lychees

I didn't know lychees could grow in Southern California, but my mom handed us this bunch that a friend of hers grew in their yard. They're so beautiful when they're fresh!

lychees
They were plump and juicy, and it was hit or miss with the seeds. Some were huge, others were tiny.

pork for 20

We were hosting another birthday party for the Y family and I decided to expand the Chinese parents' horizons by making cuban pork. At least it wasn't spicy. I made enough for my family to have it for dinner the next night.

cuban-style pork with mojo sauce
It doesn't look that tasty, but it really was tender and delicious. There was just enough fat on the pork butt to keep it juicy. Brining and slow roasting is a nice combination, but it means you can't really just whip this up for unexpected guests. And the mojo sauce was just awesome. That needs to be a standard condiment on our fridge.

Cuban-Style Pork Roast

INGREDIENTS
Pork and Brine
-1 bone-in, skin-on pork picnic shoulder (7 to 8 pounds)
-3 cups sugar
-2 cups table salt
-2 medium heads garlic , unpeeled cloves separated and crushed
-4 cups orange juice

Garlic-Citrus Paste
-12 medium cloves garlic , peeled and coarsely chopped (about 1/4 cup)
-2 tablespoons ground cumin
-2 tablespoons dried oregano
-1 tablespoon table salt
-1 1/2 teaspoons ground black pepper
-6 tablespoons orange juice
-2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar
-2 tablespoons olive oil

1. TO BRINE THE PORK: With sharp paring knife, cut 1-inch-deep slits (about 1 inch long) all over roast, spaced about 2 inches apart. Dissolve sugar and salt in 6 quarts cold water in stockpot or large bucket. Stir in garlic and orange juice. Submerge pork in brine and refrigerate 18 to 24 hours.

2. TO APPLY THE GARLIC-CITRUS PASTE: Process garlic, cumin, oregano, salt, and pepper in food processor until they reach consistency of coarse paste, about ten 1-second pulses. With machine running, add orange juice, vinegar, and oil through feed tube and process until mixture forms smooth, wet paste, about 20 seconds. Remove pork from brine and rinse under cool running water; pat dry with paper towels. Rub paste all over pork and into slits. Refrigerate pork while oven is preheating to 325 degrees with rack in lower-middle position.

3. TO ROAST THE PORK: Place pork with skin side down on wire rack set over rimmed baking sheet or in roasting pan with rack. Cook, uncovered, 3 hours. Flip roast skin side up and continue to cook until instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of meat registers 190 degrees, about 3 hours more, lightly tenting roast with foil if skin begins to get too dark.

4. Transfer roast to cutting board and let rest 1 hour. To carve, first remove skin in one large piece. Scrape off and discard top layer of fat, then cut pork away from bone in 3 or 4 large pieces. Slice each piece against grain into 1/4-inch slices. To serve skin, scrape excess fat from underside and cut into strips. Drizzle Mojo Sauce (see related recipe) over pork just before serving.

Mojo Sauce

INGREDIENTS
-4 medium cloves garlic , minced or pressed through a garlic press (about 4 teaspoons)
-2 teaspoons kosher salt
-1/2 cup olive oil
-1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
-1/4 cup distilled white vinegar
-1/4 cup fresh orange juice from 1 to 2 oranges
-1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
-1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

1. Place minced garlic on cutting board and sprinkle with kosher salt. Using flat side of chef's knife, drag garlic and salt back and forth across cutting board in small circular motions until garlic is ground into smooth paste.
2. Heat olive oil in medium saucepan over medium heat until shimmering. Add garlic paste and cumin and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
3. Remove pan from heat and whisk in remaining ingredients. Transfer to bowl and cool to room temperature. Whisk sauce to recombine before serving.
Recipe from Cook's Illustrated magazine.

homemeade pita

I had just made a batch of hummus, and for some reason I felt inspired to make my own pita bread rather than running to the market.

whole-wheat pita
I'm quite amazed at how easy these were. And how well they puffed up, although you're seeing the deflated wrinkly version.
[whole wheat flour, all purpose flour, olive oil, salt, yeast]

tacos

Why make tacos when they're so readily available anywhere in Southern California? I guess it's mostly for the challenge. But I'll have to say, my tacos, while good, can't keep up with the trucks.
asada tacos
It seems rather lame to have to turn to the New York Times (shame on the LA Times for not taking advantage of their own local cuisine) to get a great asada recipe. This comes from the local El Parian. And it's very, very, very good. I didn't make the chile pasilla salsa this time, but will definitely try in the future.

INGREDIENTS
- 2 tablespoons salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 pounds flap steak (see note)
- 2 limes, quartered (optional)
- 2 avocados, peeled and thinly sliced (optional)
- Cooked black beans (optional)
- 1 cup Oaxacan chili pasilla sauce (recipe here) (optional)
- About 12 small tortillas (optional).

