Butter Chicken Breast with Saffron Aioli

SKIN-ON CHICKEN BREAST LIGHTLY SEASONED AND MARINATED AND SEARED IN BUTTER. SAFFRON-LEMON AIOLI. FONDANT POTATO BRUSHED WITH ROSEMARY, THYME, FINISHED IN HOMEMADE CHICKEN STOCK.  ASPARAGUS AND MUSHROOMS IN SEASONED CHICKEN OIL. MICROGREENS AND RADISH SLICES.

Oh boy, it’s good to be back in the kitchen! Over the last couple years, I realized just how poorly I eat when food isn’t a priority. Cooking can become a total chore in between being at the hospital and studying for exams. After way too many one-pot curries and stews at home, and burrito bowls in between caffeine shots, it became obvious how important texture is to enjoying food. How many times have you heard someone describe a food as having “a crunchy outside, and a soft and creamy inside” to advertise its deliciousness? In the multi-step process of tasting food, texture is second only to sight, and in my opinion is what separates great dishes from average ones. And so I was inspired to play with textures as I renewed my cooking creativity, keeping flavors simple and using just the technical basics – breaking down a whole chicken, keeping chicken breast moist, and making a simple sauce that brightens up the rest of the flavors on the plate.

How do different textures feature in this French-inspired ensemble? First, the crispy skin is obligatory. I borrowed a technique chefs often use for whole chicken – loosening the skin from the meat and seasoning the space underneath to both draw moisture away from the skin surface and to season the meat. Second, the sides. A fondant potato develops a delightfully crusty exterior that contrasts with a heavenly creamy interior that soaks up the flavors of chicken and butter that it cooks in (also, it looks like a scallop and Pea loves scallops). Then, veggies are cooked in the oil left over from the rendered chicken skin, just far enough to take off the raw edge but leave some crunchy freshness.

So, regardless of what you eat or cook, I hope you start discovering the magic of textures in your homecooking, taking it to another level! – Boo

Servings: 2 (main portions)
Difficulty: 

Crispy chicken breast:

  • 1 (~12 oz) skin-on boneless chicken breast
  • Marinade
    0.5 tb butter
    0.5 ts coarse salt
    0.5 ts coarse black pepper
    0.25 ts ground coriander
  • 1 garlic clove, crushed
  • 1 rosemary sprig
  • 2 thyme sprigs
  1. Pat the chicken dry, then slide fingers under the skin to separate skin from meat, keeping one long edge of skin attached.
  2. Rub butter on the meat underneath the skin, then evenly apply other marinade seasonings underneath the skin.
  3. Refrigerate chicken breast to marinate, 8-12 hours.
  4. Before cooking, rest chicken at room temperature, 1-2 hours.
  5. In olive oil over medium-high heat, place chicken skin-side down to sear until crisp, ~8-10 minutes. Meanwhile, use tongs to hold rosemary, thyme, and garlic together and brush in oil and on the chicken while cooking.
  6. Flip, and cook over medium heat until cooked through (internal T = 155 F), ~8-10 minutes. Continue to brush herbs over chicken skin.
  7. Rest chicken on cutting board, 5 minutes. Meanwhile, make saffron aioli.
  8. (optional) Saute 2 servings of vegetables in remaining chicken oil.

Saffron aioli:

  • 1 egg yolk
  • pinch of saffron threads
  • 1 garlic clove, grated
  • 1 tb lemon juice
  • 0.5 c extra-virgin olive oil
  • 0.25 ts salt
  • 0.25 ts white pepper
  1. In a small bowl, soak saffron in 1 tb hot water. Set aside.
  2. In a mixing bowl, whisk egg yolk with lemon juice and garlic until slightly thickened.
  3. Gradually add oil in a slow stream while whisking until thickened.
  4. Beat salt, pepper, and saffron into aioli.
  5. Serve with chicken.

Lemongrass Coconut Curry

LEMONGRASS AND GINGER-INFUSED COCONUT CURRY WITH POTATOES, MUSHROOMS, BELL PEPPERS, AND CHERRY TOMATOES. WITH SEARED SALMON FILLET AND LIME.

While we can’t claim this recipe to be authentically Thai, we can say that a fragrant coconut curry is an easy way to get big flavors without too much attention or labor. More accurately, this one’s more a technique than a recipe with specific ingredients for a particular cuisine.

