Sugar Cookie Love: Listening to Devo and Baking

Maybe it's because I wish it was winter right now or at least 95 degrees instead of 100 degrees, but I got a craving for sugar cookies last night and made up enough dough to bake a fresh batch to share with my friends and co-workers.

I have also now decided that this classic recipe makes for a good "breakfast cookie." I figure if other people (including myself really) can eat muffins and doughnuts for breakfast once in awhile why not have a cookie, it's a great start to your workday in my opinion. Plus whenever I'm baking I get Devo stuck in my head which isin't a bad thing either.

I based it off of this Classic Sugar Cookie recipe.

ingredients

A.) 1 cup butter, softened
B.) 2 cups sugar
C.) 1 teaspoon baking soda
D.) 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
E.) 1/8 teaspoon salt
F.) 2 eggs
G.) 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
H.) 2 cups all-purpose flour
I.) A little bowl of sugar

directions

1. WHIP IT GOOD: Bring the butter to room temperature. I usually hold the stick of butter (with wax paper on) in between my hands for a little bit, then cut it into cubes and throw it in the mixer. Then I add the sugar and let them beat together for about a minute. I stop the mixer and take ingredients C-G and add them to the mixer. I turn it back on until those are blended together and then I add the flour slowly a 1/2 cup at a time while the mixer is still cooking.

2. DO NOTHING: Then I cover the bowl and put it in the fridge for at least 2 hours, or if you are like me and for some reason feel the urge to bake at 10pm go to bed and move on to step 3 when you wake up.

3. SHAPE IT UP: Heat oven to 375 degrees F. Shape dough into 1 inch-ish sized balls. Dip the balls into ingredient "I.) A little bowl of sugar" (I wrote this out because I was worried someone might get confused and try to dip there dough balls into there eye, so don't do that) Place balls 2 inches apart on greased cookie sheets.

4. GO FORWARD/MOVE AHEAD: Bake in the preheated oven for 9 to 12 minutes or until there done as much as you'd like them to be done. Cool cookies for 1 minute on cookie sheet. Transfer cookies to somewhere they look cute and then serve them to people you like.

Lemon Drop: Strawberry Cheesecake Cupcakes

Lemon Drop: Strawberry Cheesecake Cupcakes: "These cupcakes were inspired by the bounty of local strawberries basking in the sunshine at nearly each and every rural intersection. The s..."

Pineapple Express: Las Paletas and Popsicles

Okay, so my short break turned into a not-so-short-break. What have I been doing in these 3-digit days of summer? I've been perfecting my Popsicle and Paleta. I purchased some Groovy Pop Molds from Distinctive Decor which is a great online kitchen store with a shop in Duncan,OK. I've been trying to keep cool by trying out new frozen concoctions.

General Pops and Paletas Tips:
Dissolve sugar and fruit together on low heat so isn't grainy (let it cool)
Run your mold under hot water for 10-20 seconds to help it pop out smoothly.
A good Smoothie makes a great "popletas."

Pineapple Express Paletas:

Blend until smooth:
2 cups pineapple (preferably fresh-cut)
1 cup Greek or vanilla yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons of honey

Then add 1 more cup of pineapple and pulse a few times. Pour into molds (leave about a half inch open at the bottom and freeze about 3 hours

Side Note: You can also scratch the yogurt and add 1/2 cup of sugar 1/2 cup water instead, just leave out the honey or it will be to sweet.

More Recipes:

Strawberry -

Paletas: Authentic Recipes is on my wish list right now. I've already used my sneak peek to make the recipe for "Strawberry Ice Pops"

Simple Banana -

Banana Paletas from My Recipes can be whipped up quickly and taste great.

"In a 2-cup glass measure, combine 1 cup milk, 3/4 cup smoothly mashed ripe banana, 1 teaspoon vanilla, and 1/4 cup sugar; stir until sugar is dissolved (mixture is no longer grainy to taste). Per paleta: 85 cal"

Lazy Girl Pudding Pops:

Step 1 Put instant pudding mix, 2 cups of cold milk in a air tight Tupperwareish dish.

