Dateline: February 4, 2021 Tofu 2 Ways

After a discussion with friends Alan and Lyn, I decided to make some Mapo Tofu.  I was rooting around in the pantry and found a package of tofu skins and thought, great, I'll make some bean curd skin rolls and we can enjoy a spicy dish and a not spicy dish.

I quickly got to work, found a recipe, and started chopping things madly.  Soaked the tree ear mushrooms, gave up looking for my dried shitake mushrooms and decided to chop other veg instead.  For the rolls I quickly prepared some slivered carrots, cabbage and cucumbers.  To the meat, I used beef, I added the requisite minced tree ears, garlic, ginger, cornstarch, sesame oil, shao xing wine, and soy sauce.  Stir like mad to combine and voila!  meat filling.  

Next, I opened the package of bean curd or tofu skins and realized that this was going to be a nightmare scenario.  The sheets were folded up onto themselves so that each "page" was multiple layers thick.  I dunked them in the warm water, fiddled with them, and tried to pry the layers apart.  This was not going to work at all.  So I had to go to plan B with this.  I decided to soak 2 pages and then just chop up the result and saute everything in the wok.

Mapo, I have written about many times.  Last night, I was pressed for time, AND hungry, so I went with the easiest method possible.  Stir fried the meat and ginger, added in 2 T of doujiabang sauce and then splashed on some soy, shaoxing, rice vinegar, and anything else I felt like throwing in.

Since I had some soaked tree ear mushrooms I threw them in and, well, that was a mistake.  I should have cut them into smaller pieces, instead I just hacked a large piece into quarters or sixths, and they were just too damn big and chewy.

Mapo Tofu

Deconstructed Tofu Skin Rolls

The combo was quite tasty, Bill was going back for more.  I was pretty happy with the deconstructed rolls, and would probably tweak that a bit more going forward, like, buying fresher bean curd skins and actually making the rolls!  But as an invented dinner save, it was pretty damn good.

Dateline: February 2, 2021 Chicken Thigh Sheet Pan Dinner #2

I had a bunch of broccoli, some shisito peppers, 1/2 a butternut squash and some carrots.....plus some chicken thighs.  What to do?

Option 1 - Tajine

Option 2 - Sheetpan

Feeling lazy, I took option 2.  I piled the chopped veggies into a sheet pan along with a sliced onion and mixed it with some olive oil and salt and pepper.  Added the chicken thighs on top and drizzled them with oil and salt and pepper, and popped it in the oven, 350°F for 30 minutes, rotated the pan, and set the timer for 15 more minutes.  Chicken was cooked, and veggies were nicely browned.

Yum!

Pre Cooking

 

Here is the finished product.  I was quite pleased with the results and will definitely play with this sort of thing again!

Dateline: February 1, 2021 Potluck Sausage Chili, or Freezer Diving

I had no idea what I was going to make for dinner.  I did know that I needed to make room in the freezer for more sausage, what else does one do during a snow storm.

I found a pound of loose sausage, turned out to be sage breakfast sausage, but never mind, and I found a container of Chili Colorado sauce saved from a previous meal.  

Perfect!  Dinner is a sausage chili stew with chickpeas and left over veggies from the sheet pan dinner the other night!

In the instant pot, I browned the sausage and then added in the frozen colorado sauce.  I opened a can of chickpeas and threw them in, liquid and all and closed the lid.  I set the pot to pressure cook for 8 minutes.  When time was up, I used quick release, and checked in on the contents.  I found some kale and collards in the fridge and added that to the pot along with the veggies from a previous meal.  Set the pot to slow cook and left a glass lid on it ajar to help thicken it up a bit.  

Finished product was far better than I thought it would be!  Yeah me!  Finished up the meal with some brown basmati rice, and Ta-Dah!  Speaking of finishing up, I drained the beautiful Barbaresco from an earlier dinner.  Delightful!

 

Dateline: January 31, 2021 Baked Salmon and Mushroom Risotto

I had about 1 lb of cremini mushrooms that needed to be used up.  Thank God I had stored them in a paper bag, or they would have been mush!

I cleaned and sliced the mushrooms, shopped up the shallots and garlic and soaked some dried cepes.  For the risotto stock, I used the mushroom soaking liquid and some mushroom powder that I used in addition to some hot water for some vegetable base.  

