Something From Nothing ~ Week 10

Well, it has been a sad time in Pixie-land. My beautiful Mummy was in the hospital, and that is frightening. We are, as Forrest would say...like peas and carrots....quite simply, she is my best friend, the foundation piece for all that I am, and my first culinary guru.  Mom always knows what's good...growing up, we ate a variety of foods so spectacular, that it would make your Mama blush! The awesome Mahi-Mahi, freshly caught, stone crabs claws, clams, shrimp, steak...even her soups were (and are) delicious. She is my prime example when it comes to feeding a large family well, and on a budget, too. Thanks Mom, for all you do, for who you are, and for being a wonderful cook and teacher to me. This (as well as every post, come to think of it) is for you.

There will be no crab-tacular fun as I promised for this post....simply due to the fact that my fridge and freezer just up and DIED on us one day...and since the crab was not kept at optimum conditions, I had to throw it out. Food safety (as you know) is of prime importance in any kitchen. Then, Dear Husband and I both came down with whatever nasty flu bug is going around.  They say that bad things come in threes.....if that is the case, we are done...I hope.  Anyhoo, after watching (for the third time) Anthony Bourdains' No Reservations from Korea...I decided that I must try my hand at Kimchi! This ubiquitous condiment is a must-have for a proper side dish to any Korean meal, and since I'm going to be making Korean barbecue soon, I promptly set about finding these beauties....

Inexpensive, and versatile. I love Napa cabbage in so many dishes...slaws, stuffed, soups, I could (and usually do) go on. But this time, it's Kimchi.  I cut these both into what I considered suitably-sized chunks, and mixed them with about a quarter cup of kosher salt. Then, placed in a colander all afternoon, to draw all the moisture out.

Later that day, I carefully rinsed all the salt off the cabbage, and patted it dry. Into a large bowl it went with sliced onion, grated carrot, daikon radish and scallions...

Now, we add the seasonings.....dried ginger, sugar, salt, Korean chili powder, and fish sauce (don't worry, you cannot taste the fish sauce in the final product...and it's only 1 Tablespoon for the entire batch!)...and mix it all really well...

Here it is...all mixed up and waiting for a place to sit and blend...

I found two quart jars and sanitized them, and packed them full of the spicy goodness...

Another shot before they go down into the cool, dark basement to ferment...

I can hardly wait. I'm going to take a photo on day 4 (before they go into the fridge), to show you exactly how they look...if I can keep myself from diving in before then. 

Back to events in Pixie-land.....about every five to ten years I MUST have a new cutting board.  As a lover of cooking, mine do take a beating, I must admit...My requirements are simple, it must not be plastic, or hideous glass (with all that noise, who can cut on those?), and since it must be wood, it must be sustainable. In other words, bamboo.  I sent Kitchen Angel on a mission....all over the world...and when she returned, she not only had my cutting board...she had found........

HER TWIN SISTER!  Oh.....my....goodness! One can only imagine the fun these two and I will get into this Spring!  Confidential to Neat -  Thank You! Eat well, my friends, and stay tuned for Italian Stuffed Flank steak....and BEAR CLAWS! That's right, I'm going to bake again...must be something in the air.....

Love and kindness to all,

Pixie

Something From Nothing ~ Week 9

It is a bizarre twist of fate in life, when one is faced with something one cannot predict, or control. As a cook, I'm all about "control". Controlling ingredients, flavors, appearances, etc. One of my culinary heroes, Anthony Bourdain says that "cooking is about control ~ eating is about submission".  Not only do I agree - I also sometimes slip into the Chefs' pity-party of NOT getting surprised by the flavors, textures, and wonderful-ness of any given dish - because I've been there, sampling and tasting for correctness all along.  This is not my favorite foible of being a good cook. One has a hard time going to a restaurant, for instance....disappointment at the outcome, and the price one had to pay for it, inevitably follow.  On to this weeks' creation. 

This recipe pays homage to my humble culinary early days. As a new Air Force bride, I found myself in lovely Austin, Texas....and part of a community I never knew existed. My companions were Mothers, wives, and people who were unbelievably generous with their time and recipes.  Although this recipe is probably anything but authentic, it feeds a lot of people for a little money, and any protein (such as chicken) can be substituted for the pork. Sweet and Sour pork, here I come! Speaking of the pork, this is what I defrosted overnight....