Step 2 Shake it.

Step 3 Pour it in "groovy molds" and wait for it to freeze.

I'm pretty sure since I use sugar free/fat free pudding mix and 2% milk I burn the calories off for one ice pop in step 2, but that's just my theory.

OSU Farmer's Find

Okie Grown Okra


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:10th and Portland

Option 1

Option 2

Option 3

Noshing in Nashville: My 5 favorite food spots (part 2 of 2)

1.) Monell's

This was my second trip to Nashville and the only place I ate at last time that I had to eat again was Monell's.

My visits to Monell's are always so exciting that I forget to photograph anything. I went with my friends Rumeysa and Daniel who've just moved to Nashville and I think we all had a great time. The family style seating and service is a great way to meet new people and enjoy some southern cooking.


2.) Thai Phooket

Thai Phooket has near perfect ratings on any website including mine. I wasn't expecting a taste of Thai when I was in Nashville and almost didn't make it to Phooket, but I was near downtown and had remembered being recommended Phooket while doing the "honky-tonk" thing with my friend the previous evening. The Pad-Thai was amazing. Every individual element was tasty: crunchy sprouts, spicy shrimp and savory sticky noodles.
I seriously would consider having someone mail me some Pad Thai along with a bag of "Dark Latte" roasted coffee beans from Davis Cookware.

Noshing in Nashville: My 5 favorite food spots (part 1 of 2)

3.) Family Wash

I can be a little neurotic about planning to say the least. I like to know what places I'd like to try before I get there, that said, I'm also totally fine when things don't go as planned.
I headed to the East Side of town on Friday night expecting to eat at Silly Goose, when I got there I realized they were closed for renovations. I remembered from last trip peeking into a crowded bar called the Family Wash that had a really fun atmosphere, at the very least I figured I get a pint of Flat Tire and listen to some live local music. I was surprised to find a Vegetarian Shepherd’s Pie filled with: lentils, roasted garlic and vegetables smothered in mashed potatoes topped with plenty of extra-sharp cheddar cheese. Family Wash had just the type of home-style food I was looking for!




4.) Sky Blue Cafe in East Nashville

I love breakfast. I especially love it when I can get about all of my favorite breakfast foods on one plate.

Pictured above is: Stuffed French Toast, with bacon, eggs and pancakes to top! (They also do it in Nutella with banana.)


5.) Local Taco

Taco wise it kind of reminded me of our "local tacos" Big Truck Tacos, but with really amazing cocktails. (Which was pretty perfect after my delayed flight to Nashville.)

Pictured above is: Dos Flores Margarita - A tasty Hibiscus infused drink that comes with it's own flower.

Foodstuffs: Episode 1 - Luxy Cupcakes

Luxy Cupcake photo by Lacey Dillard



Foodstuffs: Episode 1 - Luxy Cupcakes by kimberly-hickerson

My first attempt at a podcast, including an interview with Cynthia Romanos of Luxy Cupcakes and music from Crocodile.

This staple dessert gets a real twist in Oklahoma with these wonderfully creative concepts including cupcake titles like: My Bloody Valentine, Raspberry Beret and Almond Joy Division.

Enjoy some cupcakes this Saturday at the Victory Dolls Roller Derby bout!

Luxy Cupcake photo by Lacey Dillard

originally posted on OKC.net

Cookbook: A World of Cake

My new favorite cookbook: A World of Cake has adorable pictures and recipes accompanied by the history and origins of all these desserts.

I love the "family trees" in the book used to outline the origins cakes like, sponge, meringues and fried cakes.

Even if I don't get a chance to cook all 150 cakes It's fun to read about the histories behind cakes from Bangladesh, Japan, Jamacia and many more. They even have a recipe from Oklahoma for Cherokee Wild Huckleberry Cake, which I will be sure to try out this summer. (Just need to find some Huckleberries.)

Gladys's Chocolate Meringue - Pie Pics

Every holiday we spend in Oklahoma I look forward to a taste of Gladys's Chocolate Meringue Pie. I've made a few meringues and can tell you there is certainly an art to the preparation. Mine has never turned out as light and fluffy as hers, but I'm happy to have one to admire and eat.

