Here are some significant events that occurred on October 17th (Source: Wikipedia):
- 1558 – Poczta Polska, the Polish postal service, is founded.
- 1888 – Thomas Edison files a patent for the Optical Phonograph (the first movie).
- 1948 – Margot Kidder, Canadian actress was born.
- 1965 – The 1964-1965 New York World’s Fair closes after a two year run. More than 51 million people had attended the two-year event.
- 1979 – Mother Teresa awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
- 2009 – The food blog kimchi MOM was born!
FOUR YEARS, folks, FOUR YEARS. Thank you, thank you, thank you to my readers and followers, new and old!
Bos Creek Artisan Meat
My husband and I had an early blogiversary celebration this past weekend with a couple of grassfed steaks, a ribeye and a New York strip, thanks to my friends at Bos Creek. You may be groaning and turning your nose up at grassfed meat, but ever since I had my first grassfed ribeye steak 4 years ago at Chez Panisse and learned more about grassfed meat, I make the effort to seek it out whenever I can. We don’t have beef that often, especially steaks, so when we do, I like to splurge a little. There is the general myth that grassfed meat is tough and gamey which is far from the truth in my opinion. Grassfed meat tastes cleaner and is so much more flavorful. It’s also better for us – leaner, packed with beneficial vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and “healthy” fats. The grass diet is also healthier for the animals – their digestive systems were meant for digesting grass. Grassfed meat is also better for our planet by restoring the ecosystem and reducing greenhouse gases. (Source: American Grassfed)
What is Bos Creek? Simply put, they provide a subscription service for artisan meats delivered to your door. What’s so special about that? First of all, you get to choose the cuts of clean, quality meat delivered monthly. And second of all, if you cook a lot of Korean dishes using special cuts of meat like L.A. galbi or thinly sliced unseasoned and uncured pork belly for samgyupsal, Bos Creek carries these cuts. I was very, very, VERY excited when I learned that they offered these special cuts of quality meat! I honestly didn’t think there was going to be much difference in flavor compared with “standard” galbi meat, but the flavor of the meat (and fat!) sang harmoniously with my marinade, and the pork belly was astounding with just a sprinkle of sea salt. The pork tasted like….PORK!
Here’s a little video of Bos Creek’s mission…I’d love to visit the ranch someday!
Now back to my celebratory steaks. I wanted to make these steaks a little more special so I accompanied it with a simple compound butter. I’ve been reading about miso butter this and miso butter that so I figured I would substitute the miso with its Korean cousin, dwaenjang (fermented soybean paste). The nutty flavor of the dwaenjang worked beautifully with the butter. I like to call this Umami Butter.
Umami Butter
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter softened
- 2 tablespoons dwaenjang Korean soybean paste
- 1 teaspoon kochugaru Korean red pepper powder
- 1 clove garlic minced
Instructions
- In a small bowl, mash all the ingredients together with a rubber spatula. Make sure the mixture is well combined.
- Lay a sheet of plastic wrap (about 8"x12") on your work surface. Scoop the butter into an oblong mound in the center of the sheet. Roll the plastic wrap around the butter lengthwise and shape it into a 6-inch long cylinder. Twirl the ends tight and tuck it to the undersides of the cylinder.
- Refrigerate for a few hours or until firm.
- When ready to serve, cut a half inch slice and place atop of your juicy steak or even eggs!
But wait there’s more…
And also as part of my 4 year blogiversary, I’m giving away a $40 Amazon gift card as a “thank you” to you! Get that cookbook you always wanted off the wish list and into the cart. This giveaway is only open to residents of the United States and Canada and will be open until Wednesday, October 23rd. I will contact the winner on October 24th. To enter, follow the directions below. Thanks again and good luck!
Disclaimer: I was given complimentary meat from Bos Creek, but all opinions are my own. And every last penny of the giveaway of the Amazon gift card was paid for by me.
I found you through google blog search
Actually, found you years ago via linked post to another food blog I no longer follow. Then we started chatting on Twitter when I attempted one of your recipes! Love your blog!
Found you through another flood blogger
I met you through Sunday Supper right? Amy, happy 4 years. . I wish you continued success my friend! and wow! those steaks look amazing! I just looked at their website . . they are in Madison, WI. . HELLO?! totally going to be looking them up! and love that you put a spin on the kimchi butter. . awesome!
I love the idea of Umami butter. I found your blog when I was looking for recipes that were more defined than my mom’s “It just looks right!”
I met you through Sunday Supper, for which I will be eternally grateful cause I love ya girl! Happy 4 year blogiversary, Ames! Wow, a lot of good stuff has happened on October 17. I’m going to celebrate with you by stuffing my face with cake all day. Yup, that’s how good of a friend I am 😉 I’m so glad to hear you’re seeking out grass fed meats. Ever since watching horrifying documentaries like Food Inc., I’ve really focused on buying as organically, locally and ethically as possible. Your umami buttah looks fah-bu-lous! Here’s to many more years of Kimchi Mom!
i think i found you through another food blog and am glad i did! 🙂 congrats on your blogiversary!
I found you through google .. was kind of stumbling around lol
A friend shared it with me!
A friend of mine recommended your blog to me
Saw a friend tweet about your giveaway 🙂
seen a tweet from a friend! (Tammy Dalley)
I first found your blog through some mention/link from Sarah of Crispy Bits & Burnt Ends, maybe around a year ago. (And I LOVE Korean food, so you had an immediate new follower!)
More than like through Sunday Supper… I always click through the entire list… Just love all your recipes..
I just found your blog when searched for some recipes
I saw it via someone on my Twitter feed.
Saw a link to it on a friend’s Facebook page.
I saw it on Twitter as a #giveaway!
Saw a tweet about a giveaway, I sure hope to win …
I never get enough entries cause I don’t use facebook.
I’ll never win any giveaway :S
It was a totally random Google search once. 🙂
Was searching for Asian recipes and there you were. Been receiving your emails for a while now. Love your blog!
I found your blog via someone’s Twitter account.
I saw a tweet about your blog!
Google!
Hi Amy, I found you through Google Plus.
That is some yummy steak! Congrats on 4 years and I wish you many more years of blogging! You rock!
I seen someone tweet about it on twitter.
I found out about it through twitter.
I found it during a google search.
I found you through another food blog… unfortunately, I can’t remember which one (it’s kind of embarrassing how many food blogs I have bookmarked).
I’m visiting from a link on twitter.
A sweepstakes site but I am glad I came!
Happy blogoversary, Amy! I can think of no better way to celebrate than with a beautiful hunk of meat 😉
Thanks Lori!