Helping people party since 2014.

[largemargecooks]

Last Night’s Snack was the easiest peasiest! Totally microwavable. Even your cat can make this dip!

Marge’s Spinach Artichoke Queso Dip, One bowl deal. Queso with spinach and artichokes. A little seasoning and parmesan and BOOM!

1, 16-oz jar Large Marge queso

1 package frozen spinach

1, 6.5-oz jar marinated artichoke hearts, chopped

2 teaspoons paprika

2 teaspoons crushed red pepper

3 tablespoons parmesan (grated)

Microwave frozen spinach in a 1 quart dish with 2 tbsp water covered for 4-5 minutes. Stir and microwave for another 4-5 minutes. Remove excess water in mesh strainer.

Microwave Queso for 30 sec intervals, stirring in between, until fully melted.

Mix Queso, spinach, artichokes, paprika, and red pepper. Top with parmesan.

(Optional) Broil for 1 min in oven safe dish or melt in microwave for 30 sec.

Eat with chips or bread or whatever other delicious dippers ya got!

-Nazel

*Definitely drink beer with this dip. Lots of it. It’s perfect for bar pregaming as well.

**If you have the time and the oven, the broil is totally worth it.

[largemargecooks]

Last Night’s Dinner was actually a late lunch.  A late, light lunch of ceviche and poke, to be specific.  I couldn’t decide which I wanted more, so I made both, cause I’m crazy like that.  Here’s the menu:

Tuna poke & sea bass* ceviche tostadas- together, yet separate

More Aperol Spritzes, because I can’t be poolside and not drink an Aperol spritz

Here’s how I made them both, serves 2-4 for a light lunch/snack

for the poke:

5 oz (150g) sushi grade** tuna, chopped into 1-inch cubes

2 tablespoons soy sauce

2 teaspoons sesame oil

1/4 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated on a microplane

1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

sesame seeds to garnish

for the ceviche:

5 oz (150g) sea bass, the most fresh,*** sliced 1/4-inch thick against the grain, or chopped, or cut into 1/2-inch cubes.  Whatever makes you happy - you do you.

1 small shallot, minced

1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice

1/2 serrano pepper, thinly sliced

1 mandarin orange, supremed, plus the juice

Tajin**** for seasoning

DIY assembly:

6 freshly fried tostada shells (or store-bought***** if you aren’t feeling particularly ambitious)

1 avocado, make sure it’s ripe

sliced radish, chopped cilantro, lime wedges and more Tajin

In a medium mixing bowl, combine the ingredients for the poke.  Cover it and set it in the fridge.

In a separate medium mixing bowl, combine the ingredients for the ceviche.  Cover it and set it in the fridge.

You want both the poke and the ceviche to marinate for 20-30 minutes.  If you wait too long, the ceviche will be overcooked.  If you don’t wait long enough, it won’t be cooked enough.

While you are waiting, arrange the ingredients for assembly on a large tray.  I like to cut the avocado in half, remove the pit, rub some lime juice on the part that is exposed to air and stick a spoon in it.  People can spoon out however much avocado they like.

Here’s the move for the ultimate bite:  spread some avocado on the tostada shell, do a little spritz of lime juice and a sprinkle of Tajin, then top the avocado with either the poke or the ceviche (or if you’re a baller, do half and half), then top with the radish and cilantro.

-McBroom

(photos by Caylie Dunnam)

*I actually ended up having to use albacore because my fish guy was out of sea bass.  It was still really good, but if given the chance, go with the sea bass.  You could also use shrimp, halibut or any fish really.  The texture of the sea bass is my fave though.  

**okay, it doesn’t HAVE to be sushi grade, but it should be really close if it isn’t.  Like, if your fish guy says the tuna is really fresh and delicious, but it isn’t technically sushi-grade, you should be okay.  I guess it just depends on how much you trust your fish guy (or gal).

***do not use it if it’s not fresh or you will regret it, I promise

****now you know

*****if you go the store-bought route, toast them in the oven at 300F for about 5 minutes before you use them

[largemargecooks]

Last Night’s Dinner is going to surprise you.  I know what you’re thinking - you see the photos and assume I made some sort of pasta with tomato sauce.  That’s where you’re wrong, buddy.  This is pasta with CHILI sauce.  That’s right, I used the leftover chili paste from the Posole Azteca night- of-dreams and turned it into a delicious pasta.  Synergy, man.  Synergy.  Here’s the menu:

Casarecce with chili sauce, swordfish and shrimp

Avocado and grapefruit salad It goes perfectly with the pasta.  It’s just supremed* grapefruit wedges, lime juice, chunks of avocado and salt.  

Aperol Spritzes (I’m in LA, and it’s hot here.)

Here’s how I made the Casarecce, serves 2

1 14-ounce can of whole peeled San Marzano tomatoes, crushed by hand

1 recipe of chili paste** (pls refer to the Pozole Azteca post - scroll down two entries to find it)

6 shrimp, skin-on

1 filet of swordfish, about 6 ounces

8 ounces casarecce pasta

1 lime, juiced

1/2 teaspoon sugar

1 cup queso fresco, crumbled

1 scallion, thinly sliced

chopped cilantro and a few lime wedges for garnish

Measure out 1/2 cup of the cooked-down chili paste***

Put the chili paste and the tomatoes in a small pot.  Heat it up over medium heat until it starts to bubble, give it a stir, reduce the heat as low as it will go, cover it and let it simmer until it’s time to put the pasta together.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.