My Farm-to-Table Experience

I do not have a green thumb. I think someday I might “cultivate” one, but my current attempts at gardening are too sporadic to actually produce anything. For example, I attended a free gardening seminar at Will Rogers Park and was so inspired that I actually went home and planted a small flower garden. I pulled out a section of weeds I call my lawn to make the bed, planted the flowers, and topped them with a healthy bed of mulch. The only thing I didn’t do was clean out the gutters beside my house. I kept saying “I’ll save that for next weekend.” By mid-summer, the flower garden I had sweated over all day in April was pretty much just stray pieces of mulch. Obviously, I like the idea of gardening, but I struggle just to keep the handful of herbs I grow alive. Lucky for me, a green thumb is not necessary at the farmers' market, just admiration for one.
The Norman Farmers' Market was my first stop last Saturday. I figured, knowing my pension for distraction, I should get up early, start farther from home, and work my way back to the Oklahoma City Markets. I’m usually not a morning person, but I loved the open-air portion of the Norman Farmers' Market. The wind and smiling faces, along with the anticipation of what I might find, put me in a great mood.

I also was really excited to have the opportunity to visit the OM Gardens booth. Oklahoma Mushroom Gardens is a small family farm that is USDA certified organic and grows a large variety of mushrooms.

I first learned of OM Gardens while watching the LudivineOKC channel on YouTube. Knowing the work, effort, and love that goes into the food you're buying really makes it taste better. I love mushrooms. People that don’t like mushrooms are, in my opinion, wrong. There’s a lot of variety to their flavors, shapes, and textures. To say, “I don’t like mushrooms,” probably just means, “I haven’t eaten the right one.”
Some people have the strange impression that mushrooms have no nutritional value, but they're high in vitamins, fiber and very low in calories. That’s about as “sciencey” as I’ll get about it. I could go on, but I’d like you to keep reading (If you want to strike up a conversation about mushrooms or anything else foodie, e-mail me at kimhickerson@gmail.com).

I bought some beautiful Shitake Mushrooms and I’m in love with them. I spent a lot of time just admiring how attractive they were before I even considered what I would cook with them. My husband's one of those people who thinks he doesn’t like mushrooms, so I wanted to make something he’d enjoy with them, because I like proving him wrong. I also wanted to make something for a mushroom lover like myself, so I could really enjoy as much of that mushroom flavor as I liked. I settled on Shitake and Bok Choy stir fry for myself one day and then a twist on Tom Yum soup to share with my husband.
The second booth I visited was Luxy Cupcakes. Their cupcakes are made from one hundred percent local products and come in a variety of fantastically special unique flavors. I’m an adult, so if I want to eat a cupcake before 10 a.m., I can, and I can feel really good about it since Luxy’s cupcakes are filled with so many local ingredients. (I’ll have more details on Luxy in a couple weeks, so please check back.)
On our way out, we picked up squash, cherry tomatoes, and freshly squeezed lemonade with strawberries a perfect way to start any Saturday.
I didn’t make it to the OSU-OKC Farmers' Market until around noon, but there was still plenty to see. The variety of growers and products you can find at OSU-OKC is impressive. For a full list, visit the OSU-OKC Farmers' Market page.
I love the fresh herbs, and there’s a vendor that also sells lush, purple orchids in the front of the pavilion. I wanted to buy one, but I didn’t for fear of killing it in a couple of weeks. I have a bamboo plant that started with five stalks and is now down to one, and it’s supposed to be one of the easiest plants to grow.
Plant killing aside, I didn’t do a price-by-price comparison, but a lot of the fruits and vegetables seemed cheaper to me, especially because I’m only shopping for two and a lot of grocery stores bundle vegetables for families of four. Many of the market vendors let you pick out just what you want and no more.
I was excited to see Yang Farms, which had a fresh variety of vegetables like bok choy, Napa cabbage, Thai basil, and more. I was attracted to a bundle of yu choy with yellow flowers. Each small bright yellow flower is like little edible sunshine…. ugg, did I just think that? I sound like some food network host on speed, apparently yu choy brings out the Rachel Ray in my otherwise Daria personality.
I also purchased a dozen beautiful brown eggs from Charles and Paula at Horn Farm. They come in the first Saturday every month from Cordell.
I was glad to see that Wagon Creek Creamery had Greek Style Yogurt, which is my current snack obsession. It’s perfect with a little Oklahoma honey and fresh fruit. They also carry a variety of butter and cheeses all produced at there farm in Helena, Oklahoma.
Normally, I roll out of bed around 10 a.m. and laze around the house on Saturday before I get dressed and make my way to my favorite brunch spot. However, I’d like the farmers' markets to become a regular part of my routine. No grocery store can ever compare to picking out your own fresh fruits, vegetables, meats, and cheeses, and talking to the people that grew them. Farmers' markets are also a great place to meet a few of your neighbors and feel like you're part of a real community.

