Archives for February 2009

Cold Soba Noodles

February 18, 2009 by greg Leave a Comment

Soba – ?? – Japanese buckwheat noodles

I love cold noodle salads. It doesn’t matter what kind of pasta for me. All that matters is that it is flavorful. Japanese cuisine is so amazing in it’s complicated simplicity. The Japanese like attention to detail and have a knack for combining just a few flavors with textures so that everything is clean and harmonious. Soba noodles have a subtle earthy buckwheat flavor that you really don’t want to completely cover up. So, this noodle salad I made combines a few Asian influences that highlights the buckwheat rather than snuffs it out. It is so easy to prepare and so satisfyingly flavorful.

I boiled the soba just until tender but still slightly al dente. You don’t want them soft and soggy. I rinsed them with cold water to chill and let them drain. I mashed up one large clove of garlic finely. I thinly sliced a few green onions. These were mixed with the noodles along with a splash of toasted sesame oil, a splash of soy sauce, a splash of rice vinegar and a few drops of nuoc mam Vietnamese fish sauce. No, I didn’t measure anything. I just added what I thought would be enough. You don’t want the noodles swimming in dressing. You just want to coat the lightly with these flavorful ingredients. That’s it! Plate it up and enjoy. I think the garlic flavors are better if you let the salad chill for a few hours before eating.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: cold soba noodles, salad, soba

Ancho chili chili

February 16, 2009 by greg 4 Comments

I like chili. I like any kind of chili. I like the Texas chili that is just chilis and beef. I like New Mexico green chilis with pork. I like the midwestern hamburger, beans and tomato soup like substance that we call chili here. Everyone has their favorite. I don’t have one. I make it different every time depending on what I am feeling on that day.

So, here I was on a cold day last week looking in my cupboards for some dinner inspiration when I spied a bag of dried ancho chilis. I thought, why not make a midwestern/Texas/whatever chili fusion with ancho?

So, I started with about 10 chilis that were seeded and crumbled up.

I poured some boiling water onto the chilis and left them to soak for a while. For a bit more heat I also added a couple tablespoons of Korean red pepper flakes along with the anchos.

When everything was well hydrated I added about 5 cloves of garlic, salt, pepper and a chopped onion and whirred it up in my blender to make a smooth paste. I added some lemon juice and more water until it was the right sauce like consistency. My blender was almost full to the top.

To season the dish even more I toasted some spices. Here is my favorite mix of cumin seeds, corriander and a few cardamom pods. These were ground up in a coffee grinder.

For the beef I used a round roast and cubed it up into about 3/4 inch cubes.

To make my chili, I started by searing the beef in a hot pan with some salt and pepper for a few minutes, just until it started to get brown on the bottom of the pan. Next went in the ground spices. I then added the chili sauce to the pan and covered it. This was simmered for about three hours until the beef was drop dead tender. To finish the chili I added chopped carrots and a can of kidney beans and cooked it until the carrots were tender.

My chili was served over white steamed rice with a side of 5-minute artisan wheat bread. The ancho flavor was wonderful.

Filed Under: beef Tagged With: ancho chili, chili

Shabu Shabu at home

February 16, 2009 by greg 8 Comments

It has been almost a year since I’ve made shabu shabu at home. Although I did report about a wonderful shabu shabu dinner I had in Japan in December. I actually made this meal a few weeks ago but am just getting around to blogging about it now. Please forgive me for being so late with my offering.

Shabu shabu is traditionally made with beef that is sliced paper thin. The name comes from the sound the beef makes as you swish it back and forth with your chopsticks in a pot of boiling broth. This is a wonderful family meal where everyone gets to share in cooking the meal at the table. My sirloin is not as marbled with fat as is usual for shabu shabu. I have some lean grass fed local beef that is still flavorful but also much healthier for you. Since the beef is only barely cooked, the texture still comes out tender even without the fat.

Shabu shabu also requires that you cook vegetables in the broth after you eat the beef. Here are bean sprouts, enoki mushrooms, shitake mushrooms, carrots, baby bok choy and napa cabbage ready to be cooked.

The table is all set with my nabe pot on the burner.

Before we sat down to eat the shabu shabu I fried up some frozen gyoza and served them with a spicy chili vinegar sauce.

The pot is heating up.

I have been soaking this kombu in the pot of water for a few hours to flavor the broth. This was removed once the pot came up to boiling.

I served two dipping sauces for my shabu shabu tonight. The first has soy, vinegar, green onions and grated daikon radish.

The second sauce is made from sesame paste, soy and vinegar.

We’ve eaten the meat and now it’s time for the veggies.

After you have had your fill of meat and vegetables, the broth that has been flavored even more intensely by all the food being cooked in it is used to prepare noodles. These udon noodles were made from scratch and cut just before cooking.

The udon is cooking nicely.

Yum! Comfort food all the way. Perfect on a cold winter’s evening.

Filed Under: beef, Japanese Tagged With: shabu shabu, udon

Curried Cauliflower and Potato Soup

February 15, 2009 by greg 1 Comment

It’s like aloo gobi in a bowl. This curried cauliflower and potato soup turned out creamy and delicious.

Of course it starts with the spices. Toasting in the pan are cumin, corriander and cardamom.

These were ground up pretty finely into a spice mix.

Also flavoring the soup is some tumeric powder, mustard seeds, hing and (not shown) Madras curry powder.

Onions, garlic, ginger and a couple of medium potatoes (not shown) were cut up to be cooked with the cauliflower.

Here’s the big bad boy.

I first started with a hot pan and a couple teaspoons of oil. I added some mustard seeds and cooked them until they popped. First into the pan were the onions. Of course salt and pepper was added to season the dish at every step of the way.

The onions were followed by the garlic and ginger and after being sautéed for a couple of minutes the spices were added.

Next the cauliflower and potatoes.

Water was added to cover the vegetables.

Everything was simmered together until the vegetables were very tender.

A blender stick made quick work of puréeing the mixture.

Filed Under: Indian Tagged With: Aloo Gobi, Cauliflower, curry, soup

Potato and Spinach Frittata

February 15, 2009 by greg 2 Comments

I have not really made a frittata before and I sort of followed this recipe I found for my first one last night which called for adding beer to the mix.

The frittata, of course, starts with potatoes. I sliced about 6 good sized potatoes into 1/4 inch slices using my mandolin. These were tossed with one medium onion, some olive oil, salt and pepper.

This is a good 3 handfuls of baby spinach.

I took a large skillet and cooked the potatoes and onions in olive oil for about 5 or 6 minutes until they just started to get some brown color. Once things were getting to be pretty brown on the bottom of the pan I added about 1/2 of a bottle of a dark cream stout. In hindsight I should have used a light beer as the original recipe called for. The dark stout added just a bit too much bitterness to the dish and the dark color made the eggs in the end look dirty brown. Tasted good but certainly could have looked better.

After the beer was added the potatoes and onions were simmered with stirring every now and then until they were cooked through – about 10 minutes. I added a little water along the way to keep the pan from drying out and scorching. Once the potatoes were tender, the spinach was tossed in.

Immediately after the spinach was added, 8 beaten eggs were poured in and distributed evenly through the potatoes and the whole mess was topped with a cup of shredded cheddar cheese. This was simmered on the stove for just a few minutes and then placed in a preheated 450 °F oven with the broiler on.

After 6 or 7 minutes under the broiler, the eggs were set and the top was beginning to brown.

I garnished these simply with some green onions.

I have to say the frittata turned out pretty tasty and everyone in the family got to enjoy some!

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: frittata, potato