Recipe for The Daring Kitchen
Our Daring Cooks’ December 2011 hostess is Sara from Belly Rumbles! Sara chose awesome Char Sui Bao as our challenge, where we made the buns, Char Sui, and filling from scratch – delicious!
Grab Your Buns and Go to Town
I’ll admit that this is not my first time to the pork bun rodeo. From my sister’s obsession with the steamed version on Sunday’s at the dim sum parlor, to my husband’s cravings for the baked variety fresh from the Chinatown Roast Pork Bun Factory in NYC, I had a clear and compelling reason to learn how to make them for myself. I found a recipe by cookbook author Andrea Nguyen for the perfect little snacky bites and thought that I would try her recipe. But the idea of making that dough from scratch made me sleepy. Especially after cooking the pork for the buns not once but twice before stuffing. I saved myself a step and used Pillsbury dinner rolls to get the job done. The results were less than perfection in terms of the dough, but still so freakin’ delicious. Continue reading Baked Roast Pork Buns→
Although this is barely a recipe, it can be construed as a damn good feast all by its lonesome. String beans honestly don’t need a whole lot of dressing up in order to be brilliant, and this recipe is the perfect proof of that. Garlic, butter and olive oil form a dressing for the tender crisp beans, showcasing their sweetness. Why mess with perfection?
If you like a little bit of added texture, feel free to toss in a smattering of slivered almonds. Or add dried cherries or cranberries for tartness. Whatever you choose to do, make it your own and don’t expend a lot of effort. The green beans are the stars of the show here. Continue reading Sauteed String Beans with Garlic→
Not that I haven’t always been an odd duck, but as a child, I didn’t eat any sort of seafood except for oysters. Fish was assumed to taste the way it smelled, crabs looked like spidery ocean monsters, and shrimp had to have been the grossest looking things I’d ever seen. But oysters! How I loved them so! My favorite preparation was fried with lots of lemon and ketchup, and I would adore the nights our family and extended family would pile into the car to go to the Chesapeake Bay Seafood House for their All-You-Can-Eat extravaganza. I’ve grown to become EEO about seafood (I’m sorry for judging you guys!) and adore just about every fresh catch I can get my hands on, but oysters hold a special place in my heart. Continue reading Oyster Rockefeller Dressing→
I’ve never loved candied yams with their cloyingly sweet topper of marshmallow goo. Given all of the glory on the Thanksgiving table, I’ve always felt that they sullied the experience. My husband would adamantly disagree, of course, given that the marshmallow travesty happens to be his favorite item at Thanksgiving. What to do other than craft him a recipe that might convince him that the candied yam business isn’t the be all end all of sweet potato majesty. Continue reading Whipped Sweet Potatoes with Grand Marnier Pecan Crumble→
This recipe is the kind of trouble that you want to get into. It takes the comfort that is a warm bowl of fluffy mashed potatoes, keeps the butter and cream quotient high, but then flings it into the stratosphere or mischief with the addition of white truffle oil. Oh man, is this where it’s at.
For those that don’t keep a bottle of white truffle oil handy, go out and get some. You know that I am a fan of recipes to wow the unexpected dinner guest, and truffle oil is like a trusty friend that is there to turn a soup, canapé or side dish into something exotic and glorious. You don’t need a whole lot of the stuff to go a long way, and a few drops bring this earthy richness to a dish that is complex and worth savoring. Case in point with this dish – mashed potatoes go from being the foundation for pools of gravy to a star in their own right. And you have to admit, mashed potatoes have deserved a little glory all along, haven’t they? Continue reading Truffled Mashed Potatoes→
I’m not going to lie – this recipe is a little banana cakes. But here’s the skinny. Marx Foods, fine food experts and foodie dream, held a contest to turn fregola sarda (a Sicilian treat similar to Israeli couscous) into *gasp* a dessert. So my brain got to working and did a lily pad leaping move from rice pudding to beignets to arancini to a coulis in lieu of marinara. Wait, what? Now factor in that I have to include star anise or saffron or vanilla bean. Or all three. Can it be done? Continue reading Sweet Fregola Sarda Arancini with Spiced Blackberry Coulis→
Although this menu came together as a part of FoodBuzz’s 24×24 for November, it has long been in the works. For as long as I’ve known, I’ve always wanted to throw a tiki party full of old school flair – think the Enchanted Tiki Room at Disneyland or a trip to fabulous culinary relic Trader Vic’s. Or a favorite from back in the day, the local tiki restaurant in my hometown of Alexandria, Virginia – Honolulu Restaurant. One step into the door transported you to an island oasis where the hula girls were always shaking their hips and the flaming volcano drinks left you forgetting that it wasn’t Hawaii waiting for you right outside the heavy wooden doors. It was a magical place, and the memory even more so (it closed almost a decade ago).
As the weather brings gusty cold fronts and the fireplaces flicker on one by one, I couldn’t help but think that it was high time to get a little silly, a little sassy, and throw a kitschy tiki party. Rather than listen to the endless strains of “Baby It’s Cold Outside,” I wanted to belt some Mele Kalikimaka reminding me that just because Christmas is right around the corner, it didn’t mean that I couldn’t pretend that there were palm trees swaying outside. Well, actually, there are since I live in Arizona, but I digress. Continue reading Enchanted Tiki Room Cocktail Party Menu→
I’ve always been partial to blondies, but these bars are just ridiculous. Adding buttery macadamia nuts and sweet toffee chips to the batter is luxe and a half. Top the whole thing off with salty coconut and I am in dream land. These little babies are sweet, sticky goodness with the most minimal amount of effort. You may want to bake two batches, because they go super fast. And then have me over to lift the extra bars off your hands. Continue reading Toffee Macadamia Nut Bars→
I first fell in love with this cole slaw after eating at California Pizza Kitchen – trying their chicken potstickers for the first time, I noticed that they came accompanied by an interesting looking cole slaw studded with scallions. One taste and I was hooked – the combination of sesame oil and peanut butter was a palate zinger. I had to learn to make it myself.
This recipe couldn’t be simpler – whisk a few ingredients together and toss with the cabbage and then let the tangle of goodness ruminate on its future awesomeness. Not that cole slaw can think, but if it could, I imagine that’s what it’d be doing. Thinking about how cool it is. Continue reading Asian Cole Slaw→
Anytime anyone says that the secret ingredient in a recipe is ketchup, you have the right to run away screaming. Not this time, though. The shrimp in this recipe are gloriously complex, with the perfect combination of ginger, Chinese Five Spice Powder, scallions and yes, ketchup. Don’t knock it till you try it. They should be called Glorious Ginger Shrimp.
As for the accompanying rice, this recipe is deceptively simple – replace plain water in the rice pot with unsweetened coconut water and cook as usual. Ok, not so deceptive, but the flavor is incredible, making this a nice addition to your next supper. It works particularly well for soaking up all of the lovely sauce from the aforementioned shrimp. Continue reading Ginger Shrimp with Coconut Rice→
