Baked Oysters with Miso-Mayonnaise

Posted on January 8, 2017 by missamateurchef

I am a real party animal, house parties, to be exact. Nothing beats sharing hearty laughs and intimate conversation with your closest friends in a cozy environment. The truth is, I approach house parties with the same mix of excitement and apprehension you might feel before a first date—what if my home looks messy? What if I get an elaborate menu planned, and then they cancel at the last minute? And obviously you don’t want to look like you’re trying too hard… To ease off the pressure of hosting a house party, every hostess should have a few quick, easy recipes up her sleeve for any event on the calendar.

Made this very simple dish with the leftover miso from last week, this serves as a great snack or party appetizer, taking next to no time or effort to do. Add this dish to your arsenal and you won’t regret it, I promise!

Ingredients:

½ Dozen oysters
¼ Onion (minced)
1 cup Japanese mayonnaise
1 tablespoon miso
1 teaspoon butter
Paprika (for garnishing)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 180 deg C.
In a small bowl, combine the miso and mayonnaise into a smooth paste; set aside.
Heat up butter in a small skillet over medium heat. When the oil is shimmering, sauté the minced onion until they turn transparent.
Divide the onion evenly into shells and top off thickly with the miso-mayonnaise mixture, make sure to completely cover everything in the shell with the mixture.
Place oysters in the oven on the top rack and bake for 20-25 minutes. The tops should be a nice dark brown when done.
Remove oysters from the oven, garnish with paprika and serve!

Sous Vide Miso Maple Salmon

Posted on January 1, 2017 by missamateurchef

Happy New Year!

The beginning of a year is always a good time for me to review my resolutions and take stock of what I have done over the past year. In 2016, I ditched Korean fried chicken for the Chairman’s smoked pigeons, feasted on numerous macarons and cupcakes, and let countless meals go cold in the search of photographic perfection. As I loosen my belt and take a look at the culinary fads that flooded my social media feeds in the past year, including superfood sensation (kale chips? really?), sweet-savory creations and an array of pimped up ice-cream sundaes crowned with egglettes, I wonder how many of these gourmet trends can stay in the scene.

2016 was also a year for upgrading my kitchen gadgets- I owned my very first sous vide machine!! Sous vide cooking was developed in the mid–1970s by chef Georges Pralus at the Michelin Three-Star Restaurant, Troisgros, in Roanne (still remember this place?) initially as a means of cooking delicate foie gras. In the last two decades, sous vide cooking has become the secret of top chefs at major restaurants around the world. This alternative method of cooking promises incredibly succulent meats without having to worry about overcooking, charring, timing. Unlike the aforementioned culinary fads, I’m sure this gadget will be something I swear by for the years to come.

Ingredients (2 servings)

12-ounce skinless salmon fillet
1/4 cup miso paste
2 tablespoons mirin
1 tablespoon maple syrup

Directions:

Set the water bath to 104ºF (40ºC).
Place the salmon in a large zipper lock bag. Add the miso, mirin, and maple syrup. Seal the bag tightly.
Place the bag in the water bath and set the timer for 30 minutes.
When the timer goes off, gently remove the salmon from the bag and discard any remaining cooking liquid.
Heat up oil in a non-stick skillet over high heat. When the oil is shimmering, add the salmon and sear until well-browned on top and bottom, about 1 minute total.

Dutch Baby with Blueberry Compote

Posted on November 13, 2016 by missamateurchef

I’ve always been amazed by how many different breakfast food you can create using just milk, eggs, and flour; here is one of the more interesting examples.

Oh, did i mention that everything comes together in about 30 blessed minutes?

