An Old Dog Cooks

My 30 Minute Meal....

2007-04-03T18:11:00.000-04:00

It's actually pretty easy to accomplish. It's Teriyaki Tuna Steak with Spicy Sugar Snap Peas.

Start by taking one absolutely gorgeous half pound yellowfin tuna steak that's 3/4-1 inch thick. Rinse it and pat it dry and put it in a non-reactive dish or a resealable plastic bag. Douse the steak liberally with Kikkoman Teriyaki Sauce and Marinade from the bottle which keeps for friggin' ever in your fridge. Turn the tuna steak to be sure both sides get teriyaki sauce on them. Let the steak marinate for 10 minutes while you go play a couple rounds of Text Twist or catch up on some e-mail. Turn the tuna steak over.

Heat a non-stick skillet over medium high heat and add some wok oil (or just plain ol' vegetable oil). Put in about a teaspoon of minced garlic from the jar that keeps forever in your fridge. Use your microplane grater to add about 3/4 tsp. of freshly grated ginger (which is kept forever in your fridge by putting it into a small mason jar and covering it with dry sherry) to the skillet. Sprinkle in some crushed red pepper flakes, to suit your particular tastes. Add about 1/2 of a package of Trader Joe's frozen sugar snap peas. Toss everything around for 2-3 minutes, then add a good splash of soy sauce, a teaspoon or so of toasted sesame oil and a few grinds of black pepper. Toss everything around for a couple more minutes, until a sauce forms. Put the skillet on the back burner and cover, just to keep things warm while you cook the tuna.

Heat a cast iron skillet, griddle or grill pan until smokin' hot. Drizzle some vegetable oil into the pan. Take the tuna steak out of the marinade, pat it dry, and sprinkle it with black pepper and a smidge of kosher salt on each side. Put tuna into the screaming hot pan and leave it the living hell alone for 3-4 minutes. Do turn on your vent, as there will be some smoke. Flip the tuna and cook for another 2-3 minutes on the second side. If desired, you can sear the sides off using a pair of tongs to hold the steak. Set the tuna steak on a plate and let it rest for a few minutes, while you get yourself a beverage and divide the sugar snaps between a couple of nice dinner plates. Go ahead and rinse out the skillets/pans while the tuna rests, too. Divide the tuna in half. It should be a very nice medium rare, with a pretty pink center and a nice brown crust on the outside. Enjoy! Especially since there isn't a mountain of dishes to contend with after you're done eating.

Notes on a Few New Recipes

2007-03-07T03:32:00.000-05:00

This past week, while I've been on vacation, I've tried some new recipes. Having a clearly Oriental bent to my taste buds, I've tried Korean roast chicken thighs, orange soy salsa chicken, ham fried rice, ma po tofu and szechuan green beans. These recipes have either come from Recipezaar or About.com's Chinese food guide.

I did a search on Recipezaar a while ago and found the recipe for the chicken thighs and saved it to my cookbook there. Being in a mood for all things involving soy, ginger, garlic and hot chili sauce, and my local megamart having a sale on chicken thighs, I delved into that cookbook. I can't vouch for the authenticity of the recipe, but it's clearly got an oriental bent. You mix soy sauce, honey, garlic, ginger, green onions, and if you're me, a good squirt of sriracha hot chili sauce, put chicken thighs, skin side down in a baking dish and pour the sauce over it. The recipe doesn't call for marinating time, but for future reference, I can't see that it would hurt any. The chicken gets baked, uncovered, in a 400 degree oven. Basting the chicken is a good idea. The finished product has a glorious mahogany color and plenty of nice juice to put over some steamed rice. It's a recipe that can be made from my pantry on an average day in no time at all. I think it would be good with pork tenderloin, too, and it's one of those recipes that can be adjusted to suit individual tastes and preferences. A definite keeper.

The orange soy salsa chicken recipe also came from Recipezaar. I was in a mood for orange chicken with broccoli and was cruising my cookbook and the 'zaar site for recipes when I found this one. You mix orange juice, your favorite salsa, soy sauce, cornstarch, garlic, ginger and some dijon mustard to make a sauce that you pour over some browned chicken cubes in a baking dish. I tweaked this recipe by adding the broccoli with the sauce and baking it all uncovered in a 375 oven. It's not classic orange chicken with broccoli, but it was close enough to satisfy my craving and it was so easy. For the future, I'm not sure I'd feel the need to bake it. Chicken could be browned and broccoli sauteed for a bit before you put the sauce in your skillet and let it simmer a bit. I might also bump up the orange flavor with a bit of orange rind. I'd make it again, though.

One of my favorite tofu dishes in the world is ma po tofu. I'd been using a recipe I'd gotten out of Cooking Light magazine to make it at home, but decided to try a newer recipe from Rhonda Parkinson, About.com's Chinese food guide. It wasn't all that different than the Cooking Light recipe except that it used black bean sauce. The black bean sauce gave the dish the note that my Cooking Light recipe was missing. I'll never make ma po tofu again without including either black bean sauce or mashing and chopping up some fermented black beans.

The Szechuan green beans, as done by me, are probably better described as Szechuan style. I strayed furthest with this recipe. I didn't have fresh Chinese long beans or haricot verts. I did have a big ol' bag of Trader Joe's haricot verts. I threw the beans into a hot wok with some heated vegetable oil that I'd drizzled sesame oil into, and cooked the beans until they were thawed. I took them out of the wok, wiped it out, and then cooked a little ground pork that I'd marinated with sherry, soy, cornstarch and the sriracha chili sauce, adding a little fresh minced garlic and grated ginger. Added the beans back in along with the sauce, which was chicken broth, soy sauce, more cornstarch and a little sugar. Cooked the beans until the sauce thickened and the beans were just tender and heated through. The TJ's frozen beans worked perfectly okay to suit me, although I want to try this with fresh ones when they come in season!

No real notes about the fried rice. I consider most recipes guidelines, as you can make fried rice out of anything on hand. I do like my fried rice with the chopped scrambled egg, a little sesame oil, soy sauce, ginger and garlic. Green onions are also a must for me. And I use frozen peas and carrots, too, for extra color.

I also played with my classic oil & vinegar dressed coleslaw to give it a slightly more oriental bent. My "normal" recipe consists of mixing 1/3 cup white vinegar, 1/3 cup sugar, a little less than 1/3 cup of canola or vegetable oil, 1 tsp. celery seeds and a little salt and pepper in a small saucepan, whisking it to combine and heating to the boiling point. Then I pour the hot dressing over a bag of finely shredded coleslaw mix. My tweaking involved substituting rice wine vinegar and brown sugar, leaving out the celery seeds and using crushed red pepper flakes, and adding just a dash or two of fish sauce and soy sauce. I chopped a bunch of green onions to mix with the cabbage, too. It turned out just fine. I think that adding some finely diced fresh hot chilis and/or some julienned red bell pepper would be great additions. And chopped peanuts sprinkled over it all right before serving might not be a bad idea.

My Dream Kitchen

2007-03-05T13:18:00.000-05:00

I'm on vacation, so why not update my blog with a little wishful thinking? If money were no object and I didn't have to give a damn about cleaning it and maintaining it, my dream kitchen would be like this.....

I love the look of professional equipment. I''d have a big honkin' stainless steel professional range. Lots of BTUs. Lots of grates. Gas as my fuel option of choice. A couple ovens. A wok station like I saw on an episode of "Ultimate Kitchens". The featured kitchen was with a guy who'd bough Ken Hom's old house, and the wok station had a special burner to hold the wok, running water around the base, to catch any food that spilled out of the wok during vigorous stir-frying, and a hot water faucet right there to clean out the wok whenever you needed to or when you were done. It was waaay cool. I'd probably pass on the Peking Duck oven, though, since I can't imagine making Peking duck at home. Not when there are Chinatowns all over the country that are lousy with Peking duck shops and restaurants. I'd have a wine cooler. I'd have a baking station, with a Kitchen Aid stand mixer in a cupboard that could be pulled out whenever I needed it. There'd be a marble countertop there, and storage for all my baking pans and baking equipment. Built in bins to hold flour and sugar. I'd have a wood-fired oven to make pizzas and for ambiance. A great big refrigerator with all the bells and whistles and a freezer. A walk-in pantry. An island with a prep sink or two and a cooktop for when I wasn't in the mood to fire up Big Bertha's BTUs. I want plenty of seating at that island, because I don't mind having people in my kitchen while I cook and it would be nice to have a place to sit and have breakfast when I didn't feel like setting a table. A warming drawer, to keep plates and bread or dinner rolls warm. I want a deep fryer in the counter, like Emeril has on his set, and if there isn't a grill on the range (which there surely should be!), then I want an indoor grill with good ventilation in there somewhere. A professional dishwasher. I want my pots and pans and knives on display. With all those honkin' stainless steel appliances, I want lots of windows and lots of light and a cozy little seating area with a fireplace that's suitable for snuggling up with a hot cuppa tea and good book in a comfy chair. I knew someone who had something like that once, and I loved the idea. I think I want rich, warm southwestern colors. A copper hood over the range. Mission style cabinetry in some warm, rosy wood. I want easy access to a wide outdoor veranda or screened in room with a table, so I can eat outside. My friend Scott in North Carolina had french doors that opened onto a wide porch with a roof, and I loved that idea, too. Besides, it will be close to my outdoor kitchen. Which I think I'd copy right from Rick Bayless' outdoor kitchen that I saw on a PBS show once. My dream kitchen would be warm and tranquil and invite you in so that we could do some SERIOUS cookin'.

