turkey twice tastes so nice

if any of you are like me (*shudder* to think!), turkey is the necessary evil you have to deal with in order to enjoy all the tasty side dishes at thanksgiving. (mmmm creamy mashed potatoes, candied sweet potato casserole, stuffing...and, um, harvest vegetable casserole [long story].) i can't quite figure why this is - after all, i like chicken, duck, pheasant. but turkey: just not a huge fan. such a...poultry option. get it: POULTRY option?! hahahahah- ok, never mind. but seriously, when i say i'm "not a huge fan," i mean i think turkey is just "bleh."

of course, when suz sent us off on thanksgiving night with several containers of leftovers, i took the turkey thinking to myself "well, THAT'll go right into the compost." (i used my inside voice / internal monologue, so don't worry nobody heard.) that said, i held onto it, being the eternal optimist that i am (please, contain yourselves). after all, you never know.

so call me only half surprised tonight (like i said, you never know) when i found myself reading the thanksgiving issue of martha stewart (i shan't say *where* i was when i was perusing said issue) and came across a recipe that i just had to try. so i texted (of course, cuz i hate the phone) the hubby and asked him to bring home a carrot, cucumber, jalapeno, and a baguette on his way home.

the recipe is for a vietnamese turkey sandwich (banh mi). yeah, i know, right? *i* never thought of it either, and yet, it's totally brilliant. (impossible??) i actually didn't end up using the recipe in MS, but it's definitely the inspiration for the recipe below. don't worry so much about the proportions - a little bit more or less of anything isn't going to make that much a difference - it'll be pure deliciousness regardless. oh and, p.s. the hubby doesn't really like turkey either, but he agreed with me: tonight's sandwiches were tasty!

enjoy!

Vietnamese-Style Turkey Sandwich (Banh Mi)

1 small cucumber, thinly sliced crosswise

1 medium carrot, julienned

1 jalapeno, thinly sliced crosswise (seeded, if you can't take the heat [ahem])

1 small shallot, thinly sliced

1/4 cup rice vinegar

2 tsps sugar

1 tbsp mayonnaise

1 1/2 tsps Sriracha

2 tbsps good quality extra virgin olive oil

1 tbsp Asian fish sauce

1 tsp soy sauce

8 oz. cooked turkey, sliced (dark or white meat - whatever you prefer)

12" baguette

1/3 cup packed cilantro sprigs (for those of you who like cilantro. YUCK)

Cut off round ends of baguette, slice lengthwise, and toast lightly.

In a medium bowl, stir vinegar and sugar, add cucumber and carrot and let marinate for 10 minutes. In a small bowl, combine mayonnaise and Sriracha. In another small bowl, combine olive oil, fish sauce, and soy sauce.

On bottom baguette layer, spread mayonnaise sauce. Layer cucumber slices, jalapenos, carrots, and onion (add cilantro here if you're using. YUCK). Then arrange sliced turkey on top of vegetables. On top baguette layer, spread fish sauce dressing. Assemble, and cut crosswise in half (if necessary, use toothpicks to support sandwich). Serves 2.

makin' whoopie

for the past two years in a row, the fultzes hosted a superbowl party at their digs down in MV. this year, though, they had the nerve to schedule their annual vacation to st. john (that would be the usvi, in case you were wondering, muffy) for superbowl xliii. *hmph!*

on top of not being able to hang out with the fultzes, this ill-timed vacation of theirs also meant my getting the heisman on enjoying suz's most tasty tribute to her PA roots: the whoopie pie. in case you're unfamiliar with this particular delicacy (and it seems like lots of people are), i thought it would be helpful to include a description from wikipedia:

"A whoopie pie...is a baked good traditional to the Pennsylvania Dutch culture as well as New England, made of two small, chocolate, disk-shaped cakes with a sweet, creamy frosting sandwiched between them. In Western Pennsylvania they are known as 'gobs.'

