Thai Basil and Mint Shrimp Stir Fry

This is my idea of a perfect dinner.

Fresh, healthy, colorful, quick.   (With a twist of lime and a sprinkling of fresh herbs.)

Back at home in North Carolina following my quick trip to visit my family up north.   Arrived home to a sparkling clean house.   A good sign that my husband really whooped it up while I was gone.   I was happy.

Time to start doing some personal cleaning.   Need to get rid of all the excessive carbs and salt from my travel.   Since I consistently gain five pounds as soon as I set foot into a restaurant setting, I usually require some detoxification time, a little damage reversal.   I always feel a gazillion times better afterwards, so it is in everyone's best interest to support me in this.

Today's recipe is just what I needed.   I love shrimp.  They take about two seconds to make (okay, three minutes) and it all ends up being very light.   This one throws in some vibrant thai flavors that, along with my super clean house, made me a very happy girl.

And on an adventurous note, this recipe gave me a chance to conquer my fear of Asian Fish Sauce.   Perhaps, an irrational one, but a fear nonetheless.    Fear, no more.

Thai Basil and Mint Shrimp Stir Fry


Ingredients


2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon water
2 teaspoons southeast Asian Fish Sauce
5 teaspoons honey
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/2 medium red onion, cut into 1 inch dice
1 medium yellow pepper, cut into 1 inch dice
1 cup snow peas, trimmed
2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup torn fresh basil leaves
1/2 cup torn fresh mint leaves
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice

Preparation


Combine soy sauce, water, fish sauce and honey in a small bowl and set aside.

Heat wok on stove over medium high heat.   Add olive oil until hot (water droplets should sizzle when added).   Add ginger and garlic.   Saute for 30 seconds until fragrant.    Add shrimp to wok and stir fry for two to three minutes until just pink on all sides.   Remove shrimp with slotted spoon and set aside in medium bowl.

Add onion, pepper and snow peas to wok and stir fry two minutes until just browned.    Add soy sauce mixture to vegetables in wok and stir.   Add shrimp to mixture and bring to a boil for another minute until shrimp is lightly glazed.

Add tomatoes to wok and stir fry another 15 to 30 seconds until coated.  

Remove wok from stove and pour into serving dish.   Add freshly squeezed lemon, basil and mint to top and gently mix.    Serve immediately.

Recipe Source:  Adapted from Food Network.    Substituted honey for the brown sugar.  Substituted olive oil for the peanut oil.   Eliminated chili's and jalepeno.   Added additional garlic and snow peas.    Served with quinoa.

What is your 'go to' detox dish? 

Collards, (Bacon), White Beans and Quinoa

I could just feel the disappointment as the words came out. 

"What's for dinner?"

In hindsight, I might have approached it a little differently.   Perhaps a better sales pitch like one might sell broccoli to a kid.     But I went for it straightforward. 

"Collards.   Quinoa.   White Beans."

"Oh.   Do we have any bread?"   (Code for, "I'd like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich instead.")

"No really.   It's good.   You'll like it.   I put bacon in it."

Orange Scented Black Bean Vegetarian Tacos

I have a terrible record with oranges lately.   Love them, just can't seem to eat them fast enough.

January usually has me craving citrus.     A month when oranges are actually good and not those dried up flavorless versions you find during non-citrus months.  

I also have a small addiction for buying boxes of little cuties clementines.    (Whoever came up with the idea of little cuties is a marketing genius.)

So, this week, I found myself with an aging box of cuties and a bag full of fresh from the backyard oranges from a friend.    As if this wasn't enough, John arrived home from work with a gift box filled with perfectly wrapped Cushman honeybell oranges which we promptly taste tasted and declared to be some of the juiciest, sweetest oranges we've ever had.  

Roasted Red Pepper and Avocado Whole Wheat Pasta

Lately, you've been seeing a lot of baking showing up here on the blog.   There's actually a bit of method to my madness.  

I have always been one who expresses my creativity in the kitchen.   Helps relieve stress.   My zen time.   My husband views it as the opposite, affectionately referring to me as the 'little tornado'.    

I was thinking that maybe there was some truth in this observation.  Perhaps my cooking could use a little more precision.   Hence, all of the baking as of late.    As you know, following the recipe is pretty critical to achieving the end results.   Definitely requires focus.

(A minor, but surmountable, challenge for me as I've never been one to follow directions or play by the rules.    That said, it has been a wonderful learning experience and well worth the effort.)

Today's recipe is getting back to my roots, one of those random creations that actually turned out quite well, and I might add, is full of lots of healthy nutrients which for me, is most important.   Plus it contains so many of my favorite ingredients... what's not to love?  

