Uchiko Brussel Sprouts

I'm baaaacckkk!!!

I have to sincerely apologize for being MIA for like actually an entire year.  But I come bearing gifts for y'all - a gift specifically in the form of the perfect replica recipe for Uchiko's amazing brussel sprouts.

If you live in Austin (and now maybe Dallas I think too), you have probably heard of Uchi and/or Uchiko and how "you totally have to get sushi there" - which you do - but the real draw is the brussel sprouts, trust me.  They are like crack.  I have gone to dinner with my girlfriends and ordered bowl after bowl after bowl of these babies.

So it's no wonder that while I was pregnant, and the rare times I felt like eating, I wanted these delicious nuggets of heaven.  However, Uchiko can be a bit...uppity? and denied me my lifeline through Favor and I was woefully unable to have them whenever I wanted. 

Now that I am post-partum and climbing back to my old self, I got in the kitchen and got to work.  I wanted these sprouts and I made it happen!  These are insanely easy and outrageously good - even my kids chow down. 

Uchiko Brussel Sprouts

Serves 2-4

Ingredients

• 1 lb. fresh brussel sprouts
• Vegetable oil
• Kosher Salt
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup maple syrup (the real stuff)
• Juice of one small lemon
• 1 tbs. minced garlic
• 1 tbs. Sriracha sauce (or more to taste)

Preheat your oven to 400°.

Trim the stems off the sprouts and halve them, top to bottom.  If the sprouts are large, cut them into quarters.  You want them to be bite sized pieces.  Rinse the sprouts with water in a colander and turn out onto paper towels to dry while the oven heats.

Line a rimmed baking sheet with a silicon baking mat (or foil).  Spread the sprouts out on your prepared baking sheet and drizzle with oil and season well with kosher salt.  Toss with tongs to coat the sprouts evenly.  Bake on the top rack for 45-60 minutes, tossing the sprouts every 15 minutes.   Bake until browned and crispy.

While the sprouts cook, prepare the sauce.  Combine the soy sauce, maple syrup, lemon juice, garlic and Sriarcha sauce in a small sauce pan and season with salt and pepper.  Cook over medium heat, bring to a boil and reduce the mixture to half, stirring constantly.

Remove the sprouts from the oven.  In a bowl, toss the sprouts in half the sauce.  Taste and add more sauce to taste.

Homemade Hot Pockets

For those of you who don't know, my husband, Aaron, is a professional chef.  Ironic that I am the one with a food blog, isn't it?  In any case, after we had kids he got out of the kitchen and into the other side of the restaurant and bar business - but I digress - the point is, in the last five years, I do the majority of the cooking.

This hasn't come as much of a surprise though to those who worked and cooked with Aaron for the last fifteen or twenty years because he was notorious for putting out the most gorgeous, sophisticated plates and then sitting out back and having a frozen corn dog or hot pockets for dinner.  It would drive executive chefs crazy that they had all this wonderful food in their walk-ins, stacked next to frozen corn dogs.

So as much as I can impress Aaron with some of the dishes that I produce in our kitchen here, there is also always a family-size box of Hot Pockets in our freezer.  And, don't get me wrong, I can totally understand their appeal - I have the occasional need for a Hot Pocket or Taco Cabana burrito myself, but as a mom, I don't love the idea of feeding it to my kids.

When I cook at home I use as much organic produce and ingredients as are available, and try to make things as scratch as possible.  It feels really good to know exactly what's going in my kids - there isn't a lot we can control as parents so this feels like a nice attempt at it for me.  So over Christmas break I decided to jump in a tackle the ever-present Hot Pocket.

Not only were these insanely delicious but they were completely organic! I even managed to finagle some vegetables into one version (though Aaron condemned this variety as blasphemy).  On top of all of that, they were hand-held, un-messy, kid-pleasing, and easy to make!  The dough came together well and then you just fill it with whatever you want - we made the regular pepperoni, sausage and cheese variety for Aaron, and a second one with sausage, bell pepper, mushroom, and spinach.  But get creative - anything you would put on pizza would be perfect!

