Make the most of those end-of-winter persimmons with this creamy baked ricotta.
Spike Gjerde, the James Beard Award–winning chef at restaurants like A Rake’s Progress in Washington, D.C., and Woodberry Kitchen in Baltimore, approaches local sourcing with religious fervor. He forgoes olive oil and lemons, using locally grown and pressed oils and vinegars in their place. His team dries mint, lavender, peaches, and cherries—and even makes garlic powder. He refuses to buy from distributors, even when they buy from local growers, because he wants every penny to go the farm. “A lot of people say, ‘Wow, this is harder than I thought.’ Then they just call [giant distributor] Sysco. But it’s why we’re doing it,” Gjerde says. “Our job is to get more value back to growers.”This recipe, from A Rake’s Progress, is inspired by Gjerde’s relationship with local makers and purveyors. Hoshigaki are Japanese persimmons that have been dried and massaged to evenly distribute their sugars. Gjerde shaves them and scatters them over baked ricotta to make an indulgent but healthy snack.
Active: 15 mins Total: 1 hr Yield: 6
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups sheep’s milk ricotta cheese
1 large egg
1 teaspoon medium-grind sea salt (such as J.Q. Dickinson)
2 tablespoons Herb Oil
1/4 ounce hoshigaki (Japanese dried persimmons), shaved on a mandoline (about 2 tablespoons)
Grilled bread, for serving
Directions:
Step 1
Preheat oven to 350°F. Stir together ricotta, egg, and salt in a medium bowl. Transfer ricotta mixture to a small (3-cup) crock or gratin dish. Bake in preheated oven until ricotta mixture is puffed and golden brown in spots, 45 to 50 minutes. Drizzle herb oil over baked ricotta, and top with shaved hoshigaki. Serve hot with grilled bread.
Chicken Kastu is a Japanese version of battered and fried boneless chicken pieces. It can be eaten as a main dish or as part of a noodle or rice bowl where slices of the fried chicken is placed on top of noodles or rice. If you place it over rice it’s called Katsu Donburi which is a Chicken Katsu rice bowl with eggs.
Katsu Don is one of my favorite Japanese comfort foods. It’s very similar to my favorite Tendon or Tempura Donburi. It’s pretty much made the same way, but instead of topping it off with Shrimp Tempura you top it off with sliced Chicken Katsu.
So to make Katsu Don I make a couple of Chicken Katsu then use my recipe of Tendon. Easy peasy!
First you make the fried chicken, I prefer to use boneless skinless chicken thighs so it stays tender and juicy. I also find that thighs are tastier for this type of dish. But if you want to use boneless breasts you can, just pound it into a thin piece for easier cooking without burning the batter. I use Panko for breading, if you can’t find it at your grocery store you’ll definitely find it at an Asian Market. Or you can use plain breadcrumbs.
Rice Bowls have gotten very popular and come in endless types. But I’ve loved rice bowls long before they became all the rage. If you’re not familiar with rice bowls they’re basically a bowl of rice topped with pretty much anything you want. My favorite ones are Japanese Donburis.
Donburi is a rice bowl dish served in a bowl which in Japan are also called “donburi”. There are many different types of Donburi but the most popular ones are Tempura Donburi or better known as Tendon if it’s made with shrimp, Chicken or Pork Katsu Donburi also called Katsudon. You’ll also find Tempura Donburi with fish and vegetable tempuras, Teriyaki, and other types of popular Japanese dishes. Another basic ingredient of most Donburi dishes is egg meaning veggies and other ingredients are scrambled with eggs and a donburi sauce which is then placed on a bed of rice and topped with a desired tempura, katsu, or a preferred protein including teriyaki beef or chicken.
My long time favorite is Tendon or Shrimp Tempura Donburi. I’ve been enjoying this rice bowl since I first discovered it while I was in high school. I also like the Katsudon!
I’ve always been able to get my Tendon from most Japanese restaurants in my area, and since I live in Hawaii my neighborhood grocery store. But when the pandemic locked us down for a month I decided to try and make it at home, after all it’s just shrimp tempura, eggs, Kamaboko (fish cake) and veggies over a bed of rice. How hard could that be?
Making Tendon is actually pretty easy but it does require making Shrimp Tempura. Since I must make the tempura batter for the shrimp I also make vegetable tempura with zucchini, green beans, and pretty much what I have on hand.
Another important part of this or any Donburi is the sauce. The sauce is made with Mirin (a Japanese rice wine used for cooking), soy sauce, dashi (fish stock) and sugar. This give the dish it’s sweet salty taste that make it delicious! You can find all the ingredients at an Asian market. The Dashi usually is in powder form like boullion so you’ll have to mix it as directed to get the liquid stock.
