Polenta with Sausage, Spinach, Onions: Because there is love in it

For NF and her daughter M, who knows where the love is

A blog reader emailed me the following story about her daughter, who enjoys eating Not Your Momma's Chicken Soup.

"My husband once told M that mommy adds love to the soup, to which she replied, 'Love tastes good.' It has become a little joke in our family. The other day we were at the grocery store and M asked me if we could buy canned chicken noodle soup. At the moment I had a cranky toddler in the cart and didn't want to go into the whole explanation of why canned soup isn't good for you, sodium etc...so I just said, 'Oh it has yucky things in it that aren't good for you.' She looked up me and with a shocked look in her face said, 'This soup doesn't have love in it.' I couldn't help it; I said, 'No it doesn't honey.' She put the can down and said, 'I'm never eating canned soup.'"

This story really made me laugh and smile because truly, to get up and cook something for your family requires love. And when one cooks, there is lots of love that gets poured into the meal. It is blood, sweat, sometimes even tears (if you're chopping onions) but it is all worth it when your family gobbles down what you've prepared for them. It is one of the reasons I try and encourage as many people as possible, to please, try and cook something for your family. The satisfaction that comes from a family well fed by your hands is incomparable.

Daughters love polenta, so I often cook it for them for lunch. It's a bit of a pain because I'll rush back from picking them up from school and I'll have to bang it out for them. However, I like to try a few different variations and the look of pure enjoyment on their faces when they bite into the lusciousness of the polenta makes it entirely worth the effort. And next time, I'll remind them that it's love that makes it taste so good.

Polenta with Onions, Spinach, Sausage, and Fontina
Serves 6

1/2 of onion, sliced
2 cups of baby spinach
1/2 lb of sausage, sliced (I used Italian sausage from Trader Joes)
salt and pepper to taste

3 cups of milk
3/4 cups of cornmeal
1/2 teaspoon salt
dash of pepper
1 tablespoon butter

1/2 lb of fontina cheese, sliced
2 tablespoons basil, julienne

Preheat oven to 375. In a heavy skillet, heat oil over medium heat and sausages and onions. Saute and cook until onions are cooked and sausages have browned, about 10 minutes. Add spinach and cook until wilted, about 1 more minute. Set aside.

In a heavy pot, heat milk until it is almost boiling. Pour in cornmeal all at once, reduce heat to medium, and using a whisk, stir quickly until it is uniform in consistency and creamy. Continue cooking for another 3 minutes, and add salt and pepper, and tablespoon of butter. Pour polenta mixture into an 8X8 baking dish.

With a slotted spoon (so that you don't take the extra juice and oil), top polenta with sausage mixture and layer fontina carefully on top. Bake in oven for 20 minutes, or until cheese is melted and starting to brown. Sprinkle with fresh basil.

Serve immediately, careful not to burn your mouth.

Printable recipe

Warning!  Hot from the oven!

Allspice Muffins: Simple in the morning

I don't want to admit this to myself, but the winter months have made me lazy in the morning.  In recent days, watching the Olympics late into the evening doesn't help much either, but I have not been good at preparing hot meals for Daughters before they go to school.  Last night after I tucked everyone into bed, I realized that waking up in the morning isn't always easy for them either and so I decided to prep some muffins for them.

I looked through Dorie Greenspans' book, Baking: From My Home to Yours and decided on the Allspice Muffins for their ease of preparation.  There is nothing to mash, nothing extra to mix in - it's just a straight muffin with the uniqueness of allspice.  Hers does require a streusal, but as I am not a fan of extra butter and sugar on a muffin, I opted simply to sprinkle some raw sugar on top for some extra crunch and sweetness.  The muffins are lovely, warm from the oven, and delicious in their mild spiciness.

The night before I mixed all the dry ingredients together, set aside butter and eggs, put my measuring cup on the table and woke up early the next day to make them.  For my wet ingredients, I measured my milk in a large capacity measuring cup, beat eggs directly into that cup, and added the melted butter.  It was simple to mix in and very quickly I had delicious muffins.

