Monthly Archives: March 2015

Singapore Noodles

singaporenoodles

I had never been a big fan of Singapore noodles. Every version of this Chinese-American was bland, gritty and boring. Then, I tried the version at RuYi, a surprisingly good restaurant in the Potawatomi casino, and found it better than I had remembered. And more recently, I tried the version at Kim’s Thai to Go, my favorite Thai place located in Pacific Produce on the south side of Milwaukee, and that version was a revelation. It was bright with curry and heavily seasoned; a cross between Chinese noodle stir fry and Indian curry. 

So when I had a couple pork chops to use up before they expired, I decided to give Singapore noodles a shot myself. I cobbled together a few recipes around the internet, and followed Cook’s Illustrated’s general method. The verdict: a definite make again recipe.

Continue reading →

Share Button

My Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookies

chocolatechip3

Forget apple pie, chocolate chip cookies should be America’s iconic baked good. Everyone loves them, you can get them anywhere, and they’re easier to make than apple pie. 

This is my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe. It uses browned butter to impart a toffee-like flavor that you generally only get from aging the dough in the fridge for a day or so (as started by the NYT famous recipe). While I’m sure that recipe is pretty damn delicious, I never plan ahead to make cookies. When I want chocolate chip cookies, I need them NOW. Maybe other people can plan ahead for their cravings, but not me. (That is also why my most common brownie-baking time is midnight.)

Continue reading →

Share Button

Apple Sour Cream Crumb Pie

applesourcreampie

I’m not a math person, but I am a dessert person. So pi day becomes pie day, because any excuse to make pie is a good excuse.

Apple Sour Cream Crumb Pie is a mashup of apple pie, creamy cheesecake, and apple crisp. Apples are sliced and mixed with an entire 16-ounce container of sour cream, cinnamon and vanilla, plus eggs and flour for binding, then mounded into a pie crust and topped with a nut-studded pile of cinnamon crumbs.

This recipe makes a monstrous pie. The apple filling will need to be placed and poured carefully since it stands a good 4 inches above the rim of the pie dish. Maybe if you placed the apple slices more carefully instead of dumping them all in like I did, you can avoid stray slices falling on the floor. As it is, just do your best to arrange the apples so things aren’t sticking out, because those bits do get pretty dark in the oven. Because this pie is so dense, it needs almost 2 hours in the oven.

Continue reading →

Share Button