Ever since some shockingly good fried rice in Maui, we've been making fried rice at home more often as a great "so, what's in the fridge?" fallback. Of course, it's different every time, but I mean to start taking notes. Last night's was pretty good, but it actually wasn't fried rice at all, but fried barley. The barley was pretty brown-rice-like in this dish, and the combination of other ingredients worked out pretty well. And this combination of ingredients is fairly healthy, especially if you're careful with the soy sauce (not that I am).
We made chana masala recently that was pretty good. I also recently tried making berbere, the Ethiopian spice combo, as part of a project to try some Ethiopian cooking. For lunch today, I wanted something quick, easy, and reasonably healthy, so I threw this together. It came out good. A little on the spicy side -- the berbere has a fair amount of cayenne in it. I'd prefer to make it milder and add heat if I need it.
In my quest to try making some Ethiopian food, I started with making Berbere, the spice combo used in a number of dishes. For my first attempt, I started with the first recipe on this page. But it seemed kind of nutso -- I mean, over a cup of cayenne pepper? half a cup of paprika? So I modified it. It's a bit more complicated than just mix some spices in a bowl, but the kitchen smelled great by the time I was done. The berbere has been good on chicken, in lentils, and with chickpeas so far. Though I'm not sure it has justified the labor -- the mix seems to have faded a bit in just a couple of weeks, and that wonderful toasty smell that filled the kitchen isn't really there as much any more (I hoped that, as with toasted nuts, the toastiness would stay even after the mix had cooled). Anyway, berbere recipes seem to vary widely, so I'll probably experiment with others next time. In the meantime, this jar of it should last a long long time.
We adapted this recipe from Asian Noodles. It's pretty easy and pretty good. Authentic? Ketchup? But anyway, it's good for when we have leftover chicken or tofu and some veggies.
Last time E and I were organizing the spice box, we found these things that look like coriander but smelled very lemony. Not knowing what they were, we put them in a jar and labeled them "lemony snickets". Today I decided to try a dry-rub version of the golden chicken and thought the lemony snickets would be a perfect flavor for the rub. The result was possibly the best chicken I've ever made -- a crispy, crusted, flavorful skin over tender, juicy meat.
We tried this weeknight paella recipe from married with dinner, with only slight changes (2/3 lb of chorizo, celery instead of bell pepper). It was pretty good.
I enjoyed these blondies but wanted something thicker and fudgy-brownie-esque in texture. So I tried these. The main difference, frankly, is that more dough goes into the pan, resulting in a thicker blondie. These do also have baking powder and a slightly different egg ratio. I made a slightly smaller recipe (2/3 basically; 1 c flour and sugar, etc) in a 7x11 pan, with chocolate chips and toasted pecans, no coconut. The final result is delicious, but it's really more like a bar-version chocolate-chip cookie (and much better than simply putting cookie dough in a brownie pan) than a butterscotch bar. The chocolate chips sort of overwhelm the delicate butterscotch flavor. So while I like them a lot, I'd like to do them again without the chocolate to be more like the last blondie batch.
I have been craving brownies all week, but since E is not eating chocolate at the moment we decided to try making blondies. First question? Just what the hell is a blondie anyway? Obviously, it's like a brownie but without chocolate, but what stands in for the chocolate, in terms of flavor and texture? The answer, it turns out, is butterscotch. And what, really, is butterscotch? brown sugar and butter. And so, this very easy recipe. It's really almost identical to my usual brownie recipe, except without chocolate and brown sugar instead of white. Unfortunately, mine didn't come out looking like those pictures (since I didn't double the recipe and bake them in a non-double pan, so mine weren't as thick and gooey). I also added toasted pecans because who doesn't like toasted pecans, and, since it's us we're talking about, some sea salt. They were pretty good out of the oven but the next morning (what, blondies aren't a breakfast food?) the butterscotch flavor really came through.
Another variation on the baked version of my ever-useful golden chicken recipe. The glaze this time was hoisin sauce, mae ploy sweet chili sauce, and soy sauce. After glazing the chicken breasts, I sprinkled them liberally with sesame seeds and white and black pepper. It came out great, though next time I'll toast the sesame seeds first.
This irio recipe (basically mashed potatoes and peas with corn) sounded so good, we decided to try it ourselves. However, we didn't have corn and so instead mixed in a caramelized onion. We also used yukon gold and fingerling potatoes, and left in the skins. The result was really good -- a lovely green, nice pea flavor (and nutrition) with a bit of onion, and nothing too unhealthy. We'll probably try it with corn as well, but I like the way the onion blended into the texture -- I'm not sure I would like having the corn in there as much.
If you asked either E or me our favorite Chinese dishes, I don't think Mu Shu would come up on the list -- until recently anyway. We had it on a whim somewhere not too long ago and since then have been loving it. Not only is it fun and reasonably healthy (by Chinese food standards, anyway), it seems a possible addition to our kid-friendly repertoire. E decided to try making it at home and synthesized this recipe from various sources. The final result is fairly healthy, with lots of vegetables and not too much that's bad, and it came out delicious and just like we're used to getting in takeout.
E whipped this up for an oscars party with themed food. It turned out great. Her only complaint was that actually making popcorn on the stove the old-fashioned way was sort of a pain (looks like it's really easy and cheap to make your own microwave popcorn though). She might try adding peanuts crackerjack-style next time.
Crawfish etouffee has long been one of my yearned-for favorites -- cajun restaurants are hard enough to come by (here anyway), good ones even harder, and good ones that offer etouffee as well as jambalaya/gumbo harder still. So when I came across crawfish at central market I figured what the hell -- might as well try to make my own. I've also never made a roux and heard that it was hard to get right, so I thought it would be a good experiment.
I lifted the recipe from this one, which I chose mainly because it was fairly simple, specifically called for frozen crawfish (I don't have fresh), and used a roux (there's a controversy over whether etouffee uses a roux and what kind).
How did it come out? Okay. I admit I took numerous liberties with it for various reasons, so I wouldn't count out the recipe itself. First, I don't think I cooked the roux long enough, because I was afraid of burning it. Second, I used a red onion (all we had handy) when a yellow is probably more appropriate. Third, no bell peppers because E detests them (probably an unforgivable mistake, since green peppers are part of the cajun holy trinity). Fourth, I think I ended up with too much liquid because there was some in the crawfish package. The final result was a little too liquidy, didn't quite come together into a coherent unit, and needs some work on the flavor. Though I have to say, the next day it's thicker and more flavorful. And anyway it was still pretty good, just not quite the Joe Dale's etouffee (that's an Atlanta reference for those in the know) of my youth. I'll probably try it again, along with others.
Update: some helpful ideas for the recipe on facebook.
I like corn! And I keep doing little experiments with something along the lines of a corn fritter, as a side to chili and other dishes. Those were all using kernels of corn and didn't end up with the texture or corn flavor I wanted, so this time I decided to try something a little different, with corn meal. I ended up going with a pffy corn pancake. It was easy and turned out pretty good, a great side for chili
My old chili recipe basically involved a pound of ground beef, a can of tomatoes, and a flavor pouch I got at the store. I've been occasionally experimenting with different meat combinations and doing my own spices. my last effort came out pretty good, but I just felt like trying something different. For this one, I tried a mix of dark and white chicken with a little pork for fat and extra flavor. I also wanted to add a bit of corn flavor to it, but not with kernels. Due to a misunderstanding about hominy, I ended up with corn meal. The corn meal actually added interestingly to the texture, and though there's not a strong corn flavor, I think it enhanced the overall experience. Making the long-cooked caramelized onions was also fun, but I think they got lost in the final mix. And the paste made from some of E's large collection of dried chilis added a really nice flavor. Finally, I made corn cakes to go with the chili. It was excellent served over the corn cakes, and both warmed up well for lunch the next day.
I don't cook with fish very much, partly because I don't find most fishes that exciting, I'm not sure what to do with them, and the best ones are pretty expensive (and I worry about ruining an expensive cut). However! We are trying to reduce our unhealthy meats a little and increase our fish (read omega-3 oils). So, tasked with picking up dinner from whole foods, I came home with: an albacore steak, asparagus (later discarded and replaced with cauliflower and fingerling potatoes), mixed greens, a ripe pear, feta cheese, and a couple of bulbs of spring garlic.
Menu
- Green salad with pear and feta
- Seared albacore with soy-ginger sauce over rice
- Roasted cauliflower and potatoes with garlic and shallots
Yet another application of my ever-useful golden chicken recipe, this one experimenting with miso again, and using the oven instead of the grill.
Preheat the oven to 375. Place the chicken breasts on a broiling rack, meat side up. The glaze was a mix of aka+shiso miso paste, soy sauce, rice vinegar, and diced ginger, garlic, and shallot. Mix to a thick, spreadable consistency and spread thickly over the chicken breasts and inside the skin. Bake at 375 for 30-40 minutes, depending on the size of the breasts.
We tried the congee recipe again. Pretty much the same recipe, except we poached the chicken first (a mix of boneless breast and bone-in thigh) and then used the water for half of the broth. Then we used a mix of crimini, shiitake, and a small portabello mushroom. Verdict? I think it wasn't quite as flavorful, which I put down to the broth. I don't think the mushrooms really added that much to the overall flavor, so it's probably not worth using the shiitakes in the future, unless maybe they're sauteed first and then added toward the end (would be good with some chinese sausage I think).
Ever since the pho rice soup, I've been wanting to experiment with congee recipes. Congee is basically a kind of rice porridge, and it's made by cooking the rice in a lot of liquid for a very long time. As with the pho rice soup, I decided to cook the rice in stock, and since it's thanksgiving weekend we had plenty of turkey stock around. I also wanted to try brown rice, since it's so healthy. I added the usual ingredients of garlic, onion, and ginger, plus mushrooms for some extra flavor and something to chew on. I also added some cinnamon and fish sauce for a Vietnamese angle. The result was very good, a nice addition to our repertoire. It would also make decent baby food, probably with the flavors taken down a few notches.
I am still not satisfied with the results from my pho experiments, and the last batch of broth has been sitting in the fridge uneaten. However, even if it's not good enough for a bowl of pho, we figured it'd make a great base for something else. So we improvised a rice soup recipe with the broth and whatever we had around the house, which turned out very good.
We usually stop at Lemon Leaf after an Ikea trip (it's right down the street). The food is not bad -- somewhat hit or miss -- and the service is friendly but very slow. So today we learned the true secret: go to the Lemon Leaf Deli next door and order banh mi. My bbq pork was pretty good but E's lemongrass beef was outstanding. And the bread was perfect banh mi bread: soft, with a little crust. I like crusty bread in general, but for banh mi, softer is usually better. And, as usual, at rock bottom banh mi prices ($2-3).
The pepper-crusted pork tenderloin and roasted gai lan go together perfectly, at least if you like black pepper (E and I do). We included some quartered shallots and sliced thick japanese green onion with the gai lan as well as some simple basmati rice for a tasty, reasonably healthy meal.
We've been cooking pork tenderloin a lot recently. It's fairly lean meat, and it makes good leftovers. E usually either does a hoisin glaze (like the chicken) or something with rosemary, but we decided to try the classic steak treatment of mustard and cracked black pepper.
We had gai lan (Chinese broccoli, though it's not that broccoli-like) a couple of weeks ago at a dim sum place, and started speculating on how it would work roasted. I like gai lan (I also like broccoli stems, which are kind of similar), but at dim sum the gai lan (stir fried I assume) seems kind of a letdown to me: the stems are still a bit too raw and tough, while the leaves are limp. I thought roasting might produce something perfect; plus, since I think of roasted vegetables as a more European cooking style, the cross-cultural aspect appealed to me. In the end, it was a very successful experiment. The stems are still crunchy, but a bit more cooked, and the leaves ended up crispy (like gai lan chips, as E said). Plus, the charred pieces looked really nice on the plate.
I did another slight variation on the golden hoisin chicken, this time with a fair amount of chinese five spice mixed in to the hoisin glaze. It was pretty good and smelled good (the cinnamon really became fragrant), but overall I think it's a bit much, unless you really want that flavor there. As a general-purpose chicken, it's a bit much.