I’ve been cooking up a fun assortment of dishes this week inspired by my visit to the farmers' markets and wanted to share one of them:

Tummy Yummy Soup (Serves 2)
(My simple home-variation on Tom Yum Soup or Hot & Sour Soup)

* 4 cups of boiling water
* 2 spoonfuls of Tom Yum Paste (purchased at Super Cao)
* 1 tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger
* ½ pound uncooked deveined peeled medium shrimp
* 4 ounces shiitake mushrooms, sliced
* 4 ounces Napa cabbage, sliced and diced
* Chopped fresh cilantro
* Chopped fresh green onions

Preparation

Heat water in heavy large pot over medium heat till it boils. Add Tom Yum paste and stir as needed until it’s it blends with water about 3 minutes. Let it come to a boil if it needs to then add shrimp and shiitake mushrooms. Let the shrimp turn pink, about 3 minutes of boiling. Add Napa cabbage and cook until it wilts (somewhere between 10-60 seconds depending on how crunch you’d like it)

Put into two of your favorite bowls.

Add cilantro, green onions to taste.

For an extra kick, try adding Sirachi Sauce or Lime Juice to taste.

Oklahoma Sustainability Network has a great list of Farmers' Markets.

originally posted on OKC.net

Mushroom Lovers Stir-Fry

Mushroom Lovers Stir-Fry (Serves 1 for lunch or 2 as a side dish)

• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1/4 cup vegetable or chicken broth
• 4 bunches of baby bok-choy, (cleaned and trimmed)
• 4oz shiitake mushrooms (cleaned and sliced)
• 1/8 cup sliced almonds (toasting optional)
• salt to taste

Preparation

Mix broth and seasame oil in a medium stock pot. Let it come till the steam rises off of the broth but not a boil. Then add choy and mushrooms coat them with the broth and then cover the pot. Let them steam for 2-3 minutes until tender. The choy should be a lush green but you still want some crunch in the stalks.

It is tasty as a light main dish all by itself but it also goes well with a little jasmine rice and/or grilled chicken. For another punch of flavor try slicing ginger or garlic to the broth.

Farmers' Market Frittata

Farmers' Market Frittata (Serves 1)

• 1 tablespoon of butter
• 2 eggs
• Dash of milk
• ½ a zucchini chopped
• 4 cherry tomatoes quartered
• 2 ounces (or more) fresh cheese of choice
• salt and pepper to taste

Preparation

Heat butter in an 8-inch omelet pan on medium heat. Saute zucchini for a couple of minutes, then toss in cherry tomatoes. Scramble eggs with a dash of milk and salt and pepper. Pour eggs over vegetables, cook for around 2 minutes.

When the edges are cooked but the center is still a little wet take the cheese and sprinkle it generously over the top and then put the omelet pan under the broiler.

This will take about 3 minutes, just watch and wait for the cheese to brown a little and then you're ready to eat.

I had mine with a side of Greek yogurt and honey, which would be great with a little fruit as well.

Farmers' Market Finds

OSU-OKC Farmers' Market & Norman Farmers' Market

Ludivine Channel (OKC's first farm to table restaurant)

I love their video interviews with local farmers and growers.
They now have a Happy Hour, so I'll be giving Ludivine a try sooner then I thought. I've had great cocktails there a few times now so I can't wait to try the food!

