STEAK SAUCE
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STEAK SAUCE

Ingredients

  • tablespoons  unsalted butter
  • 2   garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 teaspoons  onion powder
  • 1 teaspoon  pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon  salt
  • 2 teaspoons  soy sauce

First

Melt butter in 8-inch skillet over medium-low heat. Add garlic, onion powder, pepper, and salt and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.

Pour all but 1 tablespoon butter mixture into bowl and let that cool slightly, about 5 minutes, save to mix in hamburger meat.

From America's Test Kitchen

Then:

  • 2 tablespoons  tomato paste
  • 2/3 cup  beef broth
  • 1/3 cup  raisins
  • 2 tablespoons  soy sauce
  • 2 tablespoons  Dijon mustard
  • 2 tablespoons  balsamic vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon  Worcestershire sauce

How:

Add tomato paste to skillet and cook over medium heat until paste begins to darken, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in broth, raisins, soy sauce, mustard, vinegar, and Worcestershire and simmer until raisins plump, about 5 minutes. Process sauce in blender until smooth, about 30 seconds; transfer to bowl.

Image from katedeering.com

 

 

Cuts of meat, I know I always have to ask where did it come from

 

butchering-beef

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Bahn Mi Pork Tenderloin Sandwich

A common craving for our readers is for ethnic, spicy fare, and these Vietnamese-style sandwiches fill the bill. You can prepare the pork and the mayonnaise mixture (steps 3 and 4) up to a day ahead. Assemble these Bahn Mi sandwiches up to four hours ahead, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate. Cooking Light 2008

This was very good but Lyn and I still like the Bahn Mi-Style Turkey Burger better,

Ingredients: Serves 8

  • 1/2 cup shredded carrot
  • 1/2 cup grated peeled daikon radish
  • 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
  • 2 teaspoons sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

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  • 3 tablespoons chili garlic sauce (such as Lee Kum Kee)
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar

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  • 1 (1-pound) pork tenderloin, trimmed
  • Cooking spray (I just rubbed with olive oil)
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

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  • 3 tablespoons fat-free mayonnaise
  • 2 (20-inch) baguettes (about 8 1/2 ounces each)
  • 16 thin cucumber slices (about 1 cucumber)
  • 16 cilantro sprigs
  • 1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions (about 2)
  • 1 seeded and thinly sliced jalapeño pepper

How:

Combine the first 5 ingredients; cover and let stand 15 minutes to 1 hour. Drain.

Preheat oven to 400°.

Combine the chili garlic sauce and 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar; stir well.

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Place pork on the rack of a small roasting pan or broiler pan coated with cooking spray. Spread 2 tablespoons chili garlic mixture evenly over pork; sprinkle the pork with 1/2 teaspoon salt. Bake at 400° for 20 minutes or until a thermometer registers 155° (slightly pink). Cool; cover the pork, and refrigerate.

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Combine mayonnaise and remaining chili garlic sauce mixture; cover and refrigerate.

Cut each baguette horizontally, cutting to, but not through, other side using a serrated knife. Spread mayonnaise mixture evenly on cut sides of baguettes. Thinly slice pork; divide pork evenly between baguettes. Top evenly with carrot mixture. Arrange 8 cucumber slices and 8 cilantro sprigs on each baguette. Top evenly with onions and jalapeño.

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Press top gently to close; cut each baguette into 4 equal servings.

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Sweet Potato Pancakes
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Sweet Potato Pancakes

Lyn wanted some sweet potato puffs or tater tots and because it was not on the list we forgot. We also forgot where we saw them. The list is becoming very important these days for two reasons, it keeps our impulse buys to a minimum “not on the list, not in the carriage” (In theory at least) and recently if it is not on the list we tend to forget about it. Hey, we talk as we shop and we forget things, that is until we are putting away things. That’s Ok because shopping for food ideas is one of our favorite things so we tend to hit a lot of grocery stores on the weekends. So I thought quickly and came up with this as a substitute and served with my Herb Marinate flank steak. She gave these a thumbs up on her second one.

 

Ingredients:

I eyeballed most of this

  • 1 Sweet potato or yam (this one was white) grated
  • 1 tablespoon (estimated) fresh flat leaf parsley chopped fine
  • 1 Shallot finely minced
  • 1 egg beaten
  • ¼ cup of grated parmesan cheese – depends on how finely grated could be more or less.
  • Salt and pepper to taste- I went light on the salt and then sprinkled more on them when they were done.

sweet potatoe pancake

How

Micro wave the potatoes for 3 minutes and let cool, when cool enough to touch where it will not cook the egg then proceed.

Combine all ingredients

Heat small amount of canola oil in pan

fry them up

Form pancakes and flatten on pan

Brown on each side turn when necessary.

Sweet potatoe pancakes

I did it in batches so as not to lose the heat of pan which would have been steaming

I kept the ready ones on a pan on cookie rack in low oven to keep crisp

eat

BTW – these made a great topper in my Dill Chicken sandwich the next day.

