Stuff to eat. Mostly around St. Louis.
Buckwheat & Pecan Waffles
People often ask me, "Spencer, how do you keep such an amazing physique while eating out so often? I didn't know it was possible for a food writer to have such defined abs!" in my dreams. The answer is simple: I start the day off right! I wake up every morning looking just like Patrick Bateman, and while I do my stomach crunches (I can do 1,000 now), I heat up some waffles. Waffles?! you gasp. Yes, waffles. Buckwheat flour waffles with toasted nuts keep this machine running all day.
I'm a morning person, but that doesn't mean I want to spend time cooking right when I wake up. I want to have things that are easily crammed into my face so I can move on with my day without being hangry. Back when I worked a 9-5, this often meant toasting some kind of whole grain waffle I picked up at the grocery, but once I started reading the ingredient lists, I decided I'd be better off just making them myself. I make them, let them cool, then break them apart and freeze. All it takes is a quick visit to the toaster—or the microwave if you're really lazy—for these to be ready for a quick breakfast. Cover them with a little almond butter and honey and you're golden.
I set off on months of waffle research, ultimately finding my favorite recipe and waffle maker. My favorite base recipe for waffles came from all-time great Alton Brown. Whether you're looking for crispy waffles or softer Belgian waffles, it works great. This is an adaptation of his, which you can read here.
As for the waffle maker itself, I use this Chef's Choice 840 WafflePro Express. The packaging looks straight out of the 90s, but this thing spits out either wonderfully crispy waffles or puffy, Belgian style ones. I love it. Plus, it's super easy to clean and doesn't require any cooking spray.
So here you go, a relatively healthy addition to your breakfast portfolio. Also, waffles are 1,000x better than pancakes.
Buckwheat & Pecan Waffles
Buckwheat & Pecan Waffles
YIELD: 5-8 | PREP: 15 MIN | COOK: 10 MIN | TOTAL: 20 MINUTES
INGREDIENTS
1 C AP flour
1 C buckwheat flour
1/2 t baking soda
1 t baking powder
1 t salt
3 T sugar
2 eggs, beaten
16 oz buttermilk, room temp
2 oz butter, melted
1 C nuts (pecan/walnut)
METHOD
Toasted Nuts
Preheat the oven to 350F. Spread the nuts on a baking sheet and bake until lightly browned, 5-10 minutes. Remove and let cool. Chop (or HULK SMASH) into little pieces.
Waffle Time
Plug that waffle maker in and get it heating up.
Whisk all the dry ingredients together in one bowl. In a separate bowl, mix the eggs and butter, then add the buttermilk. Add the wet mix to the dry mix (not the other way around or you’re the worst) and stir. Let rest for at least 5 minutes.
The WafflePro recommends 1/2 cups of the batter, but I find just under 1 cup works better. You do you. Put the waffles on a wire rack when they’re done if eating later, otherwise you can go ahead and nom away.
Cocktail #1
The last time I went to Olive + Oak, literally every person at the tables around me had ordered the "#1" cocktail, which, fittingly, is their #1 selling cocktail. It, like many of the drinks that come from the mind of Chelsea Little, goes down a little too easy. It's not a drink that smacks you in the face and reminds you that it's going to get you drunk—it pretends to be your friend, then you get up to go to the bathroom and your legs are a little more wobbly than usual. The #1—which is the number at which it appears in Chelsea's drink journal—is bourbon based. Chelsea did me the honor of letting me pick which bourbon I wanted, so of course I went with Dickel. Not because it's good, but because the name makes me laugh every time. So you've got your bourbon, pineapple cordial (the version below differs slightly), lime, mint, and sage. Oh, and Byrrh, which is probably pronounced like beer or maybe burr. Or possibly bye-rr. I don't think anyone knows. It's like port with herbal flavors mixed in.
Your friends will be impressed by your cocktail making skills when you lay this baby down in front of them. It's a little sweet, a little savory, but it's still got the distinctive taste of bourbon. I think it would be a wise move to go ahead and make extra from the get-go. Everyone's going to want seconds (and thirds...)
