Seafood on the Street

Are you a fan of California rolls? Who isn’t right? Ever wonder what that imitation crab you’re eating is? I did, and it just so happened that Ham on the Street, the informative cooking show on the Food Network, was having a seafood episode. George Duran, the host and chef, is pretty entertaining (in a cheesy sorta way) but he’s also really informative and he appears to genuinely enjoy what he does and he knows what he’s talking about (he attended culinary school in France and even had a cooking show over there.)

In this episode he prepares a few dishes that look pretty simple to make (you can find those below) but to answer the question at hand we turn to Wikipedia…

Crab sticks is a type of processed sea food made of surimi, or finely pulverized white fish flesh, that has been shaped and cured to vaguely resemble snow crab legs. The primary ingredient in most crab stick is Alaska pollock from the North Pacific. The individual pieces are usually colored red or yellowish red, and rectangular-oblong in shape, and small strings of the crab sticks can be neatly pulled and torn out in a similar manner to string cheese. The smell of crab sticks is similar to sea-food product and the taste is sweet, salty, and highly umami. Crab stick is cooked in its curing process and can be eaten directly from the package.

So it’s actually fish that’s been pulverized and turned into a paste which is then cooked. I honestly had no idea. But besides California rolls, what can you do with it? Well give George’s recipe for spicy crab salad a try.

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SPICY SEAFOOD SALAD

Ingredients

• 10 imitation crab sticks
• 1/2 pound cooked shrimp, chopped
• 3 scallions, chopped
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 3 tablespoons tobiko (those little orange fish eggs found on sushi rolls)
• 1/2 lemon, juiced
• 1 tablespoon sriracha hot chili sauce, or other hot sauce
• Kosher salt
• Finely chopped chives, for garnish

Directions

1. Thaw the crab sticks according to package directions.
   
2. Pull the crab sticks into strands and put them into a large bowl.
   
3. Add the shrimp, scallions, mayonnaise, tobiko, lemon juice, and hot sauce.
   
4. Mix well then taste and adjust the seasoning with salt.
   
5. Serve in chilled martini glasses garnished with more tobiko and chives.

George makes this on the show and the people on the street appear to love it. The secret is shredding it into strands.

But he doesn’t stop there. Here are some other delicious looking recipes he whips up that literally takes just a few ingredients and less than an hour to cook.

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CLASSIC FRENCH MUSSELS

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 shallots, finely chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 2 pounds mussels, cleaned
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 1/2 bunch fresh parsley, chopped
• Kosher salt
• Crusty bread, to serve

Directions

1. Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat.
2. Add the shallots and garlic and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.
3. Add the mussels, wine, cream, butter, and parsley and season well with salt.
4. Give it a good stir, cover the pot, and cook until mussels open and are cooked through, about 10 to 15 minutes.
5. Divide the mussels and the juices between 2 bowls and serve with the crusty bread.

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ROCK SHRIMP BURGERS WITH WASABI MAYO

Ingredients

Wasabi Mayo:

• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1/4 cup prepared wasabi (available in the Asian section of your supermarket)
• 1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• Pinch salt

Rock Shrimp Burgers:

• 1 pound rock shrimp
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup finely chopped parsley leaves
• 1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Hamburger buns, for serving
• Tomato slices, or cherry tomato slices, for mini-burgers, for serving

Directions

1. Heat your grill.
2. For the Wasabi Mayo: Mix all the ingredients together. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
3. For the Rock Shrimp Burgers: process half the shrimp with the egg. Coarsely chop the remaining shrimp and put it into a bowl. Add the processed shrimp and the parsley, bread crumbs, and salt and pepper to taste. Divide the mixture into 4 portions and form them into patties. Grill them on medium heat until cooked through, about 3 to 4 minutes per side. (You can also fry them in a skillet with a little oil.)
4. To serve: place a burger onto a bun. Top with a slice of tomato and some Wasabi Mayo. Cover with the bun top and serve.
5. For mini-burgers: Prepare the buns by cutting out smaller buns with a 1 1/2-inch diameter ring mold or biscuit cutter. Take a heaping tablespoon of the burger mixture and form it into a small patty. Continue with the remaining mixture until all the burgers are formed. Grill them over medium heat until browned and cooked through, about 3 to 4 minutes per side. Place a shrimp burger onto a mini-bun. Top with a slice of cherry tomato and some Wasabi Mayo. Cover with the bun top and secure them with a toothpick.

