Hey, everyone! The time has finally come for my cheese to be tasted! After two and a half months, I just couldn’t wait any longer. I knew that during the process of aging, my cheese formed a somewhat deep rind and dried out probably more than I had wanted it to. I amended this problem quickly enough to save the cheese from cracking though, and I’m really pleased with the result. While it is drier than I had seen in other results, it is still creamy for a semi-hard cheese. The color and texture are very much like gruyère and share a very similar flavor profile as well. If I could describe its flavor in three words, those words would be nutty, milky, and tangy. I think that with age, the tangy characteristic would turn into the mild sharpness that a comté or gruyère has. This was by far one of the most eagerly awaited things I’ve ever made. Hopefully, in the near future, I’ll be able to enjoy my blueberry wine with my tomme-style cheese!
Above is some footage of the cheese after I split it in two, then four. Looking back at all the photos I’ve taken during this process makes me feel lucky to have learned so much about this craft. I really appreciate the beautiful cheese press that Chef Slonaker made, and for inspiring me to really pursue this. After finally finishing this first cheese, I’m really hungry for more, and I hope to share more cheesemaking adventures on here. I really urge you all to try making that one thing you love to eat. Try learning how to do that thing you’ve always thought about doing. I’m someone who’s all too familiar with putting things like this off, but this was one of the most rewarding culinary experiences I’ve ever had. I’m very eager to start another project and to apply what I’ve learned from this run to the next. One of my favorite things in life is to learn something new, and I’m glad that I got to document and share my experience!
Hey, everyone! I hope you’ve been keeping healthy during
this season of head colds and stomach bugs. I personally came down with a head
cold, and it was a nuisance to get over. Whenever I get sick, it feels like a
wrench has been thrown into the multi-part machine that is my everyday life. My
strategy is to get better as quickly as possible. Nothing is better than
quality rest and lots of fluids, but I do have some home remedies that at least
make me feel better. It’s these little things that help me get better as
quickly as I can.
Growing up, there were many occasions during which Grandma’s
matzah ball soup was eagerly awaited. Everyone in my family loves it, and my grandmother
is always so kind as to make enough for everyone to take some home. To this
day, this soup is what I look for when I’m feeling under the weather. There’s
just something about properly done matzah ball chicken soup that revitalizes me
and kicks the sickness right out. When my grandmother gave me her recipe, I
hesitated at first to make it. I don’t mean to offend anyone whose matzah ball
chicken soup I’ve had in my lifetime, but it has never held a candle to hers. I
was worried that mine would never be able to measure up to the soup I
remembered growing up. Recently, I changed my mind and figured I should start
attempting to make it. Maybe in time, I can come close to the original!
One of the things that I love about this recipe is that it’s
simple. Like many good things, time is the key to this soup’s success. Good
preparation also makes this dish much easier to produce, which makes for an
easier cleanup as well. The recipe for roughly six quarts of soup is below, and
I really do recommend not trying to scale this down. If you have freezer space,
you can make very large batches of this soup, which makes for fantastic eats
throughout the year. Last, as you may notice in the recipe below, the chicken
is roasted whole and then split in two. Again, I recommend using this
technique, but, if necessary, pieces can be used as a substitute.
Ingredients:
1 whole chicken, fryer (2 ½ – 4 ½)
1 gallon cold water
4 celery hearts
1 large onion
2 parsnips, quartered
1 cup chicken broth
1 bunch dill
Preparation:
Roast chicken with vegetables to lightly color
chicken (15-20 minutes at 400°F).
Cut chicken in half. (I use kitchen scissors.)
Place remaining ingredients in small stock pot,
bring to a boil, then simmer 2-3 hours covered.
Once finished, remove meat at room temperature
and pull chicken/remove bones.
Add chicken back to soup and serve. (Season at
the table!)
One of the reasons you should keep the chicken in halves, if not whole, is that this allows you to imbue so much flavor into the broth during its cooking process. It is also much more pleasant in the final dish if the meat is torn instead of diced or chopped. This soup is usually accompanied by light, fluffy matzah balls, which elevates this soup immensely. I feel as though this soup would also be great with rice or some type of noodle. This turned out to be very fun to make, and I’ve learned a lot about one of my favorite dishes. I feel lucky to have people in my life who can pass on such great things to me. I hope you’ve enjoyed this post, and, if you’re sick, get well soon!