Fried Chicken

2007-02-03T02:08:00.000-05:00

I love fried chicken. It's one of my weaknesses. Love those little drummies at my local Kroger. Love nice crispy KFC. What I really, really love, though, is the kind you make at home. Up until now, I've always done oven-fried chicken when I've made it, just like I learned as a girl. The chicken was rolled in seasoned flour and browned off a bit in a big cast iron skillet that was then covered and put into the oven to finish cooking.

This week, however, I was in the mood for crispy home-fried chicken. The kind that involves a copious amount of oil in the big cast iron skillet. The kind of thing I rarely do because as a single woman I rarely have that much oil on hand. Seriously, the stuff tends to go rancid on me because I just don't use that much vegetable oil. But this week I had a relatively full bottle of canola oil on hand and my Kroger had big old split fryers on sale for a measly ninety-seven cents a pound. I bought a 4 lb. package and some buttermilk so I could try a recipe I'd seen on "Boy Meets Grill" with Bobby Flay. The episode had him making this friend chicken for his missus, who doesn't LOOK like a girl that eats much fried chicken, being about as big around as a number two pencil. But the recipe looked simple enough and it sounded good and looked good.

I cut the fryers into pieces, splitting the gigantic breast portions in two so that I wound up with two legs, two thighs and four pieces of chicken breast. Now, when I say that I used a recipe, I mean I used it as a general guideline. I mixed kosher salt, Louisiana hot sauce, cayenne pepper and kosher salt into about two cups of buttermilk. LOTS of hot sauce and cayenne, too. Then I put the chicken pieces into it for about four hours, turning it occasionally. After four hours, I let the chicken parts drain in a colander while I heated the oil in my big cast iron skillet over medium heat and mixed two cups of regular all-purpose flour with salt (regular table salt this time, for the sake of more even distribution than you get with kosher salt), freshly ground black pepper, and a teaspoon and a half each of sweet paprika, onion powder and garlic powder. I divided the flour evenly between two gallon ziploc bags. I mixed the remnants of my quart of low-fat buttermilk with some additional hot sauce in a pie plate.

Half the chicken went into one ziploc bag and I shook it around to coat it. Each piece was then swirled through the buttermilk in the pie pan and dropped into the second bag of flour, and I shook it around some more to coat it. I tested the oil for temperature by sticking the end of a chopstick in it. When the bubbles came up around the chopstick a certain way, I knew the oil was hot enough and I put the chicken in. While it was cooking, I did the remaining chicken in the flour, buttermilk and flour and set it on a plate to await its turn in the skillet. After about 10 minutes, I turned the chicken in the skillet. It was looking gorgeously brown and crisp. I let it cook another ten minutes or so. I tested it by sticking a little paring knife into a piece to be sure the juices were running clear. When it was done, I put the pieces on a cooling rack set over a cookie sheet I'd lined with paper towels to drain, and then I cooked the rest of the chicken.

After it was all cooked, it was time for lunch. I tested one of the breast pieces. The coating was deliciously crisp, and, in spite of the rather copious amounts of hot sauce, cayenne and black pepper, it wasn't ferociously hot. It wasn't even as spicy as KFC original recipe, truth to tell. But it had good flavor. Definitely not bland. And juicy. Really, really juicy, which is an accomplishment for most white meat no matter how you cook it. I've got lots of leftover chicken for the week, too. It will be good cold and it reheats quite nicely in a 350 degree oven for about 15 minutes. Which was just enough time to heat some Glory Foods Sensibly Seasoned collard greens and bake some biscuits. And I use those jumbo flaky ones that come in a can in the refrigerated section. When it comes to making biscuits, my north of the Mason-Dixon roots show themselves, and, besides, I've got plenty of SOUTHERN born and bred friends that swear by those things. And if they are good enough for them, they're more than good enough for me.

At any rate, I'll definitely make my fried chicken this way again. Not often, but it's on my list of things I'd make for company. Or when I get that deep-seated craving that only the real deal will serve.

Salad Days

2007-01-10T03:52:00.000-05:00

Ah, just a short post here. The holidays have come and gone since I last posted. Nevermind that I still have a Christmas tree sitting in my living room. Things are gradually returning to normal. Of course, we are now entering the serious part of winter, where unless you work for the government, there's not a holiday in sight until Memorial Day. (Easter doesn't really count because very few of us get Good Friday off these days. Yes, I know the store will be closed on Easter Sunday, but you're missing the point....)

At any rate, the surfeit and excesses of the holidays are past, and I begin to long for signs of spring, even though the weather can become truly frightful with cold temperatures and biting winds that still demand something heartier than teensy delicate little salads. What's a girl to do, especially when she'd like to keep her holiday weight loss rolling? You make a big pot of some kind of soup that's heavy on the vegetables and light on the cream, and one of my favorite salad combinations at this time of year.

The salad starts with romaine lettuce that has been torn or cut into bite-sized pieces. You then top the lettuce to your taste with sliced red onion, julienned cooked beets, mandarin oranges, toasted walnut pieces and crumbled goat cheese. To dress the salad, make a very basic vinagrette by combining sherry vinegar, a nice dollop of dijon mustard, a teaspoon or two of minced garlic, salt and pepper in a small mason jar. Shake until the salt has dissolved and the mustard is thinned out. Gradually shake in your favorite extra virgin olive oil, until you have about twice as much olive oil as you did sherry vinegar. I usually wind up with about a cup of dressing when it's all said and done, which is plenty to dress this salad lightly and still have plenty left to dress several others in the coming days.

I love the combination of the creaminess of the goat cheese with the crunch of the walnuts, and the contrast between the sweetness of the beets and mandarin oranges against the bite of the red onions and the tartness of the dressing. The dark leafy greens, beets and mandarin oranges are all visually pretty and pretty good for you. The walnuts and olive oil add some healthy types of fat, and between the walnuts, olive oil and goat cheese, you feel pleasantly satisfied, like you've eaten something rich. I figure the goat cheese adds a bit of protein to keep you feeling full, especially when combined with the carbs in the walnuts, beets and mandarin oranges. Best of all, it all comes together in about 15 minutes. With some soup and/or nice crusty whole wheat bread, you can feel downright virtuous about what you're having for dinner or toting for lunch, especially while you whittle away the excesses of the holidays!

Soup, Soup, Beautiful Soup!

2006-10-31T22:14:00.000-05:00

"Do you have a kinder, more adaptable friend in the food world than soup? Who soothes you when you are ill? Who refuses to leave you when you are impoverished and stretches its resources to give a hearty sustenance and cheer? Who warms you in the winter and cools you in the summer? Yet who also is capable of doing honor to your richest table and impressing your most demanding guests? Soup does its loyal best, no matter what undignified conditions are imposed upon it. You don't catch steak hanging around when you're poor and sick, do you?"
Miss Manners

This is, perhaps, my favorite quote about soup, which just happens to be one of my favorite things. I like all kinds of soup, and have an impressive collection of recipes and cookbooks that are nothing but soup. There is no cuisine in the world that doesn't have some kind of soup. Soup comes in all temperatures and there is very little that can't be made into some kind of soup. I think the story "Stone Soup", in which the protagonist starts a kettle full of water in the marketplace and throws in a stone to the curiosity of the locals, who in turn bring various and sundry meats and vegetables to add to the pot, exists in practically every culture.

