I’m always surprised by the random cravings I get. For example, paella. I can probably count the number of times I’ve had paella on one hand. I can’t remember a particularly remarkable paella that I can point to in my memory as a definitive paella experience. Yes, I remember having paella in Barcelona but I also kind of remember thinking it was weird (oh the trips before I was super into food…). BUT for some reason I’ve been nursing a paella craving for MONTHS. Honestly, months.
Maybe it’s something about the combo of a one pot rice dish + the addition of a ton of seafood that I find calling my name. Not sure. But for whatever reason I set out in search of a paella recipe.
Continue reading »
(Photo via Happy Herbivore)
So, I don’t mean to over-hype the information that follows in this post but this is probably the best thing I’ve learned in the past year. And that’s saying a lot because I’ve legit been school for a large part of the past year.
As you know, I’m forever looking for ways to not only eat healthy(ish) but also to cook from scratch as much as possible. Beans are of course a great thing to incorporate into your diet because they are a.) a great meat substitute, b.) chockful of goodness (technical term) and c.) they taste great. The only problem is that the easiest way to consume beans is from a can and aren’t we all a bit freaked out about BPA? At various points in life I’ve bought dried beans but I could never quite get them too cook up as great as the stuff you get out of a can plus you have to pre-soak them.
Enter new cooking method.
Continue reading »
A few months ago I had the opportunity to visit the Middle East with about 24 other students/JVs from the Kellogg School of Management as part of a class called GIM (Global Initiatives in Management). We visited Bahrain, Oman, Abu Dhabi and Dubai for the purpose of learning about business in the region and to work on our group papers. I’ve always been intrigued by the Middle East and figured I’d visit Dubai at some point, so this trip was a great excuse to see more of the region AND not have to do any trip planning whatsoever.
While I was excited to travel with friends (new and newer), learn about business and just experience the Middle East, what I was most excited about was of course the FOOD. Middle Eastern food has been my jam for years. Falafels are probably on my list of top 10 foods and I’ve been killing Schwarmas for years. I know my way around a lentil, and who doesn’t love meat on a stick? Exactly. I knew this was going to be a good trip when upon landing in Bahrain for our first night in the Middle East (at around midnight) someone mentioned that they were going on a hunt for meat on a stick. My kind of people!
Here’s a look at some of what I ate over my two weeks in the Middle East…
Bahrain
I’ve been thinking a lot about this here blog these days. October will mark 6 years doing What’s On My Plate…. it’s crazy how time flies. I first started What’s On My Plate as a way to track recipes that I’ve tried that I’ve liked. Food blogging has definitely provided some fun opportunities and I’ve made a lot of great friends through the site/social media as well.
The question that I’ve been thinking about (or to be completely honest, thinking about thinking about because I haven’t put a ton of thought into it yet) is what’s next? I still love blogging and obviously still love food but I’d like to think of new ways to tie the two together… a different focus. Maybe I need to be less lazy about my recipe creation? Or perhaps spend more time looking at some of the interesting food stories in my new(ish) backyard? Or refocus on my photography skills (no pun intended)… Who knows, but maybe this new-found reflection is because Mercury is currently in retrograde. Who knows.
Or it could be because now is such a transitional time. With school over, the internship in full gear and the return to school on the horizon, there are a lot of questions about what’s next, where to next and other grand questions of life. It’s pretty exciting and daunting all at the same time but I honestly can’t complain.
Anyhoo…
During the final days of school I invited two of my faves over for a bit of a feast. I’ve been eyeing this recipe from the NY Times for David Chang’s (of Momofuku fame) Bo Ssam for months and months. And what better way to enjoy a huge hunk of pork than to celebrate the end of the year with friends? Continue reading »
Every once in a while you need a dessert that can pretty much be thrown together at a moment’s notice. This French Apple Cake is just that.
While I love hosting people for dinner, sometimes I just want a low-key catchup session that doesn’t involve washing every single dish and bowl that I own. This is where tea dates come in. It’s a great way to just sit on the couch and catch up on all of the randomness that has been going on in life. Since I have that sweet tooth I’m always inclined to have a little sweet treat on hand to nibble on.