Hey, everyone! This week, I really wanted to share a dish that is perfect for the summer. When it starts to get warm out, I find myself making all sorts of picnic foods to enjoy outside. I live right near Ridley Creek State Park, and whenever I have a free moment, I like to go for hikes and a quick picnic. The dishes I usually gravitate towards are ones that are especially tasty at room temperature. I like to have many options while eating, but, when I’m hiking, it isn’t always practical to bring loads of side dishes. One thing that I really like to do is make a dish that has many ingredients and can tide me over until I get back home. Stir-fries or ploughman’s lunches are always a great choice for outdoor eating. One recipe in particular that I really enjoy is called Japchae.
Japchae is a side dish from South Korea that is made up of sweet potato noodles, beef, a variety of mushrooms, and other vegetables. Especially during this time of year, when vegetables are flavorful and fresh, this dish really highlights each ingredient. I first came across this dish when I met my wife, Minju. I was amazed at how each flavor was preserved and the cooking procedure that went along with this. There is a very specific way to make Japchae, and each ingredient must be cooked separately according to its color and how long it takes to cook. This procedural cooking process, in my opinion, makes each flavor truly independent but in harmony with the others. Oftentimes, the flavor of a vegetable gets lost in the cooking process, but this does not seem to be the case with properly made Japchae.
The best Japchae I have ever had was at my wife’s family’s house in Seoul, South Korea. I was lucky enough to make a trip last August and experienced such an amazing and beautiful culture in person. I was amazed at how much care my jangmonim (mother-in-law) put into her cooking and how incredible her ingredients were. She served an enormous mixing bowl’s worth of Japchae that night, and it was accompanied by numerous side dishes and my jangin eoreun’s (father-in-law’s) homemade grape wine. I hope that you enjoy this recipe and that it shows just how versatile a handful of vegetables can really be!
Ingredients: • 1 pound top round beef, sliced • 1 tablespoon garlic, minced • ¼ cup and 2 tablespoons soy sauce • 1 tablespoon mirin • 2 tablespoons sugar • 1 large onion, julienne • 1 cup oyster mushrooms, torn • 1 cup fresh or rehydrated shiitake mushrooms, baton • 2 tablespoons toasted sesame seed oil • 350 grams dry sweet potato noodles • 3 cups baby spinach • 1 large carrot, julienne • 1 red bell pepper, julienne • 1 jalapeño pepper, ¼ moons • Grapeseed oil or favorite high-heat cooking oil, as needed
Japchae ingredients
Procedure: • Slice beef thinly and marinate first six ingredients for up to 24 hours. (Use only ½ the sugar and ¼ cup soy sauce for marinade.) • Prepare vegetables and arrange so that they are separated and easily accessible. • Set up a 12-inch sauté pan, a large mixing bowl, and a pot of boiling, salted water. • Soak sweet potato noodles in cold water for 20 minutes. • Blanch spinach, only so that it wilts and turns a vibrant, green color (15-30 seconds). • Squeeze the liquid out of the spinach so that the color doesn’t run. • At medium-high heat, cook beef, onions, garlic, and marinade in sauté pan. • Once beef is cooked throughout, remove from pan. • Remove remaining ingredients and sauce from pan once onions are tender. • Add mushrooms to pan, along with enough oil to stir fry. • Once mushrooms are cooked and pan is deglazed, remove from pan. • Add carrots to pan with more oil, if needed. • Remove carrots from pan once tender. • Add red pepper to pan with more oil, if needed. • After sweating the pepper, add the jalapeño, and cook until both are tender yet slightly crunchy. • Combine ingredients in a large mixing bowl and hold. • Transfer noodles to boiling water, and cook until tender but chewy. • Rinse the noodles in cold water and drain. • Add the noodles to the mixing bowl, and cut in half with scissors, if necessary. • Add remaining sugar, toasted sesame seed oil, and soy sauce. • With gloved hands, mix the sweet potato noodle stir-fry until combined. • Serve immediately, or refrigerate and reheat.
A delicious stir-fry dinner ready to eat!
Some important things to note for Japchae are that the vegetables should still be slightly crunchy. As with any stir-fry, you do not want mushy, overcooked vegetables. The contrast in textures and flavors in this dish is very satisfying and is partially what makes it so great. Another tip for good Japchae is not to overcook the beef, as it will get very chewy. Finally, good temperature control in your sauté pan is essential to the outcome of this dish. You do not want to brown or add color to the vegetables. This dish is meant to be vibrant and bursting with fresh, defined colors.