Homemade Hot Pockets

Serves 6-8

For the Dough:

• 1 cup warm water (100°+)
• 1 pkg. active dry yeast (2 1/4 tsp.)
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 2 tbs. vegetable oil
• 2-3 cups bread flour
• Egg Wash (1 egg whisked with a bit of water, dried basil and dried oregano)

For the Filling:

You can use whatever you want - but we used these two variations:

Italian Medley:

• 1 lb. ground Italian sausage
• 1 small red bell pepper, diced small
• 6 oz. baby bella mushrooms, diced
• 2 cups spinach, chopped
• 2 tsp. minced garlic
• Shredded mozzarella cheese (2-4 cups, depending on your cheese addiction)
• Prepared pizza sauce (1-2 cups)

Pepperoni and Sausage:

• 1 lb. ground Italian sausage
• 8 oz. pepperoni, chopped
• Shredded mozzarella cheese (2-4 cups, depending on your cheese addiction)
• Prepared pizza sauce (1-2 cups)

Prepare the Filling

For the Italian Medley version: In a large skillet, warm some olive oil over medium high heat.  Add the garlic and saute for a minute or two until fragrant.  Add the vegetables and saute until spinach has wilted.  Push the vegetables to the side and add the sausage.  Breaking up the sausage with your spoon as it cooks, cook the meat through before mixing it into the vegetables.  Once mixed, then cook for just a minute or two more, season with salt and pepper and then remove from heat and set aside.

For the "traditional" version:

Saute the sausage in a skillet until cooked through, breaking up the meat with a spoon as your go.  Remove from heat and toss with the chopped pepperoni.  Set aside.

Make the Dough

Preheat your oven to 400° and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicon baking mat.  Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, mix the yeast and the sugar.  Add the warm water and let stand for five minutes until foamy, so you know the yeast is live.  If it doesn't foam, toss it and start over with new yeast.

Add half a cup of the bread flour and mix well with a spatula or with a mixer fitted with a dough hook.  Add another 1/2 cup of flour and the salt and mix well. Continue to add flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until the dough is no longer sticky.  If using a dough hook, it will have formed a ball around the hook.  If mixing by hand, it should be elastic enough to knead easily with your hands without sticking to your hands and coming apart.

Take it out of the bowl and knead it by hand on a floured work surface for just a few minutes.  Roll the dough into a ball and then pat it gently into a 1 inch thick disc.  You may want to use a floured rolling pin, but careful not to roll it too flat.

Then using a biscuit cutter or drinking glass, cut out 6-8 circles of dough. Using a rolling pin, roll each piece of dough into a circle 1/4 inch thick. 

In the middle of the circle, layer cheese, filling, then drizzle sauce over top.  Go lighter with the sauce, it gets super hot inside (as any Hot Pocket aficionado knows) and you want the filling to stay in there, not spew out if there is too much liquid.

Fold the dough in half and then seal the seam by folding over a 1/2 inch segment at a time, overlapping over the previous section just a bit (see the photo).

Place on the prepared baking sheet and repeat with remaining circles of dough.  Once all pockets are made, brush the tops with the egg wash and then bake until golden brown, 12-14 minutes.

Dough Recipe adapted from Lovely Little Kitchen

Chicken Lo-Mein: NY Chinese Take-Out

I spend a lot of time extolling the virtue of NY Italian food and the impact it had on my culinary development.  However, there is a dish that I grew up with, that was not homemade, but an important thread in my culinary history: Chicken Lo-Mein.  When I was growing up we only had a couple of places we ordered take-out from (far less than my family does now) - there was Joe's Pizza and Imperial Wok.  We had pizza at Joe's once a week on Thursdays after tennis lessons with our friends and about twice a month my dad decided we would order Chinese. 

I had two staples that I liked to order; chicken fried rice and chicken lo-mein.  I don't think my tastes were wild and crazy at the age of eleven so I kept it simple and easy.  And since then, I have lived in San Francisco and been exposed to the insanely wide variety of Asian cuisines, fell in love with Thai fried rice with tofu and Pad Kee Mao and so on and so on.  But my basic, simple, chicken lo-mein could never be replaced in my heart.

Unfortunately however, there weren't that many great Chinese places in San Francisco (lots of Vietnamese, Thai, Cambodian, Japanese, etc.), Chinese take-out seemed to almost be unique to New York.  When I moved to Austin, the situation only got more dire.  We have even less Asian take-out and just about one decent Chinese place.  No offense to some of the staples here like Mama Fu's and Madam Mam's, but its just not the same.  Thank goodness for Titaya's Thai Cuisine that absolutely hits the mark for Thai fried rice and Pad Kee Mao, but I am sorely out of luck on Chicken Lo-Mein.  It just constantly blows my mind that I just can't get it here - you can walk in to almost any Chinese place in New York and get a solid serving of Chicken Lo-Mein that tastes the same.

