The Spanish Tortilla

When you hear the word "tortilla" one thing comes to mind, a flat circular food made of either corn or flour. Am I right? These delectable tortillas are like edible wrapping paper that can contain as many fillings as a person could think of. They are plain and very versitile. 

But what if I was to tell you that in another country our beloved tortilla is almost non-existent? I know this may rock your world, but the tortilla we know and love is not the only tortilla out there. Our tortilla is the Mexican tortilla, but I would like to take some time to introduce you to a new friend of mine, the Spanish tortilla. 

My roommate Juli spent last semester studying in Spain, where she became fluent in Spanish and also fluent in Spanish food. When she returned she immediately told me of the Spanish tortilla. 

Juli told me a story that her Spanish teacher told her when she was in Spain. This teacher came to the United States for the first time years back and went out to dinner at a restaurant. He ordered a tortilla, the staple food of his country, Spain. A little puzzled, the waitress asked if he would like beans or meat with his tortilla. He was disturbed that Americans would think of putting beans or meat on a tortilla, so he asked for it plain. Much to his surprise, when he got his meal all that was on his plate was a small flat Mexican tortilla. Plain. 

After hearing Juli rave about Spanish tortillas, telling me that her host "mother" cooked them for her several times a week, I knew I had to try one. After realizing it might be hard to find any tortilla other than the Mexican one in Oregon, I knew I would have to make it myself. 

Juli and I asked Miguel, her closest friend from Spain, to send us his recipe. Little did we know that we would get a ten minute instructional video on the Spanish Tortilla! Much to my delight I had my very own Spanish Food Network Cooking Show to learn how to make a Spanish Tortilla.

 The video was awesome! Miguel and his friend Natalia showed us every step in making the perfect Spanish Tortilla--complete with an opera performance and a "how to drink beer in Spain" tutorial. Below is the traditional recipe for the Spanish Tortilla, but often the onions and pepper are omitted due to personal preference. Although this seemed like a breakfast food to me at first, it is a common dinner entree in Spain. And according to Juli it is great with ketchup! I hope to experiment in the future to come up with new versions of the Spanish Tortilla, such as this one!

Spanish Tortilla

Recipe Courtesy of Natalia and Miguel 

3 small potatoes, peeled and diced
1 Onion, diced
1 Red Pepper, cubed
4 eggs

Put a few tablespoons of oil in a small skillet over medium heat. When the oil is hot add the potatoes and saute. While the potatoes are cooking beat the eggs.

After the potatoes have cooked for about three minutes add the onion and pepper. Once the potatoes are soft and cooked completely, drain out oil. Turn the heat down to medium-low and add the eggs. Stir the ingredients a little bit, put on a lid and let sit to cook.

After the tortillas has cooked for a few minutes use a plate to flip the tortilla out of the pan. Then slide the tortilla back into the pan to cook the other side. Let cook another few minutes. Slide the tortilla back onto the plate and let sit for 10 minutes before eating.

IACP Conference 2010

Guess who I met last weekend?! Shall I give you a hint? Hmmm...let's see, how did Julie Powell put it in the movie Julie and Julia?? "The degree of separation between Julia Child and me is about to shrink by a factor of about a thousand."

If you guessed Judith Jones, you are correct. Yes, I met the Judith Jones. The editor who basically founded Julia Child and helped bring us the cookbook Mastering the Art of French Cooking. In 2006, she was awarded the James Beard Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award. Today Judith Jones is senior editor and vice president at Alfred A. Knopf. Not only did I meet her, but I also got her autograph on her new memoir The Tenth Muse: My Life in Food, and a photograph with her!

Where in the world did I meet Judith Jones, you may be wondering--that is unless you read the title of this blog post. I met her at the annual International Association of Culinary Professionals Conference that was held this year in my hometown, Portland Oregon!

Unfortunately I could not attend the whole four day conference--which was packed full of workshops, tours, meals and speakers, but I was able to attend the culinary expo and cookbook fair.

The culinary expo consisted of a huge room full of booths and tables showing the best and newest things the culinary world has to offer. Kitchen appliance companies were there such as Kitchenaid and Cuisinart, as well as knives like Cutco. But of course the best part was the food samples.

