Kimchi Shepherd's Pie

Kimchi. That deliciously aged spicy cabbage, first created in Korean then used to make this unholy fusion. Kimchi tends to scare a lot of people away at least in America. I think it should be embraced and added to recipes that often call for cabbage for some extra spice. I mean what's more boring than shepard's pie? It's just meat and potatoes. That's why I wanted to try this combination and believe me it definitely paid off. The sweetness of the Japanese yams combined with the beef and tangy kimchi works perfectly together. If you're curious about kimchi and want to branch out I recommend starting with this recipe and then exploring more kimchi opportunities until you start putting it on everything.

Kimchi Shepherd's Pie

• 1 lbs. Ground Beef
• 1 lbs Spicy Kimchi
• 1 tablespoon Olive Oil
• 1/3 cup Onion diced
• 2 cloves Garlic minced
• 1/2 teaspoon Salt
• 2 medium Japanese Yams peeled and cubed
• 1 tablespoon Seaweed or Kombu if you have it
• 1 tablespoon Whole Milk
• 2 tablespoons Unsalted Butter

1.  Throw the seaweed into 6 cups of water in a large sauce pan. Bring to a boil. Add the yams. Cook until fork tender.
2. Preheat the oven to 375°
3. In a separate pan add the olive oil and heat over medium. Saute the onions and garlic until caramelized. Add the beef and salt. Stir until all the beef is slightly browned. Dump the kimchi into the beef pan. Reduce to low heat and stir occasionally while preparing the next step.
4. Using a food processor or a potato masher turn the cubed yams into a nice puree consistency. Add the butter and milk continue mashing or blending until all the ingredients are incorporated. 
5. Using a slotted spoon scoop the kimchi beef into a small casserole pan. Try not to add the juices to the pan. Using a rubber spatula evenly spread the yams over the beef and place in the oven. After 5 minutes switch the broiler on high and cook until the edges start to brown. 
6. Enjoy! I served mine with fried pineapple!

Photos by Katy Weaver!

Spicy Maple Gruyere Stuffed Chicken Breasts

The thing about Asian fusion is that as soon as lime juice and ginger comes into play it turns any dish into Asian fusion. I didn't set out to make this Spicy Maple Gruyere Stuffed Chicken Breast an Asian fusion dish, but I needed something to contrast the sweet chicken. An acidic slaw seemed like the obvious counterpart, and I happened to have lime and ginger. Next thing you know a delicious pear and ginger slaw appeared. Okay, it did take a little work, but every part seemed to work beautifully together just like a 90's boy band. I recommend making this dish if you like delicious food and want a little bit of a challenge. 

Spicy Maple Gruyere Stuffed Chicken Breasts

2 servings

• 2 Chicken Breasts
• 4 oz. Gruyere sliced thinly
• 1/2 cup Maple Syrup
• 1 teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes
• 1/2 teaspoon Olive Oil
• Pinch of Sea Salt
• 6 Toothpicks

1. Preheat the oven to 375°.
2. Tear off about 3' of plastic wrap and lay it on a clean countertop.
3. Take your chicken breast and lay them out as flat as possible on the plastic wrap. Using the sharpest knife you have cut the breast so it becomes as flat as possible. To do this, make cuts vertically perpendicular to the connective tissue. Do not cut all the way through the breast! Be sure the skin is still in tact. 
4. Place the slices of gruyere in the chicken breast. Roll the chicken up like it's a sushi roll. Make sure the meat is nice and tight and stick three toothpicks in each breast. These will ensure the chicken stays in tact throughout the cooking process. 
5. After each breast is prepped. Place the breasts in a cooking vessel, most likely a small casserole pan. Drizzle the olive oil on top of each breast. Sprinkle the salt on. Then drench it in the maple syrup. Split the red pepper flakes between the two breasts.
6. Place in the oven for 25 minutes. Every 5 minutes scoop the excess syrup in the pan and drizzle over the breasts. Once the inside of the breasts have reached a temperature of 165° take out of the oven and serve with the Pear & Ginger Slaw. 
7. Enjoy!

Pear & Ginger Slaw

• 1 Pear diced
• 1 Carrot grated
• 1 tablespoon Fresh Ginger grated
• 1 tablespoon Lime Juice
• 5 Baby Rainbow Chard Leaves cheffinated
• 4 leaves of Mint cheffinated
• 6 leaves Cilantro cheffinated
• 1 1/2 tablespoon Rice Wine Vinegar
• 1 tablespoon Sesame Seeds
• 1 tablespoon Sugar

1. Toss everything together in a large mixing bowl and let sit for at least 30 minutes. 
2. Yup that's it.

Photos by Katy Weaver

Pot Roast

It's week two of vintage month on Cooking with B.S.! And we're featuring the most the oldest recipe ever, cooked meat. There is something appealing about simplicity. Maybe it's having fewer dishes to clean up after the meal is cooked or perhaps it's when you don't muddle the meat with every spice under the sun its true flavor comes out. Or perhaps these vintage recipes remind us of a simpler time, a better time, a time before quinoa.

