St. Patrick's Day Brunch: Green Gradient Cookies

I love me a dang rainbow cookie. But who says you have to use all of the colors? My favorite color happens to be a light, muted shade of green, so it was perfect that my friend Sam wanted to come over and bake! We used this Bon Appetit recipe for ombre rainbow cookies as a jump off point.

Firstly, Sam made the batter with almond paste. Then she divided into two. One bowl got more green food coloring than the other and then they were transfer to lined baking sheets.

Our cakes were baked and turned out onto a cutting board. Sam slathered the light green layer with apricot jam and then carefully placed the dark green layer on top. We let it cool before slicing up into small cubes.

Aren't they cute? Let them sit out at room temperature for a couple hours if you don't like them so cakey and more like a cookie. Fun fact: you can toast them until they are crunchy to make biscotti!

I'm terrible at baking! If you want to trade meats for baked good, I'm happy to shoot photos of your delicious treats in my kitchen.

St. Patrick’s Day Brunch: Kale Salad with Lomo Chips

My salad dressings aren’t very complicated. Half a lemon, a count of one-two pour of olive oil, a pinch of salt and maybe 5 turns of the pepper mill (course, of course). Hefty, handful of green, in this case, baby kale. I find delight in the added flourishes which yield variation in my salads: a nice cheese hidden at the bottom, candied nuts or a roasted vegetable. I bring you, the lomo chip!

Lomo embuchado is cured pork loin, sliced super thin. Akin to its cousin prosciutto in that is part of a pig and cured, but small circular discs. I took advantage of the low oven setting from the tomato confit I had going already and placed a single layer of lomo slices on a rack nested in a sheet pan. It doesn’t have much fat to drop off like bacon, but it lets the hot air circulate in the oven, crisping both sides. You’ll know they’re done when they are still a deep red and crunch like a chip with no gummy chew. 

St. Patrick’s Day Brunch: Beet Relish

Beet relish was an unintended add-on to my St. Patrick's Day corned beef. When I had my DIY Cleanse and juiced, I made sure to use the discards from every fruit and vegetable.

In the case of beet remains, I added a boiling mix of cider vinegar, sugar, salt, dill,and horseradish in a clean swing-top jar. It sat in the fridge for about a week and what the heck, here we are. The interesting difference between this and other beet concoctions is that mine started raw. A bite was much more earthy and my insides were dyed a very striking pink hue (beware when you pee). 

St. Patrick's Day Brunch: Duck Fat Colcannon

I pretty much followed the technique of this Food52 recipe but instead of pan frying the green cabbage, I roasted slabs of it in duck fat. I also added a shit ton more cream and butter because...why are you still reading this blog?!

I readied heat-safe bowls with scoops of pillowy potato, shimmied a tablespoon in the middle to make a divot and lay a healthy pat of butter in there. They rested peacefully covered with foil at the back of my stovetop, where the oven sends its most precious residual heat. When it was time to eat, I plopped crunchy fronds of cabbage atop the bowls.

St. Patrick's Day Brunch: Tomato Confit

The very first cookbook anyone ever got me was Eric Ripert’s On the Line. I was still very new to seafood, so many of the recipes seemed out of my grasp. I flipped all the way through and at the end were the garnishes and pantry items.

Tomato confit was the first recipe I tried from a book. Most of the time it was Food Network or watching people cook out of the corner of my eye. When you hear the word confit, you mostly think of duck, but in this case, it refers to the slow process of baking for a long time. The original recipe calls for a 200-degree F oven and peeled tomatoes. Why do French people hate tomato skins? I don’t know. 

I took plum tomatoes, cut off the stem cap and halved them. The oven was on at its lowest setting (240 degrees F). Since my oven can’t go any lower, it balances out the fact that I’m using thick tomato pieces. Lined up in a single layer the tomato babies received a shower of salt, fresh ground pepper and a touch of olive oil. I turned the pans every hour until the tops dried out and the fruit still firm enough to hold together. The ideal result is when you take a bite, you get this concentrated tomato flavor with a bit of sweetness. The water has evaporated but enough left for a squish to leave all the goodness for you to gobble.

Any thinner slices and longer time in the oven will give you sundried tomato junk. I may hate them but if you like that sort I nonsense, it does keep pretty well in the fridge.

St. Patrick's Day Brunch: DIY Shamrock Shakes

The business of actually making these is very easy. 4 ingredients. But the morning I decided to try it had a lot more going on. Perhaps 45 minutes before my guests Mo and Ramsey were to arrive at my house, I decided to surprise them with shamrock shakes. It couldn’t be hard! I googled around and found that I had everything except ice cream. So, still in my pajamas, I threw on a coat and went down to the store. French Vanilla. The register. 

I get back to the door and reach into my pocket for the keys. Hoo boy. No keys. It’s freezing and I’m holding a cold package of ice cream. I make futile attempts at buzzing my own apartment. Futile because my roommate Dylan is notoriously difficult to wake. Jeff was out of town. I buzz my neighbors and thankfully, they let me in. However, I still had to get into my own apartment. I survey my wallet for a card that I wouldn’t mind ruining (the insurance one) and Ocean 11’d my way back into the house. I did a little dance and rushed to get the shakes pre-made.

Do not, I repeat, do not put all 48 ounces of vanilla ice cream into the blender at once. I had put in a cup of milk and 6 drops of green food coloring. It exploded. All over the counter and floor. And it was GREEN. Don’t be like me. Overall, I used a cup and half of milk with half a teaspoon of mint extract. 

My guests arrived right when I was washing the blender. Two hours into brunch, I asked, “Do we want another beer or do we want the surprise?” All smiles, I went to the freezer and revealed the pitcher of shamrock shake. There were jigs.