I really enjoyed the Rogue Creamery's table which had samples of many of their artisan cheeses. They are famous for their blue cheese's but my favorite that day was one I had never tried before: lavender cheddar. Right now lavender is my new favorite thing. Whenever I see anything at the store or in a restaurant with lavender in it I immediately must try it. The Rogue Creamery's lavender cheddar is simply amazing. I was told that as of now it is only offered locally at the Portland Farmer's market or by special order. So it seems that I will be making a trip to the Farmers Market soon...

Another amazing woman I got to meet at the IACP Conference was Shirley Corriher, the author of CookWise and BakeWise. She was at the TendaBake booth promoting their self-rising flour. She was up to her elbows in flour making what were the most moist and fluffy biscuits I had ever tasted.

At the cookbook fair Powell's was selling cookbooks, many whose authors were actually at the fair signing autographs. In addition to scoring Judith Jones' autograph, I also got Kathleen Finn's, author of The Sharper Your Knife the Less You Cry, a fun true story about when Kathleen got fired from her corporate job and decided to go to Le Cordon Bleu Cooking School in Paris.  I also picked up a copy of Mother's Best, by the owner of Mother's Bistro and Mamma Mia Trattoria in Portland.

It was an awesome experience to be a part of the IACP conference this year. I was in a huge building that was completely filled with other foodie-freaks just like me! Next year the conference is in Texas...not quite as close to home as Portland, but maybe you'll see me there, I've always wanted to visit Texas!

 

Panko Baked Alaska Scallops

From Alaska Seafood and Kikkoman

IACP 2010 Conference

16 Alaska scallops, 10/20 count

1 stick butter, melted

6 cloves garlic, minced

3 shallots, chopped

salt and pepper to taste

1 cup kikkoman panko bread crumbs

1/4 cup olive oil

1/3 cup parsley, chopped

Combine scallops, butter and garlic in a large casserole dish, blending together gently. In a separate bowl, combine bread crumbs and olive oil, and then sprinkle on top of scallops. Bake at 425 degrees F for 12 minutes. Top with chopped parsley.

**These scallops were one of my favorite samples of the day! How can you go wrong when something is bathed in butter and garlic!?

The Vietnamese Chicken Noodle Soup

Everyone has their own unique food indulgences. Mine is phở'. Many people have never tried phở' (pronounced “fuh”), which is not that surprising to me considering that I never had it prior to college. But since trying it for the first time sophomore year, I immediately become a phở' fanatic after the first slurp!

What is phở'? Well the easy answer is, a Vietnamese beef and noodle soup. Oh! But it is so much more than that! The clear broth has a very distinct and wonderful flavor that seems to possess the ability to comfort anyone. The white rice noodles are fun to slurp, and fill up a large portion of the bowl. The traditional meat is beef, but you can choose to purchase phở' with a number of other meats—some weird, some not so weird. My favorite is chicken phở', called phở' gà. It is the Vietnamese version of our chicken noodle soup, and call me unpatriotic, but I would choose their version over the American one any day! 

But the meal does not stop at a big bowl of delicious soup—there are condiments too! Served with every bowl of phở' comes a plate of fresh garnishes to be added to the soup. Traditionally, bean sprouts, Thai basil, a lime wedge, and Serrano chilies are served on this plate. The fun part is choosing what, and how much, to add!

Luckily, in Newberg we have a very delicious phở' restaurant close by in Sherwood, called Phở' Ty. This restaurant is the main reason I tried phở' in the first place. After coming to George Fox, I would repeatedly hear students talking about Phở' Ty and the fantastic food they serve, and after trying it out for myself, I have become a big fan too. Their portions are huge, the restaurant is clean, and the prices are great: only $7.00 for a small (which is a really huge bowl), and $8.00 for a large (a gigantic bowl!). 

 

But I will let you in on another secret. Try the bubble tea slushy. It might even be tied with phở' for my favorite indulgence. Bubble tea slushys are Taiwanese fruit smoothies with tapioca balls—called “boba”—at the bottom of the drink and are sucked up through a huge straw. Phở' Ty serves bubble tea in many fruit flavors ranging from strawberry, peach, and taro root. My personal favorite is their mango bubble tea slushy; it is my preferred pick-me-up drink, even higher on the list than espresso. A big cup of Phở' Ty’s bubble tea slushy is only $3.25, which even makes it less expensive than a mocha!

