Chocolate Covered Goodness

 A Valentines' treat is chocolate covered strawberries. yet they can be expensive thanks to the rising costs of fruit and sugar. However - you can save money  easily. How Create chocolate goodness yourself.

Regular contributor and Chef Eric Kim wrote about this treat in today's New York Times Food Wednesday section.even though these should be given up for Lent (today is also Ash Wednesday), this recipe can also be used on other fruit and treats for Easter. Its all in the tempering according to Chef Kim. Once home candymakers learn this then they can make all sorts of  dark, milk and white chocolate coated treats. The candy's make up can be mystifying according to Alice Medrich in her award winning cookbook, Cocolat:extraordinary Chocolate Desserts and other books about chocolate. Chocolate is made up of sugar, cocoa solids and butter. Sometimes flavorings like vanilla are added along with emulsiers like lecithin.It's the cocoa butter, the natural fat extracted from cooca beans  is what makes it liquid when melted and solid when cold. It has to be heated to the right temperature to get that crisp , crackly shell that candy store strawberries have. They were first made by Lorraine Lorusso in suburban Chicago.

In order to get that perfect coating the cocoa has to go through a crystallization process The cocoa butter has to melt competely whether in a microwave or on a kind of bain marie on the stove top. You ned to reform those crystals by stirring the newly melted candy.Use finely chopped or seeded chocolate.if it becomes too thick then gently reheat it.If it doesn't set thempop it into the fridge to harden.what chocolate should you use. Steer clear of the baking section and those bags of chocolate chip.  They and baking chocolate have stabilisers that make them harder to temper.Go directly to the candy section and pick out very good chocolate such as Lindt or Ghiradelli,.For more glossiness add a teaspoon of light olive oil. As for the strawberries, get the fresh and not the frozen ones. They should be thoroughly rinsed and air dried in the fridge. Air drying the berries makes the chocolate adhere better and contributes to the crackliness upon biting.

Happiness is a chocolate covered strawberry. Try this recipe to have a candy store quality bite. You'll never want anything else.

Pancakes Sweet And Savory

 Today is Shrove Tuesday ,a day for pancakes and to celebrate the last of lush eating before Lent begins. However pancakes can be eaten all year long .best of all they can be savory as well as sweet.

Pancakes have been around since ancient times The ancient Greeks made them as did the romans. An early recipe called for honey ,olive oil and wheat flour along with curdled milk. Toppings included sesame seeds, cheese and honey. Theyfirst came into the English language around the fifteen hundreds. Pancakes are one of the few foods that are completel international. There are versions from Oceania in the South Pacific to Scandinavia. What Americans and Canadians eat are similar to the Scottish dropped scone made with eggs ,flour milk and a leavening product. Thanks to IHOP, the International House of Pancakes and diners, pancakes have morphed into ones that have everything from fruit to chocolate chips in them. Of course many prefer the pancakes' thinner and more elegant cousin the crepe. This is France's version , cooked almost paper thin and filld with everything from savory to sweet. The Eastern European blini are also based on this, being thinner in texture.

Pancakes are one of the easiest recipes to make.It's just a basic cake recipe in a way with flour, mixed with butter eggs and milksugar and salt are added as is a leavening agent. This is baking powder which gives the texture a light ,fluffy lift. This creates an airy crumb ,perfect for capturing melted butter and maple syrup. Kids love  when a handful of chocolate chips are added but you can also add blueberries, strawberries or bananas  - or all allthree for a tasty breakfast. You could add bacon or ham bits for a different spin, especially if you;re making them for everyone's favorite - breakfast for dinner. if you want t make this world classic really fun there are pancake molds.You can buy anything from Christmas trees to teddy bears. If you want to elevate pancakes then try crepes. Are they difficult to make? They're the same batter as pancakes but with out the leavener. They have to be paper thin when they cook up .  You can buy a crepe pan (they're under ten dollars on Amazon) if you want authentic ones with  tnder interior and crispy outer edge. Also crepe batter , unlike pancake, has to be refrigerated for twenty four hours before cooking. what you put in them is up to you. Try a savory spinach and cheese or  fill them with icecreams chocolate sauce and strawberries.

Enjpy a Shrove Tuesday tack toni9ght. Pancakes are a fun good bye before we head on to Lent. Enjoy them savory or sweet.

