Bento Obsession

I recently came across the blog Lunch in a Box, and instantly became obsessed. When I was a child, my mom used to make us these elaborate bento lunches. I was the envy of my friends. But was I thankful? Heck no! I wanted to buy my own food in the school canteen. I'm not sure why I didn't enjoy it back then. Perhaps it was the room temperature food, since you weren't suppose to microwave bento boxes. Nowaways, they have such a variety of bento boxes, including ones that are safe to microwave. Today, I went to two Marukais in Torrance and stocked up on goodies.



The result of my shopping spree.



Something to look forward to on Monday: onigiri, pork tenderloin marinated in Magic Dust, steamed sugar peas, and instant stuffings.

~Ray

Good Lord, More Chicken!

This is part 2 of the chicken series. Today, it's "moist" cooking, i.e. braising.



Raw poussin





Poussin with figs and couscous



I have no idea what this was, but it smelled amazing.



Porchini-onion stuffing



Laying out the stuffing



Rolling the chicken



Open up the parchment paper



Boy, it was a lot of work. Pretty awesome, huh?



Searing chicken



Delicious vinegar chicken





Coq au vin







Soy sauce chicken



~Ray

Chicken!

When my mother first met my then-boyfriend (now husband) for the first time, we had lunch at Johnny Rockets. My mom, who speaks very little English, points at the menu and tells him, "Ray loves chicken ... always order chicken." Well, my mom knows me well. Chicken is one of my fav. food. Last Monday was all about chicken in my cooking class. I was assigned to frying up 10 whole chicken (cut up into 8 pieces each) ... um, I think that equaled to 80 pieces of chicken.



The genisis of the following dishes







We all got to take home a box of fried chicken.




Chicken, flatted and stuffed with cheese.



Look at that cheese oozing out!



Poulett (small chicken) with a wine-cream sauce



Fresh out of the oven



Roasted chicken served



Turkey wrapped in bacon



BBQ chicken



Mashed potatoes



Diane and Corinna



Duck



The payoff

~Ray

Sage-Scented Shortbread

I bought a bunch of sage at the farmers' market. I'm not usually a big fan of sage, but I like its touch in the brown butter sauce. I had some leftover after making the gnocchi, so I decided to make a sage-scented shortbread from the November 2007 issue of Bon Appetit. It's subtle and delicious. I'm not that great a baker, but I'm happy with these results.



2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons thinly sliced fresh sage leaves or 2 teaspoons dried sage
1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch-thick pieces, room temperature

Blend first 4 ingredients in processor. Add butter; using on/off turns, process until dough comes together. Divide in half. Shape each dough piece into log about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Chill until firm enough to slice, about 30 minutes.

Position 1 rack in top third and 1 rack in bottom third of oven; preheat to 350°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment. Cut each dough log into 1/3- to 1/2-inch-thick rounds; place on sheets. Bake 10 minutes. Reverse sheets so bottom sheet is on top rack of oven and top sheet is on bottom rack. Bake until cookies are golden, about 15 minutes longer. Cool on racks.

Source: Bonappetit.com

~Ray

Homemade Gnocchi with Sage-Brown Butter Sauce

I always thought the store-bought gnocchi have this weird sour taste to it. That's why it's worth putting in some elbow grease to make your own. The texture and flavor belong to a whole different league. Toss them in with a sage-brown butter sauce--it's to-die-for!



Homemade gnocchi
3 large russet potatoes
2 ounces butter
3 ounces milk
Salt & pepper
1 egg
2 1/2 cups flour

Peel, cut, boil the potatoes until very soft. Drain and allow to dry, about 5 minutes. Pass through a ricer or food mill. Heat the 2 ounces butter and milk. Add to the potatoes. Season with salt and pepper. Add the egg. Incorporate thoroughly.

Stir in half the flour and turn out onto a board. Work in the remaining flour, adding more if necessary to achieve a soft but not sticky dough.

Divide into 4 parts, shape into cylinders and place on a floured sheet pan. Refrigerate for a half hour. Cut the cylinders ainto 3/4 inch thick slices and shape into an oval ball. Press fork against the side.

Place gnocchi in boiling salted water. Reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes. Drain.



Sage-Brown Butter Sauce
Butter
Fresh sage

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
8 fresh sage leaves, torn in half
Finely ground sea salt, preferably gray salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Chopped garlic (optional)
Chopped bacon (optional)

Put the butter in a cold skillet and place it over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally to prevent it from burning in spots but without moving the pan, until it stops foaming and browns evenly, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the sage leaves and cook briefly until they crisp in the hot butter. Season with salt and pepper. Add garlic and bacon. Remove from the heat and keep warm.

Toss gnocchi in the sauce. Grate some fresh parmesan over ! Bon appetit!

~Ray

Roasted Brussels Sprouts

I love brussels sprouts, so I was excited to find out that almost every vendor at farmers' market carried them today. I hurried home and popped some in the oven, along with a drizzle of olive oil, sprinkle of salt, pepper and chopped garlic. Bake them for 30 mins, grate some parmersan over. These are the kinds of recipes I love: the ones that are simple, yet bring out the natural flavors of the ingredients.

~Ray

Happy New Year!

These lovely flowers were from my good friend Samantha.

~Ray

Cooking Class: Shellfish

My first love has to be seafood. I love them all--fish, shrimp, crawfish, lobster, squid, octupus, crab. So, I could not wait till we get to the shellfish class. The beauty of it is the simplicity and speed. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.



Canned crab for crabcakes!



Corinna putting her crabcakes in the fridge.



Golden brown goodness





My mise en place for mussels in green curry.



Everything chopped up and ready to go.



Looks pretty, but I would never prep it so nicely if I have to wash my own dishes.



Spicy, warm, and yummy.





Skewered shrimp with rosemary







Fresh oysters



Calamari



Frying up!



Close-up



It's as good as it looks.





Ceviche with avocado. It was a lot of work, but so delicious.



Clams



Service up



The reward

~Ray