Red Curry Salmon

I have always been a fan of Asia food, but have struggled to make it at home. One trick of late is to actually limit the number of ingredients. Sticking with fewer more flavorful ingredients, the dishes end up tasting much better.

This recipe for red curry was passed on from my friend Liz. It is easy and doesn't require many exotic ingredients.

Start by making the sauce.

2 teaspoons plus 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon Thai red curry paste*
1 13 1/2- to 14-ounce can unsweetened coconut milk*
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh lemongrass or 1 tablespoon grated lemon peel
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 1/2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons fish sauce (nam pla*)

Heat the oil in a pan and add the curry. Cook for a couple of minutes, then add the coconut milk, sugar and lemongrass.
Cook this for several minutes until thick.
Then add the lime juice and fish sauce


This can be set aside on low until ready to serve.

To prepare the fish, season with salt and pepper. Cook over medium in an oiled oven safe pan. Flip and finish cooking in a 400 deg oven.


To prepare the bok choi, boil in salted water for 2 -3 minutes.


Serve with rice.


To top it off, we had peanut butter chocolate chip gelato.

Eggplant Parm

I learned how to make many great Italian (American) dishes when I worked at Comella's when I was in high school. One of our favorites is eggplant parm, which we often, as we did last night, eat as a sandwich.

Eggplant Parm Sandwiches
Eggplant, sliced thinly, peeled or unpeeled
flour
egg
milk
bread crumbs
Italian Seasoning
tomato sauce
Parm
hot peppers (optional)
bread

Start by slicing the eggplant, it can be either peeled or unpeeled.


Toss the slices with salt and let sit at least an hour in colander with a pan under. This help soften the eggplant, so that after it is cooked it won't have that chewy texture.



After the eggplant has sat, rinse quickly and pat dry with a towel.


To cook, prepare three dishes. The first with flour, the second with eggwash (egg with a touch of milk) and the final with bread crumbs. Season these with salt and pepper. If using plain bread crumbs adds some Italian seasoning to them. Set them up right next to your pan.




Heat up a little oil in your pan as you begin to prepare the eggplant. Dredge (coat both sides) the eggplant in the flour, then dunk in the eggwash and finally in the bread crumbs, then place in the hot pan. Cook for about 5 minutes on a side until golden and cripsy. When done, place on a towel lined plate.


Once you have enough eggplant to make your sandwich, slice the bread and top with slices of the eggplant. Top with cheese and broil for a minute to warm the cheese.

Meanwhile warm up the tomato sauce.


Top with the tomato sauce and hot peppers.


To make a baked Eggplant Parm, cook all the eggplant and set aside. In a baking dish, pour in enough pasta sauce to cover the bottom. Top with a layer of eggplant, then with cheese. Alternating between eggplant and cheese. After a couple of layer, pour in more sauce, then continue with the eggplant. Finally top with more sauce.

You can also through in other vegetables as well, such as spinach or mushrooms. Or other cheeses such as mozzeralla or fontina.

Bake in a 400 deg over about 20 - 30 min until hot.

This will store well before cooking either in the fridge or freezer.

Recipe of the Day: Baked Brie

Baked Brie is a wonderful appetizer that everyone loves. You can wrap it in pastry, but I like the simplicity of this recipe.

Baked Brie
One brie, any size
brown sugar, enough to coat the top
almonds, enough to coat the top


Remove the top of the brie to expose the inside.


Place in a baking dish, or back in the wood round that it came in. (If using the wood container, make sure to remove any stickers before putting in the oven.)

Top with the almonds in a single layer, then with the sugar.



Bake in a 400 deg oven until the cheese is soft and the sugar has caramelized. You can also finish under the broiler for a minute.

Serve with bread and or crackers.

Tapas

Tapas are a easy, though somewhat time consuming. They are great for a larger crowd as you can put out a variety of dishes and people can mix and match to their taste. Many can be prepared in advance, which is great for parties.

Last night I made several which I'll highlight.


Tortilla Espanola
1 - 2 small potatoes, peeled and sliced
1 small onion, sliced
8 eggs
about 1 Tbs salt

Toss the potato and onion with some oil and cook in a non stick pan or in the oven until soft but not browned.