All these recipes are from the Food Network. To see Ham on the Street for yourself, check your local listings for times and tune your TV to the Food Network. Replays are on throughout the week.

Bringing Street Vendors Home

New York City wouldn’t be NYC without street vendors. But apparently the city has been cracking down on vendors in recent.

There are more than 10,000 street vendors in New York City – hot dog vendors, flower vendors, book vendors, shoe shiners, street artists, and many others. They are small businesspeople struggling to make ends meet. Most are recent immigrants and people of color. They work long hours under harsh conditions, asking for nothing more than a chance to sell their goods and services on the public sidewalk.

Yet, in recent years, vendors have been victims of New York’s aggressive “quality of life” crackdown. They have been denied access to vending licenses. They have been swept from the streets by powerful business groups. They have been unjustly harassed, and their property has been illegally seized.

The Street Vendor Project works to correct the social and economic injustice faced by these hardworking entrepreneurs. Reaching out to vendors on the street, we hold clinics to educate vendors about their legal rights. Working to support a local vendors’ rights movement, we organize vendors to participate in the political process that determines their fate. Finally, we engage in systemic advocacy to help policy makers and the public understand the important role street vendors play in the life of our city.

For more information about the Street Vendor Project, go to www.streetvendor.org.

That said, I’d happily go out and support the vendors of NYC, if I didn’t live 3,000 miles away. But I do. So instead you’ll find 3 recipes below for street vendor food, including pretzels from NYC, elote from LA, and arepas from Miami so you can honor street vendors everywhere at home.

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Mexican Corn on the Cob – Elote

Ingredients

• fresh corn
• butter
• mayonnaise
• cotija cheese (grated)
• cayenne pepper
• lime juice

Directions

1. Husk, butter and grill the corn til it starts to brown.
2. Slap on a coat of mayo (low-fat is fine) and roll in cotija cheese (parmesan works fine as a substitute.)
3. Sprinkle with cayenne pepper and as a squirt of lime juice.

NOTE: This can be done off the cob as well in a bowl. Just mix ingredients and serve.

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New York Style Pretzels

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 (1/4-oz) package active dry yeast (2 1/2 teaspoons)
• 3 3/4 to 4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 2 teaspoons pretzel salt (large coarse salt)
• parchment paper

Directions

1. Stir together sugar, yeast, and 1 1/2 cups lukewarm water (105 to 110°F) in a glass measuring cup, then let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. (If mixture doesn’t foam, discard and start over with new yeast.)
2. Whisk together 3 1/2 cups flour and 1 tablespoon table salt in a large bowl. Add yeast mixture and stir with a wooden spoon until it forms a dough. Dust work surface with 1 tablespoon flour, then turn out dough and knead, gradually dusting with just enough additional flour to make a smooth sticky dough, about 8 minutes. (Dough needs to be somewhat sticky to facilitate rolling and forming into pretzels).
3. Return dough to bowl and cover bowl tightly with plastic wrap, then let dough rise in a draft-free place at warm room temperature until doubled in bulk, about 45 minutes. Turn out dough onto a clean work surface and cut into 8 equal pieces. Using your palms, roll 1 piece back and forth on a clean dry work surface into a rope about 24 inches long. If dough sticks to your hands, lightly dust them with flour. Twist dough into a pretzel shape. (Dough will retract as you form the pretzel.)
4. Transfer pretzel with your hands to an oiled baking sheet and form 7 more pretzels in same manner with remaining dough, spacing them 1 1/2 inches apart.
5. Let pretzels stand, uncovered, about 20 minutes. Meanwhile, put oven rack in upper third of oven and preheat oven to 425°F. Bring a wide 6-quart pot of water to a boil.
6. Using both hands, carefully add 3 pretzels, 1 at a time, to boiling water and cook, turning over once with tongs, until pretzels are puffed and shape is set, about 3 minutes. Transfer parboiled pretzels to a rack to cool. Repeat with remaining 5 pretzels in 2 batches.
7. Line baking sheet with parchment paper and oil paper, then arrange pretzels on sheet. Brush pretzels lightly with some of egg and sprinkle with pretzel salt. Bake until golden brown and lightly crusted, about 35 minutes. Cool 15 minutes, then serve warm.

