The Barefoot Kitchen Witch

Country Bob's All-Purpose Sauce

A couple of months ago I received an email from a gentleman named Al Malekovic. 

He represents a small company called (as you may have guessed) Country Bob's, Inc. 

They make sauce. 

Three kinds:  All-Purpose, Spicy, and Barbecue.  They also make a Seasoning Salt.

Anyway, Mr. Malekovic asked if I'd like to try a sample of their All-Purpose sauce and write about it on my blog.  He offered to send me two bottles of the All-Purpose sauce, and I asked if one of them could be the spicy version, because we are all about spicy here.

Anyway, he kindly agreed to my request, and shortly after I received a package containing the two bottles of sauce.

Bill and I opened them and tasted the All-Purpose Sauce first.  It's very tasty - a tangy-sweet sauce great for - as advertised - steak, burgers, chicken, fish - whatever you'd like to add it to.  It would probably make a great dip as well.  One of the things Bill and I both picked up on (before we read the lable) was molasses, which adds a dark, rich sweetness unlike any other sweetener.  Yum.

We also tasted a bit of the Spicy version, and it was just that - the original sauce, but kicked up a few degrees with a very pleasant heat.  Not blow-the-roof-off-your-head heat, but a good, solid, attention-getting heat.  Also yum.

Also included in this package was a little brochure that included a few recipes we might like to try.  (They include recipes on their website as well, and they also have a cookbook.

I decided to try out their Country Bob's Meatloaf, since I hadn't made meatloaf in years and I thought it would offer a good chance for the All-Purpose Sauce flavor to strut its stuff.

And it did.  The meatloaf was moist and tangy and delicious.  Alex especially, our 6-and-three-quarters-years-old son, LOVED it.  LOVED IT.  Couldn't get enough of it.  First he had a serving of meatloaf, and then he decided it would be a great idea to make a sandwich out of another huge slice of meatloaf.  He ate that, too, except for the bread crusts.  Priorities, you know.  After that, he rolled away from the table, full and contented and lapsed into a happy food coma.  Just kidding about that part.  But he ate a LOT.

My only concern, actually, was there seemed to be a lot of liquid in the pan, and the meatloaf didn't hold together as tightly as I'd expected.  That could be my fault, maybe I didn't use the right percentage of leanness in the hamburger.  Maybe it should have baked longer?  I don't know.  Like I said earlier - I haven't made meatloaf in years.  It didn't affect the taste - which was lovely - just the appearance.

More recently we (finally) tested the Spicy All-Purpose Sauce.  This time we had a few more people seated around the table.  I made a cocktail sauce of Spicy sauce, ketchup, horseradish, and lemon juice.  Very simple, and a great accompaniment to the grilled shrimp my husband cooked that night.

So all-in-all, a very tasty experience was had with the Country Bob's sauces.

If you'd like to check out their website, go here (or click on any of the other links scattered throughout this post).  And while you're there, you can click on the link on the top right corner of the site to sample a free bottle of the All-Purpose sauce yourself! 

Cha Yip Dahn (Tea Eggs or Marbled Eggs) with Goo Yuet Fun Yim (Roasted Pepper and Salt Mix)

 

This particular recipe is from Charmaine Solomon's The Complete Asian Cookbook.  I think I've referenced this book before.  It's HUGE and covers the cuisines of Bangladesh, Burma, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Laos, Malaysia, Pakistan, The Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam.   The Tea Eggs, of course, are from China.

I chose this one over another recipe I found in a different book simply because it was the faster of the two.  I would like to try the other one as well, just to see how the eggs compare in terms of coloring and flavor.  These eggs taste faintly of the tea and the five spice powder - warm and earthy and sweet/spicy.  I figure the longer the eggs soak, the deeper the color and deeper the flavor.  I'll definitely make these again and soak them for a longer period of time.  I'll let you know how they turn out.

But for now...

Cha Yip Dahn

Serves:  12-18 as part of a selection of hors d'oeuvres

6 eggs

4 cups water

3 tablespoons tea leaves (I used 9 tea bags)

1 tablespoon salt

1 tablespoon five spice powder (I - horrors - was nearly out of five spice powder, so I added a bit of each of the components and a lovely anise star to round it up to the required tablespoon.  Give or take a pinch of something.)

 

Put eggs in a saucepan, cover with cold water and bring slowly to the boil, stirring gently (this helps to centre the yolks).  Simmer gently for 7 minutes.  Cool eggs thoroughly under cold running water for 5 minutes. 

Lightly crack each egg shell by rolling on a hard surface.  Shell should be cracked all over, but do not remove.

Bring 4 cups water to the boil, add tea leaves, salt and five spice powcer. 

Add cracked eggs. 

Simmer, covered, for approximately 30 minutes or until shells turn brown.  Let eggs stand in covered pan for 30 minutes longer (overnight if possible). 

Drain,  

 

cool,

 

and shell. 

