recipes

The Best Homemade Smash Burgers

June 2, 2018 Leave a Comment

If I were to open a small restaurant or food truck, it would be centered around burgers. I literally love burgers so much, it’s not even remotely funny. Guys…seriously…I have a problem. I love burgers more than anything else. They’re just handfuls of perfection. They hit every textural note I’m craving. If I go to a restaurant, the first area I scan is the burger selection. Burgers are my love, and the one thing I crave the most! It’s just so satisfying, rolling that tender juicy meat around in your mouth, coated with creamy cheese, a zesty sauce, buttered bun…maybe some toppings, maybe not. I love over-the-top burgers, and I love simple burgers. These are the best homemade smash burgers, period.

Although I love just about any kind of cheese on my burger, nothing melts like deli American cheese. Yeah, I said it. But it HAS to be the deli kind — not the American cheese in those flimsy plastic wrappers, the kind you have to ask them to slice for you at the deli counter. It melts better, tastes better, and you feel less guilty eating it. It’s worth walking up to the counter and letting them hook you up with a few slices. Do yourself a favor though, and ask for them to make it “two-slice thick”. These burgers are equally amazing with some good quality cheddar. You can use any kind of cheese you prefer.

As for beef, make sure you’re using an 80% lean, 20% fat blend. You could go leaner, but why? Seriously…why? The best thing about biting into a juicy burger is that it’s JUICY. That flagrant stream of fat running down your forearm and dripping onto your plate, and pooling in the corners of your mouth is what makes the burger experience worthwhile. Don’t play yourself.

What kind of bread should you use? Brioche! There’s nothing more luscious than buttery brioche, soaking up all the burger juices and melting into the entire sandwich. I mean, yeah you could absolutely use whatever you want, but I highly recommend brioche buns. Keep this burger simple, if you can. It’s mostly about the beef and the cheese. My favorite toppings for a smash burger are raw sweet onions, pickles, and a creamy burger sauce. Once again, use whatever you want — it’s your burger baby!

This is my no-longer-a-secret CarnalDish Burger Juice (trademark pending) that will really make your burgers sing with flavor. Oh! So good.

Pour that good stuff all over your meat.

Mix mix mix, but GENTLY.

The butter will solidify and look like this.

Scoop into desired size balls, but a good size for smash burgers is about 3 ounces…you could go up to 4. Hell, you could say “Screw a smash burger, I want a big burger” and make them as large as you want. Nobody is stopping you, toots.

Cover your burger balls with plastic wrap and pop them in the fridge for a minimum of 30 minutes, up to a few hours. The colder, the better. You want the butter to stay nice and super cold.

Season your meat with kosher salt and black pepper.

Get your cast iron pan SUPER HOT over high heat, until it’s smoking. If your pan is already seasoned, you won’t need to add any oil. There’s plenty fat in the burgers.

Place about 3 balls four to five inches apart, and let them sear for about 30 seconds.

Then, with a heavy spatula, press them down until they’re super flat and even-sized.

Like so. Sear them for about 4 minutes on the first side.

Flip them and check out that gorgeous caramelization.

As soon as you flip them, add your cheese.

Once the cheese melts, they’re ready. This will take about 2 minutes. Because the patties are so thin, they’ll be cooked thru so don’t worry.

Build your burger and smash it.

Those pickles? I made those 😉

This was so satisfying. Simple, and delicious.

Enjoy

You don’t have to “smash” these. This recipe is good for ANY kind of burger base. Just eat it, as soon as possible. Namaste.

The Best Homemade Smash Burgers

Save Print

Prep time

30 mins

Cook time

6 mins

Total time

36 mins

The CarnalDish Burger Juice is what makes these burgers so amazing!

Author: Resha from CarnalDish

Serves: 4-6 servings

Ingredients

CarnalDish Burger Juice

½ stick butter, melted
1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
½ tablespoon fish sauce (trust me, adds a great depth of flavor)
a few dashes of liquid smoke

Burgers

1 pound ground chuck (80/20)
Kosher salt and black pepper, to taste
Cheese, any kind you choose)
Brioche buns, buttered and toasted
Toppings of choice (try to keep it simple if you can)

Burger Sauce

¼ cup mayo
¼ cup ketchup
¼ cup spicy brown mustard
2 minced garlic cloves
1 tablespoon white vinegar
⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper
⅛ teaspoon smoked paprika
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Mix all the Burger Juice ingredients together in a small bowl. In another medium-sized bowl, add the beef. Pour the Burger Juice into the beef, and gently break it up with a spoon or your hands and GENTLY mix thoroughly. Do not over-work your meat, be very very gentle with it. Once it's thoroughly mixed, scoop into 3-4oz sized balls. Cover the burger balls with plastic wrap and refrigerate for a minimum of a half hour. You want the meat to be super cold. You could also pop into your freezer for about 15 minutes.
When ready to cook, heat a large cast iron skillet over high heat until SUPER HOT. Drop a tiny sprinkle of water to test it, if it immediately sizzles and bounces around and disappears, it's ready. No need to add oil, there's plenty of fat in the burger. Remove your burgers from the fridge or freezer and sprinkle them with kosher salt and pepper. Place about 3 to 4 balls in the skillet, leaving room for them to be smashed down. After 30 seconds of searing, smash them all the way down until they can't be smashed anymore, with a large heavy skillet. Leave them alone and let them cook for about 3 to 4 minutes, or when the edges start to turn brown. Flip them over and immediately place a slice of cheese on top of each patty. When the cheese melts, they're ready, about 1 to 2 minutes longer.
Build your burger with the toppings of your choice and enjoy!

Crispy Smashed Garlic and Herb Potatoes

May 31, 2018 Leave a Comment

I think every household should keep a tub of duck fat in their fridge or freezer. The stuff is just luxurious. It’s like butter’s bougie cousin who shows up to family functions in a fur coat and kitten heels while everyone else is in jeans and flip flops. I do understand that it’s not as widely available as it should be, so if you absolutely cannot find duck fat, just keep it a butter thing. These crispy smashed garlic and herb duck fat potatoes are a great addition to your steaks, chicken, oceanic protein, etc. They’re even fabulous on their own.

This isn’t really a “recipe”, it’s more of a technique. Why isn’t it a recipe? Because amounts will always vary. I don’t even know how many potatoes I used here, I just adjusted the amounts of fat to potatoes as I saw fit. You’ll do the same. You can do this with one potato, two potatoes, three potatoes, or 20 potatoes — it truly does not matter. Adding duck fat to your potatoes is the adult thing to do, trust me on this.

I would sit here and yap about my undying love for the potato, but we’d be here all damn day, so let’s just get into it…

Crispy Smashed Garlic and Herb Duck Fat Potatoes

Boil your taters. I’m using little baby potatoes (red and gold), but you can use larger potatoes, just cut them into thick slices or large even-sized chunks.

Once they start boiling, add a handful of sea salt. Don’t use table salt, it’s just TOO salty and yuck.

When you can easily pierce the potatoes with a toothpick or fork, they’re done.

Gently smash each potato using the bottom of a glass, a potato masher, or a fork — just make sure you spray whatever you’re using with nonstick spray to make the process a little easier. Don’t mash them to smithereens, be gentle.

Melt some butter, you’re gonna have to eyeball this amount. I used a whole stick, and it was plenty for my potatoes. I even had some left over. Add about 3 tablespoons of duck fat to the warm butter and stir til combined.

Add a generous amount of fresh chopped garlic. You could mince it, too. Doesn’t matter.

Add some fresh thyme.

And some rosemary.

And some sage (optional)

Finally, add some salt and pepper to season it — if using unsalted butter.

Stir to combine.

Spoon a little of the butter/duck fat mixture over each potato. Don’t drown the potato! Just enough to coat it with a thin layer. Roast them for about 15-20 minutes or until edges are golden brown and crispy.

Once they’re crispy, add a generous dusting of freshly grated parmigiano reggiano cheese. You could use pecorino too. Don’t use the “dusty” cheese, make sure you grate it yourself, it’ll melt better.

Pop these under the broiler just until the cheese melts and turns a light toasty brown, about 2-5 minutes.

Fin.