Phở' Ty is located in Sherwood right off Highway 99 West at 16068 Southwest Tualatin Sherwood Road, and is open Monday through Saturday 10AM to 9PM and Sunday 11AM to 9PM. If you are already a fan of phở' and bubble tea, than congratulations on your good taste! If not, then please take my recommendation and try it. I highly doubt that you will ever regret this decision. Make sure to get there early, because they sometimes run out of bubble tea. Just try to leave some for me!

Monogram Sugar Cookies

I was a little frightened when my foods teacher informed me that she passed on my name and e-mail address to a student who needed cookies catered for an upcoming event. My teacher did not have the time for this, and knew that it would be something I would enjoy. Truthfully, I didn't have the time either, but since when has that stopped me from doing anything?

The reason I was frightened was because this student was asking for 200 cookies. 200!? That is a lot of cookies! In the past I have made cookies and cupcakes for parties. But these were parties I was hosting and where no more than 50 guests were invited. This was in a totally different league! People who I didn't know would be eating and critiquing these cookies. And I would be paid for them. Needless to say, they had to be good!

The cookies would be served at an art show opening at my college. I was asked to make cookies in the shapes of the first letter of the artist's first names, with green icing. There would be eight different artists with five different letters for their first names: R, J, T, K and D.

I devoted an entire Sunday to the production of my 200 monogram cookies. The previous week I picked out my recipes, shopped for my supplies and borrowed a few cookie sheets. Sunday morning I woke up at 9AM ready to go! I had all my ingredients mis en place (french for "everything in its place"). I started on my first batch, hoping my trusty Kitchenaid would be up for the challenge with me...

10 hours later I finished.

I made 8 batches of Ethel's sugar cookies, a very tasty and reliable sugar cookie recipe--and I used every last bit of dough! In the past I have used a traditional royal icing recipe that calls for meringue powder, but wanting to save money I used a cookie icing recipe from the bakery where I work that calls for light corn syrup in place of the expensive meringue powder. It worked just as well as royal icing, and is now the recipe I am always going use for cookies! The icing recipe calls for almond extract which gave the cookies a wonderful flavor that sometimes is lacking in "plain" sugar cookies.

Even though it took ten hours, I had no reason to be afraid. I have been training for this "gig" my whole life. I have baked and iced hundred of cookies over the course of my lifetime and I learned that doing 200 at once is no impossible feat! I am just glad I was able to use my parents kitchen and large dining room table!

I have heard from several students that my cookies were a hit at the art opening and that every last cookie was eaten. My first individual catering experience was very positive and I hope to get another opportunity to push my baking limits again!

Ethel's Sugar Cookies

3/4 cup shortening (part butter)
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon lemon flavoring or 1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/2 cups all-purpose Flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Sift together dry ingredients and set aside. Cream together shortening and sugar for 2-3 minutes. Add eggs and flavoring and mix until creamy. Add dry ingredients and mix until combined. Chill dough for at least 2 hours or overnight. 
Roll out on lightly floured board and bake for 8-12 minutes depending on size and thickness.


*I used half butter and half shortening for a cookie that was yummy, but still easy to work with.  

 

Cookie Icing

 From AllRecipes.com

1 cup confectioners' sugar
2 teaspoons milk
2 teaspoons light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
assorted food coloring

1. In a small bowl, stir together confectioners' sugar and milk until smooth. Beat in corn syrup and almond extract until icing is smooth and glossy. If icing is too thick, add more corn syrup.
2. Divide into separate bowls, and add food colorings to each to desired intensity. Dip cookies, or paint them with a brush.

*This recipe makes a VERY small amount of icing. Approx less than 1/2 cup. I ended up doing 15x this recipe to frost 200 cookies. 
**Instructions on how to use icing, including flooding techniques, can be found here.

Cacao, a Great Place to Eat and Drink...Chocolate

 

The day I discovered real drinking chocolate was a great day. The only other exposure I had had to it was a few sentences about it on the back of a tin of cocoa mix from Trader Joe's. The box explained how to make this "European delight." Of course I did not follow instructions and added too much milk, making it like any other hot chocolate. Nothing special. 

Cacao's large store on 13th avenue

But now I know what real drinking--or sipping--chocolate is. I stumbled across Cacao a few months back and was completely in awe! Cacao (pronounced Ka-Cow) is a chocolate boutique serving downtown Portland with two locations. When I say chocolate boutique, I mean the interior appears like it should be an upscale clothing boutique, except that it sells chocolate. The color-scheme and decor are cozy and inviting, beckoning me to sit down and stay a while. 

