Macaroni Salad

I can't stand the white gloppy mayonnaise-y mess that most places call macaroni salad. It wasn't till last year, that I discovered a deli (St Mark's Market) that sold a version that I found edible. Their main flavor was mustard, with very little mayo, but it contained almost nothing other than noodles and a few carrot strips. I went home and tried to recreate the seasoning. Over time I added to it and made it a little more substantial. I also found that dill really helps prevent the taste from being too flat and balances out the mustard.

(Serves 2)
1/2 cup cooked macaroni
1 hard boiled egg
1 carrot
1 celery stalk
1 Tbsp fresh dill
1 tsp grainy dijon mustard
1 1/2 Tbsp mayo
Salt/Pepper to taste

-Cook your macaroni and boil your egg in advance and let cool. You might want to add a touch of olive oil to the pasta so it won't stick together
-Chop all veggies and herbs. Cut up hard boiled egg
-Combine everything and chill, or serve right away

This recipe works perfectly for potato salad too!

One way to use your Takoyaki pan: Scallion Balls!

I adore scallions, this is one way to honor them....




This is a pretty simple one:

• chop scallions
• mix in some flour and water
• add one egg

(When I asked Yukio "how much of what??" He said "Just make it right")

So here's what it looks like:



Ok got it.

So now heat the pan. He put one burner on top of the other so it's not too direct to the flame.

Throw some water on the pan to know when it's ready. NO OIL

Spoon them in alittle more than half full and wait about 2 min until the edges shrink alittle and turn brown, flip them over to the other side with some kind of poker.


That's it! Quick and easy.

We found that drizzling some Okonomiyaki sauce, Mayo, alittle hot sauce if you like, and sprinkled with this mixture in a shaker you can buy at any Asian mart. This one happened to be seaweed and sesame- there are many different combonations that would work. It DO think the balls need to be dressed with some kind of sauce...

Oh yeah and pink pickled ginger!!!!!!!!

Spinach Tofu Pockets (vegan friendly)

A friend of mine was kind enough to host an event at her apartment in Brooklyn where we learned how to make eco-friendly cleaning products. In return, I made some vegan snacks. I altered my spinach feta pastry recipe, so if you plan to make the non-vegan version, just use feta instead of tofu and ignore the cumin and coriander. The photo above is using regular pie crust dough, which browns, unlike the vegan recipe, which will remain pale.

Makes roughly 16 pastries:

Filling (this can be made a day ahead and kept in fridge):
1 pkg frozen chopped spinach, thawed
1/2 onion, chopped
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp cumin seeds
1/8 tsp ground coriander
1/8 tsp ground cumin
Salt/pepper to taste
1/4 pkg of silken tofu, drained
1/8 tsp nutmeg
oil for sauteeing

-Sautee onion in oil till soft.
-Add spinach and spices. Cook till excess water from spinach has evaporated.
-Add tofu and continue cooking for another 10 min.
-Set aside to cool completely, or refrigerate. The filling MUST be cool, or you'll run into problems when filling and folding.

Pastry (vegan version. Can substitute with regular flaky crust recipe and use water to seal edges)
2.5 cups flour, plus more for dusting
1 cup veg shortening (chilled)
oil for brushing on top

This was quite a bit of trial and error. If you are used to the way regular flaky pastry dough feels, this will feel too wet and smooth. It also lacks the elasticity of regular dough, so when folding it over your filling, there's a good chance it will crack. Just be patient and experiment with the thickness of the dough when rolling it out. You can try to use water to fix cracking.

-Mix shortening with flour till smooth. Chill for at least 30 minutes.
-Preheat oven to 350. Grease a baking sheet
-Roll out dough on a floured surface and cut 4.5" circles (at this size I was able to make roughly 16 pastries). Fill with a tablespoon of spinach mix. Fold over filling and press edges together.
-Brush pastry with olive oil
-Bake for 30 min. These won't really brown, since they don't have milk or egg wash on them.

100 GYoZA !!!

When I get sick of summery spring rolls and cold food and want a hot but kinda-light main-course. This does the trick…

100 GYOZA!!! (more than one serving)

1 bunch of scallion

1/2 bunch cilantro

1/2 pack of white or brown mushrooms

handfull of string-beans

¼ piece red cabbage

½ cup corn

1½ pound ground chicken

15-iish oz can of crushed tomatoes

2 tablespoon of miso paste

1 tablespoon soy sauce

5 garlic cloves

1 teaspoon size ginger

chop, chop! Mix in bowl.

Next:

100 gyoza skin (2 packs)---(buy it cheap at the Hong Kong Supermarket --- Hester Street, above Canal..)

Put a spoonful size of mixture onto gyoza skin, wet one size with water, fold,fold,fold.. Make it look pretty. No forks, just fingers and fold in one direction to make a nice curved edge.

When all done (each pan holds 50) , you can cook or store in freezer piled together in tuppeware. I take the frozen ones and sizzle them oil on high in a pan until skin looks fried (and so they don’t stick to pan and get all gloppy), then add water to steam and cover.

Commonly there's left over gyoza mixture, so you make gyoza burgers!

---or just eat it cooked with noodles or anything....

Garam Masala Deviled Eggs

These are from Epicurious.com and were introduced to me by a friend. I wouldn't change a thing about the recipe. It's a SCRUMPTIOUS update to a picnic classic.

Here's what you need:

6 hard-boiled eggs
3 1/2 Tablespoons mayonnaise (regular - I think low-fat would be too sweet)
3 Tablespoons minced green onion
1 Tablespoon minced, seeded jalapeño
1 1/2 teaspoons minced mango chutney (it's a little too clumpy right out the jar)
1/2 teaspoon garam masala powder (this is easier to find than you think with the more ethnic spices at the grocery store)

finely chopped radishes for garnish

Shell eggs carefully, then cut in half lengthwise. Transfer yolks to small bowl and mash with fork. Mix in mayonnaise. Stir in onion, jalapeño, chutney, and garam masala.

Spoon yolk mixture into whites. Top generously with chopped radishes. (Can be made 4 hours ahead.) Cover loosely and refrigerate.

Shrimp Wonton

50 Wonton skins
20 large shrimp, (deveined, peeled and cut into small pieces)
1/3 bag of cole slaw mix (which is really just cabbage and carrot, pre-chopped, a trick I learned from my mother-in-law, which saves a lot of time)
3 scallions, chopped
1 Tbsp of sesame oil
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp Sriracha sauce
white pepper
1/3 cup of chopped fresh shitake mushrooms

Sautee the cole slaw mix, scallions and shitake till soft. Pulse a few times in food processor till the mixture is well chopped, but not mush.

Sautee the shrimp till just cooked. Pulse in food processor till it's finely chopped.

Mix the veggies and shrimp together and add all the seasonings.

Place a teaspoon of filling into the wonton wrapper. Use water to seal the edges by folding the wrapped in half, over the filling. You can then fold the corners inward, or leave it as a triangle. 49 more to go!

Boil or fry. Make sure your wonton are well sealed if you plan on boiling. You can also freeze them, but place wax paper between layers if stacking and try not to have them overlap too much or they'll stick to each other.

White Bean Dip

1 can Navy Beans
1 scallion
1 clove garlic
1/2 Tbsp chopped parsley
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 lemon juiced
1 1/2 Tbsp olive oil
Dash of paprika
Freshly ground pepper

Rinse the beans. Throw everything into a food processor and serve. It's a nice alternative to hummus.