Japanese Salsa

For 4 persons.

2/3 CUP  olive oil
1 TSP wasabi paste
handful parsley
handful arugula
juice of 1 lemon
1/4 CUP capers
1 TBSP fish sauce
2 cloves garlic, crushed

Whisk wasabi and olive oil.
Combine all in food processor.

Substitute wherever salsa is called for- potato, fish, or egg dishes.

Asian Night

Asian Mary

Combine 1 TBSP salt, sesame seed and wasabi powder.

Rim glass with lime and dip in dry mix.

Fill highball with ice, 1 CUP tomato juice, 1 TBSP wasabi, 1 TSP Tabasco, ½ TSP Worcestershire; 1 oz lemon juice; garnish with sesame and a skewer of star fruit

(All recipes for 2 persons)

SOME OF THE THINGS YOU'LL NEED

Thai Wraps

Head lettuce leaves

1 garlic clove-minced
1 TBSP grated ginger
green chili sliced
1 shallots, sliced
¼ cup tofu, sliced
½ carrot, finely cut into strips
2 shitake mushrooms, sliced
1 egg
¼ cup red cabbage, shredded
1 spring onion
1 cup bean sprouts

1 TBSP lime juice

1 TBSP soy
1 TBSP fish sauce
1 TBSP oyster sauce

Fresh basil

¼ cup roasted peanuts, chopped

2 TBSP oil

 

Heat oil, add garlic, ginger, chili, shallots; fry one minute

Add tofu, carrot, mushroom, sauces; cook additional minute
Fry egg; add bean sprouts
Wrap in lettuce leaves; top with basil and peanuts

Cheat of the Week

 

Miso Soup & dumplings courtesy of T & T dumplings and Fuchu Miso
(We did chop a green onion so that’s something at least.)

 

Japanese Curry

 

And why is it Japanese?  On account of the turmeric.  This spice has been in the news a lot lately.  Fabulous health benefits.

6 chicken thighs

¼ CUP oil
½ CUP onion
¼ CUP grated apple-remove peel

1TBSP Japanese seasoning*

½ TBSP chopped garlic

½ TBSP chopped ginger

1 ½ TBSP flour

1 CUP chicken stock
2 CUP spinach
2 TBSP fresh coriander

Sear chicken & reserve.

Add onion, apple, seasoning, ginger & garlic.  Cook for 1 min.
Stir in flour, cook for 2 min.
Add stock in batches; bring to boil
Simmer 5 min; add chicken and cook 10 min.
Remove from heat.
Add spinach and coriander.
Serve with rice or noodles.

(Paired with Kronenbourg 1664-wheat beer w/ citrus and coriander.)

 

*Japanese seasoning

 

1TBSP turmeric
½ TBSP ground coriander
½ TBSP ground cumin
½ TSP ground cardamom
¼ TSP cinnamon
¼ TSP ground ginger
1/8 TSP fresh pepper
1/8 TSP cayenne
1/8 TSP ground cloves
1/8 TSP ground fennel

 

 

Easy Rice Pudding

 

¼ CUP basmati rice
4 CUPS milk
1/3 CUP sugar
Pinch of salt
1/4 TSP cinnamon
1/4 TSP ground cardamom
1/4 CUP broken pistachio

Cook rice, milk and sugar on low heat for 2 ½ hours

Add salt, cinnamon and cardamom
Top with nuts.

Editor's note:
This turned out very well and worth the over two hour wait.

 

 

Cheat of the Week

All was quiet across the alley this weekend so it was cheat mode Sunday morning. 
Christian Potier’s Sauce Hollandaise.  Available at fine foods stores.

Sauce in a pouch, but microwavable too. There are three 50ml pouches and each serves two very nicely or if you’re like me, keep the lot for yourself.

This is nice light texture and colour.  None of the dreadful egg yolk look you get in a road side diner.  Ten seconds in the microwave or simmer pouch for five minutes.  Gone are the days of whisking and sieving.  Well, not quite;  I’ll still go scratch for a main dish like Benedict or whenever time permits.  But this is a rather nice treat for a quick Brunch when the house is cold you really don’t want to stand at the stove endlessly whisking. This is about efficiency in the AM.

