Indian Tacos

Made up a great dish today. It started out because I had a piece of beef sitting in the fridge a few days ago about to go past it's prime. I don't have a whole lot of time these days, what with the new baby, and now a new job, so I decided to pull out my slow cooker.

The beef was a London broil style cut, which I sliced into one inch cubes. I combined them with a cup of yogurt and generous amounts of garam masala. Then into the slow cooker for the day while at work.

Back at home that night, I tasted it and while it was nice and tender it was a little lacking in flavor. So I stuck it in the fridge to decide later what to do with it. Today I had a day off from work and a visiting sister and wife at home with me, so I decided to make us some lunch. I pulled the beef out of the fridge and fried it in some peanut oil until crispy on the outside (would that be called twice-cooked beef?). Then, combined it with some olive oil, lemon juice, chopped parsley, and salt and pepper.

Next we pulled out a package of frozen parathas from the grocery store (the wife's suggestion - excellent), heated them up, piled some of the beef into them, and added some tamarind chutney, yogurt, and chili sauce.

Wow! Totally delicious! The frozen parathas are such a great item, crispy and chewy. The beef was crispy and tender, with just a little of the masala taste. The tamarind chutney added some tang, the yogurt some smoothness, and the chilis the heat. All in all, a great meal, one that will be done again and again, and is a good option for a serve-yourself dinner party.

Chaat-inspired Yogurt Dip

One of my favorite indian dishes is the snack food chaat. I discovered it while traveling in India and constantly eating savory hot mushy dishes (delicious but after a month of it you begin to seek variety). There are all sorts of varieties of chaat, but my favorite is papri chaat, which combines little indian crackers, diced boiled potatoes, diced red onion, chick peas, yogurt, chutneys, and spices. I can get lazy at home (especially with a new baby around the house) and so I wanted to make up a way to get that chaat flavor, without all the prep work. Here's what I came up with:

Chaat-inspired Yogurt Dip

1 small tub of yogurt (five ounces or so)
3 tabelspoons mint chutney
3 tablespoons tamarind chutney
1 teaspoon chaat spice blend (this spice blend is what gives chaat its distinctive flavor - it includes an unusual ingredient called black salt that sort of tastes like sulfur. I wouldn't want to eat it straight, but combined with the other spices it adds a real zing)

Chips for dipping (I use namak para - the indian cumin flavored crackers -- fritos would work well too i think)

Mix all ingredients up sprinkle with chopped parsley or cilantro. Splash a little more of the mint and tamarind chutneys on the plate to fancy it up. Done!

Auntie Lauren's Sweet Potato Soup

So big changes in the Royal Bisquit household these days. We've had a new addition and now there's a baby bisquit hanging around. Mom and Dad are happy and exhausted, and the baby's aunt Lauren came by to help out and feed us lunch. She brought over a terrific sweet potato soup, and some grilled cheese and prosciutto sandwiches. The soup was so great we're sure it will be among the first things served to baby when he starts eating people food.

Auntie Lauren's Sweet Potato Soup

4lbs sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
3 large cloves minced garlic
2 T minced ginger maybe more/less? Enough so when you’re stirring in the sweet potatoes, each cube has a few pieces of garlic and ginger stuck to it
1 T Olive oil
2 12oz cans low sodium chicken stock
Milk for thinning/taste
Salt and pepper
Yoghurt (optional)

Sauté garlic and ginger in olive oil on medium in large stock pot until warmed through, but not brown, about 30 seconds.

Add sweet potatoes, let sauté for a few minutes to brown up a little.

Add salt and pepper.

Add 1 and half/ three quarters cans of stock, enough to cover most of the potatoes.

Let boil on high heat for about 15 minutes or until potatoes are tender.

Turn off heat, and using an immersion blender, puree the mixture until mostly smooth.

A blender can also be used.

