Guacamole

Guacamole is an avocado based dip that was started by 

the Aztecs back in the 16th century. The word guacamole

came from Aztec dialect which translates literally

to avocado sauce.  Makes sense and sounds pretty simple...

just like this home-made guacamole recipe.

If you are making a small bowl of guacamole  for up to 3 people

you can use 2-3 ripe avocados, 

1 small tomato (diced)

a quarter of a small red onion, (diced small)

handful of cilantro stems (chopped- including the stems)

the juice of 2 limes

a pinch of cumin (about 1/2 a teaspoon)

and a pinch of salt  (to your tasting)

and a pinch of sugar (optional; to your liking)

Avocados are meant to be picked in their unripened stage off of their

trees and are to be left on the counter or table to ripen.  Do not put your 

avocados in the frig unless it is ripe and you want it to stop ripening.

Avocados are typically a dark, forest green color and when they start

to ripen they turn a blackish hue AND they are soft to the touch.

To make a basic, easy but super flavorful guacamole all you need to do

is cut your ripened avocado and place it in a bowl.

Dice up the tomatoes into small pieces and throw them on top of the

halved avocado. Dice the red onion into very small pieces--

the smaller the better. Chop the cilantro and add that to the bowl

as well. Lastly, squeeze the juice of the limes and add a pinch of salt.

It's nice to take a fork and stir and fold all the ingredients together.

The sweetness and liquid of the tomato gives a natural sweet flavor

along with the lime juice bringing out some acidity. Onions always

give food more flavor and red  onions being the mildest makes 

for the best onion to choose for guacamole since everything is raw

and the beautiful hue of the purple makes it look attractive as well!

Zestfully,  Let's Cultivate Food

Stuffed Meatballs Drunken in Tomato Sauce

Stuffed meatballs. Drunken in Tomato Sauce. Yum!

You can stuff meatballs with whatever your stomach desires.
I love the play on a caprese stuffed meatball.

You take your choice cut of ground beef. I often use 85% 15% fat
for a little fattier juiciness.

Make your caprese filling. Little cubes of block mozzarella cheese, dried basil
and tomatoes diced up small. Drizzle a little olive oil on the mozzarella
while adding the dried basil (1 TBSP)(the dried basil works well in that it adheres
to the cheese well).  You call always add a little fresh basil as a garnish!

Stuff the meatballs (ideally 1.5 - 2 inches in diameter)
and cook them right in your tomato sauce. You only need to cook them
for about 15-20 minutes. (the total time will be based on the size of your meatballs)

Zestfully,  private party chef Yoon

LCF Beef Skewers

Beef Skewers. Yum! You can grill them outdoors, you can use an electric griddle, a stove top griddle or you can broil them in the oven.
Once you add the marinade to the beef -
ideally you want to marinade for a minimum of 30 minutes. (overnight is best)
(Make sure your skewers are soaking in water as well to help prevent them from burning)

RECIPE:
1-1.5 pounds of sirloin tips OR choice of beef
3-4 TBSP of hoisin sauce
2 TBSP of soy sauce
2 TBSP of sesame oil
1 TBSP of apple cider vinegar OR rice vinegar
1 teas of garlic powder OR grate 2 cloves of garlic
1 teas of sugar OR grate a little apple or a pear for natural sweetness
sprinkle sesame seeds (optional)

Take your strips or bite size pieces of beef and skewer them through.
ideally 3-5 pieces are a nice amount.

The temperature you are looking for is about 350-375 degrees.
Grill for about 5-7 minutes on each side OR to your liking of beef!



Zestfully,  Let's Cultivate Food

Firecracker Shrimp!

Take your Shrimp (de-veined) and let it sit in your marinade for
ideally 20-30 minutes. I usually leave the shell on the end of the tail
(the last segment of the shell) for the purpose of holding it while eating;
almost like a handle or skewer-like)

Marinade:
1/2 sriracha & 1/2 hoisin sauce with the juice of an orange.
Start with 2 TBSP of the sriracha and hoisin sauce.
This appetizer is called firecracker because it is meant to be spicy,
if you wish to tone down the spiciness - simply add less sriracha sauce.


Wrap in in an egg roll wrapped that is cut in half diagonally
(to make 2 large triangles)  Have the tail end stick out of the wrapper
and roll while adding a little egg around the places where you want the
egg roll wrapper to adhere.  (The egg is your gluing agent)

Zestfully,  private party chef Yoon

Miso Soup

Miso soup is made from fermented soy bean paste which is a great source of beneficial bacteria. It is light, flavorful and a great base to use to cultivate by adding a range of ingredients to your liking.

