During our time in Bologna, we took a cooking class from Bluone Cooking Tours. It had always been my dream to learn from a Bolognese family how to cook. Bologna, after all, is one of the centers of the culinary world, giving the world Bolognese sauce and mortadella (Americans are more familiar with the bastardized version of this: bologna — don’t ever mistake the two).

Our guide was the wonderful Raffaella, who has been teaching for over 15 years. She took us under her wing, bringing us to the local food markets and explaining all the local ingredients. Then, after deciding on a menu, we went back to her charming home to make a traditional Bolognese meal. Needless to say, it was the one of the most memorable moments in our time in Italy.

After coming back to California, I decided to try my hand at the two simpler recipes we learned: Veal Scallopini and Eggplant with Olive Oil.

Veal Scallopini

This is a tender and deeply flavorful dish, and it’s quick and easy to make too. I managed to do this recipe from memory, so I did my best to guess the amounts.

Ingredients

• 1 lb pounded veal, in about 3 inch long pieces (you can usually find this already flattened and ready to cook, otherwise, you’ll need to pound it)
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1 fistful of parsley
• 1/2 cup fresh (or dried) oregano
• 1 cup good quality olive oil
• 3/4 cup tomato sauce
• 1/2 cup flour

Directions

1. Finely chop the parsley, garlic, and oregano together.
2. Heat a heavy skillet over medium low heat, add the olive oil.
3. Sweat the chopped garlic and parsley in the skillet for 7 minutes.
4. Add the tomato sauce and stir. Continue to cook for another 7 minutes.
5. One by one, lightly coat each veal piece with flour and drop into the skillet.
6. Cook for about 7 minutes or until the veal pieces are cooked through. Don’t overcook, or the veal can get tough.

Eggplant with Olive Oil

Raffaella kept describing this recipe as “stupid” because it’s just so simple. But what you’ll come to learn after doing enough Italian cooking is that all the dishes relatively simple. It’s really the quality of the ingredients that shine through in each recipe.

Ingredients

• Good quality olive oil
• Italian eggplant, sliced thin
• Parsley, chopped fine

Directions

1. Heat the slices of eggplant in a heavy skillet, without any oil, for about 10 minutes. The point is to dry out each piece of eggplant. The pieces should shrink about 50% and start to shrivel and slightly brown.
2. Set the slices on a plate and cover with the parsley. Drizzle a generous amount of olive oil on top.
3. That’s it! There’s no 3rd step. It really is stupid.

It was really nice to cook a meal that instantly transported me back to Bologna. It’s funny how aromas and tastes can evoke such intense memories of a place and time. Perhaps that’s why many first memories are about food.

On an ice cold night in New York, we headed to Nobu New York for a warming modern Japanese American meal. I had heard many good things, and was excited to taste Nobu Matsuhisa’s fusion cuisine. He is, after all, one of the pioneers of Asian fusion cuisine.

Typically, I’m wary of an kind of fusion cuisine, because a lot of it just not well executed. Many chefs just smear some soy glaze on a typical western creation and call it a day.

Unfortunately, even though there were some interesting highlights, Nobu failed to impress. Many of the dishes simply had poor execution–faltering on basic elements like seasoning and rice preparation.

We decided to go with the omakase, leaving it to the chefs to serve their best dishes. The following was our evening.

Toro Tartar

The toro was served over a rich cold broth of wasabi and soy. The toro tartar was very fresh and delicate, but overpowered by the inordinate amount of wasabi in the broth.

Oysters Kahata with Soy, Citrus, and Oil

The oysters were fresh, but the sauce was overwhelmingly salty. Again, a potentially great dish that was ruined by poor seasoning.

Yellowtail with Yuzu Soy Dressing

Again, the Yellowtail was firm and fresh, but was over-salted. I could barely taste the Yuzu.

Lobster Tempura

This was one of the better dishes of the night. The lobster was nice and tender, and the tempura batter was delicate. However, the rich creamy sauce made the tempura soggy. It would’ve been better if they had served the sauce on the side.