"Cha Ca" Inspired Fish with Lentils

Here is a recipe inspired by a dish we had in Hanoi called "Cha Ca" fish which featured the local river fish flavored with turmeric and dill. It's a famous recipe there and you can get it in restaurants on "Cha Ca" street (named after the dish - not vice-versa). There it arrives steaming in a pot with a side of rice, but I made it over lentils.

"Cha Ca" Inspired Fish with Lentils

Fillets of firm white fish

Fresh Dill

Garlic

Ginger

Chicken Broth

Ground Turmeric

Split Lentils

In a tall sided pan add about 1.5 inches of chicken stock. Add 4 springs of fresh dill, a couple tables spoons of chopped or sliced ginger, four chopped clove of garlic, a tablespoon of tumeric and salt and pepper. Let the mixture simmer for 15 minutes so all the flavors meld.

Add your fish to the pan (it should be about half submerged in the liquid) and cook, covered, on lowest heat until cooked through.

Remove and keep warm.

Next, add your lentils to the poaching liquid (in a ratio of about 1/3 lentils to 1 liquid). Cover again and let cook until tender, maybe 15 minutes. You may have to add additional chicken stock if it gets too dry.

When done serve fish on top of lentils with chopped fresh dill on top. A green salad with a rice vinegar vinagrette was good on the side.

Parpardelle with Tuna and Peas

I love this stripped down version of tuna noodle. For those nights that you are either (1) in the mood for a lighter dinner, or (2) lazy. Really, it takes about as long as cooking the pasta. Using the imported italian canned tuna makes a big difference here because you can really taste it. Make sure to use the tuna in oil, not water, because the oil dresses the pasta.

Parpardelle with Tuna and Peas

1 can tuna in oil
1 cup frozen peas
1/2 pound parapardelle pasta (the really wide long noodles)
1/2 cup chopped dill
Grated romano cheese
olive oil
salt and pepper
crushed chili pepper

Boil a full pot of water and cook the pasta. When the pasta is almost done, add the peas. When the pasta and peas are done, drain.

Add the can of tuna with it's oil to the pot. Return the pasta and peas to the pot. Add a little extra olive oil is it's a little dry. Add the chopped dill, romano cheese, crushed chili and salt and pepper.

Serve!

Pork Chops with Ginger Plum Sauce

Back again, after a long break with no new interesting recipes cooked. I have a new ingredient to play with, inspired by one of my new cookbooks Harumi's Japanese Cooking. It's pickled ginger. As in the pickled ginger that comes with your sushi. The Japanese name is Gari.

I first used it just as a garnish for a beef and rice dish from Harumi's cookbook. But then it was hanging around in my fridge and I thought I should figure out something else to use it for. I bought some pork chops at the fridge and the gears started to turn...

Pork Chops with Ginger Plum Sauce

This recipe comes from having in the house a jar of Plum Butter, as well as the pickled ginger. I don't at all remember where it came from (I'm guessing a gift - and I thank you whoever gave it to me! Sorry I don't remember who!). Plum butter is really like plum jelly, there isn't any real butter in there.

2 bone-in pork chops (about an inch think or thicker - not the skinny ones)
3 tablespoons pickled ginger
1 table spoon sliced fresh ginger
3 tablespoons plum butter
1/4 cup diced onion
1 cup chicken broth
3 cloves
2 green cardamom pods
1 star star anise
salt and pepper
oil of choice (I used peanut oil)

Start a heavy pan going with medium high heat. Generously salt and pepper the pork chops. Add some oil to the pan and then the pork chops. Let them cook until nicely browned (maybe 6 minutes). Then flip and brown lightly on the other side (the goal is to brown the sides, but not cook it through). Then remove and set aside.

Next add the onion, fresh ginger, pickled ginger, cloves, star anise, and cardamom. Cook a few minutes to release all the flavors. Next add your Chicken stock and stir in the Plum Butter until it dissolves. Lower heat to simmer.

Return the pork chops to the pan and nestle into the liquid. Cover the pan and simmer until the pork chops are cooked through. Then remove the pork chops again and turn up the heat so the sauce reduces down.

I served it over white rice.

