yogurt "cheese"

Imagine eating cheese but not gaining any calories. Sounds impossible but you can get pretty close with yogurt cheese. All you need to do is hang up some non-fat (or low-fat) yogurt in a cheesecloth. The liquid drains away in a day and what's left is something that resembles ricotta.



Of course you have to season it. In Food & Fitness class we added chopped fresh herbs (chives, rosemary, thyme), garlic, salt and pepper. But you can always do sundried tomato, pesto, olives, etc. The possibilities are endless! I might even try yogurt cheese cheesecake and see how that turns out.



In case you're wondering about the crackers, the brand is Mary's and it's from Costco. Rice crackers loaded with different grains and seeds. Super healthy and super crunchy good. A great pairing with the yogurt cheese, or any other kind of cheese!

mole ice cream

Recently there was a special Oaxaca-themed dinner at my school. It was put on by the students who had attended the Oaxaca summer abroad program in order to raise money to help the students going next summer.

Each of us had a station with a dish that we'd learned to cook in Oaxaca. Mine was the octopus salad we made at the restaurant El Origen.

But to challenge myself, I also decided to make the mole ice cream I'd dreamed about when I was in Oaxaca.

I've made a savory (buttered popcorn) ice cream before, so I applied the same process to this one.

Basically, I soaked the mole spices (dried chihuacle+pasilla+mulato chiles, thyme, oregano, cinnamon, clove, peanuts, almonds, walnuts, raisins) in a milk and cream mixture, added corn syrup and sugar, then heated it, pureed it, and added beaten yolks and heated it again, and strained and cooled and churned it.



Sesame seeds were a mole ingredient I left out, to put on a tuile cookie. Like I learned in first semester, I had to cut a mold out of a cake box, spread the tuile batter on, then sprinkled sesame seeds and baked them. The silicon mat is indispensable in this case - without them the tuiles stick and never come off in one piece!



Just having the ice cream and tuile made dessert seem a little forlorn, so I added fried plantains. I didn't want them to get soggy so I pan-fried them, twice. They were hot after frying and I didn't want the ice cream to melt on them so I popped them in the freezer. I think the freezing made the outside crispier, which was a plus.



I was worried about the dessert being too savory, so I added goat's milk caramel that Cris and I made in Oaxaca. The caramel is really thick and un-drizzleable, so I made parchment paper cones for dispensing.



This is everything put together, with some cotija cheese sprinkled on top (since cheese often accompanies plantains but also for garnish).



The ice cream itself was pretty good, maybe too spicy. It tasted like chai ice cream but spicy. And everything went well together, although I did forget chocolate as an ingredient. Everyone liked it, so maybe I could do it again next time with chocolate?

scallops meunière

In Sauces class we had the choice of doing Steak Diane, filet of sole or Scallops Meunière and I chose the scallops because I'd never really cooked scallops before.

Meunière is a classic French sauce of brown butter and lemon, most often used with fish or seafood. In our version it started with searing the scallops in a pan with oil, a few minutes on each side until golden brown.



Like the chicken dish from before, this was another pan sauce. After searing the scallops, I dumped out the excess oil, then sauteed butter until it started turning brown. Then I added the capers, raisins and almonds.



The sauce was seasoned with Worchestershire and lemon, then chopped parsley was added at the end.



For the plating, we seared off a wedge of onion and some cauliflower florets. Since there were five pieces of scallop it occurred to me to make it a flower pattern, with the florets at the center and the onions fanning out.



We poured the sauce over it, hot. Another savory and rich sauce with just the right amount of tang, with the added bonus of sweetness from raisins and crunch from slivered almonds. Yum.

food & fitness: grains and legumes

In Food & Fitness class most everybody is non-culinary, and cooking with them has been a different experience, in a good way. Everybody is really eager to work together and learn, and even pitch in with menial tasks like dishes. Definitely didn't expect everybody to be so on top of it, but maybe my team just rocks :)



We were assigned to do a hummus-like garbanzo spread. There was no tahini involved, but we made two versions of the spread and put sesame seeds in one. I like hummus better though.



I think the main point being made was that grains + legumes together give us the entire set of proteins that our body needs. Common grains are rice and wheat, with whole grains being vastly better for us because they contain the germ (essential nutrients) and bran layer (fiber). Common legumes are peas, beans and lentils.

It really amazes me that so many cultures have the grain + legume foundation to fulfill people's protein needs so that meat becomes secondary. Think about it, Latin America has rice and beans, East Asia has rice and soy, South Asia has rice and lentils, etc.



Perhaps inspired by the grain/legume theme in class, I made quinoa at home. I've only made it once before, to eat cold as a salad, but this time I made it hot. Quinoa is unbelievably easy to cook, and it's surprising that more people don't know about it since it's a complete protein in itself!

I put quinoa (with some dried cranberries) in chicken broth, 1 part quinoa to 1.5 parts broth. You basically bring the mixture to a boil, then turn the heat off and keep the lid on for about 20 minutes while the quinoa cooks.



Here what it looks like cooked.



Then I fluffed it with a fork, and added some chopped parsley (other good additions would have been caramelized onions or orange zest).



I garnished the top with some crushed almonds, although other nuts would work as well. And to make it a complete dinner, I included some stir-fried veggies. Very satisfying, and no meat necessary!

pan-sauce chicken

For this portion of the semester, our advanced class is focused on sauces, both classic and modern. We started out with a pan-sauce for chicken.

First you take some oil and sear the chicken breast (salt & peppered, presentation side down) until it's golden.



Turn over and sear the other side, then throw the chicken in the oven so the inside can cook.



While the chicken is roasting, take the pan you just used for searing and pour any excess oil out, leaving just the chicken fond (bits left over from searing). Throw in a little butter, then sautee mushrooms and shallots.



After they've cooked for a bit, deglaze with white wine and sherry vinegar (preferably this kind if you can get your hands on it), then add demiglace (or reduced/thickened brown stock).



Let the sauce simmer for a bit, then add some roasted garlic puree and a little more butter if needed.



Lastly, turn the heat off and stir in some chopped chives.



By the time your sauce is done, the chicken should be done too. Cut into the non-presentation side and check to see if the juices run clear. If not, put it back into the oven for another few minutes. Otherwise, pour the sauce over and serve!



The sauce is rich but savory with a tang, and even better with creamy mashed potatoes. Mmm.