Our family loves Asian food. We go to San Tung in San Francisco whenever we're there. It's our absolute favorite restaurant on the west coast. I programmed their phone number into my cel phone the last time we visited my brother. Some nights I just want to have them deliver to my doorstep- on the coast of Maine- someone, please invent a teleporter!! They make the most delicious dry-fried chicken. It is a combination of Korean and Chinese crispy chicken with a thick, spicy sauce. It's sooo good!
Elizabeth's favorite is teriyaki anything. Since she has been under the weather (her fever actually reached 106.7 about 10 minutes ago- The doc just started her on antibiotics tonight. We're hoping it's not appendicitis!) I wanted to make something special for her. I cooked up some chicken teriyaki, and broccoli. Sherwood made brown rice. Usually a dinner she will gobble up! Unfortunately, she didn't eat a thing. The rest of us enjoyed this healthy dinner. If you'd like to try Elizabeth's favorite teriyaki marinade for yourself this is how you make it.
Teriyaki Marinade for Chicken
4 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
2 Tablespoons Hoisin sauce
3 Tablespoons soy sauce
2 Tablespoons pickled ginger, minced- I like the pink kind
2 Tablespoons fresh grated ginger
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon sambal oelek (chili paste)-optional, or more if you like it spicy
2 Tablespoons seasoned rice vinegar
1 Tablespoon thick sweet soy -(you can find this in most asian grocery stores- It is a wonderful ingredient for lomein as well)
Whisk all of the ingredients together. Pour over chicken. One of the best ways I've found to marinate meats is to place the meat in a large ziploc bag, pour the marinade over the meat, press all of the air out of the bag and zip it up. Massage the marinade into the meat and place the bag in a bowl. Place the bowl in the refrigerator. Let the meat sit at least 30 minutes. I love to get this step done the day before and let the meat soak up all of the flavor overnight. I've even been known to freeze the meat in the marinade. All you have to do is thaw out the meat and cook as you like. This teriyaki is great on steak, pork, chicken and shrimp. It is also a good mix to toss with lo mein noodles and veggies. Use just enough for your taste.
Tuesday, March 6, 2007
Monday, March 5, 2007
Roasted Eggplant with Garlic and Olive Oil
This seemed like a wonderful night for roast chicken. We will often pick up a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store and pair it with a salad for a busy weeknight dinner. Elizabeth was sick again today, so, I was home and could take the time to roast a chicken here. It came out so succulent and delicious! The market had some beautiful garnet sweet potatoes the other day and the eggplant looked fantastic. I wanted something to combine the two for a new side dish. The product was a scrumptuous roasted vegetable trio. The eggplant roasted just long enough that the coating ingredients had just begun to carmellize. Oh my! What a glorious combination of textures and flavors. The house smelled like home. All I need is a dance around the kitchen to make it perfect!
HomeStyle Roast Chicken
5 lb chicken- rinsed
Place the chicken in a roasting pan.
Sprinkle over the entire top of the chicken: garlic powder, salt, pepper, and paprika.
Give it a little spritz with Bragg's Liquid Aminos- this tastes like a light soy sauce.
Roast at 350 degrees for about an hour and a half.
Oven Roasted Eggplant and Sweet Potatoes with Garlic and Olive Oil
1 large eggplant
juice of 1 lemon
3 medium garnet sweet potatoes
2 large carrots
4 cloves garlic or more if you like
1/4 cup olive oil
salt and pepper
1 Tablespoon thick sweet soy sauce
1 Tablespoon Braggs Liquid Aminos or soy sauce
1 teaspoon garlic powder
Peel the eggplant and chop into 1 inch chunks. Place in a bowl with 1 teaspoon salt, lemon juice and fill with water to cover the eggplant. Cover with a papertowel. Press the paper towel down into the water to completely soak it. Let eggplant sit while you prepare the sweet potatoes.