Until recently, we were a bit tentative on using lemongrass, knowing the flavor only from eating out at Thai places. When we finally overcame our lemongrass anxiety, we realized how easy, versatile, and revolutionary it would be to our meal prep for busy weeks! Though there are several ways to use it, we like to chop it up to infuse into a stew or broth-based dish for a few hours before pulling out the fibrous pieces.

For vegetarians and vegans, this can easily be made without fish sauce or the seared salmon. The same technique applies, and remember that the veggie combinations are far beyond the ones we listed here! Enjoy 🙂 – Pea and Boo

Servings: 4 (full courses)
Difficulty: 

Lemongrass curry:

  • Curry base
    2 lemongrass stalks
    2 ts ginger, grated
    1 star anise
  • Broth
    1 can (14 oz) coconut milk
    1 c vegetable stock
    3 tb soy sauce
    (optional) 1.5 tb fish sauce
    3 garlic cloves, grated
    1 tb sugar
    2 ts turmeric
    1 ts coriander
    1 bay leaf
  • Vegetables, cut into bite-sized pieces
    8 oz button mushrooms
    2-3 carrots
    8-12 oz potatoes
    1 onion
  • 6 oz cherry tomatoes
  • Finish
    2 tb corn starch
    1 lime, zested and juiced
    10-20 thai basil leaves
  1. For lemongrass, remove out layer, and cut off leaves and tip of bulb. Rinse thoroughly. Slice into 3-inch sticks, and halve lengthwise.
  2. In a large sauté pan or pot over high heat, toast lemongrass, ginger, and star anise until lightly charred, 3-4 minutes.
  3. Add all broth ingredients, and cover to simmer on medium-low heat, 1.5-2 hours.
  4. Add vegetables to simmer until softened, 20-30 minutes.
  5. Add cherry tomatoes to cook, 10 minutes.
  6. In a small bowl, suspend corn starch in 2-3 tb water. Stir suspension into curry, and simmer until thickened, 2 minutes.
  7. Add lime zest/juice and basil leaves to cook until wilted, 1 minute.
  8. Serve with rice, or keep warm while preparing seared salmon.

Seared salmon fillet:

  • 4 (6 oz) salmon fillets
  • salt and black pepper
  • vegetable/canola oil
  1. Score the skin side of each fillet, and season on both sides.
  2. Drizzle and rub oil on both sides of fillets.
  3. In a pan over high heat, sear salmon on skin side until cooked pink halfway up, ~4 minutes. Flip over.
  4. Sear second side until cooked to desired doneness, ~3 minutes (medium).
  5. Remove to a plate to rest, 10 minutes.
  6. Stir resting salmon juices into curry, and serve salmon and curry with rice.

Salted Caramel Hazelnut Macchiato Macarons


SPICED HAZELNUT ESPRESSO MACARON SHELLS WITH BUTTERY SALTED CARAMEL FILLING.

As if they haven’t gotten tired of making macarons already, about 100 more shells came out of the BooPeaKitchen oven since our vanilla bean macarons a few recipes ago. An unrepentant coffee and hazelnut fanatic, Boo loves his tiramisu and macchiatos and has chowed through literal boxes of raw hazelnuts in his years as a fatty. With Pea’s love of caramel, and macarons being a primary product in their kitchen, batches marrying these these flavors were obligatory.

Hazelnut flour is just like almond flour, and works just as well for macarons, but tastes even nuttier. A few dashes of cayenne pepper and cinnamon in the macaron shells give them a flavor that plays with your mouth unlike many other recipes, with just a bit of a tingle! The salted caramel filling recipe will make leftovers, but is a lot easier to work with in a batch this size. So make more macarons to use it all up, or heat it up and ladle it over a scoop of vanilla ice cream – it won’t need to go to waste!

P.S. If you haven’t made macarons before, read our quickie guide in our French Macaron blurb – it’s a lot less intimidating than some people make it seem, and we break it down into 3 main things to look out for!

Yield: 44-56 shells
Difficulty: 2 star

Oven: 310 F, 18 minutes

Preparation:

  • Line 2-3 baking trays with parchment paper or silicone mats.
  • If using parchment paper, optionally draw guide circles (diameter 2.5-3 cm) about 3 cm apart on parchment paper, and flip written-side down.