Mushroom Risotto

1 lb sliced mushrooms, your own choice or mixture

small handful of dried cepes or porchini mushrooms

2 T olive oil

Salt and pepper

2 large shallots, chopped fine, divided, one shallot will be used to top the salmon

2 cloves of garlic, smashed and chopped fine

2 T white wine

1 cup arborio rice

3.5 cups water, divided

1 T vegetable soup base

1/2 package frozen peas

1/2 c grated parmesan cheese

2 T butter, divided

2 T half and half

truffle oil, optional

Method

1.  Heat 1/2 C water, I used the microwave and soak the dried mushroom using a spoon to keep as many of them below the water level as possible.  Heat the remaining 3 cups of water in a large measuring cup in the microwave and add the vegetable base to the very hot water.  Stir to dissolve the base completely.

Keep warm, or reheat in microwave.

2.  Heat a large casserole pan up and when hot add the olive oil and 1 T of the butter.  Add the shallots, salt and pepper and saute until translucent then add the smashed garlic.  Remove cepes from soaking liquid and add soaking liquid to the vegetable base.  Add cepes and mushrooms to saute pan.  Cook the mushrooms until they start to give off their water.  Add a splash of white wine to keep them from sticking to the bottom of the pan.

3.  When the wine has evaporated, add the rice and saute until the grains become translucent.  Add a pinch or two of salt and start to ladle in 4 oz at a time the heated vegetable stock.   Only add additional stock when the previous one has been completely absorbed.  Stir constantly.  Add stock as necessary and take your time.  Risotto is an act of love, do not rush it.

4.  When most of the stock has been used, taste the rice, is it still crunchy, keep cooking, if it has softened, but is still al dente, then you are very close to being finished.  When the rice is cooked to your liking, add the reserved T of butter and the frozen peas.  Stir to melt them both into the rice.  Add the half and half along with the cheese, in parts, combining into the risotto.  

5.  Just before serving, drizzle with truffle oil.

Ah, risotto

A beautiful Chablis

Baked Salmon with Shallots

Ingredients

2 center cut salmon fillets, pin bones removed

1 finely chopped shallot

salt and pepper

Method

1.  Set oven to 400°F.  Prepare a baking dish by coating with cooking spray.  Dry off the fish and place skin side down in the baking dish.  Use olive oil or cooking spray on the fish.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper and top with the chopped shallots.

2.  When oven is hot, put the pan into the oven and set a timer for 5 minutes.  When time is up, rotate the pan and set timer for another 5 minutes.  Depending on how thick your fillets were, you may need some more time, or if you prefer your salmon more well done.  Then set the timer for another 3 - 5 minutes.  Remove and serve.

 

Dateline: January 30, 2021 First foray into sheetpan dinner

I had a ton of veg that needed to be used in some creative way.  I decided that I would attempt a sheetpan dinner using some homemade brats and the vegetation that was in the fridge.

Veg and Brats

Ingredients 

1/2 butternut squash, cubed

1 bell pepper, seeded and cut into large chunks

4 sunchokes, washed and halved, if necessary

5-6 small white potatoes, washed and cut in half

1 large sweet potato, washed and cut into rounds

2 small red onions, cut into wedges thru the root end

2 shallots, cut into wedges thru the root end

handful of baby carrots

1 large parsnip, peeled and chunked up

1 serrano pepper, cut into rounds

1 green chili, seeded and cut into chunks

Olive Oil

Salt and pepper to taste

1 1 lb bag of halved brussel sprouts in a seal and steam bag

1 large preserved lemon, cut into small pieces

6-7 brats, preferably homemade

Method

1.  Heat oven to 450°F.  Chop vegetables, except brussel sprouts, and add to a bowl.  Add olive oil and salt and pepper and mix well to coat veggies.

2.  Dump veggies onto a sheet pan and arrange them in an even layer.  Put into oven for 30 minutes.

3.  Cook brussel sprouts in microwave for 3 minutes and empty bag into bowl that held the veggies.  Add some oil, salt and pepper to coat.  Hold aside.

4.  After 30 minutes, remove pan from oven and lower temp to 400°F.  Add sprouts to pan and place sausages on top evenly spaced out on the pan.  Prick each sausage a few time on each side.  Return pan to oven and cook for 15 minutes.  Turn sausages and cook for another 15 minutes.  Serve.

Pre sausage veggies

Post sausage cooking

This was an excellent and very simple meal.  Even Bill could do it, if I walked him through the steps.  Do you hear that Alan!!!!!

The sausages were perfectly cooked, and delicious, if I do say.  And the assortment of colors in the veggies added a lot of interest and different vitamins into the mix.

The preserved lemon added a bit of acid and some tartness.  If you didn't have preserved lemons, you could easily add a spritz or two of the vinegar of your choice at the end of the cooking.

