Pork Katsu

From Japanese bento boxes to Hawaiian plate lunches, pork katsu is a crispy and delicious dish.  The ingredients list is short, the preparation is easy, and it's a real people-pleaser!  Check out my post at Girlfriends Coffee Hour this week for the recipe.  Arigato, Aloha, let's eat!

Spinach Banchan and Cucumber Salad Banchan -- Korean Basics

Last week I posted my recipe for Dubu Buchim at GCH.  Then I had requests:  "Can we have some recipes for things to eat with it?"  Of course!  Banchans for everyone!

This week's post at GCH is for two of my favorite banchans:  spinach banchan, and a cucumber salad.  The spinach banchan is a recipe you'll want to learn and memorize, since it is a component in many other Korean recipes, like Japchae, Kimbap, and Bibimbap.  The cucumber banchan is spicy-sweet and very refreshing when paired with hot rice and kimchee.  Ready for the link?  Here it is!  Girlfriend's Coffee Hour:  What's on Your Plate?  -- Korean Banchans!

Pumpkin Tart with Anise Seed Crust

Thanksgiving did not turn out the way I had planned this year.  Thanksgiving day, we got together with my husband's family, and had a lovely time.  It was a large gathering so we did it potluck; I made mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes with marshmallows, and cornbread stuffing.  We had Thanksgiving with my side of the family scheduled for Sunday afternoon.  I was planning on making two desserts - my Dad requested apple and pumpkin pies.  Then I realized:  I only have one pie plate!  That's okay, I thought, I have a tart tin - I can make an apple pie and a pumpkin tart!  I searched the web, found a fantastic-sounding recipe for a pumpkin tart with an anise seed crust, and got to it.  I roasted my pumpkin in the oven, mixed and refrigerated the dough for the crust, and then ...

Disaster struck.  I got the stomach flu.  My husband was a saint and took the kids to my Dad's house while I stayed home in bed.  I completely missed out on Thanksgiving with my family.  Ugh.

When I recovered a few days later, I realized two things:  I still had the ingredients to make the tart, and unless I wanted to freeze them and make it later, I should do it now; and I was really craving pumpkin pie, since I missed it with my family.  (I had a little nibble of the pie at my in-laws' Thanksgiving, but it was pumpkin mousse cheesecake from Coco's.  Tasty, but too little, and not traditional enough.)  So I made the tart, one week after Thanksgiving - and it was worth the wait!

The anise seeds in the crust may not seem like a huge diversion from a regular pumpkin tart, but just that one extra ingredient had a huge impact!  The crust was like an Italian cookie - it made me want to call my friend Mr. Daddario and have him break out the pizelle iron!  The pumpkin filling is simple and creamy, and with the addition of whipped cream (or Cool Whip, if that's how you roll), you have a perfect, off-beat holiday dessert!

Thanks to Jean for the idea of little crust decorations!

Pumpkin Tart with Anise Seed Crust
(Recipe adapted from Gourmet)

Ingredients:
For the crust:

• 1 1/3 cups flour
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon anise seeds
• 1 stick cold butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons ice water

For the pumpkin filling:

• 1 1/2 cups pumpkin (either canned or fresh roasted)
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 large eggs, beaten
• 1 1/3 cups heavy cream

Directions:

1. Make the crust:  In the bowl of a food processor, blend together the flour, sugar, salt, and anise seeds.  Add in the butter cubes and pulse until coarse crumbs form.  Mix together the egg yolk and 1 1/2 teaspoons ice water and pulse until dough forms.  Squeeze together a small handful of dough - if it doesn't stick together, add in the last 1/2 teaspoon water.
2. Turn the dough out onto a piece of plastic wrap.  Gather into a disc and refrigerate for an hour.  (You can do this a day ahead of time and refrigerate the dough overnight.)
3.  Roll out the dough to about 1/4-inch and press into tart tin (or you could just use a pie plate, I'm sure it'd work fine.)  If you have any left over scraps of dough, don't throw them away!  I cut out little stars with a cookie cutter and baked them separately on a cookie sheet.  They looked super cute on top of the tart, and are tasty too!
4. Prick crust with a fork and refrigerate for 30 minutes.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Line the crust with foil and fill with dried beans or pie weights and bake for 15 minutes.  Then remove foil and beans and bake for another 15 minutes until golden brown.  Remove from the oven but leave the oven turned on.
5. In a large bowl, whisk together all the pumpkin filling ingredients, in order.  Pour filling into crust and bake until puffy and almost set, about 45 minutes.  (If you have too much filling, pour it into ramekins or a casserole dish and bake.  Voila, pumpkin pudding!)  Remove from oven and chill at least 2 hours.  Serve with whipped cream and cute crust stars!