Chelsea’s Cocktail #1
YIELD: 1 | TOTAL TIME: 2 MINUTES
Ingredients
1.5 oz bourbon
1 oz Byrrh
1/4 oz lime juice
1/2 oz pineapple juice
3/4 oz simple syrup
sage
mint
ice
METHOD
Pick your favorite bourbon for yourself. Pick your least favorite bourbon for your friends. Pour all ingredients into a shaker with sage, mint (a couple leaves of each will do), and ice.
Shake well, then double strain. Finish with a sage leaf on top so it looks classy.
Animal Style Nachos
St. Louis is getting a Shake Shack! Woohoo! To celebrate, I decided to make ShackBurger nachos—but then I happened to see a Facebook post talking about an In N Out double-double, Animal Style, and I changed my mind. If you're somehow unaware, In N Out and Shake Shack are the two coastal fast-food burger chains that people love because they treat their staff well, they don't buy disgusting meat and produce, and their food is mighty tasty. Here in the Midwest, we've got their fat, trashy cousin, Five Guys.
The main differences that I could discern from an Animal Style burger and a ShackBurger is the mustard-coated burger patty and addition of caramelized onions. Besides that, they're both just meat, bun, lettuce, tomato, "secret sauce". I know that the idea of cooking a burger patty that's been smeared with yellow mustard sounds gross, but it's vital for an accurate taste of In N Out. Even their own website says it: "a mustard cooked beef patty." So don't argue with me.
I have to say, I was quite impressed with the end result. It tastes almost exactly like a I remember an Animal Style burger tasting. I guarantee your friends and family will like you more if you make this for them.
Animal Style Nachos
Animal Style Nachos
Yield: 4-6 | Prep: 25 hour | Cook: 5 Min | Total: 30 minutes
INGREDIENTS
CHEESE SAUCE
(ADAPTED FROM SERIOUS EATS)
8 oz American cheese
1 T corn starch
1/4 t turmeric
1/4 t paprika
HAMBURGER
4-6 hamburger patties
yellow mustard
oil
salt
pepper
CARAMELIZED ONIONS
3-5 onions, diced
1 T butter
water
SECRET SAUCE
1/2 C mayo
2 T ketchup
1 T yellow mustard
1 T pickle relish
pinch of cayenne
pickle juice
TOPPINGS
1 c tomato, diced
1 c pickles, diced
1 head of romaine, shaved
METHOD
Secret Sauce
(Make Ahead)
Combine mayo, ketchup, mustard, pickle relish, and cayenne in a bowl. Add enough pickle juice (or water) to thin it out enough for easy nacho application. Set aside.
Caramelized Onions
(Make Ahead)
Melt butter in a larger, hot pan. Add onions. Cook until fond forms on the bottom of the pan. Add some water. Continue this for 15 minutes or so until the onions have really melted down into a spectacular onion jam.
Toppings
Dice tomatoes and pickles, set aside. Cut romain into thin slices, set aside.
Putting It All Together
Burgers
Heat a pan or grill. Season both sides of the burger and place in the hot pan. On the side facing upwards, apply a schmear of yellow mustard (I know this is odd, but it’s what In N Out does). After 3 minutes, flip the burgers. Cook mustard-side down another 3 minutes. Remove from the pan and chop into bite sized pieces.
Nachos
Cover all the plates you’re going to use with chips. Put the burger pieces over the chips.
Put the shredded cheeses and cornstarch in a small pot and mix. Add the evaporated milk and cook on low, stirring with a whisk continuously. Once the cheese sauce has melted, dip a chip in and make sure that the taste of the cornstarch has cooked out. If it’s all good, add the paprika and turmeric (this is just for color).
Pour the cheese sauce over the burger and chips, then top with tomatoes, pickles, caramelized onions, secret sauce, and romaine.
Recipe: Beets & Mushrooms by Chef Nate Hereford
I am an obsessive watcher of Mind of a Chef, an avid reader of high-end cookbooks, and quite possibly a restaurant groupie. I'd rather sit at the Chef's Counter in a restaurant than the first row of a Cardinal's game. With that obsession comes a new addition to Whiskey And Soba: chef recipes. The best seat in town is at Niche's counter, watching executive chef Nate Hereford and his team effortlessly create edible art. Hereford's passion for continuous improvement and working with local ingredients is infectious. He's inspired me to forage for mushrooms around my yard, which has only resulted in a psychedelic experience once.
