Cook With Madin

Brined Roast Turkey

2011-11-17T16:25:00.000-08:00

The thought of cooking a turkey for Thanksgiving dinner can be challenging; of course; because we are delivering an American icon to the table, that is we want our bird to be juicy, wonderful in flavor and texture. Soaking the turkey in brine will achieve all of these and another good thing, this process will also cut the cooking time.

For seven years now, every year I prepare my turkey this way. Brine is a simple solution of water, salt and sugar; your favorite spices and aromatics can be added to the solution. You need a container like a stock pot or a bucket that’s large enough to submerge the turkey; you also need to make a space in the refrigerator, in its lowest shelf. (This way it will be easier to take the container in and out) Okay, okay I can hear your tiny mumbling there already. Well, just look at it this way; it’s that time to clean the refrigerator. You’ll never know what you will find there in the back; you might find the left over casserole that you served to your in-laws the last time they visited; maybe some left over chinese take out that you’re supposed to have for lunch the next day; maybe a basket of strawberries because you want to try to make a strawberry pie; or maybe….. uh….err… sorry I got carried away there for a moment. Okay back to our turkey. You might be thinking that this is a lot of work, but let me assure you that it’s well worth it. Make sure that the turkey is completely thawed before you submerge it in the brine.

Happy Thanksgiving to all and Happy cooking!

Container I used for brining

The very first time I tried brining turkey, I adapted Wolfgang Puck’s (Spago) recipe; and then the following year, I tried Alton Brown’s (Food TV) recipe. And the next year after that, although inspired by two recipes, I tried a combination of both, choosing my favorite spices and aromatics, using ingredients that were on hand and my budget.

Here's my take on Brined Roast Turkey.

Ingredients:

1 (14-16 pound) frozen young turkey

For the brine:

1 cup kosher salt

2 cups light brown sugar

1 ½ teaspoon ground cloves

1 ½ teaspoon ground ginger

1 tablespoon black peppercorn

12 bay leaves

1 gallon water

1 gallon ice cold water

For the aromatics:

1 red apple quartered

1 large onion quartered

5 sprigs of rosemary

8 leaves of sage

Extra virgin olive oil or canola oil

2 cups chopped carrots

2 cups chopped celery

2 cups chopped onion

10 cloves of garlic peeled

Pan Gravy:

2 cups apple cider

4 cups turkey broth or chicken broth

½ to ¾ cup all-purpose flour

Salt and pepper

Before making the brine, make sure that the turkey is completely thawed.

Combine one gallon water, salt, brown sugar, peppercorns, ground cloves and ground ginger in a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Stir occasionally to dissolve solids and bring to a boil. Then remove the brine from the heat, cool to room temperature, place the turkey in the brining container, pour the cool brine and then pour the iced cold water, making sure that the turkey is fully immersed in the brine. Place a weight on top of the turkey (you can use a plate) to make sure it is always covered with brine. Marinate for at least 8 hours to overnight in the refrigerator.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F

In a shallow roasting pan place the chopped onion, carrots, celery and peeled garlic. Position the roasting rack on top of the chopped vegetables. Take the turkey out from the brine. Rinse with cold tap water inside and out. Pat it dry with paper towels and place the turkey breast side up on the roasting rack. Tuck wings underneath the bird. Place apple, onion, rosemary and sage inside the cavity then drizzle oil and coat the skin well.

Roast turkey until the instant read-thermometer register at least 165 degrees F in the breast, this is about 2 1/2 hours. If the skin gets too dark during roasting, tent with foil.

Transfer turkey to a cutting board or a platter loosely covered with foil. Meanwhile, prepare the pan gravy.

For the pan gravy: Strain all the veggies over a bowl to separate them from the stock/mixture. Discard the veggies. Skim off the fat and add it to the roasting pan. This is the fat for the roux. Put the roasting pan over 2 burners and over a low heat and whisk in the flour. Cook until the mixture looks like wet sand, about 4 to 5 minutes. Slowly whisk in the apple cider and broth. Cook until the mixture has thickened and reached a gravy consistency. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Pour into a serving pitcher or bowl.

Thai Beef in Lettuce Wraps and Gado Gado Salad with Peanut Sauce

2010-08-12T19:14:00.000-07:00

My schedule has been very busy for the past weeks and I do apologize to all my foodie friends. I know, I know I am behind in my blog reading (sigh). I will try my best to keep up with them. (with a very apologetic face)

It’s nice to be back to my regular routine after being occupied to so many things. So first thing I did, I went down to the ocean walked there for a little bit (too much fog, this is the kind of summer we have here in Pacifica, we’re used to it) then I headed on and ran some errands and on to the market for some shopping. I want to make a vegetarian dish although I already planned to prepare some meat dish so husband, son and I will enjoy whatever I prepare. All I know is I’m leaning towards Asian flavor because I already made some peanut sauce (I thought about making some fresh imperial rolls, but changed my mind), and I also made some sweet chili sauce for the marinated flank steak.

The marinated flank steak was grilled, sliced and served on top of iceberg lettuce, boiled bean thread noodles and some shredded carrots and diced cucumber, bean sprouts, some chopped cilantro and green onion and drizzle them with sweet chili sauce.

I made my own sweet chili sauce, because the market that I go to sells Thai bird chili in small bags, there’s about a quarter of a pound (or maybe a little bit less) of chili in each bags and they’re cheap too. The chili sauce can be refrigerated for at least a month. They’re good with fried or grilled chicken, grilled pork and beef or even grilled fish and vegetables. If you don’t have time to make your own chili sauce, you can buy them in Asian markets.

Then I remembered the Gado Gado Salad that I had in a restaurant in San Francisco.

Gado Gado is a traditional dish in Indonesian cuisine, and is a vegetable salad served with peanut sauce dressing, eaten as a main dish. The exact composition of the vegetable salad varies, but usually comprises some form of mixture of blanched - shredded, chopped, or sliced vegetables such as cabbage, green beans, broccoli, cauliflower, sugar snap peas, uncooked/sliced cucumber, lettuce and bean sprouts, fried tofu, sliced boiled potatoes and peeled and sliced boiled eggs. The authentic gado gado does not have carrots and tomatoes.

What distinguishes gado-gado from a plain vegetable salad is the peanut sauce dressing, which is poured on top of the vegetables and should be well coated in the sauce before serving. But I prefer to serve the dressing on the side instead. Although husband and son poured the dressing on top of their vegetable salad and really enjoyed them as much as they enjoyed the beef in lettuce wraps.

I still have some peanut sauce left over maybe I’ll make those fresh imperial rolls, if I don’t change my mind again. (wink)

Thai Beef in Lettuce Wraps

Serves 4

Marinade:

1 ½ lb. beef flank steak

¼ cup soy sauce

1 lime juiced

¼ cup rice vinegar unseasoned

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1 teaspoon minced ginger

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1 tablespoon sesame seed oil

½ teaspoon each kosher salt and ground pepper

Marinate beef with the rest of the ingredients and refrigerate for 6 hours or overnight.

Grill beef seven minutes each side for medium well or 10 minutes each side for well done. Thinly slice meat against the grain.

Serve grilled beef with:

1 head of iceberg lettuce

12 ounces bean thread or cellophane noodles

1 medium carrot shredded

1 medium cucumber diced

2 cups bean sprouts

¼ cup chopped cilantro

¼ cup chopped green onion

In boiling water, place noodles and cook them for five minutes, drain and rinse with cold water, set aside. Separate lettuce leaves, be careful not to tear them, wash them with cold water and dry them with paper towels, can be refrigerated until ready to assemble.

To assemble: Take one lettuce leaf, place some cold noodles, top with shredded carrots, diced cucumber, bean sprouts, chopped cilantro and green onion, then top with the sliced beef and drizzle some sweet chili sauce.

Sweet Chili Sauce

Makes 1 cup

½ cup rice vinegar

½ cup white sugar

5 pieces of Thai bird chili, or more if preferred, preferably the red ones minced

3 cloves garlic minced

3 tablespoon fish sauce

2 tablespoon cornstarch dissolved in 4 tablespoon water

In a sauce pan or a small pot combine all ingredients except the cornstarch dissolved in water. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat, let it cook for another 10 minutes then add the cornstarch, stir until sauce thickens. Let it cool before serving.

This is the sweet chili sauce, I know, it looks like orange juice.

Gado Gado Salad

Serves 4

5 red potatoes

10 ounces green beans

10 ounces sugar snap peas

1 small head cauliflower cut in florets

1 small crown broccoli cut in florets

1 block (12 oz) firm tofu

3 tablespoons canola oil you may need more

2 cups bean sprouts

3 large hard boiled eggs sliced

For the tofu: Sliced the block of tofu in 4 squares. Wrap each square with paper towel. Place a baking sheet on top of the tofu and weigh it down with a 28-ounce can of tomatoes for one hour. Remove sliced tofu from the paper towel. In a non-stick pan heat the canola oil over medium high heat and pan fry tofu until brown on each side, then cut fried tofu into squares.

In a pot with salted water, boil peeled potatoes until tender, drain, sliced and set aside.

In another pot with salted boiling water, blanch sugar snap peas, cauliflower, broccoli, green beans, drain in ice cold water for five minutes then drain.

In a platter, arranged all the vegetables, tofu, potatoes, bean sprouts, and eggs pour the peanut sauce on top and coat the vegetables well or if prefer the peanut sauce can be served on the side.

Peanut Sauce

Makes 2 cups

½ cup low sodium chicken stock

½ cup coconut milk

1 ½ cups creamy peanut butter

1 lime juiced

2 tablespoon soy sauce

1 tablespoon fish sauce

1 clove garlic chopped

1 tablespoon ginger chopped

1 teaspoon pepper flakes

¼ cup chopped cilantro

In a food processor, puree the chicken stock, coconut milk, lime juice, soy sauce, fish sauce, hot sauce, chopped garlic, and ginger. Add the peanut butter and pulse to combine. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Bring sauce to room temperature and fold in chopped cilantro before serving. Sauce is good for five days refrigerated.

