ATK The Best Meatballs

 

I actually agree with America's Test Kitchen's title for this recipe; these are seriously the best meatballs I have ever eaten. There was so much flavor from the bread and the parmesan and then the texture! What a delightful crunch and moist, tender centers. Wow.

The book says this texture comes from the bread paste, which is called "panada" in Italian cooking. "It helps bind together the meat and flavorings. We found that fresh bread did a better job...The buttermilk also has a subtle, tangy flavor, making these meatballs the absolute best we've ever tasted."

2 slices white sandwich bread (I used sliced sourdough)
1/3 C buttermilk
3/4 pound ground beef (I skipped the pork and did 1 pound of beef)
1/4 pound ground pork
1/4 C grated Parmesan cheese, plus extra for serving
2 Tbsp minced fresh parsley
1 large egg yolk
2 garlic cloves, minced
Salt and pepper
Vegetable oil

Remove and discard the crusts from the bread, then tear the bread into small pieces. Mash the bread pieces and buttermilk to a smooth paste in a large bowl, using a fork. (I eventually got in there with my fingers because the sourdough was pretty resilient.)

Add the meat, Parmesan, parsley, yolk, garlic, 3/4 tsp salt, and 1/8 tsp pepper to the mashed bread. Stir the mixture gently until combined and uniform. Gently form the mixture into 1 1/2" round meatballs. You'll get about 12.

Oil a skillet (I used a cast iron). Heat over medium high heat until shimmering. Add the meatballs in a single layer and cook until nicely browned on all sides, about 10 minutes. Transfer the meatballs to a paper towel lined plate and discard the oil left in the pan.

Place the skillet with any browned bits over medium heat and add the tomato sauce. Bring to a simmer, scraping up any browned bits. Reduce the heat to low and add the meatballs. Continue to simmer, turning the meatballs occasionally, until heated through, about 5 minutes.

While the meatballs are simmering, it's a good time to boil your spaghetti.

Makes 12 meatballs, serves 4, from The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook

ATK Skillet Lasagna

Reminds me of a home cooked gourmet Hamburger Helper. I used to love that stuff as a kid. Cleanup is pretty simple since it only uses one pan (a 12-inch nonstick skillet with a tight-fitting lid) on the stove so you don't even need to turn on the oven during those hot summer days. The cheese doesn't get nice and bubbly like when you bake it, but the pasta comes out tender and the sauce is rich and sweet. It's really pretty good and overall much easier than baked lasagna.

1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, minced
2 C chopped spinach
Salt
3 medium cloves garlic, minced
1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
12 oz Italian sausage, casing removed (can also buy sausage not in casings)
10 curly-edged lasagna noodles, broken into 2-inch lengths
1 can (8 ounces) tomato sauce
1 C mozarella
Grated Parmesan to taste (optional)
Ground black pepper
1 cup ricotta cheese
3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

Pour tomatoes with their juices into 1-quart liquid measuring cup. Add water until mixture measures 1 quart.

Heat oil in large nonstick skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Add onion and 1/2 teaspoon salt and cook until onion begins to brown, about 5 minutes. Add the spinach.

Stir in garlic and pepper flakes and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add sausage and cook, breaking up the meat into small pieces with a wooden spoon, until no longer pink, about 5 minutes.

Scatter pasta evenly over meat but do not stir. Pour diced tomatoes with juices and tomato sauce over pasta. Cover and bring to simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring occasionally (which really means pressing the pasta back into the sauce and kind of poking around), until pasta is tender, about 20 minutes. (The sauce should look watery after 15 minutes of cooking.)

Remove skillet from heat and stir in the mozarella. Season with salt and pepper. Dot with heaping tablespoons ricotta, cover, and let stand off heat for 5 minutes. Sprinkle with basil and remaining 2 tablespoons Parmesan. Serve.

 Serves 4 to 6, from America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook

ATK Pan-Seared Steaks

 

You can prepare a sauce with the browned bits in the pan but this recipe is amazing in all its glorious simplicity.

