lunch at mckraut's.

a couple of weeks ago, we somehow ended up visiting talofofo falls, in the southern part of guam. the south is less populated than the rest of the island, gorgeously scenic, and relatively unspoiled. however, one's choices of eating establishments are severely limited, so it was a pleasant surprise to find a little shack named mckraut's just down the road.



face it, you're not going to mistake this for a fine dining establishment--it's a burger and 'dog shack just a few feet off the main road, in front of the owner's front yard, with two plastic picnic tables and a few chairs under canvas canopies off to one side.



despite the simple but sweet appearance, there are a few surprises on the menu as alternatives to the typical burger and chili dog fare--a grilled salmon or marlin filet sandwich, ground chicken burgers, bratwurst on a basil topped bread loaf, and
a bratwurst with curry ketchup, which i'm told is very popular.



i honestly don't know what the qualities of a good bratwurst are, but this one wasn't bad--juicy, flavourful in a meaty way but not a spicy way, and tender in that way that only processed meats can be. springy. is that good? i feel like that should be good. it was a little smothered by the curry ketchup, but luckily the condiment went well with the surprisingly fantastic french fries. nenes, mckraut's is 26 miles away from the center of town, which is a big deal on an island only 32 miles long; however, as i am typing this, i am considering making that journey just for these french fries--piping hot, with a crispy outside that snaps to a tender fluffy inside, and actually tastes like potatoes. so very, very, very good and quite reasonably priced at $2.50 for a double order, which was like a small haystack. the chicken burger was tasty as well, fresh and juicy, with a homemade vinegar-based cabbage slaw on the side. i'm told the hot dogs were excellent, just a standard all-beef dog, but i can't give any other details as the teenagers with me scarfed down four of them in under 2 minutes, so there aren't any photos, but that has to be some sort of ringing endorsement.


see sweaty kid with the half-eaten pastry? that's anthony, he was our chef for the day. he wasn't sweating when he cooked our food, and he's really nice, so say hi next time you're in the village.

mckraut's (how crazy is that name?) is also a little ice cream stand, with prepackaged ice cream treats--in fact, when i was there, little kids from throughout the village would bike over for a soda or an itzakadoozie (my personal fave), cornetto or sundae bar, which i found rather charming, as i don't ever see that sort of thing anymore. just like the south in the mainland, life goes at a slower pace, and is far more relaxed. in fact, you can't really call mckraut's "fast" food, as you'd be lucky to get your order in under 15 minutes. but if you are going to be strolling on a fine sunday afternoon, or need a little repast after spending time at the falls, you can do no better than this little hot dog stand in the south.

mckraut's
route 4, about a half mile from the talofofo falls turn off
malojloj
671.828.4248.

book 'em and cook 'em

more fodos on flickr!

ah, the cookbook meme, as brought forth by anthony. this is a self-activating meme, with no conditioners, so feel free to bring forth and multiply.

1. Rationale behind what we're seeing?
books in a bookshelf. where they belong, unlike the other 50% which are scattered over the floor, still tucked in boxes and crates, or back in the familial homestead. i've been in this place for two years, and this is as far as i've gotten. they're not in any particular order (unlike my other books).



2. Most recommended?
bill granger's "sydney food", especially if you live in the southern hemisphere or in a mostly tropical clime and are not particularly adept in the kitchen. it's a great starter book, the recipes are pared down to the essentials, most of the ingredients are available throughout asia and the americas, and for pure satisfaction purposes, the food turns out exactly like it does in the photos.

3. Cookbook that made you what you were?
what i was? cookbooks don't make me, manny, my family does. however, if one did, it might be "city cuisine" by mary sue milliken and susan feniger. although my mother's and my family's cooking defines me foodily, city café in los angeles probably shaped my tastebuds more than any other restaurant. the only way to describe the food is fresh and precise. although, it's really mary sue and susan, i reckon, not really the book.

the cookbook that defines me as a blogger, though, is def. "sydney food"....