A Half Priced Valentine's Day

 Prices have gone crazy and that may impact your Valentine's Day. What to do? Create a warm cozy meal for pennies.There's no fancy restaurant,s no dressing up. Just the two of you ,cozied up, with good food at a good price.

One fo these places is Lidl. I can't say enough about having a good meal - ones' that easy to make and easy t eat.I recently discovered their El Tequito  Avocado fritters. tehse are avocado fries that can be air fried in less than twenty minutes.

These were fin, little fries that were  crunchy on the outside and creamy on the inside.

They paired well with Lidl's vegan chili which as pant based beef crunbles.

Again this is the same as their pizza (ano9ther yummy Valentine's Day choice).it has everythign under the sun in in from beans and corn.

This was perfect with the avocado fritters and would make a perfect dinner for two. Add Corona beef followed by a dessert of spicy Mexican hot cocoa spiked with Kahlua and topped with whipped cream. You can also go to Aldi and buy theri vegetables at a much lower price than the average grocery store Whip up a delicious ratatouille.serve with French bread and a good French red. Buy meringues from Lidl  Acme , Stop and Shopfor a sweet, Gallic ending along with homemade truffles if you have the time to make them.

Don't btreak the bank this Valentine's Day . Create a tasty and easy dinner for two.You can still have a romantic evning but for much less.

Happy Year Of The Dragon

 It's the Year of the Dragon. This fierce creature celebrates  a year full of prosperity, good fortune and strength. Many are celebrating the world over. best of this is that you can have othr roots and enjoy the day.

I felt like this, wanting to toast the New Year joy like my colleagues. What better than to have good food from my favorite restuarant East Wok in my town. Saddle Brook. Of course I got the Vietnamese Spring rolls , the symbols of prosperity along with fried dumplings and my  favorite scallion pancakes

They were all fried , crisp and tasty. Golden and fried means the prospect of wealth , although that's not the reason why I ordered them. East Wok has an excellent array of golden fried foods from their chicken to their dumplings.It's a tasty change of pace.

Celebrate this New Year with tasty golden foods.enjpy their wealth of flavor.it's a great way to user in the Year Of The Dragon🐉🐉🐉🐉

East wok is located at 518 Market Street in Saddle Brook, New Jersey

A Big Food Weekend

This is a weekend for good food between the Lunar New Year and the Superbowl. It's a buffet of delicious food and celebrations. Celebrate one or the other or both,

Even if you'e not Asian you can still appreciate the holiday and it's food. Most Asian countries celebrate this Spring festival, whether it's Tet in Vietnam or Seollal in Korea. Fried Spring rolls are popular with any group and you cna easily order them or buy them. There's something about their crunchy , flaky wrapper filled with a tasty mix fo cabbage and carrots. If you;re craving Korean then think bukgoki or galbi .The first is thinly sliced steak marinated in a twelve (!) spice sauce that includes soy sauce , gochujang, brownssugar and fresh ginger to name a few. Galbi are beef short ribs marinated in a Korean plum sauce. You could alo celebrate wth tteokguk a rice cake soup, The rice cakes symbolize coins  and prosperity for the new year as they cook in a warm beef broth. Another way to celibrate The Year Of The Dragon is by having either steamed or fried dumplings. You can order out (along with getting some kind of sticky rice dice ) or buy them at your local grocery store.

Of coutse egg rolls would go well on either day. Many SuperBowl partieswilkl fearuew some variation of this Chinese classic. You can have them stuffed with shrimp or the American version of Philly cheese steak. There are even hamburger and cheeseburger filled ones for a different game day nosh. Of course sliders are also good while watching the big game. These can have  the classic mini patty made of beef or you can try grilled chicken. Vegan or vegetarian guests can have homemade Beyond Beef ones. Again you cna make these from scratch or just buy White Castle sliders. Another must hav eis a crockpot full of chili. This is great to make. It's a self serve dish that everyone can enjoy. Put out a tray of cornbread and corn chips to put into the bowls. Chicken wings are another classic Super Bowl Dish. Again you can order a variety from Wing Zone or make your own. . A mix of fiery hot and mild is always a good choice. Guests can pick out their favorites  and what works for them. 

If there was ever a weekend for food and partying this is the weekend. Celebrate the Lunar New Year and theh Superbowl with a variety of good food. Enjoy everything from Spring rolls to  chicken wings!

Comfort Food For The Lunar New Year

 Nothing says a good holiday meal than comfort food. This is true with the Lunar Nw Year starting this Saturday.Hot pot is one of those .It's hot and comforting , with ingredients used for centuries.It's shared throughout the Asian community , especially for those far from home.