They are popular both as a simple dessert or as a snack food. They can be purchased...at Amish farmers' markets throughout Pennsylvania, Indiana, Virginia, West Virginia, and Ohio and are often found in restaurants and gift shops throughout Pennsylvania Dutch Country. "

considering the pittsburgh steelers were playing this sunday, it seemed only right that we continue the whoopie pie tradition, you know, to honor the PA component of the superbowl. (naw, of course, it had nothing to do with my wanting to eat whoopie pies. none at all. none. at. all. ...) the recipe originally comes from gourmet, with a few changes, because i prefer chocolatier whoopies (heehee) than that particular recipe seemed to make. also, i don't use marshmallow fluff (i have no idea what sort of eggs the people at marshmallow fluff use, but i'm pretty sure they're not using pastured ones), so i've included a recipe for marshmallow cream as well. yes, it's an extra step; no it's not hard at all, and worth it if you want to be sure about how all your junk food is made. recipe below, enjoy!


Whoopie Pies

Cakes
1 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
3/4 cup high-quality cocoa powder
1 1/4 tsps baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 cup buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 large egg

Cream Filling
2 cups marshmallow cream (recipe follows)
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 1/4 cups confectioners sugar
1 tsp vanilla paste

Cakes
Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter 2 large baking sheets. Whisk together flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt in a bowl until combined. Stir together buttermilk and vanilla in a small bowl.

Using stand mixer, beat together butter and brown sugar at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes, then add egg, beating until combined well. Reduce speed to low and alternately mix in flour mixture and buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour, scraping down side of bowl occasionally, and mixing until just smooth.

Spoon 1/4-cup mounds of batter about 2 inches apart onto baking sheets. Bake in upper and lower thirds of oven, switching position of sheets halfway through baking, until tops are puffed and cakes spring back when touched, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool completely.

Cream Filling
Beat together butter, confectioners sugar, marshmallow cream (recipe below), and vanilla in a bowl with electric mixer at medium speed until smooth, about 3 minutes.

Assemble pies
Spread a rounded tablespoon filling on flat sides of half of cakes and top with remaining cakes.

Makes 10 whoopie pies.


Marshmallow Cream Filling
3 large egg whites
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
2 tbps granulated sugar
1/3 cup water
3/4 cup light corn syrup
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 tablespoon vanilla paste

In a very clean glass or metal bowl, beat the egg whites and cream of tartar until light and foamy. With the mixer still running, sprinkle in the two tablespoons of sugar. Continue beating until soft peaks form. Set aside.

In a small saucepan, mix the water, corn syrup, and granulated sugar together. Cook over medium heat until it boils and comes to the firm ball stage (242-246°F). Immediately remove syrup from heat.

With mixer on low, add syrup into egg whites in slow stream. Continue to beat on high for six minutes or until the cream is very fluffy. Beat in vanilla paste. Yields approximately 3 cups.

peking good duck!

i'm not the biggest fan of american-style chinese food. and when i say "not the biggest fan," what i really mean is that i don't like it at all. it all just tastes the same to me - greasy, brown, and salty. if i wanted to feel the desperate need to drink gallons of water, i'm pretty sure i could come up with better ways. (and have, in fact.)

now, not liking chinese food wouldn't really be a problem, except for the fact that the hubby actually very much enjoys it (after all, he's a nice jewish boy from nj... whom yes, i met after moving 2.5K miles from nyc to california. my brother had a good laugh over that irony.). so, every now and then on a random weekend i suck it up and go to eliza's for some chinese food action. and why on a weekend you wonder? well, cuz that's when the restaurant makes their peking duck special, and i happen to LUV peking duck. the crispy skin, the hint of sweetness combined with the sharp twang of scallion, the wonderfully rich duck, surrounded by a pancake or a soft, warm bun...ooooh yummy, what's not to love about peking duck?

of course, the only issue with ordering peking duck is that i can't exactly gorge myself as i would like. drives me nuts. so imagine how the (rusty) gears in my head started to turn when on the weekend before christmas, the very nice guys at prather ranch mentioned they had about 50 heritage breed ducks on hand for the holiday season from a friend's farm "up north." mendocino? oregon? no idea. i suppose i should have asked, but i was busy excitedly shouting: "i'll take TWO, please!" in the throes of the strangest impulse buy i've made yet, that i completely forgot.

