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Post by bixaorellana on Jun 15, 2010 15:23:46 GMT
Joanne, would you mind sharing that pasta recipe, please? It's a new concept for me, and sounds wonderful.
Don Cuevas, did you get to tour the Culinary Inst?
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Post by bazfaz on Jun 15, 2010 15:27:15 GMT
Not all the duck breast was eaten last night so we'll have that tonight with broad beans from the garden. There is white asparagus to start with. Cherries and peaches to end. It is much easier cooking when summer comes.
Oh, and cheap red wine.
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Post by joanne28 on Jun 15, 2010 16:10:49 GMT
Spicy Peanut Chicken Pasta
This is the original recipe - my tweaks at the bottom
1 tbsp vegetable oil 15 mL 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs 500 g 1 cup chicken broth 250 mL 2 tbsp honey 30 mL 1 tbsp soy sauce 15 mL 1/4 cup peanut butter 50 mL 1 tbsp cornstarch 15 mL 1 tsp ground ginger 5 mL 1/2 tsp hot pepper flakes (or more, or less, or whatever) 2 mL 2 green onions, sliced 2 2 cloves garlic, squished 2 1 green or red pepper, thinly sliced 1 1/2 lb spaghetti or linguine 250 g Cut the chicken breasts or thighs into 1/2-inch (1 cm) chunks.
Heat the vegetable oil in a large skillet, add the chicken chunks and cook them over high heat until lightly browned - 5 to 7 minutes. (Thigh meat will take a bit longer than breast meat.) Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside.
In a bowl, whisk together the chicken broth, honey, soy sauce, peanut butter, cornstarch, ginger, and hot pepper flakes. Pour this mixture into the skillet and cook, stirring constantly, until thickened and smooth.
Add the green onions, garlic, and red or green pepper, and cook for another couple of minutes. Return the chicken pieces (and any juice that has accumulated) to the pan and simmer the mixture for 2 or 3 minutes, until heated through.
Serve over hot, cooked pasta - thin spaghetti or linguine is good.
My tweaks
I use about 5 or 6 green onions (aka scallions, I believe) and 4 or 5 cloves of garlic.
I don't measure the crushed chili peppers, I pour some into my hand. One handful has a little zing and two handfuls are what we like.
I normally toss the onions & peppers in immediately with the sauce and then cook sauce till it thickens as DH isn't really crazy about crunchy veggies.
This is another of those easily adapted recipes, using whatever is around when necessary. I normally use smooth peanut butter but I imagine crunchy would add a nice texture.
This is currently one of my favourites and I would make it every week if I could get away with it.
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Post by bixaorellana on Jun 15, 2010 16:25:23 GMT
That sounds so interestingly tasty ~~ thanks! That's a good tip about how to control the "cookedness" of the vegetables. As you say, many people like theirs a little more cooked.
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Post by Don Cuevas on Jun 15, 2010 23:30:52 GMT
<cut> Don Cuevas, did you get to tour the Culinary Inst? Yes, we spent a bit over an hour taking a private tour. What we saw was very interesting. Of course, I was able to ask relevant questions. I have posted photos of our visit at tinyurl.com/2cnr2d5. I haven't had time to write about much of anything, other than bits and pieces here. We ate in the Apple Pie Cafe, which is the least formal and least expensive restaurant on the campus. However, it's more than American food: Doña Cuevas ad Pork Steamed Buns and I a Bahn Mi Sandwich. I waited for a lull in the waiting line, and got a Peanut Butter Chocolate Cookie, which was a total surprise when it was brought to us. It consists of two, buttery PB cookies with a warmish fudge layer holding them together. Only $1.95. Some very elaborate cake desserts were $7.00. We rated the service 5 ***** and the food 4 ****, the latter due to excess oil in the pork filled buns and dryish meatballs in the bahn mi. We also bought breads and pastries to go. The chocolate croissant this a.m. was very good and I just ate a third of a very rich, caramel nut topped Danish in box shape. Tonight's meal was two dirty water dogs from a stand in the entrance of the ShopRite Supermarket near our hotel. Lunch, at la Casa Familiar, was a luscious, tender pot roast accompanied by one of our favorite carbs, Kasha Varnishkes. (Bowtie egg noodles mingled with whole grain, toasted buckwheat and caramelized onions.) And an unthickened, natural gravy. My Mom does not thicken gravy, and we prefer it that way. I almost forgot that we opened, as usual, with one of her simple yet crisp, fresh and delicious green salads.