They’re beautiful, and taste amazing. You will more than likely have leftover duck fat butter, so cover it up tightly and use it for another day. Although I used silpat to roast these, I recommend you don’t. You want the bottoms to get nice and crispy as well, so avoid using anything that can deter that. You could use foil instead if you’re adamant about easy clean up.

Crispy Smashed Garlic and Herb Potatoes

Save Print

Cook time

45 mins

Total time

45 mins

This is NOT a "recipe", because the amount of potatoes you use will vary. But here's an eyeball measurement based on what I did if you'd like to follow.

Author: Resha from CarnalDish

Ingredients

2 pounds baby potatoes (SEE NOTE BELOW)
Sea salt for the boiling water
5 tablespoons butter (unsalted or salted)
3 tablespoons duck fat (optional SEE NOTE BELOW)
5 garlic cloves, chopped or minced
1 tablespoon fresh thyme, roughly chopped
1 teaspoon fresh rosemary, chopped
1 teaspoon fresh sage, chopped (optional)
Fresh parmigiano reggiano cheese for topping
Kosher salt and black pepper, to taste
Non-stick spray

Instructions

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil, or leave un-lined. Spray the bottom with nonstick spray, set aside.
In a large pot, cover potatoes with cold water by 2-3 inches. Bring to a boil over high heat. When the water starts boiling, add a generous amount of sea salt (do NOT use table salt, it's too salty). Reduce heat to medium-high, keep pot uncovered, and allow potatoes to boil until fork tender - about 20-25 minutes.
Meanwhile, melt butter, and add duck fat. Stir to combine until duck fat is melted. Add garlic, thyme, rosemary, sage (if using), salt and pepper (if using unsalted butter). Stir until combined, and set aside.
When potatoes are fork tender, drain and let them cool about 5-10 minutes. Place potatoes on your lined/unlined baking sheet. GENTLY smash each potato using the bottom of a glass, a potato masher, or fork until potato bursts open and creates a craggy surface. Spoon a little of the duck fat butter mixture over each potato. Roast for 15 to 20 minutes or until each potato is golden brown with crispy edges and bottoms. Remove baking sheet from oven and shave fresh cheese over each potato. Turn on your broiler, and pop them back into the oven until the cheese melts and is lightly toasted.
Serve immediately.

Notes

If you're not using baby potatoes, I recommend Yukon Golds for this recipe because they keep their shape better. You could also use Russets if you prefer. Simply chop them into large chunks prior to boiling.

If using salted butter, watch how much additional salt you add to the finished potato (taste them first).

If you cannot find duck fat, you can use one whole stick of butter instead.

Broiled Crab and Corn Cakes

May 24, 2018 Leave a Comment

The worst thing you could ever do is go to a restaurant, pay about $20 for crab cakes, bite into them just to see that they’re full of bread. Did you just pay for crab flavored stuffing? No, you didn’t. You’re mad, you’re seething inside. You might even complain to the manager, and you’d be well within your rights to do so. It’s a shame how much bread folks stuff into their crab cakes. Sure, a little can hold it together, but a lot of restaurants just stuff so much into their crab cakes, the math just doesn’t add up. Jumbo lump crab meat is very expensive, and you deserve better. This broiled crab and corn cakes recipe is for those of you who are tired of paying alllll that money for crab cakes, only to get a few chunks of crab and tons of bread’y stuffing. I want to taste crab in my crab cakes, and so do you. Featured in this recipe is fresh corn, shaved right off the cob. If you don’t like corn, you can totally leave it out. It adds a nice sweetness that compliments the delicate and super expensive crab meat.

We start off by grinding our veggies down so that we’re not biting into huge chunks, and then sautéing them until they’re tender and lightly caramelized. Then, to “glue” the crab cakes together, we are using a method I learned similar to a chicken mousseline. We’re gonna puree some fresh peeled and deveined shrimp (the cheapest kind you can find), with a little heavy cream and make a sticky “glue” to hold the crab cakes together. Shoutout to ATK for discovering that little trick, it’s truly life-changing.

Although I love a good fried crab cake, for this particular recipe I wanted to broil them and keep them from being too greasy. Broiled crab cakes also seem to just allow the sweetness of the crab stand out without competing against a heavy oil.

I was in Wegmans, and I walked by one of the most beautiful things I’d ever seen — an Aloha pepper! Have you seen those before? They’re gorgeous! Marbled red and orange, with soft hints of yellow. I was like, “Oh I’m definitely using that for my crab cakes!” If you can’t find Aloha peppers, no sweat. Just use a red, orange, or yellow pepper instead. Green may be too strong a flavor, but if you LOVE green, by all means — do you.

Toss all the veg and herbage into a food processor.

Grind it up until it looks like this. You don’t want to puree it, so keep it at this size here.

Heat about a tablespoon of oil over medium-high heat, and saute the veg mixture. Add a little salt and pepper.

Cook them down until they’re softened and slightly caramelized. You’ll know it’s ready when you can see the pan starting to dry out and a thin sticky coating appears.

Toss the mixture into a bowl to cool.

Wipe out the pan until it’s dry, and toast some panko bread crumbs until golden brown, like this. Continuously toss them around so they toast evenly.

Toss the peeled and deveined shrimp into the food processor, along with the cream.

Pulse until finely ground and pasty, like this.

Toss the shrimp paste into the veg mixture.

Add the worcestershire, cayenne, Old Bay, mustard, lemon juice, salt and pepper.

Gently mix all of that around until it’s thoroughly combined.

Drain your juicy lump crab meat, and pick thru for any shells.

Combine the crab with the shrimpy veg mixture.

GENTLY fold the two together. Some lumps will get broken up naturally — and that’s fine, but your goal is to keep as many lumps in tact as you can.

Scoop out desired size balls of crab mixture. I’m using a half-cup measurer here. Just keep in mind if you go smaller, the cooking time will vary.

We’ve got six evenly sized cakes.

This is an insanely hot and flavorful habanero hot sauce that Kelis made and gave to me from an event we did. I’m using this as a base for my lemony habanero sauce to accompany the crab cakes. You can use any kind of sauce you want for yours.

Ok, so pick gently pick the crab cakes up and press the bottoms into the bread crumbs. If you have food gloves, this is easier to do.

Like so. This layer just helps the crab cakes from sticking and provides a nice light crunch element. If this isn’t your thing, you can totally skip it. The main focus here is the crab anyway.

Get a frying pan super hot, about medium high heat with a little oil. Place each cake down and let cook for 1 minute, then immediately move the pan into the oven. If you don’t have any oven safe cookware (get some, fast), you can just skip this step and put them on a sheet pan and THEN put them in the oven.

Perfect.

Here’s some tips to avoid some possible failures

It’s possible you made more veggie and shrimp mixture than you may need. So, start with just a half cup of it to fold into the crab meat. If it’s holding together just enough to form balls, it should be fine. If not, add just a few tablespoons more until it looks like my mixture above, or until it’s holding together. If you have too much veggie and shrimp mixture, and then add your crab meat, you may find that they’re too difficult to work with. Remember, you can always add more, but it’s pretty damn hard to take it away.

The mixture will be moist, even when you have the perfect ratio of veggie/shrimp to crab. Whatever you do, don’t fry or broil them right away. They WILL fall apart. You must chill them for at least an hour so they keep their integrity. This method is not unique to just this particular recipe. Giving the cakes a quick chill would have to happen even if you made them the more traditional way by stuffing them with a bread’y binder.

If you prefer to fry your crab cakes, simply flatten the crab cakes into a hockey-puck shape, coat with bread crumbs and fry away. You still want to chill the mixture for a good hour because they will fall apart otherwise.

How will you know they’re done? Easily! Visually, wait until the tops of the cakes are golden brown. Take a quick look at mine for example. If you want to make sure they’re done foreal, take your instant-read thermometer and stick it directly in the middle of each cake. When the temperature registers 140 degrees, they’re done. This will take anywhere from 12-15 minutes under the broiler.

