Monthly Archives: December 2005

Shrimp Pad Thai

Shrimp Pad Thai Pic

Now, I am the first to tell you that I am no expert on Asian cuisine, and I have no great wisdom to impart on the making of Pad Thai. I can tell you, though, that Pad Thai is the sole Asian dish that I have incorporated into my regular repertoire (you know, the things you cook all the time for your family and friends), and I probably make Pad Thai as much, or more often, than I make spaghetti and meat sauce. Pad Thai is also an easy dish for a dinner party. All of the ingredients can be prepared ahead, and when everyone is ready, it can be cooked and put on the table in minutes.

Once you’ve made Pad Thai a few times, the ingredients that once seemed so unusual (like tamarind paste) are just another ingredient in your cupboard, so all you have to do is pick up fresh shrimp, tofu if you are using it, and the veggies. Tamarind (which I buy in a block, seeds and all), dried shrimp and dried turnip come in quantitities enough for about several batches of Pad Thai. I store these in a jar labelled “Asian miscellaneous”, each ingredient bagged in a zip lock to keep the odors separated. I always have fish sauce and rice wine vinegar. (Can anyone tell me if I am correct that fish sauce doesn’t need refrigeration?) I don’t have a regular source yet for the rice noodles. The Asian market in our neighborhood only carries the real thin ones (which are what I used tonight). However, I just now seached Fresh Direct, and they carry “A Taste of Thai” noodles in the several widths, so I think I will get some with my next order and keep them in stock. (I wish I were one of those cooks with time enough to head to China Town on a regular basis, but my life is just too busy. Maybe in my next life…)

I pretty much stick to this recipe barely modified from Cook’s Illustrated. Sometimes I add tofu. I don’t always use cilantro. Enjoy!

PAD THAI

2 tablespoons tamarind pulp
¾ cup boiling water
3 tablespoons fish sauce
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
4 tablespoons peanut or vegetable oil
8 ounces dried rice stick noodles
2 large eggs
¼ teaspoon salt
12 ounces medium (31/35 count) shrimp, peeled and deveined
3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed through garlic press (about 1 tablespoon)
1 medium shallot, minced (about 3 tablespoons)
2 tablespoons dried shrimp, chopped fine
2 tablespoons chopped Thai salted preserved radish
6 tablespoons chopped roasted unsalted peanuts
3 cups (6 ounces) bean sprouts
5 medium scallions, sliced thin on a sharp diagonal
¼ cup loosely packed cilantro leaves
Lime wedges

1. Rehydrate the tamarind paste in boiling water. Press through a sieve, discard seeds and rind. Stir the fish sauce, rice vinegar, sugar, cayenne, and 2 tablespoons oil into the tamarind liquid and set aside.

2. Cover the rice sticks with hot tap water in a large bowl; soak until softened, pliable, and limp but not fully tender, about 20 minutes. Drain the noodles and set aside. Beat the eggs and 1/8 teaspoon of the salt in a small bowl; set aside.

3. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a 12-inch skillet (preferably nonstick) over high heat until just beginning to smoke. Add the shrimp and sprinkle with the remaining 1/8 teaspoon salt; cook, tossing occasionally, until the shrimp are opaque and browned about the edges, about 3 minutes. Transfer the shrimp to a plate and set aside.

4. Off heat, add the remaining tablespoon oil to the skillet and swirl to coat; add the garlic and shallot, set the skillet over medium heat, and cook, stirring constantly, until light golden brown, about 1½ minutes; add the eggs to the skillet and stir vigorously with a wooden spoon until scrambled and barely moist, about 20 seconds. Add the noodles and the dried shrimp and salted radish (if using) to the eggs; toss with 2 wooden spoons to combine. Pour the fish sauce mixture over the noodles, increase the heat to high, and cook, tossing constantly, until the noodles are evenly coated. Scatter ¼ cup peanuts, bean sprouts, all but ¼ cup scallions, and cooked shrimp over the noodles; continue to cook, tossing constantly, until the noodles are tender, about 2½ minutes (if not yet tender add 2 tablespoons water to the skillet and continue to cook until tender).

5. Transfer the noodles to a serving platter, sprinkle with the remaining scallions, 2 tablespoons peanuts, and cilantro; serve immediately, passing lime wedges separately.

Category:

Butternut Squash Lasagna

We spend out holiday eves with our friends Andy & Linda and kids (check out Andy’s podcast site http://andy.libsyn.com/) , and this year was no exception. We had decorated the tree that morning, and I used the leftover greens from the tree to line the stair railings, along with white lights. We put candles on every shelf and table, and the place looked festive. Next year, I vow I will do this a full week prior to Christmas, and every night I will light the candles and the lights, and make this feeling last longer.

