Buttermilk Biscuits

The name "biscuit" can bring a lot of confusion and means different things to different people from various parts of the world. Outside of the US, and especially in the United Kingdom, "biscuits" are what most Americans referred to as cookies and/or crackers. However, in the US, it is normally referred to as a quick bread, made with flour, butter/shortening, and leavened with baking power and/or baking soda. Since I am in the US, I will use the latter meaning of the word "biscuits".

Most people do not make biscuits at home for some reason or another, which is strange because this is one of the simplest quick breads. The problem comes in with making sure that (i) the butter or shortening is incorporated properly, and (ii) to not over mix it. In fact, the less it is mixed, the lumpier the dough is, the softer, more tender it becomes.

This is my recipe for a very simple buttermilk biscuit. The amount of flour and buttermilk listed is approximate, because it depends on the weather, humidity, etc. The dough in the end should still be soft and slightly wet. After you make this a few times, you'll get a feel for how the dough should feel like for the type of biscuit that you prefer, so feel free to adjust those amounts.

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled in the freezer
• 1 cup cold buttermilk

Optional: 4 tablespoons melted butter to brush over baked biscuits after you pull them out of the oven.

Heat oven to 425 F.

Sift flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together. If you are using a food-processor, pulse it a 4-5 times to mix the dry ingredients.

Cut the cold butter into chunks and rub it into the flour mixture with your fingers. Do this quickly to make sure the butter doesn't melt. You may also use a dough cutter to cut the butter into the flour. Do this until you either have flakes of flour-coated butter, or small, course meal. If you are doing this in a food-processor, pulse it until you see small pebbles of butter.

Pour into a mixing bowl, and add buttermilk. Stir gently until everything is just combined into a dough, no more than 20 seconds of stirring. It will look lumpy and under-mix. Dough should feel soft and slightly wet/sticky. Use additional flour if it is too wet.

Liberally sprinkle flour onto a flat surface and turn the dough onto it. Flatten it gently with your hands until it is about 1/2 an inch thick. Use a biscuit cutter to cut rounds of biscuits. Use scraps to form into a dough ball and flatten it again to make more biscuits.

Alternatively, you can shape the biscuits by hand. Pinch a ball of dough, about 1 1/2" in diameter, and flatten it gently until it becomes a disk about 1/2 inch thick.

Place the biscuits on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake in the oven for 10-12 minutes.

As soon as the biscuits is baked and out of the oven, brush the top with the melted butter. Serve immediately.

I made these by shaping them with my hands, since I don't have a biscuit cutter. But I like my biscuits this way. It looks more rustic and definitely the unevenness makes it more home-made.

This is as quick of a quick bread as it gets. Depending on your oven, if you start heating it and start making the dough at the same time, you may be done with it even before your oven reaches its set temperature. Yet, it is so delicious, you'll never buy those frozen stuff in the supermarket refrigerator again.

Zz.

Poke Bowls at Mariano's

I mentioned earlier that a new Mariano's opened in our neighborhood. We went there last night for a quick and light supper, since I also needed a gallon of milk. The supermarket was still packed and busy.

I decided to have one of make-your-own Poke bowls (Poke as in the Hawaiian fish/seafood bowls). I had mine with tuna, shrimp, and marinated tofu, filled with brown rice, seaweed salad, masago, and sprinkled with sesame seed.

It was delicious. Just the right amount for what I want, and cost only $13 before tax.

I think this might become my go-to place for a quick, light meal.

Zz.

Mushrooms: To Wash Or Not To Wash?

I'm sure you've heard this before, especially when you watch cooking shows on TV. Inna Garten, the "Barefood Contessa", and even Julia Child, both have stated that one shouldn't wash mushrooms. To clean it, one should just use a soft, dry brush to get ride of the dirt. Washing it, they claim, will only cause the mushrooms to absorb the water and will cause your dish to be soggy (if that's something you don't want).

The thing is, this type of claim can be easily tested and verified. And that is what has been done by many. I remember seeing an episode of "Good Eats" on the Food Network (when Food Network was actually worth watching) where Elton Brown actually made a test on how much water was absorbed by whole mushrooms when they were left to soak in water, and when they were rinsed under running water.

Verdict: Not that much, or at least, not enough to ruin a dish.

Similar conclusion was drawn from this website, where they tackled this culinary myth. Would a 0.5 ounce of additional moisture in your mushroom out of a total of 8 ounces of mushrooms make or break the dish that you make at home? Not with me it doesn't. That's less than 6% of the entire weight. Is your cooking THAT precise in the first place?