Happy Thanksgiving! Leftover Turkey Salad

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!  I posted a recipe at Girlfriends Coffee Hour today.  It's for my favorite salad, and is a great way to use up turkey leftovers.  I always think of that scene in "A Christmas Story", when the narrator talks about all his favorite ways to eat leftover turkey - and none of them sound very light or healthy.  Try this one, with a fresh Mexican twist, for a great dose of veggies.  Enjoy, and God Bless!

Chicken with Hollandaise

If it were my last day on Earth, I would have something with hollandaise for every meal.  My Mom made a dish called Chicken Falbrook, which was a pan-fried chicken breast with hollandaise sauce and sliced avocado.  It was rich and delicious, my first encounter with hollandaise sauce, and it was love at first bite!  Unfortunately, making hollandaise can be tricky - I remember Mom stirring and stirring the sauce over a double-boiler, fingers crossed that it wouldn't curdle.  Needless to say, we only ate it on special occasions, since the sauce was so finicky.

My Mom never learned the greatest innovation in French sauce technology:  Julia Child's Blender Hollandaise!  What a revelation!  No more double-boiler, no more whisking and praying!  Once I discovered it online, I searched for Mom's recipe, but couldn't find it.  Chicken Falbrook is nowhere to be found in Mom's cookbooks or online, so I'm guessing it's something she and my Dad had at a restaurant, and she reverse-engineered it at home.  In any case, Julia, Mom and I have collaborated to make the richest, most delicious, and easiest Chicken with Hollandaise ever.  I always serve it with steamed broccoli, because broccoli and hollandaise are a treat in themselves.  Asparagus would also be great - use fresh and steam it til it's just tender.

Chicken with Hollandaise

Ingredients:

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• salt and pepper
• 1/4 cup flour
•  oil for sautéing
• 1 1/2 pound broccoli
• 1 stick butter
• 3 teaspoons lemon juice
• 2 egg yolks
• pinch cayenne pepper (optional)
• 1 avocado

Directions

1. Place each breast between two sheets of plastic wrap and pound down to 3/8-inch thickness.  Season with salt and pepper and dredge in flour.  In a large sauté pan over medium heat, add the oil, and brown chicken on one side, for about 10 minutes.  Lower the heat to medium-low and brown the other side, about 8 minutes.  Remove chicken from heat and keep warm on a plate under a tent of foil.
2. Meanwhile, steam the broccoli - I always do this in the microwave.  Keep warm.
3. In the microwave, melt the butter.  You want it hot and liquid!  In a blender or food processor, blend the egg yolks, lemon juice and cayenne pepper for 30 seconds.  Then add a tiny bit of the melted butter, blend for ten seconds, and repeat, adding the butter in a thin stream, or a bit at a time, and blending in between additions.  When all the butter has been added, blend for 20 seconds.
4. To serve, pour a generous amount of hollandaise on the chicken breast, top with 1/4 avocado, sliced, and  a side of broccoli.  Try not to lick the plate when you're done!

The Korean Pantry

On Monday, my friend asked if she could come with us when I said I was going to the Korean grocery store.  She'd been toying with trying some Korean recipes, but didn't know where to start.  I said, Sure! We went aisle by aisle as I pointed out the staples that she'd need to make most dishes.  We had a great time, and my friend went home and felt ready to try something new!

So after writing a few Korean recipes here at Frugal Girlmet, I decided I'd put the cart before the horse for long enough.  Here is my quick and easy Korean primer (with bonus Indian recipe shopping tips).  If you've ever wanted to dabble in Korean food but were intimidated, please!  Don't be!  It's cheap to get started, the ingredients are pretty easy to find, and they last forever in your pantry and fridge.  Read the full article at Girlfriends Coffee Hour.  Explore, experiment, enjoy!

Moroccan Vegetable Stew

I'm honored and pleased to announce I'll be blogging on Thursdays for a website called Girlfriends Coffee Hour.  Under the category Recipes, you'll get a new one each day - some Southern favorites, some gluten-free recipes, and my contributions - I'm the "ethnic food" blogger!  So join me Thursdays for some Korean favorites, different Indian curries, maybe some Mediterranean and Thai, too!

This week's recipe is Moroccan Vegetable Stew.  It's a great choice for a fall day, with hearty lentils and festive butternut squash.  Check it out here:  http://girlfriendscoffeehour.com/2012/11/08/whats-on-your-plate-moroccan-vegetable-stew/  And enjoy!