Broiled Crab and Corn Cakes

Save Print

Prep time

1 hour 30 mins

Cook time

15 mins

Total time

1 hour 45 mins

Binder method adapted from ATK

Author: Resha from CarnalDish

Serves: 6-8

Ingredients

⅓ cup fresh corn
¼ cup celery, chopped
¼ cup sweet bell pepper (I used an Aloha pepper, you can use red, orange, or yellow)
¼ cup onion, chopped (I used red onion, white or yellow is fine)
2 tablespoons parsley, torn
2 small garlic cloves, roughly chopped
5 ounces shrimp, peeled and deveined (use a cheaper shrimp for this)
2 teaspoons dijon mustard
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
¾ teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
pinch of Cayenne pepper, black pepper, and kosher salt
¼ cup heavy cream
1 pound (16 ounces) jumbo lump crab neat (you can use regular lump), picked over for shells
½ cup panko bread crumbs
1-2 tablespoons olive oil

Instructions

Pulse celery, onion, and garlic in food processor until finely chopped, 5 to 8 pulses, scraping down bowl as needed. Transfer vegetables to large bowl. Rinse processor bowl and blade and reserve. Melt butter in now-empty skillet over medium heat. Add chopped vegetables, ½ teaspoon salt, and ⅛ teaspoon pepper; cook, stirring frequently, until vegetables are softened and all moisture has evaporated, 4 to 6 minutes. Return vegetables to large bowl and let cool to room temperature. Rinse out pan and wipe clean
In a food processor, pulse the onion, celery, sweet pepper, corn, garlic, and parsley until finely chopped. Scrape down your bowl as necessary.
In a skillet, heat about a tablespoon of olive oil over medium-high heat. Saute the veggie mixture until softened and lightly caramelized, and the liquid has evaporated. The mixture should be dry and sticking to the pan just slightly. Set aside in a large bowl to cool.
Wipe out the skillet, and place a half cup of panko bread crumbs over medium heat. Don’t add any fat to this, just toast the dry bread crumbs until lightly golden brown. Continuously stir so each crumb gets color. This will take just a few minutes. Alternatively, you can toast these in a preheated 375 degree oven for 2 minutes (keep an eye on them!).
Rinse out the bowl of your food processor, add the shrimp and cream, and pulse until it forms a paste. Scrape it out and add it to the veggies. Add the Worcestershire, dijon mustard, Old Bay, lemon juice, cayenne, salt, and pepper. Fold to thoroughly combine.
Drain your crab meat into a colander. Pick thru for any shells, and remove if you find some. Try not to pulverize your precious crab meat! Add the crab meat to the veggie/shrimp mixture (SEE NOTE BELOW). Gently, and I mean GENTLY fold this mixture together. Yes, some lumps will fall apart, and there’s nothing you can do about that, but TRY not to tear them all apart. It’s a good textural contrast to have some broken lumps against some whole lumps. Just don’t have it looking like canned tuna.
Scoop out some cakes. For 6 cakes, use a half cup scoop. For 8 cakes, use a ⅓ cup scoop. You can leave them dome-shaped, or flatten them into a hockey-puck shape if you’d like — there’s no wrong way. Place each cake onto a sheet pan or large plate, cover with plastic wrap, and place in the fridge for a good hour. After an hour, the cakes should be a little easier to pick up without tearing apart (I used food-grade safety cloves to pick mine up). Arrange a layer of the toasted bread crumbs on a plate, and gently press the bottom of each cake into the crumbs. Don’t apply too much pressure here. They will still be moist, and should be able to pick up the crumbs on their own. Just make sure there’s a nice protective layer of crumbs at the bottom of each cake. When all of the cakes are coated at the bottom, heat your skillet to medium-high. Add about a tablespoon or so of oil to the bottom. When the oil starts to shimmer, add the crab cakes. Let them fry at the bottom for just 1 minute, then place the skillet in the oven about 6-8 inches from the top of the pre-heated broiler. Broil the cakes until the centers register 140 degrees and the tops are golden brown, about 12-15 minutes.
Serve immediately with lemon wedges, and any other accompaniment you’d like. Enjoy!

Notes

Your veggie/shrimp mixture should only be 1 full cup. If you have more than that, don't add it to the crab meat or you'll find the mixture too wet and difficult to work with. Save it for another use.

I make these crab cakes all the time with different veggies, and sometimes without the corn. Because this is so focused on the crab, it doesn’t really matter if you leave a veggie out, or swap it with something else. I promise it will all taste amazing, because you made it.

Cinnamon Sweet Potatoes | Baby Food Basics

April 21, 2018 Leave a Comment

When I found out I was pregnant, I said “I’m gonna feed this kid GOOD!”. As soon as my precious little boy turned 5 months, we slowly introduced solids to his diet. He’s breastfed still, but his pediatrician recommended we start with rice and oatmeal cereal, so we did. He loved it, and didn’t have any reaction to it at all — thank God! I was kinda nervous about that, but glad it worked out. Then he told us when to start introducing other foods to his diet, like fruits and veggies. Fast forward to now, and Christian (who’s almost 8 months now) absolutely loves his fruits and veggies. He even loves chicken. One of the best things to feed your growing baby is organic sweet potatoes. Oh yeah, you are going to always give your kid organic everything. We don’t wanna fill their tiny little bodies with pesticides and other gross things. Always organic, and always wash your produce!

I’ve gotten numerous requests to start sharing baby food recipes, so I figured I’d start with the most basic one — pureed sweet potatoes with cinnamon. It’s delicious, sweet, filling, and contains so many great calories and good carbs for your baby. Sweet potatoes rarely cause allergic reactions to babies, in fact, they’re on the safe list. If you’re new to making baby food, this is a great one to start with. Sweet potatoes contain lots of rich vitamins and nutrients, and because they’re naturally sweet, babies really love them. They’re great for anemia, slow weight gain, etc.

Can I leave the skin on?

Sure! I didn’t do that this time though, because I knew I wasn’t gonna blend them. A great way to make this with the skins on, is to steam them. Slice them up, steam them until tender, and blend until completely smooth. Otherwise, make them the way I just did here. If your potato skins are very blemish’y, its best to just use the flesh only. Sometimes those blemishes are moldy and can run deeper than the surface.

To start your kid off, I highly recommend giving them a single fruit or vegetable at one time. For example, don’t immediately mix apples and carrots, because if your kid has an allergic reaction, you’d wanna know what caused it — the carrot or the apple? Also, you want to make sure they even like them. Christian hated apples at first, I couldn’t believe it! He eats them now, but that was the very first food we started him on and he was no here for it. So feed them one thing at a time, and wait about 3-4 days for any reaction. Your pediatrician will tell you the same thing. Once you go thru enough different fruits and veggies, then you can probably start blending them together. Christian gobbles sweet potatoes up like you wouldn’t believe. I mix a big spoonful with some organic pureed spinach, and a little rice cereal — he goes in! He absolutely loves the sweet taste of cinnamon in pretty much everything, but we didn’t start giving him cinnamon until he was 6 months old. If your kid is younger than 6 months, maybe skip the cinnamon or use just a little to see how they like it.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with either parchment paper, foil, or a silicone baking mat. Wash and scrub the outside of each potato, dry, and place on the baking sheet. Drizzle lightly with olive oil, and bake for 60-70 minutes, or until a toothpick easily inserts in the thickest part of each potato easily.

Let them cool for an hour.

Scoop out the flesh into a bowl.

Add a good pinch of cinnamon.

Whisk together to blend and break up the potatoes.

Either press the solids thru a fine mesh strainer, or use a high powered blender to pulverize the potatoes and break up those stringy bits. Some babies can gag on those.

I used a strainer, which was a headache. It definitely takes muscle and patience. I should have used my damn Vitamix or Baby Bullet.

We have puree!

He loves it.

“Mommy, why is there a big camera in my face?”

Store baby food in safe food containers, and refrigerate for up to 3 days. You can also freeze them for up to a month.

Perfect consistency.

There really isn’t a “recipe” for this, because you’ll make as much or as little as you want each given time. Make sure you store any leftovers in glass or BPA-free plastic containers. They’ll keep for 3 days in the fridge, or you can freeze and thaw overnight in your fridge as needed. We make big batches of his baby food and freeze it.

Cinnamon Sweet Potato Puree | Baby Food Basics

Save Print

Prep time

5 mins

Cook time

1 hour

Total time

1 hour 5 mins

This is a great first food for your baby when they're ready to start eating solids.