the prather ranch man who was helping me widened his eyes a bit, but was nice enough to oblige. i purchased a pekin and a muscovy and scurried away before he could change his mind. (i also bought 8 packages of hot dogs that day. he asked me if i was having a hot dog party. (wasn't - WAS a *corn-dog* party, and a post for another day) apparently he had ruled out the possibility that i was having a duck party. what gives??)

one the best parts of peking duck is the crispy skin. how do you make sure you get the crispiest skin possible, you wonder? by drying it out overnight in the fridge and roasting it. sounds strange, maybe, but it works like a charm every time. (this method works with roast chicken, too.) the recipe i use for peking duck is extremely simple - the only difficult part is finding the "five-spice" powder. if you do have trouble finding it "pre-mixed" you can make it yourself: 4 tbsps each whole peppercorns, whole cloves, cinnamon sticks, fennel seeds, and 12 whole star anise; grind, then mix together well. store in cool, dark place.

super easy peking duck recipe below. serves 4-6 people (or, um, 1, if you're a greedy little glutton like me. *sheepish grin*) enjoy!


Peking Duck
1 large pot 3/4 filled with boiling water
1 whole duck
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup salt
1 tsp five-spice powder
1 cup molasses

Scallions, white and light green parts only, cut into 2" pieces and julienned
Hoisin sauce
Mandarin pancakes or mantou buns (available in frozen food section in Asian markets)

In a small bowl, combine sugar, salt, and five-spice powder. Soak duck in boiling water. Remove when skin changes color. Sprinkle inside of duck with five-spice powder mix. Rub skin of the duck with molasses, then truss with string and place duck, uncovered, in refrigerator overnight.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F and roast the duck until thigh reaches 165. Let rest for 20 minutes, then carve skin and and meat. Serve with hoisin sauce, scallions, and pancakes or buns. Serves 4-6 people.

get in the kitchen and make me some pie!

so i dunno about the rest of you peeps, but when it comes to a holiday like thanksgiving (or, as i like to call it: tenksgibbin), what must come at the end of the requisite overeating of turkey and sides is PIE.

we had tenksgibbin with the fultzes (3rd year in a row!), so suz and i split up most of the cooking (feller was in charge of the turkey - which, by the way, we got from Slow Food Russian River's Heritage Turkey program. i think this has to do with SFN's "food ark," but i'm not sure.). for my contribution to the dessert portion of the menu, i decided an apple pie would be good.

i got my apples from the philo apple farm stand at the sf farmers' market. they very conveniently had 3-lb bags of sierra beauties, of which i quickly scooped up one of the last few. i was pretty lucky to be able to snag the one i got, cuz i got there kinda late that day, and let's just say their stand looked as though a tornado had blown through it, there were barely any apples left. VULTURES!!! i also helped myself to an "Art's Apple" (ahem, YES, i paid for it) for a snack; i have to say: it was the best damn apple i've had...well, EVER. unfortunately, the stand wasn't there the next week, so i'm guessing that the apple farm is done for the year. *sniffles*

anyway, i bet many of you have never heard of a "sierra beauty" apple before. if i had to describe them, i would say they're MUCH more tart than a granny smith apple, are about the size and have somewhat similar coloring as a macintosh, and hold up marvelously well to pie baking. no exaggeration: they're about the best apple i've found so far to make pies. for reals!

as i'm sure you know, there are LOTS of apple pie recipes to choose from. so which one did i go with? these sierra beauties were so tart that i could make whatever i friggin felt like, so i decided a "calories-be-damned-this-thing-has-a-lot-of-brown-sugar-and-butter" pie was appropriate: cinnamon crumb apple pie. after all, this was for tenksgibbin, a holiday where counting calories gets thrown out the window about 4-5 times throughout the day. ("oh no, i'm so full, i couldn't have any more stuffing...well, ok, maybe just a smidge more...hey damnit, give me more than THAT, there's a whole bowl full of it! are you hoarding it or something?!" --hunh, what? oh, was just reliving a moment there...sorry.)

this pie is not only delicious, but dead simple to make. for any of you who think making pies is hard: believe me when i say it isn't. everyone thinks crust is difficult, but the only thing you really need to keep in mind for crust is to make sure you keep all the fat as cold as possible (butter, lard, shortening, or some combo of the 3) and that you manhandle the dough as little as possible. (nice visual, right? ;) as for making the decorative crimps, that's easy peasy, lemon squeesy: use the thumb of one hand as the guide/mold and pinch the dough around it with your other hand. and besides, it's a PIE, not a wedding cake. so relax, it doesn't have to be even close to perfect looking. now get in the kitchen and make someone some pie!! recipe is below, enjoy!