Two slices of lightly toasted rye.  Two eggs, scrambled.  Contents of one pouch. Add a pot of Darjeeling and you are all set. 

Mexspagnol Night-Drawing Inspiration from The Sauce Book

After perusing The Sauce Book by Paul Gayler (that's not my hand in the upper right of the picture) I was inspired to tackle salsa and chicken mole.

Aiming for a Mexican night, I wound up with a hybrid EuroMex menu with the following:

~Thyme infused tequila cocktail
~Olive tapenade on goats cheese
~Cod and salsa
~Chicken mole w/ rice
~Baked peaches with fresh cream

What to pair with this? A Grigio? Riesling? Gewurztraminer? Zinfandel? Like Indian cooking, pairing is tricky. Went with a VQA~Strewn ~Two Vines (Riesling/Gewurztraminer.) Just enough sweetness to balance the salsa and mole. Enough Riesling to accommodate the tapenade and fish. In fact, if there was any left, the wine could probably have carried through to dessert in a pinch. Prefer at least a Late Harvest at this stage, though.

Thyme for Tequila

Boil 1 CUP water and sugar with zest of 1/2 lemon and 6 sprigs of thyme. Simmer 10 mins.
Strain and cool.

For each serving: 2 oz tequila, 1 oz lemon juice, 1 1/2 oz syrup. Pour over ice, add soda water.

Tapenade

~

1 CUP black olives (after pitting)

1 clove garlic

juice of one lemon

5 anchovy filets

olive oil to blend

~

Pit olives; mince garlic; chop in blender; drizzle with olive oil; add anchovies; mince; add lemon juice; sea salt and black pepper to taste. Tres simple.

A word about crackers. Always go with an unseasoned water cracker. Don't insult the toppings.
My choice is Carr's.
Top your cracker with a little goat's cheese and tapenade.

Fish

First and last purchase of Bream. Although I shouldn't give up quite so easily. I naively thought the fishmonger had cleaned (ie deboned, beheaded, gutted) the fish. Not so. Gills are tough. After making a rough attempt at filleting the beast, all I was left with was stock base.

Went with cod. Love cod. Don't overcook the fish-any fish. Cod filet is fairly thick and I would give it about 7 minutes a side. Poach or pan fry in a little butter.

Salsa

Turning to the Gayler, went with a hybrid salsa/salsa verde.

~

2 serrano chiles

1 jalapeno

6 tomatillos/or any tomato

1 small onion (red/white/yellow)

2 garlic cloves

2 handfuls cilantro/coriander

pinch salt

pinch ground cumin

~

Roast peppers and tomatoes in a dry fry pan 'til blistered.
Mince garlic, tomatillos, onion, peppers, ground cumin, olive oil, black pepper

Grind your own cumin. Why would you treat the coffee shop to the aroma of freshly ground beans when you can grind at home? Likewise with any herb or spice. Cumin gives off a wonderful aroma. If desired, dry roast the seeds in a frying pan then grind.

Obtain a mortar and pestle.

Mole

At this stage I threw in a cheat. While out in the middle of nowhere recently, I came across a kitchen supply store that always seems to thrive in the middle of nowhere. Spied a mole sauce and picked up a bottle. Fry up chicken, onions and garlic and simmer in sauce. Allow 30 minutes.

I will be following up with my scratch version of mole and here is the recipe for the diehards. Cut yourselves some slack every once in a while-you've shopped, you've prepared the beverage, the tapenade, the salsa, the dessert so it's OK to open a bottle of something occasionally.

~

2 dried ancho chiles

2 dried pasilla chiles or dried pepper flakes

3 cups chicken stock

2 corn tortillas

1 TBSP lard

1 onion

1/2 TSP dried oregano

2 garlic cloves-crushed

14 oz can tomatoes

1/2 CUP raisins-soak in warm water to plump

2 1/2 oz dark chocolate-aim for 75-90%

2 TBSP peanut butter

1 TBSP white wine vinegar

1TSP sugar

1/2 TSP ground cloves

1 TSP coriander seeds

1 TBSP sesame seeds-toast these

pinch of ground anise

pinch of salt

~

(so the mortar will come in handy, no?)