Peel and chop the sweet potatoes and carrots into 1 inch pieces. Place the chopped sweet potatoes and carrots into a large ziploc bag. Pour 2 Tablespoons of the olive oil over the top and squish it around to coat all of the pieces. Peel and chop the garlic coarsely and add to the bag. Moosh it around to disperse.
Drain the eggplant and press a bit to remove as much of the liquid as possible. Add the eggplant to the bag along with the remaining olive oil, salt, pepper, thick soy and Bragg's or soy sauce. Move all of the vegetables around together to coat completely. Pour out onto a greased sheet pan. Roast in a 325 or 350 degree oven- depending on what you are cooking with it- for about an hour. Sprinkle with a little bit of salt and serve warm. You can mash it a bit and add a little more olive oil to make a thick dip/spread for bread.
HomeStyle Roast Chicken
5 lb chicken- rinsed
Place the chicken in a roasting pan.
Sprinkle over the entire top of the chicken: garlic powder, salt, pepper, and paprika.
Give it a little spritz with Bragg's Liquid Aminos- this tastes like a light soy sauce.
Roast at 350 degrees for about an hour and a half.
Oven Roasted Eggplant and Sweet Potatoes with Garlic and Olive Oil
1 large eggplant
juice of 1 lemon
3 medium garnet sweet potatoes
2 large carrots
4 cloves garlic or more if you like
1/4 cup olive oil
salt and pepper
1 Tablespoon thick sweet soy sauce
1 Tablespoon Braggs Liquid Aminos or soy sauce
1 teaspoon garlic powder
Peel the eggplant and chop into 1 inch chunks. Place in a bowl with 1 teaspoon salt, lemon juice and fill with water to cover the eggplant. Cover with a papertowel. Press the paper towel down into the water to completely soak it. Let eggplant sit while you prepare the sweet potatoes.
Peel and chop the sweet potatoes and carrots into 1 inch pieces. Place the chopped sweet potatoes and carrots into a large ziploc bag. Pour 2 Tablespoons of the olive oil over the top and squish it around to coat all of the pieces. Peel and chop the garlic coarsely and add to the bag. Moosh it around to disperse.
Drain the eggplant and press a bit to remove as much of the liquid as possible. Add the eggplant to the bag along with the remaining olive oil, salt, pepper, thick soy and Bragg's or soy sauce. Move all of the vegetables around together to coat completely. Pour out onto a greased sheet pan. Roast in a 325 or 350 degree oven- depending on what you are cooking with it- for about an hour. Sprinkle with a little bit of salt and serve warm. You can mash it a bit and add a little more olive oil to make a thick dip/spread for bread.
Sunday, March 4, 2007
A Speecy-Spicy-Meat-A-Ball
Remember that commercial. I don't know which product it was for, but I can still hear the man saying I Like-A Speecy-Spicy-Meat-A-Ball. That's what we had for dinner. The kids engaged the Parental Taxi Service today as they all went to play with friends. Sherwood had band practice so I fixed dinner while he went to pick them up. He wanted pasta with meatballs. I cooked up my special quickandeasy meatballs and ended up making meatball patties. We tried the Barilla protein pluse penne and it was really quite good. A little fresh broccoli on the side and we had a yummy meal. The sauce we used was Emeril's Kicked up Tomato. Here is the recipe for the quickandeasy meatballs.
QuickAndEasy Turkey Meatballs
Serves 4 hungry people
1 lb fresh ground turkey
1 egg
1 cup dry seasoned turkey/chicken stuffing mix
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder or 1 garlic clove minced
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Mix all of the above ingredients together with your hands until well combined. Form into 12-14 meatballs. If you like you can flatten them into little patties. Place them in a large saute pan with a teaspoon or so of oil. Cook meatballs until browned on all sides and meat is done. If you have other things to do you can place the meatballs on a sheet pan and bake them in a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes. Heat up the tomato sauce of your choice and pour it over your meatballs in the pan. Serve over pasta with a sprinkle of fresh chopped parsley.
Garlic bread makes a nice accompaniment as well.
