~ Curry peanut lime chicken ~ 

 
It finally happened!  Truly, it did!  I am amazed......and shocked.  I finally got a good grill on!  Whoohooo!  In the past I’ve burnt this and that, dried out that and the other.  Charcoal grilling has not been something I could do, which was mildly and shortly frustrating.  I try a couple times a summer. This year - being oh*so*much more centered, I gave it another go, sans expectations.  Funny how that all plays out well when letting go of such things….like self-controlled outcome.  Oh, give me a keyboard and the soapbox philosophical thoughts come whizzing from fingertips.  :)  Anywhoo.  Moving on.

Yay, charcoal…good ol’ mesquite charcoal to be exact.  That and a decent marinade.  Yellow chicken.  Meh.  Yellow chicken with a peanut sauce.  Yum.

Marinade found here, only double the amount of gingerroot.  I adjusted the peanut sauce, also found on the same link.  I ran out of limes.  I added more soy sauce by another teaspoon or two, a few dashes of toasted sesame oil, three garlic and a touch of dried lemongrass.  Chunky peanut butter, natural.  Smooth peanut butter on Norton Avenue?  Not often.  

 
The bok choy - so happy -- FLD liked it and ate two.  Score!  Miss Little One More ate one without complaint.  Middle child was spending the night at a friends, so not feedback on her opinion of grilled bok choy.  A nice little sprinkling mix of sesame seeds, sliced garlic, diced lemon grass and olive oil was all that was done to the halved bok choy before grilling.  I normally saute it this way and prefer it that way - it gets some steam on it with that method.  Grilled was less rich in olive oil, but just as fresh and crunchy as it gets, with char…num, num.  

Let summer grilling season begin.  I have a huge (!) bag of real charcoal.  Huge.  Big chunks.  

Wishing all a happy and loving summer, full of laughter....and SPF 45.  Remember, any more is a waste.  :)

Toodles!
xoxo

Tablespoon Pork Dumplings ~

Seeing color, happiness came to my eyes, seeping to my heart

It happened again, last night.  I fell in love with myself.  There was silence from children intently eating.  This went over well.  Better than a previous experiment with dumpling recipes.  This is a keeper.  

It seems whenever I find an Asian recipe for almost anything I want to try, I am missing much of the list.  I don't keep fish sauce in the house, I've learned I don't care for it.  I may or may not have soy sauce in the house - it's awfully high in sodium.  Coconut aminos is good, but it's shelf life, even in the fridge, is not long.  I certainly don't have napa cabbage on hand.  I do, however, almost always have a purple cabbage in the recesses of my fridge stock.  Curious.  Anywhoo....what I didn't have made me substitute what I did for these pork dumplings.  As I was adding various bits...I noticed I was adding items in tablespoons...it did take a tablespoon of this...a tablespoon of that.  While mixing pork dumplings,  I started humming and singing and swaying ~~

Tablespoon Pork Dumplings ~

1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. freshly ground pepper
1 tsp. tapioca flour
1 T. minced fresh ginger
1 T. minced garlic
1 T. hoisin sauce
1 T. Vermouth 
2 T. minced shallot
3/4 lb. ground pork
1 c. thinly sliced and finely chopped cabbage
Wanton wrappers

• In a small bowl, mix salt, pepper, tapioca flour, ginger, hoisin sauce, Vermouth, and shallot.
• In a larger bowl, add pork and cabbage.  Add the flavorings.  Mix thoroughly.
• Using a tablespoon scoop, place the pretty colored pork mixture in the middle of a wanton wrapper.
• Wet half the edges with a wet finger.  Press out the air and seal.
• Ready a pot of boiling water.
• Slowly add dumplings.  Do not crowd.  Depending on the heat of your water, cook on a low simmer 6-10 minutes.  Test one.  They will still be pink when done (the salt does this, I believe). 

Sad picture, delicious dumplings

Eskimo kisses ~ real ones
xoxo

Grilled skirt steak ~ Taco Tuesday ~

I forgot the shallots and garlic in the picture...but not the marinade. 

