Gratin Dauphinois with Sweet Potatoes

I LOVE SWEET POTATOES.
They're good and good for you. Did you know that? It's especially rich in beta carotene, providing 377% of your daily vitamin A needs per serving. And, since my eyesight is horrible with a capital h, I'm totally stoked.

So, by show of hand, how many of you follow La Tartine Gourmande? If you're not raising your hand right now, shame on you. I love Bea. She is an amazing cook and photographer.
Her food always look stunning. Hell, she can put dirt in a bowl with sprinkles on it and it'd look amazing. Anyway, I saw her post for Gratin Dauphinois maybe a week ago, and I've literally been dreaming about it.
The original recipe called for potatoes, sweet potatoes, and pink turnips. But, I couldn't find any turnips at my local grocery store, so I settled for just potatoes and sweet potatoes. It's still awesome.

Gratin Dauphinois with Sweet Potatoes (original recipe here)

2 garlic cloves, halved
1 tbs of butter
1 cup of milk
1 cup of heavy cream
1 twig of fresh thyme, or 1 tsp of dried thyme
about 1 pound of potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
1 medium-large sweet potato, peeled and thinly sliced
salt and pepper
pinch of nutmeg
1 oz. of Swiss Emmental or Gruyere (I think they're more readily available than Comte.)

1. Rub a 12 x 8.5 baking dish with two halves of one garlic clove. Then, butter it generously.
2. Slice the halves of garlic and put at the bottom of the baking dish.
3. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
4. Heat milk, cream, the remaining garlic, and thyme. Bring to a simmer and stop the heat. Let it infuse for 30 minutes and reheat.
5. Tightly arrange the potatoes and sweet potatoes in alternating order.
6. Strain the milk and cream mixture over the potatoes. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Keep in mind that in this step, you are seasoning the whole thing. Top with shredded cheese, and bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour. Let it cool before serving.

I know that this is supposed to be a side dish, but I had it for dinner. Love the sweetness with the salty, cheesy crust. I also have a bunch of potato slices leftover. I might just make some chips with them tomorrow.

Memphis, TN: Korean BBQ, Asian market, and shoes.

I went on a day trip to Memphis yesterday, as I stated in a previous post. It was great. I left Little Rock after work (yes, I'm a working girl. I make sushi at Whole Foods) at around 3 o'clock. We arrived there at around 5 o'clock and went straight to the DSW at Germantown. To all the guys that may be reading this, I like food and shoes. Just saying. I got a pair of Audrey Brooke's gladiator sandals. On sale. Blue label's 30% off, baby.

Pretty shoes.

After about an hour and a half, we were all pretty hungry. So, we commenced to DWJ Korean BBQ & Sushi Bar. We never eat the sushi though. We just go there for the barbecue. I know I told you I was excited for the soups, but it was way too damn hot for soup. So, we had barbecue--lots of barbecue.


One of the things I absolutely love about eating a Korean meal is that there are so many side dishes, or banchan. You get a lot of small plates of side dishes, and before you know it, you have a whole table full of food. Some of the more common side dishes include kimchi, fish cakes, and bean sprouts. My favorite--other than the ever-so-sacred baechu kimchi--is the potato salad. I know; it's potato salad. I don't know. There is just something about this potato salad that is absolutely wonderful. I don't know if I'm even allowed to call this a potato salad.

the very godly potato salad at DWJ

It's mashed potatoes mixed with some corn, peas, mayo and some other seasonings, I suppose.
We asked for more of this at least twice. I was kind of embarassed. But, then I ate it. Again. And, again...

So, the meat came. Or, it was more like meats. We ordered the Galbi, which is the marinated beef short ribs, Bulgogi, which is the marinated sliced steak, and Samgyupsal, which is the straight-up pork belly. Yum.

The barbecue meat is traditionally eaten in a lettuce wrap. I will now show you how I eat my galbi.

Condiments that came with the barbecue. Or, at least what was left of them.

My super awesome wrap.

There is actually no set way to eat this, or what you put in your wrap. You know, it's like a sandwich. Just put whatever you like in there. As you can see in the picture above, I added the fermented bean paste, roasted garlic, baechu kimchi (in case you don't know, baechu kimchi is the kimchi made of napa cabbage), and some rice. That's it. You just wrap it up in a nice little package and pop it in you mouth. Some people add raw garlic instead of roasting it off first on the grill, but I can't handle that. It's too pungent.

What was left of my plate after an hour and a half. Yes, I eat around the bone. Good stuff.

Amazingly, we did not overeat. At least, I didn't. I don't know if I can say the same about my brother. He ate like three bowls of rice with a mountain of pork belly and galbi. He was the designated driver for the day. I guess he had an excuse.

We went to the Asian market on North Cleveland Street. I think the name is Viet Hoa, but I'm not quite sure. To those of you who have never been to an Asian grocery store before, I have taken pictures. I mean, it's not all that different. They have your typical fruits, vegetables, meats and etc. But, many of the smaller stores don't carry household items like soap or laundry detergent. In short, they sell stuff you won't find at Walmart and Kroger.

Chicken feet (left) and pig's trotters (right)

Chicken gizzards cooked with some chilies

Cooked pig's ear with some cilantro

Cold dishes are important. If you go to an Italian market, you find prosciutto, salami, and mortadella. In an Asian market, you'd find stuff like chicken feet and pig's ears. They're not dreadful. It's good stuff, man.