Pot Roast

• 1 lbs. Beef Roast
• 2 Carrots
• 5 Celery Stalks
• 1/2 Medium Yellow Onion
• 3 Potatoes
• Salt and Pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 375°
2. Coarsely chop all the vegetables except the potatoes. 
3. Place the roast in a pan or in a "pot" and add a dash of salt and pepper. Place the chopped vegetables around the roast.  Add another dash of salt and pepper to everything in the pot. Put the lid on the pot and place the pot in the oven. 
4. Bake for 15 minutes. Stir all the vegetables around and turn the roast over. Cook for another 15 minutes.
5. Coarsely cut up the potatoes and add to the pot. Continue cooking for another 30 minutes.
6. Slice and serve. 

Photos by Katy Weaver

Classy Joes (Sloppy Joes)

If you're a regular visitor of this blog you know that I tend to make recipes that are a little more on the creative side. This has never been and never will be a Pinterest baking blog filled with quinoa and Oreo filled recipes. Instead of appealing to the masses I would rather move the culinary arts forward and present my reimagining of a school cafeteria staple, the Classy Joe. Sure the Classy Joe seems like a twisted pipe dream of a hairy lunch lady with aspirations of getting a Michelin Star.

Fun fact! When fried purple potatoes turn brown!

Gettin' saucy!

Classy Joes (Sloppy Joes)

• Challah Bread cubed 2x2 in
• 1/2 lbs Tri Tip Steak
• 1/2 cup Onion minced
• 1/2 cup Green Bell Pepper minced
• 1 Egg
• 1/3 cup Milk

Sauce

• 1/2 cup Ketchup
• 2 teaspoons Mustard Seed ground
• 2 tablespoons Worcester Sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
• 1 teaspoon Garlic Salt
• 2 tablespoons Apple Cider Vinegar
• 2 tablespoons Brown Sugar

1. Mix all the sauce ingredients together in a small bowl. 
2. Be sure all the prep work gets done, like cutting the bread and mincing the vegetables, to ensure the dish gets created properly.
3. Make a egg and milk bath in a shallow small bowl. 
4. Cook the steak over medium high heat, one minute on the first side then one minute on the other side. Or just cook the steak to your liking.
5. Coat the bread cubes in the egg bath then sort of press the vegetables into the moist cube. Cook in a skillet over medium heat until goldenish brown (the cubes will be green thanks to the bell peppers.
6. Once you have a few cubes cooked then you plate how you wish. I made a column with my meat and bread topped with a slice of black radish and green onion. I also served it with some purple fingerling potato fries, that sort of turned brown after I fried them. 

As always Photos by Katy Weaver!

Split Pea Soup with Fish & Mint Meringues

If you're a fan of this blog then you know that unusual combinations are sort of a running theme and this post is no different. The idea for fish meringues sprouted in my mind after a trip to the local Asian grocery store. It seemed too weird to be terrible. The fish meringues are like little pillows swimming atop a sea of green. The two work together to create a surprising perfect early spring dish. 

I don't have anything funny to say about this post. But I do have a warning: if you decide to eat more than two servings of this split pea soup in one day, prepare for some green poops. Just accept it and own it. Maybe you can eat a bunch of this soup on March 16th then everything about you can be festive for St. Patricks day!

Split Pea Soup

• 1 lbs. (16 oz) Split Peas
• Chicken or Vegetable Stock
• 1/2 large Onion diced 
• 1 tablespoon Olive Oil
• 2 cloves Garlic minced
• 1/2 cup Milk
• 1/2 cup Water
• 1 teaspoon Coriander
•  Salt & Pepper to taste
• Spinach

1. Saute the onion and garlic in the olive oil in a medium to large sauce pan over medium high heat. Add the coriander, salt and pepper. Continue sauteing until the onions are golden brown. 
2. Add the peas. Saute the peas with the onions for a few minutes. 
3. Add the stock, milk and water. Increase the heat to high and bring to a boil. Stir occasionally.
4. Reduce the heat to a simmer. Simmer for 20-30 minutes. Stir occasionally.
5. Add half of the spinach to a food processor. Pour the soup into the food processor. Add the rest of the spinach and blend together for a minute.  
6. Serve in a bowl with the meringues and extra virgin olive oil.

Fish & Mint Meringues

• 3 Egg Whites
• 1 teaspoon Sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon Cream of Tartar
• 1/4 teaspoon Fish Sauce
• 1 teaspoon Mint Leaves minced
• 1/4 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 325°
2. In a large mixing bowl whisk the egg whites with an electric mixer on medium speed until they get really foamy and bubbly, I'm sure there's some French term for this.
3. Add the sugar and cream of tartar. Continue beating the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Whisk in the fish sauce, mint, and cayenne. 
4. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Scoop out the meringue with a teaspoon and make dollops of meringue on the sheet. They don't have to be fancy, they're going to be crumbled up anyway.
5. Bake at 325° for 12 minutes. After the 12 minutes, turn the oven off and leave the meringues in the oven for another 10 minutes.  Take the meringues out of the oven and let them cool until the outer shell is hard. 
6. Once the meringues are cooled crumble them up and serve on top of the split pea soup.

All these peautiful picture taken by Katy Weaver