QuickAndEasy Turkey Meatballs
Serves 4 hungry people
1 lb fresh ground turkey
1 egg
1 cup dry seasoned turkey/chicken stuffing mix
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder or 1 garlic clove minced
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Mix all of the above ingredients together with your hands until well combined. Form into 12-14 meatballs. If you like you can flatten them into little patties. Place them in a large saute pan with a teaspoon or so of oil. Cook meatballs until browned on all sides and meat is done. If you have other things to do you can place the meatballs on a sheet pan and bake them in a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes. Heat up the tomato sauce of your choice and pour it over your meatballs in the pan. Serve over pasta with a sprinkle of fresh chopped parsley.
Garlic bread makes a nice accompaniment as well.
Thinking of Spring...and herbs for the garden
It's time to start thinking about spring. I may relapse into my love of winter again but it's fun to think about the possibilities for planting my kitchen garden. I have a delightful little rock bordered garden that rests just beside my deck. It is the perfect place for flowers, herbs and fresh garnishes for our table. This spring I'll be going up to Moose Crossing Herbs in Waldoboro to find some hardy new perennials to add this year. Oregano is on the list. I'll be adding another type of thyme and some pineapple sage. I'll have to set in some annuals as well. Of course there will be parsley, sage, rosemary and cilantro. Last year the cilantro reseeded from 2005. I love when that happens!
We went to dinner at Cam's tonight before attending the swing dance at Bowdoin College in Brunswick. It was great to see all of the college kids learning the steps to the shim-sham, jitterbug stroll and two hand slide variations. It is always a joy to see young men willing to learn how to swing. I always try to participate in the lesson so the leads will have a follow who can do what they tell them to do.
I am so proud to be a swing dancer!
Here is a recipe for an herb rub to get you thinking about spring- I've used fresh herbs here but have included options for dried just in case you need to resort to the winter option. Let's be the early bird- and look toward a beautiful, warm, green Springtime!
Herb Rub recipe
3 Tablespoons fresh chopped thyme or 1 Tablespoon dried thyme
3 Tablespoons fresh chopped oregano or 1 Tablespoon dried oregano
1 1/2 teaspoons poultry seasoning
1 Tablespoon fresh chopped rosemary or 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
1 Tablespoon fresh chopped marjoram or 1 teaspoon dried marjoram
1 Tablespoon fresh chopped basil or 1 teaspoon dried basil
3 Tablespoons fresh chopped parsley or 1 Tablespoon dried parsley flakes
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
Combine all ingredients; store in an airtight container in refrigerator for up to 3 days if fresh or up to two weeks if dried.
Rub on chicken, fish, or pork chops before grilling. It is especially nice if you mix the entire batch with 1/2 cup of olive oil and rub it on chicken breasts or two long narrow pork tenderloins. Let them sit, covered in the refrigerator for a day. Wipe most of the mixture off, discard the used herbs and grill the meat. Delicious!
Instead of using on meat: The fresh herb and olive oil mixture is also wonderful tossed with freshly cooked pasta and a handful of parmesan cheese or as a dip for crusty bread.
Friday, March 2, 2007
Snowed In and Baking Challah
This is what winter is all about. Snow Days! The kids were home. Most businesses in town were closed. The coffee shop attached to our local bookstore even told customers yesterday that they would be closed today. I love that kind of planning. Travis and I walked to the end of our street to meet a friend of his- Sal and Sal's Mom Kate. He carried his gear with him for a sleepover. We were all being pelted by prickly little ice pellets and a gusty, cold wind. When we met them on the road, I remarked that this would be a great day to bake some bread. Kate said her daughter had just started some at their house. There's nothing like the aroma of fresh baking bread. I decided that it was about time for Elizabeth to learn how to braid Challah. While the bread was in its first rise- I started some stock with about 4 lbs of bones I had frozen (from various roast chickens and a turkey). The whole house smells SOOO good! It's bubbling away on the back burner right now. When it was time for the Challah to be braided Elizabeth was right there to help. She punched down the dough- and for her the punching down was a slow, flathanded, heymomcanIjustpushdownandtouchthebottom of the bowl???? It was so cute to watch her face as her hand sunk into the soft risen dough. That is one reason we bake bread. The tactile experience of kneading the dough and later, pressing our hands into the risen bulk. It's very satisfying. She did a tremendous job forming the strips and braiding the loaf. We each made one, side by side. It's in its second rise right now. Here is the recipe:
Challah
2 loaves
2 Tablespoons active dry yeast
1/2 cup honey
1 Tablespoon salt
6 cups unbleached all purpose flour- I like King Arthur
1 3/4 cups hot water
1/2 cup melted butter
4 eggs, slightly beaten- we had some from my mom's chickens- it always amazes me to see how yellow fresh from the farm eggs can be
Place the yeast, honey, salt and 2 cups of the flour in a large bowl.