Dateline: January 27, 2021 Vegetarian/Vegan Indian Night: Chana Masala, Sambar, Vegetable Masala

I runneth over with cauliflower and cabbage these days, so I must make something with them that will be tasty and satisfying, and of course, spicy.  I also decided that I didn't want meat tonight.  I can hear Bill saying, "What did you do with Clarissa?" 

All of these recipes come from Vegetarian Indian Cooking with Your Instant Pot by Manali Singh.

Sambar

For the sambar, I will use as many veggies as I can squeeze into it, certainly using up the cabbage, celery, carrots, etc.   

Chana Masala

For the vegetable masala, I used the recipe on the back of the Shan Vegetable Masala package.

Here is the Sambar....it turned out really nice, a very comforting soupy/stewy consistency and a nicely spiced taste.  Not quite what I loved about India, but pretty darn close.

Vegetable Masala

500 g mixed vegetables, I used mostly cauliflower, cabbage, and parsnips, chopped in large pieces

2 T oil

1 large red onion, sliced through the root

2 T garlic/ginger paste

2 tomatoes, pureed

1 jalapeno pepper, chopped

1 can diced tomatoes

3-4 T masala powder

1 c water or stock

Method

1.  Heat instant pot on saute and add oil when hot.  Add onion slices and jalapeno peppers, saute until onions lose raw smell.

2.  Add garlic/ginger paste and stir to combine.  Add spice powder and stir to combine.  Add pureed tomatoes and the can of the tomatoes.  Stir to combine.  Add vegetables and stir to coat with spices.  Add water and stir to combine.  

3.  Close lid, and pressure cook on high for 5 minutes.  Use quick release and stir and adjust spices, if necessary.

Here are the 2 curries, chana masala on the left, why is it so dark?  I used green chickpeas, which as far as I can guess, are under ripe chickpeas.  They take a little longer to cook, but do not have as much of the, err, after effects of eating beans.  On the right is the vegetable masala.  I used too much water in my version so it was too soupy for my taste.  The flavor was quite good.  I added 2 cups of water, plus there was also the juice from the can of tomatoes, and it was just too much.  I keep thinking that it might burn if I don't add more water.....you need a minimum of 1 cup of water in the pot for it to come to pressure, the ingredients also will supply water/juice as they cook....I've got to learn that lesson!

Dateline: January 22, 2021 Ma La Shrimp and Stir Fried Mixed Vegetables

 OMG this dinner was superb!  No brag, just fact.  I am in heaven, spice, tingling mouth, crispy veggies and SHRIMP.

Ingredients

2 lb shrimp..... I used frozen

4 scallions, white part cut on the bias, green part cut into 2 inch segments

2 T garlic minced

2 T ginger, minced

3 T Doujiubang chili paste aka Pixian Chili Paste

2 t light soy

1 t dark soy

2 t shaoxing wine, for shrimp marinade

1 t rice wine vinegar

2 oz stock or water

4 T cornstarch or Potato starch 

1 t white pepper

1 t salt

1 t mala powder, ground black and szechwan pepper corns

2 T shaoxing wine or dry sherry, for pan sauce

Peanut or Neutral Oil

Method

1.  Rinse shrimp and devein, if necessary.  Place in a bowl and add white pepper, salt, mala powder, and shoaxing wine.  Mix together and set aside.

2.  Drain shrimp and but into plastic bag.  Add cornstarch or potato starch and mix well.  Each shrimp should be coated with some of the mixture.

3.  Heat enough oil in a wok to shallow fry the shrimp.  Working in batches, fry shrimp until almost done and coating is set.  Place on a sheet pan with a grate to drain off any residual oil.

4.  After frying, drain oil into a dish and wipe wok clean.  Add most of the oil back into the pan, minus any bits of coating floating around in it.  

5.  Reheat wok.  When hot add ginger and garlic.  Stir around for a bit and then add the doujiubang paste and stir fry until ginger and garlic are frying in a red colored oil.  Add in the soy sauces, wine, vinegar, and stock.  Stir to combine and add shrimp back into the pan.  Fry and stir to coat the shrimp well with the sauce.  Sprinkle additional mala powder over the shrimp.  Serve with rice.

Now for the Veggies.  Use whatever is in your fridge.  I had a couple of baby bok choy, some string beans and some brussel sprouts.  I used the microwave to pre cook the sprouts, 2 sessions of 2 minutes each.  That's my micro, yours may differ.

Ingredients

12 oz green beans cut into bite sized pieces

12 oz brussels sprouts, halved and pre-steamed.