4. Porniest cookbook?
definitely "intercourses: an aphrodisiac cookbook" which is not about the food, nenes, it's about the hotty bodies smeared with warm chocolate. paula deen's books get a mention because of the obscene amount of butter and cream in every recipe, and the lack of photos, so it's all left to your imagination. my current pillow book, though, is tetsuya wakuda's eponymous book, which is spare, sleek, and positively straining under the hidden sexuality trying to bust out of its austere sensuality. all about the texture, baby, you have to feel it.

5. Sophie's Choice cookbook?
you mean, what book compels me to speak in a fake accent for three and a half hours? i would rather lose them all than save just one. i'm talking about cookbooks, folks!

6. If you were a cookbook, which cookbook would you be?
where to sin in san francisco by steve mcgarrett himself, jack lord. not strictly about food, but neither am i.

7. If your cookbook were extremely valuable, so valuable you might hide it with other valuables, where would that place be?
guam.


truthfully, i love my food magazines more.

thanks anthony! it was fun, but i think i put everyone (including myself) to sleep!

more fun with raspberries and custard

something to do with any leftovers you may have if you made the tarts in the previous post: freeze the custard until half frozen, then run it through a blender or food processor until the frozen chunks have broken down. return to the freezer, and repeat the process several times until it reaches a thicker-than-smoothie consistency, then fold the smooshed up fruit into the frozen custard, and hey ho, let's go, it's raspberry ice cream! i had mine with tiny sago tapioca pearls in cream, and mochi flavoured with matcha green tea powder (the recipe can be found here). chewy, creamy, fruity, tea-y--wheeee.

raspberry custard tarts

brightness in every bite: a very simple pie crust dough, with custard and fresh raspberries. any ripe berry will work, and if they are too tart, a little shoogyshake of confectioner's sugar on top will do ya!

lunch at firefly.

CLOSED 30 april 2009



despite the previous rant, my cousin and i had a mild dilemma over where to go to lunch. mexican for cinco de mayo or japanese for kodomo no-hi? dilemma was solved when we drove by firefly bistro and the temptation of good and sometimes funky food in a somewhat chic yet somehow funky setting won out.



food today: a lightly spicy fried calamari, with a garlic mayonnaise, and the firefly house salad of mixed greens, toasted pine nuts, golden raisins, bleu cheese and balsamic vinaigrette. the calamari was plentiful, lightly but perfectly fried without a trace of grease, and stayed crispy even though it did get cold before we finished it (hey, it was a big pile). i like the salad a lot, as there's a nice blend of sweet and sour with the raisins and vinaigrette, with a touch of meatiness in the pine nuts and mustiness of the bleu cheese. my cousin thinks it's a little overwhelming, and would rather have one or two of the ingredients omitted for a cleaner taste.



so, even though we bagged the themes, we did manage to find one item that actually seemed to be both latino and japanese, the honduran ceviche: raw yellowfin tuna marinated in a lime-ginger vinaigrette and coconut milk, and served with red corn tortilla chips. this was sean, the server's suggestion and it was excellent, despite how weird it may seem. the fresh, sweet, yellowfin tuna chunks were slightly "cooked" by the marinade, and the sweet, clean taste of the fish was enhanced by the coconut milk and the slightly salty, toasty tortilla chips.

the chef, veronica perez-calvo, also owns the bakery next door, cup and saucer, so firefly rather excels at desserts, but we were quite full, so i'll have to leave those for another time.

firefly bistro
martyr street, in the pink building
hågatña
671.477.2565.

kodomo-no-hi

okay, someone explain to me why cinco de mayo is more popular in the united states than in mexico, especially considering it does not commemorate mexican independence day, but la batalla de la puebla, when mexican forces defeated napoleon's army in 1862. how does this figure more prominently in american history than mexico's independence that it is considered a fairly noteworthy day of celebration? also, why is this "foreign" holiday more interesting than the national japanese holiday of kodomo no hi, children's day, which is also celebrated on the fifth of may? kodomo no hi celebrates the respect of children and of promoting their general welfare, along with gratitude towards parents for raising their children well, while i think for the american majority cinco de mayo promotes drinking and partying but not necessarily the respect of the mexican culture. come to think of it, does the united states even have a national holiday that is about the mutual respect of children and their parents?