Cinnamon Crumb Apple Pie
Crust
1 1/3 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sugar
1/4 cup chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/4" cubes
1/4 cup frozen solid vegetable shortening, cut into 1/4" cubes
4 tbsps ice water
1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar

Filling
3 lbs Sierra Beauty apples, peeled, cored, and sliced 1/4" thick
2/3 cup sugar2 tbsps all purpose flour
2 tsps ground cinnamon
2 tbsps unsalted butter, melted

Cinnamon Crumb Topping
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup (packed) brown sugar
1 1/2 tsps ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
6 tbsps chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/4" cubes

Crust
Mix flour, salt, and sugar in large bowl. Add butter and shortening and rub in with fingertips or a pastry cutter until coarse meal forms. Mix 3 tbsps ice water and vinegar in small bowl to blend. Drizzle over flour mixture; stir with fork until moist clumps form, adding more water by teaspoonfuls if dough is dry. Gather dough into ball; flatten into disk. Wrap in plastic; refrigerate 30 minutes.

Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 400°F. Roll out dough on lightly floured surface to 12” round. Transfer to 9” diameter glass pie dish. Trim overhang to 1/2"; turn edge under and crimp decoratively. Keep in refrigerator while preparing filling and topping.

Filling
Mix all ingredients in large bowl; making sure to coat apples evenly.

Crumb Topping
Blend first 5 ingredients in food processor. Add chilled butter cubes; pulse in until mixture resembles wet sand.Place apple filling in crust, making mound in center. Pack crumb topping around apples.

Bake pie on baking sheet until topping is golden, about 40 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F. Bake until filling is bubbling thickly at edges, about 45 additional minutes. Serve either warm or at room temperature. Serves 8-10.

when in tuscany, do as dario does

these last few months have been kind of a doozy. it started on fourth of july weekend when i broke my thumb (and let's not forget my chin - gashed that, too) and ended just recently with a 2-week vacation to italy in september. (yes, my life is nothing *but* hardships.)

sandwiched between the broken thumb and the vacation were several weeks of fun shizzle like taking showers with plastic bags over my hand, using things like my teeth as proxy for -1 opposable thumb, and just generally operating at ~50% capacity in some activities (work) and 0% in others (cooking).

the good news was that by the time we went away on vacation, my thumb was not only out of the cast, but was about 90% functional, which meant i could finally get my cooking back on.

the even better news was we were staying near the town of panzano, home of a famous tuscan butcher: Dario Cecchini. his family have been butchers for the last 250 years in panzano. crikey. (for those of you who can't do the math in your head [yeah, me neither], this would mean these dudes were butchers before things like the "declaration of independence" were even glimmers in our forefathers' eyes...)


anyway, with a butcher shop like that, feller and i went to gape as often as we could get away with, and of course we made sure on the few nights we ate in that we availed ourselves of the most wondrous cuts of meat.

on our final night in tuscany, we went big (but also went home - so there you go, LV, it doesn't always have to be an "or") with a beef tenderloin. i couldn't use the freedmoon classic marinade 'cuz feller isn't down with the mustard, so i improvised a little on a recipe i managed to print out from epicurious, despite the fritzy dsl connection. (apparently rain can knock the interwebs out in chianti.) below is the recipe - enjoy!



Garlic-Herb Roasted Beef Tenderloin

2 2-lb beef tenderloins, tied
6 garlic cloves, finely minced
3 tbsps minced fresh thyme
3 tbsps tablespoons minced fresh rosemary
6 tbsps butter, softened
salt and pepper

In small bowl, mix garlic, herbs, and butter until well combined. Generously salt and pepper beef, then coat with garlic-herb mixture. Refrigerate for at least an hour, up to overnight.

Preheat oven to 375°F. Place beef in roasting pan with rack. Roast until meat thermometer inserted into centers registers 125°F for medium-rare. Transfer to platter and let stand 10 minutes. Slice beef into desired thickness. Serve with red wine sauce (recipe follows); serves 8-10.


Red Wine Sauce

4 tbsps chilled unsalted butter
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1 fresh rosemary sprig
1 teaspoon coarsely cracked black pepper
1 cup red wine
3 cups beef stock

Melt 2 tbsps butter in large saucepan over medium-low heat. Add onions and sauté until soft and translucent. Add rosemary and black pepper and saute for 1 minute. Add wine, bring to a boil, then add beef stock. Boil until reduced to 1 1/2 cups. Strain, pressing on solids to extract as much liquid as possible. Discard solids and return sauce to saucepan. Whisk in remaining 2 tbsps butter. Season sauce to taste with salt and pepper.

this little piggy went to market...

as i was writing about last night, little cami turned 1 this past saturday! part of me can't believe it's already been a year since she was born. i mean, golly, it feels like only last year that her parents were dating, never mind married. oh wait, no, what i mean is it WAS only last year that all of their friends found out they were dating secretly for over 3 years. ...but that's a long story for another time. moving on.

like i was saying, little cutie cami turned 1 this past saturday. i asked if i could bake the cake, because i have a huge soft spot for her. (yes, shocking, i know) of course, how can i help myself? not only is she extremely cute, she also seems to enjoy my company... frankly, this pleases me about as much as it worries yi-fang. which is to say: immensely.

anyway, for those of you who don't know, 2007 is the year of the pig (don't worry, i didn't know either). cami's parents are both chinese (although yif will take pains to point out that HE is not a canton like p), so p thought it would be fitting - not to mention funny - to have a piggy birthday cake.

now, for those of you who don't know her, p does what she can to, ah, influence dinner and dessert menus in order to maximize her eating pleasure. in my baking repertoire, her favorite dessert is banana whipped cream chocolate cake. you can guess what it was she first requested. only problem is, p had been holding off on giving cami any sugar until she turned one, so she had no idea if cami would react well to chocolate. now p is many things (and i like to tease and give her a hard time on about half of them;), but when it comes to cami - oooog, it pains me to pay her any compliments - she's a great mother to that cutie pie. i say this with certainty because p actually sacrificed an opportunity to have *HER* favorite cake and asked that i make a toddler friendly flavor: banana.

this suited me just fine, because banana cake is ridiculously easy to make, and is universally loved (except, um, by matt sweenlinghouse and byron... both hate bananas. weirdos, the both of them!). the cake had to serve about 35 people, so i decided to make a 2-tiered cake (6" and 10" cakes), with a banana caramel cream filling and cream-cheese icing. i used all organic / pastured / sustainable ingredients... well, except for the jelly beans; yes, even i have to make compromises with high-fructose corn syrup sometimes. i used white (coconut) jelly beans on the snout and brown (root-beer) ones for the toes. check out the photo yif took of it and let me know what you think. i think it came out pretty cute, if i do say so myself! recipe is below. enjoy!!!



Banana Layer Cake with Caramel Cream and Cream Cheese Icing

Banana Cake
2 1/4 cups cake flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cups mashed ripe bananas
1/4 cup buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 large eggs

Banana-Caramel Cream Filling
3/4 cups (packed) brown sugar
1 small ripe banana, peeled, cut into 1/2" pieces
2 tbsps unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups chilled heavy whipping cream

Cream Cheese Frosting
1 cups unsalted butter, room temperature
2 8-oz packages cream cheese, room temperature
1 tbsp vanilla extract
3 cups powdered sugar

Cake
Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly butter and then dust with flour 2 9" round cake pans with 2-inch-high sides. Sift dry ingredients together in medium bowl. Combine bananas, buttermilk, and vanilla in another medium bowl. Using electric mixer, on high speed cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating to blend after each addition. Add dry ingredients alternately with banana mixture in 3 additions, beginning and ending with dry ingredients and beating just until blended after each addition. Divide batter equally among cake pans.

Bake cakes until tops are just beginning to color and tester inserted into center comes out with a few crumbs attached. Cool cakes in pans on rack for 10 minutes, then turn cakes out onto racks and cool completely.

