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What I Ate: August 12, 2010

Posted 13 August, 2010 at 7:23pm by Michael Chu
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Lunch: I ate the leftover pork chop with broccoli and corn.
Leftover Pork Chop with Broccoli and Corn

Dinner: I had a couple bowls of kale soup along with a couple cong you bing.
Kale Soup

What I Ate: August 11, 2010 (Austin Cake Ball)

Posted 12 August, 2010 at 12:06pm by Michael Chu
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We went to the 2nd Anniversary Austin Cake Ball celebrating Austin Cake Ball's two year anniversary. Cake balls are made with crumbled cake blended with frosting and formed into balls and dipped in chocolate. This results in a dough-like texture instead of anything that resembles a cake. The cake balls from Austin Cake Ball are different - they've worked out the perfect ratios of cake crumbs and wet binder (frosting, caramel, etc depending on flavor and recipe) to make cake balls that taste like moist, delicious cake. (Co-owner Ben worked for Dell for ten years and took his detail oriented approach to flavor and texture development; this is why all their cake balls come out with perfect texture and exactly balanced flavors.)
Austin Cake Ball - Cake Balls

The cake itself isn't very sweet, but when eaten with the chocolate shell the sweetness level is perfect. Each flavor is excellently executed - our favorites were salted caramel, chocolate espresso, and mojito (excellent lime flavor). We don't normally eat a lot of cake, but we tried each of the seven flavors they had at the event. For future reference, eating two balls is probably the right amount. Unfortunately, for photography, the lighting was very poor (lots of light coming from windows, some colored, some clear, as well as interior lighting of varying color).
Austin Cake Ball - Tiramisu Cake Balls

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What I Ate: August 11, 2010 (Austin Cake Ball)

What I Ate: August 10, 2010 (Sous vide pork chop)

Posted 11 August, 2010 at 11:52pm by Michael Chu
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Lunch: A Kiolbassa brand smoked sausage
Kiolbassa-brand Polish sausage

Dinner: Sous vide pork chop (60°C) seasoned with smoked salt and dried rosemary. The pork chop was served with grilled corn and sauteed broccoli and garlic.
Sous vide pork chop, corn, and broccoli

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What I Ate: August 10, 2010 (Sous vide pork chop)

What I Ate: August 9, 2010

Posted 10 August, 2010 at 11:26pm by Michael Chu
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Lunch: I ate a couple of zong zi for lunch.
Zong Zi

Dinner: We had leftovers - carne guisada, risotto, and "Shepherd's Pie".
Leftover Azul Tequila Carne Guisada

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What I Ate: August 9, 2010

What I Ate: August 8, 2010 (Zoot)

Posted 9 August, 2010 at 11:02pm by Michael Chu
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Dinner: We went to Zoot (11715 Bee Caves Road, Bee Cave, TX‎ - (512) 477-6535‎) where we had our first so-so meal. We started with seared quail livers on toast with caramelized onion jam, sweet corn and fresh thyme which I loved. The livers were mild and smooth which matched very well with the sweet caramelized onions and crunchy (and still hot) crostini. The addition of crispy pickled red onions was the part that made this dish go from good to great.
Zoot - Seared quail livers on toast with caramelized onion jam, sweet corn and fresh thyme

We then had two soups. The first was the chilled smoked corn soup with basil and peanuts which wasn't as strongly flavored as we had hoped. The soup was mild and sweet but the peanuts were a little overwhelming. After a couple peanuts, the soup was almost flavorless. In the middle of the soup was a nice piece of sweet cornbread.
Zoot - Chilled smoked corn soup with basil and peanuts

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What I Ate: August 8, 2010 (Zoot)

What I Ate: August 7, 2010 (Cannoli Joe's)

Posted 9 August, 2010 at 12:03am by Michael Chu
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Lunch: I had pizza and salad at Cannoli Joe's (4715 U.S. 290, Austin, TX‎ - (512) 892-4444‎) for lunch as part of my Defensive driving class with Happy Time Defensive Driving.
Cannoli Joe's - Pizza and Salad

Dinner: Two days ago I had prepared pork baby back ribs and bacon (just wanted to see what that would be like) in two separate bags to be cooked at 68°C for 24 hours. I had seasoned the ribs with a simple rub of salt, brown sugar, and cayenne pepper before sealing it in the bag. We were out last night, so I ended up cooking the ribs and bacon for an additional 24 hours. I wasn't happy with the texture of either of the meats - they bordered on mushy (too long in the water bath) and were too strongly flavored by the salt and sugar (too long in the water bath).
Overcooked sous vide pork baby back ribs

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What I Ate: August 7, 2010 (Cannoli Joe's)

What I Ate: August 6, 2010 (Azul Tequila)

Posted 7 August, 2010 at 11:45pm by Michael Chu
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Lunch: I ate garlic chive boxes (jiu cai he) that Tina's mom brought over the day before along with some left over sauteed spinach for lunch.
Garlic chive boxes (jiu cai he) and leftover spinach

Dinner: We went to Azul Tequila (4211 South Lamar Boulevard, Austin, TX‎ - (512) 416-9667‎) for dinner. We started off with their Pozole Mexiquense (Red hominy pork soup, served with lettuce, radish, onions, avocado, and oregano.) which they only serve on Friday through Sunday. This is one of the best soups you can get - mildly spicy, rich flavors, and huge chunks of tender pork. Having a spoonful of the soup with a piece of avocado which melts in the mouth and some hominy is awesome.
Azul Tequila - Pozole Mexiquense

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What I Ate: August 6, 2010 (Azul Tequila)

What I Ate: August 5, 2010

Posted 6 August, 2010 at 10:51pm by Michael Chu
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Lunch: I had a simple lunch of cheddar cheese (aged four years), head cheese, and toasted slices of French bread.
cheddar cheese (aged four years), head cheese, and toasted slices of French bread

Dinner: I cooked up a half breast of chicken sous vide (at 70°C) which was tender and juicy (except where I had seared it). If I do this again in the future, I probably will not sear the chicken and probably make a sauce and simply toss it in the sauce. I prepared a duxelle as a topping and ate the chicken with sauteed spinach and French bread.
Sous vide chicken, duxelle, spinach, and French bread

What I Ate: August 4, 2010

Posted 5 August, 2010 at 10:51pm by Michael Chu
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Lunch: I had a couple of Kiolbassa brand Mesquite Smoked Beef sausages on hot dog buns.
Kiolbassa brand Mesquite Smoked Beef sausages

Dinner: I cooked another New York strip steak sous vide. Half was prepared at 65°C (which is technically medium-well, but in my opinion is as well-done as steak can be) and the other half was prepared at 55°C so we'd have something to enjoy.
New York strip steak, zucchini, scallion pancakes

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What I Ate: August 4, 2010

What I Ate: August 3, 2010

Posted 4 August, 2010 at 10:49pm by Michael Chu
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Lunch: Nong Shim Seafood Ramyun Instant Noodles with Napa Cabbage and Sliced Cold Pork Shoulder
Nong Shim Seafood Ramyun Instant Noodles with Napa Cabbage and Sliced Cold Pork Shoulder

Dinner: Sous Vide New York Strip Steak (cooked at 60°C which was firmer and tougher than yesterday's half cooked at 55°C) with sweet corn and broccoli.
Sous Vide New York Strip Steak with sweet corn and broccoli

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