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Cambodian Cooking Class

A while ago I spent a couple weeks travelling through Cambodia and Singapore. One adventure I was particularly excited about was the opportunity to participate in a Cambodian Cooking class in Phnom Penh, called Frizz.

I was enthralled as the chef took us to a local outdoor market where we purchased fish, lemongrass, ginger, taro root, and other ingredients. It was hot, dark, humid, and cramped as we navigated through the little vendor stands, but well worth the effort when we left with the bounty of deliciously fresh ingredients.

 
Cambodia sits directly between Thailand and Vietnam, and their cuisine definitely reflects that (although Cambodians would argue that their Khmer cuisine actually influenced Thai and Vietnamese cuisine). Soup, noodle, and curry dishes abound, although Cambodian food is generally less spicy since the Khmer cuisine didn’t incorporate chilis in to many of their dishes.

We learned how to make a curry dish (called Amok) from scratch, using ingredients such as ginger, lemongrass, galangal and lime.


The rooftop kitchen


Shredding the taro root

All of these ingredients were placed in an apparatus resembling a giant mortar and pestle, and we pounded the ingredients until they formed a smooth, creamy paste.

After steaming the Fish Amok in banana leaves for a little while, what we ended up with was sheer Khmer deliciousness. 

Although Cambodians experienced one of the worst genocides in human history (which, surprising to me, only happened 30 years ago), I was consistently impressed with their upbeat, positive attitudes. They revel in the little things in life, and cooking is one of those things. I’m not sure when (or if) I’ll ever make it back to Cambodia, but I would love to have the opportunity to spend more time with these kind-hearted people and learn more about their cuisine and culture. 

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Heirloom Group Acquires Mountain West Burrito

Man, these Heirloom guys are absolutely killing it down in Happy Valley. Their two breakout restaurants, Communal and Pizzeria 712 continue to be wildly successful, and now they’ve added a third restaurant to their arsenal: Mountain West Burrito.

Best of luck to Colton and crew. I’m sure they’ll knock this one out of the park like they’ve done with their other restaurants.

Here’s hoping one day they decide to venture to Salt Lake County for a future location, but until then, continue elevating the culinary scene in Utah County.

Heirloom blog post here.

Mountain West Burrito on Urbanspoon

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Mist:SaltLake To Be Extended

Chef Gavin Baker has decided to extend Mist:SaltLake for a few additional days due to a large number of people on their wait list. Mist’s additional days will be February 24 through February 26.

Those who currently have their names on the Mist:SaltLake wait list will have access to attend based on a first-come, first-serve basis.

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Salt to Honey

Salt. And honey. Two of the very most basic ingredients in modern cooking. Also, two very important ingredients in Utah’s culinary and agricultural history.

From Redmond Sea Salt to Slide Ridge Honey, Utah is well-known for producing some of the best salt and honey in the country. These two ingredients are celebrated in the Junior League of Salt Lake’s newest cookbook, Salt to Honey. Over 1,000 recipes were submitted by community members, and from those 1,000 submissions 250 were chosen for the book.

Recipes from well-known restaurants and artisans such as Hell’s Backbone, Pago, and Slide Ridge Honey are included in the book.

100% of the proceeds from the book go towards furthering the mission of the Junior League of Salt Lake.

Also, on February 9th, the Junior League will be hosting a Salt to Honey launch party at the brand-new Natural History Museum of Utah. Tickets are $25, and the evening will include the opportunity to try various recipes from the cookbook.

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Slow Food Micro Grant Deadline Extended

If you’re an individual that is interested in starting a garden, raising animals or in need of agricultural equipment on a small scale, you may want to look into the Slow Food Utah Micro Grant program.

They have extended the deadline until February 15th. Click on the link below and follow the instructions to submit your application.

More info

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Slow Food Utah Citrus Tasting Event

Steve Rosenberg, owner of Liberty Heights Fresh, is joining with Slow Food Utah for a citrus tasting event on January 30th from 7-8pm at Liberty Heights. You will be able to taste many different citrus fruits and learn about the story behind the growers.

