Culinary Adventures at Home and A Far

New Farmer’s Market in NoLibs

sjula — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 14:09:45 +0000

The title says it all! There is now a farmer’s market at Piazza over in the Northern Liberties area of Philly. It’s located just south of Griad on 2nd St. It happens every Saturday and they have great stuff there. I was there on 01/23 and was surprised by the amount of tables, since it just started and it was a little chilly out. I bought some produce from the one stand and bread from another. I hope to get some meat next time I go. If you live in this area I highly recommend supporting it. You are going to pay more for the meat than your regular grocery store, but the quality is much better and you supporting you local farmers. Produce is comparable to any grocery store.

http://www.atthepiazza.com/piazza-farmers-market.html&date=30-Jan-10#piazza-farmers-market

Lets go to Vietnam

sjula — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 13:56:04 +0000

Not my photo, but mine looked just as good

YAY, I am posting something!

So, I finally made something that I wanted to blog about and I forgot to take pictures… DOH! Oh well. My friend John stopped over this weekend to hang out and we decided to make Pork Meatball Bahn mi. It’s a French/Vietnamese hybrid that is sweet, sour, and spicy all on a roll. I was super excited to make this when I saw the recipe on chilicheesefries.net and even more excited to try and get most the ingredients at the new farmer’s market in NoLibs. I was able to get some really nice carrots, jalapeños, and a baguette there but I ran out of money since everyone was cash only.

On to the cooking! This dish is very easy make. I would try to make the vegetable mixture ahead of time. If you let all that stuff marinade it really becomes much more flavorful. Next, mix up your meatball ingredients, sear those off, and then pop ‘em into the oven. While that’s going on you can make mix up you spicy mayo. DING, that’s it, assemble sandwiches and devour. This is a great dish for parties and it travels well.

Here is the link to the recipe: Pork Meatball Bahn mi

INGREDIENTS:

For the spicy mayo

2/3 cup mayonnaise
2 green onions, finely chopped
1 tablespoon or so Sriracha chili sauce

For the meatballs

1 lb ground pork
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh basil
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 green onions, finely chopped
1 tablespoon Thai fish sauce
1 tablespoon Sriracha chili sauce
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon kosher salt

For the sandwiches

1 cup coarsely grated carrots
1 cup coarsely grated peeled daikon
1 jalapeno, sliced super thin with most seeds wiped away
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon sesame oil
4 long baguettes
fresh cilantro sprigs

Hello 2010!

sjula — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 14:31:06 +0000

I hope everyone had a great holiday. Mine was good: I spent time with family and got a awesome stainless steal Caphalon set. My cooking can only get better now. It’s so awesome to finally be able to beautifully sear a piece of meat. I now have large pots too, so I can make big batches of delicious soup. My last and only large pot was disgusting and probably killing me, because the Teflon was peeling and rust was forming… not good at all. Speaking of killing me, in 2010 I am going continue my effort to eat better and cook more. I don’t like to make specific goals, because I always fall short. So I am just gonna to try and make an effort to eat less fast food, and cook healthier dishes. I guess my preparations will have to include less bacon and cheese, even though they are probably my 2 favorite ingredients. Maybe that means there will be more turkey bacon and low-fat cheese in my life? HAHA!

For those who read and like my blog, I am sorry I haven’t posted anything in a few weeks. I have been doing a ton of cooking recently but not finding the motivation to post my adventures. In the next couple days I should have a few new posts about some dishes I have made. I will also be going to at least one place for Restaurant Week in Center City coming up in Jan. Click the link for more details.

Fuck you 2009 and the aughts, bring on 2010 and the Teens!