In general, you can facilitate a well-caramelized exterior and crust by doing the following:

1. Pat the steaks dry

2. Get the pan really hot (you can tell it is hot by the smoking oil)

3. Use a pan that is big enough so the steaks have enough room to sear

Boneless beef steak (8 ounces) 1 to 1 1/4" thick, trimmed--I used a rib eye steak

Salt and pepper

1 Tbsp vegetable oil

Pat and dry with paper towels, then season with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a 12" skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. Brown the steaks on the first side, about 4 minutes.

Flip the steaks over and continue to cook to desired doneness, 4-6 minutes. Transfer the steaks to a clean plate, tent with foil, and let rest for 5 minutes.

Serves 1, from America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook

Playing with food

Ground Pork Steamed Rice Cake

I like the idea of using actual rice instead of that boxed rice flour to make...rice cake. Hm. Why does this seem like a novel idea? The spices are ok, but not the combination I was looking for. Maybe it was because I didn't add MSG.

Of course, MSG is optional but it's also the best tasting thing on earth. I didn't use it because I couldn't convince myself that it's worth putting myself through horrible migraines and blacking out. I gotta work on my persuasion skills.

1/2 tsp oil
5 cloves garlic, crushed
150g ground pork

¼ C dried deep fried chopped garlic
¼ C dried deep fried chopped shallots
1 T soy sauce
1 tsp sugar
¼ tsp licorice powder
½ tsp five spices powder
1 tsp white pepper powder
(1 tsp msg)

300 g white rice
300 ml water

450ml water
1 1/2 T sugar
1 T salt
1 ½ T msg

Additional dried garlic and shallots to taste

Heat oil in a pan and sauté garlic. Brown the pork. Add the dried garlic and shallots and cook for 5 minutes or until fragrant. Add the rest of the seasoning to white pepper powder and sauté for 5 minutes, turn off heat.

Combine rice and 300 ml water in a blender and blend until grains are broken down and the liquid looks milky. Try to break up all the little pieces to make sort of a paste. This took my blender a while to do. In the book, it looked like they were using some intense grinding machine to make it look like a pasty horchata. I couldn’t get it quite like that.

Bring 450 ml of water to a boil, dissolve the sugar and salt in the boiling water. Then, pour rice mixture into the pot, whisk until thickened. Use every bit, even the little grains that were hiding on the bottom.

Pour into a metal pot without handles. I used a metal pot that could fit inside my bamboo steamer. Equally wonderful alternatives include, a big pot with a little bowl turned upside down to make a stand in water, or a steamer. Sprinkle the rice with ground pork and add dried garlic and shallots on surface.

Bring water to a boil in a steam pot and depending on thickness of the mixture, steam about 40-120 minutes. I steamed it for about an hour and it still looked wobbly. It does firm up once removed from the steamer.

Charmoula Pork Chops

Lamb is not universally accepted so I opted to use pork. Still worked really well! Heard you can also use shrimp, salmon or chicken. Whatever meat you choose, you can also cook in a hot, lightly oiled, seasoned grill pan or a cast iron skillet over moderate heat.

Definitely needs salt. Try out the marinade before adding the pork to make sure it's salty enough for you.

Serve with couscous and grilled veggies or a light salad. The salad in the photo is a failed attempt at a salad we shall not speak of any more.

1 small onion, chopped
1/2 cup fresh cilantro sprigs
1/2 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
6 garlic cloves
1/4 cup olive oil
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon sweet paprika
1/8 teaspoon cayenne
salt and pepper to taste (at least 1 tsp salt)

2 (1 1/4-inch-thick) loin lamb chops (10 oz total), trimmed (or pork)

Blend all ingredients except chops in a blender (or food processor) until smooth, about 1 minute. Pat chops dry and transfer to a plate, then rub chops all over with 2 tablespoons charmoula and marinate, covered, at room temperature 30 minutes.

While chops marinate, prepare grill for cooking. If using a charcoal grill, open vents on bottom of grill, then light charcoal. Charcoal fire is medium-hot when you can hold your hand 5 inches above rack for 3 to 4 seconds. If using a gas grill, preheat burners on high, covered, 10 minutes, then reduce heat to moderate.

Grill chops, covered only if using a gas grill, on lightly oiled grill rack, turning over once, until medium-rare, about 8 minutes total. Transfer to a plate and let stand, loosely covered, 10 minutes.

