I came up this this DIY diddy in a pinch when I was having a Make Your Own Sushi Party and the store had only two mats that would be shared among 12 people, not good.  Despite regular grocery stores now carrying all the ingredients needed to make sushi, they often don’t stock the tool to accompany the tastes.  I was making the basic items and was having everyone bring a sushi stuffing ingredient of their choice, so there was no chance for a last minute switcheroo. Plans were set.  As I didn’t want a watch and wait type of soiree, I grabbed some bamboo skewers and some extra sake(incase this idea didn’t work) and headed home.  With a little hustle and some creative license I made sushi mats. The additional sake was still consumed despite the crises aversion or to celebrate the success depending on your disposition.  Enough chatter, here is the full instructional:DIY Sushi Mat

You will need:

Bamboo Skewers (about 60)

Kitchen Shears

Duct Tape

Plastic wrap (not pictured)

Step 1

Cut one skewer to 7 1/2 inches.  You can go bigger if you like, depending on the rice of your Nori/seaweed paper.

Using that skewer as a measurement guide, cut the rest of the skewers using area of your shears used for breaking bone.  It can be identified by the indentation in the blade.  It is possible to cut up to four skewers at once depending on your shears, but two a a time is a safe bet.

Step 2

Cut two pieces of duct tape to 12 inches in length.  This is assuming the mat is going to be ten inches in length leaving you a 1 inch overlap on each side.

Step 3

Line the tape, sticky side up, vertically with about a two inch gap between the strips allowing the skewer to slightly overhang on each side.  Then place the first skewer horizontal 1 inch from the bottom of the tape on each side.

Continue to layer the skewers about 1/16 of an inch apart or about enough to slide the skinny side of a Nickel between each one.  Keep layering until you are an inch away from the top cut of the tape.  Use the picture below as a visual reference.

Step 4

Fold the overlapping tape around the top and bottom of the mat.

Step 5

Cut two more lengths of tape at 12 inches and then lay them on top, sticky side down, of the mat using the tape on the opposite side as a guide.  Then fold the overlapping edges, repeating what you did on the previous side.  Press the tape firmly on each side making sure that it sticks to the skewers.

There you have it! Sushi Swagger.

Before you get ready to roll, work the mat a bit to loosen up the stiffness of the tape and to make sure that all skewers are securely in place.

Important Tip

Wrap your mat in plastic wrap before you roll your sushi as it helps keep things clean and the rice from sticking.

PS. Make your own sushi parties are clutch.  So much fun to be had by everyone.

Saw a video the other day about separating egg yolks with a water bottle. It was amazing, and so much so that I had to try it for myself. After the initial shock of how well it worked wore off, I decided to up the ante by seeing if you can you do more than 1. The answer is ….

It was my birthday last week and to celebrate we invited some friends over for a celebratory feast.  I wanted to make something that was a fun throwback to my childhood, a little treat/present to myself that could be shared with friends. With adding another item to the birthday food smorgasbord, it had to be simple enough to be done ahead of time and not take too much effort to serve up to the guest upon arrival.  Simple, childhood, fun…Frito Pies!  Growing up in New Mexico, the Frito Pie is a well-known staple of high school sports concession stands everywhere.  Some will say that the Frito Pie is of Texan origin, made by the mother of the chips inventor, but I among others believe it was the creation of Teresa Hernandez at the Woolworth’s lunch counter in Santa Fe, New Mexico.  Am I being biased? Yes. Yes I am. So I ventured to my local snack chip store, the bodega, and bought every last bag of single serving Frito’s.  On a side note, the look on a cashier’s face when you drop 27 bags of Frito’s on the counter is priceless.  I only thing I said was, “they’re not all for me”, and left it at that.  Onto the cooking!

