Upgrade: Mapo Doufu (麻婆豆腐)

I first made mapo doufu seven years ago, the first of my many adaptations from Peimei's Chinese Cook Book. Although I love the dish, Ariel did not, and stopped making it for years. Recently, I've reexamined the recipe and come to the conclusion that it needed an upgrade. My new version offers plenty of savory sauce, a well-balanced spice level, and delicious silken tofu, while not being overly oily. I'm pleased to say this one won her over. It helped to leave the mouth-numbing Sichuan pepper on the side and allow individuals to sprinkle it on their own portions. I enjoy it, but not everyone is a fan!

The tofu is the centerpiece of the dish. Peimei recommended deep frying the tofu before adding to the sauce. Not only do I find this completely unnecessary, I think it's wrong. No mapo doufu I've ever had involves that. In my old version, I stir fried it, but I don't do that now. The tofu can remain soft and simply warm up in the sauce. Since I'm not frying it, a firm tofu is also not needed. Instead, I recommend soft silken tofu. It will break up a bit, but that's fine. Silken tofu usually comes in a carton instead of a plastic tub and can typically be found at Asian markets.

Another major change here was increasing the amount of sauce. I like lots of sauce to serve over rice. To balance the spice level, I mix the Sichuan-style hot bean paste (doubanjiang) with Koon Chun bean sauce. This is not traditional, but keeps it balanced. If you like it spicier, feel free to shift the balance towards more doubanjiang. I used the chunky version of the Koon Chun sauce, rather than the ground one. The final major upgrade is the stock. I used my homemade pork stock, made by simmering two pork shoulder blades with ginger and scallion for a few hours. The stock is unsalted; using a salted stock could result in the sauce getting too salty.

Upgrade: Croque Madame

Bonne fête! It's Bastille Day again, and this time, its one of my all-time favorites, the croque madame. Over nine years ago, I wrote about the croque monsieur, the classic French ham and cheese sandwich. I go back to that recipe from time to time, and I think it's one of my best from the very earliest period of No Free Lunch. A croque madame is simply a croque monsieur with a fried egg on top, an upgrade in and of itself. My other reason for revisiting the recipe is to improve on the crunchiness by toasting the bread ahead of time. It's definitely worth the effort!

This is my first post to feature our new convection oven. This enabled me to toast the bread, bake the sandwiches, then broil them all in one device. I'm still experimenting with it, and I expect it will pop up here from time to time. Of course, the whole recipe can certainly be done in a toaster and/or regular oven.

At their core, both a croque monsieur and croque madame are ham and cheese sandwiches, so using good quality ham, cheese, and bread is important. I used Gruyère here, which packs a ton of flavor, but is expensive. It's great as an occasional treat, but feel free to substitute. I shaved the ham off a half boneless ham from Costco and the bread was a peasant loaf from Vermillion's own Mr. Smith's. As with so many things, a fried egg makes everything better. Just make sure to have a knife and fork for this one.

Grilled Octopus

As the main summer holiday in the United States, the Fourth of July is strongly associated with grilling, usually burgers and other such classics. Here at No Free Lunch, we would never be so boring, so of course we're doing a whole octopus. Besides, I have plenty of burger recipes already. This particular specimen had been in our freezer for a while, ever since Ariel brought it home from the Asian market. I admit I was a little intimidated. I've grilled and pan fried cooked octopus tentacles many times, but had never done a whole raw one until now. I read many articles and generally followed Mark Bittman's technique here. The general idea is to simmer in water until tender, and then grill to brown the outside.

The startling thing about octopus, if you've never worked with it, is how much it shrinks as it cooks. Mine came frozen in a block of ice, weighing in at 4 1/4 lb. Once thawed, it was down to about 3 1/2. It tightened up a lot while cooking, and by the time it was done it fit on the small plate in the picture. I didn't weigh it, but I'm guessing it was maybe a pound at the end. After initial cooking, the octopus curled up. While it is probably possible to grill like this, I cut it up to get better contact with the grill. Once done, I season with olive oil, lemon, and herbs. There's room for variation, but lots of lemon for acidity is essential.

When grilling a main dish like this, I like to prepare a side on the grill, too, so I can keep an eye on both. Asparagus is one of my favorites. I toss them in olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. The asparagus should take about the same amount of time as the octopus. Keep them moving to avoid burning. On a hot day like this, don't forget to mix up a daiquiri before you head to the grill!

Vermillion Summer (Campari, Rum, and Grapefruit Cocktail)

About a year after diving headfirst into mixing drinks, I'm excited to present my first original cocktail. This drink is all about the marriage of two distinctive spirits: Campari and Wray & Nephew rum. The first version didn't have the Campari. It was okay, but I immediately thought about how well Campari pairs with grapefruit and this cocktail was born. It's a perfectly refreshing drink for the oppressive heat we've had this summer. For the color the Campari brings and the location of its inception, I call it the "Vermillion Summer." If you like Campari, rum, or grapefruit, I think you'll enjoy this one. 

Wray & Nephew white overproof rum is Jamaica's most popular spirit. If the only white rum you've had is the Puerto Rican style, this is a completely different animal. Pot distilled and unaged, it's a standard bearer for funky Jamaican rum. Wray & Nephew has a strong aroma of ripe bananas and at 63% alcohol, it packs a punch. For its distinctive flavor and high proof, it's best used in smaller quantities mixed with other spirits. That's where the Campari comes in. The bitter notes play well with the fruit flavors and the lower proof brings the total alcohol in line with that of a Tom Collins. 

The exact proportions can be played around with to preference. I used a red grapefruit, but if you have another kind, the sugar can be adjusted to match. Either regular white or demerara simple syrup should work fine. The Wray & Nephew could be replaced by another funky, high-strength Jamaican rum, but it is affordable and relatively accessible. 