Cacao's Drinking Chocolate

Since this was my first real experience with drinking chocolate I had to do it right. And it had to try it all. Cocao offers three varieties of drinking chocolate: rivoli dark drinking chocolate, cinnamon infused drinking chocolate, and a special spicy dark drinking chocolate (infused with cayenne pepper, smoked paprika, and ginger). 

Now in case you aren't familiar with drinking chocolate, like me two months ago, let me try to describe it to you. Imagine you take the most delicious, creamy, and wonderful chocolate you can find. You carefully warm this chocolate over a low heat until it is all melted, smooth and creamy. Next you pour a very small dash of cream or whole milk into it. You put it into a very small cup and you drink it. That is how I imagine drinking chocolate is made. Essentially we are just drinking melted chocolate...what genius thought of THAT idea?!

At Cacao a small shot of drinking chocolate is $2, or I suggest trying a flight of all three varieties for $6. If you are very brave larger sizes of drinking chocolate can be purchased for $4, like the one above--which I am proud to say I finished every last delicious (yet rich) drop of.

If you want a slightly less rich option, Cacao also sells dreamy hot chocolate (slightly less chocolate-y) in the standard size for $4. Varieties include everyday hot chocolate with 65% Venezuelan chocolate, or dark hot chocolate with 72% arriba dark chocolate. They also serve a full range of espresso drinks, including a delightful white chocolate mocha!

A pack of specialty chocolate from around the world

Although their drinking chocolate is the main reason I have visited, Cacao also has a selection of artisan chocolates that is hard to beat this side of Europe. When speaking with a very knowledgeable employee (which I hear describes virtually all of their employees) I learned that their specialty chocolate sales is the main reason owners Jesse Manis and Aubrey Lindley opened Cacao a few years back. They wanted to provide an outlet for these small chocolate producers to sell their wonderful selection to the public. And what better place to do that than Portland? 

The employee also told me that they "want to be a place for people to come at night if they don't feel like going to a bar." Cacao stays open until 10PM on Friday and Saturday nights making it a great date spot. 

Cacao has two locations in downtown Portland. Their main location is at 414 SW 13th Avenue in Portland, between Burnside and Washington, 2 1/2 blocks West of Powell’s Bookstore. Their second, and much more petite location, is located in the Heathman Hotel on 712 SW Salmon St. 

Cacao is a place I have found myself going to again and again. I have impressed many friends with their luscious drinking chocolate and have made my father very happy with a Cacao gift card for his birthday! You simply must try it out! Don't know what to order? Try my favorite: the cinnamon infused drinking chocolate!

Ye Olde Pizza Shoppe

What is a more quintessential college-town restaurant than a pizza parlor? When I was in high school and dreamt of college, I would picture myself and a group of friends, studying diligently and eating the ultimate college brain food: pizza. Oddly enough, I can count how many times I have participated in study groups on one hand. As for pizza, I have only had it delivered once, and it didn’t end well; the deliveryman did not appreciate that I was unsure of my on campus address!

           

Vegetarian Pizza at Ye Olde

Regardless, I still consume pizza regularly, and I firmly believe that pizza is a staple food for college students. Newberg has many pizza joints: Abby’s, Domino’s, Papa Murphy’s, Little Caesar’s, and my new favorite, Ye Olde Pizza Shoppe. Now, perhaps Ye Olde is my favorite pizza shop because it is a local restaurant, and I tend to have an aversion to chain restaurants. Or, maybe it is my favorite because Ye Olde has been feeding George Fox University’s students’ appetites since 1976. Even my best friend’s mom remembers eating at Ye Olde when she was a student at George Fox! But I think more than anything, I adore Ye Olde Pizza Shoppe because they make all their pizzas from scratch—dough and sauce included—and they simply taste great! 

          

While at Ye Olde, try the Newberg Delight pizza, topped with mushrooms, olives, and sausage. Or, if you are a meat lover, try the Pizza Shoppe Special with salami, pepperoni, Canadian bacon, mushrooms, olives, sausage, and beef. Another one of my favorites is the taco pizza.

But Ye Olde doesn’t just dish up delicious pizza, they also serve burgers, salads, and 15 different sandwiches! In addition to enjoying your pizza in their quaint shop, you can also take your pizza to go or have it delivered on campus—just make sure you know your address! If you are looking to save money, pick up your pizza and bake it at home for $1.00 off the menu price.

