February 22, 2013 by Marios

Thai Chili Vinaigrette

When I first came to the U.S., I was a bright-eyed 19-year-old with a suitcase and a thirst for exploration. The first few months of my life in Philadelphia as a freshman in college seem like a dream today. I was discovering so many cool and interesting things that I had never experienced before: Roller coasters; The Awesome Blossom deep fried onion at Chili’s; and heat. Not the radiator kind but the pepper one.

At the age of 19, I was so unaccustomed to hot food that ground black pepper was too hot for me. But it didn’t take me long to figure out that I liked heat and that with a little practice I could tolerate hot sauces and peppers. Today I relish them.

My favorite hot pepper is the Thai red pepper. Not only because of its fruity, pleasant taste but also because of where its heat hits you. It’s concentrated at the very front of your mouth and the lips. After eating something with Thai red peppers in it, your lips prickle and buzz, like the aftermath of an extraordinary first kiss.

This recipe is for a very basic vinaigrette that is in fact a common table condiment in Thailand called Nam-Pla Prik. It’s easy to make and it has the characteristic flavor combinations of Thai food: heat, salt, sweet, sour, and umami. It’s absolutely delicious tossed with roasted vegetables (like brussel sprouts or winter squash) and it transcends any fillet of fish that has been simply cooked in a sauté pan or in the oven.

Thai chili vinaigrette

3 tablespoons fish sauce (adjust to your taste)*
2 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon rice vinegar (or rice wine vinegar)*
juice of 1/2 lime
2 tablespoons sugar
1 small garlic clove (or 1/2 large) pressed in garlic press or grated on microplane zester
1 Thai red chili (red bird’s eye chili), very thinly sliced, seeds and all**

* You can find fish sauce and rice vinegar in almost any supermarket, in the international foods section
** I usually buy a bunch of Thai red chilis and I keep them in a ziploc bag in the freezer (they keep for months). I slice one when I need it without even defrosting it first.

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and whisk until combined and sugar has dissolved. Alternatively, you can put everything in a jar and shake until sugar is dissolved.

Extra sauce will keep in the fridge for a while.

February 19, 2013 by Marios

Carrot Salad (with blueberries…maybe)

This isn’t much of a recipe. That is, the ingredients aren’t anything special and there are no strict measurements for them. But there are a few things that are important, and if you follow them, this simple combination of carrots, lemon juice, olive oil, and salt become something ethereal but snappy, light but hearty.

This is what you do. Take carrots (here I took 6 small ones) and grate them using the small teardrop holes of the grater. This is important. The small teardrop holes shred the carrots into fine threads that are juicy but have just a tiny bit of bite to them. The result is a mushy pulp that makes you want to take another bite, and another, and another. I know it’s a pain and that the large holes take less time, but trust me on this one.

Put the carrots in a bowl and add a generous splash of good olive oil (for the 6 small carrots I added 1 1/2 tablespoons) and a good amount of lemon juice. None of the bottled stuff. You need real juice from real lemons. And you need more than you probably think (I used 1 tablespoon here). Finally, you need salt (I added 3 good pinches of kosher salt). The result is sweet, sour, salty, and a little fatty, thanks to the oil.

It should all end here, and it almost always does. But as I opened the fridge to put the half cut lemon back in, I saw the packet of fresh blueberries I had bought earlier and I though, what the hell. So in they went. And you know what? It worked great. Again, sweet, sour, salty, and fatty. Can’t go wrong. But if you don’t have blueberries, no worries. All you need is carrots, olive oil, lemon juice, and salt. Simple as that.

February 11, 2013 by Marios

Cranberry-Pistachio Yogurt Cake

My favorite food magazine used to be Gourmet. I loved it because it was serious about food but not pretentious. It approached food as more than just nourishment. It appreciated its many dimensions and roles in our lives and did it all with fun, class, and a hell of a lot of great recipes and advice.

And for the last ten years of its life, it was headed by Ruth Reichl, one of my food idols. I always joke that if I run into her somewhere, I will turn into a blithering idiot or a twelve-year-old-girl-meeting-Bieber, and will probably just end up muttering “I vav you” or something incomprehensible like that.

Anyway, when Condé Nast announced in 1999 that they were shutting down Gourmet, I was really upset. But even worse was the accompanying announcement that they were putting all their resources in Bon Appétit, a magazine that ranked just above Cooking Light or The Rachel Ray Show in my eyes. So, I kept my last issue of Gourmet, complained for a while, and then went on with my life.