Because Sofia Mae heard someone on TV say Taco Tuesday and she said that sounded fun, that we should do that sometime.   Okie dokie. The pure happy enthusiasm at the simplest thing is so beautiful.  How is it not contagious?  Taco Tuesday it is.

Marinade for skirt steak ~

3 T. lime juice ***Note added after - less if you don't care for lime taste on your meat, 1-2 T.

3 T. olive oil

1 1/2 T. Worcestershire sauce

3 garlic cloves, rough chop

Shallot, sliced - very scant 1/4 c.
2 T. rough chop cilantro 
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
Salt and pepper - 1/2 tsp. each
1 tsp. chipotle in adobo puree


1 lb. skirt steak (we tend to use a 3/4 lb. package for the four of us)

• Mix the marinade ingredients, pour into a freezer baggie.
• Add skirt steak.  Let marinade in the fridge at least four hours, but not more than 8.
• Grill as desired.  I like a little past medium.
• Cut on the grain in thin strips.
• Num, num.  :)  I hope.

Eskimo kisses ~
xoxo

Lamb ~ salty & sweet ~

There is something sexy about the sound of the sizzling when meat hits a pan hot with olive oil.  The marinade still clinging to the raw flesh will bounce off the oil,  jumping up to inflict hot beads of momentary pain.  I know, I know....maybe I didn't blot enough?  :)

One reason I cook lamb a day ahead...it not only tastes better the second day, I can never plan how my day will go when something needs several hours to cook before a dinner time that is fairly regular every night.

Lamb over two days. 
(Because the kids already ate dinner before the lamb was done.)

1/2 c. red wine
1/4 c. olive oil
3 small garlic cloves, smooshed, flattened with one fell swoop by the side of a knife
4 allspice berries, cracked
Sprinkle kosher salt
Pepper
oregano - a tablespoon, packed
Rosemary - a few bruised, leaves only
A curious toss of a few golden raisins
1 1/2 lbs. lamb, shoulder roast - either tied whole or in parts.  I do parts.

• Let marinade at room temperature for three to four hours. 
• Heat olive oil in a saute pan, medium to medium high. 
• Remove the lamb from the marinade to toweling and pat.  Salt and pepper.  
• Sear all sides very well.  
• Remove and set aside on a plate.

The rest ~

1/4 c. red wine

1/3-1/2 c. sliced shallots

Four garlic cloves, sliced or minced

Fire roasted tomatoes, 14.5 oz. can - these make a difference worth the purchase.

Oregano, fresh - a packed tablespoon

Rosemary, fresh, leaves only

Salt and freshly ground pepper

A curious toss of golden raisins, 1/4 c. 

One comice pear, fairly firm

• In the hot pan from searing the meat, add the shallots. Salt.  Saute until there is some color.   
• Add garlic, saute for a moment.  Do not brown garlic.
• Add the wine to deglaze. Reduce until thick.
• Add the fire roasted tomatoes and herbs.  Simmer for a few minutes.
• Salt to taste - isn't it yummy?  Remove from heat.
• Add those golden raisins to the sauce.

 What's next?

• Put a few spoonfuls of sauce in a slow cooker or lidded pan.  
• Put in the meat, top with the remaining sauce.
• Slow cook 6-8 hours or braise in the oven at 350 for longer than you do a pot roast.  Check at four hours if in the oven...it could take as long as 6 hours or so.  
• Now the pears...a few minutes before turning off the heat to the lamb...peel one, cube.  Add half the cubes to the finished sauce.  They will break down.  Stir into sauce, it will be thick.
• Remove the lamb to a serving plate.
• Add 1/2-3/4 c. water to the sauce in the pan, stir to loosen
• Gently fold the other half of the pear cubes into the sauce.
• Spoon sauce over the lamb.

Oh boy, oh boy ~ yum!




Toodles!
xoxo

Coming next week ....

This was our dessert that night we had lamb.


Apple tart with walnut streusel.

Basa, baby!!

Glancing at the time stamp from my last post.  (oy)  Moving on......

Oh, hello.

