Taco Potatoes

Today's post is less of full recipe and more of an adaptable idea. Baked potatoes topped with various meats at Big Daddy's BBQ were one of Ariel's favorite meals in Tulsa, and I can't disagree with the concept. It's a great self-contained meal with endless variations. With how busy things have gotten lately, I'm appreciative of simple but tasty dinners. 

For the meat topping, I went with my own ground beef taco meat recipe from 2016. I can report that it's still good, though I increased the paprika a bit. Other good choices would be my Instant Pot pulled pork or the shredded chicken I use for nachos. All these recipes are linked below. Since the pork and chicken freeze very well, using those would make putting this together a snap if you have them on hand. For the toppings, I used the green parts of a napa cabbage. The basic baked potato is derived from Alton Brown's simple instructions.

Birthday Special 2023

Before we knew it, another year has come and gone. Happy birthday to both Ariel and No Free Lunch. Scrolling back through the birthday posts is a real trip through time to see how our lives have evolved. This year's cake was the same as the last one: Stella Parks' almond cake. It's quite a complex recipe but worth the effort. If I make it again I might increase the almond extract a bit. The frosting was the old stalwart, Mark Bittman's chocolate buttercream, which I have made quite consistently since 2015. I used sliced almonds to decorate again, this time with a simple but undeniably classic design. Unfortunately, little has changed with my stress level when baking.

This year's birthday dinner was a pan-fried ribeye steak topped with compound butter I had leftover from escargots. This turned out to be an excellent application. We accompanied that with mashed potatoes and roasted mushrooms. 

As it finishes its tenth year, the blog has settled into a comfortable rhythm. For the second year in a row, I hit my goal of at least one post per month, with a nice mix of recipes. I recreated some long-overdue nostalgic comfort foods like curry turnovers and Buffalo chicken quesadillas. I've continued to put out original cocktails like the rum nectarine smash, which will for sure feature next summer. I was also pleased to codify two all-time family favorites: fish-fragrant eggplant and parmesan garlic wings. The upgrade series continued with the eggplant and Portuguese chicken, which was for many years the most visited post on the blog. Finally, the highlight of the year may well have been fløtegrøt, not only an addition to the rather thin dessert category but also a tribute to my Norwegian ancestors. 

In other news, 2022 represented something of a return to "normal," such as it is. As big changes in our house come down the road, I'm sure it will be an eventful 2023.

Pork Congee (粥)

Congee, known as zhou in Mandarin and juk in Cantonese, is a rice porridge popular in many parts of Asia. I recall my grandparents making it from time to time, but my memory for what theirs was like has faded over the years. Until today, I had never attempted to make it, but the cold weather inspired me to give it a go. My research turned up a lot of variation in how it's made, particularly in the rice-to-liquid ratio and the length of cooking time. I'm going for the Cantonese version, which seems to feature one of the lowest (1 to 20) ratios. Over the cooking time, the rice breaks down and thickens the broth. As first attempts go, I think the congee turned out very well, though I have some tweaks in mind going forward and plan to document those.

My recipe here is based on a combination of the basic juk from ArChan Chan's Hong Kong Local cookbook and the pork congee from Chinese Cooking Demystified. I also consulted a few other sources on the internet. As mentioned above, the 20-to-1 ratio appears to be the standard for Cantonese-style juk, which comes to 1/2 cup rice to 10 cups liquid. I think next time I will increase the rice a bit to get a heartier result. Some recipes out there go as low as 7 to 1. The key to achieving the proper texture in the porridge is by breaking down the rice. Traditionally, this is done with a very long cooking time, but some modern recipes (including Chan's) start by freezing the rice overnight to speed that up. Freezing is known to break down fibers in food. Normally, this is a bad thing, which is why people typically advise not thawing and refreezing meat, but here it works to our advantage.

Congee can start with plain water but often uses stock. Here, I made a simple pork stock from a shoulder bone I had in the freezer. When I break down a shoulder for char siu and other things, I save the bone with a good amount of meat left on it. The meat gets super tender and we sometimes just eat them with a little soy sauce and scallions (known as "pork snacks" in our house). It's natural to toss them in the congee. I made the stock the day before and kept it in the fridge. The rest of the seasoning is simple and can be adjusted to taste - salt, white pepper, ginger, scallion, and MSG (if you want). Congee is a bit of a blank slate and there are many possible add-ins and sides. Century eggs are a popular option. I didn't have them on hand, but will be on the lookout.