Bistro B is what "fast food" should be.

Bistro B is a great place to go if your looking for fast food that's yummy.  It also helps that that our waitress was cool and said I was "gangster" for using my chopsticks left handed. (pictured above: B1)

Peruvian Roasted Chicken

- That's "finger lickin' "

Inca Trail

In Search of Good Tex-Mex

Huevos Rancheros photo by Lacey Dillard

By the time this is posted, I should be well on my way to Texas for SXSW and a family visit in San Antonio. Just the thought of my trip is giving me a major craving for Tex-Mex food. Tex-Mex has definitely gotten a bad rap the last few years. It’s become synonymous with any greasy dish smothered in cheese and chili con carne.

Most of my childhood was spent in San Antonio. When I think of Tex-Mex, I think of dishes I grew up with like migas, barbacoa, puffy tacos. It's hard to find a restaurant in Oklahoma City that includes all the hometown dishes I love, but it's been pretty easy to find local restaurants that do one or two of my favorites really well. I also recreate some dishes at home.

Barbacoa

Barbacoa is basically any meat that's been slow-cooked. The name may sound familiar because it's where the word barbecue comes from. Barbacoa is a special dish we had every once in awhile with extended family at my Aunt Irma’s house. I never had a problem with the main ingredient being the head of a cow. It’s often cooked with goat meat, as well. If it’s not referred to specifically as “Barbocoa de Cabeza,” you can assume it's goat meat instead (especially if that makes it easier to give it a try). It’s so flavorful and moist that there’s usually not much added to it other then a little salt. Yummy.
I was referred by my friend Henry to a restaurant on the corner of SW 29th and Agnew called Tortilleria & Rosticeria Islas. They have good barbacoa. The meat is so tender it just falls apart. Order by the half-pound and it comes with corn or, on request, flour tortillas.

Tortilleria & Rosticeria Islas
2404 Southwest 29th Street
Oklahoma City, OK 73119-2004
(405) 632-5382

Huevos Rancheros

Huevos Rancheros is usually a fried egg on a fried tortilla served with ranchero sauce. Ranchero sauce is kind of a Mexican version of home-style marinara sauce with roasted tomatoes and thin slices of pepper and onion cooked down with various spices. The flavors continue to develop the longer you simmer it.
My mother orders this regularly when we go out to breakfast. It’s a dish I've always wanted to love because her plate seems so vibrant and fun with yellows, whites, red, and greens, but I never really appreciated it as a child.
It wasn’t until recently that I tasted Huevos Rancheros again at Café Kacao. Wow, was I wrong about flavor as a kid.
The version at Café Kacao is amazing. They fry handmade corn tortillas and lay them over a plate of black beans and top them with sunny-side-up eggs, ranchero sauce, pico de gallo, sour cream, and slices of avocado (which, by the way, is a million times better then guacomole.) This dish alone has made me fall in love with Café Kacao.

Café Kacao
3325 N. Classen Blvd
Oklahoma City, OK 73118
(405) 602-2883

Migas

Migas are strips of corn tortilla mixed with scrambled egg. My mother and grandmother would make migas for breakfast on Saturday mornings. My mother had a way of getting the strips just the right amount of crispy so they were somewhere in between a chip and corn tortilla. As a little girl, I preferred them with a little cheddar, but now I love to top mine with fresh salsa and queso fresco.
I found pretty close-to-home version on the Big Truck Tacos breakfast menu. With a yummy pico de gallo and cheese, it’s really filling and good cure for that Saturday morning slump.
I must say though, when I feel perky enough to cook for myself on Saturday mornings, it’s a fairly easy dish to make at home. I like to cut my corn tortillas into strips and fry them in just enough oil to coat the pan. Once they’ve crisped up a little the corners start to curl up. I toss in the uncooked scrambled eggs and add salt, pepper, salsa, and queso fresco to taste.

