Aloo Gobi

I eschew trends, fads, crazes, popularity and buzz. But as always, exceptions occur. Such is the case with this recipe. After watching the sensation movie "Bend It Like Beckham" on DVD there's a bonus track of the director making a traditional dish, Aloo Gobi with her aged auntie and mum. Very endearing. You can Google the recipe, but I'll put it here, not verbatim but as I now do it.

The dish is very very basic and there's nothing to fear where the words Indian and Curry come together. As a Weight Watchers participant, this became an almost weekly menu rotation. Its like the best Vegan recipe ever, not just low on Points+ but also cause I love flavor, spice and everything nice. Plus I get to add some Thai bird chilies to something. Nowadays, not as strict on WW as I was, I like to garnish this with a dollop of dairy, either Greek yogurt, Daisy sour cream, or just a plain ol slice of sharp cheddar cheese -very complimentary.  A little Sriracha never hurts either (which I have loved  for 35 years, long before the Internet, so no trend follower me)  I also on occasion add some cubed chicken breast for a dosage of animal protein, but it is certainly not missed when without.

Ingredients

•  Olive oil
• 1 tablespoon cumin seeds
• 1 large onion, chopped
• ~1/3 - 1/2 cup chopped cilantro stems (save some leafs for garnish)
• optional: bit of fresh ginger 
• fresh garlic to taste, chopped
• 2 teaspoons turmeric
• 2 teaspoons salt2-3  Thai bird chilies, whole (so they heat can be plucked)
• 1 average size head cauliflower broken into florets (Romanesca works too, as in photo)
• 3 medium red, white, or Yukon Gold potatoes, cut into about in 1/4" disks, halve larger slices

(NOTE: the two veggies need to be cut in equally cooking time parts, which can be somewhat difficult, and you have to know your produce. Fresh spuds are amazingly quicker cooking than ones that have been in storage for several months.  This takes some xperimenting, to get perfect) but try 3/8" slices of potatoes and break the cauliflower down to individual florets and slice up whatever stem is left same as potatoes.}

• 1 28 oz (or 2 14.5 oz) can of diced or stewed tomatoes with juice or whole tomatoes crushed with hands, masher, blender or food processor, or what have you.
• 2 teaspoons garam masala

optional:

• 8-12 oz of chopped chicken breast

 

Heat oil in dutch with lid. Saute chopped onions & cumin seeds until turning translucent and soft.

  

Add to cilantro stalks, turmeric let the turmeric heat up a bit, then add chilies.

Add in ginger & garlic, mix

Now your ready for the main ingredients, the potatoes & the cauliflower, sprinkle with your favorite salt, and a few tablespoons of water or chicken stock at this time, but keep in mind that aloo gobi is supposed to be a dry dish, not a saucy one, watery aloo gobi is no no.

Cover and cook on low or medium low for about 20 min or until the veggies are starting to get tender. Stir and check frequently, I'm lucky the burners on my stove will almost melt chocolate chips on a paper plate, other stove tops will burn the crap out of water. You could put this pup in the over too and do it that way, I haven't though.

Then add tomatoes, (and chicken breast if using) the important reason for doing this, that I have found is the the citric acid in the canned tomatoes (varies by brand) PREVENTS the veggies from tenderizing. I've cooked this stuff or over an hour several times. But after reading Rhulman's book, last year The Making of a Chef (1997) I think I figured it out. Acid increases cooking time or keeps veggies firm, that's why its in the chopped tomatoes.  This is now a weekday meal. Maybe the 'tinned' tomatoes in Europe have less citric acid added, whole tomatoes also typically do not have as much if any citric acid added.

Then cover & simmer for a while longer, until veggies AND chicken (if using..) are done, hopefully synchronistically. When done stir in garam masala, turn off the heat and let rest until you can't stand it any more for flavor melding and juices assimilation. Garnish with chopped cilantro leaves and or other stuff mentioned..

Read More http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/member/views/ALOO-GOBI-FROM-BEND-IT-LIKE-BECKHAM-51133841#ixzz2fNcOwXiy

Carbonara

If anyone ever reads this they should understand I'm not trying to reinvent or be definitive on anything, my recipe posts are just how I do them and how they have been handed down to me, and perhaps how I've incorporated my own personality and taste on them. In other words, please don't comment back with a know-it-all attitude like this guy: http://www.foodandwine.com/members/mike1949  
I'm plenty aware of the recipe context, and usually have Googled and read many other versions of what I do, and often try to hunt down a recipe origin. Its my hobby.

Here's my family's carbonarra recipe. Its not the original or the true Italian type, its just how we do it. Rachel Ray has a great recipe as does Food and Wine,  and if you use Google, you can find how it was originally made. My favorite pasta for this is the traditional bucatini or perciatelli; this recipe refers to fettucini. That's ok too. You want something that grips the creamy goodness. I'm not a huge fan of pepperon so I  just dice chunks of ham or bacon (cooked first, removed, re-added)  but its best if you use high quality nicely cured Italian pork product, like gunicale or pancetta (as opposed to bacon- fry remove re-add). Also, I personally like pecorino-romano better than parm. Use both or whatever. Tallegio or even mascarpone might work as a creamy cheesy subsitute, but I have not tried those. Peas and mushrooms would compliment this dish. Lots of calories here folks, it tends to be a special day dish.

