Chinese Takeout - At Home!

 

I had a hankerin' for Chinese food the other night.  I really miss our weekly Andy's delivery.  Chinese food outside of San Francisco just isn't the same...

So... I decided to do a bit of a noodle stirfry...

First, I marinated the beef in soy sauce, rice wine, chili paste, and lots of garlic.  Then I grilled it  (Yum all on its own...)

I boiled up some thin spaghetti (Chinese noodles not readily available at my local Super Fresh) and stirfried celery, carrots, red bell pepper, onion, broccoli, garlic, and water chestnuts.

I put them off to the side and stirfried the noodles in a bit of oil, browned them a bit, then added the vegetables back in, along with some Mandarin oranges and bean sprouts.  I heated it all through with some fish sauce, rice wine, soy sauce, sesame oil and onto the platter it went.  Beef on top, and dinner was served!

Sides of rice in our new Vietnamese Dragonfly bowls from Cost Plus, and dinner was complete.

Okay - it wasn't nearly as good as Andy's, but it worked! :)


Cassoulet Today

Back home.  No more restaurants.  Our own kitchen and a semblance of normalcy.

It was a bit chilly the other night and beans really sounded good.  My mom used to make great beans, and I still need a bit of comfort food, right now.  Beans, it was.

I  cooked up a bit of onion, celery, and carrot, and when they were about half-way cooked, I threw in some white wine.  (There's always a bottle of wine by the stove for cooking...) b Then added 2 cans of white beans and a bit of French herbs and a bit of dill.

I grilled some andouille sausage, a chicken breast, and a duck breast, cut them up and added them to the pot.  Mixed, and put it all in the oven at 350 for about 30 minutes.

A bit of crusty French bread, and dinner was served.

Granted, it wasn't a traditional "Mom" recipe for beans, but it had the desired effect.  I felt much better after eating them.


I Love My FoodSaver

I Love My FoodSaver

I love my FoodSaver! I bought one several months ago because I just hate freezer burn - and I love to buy bulk on sale.

I have to admit it was a bit pricy, but that 20% discount coupon helped. I've used it for everything from meats in the freezer to nuts on the shelf. I like it a lot.

So I was shopping and bought a ton of ground beef. If this were winter, it would be made into meatloaf. But this is BBQ time. Time for burgers.

I made up 8 different batches of seasoned and flavored burgers:

  1. Jalapeño: I have a jar of roasted jalapenos in the fridge that is pretty awesome. Added a bit of cumin, S&P.
  2. Asian: There is almost always apricot sauce in the fridge (we make a ton of Aunt Emma's cookie filling and then use it all year long for all sorts of things.) So - Apricot filling, sambal olek (chili paste) a squirt of fish sauce and a splash of soy sauce.
  3. Moore's Marinade: The original version from down south.  This really makes for a good burger
  4. Thai: Sriracha sauce and Thai Green Curry powder. Spicy!
  5. Berberé: Ethiopian spices. They pack some heat. Not as good as the homemade berberé that Mewded used to make for me, but it works!
  6. Chimichuri: Okay, chimichuri is supposed to be a marinade, but I love using the spices for other things. Mixed into a burger just seemed like the right thing to do.
  7. Buffalo: Moore's Buffalo Wing Sauce. Why not?!?
  8. BBQ: Apple Butter BBQ Sauce is just what the Grill-Doctor ordered!

What's especially good about the burgers is they can be grilled and eaten with any number of breads, buns, or rolls (and I do like any number of breads, buns, or rolls) or they can be grilled and served sans bread with something to accompany.  I also placed parchment between the burgers before vaccuuming.

And now that the freezer is full, I'm making salads for dinner.


Honey and Oat Loaf with Cayenne

Bread, Glorious Bread!

Easter Bread, Raisin Walnut Bread, Artisan Sesame Semolina Miche

Panera Bread just opened up down the way from work.  Just what I need - more bread...

Don't get me wrong - I love bread.  A lot.  But having even more bread within easy reach is.. well... wonderful, actually.  And it will probably be my downfall.

We just finished the last of the Easter Bread at dinner last night.  We have a loaf of Le Bus' Walnut Raisin Bread in the freezer (I absolutely love it!) , and just finished a fresh loaf of Panera's Sesame Semolina Miche a few days ago.