Ingredients:

Batter:

3 eggs
3/4 cup flour
3/4 cup whole milk (warmed)
1 tablespoon sugar
3 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Pinch of salt

Blueberry compote:

1.5 cup fresh blueberries
1/4 cup sugar
Grated zest and juice of a lemon
Powdered sugar,for dusting

Vanilla Ice Cream (optional)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 220°C.
Combine eggs, flour, milk, salt, vanilla extract and sugar until smooth.
Heat a 10-inch cast-iron skillet over medium heat.
Place butter in the skillet, as soon as the butter has melted, add batter to the pan.
Transfer the skillet to the pre-heated oven.
Bake pancake until puffed and golden brown all over, about 15-20 minutes.
Lower oven temperature to 150°C and bake five minutes longer. It will deflate as soon as it’s removed from the oven.
Dust pancake generously with powdered sugar and top with 2-3 scoops of vanilla ice cream. Serve with blueberry compote.

For the blueberry compote: Combine the blueberries, sugar, 2 tablespoons of the lemon juice and zest in a saucepan over medium heat and cook until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is thick and syrupy, about 10 minutes.

Skillet Pork Chops with Apples and Onions

Posted on June 1, 2016 by missamateurchef

The dish sounds like something you can find in the menu of some fancy restaurants. By deglazing the pan with a combination of chicken stock, cream and a little bit of whisky… everyone can turn those pan drippings into a fantastic sauce, no culinary school degree required!

Ingredients

2 bone-in pork chops (1 1/4 inches thick)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 apples and onions, cut into wedges
1/3 cup chicken broth
1 cup whipping cream
1/2 cup Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons whisky
8 small fresh thyme sprigs

Methods:
1. Preheat oven to 240°C. Sprinkle pork with salt and pepper. Cook in hot oil in a cast-iron skillet over medium heat for 5 to 6 minutes on each side until golden brown. Remove from skillet.
2. Add apples and onion to skillet; cook until browned. Remove from skillet
3. Add broth to skillet, stir to loosen browned bits from bottom of skillet, cook for 1 to 2 minutes.
4. Whisk together cream and mustard; add to skillet, cook and stir constantly, cook for 2 minutes or until bubbly.
5. Remove skillet from heat, and stir in bourbon. Add pork, turning to coat, and top with apples, onions, and thyme.
6. Bake at 240°C for 15 minutes or until liquid is just beginning to bubble. Let stand in skillet 5 minutes before serving.

Lemon Meringue Tart

Posted on May 1, 2016 by missamateurchef

When life gives you lemons… make lemon meringue tart!

Ingredients:

Pastry

250g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
70g icing sugar
125g unsalted butter, cubed
2 egg yolk
Beans for baking

Filling

5 eggs
140g caster sugar
150ml double cream
2-3 lemon (to produce about 100ml lemon juice and 2 tbsp lemon zest)

Meringue

2 egg whites
Half cup of sugar
Pinch of salt
1/2 teaspoon of white vinegar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 160C fan.
To make the pastry, mix the flour and icing sugar in a bowl. Rub the butter into the flour with your fingers until crumbly.
Mix in the egg yolks, roll into a ball. If the pastry is still too dry, add 1-2 tbsp water until it comes together.
Wrap the dough in cling film, chill for at least 30 mins.
While the pastry is in the fridge, make the filling. Beat all the ingredients, except for the zest, together. Sieve the mixture, then stir in the zest.
Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface to about the thickness of a $1 coin, then lift into a 23cm tart tin. Press down gently on the bottom and sides, then trim off any excess pastry.
Stab a few holes in the bottom with a fork and put back in the fridge for 30 mins.
Line the tart with foil and fill with dried beans. Bake for 15 mins, then remove the tart tin from the oven, discard the foil, and bake for another 20 mins until biscuity.
When the pastry is ready, remove it from the oven, pour in the lemon mixture and bake for 30-35 mins until just set.
Leave to cool, then remove the tart from the tin.
In medium bowl, beat egg whites, salt and vinegar with electric mixer on medium speed until foamy. Beat in sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time; continue beating until stiff and glossy. Around 6 min in total, do not underbeat.
Spread the meringue on top of the filling with a spoon, starting from the outside edge of the crust.
Brown the meringue with a blow torch.