Make magic with staples
MIAMI - Christina Tosi is just trying to show how mundane her day-to-day pantry staples really are. Thing is, she can work a sort of magic with mundane that most of us can't even dream off.
Tosi - who came to fame for her exotic sweets like crack pie and compost cookies at New York's Momofuku Milk Bar - tends to live the way she cooks and eats. Life and food are fun, and there is inspiration lurking everywhere, even in the half moldy cheese in your refrigerators or the Ritz Crackers in the cupboard.
Which is why her new cookbook, "Milk Bar Life," is aimed at helping people make an adventure of weeknight dinner, even after a long day of work. Think recipes for "desperation nachos" and "pickle juice-poached fish."
"I'm going to have to get a little ghetto out of this," Tosi - who is chef and co-owner of Milk Bar with David Chang - says of her weeknight refrigerator-raiding brainstorming sessions.
And "Milk Bar Life" is as much a cookbook as it is Tosi's coming out about her savory side. The dessert chef whose cereal milk ice cream and cornflake marshmallow cookies have earned her a cult following wants people to know she's more than "just a chick that bakes."
Miso sundae
"When I was first navigating my way through creating desserts for the Momofuku restaurants, I made this concoction of intentionally burnt shiro miso (shiro means white; it's the most common type of miso) and other basic savory pantry ingredients," Christina Tosi writes in her new cookbook, "Milk Bar Life." ''I was trying to create desserts that incorporated the restaurant's standard flavors, so there wouldn't be a huge disconnect between dinner and what came after it. Knowing that toasting and browning give added depth and character to otherwise one-note flavors led me to this amazing sweet, salty, umami butterscotch-like spread that works equally well for a plated dessert as it does for awesome ice cream sundaes at home!"
Start to finish: 20 minutes
Servings: 4
¼ cup shiro (white or yellow) miso
4 tablespoons (½stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
¼ cup packed light brown sugar
¼ cup mirin
1 teaspoon sherry vinegar
Vanilla ice cream
Toasted pecans and cinnamon sugar, to serve
Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with kitchen parchment.
Spread the miso in a thin, even layer over the parchment. Bake for eight to 12 minutes. The miso should be on the blackened side of browned and have an appetizingly burnt aroma.
Let the miso cool briefly so it's easier to handle, then scrape it into a blender. Add the butter, brown sugar, mirin and vinegar, then blend until the mixture is homogenous and smooth. You've got miso butterscotch! Scrape it into a bowl, or store in the refrigerator, in an airtight container, for weeks.
Really need instructions to make a sundae? Fine! Grab bowls or fancy fluted glasses. Put a dollop of miso butterscotch in the bottom of each, then add a scoop of ice cream, a fun garnish, and repeat: miso butterscotch, ice cream, garnish. Build it high to the sky!
