Momofuku Dinner

Since Sofia and Clint gave Todd the Momofuku cook book we thought it'd be fun to share the first real meal we made from it with them. They happened to be hanging out with Grier and Chelsea and my mom when we were finalizing the plans and it turned into a party. It was lots of fun and totally worked out because, as usual we bit off more than we could chew and the extra helping hands made it possible to actually make all the recipes we'd bookmarked and purchased supplies for.

To prepare for our cooking adventure we went to the supermarket and bought everything we'd need for anything we were even thinking of making.  Surprisingly the supermarket had everything except the actual pork belly.

We spent part of the day pickling and at the end of our efforts we had pickled cauliflower, pickled beets, pickled carrots, pickled mustard seeds and quick-pickled cucumbers.  I love pickles and I was quite happy with how everything came out.  Here they provide some colorful touches on the dinner table.

While we were waiting for the pork buns to steam up Dakota came to visit us in the kitchen and nonchalantly scavenge for things that might have fallen on the floor.

Dakota was probably lured to the kitchen by the smell of steak.  In addition to the pork belly, which got its own post, we made another of the meat recipes:  marinated hangar steak.  Thank you, David Chang's mom, for this amazing marinade. It has quickly become our go-to marinade for beef.

Here we are after all our cooking, with the whole spread ahead of us.

The buns were amazingly simple to assemble.  Step 1: select bun.  Step 2: slather hoisun sauce.  Step 3: place pork belly.  Step 4: top with pickles.  Step 5: enjoy!

There were so many tasty combinations it was hard to choose.  The pickles went well with everything and it is impossible to make an unsatisfactory pork bun. 

Here Todd shows off an example of his pork belly handiwork.

Sour Cherry Upsidedown Cake

For years I was making pineapple upside-down cake every few months for get-togethers with college friends.  That's because when I went away to school I took a trusty (and indestructible) cast iron frying pan with and a copy of The Joy of Cooking.  I don't remember how it happened the first time, but some combination of these two things and a baking desire started a pineapple upside-down cake party tradition.

Lately I had a yen to make it again, but we had no pineapple in the house, so I used sour cherries instead.  I'd already gotten started when I realized that I'd forgotten that the recipe called for buttermilk.  Instead of trekking to the grocery store I took a risk and got creative.  In lieu of buttermilk I used 1% milk, apple sauce and sour cream and just crossed my fingers.  Luck and chemistry were in my favor and the resulting  cake was a little denser than usual, but very moist.  It went very well with ice cream.  Yum. 

Momofuku - Pork Belly

We didn't know much about pork belly going into this.  It's like bacon, but less salty and you can eat more of it.  After making it ourselves we will be making more in the immediate future.

Pork belly is a central ingredient of several dishes at Momofuku (we love you, David Chang!) and despite its popularity in Asian cooking it can be hard to find.  Todd called all the grocery stores in Bayonne and no one had it or normally carried it.  Todd researched places to get it in Manhattan (http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/651031) and we ended up at Mulberry Meat Market, where all the external signs are in Chinese, there are various animals and animal parts hanging from strings in the windows, and it looks a little intimidating.  After some wavering Todd finally decided to go in and found that there are English signs inside and employees that speak English.  So we brought home our 3 pounds of pork belly and it came out amazing.

Pork belly shows up in the Momofuku steamed buns that we're making later, and they were amazing. We seasoned up the belly and let it sit as directed before cooking. Then we put it in a snug dish and baked it to a perfect, crispy, golden brown.  Yum.

Dogs at Play

Not much to say here, really.  We take the dogs to the park on weekends for a free-for-all playdate.  There are generally a dozen or more dogs and most are quite well behaved.  It's the highlight of their week.  Besides when Dakota finds an unattended bag of kibble and eats her weight in it like today.  Bad dog.

Todd's First Hat Trick

Hat Trick: Scoring three goals in one game in hockey.  As a defenseman it doesn't happen that often, even in beer league hockey.  But last night I scored my first hat trick ever.  Mine was the first goal of the game, and that made me proud.  Goals 5 and 8 were probably not as crucial to our win, but that's not important.  One more item to check off the life list!  Next up: Stanley Cup.

Post B-Day Adventures

Jess spent a few days with us surrounding the weekend of Todd's birthday bash and managed to find the time to start and finish a birthday present for Todd.  Firefly fans will recognize the design.

Todd:

Jayne:

Sunday:

Momofuku - Pork Shoulder

The first thing we tried out of the Momofuku cook book was the pork shoulder. The recipe was incredibly simple. Step 1: season meat. Step 2: let sit overnight in the fridge. Step 3: cook at a ridiculously low temperature that you don't think will ever possibly cook a huge hunk of meat until said chunk of meat is delicously tender and falling off the bone. Step 4: try not to fall asleep and burn the house down while you're at it. The results were tasty, if a little salty.

Todd's note:  This is a 10-lb. pork shoulder, and unlike the pork belly that required investigative reporting and dangerous locales, this came from our local A&P meat department.  The rub is just salt and sugar and the amount shown here was way too much.  Even if you marinaded it in all of this I'd make sure to shake any loose stuff off before baking it and discarding the big piles in the pan.  It was just too salty.  But damn, was it delicious.  And damn, did 10 lb. of pork disappear fast (we fed it to everybody).  Also, this is meant to go in the Momofuku ramen, which we have not made.  But it should probably be the next big adventure.