The bags of Frito were placed out with a pair of scissors, a pot of the chili and array of toppings.  Then, guests were told to cut open the sides of their bags and fill it with chili and the toppings of their choosing.  The Frito Pie bar was born.  Here’s how to do it yourself:

Frito Pies:

Serves 8

Ingredients

8 single serving bags of Fritos chips

For the chili-

2 lbs of ground beef

2 medium size onions diced (reserved half cup for toppings)

3 cloves garlic diced

2 teaspoons of ground Cumin

2 teaspoons of ground Black Pepper

1 Tablespoon of Mexican Oregano

4 Tablespoons of New Mexican Hatch red chili powder

1 qt. of Beef Stock

2 cans of pinto beans drained

Salt to taste

For the toppings-

2 cups cheddar cheese shredded

Half a head of ice burg lettuce shredded

2 tomatoes diced

Half an onion, diced. (reserved from earlier)

Small bunch cilantro picked and chopped

Sour Cream

Procedure:

1-    In a large stockpot add a small amount of oil, cook and stir onions on medium heat till they start to color.

2-    Then add black pepper, cumin, oregano, chili powder, garlic, a pinch of salt and continue to stir.

3-    After a couple minutes incorporate the ground beef into your mixture and keep stirring until the beef has crumbled into tiny pieces and looks almost cooked but not browned.

4-    Add the beef stock and scrape the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon lifting and residual flavor off the bottom and into your dish.

5-    Cover and let simmer on low for about 45 minutes to an hour occasionally stirring.

6-    After that time has elapsed drain and rinse your beans and add them to the chili, letting it all simmer uncovered for an additional ten minutes.

7-    Remove from heat, salt to taste and add a small squeeze of lime juice to brighten the flavor

Presentation:

Arrange the unopened bags of Frito’s in a bowl with a pair of scissors.  Place the chili pot on the table with a ladle.  Put each topping in an individual bowl with a spoon and place them next to the chili pot.  Have your guests cut open the bags (picture of the two ways we did it are above) scoop in chili and dress the pie any way they please.

Final Note on the Original Frito Pie:

Even though Woolworth’s is long gone, it’s replacement the Five and Dime General Store, still has the Frito Pie roots running strong with Teresa’s family still slinging the deliciousness.  If you are ever in Santa Fe, you can try one of the originals fro yourself at

Five and Dime General Store

58 E. San Francisco st.
Santa Fe, NM 87501
505-992-1800

Coming up on Valentine’s day I decided to make something fun for the lady.  I noticed she always kept candy in the freezer and swore that it tasted better that way.  Fair enough.  So as a little present I decided to turn our refrigerator’s ice cube dispenser into a freezing cold candy machine.  I picked up a few bags of her favorites and armed only with an x-acto knife, tape measure, duct tape and foam core, I made possible so that when the ice lever is pushed on the fridge door candy shoots out!  Instructions after the jump.

Here’s a brief walkthrough.  The process is relatively easy so I’ll keep it simple.

The basic idea here is to create and angled ramp for the candy, so that it’s own weight will carry itself into the rotating dispenser gear.  Filling the tub itself doesn’t work due to the size of the candy, the result is there is not enough kinetic force driving the candy out of the hole, so it just sits there sad and uneaten.

Supplies:

X-acto Knife

Tape Measure

Duct Tape

 Pencil

Candy!

Step One: Remove Ice tub from fridge and clean it.  They are surprisingly dirty.  This is mine:

Step Two: Measure the inside width of the tub.  Also, measure at about a 45 degree angle from the dispenser opening to the top rim. As shown at :16 and :20 in the video

Step Three: Measure from the base of the tub to the center of the drive shaft at a 45 degree angle.  This is because you are going to cut a slit and circular hole the foam core so you can slide in the ramp in and the shaft can still spin and function correctly.

Step Four:  Using your X-acto cut the width and height of the foam core from the previous measurement to fit within the tub.  Then mark the metal shaft point and cut a circular hole slight larger than the circumference of the drive shaft.  From that hole cut a small strip to the base of your foam core toward the exit side of the ramp, :33 in the video.  You can do a width slightly smaller than the shaft diameter as the foam core does had a bit of give.  The base of my ice tub has two tapered edges on each side so I did two simple cuts to accomodate.  Complete cut is below.