My favorite part of an Asian market is the seafood section. It's also my least favorite part because, well, it smells. Like, really bad. Anyway, I assume you've seen fish in tanks before. So, I took it upon myself to document more interesting stuff.

These crabs still had some fight left in them. Especially, the one my brother was harassing.

Snails... I think.

Huge oysters

Clams

We also met a feisty little crayfish. We liked him. Or, her. Do they even have genders? I think they do. I mean, crabs do. Anyway, we named him--or her--little Johnny.

Johnny the crayfish. chomp.

OH, I almost forgot to show you my absolute favorite shot of the day.

I love fish heads. Just awesome. The purest, strongest essence of a fish. These are salmon heads by the way.

There is an Indonesian curry made traditionally with red snapper heads called Gulai Kepala Ikan. We never find a red snapper big enough for us to use the head here in the States. So, we just use salmon heads. It makes for a richer and fishier fish head curry, but it's pretty good. 

We left Memphis at around 8 o'clock and got home at around 10:30 PM. T'was a fabulous day.

happy days.

Forget your troubles (happy days)... Come on get happy (are here again)...
You better chase all your cares away (the skies above are clear again)...
Shout hallelujah (so let's sing a song)... 
Come on get happy (of cheer again)... 
Get ready for the judgement day (happy days are here again)...


Oh, nothing describes my mood right now better than this Garland-Streisand classic. I wasn't able to find the original version, but I was able to find the Glee version of this duet. Told you I was a dork. Don't judge me.

Just a couple of days ago, I got my first official paycheck! I literally jumped around in my room, and on my bed, for like ten minutes; it was a big deal. Also, as a little cherry on top, I got camera back. Yes, there will be new pictures. I'm so excited. I can't think of anything that's going to possibly rain on my parade (Hint: get used to the Streisand references).
I am also heading out to Memphis tomorrow. To eat. Korean food, specifically. I adore Korean food. I, of course, love Galbi (short ribs) and Bulgogi (marinated thinly-sliced steak). But, I am such a big fan of their soups. Seriously, you won't find a better soup culture anywhere else. There are soups with meat, seafood, kimchi, bean paste, tofu, fermented tofu, Spam, beef tendons--it goes on. You get the idea, right? Good.

OH, and my mother is in town right now. So, I've been eating well. Very well. I haven't been cooking this week, which can be either good or bad. But, at least the food is good. And, my stomach is happy. Huzzah.

Raspberry Pavlova

Okay, this was my first crack at making meringue. And, as I expected, my meringue kind of failed. I remember watching Barefoot Contessa (you know, the one with Ina Garten--not the Bogart movie) and just drooling over the berry pavlova she made. And, she made it look so effortless. I'm sorry, but damn that Ina!

Whipping up the actual thing was pretty easy and not at all labor intensive since I have a giant stand mixer. But, baking the sucker was tricky. I followed the recipe I found here. And, well, you'll see.

My meringue browned and cracked! The temperature was too hot. The center was all marshmallow-y, but the outer part sort of separated from the inside, and got all crackly and crisp. I've eaten meringue before, so I know that crispy is good. But, this was not good crispy.
I didn't use Ina's recipe (found here) because I saw the reviews and got all skeptical. I saw that the meringue was to be baked at 180 degrees Fahrenheit for this recipe and thought it was too low. Well, I guess I was wrong. Forgive me, Ina. Who did I think I was to ever doubt you?
Anyway, the pavlova itself turned out semi-pretty because I lathered it with barely sweet whipped cream to cover up the bad spots. I mean, I have to say--the taste wasn't bad. Other than the crackly "crust" and chewy edges that is. Fear not, though. I'm not giving up on this thing. I'll make the perfect meringue sooner or later. I'm still young. Here's the recipe I used with modifications.

Pavlova

4 egg whites
1 cup of sugar (don't reduce it. the ratio of sugar to egg white is supposed to be 1/4 cups : 1 egg white)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp lemon juice or vinegar
2 tsp cornstarch
1 pint of heavy cream
1 tbs sugar
about 1 tsp of vanilla (I eyeballed it using the cap)
Any fruit you want

1. Preheat the oven to 250 degrees Fahrenheit (the original recipe said to preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Please don't do that). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and draw a 9 inch circle on it. Turn it over. We don't want a pencil mark on our meringue!
2. For the meringue, whisk the egg whites on high for about 3 to 4 minutes, or until soft peaks form. Add the sugar slowly under medium speed. 
3. Turn your mixer up on high and continue beating it for 5 to 6 more minutes, or until it's glossy. Turn your mixer way down, and just stir in the vanilla, lemon juice and cornstarch. Do not overbeat.
4. Spread the egg white mixture on your baking sheet while staying inside the 9 inch circle. I would recommend using the good sized baking sheet because this thing grows. Bake it for about 1 hour. Do not open the oven door during baking. That's how you get jacked up meringue.
5. After the meringue is done, turn off your oven and let it rest inside the oven for at least 2 hours with the door just cracked open. This is how you get a nice, dry meringue.
6. For the whipped cream, whip the heavy cream until it starts to thicken. Add the 1 tbs of sugar and the vanilla. This makes a barely sweet whipped cream, which was perfect since the meringue is sweet enough.
7. After the drying period, slather your meringue with the whipped cream and top with your choice of fruit. As you can see, I chose raspberries.

I hope you have a better luck with this than I did. Tell me how you do if you decide to make this. Happy baking!