I chose to make 24 mini muffins, but these would make 12 regular sized muffins as well.

Allspice Muffins (adapted from Dorie Greensspan's Baking: From My Home to Yours)
Makes 12 regular sized muffins, or 24 mini muffins

2 cups of all purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon ground allspice (which tastes like a mixture of cinnamon, nutmeg. clove and even pepper...substitute cinnamon if you like)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup (packed) light brown sugar
1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted
2 large eggs
3/4 cup whole milk
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/4 cup raw sugar for sprinkling on top

Place oven rack in center of oven and preheat oven 375 degrees. Butter or spray muffin pan or use paper liners.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, allspice and salt.  Stir in brown sugar, making certain there are no lumps.

In a large glass measuring cup or another bowl, whisk melted butter, eggs milk and vanilla extract together until well combined.  Pour liquid ingredients over dry ingredients and with whisk or rubber spatula, gently and quickly stir to blend.  Batter will be lumpy.


Divide batter equally among muffin cups.  Sprinkle a bit of raw sugar on top of batter.  Bake for about 20 minutes (16 minutes for mini muffins, or until a knife inserted in center comes out clean.  Cool for 5 minutes before removing from mold. 


Printable recipe

sparkles from the raw sugar on top

My go to measuring cup for mixing up wet ingredients


The book that both inspires and intimidates me

Finger Cots: A Must in Every Kitchen

Over the weekend, my knife and I got into a fight.  Needless to say, I did not win.  Even further to my knife's advantage - I had just gotten him professionally sharpened.   This is a cooking blog, so I'll spare you all the gory details, but it was incredibly painful and not a fun experience.

Unfortunately the finger duel with my knife happened while preparing dinner for my church small group, so injuries couldn't stop me from cooking.  I also was on an extremely limited time schedule as I had to squeeze in some teaching while getting the dinner together.  A bandage and a paper towel, wrapped tightly around does not an effective tourniquet make.  I had to stop doing what I was doing, get some first aid and after that - suffer through pain each time water or something salty or acidic wiggled its way through my multi-layers of bandaids and got into the wound.

But I was reminded of something my mom had told me to get a while back - she called them finger condoms, which is the name I used several times in my effort to buy them online.  Turns out, although that is exactly what they look like (a rubber covering to go over your finger), that is not the proper name.  I combed more than a few drugstores in an effort to find them, and discovered them finally under the name of finger cots.  They are a GREAT use in the kitchen, especially after you get a cut, as it will protect your finger as you work.  Put a bandaid on, put on a finger cot and you're almost as good as new.

On a final note, after you are done in the kitchen, make sure to let your wound breathe.  You want to keep it as dry as possible, so while cooking protect it with the finger cot, but afterward, let it breathe. 

This buys you WAY more than you need, but perhaps you could buy a set and then pass them out to all your friends who cook.


The knife that hurt me...but I still love it!

Non-Spicy Korean Fish Egg Stew (Ahl chigae 알찌개): Times in Korea

While Husband and I lived in Seoul, one of our favorite places to have a weekend lunch was the neighborhood of Insadong, one of the cultural areas of Seoul.  In Insadong, there are numerous tiny little restaurants specializing in certain traditional alcoholic beverages or different sorts of pancakes, or even different Korean stews, chigae (찌개) .   Husband and I would leave our apartment,  take a long walk  of about 30 minutes, and make our way over to Insadong, where we would take a peek at all the different restaurant offerings and choose where we wanted to eat.  Invariably, Husband would choose the restaurant that offered the widest varieties of food and we would prepare to eat.