Fløtegrøt

Thanksgiving with the family is often a good opportunity to get together and make nostalgic, traditional foods. For our family, that includes such classics as potato klub, potstickers, and "party salad." This time, we decided to tackle a Norwegian favorite known as rømmegrøt. Although we had never made it before, rømmegrøt is a staple at Norwegian and Scandinavian events in the upper midwest. Or so we thought! Upon further research, I discovered a split in the recipes. Some started simply with heavy cream while others required turning the cream into sour cream overnight. As it turns out, it is only the latter that is truly rømmegrøt, and the non-sour version is actually called fløtegrøt. It appears that as the dishes made their way to North America and proficiency in the Norwegian language declined, "rømmegrøt" came to refer to both. I suspect what most people around here have called rømmegrøt is, in fact, fløtegrøt. Whatever you call it, it's delicious and surprisingly simple to make.

As always, I aggregated several recipes to make this one. The basic structure is the same, although there is some variance in the amount of flour. For this recipe, we used the full 1 cup, but the result is at the high end of thickness that I would want. My recommendation would be to cut it down to 3/4 cup and see how that goes. The most surprising thing when making this is how the butterfat almost immediately separates out once the flour is added. It's one of those things that seems like it won't work but just does. This recipe is most closely based on one from The Best of Scan Fest by Cheryl Long, although that book calls it rømmegrøt. I must also give credit to the 1950 First Lutheran cookbook (also the source for the party salad recipe) from Roseau, Minnesota. The recipe there, called "flodegrod," follows the same steps, although it lacks any measurements. Given the relative simplicity to make, I'm a little disappointed I waited this long to make it. An added bonus: "fløtegrøt" is pretty fun to say!

Clam Dip

My dad started making this clam dip about 20 years ago and I've enjoyed it ever since. I wish I could credit the original author, but all I know is that it came from a 2002 issue of Gourmet magazine. Gourmet ceased publication in 2009 and this particular recipe doesn't seem to have been archived. The recipe I've posted here is my adaptation of dad's adaptation of the original. It's a great snack or appetizer served with chips. All the amounts here can, and should, be adjusted to personal taste.

My main change has been in the garlic and clam juice. I grate the garlic on a microplane, which releases a ton of flavor. I've realized lately that recipes measuring garlic in cloves can be a big problem since they vary in size so much. I've been getting garlic from our local farmer, whose garlic comes in massive cloves about 2-3 times the size of those typically found in the grocery store. With something as potent as raw garlic, this can make a big difference. Grating helps measure more consistently. My recommendation is to be careful as you can always add more garlic, but can't take it away. For the clam juice, I added one tablespoon at a time until the consistency was right. Four to five tablespoons should do it. It should be fairly loose but still able to be picked up with a chip. The scallions came from our garden. With the incredible heat this summer, most of our vegetables didn't do as well, but the scallions were very successful.

Apples and Honey Cocktail

Apples and honey are the traditional food of Rosh Hashanah. The idea of turning that into a cocktail has been kicking around my head for a while. This cocktail builds on the classic sour template. A sour includes a base spirit, lemon or lime juice, and a sweetener - the daiquiri is arguably the purest expression of the concept. Inspired by the holiday, I built the cocktail with apple brandy and honey. Angostura bitters add some spice and an egg white froths up nicely. The end result was pleasant and well balanced. If you like it a little more tart or a little sweeter, play with the amounts of lemon juice and honey.

I am by no means an expert on apple brandy, as the one I used here is the only one I've ever tasted. I used Laird's Straight Applejack 86. From what I've read, some cheaper apple brandies are cut with neutral spirits, so try to find one that is 100% apple. The apple flavor is quite subtle when sipped neat. I think it could be used in place of other brandies or aged spirits in general. Honey mix is a simple combination of honey and water in a 1 to 1 ratio. Without the water, honey is very difficult to incorporate into drinks. To make it, combine in a saucepan and heat over low heat, stirring until homogeneous.  Transfer to a bottle and keep in the refrigerator. It features in such classics as the Prohibition-Era Bee's Knees, the modern Gold Rush, and a variety of tiki concoctions. The last thing to mention here is the dry shake technique. This means to shake without ice for a few seconds, before adding ice and proceeding as usual. Dry shaking is used to build more froth when working with egg whites.

