When you visit, make sure you try the Kang Ped. It’s a red curry dish with coconut milk, peas, carrots, bamboo shoots, eggplant, and your choice of meat (we chose beef) served over steamed white rice. The red curry has just the right amount of heat and spice, and it’s perfectly balanced with the earthy richness of the coconut milk. It worked very well as leftovers for lunch the next day, too. It feels like a crime not to mention the typical Thai favorites, such as Pad Thai, Pad See-Ew, Garlic Chicken and Golden Wings. I tried these, too, and each dish was immaculate. The rice noodles in the Pad Thai were perfectly limp, and the Tamarind sauce was amazingly fragrant. The Garlic chicken was tender, flavorful and wonderfully glazed with garlicky goodness. Our order of Golden Wings (often called Angel Wings in other Thai restaurants) were perfectly crisped, stuffed and served with a sweet, refreshing cucumber sauce.

Have I mentioned the pricepoint? This is very likely the most well-priced food in Orange County. Most dishes are around $7 and you can even get a lunch or dinner special including soup, salad and egg rolls for under $10. All in all, in my Thai adventures so far, Thai Gulf ranks at the top. They get high marks for service, presentation, preparation and traditionally prepared Thai food. I hated writing this piece for two reasons. One, I don’t want the place to get any more crowded. If you don’t know how to work the schedule, it can already be tough to get a seat without a wait. And two, it made me hungry.

19072 Beach Blvd # F, Huntington Beach, CA‎ - (714) 378-6005‎

This review was cross-posted at OC Arts & Culture, here.

4.5 cups flour
4 teaspoons ground ginger
3 teaspoons ground cloves
1.5 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1.5 cups shortening (I use butter flavored)
2 cups sugar (you can split into 1 white, 1 brown if you’d like)
2 eggs
1/2 cup molasses
2 tablespoons roughly chopped crystallized ginger
1 tablespoon fresh grated ginger
About 3/4 cup sugar (for rolling)

Preheat oven to 350. Sift together flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves and salt. Beat shortening 30 seconds. Add 2 cups sugar, beat until combined. Beat in eggs and molasses. Beat in flour mixture. Stir in crystallized and fresh ginger just before baking. Roll into 1/4″ balls, then coat in the sugar. Place 1 inch apart on cookie sheets. Bake approximately 11 minutes or until the tops of the cookies are cracked. Rest on cookie sheets for approximately 10 minutes. Do not cool on cooling racks because the cookies need some extra heat on the bottoms to set correctly.

Ingredients:

* 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
* 1/2 cup whole milk
* 3/4 cup sugar
* 1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
* 1/8 teaspoon salt
* 1 1/4 cups bottled pomegranate juice
* 1/4 cup pomegranate liqueur
* 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

Preparation:

Whisk together cream, milk, sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a 2 1/2- to 3-quart heavy saucepan. Bring to a boil over moderate heat, whisking occasionally, then boil, whisking, 2 minutes. Remove from heat and whisk in remaining ingredients.

From here, you can do two things. Either you can transfer to a bowl and chill, uncovered, until cold, at least 1 hour. Then freeze in ice cream maker, and transfer to an airtight container and put in freezer to harden, at least 2 hours.

Or you can put the gelato in a glass dish in the freezer (remember, the bigger the dish, the faster it will freeze because there’s more surface area to touch the cold air) and stir it with a rubber or silicone spatula every 30 minutes. This will ensure that it freezes evenly. When it’s mostly frozen, transfer to the container of your choice. The smallest container that it will fit in is the best choice. The less extra air you have in the container, the less chance you have that frost will infest your gelato.

If you choose not to use alcohol, you can use a total of 1 1/2 cups of pomegranate juice. You can also use different flavors of juice! Be creative. Let me know in the comments which kind of gelato you’d like to make with this recipe.

Pomegranate Rosemary Marinade
5 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
leaves from 2 rosemary sprigs, coarsely chopped
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
3/4 cup Pom pomegranate juice
3/4 cup dry white wine

Mix all ingredients together and put in a glass dish. Place pork in dish to marinate at least 1 hour, flipping halfway through. (I marinated mine for about 24 hours, flipping halfway through.)

Israeli Couscous
1 teaspoon unsalted butter
olive oil to coat pan
1/4 cup pine nuts
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 shallot, minced
1/4 cup golden raisins
1/2 cup pomegranate seeds
1 1/2 cups Israeli couscous
1 3/4 cups stock (I used chicken)
2 tablespoons chopped parsley leaves
2 tablespoons chopped mint leaves
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

Melt the teaspoon of butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add enough olive oil so that the oil and butter coat the bottom of the pan. Add the pine nuts and saute for two minutes. Add garlic, shallot and golden raisins and saute for 2-3 minutes more. Add Israeli couscous and saute for 2 minutes. Add pomegranate seeds and stock and bring to a boil. Turn the heat to low, cover and simmer until all liquid is absorbed and the couscous is tender. Remove from heat and fold in lemon zest, parsley and mint. Serve immediately.

Pomegranate Pork Roast
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
olive oil to coat
Pork roast

Preheat the oven to 425 F. Take the pork roast out of the marinade and pat dry with paper towels. Season on all sides with Kosher salt and pepper. Heat 1 tablespoon of butter and olive oil in a large cast iron or stainless pan. Do not use Teflon or nonstick pans as you will not be able to make the pan sauce! When the butter and olive oil mixture is hot, brown the pork roast on all sides in the pan. Once the roast is browned, transfer it to a cookie sheet and place it in the oven. Once the roast has been in the oven for 5 minutes, turn the heat down to 350 F.