At this time, we only had Daughter #1, and I just carried her homemade baby food with me.  She was not a factor in our choices of food so we could choose almost anything we wanted.  Usually it meant that we went super spicy, as at home I am not the spiciest of cooks, mainly because I don't think it is such a good idea for my tummy. Korean Fish Egg Stew is one spicy dish that comes out in a beautiful clay pot, boiling hot, fire red from Korean red chili powder, with chunks of creamy white tofu and bright pink egg peeking out for the soup.  It is sprinkled with green scallions and often edible chrysanthemum (or ssukgaht 쑥갓).  The effect is a beautiful mix of red, white, pink and green, and perhaps one could even think of it as Christmas colors in a bowl. 

To eat it requires a huge bowl of rice, as the soup broth is super spicy, the tofu piping hot, and the fish eggs salty.  But a bowl of rice makes the soup go down very easily, and often at the end of the consumption of this big clay pot of soup, husband and I were left wanting just a bit more.  Instead we would get up, walk out and eat some other delicious street food as we walked up and down the street.

With kids, traditionally spicy Korean fish egg stew (Ahl Chigae) is out of the question.  Even Son who loves spicy would find it too fiery for him.  I make a more simplified version, much less spicy but very delicious with a bowl of rice.  It is so simple to put together and easily enjoyed that I sometimes wonder why I'm not cooking it more often.

The special ingredient you need to make this soup is frozen pollack roe.  This is one of those ingredients that I have really only ever seen at a bigger Korean market.  This package is one that I think tastes good, is readily available, and maintains its freshness in the freezer well.

 

 The rest of the ingredients are very simple, easily found and there are few ingredients to make a yummy chigae for dinner tonight.

Non-Spicy Korean Fish Egg Stew (Ahl chigae 알찌개)

Serves 4

2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil

4 green onions, cut into 1/2 inch pieces

5 cloves of garlic, minced

1/4 teaspoon to 1 teaspoons of Korean red chili powder (gochugaru 고추가루) This is optional if you like kick - 1/4 teaspoon of chili powder is mildly spicy.

4 cups of water, or plain unseasoned beef stock (Korean style - if you make your own beef broth)

6 oz seasoned pollack roe (available at your local Korean market)

14 oz pack of medium firm tofu, cut into cubes

Crushed toasted sesame seeds, optional

In a saucepan, over medium heat, add sesame oil, green onion, garlic, and Korean red chili powder.  Cook until garlic is fragrant, but not brown.

Add water or broth.  Bring to a boil.  Add pollack roe.  

Cook for an additional 5 minutes, then add tofu.  Continue cooking until tofu is warmed through, about 3 minutes.  Sprinkle with sesame seeds if desired.

Serve with steamed rice.

Printable recipe  

A bite with fish egg, scallion, and tofu.

My choice of sesame oil - I also prefer the smaller glass bottles as I think they stay fresher longer.  (this is not a good price if you have a Chinese market nearby.)

Garlic Scallion Noodles: Yummy making big tummy...

Son and Daughters #1 and #2 LOVE noodles.  They adore them.  Husband likes them quite a bit as well, but Son and Daughters will take down more noodles than most people I know.  To give you an idea, to feed all three of them, we have to order two large bowls of pho noodles (and they like the one with bits of beef and tripe and all the lovely extras).  Sometimes two large bowls are not enough for them and husband and I find ourselves sharing our bowl of noodles with them.  They are noodle hogs.

But somehow, garlic noodles don't do it for them.  Granted Son can't eat them because of the butter, but I would think that Daughters would gobble them down - but they don't and won't. When I commented to husband about this phenomenon, his comment was "The noodles get too mushy and the kids don't like the texture much."  Which has happened often when we've had the garlic noodles - not enough bite.  Most garlic noodles have to be eaten immediately, as soon as they are ready, otherwise they get mushy and don't have that structure that I want.

I decided to try a different version using a regular dried wheat pasta noodle instead of the traditional egg noodles, to see if I could get a more desirable texture.  I defaulted to my favorite thin spaghetti and gave it a whirl.  Daughters #1 and #2 gobbled these noodles, and although Son couldn't eat them (made with butter and he's allergic) he sure did kick up a huge fuss wanting to eat them.  Daughter #1 commented, "These are yummy - buttery, sweet, and salty."  That's an endorsement for sure.

