Turnip Cake

Chinese Sausage, Rice Flour, Dried Shrimp, Daikon Radish and Scallions

As a young child I remember my grandmother buzzing around the kitchen to make turnip cake. It seemed like a huge production as if she were making turnip cake for a whole village. Lately I find myself thinking about my family history and realizing how little I know about those that came before me. I am longing to learn about my grandparents and anything that will bridge me to my Taiwanese heritage. A part of me wonders if I will find a missing part of myself when I make a connection to the past. More importantly, I want to be able to tell my kids about their family history when they are old enough to ask. My turnip cake was nowhere near as good as my grandmother's but I think she would still be proud.

This was my first time making turnip cake. I expected it to be a daunting task, but it really was quite easy. If I could do it all over again, I would add more shredded turnip - the recipe called for 2 1/2 to 3 cups of shredded daikon and I went on the lower range. I wanted to taste more of the turnip. Being a saltaholic, I would add a touch more salt as well. Below is the recipe as is, feel free to incorporate the changes if you wish.

Shredded Daikon

Chopped Dried Shrimp, Scallions and Chinese Sausage

Ready to be steamed

Cooling the Turnip Cake

Pan-fry until golden brown

Serve with Oyster Sauce

Turnip Cake
Yield one 8x8 pan or one 9" cake pan

2 1/2 - 3 cups (lightly packed) Coarsely Shredded Daikon Radish
1 1/2 Cups Water
3 T Dried Shrimp, optional (soaked in hot water then drained)
1 Chinese Sausage, finely diced
2 Scallions, finely chopped
2 Cups Rice Flour (* Important note - use rice flour, do not use sweet/glutinous rice flour)
1 t salt (adjust up if not using shrimp)
1/2 t Sugar
Vegetable/Canola Oil for frying

1 - Place shredded radish in a small pot or saucepan with water. Bring mixture to a boil, than reduce the heat to a low and simmer for 15 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat. Remove radish from liquid(do not discard the cooking liquid) and place in measuring cup. Add in cooking liquid to bring the amount to approximately 3 cups. Let the mixture cool to a lukewarm temperature.

2 - While radish is cooking, heat 2 teaspoons of oil in a skillet or wok. When oil starts to smoke add the Chinese Sausage, scallions, and dried shrimp. Stir fry for 1 or 2 minutes. Remove the mixture from heat. Place a double-boiler on the heat with plenty of water to get the steamer hot.

3 - In a bowl mix the rice flour, salt, and sugar. Add the radish and cooking water, and stir to a batter-like consistency. Add the Chinese sausage mixture to the batter and mix. Pour mixture into a 8x8 cake pan, or a 9-inch round cake pan.

4 - Place cake pan into steamer, and steam at a medium-high boil for 35-45 minutes.

5 - Once done, remove the turnip cake from the steamer and let cool. Slice the turnip cake and pan-fry in oil until golden brown.

Mixed Green Salad with Figs, Blue Cheese and Pine Nuts

Close up of Figs, Blue Cheese and Pine Nuts on top of Mixed Greens

I think food is beautiful. Cut into a fresh fig and look at all the colors - purple, pink, white and green - this is one good-looking fruit. Add it to a fruit plate or salad and it will surely make it pretty. If ripe, figs are sweet and delicious. I don't buy them often, but when I do I am reminded of how special they are. Go out and buy some while they are still in season. Here in the Northeast they will be around for a few more weeks.

Ready to be tossed with dressing

Mixed Green Salad with Figs, Blue Cheese and Pine Nuts
1/2 lb. Organic Mixed Greens
5 Fresh Figs, cut into quarters (or sixths, if large)
1/3 cup Pine Nuts, toasted
4 ounces Danish Blue Cheese, crumbled (I used the Rosenborg Castello brand)

Place pre-washed mixed greens into a large serving bowl. Arrange figs along the perimeter of the bowl and a few in the center. Sprinkle blue cheese then pine nuts on top of greens and figs. Serve with Sherry-Shallot Vinaigrette (recipe below).

