All posts by epicureasian

a gardening gamer girl in search of good grub
Dining, Recipes

Recipe: (Almost Great) Gluten Free Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Oh yeah…this is (almost) it. The perfect chocolate chip cookie is within my grasp…if only I can make it sugar-free, but there’s something marvelous in the chemistry of brown sugar + white sugar that results in the texture and taste of an awesome chocolate chip cookie. Sugar-free sweeteners just can’t compare, not to mention they can’t nail down the molecular magic that comes from using real sugar.

After poring over tests, photos and baking instructions in the Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookie Guide and tweaking King Arthur’s gluten free recipe, I’ve come up with this list of ingredients and baking guidelines that is repeat baking-worthy, even if it doesn’t provide instant gratification (unless you’re the type to eat raw cookie dough).

There are some tools required for this endeavor to be successful: a stand mixer, a cookie scoop (1 or 2 oz), baking sheet and cooling rack (silicone mat optional), an oven that heats up to reliable temps, and fridge space to store the cookie dough overnight.

I’ve halved the King Arthur recipe to better suit the robust appetites of 2 cookie-loving adults, not to mention control batch sizes and reduce cookie scooping when baking.

  • 113g salted butter
  • 107g brown sugar
  • 37g coconut sugar
  • 40g stevia baking blend
  • 10g granulated white sugar
  • 1 teaspoons gluten-free vanilla extract
  • 2 jumbo eggs
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 181g King Arthur Gluten-Free Flour (ensure this mix has no xanthan gum included)
  • 1 teaspoons xanthan gum
  • 227g chocolate chips (I’ve used 4oz chocolate chunks and 4oz stevia sweetened chocolate chips)

In a stand mixer, beat the butter, sweeteners, vanilla and salt till runny. Add eggs one at a time, while scraping and beating until combined.

In separate bowl, mix flour blend, xanthan gum, baking powder, and baking soda.

Add dry ingredients into the wet mixture, then fold in the chocolate chips until evenly distributed.

Cover the dough and refrigerate overnight, which will solidify the dough mix. This part is also critical to fully developing the flavor of the cookie. 

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a baking sheet with a nonstick cooking spray (I used a coconut oil spray) or use a silicon mat.

I highly recommend baking 1 or 2 test cookies to account for oven temperature and rack placement before proceeding with batch baking. Once you’ve achieved your perfect test cookie, scoop balls of dough onto the prepared baking sheet, leaving space to spread between them.

Bake the cookies for 9-10 minutes, until golden brown. Again oven temps and baking surfaces may vary your results. But I’ve found that I can pull my cookies at the 9 minute mark and let them sit in the pan up to 5 minutes. Afterwards, I transfer them to a rack to cool. Don’t let it cool completely though…coz, there’s nothing more delightful to eat than a warm, soft-melty, crisp-around-the-edges chocolate chip cookie.

 

 

Dining, Recipes

Recipe: Smoked BBQ Ribs

It’s no secret that we’re in love with smoking on the Big Green Egg. And with our handy ThermoWorks gear, (i.e. DOT and Thermapen Mk4 both in screamin’ Green) smoking and grilling to temperature has gotten a whole lot more accurate.

So when I spotted a post on ThermoWorks blog about competition style BBQ ribs, I just had to put our BGE to work reproducing those delicious BBQ pork ribs.

We sourced our pork ribs from two vendors: our local Kroger grocery store (for back loin ribs) and a butcher shop, Matador Meats, in Plano (for St Louis cut ribs).

I applied our cajun-style dry spice rub to the ribs and refrigerated until we were ready for meat to hit the grill.

Here’s a reprint of my Cajun/Blackening Spice recipe:

  • 2-3 tablespoons paprika
  • 2 tablespoons chili powder
  • 1 tsp red pepper flakes, ground cayenne, or a dash of ghost pepper
  • 1-2 tablespoons garlic powder
  • 1 tablespoon onion powder
  • 1/2 to 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1 teaspoon oregano
  • 1 teaspoon basil (optional)
  • 1 teaspoon cumin (optional)
  • 1-2 tablespoons brown sugar

We primed our BGE to cook low and slow at no more than dome temp of 250F, using oak chips and lump. We had at least 3 temperature probes monitoring meat temperatures during the 8 hour smoke. When the the temps hit 165F, we pulled them from the BGE for the wrap portion of the cook.

Our go-to sauce is Trader Joe’s Organic Sriracha & Roasted Garlic BBQ Sauce, and we slathered this on the ribs in their foil wrap, before returning them to the BGE for the final march to 200F.

The result: tender, pull-apart sweet-spicy pork ribs that easily fell off the bone.

 

Dining, Recipes

The Fried Onion Experiment Part 2

For the second fried onion experiment, I dabbled in a little potato starch, a potato starch/baking soda mix, and used coconut oil as a frying medium.