Big Truck Tacos
530 NW 23rd St
Oklahoma City, OK 73103
(405) 525-8226

Spinach Enchiladas

The only way I would eat spinach as a child was in spinach enchiladas. Nowadays, spinach is one of my favorite ingredients, but spinach enchiladas have always been one of my all-time favorites meals. I’ve tried a few restaurant versions here, but really what takes me back home is a recipe I found on Rick Bayless’s website. I’m not sure he needs an introduction these days, but he’s a fourth generation Oklahoman who majored in Spanish and Latin American studies at OU before moving to Michigan for his doctorate. Until he did Top Chef Master’s last year and exploded into pop-culture, I knew him as the host of a great PBS cooking show “Mexico-One Plate at a Time.”
A good Mexican recipe also makes a handy excuse to take a trip to a Mexican grocery. I’m partial to El Mariachi Super Mercado near NW 16th and May. It's across from the wonderful Cocina de Guatlinda and the parking lot is also home to one of my favorite taco trucks - Mariscos!
Inside El Mariachi, bargains and treasures await. The store carries limes that usually only cost a quarter. There's an assortment of Mexican quesos. (On a side note: I prefer to use queso fresco whenever I can. It pairs well with a lot of foods and I know if I spend the money on nice brand, it won’t go to waste in my fridge after one recipe.) A lot of Mexican recipes list substitutes for Mexican cheeses, but I really don’t advise using any substitutes, especially now that places with a good selection like El Mariachi exist in Oklahoma City.
There are a variety of Mexican sodas made with real sugar instead of corn syrup. At the bakery, or panderia, you can usually pick 3 or 4 sweet treats for under $1. Seriously, just $1. The bright pink and orange cookies have always been a favorite of mine. I wish I could track down a recipe for them.
They also have a great selection of peppers in the produce area and the most extensive line of Goya products I’ve seen in Oklahoma City. On your way to the check out stand, I’d also suggest picking up a Mexican ice cream bar if you haven’t had one. They're delicious and fairly low in calories compared to regular ice cream. It’s a fun place to spend a couple of hours on a Saturday.

El Mariachi Supermercado #2
3020 Northwest 16th Street
Oklahoma City, OK 73106
(405) 942-1529

Overall, I've definitely found a few ways to satisfy my Tex-Mex palate in Oklahoma City. The only thing that has managed to elude my taste buds here is “The Puffy Taco.” It's basically a regular ground beef taco with lettuce, tomatoes, and bright yellow cheese, served in a freshly made, deep-fried corn tortilla. I’m sure there’s one out there in Oklahoma City just waiting for me to discover it.



originally posted on OKC.net 

The Elusive Puffy Taco

24 hrs in San Antonio





Chaco's & Chalucci's

Location:San Antonio, Tx

Fresh Herbs for Cooking

Here are some fresh herbs I planted this weekend.  There great for cooking, I just have to wait patiently for them to grow this time before I cut them. Hopefully, I haven't signed their death sentence, by purchasing them.  (I don't exactly have a green thumb.)

Lavender, Oregano, Thyme, Tarragon

 

 

Sriracha is Good on Just About Everything

Here's my simple weekday breakfast:
1 toasted English muffin
1 Sunny Side Up Egg
add a little salt, pepper & Sriracha sauce

 

Lately, whenever I taste something and think "it's missing something" I add a little Sriracha sauce and it makes it go from bland to completely satisfying in a few dashes.  I have to give credit to my friend Randy, for leaving a bottle here (he was carrying it around with him for awhile.)  

I'd had Sriracha at restaurants before but now that it's made its way to my kitchen it has become a staple condiment. 

Side Note: I have a habit of saying "sir-watch-a" but the right way to say it is "sree-RAH-cha" or "rooster sauce."

Super Cao Nguyen -

 When I first moved to Oklahoma City in 2001, I thought Super Cao Nguyen might be a dance club. The neon palm trees on twenty-fifth street didn’t exactly scream Supermarket to me. Now, they call to me all the way from two blocks south, beckoning me to the city’s Asian grocery Mecca.