Black Cod Miso and Foi Gois

This is Nobu’s signature dish, and was well executed. The cod was very tender and nicely flavored throughout by the soy and miso. The outside was nicely browned, and the foi gois added an exceptional richness. There is an almost identical dish that is served at the Mayflower Restaurant in San Francisco (at a cheaper price, of course).

Sushi Course

This was probably the worst dish of the night. Of all the dishes, I thought Nobu would be able to execute sushi flawlessly. Instead, the rice was too dried out and not properly seasoned (needed more vinegar). The fish was fresh enough, but not anything extraordinary. Very disappointing.

Chocolate Green Tea Molten Cake with Green Tea Ice Cream

The night finished with a molten chocolate cake. I thought this dish lacked any originality. The addition of the green tea sauce within the cake didn’t add much interest to the usual molten cake dish. The green tea ice cream was made in house, and had a subtle and natural green tea flavor.

Overall, Nobu just didn’t leave me with a good taste in my mouth. The dishes were not well executed, and many lacked any kind of originality. Even though Nobu is hailed as the pioneer of fusion cuisine, it managed to lose its attention to detail, which is very sad indeed.

I recently got my first produce shipment from Farm Fresh to You and was excited to start using the fresh vegetables in some dishes. There was plenty of chard, so I decided to improvise and make some seared tuna with chard and avocados, doused with a bit of sweet soy sauce marinade.

Yes, I know, it’s not a very traditional pairing, but the result was surprisingly really good. The chard soaked up all the nice sweet teriyaki sauce and complemented the tuna quite well.

Ingredients

• 3 tbsp soy sauce
• 3 tbsp rice wine vingar
• 2 tbsp honey
• salt
• pepper
• olive oil
• 3/4 pound fresh Yellowfin Tuna
• 2 bunches chard
• avocados, sliced
• Vegetable or peanut oil
• garlic, chopped fine

Directions

1. Make the sweet teriyaki marinade and sauce: combine and whisk soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, honey, salt, and pepper to taste.
2. Marinade the tuna for 20 minutes in teriyaki sauce (no more, or else the meat will start to break down). Make sure to reserve some sauce for later.
3. Slice the chard stems and leaves into thin 1/2 inch strips.
4. Heat up a skillet and saute the garlic and stem parts of the chard for 5-7 minutes.
5. Place the rest of the chard into the skillet and saute for addtional 5 minutes, then cover and let cook for about 8 minutes.
6. When chard stems are soft, remove chard from skillet.
7. Turn the heat to high and put vegetable oil in the skillet (this is ideally a cast iron or heavy skillet, but really, any skillet, even non-stick, will do).
8. When oil shimmers, sear the tuna for 30 seconds on each side.
10. Place tuna on a bed of chard and fan avocados on top.
11. Pour a few spoonfuls of teriyaki sauce over the tuna and serve immediately.

Made some potato and leek soup tonight for a nice autumn meal.

Ingredients

• 5 pounds white potatoes, peeled and quartered
• 6 cups chicken broth
• 2 leeks, bulb only
• 1/2 cup butter
• 4 tablespoons white wine
• salt to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper

Directions

1. Cook potatoes in chicken stock until soft. Set aside, do not drain.
2. Put potatoes in the work bowl of a food processor in batches. Add 5 cups of chicken stock from the potato cooking pot. Puree until smooth.
3. Half the leeks lengthwise, and soak in water to clean. Finely slice. Saute in butter until transparent. Add white wine, and cook for 3 minutes.
4. In a soup pot, combine remaining cup of chicken stock from the potato cooking pot and sauteed leeks. Stir in pureed potatoes, and bring to a simmer. Season with salt and white pepper. Cook to desired consistency, adding more stock if necessary. Garnish with parsley.

For Joey’s birthday on Halloween, we decided to make two cupcakes. Two giant cupcakes — enough to feed 30 people.

