One place for the all the food and drink things I've found thus far. Let's eat.
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The Brown Derby’s Cobb Salad Recipe
The Brown Derby was one of early Hollywood’s legendary hotspots, but unlike the other restaurants to which the bold and the beautiful flocked, this one actually served excellent food. We got our hands on the original Cobb salad recipe (one of the owners, a one-time husband of Gloria Swanson, was named Cobb, so they have a legitimate claim to this recipe), and we really enjoyed the dressing choice here. Ranch was eschewed in favor of the lighter, more flavorful French dressing.
Cobb Salad
1/2 head of your favorite salad green
1/2 bunch watercress
1 small bunch chicory
1/2 head Romaine
2 peeled, if possible, tomatoes, medium
2 breasts poached chicken
6 strips of bacon, very crispy
1 avocado
3 hard boiled eggs
2 cups chopped chives
1 cup dressing (see recipe below)
1/2 cup grated or crumbled Roquefort or other blue cheeseSee the rest here!
As much as I love eating ice cream in the summer heat, sometimes it can be a little too rich. Patbingsoo is a cool and satisfying dessert that’s substantial without being rich, and with all its different components it won’t bore your taste buds. I personally was sceptical at first at the thought of shaved ice topped with an adzuki bean paste and practically all the fruits you can think of - it didn’t seem like it would taste good. But then again I forgot the crucial ingredient in this dessert - condensed milk. Forget chocolate, condensed milk is the godsend ingredient that will make anything and everything taste good. And this dessert was of no exception, so do give it a try.
The way to eat this is to mix all the components into a watery soup and then sharing it with others; 2 people per bowl is ideal, or so I’ve heard, and then have some fun fishing out chewy pieces of tteok (chewy rice cake) from deep within your bowl.
I’m going to include a recipe for tteok and paht (adzuki bean paste) in this post, should you not be able to find some that’s ready-made:
RICE FLOUR BALLS:
[ 1/3 cup water + 1 cup sweet rice flour (chapssalgaru 찹쌀가루) ]
Boil 1/3 cup of water, stir in 1 cup of sweet rice flour and knead several times (A dough attachment is especially useful)
Roll into a big round ball and pat into a 1-inch thick square.
Cut into 1cm cubes and boil in water until they float, then roll the balls in some glutinous flour mixed with icing sugar to prevent them from sticking to one another.
Place in the fridge for 15 minutes to make them firm but slightly chewy.
RED BEAN PASTE:
[ 1 cup adzuki bean (pat 팥) + pinch of salt + 3 tablespoon sugar ]
1 cup of dried red beans will make a little more than 2 cups of sweet red beans. Each serving of patbingsu needs ½ cup of sweet red beans.
Rinse and strain 1 cup of red beans and place them in a thick-bottomed pot.
Add 4 cups of water. Cover the pot and bring to a boil over low heat for 10 minutes. Lower the heat to simmer for 1 hour.
Open the lid and check if the beans are cooked well or not. The beans should be crushed easily. Chew a sample of the beans. If there is something hard when you chew, you need to cook longer.
After all that’s done, all you need to do is shave some ice, cut up the fruits and assemble.
PATBINGSOO (팥빙수):
[ 1 pint ice + 1 cup red bean paste + 2 tablespoon (or to taste) condensed milk + 3 tablespoon sweet rice flour + chopped fruits for garnish (kiwi, banana, strawberries, mango, etc) ]
Shave the ice into a pile in a bowl. It’s best to use an electric ice shaver instead of trying to do this by hand.
Trickle the condensed milk evenly over the ice.
Distribute small scoops of red bean paste around the pile of ice.
Now sprinkle bits of the rice flour balls and pieces of fruit (your choice).
Mix it all up and dive right in with your spoon(s).
RICE FLOUR BALLS:
[ 1/3 cup water + 1 cup sweet rice flour (chapssalgaru 찹쌀가루) ]
- Boil 1/3 cup of water, stir in 1 cup of sweet rice flour and knead several times (A dough attachment is especially useful)
- Roll into a big round ball and pat into a 1-inch thick square.
- Cut into 1cm cubes and boil in water until they float, then roll the balls in some glutinous flour mixed with icing sugar to prevent them from sticking to one another.
- Place in the fridge for 15 minutes to make them firm but slightly chewy.
