Beetroot Rocket Salad with Brie

The other weekend, I uncharacteristically went and bought a bunch of stuff I usually wouldn't. It all started with this amazing salad I had at an Italian restaurant and I was craving it ever since! If I crave for a salad, then you can rest assured it was actually that good. I was almost successful in bringing the same taste at home the very next day!

Let's start with the Brie right here. Except for a couple of times I've had this with crackers at some fancy buffet, I've never bought Brie. That's totally changed now. I am a convert, to say the least.

Hello there, you creamy, evil mound of cheesy goodness.

Next we have Balsamic Vinegar. Again, its something I've had while eating out, I've come across it in other blogs but this is the first time I have ever owned a bottle of this. And while I was at it, I went and bought the best available bottle of balsamic vinegar in Singapore whose price shall not be discussed. Ever.

You are good, you know you're good.

This is what I ended up with. Like I said, it was pretty darn close in taste to the original thing I had in the restaurant. Here's how:

Beetroot Rocket Salad with Brie

Serves 2

What I Used:

4 cups lightly packed rocket lettuce leaves

1 small beetroot, cubed and steamed until cooked yet firm

Brie cheese cut into small pieces

Toasted sunflower seeds (the original recipe used pine nuts)

For the dressing:

2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1/2 tsp sugar

A pinch of salt

Toss the salad leaves and other ingredients together. Mix the ingredients for the dressing well and combine just before serving.

There's something about rocket lettuce that makes me want to eat it all day. I am not much of a salad person but this salad totally makes me want to take that back.

The dressing used here is slightly sweet and very mild so it doesn't overpower the taste of the greens or vegetables. The brie gives a nice creamy feel to your bite and the sunflower seeds add a much needed crunch. Perfect!

What's more, its so photogenic! ;)

Spatchcocked turkey and other Thanksgiving firsts

Matt and I've grown up so much. Just two years ago when we spent Thanksgiving on our own, we ordered and picked up our dinner from our local grocery store. The following year, we spent with family. And then, this year, we found ourselves all alone again, only this time there would be no ordering pre-cooked meals. This time we would cook everything ourselves. Starting with the turkey.

The November Martha Stewart Living is what originally got me thinking that we could do it--specifically the step-by-step guide on how to cook spatchcocked turkey. And before you get totally freaked out (there will be many more opportunities for this), as far as I can tell, spatchcocking is basically just butchering the turkey so that it can flatten out and you can cook it in about 70 minutes instead of 4-5 hours.

Martha's version:

Our version (the next three pictures):

1. Cut out the backbone.

2. Look on in disbelief at the backbone you had someone else (Matt) just cut out of this turkey carcass. Marvel at it. Talk about how disconnected we are from the food we eat. Call a few friends and recommend the movie Food, Inc. again.

3. Step out of the room and fail to take pictures of the step where Matt breaks the breastbone. You are sort of freaked out.

4. While Matt puts the flattened bird in the oven, pour a glass of champagne and mix in a little apple cider. Take a time out and then, when you feel ready, psych yourself up for your next first: Caesar salad.

...In my family, my mom always serves up Caesar salad with Thanksgiving dinner. Despite my deep desire to continue to rag on my mom on this blog as she continues to never check it and/or defend herself, I must say that her Caesar salad is fantastic. That being said, when it came time to buy all the ingredients, Mom was nowhere to be found, so I ended up using Tyler Florence's recipe.

The recipe didn't call for Flott anchovies by name, but after spying this packaging, I may be sold for life. Is that fish wearing a chef's cap on his head or is it a button mushroom?!

Flott + raw egg yolks = the same kind of problem I ran into with the carbonara. The dressing tasted good, but how could I really concentrate on that when part of me knew I was eating the above. (Aggh! Why am I so disconnected from the food I eat?? I was so much happier when I ordered Thanksgiving from the grocery store!) OK, I'm kidding. Mostly.

It's sort of embarassing to admit, but here are some more firsts for us: mashed potatoes, gravy, and stuffing. I guess we are adults for real now?