 The whites of eggs will have a marbled pattern on them.  Cut into quarters and serve with a dipping sauce.

 

So, what to dip them in?  The recipe for tea eggs is in the "Snacks and Appetizers" section of the China chapter.  And, quite helpfully, the facing page has a list of several dipping sauces and other condiments traditionally served with the snacks and appetizers in the chapter.  I looked through and saw many that looked tempting, but I ended up opting for the simplest - the Roasted Pepper and Salt Mix.

All you need are two tablespoons of black peppercorns and three tablespoons of salt.  

First you roast the peppercorns in a dry pan for about five minutes - "until pepper gives off a pleasant smell." 

And it did - it smelled...spicy and earthy and dark and intense and exotic.

Then, after you let the peppercorns cool a bit, you grind them up in a morter and pestle and then combine with the salt. 

Ta-da!   

 

And then all that's left is to arrange the egg slices on a plate and pour the pepper and salt mixture into a bowl.

   

 

   

Enjoy!

Wild (and Tame) Mushroom and Walnut Pate

 

Oh yes, it's yet another sampling from Peggy Fallon's book Great Party Dips. 

 

You know, the book I'm giving away to some lucky random entrant in the giveaway? 

That book.

So far I've also tried out the "Rockin' Moroccan Salsa" and a bright pink version of the "24-Carat Caviar Dip," both of which were very yummy.

This wild mushroom concoction was actually the first recipe that caught my eye, but because the recipe instructs that you chill it for at least 4 hours, it wasn't the first one I made.  I wanted faster results. 

Anyway.  The recipe calls for an assortment of wild mushrooms, but Ms. Fallon points out that if all you have available are crimini mushrooms, then just use them.  I bought some mixed wild mushrooms, some baby bella, and I still had a package of Hen of the Woods mushrooms in my fridge that our friend John had foraged some time ago so I made sure to include them as well.

 

In total, you need a pound of mushrooms.  I used a bit more because I wanted to use a few nice looking mushrooms as decoration, as you can see in the photo at the top of this post.

The rest of the ingredients include a half cup of walnuts...

  

4 tablespoons of unsalted butter (though if you wanted to, you could sub olive oil instead.  But for flavor purposes, I think butter works best with mushrooms.  Just my two cents.)

 

A quarter of a cup of chopped shallots...

 

Half a teaspoon of dried thyme leaves (or one and a half teaspoons finely chopped fresh thyme)

 

Half a teaspoon of salt, (sorry, no picture.  I'm trying to break my slightly dotty habit of photographing EVERY single ingredient.  Part of the recovery process is to gradually eliminate one more ingredient with each successive recipe I post.  Eventually there won't even be words either.  Just post titles.  It's not easy.  I'm just taking it one day at a time.)

2 tablespoons of cognac or brandy...

 

A teaspoon of soy sauce...

 

And four ounces of cream cheese, at room temperature, cut into four pieces.

 

Okay, now once you've got everything assembled it's time to start cooking.

The directions tell you to toast the walnuts on a pan in a 325 degree oven, but I did mine in a cast iron skillet on top of the stove.  Whatever works for you.  You want them to be "lightly browned and fragrant."  Just don't let them burn - they don't taste quite so good if that happens.

Next up, the mushrooms.  Ms. Fallon's directions say to chop up the mushrooms first, before cooking.  I didn't - I kind of skipped over that part.  I'd say chop them, though.  They cook faster and release more of their liquid that way.  You don't want them watery.

Anyway, melt the butter - yes, all of it - in a large skillet over medium heat.  Then add in the mushrooms, shallots, thyme, and salt and cook, stirring occasionally, "until the shallots have softened and the mushroom liquid has almost all evaporated, about 7 minutes."  If I had chopped my mushrooms, they'd have cooked more quickly. 

 

 At this point, add in the soy sauce and the cognac and cook a little longer.  Shut off the heat and let the mushrooms cool a bit.

Now, I just want to interrupt myself a bit and note that this mushroom prep is pretty similar to a duxelle, which is basically a mixture of finely chopped mushrooms and shallots and herbs and wine or sherry (sherry goes nicely with mushrooms), cooked slowly for a long time, until the moisture has cooked off and you have a very fragrant, thick, soft mass of sublime mushroomy deliciousness.  It's most famously used as part of the filling for Beef Wellington, but you can use it in anything you want - stuffings, in omelets, spread on toast, or just eaten with a spoon. 

Back to the dip.

When the mushrooms have cooled a bit, place them and the walnuts in a food processor and "pulse until finely chopped."  (OH!  WAIT!  Before you do this, remove a selection of nice looking mushroom slices - THIS must be why, subconsciously, I didn't chop the mushrooms before cooking.  I knew I'd need some of them whole - and set aside for later.) 

 

 

At this point you add in the cream cheese and process until the mixture is mostly smooth but still has some texture left from bits of walnut and mushroom. 