Before you cringe at the combination of red pepper, avocado and lemon, it is actually very good. The avocado adds creaminess and the roasted red pepper and lemon add extra depth and brightness.   Top that with a little feta cheese and green onion... makes for a very striking and vivid presentation.


Roasted Red Pepper and Avocado Whole Wheat Pasta

Ingredients
2 roasted red peppers*, sliced and seeds removed
1 medium sized ripe avocado, pitted and quartered
juice of one lemon
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tomato, diced
2 teaspoons olive oil
fat free feta cheese
sliced green onion
1 pound whole wheat pasta (your choice, I used penne)

Preparation
1.   Boil water in large pot.    Add whole wheat pasta and cook until al dente.   Drain, reserving one cup of pasta water and set aside.
2.   Add roasted red peppers, avocado and juice of lemon to food processor.    Process until creamy and any lumps removed.   Set aside.
3.  In large skillet, heat olive oil on medium heat and saute garlic until fragrant, 1-2 minutes.    Add diced tomato, cook another 1-2 minutes.  
4.  Add reserved pasta to large skillet and toss with tomato and garlic until warm and mixed.  
5.  Add roasted red pepper sauce to skillet and toss until heated.    Add additional pasta water if needed to thin sauce.
6.  Serve with fat free feta cheese and sliced green onion.

*I roasted my own red peppers, but I think this could also work well with drained roasted red peppers in a jar.

Healthy, colorful and hearty enough for a cool winter's evening.    Comfort food with a creative twist.

What's your cooking style?    Creative, throw stuff together type?   Baking queen?   A little bit of both?

Simple Math: A Beginner's Guide to Turkey

"It's simple math dear."

Words not to be uttered in our house again.  I will also never reveal who said them.

How hard can roasting a Thanksgiving turkey be, really?

I mean, it is really just a big chicken, right?

My Thanksgiving holiday preparation was rolling along at an almost perfect clip.    Menu planned carefully in advance.   Shopping divided among stores and days.   Completed in a timely and organized manner.   Turkey ordered (early!) and picked up to rest gently in a chilled setting until it was time.

I even had a beautiful new roasting pan (thanks Aunt Bev and Uncle Frank!).    Graduated from the kind you have to pick up last minute at the grocery store.

My recipes carefully organized.    Cranberry sauce completed Tuesday night.   Green beans and brussell sprouts washed and trimmed.   Stuffing prepared.   Sweet potato casserole awaiting its final topping.  

All I had to do was flip on the Macy's Day parade, finalize my fantastic sides and dessert and whip out a fabulous turkey.   Really, how hard could it be?

I enlisted John to wash our new friend (we named him, but he shall remain nameless), remove the neck and gizzards (what are these anyway?) and pat him down and lay him to rest in his new pan.    Meanwhile, I chopped fresh herbs and rubbed them lovingly all over "him" (don't worry, the turkey... not John).

"So how long does this thing need to roast anyway?   Do we have a plan?"

"I don't know.   Couple hours.   Maybe 3 - 4.  We'll just keep checking the temperature.   With our new thermometer."

Forty five minutes in, our friend receives a sweet little turkey bath and a fine shield of tinfoil.    Feeling pretty good at this point.    Santa has made his appearance and we are rounding into Eukanuba dog show territory (am I the only one who actually watches this)?

Sides are positioned for final baking/sauteing/mashing.    Looking good.

"Do you think we should check the temperature?   You know,  just to make sure we're on track?"

"Sure.   Let's do that."

"Does this really say 190?"

Enter freak out panic mode.   Turkey overdone.   Nothing else ready.   First Thanksgiving as a married couple.   Ruined.  Forever.   Did I mention RUINED?   FOREVER!

"It's simple math dear.   Didn't we calculate the total time it would take based on the weight of our turkey?"

Fighting words.   Math was never a strong suit.   I rely on data.

"Well, I rely on data AND math. It's pretty simple."

Rapid change in plans.    We are no longer speaking.    We will finish the sides, clean up and sit down to a meal of cold turkey.    We proceed.

"I think it is time to carve the turkey now.   It has been resting for like, an hour and a half."

"Does this look pink to you?"

"Is that blood?"

"Stop poking it.  You are letting out all of the good juices."

"Does it really matter at this point?"

Unbelievably annoying.    We break out the red wine.   Things begin to look a little more promising.   No worries.   We'll just stick it back in the oven and hang out by the fire for a bit.    It is what it is.  

Dinner, when it finally all came together, some hours later, was unbelievably good.   Yes, we had a few starts and stops and moments of escalating tension, but in the end, it was a lovely meal.    We gave thanks for many things.   The turkey and (crack-like) dressing even made it into our post meal top three ranking of Thanksgiving dishes.