Matt's plate:

The wrap up: everything was amaaaazing. The turkey was cooked to perfection. The mashed potatoes and gravy, in particular, were insane. We did Ina Garten's recipe for both and she does not disappoint. The Caesar was good, too, but maybe a little too citrusy.

I'll leave you with my favorite picture from the whole day: Matt's to-do list next to my champagne/apple cider cocktail with a section of a clementine tossed in.

Happy Thanksgiving! Hope yours was great!

Ethiopian Lentils

Have you seen that Hamburger Helper commercial that claims you can (with the Helper's help)
feed a family of four, with vegetables, for under ten bucks? The last shot before the commercial ends shows a serving bowl of Hamburger Helper, a small bowl of peas, and a glass of milk. Some meal. Lentils are super cheap, high in fibre, iron, folate and protein. Ten bucks of lentils could feed your family of four for about a month. This is a fantastic dish that gets a lot of flavour from cooking the lentils with a whole whack of onions. The vinegar may seem like a weird addition, but I assure you it completes the dish.

INGREDIENTS
- 1 1/2 cup green lentils
- 3 cups water (more if needed)
- 2 large sweet onions, halved and sliced
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 fresh green chile or jalapeno, seeded and minced
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp cardamom
- 3 tbsp red wine vinegar
- salt and pepper to taste

METHOD
1. Rinse lentils then place in a large saucepan with water, onions, garlic, and chile. Bring to bubbling, then reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for about 45 mins, until lentils and soft and onions have more or less disintegrated. Stir periodically and add more water if needed.
2. From here, you can add in the remaining ingredients, cook for 10 mins, and serve. However, if you have the time, I like to add in the spices and cook, uncovered, for another 45-60 mins. Green lentils are durable enough to withstand a lot of cooking without falling apart. This way you can cook off some more of the water and slowly make a nice thick stew. Then, stir in vinegar and cook for 10 mins, season to taste, and serve.

Ethiopian Sweet Potato Stew

I mentioned in my last post that I wanted to make more Ethiopian food, so when my in-laws were here for a visit I whipped up a small feast of 3 dishes that I will post over the next few days. My father in law must eat a very low salt diet so well-spiced food is always a great way to go. This dish is so flavourful that I didn't miss the salt, but feel free to season to your taste. An essential element to any Ethiopian meal is some good injera bread. The recipes I see online require a 3 day fermentation period, so I go with Jennifer's recipe in Vegan Lunch Box. It is quick, easy, and has great taste even with the much decreased fermentation time. We all love abandoning our forks and scooping up our food with chunks of spongy, soft injera.

INGREDIENTS
- 2 tbsp oil
- 1 large sweet onion, diced
- 4 large garlic cloves, chopped
- 2" piece ginger, minced
- 2 medium sweet potatoes, diced (around 3-4 cups)
- 1 red pepper, diced
- 1 tbsp paprika
- 1/2 tsp allspice
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp coriander
- 1/2 tsp ground fenugreek
- 1 1/2 cups water (more as needed)
- 1 large tomato, small dice
- 1/2 cup red lentils
- 2 tbsp tomato paste (more as needed)
- 2 cups chopped green beans (fresh or frozen)
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
- salt and pepper to taste

METHOD
1. Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Saute onion, garlic, and ginger for 10 mins, until onion is a nice golden colour. Add sweet potatoes and red pepper and saute for 1 min.
2. Add spices and fry for 1 min. Don't worry about things sticking to the bottom of the pot. Add water to deglaze the pan, then add tomato, lentils, tomato paste, and beans. Mix well.
3. Bring to bubbling, then reduce heat, cover, and simmer for at least 30 mins, until lentils and potatoes are soft. Stir occasionally. It is even better of you can let it cook on a low heat for an hour or two. Add more water if stew gets too thick.
4. Stir in parsley and season to taste. Adjust thickness of stew with more water or tomato paste--remember that you want to be able to scoop this up with injera.

