3 winners are announced! Thanks for the participation and look out for more giveaways soon.



WHAT THE HECK!? Thomas Keller’s new cookbook Ad Hoc at Home, once scheduled to release in mid- November, is sneakily in stock now on Amazon. I’m eagerly awaiting my copy in the mail…wee!!



The best way to celebrate? A Giveaway of course!

Enter the contest below the recipe for your free copy!


As you may know, I’ve been cooking my way through Bouchon, a precise and complex cookbook that’s fortunately more manageable than French Laundry that Carol conquered.

In contrast, Keller presents family-style comfort foods in his latest addition; its description reads, “quicker and easier recipes that will be embraced by both kitchen novices and more experienced cooks who want the ultimate recipes for American comfort-food classics.”

So I ask myself… what do I desire in a comfort food?

Personally, comfort food must be as comfortable to prepare as it is to consume. My ideal dish is: simple, readily available, warm, flavorful, filling, and requires little preparation and clean-up.

After an exhausting workday last week, I really needed something to warm my tummy up. Within 20 minutes, I threw together this one-pot meal that definitely hit the spot.

Tender eggplant and bamboo shoots with slippery rice noodles, bathed in a rich sauce with a kick of garlic, ginger, and chili.

That, my loves, is my utmost comfort.


Spicy, Garlicky Eggplant and Bamboo Shoots

Ingredients

  • 8-9 baby eggplants or 1 regular eggplant cut into bite-sized pieces
  • 1 large bamboo shoot cut into bite-sized pieces
  • 1 medium onion, quartered and sliced
  • 1 bunch green onions, sliced thin
  • 2 servings of pre-blanched rice noodles
  • 1/2 cup rice wine or sake



Aromatics

  • 1 knob of ginger, peeled and minced
  • 1 handful of garlic cloves, chopped fine
  • 2 chilies, deseeded and minced


Use a tablespoon to scrape the skin off the ginger. Smash the garlic!

Sauce

  • 1/4 cup soy bean paste of choice (Chinese bean paste, Japanese Miso…)
  • 1/4 cup black Chinese vinegar (or Balsamic)
  • 1/4 cup soy sauce
  • 1 tbs sesame oil
  • 1 tbs brown sugar


Directions

In a pot, sauté the onion with a pinch of salt over medium-low heat until deeply caramelized. Deglaze with the rice wine.

Add the aromatics and cook for 1 minute.



Add the sauce, eggplant, and bamboo shoots to the pot and stir to combine.

Cover with a lid and continue to cook over medium-low heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

When vegetables are tender, toss in the noodles and gently heat through.

Top with green onions and chili.

Serve warm with a glass of well-earned wine.

Serves 2




Ad Hoc Giveaway!

Directions:

1. Explain your utmost favorite comfort food as a comment below, signed with your Twitter name.

2. Copy and paste this as a Twitter update:

Giveaway! Win a copy of Thomas Keller’s Ad Hoc at Home Cookbook from @BouchonFor2 http://tiny.cc/Ncl16

That’s all it takes! The winning entry will be announced here and contacted through email on October 24th.

The Fine Print:

The yummiest- sounding entry wins. The book will be shipped free of charge from Amazon.com. One entry per person. International entries welcomed.
No Twitter? Please specify so in your comment. Your entry still counts :)
I can’t think of any other rules. Best of luck!