There are many soups that recall fond memories for me. I don't make my grandmother's fish chowder without remembering the summer fishing vacations spent with my parents, my brother and my grandparents at Alexandria Bay, New York, right on the St. Lawrence Seaway. The preferred fish for the chowder was northern pike, which I remember Grandma Jobes patiently de-boning with tweezers while the broth ingredients simmered. The only kinship to true chowders is in the salt pork that is rendered to give the fat to cook the onions in, there being nary a speck of cream or butter involved in the preparation. It was a family tradition, though, to have Grandma's fish chowder for supper at least once on vacation, though. The soup itself is a broth with carrots, onions, celery and potatoes cooked with thyme, salt and pepper, to which the fish is added after the vegetables are simmered to tenderness. The tiny bits of crisped, browned salt pork are sprinkled on the soup at the table and lend a crispy texture that contrasts with the flaky white fish and soft veggies.

While other people stop at the store to pick up cans of Campbell's Chicken Noodle Soup when they are sick, I stop to pick up chicken broth and a package of kluski noodles. I have never been too sick to dice onions, celery and carrots to simmer to tenderness in chicken broth with lots of pepper. The noodles go in at the end. I am convinced that this soup, along with a little orange juice and copious amounts of strong, sugary tea, taken at the first sign of a cold or the flu have done more to heal me and keep me on the move than any number of over the counter remedies.

Potato and greens soup, zucchini soup and French onion soup all remind me of my mother, and I never make them without thinking of her and how much I still miss her after ten years. Broccoli cheese soup and taco soup are probably among the things I've kept from all my trips to Weight Watchers, and they remind me of all the things I do right and that I've incorporated into my life on a regular basis.

I am a good cook, and routinely praised for my efforts, but soup is where I really shine. I read cookbooks the way other people read the latest efforts by John Grisham, and it is soup that lets me explore my culinary bounds. I've made soup from around the globe. Armenian red lentil soup, Thai shrimp and coconut milk soup, African peanut soup, French onion soup, Russian and Ukrainian borschts, Japanese miso soup, Vietnamese pho, Spanish gazpacho, Portuguese kale soup, Transylvanian bean and potato soup. Some of the recipes were interesting to make, but not added to my repertoire because they took too much work. Some I adapted. Most, however, reflect the need that people from every culture have had throughout history for food which is simple to prepare and that doesn't need a lot of fussing over because there are other things to do. We didn't invent that situation here in America in the twentieth century. Great-great-great-great grandma had fields to plow and plant, cloth to weave, a household to manage and keep clean, and animals and children to tend, without the aid of modern conveniences like electric or gas ranges, automatic dishwashers, drive-through windows and pizza delivery.

Soup is part of who we are as a species. It was probably one of the first things to cook over that new-fangled fire there in the cave. It sustained us when times got lean and the food had to be stretched to last until spring or the next antelope or buffalo hunt. In fact, it didn't need meat at all if things were really rough. And that is still true today. Give me ten or twenty dollars for groceries, and I guarantee that some kind of soup will be on the menu and it will last all week long.

I do keep canned soup on hand. I admit it. It's there because it's something I won't make or don't have enough interest in to make and eat a whole pot of. It's a quick grab and go kind of lunch. But my preference is to have a container of soup that I made on hand. That's grab and go too.

Can you tell I'm passionate about the virtues of soup? And that I obviously LIKE pease porridge in the pot nine days old?

Soup Weather

2006-10-13T04:02:00.000-04:00

One of the things I love about fall, heading into winter, is that soup returns as a regular item on my menu. Sometimes it's something that simmers away in the crockpot, sometimes it simmers on the stove, and sometimes I throw it together out of what's on hand.

The weather has taken a decided turn to the cool here in central Ohio. Downright bitter when the wind blows, as it did yesterday, even when the sun is shining. I was in the mood for something that wasn't heavy on the tummy, but that would still be immensely satisfying. One of the definitions of soup, in my book. And it had to be quick, too, because I wasn't hitting my front door until about 6:40.

Upon arriving home, I put a pot on the stove to heat. Took some bacon out of the freezer and chopped off about 2 or 3 slices worth, crosswise. Tossed them into the pot with a little bit of olive oil to brown while I chopped an onion and some garlic. While the bacon, onions and garlic were softening, I sprinkled them with a smidge of salt, some black pepper and some crushed red pepper flakes. Threw in a bay leaf and a teaspoon or so of dried Italian seasoning. Opened a can of petite diced tomatoes and a couple cans of chicken broth and poured them into the pot. Tossed in a Parmesan rind. While that simmered, I drained and rinsed two cans of great northern beans. Discovered a bag of frozen chopped spinach in my freezer. Let the soup simmer away while I preheated the oven to do a little garlic bread out of the freezer and changed clothes. Tossed the beans and the spinach into the soup pot, then put the garlic bread in the oven. Put on the electric kettle for some tea. Had a very comforting, satisfying supper on my table by 7:30, and didn't feel like I rushed around to get it there. I've also got two or three days of leftover soup to warm my soul.

I love soup weather!

What Heaven Would Serve

2006-10-10T18:59:00.000-04:00

If I got to choose what constituted manna from heaven, I'd choose Grandpa Jobes' grilled roast beef, my sister-in-law, Tammy's mashed potatoes, roasted asparagus and the ripest, freshest summer tomatoes, sliced plain with nothing more than salt and pepper. Why those things? Because they are really the things I'd eat until I burst. Simple, uncomplicated flavors. They are also associated with memories.

Grandpa's beef roast began with a trip to Mike's Meat Market, back in the days when you knew the butcher's name and he knew yours. No grocery store wrapped meat for my grandparents. Mike's was a small, dark, narrow store. Always cool in the summer. Maybe three aisles of groceries, which I never remember purchasing anything from. A single cash register in the front by the door. The real story was at the meat counter, at the back of the store, where Mike himself presided over the lunchmeats and cuts of meat. My memories of Mike were of a large, jolly, sandy-haired man, who presided over the meat counter joking with everyone while he waited on three or four people at a time. Not fat, but certainly well-fed and well-muscled. The sort of guy who could and probably did toss a side of beef around while he trimmed it and cut it in the back. The sort of butcher who'd walk into the back to special cut something for favorite regulars if they didn't see just the thing in the case. Meat was wrapped in white butcher paper in those days, and tied with string, with the cut and total price written on with a black crayon. The cuts I recall were nothing fancy. Rump roasts or maybe a nice sirloin tip roast.

Nothing fancy about the prep when we got back to the house either. I don't recall anything other than a generous sprinkling of Lawry's Seasoned Salt, truth to tell. Not even pepper. Grandpa had a large grill with a hood that had notches to hold the rotisserie rod and the electric motor. Charcoal briquettes were started in a chimney, using crumpled old newspapers. Grandchildren were for crumpling the paper, not too tight and not too loose. Not a hint of starter fluid was used as I recall. The meat was spitted and put over coals that were kept an ashy whitish gray to turn for what seemed like hours, the air of the big backyard gradually permeated with the scent of roasting meat. The roast would come off the grill with a beautiful dark brown crust. The ends were for those who liked their meat well-done, but the inside was just medium rare and juicy. For a child who was given the t-bone from her parents' Saturday night dinner steak as an infant, I never had the aversion to all that red juice on the platter or the reddish pink of the meat. It was heavenly stuff! And since the big beef roast was associated with family gatherings in the summer, it recalls cousins to play with and trips up the road to Great Aunt Darma's pool for swimming.

The mashed potatoes are relatively new, coming from my brother's second wife, Tammy. I look forward to New Year's Day and Thanksgiving because I am assured Tammy will make mashed potatoes for those days. Not a fancy recipe. No gourmet additions to these spuds, just good ol' fashioned country cookin'. Diced potatoes are cooked in a pressure cooker. When they are drained and dried a bit on the stove, a can of evaporated milk, plenty of margarine, salt and pepper are added. The milk is allowed to come to a boil to melt the butter. Then the potatoes are mashed and then whipped to fluffy perfection. Never too thin or too stiff. Perfect to make a "lake" for turkey gravy at Thanksgiving or for more butter and sauerkraut on New Year's Day. One of the best of classic comfort foods, I am always reminded of the good times we've all come to have when we gather our blended family for the holidays. My nephews from Mark's first marriage and Tammy's kids from her first marriage, along with various and sundry sisters, brothers, cousins and other kin from Tammy's large family (she's one of seven children). Tammy's mom and my dad. I'm another aunt now, and everyone knows me as "Tante Mel". My nephew Chad's wife Jaime's mom. Chad (Tammy's oldest) and Jaime's little girl, Courtney, who was just a bump in Jaime's belly when I first met her. Every time we gather, even though we don't tend to talk much in between, I wish that all families could have this kind of gathering.

Roasted asparagus, from asparagus at its peak, and those tomatoes, preferably picked fresh from the garden, could only be had in heaven, as they really aren't at their respective peaks until opposite ends of the summer. I look forward to both seasons every year.