Fry chiles, soak for 30 mins. Boil 1 CUP of stock, add tortillas. Let stand.
Heat half lard/oil, cook onion, oregano and garlic.
Chop chiles and add to onions.
Add tortilla stock. Boil
Add everything else EXCEPT stock.
Puree.
Put everything back in the pan and add rest of stock.
Simmer for 20 minutes or so.

Peaches

Depending on where you are, peaches may be in scarce supply at this point.

I was fortunate to get local. Following up with my poached pears for the Fall but do keep the peach recipe in mind for next season. Tinned fruit will do in a pinch. Reduce cooking time.

~

50 g ameretti-crushed

1 TBSP caster sugar

1 yolk

1 oz butter

~

Blend above 'til paste like consistency.

Pit peaches, fill with paste.

Bake 350C for 20 mins.

Serve with mascarpone or 35% cream.

(Visuals don't do the dish justice.)

A word about cream.

Cream does not come from the freezer section.

It does not come out of a red can.

For a South of the border touch, drizzle with Cajeta Sauce.

~

3 CUP goat or sheep's milk

1/3 CUP sugar

1 CUP whipping cream

1 stick cinnamon

3 TBSP unsalted butter, chopped

~

Put everything but butter to boil.

Take out cinnamon and simmer for 2 hours.

Take off heat and whisk butter.

Serve warm or cold.



Enjoy.

 

 

Post Script

Of course, Frederick has had a long love affair with Mexico since he first travelled there in '79.  The quest for the perfect chili pepper.  He would never condone opening a jar of mole.

The Morel of the Story Is...

The humble take-out pizza box sat empty after a late night working dinner-something must be done.

It is time to give serious consideration to opening up your wallet and indulging in a few ounces of this delightful fungus.

Many of us are a slave to the white button mushroom and even go the length to wash the life out of it. But what of the other earthly delights on your grocer's shelf? (And what of the alternatives to your supermarket shelf?)

The morel was a key component in last weekend's dinner. A sublime creation.
Tarragon crusted scallops, borscht, chicken with brandied morel sauce, finishing with a smooth chocolate pot.

More about the chocolate pot later.

The morel can run $15/oz. One has the choice of dried or fresh. Most reputable farmers markets will carry good sized, fresh product. Dried mushrooms are perfectly respectable contrary to opinion. This is not a "pot noodle" but a concentration of flavour. Soaked dried morels for twenty minutes to half an hour.

Saute butter, garlic, sliced mushroom; add full cream; soy sauce, and brandy-if inclined. Simmer 'til thickened.

The morel texture is not compromised even after a saute and simmer. Adds a earthiness to any sauce or stew. Try it in barley risotto. Yes- try thinking outside the box -substitute the arborio for barley.

Worth every penny-skip the mass market take out coffee for a couple of days. You won't miss a thing.  Do your research, throw on your apron and experiment.
 
The button mushroom is not going away; it will forgive you.

Post Script
Frederick vacationing.  Off hand picking morels.  Something he insists on.

Pass the tarragon, please. Tarragon Sauce & Crusted Scallops

Day four of take out burgers and subs?
No justification for this.
Instead take ten minutes to poach some chicken and prepare tarragon sauce OR enjoy a tarragon crusted scallop or two.


Sauce

Boil up 1 cup bouillon from scratch[if time permits], from a box or from a cube. (We've all read the cookbooks, we know scratch is best, but save it for when you have time.)

Add 1/2 cup creme fraiche; simmer 'til thickened. Adjust quantity as needed.
Add 1/4 cup chopped fresh tarragon.
Simmer for a couple of minutes.
Season with fresh ground black pepper, if desired. Yes, get yourselves a pepper mill! 
 

Serve with a simple side- rice, orzo, etc.

Tarragon Crusted Scallops

Saute: 1 tbsp butter, 1 clove garlic.
Add 1/4 cup chopped tarragon.
Add 1/4 cup bread crumbs. (bonus points if you grate the bread yourself)
Saute further 5 minutes.

Can cool for future use.

Sear scallops.
Top with bread crumb mixture.
Finish in a 400C oven for 5 minutes.

Post Script
Frederick says he's going to try and get some local scallops for the next recipe.  Says you can taste the difference.