Author: Resha from CarnalDish

Serves: 6 baby servings

Ingredients

Organic sweet potatoes, washed and scrubbed (see note below)
Cinnamon
water, to adjust consistency if needed
Olive oil

Instructions

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
Place sweet potatoes on a baking sheet lined with foil, parchment, or a silicone baking mat. Drizzle each potato lightly with olive oil. Bake for 60-70 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the thickest part of each potato slides in easily with no resistance.
Let them cool for an hour at room temperature.
Cut each potato open and scoop out the flesh into a bowl. Add a good pinch of cinnamon, and whisk to break up the potatoes. If you have a high-powered blender, puree the potatoes. If you don't have a blender, just pass the potatoes thru a mesh strainer. This helps remove those stringy bits, as some babies strangle on them.
Store in containers or freeze.

Notes

If you'd like to leave the skins on, slice the potatoes and steam them until tender. Blend until smooth, adding either water or no-sodium chicken stock to adjust consistency.

Chocolate Sheet Cake with Milk Chocolate Ganache Frosting

April 21, 2018 Leave a Comment

I had an intense craving for chocolate, so I made a chocolate sheet cake. I didn’t want anything too cloyingly sweet, so no candy. Nothing so sugary it would make my teeth hurt, so again, no candy. I didn’t want to eat the chocolate and just taste “sweet”. Enter this wonderful cake! The contrast of the less sweet semi-sweet, and the full-on sweet milk chocolate just makes me wanna sing. Perfect combination. As I’ve gotten older (and gosh, I’m old), my palate for chocolate has developed. I prefer levels to my chocolate cakes, sweet, bitter, semi, all of it. On a normal day, the darker the chocolate, the happier I am. What I love about this PMS-cure of a chocolate cake, is that I can enjoy it all week long and not give the slightest of damns.

You know what I really love about this recipe? It comes together FAST. You can make it all in basically one to two bowls (one for dry, one for wet, and combine them in the larger bowl), and a handy whisk for the cake. I did use a hand-held electric mixer for the ganache frosting, but only because I wanted to aerate it. If you wanna simply pour it on top, do you! It also uses a simple 9×13 inch baking dish, such as this Pyrex. If your baking dish is larger or smaller, you’ll have to adjust the cooking time. Speaking of, we’re baking this on a low temperature so that the top of the cake stays flat. The recipe says you should bake this for 40-minutes, but mine was done in 35. So around the 30-minute mark, start testing for doneness every 5 minutes. Ovens vary.

This recipe is adaptable to your preferred type of chocolate. Using dutch-processed cocoa will give you a seriously dark, and deep chocolate base, but if you absolutely only have regular cocoa powder, you can use that. I can’t tell you how it’ll taste, but I’ve only ever made this using dutch-processed cocoa. The ganache frosting is optional. You can use a regular chocolate buttercream instead, store-bought or homemade. The police won’t get called on you. Also, the ganache base is totally adaptable. I used milk chocolate for my ganache, but you can use semi-sweet, bittersweet, anything.

How to make this cake pop

Use instant espresso powder. I can’t really explain to you how amazing espresso is in chocolate desserts, but you’ll just have to trust me. I add it to pretty much all my baked chocolate desserts, it just boosts the flavor so remarkably well. Finally, add the tiniest sprinkle of salt right on top before you eat your slice. Try using a flaky sea salt, such as Maldon. Salt really brings out the intense flavor of a dessert, especially chocolate. They go hand in hand like bacon and eggs. You don’t need a lot, just a very tiny pinch — like 5-7 flakes. Serve with a scoop of your favorite ice cream, and get your entire life!

I usually take pics of damn near every step for almost all recipes posted here. But this time, I will be honest and tell you that I simply did not feel like editing them all. I may post them later, I may not — but right now I’m tired. So here’s the final result and the recipe below. Enjoy!

Chocolate Sheet Cake with Ganache Frosting

Save Print

Prep time

20 mins

Cook time

10 mins

Total time

30 mins

This PMS-cure was adapted from the Family Baking Book.

Author: Resha from CarnalDish

Serves: 12

Ingredients

For the Cake:
1¼ cups (6¼ oz) all-purpose flour
¾ cup (2¼ oz) Dutch-processed cocoa powder
2 teaspoons instant espresso powder
¼ tsp salt
8 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped (I used chips)
12 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 large eggs, at room temperature
1½ cups (10½ oz) granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk
½ teaspoon baking soda

For the frosting

16 ounces milk chocolate, chopped (or high quality chips)
16 ounces heavy cream
2 teaspoons instant espresso powder
Flaky sea salt for tasting

Instructions

For the cake

Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees. Prepare a 13 by 9-inch baking dish, by either lining with parchment and greasing with nonstick spray, or just spray the dish with nonstick spray. Lightly dust the baking dish with flour and knock off any excess, leaving a very thin layer.
Sift flour, Dutch-processed cocoa, espresso powder, and salt into a large bowl and set aside. Microwave the semisweet chocolate at 50% power for 2 minutes. Stir, add butter, and continue to heat it at 50% until melted, stirring once every additional minute. Whisk the eggs, sugar, and vanilla together in a medium bowl.
Whisk the chocolate and butter mixture into the egg mixture until thoroughly combined. Combine buttermilk and baking soda, and whisk into the chocolate mixture, then pour into dry mixture and whisk until batter is smooth and glossy. Pour the batter into your prepared baking dish/pan and smooth the top with a rubber spatula. Bake until firm in center when lightly pressed and toothpick inserted in center of cake cokes out clean, about 30-40 minutes (mine took 35), rotating pan halfway through baking. Let cool on wire rack until room temperature, about 2 hours.

For the frosting

Heat heavy cream in a large measuring cup in the microwave for about 3-4 minutes, until you see a very gentle simmer around the edges of the cup.
Pour the hot cream over the milk chocolate and espresso powder, and leave it alone for 2 minutes. After 2 minutes, gently whisk until the mixture combines. Let cool at room temperature for about 2 hours, or place in your fridge, and let it cool (don't let it harden), about a half hour. When the mixture is cool but still very smooth, whip it up using a hand-held electric mixer until lightly and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Dollop the frosting on top of the cooled cake, and spread evenly. Cut into squares, and sprinkle tops with a very tiny pinch of flaky sea salt.
Enjoy immediately. Store leftovers in an airtight container.

Aglio Cacio e Pepe with Shrimp

April 19, 2018 Leave a Comment

Pasta is comfort food. You will not debate me on this fact. You can make something so comforting with just a couple ingredients, and it will be guaranteed delicious. Pasta aglio e olio, and cacio e pepe are two of my favorite most simplest pasta dishes ever created. They both need very little to be so delicious and satisfying. Both are perfect for a late night craving fix, as they come together in about 20 minutes.

However, a real Italian will not hesitate to tell you that authentic cacio e pepe doesn’t contain garlic (or any other “fancy” toppings and additions). Aglio e olio pasta is the one with garlic (aglio = garlic). They both have cheese and both typically use spaghetti. But I don’t do authentic. Not because I don’t respect it, because I do, but I just like to do me while paying homage to the real thing. Besides, too many people want to argue about the authenticity of authenticity! It’s exhausting, and quite frankly, I don’t really care enough to donate my energy to something so silly — if it’s good, I’m gonna eat it. When you’re in the kitchen, you simply have to do what you want, and make what you feel like eating. So, here you have *my* take on aglio cacio e pepe…with shrimp?? Or, con gamberetti?? And I have NO idea if that’s even a proper title for it, because I don’t speak the language, and therefore don’t really know how to arrange those words. Basically, this is pasta with cheese, garlic, and juicy shrimp.

Cacio e pepe is very simple. The method to achieve it, takes just a little bit of practice, but it’s very easy to do. You basically use the starchy pasta water, and a little fat (olive oil and/or butter) to emulsify a sauce, while adding sharp pecorino romano cheese…and you end up with this creamy delicious sauce that clings beautifully to the pasta. Movement is your friend here. Keep the pasta moving while you mix it around, and the sauce comes together very easily. The main seasoning aside from the salty pasta water, is of course the freshly ground black pepper (pepe). The best way to infuse that floral peppery flavor is to gently infuse the olive oil with the pepper. And because I’m using elements of aglio e olio, do the same with the garlic. You can slice your garlic, or crush it and roughly chop it like I did. You don’t wanna use minced, because it will burn almost immediately. It’s too small. Larger chunks or slices of it, will yield a better flavor. It gets toasty and sweet, and way less harsh on the palate. You can use a combination of pecorino and parmigiano, but that’s totally up to you, toots.