Meanwhile, mix the eggs and salt in a large bowl. Once the potatoes are soft mix with the eggs and let sit 15 minutes. (This rest is the trick to making tortilla not an omelet.)

Heat a pan and coat with oil and add the egg/potato mixture. Cover, and cook a couple of minutes until the tortilla begins to set. Using a flexible spatula reach under the tortilla to make sure that it does not stick to the pan. It will still be soft but once the bottom sets you want to be able to rotate it in the pan to prevent sticking. Cover and cook for about 10 minutes until it is almost set. Flip* and cook the other side until completely set. Serve warm, room temp or cold.



*There are several ways to flip the tortilla without covering your kitchen in egg. The easiest is to slide it out onto a plate, cook side down. Then flip the pan over the top (so the raw side is now in the pan) and flip the plate and pan together.

You can also do the triple flip method. Put a plate over the pan and flip the tortilla (cook side up) onto a plate. Using another plate, place it on top and flip again (cooked side down.) Then place the pan on top and flip again.


A favorite of ours is Patatas Bravas (Bold Potatoes) or fried potatoes with "spicy" sauce. The Spanish are known for many thing, the best football (not the stupid American game) in the world is one, spicy food is not. I tend to make them spicier then you would find in Spain, but you can make to your taste. Traditionally it is served with aioli, which I often don't make every time, but it is a nice treat.

Patatas Bravas
potatoes, cubed
oil
salt and pepper

Bravas Sauce
canned tomato sauce (or canned whole tomatoes, blended until smooth)
cumin
salt and pepper
hot peppers
EVOO
vinegar

To make the sauce blend the sauce ingredients. Adjust to taste. Warm slightly before serving.

Toss the potatoes with oil and salt and pepper. Bake in 400 deg oven, turning, until crunchy about 45 minutes.




Top with sauce.



Pimiento Alinado Roasted Peppers in oil
Peppers
garlic
EVOO
salt and pepper

The simplest way to roast peppers is over a gas stove. Place directly over the flame and cook, turning until charred all around. Be careful not to over cook, it will turn white.




Once the peppers are charred, place in a bowl and cover with plastic, foil or a dish towel. Let rest until cool. Then peal the blackened skin. Though temping, DO NOT run under water. You will be washing away all the flavor. Using your hand you can scrap most of the skin and the seeds and core. Then using a kinfe, scrap the pepper clean.



For this dish, place in a shallow bowl, add sliced garlic and season with salt and pepper. Let rest before serving.


By far our favorite tapa is Gambas al Ajillo (Garlic Shrimp). In this country there is a wide interpritation of this dish, in Spain there is none. It is shrimp bathed in garlic oil, served piping hot in a small ceramic dish. It is also know as Gambas Pil-Pil, the "pil-pil" being the sound it should make when it is served, hot and bubbly.

Gambas al Ajillo
garlic, sliced
salt
hot peppers
oil
shrimp

I am convinced that one of the keys to making this dish is the hot peppers, known as guindillas. I have been know to bring them back from Spain.




Place everything exept the shrimp in a cazuela.


Cook in a 450 oven until the oil is hot and garlic is starting to brown.



Add the shrimp and cook about 3 - 4 minutes, then turn. When they come out the oil should be boiling hot. Serve with lots of bread to soak up the oil and garlic.

Recipe of the Day: Soft Tacos

I remember making this back before every grocery store carried tortillas in a dozen shapes and sizes. We would buy the frozen (yes frozen) tortillas at Bread and Circus (now Whole Foods) in blue and yellow corn. These are great because they can be tailor to any taste. Make a bunch of toppings and let people build their own.

I prepare mine with refried beans, rice, cheese, guacamole, pico de gallo, and lettuce. You could also add sour cream, tomatoes, onions, ground beef or turkey, pulled chicken, cilantro, scallions...

Refried Beans
one small onion, diced
1/2 Tbs butter
about 1 Tbs olive oil
1 can beans (I like black)
epazote (optional)
salt and pepper

Saute the onion in the butter and oil with salt, over medium heat until they soften, about 3 - 5 minutes.