Here’s the menu:

Appetizers: Roasted red pepper dip (recipe follows) with bagel chips, baby carrots and celery sticks / Cheese / Warm apple cider with cinammon / pinot grigio

Dinner: Mushroom soup (ala’ Anthony Bourdain) , butternut squash lasagna (recipe follows), tossed greens with sherry vinaigrette, warm bread, white wine.

Dessert: None. We were all too full.

ROASTED RED PEPPER DIP
2 red bell peppers roasted, peeled and seeded
1 whole head roasted garlic, pulp squeezed and skin removed.
8 oz. of cream cheese
1 tbsp fresh parsley
1 tablespoons virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper

Pulse garlic and red peppers in food processor till smooth. Add remaining ingredients and pulse till mixed.

BUTTERNUT SQUASH LASAGNA
Warning: this is a lot of work, but well worth the effort. I combined two great recipes, one from Gourmet and one from Napa Style, and threw in a layer of carmelized onions. Luckily the sage in the garden survived the first snow. What I ended up with was delicious, but a bit heavy on the butter and Bechamel, and not enough onions. So the recipe that follows is not exactly what I made, but what I plan to make next time I do this dish (which I will do again)….The picture is what I actually made. Get it?

For the squash filling:
2 large butternut squashes
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh sage
3 tbsp fennel seeds
2 tsp ground cinammon
1 tbsp salt
2 tsp pepper

For the sauce:
1 quart (4 cups) whole milk
3 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter
1 tablespoon minced fresh sage
1 teaspoon minced garlic
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
½ tsp fresh gound nutmeg

For the carmelized onions:
3 vidalia onions, peeled and thinly sliced
3 tbsp butter
Salt and pepper

Plus: 1 cup hazelnuts (4 oz), toasted, loose skins rubbed off with a kitchen towel, and finely ground (or chopped, whichever you prefer.)

For assembling lasagne
1/2 lb fresh low fat mozzarella, coarsely grated (2 cups)
1 cup finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (3 oz)
12 (7- by 3 1/2-inch) sheets no-boil lasagne (1/2 lb)

Make filling:
Preheat the oven to 400˚F. Grind the fennel seeds in spice grinder. Mix with cinammon, salt and pepper. Peel squash, trim ends and cut in half lengthwise. Remove the seeds and coarsely chop the squash into 1/2-inch chunks. In a bowl, toss the squash with the olive oil, sage, and the spice mixture. Spread the squash in a single layer on the baking sheet. Roast the squash, stirring once or twice, until very soft and beginning to brown, about 50-60 minutes.

Carmelize onions:
Melt butter in large skillet or saute pan. Add onions, and cook, covered on low heat for 30 minutes. Take off lid, raise heat a bit and contiue to cook, stirring as needed, till light brown and delicious. Add a little salt and pepper
.
Make sauce:
In a large saucepan, warm the milk. In a large pot, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Add the sage and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 1 minute. Do not let garlic brown. Add the flour and stir for 2 to 3 minutes to combine well with the butter. Do not allow the mixture to color. Add the milk, whisking vigorously to prevent lumps, ultil thickened. Add salt and the nutmeg. Remove from the heat.

Assemble lasagne:
Preheat oven to 425°F.

Coat the bottom of a buttered 13 by 9 by 2-inch baking dish with the sauce. Cover with 3 pasta sheets, leaving spaces between sheets. Layer as follows (try to get 4 layers total): Lasagna, squash, onions, hazlenuts, mozarella, sauce, parmesan. Tightly cover baking dish with buttered foil and bake lasagne in middle of oven 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake until golden and bubbling, 10 to 15 minutes more. Let lasagne stand 15 to 20 minutes before serving.

Meat Loaf

The Best Meatloaf He's ever had

It’s been freezing cold for several days now. The New York Times says it is in the 30’s today, but here on the far East side of Manhattan I’d say it feels well below 20. The blustery winds from the East River whip up and down York and First Avenues, giving us our own litle microclimate, similar to, say… Siberia. Even my 9 year old daughter caves in and wears a scarf.

Well, when the weather gets tough, the tough make meat loaf. The great American comfort food, that, with its faithful companion the mashed potato, can warm the cockles, sooth the savage beast and ease the way into a long winter’s night.

Now, I know how to make meatloaf, you know how to make meatloaf…everyone knows how to make meatloaf. I even have a great recipe for meat loaf, thanks to my mother-in-law, The Greatest Home Cook in the World. (Irene, when are you going to start a food blog?) But Irene’s recipe calls for whipped cream cheese and motsa meal (Aren’t you curious? Sorry, some other time..), and I had neither. But I did have some ground siroloin and some Italian sweet sausage, plus some great homemade bread crumbs pining away in my freezer. So, off I went to my usual starting place, Epicurious.com (always sorting the search by fork rating to avoid wasting time on the duds). And there, three down from the the top on the search for “meat loaf”, I found it – Old Fashioned Meat Loaf (Gourmet, 1994). Of course, I made a few changes. But when it was done, it was, according to my husband (who of course has had his mother’s meat loaf), THE BEST MEAT LOAF HE’S EVER HAD.

