Friday, March 29, 2013

Bunny chow de chivo, Tejano-style.

Quarter chivo. Texas-style bunny chow. © Ryan Schierling
I was at the fancy grocery store a while back, and there was a little girl in the bread aisle throwing an unfettered hissy fit. "I don't want to eat the ends of the bread!" she cried at her mother. Mom looked confused. "What?" 

"I DON'T WANT TO EAT THE ENDS OF THE BREAD!!!!" the girl shrieked again. Her mother shook her head, grabbed her daughter's hand and, still somewhat puzzled, explained earnestly "You don't have to eat the ends of the bread."

The little girl crossed her arms indignantly and scowled. "Good. Because only poor people eat the ends of the bread."

I wanted to grab a $40 jar of Bar-Le-Duc red currant jam, hand-seeded with a solitary goose quill, and throw it at her precious little head. Not only do poor people eat the ends of the bread, sometimes they repurpose the empty plastic bread bags to put over their kids' shoes when they're out playing in the snow. I might have some deep-seated childhood issues about that one, but I will still make a sandwich out of the heels of the bread if that's what's left. Waste not, want not. 

As for what poor people do and do not eat, some of those back-of-the-pantry, scraped-together, day-before-payday, simple meals are the best things you will ever put in your mouth. However fancified by restaurants in the last few years, soul food and comfort food all come from the deep roots of poverty, part and parcel. 

Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Thai green curry rice balls.

Fried jasmine rice and Thai green curry balls with crispy basil. © Ryan Schierling

Around here we use the term "legacy" when referring to the yesterday's food and its delicious potential. Most folks use the designation "leftovers" but that seems so... unseemly. In this instance, I am referring to our last post and the recipe for Thai green curry. Make it, enjoy it, and save whatever remains for these delicious Thai curry balls.

You will need about two cups of chilled curry with plenty of tofu and vegetables from our Thai Green Curry with Fresh Tofu recipe. If you have few cups of rice from the day before, you may use that, but if it has been more than a day I would recommend making a fresh batch of jasmine rice. The only other items you will need are some additional coconut milk and panko breakcrumbs. Plus oil for frying, of course.

That's it. No eggs are necessary. The tofu acts as a moist binder on the inside – not to mention it being a great source of protein – and we use coconut milk instead of eggs to prepare the balls for breading.

Whether the aim is to make yesterday's Thai curry new again, or to simply sneak a bunch of vegetables into a beloved picky eater with the allure of fried food, we're all over these little appetizers. But calling them leftovers? I have no idea what you're talking about.

Sunday, March 17, 2013

Better than take-out Thai green curry.

Thai green curry with tofu. © Ryan Schierling
I'm not sure why it's taken so long for me to finally write about this dish. Even with a fair number of requests for the recipe, we've never managed to detail how we make it. We've just made it

So, the few who have had it – in the spontaneous and informal space of an evening at home – have been friends stopping by the wee suburban cabin when no plans were made and there was no special occasion to celebrate. It represents to us the simple comfort of family and nourishment to warm the belly. 

How green curry came to be part of our repertoire is one of the earliest food stories that Ryan and I share. Before I moved into the bungalow next door to Ryan in Seattle – before we'd even met – I lived a short block away in a sweet, old third-floor apartment right above a Thai restaurant. Once every week or two I would either stop by or call in an order for pick-up. The were five or six dishes I particularly enjoyed, but the curry (especially the green curry) was my rich and delicious "usual" on a cold and rainy night.

Sunday, March 10, 2013

Scrapple.

(L) Scrapple and duck eggs. (R) Pan-frying scrapple in butter. © Ryan Schierling
It's been a bit of a stretch since we've posted anything new here on Foie Gras Hot Dog. A few weeks ago – in a bizarre work-related accident – a frantic, frightened feral cat chomped down on my hand a good half-dozen times. Apparently, felines have filthier mouths than Richard Pryor. The cat escaped, and as my hand swelled to twice-normal size, the doctors said I was going to need a truckload of antibiotics and it was imperative that I start rabies vaccination shots. Did you ever hear the horror stories about getting rabies shots when you were a kid? That the needle was the size of a #2 pencil and they put it into your bellybutton until it scraped your spine? Thankfully, the process isn't really like that anymore. Not a great time, but my hand is getting better – I can type and hold a camera again.

So, it's good to get the goose back on the hot dog. 

As most of you already know, I'm a huge fan of geographic oddities when it comes to food. There are dishes that never stray too far from their origins, and if you don't seek them out, it's possible to go through your entire life without ever having them pass your lips. The Horseshoe. The Hot Brown. Lobster rolls. Loco Moco. Burgoo. Cincinnati chili. Chicken riggies. Zydeco salad. 

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