RED BEAN PASTE:
[ 1 cup adzuki bean (pat 팥) + pinch of salt + 3 tablespoon sugar ]
1 cup of dried red beans will make a little more than 2 cups of sweet red beans. Each serving of patbingsu needs ½ cup of sweet red beans.
- Rinse and strain 1 cup of red beans and place them in a thick-bottomed pot.
- Add 4 cups of water. Cover the pot and bring to a boil over low heat for 10 minutes. Lower the heat to simmer for 1 hour.
- Open the lid and check if the beans are cooked well or not. The beans should be crushed easily. Chew a sample of the beans. If there is something hard when you chew, you need to cook longer.
- After all that’s done, all you need to do is shave some ice, cut up the fruits and assemble.
PATBINGSOO (팥빙수):
[ 1 pint ice + 1 cup red bean paste + 2 tablespoon (or to taste) condensed milk + 3 tablespoon sweet rice flour + chopped fruits for garnish (kiwi, banana, strawberries, mango, etc) ]
- Shave the ice into a pile in a bowl. It’s best to use an electric ice shaver instead of trying to do this by hand.
- Trickle the condensed milk evenly over the ice.
- Distribute small scoops of red bean paste around the pile of ice.
- Now sprinkle bits of the rice flour balls and pieces of fruit (your choice).
- Mix it all up and dive right in with your spoon(s).
Enjoy!
Fudgy Chocolate and Hazelnut Cake
It’s nutty, chocolatey, rich and moist. Cake or brownie, whatever you decide to call it, the name will serve it’s purpose of fulfilling the cravings of a chocoholic, AKA people like me! I love cutting into the slightly crispy top of the cake and finding a dense fudgy chocolate cake inside. Let’s face it. This cake is definitely not guilt-free.
It’s still April! Which means that I could still bake desserts from my April edition of the Masterchef Magazine. And in a week from today, Masterchef Australia Season 4 will be starting, which is something that I’m definitely looking forward to. What a great way to celebrate than with a recipe from the magazine!
Like all recipes I work with, I like to change things around to suit my taste (and family’s!). The original recipe uses apricots and ricotta as the decoration on the top, but I thought that was a bit out there for me so I substituted for pecans and white chocolate. If you try it with the apricots and ricotta, let me know how that turns out!
Fudgy Chocolate and Hazelnut Cake (from the Masterchef Australia Magazine, Issue 22, April 2012)
Ingredients
- 75g dried apricots, halved
- 70g roasted peeled hazelnuts
- 50g dutch cocoa, sifted, plus extra to dust (I used plain unsweetened)
- 150g dark chocolate, finely chopped
- 150g unsalted butter, chopped
- 5 eggs, separated
- 220g caster sugar
- 60g sour cream
- 150g fresh ricotta
Method
- Preheat oven to 160 degrees. Grease a 23cm square cake pan, then line base and sides with baking paper, extending paper beyond the rim. Place apricots in a bowl, pour over 60ml boiling water then set aside. Process nuts and cocoa in a food processor until finely ground.
- Place chocolate and butter in a large heatproof bowl over a saucepan of gently simmering water and stir until melted and combined. Cool for 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, using an electric mixer, whisk egg yolks and 110g sugar until very thick and pale.
- Fold egg yolk mixture into chocolate mixture with sour cream, then stir in hazelnut mixture. In a clean bowl, whisk egg whites to soft peaks. Gradually add 110g sugar and whisk to almost stiff peaks. Fold into chocolate mixture in 2 batches, until just combined.
- Pour batter into pan, then level with a spoon. Dollop over spoonfuls of ricotta in rows. Drain apricots, then scatter over the top. Bake for 45 minutes or until puffed and a skewer inserted into centre comes out with a few moist crumbs attached. Cool cake completely in pan.
- Lift out using baking paper. Cut into pieces. Dust with extra cocoa to serve.
ENJOY! :D
Book team test cook Rebecca Morris cuts rounds off a log of chilled chocolate cookie dough while testing a recipe for a homemade take on Thin Mints, the classic Girl Scout cookies. See more behind-the-scenes photos at: http://bit.ly/o0qi36
Toasted Marshmallow Shake
This delicious milkshake, by Top Chef’s Spike Mendelsohn, is like a creamy, cold version of S’mores.
Learn To Make Chewy Brownies
Finally, a homemade brownie with chewiness (and a shiny, crisp, crackly top) to rival the box-mix standard — but flush with a rich, deep, all-natural chocolate flavor. Get the recipe.