Charmoula keeps, its surface covered with plastic wrap, 1 week. It will lose its bright green color after a couple of days.

Adapted from Epicurious.com

Pork Adobo with Sue Tan, April DeVeyra, Shilo Joy Chiu

Sue was missing Filipino food and I've always wanted to cook Filipino food. That's how all four of us found ourselves running around Ranch99 and cooking one Monday afternoon. These girls are so fun and so crazy! I love them. They were telling me about all the tropical fruits they eat back home and the excellent all-you-can eat buffets. (In addition to dirt cheap cell phone service!) Uh oh. Sounds like the Philippines is calling my name!

The longer they cooked the pork, the more tender it got, but I enjoyed the pungency of the vinegar and the different flavors. The salted duck egg was authentic, but I'm not sure if I could handle the saltiness of it all the time.

Dark Soy sauce
White vinegar
Sugar
Cornstarch (if you would like the sauce to be thick)
Salt and pepper
1 pound pork leg (1.99 at Ranch99) cubed a little smaller than 1”

½ medium red onion, chopped
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
3-4 laurel leaves
1 T Whole peppercorns
Maybe a couple of hardboiled eggs, they recommend

Serve with
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
Chopped salted duck egg
White rice

Combine 5 T soy sauce, 4 T vinegar, 2 T sugar, maybe 1 tsp of cornstarch and salt and pepper together with water. Enough to dilute. Marinate the pork for 30 min-1 hour.

Heat oil and garlic and onions. Then the pork without the marinade. When browned, add the sauce and cook on medium low until tender. Serve with tomatoes and salted duck egg with vinegar drizzled on top of white rice.

Moroccan Lamb Stew

"Many people assume that wrinkled, sticky dates are a dried fruit, much like prunes or dried apricots. In fact, regular dates are fresh fruits that acquire many of the same characteristics as dried fruit (thin skin, extreme sweetness) because they are grown in the desert. This recipe calls for dried dates. You will find this specialty food sold chopped and often covered with flour to prevent sticking. They act as a perfect sweet foil to highly spiced lamb stews."

This lamb stew was so good--sweet and spiced just right. It must have been Christina's secret touch (i.e. her tossing everything she sees into the pot, including sweet chili sauce). Pure magic.

4 Tbs. olive oil
2 yellow onions, finely chopped
3 carrots, peeled and chopped
3 lb. cubed lamb for stewing, we used beef which worked out beautifully too
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp. ground cumin
1/4 tsp. saffron threads
1 Tbs. peeled and minced fresh ginger
2 1/2 cups beef stock
1 cup canned crushed tomatoes
1 cup chopped dried dates
Grated zest and juice of 1 orange
2 Tbs. finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Preheat an oven to 350°F. 

In a Dutch oven over medium heat, warm 1 Tbs. of the olive oil. Add the onions and sauté until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the carrots and cook until slightly softened, about 3 minutes more. Transfer to a bowl and set aside. 



Pat the lamb dry with paper towels. Place the flour in a large bowl or sealable plastic bag and season with salt and pepper. Add the lamb in batches and stir or shake to coat thoroughly with the seasoned flour. 

Warm the remaining 3 Tbs. oil in the pot over medium-high heat. Working in batches to avoid crowding, add the lamb and brown on all sides, 4 to 5 minutes for each batch. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.



Return the onion mixture and the lamb along with any accumulated juices to the pot. Add the garlic, cumin, saffron and ginger and stir to coat the meat and vegetables. Add the stock and bring to a boil, stirring with a wooden spoon to scrape up the browned bits from the pan bottom.

Add the tomatoes, dates, and orange zest and juice and bring to a boil over high heat. 

Cover the pot, transfer to the oven and bake until the meat is tender, 1 1/2 to 2 hours. If the sauce seems too thin, using a slotted spoon, transfer the meat and vegetables to a bowl and boil the sauce on the stovetop until thickened. Return the meat and vegetables to the pot.

Taste and adjust the seasonings. 

Transfer the stew to a serving bowl and garnish with the parsley. Serve immediately with couscous or bread.

Serves 6, adapted from Williams-Sonoma Collection Series, Soup & Stew

Sliced Beef with Broccoli

Basic, sweet, savory tasty beef. Susanne made it once. Now for brother Ron Kangas’ dinner at our house!