I walked into Panera and it was worse than being a kid in a candy store.  I wanted everything.  And I wanted big huge loaves of everything.  And then I wanted to go home and make 500 different sandwiches.

Grilled with different cheeses oozing out - along with fresh-from-the-garden tomatoes, and maybe some prosciutto, or bacon and avocado, or.. or..  You get the picture...

My problem (okay, one of numerous problems) is that I don't really want to eat all of them - I just want a taste or two.  At home, though, I don't have that option.  I make it and I have to eat it.  No wasting!

The one saving grace with Panera is that as good as their bread is -  it's a lot more expensive than I want to spend on a regular basis.  It shall be a special occasion bread. (And lord knows I can dream up special occasions!)

*** Edited later to add:

Two years later I'm making about 85% of the bread we eat and it's a lot better than anything one can get from a chain bakery. Yes, their breads are good.  Mine are better.


Con-Fusion

Dinner is served

"Fusion" - in culinary terms - is the blending or combining of different cultures and styles of food.  Tonight, our dinner was definitely fusion.  CONfusion...

I started off with Chimichurri Rice.  Chimichurri is a sauce or marinade originally from Argentina, but popular in parts of South and Central America.  On our last trip to San Francisco, we stopped off at Cost Plus and picked up some chimichurri spice mixture.  The directions say to make it into a marinade.  I thought rice was a better idea.

I first sauteed onions, bell pepper, the chimichurri spice in olive oil and then added canned diced tomatoes.  One cup of rice went in next, along with beef broth.  Cover, simmer 20 minutes.

I took boneless pork steaks and covered them liberally with ancho, pasillo, birdseye, and arbol chili powders, and a bit of salt.  Onto the grill they went.

Spicy Pork

The confusion part comes with the serving - in pitas!

Lettuce and chopped heirloom tomatoes and a Greek yogurt, cucumber, dill, and lemon sauce.  The yogurt abd cucumber sauce was really necessary - the pork was s-p-i-c-y!  It was yumlicious.


Simple Spring Salads

A Simple Spring Salad

We're seasonal eaters in our house.  I know that I can buy just about anything semi-fresh from some country around the world, but I don't want to eat fresh raspberries in January.  I also don't want to eat acorn squash in July.  I like the flavors of the seasons...  And by the end of March I want big salads, again.

I know it's pushing the envelope just a bit, but... that big plate of greens topped with whatever happens to be handy was calling my name last night.

I had some thin-sliced pork chops thawing, so I made a marinade of chipotle powder, a homemade raspberry sauce left over from Easter, and some olive oil and a bit of salt and pepper.

Onto the plates went my bed of greens, hard cooked eggs (also from Easter) some chow-chow, dried raspberries, and lots of tomatoes...  I also had some cheddar cheese curds that were perfect.

I grilled the pork chops and made a quick dressing of olive oil, apple cider vinegar, more raspberry sauce, a smidge of chipotle powder, and S&P.

Topped the salads with the pork, topped the pork with the dressing, and dinner was served.  I had a bit of the Easter bread left over and that went along with it.

Dinner took 15 minutes to get on the table.

I can't wait to be doing this every night - with fresh berries!


Pasta in 15 Minutes

Ravioli

Dinner tonight was a snap.  I had picked up some port0bello ravioli at work the other day and decided tonight was the night for 'em.  It's a bit wet and chilly outside.  Definitely a pasta night!

Set the water on to boil and chopped up 2 shallots, half a green pepper, a handful of mushrooms, and tossed them into a skillet with a bit of garlic and olive oil.  Cooked them down for a few minutes and then added 4 fairly small  yellow and orange tomatoes I had on the counter.  A bit of salt and pepper and a bit of Italian seasoning, and the sauce was ready.

I put the cooked ravioli into the pan with the sauce for a few minutes to finish them off and then onto the plate.  A shredding of fresh parmesan cheese finished it off.

Fresh food in 15 minutes, start to finish.  It doesn't get any better...