Step Five: Slide ramp into tub to see if it fits, :44 in the video.  Make any adjustment cut so that is somewhat flush and there’s no holes for the candy to slip through.  Make sure the top of the ramp runs flush with the tub rim so it doesn’t get caught on the track system or other freezer hardware.

Step Six: Tape it down.  Use duct tape to secure the top and bottom of the ramp to the tub.  Then one final piece of tape across the top of the ramp for good measure.

Step 7: You’re pretty much done.  Mix the candy in the bowl and fill the inside of the ramp.

Step 8: Slide the tub back into the freezer.  Close door and make sure your dispenser is set to cube and not crush.  Push ice lever and enjoy!

Note: I tried a couple different methods before finding this was the best one, so if you decide to do this for yourself and run into a roadblock shoot me a message in the comments and we will trouble shoot it.

Shoot me.  In the eyes.  With blinding acid.  Every time I use yelp for more than just finding a location or business hours, I die a little inside.  But, just when I thought I’d lost all hope, in comes Vanessa defending ramen with the fury of a thousand chopsticks:

Oh wait.  Now I feel worse. You can find me at Rai Rai Ken using tears to salt my broth.

Whenever I visit my parents, my mother aka Mamma Dukes, seems to take it upon herself to make sure that everyone is full, all the times, day and night.  Bless her heart and the fact that she’s a phenomenal cook makes the whole gesture impossible to deny.  So one night she decided to hit everyone in their culinary achilles heel and serve up a whole ham with all the fixins..  Let us all bow our heads in silence.  Pig has died, pork has risen and I will come again…for seconds.  The homily of ham. Halfway through my second helping, I am already thinking about having ham and eggs the next morning, delicious ham sandwiches for lunch and maybe more ham for dinner.  Skip to two days later.  So. Much. Ham.  Too much.   I needed to change things up.  So, while staring at the tower of Tupperware, I started looking around the rest of the fridge, away from the leftovers.  There were radishes, a bushel of cilantro, ginger, chili paste and some Asian sauces and it hit me.  Pork Buns!  It would change up the the flavor profile thats been lingering for the last few days and we finish off the ham, per the Dukes request.  Two birds, one stone.  Asian style pork buns are one of my all time food favorites and this is a simple way to transform the leftovers into something unique and delicious.  Keep this recipe in the back pocket for when Easter rolls around.

Asian Pork Buns with leftover ham, pickled radish and cilantro.

Ingredients

Pickled Radish:
5 radishes sliced

Pickling liquid:
1 1/2 cup rice vinegar
1 1/2 cup white vinegar
1 thumb sized piece of ginger sliced
1 tsp black peppercorn
1 tsp coriander Seed
1 bay leaf
5T salt
5T sugar
1 bay leaf

Leftover Ham:
About 1lb/16 oz.  Think about two ounces per bun
3 shallots sliced
1/4 c shaoxing cooking wine
1/4 c chicken stock (optional)
1/2 tsp chili paste (preferably sambal)
2 T hoisin sauce
Salt
Pepper

Cilantro Garnish
Half bushel of cilantro hand picked into bite size pieces.
Sesame oil
Salt
Pepper

Bao buns.

1 package of 8. Can be found in the frozen section at any Asian grocery store.

Procedure.

First thing to get going is the pickled radishes as they take some time.  You may even want to do these a few hours ahead of time.  The longer they sit the better.

1. Put all the pickling liquid ingredients in a sauce pot and bring to a boil.  As soon as you are at a rolling boil, remove from heat and strain the liquid onto your radishes in an air tight container.  Cover the top of the liquid with some plastic wrap so that the radishes are fully immersed in the liquid.  Put lid on container and store in the fridge for at least an hour, 3-4 hours is ideal.