Add the water, melted butter and eggs. Whisk vigorously for 4 minutes. Be sure you scrape down the sides of the bowl often.
Add the remaining flour 1/2 cup at a time. Stir with a wooden spoon until the dough is too stiff to stir. Turn out onto a floured board and knead until the dough is smooth and elastic. Add more flour a Tablespoon at a time if necessary for the dough to be firm- so it's easy to shape.
Place in an oiled bowl, turning to coat the top completely. Cover with a clean, moistened linen dishtowel. Let rise until doubled in bulk- about 1 1/2 hours.
Deflate dough and cut into six even pieces. Roll or squeeze each piece to make a long strip. Set three strips next to eachother and pinch the tops together. Braid the pieces, pinch the ends together and tuck the ends under. Repeat with the remaining three pieces of dough. Place the braided loaves on parchment or silpat lined sheet pans.
Cover loaves loosely with a barely moistened linen towel or plastic wrap. Let rise until almost doubled. Brush dough with a glaze made from 1 egg beaten with 1 Tablespoon of cream. You can sprinkle poppy seeds, sesame seeds or any other seeds you like.
Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 40 to 45 minutes or until a beautiful golden brown. Lift the braids off of the sheet pans cautiously with a spatula and cool on a rack before cutting.
This bread is So delicious with butter and cinnamon sugar. We are having it tonight alongside some yummy chicken noodle soup.
Hope you like it!
Challah
2 loaves
2 Tablespoons active dry yeast
1/2 cup honey
1 Tablespoon salt
6 cups unbleached all purpose flour- I like King Arthur
1 3/4 cups hot water
1/2 cup melted butter
4 eggs, slightly beaten- we had some from my mom's chickens- it always amazes me to see how yellow fresh from the farm eggs can be
Place the yeast, honey, salt and 2 cups of the flour in a large bowl.
Add the water, melted butter and eggs. Whisk vigorously for 4 minutes. Be sure you scrape down the sides of the bowl often.
Add the remaining flour 1/2 cup at a time. Stir with a wooden spoon until the dough is too stiff to stir. Turn out onto a floured board and knead until the dough is smooth and elastic. Add more flour a Tablespoon at a time if necessary for the dough to be firm- so it's easy to shape.
Place in an oiled bowl, turning to coat the top completely. Cover with a clean, moistened linen dishtowel. Let rise until doubled in bulk- about 1 1/2 hours.
Deflate dough and cut into six even pieces. Roll or squeeze each piece to make a long strip. Set three strips next to eachother and pinch the tops together. Braid the pieces, pinch the ends together and tuck the ends under. Repeat with the remaining three pieces of dough. Place the braided loaves on parchment or silpat lined sheet pans.
Cover loaves loosely with a barely moistened linen towel or plastic wrap. Let rise until almost doubled. Brush dough with a glaze made from 1 egg beaten with 1 Tablespoon of cream. You can sprinkle poppy seeds, sesame seeds or any other seeds you like.
Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 40 to 45 minutes or until a beautiful golden brown. Lift the braids off of the sheet pans cautiously with a spatula and cool on a rack before cutting.
This bread is So delicious with butter and cinnamon sugar. We are having it tonight alongside some yummy chicken noodle soup.