A few weeks back, after enjoying a beautiful beet dish, I told him how hard it is for me to think of vegetarian recipes outside of your typical roasted/sautéed variety—that's when it hit me. Let's have the chef of St. Louis' James Beard winning restaurant create recipes using local and seasonal ingredients to help everyone cook better.
Hereford's first dish is beets with roasted maitake mushrooms, miso yogurt, candied pecans, oregano, and a quick spruce (rosemary for the home cooks) pan sauce. It may look complicated, but any decent home cook will be able to pull this off flawlessly.
"It's January, it's cold out, I wanted something vibrant but speaking to the season. Here we have beets, a great winter ingredient that grow really well around here in winter, as well as locally cultivated maitake (Hen of the Woods) mushrooms. I thought the earthy flavors of the two things would go really well together."
Something that struck me from my first meal at Niche was the huge variation of texture in every dish. "You want texture, but you want to balance the textures in every bite. The mushrooms have one texture, the two different kinds of beets have two different textures. When I construct a dish, I want to make sure I'm really focusing on the element you’re focusing on. The pecans are going to add sweetness as well as crunch, the yogurt gives you a creaminess, and the sauce on the plate ties it all together with acid. The oregano gives a background herbal note, refreshing your palate as you eat. Typically, when we think of dishes and start to construct ideas, we try to follow that pattern. We find that it allows constant excitement when you’re eating a dish. You’re always finding new flavors, new textures, cleansing your palate."
Beets
miso yogurt, mushrooms
by Nate Hereford
Beets with Miso Yogurt, Mushrooms
YIELD: 6 | PREP: 1 HOUR | ACTIVE: 10 MINUTES | TOTAL: 1 HOUR AND 10 MINUTES
INGREDIENTS
BEETS
12 red beets
salt
canola oil
BEET SYRUP
2 C maple syrup
2 C white distilled vinegar.
2 C water
MISO YOGURT
1 C white miso
1 C greek yogurt
1/2 C whipped cream
salt
CANDIED PECANS
1 C pecans
2 egg whites
1 C sugar
salt
MUSHROOMS
Hen of the Woods mushrooms
butter
salt
fresh oregano
1 rosemary sprig
2 T white distilled vinegar
METHOD
Beets
Preheat oven to 300.
Toss beets with just enough oil to cover, salt, then wrap beets in foil. Bake until tender, checking every 30 minutes. A knife should slide in easily. It should take roughly 1 hour. Once cool enough to handle, peel the beets (gloves are advised to avoid stained hands). Once peeled, set 3 aside. Using a mandoline, thinly slice beets about 1/16 of an inch (if using a knife, do your best to cut them very thinly). Set aside.
Dice the remaining 9 beets into assorted organic shapes. Whatever your heart desires.
Beet Syrup
Combine the maple syrup and the vinegar in a pan. Bring to a simmer. Turn the heat down and slowly reduce by about 1/2. Once brought down by 1/2, add the water, stirring to combine. Slowly reduce by 1/2 again. It should taste sweet and acidic. Brush on to or spoon over larger beet chunks.
Miso Yogurt
Whip the cream with a mixer. Blend miso and yogurt until a smooth puree is formed. Place in a mixing bowl and fold in whipped cream. Season with salt to taste. Set aside.
Whipped cream is optional if you’re short on time or lazy.
Candied Pecans
Whisk eggs whites with the sugar and salt until frothy. Add in pecans. Place on a sheet tray and bake at 325, stirring every 5 minutes until done (about 30 minutes).
Mushrooms
Tear the Hen of the Woods mushrooms into chunks and roast in a hot pan with canola oil. Finish with butter, basting until butter is browned. Season with salt.
Remove mushrooms from the pan and lower heat. Add rosemary sprig to pan and briefly cook to bring out aromatics. Deglaze pan with white distilled vinegar. Pour sauce in small bowl and set aside.