Diced Chicken with Walnuts (桃仁雞丁)

To kick off the summer, we're taking on another recipe from Pei Mei's Chinese Cook Book. This one is adapted from one I found in the Southern China section of volume I. The Chinese name taoren jiding translates to "walnut diced chicken." Interestingly, this recipe bears a striking resemblance to what most Americans picture as Chinese food. American-Chinese cuisine evolved specifically from Cantonese cooking, and this dish is a clear predecessor. Some combination of meat, vegetables, and nuts stir fried together in a sauce is a formula that comes up again and again. Years ago, even I threw together a cashew chicken recipe that's not all that different to this. 

I made a few changes from Pei Mei's original. As with so many of her dishes, she deep fries the chicken. I decided to streamline the process by stir frying the chicken instead, avoiding the hassle of cleaning up so much oil. I might try it that way in the future. She also recommends using hot peppers, while I used bell peppers. Some or all of those can be substituted for something spicier if you so choose. I chose to not salt the sauce ahead of time. You can always add salt at the end if you want to, and I added a few pinches. It's also worth mentioning she approves of cashews a substitute for the walnuts. 

This dish came out well. In the past, I've typically minced ginger, but I liked the bursts of ginger here from the larger slices. I might put in a little more next time. The flavor profile is pretty classic. A little more sugar would likely tilt it in American-Chinese direction, if you're into that. There's also plenty of leeway in the choice of chicken. Pei Mei suggests either deboning an entire (small) chicken or using breasts. I used thighs here. I served with steamed rice to complete the meal.

"Matchos" with Shredded Chicken

Every Passover, we try to shake up the tired old menu a little. This has yielded some pretty great results in the past, with scotch eggs being the most enduring favorite. Last year, we tried making a "matzo pizza." It was okay, but with all the wet sauce on the matzos, it ended up a little too soft. That gave me the idea to try making matzo nachos, which I'm calling "matchos." The result was pretty delicious, and I'd recommend giving this a try for something a little different at the end of Passover.

The topping for the matchos is a shredded chicken similar to what we put in the kolaches back in December. For a Jewish twist, I sautéed in schmaltz (I made a big batch at the beginning of the week), but you can certainly use olive oil or vegetable oil. The sauce is thickened with potato starch to keep things "KFP." If you really want to go nuts, use some leftover brisket as the topping, but I went with a more traditionally nacho flavor profile. The matchos only use about half of the chicken. It freezes well, so it can be saved for tacos or regular nachos once Passover is done.

For the cheese, I used cheddar, but almost anything that melts well will work. I would probably use a little more next time, but this is what I had. We rounded out the topping with sour cream, guacamole, and diced onions, but those are all just suggestions. I made my own guacamole, but if you have some from the store and make the chicken ahead, the dish comes together pretty quickly. If nothing else, I'm inspired to make nachos with actual chips sometime soon.

Scotcheroos

My grandmother was famous for a wide variety of sweet treats, from cookies to bars to doughnuts. Scotcheroos were always one of my favorites. I consider them an upgrade of the standard Rice Krispie bar (her extra-buttery version of those is also a family classic), incorporating peanut butter, chocolate, and butterscotch. They're a quintessential Midwestern "bar." Enjoy with a cup of black coffee after finishing your hotdish.

While I enjoyed them for years, I never knew anything about their origin or attempted to make them myself. I found this recipe in the same church cookbook as my meatloaf recipe from January. I did some cursory internet research and was surprised to find an amazing level of consistency across recipes. There is a little variance in the amount of chocolate and butterscotch, but for the most part, the recipe is unchanged. With a little more digging, I discovered the recipe appeared on the side of a Rice Krispies box in 1965, and the recipe has been passed around ever since. 

I haven't reinvented the recipe, but having now made them myself, I do have comments. The corn syrup/sugar mixture is extremely sticky, as it functions as the glue to turn the cereal into a cohesive bar. It's important to move quickly to get the cereal coated and into the dish before it solidifies. It was a little tricky to get into an even layer an into the corners. Avoid the temptation to press down too much as these are already quite dense.  The recipe I have doesn't mention this, but I would recommend buttering the dish to help get the bars out.

Jungle Bird

The Jungle Bird is a "modern" tiki drink, originating at the Hilton Kuala Lumpur in the 1970s, decades after the heyday of the tiki culture. It is unique in its use of Campari, an Italian apéritif with a striking red color. Campari's intense bitterness makes it a tricky ingredient which can overpower a cocktail if not used carefully. This is a perfect cocktail for Campari beginners, as the bitterness is present, but balanced out by the other ingredients. Today, it was a perfect way to celebrate the start of spring break on the porch. 

Although the original recipe apparently called for 4 ounces of pineapple juice (similar to a Painkiller), the typical recipe found many places online calls for just 1 1/2 ounces. My version is a modification of Martin Cate's recipe from Smuggler's Cove, which uses 2 ounces. Pineapple juice is an amazing ingredient in shaken cocktails, giving them a lovely froth on top without having to mess with an egg white. In contrast to citrus (fresh lime is required here), canned pineapple juice works just fine. Since Cate calls for a sweeter simple syrup than I typically use, I increased the amount a little. The bitterness of the Campari plays very well with the fruit juice and syrup in this cocktail. 

For the rum component, Cate and others call for a black rum. Gosling's Black Seal is probably the most commonly available. I decided to kick it up a notch by mixing in some fiery Smith & Cross for a little Jamaican funk. There's definitely a lot of latitude in rum choice. If you get 1 1/2 ounces of rum you like in the drink, you did it right. People tend to go nuts on the garnish on the Jungle Bird, but I kept it simple by dropping in a couple of amarena cherries. The red-orange color and froth make for a distinctive presentation all on their own.