Pasta Salad

 

I don’t cook for myself, but I made a huge bowl of pasta salad for an office potluck.

• 1 1/2 lb pasta (I like spaghetti or angel hair)
• 3/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup white wine vinegar
• a few grinds of coarse salt
• a few grinds of black pepper
• 1 28 oz can of petite diced tomatoes
• 1 oz fresh basil, thinly sliced

1. Cook pasta according to package instructions. Rinse in cold running water to cool. Drain and set aside.
2. Pour olive oil and vinegar into a small jar and add salt and pepper. Shake well.
3. In a large bowl, mix and toss all ingredients. Keep in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

Buddha Jumps Over The Wall 佛跳牆

 

It’s just such a colorful name for a dish, isn’t it?

Anyway, I’ve only found one restaurant that has it, and since I was able to find the spice mix online I decided to make it. I’ve been wanting to, anyway, so why not!

I have to admit, it turned out really well. The spices smell interesting, but the broth really was amazing.

I did modify the ingredients, because the package instructions were so imprecise. I don’t usually follow directions, anyway. I also did not use shark’s fin for obvious reasons. 

Would I do it again? Maybe, if soaking and particularly cleaning the sea cucumbers didn’t take forever!

I blanched the chicken first so there’s no scum when cooking the final dish.

• 1 whole chicken, about 4 lbs
• 1 sachet of spices 
• canned abalone in brine, 2-8 pieces depending on size, rinsed
• 3 oz dried scallops, soaked
• 12 medium sized dried mushrooms, soaked 
• 8 oz dried sea cucumber (soaked overnight till soft, then cleaned) 
• 3.5 oz dried fish maw (boiled for 15 mins and rinsed)
• 2 oz mung bean noodles, soaked in hot water with 1 tsp hondashi dissolved, then drain and cut into 4” pieces
• hondashi to taste

1. Put the chicken in a large pot and cover with cold water (about 12 cups). Bring to just a simmer. Rinse the chicken and set aside.
2. In a large clean pot, bring 12 cups of water to a boil. Add the chicken and all other ingredients except the mung bean noodles and hondashi, then cover and simmer for two hours, turning the chicken every half hour.
3. Remove the chicken, while keeping the broth simmering, Add the drained mung bean noodles and hondashi to taste.
4. Shred the meat and return the meat to the broth. Bring to a boil again before serving.

July 4, 2023, Wings Galore

 I was having people over for July 4th and they wanted wings.

Salt and Pepper

Pineapple Coconut

Honey Marmite

Wasabi Soy

Satay Peanut

Mala

Thai Chili

Hotter Than Hell

We also had apple pie (so American) and ice cream for dessert.

“Curried” Beef Stew

 

I was at the store to buy a bottle of Malbec (my favorite red) and for some reason I wanted beef stew, so I bought a bottle of Malbec and a pack of stewing beef. 

Of course I was never going to make anything straightforward, but I also didn’t feel like buying additional ingredients, so this was pretty much thrown together based on what was already in my pantry or my fridge. Most of the ingredients were leftovers from food deliveries. This was really less a recipe and more a “what can I put into this that would actually work.”

Rice was the easy one. Basmati rice was cooked with turmeric, paprika, and a lot of salted butter.

The beef “curry” was truly “inspired.” I had leftover sliced onion, jalapeño, and beef ramen soup seasoning. So, I made a “curry” powder of turmeric, paprika, five spice powder, and beef ramen soup reasoning. There was no measurement. Everything was eyeballed.

1. Drench the stewing beef in seasoned cornstarch (essentially a mixture of seasoned salt and cornstarch)
2. Sauté sliced onion in hot oil
3. Brown the beef
4. Add the “curry” powder mix
5. Add water and red wine to cover
6. Add sliced jalapeño
7. Add curry sauce leftover from delivery (seriously)
8. Cover and simmer for two hours

I know this is extremely imprecise, but it is how I usually cook (if and when I do cook), and since this was literally a dish that was thrown together based on whatever leftovers I had, the measurement really wasn’t very important.

Steamed Wings

 

One can never have enough wings. I decided to steam wings so they could be used as blank canvases for hot sauce! The wings were steamed plain for 15 minutes and then dunked in an ice bath to stop the cooking. They were then ready to be sauced.