Hazelnut espresso shells:

  • Dry ingredients, sifted
    120 g hazelnut meal
    150 g powdered sugar
    1 tb instant espresso powder, ground
    0.25 ts cinnamon
    pinch cayenne pepper
  • Meringue
    110 g (~3) egg whites, room temperature
    0.25 ts cream of tartar (or lemon juice)
    95 g granulated sugar
  1. Beat egg whites with cream of tartar to soft peaks. Gradually add granulated sugar to egg whites, and beat to a stiff meringue (tips of peaks should gently curl when whisk is lifted), ~4-6 minutes.
  2. Add dry ingredients to the meringue. Fold until smooth and falling in thick ribbons (which disappear after 6-8 seconds).
  3. Using a large round tip, pipe circles onto the prepared baking tray spaced 1.5-2 cm between the edges of adjacent shells.
    Small pea tip: Keep the tip perpendicular to, and 1 cm above, the baking tray. Keep the tip centered while piping each shell to desired size; avoid moving it around while piping.
  4. Rest at room temperature until dry to the touch, 60-90 minutes.
  5. Bake on middle rack, 18 minutes. Remove from oven, and set aside until cooled to room temperature. Meanwhile, making filling.
    Small pea tip: Lower the oven temperature by 5-10 F, and bake for 1 minute shorter if using a dark pan.
  6. Carefully remove/peel shells from parchment or silicone mat.
    Small pea tip: If macarons stick to silicone mat, may run a thin knife across the bottom to help release shells from the mat.

Salted caramel cream:

  • Caramel
    1 c sugar
    2 tb water
  • 0.33 c heavy cream
  • 8 tb (1 stick) butter, diced
  • Flavorings
    0.25 ts vanilla extract
    0.5 ts instant espresso powder
    1 ts salt
  • cold water bath
  1. In a light-colored pot, heat sugar with water over medium heat to desired caramel color.
  2. Remove from heat, and carefully whisk in heavy cream until smooth.
  3. Whisk in butter until smooth.
  4. Whisk in flavorings, and transfer to a mixing bowl in a shallow cold water bath.
  5. Beat caramel just until peaks start to form, and remove from cold water bath.
    Small pea tip: Avoid over-chilling the cream, since this will cause the butter to solidify and separate from the cream. If it separates, microwave and whisk until recombined.
  6. Assemble macarons.

Assembly:

  1. Pair shells by size.
  2. Using a round tip, pipe ~0.5 tb filling onto one shell of each pair. Gently sandwich with the second shell.
  3. In an airtight or covered container, refrigerate macarons in a single layer, at least 8 hours.
  4. Serve, and optionally refrigerate up to 1 week or freeze up to 3 months.

 OOPS!

Sumac Rib-Eye of Lamb with Basil and Black Olive Pestos


MEDIUM-RARE RACK OF LAMB, SOUS-VIDE WITH TRUFFLE OIL, GARLIC, AND HERBS. ROLLED IN SUMAC. BASIL AND BLACK OLIVE PESTOS. ROSEMARY LEMON STEAMED RED AND GOLDEN BEETS. BLACK PEPPER ROASTED TOMATOES. OLIVE OIL ROASTED GARLIC. AVOCADO CREAM. MICROGREENS.

After all these years, Pea and Boo find ways to celebrate their month-versaries – this time, it was a cooking project and the resulting three-course Mediterranean-inspired meal since Pea has always taken a liking to Mediterranean food. With tabbouleh (coming soon!) starting us off, and fruity panna cotta (just recently posted) closing the meal, the main course needed to be spicy, fresh, and deeply savory. After an afternoon of therapeutic knife work for deboning the rack of lamb, prepping the vegetable sides, and making the pestos, Pea and Boo sat down to enjoy another month gone by with each other.

Though removing the bone from the rack of lamb is unusual, it made for an interesting presentation and easy eating experience, as well as the excuse to call this a “rib-eye” because of the strikingly similar look when it’s cut. The bones and meat trimmings also made a yummy lamb stock for a different dish, so don’t dare just throw those away! The procedure below is for those who want to try sous-vide, but searing and finishing the lamb in the oven would work, too, as long as you check your meat temperature every several minutes after it goes into the oven. If you don’t own a sous-vide machine, that’s okay (Pea and Boo don’t, either)! Filling a large pot with water and keeping it at a steady temperature with a thermometer achieves exactly the same goal, even though it takes a little more effort. – Pea and Boo

P.S. as with all our recipes, you can omit or change a few ingredients if they’re hard to find or too expensive! Special notice on this recipe because of the black truffle oil that only the snobbiest cooks might want to keep in their pantry.

