Spaghetti alla carbonara is one of my favorite dishes to make. It’s not as hard to cook as people make it out to be as long as you keep it simple.

The Essential Man - Spaghetti alla carbonara

willycheesesteak:

Alright, hammered already, it’s past 11 here so close enough… this time I had to pull out all the stops so lak doesn’t beat me again..
Anyhow, had been thinking on the theme, beef, and realized I have two above-all favorite ways one enjoying it, those being burgers and pho.  So naturally, I decided to combine the two, and make the world’s first Pho Burger. (sup poly800rock)

To my own surprise, the finished thing turned out fucking great, it really did taste like pho as a burger.  I recommend you all try it at home if you can.

Ok, first step, collect a bunch of ingredients:

Second step, mix meat and make patties, so they can chill and marinate a bit.  To ground beef, I added: half an egg, half a clove of minced garlic, some minced onion, minced cilantro, ground pepper, and then a couple small spoons of instant pho concentrate.

Third step, create an onion herb slaw; julienne into threads:  some mini english cucumber, some carrot, green onions, red onion, and 4 herbs:  cilantro, Thai Basil, mint, and some Vietnamese sawtooth leaf herb.  Douse in juice of one lime and add black pepper before mixing.

Fourth step, finish up pho rice and make buns:  To regular sticky rice and a regular amount of water, I added:  some pho concentrate, then I steamed.  Once it was done I opened it up, added a few spoons of sriracha, couple spoons of potato starch to bind, and then juice of one lime.  I formed the buns in the bottoms of small round cylindrical bowls lined in saran wrap, and then toasted in a dry pan over low heat.

Fifth step, season burger patties and do in the fry pan.  I used regular black pepper and some Fleur de Sel.

Sixth step, assemble, and eat.  On the buns I spread some more Sriracha, added some iceberg lettuce, placed the patties on that (smelled really good), added a handful of onion herb slaw, and then placed the top bun on.  Ready to eat, and consumed mine with a huge margarita on the rocks.

(via midnight snacks with scott.m and sufu friends! - Page 19 - supertrash - superfuture - Page 19)

Æbleskivers are traditional Danish round pancakes that are made with a unique pan. I take mine to a new level by dropping a slice of banana in the middle during cooking and then rolling them in cinnamon sugar.

To make them, you’ll need to get an Æbleskiver pan. Traditional pans are made of cast iron and can hold even heat for a long period of time, but cast aluminum ones work just as well and are easier to find.

For the batter, I used Thomas Keller’s premixed Gluten Free Waffle and Pancake mix since I have a gluten intolerance. It’s a variation of his Cup4Cup Gluten Free Flour with added sugar and vanilla. Comes in a box of 2 measured servings packs, which makes 20 Æbleskivers per pack.  You can use any traditional pancake recipe however. Gluten free people, get these flour mixes, they will change your life.

Cooking Æbleskivers properly is tricky at first, you need to do a series of half turns to allow the inner batter to pour out and cook. This also creates the nice beautiful sphere shape. It only takes a few attempts to start cooking them right, I suggest you watch this video on how to turn them before you try this recipe.

Recipe

• About 2 cups of your favorite pancake batter recipe
• 1/4 cup cinnamon sugar (1/4 cup of granulated sugar + 2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon)
• 2 bananas, cut into 1/2” slices
• Extra Virgin Coconut oil (or an oil of your choice, butter is ok)
• Nutella, about 1/2 cup, microwaved in a bowl until slightly runny, about 20-30 seconds.

Instructions

• Combine cinnamon sugar in a large bowl, set aside.
• Heat the Æbleskiver pan on med-high. You’ll know when it’s ready if you drop a small drop of water on the pan and it sizzles.
• Pour a tiny amount of oil in the rounds of the pan, about 1/2 teaspoon
• Dollop enough batter to fill half a round. You don’t want to overfill it since you’ll be dropping a slice of banana inside.
• Check the bottom of the Æbleskivers, when they’re golden brown drop a slice of banana in each of them and start the turning process.
• When they’re completely turned you can check if the insides are done by sticking a toothpick or small sharp knife down one. If it comes out clean they’re ready.
• Toss them one at a time in the cinnamon sugar and plate.
• Serve with the melted Nutella

Perfect pancake ball with a banana inside.

Enjoy! Happy Sunday.

