Kimchi BLT

Bloggers note – It has been longer that I like since my last post. The legislature is once again in session, which means my day job is substantially busier than normal. There may be a bit more time between posts, but I promise to keep the recipes coming!

Now, to the dish at hand.

The BLT is a classic, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be made better by importing some flavors from Korean cuisine. In this recipe, it is brightened by tangy, spicy kimchi that perfectly complements the salty bacon and ripe tomato. The addition of a creamy, runny egg not only builds on the complexity of flavor, but also makes the meal a bit more substantive.

Easy to assemble while remaining both delicious and unique, this sandwich is great for a fun lunch or weeknight dinner!

Kimchi BLT (serves 1)

Ingredients

• 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 3 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 3 slices thick-cut applewood smoked bacon
• 1 egg
• 3 thin slices of tomato
• 2 leaves of bibb lettuce
• 1/4 cup of kimchi, diced
• 2 pieces of sourdough bread, lightly toasted

Instructions

1. In a bowl, combine the garlic, lemon juice and mayonnaise until evenly incorporated. Let the mixture sit while you cook the remaining ingredients.
2. Heat a skillet to medium-high and cook the bacon in a skillet until crispy, about 3-4 minutes on each side. Remove the bacon to a paper towel and set aside.
3. Reduce the heat to medium and crack the egg into the skillet. Let it cook for about 3 minutes, until lightly browned and crispy, then flip using a spatula. Sear the egg for 1 minute on the other side before removing it from the skillet, so that they yolk is still slightly runny.
4. To assemble the sandwich, spread the garlic aioli on each piece of bread, then layer the egg, bacon, tomato, lettuce and kimchi on top.

Harissa Cauliflower Mushrooms with Romesco

I know it’s been a while since I posted a new blog, but I’ve just been too darn busy enjoying the awesome coverage my Asian Steak Tartare got in the Bitten Word’s Cover to Cover Challenge.

But seriously, I was actually on vacation down in San Diego helping my sister (and occasional dessert recipe contributor) get moved into graduate school. It was a lovely break, but I feel bad for leaving you all hanging without any new dishes to try. So to make it up to you, I have a post adorned with tons of scrumptious looking pictures!

These Harissa Caulifower Mushrooms with Romesco Sauce were part of a big tapas night I did a few weeks back, and they were positively delicious! The union of classic Spanish ingredients with zesty Moroccan flavors is a great flavor combination. The filling is spicy, tangy, and salty while the mushrooms themselves provide a real meaty feel to the dish.

These stuffed mushrooms are great as an appetizer or alongside a few other tapas for dinner. If you wanted to make this dish more substantive, perhaps to serve as an entree, you could add or substitute Spanish chorizo to the stuffing. Either way, it’s going to be delicious!

Chicken Tinga Chilaquiles

When I imagined this dish, I was aiming for nachos.

I had in my head an image of cheesy goodness oozing between tortilla chips with a smattering of deliciously spicy chicken tinga tossed over the top. But I wound up getting the portions wrong, and there was a lot more chicken tinga than I expected. When I pulled it out of the oven and tried to pull a chip away it crumpled soggily under the weight of all the toppings.

So I wound up eating it with a fork instead, and it was truly fantastic. I was going to call them “fork nachos” and shout the name from the rooftops to anyone who would listen, but after a little Google searching I discovered there was already a name for this kind of delicious smothered nachos: “Chilaquiles.”

And man, these are some awesome Chilaquiles.

They’ve got everything you could want in a Mexican dish. The chicken tinga itself spicy, tangy, and just a little bit sweet, while the rest of the toppings are a blend of creamy, cheesy, earthy and herbal. The tortilla chips provide just enough of a base to hold the whole meal together without giving it an overwhelmingly starchy feel.

You won’t be able to resist going back for seconds!

Sun-Dried Tomato, Basil and Chèvre Macaroni and Cheese

We’re drawing close to the end of Winter, and I’m going to take every opportunity possible to make comfort food while it’s still seasonally appropriate.

So a few weeks back I trekked through the snow to meet up with a couple friends and whip up this zesty version of a classic comfort food dish: Mac and Cheese.

Gourmet macaroni and cheese is all the rage these days amongst upscale restaurants. You can’t hardly look at a menu without seeing gruyère-and-lobster, blue-and-fig-and-rosemary, green chili, or countless other variations of the dish. Some people are tired of the trend, but to me it exemplifies one of the greatest techniques in cooking: the ability to separate the flavors from the vehicle – in this case, macaroni – and apply new ones to the dish.

I chose to use a handful of Italian ingredients to liven up the profile of the macaroni and cheese. Although normally somewhat aggressive flavors, the sun-dried tomato, basil and chèvre are all mellowed by each others presence. The tartness of the sun-dried tomato is balanced by the creaminess of the sauce, while the herbal notes of basil cut through the sharp, salty chèvre. The combination creates a distinctive, but deceptively tempered, dish.

This is a hearty meal with Italian flair is perfect for any dark, rainy evening. To serve, I recommend red wine and roaring fire.

Sun-Dried Tomato, Basil and Chèvre Macaroni and Cheese

• 2 cups macaroni
• 2 tablespoon butter
• 1/2 cup onion, finely diced
• 3 cloves of garlic, finely diced
• 1/3 cup sun-dried tomato, finely diced
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup chèvre
• 1/2 cup mozzarella
• 1 tablespoon black pepper
• 1 tablespoon oregano
• 10 basil leaves, roughly shredded
• 1/3 cup breadcrumbs
• 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese, grated

 

1. Cook the macaroni al dente according to instructions. Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Heat a large saucepan to medium-high. Add the butter, onion, garlic and sun-dried tomato and saute for 6-8 minutes or until the onions begin to turn translucent.
3. Reduce the heat to low. Add the heavy cream, chèvre, mozzarella, black pepper and oregano and simmer for another 5 minutes.
4. Combine the macaroni, shredded basil and chèvre sauce in a large casserole dish and mix together until all the ingredients are evenly distributed. Sprinkle the breadcrumbs and Parmesan cheese over the top and place the casserole dish in the oven for 25-30 minutes.