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Street Vendor Arepas

Ingredients

• One cup areparina (Most people will have to buy this. It is made by Goya, among others. Look for it near the Mexican foods, or near flour.)
• Cooking oil
• 2 cups of warm water (not boiling) Also good to have around for topping when you are done:
• Cheese (Feta, swiss)
• Butter (or margarine)
• Salt

Directions

1. Mix the water and the areparina in a big enough bowl. Let it rest for a few minutes.
2. Knead the dough. Take small balls and knead individually. It is helpful to have a little bowl of water nearby to dunk your hands in occasionally. Flatten using hands taking the ball and starting to press from the center out while you turn the arepa around your fingers so it takes the shape of a little pancake. They should be like 3-5 CDROMs stacked together, only with a little less radius. Your hands will work hard, and get messy, but the arepas should turn out ok. Each pancake will take around 30 seconds to 2 minutes to make.
3. Use a hot frying pan which has been coated with oil (use a paper towel with oil) and bake the arepas. Turn only once when it is brown. Some of the flours make arepas that split slightly when you cook them; that’s ok. Others you have to just get used to the consistency of cooked arepas and you know when they are done. Do not overheat the pan. Arepas take a while to cook, possibly ten minutes or so. Five minutes per side.
4. Serve with sliced cheese, or butter and salt.

Photo from Flickr.

Margaritas in Bulk

I saw this on Jeffrey Morgenthaler’s bartending blog and had to repost it.

Summer is the time when margaritas are consumed the most (there’s no research behind that but I’m sure of it) and why not bring a gallon of margies to your next party? Don’t want to do the math and figure out how much of what you’ll need? Just follow his recipe.

When I can’t find a gallon jug lying around, I just buy a gallon of distilled water from the grocery store for 88 cents and use the water to feed the plants.

• 6 cups gold tequila (you’ll need two fifths for this)
• 2.5 cups triple sec (just a fifth, please)
• 2.5 cups fresh lime juice
• 2.5 cups fresh lemon juice
• 2 cups simple syrup

Mix ingredients together in gallon container. Don’t forget to refrigerate! When ready to serve, pour mixture into a 16-ounce glass filled with ice. Salted rim is optional.

Makes 21 margaritas.

Photo from Flickr.

Do Mojito, Don’t Mojito

I found this on Tastespotting via Jeffrey Morgenthaler’s blog, and it’s a pretty spot on review of how to and how to not drink Mojitos.

Growing up in Miami Beach, mojitos are probably my favorite mixed drink and his rules are ones that should be followed.

Here’s his list.

Do use crushed ice in your mojitos. Crushed ice will melt faster, which is a good thing in a drink with such strong flavors. The extra surface area of crushed ice also means a colder drink.

Do not use a pre-made mojito mix out of a bottle. This is one drink you want to do right.

Do use this recipe to make yourself a mojito at home.

Do not over-muddle the mint, or muddle the lime with the ice cubes. These are strictly amateur moves.

Do try Bacardi rum in your mojitos. For many of us, it is the closest thing we can get to real Cuban rum.

Do not use dark or gold rum in your mojitos. They can muddy the flavor tremendously.