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Post by lagatta on Jun 16, 2010 1:47:09 GMT
I make Kasha - tasty and healthful, but have never made the Varnishkes variation. Am heartened by the caramelised onions, and will seek out a recipe. I rarely like beef pot roast but comprehend that it could be very very good if done properly.
You are blessed indeed at your age (somewhat older than me) to still have your mum, in good enough mental and physical health to produce such a lovely meal. Loch C'haim!
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Post by bixaorellana on Jun 16, 2010 3:48:40 GMT
MOST interesting, Don Cuevas! I'm eager to hear the whole story. I never knew the C.I.A. was so beautiful. What is that sedate yet inviting dining room in the long narrow brick area with arches? The specials menu calls out to me, although I'd be forced to forgo the muffaletta because of the black olive tapenade -- tsk tsk, wrong. Having to "settle" for the Portabella sandwich would hardly be the 7th level of hell, though. The soups are intriguing.
I've never had kasha varnishkes, and it sounds like exactly the sort of thing I love. My mother calls that kind of unthickened gravy, which she too serves with pot roast, "skinny gravy".
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Post by Don Cuevas on Jun 16, 2010 8:56:08 GMT
"What is that sedate yet inviting dining room in the long narrow brick area with arches?" The American Bounty Restaurant. but "Americas" covering North, South and Central America. It, or Caterina D'Medici restaurant would have been my first choice had we time, money and proper attire. Kasha Varnishkes: toasted, whole grain buckwheat is preferred in our family. It's not all that easy to find. I looked in the kosher foods AND the rices aisles of the huge ShopRite store near our hotel, and didn't see it. I have seen it in another ShopRite in Livingston. We are going to Corrado's in Clifton today. It's a fabulous ethnic foods supermarket, originally Italian, but now with a wide range of products. They may have it there. Corrado's prices tend to be considerably lower than other fancier supermarkets. www.corradosmarket.com/home/store-clifton.htmlThursday shopping will be just the two of us, going to Kam Man Foods, East Hanover, NJ. (I wrote a review for Google last year. If you search, you can find it.) Then an obligatory visit to the Costco just down the road.
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Post by bixaorellana on Jun 16, 2010 17:16:04 GMT
Don Cuevas, how do you get all that stuff back to Mexico? The last food item I brought back was several glass jars of Zatarain's mustard, carefully packed within my carry-on luggage. The very next day the ban against liquids and gels was instituted. If they'd tried to take my mustard away, it would have turned very ugly. I'm assuming you pack it all up and check the box or suitcase. What about the weight involved? We can't get sausages or cheeses into Mexico, I don't think.
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Post by Don Cuevas on Jun 17, 2010 1:02:29 GMT
Don Cuevas, how do you get all that stuff back to Mexico? The last food item I brought back was several glass jars of Zatarain's mustard, carefully packed within my carry-on luggage. The very next day the ban against liquids and gels was instituted. If they'd tried to take my mustard away, it would have turned very ugly. I'm assuming you pack it all up and check the box or suitcase. What about the weight involved? We can't get sausages or cheeses into Mexico, I don't think. Bixa, I have about 5 containers of mustard, most of which are in plastic. The glass jars get packed in a good plastic bag, then in a sock. There're 3 pounds total Switzer's Black Twizzlers, a few small containers of clam base and lobster base from Corrados, some cured olives, maybe a pound each, and the totally illogical 14 oz can of Roland flat anchovy fillets in olive oil. (We can easily get decent anchovies in Morelia). Tomorrow, we head to Kam Man Foods, where our attendance is almost more ritualistic than serious shopping. After some business, we head for lunch at a Vietnamese restaurant in Florham Park. I canget a lot of Asian ingredients in our 2 1/2 day stopover in Mexico City, although the selection is nowhere near as interesting or extensive as Kam Man. The heavy stuff is the shipment from Nora Mill, Helen, GA: 10 pounds of 10 grain cereal, 5 # each stone ground cornmeal and grits, if I recall correctly. There may be a bit more. Remember, there are two of us, and we each have a 50 pound free baggage allowance. Then there's creative carryon luggage. We can discuss what was for dinner, later.
