May 1, 2019

Boterkoek

Posted by HI Cookery under 05 May | Tags: , , , , |
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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.
 

April 29, 2019

No-Knead Bread

Posted by HI Cookery under 04 April | Tags: , , |
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No Knead Bread

April 27: Feast Day of St. Zita

Today’s blog post is dedicated to Islander’s baptismal godmother whose name is Zita. Apparently she was named after her patron saint, Zita of Lucca, Italy (1218-1272), whose feast day is on April 27.

The patroness of domestic servants, poor Zita worked for the Fatinelli family who owned a prosperous wool and silk weaving business in Tuscany. She was sometimes beaten or insulted by them and her jealous co-workers because of her faith. But with patience as a virtue, everyone realized just how valuable she was to the household and eventually her employers changed their attitude and converted to Christianity.

Legend has it that she was late to work on baking day because she stayed a little longer at daily mass or was donating bread to the poor. But there were angels in the kitchen preparing the loaves for Zita to help her catch up with her chores. Today people bake bread in her honor as they celebrate her feast day.

We have done the same by making a no-knead bread. With only four ingredients—and also virtuous patience to let the dough rise—this bread is delicious when dipped in flavored olive oil, toasted and buttered or eaten plain when it is still warm.

Follow the tradition of the Tuscans and bake no-knead bread for the feast day of St. Zita.

Recipe

Adapted from Sol S.

Ingredients

  • 3 cups bread flour (plus extra)
  • ¼ teaspoon active dry yeast
  • 1 ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 1 1/3 cups water (plus 1-2 tablespoons if needed)

Directions

In a large bowl, combine the bread flour, yeast and salt. Stir in the water until a sticky dough forms.

Cover the bowl with a plastic wrap and let the dough rest at room temperature or in a dark oven overnight. Dump the dough onto a lightly floured surface (we use parchment paper for easy cleanup). Use a bench scraper to fold over the dough about 4-5 times.

Pick up the parchment paper and place it all in a large bowl. Cover with a cotton (not terry cloth) towel and let rise at room temperature for two more hours. At least 30 minutes before baking, preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Place a Dutch oven, covered with lid, into the oven to heat it up. Use gloves to remove the Dutch oven and carefully open the lid. Pick up the whole parchment paper with the dough and dump it in the Dutch oven. Cover and return to the oven and bake for 25 minutes.

Remove the lid and bake uncovered for another 5-10 minutes to let the top brown. Take the Dutch oven out. Carefully dump the bread onto a wire rack to cool for another 20-30 minutes, discarding the parchment paper. Cool the bread. Slice and serve with butter, jam/jelly or flavored olive oil dipping sauce.

Notes

  • Zita passed away at age 60 at the Fatinelli house where she worked since she was 12 years old (48 years!). Her body lies incorrupt encased in glass where she is venerated at the Basilica of San Frediano in Lucca, Tuscany, Italy.
  • Search our blog for other bread or Italian-inspired recipes.
 

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