Hope you like it!
A Passion for Food and Friends- Revealing a Secret
Something important occurred to me today- one of those lightbulbs going off in cartoon form over the top of my head- I figured out something about food and life. Now, I'll reveal this secret to you.
I have always loved to cook. I mean REALLY loved to cook. I would take hours to make the perfect petit four or wrap dozens of scallops with bacon. For a local chocolate fest fundraiser last year I painted the ends of two hundred toothpicks with silver and crimson nailpolish, then dunked the wet polish in prismatic/holographic glitter. After they dried I used the non-colored end to pierce a chocolate truffle; dunked it in more dark chocolate and served them on a tiered glass display. They were plated alongside chocolate bowls that were filled with chocolate mousse and topped with chocolate curls. Yes, I know, chocolatechocolatechocolate... They were fussy and time consuming and difficult to make. But, I loved it. They were a feast for the senses. They were beautiful and unusual and aromatic and luscious. The coated stem-like toothpicks were rough to the touch but the truffles....oh my goodness. They melted on your tongue; enrobing it in a dark, silky, chocolate-velvet dream.
I used to say: at a dinner party or catering event when a room full of friends tasted the food...the room went quiet...then there was a ripple effect~they would all start to make that yummy noise. You know the soft, primal, eyes-rolling-back-in-the-head, crescendo of mmmmmm. It was that noise that made it all worthwhile. It still does. But somewhere in a book I was reading, I read a sentence that equated cooking with passion. Now, this passion can go two ways for me. It can go toward the 'Mother Earth nourishing the world, it's my calling to feed and nurture the spirit of those I touch, maternal, I offer you everything that is me in this dish in this moment' way. OR it can go toward the Like Water For Chocolate movie style direction...the heartracing, pulsing, yearning, gastronomically orgasmic direction.
The eating of food for me is satisfying. The making of food for me is in an entirely different stratosphere- it is one of my purposes for being, a reason for my existence. I can make something for you from a place in me that I can reach only through the pure joy of loving life. It is a physical embodiment of the word Namaste. I understand its meaning to be: I honor the place in you in which the entire Universe dwells,
I honor the place in you which is of Love, of Truth, of Light and of Peace,
When you are in that place in you, and I am in that place in me, we are One.
We are all connected. We are all of one energy. From one source we all originated and to that one source we all shall return. Whatever label you give to that universal energy source~ from it comes peace and love and hope and joy and abundance.
My passion for cooking comes from the purest essence of who I am honoring and celebrating the purest essence of who you are. My hands and my heart draw forth the flavors and sensations from the foods I combine to create something magical that gives to your soul and tastebuds a pleasure that can only be described as rapture, as bliss. That is where my intentions begin and end. To share this delicious moment with those who choose to walk with me. I love....to cook.
I have always loved to cook. I mean REALLY loved to cook. I would take hours to make the perfect petit four or wrap dozens of scallops with bacon. For a local chocolate fest fundraiser last year I painted the ends of two hundred toothpicks with silver and crimson nailpolish, then dunked the wet polish in prismatic/holographic glitter. After they dried I used the non-colored end to pierce a chocolate truffle; dunked it in more dark chocolate and served them on a tiered glass display. They were plated alongside chocolate bowls that were filled with chocolate mousse and topped with chocolate curls. Yes, I know, chocolatechocolatechocolate... They were fussy and time consuming and difficult to make. But, I loved it. They were a feast for the senses. They were beautiful and unusual and aromatic and luscious. The coated stem-like toothpicks were rough to the touch but the truffles....oh my goodness. They melted on your tongue; enrobing it in a dark, silky, chocolate-velvet dream.
I used to say: at a dinner party or catering event when a room full of friends tasted the food...the room went quiet...then there was a ripple effect~they would all start to make that yummy noise. You know the soft, primal, eyes-rolling-back-in-the-head, crescendo of mmmmmm. It was that noise that made it all worthwhile. It still does. But somewhere in a book I was reading, I read a sentence that equated cooking with passion. Now, this passion can go two ways for me. It can go toward the 'Mother Earth nourishing the world, it's my calling to feed and nurture the spirit of those I touch, maternal, I offer you everything that is me in this dish in this moment' way. OR it can go toward the Like Water For Chocolate movie style direction...the heartracing, pulsing, yearning, gastronomically orgasmic direction.
