Category Archives: Recipes

DIY Sous Vide for $75? Here’s DIY Sous Vide for (Almost) Free

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sous vide.jpg
Flickr/snekse
How to do this, for cheap
 
Thx to ForkintheRoad for this…
 
​The DIY movement has led to lots of great things–bacon jam, moonshining, Sam Mason’s artisanal mayonnaise. Er, right. But the homemade aesthetic has also gone beyond matters of taste. The New York Timesprofiles several crafty folks who have created innovations in machinery, including Scott Heimendinger, who created a $75 home sous vide cooker using off-the-shelf components.

 Now, $75 is still a comparative bargain to $1200, but Fork in the Road can do you one better. Here’s the $1 sous vide method. Continue reading →

Recipe – Filloas

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Food is a quintessential part of any celebration, and Carnival is no exception.  Filloas are typically prepared in Galicia around Carnival, although when I was in A Coruna for a fiesta this past summer, there was a vendor making these delicious crepes on a hot stone. (This was actually my first time trying filloas!)  Just in time for Mardi Gras, I’ll give you the background story on filloas and share a recipe; the custard filling is an extra treat!

Filloas...don't dare call them crepes!

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Recipes – Torrijas (just in time for Mardi Gras!)

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Torrijas are typically consumed in Spain around Carnival and Easter.  Many Americans are more familiar with torrijas in their breakfast manifestation, also known as “French toast.”  It appears that torrijas made their first documented debut in Spain in the 1400s and the dish was touted as being suitable for women recovering from labor.  (Can’t make this up.)  In the late 1800s and early 1900s, it was very popular to serve torrijas with a glass of wine in taverns in Madrid.

There are many variants on torrijas recipes and I will share one that I have tried with you below.  (I am preemptively getting ready for Carnival, as it is arriving pretty late this year.  Oh, and this was a nice way to recover from the Wine Expo.)

I used ciabatta, but feel free to use any old bread.

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Recipe – Chocogasm

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Candy Cane Valrhona Hot Cocoa (2:1 Chocogasm ratio)

While we’re on the subject of Chocolate themed posts…

This recipe will satiate any sweet tooth. We had a hankering for something chocolatey last night so we whipped up this easy to make drink. Chocolate and mint go hand in hand, so we figured we’d throw in some candy cane, which is essentially what? Peppermint oil. Many recipes call for adding the liquid mixture into the melted chocolate last for added luster/sheen, but we find our method works just as well. Use Valrhona chocolate, only the best! We’re convinced that after trying our recipe, you’ll never drink Swiss Miss again! Continue reading →

Recipe – Caldo Gallego

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My immune system is failing me.  AND I’m pressed for time.  AND I have zero appetite.  So when I’m feeling under the weather and need to keep my strength, what better cure than an easy-to-prepare, hearty soup?  Most recently, I fixed up some Caldo Gallego.

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Recipe – Sobagasm

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Witness: Sobagasm

Today we bring you a one pan meal, one of Jeff’s favorite homemade lunches. The textural interplay of ingredients here is extraordinary. Bacon/Kimchee/Egg/Soba..what’s not to like? We use turkey bacon since it’s the less of two evils. If using regular bacon, you can cook the bacon before the eggs and skip the canola oil. Continue reading →

Recipes – Cookiegasm

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Cookiegasm (L: VALRHONA COCONUT ALMOND COOKIE, R: WHITE CHOCO COCONUT MACADAMIA COOKIE)

Due to numerous requests, we have decided to publish our highly coveted Cookiegasm recipe. Cookiegasm, experienced when one reaches a euphoric state when consuming a cookie,  is not to be confused w/  Cookie Cookie, okay folks? Usually recipes online will tell you each batch makes X quantity, when in fact it makes 2X that amount. Don’t know if they are referring to Levain-sized softball cookies, but we’re not here. This recipe will give you a versatile option of adding your own FIXINS of choice. Our cookies yielded a nice soft chewy consistency but YMMV.

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Gildas – A Superbowl Party Snack

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With the Super Bowl this weekend, I want to have snacks that are easy to prepare and pair nicely with beer and wine.  Tostitos and dip aren’t the most thoughtful things to bring as a guest, plus they’re kind of boring.  So what am I making?  Gildas!

Gildas are very typical of the Basque region of Spain.  The pepper that tops the gilda is a guindilla, which is also indigenous to the area.  Guindillas are delicious – they are a great combination of sweet and spicy and the vinegar they come packaged in provides tanginess.

To make gildas, you will need the following: a baguette, green olives, guindillas, anchovies, and toothpicks.  Really simple stuff!

 

Slicing everything is the most complicated step...seriously!