New contributor and New YorkTimes Cooking assistant content strategist Allison Jiang wrote this piece in yesterday's New York Times wednesday Food section. The Lunar New Year, the Year of the Dragon starts this Saturday and for many  the hot pot is the way to celebrate. There is a Chinese Diaspora where many are far fromthe homeland and want a taste of it. It's also served when the weather turns cold as Tansy Pike of seattle Washington states.Her mtohr always makes it as a way of showing care for each other along with being warm and healthy. for some it's a sub in for Thanksgiving turkey and a highlight at as birthday meal. This is the case for Zoey Gong, a food therapist (a clinician who helps people overcome or deal with eating disorders) who makes it for these occasions along with others. She left China eleven years ago and has no family here.Creating a hot pot helps her reconnect with those roots and forge new bonds with friends.Hot pot isn't known in other Asian counties like Korea.Korean Irene KIm has her CHinese roomamte Jenna Zhang teach her about hot pot and now she's hooked on it.

There's nothing to dislike about hot pot. To some it's reminiscent of other communal pot dishes like bagna calda and fondue.Diners put what they want into the pot and eat it. Someione's shrimp might wind up in another's plate while spinach is shared by the whole table. What makes a good hot pot? You'll need meat such as a good chuck, rib eye or Wagyu, along with pork belly or lamb. They have to be thawed out first if they are frozen. Seafood is always lobster, shrimp or fish balls along with fresh thinly sliced white fish . Think halibut or bass. Cut up squd and shrimp, scallop or clams round it out. You're also going to need bean curd strings  and sheets along with tofu. Veggies are a marriage of East and West with russet potatoes being cooked with chrysanthemum greens and Daikon radishes. Add canned baby corn ears along with an array of such mushrooms as  shiitaki and enoki. A starch is added . Use vermecelli ro glass noodles. You cna also use frozen dumplings or rice cakes too. The broth is a hot pot soup[ base that you can find at any Asian grocery store. As what to dip the cooked piece in, try shar cha, Chinese barbecue sauce, sesame sauce or oil along with chili saouce or crisp.There' also fresh chopped garlic , cilantro and scallions to put on top along with toasted sesame seeds.

Celebrate the year of The Dragon with a fun and tasty hot pot.It's a great way to njoy a meak with family and friends.Enjoy the varied ingredients and flavors.

The Korean Food Empire

 Korean food is on the rise. However unlike other Asian cuisines it's stayed pretty pure in its'recipes and ingrdients. What's the reason for this? Namely that Korean chefs and the corporations responsible will not cave in to Amrcian tastes.

Regular contributor and chef herself Priya Kirshna wrote about this in today's New York Times Wednesday Food section. Korean food has never been more popular in Manhattan and the city has the Hand Hospitality to thank for this. This corporation has achieved what many non western restaurants still find difficult to do in America, win wide appeal while focusing on a narrow audience. This being young Korean and Korean-Americans hungry for a tasty of nergy pouring out of South Korea. Even Hand'sservers speak no or little English. Some dishes are only in Korean. They mean to cater strictly to this crowd however American are coming in droves to the eateries. Hand has imported some of the restaurants to New York and specialize only in one single dish - such as bulgoki thats served at Samwoojung.or the hearty soup gomtag at Okdonsig.Also trendy restaurants like Atomix and Atoboy, are also popular New York restaurants.

Hand has picked a good city to showcase its'restaurants. New york and its' boroughs have roughly twelve million people of Asian descent along with a dining crowd that's well acquainted with a myriad of different cuisines Hand Hospitality's influences goes beyond its' own restaurants and extends to such places as Korean Southern C as in Charlie. This is a fusion place whre popcorn chcken has a sweet gochujang glaze and there is a Seoulsbury strak with Gruyere grits.The chef David Jun woo serve swett tea alongside his meals. More and more Korean chefs are also combinging their American experience with their Asian backgrounds. Hand also maintains the cool and sometimes stern Korean style ethic to their restaurants . They are brutalist or minimalist lines. This again appeals to the downtown crowd used to warehouse design.  This also appeals to a ounger Korean crowd although not necessarily their elders. The older generation still wants traditional food in traditional settings. 

Korean food is on the uptick thanks to Hand Their restaurants not only attract Koreans longing for a taste of home but adventurous New Yorkers. It's the best of both worlds for them.