The closest grocery store to my house is Walmart Neighborhood Market, which isn’t a big surprise. I’m not going to go into a diatribe about Walmart shopping. I do go there from time to time; it’s convenient and they have decent produce (although I’m annoyed they keep replacing other brands with their house brands - they're not fooling me with that “Marketplace” stuff). My main point about neighborhood market is that it’s completely boring. Shopping there feels like a chore to me; a last resort in a cavern of hungriness.

On the other end of the boredom spectrum, Super Cao Nguyen is a place I visit even if I don’t have any real shopping to do. For a long time, I only thought of Super Cao as Grocery Noveltyland - it was somewhere I just came to for fun. I’d pick up canned coffee, spring rolls, and other items based solely on how cute the packaging looked.

What made Super Cao real for me was the time I enlisted my friend Dianna to help me pick out fresh tilapia - yes, fish with the head still on. Approaching their seafood counter for the first time intimidated me. It was good to have someone there to tell me to look for pink gills, but I was mostly just being a baby for delaying the experience. The size of the fish counter can still be a little overwhelming, but other than that, buying fish at Super Cao is easy shopping. You ask for what you want, and you get it. You just have to “dive in” (I get one pun per article, and that was it).



Beyond exploring their seafood, I also like to find new ramen ideas. I now frequently eat ramen for lunch, dressing it up with cilantro, bean sprouts, and maybe some thai basil. Some days I even go so far as to poach a quail egg in the broth. It sounds like a dish you could learn to make on that Food Network show, Semi-Homemade, except that it’s actually cheap and tasty and not overly complicated. “Mama" brand instant noodles are some of my favorite, but the real instant noodle expert is my friend Lucas Dunn. His word on the matter: “Sapporo’s kitsune undon is pretty supreme.”

Even though I’ve been going sporadically to Super Cao Nguyen for years, I feel like I’ve kind of rediscovered it over the last month. I recently bought a great cookbook at Half Price Books called Asian: A Visual Step-by-step (Frame By Frame). It’s inspired me to make Asian dishes at home that I previously found daunting. I’ve made undon noodle stir-fry, fried lemongrass tofu, yaki soba, green chicken curry, and proper teriyaki chicken - all dishes I cannot imagine having completed with any degree of success without a trip to Super Cao Nguyen. I’m totally salivating as I write this over a picture of pork and cabbage pot stickers in the cookbook, and debating whether I should attempt that or spring rolls this weekend.

I’ve noticed my trips to Super Cao Nguyen becoming more frequent as my kitchen fills with new supplies and ingredients. I don’t see that trend ending anytime soon with all the variety the store offers and all that I have to learn. Super Cao Nguyen is a place that continues to yield new and exciting discoveries. This might seem like an overstatement, but it’s certainly been true for me - sesame oil, fish sauce, rice vinegar, and lemongrass are ingredients that will change your life if you learn to cook with them.

Super Cao Nguyen
2668 North Military Avenue
Oklahoma City, OK 73106
www.caonguyen.com/
originally posted on OKC.net 

Looking forward to another SXSW visit to Austin

Buenos Aires Cafe - Austin (Gnocchi Quartet)

     Food Heads - Austin (Garlic & Herb Roasted Leg of Lamb on Ciabatta)

My Good Morning.

Lindley House Bed & Breakfast: Ham & Cheese omelet, bite-sized waffles & Orange Juice.  

Fusion: Sushirito!

Sushi done burrito style; fusion food I can get behind. Found at Jogasaki SushiBurrito  by truck or Sushirrito 

Cheese, Please: Cheese 101 @ Forward Foods

So, I was having a late lunch Thursday afternoon at Café 501 in Classen Curve, and though I like to pretend at age 29 I know how to properly walk in heels, apparently I do not.  Walking back to the car, I tried to maneuver around a Mercedes by stepping into some freshly laid dirt, caught my heel, and ended up on all fours on the pavement, my knee skinned in about ten places. That’s the truth. I wish it were a cooler story like I was riding my bike or just joined the new roller-derby league (my roller name would be Kim-ikaze), but it’s not the case. I’m just a girl who can’t walk properly in vintage (I’m adding the distinction “vintage” to make myself feel better) heels. This is the kind of thing you might think would ruin my day, but you would be wrong. When bad things happen, they’re usually balanced by a positive experience for me. I’m “Even-Steven” or “Jerry” from Seinfeld in that way. As I was bandaging my knee and throwing away my mangled black tights, a friend called to ask me to Cheese 101 at Forward Foods.