I have to say I took a bigger bowl of these into my own stomach - more than is good for me, and I know it means extra time in the gym tomorrow.  But they were too yummy.

If you LOVE traditional garlic noodles, go ahead and substitute some egg noodles instead.  It will taste yummy.  Otherwise, try these on to see if you can expand your own belly.  These would be great with the Asian Salmon, Ginger Soy Chicken, Korean Spicy Chili Paste Chicken, Korean BBQ Flank Steak.

Garlic Scallion Noodles

8 oz (half a box) of angel hair or spaghettini noodles (I like Barilla's whole grain pasta)
4 tablespoons butter (half a stick)
5 cloves of garlic, minced or pushed through a garlic press
2 scallions finely chopped
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 or 2 tablespoons of brown sugar (based on your own personal preference of sweetness)

Cook pasta according to package directions.  Drain and rinse.

In a heavy skillet over medium heat.  Melt butter.  Add scallions and garlic.  Stir and cook, without browning the garlic.  Cook until the garlic smell is fragrant and filling the room, about 5 minutes.  Add sugar and soy sauce, and cook for another minute.  Increase the heat a bit and throw in the noodles.  Quickly saute the noodles until they are all coated with the garlicky butter mixture.

Serve immediately.  Garnish with additional scallions if desired.

Printable recipe

deliciousness going into my tummy

The pasta I use for this and other noodle dishes...20 packs at $31.71 is a great price.  Our supermarket has them for $2 a box.  But the question is if you want to have 20 boxes?

Orange Blueberry Muffins: Feeling humbled

I consider myself to be a good baker. I bake often, so I can tell that I am consistent in quality, flavor, and product. I have confidence in my skills when it comes to producing baked goods, whether it be cookies, coffee cake, or cupcakes.

But then I borrowed Dorie Greenspan's Baking from My Home to Yours from the library, and I was immediately humbled. In this book there are more baking recipes that I am afraid to do than I am willing. I found myself quite intimidated by quite a few of the recipes in there, especially the layer cakes as I've decided that they are the next frontier I need to conquer. I drooled over many of the recipes but found myself scared to try.

But I was determined and wanted to make SOMETHING from the book, so I settled on some muffins. The muffins are not hard to make and are straightforward in their execution. They were extremely delicious and I was happy to present these to Daughter #2's class as part of Daughter #2's birthday celebration at school. They are slightly orangey, very blueberry, and just really yummy. I love that they aren't sickly sweet and instead the orange and the blueberry shine.

I prepared all the dry ingredients, grated my orange peel and squeezed my juice the night before. The muffins came together the morning of very easily.

Orange Berry Muffins (From Dorie Greenspan's Baking From My Home To Yours)
Makes 12 regular muffins or 24 mini muffins (which is what I made for Daughter's class)

Grated zest and juice of 1 orange
about 3/4 cup of buttermilk (you will combine orange juice and buttermilk to make 1 cup of liquid)
2 large eggs
3 tablespoons honey
1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1/3 cup sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup blueberries - fresh or frozen, not thawed

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Prepare muffin pan with either spray or paper liners.

Pour orange juice into glass measuring cup or a bowl and pour in enough buttermilk to mjake 1 cup. Whisk in the eggs, honey and melted butter.

In a large bowl, rub the sugar and orange zest together with your fingertips until the sugar is moist and the fragrance of orange is strong. Whisk in the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Pour the liquid ingredients over the dry mixture and a whisk or spatula, gently but quickly stir to blend. The matter may be lumpy and bubbly and that is the way it should be. Stir in blueberries. Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups.

Bake for 22-25 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean.

Printable recipe

Partially consumed, so you can see the inside

Fabulous baking ideas, including simple ones.