Do use bottled mineral water in place of seltzer water. Remember, garbage in, garbage out.

Do not order a mojito when there is a line at the bar. Your bartender is probably not going to put a lot of love into it. In fact, you might get just the opposite.

Do order a mojito when the bar is slow. Your bartender will appreciate having an intricate cocktail to make. And if he/she doesn’t? Fuck ‘em.

Do not have ten mojitos tonight. At around 150 calories each, that’s like 1500 calories, there, fatty.

Do order a mojito from a reputable bartender at a reputable bar.

Do not order a mojito at a dance club, sports bar, drink stand, airport bar, OTB saloon, chain restaurant or fraternity house. You’re just going to end up being disappointed.

Do order a mojito on a warm summer evening.

Do not order a mojito when the weather is below 70°F. This is almost as bad as ordering a Bloody Mary after the sun has gone down.

Do slowly sip a mojito and enjoy the way the flavors meld over time.

Do not slurp down a mojito in less time than it took your bartender to make it. You’re probably already on the back burner for ordering it in the first place, and it’s going to be a while before you’re allowed another.

Photo from Flickr.

Cooking for Ratatouille

How did they get the food in Ratatouille to look so good? They actuallyed cooked it.

Futhermore, they had the help of Thomas Keller, so the food prepared not only looked good but it probably tastes good as well.

The Pixar crew took cooking classes, ate at notable restaurants in Paris and worked alongside Mr. Keller at the French Laundry in Yountville, Calif.

The intricacies of wine service in the movie are but one detail dedicated eaters will appreciate. The curve of the copper-bottomed sauce pans, the steam from a pot of soup or even the way slices of leek fall off a knife are expertly rendered.

The team at Pixar, which is owned by Disney, worked with Mr. Keller and other chefs to create a menu for the restaurant. Michael Warch, manager of the film’s sets and layout department, also holds a culinary degree. He used the kitchens at the Pixar studios in the San Francisco Bay Area to recreate dishes for the animators to study.

Throughout the film, the characters work on dishes like steamed pike with butter, braised fennel and heirloom potatoes or grilled petit filet mignon with oxtail and baby onion ragout topped with truffled bordelaise and shaved Perigord truffle. The idea was to create food so authentic that people would leave the theater with an urge to cook and eat. But it turns out that computer-generated food can look much scarier than a computer-generated bug or car.

“We didn’t want something to look really photo-real,” said Sharon Calahan, the director of photography and lighting. “If it starts looking too real, it starts getting pretty disturbing.”

A scallop, for example, needs ridges and bumps to look realistic. But add too many and the shellfish becomes grotesque. (from The New York Times)

iPhone & iPhood

Last night’s dinner as seen through my new iPhone. Although it looks pretty impressive, it’s not. It’s a bag of Trader Joe’s Fire Roasted Veggies and Trader Joe’s Salmon Roulettes.

Yes, I’m a bit obsessed with the phone, but I love it. Money well spent.

In case you got one as well, here are some links to food-related iPhone sites.

RecipeSpider

101 Cookbooks

OneTrip

If you want more iPhone goodies, head over to iTunes and download the free 9-minute Ratatouille preview. There are also a number of cooking video podcasts and a bunch of NPR food shows.

Pickles are evil!

Agree? Disagree? Let the fights begin!

If you hate them, pick up this Threadless t-shirt ASAP as they go fast.

And if you love them check out I Love Pickles.

$12 for guys, $14 for gals. Get yours here.

Eggs in a Basket

Eggs in a basket (a.k.a. toad in a hole, Rocky Mountain eggs, Moon over Miami, Bulls-Eye) is one of the easiest breakfasts you can make. It takes next to no time, only requires 1 pan, and is pretty damn delicious.