We bought the Wilton Giant Cupcake Pan from Amazon. Basically, you bake the “muffin top” part separately from the bottom, thus creating the illusion of a muffin shaped cupcake.

The ironic thing is that cupcakes are meant to be easy to make — by creating a large box cake version of the cupcake, we’ve essentially made a more complicated bakery item in the shape of an easy to make bakery item.

There are a few tricks if you want these to come out right. The muffin top part of the cake is smaller and cooks faster. Place the pan off center so that the bottom part of the cake is in the center of the oven. This will allow both halves to cook evenly.

Also, each half will rise and balloon out of the pan. You’ll need to cut off the excess with a bread knife so that both halves will fit together.

I suggest getting a revolving cake stand so that you can easily decorate the top evenly. We opted not to decorate the sides.

We used two cupcake recipes from Billy’s Bakery, which turned out fantastic, even though we were essentially making a box cake. Just ignore the parts about putting them into cupcake tins, and it’ll be fine. They are as follows:

Billy’s Cupcakes

Ingredients

Makes about 30 cupcakes

• 1 3/4 cups cake flour, not self-rising
• 1 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 4 large eggs
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• Billy’s Vanilla Buttercream
• Colored Sprinkles, for decorating, optional

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line cupcake pans with paper liners; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine flours, sugar, baking powder, and salt; mix on low speed until combined. Add butter, mixing until just coated with flour.
2. In a large glass measuring cup, whisk together eggs, milk, and vanilla. With mixer on medium speed, add wet ingredients in 3 parts, scraping down sides of bowl before each addition; beat until ingredients are incorporated but do not overbeat.
3. Divide batter evenly among liners, filling about 2/3 full. Bake, rotating pan halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 17 to 20 minutes.
4. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat process with remaining batter. Once cupcakes have cooled, use a small offset spatula to frost tops of each cupcake. Decorate with sprinkles, if desired. Serve at room temperature.

NOTE: For the giant cupcake version, it’ll take about 1 hour to bake.

Billy’s Butter Cream

Ingredients

Makes enough for 30 cupcakes

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 6 to 8 cups confectioners’ sugar
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions

1. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter until smooth and creamy, 2 to 3 minutes. With mixer on low speed, add 6 cups sugar, milk, and vanilla; mix until light and fluffy. If necessary, gradually add remaining 2 cups sugar to reach desired consistency.

Chocolate Cupcakes by Billy Reece

Yields 24 to 27 cupcakes

Ingredients

• 2 sticks unsalted butter (8 ounces)
• 1 cup granulated sugar (7 ounces)
• 1 cup light brown sugar (7-3/4 ounces)
• 4 large eggs (one at a time)
• 6 ounces unsweetened chocolate
• 2 cups cake flour (9-1/4 ounces)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup buttermilk (room temperature)
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions

Cream:
2 sticks unsalted butter (8 ounces)
1 cup granulated sugar (7 ounces)
1 cup light brown sugar (7-3/4 ounces)
Add:
4 large eggs (one at a time)
6 ounces unsweetened chocolate (chocolate should be melted, then cooled for approximately 15 minutes before being added).
Add and alternate:
2 cups cake flour (9-1/4 ounces)
1 teaspoon baking soda
With:
1 cup buttermilk (room temperature)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Bake at 350 degree for about one hour, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Simple Chocolate Buttercream by Billy Reece

Ingredients

• 4 sticks butter
• 12 ounces semi-sweet chocolate
• 2-3/4 cups confectioners’ sugar
• 1/4 cup whole milk
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions

Cream (with hand or stand mixer):
4 sticks butter (16 ounces) until light and fluffy, approximately 5 minutes

Melt (in microwave or double boiler):
12 ounces semi-sweet chocolate

Set aside and allow to cool for approximately 20 minutes. After chocolate has cooled, add it to the creamed butter and mix on low speed until just combined. Scrape sides of bowl then …

Add:
2-3/4 cups confectioners’ sugar
1/4 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

On low speed of a hand or stand mixer, mix until fully incorporated; no confectioners’ sugar should be visible. Mixture should be smooth and medium brown in color.