You can leave the shrimp out, or just swap it with another protein. That’s the beauty of cooking — you get to do whatever you want. I took about a half pound of thawed extra large shrimp and soaked them in a quick brine of kosher salt and raw sugar (equal parts). This method really helps enhance the shrimp’s natural sweetness and ocean’y saltiness, without being too much.

Roughly chop some garlic, the amount is totally up to you. I used about 6 large cloves.

Add the garlic, olive oil, and butter to a large skillet.

Don’t forget the pepper! If you’re nervous, start with a little, you can always add more later.

Bring the olive oil, butter, garlic, and black pepper to a gentle simmer over medium-low heat, stirring often.

Meanwhile, bring about 4 inches of water in a large pot to a rumbling boil. Add sea salt and pasta.

As the pasta begins to soften, gently twist and turn it so it all fits in the water. Don’t break your pasta!! I’m not even Italian and I know that’s a serious sin. Be gentle doing this though, you don’t want to break it.

Continuously stir the garlic in the fat around so that it doesn’t burn. Also, because we’re using butter, the milk solids in the butter will brown, and we don’t want those to burn either. Just keep this moving, it’ll take about 5-7 minutes total.

Keep stirring.

See how toasty the garlic is? This is perfect.

Now, add a ladle of starchy salty pasta water to the oil to slow down the cooking process so the garlic doesn’t get any darker.

Steamy!

We’ve achieved this color because of the browned butter. But this is what it looks like with the water added.

Add your al-dente pasta to the skillet, along with any water dripping of it.

Stir around, adding 1 ladle of pasta water at a time until the water, olive oil, and butter start to emulsify.

Add the cheese, while vigorously stirring the pasta.

Keep stirring, the cheese will bring the sauce together. See how it’s clinging?

Continue to add small ladles of pasta water as needed until you’ve reached the consistency you want.

Turn the heat off. Give it a taste, and add more black pepper if you need to. Cover and keep warm. Also, keep a cup of the hot starchy pasta water on hand just in case you need to adjust the consistency as it sits.

Because the shrimp take about 2-3 minutes to cook, you can do this at the very last couple of minutes. Simply saute them in a drizzle of butter and/or olive oil for 1 and a half minutes per side. Turn the heat off and add a fresh squeeze of lemon.

If you want, you can top your whole dish with toasted buttered breadcrumbs, and you have a whole entire meal that was done quickly, and simply.

Aglio Cacio e Pepe with Shrimp

Save Print

Prep time

20 mins

Cook time

15 mins

Total time

35 mins

Tell your nonna I'm sorry, but I do what I want.

Author: Resha from CarnalDish

Serves: 4

Ingredients

Half pound spaghetti (8oz), keep the pasta water for the sauce
6 large cloves garlic, crushed and roughly chopped, or sliced
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
3-4 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup pecorino romano, plus more for serving
2 tablespoons coarse sea salt (to season the pasta water)

For the Shrimp

½ pound extra large shrimp, thawed or fresh (tails removed, see note below)
1 tablespoon kosher salt (1 teaspoon if using fine sea or table salt)
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tsp orange or lemon zest
Crushed red pepper (optional)
Salt and pepper to taste (optional, taste a shrimp first)
Lemon juice (1 tablespoon)

Optional garnish

Fresh parsley
Toasted breadcrumbs (see note below)

Instructions

For the Shrimp

Add the shrimp to a small bowl or large measuring cup, along with the kosher salt, sugar, and zest. Add just enough cold water to cover it, and stir to dissolve the salt and sugar. Let sit for 20 minutes.
After 20 minutes, rinse and drain the shrimp on paper towels.
When ready to cook, heat about 2 tablespoons of olive oil and 1 tablespoon of butter over medium-high heat. Add crushed red pepper if using, and saute shrimp for 1-2 minutes per side. If using smaller shrimp, adjust the cooking time as needed. You don't want rubbery overcooked shrimp. When shrimp is opaque and pink, turn off the heat, toss the shrimp in the oil and butter mixture, and add a splash of lemon juice. Add the shrimp to the pasta dish and enjoy.

For the Aglio Cacio e Pepe

Bring a quart of water to a boil in a pot, adding a very large pinch of sea salt once it starts boiling. Add the spaghetti, gently folding it in so it fits under the water. We are using far less water here on purpose -- we want extra starchy pasta water. Do NOT break the spaghetti, just be patient and gently swirl it in until its submerged. Cook according to package directions, minus 2 minutes.
Meanwhile in a large skillet over medium-low to medium heat, bring the olive oil, butter, black pepper, and garlic to a gentle simmer. Stir the garlic around frequently so it doesn't burn. Also, because we're using butter, the milk solids will brown over time. Keep this mixture moving so nothing burns. You want the garlic to be toasty and straw colored at the most. This will cook for about 5-7 minutes.
Once the garlic is toasty and lightly golden brown around the edges, reduce the heat to low. Add a ladle of the hot starchy pasta water to slow down the cooking process. Stir around to scrape up any browned bits (if you have any). Add another ladle of the pasta water, then add the pasta. Keep the pasta water nearby because this is what the base of our sauce will be comprised of. As soon as you add the pasta, stir vigorously to coat each strand in the oil/butter and water mixture. It should begin to emulsify. Immediately add the pecorino romano while stirring and mixing until it's creamy and fully emulsified. Continue to add starchy pasta water until it's the consistency you prefer. Taste and adjust with salt and pepper as needed. Cover and keep warm. Keep the pasta water to later adjust the consistency while you prepare the shrimp.
Top the pasta with shrimp, fresh parsley, more pecorino, and toasted breadcrumbs (if using).
Enjoy immediately.

Notes

I left the tails on my shrimp because that's just how we preferred to eat them at this time, but you can absolutely remove them!

A quick recipe for toasted breadcrumbs. Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil or butter (or both), to a small skillet over medium heat, along with 1 cup of panko bread crumbs. Toss to coat, making sure every piece is evenly moistened, but not too greasy. Adjust amounts of fat and crumbs as needed. Continuously toss the crumbs around until they're lightly golden brown and toasted through. Feel free to season with dried or fresh herbs, salt, pepper, and whatever you choose.

Citrus Bundt Cake with Buttermilk Lemon Glaze

April 17, 2018 Leave a Comment

I buy so much citrus on a weekly basis, and I love sweets, so naturally…we’ve got a flavorful, moist citrus bundt cake. This is a slight rift on my previous lemon bundt cake, but this time I just wanted to add more citrusy notes. I suggest you do whatever is in your sweet little heart. If you’ve got blood oranges, cara cara oranges, meyer lemons, key limes — whatever. Make this your own!

If you’re a fan of completely coated bundt cakes, then I suggest you double the glaze recipe and fully drench your cake with it. Otherwise, you should be ok with the amount I mention below. No picture tutorial here, because you have a whole entire video to see how this is made, so check it out. You aren’t subscribed to my channel? What in God’s name is wrong with you…

Give this recipe a try!

Citrus Bundt Cake with Buttermilk Lemon Glaze

Save Print

Prep time

25 mins

Cook time

45 mins

Total time

1 hour 10 mins

adapted from Cook's Illustrated

Author: Resha from CarnalDish

Serves: 12

Ingredients

For the Cake:

1 lemon, zested and juiced (2 tbsp) (see note below)
1 lime, zested
1 orange, zested 2 tbsp juiced
3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (15 ounces)
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
½ tsp lemon extract
¾ cup buttermilk
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 large egg yolk, at room temperature
18 tbsp unsalted butter (2¼ sticks), at room temperature
2 cups sugar

For the Glaze:

2 to 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon buttermilk
2 cups confectioners sugar (8 ounces)
Edible flowers, for garnish (optional)

Instructions

FOR THE CAKE:

Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position; heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 12-cup Bundt pan with nonstick baking spray with flour (alternatively, brush pan with mixture of 1 tablespoon flour and 1 tablespoon melted butter). Mince lemon, lime, and orange zest to fine paste (you should have about 3 tablespoons). Juice the lemon until you have 2 tablespoons, and juice the orange until you have 2 tablespoons, or a total of ¼ cup juice. Combine zest and juice in small bowl; set aside to soften, 10 to 15 minutes.
Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in large bowl. Combine lemon juice mixture, vanilla, lemon extract, and buttermilk in medium bowl. In small bowl, gently whisk eggs and yolk to combine. In standing mixer fitted with flat beater, cream butter and sugar at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes; scrape down sides of bowl with rubber spatula. Reduce to medium speed and add half of eggs, mixing until incorporated, about 15 seconds. Repeat with remaining eggs; scrape down bowl again. Reduce to low speed; add about one-third of flour mixture, followed by half of buttermilk mixture, mixing until just incorporated after each addition (about 5 seconds). Repeat using half of remaining flour mixture and all of remaining buttermilk mixture. Scrape bowl and add remaining flour mixture; mix at medium-low speed until batter is thoroughly combined, about 15 seconds. Remove bowl from mixer and fold batter once or twice with rubber spatula to incorporate any remaining flour. Scrape into prepared pan.
Bake until top is golden brown and wooden skewer or toothpick inserted into center comes out with no crumbs attached, 45 to 50 minutes.