Seafood “Curry” Rice

 

Not really a curry, but I like rice and I like mixed seafood, so I thought a pseudo curry over rice would be perfect comfort food! The turmeric gives it the “right color,” but of course there must be HEAT (a combination of several hot sauces)!

• 1/2 cup basmati rice
• 1 cup water
• 2 tblsp turmeric
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 lb frozen mixed seafood, thawed
• 1 tblsp unsalted butter
• 1/2 onion, sliced
• 1 tblsp ground black pepper
• 2 tblsp fish sauce
• 1/4 cup hot sauce
• 1 tblsp cornstarch, mixed with 2 tblsp water to make slurry
• 1/4 cup finely chopped scallion

1. Add rice, water, 1 tblsp turmeric, and 1 tsp salt to a small saucepan and bring to a boil. 
2. Stir, then cover and bring the heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes. 
3. Turn off the heat and let steam for at least 15 minutes. 
4. Fluff before serving.
5. In the meantime, melt butter in a skillet over medium heat and sauté the onion until slightly caramelized. 
6. Stir in the rest of the turmeric, salt, and black pepper. 
7. Stir in the seafood and heat over low heat until cooked. 
8. Add the fish sauce and hot sauce and stir to coat. 
9. Pour in the slurry and stir until thickened. 
10. Stir in the chopped scallion.
11. Arrange the turmeric rice in a bowl and spoon the “curry” over the rice.

Salt Boiled Chicken Wings

 

I wanted wings in case I got the munchies, so I got some frozen wing pieces delivered. Instead of cooking a few pieces at a time, I decided to cook all of them in salted water. That way I can just toss them in sauce when I feel like it.

1. In a large pot, put in the wing pieces and enough cold water to cover. Heat until just boiling.
2. Remove the wing pieces. Note the liquid level.
3. Rinse the wing pieces with cold water. Drain and set aside. Clean the pot.
4. In the same pot, add cold water to previous liquid level. Add 1/2 cup salt. Bring to a boil.
5. Add the wing pieces, cover, and turn off the heat. Wait 15 minutes.
6. Remove the wing pieces and bring the liquid to a boil.
7. Add the wing pieces, cover, and turn off the heat. Wait 15 minutes.
8. Remove wing pieces. Dunk them in an ice bath; remove and pat dry.
9. Transfer wing pieces to zip top bag. Pour olive oil into the bag. Ensure all pieces are coated. Store in the fridge.
10. Toss wing pieces in sauce before serving.

Pot Roast

 

I was at Aldi’s looking for something to experiment with. They had a beef roast that comes with onion, carrots, celery, and red potatoes (I didn’t even know Tyson’s made these), so I decided to make a pot roast out of it (with my own twist, of course). I threw out the celery (because I hate celery, raw or cooked).

This was VERY improvised!

1. Cut onion and each potato into eight pieces.
2. Sprinkle salt and black pepper on the beef on both sides and pat it dry.
3. Soak four chipotle peppers in hot water to soften. Cut into small pieces.
4. In a large pot, sear beef on both sides in vegetable oil over high heat and remove.
5. Sautéed the onion in the same oil for a few minutes.
6. Return the beef to the pot.
7. Add enough water to cover.
8. Add the included seasoning, a pack of beef seasoning (I used one from ramen noodles), a beef bouillon, several hot jelly beans, a generous sprinkle of paprika, a generous dash of liquid smoke, a generous sprinkle of black pepper, and the vegetables.
9. Simmer covered for one hour.
10. Remove the vegetables and set aside.
11. Simmer the beef uncovered for another hour.
12. Remove the beef and cut into small pieces.
13. Turn the heat up and reduce the liquid by half.
14. Thicken the liquid with a cornstarch slurry.
15. Return the beef and vegetables to the gravy and stir to coat.
16. Serve over rice.

Late-night Corn Bread

 

I was still trying to find ways to use my yellow cornmeal, and I had plenty of panko left from another meal, plus I had innards from a chicken I got for beer can chicken, so I decided to improvise. It was actually quite good even though it sounds really weird. And hot sauce is obligatory!

