The KimKraut Dog

Happy Monday! Not a fan of today? I've created a new Korean-fusion inspired recipe to zap those Monday Blues away! Inspired by both my Asian and Eastern European heritage, I wanted to combine the two worlds in a dish, but also something that would be simple and easy to make for a manic Monday. 

Okay, so by now you're wondering, what is KimKraut? I've seen many and have tried a variety of Korean hot dogs. Some even have added bulgogi on top of the hot dog, some more kimchi-oriented. And some more Americanized. I wanted to make something a little different; something that resonates with who I am. So, I decided to mix kimchi and sauerkraut together and BAM! There you have it, folks! KimKraut! I used cabbage kimchi to keep the vegetables consistent together, though, I'd be down with trying other forms of kimchi, such as cucumber or radish.

The KimKraut Dog

Ingredients:

Recipe + photos by: © Suzanne Spiegoski

4 bratwurst sausages, grilled
4 hot dog buns, toasted
4 tsp mustard
2 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp white vinegar
1/4 tsp salt
4 tsp ketchup
1 tsp sriracha sauce
1/2 cup chopped kimchi (cabbage)
1/2 cup chopped sauerkraut
2 tsp rice vinegar
2 tsp honey
2 green onion, chopped
black sesame seeds, for garnish

Directions:

1. Mix mustard, soy sauce, sugar, white vinegar and salt in a small bowl. Set aside.
2. Mix ketchup and sriracha sauce in another small bowl. Set aside.
3. Combine kimchi, sauerkraut, rice vinegar, and honey in a small bowl to create KimKraut. Set aside.
4. Grill bratwursts. Toast buns at 350°F for 5-7 minutes.
5. Prepare hot dog with sausage, KimKraut, mustard and ketchup sauces, chopped green onion and black sesame seeds.
6. Enjoy!

When I had first met my husband and sheepishly confessed that I could cook, he wittingly replied, "Sure, you can. What can you make, just kimchi & kielbasa?" Boy, was he mistaken! He's now my #1 guinea pig. And happily so! I adore cooking for the people I love and I also love sharing stories, especially anything involved with food and cooking! (And maybe my husband.. ha, ha!) This recipe was definitely inspired by my hubby's sense of humor. And yes, kimchi paired with any kind of sausage is absolutely delicious!

I didn't want to Americanize the dish by squeezing regular mustard and ketchup sauce on the hot dogs. Since the dogs are meant to be Korean-fusion based, I also kept the flavors in the sauce. I mixed regular French's mustard with a tiny bit of soy sauce, sugar, white vinegar and a pinch of salt. The ketchup was combined with some sriracha sauce, to add an extra touch of heat in with the kimchi spices. These sauces really gave every single bite packed with tangy and meaty flavor! Lastly, I garnished with chopped green onion and black sesame seeds. Coming up next on the blog? A whole new lookbook series with another style video! Check out my Instagram for a teaser. Stay tuned...

LOVE & XX'S,

FOLLOW MAQ + SUZ

Korean Fusion: Fried Sesame Broccoli Bites

Korean Fried Sesame Broccoli Bites

Serves 4

Ingredients:
1 pound broccoli, chopped into small pieces and steamed
1 teaspoon salt

Korean Fusion: Fried Sesame Broccoli Bites with Ponzu Sauce

1 tablespoon sesame seeds

2 green onion

1 tablespoon sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
generous pinch of salt to taste

3 eggs

1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup panko
vegetable oil

Green onion or parsley and sesame seeds to garnish

Directions:

1. Cut the broccoli head very short from the stem. Cut the head into small florets. Peel the stems and cut into small pieces. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the salt and broccoli, and cook for 1 to 2 minutes, or until it reaches the desired tenderness. Drain, immediately blanching the broccoli. Dry well before step 2.

2. Combine the broccoli with sesame seeds, 1 green onion, sesame oil, garlic, salt and 1 whisked egg (to use as a binding agent). Toss well to evenly distribute seasoning.

3. Create breading station - flour, whisk 2 eggs, panko

4. Wash hands then spoon broccoli mixture into hands to create 2-3 inch diameter balls. Squeeze together to firmly compact into round ball.

5. Coat in flour, then egg wash, then panko crumbs. Repeat.

6. Heat vegetable oil to 375 degrees.

7. Carefully place several broccoli balls into oil for 3 minutes until golden brown. Remove with slotted spoon and place on cooling rack or paper towels.

