matcha, red bean, and almond rainbow cookies

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I was a total blob this weekend as I came down off of this month of filming! I made snickerdoodles and then ate snickerdoodles, watched the UND hockey team score a million goals against Wisconsin, baked an extra buttery loaf of Alexandra’s bread, and discovered the brilliance that is Cynthia’s ginger chicken and dumplings. If you need proof that magic exists, just boil some chicken with tons of scallions and ginger, that’s it. Omg, it’s the best thing in my chicken life since Melissa Clark’s salt and pepper chicken. And then add a double batch of chewy dumplings and eat it while binging Three Wives, One Husband, and when those episodes run out (there were only four?!), embark on the holiday spirit.

I really can’t say that I’m glad that filming is over, because having the crew in my house and cooking all of my favorite winter foods rocked, but I can say that sitting on the couch and not thinking about anything except for snickerdoods and dumplings for a good few hours was deeply clutch.

Now that that’s out of my system though I’m beginning to think about Chrismukkah cookies and all of the cute boxes of them that I’m going to assemble over the coming season for various reasons (parties and gifts) and non-reasons (they look cute and are fun to make). Rainbow cookies are always a hit because they’re not only fiercely almondy and tasty but they also have a nice shelf life because of how moist they are. And I especially love them because, well, they’re actually cake.

I’m starting to exhaust variations on them (cake, gelato sandwiches), but wanted to drop these into the Chrismukkah lineup because they’re extra special! The green layer is actually matcha (an a+ pairing with the almond base), and the red layer has red bean paste (nutty and slightly fruity, also great with almond). I worked these up when I was developing a Chinese Jewish menu for an event next week in Baltimore. While matcha is typically thought of as a Japanese tea, it actually originated in China! And red bean paste is something that I grew up eating at dim sum in the center of Jian Dui, or fried sesame balls. I was afraid of it until Stoop told me that it tasted like peanut butter, so then I liked it. Classic rainbow cookies have Italian roots, but Jews love em. They end up on lots of our holiday dessert tables and I’m totally obsessed with their colorful, soft almondiness. This version doesn’t look too far off from the traditional but the added matcha and red bean paste add unexpected dimension and beautiful natural color. They are a perfect addition to any holiday cookie box!

Rainbow Cookies

Makes 16 cookies

ingredients

3 large eggs, separated

2 tb (13g) sugar + 1/2 c (100g) sugar

1 c (226g) unsalted butter, softened

6 oz (173g) almond paste, chopped

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1 1/2 tsp lemon juice

1/2 tsp almond extract

1 1/3 c (174g) all-purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp matcha powder

1/4 c (68g) fine red bean paste

Red food coloring

3 tb (64g) apricot or raspberry jam

4 oz (114g) dark chocolate

clues

Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Grease three 8” by 4” loaf pans and line them with parchment paper that comes at least 2” up the sides of the pan (these little wings will help you lift the cookie out of the pan). If you don’t have 3 loaf pans, you can bake the layers in batches. 

In a large bowl or bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat the egg whites to soft peaks, and then with the mixer running on medium, gradually add the 2 tablespoons sugar. Increase the speed to medium high and beat to stiff peaks. Set them aside.

In a large bowl or bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat together the butter, almond paste, salt, and remaining 1/2 cup sugar on medium high speed until light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes. Reduce the speed to medium and add the yolks, one at a time, beating well after each. Beat in the lemon juice and almond extract, and then reduce the speed to medium low and gradually add the flour. Mix to combine. Use a rubber spatula to fold in the whites. Transfer a third of the mixture to one of the loaf pans and use a small offset spatula to spread it out evenly. Transfer another third of the mixture to a separate bowl and fold in the matcha powder. Fold the red bean paste and a couple of drops of red food coloring into the remaining third. Transfer these into the remaining 2 loaf pans, spread them out evenly and then bake until the tops are just set and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Begin checking for doneness at 12 minutes. Let cool in the pans for 5 minutes and then lift them out and place on a wire rack to cool completely. 

Stack them up with 1 1/2 tablespoons jam between the layers. Wrap the loaf firmly in plastic wrap, weight it down with a couple of heavy cookbooks, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight. 

Melt the chocolate in a double boiler or by microwaving it for 30 second increments, stirring after each, until it’s smooth. Remove it from heat and stir continuously until it is no longer hot. Spread it over the top and sides of the cookie cake loaf and stick it in the refrigerator to firm up for about 15 minutes. Cut width-wise into 1” slices and then cut each of those slices in half to make 16 cookies.

Store at room temperature in an airtight container. 

