I am certainly not as talented as Gattina, who created a perfect Orange & Chilli Ricotta Cheesecake . Even her description of the cheesecake is so poetic….”a little shy girl who needs a little nudging to shine in the spotlight.”So, you know where I’m going with this. My version, not so elegant, is like a teenage girl discovering miniskirt, push-up bra and hot pink lipstick for the first time.
My last experiment with frozen yogurt was so delicious that I just had to try a sexier version. The ricotta makes the yogurt smooth and rich. The chilli is a sensation that only lingers for a second, tracing the path of the cool yogurt as it moves from tip of tongue to back of throat.

Of course, you don’t need me to remind you to buy David’s book if you can find it. This is where the homemade frozen yogurt craze started, and my Orange Chilli Ricotta Frozen Yogurt is just an adaptation of his methods. I don’t even own his book yet! When I was in L.A. last week, I couldn’t find the book in 3 different shops around town. David emailed back and said to stop being so damn inefficient and just click over to Amazon and just buy it from there. Sheesh. Has the internet taken over our lives? Maybe I can get the internet to do my laundry too.

Orange Chilli Ricotta Frozen Yogurt

For the photo above, I used a whole dried chilli and crushed with morter & pestle (you could pulse with a spice grinder.) If you are using chilli flakes, run a knife though the flakes. You want a finer consistency than large flakes. If you want to use chilli powder, then just start with a generous pinch and taste. You can always add more! Yes - the course sea salt for sprinkling is important! Please don’t skip this. The salt really brings together the sweet and savory parts of the dessert.

3 cups greek-style yogurt *if you don’t have greek style yogurt, see note below
rind from 1 orange (finely grate with rasp grater)
1/4 cup ricotta
1/4-1/2 teaspoon finely crushed, dried chilli
3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
3/4 cup sugar

Garnish
additional course sea salt, for sprinkling
additional grated orange rind, for sprinkling

1. Combine all ingredients except the garnish. Taste…does it need more chilli or salt? Let the mixture sit in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.

2. Following instructions (if you can find them) that came with your ice cream maker, churn until it becomes the consistency that you like. My ice cream maker takes 25 minutes.

3. When ready to serve, sprinkle with some grated orange rind and course sea salt.

*If you don’t have greek-style yogurt, use 6 cups of plain, whole milk yogurt. Line a strainer with a couple of layers of cheesecloth. Spoon yogurt on cheesecloth and let that strain for at least 4 hours in the refrigerator in a bowl large enough to catch the water that strains out. 6 cups of plain, whole milk yogurt will yield 3 cups strained.

I’m not the only one with ice cream and chilli on my mind….check out Cloudberry Quark’s Lemon Chilli Ice Cream

My next post is a recipe…I promise!!! But for now, check out this brilliant 1 minute commercial (via Cha Xiu Bao) [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NwBE1l6QexU]

What a wonderful week in Los Angeles I had!

The highlights:

1. Lunch with Rasa Malaysia

We met at Zen Grill restaurant in Beverly Hills. When I first saw her behind the wheel of her HUGE BLACK SUV, I thought, “who in the world would let their 18 year old drive such a beautiful, big car?!” I swear, if there ever was a eternal youth pill, RM should be the national spokesperson. In 40 years, when I’m smackin’ my gums and sneaking viagra in husband’s daily Metamucil, Rasa Malaysia will be prancing around in her mini-skirt and high heels seducing all the rich old men!

While lunch was so-so (how dare they serve us day-old rice and soggy fried tofu!), we did manage to go to Kiwiberry (a Pinkberry knock-off) and have this:

A few days later, I did try Pinkberry. Both tasted good….but my Co-Co Fro-Yo by a Fo-Blo

was SO MUCH BETTER! And I’m not just tootin’ my own horn - my version (well, David Lebovitz’ version) was creamier, richer and cleaner. Pink/Kiwi-Berry version was chemically-tasting. Must be that secret ingredient that they are hiding.

2. Dinner with Wandering Chopsticks and Melting Wok

We met at a Japanese izakaya restaurant called Haru Ulala (bless you!) and ordered a dish called “Squid with Guts.” The name alone should have warned us of what was to come. Raw squid bits swimming in pureed fish guts. I ate it. It was nasty. Tasted like the bottom of the bait bucket.� You’d think that they would come up with a more elegant name than “Squid with Guts.”� After that meal, Wandering Chopsticks urged us to walk around the corner and have a second dinner at a ramen noodle place, which was so totally worth the 40 minute wait! I am still dreaming about the rich, all-day-simmered ramen broth.

>>>>Edit: mmm-yoso just informed me that the squid bits with guts is called Shiokara. According to wikipedia, it is raw squid + salted and month long fermented raw fish intestine pulp that even the Japanese are even squeamish about. Great. Who the hell ordered that dish? I think it was Wandering Chopsticks. I tasted it, it was gross. So I thought, “hmmm…maybe its a dish that you drink with sake.” After 2 large bottles of sake, it still tasted like shit.