Prior to one such tea date I decided that I wanted to make a new-to me dessert and headed over to David Lebovitz’s site which is one of my favourites especially since he is based out of Paris. I came across this apple cake and new that I had to make it. David had adapted the recipe from another one of my expat favourites, Dorie Greenspan who also happens to be an expert when it comes to all things dessert/pastry related so i had an inkling that this would be great. Continue reading »
I’m officially in the home stretch of my first year of business school. Yay! At this point I have a final and a take home final separating me from summertime. The past few weeks have been busy with visitors, weekend excursions and general lollygagging which means I’ve been super lazy about buying groceries. I honestly am not sure what I’ve been eating over the past few weeks because I really haven’t done a proper grocery shop in ages. Between runs to Whole Foods for one or two items I’ve had my share of takeout, but last night thought ‘enough is enough!’. The takeout train needed to end and I decided to come up with a meal based on what was in my fridge/freezer…
Enter: breakfast for dinner.
I had all the fixins in my fridge for a solid breakfast for dinner setup including eggs, bacon, English muffins, avocados etc. BUT I decided to get funky. For the longest time I’ve had pinned to my recipes inspiration board. Essentially you take frozen hash browns and make them in the waffle maker. Sooooo you end up with hash browns with a great ratio of crunchy bits. Perfection. I, however, decided to take it up a notch. Inspired by recent love of twice-baked potatoes I decided to mix in some minced garlic and shredded cheddar cheese to make the best hash browns EVER.
If you have a waffle maker you are golden. With a bit of cooking spray these should come out of the waffle maker super easy. These also come out perfectly cooked and with just the right amount of crunch. If you don’t have a waffle maker I think you could totally make this into “pancakes” and just fry up these suckers.
These will be a welcome addition to your breakfast lineup.
Cheesy Garlicky Hash Brown Waffles
2 cups Frozen hash browns (thawed OR shred your own potatoes)
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
2 cloves minced garlic
Salt and pepper, to taste
A bit of cooking spray or oil for the waffle maker
Heat waffle maker.
While waffle maker is heating up combine hash browns, cheese, garlic, salt and papper in a bowl until well-mixed.
When waffle maker is heated, divide hashbrown mixture throughout waffle maker. Allow to cook for approximately 5 minutes (expect a bit of steam/smoke and feel free to open the waffle maker to make sure all is good) or until golden and potatoes are good.
Makes approx. 2 waffles.
Back to blogging! The school year is winding down which is kind of crazy and kind of sad. While I’m super excited for my summer gig it will definitely be a bit of an adjustment getting back into working mode. It will NOT be an adjustment having no homework though. Hollllerrr!
Spring quarter is basically the fun quarter since you’re already into your routine, recruiting is behind you AND the weather is nice. To say I’ve been having a blast this quarter is an understatement.
So a few weeks back I got a last minute invite to a Cinco de Mayo potluck/party. Problem was people had already signed up for mains and apps and I didn’t want to just contribute booze so I started looking for Mexican-ish dessert ideas. This lead me to the Alfajor. Apparently they originate in Spain and Latin America which totally works with the Cinco De Mayo theme. For the uninitiated the alfajor is a somewhat crumbly cookie that is often filled with dulce de leche or jam and can be dipped in chocolate or dusted with powdered sugar. In my opinion they are just crack.
It’s moments like this that I wonder if I’m a masochist. Here I was going to a dinner party with people I don’t know in about 2 hours and here I was about to attempt something I’ve never ever made before. Isn’t the number one rule of dinner parties to make something familiar? Not if you’re me. I guess I like to live dangerously.
I did a lot of digging and settled on this recipe from CHOW as my source recipe for the alfajores. Perhaps the coolest thing about this recipe is that it calls for 1 cup of cornstarch and only 3/4 cups of flour. This makes for a super crumbly cookie. I substituted rum for the pisco or brandy in the recipe since it’s what I had on hand. The dough is also a bit of a bitch to work with. It’s hard to get it to stay together BUT it is forgiving in that you can re-roll is a bunch of times and not really mess it up too bad.