My family never cooked breakfast everyday, but when we did it was usually my dad whipping something up on a Sunday.

I have really fond memories of this simple sandwich, a baguette slathered in butter with two over easy eggs doused in soy sauce. I can’t even remember the last time I had it (even before I found out I had a gluten intolerance.)

I decided to make it today (using a gluten free baguette from Whole Foods) and serve it with the appropriate cup of Vietnamese Iced Coffee.

My Dad’s Sunday Breakfast Sandwich

Equipment

• 6” Baguette, toasted whole
• 2 Eggs
• Salted Butter
• Soy Sauce or Tamari (My father always used Maggi’s Seasoning Sauce)
• Pepper
• Extra Virgin Coconut Oil (or any other cooking oil you like to use)

Make

1. Preheat oven to ~360
2. Heat a non-stick skillet on med heat. When the pan is starting to get warm, add enough oil to coat the pan. I use extra virgin coconut for the nice aroma/taste.
3. Toast Baguettes until golden brown, set aside
4. Crack two eggs in the pan. Heat until the whites have set and/or edges have crisped and burned a little. Egg yolks should still be slightly runny.
5. Slice baguette in half but not all the way through.
6. Spread butter on top and bottom halves, add the eggs, top with pepper and soy sauce.

Vietnamese Iced Coffee

Equipment

• Vietnamese Coffee Press
• 2 Glasses - 1 filled with ice cubes
• 2 Tablespoons of Café Du Monde Coffee and Chicory (or any other coffee you like)
• 2 Tablespoons of Sweetened Condensed Milk
• Boiling Water

Make

1. Add 2 Tablespoons of Sweetened Condensed Milk to the empty glass
2. Set the coffee press on the glass with milk and Add 2 Tablespoons of Coffee into the Vietnamese Coffee Press
3. Screw on the lid tight and pour the boiling water into the press
4. Cover the press and allow the coffee to drip
5. Allow to drip until you get to the desired ratio (more coffee than milk means a stronger brew)
6. When the desired amount is reached, remove the press, mix and pour into the second glass with ice.

Enjoy

Growing up in the suburbs means eating a lot of Denny’s and IHOP, and when I think of scrambled eggs, egg flavored sponges come to mind.

Did you know IHOP adds pancake batter to their scrambled eggs to make them “fluffy”?

A travesty.

Personally, I like my scrambled eggs more on the creamier side. And when I started to learn how to cook I used to add loads of crème fraiche or sour cream to my eggs. But now, after trying out many different techniques I’ve settled on a method of making scrambled eggs creamy with just two ingredients: Eggs and salt.

There are two things to remember about cooking scrambled eggs. 

First is carry over cooking. That is, the eggs will continue to cook even when you take them off the heat. So if the eggs look done in the pan, that means they’re going to be overdone sponges when you put them on a plate.

Second, scrambled eggs are not mashed up omelets. They should be thought of as a roux based sauce. You want to cook it slowly, stirring it, controlling the heat and letting it thicken.

What you’ll need

• A small non-stick saucepan
• Rubber Spatula
• Oil (I like coconut)
• Small bowl
• ~3 eggs per person
• Kosher Salt

Crack your eggs into a small bowl. No salt yet. This is going to go against everything you know about making scrambled eggs, but you’re NOT going to beat them before hand.

Set your non-stick sauce pan to a medium/low heat, enough to warm it up. You don’t want it so hot that the eggs solidify when they hit the pan, just warm. Add a little oil, enough to coat the bottom and some of the sides.


Add the eggs. Break the yolks and being to whisk with your spatula. If you notice the bottom of the pan to cook the eggs, take it off the heat and continue to stir.


Continue to stir every few seconds over the heat, allowing some time in between to let the eggs thicken. Scrape down the sides of the saucepan with the spatula after you stir. You want it to slowly get thick. The bottom of the pan should be clean each time you stir. Again, If you notice it getting coated with cooked egg, take it off the heat and stir.


Add a good pinch of salt at the very end. You’ll know when it’s done when it has a texture that resembles a creamy mashed potato. Solid but still soft, almost spreadable. Remember carry over cooking! It might seem underdone, but they’ll continue to get thick on the plate.


Now you can add some cracked pepper or even some chopped chives. Or do what I do and plate it with a mound of bacon.

Edit: A commenter notified me that these are the way Gordon Ramsay makes them too! Check out the video here.