I miss having seafood, darned expensive stuff on a budget minded life-style.  So much imported seafood from sources I have not researched and wonder (question, really) about.  I have been craving fish lately and gave into it yesterday...ignoring the lack of knowledge regarding sources while still keeping in mind the frugality of protein costs that runs through me.  I adjust my mind to the compartmentalize setting....which carries a degree of aware ignorance - I made that up mahveryownself...I'm sure that's obvious.  :)  I call this place my Lala-Land....it runs on senses first and chooses to ignore practicalities.  


Basa in Lala-Land, baby!!!  *happy-happy* clapping with child-like glee.  


Lord, this was good.  I've not had Basa - a fish renamed to appease American catfish farmers, to detract consumers and...oops...I'm slipping out of Lala-Land.  Basa is a white fish.  Mild.  No distinct fishy flavor, a neutral protein that will take on what flavors it is given.   It was cheap, on sale for $3.99/lb.  In went two fillets in my Lala-cart.

We had this last night, a Monday.  It coincides nicely with Meatless Monday. 

Poor lighting, poor camera skills, I know.  Good recipe.



This is a rough recipe - salt as you go along, as you add new ingredients.


A pound of fish fillets
A couple shallots, sliced thin
2-4 garlic cloves, minced
Butter
Thai spice blend
Tomato, seeds removed and chopped
1/4 c. coconut milk
Cilantro, chopped
Kosher salt

• Salt the fish, sprinkle with as much Thai blend as you like.  Taste the dry spice to get a gauge on how spicy you like it.   Set aside. 
• Heat saute pan to med-high.  Add 2 T. butter, then shallots and garlic and a sprinkle of kosher salt.  Let brown.   
• Add fillets, let one side cook to half way done.
• Turn fillets.  Add coconut milk, chopped tomatoes, and cilantro.  A sprinkle of salt if you desire.
• Cover pan with a lid for remaining cook time, which is only 3-5 minutes.  This will add moisture and loosen the coconut milk.
• Check the middle of a fillet to see if it's cooked all the way through.  
• Serve it up and enjoy.

My children loved this!  My children ~ they love many kinds of seafood.  I think that counts me as lucky, as it makes cooking that much more of a joy when I don't have to restrain desires in the kitchen.


Signing out of Lala-Land ~


Toodles ~
xoxo

Nicholas cooks ~ Mushoom-shallot cream sauce with chicken

This recipe has a little history behind it.  I call it the first date dinner.  Not that it was made on any first date, but if the man made it to being asked to my home to dinner for the first time, this was most likely what was served.  Did I mention I'm referring to sometime over 20 years ago?  I also have had this recipe for over twenty years, almost 22, I think.  From Bob McKibben, who made if for me on a date at his home. I was impressed.  Men that cook.  I just smile that I have a good memory in looking at the pink notebook paper with his hand-writing on it.  He wrote it out when I asked for it, when he was cooking for the next girl he dated.  

How can one go wrong with cream and butter?  Mushrooms can be pushed aside if a person does not like mushrooms.  The shallots are mild in the cream.  Chicken, most people like chicken.  All around, it is quick, easy and decadent.   Perfect for company.

My son, Nicholas, likes to be in the kitchen, cooking.  I've not nutured that as much as he would like.  After his Christmas vacation, I asked if he'd like to cook dinner once a week, with my help when he needs it and teaching.  This recipe is good in that results are tasty if done well, still good if done not so well.  Nicholas did well!!  Even his little sister found a mushroom style she liked!  The girls set the dinner with the Christmas dishes because they aren't ready to let them go yet until next season.  It was a cozy family dinner.  A stepping stone moment in time.  

He was able to learn a few things, which was fun.  How to pick out mushrooms, discuss the differences at the store, let him decide which ones to pick.  Dredging meat.  Searing meat.  Browning veggies.  De-glazing.  I did the flaming brandy part, he is afterall, 12.  And with crossed fingers on my part, on his way to being a fine cook as a man someday.  Maybe he'll even make this for a date someday and smile.  I hope he's well loved.