While the water is heating, heat up an oiled grill or grill pan (or even a cast iron skillet) on medium-high heat.

Season the swordfish liberally with kosher salt.

Once the grill, or whatever you are using, is sufficiently hot (not smoking), drop the seafood on it.  Make sure whatever you are using to cook on is an oiled surface so the seafood doesn’t stick to it.   

Cook the shrimp on both sides until they are pink and just cooked through.  This should take about 3-4 minutes per side, assuming your grill/pan is the right temp.  Same goes for the swordfish -- both sides, about 3-4 minutes per side, until just cooked through.  

Remove the seafood from the heat and set it aside.  When they are cool enough to handle, take the skins off the shrimp and chop them (the shrimp, not the skins) into chunks.  Use your hands to flake the swordfish into large chunks.  Mix everything together in a small bowl, taste for seasoning and add salt if necessary.  Set the bowl aside.

The water should be boiling at this point.  Drop the pasta in and cook it until it is just al dente.  Don’t overcook the pasta, pls.  Soft pasta really bums me out.  

While the pasta is boiling, add the lime juice and sugar to the chili sauce and season it with salt to taste.  

Once the pasta is done, strain it through a colander, reserving 2 cups of the cooking liquid.

In a large bowl, toss the pasta with the chili sauce and 3/4 cup of the queso fresco.  Add some pasta water to thin it out, if needed.  (You will likely need at least half a cup of the water, depending on your vibe).   The cheese should be melty and help bind the sauce to the pasta.

Once the pasta is in a good place - not too watery, but not dried out and crusty with really thick globs of sauce - add the seafood and toss it again. 

Put the finished pasta in a bowl and garnish it with the scallion, cilantro and remaining queso fresco.  Serve it with a few lime wedges for good measure.

-McBroom

(photos by Caylie Dunnam)

*if you have no idea how to supreme citrus, check this video out, courtesy of my queen. 

**If I were you, I’d double it to have some extra chili paste on hand for random seasoning.

***Use the rest to make posole azteca or to randomly seasoning things.

[largemargecooks]

Last Night’s Dinner was shot by a professional photographer, and the photos are SO MUCH BETTER than my [now obviously] amateur photos from previous nights.* The food, however, was equally as delicious.  Here’s the menu:

Pan-seared aromatic Lamb Chops, feat. various spices like garam masala, turmeric and cumin!

Cauliflower Chickpea Fritters feat. Ranch Raita.  These bad boys are GLUTEN-FREE and VEGETARIAN, which is something I never do on purpose. 

Here’s how I did the Lamb Chops, serves 2 

¼ cup full fat, plain yogurt

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon dried turmeric, but if you have fresh, even better

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon garam masala

1/2 teaspoon ground coriander

1/4 teaspoon cayenne

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1 tablespoon canola oil

5 cloves garlic, minced

4 bone-in lamb chops (a little over a pound, about 1-inch thick each)

In a small bowl, mix everything together (except the lamb chops).

Put the chops on a flat surface and poke holes in them all over using a paring knife.  This allows the yogurt mixture to seep into them and makes them ever so much more flavorful.

Put the chops in a gallon sized plastic bag, pour the yogurt on top and stir everything around with your hands, making sure all parts of the chops are coated.  Really rub the yogurt in.  Close the bag - try to close it so that there is little to no air trapped inside - and shake the chops around a bit to make sure they are really, REALLY coated.   

Put the bag-o-chops in the fridge to marinate for at least an hour, up to overnight.  

30 minutes before cookin’ time, remove the chops from the fridge and let them sit at room temp.**

When the 30 minutes are up, put a cast iron or similar heavy bottomed skillet on the stove, add some canola oil (about 2 tablespoons should suffice) and heat the oil on medium-high heat.  You want the pan to be really hot, but not smokin’ hot.  

While the pan is heating, take the chops out of the bag and, using a paper towel, wipe off some of the excess yogurt - NOT ALL OF IT!! You just want to remove enough so the yogurt doesn’t drip off excessively and make a mess all over the place.  Make no mistake, these are civilized lamb chops.

Season the chops with kosher salt (not as much as you normally would, because there is already salt in the marinade, but don’t be a sissy about it either, cause you wiped a lot of that marinade off).  

When the pan has reached ideal hotness, lay the chops down, two at a time and sear them on both sides until they are dark brown and crusty, just like in the photo.  This will take about 4 minutes per side  - if it’s much shorter than that, your pan is too hot.  Much longer?  Too cold.  Keep trying, Goldilocks, you’ll get it right!

Once the top and bottom are browned, stand the chops up on edge and brown the fatty outer rim.*****  While the first two rims are browning, add the other two chops to the pan and get those going.   