Roast for approximately 20 minutes or until an instant read thermometer reads 145 F. Rest the meat for 10 minutes before slicing.

Once you’ve removed the roast from the oven, it’s time to start your pan sauce.

Pomegranate White Wine Sauce
1/4 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup Pom pomegranate juice
1/4 cup chicken stock
2 shallots, thinly sliced
1 garlic clove, minced into a paste
pinch of cornstarch
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 1/4″ cubes

Heat the pan with the pork drippings. Once the pan is hot, deglaze with 1/4 cup dry white wine. Add 1/2 cup Pom Pomegranate juice and 1/4 cup chicken stock. Add the thinly sliced shallots and garlic paste. Heat on high, stirring often, until the liquid is reduced by two thirds. Turn off the heat and whisk in the butter cubes. Pour immediately over sliced pork roast and serve hot.

Broiled Asparagus
1 bunch of asparagus, cleaned and trimmed
olive oil to coat
Kosher salt to taste
pepper to taste
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon lemon zest

Toss the asparagus with olive oil, garlic powder, lemon zest, Kosher salt and pepper to taste. Lay out on a cookie sheet. Broil 2-3 minutes. Serve hot.

Pot Roast Ingredients:
1 Beef Roast
8 cloves Garlic, roughly chopped
3 T Peppercorns, crushed or cracked
Kosher Salt to taste

Put all ingredients in crockpot on low for 8 hours or until you can easily shred with two forks.

Garlic Parmesan Fries Ingredients:
As many potatoes as you want. Russet work best.
1 garlic clove for every 3 potatoes (or more or less depending on your preference), minced
Olive oil to coat
Shredded Parmesan, salt and pepper to taste

Wash and cut the potatoes lengthwise into thin wedges. Toss them with the minced garlic, enough olive oil to coat and salt and pepper to taste. Turn the oven to 425 F and place your cookie sheets in it to heat up. When the cookie sheets are hot, remove them from the oven and brush them with olive oil. Then start laying out your fries. The cooking time is so variable that you just need to keep an eye on them. I recommend checking at about 15 minutes. When the bottoms are starting to get brown, turn them until the other sides are brown. When the potatoes are ready, toss them in a bowl with the shredded Parmesan. Serve immediately.

While the potatoes are baking, you can prepare your sandwiches.

Peppercorn Pot Roast Sandwich Ingredients:
Peppercorn Pot Roast
Soft French Loaf
Horseradish Mayonnaise (take some of your favorite mayonnaise, add in horseradish and garlic powder to taste)
Lettuce & Tomato (I prefer red leaf lettuce and Roma tomatoes)
Butter to coat a frying pan

Cut your loaf in half lengthwise, and then in 2-3 inch sections. Put a tablespoon or so of butter in a frying pan over medium high heat. When the butter is melted and the pan is pretty hot, place your bread, cut side down, on the pan. Just toast it enough to make it a little crispy.

After bread is cooled, spread generously with horseradish mayonnaise, place a mound of pot roast, some lettuce and tomato on the bun and top with the other side of the bread. Place a big fat kosher dill pickle on the plate and a large helping of fries.

I hope you enjoy it as much as we did!

It was amazing.  I wish we had something comparable around here.

Fact!

These cookies were moist, chewy, crunchy on the outside and perfectly round and plump.

PERFECT chocolate chip cookies.

I will definitely rest cookie dough from now on.

I’ve heard many times that if you rest your cookie dough and refrigerate it overnight, your cookies turn out better.  I know this to be true with most other doughs… Make that ALL other doughs, with the exception of quickbreads.

Tune in tomorrow to hear the verdict!

Portland is my new favorite city.  I must admit that part of the appeal is a creepy little place called Voodoo Doughnut.  Pictured below are a Maple Bacon Doughnut and a Chocolate, Peanut Butter and Rice Krispies Doughnut.

‘Nuff said.

Yesterday, I had some bananas that were about to go bad. I decided that I’d better do something quick (I don’t like to waste food). My usual action is to peel the bananas and put them in a bag in the freezer to use for smoothies later. But I wanted to do something different. Although, when I decided to make banana bread, I knew that I needed to kick that up a bit, too. So Coconut Ginger Banana Bread with White Chocolate Chips (and Vanilla Icing!) was born.

First, I started with a very simple Banana Bread recipe. I switched out the melted butter for coconut oil and added some ingredients.

Coconut Ginger Banana Bread with White Chocolate Chips

• 3 to 4 ripe bananas
• 3 tablespoons virgin coconut oil
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons chopped crystallized ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• As many white chocolate chips as you want

Preheat oven to 350°F. Mash the bananas in a bowl. Add all the remaining ingredients and mix well with a wooden spoon. Bake in a buttered loaf pan with parchment paper until a toothpick stuck into the bread comes out clean, 55 to 60 minutes. Let cool and then slather top with icing.

Vanilla Icing

This recipe is more of a theory to learn than a recipe. First, throw a stick of butter in a stand mixer with a couple of tablespoons coconut oil and cream it. Then begin adding sifted powdered sugar to taste. You want the powdered sugar to be sifted because you want your icing to be smooth. Finally, add vanilla extract to taste (start with 1/2 teaspoon). Everyone likes their frosting a different way. This is sort of a cheater frosting, but it gets the job done. You may want to refrigerate it a bit before spreading.