My 2nd Blogiversary - Gourmet Double Down Burger

Today is the 2nd blogiversary of Random Cuisine. As usual, I tend to think of big project to realize for memorable days like this one. For the past month, I thought long and hard of what I should be doing for this blogiversary. I didn't want to follow tradition and make a cake again like the one on my 1st blogiversary. A weird idea occurs to me when some of my friends at work were mentioning about the Epic Meal Time on Youtube. Epic Meal Time is a group of culinary daredevils who create outrageous and unhealthy masterpieces to outwit the number of calories of the Double Down burger. The calorie count of these dishes can range from 6,000 up to 80,000. Why not if I do something less similar and make my own interpretation of the Double Down burger. I also invited my local food blogging friends to take part of this challenge. One has dare to take on the challenge. Check out Valérie's version of the Double Down on her blog The Chocolate Bunny. Thanks Valérie for accepting the challenge.

Before I describe my Double Down burger, I would like to thank all of my friends who have participated in at least one of my cooking sessions and make it last for over two years. I wanted to write on the story on how this blog got launched. I wrote so much about it that I placed the essay on the History of Random Cuisine page. Last Sunday, on Dec. 12, we all celebrated our two successful years of cooking sessions and discussed our most enjoyable moments we had together. For this special occasion, we made vanilla ice cream using liquid nitrogen. You can find the recipe here.

After two years, the name of Random Cuisine still holds as we have friends representing different part of the world. Here is the picture of the cooking group on Sunday.

Best of the Year

Now, for the round-up of all the recipes of the year since my 1st blogiversary. Here are my Top 10:

1. Tuna Samosas

2. Italian Wedding Soup

3. Acorn Squash Raviolis

4. Sweet and Sour Pork

5. Oven-Dried Plum Tomatoes

6. Maltese Pudina

7. Bouillabaisse

8. Lemon Meringue Pie

9. Beef Stroganoff

10. Meatloaf

Top 3 cooking themes:

1. Pasta Night - Fresh Pasta, Tomato Pasta Sauce, Roasted Pepper and Pea Sauce, Carbonara Sauce, Chicken Zucchini White Sauce

2. The 'T' theme - Thai Coconut Soup, Tropical Tabbouleh, Tex-Mex Casserole, Tarte aux Pommes à la Normande

3. Seafood Night - Fiery Tuna Pie, Shrimp Gratin, Tuna Pasta Casserole

Double Down Burger with Sweetness Added

Now, the moment you are all waiting for, my version of the double down burger. For those who are not familiar with the Double Down burger from KFC, it consists of two fried chicken as the "bread", melted cheese, bacon and KFC's special sauce. Taking these components into account, my take of the burger is to go for something sweet instead of something salty. Here is the structure of my Double Down burger: 2 pieces of butterfly cut chicken with Dijon-apple batter and Parmesan-bread crumbs coating, the cheeses are mozzarella and swiss, the "bacon" is Serrano ham, and the "secret" sauce is an apple-BBQ sauce. Basically, homemade applesauce is the sweetener for this burger.

Homemade Applesauce

Adapted from Michael's Smith Chef at Home
Makes 4 cups

Preparation Time: 5 mins

Cooking Time: 20 mins

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

12 red apples, cored and cut into wedges

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp salt

Procedure

1. Heat a medium-sized pot over medium-high heat. Combine all ingredients and add enough water to cover bottom. Cover.

2. Cook until all apples have softened, about 20 mins. Stir frequently.

3. Blend softened apples with an immersion blender. Strain with a sieve for a smoother texture.

Parmesan Chicken with Dijon-Applesauce Batter

Serves 4

Preparation Time: 10 mins

Cooking Time: 30 mins

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

4 boneless chicken breasts

1/2 cup Dijon mustard

1/3 cup homemade applesauce

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 tbsp butter, melted

1 cup bread crumbs

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

3 tbsp ground almonds

5-6 basil leaves, chiffonade

pinch ground pepper

Procedure

1. Preheat oven to 375F. Line aluminium foil on 13'' x 9'' baking pan.

2. Butterfly cut chicken breasts. Apply pressure on chicken breast and cut it in half from the center, not all the way through.

