Archive for May, 2010
How to Eat (or…pick the meat from) a Lobster
In the vein of learning to deal with crustaceans, I am posting a step-by-step guide to breaking down a lobster. In this case I am removing the meat to serve with a soup, so the photos are from that process (instead of using lobster crackers on the claws, I’m using a rolling pin like a hammer). However, the general ideas of how to eat a lobster still apply, so this guide can be used by anyone who has never eaten a lobster, or anyone who wants to get every last morsel of tasty meat out of that shell.
Brilliant?
Ribs in a can. I can’t decide if this is the best or worst idea that a food company ever had. I’m leaning towards worst, but if I’m stocking my bomb shelter for the apocalypse I’m going to want ribs, so maybe I’m being hasty in my evaluation of canned meat. Also, I just love the verb “sauced”. Sauced canned meat. Mmmmmm…. Via boingboing.
Momofuku Pork Buns
Those of you who read this blog with any regularity will already know that I cook a lot of things from the Momofuku Cookbook. I can’t help it. I’m addicted. I’ve probably cooked well over 50% of the dishes in the book, which is easily the highest percentage of cooked recipes for any cookbook that I own. This dish is the one that started it all; the first thing that I tasted from Momofuku. The Momofuku Pork Bun.
How to Clean Soft Shell Crabs
I’ve been eating a lot of soft shell crabs recently. It’s the season, and I love them, so I’m going to get my fill while I can. I have posted recipes here and here, but in both cases I never talk about how to clean the crabs. Most of the time I have the fishmonger clean them when I buy them, but the other day I was down in Chinatown and I got half a dozen live crabs, which were packed up on ice and carried home to make soft shell crab buns, Momofuku style. So, if you find yourself with live soft shell crabs that need to be cleaned, here’s what to do.
Bok Choy with Miso Butter
This recipe is another great reason to have miso in your refrigerator, in addition to the miso soup recipe I just put up. Miso keeps forever in your fridge, and this recipe is so easy that it’s even tough to say that it’s a “recipe”. This dish takes five minutes from start to finish, and it will become one of your favorites immediately. The miso butter idea is David Chang’s (of Momofuku, if you haven’t ever read this blog before or don’t live in New York) that I’ve appropriated and applied to every steamed vegetable I can get my hands on. I first tasted it three years ago at Momofuku Noodle Bar, where it was served over asparagus with a poached egg. Heaven. Give it a try; you won’t regret it. Trust me.
Miso Soup from Scratch
I don’t know about you, but one of my favorite parts of eating sushi is the miso soup. For years I ate the thin, watery soup that you get from every sushi delivery joint, and loved it, not knowing that there was something else beyond takeout miso soup. Then I bought miso for the first time to make a miso butter (more on that here) and I made my own miso soup. Guess what? It blows that takeout stuff right out of the water.
Roast Duck Part III: Udon Duck Soup
So here we are at the final installment of the Roast Duck. Part One is here, Part Two is here. Remember that roast duck carcass that you froze after you made duck breast and duck confit? Time to make duck and udon soup!
Fresh Morels with Soft Shell Crab and Crispy Carapace
Today when I went to the store and saw what was available, I felt obligated to create a dish using the two freshest, most indulgent and seasonal ingredients I could find: fresh morels, and live soft shell crabs. What emerged is my springtime take on the classic crab stuffed mushroom, with a twist:
Cooking and Evolution
I’m going to deviate from my normal recipe posting to put up an interesting article about a new book coming out by Harvard biological anthropologist Richard Wrangham that sounds intriguing. Wrangham postulates that cooking gave early humans an evolutionary advantage, making those who cooked their food more attractive (biologically) to potential mates and thus more likely to procreate. Sounds about right, from my perspective, if you know what I mean…everybody loves the cook!
From the article:
““The extra energy gave the first cooks biological advantages. They survived and reproduced better than before. Their genes spread. Their bodies responded by biologically adapting to cooked food, shaped by natural selection to take maximum advantage of the new diet. There were changes in anatomy, physiology, ecology, life history, psychology and society.”
Link to New York Times Article
Whiting Croquettes with Truffled Tartar Sauce
Yesterday at the store I came across an ugly, often overlooked fish: the whiting. When I say “often overlooked” I say this because I never even give them a second glance at the fish counter. They’re small and ugly. They don’t have enough meat to be able to fillet them and cook them as a meal. I decided that I should give this fish a chance, and I picked one out to try as an experiment. This is one of those recipes that goes under the “just crazy enough to work” category.
