Peter Luger Steakhouse w/ Jiawen =)
chriscuits: a food blog
Dinner has always been a sacred institution in my home. Taking time, whether it’s 10 minutes or 3 hours, to sit down and spend time with family and friends over good food, is incredibly important part of my life. When I cook for someone important to me, the meal I share with him or her is automatically encrypted into my mind. I find that many meals that I cook now are actually a collaboration of my favorite elements of dinners I’ve cooked in the past, recombined. The photos I’ve posted are from this past summer. Though life on the trading floor was stressful and exhausting, I still had enough time to create new memories with a very close friend who stuck with me through every high and low of the past five years. Happy birthday, and thank you so much for your unwavering friendship and kindness.
It’s been a long time since I enjoyed myself this much at a dinner party. New friends, fun conversations, and more wine than I personally can handle (which isn’t a lot) is always a good combination.
I’ve been trying to spend more time actually teaching some of my good friends how to make what I make, so in that spirit, here are some approximate directions:
Crostini with sauteed mushrooms, walnuts, and marsala wine:
Heat a large skillet on high. Add oil when the pan is smoking hot - this will ensure that your mushrooms actually get some color and taste like something. When oil is hot, add quartered mushrooms, finely chopped onions, and sliced garlic. Do not season until the mushrooms have some color. Adding salt at this point will leave you with boiled mushrooms, which is never a good thing. When mushrooms are colored, add marsala wine and reduce until syrupy. Add a knob of butter, chopped walnuts, and chopped parsley. Serve on top of the toasts (which Jiawen scraped with garlic).
Pan-roasted lamb chops
Preheat your oven to 350. Season chops with salt and pepper. Heat a pan on high heat, but while the pan is still cold, add a little bit of olive oil and place the chops in the pan on the fat side. This will allow the fat to slowly render. When the fat is cooked and crispy, sear both sides of the meat. Add a knob of butter and whole garlic cloves. Give the chops a quick baste and leave it in the oven to keep cooking.
Slice fennel and sweet onions. Saute them in a little olive oil and deglaze with balsamic vinegar. Add fennel fronds and chopped parsley.
Make a dressing from the rendered lamb fat, lemon zest and juice, fennel fronds, and chopped parsley.
Crusted pork chops
Preheat your oven to 350. Spread out some sliced roma tomatoes on a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and evenly sprinkle thinly sliced garlic. Leave these in the oven to dry out.
Boil sweet potatoes in water until tender. When they are done cooking, drain them and add them back to a hot pan so that the water evaporates. Add butter. Lots of it.
Caramelize onions in a large saute pan. Add white wine and reduce until syrupy. Add lots of spinach and wilt it in the pan.
Make a dry rub with cumin, paprika, garlic, salt and pepper. Rub this on the chops. Heat a pan on high until it is smoking hot. Add oil and sear the chops on both sides. When both sides are colored, finish cooking in the oven.
Use a vegetable peeler to make almost transparent slices of cucumber. Julienne the slices and throw into a colander. Add salt and mix well and let this rest. This will make the water in the cucumbers drain out. Mix the dried cucumbers with sour cream, lemon zest, and chopped parsley.
Add olive oil and lemon juice to the pan drippings.
Apple caramel
Thinly slice granny smith apples (or any apple that holds well to heat). Cook in butter and add cinnamon and nutmeg. Add sugar to a hot pan. When it melts, add butter. Flambe with rum. Add sauteed apples lemon juice, and heavy cream.
Grilled pork, sweet potatoes, salad, roasted garlic vinaigrette
My second to last dinner in NJ. I’m both excited and nervous for the 10 weeks to come, but at least I can take comfort in some final dishes to cook for my family.
I almost forgot what summer was supposed to be - carefree fun and relaxation - but I was rooted back to this pleasant reality by family and a treasured friend.
Pork chop with a scallion parmesan crust, broccoli florets and beurre blanc.
It’s been a long time since I’ve been graced by the presence of Mia Wang, an old friend I can always depend on to keep my ego in check.
In return I fatten her as much as I possibly can.
japan fundraiser: an old crowd
Moules mariniere, tenderloin medallions with a cucumber yogurt salad, sauteed potatoes, and a marsala glaze, strawberry mille feuille with blueberry coulis
bonus: strawberry caramel, vanilla ice cream, crispy phyllo pastry