 Taco Pizza at Ye Olde

Ye Olde is located at 2515 Portland Rd, and is easy to spot due to its castle-like façade. Inside the restaurant are cozy booths, flat screens, and even a coat of arms on the wall. It the perfect place to go with a group of friends due its loud, fun atmosphere.

Ye Olde Pizza Shoppe is open Monday through Saturday, 11am–9pm, and Sunday, 12pm–8pm. Take advantage of their lunch special offered daily from 11–3:00, which consists of a mini pizza, salad, and drink for only $7.00. Ye Olde also gives their customers a free mini pizza on their birthday!

Crepes Vs. Blinnas, An Easter Showdown

My family's new Easter tradition is very nontraditional. We forgo the big Easter dinner and do an Easter brunch instead. We skip the ham, asparagus, and potatoes and choose to prepare crepes in their place. We don't limit our day to enjoying our family, but rather we invite everyone we know and love, friends, neighbors, friends of friends, anyone who wants an awesome home cooked meal on Easter. 

Joy of Cooking cookbook older than me

We started this tradition last year when my mom and I were in the mood for a new Easter tradition. Who says you can only spend Easter with your family? We have so many wonderful friends, and we wanted to see if there was any chance they might not have plans or would rather spend their day with us. We were surprised how many people showed up! I guess we weren't the only ones tired of the same ol' Easter dinner. 

Last year we made crepes. A lot of crepes. We also had many other food options to choose from. My mom and I were at the stove all day making crepes to order. Our friends could choose from a sweet crepe or a savory crepe made with their choice of a big selection of ingredients that we sauteed up on the spot while simultaneously cooking the actual crepe itself. Then we assembled and served with a smile.

 Cooking blinna

I am sure you realize how labor intensive this was. As a result, this year we decided to modify our Easter brunch concept a little bit. Instead of cooking the savory crepe filling to order we made one filling ahead of time that we used in all the savory crepes. To keep with the Easter tradition a little, we baked a beautiful ham to use in the filling of the savory crepes. We used my favorite ham recipe of all time, one that always turns out phenomenal! (See the recipe at the end of this post!) We diced the ham, and added it to sauteed onion, garlic and mushroom, wilted spinach, and a store bought pesto sauce. We topped the mixture with a white bachamel sauce and mozzarella cheese. It was a delicious combination!

For our sweet crepe option we cut up a big bowl of fresh strawberries, blueberries and banana. We piled fruit inside a crepe with a dallop of fluffy tapioca cream, and topped the whole thing with whipped cream. It was a very fresh and simple way to make a tasty crepe!

 Bourbon Honey Glazed Ham

Sounds easy enough, right? Well, it gets a little more difficult. My mother is German, and often feels very nostalgic about traditional German recipes that she would watch her German grandmother make when she was a child. One of these such foods is blinnas, or German crepes. The previous year we had prepared solely French crepes, but this year my mom wanted to do both. She just loved the yeast-y flavor that blinnas have. 

Crepe in the foreground, blinna in the background

So there you have it. Our lucky guests were given the option of French or German Crepe, and sweet or savory. Well, needless to say everyone wanted one of each option. So we had to make sure we had enough crepes for everyone to have two. We had made about 40 crepes by the end of the party.

When the guests started arriving my mom and I took our place at our stations. I was the crepe girl. And she was right next to me, the blinna girl. We each had our own pan and our own bowls of batter (about 4 recipes worth of each). On the counter next to us we each had our own chafing dishes where we were to put our crepes in when they were made, to keep them warm before we started serving them. I am proud to say that my first crepe turned out great, but unfortunately I cannot say the same for mom. To her credit, she did have to try out a few pans first because I had the only official "crepe pan" in the house. 

This is where a little friendly competition came in. 1, 2, 3, 4 crepes made, but no successful blinnas.  I began joking to the guests sitting at the eating bar watching us that this was now a contest and the score was now crepes: 4, blinnas: 0. But my mom told them all that she would win in the taste category.  None of our guests had ever had a blinna and surprisingly a few had not even had a crepe before. 

Before long my mom took off to do other things, leaving me in charge of both the crepes and blinnas. Luckily, my cousin's girlfriend stepped in to help. After a while I got so good at making crepes I didn't even have to think about what I was doing anymore. I could socialize, eat, drink and make a crepe all at the same time. Maybe someday I could get a job as a crepe maker at my favorite creperie in Portland, Le Happy...

