailer.

    The rhubarb crisp is done when the edges of the pan are starting to get burnt and the crisp is browning and the rhubarb bubbles a bit.

    This goes real well with our ginger ice cream recipe, watch our how to make ice cream video here and get the recipe as well.

  • Red Cabbage Slaw with Jicama Recipe

    Red Cabbage Slaw with Jicama Recipe

    Can you believe how intense this color of purple is? I love coleslaw, especially when it’s made with sweet red cabbage, jicama, and Granny Smith apples. Jicama is a tropical tuber originally from South America that has made it’s way into Asian cuisine. The cream white flesh has the crisp texture of a pear. It has a slightly sweet flavor that complements red cabbage well. It’s usually eaten as one would a radish. Making a small batch is almost impossible, so I usually make it for picnics or parties. It goes well with pork and lamb dishes, or just as a small salad before the main course. Red Cabbage Slaw has to macerate overnight, so plan ahead.

    You’ll need:

    • a large non-reactive bowl with a lid
    • a food processor,  a mandolin, or a large sharp knife
    • 1 medium size red cabbage, enough for 4 1/5*4 to 5 shredded cups
    • 1/2 red onion, sliced thin
    • 1/2 red bell pepper, sliced thin
    • 2 Granny Smith apples, diced
    • 1 cup jicama sliced into matchsticks
    • 1 tbsp sea salt
    • 1 tbsp black or toasted sesame seeds

    Dressing:

    • 1 cup cider vinegar
    • 1/2 cup olive oil or mayonnaise
    • 4 tbsp brown sugar
    • 1 tbsp seedless raspberry preserve
    • 1/4 cup dried currants, or golden raisins

    Remove the outer layer of leaves and slice red cabbage into quarters. Remove and discard the white core and the base, and shred the cabbage. If you don’t have a food processor or a mandolin, use a sharp knife and cut it as fine as you can. Peel, core, and dice two apples into 1/2″ cubes. Slice onion and red pepper into fine strips. Peel and cut jicama into matchstick strips. Place the cabbage, red pepper, onion, jicama, and black sesame seeds into a large bowl. Sprinkle with salt and mix well. Let it sit for 10 minute or until the cabbage starts to release some liquid.

    In a small bowl add brown sugar, raspberry preserve, and dried currant into the cider vinegar and olive oil. Mix until the sugar is dissolved and the raspberry preserve is evenly distributed.

    Pour the dressing into the bowl and mix everything again with your hands, break up any clumps. Cover and place in the fridge over night. Before serving, drain and toss again, adjust salt if needed. Red Cabbage Slaw keeps well in the fridge for abut a week as long as it’s kept covered.

  • The BKswappers Food Swap at the Brooklyn Kitchen

    The BKswappers Food Swap at the Brooklyn Kitchen

    This weekend I went down to New York City to go to Brooklyn to be part of Megan’s BKswappers event which was held at the Brooklyn Kitchen in Williamsburg Brooklyn or perhaps it’s Greenpoint – the border there is a bit fuzzy – but it was really fun as you can see from these pictures.

    From the potluck snack table

    The Brooklyn kitchen has a really nice large space that they use for classes and demonstrations and they were nice enough to allow Megan and Jane to host the BKswappers there. They opened the store a little bit early for us on a Sunday morning and we all just moved in. I forgot one detail but the food swap is also potluck and I forgot to bring anything – not surprising – but there was a ton of food there as you can see from these pictures.

    some of the foods offered for trade
    Hard Cider being bottled on premise for the swap

    How does a food swap work? We talked about how to have a food swap on GardenFork Radio with Megan, one of the hosts of BKswappers. To start you can email a group of friends and have everyone meet at someone’s house. Invite your friends to bring foods that they have made that they would like to trade for foods that other people have made. ( As your food swap gets larger, you can  use meetup.com for or eventbrite.com to organize your group )

    I brought honey, applesauce, pickles

    Everyone gets together at the appointed time and place ( name tags are suggested ) and they set out the foods they have brought on a table. Each food item, be it an apple pie or a jar of applesauce has a piece of paper ( an ‘offer slip’ ) in front of it describing what the item is and perhaps a brief note about how it was made, or what foods go well with, like hot dogs go well with ketchup. Underneath the description are  five numbered lines for swap offers.