 

   

Scrape the whole thing into a bowl and chill for at least four hours, or you could, as Ms. Fallon suggests, line a loaf pan or other mold with plastic wrap, press the pate in, cover and refrigerate.  Later, you can unmold it onto a bed of lettuce or whatever strikes your fancy.  The recipe makes about two and a half cups of pate.

I was poking around in my pantry trying to decide what to use for the pate mold.  I have an assortment of loaf pans, cake pans, ring molds, etc...but what I finally decided to use were four little ice cream bowls I bought last spring or summer.  I think the bright colors appealed to me - a nice contrast to the mushroom color.  And the shape is nice, too.

I lined each bowl with plastic, and then - remember those nice mushroom slices I told you to set aside?  Here's why.  I arranged a couple of mushrooms at the bottom of each bowl before spooning in the mushroom mixture.  Brown/gray pate needs something to fancy it up, no matter how good it tastes. 

 

 

As you fill your mold(s)/loaf pan/etc, smooth the top and cover with plastic, and then place in the fridge for at least (per Ms. Fallon) four hours. 

When you're ready to unmold, simply pull back the plastic, place an inverted plate over the unwrapped side, and flip the whole thing over in one graceful motion.  Gently pull the mold or loaf pan off, remove the plastic, and - voila! - a pretty little mold of mushroom pate.

I brought the first one to dinner at Joe, and Emily's house (our nephew and his fiance) on Saturday.  Our kids had been there all day while Bill and I had our taxes done and then enjoyed some fabulous sushi at Sakura in Providence, and then we were invited back to Joe and Em's for dinner.  I brought a bowl of the pate and a baguette.  All the adults liked it, anyway.  Alex, as expected, refused to try it.  (Mushrooms (ick) + dip (ick) = NO WAY!)  Julia tried it but didn't really like it either.  She likes mushrooms, but maybe the slight flavor of the cognac and soy sauce spoiled it for her.  Who knows.

I gave another bowl to our friends across the street.  And we had the other two.

Now - a sort of update to all of this - the recipe is in the "cold dips and spreads" section of the book, but I was thinking last night that it would probably taste good warm, too.  So I nuked a bowl of it (plastic wrap removed first) for a minute or so on 70% power, stirred it up a bit to even out the temperature, and tried it.  And I have to say I like this better warm.  Bill did, too.  And I think if I ever make it - or something similar - again, I'll serve it warm. 

But don't go by what I say - make a batch and try it for yourself - try it cold, try it warm, and see which way you prefer.  Either way, it's very tasty!

Frighteningly Pink Caviar Dip

 

This is a variation on one of the dip recipes in Peggy Fallon's book Great Party Dips.  As you may or may not know, I'm hosting a giveaway featuring this very same book.  To enter, you can click here.

Anyway.  The recipe in the book is called "24-Carat Caviar Dip" and calls for the use of golden whitefish caviar.  The store I went to didn't have it - they only had red and black, so I went with the red.  The recipe also calls for a quarter cup of chives.  I picked the wild chives growing in our back yard and only got about an eighth of a cup, so I used diced shallot for the other eighth of a cup.

 

And, instead of the sour cream called for in the original recipe, I used plain greek-style yogurt.

Here are the quantities I used for my scary variation:

1  1/4 cups fat free Greek-style yogurt

2 oz cream cheese, room temperature

Dash of cayenne pepper

2 oz red lumpfish caviar

1/8 cup minced fresh chives

1/8 cup finely chopped shallot

And all you do is combine the yogurt and cream cheese and cayenne pepper until it has a smooth consistency (I used the food processor),

and then gently fold in the chives and shallots

and the caviar.

 

It looks so dramatic initially...

 

before you stir it.  But then the red mixes with the white...

 

and you end up with something Barbie might serve at her next cocktail party.

I'm guessing this might be why Ms. Fallon chose the golden caviar for her version.  It looks classier.

But don't let the girly color scare you away (if you are normally frightened by girly-pink foods) - the texture is thick from the Greek-style yogurt and cream cheese, and if you like salty little crunches of caviar, you'l be more than happy with the result.  Just close your eyes and you'll be fine.

Cover the bowl and put it in the fridge if you're not going to serve it right away.

Serve with whatever you'd like - I found yummy little rice crackers with flecks of nori that went really well with the caviar dip...til we ran out.

Impromptu Eggrolls

Sometimes I take photos of something I'm making, but then get busy with other posts and forget (or neglect) to post some of the older recipes and photos.  Like with these eggrolls.  I made them in...early June.  Okay, so that's only about 5 weeks ago.  Could be worse, I suppose.

Anyway, in an attempt to rectify this, I'm trying to focus on some older recipes and process photos, just so I can put them to bed, so to speak.

I made these eggrolls in early June, with some leftover Farmers' Market produce and other odds and ends in the fridge.  If I remember correctly, I was originally going to make some kind of pasta dish with the vegetables...and then I thought pan seared dumplings would be fun.  And then I ended up making eggrolls.  I had the eggroll wrappers in the fridge, and a package of tofu, so I guess it was fated.

