For Meatless Monday...Crispy Tofu Bibimbap with mustard greens and zucchini

OK, I've had the read deal Korean Bibimbap years ago at a spot in Glendale the specialized in Korean food. It was really yummy.  Food and Wine magazine ran this recipe in the August Issue for a vegan version. What makes it vegan?  Simple substitution of tofu for the beef and omitting the fried egg on top.  The F&W recipe HERE.

This version I saw and knew I would like.  I did have to substitute the kecap manis, a sweetened soy sauce with a mix of 2 parts soy and 1 part molasses.  Somethings are hard to find, even here in the San Gabriel Valley of L.A., the indisputed Asian capital of the city.  Bummer.  At least the good folks at Food and Wine offered up that substitution or I would have been lost.

The main thing is to do all of your mis en place of the veggies PRIOR to starting the rice.  It all takes about as long to cook in sequence as the rice does from scratch.

They recommended also using Sriracha if you can't find the Korean chili paste.  I used it as I had it on hand, I've got a cast iron tummy, but the recommended amount makes for way to much heat in the dish.  Cut it to a few drops here and there and it will be much more manageable.

Dusting off my password...Lemon Herbed Salmon Steaks

Since I last posted here life has been upside down here at Casa Frazgo.  My Daughter married to the Marine and grandson moved back in as the SIL is away for a while, my Dad was ill and eventually left us.  Man has it been busy here.  A lot of windshield time between L.A. and the Twentynine Palms Marine base and Las Vegas for all of that.

I didn't stop cooking, just the blogging took a hiatus.  Did look seriously at fast and easy preps. That's especially important now that I have a 1 year old under foot again.  This recipe is stupid easy and even easier when you use the skinned salmon so you don't have to do it yourself.  Leave it on if you like crispy skin, its just one of those tastes I never acquired.

I used the smoked grey sea salt for that subtle smoke flavor.  You can use regular kosher salt if you don't have the smoked stuff.  But really, for what it costs and how far it goes its worth tracking down.

Lemon Herbed Salmon Steaks

• 3 6-8 oz salmon steaks
• smoked grey sea salt
• pepper
• 6 t butter
• dill weed
• 1 lemon thinly sliced.

Salt and pepper the sslmon to taste.  Sprinkle liberally the dill weed on all sides.  Line your baking pan with aluminium foil for easy clean up. Spritz the foil lightly with non-stick cooking spray.  Place salmon steaks on the foil.  Spread 2 teaspoons of butter on each piece of salmon.  Add lemon slices onto the salmon.

Place salmon in 350F oven on convect cycle for 20 minutes.  (If you don't have convect use 375F conventional temp for same time).  Serve with herbed or my ever popular Spanish Rice and Noodles.

Orange Sorbet

Continuing with the fresh sorbet its Orange Sorbet from a very sweet dwarf Navel Orange tree I planted a while back. I don't get that many orange to keep as racoons routinely break into my yard and scarf them down.  *frown face*  This year I managed to beat the little rascals and harvest a few for juice, eating and of course this sorbet.

The one thing I noticed is that the zest of the orange tends to congregate along the paddle edges of the ice cream maker.  Be sure to take that zest and fold it into the sorbet for maximum flavor prior to your serving it, and before putting into freezer if you aren't consuming right away.

Now that I have nailed the sorbet formula its time to look at making some new varieties.  Basil Lemon, Orange Mint are a couple of flavor profiles that work and could be fun.  Stay tuned for those options.

Orange Sorbet

• 1 1/2 c sugar
• 1 1/2 c water
• 1 1/2 c fresh squeezed orange juice
• 1 1/2 T orange zest

Combine water and sugar in small sauce pan.  Bring to boil and stir constantly until the mixture is complete dissolved.  Cover and cool to room temperature.

Add the simple syrup to the orange juice and zest.  Refrigerate 2-3 hours or over night until well chilled.  Add to your ice cream maker and chill according to you manufacturer directions, about 20 minutes.

Meyer Lemon Sorbet

Whew...its lemon season around here.  More precisely meyer lemons from a very VERY prolific little tree.  After the limoncello making and lemon bars what else is there to do with them?  Meyer Lemon Sorbet.

Why did I plant Meyer Lemon instead of the more garden variety Ponderosa or similar?  Primarily tis about taste.  The Meyer Lemon is softer and has a mild floral taste to it compared to the regular lemons you find in the groc.  Certainly well worth hunting down if you don't have a Meyer Lemon tree.

Sorbets are wonderfully easy, simple syrup, juice and zest and into an ice cream maker and voila its sorbet.  Stupid easy and a lot lighter than say ice cream that is full of well, cream and eggs.

Do remember it is easier to juice a zested lemon than trying to zest a lemon that is all limp and malformed as a result of being juiced.

Meyer Lemon Sorbet

• 1 1/2 c water
• 1 1/2 c sugar
• 1 1/2 c meyer lemon juice
• 1 1/2 T meyer lemon zest

Combine water and sugar in small sauce pan.  Stir and bring to a boil.  Boil a minute or two to ensure the sugar is completely dissolved.  Cool to room temperature.