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Post by bixaorellana on Jun 17, 2010 2:41:26 GMT
I will look forward to it. Have you ever gotten your cornmeal here? I've mentioned this before, I'm sure. I had long bemoaned the lack of cornmeal here in the very heart of corndom. So, there I am, standing in the street in Tlacolula, near an elderly lady seated on the sidewalk who was selling different kinds of dried corn. As my eyes idly tracked from the corn vendor to the clanking business across the street, the light bulb went on over my head. I bought some corn from the old lady and took it to the corn/nixtamal/chocolate mill and explained what I wanted. The woman running the place showed me examples of different kinds of grind, then sent me to the back with the kid who'd be doing the grinding so that I could get exactly what I wanted. As you know, all of those places only do stone grinding. You will have to refrigerate the cornmeal, though, or use it quickly as it's not degerminated.
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Post by cristina on Jun 17, 2010 3:42:38 GMT
I am sweetly surprised at the report of 3 lbs of Switzer's black twizzlers. DC, I will happily send you the black one's from my Switzer's mixed assortments since I only like the red ones. Bixa, I am impressed with your resourcefulness regarding the cornmeal. I don't use cornmeal often enough to think about what I would do if I didn't have it. I am hoping this new information stays in my brain long enough to put it into action when the need arises. I do need cornbread every once and a while. Good cornbread. My dinner tonight was hot dogs. Not very inventive but I had a sudden craving. I haven't had one in probably 2 years but I really needed one tonight. So I had two. ;D Cooked on the grill, with grilled buns. Catsup or ketchup. Only could have been better if I had some pickle relish. The catsup or ketchup was my vegetable (or fruit, if you prefer). Not a very wholesome meal, but it tasted damn fine.
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Post by bixaorellana on Jun 17, 2010 5:52:05 GMT
And you can send me any stray black jelly beans!
I used to make cornbread regularly because it's so easy, but have gotten away from it. Ditto hot dogs, because it's almost impossible to get decent ones where I live. But I do know that hot dog craving!
Tonight's supper was great. It's been cool and rainy for three days and I wanted something just right for the weather. I made soupy baby lentils with curry flavors and had them in the same bowl with little elbow macaroni cooked in chicken broth -- lime, chopped onion, & papaloquelite (like a very strong coriander) on top. It was perfect!
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Post by Deleted on Jun 17, 2010 9:46:09 GMT
I bring back many bags of black twizzlers every time I go to the U.S. (and yet there is no lack of that sort of stuff here)
I have cooked nothing of interest for several days. Things have been so dire that I even made a dose of instant mashed potatoes earlier this week. I confirm that they are as bad as ever.
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Post by Don Cuevas on Jun 17, 2010 10:33:18 GMT
The nixtamal molino in our pueblito grinds corn wet, to make tortillas and tamales, so that's out as a solution. Cristina Potter, of Mexico Cooks! blog fame, suggests buying the coarse cornmeal in the nercado and sifting out the big pices.
I tried that twice; first time, not too bad, second time, full of ground cobs and who knows what, plus a lot of small bugs. Even at best, it doesn't taste the same as good U.S. cornmeal.
Besides, there's a certain odd pleasure that comes in finding and purchasing top grade ingredients such as those made by Nora Mill or the more famous Anson Mill. True, it's expensive and it's a schlep to get home, but I enjoy it.
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Post by bixaorellana on Jun 17, 2010 15:15:20 GMT
Yeah, you can't go to an exclusively nixtamal place, nor a chocolate place, although Patzcuaro probably has a large, all-purpose molino. I agree that the commercial corn meals from the US are excellent, but my method, which is really easier than Ms. Potter's, will give very good results.
The real triumph would be to find dried nixtamal and get your grits ground for you. I've asked around, and everyone says that nixtamal is never dried.
