Monthly Archives: November 2012

Attempting Rolls

Shamiq and I wanted to try to make our own rolls.

Turns out it’s pretty hard to make them look pretty. Instead they look more like modern art.

But it was a tasty endeavor.

Persimmon Starfish Pie

Last week, I made a persimmon pie for Kelly’s Friendsgiving dinner. I used a store bought crust because it was getting late, then adapted an apple pie recipe. I, belatedly, realized that using a 9inch store bought pie crust isn’t enough to make a lattice, so I cut some stars out and ended up with a pie that looks a little like starfish climbing over persimmon rocks.

Persimmon Pie
Adapted from this apple pie recipe

2 9in pie crusts, one for the top and one for the bottom
6-8 Fuyu persimmons, peeled and sliced (or however many you need to fill the shell)
1/2 cup unsalted butter
3 tbsp flour
1/8 cup water
1/8 cup rum (or sub with water)
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 tbsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2tsp all spice
1/2 tsp ginger

1.  Preheat the oven to 425 F
2. Melt the butter in a pan, add flour to form a paste.
3. Add water, rum, sugar & spices, reduce temperature and simmer
4. Fill the bottom crust with persimmon slices, put on the top crust (lattice or what have you)
5. Slowly pour the butter-sugar mixture over it
6. Bake for 15 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 350 F. Bake another 30-40 minutes, until the crust is golden brown. (I like my persimmons to not be blobs of mush. If you like them mushy, cook a little longer)

State Bird Provisions

State Bird Provisions serves most of it’s food dim sum style — on carts that are pushed around.

State Bird is super, incredibly popular right now. Shamiq and I were lucky to get a table in September and I’m going back tomorrow! It seemed like a good time to revisit what I ate last time and do something with the pictures…

Avocado something, tortilla chips, seafood salsa

Salmon & corn salad with heirloom tomatoes. I really liked the flavor combination in this dish.

Guinea hen dumplings in broth. Good, but very mild. Probably the dish that stood out to me the least.

Fried bread with burrata, one cannot go wrong with carbs and fat.

Short stack: corn pancakes, garlic chives, mt tam. I’m stealing this flavor combination.

Cocoa nib flatbread, chantrelle paste, cured yolks. This was magic. I’ve since tried to cure my own yolks, but I have no hope of recreating the flatbread or the chantrelle paste. Must go back.

State Bird with Provisions. I guess this is the dish they’re named for. It was good, but not as good as some of the other dishes. I propose they rename themselves to “Short Stack,” or “Magic Flatbread with Stuff.”

Steak tartar with shishitos.

Yeasted sesame pancake with bocalones.

Fried eggplant with avocado aioli. I love eggplants.

Japanese cheesecake with strawberries and tomatoes. Good, but paled in comparison to…

Fig ice cream sandwiches of amazingness. I think it’s both the flavor combination and being really, really well made.

Favorite dishes: Salmon + corn, Flatbread, Short stack & Ice cream sandwiches
Total cost for two, ~$110 (all of the above + a $6 pot of tea)

Brandy (Rum?) Cream

I made this persimmon pudding and accompanying brandy cream earlier. Persimmon pudding is one of those elusive things I had and loved as a kid, but I don’t remember much about the version from my childhood. This recipe was okay, but the persimmon flavor wasn’t very strong. Next time I’ll try another version, or perhaps, instead of rasins, chopped bits of dried persimmon?

The accompanying brandy cream, however, was great. Except I used rum, due to a lack of brandy. I could see this on any strongly spiced cake or pie.

Rum Cream Sauce: 
(adapted from here)

1 egg
1/2 cup butter, melted
3/4 cup confectioners sugar
pinch of salt
2 tsp rum
1 tsp vanilla *do another tsp of rum for stronger rum flavor
1 1/2 cup whipping cream

1. Beat the egg until fluffy, then beat in butter, sugar, salt, rum and vanilla.
2. Whip the whipping cream until stiff peaks form.
3. Fold the egg & butter mixture into the whipping cream.

Gluten Free Pumpkin Waffles

One of my favorite tricks for gluten free waffle making is substituting the flour for a mix of glutinous rice flour and cornstarch. You end up with a waffle that is still chewy, though a little softer and lacking that rich wheat smell I associate with… uh, things made of wheat.

Gluten Free Pumpkin Waffles:
(adapted from Smitten Kitchen’s Pumpkin Waffles)

1 1/2 cup glutinous rice flour
1 cup cornstarch
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
2 1/4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp ground cloves

4 large eggs, separated
2 cups buttermilk
1 cup canned pumpkin
6 tbsp unsalted butter, melted

Mix together flour, brown sugar, baking powder and soda, salt, and spices. Whisk eggs in with buttermilk, pumpkin, and butter until smooth. Combine with dry ingredients. The Smitten Kitchen version has you beat the egg whites to soft peaks separately, but I’m lazier and I’ve been happy with my mix-whole-eggs results.

At this point, make them however you make waffles. I tend to find that this batter needs more time than the gluten-including original. On my waffle maker, this batter takes a few minutes at heat setting “3” — I put the batter in, wait for the green light to come back on, then wait another two minutes. Whereas the gluten-including version, I do at heat setting 4, taking them out when the green light comes on.