Mains Archives - Page 6 of 8

Ginger Scallion Sauce Poultry in Motion

By threejamigos | September 18, 2017 | Comments 0 Comment

DI went to the city to grab a bite to eat with my kid Jeffrey and my Mom. Jeffrey suggested a joint that serves poached chicken and rice. Loves it, goes there all the time.

I said, you’re KIDDING, right? Not that I don’t like chicken but this sounds a whole lot like Chinese White Cut Chicken or Singaporean Hainan Chicken which I make ALL the TIME. Yep, same dish, but served in a hipster space with people willing to wait in line and pay gobs of money to have. REALLY?

Down-home comfort food made by grandma although you can get it at a hole-in-the-wall Asian restaurants or buy it at a Chinese deli to take home (usually hanging in the windows by the neck, lol). But to become the star of a menu and served in a cool space in the middle of Hipsterville? Who would have thought something as simple as poached chicken would become all the rage. Recently opened in the Marina, Rooster and Rice is my kid’s go-to place. Chicken, white rice (ok, you can probably get brown rice) and a dipping sauce. It comes with a bit of broccoli or cucumbers and if you want, a bowl of chicken soup. BUT that’s all. Sheesh.

Why didn’t I think of that?

I did a bit of sleuthing (hello Google) and concluded that ground zero for poached chicken rising to rock star status might have been Portland at Nong’s Khao Man Gai Food Truck. Nong P. got her start as a line chef at the popular Thai restaurant Pok Pok. She left to literally go on the road with a food truck serving her chicken and rice. It was wildly popular and she was able to open a brick and mortar place of the same name. Rooster and Rice also serves the Thai version. It’s dipping sauce is bean-based and is sweet, salty and spicy. Delicious. The dipping sauce for Hainan or Chinese white cut chicken is based on salt or soy sauce, includes ginger and scallions and is finished with oil. Yummmmmmm.

I am partial to the ginger scallion sauce which I have posted with my Simple Poached Chicken recipe but I did want to try David Chang’s (Momofuku) Ginger Scallion Sauce. His recipe has made the rounds on Epicurious, Saveur, Bon Apetit’ website, your auntie’s blog, EVERYWHERE. All wax poetically about it. Its good on everything even slathered on your skin apparently. So, I made it and it’s good alright but is it Nirvana? Hm. It is ridiculously easy and extremely versatile. It is lovely on noodles, fish, your kids if they forget their sunblock (I’M KIDDING), on grilled tofu or mushrooms (yay for vegetarians) and of course CHICKEN. It’s the perfect pairing like Fred and Ginger (my fav). Similar to the sauce for Hainan Chicken or White Cut Chicken it starts with ginger, scallions, and salt and soy sauce but unlike mine, the oil is not heated and it includes a touch of vinegar. I leave it to you to pick which is your favorite. Definitely make the chicken (it’s incredibly delicious and easy) and try the different sauces. Love to know which is your favorite.

Mother of All Sauces Momofuku Ginger Scallion Sauce

All purpose delicious sauce for chicken,

Course condiment, Sauce

Cuisine Asian

Keyword ginger, poached chicken, scallions

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 5

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups thinly sliced scallions greens and whites; from 1 to 2 large bunches
1/2 cup finely minced peeled fresh ginger
1/4 cup grapeseed or other neutral oil
1 1/2 teaspoons usukuchi light soy sauce
3/4 teaspoon sherry vinegar
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt or more to taste

Instructions

Mix together the scallions, ginger, oil, soy, vinegar, and salt in a bowl.
Taste and check for salt, adding more if needed.
Best after 15 or 20 minutes of sitting, ginger scallion sauce is good from the minute it's stirred together up to a day or two in the fridge.
Use as directed, or apply as needed.

Sunny with a Plate of Meatballs

By threejamigos | August 27, 2017 | Comments 0 Comment

FB started out as a way to connect with my friends, especially with those that don’t live close by but it has morphed into a way to connect with people with shared interests. Earlier in the year I stumbled across Food52’s (awesome website, check it out) Cookbook Club. My cynical side thought wow, what a great marketing ploy. A cookbook club that features a different book each month where members can make any recipe from the book and post pics of it on the site. Nice try to get me to buy yet another cookbook. My rational side thought, I should call the hubby immediately..intervention time. I’m about to buy a cookbook every month forever, stop me. He could then say in a soft calm voice; have you checked the library? Or called a friend who might have a copy? …Or a tough love line like “You can’t buy another cookbook unless you get rid of one you already have..and I get to pick which one goes.”

Nooooooo….