Arrange them on a plate, garnish them with some sliced scallions and eat them with your hands, because, like I said earlier, these chops are civilized.  

-McBroom

*I wish I could say that all future posts will be shot with lights and a profesh camera, but they won’t be.  One of these days I’ll be able to invest in real equipment and a camera person, but until then, it’s just me, my iphone and some seriously bad lighting.  That said, I promise to entice my photography friends over for free food in exchange for their talent as often as possible.  

**Ever wonder why you are supposed to pull meat out and let it sit at room temp?  I’ll tell ya.  It’s because if you were to sear the chops straight from the fridge, the outside would cook, but the inside would be very much undercooked because they’d be so cold in the center.  If you let them sit out first, the chops don’t have as far to go to get to the perfect temp.  Got it?***

***I just checked my bible, Serious Eats, and discovered this (skip down to myth #1).  It actually makes a lot of sense.  So, as far as letting the lamb sit for 30 minutes, no harm either way -- if you decide to cook if straight from the fridge, lemme know how it turns out!  Isn’t it funny that cooking has so many hard and fast rules, but in the end, so much can be left to interpretation and personal taste, or should be ignored altogether?****  

****I know what you’re thinking - why did I include all of this nonsense about letting the meat sit at room temp?  Why didn’t I just omit that part in the main recipe and let everyone sear the chops directly from the fridge?  I’ll tell you why, it’s because WE ARE ALL IN THS TOGETHER PEOPLE!  Cooking is a learning, ever changing and fluid process.  Get with the program!

*****If you didn’t chuckle under your breath when you read “fatty outer rim” then maybe this isn’t the blog for you 

[largemargecooks]

Last Night’s Dinner combined all my favorite things from two spectacular, yet similar soups into one amazing SUPER SOUP - I’ll never not have pozole and sopa azteca* at the same time again.  Here’s the menu:

Pozole Azteca, a one-dish meal feat. hatch chilies, hominy, crispy tortilla strips, queso fresca, roasted chilies, chicken, lime and a vast array of tasty accoutrements

Margaritas, obviously.  One of these days I’ll tell you all about the secret to the best margarita of all time.  It involves an amazing bartender from Playa del Carmen who calls himself Freddie.  

Here’s how I made the Pozole Azteca**, serves 2 : 

For the chili paste:

1.5 ounces assorted dried chilies, stems and seeds removed (I used 3 hatch, 1 guajillo and 1 ancho chili and it turned out great)

1 small white onion, quartered

6 cloves garlic, peeled

1.5 teaspoons cumin

2 whole, peeled san marzano tomatoes + 2 tablespoons of the juice they came in

For the hominy:

4 ounces dried hominy,*** soaked in cold water for at least 6 hours, up to overnight

For the soup base, etc...:

1 chicken breast and 1 whole chicken leg (thigh and leg), both with the skin and bone, raw -- about 1.5 pounds

1 bunch cilantro, stems only, (save the leaves for garnish later)

4 corn tortillas, 5-inches in diameter, cut into thin strips

2 teaspoons sugar

2 limes, juiced

garnish with this stuff if you know what’s good for ya:

sour cream, cilantro, lime wedges, radish, avocado and queso fresca 

Start by making the chili paste:

Toast the chili peppers on both sides in a dry skillet on medium heat.  The air will smell spicy and they will have dark brown and black spots, just like in the photo above -- this will take about 2 minutes per side, assuming your pan is as hot as mine was.  

Throw the peppers into a small pot, cover them with water, bring it to a boil and simmer them on low until they are soft, about thirty minutes.****

Remove the chilies from the water (leave the water in the pot - you’ll know why in good time) and blend them to a pulp along with the onion, garlic, tomatoes, tomato juice and cumin.  Smell it.  It smells SO GOOD doesn’t it?!

Add the chili paste to a medium skillet and saute it on medium-high heat until it darkens in color and most of the liquid has cooked out.  You will know it’s done because it will have reduced by almost half, it will start to leave a red film on the bottom of the pan and it will become even more fragrant than before.  Set the chili paste aside to use later. 

Now for the hominy:

Put the soaked hominy in the same pot as the chili water and bring it to a boil, reduce the heat and let the hominy simmer until they start to blossom and explode and become soft.  This will take about an hour and a half.  The goal is for the hominy to get soft, but not mushy.  Once it’s done, strain the liquid and set the hominy aside to use later. 

Chicken stock, soup base and the grand finale - LET’S DO THIS:

While the hominy is cooking, put the chicken breast and thigh in a separate, medium-sized stock pot and cover it with 3 quarts of liquid. Bring to a simmer and continue to cook until the chicken is just cooked through, about 20 minutes.

Remove the pot from the heat, take the chicken out of the stock and put it in a small bowl.  Set the pot with the chicken stock aside for a few minutes - you will use this again soon.  When the chicken is cool enough to handle (about 5-10 minutes, depending on how tough your hands are), remove the skins from the chicken and set them aside, then take the meat from the bones, shredding it into chunks using either a fork or those big strong hands of yours.

Throw the bones back into the pot with the stock.  Put the pot on the stove again, add the cilantro stems and continue to simmer and reduce it until you are left with 8 cups of liquid.  While the stock is reducing, season the shredded chicken with kosher salt and put it in the fridge, covered.