-yeh!

p.s. Watch the season premiere of Girl Meets Farm this Sunday at 11am/10 central!!! We’re making goulash, chocolate hazelnut donuts, hawaij apple pie, and brussels sprouts!!

chinese hotdish

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a few months ago, i was flipping through a few of eggmum's old church cookbooks when i found my stripper name in the casserole chapter of the 1984 our savior's lutheran book: chinese hotdish. it was nestled between beef pie and oriental hotdish, and i took it as a sign for my true calling. not to be a stripper, but to finally become a true woman of the north by making a hotdish. 

ok, what is a hotdish.

if you're not from the northern midwest, you probably know it as a casserole. from what i understand, all hotdishes can be considered casseroles, but not all casseroles are hotdishes because a true hotdish has three main components--meat, vegetables, and creamed soup--which are dumped into a casserole dish, and then, in the words of sam sifton, you cover the bitch in tater tots and bake it. some hotdishes use wild rice or mashed potatoes or another type of grain or starch instead of tater tots, although covering the bitch in tater tots is really fun to say.

so, like, technically you can make a mac and cheese casserole, but without meat and a vegetable, it wouldn't totally be a hotdish. 

all of this is obviously up for debate and i am in no way an authority, i'm just going by church cookbook research, wikipedia, and the delicious hotdishes that eggmama makes. (and whether it's hot dish or hotdish is still something i do not know.)

hotdishes are as comforting as a new fleece blanket on a cold winter day and they make excellent leftovers. here are some examples of things that you can put into a casserole dish in order to make a hotdish:

hamburger meat + peas + cream of mushroom soup + tater tots

pulled chicken + wild rice + celery + cream of chicken soup

chopped spam + macaroni noodles + cream of mushroom soup + velveeta cheese + onions

i have never tried that spam one, but if you were to place the other ones on an x/y chart where x = how much it looks like barf, and y = how delicious it is, they would be maxed out on both accounts. that's the charm of a hotdish. 

for my first hotdish, i've made a variation on the chinese hotdish in the our savior's lutheran book. as much as i loved the sort of imaginary camaraderie of standing in the creamed soup section, piling cans upon cans into my basket, and then coming home and placing them on the shelf marked with a handwritten label for "cream of mush" that egggrandma must have made decades ago, i couldn't actually bring myself to use it without first trying some less processed options.

i know, coconut milk isn't technically a creamed soup, but it is creamy, and slightly sweet, and the results even got the eggboy seal of approval. i used brown rice to up the healthy ante, and scallions to add flavor and greenery. a little ginger here and some ground pork or chicken there, and this guy might even be ready for the annual hotdish competition.

chinese hotdish

makes 3-4 servings

ingredients

1 pound ground chicken or pork

2 tb soy sauce

1 tsp chopped fresh ginger or 1/4 tsp ground ginger

black pepper

3/4 c brown rice (short or medium grain)

1 c chicken broth

1 13.5 oz. can coconut milk (regular or light)

4 stalks scallions, minced

crispy noodles or crispy fried shallots, for topping

 

clues

preheat oven to 375.

in a small* dutch oven or other stove-safe/oven-safe dish, brown your meat with the soy sauce, ginger, and a few turns of black pepper.

*the dutch oven that's pictured has a 2 quart capacity. also, if you don't have a stove-safe/oven-safe dish, you can certainly brown the meat separately and then add it to a casserole dish.

add the brown rice, chicken broth, coconut milk, and scallions, and give it a little swirl.

bake for about 1 1/2 hours, until the rice is tender. it will still be slightly liquidy. let it cool for about 10 minutes, top with noodles or shallots, and enjoy!

-yeh!

pictured: dutch oven // knife // measuring cups

day-after-thanksgiving rye steamed buns + friday links

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ok so i have had just enough corn casserole to get me through the next few weeks until eggmama makes it again for christmas. how about you?? how was your thanksgiving?! do you own stock in stretchy pants yet? my thanksgiving was spent making lindsay lohan (oreo + peanut butter) pie and dancing around to on the town in front of the television as eggboy miraculously avoided a train wreck while making his first ever turkey (and stuffing and more stuffing and pie). i'm so proud of you, eggboy!!!

most of the things we ate were delicious: the corn casserole, tennessee's brussels sprouts, hawaii's mochi stuffing, and california's sourdough kale stuffing were my favorite. we are still deciding what we thought of the salty pluff mud pie. and i don't know if i had eaten too much by the time the grape salad was passed around, or if the sour creamy slimy appearance got to me... but i just couldn't do the grape salad. i'm sorry, grape salad, i wanted to like you. 