I was able to resist for a little while but yummy photos of recipes from this month’s selection, Melissa Clark’s Dinner: Changing the Game kept popping up on my timeline and got the best of me. I took a look at the table of contents and wouldn’t you know it a chapter called Grind filled with recipes for MEATBALLS caught my eye. I LOVE meatballs. I searched for a recipe from the book to try and found Ginger Pork Meatballs with Cilantro and Fish Sauce (on blog site A Modest Feast). Made with green onions, cilantro, fish sauce, garlic, lime and spiced with ginger and Serrano chilis these meatballs were delicious. Resistance was futile.

Ugh, what cookbook will I have to give up?

The recipe calls for pork next time (and there will be a next time) I plan on trying a 50-50 mix of pork and ground chicken or turkey.

I used a 1 inch ice cream scoop to mold the meatballs, perfect for appetizer sized portions but a little small for a main dish. I’d make them bigger next time.

I served the meatballs two ways as a lettuce wrap with a bit of jasmine rice and dipping sauce and on top of a bowl of bean thread noodles garnished with crispy slices of cucumbers, scallions and cilantro. NOm nom nom…

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Sunny with a Plate of Meatballs

Ingredients

For the meatballs:

1 pound ground pork or 1/2 pound ground pork:1/2 pound ground chicken
1/3 cup finely-chopped fresh cilantro leaves
1/4 cup finely-chopped scallions white and green parts
1 serrano chile seeded and chopped
1 tablespoon finely-chopped peeled fresh ginger or ginger juice
3 garlic cloves grated on a Microplane or minced
Finely-grated zest of 1 lime
2 teaspoons freshly-squeezed lime juice
2 teaspoons soy sauce or tamari
1 teaspoon fish sauce
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

For the dipping sauce:

3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoons soy sauce or tamari
1 tablespoon Sriracha or other hot sauce
2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
1 teaspoon dark brown sugar

For serving:

1 head Boston or bibb lettuce
1/4 English cucumber thinly-sliced
2-3 scallions white and light green parts, julienned
A large handful of cilantro sprigs
Bean thread noodles or rice noodles soaked until soft. Drain and set aside
Jasmine rice cooked

Instructions

In a large bowl, gently combine the pork, cilantro, scallions, chile, ginger, garlic, lime zest and juice, soy sauce, fish sauce, and salt.
Roll mixture into 1-inch balls
Heat the broiler. Set the rack at least 4 inches from the heat source.
Arrange the meatballs in a single layer, not touching, on one or two rimmed sheet pans.
Broil the meatballs, turning the pan halfway through, until they are golden all over and just cooked through, 8 to 10 minutes.
Prepare the dipping sauce: In a small bowl, whisk together the vinegar, soy sauce, Sriracha, sesame oil, and brown sugar.
For lettuce wraps: Place a bit of rice or noodles in lettuce leaf. Top with 2 meatballs, cilantro, green onion shreds. fold and dip into sauce. Enjoy!
Or serve as a rice or noodle bowl.

NOTES

For consistency of size and even cooking, use a spring-loaded scoop to portion out the meatballs; I used the middle-sized scoop in this set (#50), which is 1 1/2 tablespoons. To make gluten-free, use tamari instead of soy sauce.

Miso Honey Ribs, To BBQ Or Bake That Is The Question

By threejamigos | August 14, 2017 | Comments 0 Comment

The kids were home for about a week but we were so busy running around we never got around to our annual summer burger cook-off. Disappointing but little did I know the chance to flex my culinary muscle would happen anyways. Each year Saveur magazine presents awards for the Best Food Blog. While perusing the finalists I found a recipe for Honey Miso Ribs on the blog Son of a Southern Chef. They looked mouthwateringly delicious. Lazurus Lynch, a 23-year-old, cute as a button, southern chef, is the creator. It is filled with energy, whimsy, and fun. He oozes so much personality it practically slaps you in the face. Look out Guy Fieri, this kid is the real deal and a natural for TV.

A tub of organic miso from the Ferry Plaza Farmer’s Market and a 3-pack of ribs from Costco in the fridge meant I was destined to make his rib recipe. Dinner was set, and off to rowing. I came home and 2 racks of ribs were sitting on the counter coated with a dry rub. Hubs casually says I used a couple of racks, what do you want to do with the last rack?

WHAAT? ARE YOU CHALLENGING ME TO A RIB COOK-OFF?

GAME ON DUDE

Laz’s recipe called for oven-baking the ribs, painting on the glaze, and then baking the ribs for an additional 30 minutes. The glaze is comprised of Japanese miso ( a soybean paste that is salty and flavorful), ginger, garlic, soy, lime, and sesame. I wanted a touch more acid so I increased the lime juice and rounded up the soy sauce to a tablespoon. Baste the ribs a couple of times during the last half hour of cooking, done. Serve em’ up. Pretty darn easy.

