Burnt Leeks and Beans

I was reading about butter beans (yes I know they're blowing up right now) and saw an Instagram recipe that I thought would be really good. I could not make it as written but wanted to put my own spin on it.

Notes:

• I was concerned about having dirt in my leeks if prepared the way the author shows in their video, so I sliced my leeks in half lengthwise before cooking them, rubbed a bit of olive oil on them, then baked them in the air fryer for about 20 minutes to get some charred bits.
  
• The recipe is designed to be vegan but since I'm not vegan and didn't want to go to the store specifically for vegan ingredients I used standard dairy butter and milk.
• I scaled it down to fit the amount of ingredients I had, especially since it made a lot and I knew I'd be the only one eating it.
• I didn't bake it after mixing everything together because I was short on time.
  
• I ate it on top of toasted bread.
  

Verdict: It was fairly easy to make which was nice. I burned my mouth trying to eat it before it was cool enough to eat it and it still tasted good. White wine adds such a nice flavor. I would love to have it again.

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RECIPE:

Burnt Leeks and Beans
adapted from Burnt Leeks and Beans (Georgie Eats)
Serves 2-3

2 large leeks or 3-4 small (about 500 g)
2 tsp olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tbsp (30 g) butter
1 tbsp (8 g) all purpose flour
2 large garlic cloves, minced (if using prepared garlic, about 2 tsp)
2/3 cup (150 ml) half and half or milk of your choice
Scant 1/4 cup (50 ml) dry white wine (I like chardonnay)
1 whole sprig fresh rosemary, or 1/2 tsp dried and crumbled
1/2 tbsp (about 4 g) nutritional yeast
16 oz can (about 450 g) butter beans or white cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
Crusty bread, for serving

Preheat the oven to 425 F (or 400 F for air fryer/convection oven). Trim the root ends and tops from the leeks at the point they start to flare (where it starts to turn a darker green). Reserve tops for another use or discard. Cut in half lengthwise, rinse thoroughly (separate the layers a little while rinsing to get between them). Dry thoroughly. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle generously with salt and black pepper. Place on an aluminum foil lined baking tray and roast for 30 minutes, or until significantly browned/charred on the outside.

While the leeks are roasting, melt butter in a saute pan over medium heat. When fully melted and foaming, whisk in flour and garlic vigorously to form a paste (roux). Cook while whisking for several more minutes to fully cook the flour. Gradually add milk a little at a time, whisking continuously, to make a smooth sauce. Add the white wine and rosemary, then heat the sauce to a gentle simmer and cook for 5-6 minutes, stirring frequently, until thickened and glossy and alcohol has been evaporated. Remove the rosemary sprig from the sauce (if using fresh; if using dried omit this step), then add nutritional yeast and stir to combine. Add salt and black pepper to taste.

Transfer roasted leeks to a cutting board and chop roughly (into about 2 in/5 cm length pieces). Add these to the pan with the sauce. Add beans to the pan. Stir to coat the leeks and beans thoroughly with the sauce. If you like, you can transfer this to an oven-proof dish and bake at 400 F for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown on top, but can also be eaten as is at this point. Top with freshly ground black pepper to taste, and serve with crusty bread.

Yaki Udon (Udon Noodle Stir Fry)

I bought a package of dried udon noodles at a Japanese grocery store and was looking for new things to do with them, and came across this recipe. I like yakisoba (which is basically the same thing but with a different type of noodle) so I thought this would be good too.

Notes:

• I used shredded rotisserie chicken for the protein rather than ground meat.
• You can make it vegetarian by using a vegetarian friendly protein like tofu or eggs, and a vegetarian friendly oyster sauce.
  
• For vegetables I used chopped green cabbage and matchstick cut carrots, but you can use whatever vegetables you like that taste good cooked. I recommend at least one leafy vegetable.
  
• I used par-cooked (mostly but not fully cooked) dried udon noodles because it's what I had on hand. While frozen ones would probably be more convenient, I like that the dried noodles are not as thick.
  

Verdict: I have made this twice now and I really like it. I would gladly have it again.

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RECIPE: Yaki Udon (Drive Me Hungry)

Roasted Cabbage with Walnuts and Parmesan

I *finally* located some Savoy cabbage to be able to make this and I was very excited to try it.

Verdict: It was all right, but I'm not sure I'd go out of my way to make it again, especially because my partner wasn't a big fan of it.

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RECIPE: Roasted Cabbage with Walnuts and Parmesan (Deb Perelman, Smitten Kitchen)

Korean Beef Bowl

Looking for a new dinner idea and had ground beef and a container of kimchi on hand, so I decided to make this.

Notes:

• I served it with kimchi on the side.

Verdict: It was quick and tasty! Partner loved it too. I would definitely have it again.

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RECIPE: Korean Beef Bowl (Chungah Rhee, Damn Delicious)

Matcha Latte Cookies

As a huge fan of matcha and matcha lattes (the flavor of matcha just works so well with dairy) I HAD to try these.

Notes:

• I found it unusual that the matcha is mixed with the vanilla extract rather than sifted into the dry ingredients, but the recipe author says it's to "bloom" the matcha flavor with alcohol. I do think it made a difference (the matcha tasted less bitter), but I'm used to the mild bitterness of the matcha so I don't know that I'd do it this way if I made it again. I personally found it kind of messy.
• There's a LOT of vanilla extract for one batch of cookies (1.5 TABLEspoons)and I found that combined with the above it almost felt like too much, like it overpowered the matcha a bit.
• I could also taste the peanut butter in the final product and I'm not sure I liked that. I might try a more neutral/complementary flavor nut butter next time, like almond butter.
• The ermine frosting was really interesting in a good way (milk flavored frosting sounded good) and I'm glad I got to try it with this recipe.
  

Verdict: They were pretty good but quite sweet. I prefer the taste without frosting, though the mix of textures of the cookie and frosting is really nice. While they were good, I think I like these matcha cookies better. But that's a personal opinion. I would make these again with the changes I listed above to see if I like them any better.

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RECIPE: Matcha Latte Cookies (Eric Joonho Kim, NYT Cooking)

(Video version)

Chinese Broccoli with Oyster Sauce

This is the easiest way I've found so far to make this dish and had to note it here. The Chinese name for it is 蚝蠔芥蘭.

Notes:

• I had less vegetable to start with so I scaled down the recipe to fit what I had.

Verdict: This was really tasty! I knew before making it that I like this dish, and thought this version was really nice and easy to make. I would definitely make it again and this particular person really makes me want to learn more about Chinese cooking techniques. His father apparently worked in the restaurant business for most of his life as a cook/chef, and a big part of this person's reason for making a blog and videos is to document and share his father's extensive knowledge.

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RECIPE: Perfect Chinese Broccoli w/Oyster Sauce (Made with Lau)

(Video version)

Potato Kugel

This is another recipe I had on the "try" list for quite some time, and I thought it would go well with Christmas dinner (salmon and vegetables).

Notes:

• I learned to use the slicer disks on my food processor for this and there was a bit of a learning curve so the potatoes ended up different sizes.
• I served it with sour cream and fresh dill.
• I sliced leftover pieces of this lengthwise and pan fried it to go with breakfast eggs (and it was tasty).
  

Verdict: I would like to try making this again with a bigger grate on the potatoes (use the larger holes on the food processor, or maybe a box grater) and in a shallower pan. I think mine may have been too thick because it didn't get very crispy, and it also turned a little gray/brown so it didn't look as nice as the recipe author's.

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RECIPE: Potato Kugel (Deb Perelman, Smitten Kitchen)