½ lb beef tenderloin, sliced (maybe flank steak next time since the cut we used was a bit stringy and muscle-y)

Marinade
2t sugar
½ T soy sauce
½ t baking soda
2 t cornstarch
1 T cold water
1 T oil

1lb Broccoli
15 pcs scallion cut 1/2” long
1” ginger, sliced
½ white onion, sliced

Seasoning sauce
2 T oyster sauce
1 T wine
2 tsp sugar
½ tsp cornstarch
3 cloves garlic, minced

Marinate beef in marinade for at least one hour.

Boil broccoli 30 seconds, remove and plunge in cold water.

Heat onions and garlic in pan. Add beef in pan.
Stir fry all in sauce.

Paprika Sirloin Steak Wrap

Does not travel well. Sorry, Miriam!

4 to 6 oz. sirloin steak
Olive oil (didn't have so used flax seed oil to toss the arugula in)
1 tsp smoked paprika (regular paprika + ground cayenne pepper works too)
Salt and pepper
A handful of arugula
2 ripe tomatoes, chopped
red onion, thinly sliced
1 T lemon juice
Tortillas (TJ's handmade sundried tomato ones are excellent)
2 Tbsp hummus (TJ's eggplant hummus)
1 Tbsp sour cream (or greek yogurt)

Heat a griddle or frying pan until very hot. While heating, score each side of the steak and rub with olive oil. Season with the paprika, cayenne if using, and salt and pepper. Sear in the hot pan for about 2 to 3 minutes per side, depending on how you want the steak cooked and how thick it is.

While steak is cooking, mix the arugula with the tomatoes and dress with lemon juice and olive oil.

Remove the steak from the pan and wipe the pan with paper towels. Briefly heat the tortillas in the hot pan.

To serve, slice the steak into thin slices and serve atop tortillas with the arugula salad, hummus, and sour cream.

Serves 1-2, adapted from Jamie's Dinners

Jamie Oliver's Burgers and Chips

It was really fun to grind my own meat! It turned out just like real ground beef but now I know what's in it and that little piece of peace just makes the burgers so much better. Next time, I'll add a little bit more of the spices and not so much breadcrumbs. Maybe the breadcrumbs were not dry enough. Anyway, they are normal burgers, but still one of the best I've made.

I didn't do the fancy rosemary salt, but it did sound tasty. Something to try the next time.

1kg/2lb 3oz chuck steak, or good minced steak
1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
olive oil
a pinch of cumin seeds (dash of ground cumin)
1 tablespoon coriander seeds (a little less than a Tbsp of ground coriander)
sea salt and freshly ground
black pepper
a handful of freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 heaped tablespoon English mustard
1 large free-range egg
115g/4oz breadcrumbs (I used 3 stale slices of bread and food processed them)
8 burger buns

for the chips
2kg/4½lb large potatoes, skins left on, cut into chips 1cm/½ inch thick
olive oil, enough to coat the potatoes. I needed more than 1/4 cup
1 whole bulb of garlic
freshly ground black pepper
3 sprigs of fresh rosemary
zest of 1 lemon
85g/3oz sea salt

If you're using chuck steak to make your burgers, slice it up and pulse it in a food processor. Transfer the meat to a bowl. In a big frying pan, slowly cook the onion in a little olive oil for about 5 minutes until softened but not coloured. Add the onion to the meat - it will give sweetness to the burger. Using a pestle and mortar, bash up the cumin and coriander seeds with a pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper until fine and add to the meat. Then add the Parmesan, mustard, egg and half the breadcrumbs and mix well. If the mixture is too sticky, add a few more breadcrumbs.

Lay some greaseproof paper on a tray or large plate and sprinkle over some of the remaining breadcrumbs. Shape the meat into 8 fat burgers and place these on top of the crumbs on the tray. Sprinkle more crumbs on top and press down gently. The burgers are better if they are chilled before cooking, so put them in the fridge for an hour or so.

Half an hour before you want to cook the burgers, put a large flat baking tray in the oven and turn the heat to 230°C/450°F/gas 8 (it could have used more time, or put to hi broil). Parboil your chips (still with their skins on) for about 10 minutes in salted boiling water and drain in a colander.