FOR THE GLAZE:

While cake is baking, whisk 2 tablespoons lemon juice, buttermilk, and confectioners' sugar until smooth, adding more lemon juice gradually as needed until glaze is thick but still pourable (mixture should leave faint trail across bottom of mixing bowl when drizzled from whisk). Cool cake in pan on wire rack set over baking sheet for 10 minutes, then invert cake directly onto rack. Pour half of glaze over warm cake and let cool for 1 hour; pour remaining glaze evenly over top of cake and continue to cool to room temperature, at least 2 hours. Decorate with edible flowers, if using. Cut into slices and serve.
Store leftover cake in an airtight container so it doesn't dry out.

Notes

You should have about 1 tbsp of lemon zest, 1 tablespoon of lime zest, and 1 tablespoon of orange zest. You won't need all of the juice from the orange, just 2 tablespoons to soak the zest.

Garlic Ginger and Soy Braised Chicken Thighs

April 12, 2018 Leave a Comment

Thighs again? Yes, dammmit. Thighs again! If you can’t tell by now that we are thigh lovers, then you haven’t been paying attention. There’s nothing more succulent, flavorful, and satisfying than a fat juicy thigh with skin rendered so crisp, it shatters in your mouth. Perfection! These gingery-garlic soy braised chicken thighs are pretty dang tasty. The sauce? Oh man! It’s just so good. We served this over some fluffy jasmine rice alongside some sautéed snow peas and carrots, and it was the perfect meal. It gave us that “take out” feel without the gross take-out taste. It was fresh, juicy, flavorful, and it hit every note our palates were begging for. Sweet, salty, savory, tangy, bold, fatty, juicy, crispy, soft…I could go on.

Why braise with dark meat?

Because dark meat (thighs and legs) has enough juicy fat to prevent it from drying out even if its just slightly overcooked. White meat isn’t as forgiving, nor as flavorful. But that’s not a diss against white meat, I love a good chicken boob from time to time. I think of white meat as a blank slate — you can brine or marinate it and have it taste like basically anything. However, I would never advocate braising it. Just..nah. Stick with dark meat.

Ok, but white meat is all I have, what do I do?

For this particular recipe, you could absolutely use white meat, but you’d need to adjust not only the cooking time, but your whole game plan. I would simply sear my chicken breasts on one side, and pour the sauce in as soon as I flip the chicken over and let it finish cooking that way. Less chance of it getting overcooked. Another method would be just to dump everything in a dish and bake it all, but you’d miss out on the delicious maillard of browning the chicken first, which lends a ton of much needed flavor. Simply put, it’s up to you. Now, with wings? Oh goodness! Prepare your wings however you’d like — bake, naked fry, roast, grill, whatever. Bring the liquid to a boil to reduce and thicken, then toss the wings in. That would be amazing.

The reason I chose to cook the chicken without the sauce for the first 15 minutes was because I wanted to give the chicken skin a chance to shrink and dry up just slightly. If you want to just pour the liquid in with the raw chicken and chuck the entire thing in the oven and say “To hell with that step”, I promise you can.

Season your chicken with kosher salt and black pepper.

Pour your soy sauce in a large measuring cup or bowl, and then add about 2 tablespoons of Sambal (garlic chili sauce).

Add some garlic paste, or freshly grated garlic (plus the juice).

Then squeeze in some ginger paste, or finely grated ginger (plus the juice!)

Add a splash of rice wine vinegar.

and some honey.

a tiny splash of dark soy (optional)

Add some brown sugar. Start with 1/4 cup, and continue to taste and add as you see fit.

Add a teaspoon of toasted sesame oil. Be careful with this stuff, if you add to much it can be very overpowering.

Pour in some chili oil, about a teaspoon to start.

Whisk all of this together until the brown sugar dissolves. TASTE IT and adjust until the level of sweet and heat and savory is to YOUR liking. I cannot stress this enough. We all have different palates, some like more savory and heat, some like more sweet, please taste and adjust. I’m begging you 🙂

Place each thigh in a large skillet or braising pan on top of about a tablespoon of oil, and make sure they’re arranged nicely.

Season the patted and dried skin with salt and pepper. Place the chicken in the oven for just 15 minutes to start the drying out process of the skin.

After 15 minutes, take the chicken out and pour the soy braising liquid almost halfway up the chicken. PLEASE NOTE, this mixture will bubble up in the oven, so don’t cover the chicken higher than I did here and use a vessel with sides about 3 inches high if possible.

Like so. Pop this back in the oven and cook for an additional 25-30 minutes. To be safe, place a baking sheet or a long strip of aluminum foil under the pan to catch any potential drips if this sauce boils over. It can get pretty violent, with its delicious little self. If you have any sauce leftover, keep it in your fridge for another day.

Here’s what it looks like when it’s done. Notice the darker rim around the skin of the chicken? That’s how high my sauce rose while cooking in the oven. I was able to have some crispy skin, so that was really all I cared about. This. was. so. damn. good!!!

Garnish with sesame seeds and thinly sliced scallions, and enjoy with some fluffy rice and a squeeze of fresh lime.

Enjoy!

It’s extremely important that you keep tinkering with this sauce until its to your liking. I gave you starting point measurements, so please feel free to add more of something if you need to. We started with a fourth cup of brown sugar, and ended up adding another (damn near) half cup. That’s just me, though. It came out perfectly balanced. I had just a few tablespoons of sauce leftover, and I almost saved it, but I knew I had to stop being a sauce hoarder and just let it go. If you have any sauce leftover, by all means, save it! It would be good glazed over just about anything, especially vegetables.

Ginger Garlic and Soy Braised Chicken

Save Print

Prep time

15 mins

Cook time

40 mins

Total time

55 mins

Author: Resha from CarnalDish

Serves: 4-6 servings

Ingredients

8-10 chicken thighs, bone-in skin on
⅔ cup soy sauce (you can use low-sodium)
2 tablespoons garlic chili paste (Sambal)
2 tablespoons garlic paste (or grated garlic)
2 tablespoons ginger paste (or grated ginger)
¼ cup rice wine vinegar
¼ cup honey
¼ cup brown sugar, *plus more if needed
1 tablespoon dark soy sauce (optional)
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
1 teaspoon chili oil (optional)
kosher salt & black pepper

Garnish

Scallions, thinly sliced
Sesame seeds
Lime wedges

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Dry the skin of each thigh with paper towels and season the flesh side with salt and pepper. I can't tell you how much to add here, because it depends if you're using regular soy sauce or low sodium, as well as your personal preference. When in doubt, use a little less, because you can always add more at the end if needed. Pour 1 tablespoon of oil (olive, canola, or vegetable) in a large skillet or braising pan. Arrange the chicken so that there's just a little space between them and they're not crammed. Season the dried skin side with salt and pepper, set aside.
In a large measuring cup or medium sized bowl, add the soy sauce, garlic chili paste (Sambal), garlic paste, ginger paste, rice wine vinegar, honey, brown sugar, dark soy sauce (if using), toasted sesame oil, and chili oil. Whisk until the sugar is dissolved. Taste this mixture. If you want it sweeter, add more brown sugar. If you want it spicier, add more Sambal or chili oil. When it's perfectly balanced for your tastes, set aside.
Place the chicken in the oven and roast for 15 minutes. Remove, and pour in the soy braising liquid in until it goes up the sides of the chicken, but not too much -- because this mixture boils in the oven and rises quite a bit. Please use my photo as a reference as to how much to put in. Pop it back in the oven and continue to cook until the internal temperature of the chicken registers 175 degrees on an instant-read thermometer, about 25-30 minutes longer. The sauce should be thickened slightly and sticky, but easily pourable.
Serve over fluffy rice and garnish with scallions and sesame seeds. Squeeze with fresh lime to really set the flavors off. Enjoy!