On the other hand, Wes’s ribs call for PAINSTAKINGLY smoking them for hours and hours and rotating them on the grill CONSTANTLY. His BBQ sauce contains about a million ingredients and needs to be cooked on the stovetop and then brushed on his ribs about 50 times for the last 2,700 seconds of cooking (makes it sound like a long time right?).

I’m not trying to create bias or anything…

Miso Ribs above ready to eat – classic BBQ Ribs below still cooking on the grill. You be the judge.

So off we went to our friends Paul and Pam’s, ribs in hand. After all we needed help eating 3 slabs of ribs.

In the end, in a diplomatic fashion, a tie was declared…both equally finger-licking delicious.

Wait, someone just got ribbed-off.

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Miso Honey Ribs (Son of a Southern Chef)

Delicious ribs made in the oven!

Course bbq, dinner

Cuisine American, Asian-American

Keyword bbq ribs, Miso, oven-baked, pork ribs

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 1 30

Ingredients

Miso Honey Ribs
1 rack baby back ribs
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Marinade/Sauce

2 tablespoons white miso paste
2 cloves garlic grated
2 teaspoons ginger grated
½ cup honey mild
¼ cup brown sugar golden or dark is fine
1 tablespoon sesame oil
2 teaspoons soy sauce
½ tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice

Garnish

sliced green onions
white sesame seeds, roasted

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375ºF.
2. Cut the ribs, dividing into two racks. Season ribs with salt and pepper on both sides. Transfer seasoned ribs to a tray lined with foil. Pour ½ cup of water into the tray and cover foil. Cook in the oven for 45 minutes to an hour.
3. In a small bowl whisk together the miso, garlic, ginger, honey, brown sugar, sesame oil, soy sauce, and lime juice.
4. Take ribs out of the oven and remove foil on the top. If there is a lot of liquid in the pan drain some off.
5. Baste both sides of ribs with the glaze and cook for an additional 30 to 45 minutes, basting top of ribs every 10 to 15 minutes, until golden brown.
5. Remove from oven, slice, and serve. Garnish with sliced green onions and toasted sesame seeds

Hi Mui.

TGI Friday: Dinner and A Movie (Picadillo)

By threejamigos | July 11, 2017 | Comments 1 comment

Do you remember TBS’s Dinner and A Movie Night on Friday nights? During each commercial break hosts Paul and Janet and their resident chef would prep and cook a dish that thematically went along with the movie being aired (prime example-Russell’s Mussels for the movie Gladiator). Silly banter, fun factoids about the movie and cooking tips plus a movie…pretty nifty? Fast forward a lot of years-babies, kids, teens, gray hair, thinning hair, expanding waistlines, empty-nest and our Monday mom’s coffee klatch has resurrected Friday night Dinner and a Movie.

We started with Big Little Lies, best described as the Housewives of Monterey gone batsh*t crazy and moved on to The Handmaid’s Tale. Based on Margaret Atwood’s book it takes intensity and darkness to a new level. Luckily cocktails and dinner after each airing helps lighten the mood. A combination of factors including work and not being able to stomach a dystopian world (it hits a little too close to real life) I show up, along with the hubbies, just in time to enjoy drinks, dinner and conversation. I rationalize my absence from watching with the feeble excuse “I read the book once upon a time”.

Dinners are potluck and lucky for me Stephanie brought one of her favorite dishes, Picadillo. Its roots are Latin, regional versions can be found from Mexico to Cuba. It’s a delicious mixture of ground beef, sautéed with tomatoes, seasoned with bay leaves and raised to flavor-town by, drum roll please, olives and raisins. The briny tartness from the olives and that little pop of sweetness from the raisins makes this dish a stand out.

Mind blown…never dreamed I would be enamored with a savory dish that included raisins and olives. Not only is it delicious it is also easy to prepare. Served with steamed coconut or brown rice and fried plantains this is a simple, beautiful meal.

Stephanie’s recipe is adapted from Cooking Light that includes generous amounts of finely diced carrots and bell peppers not always found in traditional Picadillo. Think of this as Picadillo Light. The dish can be lightened even more by substituting ground turkey or chicken for part of the beef (I would definitely keep it at least 50% beef though).

I perused other recipes for Picadillo and found some included other spices including cumin, oregano, cinnamon, chili, and cloves. I enjoy the simplicity and the clean bright flavors of Steph’s recipe but I love cumin and cinnamon. Next time.

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Picadillo

Ingredients

2 pounds ground beef or a combination of ground beef and turkey or chicken
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 1/2 cups thinly sliced onion
1 garlic clove minced
1 1/2 cups 1/4-inch-thick slices yellow bell pepper, each slice cut in half
1 1/2 cups 1/4-inch-thick slices red bell pepper, each slice cut in half
1 cup finely chopped carrot
3/4 cup golden raisins
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup sliced pimento-stuffed manzanilla or green olives about 15 olives
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
2 bay leaves
1 14.5-ounce can no-salt-added stewed tomatoes, undrained
1 8-ounce can no-salt-added tomato sauce

Instructions

Cook beef in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until browned; stir to crumble. Remove from pan; drain well.
Add oil to pan. Add onion and garlic; sauté 3 minutes. Add bell peppers and carrot; sauté 3 minutes. Return beef to pan. Stir in raisins and remaining ingredients; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Discard bay leaves.

A-Looo? Anybody there? It’s Gobi time! (Cauliflower and Potato Curry)

By threejamigos | July 4, 2017 | Comments 0 Comment

Do you remember Bend It Like Beckham? A little movie about soccer and following your dreams that launched a couple of careers (Kira Knightly for one) and was a sleeper hit. Though a certified sports nut I really loved the scenes of the family gatherings and delicious food. It reminds me of my own crazy family gatherings where down home food and “sage advice” from elders are the order of the day. In between bites of fried noodles or dumplings my cousins and I nod in respectful agreement at our aunties and uncles then turn our heads to each other and roll our eyes when the inquisition begins. Boyfriend? Girlfriend? When you getting married? The food and their good intentions make the interrogation worth it.

Hidden in the DVD of the movie I found an entertaining bonus clip of the mom and auntie demonstrating how to make Aloo Gobi. A cauliflower and potato curry flavored with onions and tomatoes and spiced with garam masala, chili, ginger, garlic and cumin. Inspired by the clip I made their version but this time went searching for another recipe.

So I turned to a favorite blog, Ministry of Curry and typed in Aloo Gobi. BINGO, up popped not just a recipe for Aloo Gobi but an Instant Pot version. The pressure cooker makes short work of the dish. Perfect for a quick weekday meal.

Prep the ingredients and have them ready to go into your pot. I cut the cauliflower in good sized chunks and sliced the potato into wedges. If you are a spice wimp like me use half the amount of garam masala. Saute’ the spices and vegetables in the pot, cover, pressure cook for a couple of minutes. Voila’ dinner is on the table in the blink of an eye. If you like your cauliflower with a bit of bite cook for 2 minutes. I prefer them softer so I use 3 minutes. Quick release the pressure or the veggies will be too soft. Tasty dishes like this make it so much easier to focus on eating more vegetables and less meat. Good for us and for the planet.

This dish can also be cooked on the stovetop. Saute the onions, garlic, ginger and tomatoes. Add spices except salt and garam masala just like the IP recipe. Stir in the cauliflower and potatoes, add water and reduce heat to medium. Cook for 6-8 minutes stirring occasionally. Add garam masala and salt, stir, cover and continue to cook until potatoes and cauliflower are at desired doneness approximately 10 minutes. Stir in cilantro reserving some for garnish. For conventional cooking cut the vegetables smaller or par-boil them halfway this will shorten the cooking time.

A shortcut to peeling and cutting your tomatoes, grating!

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A-Looo? Anybody there? It’s Gobi time! (Cauliflower and Potato Curry)

Ingredients

1 medium onion thinly sliced
1-2 cloves of garlic minced
1 tsp fresh ginger minced
2 plum tomatoes grated
4 cups cauliflower florets cut into 2 inch pieces
1 medium russet potato peeled and cut into wedges
1 tbsp cooking oil or ghee
½ tsp cumin
½ tsp turmeric
1 tbsp mild Kashmiri red chili powder Less if using a spicier chili powder
1 tbsp cumin-coriander powder spice blend
1-1/2 tsp garam masala Add 1/2 to 3/4 tsp for a mild to medium spicy curry
1 tsp salt
cilantro for garnish lots

Instructions

Turn Instant Pot to Saute mode.
Once the hot sign displays add oil and cumin seeds. Sauté for 30 secs.
Add onions and mix well. Cook covered with a glass lid on for 3-4 min.
Add ginger and garlic, stir and cook for additional minute.
Add tomatoes, mix and cook covered for 2 minutes.
Add turmeric, red chili powder, cumin-coriander powder, garam masala and salt. Mix well.
Add potatoes and cauliflower florets. Add ¼ cup of water. Mix well.
Put Instant Pot lid on with pressure valve to sealing. Cook on Manual(Hi) for 3 mins. Note: Cook for only 2 mins if you like cauliflower to be more firm.
Quick Release and stir gently. Garnish with cilantro.
Serve hot with naan. I like mine with rice.

Bourdain, Cinco de Mayo and Chicken Chile Verde

By threejamigos | May 10, 2017 | Comments 0 Comment

Friday night, its Cinco de Mayo! Time to make something yummy, kickback, relax and catch up on one of my favorite TV shows, Anthony Bourdain’s Parts Unknown. This episode features the Los Angeles Mexican community thus making my dinner choice easy, Chile Verde. I am stoked.