Servings: 3-4 (main portions)
Difficulty: 

Ingredients:

  • 1 (1.8-2 lb) rack of lamb
  • Marinade
    6 rosemary sprigs
    6 thyme sprigs
    4 garlic cloves, crushed
    2 tb extra-virgin olive oil
    0.5 tb black truffle oil
    coarse sea salt and black pepper
  • Basil pesto
    1 c chopped basil
    3 tb pine nuts
    1 garlic clove
    4 tb extra-virgin olive oil
    salt and black pepper, to taste
    3 tb grated parmigiano-reggiano
  • Black olive pesto
    2 tb basil pesto
    3 tb black olives
  • Lamb seasoning
    sumac
    black truffle oil
    coarse salt and black pepper

Directions:

  1. With the rack of lamb bone-side down, slice just between the meat and bones to de-bone. Reserve bones and attached meat for stock or other purposes.
  2. In a sous-vide bag, rub de-boned rack of lamb with marinade. Vacuum seal the bag, and refrigerate, 8-12 hours.
  3. In a sous-vide cooker or large pot of water, cook lamb in vacuum-sealed bag at 130-135 F (medium-rare), 4-5 hours. Meanwhile, prepare pestos.
  4. In a food processor or pestle and mortar, process basil pesto ingredients until finely minced. Cover and refrigerate in a small bowl.
  5. In a food processor or pestle and mortar, process black olive pesto ingredients until finely minced. Cover and refrigerate in a small bowl.
  6. Remove cooked lamb from sous-vide bag, and discard herbs.
  7. In a hot cast iron skillet, sear and roll lamb in olive oil until browned on all sides, 3-4 minutes.
  8. Roll lamb in sumac, and slice into 3-4 portions.
  9. Plate with pestos, and season with black truffle oil and coarse salt and pepper. Serve.

Lemon Panna Cotta with Berry Cassis Glaze


CREAMY LEMON PANNA COTTA WITH VANILLA, SET SOFTLY IN A GLASS. REDUCTION OF CRÈME DE CASSIS, BLACKBERRIES, RASPBERRIES, AND STRAWBERRIES. FRESH BERRIES, CANDIED LEMON PEEL, AND MINT.

Late one evening, Pea and I were mindlessly taking one of the many “Which dessert must go?” Buzzfeed quizzes when a supermajority picking against panna cotta dumbfounded me. How could so many people not understand the indulgently creamy, yet cool and refreshing features of panna cotta, not to mention that you can make it at home in about 20 minutes (even faster than the vastly more well-known crème brûlée) and leave the rest of the work to the fridge? I’m going to chalk it up to a name recognition contest, and leave this recipe here.

Although the most traditional version sets the dessert using egg whites and is cooked in the oven like a crème brûlée, the modern version with gelatin is much easier and much faster. The cream is warmed just to completely melt the bloomed gelatin before pouring into ramekins or glasses to chill and set, and all the other ingredients and flavors are simply stirred in. Depending on how well set you want your panna cotta (especially if you want to turn it onto a plate), you could add a tiny bit more gelatin (maybe 0.5 ts).

Don’t be like the people who answered the Buzzfeed quiz with blasphemy. Eat panna cotta. – Boo

Servings: 6 (dessert portions)
Difficulty: 

Lemon panna cotta:

  • 0.75 tb gelatin
  • Cream mixture
    2 c heavy cream
    1 c milk
    0.66 c sugar
    0.25 ts salt
  • lemon zest
  • 0.33 c lemon juice
  • 2 ts vanilla extract
  1. In a small bowl, sprinkle gelatin over 2-3 tb water, and set aside to bloom, ~5 minutes.
  2. In a saucepan, heat and stir cream mixture over medium heat to just under a simmer. Remove from heat, and add lemon zest and juice.
  3. Stir gelatin and vanilla into cream mixture until dissolved.
  4. Divide panna cotta into 6 serving containers.
  5. Cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until set, 4 hours. Meanwhile, make glaze.