BBQ Thanksgiving

It started with the sauces. Presents from my mom from her recent trip down south. Three bbq sauces. A thin vinegar style bottled sauce, a thick mustard sauce, and a barely contained container of Bullock's BBQ sauce. I had to put these precious items to good use. having them sit and mold in my fridge was not going to be acceptable.

Now I have all the respect in the world for true smoked BBQ. But I live in an apartment and using a smoker is not an option (yes yes i know there are stove top smokers - but i am not going to give myself carbon monoxide poisoning with one of those). So this is an attempt to recreate BBQ as well as possible within the confines of regular kitchen equipment.

Pulled Pork City Apartment Style

1 pork shoulder
Ample amounts of rub
Apple Cider Vinegar
BBQ sauces

First, track down a pork shoulder ( i had to go to a couple of places to get one). Liberally cover the shoulder in the rub of your choosing. I like Paul Proudhomme's "Magic Seasoning" so I used the "Pork and Veal Magic". Practically the whole thing of it. Just pour it on there and rub it in. The idea is to get a sort of crust on it.

Next, put the shoulder in a roasting dish into a 500 degree oven. Give it about 7 minutes, rotate it, and give it another 7 minutes or so. This is to crisp up and caramelize the exterior of the shoulder.

Next, you have some choices. You can either leave the shoulder in the oven and lower the temperature down to 250 degrees or transfer it to a slow cooker. I did a bit a both because I didn't know how long it was going to take. I started it in the slow oven, then at at about 11:30 PM realized it needed to be in there for another 4 hours at least (not the best of planning) and moved it over to my slow cooker and set it to low heat. The slow cooker lid wouldn't fit on, so I made a tent with aluminum foil. Then I just let it go until I got up the next morning. In total it cooked probably about 12 hours.

Next morning, woke up, took the pork out of the cooker, let it cool a bit, and started pullin'. Man! That thing just fell apart. It was a beautiful thing.

Last step was to put all the pulled pork in a bowl, mix in some of the Bullock's sauce (not too much, just enought o give it a starter kick), and put it back in the slow cooker to keep warm until lunch time.



And yes, we tried the sauces with it. The big winner was Maurice's Mustard Sauce. Mustard sauce is more of a South Carolina thing and this was North Carolina style pulled pork, but that's ok.

UPDATE: I liked this stuff so much that I repeated it on a smaller scale and it turned out just as well. Instead of a pork shoulder I bought some country style pork ribs, covered them in the rub, stuck them in the slow cooker for about five hours and pulled them. Terrific!

Oliver's Eggs

Today we have our first guest-chef recipe. This is from our friend's 3 year old son.

Oliver's Eggs
RB: "Oliver, what do you like to cook?"
Oliver: "Eggs."
RB: "How do you make your eggs?"
Oliver: "First you take your eggs.."
RB: "And what do you add to them?"
Oliver: "Some milk..."
RB: "Uh-huh?"
Oliver: "and some water...and some oil...and...HONEY!"

I can't vouch for how this tastes, in fact neither can anyone in his family, because no one will eat it, not even Oliver's 1 year old brother.

Garam Masala Chocolate Pudding

Another thing using my new favorite spice blend, a super simple desert "semi-homemade" style.

Garam Masala Chocolate Pudding

1 package of instant chocolate pudding.
teaspoon of garam masala

That's it. Just add some garam masala to your straight up chocolate pudding mix and it perks it up and makes it super tasty. And If you want to make it rather than buy it, here's a recipe:

Garam Masala Recipe

Take equal parts cardamom seeds, cinnamon sticks, cloves, and black pepper corns and grind together in a coffee grinder.


While I was writing this I thought, "Hey, what about chai ice cream? That sounds like a pretty good idea!" So I googled it, and of course, it's out there. And who's doing it? Ms. Semi-Homemade herself. How about that. Here's the link.

When the Cat's Away the Mice Make Tuna Noodle

Tonight the wife is out and that means only one thing... Tuna Noodle.