I served it with mashed potatoes that I made from red bliss potatoes. I’d never used these particular type of potato in mashed potatoes before. Wow, they are so creamy, you barely need any milk (I used about a tbsp or so of half and half). I also made haricot verts. Easy recipe (again from Irene). You put the beans in a baking dish with olive oil, salt, pepper, and zest of one lemon. Bake at 450 for 10 minutes. Delicious!

The Best Meat Loaf He’s Ever Had
Cook 1 small finely chopped onion and 1 finely chopped shallot, along with with 1 finely chopped clove of garlic, 1 finely chopped celery rib, and 1 finely chopped carrot in 2 tablespoons unsalted butter over moderate heat until vegetables soften (5 minutes). Add 2 teaspoons salt, 1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper, and 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce and cook another 5 minutes, covered. Cool slightly.Add mixture to large bowl, into which you have alreay placed 3/4 lb ground sirloin and 3/4 lb italian sweet sausage (casings off). Add 1/3 cup ketchup, 1 cup bread crumbs, 2 large eggs (beaten lightly) and 1/3 cup minced fresh parsley leaves. Form into loaf in a meat loaf pan (I used a glass pyrex dish). Top with another 1/3 cup ketchup and arrange thin slices of mushroom over top (about 2-3 mushrooms, total).

Bake in preheated 350 degree oven 1 hour, or until meat thermometer reads 155 degrees fahrenheit.

Serve tonite with mashed potatoes and green beans. Tomorrow, you’ll have a great meat loaf sandwich.

Split Pea Soup

I was in the mood for a bowl of great pea soup. I had been ordering pea soup in at lunch from various delis in the neighborhood, but the soups were all hastily put together and looked like chicken soup with peas floating in it. (I guess when you’ve got to make soup and serve customers, slow cooking is not your forte.) 

Because E is vegetarian, decided to forgo the ham bone and headed to my reliable old Moosewood Cookbook. Nice recipe, but looked a little dull. So to the web, where I found Haverchuck’s variation on the Moosewood recipe. Looked pretty good to me. Got me thinking about Indian food and Indian spices. So back to Google, which led me to Moosewood’s African Split-Pea and Rice Soup (Thanks, Jan Gordon, whoever you are). Now, that’s the kind of spice I was looking for. But P had already bought a nice baguette at Gourmet Garage, so the rice was out. Plus, I had only 2 cups of split peas and one sweet potato that somehow got overlooked when I was making mashed sweets for Thanksgiving. So, I got creative and melded all three recipes plus a little more. Here’s what I did:

Split Pea Soup

Rinse 2 cups dried split peas and place into Dutch oven with 6 cups cold water and 1 tsp salt. Bring to a boil, lower the heat and simmer, partially covered, for 20-30 minutes.

Meanwhile, chop up 2 stalks celery, 2 medium carrots and 1 sweet potato. Add to the soup and simmer gently another 40 minutes with occasional stirring. Add water if necessary.

Meanwhile, mince 3 onions and 3 cloves garlic. Saute in 1 tbsp butter till onions are transcluscent. Add 2 bay leaves, 3/4 tsp cardomon, 3/4 tsp cinammon, 1 1/2 tsp ground cumin, 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper and 1 tsp salt. Cook, stirring to prevent burning, for 5 minutes. About half way through, add 1/4 cup white wine and continue cooking till onions are wonderful. (Keep your fingers out – no tasting!) Add onion mixture to the soup and cook a little longer till peas are soft and the soup is done.

Now here’s where I screwed up. Per Haverchuck’s suggestion, I pureed the soup (well, part of it). I immedately regretted my decision. I forgot that pea soup, when pureed, looks like, well…. meconium, if you really want to know. (Guess what I do for a living….more on that another time). Way too thick and it dries on the edges of the bowl and looks like green glue. So I stopped there and put the pureed soup back in with the rest of the soup (which in retrosepect I now know looked and tasted just fine). Next time, I won’t puree. The soup was gorgeous just as it was.

Season with salt and pepper. If you want, cook up some extra onions and spices and instead of adding them to the soup, crisp them up and put on top as a garnish. (I tried this, but accidentally burnt the onions.)

I ended up serving it with toasted baguette slices (drizzled with olive oil) and a nice green salad. I like this salad from Epicurious. The dressing is perfect. I used goat cheese instead of gorgonzola, and also added some pears and spiced pecans.