All proceeds to the event will benefit Slow Food Utah, and it’s only $10.

More info and register here.

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Copper Onion Cauliflower Recipe


This is one of my favorite dishes at The Copper Onion in downtown Salt Lake (and actually, one of my favorite dishes in general). Caramelized cauliflower which is then covered in a rich, slightly tart mayonnaise-based dressing.

Here’s the recipe, graciously shared by The Copper Onion’s own Ryan Lowder

1 head cauliflower, cut into florets
½ cup Best Foods mayonnaise
1 Tbsp. chopped capers
Splash Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbsp. anchovy paste
2 garlic cloves minced
Salt and pepper
Extra virgin olive oil

1. Blanch the cauliflower in boiling salty water until just tender
2. Mix the mayo, capers, garlic, anchovy, salt and pepper in a bowl
3. Place a pan on the burner and get really hot
4. Add the oil, then cauliflower
5. Season with salt and pepper and caramelize as many sides of the cauliflower as you can
6. Toss the cauliflower in the bowl with the rest of the ingredients and mix well

The caramelization is key to this recipe, and really adds another dimension to the dish. When I made it, I got my sauté pan up to about 330 degrees, splashed in some grapeola oil, and tossed in the blanched broccoli. Sauteed until the cauliflower had touches of deep brown caramelization all over, then tossed in the dressing.

The Copper Onion

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Brunch at Zy

Have a hankering for brunch, but tired of the same old french toast and eggs over easy?

How about a wild mushroom and goat cheese quiche, chicken and waffles (!), or Peking duck hash browns?

Chef Matt Lake has set out to raise brunch in Salt Lake City to a new level. Prices for entrees range from $7 to $14. I can’t wait to try it.

Brunch will be offered on Sundays from 10 am to 2:30 pm.

Menu

Additional Info

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Margherita Pizza

One of my favorite meals is margherita pizza. There’s something about the simplicity of it all that really appeals to my taste buds. The fresh, creamy mozzarella, the acidic tomato sauce balanced perfectly with just the right amount of sweetness. The bright and fresh bits of basil, and the crunchy, chewy crust. Simple perfection.

I decided to give it a shot at home. I found a recipe at Epicurious and adapted a few items. I added thinly sliced tomatoes and about ½ cup of shredded parmigiano reggiano to the list of toppings. I also added the prosciutto-like coppa, made by one of my favorite local companies, Creminelli. Also, next time I’ll spend a little extra and buy San Marzano tomatoes instead of the normal canned stuff you find at the grocery stores. If you haven’t had San Marzano tomatoes, they’re sweet little red bits of heaven. If you have had them, then you know exactly what I’m talking about. Very low acidity and a high level of sweetness.

Also, get the “real deal” mozzarella if you can. Avoid the powdery, shredded stuff. Ask your local grocer if they carry fresh mozzarella. Usually it’s ball-shaped and packed in liquid to keep it fresh. At my local grocer, Harmon’s, a ½ lb ball runs about $5. Or you can be really brave and make your own.

A few tips: get your oven as hot as it will go. 500 degrees is usually the max for most conventional ovens. You’ll want to plan plenty of time for the pizza stone to get hot. Just because the oven is preheated and ready doesn’t mean the pizza stone has reached the right temperature. So give it a good 20 minutes once the oven is preheated before you throw the pizza on the stone.

The recipe suggests parchment, but parchment is typically only rated up to 420 degrees, so you’ll be dealing with some seriously burned paper if you use it. Instead, I used generous amounts of corn meal, and slid the pizza from a baking sheet with corn meal to the hot pizza stone. It worked ok, but I had to wrestle with the floppy pizza dough to convince it to get off the baking sheet and move on to the pizza stone. I imagine a pizza peel is in my near future.

If you don’t have a pizza stone, do yourself a favor and get one. It produces beautiful, crisp crusts that you can’t get using baking sheets.

Give this recipe a shot and let me know how it goes! I know it certainly fed my pizza craving.