Another break...

The boys are requesting one more week of a break from Mediterranean food.  (I think this actually is a break from Greece and the Middle East). 

So this week, it's Indian food.  I have missed Indian food, so I don't mind.  Last night I made pork vindaloo in the pressure cooker with cabbage sauted with fennel seeds, cumin seeds, and sesame seeds.  I think both recipes can be found in 2011 blog.  Most of the recipes I make this week should be found there.  Sam specifically asked that I not make anything new, just my "homemade Indian food".  Be back next week.

Enchiladas with pepita sauce

The sauce is also based on a Rick Bayless recipe.

For the sauce:

Toast 1 cup pumpkin seeds.  Set aside.  In a food processor add 1/2 chopped onion, 3 garlic cloves, 2 chopped serrano peppers, 3 romaine leaves, 2 radish leaves, 12 sprigs of cilantro and the pumpkin seeds.  Process.  Add 1 1/2 cup chicken broth.  Process.  Heat 1 tbsp oil in a pan.  Add mixture.  Cook 10 minutes.  Add 2 cups of chicken broth.  Cover and simmer 20 minutes.  Process again.  (At this point I didn't like the texture.  It felt like chewing on sunflower seed shells, so..)  If you like the texture, the sauce is ready.  If not, put through a sieve.  Mix a couple of tbsp sauce and mix it with a tbsp of masa harina.  Whisk back into sauce and simmer for another 5 minutes.

For the filling:  Saute 1/2 onion, 4 garlic cloves (chopped), in 1 tbsp oil.  Add 1 diced zucchini.  Cook a couple of minutes.  Add 1 tbsp cumin.  Stir.  Add a little water.  Add 4 cups spinach and cook until wilted.  Add a couple of cups of black beans.

Put a thin layer of sauce in the bottom of a pan.  Roll filling into corn tortillas along with a little queso fresco.  Cover with sauce and a little more queso fresco.  Bake 15 minutes at 350.  Let rest 10 minutes before serving.

A break in Mexico: Chicken with poblanos, mushrooms and cream

Sam has asked for a break from the Mediterranean food, so we are now doing a week of Mexico.  Maybe a little longer, we'll see.  So far, we have made a basic white bean and pork shoulder stew and some Raytown tacos.  (Ground beef seasoned with ancho chili pepper, cumin, coriander, salt, pepper and cayenne.  Canned refried beans.  Lettuce, tomatoes and cheddar)

This recipe is based on a Rick Bayless recipe:

Roast 4 poblano peppers until charred, about 10 minutes under the broiler.  Cover with a towel for 5 minutes.  Peel and seed.  Slice into thin slices.  Heat a tbsp of oil.  Add 1 chopped onion and 4 chopped garlic cloves.  Cook about 5 minutes.  Add tsp each dried oregano and dried thyme.  Stir.  Add the chilis and heat.

Scoop about 1/3 of the peppers out and chop them.  Set aside.  Add 1/2 cup cream to the skillet.  Simmer 5 minutes.  Put in food processor.  Add another 1/2 cup cream to it and process until smooth.  Stir in 1/3 cup chopped cilantro and the poblanos that were set aside.  Season to taste.

Heat oven to 350.

Heat some oil in a cast iron pan.  Brown 2 pounds chicken parts hard.  (You can use whatever meat you want at this point).  Remove from heat.  Add 8 oz sliced mushrooms.  Cook another 5 minutes.  ( I deglazed the pan with a little white wine because the mushrooms were sticking)  Add the chicken back to the pan.  Spoon the sauce over the top.  Bake about 25 minutes or until chicken (or whatever meat you want) is done.

This sauce is really delicious.  You can make it without the meat.  I stirred some leftover sauce into a bowl of rice and beans this morning.  Perfect.

Sunday night supper club: Thailand

Thai Chicken Wings from the Speakes.  Ours were dry.  Kurt's were so much better that we mixed ours in with his. 

Kurt's delicious Thai chicken wings:  Grill chicken wings then toss with peanut sauce.  Peanut Sauce:  1 can coconut milk, 1 cup peanut butter, 1/2 lime, garlic chili paste, 1/2 cup brown sugar and salt. 

Kingsley's Pad Thai:   Saute 5 diced garlic cloves and one small diced onion in sesame oil.  Add 4 eggs, scramble.  Combine 6 tbsp fish sauce, 6 tbsp sugar, 2 tbsp rice finegar, 2 tbsp red curry for spice, 1/2 lime.  Deglaze pan with liquid.  Add noodles.  Garnish with green onions and cashews.

Jennifer's

Miang Kum

 

Pam's Kitchen Sink Thai Soup:  Throw the following into a crockpot:  1 trader joe's package frozen tom am soup with wontopbs and herbs (reserving wonton for another use), 1 can coconut milk, 1 32 oz package of chicken stock, 15-18 frozen shrimp - medium (raw, deveined), 1/2 bag Hyvee frozen "Oriental" veggie mix, 1 small can water chestnuts, 1 tsp lemon zest, and 2 tbsp chopped cilantro.  Set on high for 3 hours.  Adjust for salt and sweet.  (She add 1 tbsp raw sugar and 1 tbsp salt).  Serve with lime and fresh cilantro.

Pete and Mary Beth's wonderful fish.

McGarity's boozy Thai egg nog.

Werth noodles.  They also brought a wonderful curry soup that I didn't get a picture of. 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KURTY!

Connie was a lovely host and somehow I didn't get a picture of her wonderful spicy dish, but here is the recipe:  Laab from ThaiTable.com

1-2 Servings, Prep Time: 10 Minutes, Total Time: 15 Minutes

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• 5 sprigs sliced cilantro
• 3 tablespoons fish sauce
• 1 sliced green onion Optional
• 1/4 tablespoon ground dried chili pepper
• 1/2 lbs ground pork
• 1-2 limes
• 1/4 thinly sliced shallots
• 3 sprigs spearmint Optional
• 1 tablespoon toasted rice

Tips and Techniques

Substitute any ground meat for ground pork.
Substitute red onion or just onion for shallot if you like.
The spearmint adds zing to the laab.
For this dish, many people use a small pot but I use my cast iron pan. I can heat it up really hot without destroying the pan. It also retains heat well and heats evenly.

Squeeze juice from 1/3 of the lime on to the ground pork. Mix well and let it marinate for just a couple of minutes until you are ready to cook it.
Heat up a pan on high until it is very hot. Add two tablespoons of water and then immediately add your marinated pork and stir. The pork will stick to the pan at first, but then the juice will come out and the meat will loosen from the bottom. Keep stirring until the pork is well done. Traditionally, the pork is undercooked, but I do not recommend undercooking pork for health reasons.
Put the pork in a bowl a large mixing bowl that will hold all the ingredients. Add fish sauce, green onion, shallot, cilantro, the rest of the lime juice, ground chili pepper and almost all of toasted rice into the bowl. Save some toasted rice to sprinkle on top for garnish. Mix well and taste. It should be a little bit hot. You should be able to taste tartness from the lime juice and the fish sauce. If you need to add more fish sauce or lime juice, don't be afraid. Getting the flavor balance right is a trial and error process.
Put the mixed ingredients in a serving bowl, garnish with spearmint and sprinkle the rest of toasted rice on top. Serve with vegetables like cabbage, green beans, lettuce and Thai basil.

 

Crespelle with prosciutto and fontina

This was really tasty.  It would make a perfect appetizer or serve it with a salad for lunch.  This is also from williams-sonoma essentials of Italian cooking.

For the crespelle:

3/4 cups flour
1 cups whole milk
2 large eggs
1/2 tsp salt
olive oil or canola

Whisk the the above ingredients, except the oil, together and let sit for at least 30 minutes or longer in the refrigerator.  Heat a nonstick skillet.  Brush with olive oil.  Add a scant 1/4 cup of batter and swirl pan (like making a crepe).  Cook until brown spots, then turn.  Put on a plate, separating each with parchment paper.