These cookies are honestly my new favourite thing to make. Since that Cinco de Mayo party I’ve made them two more times and I kind of want to make another batch right now. It’s hard to resist buttery goodness with a layer of dulce de leche.
Do it.
Alfajores
1 cup cornstarch
3/4 cup all-purpose flour, plus more as needed
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon fine salt
8 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 stick), at room temperature
1/3 cup granulated sugar
2 large egg yolks
1 tablespoon pisco or brandy
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup Dulce de Leche, at room temperature
Powdered sugar, for dusting
Place the cornstarch, measured flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl and whisk briefly to combine; set aside.
Place the butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix on medium speed, stopping the mixer to scrape down the sides of the bowl once with a rubber spatula, until the mixture is light in color and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the egg yolks, pisco or brandy, and vanilla and mix until incorporated, about 30 seconds. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl. On low speed, gradually add the reserved flour mixture and mix until just incorporated with no visible white pockets, about 30 seconds.
Turn the dough out onto a piece of plastic wrap, shape it into a smooth disk, and wrap it tightly. Place in the refrigerator until firm, at least 1 hour.
Meanwhile, heat the oven to 350°F and arrange a rack in the middle. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
Remove the dough from the refrigerator, unwrap it, and place it on a lightly floured work surface. Lightly flour the top of the dough. Roll to 1/4-inch thickness (the dough will crack but can be easily patched back together). Stamp out 24 rounds using a plain or fluted 2-inch round cutter, rerolling the dough as necessary until all of it is gone.
Place the cookies on the prepared baking sheets, 12 per sheet and at least 1/2 inch apart. Bake 1 sheet at a time until the cookies are firm and pale golden on the bottom, about 12 to 14 minutes. (The cookies will remain pale on top.) Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Flip half of the cookies upside down and gently spread about 2 teaspoons of the dulce de leche on each. Place a second cookie on top and gently press to create a sandwich. Dust generously with powdered sugar before serving.
Recipe via CHOW
Man oh man! Where does time go? My last post was January 30th and here we are sitting at the end of March. Needless to say the past few months have been kind of crazy… “kind of” being a serious understatement. I’m actually writing this as I listen to Justin Timberlake’s new CD while sitting in a hotel room in Muscat, Oman. Yup, I’m in the Middle East for two weeks over spring break for a class. There will likely be a post on this at some point.
So, what made the past few months so crazy? Going into business school everyone warned that winter quarter (January to March) is basically the worst because it’s recruiting season. To summarize, every first year gets worked up into a tizzy trying to find a 10-week internship for the summer. Into. A. Tizzy. Me included. I did a lot of consulting recruiting which means a lot of case prep which in layman’s terms means meeting classmates for over an hour everyday to practice cracking business cases in preparation for interviews. Then (if you’re lucky – i was) you get the chance to interview with the big companies and hope you get passed onto the second round and ultimately get that job. Second rounds are generally in the city where you would be working so you’re likely missing class for classes that you haven’t been paying attention in because you’ve been so focused on recruiting. Then, heaven forbid you don’t get one of those jobs upfront (I didn’t) and you have to do an off-campus job search which means there’s no clear ending in sight as to when you will secure your 10-week summer gig. So I dubbed February the month of rejection and decided to go out on a limb and take chances on a few things because in February, rejection was the name of the game. It was actually more fun than it sounds because when you expect rejection and it happens it’s less awful and if you don’t get rejection then things are that much more fun. Unless it makes things more confusing (it did…twice) and then you are like WTF!?!?!