Anyway, I am getting too deep on my feelings for Chinese take-out.  The point is, I only get to eat lo-mein when I go home to see my mom, which is just not enough.  This was the first year we didn't go to New York for Christmas in my entire life (which was wonderful for some reasons and sad for others, but that's another story for another day) and so I didn't get an opportunity to feed my craving.  I've been thinking about it for weeks and finally decided to give it a go making it at home.

Y'all it was so worth it.  SO WORTH IT.  This was an insanely easy concept once I didn't some reading and comparing of recipes and decided on a game plan.  I wanted chicken in mine, so I chopped up the chicken into bite sized pieces and tossed it in the crock-pot and let it ride all day until I was ready to make dinner.  Then it was as simple as boiling the noodles and then sauteeing the veggies and tossing it all together.

Chicken Lo-Mein

Serves 8

For the Chicken:

• 4 skinless chicken breasts (or breasts and thighs) sliced thin into bite sized pieces
• 1 cup Teriyaki sauce
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup sesame oil, divded
• 1 tbs. ground ginger, divided
• 2 tbs. sugar

For the Sauce:

• 1/3 cup soy sauce
• 3 tbs. sugar
• 1/4 cup sesame oil
• 2 tbs. ground ginger
• 2 tbs. Sriracha mayo

For the Lo-mein:

• 16 oz. Lo-Mein egg noodles
• 1 cup shredded carrots
• 1 cup chopped green cabbage
• 1 1/2 cups sliced mushrooms (I used baby bellas)
• 1/2 white onion, diced
• 2 tbs. minced garlic
• 1 cup snow peas (optional)

Whisk together the ingredients for the sauce in the bowl of a crock-pot.  Add the chopped chicken and stir to coat.  Cook on low for 4-6 hours until cooked tender.  Remove from crock pot with a slotted spoon and set aside.

Bring a large stock pot of water to a boil and cook the lo-mein noodles according the directions on the package.  Drain cooked noodles into a colander and rinse well with cold water.  Set aside.

Whisk together the ingredients for the sauce together in a small bowl and set aside.

In a large saute pan or braiser over medium-high heat.  Add a few tablespoons of sesame oil and the garlic.  Saute until fragrant, just a minute or two.  Add the onion, carrots, mushrooms and snow peas.  Saute until onions are translucent.  Add the chicken to the pan and cook for a few minutes.  Add the cabbage and saute until wilted.  Pour 1/3 of the sauce over the veggies and chicken and saute until evenly mixed.

Turn the heat down to medium-low and add the lo-mein noodles, using tongs to toss the noddles with the veggies and chicken.  Add the remaining sauce as you go, tossing to distribute the sauce evenly and cook for a few minutes more until the flavors are blended. 

Serve immediately, or refrigerate and consume in the morning after a rough night out.

Matzo Ball Soup

The majority of my best friends growing up were Jewish (and are still some of my best friends) and I was so lucky to be exposed to so many wonderful traditions, foods, and families.  One of my best memories is having holiday dinners at my friends and having brisket and my favorite, matzo ball soup at Passover!

Matzo ball soup is something I miss terribly living in Texas.  You can't find it anywhere.  I mean ANYWHERE in Austin.  Its not like bagels, where they are just not very good, but you can get them.  I seriously can not find a place to get Matzo Ball Soup here, but I have been pretty intimidated to make my own.  I never made it at home, my friend's moms always made it and they set the bar really high.

But Chanel was sick this week, allergies just giving her sinus problems and a sore throat, but she wanted soup and she had never had Matzo Ball Soup and it had been on my list of things to tackle for a while - so we did it!

I reached out to my friends and their moms before diving in to make sure I did the right things and used the right seasoning and correct process.  Boy, am I glad I did!  These were the best!  So light, so fluffy, the right size, and so flavorful!

I have to admit, I didn't make chicken soup.  I made a broth with vegetables and seasoning and chicken broth, but no chicken.  As I say about chicken and dumplings, "I eat the dumplings because I want to, I eat the chicken because I have to."  That rule applies even more to Matzo Ball Soup.  I only want the Matzo balls, who needs chicken?  None of my Jewish mamas put chicken in the finished product.  They made a broth from scratch with chicken feet and vegetables, but served a matzo ball with the just broth (no veggies or chicken) poured over it and garnished with dill.  We went that route more or less, but kept the veggies because they are so tasty too!

However, the Matzo balls are not cooked in the soup, they are boiled separately and then you pour the soup over them.  So you can use whatever chicken soup recipe makes you the happiest!  I will include how we made our broth, which I think was perfection, but there are lots of wonderful chicken soup variations, so go with what you love.