Karaage | How to Make Japanese Fried Chicken

April 12, 2018 Leave a Comment

Japanese fried chicken, Korean fried chicken, Thai fried chicken — listen…Aisan’s really know what they’re doing when it comes to frying up some delicious yard bird. The techniques are so simple and straight-forward, and the results speak for themselves. They specialize in crunch, juicy flavorful meat, and simplicity. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely adore some good ol fashioned Southern style fried chicken — it’s what I grew up on. But I’m also allowed to love all kinds of fried chicken, from different cuisines around the world. That’s called growth. Karaage is simply the method behind the deliciousness. You can “karaage” anything — seafood, meat, etc., but it’s often used with chicken. Basically, you marinate the chicken and toss it in a seasoned blend of flour and potato starch. However, rules are made to be broken. Many people dredge this however they choose to, using just potato starch, or just cornstarch, or just flour, or a combination of all three. You can marinate the chicken in the starter blend of soy sauce, mirin, sake, garlic, and ginger, and then add other things that suit your specific tastes. I plan on getting very creative with this technique as we move forward. Below is my very first attempt at karaage, and it turned out really delicious.

Here’s how to make Karaage!

Check out my video on how to make this super bomb dish, and of course, the recipe is below.

Karaage | Japanese Fried Chicken

Japanese Fried Chicken "Karaage"

Save Print

Prep time

1 hour 20 mins

Cook time

10 mins

Total time

1 hour 30 mins

How to make delicious Japanese fried chicken at home. Not an authentic recipe, but very adaptable.

Author: Resha from CarnalDish

Serves: 4-5 servings

Ingredients

Marinade:

5-6 chicken thighs, deboned, skin left on, cut into chunks
1 teaspoon kosher salt (optional)
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon grated garlic
1 tablespoon grated ginger
⅓ cup soy sauce (if using low-sodium soy sauce, you'll need to add more salt, otherwise the chicken will be bland)
¼ cup mirin
¼ cup sake

Dredge

½ cup all-purpose flour
½ cup potato starch
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Oil for frying
Lemon wedges
Lettuce or Cabbage, shredded
Japanese Mayo (Kewpie)
Rice Seasoning (optional)

Instructions

In a large bowl, add the chunks of chicken, kosher salt, black pepper, garlic, ginger, soy sauce, mirin, and sake. Toss gently to combine. Let it sit for about a half hour, to an hour.
Heat about 2-3 inches of oil in a pot or shallow pan to 350 degrees.
Meanwhile, in a separate bowl, combine the flour, potato starch, and salt. Dredge each piece of chicken thoroughly and set aside on a plate while the oil heats up. When the oil is ready, fry the chicken in batches, as not to reduce the temperature of the oil too drastically -- about 5 minutes. Remove chicken from hot oil and let it drain and rest. Once all the chicken is fried, heat the oil to 400 degrees, and give the chicken one last fry for 1-2 minutes max. Drain on paper towels or a rimmed baking sheet lined with a cooling rack. Lightly dust with sea salt if needed (taste first).
Serve with lemon wedges, lettuce or cabbage, and Japanese Mayo (Kewpie). Enjoy!

Items used in video:

Japanese Rice Seasoning
https://amzn.to/2vahliP
Large Cutting Board
https://amzn.to/2GN4WXg
Boning Knife
https://amzn.to/2H9P6VX
4qt. Enameled Cast Iron Braising pan (used to fry)
https://amzn.to/2v2uFWf
Microplane
https://amzn.to/2GNIqgX
Metal Tweezers/Tongs
https://amzn.to/2HozEDh
Metal Bowl
https://amzn.to/2GLxVef
Glass Bowls
https://amzn.to/2IFUtcM
Spider Strainer
https://amzn.to/2JAIGxE
Japanese Mayo (Kewpie)
https://amzn.to/2HaZQng
Potato Starch
https://amzn.to/2Hq4The
Baking Sheet
https://amzn.to/2IKfmDH
Cooling Rack
https://amzn.to/2JwjTut

Chicken Tikka Masala

April 9, 2018 Leave a Comment

If you haven’t had Chicken Tikka Masala, you haven’t lived. I must say this now: this is not authentic, it’s just damn good. I rarely do authentic anything, because I love and kinda must put my OWN spin on just about everything I cook. This stuff here is magic in your mouth, just sooo yummy and rich. The chicken literally melts in your mouth. I need you to try this version, just do it. Make it a weekend project, because the 4 hour marination REALLY sets this off.

Living near an international market is a blessing. I highly recommend you Google or Yelp for one in your area, you’d be surprised. Some of them hide in places you’ve probably driven by or flat out ignored. International markets are amazing for many reasons, but my favorite reason? The low prices on spices and seasonings! I remember going to regular grocery stores and paying between $5-$11 for a single spice. Girl, why? I can find a bag of dried chilis, or ground shrimp powder, or Indian cumin for like $2. So, naturally, I have a VERY large collection of spices and seasonings. I want to be able to whip up just about any kind of cuisine whenever the mood strikes. Today, the mood was chicken tikka masala. We literally buy chicken thighs several times a week, so the only thing I needed to buy was the yogurt.

Typically, people make this dish (which originated in Britain — wild!) with chicken breasts. No. No. Absolutely not. I mean, you’re grown, you can do what you want, but I don’t recommend breasts at all — at least not in this context. I HIIIIIIIGHLY recommend you find a pack of boneless/skinless chicken thighs and proceed to the magic. Thighs are just way juicier, more flavorful, and they are able to be braised a lot longer than breasts — which dry out fast and become leathery and chewy and just…no. No! Please don’t use breasts for *THIS* recipe, because I’m suggesting you let this baby cook for a while. Not too long, under an hour but not the normal 20 minutes it would take with breasts. I am all about developing flavors, so sure, you could make this in 20 minutes with breasts, but I can’t guarantee you’ll get the kind of mouthgasm we got from the thighs and a longer braising time. It’s up to you though, boo.

I also added more spices than most recipes you’ll find online, just due to personal preference. Again, we like flavor around here, and I like to make things my own.

This is Chicken Tikka Masala, the CarnalDish way.

If you want authentic, you might wanna skip this recipe. But if you want damn good, keep scrolling.

Chop your thighs into bite sized pieces.

Gather your spices.

Combine the spices, yogurt, ginger and garlic paste.

So, this is how I cook. I add things as I think of them. Here, I was like “hey! lemme add some dried cilantro”, so I did.

Add that blob of goodness to your chopped up chicken.

Mix it all around. See how thick it is? I mean, that’s cool and all, but I want it a tad creamier…

So, I added about 2-3 tablespoons of water…oh, I’m not done on the moisture front.

See…it needs a nice squeeze of lemon. I used a whole lemon. Roll your lemon around on the counter with some pressure to release even more juice.

Now, this is the consistency I wanted. If you use regular yogurt instead of greek, you’ll already have this consistency. But still add lemon.

Heat about 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil to your skillet. You could also use ghee, but I didn’t have any on hand, so I’m using this. This works perfectly in a nonstick skillet, but I didn’t feel like fumbling around for mine.

Over medium-high’ish heat, brown the chicken until you get lil golden brown specks like this. The goal here is just to get a little color (if possible), but we don’t want to fully cook the chicken because it’s gonna stew later. So do this for about 3min per side.

So you should have some nice brown bits at the bottom of your pan, as well as some fat from the chicken. We’re gonna sauté the onions in that. So throw those in, with the garlic and ginger paste.

Add kosher salt. This will help the onions release some liquid, which will also help you scrape up even more of those yummy brown bits at the bottom.

