Stir-Fried Bok Choy with Pancetta | Wok Wednesdays

This Bok Choy with Pancetta recipe, according to Grace Young, was created by a Chinese expat working in Paris who could not find Chinese Yunnan ham.

What is pancetta? It's Italian bacon (cured pork belly). You'll need to find whole pancetta that is not already thinly sliced, so you can cut it into a 1/4 inch dice.

It's time for Wok Wednesdays again, and this week we are making Stir-Fried Bok Choy with Pancetta on page 226 of Grace Young's Stir-Frying to the Sky's Edge: The Ultimate Guide to Mastery, with Authentic Recipes and Stories.

You don't have to be a blogger to join the group. Just join our Facebook page to view fabulous photos and learn amazing tips for stir-frying. When I first started on this journey, I had no idea what I was doing, but with the help of the group and Grace Young (who is a member of the group and always willing to answer questions), I feel like I can hold my own, as long as I have a copy of one of her books open on the kitchen counter.

Things I have learned:

1. The importance of mis en place, or else your kitchen will look like a hurricane hit it. 
2. How to make the BEST popcorn in the world in a wok.
3. How to keep a wok rust free.
4. How to buy ingredients in an Asian grocery store (show photos from the book, and when in doubt, post photos that you've just taken in the store to the FB page... someone is bound to answer!)
5. That I can actually cook eggs in the wok without them sticking. 
6. All about the Chinese diaspora and the stir-fries that were created by mixing the foods of different cultures.
7. What Lingham's Chilli sauce (they actually offered to send me some), and Matouk's Calypso Sauce are. 
8. That fish sauce may be unpleasant smelling in the bottle, but it adds an amazing flavor.
9. That I love lemon grass. 
10. That this stir fried bok choy is one of the most delicious vegetables ever!

Bok choy, pancetta, ginger, garlic, soy, chicken broth, and a bit of salt and sugar..... remarkable.

The bok choy is "crisp tender," and the sauce, while not overwhelming, adds such a rich flavor. So good and so tasty. Plus, you get leftover pancetta!

Brown-Butter-and-Vanilla-Bean Weekend Cake | Tuesdays with Dorie

This brown butter and vanilla bean weekend cake is so easy to make and really versatile. When it is first made, it can be eaten plain, as you would any cake. When it gets stale, it is excellent toasted and buttered.

Yes, I buttered a butter cake.

The crust has a wonderful crispy sugary texture, even though it is simply a plain cake.

The story behind this cake, and loaf cakes like it, as told by Dorie Greenspan, is that this is a gateaux voyage, or gateaux weekend (according to Dorie, the French do use the American term, "weekend"). It's a simple cake that the French wrap up and take with them on weekends away.

To make this cake, all you need is a couple of bowls, a loaf pan, a whisk, and a rubber spatula. No electric mixer needed.

Oh, and the browned butter! The butter in this cake is boiled until it turns to a deep amber color, adding such a wonderful caramelized flavor. You definitely need to keep a very close eye on the butter, because when it begins to brown, it can burn very quickly. I poured mine out into a heat proof bowl the minute it was the right color so it wouldn't continue to cook in the hot pan.

Suggested ways to eat this cake:

1. Plain
2. Toasted with butter
3. Topped with vanilla ice cream
4. Spread with jam
5. Toasted and spread with jam
6. Topped with chocolate sauce
7. Spread with Nutella
8. Toasted and dipped in coffee
9. Toasted and used as croutons in hot chocolate
10. Spread with whipped cream

I'm sure you guys have many more suggestions. 

This recipe is from Dorie Greenspan's stunning new book, Baking Chez Moi. The stories behind the recipes are such a fun read. I am a total fangirl. 

The recipe for this cake can be found > here <. 

To see how other bakers fared with this recipe, check out the Tuesdays with Dorie group's site.

Stove Top Tamale Pie

Tamale Pie doesn't have much resemblance to tamales, and it really isn't a pie.

"So, what is it then?" you ask. There are lots of versions of tamale pie, but it is essentially made with chili topped with either cornbread or polenta and cheese and then baked in the oven.

This version of tamale pie is made entirely on the stove top, and takes no time to prepare. Think of it as chili with cheese and cornbread dumplings!

The sweet cornbread topping is the perfect contrast to the spicy chili. If your mom made tamale pie for dinner when you were growing up, you will enjoy this trip down memory lane. If you've never heard of tamale pie, but like chili and cornbread, you'll love this dish too.

I think the best part is the spot where the cornbread and chili meld together, sopping up that chili flavor into the cornbread.

Guess what folks. It's Secret Recipe Club reveal day! What is Secret Recipe Club? We are a group of bloggers who are secretly assigned a blog once a month from which to choose a recipe. On reveal day, we all post the recipes we chose.

This month, I was assigned Jess' blog, Flying on Jess Fuel. Jess is so adorable. She is married to a Navy pilot, and they are the cutest couple ever. Jess always stops by my blog on reveal day and has the nicest things to say (thanks Jess!). Needless to say, I was really happy to be assigned her blog. Plus, Jess likes spicy food (as do I)!

There are so many wonderful dishes on her blog. I narrowed my choices down to Jess's Taco Salad and this Stove Top Tamale Pie. I'm definitely making the taco salad soon.

I added some chopped onions to the beef because I had half of an onion in the refrigerator leftover from making this Stir Fry. I also used fresh oregano, because we have some growing in our garden! Other than that, I followed Jess' recipe pretty much as written. I used hot paprika, but you could probably use sweet (I just couldn't find mine!).

I used a 12 inch saute pan so that the chili could peek out from under the cornbread. A more traditional tamale pie has a solid layer of cornbread "crust." If you prefer that, just use a 10 inch pan. I dropped the cornbread batter onto the chili with a small ice cream scoop, but a tablespoon would work just fine.

This was a very tasty dish, and one that I will be making again.

Stove Top Tamale Pie

Recipe from Flying on Jess Fuel, adapted from McCormick's Cooking with Flavor.

Ingredients

Chili

1 1/2 pounds ground beef

1/2 large onion, chopped (optional)

2 T chile powder (I used chipotle chile powder)

1/2 tsp granulated onion

1/2 tsp granulated garlic

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes 

1/2 tsp dried or 1 1/2 tsp fresh oregano

1 tsp paprika

1 T ground cumin

2 tsp salt

2 tsp fresh ground pepper

2 (8 oz) cans tomato sauce

1 (14 oz) can kidney beans, undrained

Cornbread

2/3 C all purpose flour

1/2 C yellow cornmeal (I used medium grind)

3 T sugar

1 T baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

2 T vegetable oil

1 egg

1/3 C milk

Topping

1 C shredded cheddar cheese

1/4 C sliced green onions

Cilantro sprigs (optional)

Instructions

1. In a large skillet or saute pan, brown the meat over medium high heat. As the meat begins to cook, add the optional onions. 
2. Drain the grease from the pan, add the spices, tomato sauce, and kidney beans. 
3. Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for 10 minutes.
4. While the chili is simmering, mix the cornbread ingredients until just combined.
5. Drop the batter by tablespoon over the chili. Cover and cook on low for 15 minutes, until the cornbread is fully cooked. 
6. Sprinkle with the cheese and green onions and cover to cook until the cheese is melted. 
7. Top with the cilantro sprigs to serve. 

Classic Shortbread with Fleur de Sel

This Classic Shortbread is crispy, crumbly, sandy, and melt-in-your-mouth all at the same time. With the little bursts of fleur de sel flavor, they are incredibly difficult to resist.

Eastern European Rye Bread

This Eastern European Rye Bread is soft and light with a crispy crust. It is perfect for deli style sandwiches.

I was a little nervous about this bread at first, mostly because the dough requires quite a bit of kneading, which is something that normally turns rye dough into glue (at least for me). The dough started out really sticky and glue-like, but an amazing thing happened. After about eight minutes of kneading with the stand mixer on medium speed, the dough became smooth and easy to work with.

This bread also managed to survive a major goof on my part. After the first rise, I carefully shaped the dough and placed it in a heavily floured towel for the final rise. Then I realized that there should have been a second rise before shaping. Doh!

I quickly pulled the loaf out of the well flowered dish towel sling I'd placed it in to rise, rubbed it with wet hands to try to absorb the flour coating into the dough, and gave it a couple of kneads. Miracle of miracles, it rose up again!!

Regarding the dish towel "sling," there's a photo of how I suspended a loaf like this in this post. It's pretty fun explaining to your family why it's hanging there.

Bottom line? I loved how this bread turned out! It's probably the most success I've had with traditional deli rye.

Today, the Tuesdays with Dorie group is baking Eastern European Rye from the wonderful book, Baking with Julia (as in Julia Child) by Dorie Greenspan.  To see how other bakers fared, follow this link.

Eastern European Rye 

Makes two loaves

Ingredients

1 1/2 tablespoons active dry yeast

2 3/4 C tepid water (80 to 90 degrees F)

1 T sugar

1 scant tablespoon salt

1/4 C vegetable shortening

3 C medium rye flour

1 T ground caraway seeds (I ground them in a spice grinder)

1 1/2 T caraway seeds

3 T vital wheat gluten

3 1/2 C (approximately) bread flour 

1 large egg white

1 tsp cold water

Caraway seeds for sprinkling

Instructions

1. Place the yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer, and add 1/2 C of the water and a pinch of the sugar. Let sit for 5 minutes. 
2. Add the rest of the water, the rest of the sugar, the salt, and the shortening. Add the rye flour and caraway seeds to the bowl and stir with a spoon until it is fully incorporated. 
3. Move the bowl to the mixer. Using the dough hook, mix in the vital wheat gluten. Add 2 1/2 C of the bread flour, and mix on medium low, adding more flour until the dough is soft and clears the sides of the bowl, about 3 minutes.
4. Knead the dough on medium speed for about 8 minutes, until the dough is smooth. I mixed mine for the full eight minutes. 
5. Place the dough into an oiled bowl, cover, and let rise for about 90 minutes, until doubled.
6. Deflate the dough and let it rise again, until doubled, about 45 minutes.
7. Press the dough into a 7 inch by 9 inch rectangle, and, beginning with a shorter side, roll it into a log, sealing the dough as you roll it up. Tuck in the ends, place it in a floured towel, and suspend it from a drawer (I just tuck the towel into the drawer and shut the drawer). For detailed shaping instructions, see Cathy's post here. 
8. Let rise for 30 minutes. It will be quite puffy. 
9. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F and set it up for steam (I use a broiler pan on the lowest rack, in which I add boiling water. I also spray the oven walls with water after loading the bread). 
10. When the loaf is ready, brush it with the egg white and water wash, and sprinkle with caraway seeds. 
11. Slash the dough three times on the diagonal. 
12. Load the loaf onto the baking stone or baking sheet, and bake for 30 minutes. Turn the oven down to 375 degrees, and bake for 10 to 15 minutes more, until it reaches an internal temperature of 200 degrees F. 
13. Turn the oven off, and let the loaves sit for 5 minutes more. 
14. Let cool completely on a wire rack. 

Yeastspotted!

Granola Energy Bars

Granola Energy Bars filled with toasted oats, almonds, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, coconut, and a mixture of dried fruit. 

Granola energy bars. From my kitchen. With brown rice syrup. Something is completely askew in the universe.

Chinese Indian Chicken Manchurian | Wok Wednesdays

This Chinese Indian Chicken Manchurian combines the flavors of Cantonese stir-fry along with the sauciness of Indian food.

The first best part? We had the chiles called for in this recipe growing in our little patio garden!

The second best part? I photographed steam! Can you see it? Just tilt your screen. Woo!

This stir-fry includes:

1. chicken thigh meat marinated in egg white, cornstarch, garlic, ginger, salt, and a bit of peanut oil
2. garlic and ginger
3. Thai chiles
4. onions
5. chicken broth and soy sauce
6. cilantro
7. and scallions

The onions, chiles, ginger, and garlic are seared in the wok and then pushed aside. Then the chicken is pressed into the wok to sear undisturbed. Once it has seared, it is stir fried for about a minute or two. You then add the broth and cilantro and stir fry until the chicken is cooked through. At this point, add the scallions and serve with some rice. Bam. Dinner. 

And if you are a geek like me, try to capture some steam with your camera before everyone digs in. 

This dish is so simple to make! How are the flavors so complex? 

I've agreed not to post the specifics of the recipe, so please consider picking up the book, Grace Young's James Beard Foundation Award winning cookbook Stir Frying to the Sky's Edge.  

If you'd like to wok along, check out the Wok Wednesdays site for more information.