    An offer to swap is made by writing on the slips

    Perusing the table of food that is to be swapped, people decide what they would like to trade for and jot down on the ‘offer slip’ next to the food item they are interested in what they want to offer that person in trade.
    There’s also a lot of socializing that goes on while everyone is checking out the table, and people are eating all the fun food brought for the potluck. People brought apple pie, donuts with bacon, egg salad, duck rillet, several cheese plates, a citrus salad. All really great stuff.

    Bacon Donuts. wow.
    Food-a-rama at the potluck table

    So while you’re looking at the foods that you want to swap for, you’re getting to eat food as well. nice.
    Some people put on the potluck table a sample of what they’re offering to trade. For example, someone brings bags of cookies they want to trade; they might put out one bag of the cookies on the potluck table to give people a taste of the cookies that they are offering up for trade. Which is pretty cool.
    There is a lot of socializing the goes on the whole time while everyone’s eating all the snacks from the potluck.
    At a given time Megan and Jane announce:  okay it’s time to do the swaps. People then look at slips of paper ( the offer slips ) next to the food items that they have offered up and see what people are offering. It is usually five or six people that offer to trade. You pick which one you like to trade for you go find the person and “say sure I’d like to trade my pickles for your applesauce”. Then your trade is done.

    An action photo of the swapping of food

    The BK swappers event is is really well-established now, they were written up in the New York Times recently ( article link here ) and that made the turnout even higher. I think there were about 40 people, from the pictures you can see it’s jam packed with super nice people.
    While at the food swap I learned about making sauerkraut from a fellow food swap attendee. I spoke with another guy that made hard cider – there is a picture of him drawing off a little mini keg here. The best item from the potluck table were some little mini doughnut pillows with the icing and bacon on them , yum.

    Megan, aka Brooklyn Homesteader, is one of the hosts of BKswappers

    So a big thank you to Megan and Jane and thank you to the Brooklyn kitchen for hosting as well. you can find out more about BK swappers here.
    FYI We interviewed Megan about how to start or host your own food swap and here is a link to that GardenFork Radio episode.

  • Twice-cooked Rice Cakes: A Leftover Rice Recipe

    Twice-cooked Rice Cakes: A Leftover Rice Recipe

    Don’t throw out that rice! Instead make this twice-cooked side dish. It’s easy to make and it only takes about 15 minutes. It’s rich and creamy and similar to risotto but closer to a Japanese onigiri (rice ball). This recipe serves two.

    You’ll need;

    • a small covered sauce pan
    • a wooden spoon
    • a square or round cooking ring
    • 1 1/2 cups cooked, leftover rice
    • 3/4 cup chicken broth
    • 2 tbsp butter
    • 1 tbsp olive oil
    • 1/4 tsp of spices to your taste: powdered onion, garlic, parsley,  pepper, oregano, thyme… etc.
    • 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese.
    • 1/2 tsp sea salt, to taste

    Add chicken broth, butter, salt, and spices to a small sauce pan and bring to a boil. Lower heat to medium and add cooked rice. Stir often with a wooden spoon until most of the liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat and add grated Parmesan cheese and olive oil, mix well, cover, and let it set for 5 minutes. Put rice into cooking rings and pack well, then remove the ring. If the rice does not release easily from the ring, run a wet butter knife around the inside edge. Top it with more grated Parmesan or dried bonito flakes. You have to admit this is pretty impressive for leftover rice.

  • Red Bean Paste: A Sweet Asian Puree Recipe

    Red Bean Paste: A Sweet Asian Puree Recipe

    Azuki, a small dark red bean, is the second largest Asian crop next to soybean. It’s the main ingredient in sweet Red Bean paste. Red bean paste and candied Red Bean are sold in Asian markets all year round, but usually they’re used in fall harvest desserts as pastry filling (Chinese moon cakes), light snacks (Japanese zenzai and anko), and sweet soups (Korean patjuk). This highly prized confection can be coarse or smooth. It has a taste similar to chestnut puree and pine nuts and is as smooth as pumpkin filling. It’s easy to make… and even easier with a blender. This recipe makes 4 cups.