3. For the batter, combine Dijon mustard, applesauce, garlic cloves, butter in a bowl.

4. In a pan, combine bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, ground almonds, basil and pepper.

5. Brush Dijon-apple mix on both sides of the chicken breast.

6. Coat it in Parmesan-bread crumb mix. Place it on the prepared baking pan.

6. Bake for 25 mins until golden brown and fully cooked. Turn once halfway. Serve.

Apple-BBQ sauce

This apple-BBQ sauce is adapted from Chuck Hughes' Chuck's Day Off. This BBQ sauce won't taste good without the chipotle pepper or smoky flavor.

Makes 4 cups

Preparation Time: 10 mins

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

1 cup homemade applesauce

1 cup homemade ketchup

1/2 cup honey

1/4 cup molasses

1/4 soy sauce

1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 chipotle pepper in Adobo sauce, chopped

1 medium onion, finely chopped

1 garlic clove, minced

Salt and pepper

Procedure

1. In a large bowl, combine all ingredients.

Stacking the Double Down

Parmesan Chicken, Mozzarella Cheese, Serrano Ham

Swiss Cheese

Apple-BBQ sauce

Parmesan Chicken

Melt cheese in a hot oven for 1 min. Bite.

After taking a huge bite of the double down burger, I really enjoy the combination of flavours. It wasn't greasy at all but saucy. I can taste the sweetness of the applesauce and smoky flavor of the BBQ sauce. It tasted really good, but my stomach was really full eating halfway. The Double Down burger is a once-in-a-lifetime attempt, I won't be making another one again unless one of my friends ask for it. I would suggest though that you try making your own apple and BBQ sauce. Also, use the Parmesan chicken as a main dish, it has a lot of flavours from the batter and the bread crumb mixture.

Now, I have proven that I can blog for two years. I'll see what new culinary challenges await for me. I will hope to meet new people to join our cooking group and encounter wonderful food bloggers and foodies out there, hopefully one in physics. Thanks for all you readers who have followed my blog since the beginning. Hope to see you all at the third blogiversary!

Saffron Coconut Ice Cream

If I would give you a pinch of saffron, what dessert will you make? Most of you would think that saffron should be used in savory dishes such as in rice, risotto and seafood. Fortunately, saffron can be employed as an ingredient for dessert.

Usually, I would not share the most expensive spice in the world if I have paid a fortune for it. Since I received the saffron as a sample from OGourmet, I didn't mind sharing a bit of saffron to my friend Kristin of Chocolate and Tea so she can make a dessert out of it. Here is her post on White Chocolate Saffron Truffles.

On my side, I made ice cream using saffron. Because of the bitter taste of saffron, I had to add another flavor to balance it off. Since I had a can of coconut milk available in the pantry, why not make saffron coconut ice cream. I also thought of using cardamon, I guess I'll try to make next time. I'm not sure how all the ice cream machine work, we use the one from Cuisinart. Sorry for the unattractive presentation picture as I had to share the ice cream among 8 people so basically everyone had less than 1 scoop of ice cream. I can guarantee you that this is the best dessert you will ever taste.

Serves 4

Cooking Time: 15 mins
Freezing Time: at least 2 hours
Printable Recipe

Ingredients

1 cup heavy cream

1 1/2 cup coconut milk

1/3 cup white sugar
1-2 pinch saffron stigmas

Procedure

1. In a saucepan, combine all ingredients and bring it to a boil.

2. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 mins, stirring occasionally. Bring to mixture to room temperature.

3. Transfer mixture to the ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer's directions.

4. Remove saffron stigmas and freeze for at least 2 hours for a firmer texture.

OGourmet Product - Saffron Pea Risotto

OGourmet, an online food store located in Montreal, recently contacted me to review one of their products. At first, I was hesitant whether I should do it or not as I have never done this before. Somehow I felt that I should be accepting this offer, maybe because some of my local food bloggers have already reviewed a product from OGourmet, so I might as well give it a shot. Check out their OGourmet products reviews on The Chocolate Bunny and Cheap Ethnic Eatz.