Preparation typically begins by cutting a circular hole in the center of a piece of bread with a cookie cutter or upside down glass. The bread is then fried in a pan with butter, margarine or cooking oil if the bread itself is not buttered. When browned satisfactorily, the egg is cracked into the “basket” cut into the toast. The egg is then fried to the desired consistency (it can also be flipped several times and fried on both sides). When eaten, the bread and egg yolk mix readily, giving this egg dish its special quality. It is commonly served with ketchup, jam, maple syrup (with a side of sausage & fruit), or cheese. (from Wikipedia)

Ingredients

• any number of eggs
• same number of bread slices (whole wheat was used above)
• pat of butter
• spray oil can (or something else hollow & circular)

Directions

1. Heat butter in pan on medium – high heat.
2. Take circular object (I used a spray can top) and make a hole in the middle of a slice of bread. Keep cut out circle.
3. Place bread in melted butter. Allow to brown for about 30 seconds. At the same time, place cut out bread in pan.
4. Next, crack egg in center. Allow to cook until you can’t see the bottom of the pan through the egg anymore.
5. Flip both the bread and cut out portion. Allow to cook for another minute or so.
6. Plate and eat. Season with salt & pepper. Yolk should be a little runny when cut in to. Use bread and cut out portion to soak it up.

Missing something?

More often than not I’ll go to cook something and find out that something is missing.

It’s a pain in the ass.

But no longer. Now, if you realize something you thought you had is missing, just check this nifty chart from ehow.com and substitute one ingredient for another.

And in case this list isn’t enough, check About.com to find other substitutions such as alcohol substitutions, herb & spice substitutions and many others.

No matter how well-stocked you keep your pantry, there is bound to come a time when you need an ingredient for a recipe but your cupboard is sadly lacking. Or, maybe you are making changes in your diet and need suggestions on substitutions for fats, meats, sugars or whatever. These substitution resources are helpful to have on hand.

Photo from Flickr.