Prepare a charcoal or gas grill. In a small bowl, combine the salt, black pepper and garlic powder. When the grill is very hot, place the meat on the grill, fat side down. Sprinkle half of the salt mixture over the meat and cook until nicely browned, 6 to 9 minutes. Flip and sprinkle the remaining salt mixture over the meat and cook for another 6 to 9 minutes, or until the internal temperature reaches 140 degrees. Let rest for a few minutes, then thinly slice against the grain and serve with lime wedges, avocado slices, black beans, Oaxacan pasilla sauce and tortillas, if you choose. Serves 4 to 6.

NOTE: If you cannot find flap meat, substitute hanger or skirt steak and cook for about the same amount of time or until it reaches 140 degrees.
Recipe adapted from El Parian in Los Angeles. Published in the New York Times, July 27, 2008.

summertime, 3

One of the best things about summer is the abundance of amazing peaches. Oh wait, I said that in the last post.

peach "pies"
I was browsing around online and this really caught my eye because it barely touches the peaches. They're roasted, just till tender, and then set onto pastry. It's a beautiful presentation, and really showcases how great ripe peaches are. No disguising, no gelatin, just yummy peaches and fresh cream.

INGREDIENTS
Pastry Rounds
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
- Pinch of kosher salt
- 1 stick (4 ounces) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
- 2 tablespoons ice water

Filling
- 4 large peaches (about 6 ounces each), sliced 1/2 inch thick
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon confectioners' sugar, plus more for sprinkling

DIRECTIONS
1. Make the pastry rounds: In a food processor, pulse the flour with the sugar and salt. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Drizzle the water over the mixture and pulse just until a dough forms. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and pat it into a disk. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

2. Preheat the oven to 425°. Cut the dough into 8 equal pieces. Working with 1 piece at a time and keeping the rest refrigerated, roll the dough between 2 sheets of wax paper into a 4-inch round. Refrigerate the pastry round and repeat with the remaining dough.

3. Arrange the pastry rounds on a baking sheet and bake about 15 minutes, or until golden brown. Transfer to a rack and let cool.

4. Make the filling: Butter a large rimmed baking sheet. Spread the peaches on the sheet and sprinkle with the granulated sugar. Roast for 15 minutes, or until the peaches are soft and slightly browned at the edges; let cool.

5. In a medium bowl, beat the heavy cream with the 1 tablespoon of confectioners' sugar until soft peaks form. Place 4 of the pastry rounds on plates. Top them with half of the peaches and half of the whipped cream. Lay a second pastry round on the cream and top with the remaining peaches and whipped cream. Sprinkle with confectioners' sugar and serve immediately.
Recipe by Eric Moshier from Food & Wine magazine, July 2002

summertime, 2

One of the best things about summer is the abundance of fresh figs.

grilled pizza and figs
We organized a playdate for our friends' kids (ok, the kids are way to young to actually know what a playdate is - it was more of an excuse to get together with their parents), and had some grilled pizzas. L&E brought over some figs from their neighbors tree, and those were amazing. The pizzas were good too. Nothing you haven't seen before. [Mozzarella, tomatoes (from my mom's garden), basil.]
[grilled pizza with mozzarella, tomatoes, and basil, figs, green salad with nectarines and almonds]

summertime

One of the best things about summer is the abundance of amazing peaches.

belgian waffles with fresh peaches and whipped cream
This was sort of a last minute decision to have waffles, the whipped cream was left over from a family gathering involving more waffles.
[waffles, peaches, whipped cream]

exotics

My mom came over with a whole, fresh, steamed abalone chunk. This is how we ended up eating it.

abalone and kabocha squash corn soup
I sliced the abalone thin, and put it in the bottom of the bowl with the cooked squash. The corn soup was essentially onions, garlic, saffron and corn cooked in shrimp broth and then pureed and strained. The whole thing was rather sweet as a whole, but I think the flavors actually worked well together.
[abalone, kabocha squash, corn, onions, garlic, shrimp stock, salt, pepper, saffron]

japanese comfort food

This is one of my favorites, it's so simple and tasty.

salmon and hamachi ochazuke
We had some leftover sashimi that I was nervous about eating raw, so I thought ochazuke would be just the thing. It's essentially rice with green tea, lots of little crunchies (arare) and nori. I added the cooked salmon and hamachi pieces (which is probably way more than you would get in a traditional Japanese meal), as well as some of the leftover cucumber and avocado.
[rice, green tea, nori, arare, salmon, hamachi, avocado, cucumber]

full american breakfast

Since pancakes are so American, I couldn't really call it a full English breakfast, but the other components are taken from the Brits.

pancakes, sausage, and grilled tomatoes
One thing we loved when we were in England were the "full English breakfasts". I love the name, and more importantly, the fried/griddled/grilled tomatoes that come with it. The English breakfask comes with bacon (or sausage), toast, eggs, and tomatoes. This version omits the eggs, but adds pancakes which are distinctly American.
[pancakes, sausage, tomatoes]