OGourmet offers a wide selection of local and imported gourmet products and detailed information on how to use them. You can find, on their website, products that might not be easily found in your local grocery store such as wild mushrooms, truffles, rice, berries, pâtés, etc... They didn't give me a specific product to review so I sort of have the freedom to choose which product to review.  Since we only have a small pantry of spices at home, I looked carefully all the products in the Condiments & Spices sections.  One product that attracted me is the saffron stigmas, imported from Italy.  As it is the most expensive spice in the world, I never had a chance of owning some myself.  I received the product the following day that I requested it. That's some quick delivery!

The saffron is contained in a little sealed glass bottle. After I opened the bottle, I notice a strong unique flower-y aroma, clearly these stems are the real stuff.  I was brainstorming what I should be doing with 1 gram of saffron and the possibilities are endless. The first two things that come into mind are paella and bouillabaisse, since my Taiwanese friend already made both of them in the past, I won't be posting an alternative version.  I looked inside my pantry for ideas and realized that I have some Arborio rice, white wine, vegetable stock, frozen pea and Parmesan. Why not a saffron risotto? The basics of risotto are easy and simple to make, so check out all four versions of risotto made in the past using the "My Recipe Search" on the right column.

Stay tuned for my next recipe... it will be a saffron-based dessert.

Serves 4
Preparation Time: 15 mins
Cooking Time: 40 mins
Printable Recipe

Ingredients

2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 medium onion, chopped
1 1/2 cup Arborio rice
1/3 cup white wine
1 pinch saffron stigmas
5-6 cups vegetable stock
1/2 cup green peas
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan
Salt and pepper
Fresh parsley leaves for garnish

Procedure

1. In a large skillet, heat oil and melt butter over medium-high heat. Cook onion until transparent and mushrooms until soft, about 5 mins. Remove from skillet.

2. Add rice to skillet. Leave for 3-4 mins until almost translucent. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 min.

3. Add white wine, saffron, and a ladle of vegetable stock. Let rice adsorbed most of the liquid before adding more liquid, stir constantly. Continue in this manner until it gives a creamy consistency. After 4-5 ladles, add green peas and onion.

4. Once done, stir in Parmesan cheese and season with salt and pepper. For a creamy texture, add butter.

5. Spoon risotto onto serving bowls. Garnish with parsley and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Oven Baked Sweet Potato Fries with Homemade Ketchup

Do you know any dishes in which nutmeg is the main ingredient? I have to admit that I don't know the answer to this question. As I understood, an excessive consumption of nutmeg can lead to hallucinations, nausea and other unwanted symptoms that you don't want to know about unless your skepticism leads you to google it. Don't worry a few tablespoons of nutmeg won't harm you!

At some point, in the life of an amateur cook, you feel that it is necessary to make your own version of products that are largely available in stores and see how it turns out. In the past, I tried several version of homemade ketchup (or catsup) that are available online. The taste was decent but none of these approach to the taste of Heinz ketchup. One day, I bumped into Michael Smith's Chef at Home show where he made homemade ketchup, I was shocked to hear that nutmeg is a key flavor to ketchup and he did put a few tbsp of nutmeg into his ketchup. I said to myself that this statement can't be right since most of the time, a pinch of nutmeg enough to enhance flavors to our dishes. I read some food blogs who also had some doubts about the quantity of nutmeg used and ended up using a pinch of nutmeg in their ketchup. At the end, they were more or less satisfy of their end results.

Michael Smith's recipes have not failed me yet so I decided to take a leap and follow exactly his recipe. He was right, nutmeg is essential for ketchup and taste really close to the store-bought one. I still have a full jar of homemade ketchup lying inside my fridge. My only change to his recipe is to reduce the amount of red wine vinegar to 1/2 cup.

The best way to taste your homemade ketchup is to serve with healthy and tasty oven baked sweet potato fries with a hint of cumin and paprika.

Serves 6
Preparation Time: 20 mins
Cooking Time: 45 mins
Printable Recipe

Ingredients

Homemade Ketchup

1 (28oz.) can crushed tomatoes
1 small can of tomato paste
1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup olive oil
about 2 tbsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground allspice
3-4 bay leaves
Salt and pepper

Sweet Potato Fries

2-3 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into small strips

1 tsp cumin
1 tsp paprika
Salt and Pepper

Olive oil to coat

Procedure

1. Combine all ingredients into a large saucepan.

2. Place over medium heat and bring to simmer. Stirring occasionally, until mixture reduces to half, about 45 mins. Remove bay leaves. If necessary, use an immersion blender to make the ketchup even smoother.