Shrimp Tacos

Two or three times a year I have the good fortune of getting a very good price on fresh trawl-caught Alaska side-stripe shrimp. Although smaller and a little more work to peel than the big juicy spot sprawns, they are delicious - sweet and tender. One of my favorite uses is simply tacos, with a little mexicany cabbage slaw and always whole black beans on the side. I simply add the shrimp to boiling water for a few minutes (just till they float and turn pale color), drain and cool, peel them,  then briefly throw them in a hot cast-iron skillet with some oil and/butter (sometimes saute some onions  with a little garlic first).

 

My cabbage slaw is simply some shredded cabbage, lime, cilantro, tomato, minced garlic, salt and pepper, and maybe some chili powder like my favorite piquin, but I don't use chipotle or pasilla due to the shrimp's delicate flavor.You can of course add other things like shredded or julienned jicama, radish, carrots, serrano or jalapeno peppers, etc.   Layer shrimp and slaw onto hot or fried (tostada-style) corn tortillas and garnish with cilantro and favorite MEXICAN hot sauce such as Cholula (NOT Tabasco!), and maybe a tad bit of sour cream, or greek yogurt.

Another thing I'll do is make what I call "tostaditas"or simply oven baked tostadas. I'll put tortillas on a sheet pan grate on some cheese, put in oven 400 or so, and bake until they are crispy, just starting to brown. Then top with whatever. You can put them back in the oven with the toppings for an extra blast of heat and caramelization. Try it.  

Tom's Smoked Salmon Dip/Spread

 I think the essential ingredient that really gets the salivary glands going and makes you want more and more is a light addition of piquin (or pequin) chili powder. I've tried it with other chilis, and I think there is something magical about this variety. Hard to find in the stores though, but mail order should be no problem.

• One 8 oz package of cream cheese ( I like the lower fat or Neufatchel for a thinner dip)
• One 6.5 to 8 oz can or jar of Tom’s killer smoked Cordova coho or Bristol Bay red salmon
• 1/4 to 1/3 cup of minced red pepper
• 1/4 to 1/3 cup minced (or grated) red onion
• 1-2 tsp to taste lemon pepper
• 1/2 tsp to taste of pequin chili powder
•  fresh parsely (either) or dill for garnish

Optionals that can be added to taste:
Diced jalpenos, either pickled or fresh
Green/black olives
Capers
Grated Colby, longhorn, or other cheddar type cheese

 

 

Linguine and Clams

This is a family recipe (FR). My dad has made this a thousand times and has long been one of his signature dishes to serve visitors. It has become one my signature dishes as well. For many years, I stuck to a rather simple preparation and set of ingredients. Over the last few years, I've strayed, tossing in  this and that for exploration. The recipe is fairly conducive and robust to tweaking. I almost always use linguine though, and use fettucine the rare times that I don't. Never spaghetti or angel hair or any shaped pasta. No, got to go with linguine on this one. Its best with a combo of fresh and canned whole baby clams. I often use just use canned chopped or whole (not minced).

The following recipe is for about 4 servings or for two-three people with good appetites.
(lets get real here, who eats only 2 oz dry of pasta for dinner? Even on WeightWatchers I do  3 oz)

Double recipe for 4-6 people.

Ingredients:

• 8 oz (dry) linguine
• 2-4 tbsp olive oil (save some for finishing)
• 2-4 cloves garlic, halved
• 1 medium or so choppped yellow onion (I like onion, so I may use a whole large)
• ~ 6 oz sliced mushrooms,( I like them noticeable, but not too mushroomy, wild milds like oyster, chantrelle or hedgehogs are good too).
• ~1 cup white wine
• pinch oregano
• salt
• 1-  6 oz can chopped clams with juice (use only USA brands like Snow's)
•       + optional ~1/2 lb of hardshell clams
• ~1/3 cup sliced black olives (the blacks really tie this dish in both in color and flavor accents)
• chopped parsley (either type but I go light on Italian and like the curly leaf a better in this recipe)

Optionals:
chopped zuchini
thinly sliced peices of red bell pepper
 grape or cherry tomatoes halved
maybe a few chopped sun-dried tomatoes
lemon pepper
tab of butter (mmm!)

Garnish with:
Fresh grated Pecorino Romano (because I like it better than padana or reggiano)
Crushed red-pepper (adds the perfect spicy zing)
Dashes of Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Use a big enough non-reactive saute or sautoir pan on medium heat, add oil, when oil is warm add garlic halves, saute gently until just beggining to brown, remove. Add onions sweat down a bit, (at this point add optional veggies, if you are using such as zuchini, you'll have make a call on when and how long they'll need to cook) add mushrooms cook down some more (some shrooms tend to dry out the pan a bit until they release, so go easy on the heat at this point, but I add then at this point only because I don't like overcooked to nothing mushrooms).  Add the parsely/herbs.  Add wine and bring to boil, let off some of the alcohol, then add the clams, juice and olives.  Bring just up to boil then reduce to light simmer, cover. At this point you really don't need to cook this anymore, let it sit just at simmer or lower for awhile to flavor meld. If using hardshell clams throw those in with the wine so the steaming wine cooks them a bit or cook separate and add at end. You can also add the cooked (al dente) and drained pasta to the whole deal and cook it some more to give the pasta a bit of extra flavor. Its how the experts do it. 

