Feral Cooks

Good food shouldn't be tame

Rose Water Marshmallows

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This recipe sucks. Don’t even bother with it. The marshmallows tasted great and looked cool, but they were so sticky, it rendered them impractical for anything but sitting on a plate. I wanted to punch them in the face. Now that I think of it, I’m not really sure that they’re for, other than as a snack that drastically raises your blood sugar.

I’ve made my fair share of Bon Appetit recipes, and this is the first and only that turned out poorly. Was it my fault because I didn’t follow the directions properly? 50/50 chance, but I’m really careful when following recipes because it’s in my best interest for them to turn out.

Anyway, I don’t recommend trying to make these, but if you want to give it a try, the recipe is below. Please note that you’ll need a candy thermometer. If you make these and they turn out, please let me know, and I will hang my head in shame.

What you’ll need:

  • Spray oil
  • 0.5 cups powdered sugar, divided
  • 0.5 oz. unflavored powdered gelatin
  • 2 egg whites from large eggs
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 0.25t rose water (or they give the option of orange-flower water)
  • 1 or 2 drops of red food coloring

What to do:

Coat a 13 x 9-inch baking pan with spray oil and sprinkle the inside with 0.25 cups of powdered sugar. In a small bowl, combine the gelatin and 0.5 cups of cold water. Let stand for about 10-15 minutes, until the gelatin has softened.

With an electric mixer on medium-high, beat the egg whites for about 3 minutes, or until soft peaks form.  

Attach a candy thermometer to the side of a medium saucepan and bring the sugar and 0.5 cups of water to a boil over medium heat. While it is heating, stir to dissolve the sugar and brush the sides of the pan above the waterline with a wet pastry brush to keep sugar from recrystallizing there. After the sugar has dissolved, stop stirring and boil the sugar mixture until the thermometer reaches 250 degrees–this seemed to take a really long time. Remove from heat and add the gelatin mixture, stirring well until dissolved.

Turn on your mixture to medium and slowly add the hot sugar mixture to the whipped egg whites. When it’s all added, crank the beater up to high-speed and beat until the mixture has cooled and about tripled in volume. Add one or two drops of red (or whatever color) good coloring and continue to beat until the color has been evenly distributed. There’s a slight food safety issue with this step, because the egg whites may not necessarily get to the 165 degrees that would kill any bacteria–it’s your call.

Spread the mixture into the prepared pan and let cool for at least 4 hours. When cooled, remove from pan (Ha!, lots of luck with that one!), cut into squares and sprinkle with remaining powdered sugar.

Flemish-Style Beef Stew (Stoofvlees)

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Wow, this is a good one. This is the best stew I’ve ever had or made. Belgian beer is the key. What’s even better is that it’s uncomplicated, reasonably quick to make and hard to screw up.

I got this recipe from a foodie couple that I haven’t seen in too long, and I had actually lost it due to a hard drive issue. I pinged them just recently to resend the recipe, and they kindly obliged. Granted, there are similar recipes on the web, but sometimes it’s best to go with what you know.

What you’ll need:

  • 1.25 good stew meat, cubed—from a good cut will yield better results
  • 3T all-purpose flour
  • 2T butter
  • 2T vegetable oil
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves smashed
  • 11.5 oz dark Belgian beer
  • Bouquet garni (tie together some flat-leaf parsley, fresh thyme and dried bay leaves)
  • 2T red wine vinegar
  • 2T light brown sugar
  • 2 slices of rustic bread
  • 2T Dijon mustard
  • Handful of fresh parsley, chopped
  • Salt and pepper

What to do:

Season the beef with salt and pepper, and coat with flour. An easy way to do this is to put the flour and beef in a sealed freezer bag and shake until the meat is coated.

In a large heavy pan with a tight-fitting lid, heat the oil and melt the butter over medium high heat. Add the beef in batches and try to brown the pieces on all sides. As they become browned, remove the pieces from the pan and put them on a plate. 

When all the beef is browned, add the chopped onion to the pan, and cook it in the remaining butter/oil until translucent. Add the garlic and cook for a few minutes more.

Return the meat to the pan and stir well to mix up the meat and onions.

Pour in the beer and heat it to just under the boiling point. Add the bouquet Garni, vinegar and brown sugar, stirring in the latter two ingredients. Reduce the heat to a gentle simmer, cover the pan, and simmer for about 1-1.25 hours, until the meat is tender.

When the meat is tender, spread the Dijon mustard on the two pieces of bread and put the bread in the pan, mustard-side down. Replace the lid and simmer for 20-30 more minutes, stirring occasionally. At this point, the bread will break down and dissolve into the stew, thickening it. I used a very dense rustic bread, which I think thickened the sauce a little too much. That’s why it looks so pasty in the photos.

When the bread is all dissolved and mixed in, remove the bouquet garni and add the parsley (I skipped this). Add salt and pepper, to taste, then serve.

Goes well with buttered rustic bread, fries, or mashed potatoes.

Peanut Rice Noodles with Pork and Collard Greens

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This is a great dish! It tastes fantastic, it’s easy to make, and it doesn’t require any “exotic” ingredients.

I found this one when searching for rice-noodle recipes online. I feel that I’ve exhausted all the good rice-noodle recipes from my Thai cookbook (Pad Thai, Pad Ki Mao, etc.), so this was a nice find from Bon Appetit magazine.

I’d never made or even seen collard greens before, and I was shocked at how big the leaves are. I guess I envisioned some frilly plant with smaller leaves, so seeing them in the store what quite a surprise.

If one could improve on this recipe, it would be to add a couple more tablespoons of peanut butter. It was good, as written, but you can never have too much peanut flavor in something like this.

What you’ll need:

  • Kosher salt
  • 12 oz. regular-width rice stick noodles (aim for wider ones)
  • 0.25 cup smooth peanut butter
  • 0.25 cup soy sauce
  • 2T unseasoned rice vinegar
  • 1T sugar
  • 2t crushed red pepper flakes
  • 1T vegetable oil
  • 1 lb. ground pork
  • 1 1.5” piece of ginger, peeled, then cut into matchsticks
  • 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
  • 1 bunch collard greens, ribs and stems removed, leaves thinly sliced—a bunch is pretty inexact. Maybe shoot for 6-8 large leaves.

What to do:

Boil a lot of salted water in a large pot. Remove from heat and add the noodles, letting them sit (stirring occasionally) for about 4-5 minutes, until al dente. When ready, drain and rinse under cold water.

Whisk the peanut butter, soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, red pepper flakes, and 1 cup water in a medium bowl. It will look terrible, but trust me, it will taste great.

Cook the pork in a large frypan or wok, until cooked through. Be careful not to overcook it. Now, over medium heat, add the ginger and garlic, cooking until softened a bit (about 3 minutes). Add the collard greens and cook until barely wilted. Add the peanut butter sauce and the noodles (you may have to re-rinse them in case they’re stuck together) and bring the sauce to a simmer. Toss the noodles (tongs work great for this) and cook until the sauce is reduced and sticks to the noodles.

Serve hot.