 Sweet crepe with a banana berry and tapioca filling

Honestly, I don't know if crepes or blinnas won. I do know for a fact that I made a lot more crepes than my mother made blinnas (I really think she stopped at 1), so crepes won in that respect. But in the taste category, blinnas might have won. They are made with yeast and sit overnight. They certainly do have more flavor than crepes, but the real question we need to ask ourselves is: are crepes meant to serve the sole purpose of containing and featuring the great flavors inside, or should the crepes themselves have a distinct flavor of their own? Honestly, I don't know the answer to that, and if I did my answer would probably change depending on what I was putting inside the crepe/blinna. So...what do you think? 

Bourbon Honey Glazed Ham

From Sandra Lee and Food Network

2/3 cup bourbon or whiskey
1 cup clover honey
1/3 cup molasses
1/2 cup 100 percent fruit orange marmalade
Nonstick cooking spray
1 (5-pound) whole bone-in smoked ham, fully cooked, unsliced
1/8 cup whole cloves

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a medium saucepan, heat bourbon, honey, molasses, and marmalade over low heat for 15 minutes or until reduced by half, stirring occasionally. (When measuring honey and molasses, spray measuring cup with nonstick cooking spray to keep measurements accurate.) Set aside.

With a sharp knife, cut a diamond pattern on the fatty part of the ham. Stud whole cloves in each diamond, at points where lines cross. Spread half of the bourbon glaze over the ham and roast for 30 minutes, uncovered. Baste occasionally with remaining glaze and continue to roast for another 15

French Pancakes, aka Crepes

Adapted from The Joy of Cooking

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon double-acting baking powder

2 tablespoons powdered sugar

2 eggs

2/3 cup milk

1/3 cup water

1/2 teaspoon vanilla or 1/2 teaspoon grated lemon rind

Combine and sift the dry ingredients. Make a well in the sifted ingredients. Mix the liquid ingredients and pour into the well of the dry ingredients. Combine them with a few swift strokes. Ignore the lumps; they will take care of themselves. Heat a 5-inch skillet. Grease it with a few drops of oil. Add a small quantity of batter. Tip the skillet and let the batter spread over the bottom. Cook the pancake over moderate heat. When it is brown underneath, reverse it and brown the other side.

**Note from Kami: I found that using a non-stick skillet it was fine not using oil between each crepe. They turned out better when I stopped adding oil each time. 

**Second note: After trying a few crepes I found that the batter was too thick. Don't be afraid to add more milk until the batter is an easy consistency to work with.

German Pancakes, aka Blinnas

3 cups flour

1 tsp salt

2 tbsp sugar

1 pkg dry yeast dissolved in 1 cup luke warm water

2 1/2 cups scalded milk, cooled

1 tsp baking soda

1/3 cup melted butter

3 eggs, beaten

Make a soft sponge by combining the flour, salt, sugar, yeast, and 2 cups of flour, let set over night. In the morning scald 1/2 cup milk, add 1 tsp. baking soda to milk, 1/3 cup melted butter, 3 eggs beaten, add to batter.

Bake in hot skilled, brushed lightly with shortening each blinna the first time, or oftener if blinna stick. Brush with hot melted butter.

**Note from Kami: After trying a few blinnas I found that the batter was too thick. Don't be afraid to add more milk until the batter is an easy consistency to work with. 

Fluffy Tapioca Cream 

Adapted from the back of a Minute Tapioca Box :) 

1 egg, separated

6 Tbsp.  sugar, divided

3 Tbsp. MINUTE Tapioca

2 cups  2% reduced fat milk

1 tsp. vanilla 

Juice and rind of 1/2 a lemon

Beat egg white in small bowl with electric mixer on high speed until foamy. Gradually add 3 Tbsp. sugar, beating until soft peaks form.

Mix tapioca, remaining sugar, milk and egg yolk in medium saucepan. Let stand 5 minutes.

Cook on medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to full boil. Remove from heat. Quickly stir egg white mixture into hot tapioca in saucepan until well blended. Stir in vanilla. Cool 20 minutes; stir. Serve warm or chilled. For creamier pudding, place plastic wrap on surface of pudding while cooling. Stir before serving. Store leftover pudding in refrigerator.