Add the curry, garam masala, cumin, and turmeric. Toss around so those spices bloom and release their flavors.

Oh! I added some hot and sweet paprika here, optional for you, but I highly recommend it if you have it.

A nice blob of rich tomato paste.

Mix the tomato paste around to coat the onions and cook this down for about 3-5 minutes, or until the paste kinda turns brownish-red.

It’s just pretty. Let’s take a second to admire.

Now, add the tomato puree, diced tomatoes, and add about a half cup to a full cup of water. The water will help loosen the sauce, so it gives you a lil more time to cook it down and reduce.

Let this simmer on medium-low heat for about 20 minutes. I didn’t take a pic, but I added some cayenne pepper, granulated garlic and onion, and a little more salt here.

Brown sugar will really help round out all of the flavors. It’s not going to make it sweet, but it will give it a much needed balance so it’s not so harsh. I added about two tablespoons total. Start with one tablespoon, taste, and see if you need more.

Ok, so assuming you’re in control of this dish, seeing as how you’re cooking it — and you’ve been tasting it along the way, making sure it’s perfect for YOUR standards, this is when you add a nice hunk of cold butter. The cold butter will slowly melt and emulsify this sauce, making it velvety AF!

See how thick? Nice and perfect. Well-seasoned, just yes. YAAAS!

Add the cream.

Stir that cream up in there.

Add the rested chicken to the sauce, stir it in there, and get ready…because we’re down to the wire.

I added a little more turmeric, about a half teaspoon if I had to guess, just to help emphasize that yummy burnt orange color. Plus, turmeric is just lovely for the body. Cover this, turn the heat to low, and let this get happy for about 10-15 minutes.

Give it a taste, if it needs anything at all — which it shouldn’t, because yanno, you’ve been cooking and tasting this whole time — go ahead and add it now. Then sit back and marvel at your sexy dish. You did that. Garnish with cilantro, serve it over rice or naan/roti/chapati/whatever (or both if you’re into fatassery like myself). Enjoy, m’love!

This. Was. SO. DAMN. GOOD!!!

It was even better the next day, I swear. The chicken was STILL tender and damn near melting in our mouths, just so good after being reheated. I’m sad it’s almost gone. I may have to warm up a bowl before my boyfriend wakes up — because I know he’ll kill it and leave me assed out.

Products/Tools used:

Chicken Tikka Masala

Save Print

Prep time

4 hours

Cook time

50 mins

Total time

4 hours 50 mins

Please understand how amazing this is about to be for you. I need you to prepare yourself, kthxbi.

Author: Resha from CarnalDish

Serves: Invite friends, hella servings

Ingredients

Marinade

8-10 boneless/skinless chicken thighs, chopped into chunks
⅔ cup plain greek yogurt
1 rounded tablespoon garlic paste
1 rounded tablespoon ginger paste
Juice from 1 lemon
¼ cup water (optional, SEE NOTE BELOW)
1 rounded tablespoon kosher salt (SEE NOTE BELOW)
2 teaspoons turmeric
2 teaspoons garam masala
2 teaspoons coriander
2 teaspoons cumin
1½ teaspoons chili powder
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon granulated onion
½ teaspoon granulated garlic
1 teaspoon dried cilantro

Masala Sauce

2 tablespoons butter, ghee or vegetable oil
2 large white onions, diced
1 rounded tablespoon ginger paste
1 rounded tablespoon garlic paste
1 teaspoon cumin
½ teaspoon garam masala
½ teaspoon hot curry powder (optional)
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon hot paprika (optional)
1 teaspoon sweet paprika (smoked would be great)
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 15oz can diced tomatoes
1 15oz can tomato puree
1 cup water
½ teaspoon granulated garlic
½ teaspoon granulated onion
1-2 tablespoons brown sugar
3 tablespoons cold unsalted butter
1 cup heavy cream
Kosher salt & pepper to taste
Fresh cilantro, to garnish
Serve with lime wedges, rice and/or flatbread of choice
Extra virgin olive oil, to drizzle (optional)

Instructions

For the marinade

In a large bowl, combine all of the dried spices and herbs with the greek yogurt. Add the garlic and ginger paste, and the lemon juice and water (if using). Mix well, and add the chunks of chicken thighs. Mix to evenly combine, cover with plastic wrap and set aside on your kitchen counter for at least 1 hour on your counter, up to 2. You can also marinate this for up to 4 hours in your fridge. Do not let this marinate more than 4 hours! The lemon juice and yogurt will start to "cook" the chicken and compromise the texture. So FOUR hours MAX!!
Heat a large skillet (nonstick would be easier to deal with, but not entirely necessary) over medium-high heat. Add a couple tablespoons of fat (butter, ghee, or oil). When the fat is hot, add enough chicken to cover the pan, but leave about an inch of space between each piece. You don't want to overcrowd the pan because then the chicken will steam instead of brown. And because you're using thighs, they'll need a bit more room to release their fat. Brown both sides of the chicken until spotty brown, some will be browner than others and that's okay. Also, if your chicken is sticking to the pan (and you're using a non-stick), leave it alone until it's ready to release on its own. You may need to do this in batches, I had to do mine in 3 batches total. Which was cool, because I had a nice layer of fond (browned bits) at the bottom of the pan by the time it was over. The goal here is to just get a little color on the chicken, you don't want to cook it all the way through because it will continue to braise in the sauce later. Set your chicken aside and let's work on the sauce.

For the sauce

You should have a good amount of fat left in the pan from the chicken, but if you don't, add a little more. Reduce the heat to medium, and add the onions, garlic paste, and ginger paste. Add some kosher salt to help the onions sweat a little faster. Cook the onions until softened -- about 5 minutes, stirring and scraping up the browned bits at the bottom of the pan. Add all of the dried spices to the onions except for the granulated garlic and onion. Let these spices bloom in the fat, continue to scrape the pan if necessary. Tip: If at any point your heat is too high and things are burning, please lower it! Add a splash of water if the browned bits aren't releasing easily enough, and don't worry, this will evaporate.
Add the tomato paste. Stir the paste around and toast for about 5-7 minutes or until the paste deepens in color. Add the pureed tomatoes, diced tomatoes, and water. Continue to scrape any browned bits if necessary. Bring to a simmer, and reduce the heat to medium-low. Leave uncovered or semi-covered. If it's splashing everywhere, reduce the heat! Add the granulated garlic and onion, kosher salt and pepper to taste. Let this sauce reduce until its nice and thick, about 15-20 minutes. Add the cold butter, and stir in in to let it slowly melt and emulsify the sauce. When it's visibly thicker in consistency, add the brown sugar and stir to combine. Give it a taste! See what it needs, add whatever you need to. You are in full control here. The measurements I give you for the seasonings specifically, are starting point measurements. You may want to add more of this and that, and feel completely free to do so!
When you're happy with it, add the heavy cream. Stir that around until it's fully incorporated. Give it another taste, because cream can mute some flavors, and you may or may not need to re-boost certain things. Now, add the rested chicken and the accumulated juices back to the sauce. Stir gently and make sure each piece of chicken is basically covered. Reduce the heat to low, and simmer gently for an additional 10-15 minutes. Give it one last taste, because this is your last chance to adjust anything.
Finally, you're done. Serve this delicious stuff over rice, or alongside any kind of flatbread. We're fans of the carb, so we ate it with both. Garnish with fresh cilantro, and serve with wedges of lime and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. Whew! Get your life.

Notes

If using regular plain yogurt, you may not need to add the water. I used water to help thin out the super thick greek yogurt, but it's totally optional either way.

If you don't have kosher salt, which is a much bigger flake and less salty than regular salt, you will need to adjust the measurement. Don't use a full tablespoon of fine or table salt, it will give you high blood pressure! That's way too salty, maybe a teaspoon at the most. Be safe and use as little as you can, because you can always add it later, but you cannot take it away.

If you cannot find garlic or ginger paste, just use finely minced fresh garlic and ginger instead.

Skip links

Main navigation

recipes

Here’s some tips to avoid some possible failures

Can I leave the skin on?

How to make this cake pop

Why braise with dark meat?

Ok, but white meat is all I have, what do I do?

Here’s how to make Karaage!

Items used in video:

This is Chicken Tikka Masala, the CarnalDish way.

Products/Tools used: