Recipes: February 2008 Archives

Forget to make that reservation at the new organic small-plate izikaya cocktail raw food bistro for Valentine’s Day? Get stuck with a 4:45 seating time? You know, there’s no shame in cooking, for one another. Like Adam and Eve sharing the apple tarte tatin of knowledge, or whatever.

For this V-Day — and the two-year anniversary of this blog! — we wanted to dip our dirty fingers into a dessert menu by doing something both savory and sweet, romantic and rowdy, something indulgent enough that we would make it for sweeties as a St. V present (naked) but something simple enough that you could it eat by yourself, (also naked). We set upon a wacky take on “sticky rice”: sticky rice with sweet, tempura-fried baby beets. The recipe is a little time consuming, not a lot, so you can spend most of your time cuddling.

Sticky Sweet Baby Fried Beets

2-3 Red baby beets
1 cup tempura flour
3 dried vanilla beans (or 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract, if you must)
1/2 cup white sushi rice
1/2 cup warm water
1 1/2 cup coconut milk
1/2 tsp. cardamom
3 Tbs. sugar
2 pinches salt
2 cups vegetable oil

1. Bring a small saucepan of water to boil for the beets. Chop their leaves off at the stem and snip off any tails so that the beet as close to heart shaped as possible.

2. Once water is boiling, drop them in for about 8 minutes or until slightly tender to a fork jab. Remove and cool under water or in an ice bath.

3. Skin the beets by running the edge of a spoon gently along the rough skin. The beets will naturally look a little like hearts, embellish by cutting a “V” in the flat top. Then place beet down on cutting board and make 4 or 5 slices, about 1 centimeter thick. If needed, chip away to make top curved and heart-like.

4. Fix sticky rice. We used a super easy microwave method repped by a Thai convenience website. Start by soaking your rice in warm water for at least 10 minutes. Then simply cover bowl with a plate and nuke for 2 1/2 minutes. Remove, stir, and repeat. Rice should be translucent and, um, sticky. But fully cooked. Let sit while you prepare the coconut milk.

5. Bring c-milk to medium temp in a small sauté pan. Add cardamom and stir well. Once nearing a boil remove from heat and add sugar and salt. Stir. Mix 3/4 cup of the coconut milk into sticky rice and stir thoroughly, setting aside the rest for the tempura mixture and a sauce garnish.

6. Mix tempura batter: add tempura flour to large mixing bowl, and scoop out vanilla bean using a spoon. (If using vanilla extract wait until you add your liquid, then add extract.) Combine 1/2 cup of the coconut milk to make a thick slurry of a batter. Vanilla beans should be visible.

7. Bring about 2 cups of canola oil up to high, fryin’ temperature in a small or medium wok — high heat for close to ten minutes. Once dangerously hot, batter the baby beets, letting excess batter drip off, and quickly fry them, about 1-2 minutes each. Remove, blot gently and rest on paper towels. Sprinkle with a pinch of sugar while still hot.

8. Garnish using two sauces using the remainder of the coconut milk: mix half of the cream with finely diced beets to make a pink sauce and keep half plain white.

9. To garnish: Use a 1 or 2-inch biscuit or cookie cutter, or similarly shaped circular item and stuff it tightly with the sticky rice forming a rice cake; top with a Tbs. of pink sauce. Place 2 beet hearts on top of that. Add a splash of white coconut sauce with the remainder of diced beets for contrast.

10. Serve and kiss.

Beverage: De Proef’s Primitive Ale
Soundtrack: Al Green’s “Let’s Stay Together”

On the eve of Super Bowl Sunday, we threw a Hot Knives dinner party. Jokes were made about making “nachos” out of Portuguese thistle rennet cheese and Egyptian fava beans, or terriyaki tofu burrito bites (shudder, barf). But without thinking about it, we really did stumble upon our own kind of couch-potato small plates menu of wintery finger foods. Football worthy, even Oscars material!

First up, a cold platter of thinly sliced “watermelon radishes” (named for their starbust pink coloration) topped with a dollop of turnip-horseradish mash and a small square of French butter and sea salt. Best of all, both this dish (below) and the second one (which is on the way) require next to no cooking, mostly just prep time and decoration geekiness. So you can spend quality time with your guests. Maybe even just turn the TV off.

Watermelon Radish Bites

1 turnip
1 small potato (a purple Peruvian would work awesomely)
3 Tbs. butter (or olive oil)
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp. horseradish (fresh, grated or even horseradish mustard works)
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup vegetable stock
salt and white pepper to taste
1 watermelon radish
2 Tbs. French butter (optional)

1. Bring a small saucepan to a rolling boil. De-stem your fugly turnip and and toss it in your water. Add potato and let both cook until just tender to a knife blade, about 7-8 minutes. Remove, rinse with cool water and set aside.

2. In the same saucepan, heat your butter or oil. Add garlic and horseradish for a quick sauté on medium heat. Add the potato and turnip and cook for five minutes while attempting to mash with a wooden spoon. Finish the job with a handheld mixer (seriously, buy one!).

3. Slice the radish into paper thin spheres or semi-circles and arrange on a platter to serve. Top with a dollop, about 1 tsp. of turnip mash, and a small chunk of fresh butter. Sprinkle each piece with a couple coarse grains of sea salt.

Beverage: Dogfish Head’s 120 Minute IPA
Soundtrack: Miles’ Davis, Sketches of Spain