    You’ll need:

    • a large pot with lid for soaking and boiling
    • a blender
    • a large mixing bowl
    • a large colander
    • 2 cups of dried azuki beans
    • lots of water
    • 3/4 cup sugar
    • 1tbsp salt
    • 1 tsp powdered ginger
    • four drop of vanilla
    • 1/2 cup unsalted butter (optional)

    Soak Your Beans
    As with most beans, azuki must be soaked and rinsed. In a large pot add beans and enough water to cover up to 2″ above the beans. Cover and soak overnight in a cool place (the fridge). Soaking overnight conditions the beans for boiling. Next day, drain and rinse beans until the water runs clear, then soak them again in clean water for another 6 hours at room temperature. Be sure to add enough water as before.

    Boil ‘Em
    Place the covered pot on hight heat until it boils, then lower the heat to medium and cook until the beans are very soft — roughly 2 hours. Add more water to the pot if the needed and stir every 20 minutes. When they are done, the skins should separate from the beans and they should mash easily with a wooden spoon. Check by crushing them on a cutting board. Be sure to rinse the pot clean, you’ll be using it again.

    Puree
    Drain the beans and reserve the hot liquid. In a blender add 1 1/2 cups of beans and enough of the reserved liquid water to cover 1″ above the beans. Set to puree and blend until smooth. Pour half the batch back into the clean pot. Add another cup of beans to the blender and puree, add more of the reserved liquid if needed. Repeat until the entire batch is blended.

    Simmer Down
    Set the heat to medium, add sugar, salt, ginger, and vanilla to the pureed beans and stir constantly to prevent burning. Simmer and stir until it is reduced to the consistency of thick fudge. Pour the finished bean paste into a mixing bowl and allow it to cool. It should have a deep purple-red color. For a velvet smooth texture add unsalted butter and mix well before it cools down completely. Store away into sealed jars and keep refrigerated.

    Foot note: Although butter is not a traditional ingredient, my grandmother would add refined lard to preserved red beans and Red bean Paste. It gave these preserves an incredibly smooth texture and a deep red color. In this age of chocolate covered bacon and rendered duck fat spreads this is not so far-fetched. If can find a quality refined leaf-lard, use this instead.

    You can keep red bean paste refrigerated for up to two months, but it’s best when used fresh. Use it as a sweet spread on pancakes or as a pastry filling. I like it with cream cheese on a toasted bagel at breakfast. If you make your own ice cream try this as a new flavor.

  • Not-so-sloppy Joe: A Ketchup Recipe

    Not-so-sloppy Joe: A Ketchup Recipe

    Ever wonder what to do with that drawer full of Ketchup and Plum sauce packets? The answer is  Sloppy Joe! I have such fond memories of the 70’s and Sloppy Joe Night that I barely remember that we were in a recession. Sloppy Joe served on a TV tray while watching gun Smoke! This is one of my favorite cheap eats, and you probably have most of the ingredients already. This recipe feeds four.

    You’ll need:

    • a medium size skillet with lid
    • 3/4 pound ground beef
    • 1/2 pound of diced canned tomatoes (6. oz.)
    • 1/2 cup each, chopped: onion, bell pepper, parsley
    • 12 packets of take-out ketchup (1/2 cup)
    • 6 packets of take-out duck sauce (1/4 cup)
    • 2 tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
    • 1 tbsp hickory BBQ sauce (1 packet)
    • 3 tbsp olive oil
    • 1 tsp salt
    • liquid smoke (optional)

    Use these dried spices or an equal amount of a good dried BBQ seasoning.

    • 1/2 tsp each: cumin, oregano, thyme, black pepper
    • 1 tbsp dried basil
    • 1 tsp powdered garlic

    Step 1: Add 1 tbsp of oil to a hot skillet and brown ground beef, drain and discard excess liquid. Remove from the pan and set aside.

    Step2: Add 2 tbsp of oil to the skillet and add onion, bell pepper, and parsley and cover. Cook until bell peppers are soft. Lower heat to medium and add browned ground beef, dried spices, and salt. Cook for five minutes. Now add all the wet ingredients: ketchup, plum sauce, canned tomatoes, liquid smoke… etc. or a pack or dried BBQ seasonings. Cover and cook for 15 more minutes, stirring once or twice. It’s ready when the liquid has thickened. Serve it up on toasted bread topped with a crumbled layer of crushed potato chips… be sure to have it with a hot bowl of tomato soup.

  • Tostones: A Fried Plantain Recipe

    Tostones: A Fried Plantain Recipe

    Tostones are fried twice — that's what makes them so good.