Where's dessert, you ask. I dunno. Who's got room? And besides, I never met a dessert I didn't like. Although my mom's Mississippi Mud would probably be toward the top of the list. I need to make that one of these days for some big gathering. Mom would be proud.

Anyhow, that's what I'd eat if I was given the choice of anything in the world. Just to savor all the memories.

Easy General Tso's Chicken

2006-10-10T09:50:00.000-04:00

Yeah, it's not a terribly authentic dish to begin with. I mean, who WAS General Tso??? And why did he want fried chicken in a hot sweet and sour sauce? No matter. I had a package of those pre-cooked little popcorn chicken bites in my fridge that I really either needed to DO something with or pitch. I got to thinking about what else I had on hand, since I am a poor cashier supervisor this week. I actually like the challenge of living off the larder sometimes.

Anyhow, I decided to saute some onions, garlic and hot pepper flakes in a little vegetable oil, then toss in the popcorn chicken bites to heat them. My sauce was a mixture of apricot jam, soy sauce, a few drops of sesame oil, some rice wine vinegar and chicken broth. Which thickens quite nicely all by itself without the use of any cornstarch, which prevents it from becoming that gloppy gelatinous stuff of most local Chinese restaurants.

The rice had cooked while I was throwing this all together, so it was a pretty easy dinner to just throw together after a day at work. I'd even do this with those little Morningstar Farms fake chicken nuggets because it would work just as well.

This week I COOKED!!!

2006-09-24T19:03:00.000-04:00

It was my weekend off this weekend. Awoke very early on Saturday a.m., having crashed hard around 9 on Friday night. I'd been to the grocery store before coming home on Friday, too. Actually had ideas wandering around in there, too. Decided to get the necessary things to make a corn casserole, a broccoli-cheese rice casserole and do something with that bag of stuffing mix. Of course, deciding to cook and committing to ingredients had the side effect of actually getting me to tidy up the kitchen a bit.

It was a rainy Saturday as I toddled around the house gathering and sorting laundry while I preheated the oven. Corn casserole was first, because it is pretty much just throwing ingredients into a bowl and stirring them. Two cans of creamed corn, a can of drained "Mexicorn", a can of chopped green chilies, a box of Jiffy corn muffin mix, an egg and a cup of green onion dip. A dash or two of chili powder and a cup of Mexican blend shredded cheese. Poured into a 9x13 dish sprayed with cooking spray. Sprinkle some additional shredded cheese on top, and bake in a 350 oven for 45 minutes or so, until it is a little brown on top and the cheese on top is nicely melted.

While it cooked, I made the rice for the broccoli-cheese rice casserole. I do not use Minute Rice. I cook one cup of long grain white rice in 1 3/4 cups of cold salted water. Turns out perfectly for me every time using that ratio of rice to water and following the cooking directions on the bag for timing. Mixed the rice with most of a 20 oz. bag of frozen chopped broccoli that I thawed by running it under cold water. Added a can of 98% fat-free cream of mushroom soup, 1 3/4 cups shredded sharp cheddar, some chopped dried onions, a little garlic powder and some freshly ground black pepper. Poured it into a square 9x9 glass dish. Sprinkled the rest of the shredded cheddar over the top, mixed with some seasoned dried breadcrumbs and a little grated Parmesan cheese. Sprayed the top with cooking spray. Baked for about 40 minutes.

My final casserole creation involved browning some lean ground beef, with finely diced celery and onions. This was mixed with a bag of seasoned stuffing mix, most of a bag of frozen french style green beans, a can of 98% fat-free cream of celery soup and two cans (about 4 cups) of chicken broth. Covered the casserole dish loosely with foil and baked at 350 for about an hour, taking the foil cover off for the last 15 minutes or so.

Now I've got lunches and dinners that will see me through the week. Not that I am opposed to consuming them for breakfast, mind you.

But this week, I cooked!!!

The Only Thing I Make Right Now

2006-09-17T00:15:00.000-04:00

I am not really cooking right now for some reason. Seriously. No interest whatsoever in the whole process. Nevermind, that I am uninterested in doing dishes and pots and pans, too. We digress on that point.

My current diet involves rotisserie chickens from Kroger, bagged lettuce, yogurt, milk, bread and diet Pepsi. Maybe some apples. With copious amounts of coffee thrown in for good measure. I do not count making peanut butter toast as cooking. Nor is melting cheese on toast over thinly sliced fresh summer tomatoes from either my dad's garden or my friend Meg's father's garden. Nor at this point in my life is making Taco Soup in the crockpot. Opening cans of beans, corn and tomatoes, throwing in a package of Morningstar Farms sausage-style crumbles and a packet of low-sodium taco seasoning and stirring it together before flipping the knob to "low" is NOT cooking.

The only thing I am currently making that qualifies as honest-to-gawd cookin' is Gordon Ramsay's recipe for chocolate pots. For this, I will buy Ghiradelli bittersweet chocolate morsels and invest the time in separating eggs and beating the whites to stiff peaks by hand. I will stir the egg yolks into the melted chocolate and carefully add some flavoring, so that the chocolate doesn't seize on me. I'll fold the egg whites into the the chocolate and, lacking the white custard ramekins presented in the book, take the time to portion it into 6 pressed glass tumblers from my paternal grandparents. That's cooking. The result is a light, mousse-like dessert that has a sinfully rich chocolate taste. Orgasmically chocolate taste. The book calls for orange liqueur, but I've used coffee, bourbon or Amaretto with good results. Might try some of that Torani sugar-free raspberry syrup next time. And there WILL be a next time.

Here is the recipe, adapted for my kitchen. Which I have committed to memory.

7 oz. good quality bittersweet chocolate (at least 60% cocoa solids)
6 large eggs, at room temperature
flavoring of your choice. about 2 oz. if using a liqueur or bourbon.

Melt the chocolate in a microwave safe bowl. If using chocolate chips, start at one minute at 50% power. Stir. Melt in 30 second increments at 50% power until the chocolate is smooth when stirred. Allow to cool to room temperature.

Separate the eggs. Beat the whites in a large greaseproof bowl to stiff peaks, either by hand or with an electric mixer on high. Do not use a plastic bowl, as you cannot get the grease completely out of one. I don't care what you use to clean it between uses. Do not argue with me about this. Use glass or copper or a large enameled metal mixing bowl, like I do.

Break the egg yolks and beat them very slightly. Fold them into the melted chocolate. Do this before attempting to add any other ingredients. Attempting to stir in the flavoring before the egg yolks will cause the chocolate to seize on you. I know this. I tried it. Still tasty results, but a bit clumpier than you'll probably like. Trust me on this one. Gently fold the egg whites into the chocolate. Be careful not to completely deflate the egg whites you worked so hard to beat all that air into. Mixture will be a bit runny, but don't worry about that. Portion into six ramekins or other serving dishes. Cover them with plastic wrap and put them in the refrigerator to set for at least an hour or two. Garnish as desired, and savor.

The usual food police cautions about consuming raw eggs apply. If you're scared of eating a raw egg, then either find pasturized ones or don't make this. If you do make it, don't feed it to your child, your grandma and grandpa or your friends with compromised immune systems without fair warning that THIS CONTAINS RAW EGGS. And no pissing and moaning about how sick you got if you make it and you do get the one in a billion eggs that contains enough salmonella to make you sick.

Anthony Bourdain

2006-08-01T09:31:00.000-04:00

I sometimes think he probably has a personal relationship with Satan. I think he's the only person in the world that I'd trust to cook or recommend good innards, which I'm not really fond of but which he is. I also think he's hysterically funny and infinitely interesting to watch, even at his whiniest, most sarcastic New Yorker best (or worst, depending, I suppose, on your perspective). I own both "Kitchen Confidential" and "A Cook's Tour", and if I ever hit the lottery, I'd buy the entire "No Reservations" series on DVD. I especially loved the Korean episode, and nobody has more fun in Japan.

Anyhow, just had to get that off my chest. That's what blogs are for.

Pickled Shrimp

2006-07-26T10:25:00.000-04:00

Sounds weird, eh? Well, I will admit to experimenting with this one. I had a pound of thawed cooked shrimp and I didn't know what to do with them. I'd seen pickled shrimp on Paula Deen's show and I perused some other recipes for them and then cobbled together a recipe of my own, based on my reading and what was in the fridge and the pantry.

It's an easy recipe to throw together, and I'm thinking about putting some jars together to give as gifts over the holidays. It does look pretty in the jars.