Polenta with Sauteed Mushrooms, Onions, Fontina and Prosciutto: A Happy End to Lots of Leftovers

The other day, I looked in my refrigerator only to be bombarded with random bits and ends of leftovers that needed to be used up - and FAST. The reason? Mother was coming, and Mother LOVES throwing stuff out and muttering under her breath that I waste food. I sometimes do, but I really try hard not to, and wasn't really in the mood to hear anything of the sort so I decided, right then and there I would make something with the leftovers.

There was a bit of milk leftover in a gallon container, 3 slices of prosciutto, some scraps of fontina cheese, sauteed mushrooms and onions from steak night and a few leaves of basil. All of this needed to be put in something somehow. I opened up my pantry only to discover a bit of cornmeal in a container and thought - ahhhh...polenta baked with some stuff on top.

And that is exactly what I made. And for some leftover scraps, boy was it soooo good. It was so yummy I took a nice hunk over to Daughter's kindergarten teacher who emailed me ecstatically about how yummy it was. And now? It's so yummy that I have to make it again, only not with leftovers, but with fresh ingredients.

Polenta with Sauteed Mushrooms, Onions, Fontina, and Prosciutto
Serves 6

1/2 of onion, sliced
4 mushrooms (cremini, button, or your preference)
3 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

3 cups of milk
3/4 cups of cornmeal
1/2 teaspoon salt
dash of pepper
1 tablespoon butter

1/2 lb of fontina cheese, sliced
3 slices of prosciutto, torn into shreds

2 tablespoons basil, julienne

Preheat oven to 375. In a heavy skillet, heat oil over medium heat and add onions and salt. Saute and cook until onions are translucent and turning brown and caramelized, about 15 minutes. Add mushrooms and cook until mushrooms are tender - another 3 minutes. Set aside.

In a heavy pot, heat milk until it is almost boiling. Pour in cornmeal all at once, reduce heat to medium, and using a whisk, stir quickly until it is uniform in consistency and creamy. Continue cooking for another 3 minutes, and add salt and pepper, and tablespoon of butter. Pour polenta mixture into an 8X8 baking dish.

Top with onion and mushroom mixture, sprinkle torn prosciutto pieces, and layer fontina carefully on top. Bake in oven for 20 minutes, or until cheese is melted and starting to brown. Sprinkle with fresh basil.

Serve immediately, careful not to burn your mouth.

Printable recipe

You can see the creamy corn polenta peeking through the cheese and the mushrooms.

Bokchoy Salad: For mother-in-law

For YK, who shared the recipe with me

For those of us who are married, one of the marital challenges is dealing with in-laws. Learning their peeves, their desires, and learning about them is one of the experiences that married people go through. If you are Korean, or for that matter, any culture where family cultures are very strong and encompassing, these relationships can become even harder.

Fortunately for me, Mother-in-law and I get along well, partly I think because she sees how hard I work in the kitchen. She appreciates my efforts of cooking for Son, Daughter, and Husband and thinks that I try hard. She also likes some of the things that I cook, and consequently I try and please her palate and cook those things she likes.

The first time I had this salad was at friend YK's house and I immediately loved it. It was crisp, fresh, spicy, and very unusual in its use of raw bokchoy - but the flavor was intense and wonderful and I immediately knew Mother-in-law would like it. The flavor is slightly reminiscent of kimchee that hasn't been ripened as of yet. I asked friend for recipe and she obliged.

I was able to prepare this for Mother-in-law this past weekend for a family dinner, and I was right, she loved it. Friend YK told me that all "ajumahs" (A Korean term for older married lady) love this recipe and I think she's right. Mother-in-law enjoyed quite a bit of it and today Mother enjoyed it as well. If you're looking for something a little bit different to make, this is it.

The salad is a great side dish to any Korean meal you're having, would be a great addition to a Korean BBQ, and is especially good with kalbi ggim, Korean Flank Steak, or Ginger Soy Chicken.