And because this was a "clean out the fridge" sort of creation, I can't give you exact amounts for the filling.  So this post isn't so much a recipe to follow as it is inspirational (I hope).  So let's go.

The whole thing started with the rest of the mizuna and mibuna I'd bought at the Farmers' Market the previous Friday.  I'd used most of each bunch, but there was still a significant enough amount left that I felt I should DO SOMETHING with it.  I figured I could chop it up and saute it or something....

I had a package of firm tofu...I had those eggroll wrappers...I had some black beans from a can - must have used some for something and these were what was left...I had onion and garlic...some mung bean sprouts...and part of a serrano pepper that was turning red and begging to be used.  Oh, yeah, and I had some mushrooms.

I sauteed the onion and garlic and mushrooms in some oil, and added the cubed tofu and continued to cook til most of the liquid was either absorbed or cooked off, and the tofu was just starting to turn golden.  I scraped all that into a large bowl, and then steamed the chopped greens in the same pan til they wilted nicely and gave up most of their liquid.  I added them, along with the black beans, chopped serrano, and sprouts to the bowl and mixed the whole mess together really well. 

 

I know.  "Mess" is a pretty appropriate term, isn't it.

Next, I got out my package of eggroll wrappers and started the assembly.

Ta-da!  You just need to remember to dip your finger in some water and run it around the perimeter of the wrapper so that you can seal the edges as you roll them up. 

I put about an inch of oil in a pan and started heating it, and while the temperature climbed, I made some dipping sauces.

And yes, I admit it, I made three sauces just so I could make use of this nifty little plate I bought at Pier One that same day. 

The first one I made was a blend of soy sauce and wasabi paste with some chopped chives on top.

Second sauce was simply a blend of sesame oil and rice vinegar with some roughly chopped cilantro leaves on top.

(Chives and cilantro came from our garden, by the way.)

And the third sauce - well, I wanted something thicker and creamier (clearly), so I blended nonfat yogurt with some hot pepper jelly - that orangey red blob on top is some of the jelly.

I must say, the set of sauces in their snazzy little platter was fun to photograph.

Yep, that was fun.  Back to work.

Once the oil had reached a temp of between 350-360 F, I started frying the eggrolls a few at a time.

As they came out of the oil, I kept them dry in the warming drawer of my oven until all the eggrolls were cooked.

And then I assembled them around the sauces and brought them downstairs to share with Bill. 

They were really good - with an occasional blast of heat from the chopped serranos that kept things exciting.  (It's important, in a marriage, to throw an occasional culinary curveball, you know.  Serrano peppers make the heart grow fonder.  Or something like that.)

So next time you have a variety of potential ingredients all hanging out in your fridge, and you know you could make some sort of pasta dish or a salad with them, but you just don't really feel like going those routes, get out your eggroll wrappers and stir up a few dipping sauces and...(get ready for it)

 

...fry something new! 

(Irritating pun intended.)

Google Hot Sauce - from Food 2.0, by Charlie Ayers

If you can't stand the heat...

...then this may not be the sauce for you.  From the book Food 2.0, by Charlie Ayers, this is not your run-of-the-mill hot sauce.  With seventeen ingredients, not counting water, this is a sauce that will set your mouth on fire and your taste buds tingling.  Sweet, tangy, smokey and spicy.  What's not to love?

Above is a photo of a breakfast taco I made this morning - scrambled eggs, sauteed mushrooms, sauteed broccoli rabe, melty Edam cheese, and a healthy drizzle of Google Hot Sauce right down the middle.  Forget the coffee - THIS will wake you right up!

I made the sauce Tuesday evening, and Bill and I tested it out on fish tacos - pan-fried tilapia, baby spinach leaves, fresh guacamole (with cilantro and chives from our garden), and Edam.  Edam is a nice, mild, soothing sort of cheese - an excellent foil for the super-assertive hot sauce.

Now, we like heat.  We eat things spicy.  But if it's just heat, and no real flavor, then we're not impressed.  Sure, our eyes may water and we may sneeze fire, but heat without flavor is just culinary window dressing.

So we tried the sauce.  And loved it.  I knew, when I started cooking, that it would be good.  Just the assortment of ingredients involved...and then the variety of smells that drifted through my kitchen while the ingredients simmered on the stove.  And I wasn't wrong.

Thank you, Charlie Ayers, for concocting this addictive potion. 

Google Hot Sauce is good stuff.  And it's simple to make, too. 

Here, I'll show you.

But first - a few words of caution.  And I'm sure you've heard it before, but it's worth repeating.  Unless you enjoy pain, wear gloves or use something (I used paper towel) to hold the chilies while you chop them.  These babies are HOT, and if you touch the insides with your bare fingers, you're setting yourself up for some serious pain in some form later on.  Touch your eye after handling a habanero, and you'll wish you were chopping onions instead.  Really.  So be careful.  And wash your hands well after you're done, even if you were taking precautions. 

Okay?  Now on to the sauce.

First - the ingredients:

1 cup fresh habanero chilies, roughly chopped  (I think I used about 12 or so)

1/3 cup fresh jalapeno chilies, roughly chopped (I goofed - bought serranos - similar, smaller, and hotter)

1 dried chipotle, crushed

2 T tomato paste

1 T minced ginger

1 T tamarind paste

1 T pomegranate molasses (I used plain ol' Grandma's)

1  1/2 T apple cider vinegar

1/3 cup fresh orange juice

4 tsp unrefined light brown sugar (I used turbinado)

juice of one lime

1 sm carrot, finely diced

1 small onion, finely chopped

1 celery rib, finely chopped

2 T Worcestershire sauce

1 T fish Thai fish sauce

3 T good drinking red wine (I used Robert Mondavi (may he rest in peace) 2006 Private Selection Pinot Noir)

And now - the complicated instructions:

Place all the ingredients in a heavy-based pan.  Add 1/2 cup water. 

Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat, cover, and simmer very gently, stirring occasionally, until rich and thick and the vegetables are very soft, about 45 minutes.

I took notes while this cooked, so I could describe the range of smells as the sauce simmered..."first - vinegar...then smoke and sweet...then mirepoix along w/the smoke/sweet...fruity, fiery, tangy."

Puree in a blender, then pass through a strainer  (oops - didn't do that, so I ended up with a few seeds and a bit of texture).  Add a little more water to thin to the desired consistency (didn't need it). 

Store in a clean, sealed jar in the refrigerator.  Serve to fire up any of the recipes that call for chili sauce, or use on tacos, crostini, wraps, or even peanut butter sandwiches!

Or to fire up your breakfast. 

* To enter the giveaway, featuring a hardcover copy of Food 2.0 and a nifty lunch bag, go here!

Food 2.0 - Another Cookbook to Give Away!

DK Publishing sent me an advance copy of this book several weeks ago, and I've been reading and re-reading the recipes ever since.

I've got about 20 pages marked with mini post-it note things, and I think I put off writing about it because I couldn't narrow down the recipes to one or two to focus on.

The official background of the book is here, on the DK Publishing website.  To be honest, I had vaguely heard of Charlie Ayers, but didn't know anything about him.  Turns out he cooked for The Greatful Dead before he was hired to feed the growing number of Google employees. 

I know now that food-wise, we'd get along pretty well.  His emphasis is on locally produced, organic ingredients and lively, intense flavors from a wide variety of cuisines.

The one and only recipe that I was actually puzzled by was his recipe for fish tacos.  He calls for fish sticks.    Now, I have used fish sticks in fish tacos, but it just seemed really odd, in a book espousing the virtues of local, fresh foods, that rather than suggesting some possible kinds of fish to use, depending on what part of the country you're in, he suggests fish sticks.  Maybe it's because not everyone has access to fresh caught local fish...but still. 

I've decided, since I couldn't narrow the recipes down, I figure over the next week, while the giveaway is running, I'll try out a variety of recipes and post about them, so you can sort of peek at the food before entering the contest, if you want.

Oh - and I should also mention - in addition to a copy of the book (hardcover and in color, not a paperback advance copy in black and white), the publisher is also giving the winner a handy dandy lunch bag, so you can tote your healthy, locally grown lunch with you to work every day.

So, to get things started, and to give you an idea of the sort of thing Food 2.0 has to offer, I'll be posting (separately) the recipe for "Google Hot Sauce."  It's got heat, and layers and layers of flavor.  It packs a punch, but does so with style.

In the meantime, to enter this giveaway, here are the rules:

First, to enter, I'd like to hear from you in the comments section of THIS post, do you shop at farm stands or farmers markets on a regular basis?  What's available in your part of the world?

Second, the contest will end in one week - Wednesday, May 28th, at midnight, eastern standard time.  Any entries posted after that time - or anywhere other than in the comments section of THIS post - will not be considered.

Third, this will be a random drawing - I'll have the old faithful Random Integer thingy pick the lucky winner.

Any questions?  Okay, then - let the contest begin!  Oh - and I'll be posting the "Google Hot Sauce" in a bit later this evening.

Red Thai Curry Paste

I've had a few requests for this recipe, an unfortunately I don't have photos of the whole process, but next time we make this I'll take pictures and add them to this post.

Last year Bill made a big batch of this when he picked peppers from our garden.  Then he froze it in an ice cube tray, popped the cubes out and stored them in a ziploc bag in the freezer.  Same thing with the Green Thai Curry Paste.  Both are tremendously flavorful, as is true of Thai cooking in general.  Lots of fresh, intense ingredients.

Anyway, both recipes are from Keo's Thai Cuisine, one of our favorite Thai cookbooks.  (There's also a link to it and a picture of the cover in my list of Books about Food and Cooking.)

Anyway, most recently Bill made some for a meal of spicy fish tacos on a recent Brew Day.  (He brews beer.  All-grain batches.  BIG batches.)  To serve with the fish, he warmed the paste in a wok with some extra ginger and garlic and added part of a can of coconut milk to give it a creamy texture.  It's EXCELLENT stuff, if you like your heat to have flavor.  That's the thing, in my opinion.  If it's just hot, well, it's boring.  But if it's hot and has tons of flavor, then I'll eat it by the bowlful.  Really.  It's that yummy.  Burns your mouth raw, but in a pleasant way, if you know what I mean.

So, for those of you who have asked about it, here's the basic recipe:

Red Curry Paste

15-20 red chili peppers, seeded
2 stalks fresh lemon grass, coarsely chopped
5 shallots, thinly sliced
1 clove garlic
1 T coarsely chopped kha (a type of ginger - you can use regular
ginger)3 kaffir lime leaves, chopped
1/4 cup Chinese parsley roots, chopped (cilantro roots, if you
can get them. Or use the stalks)
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp ground caraway seeds
1/2-1 T fish sauce or 1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp shrimp paste (optional)
2 T oil

Combine all the ingredients in a food processor and process
until smooth. If a mortar and pestle is used, then add oil
after all other ingredients are ground. Refrigerate in a glass
container. Paste keeps well for several months.

And, a few notes from me...

*  We actually didn't have any more red chili peppers left from last summer, so Bill rehydrated about 10 dried red thai chiles in water, and he may have used some green fresh ones and also part of a red bell pepper just to add more color.  It was plenty potent.

*  You can freeze lemon grass, too, which is what we do - we'll buy a bunch of it and freeze it so we always have it available.  If you've never seen lemon grass, you can go here for a good illustration and description of the plant and its uses.  Also, in the upper right corner of the page, there's a picture of kaffir lime leaves.  We also buy these to freeze.  They keep forever (it seems) and impart a distinct citrus+something else flavor and aroma to Thai dishes.

*  Fish sauce is another staple of Thai cooking.  To learn how it's made, you can go here.  Basically, it's a liquid salt element, but the flavor is more than just salty.  And don't be put off by the rather powerful aroma.  Once it's in the food, sauce, paste, whatever, it melds with the other elements of the dish and becomes less...um...pungent.

*  Shrimp paste.  Yep, paste made from tiny, dried, fermented shrimp.  A little goes a very long way.  Again, it adds saltiness to whatever you're making, but like the fish sauce, it is not simply a salt substitute.  Once again, it adds depth of flavor to the mix.  And it's also fun to dare nephews to taste a teaspoonful of it blind and watch the expression on their face change.  At least that's what Bill likes to do.  He's a fun uncle.

Anyway, there you are. 

If you want to make fish tacos and have this as part of the experience, remember to combine it with some coconut milk to make it more of a sauce, rather than a paste.  We used cod, but use whatever kind of fish (shrimp is great, too) you want to.  We also included, as other possible additions to the tacos, the following:  guacamole (it's a nice soothing balance to the heat from the curry paste), cole slaw (goes nicely with the fish), rice (to absorb some of the liquid) and, for those that wanted it, some shredded cheese. 

There's nothing more fun than sitting around the table with a bunch of guys, watching their eyes water and noses run (okay, I try not to watch that part) as they bravely pile more red curry paste/sauce on their fish.  I really don't know why it didn't have the same effect on me.  But it didn't.  And I ate plenty.  Just lucky, I guess. 

But anyway, go make up a batch of this and try it out.  It's DELICIOUS. 

 

Garam Masala

Garam Masala is a blend of spices individually toasted to release and enhance both flavor and fragrance.  There are many varieties of Garam Masala - sweeter, hotter, and so on.  You can change the amounts of ingredients to suit your own taste.

Below is "No. 1 Garam Masala" from Charmaine Solomon's The Complete Asian Cookbook.

Here's what you'll need:

4 T coriander seeds

2 T cumin seeds

1 T whole black peppercorns

2 tsp cardamom seeds (measure after removing pods) (I used about 3-4 tsps of the pods, and that gave me the 2 tsp of seeds after toasting) 

4  3-inch cinnamon sticks

1 tsp whole cloves

1 whole nutmeg

(Top row:  coriander seeds, cinnamon sticks, cumin seeds.  Middle row:  black peppercorns, whole nutmeg, whole cloves.  Bottom:  cardamom pods.)

In a small pan roast separately the coriander, cumin, peppercorns, cardamom, cinnamon and cloves.

As each one starts to smell fragrant, turn on to plate to cool. 

After roasting, peel the cardamoms, discard pods and use only seeds. 

Put all into electric blender and blend to a fine powder.

Finely grate nutmeg

and mix in. 

Store in glass jar with airtight lid.