2. The ham.  Shred your ham with a fork or your fingers so the meat is in long stringy bite sized pieces. Set aside.  Take a large pan, with some neutral oil and turn your burner to medium heat.  When the pan is hot sauté your shallots with about a teaspoon of fresh cracked pepper and keep the pan moving or stir consistently  so they don’t burn.  After a couple of minutes add the ham and toss with the shallots for about a minute.  Then deglaze the pan with your shaoxing cooking wine and continue to stir.  If your wine is burning off too quickly and the ham is beginning to brown, you can then add some chicken stock to keep the meat moist.  You can now add the hoisin sauce, chili paste and salt to taste.  Cook for another couple of minutes so the flavors incorporate and turn off heat and reserve.  Feel free to vary the measurements for personal preference.  Since the meat is already cooked you have the luxury of playing around with the flavor and tasting it till it’s just right.  I personally like it spicy, so I put a bit more chili paste.  Your call.

4. The bao buns.  The buns out of the package just need to be briefly steamed.  This can be achieved with a traditional asian bamboo steamer. Or,  if you are like me and don’t have one,  you can just use a pot with an inch of water with a steamer rack inside and a lid.  Turn the burner on high and wait for the water to start releasing a heavy cloud of steam.  Place frozen buns inside and cover and let steam for two minutes.  You know they are done when they are pillowy soft to the touch.  Check the middle of the bun to make sure the are done.  If you are in a pinch, you can wrap the frozen buns in a wet paper towel and microwave for 30-45 seconds.  They come out a little flat and wet, but it works.

5.  Cilantro garnish.  Super simple.  While the buns are steaming take your picked cilantro and place in a bowl and dress lightly with a dash of sesame oil, fresh cracked pepper and salt.  This also may be a good time to re heat your ham if needed.

6. When the buns are ready, the key is to assembly the finished product fairly quickly, because they tend to cool fairly quickly.

Take the buns out of the steamer, open them on a plate and fill each with about 2oz of the meat filling, which is a decent pinch with your tongs or a good sized scoop with a standard kitchen spoon.  Place dressed cilantro on top and finish with 2 to 3 radishes.  Fold the top of the bun over and serve.

7. Bask in the praise from those you just served.

1- The Sniffer:  You want your fruits ripe and your herbs fresh, I’m with you, but do you really have to treat this place like you’re in a doing a promo for a cooking show? When you spend 10 minutes smelling that peach, all I see is soft focus, sunshine lighting and a cheap piano version of a Kenny G ballad. What are you checking for that is taking so long?  Are you making sure the only thing that touched the produce is the pee of a rare Himalayan caterpillar? Or that the sugar plum fairies didn’t mishandle that cilantro before they packed it in the delivery truck powered by unicorns.  Do you need a minute alone with the melons? When smelling produce goes past the point of function, skips through pleasure and resembles arousal…it’s weird.  Stop it.

2- The Guru: I see you coming a mile away.  I spot your erratic movements and exasperated expressions coming at me like a ball of organic fury. There you are with your funky frames for your glasses, accompanied by a bold ethnic hat choice.  You talk like you discovered Kale and you have been shopping at Whole Foods since before there was a Whole Foods.  So everyone is just an uniformed obstacle standing between you and your latest fad vinegar cleanse.  You ask employees overly complicated questions that you know they can’t answer, because since the divorce it’s the only way you can get off.  You run this shit!   Swing that macrobiotic ego around and bump, push and scoff without apology because you deserve to shop here.  Uh oh, someone just disagreed with your cooking advice. It’s okay, you’re prepared for this, just say “Well, that’s just the way I like it and it’s really yummy”, make sure to extend the I, “IIIIIIIIIIIII like it”.  There you go. That was close. Because god forbid one of these french fry eating hobos damage your imperialistic goddess pride.