Plating
Plate at your heart’s content. To do it like Nate, spoon a dollop of miso yogurt on the plate, then use the back of the spoon to make a swoosh. Place the larger beet chunks on the miso. In between the beets, place the mushroom chunks and pecans. Place oregano in 2-3 places. Lay thinly sliced beets on top, as seen below. Drizzle with the rosemary sauce to finish.
Asian Smoked Ribs
Summer is upon us. The time of year when you're forced to eat terrible BBQ made by friends and family. Charred hot dogs and hamburgers, well done steaks, and chewy ribs. Men huddle around the grill, beers in hand, to discuss the secrets of their grilling prowess. "How do you get that wonderful lighter fluid taste on these burgers?" they ask each other eagerly. It's amateur hour in backyards across the nation - until now. You're going to be the catalyst for change. You're going to be the one whose BBQ is so good that you're no longer invited to the neighborhood pool party. You're going to do it with these ribs and your smoker.
I use the Weber Smokey Mountain. You don't need anything fancier. Buying a Big Green Egg or pellet smoker isn't going to instantly make you better, big guy. You've got to learn to walk before you run.
Unlike your run of the mill smoked ribs, these have an Asian spin to them thanks to a rub from chef Josh Galliano. Mix the ingredients below in a bowl - I typically double or even triple the amount so I can have some ready to go next time I get the urge for these. The amount below should still yield a little extra for next time.
When the ribs are almost done, you'll add Momofuku's Korean ssam sauce (For the Ssam Sauce, you can either buy it directly from Momofuku or make it yourself. Simply combine the ingredients in a bowl). By the end, you'll have fall-apart tender ribs with a little heat and a little tang. The ssam gives it an umami flavor that just takes these over the top. Full recipe for the ribs and sauce below.
I used St. Louis-cut spare ribs with the rib tips cut off, but you can use whatever you'd like.
Asian Smoked Ribs
YIELD: 1 | PREP: 15 HOURS | ACTIVE: 5 MIN | TOTAL: 15 HOURS AND 5 MINUTES
INGREDIENTS
ASIAN RIB RUB
Recipe by Josh Galliano
1 rack of ribs
5 T brown sugar or honey
3 T salt
1 t ground coriander
3 t chinese 5 spice
1 t onion powder
1 t garlic powder
1/2 t cayenne
1/4 t chili flakes
SSAM SAUCE
Recipe by David Chang
2 T ssamjang (fermented bean and chili paste, available at Asian groceries)
1 T Chili Paste (Gochujang, found next to the Ssamjang above)
1/2 C sherry vinegar
1/2 C neutral oil (like grapeseed)
METHOD
Ribs
Liberally apply the rub to both sides of the ribs and refrigerate overnight.
Light your smoker and get it to a temperature between 230 and 250 F. I like to use cherry wood primarily, but will add in apple and hickory if I feel like it. If using an oven, heat to 250 F.
Place ribs on the rack and smoke for 3 hours. At this point, brush both sides with Ssam sauce and cook an additional 30 minutes. I sometimes remove the water bowl at the very, very end and put the ribs just above the coals.
If cooking in the oven, place ribs in a foil packet and cook for 1.5 hours. After 1.5 hours, unwrap the packet and cook for an additional hour or until ribs are tender.
Bring inside and eat ribs like an animal.
Asian Smoked Pork Ribs
Asian Smoked Ribs Close Up
Recipe: Chili
I feel like I failed you last week with my cornbread recipe. You undoubtedly ran to your kitchen upon reading it, made yourself a loaf, then realized you had nothing to eat it with. Perhaps you tried pairing it with some roasted chicken or a hamburger, but it just didn't feel right. I have the solution for you, friends. This may appear to be your run of the mill chili, but it's not. It's the best basic chili recipe I've come across. It's not too spicy, not too tomatoey, just the right amount of meat and beans. People like chili for the same reason they like yoga instructors: they're both hot and flexible. You can modify chili based on what you've got in your fridge or pantry at any given time, which I did. For the recipe below, I swapped out one can of red kidney beans for white beans. Because I am a wild man, I used 1 pound of ground beef, 1/2 pound of ground chorizo chicken and 1/2 pound of ground lamb. The lamb's flavor was a bit stronger than I'd prefer in a chili, but it was still better than whatever chili you're making now.