Southwest Breakfast Burrito

sjula — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 17:25:39 +0000

I love breakfast! I use to not care for the meal as much when I was younger. I didn’t really eat it a lot in high school, but I remember looking forward to weekend mornings where my mom would make breakfast for the family. Whether it be eggs, pancakes, or french toast there would usually be bacon along with it. I think this is where my love of breakfast and pork began. Now that I am 24 and seem to have more time to enjoy breakfast, I love going to places with interesting spins on breakfast; like Shorty’s Sunflower Cafe, Sabrina’s, and Morning Glory. I also love cooking it, too. One of my favorite things to cook up is the breakfast burritos. I like it because it is self-contained, hearty, and can be filled with almost anything you want. I usually make this Southwestern version. Thanks Jenn for the Jalapeño wraps! jennsfoodporn.wordpress.com

1 Serving
1 Jalapeño Wrap
2 Eggs, scrambled
2 oz Chorizo, chopped
1/4 C Pepper, chopped
1/4 C Onion, chopped
1/4 C Shredded Cheese
1 tsp Garlic, minced
1 tbsp Cilantro, chopped
2 tbsp Scallion, chopped
2 tbsp Olive Oil
TT Abodo
TT Pepper
TT Salsa Picante or any hot sauce

Heat up your skillet with the oil on med-high heat. Toss in the garlic and onions first, cook for about a min and then add the peppers and chorizo. Season with Adobo to taste. While that’s cooking, scramble your eggs and season them with Adobo and pepper to taste. Add eggs to rest of the mixture, cook for a min and then add your cheese. You can heat up you wrap on a griddle, or in the microwave. Assemble your wrap by adding the mixture to the center and topping with scallions, cilantro, and hot sauce. Roll it up!

Bar Ferdinand: A Delicious Reason to Come to NoLibs

sjula — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 15:13:18 +0000

This is my 4th or 5th time going to Bar Ferdinand and it was just as awesome as always. I was there with a bunch of friends from The Restaurant School (TRS) for our friend Ann’s visit back to Philly. This is one of her favorite places too. We also got our favorite waitress! I wish I knew her name cause I would give her mad props. I think every time I’ve had her, its been in a large group, and she handles us so well.

On to the food! Everyone was sharing their dishes at the table, but I remember the one’s April and I had the best. I got the carrot and ginger soup that was on special and it was wonderful. Very delicate flavor, silky and just delicious. I saw that they had a new sandwich, Pato Ahumado, that was a duck slider. It was the tastiest of all the sandwiches and I’ve tried them all. We both got the Datiles con Tocino which are dates, bacon, and cream cheese in a puff pastry. These are April’s favorites. April also had their Salmon special for the night, which was house cured and presented on a Himalayan salt block. The salmon was stuffed with some sort of micro greens. It was good but some bites were a little too salty for me. She also got the Pork Belly and Monkfish Skewers, Pixin con Panceta. This is another dish I have had before and like. The pork belly they use is like 80% fat and just melts in your mouth while going so well with the monkfish. Our whole table ordered the Paella, which was not as good as I remember from my first visit there. It was good, but I just remember it being so much better. I guess the first time I had it was also the first time I had Paella too. Finally for dessert we finally tried their Churros con Chocolate, which we have been wanting to try every time we go but wind up going with something else. I guess our instincts were right, cause they were just ok. The chocolate dipping sauce was excellent, very rich and thick, but the churros just didn’t do it for me. I guess I just prefer the Mexican style more.

Once again another great time at Bar Ferdinand. If you haven’t checked this place out yet, please do. It’s been open for about 3 years in this relatively new neighborhood and has good reason to be. It’s great for parties or a romantic date. Prices are very reasonable too. They have a great beer and wine selection and happy hour 430-630 Monday thru Friday. Check them out at http://www.barferdinand.com/

Grits for dinner!

sjula — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 07:04:52 +0000

Tonight I decided to make something I have never ate before, grits. One of my favorite cooking websites is chilicheesefries.net. He has such delicious recipes. I choose this one cause I wanted something relatively quick and hearty. I went to Reading Terminal to pick up most of my ingredients, but I couldn’t find liquid crab boil anyway! I even went to Fresh Grocer (it just opened today!) and my crappy ghetto super market Cousin’s. I figured it wasn’t the end of the world and it turned out fine. I also realized that the chorizo I bought was cured differently then what I wanted. That’s where Cousin’s get it right, since they are in a predominately latino neighborhood, they have good chorizo. The whole dish came out good. It was a little spicy but was mellowed out nicely by the grits. I would up the cheese if I made it again. All and all it was a great way to be introduced to grits. Follow this link to check out the recipe: http://chilicheesefries.net/crawfish-chorizo-cheese-grits/

Here is what mine looked like: