Iron Chef - Peach

What a day!  What a challenge.  What FUN FOOD!  Every couple of months, the folks at work get together and decide to do an Iron Chef-like competition.  An ingredient is chosen and we get to come up with fun foods.  My favorite ingrediet upo to this point was when we did pumpkin back in October.

Today was Peach.

Not as many entries as in the past, but what we lacked in quantity, we gained in quality.  This was a really unique and rather ingenious crowd!

I made an Asian Peach Salsa, served over a Pork Tenderloin.  I have to admit i did a pretty good job on this one!

Asian Peach Salsa

  • 12 Peaches, diced
  • 1/2 Red Onion, diced
  • 2 tsp Sambal Oleck (Chili Paste)
  • 2 Tbsp Soy Sauce
  • 2 Tbsp Rice Wine
  • 1 tsp Sesame Oil
  • Cilantro, chopped
  • Basil, chopped
  • Lenon Verbena, chopped

Dice peaches and onions and place in bowl.  Add remaining ingredients and lightly mix.  Chill until ready to serve.

The salsa is great with chips, but is really really good with pork, chicken, or fish.  It's pretty spicy, but you can adjust the heat by the amount of chili paste you use.

The next recipe was just plain outstanding.  Joe Poston made a Peach Salmon Chili.  You read that right.  Peach Salmon Chili.  Definitely one of the more unique dishes I have had.  And it really worked!

Peach Salmon Chili

  • 2 jars Peach salsa
  • 2 cans White Kidney Beans, drained
  • 1 1/2 pkgs pre-cooked Salmon
  • 1 Mango, sliced ito small pieces
  • Chili powder until it is as hot as u like it

Combine ingrediets in a crock pot set on low.  Wait.  (About 6-7 hours.)  Not my recipe, but I'm sue you could let it simmer on a stovetop, too.

I was impressed.

There was also Chicken in a Peach BBQ Sauce, Peach Chipotle Ciabatta Bread, Peach Soda, a salad with a Peach Vinaigrette, and a Peach and soymilk just-like-ice-cream yummy dessert.

More info as I get recipes!

Definitely a good time was had by all!


Vaguely Korean

I grew up eating Korean food.  And Filipino food, and Chinese, Mexican, Italian... While my father had a bit of a midwestern opinion about certain foods, my mom - the consummate Californian - embraced it all with a flair that could only have come out of the 1960's.  Filipino neighbors across the street had me eating Lumpia and Adobo before I could spell them.  And we were eating Chinese food at Kwan's on Geary Street when there were only three kids in the family. (Numbers four and five were born in 1957.)

For years I lived up the street from a great Koren restaurant.  First time I walked in, I was a bit intimidated with the menu.  The waitress, sensing my discomfort, asked if I would trust her.  I said YES - and what a dinner I had.  From then on, I never ordered from the menu, I just said "Dinner for two" (or three, or four) and food would magically appear.  Magic, indeed.

While I have cooked a fair amount of Asian foods in my life, I have never really cooked a lot of Korean.  No particular reason, other than  bazillion condiments to prepare, and I always had immediate access to a really good Korean restaurant.

That was then, this is now.

Out here in my white-bread Philadelphia suburb, ethnic food of any stripe is difficult to find.  Restaurants tend to be a bit more upscale (read expensive) or national chains, which I tend to avoid at all costs.  (I generally don't care for cookie-cutter food.)

So, I tend to cook a lot at home.  It's good, because i eat healthier, but bad, because I cook for 12 when there's only two of us.  Healthy+big portions+quitting smoking=weight gain.  Yeah, I'm getting fat.

Which really has nothing to do with tonight's meal.  A Korean-inspired beef.  "Inspired" because it was about as authentically-Korean as I am, but it did have those great flavors.

I took some thin-sliced beef and marinated it in a pseudo-Bulgogi marinade:

  • soy sauce
  • sugar
  • rice wine
  • white vinegar
  • sesame oil
  • garlic
  • leeks
  • sesame seeds
  • cayenne pepper
  • black pepper

Into a zip-lock it went.  Onto the grill.  Onto the plate.  Into my tummy.

I had a bunch of mushrooms in the 'fridge that needed cooking, so I sauteed them in a bit of butter, soy sauce, a splash of fish sauce. garlic, a splash of rice wine...  they wre great!

And simple white rice to round it all out.

Now to find some good kim chee!


Bacon Bleu Cheese Burger

Ready for a heart attack on a homemade bun?  This was definitely one of my better burgers!

Okay... other than the bacon and the blue cheese (and the avocado) it wasn't really all that bad - I did use 90% lean beef!

Freshly baked buns (I had some leftover dough in the freezer...) beef patty, thick slices of white onion, half an avocado, 3 strips of bacon, sliced tomato, sliced pickles, bleu cheese, and alfalfa sprouts...  Pure heaven.