anyway, i'm not particularly well-versed in the rituals of children's day, but i do like what it stands for, and i'm happy that there's a big enough japanese community on island to enjoy some of the festivities. if you have children or if you are lucky to still have your parents around, maybe you can honour the day in your own little way, in regards to them. and hopefully it will be reciprocated. i'm sure it will.

eomeote #6!!!!! pain perdu blah-blah

good god y'all! i need to take some french lessons and fast, 'cause in english, this sounds funky bad: french toast with chestnut vanilla creme and frozen egg custard. i'm guessing in french it would be pain perdu au crème marrons vanille et glace à base de crème anglaise. >phew< oh, don't quote me--i took spanish!

oh, and this is my take on a japanese dessert, which i assume is a take on an american breakfast, with french embellishments.

how does this stack up? well, me lovelies, eeet ees like zeees: three slices of japanese-style american-style sandwich white bread (as opposed to japanese-style american-style not sandwich white bread) were thinly spread with chestnut vanilla cream, stacked, crusts trimmed, then dipped in an eggy milk mix and browned in butter. a simple custard was made, cooled, poured into a ziplocky-type sandwich bag, then thrown into the freezer, only to be mauled and pummeled every 15 minutes until a creamy frozen confection was formed. really. it works. in hindsight, i should've pulled out the ice cream maker but eh. so it took a few hours and is not as super mega mondo creamy as it could be. it was only creamy creamy. didn't stop me any.

i got egg, i got toast--eomeote, out!

faux taho

winnie mentioned that she would try to make tofu from a mix for the hiya-yakko from the previous post, and if it didn't work, she'd just pour ginger sauce on it. funnily, as i was reading that, i was digging into a piece of kinu tofu with ginger sauce myself. the dessert itself is a very soft tofu served with a brown sugar ginger sauce; in the philippines it's called taho, i think in chinese it's tau huay or something close to that. usually it's served warm, but in manila, you can get it ice cold, which is quite refreshing on a hot day. like today. like yesterday. ayyyyyyyy. anyway, silken tofu is a pretty decent substitute for the real thing.

ginger sauce

2 c water
1 thumbsized (or longer if you've got a small thumb) knob of ginger, peeled and thinly sliced
1/3 c brown sugar

boil the ginger, water and sugar for at least 10 minutes. the longer you boil, the spicier it gets; alternately, take it off the heat and leave to cool in the fridge overnight. strain the ginger pieces out and discard, or save for whatever reason you might like brown sugared ginger. serve warm or cold, poured over silken tofu.

she who eats what she who eats ate.

it's hot. it's like africa hot. can't think, won't cook, thank you thank you tokyo mart for the new shipment of kinu tofu, 'cause now i can have what chika's eating.

a warning: the endless loop: you could be stuck in these two posts forever.

imbb 14, pt. 2: passionfruit pannacotta

passionfruit jelly and soy milk pannacotta with fresh mango and pineapple. vegan, since it's made with agar, and easy, easy, easy.


passionfruit jelly layer

1 tsp agar agar powder
1/2 c passionfruit pulp or syrup
1/2 c water

1. bring the passionfruit pulp thinned with about 1/4 c water to a boil. sprinkle agar on 1/4 c of cold water and leave until softened. add to the passionfruit pulp, and return to a boil, stirring constantly.

2. pour into molds or glass bowls and leave until cool, then refrigerate until just set.


soy milk pannacotta layer

1 tsp agar agar powder
1 1/4 c soy milk
sugar (optional)

1. bring 1 c of the soymilk to a boil. sprinkle agar on remaining 1/4 c of cold soymilk and leave until softened. add sugar to taste, and return to a boil, stirring constantly.