3-The Shoptestant:  Grocery shopping is not an elimination challenge.  I know you get pumped when you see the Top Chef contestants running through the aisles of Whole Foods, saying cool chef words and getting the same ingredients you buy and turning them into something magical.  But, when you do it sans the cameras and judges table you sound like an asshole.  Spitting out things like, “My dish is inspired by…” to your friends, while in the store aisle is mind numbing. So, when I see you having a gastronomic meltdown because the store doesn’t have one of your ingredients, I want to shake you till you realize that Padma is not, nor never will tell you to pack your knives and go.  It’s cooking. Relax. It’s going to be okay. You still can make a good ‘dish’.  We all love the show, but it doesn’t make you one shopping trip away from restaurant wars.  Remember when you used to watch Kung Fu movies as a kid and after you thought you were Bruce Lee doing windmill kicks in the front yard? Same shit.

4- The Neo-Parent: You want your kids to live free of social norms, encourage self-expression and feed them well.  All good. Ideally that’s how we all feel.  A little FYI, teaching your child to not act like a rabid spider monkey in public won’t damage your leftist ideals.  Also, why are they wearing 17 layers of clothing? And why are each of those 17 layers a different color?  Are they being raised by fucking rainbows? I digress.

Proper public behavior is good for everyone. Everyone. Without it, that child will grow up thinking that there’s nothing wrong with their prickish behavior. They’ll blame an “oppressive society” for being misunderstood, until they meet a guy named Ferret and jump in his hand painted van to play tambourine in his folk-spoken-word- jam-band. Then after five years of only hearing from them via payphone, you’ll find them at your doorstep ready to play a game called “Surprise! You’re a grandparent!” followed by a round of “Can we crash here for a bit?”.  Then after that little bit turns into months, you’ll have that awful parent epiphany that your child is in fact, an asshole.  $20 says that your new grandkid is named Rainbow, can you guess why? .

5. Me:  I originally had a different type of person for this fifth spot, but then I looked in the culinary mirror and saw another culprit…me and people like me.  Professional cooks, chefs and food nerds.  The people that wander the aisles hoping to release their culinary knowledge on anyone willing to listen…the people who write lists like these.  People who go to Whole Foods with their significant other and said significant other grabs their own cart and goes their separate way to avoid having to hear the history of canola oil or how hydroponic tomatoes will never be a substitute for them actually being in season.  People who ask for their fish to be portioned a certain way and considers the frozen food aisle as a sign of weakness.  Lame.  I know.  I realize it.  But I can’t stop.  I see the glazed look who those who ask me culinary questions, when I go beyond simply answering and give them the full rundown.  It all started simply enough, but the innocent interest became a love, the love became a job, the job became an obsession and now looks for any chance to release.  It may be one of the reasons why I started writing whatever this thing is as a whole.  To empty my face.  So maybe I can take myself off this list someday and said significant other will actually grocery shop with me again. (To those wondering, it’s true, my girlfriend and I separate as soon as we enter the market.)

*If you want to skip to the food pictures, they are after the jump.  I mean, if you want to.  Just Saying.

On a recent trip to Paris, I began calling for a reservation to the famed bistro weeks before my departure date.  Only to be met with a large french sigh of nothing.  Not one table for any of the days were were in the city of lights.  Not easily swayed I continued calling to check for cancellations, the person on the phone enventually took pity and informed me that if I show up at 9:30pm there are a few tables on a first come first serve basis for a second seating.  Ex-squeeze me? Baking powder?   Also, in that second seating we would still be able to order the full tasting menu.  Merci Beau-cu-yah!  Done and done. Upon arriving in Paris, we still tried to weasel a reservation through friends and our hotel concierge but fell short…again.  Taking the phone advice in hand, a decision was made to just go for it.  Or as an old coach so eloquently put it, the ‘F##k It’ technique.   We were going to get into the ever impossible Le Chateaubriand, sans a reservation, on a Saturday night.