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Post by Don Cuevas on Jun 18, 2010 11:28:59 GMT
Yesterday, we went to lunch at Viet Ai, in Florham Park, NJ. Our kind of restaurant: economical, unpretentious and generous servings of fresh, tasty food. www.vietai1.comWe enjoyed two appertizers, a small shrimp and jellyfish salad, then Vietnamese Rice crepes filled with ground pork and covered with those bland Vietnamese lunchmeat slices. I've had better, but the dipping sauce redeemed it. We then split a order of (I think) Bún chả giò bò lụi - Grilled Beef w. Sesame Seasoning & Spring Roll w. Letture on Rice Vermicelli. This was very good, although I don't like the fried pork filled rolls as well as the cold, rice paper wrapped, shrimp and vermicelli rolls. Back at the old favorite, Van Lang Restaurant in Little Rock, this dish was different in that it was served with flat, not rolled, grilled meats (resembling tasajo jo, jo, jo!) and with semi circles of rice paper that we'd dip in cold water to make warps. But Van Lang was more "ritzy" than Viet Ai. Nevertheless, we enjoyed the crunchy raw vegs, savory frilled meats and slippery fine rice vermicelli. There was some phormidable pho passing our table, and other dishes looked very good also, especially appealing were those with phatter noodles. We ended the meal with a weird dessert: coconut milk over an ice snowball plus green jelly slivers in a sundae glass that had cooked mung beans in the bottom. Very interesting, but too rich for just one of us. I couldn't get a good pic of that, but I think I have one similar taken at Van Lang some years ago. www.pbase.com/panos/image/27380225
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Post by Don Cuevas on Jun 18, 2010 11:39:02 GMT
Last night, my sister and a friend from work joined us for a nice dinner at Sweet Basil's Cafe, West Orange, NJ They do a very eclectic menu, salads are good. Doña Cuevas had Blackened Rare Tuna, which was good, but suffered some from excessive saltiness. The plate was decorated with a thick, reduced soy sauce, in combination with the blackening seasoning, exacerbated the saltiness. But once into the large, tender tuna cubes, it was good. I started with a nice Arugula, Pear and Gorgonzola Salad, and breaking away from my usual form, a Linguine Frutta Della Mare. We had no room for desserts, among which were warm berry cobbler or a Root Beer Float. Thus concluded another day of good but too much food. Today we are scheduled to have dinner at Don Pepe's Steakhouse, Fairfield, or maybe Pinebrook, NJ. www.donpepesteakhouse.com/I see that they have soft shelled crabs as a special. Maybe I'll try to get them on a salad. Exercise time is at hand!
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Post by Don Cuevas on Jun 19, 2010 2:22:38 GMT
Don Pepe's was excellent. Sra. Cuevas and I each had an o.k. but not distinguished salad for a starter. It had boring hearts of palm sections on it. The bread was outstanding: crisp, crusted, great open crumb, peasant food. My Mom had a steamed whole lobster; my Dad, a magnificent bone-in sirloin steak, cooked perfectly medium rare. I got a slice and the beef was excellent, juicy, tender but with character. Doña C and I both had two large soft shelled crabs Meuniere style. The family style service of rice looked boring. The family plate of lingine was totally naked but o.k. with the butter lemon sauce of the crabs. There was nicely cooked broccoli, but ho-hum. The best thing to go with the crabs and their sauce was the bread. I tried Leche Frita for dessert. O.k, but I wouldn't order it again. It resembled fried tofu slices too much. EDIT: The photos are finishing uploading. I'll post only the most outstanding here. Excellent bread; probably the best on the trip. The bread on the right is better than the garlic bread on the left. Gina, my Dad's helper, had this filet of beef with shrimp in a brown mushroom sauce. Softselled Crabs "Francesas" My Dad enjoyed a serious sirloin. I had a slice. It was outstanding. My Mom loves lobster. She was happy with this two-pounder. Leche Frita. O.k, but not as interesting as I thought it would be. A glass of chilled Pinot Grigio accompanied all. Too tired to do pictures yet. Maybe in the morning. No, tonight, eating a plain cottage cheese sandwich on whole grain bread with a few roasted almonds and a V-8 Juice. Morning, June 19, 2010: hungry again. Either cottage cheese sandwich or a trip to a nearby diner awaits.