Once the stock has reduced to 8 cups, remove the pot from the heat and strain the liquid through a fine mesh strainer.  Return the strained liquid to the pot.

Okay, are you still with me?  Now we’re gonna fry some stuff.  

Bring a quart of canola oil to 325F in a small pot.  Add the chicken skins and let them fry until they are super crispy.  Be careful because they will pop hot oil up and that will hurt if it goes in your eye, or anywhere on your body for that matter.  Once the skins are brown and crispy, remove them onto a paper towel-lined plate, then heat the oil up to 350F

Add the tortilla strips and fry them until they are brown and crispy.  Remove them and put them on the same paper towel lined plate and season everything with salt.

We are almost done, I swear. 

Ok- Is the chili paste finished?  Is the hominy cooked through?  Has the stocked been reduced and strained?  IT’S GO TIME

Add the chili paste, sugar, lime juice, hominy and shredded chicken to the stock and heat it up over medium heat until everything is hot, like the temperature you’d like to eat soup.  Taste it for salt and add some if you think it needs it.  (It will probably need lots).  

Ladle the soup into bowls and top it with sour cream, cilantro, lime wedges, avocado, radish and tortilla strips.  Serve the chicken skins on the side (they’ll get soggy in the sopa).

-McBroom

*Sopa azteca, aka, tortilla soup

**This recipe has a lot of stuff going on.  Don’t be intimidated, it’s quite easy, just a lot of steps.  To be safe, you’re gonna want to give yourself a solid four hours to make it.  It’s so worth it though, I promise.  Make a day of it!  I love turning slightly longish recipes into a full day’s work.  It’s relaxing and a way to forget about everything else and focus on what matters, which is that you are about to have an excellent dinner.  This recipe is the reason why Sundays exist.  And you can drink margaritas the whole time too, which, now that I think about it, may actually be the reason why Sundays exist....

***this what I used, and it was quite delicious

****make sure they are covered with water the whole time -- add more water if you need to

[largemargecooks]

Last Night’s Dinner was a real bang-up job - simple, homey and inexpensive.  Everyone wins!  Here’s the menu:

Kielbasa, brussels sprout and apple, baked to perfection - Everything bakes together in the same pan and the sausage browns and releases some of it’s fat (but it’s not too fatty, it’s quite lean, so it’s perfect).  The apple adds a touch of sweetness and the brussels sprouts keep it real.  It kind of reminds me of the classic pork chops and apple sauce dish, but tastier and cooler.  

Quick lentils - I usually cook lentils for hours so they get really deep and flavorful.  These ended up being “quick” because halfway through baking the kielbasa, I realized that I would need something else to go with it.  Luckily, I’m a kitchen-ninja and pulled it off.  CRISIS AVERTED, and the lentils turned out great! 

Here’s how I did the kielbasa bake, serves 3-4.

1 pound brussels sprouts - washed and thinly sliced*

1 pound kielbasa, sliced into 1/4-inch thick rings on an extreme bias

1 serrano pepper, seeded and thinly** sliced (omit this if you don’t like spice)

½ onion, thinly*** sliced

kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper

olive oil

5 thinly**** sliced lemon rounds

1 honey crisp (or pink lady) apple , peeled and diced

Heat the oven to 325F

Toss the first four ingredients together in a bowl, season with kosher salt and pepper to taste and add enough olive oil so that when tossed, everything has a nice sheen, about 3-4 tablespoons

Put the mixture in a large casserole dish, large enough so everything can spread out and have access to the coveted top surface area, about a 9x13-inch pan should do nicely

Arrange the lemon rounds on top and put the pan in the oven and roast it for 30 minutes

Remove the pan from the oven, stir it around***** and add the apples. Bake for another 30 minutes, or until everything gets nice and brown like in the photo above.

- McBroom

*Like, really thinly sliced, I’d even go so far as to say shaved

**Not quite as thin as the brussels sprouts, but still pretty thin.  Let’s say between 1/16 and 1/8-inch 

***Okay, so when I say thin here, I mean about the same thinness as the serrano pepper.  if you aren’t sure how thin that is, see the note directly above this one

****Boy do i ever mean thin!  PAPER THIN

*****When you stir it up, you will loose track of the lemon rounds and likely end up eating one of them later.  I like the intense zing, so I always keep the lemons in and warn anyone else eating about the potential surprise, but if you aren’t down with that approach, simply remove the lemon slices before you stir

[largemargecooks]

Oysters anyone? With a little fresh tumeric mignonette maybe?