When I was a kid our Friday night ritual was Swanson’s TV dinners (turkey for me, meatloaf for my brother) in front of the tube. A multi-course meal contained in a cool space age aluminum tray with individual compartments for each course (so cool). Later Swanson’s added a little square squished between the veggies and potatoes like a tiny jewel box. It contained a perfect 2-bite apple cobbler or brownie. Since we ate Chinese food most of the time a meal of roast turkey or fried chicken was a special treat. To top it off we got to watch The Flintstones while we were eating and then Jiffy Pop to finish the evening (kids ask your parents about Jiffy Pop or watch Real Genius). The best, Friday nights were the bomb.

So there we were on Cinco de Mayo, sitting back on the couch with bowls of steaming hot Chile Verde and warm corn tortillas watching Bourdain gettin’ real with the homeboys in Eastside LA. Traditions should #persist don’t you think?

Still on my Instant Pot jag I searched for a recipe for a Chicken Chile Verde in a pressure cooker. I found a couple that sounded good so I decided to do a mash-up. I started with a recipe from Serious Eats by J. Kenji Lopez-Alt. Really difficult (NOT)-chopped tomatillos, jalapeños, poblanos & Anaheim peppers, add chicken thighs and legs, toasted cumin seeds, salt, bunch of garlic, a white onion also chopped and throw it in your pressure cooker. Seal, set and dinner…It’s yours (Thank you, Stevie). Yep, thirty minutes later eating Chile Verde. Happy Cinco de Mayo.

Serious Eats adds a bit of Thai fish sauce at the end for that secret flavor bomb. Surprisingly it does round out the flavor. I like lots of veggies so I included potatoes and if my kids were home I would have added corn. I also added a pinch of oregano, fresh ground pepper and some smoked paprika. Delish.

You can substitute pork for the chicken for a classic Chile Verde. Use 3-3.5 pounds of Pork Shoulder (aka pork butt) cut into 2 inch pieces. Set Instant Pot for 30 minutes and use quick release. Also Delish.

The recipe makes a lot of sauce, so save the extra sauce to make some awesome enchiladas.

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Chicken Chile Verde

Ingredients

Adapted from Serious Eats and Lemon Lavender Love

3 pounds skinless chicken thighs or legs
¾ pound tomatillos 3-4 large tomatillos, quartered, husks discarded
¾ pound poblano peppers halved with seeds and stem removed
½ pound Anaheim peppers halved with seeds and stem removed
2-3 jalapeño peppers halved with stem removed (you can remove the seeds if you don’t want the heat – make sure you wear gloves or thoroughly wash your hands after cutting, trust me)
1 white or yellow onion quartered
1 russet potato cut into good size chunks 6 pieces
6 medium whole garlic cloves peeled
1 tablespoon cumin seeds toasted and ground
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon Kosher salt
1 tablespoon fish sauce

Garnish:

Cilantro
Sour cream
avocado-sliced or cubed
red cabbage-shredded
Corn tortillas

Instructions

Place chicken, vegetables and seasonings except fish sauce in Instant Pot bowl.
Cover and seal pot making sure vent knob is set on sealed
Select poultry or manual cook mode
Adjust cooking time to 30 minutes using the +/- timer
When Instant Pot beeps the cooking cycle is complete. Carefully release pressure by moving top knob from sealing to venting.
Once pressure is released, uncover.
Remove chicken and potato chunks and reserve in bowl.
Add fish sauce to pot. If you have an immersion blender, puree vegetables in Instant Pot to desired consistency or spoon vegetables and liquids into a blender to puree.
Shred chicken
Add potatoes and chicken to pureed sauce.
Serve with warm corn or flour tortillas
Garnish with cilantro, shredded cabbage, avocado
Yum!

Instant Pot Adventures-Mushroom Risotto

By threejamigos | April 28, 2017 | Comments 0 Comment

You can disregard this post if you do not have an Instant Pot. Well, you may want to do a quick read to see if it convinces you to add yet another appliance to your kitchen. After all you can never have too many kitchen gadgets.
My first try in the Instant Pot was a Spicy Pork Shoulder dish from Melissa Clark and then Corned Beef for St. Paddy’s Day. Let’s face it…cuts of meat like pork shoulders or briskets lend themselves well to pressure cookers. But how versatile is the Instant Pot? Upon the recommendation of my sister-in-law I decided to try my luck at making risotto. The time savings was not super significant, what was boss WAS NOT HAVING TO STAND OVER THE STOVE STIRRING CONSTANTLY. For those who have made risotto in the traditional way, it is like a dance. Stir, stir, stir, broth, stir, stir, stir, more broth… Step, step, step together, pause, step, step, step together pause….see just like doing the tango.