Bechamel Sauce 

From Mastering the Art of French Cooking

2 Tbsp butter

3 Tbsp flour

2 cups of milk and 1/4 tsp salt heated to a boil 

Salt and pepper to taste 

In a saucepan melt the butter over low heat. Blend in the flour,  and cook slowly, stirring, until the butter and flour froth together for 2 minutes without coloring. This is now a white roux. 

Remove roux from heat. As soon as roux has stopped bubbling, pour in all the hot liquid at once. Immediately beat vigorously with a wire whisk to blend liquid and roux, gathering in all bits of roux from the inside edges of the pan. 

Set saucepan over moderately high heat and stir with the wire whisk until the sauce comes to the boil. Boil for 1 minute, stirring. 

Remove from heat, and beat in salt and pepper to taste.

Nong's, The Best Food Cart in Portland

I am embarrassed to admit this, but I used to think street carts were "sketchy" and eating at one would most likely give me a terrible case of food poisoning.

I am very glad that my urban-uncle made me snap out of that delusion real quick.

 Line of hungry customers waiting outside Nong's

A few months ago this uncle told me that I HAD to eat a Nong's Khao Man Gai, which is in his opinion, the best street cart in Portland. All I needed was one recommendation from an enthusiastic street-cart-eater, and I was ready to try street food for the first time.

I had thought that this was only my uncle's best pick, but little did I know, this is also Portland's pick too! When standing in line with my father I asked him if he thought we were at the right place. A man standing behind us in the line that was almost comically longer than any other cart on the street, answered me instead. "Yes, this is the best street cart in Portland, hands down!"

 Street Cart Row on Alder Street

We smiled at him, and then I proceeded to ask my Dad another question. "So what should we get?". The overly-helpful man behind us answered me again, "Nong's only sells one thing. Just tell her how many you want."

What kind of restaurant only has one thing on the menu? But I am always up for a culinary adventure, so we stepped up to the counter and said "we'll have one please." Now you are probably wondering why we only ordered one. Honestly, I still wasn't sold at this point and we thought we would share one in case we didn't like "Khao Man Gai"...whatever that is!

When our name was called we were handed a neat little package, all tied up. We quickly ripped it open on a table outside Nong's. To our suprise it was chicken on top of white rice, with a few cucumber slices on the side. Didn't seem very glamorous to us. So, how did this simple dish capture hearts all over Portland?

The answer: the sauce! It is a tasty and slightly spicy combination of fermented soybean puree with garlic, ginger, and chili. But when we began to dig in we realized that the sauce isn't the only reason Portlanders love this meal. Nong uses local, free-range chicken that is incredibly moist and flavorful. Their menu explains that their chicken is cooked fresh every day in salt, sugar, garlic and ginger, and rice is cooked in chicken broth, ginger, garlic, shallots and galangar (which is similar to ginger).

Every order of Khao Man Gai is served with a small bowl of a simple clear soup with a few pieces of cooked vegetable in it to balance the meal and cleanse the palate. All of this for only $6! Or, if you want a larger portion ask for the "piset" meaning "special" in Thailand, which comes with larger portions of everything. Adding chicken liver is an option for $1 extra. Nong's sells a variety of drinks, including Lychee juice and Vietnamese style coffee (with Stumptown beans).

Nong, a smiling friendly woman opened this cart to bring the food of her home, Bangkok, Thailand to Portland. This month marks the one year anniversary of Nong's Khao Man Gai. In Thailand Khao Man Gai is exactly what it is here in Portland: street food. Nong grew up eating street food in Thailand wrapped in butcher paper and she is proud to serve it to us the same way. When asked why she only sells one item, Nong responded, "I started up with a little money that I had and I could only afford the 8 feet by 8 feet cart. What can I do in such a little tiny space but kick ass? Khao man gai was my answer. It is only one dish but there’s a lot of work that is put into it and I’m very proud of this process. I wanted to do The best Khao Man Gai that I can in Portland."

Like I said, Nong's is a Portland favorite. I am not making this up. Look at their website and you can see all the press they have had in the one year they have been open. They have been featured in the Oregonian, and Gourmet Magazine, and in Portland Monthly's Best Restaurants 2009. 

Nong's Khao Man Gai is located at 10th and Alder and is open Mon-Fri at 10am, and Sat at 12:00noon. But don't wait too long to stop by because they usually sell out around 2 or 2:30.When looking for Nong's Khao Man Gai, just find a really long line of people eagerly waiting outside a red and yellow cart, and you will be there!