2. leave until cool, then pour onto the just set passionfruit layer. refrigerate until set. unmold to serve.

imbb 14: tamales gisu

foodgoat hosts this edition of imbb, and the theme is orange! we guamish folk love our orange food--we have orange rice, orange turnovers, and orange stews, mainly due to a staple of the chamorro kitchen, achote--better known as annatto, or achiote. the orange colour comes from the seeds in the pods of bixa orellana (no, not the guy from einstürzende neubauten--although, ha! he was a bad seed), which was supposedly brought over to the island during the spanish exploration days, but has been documented in ancient legend, so i can't say that it was used in emulation of the spaniards' predilection for saffron, but maybe it was. if you know, let me know.

tamales, certainly, were brought over by the explorers, as versions of this are found all throughout latin america and in the philippines, down to the creamsicle-y half orange-half white aspect. made from masa harina and chicken broth, then steamed in banana leaf wrappers, these little savoury gems are a little more work than i am willing to tackle, so these were made by my friend's auntie. thank you auntie! they were delicious. and thank you foodgoat and lady goat, for hosting this time around.

tamales gisu

red tamale:
1/3 c achote seeds
1/2 lb smoky bacon, chopped
1/2 medium onion, diced
1 head garlic, minced
3-4 thai bird or other hot chili peppers, finely minced or ground in a mortar and pestle
1 tbsp salt
1 c white cornmeal or grits, toasted
1 c cornstarch
2-3 c chicken broth, made from stewing chicken simmered with garlic and onion in water, with the cooked, finely shredded chicken meat added in

1. soak achote seeds in 1 c of water until colour has been extracted, usually overnight. discard the seeds.

2. sautée the bacon, garlic, and onion until transparent. add the achote water. add the chili peppers, salt, black pepper and a cup or two of chicken stock. bring to a full boil and slowly stir in the cornmeal until a thick paste has been formed, roughly 10 minutes.

3. dilute cornstarch in 1 to 2 c water. stir in cornstarch mixture and simmer for a few minutes, stirring constantly. remove from heat and stir occasionally.


white tamale:
1/2 medium onion, diced
1 head garlic, minced
1 tbsp salt
1 to 2 c masa harina
2-3 c chicken broth, made from stewing chicken simmered with garlic and onion in water, with the cooked, finely shredded chicken meat added in

1. sautée the garlic and onion until transparent. add salt and a cup or two of chicken stock. bring to a full boil and slowly stir in the masa harina until a soft paste has been formed.

2. remove from heat. cool both mixtures.

assembly:

1. wrap a couple tablespoonfuls of red tamale mixture next to a couple tablespoonfuls of white tamale mixture in a banana leaf or foil. secure well, then steam until cooked.

green tea-ramisu

a classic tiramisu recipe, made not so classicly with matcha, japanese green tea, and a touch of cointreau.


green tea tiramisu

3 egg yolks
1/3 c white caster sugar
8oz mascarpone cheese
1 c heavy cream
1 tsp vanilla extract
cointreau, or any orange flavoured liqueur
powdered green tea, mm-mm-matcha
1-2 c brewed green tea, cooled
3 egg whites***
savoiardi (ladyfingers)

1. beat the egg yolks and sugar in a bowl set over pan of simmering water, until the mixture is pale yellow. add the mascarpone cheese and beat until smooth and creamy.
2. in a separate bowl, whip the cream. add vanilla and orange liqueur.
3. in yet another bowl, beat the egg whites to stiff peaks. ***note: i forgot the egg whites altogether, but i think it still worked out well, so i'm going to say this is optional
4. fold the mascarpone mixture into the cream until blended.
5. add egg whites and fold gently until blended. (obv also optional)
6. dip ladyfingers into the brewed green tea, then layer them on the bottom of a serving dish. spread the creamy stuff on top, and repeat layers.
7. refrigerate at least a couple of hours; 24 is nice.
8. dust with powdered matcha just before serving.