Bokchoy Salad
serves 4-6

3-4 heads of bokchoy, cut in sixths (lengthwise down the center)
1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
2 persian cucumbers (baby cucumbers), thinly sliced
1/4 of a white/yellow onion, thinly sliced
2 jalapeno peppers, thinly sliced
3 tbs green onion, finely chopped

Dressing
3 tablespoons Vietnamese fish sauce
2 tablespoons vinegar
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon sesame seed
1 tablespoon crushed garlic
2 tablespoons Korean red pepper flakes (gochugahloo-고추가루 )

Mix all the ingredients for the dressing. Set aside. The dressing is thick, so do not be alarmed.(I like to use an old, empty jam jar to mix the dressing)

Put all the vegetables into a large bowl. Pour the dressing over and toss until all the vegetables are coated. Serve immediately.

Printable recipe

Bokchoy salad, dressed and mixed...

The fish sauce I like

Valentine's Gift List: It just isn't about chocolate anymore

While watching Mad Men Season 2 with Husband recently, one character on the show commented to another that women still want chocolate on Valentine's Day. After hearing the line I snickered, turned to Husband and said, "I DO NOT want chocolate on Valentine's Day."

Husband snorted in return and commented, "As if I would get you such a thing." Which is true. Husband hasn't ever been particularly keen on Valentine's Day which he considers a holiday that retailers dreamed up in order to force honest, hard-working men such as he to peel open their wallets. After a couple more snorts, Husband turned to me and asked, "If not chocolates, then what?"

I started laughing and said, "Are you actually planning on getting me something this year?"

"No, not really. But I'm just curious."

So this list - is really for Husband. We will celebrate in our own unique way - usually going out to a meal NOT on Valentine's Day so as to avoid exorbitant prices for so-so food - and hey - going out, just the two of us alone is enough of a treat that we don't have to worry about what day it is. He loves me in the 14th, and I'm sure he'll love me on any other day.

But anyone who is looking for some cute inspiration, or Husband, if you actually read my blog...

My Valentine's Wish List

Okay - sort of chocolate, but this candle smells yummy...and I can save my own rear from rapid expansion



Daughters would go crazy over these - and I have to say that I'm very much attracted to these as well



I used to sell Nambe products when I was a retail mall rat, but never saw this piece. Nambe is wonderful, doesn't tarnish and this is such a pretty piece for a bedside table



I'm thinking that pancakes, muffins, or coffee cake might taste sweeter mixed up in these bowls...light, melamine, and easy to use



I can't justify getting a new mixer, much in the same way I can't justify getting a new car - but seriously, in both I want an awesome red color




Still my favorite paring knife -and in red you can easily find it in the kitchen



For individual mac and cheese, chocolate souffle, or a mini lasagne - this is super cute. I might have to buy five so that the whole family can enjoy its cuteness. (On second thought only four, as husband might gag with the sugary sweetness of it all)



I actually wouldn't want this in my kitchen, but it was too cute not to share...adorable, especially for you young lovers out there who haven't yet been jaded about romance



Perhaps all that is keeping me from the perfect lasagne recipe is the perfect lasagne dish - this would be my first choice, especially in red


If ever I get my dream kitchen, I would love one of these on the counter filled with my stainless steel utensils.



On really bad days, when I am dying for something chocolate, this is the book that sends me over the edge...one day I'll find the guts to attack what's inside


I know that this one is not romantic in the slightest, but it is something that I really want so that I can organize more/better/efficiently...and if husband got me this, I'd be thrilled to the moon.

Spinach Dip: Having fun with your vegetables

I'm not a huge lover of the raw vegetable/crudite plates you see so often at parties - mainly because I end up eating way too many of the vegetables with too much of the dip. It's a health thing really. But spinach dip is one of my absolute favorite things to enjoy - and considering how easy it is, it's brutally dangerous. Daughters love this dip and will take down quite a few cucumbers, bell peppers and carrots to eat it, and Husband is happy with a huge plate a veggies and a bowl of this dip. Add it to your next party and you'll find so many people enjoying it, you'll wonder why you don't make it more often.