I have to confess that most people will need to make a very slight adjustment with one of the ingredients. I am fortunate to have a jar of my friend, Lisa's pickles. They are an addictive sweet-hot pickle that the people at Mt. Olive and Vlassic are just now beginning to see the light on. Either of those brands will do as a substitute. Just get either the sweet-hots or the hot or zesty bread and butter pickles. I'm fortunate because Lisa's pickles have several cloves of garlic tucked in that have marinated in the sweet-hot pickle syrup; that's the garlic I used in my pickled shrimp. You could take a whole bulb of garlic, though, and marinate it in the sweet-hot pickle juice. Or not. Like most recipes, I consider this a jumping off point that people can adapt to their tastes and the ingredients available to them.

This would be a nice change from the standard cold, peeled shrimp and cocktail sauce for a party and would make a nice pre-dinner nibble. Maybe with a little glass of sherry, as it reminds me of a tapas type thing.

Pickled Shrimp:

1 lb. whole shrimp. If you are using raw ones, you'll want to cook them, cool them and then peel and devein them. I used peeled, cooked shrimp (with their tails on) and just rinsed them and made sure they were dry before starting. The size I used was in the 41-50 range.
bay leaves
garlic cloves (I used ones that had marinated in sweet-hot pickle juice)
whole peppercorns
1 thinly sliced medium red onion
pickled jalapeno slices
a few grinds of black pepper
1 cup cider vinegar
juice of 1/2 a large lemon
1/4 c. sweet hot pickle juice
1 tbs. kosher salt

In a 1 quart, wide-mouth Mason jar, put a layer of red onion. Put a layer of shrimp on top; they can overlap a bit. Place one bay leaf, 6-7 peppercorns, a garlic clove, and 2-3 jalapeno slices. Repeat the layers until the jar is full. About halfway up the jar, put in a few grinds of black pepper. Combine the vinegar, lemon juice, pickle juice and salt. Stir to dissolve the salt. Put the lid on the jar and stick it in the refrigerator on a small plate. After 2-3 hours, turn the jar upside down and let it sit that way for 2-3 hours, then turn the jar right side up again. Repeat this process a couple times, whenever you happen to be in the fridge. Let jar sit in the refrigerator for at least a day before eating the shrimp.

Some recipes call for capers. I didn't have any on hand (more likely they are hiding in that teeny jar at the back of the refrigerator behind all of the mustards or something), which is where the jalapenos came in. These aren't too hot. You could up the spice and heat level by adding chili flakes or little dried red peppers. Celery seed or mustard seeds might be tasty additions, too.

Cooking Fish

2006-07-25T10:18:00.000-04:00

Coming from the Midwest, where the words "fresh seafood" were an oxymoron most of my childhood, the realization that I can cook a piece of fish is an amazing thing. It hit me last night that "Hey! You can cook fish right!"

I was making dinner for myself after getting home from a long day at work. I had thawed a piece of red snapper, and when I got home, I put some tiny redskin potatoes into a heavy saucepan with some butter, salt and pepper over low heat. Ina Garten gave me this idea. The butter gets all nicely browned and at the end you toss in some chopped fresh parsley. While the potatoes cooked and I changed clothes, I let the fish sit on the counter to warm up a bit. I sprinkled the fish with some smoked paprika and grey sea salt (birthday gifts from my friend, Lisa) and heated a medium non-stick skillet over medium heat. I drizzled a bit of olive oil into the pan and let it get to a nice shimmer. Then the fish went in, seasoned side down in the pan. I let it sit there and just cook away for 2-3 minutes before flipping it over and putting a lid over it to cook an additional 3-4 minutes. While the fish was cooking, I steamed some fresh broccoli in the microwave and tossed the parsley into the potatoes. After the broccoli and potatoes were plated, I squeezed just a little fresh lemon juice over the fish and put it on the plate, sprinkling it with just a little fresh parsley, too.

The fish was perfectly moist and flaky and cooked all the way through. I credit Cooking Light's recipes for cumin-crusted Chilean sea bass (which is pan-fried as described above) and oven-roasted barbecue salmon (which is cooked in a hot oven) for teaching me two very reliable ways to cook fish. Neither of these techniques has failed me and I've gained real confidence about cooking fresh (or fresh-frozen!) fish. Knowing a couple of no-fail techniques lets me take advantage of good deals on fish so that I can incorporate it into my diet on a regular basis. Red snapper has become one of my favorite fish to make because it's so easy to do. I can change up the seasonings to suit my inclinations and it takes under 15 minutes to prepare. Takes longer to call and pick up take out.

Since the spice rub for cumin-crusted sea bass works well with any firm, flaky white fish, such as red snapper and cod, here is how to make the basic rub:

Heat a small cast iron skillet over medium low heat and add 2 Tbs. whole cumin seeds. Let the seeds toast; when you can smell the cumin scent, they are probably done. Shake the pan a couple times and DO NOT walk away unless you like burnt cumin. It only takes about 1-2 minutes to toast the cumin. Let the seeds cools slightly and then put them into a spice grinder (or a coffee grinder that you keep on hand for this purpose) with a teaspoon of kosher salt and a few grinds of fresh black pepper (or a few whole peppercorns). Grind to a coarse powder. This makes enough to coat both sides of about 6 4 oz. fish fillets. Just sprinkle the fish you plan to cook generously on both sides and put any leftover spice rub in a small jar or bottle for the next time.

My other favorite fish rub, which I use for pork ribs, too, is a combination of brown sugar, chili powder, kosher salt, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, thyme, cinnamon and Old Bay seasoning. It is a marriage of the Cooking Light recipe for oven-roast barbecue salmon and Alton Brown's recipe for a rub for baby back ribs. Roughly speaking, take 5 parts brown sugar (a "part" is whatever container you choose to measure with, whether it is a measuring cup, a tablespoon or one of your granny's old teacups), 3 parts chili powder, 1 part garlic powder, 1/2 part salt, and another 1/2 part that is a combination of the cayenne, thyme, cinnamon (or allspice) and Old Bay. That last 1/2 part is where you get to experiment to suit your taste buds. You might skip the cayenne if you don't like hot and use chipotle chili powder instead; I've done it with good results. You probably want to start a little light on the cayenne and the cinnamon, as both can be overpowering if not used judiciously. You can decide if you like more or less salt, too. I try to be a bit conservative on the salt because you can always add it at the table. This rub is one I use primarily on salmon fillets.

Just marinate your salmon fillets in a mixture of pineapple juice, lemon and lime juice for about 20 minutes (more than that and the acids in the juice will start to "cook" the fish and you'll wind up with salmon seviche!), then pat it dry and sprinkle it generously with the rub. Bake it in a preheated 375 degree oven for about 10-12 minutes, until it is just cooked through. I usually buy a 1 lb. center cut salmon fillet and leave it whole for cooking to keep the fish nice and moist. If you are using individual portions of salmon fillet, you may want to adjust the cooking time. down a bit, so that the fish isn't overcooked.

These are just a couple of my favorite ways to cook fish.

What's Cookin'???

2006-05-11T08:24:00.000-04:00

I have shamefully neglected my blogs on the grounds that I've had nothing interesting to say. Well, gee, a blog is okay with you rambling on about nothing much in particular. So, as part of my ongoing plan to avoid as much housework as possible, I am updating my blogs.

My recent cookbook forays have taken me back to India. I haven't made a darn thing out of either book I got from the library (Madhur Jaffrey's "Quick Indian Cooking" and Shoba Narayan's "Monsoon Diary"), but I did make a pot of basmati rice seasoned with cumin seeds, onions, bay leaf and dried red chilies. I discovered that if you heat the rice and add some cottage cheese, it's really good in that rather neutral way of comfort food. Besides, it makes my lunch interesting and exotic in the break room at work.

I experimented with a version of spaghetti pie, too, since I had a can of spaghetti sauce sitting in the fridge about 3/4 full. Spaghetti pie, in its "classic" form involves making a "crust" out of leftover cooked spaghetti by mixing it with an egg and Parmesan cheese and putting it into a pie plate. You then top it with a layer of ricotta or cottage cheese and then put a layer of browned ground beef, onions and spaghetti sauce on that. Sprinkle the whole shootin' match with shredded cheddar or mozzarella. Well, I didn't have ground beef but I did have some of these On-Cor popcorn chicken bites. I combined the cooked spaghetti with the egg, some Parmesan and a tsp. of Italian seasoning. Then I spread a cup of cottage cheese on and combined the popcorn chicken with the leftover spaghetti sauce and some shredded mozzarella before pouring it into the crust. Sprinkled it with a little more mozzarella and some Parmesan and baked it all at 350 for about 40 minutes. I call it "Chicken Parmigiana Spaghetti Pie." Makes about 6 servings which tote nicely for lunches.