Heat some olive oil in a frying pan, smash the garlic bulb up and chuck in the cloves, then add the chips. Toss in the oil and season with freshly ground black pepper. Transfer the contents of the pan to the preheated tray and cook for 20 to 25 minutes until crisp and golden.

Now make your rosemary salt. Remove the leaves from the rosemary and put them in a pestle and mortar with the lemon zest and salt. Bash up to make a green paste, adding more salt if the mixture is too wet. Push this paste through a sieve, and keep to one side until you're ready to serve.

Take your burgers out of the fridge and fry them in a little oil on a medium to high heat for about 8 to 10 minutes, depending on the thickness of the burgers and how you like them, turning occasionally. Serve them on toasted burger buns, with tomato ketchup, and your fat chips sprinkled with the rosemary salt. Other great things to top your burger with are layers of sliced beef tomatoes, thinly sliced cheese, raw onion rings, lettuce, a grating of fresh horseradish - even a fried egg!

Makes approx. 8 burgers, from Jamie's Dinners

Tender Flank Steak with Green Onions & Mushrooms

Soak 3-4 black mushrooms in water for 10 minutes. Slice thin. With flank steak, slice and rub with a little bit, maybe 1/2 tsp of corn starch and let it sit. Then heat the oil, add the mushrooms, soy sauce, corn syrup/sugar, black beans then the meat. Near the end, add the green onions and season with salt. If you want an extra kick of flavor, you can add a little bit of rice vinegar too.

Bell Pepper Steak with Black Beans

It's funny, my dad doesn't cut his bell peppers, he tears them with his hands. And he uses the inner ribbing of it, which turns out to be tender and delicious. You basically heat the pan with oil, cook the garlic with the sliced flank steak until almost done, then remove from the heat onto a separate plate. Cook the bell pepper until tender and add the black beans (which, according to Chinese medicine is good for your emotional welfare. "Add more! More!") Add the beef and season with soy sauce.

My Guilty Pleasure

Did you notice the little grain of rice riding this slice of spam? So cute!!

Spam is one of the greatest inventions of the quickie food world (next to instant ramen); and I'm not just saying this because the economy is bad. Spam is good! When prepared just right, it's like a superhero mutant hybrid of bacon and ham!

People hate Spam because of anti-spam propaganda and because they don't know what to do with the slimy pale stump. Spam is simply misunderstood like oh...say, Frankenstein's creature.

"Ewwww...," you say? Never fear! I will teach you the way to enjoy Spam, so stop throwing up in your mouth and read on...

Spam tip #1: Buy the 50% Less Sodium Can

Sure, high blood pressure and that "it's-so-salty-I've-got-a-zingy-feeling-in-my-teeth" experience is fun, but with 50% less sodium you can eat even more before feeling queasy!

Spam tip #2: Never eat the thing raw
I always thought this was a no brainer. Just look at it!! All greasy, splotchy, sickly, gelatinous...Yuck! Merely looking at it could make the weak at heart wretch! I would never eat spam!!...raw. Please. A girl's gotta have standards.

Spam tip #3: Slice it thiiiiiin
Not paper thin, but pretty thin. Please refer to the photo. This will help it get crispy when cooked.

Spam tip #4: Lazy? Microwave it
I learned this on a trip to SF with Susan Mun. I know we swore that what happened in SF would stay in SF, but this tip is too good to keep to myself. Lay the slices of spam on two paper towels stacked and microwave for 15-45 seconds (depending on how thin you managed to cut them) until crisp.

Spam tip #5: Not as lazy? Pan fry
This is the ideal way. Heat a pan. Do not use any oil! Oil from the slices will ooze out and it will basically deep fry in its own juices. Wait until slightly darker and little bit of foam comes to the surface, then flip. It should appear to be a little soft, and only a little crispy but should crisp as it cools. When done, let it sit on a paper towel.

Spam tip #6: Eat with rice
This I learned from Mika, who took rice and made them into thick patties, placed a spam slice on top and then wrapped them in saran wrap to take with us to Universal Studios. Amazing. Spam nigiri!!!

Spam tip #7: Eat with kim chee
And sriracha hot sauce. And bowls of rice. This, I learned from Anna.