Matzo ball soup

Makes 6-8 Matzo Balls

For the Matzo balls:

• 5 oz (2, 2.5 oz packets) of Matzo Ball Mix (we used Manischewitz)
• 4 eggs
• 4 tbs. olive oil
• 1 tbs. dill
• 1 tbs. parsley
• 1 tsp. salt
• Fresh cracked black pepper

for the broth:

• 4 cups chicken broth (we used Swanson's)
• 1 tbs. olive oil
• 4 carrots, sliced or diced
• 1 small/medium yellow onion, diced
• 3 celery stalks, diced
• 1/2 purple top turnip (optional), diced into bite sized cubes
• 1 tsp. dill
• 1 tsp. basil
• Salt and Pepper

Prepare the Matzo Balls: In a large mixing bowl, whisk the eggs and the oil together.  Mix in the seasonings. Using a fork or a spatula, mix in the Matzo Ball mix, until just combined, but do not over-mix.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 20 minutes, or until ready to boil. They taste best fresh, so don't boil them until before you are ready to serve the soup.

Make the broth: Over medium high heat, saute your vegetables in the olive oil in a large dutch oven or stock pot.  Sprinkle with the seasoning, add the broth and bring to a boil.  Boil until the vegetables are tender and cooked through.

Boil the Matzo Balls: Fill a medium or large pot with water and bring to a boil.  When the water is boiling, remove the dough from the fridge and form the balls.  Using a large spoon, scoop out a heaping tablespoon of dough and roll into a smooth ball with your hands. 

I recommend a ball about the size of a golf ball (they will expand as they cook, nearly double in size).  This will yield balls about the size of a tennis ball; we served two in a bowl and it was plenty.  You can go larger or smaller depending on your preference.

Drop the formed balls into the boiling water.  We did four at a time, you don't want them to be too crowded since they will expand quite a bit.  We did two batches.

Cover the pot and reduce the heat to a low boil (not a simmer, but you don't want the water boiling over).  Boil for 30 minutes and do not remove the cover until they are done.  Thankfully we have clear pot tops and I could peek with excitement without taking the lid off.

Remove the balls with a slotted spoon directly into soup bowls.  Pour broth over the balls and serve immediately.

NY Deli Macaroni Salad

I grew up in NY and we love our delis.  I mean, really, love delis.  There are two basic and important kinds: Jewish and Italian.  They both are similar, but feature some different types of specialties - one of which is the Macaroni Salad.  I have no idea if it started in a Jewish deli or an Italian one, but I think these days you can find it in either. 

Some variations have a whiter, more sour sauce - others, like this one, have a pinkish, sweet and tangy sauce.  That's my favorite kind.  I have spent YEARS since moving away from NY trying to figure out how to make it.  I had no idea what the secret to the recipe was, or what flavor it was that I was missing, but a few tweaks to this fantastic recipe from The Comfort of Cooking and I finally got it!

Every time I have made it, I loved it even more.  I will say this about the recipe though, it makes A LOT of macaroni.  So its great for a party or a pot luck, but not the easiest thing to get through if you just make it for yourself.  It keeps well in the fridge though and tastes better over time.

One of the biggest determining factors in the taste of this salad is the pickles and resulting pickle juice that you choose.  The original recipe recommends using a specific brand, Wickles Pickles, and I strongly urge you to do the same if you can find them. If not though, it will still taste good with some Vlasic (which I've used before as well).  You want to find a sweet and sour variety.

Final note on the pickles - I buy spears and then dice them.  However, before you dice up the spear, slice off the seeded, mushy parts so you just have a crisp pickle to dice up.

NY Deli Macaroni Salad

Serves 12

ingredients:

• 1 lb. elbow pasta, cooked
• 1 small jar (15 oz) or roughly 2 cups, mayo
• 2 tbs. apple cider vinegar
• 4 tsp. sugar
• Salt and Pepper
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1/3 cup Pickle juice from Sweet and Sour pickles
• 1 jar (16 oz) roasted red peppers, diced small
• 3/4 cup diced sweet and sour pickles
• 1 bunch green onions, sliced small

Whisk together the mayo, vinegar, sugar, salt and pepper, milk, and pickle juice.  Taste and adjust seasoning, I like to add a bit more pickle juice normally.

Stir in the peppers, pickles and green onion.

Pour over cooled macaroni and stir until evenly coated.  Refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving for flavors to meld.