Recipe: Korean Bulgogi

M and I both chose recipes to cook last weekend. I chose meatloaf, and he chose this Korean Bulgogi recipe. He eats it all the time; there are limited food choices on the base where he works, but there's a Korean lady who sells beef and pork bulgogi at lunchtime.

It was an all day event on Saturday to find the ingredients. Well it wouldn't have been, but I accidentally left an important ingredient off of the list when we visited Talin Market.

The preparation wasn't hard at all. Basically you just throw everything into a food processor and let it do all of the work. The meat needs to marinate for 24 hrs, and then you just throw it on the grill. The final outcome was 맛있은! (hopefully this means delicious) 

Here's the recipe (courtesy of the Food Network):

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup Korean chile bean paste (gochu-jan)
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon minced ginger
• 1/4 cup rice vinegar
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup thin soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon coarse ground black pepper
• 1 cup canola oil
• 1/4 cup sesame seed oil
• 1 cup chopped scallions
• 1/3 cup chopped cilantro
• 3 pounds hanger steak, sinew removed
• Sliced green scallions, for garnish
• Fried shallots, for garnish (optional)

Directions

In a food processor, add chile paste, garlic, ginger, vinegar, sugar, soy and black pepper. Blend well than drizzle in the oils. While still running, add the scallions and cilantro. Check for seasoning. It should not be salty since salt is added right before grilling. Remove 1/2 cup of the marinade and reserve for sauce. In a dish, completely coat the hanger with remaining marinade and let marinate overnight. On a hot, oiled grill, season hanger with salt and grill, about 8 minutes for medium-rare. Slice up meat into small strips and serve over rice.

By the way, the meatloaf never happened!

New Mexico State Fair Fun!

This is my favorite time of year in Albuquerque! I love the weather and the vibe that the city has when the state fair, balloon fiesta, harvest festivals, and fresh green chile arrive.

Last weekend, M and I had a hot date at the fair. I was so excited to go because I hadn't been in a few years and M had never been at all. I made mental lists of all the things that I wanted to show him, and all of the things that I wanted to eat. We didn't make through either list, but we had a great time trying.

Here's the $8.75 turkey leg that we shared, and the $4.75 fried snickers bar. The Turkey leg was amazing, my first ever! I normally get the sausage on a stick but decided to switch it up a bit. We both had never ventured to the dark side of the fried candy bar so we decided to go there too. My thoughts, it was delicious!!!! Nothing like ooey gooey chocolate, caramel, and nuts melted together and battered with a light and fluffy pancake-ish batter. We also had some Cotton Candy and some SUPER Nachos that I couldn't get a good photo of.

We rode some rides, saw some animals, played some games, and visited the snake lady. We had a blast!

Hoe Cakes Re-Visited

Over labor day weekend, M and I were invited over to Becky's for a small BBQ. Included as a guest was one of my favorite friends Kevin who was visiting home from Portland, Oregon.

We made pork spare ribs with a Jamaican jerk BBQ sauce, and hoe cakes. We also took over a watermelon for dessert. Becky made potato salad, her famous burgers, and fresh green chile salsa. It was a delicious meal, and we had a great time visiting..

The ribs were amazing! I used a dry rub and put them in the oven for 3 hours. Then we finished them off on the grill with the Jamaican BBQ sauce. They were were so moist that the meat nearly fell off the the bones. No pictures though! I totally forgot!!!

Ahhh, hoe cakes. I had previously blogged about them here. I was so excited to try the recipe. I have a lot of thoughts about them:

First, M insisted that what I was making was NOT hoe cakes. He's from Georgia and subsequently the subject matter expert on all things southern. He said that I was making hoat cakes or hope cakes. I told him that I got the recipes from CNN and I was right.

Second, this is a pretty labor intensive recipe. It took me forever to get everything together. Maybe I just spazzed when prepping because I was so hot from the oven being on for so long. 

Third, my cast iron skillet is about 5 inches high, and about 10 inches round. It was really hard to maneuver the spatula into the pan and flip the little suckers correctly. Maybe it had something to do with my bright idea of making them larger than what the recipe said. After seeing my frustration, M suggested that I use his electric griddle. It was a lot easier and they came out looking pretty good, but since I didn't fry them in butter they weren't as crisp as I thought they should be.

They were a hit at the BBQ, but I don't know if I'll make them again. When I went over to Becky's for the season finale of TruBlood, 2 Sunday's ago, we all cheered when Sam made Tara hoe cakes for breakfast. See M, I was right!!!

Recipe: Soft Pretzels

When I was a kid we lived in Germany. Every day, and especially on weekends, there were a slew of food vendors selling their goods to the silly Americans. My favorite truck sold fresh baked bread and every variety of Haribo gummi candy imaginable. The best thing that they sold though, were these humongous soft pretzels. I swear that they were about a foot wide. I dream about these pretzels.

On Superbowl weekend I tried to make my own. They came out pretty good, but not great. The other day I while perusing the blogosphere I found a really easy recipe, so I thought I's give it a shot again. While they didn't look as beautiful as I hoped, they tasted delicious. I took them to work the next day, and received great reviews from the guys. The only complaint I heard was that I didn't bring mustard!