    Plantains, a close cousin to bananas, are eaten when they are green, reddish black, or black depenging on the variety. The flesh is very firm, higher in starch and lower in sugar. They are prepared more as a root vegetable would be. A popular South American and Caribbean dish is tostones — twice-fried plantain chips. Tostones are easy to make, but there is a little trick to peeling plantains.

    Start by cutting off the tips and ends from each plantain, then  cut three to four shallow slits from tip to end.

    Loosen one section with your thumb and peel, then remove the rest of the skin. You’ll notice the skin peels off easily. The flesh should be very firm and creamy white or very light pink in color.

    Cut plantains into pieces that are 3/”4 to 1″ thick. If you’re not ready to cook, put them into a bowl of ice water and a little lemon to prevent them from turning brown. Drain and dry them when you’re ready to cook.

    Add vegetable or canola oil to a hot skillet — about 1/2″ deep or so. Check if oil is at frying temperature by placing a wooden spoon or chopstick into the pan. When bubbles form it’s fryin’ time. Place the plantain pieces into hot oil and fry until they are golden. Place them on a paper towel to drain.

    Deep frying soften the plantains, which is important for this next step: pressing. Flatten them gently, but don’t mash the hell out of them. I use a small “tostonera,” a wooden press, but the bottom of a coffee mug works just fine.

    Finally, place the flattened pieces back into the hot oil and fry them again until they are golden brown on both sides.

    Drain them on a paper towel and lightly salt while they’re still hot. I like adding a little powdered garlic and black pepper too. Tostones go well with eggs — they’re good with any dish that you’d serve French fries. If you make a big batch you can re-heat them in a toaster oven.

  • Frittata Squares: A Cooking Ring Recipe

    Frittata Squares: A Cooking Ring Recipe

    I’m really getting into these cooking rings. Here’s another square egg dish: Mushroom Frittata with red pepper, parsley, cheddar cheese, and onion. It’s important not to over-fill the rings, otherwise they’ll flow over the tops of the rings as they cook. You’ll add the eggs into the rings to make layers. Since this dish is finished by steaming in a non-stick, you won’t need much butter, but that’s entirely up to you.

    You’ll need:

    • non-stick pan with glass lid
    • 2 square cooking rings, 2.75″ square X 1.5″ deep
    • a flat spatula
    • 1/3 cup each, minced: onion, parsley, red pepper
    • 2 medium size Crimmini mushrooms, sliced
    • 1/8 cup course breadcrumbs
    • 1/8 cup grated cheddar cheese
    • 4 large eggs
    • 1/8 cup milk
    • 1/2 tsp powdered onion
    • dried chives
    • 1/4 cup water
    • salt and pepper
    • butter

    Cook the mushrooms. In a hot non-stick pan, melt a pat of butter and lay the mushrooms in flat, sprinkle a little salt. Lower heat to medium, and cover. The mushrooms should release liquid in about 5 minutes. Remove from pan when both sides are evenly browned.

    Melt another pat of butter in the pan and add bread crumbs, red pepper, onion, parsley and sprinkle them with a little salt and powdered onion. Cook until the red peppers are soft, then set them aside.

    Make this frittta in layers. With the burner on high, place 2 well-greased cooking rings in the pan and melt 1/2 tsp into each ring. Beat 2 eggs with a little milk and pour about 5 tablespoons into each ring. Lower heat to medium and let the eggs cook form a solid base — it’s OK if some egg spills out, just trim it off later. Now add some of bread crumb mixture, cover the pan and cook until the eggs start turning opaque.

    Remove the glass lid and add more bread crumb mixture and cheese. Pour the rest of the egg halfway up the ring. Cover and let eggs cook as before. Now pour the final layer — arrange mushrooms and pour the rest of the egg with some dried chives. Make sure the eggs sit about 1/4″ away from the top of the cooking ring. Turn heat up to high, add water to the pan and cover. Let the eggs steam until the tops rise slightly over the rings.

    Remove the eggs and rings from the pan — don’t be a hero, use a flat spatula. Let them sit for a minute to cool, the eggs should shrink away from the edges. If they do stick use a sharp knife to free the edges. Plate them and serve with cocktail sauce and aside of buttered toast with strawberry jam. Make this breakfast for two this weekend for someone special, use what you like for filling.

  • How to make cheese, ricotta cheese, queso blanco : GardenFork.TV

    How to make cheese, ricotta cheese, queso blanco : GardenFork.TV

    I’ve been wanting to show you all how to make cheese for a while now; basic soft cheese like ricotta or queso blanco is easy and gives you the basics to move into more involved cheeses. The homemade cheese recipe and some book recommendations are below the video.