Just a few weeks ago, I judged a chili competition at work, which allowed me to try 17 different chili variations. The differences were astounding. No two chilies tasted alike. Some were good, some were great, some made me wonder if I was being Punk'd with dog food. Some key issues I noticed:
People tend to make their chili far too watery for my liking.
People don't include beans, or if they do, it's a small amount. Poor form.
People do not brown their meat. No Maillard reaction, no smiles.
People put ketchup in their chili. A lot of ketchup. Gross.
This recipe solves these issues. My recommendation is that you try the recipe below as-is your first. After that, go wild and swap all sorts of stuff in and out. I just don't want you to come here like a www.foodnetwork.com commenter and leave angry notes about how the recipe sucks when it was you who decided to swap out the cumin for Nesquik and the diced tomatoes for V8 juice.
On to the recipe!
Chili
Chili
YIELD: 4-6 | PREP: 20 MINUTES | ACTIVE: 2 HOURS 20 MIN | TOTAL: 2 HOURS AND 40 MINUTES
INGREDIENTS
2 T vegetable oil
2 medium onions, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
6 garlic cloves, minced/pressed/microplaned
1/4 C chili powder
1 T ground cumin
2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
2 lbs lean ground beef
2 (15-ounce) cans red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes, with liquid
1 (28 ounces) can tomato puree
salt
2 limes, wedges
METHOD
Heat oil in large heavy-bottomed nonreactive Dutch oven over medium heat until shimmering but not smoking, 3 to 4 minutes. Add onions, bell pepper, garlic, chili powder, cumin, coriander, pepper flakes, oregano, and cayenne; cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are softened and beginning to brown, about 10 minutes. I like to cook them until they’ve got a nice dark color on them for a more intense flavor.
Increase heat to medium-high and add half the beef; cook, breaking up pieces with wooden spoon, until no longer pink and just beginning to brown, 3 to 4 minutes. Add remaining beef and cook, breaking up pieces with wooden spoon, until no longer pink, 3 to 4 minutes. Add beans, tomatoes, tomato puree, and 1/2 teaspoon salt; bring to boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, for 1 hour.
Remove cover and continue to simmer 1 hour longer, stirring occasionally (if chili begins to stick to bottom of pot, stir in 1/2 cup water and continue to simmer), until beef is tender and chili is dark, rich, and slightly thickened. Adjust seasoning with additional salt. Serve with lime wedges and condiments if desired.
Slow Cooker Option: At the end of step 1, transfer the cooked beef mixture to a slow cooker; add the rest of the ingredients as directed in step 2. Cook the chili on the high setting for four hours.
Cornbread
After nearly 70 posts criticizing all your favorite restaurants, I've decided its time for me to expand my horizons and add some new content to the site. Welcome to In The Kitchen with Whiskey & Soba. Okay, that's probably not going be what I call this section. I just haven't come up with a great name yet. While I have absolutely no formal cooking training, I have watched a huge amount of Food Network & Cooking Channel, plus I've eaten a lot of food. Once I came up with an idea that chef Josh Galliano said was "cool".
More importantly, both my mom and grandma included me and my siblings when they cooked and made it fun. I still remember the first time I ever cut my finger cooking. I was spending an afternoon with my grandma and she had awesomely allowed 11 year old me to pick my pizza toppings. Being the gourmet kid I was, I opted for hot dogs. I think it was about 5 minutes into slicing the hot dogs before I missed and got my finger. I haven't had a hot dog pizza since.
Since fall is rolling in, I decided that my first cooking posts should be on two of my fall staples: chili and cornbread. We'll focus on cornbread today.
Mom’s Cornbread
Cornbread
Yield: 1 | Prep: 10 minutes | Active: 25 Min | Total: 35 minutes
INGREDIENTS
1 C AP flour
1 C cornmeal
1/2 C sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 egg
1/4 cup melted butter, fatty
1 cup milk
METHOD
Preheat oven to 400 f.
Grease a 8-9” pan.
Mix dry ingredients together, then stir in wet ingredients.
Pour into pan and bake 20-25 minutes. Stick knife in to check for doneness. If batter doesn’t stick, it’s done!
Mom's Cornbread Recipe
My Mom's Cornbread Recipe