BBQ

We had a gorgeous weather today, just perfect for grilling. I barbecued pork back ribs and loin chops which I marinated yesterday, asparagus spears, eggplants, and sweet corn on the cob. I peeled the eggplants and mixed them with grated ginger, then served with salted chopped tomatoes. I really love the taste of charcoal grilled food, not just meat but also fruits like pineapple, peaches, and bananas, and pizza also cooks well on the grill.

marinade for pork back ribs: calamansi juice, soy sauce, sea salt, lots of garlic, sugar, ground pepper

marinade for pork loin chops: coconut vinegar, garlic, sea salt, ground pepper

Apple Pie Ice Cream

I love warm apple pie with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. I have a few wrinkly apples that I wanted to make into apple pie or tart but didn't want to heat up the oven and kitchen. The result is ice cream with apple pie flavor. When I mentioned the idea to my daughter, she suggested using graham crackers for the 'pie crust'. Brilliant! I love it.

Apple 'Pie' Ice Cream
2 fuji apples, diced
1 tablespoon butter
¼ cup sugar
¼ teaspoon freshly grated cinnamon or ground cinnamon
3 graham crackers, broken into chunks
1 recipe vanilla ice cream

• In a skillet, cook apples, butter and sugar until apples are soft, golden brown and caramelized. Transfer in one layer in a flat container. Put graham crackers in a ziploc bag. Store both apples and crackers in the freezer for 2 hours or until semi-frozen.

Vanilla Ice Cream from The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz
Makes 1 quart
2 cups heavy cream
1 cup milk
¼ cup sugar
pinch of salt
1 vanilla bean, split in half lengthwise
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract

• Pour 1 cup of the heavy cream into a medium saucepan and add the sugar and salt. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean into the saucepan and add the pod to the pan. Warm over medium heat, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and add the remaining 1 cup cream, the milk, and the vanilla extract. Chill in the refrigerator.
• When ready to churn, remove the vanilla bean, rinsing it and reserving it for another use, and then freeze the mixture in your ice cream maker according to manufaturer's instructions.

Stuffed Baby Chicken In Broth (Young Gye Beck Sook)

I had this Korean chicken soup in Seoul many years ago, I have made it maybe a couple of times before. In restaurants it's cooked and served in individual earthen pots, which means one chicken to a person. When I learned it was a whole chicken I asked one of the people I was travelling with to help me finish it but the chicken was super tiny and delicious I ended up eating the WHOLE thing, including the rice!

Young Gye Beck Sook
adapted from THE KOREAN KITCHEN by Copeland Marks

1 very small chicken or cornish game hen, about 1½ pounds
1/3 cup sweet rice, washed and drained
10 garlic cloves, peeled
2 pieces fresh ginseng, each 2 inches long
½ inch fresh ginger, peeled and sliced
5 jujubes (Korean dates)
5 whole chestnuts
2 teaspoons sea salt, or to taste

roasted chestnuts, dried Korean jujubes, garlic, ginger and fresh ginseng and sweet rice

• Rinse out the body cavity of the chicken with cold water. Sew up the neck part to seal in the ingredients. Stuff the chicken with the rice, 5 of the garlic cloves and ginseng. Sew up the opening.
• Put the chicken in a pot and add water just to the top of the chicken. Add the ginger, the other 5 garlic cloves, jujubes, chestnuts, and salt and bring to a boil over moderate heat. Skim off and discard foam, reduce heat to low, cover the pan and simmer for 1 - 1½ hours. About halfway through the time, turn the chicken over to cook on the other side. Serve hot in a large tureen.

Happiness Is A Warm Bun

freshly grated cinnamon taste, and oh so fragrant

a real honey of a bun, so caramelly, buttery and utterly delicious

I borrowed the title for this post from my cookbook SHE CAME IN THROUGH THE KITCHEN WINDOW: Recipes Inspired By The Beatles And Their Music, which is of course from John Lennon's Happiness is a Warm Gun. People my age would know that. I KNOW, it's corny and lame but I don't care, I need a title for this post! ;-)

I made one batch of sweet roll dough, one half for cinnamon rolls and the other half for honey buns, sweet, sweet yummmy buns. I used this cinnamon mill which is really fragrant and the taste is excellent. It's sooo good.

Sweet Roll Dough
2 teaspoons active dry yeast
½ cup very hot water
½ cup very hot milk
1 egg, room temperature
1/3 cup sugar
¼ cup soft butter
3½ to 4 cups bread flour
1 teaspoon salt

• In a bowl combine water and milk, heat in the microwave oven for 1 minute, add 2 cups flour, sugar and egg. Beat for 1 minute, then add yeast. Beat for 1 minute. Add the salt and the rest of the flour and beat for 2 minutes. Transfer dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 5 minutes. Form into a ball and put in a greased bowl, turn dough so that greased side is on top. Cover tightly with cling wrap and let rise for 1½ hours. Punch dough down, divide in half. Return the other half in the bowl and cover with plastic wrap while shaping the first half.
  

Cinnamon Rolls
filling
¼ cup sugar
2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
4 tablespoons soft butter
glaze
2 cups powdered sugar
2 tablespoons milk
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

• Combine sugar and ground cinnamon, set aside. Roll dough into a 12 x 9 inch rectangle, spread the soft butter, sprinkle with the sugar mixture. From the longer side, roll tightly, pinching edges. Slice into 8 pieces, arrange in a buttered 9-inch round pan. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise for 40 minutes. Bake in a 375°F oven for 30 minutes. Glaze: Combine ingredients until smooth. Drizzle over baked cinnamon rolls.
  Freshly grated cinnamon taste, and oh so fragrant

Honey Buns
glaze
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons soft butter
2 tablspoons honey.
filling
2 tablespoons soft butter
2 tablespoons chopped nuts
2 tablespoons honey

• Combine ingredients for glaze. Divide among 6 extra large muffin pans, set aside. Combine the filling ingredients, set aside. Divide dough into 6 pieces, flatten into a 6 x 3 inch rectangle, spread filling in the middle, roll up tightly, pinching edges, then form into a circle. Place circles on top of honey mixture. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise for 40 minutes. Bake in a 375°F oven for 30 minutes. Invert pan onto a container, leave for 1 minute. Remove pan, scraping all the caramel onto the honey buns.

♫ Happiness is a warm, yes it is, bu-u-un! ♫