And...  since I cooked the bacon on a sheet pan in the oven, I put the fries on the same pan and cooked them in the bacon grease.  OMG they were good.

I don't really eat like this often, but when i decide to be bad - I'm bad!

And that burger was g-o-o-d!


Memorial Day

Tis the season to BBQ.  Okay - I really mean 'grill' because I'm of the propane tank crowd nowadays.  I'll admit that the flavor from the right charcoal is out of this world, but I can have something on the gas grill in minutes.  It's one area where I have succumbed...

We started off Sunday with the typical foods - ribs, baked beans, and potato salad.  But each had their own little twist.

The ribs were dry rubbed with a really interesting assortment of spices and herbs.  I found the concept in a herb and spice book and switched things around a bit... This makes a goodly amount!

Spicy Dry Rub

  • 2 tbsp cumin
  • 2 tbsp chili powder (I used chipotle powder!)
  • 2 tbsp cinnamon
  • 2 tbsp cloves
  • 2 tbsp black pepper
  • 2 tbsp oregano
  • 1 tbsp garlic powder
  • 1 tbsp salt

Mix well and use liberally!

I rubbed the ribs and let them set overnight in the fridge.  I brought them to room temperature before putting them on a slow grill with indirect heat.  They cooked for about an hour and a half - and were perfect!  The cloves and the cinnamon really come out, but don't over-power.  Just great!

The baked Beans come from my baby sister, Phoebe!  They have become the only baked beans I cook anymore.  I love 'em!  She got the original recipe from Cooking Light magazine...

Phoebe's Baked Beans

  • 1/2  cup minced shallots
  • 1  tablespoon ground cumin
  • 1  tablespoon minced garlic
  • 1/2  cup tomato puree (I use tomato paste - I never have puree in the house!)
  • 1  tablespoon canola oil
  • 1/4  cup honey
  • 1/4  cup cider vinegar
  • 2  tablespoons molasses
  • 1  tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 1/4  teaspoon salt
  • 2  chipotle chiles, canned in adobo sauce, seeded and chopped
  • 2  (28-ounce) cans baked beans

Preheat oven to 300°.

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add shallots; sauté 4 minutes or until golden. Add cumin and garlic; sauté for 1 minute. Add tomato puree and oil, and cook for 2 minutes or until thick, stirring constantly. Add remaining ingredients (except beans.). Reduce heat; simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Combine beans and shallot mixture in a 2-quart baking dish. Bake at 300° for 1 hour or until thick and bubbly.

And finally, my Mom's Potato Salad.  I have no idea on amounts here.  This is one of those recipes that I just make without thinking about it.  It's a close approximation to what she made - and she never used a recipe, either.

Mom's Potato Salad

  • Russet potatoes, peeled, cubed, cooked, and cooled
  • Celery, diced
  • Carrots, diced
  • Pickles, diced
  • Onion, diced
  • Hard cooked eggs, diced
  • Radishes, diced
  • Mayonnaise
  • Catsup
  • Mustard
  • Garlic powder
  • Salt and pepper

Mom used russets, because back in the day, the two types of potatoes available were russets or red bliss.  I make it with yukon golds once in awhile and almost always peel the potatoes.  Every now and again I'll make it with unpeeled potatoes and it works really well.

Play with it.  Make it loose (lots of mayo) or dry (less mayo) as you like.  Chop up other veggies, whatever.  It's potato salad.  Go for it.  It won't be bad no matter what!

Naturally, I made enough for an army.  We're going to have some great leftovers!  I can't wait for round two!


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.


Macaroni and Cheese

Macaroni and Cheese

Spring sprung a bit yesterday.  That, and I had a craving for cheese.  Macaroni and Cheese was the answer...

My mother made the best mac and cheese.  She would save the odds and ends of her various cheeses and one night when my father was at the firehouse, she would whip up and incredible baked dish.  It was never quite the same because the various cheeses would always change - but it was always fantastic.  Thick, gooey, and covered in toasty, buttery crumbs.

Her recipe is pretty easy to replicate - a simple white sauce with a bit of garlic, cayenne, worcestershire, and S&P.  Stir in shredded cheeses of choice, mix with cooked macaroni, top with buttered bread crumbs and bake at 350 until nuclear hot.

I purposely bought cheddar with caramalized onions and sheeps milk cheese to make this with, but when I got home, there was still a hunk of new Zealand grass-fed cheddar and some cheddar curds in the fridge, so I used them with the sheeps milk cheese and will save the other cheddar for something this weekend - maybe cheddar and mushroom sandwiches...

Pear Tart

Victor made dessert while I was working!  Pear Tart with an oatmeal crumb topping.  I don't have a recipe (he didn't either, just threw it together.  But dayum, it was good!

Pear Tart


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...