This list of tips is just the start of something beautiful. People eat spam in fried rice, pasta, mac & cheese, casseroles, omelets, sushi rolls, pie (...ok, maybe not pie). Although the possibilities are endless, in my humble opinion, Spam reaches its pinnacle of delightfulness on a simple bed of rice (please review tip #6 and #7).

Polenta with Sausage and Spinach Revisited

2.11.08: Ah, the random recipes we can throw together and fall in love with. Thanks Susanne for such a delish dish!

11.21.08: Made a second time...realized that if you use the same pan to cook the spinach after you've cooked the sausage, it will taste saltier than if you use separate pans or cook the spinach first with some oil and garlic...and the spinach gets super squishy. Hmm...

12.3.08: By George, I think I've got it!!! Using the method below is not only super quick, it makes cleaning the pan so much easier AND you don't get sauce drenched spinach...

1 jalapeno
olive oil
1 tube of already made polenta (Trader Joe's or F&E)
1 pre-cooked sausage (Cantella's Andouille Sausage)
2 C of baby spinach
Marinara sauce (Trader Joe's Vodka Sauce)

For a quick meal, heat up a pan or skillet with a little oil, just enough to give the pan a nice shine. (Definitely less than 1 tsp.) When the pan's hot, put the sliced polenta and thin slices of jalapeno on the pan and cook until polenta is a little crisp and the jalapeno browned and slightly withered looking.

On your plate put 2-3 T of vodka sauce and microwave. (If serving guests, feel free to heat up the sauce in a saucepan, first heating a smidgen of oil with minced garlic and then bringing the sauce to a simmer. Then you can plate the sauce onto each plate, about 3-4 T.

Push the polenta to the side of the pan and put a handful or two of fresh baby spinach on the pan and quickly stir around. You don't want the spinach to be completely cooked, just enough so it's not totally raw. Until it's barely starting to wither. Go ahead and put the spinach and jalapenos on the sauce then top with polenta!

And you can stop there if you're in a hurry or you can slice up some sausage afterwards and pan fry without any oil, then top.

Short Ribs Braised in Chile-Coffee Sauce

If you plan to make this, note that it’ll be about 4 hours before you eat. Best to make this one to two days before to develop a richer, sweeter flavor. Cool completely, uncovered, then chill, ribs covered directly with parchment or wax paper and roasting pan covered with foil. Remove any solidified fat before reheating. I didn't for Vicky's birthday dinner and I had to add more maple syrup.

Also, for Vicky's Birthday dinner, I only served these ribs with a baby greens salad (with poached pears in white wine sauce, candied walnuts, tomatoes, and red onions) and crusty bread.

This recipe is good even doubled. I used probably 10 pounds and just doubled the sauce part which could serve at least 9 people. The recipe below serves about 6.

Sauce
2 T Chile Ancho powder
1 large onion, quartered
5 cloves of garlic, peeled
4 T canned chipotle chiles in adobo (2 t sauce)
4 T pure maple syrup
1 1/2 T fresh lime juice
1 t salt

Ribs
6 lb short ribs
black pepper
2 t salt
1/2 c dark brewed coffee

Preheat oven to 350. Liquify ancho chile powder, onion, garlic, chipotles, maple syrup, lime juice, 1 t salt in a blender.

Cut ribs so there’s only one piece of bone in each (portion size pieces) and dry them with a paper towel. Generously sprinkle them with pepper and 2 t salt.

Heat 1 T vegetable oil in a heavy skillet and brown ribs on all sides in batches. Place ribs in a single layer in whatever size casserole/baking dish you have– 13x9 and 8x8.

Add chile puree to the fat in the skillet, and cook over medium-low heat for 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add 1 1/2 C water, and coffee; and bring to a boil. Stir sauce and ladle over meat, making sure the thick stuff in the sauce is evenly distributed in the pans you’re using.

Cover pans tightly with foil and braise ribs for about 3 1/2 hours at 350. I would place the pieces on their side (rather than with the bone down) and flip them over half way through cooking, for maximum flavor absorption into the meat.

Skim fat from pan juices using a baster or a spoon. Serve with the juice/sauce from the pan.