Missi’s Dill Chicken with Tomato-Dill Relish
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Missi’s Dill Chicken with Tomato-Dill Relish

I’ve been relatively quiet these days, outside cleanup has taken a lot of my time just getting outside without bundling up is great. Lyn and I took a road trip, the ultimate test of the Prius, and gave a new meaning to a tank full of gas trip. We drove from Milford MA to Washington DC on about 10 gallons of gas about 58 MPG. Spent more of tolls than gas, heck spent more on what they pass off  as food at service areas than on gas. You get closer to DC and it is rural and you soon come to the realization that there is nothing at the exits and the service areas are the only choice.  Traffic gods were nice to us on the way down but on the way back they laid out one traffic jam after another. Amazingly enough after all these years of together we can still stay in a confined place together for long periods of time. Anyway we made it to DC and Missi even gave up her parking spot for us she guided us in over the phone as we drew close. It was a wonderful visit laid back and comfortable, individually they are great, together they are pretty perfect. Missi gently pounded the chicken as the 4 of us along with the cat and dog sat around the kitchen talking. Ever notice that the kitchen is the hang out room?  This chicken immediately made it to my favorite list and yesterday we tried to duplicate, did a good job but I just could not duplicate that missing ingredient “Missi Love”.

Simple and delicious

Ingredients

  • 4 (6-ounces) skinless boneless chicken breast halves
  • 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1/4 cup chopped dill
  • 3 tablespoons finely chopped shallot
  • 1 tablespoon grainy mustard
  • 1 tablespoon white-wine vinegar
  • 1 pint cherry tomatoes, quartered

ingredients

How:

Prepare grill for direct-heat cooking over hot charcoal (medium-high heat for gas)

Pound chicken 1/4 inch thick between 2 sheets of plastic wrap with flat side of a meat pounder or with a rolling pin.

pound chicken (1)

Whisk together oil, dill, shallot, mustard, and vinegar in a large bowl. Set aside 1/4 cup.

vinergarette

Sprinkle chicken evenly with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper, then add to dill mixture, turning to coat.

tuen to coat

Toss tomatoes with reserved dill mixture and salt and pepper to taste if you want.

quarter tomatoes add sauce

toss

Grill chicken, turning once, until just cooked through, 3 to 4 minutes total.

grill

Serve topped with relish.

cover

palted

dill chicken

I like this time of year
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I like this time of year

Spring brings a new kind of depth to the woods in the back

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The colors start in the front

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and the official garden in honer of Mom who smiles in appreciation from above start to fill the deck

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Every year Lyn and I say next year it will just be a small deck garden and by Mid June there is not a empty space on the railing.

Let the gardening begin.

The herbs are coming up in the yard garden and the grape tomatoes like thier new home.  They say there might be a frost on Tuesday so I will cover those up.

Yes, I like this time of year.

Pork Carnitas in a Pita Pocket
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Pork Carnitas in a Pita Pocket

With the warm weather sneaking in everyone started to talk about ribs, pulled pork and the likes. I love pulled pork, saw this recipe and pinned it for another time. Well today my last day of vacation was that another time. I am so glad I did, I did to have any taco or tortillas but we did have some pita pockets worked just fine. I will warn you this is a slow cooking meal and the smell is like a brisket on a cold winter day it fills the air and it is hard to keep your stomach quiet.  I made the double mistake of doing some outside choirs then walking into the house.

 Ingredients

  • 4 pound boneless pork butt, fat trimmed and cut into 2 inch cubes
  • 1 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 3/4 tsp. pepper
  • 1 tsp. ground cumin
  • 1 onion, peeled and halved
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 tsp. dried oregano
  • 2 Tb fresh lime juice
  • 2 C water
  • 1 medium orange, juiced and keep the spent halves

ingredients

How

1.  Adjust oven rack to lower middle position and heat to 300 degrees.  Combine all the ingredients in a large Dutch oven, including the spent orange halves and juice.  Bring the mixture to a simmer over medium-high heat, uncovered.  Once it simmers, cover pot and transfer it to the oven.  Cook until the meat falls apart when prodded with a fork, about 2 hours.

cut into 2 inch chunks add all ingredients to dutch oven

2.  Remove the pot from the oven and turn on the broiler.  Use a slotted spoon to remove the meat from the pan and place it on a large foil-lined jelly roll pan.  Remove and discard everything from the pot except for the cooking liquid.  Place pot over high heat on the stove and boil until thick and syrupy, about 20 minutes.  You should have about 1 C of liquid remaining when it is finished.

simmer for about 2 hours break into 3 eaqual parts

3.  While the liquid is reducing, use two forks to pull each cube of pork into three equal sized pieces.

reduce to about 1 cup break into 3 eaqual parts

Once the liquid has become a syrup, gently fold in the pieces of pork into the pot.  Try not to break up the pork any further.

fold meat back into sauce

Taste and add additional salt and pepper.

