my golden hour

육개장 – Yook Gae Jang or Yuk Gae Jang Recipe

Ingredients

• 2-3 lbs brisket or yuk gae jang beef cut
• a little less than 1 gallon water
• 1/2 onion
• 4 tbsp red chili pepper flakes/powder (gochukaru)
• 2 tbsp sesame oil
• 1 tbsp chili oil (or sesame oil)
• 1 tbsp vegetable or canola oil
• 3 tbsp minced garlic
• 3 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tsp coarse sea salt
• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
• 1/2 lb bean sprouts
• 1/2 lb boiled royal fern (ferndrake root)
• 1 bunch (~12-14 stalks) green onion
• 3 eggs, beaten with 1/2 tsp coarse sea salt
• fish sauce to taste
• 1 tsp beef dashida *optional but a nice boost if you have it

Directions

1. Bring the meat and water to a rapid boil on high heat for 5~10 minutes. When you see all the impurities and foam rise to the surface, take the pot off the heat. Drain the water and rinse the meat and pot quickly with cold, clean water. Add the meat back to the pot and refill with another gallon of water and bring to a boil—the water should be clear.
2. Simmer the beef on medium-heat for at least one hour, and add the onion after an hour. If possible, simmer for 2-3 hours, while keeping a vigilant eye on the water level and replacing water as it evaporates.
3. While the beef is simmering, mix the marinade ingredients together in a bowl: red chili pepper flakes, sesame oil, chili oil, vegetable oil, garlic, soy sauce, sea salt, and pepper. Set aside.
4. Wash and clean the sprouts, and rinse the ferndrake root several times with cold water. Drain, and set aside.
5. Wash and cut green onions into thirds, set aside.
6. When the broth is ready, carefully remove the cooked beef and onion pieces. If you are very careful, you can strain and reserve your broth while removing any impurities, but this is not necessary. You should be left with around 10-11 cups of broth after all the cooking and evaporating. Place the broth back into the pot.
7. Let the meat cool, and then once it is easy to handle, shred the beef into spaghetti-width size pieces and place into a big bowl.
8. To the shredded beef, add the ferndrake root, sprouts, and white part only of the green onion pieces. Pour the marinade into the mixture and using your hands, toss all of the ingredients together.
9. Once the mixture is well-mixed, bring the broth to a boil. Carefully add the marinade mixture to the pot and simmer on medium for 30 minutes.
10. Add the rest of the green onions and simmer for 5 more minutes. At this point, you may add the beef stock powder dashida desired.
11. Slowly add in the beaten eggs. Be careful not to over stir, or else the broth will be very cloudy. Stir in one clockwise motion when pouring in the egg so that it’s well-distributed, as the eggs will cook instantly as soon as it hits the broth. Wait 5 seconds and stir just once more clockwise around the pot, and then turn off the heat.
12. Taste and season with salt and pepper, or fish sauce, if necessary.
13. Enjoy with a bowl of steaming white rice.

Thank you Amy Song for introducing me to this divine dessert!

Nothing more can be said for the completion of a quintessential Thanksgiving meal than PUMPKIN. This pumpkin cheesecake is subtle, fabulous, and such a great ending to the ultimate dinner. Thank you for bearing with me through my insane deluge of posts, I hope I’ve been helpful!

Pumpkin Cheesecake Cupcakes with Homemade Whipped Cream Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 5 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1 cup sugar, plus
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 3 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup canned pumpkin
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

• Whipped Cream Recipe
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 tbsp sugar

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Make the crust by combining the graham cracker crumbs with the melted butter and 1 T sugar in a medium bowl.
3. Stir well enough to coat all of the crumbs with the butter, but not so much as to turn the mixture into paste.
4. Keep it crumbly.
5. Press the crumbs onto the bottom and about two-thirds of the way up the sides of the cupcake pan.
6. Bake the crusts for 5 minutes, then set aside until you are ready to fill it.
7. In a large mixing bowl combine the cream cheese, 1 C sugar, and vanilla.
8. Mix with an electric mixer until smooth.
9. Add the pumpkin, eggs, cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice and continue beating until smooth and creamy.
10. Pour the filling into the pan.
11. Bake for 35-40 minutes.
12. The top will turn a bit darker at this point.
13. Remove from the oven and allow the cheesecake to cool.
14. When the cheesecakes has come to room temperature, put it into the refrigerator.
15. Gently remove each cupcake from the pan.
16. In a mixing bowl using a whisk attachment, pour heavy cream and sugar and start on low-speed. Once the mixture thickens, increase speed to medium and then stop once desired texture is reached.
17. Enjoy!