Easy Gobi Manchurian Recipe

You are away from home for an extended period of time. You have tasted most of what the local cuisine has to offer you. Your mind wanders back to the dosa and sambar, chaat, dal chaawal, rasmalai, aloo paratha.. all those things you took so much for granted back home.

Me? I crave Gobi Manchurian. One evening, I drove TH nuts saying I want gobi manchurian and I want it now. Its easy to find Indian food in Singapore, especially North Indian, but Indo-Chinese, not so much unless you are ready to go the extra mile to Little India, literally.

That evening we went, and I was happy only after I polished off an entire plate of gobi manchurian all by myself.

The next day, I made it at home. Yes, the very next day, why do you ask?

I really wish I had step by step pictures, especially to show the batter consistency, but I have measured out the ingredients quite accurately so this should come out well for you.

Gobi Manchurian Recipe

What I Used:

2 cups cauliflower, cut into florets

Oil to deep fry

For the batter:

5 tbsp maida / plain flour

3 tbsp cornflour

1/2 tsp red chilli powder (optional, depending on heat level preferred)

1/4 tsp pepper powder

1 garlic clove, minced

A pinch of salt

About 1/4 cup water

For the sauce:

1 small onion, chopped fine

1/4 cup capsicum, chopped fine

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 green chillies, slit midways (use to taste)

2 tbsp tomato ketchup

1 tsp green chilli sauce (optional but recommended)

2 tsp soy sauce

2 tsp vinegar

2 tsp cornflour mixed with 4 tbsp water

Salt, check before adding

How I Made It:

1. Let's start with the sauce. Heat oil and fry the onions, capsicum, green chillies, if using, and garlic until the onions turn golden brown.

2. Add the ketchup and the green chilli sauce to the onions and mix well. Fry for 30 seconds.

3. Turn the heat to high and add the soy sauce and vinegar. Mix well for 5 seconds and lower heat back down. Fry for 30 more seconds.

4. Now add the cornflour-water mixture and mix until the sauce thickens. Check salt and add more only if necessary, since the soy sauce and chilly sauce may have salt. Set sauce aside.

5. Mix ingredients for the batter until you get a slightly loose batter of pouring consistency. Heat oil until its just short of smoking hot, coat each cauliflower with the batter and drop it into the hot oil. Fry until golden brown and drain on kitchen towels. Repeat.

6. Once all the cauliflower florets have been fried, add to the sauce and mix well. Serve hot garnished with coriander leaves or green onions.

Note: this recipe is for the dry version of gobi manchurian that's usually served as an appetizer. You can stick toothpicks into the florets and serve as an appetizer or add more water-cornflour mixture and make the sauce looser to serve with fried rice.

Jodi's Guest Attempt: A Day with Thomas Keller’s BOUCHON Cookbook--seriously, an entire effing day.

Dear Readers:
Welcome to the Guest-attempt-gone-wild zone. Read along as my good pal, Jodi (of Saucy Little Dish fame), takes on Thomas Keller's Bouchon cookbook. Things are about to get super French and super freaky...

Two years ago, my wonderful husband (merely my boyfriend at the time) bought me Thomas Keller’s Bouchon Cookbook for Christmas. It is gorgeous--larger than your average-sized cookbook, hefty, shiny, with amazing photography and inspiring prose detailing Keller’s philosophies of cooking and the history of the casual “bistro” style of French comfort food. I loved it. I paged through, drooling over the potted food, the terrines, the glistening oyster glamour shots, and then…I put it on a shelf. For two years. Because, as beautiful as it was, it was utterly impractical. Sure, that vinaigrette might be a good staple, but beyond his tips and technique hints, these recipes were so detailed, so skill-heavy, so elaborate–for what he claims is such casual food–they were just too much for me.

Now, I think I’m a pretty good cook. I can whip through most Bon Appétit recipes with no problem at all and know my basics pretty well. So for my first guest Appétempt, I figured I’d brave Mr. Keller’s masterpiece. I’d try to recreate the meals of one of America’s greatest. We’d just gone to the original Bouchon in Napa on our honeymoon, and I was feeling inspired. I’d use his damn cheesecloth idea; use every freaking pot in the house and DO IT. And I would invite Matt and Amelia (and our friends Rachel and Jared) over to enjoy the fruits of my labor. One Day, Three recipes: Salmon Rillettes, his Bibb Lettuce Salad, and the big momma…Boeuf Bourguignon. Let’s do this.

8 am: Wake up and immediately go out to finish shopping. I go to 4 different stores looking for Pernod. Give up and buy Sambuca at CVS instead.

(NOTE: lots of this stuff was done concurrently all day, but I’ll divide it up for reading ease and space conservation.)

10 am: I tackle the Rillettes. Now, Rillettes means potted food. Yummy? This is a steamed and smoked salmon pate. The husband, excited to have a new kind of liquor in our cupboard, starts making weird cocktails with the Sambuca and having me taste. Nothing better than hard liquor at 10:30 am.

Marinated the salmon for a bit in Sambuca, salt and pepper, steamed it, mushed it up, and stirred with crème fraiche, cubed smoked salmon, softened shallots, egg yolks, lemon juice and good olive oil. Smooshed it into pots, smoothed out the top, covered in a “lid” of clarified butter, sealed it up and refrigerated. Served this with baguette slices as an appetizer and it was a hit. Smokey, creamy, and frankly, pretty easy. I’d do this one again.

Thomas Keller/ Bouchon's version:

Mine:

11:00am (and beyond): Now here’s where the adventure really began. I refuse to bore you with exact amounts and technical recipe lingo--the recipe in the book is 4 pages long. It’s intense. Basically, you need a shit load of carrots, onions, leeks, mushrooms and shallots because you will cook THREE SEPARATE BATCHES OF THEM.

A fundamental part of Keller’s cooking is keeping textures right and infusing flavor as much as possible. So we start with a bunch of onion, mushroom stems, carrots, leeks, shallots, thyme, bay, peppercorns, parsley and garlic and cook the hell out of them with an entire bottle of Cabernet until it’s reduced to a glaze (45-60 minutes).

Meanwhile, trim and cube the boneless beef short ribs and brown them in a skillet, in batches.

Once the red wine reduction is ready, and all the meat is browned, add in a crap load MORE garlic, leeks, carrots, thyme, bay leaves, and parsley and stir together.

Yes, the first round was just to flavor the wine reduction. THIS round is to flavor the beef. BUT, heaven forbid these veggies get to TOUCH the beef. Oh no, that would contaminate the beef with mushy veggie particles. Keller wants you to, on top of the wine and second round of veg, make a little nest for the beef out of dampened cheesecloth.

I fold the cheesecloth over the beef, and cover the whole shebang with beef stock. I bring it to a simmer, cover and put in a 325 degree oven (which had been preheated to 350, but then immediately turned down when I put the pot in because Thomas told me to.) for a couple hours, or until the meat is very tender.

3:30ish: The meat is soft, the house smells amazing. So we put the meat in another oven safe pot, discard the cheesecloth, and strain the veggies, keeping the stock.

Strain a couple times, and then strain the stock OVER the beef. Then laugh your head off when you read that you should keep the beef and stock refrigerated for 1-3 DAYS. HA. You get 3 hours--if you’re lucky. I chuck all the cooked veggies and herbs into the garbage. They have served their purpose in Keller’s mind. Then I go on a walk with the (now tipsy) husband. (Oh yeah, he’s still testing out drink recipes. The winner is a Via Veneto – brandy, Sambuca, lemon, sugar and an egg white.) I need some fresh air and I’m not even near done.

Back from our walk, we still have another round of veg to tackle. Earlier, I’d trimmed baby carrots (or bought 'em trimmed like I did), cut up fingerling potatoes, trimmed and cleaned mushrooms and cleaned and trimmed pearl onions which, out of full commitment to this project, I peeled MYSELF. (No Ina Garten-style frozen onions here.) Very proud I didn’t cut myself while peeling these little suckers. Never need to do this task again as long as I live.

Simmer those until soft with peppercorns, garlic, bay and salt. Same with the fingerling potatoes. Same with the pearl onions. Sautéed a bunch of button mushrooms til browned and soft, and crisped up a bunch of lardons in the oven.

Put all the cooked veggies aside. These are your actual veggies for eatin!

About a half an hour before you plan on eating, take the beef and stock from the fridge, heat in a warm oven to soften the stock, and then strain it ONE MORE TIME into another ovenproof sauté pan.

FINALLY, combine veggies, meat, stock and add some chopped parsley, stir it all together, put in the oven til it’s all hot, then dish it up.

Meanwhile, we tossed a bunch of Bibb lettuce with chervil, chives, parsley, and the Bouchon house vinaigrette (using canola oil! Weird!) and then promptly decided to ignore Keller’s suggestion that you reassemble the heads of lettuce on the plates before serving. My people are hungry. That is just silly. Still it looked pretty damn good and tasted even better.

Thomas Keller/Bouchon's:

Mine:

Now, the Bourguignon was good. Maybe too dry? Maybe the sauce wasn’t quite rich enough? But it was warm, comforting and you could definitely taste the POUNDS of veggies that had given their souls to flavor my meat. Or not. At this point, I really didn’t care. It was 8 pm. I’d been working on this for 12 hours. I needed to sit.

Though I’d probably never again spend 12 hours making a bowl of veggies and meat, it was a good meal, casual, comfortable, filled with the fun chatter of people I love. My house was transformed into the bistro that Keller spent 20 pounds of book describing, and it was Boeuf-tiful.

Keller's:

Mine:

(NOTE: the book is back on the shelf, where frankly, it will probably stay for a while, though we finished those rillettes this weekend and I might whip up some more…)

Poriyal Podi & Sweet Potato Poriyal Recipe

I have been keeping a secret for a while. Yep, I have. And that is, my love for sweet potatoes. There you go, now you all know me inside out. That's all there is to me - I love sweet potatoes, chocolate, brinjal and step by step recipe pictures. I am a very simple person.

Back to sweet potatoes. What does that have to do with this poriyal podi recipe you ask? Well, I usually have sweet potatoes just boiled and very lightly salted. It makes my troubles go away like nothing else can.

But the other day, I was going through Chandra Padmanabhan's Southern Spice, for the umpteenth time, and saw this recipe called chakkaravalli kizhangu poriyal recipe. I had no clue chakkaravalli kizhangu is sweet potato. All this time I thought sweet ptoato is cheeni kizhangu in tamil although I have no clue how I came to that conclusion.

I tried it and let me just tell you this much - it beats slightly salted sweet potatoes to the door and back, any day!

To make this poriyal, you need poriyal podi. It can be made in a jiffy so don't let that intimidate you. You can make a bit of this and store it for future use too.

Poriyal Masala Podi Recipe

Source: Southern Spice by Chandra Padmanabhan

What I Used:

1 cup coriander seeds/kothamalli

1/2 cup urad dal/uluntham paruppu/husked black gram

1/2 cup grated coconut

2 generous pinches of hing/asafoetida/perungaayam

10 dried red chillies

2 tsp oil

How I Made It:

1. Dry roast the coriander seeds in a skillet/kadai until the seeds turn a darker shade of brown (about 4-5 mins). Set aside.

2. In the same pan, dry roast the dal until golden brown, taking care not to burn it. Set aside.

3. In the same pan, dry roast the coconut until just short of burnt. I made mine turn a dark brown taking care not to burn. Set aside.

4. Add the oil to the pan, let it heat through and throw in the red chillies. Fry them until they are short of burning, throw in the hing, stir through for 10 seconds and remove from fire.

5. Cool, combine and grind the ingredients to a powder.

The smell of this freshly made poriyal podi is a-m-a-z-i-n-g and I am not even exaggerating this time. So let's quickly go make this sweet potato poriyal, shall we? Store the leftover poriyal podi in an air tight container.

Chakkaravalli Kizhangu / Sweet Potato Poriyal Recipe

Source: Southern Spice by Chandra Padmanabhan

Serves: 2

What I Used:

2 cups sweet potatoes, cut into small cubes

2 green chillies

1/4 tsp turmeric powder

1.5 tbsp poriyal masala podi

For tempering:

2 tsp oil

1/4 tsp mustard seeds

1/4 tsp jeera/cumin seeds

1 red chilli, halved

A pinch of hing (optional)

A few curry leaves

How I Made It:

1. Heat oil for tempering in a pan and add all the ingredients. When the mustard seeds beging to pop, add the turmeric, green chillies and sweet potatoes with some salt and 1/3 cup water. Mix well.

2. Cook closed for 10-12 mins until the sweet potatoes are soft and cooked. If there is extra water, leave the pan open and let it evaporate. Once the mixture is dry, add the poriyal podi and stir well.

3. Serve hot with steamed rice.

Recipe Roundup

Busy, busy, busy! I am fully booked in both my personal and professional life, and that leaves little time to get creative in the kitchen. And, as you have noticed, it leaves little time to blog. So, tonight I thought I would give a roundup of stuff that I have been making lately to point you to gems from the past that you may have missed the first time around. The weather is getting cooler, but is still generally above zero and we have yet to get snow. Huzzah! As you can see from the pic above, soup has been a go to dish these days--packed full of a variety of veggies and perfect with a few slices of freshly baked baguette. This one is kind of like a minestrone, and I have found that I can add slices of kale or chard and the kids will still gobble it down (which is great, because a pile of kale or chard on the plate leads to wailing and gnashing of teeth). I also made Ethiopian stew one night (along with injera from Vegan Lunch Box) and was reminded about how awesome the flavours are. Must make more Ethiopian food, especially because the kids love eating without forks! I also made use of the last pumpkin kicking around the house to make Hearty Autumn Muffins--these are so awesome and full of fibre that you will be happily regular in no time! It was also a way to use up the 100 lbs (or so it seems) of apples I bought to make applesauce. OK, that's it for now, and I promise to be back soon with some new food.

Chakkakkuru Aviyal / Jackfruit Seeds Aviyal Recipe

I love chakkakkuru! As I had posted earlier in my Jackfruit seeds in Lentils recipe, its not easy to get it here in Singapore. But the story is entirely different in Kerala. My mom usually has an entire ripe jackfruit sent to her by friends of the family and it will be waiting, ripe and fragrant in the kitchen corner, ready to be attacked. Fresh slices are eaten then and there and the leftovers stored away to make chakka varatti and kumbil appam and what not.

The seeds are, of course, collected and sun dried before it goes into dishes like aviyal and mezhukkupuratti. Chakkakkuru aviyal is my absolute favourite and this time when I went to Kottayam, amma made it for me. This is her recipe and the picture was taken in Kottayam in amma's rustic old steel bowl.

Chakkakkuru Aviyal Recipe

Serves: 4 as a side dish

What Is Needed:

20 Jackfruit seeds/Chakkakkuru

1 drumstick, cut into 3" pieces

1 cup grated coconut

8-10 small onions/shallots sliced long

2 cloves crushed garlic

3/4 tsp red chilli powder

1/4 tsp turmeric powder

1/4 tsp jeera/cumin powder

To temper:

2 tbsp oil, preferably coconut oil

1/4 tsp mustard seeds

A few curry leaves

How Its Made:

1. Soak thejackfruit seeds in water for at least 2 hours and scrape the brown skin off. Chop each into four.

2. Place the jackfruit seeds, drumsticks, half the sliced shallots, turmeric powder, chilli powder and jeera powder in a pan with 1 cup water. Cook on medium heat until the drumsticks and jackfruit seeds turn soft (not mushy). This will take about 10-12 mins depending on the seeds you are using. Add water if the mixture gets too dry.

3. Once this gets cooked, add the coconut and garlic and cook on low heat for another 5 mins until well combined. Add salt. At this time, the aviyal will be quite dry.

4. Heat oil in a pan and add the ingredients for tempering. Once the mustard seeds pop, add to the aviyal, mix well and serve.

Serve with warm rice and curry of your choice. My mom's version of the aviyal is more dry and that's the way I like it. When she makes the more popular chakkakkuru maanga aviyal / jackfruit seeds and tender mango aviyal, it is more watery and the colour/flavour is significantly different.

Momofuku's Shrimp and Grits

This attempt involved improvisation, persistence, discipline and endurance. Welcome to the culinary athletic super zone!

Momofuku's version (the picture takes up two pages):

Our version:

It all began when my coworker, Janice (thank you, Janice!), let me borrow the Momofuku cookbook. (For those of you unfamiliar: Momofuku refers to the restaurant trio of Momofuku Noodle Bar, Momofuku Ko and Momofuku Ssäm Bar in NYC.) I'd read a few reviews that warned if you keep kosher or are a vegetarian than this book probably isn't for you. Personally though, I think that this book is for anyone who loves food and a major challenge. (This shrimp and grits recipe is definitely one of the most accessible.)

Plus, I found chef/owner David Chang to be rather inspiring in the semi-archetypal insane artist kind of way. At moments, he also vaguely reminded me of bon appétempt's first culinary hero--Kenny Shopsin.

So what about the actual attempt and my becoming this strange chef-thlete in the aforementioned super zone? Well, I think it's because for the first time in bon appétempt history, I took some more-than minor liberties with the recipe.

1. It called for the grits to be cooked in homemade dashi broth, which didn't seem that hard to make, but it did involve finding konbu, which meant heading to our fave westside Japanese market, which despite trying to do on a few different occasions, we just couldn't fit into our schedules this week. But already committed to the shrimp and grits, we decided to use chicken broth instead.

2. We couldn't find usukuchi (a light, golden-colored soy sauce) and had to substitute regular soy sauce. And so, with two ingredierts substituted, it felt like we suddenly had license to wing it.

Ironically, I think it's this freedom that really saved us from a total fail in the end. The recipe instructed cooking 2 cups of grits with 2 cups of dashi and 2 cups of water, BUT the back of the box of grits instructed us to use 8 cups of liquid to 2 cups of grits. We followed Momofuku's directions anyway (trusting that Mr. David Chang knew something we didn't) but the grits weren't just way too thick and grainy, they were un-stirrable. It was like trying to stir oatmeal that had been left at room temperature for a few months. So, we ended up unscientifically adding water and stock until it arrived at a more agreeable consistency. (Very chef-like, right?)

I really loved how specific the instructions in this recipe were. I made the mistake of returning this book a little too soon--if I had it in my hands right now, I would quote exactly how detailed the recipe tells you to cook the shrimp. However, I did manage to write down one quote from David Chang, which I believe basically sums up why it is as specific as it is.

"I know the difference between Momofuku and McDonald's: caring. Caring about every detail... What is the point of cooking at all if you're not gonna do it right?" Then, he goes on to write about flipping out on his staff, accusing them of not caring enough. And well, can't you relate a bit? I mean, can't we apply this to everything we really care about in life and that frustration when others--others who are supposed to care as equally and passionately--don't? p.s. please forgive me for the lack of homemade dashi and usukuchi, Chef Chang. I truly did care about getting everything else right. I swear. Like the shrimp for example.

I'll tell you what I remember from the directions: after cooking the bacon, it says to sort of wipe the pan clean. Put it back on the burner set to high. Then, take a small batch of the raw shrimp, which have been tossed in a bowl of grapeseed oil and salt, place them on the hot pan and with a metal spatula (uh, sorry again--we only had plastic.), press down on the small batch for 40 seconds or until 40 percent of the translucent grey color has turned pinkish white. When that happens, flip them and do it again for another 40 seconds.

I don't know if Chang is doing anything wildly unique here, but I just loved how exact he wanted those shrimp done. Plus, I loved how the grapeseed oil didn't splatter everywhere and left the cooked shrimp with a light char and a very clean, non-oily taste.

Truth be told, when you actually get into it, the recipe is not as challenging as it was intimidating. It's really just assembling several relatively simple components, one right after the other: grits, bacon, shrimp, poached eggs, and chopped scallions.