The issue here isn't washing or brushing mushrooms. The issue here is if the effort is justified for the result that we want. Here, brushing each mushroom is time consuming and tedious. Giving these mushrooms a quick rinse under running water is so much quicker and more convenient. The tiny amount of water being absorbed here is insignificant for the average home cook. The additional effort is not worth the small difference at the end.

For the record, I rinse my mushrooms under running water, and then I slice them for use in my dishes.

Zz.

Chimichurri

I Love Chimichurri.

Chimichurri is an Argentinian parsley "sauce", and usually eaten as an accompaniment to meats. And it is ridiculously easy to prepare and very versatile.

Here is my version of this recipe:

• 10-20 sprigs of flat-leaf parsley
• half of a small onion
• 2 cloves of garlic (use less if you're not as into garlic)
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly-ground black pepper
• 2-4 tablespoons of red or white wine vinegar
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

For the parsley, you may substitute with curly parsley, but make sure for either type, use mainly the leaves. A bit of stem is OK but try not to use the main stalk of the parsley.

Put parsley, onion, garlic, red paper flakes, oregano, salt, black pepper, 2 tablespoons of vinegar, and 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil into a food processor or blender. Then pulse it 10-15 times. You do not want a puree. You still want to see small chunks. This is not a smooth sauce.

When done, pour content into a large ceramic bowl. Add the remaining 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil and mix thoroughly. Give it a taste. It should taste like fresh parsley, with a bit of acidity from the vinegar. Add additional tablespoons of vinegar if needed. Adjust seasoning to your liking. The sauce should not be too thick or too runny. If it is too thick, add a bit more olive oil.

This is the version that I made yesterday:

I served it with a roast leg of lamb, and it was delicious. Chimichurri should be served at room temperature, although you may store it in a tightly-closed containing in the fridge. Make it at least an hour before serving so that the flavor has time to "bloom".

It goes very well with lamb, steaks, grilled chicken, prime rib, and grilled fish. I've also seen people used this to dress cold pasta salad. Like I said, this is a very versatile sauce.

Zz.

Let The Supermarket War Begins!

Where I live, a new supermarket just opened today. Mariano's is a well-known brand of supermarket that appears to have a very loyal following, and it just opened about half a mile away today. I did go there in mid morning, and it was a ZOO! I spend about an hour just browsing around and bought a few things.

It will be interesting to see how this plays out. Within a 2 mile radius of where we live, there are now 5 major supermarkets: Jewel, Mariano's, Fiesta Market, Wally's Market, and Valli Fresh Market.

I do most of produce shopping at Valli Fresh Market. In fact, I'd say that this is my most favorite place to shop. The produce selection is outstanding and covers a wide ethnic ingredients. There is also a large turnover of produce, so they are usually quite fresh.

I also regularly shop at Fiesta Market. It has a more Hispanic-centric items, which is great because I buy a lot of them. It is also where I regularly find my stewing hens when I want to make great chicken stock or my Malaysia chicken soup base.

I got to our local Jewel supermarket here, but it is often frustrating. Half of the time, the produce that I want to buy is either bad, wilted, or not available. I've limited my shopping there only for dairy products and maybe household cleaning items. They have recently upgraded the appearance of the store. However, I think it is merely putting a lipstick on a pig. The problems with the store that I often see are still there.

The addition of Mariano's just adds another option. I think their cafe and baked goods might be the ones I will go for, even though many of their baked items still have lots of preservatives listed in the ingredients. The cafe is certainly a viable option for a quick lunch or dinner.

Should be interesting to see how this works out in the next year or so.

Zz.

From Physics To Baking Bread

I read this story and had to chuckle a bit.

This article describes the journey of a man who studied physics and obtained a Masters degree in it, but then decided to go into baking bread and turn that into a vocation and a career.

And so after the younger Li received his Master’s degree in Physics, he decided to pursue a career as a baker instead of a scientist.

He said he had to conceal the fact that he holds a postgraduate degree in science so a local bakery would accept him as an apprentice.

During the years of his apprenticeship, Li only earned as little as HK$5,000 a month and went home dog-tired after all the hard work in the bakery, but that did not stop him from making more bread at home in the evening.

I had to chuckle because I posted a link to a story earlier of my own immersion into baking bread because of my journey in becoming a physicist. I only used the act of baking bread to tame my nervous energy at that time, so I didn't go as far as this person. But I can certainly understand and appreciate the passion. I still bake bread at home when I have the chance, and I also bake other stuff. Does that fact that I understand a bit of the physics involved in what I do makes difference? Sure! I often wondered and tried to figure out what was happening, or what would happen if I do such-and-such. So inevitably, I tend to modify a recipe or the way I've done things.