Our Visit to Ventura County

2010-07-19T20:26:00.000-07:00

I am here to share to all of you our visit to our very good friend Eldie and his better half Heath in Ventura County, along with my very good friend George (actually he is Eldie’s cousin) and with my out of towner sisters Mila and Linda “aka” Bebot. Ventura County is about 30 minutes outside the city of Los Angeles in California.

We were all surprised that the weather was overcast and a little bit windy, nothing at all as we expected to the kind of weather they would normally have in Southern California during this time of the year.

But we were greeted and welcomed so warm by Eldie and Heath as soon as we walked in to their lovely and gorgeously designed apartment, but who I am kidding here, Eldie was known fashion designer in the Philippines, everything in the apartment should look amazing.

The nonstop talking, sharing stories, laughs and picture takings; and nevertheless our host Eldie, every time he made comments and told stories, everybody will just burst into laughter uncontrollably.

Of course this is a food blog and I’m here to show and talk about Eldie’s food what he cooked and how he presented his beautiful spread for us. Well, the day before we arrived to his place, he called me and asked me what we want him to cook for us. Right away we requested Pork Sinigang and Fried Tilapia. But aside from the two dishes we requested, he even prepared Lumpia Shanghai and Bicol Express, WOW! What a great addition to the two dishes we requested. To finish the wonderful dinner, he cut up some watermelon (they’re amazingly sweet), so simple, but a great compliment to end a great meal.

Here’s the beautiful dinner spread.

Fried Tilapia served with Eldie’s special dipping sauce

Lumpia Shanghai with sweet and sour dipping sauce

Pork Sinigang

(cooked in Tamarind Pulp to give the sour broth served with Okra, Spinach, Long Beans and Eggplant)

Bicol Express

(varieties of hot peppers cooked in coconut milk with sliced pork. They’re really great with steamed rice)

Here’s our wonderful host: Eldie and Heath.

Thank you very much for a wonderful time can’t wait to see both of you again.

Roasted Grape Tomatoes with Basil and White Fish

2010-07-01T22:11:00.000-07:00

I love this time of the year, besides the beautiful weather, the fresh fruits and vegetables in the Flea Market are just glorious. Whenever I go to the Flea Market I will fill up my bags with lots of goodies, uncontrollably (it reminds me of Denise Fletcher at Quickies on the Dinner Table, grocery shopping is her catnip). When I get home, I’m like a kid that just came home from trick-o-treating, taking out all my candies from the bag, which one I will eat first and which one I will save for last. I thought this time I bought a lot of grape tomatoes (I love to snack on them actually). Maybe I’ll add them in salad or roast them in the oven or just eat them raw with a little bit of kosher or sea salt.

Then I remember I have this recipe from few years ago from Kathleen Daelemans’ show Cooking Thin in Food TV Network. I love the versatility of this recipe, not only that it’s easy to prepare, there are only few ingredients and it can be served as bruschetta, in pasta or with white fish.

I apologize about my pictures, they’re not as great.

At this point, this can be served as bruschetta or with pasta

Serves 4

2 pints grape tomatoes

2 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

15 garlic cloves, peeled

Sea salt

Cracked black pepper

1/2 cup loosely packed basil leaves, torn into halves and thirds

1 to 1 1/4 pounds white fleshed fish

Sliced French baguette (optional)

Boiled pasta (optional)

Or nestle the white fish with the tomatoes and put back in the oven until fish fillets are translucent.

Directions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

In a 9 by 13-inch baking pan, combine tomatoes, oil, garlic, salt, pepper and 1/2 the basil. Roast for 15 minutes. Remove from oven, gently stir. Nestle fish in pan with tomatoes, place back in oven and continue roasting 7 to 10 minutes more or until fish is no longer translucent and tomatoes are just beginning to burst. Remove from oven. Divide fish among serving plates. Add remaining basil to tomatoes. Taste and adjust seasonings. Spoon over fish in equal portions.

Two Salads and a Sweet Surprise

2010-06-17T09:14:00.000-07:00

The weather has been very nice for the past few days (I say “nice” because here in Pacifica, it doesn’t get HOT. Whenever it’s nice here, it’s about 100 degrees or over in the rest of the Bay Area), a great time to have some salad (just plain, neither tuna nor meat or eggs). I haven’t done any of my shopping yet, so I don’t have any idea what kind I’m going to make.

When I looked in the refrigerator and in the vegetable bowl on the kitchen counter, all I have were: a head of iceberg lettuce, cilantro, green onions, a red onion, carrots, celery, a red bell pepper, a yellow bell pepper, lots of lemons (from our good friend Edwin’s tree), garlic and ginger. I also have a bag of frozen edamame in the freezer (big sigh…). Then I remembered there were some soba noodles in the pantry.