Short Ribs Recipe on Susanne's Blog

Parmesan Crusted Pork Chops

2 large eggs
1 cup dried Italian-style bread crumbs
3/4 cups freshly grated Parmesan
4 (1/2 to 3/4-inch thick) center-cut pork loin chops (each about 10 to 12 ounces)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
6 tablespoons olive oil

Whisk the eggs in a pie plate to blend. Place the bread crumbs in another pie plate. Place the cheese in a third pie plate. Sprinkle the pork chops generously with salt and pepper. Coat the chops completely with the cheese, patting to adhere. Dip the chops into the eggs, then coat completely with the bread crumbs, patting to adhere.

Heat 3 tablespoons of oil in a very large skillet over medium heat. Add pork chops, in batches if necessary, and cook until golden brown and the center reaches 150 degrees, about 6 minutes per side. OR cook 6 minutes for each side and then transfer to a baking dish and bake at 350 for an additional 10 minutes.

Serves 4, from the Food Network

Green Chili Meat Mix for Tacos

Susanne first made it for a home meeting and I had the honor of eating the leftovers, it was that good. This makes a lot, but it says it's perfect to freeze. Make sure to leave 1/2" space at top of container before freezing.

We don't have a dutch oven, so I experimented a little bit cooking the onions in a large sauce pan until brown and softened and then adding the rest of the sauce ingredients and cooking until thickened. Then I threw this into my slow cooker. In a cast iron skillet, I seared the outside of the meat, cut into 4 large slabs in a pan and then added it to the slow cooker and cooked for at least 6 hours on high.

I think I prefer it cooked the way the recipe calls, in the dutch oven. Mine turned out more watery than if you roast it because slow cookers retain a lot of moisture. And I had to cut the meat instead of shredding it with 2 forks because I only cooked it for 4-5 hours. But apparently it turned out good at the New and Returning Students Dinner! Leanna appreciated it so much she asked for this recipe and Priscilla said: "OH! i REALLY liked your slow cooked beef yesterday. was totally awesome and delish~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~"

So this blog entry is dedicated to Priscilla and Leanna. *in a Barry Whitesque voice* This one is for you, baby...ohhhh yeah.

5 lb. beef roast (or combo of pork and beef roasts)
3 onions, chopped
1 (4 oz.) can chopped green chilies
14 oz. green-chili salsa (only $1.69/bottle of salsa at Trader Joe's; you'll need 2)
1-4 t garlic powder
4 T flour
4 t salt
1 t ground cumin

Preheat oven 275 degrees
Place roasts in roasting pan or dutch oven and cover with a tight lid (we cut into 4 large pieces, stuck it in our cast iron and tightly covered it with foil).

Roast for 5-6 hours until well done.
OR according to the recipe, you can cook with 1 C water in a pressure cooker for 40 minutes but our pressure cooker didn't quite do the trick. Reserve meat juices.

Shred meat with two forks and set aside.

Cook the rest of the ingredients in a skillet and add meat juices. Cook for 5 minutes until thickened. Cool.

Serve on corn tortillas with cheese, chopped onions, cilantro, tomatoes, lettuce, and whatever topping you like!

Cooking Fried Rice with Anna Lee's Mom 12/25/06

Anna's mom, Moreno Valley 12.25.06. Illegally stashing the fashion woman away in the trunk.

What a weekend trip to Anna's hood. Her mom taught us how to make fried rice, New Year's soup and a spicy tofu side dish (recipes and photos coming soon!) I can't get the rice to come out the way she made it, but eh...Anna said it was flavorful. That's good enough for me!

I guess this posting is more for me than anything else since someone looking at this thing won't be able to reproduce it. I will post pictures of the brand of broth as soon as I figure it out since that was key ingredient here.

Ground beef
White onion, minced
Frozen mixed vegetables (like corn, peas, etc.) defrosted in a bowl of water
optional: red bell pepper and other vegetables
Korean dried beef broth
Garlic salt
Rice, cooked and cooled
Green onion, as a garnish
Chile flakes/cayenne pepper, optional

Saute oil and onions over medium high heat, then beef. Add the veggies, broth and garlic salt. Mix in well.

Add the rice and then top with the green onion.
(Because the rice was hot, I heated oil in a separate pan, spread out a layer of rice on the pan and fried it until it was crunchy and browned, then added it to the veggies/meat mix. It had a nice crunch.)