If you are REALLY interested in what we had for dinner, Wandering Chopsticks took photos of every single dish - including the famous Squid + Guts.

3. Hanging out with my brother

He took us to an Argentenian restaurant called LaLa on Melrose St., whose waiter was so freakin’ HOT that he could have served us Squid with Guts in Chimichurri Sauce and I would have gleefully eaten it. Brother also took me to Hollywood’s Farmers Market where I bought $5 worth of nectarines so that I could get close enough to this guy in the pic so I could smell his sweaty armpits.

What’s-his-name was on the The Next Food Network Super-Stud last year, and he is now selling at the farmer’s market. I don’t know about you, but I become very suspicious of anyone hawking nectarines with THOSE BEDROOM EYES. Kinda gives me heebie-jeebies!

>>>>Edit: Eliza tells me his name is Nathan Lyon. Despite the bedroom eyes, I totally respect anyone selling such awesome fruit at the farmer’s market.

4. Vote for my friends!

While I am so flattered to have been nominated in Culinate’s Grill Me contest (and I’d LOVE to go back to California), my itty bitty blog is a long shot to win, so instead please vote for some of my favorite blogs in the contest, like: Smitten Kitchen, Homesick Texan, Kalyn’s Kitchen, Oishii Eats, Tastespotting, Rice and Noodles. Maybe I can bribe the winner to CHOOSE ME as their companion to go! You can vote for as many bloggers as you like, you’re not just limited to one.

I don’t know if you have the upscale Chinese chain called P.F. Changs near you, but in 90’s Los Angeles, it was the chi-chi place to eat…a place to see and be seen, where the skinny, tall and deeluscious hung out waiting to be discovered by producers and sugar daddies. Me? I was an awkward, pimply-faced frog. That was an evening when I had a major case of “why can’t I look like them?!”

You see, I was born with thick, bushy eyebrows….thanks to my direct ancestors who probably had a great use for them. Thousands of years ago, those eyebrows protected my neanderthal ancestors from predators. All they would have to do wrap those thick cable brows around their head, do one of those primal yells and wave arms like an orangutan in heat. Predators would be scared shitless and skamper off. Of course unwrapping the brows proved quite complicated, as they had yet to invent the eyebrow pick or Paul Mitchell conditioner.

The next evolution of use was in the hot summer heat, those brows prevented forehead sweat from dripping down into the pot of horse stew quietly simmering on the outdoor firepit. My great-great grandfather probably was a world-class mah-jong player and his bushy brows shielded him from other players’ discovering his “mah-jong tells” My great-grand auntie most likely used her brows for fanning the hot porridge. My Mom’s second-cousin’s daughter even hung salted fish to dry on her brows.

And now the trait has passed on down to me. Obviously those eyebrows are destined for some great, honorable use, and I just totally ruined thousands of years of family legacy with a an innocent tool called the Tweezerman. I can blame it on that night when I thought what separated me from the sea of gorgeous models were my brows. How wrong I was. I had forgotten about family trait number two. I’m five-foot-two and fifteen pounds overweight.

While I never figured out how to grow an extra 6 inches, I did figure out how to re-create the flavors of P.F. Chang’s dish, Minced Pork Lettuce Cups. I’ve made a similar filling  with ground chicken, flavored by Hoisin (Chinese BBQ sauce) and Oyster Sauce…a little sweet…a little salty and requires no tweezing.

Chinese Pastries with Hoisin Chicken

If you don’t have dried Chinese black mushrooms, feel free to use fresh shitake mushrooms or any type of fresh mushrooms.

1/2 pound ground chicken
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon Shaoxing wine
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon sugar
2 garlic cloves, finely minced
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
1/4 cup minced green onion
1/4 cup minced onion
1/4 cup minced canned bamboo shoots
1/4 cup diced Chinese black mushrooms (soaked overnight in cold water, stems removed)
1 tablespoon Oyster Sauce
1 tablespoon Hoisin Sauce
1 teaspoon garlic-chili hot sauce
1 package frozen puff pastry, thawed
1 egg + 1 tablespoon water (egg wash)

In a wok or large saute pan, heat 1 tablespoon of cooking oil over medium-high heat. When hot, add onion. Fry until onions are softened, about 1 minute. Add the green onions, garlic and ginger. Fry another minute until fragrant. Turn heat to high.

Add the marinated ground chicken, mushrooms and bamboo shoots. Fry until the chicken is about 80% cooked through. Add Oyster, Hoisin & hot sauce. Stir through. Taste…need more salt? (add soy or Oyster) need more sweet/salty? (add more Hoisin) heat? (hot sauce)  Spread out on plate to cool. Tip the plate to one side and discard excess juice.