8. Serve with ponzu sauce!

Happy Sunday Funday! Without further delay, let me introduce to you (finally) the recipe for my Korean fusion-inspired FRIED sesame broccoli bites! And once you pop one of these addicting bite-size snack attacks, trust me when I say this, you won't be able to stop! To add a touch of heat I made a chili ponzu dipping sauce consisting of soy sauce, orange + lemon juice, mirin and red chili pepper powder. This healthy appetizer will surely be a hit at any get-together/party/event! And even though fried foods are not the healthiest choice when it comes to eating right, there is broccoli in this fried dish so it's not all completely bad like a fried oreo for example! Ha ha! It's definitely a great way to get anyone into this green veggie, especially if you're not a fan of it!

There is one thing I highly DO NOT recommend when working with anything fried. I was so exhausted when making these broccoli bites, I had mistaken the vegetable oil for water and covered the pot with a lid! 😳 Let's just say that I definitely experienced my first grease fire in the kitchen but I handled it like a champ! Lesson learned? Don't try to fry anything when you're that sleep-deprived! You're only asking for trouble, honey! Hope y'all enjoy the rest of your Sunday. Coming up this week on the blog, a new look, and a giveaway in honor of a birthday girl (aka; me)! Stay tuned...

Love & xx's,

FOLLOW MAQ + SUZ

Korean Fusion: The Bulgogi Burger with Fried Sesame Broccoli

I haven't posted a new recipe in a couple of weeks due to brainstorming a dish I've never ever even made an attempt at before. And what is it you might ask? Well, I did my take on a Korean burger, and even though these fusion burgers have been around for nearly years (what?!) I really wanted to create my version of a bulgogi burger. For the hamburger buns, I opted for a healthier choice - sushi rice! On top of the bulgogi is a sunny side up egg, with cabbage & carrot slaw, scallions and sriracha sauce.

Close-up of the fried sesame broccoli and a top view of the burger. Look at that perfect sunny side up egg!

Korean Fusion: The Bulgogi Burger with Fried Sesame Broccoli

Serves 2

Ingredients:

1 pound flank steak, cut very thin using kitchen shears

1/3 cup soy sauce

Korean Fusion: The Bulgogi Burger with Fried Sesame Broccoli.

1/3 cup sugar

1 cup water

1/2 yellow onion, chopped

1-2 green onion, chopped

1 tsp garlic, minced

1 tsp sesame oil

1 tsp honey

Pinch of black pepper

Shredded cabbage & carrot slaw

Sushi Rice

2 Eggs

A sprinkle of sesame seeds

Sriracha sauce

Directions:

1. Combine yellow onion, white and light green parts of green onions, soy sauce, water, sugar, sesame seeds, garlic, sesame oil, and black pepper in a bowl until marinade is well mixed. Add steak slices to marinade; cover and refrigerate, 1 hour to 1 day. 4 hours is ideal.
2. Cook sushi rice in rice cooker. To make these rice buns, you simply form patties out of cooked rice (with damp hands!), brush them with a little soy sauce, and fry them until they get nice and crispy.
3. Grill meat until cooked through. Simultaneously cook the egg sunny side-up.
4. Top each patty with the bulgogi, one sunny side-up egg, shredded cabbage & carrot slaw, a slice or two of green onion,  some sriracha sauce and another rice bun.
5. Enjoy the heck out of it with some fried sesame broccoli! :)

These fried sesame broccoli bites are SINFULLY addicting! SO SO GOOD!

But the highlight of this experimental dish is the FRIED sesame broccoli. DUDE. As a child, I wasn't the biggest fan of broccoli, but when my Ma made her famous sesame broccoli as an 'Americanized' banchan, I immediately grew to love it! While coming up with a variety of Korean fusion dishes, a lightbulb went off. My mind instantly thought of frying a Korean side dish. And voila! Garnished with green onion, minced garlic and sesame seeds, the sesame broccoli is probably the best fusion dish I've made to date! I'm really proud of it and am so excited to share you my ideas when it comes to my cooking.  I'm only putting up the recipe for the burger because I'm still adding some final touches to the broccoli recipe.

Dipping sauce for the fried sesame broccoli bites - soy sauce, sriracha sauce, honey and sesame seeds.

The dipping sauce for the broccoli is simple. It consists of soy sauce, a couple of squirts of sriracha sauce and honey, with a sprinkle of sesame seeds on top. I would like to try a yuzu dipping sauce for my next test-run. What do you guys think of these fried sesame broccoli bites? Are you dying for the recipe or what?! I think I'll be doing a separate post just on these lil' guys because they're way too good not to share with the world! Stay tuned...

A closer look at a piece of the fried sesame broccoli. Absolutely delicious!

And here you have it! Take a look at that monstrous burger! Regarding the rice buns, make sure that while shaping the rice into the buns you are with damp hands. Sushi rice can be very sticky so be sure to follow this rule! Also, I've heard parchment paper works well if you want to mold the rice buns this way, but I only had some wax paper in my kitchen at the moment. (Yup, I'm still really not the baking type, but I'm always working on this, though!)