First saute’ your aromatics and rice as usual in the Instant Pot (one pot cooking yay!). Add entire amount of stock called for in the recipe and any vegetables (in this case mushrooms), slap the lid on your Instant Pot, set it for 4 minutes and WALK AWAY. Yes, you read that right, walk away. The Instant Pot takes a couple of minutes to come to pressure and then cooks for the 4 minutes. All you need to do is listen for the beep that signals its done. Do a quick release (careful, don’t burn yourself), take the lid off, set your pot to saute’ and finish the risotto. Finishing requires a minute or two of stirring to create the creamy texture and to finish off the risotto. Test the risotto for doneness after removing the lid, you don’t want to overcook the rice. I did not use the full 2 ounces of dried mushrooms, probably closer to 1 ounce and found it a bit overpowering. I would use approximately 1/2 ounce of dried mushrooms soaked in broth to soften. You can adjust the amount of parmesan to taste. A nice addition would be crispy, crumbled pancetta or prosciutto.

The risotto was pretty darn good if I say so myself. It could have perhaps used a smidge less time so it was truly al dente but it was surprisingly good and so easy! I am definitely going to give risotto made in an Instant Pot another whirl. I will miss the arm workout I get from stirring risotto though…life’s little sacrifices.

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Instant Pot Adventures-Mushroom Risotto

Ingredients

Adapted from This Old Gal Blog
1 ounce Porcini/Wild Mushrooms/shiitakes dried soaked in warm water to soften
6-8 oz Fresh Crimini Mushrooms roughly chopped or mix of fresh mushrooms such as shiitakes or oysters
1 Tablespoon Butter
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
1 1/2 cups 9oz Arborio Rice (or medium-grain white rice)
3 Large Shallots chopped or 2 cloves of garlic and 1/2 finely chopped yellow onion
1 Teaspoon Fennel Seeds crushed or 1 tsp. fresh thyme leaves
1/2 cup Dry White Wine
2 cups Chicken Broth
1.5 cups Mushroom water or Water or Broth reserved from soaking dried mushrooms
1/2 teaspoon Sea Salt
1/2-1 cup 3 oz Parmesan
2 Tablespoons Fresh Parsley chopped or chives
1 T Butter to finish

Instructions

Dried Mushrooms, bring 2 cups water to boil in heavy small saucepan. Add mushrooms.
Cover and let stand until mushrooms soften, about 10 minutes.
Transfer mushrooms to cutting board and chop coarsely, reserve liquid.
Select Sauté or Browning on your Pressure Cooker and allow to heat.
Add oil and butter to Instant Pot and shallots or garlic/onion mixture, fennel seeds or thyme, stir and then add rice cook for three minutes.
Add wine and cook until almost evaporated, stirring frequently, about 1 minute.
Mix in 3.5 cups broth (or 2 cups broth/1.5 cups reserved mushroom soaking liquid), salt and mushrooms.
Lock lid in place and close Pressure Valve. Press manual and adjust time to 4 minutes. Cook at High Pressure for 4 minutes. After beep, do a Quick Release (careful its hot).
Turn Pot off and select sauté. Stir rice until creamy and tender but still firm to the bite, approximately 2 minutes.
If more liquid is needed, stir in a little more broth or reserved mushroom liquid. Add more until desired creaminess is achieved.
Mix in cheese and butter. Season risotto with salt & pepper to taste.
Transfer to heated plates or serving bowl.
Garnish with parsley or chives and serve while hot!

Spicy Pulled Pork InstantPot, InstantGratification

By threejamigos | March 23, 2017 | Comments 2 comments

I just received an InstantPot pressure cooker for my birthday! This is right up my alley since I am a KITCHEN GADGET FREAK. Not exaggerating, I love kitchen appliances. I am the “what was I thinking, forehead slap” owner of donut hole pans, a strawberry corer, spiralizer, brownie squares pan, sous vide thingy, Ebelskiver pan, bread machine, the list goes on and on…

When I was a kid I went to Woolworth’s with my mom (yes baby boomers, Woolworth’s, remember?) in anticipation of a slice of their delicious gooey cheese pizza. Instead, I found myself in front of a demonstration booth, entranced. A voice boomed “it slices, it dices, it does it all. This is going to revolutionize cooking and help you escape from the kitchen” I watched as he deftly created mountains of julienned squash, chopped onions, sliced carrots, even waffle-cut potatoes. How I convinced my mom to buy this new fangled tool I will never know. But we walked out of Woolworth’s, a slice of cheese pizza in one hand and a Slice-o-Matic with a bonus Chop-o-Matic in the other! These days if I go to the mall with my kids they know there will be the prerequisite stop at Sur La Table or Williams Sonoma to peruse because YOU CAN NEVER HAVE TOO MANY Kitchen tools.