Beef Braised in Guinness

St Patrick's Day...  I have a few vague memories of the last time I actually went out on St Patrick's Day.  Well over 20 years ago, I was in San Francisco, had just opened up a Westin Hotel, and we had a banquet captain named Sean Hennigan who had just transferred there from Chicago.  I showed him how San Francisco celebrates the day - and night...  Somehow, we survived...

Fast forward to this weekend...

My cousin, Tom and his lovely wife Barb were in town from Omaha for a conference.  They had limited time because of 2 functions they had to attend.  After almost 6 years, my schedule had just changed a few weeks ago and I was now working Saturday. I did a quick “I need to leave early on Saturday” plea with work (no problem!!) and made plans to meet at 3:30 at an Irish Pub a few blocks from their hotel.

What we didn’t plan for was it being March 15th - 2 days before St Patrick’s Day.  Every college kid and their Italian roommate had put on their green and were packing the city’s three Irish bars.  So much for a quiet cocktail and conversation.  We ended up at the Bellevue (Park Hyatt) and spent a lot of money for quieter surroundings.  It was worth it!

St Paddy's Day was a fun one in my youth, but - let's face it - I ain't no youth, anymore.  Today, I'm more apt to want to enjoy a nice dinner than a noisy, crowded bar with beer being spilled on me.  Growing older is a good think...

So... we invited Victor's mom over and I made Beef Braised in Guinness.

Beef Braised in Guinness

We came up with this recipe years ago.  It's a great dish for parties, because it can be doubled, tripled, or quintupled with ease. It was definitely a huge hit when we had Pop's cousin's from Omaha over for St. Paddy's dinner years ago. They still talk about it!   I also brought it in to UCSF one year and it became a staple on the Moffitt Cafe menu for St Paddy's Day.  It's a refreshing change from Corned Beef and Cabbage!

Beef Braised in Guinness

  • 2 pounds beef steak, cut in pieces
  • 3 medium onions, sliced
  • 1 pound carrots, sliced into sticks
  • all-purpose flour
  • Salt and pepper
  • Garlic powder
  • 3 tbsp butter
  • 1 tbsp fresh basil, minced
  • 1 bottle Guinness
  • 1 tbsp honey
  • 1 cup beef broth

Cut the meat into serving sizes. Pound them to tenderize and for a uniform thickness. Peel the onions and slice. Peel the carrots and slice them into sticks. Place the flour in a dish and mix in 1 tsp of salt, pepper, and a bit of garlic powder. Heat the butter in a sautè pan, add the onions and cook until soft. Transfer them to a large, shallow, greased ovenproof dish.

Dredge the pieces of meat in the seasoned flour and brown. Remove as they are cooked and place on top of the onions in a single layer. Arrange the carrots around them. Add a little more butter to the pan and stir in the seasoned flour to make a roux.

Cook for a minute or two, stirring constantly and scraping up all the browned bits then add the Guinness. Allow to boil for a minute or two, then add the basil, honey and the broth. Return to a boil and pour over the meat. Cover the dish and bake at 325° for 90 minutes.

I made up a pot of mashed potatoes and dinner was served.

Light-years away from those noisy bars, but somehow, even more satisfying...


Potage Français D'Oignon

French Onion Soup

J'aime le potage!  Thin soups, thick soups, as a side, as a meal.  Serve me a bowl of homemade soup and I'm a happy boy.

I especially like soups because they're so easy to make and (depending upon the soup) use up all the bits and pieces of whatever I have left over or lying around the fridge or kitchen.  Just about anything goes.

Late this morning I was at the grocery store and saw a huge display of onions.  Big onions.  2 lbs for $3.00.  (Who would have ever thought THAT was inexpensive?!?)  So I bought about 8 pounds...

Onions for soup

I sliced them up, put a half pound of butter into the pot, added the onions, and let them slowly start cooking.  Slowly.  Slow is key to properly caramelized onions. I came back into the kitchen every 15 minutes or so, stirred the pot a bit and then went away.  They can't be rushed.

Onions caramalizing

After several hours, they started looking like this.  Almost there.   They had cooked down to about a third of their former volume.   Rich caramelized color, and the scent wafting through the house had me going crazy!  I knew it was going to be a good batch!

Soup’s On!

And I was right.  It was GREAT!


