kitchen circadia

BUTGER SHOP PORRIDGE - The 'Family Affair' pop-up turned out to be a very magical evening of art, music, and food with the collaboration of some amazingly talented friends and family. Props to @nguyennguyenart for organizing this successful event. The seats and tables were full, and we sold out on the food! Thanks to Ben and his team at @yousneakypickle for hosting us! - Since the event took place mostly outside, I wanted something comforting for the cold weather. Vietnamese rice porridge, or 'chao', came to mind. Similar to grits or oatmeal, you can throw almost anything into chao. In this case, Ben had some spare animal parts in his freezer which he braised overnight. The next day, @crawfishguns and I picked off the meat and threw it in a porridge made from rice and stock from the braising liquid. But the porridge is only half of the dish. It's really the all the garnishes that make it interesting, and the list of garnishes is long : cilantro, scallions, sawtooth coriander, sambal, fresh tabasco chili, bean sprouts, Chinese doughnuts, and lime. With all of the contrasting textures and flavors you discover something new with almost every bite. - Filmed by @whitedonutproductions #winsoncooks #wdpshorts #whitedonutproductions #porridge #vietnamesefood #cooking #eat #popup #artshow #nola (at Sneaky Pickle)

GUMBO PT. 2 - For a Vietnamese guy coming from California, it’s extremely nerve-racking to attempt cooking a traditional New Orleans dish for a bunch of folks born and raised in Louisiana. Luckily, I’ve had some awesome mentors over the years who’ve taught me a thing or two about this cuisine. So, I gave it a shot. - Arguably, the two most important things in a gumbo are the roux and the layering of the trinity. The roux is equal parts fat and flour cooked on really low heat until it reaches a dark chocolate brown. Whether you cook it on the stove, in the oven, or in the microwave, it’s important to stir very frequently so the browning is even. - ‘Layering’ is when you divide the trinity into 3 parts or ‘layers’, and introduce each layer at different stages of the cooking process. The first layer is cooked with spices, beer, worcestershire, hotsauce, dried shrimp, and some sausage scraps until it’s really dark and jammy, kind of like a sofrito. The second layer is added right before the broth is added to the gumbo. And the final layer is added right at the end. This gives the gumbo complex range of flavors and textures in the finished product and is quintessential do the dish. - The next thing is just throwing whatever you feel like in it. In our case, we had the blue crab we caught from the night before, chicken legs, and cajun sausage, so I threw those in. I finished it off with file and okra from Dylan’s garden, and served it with parboiled rice. I don’t know if I did true justice to the dish, but there was definitely no gumbo left by the end of the night. - Filmed by @whitedonutproductions #wdpshorts #whitedonutproductions #gumbo #nola #cajun #creole #food #eat #cooking #winsoncooks (at Bush, Louisiana)

GUMBO PT.1 - I was in charge of the food for our campout at the Maras Ranch, but I didn’t know what to cook. What I didn’t want was to do the typical Louisiana thing and cook a giant pot of gumbo. Nah…I wanted to do something more original. - The night before the big meal we went out crabbing and had a pretty successful catch, plus a bunch of chicken leftover that we used as bait. When our friends started arriving to the camp, one of them yelled, “I brought some cajun sausage! What should we cook with it?”. And when I went into Dylan’s pantry I found a spice rack of staple creole seasonings, including file. At the same time, Dylan came back from his garden with a tray of freshly harvested vegetables—bell peppers, cayenne, tons of okra. It wasn’t until I gathered all of these ingredients on the table that I began to accept the inevitable. I was making gumbo. - I guess, this is why people make gumbo in the first place. Like with any regional cuisine it just kind of happens. You cook what your environment gifts to you. In the next post, I’ll tell you how I made my version of this southern classic. - Filmed by @whitedonutproductions #wdpshorts #whitedonutproductions #gumbo #nola #cajun #creole #food #eat #cooking #winsoncooks (at Bush, Louisiana)

GREEN TOMATO SALSA made with ingredients from the Maras Ranch garden - Tomatillos aren't really common all the way out in the rural south, but green tomatoes certainly are, and they make for a good substitute. For the campfire smoked pork, I wanted to make a salsa similar to the one at my favorite taqueria in San Jose called, Jalisco. Their salsa is like a salsa verde, but with a little bit of tomato and lots of chilies which actually make it red. - Starting with a really hot flame, green tomatoes, roma tomatoes, jalapenoes, and--a super spicy, but delicious--green cayenne pepper are grilled until charred. Dry chile de árbol (tree chili) are grilled, as well, releasing an incredibly fragrant aroma, like little sticks of flavor dynamite. Everything is boiled with water until the vegetables are soft. A pinch of dried oregano is added while the salsa cooks on the stove. Then, the salsa is blended until smooth, adding its broth, as necessary. You want the salsa thinner than what the finished products should be since it thickens significantly once cool. Plus, I'm a big fan of the runny-style of salsa that you find in squeeze bottles at your local taqueria. If you're not sure how much broth to add, save it for after the salsa cools, and adjust it then. - Fresh chopped onions and about two cloves of crushed garlic are added to the salsa, and then it's pulsed a couple times more in the blender. We don't add lemon because the green tomatoes has enough acidity as it is. Finally, the salsa is seasoned just before refrigerating. - The salsa was meant for pork tacos, but we also had some vegetarians on site, so I made them a dish of Japanese eggplant, avocado, feta, mizuna, and okra, and dressed it with the green tomato salsa. With the exception of the feta and avocado, all of the ingredients were straight from @dilfanator's garden and @nguyennguyenart's vegetable co-op. - Filmed by @whitedonutproductions. Edited by @winsoncooks (first time trying it!) - #winsoncooks #wdpshorts #eat #eatlocal #cook #cooking #food (at Bush, Louisiana)