A humble, not-very-attractive slice of pork shoulder....sold cheaply (under $3.00) usually called "pork steak", or some other such nonsense.  Let's look deeper, though. After one trims the fat, and cuts the meat into cubes, there is quite a bit of meat to work with there!  That is just what I did, using of course, my kitchen shears to trim the fat, and cut into relatively similar cubes....

Be warned - this is not a recipe you want if you are in a hurry. In fact, I did the trimming and marinating of the pork, as well as prepping the vegetables in the morning. A weekend day is perfect for making this dish. As with many Asian recipes, there is a lot of prep - and everything needs to come together with pretty precise timing....not a dish for novice cooks, or those unfamiliar with stir-frying in general. Having said that, it is a good recipe for those looking to sharpen the Asian cooking technique, and practice....especially if you assemble most of the components ahead of time.  On to the marinade...into the container goes 2 Tablespoons sherry or white wine, 2 Tablespoons soy sauce, and some minced garlic and ginger.

Then, one scours the pantry and fridge to see what vegetables are ready....the only ones called for are bell pepper (green or red), celery, carrot, and onion....I have modified over the years to include things that we like in our stir-fry.....such as:

The bell pepper, half an onion, bamboo shoots and water chestnuts, as well as the carrot and celery. Not shown, a can of pineapple rings...which is important for its juice, as we will make the sweet and sour sauce with it. Cut these vegetables accordingly ~ which is to say, slice thinly, and on the diagonal, so that all cook evenly. I did just that, and placed in a container in the fridge for the day...

And yes, there was some liberal "taste-testing" of these beautiful vegetables...can you blame me? Fast forward to that evening...combine the sauce ingredients, and place in a saucepan on the back burner (don't be daunted by the amounts - I doubled the sauce ingredients from the initial recipe)...they are;

10 Tbsp. sugar

4 Tbsp. soy sauce

2 Tbsp. wine (I used sherry)

6 Tbsp. white vinegar

1/2 cup pineapple juice (from a can of pineapple rings)

6 Tbsp. ketchup

1/2 cup water with 3 Tbsp. cornstarch dissolved in it

It's not attractive (yet), but here is mine...

combined & ready to heat up toward the end of the cooking time.

The pork has been marinating all day, and has absorbed the flavors (and color) of the soy, wine, garlic and ginger. I pick out the garlic and ginger, and drain the meat in a colander..

Now we cook! Mix an egg with about 4 Tbsp. cornstarch, and add a little water...you want a nice, thick batter. Now is the time to get a beverage, bring the phone near, or do anything that will take you away from the stove - frying does not take well to lack-o-commitment. Here is the batter before and after mixing...

Now, heat up about an inch of vegetable, canola or peanut oil, and deep-fry the meat....I don't like using a lot of oil, and don't fry often....I put about seven pieces per batch into the batter, and fry until crispy and browned...

Place on a rack in a warm oven (I like it about 210 degrees). The rack will keep the pieces crispy, and help to drain any excess oil....here are mine..

I wanted some lovely, nutty Basmati rice for the dish - but refuse to pay nearly five dollars a bag for it - but I lucked into this recently....and normally I also shun anything "boil in a bag", but since this dish is so labor-intensive, I caved like a cheap deck of cards....and bought.....this!



Place in some boiling water, and forget about it for ten minutes...you have better things to attend to...such as, draining your vegetables that you prepped this morning...if any liquids have come from them, you will be steaming ~ not stir-frying.

Get a non-stick pan or wok super hot, and add just a teaspoon of oil. Throw those veggies in (along with a half a can of pineapple rings, cut appropriately), and keep them moving ~ this is essential...you want them crisp-tender, not mushy...and while you are doing this step, heat your sauce - about medium high, and whisk to combine...

Here are my veggies, ready for sauce, pork and rice, and the sauce, coming to a boil so that the cornstarch can thicken the whole thing...

The results? How did I know you want to see how the finished product comes together? Just a guess...plate with a lovely fragrant bed of your rice, the vegetables, some cubes of pork, and drown ahem, bathe the whole thing in the sauce....oh, and enjoy!



How was it? Really......really good. Now, as I said before, this may be anything but "authentic" but it is delicious, fulfills a stir-fry craving, did not cost more than about 6 dollars, has no MSG, and did not have to be picked up, in paper cartons, hauled home, or any of that bother.

Eat well, my friends, and stay tuned for some crab-tastic fun, a big announcement from Kitchen Angel, and a tribute to my first, and most important culinary influence...what made Pixie....Pixie? Love and kindness to all,

Pixie

Something From Nothing ~ Week 8

Last week was the two-year Anniversary of this blog.  As you know, I always like to make something special to mark the occasion.  However, being in my "use it up" mode, I did not want to spend a lot of money. I prefer to make something delicious and elegant without the expense....it's so much more rewarding!  So, with that in mind, I looked at the leftover situation....



Some leftover cooked chicken, the rest of a bag of frozen shrimp, and one half of a smoked sausage....hmmmm.....one word...GUMBO! Strange how when I think of ways to spoil myself, Southern or ethnic foods usually play a part.  On to the roux....

I never really thought that just by cooking flour and oil together, one could obtain that deep, caramel-colored roux that is portrayed in cookbooks.....but, I pressed on..

Ten minutes into the stirring on medium heat...

While the roux did its thing, (while I stirred it frequently) I cut into small dice, the trinity....bell pepper, onion, and celery..

Twenty minutes in...and, well, I could not believe it! I had achieved a dark, caramel-colored roux!

I diced the smoked sausage, and added it to the chicken, and prepped vegetables...

Now it was time to add those vegetables to the aforementioned roux...

I should add that the fragrance of this lovely dish was at this point, wonderful and enticing...when the vegetables were getting tender, about ten minutes later, I added the chicken and sausage...

It was at this point, that I took a sharp turn from the recipe....and threw the whole mixture, along with some chicken stock, thyme, bay leaf, cayenne pepper and salt, into the crock pot on high...

Off I went, doing Pixie-related chores until late afternoon....then, I prepared an envelope of yellow rice...

I added the peeled and deviened shrimp at this point, since the rice takes about twenty minutes to cook....and although shrimp cook quickly, it was being done in the slow cooker, so I wanted to give them some time to flavor the dish.  Now, time to slice some scallions for garnish and flavor...

I placed a couple of ice cream scoops of the rice in the center of the bowl.....and ladled in the gumbo....the results?

Let the good times roll! It was delicious, spicy, and complex...click here for the recipe I started with...thank goodness that wonderful chef Emeril Lagasse went to New Orleans! Stay tuned for week nine, a surprise from Kitchen Angel, and a special tribute.

Eat well, my friends...love and kindness to all,

Pixie

Something From Nothing ~ Week 7

Sometimes, even those of us who live to cook - just are not all that into it.  I know, try to contain your astonishment....and this may not be "nothing" but one morning, I took out the following for supper...



Yes, it looks very nice...but quite frankly, come suppertime, I just had no energy to be creative, or spend hours in the kitchen whipping up some gourmet seafood feast.  I perused the Pixie-library of cookbooks for a while, but did not see anything that struck my fancy.  An Internet search using some of the ingredients I had on hand produced a recipe for "Portuguese Fish Supper", from Rachael Ray.  As an American of Portuguese descent, I was a little concerned about its authenticity, to say the least.  However, it did look quick, hearty and filling, and since I was rapidly running out of both time and heart (the most essential ingredient, of course), I decided to make it.  Click here for the recipe.

It is a relatively short ingredient list as well.  Sometimes, just getting everything together to even begin a recipe is a chore...not so here...

Clockwise from bottom left; fresh parsley and thyme, chicken cubes, olive oil, diced tomatoes and sauce, garbanzo beans, Old Bay seasoning,  pepper, salt, nutmeg, and onion, garlic and a package of Spanish-style chorizo. (Not shown, a handful or so of fresh spinach, chopped).  The recipe calls for kale, but spinach was the green that I had on hand, and thrown in during the last minute of cooking, does quite well in this. You can find those shelf-stable (!) chorizo in the Spanish section of your local mega-mart, as well. Really not too ingredient-heavy! Now, we cook....

Chop the onion, garlic, spinach, parsley and thyme.  Cube the chorizo into small chunks, dissolve a cube of chicken stock in hot water, open your cans & prepare your seasonings and you are in business!  Now, start to cook the chorizo...do not jack the heat up here, just warm enough to get the chorizo to crisp up a little, and release some of their paprika-and-garlic flavored goodness....like so,

Add in the onions and garlic. I apologize for the blurry photo....but this is real cooking...heat happens!

Now, add in your parsley and thyme, tomatoes and sauce, garbanzo beans, salt, pepper, and a little nutmeg. Note: I am not fond of nutmeg, so I just added a pinch. Bring this to a nice simmer...look at the beautiful, vibrant color of the stew!