Drain the beans, reserving the liquid. Add the epazote and about half to the beans. Mash using a potato masher. Then add the second half of the beans. If the mixture is too dry add some of the liquid to thin. Cook over medium until warm. Season with salt and pepper.


Prepare the toppings.


Warm tortillas.



Pile on the toppings.


Serve with a cold beer with lime.

Recipe of the Day: Fruit Crisp

The other week we received rhubarb and peaches in our fruit basket from Irv and Shelly's. What better way to enjoy them then make a crisp with them. This is a versatile recipe and can be used with any fruit combination. The recipe comes from my mom, though I have no idea where she got it. Make sure to adjust the sugar accordingly, rhubarb is tart so extra sugar is needed, while apples or peaches alone may not need as much.

Crisp Filling
about 3 cups fruit
1/4 cups flour
1/4 sugar (more or less to taste)
2 -3 Tbs butter (more or less)

Crisp Topping
1 stick butter
3/4 cup oats
1 cup flour
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt


Core and dice the fruit. Toss with the flour and sugar to coat. Add pieces of butter, pour into baking dish.

For the topping, mix the dry ingredients. Melt the butter and add to the dry and mix.


Spread the topping on the fruit. Bake in 375 deg oven for about 20 -30 minutes, or until fruit is cooked. If the top begins to brown, cover with foil. Remove from oven and let stand about 5 minutes. Serve with vanilla ice cream.

Recipe of the Day: Minestrone

I ended up with some extra tomatoes from making pizza sauce the other day. Not wanting to waste anything, I decided to make minestone.

Minestone
1 small onion, diced
1 small potato, diced
2 - 3 cloves garlic
1 can tomatoes
1 can chickpeas
2 - 3 cups stock
1/2 lb pasta
fresh herbs
salt and pepper

Saute the onion in a little oil over medium until soft.


Add the garlic and potatoes, stirring to prevent sticking.


Add the tomatoes,stock and herbs and season with salt and pepper. Cook for about 15 minutes until the potatoes begin to soften.


In a separate pot, cook the pasta in salted water until almost done.


Add the cooked pasta and chickpeas to the soup and cook until heated through.

Serve with grated Parm.

Recipe of the Day: Zucchini Fritters

Neither my wife nor I are huge zucchini fans. This recipe, based on potato pancakes, does a good job of incorporating the zucchini, without the typical wilty flavor.

Zucchini Fritters
1 zucchini
2 - 3 small potatoes
1 small onion
2 eggs
about 1/4 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
salt and pepper

Grate the zucchini, potato and onion.


Soak in water. Rinse a few times until the water runs clear. This will help keep the potatoes from turning brown, and will mellow the onion flavor.


Drain the shredded veggies and place on a clean kitchen towel. Using the towel, squeeze the moisture out of the vegetables.



Place this in bowl. Mix in the eggs, flour, baking powder and season with salt and pepper


In a large pan add a little oil (or a lot) and drop large spoonfuls of the mixture in the pan. Flatten the cakes. Cook for about 4 - 5 minutes on a side.


Serve hot.

Recipe of the Day: Asparagus Soup

We had more of the asparagus and the last couple days its been rainy here, perfect for soup. This is surprisingly easy.

Asparagus Soup
1 1/2 to 2 lbs asparagus
1 small onion, diced
1 small carrot, diced
2 - 3 celery stalks, diced
2 - 3 cloves garlis
3 cups stock
salt and pepper
fresh herbs such as basil, thyme, oregano
crab meat (optional)


Dice the asparagus, reserving the tips.


Saute the onion, celery and carrot (mirepoix) in a little olive oil and butter. Season with salt and pepper. Cook over medium heat for a few minutes until soft. Add the garlic and the cut asparagus. Saute a minute or two longer.


Add the stock and cook about 15 to 20 minutes until the asparagus is cooked.
To blend it, add a little of the soup to a blender. It is best to place of towel over the top and hold on. When blend hot liquids they have a tendency to explode all over. Once you start, you can add more with out it going all over the place.

To prepare the tips, boil in salted water for about 3 -5 minutes, then drain.



If adding the crab, toss with fresh herbs and season with salt and pepper. Drizzle with a touch of EVOO.


To serve, pour some of the soup in a bowl and top with some of the crab mixture and asparagus tips.