Spinach Dip (from the back of the Knorr Vegetable Recipe Mix)
Makes 4 cups

1 package (10 oz.) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1 container (16 oz.) sour cream
1 cup Hellmann's® or Best Foods® Real Mayonnaise
1 package Knorr® Vegetable recipe mix
1 can (8 oz.) water chestnuts, drained and chopped
3 green onions, chopped

Mix all the ingredients together. Chill for 2 hours. Serve with a variety of cut vegetables.

Printable recipe

Daughter #2's 4th Birthday: Max and Ruby Style

For wonderful Daughter #2 - who is special and wonderful and totally has my heart.

Since Daughter #2 is the middle child, she often feels the crunch of being squeezed in between adorable baby brother and bossy older sister. As her mother, I feel her drive to be noticed and accepted for who she is as the middle child. She wavers between trying to catch up to older sister or trying to be baby like her brother. My heart goes out to her often, and so for her birthdays I try to take extra care and help her get the birthday that she wants.

Which means we have a lot of conversations. Daughter #2 is well aware that mommy does birthdays at home and she loves that. I let her choose her theme as well - last year, her theme was quite an interesting one that she came up with all on her own - Yellow. Her Yellow Birthday Party was really fun for me to plan in terms of food, games and decoration and we had a fun time doing it. This year she decided on a Max and Ruby theme, and gave me some specific demands - like cupcakes and lemonade (since Max and Ruby like lemonade).

I ended up with the following menu - which I REALLY liked, because everything was prepared the night before, and the only thing I had to do the day of was chop fruit for the fruit salad and make the vegetable mosaic. I tried to make things kid friendly and also tried to make sure that there were lots of vegetables (since it is a Max and Ruby bunny party) and also enough delicious food for adults to enjoy
.
Max and Ruby Birthday Party Menu

Spinach Dip and vegetable mosaic (dip prepared the night before, veggie mosaic done the day of)
Curried Chicken Salad (prepared the night before)
Asparagus, Ham, Havarti, Egg Bake (prepared the night before)
Mac and Cheese (prepared the night before - if you do this be prepared to add an additional 20 minutes of baking time as it will be cold)
Carrot Cupcakes - done mini size, as kids can't eat a whole cupcake anyways
Crispy Chewy Oatmeal Toffee Cookies
Fruit Salad - mangoes, pineapple, blueberries, strawberries
Bagels, crackers, bread
Lemonade

Vegetable Mosaic with Spinach Dip - put this together in less than 20 minutes


Mini Carrot Cupcakes with toppers


The full spread...dig in

Many people have asked me how to make the pink pompom - link to Martha Stewart

And I also found a great resource for beautiful colors of tissue paper at Nashville Wraps

Momofuku Inspired Bossam: But I'm still Korean after all...

For my ever wonderful guinea pigs of Luke House Church

David Chang - these days he's everywhere. He spoke at Google, quite eloquently using the "F" bomb on more than one occasion, but let's say it was elegantly used. He's been hounded by Martha Stewart, who begs him for recipes and eats at his Milk Bar in NYC. He has a very interesting and colorful cookbook "Momofuku" which is highly entertaining, and also contains his favorite curse word as well.

And he took a traditional Korean dish - bossam, which is basically stewed pork belly which you wrap with a various number of condiments, and turned it on its head...I loved some of the ideas he had - using a pork butt instead of the pork belly, and roasting it low and slow to get almost a pulled pork idea. I thought he departed a bit too much from the original so I brought it closer to my version - more Korean, less Momofuku, but nonetheless super delicious. I bring back the salted cabbage, the radish filling, the traditional ssam jang, and even the shrimp in brine.

I don't have great pictures of this...mainly because my house church clobbered it before I had a chance to photograph it...and for that I am truly sorry. I will say that based on the consumption, this is a dish well worth your time and effort - for it is really special and everyone enjoys it. Even the kids in our house church group took the time to rip off tasty pieces of "sweet meat" as they called it and chomped it down. Everyone ate a huge amount and I was left with very little at the end. All in all a wonderfully great meal...and worth the time it sits in your oven.