Berry cassis glaze:

  • 0.5 c blackberries
  • 0.5 c raspberries
  • 0.33 c strawberries
  • 0.33 c sugar
  • 3 tb water
  • 0.25 ts salt
  • 3 tb crème de cassis
  1. In a saucepan, cook and mash fruit, water, sugar, and salt over medium heat until berries have completely broken down, 10-15 minutes.
  2. Sieve berry sauce, and add crème de cassis. Refrigerate until chilled.
  3. Spoon glaze over set panna cotta, optionally garnish with fresh berries, and serve.

Brazilian Feijoada

BRAZILIAN BLACK BEAN STEW WITH PORK HOCK, SHOULDER, AND SAUSAGE. FAROFA WITH BACON. GARLIC-FRIED COLLARD THREADS. BRAZILIAN VINAIGRETTE SALSA. CILANTRO-LIME RICE. ORANGE SLICE PALATE CLEANSER.

Binging on Brazilian Youtuber Dani Noce‘s recipe videos is one of my favorite Pea-Boo activities for lazy days. Ever since I managed to convince Boo that her signature background song of festive gibberish means “let’s have a bountiful Feijoada feast” in Portuguese, I cannot make this dish without singing “roomba! ba-ba-ba-e-ba roomba-e!”

Fooling the Boo and childhood memories of Brazil aside, this dish itself offers plenty of reason for joy. Easy to make and preferably cooked in large batches so that you can add a variety of meats, Feijoada is perfect for inviting friends over for a hearty meal, served with plenty of tasty sides of toasted farofa, Brazilian vinaigrette salsa, and thinly sliced collard greens. – Pea

Servings: 8-10 (main portions)
Difficulty: 

Ingredients:

  • Stew base
    2 onions, finely minced
    3 c black beans
    0.5 c white wine
    4 cloves garlic, grated
    0.5 tb salt
  • water
  • Meats
    0.75 lb pork hock
    1 lb pork butt (or shoulder), cubed 1 inch
    8 oz linguiça or Kielbasa sausage, sliced
    (optional) pork belly, bacon, beef short rib, beef chuck

Directions:

  1. In a large pot, sauté minced onions in vegetable (or canola) oil over medium-high heat until golden-brown, 4-5 minutes.
  2. Add remaining stew base ingredients. Add water to cover ingredients, and bring to a gentle simmer.
  3. In a pan, sear all meats except sausages. Add seared meats to pot. Cover, and gently simmer until tender, ~3 hours.
    Small pea tip: Add water as needed throughout cooking to keep everything barely covered.
  4. Add sliced sausage to pot to cook, 25 minutes.
  5. Serve with rice and choice of sides.

Vanilla Bean Macarons

VANILLA BEAN MACARONS WITH CREAMY VANILLA ERMINE BUTTERCREAM.

How vanilla became synonymous with boring and unexciting is a mystery to me. Used correctly, vanilla is an amazing, unique flavor that is the furthest thing from “default” you could get. After all, vanilla beans contain over 200 distinct chemical compounds. Vanillin is the most important by far, and the others help make the aroma nearly indescribable. So if you’re one of those people who judges vanilla from its use in commercial ice cream and limited edition cola, it’s time to give it a real try.

We always keep a healthy stock of vanilla extract from our favorite wholesale warehouse at our disposal, but we’re breaking out the vanilla beans for these vanilla macarons today. Other than decorating your shells with tons of tiny vanilla seed specks to let your friends know you used the real deal, you also don’t lose as much of the vanilla flavor with baking as you do with regular vanilla extract. With a smooth ermine buttercream with plenty of vanilla to fit the theme, these vanilla macarons are anything but boring! – Boo and Pea

P.S. If you haven’t made macarons before, read our quickie guide in our French Macaron blurb – it’s a lot less intimidating than some people make it seem, and we break it down into 3 main things to look out for!

Yield: 44-56 macaron shells
Difficulty: 2 star

Oven: 310 F, 18 minutes

Preparation:

  • Line 2-3 baking trays with parchment paper or silicone mats.
  • If using parchment paper, optionally draw guide circles (diameter 2.5-3 cm) about 3 cm apart on parchment paper, and flip written-side down.