With the month of rejection behind me I dubbed March the month of tying up loose ends. The best loose end is that I found a summer gig. Luckily right before spring break in the craziest of crazy twists of fate I got an offer from a major global food manufacturer (that I had actually included in my first draft of essays in my application to Kellogg) to do brand management for the summer. I’m still not sure how all of the stars in the universe lined up just so to make it happen but needless to say I am thrilled AND will be in Chicago for the summer. Other loose ends were tied up (I got Beyonce tickets!) with various degrees of hilarity and others are totally NOT tied up. Which leaves me needing a theme for April…
That was a lot of personal ish. Let me just write about making beef patties.
I grew up eating Jamaican beef patties. Not just because I’m Jamaican (which didn’t help) but because in Toronto (at least back in the day) every corner store and some subway stations would sell beef patties. When I was little I was partial to the patties at Bathurst Station or Patty King. As I grew up I realized that Randy’s on Eglinton is where it’s at (beef, chicken, veggie… doesn’t matter) but I also appreciate Allen’s in Peanut Plaza particularly for their goat patty. With such an abundant supply of patties we never made patties at home (kind of like how the French don’t make croissants at home). Over the summer I was talking to someone about food (shocking) and I realized that it had never occurred to me to make patties before. So in a fit of February procrastination I decided to make me some patties.
I would say my primary source recipe was this recipe from the New York Times. I of course consulted some of my Jamaican cookbooks for validation and from a spice perspective things seemed pretty spot on so I was confident. Unsurprisingly, making Jamaican beef patties is quite a bit of work. You have to make the filling. Let it cool. Make the dough. Roll out the dough. Make the patties. It’s definitely a process. BUT at the end I ended up with a lot of patties in my freezer which have come in so handy under so many circumstances so I’m not even complaining.
The patties turned out pretty fantastic. The filling was pretty spot on in terms of flavouring and would’ve been even better if I could find the proper Jamaican scallion and thyme. My crust was a bit too thick and not as flaky as I would’ve liked. Ideally I would love to secure some beef suet and see how that stacks up compared to vegetable shortening. Definitely a success.
Jamaican Beef Patties
For the crust:
4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons turmeric
1 teaspoon curry powder, preferably West Indian
1½ cups cold vegetable shortening or chopped beef suet (about 12 ounces)
For the filling:
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
5 scallions, finely chopped
1 medium onion, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 Scotch bonnet chili pepper, seeded and finely chopped
½ teaspoon paprika
¼ teaspoon ground allspice
1 pound ground beef, about 80 percent lean
2 teaspoons thyme leaves
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon sugar
Coco bread, hamburger buns or soft potato buns, for serving (optional).
1. Mix flour, salt, turmeric and curry powder in a large bowl. Add shortening or suet and use your fingertips to rub it together with flour. When shortening is in small pieces and covered with flour, pour in ½ cup ice water and mix with your hands. Keep adding ice water, a few tablespoons at a time, until mixture forms a dough. It may be slightly sticky. Knead dough for two minutes, form into two disks, wrap in plastic and refrigerate while you make filling.
2. Heat oil in a deep skillet over medium heat and add scallions, onion, garlic and half the chili pepper. Cook, stirring, until softened but not browned. Add paprika and allspice and stir to coat. Add beef and thyme and stir, breaking up any clumps. Add water just to cover meat. Mix in salt, pepper and sugar and bring to a simmer. Taste for seasonings, adding salt, pepper and chili pepper, if necessary; mixture should be quite spicy. Simmer about 30 minutes, until meat is soft and water is reduced to a sauce. Set aside to cool slightly.
3. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Remove one disk of dough from refrigerator and divide it in half. Roll out one half on a lightly floured surface until large enough to cut three circles, each about 6 inches across. (Use the rim of a bowl turned upside down as a guide.) Repeat with remaining dough, setting aside the circles. Use scraps to make additional small patties, if you like.
4. When ready to fill, have ready a fork for crimping and a bowl of water. Place two tablespoons of filling on lower half of one circle. Dip a finger into water and moisten the edge of the dough. Fold the top half over, pulling dough gently over filling and making a thick edge all around. Crimp edge with a fork and transfer to an ungreased baking sheet, preferably nonstick. Repeat with remaining dough and filling. Bake about 25 minutes, until top crust is firm and golden. Serve hot as is or inside buns.