But then in 2010, they changed the editor-in-chief of Bon Appétit to Adam Rapoport and something happened. The magazine became more interesting, more useful, more joyful about food. In other words, it became more like Gourmet.

To make a long story short, I subscribed to it and I now devour it every month (though I still miss Gourmet). This recipe is a variation on a recipe that appeared in Bon Appétit in May 2012 for a French Yogurt cake. It’s a brilliant recipe (a variation of one that has existed in France for decades). It’s simple to make (just two bowls and a whisk), it’s delicious, and it’s infinitely adjustable.

My version here is one of our favorites. It combines the lemony goodness of the cake, with sweet-tart cranberries, and the crunch of pistachios. I make it probably twice a month, let it cool, slice it, and freeze the slices in pairs of two. Whenever we want, we take two slices out at night and leave them overnight on the counter to thaw. They make an excellent breakfast.

Cranberry-Pistachio Yogurt Cake – Adapted from Bon Appétit

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt (or 1/2 teaspoon table salt)
1 cup sugar
finely grated lemon zest of one lemon (preferably organic/unsprayed)
3/4 cup whole-milk Greek yogurt*
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup of fresh or frozen cranberries, very coarsely chopped
1/3 cup shelled pistachios, coarsely chopped

* I use one 7 oz small container of FAGE Total greek yogurt

Preheat oven to 350°. Coat a 8 1/2 x 4 1/4-inch loaf pan with a little vegetable oil. Dust with flour and tap out excess.

Whisk 1 1/2 cups flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Add chopped cranberries and mix with a spoon.

Using your fingers, rub sugar with lemon zest in a large bowl until sugar is moist. Add yogurt, oil, eggs, and vanilla extract; whisk to blend. Fold in dry ingredients just to blend. Don’t overmix.

Pour batter into prepared pan and smooth top. Sprinkle chopped pistachios and very gently press them with palm of your hand so that they adhere to the batter. Bake until top of cake is golden brown and a tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 55-60 minutes.

Let cake cool in pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Invert onto rack; let cool completely. The cake can be made 3 days ahead. Store airtight at room temperature.

February 8, 2013 by Marios

Malted Milk Ice Cream

There are some things that I like to say I have a problem with. One of them is chocolate. I have a problem with chocolate. As in, once I take a bite of chocolate I am consumed by an uncontrollable, insane desire to keep eating it. It’s a problem. Really.

I also have a problem with malt. Or more precisely, malted milk powder. You know, the stuff that’s inside Maltesers (if you’re European) or the extremely inferior Whoppers (if you’re American). My problem gets even worse because malted milk powder is often combined with chocolate (see Maltesers and Whoppers above).One bite can drive me into a kind of Zombie-like, straight-out-of-the-walking-dead behavior.

So when I saw the recipe for Malted Milk Ice Cream in David Lebovitz’s amazing book “The Perfect Scoop,” I knew I had to make it. And I did. And it was good. Really, really good. So good, I’ve made it more than a dozen times ever since.

So here it is. But if you make it and can’t stop eating it, I will not be held responsible.

Malted Milk Ice Cream – Adapted from “The Perfect Scoop” by David Lebovitz
Makes about 1 1/2 quarts (1 1/2 liters)

2 1/2 cups (625 ml) heavy cream
1/2 cup (125 ml) whole milk
pinch of salt
3/4 cup (150g) sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup (90 g) malted milk powder*
6 large egg yolks
2 cups (350 g) malted milk balls, coarsely chopped**

* I buy mine online from King Arthur Flour
** Maltesers are the best here but if you can’t find them, you can use Whoppers

In a large bowl, whisk together 2 cups of the heavy cream, the vanilla, and the malted milk powder. Set a mesh strainer over the bowl and set aside.

In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, warm the milk and the remaining 1/2 cup of the heavy cream along with the sugar and salt, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Slowly pour the warm milk mixture in the egg yolks while whisking constantly. Pour the whole thing back into the saucepan and stir it constantly over medium heat until it thickens and coats the back of the spatula. Make sure to scrape the bottom of the saucepan as you stir.

Pour the mixture over the mesh strainer into the bowl with the cream and malt. Stir to combine. Cool the mixture by either putting the large bowl in an ice bath and stirring or by putting in the fridge.

Once the mixture is chilled, freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions. As you take the ice cream out of the machine, fold in the chopped malted milk balls.