[largemargecooks]

Last Night’s Dinner turned out to be a total sleeper hit.  At first I wasn’t too sure about the decision to incorporate Castelvetrano olives into the recipe, but then I thought, “Ya know what?  Life is short.  Take a chance on a Castelvetrano olive every once in a while*.”  Here’s the menu:

Braised pork cheeks, Italian style with Castelvetrano olives and cubanelle peppers, and some other things

Butter-Parmigiano-Reggiano polenta

A lovely Sicilian red wine from Lou**called Calabretta

This is how I did the cheeks.  Serves 2

4-6 pork cheeks,*** about a pound

1 celery rib, finely chopped

1 small carrot, finely chopped or sliced into rings, or however you feel like cutting them

½ medium onion, diced

3 cubanelle peppers, charred.**** skin removed, seeds removed and chopped

6 cloves of garlic, minced

1 teaspoon red chili flake- do not add this if you don’t like spicy things

10-12 castelvetrano olives, pitted and sliced*****

a few sprigs each of fresh thyme and oregano

1 bay leaf

8 ounces red wine, Italian pls

14 ounces whole, peeled San Marzano tomatoes, crushed by hand because there is no other way to do it

1 Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese rind, if you happen to have one******

Heat the oven to 300F.

Throw a little bit of olive oil into a small dutch oven or another oven-proof pan and heat it on the stove top over medium-high heat.

Season the pork cheeks liberally with kosher salt and pepper, then sear them on both sides, about 4 minutes per side.  Don’t flip the cheeks until they are nice and brown, and don’t wiggle them around either.  Just let them sit there and sear.  Once both sides look good, remove the cheeks from the pan and set them aside.

Add the celery, carrot, onion and peppers and sweat them over medium heat for about 5 minutes.  You don’t want anything to brown, just to cook down a little. 

Add the garlic, chili flake and olives and continue to cook for another minute or so.

Pour the wine in the pan and bring it to a boil.  Add the tomatoes, the herbs and the cheese rind.  Give everything a stir, then place the cheeks back in the pan.  Spoon a little bit of the braising liquid on top of each cheek to show that you care.  

Cover the pan and put it in the oven for three hours.  At the midway mark, I always take the pan out of the oven and check to make sure everything is going in the right direction.  At this point, the braising liquid will be darker in color and everything will smell delicious and you will be really upset that you will have to wait another hour and a half to eat it.  

When the time is up, remove the pan from the oven, let it sit for a few minutes to cool and serve this glorious mess with polenta, or potatoes or pasta, or just eat it as-is.  

-McBroom

*The olives and I are very happy together.  We are getting married in June.

**For all 12 of you who read these posts, I get a lot of my wine from Lou Wine Shop.  It’s really great and it’s just around the corner from my house.  Shout out to Helen’s in West Hollywood though!  I go there anytime I need wine on the west side.

***I have no idea why people don’t make pork cheeks all the time.  They are so cheap and so easy.  And they aren’t fatty like pork belly.  I’m so tired of pork belly.  Let’s all get on the cheek bandwagon, k?  AND ANOTHER THING -- only buy meat from a reputable source.  If you don’t know why that’s so important, read this book and get back to me.  

****Some may be perplexed by the “charred” part of these directions.  Long story short, always char a pepper before cooking it for easy skin removal.  Otherwise the skin separates in the cooking process and then there are little bits of pepper skin all over the place and it is quite a mess.  Pepper skins are also hard to digest.  Same thing for tomatoes -- if you are cooking one, be a champ and remove the skin first.  Its one small step for you, one giant step for whoever is eating your food.  For directions on how to char a pepper, check this out.

*****as you can see in the photos, I left my olives whole, but if I had to do it over again, I’d slice them, 100%.

******You should always have Parmigiano-Reggiano rinds in your fridge.  It’s the best trick for giving soups, stews and braises a little extra love that no one will be able to "put their finger on.”  And then you will be a hero-chef and everyone will always talk about how awesome your food is and how they can never make theirs taste as good as yours.  

[largemargecooks]

Last Night’s Dinner slayed.  Definitely won’t be the last time I mess around with tempura.  Or kombu.  Or bonito flakes.  Here’s the menu:

Hot Soba with tofu, scallion and cilantro.  

Ways with Tempura* (skate wing, green chili peppers, brussel sprouts, broccolini and enoki mushrooms were all in the mix.)  

Dido, a Spanish Garnacha blend I got from Lou. 

Here is how I did the Hot Soba** Serves 1 really hungry person, or 2 people who are kind of hungry

8 oz firm tofu, pressed between paper towels for half an hour to get rid of excess liquid, then cubed

2 cups dashi***

3 tablespoons mirin

3 tablespoons soy sauce

1 teaspoon sugar

100 g (3.5 oz) soba noodles

1 scallion, sliced as thinly as possible

1 tablespoon cilantro, chopped

Thirty minutes before you plan to start cooking, put the tofu in a pot along with the dashi, mirin, soy sauce and sugar.  Let it sit on the stovetop, but don’t start heating anything up yet.  This gives tofu some time to soak up the flavor of the dashi.  

After 30 minutes, bring a separate pot of water to a boil.  DO NOT SALT THE WATER.  I know that seems like it’s a horrible idea, but that’s the way it rolls when ya cook the soba.  Add the noodles and cook them for about 4-5 minutes, until they are just cooked through.****  

While the noods are cooking, heat the dashi-tofu mixture up. 

Strain the noodles through a colander and wash them really well under cold water.  The goal here is to get rid of all the excess starches so they don’t stick together.