'CA KHO' catfish with black pepper caramel. vietnamese egg & garlic chive souffle. bacon - A staple comfort food in my household, 'ca kho' is a braised catfish that's cooked in burnt sugar, fish sauce, and a ton of black pepper. When the sugar reaches a dark brown, almost black color, fish sauce is added to cool it down. The result is a bittersweet and salty sauce. The catfish is added to braise gently. The whole dish takes less than 20 minutes, and requires only a handful of ingredients. - Alongside the catfish, is another homestyle breakfast dish, a Vietnamese egg souffle. Fish sauce, water, and oil are heated until boiling, and then scrambled eggs and chives are dropped in. It's covered and allowed to souffle.Both of these dishes are traditionally cooked in claypots (where the souffle works much better), but we made do with what we had. - Film and edited by @whitedonutproductions - #food #cooking #comfortfood #eat #winsoncooks #wdpshorts #whitedonutproductions #seafood (at Lafayette, Louisiana)

BEEF TENDERLOIN pickled radish. satsuma. baby oak lettuce. Italian truffle paste. black butter - Had such a great day today. Met some awesome people, and made some new friends in New Orleans. Ate the best falafel sandwich by @1000figs, who was just giving them away to the community for free. Ended it with cooking dinner for myself, steak and truffle courtesy of @crawfishguns; oak lettuce and radishes from my nephew's non-profit coop; satsuma oranges from my sister's yard. - #nola #louisiana #steak #beef #cooking #eat #dinner #local (at Algiers, New Orleans)

Our friend, and fellow cook and artist, Al, gave us cuts of beef tenderloin and some Italian black truffle paste to take home. This was the best gift ever. It was so delicious! - Follow Al's amazing photography on instagram at @crawfishguns - #beef #cook #winsoncooks #eat #food (at Algiers, New Orleans)

DOUBLE CHEESEBURGER American cheese. aged white cheddar. two day pickles. mushroom marmalade. - A mash-up of casual and fancy, this is a diner-style smashed burger on top of a bistro-style medium rare burger. - #food #eat #cooking #burger #cheese #winsoncooks

MARIN SUN FARMS DUCK duck breast. duck skin pangrattato. 1 hr miso cured egg yolk of duck. buckwheat nest. demi-glacé from the bones - #theartofplating #winsoncooks #eat #cooking #chefstable #food #egg

SUMMER FRUIT & FLOWER GAZPACHO lemon cucumber. pink lady apple. feijoa gazpacho. elderflower foam. flowers from the garden - #fruit #food #cooking #eat#winsoncooks #soup #theartofplating

FROZEN CITRUS POND gin yuzu ice sheet. peaflower & bergamot gel. milk granita. lemongrass sorbet - I wanted a palate cleanser that would mimic a small frozen pond in a bowl. This remains one of my favorite intermezzos. Watching the guests cracking the ice for the first time with the back of their spoon is a magical experience. - #eat #cooking #food #dessert #sweet #winsoncooks

PORK + BEANS - When you're out camping, you gotta work with what you have at the moment (and deal with the flies). I marinated the shoulder in orange juice, honey, garlic, beer, and thyme. After grilling, it's garnished with garlic chives from my nephew's co-op, Veggi, and cress from my sister's garden in Hammond. - The sausage was just scored and dipped in a garlic oil. Grilling it low over the embers gets the casing really crispy with the extra fat. - The black eyed peas were freshly shelled, and tasted amazing. I cooked it with a ton pork and vegetable scraps that were laying around. - To sop it all up, I made a simple pilaf with deeply caramelized mushrooms, butter, and more beer. - Filmed and edited by @whitedonutproductions - #wdpshorts #winsoncooks #blackpot #pork #bbq #grill #food #cooking #eat (at Lafayette, Louisiana)

Blackpot! Um...I meant to write 2016... #drawing #art #campfire #inktober #blackpot (at Vermilionville)

IBERICO PLUMA persimmon. pickled shallot. jamon iberico. jamon demi. fried coriander - A dish that celebrates persimmon season. Iberico bellota pigs are fed acorns, giving the meat a beautiful sweet nuttiness. It is praised as Spain's pork equivalent to Japan's Kobe beef. Here, we prepare it close to blue rare on the grill. The persimmons are dressed in walnut vinegar. A purée is made from extra ripe persimmons, chestnuts, olive oil, and clove. Bones from the jamon are made into a stock and reduced to a sauce. Fried coriander adds complimenting texture and aroma to the dish. - #eat #cooking #food #pork #fall #winsoncooks

SOURDOUGH BREAD - I've always been nervous about making bread at home, but my friend, Brian, really demystified it for me when he walked me through an awesome Tartine recipe. - What makes this bread extra special is that it was made using a live active starter (which Brian feeds several times a week, like a goldfish). The active starter gives a more complex sourdough flavor when compared to that one-note sour punch you get with yeast. This bread was out of this world--thanks @bxchen! - Brian X. Chen is a writer for the NYTimes who dabbles in bread making. Check out his articles on making bagels and soups-vide over at The Times. - #food #eat #cooking #bread #baking #winsoncooks (at Lake Tahoe)

PHO with pork jowl - We cooked quite a few meals in Tahoe this past weekend, during which we would had a stove simmering on the back burner to toss all of the leftover bones. After two days, we ended up with an extraordinarily fragrant and collagen rich. To turn it into pho broth, we added whole five spice, rock sugar, fish sauce, and burnt onions. - #pho #winsoncooks #noodles #cooking #eat #food #soup (at South Lake Tahoe, California)