Here's the recipe that I tried from Alton Brown via Annie's Eats:

Ingredients:
For the dough:
1½ cups warm water (110-115° F)
1 tbsp. sugar
2 tsp. kosher salt
2¼ tsp. instant yeast
22 oz. all-purpose flour (about 4½ cups)
4 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
Vegetable oil, for greasing the bowl
For finishing:
Cooking spray
10 cups water
2/3 cup baking soda
1 egg yolk beaten with 1 tbsp. water
Pretzel (or kosher) salt

Directions:
To make the dough, combine the water, sugar, salt and yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.  Mix on low speed to dissolve the yeast.  Add in the flour and melted butter and mix just until the dough comes together.  Switch to the dough hook and knead on medium speed until the dough is smooth and clears the sides of the bowl, about 5 minutes.  Transfer the dough to a bowl lightly greased with vegetable oil, turning once to coat.  Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place, about 50-55 minutes or until doubled in bulk.

Preheat the oven to 450° F.  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and spray lightly with cooking spray.  Bring the water and baking soda to a boil in a large saucepan or stockpot.

In the meantime, divide the dough into 8 equal pieces.

Working with one piece at a time, roll a segment out into a 24-inch long rope.

cross them over each other and onto the bottom of the U-shape in order to form the shape of a pretzel.  Place onto the parchment lined baking sheet.  Repeat with the remaining pieces of dough.
 

Place the pretzels into the boiling water, 1 or 2 at a time, for 30 seconds.  Remove from the water with a slotted skimmer and return to the baking sheet.

Once all the pretzels have been boiled, brush the tops with the egg wash and sprinkle lightly with salt.  Bake in the preheated oven until dark golden brown, about 12-14 minutes.  Transfer to a cooling rack for at least 5 minutes before serving.

Lunch Dessert

I rounded out my lunch today with this home made red velvet cupcake. I fell victim of a "traveling" bake sale just as I was leaving for lunch. Isn't that a great idea?

Review: Olympia Cafe - Albuquerque, New Mexico

Calamari

Gyro Platter

Chicken Souvlaki Platter

oh Olympia's, you have captured my heart with your tantalizing meats and generous portions. If you love Greek food and haven't been here you are really missing something special. I imagine that this is the type of Greek restaurant that you would find in New York or Chicago.

The outside of the restaurant is painted in the traditional white and blue colors of Greece. The inside is small, but quaint. You order before you sit and grab your food when your number is called; be sure to have your ticket handy. No ticket, no food. I prefer to sit in a booth; they line a nice row of windows and it's always fun to watch the people walking by.

I have been frequenting Olympia's for years, but M had never been. I think I had been "saving" it for when I knew he was ready. M is very food adventurous and loves to try new things, but I was worried that he may not appreciate this place as much as I do. Last Friday, he was ready. Well, maybe he wasn't but after trying to think of what to eat I decided that this is what I wanted and he agreed.

M ordered the Gyro platter, and I had the Chicken Souvlaki platter. Thinking it would come ahead of time, we also ordered some calamari. In hindsight, it was a bad move considering how much food we got and it all came out together. PLUS, menu items are not on the cheap side. Compared to other places in town, it's pretty pricey but so worth it.

Both meals had Gyro meat, and it was moist and flavorful, so much so that M couldn't get enough. We each got a Greek salad, tzatziki sauce, pita, and rice too. The salad was the perfect sized accompaniment and the rice was moist, slightly lemony and delicious!

Olympia Cafe is so good! I totally recommend it. My only complaint is that it's pretty pricey. The two of us ate for $35.

Review: Nob Hill Bar & Grill - Albuquerque, New Mexico

This is one of M and I's favorite places. We love the atmosphere and hip vibe that we feel as soon as we walk through the humongous front door. We'll go often for dinner, and occasionally we'll just stop by for drinks. This is the only place in town where we have been able to designate a booth as "ours." We've been lucky enough to sit there 90% of the time.

At first I thought the food was just alright, and that it was pretty pricey for what you get. I mean seriously,12 bucks for Mac and Cheese? But as I've worked my way across the menu I've discovered that there are a few gems that were completely worth their weight in gold. Some of our favorites are the Kobe Sliders, Buffalo Calamari, This Ain't Yo Mama's Meatloaf, and in my opinion they have one of the best cheeseburgers in town. I particular love how I can choose which 2 toppings I want. I always get bacon and green chile.

I think that the food has gotten progressively better since the self proclaimed "Upscale Joint" first opened. I wasn't sure if this joint was going to make it, but alas it has and I'm glad!

On this particular visit we were kind of worried, as the first thing that happened to us was the the buser spilled a glass of water all over the table and floor and it took a long time for the server to come over. Once she made initial contact she was pretty attentive and even took time to ask about the photos that I was taking. She even asked for the name of my blog. Which I thought was pretty cool... so here's a shout out to Jessica.

I wanted to try something lighter, so I opted for what I think was called the Santa Fe Chicken Sandwich served with fries. It was a grilled chicken breast topped with green chile and jack cheese. The menu changes pretty frequently, and this was the first time that I eyed this delicacy on it. The chicken was grilled perfectly and was very moist. My only complaint was that the breast didn't fill the whole bun or maybe it slipped. It was deceptively covered in chile, and I only made the discovery when I went in for my second half.

M had the meatloaf and I am pretty sure that he loved it. It was served with mashed potatoes and sauteed carrots and asparagus. He devoured every last bite and even ate some of his veggies. Not the cooked carrots though. Even though they looked so nice, they still tasted like cooked carrots do. Not good!

Overall, it was another great visit and we'll defiantly be headed back!