Place your cod fillets, rinsed and patted dry, on a plate and sprinkle on both sides with Old Bay seasoning..

Slide the fish into the stew broth and simmer for ten minutes, covered, until the fish is cooked through.

  At this point, I carefully broke the fish pieces into more spoon-sized chunks.  When the fish is just cooked (make sure your heat is just at a simmer, you don't want that beautiful fish to get tough, or overcooked), throw in your spinach for the last two minutes of simmering...

The results? Well, with a piping-hot, crusty loaf of French bread, I must admit....this was a satisfying, easy, hearty winter stew! The only changes I would make would be to add shrimp for the last five minutes of cooking time, and some canned diced, or leftover cooked potatoes.  Here was a stew I could get into!

Whether or not this was "authentic Portuguese" no longer mattered...as always with cooking, taste was what it was all about.

Eat well, my friends, and stay tuned for week 8, and the two-year Anniversary of this blog!  Love and kindness to all,

Pixie

Something From Nothing ~ Week 6

Dear Husband knows me best. To include the fact that although we have what we need in life...e.g., food, clothing, and a home...cookbooks come a close fourth with me. My need to collect cookbooks probably stems from the time when there was no Internet, and the printed word was all one had to refer to.  In a totally ego-centric way, however, I think I need this blog MORE than the cookbooks...to preserve for my children what their Mom was/is all about! Long story longer....for the Holidays this year....and since I'm not fond of chaining oneself to any organized religious affiliation...I'm calling it:  "Christma-cha-kwanzicah" (Festivus fans take note) I received a COOKBOOK from Dear Husband for above-mentioned holiday.  As it happened..I was defrosting a couple of hot Italian sausages for reasons unknown at the time...(insert joke here). Really, though...I thought I'd make my spaghetti sauce or something...but here are the lonely sausages...uncased, and awaiting their fate...

Looks rather gross, actually...but then I remembered that I had just purchased some of THESE....in a mid-winter, mis-guided Chile rellenos kinda way...some beautiful Anaheim chilis...

The answer was clear....a recipe in the cookbook given to me that was an Italian-inspired stuffed pepper...first, we roll those beautiful chilis in extra-virgin olive oil and sprinkle with Kosher salt...

I roasted them until tender...then assembled the ingredients for the dish....remember, you are all about your mise 'en place....short for "getting your )(&*%$ together" before you cook...

Here we have..(clockwise from bottom right) the roasted and cooled peppers, 2 Tb. garlic, 2 Tb. finely chopped red onion, 2 Tb. chopped walnuts,  2 Tb. grated fresh Parmesan cheese, 2 slices white bread, crusts removed, 1/4 cup milk, olive oil, tomato sauce, an egg, chicken granules, salt, pepper, and some fresh spinach...

Although the recipe did not call for garlic....I TOTALLY knew that if you are going to make an "Italian stuffed pepper" recipe....garlic would, and quite frankly should be required...by law.  So a quick saute' of the fresh spinach...with garlic and olive oil...was required...

Ninety seconds later...

Turn off the heat...and set it aside...you may not think so, but that little bit of filling just became an integral part of the dish...

I skinned the newly roasted peppers, and laid them in an olive-oil coated baking dish..like so..

Then proceeded to add the chopped up white bread, egg, milk, and Parmesan into the mixing bowl..

The recipe said to mix this into a "paste"...introducing you, the reader...to the "paste"...

Yeah, I hear you...not pretty. But, being intrepid chefs...we press on...

Adding the sausage, the sauteed, chopped spinach, the chopped onion and walnuts....and then we mix...

The recipe called for stuffing the peppers and then frying them, filling-side-down..in some oil. Now, I don't know about you, but that part was just asking for disaster, doom, and spilled filling everywhere...so I filled the peppers in the baking dish...

 I then baked them for about 40 minutes in a 375-degree oven..until the sausage was crispy brown on top....in the meantime..per recipe, I simmered some tomato sauce and chicken stock and water...

It just did not seem "Italian" enough to me...so before service, I added dried oregano, garlic powder, and dried basil...The results?

And...

Let's put it this way..when Dear Husband asked if there would be any "leftovers" from this dish...the answer was a resounding "no". If only because we kept going back to munch on it all night...

Eat well my friends, I will try to find the copy of this recipe and post it...and we have the 2-year Anniversary of the blog coming up.....and you know what that means, right? That's right....something I want to make for MEEEEEEE! Ya gotta take care of number one, right? Love and kindness to all,

Pixie