Archives for March 2014

Dippers Unite!

March 26, 2014 by Ginger 1 Comment

Asian Dipping Sauce by D Fenwick, http://dfenwickphotography.com

Asian dipping sauce with shrimp chips

Are you a condiment hoarder? Do bottles of sauce take up more space in your refrigerator than “real food”? If you answered yes, you’ve come to the right place, if you answered “Not yet!” even better – you still have room on the shelf! Have I got a treat for your tastebuds…

This sauce is SOOOO delicious you’ll wonder where it’s been all your life – but you’ll have to go adventuring first, and track down your local Chinese market – a hidden gem in a sea of brand name grocery stores. The reason is because your local grocer is unlikely to sell Tamarind Paste, the Fish Sauce can probably be found in the Asian aisle however, but your Chinese market will definitely have both. Here’s your shopping list:

Ingredients:

1/4 cup rice vinegar (not the one with sugar aided, you want the plain one)
1/4 cup tamarind paste
2 Tb fish sauce
2 TB dark brown sugar (packed into the spoon and level)
1 TB vegetable or canola oil
2 garlic cloves finely minced
optional: 2 thai chilies finely minced

The process is simple enough, combine all the ingredients above stirring well. Let sit at room temperature about 2 hours so all the flavors fully develop and get to know each other. In the photo above the colorful “crackers” are shrimp chips also purchasable at an Asian market. Made of shrimp paste, tapioca flour and water, these chips are dried to a hard almost translucent consistency, the frying process in your kitchen puffs them to the wonderful little crispy treats you see above. Well worth the time believe me!

But if you’re not into shrimp chips, this lovely sauce can be used with wontons, egg rolls or anything else in your snackie go-to list that serves as a conduit for an Asian dipping sauce. As that little “shrimp” of a kid Mickey used to say, try it – you’ll like it!

Beef Stroganoff over noodles

March 20, 2014 by Dan Leave a Comment

Beef Stroganoff with Noodles

Beef stroganoff

1 lb beef (round steak, chuck roast, tri-tip, etc.)
1 (or more) cloves of garlic
1/2 sweet onion, thin sliced
1/2 cup flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 cup beef stock
1/2 cup red wine
2 Tablespoons dry sherry
6 ounces sour cream
Olive oil

Cut your beef into thin, bite sized pieces. Combine the flour, salt and pepper in a large zip top bag. Add the meat to the bag and seal. Shake vigorously to evenly coat all of the meat. (The flour will help thicken your sauce later as well as help brown the meat.)

garlic for stroganoff

Place 1/4 cup or so of olive oil in a skillet, heat over medium heat. Peal and slice your clove of garlic and also the sweet onion. Once the oil is hot, add the garlic to the oil. Cook until lightly browned. Remove the garlic from the oil, retaining the oil in the pan.

onions for stroganoff

Turn the burner down to medium low and add the sliced onion. Cook the onion until lightly browned and soft. Add 2 Tablespoons dry sherry. Cook, stirring frequently until well carmelized (The onions will be evenly browned.) Remove the onions from the oil and retain the oil in the pan.

beef for stroganoff

You may need to add a little more oil if your onions absorbed a lot of the oil you had. Once the skillet is back up to a medium temperature, add your meat. Cook, turning and stirring occaisionally until well browned. Once the meat is browned, add your beef stock and red wine. Reduce the heat to low and simmer 15 to 20 minutes. (Cook your noodles or rice now.) If the sauce gets too thick add a little more beef stock.

sour cream into beef stroganoff

Once your noodles are ready and the beef is cooked add the carmelized onions to the meat and stir them. Now add in 6 ounces of sour cream. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve over noodles or rice. Sprinkle a little grated cheese over the top if desired.

For additional flavor you can add a pinch or two of rosemary along with the beef stock and wine and add the fried garlic back in when you serve the stroganoff. This photo shows the dish made with dairy free sour cream and gluten free pasta.