Chocolate Peanut Butter Balls

One of my fondest childhood treats. I was the happiest little kid on the planet when my mom made these during my  spoiled-only-child era. Reese's mini Peanut butter cups are still my favorite candy at Halloween and Christmas. Use of the paraffin wax is optional, and the only thing I can find on that is that it is used for aesthics and firmness.  

1 cup butter
1 lb powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
12 oz peanut butter (probably smooth) 

12 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/4-1/2 cake paraffin wax (optional)

Crush cracker crumbs with rolling pin between two sheets of waxed paper. Put in largest bowl, add rest of ingredients, mix with hands. roll into balls a bit smaller than walnuts. Put on waxpaper covered baking sheets. 

Melt the chocolate chips (and grated wax, if using) into top of double boiler and melt together over low heat (gently boiling water). Drop balls into chocolate about five at a time. Roll to coat well, remove carefully and put back on wax paper-covered baking sheet  (go slow let them slip off the fork by themselves for a more professional coating appearances). 

Put in refrigerator to harden. Store in freezer or refrigerator but may be stored at room temperature.

Later in life, when I was working at the Armin F. Koernig hatchery in 1987, a coworker figured out how to make a really good knock-off peanut butter cup in the microwave. Will post that some other time.

How I Make Sourdough Pancakes

  

While I was working at the Wally Noerenberg Salmon Hatchery in Prince William Sound, Alaska, (at the time the largest salmon hatchery in North America) the hatchery manager was suddenly faced with a crisis. A 12-person construction crew had arrived to finish the living quarters and was going to be living on site and along with the 10 person hatchery staff. Something needed to be done about providing an orderly meal process. "Is there anybody here who would like to be the cook for 6 weeks?" My hand was up first. The manager quickly assessed whether I was kidding and if I could pull this off. I excitedly gave him a brief and very confident run-down of my time on the lines of two restaurants, and thoroughly enjoyed it. I was hired. Well, transfered really, same pay, but a few more hours. But I had no idea what I was getting into.

One of the interesting aspects of that job is that I inherited a 5-gallon bucket of sourdough, that I had no idea what to do with. One of the carpenters on the construction crew was very versed in culinary arts as a hobby, and was quick to offer me advice, after all he had a stake in this too. He handed me the Silver Palate cookbook (he just happen to have with him) and rather insisted that I start making bread too. (In addition to stewed figs and arugula salads with cherry something or rather). He also handed me a hand written recipe torn from a notebook, how to make sourdough pancakes. I have been making this original recipe since 1988:

My standard sourdough recipe will make about 8 good sized cakes. 

2 cups of sourdough that was fed the night before at room temperature is bubbly and fairly thick (batter has just a bit of stringy/gooiness. It will thin and weaken as you add the following ingredients.

Combine well the following then add to sourdough:

2 large eggs

2 tbs vegetable oil (eggs emulsify the oil so they should go together)

2 tbs white sugar

2 tsp salt (adjust to taste)

Get pan/griddle medium hot or so (they should cook pretty quick without burning, just very light thin sheen of oil in the pan if any)

Immediately before making, add just enough water to ~1.5-2 tbs tsp of baking soda to make pasty or slight liquidy (if your sourdough mix seems too thick to pour well, here's where you can adjust water. )

Thoroughly and quickly Mix soda mix into sourdough, it will start to bubble and rise, like a child's first chemistry experiment.

Pour batter into pan or grill to make cakes, I like pretty big ones about 6-7".
Top with real maple syrup and butter, served with a couple slices crispy hickory smoked bacon... you just can't beat that!

My Brain On Pizza

I've re-connected with Pizza. I fondly remember being taken to Pepe's in New Haven during my inaugural trip to my Dad's homeland in 1969. I was 7 years old at the time, but already a pretty darn good pizza eater. So I'm told.

Since that early rearing imprint, I had since been to Pepe's maybe once or twice, and to the spin offs, Bimonte's and Sally's. Back to California where I spent my first 23 years of life, and where there was never any good pizza. No where but New Haven and the surrounding hamlets (Hamden, Branford, North Haven, etc.), is there any pizza worth a grain of semolina. That was and for the most part, still is a fact. If you were reared on New Haven style pizza that is. But with the rise of the Boomers, and their decadent if not hedonistic search for up-man's-ship, and multitude of ways to spend their new wealth, a new pizza 'movement' has settle in west. Pizzas have gotten better. Of course, a number of entrepreneur types have gotten rich off pizza whether good or bad, for a long time. But pizza meets west coast tastes, meets the new millennium, and its a new ballgame. There are numerous websites, books, magazine articles, and pizza wonks dedicated to finding pizza nirvana.