This stir-fry goes really well with most foods and can also be a great side dish. In Korea, it is customary to use the wood ear and shiitake mushrooms for this dish. Wood ear mushrooms are thin and wavy black mushrooms that have a distinct but mild flavor. You can buy them dried at most Asian supermarkets. Because of the fact that it is less accessible and more expensive than other mushroom types, I like to use torn oyster mushrooms instead of the wood ear. This recipe can easily be doubled or adjusted for how many people are eating, so I hope that you enjoy it on your own or try making it for a potluck!
Hey, everyone! My name is Steven Walsh, and you’re currently reading the new WHC Food Blog. In this, I hope to show some of the recipes and techniques that I use at home and have used in professional settings. I, as well as lots of others here, love to cook and am passionate about food. Since starting at Walnut Hill College, I’ve wanted to create a forum and blog that allows people to communicate and share the things they love. As I learn more on my culinary journey, I aim to share what I like best with everyone reading. There are few things that I am not fond of, but there is nothing that I won’t try. I’m really excited to get this started, and I can’t wait to hear your thoughts and comments once this takes off. Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy!
This week, I wanted to share two recipes that I use a lot at
home. Despite my lack of pastry experience, this is partially a post about
baking! To start though, I’ll be sharing a mayonnaise recipe that completely
changed my mind about mayo.
Growing up, there were no ifs, ands, or buts, I hated mayonnaise. I didn’t like the concept, and I sure didn’t like the taste. Something seemed to be bitter or rancid every time I tried it, so I stopped trying it. As all of us do, I expanded my palate as I grew up and began to tolerate mayonnaise. It still wasn’t my preference, but it seemed like an alright substitute for butter on a sandwich. This opinion of mine would be completely flipped as I started to learn more about mayonnaise. As I began my education at WHC, I was given the task many times to make mayonnaise. Each time I made it, I liked it, but there was always that background rancid flavor. I had finally had enough and started to do some research on different oils and their properties. After playing around with different ideas, to make a long story short, I began to realize that the heat tolerance and neutral flavor of the oil was what had the biggest impact on the mayonnaise’s outcome. I wanted to test this, so I used my all-time favorite high-heat cooking oil, grapeseed oil.
“Whoa.” This was all I could think after what had just happened. It was a Saturday that I had off from work, and I was playing around in the kitchen as I often do. With the thoughts of grapeseed oil still fresh in my mind, I substituted the usual canola oil with it and made my mayonnaise. As a disclosure, I have tools at home that not everyone may have access to in a home kitchen. However, these recipes are adaptable, and I will always do my best to provide alternative methods. ????
Ingredients:
1 ¼ cup grapeseed oil
1 egg
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon dry mustard powder (optional)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Procedure:
Add ¼ cup of grapeseed oil, egg, mustard powder, and salt into food processor.
Blend until smooth and pale (20-30 seconds).
Add remaining oil in a continuous, thin stream while still blending.
Once finished with the oil, add the lemon juice and blend only to combine.
Taste and adjust seasoning as preferred.
Make your own delicious homemade mayonnaise today!
I was instantly in love with this recipe.
Food processor mayonnaise is a great way to save time and energy when making
mayo. I actually like to use my whisk attachment on my stick blender to make
this. I add the ingredients to a blender cup and use the electric whisk instead
of a food processor. This recipe is really versatile, and I love using it for
different things. I use it for cakes, dipping sauces, salad dressings, and
more! One of my favorite mayonnaise recipes is my double chocolate mayo cake. I
use small loaf tins for baking the cake and slice the cakes for dessert with
some ice cream and fresh fruit!
Ingredients:
1 cup grapeseed oil mayonnaise
1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup water
½ cup whole milk
1 cup sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
4 tablespoons cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate morsels (I use Ghirardelli)
Procedure:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Whisk together mayonnaise, vanilla, milk, and water.
Combine salt and sugar in a mixing bowl.
Sift flour, cocoa, and baking powder into dry ingredients.
Evenly mix with a dry, wooden spoon.
In three stages, incorporate your dry ingredients into your wet ingredients.
Fold in chocolate chips.
Oil 4 mini loaf tins with vegetable oil.
Cut strips of parchment paper long enough so that they hang out of the tins.
Evenly pour the batter into the tins and smooth for even baking.
Bake for 35 minutes or until a tester toothpick comes out clean.
Cool and serve.
Double Chocolate Mayo Cake
There are so many variations that can be made to both of these recipes, and I hope you get a chance to try them out. I would love to hear feedback, and pictures of cake and mayo are obviously welcome!
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Japchae ingredients
A delicious stir-fry dinner ready to eat!
Make your own delicious homemade mayonnaise today!
Double Chocolate Mayo Cake