A Simple Sandwich

A Simple Sandwich

I can't believe how maligned bread has become.  I love bread in all its many guises - from crusty baguettes to focaccia, beer bread to soda bread, flat bread to Italian pane. Even squishy white bread has its place for a Thanksgiving turkey sandwich.

But... it seems folks just don't appreciate bread anymore.  Bread has somehow become evil.  It is responsible for weight-gain everywhere.  It is to be avoided at all cost - and then eaten only if it is whole wheat.  Then it's okay.  Granted, whole wheat bread has more nutrients, but if you're going to make a sandwich, your nutrients can come from your filling, and the bread can be something to compliment - not compete.  Bread itself is not evil.  And breads made with white flour can be extremely good.

Which brings me to tonight's dinner...

I had cooked a pork loin the other night and had a goodly amount left over.  I hadn't any real thought in mind when I cooked it - I just knew there would be leftovers and at least one meal I didn't have to think much about.  That was tonight.  Pork Sandwiches on Focaccia.

OMG!  I did good!

I sliced the focaccia in half and on the bottom I layered roasted red and yellow peppers and then topped with sliced pork loin.  I sauteed about 6oz of mushrooms with a small onion in roasted garlic butter that Victor had made a few days ago.  (Oven-roasted garlic cloves cooled and then mixed into slightly softened butter.  Use for everything!!)

They went onto the top half, topped with sliced yellow and orange tomatoes and then covered with sliced Iberico Cheese.  Onto a sheet pan and into the oven until everything was hot, and the cheese soft and gooey.

With the help of a big ol' spatula, I got the top half onto the bottom half, cut it into quarters, and Voila!  Dinner was served!

I had some curly fries in the freezer, and they were baked off and served on the side.

20 minutes start-to-finish.  And it was a mighty fine dinner.


Sunday Morning Breakfast

Sunday Breakfast

Breakfast is one of my most favorite meals because it can be just about anything.  It can be sweet, it can be savory...  it can be light and nutritious, it can be heavy and fat-laden.  Of course, my all-time favorite is the latter.

And the best breakfast of all is Sunday Breakfast.  There's just something about a big ol' breakfast on the day of rest that appeals to my inner-sloth.

For the past 6 years, I have worked on Sunday.  I made Sunday Breakfast at work for the crew while Victor was home.  Cooking Sunday Breakfast alone is just not as much fun.  Sunday Breakfast needs to be shared.  So imagine my delight when a schedule change happened and I found myself actually off on Sunday!  Hallelujah!  Now I get to cook Sunday Breakfast at home!

Have you ever noticed how many pans one needs to cook breakfast?  And what a huge mess it makes?  It's all coming back to me.....

The potato pan, the sausage pan, the egg pan...  The toast, the jam and jelly, the coffee...  It's unbelievable.  And timing!  It's almost as bad as trying to get Thanksgiving dinner on the table!   Totally crazy.   And I didn't even cook pancakes!

I know that we won't be able to keep up this sort of pace for long.  Once the nice weather arrives I'll be wanting lighter fare - and fresh fruits and yogurt and such on the back porch will be perfect.  But for now...   I'll indulge - and it's worth every calorie and gram of fat.

And I'm thinking that there's that recipe for Danish Pastry I haven't made in forever...


Sweet and Spicy Soup

Sweet and Spicy Soup with Potstickers

Oh yum!

We just got in a new product at work - Sweet Chili Sauce.  It's a dipping sauce, but that's never stopped us before from changing things around a bit!  :)

Yesterday, Jessica made a soup broth that is just out of thi world!  It was so good, in fact, we'll be demo'ing it this coming weekend!  And...  I made it for dinner tonight!  This is the sort of soup you would expect to pay big bucks for at an upscale Asian restaurant.  just out of this world flavors!

  • 2 qts Vegetable Broth
  • 1 btl Sweet Chili sauce
  • 1/2 cup Soy Sauce
  • Shredded or chopped Scallions
  • 1 bag Potstickers of your choice

Heat broth, sweet chili sauce and soy sauce together and bring to boil.  Reduce heat and add potstickers.  Simmer until potstickers are cooked through.

Ladle into bowls and add shredded or chopped scallions.

You can also add a bit of shredded carrot, if desired.

It is unbelievably good!  I served it with egg rolls tonight.