Yield: 12 patties.
via The New York Times
One of my goals this year was to make food a priority. For me that doesn’t just mean eating proper meals (I’m EXCELLENT at that) but reminded myself to explore my love of experimenting with food. To kick off this year of experimentation I decided to make bagels.
Yes, I made bagels.
I’ve basically grown up loving bagels. As a kid it was often supermarket bagels but as I grew up we upgraded to bakery bagels and life got so much better. I grew up with a lot of Jewish friends so bagel brunches with all of the fixings were pretty much always on my radar (yay lox!). Now let’s throw in a stint living in NYC and visits to Montreal and my bagel game was definitely kicked up a notch.
Living in Evanston I have been uninspired by the bagel scene (although I recently learned that there IS a place that makes great bagels). Local bakeries don’t really make bagels, I don’t love supermarket bagels and I pretty much refuse to get bagels from Panera or Einstein Bros. And don’t even get me started on the lack of great cream cheese. Life. Is. Rough. So since I was craving bagels I decided to make them myself.
Here’s the funny thing about making bagels, it somehow sounds intimidating but they are actually SHOCKINGLY simple to make. If you’re open to making bread you should be open to make bagels. The process basically involves making a sponge the night before (flour, water, yeast) and letting that do it’s thing. The next day you add flour and a few other things to the sponge and mix it in your stand mixer (if you have it). There’s some rising and shaping in there as well and then you boil and then bake the bagels. That’s it! I promise, it isn’t difficult.
The bagels turned out shockingly well. And since they were easy to make a part of me thinks I will never buy bagels again. What was also great is that I could customize the size of my bagels. It seems that many bagels are in the 4 oz range but since I like them a bit smaller I made my bagels 3 oz. Plus you can do all sorts of customization. I went for sesame seeds but you could do different coloured seeds or a combination. I could even do cinnamon cranberry instead of the dreaded raisin bagel. Possibilities are endless on this one kids.
Go make bagels. And use this recipe from Ruhlman.
Homemade Bagels
Sponge (4 to 12 hours before baking; I did this overnight)
500 grams flour/18 ounces/ 3.5 cups
500 grams water/18 ounces/ 2 1/4 cups
3 grams active dry yeast/3/4 teaspoon
Combine all of the ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer and set aside for at least 4 hours (I did this overnight).
To Make the Bagels
18 grams kosher salt/.6 ounces/1 tablespoon
18 grams honey/1 scant tablespoon
18 grams malt syrup/1 tablespoon (you can substitute molasses or brown sugar)
446 grams flour/16 ounces/ 3 cups
Baking Soda (1/2 tablespoon for every 2 liters/1/2 gallon water)
Poppy seeds, sesame seeds, coarse salt or other garnish (optional but recommended
Add salt, honey, malt syrup, and flour to the sponge, and then add the flour. Using a dough hook on your stand mixer, mix for 8-10 minutes.
Once the dough is mixed, move it to your counter, cover it with a cloth and let it rest for 5-10 minutes. While this is happening, fill a deep pot with water and begin to heat it on the stove. Measure how much water you’ve used so that you know how much baking soda to add. When the water starts to simmer add the baking soda and heat the oven to 450 degrees.
Divide the dough into 3-4 oz pieces (depending on preference). Make each piece into a ball and allow them to rest for a few minutes, covered. After allowing the balls to rest, flatten them into disks slightly (you want them about 3-4 inches wide) and make a whole in the centre using your thumb. Place on the counter, covered, and allow to rise.
After about 10 minutes, flip the bagels over and allow to rise a bit more until the side facing up is slightly puffy. When this happens (about 5 minutes) it’s time to boil! Ensure the water is at a simmer drop in 3-4 bagels at a time and let them simmer for one minute on each side.
Remove the bagels from the water with a large spoon and sprinkle with any toppings (you can even brush with a bit of egg white and water to help the seeds stick). Bake for 12-13 or until golden brown.