4.  Spread the pork back onto the foil lined pan and evenly spread the meat around so there is a single layer of meat.  Place the jelly roll pan on the lower middle rack of the oven and broil until the top of the meat is well browned and edges are slightly crisp, about 5 to 8 minutes.

remove from pot to cookie sheetUsing a wide metal spatula, flip the pieces of meat and broil the other side until well browned and edges are slightly crisp, 5 to 8 minutes.  Serve immediately in a tortilla with all your favorite toppings.

Serve2

I intially thought it would be too dry but that was not an issue this was moist and tender no topping required.

Note: I squeezed some extra lime juice on it just before serving.

Bread Pizza with Avocado Slices
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Bread Pizza with Avocado Slices

Next to work is a bakery called Ray and Dicks and they make a great bread or sheet pizza. The sauce is heavy tomato paste base and when slightly warmed it melts in your mouth. My wife does not care for it likes the Portland style sheet pizza better. I will buy one for work every once in a while freeze in single servings of the left overs to reheat and top with whatever is left over or in the frig that hits me when I open the door. This week it was in celebration of avocado season.

 

So this is simple reheat top and eat!

 

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Continuing with my avocado celebration how about a turkey rollup

Sorry this post was supposed to go up Monday but with the excitement  of the new season you know….

Ingredients

  • Avocado sliced
  • Store roasted turkey sliced thin
  • Romaine lettuce shredded
  • Cranberries
  • Thinly sliced tomato
  • Whole wheat wrap

 

How

Layer lettuce, cranberries, turkey, tomato and avocado roll tightly

Cut the wrap in half, or don’t bother–it’s ready to eat

2013-04-13_12-54-26_524

sorry forgot to take picture took this with my camera

How To Roll Up A Wrap

Picture borrowed from Entre Fogones con Mimi!

how-to-roll

 

You can make an open-ended wrap or a closed one.  And everyone seems to have their own best way to wrap a wrap.  This is how I wrap a wrap.

Smear sandwich cranberry within an inch of the perimeter of the tortilla.

Layer makings in a wide swath down the center of the tortilla and to within a couple inches of the left and right edges—kind of a rough rectangle.

 

To make a closed end wrap, fold both the right and the left edges over the goodies and roll from the bottom.  To make an open-ended wrap, fold only one edge.

 

If I make a closed end wrap, we cut the wrap in two at an angle and eat half at a time, or share with my honey.

 

If the tortilla is a little stiff and hard to wrap and keep closed, try microwaving the tortilla under a paper towel for 15 to 20 seconds.  It will be more pliable

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Minced chicken Wrap with Avocado Drizzled with Balsamic Vinegar
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Minced chicken Wrap with Avocado Drizzled with Balsamic Vinegar

I don’t know about you but I just love the flavor of Hoisin sauce not sure what it is about it but it is soooo good. I had a craving for it the other day and when I took the boneless chicken breast out of the freezer I kind of thought that a lettuce wrap would be a good thing to make. I included the avocado because I am still celebrating the beginning of avocado season. Anyway this is a dish that is from the gut one never knows what is in the frig or cabinets and what tickles the taste buds until you see it.

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Ingredients

  • 1 boneless chicken breast
  • Pinch of salt
  • 1-2 tablespoons Hoisin sauce
  • 1 small shallot diced finely
  • 1 carrot thinly julienned
  • A few asparagus (depending on size) thinly julienned – another spring crop delight!
  • Small handful of raw cashews – minced
  • Romain or Boston lettuce leafs

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How

Pound the chicken breast to about ¼” thickness and dice roughly

Pan sear in a drizzle of olive oil until lightly browned about 2-3 minutes over medium heat.

Remove to cutting board and dice finer pieces

Return to pan add shallot cook about 1 minute

Add carrot, asparagus and cashews and cook for about 1-2 minute add the hoisin sauce and stir to coat.

Spoon into lettuce and enjoy.

I just sliced the avocado and drizzled with my 18 year old balsamic vinegar

Oh I used the leftovers in my salad that I brought for lunch today!!

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Similar post

Lettuce Wrapped Pork with Pine Nuts in a Hoisin Sauce ( stevesacooking.com)

 

 

lee-kum-kee-hoisin-sauce-85-oz

Hoisin Sauce

Q. I’ve heard hoisin sauce is like a Chinese barbecue sauce, but I’m not sure if that’s true. What exactly is hoisin sauce?

A. In some ways, hoisin sauce is like a Chinese barbecue sauce: it’s used in Chinese cooking much like barbecue sauce is used in American cooking.

The Chinese use hoisin sauce as a glaze for meats and as a condiment. Hoisin is a reddish-brown sauce that’s salty, sweet, and spicy.

hoisin-sauce

Hoisin sauce is made from soybean paste, garlic, chilies, and various spices, and can contain sugar and vinegar.

Hoisin sauce is also sometimes called Peking sauce, because it’s used in making Peking duck.

Hoisin is a great glaze for meat and fish. A little dab of hoisin sauce also gives extra flavor to stir-fry and noodle dishes.

 

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