butter and sage sauce

ravioli with butter and sage sauce

Usually when I boil up some ravioli, I like to pair it with a light herb, butter sauce. However, I haven’t had much luck in the past with butter sauces until I tried this recipe from Mario Batali. This recipe is so simple, but the results are delicious. I reckon the secret is in the lemon juice added at the end to round up the flavor of the sauce. It’s also important to follow the instructions and cook the butter till it’s lightly golden brown in color before adding the fresh sage leaves. On a side note, of all the plants I planted in my garden, the sage has been the hardiest and is still alive and kicking.

(taken from here)

Ingredients:

• Pasta, of choice, or ravioli
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 8 sage leaves
• 1/2 lemon, juiced
• 1/4 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or similar hard cheese

Method:

1. While your pasta or ravioli cooks, melt butter in a 12 to 14-inch saute pan and continue cooking until golden brown color (“noisette”) appears in the thinnest liquid of the butter.
2. Add sage leaves and remove from heat.
3. Add lemon juice and set aside.
4. Drain the pasta, leaving some cooking water, and gently pour into saute pan and return to heat.
5. Add the cheese, toss to coat and serve immediately.
6. If the sauce is too thick/dry, add some pasta cooking water.

pork and chive pot stickers

pork and chive potstickers

The hubs and I hosted a Dumpling and Scallion Pancake night for some friends a couple of weeks ago. We all had fun making dumplings and scallion pancakes together. We also enjoyed eating them.

This recipe is from a friend’s sister. It does take a bit of work but the result is very good. The dumplings are juicy and delicious and the seasoning is just right.

To cook the dumplings, you can either boil, steam, deep-fry or pan-fry them. We decided to pan-fry them pot sticker style. To fry the dumplings, I would suggest using a stainless steel pan instead of a non-stick pan. This produces better browning for the pot sticker bottom. Also, if the pot sticker gets stuck (which it might, hence the name pot-sticker), you can scrape the bottom of the pan without worrying about scratching your non-stick coating off.

potstickers in the pan

(taken and adapted from here; dipping sauce from here)

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 lb ground pork
• 8 large shrimps (optional)
• 1 1/2 tablespoon corn or potato starch
• 3/4 cup water
• 2 tablespoons rice wine
• 2 tablespoons ginger, very finely minced
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 teaspoons light soy sauce
• 3 tablespoons sesame oil
• Dash of white pepper
• 3 cups chives, finely chopped
• Dumpling wrappers

For the dipping sauce:

• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons Chinkiang or rice wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon finely sliced scallion greens
• 1/2 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
• 2 teaspoons sugar

Method:

1. Mix all the ingredients except the chives and dumpling wrappers together in a large bowl. Mix well.
2. Add in the chives and mix well. Apparently, the longer you mix the more tender your dumping filling will be.
3. You can use the filling straight away but I like to keep it in the fridge overnight to let the flavors set in.
4. Fold the dumpings any way you prefer. Here’s a handy dandy guide to folding a gyoza or pot sticker.
5. You can freeze the dumpings on a tray and then package them into a Ziploc bag for later use or cook them straightaway.
6. To cook the pot stickers, heat about 2-3 tablespoons of oil, or enough to coat the bottom of a large frying pan. Arrange the pot stickers in the pan. Do not crowd them.
7. Cook the pot stickers for about 2-3 minutes, or until bottoms begin to brown.
8. For a 10-12 inch pan, pour about 1/2 cup of water (reduce the amount of water for smaller pans) and then cover and cook the pot stickers for about 8 minutes. You might need more time if you are cooking frozen pot stickers.
9. Remove cover from pan and cook until remaining water is almost evaporated. Pot stickers should release easily from the pan. Some might be a bit more stubborn.
10. To make the dipping sauce, combine all ingredients.
11. Serve pot stickers with dipping sauce. Enjoy!

biscuits and white gravy

white gravy and biscuits

I might have a small obsession with food from the American south (so I think). I’ve never been to the deep south and the furthest I’ve been to is probably North Carolina. The hubs and I have been wanting to visit the deep south for some time and hopefully will be able to sometime this year.

I love southern food – biscuits, collard greens, cornbread, BBQ, etc. One of my favorites is biscuits with white gravy. The combination of a fresh biscuit (crisp and buttery) and creamy, meaty, spiced gravy makes me very excited.