Divide the noodles into two bowls (or one big bowl) and cover them with the hot dashi broth.  Garnish with the scallion and cilantro.

-McBroom

*Definitely my first time making tempura.  Definitely need to practice it a bit more.  Nonetheless, definitely delicious.

**You could easily beef this soup up by adding shrimp, sliced pork or fish (or beef).  You could actually add anything to it.  I was trying to be healthy when I made this, so I went with tofu.  But you know what I bet would be really good? Mustard greens and tiny meatballs made of pork sausage.  I’d eat the shit out of that.  Ohhhhhh, a maybe drop an egg in that hot broth while you’re at it. 

***The base of any hot soba is dashi, which I’ve never made before, so after looking at a thousand recipes online, I went with this one from Serious Eats. I suggest you do the same.  It will yield 6 cups, you only need 2, but you can freeze the leftovers for use at a later date.  

****You aren’t looking for the noodles to be al dente, but you also don’t want them to be overcooked and mushy.  My general move is to boil the noodles for 1-2 minutes under the suggested time on the package, then start pulling noodles out one at a time and biting them until they taste done.  

[largemargecooks]

Last Night’s Dinner really hit the spot.  Classic.  Comfort.  The works.  Here’s what I made:

Queso-burger, two thin patties feat. Large Marge Queso, tomato, onion and a secret sauce, similar to Shack Sauce, but not quiiiiite close enough to call it that.  (To be clear, I think mine is better. I do love that Shack Sauce though).  

Onion Rings, the kind that taste really good.  To me, beer-battered onion rings are gross.  These are not those.  They are barely battered, super crispy and light.  (As light as onion rings can be, anyway)

Green beans, quick pickled with chili flake

Here’s how I did the Queso-burger (serves 2)

1/2 pound ground beef, best possible quality*

1/2 tomato, sliced into 1/4-inch-ish thick slices 

Some onion, sliced as thinly as possible -- just enough for two burgers, don’t go crazy on the slicing, cause what are you going to do with all those leftover onion slices you don’t use?

2 Martin’s potato rolls**

1/2 cup Large Marge Queso

1 recipe super duper secret sauce, shhhhhhhhhh... 

mix together 1 tablespoon kewpie mayonnaise, 1 teaspoon ketchup, 1 teaspoon yellow mustard, 1/4 teaspoon pepperoncini juice, 1 tablespoon finely chopped pepperoncinis, 3-4 dashes Tapatio.

Divide the beef into 4 equal parts*** and shape them into pucks.  (FYI - we are going with the Shake Shack method of cooking them because it is 100% the easiest and best way.)  

Put a heavy bottomed skillet, preferably cast iron, on the stovetop on medium-high heat.  If you don’t have a cast iron pan, slick whatever pan you are using with a teensy bit of oil.  Let the pan get really hot -- almost smoking.

While the pan is heating, get the buns ready -- split them and spread the secret sauce on top, add the tomatoes and onions and set aside.

Season the tops of the beef pucks liberally with salt and pepper.  Then put them, seasoned side down, on the hot pan.  Using two spatulas, smash the patties down so they are really really thin and smushed.  Check out the photos from this post from Serious Eats if you don’t understand what I mean by “using two spatulas”.  Remember, your patties is be much thinner than the ones in the Serious Eats photos, because you are using two patties per burger, not one.  

Once the patties have been smashed, season them with salt and pepper. When they are nice a dark and crispy on one side and the blood has started to pool up on the top side, flip them over. 

Top each patty with 1-2 tablespoons of queso and let the queso start to melt as the other side cooks, about 2 minutes.****

Stack one patty on top of another so you have two double decker burgers.  Put the burger on the bun and enjoy!!!!!

-McBroom

*Seriously guys, don’t get shitty beef.  It’s disgusting.  Conventional factory farms are a real thing and if you get beef from them, it will be shitty, because it could literally have poop in it.  I’m not joking.  I got my beef from this great little butcher shop called McCall’s Meat and Fish in LA.  They are awesome, no shit! 

**My only beef with the burger I ended up making is that I couldn’t find Martin’s Potato Rolls.  They are impossible to get in LA.  It’s heartbreaking and a travesty.  It makes no sense.  You can order them online, but I didn’t plan far enough ahead for that. 

***I much prefer two really thin patties per burger to one thick patty.  Thick patties gross me out big time.  I especially hate thick, rare burgers; they are my worst nightmare.  If you like those types of burgers, be warned, this recipe is NOT that.  This recipe is two really thin, well cooked patties stacked on top of each other, each smothered and dripping with delicious queso.  

****The queso will continue to melt after you take the burgers off the heat.

[largemargecooks]

Last Night’s Dinner was really really good.  And in a shocking twist, I realized that I just don’t like acorn squash any more.  Here’s what I made:

Black Cod, pan fried with scallion and lime - so delicious and simple, it’s insane

Swiss Chard, sautéed with persimmons and a little something extra for “kick” (chili flake and fish sauce - don’t knock it till you try it)

Dumb Acorn Squash, roasted aaannnndd...nope, didn’t like it.  