3 baby bok choy, cut into quarters,  if necessary, cut quarters in half crosswise

1 T garlic, minced

1 T ginger, minced

3 T Peanut or neutral oil

2 scallions, sliced on the bias for the whites, and greens parts cut into 2 inch pieces

1 t dark soy sauce

1 t light soy sauce

2 T stock or water

1 T cornstarch or potato starch mixed with 1 T cold water

Method

1.  Heat wok and add oil.  When hot, add the ginger and garlic and stir for about 30 seconds.  Add veggies.  Stir fry until the veggies are softened and are fragrant.  

2.  Add soy sauces and stock.  Continue to stir the veggies.  When the liquid comes to a boil, add part of the slurry of starch.  Continue to mix the veggies.  If necessary, add another slurp of the slurry to pull the sauce together and get it to adhere to the veggies.  Serve with rice.

I opened a bottle of bubbly (Cremont) for this, just needed something to celebrate the meal with.  It went surprisingly well!  This was a memorable meal.  The shrimp were tender and spicy.  Begging to be picked up with the hands and fingers getting licked.  The veggies was really good as well.  The string beans were exceptionally sweet!  A nice foil for the spice of the shrimp.

Dateline: January 20, 2021 Chinese Night-Hunan Beef and Spicy Mixed Vegetables

 I bought some beef strips from FD a while ago and decided to pull them from the freezer and make something spicy to celebrate the Inauguration of Joe and Kamala!

I checked what was in the fridge, and found some brussel sprouts hiding in the vegetable drawer along with a lone bok choy and some leftover broccoli.  Perfect!

I chose Hunan Beef with Cumin after browsing through the NYT Cooking site.  I trusted the recipe as it was a riff on a Fuchsia Dunlop recipe.  I really love her recipes, haven't tried a dog yet!

For the veggies, I decided to wing it and come up with a stir fry that was easy, and quick, and could use the same pan as the beef.

Ingredients

1 package of brussel sprouts, sliced in half

1 bok choy, leaves cut into ribbons and stems chunked

couple of florets of broccoli, leftovers are great

2 small leeks, cleaned and chopped 

3 or 4 pieces of dried tangerine/mandarin peel

3 cloves of garlic, sliced

3 dried chinese hot peppers

1 T light soy sauce

1 T dark soy sauce

1 T chili crisp, Lao Gan Ma brand

2 T neutral oil, canola, peanut, grapeseed, etc

1/2 c stock or water

Method

1.  Steam the sprouts in the microwave for 2 sessions of 2 minutes.  You don't want to over cook them.  This will depend on the strength of your microwave.  Mine, the 2 sessions were perfect.  Hold to the side.

2.  Heat wok.  (I learned a new trick from the internet, if you have cast iron flame tamers, turn them upside down and set wok on top.  The cast iron will heat up and spread the heat better than just setting on the burner.  You're welcome.)  Add oil and swirl around the pan to coat the sides.  Add peels and hot peppers and fry until the peels turn dark brown and the peppers get dark as well.

3.  Add in leeks and stir fry until they start to wilt.  Then add sprouts and bok choy.  Stir fry to coat with the hot oil and begin to darken in spots.  Add the soy sauces, garlic and stock.  Stir and bring to a boil.  Add leftover broccoli and chili crisp.  Stir to incorporate.

4.  Taste, add salt, if necessary, or more Lao Gan Ma, and serve over rice

A shocking result, Bill was just gobbling up the sprouts.....I am not sure he realized that it was brussel sprouts!  It was a perfect foil for the beef.  The beef was also excellent, tender on the inside and firmer on the outside.  I think if I were a more patient cook I would have deep fried the beef instead of shallow frying it.  I did it in 3 batches and probably should have done 4.  My impatience did not effect the taste, just the crispness of the beef.  I would definitely make the Hunan Beef again, perhaps I would use some ground AND whole cumin seeds to amp up the flavor.

Dateline: January 18, 2021 Curried Vegetables with Chick Peas

 I had to clean out the vegetable bin and decided to try a prepared curry spice mix that I had. I used Shah's Vegetable Masala mix.