I’ve been wanting to try out this buttermilk biscuit recipe from America’s Test Kitchen’s Baking cookbook for some time. This recipe uses buttermilk powder instead of fresh buttermilk as ATK claims that buttermilk powder gives the biscuit a deeper, richer buttermilk flavor. I also wanted to use up my powdered buttermilk.

The biscuits turned out well – crisp on the outside, tender and flavorful. However, I still feel that using fresh buttermilk is best and will continue looking for that elusive buttermilk biscuit recipe. As it stands, the best buttermilk biscuits I’ve ever had were at The Pit in North Carolina. Feel free to use any buttermilk biscuit that you wish. You don’t have to use this recipe.

The gravy was a made using a simple recipe from The Pioneer Woman. Some tweaks were made to give it a “meatier spice” flavor.

buttermilk biscuits

The Best Buttermilk Biscuits

(taken and slightly adapted from America’s Test Kitchen Family Baking Book, p. 29)

Makes 12 biscuits (or more, depending on how big/small you cut them)

Ingredients:

• 3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup powdered buttermilk
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1.5 teaspoons salt
• 1 teapoon baking soda
• 12 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch chunks, and chilled
• 4 tablespoons vegetable shortening, chilled and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
• 1 1/4 cups whole milk
• 1 tablespoon melted butter

Method:

1. Adjust oven rack to the middle position and preheat oven to 450°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Pulse the flour, buttermilk powder, sugar, baking soda , baking powder and salt together in a food processor to combine (about 3 pulses). Scatter the butter and shortening and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal.
3. Transfer the flour mixture to a large bowl. Stir in the milk until the dough comes together.
4. Turn out the dough onto a floured surface. Lightly flour your hands and knead the dough gently until uniform, about 30 seconds. Be careful not to over knead the dough.
5. Roll the dough unto a 10-inch round, about 1 inch thick.
6. Using a floured 2.5 inch biscuit cutter (or top of a glass), stamp out 12 biscuits (you might end up with more depending on the size of your cutter).
7. Arrange the biscuits upside down on the prepared baking sheet, space about 1.5 inches apart. Brush melted butter on the top of the biscuits.
8. Bake for 5 minutes. Rotate the pan, reduce the oven temperature to 400°F and continue to bake until golden brown, 12-15 minutes.
9. Transfer to wire rack, let cool for 5 minutes before serving.
10. Leftover biscuits can be frozen. To reheat, I like to nuke them in the microwave for 30-60 seconds and then toast them in the toaster oven till crisp (about 2-3 minutes). Keep an eye on them in the toaster oven in case they burn.

_______

White Gravy

(taken and adapted from here)

Ingredients:

• 1 pound breakfast or Italian sausage
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 4 cups whole or 2% milk
• Seasoned salt, to taste
• Black pepper, to taste
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon caraway seeds

Method:

1. Using your fingers, tear small pieces of sausage and add them in a single layer to a large heavy skillet. Brown the sausage over medium-high heat until no longer pink.
2. Reduce the heat to medium-low. Sprinkle on half the flour and stir so that the sausage soaks it all up, then add a little more until just before the sausage looks too dry. Stir it around and cook it for another minute or so, then pour in the milk, stirring constantly.
3. Cook the gravy, stirring frequently, until it thickens. This may take a good 10-12 minutes.
4. Sprinkle in the dried thyme, caraway seeds, seasoned salt and pepper and continue cooking until very thick and luscious. If it gets too thick too soon, just splash in 1/2 cup of milk or more if needed. Taste and adjust seasonings.
5. Spoon gravy atop biscuits. Enjoy warm!

biscuits and gravy

tomato sauce with onion and butter

tomato sauce with onion and butter with pasta

I first came across this tomato sauce on Smitten Kitchen’s website. I tried it out when I was living in Montreal but wasn’t really convinced it was THAT good. Recently, I bought two very large cans (106oz each) of Italian canned tomatoes. They were on sale at an Italian supermarket and I jumped on them (not literally of course). The hubs and I were going to get the smaller cans but decided on the larger ones seeing that we would save more money. This is my first time buying Italian canned tomatoes. Some bloggers have done comparisons between American canned tomatoes and the Italian ones and have said that there is a difference. I decided that this was “the time” to do the test.

Unfortunately, there wasn’t much of a difference because the Italian tomatoes I bought were the “cheaper” brand. The large cans consisted mainly of tomato puree and had very few plum tomatoes. The tomatoes, tasted out from the can, were watery. They did however, in my opinion,  have a more “tomato-ey” flavor.

When cooked with the onion and butter, I had to reduce the sauce quite considerably. The sauce was quite nice, eventually. I will though use better tomatoes the next time I make this. It is a very simple tomato sauce and I can envision making this sauce for my children (in the future). I am plotting to freeze a couple of portions of this sauce since I tripled the recipe.

This recipe has been raved about by many popular food bloggers and is from Marcella Hazan’s book “Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking”.

I made a triple and a half recipe, but the recipe posted below is great for 4 servings of pasta.

(from Marcella Hazan’s book, “Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking”; taken from Smitten Kitchen)

Serves 2-4, depending on how saucy you would like your pasta

Ingredients:

• 28 ounces (800 grams) whole peeled tomatoes from a can
• 5 tablespoons (70 grams) unsalted butter
• 1 medium-sized yellow onion, peeled and halved
• Salt to taste

Method:

1. Put the tomatoes, onion and butter in a heavy saucepan over medium heat. Bring the sauce to a simmer then lower the heat to keep the sauce at a slow, steady simmer for about 45 minutes, or until droplets of fat float free of the tomatoes. Stir occasionally, crushing the tomatoes against the side of the pot with a wooden spoon.
2. Remove from heat, discard the onion, add salt to taste and keep warm while you prepare your pasta.
3. Serve with pasta of choice (I used whole wheat penne), with or without grated Parmesan cheese.

fish tacos

fish taco flat

Ever since moving to the West Coast I’ve been introduced to real Mexican fare. Previously living on the East Coast, I ate mostly Tex-Mex food and never knew that taco shells were actually soft and not hard and crisp. Thanks to the hubs and Yelp! I’ve had fantabulous Mexican food in SoCal. We haven’t yet found any good places in the Bay Area but I’m sure they exist.

The hubs and I decided to make fish tacos for my birthday cum New Year’s Eve party at our place. We figured that after all the feasting people had over Thanksgiving and Christmas, fish tacos would be a light meal. We had a small gathering of 14. We also made some guacamole, tomato salsa, and a corn and bean salad to go with the tacos. Friends brought dessert and additional sides. Food was well received and everyone had a great time.

We had used this recipe in the past with success. My comments are in red.

(Alton Brown’s recipe; taken from here)

Ingredients:

• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 cup packed cilantro leaves
• 2 limes, zested
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup tequila (We used vodka)
• 1 pound tilapia fillets (We used swai)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 8 (7-inch) round Flour Tortillas
• Crema, recipe follows
• Shredded red cabbage
• Lime wedges

Method:

1. Put the garlic, cilantro, lime zest, cumin, salt, and pepper in a small food processor bowl and pulse until combined, approximately 20 seconds. With the processor running, add the tequila. Put the tilapia fillets into a 1 gallon resealable bag, add the garlic mixture and move around to coat each fillet. Set aside at room temperature for 15 to 20 minutes.
2. Heat an electric nonstick griddle to 375 degrees F. We just used a cast iron pan.
3. Brush the griddle with the olive oil. Cook the fillets until just cooked through and opaque about 3 to 4 minutes per side. Cut into strips and serve in warm tortillas with crema, shredded red cabbage and lime wedges.

marinated fish – do note we over-marinated our fish so the fish shouldn’t be THAT green

crema

Crema:

Makes about 1 cup

Ingredients:

• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 tablespoon buttermilk
• 1 chipotle chile in adobo sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

Method:

1. Put the heavy cream in a 16-ounce microwave-safe glass jar. Microwave on high until the cream is just under 100 degrees F, about 30 to 40 seconds. Add the buttermilk, close the jar, and store in a warm place for 24 hours. The cream will have thickened to the consistency of thin yogurt.
2. Add the chipotle chile and salt and process with an immersion blender, in the jar, until smooth, approximately 20 seconds. Refrigerate until ready to use.

bread pudding with rum sauce

bread pudding with rum sauce

My yearly tradition during the holiday season is to make bread pudding. Why? Because it’s panettone season!!! Yes, I love panettone and can’t get enough of it. I love how it’s the perfect bread for a soft and tender french toast and how it soaks up the milk and cream for a yummy bread pudding. Thanks to a friend from Peru, we get a panettone every year (well, at least the past two years).
The final product usually gets transported to the hub’s lab where it is eaten by his lab mates because by this time, I am feeling too guilty to eat another calorie ridden dessert – but I still manage a serving anyways.

Last year I made a pumpkin bread pudding and this year I decided to go simple and easy. This recipe is from Pioneer Woman and is pretty rich and sweet. The sauce is a whiskey sauce but I didn’t have any whiskey on hand, so I used rum instead. The sauce was a huge hit and I had so much leftover that I served it with crepes I made a few days after – still good! I would reduce the sugar content in the bread pudding though as the sauce can be quite sweet.

The Best Bread Pudding

Recipe taken from here.

Serves 6 or more.

Ingredients:

• 2 eggs
• 2 tablespoons melted butter
• 2 tablespoons vanilla
• 2 1/2 cups milk
• 2 cups sugar (1.5 cups will probably be good enough)
• 3 1/2 to 5 cups sourdough bread, cut into 1-inch cubes (I used panettone)
• 1/3 cup pecans, chopped finely

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2. Beat together eggs, butter, vanilla, and milk. Add sugar and mix until sugar is dissoved.
3. Arrange bread cubes tightly in a nine-inch baking dish, keeping the crust facing up around the edges in scattered within the dish.
4. Pour liquid over the bread. Sprinkle pecans all over and bake for 55 to 70 minutes, or until crust is golden brown all over the top.

While the bread pudding is baking, make the Whiskey Cream Sauce:

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 stick butter
• 1/2 cup cream
• 1/4 cup Jack Daniels (I used rum)
• a pinch of salt to taste

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan. Stir constantly over low heat until mixture reaches a low boil. Pour a small amount over the individual servings of bread pudding.

Store leftovers in fridge.

paneton french toast with orange rum sauce

paneton french toast with orange rum sauce

The last weekend of 2012 the hubs and I woke up late on Saturday and mused about what we would have for brunch. We had a paneton from Peru (from our dear pal) waiting for us on the table and I thought that french toast would be the perfect way to use some up (the rest of it being left for bread pudding). Paneton is an excellent bread for french toast because it is similar to brioche (the other perfect bread for making french toast). Both breads absorb the egg mixture up well and are light and fluffy when done. Paneton is particularly good for an after Christmas, fancy brunch because it only comes around this time of year. I also like biting into the candied fruits. If you can’t find paneton, a good brioche will suffice.

Ingredients:

• 6 slices Paneton or brioche bread, sliced about 1 inch thick
• 3 eggs
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1/2 tsp vanilla essence
• Butter, for frying

Orange rum sauce:

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup orange juice
• 1 tablespoon rum
• Orange zest of 1/2 an orange

Method:

1. Mix eggs, milk and vanilla essence till frothy.
2. Melt butter in pan and dip bread in egg mixture, coat both sides well, fry each side till golden brown. Repeat for other slices.
3. In the meantime, combine all of the orange rum mixture ingredients in small sauce pan and heat till boiling then turn down heat and simmer till desired thickness.
4. Pour sauce over french toast when ready to serve. Dust with powdered sugar, if desired.

Christmas Dinner 2012

Just a shot of what we had for Christmas dinner and the recipes we used.

Christmas glazed ham, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, roasted brussel sprouts with bacon

For the Christmas ham, we used a combination of Boar’s Head Glaze (available in some supermarkets, we got ours at Ralph’s) and Alton Brown’s recipe. But starting from next year, we decided to use Alton Brown’s recipe and method. The ham turned out great. We also used our new oven thermometer that beeps when the meat reaches a fixed temperature.

Alton Brown’s City Ham

Taken from here.

Ingredients:

• 1 city style (brined) ham, hock end* (Ours was about 10 pounds)
• 1/4 cup brown mustard
• 2 cups dark brown sugar
• 1-ounce bourbon (poured into a spritz bottle)
• 2 cups crushed ginger snap cookies

Method:

1. Heat oven to 250 degrees F.
2. Remove ham from bag, rinse and drain thoroughly.
3. Place ham, cut side down, in a roasting pan. Using a small paring knife or clean utility knife set to the smallest blade setting, score the ham from bottom to top, spiraling clockwise as you cut. (If you’re using a paring knife, be careful to only cut through the skin and first few layers of fat). Rotate the ham after each cut so that the scores are no more than 2-inches across. Once you’ve made it all the way around, move the knife to the other hand and repeat, spiraling counter clockwise. The aim is to create a diamond pattern all over the ham. (Don’t worry too much about precision here.)
4. Tent the ham with heavy duty foil, insert a thermometer, and cook for 3 to 4 hours or until the internal temperature at the deepest part of the meat registers 130 degrees F.
5. Remove and use tongs to pull away the diamonds of skin and any sheets of fat that come off with them.
6. Heat oven to 350 degrees F.
7. Dab dry with paper towels, then brush on a liberal coat of mustard, using either a basting brush or a clean paint brush (clean as in never-touched paint). Sprinkle on brown sugar, packing loosely as you go until the ham is coated. Spritz this layer lightly with bourbon, then loosely pack on as much of the crushed cookies as you can.
8. Insert the thermometer (don’t use the old hole) and return to the oven (uncovered). Cook until interior temperature reaches 140 degrees F, approximately 1 hour.
9. Let the roast rest for 1/2 hour before carving.

*Cook’s note: A city ham is basically any brined ham that’s packed in a plastic bag, held in a refrigerated case and marked “ready to cook”, “partially cooked” or “ready to serve”. Better city hams are also labeled “ham in natural juices”.

______

For the cranberry sauce, I like to use Pioneer Woman’s recipe because she doesn’t use straight up sugar but maple syrup instead. I feel this gives it a richer flavor. Making your own cranberry sauce is ridiculously easy so I really don’t understand why people would buy the pre-made ones, especially the ones in a can.

 

Homemade Cranberry Sauce

(taken from The Pioneer Woman; recipe here)

Prep time: 5 min; Cooking time: about 15 min or more depending on the consistency you want; Serves 4 according to PW. I find this amount comfortable for a Thanksgiving meal for 10.

Ingredients:

• 1 bag (12 Oz. Bag) Cranberries
• 1 cup Cranberry Juice (or Orange, Apple Or Any Ot¬her Juice Combination)
• 1 cup Pure Maple Syrup (not Pancake Syrup!)
• 3 Tablespoons Juice (you Could Also Do Orange Zest, Lemon Zest, Lemon Juice – Anything Citrusy)

Method:

1. Wash bag of cranberries under cool water, then dump into a medium saucepan.
2. Pour in 1 cup of cranberry juice (or whatever juice you choose).
3. Pour in 1 cup maple syrup. Add orange juice (you could also do orange zest, lemon zest, lemon juice – anything citrusy).
4. Stir together and turn heat on high until it reaches a boil.
5. Once it comes to a rolling boil, turn the heat down to medium low and continue cooking over lower heat for about 10 minutes, or until the juice is thick. Turn off the heat.

_________

For the mashed potatoes, I recently read about this method on Kitchn. It tells you how to make the best mashed potatoes and yep, I tried it and it indeed makes the best mashed potatoes. They also reheat very well. I tried out this method for Thanksgiving and the mash turned out great. Repeated results for Christmas :D.

To sum up the article:

1. Cook the potatoes whole, without peeling them.

2. After the potatoes are done, you can mash them and remove skins, or just leave the skins in the mash.

3. Add  warm, melted butter first.

4. Then add the warm dairy (milk, cream etc.)

5. Season and add any other extras (e.g., roasted garlic, paprika etc.)

_______

For the roasted brussel sprouts (by the way, the hubs and I feel that the ONLY way to cook brussel sprouts is to roast them), we started with good bacon. We bought a very yummy black forest bacon from Whole Foods (unexpected purchase, but it was calling out to us), cut it into small pieces and fried it on med-high heat to render as much fat as possible. The bacon was pretty lean, but still produced some oily goodness for us to toss our brussel sprouts in, if needed, you can add more oil. The sprouts were halved and we also added in some carrots (cut up into medium sized even pieces). Spread on roasting tray, season with salt and pepper and roast at 350F for about 20-30 minutes. You can also add some garlic and herbs.

pan-fried salmon with lemon rosemary cream sauce

pan-fried salmon with lemon rosemary cream sauce

Ingredients:

•  Salmon fillet (or any type of fillet)
• 1/4 cup cooking cream
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp dried rosemary
• 1/4 tsp lemon zest
• Salt and pepper

Method:

1. Season salmon with salt and pepper. I used Lawry’s seasoning salt.
2. Pan fry salmon, set aside.
3. Lower the heat. Melt butter in pan, add garlic.
4. Add in cream, rosemary and lemon zest. Let it bubble for a minute on low heat.
5. Season with salt and pepper, pour over salmon. Serve immediately.

tomato sauce from fresh tomatoes

The past week I’ve been transforming this

organic roma tomatoes

into this

tomato sauce made from fresh tomatoes

using simple ingredients – garlic, bay leaves and maybe the occasional Italian seasoning (dried basil, oregano, parsley). I’ve also experimented adding paprika and fresh basil.