Take your thawed puff pastry and cut each sheet into 4 squares. Spoon filling onto one side, brush egg wash on the edges and bring over to fold into a triangle. Pinch to seal tightly, place on baking sheet. Brush egg wash on the tops of the pastry. Repeat with remaining.

Bake 350F degrees for 20 minutes until golden brown. Serve with some hot sauce on side!

**Note on Chinese black mushrooms

I always have a stash of dried mushrooms in my pantry. If I know I’ll be using them the next day, I’ll just throw a few in a bowl with water and leave to soak overnight.

If I’m pressed for time, I’ll use hot water and also microwave for 10 minutes (timing really depends on how thick your mushrooms are)

***

You may also like:

10 Minute Miso Soup

This recipe appeared in my food column, Steamy Kitchen, published in a local newspaper here in Florida. The original text from the food column appears below. A modified version + coconut rice + an awesome story also published as part of the cover story for Creative Loafing newspaper. Remember when I was disowned by my peeps? Well, here is the article that the food critic wrote.

My dear friends, please, just please tell me that I don’t remind you of Rachel Ray!!! Enjoy! xoxo Jaden

***

Its summertime! And let me tell you, there is no better way to celebrate the summer season than being seduced by the intoxicating tropical fragrance of mangoes and buttery sweetness of cantelope. Seared Sea Scallops with Mango-Melon Salsa is incredibly healthy, cooling and so simple to make. The key is making sure that you have the best quality ingredients. Here are the secrets:

The secret to buying mangoes
I almost always get my mangoes from Jessica’s Organic Farm Stand in Sarasota, right off of University Blvd. Everything they sell there is organic. No chemical pesticides or fertilizers…just good, honest food of the earth. If you think that buying organic means not-so pretty and expensive, then you need to visit Jessica’s. Bright crimson globes of radishes, gorgeous heads of lettuce big enough to cradle in both arms, just-picked spinach with the sweet earth still clinging, and the mangoes! Oh the mangoes are heavenly-juice-dribbling-down-your-chin delectable. Need proof? Have owner Bill cut one open for you - the knife easily glides around the pit. There are no fibers to catch in your teeth. Just pure, creamy and smooth, just like summer should taste.

But hurry, Jessica’s is only open for a few more weeks before they go on summer vacation. For more information, visit www.jessicasorganicfarm.com or call 351-4121. Jessica’s is located off the side streets across from University Parkway Country Club at 4181 47th Street, Sarasota. To get there, take University to Longwood Run Blvd (turn south) pass the Tabernacle Church. Look left and you’ll see San Jose Dr (turn left) and go all the way to the end to reach 47th St (turn right). The stand is on the left. They are open Friday 12pm-7pm and Saturday 8am-5pm.

The secret to buying sea scallops
Look for scallops that are labelled “dry packed.” Scallops have high water content when they are freshly harvested and dry out very quickly. To combat this, packers soak scallops in saline water, so that when they reach the fish case, they look plump and pretty. Nice to look at, but once it hits a hot pan, water leaches out and you end up with a soggy, tasteless, rubbery scallop. Dry packed scallops are pinker in color, moist but not swimming in solution and smell slightly of the sea. You might pay a little more money for the dry packed, but sometimes you can catch a good sale at Publix or Sweetbay for $8.99 a pound. If you don’t see them in the fish case, look for frozen packages. If you are not cooking the scallops the same night, its best to ask your fishmonger for frozen ones and defrost them yourself at home.

Seared Sea Scallops with Mango-Melon Salsa

Use as much chili powder as you want - I love the tingling sensation after the initial sweetness of the fruit. If you don’t care for spice, use a pinch of smoked paprika instead.

Mint is so refreshing. Make sure you use fresh mint leaves, the dried flakes won’t do. You can substitute with fresh basil, parsley or cilantro.

The Mango-Melon Salsa is also great with tortilla chips, as a topping to grilled chicken, to serve alongside your favorite fish or shrimp skewers.

serves 4

20 large, dry-packed scallops, rinsed and patted dry
2 tablespoons parmesan cheese, grated powder-fine with rasp grater

Mango-Melon Salsa
3/4 cup finely diced mango (1 mango should do)
1/2 cup finely diced cantelope
1/4 cup finely diced red onion
2 tablespoons minced mint leaves
big pinch of chili powder (or substitute smoked paprika)
1/2 lime, juiced
salt & freshly ground pepper to taste

1. Assemble the salsa and set aside to let the flavors meld and mingle while you prepare the scallops.

2. Tap the top and bottom of each scallop gently on the parmesan cheese, shake excess off. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large, non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot, add the scallops. Make sure the scallops do not touch each other. Fry 2 minutes on each side, timing depends on size of your scallops. They should have a golden brown crust. If you take a peek in the interior, they should be rare-ish. They’ll finish cooking on their own from residual heat after you remove them from the pan. Overcooked scallops are a sin! Serve with salsa.