Add the cooled syrup to the juice and lemon zest.  Refrigerate at least 2-3 hours to chill well (overnight is ideal).  Add to your ice cream maker and mix according to your manufacturers directions.  My machine is a Cuisinart and it takes about 20 minutes to creat a slushy Sorbet.  Serve right out of the ice cream maker, or spoon into a freezer container and freeze solid if you like a firmer sorbet.

Cookie Dough Cheesecake

I can't take credit for this creation...its a recipe a friend of my daughter came up with that she shared with me.  It wasn't so much a recipe as a list of ingredients that Kari had to talk me through the procedure so I could get it right.  Pretty easy actually as one cheats and uses pre-made cookie dough to speed up the process.

The only real trick to this cake is to make sure the cream cheese is at room temperature. That takes more than just a couple of hours, but actually I leave it on the counter over night to ensure its warm enough. The reason this is so key is that unless the cream cheese is really warmed up it won't beat well and absorb the eggs and sugar.  What you get if you don't follow this step is a curdled mess.

Cookie Dough Cheesecake

• 1 pkg graham crackers
• 1 T sugar
• 6 T butter - melted
• 2 8 oz pkgs cream cheese - room temperature
• 1/2 c sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 t vanilla
• 1 16 oz pkg prepared chocolate chip cookie dough

Preheat oven to 350F

Take the package of graham crackers and whiz in food processor until it is in fine crumbs.  Add sugar and whirl until blended into crumbs.  Add melted butter and process until it resembles wet sand.  Press into bottom and sides of an 8 " spring form pan.  Bake 8-10 minutes until lightly browned.  Remove from oven and let cool while making the batter.

Add sugar to cream cheese and beat well until smooth and creamy.  Beat in eggs one at a time.  Add vanilla and beat in well.  Take 4 oz cookie dough and break up into chunks about 1-2 teaspons each.  Fold the cookie dough into the cream cheese batter.  Pour into the spring form pan.

With remaining cookie dough form into balls and place on top of the cheese cake batter.  Don't press in just let them set on top arranging in a circle around the edges with one in the middle.

Bake in 350F oven for 40-45 minutes until the cheese cake is set and just lightly browned on the edges.  Cool then refrigerate for at least 3 hours before serving.

Garlic Studded Prime Rib

 Nothing quite says Christmas like a nice Prime Rib Roast. I do mine up pretty traditional with the exception of studding it with garlic to infuse it with a wonderful garlic flavor.  The slow roasting ensures that the flavor gets down deep into the meet and the clove if you are lucky enough to get it in your slice is deep roasted and sweet, entirely edible in that state.

The studding is easy. With a paring knife make a slit deep enough and wide enough to take a clove of garlic pushed into it.

I start the roast out in a very hot oven to ensure a nice crust on it.  Then I lower the heat to slow roast to succulent deliciousness.  To help the crust develop I roast on a convection roast cycle which besides ensuring even roasting, it also speeds up the cooking time a bit.

Garlic Studded Prime Rib

• 1 3 rib Prime Rib Roast, approx 6 lbs
• 6 cloves garlic peeled
• 2 T Montreal Brand Steak Seasoning

Preheat oven to 450F.

Make 6 slits in top of roast.  Insert garlic clove in each slit.  Rub steak seasoning into the roast, top, bottom and sides.  Place in roasting pan.

Bake in the very hot oven for 15 minutes then reduce heat to 325F.  Roast until the center of roast reaches 135F in center for a good medium rare. (Allow about 12-15 minutes per pound to get to that internal 135F temp).  Pull from oven and tent with foil to let it rest for 15 minutes before carving.

Butter Almond Coffee Cake

Perfect for a chilly winter morning is this Butter Almond Coffee Cake.  Its pretty simple to make, a few steps that in themselves are easy, just several of those steps to get to this wonderfully almondy coffee cake.

The real key to this coffee cake is to really whip the egg sugar mixture as there is no leavening in the cake.  That right, no baking soda or baking powder, its lightness comes from the air whipped into the eggs in the beginning.  Don't be afraid to whip it long and hard (wasn't that a Devo Song?) until the beater leaves trails in the egg mixture and it falls in ribbons from the whip. Takes about 3-4 minutes to get to that stage. If you don't do this your cake with be dense.

Butter Almond Coffee Cake

Cake:

• 1/2 Cup Sugar 
• 1/4 t salt
• 1/2 t. Vanilla
• 1/2 t almond extract
• 2/3 Cup Butter, plus small amount for pan
• 2 Eggs
• 3/4 Cup Flour

Glaze:

• 2 T. Milk
• 1 T. Flour
• 1/4 C. Butter
• 2 oz. Blanched almonds, sliced
• 4 T. Sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Butter and flour a 9" baking pan.
Melt 2/3 C. butter and allow to cool.
Using a mixer with whisk attachment, beat eggs, vanilla, almond extract, salt and sugar in large mixing bowl until light and fluffy.  Slowly add butter and flour to egg mixture and stir in on low speed.
Pour batter into an prepared cake pan. Bake for 20-22 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
In a saucepan, combine remaining 1/4 cup of butter, 4 T. sugar, milk, and flour. Bring to a boil and add almonds.  Spread cake with glaze and bake for an additional 10 minutes, or until just beginning to turn light brown and crispy.
Allow to cool on a rack for 10 minutes or so before cutting. Serve warm or at room temperature.