    Click here for an Amazon search for books on how to make cheese. Plus I list the most popular books below.

    The GardenFork.TV Home Made Cheese Recipe

    Get the freshest best quality milk you can find for this. I have seen raw milk for sale now, but use it at your own risk.

    Measure out 2 cups of milk into a microwavable container, a Pyrex pitcher works well for me

    Add 1 teaspoon of Citric Acid, you can also use vinegar, if so, use 2 tablespoons of vinegar.

    Mix the milk and acid together

    Place the container of milk in your microwave and turn on high for 2 minutes

    The power rating of your microwave will determine how long to heat the cheese, you want to get the milk to at least 165F, but you can go up to 185F.

    When the milk has gotten hot enough, take it out and give it a stir, then let it set for a few minutes.

    Pour it thru a fine sieve into a bowl, this will separate the soft cheese from the liquid.

    Labradors love this liquid, called whey, by the way.

    After the cheese has drained, you are ready to eat. Add a bit of salt and honey to make it even better.

    ©2014 all rights reserved.

  • Square Poached Eggs: Using Metal Cooking Rings

    Square Poached Eggs: Using Metal Cooking Rings

    This is not a Photoshop trick, these poached eggs ARE square. I stopped into a baking supply store to pick up some Vanilla. As I passed by the kitchen gadgets section, I spotted cooking rings and recalled the podcast that I did with Eric: “How to Poach an Egg…”

    After looking over stainless steel diamonds, ovals, and circles, I picked the squares. I’ve found that a thicker bands distributes heat more evenly, a thinner gauge of metal is
    better suited for making stacked presentations. I wouldn’t call this a recipe, this is more of a description of how I used a metal cooking ring.

    You’ll Need:

    • a metal cooking ring, large enough for large 2 eggs
    • a non-stick frying pan with a glass lid
    • flat spatula for flipping
    • 2 large eggs
    • dried chives
    • salt or grated Parmesan cheese
    • 1/2 tsp unsalted butter
    • 1/2 cup water
    • small bowl

    Place cooking ring into the frying pan and bring pan to medium heat. Crack one egg into a bowl and let the egg white settle. Melt 1/2 tsp of butter in the cooking ring and pour some of the egg white into the ring to form a solid bottom, then add the rest of the egg. Add 1/2 cup of water to the pan and cover with glass lid.

    When the egg yolk starts to form a slightly opaque film, remove the glass lid and sprinkle some dried chives and salt or Parmesan cheese. Crack the other egg on top of the first egg, return cover and cook on medium heat for another 5 minutes, or longer if you like your eggs well done. With a flat spatula, transfer the cooking ring and egg to a plate. Let it cool for a minute and carefully remove the ring, and serve.

    When you slice through, you’ll notice that bottom egg will be more well-done, than the top layer of egg. Here’s an idea: beat an egg with ham, smoked salmon, red pepper, or caramelized onion and make the first layer into scrambled egg, then make the top layer a poached egg — two for one!

  • Blancmange: A Dessert Recipe from the UK

    Blancmange: A Dessert Recipe from the UK

    Some Brits fondly refer to blancmange (blə-mɒnʒ) as “shape,” probably because this rich, almond flavored dessert is usually set in small molds. It’s hardly diet food —  made with milk, cream, egg, and sugar; and thickened with Irish moss (carrageen). This custard from the UK is similar to other puddings such as Bavarian cream, vanilla pudding, and panna cotta. This recipe requires whole milk — non-lactose milk, soy, or skim milk will not set properly.

    Carrageen, better known as Irish moss is used a thickening agent, just as agar (red algae) is used in Asian foods. For this recipe I used dried carrageen, not “carrageenan” the commercially prepared extract. 1 oz. of dried carrageen will roughly set up as one cup of liquid. Irish moss can be purchased in dried bundles from online stores or from health food stores. Although not authentic to recipe, you can also substitute with gelatin or agar. Follow instructions to make 1/3 cup.

    Blancmange is a very rich dessert and is best plated as small servings with a flavored syrup or treacle drizzled over the top. This recipe makes 4 small servings, double the recipe to serve more.