A great base and easy way to make Miso soup is the following recipe:

for 2 people:

~ 2 cups of water

~ 2 TBSP of miso paste

~ 2 teaspoons of sesame oil

~ scallions cut to your liking (ringlets or shredded)

~ tofu cut to cubes

~ seaweed, soaked, chopped and to your liking (when soaked in water - will double in size)

Let it simmer and add tofu at the end.

Zestfully,  private party chef Yoon

Dan Dan Noodles

Dan Dan noodles is a Chinese noodle dish that traditionally consists
of a spicy chili oil, Sichuan peppers, minced pork and scallions served
over flour based noodles often made of egg.

As I refer to students during classes, once you learn a base or foundation
of a dish, you then can and should cultivate it to make it your own
by adding what you like to it. 
(mainly because you are the one who is going to eat it)

As many dishes migrate to the western hemisphere they adapt more often
than not to Americanized taste-buds and get modified with spice level,
more Americanized veggies or other ingredients.

Did you know the word 'Dan Dan' refers to a carrying pole that was used
by street vendors who would carry baskets over their shoulder hanging from
Dan Dans (poles) and sell them to local people as they passed by?
Now you do!  The literal translation is: "noodles carried on a pole"

We have a themed class titled "Let's Eat Philly"
where we make Philly style soft pretzels, Philly Cheese steak bites
& Chinatown Dan Dan Noodles. Below is a picture of Dan Dan noodles
made with rice noodles and spaghetti style noodles.

Recipe & Ingredients:

noodles:
your choice of rice, linguine, spaghetti, egg noodle, green noodle

protein:
~ traditionally ground pork (1/4 lb per person)
~but ground chicken is ok if you don't eat pork
* optional - also adding some pork belly or bacon is an added extra.
.....did someone say bacon!?!

veggies:
~ scallions chopped small or shredded with the 'herb shredder'
~ some type of green is always good whether it be the
    traditional mustard greens,   or other options: bok choy, yu choy,
    broccoli rabe stems, kale, spinach etc..

sauce:
1 TBSP of red pepper paste
1 TBSP of sesame paste (can be miso, or tahini, or soy bean paste)
2 garlic gloves minced or grated fine
1/4 cup of stock (your choice, chicken, veggie, beef)
2 TBSP of soy sauce
1 TBSP of sugar (or grate some apple or pear for natural sugar)
1 TBSP of sesame oil (any oil if you don't have sesame)

Directions: 
1. have your noodles already boiled
2. brown the protein (saute the meat)
3. add all the sauce ingredients except for the stock
4. toss in the veggies (if you are using)
5. toss in the noodles
6. add the stock little by little to help liquefy the sauce to your preference
7. add into your favorite noodle bowl and garnish with scallions
   (sesame seeds and or peanuts are sometimes a nice added bonus)



Zestfully,  private party chef Yoon

Low Country Boil

Fill a large pot of water so that about 2 inches of the bottom of the pot
is filled with warm-hot water. Add a cap full or about 5 TBSP of old bay right
into the pot.  Here is a suggestion of what items to out into your pot. I say
suggestions because it's really what your group likes. Typically it's going to
be seafood, sausage and root veggie friendly.  Once your pot starts to boil,
add your ingredients from heartiest to least heartiest.
eg: add the potatoes and carrots first, then mussels, crabs along with
other items with shrimp being last, when the shrimp changes color -
you know it's time to roll out that brown paper or even newspaper.
It's going to be about 30 minutes but it depends on how much you are low boiling.

Here's a list of starters: (again, it's your group's preference)
1 lb of beef sausage
2 onions cut in half for flavor
1-2 lbs of shrimp, with shell on for best flavor (yes, you peel them at the table)
1-2 pounds of baby potatoes cut in half or in quarters
1 lb (1 bag) of baby carrots
1-2 bell peppers for flavor
1 corn on the cob per person
    (cut in half or thirds for easier eating and quicker cooking)
1-2 lbs of mussels
1-2 lbs of clams
desired amount of crabs
3-4 lemons cut in half for the acidity and flavor
mini hot dogs to make it a little more kid friendly

Here are some pictures of different low country boils I've done.

Zestfully,  private party chef Yoon