Yep, that’s what I’m going to make soba noodle salad. Now I’m relieved; at least I can make something from what I have. AND THEN… aaarrrgh…Kirk (hubby) is not a big fan of soba noodles. I can’t say he hates them because he’s always kind enough to have some whenever I make them.

Okay, back to the drawing board.

Then, right there in front of me as I was staring in the pantry, some brown rice. Kirk loves brown rice and I love them too, but my appetite is set on the soba.

Great! Soba noodle salad for me and brown rice salad wrapped in lettuce for the hubby.

The Sweet Surprise? Kirk’s favourite Lemon Bars. Oh yeah, how can I forget, my niece, Paige who’s been nagging me on the phone almost every day to make some for her. Everything worked out for me, the two salads and the lemon bars for Kirk and Paige.

BUT, I must warn you about the Lemon Bars…BUTTER! Lots of them. If you’re cutting down on butter, you may want to look away.

Brown Rice Salad

Serves 2

For the rice

1 cup brown rice

Instead of cooking the rice in rice cooker, I put them in a pot of salted boiling water, like cooking pasta. The only difference is the rice has to cook for at least 20 minutes or until they are soft not mushy. Then drain and rinsed them in cold water. Set aside.

For the vegetables:

1 yellow bell pepper diced

½ red onion diced

1 carrot grated

1 rib of celery diced

2 tablespoons chopped cilantro

2 tablespoons chopped green onion

Some lettuce to wrap the salad (if prefer)

In a bowl, mix all vegetables and set aside until ready to use.

For the dressing:

1 garlic minced

1 tablespoon soy sauce

2 tablespoons rice vinegar (seasoned kind is fine too)

6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Kosher salt and ground black pepper to taste

Whisk all the ingredients and set aside until ready to use.

To assemble:

In bowl, put the cooked brown rice, all the vegetables, give the dressing another whisk then toss the rice and the vegetables with the dressing. Let the rice salad sit for at least 30 minutes for the flavors to develop. This may be served cold or room temperature, and maybe wrap in lettuce.

Soba Noodle Salad

Serves 2

For the Noodles:

2 bundles Soba Noodles (Buckwheat Noodles)

In a medium pot of salted boiling water, drop the noodles and cook for 3-5 minutes. Drain and rinse in cold water. Set aside.

For the vegetables:

1 red bell pepper sliced

2 ribs of celery sliced

1 carrot grated

1 cup frozen shelled edamame (blanch in boiling water for about 3 minutes, then rinse in cold water)

2 tablespoons chopped cilantro

2 tablespoons chopped green onion

In a bowl mix all vegetables, and set aside.

For the dressing:

1 teaspoon ginger minced

1 garlic minced

1 tablespoon soy sauce

2 tablespoons rice vinegar (the seasoned kind is fine too)

6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon honey

1 teaspoon sesame oil

Kosher salt and ground black pepper to taste

You may add some Shiracha hot sauce for a little bit of heat.

Whisk all ingredients and set aside.

To assemble:

In a bowl, put the cooked noodles and vegetables then toss them with the dressing. Let it sit for about 30 minutes for the flavors to develop. This may be served cold or room temperature.

Lemon Bars

The recipe was adapted from Ina Garten’s The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook.

I made them a few times already and it’s always been a favourite. They are lemony, gooey and the shortbread crust is really great. The only change I made was the amount of sugar, the recipe called for 3 cups of sugar but they were way too sweet when I made them the first time; hubby already has a sweet tooth, but even he cannot finish a whole bar, so I only add 2 cups every time I make them. All in all they’re very good and easy to make.

Makes 20 squares.

For the crust:

1/2 pound unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 cups flour

1/8 teaspoon kosher salt

For the filling:

6 extra-large eggs at room temperature

2 cups granulated sugar

2 tablespoons grated lemon zest (4 to 6 lemons)

1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 cup flour

Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

For the crust, cream the butter and sugar until light in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Combine the flour and salt and, with the mixer on low, add to the butter until just mixed. Dump the dough onto a well-floured board and gather into a ball. Flatten the dough with floured hands and press it into a 9 by 13 by 2-inch baking sheet, building up a 1/2-inch edge on all sides. Chill.

Bake the crust for 15 to 20 minutes, until very lightly browned. Let cool on a wire rack. Leave the oven on.

For the filling, whisk together the eggs, sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, and flour. Pour over the crust and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the filling is set. Let cool to room temperature.

Cut into squares and dust with confectioners' sugar.

Greek Salad for Aisa

2010-06-10T13:57:00.000-07:00

Aisa is a good friend of mine, or should I say my “BFF.” Aisa and I grew up together in the Philippines. In the early ‘70s, when my family and I immigrated here to the US, we lost contact. My last and only visit back to the Philippines was in 1992, but I didn’t get the chance to see her. It wasn’t until last year that we found each other on Facebook. How sweet is that!

She still lives in the Philippines, happily married with two kids. We chat and e-mail each other a lot, exchanging recipes. She shared with me her chocolate cake recipe (this will be for a future post), which I made last year for Christmas, and it was a big hit. Last week she asked me to post her new favorite, Greek Salad.

This recipe is inspired by Café 36; a small restaurant that my co-workers and I would go to for breakfast or lunch when I was working in San Francisco. Their Greek Salad served with warm pita bread, is one of our many favorites here, as well as the Chicken Shawarma; the Falafel Plate served with veggies, hummus and three kinds of sauces on the side; and for breakfast, the toasted bagel with hummus and sliced tomatoes instead of cream cheese.

The Salad may serve 4 or 2 depends on your appetite.

For the Dressing:

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1 lemon juiced

2 cloves garlic minced

1 teaspoon dried oregano

Salt and pepper to taste

Whisk all the ingredients and set aside until ready to use. This can be refrigerated until ready to use. Make sure to bring it to room temperature for tossing the salad.

For the Salad:

3 hearts romaine lettuce cut into strips

½ cup pitted kalamata olives (cut in half if prefer)

1 cup tiny grape tomatoes (or vine ripened tomatoes or beefsteak tomatoes cored and cut in chunks)

½ sweet red onions very thinly sliced

1/3 cup feta cheese crumbled

In a large bowl, place lettuce and scatter the tomatoes, sliced red onion, olives and feta cheese on top. You may leave them in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

Pita bread:

4 pita bread wrapped in foil and warm in oven, then cut in halves or triangles

Garnish:

1 cucumber, peeled and sliced in rounds

6 whole pepperoncini

When Ready to serve, whisk the dressing one more time and pour into the assembled vegetables and cheese. Toss.

Serve in salad plates. Place the cucumber, pepperoncini and warm pita bread on the side.

Pan-Fried Noodles with Tofu and Vegetables

2010-06-03T18:55:00.000-07:00

I was out and about one day; I had a few errands and appointments to attend to. And as soon as I’m done with all these, I will head home and start dinner. Well, while in the middle of running around, I suddenly had this big craving for “Pan-Fried Noodles!” Yes, when I have cravings, I crave for a meal. I never crave for sweets like; ice cream, cake, and chocolates or not even salty stuff like a bag of chips.

So anyway there’s this big tug-o-war between my self control and my deep desire to have these Pan Fried Noodles right now! This went on for approximately ONE minute. And needless to say self-control lost out to deep desire. As if there were ever any doubt of the outcome. Right away I made a mad dash to the Asian Market and picked up the egg noodles; with all the barbecues we had over this past Memorial Day weekend, I am so done with meat right now. I want to add tofu instead (sorry guys, its deep fried tofu); so I picked up some at the market as well. I already have vegetables at home that I can add with the dish.

I apologize to all the Chinese foodies out there; this may not be the typical way of cooking Pan Fried Noodles, but I have to feed my cravings; and this is the only easiest and fastest way I can cook them.

4 Servings

For the Noodles

16 ounces thin egg noodles

2 tablespoons peanut oil or canola oil

Blanched noodle in boiling water for about 2 minutes, drain and rinsed in cold water. Divide noodles into 2 parts.

Heat non-stick pan or skillet on high heat then add 2 tablespoons of oil, fry noodles on both sides until brown, you may add more oil if needed. Set aside.

For the sauce

1 tablespoon peanut oil or canola oil

½ yellow onion diced

1 clove of garlic minced

5 caps shiitake mushrooms sliced

1 cup sliced fried tofu

2 tablespoons soy sauce

3 tablespoons oyster sauce

3 tablespoons Chinese cooking rice wine (Shao Xing)

2 cups low sodium chicken broth

2 tablespoons corn starch

4 tablespoon cold water

1 tablespoon sesame oil

Heat pan on medium heat, add the oil. Add garlic, onion and mushrooms, add a little bit of salt, and sauté until the liquid from the mushrooms are absorbed. Add the tofu, soy sauce, oyster sauce, cooking wine and the chicken broth, let it boil. Then add the slurry (cornstarch and water mixed together). Stir until liquid turn to sauce consistency, and then add the sesame oil. Turn off heat.

For the Vegetables

2 carrots cut in thin rounds

2 cups snap peas

10 stalks Chinese broccoli cut in half or 10stalks bock choy

Blanch vegetables in salted boiling water. Strain and put them in cold water for 5 minutes, then strain and set aside.

To serve

Put fried noodles on a serving plate top with the sauce mixture and blanched vegetables.

BBQ Beef Back Ribs

2010-05-28T17:00:00.000-07:00

I never tried cooking barbecue beef back ribs before. I barbecue mostly pork baby back ribs and chicken. We were invited to a small get together and the hosts’ put together a beautiful spread that included BBQ Beef Back Ribs. The beef ribs looked really good, but I thought they’ll be messy to eat, because they are longer ribs than the pork ribs and of course they were smothered with barbeque sauce as well. But what the heck, eating barbeque should be messy; the thick barbeque sauce should be all over your face and your hands, and even licking your fingers with all that barbeque sauce goodness. So I got myself some and I really enjoyed them.

