food network Archives - Page 12 of 17

Gochujang Chicken Adobo and Chef Hooni Kim

“The food that you cook has to come from within.”
Chef Hooni Kim to the students of Le Cordon Bleu in Pasadena, May 5, 2015.

Invited by the Korean Cultural Center Los Angeles to demonstrate Korean cooking to the students at Le Cordon Bleu cooking school, he flew across the country to share his passion. With such a broad subject to cover in one class, Chef Hooni Kim decided to focus on a few special ingredients, ones that really give Korean cuisine its unique flavors.

One of these special ingredients is gochujang – the red chili paste with sweet heat and a fermented umami richness. It is definitely spicy – but also has a balanced fruitiness, slight smokiness and depth of flavor from the sun-dried Korean red peppers.

“I like to share Korean flavors and Korean culture through my restaurants. Not only do I feel like I need to cook delicious food, I need to teach a bit about Korea through the flavors.”

The menu at his Michelin-starred New York City restaurant Danji was inspired by his Korean-American heritage and his New York stomping grounds. The second restaurant, Hanjan, features pure Korean cuisine inspired by all his trips to Korea, the place of his birth.

Continue reading “Gochujang Chicken Adobo and Chef Hooni Kim”

Lemon Risotto Balls with Edible Flower Confetti

Meyer Lemon Risotto Balls with Parmesan and Mascarpone
Edible Flower Confetti

Crispy on the outside – warm, creamy, cheesy, and lemony on the inside – these little risotto balls (arancini in Italian) are simply irresistible. And if the texture and flavor aren’t enough to make you swoon, I’m dressing them up with pretty flower petal confetti and lacy Parmigiano-Reggiano. Serve them with your favorite Italian white wine and enjoy happy hour!

Meyer Lemon Risotto Recipe

Continue reading “Lemon Risotto Balls with Edible Flower Confetti”

Pasta with Peas, Bacon, Mint, and Ricotta

Pasta with Peas, Bacon, Mint, and Ricotta

It’s a sprightly mash-up of two traditional Italian pasta dishes: Paglia e Fieno and Pasta e Fagioli. Paglia e fieno, translates to “straw and hay” named for its two color fettuccine made from both egg and spinach. The yellow and green pastas are typically paired with prosciutto and peas and Parmesan. Pasta e fagioli is a brothy dish combining pasta and beans.

Here, conchigliette (small pasta shells) are paired with peas and bacon in a flavorful chicken and vermouth-based broth, brightened with fresh mint. Scoops of whole milk ricotta are stirred into the broth taking the place of the traditional rich Parmesan cream sauce. A sprightly mash-up indeed.

Pasta with Peas, Bacon, Mint, and Ricotta Recipe

Continue reading “Pasta with Peas, Bacon, Mint, and Ricotta”

Teacher Appreciation Luncheon ~ Farmers Market Theme

Well, they did it again. The amazing parents of the students at Rolling Hills Country Day School hosted yet another over-the-top Teacher & Staff Appreciation Luncheon. This year’s theme was extra charming ~ a Farmers Market! Their dedication, creativity, and attention to detail blew all of us away.

A few weeks before the event, we received a handmade invitation in our mailboxes, inviting us to “Buy Fresh, Buy Local” at the RHCDS Farmers Market. And to “Come Meet Your Local Farmers.” The invitation cleverly proclaimed “Crafting Kids Since (our inception) 1961.”

Welcome to the Farm House

On Teacher Appreciation Day, we arrived to find the school auditorium completely transformed into a colorful organic-dining farmstead. Draped over the back of each chair was the gift of a reusable cloth shopping bag, printed with an artsy RHCDS Farmers Market label. In the bag, a fresh baked baguette with plenty of extra room to shop the market after lunch and fill it with a bounty of local fresh fruits and vegetables.

Menus were printed on paper bags so that after dining, we could take the bag to visit the various market stands and fill it up with sweet treats and goodies. Lastly, we would stop at the fresh flower stand “Oops-a-Daisy” to hand-pick our favorite blooms and have the talented moms arrange them into beautiful bouquets to take home.

The enchanting table decor included rustic wooden centerpieces overflowing with vibrant vegetables, soft white linen tablecloths and blue striped tea-towel napkins, silverware tied with twine, milk-bottle beverage containers with jaunty red striped straws. Wooden pallets with woven and wire baskets of fruits and vegetables adorned the walls. We felt pampered…and comfortable.

The parents sported snappy t-shirts with Country Day logos branded for each particular farm stand: Farmhouse Crepes, Coffee Stand, Original Kettlecorn, Bakery, Pick UR Own, and Flower Stand. These thoughtful parents consciously considered the dietary restrictions of some of the teachers – offering many vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, soy-free, and dairy-free menu choices.

Following the fabulously fresh veggie-centric luncheon, we stopped at the coffee stand for a custom-brewed cup of java and some chocolate covered espresso beans for a boost, then “shopped” the Farmers Market – giddy with delight to take home potatoes, onions, carrots, home-grown citrus fruits, apples, pears. Even the centerpieces were included in the “shopping” experience – eggplants, artichokes, bell peppers and more. Our little paper bag menus were full of cookies and pies and peanuts and popcorn.

Let’s ride our bikes over to RHCDS and I’ll show you their re-creation of a Farmers Market…inside a school auditorium!

Continue reading “Teacher Appreciation Luncheon ~ Farmers Market Theme”

Crispy Thai Tamarind Fish with Brown Rice Noodles

Crispy Thai Tamarind Fish

Panko Crusted Fillet of Fresh Sole
Bell Pepper, Onion, Ginger, Carrot, Chile
Sweet & Sour Tamarind Sauce
Thai Brown Rice Vermicelli Noodles

Panko-crusted petrale sole sits atop Thai brown rice vermicelli noodles in a brothy, sweet & sour tamarind sauce loaded with fresh vegetables. Traditionally served with white rice, this fish dish is especially great paired with these noodles which are made in Thailand.

Sweet, delicately flavored, slightly nutty petrale sole is wonderful when sautéed with a panko crust. The fillets are just the right thickness – the exterior gets divinely crisp while the fish is cooked to a fine-textured moist perfection. Crispy crust, tangy broth, slippery noodles, zippy ginger, fiery chiles, licorice-y Thai basil – it’s an irresistible combination of texture and flavor.

Thai Tamarind Fish Recipe

Continue reading “Crispy Thai Tamarind Fish with Brown Rice Noodles”