For the holiday meal, I made a brisket similar to what I've done before. This time, I pushed it in a slightly different direction, incorporating ketchup instead of mustard. Ariel made a noodle kugel and a challah. It was enjoyable as always - they're classics for a reason.

Upgrade: Portuguese Chicken (葡國雞)

Portuguese chicken (translating literally to pou gwok gai in Cantonese, pu guo ji in Mandarin, and galinha à portuguesa in Portuguese) is a dish that fascinates me endlessly. It's a fusion of east and west that could only have been born in its own specific context. Back when I wrote about it in 2012, I noted that little was written about it (at least in English) on the internet. There's quite a bit more now, but it's still not a widely known dish. It also doesn't show up in any of my Chinese cookbooks. I still don't know if my version is authentic, but I can tell you it tastes good and improves upon my previous one in many ways. One of those can be seen in the photo, where the deeply colored sauce appeals a lot more than the bright yellow of my previous attempt.

Despite the name, Portuguese chicken does not originate in Portugal, but rather the bustling southern Chinese city of Macau, which was an outpost of the Portuguese empire for over 450 years. The food of Macau blends Cantonese cuisine with influences brought from around the world by Portuguese traders. As such, Portuguese chicken features some ingredients not commonly seen in other Chinese dishes. Most recipes feature five main components: chicken, potatoes, onion, coconut milk, and turmeric but diverge from there. Other possible additions include sausage, olives, and bell peppers. Some are simmered on the stovetop, while others are baked as a casserole. In some versions, the casserole includes rice on the bottom or desiccated coconut sprinkled on top. I decided to keep it simple and stay on the stove in a wok. This also makes it easy to thicken and adjust the sauce at the end.

After I wrote my original post, I found out I was not the only member of my family to be a fan of Portuguese chicken. As it turns out, my grandma went to school in Macau for a time and enjoyed it regularly. She informed me back then that my version was incorrect because the chicken and potatoes should be cut into smaller pieces. Cutting smaller does make more sense to eat with chopsticks and also helps everything cook more quickly. Another change I made was to crank up the seasoning and build a more complex flavor in the sauce. I also chose to marinate the chicken this time. Sources vary greatly on what should go in the marinade, but I went with a classic Chinese style. I included just a little dark soy sauce for color - don't overdo it. Some recipes use more spices in the marinade, while I put the into the sauce instead. I did not have any Portuguese chouriço (in fact, I have no idea where one can buy such a thing) but did have some Spanish chorizo on hand that worked well here. Some Cantonese lap cheong would also probably do just fine. The versions I recall from Shanghai did not include any sausage, and that works as well.

Ratatouille

Bonne fête! It's that time of year again, when we celebrate Bastile Day through classic dishes of France. Our Bastile Day feast started with escargot and bread and continued into a pan-seared ribeye and ratatouille. I've enjoyed ratatouille here and there over the years and made it a few times before, but had not yet dug into the sources on it. Julia Child has two versions, both on the fancier side, with thin slices of eggplant and zucchini layered between the peppers and onions. Mark Bittman's recipe does the same. Jacques Pépin goes with a more rustic style with cubed vegetables all mixed together. That is the form of the dish I'm most familiar with, so that's what I did here. The most interesting thing I took from these sources is to keep the cuts of vegetables large, so that each can be enjoyed on its own merits. This recipe makes a lot, but the sources agree that ratatouille is excellent both cold and reheated.

Ratatouille is a classic dish of Provence, the southeastern coastal region generally known for its seafood. As I wrote on 2019's Bastile Day post, olive oil, garlic, and tomatoes are characteristic of Provençal cuisine. These elements are central to ratatouille, as well. The four other vegetables featured here (eggplant, zucchini, bell pepper, onion) seem to be the most commonly used, but can certainly be swapped out. It's an excellent way to use up summer vegetables like yellow squash or kohlrabi. Any fresh herbs you have on hand can also boost the dish. I used basil because I tend to have a lot of it on hand this time of year. I will finally note that I increased the recommended baking temperature to 400, up from the 350 I used. A dish composed entirely of vegetables has a lot of liquid, which could have been reduced more. At that higher temperature, it may be necessary to stir more often.