3. Preheat oven to 425F.

4. Meanwhile, prepare sweet potato fries. In a large bowl, combine sweet potatoes strips with spices. Drizzle with olive oil to coat.

5. Align aluminium foil onto a baking sheet. Arrange potatoes in a single layer.

6. Bake for 30-40 mins until soft and golden. Turn over fries halfway. Serve with homemade ketchup.

Creamy Pumpkin and Bay Scallop Soup

What is your favorite soup for the cold times? My last attempt on a creamy texture soup without the use of cream was such a success that I wanted to do it with other vegetables. As a routine and also to keep this blog up-to-date, I love to do most of my experiments at my Taiwanese friend's place on Sundays. These are the days where I combine ingredients that most of us don't think of.

This soup was made over a month around Halloween where we had an abundance of pumpkin lying around inside the fridge. We also added bay scallops to give a seafood taste to the soup. We followed a similar procedure as the Broccoli Soup using potatoes as our thickener and purée all the ingredients using a immersion blender.  

Serves 6

Preparation Time: 15 mins

Cooking Time: 35 mins
Printable Recipe

Ingredients

1 lb pumpkin, peeled, seeded and cubed

1 medium onion, chopped

1 large red potatoes, peeled and diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 1/2 cups vegetable stock

1/2 lb bay scallops
salt and pepper to taste

Procedure

1. In a large pot, heat oil over medium-high heat. Cook pumpkin, onion, and potatoes for 5 mins until onions are transparent. Add in garlic and cook for 1 min until fragrant.

2. Pour in vegetable stock, bring to a boil and simmer until pumpkin and potatoes are soft, about 15 mins.

3. Purée mixture in a blender until smooth. Transfer back to pot, add bay scallops and simmer for 10 mins until scallops are cooked. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

My 200th post - The Chinese Feast

Olé! Olé! This is the official 200th post on Random Cuisine. I'm currently writing this post in the bus as I'm heading to Ottawa to visit my PhD superviseur. This is the start of a whole new chapter of my scientific career and an opportunity to explore new branches in nanotechonology, the field of research which I really enjoy doing research on.

In October, I was really pumped to start my new research and I had planned my farewell party three weeks before the departure date. A few days before the farewell party, I received an e-mail from the institute that I can't work due to "security issues" and these issues should be cleared by the month of February. I felt heart broken, but at least my life as a graduate student is not ruined. I can still pursue research at McGill with my Master's superviseur while the institute resolved these bureaucratic issues. Well, the new graduate students of my "old" research group are glad that I can share my scientific know-how. My friends are also glad that I continue organizing weekly cooking sessions which  have been running for over 2 years now. As I can't officially start working in Ottawa, occasional visit like the one right now and e-mail exchange with my PhD superviseur are the only possible solutions. Life is full of ups and downs. We have to live by our choices and let the dice rolls.

Despite these unfortunate circumstances, I didn't want to cancel the "farewell" party after weeks of planning the menu and food preparations. Here is the final version of the menu:

Soup

Ginseng Soup

Appetizers

Vietnamese Rolls

Pork Dumplings

Vegetarian

Mixed Chinese Vegetables

Singapore Noodles

Choy Sum (Chinese Leafy Greens)

Meat

Sweet Glutinous Rice

Curried Pork Chops

Sauteed Beef with Sugar Snaps

Shrimp in Rice Wine Sauce

Stuffed Eggplants in Oyster Sauce

Roasted Turkey

Desserts

Hong Kong Egg Tarts

The menu is a tour of some traditional dishes usually found in real Chinese restaurants. These dishes would not be realized without the help of my brother and my parents. I can guarantee you this Chinese feast can feed up to 50 guests. At the end of the night, everyone was really full and ended up bringing 2-3 large tupperwares of leftovers home.

Warning: the following images can make you drool. I simplify some of the recipes to 4-6 servings, the images might or might not be representative. I don't have all the recipes in hand, they will be updated in the future. Sorry for the incovenience...

Ginseng Soup

A traditional Chinese herbal soup which consists of ginseng cooked in homemade chicken stock. The soup tastes a little bit bitter and provide health benefits (according to my parents).