The Pressures Off with an Instant Pot

The Instant Pot is the latest, hippest iteration of a pressure cooker. There are blogs, Facebook pages, and books devoted to the Instapot. It is a slow cooker, saute pan, rice cooker, yogurt maker all in one. For you tech geeks you can download the app and program it using your phone. Crazy huh.

A few weeks ago NYT Cooking published Melissa Clark’s recipe for Pressure Cooker Spicy Pork Shoulder along with a video of her using the Instant Pot. It’s easy and delicious and best of all cuts cooking time by at least half.

The overnight marinade adds to the bold flavor of the dish

The liberal use of Korean chili flakes and Kochuchang, a sweet chili pepper paste in the sauce adds an Asian flair. If you are a pulled pork fan you will absolutely love this version. Marinade the pork in a mixture of chili flakes, honey, salt, and garlic overnight and then brown it the next day. Then saute’ the pork in the Instapot (which surprisingly took less time than I imagined) until browned. Add a bit of water, twist and clamp the lid shut, set the timer for 70 minutes, and chill out for a couple of minutes before making the sauce. Easy peasy.

Fusion BBQ Sauce

The sauce is made with chili paste, ketchup, garlic, fish sauce, honey, and ginger. As delicious as this sauce is it packs a punch in heat and flavor. A little goes a long way so add the sauce in small increments to taste.

The first day we shredded the pork, mixed in bbq sauce and juice (from the Instant Pot), and broiled the pork to crisp the edges. We served it on a bed of rice with sliced cucumbers and carrots, a Porki Bowl (get it?).

The quiet nods and hmms as we ate confirmed we had a winner.

This makes a more than generous amount of pulled pork. Luckily the kids were home for spring break and made quick work of the pork. Beyond our rice bowls, we had it with scrambled eggs for breakfast and in Hawaiian sweet rolls with a cabbage slaw for lunch. So good! This is a definite keeper.

The maiden voyage of my Instant Pot was a resounding success. Can’t wait for another opportunity to use it.

InstantPot Spicy Pork Shoulder from NYT

Spicy Pulled Pork made in an Instant Pot

Course Main Course

Cuisine American, Fusion

Keyword Instant Pot, NYTcooking, Spicy Pork Shoulder

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 2

Ingredients

5 garlic cloves grated on a Microplane or minced
2 tablespoons brown sugar or honey
1 tablespoon Korean chile flakes gochugaru or other chile flakes (Maras, Aleppo or crushed red pepper)
1 tablespoon kosher salt more to taste
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
5 pounds boneless pork shoulder cut into two or three pieces

FOR THE SAUCE:

1 tablespoon peanut oil
4 garlic cloves grated on a Microplane
2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger root
⅓ cup gochujang Korean chile paste or other chile paste or sauce such as Sriracha
¼ cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons ketchup
2 tablespoons mirin
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
1 teaspoon Asian fish sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil

FOR THE SESAME PICKLED CUCUMBERS:

6 Persian cucumbers thinly sliced (or about 4 cups sliced cucumbers)
1 ½ tablespoons rice vinegar
2 teaspoons sesame oil
2 teaspoons brown sugar
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
¼ cup thinly sliced red onion
2 teaspoons sesame seeds

Instructions

To prepare pork, combine garlic, brown sugar, chile flakes, salt and pepper. Rub marinade all over pork. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour to up to 24 hours.
Set electric pressure cooker to sauté (or use a large skillet). Add pork in batches and sear until browned all over, about 2 minutes per side. Add 3/4 cup water to pot (or to skillet to deglaze, then move to pot), cover, and set to cook for 90 minutes on high pressure. Make sure to scrape the bottom of the pot so it doesn't scorch or the pot will turn off.
While pork cooks, prepare sauce: In a small pot, warm peanut oil over medium heat. Add garlic and ginger, and sauté until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes. Add remaining ingredients and bring to a simmer. Cook until thickened, 1 to 2 minutes. Set sauce aside. (It can be made up to 1 week ahead and stored in the refrigerator.)
Manually release steam. Let pork cool until you can handle it, then shred it into bite-size pieces. Pork can be made in advance.
While pork cools, strain liquid from bottom of pot. Pour off fat (or chill liquid, then scoop off solidified fat with a spoon). Reserve.