Here’s how I did the Black Cod*.  Serves 2

salt and pepper

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1/2 pound black cod fillets, skin off and deboned, about 3/4-inch thick

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons Large Marge Chili OIl

1 lime

1 scallion, thinly sliced, just the green parts

Mix the flour and cornstarch together in a large, shallow bowl and set it aside.

Wash the cod, pat it dry and season it liberally with salt and pepper.

Heat up 2 tablespoons of butter and 3 tablespoons of chili oIl in a small saute pan or cast iron pan over medium-high heat until it starts to foam.  Wait for the foam to subside, then drop both fillets into the pan and drop the heat to medium.  The oil should never be so hot that it’s smoking.  It should be just under smoke-point.  

Leave them alone for a couple minutes.  I SAID DON’T TOUCH THEM!  After your patient wait, lift them up a teensy bit and peek underneath. Once they are nice and brown and crispy, they are ready to flip.  At this point, they should be cooked at least halfway through,  It’s really easy to tell if this is the case.  All you have to do is look at them from the side.  You will be able to see where the fish is cooking and turning opaque.  If they brown too quickly and are not at least cooked halfway cooked through, then turn the heat down and ask yourself why you had it turned up so high to begin with, silly...

Flip the fillets and continue cooking until the other side is also crispy and browned and lovely.  They should be just cooked through at this point.  I’m assuming you followed the instructions and used fillets that are about 3/4-inch thick, btw.  If you aren’t sure that they’re done, cut into the thickest part and take a peek.  If they aren’t done, back in the pan they go for a few more minutes on medium heat, but don’t burn them!  

Arrange the fillets on a serving dish, squeeze some lime juice on top and dust them with a smattering of scallions.

-McBroom

*One of the main problems you will probably have with this recipe is that the fish will get too brown before it’s done cooking in the middle.  You just have to play around with the heat and constantly adjust it - every stove and pan is different.  After a couple attempts, you will get the hang of it, I promise.   Cooking fish really is the easiest thing to do, but people are always so scared to try.  Don’t be one of those people.  Step up to the challenge.  New Year, NEW YOU!

[largemargecooks]

Last Night’s Dinner was insanely delicious.  Seriously, the best version of this soup I’ve ever made or tasted, and this is maybe my favorite soup of all time, so that’s really saying something!  (My other favorite all-time-soups include, but are NOT limited to, tortellini en brodo, ramen, sopa azteca and soup dumplings) Anyway, here’s the menu:

Tom Kha Gai feat. that chili oil roasted chicken leftover from the other night.*

Antonio Branco White, discovered in the depths of my wine fridge.  

Here’s how I made it.  Serves 2-4, and yes, I realize there are a lot of ingredients, but it is so worth it and everything is really cheap. 

all the bones from the chili oil roasted chicken**, leftover meat removed, shredded and set aside.  ( I had one breast, 1 leg/thigh and both wings leftover, which was a perfect amount).  Take the skins off and set those aside as well, for a little surprise I have in store

4 oz (100g) galangal***

2 oz (50g) ginger

about 20 kaffir lime leaves -- this ingredient is non-negotiable

1 large shallot, roughly chopped

3 large cloves of garlic, crushed

6 thai chilies, crushed***** -- if you don’t like spice, maybe just do 1-2 chilies

1 tablespoon salted shrimp (see photo above) -- if you can’t find these, you can make the soup without them, but it won’t be as good, so make the effort, pls

3 thick stalks of fresh lemongrass, outer parts removed, soft parts crushed -- also non-negotiable

cilantro stems from one bunch of cilantro

1/4 teaspoon fenugreek seeds

1/2 teaspoon coriander seeds

10 green cardamom pods

1 13.5 fl oz can coconut milk, full fat -- don’t you DARE use low fat for this

3 oz maitake mushrooms, roughly chopped

2 teaspoons sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon fish sauce -- I used Red Boat

1/2 lime, juiced

Garnish as you see fit with Large Marge chili oil, raw shallot or scallion, cilantro, lime wedges, a couple thai peppers and some torn kaffir lime leaves

Put that good old chicken carcass in a large stock pot and cover it with water.  Add all of the remaining ingredients on the list up to, but not including, the mushrooms.  Bring everything to a simmer over medium heat, and keep it at a low simmer for about two hours, until it has reduced by half.

Strain it through a fine mesh strainer into a smaller, cleaner pot.  You should have about 3 cups of liquid left.  If you have much more that that, let the liquid reduce until it reaches 3 cups.  

Add the remaining ingredients, along with the shredded chicken and let it heat up to just below a simmer.  Keep it there for about 10-15 minutes until the broth is slightly reduced, the mushrooms have cooked a little and the chicken is heated through******.  

If you’re feeling wacky, while the soup is doing it’s thing, heat up 2 tablespoons each of chili oil and butter in a tiny skillet.  When the foam subsides, fry up those leftover chicken skins till they’re nice and crispy.  Put them on a paper-towel lined plate and sprinkle them with some salt  If you do this, it will be the best decision you’ve made all year, promise.  

Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with all the stuff you feel like garnishing with.  Serve those chicken skins on the side.   