The eating of food for me is satisfying. The making of food for me is in an entirely different stratosphere- it is one of my purposes for being, a reason for my existence. I can make something for you from a place in me that I can reach only through the pure joy of loving life. It is a physical embodiment of the word Namaste. I understand its meaning to be: I honor the place in you in which the entire Universe dwells,
I honor the place in you which is of Love, of Truth, of Light and of Peace,
When you are in that place in you, and I am in that place in me, we are One.
We are all connected. We are all of one energy. From one source we all originated and to that one source we all shall return. Whatever label you give to that universal energy source~ from it comes peace and love and hope and joy and abundance.
My passion for cooking comes from the purest essence of who I am honoring and celebrating the purest essence of who you are. My hands and my heart draw forth the flavors and sensations from the foods I combine to create something magical that gives to your soul and tastebuds a pleasure that can only be described as rapture, as bliss. That is where my intentions begin and end. To share this delicious moment with those who choose to walk with me. I love....to cook.
Thursday, March 1, 2007
Charleston Practice and Cannoli Rewards
Tonight we had swing practice and since the snow is just starting to fall - most folks stayed home. We were lucky that Jonathan, Serafina, Darin, Megan, Cathy, Allen and Ashley joined the kids and I for a couple hours of fun. Since we had an uneven number of leads and follows we decided to work on some charleston and the jitterbug stroll. The basic charleston step starts on the right for follows (left for leads) its a right foot rock, step, kick, step (down with the right foot). Weight shifts to the right foot (left for leads) with a left foot kick, hitch, kick back, step. The hitch is a lift up and pause before moving the foot back for the kick and then down for the step. It sounds like this rock, step, kick, step, kick, hitch, kick, step- and as Jonathan says...rinse and repeat...rock, step, kick, step, kick, hitch, kick, step-rock, step, kick, step, kick, hitch, kick, step- Seraphina told us about a variation that had the followers step out to the right instead of the rock/weight shift. It sounded like push(out to the side), step, kick, step, kick, hitch, kick, step-push(out to the side), step, kick, step, kick, hitch, kick, step- We danced and practiced for almost three hours.
After dancing- Elizabeth and I had a delicious treat. Her tastebuds are growing-and she is finally sharing some of my favorite foods. The Mediterranean Kitchen in Damariscotta has lovely Cannoli- Here is a recipe to make them at home. If you've got some extra chocolate you can melt it and dunk the ends of your cannoli shell either before or after it contains the sweet cheesy filling.
Cannoli
3 lbs ricotta cheese
1 1/2 cups confectioners sugar
1 Tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup mini chocolate chips or finely chopped chocolate
12 Cannoli shells
melted dark chocolate
chopped pistachios
Mix cheese, sugar, cinnamon and chips together well and stuff into cannoli shells. You can dip one end of the empty shell or the finished cannoli in the melted chocolate and roll in chopped nuts if you like.
After dancing- Elizabeth and I had a delicious treat. Her tastebuds are growing-and she is finally sharing some of my favorite foods. The Mediterranean Kitchen in Damariscotta has lovely Cannoli- Here is a recipe to make them at home. If you've got some extra chocolate you can melt it and dunk the ends of your cannoli shell either before or after it contains the sweet cheesy filling.
Cannoli
3 lbs ricotta cheese
1 1/2 cups confectioners sugar
1 Tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup mini chocolate chips or finely chopped chocolate
12 Cannoli shells
melted dark chocolate
chopped pistachios
Mix cheese, sugar, cinnamon and chips together well and stuff into cannoli shells. You can dip one end of the empty shell or the finished cannoli in the melted chocolate and roll in chopped nuts if you like.
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