• 4 cups water 
• chicken neck, gizzards, liver, heart
• 1 tblsp salt
• 3/4 cup yellow cornmeal
• 1/4 cup panko
• 1 tblsp ground pepper
• chicken fat
• 2 tblsp vegetable oil
• 2 tblsp olive oil

1. Bring water to a boil and add the chicken neck, gizzards, liver, heart, and salt. Simmer for 1/2 hour. Skim frequently. Remove chicken parts. Keep warm. 
2. Mix cornmeal, panko, and black pepper in a bowl.
3. Heat a skillet and render chicken fat. Remove the chicken fat solid. Add vegetable oil.
4. Over low heat, fry the cornmeal mixture in the chicken fat/vegetable oil for about 5 minutes.
5. Add chicken broth to the cornmeal mixture one ladle at a time while stirring vigorously. Keep adding broth and stirring until there is no dry cornmeal mixture. Fry for about 5 minutes.
6. Generously grease a casserole dish and spoon the cornmeal mixture into the casserole dish. Press to create an even layer.
7. Spoon some of the broth over the cornmeal to prevent drying out. Let cool overnight. Cut into squares.
8. Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Fry the corn bread on both sides. Serve with hot sauce for dipping.

Beer Can Chicken v2

 

Since I have cheap, barely drinkable beer, I decided to make beer can chicken. I was hoping to be able to carve up the chicken so it could be plated in the shape of the chicken, but the meat was falling off the bones, so I had no choice but to remove the bones entirely.

• 1 whole chicken, 3-4 lbs
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/8 cup seasoned salt
• a generous dash of liquid smoke
• 1 very large can of beer, half emptied

1. Mix olive oil, seasoned salt, and liquid smoke in a large zip top bag. Marinate the chicken in the bag in the fridge overnight.
2. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Insert the half-empty beer can into the chicken and position the chicken upright in an oven safe casserole dish.
3. Roast for 13 to 15 minutes a pound, until the breast reaches 165°F and the thigh reaches 170°F. Turn the oven up to 450°F and roast for another 15 minutes. Cut into serving pieces.

Bratwursts in Beer and Onion

 

I had some really cheap lager which wasn’t very good for drinking, so I decided to cook with it. This was done totally backwards from recipes I’ve seen.

• 1 white onion, sliced
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tblsp ground black pepper
• 5 bratwursts
• 1 cup lager
• 2 tblsp ghee

1. Arrange the onion in one layer in a heavy skillet and sprinkle over the salt and pepper. 
2. Lay the bratwursts on the onion and pour over the lager. Bring to a boil. 
3. Cover, turn the heat to low, and simmer for about 1/2 hour, turning the bratwursts every 5 minutes. 
4. Uncover and turn the heat to medium. Continue to turn the bratwursts every 5 minutes until all liquid has evaporated. 
5. Remove the bratwursts and add the ghee to the onion. 
6. Once the onion starts to sizzle, push the onion around the edge of the skillet and return the bratwursts to the skillet. Brown on both sides. 
7. Plate the bratwursts and spoon the onion over the bratwursts.

Leftover Chicken over Cornmeal Mush

 

I had leftover Lahori Chargha (Deep Fried Chicken) from delivery and didn’t feel like eating it as it was again. The chicken came with sliced raw onion, lime wedges, and sliced jalapeños, so I decided to do something with them. Except for the yellow cornmeal and salt and pepper, everything else in this dish was leftovers.

• 1/3 can of coconut milk
• 1/4 cup of chicken broth
• 1/2 cooked chicken breast
• 1/4 cup sliced white onion
• lime wedges (~1/4 lime)
• sliced jalapeños (~1/2 jalapeño)
• 1/4 cup yellow cornmeal
• 2 cups oat milk
• 2 tblsp butter
• salt and black pepper to taste

1. Heat coconut milk and chicken broth in a skillet.
2. Add the chicken, sliced onion, lime wedges, and jalapeños, and then let simmer until all the liquid has evaporated. Turn the chicken over occasionally.
3. In the meantime, mix the cornmeal, oat milk, butter, salt, and pepper in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Reduce the heat to medium and continue to stir vigorously for about 5 minutes.
4. Spread the cornmeal mush onto a plate in a thin layer to cool.
5. Remove the chicken bones and lime wedges and shred the meat. Serve the chicken over the cornmeal mush.