My advice for those preparing turkey for the first time (solo or with another non-expert) - It is never that simple.   There are so many factors involved.

I am convinced that this is another one of those situations where practice makes perfect.   I am looking forward to many more years of practice.

Wishing you and yours a Happy Thanksgiving weekend!  Filled with love, good food, good friends and family and whatever else your heart desires!

Homemade Pasta

And here we are.

Just like that.    October.  

All right.   So my question for you today is, have you tried your hand at homemade pasta?  

The mixing of flour and eggs and kneading and rolling and cutting by hand type all while making a glorious mess in your kitchen kind of homemade pasta?  

I'd so love to hear how it turned out for you.   But first, my story.

I grew up with my mom making fresh pasta at our kitchen table.   It was one of those weekend event things, usually in preparation for a dinner party with similarly Italian loving friends.    Or sometimes it was just for her family, when she wanted to give us a little extra special love.     It was always appreciated and I have fond memories of her having fun doing it, looking forward to the process and results.    I know this love for making pasta was amplified by many return visits to Italy, where, of course, they've got this down.

So by now you know that while I was in Rome, I spent a day in a chef's kitchen learning some tricks of the trade.   The highlight, for me, was making the pasta from scratch.   Despite having watched my mom do it, I never attempted it.    Fear, I suppose.   I know, dumb reason.

Our results from that class were so fabulous.   You could just taste the love mixed up in our dishes, made all the more better by getting to share them with new friends.  

With this as background, I decided to try and recreate my experience at home.    I have to tell you, I had built it up in my head for a couple months and I was pretty excited.  I had visions of delicately tossing the pasta by hand, perfect strands of pale gold, ready to jump into that boiling water and turn into something fabulous.  I had high hopes.  

First, I'll share the recipe.  Seriously, two ingredients.   Sounds simple, right?  

Fresh Pasta

Ingredients (serves 4)

4 cups all purpose flour, sifted first
4 eggs

Steps

On a cooking sheet, silpat type object or some other surface that is clean and can get a little dirty in the process, dump your flour into a small pile in the center.    Turn your pile of flour into a small volcano type object by making a deep hole in the center.   Be careful to leave a layer of flour at the bottom.

My Sad Looking Volcano

Crack eggs into the well in the flour.    With a fork, very gradually whisk those eggs into the flour.    Be patient with this process.   It is really meant to go slow with a very gradual taking of flour from the sides of your 'volcano' into the egg mixture.    Eventually you will get to a point where it the flour is incorporated and dough like mixture begins to form.     Keep going until you have everything incorporated.  I used my hands at the end to get everything in there.   It is also not an exact science, so you'll have to use a little personal judgment as to when to stop.   Don't let things become too dry (this is where practice and experience helps).

So now you have dough.

Dust a little more flour on your working surface and on a rolling pin and start rolling out the dough.    You can also do this in a pasta machine if you have one.   After you roll it out, fold it over and start rolling again.    Keep repeating this process until you achieve the right level of pliability (you will get a feel for this as you go).   When 'ready', begin rolling out your dough until very thin, almost transparent.   I found this almost impossible, so my advice is just to keep going and get it as thin as you can without tearing it.  

Do as I say, not as I do.   I wouldn't exactly call this transparent.  

When ready, you can begin cutting your dough into thin pasta resembling shapes.   I prepared for this by dusting my work surface with a little cornmeal and the top of the pasta sheet with a little cornmeal.   This will help prevent things from sticking.   Roll your dough very gently until you have something that looks like a jelly roll.    From here, you can begin slicing the ends off, each slice producing a new strand of pasta.    Cut as thin as you possibly can.   Once you have all of your slices, gently open them up and toss them lightly with cornmeal again and lay them out on a surface to rest.   Let them 'dry' for a couple of hours in the open air if you can.  

Comparing this to our version from class up above makes me giggle. 

Now you are ready to make the pasta.     Get some water boiling in a large pot.    Add your pasta to the boiling water.    Stir in a tablespoon of salt.   Stir often to prevent from sticking.   Taste your pasta after 3 or 4 minutes to see if it is done (it should be!)    Drain your pasta and use as you see fit!


Okay, having made this, I am now truly convinced that pasta making is an art that requires skill, practice and lots of love to perfect.  I now also understand why my mom got so into it.   She too wanted to reach that level of culinary achievement.  

She also had a pasta maker which I truly believe is necessary for my novice self.  I just do not possess the arm strength to roll out the dough to the perfect thinness.   I really did try.   And tried.   And tried.   It just didn't happen.   Our pasta was 'thick' and 'chewy' (not in a good al dente way).  