I also have a copy of "Everyday Italian" by Giada DeLaurentis. Which I don't think the library realizes I have. It isn't showing up on my list of stuff that is checked out. There was a problem when I was checking it out. I don't think the computer recognized the bar code, so the young lady at the desk wrote down the information about it. Which apparently hasn't made it into the computer yet. I digress, however. This is a great book. Relatively simple, straightforward recipes. Most of them are even relatively healthy. There was a sale on red and yellow peppers and asparagus at the store. The asparagus, while pretty fresh, is also those big spears. I decided to cut them into large chunks and roast them with some of the peppers I bought. Nothing more than a 450 degree oven, a foil lined cookie sheet, some olive oil, salt and pepper. Stir once after about 10 minutes, then cook another 5-10 minutes. Let it cool slightly and then put the vegetables in a bowl and drizzle with balsamic vinegar. These make a great side. I served them with some chicken breasts (also on sale) that I pounded flat and sauteed with the technique I learned in Cooking Light magazine. I used a Cooking Light recipe for a bourbon barbecue pan sauce, which I naturally tinkered with by adding a little honey and some red pepper flakes.

The cooking technique has become, I think, my favorite way to prepare boneless, skinless chicken breasts. On their own, I generally find boneless, skinless chicken boring. With the pan searing technique, you get nicely browned chicken breasts that have some flavor and that are still juicy. You just pound the breasts flat (maybe to 1/2 inch thick), sprinkle with salt and pepper and put them into a large skillet that you've heated a little oil in over medium to medium high heat. Once you put the breasts in, leave them alone for 5-6 minutes. Don't shake the pan, don't poke at them with your spatula or tongs. Leave them alone, sizzling away. Flip them ONCE after 5-6 minutes and then leave them alone again for 5-6 minutes. Voila! Your chicken should be done. You can eat it as is or make a pan sauce with whatever you have on hand that sounds good. Anyhow, it's a technique worth mastering.

I also made a good fruit salad. Strawberries and mangoes were on sale last week, so I had two mangoes and a container of strawberries. I cut the fruit up and added a can of drained mandarin oranges and a can of drained pineapple tidbits. Very summery combination! Good with yogurt and a piece of toast in the morning. A good start to just about any day.

Well, that's my cooking update!

Cooking Doldrums

2006-04-10T18:12:00.000-04:00

I feel rather culinarily becalmed right now. Very blah. Jelly beans currently constitute dessert most evenings, and not many of them. Dogzilla, who loves jelly beans of all flavors and kinds, would not understand that I can actually STOP eating the damn things.

I bought asparagus today and those green beans that are already trimmed for cooking. Yeah, the kind you have to trim are cheaper, even when they are on sale, but I know my lazy ass won't trim them right now so it is far better to spend a little more to get something that I'll at least microwave.

I was off today, so I made some Spanish rice. I bought discounted ground round patties for half what they wanted for a whole pound of the stuff, and since I knew I'd be cooking it today, I figure it's all ground meat. Anyhow, I browned the meat and some onions and garlic, then tossed in oregano, cumin and chili powder. Followed that with a cup of rice and a can of Mexican-style stewed tomatoes and one 15 oz. can of tomato sauce. Brought it to a boil, then turned the heat down, covered it and simmered it for a very long time, adding water and about 1/2 can of leftover vegetable stock. Now I've got lunch to take to work for three days ready.

Yesterday, before heading off to work, I made swiss steak in the crockpot. I am of the brown gravy type of swiss steak, although I've had the kind that involves tomatoes, peppers and onions. It's not what I grew up on, even though the same cut of meat is involved--round steak that is braised long and slow. For mine, I dusted serving sized pieces of meat with seasoned flour (I used onion powder, paprika, pepper and thyme) and browned them in a skillet. I layered the browned meat in the crockpot with onions and canned mushrooms. Once the meat was all browned, I deglazed the skillet with some red wine and poured it into the crockpot along with 1/2 can of vegetable broth (which is how I wound up with leftover vegetable broth). Cooked it for many hours, and it is nice and tasty. I usually use beef broth to make swiss steak, but since I used vegetable broth, I thought the wine would add some depth to the flavor and it did. I'll probably take Dad a care package, since I made enough to feed the Swiss Army, I think. He'll like a change from Easter ham leftovers, I am sure.

I went to the library today and came home with a couple of Indian cookbooks and Giada DeLaurentis' "Everyday Italian". In spite of the fact that the woman is the size of a number two pencil, I actually enjoy watching her and find her recipes quite accessible. Most of them are actually pretty healthy and lots are fairly quick. While browsing the Food TV site this morning, I found something that I think I just have to get my brother for kicks. "Mario Batali Tailgates NASCAR Style" or something like that. That has just got to be hysterical. The concept alone is hysterical. Since Mark is a NASCAR fan, I think he should have it just for kicks, although Mario probably does have some good recipes in there.

In other Food TV news, until last night, I did not like any of the remaining contestants in their "Next Food Network Star" show. Carissa, however, did a pitch for a show that I'd actually watch with her idea for "Simply Delicious, Simply French". They should let Alton Brown ex-produce her, since he seemed to bring out a side of her that has heretofore been unseen. Watching her pitch, I suddenly saw that she might be able to do for French cooking what Giada has done for Italian cooking, by making it accessible to us regular folks, even on a weeknight. She was relaxed and having fun with her pitch piece and she managed to be genuinely funny. It was a save-her-ass performance, for sure. Truthfully, I do not think Nathan, Guy or Reggie have what it takes to sustain a viewing audience. At least not this one!

Anyhow, that's my cooking doldrums in a nutshell. I think I'll go look for spring recipes! That do not involve jelly beans......

Chicken Muamba

2006-04-03T20:16:00.000-04:00

Goodness, I've been dull as dishwater in the kitchen lately. I tried the Vietnamese chicken salad recipe, which was terrific! I'll make it again, especially this summer, and I'll even make it and put it on a nice platter and garnish with extra cilantro and lime wedges for potluck picnics.

I then transitioned into Thailand because Thai Peanut Noodles with Chicken followed. That's what I've been taking for lunch this week, and it used up the other half of the rotisserie chicken, the shredded carrots and the green onions leftover from Vietnamese Chicken Salad.

Tonight, after working until 6:30 and with another rotisserie chicken waiting in the fridge, I turned my sights to Africa. I'd copied a recipe for something called Chicken Muamba from Recipezaar several months ago because it sounded interesting. Now I've cooked Mediterranean and Moroccan, but this recipe was from "Congo Jim" who claimed its origins in DR Congo. For all the regional and ethnic cooking I've tried, I've never done much cooking from sub-Saharan Africa. Time to give it a try, I decided.

Now, naturally, I adapted the original recipe by combining the author's original directions and the ones he gives for when company arrives unexpectedly and all you've got is what's in the pantry and a couple chicken breasts in the fridge. I was really pleased at how it turned out. I combined softened onions, hot chili garlic sauce, red chile flakes, peanut butter, hot water and some basic jarred marinara sauce with the meat from a rotisserie chicken. The sauce is a lovely orange-pink and is slightly sweet and slightly spicy. The peanut butter tones down the spiciness of the chili and gives the sauce a really rich, fat mouthfeel. I served it over plain white rice. And I am not talking Minute Rice either, because you should just boil the box on that stuff. Plain white rice is easy. Take 1 cup long-grain white rice and combine with 1 1/2 cups cold tap water in a heavy-bottomed saucepan with at least twice as much room above the water in the pan as below it. Add about 1 Tbs. of salt if you wish. Bring to a boil then place a square of aluminum foil over the pan and cover the foil with pan lid. You should get a very tight seal this way. Immediately turn the heat about as low as it will go and let the rice cook for 15-20 minutes. Don't peek. After 15-20 minutes, turn the heat off (remove pan from burner if you use an electric stove) and wait 10 minutes before fluffing the rice with a fork.

While your rice is cooking, you can make Chicken Muamba!

Chicken Muamba

1 rotisserie chicken
1 large onion, diced
2 Tbs. vegetable oil
2 Tbs. hot chili garlic sauce (more if you wish)
1 tsp. hot chili flakes (leave them out if you are scared)
1 cup natural peanut butter (yes, a whole cup!!!)
1 cup water or chicken broth
1 can or jar of your favorite roasted garlic marinara sauce

Heat oil in a large skillet and then add the onions. Cook them until they are softened and lightly browned. Add the chili sauce and chili flakes and stir for a minute or two. Add the peanut butter and then add the stock or water, stirring until it is smooth. Add the marinara sauce. Add more water or broth if you wish, or until you get a sauce that is the consistency you like. Add in the chicken and heat through. Serve over rice. Probably serves about 6.