Also Texas sweet yellow onions and a batch of pre-cooked chicken gizzards would be objects to be dredged, egg-washed and fried up for testing.

Results: potato starch = bad for solo coating. It was clear that as soon as the potato-coated onion ring hit the oil that it wasn’t going to develop the crisp exterior that I aimed for. The potato simply began to flake away, almost like pastry bits, and never formed the crunchy shell I hoped for.

The potato starch/baking soda mix also had no effect on the final fried onion, neither puffy or crisp as I had predicted. Because of this, I relegated the potato starch as the first dredge in a 3-step process, with tapioca starch becoming the final dredge prior to the hot oil drop.

The outcome was similar to last week’s experiment with deep frying with tapioca starch, with onions and gizzards emerging from frying with light and crisp coatings. My only complaint was that the onions weren’t sharp enough for my liking.

Dining, Recipes

The Fried Onion Experiment Part 1

Labor Day holiday weekend ended a five-day fast, followed by another 2 weeks of unrepentant feasting, with a couple days of fasting scattered in between. During this time, I spent a lot of hours in the kitchen testing recipes. If you’ve been on my Instagram feed, you’ve seen the outcomes of two weekends’ worth of BBQ: smoked “American” Wagyu brisket, pork belly burnt ends, and BBQ pork ribs (St Louis cut from Matador Meat & Wine and Back Loin from Kroger’s in-house brand). Not to mention the prime (Matador) and A-wagyu (A Bar N) ribeyes we grilled up in the intervening period.

Of course, the add-ons to these main dishes are generally what makes an entire meal complete and wholly satisfying. In my household, it’s usually some vegetable side dish (brussel sprouts, broccoli and cauliflower are the main draws). When we’re craving carbs, it’ll be some grain-based or starchy side dish (think corn, pasta or potato).

Personally, my fave accompaniment to any beef cut is a couple of raw sliced red onions. It helps lessens the intense fattiness of some cuts (roasted beef ribs and prime rib) while enhancing the beefy flavor of a well-graded cut. It’s my only “required” vegetable topping on a medium-rare burger–hold the lettuce and tomato please!

Alas, raw onion consumption isn’t recommended for post-dinner social or romantic encounters…it’s the resultant onion breath and digestive mishaps that cause many to avoid the raw version altogether. If it’s at all included in a dish, onions often always get cooked past recognition–stripped exclusively for flavoring–if not discarded entirely.

Let’s not forget the discomfort that comes with preparing onions either, pungent smells and eye tearing tend to be the biggest reasons why the onion goes underutilized in kitchens. Not to mention the possible emergency room visit when an unskilled knife is applied to an irregularly globed surface.

I can rant on about onions in general, but let’s focus on the purpose of this post: which is about my pursuit of the tastiest fried onion recipe.

The fried onion gets no love it seems. It’s rarely offered on or ordered from restaurant menus when it competes with other fried vegetables, most popular of which is the potato fry. There’s only one dish that immediately comes to mind when fried onions are involved and it’s the green bean casserole dish–an ubiquitous entry on many a Thanksgiving dinner menu. Frequently, the fried onions adorning the dish came already commercially pre-cooked, dispensed from a can. Or, even faked–think Funyuns!

My love of fried onions has me seeking out restaurants, sampling various cuisines, and testing myriad recipes looking for a favorite, and I’ve eaten enough of them to know they generally fall into 2 camps: battered or breaded. Then they’ll appear in one of 2 forms: rings or strings. Of consideration is the type of onion used, normally yellow or white.

The problems I’ve had with nearly every fried onion I’ve eaten are the tastes and textures. Oftentimes the onion flavor disappears and you end up eating a mouthful of doughy batter and tasteless breading. When it’s not overwhelmed by the coating, the onion itself tends to be devoid of pungent sharpness due largely to the market’s preferences for mild, sweet onions: less sulfur and mellow cultivars!

As you may know by now, my food preference skews towards the bold and the strong. An onion should have bite: sharp, pungent, stinging without brutally assaulting the senses (though I’d argue that the freshest, bestest eating onion should make you cry). I’d like the flavor to be a touch sweet, which is why I enjoy red onions most of all, striking a balance between pungent and sweet. Then there’s the shallot…well that’s all I gotta say about that.

For this experiment, we are starting with tapioca flour (or starch) as the coating. I’ve had very good success with shallow frying tapioca flour, which produces a crisp exterior. How it’s applied is via a 2-step method: egg wash then dredge. Then the onion rings are deep fried in peanut oil between 350F to 375F.

The result is a crispy onion ring, if a little bland. I prefer to toss them in a stainless steel bowl and season them with a little salt and pepper. I also tried sprinkling parmesan over a small batch (anybody remember JT Mccords)…delish!

Stay tuned for my next fried onion experiment to take a stab at a different flour/coating.