Vietnamese Rolls

A refreshing appetizer which consists of rice noodles, thinly sliced vegetables, and Chinese mushrooms (wood ear, shiitake, cloud ear) which are then wrapped in rice paper. These rolls can be dipped in either soy sauce or plum sauce. You can find this recipe in one of my past post found here.

Pork Dumplings

This appetizer is suitable for dim sum lovers, my mom loves to make it for breakfast when ground pork is on special. This filling is customizable, you can find alternative ones such as Assorted Mushroom Dumplings and Steamed Gyoza. Here is our family version of the filling:

Serves 6

Preparation Time: 1hour

Cooking Time: 10 mins per dumpling

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

1lb ground pork
3-4 shrimp, deveined and deshelled

4 oz. nappa, finely diced

3 shiitake mushrooms, finely diced (optional)

1-2 tbsp Chinese chives, finely diced

1/2 tsp soy sauce

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

Pinch of sugar

Procedure

1. In a large bowl, combine well filling ingredients. Cover and place in fridge for 30 mins.

2. Place a teaspoonful of filling in center of each wrapper. Moisten edges of wrapper with water. Fold in half to enclose filling and pinch edges to seal.

3. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Arrange dumplings in pan, avoid overlapping. Cook for 2 mins until light golden.

4. Add about 1 cup water to pan, cover and cook for 5 mins. Uncover and let liquid evaporates, about 1 min. Serve hot.

Mixed Chinese Vegetables

This will sure satisfy your vegetarian guests. This dish contains broccolis, carrots, fried tofus, lotus roots and, shiitake mushrooms cooked in a light soy sauce.

Singapore Noodles

Curried vermicelli noodles consist of a blend of vegetables. Meat such as chicken, pork and shrimp can be added to the dish. This recipe will be added soon...

Choy Sum (Chinese Leafy Greens)

A classic Chinese vegetable mainly found in Chinese market. You only need to cook these vegetables in boiling water with 2 crushed garlic cloves. It is fully cooked once it changes from light to dark green. These are usually served with a drizzle of oyster sauce and light soy sauce.

Sweet Glutinous Rice

This rice requires an overnight soaking before employing it. Once ready, the rice is then cooked in a rice cooker. Chinese sausages, dried prawns, shiitake mushrooms and soy sauce are then mixed with the rice to provide a sweet and salty taste.

Curried Pork Chops

This dish is a family favorite, all you need is to marinade the pork chops in curry and it is ready to use for your next meal. The recipe can be found here.

Sauteed Beef with Sugar Snaps

I love my mother's marinated beef. If you need to make a quick dinner, this is it and complement it with rice and vegetables.

Serves 4

Preparation Time: 10 mins

Marinade Time: 30 mins

Cooking Time: 10 mins

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

1/2 lb beef tenderloin, thinly sliced

Marinade

1 tbsp light soy sauce

1 tsp cornstarch

1 tsp rice wine

2 tsp ginger, cut into matchsticks size

1 garlic clove, minced

200g sugar snaps or snow peas, ends removed

1/2 cup beef stock

2 tsp oyster sauce

1/2 tsp cornstarch + 1 tbsp water

Procedure

1. In a bowl, combine marinade with beef. Cover and let it marinate for 30 mins.

2. In a wok, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add garlic and cook until fragrant. Add beef and sauteed for about 2 mins. Set aside.

3. Add in sugar snaps, sauteed for few seconds. Add oyster sauce and beef stock. Cover and cook for 2 mins.

4. Meanwhile, make slurry by mixing cornstarch and water.

5. Return beef to wok. Add in slurry to thicken. Mix well and serve.

Shrimp in Rice Wine Sauce

A classic Chinese dish which consists of shrimp cooked in a rice wine sauce.

Stuffed Eggplants with Oyster Sauce

This is Japanese eggplants stuffed with grinded shrimp and fish. All is cooked in a rich oyster sauce.

Hong Kong Egg Tarts - Dan Tat

What is the best way to end this Chinese feast? Even with a hyper full stomach, there is always room for desserts. See my post on Hong Kong Egg Tarts - Dan Tat for details.

This is all folks! I hope you enjoyed reading this one in a lifetime 200th post!