The thing about being away from home is that every once in a while I start missing me some Canadian stuff. The other week I posted on Facebook that I was craving poutine, tourtiere, coffee crisps and butter tarts. And boy was I ever! I pretty much wanted to eat all four things at once. Sure there are a few places in Chicago to get poutine (which I have yet to try) but I’d be shocked if I could get my hands on a decent tourtiere. And coffee crisps? I doubt I’d be able to find them since no one really imports random Canadian chocolate bars. My friend Joel suggested that I just make butter tarts and it was totally one of those “I should’ve had a V8” moments. Why DON’T I make butter tarts!
And so I did.
A few years ago I made butter tarts using this Canadian Living recipe that turned out pretty good but I wanted to try something different. A bit of googling turned up this recipe from Saveur, which happens to be one of my fave food magazines, so I went for it… at around 10 p.m. I swear, I’m forever starting baking projects around bedtime that stretch past midnight. I’m not even sure why. Maybe it’s that point in the day when I’ve gotten through most of my to-do list or maybe I get my second wind? Not sure. But it’s probably not the best idea to bake so late and then consume treats at 1 a.m.
Butter tarts are shockingly simple to put together… if you don’t have an aversion to making pie crust. The original recipe says to make the pie crust by hand, but I’m a cheater and love making pie crust in the food processor. It makes life so much easier and you still end up with a flaky, delicious crust. I would love to hear a good argument against making pie crust in the food processor. Seriously.
I also switched things up by NOT using raisins and using walnuts instead. If you’ve spent any time with me talking about food with me then you probably know that I have a SERIOUS aversion to raisins. Waste. Of. Grapes. That’s one of my biggest beefs with butter tarts, they are often corrupted by those yucky little critters. I would normally include pecans but didn’t have any but DID have a big bag of walnuts so they found their way into the mix.
The rest of the prep basically involves mixing the filling ingredients and filling the shells and that’s it. Super easy.
While I don’t have a great memory of the last time I made butter tarts, I have to see these were probably better. As in, I would make these every week if that wasn’t such an obscene idea. They were sufficiently buttery and the maple syrup rounded out the flavours nicely by adding a bit of a twang to things. Well-played Saveur. Well. Played.
Butter Tarts
(makes 2-3 dozen)
For the tart shells:
5 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 lb. vegetable shortening, cut into pieces
1 egg
1 tbsp. white vinegar
For the filling:
3 tbsp. unsalted butter, cut into pieces
2 cups packed brown sugar
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
1/4 cup corn syrup
4 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1.5 cups walnuts, chopped
1. For the tart shells: Combine flour, and salt in bowl of a food processor. Pulse a few times to combine. Add shortening and pulse a few times until the mixture forms very coarse crumbs. Whisk together egg, vinegar, and 1 cup cold water in a measuring cup and with the motor running add to the mixture in food processor. Continue to process until mixture forms a ball (doesn’t take long, a few seconds). Remove dough from food processor and press dough into a rough ball, then transfer to a lightly floured surface. Give dough several quick kneads with the heel of your hand to form a smooth dough, then shape into a ball. Wrap dough in plastic and refrigerate for 1 hour or overnight.
2. For the filling: Combine butter, brown sugar, maple syrup, and corn syrup in a saucepan over low heat; stir until butter melts and mixture is well combined. Set aside to cool for 3-4 minutes. Beat 1 of the eggs in a small bowl, then add to filling and mix well. Repeat with remaining eggs. Stir in vanilla and set aside.
3. Heat oven to 425°. Roll dough out on a lightly floured surface to a 1/4” thickness. Use a 4” round cookie cutter to cut out 24-36 rounds, gathering dough scraps into a ball and re-rolling as needed. Fit rounds into standard-size muffin tins, then fill each with a sprinkling of walnuts and about three-quarters full with filling. Bake until crusts are lightly golden and filling is barely set, 10-14 minutes. Cool tarts, then lift out of tins with a knife.