I really liked this and I'll make it again, especially the next time I am bored by all the usual stuff I do with a rotisserie chicken.

Iron Chef America

2006-03-24T16:15:00.000-05:00

Iron Chef America (ICA) drives me crazy. It STARTS with a cheesy premise. Kevin, Alton, stick to whatcha do best and give up the hokey emcee duties. The original Iron Chef is admittedly cheesy, but it is apparently done in full earnest. Although, the fellow playing "Chairman Kaga" does seem to be having a good time playing a parody of a Japanese Liberace. You can see him cracking up in the opening credits.

Note to the people at Food TV: hamburger, cheese and chicken are not good "secret ingredients". One of the charms of the original Iron Chef (apart from the incredibly bad voiceovers dubbed in) is the use of ingredients which are totally weird. Live pike eels and sea urchins that Iron Chefs have to actually kill and dissect on camera. Giant turnips and burdock leaves. Potatoes probably ARE a challenging secret ingredient in Japan. They don't freaking GROW the damn things in copious quantities there.

Also, could your psuedo Chairman pick Morimoto once in a while? He is currently the Masahiko Kobe (Iron Chef Italian on the original) of the show in that he only gets picked about one out of ten times. Bobby Flay has about 40 shows on the Food Network if I want to watch him cook and he displays little of Sakai-san's (Iron Chef French, Hiroyuki Sakai, on the original) charm while doing so. Mario is on every day. And did Kat Cora just get tired of being the token girl chef? I realize that your choices of female chefs are limited to Kat Cora, Sarah Moulton and Gayle Gand (pastry chef, but still an actual chef), but c'mon!

Why do the judges on ICA all have something to do with food? Again, part of the charm of the original Iron Chef is having a baseball player, a bimbo, a legislator and a fortune teller judging the dishes. And wondering just what in the hell a Rosanjin scholar is and how it qualifies a person to be a food critic.

Finally, would you just take the damn ice cream machine away? Most of the Iron Chefs have wised up enough not to use it any more unless they are actually making something appropriately dessert-like, but it is no longer shocking when a challenger purees the secret ingredient to make a sorbet out of it. And you can all stop sounding like it is really wild when they do.

I am boycotting Iron Chef America. Swear to God.

Fish Fry

2006-03-23T08:05:00.000-05:00

Since it is the season for fish fries at local churches, I thought I'd share some recipes that make for a good fish fry.

I don't usually heat up large quantities of oil and fry things, but a fish fry is a different matter. I'm fortunate to have a brother and two nephews who like to fish, so I get a ready supply of Lake Erie walleye and perch fillets that are perfect for fish fry treatment throughout the year. The basics, for me, are freshly fried fish, coleslaw and hot rice. You can have people in and have them bring covered dishes like mac and cheese, cheesy potatoes and a host of salads and desserts, which makes the basics a nice kickoff for a fun potluck get together. If you're feeling ambitious, you could do french fries, but I've never missed them. Everyone should hang out in the kitchen while you're frying the fish, preferably with a cold beer in hand. It all gets served up buffet style, and paper plates are practically de riguer! No fancy china here, that's for sure.

I prefer a sweet-sour vinegar-based coleslaw, like that served at the chicken houses in nearby Barberton. That's also where the hot rice recipe comes from. Of course, once you try the fish, you will probably come up with your own favorite sides! That's a good thing, too.

I learned how to prep the fish from my brother's now ex-mother-in-law, Pat. She still makes the best. Our families have remained close in spite of the the divorce. My ex-sister-in-law cuts my hair and my dad's hair, and it's not unusual for Dad and I to be invited to a fish fry at Pat's house. Heck, my brother still goes fishing with his ex-father-in-law! Pat's fish recipe has been passed around among us, so no matter how few or how many of us there are, the fish is always great. The ingredients aren't really strictly measured; you use what you need. Feel free to adjust the quantities of any of the ingredients below to accommodate the crowd you are feeding. In my experience, no matter how much fish you cook, it won't be enough. 1-2 lbs. will probably feed 3-4 people with normal appetites.

Pat's Fried Fish

1-2 lbs. of fish fillets, preferably walleye or lake perch, but you can use whiting or pollock or any other inexpensive mild, thin, flaky white fish in a pinch. Bluegill are pretty good with this treatment, too.
2-3 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 c. milk
1 c. flour
2 c. seasoned Italian bread crumbs
salt & pepper to taste
vegetable oil

Put a large cast iron skillet over a medium to medium high heat and add enough vegetable oil to make a depth of about 1-1 1/2 inches deep. Heat the oil to about 350 degrees, if you are using a candy thermometer to check.

Put the flour in a pie pan or shallow dish. Season with a little salt and pepper. Put the bread crumbs in another pie pan or shallow dish. Combine the beaten eggs and milk in a third pie pan. Rinse and pat the fish fillets dry. Feel them for any bones, and remove any that you find.

Dredge the fish fillets in the flour, then dip them in the egg wash and then roll them in the bread crumbs to coat. This step can actually be done earlier in the day and the fish put on a plate and refrigerated until you are ready to fry.

When the oil is hot enough, gently lower several pieces of fish into the hot oil. Don't do too many at a time, or the oil temperature will drop and the fish won't cook up crispy. Let the fish cook to a nice deep golden brown on the outside, turning if necessary in your pan. Take the pieces out and drain them on paper towels, making sure to lightly sprinkle them with just a little salt when they are fresh out of the oil. You can keep the pieces warm on a cookie sheet in an oven set on low, presuming, of course, that you and your guests can resist nibbling on the fish as it comes out of the oil!

Hot Rice

1-2 Tbs. unsalted butter
1 medium onion, finely diced
1 hot banana pepper, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
2-3 Tbs. Hungarian paprika, either sweet or hot or a combination of both
3 cans stewed tomatoes (don't use Mexican or Italian style ones), which have been lightly pureed in a blender or food processor; they should still have some chunks of tomato visible
1 cup chicken broth or water
1/2 cup uncooked long grain white rice
salt and pepper to taste

Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium heat and add the butter. When the butter has melted, add the onions, hot pepper and garlic and saute until the onions are golden and softened. Add the rice and stir to coat the grains with the butter. Saute a minute or two, then add the paprika and cook a further minute or so, stirring constantly. Add the stewed tomatoes and broth or water, as well as a little black pepper and salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a low simmer. Cover and cook for 30-45 minutes, stirring occasionally, until rice is tender. Add additional water or broth if needed during the cooking time to get the right consistency. This is a variable and is a matter of personal preference. I tend to like my hot rice just a bit soupy, but there are those that like it lots soupier and those who like it thicker. My preferred consistency is probably best described as very soupy risotto. It's not traditional, but I sometimes add just a bit of Louisiana hot pepper sauce, depending on the heat level of the banana pepper. I've also made this using one of my brother's pickled hot peppers when I haven't had a fresh one on hand.

Cole Slaw

1 small head cabbage, about 1 1/4 lbs.
3/4 cup vinegar
1/2 cup oil
1/3 cup plus 1 tbsp. sugar
salt to taste

Shred cabbage finely. You should have about eight cups. Combine vinegar, oil and sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat and whisk until sugar has dissolved. Bring to a boil and then pour dressing over cabbage and season with salt. Toss well. Cover and refrigerate for at least two hours, stirring occasionally.

I have found that you can use two bags of pre-shredded angle hair coleslaw with good results. Since the dressing is heated, I usually cut the oil back to 1/4 cup. This keeps really well in the refrigerator. It's also good with a teaspoon or two of celery seed stirred into the dressing right before you pour it over the slaw, and feel free to add finely diced green and/or red bell peppers for variety.

Chicken Salad

2006-03-18T11:35:00.000-05:00

Lately for some reason, chicken salad appeals to me. I had some leftover chicken breast from earlier in the week that became a curried chicken salad. I just mixed some finely diced celery and onions with the diced chicken breast and some red grapes. I sprinkled it with lemon juice, curry powder and salt and pepper, then just moistened it with some reduced fat Miracle Whip type salad dressing. Very refreshing with some tomato soup and a toasted English muffin.

I get a food newsletter, Second Helpings, from Jane Snow at the Akron Beacon Journal. Very interesting reading most of the time. This week's edition had a recipe for a Vietnamese chicken salad that sounds to die for. I love the flavors of Vietnamese food, and this recipe uses rotisserie chicken (which is really a whole other entry for my blog, but let me just say that I can't buy a whole chicken and roast it up for cheaper than the average rotisserie chicken at my local Kroger store). I'm going to try it very soon. For some reason, this recipe says "spring" to me. Maybe it is the combination of cilantro, mint, basil and lime that I find so refreshing. Anyhow, here is the recipe. I'll probably give it a review once I've tried it. No, I am not intimidated by a seemingly lengthy ingredient list. And, yes, with the exception of the chicken, cabbage, fresh limes and fresh herbs, I have all of the other ingredients in my pantry or my fridge.