Day of Decadence: Buffalo Mozzarella Tofu with Tomato Toasts

I simply saw this photo on eataku. What happened next was an approximation. First, it started off with a batch of porcini dashi broth. Because we had one vegetarian in the house, I separated the stock into two and added bonito to one of them.

I took a ball of buffalo mozzarella and cut it into tofu-like rectangles. Plopped them into bamboo boats and poured in cold dashi broth. The whey from the cheese made it cloudy and cool looking. Finished with a squeeze of reduced balsamic vinegar and scallion.

As an accompaniment, I took the crusts off white bread, painted it with grated garlic and tomato. Broiled those suckers and cut them into triangles.

Have you tried it? Let me know by tweeting to @Randwiches! I want to know how it tastes to you.

This shot is from my Day of Decadence menu.

#MadeWithLocalRoots: Eggs Will Roll! How to Make Tamagoyaki

As part of my Local Roots CSA, I'll be sharing easy ways to use up your produce. From prep to leftover hacks, I hope you learn to love cooking at home as much as I do!

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Gorgeous Styker Farms eggs with big orange yolks are part of my CSA share every other week. As much as I love a porn-y egg yolk pop, I've always wanted to make tamagoyaki . It is a rolled Japanese omelette that is served at the end of an omakase meal. It is sweet and custardy in the middle as a result of the meditative and methodical way of rolling it in a pan. I've researched a bunch of recipes and mine contains less sugar than most.

The first couple of rolls will look ugly, but have faith and keep going. It's worth the effort!

Things you'll need:
3 tablespoon dashi stock 2 tablespoons mirin 1/2 tablespoon sugar 1 teaspoon soy sauce	1 teaspoon salt 6 large (US extra large) eggs, beaten 1/4 cup vegetable oil 1 tablespoon black radish, grated 1 tablespoon beet grated

Mix the cold dashi stock with mirin, sugar, soy sauce, and salt in a bowl. Crack in the three eggs and beat until uniformly yellow. Check that the sugar has dissolved into the mix thoroughly.

Heat a square pan over medium heat. Soak a paper towel in the vegetable oil and use tongs to wipe the pan with it. You can use any shape pan, just note that the omelette will have irregular edges that you can cut off.

Pour in enough egg mixture to coat the pan and tilt it to spread it around. When the omelet starts to set, roll it up away from you using a spatula. It’s ok if it’s isn’t perfect or breaks. Re-oil the exposed part of the pan with your paper towel.

Pour in more egg mixture into the empty part of the pan, lift up the first roll and let the egg mixture runs underneath. When it looks set but still a little wet, roll the omelet around the first roll to make a single roll with many layers. Repeat the process until you use all of the egg mixture.

Let the egg cool for 5 minutes. Move the roll gently onto a sushi rolling mat covered with a sheet of plastic wrap. Roll the omelet firmly into the mat and leave to stand rolled for 10 minutes in the fridge so it sets.

Cut the omelette into 1.5” pieces and serve with the grated black radish and beet.

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Are you a member of Local Roots? Tag both @Randwiches and @LocalRootsNYC with the hashtag #MadewithLocalRoots when you use your produce. We want to see what you're making!

If you have cooking questions about anything you receive from your farm share, please ask me! I might have a few suggestions. 

Incredibly Easy No-Slice #PiDay Hamb Pies

I already drag my feet about baking, so what's the absolute laziest thing I can do for Pi Day? Pre-made, pre-portioned hand pies! Store bought pie crust plus a punchy ground beef and cheese filling make for an easy snack to store in the freezer for an after school / work snack.

Help yourself to these hamburger pockets!

Things you'll need:
2 14" circular pie crusts 1 pound ground beef 1/2 cup shredded cheese 1 shallot 1 tsp paprika	1 tsp fish sauce 1 tbl mustard 1 egg Sesame seeds Ketchup for dipping

Defrost the pie crusts completely before unrolling them onto a cutting board.

Grate the shallot and combine with the beef.

Sautè the beef in a dry pan until completely browned, 7 to 10 minutes. Break it up into as small granules as you can with a spoon. Drain off the beef fat (save for a broth or gravy!).

Continue to cook the beef and add the paprika, fish sauce and mustard. Once mixed, remove from heat and let it cool.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

Cut the pie crusts into quarters, you should have eight triangles.

Add two to three tablespoons of beef on half of every pie and a sprinkle of cheese on top of it. Fold it over and crimp the two open edges with a fork.

Whisk the egg in a small bowl with a splash of water and a pinch of salt. Brush all the pies with the egg wash and sprinkle sesame seeds on top.

Bake for 12 to 15 minutes until the pies are golden brown.

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Love it? Try it with different savory fillings!

I want to see your hamb pies. Tag @Randwiches on Instagram or Twitter to show yours off.

Gnaw on Your Own Freshly-Made Slaw

Fried foods and bbq are great with slaw. The crisp vegetables and tangy vinegar help balance out fat and smoke. You won't believe how easy it is to make your own slaw! Swap out my rice vinegar for any other variety. Julienne root veggies like celeriac, beet, or parsnip to replace the carrot.

Things you'll need:
1 head of cabbage 2 large carrots 1 cup of radish greens	1 tablespoon of rice wine vinegar 1/2 teaspoon salt 2 grinds of pepper

1. Shred the cabbage with a mandoline, food processor slicer or sliced thinly with a sharp knife.

2. Julienne or shred the carrot.

3. Combine the cabbage, carrot, and other hearty vegetables with the rice wine vinegar, salt and pepper.

4. Let sit for 5 to 10 minutes.

5. Finish with the radish greens, sprouts, or any soft herbs.

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If you have cooking questions, ask me on Twitter!