For the white sauce:

1 1/2 cup whole milk (I used skim and it was fine)
3 tbsp flour
3 tbsp butter
salt

Heat milk in a sauce pan until bubbling at edges.  Set aside.  Melt butter in a pan.  Add the flour and whisk, cooking for about 4-5 minutes.  Turn heat off.  Add the milk, a couple of tbsp at a time, whisking the whole time.  Then add the rest of the milk, whisking.  Turn heat back on.  Add salt.  Stir constantly until thickened, about 1 minute.  (If made ahead, this can be cooled and stored in the refrigerator for 2 days.  Reheat over low heat, adding a little milk to then if needed.)

Putting it all together:

3oz prosciutto di parma
1/4 pound fontina (I used about half this amount, it seemed like it would be too cheesy.  Sanford disagreed)
1/4 cup grated parmigiano reggiano

Lightly olive oil the bottom of a cake pan.  Put a little white sauce in the bottom.

Put a little prosciutto on the crespelle, along with a slice of fontina.  Fold in half, then again and place in pan.  Repeat, slightly overlapping each one.  (I had 12 crepes).

Pour the rest of the white sauce over the top of the crespelles.  Sprinkle with parmesan.  Bake 30 minutes at 375 degrees, until cheese is lightly browned and bubbling.

Meatballs in Sugo

I make meatballs quite a bit. I like them.  These were better.  I usually bake mine, but these were browned in olive oil.  Definitely better.

1 1/2 pounds ground meat.  (I used beef.  If I had other meats to grind, I would have used part of them too.)

3 or 4 slices of coarse country bread, crust removed (I didn't have this, but I did have left over olive oil bread from Mark Bittman.  It was a yeastless bread that turned out more like a biscuit than a baguette.  I wasn't sure how it would work, but it was great.  Bottom line, I don't think it matters what your bread is.  You can even use old biscuits...)   Soak in 1/2 cup whole milk.  Let stand about 10 minutes.

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1/2 cup grated parmigiano-reggiano

1/4 cup chopped parsley,

1 minced garlic clove, salt and pepper

2 tbsp olive oil

Mix the meat with the eggs, cheese, parsley, garlic, salt and pepper.  Squeeze the milk out of the bread and add to the meat.  Combine.  Make into 2 inch meatballs.  Heat olive oil in pan and brown well.  Do this in batches if your pan is not big enough.  Remove from pan.  Pour off all but 2 tbsp fat.  (If you are using very lean meat or grassfed beef, you will probably need to add some olive oil to the pan)  Add 1 chopped onion and saute until soft.  Add 4 chopped garlic cloves, minced.  Add 2 cans tomatoes and 1 can tomato sauce.  Season with salt and pepper.  Simmer for 20 minutes.  Add meatballs back into pan and simmer another 10 minutes.  Add some freshly torn basil leaves.  stir and serve.

Spaghetti alla Carbonara

This recipe is also adapted from the Williams-Sonoma Italian cookbook.  It is quick and easy.  Threw it together along with a salad in about 20 minutes after soccer practice.

4 oz pancetta or slab bacon, diced
1 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper
1 lb spaghetti
1/4 cup grated pecorino romano cheese
1/4 cup grated parmigiano-reggiano
2 large eggs plus one egg yolk


Cook the pancetta in olive oil until the fat has rendered, 10-15 minutes.  Meanwhile get everything else together:  grate the cheeses, beat the eggs, bring water to boil for the pasta.

Cook the pasta al dente.  Drain into a colander set in your serving bowl (this heats the bowl) reserving a cup of pasta water.  Take the drained pasta and toss it in the pan with the pancetta.  Mix quickly.  Pour the water, carefully, out of your serving bowl.  Put the pasta in it.  Add the eggs and stir vigorously.  Adjust the consistency by adding the reserved pasta water as needed.  Add cheese, salt and pepper and serve at once.