Spicy Coconut Chicken Thighs

 

I totally improvised this since I had so little Peri-Peri hot sauce left (I used all I had here), but I have coconut milk and other hot sauces. (One can never have too many hot sauces in the fridge.)

• 2 tblsp olive oil
• 1 tblsp seasoned salt
• 1/4 Peri-Peri hot sauce
• 4 skin-in bone-in chicken thighs
• 1 tblsp coconut milk
• 1 tblsp ghost pepper hot sauce

1. In a zip top bag, mix olive oil with seasoned salt and Peri-Peri hot sauce. Add chicken thighs to coat and marinate in the fridge overnight.
2. Remove the bag from the fridge and allow the chicken to come to room temperature.
3. Heat a large skillet over medium heat.
4. Arrange the chicken in a single layer in the skillet skin side down. Let brown for about 5 minutes. Turn the chicken over and brown the other side for 5 minutes. Turn the chicken over again.
5. Turn the heat down and cook covered over low heat for 10 minutes. Turn the chicken over and cook covered for another 10 minutes.
6. Remove the lid, turn the chicken over so it’s skin side down, turn the heat up to medium low and cook uncovered for 5 minutes. Remove the chicken and keep warm.
7. In a small bowl, mix together the coconut milk, ghost pepper hot sauce, and 1 tblsp of the oil from the skillet. Drizzle over the chicken (skin side up).

Corn “Cake”

 

I still have so much yellow cornmeal I decided to make a (yes, one) corn “cake”:

1/4 cup yellow cornmeal

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp black pepper

2 tblsp ghee

1/2 cup water

hot sauce

1. Mix cornmeal, salt, and pepper together.
2. Heat ghee and stir in the cornmeal mixture.
3. Cook for a few minutes over medium heat.
4. Still over medium heat, slowly stir in water until there is no loose cornmeal and the mixture resembles a small ball of dough. 
5. Press the ball into a mold and allow to cool down.
6. Turn the “cake” upside down onto a plate and add a few dashes of hot sauce to taste.

Baked Alaska

February 1 is National Baked Alaska Day.

I was trying to find the recipe to make a cheat version of Baked Alaska, which I had made before, but I cannot for the life of me find it. It’s probably from early 80s Good Housekeeping Magazine (I used to look at their recipes a lot, and it was way before the Internet was a thing). So here it is entirely from memory. It was actually quite good!

• 1 pound cake, sliced horizontally in half
• 1 can fruit cocktail
• 8 chocolate-covered vanilla popsicle, popsicle sticks removed
• egg whites from 8 large eggs
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup sugar

1. Cover a cookie sheet with heavy duty aluminum foil.
2. Lay the sliced pound cake brown side down side by side on the aluminum foil.
3. Bring the aluminum foil up around the pound cake to form a wall around it.
4. Pour on the fruit cocktail to ensure the pound cake is saturated with the syrup.
5. Lay the popsicles over the fruit cocktail in a single layer.
6. Put the cake in the freezer in the mean time.
7. Beat the egg whites, salt, and sugar together until there are stiff peaks.
8. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
9. Spread the egg whites over the entire cake. Use a fork to make a swirl pattern.
10. Bake the cake on the lowest oven shelf until meringue is light brown, 8 to 10 minutes.

 

Coconut Chicken with Coconut Rice

 

What can I say? I love coconut milk. So, I decided to make a chicken dish using coconut milk. I’d preferred leg quarters, but I went to Dom’s and they don’t have leg quarters.

I could have made curry, but I don’t like using pre-mixed curry powder, and I don’t have the spices I need to mix my own.

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 tblsp seasoned salt
• 4 chicken thighs
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 14-oz can coconut milk
• 1/2 cup rice
• scallions or cilantro for garnish