Do not refrigerate; use immediately or store in airtight container for up to 2 days.

Decided to make a meal at home after a long hiatus of cooking. Bought some salmon at Whole Foods and marinated with sugar, soy sauce, and garlic for an Asian salmon bake.

Baked it with broccoli and cauliflower drizzled with olive oil, garlic, and salt. After a short 15 minutes in the oven at 400 degrees, I got a nice flavorful autumn meal. Simple.

Stopped off at one of those Mister Donuts I was seeing everywhere.

Yes, I know I’m talking with my mouth full.

The Shilin Night Market is the largest and most well known night market in Taiwan. Spreading out north from the Jiantan Subway Station, the market is a veritable playground of trinkets, games, and most importantly, food.

When setting foot inside the market, you’re immediately bombarded by intoxicating smells, sounds, and sights. It’s easiest just to see for yourself, so here’s the video of my quick walkthrough:

Shilin Night Market Walkthrough from James Yu on Vimeo.

In essence, most of the food is a late night eaters dream. A lot of it involves frying, meats, and savory spices. Perfect after a night of drinking.

There were two main agenda culinary agenda items for me: stinky tofu and oyster omelets.

Oyster omelets are a starchy omelet fried with oysters and topped with a red sweet sauce. There are tons of vendors that hawk this item throughout the market–it’s sometimes known as the unofficial national dish of Taiwan.

Stinky tofu is one of those controversial dishes–you can smell it from a mile away, and yes, the smell is as pungent as any smell can be. It’s basically tofu that has been fermented with various fish and other seafood as a base. The texture of the tofu becomes spongy, and the taste is very complex. Thankfully, it’s one of those things that taste very different than it smells.

Usually, it’s served with some pickled vegetables and a good dollop of chili sauce.

I also had some barbecued mystery meats, including chicken tailbones (which we throw away in the US). It was a bit chewy, but very flavorful due to the high fat content.

I spent the rest of the night walking around the market. There’s a whole section devoted to those claw machine games where you fruitlessly try to win a cute stuffed animal. Some of them, like this one where you win bodyless Chip heads, were actually a bit disturbing.

You can catch all my Taipei pictures in my Flickr set.

Photo by Marshall Astor

Yesterday, we had a going away lunch for Kurt, who will be leaving Scribd for greener pastures. He brought us to his favorite small restaurant in San Francisco — Roadside Cafe — which specializes in South Carolina style barbecue. While chowing down on some ribs and pulled pork, we discussed the finer points of souther cuisine. It really made me realize how alien southern food is around Northern California. Trust me, it’s tough finding a good BBQ place in the city.

This reminded me of a passage in Michael Pollan’s Omnivore’s Dilemma where he discusses the lack of food culture in America. Okay, that’s an extreme thing to say: of course, we do have some strong culinary rituals, like the Thanksgiving turkey, southern barbecue, and Louisiana creole food. But, all of this still pales in comparison to the fanatic food cultures in other countries, like Spain or France. Let’s face it, the general public in San Francisco doesn’t nearly think about their food heritage as much as people in San Sebastian, Spain.

Pollan goes on to explain that we’re a nation of people who eat many of their meals in cars. This is the antithesis of European cuisine, where the food is ingrained into everyone’s life. It’s no wonder that American’s are suckers for food fads, like the low-carb diet and health shakes.

Many times, I’m envious of these older countries that have such a rich culinary heritage.

On the flip side, I’m also glad that we’re young and diverse nation, allowing us to explore more gustatory options. I just hope that someday in the distant future, our ancestors don’t find themselves closely guarding the culture of Frito-Lay chips and Cheetos.

Tonight, I was annoyed to discover that I had run out of rice. So, I had to settle for some bean thread noodles. The plate is my usual stir fry with tofu and green beans, this time with the addition of mushrooms.