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May 1, 2019

Boterkoek

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Boterkoek (Dutch Butter Cake)

May 1: National Butter Day

Highlander flew on KLM Airlines once for a rare international business trip. After working in Germany for a week, he had a one-day stopover in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. He did not have time to find too many souvenirs in the city to bring home. But he got a free KLM miniature building as a passenger on business class as a gift. These Delft Blue collectibles contain genever (Dutch gin). Since 1952, and nearly every year since then, only business class passengers have received a miniature building on their flight. KLM commissions a new design annually. Highlander’s 2008 #74 design is worth the minimum but there are serious collectors who pay premium prices for some exclusive miniatures to complete their villages!

We can’t afford to fly business class and collect other cute mini houses. But we can easily make a mini Dutch butter cake. We halved the original recipe because it is rich (like people who can travel luxuriously on KLM), especially since we used European-style butter with a creamier and higher fat content. This type of butter makes this snack cake very flavorful. So splurge on this ingredient to make boterkoek on National Butter Day.

Recipe

(Adapted from AllRecipes.com)

Ingredients

  • ½ cup (1 stick) butter, softened (we used European style butter)
  • ¾ cup sugar, granulated white
  • ½ tablespoon almond extract
  • 1 egg
  • 1 ¼ cups flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • ¼ cup sliced almonds

Directions

In a large bowl, cream the butter with the sugar. Stir in the almond extract. Beat in the egg. Set asude, In another bowl, combine the flour with baking powder.

Gradually blend this into the butter mixture until smooth. The batter will be thick. Grease a 6-inch round cake pan. Press the batter into the pan. Sprinkle the sliced almonds over the top. Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes, testing the cake with a toothpick for doneness. Remove from the oven and let cool. Remove from the pan. Slice and serve.

Notes

  • Dutch butter cake is similar to the Swedish Visiting Cake and Spanish Ignacio almond cake recipes.
  • Serve boterkoek with tea and coffee.
  • Learn more about European butter vs. American butter from thekitchn.com website.
  • Search our blog for other Dutch recipes.

 

May 1, 2019

Meat Jun (Korean Meat Pancakes)

Posted by HI Cookery under 05 May | Tags: , , , |
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Meat Jun

(Korean Meat Pancakes)

May: National Beef Month

Our favorite Korean restaurant back in Hawaii is Yummy Korean BBQ.  It is informal, fast and relatively cheap for huge portions—and it lives up to its name! Islander and her ohana (family) order Korean plate lunches at the food court (Navy Exchange Pearl Harbor, Don Quijote/Daiei Waipahu, Ala Moana and Pearlridge centers) where Yummy Korean BBQ is located. As creatures of habit, Islander always gets kalbi, Highander orders bulgogi, Mommy and Daddy share a combo plate with barbecue beef and chicken and Islander’s brother gets meat jun.

Meat jun in Hawaii is basically soegogi-jeon in Korean. The pancakes are thinly sliced marinated pieces of meat, usually beef, dipped in flour and eggs and fried in a pan. It is a very flavorful food and we sometimes cook this for Islander’s brother when he visits us. It reminds us of the local ethnic cuisine from home as well as our good times together as ohana.

Make yummy memories—and meat jun—for the family during National Beef Month!

Recipe

(Adapted from Foodland)

Ingredients

  • 1 pound of beef ribeye or top sirloin, sliced thinly across the grain
  • ¾ cup soy sauce
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • ¾ cup sugar
  • ½ cup water
  • 8 eggs, beaten
  • flour
  • oil for frying

Directions

Slice the beef across the grain. With a meat mallet, pound it down to 1/8-inch thin. In a bowl, pour the soy sauce.

Mix in the minced garlic. Stir in the sugar and water. Add the thin slices of meat.

In a large bowl, beat the eggs. In a flat pan, add the flour. Take a slice of meat and let the marinade drip back into its bowl. Dredge it on both sides with flour, shaking off excess. Coat in egg mixture. Fry in oil in a skillet, browning both sides. Drain on paper towel. Slice and serve hot with dipping sauce (see Notes) and steamed rice.

Notes

  • Dipping sauce is optional. To make it, combine 1/3 cup soy sauce, 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar, 1 teaspoon sesame oil and a pinch of red or black pepper in a measuring cup. Mix and dish out on dipping saucers.
  • Search our blog for other beef recipes.
 

May 25, 2018

Han Solo Carbonite Cookies

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Han Solo Carbonite Cookies

May 25: Release date of the first Han Solo movie trilogy (2018)

Han Solo got a solo spin-off story in a “Star Wars” movie! The film, officially released today, features the origins of the space smuggler turned general in the Rebel Alliance/New Republic.

His character, portrayed by actor Harrison Ford, made his first appearance in 1977 in “Star Wars: A New Hope” (Episode IV) and was killed off in 2015 in “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” (Episode VII). In 2018, actor Alden Ehrenreich portrays the young Han Solo in “Solo: A Star Wars Story” and may reprise his role in two more forthcoming films.

Han Solo is immortalized in pop culture history, much like his iconic scene in 1981’s “Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back “ (Episode V) when he was frozen in carbonite. To celebrate the release of the new Han Solo movies, we made carbonite cookies à la LU Biscuits’ Le Petit écolier (“The Little Schoolboy”) cookies. The sugar cookie base is topped with a chocolate impression of Han Solo in his classic frozen state and finished with a shiny metallic silver glaze.

Make these classic cookies for the movie’s release and for a Star Wars themed celebration.

Recipe

(Adapted from Williams-Sonoma)

For the sugar cookie base

  • 2 ½ cups flour
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 12 tablespoons (1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla

Directions

In a bowl, combine the flour and salt. Set aside. In a mixing bowl, cream the butter with the sugar. Beat in the egg. Add the vanilla. Gradually add the flour mixture into the butter mixture. Mix until a dough is formed. Roll the dough into a large ball, divide in thirds, cover and refrigerate until firm (about an hour).

Roll out dough ¼-inch thick. Cut out rectangular shapes 1.5 inches wide by 2.75 inches tall. Place on a lightly greased baking pan. Refrigerate for at least 10 minutes to firm up the dough. Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees F for 15-20 minutes. Remove from the oven and let stand for five minutes before transferring the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely and become crisp.

For the chocolate “carbonite”

  • Chocolate or confectioner’s candy (such as Ghirardelli melting wafers or Wilton dark chocolate candy melts)
  • Silver edible powder, non-toxic
  • Alcohol base (Everclear or almond/lemon/orange extract)

Directions

In a double boiler, melt the chocolate and stir until smooth. Spoon melted chocolate into the Han Solo ice cube tray no thicker than ¼ inch. Tap the tray lightly to level out the chocolate. Refrigerate until firm. Carefully unmold the chocolate onto a paper towel.

pread a little melted chocolate on a rectangular cookie and press a Han Solo chocolate piece on top. Repeat to complete the rest of the cookies. In a small dish, put a little silver powder. Put an eyedropper or two of clear alcoholic liquid to make a thin paste. Paint over the Han Solo chocolates, being careful to avoid the cookie base. Let the cookies dry. Store covered in single layer.

Notes

  • Han Solo ice cube tray is available from Amazon.com.
  • For a cheaper “chocolate”, use Wilton candy melts.
  • Search our blog for other Star Wars-inspired recipes.

 

 

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