All Things Chill

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~Spec

Broiled mackerel & white pepper wings dinner

Roasted African PeriPeri Rubbed Pork Tenderloin with Maque Choux

Pan roasted ribeye, baked potato with anchovy butter and broccolini.

I once watched Hubert Keller (lol shameless picture here) make clams in a black bean sauce, but “French-ed” it up by adding a good amount of butter. Now, I’m not here to justify that adding butter is a “French” thing *cough* Paula Deen *cough*, but the man is a legend, so I’m not about to burn any bridges (LOL).

The reason why I bring Chinese black bean sauce + butter to the conversation is that I started thinking about things that already have a black bean sauce in the dish: (stir fries, dumplings, noodles). When that didn’t bring about any ideas, I remembered that hot wings are just butter + hot sauce, so if I swapped out my Crystals or Frank’s for Chinese black beans, I’d have chicken wings with a sweet, spicy and earthy sauce with a bit of richness from the butter.

I followed the same recipe from before (steam, fridge, bake and sauce, but I subbed hot sauce with prepared Chinese black beans sauce and a nub o’ butter. Top with sesame seeds and thinly sliced green onions. Throw in some red pepper flakes if you’re adventurous!

For the salad, I grated 4 medium sized carrots, sliced a few fuji apples, added currants, some Kewpie mayonnaise and served it on unreal green butter lettuce. Something light, sweet and not too greasy to go with the wings.

I’ve been munching on the leftovers for the past few days – cold with warm rice. Perfect for late night snacks and a nice complex dark beer. What’s wrong with a bit of unorthodox wings? Hee hee.

Enjoy!

~Spec

When Liana went to NY for business, she stopped by the Museum of Modern Art (MoMa) store to pick me up the Griffin + Chilewich iPhone case that I’ve been pining after for since I tweeted this:

I favorited a YouTube video — Griffin Technology and Chilewich http://bit.ly/15Zkct

…which you can see right here:

Ironically enough, she picked the style that matches the Chilewich placemats that I bought last week… which I forgot ALSO match this picture of bacon from Jason’s house from LAST YEAR.

Boom. Head explosion. LOL NOT REALLY.

I’ve been using it the past few days and I really like that I can remove 1/8 of the case (the butt) for iPhone dock use. After having the sleek and aerodynamic form for a while, it’s nice to have some texture – it feels quite good in the hands.

I’m a bit afraid of what strange bits it’ll pick up while I’m cooking, but I’ll update if I find a colony of bacteria trying to break ground near my headphone jack. Hee hee.

THANKS SWEETHEART! XOXO.

~Spec

Kimchi Bokumbop Cooked with Mangalitsa Lard. Fried Egg.

Pan roasted Mangalitsa pork chop, chickpea salad

Juice breakfast – so fresh and so clean clean

Turkey congee, garlic chips, scallion oil

Happy Thanksgiving! Dinner plate

A Brat on a Bolo Bun with an Onion, Brussels Sprout and Bacon Relish

Grilled Calamari with Spaghetti Squash and Shiitake Mushrooms in a Roasted Garlic Cream Sauce

Fall is here and that means tons of gourds and squash ideas to stick to your bones while the temperature drops. I was using this recipe to test out thanksgiving flavors, trying to coax out the sweetness from the spaghetti squash. Saving that base flavor profile in my mind means that I can riff variations on that theme when the end of the month approaches. I’m planning on using deep and intense flavor profiles for this turkey day, but a man can only live on harissa once a week. Hee hee. Recipe follows, let me know if you have any questions!

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper (yes, go out and buy some). Using a small paring knife, pierce holes around the entire spaghetti squash. Roast in a 400 degree oven for 40 minutes. Allow to cool. Cut in half and scoop out the seeds. Break away strands with a fork and set aside before serving.

To make the roasted garlic cream sauce, put a handful of garlic cloves in a small nonstick pan with enough oil cover garlic halfway. Add a heavy hand of Kosher salt. Cook over low heat and flip when one side is golden brown. Cool for a few more minutes. Separate garlic from pan and set aside, saving the oil for another use (omg roasting potatoes!).

In another pan, add 2 cups of cream and bring to a boil. Mash garlic cloves, stir into cream sauce and reduce over low heat until it coats the back of the spoon (you can strain the sauce at this point). Season.

Toss the spaghetti squash with the cream (a little goes a really long way) and serve it with your favorite protein – I think crab cakes would KILL if they were sittin’ on this. That night, I grilled some calamari steaks that I should have really sauteed in a pan. OH WELL LIVE AND LEARN I GUESS. NEXT TIME PLZ.

YAY Autumnal recipes!

~Spec