    You’ll Need:

    • a medium size sauce pan
    • a medium, and a fine mesh sieve
    • 4 small molds or ramekins
    • a rubber spatula
    • 3/4 oz dried Irish moss (carrageen) or
      1/3 cup after soaking and rinsing
    • 3/4 cup whole milk
    • 1/2 cup cream
    • vanilla and almond extract
    • 1 whole star anisette
    • 6 cardamom pod, or 1/4 tsp ground cardamom
    • sliced rind of 1 lemon
    • 1  large egg
    • 2 tbsp caster sugar (fine sugar)

    In a sauce pan, bring whole milk and cream to a boil, add washed Irish moss, lemon rind, cardamom seeds (crush the pods first), star anisette, 1 tbsp caster sugar, and a few drops each of vanilla and almond extract. Lower heat and cover, allow to simmer for 25 to 30 minutes stirring occasionally. The Irish moss will have dissolved into the milk mixture to make a thick sauce. Remove from heat.

    Strain milk mixture through a medium mesh sieve, and with the spatula gently rub any remaining Irish moss. Be careful not to grate the dense fiber into the mixture. Strain once more through a fine sieve. The liquid should be smooth and thick.

    While the milk mixture is cooling down, separate egg white and egg yolk. Beat egg white until it forms stiff peeks. Add 1 tbsp caster sugar to egg yolk and mix well. Stir egg yolk into the milk mixture with a rubber spatula, then fold egg whites in until everything is evenly incorporated.

    Spray each mold with water then pour mixture evenly into small decorative molds. You can also use ramekins, or small round bowls. Tap the bottoms of each mold to free any air bubbles. Set molds on an even surface in the fridge for at least four hours, or overnight. The blancmange will set into a firm custard as it chills.

    When you’re ready to serve, set the molds in warm water for a few minutes. Use a sharp knife to free the edges if needed, then flip the mold over onto individual serving dishes. Heat up a little honey with strawberry or raspberry jam and drizzle it over the blancmange before serving. ©2011 all rights reserved

  • Mmmeatloaf: A Slow Cooker Recipe

    Mmmeatloaf: A Slow Cooker Recipe

    Slow Cooker Meatloaf
    Bet you didn't think you could make one of these in a slow cooker.

    A slow cooker brings to mind meals like all-day-long beef stew, chicken noodle casserole, and Super Bowl chili. But if you’re stuck at home all day, make a slow cooker meatloaf. It’s ready in just… five hours. So why would anyone use slow cooker to make meatloaf? It’s a great no-fuss meal that you can make while doing your chores. The first two meatloaves I made in my slow cooker were a bit dry in the center, even though it made a lot of liquid. After a little experimenting I found two things that help this stay moist and full of flavor: using moist, fresh, finely minced vegetables (onion, celery, bell  peppers, zucchini, etc.); searing the entire meatloaf before slow cooking.

    So get your mashed potatoes in order, make a small salad, and give this recipe a shot. This recipe feeds three people, it may sound like a lot of food, but it actually shrinks down in the slow cooker.

    Slow Cooker Meat Loaf Recipe

    You’ll Need:

    • a large electric slow cooker with a temperature setting (and timer)
    • a mixing bowl
    • a large nonstick frying pan
    • 2 wide flippers

    Ingredients:

    • 1/2 lb ground beef
    • 1/2 lb ground pork, or veal
    • 1/2 lb ground turkey
    • 2 tbsp olive oil
    • 1 large egg, beaten
    • 3/4 cup plain bread crumbs
    • 1 tbsp sea salt
    • 1 tbsp granulated garlic
    • 1 tbsp dried basil
    • 1 tsp dry thyme
    • 1 tsp, black pepper
    • 1/2 cup each: finely minced bell pepper (red or green), onion, celery, parsley
    • 1/2 cup chicken stock or other cooking liquid

    Glaze:

    • 3 tbsp ketchup or cocktail sauce
    • 1 tsp liquid smoke
    • 1/2 tsp dried mustard
    • 1 tsp Worcestershire

    Put ground meat into a mixing bowl with all dry ingredients and spices, mix well. Then add all finely minced vegetables (pssst, use the food processor) and egg and mix again until all ingredients are evenly distributed. On a cutting board, form a rectangular loaf that is shaped more like rounded brick than a loaf of bread. You’ll round off the top in the slow cooker later. Let it rest in the fridge for about half an hour.