So I gave it a try this week, because the weather has been misty and was raining on and off (I know, I know most of you are shaking your heads and asking “why barbecue with this weather?”) Because my plan was to simmer the ribs in water with some aromatics and lay the ribs in a baking dish and brush them with barbecue sauce. So that’s one good excuse not to be outside in the rainy weather and fire up the grill. And the other excuse was to try Ina Garten’s orange barbecue sauce recipe.

I hope you will give this recipe a try. You can also use your own barbecue sauce recipe if you prefer.

Serves 4

For the Ribs:

6 pounds Beef Back Ribs (about 12 ribs)

2 medium yellow onions cut in half

1 whole garlic cut in half

3 sticks celery quartered

1 carrot quartered

3 bay leaves

1 tablespoon whole black peppercorn

In a large pot, put all the above ingredients and fill with water, make sure that the meat is fully covered with water. In high heat, let it boil, then lower the heat and let it simmer for about 2 hours or until the meat are almost falling off from the bones. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Drain and lay the ribs on a baking dish. Brush the barbecue sauce all over the ribs, and place them in the oven. Brush the ribs with the barbeque sauce after 15 minutes and repeat the process and cook ribs for another 15 minutes.

For the Barbecue Sauce:

¼ cup vegetable oil

1 small red onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 teaspoons chili powder

1 teaspoon ground cumin

½ teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 teaspoon lime zest

1 tablespoon finely grated ginger

1/3 cup cider vinegar

½ cup tomato paste

½ cup honey

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

1/3 cup soy sauce

¼ cup fresh orange juice

Heat the vegetable oil in a large saucepan over medium-low heat and sauté the onions and garlic for 5 to 7 minutes, until the onions are translucent but not browned. Add the chili powder, ground cumin and red pepper flakes and continue cooking for 1 minute. Add the zest and ginger and cook for an additional minute. Add the vinegar, tomato paste, honey, mustard, soy sauce and orange juice and simmer uncovered on low heat for 15 minutes, until thick.

Fruit Salad Cannoli and Chocolate Cannoli

2010-05-25T15:35:00.000-07:00

Strawberries and blackberries were on sale when I went to the market the other day. So I bought some. I thought maybe I’ll try to make Giada De Laurentiis’ “Fruit Salad Cannoli” served in dessert bowls or parfait glasses; and Michael Chiarello’s “Chocolate Cannoli,” in cannoli shells. Making shells are time- consuming so I picked up some when I was at the market. I also added cashew nuts instead of almonds, because I picked up a bag of raw cashews from the market as well and roasted them myself. The filling is very easy to make, I even topped them with crushed oreo cookies.

Serves 4 dessert glasses or 14 cannoli shells

For the cream:

1 cup heavy cream

1 cup whole milk ricotta

2 tablespoons sugar

In the bowl of an electric mixer, whip the heavy cream with the sugar until it holds a soft peak. Gently fold the ricotta with the cream. (This can be prepared up to 4 hours ahead. Cover and refrigerate).

For the Fruits:

2 ½ cups strawberries, hulled, quartered

2 cups blackberries or raspberries

1 tablespoon sugar

1 tablespoon lemon juice

In a medium bowl, toss the strawberries, blackberries, and sugar and lemon juice to combine. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

For the garnish:

1 cup chopped cashews, roasted; or you may use chopped almonds or pistachios

1 cup chopped dark chocolate or chopped milk chocolate if you prefer

Crushed oreo cookies, optional

14 cannoli shells

Powdered sugar for dusting

If serving in parfait glasses:

Layer the cream on all the parfait glasses, top with the fruit, layer some cream, and repeat layering. Then top all the glasses with chopped dark chocolate, crushed oreo cookies and roasted cashews.

If serving with the shells:

When ready to serve, combine the cream mixture, ½ cup chopped dark chocolate and ½ cup roasted cashews, spoon the filling into a pastry bag fitted with a fat round tip. Fill the cannoli shells from each end. Blend the remaining chopped chocolate and cashew nuts on a plate. Dip each end of the cannoli into the chocolate nuts mixture. Dust them with powdered sugar.

Cannoli can be filled and stored in the refrigerator no more than 1 hour ahead of time.

Roasted Cod with Asparagus and Tapenade and Grape Tomatoes

2010-05-10T12:13:00.000-07:00

I bought this big jar of Kalamata olives when I went grocery shopping last week. I sometimes like to add them in green salads or with tuna salad; and my husband love to snack on them as well. But I want to try something different, so I made some tapenade. I’m not sure what other dishes I can make with tapenade other than sandwich spread, or on grilled meats like lamb or chicken..