Macaron shells:

  • Dry ingredients, sifted
    120 g almond meal
    150 g powdered sugar
  • Meringue
    110 g (~3) egg whites, room temperature
    0.25 ts cream of tartar (or lemon juice)
    2 vanilla beans, split and scraped
    100 g granulated sugar
  • (optional) 4-10 drops food coloring
  1. In a mixing bowl, beat egg whites with cream of tartar and vanilla bean seeds to soft peaks. Gradually add granulated sugar to egg whites while beating to a firm meringue (tips of peaks should gently curl when whisk is lifted), ~4-6 minutes.
  2. Sift dry ingredients into the meringue. Fold until smooth and falling in thick ribbons.
  3. Using a large round tip, pipe batter into buttons (diameter 2.5-3 cm) onto the prepared baking trays spaced ~3 cm between the edges of adjacent shells.
    Small pea tip: Keep the tip ~0.5 cm above and perpendicular to the baking tray. Keep the tip centered and still while piping each shell to desired size.
  4. Rest at room temperature until surface dries to the touch, 45-60 minutes.
  5. Bake on middle rack, 18 minutes. Remove from oven, and set side until cooled to room temperature. Meanwhile, make filling.
    Small pea tip: Lower the oven temperature by 5-10 F, and bake for 1 minute shorter if using a dark pan.
  6. Carefully remove/peel shells from parchment or silicone mat.
    Small pea tip: If macarons stick to parchment or silicone mat, run a thin knife across the bottom to help release shells.

Vanilla ermine buttercream:

  • Roux
    0.25 c milk
    1 tb flour
    pinch of salt
  • 4 tb butter, room temperature
  • 3 tb sugar
  • 0.5 tb vanilla extract
  1. In a small saucepan over medium heat, stir and bring roux to a simmer, and cook, 2 minutes. Transfer to a small container, and cover and refrigerate until chilled.
  2. In a mixing bowl, cream butter with sugar and vanilla.
  3. Beat roux into butter mixture by spoonfuls, and beat until fluffy.

Assembly:

  1. Pair shells by size.
  2. Using a round tip, pipe ~0.5 tb filling onto one shell of each pair. Gently sandwich with second shell.
  3. In an airtight or covered container, refrigerate macarons in a single layer, at least 8 hours.
  4. Serve, and optionally refrigerate up to 1 week or freeze up to 3 months.

Orange Fried Tofu with Apple Bok Choy Salad

CRISPY FRIED TOFU, LIGHTLY-SALTED AND GLAZED WITH NAVAL ORANGE REDUCTION. LEMONY SESAME BOK CHOY SALAD WITH FUJI APPLE, RED ONION, AND CARROT JULIENNE.

I get occasional cravings for the thick, sweet goop that Chinese take-out calls “orange chicken” and “orange tofu” just like the next person. Unfortunately, Chinese take-out doesn’t usually sit well with New Year’s resolutions, so it was up to me to figure out how to twist a sugary mess into something a bit lighter and fresher. With the help of some bags of fresh Fuji apples and naval oranges, our bok choy bounty, and a desire for something new (because garlic bok choy, while great, can get repetitive), I decided to roll with a raw salad alongside some fried tofu glazed with a naval orange reduction (culinary lingo for an intensified sauce or liquid with a lot of the water boiled away). As much as Pea loves meat, this vegetarian dish ended up being one of Pea’s all-time favorite Boo dishes!

The most intensive part of the dish is probably just slicing everything for the salad into fine matchsticks, or julienne. Although a little time-consuming, it’s a great way to hone your knife skills, and I personally find prep work therapeutic! You’ll find quite a few methods for cutting vegetables into julienne, and some vegetables might be a little trickier than others – but here’s an idea of how I worked the bok choy (by separating the leaves from the stems first, then stacking the stems and rolling the leaves):

Pea has been a little busy learning to be a fantastic doctor recently, but if you have a willing, or unwilling, helper around, they can shallow-fry the tofu and make the sauce while the salad is being put together to save quite a bit of time. Yes, I said shallow-fry because the salad is a good enough reason to have a little bit of fried in the dish, right? – Boo

P.S. make this vegetarian dish vegan by eliminating or replacing the honey! Since there isn’t much honey in the original recipe, and so many other flavors, just taking it out wouldn’t sacrifice much at all!