Chicken with mushroom-shallot cream sauce


8-10 chicken tenders
1/2 c. flour
Salt and pepper
1 c. sliced mushrooms, or quartered if small
1/4 - 1/2 c. thinly sliced shallots - amount depending on love of shallots 
1/4 lb. butter, approximate
2 oz. brandy
3/4 pint heavy cream
  

• Add salt and pepper to flour in a pan.  
• Pat dry the chicken.  Dredge in flour and set aside on a clean plate.
  
• Heat pan over medium flame, when hot add 2-4 T. butter, then mushrooms and shallots.  Salt.  Let brown.  When nicely browned, add brandy, flame.  Let warm for a couple minutes.  Remove veggies to a plate.
• Add more butter to saucepan.  Put in chicken breasts or tenders, without crowding.  Split the number in separate batches if need be.  I do this with 4-5 tenders in one 10" pan, two batches.
• Cook chicken to nicely browned on first side, almost all the way done on the other.
  
• Add mushrooms and shallots back into the pan, along with first batch of chicken.  Add cream, warm through.  Add chicken back into pan.  No need to bring to a boil, just to coat and heat through if needed.  Taste for seasoning.
  

Notes ~  Bob made this with the chicken being cooked first.  Searing the chicken on one side, turning and adding the brandy.  He'd remove the chicken, then move onto the mushrooms and shallots.  

Nicholas ~ he did a great job, I'm proud of him.  I think he was proud of himself, too.   

Chile verde ~

Fa~la~la~la~la~la~la~la~pork.

I believe there is a new Christmas tradition in the Bittersweet home. If one doesn't care for turkey, ham or red meat for holiday dinners, what is left? Why Chili Verde of course! We love this dish, it is a favorite with the young ones in the house. "We're the Bittersweet Kids!", as the littlest one calls herself and her siblings. Persistent cute little ones...wanting homemade flour tortillas for Christmas eve dinner...homemade salsa...oh, yes, it goes on.

The new tradition ~

1 1/2 lb. tomatillos, husked and washed
Oil, neutral such a vegetable or canola
Kosher salt
Freshly ground pepper
1 large white onion, halved and thinly sliced
1 serrano or jalepeno, rough chop, seeds kept are optional if you want the extra heat
1/2 - 1 c. rough chopped cilantro, some stems are fine
3/4 c. chicken stock
3 + garlic cloves, peeled and rough chopped
3 lbs. pork shoulder - shoulder, shoulder, shoulder, shoulder - this is the tastiest cut. If you cannot find this, butt will do. (Don't we need to rename that, yet? Hind? Back roast? Moving on...)

• Lightly oil tomatillos, place on a foil lined baking sheet. Roast in a 425-450 degree oven until soft and charred - 20-25 minutes. This will depend on how accurate your oven is. If you don't want to wait until they are charred, soft is fine. They will be oozing their tart delicious insides, skins broken.
• Pre-heat the oven down to 325 degrees.
• Generously salt and pepper the pork roast, sear in a saute pan with hot oil. Let it brown on all sides. If you feel you want to cut the roast into two smaller pieces, go sear and then braise, fine & dandy.
• In a food processor, add the roasted tomatillos, cilantro, stock, jalepeno, garlic, additional salt and pepper if needed. Taste before using it to braise the roast, adjust if necessary.
• In a stock pot, place the browned roast, the onions and tomatillo sauce, cover. This part is up to you. It will be done in as little as three hours, but I use bigger pieces and let it go at least four hours.
• Here's the Me Part. I don't serve this the day I make it. I let it cool in the pan and refrigerate over night. It will congeal. The next day I will remove the pork and pull it apart in large-ish chunck (golf ball size) and put it back in the pot, then slowly reheat it.
• Depending on how long you let it braise in the first cooking, how long you let it re-heat and how big the chunks are, you will either have chunky pork or shredded pork. Full of flavor either way.

My pictures above show swimming pork. I did 4x the recipe on that particular occasion. Perfect for freezing some to have on hand when the day is long and those cute little Bittersweet kids are hungry...as usual. Someday they are going to find out that most people do not make flour tortillas. That will make them come back home once in a while ~ *weg*


Toodles!
xoxo