update 04 october 2006: some talk in the comments about the actual source of this recipe--more about this in this post.

pineapple with rosemary sugar

this was a flukey experiment because i woke up really wanting pineapple with basil-mint sugar, which is proven lovely but the only fresh herb i had was rosemary, so hooo. it was interesting.

herbal sugars are fun and inexpensive culinary additions to play with; all you need is sugar and herbs and you can go to town--minty sugar on citrus fruit in the morning, lemon myrtle sugar with tea at noon, or perhaps a lavender sugar on a chocolate cupcake for dessert. fresh is usually the way to go, but you'll have to experiment with proportions and perhaps preparation. since this was a spur of the moment thing, i just finely chopped up some fresh rosemary along with white caster sugar, as i normally do this with mint or basil. the aroma was wonderful, and at first taste, i was pleased. however, because the herb was so pungent, it began to leave a medicinal aftertaste. i think next time i try this, i will make the sugar in advance, infusing the flavour slowly, like vanilla sugar, for a mellower effect.

not that it was a complete loss. i am never that far away from my blowtorch, so i torched the pineapple and sugar, which did it a world of wonders--the rosemary mellowed out, and the burnt sugar and caramel worked well with the intensified pineapple taste. i threw in some yogurt cheese and had me a fine, fresh feast to start my sunny day.





basil-mint sugar

fistful of fresh mint and basil
1/4 to 1/2 cup of white caster sugar

mush everything together in a mortar and pestle, or sprinkle the sugar on the herbs while chopping to help facilitate the process.



rosemary sugar

1 or 2 fresh rosemary branches
white caster or brown sugar

place the rosemary branches into a tall, wide mouthed jar upright. pour in enough sugar to cover the rosemary completely, close jar tightly and keep in a cool, dark place for one or two weeks, shaking gently if you remember, but no worries if you don't.



yogurt cheese

1 container of plain yogurt, i used whole milk but you can use anything that doesn't contain gelatin

line a strainer or colander set over a bowl with several layers of cheesecloth, or a clean kitchen linen, or several layers of a good paper towel. dump the cheese in, leave it to drain overnight in the fridge. in the morning, discard the whey, squeeze out a little more liquid from the yogurt. they say you can use it like cream cheese, but i've never had it come to a proper consistency for that, so try it with fruit and/or cereal, or on top of a warm cake or muffin.

imbb 14: orange you hungry?

the esteemed duo of foodgoat and ladygoat host this month's is my blog burning?, the theme: orange you hungry?, which is fantastically not just about oranges but of all orange-hued food. eeeeep! foodgoat is a great blog, this is a great theme, and orange is the new pink, bebes, so start thinking--the deadline is sunday april 24th.

teaching the haole kids about SPAM, one slab at a time

mr. gold takes a journey into SPAM


cocktail SPAM musubi

cooked short-grained white rice
one can of luncheon meat (guess)
furikake or nori seaweed sheets
1/4 cup each of water, soy sauce, sugar, and mirin

1. place the water, soy sauce, sugar, and mirin in a shallow pan over medium low heat, allowing the sugar to dissolve. bring it to a simmer, and allow the sauce to reduce.
2. cut the luncheon meat into 1/4" inch slabs, and dip into the sauce, coating on both sides. remove the sauce from the pan, and brown the luncheon meat.
3. place the cooked rice into a ringed mold, cookie cutter or small can and tamp down lightly but firmly. you want the rice to hold together, but you don't want to smoosh it. sprinkle the rice with furikake, if you have it. unmold.
4. cut the browned luncheon meat with the same mold or cutter used for the rice. lay the cut meat on the rice, and brush some of the simmered sauce on top. if you are using nori, cut a square of nori to fit the top, and add as garnish.

the ocd: stacking problem

when i go out to eat, i have an uncontrollable urge to stack all the plates on the table.