Final look of the bulgogi burger! Ready to be eaten. 😊

Love & xx's,

FOLLOW MAQ + SUZ

Mini Open Faced Turkey Avocado Sandwiches

Mini Open Faced Turkey Avocado Sandwiches

with Havarti cheese, cucumber and roasted red pepper mayo

Mini Open Faced Turkey Avocado Sandwiches

Serves 2-4

Ingredients:

French baguette bread, approx. 6-8 slices

Smoked turkey deli meat, cut into rectangles

Havarti cheese, cut into rectangles

Cucumber, peeled and cut with Mandoline slicer

1 Avocado from Mexico, sliced

4-5 Tablespoons mayo

7 oz. Cento roasted red peppers

Red pepper flakes for seasoning

Don't forget to jazz it up with red pepper flakes or fresh black pepper!

Directions:

1.     Puree roasted red peppers and mix in with the mayo.

2.     Slice baguette bread, turkey meat, cheese, avocado and cucumber.

3.     Spread the roasted red pepper mayo on each baguette.

4.     First layer with cheese, then a few slices of turkey, two slices of avocado and last, cucumbers slice.

5.     Season to your liking with red pepper flakes or fresh black pepper.

6.     Enjoy every single bite!

These little mini turkey bad boys are fresh, healthy and abso-freaking-lutely delicious!

Close-up view of the mini open faced turkey avocado sandwiches.. YUM.

Ready to devour these cuties. Be back later.

Monday's lunch got me all inspired after hearing about Chef’s Roll's March Madness style competition leading up to the Final Four. Their “Avocado Madness”, sponsored by Avocados From Mexico, is starting on March 1st with a line-up of 64 chefs who will develop avocado-inspired recipes through a possible 6 rounds of competition. Each week only half will make it through to the next round until there are only four remaining.  From those finalists, two will be selected to travel to San Diego for a live head-to-head competition on April 11th, 2016 where the final contestants will create an avocado-inspired menu in front of the city’s best chefs and culinary press for a chance to win some amazing prizes. Eeeek!

Since my friends have been encouraging me to venture more into the cooking world, and after seeing this contest with a serious passion for avocados, I figured why the heck not?! So here you have it folks. First round's an avocado-inspired sandwich/wrap recipe, so for preparation today, I made mini open faced turkey avocado sandwiches with Havarti cheese, sliced cucumber, roasted red pepper mayo, sprinkled with red pepper flakes. I've been making this for years and usually I just do a regular sandwich with all the same ingredients but I wanted to create something more aesthetically pleasing to the eye. And this would be a killer hors d'oeuvre /appetizer for a lunch/dinner party. I'm digging this open faced sandwiches' versatility! What do you guys think? I'm ready to hork these bad boys down, stat!

Wishing everyone a great week! Check y'all later! 😉

Love & xx's,

Meisterdish

Incredibly easy dinner meal kits delivered on-demand, no subscription.

Everything is prepped, Meisterdish saves time in the kitchen for us busy New Yorkers!

Cherry, kale & walnut salad with radicchio, Pecorino cheese and pumpkin seeds. Yum!

Cherry, Kale & Walnut Salad with Lavender Steak on Pearl Couscous from Meisterdish in NYC.

This past week I tried out Meisterdish — incredibly easy dinner meal kits for New Yorkers delivered on-demand, no subscription. You can choose from a daily menu curated by top chefs. I went for the cherry, kale and walnut salad with radicchio, Pecorino cheese and pumpkin seeds as the starter and then for the main course; a lavender steak on a beet-reduction pearl couscous with green beans, leeks and cashew nut. Can I just say that I've never had lavender spice with steak and HOLY MOLY is it off the chain! And the beet juice rendered into the couscous was absolutely delicious. I'm still dreaming about it! 😊

I really love how the ingredients come washed, prepped and chopped, where I've heard mixed reviews on Blue Apron's prep time. Why bother getting a dinner meal kit when you have to do all the work to begin with? Sort of defeats the purpose, in my opinion, but with Meisterdish you can complete a complete, savory meal in 15 minutes! They've got a killer Korean bulgogi meal up this week but note that their menu changes on a daily basis, which was the only little thing I hope they'll be able to fluctuate in the future.

As a New Yorker who is crazy in love with cooking & food, my crazy schedule tends to make it nearly impossible to cook dinner every night. I don't even have time to prep in advance like some of my friends do! This is such a terrific option for those busy nights where you literally have only twenty minutes to whip something up in the kitchen. And no subscription required is definitely a plus in my book! I will definitely be trying Meisterdish again soon. If you're in New York City and into Blue Apron, I strongly recommend trying Meisterdish!

Get 50% OFF your first order by going HERE! Have a nice weekend, everyone. ❤️❤️❤️

Love & xx's,