Ingredients

2 T ghee or olive oil

1/2 head napa cabbage, chopped in chunks

1/4 head green cabbage, chopped in chunks

2 carrots, peeled, chopped into chunks

4 stalks of celery, chopped into 2 in pieces

1/2 head of cauliflower, cut into large chunks

1 broccoli crown, peeled and cut into large chunks

1.5 c chunked butternut squash

1 jalapeno, chopped and seeded

1/4 polano pepper, chopped and seeded

1 small celeriac root, peeled, and chunked

1 large onion, sliced stem to root

2 T ginger, chopped and minced

2 T garlic, chopped and minced

2 Roma tomatoes cut into quarters

1 c chopped diced tomatoes, I used what was left from the can from the day before

equal amounts of tuscan kale and collard greens, stemmed and chopped in thick ribbons

2 T white poppy seeds

4 T Shah's vegetable masala powder, divided, 3 T and 1 T

1.5 c stock, I used chicken, but use what you have or water

1 can drained chick peas

Method

1.  Thoroughly blend and mash up the ginger and garlic together into a paste.  I used a spice grinder with a special cup and blend for wet ingredients.  Remove and hold aside.

2.  Heat up Instant Pot on saute setting.  When hot, add ghee and melt.  Then add onions and peppers.  Stir to coat and soften.  When softened and fragrant, add in the ginger garlic paste and stir to distribute.  Some of it will stick, try to scrap it up as best you can.  You will get rest when you add stock.  Add 3 T of the vegetable masala powder.  Stir to incorporate.

3.  Add cauliflower, broccoli, butternut squash, celeraic, celery, and chopped tomatoes.  Stir to coat all veggies with the paste in the pot.  Add 1 c of the stock or water, and scrape up any brown bits on the bottom of the instant pot.  

4.  In a blender or spice grinder, put as many tomato quarters as can fit and the 2 T white poppy seeds.  The poppy seeds will help thicken the curry and will bind with the tomato juice and pulp.  Blitz up and add any remaining tomato quarters and blitz until well combined.  Contents will appear very thick and somewhat gelatinous.  This is a good thing.  Add to the pot of veggies.

5.  Stir well and add the leafy greens, cabbages, and the rest of the stock, if necessary.  Mix well.  Sprinkle the remaining 1 T of masala powder and stir again.  

6.  Press cancel. Set pot to Pressure Cook on Low for 5 minutes.  Use quick release.

7.  Open lid when pressure has released and stir contents.  Taste and adjust seasoning, if necessary.  There is plenty of salt and pepper in the veggie masala mix.  Add chick peas and stir.  If the veggies are cooked, then put on Keep Warm.  Serve with rice.

I over cooked the veggies by using 10 minutes of pressure on high.  DON'T DO THAT.  That is why I suggested 5 minutes on low pressure.  Veggies will remain in bigger chunks, flavor will not be effected if you over cook, but texture is!

This was really good, albeit, overcooked!  Bill was very happy and forgot all about the fact that there was no meat in the meal, except for the stock.  

Dateline: January 16, 2021 Chorizo, Black Bean Stew-Soup or Stoop

 A new butcher shop opened in the area, YEAH, and I made my first purchase there, some chorizo and chicken backs for stock.

I had about 1 lb of boar left over from last night, so I decided to make some chorizo myself and we could have a "taste off".  The boar was quite lean, and I didn't really think about that part.  I didn't add more fat until the very end.  I used mexican oregano, garlic, both fresh and granulated, cloves, hot smoked paprika and sweet paprika, beef trim (for fat), salt, pepper, vinegar and white wine.

After cooking off a small amount, I realized that I did not have enough fat in the mix.  I pulled the beef trim out and ground some of that up and added it to the mix.  It was better, but needed tweaking.  I add more garlic, more vinegar, more of both paprikas and salt.  I also added some olive oil.

For the taste off, I liked my flavor but the butcher shops texture.  Bill liked both.  I felt that the butcher shop chorizo would crumble a lot better in a stew, so I used that in the stoop.

Ingredients

1 lb fresh chorizo, not in casing

1 chopped onion

1 28 oz canned tomatoes

2 carrots, peeled and chopped

2 celery stalks, chopped

1/2 poblano pepper, chopped

1/2 anaheim pepper, chopped

1/2 jalapeno pepper, chopped

3 cloves of garlic, chopped

mexican oregano

salt and pepper

chili powder of your choice

1 cup stock

2 cans black beans, undrained

Method

1.  Saute chorizo in an instant pot until fat is mostly rendered.  Add chopped onions and all peppers.  Mix and saute until softened.  Add garlic, salt and pepper, and stir to mix in.

2.  Add 3/4 of the can of tomatoes and save the rest for another use.  Mix well.  Add in oregano and chili powder along with the cup of stock.

3.  Lock lid and set to pressure cook for 10 minutes on high pressure.   Use natural release.

4.  Add the black beans and mix well.  Lock lid and set on Bean/Chili, low pressure for 10 minutes.  Allow natural release.

5.  Taste and adjust seasonings.

Very tasty and flavorful, luckily there were some leftovers!