WHAT IS MISSING	POSSIBLE SUBSTITUTES
1 cup (8 oz/250 g) butter	1 cup (8 oz/250 g) margarine
	7/8 cup (7 fl oz/210 ml) vegetable oil
	7/8 cup (7 oz/220 g) vegetable shortening
	3/4 cup (6 fl oz/180 ml) strained chicken or bacon fat
1 cup (8 oz/250 g) butter, in baking cakes and quick breads	1/2 cup (5 oz/155 g) applesauce plus 1/2 cup (4 fl oz/125 ml) vegetable oil
	3/4 cup (6 oz/185 g) yogurt plus 1/4 cup (2 fl oz/60 ml) vegetable oil
1 oz. (30 g) semisweet chocolate	1/2 oz. (15 g) unsweetened chocolate plus 1 tbsp. sugar
1 oz. (30 g) unsweetened chocolate	3 tbsp. cocoa plus 1 tbsp. butter or oil
	3 tbsp. carob plus 2 tbsp. water
1 cup (8 fl oz/250 ml) fresh or canned coconut milk	1/4 cup (2 fl oz/60 ml) canned cream of coconut plus 3/4 cup (6 fl oz/180 ml) warm water or nonfat milk
1 whole egg, in baking	1/4 cup (2 1/2 oz/75 g) applesauce or mashed banana plus 2 tsp. oil
2 egg yolks, in sauces and custards	1 whole egg
1 cup (4 oz/125 g) unsifted cake flour	1 cup (5 oz/155 g) minus 2 tbsp. unsifted all-purpose flour
1 cup (5 oz/155 g) unsifted self-rising flour	1 cup (5 oz/155 g) unsifted all-purpose flour plus 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder and a pinch of salt
1 cup (4 oz/125 g) sifted all-purpose flour	1 cup (5 oz/155 g) minus 2 tbsp. unsifted all-purpose flour
1 cup (5 oz/155 g) unsifted all-purpose flour	1 cup (5 oz/155 g) minus 2 tbsp. unsifted whole-wheat flour
	1 cup (5 oz/155 g) plus 2 tbsp. unsifted cake flour
1 clove fresh garlic	1/2 tsp. garlic paste
	1/8 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. double-acting baking powder	1/4 tsp. baking soda plus 1/2 tsp. cream of tartar
	1/4 tsp. baking soda plus 1/2 cup (4 fl oz/125 ml) buttermilk or yogurt (reduce liquid in recipe by 1/2 cup)
1 tsp. fresh lemon juice	1/2 tsp. vinegar
1 tsp. grated lemon peel	1/2 tsp. lemon extract
1 cup (8 fl oz/250 ml) whole milk	1 cup (8 fl oz/250 ml) nonfat milk or water plus 1 tbsp. melted butter
	1/2 cup (4 fl oz/125 ml) evaporated milk plus 1/2 cup water
	1 cup (8 fl oz/250 ml) buttermilk plus 1.2 tsp. baking soda
	1 cup (8 fl oz/250 ml) soy or almond milk
1 cup (8 fl oz/250 ml) buttermilk	1 cup (8 fl oz/250 ml) milk plus 1 tbsp. lemon juice or white vinegar; let sit 5 minutes
1 cup (8 fl oz/250 ml) light cream	7/8 cup (7 fl oz/210 ml) milk plus 3 tbsp. melted butter
1 cup (8 fl oz/250 ml) half-and-half	7/8 cup (7 fl oz/210 ml) milk plus 1 1/2 tbsp. melted butter
	1/2 cup (4 fl oz/125 ml) light cream and 1/2 cup milk
1 cup (8 fl oz/250 ml) heavy or whipping cream	3/4 cup (6 fl oz/180 ml) whole milk plus 1/3 cup (3 fl oz/80 ml) melted butter
1 cup (8 oz/250 g) sour cream	1 cup (8 oz/250 g) yogurt
	7/8 cup (7 oz/220 g) yogurt or buttermilk plus 1/3 cup (3 oz/90 g) butter
	1 cup (8 fl oz/250 ml) evaporated whole milk plus 1 tbsp. lemon juice
1 tbsp. prepared mustard	1 tsp. powdered mustard plus a dash of vinegar
1 cup (8 oz/250 g) granulated sugar	1 3/4 cup (7 oz/220 g) unsifted confectioner’s sugar
	7/8 cup (7 fl oz/210 ml) honey
	1 cup (7 oz/220 g) packed light-brown sugar plus 1/4 tsp. baking soda
	1 cup (8 fl oz/250 ml) molasses plus 1 tsp. baking soda
	1 cup (8 fl oz/250 ml) maple syrup plus 1/4 cup (2 fl oz/60 ml) corn syrup
1 cup (8 fl oz/250 ml) light corn syrup or honey	1 1/4 cups (10 oz/315 g) granulated sugar plus 1/4 cup (2 fl oz/60 ml) more of liquid in recipe
1 cup (7 oz/220 g) baker’s or superfine sugar	1 cup (8 oz/250 g) granulated sugar, processed 30 seconds in food processor
1 tbsp. cornstarch	2 tbsp. all-purpose flour
1 tbsp. tapioca	1 1/2 tbsp. all-purpose flour
1 tbsp. arrowroot	2 tbsp. all-purpose flour
1 cup (8 fl oz/250 ml) tomato juice	1/2 cup (4 fl oz/125 ml) tomato sauce plus 1/2 cup water
1 cup (8 fl oz/250 ml) tomato sauce	1/4 cup (2 oz/60 g) tomato paste plus 2/3 cup (5 fl oz/160 ml) water
1 cup (8 oz/250 g) yogurt	1 cup (8 fl oz/250 ml) buttermilk
	1 cup (8 fl oz/250 ml) milk plus 1 tbsp. lemon juice

Robert Rodriguez Cooking School

Not only does Robert Rodriguez make movies, but he cooks. And according to yumsugar, he includes 10-minute cooking school videos on most of his DVD’s.

Here’s a couple.

Sin City Breakfast Tacos (homemade tortilla recipe included.)

Puerco Pibil (slow roasted pork)