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Post by hwinpp on Jun 19, 2010 4:08:53 GMT
All looks delicious, I'd like to taste the tuna dish most.
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Post by imec on Jun 19, 2010 15:48:02 GMT
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Post by bixaorellana on Jun 19, 2010 16:13:29 GMT
You men owe me a new monitor! I broke mine trying to dive into it after those insanely tantalizing food images y'all posted!
Gosh, Don Cuevas, when you first posted #2898, before you put in the pictures, I was thinking that I'm not as excited by softshell crabs as most people seem to be. But that picture! Still, I think my heart belongs to that monster sirloin. I love bloody beef with a blind passion, and was transfixed by Imec's portraits of beautiful rare meat. (yet still appalled by you-know-what)
That pic of the honest peasant loaf leaves the garlic bread in the shade. That's a beautiful hunk of bread.
Imec, if I could have that plate you show starring the seared tuna, I'd die happy.
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Post by imec on Jun 19, 2010 16:19:35 GMT
Imec, if I could have that plate you show starring the seared tuna, I'd die happy. Ha! It was good - can't believe I waited so long to try this - first time I've done it myself and it was dead easy.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 19, 2010 17:16:55 GMT
This is all looking pretty good. I have just opted for some boneless chicken pieces marinated in paprika and other spices (I bought them that way -- didn't do it myself), along with sliced giant Dutch mushrooms (which I must wash and trim first). I think I will simmer it all in butter and garlic.
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Post by onlymark on Jun 19, 2010 18:14:34 GMT
Packet of vegetable ramen noodles.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 19, 2010 20:04:05 GMT
They should have said that the chicken was already salty.
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Post by Don Cuevas on Jun 20, 2010 1:37:38 GMT
You men owe me a new monitor! I broke mine trying to dive into it after those insanely tantalizing food images y'all posted! Gosh, Don Cuevas, when you first posted #2898, before you put in the pictures, I was thinking that I'm not as excited by softshell crabs as most people seem to be. But that picture! Still, I think my heart belongs to that monster sirloin. I love bloody beef with a blind passion, and was transfixed by Imec's portraits of beautiful rare meat. (yet still appalled by you-know-what)That pic of the honest peasant loaf leaves the garlic bread in the shade. That's a beautiful hunk of bread. Imec, if I could have that plate you show starring the seared tuna, I'd die happy. Thanks, Bixa; but those are the last pictures I can post for nearly a month, as i carelessly left my camera hanging from a chair when we departed my parents' home today. A couple of friends in Alabama are coming to Pátzcuaro sometime in mid-July, are are willing to bring it, after my sister ships it to the Alabamans. (This is the third time I've done similar to this in a decade.) Anyway, we prepared a mid afternoon dinner at the house today: a mixed salad with fresh basil; Camarones al Mojo de Ajo, or maybe a la Diabla for an appetizer (this came out truly great, but only 3 to 4 each.); a Rib Roast seasoned with garlic, coarse salt, paprika, ginger powder and black pepper and bay leaves, cooked medium rare. It actually needed and got further cooking in the jus after slicing. The pan was deglazed with a few cups of red Italian wine. (Don't ask me which kind.) Baking potatoes, cut lengthwise into thick sections, olive oil and seasoned with the same mixture as was on the beef. That's enough for now. We are beat, and head for Mexico City tomorrow. I won't relate this evening's irritating restaurant service experience just yet.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 20, 2010 14:13:39 GMT
Wow, some fabulous food posted,jeez... clams,lobster,soft shell crabs,tuna.... Last night after much back and forth over where to go...had several places lined up and finally got to go to my premier choice,and will go again maybe tonight to watch Spain soccer game at owner's invitation. My favorite restaurant here...great food,ambiance,prices,people,wine... www.tapasytintos.com/main.html
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Post by rikita on Jun 20, 2010 15:55:47 GMT
hm i will just throw together some rice cakes and vegetables nad fry that...
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Post by Deleted on Jun 20, 2010 16:07:36 GMT
I almost bought a bag of octopus tentacles at the Chinese supermarket and then I came to my senses.
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