Yes, tuna noodle, the smell of which makes my wife gag, even hours after it was cooked. But for me it is the premier comfort food. I love it and not ashamed. at all. Plus it is the meal that made me learn how to make a bechamel sauce, so how low brow is that?

TUNA NOODLE (not casserole)

serves 3-4 (or 1 if I am eating)

1 can tuna in water
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup butter
1 cup milk
1 pound dried pasta (something sturdy like rigatoni or spirals)
salt and pepper

caraway seeds (optional)
frozen peas (optional)

Get some water boiling and when it's ready add the pasta.

Heat up your pan to a medium heat and add the butter. When it is melted add the flour and stir, making it combine into a blob. Let it cook for a few minutes. Congrats, You have just made a roux.

Now add the milk. They say in the cookbooks to add it a little at a time, stirring always to keep it smooth, but i just dump it all in and stir away. So whichever method you choose, keep stirring until there are no more lumps. Guess what, you have just made a bechamel sauce. (Who knew such a simple meal uses so many fancy french cooking methods?)

Next, add the canned tuna with the water. If you want, add some caraway seeds (i like them because it makes me think of a tuna sandwich on rye). And at the very end of the pasta cooking add some frozen peas to the pasta water and let them cook. Then strain the pasta, combine it with the tuna sauce, and you're done. Just and salt and pepper.

That's right, no oven used in this recipe. Just the sauce over the pasta and onto the plate. That's why it's not a casserole.

And by substituting the tuna with cheese, you have a great mac and cheese recipe.

The Out of Towner's Guide to Lunch

My wife and I did some long term traveling last year, and now that I'm home I often find myself wondering what someone totally unfamilar with this country would do visiting. And then I wish I could meet them on the street and give them some tips on where to eat lunch. Not the fancy places, but the cheap, everyday new york lunch-break places that you don't find abroad. So here is where I would tell them to have lunch:


1) Dirty Water Dog - Yes, it may give you a disease, but it is delicious. And the way to eat it is with mustard. Just mustard. NO KETCHUP. Maybe get a pretzel there while you're at it. And have that with just mustard. But stay away from the knishes.





2) The Gigantic Every Food on Earth Available Deli Place - These places are crazy. The place to go if you feeling like having a bowl of gumbo, a turkey wrap, stir fried veggies and krab and a california roll on the side. You can go to the sandwich counter, the tossed salad counter, the hot regular grill, the mongolian grill, the cold salad bar, the hot salad bar, the sushi cooler, the pizza counter, and the smoothie counter. And probably more. So none of the food is fantastic, but most of it is not bad, and the variety of stuff available is wild. A good one to visit (though sort of out of the way)is Deli Grandville on 10th ave. Stop by after shopping at B&H.

3) Popeye's Fried Chicken - OK, I know, not New York. But I used to live in Lousiana and discovered its joys there. Whenever I am needing a nice does of greasy deliciousness for lunch this is my standby. And I think if you come to the US, you need to try some fried chicken, and Popeye's is just the best there is, especially in New York. And make sure to get a biscuit. Map to New York Locations.


4) Pizza Slice Place - I place these in a different category than the "full pie" pizza places. Pizza generally is so so (so so for New York, great for much of rest of country), but quick and cheap. By the way, most of them are named Ray's, but there is only one real Ray's, the rest are imposters. A good one is Maffei's on sixth ave.


5) Full Pie Pizza Place - Now this is strongly debated thing in New York. I won't even get into it except to say that I used to live in Brooklyn Heights, so Grimaldi's is tops for me. If you are an out of towner, you need to take the train the Brooklyn, eat at Grimaldi's, then walk back over the brooklyn bridge. Such a great afternoon and so few visitor's do it. For the real pizza enthusiast, here is
some further reading.

Smoked Turkey Strikes Again

That last soup was so good I decided to try again. Well that and the fact that I still have not gone to the grocery store, so I scramble for things to cook for myself and my pregnant wife. So soup again is the verdict.