It wasn't perfect, but it was made with lots of love and determination, and this found its way into the end product.    Kind of like life, I think.    You get out of it what you put into it.  

And guess who's getting a pasta maker as a wedding gift?   Yup, so next time I'm here pontificating about homemade pasta, we may have a slightly different story.   Practice makes perfect, but I think strong arms, or a little machinery, will help.     I am very much looking forward to my next trial.

I'd love to hear your stories.   Successful attempts?   Not so successful?   The real question is... did you have fun with the process? 

Ciao.

Mexican Corn Cakes with Shredded Pork

Some days just call out for party food.   Minus the party.

I'm having one of those weeks.  

I don't know if it is the heat or the sharp realization that my wedding is now less than three months away and I'm still casually checking off things on the list.    Well, casually, until I started to panic a tiny bit.    I so don't want to be 'that' bride.    In fact, this was a week where I've questioned, yes, out loud, for the umpteenth time, why on earth we didn't just elope in Italy?    Sigh.

We're so beyond that point now.   BUT...  I suppose this entitles me to a minor breakdown once in awhile. You know the one way venom spewing kind where you kind of feel like you are having an out of body experience and wonder to yourself (internally of course) how you could be annoyed at this man who has done absolutely nothing wrong.   But it doesn't matter, because he just happened to be on the receiving end when the stars aligned and the timing was just right.   He's so good to me.

Note to any family or friends reading this, it's okay, I'm really okay now.   No intervention needed.

Anyway, I'm just a little stressed.   Anxious.   Whatever you want to call it.   And hot.  

It is time for a little fun.   I am done with the temporary insanity bridezilla thing.

Looking at all of the gorgeous pictures in my enormous collection of cookbooks always relaxes me.       So I picked up a lovely Martha book and told myself that Martha would never be acting like me and it was time to pull it together and make something nice and fun and summery.    Sort of an apology and a party all in one happy dish.

I found this recipe in Martha Stewart's "Dinner at Home" and made very few changes.   It is fantastic.   It made us both very happy.    Next time I make this, I will make party size version by downsizing the corn cakes.   Truly perfect party food.  Fun, colorful and really really good.    Kind of like summer comfort food.    

I don't know if this is southern or mexican or southwestern or what, but I do know it is fabulous.    Plus it worked.    Little miss sunshine is back... for the moment.

Mexican Corn Cakes

1 and 1/2 cups masa harina or cornmeal
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup feta cheese
2 cups free corn (2 large ears worth)
3/4 to 1 cup warm water
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 ripe avocado, halved, sliced
Tender Shredded Pork (recipe to follow)
1/2 cup sour cream
2 ripe tomatoes, cut into thin wedges

Mix together masa harina, flour, baking powder and salt.   Stir in cheese and corn.   Keep stirring and add in the water, 1/4 cup at a time until the mixture begins to hold together.

Heat oil in large skillet (cast iron if you have it) until hot but not smoking.    Form corn patties using 1/3 cup mixture.   They should be about 1/2 inch thick.   Repeat forming 8 patties total.  

Fry in two batches, turning once, until golden brown, 4 or 5 minutes per side.    Transfer to paper towels.    Top with avocado, shredded pork, 1 tablespoon sour cream and tomato wedges.   Garnish with cilantro if you'd like.    I ended up topping this with green onion.



Tender Shredded Pork 

1 pound pork tenderloin
4 cups chicken stock
2 small onions, finely chopped
1/2 jalepeno chile (I left this out)
1/2 bunch cilantro
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1 dried bay leaf
coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

Add pork, stock, half the onions, jalapeno, cilantro, cumin, bay leaf and 1/2 teaspoon salt in medium saucepan.    Boil.   Reduce to simmer.   Cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the pork reaches 138 degrees.   This takes about 10 to 15 minutes.   (Note, mine took longer and still was too pink when I removed it, so I chopped it all up and added it back to the simmering liquid for another two minutes.   Perfection.)

Heat broiler.   Remove pork from liquid and cut into 2 to 3 inch long pieces.   Transfer to baking sheet.  Shred and add in remaining onion and mix in butter and oil.   Season with salt and pepper.   Broil pork until golden brown, 5 to 7 minutes.   Serve warm.

Seriously good.    The pork was juicy and full of warm flavor.    Not greasy.   The corn cakes were actually light.  I was afraid they'd be heavy, but they were light, a little crispy on the outside and bursting with freshness with the corn and feta tucked away inside.    Bright and lush accents with the sour cream, avocado and tomatoes.  A great dish.

I know I shouldn't use food as comfort, but after this weeks temporary craziness, my little party for two worked and that's all that matters!