Filling
Combine brown sugar, banana, and butter in processor; blend until smooth. Add 3/4 cups whipping cream; blend. Transfer to heavy medium saucepan. Whisk over medium heat until sugar dissolves and mixture boils. Cook without stirring pan until mixture reaches 218°F. Pour caramel into bowl. Cool to room temperature, whisking occasionally.

Whisk remaining whipping cream in large bowl until soft peaks form. Gradually fold in cooled caramel mixture. Chill until cream is firm enough to spread, about 3 hours.

Frosting
Beat cream cheese and butter in large bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in vanilla and then gradually beat in powdered sugar. Cover and refrigerate frosting until firm enough to spread, about 15 minutes.

Cake assembly
Place 1 cake layer on cake platter. Spread banana caramel cream evenly, then top with 2nd layer. Frost cake with cream cheese frosting. Cake be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill. Let stand 1 hour at room temperature before serving. Serves 8-10.

palatable pot roast

so my broken thumb is now nearly not broken. i should be getting the "all clear" from the doc in about 2 more weeks, meaning i'll be able to resume my impressive feats of right-handed strength... up to and including twisting doorknobs, eating sandwiches, and holding cups. (please please, contain yourselves. no autographs, NO AUTOGRAPHS!)

in any event, last wednesday, the dr pulled out the pins that were holding my bone in place as it healed. i think he said something about taking it "easy" and to "go slow," but i wasn't really listening, so i'm not sure. besides, i had a party to cook for. my friends' daughter - cami! - was turning 1 this past saturday (also the 1-year anniversary of my spilling an entire liter of slice on the front passenger floor of my car...long story...still haven't really cleaned it up, either *sheepish blush*), and i was pretty determined to help provide the grub. specifically some kind of beef dish. why beef? well, not being able to cook for the last several weeks has caused my frozen meat collection to grow considerably ("useless hand" never factored into my calcs wrt joining that meat csa), so i jumped at the chance to contribute something substantial enough to make a dent into my supplies.

i selected two chuck roasts and thought over what the fudge i could do with them. "pot roast" was the obvious answer... but as this was going to be a lunchtime partay, i figured pot-roast sandwiches were a better bet. after all, my meat slicer was languishing away, calling to me, desperate to understand what it had done wrong that would make me turn my back on it... oops, sorry, got carried away there. i mean, c'mon, i know meat slicers don't have feelings. (right?)

so you're probably wondering how the fudge can you slice pot roast with a meat slicer; it's so tender there's no way, right? well, not if you refrigerate it overnight. when you do that, it firms up and becomes very easy to slice, and thin no less. then it's just a matter of reheating it before serving it. and besides, everyone knows that pot roast always tastes better the second night. what's that? you DIDN'T KNOW?!?!?! sheesh. well, it's true. (the key is to let it hang out in the gravy.) for the party, we served the very tender, thinly sliced pot roast on some nice and crusty fresh baguette, with the gravy on the side. delish. recipe below; should be started at least the day before you plan on serving it. enjoy!


Korean-Style Pot Roast
4 lbs chuck roast
1 cup soy sauce
1 cup water
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1/4 cup sake
3 tbsps Korean hot red pepper paste
1/2 cup brown sugar

Rinse and pat dry chuck roast. Rub 1/4 cup of brown sugar all over roast, and place meat in slow cooker. In a medium bowl, whisk together soy sauce, water, vinegar, sake, red pepper paste, and rest of brown sugar until well combined. Pour marinade over beef. Set slow cooker on high and cook for 5 hours, or until beef is fork tender. Turn off slow cooker and cool in juices. Remove meat from slow cooker and wrap tightly in tinfoil; pour pan juices into a quart measuring cup. Place both in refrigerator overnight.

The next day, slice meat to desired thickness. Discard fat from pan juices, and season with additional red pepper paste and sugar if necessary. Place beef and pan juices in a 9" x 13" baking dish. At this point, you can refrigerate overnight for some additional marination. When you're ready to serve, preheat oven to 350 degrees; cover baking dish with tin foil and bake for 30 minutes. Serves 8-10.