This time I decided to stay away from the indian/morrocan thing. Instead I looked in my spice drawer and found I had some packets of Sazon. So I decided to make a pseudo-Caribbean/Italian soup type thing. And it turned out great! Is this just the way making soup is? I feel like I have discovered the holy grail. A recipe that can use anything you have in the kitchen and taste great while being really healthy at the same time. Amazing.

Secret ingredients this time that you could really taste: adding slices of lemon to the soup as it cooked, a bit of white wine, and a splash of balsamic vinegar at the end. And as with the previous recipe - the tomato paste adds great body. Plus, I am loving this smoked turkey thing. The flavor of ham without the ham. Not that I have any problem with ham, but my wife doesn't like it. I married her anyway.

Pseudo Carribean Smoked Tukey Soup

salt and pepper
olive oil
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 small diced red onion
three cloves chopped garlic
four slices ginger
three slices lemon
1/4 cup white wine
tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup diced smoked turkey
1 cup frozen corn kernels
1 cup pasta (I used shells cause I had them)
1 can great northern beans

Get out the soup pot. Heat up some olive oil and add the onions. Let cook until browned around the edges. Add the smoked turkey and garlic. Cook until turkey gets just brown at edges (but don't let garlic burn). Now add the tomato paste and "sazon" seasoning and cook for just a few minutes. Next add water and the wine, maybe 4 cups or so (fill the pot up 2/1 to 3/4 full). Add the ginger slices and salt and pepper. Bring to a boil then reduce to simmer and let go for 1/2 hour or 45 mins. Then add the frozen corn and pasta and cook until pasta is tender (10 - 15 min). Last add a splash of balsamic vingear and stir though.

I served with toast.

Morrocan Style Smoked Turkey and Sweet Potato Stew (Orange Soup)

So this is the recipe that started it all!

Cooked it last night and was so pleased with the result that I wrote up the recipe and sent it to the few people I know who might care (ie - sister, mother, grandmother). Then today couldn't resist telling friends about it. They suggest I start a "food blog" since I often talk about the thing I cooked the night before (if worth talking about -- making tuna noodle casserole again does not warrant a conversation). Clearly this is a ploy to divert me from boring them with my recipe stories. No matter, I was intrigued by the idea of a "food blog". Because maybe, just maybe, there is a person or two out there in internet land who might be interested. And it lets me try out this whole blog business that's all the rage.

Back story to the recipe: Came home last night. Hadn't been to the grocery store for a week. Needed dinner and looked to see what was around. Just had a great soup out a my mom's house, so decided to try for that. I noticed I had a lot of orange colored ingredients (sweet potatoes, orange bell pepper, carrots, orange lentils). "I'll make an orange soup!" I thought. That led to using morrocan style seasoning (actually Indian seasonings - and I mean Indian Indian, as in we got them when we were in india earlier this year). Below is the final concontion, and, I must say, "damn it was good."

Moroccan Style Smoked Turkey and Sweet Potato Stew

1/2 diced red onion
1/2 diced orange beel pepper
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
1 cup diced cubed sweet potato
1 large chopped carrot
1 squeeze of honey
2 dashes of garam masala (indian spice blend)
1 small stick cinnamon
a few cloves
few sprigs dried thyme
1 cup smoked turkey (cubed)
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 can whole tomatoes (crush up when adding)
Water or chicken stock
olive oil

In a stew pot, heat up the olive oil. Add diced onion, pepper, and carrots and cook with pretty high heat. Add garlic and cook for a bit. Next add tomato paste, stirring to coat everything and let it cook for a few minutes. Next add canned tomatoes with juice and the water or stock, total should be maybe 4 cups of liquid. Also add the cinnamon, cloves, thyme and garam masala. Let boil away for a few minutes. Then add the diced sweet potatoes, reduce heat to simmer and cook until the sweet potatoes are done, maybe 20 minutes.

Yeah - I know I left out the orange lentils. I decided mid way through that they would be excessive considering that there was already sweet potatoes in there. Plus I'm still a little fuzzy on how long to cook them for. They will have to be saved for another recipe.