Put the cranberries, orange and lemon zest, orange and lemon juice, sugar, vanilla, and 1 1/2 cups of the water in a medium-size nonreactive saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil and cook for 8 minutes.

Dissolve the cornstarch in the remaining 1/2 cup of water and add to the pan. Reduce the heat to medium, then stir constantly until the mixture thickens, about 2 minutes.

Remove from the heat and cool completely.

In a large pot, cook the butter and add flour, one tablespoon at a time and whisk until well incorporated.

Add the salt and pepper. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, the flour/butter mixture (Roux) will be a golden blonde color. Add the hot chicken stock mixture and turkey stock. Season, to taste, and serve

1 day before roasting:

Combine the vegetable stock, salt, brown sugar, and peppercorns in a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Stir occasionally to dissolve solids and bring to a boil. Then remove the brine from the heat, cool to room temperature, and refrigerate.

Early on the day or the night before you’d like to eat:

Combine the brine, water and ice in the 5-gallon bucket. Place the turkey (with innards removed but not discarded – you need this for the gravy!) breast side down in brine. If necessary, weigh down the bird to ensure it is fully immersed, cover, and refrigerate or set in cool area for 8 to 16 hours, turning the bird once half way through brining.

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F. Remove the bird from brine and rinse inside and out with cold water. Discard the brine.

Place the bird on roasting rack inside a half sheet pan and pat dry with paper towels.

Add aromatics to the turkey’s cavity. Tuck the wings underneath the bird and coat the skin liberally with butter.

Roast the turkey on lowest level of the oven at 500 degrees F for 30 minutes. Insert a probe thermometer into thickest part of the breast and reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Place a foil shield over the breast, drumsticks, and wings so that they don’t burn during the cooking process. Set the thermometer alarm (if available) to 161 degrees F. A 14 to 16 pound bird should require a total of 2 to 2 1/2 hours of roasting. Remove foil for the last 15 minutes of cooking. CAREFULLY tilt the bird so that the drippings from the cavity pour into the roasting pan, and then carefully pour the drippings into a heat-proof measuring cup. Return to oven. Let the turkey rest, loosely covered with foil or a large mixing bowl for 15 minutes before carving.

Peel and dice potatoes, making sure all are relatively the same size. Place in a large saucepan, add the salt, and cover with water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and then reduce heat to maintain a rolling boil. Cook until potatoes fall apart when poked with a fork.

Heat the cream and the chicken stock in a medium saucepan over medium heat until simmering. Remove from heat and set aside.

Remove the potatoes from the heat and drain off the water. Mash and add the cream mixture and butter; stir to combine. Let stand for 5 minutes so that mixture thickens and then serve. Taste, and if you need more salt, add some but it shouldn’t be necessary. 🙂

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Put sweet potatoes in a medium saucepan with water to cover. Cook over medium high heat until tender; drain and mash.
2. In a large bowl, mix together the sweet potatoes, white sugar, eggs, salt, butter, milk and vanilla extract. Mix until smooth. Transfer to a 9×13 inch baking dish.
3. Bake in the preheated oven 30 minutes, or until the topping is lightly brown.
4. Remove from oven and add marshmallows in a single layer on top of the casserole. Return to oven and cook until the marshmallows are lightly golden on top.
5. Enjoy!

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Butter a 15 by 10 by 2-inch glass baking dish. Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add the pancetta and saute until crisp and golden, about 10 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the pancetta to a large bowl. Melt the remaining butter in the same skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onions, carrots, celery, rosemary, and garlic. Saute until the onions are very tender, about 12 minutes. Gently stir in the chestnuts and parsley. Transfer the onion mixture to the large bowl with the pancetta. Add the bread and Parmesan and toss to coat. Add enough broth to the stuffing mixture to moisten. Season the stuffing, to taste, with salt and pepper. Mix in the eggs.

Transfer the stuffing to the prepared dish. Cover with buttered foil, buttered side down, and bake until the stuffing is heated through, about 30 minutes. Uncover and continue baking until the top is crisp and golden, about 15 minutes longer.