Of course the “star” of this dish is the Shrimp Tempura. You can either use a tempura mix also found at the Asian market, or you can make your own batter. Either way the most important things to remember to make perfect tempura batter is to use ice cold water and to not over stir the batter, it needs to have some lumps in it. In fact the best way to stir this batter is with chopsticks, so leave your whisk or electric mixers out of it.
So here’s the recipe for both Shrimp Tempura (it’s the same batter for fish or vegetable tempura) and the Donburi itself. This recipe makes 2 bowls.
Tendon
Ingredients for the Tempura
1 Cup Flour, shifted
1 Egg
1 Cup water
Ice cubes for chilling water
4 Large Shrimp – shelled and deveined but leave the tail on, pat dry with paper towel
Cut vegetables – zucchini, green beans, etc. (optional)
1/8 Cup flour
Oil for frying
Ingredients for Sauce:
6 Tbs. Mirin
2 Tbs. Soy Sauce
3 Tbs. Liquid Dashi – mix Dashi powder as directed on the box
2 Tbs. Sugar
Ingredients for Donburi:
2 Eggs, beaten
1/2 Onion, sliced
1/2 Cup Shitake Mushrooms (optional)
1/2 Kamaboko, cut into thin strips (optional)
1/3 Cup Green Onions, chopped (optional)
1 Tbs. Oil
Donburi Sauce
2 Cups Cooked White Rice
Seaweed flakes (optional)
Directions to make Tempura:
Place about 2″ of oil in a pot and start to heat while you prepare the batter.
Place shifted flower in a bowl and set aside.
In another bowl slightly beat egg – beat until yolk and white is just combined.
Add ice to water until the water is chilled.
Remove ice and pour water in the bowl with the beaten egg.
Mix gently together.
Stir in flour, do not over mix there should be lumps in the batter. Use right away, if for some reason you can’t use it immediately place in the refrigerator for a few minutes until you’re ready to fry.
Place 1/8 cup of flour in a dish.
Test the oil temperature by dropping a small bit of batter in oil, if oil bubbles around the batter the oil is ready.
Roll shrimp or vegetable in the dish of flour, shake off excess.
Dip in batter, let excess batter drip off before adding into hot oil.
Place battered shrimp and veggies in hot oil to fry. Do not over crowd the pot, cook in batches if you have to.
Turn as needed to cook all sides. Tempura is done when the shrimp or vegetable starts to float.
Drain on rack and set aside.
Directions for the sauce:
Mix all sauce ingredients together in a small bowl and set aside until needed.
Directions for the Donburi:
Heat oil in a skillet.
Saute onions in skillet until it starts to go limp and clear
Add in Kamoboko, mushrooms, and green onions (reserve some as garnish if desired)
Cook about 3-4 minutes.
Add in Donburi Sauce and simmer for 1 minute.
Pour beaten egg over all and cook until egg is done.
Place 1 Cup of rice in each bowl.
Cute the Egg mixture in half and place a half over each bowl of rice.
Top with Shrimp and Vegetable (if you made some) Tempura and garnish with green onions and seaweed flakes
In another bowl slightly beat egg - beat until yolk and white is just combined.
Add ice to water until the water is chilled.
Remove ice and pour water in the bowl with the beaten egg.
Mix gently together.
Stir in flour, do not over mix there should be lumps in the batter. Use right away, if for some reason you can't use it immediately place in the refrigerator for a few minutes until you're ready to fry.
Place 1/8 cup of flour in a dish.
Test the oil temperature by dropping a small bit of batter in oil, if oil bubbles around the batter the oil is ready.
Roll shrimp or vegetable in the dish of flour, shake off excess.
Dip in batter, let excess batter drip off before adding into hot oil.
Place battered shrimp and veggies in hot oil to fry. Do not over crowd the pot, cook in batches if you have to.
Turn as needed to cook all sides. Tempura is done when the shrimp or vegetable starts to float.
Drain on rack and set aside.
Sauce
Mix all ingredients together and set aside until needed
Donburi
Heat oil in a skillet.
Saute onions in skillet until it starts to go limp and clear
Add in Kamoboko, mushrooms, and green onions (reserve some as garnish if desired)
Cook about 3-4 minutes.
Add in Donburi Sauce and simmer for 1 minute.
Pour beaten egg over all and cook until egg is done.
Divide cooked egg mixture in half and place one half on top of each bowl of rice.
Place 2 Shrimp Tempura & pieces of veggie tempura (if you made some) on top of egg.
Garnish with green onions and seafood flakes if desired.
This recipe for Southern pie by Felicity Cloake owes its name to its rich, dark cocoa base and chocolate custard, topped with a rum mousse and a cloud of whipped cream. Pure indulgence, Dixie style.