Corned Beef Project: Day 8 - The Condiments

We're getting close to the finish line.  A week ago I prepared the brine according to the directions by Bruce Aidells in the March issue of Bon Appetit Magazine.  This past Monday I turned the pieces of brisket over in their brine for the other half of their 8-day brine soak.  Tomorrow night I'll be cooking it - and an assortment of vegetables, including, of course, cabbage.  I've also purchased a pre-packaged, pre-brined corned beef brisket to cook at the same time, for comparison purposes.  We've got some people coming over for dinner to help with the whole eating part of it.

Today I made the two sauces provided in the same article.

First up -   

Horseradish Cream

1 cup sour cream

6 tablespoons prepared white horseradish

1 T finely chopped dill pickle

1 T chopped fresh chives or green onion tops

(Alex volunteered to pick early chives for me from our garden.  He didn't pick enough the first time, so I sent him back for more.  Still not enough, but I didn't want to send him back again, so I added some minced shallot instead.)

Whisk all ingredients in small bowl to blend. 

Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours.  Can be made 2 days ahead.  Keep refrigerated.

Pretty easy, right?

And here's the second one:

Guinness Mustard

(oops - I just realized I goofed this one up a bit.  See my italics below.)

1/2 cup coarse-grained Dijon mustard

2 T regular Dijon mustard (not paying attention - I used half a cup)

2 T Guinness Stout or other stout or porter (I used a porter that Bill made)

1 T minced shallot

1 tsp golden brown sugar

Whisk all ingredients in small bowl to blend. 

Cover and refrigerate.  Can be made 2 days ahead.  Keep refrigerated.

(The additional Dijon doesn't seem to be a problem - it tasted pretty good when I tried the mixture.)

And so those are the recipes for these two condiments.  I also have a selection of mustards, including a cranberry mustard that is particularly yummy.  So I think I'm all set in this department.

Green Sauce

I love this sauce.  It may have been part of the first meal Bill cooked for me...or maybe the second.

Anyway - it comes from Betty Crocker's Mexican Made Easy - published in 1993, I think it may be out of print now.  Bill bought his copy for $2.99 at a Building 19 store an eternity ago.

Anyway, from Chapter 2 in the book - "Sizzling Sauces and Sides" - the description for Green Sauce is as follows:

                "This is a suave chile sauce, slightly chunky and rich with cream"

Suave?  I don't know about that.  There's definitely some heat to it, though.  I love it.  It's great as a dip, and we also used it in tacos made from a slow-grilled pork tenderloin, and it was fabulous that way.

What you'll need:

1 large onion, finely chopped (about a cup)

4 poblano chiles, roasted, peeled, seeded and finely chopped (about 1/2 cup)

1 jalapeno chile, seeded and finely chopped

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

2 T vegetable oil

1/2 cup whipping (heavy) cream  ( * we only use 1/4 cup)

1/4 tsp salt

Now.  If you've never roasted peppers, here's probably the easiest way.  Heat up the broiler in your oven, and put one of the oven racks on the highest level possible.  Put your peppers on a row in the pan so that when you place the pan in the oven, the peppers will be directly under the broiler flames.  Once the broiler is ready, put the pan with the peppers (it's sounding like a tongue twister in the making) on the top rack and broil for a few minutes, until the skin chars.  Pull the pan out, flip the peppers over, and char on the other side.  They should look like this -

or even more charred.  Oh, and all that gunk on the pan?  Just soak it for a while, and it'll come right off.  Or you could be smarter than we are and cover the pan with foil first.  Take your pick.

Anyway, when the peppers are nice and black on the outside, place them in a paper bag, close the top, and let them sweat a bit.

When they've sweated and cooled, you peel the skin off.  It's helpful to do this at the sink, so you can rinse the bits of peel away as you work.

Another option, if you've got a gas stove, is just to set the peppers (if they're big enough) on the burner over a flame.  Turn them periodically to get a nice even char all over.  Then proceed with the sweating and so forth.  Just - you know, don't go off and so something else while the peppers are on the fire.  It could be bad.

Okay, now, once you've got everything peeled and chopped and ready to go, place the onion, chiles, and garlic in the oil over medium heat in a small pan, stirring occasionally, until the onion is tender - about 8 minutes. 

Stir in the cream and salt. 

Ta-da!  How simple is that?  Especially in my house, where Bill does all the work and I just taste the finished product and give my professional opinion.

And my professional opinion is always "You should have doubled the recipe!"  (Yield is 1 1/3 cups)

So hey, if you're looking for a change from salsa for your Super Bowl party on Sunday (if you're having one, or going to one.  Or if you might be hungry all by your self) - make this instead! 

Green Curry Paste

This is from the book Keo's Thai Cuisine, written by Keo Sananikone and published in 1986.