Momofuku-Inspired Bossam
Serves 10-12

Pork butt
1 whole 8 to 10 pound boneless pork shoulder (also called pork butt)
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup plus 1 tablespoon kosher salt
7 tablespoons light brown sugar

1. Put the pork shoulder in a roasting pan, ideally one that holds it snugly.Mix together the granulated sugar and 1 cup of the salt in a bowl, then ru bthe mixture into the meat. Discard any excess salt-sugar mixture. Cover the pan with plastic wrap and put it into the fridge for at least 6 hours, or overnight.

2. Heat the oven to 300 F. Remove the pork from the refrigerator and discard any juices that have accumulated. Put the pork in the oven and cook for 6 hours, basting with any pork juices, and watching carefully to make sure that it isn't getting too brown. If it seems to be getting too brown, then cover with aluminum foil to protect it from over browning. After 6 hours, the pork should be tender and yielding - it should offer no resistance to the blade of a knife and you should be able to easily pull meat apart. Depending on your schedule, you can serve the pork right away or let it rest and mellow out at room temperature for up to an hour.

3. When ready to serve - all the other condiments are made, turn the oven to 500 F. Stir together the remaining 1 tablespoon salt and 7 tablespoons of brown sugar and rub the mixture all over the pork. Put it into the oven for 10 to 15 minutes, until sugar has melted into a crisp, sweet crust.

4. Serve bossam whole and hot, surrounded with the accompaniments.

Accompaniments

Ssam Jang (My homemade version and not David Changs - feel free to buy prepackaged...but this does taste so much better)

1/4 cup Korean red chili pepper paste (gochujang 고추장)
1/2 cup Korean soybean paste (doenjang 된장)
1/2 cup chopped green onion/scallion
2 tablespoons sesame seed
2 tablespoons sesame oil
3 cloves of garlic crushed

Mix all ingredients in a bowl. Set aside until needed.

Ginger Sauce (not traditional - David Chang does a version, and I used mine)
1/2 cup finely chopped ginger (in a mini prep food processor for the finer chop)
1/2 cup vegetable oil (grape seed, canola, safflower, corn are all fine choices)
3 tablespoons scallions, finely chopped
2 teaspoons salt
pepper to taste

Combine the ingredients together. Allow to sit for 30 minutes to allow flavors to develop.

Pickled Radish (Moochae 무채) (this was not included in David Chang's version, but I think this is one of the things that makes bossam so yummy)

1 medium Korean radish (moo 무), peeled and julienne (I love my Japanese Mandolin for this)
2 teaspoons fine chili powder
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic
1 tablespoon finely chopped ginger (optional - but with pork, the ginger flavor is very nice)

Using a disposable glove, mix all ingredients together in a bowl. Chill and set aside, up to 3 hours, until needed.

Napa cabbage, salted and wilted (David Chang also did not use this, but I love the cabbage against the pork and radish as it is traditionally served...I made it)

** this requires at least 4 hours - so do it when you put in the pork

2 heads of napa cabbage, cut into quarters
1/2 cup of kosher salt

Using a fairly liberal hand, sprinkle salt in between individual leaves of the cabbage. Make sure to get salt on every single leaf, as this is essential to the wilting process. As all the salt will be rinsed off later, be liberal and free. Set aside for at least 4 hours. Check to see that the leaves are wilted and then rinse in cold water and drain in a colander until ready to serve.

Salted Shrimp (brined shrimp - saewoojut 새우젓 - this is definitely a traditional accompaniment)
With a spoon, take out a nice heaping spoonful, juices and all to serve as an additional dipping condiment.

Kimchee
Just a nice big bowl so people can add this to their wraps if they desire

To serve
Surround the pork with all the accompaniments. Have people decide how they want to wrap the pork in the cabbage - a little bit of radish, a bit of ginger sauce, some ssamjang and then into their mouths...enjoy!

Printable recipe

a not-so-fabulous photograph of the condiments

A not-so-fabulous photograph of the yummy pork