Potato Dominoes ala Jaden

Being a huge fan of different foods and global flavors, it's funny for me to say that my family does not feel quite the same about food. Basically food is food to them. Of course, it killsme when they say that, but we move on. When I cook dinner, I make things that are pretty familiar and quite boring really. Take my brother for example.He absolutely hates the sweet savory mix. No peanut dressings, sweet bbq sauces, and no pork tenderloin with cherry-apricot chutney.B-O-R-I-N-G. He likes pizza, potatoes, pizza, calzones,pizza and most fruits. (Hey at least he likes fruit)


When I saw well-known blogger Jaden Hair of Steamykitchen make Potato Dominoes, I knew I had to make them. They sounded amazing and provided a chance to break away from the monotony that is spaghetti and chicken stir fry. How did they turn out? They were a big hit. My brother is a big fan of these style of potatoes now. Paired with a braised beef stew, they made the perfect dinner.



Recipe from Seven Fires: Grilling the Argentine Way by Francis Mallmann

4 Idaho (baking) potatoes
4 tablespoons chilled clarified butter( or regular butter)
Kosher or Sea Salt

Preheat your oven to 400F.

Cut off the ends of a potato and trim to make 4 equal sides to form a brick. With a mandoline, Slice the potatoes to 1/8 inch thick. Taking a stack of potatoes like you would a stack of cards, lay it on its side in a medium baking dish. Use the reserved potato ends to keep the stack up.As you lay them in, angle the slices to look like dominoes that have fallen over. Dot the sides and top with the clarified butter and season with salt. Continue stacking all the potatoes, but be sure to keep them at least 2 inches apart. When all the potaoes are lined up and seasoned, take out the reserved potato ends.

Bake for 40 minutes,or until the potatoes are browned on the edges and is tender in the middle when poked with a skewer. Serve immediately.

Braised Oxtail

I may be weird, but my favorite thing about food is the story that it tells. Whenever I cook something special, I like the food to have a meaning and story behind it. Be it an inside joke or have a symbolic meaning, I like the meal to say something. So how does one sum the end of culinary school with a dish? The past few years have certainly been a journey of many ups and downs. A journey that looks simple from far away, but when you're actually involved with that process, you realize that there is so much going on. What's the perfect dish? It's different for everyone, but my story is braised oxtail.

Oxtails really don't get much play. In my grocery store, I find oxtails placed together with all the other forgotten delicacies such as tripe and tongue. It's a product that is looked over in favor of the more popular parts of the animal. Just like culinary school, it's not favored by everyone. Sure everyone enjoys it, but are they willing to put in the time and effort to make it?

In their simple form, oxtails can't really be used. They must be cleaned up; trimmed of the large chunks of fat. When you're done, there really isn't much meat to it. We must continue to transform it into something great. Next, we gather our aromatics; the basic ingredients that develop the flavor in the dish. In this case, it's mirepoix and bouquet garni. In culinary school, it's basic knife skills and culinary math. We don't stop there, we have to have a liquid that will bring all the ingredients together. Red wine and beef stock. Beef stock to echo and enhance the flavors of the oxtail and red wine for those term paper all nighters. Once we gather all our items, we start the process. Seasoning and browning the oxtails then caramelizing the mirepoix. Once it seems like the mirepoix is on the edge of burning (or giving up), we deglaze with red wine and beef stock. Everything quiets down and we place the oxtails back in the pot. Add the bouquet garni and place in the oven to be alone and work on itself. The process feels like forever. Every now and then, you feel like giving up and ordering out, but you don't. You continue to let all the ingredients work together and transform. Towards the end, you start notice and smell the change and finally it is time. You spoon it onto a plate and take a bite. It was all worth it.

So as I sit here drinking red wine, I wonder, what will be my next dish?

Awhile ago, I had seen a post on A2eatwrite's blog about an organization called bloggeraid and this organization is made up of foodbloggers trying to help the hunger issue all over the world. I've never been one for charities. Mostly because most of the money donated does not go straight to the cause but to administration and what not. The great thing about this project is that foodbloggers submit their recipes and photos and all the proceeds will be going towards the the World Food Programme(WFP). I had a few other recipes I was thinking of submitting, but I decided to submit the recipe for red wine braised oxtails. The book is set to come out around the end of this year, so I will be sure to purchase it.

If you would like to submit a recipe, the deadline is March 31st. (So close. I know)

Kobe or kobe not.....

To be honest, I haven't thought too much about writing or taking pictures. All I have been doing is cooking. During the week, I've been working with sugar and chocolate confections. On the weekends, I deal with international cuisine labs. I have just been cooking.

I did visit grand rapids with a few friends for a night out on the town. Good times had all around. I have a list/novel of things I want to do before I pass. One of the things on my list is to have kobe beef. I hear the hype about it, but I never had it, so I really couldn't talk it up either. This restaurant was offering mini kobe beef burgers and oh my were they delicious. Normally, I eat burgers just for the texture of the meat. The chewiness really satisfies me. I was fully expecting that with kobe, but oh boy was I wrong. The meat practically melted in my mouth. It was so smooth and buttery. We wanted to savor every bite.

I guess I should mention that the term used for kobe beef in the United States is Wagyu. The restaurant was thorough enough to list that they received their beef from snake river farms. Our table was a little curious if it was certified or not, so someone took out their phone and searched the internet for the farm. It was definitely certified.

So on November 8th, I had my first taste of kobe.....and it was good.