mondo tropicaux au go go muffin

soundtrack: serge gainsbourg's couleur café

mondo tropicaux au go go (avec noix de coco): a big, big muffin with bananas and coconut, topped with a pineapple ring, brûléed banana, and a light dusting of more coconut. i cribbed the name from laurie's imbb entry, but it's not the same muffin 't'all (although hers sounds really lovely, once translated). anyway, it sounds much better in french, mais oui? bananes, ananas, et coco oh my!

the recipe is basically adapted from jill dupleix's banana muffins recipe, but i added an extra banana to the two in her recipe, 50g of dessicated medium flake unsweetened coconut (the one that looks like dandruff, not the sweet stringy stuff), omitted the cinnamon, and baked it in one of those jumbonormous muffin tins. generally, i stay away from giant muffins, but i really, really, really wanted to put a pineapple ring on top, so jambo-jumbo it was. for the topping, i added the pineapple ring halfway through the baking time, about ten minutes in, although in the future, i might add it earlier so it sinks in a little more. the reason i didn't add it at the beginning of baking is because i thought the ring might sink to the middle, which wouldn't get me anywhere. after baking and cooling, i stuck a slice of banana in the middle of the pineapple ring, sprinkled some sugar on top and blowtorched it until browned nicely, then sprinkled more coconut on that.

the texture is much lighter than most of these stodgy big things are, with a finer crumb than i see in most muffins. the flavour of the cake is wholly dependent on how good your bananas are--look for the sweetest, gloopiest bananas you can find. the pineapple adds a nice, fresh counterpoint, and the brûléed banana is just a bit of fun for you, and you alone to enjoy. unless gwen stefani asks for it, and then i suggest you give it to her because why? holla! B - A - N - A - N - A - S !!!

eomeote #5: baked sweet potato with egg and harissa

sweet potato seasoned with harissa (a north africa chili and spice paste), baked with an egg, and topped with breadcrumbs. this is actually an entry for bomtoe #1: beginning of the month toast on egg, but because that doesn't actually exist, i'm sneaking this in to eomeoteo(ohweeohweeoh)#5, hosted by the most passionate of cooks, why it's the passionate cook, with the salvo that if you dump this on the floor upside down, it would be well within the guidelines.

ingredients:
1 sweet potato, scrubbed clean
harissa-a spicy chili pepper sauce from north africa (you can buy it or here's a recipe) or use any chili-garlic sauce
1 egg
panko bread crumbs
melted butter or olive oil

1.prepare the sweet potato for baking, and bake in a preheated oven at 200C/Fan 180C/400F/Gas Mark 6 for 40-50 minutes until sweet potato is tender.
2. wrap the base of the potato in foil, then cut an 'X' on top. scoop out the flesh and mix with the harissa or chili sauce to your liking. return mixture to potato, making a little well in the middle.
3. crack egg into the well, then sprinkle the top with panko bread crumbs. drizzle with melted butter or olive oil.
4. continue baking for 8 to 10 minutes until egg is cooked to your preference.

raging yoghurt cupcake

a fresh strawberry cupcake with whipped strawberry yogurt frosting. it was inspired by bowb's fabbo blog, raging yoghurt. why does her yoghurt rage? it doth not rage for me.

the all cupcakes, all the time girls got to this cake before me--literally--and have the scoop on the yogurt frosting.

the supreme segmenting supremes segment

i don't know why i'm so fascinated by this but i am. you know those citrus segments you sometimes get that don't have all the pithy rind on it? they actually have a name: supremes. isn't that crazy? i think it's crazy.

here's how to segment an orange:

1. cut the top and bottom off of the rind. stand the orange on one end and cut down the sides to peel the orange. remove as much of the white membrane as you can.

2. use a sharp knife to cut the orange segments at a slight angle between the membrane and lift the segment out carefully.

3. squeeze out any juice from the remaining carcass.



ladies and gentlemen, i give you the supremes!