    Add olive oil into a hot non-stick pan. Carefully lower the loaf into the pan and sear the bottom until its firm enough to flip over. Sear all sides evenly, to a light golden brown.

    Set the slow cooker to high, add a little olive oil, and set the meatloaf in carefully. With the back of a spoon round the top of meatloaf and adjust the sides to a good fit. Make sure there is about a 1/2″ of space from the inner edge of the slow cooker. Now add the chicken stock (or other cooking liquid). Cover and let it cook on high for two hours, then flip it over. Baste every hour or so. The meatloaf should release more liquid. If the liquid is deeper than 1/2″, remove some of it with a turkey baster.

    After four hours, turn the slow cooker down to medium heat and flip the meatloaf over once more. Mix up the ketchup glaze and spoon it generously over the top of your meatloaf. Replace cover and let it cook on medium for another hour. Set the slow cooker to warm until you’re ready to eat, then let it sit for 10 more minutes on a cutting board before serving.

    Be sure to drizzle some of that thick cooking liquid over the meatloaf before it hits the table, and serve it up with a generous helping of Parmesan & chive mashed potatoes and steamed carrots. ©gardenfork.tv  all rights reserved

  • Chicken Stock Recipe: Make It Yourself

    Chicken Stock Recipe: Make It Yourself

    Eric and I stopped into Naruto Ramen ( Park Slope, Brooklyn ) the other day for lunch. We were in awe of the oil-drum size stock pot they use for making their soup base (the scallion cutting machine is equally impressive). It was simmering with whole onions, Napa cabbage, peeled ginger root, kelp, pork and chicken bones — all that good stuff. The ramen lunch with gyoza was excellent.

    The Stock Pot at Noruku Ramen in Park Slope Brooklyn

    Stock and broth differ in that a stock uses both bones and meat. I prefer to make my own. I know what’s in it, especially the amount of salt. It’s a healthy, good use of bone, meat and vegetable scraps (mushroom stems, tops of peppers and carrots,  peelings, leek roots… etc.). Onions skins give it a warmer golden color than turmeric. As I cook I store everything into a large bag that I keep in the freezer. I use just about any vegetable except for squash, potatoes and yams. They tend to make the broth cloudy and starchy. A good soup stock isn’t hard to make, but it takes a watchful eye.

    You’ll Need:

    • 2 12 quart stock pots
    • 1 large colander
    • large mesh strainers, medium and fine mesh grades
    • large wooden spoon
    • 10 quarts of water
    • 1 lb of chicken scraps, skins and bones
    • 1 lb vegetable scraps
    • 3 tbs of sea salt
    • 2 tbs unrefined sugar
    • 1 whole fresh onion, peels and all
    • 8 cloves of garlic, whole and crushed
    • 1 tbs black pepper corns
    • scant sage and thyme to taste
    • peel from one orange

    Step 1: Bring a large stock pot of water to a fast boil and add salt and sugar. Add bones, meat and vegetables, then lower heat to simmer. Make sure that your contents are 2″ below the rim — remove water if needed. Add all herbs and spices. Cover and simmer for about 4 hours (or longer) on a low-medium flame. Stir occasionally. You’ll know it’s done when the broth has clarified and a silky layer of fat has risen to the top of the pot.


    Step 2: You’ll need another stock pot of equal volume. Remove  stock pot from heat and let it cool for about 30 minutes. Set up another large pot with a large colander and pour the hot stock through. Clean any residue from the first stock pot and set up a large medium grade mesh strainer. Pour the stock through. Clean residue from the other stock pot , set up and a fine grade mesh strainer and pour stock through once more. Discard all stock solids as you sieve.


    Step 3: Your stock should be translucent and golden. Finally, simmer the stock once more for another hour, or until it reduces to 90% of volume. Salt to taste. Let it cool and store away in containers. Stock freezes well in air-tight containers — you can keep it frozen for up to four months.

    Vegetable Stock
    To make a vegetable stock, follow the same instructions but use twice the amount of vegetables. Before you simmer brown everything first. Coat vegetables evenly with one cup of olive oil and roast them in the oven on a baking sheet.

    Seafood Stock
    If you’re making a seafood stock wrap everything in gauze — fish heads, tails, fins, skin, bones, shrimp and lobster shells. Fine bones and shells break down easily and tend to get gritty when they simmer. For this kind of a stock I would sieve everything through a gauze lined colander to catch any sediment.