Donuts

A donut is an enriched dough. A fried brioche. A simplifying thought. 

Corn Sandwiches

A no-fail recipe for creamy corn sandwiches. Developed at Cupcakes Amore.

butter 50g
onions/ shallots/ scallion whites, chopped 100g
jalapeno, chopped 20g
water 125g
flour 2T
cream cheese 180g
corn kernels 200g

Melt butter in skillet. Add onions and jalapenos and sweat till softened. Onions and jalapenos can be quickly chopped together in a food processor.
Add flour and cook till pale blonde.
Pour in the water and simmer till thick.
Remove from heat and stir in the cream cheese till smooth.
Fold in the corn kernels and season to taste.
Scallions / chopped cilantro may be added but are not essential. 

Fruit & Nut Cookies

A very good recipe for fruit and nut cookies / everything/ kitchen sink cookies. Adapted from The Ultimate Cook Book by Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarbrough. Makes a chewy/ mildly bendy cookie without being undercooked and doughy or crumbly.

butter 85g
sugar 136g
peanut butter 48g
liquid glucose / corn syrup 53g
eggs 1ea
baking soda 1/2t
salt 1/2t
vanilla extract 1t
flour 125g
oats 47.5g
2 cups of mix-ins such as chocolate chips/ raisins/ cranberries/ chopped toasted nuts/ coconut

Paddle both the butters, sugar and corn syrup till smooth.
Add the egg, baking soda, salt and vanilla and paddle till smooth.
Add the flour and oats and mix till combined.
Fold in mix-ins.
Scoop and chill dough for an hour before baking. Bake at 325F.

Tuxedo Radishes

Radishes. Dipped in butter and left to set, like chocolate-dipped strawberries. Brilliant. Not sure where I read this idea. I think it was by Daniel Humm and EMP crew somewhere on NYT article. Maybe about their new restaurant at Nomad Hotel. Not sure at all. But the idea is simple and effective. 

Watermelon Prosciutto

I really don't know how this idea came to me. I was just sitting at the table and looking at the watermelon and I remember thinking about grilling watermelon, then it moved to infusing it with soy and lime and mint and then this idea surfaced.

Peel and square off the melon, maybe let's just use the very core. Reserve rest for watermelon gazpacho. Shape the core into a rectangle. Place in a bag, pour in rendered pork fat, maybe infused with something?, then vacuum seal the bag. The fat will rush in and replace the lost air. Since watermelon is so loose-celled, I am anticipating the fat will resemble the marbling on a good slice of great meat. Chill this infused melon to firm the fat, then slice thinly and serve.

I'm really excited about the idea. Of course, there are considerations. First, what kind of fat? Or does fat derived from different parts of the pig all behave the same? Also, will the fat hold because of the water content of the melon? Would it be a better idea to infuse and then dehydrate? The final product must be thinly sliced.

A search for watermelon prosciutto revealed that the blog Ideas in Food, have called dehydrated watermelon wedges/slices this. They say the texture is sort of bendy, pliable, not crisp, thereby closely resembling prosciutto.