Shells Casserole

March 12, 2014 by Ginger Leave a Comment

Shells Casserole

I love pasta shells – little boats of yummy goodness that can be filled with mixtures from sweet to savory. Today’s offering welcomes back crispy pancetta bits, and cheese. Does it get any better? Actually it does…

Ingredients:
1 box of jumbo pasta shells
1 lb hamburger
1 container pasta sauce of choice
~5 oz of cooked spinach, drained (you can either use a box of frozen spinach or 1/2 bag of frozen organic, I place it in a bowl and pour a cup of hot water over it to defrost, then squeeze out the liquid later)
~2 cups shredded Mozzarella (vegan mozzarella is pictured above)
~1 cup shredded pecorino or parmesan
1 package of sliced pancetta from the deli (you can normally find this in the fine cheeses area). Dice/chop the pancetta for easy frying.
1/4 tsp cinnamon
~ 1 Tablespoon of olive oil
pinch of salt

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F while you prepare the dish.
2. Bring a large pot of water to boil. Add pasta and cook until tender but not completely soft – remember, you’re going to be baking this later! When the pasta is done remove and cool with cold water to stop the cooking process.
3. While the water boils heat olive oil in a skillet and brown the sliced pancetta. Remove pancetta with a slotted spoon onto a paper towel to drain.
4. Add hamburger to fry pan and brown in pancetta oil.
5. Drain hamburger and place in a large bowl, add pancetta, mozzarella, spinach and cinnamon. Mix well. Add salt to taste.
6. In a large baking dish pour ~1 cup of the pasta sauce in the bottom and spread evenly. Then carefully stuff a shell with ~2 tablespoons of hamburger mixture.
7. Pour remaining pasta sauce over the shells when finished. Place in oven and cook until the pasta bubbles and shell tips begin to turn brown (or the cheese is well melted).
8. Serve with crusty bread, a glass of vino, a good movie, the possibilities are endless…

Italian Crescent Casserole – it’s a winner!

March 5, 2014 by Ginger 1 Comment

Italian Crescent Casserole

This recipe won a bake off competition back in 1978 and is posted, in it’s original form here. We’ve changed it up a bit by changing out the cheese for dairy free versions and using Bison meat instead of regular hamburger. The recipe is very easy and open to modification, so whether you add Pepper Jack cheese, or maybe use Turkey meat, you’ll save this recipe to eat again and again.

Ingredients:

1 lb ground meat (we used Bison)
~1/8 cup of finely chopped sweet onion
1 cup pasta sauce (we used “Traditional” but a brand heavier on garlic would be awesome!)
~2 cups shredded cheese – we used Vegan Mozzarella and Vegan Monterey Jack)
1/4 cup dairy free sour cream
1 can Refrigerated Crescent Dinner Rolls (TIP: keep this in the fridge until you need it)
1/2 cup grated Pecorino cheese (but you could use Parmesan)
~3 tablespoons butter or margarine (2 tablespoons need to be melted)
~1 tablespoon of herbs (we used a combo of rosemary, thyme & sage)
1 9″ pie pan

Preparation (please read all instructions first as you can be multitasking during the different preparation stages if you’re fast):

While your oven heats to 375 degrees F, melt a tablespoon of butter in your fry pan and cook your onions till translucent, then add meat stirring as needed until the meat is cooked through. Remove any excess grease and add the pasta sauce and herbs. Cook until the sauce begins to bubble and then reduce heat.

If you have not already done so, shred your cheese (mozzarella/jack) into a bowl and mix in the sour cream. In a separate bowl, add your shredded pecorino (or parmesan) and 2 tablespoons melted butter. Mix well – this will be used as a spread later.

Pour the meat mixture into the bottom of your pie pan and carefully layer the sour cream mixture over the top. Get the crescent roll container out of the fridge, open, and then lay the triangles over the mixture – arranging these so the points are in the center is the easiest!

Finally, carefully spread the butter-cheese mixture on the crescent rolls. Place in oven and bake approximately 30mins or until your oven cooks the rolls to a golden brown.

Enjoy!