“Apparently they teach a class on cheese where you can taste different kinds and figure out what you like,” she told me.

No explanation really needed, you had me at “cheese.”

I’m an infrequent but enthusiastic shopper at Forward Foods. I’ve purchased many things there, especially since they opened the location on Western, but I have to admit I’ve found the cheese counter a little intimidating, so I was excited to learn a little more about cheese. I wasn’t sure what kind of crowd to expect, but the eclectic mix of people made me feel more a ease. In the store’s dining area we found an inviting assortment of cheeses laid out on a slate plate for each person, along with cheese complements like wine, bread, dried apricots and almonds.

Our class instructor Bailey immediately put me at ease by explaining that the class is perfect for people intimated by cheese counters but who are cheese lovers. Bailey really loves cheese. If she was wearing a shirt that explained a little about her personality it would read something like “nerd for cheese” or maybe just feature a block of Brie with a heart around it.  Nothing about her says cheese snob and she has a really charming demeanor.

One of the first revelations Bailey let me in on is that honey is good with almost every cheese. Our first sample was a light and crumbly Queso Fresco, which I’m familiar with from my many Rick Bayless-inspired home dinners. I sprinkle it on enchiladas and over black beans, but I’ve never actually thought to try it all by itself. It’s pretty delicious, especially with the honey. Sitting on the slate dish, it might be mistaken for feta, but it has a much softer, with a lighter flavor to it.

Then we tried the Fromager D’ Affinois and I had what can only be described as a cheese orgasm. It’s a creamy cheese that filled me with nothing but inner warmth and goodness. I could eat this with honey, almonds, by itself with any meal. Bailey informed us that even the rinds are edible; they’re a little saltier but still tasty stuff.

After that, we tried some Coupole from Vermont. It was soft and tangy and tasted great with fresh thyme. Next up was Pecorino Toscano, a sheep cheese from Italy that I dream of making a decadent oversized grilled cheese sandwiches with.

The next phase of our gastronomic adventure involved switching from the softer cheeses paired with a Sauvignon Blanc to hard cheeses paired with a Syrah. The first hard cheese was Montaigne du Jura, a Swiss Mountain cheese, and we could tell our cows had been feasting on green onions before they were milked. The Grana Padano we sampled next would be a great replacement for Parmiggiano-Reggiano in any recipe that calls for it.

 

I thought I had peaked early on our cheese journey with the Fromager D’Affinois, until we came across Tome D’ Aquitaine, a washed-rind goat’s milk cheese from France. This was so good I felt my feet start to swing under the table, a habit from childhood that happens whenever I’m eating something really unbelievably yummy like banana-honey peanut butter sandwiches, strawberry milkshakes, and apparently, washed-rind goat’s milk cheese. Bailey explained washed-rind cheeses are packed with harmless bacteria called b-linens, hence the stink. Some people are b-linens people and some aren’t, but I was too distracted by deliciousness to really pay attention. Apparently, I’m a b-linens gal. One of the best things I learned from the class is to give those stinky cheeses a try because b-linens mean yum-o.

Sadly I wasn’t a fan of our last cheese, Shropshire, which is a blue cheese. The flavor of blue cheese has always been too pungent for me. Shropshire was a little lighter then most, but it’s never been my thing. However, if you’re a blue cheese lover, this one is quite a looker with a bright orange color contrasting with pretty veins of blue.

As a teenager living overseas in Italy (as an air force brat), I loved spending Saturday afternoons at the outdoor market, looking at sweaters, picking out fruits, mushrooms, and flowers, but there was one cart usually separated from the pack at the far end of the market and the smell kept me away. That of course was the cheese cart, and how wrong I was to avoid it. There’s no food I’ve tried and regretted for trying, there are only foods I regret not giving a chance sooner.

Cheese 101 Classes @ Forward Foods