Zz.

My Most Favorite Mexican Restaurant In The Area

Here in the US, there is an abundant (over abundant?) number of Mexican restaurant. And because of this, there is also a wide spectrum of quality of Mexican restaurant, from the very good and very high end (the Frontera Grill's) to the nasty fast food (I won't name names). Add to that, the majority of the food that are termed as "Mexican" tends to be Tex-Mex, originating from the Texas, Arizona, New Mexico region of the US, rather than authentic cuisine from the various regions of Mexico.

In other words, finding a "good Mexican restaurant" can have a wide meaning and can be a daunting task.

My take on ANY ethnic restaurant is this: Is the clientele of that ethnic restaurant predominantly of that ethnicity? If it is, there is a very good chance that the food is either authentic, or very good, or both. I mentioned earlier of why we love Izakaya Sankyu near where we live, and on any given night, you'll see predominantly Asian, and more specifically, Japanese clientele in the restaurant. So apply this to Mexican restaurants. If you walk in, and the clientele in predominantly Hispanic, there's a good chance that the food is good. If you walk in and you don't see even a single Hispanic customer (and trust me, I've been in many such restaurant before), then there's a good chance that either the restaurant is over-priced, or it is not any good.

After searching around for a good Mexican restaurant near here, I can safely say that Los Compadres in Mount Prospect is my most favorite Mexican restaurant in the area, hands down. On any given day or night, you will see a predominantly Hispanic customers, and the food is consistently good. The menu is huge, and it doesn't have just your typical Gringo-style Mexican fare. In fact, there will probably be many menu items that you haven't seen before in your typical Mexican restaurant. And to me, that is a huge plus.

The restaurant is in an old Pizza Hut joint. Decor is minimal (almost verging on a hole-in-the-wall type). But this is perfectly fine with me, because most people who go there are more interested in the food.

So let's talk about the food. I haven't had any bad items at all. My favorites so far are the fried whole red snapper or whole tilapia. YUM! I love this not just because it is always delicious and can be shared with another person, but it is relatively cheap when compared to other places that serve whole fish. And BTW, you people need to get over this aversion to seeing fish heads on your plate. The fish is dead, and the head meat, especially around the cheeks, is the most succulent piece on the fish!

Another favorite is Arrachera Campesina, which is a skirt steak served with grilled cactus. I tend to eat this by slicing the steak and the cactus, and then wrapped them in corn tortilla with a squeeze of the house salsa. This is simple but delicious.

Finally, I love their tacos, mainly because the selection of meat for it is larger than usual. My most favorite meat for my tacos are the lengua (tongue) and barbakoa (braised goat). Served with cilantro and onions, these are delicious!

I've also had their "cocktail" and the 7 Sea Soup. All were quite good. Like I said, I haven't had anything bad here. And often, when I'm there, I try to look at what other tables were ordering, just so I can see if I want to try them next time.

Service can be a bit interesting. You do sometime have to flag a wait staff if you want something, especially the check. If they are busy, this can take awhile, but there's nothing to stop you from simply walking to the cashier counter and paying your bill there if you don't want to wait. But even then, all the staff are usually very nice and friendly.

This is my most favorite Mexican restaurant in the area. If it is good enough for the local Hispanic/Mexican population here, it is good enough for me.

Zz.

Leftover Corned Beef

While St. Patrick's Day is this coming Friday, we already had our corned beef and cabbage dinner this past weekend/week. So now I have leftover corned beef.

If I have the time, I often will use leftovers and turn it into something else. This time, I decided to make my version of corned beef hash, but with homefries. I already had some red potatoes that I roasted with rosemary, and I diced an onion and half of a red pepper. I took the leftover corned beef and diced them into smaller pieces.

I then fried all of them in a pan. And just like the traditional corned beef hash, I want some crusty surfaces on this, so I pressed the down onto the pan and let is sit for a couple of minutes under medium-high heat to develop that crust. Then I roughly flip various parts of it and try to get more of this crusty surface. If you have made the English's "Bubble and Squeak", then this is a similar thing.

Once done, I serve this with perfectly-fried eggs. By perfectly, I mean sunnyside up but with crispy edges. That's how I like my eggs.

Sprinkle with parsley and a touch of Tabasco, and this was a very nice lunch of leftovers.

Zz.

Uncomplicated Lunch

So yeah, I like a few exotic food and a tastes of many cultures. But sometime, I do like something simple and uncomplicated. This is one such lunch that I often enjoy, and it is easy to fix.

It is a selection of mixed greens, half of an avocado, boiled fingerling potatoes, and perfectly hard-boiled eggs. I dressed the greens and potatoes with my homemade balsamic vinaigrette, and finished it off with a sprinkle of freshly-ground black pepper.

I'm sure this is quite healthy as well, but it tastes great, and that is what is important. It is simple and very satisfying.

Zz.

Malaysian Chicken Noodle Soup

I mentioned a few days ago of making a Malaysian Chicken soup. It turned out pretty well. I used the broth as the soup base for my noodle soup.

The noodles are thin rice noodles. The garnishes for the soup are the shredded chicken (actually, it is hen) meat, mung bean spouts, Vietnamese basil, caramelized shallots, and a squeeze of lime.

I served it at a small dinner party, and I thought it went quite well. Everyone loved it.

I still have some leftover broth, which I've been consuming for lunch with a bit of noodles and spouts. It is still good even after a few days.

Zz.

Avodaco And Deforestation In Central Mexico

I'm not naive into thinking that a small act often can make a difference. It is not usual and happens only in rare cases. But still, I doesn't mean that I don't care.

I read this article about how the growing appetite for avocado is driving farmers in Mexico to cut down on forest to plant more avocado trees.

Avocado trees flourish at about the same altitude and climate as the pine and fir forests in the mountains of Michoacan, the state that produces most of Mexico’s avocados. That has led farmers to wage a cat-and-mouse campaign to avoid authorities, thinning out the forests, planting young avocado trees under the forest canopy, and then gradually cutting back the forest as the trees grow to give them more sunlight.

What is more devastating for me is that this happens in the Michoacan forest where the Monarch butterflies over-winter, and I LOVE MONARCH BUTTERFLIES after I learned about their multi-generation life-cycle. I plant milkweed in my yard hoping to attract them.

So I'm now rethinking and hesitating to buy "Avocados from Mexico", as the slogan from the TV commercial says.

Zz.

Malaysian Chicken Soup

OK, I'm having people over for dinner, and I'm going to serve Malaysian Chicken Noodle soup. I've started this morning to make the soup.

Unlike the standard, American chicken soup, the Malaysian version has a lot more spices to flavor the broth. I'm starting everything from scratch. I'm not using even any pre-made chicken broth.

I bought a whole hen (not chicken, so the name of the dish is misleading), and this is what I'm using not only to make the broth, but also later on serve the meat as part of the dish. The reason why I'm using a hen is because I want to simmer the broth for a long time. A typical supermarket chicken will simply fall apart and turn to mush if I simmer them for as long as I intend to. A hen is older, and frankly, has a lot more chicken flavor.

But what makes this different than the standard broth are all the whole spices that I added. The spices are: cinnamon sticks, whole cardamom, whole cloves, whole star anise, and pepper corns. I also put 3 sticks of lemon grass, 3 stalks of celery, one large onion, 5 cloves of garlic, and 5 thick slices of ginger root.

It is simmering slowly right now and the whole house smells wonderful! I'm going to simmer this for about a couple of hours, and then I'll fish out the chicken.. excuse me, the hen pieces and let them cool down. Then I'll shred the meat, and put the bones back into the pot and let then simmer for another hour.

When that is done, I'll strain the broth and I'll end up with the most flavorful soup base for my noodle soup. I'll post some more on how things progress, including the final dish.

Zz.

Most Favorite Refreshment In All Of Walt Disney World

I posted earlier of my most favorite snack in all of Walt Disney World. Now comes my most favorite refreshment in all of Walt Disney World. Hands down, it is the Dole Whip float that one can get from Adventureland in the Magic Kingdom, or at the Polynesian Resort.

It is a pineapple-flavored soft-served ice-cream on top of pineapple juice. On a hot, muggy Florida day, it is the most refreshing thing you can have.

The only drawback? The lines can be long and the service can be VERY slow, especially at the Magic Kingdom. For some odd reason, the Disney management seems to think that it is fine to have one person taking the order and then go off to fill the order. So when you get a family of 4 or 5 ordering something, it can take several minutes for the entire order is done and the line can move. There have been many times where I would like to have one of these, but changed my mind because of the line. Even a short line can take longer than you think. It is one of the most inefficient service in all of WDW.

Zz.