1. In a zip top bag, mix half the olive oil with seasoned salt. Add chicken thighs to coat and refrigerate until ready to cook.
2. Heat the rest of the olive oil in a skillet. Brown the chicken skin-side down for a couple of minutes, then turn over to brown the other side. Turn the chicken over again and sprinkle paprika on the meat.
3. Turn the chicken over again and cover. Turn the heat to low and cook for 15 minutes. Remove the chicken and pat with paper towels to remove extra fat.
4. In a saucepan, pour in 6 oz coconut milk. Add the chicken meat-side down. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and cook covered over low heat for 15 minutes. Remove the chicken. Set aside and keep warm.
5. Add water or chicken broth to the cooking liquid if necessary to make one cup of liquid.
6. Add the rice and bring to a boil, then cover and lower the heat to just simmer. Cook for 15 minutes.
7. Turn the heat off and let sit tightly covered for 15 minutes.
8. Fluff and plate the rice. Arrange the chicken with the rice on a serving plate.
9. Drizzle coconut milk on the chicken.
10. Sprinkle chopped scallions or cilantro over the rice for garnish. (I used scallions because 1) I don’t have cilantro, and 2) I don’t like cilantro. I will admit cilantro would look better.)

New Year’s Eve Dinner 2022

 

I decided to do a Southern traditional New Year’s Eve Dinner menu and give it my own twist. I used ghee instead of lard, since lard is hard to find and I have no use for extra lard.

Hoppin’ John

• 2 tblsp ghee 
• 1 medium-size yellow onion, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 2 14-oz cans chicken broth
• 12 oz frozen black-eyed peas
• 8 oz diced cooked ham (should be bacon, but I prefer ham)
• 2 tblsp olive oil
• 1 cup uncooked rice
• fresh scallions, sliced

1. Heat ghee in large pot. Add onion, garlic, black pepper, and salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is tender, about 8 minutes.
2. Add 1 can chicken broth and black-eyed peas, and bring to a boil over medium-high. Reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer for about 20 minutes. Stir in the diced ham and simmer for another 10 minutes.
3. Drain pea mixture, reserving cooking liquid. Add enough additional chicken broth to make 2 1/2 cups of liquid.
4. Mix pea mixture with 1/2 cup of reserved liquid. Cover to keep warm; set aside.
5. Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high. Add rice and cook, stirring often, until fragrant and lightly toasted, 3 to 4 minutes. 
6. Stir in 1 1/2 cups reserved cooking liquid. Bring to a boil, and reduce heat to medium-low; lightly cover and cook for 7 minutes; turn the heat to low, cover tightly, and cook for another 8 minutes. Turn off the heat and let sit for 15 minutes.
7. Fluff rice and gently stir into pea mixture.
8. Stir in remaining cooking liquid, 1⁄4 cup at a time, until desired consistency is reached.
9. Sprinkle servings with sliced fresh scallions.

Collard Greens With Ham Hocks

• 1  27-oz can cooked collard greens
• 2 smoked ham hocks
• 1 medium-size yellow onion, chopped
• 4 medium cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 14-oz can chicken broth
• salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• optional vinegary hot sauce

1. Drain collard greens and reserve the liquid. 
2. In a large pot, combine ham hocks, onions, garlic, collard green liquid, and chicken broth and bring to a simmer. 
3. Cover and cook at a bare simmer until hocks are very tender, 2 to 3 hours. 
4. Remove ham hocks from liquid, transfer to a cutting board, and pull bones from meaty and fatty parts. Discard bones. 
5. Chop up meat into chunks and mix with drained collard greens. Add enough liquid as desired and season with salt and pepper. 
6. Serve with vinegary hot sauce.

Milho Frito

(Portuguese Fried Corn Bread)

• 2 1/2 cups water
• 4 tblsp ghee
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 2/3 cup yellow cornmeal

1. Bring the water, 1 tblsp ghee, salt, and pepper to a boil in a large heavy saucepan set over moderate heat. 
2. Whisking the mixture briskly, add the cornmeal in a slow but steady stream, then cook and stir 2 to 3 minutes until as thick as porridge. 
3. Turn the heat to its lowest point, and let the mixture cook slowly, uncovered, 25 to 30 minutes, stirring often, until it is very thick and no raw corn taste remains. 
4. Pour into a well greased 8 x 8 x 2-inch baking dish and cool to room temperature; cover and chill several hours or until firm enough to cut.
5. Cut into bite-size pieces and drain well on paper toweling. 
6. Heat the remaining ghee in a medium-size heavy skillet over high heat 1 to 2 minutes. 
7. Brown the corn bread in 2 to 3 batches, allowing 3 to 4 minutes for the first side to brown, and 2 to 3 minutes for the flip side. 
8. Drain on paper toweling and serve.