We showed up at 9:20, ten minutes early, highly recommended to do so because 20 minutes later there was a line out the door and people being sent away.  Talked to the bartender about the second seating and were put in a visual cue for the few tables they were making available.  We ordered wine at the bar,  struck up conversation, eavesdropped a bit and waiting in anticipation to see if we made the cut.  It all depended on how long the tables before decided to stay.  Too long? No tables.  But one by one around 9:40 a few were wrapping up and then we were informed that we were one of the 5 tables they were going to seat.  Jackpot!  As the relief set in, I  finally started to take the place in, small space, high ceilings, dimly lit and a crowd that was comprised of the full spectrum of cultural aesthetics.  Old, young, families, button shirt uptowners, loose collar downtown types, the fashionable and the demure.  All elbow deep in something good, something special.  In this casual atmosphere something great was happening.  Good food and great technique no longer had to come at a hefty price with a three piece suit.  It was exactly what it set out to be, chef/owner Inaki Aizpitarte said that he wanted to create a place where all his friends could afford to eat.  This is that place.  Natural in its mood and presentation.  It tells you before you sit down that this is going to be good.

When seated, the server immediately picked up on our, “We have no idea what you’re saying”, faces and promptly switched to speaking English describing the details of the five course meal we were about to embark on.  The menu’s given were just for a reference guide and before we knew it champagne was poured and we were ready to go.  While waiting anxiously for the first tastes, the boisterous table of 15 next to us was a mix of fashionable 20-30 somethings, speaking in a mix of French and English, pouring wine and filling the restaurant with laughter.  Here we are, in one of the top 15 restaurants in the world and there’s a table of young people in jeans, laughing, going in and out for smoking breaks, drinking wine and just simply having a damn good meal and a damn good time.  This, is what it should be like. Accessible. Comfortable. Fun.  Without a care if you are doing things right, or using the right fork or pronouncing menu items correctly.  No worries and just the best damn food possible for the money paid.  Simply, food tastes better when you are comfortable and having fun while eating it.  That energy put our table at ease, we dropped the pretense of all the hype surrounding Le Chateaubriand, the anxiousness, the worry if it was going to meet expectations and just let go. Loosened the tie, sat back in our chairs, exhaled and then and only then we were truly ready.

The Amuse Bouche:

There were five amuses.  Yes, five.  It was like a mini-meal before you even got to your first course.

First Course:

Second Course:

Third Course:

Fourth Course:

Fifth Course:

Was a choice between the cheese plate or the chocolate.  We asked for one of each.  Funny Sidenote: The order for the last course was actually taken by one of the chefs who was walking through the dining room.  He saw we were finished with the previous dish, scooped up our plates and asked us our preference for the last bites.  It should also be mentioned that he had a glass of wine in his hand.  Awesome.

It was amazing.  Simply amazing.  One of the top ten meals of my life.  To sit down and describe each dish would simply be an injustice.  I can only say, “Yes, it was all as good as it looked, if not better”.  But, if I had to say one thing…the fish course tasted like they caught a pollock with a flesh made of butter.  Literally.  Melted.  The journey from course to course was brilliant, you were being told a story, a damn good story.  It flowed from dish to dish seamlessly and almost without effort.  At moments the meal hit you with a delicious uppercut of an unexpected flavor or texture, knocking your head back in surprise and pulling forward with eyes wide with excitement.  The meal through within the twists and turns never lost its way.  It just made sense, even within the surprises.  That’s all I can really say and it’s also one of the best compliments I could give.  Le Chateaubriand is worth the hype.  This world class meal, in one of the top restaurants in the world, guided by a young hero of a chef, with 11 plates in total put in front of us was 50 Euro a person.  Amazing, especially when you could easily be paying twice as much for a meal less perfect.  A place where his friends could afford to eat, you win chef…you win.  Thank you.

This pretty much sums it up.  So full.  So good.

Le Chateaubriand

• Address: 129 Avenue Parmentier, Paris 75011, France
• Telephone: +33 (0)1 43 57 45 95