now it's snowing and i am back to working on my gingerbread village: i've assembled all of my buildings, i figured out how to make royal frosting icicles, and rudolf is taking a dip in a jolly rancher hot tub. mum kept asking where the sukkah was, but i opted for a huppa to be more relevant with the timing because holy eff, i am getting married in less than a month!!!!!!! ahh!!!

for my final west elm recipe, i have these day-after-thanksgiving rye steamed buns, which were inspired by the typical day-after-thanksgiving sandwich and milk bar's thanksgiving croissant! turkey, stuffing, and cranberry sauce, all cozy in a bun. so don't eat all of those leftovers yet, go proof some dough and steam some bao! get the recipe here.

friday links!!

instant ramen with american cheese 

"Do you ever dream up what the Big Gay Ice Cream menu would have looked like in 1621?"

emoji search at nyt cooking is the best early christmas present ever.

i miss hong kong!

this linda lomelino interview!! i love her so much.

ok, thanksgiving is over, i know, but i still want to make these stuffing dinner rolls.

it is a loaf of bread, it is a bagel. it is a bagel bread loaf. omg.

michelle's asian style thanksgiving though!!

this gingerbread cake is gonna get made today.

happy friday, everyone!!

-yeh!

p.s. i also did a fun little thanksgiving-y radio interview in the midst of my pie making, you can hear it here!

bacon and egg shengjian bao (pan-fried steamed buns)

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it has been so deliciously cloudy around these parts. it rains almost every day and i love it. it's perfect sweatpants and hoodie weather and the clouds create some very yummy photo lighting as well as the perfect backdrop for practicing three places in new england. 

this weather is not so perfect for farming though. every other day, for a few weeks now, eggboy says we're gonna start planting soon! but then it rains and it rains and planting gets delayed and he puts on a frown until i remind him that now we have time to get caught up with game of thrones.

in other news: i have felt guilty about letting almost a year go by of not making steamed buns. living with a gluten-free eggboy has its downside because who will share my buns with me?!

but today i woke up and thought fuck that! it's my birthday month, i'm making steamed buns and i'm gonna eat them all.

so i made them and i filled them with bacon and eggs as a nod to my all time favorite birthday breakfast, the humble breakfast sandwich. and then i decided to just go all the way and make shengjian bao, which are basically steamed buns... and then you fry them! (side note: henry james was wrong when he said that "summer" and "afternoon" were the most beautiful words in the english language, because i'm pretty sure that "and then you fry them" are more beautiful, no?)

typically shengjian bao have some soup in them, but these ones just have eggs, bacon, scallions, and a wee bit (a lot a bit) of parmesan. good thing i'm wearing stretchy pants!

bacon and egg shengjian bao

makes approximately 18 buns

ingredients

for the buns:

2 1/4 tsp yeast

1/2 c + 1 tsp sugar

3/4 c warm water

3 c flour, plus more for dusting

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1/4 c milk (cow or almond)

1/4 c vegetable shortening, melted

for the filling:

6 strips bacon

3 stalks scallions, chopped

6 large eggs

a bit of cheese, optional

salt + pepper

for serving:

soy sauce

black vinegar or rice vinegar

a pinch of crushed red pepper

 

 

clues

to make the buns, proof the yeast with the 1 teaspoon of sugar in the warm water.

in a large bowl, combine the flour, remaining 1/2 cup of sugar, and salt. pour in the milk, vegetable shortening, and yeast mixture, and mix to form a dough. knead on a lightly floured surface until smooth. transfer to a clean bowl, cover with a damp towel, and let rise for 2 hours.

to make the filling, crisp up the bacon and chop it into 1/2-inch pieces. in the bacon fat or a little olive oil, cook the scallions for 3 minutes. beat the eggs with a splash of water and the bacon pieces. pour the eggs in the pan and scramble them, keeping them pretty wet. don't overcook them because they'll cook a bit more when the buns steam. add in cheese, if desired, and season with salt and pepper.

roll or pat out the dough on a lightly floured surface and cut out 3-4 inch circles. you could also pinch off small balls of dough and roll them out into circles. fill with 1-2 tablespoons of filling and pinch shut. place on a square of parchment paper and in a bamboo or metal steamer, a few inches apart. let rise for 30 more minutes.

steam over a large pot of boiling water for 10-15 minutes, until doubled in size and cooked through.

coat a pan with vegetable oil, set it over medium-high heat, and lightly fry the steamed buns for a few minutes on each side, until browned.

to make the dipping sauce, combine 1 part soy sauce with 1 part vinegar and a pinch of crushed red pepper.

eat them all yourself!!! or share them. 

-yeh!