Servings: 3 (full courses)
Difficulty: 

Bok choy salad:

  • Vegetable julienne
    0.5 lb bok choy
    1 (medium) Fuji apple
    3 oz carrot
    0.25 red onion
  • Seasoning
    2 tb lemon juice
    0.5 tb sesame oil
    0.5 tb honey
    0.5 tb soy sauce
    1 ts mirin
    0.25 ts salt
    0.25 ts black pepper
    0.25 ts garlic powder
  • 2 ts sesame seeds
  • 2-4 tb minced cilantro, to taste
  1. Separate bok choy leaves from stems, and julienne in small stacks.
  2. In a large bowl, toss seasoning with vegetable julienne.
  3. In a small pan, toast sesame seeds over medium heat until aromatic, ~1 minute.
  4. Toss sesame seeds and cilantro into salad.
  5. Cover and refrigerate until use.

Orange tofu:

  • 1-1.25 lb soft tofu
  • Orange reduction
    1 c orange juice
    0.5 tb honey
    1 ts soy sauce
    2 thin slices ginger
    pinch of salt
  • sea salt, coarse
  1. Divide tofu into 6 square logs, and set on paper towels to dry.
  2. In a small pan, reduce orange juice over medium heat until slightly thickened, 6-10 minutes.
  3. Stir remaining orange reduction ingredients into pan, and keep warm.
  4. Shallow fry tofu logs until golden-brown on all sides, 2-3 minutes per side. Set over paper towels to drain, 1 minute.
  5. Glaze tofu with orange reduction, and lightly salt. Serve with apple bok choy salad.

Salmon Balsamic Teriyaki with Garlic Bok Choy

SEARED SALMON FINISHED WITH BALSAMIC TERIYAKI SAUCE, SESAME SEEDS, AND GREEN ONIONS. GARLIC-SAUTEED BOK CHOY.

I’ve heard too many doctors say, “Doctors know how to take care of other people, but don’t know how to take care of themselves”. As Pea and I plow through some of our tougher weeks in medical school, it’s easy (and sad) to see how busy students, professionals, parents, and hobbyists alike may not have the time or effort to spare to eat well. In the name of time management, we’ve definitely caved several times to Chipotle and plenty of unhealthy snacks to mindlessly munch away studying for upcoming exams.

Besides just keeping ourselves healthy, Pea and I know how important it is to be good role models as future doctors, and so we used the start of 2017 as a great excuse to make some changes! First, we’ve been bringing lunch from home that’s healthier and cheaper than buying. Second, we’ve been planning ahead and making more food a few days before the study grind instead of resorting to fast food. Third, we’ve been trying to stick with fruits and nuts as snacks, besides the occasionally irresistible Cheez-Its. For those out there with even tighter schedules, it doesn’t take a laundry list of changes to be healthier – even one change over the long-term is great!

Today, a few days before some upcoming exams, we’re giving you a dish that takes some salmon, bok choy, and some basic pantry ingredients and turns it into a fast, flavorful, and healthy meal. As with all our recipes, it’s okay to omit or substitute if you don’t happen to have something on hand. Doubling the recipe adds almost no time at all, and will let you pack some away for the next few days, too. Here’s to a healthier, happier 2017! – Boo

Servings: 4 (full courses)
Difficulty: 

Balsamic teriyaki:

  • 4 tb balsamic vinegar
  • 2 tb soy sauce
  • 1 tb mirin
  • 1 tb brown sugar
  • 0.5 ts sesame oil
  1. In a small saucepan, stir and simmer all ingredients over medium-high heat until slightly thickened. Set aside.

Seared salmon:

  • 4 portions salmon fillet
  • salt and black pepper
  1. Salt and pepper salmon on both sides.
  2. In a large pan, sear salmon in olive oil over medium-high heat until cooked pink halfway up, ~4 minutes, and flip over.
  3. Sear second side until cooked to desired doneness, 3-5 minutes.
  4. Remove salmon to a plate to rest, and spoon teriyaki over fillets. Meanwhile, prepare bok choy.

Garlic bok choy:

  • 8-10 heads bok choy
  • 4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
  • 1 tb cooking wine
  • 0.5 tb sesame oil
  • 0.5 tb vinegar
  • salt
  1. Separate and discard root from bok choy stems. Separate bok choy leaves from stems.
  2. In the same large pan, saute garlic and bok choy stems in vegetable/canola oil over medium-high heat until nearly cooked through, ~4 minutes.
  3. Stir bok choy leaves into pan until wilted, ~1 minute.
  4. Mix remaining ingredients into garlic bok choy, and serve with salmon. Optionally, garnish with green onions and sesame seeds.