Not sure if it’s good with shrimp (never tried that before), I don’t think it’s good with salmon as well. The reason I said this, because I saw Bobby Flay’s show one time on TV Food Network, where he made “Tapenade Crusted Salmon with Orzo”. It looked good then. I waited a few days and checked the review about this recipe. Unfortunately it didn’t do very well. Most of the reviewer said the dish was very salty and the tapenade did not make a crust on the salmon. And I love most of Bobby Flay’s recipes. And then I came across this recipe on TV Food Network also, “Roasted Cod with Warm Tomato Olive and Caper Tapenade by Ellie Krieger of Cooking Healthy. The difference here is I have my tapenade made already with anchovies, garlic and parsley as well; and Ellie Krieger’s, she sautéed the chopped olive and capers with the tomatoes in extra virgin olive oil. I also added some blanched asparagus, I cannot resist the asparagus at the market today, and they looked really fresh.

Here’s the recipe adapted from Healthy Eating by Ellie Krieger

Serves 4

1 pound cod fillet

3 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil, divided

1 tablespoon of minced shallot

1 cup halved grape tomatoes

2 tablespoons of tapenade

(If you don’t have tapenade made, you can use store bought) or

1/3 cup Kalamata or green olives pitted and chopped

2 tablespoons of capers drained and chopped

Ground black pepper to rub on the fish

1 pound asparagus, stalks peeled, trimmed and cut into bite size

Tapenade

2 cups Kalamata olives

1 clove garlic

3 anchovy fillet

2 tablespoons capers, drained

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

3 tablespoons fresh parsley

½ cup extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450°F. Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray.

For the tapenade: In a food processor, combine Kalamata olives, garlic, anchovy, capers, Dijon mustard and parsley. Pulse about 3 times. Then add extra virgin olive oil and lemon juice, process it again until a little bit chunky.

For the Asparagus: in a pot with ½ inch of water, bring it to rapid boil, season with salt, cook asparagus for about 2-3 minutes then transfer in ice water, so the asparagus will stay bright green. Then drain and put in a separate bowl until ready to serve.

Rub cod with 2 teaspoons oil. Sprinkle with pepper. Place on the prepared baking sheet. Transfer to the oven and roast until the fish flakes easily with a fork, 15 to 20 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fillet.

Meanwhile, heat the remaining 1 teaspoon oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Add shallot and cook, stirring, until beginning to soften, about 20 seconds. Add tomatoes and cook, stirring, until softened, about 1 1/2 minutes. Add the tapenade or your chopped olives and capers and sauté for about 2 minutes. When serving, spoon the tapenade and tomatoes mixture over the cod with the blanched asparagus.

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Beef Stew, Asian Style

2010-05-07T20:19:00.000-07:00

This is not the typical Asian Stew that you may have tried or cooked before, because I did not use beef brisket or beef stew meat. I used beef short ribs with bones in this recipe and turned out great. I let this simmer for 2 hours, until the meat falls off the bone. I also added some red pepper flakes for a little bit of heat. I asked the butcher to cut the ribs in serving pieces.
6 Servings
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 yellow onion diced
1 clove garlic minced
1 nub ginger
2 tablespoons white sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground allspice
3 tablespoons soy sauce
¼ cup of Chinese rice wine (shaoxing wine) or dry sherry
2 cups low sodium beef broth
3 pounds beef short ribs with bones
3 tablespoons flour

Garnish:
2 carrots, steamed (roll cut)
1 Chinese radish, steamed (roll cut)
Chopped green onion

Dredge meat with flour, add oil in a heavy bottom pot over medium heat, brown meat, and transfer in a platter. Sauté garlic and onion, until onion is transparent, then add browned meat, ginger, cinnamon, allspice, sugar, soy sauce, rice wine or dry sherry and broth. Let it boil, and then simmer in low heat for 2 hours. Serve in a bowl, topped with steamed vegetables and green onion.

This is quick and easy to make

2010-05-07T10:26:00.000-07:00

Open Faced Turkey Sandwich on Pesto Bread with Monterey Jack Cheese

There’s a small café in downtown San Francisco, where they serve grilled chicken sandwich with pesto and provolone. I thought that was really good. It reminded me of this because I just made some basil pesto, but I don’t have chicken breast thawed, and I don’t feel like having pasta with pesto. And even if I ask Kirk, what would he like to eat for dinner, he will give his usual answer – “it’s up to you honey”. And I know if I just made toast pesto bread, this will not even satisfy him. I’m really craving for the chicken sandwich from that café, so I have to make it with what I have on hand.
It turned out really good and Kirk loved them.

What I have were:
Store bought thinly sliced smoked turkey
Monterey Jack Cheese (I don’t have Provolone)
Sliced Tomatoes
Pesto (if you don’t have time to make pesto, store bought will be great too.)
Sourdough Bread

Cut sourdough bread lengthwise, spread pesto, layer smoked turkey, top with tomatoes and Monterey Jack Cheese. Broil sandwich until cheese is bubbly.

Basil Pesto
2 cups fresh basil leaves
¼ cup toasted pine nuts
2 garlic cloves
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients in a food processor, puree until the mixture forms a smooth, thick paste.

Salmon in Panang Curry Sauce (Red Curry Paste)

2010-05-06T09:50:00.000-07:00

I had this dish when Edwin and I (good friend of mine) met another good friend of ours, Mark for lunch, who works in Palo Alto. Being that it was on a Friday, and it was during lent, (as Catholics) Mark, Edwin and I gave up eating meat during this season.