VIETNAMESE CHICKEN SALAD
1/2 rotisserie chicken
4 Tbsp. fresh lime juice
3 Tbsp. rice wine vinegar
1 Tbsp. plus 1 tsp. soy sauce
1 Tbsp. Vietnamese fish sauce
1 tsp. sugar
Pinch crushed red pepper flakes
1 garlic clove, minced
1 small head Napa cabbage, sliced very thin (about 6 cups)
1 Tbsp. minced hot pepper, such as serrano
1/2 cup roughly chopped mint leaves
1/2 cup cilantro leaves
1/4 cup Thai basil leaves, chopped (optional)
1/2 of a medium red onion, sliced very thin
1 1/2 cups shredded carrots
2 Tbsp. minced dry roasted peanuts
Pull the chicken meat into shreds, discarding skin and bones. Place in a bowl and sprinkle with 1 tablespoon lime juice, 1 tablespoon rice vinegar and 1 teaspoon soy sauce. Toss and set aside.
In a small bowl or measuring cup, combine remaining lime juice, vinegar and soy sauce with the fish sauce, sugar, pepper flakes and garlic. Set aside.
In a large bowl, toss together the cabbage, hot pepper, herbs, red onion and carrots. Pour dressing over slaw. Top with shredded chicken and sprinkle with peanuts. Makes 6 servings.

No Green Beer Here

2006-03-17T11:01:00.000-05:00

Since I am starting this blog on St. Patrick's Day, I'm going to share a recipe that I think is appropriate for the day. I'm also going to share how to make a cup of tea that doesn't involve a cute little bag from the people at Lipton. The Irish are great tea drinkers, and there is little that is more soothing after a night of drinking green beer than a nice cup of good strong tea.

First, I am sharing a recipe for Potato and Greens Soup. This was a recipe clipped from The Akron Beacon Journal by me sainted mother, Peggy (who was actually a good German girl, FWIW), more years ago than I care to count. It can be made ahead and the recipe easily doubles to feed a crowd, which makes it perfect St. Patrick's Day party food. Irish soda bread would make a great accompaniment. The original recipe calls for browning a pound of hot Italian sausage and adding it to the soup before serving, but it's potatoes and greens and if you want to make it more "Irish", I'd think you could sprinkle the soup with some nice crisped crumbled bacon before serving instead of using Italian sausage. You decide.

Potato and Greens Soup

4 large baking potatoes (about 2 lbs)
8 cups chicken broth
1 lb. fresh spinach, shredded
1 lb. bulk hot Italian sausage
1/2 cup whipping cream
salt and pepper to taste

Peel and halve the potatoes. Place the potatoes and 4 cups of the chicken broth in a large soup pot, cover and simmer until the potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes. Mash the potatoes in the broth. Add the remaining broth and the spinach and simmer until the spinach is wilted and tender. Brown the sausage in a medium skillet, drain it and add it to the soup. Add the whipping cream, heat to a simmer and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper to taste.

That's the basic recipe, but here are my own notes. First, I prefer using low-sodium, reduced fat chicken broth. It wasn't available when this recipe was first published, but since it is now, I find it helps you control the saltiness of the soup. Secondly, the whipping cream is an optional ingredient, and I seldom add it in. The soup is quite hearty and filling without it. Totally up to you how much you want to gild this particular lily. Third, I think that substituting a sprinkling of crisp, crumbled bacon on the soup before serving instead of stirring in a pound of hot sausage would be perfectly delicious. I might even try some nice browned pancetta. If you choose to eliminate the sausage, you might want to simmer a 1/4 tsp. of fennel seeds with the potatoes and broth for flavor. Or not. Totally up to you. See what you like and make this recipe your own house specialty.

Now for that cup of tea. First, dust off your teapot and rinse it out well. Fill the teapot with hot water to warm the pot while you are boiling the water for the actual tea. Start with cold water and boil enough to fill your teapot. Once the water is boiling, empty the hot water that's been warming the pot out of your teapot. Put in approximately one teaspoon of loose black tea of a variety of your choice for every 6-8 oz. cup of tea you plan to make and then throw in an extra teaspoon of loose tea for the pot. Gently pour the boiling water over the tea leaves, put the lid on the pot and wait about 5 minutes. Swaddle your teapot with a nice clean tea towel if you don't have an actual tea cozy for the pot. I know. What about those *#@! bloody tea leaves floating around in the pot, right? Well, that thing that looks like a teeny little colander with a handle that you've had in the back of a drawer in your kitchen all these years? Now you'll know why it is called a "tea strainer". Rinse it off and put it over your tea cup and then pour the tea through. Voila. No tea leaves in your tea. Serve it straight up (my preferred way) or with sugar (my second favorite way), cream or lemon, or whatever combination you prefer. You probably don't want to make more tea than you'll drink, because tea that steeps more than 5 minutes is going to get bitter. Of course, you could use one of those tea ball contraptions to hold the loose tea, but I find them more trouble than they are worth to fill and fiddle around with (they are great, however, for holding peppercorns, cloves and other whole spices in soups, stews and compotes). I do like the teapot I got many moons ago from some now defunct kitchen shop chain whose name eludes me. It's got a removable porcelain strainer that I can take out once the tea is brewed. The porcelain strainer holds most of the tea leaves, and I can catch any it misses with my tea strainer.

Have a happy St. Patrick's Day everyone!

An Introduction of Sorts

2006-03-17T09:51:00.000-05:00

I suppose I should first clarify that age is a relative thing. If you are 30 or under, I could technically be your mama and you probably do think I am old at nearly 48, hence the "old dog" reference. If you are older than 30, and certainly if you are older than 48, you will either think I am not so darned old or that I am, in fact, a young whippersnapper of a dog.

Second, I like old dogs. They have their priorities straight. They like to sleep, eat and take the occasional stroll outside. Readers of A Retail Life (my other blog) will know of my enduring fondness for an old beagle, Dogzilla (real name Costello, although it's still undecided whether his original owner or the people at the Humane Society were thinking of Lou or Elvis). Dogzilla's palate is not so discriminating, but he is certainly always on the hunt for something good to eat, and while my father is his favorite person in the whole world (in part because he is easier to trick and steal food from), I think he's taken a good look at me and decided that I must know what is really good to eat. He trusts my judgment implicitly on that score, with the possible exception of grape tomatoes, which still rank as overly squishy, teensy, and ultimately unsatisfying chew toys.

I created this blog because I like to cook and I just plain like food. I want to write about cooking and recipes and my ideas on food. A blog is a perfect spot to do that without much organization. I think I know a lot about cooking and food. I have a reputation as a good cook. I collect recipes and cookbooks. I read food magazines and almost never leave my local library without a cookbook of some kind. I enjoy finding out about food traditions, and ethnic and regional cuisines. Sometimes, you gotta use real butter, heavy cream and whole milk, but I find it is just as enjoyable to cook healthy, using lowfat and non-fat ingredients as long as you aren't sitting there trying real hard to convince yourself that "Uh huh. This tastes JUST as good as the real thing. Sure it does." I'll admit that I am not much on various organ meats, but pretty much anything else goes, including tofu. I think you should at least try the local cuisine whenever you visit somewhere. Almost everywhere on the planet has something that is quintessential to that place and the people that live there, so be adventurous and give it a whack. Step away from the Starbucks and the Hard Rock Cafe and live just a little when you travel.

I'm putting together a family cookbook that I hope to have ready for Christmas 2006. I'll probably share some of those recipes here from time to time and the stories and memories that go with them. The most complicated thing I ever made was a Torta di Tagliarini Ferrarese from "The Splendid Table". It turned out well, but it is also the thing that made me realize that I am not ever destined to excel at pastries and confections, in spite of having mastered a darned fine brownie recipe and a chocolate chip cookie variation that has won rave reviews.

This isn't terribly serious and it's meant to be fun because I don't think food should be terribly serious and I do think that food and cooking should be fun. I like to watch people that demystify cooking and who have fun doing so. I'm not much on complicated and pretentious presentation in any form, either in the recipe, the preparation or the presentation. Give me rustic any day of the week. I don't entertain often, but when I do, it's quite casual. Don't be afraid of food or of making mistakes. I've learned some of my best stuff through experimentation and the stuff that didn't turn out.

Now, let's get in the kitchen and have some fun. Turn on the music, open some wine and let's have a good laugh.