Green Curry Paste

15-20 fresh small Thai green chili peppers

4 stalks fresh lemon grass, coarseley chopped

3 shallots, thinly sliced

1 clove garlic

1 tablespoon coarseley chopped kha (kha is Thai ginger - we use the fresh common ginger you can get in the produce section of the grocery store)

1 tablespoon coarsely chopped kra-chai (kra-chai is "Lesser Ginger" - again, we use common ginger here)

5 kaffir lime leaves, choped (you can get these in Asian markets.  The flavor is unique and very much a part of Thai cuising)

1/2 teaspoon chopped kaffir lime rind (if we don't have kaffir limes, we use regular limes)

1/2 teaspoon ground coriander

1/2 teaspoon ground caraway seeds

1/2 to 1 tablespoon fish sauce or 1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)

1 tablespoon sugar

1/4 teaspoon shrimp paste (you can find this in asian markets)

2 tablespoons oil.

Combine all ingredients in a food processor and process until smooth.  If a mortar and pestle are used, then add oil after all other ingredients are ground.  Refrigerate in a glass container.  Paste keeps well for several months.

(Bill put the mixture in ice cube trays to freeze it, instead of in the fridge, and then popped out the cubes when they were frozen and kept them in ziploc bags in the freezer.)

Thai curry sauces are made by adding coconut milk to the curry paste.  The amount of paste determines how hot and spicy your sauce will be.

Roasting Garlic

Two weeks ago I bought about twelve heads of garlic, intending to roast them in olive oil at the same time as some of the batches of tomatoes I'd been doing, but I didn't get to them until today.

Usually I peel some of the outer papery layers off and then old the head of garlic on its side and cut in half about midway between the stem end and the tip.  Today I mangled the first one and decided to try something different.  So I just broke apart the garlic heads and put them all in a foil-lined cake pan.

Then I drizzled a good amount of olive oil over the garlic cloves and stirred them around so all were well coated. 

Then I covered them with a sheet of foil, tucked the edges from the bottom sheets of foil up around the edges of the top layer, to tuck all the garlic in nice and snug, and popped them into a 300 degree oven (alongside three more pans of tomatoes!  It's our best tomato year ever) for about an hour or so. 

To be honest, I didn't time them.  I never do, really.  I go by smell and by touch.  Periodically I'd take the pan out and press on the bigger garlic cloves to see if they were squishy yet.  It might have taken longer - and of course oven temperatures can vary as well, so - use the squish test for best results.  You want 'em squishy.

When they're ready, take the pan out and let them cool until you are comfortable handling them.  The aroma - if you love the smell of roasted garlic - and if you don't, you're probably not going to do any of this - but like I was saying - the aroma is swoon-inducing.  If you've been in the kitchen the whole time, you might not realize just how deliciously garlicy this will smell, so go outside for a few minutes, pick some tomatoes, water a plant or something, and THEN go inside and take a good inhale.  Like I said - swoon-inducing.

What you want to do next is get a little bowl or container for the garlic, and another bowl for the papery parts.  Set the pan and these two bowls near your sink, because your fingers will get very oily during this process and the papery bits will stick to you annoyingly, so you'll want to be able to rinse often.

Next - you take one of the heads of garlic and hold it over the keeper bowl and squeeze the roasted garlic out.  Now - a couple of tips here.  I've found that it's best (if the papery part hasn't split already) to hold the clove with the stem end (the little flat end) down and the outer, rounded, convex side of the garlc toward you.  The garlic tends to squirt out at the bottom, and if the paper is going to split on the side anywhere, it seems to do that on the concave side.  At least, that's what happened tonight when I was doing it.  And I have the oil-splashed tee shirt to prove it.

The papery part goes in the other bowl (the slop bowl is what I call it), and every so often you'll notice the paper sticking to your fingers, so you'll want to run your hands under the water from time to time.

When you're done, you'll have a bowl of soft, golden-brown, roasted garlic that glistens with olive oil.

Voila!  Now, if you have time (I didn't tonight - I'd done enough for one night), you can dump all this into a food processer or blender and start pureeing it, drizzling olive oil in if needed to make a thick paste.  Then you could divvy it up into some small containers, freeze all but one, and keep that remaining one in the fridge.  Use a spoonful here and there - in a pasta sauce, smeared on bread, on your oatmeal...okay, I haven't tried that one, but who knows, it might be really good. 

Oooh - this is really good - get a baguette, slice it into about 1/2 inch thick rounds, lay the slices out on a sheet pan and put them in a 400 degree oven for about ten minutes.  Flip them over and put them in for another ten.  While they're baking, take some of your roasted garlic and whisk it in a bowl with some more olive oil, and maybe some salt and pepper.  When your little slices are dried out a bit, spread some of this garlicy oil mixture on each one and put them back in the oven for another five minutes or so.   

And then, just to drive yourself right over the edge, serve these garlicy baguettes with a slice of room temperature brie and maybe some apple slices or grapes on the side. 

Or skip the fruit, and don't invite anyone over, and just eat the whole thing yourself!!!

Just kidding, of course! 

I'd never do something like that, and I'm sure you wouldn't either.   

Certainly not.