Mark’s office is close by Stanford University, and there are a lot of restaurants that you can choose from. We walked around and checked some of restaurants’ menus; still we cannot decide what and where to eat. And then we saw this Thai restaurant, the three of us have not had Thai food in awhile. So we decided to go in. They had a very nice ambience, love the décor and furniture. Since we cannot eat any meat, as soon as the waitress handed us the menu, we checked the seafood section right away. (I cannot even remember the name of the restaurant), but I did not forget what we ordered for lunch there, Salmon in Panang Curry Sauce with green beans served with steamed Jasmine rice. I will not say I don’t like curry, or I will also not say curry is my favorite. I just don’t usually order them when I’m in a Thai restaurant. But this salmon dish was delicious. Two weeks after I had it, I decided I will try and make it, and I am glad I made it the same way I tasted it from that restaurant. I added steamed long beans (usually found in Asian supermarket), steamed spinach; and sometimes I added steamed cauliflower or eggplant. I served them with brown rice this time.

Serves 4

1 pound salmon fillet, cut into serving pieces

*3 tablespoons of Panang curry paste

*1/2 cup coconut milk

1 cup low sodium chicken broth (you might need more)

Salt and Pepper to taste or

*1 tablespoon of fish sauce

Chopped cilantro when serving (optional)

Chopped scallions when serving (optional)

Garnish:

2 cups of steamed spinach OR

2 cups of steamed long beans OR

2 cups of green beans, OR steamed cauliflower OR steamed eggplant

Serve this with steamed Jasmine Rice

*Can be bought in Asian store.

Panang Curry is a little bit spicy.

In a pot, on a medium heat, put the curry paste, stir the paste for 3 minutes, then slowly add the coconut milk, stir for 3 minutes, then slowly add the chicken broth, until curry is thick, if it is too thick, add more broth slowly, until you reached the right consistency. It should not be too thick. Add salt and pepper, or fish sauce, stir for a minute, then add the salmon. The salmon should not be over cooked.

When serving, topped the curried salmon with your steamed vegetable of your choice with the chopped cilantro or chopped scallions. Serve with steamed Jasmine rice.

Steamed Jasmine rice:

For every cup of Jasmine rice add 2 cups of water. On medium heat, let it boil, and then put it on low heat, until water is completely absorbed.

The Britts will not even call this Shepherd's Pie

2010-05-01T18:50:00.000-07:00

This is my family’s favorite Shepherd’s Pie; I must admit, this is totally not the English version.

The English version of meat pie that is made with beef is “Cottage Pie”, and if it is made with lamb, then it is called “Shepherd’s Pie”. In Ireland the dish is commonly called shepherd's pie even when containing beef. Here in United States, similar dish is called cowboy pie; the most common recipe for shepherd's pie consists of ground beef, canned creamed corn, and mashed potatoes.

Shepherd’s Pie is traditionally made with leftover roast meat, but today it is often made with fresh minced or ground meat, most commonly beef or lamb with mashed potato crust on top. Adding cheese with the mashed potato again is not the traditional English version, but the USA’s.

This recipe serves 6

2 tablespoons canola oil or olive oil

1 cup chopped onion

2 carrots, peeled and diced small

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 pounds ground beef

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons tomato paste

½ cup red wine

1 cup beef broth

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

2 teaspoons fresh rosemary, chopped

2 teaspoons fresh parsley, chopped

1 teaspoon fresh thyme, chopped

1/2 cup fresh or frozen peas

Salt and Pepper to taste

If you don’t have fresh herbs, you can use dried herbs, but use half of what the recipe called for.

For the crust:

2 ½ pounds russet potatoes

2 tablespoons butter

¼ cup scallions chopped

1 cup Parmesan Cheese or Romano Cheese, grated

Salt and Pepper to taste

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees F

Heat oil in a pan over medium-high heat. Brown the meat. Remove the meat from the pan with a slotted spoon. Add the onions to the pan and sauté until the onions are transparent - about 5 minutes. Add the chopped carrots and cook for 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms, tomato paste, rosemary, parsley and thyme; stir and sauté for 2 minutes. Next, stir in the flour, and cook for 2 minutes, then stir in the wine and the beef stock; taste, add salt and pepper, as needed. Return the meat to the pan and bring to a boil. Cover, turn down the heat to low and simmer for about 30 minutes until the meat is fully cooked.

For the potatoes:

Peel the potatoes, cut them into large even-sized pieces and place into a pot of cold, salted water. Bring the water to a boil and cook potatoes until they are tender, about 10 minutes. When the potatoes are done, drain off the water, return them to the saucepan, add the butter and mash them; fold in the cheese and the scallions. Season with salt and pepper. When the meat is ready, spoon it into a 9-by-13-inch baking dish and level it out with the back of the spoon. Then, spread the mashed potato evenly all over. Bake the pie until the top is crusty and golden, about 45 minutes.