-McBroom

*serve this with rice if you want, but I think it’s pretty perfect by itself. 

**if you don’t have a chicken carcass handy, just buy a 3-4 pound chicken and put it in whole.  Follow all instructions in this recipe, only, after the chicken is cooked trough, remove it from the broth and shred the meat.  Set the meat aside and put the carcass back in the broth to finish cooking.  Capiche?

***you can get this, and all of the other hard to fine ingredients at most Asian markets.  If you don’t have an Asian market in your town, I’m so sorry - that must be HORRIBLE!  Why do you live there?  Anyway, you can use extra ginger in place of the galangal if you have to, but, just so you know, the soup will be slightly inferior.  (I’m also pretty sure you can order galangal from the internet.****)

****you can!  

*****word to the wise: sometimes, when you smash thai chilies, the juice squirts into your eye and it is quite painful.

******I’m working off the assumption that your chicken is already cooked.  If for some weird reason it isn’t, keep the soup on the stove until it is.

[largemargecooks]

Last Night’s Dinner was the best.  Here is the menu:

Roast chicken feat. Large Marge Chili Oil

White Rose potatoes, cooked three times, three ways (so worth the effort, trust me)

Chopped Salad feat. all the veggies I needed to use up.

Piedirosso from the amazing Lou Wine Shop

Here’s how I did the Roast Chicken.  Serves 2-4, depending on how hungry everyone is.

1 whole chicken, 3-4 pounds

1/4 cup butter, softened

1/2 jar Large Marge Chili Oil

herbs and aromatics (enough to fill the cavity of the chicken).  Any herbs will do.  I used oregano, thyme, mint, rosemary, cilantro and lime leaves

1/2 lime, cut into quarters

Rinse the bird inside and out.  Pat it dry.  If you are going to spatchcock it, now would be the time. 

Season it LIBERALLY with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.  You could also add some spices like cumin, chili powder or garam masala.  I did not do this, but I seriously thought about it and probably will next time.

When I say liberally, I mean it.  How much salt did you use?  More than you think any chicken could handle?  Go back and add some more salt, ya silly.  

Put the chicken in the fridge, uncovered, for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight.  If you are curious why you are doing this, google it.  The short answer is that it will make it taste better.  

An hour before you plan on roasting, take the bird out of the box* and preheat the oven to 400F.

Loosen the skin from the breast and thighs and slather the softened butter all over them (underneath the skin).  Drizzle 1 tablespoon of chili oil over each breast and thigh, 4 tablespoons in all (also underneath the skin).

Pull any skin that has shifted taut, so no meat is exposed.

Set the chicken up on it’s hiney and drizzle 2 tablespoons of chili oil in the cavity.  For those who spatchcocked, omit this step, since there is no cavity.

Stuff the cavity with the herbs, aromatics and lime pieces.  Again -- if you spatchcocked, there is no cavity, so skip this step.  You could stuff some of the aromatics under the skin, just be careful not to tear it.

Put the chicken breast-up in a roasting pan or some other rimmed oven-proof dish.  Tie the wings to the side with butcher’s twine so they don’t burn, but leave those legs flying free (see photo above).  Alison Roman once told me the legs cook faster this way.  Not 100% sure if this is true, but I blindly believe everything she says when it comes to roasting chickens, so let’s roll with this method.  Drizzle more chili oil on it and rub it into the skin.  

Roast the chicken for 20 minutes, flip it so the breast side is down, roast another 20 minutes, then flip again and roast another 20 minutes, or until the juices run clear and a thermometer reads 165F in the deepest darkest depths of the thigh.  SHOUT OUT TO ALICE WATERS FOR THE FLIPPING TECHNIQUE.  (Spatchcockers -- no need to flip!  Leave it as is, just be aware your chicken may cook faster, so keep an eye out at the 40 minute mark -- 165F, clear juices, you know the drill.)

Let the chicken rest before carving and serving.  If the skin isn’t crispy enough, it’s not your fault.  It’s probably the oven or the chicken’s fault.  It’s definitely not my fault.  To make it crispier, you could put it under the broiler for a few minutes, just don’t overcook it.  You will know if the chicken is overcooked because it will be dry and it will taste like garbage. 

-McBroom

*box is slang for refrigerator, among other things.  To be clear, I’m referring to the refrigerator.  

[largemargecooks]

Need a plan for NYE? Get some of our queso, throw a nacho fondue party and forget about those pending resolutions.

[largemargecooks]

Did you guys know that all of our Churro cakes are 💯 Free-Range and Grass-Fed? That's right, we let them roam, range and eat only the best grass before we hand pick them for delivery.

[largemargecooks]

If you slept on the Pralinella Pecan Pie over Thanksgiving, NEVER FEAR, there's still time to dazzle up a holiday party with one of these bad boys. Go to largemargecooks.com to place an order. (We now ship nationally and we still deliver in Los Angeles.)

[largemargecooks]

Everybody! We just launched national shipping! Go to our website to place an order and have a churro cake, chips and queso, and so many more awesome things delivered straight to your door. If you order by noon on Monday, you can get it by Thanksgiving. Now isn't that something?! (Link to our website shop in bio)