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Recipe – Kickass Smoothie

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Pronounced ‘Ah-sah-hee’, this Brazilian superfruit is said (but not proven) to have many health benefits due to its anti-aging and weight loss properties. High in anti-oxidants, anthocyanins and flavanoids, acai is said to combat free radicals to give you a youthful glow. This berry has appeared in vitamin form as well as in cosmetics, sorbets even. Acai can even be found in liquor form via VeeV Spirits. A lazy alternative would be a prepackaged Zola drink if you are in a hurry. After experimenting with many recipes,  Jeff found the balance of this kickass smoothie recipe to be just right. Continue reading →

Recipe – Sweet and Sour Whole Fish

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This recipe is an AUTHENTIC Chinese dish that many moms use. Jeff made his mom’s recipe below recently for the forthcoming Chinese New Year. Fish symbolizes abundance in Chinese culture and who doesn’t want that, right?

Total cook time: 15min
Total prep time: 20min
Serves 4 people Continue reading →

Recipes: Herb Focaccia

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In the last year, bread making has become a hobby of mine.  I could think of no better bread to start off on a first-time bread making venture than focaccia.  For whatever reason, a large percentage of the focaccia out there really isn’t that good.  At least when compared with this recipe.  I can think of no better way to try to convince you to try this recipe than this: Continue reading →

Recipes (x3) – Mexican Cooking Class

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Why the heck would someone take a cooking class while on vacation? Let’s face it..work is not work when you are having fun.Having done my research prior and stumbling across this find, I could not pass up what appeared to be a good opportunity to edjumacate myself about Mexican cooking. It was taught by a real Mexican, if that counts. Hey, he spoke perfect English. Bonus: the guy serving our drinks was Mexican too, could you believe that? No friggin way. Onwards… Continue reading →

Lemon-Ginger Trifle: When Life Gives you Lemons…

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We all know things don’t always go the way you want them to, especially in the kitchen… And yet, life is full of kitchen miracles, too. Like this amazing lemon-ginger trifle, which began its life as a ruined ginger cake (David Lebovitz’s recipe on Epicurious; delicious, but I had some trouble getting it out of the pan in one piece).

 
Image and video hosting by TinyPic

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Eatymology & Spanish Food 101 – Empanada de Bacalao

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One of my favorite memories of spending so much time in Spain was waking up in the morning to run my errands.  Unlike the supermarkets and convenience stores that we have in the States, stores in Spain specialize in the type of goods offered or sold.  (Sadly, this is starting to change – I saw many more hypermarkets creeping up on my last visit to Spain.  Also, El Corte Ingles now has a supermarket section in many of its stores, further forcing small businesses and mom and pop shops out of business.  Hey Walmart, sounds familiar, right?)  Most of us love the idea of convenience and one-stop shopping.  I, however, love to interact with each of the shopkeepers as I buy my fruit, fish, and ibuprofin (each of which requires a visit to a separate shop).

Running Errands at a NYC Pace

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Kitchen Accessories: Unsung Heroes

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If you’ve read our About page, you’ll know that I will mostly be covering recipes here on i8.  However, I wanted to take a moment before delving in to make a case for, what I feel, are the 2 unsung heroes of kitchen accessories.  These tools are rarely mentioned in most recipes, and seem to have a stigma associated with them not unlike the science nerd in your 8th grade class.  So much so, that I’m willing to bet a number of you don’t own at least one of them.  And even if you do, I’d bet you don’t use them to their full potential.  So take a moment to reconsider and maybe think about incorporating these into your cooking habits.
Kitchen Scale
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Eatymology: Mirepoix

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Welcome to Eatymology, where I help myself (and like-minded dummies) build our menu and grocery store vocabulary.

I first came across today’s term (pronounced ‘meer-pwa’) during a game of high-brow pictionary (my friends are awesome). You’ll remember it because it sounds more like a species of exotic hummingbird than it does a blend (any blend) of onions, carrots and celery.

Mirepoix: Stock(ing) Stuff(er)

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Recipes – Sorrel: Jamaican me Crazy

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I feel it is our duty to shed light on the unsung heroes of food. Case in point: Sorrel, or a variety of hibiscus. To be more specific, I’m referring to its petals, although people eat the stalk and leaves as well. Sorrel is one of the most under the radar drinks. Simple as it may seem, when made right, it tastes phenomenal. I like mine with a little clove and lots of ginger. The closest comparison I can make in terms of flavor is a spicy black currant, with a bit of pucker after. I’ve been told by friends near and dear to me me that the addition of rum takes this drink to another stratosphere, but I have yet to try mine that way. Put it this way, my dear friend of almost 20yrs who was born and raised in Jamaica insisted that sorrel was not related to the hibiscus. Later on, he acknowledged defeat upon futher investigation. Thus, this I felt compelled to write this post. Continue reading →