The dish also reiterates a lesson that I've been steadily learning: never underestimate the power of the  poached egg.

All in all, nothing could be better on a late Sunday morning. Though I wouldn't recommend entertaining with the dish unless you are comfortable with being in the kitchen almost the whole preparation time. There's just not much you can do ahead of time apart from soaking the grits overnight.

RECIPE:

Uh, remember? I returned the book too early. Sorry. You can buy it here.

Banana Bread Step-by-Step Recipe

What's all the fuss about, you ask? Well, you have to try it to know why. I still don't know why this is called 'bread' instead of cake but I do know that its actually somewhere in between and tastes awesome toasted.

This is also a fool-proof recipe. Really. Just throw some things together in a bowl, whisk it and bake it to get this awesome loaf full of a yummy banana flavour.

We rarely buy more than 4 bananas at at a time so mine is a one banana banana bread recipe. Is that too many bananas in one sentence yet? ;)

Here's some of the star cast. A banana (because this is a one banana banana bread recipe, remember? Ok, I'll stop!), 2 eggs, nuts - walnuts being the most popular but I added what I had in hand, a handful of hazelnuts and a couple of macademia nuts which somehow made their way into my pantry and I have no idea from where.

Step one - mash the banana up. I used a masher because something about getting squishy banana pieces on my fingers turns me off.

Next, whisk together 1/2 cup butter at room temperature (ignore that I melted it, I always do that 'cuz I forget to put the butter out but please don't be like me) and 3/4 cup sugar. I used brown sugar but white is ideal.

Once the sugar has completed blended in with the butter, thrown in 2 eggs. You don't have to beat anything to death or make things fluffy, just combining well will do. So combine the eggs well.

Now throw in the mashed banana. Since that's not a very pretty picture, I am going to quickly move on.

Before you add the flour, thrown in 1/2 tsp of vanilla extract. I spent a bomb on my vanilla extract, the more authentic (and so more expensive) stuff actually tastes infinitely better, so you should go crazy and do the same.

Now, add 1 cup all purpose flour / maida and a pinch of salt. Some recipes call for baking powder. I didn't add any and it still came out nice and fluffy so stay with me here, ok? Combine the flour well into the mixture. Again, no excessive beating please.

The final addition - about 3/4 cup of roughly chopped nuts. I gave them a couple of twists in my mixer so they are all of different sizes but that's ok. Its banana bread, anything goes. By the way, nuts are optional.

Combine combine combine.

Pour into a greased loaf pan.

Bake in a 350F/180C pre-heated oven for about 40-50 mins, until a skewer inserted into the loaf comes out clean.

Let it sit in the loaf pan and cool completely. Then transfer to a plate/cake board and cut into 1"thick slices. Why 1"? Because I say so!

One banana banana breads are very photogenic so go ahead and take some nice shots. Actually, any banana bread should be photogenic so don't get discouraged by the one-banana theory.

Thanks for enduring my craziness. Now, here's the recipe all in one place.

One Banana Banana Bread Recipe

Makes one medium-sized loaf

Source - took bits and pieces from countless banana bread recipes

What I Used:

1 ripe banana

1/2 cup butter

3/4 cup sugar, I may add slightly less next time

2 eggs

1 cup all-purpose flour/maida

1/2-3/4 cup nuts of your choice

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

A pinch of salt

How I Made It:

1. Mash the banana well and set aside.

2. Cream the butter and sugar together until soft and the sugar has blended well. Add the eggs and beat more until well combined.

3. Add the mashed banana and mix well. Then add the vanilla extract and mix again.

4. Next, add the flour and a pinch of salt. Combine without beating, to form the dough without any lumps.

5. Transfer to a greased loaf pan and bake in a pre-heated oven at 350F/180C for 40-50 mins until a skewer inserted into the loaf comes out clean.

6. Cool completely before cutting into slices.

You can freeze banana bread for up to a month. Just leave it in the fridge overnight to defrost. Also tastes great toasted, with a pat of butter.