Eggnog Cream Puffs

CHOUX PASTRY BALLS FILLED WITH MERINGUE AND NUTMEG PASTRY CREAM. TOPPED WITH CHOCOLATE AND CRUSHED HAZELNUTS.

With the first official day of winter less than 24 hours away, we wanted to share a cream puff recipe, but with an obligatory holiday twist or two. When served chilled, these little puffs are as addictive as they are dangerous when you lose track of how many you’ve already eaten – but that’s perfectly okay when you remember that holiday calories don’t count. In any case, all the holiday deliciousness will just motivate those health-conscious New Years’ resolutions even more.

If you haven’t worked with choux pastry before, it’s really quite a simple and mesmerizing dough that happens to be used for churros, éclairs, beignets, funnel cakes, and so much more. High in moisture compared with other pastry doughs, choux pastry puffs up as the moisture steams up during the cooking process, whether baked (like with éclairs and cream puffs) or deep-fried (like with churros, beignets, or funnel cakes). Baking also leaves a hollow interior for all sorts of tasty fillings! We used a nutmeg chiboust cream, or a nutmeg-infused pastry cream with some meringue folded in to lighten it and simulate the frothiness of a classic holiday eggnog. We wish everyone a happy and tasty holiday season! – Boo and Pea

Yield: 30-35 cream puffs
Difficulty: 

Oven: 400 F, 10 minutes; then 350 F, 20 minutes

Preparation:

  • Line 1-2 baking trays with parchment paper or silicone mats.

Eggnog chiboust cream:

  • 1.25 c milk
  • Yolk mixture
    3 egg yolks
    0.25 c sugar
    2 tb flour
    2 tb corn starch
  • 3 tb butter, chunked
  • 0.75 ts nutmeg
  • 0.5 tb vanilla extract
  • Meringue
    3 egg whites
    0.33 c sugar
  1. In a saucepan, heat milk to a bare simmer.
  2. In a mixing bowl, whisk yolk mixture ingredients until combined. Whisk and slowly add hot milk into yolk mixture.
  3. Return mixture to saucepan, and whisk quickly over medium heat until thickened and boiled for 2 minutes.
  4. Sieve custard into a mixing bowl.
  5. Whisk butter, nutmeg, and vanilla into custard until homogenized.
  6. In a separate mixing bowl, beat egg whites to soft peaks. Gradually add sugar while beating to stiff peaks.
  7. Fold meringue into custard.
  8. Cover with plastic wrap pressed to custard surface, and refrigerate until set, ~2 hours. Meanwhile, prepare choux puffs.

Choux pastry balls:

  • Wet ingredients
    0.5 stick butter
    0.25 c water
    0.25 c milk
    1 ts sugar
    0.25 ts salt
  • 0.5 c flour
  • 2 eggs
  • Egg wash
    1 egg, beaten
    1 tb water
  1. In a saucepan, bring wet ingredients to a bare simmer.
  2. Stir flour into saucepan until dough forms. Stir and cook over medium heat, 2-3 minutes.
  3. Remove dough to a mixing bowl, and cool to lukewarm.
  4. Beat 2 eggs into dough until homogenized.
  5. Using a large round tip, pipe buttons (diameter 2.5 cm, height 2 cm) onto the prepared baking trays spaced ~3 cm between the edges of adjacent buttons.
  6. Brush and smooth buttons with egg wash.
  7. Bake at 400 F on middle rack, 10 minutes. Reduce to 350 F, and bake until golden-brown, 20 minutes.
  8. Turn off oven, and leave door ajar to cool puffs until safe to handle. Refrigerate until assembly.

Assembly:

  • melted chocolate
  • hazelnuts, crushed
  • nutmeg
  1. With a skewer or toothpick, make a small hole near the top of each puff.
  2. Using a small round tip, fill puffs with eggnog pastry cream.
  3. Refrigerate until chilled, 45-60 minutes.
  4. Optionally, dip cream puffs into melted chocolate, and top with crushed hazelnuts and nutmeg.
  5. Serve chilled.