Garnish with green onions.

Korean Feast at Heidi's: Korean Pork, Kim Chee Pancakes

At this point, these are the ingredients that I remember. Sorry everything is so vague. One day, I'll cook it myself and figure out the portions. Everything is available at Zion Market, where produce is on steroids. (PS: Susanne is holding GREEN ONIONS in the photo above, not leeks!!! AHHH!!!)

Tasty Pork

crushed garlic
pork
red chili paste
sugar
soy sauce
sesame oil

onions
enoki mushrooms
chopped, white squishy mushrooms

Combine everything from garlic to sesame oil. Heat a pan. Cook onions and oil, then add the meat and then the mushrooms.


Kim Chee Pancake

Korean pancake mix
2 eggs
2 green onions, cut into 1" pieces
water
1/4 of a small onion, cut into slivers
1/2 C of kim chee

Whisk the mix, water, and eggs till pancake consistency. Add the other ingredients. Pan fry like typical pancake.

Heidi, you are so awesome! Thank you for teaching, cooking, and caring for us!

Asian-style Beef with Chilies and Shallots

We usually have 1-2.5 channels on our rabbit-eared TV, but when the rain comes, we miraculously get tons more! Usually Spanish channels airing telenovelas, but a couple days ago, I discovered that we have KPBS! YAY! And that night, America's Test Kitchen was on! Double YAY!

Anna and I watched them make this dish and we had a "Mom" moment--if we were to make this we would throw in more way more chilies because this dish was created by white people and therefore it wouldn't be spicy enough for us.
...
Ooooookay....WE WERE SO WRONG!!! This dish was so spicy! Even while I was cooking it, I kept coughing and then afterwards, I had to adjust the veggies to make it bearable to eat! I adjusted the sauces and made it less spicy in the recipe below, but of course, I think this dish is tasty enough to stand on its own without any spiciness (although it is more fun with the heat).

I like the flavor of the beef marinade, sweet and savory. If using chuck, they said you could cook it well done and still have it be tender. You just need to remove all that white tough stuff around the meat.

Beef and Marinade
3/4 t ground coriander
1/8 t ground white pepper
1 t brown sugar
1 t fish sauce
1 lb blade steak, trimmed and cut 1/4" thick

Stir-Fry
1 T fish sauce
1 T rice vinegar
1T water
1/2 T brown sugar
1/2 T Asian chili-garlic paste (if using this, you may omit the jalapeño, or use only a 1/4 of the jalapeño)
3 medium cloves of garlic, minced or pressed through garlic press
1/2 jalapeno chile, halved, seeded and ribs removed, cut crosswise 1/8" thick
1-2 shallots medium sized
2 bell peppers (green or red or both), sliced

Garnish
1/4 C mint leaves, torn into bite sized pieces (or basil leaves, or omit is ok)
1/4 C cilantro leaves
2 stalks of green onions, sliced
1/3 C unsalted, roasted peanuts
lime wedges for serving

Combine coriander, sugar, fish sauce in bowl add beef and toss to combine; marinate 15 minutes.

Stir in a separate bowl: fish sauce, vinegar, water, brown sugar, garlic chili paste until sugar dissolves. At this point, you can chop/prepare all the veggies and slice while the meat is marinating.

Heat 2 t oil in a non-stick skillet over high heat until smoking, add 1/3 of the beef in an even layer and cook, without stirring for 2 minutes. Then stir and continue cooking until beef is browned around the edges and is no longer pink on the inside. Transfer beef into a medium bowl and repeat with additional oil and remaining meat in 2 more batches.

After finishing the meat, reduce heat to medium and add 2 t of oil to now empty skillet to coat. Add chilies and shallots and cook, stirring frequently until beginning to soften. Push chili-shallot mixture to the side and add the garlic to the center. Stir to combine the mixtures and then add the bell pepper and stir.

Add fish sauce and cook until reduced and thickened and bell pepper is cooked, but not soggy. Add meat and peanuts and toss well.

Take off heat and sprinkle remaining garnish on top. Tasty with rice or rice noodles!

Adapted from America's Test Kitchen, Episode: Not Your Average Stir-Fry.
Serves up to 6 people