Sherry-Shallot Vinaigrette
1/4 cup Sherry Vinegar
1/2 Shallot, chopped
1/4 T butter
1 t Country Dijon mustard, regular Dijon can be substituted
1 T Honey
1 t Chopped Fresh Thyme
3/4 cup olive oil
1/2 t salt, plus more if needed
Freshly ground black pepper to taste

In a small saute pan, cook chopped shallots in butter until very lightly browned. Combine cooked shallots, sherry vinegar, mustard, honey, thyme, salt and pepper in a blender, bowl or tall narrow plastic container (if using immersion blender). Blend, whisk by hand or use the immersion blender to mix the ingredients. Slowly add the olive oil while blending to emulsify the vinaigrette. Adjust seasoning if necessary.

Jacques Torres Chocolate Chip Cookies

Jacques Torres Chocolate Chip Cookie

The search for the perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie continues...
I stumbled upon Crepes of Wrath while perusing TasteSpotting for yet another cookie recipe. Sydney from Crepes of Wrath totally reeled me in with one of her cookie photos of Jacques Torres Chocolate Chip cookies. I tried this recipe many years ago when it was printed in the NY Times. I recall it being interesting because it uses bread flour and cake flour. All other traditional chocolate chip cookie recipes use all-purpose flour. Given the rave reviews I was willing to give this recipe another try.

If memory serves, I'm fairly certain I cut down on the salt and didn't let the dough rest for the recommended time. All those years ago I also used Toll House chocolate chips. Armed with more experience, I felt confident I would yield a better result. The dough needs to rest in the refrigerator for 24-36 hours or up to 72 hours. I'm not sure why this is crucial, but just do it. Maybe the resting period helps the flavors marry (or at least become friends =P).

You have to try one of these cookies warm. There are no ifs, ands, or buts, you will be hard pressed to find a better cookie than this. The edges are crisp, the inside is soft and slightly chewy. The chocolate oozed onto my shorts. Normally that would make me mad, but in this case I took it as a sign of an awesome cookie. My one criticism of the cookie is that it is definitely saltier than most cookies I've ever had. My husband liked the salt, but it bothered me a little. For now, this cookie takes the top spot in the recipe box. Will that stop me from trying others? Of course not.

Combination of Callebaut Semisweet and Ghirardelli Bittersweet Chocolates

Butter, Sugars, Vanilla, Eggs

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough

Sturdy stackable cookies

Jacques Torres Chocolate Chip Cookies
From The New York Times

2 cups minus 2 tablespoons cake flour
1 2/3 cups bread flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt
2 1/2 sticks unsalted butter
1 1/4 cups light brown sugar
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons natural vanilla extract
1 1/4 pounds bittersweet chocolate disks or fèves, at least 60 percent cacao content (see note)
Sea salt.

1. Sift flours, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Set aside.

2. Using a mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars together until very light, about 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla. Reduce speed to low, add dry ingredients and mix until just combined, 5 to 10 seconds. Drop chocolate pieces in and incorporate them without breaking them. Press plastic wrap against dough and refrigerate for 24 to 36 hours. Dough may be used in batches, and can be refrigerated for up to 72 hours.

3. When you are ready to bake, bring the dough to room temperature so that you can scoop it out, and preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Line and/or grease your baking sheets. Scoop your dough out onto the sheets. I used a #40 ice cream scoop, which is about the size of 2 tablespoons, but you can make them even larger, if you like. Do not press the dough down – let it stay the way it is. Sprinkle the cookies lightly with a bit of fleur de sel or sea salt. Bake 10-12 minutes for smaller cookies (mine took about 13 minutes), or 18-20 minutes for larger cookies.

4. Allow the cookies to cool slightly on your baking sheet, then move them to another surface to cool completely. You can enjoy these warm, room temperature, or cold. Store in an air-tight container at room temperature for up to 3 days, or freeze for up to 2 months.

Yield: 1 1/2 dozen 5-inch cookies.

Note: Disks are sold at Jacques Torres Chocolate; Valrhona fèves, oval-shaped chocolate pieces, are at Whole Foods. I substituted Callebaut semisweet and Ghirardelli Bittersweet Chocolates. I also omitted the sprinkling of the sea salt. I would really like to try out the Jacques Torres chocolate especially after seeing this picture.

Milk and Cookies