Ingredients
Oreo biscuits 24, (just shy of 2 packets)
unsalted butter 55g, melted
whole milk 500ml
eggs 4, separated
golden caster sugar 225g
cornflour 4 tsp
fine salt 1/4 tsp
dark chocolate 75g, finely chopped, plus a little extra to top
leaf gelatine 6 sheets
golden or dark rum 1 tbsp
vanilla extract 1 tsp
ground nutmeg 1/8 tsp
double cream 250ml
icing sugar 2 tbsp
Method
STEP 1
Whizz the Oreos to crumbs in a food processor, then add the melted butter and briefly whizz again. Press into a 23cm springform cake tin, cover and chill.
STEP 2
Gently bring the milk to a boil in a heavy-based saucepan. Meanwhile, whisk the egg yolks and half the caster sugar together in a large, heatproof bowl until paler in colour, then whisk in the cornflour and salt. Whisk as you pour the hot milk onto the yolks, then return to the pan and cook over a low heat, stirring, until the mixture coats the back of a wooden spoon. Take off the heat and pour half into a bowl, while this is cooling soak the gelatine in cold water until pliable. Squeeze the water out of 2 of the leaves. Stir the chocolate and these gelatine leaves into the pan with the custard mixture until they have melted, then pour onto the base. Chill.
STEP 3
Stir the rum, vanilla, nutmeg and remaining 4 gelatine leaves into the warm, reserved custard mixture and leave to cool completely.
STEP 4
Beat the egg whites to soft peaks, then add the remaining caster sugar and beat until the mixture is stiff and glossy. Fold this into the cooled custard, then spoon on top of the chocolate custard and chill until set – about 4 hours. Whip the cream and icing sugar to soft peaks, spoon on top of the pie, then shave a little chocolate over the top to serve.
There’s a bit of a nip in the air, even here in Hawaii it’s been rainy and gloomy. And Starbuck’s has added my seasonal favorites like Pumpkin Spice Latte! This can only mean Fall is here!
This time of year I get a yen for spice cookies, nothing smells better than oven fresh cookies. It fills the house with those delicious fall aromas like cinnamon and ginger. And since this year’s Halloween will probably be very different from Halloweens past cookie baking is one of the activities we’ve added to our yearly festivities. I mean Halloween parties (or parties of any type involving multiple people from different households) is out of the question and for our family and friends Trick or Treating is a no go too. Instead we’ve been making Halloween crafts, watching Halloween movies, and reading Halloween books. And now we’ll also be baking and decorating Halloween cookies.
These Sugar & Spice cookies are yummy without the icing. They’re great for all the Fall occasions including Halloween and Thanksgiving. That’s right one recipe different styles!
You can even use the same cookie cutter, well at least the pumpkin shape! And the same icing colors!
These cookies are so easy to bake and they are so yummy! To make them pretty I used royal cookie icing in 2 different consistencies, piping and flooding. I also saved some cookies and icing so the kids can decorate them next when they’re in the mood!
This cookie recipe makes a dough that is great for rolled and cut cookies without having to refrigerate it before cutting! Here’s the recipe for the cookie icing, the cookie recipe is below. Enjoy!
In the bowl of a stand mixer using the paddle attachment mix together meringue powder and water until frothy and all powder is dissolved.
Add 1/2 of the sugar and beat on medium speed about 4 minutes. It will be thick and glossy.
Add flavor, shortening, and corn syrup and mix well.
Slowly add in remaining sugar. Mix on slow/medium until well blended. Mix for another 3 minutes. It should be thick like a piping consistency. (if you want it really thick add another cup of sugar, this is used for hard decorations like roses, eyes, and more that you stick to the top of cookies and cakes.)
Cover bowl with plastic wrap or damp cloth to keep moist.
Divide to make different colors and consistencies.
To make flood icing thin with water but add 1/8 to 1/4 tsp water at a time until you get desired consistency. Flood icing should be a bit thin and runny, but not too runny and watery that it rolls off the sides of the cookie.
To decorate cookies place a small amount of icing in a small bowl and color using gel food coloring.
I usually color a bowl then separate it again so that I can change the consistency of a portion of the colored icing. I place the Piping or thicker consistency in a piping bag and the thinner flood icing in a plastic squeeze bottle.
Pipe a thin line of icing, piping consistency of course, around the edges of the cookies and any other place you want to separate the flood icing from. Let dry.
Squeeze flood icing on the cookie surface and spread out making sure it all stays inside the piped lines. Let dry.
Pipe other decorations onto to dry flood icing, like words, eyes, and designs.
Let everything dry completely and store in air tight containers.