This may be the best stout I've ever had...

This may be the best stout I've ever had. I wanted a beer after hockey (our fifth straight victory--go Tigers!), and this was the least exciting option in the fridge, which I thought no one else would be interested in sharing. I basically only bought it because of the label and because I thought it meant something like 'deadly peach', which was too strange to pass up (it means 'mortal sin', which is nearly as good).

The beer was bottled in 2001 and the flavors have since aged to perfection. This brew is rich and malty, but without the heavy soy sauce flavor that we've all tasted in other coffee stouts.  The finish is not too long, as with some stouts, and there's a pleasant nuttiness in the aftertaste that makes you want another sip. On top of everything going on in the mouth area it also has a sprightly freshness and a light hop aroma that help to pull this stout out of the dullness of its genre.  I call dibs on bringing this to any future stout tastings.

Tasting notes:

• Suggested pairing is Todd's birthday cake (chocolate-chocolate from Crumbs)
• Best after scoring a goal, starting a fight, and getting a penalty for 'checking'.
• Consider Clint and Todd's homebrew as an amuse-bouche (only three bottles left--time to start brewing.)

The Craft Beer Bar

After the Intrepid we had a birthday dinner at Rattle 'n' Hum, a bar that has both interesting beers and good food—a combination that is harder to find than you might think. 

The Intrepid

For the field trip component of Todd's birthday we visited the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum.

Do we look like aviators or what?

 It was a leisurely afternoon of wandering and trying to meet up with people.  There's a lot to see at the Intrepid, and we probably only hit half of it.  I think there's an entire floor that we missed, and lots of informational films that I would have liked to see if we had more time.  They did a great job renovating it last year and it's really a whole-day experience now.

This looks like a ride, but does not move.

This is a "4-D" simulator ride that was way more fun than it looked.  I did it twice.

Eddie Izzard in Stripped Too

We just saw Eddie Izzard again and he's still fabulous.  You'd think Madison Square Garden would be too big a venue for his brand of visual humor, but 555-inch television screens help. At this point he's done Wembley and MSG already, so he's running out of new big venues.  But I'd be fine with some smaller venues as long as he does them more frequently.  We've seen Eddie kind of a lot lately and that makes me happy.  But I do miss the fantastic outfits and the amazing makeup of his older shows.  This time (like last time) there no dresses, no skirts, no heels, no boobs.

We met up with some of our fellow Eddie-philes, Marsden and my mom, and pregamed at a local bar that happened to serve McSorley's ales (yum).  Then we laughed ourselves silly for nearly three hours straight.  The tickets for MSG were sorta steep (that only made me hesitate for like a micro second before I bought the tickets) and price wouldn't have deterred me from going, but it was gratifying to have a long and enjoyable show. 

I am also now the proud owner of an Eddie Izzard "Cake or Death" shirt that actually fits. It was their biggest size and is still a little tight.  At the Sexy show I bought a shirt with Eddie in his fabulous boots on a motor cycle, that once washed, was really inappropriate for any company at all and it too claimed to be an adult size large. 

Silly Dog!

Yes, a 95 pound dog can be adorable.  Especially when it's a Pyr with lovely badger and wolf markings and little dab of rice stuck to her nose.  Did I mention that she's a keeper?

Birthday Dinner at Home + Socks

On Todd's actual birthday we celebrated at home with steak and cake and tasty beverages.  I made the steak with caramelized onions accompanied by risotto (thanks to the pressure cooker) and some grilled tomatoes (for fruit/veg). 

Todd got these fancy home made-socks from Hanna for his birthday.  He tells me they are warm and comfortable and he will wear them to work tomorrow. 

Todd's Update:  I did wear them to work tomorrow (huh?).  Not only warm and comfy, but nicely textured on the bottom.  It's like getting a 10-hour foot massage.  Ahhhh....

Todd's 30th Birthday Adventures - Part I - Dinner at Ninja

To kickoff Todd's 30th Birthday, Jeff took us out to dinner at Ninja, a themed Japanese restaurant at the bottom of Manhattan.  The restaurant is laid out like ninja castle made up of all private rooms so we had a cozy room to ourselves.

Their theme is, of course, the Ninja arts.  Turns out Ninja cooking is pretty tasty.  And most of their dishes have fun names and some sort of accompanying special effect, like volcanoes and dry ice. For example, Todd ordered the Red Pond II (oven-roasted Black Cod in a bloody spicy pond), which came in a smoking basket stack.  Scott and Todd also got very excited because they had a mixed drink made with Domaine de Canton (ginger liquor), even if it turned out to be a little weak and too sweet. 

Here we have a flaming Ninja start that the waiter magically turned in to a chocolate Ninja star dessert.

Probably the most visually stunning was the Bonzai, a very realistic-looking tree scupture with pie crust twists and pistachio leaves growing out of a sweet potato custard with chocolate pebbles.

All in all it was a fun experience!