Kitchen Sojourn | I like to eat. I love to cook.

Brussels sprouts with mayonnaise and bacon

By gturner | Published: March 1, 2010

I first heard of this recipe during an Anthony Bourdain special. The one set at Dufresne’s WD-50, I think. One of the guests (maybe a camera man) mentioned his mom used to make him Brussels sprouts with mayonnaise and bacon, and everyone said it sounded amazing. I had to agree. But when I tried to find a recipe I came up empty, the only mention being a show summary on the No Reservations blog. So I improvised the following: Ingredients:

One package fresh Brussels sprouts
Three (or more) thick-cut bacon slices
Mayonnaise (about two teaspoons for each serving)

Directions Begin by salting some water and bringing it to a boil. While the water heats, preheat the oven to 400f, and slice each Brussels sprout nearly through, leaving just a bit on the stem end. Once the water is boiling, toss in the Brussels sprouts and boil them for five minutes. Use this time to chop up the bacon into half-inch pieces. Once the Brussels sprouts are finished boiling, drain them, then spread them in a single layer in a roasting pan or half sheet pan (or any pan with a lip, really). Sprinkle the bacon over top of them, and then set them in the oven for 30 minutes. When they’re done, take them out of the oven, and give them a careful stir to integrate all the bacon flavor. To plate, get a generous helping of sprouts and bacon and top with just enough mayonnaise to mix well. I made mine the other night, and they were so good I laughed out loud when I had my first bite.

Posted in Ingredient, bacon, brussels sprouts, chop, mayonnaise, roast, slice | Tagged bacon, Bourdain, brussels sprouts, mayonnaise | Leave a comment

Rice noodles with green vegetable curry, spinach leaves and bean sprouts

By gturner | Published: February 26, 2010

(makes 2 generous portions)

1 small sweet potato
2 carrots
1/4 red onion
1 pkg rice noodles
@2 cups skim milk (or coconut milk for more traditional flavor)
@1 tablespoon green Thai curry paste
A little salt
A little oil

Cook the noodles according the package instructions. While they cook, peel the sweet potato, and dice the sweet potato, onion section and carrots. Sprinkle the vegetables with a pinch of kosher salt. then saute vegetables over medium-high heat until the sweet potato begins to brown. Add the milk and curry paste, reduce heat to low, then stir to combine. Cover with lid.

The curry should be done about the same time as the noodles. Serve the noodles in a bowl, cover with a generous helping of the curry, then top with a few spinach leaves and bean sprouts for color and crunch.

Posted in bean sprouts, boil, chop, curry paste, garlic, rice noodles, saute, spinach, sweet potato | Leave a comment

Burning Questions: What knives should I buy, and how should I use them?

By gturner | Published: February 25, 2010

Q: Basic knife techniques are always needed: how to use, sharpen, which knives are essential…

analon chef's knife

A: One good knife is the best thing to have in your kitchen. Start with a good chef’s knife that’s sized to fit your body. I use an eight-inch Anolon chef’s knife almost exclusively. I like its weight and balance, and it was pretty inexpensive, too. I think I got mine for about $20 during a post-Christmas sale at Bed, Bath & Beyond. If you want to add a second, go with a good pairing knife for small-scale work. A third? I’d suggest a small, thin fillet knife, especially if you cook a lot of fish.

Spend a little money, too. I know you can probably get a whole knife set (including wooden holding block!) for not much more than the cost of a single chef’s knife, but please don’t do that. Just go with the chef’s knife. Seriously.

I wouldn’t suggest sharpening knives on your own. Some people probably get pleasure buying a whetstone and oil and going through the meticulous ritual of sharpening, but that’s jut not for me. I don’t have the time or interest to devote to that learning curve, and the guy down at the local hardware store has a much greater chance of getting a good edge on the knife than I do.

Alton Brown recommends sharpening your knives every year or so, and honing several times a month. I value his opinions when it comes to food and cooking gadgets.

And it is so important to use sharp knives! Imagine how your face or legs feel after using a dull razor. Not the best feeling is it? Now translate that feeling to your kitchen. Your whole body is involved when you’re really cutting, and life is easier if you have a sharp knife. Which reminds me, I really should get mine sharpened.

As for technique? I can think of no better resource than Jacques Pépin. It seems full runs of his series, More Fast Food My Way are available via KQED’s Web page. Just watching him work with a knife is amazing. If you search through the archives, you can probably find several where he talks specifically about various knife techniques.

Also, Saveur has an excellent section on techniques. Check out the various knife techniques on their site. They’re not the most comprehensive (no step-by-step illustrations, for example), but they seem to cover the basics at least.

Finally, practice. Carrots are cheap and plentiful and packed with beta-Carotene. Slice them, cook them up as carrots vichy, and enjoy.

Posted in Tools, essay | 2 Comments