Cucmber Salad

Prepare cucumbers: In a small bowl, combine all ingredients except sesame seeds, and let sit, tossing one or twice, for at least 20 minutes. Stir in sesame seeds.
To serve, heat broiler. Toss pork with sauce and 1 to 2 tablespoons cooking liquid — just enough so pork is evenly coated but not wet or runny. Spread mixture on a rimmed baking sheet, and broil until crisp on top, 2 to 3 minutes a little char is fine. Think burnt ends or tips, those are yummy.
Make a porki bowl! Top steamed rice with generous portion of pork and cucumbers. . Or make sliders with an Asian slaw

Addendum: St. Patrick’s Day, a week later was the perfect time to use the Instant Pot. Literally threw corned beef, pickling spices, an onion, and some garlic in the pot. An hour and a half later I had a platter of tender melt in your mouth corned beef with cabbage, potatoes and carrots (ok I slightly mis-timed the vegys so a bit on soft side) on the table. It’s a good thing.

Sheet Pan Magic (Chicken Tikka)

By threejamigos | January 15, 2017 | Comments 0 Comment

Miss me? I have been on an extended break from the blogosphere. Knocked down by the flu during the holidays, my post-election blues (I promise to refrain) and the wet dreary weather kind of got the best of me. But I’m back! Ready to tackle 2017. This year’s theme will be comfort food from soup to dessert, food for the soul. Food for family and friends-dishes to share, meals that bring us together and make us happy. Nothing better than sitting around the table eating, talking and laughing. What better buffer to our crazy mixed-up world right now. If you have a favorite recipe I would love to share it on my blog and if there is a story behind your dish, I definitely want to hear it.

This first post was going to feature soup. You know how much I love soup, yep I could live on just soup. Not to mention soup is the perfect antidote for cold wet weather and when you’re not feeling 100%. In fact, I had an easy soup recipe in mind, a family favorite that I make whenever my kids are home but a recipe for Chicken Tikka from one of my favorite blogs, Smitten Kitchen caught my eye. I had to try it. It is a one pan meal loaded with flavor from spices like garam masala, chili, cumin, paprika and garlic.

The hard part maybe rounding up the different spices used in this recipe. Fortunately quite a few markets now carry Indian and Asian spices. Try Whole Foods or there is always Amazon or online spice stores like Penzey’s. If you have an Indian market or Middle Eastern market in your area, definitely check them out. Spices are usually very reasonable. Once you have the spices the rest is easy peasy.

Marinate the chicken pieces in the yogurt, cut cauliflower and potatoes into chunks, season and scatter them on a sheet pan. Place chicken pieces in between the vegetables and bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes. Voila’ dinner is ready to be served. With my first bite, I could taste the tang of the yogurt and the kick from the chili and jalapeño. The cauliflower and potatoes, with their crispy edges and smooshy (is that a word?) centers, were the perfect foil to the chicken. I can’t wait to make this again. Added bonus, JUST ONE PAN to wash, uh-huh, uh-huh.

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Sheet Pan Magic (Chicken Tikka)

Ingredients

Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

For the chicken

1 3/4- inch piece of ginger peeled and minced
4 cloves of garlic minced or pressed
1 fresh green chili jalapeno, seeded and minced
1/2 cup whole-milk yogurt
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon chili powder or cayenne or adjusted to taste
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
3/4 teaspoon granulated sugar
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon garam masala
2 pounds chicken thighs drumsticks or halved chicken breasts (skin-on, bone-in)

For the vegetables

3 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/4 pounds about 4 medium Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled if desired, cut into 3/4-inch chunks
1 3/4 pounds 1 small or half a very large head cauliflower, cut into 3/4-inch-wide florets
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds

To finish, if desired

A few thin slices of red onion
Lemon wedges
Salt
Dollops of yogurt optional
A few tablespoons roughly chopped cilantro parsley or mint, or a mix therof

Instructions

Combine ginger, garlic, fresh chili, yogurt, salt, spices and sugar in a bowl. Add chicken pieces and toss to coat evenly. Let marinate for 15 minutes or up to a day in the fridge.
Heat your oven to 425°F.
Line a half-sheet (13×18-inch) with foil and coat it with 1 T of olive oil or use parchment paper.
Add potatoes, cauliflower, salt, cumin and remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil and toss together until evenly coated. I like garlic so I added a minced glove of garlic as I was tossing the vegetables.
Remove chicken from marinade and leave excess behind.
Nestle the chicken pieces among the vegetables throughout the pan.
Roast in oven for 20 minutes, then toss the potato and cauliflower to ensure they’re cooking evenly
Return the pan to the oven for 10 to 20 minutes more (i.e. 30 to 40 minutes total roasting time) until chicken and vegetables are cooked through.
If necessary remove chicken from pan and turn broiler on to crisp the potatoes and cauliflower
While it roasts, if you’d like to use the lightly pickled onion rings that we did on top, which added a nice tangy fresh zip to the dish, separate the rings and toss them in a small bowl with a squeeze of lemon juice and a pinch of salt. Set aside until needed.
When chicken and vegetables are cooked, top with garnishes of your choice.
I used thinly sliced red onions, cilantro, mint and diced scallions to garnish.