Basamic, garlic dip, (Ailio, Basilica e Balsamica ala Piacere)

This recipe is based on the dip served originally at the Piacere Restaurant in San Carlos, Califor- nia. This bread dip was the brainchild of the Kurd owner. It was so immensely popular, patrons would literally fill up on bread hence the restaurant soon discontinued serving it.

1⁄4 cup very finest fruity olive oil
18 Cloves coarsely chopped garlic
1 Cup of freshly chopped basil
1 Cup of very good Modena* balsamic vinegar

Heat frying pan until hot, then add and heat oil until it begins to glaze. Add all the garlic. Cook exactly 1 minute while stirring constantly. Add basil. Cook 20 seconds. Add vinegar. Store in jars in refrigerator but serve at room temperature for dipping bread.

* Aged Italian balsamic

Chili Garlic Black Bean Hot Sauce Reprinted

Chili Garlic Black Bean Hot Sauce 

The recipe came from Chinese Garden Restaurant in Santa Clara California. I had been dining there for lunch for near 18 years. I would order the pot sticker just to have a good excuse to eat the hot sauce. Unsuccessful at gaining access to the recipe no matter what I tried, I finally succeeded only when the Mandarin chef and his wife retired and sold the restaurant. The recipe sounds very simple (because it is) but the sauce gets increasingly more complex and more delicious as it ages. My Chinese friends are as crazy about this sauce as I am. 

1 cup peanut or grapeseed oil

1 cup crushed red pepper¹

6 ounces of minced fresh crushed ginger

8 cloves minced crushed garlic

1/3 cup fermented black beans (douche), chopped a bit

Heat oil until hot (300 F, a wooden chopstick begins to bubble) Drop in all the crushed red pepper. (Avoid putting your face too close to the sauce pan as a breath of this could knock you flat out and require paramedics.) Heat to very hot again. Add all other ingredient. Stir once and cook for two minutes on high. (At this high temperature the moisture is driven off and is sterile.) After the mixture completely cools,  ladel into a sterile jar and seal lid tight. Refrigerate and allow to age for a minimum of three months (is best six or more months). Once opened, keep refrigerated. Keeps at least a year. Especially great on pot stickers.

Notes:

1. How hot do you like your hot sauce? crushed red pepper could be a comination or New Mexico Pods (mild or hot), California pods (very mild) and arbor peppers (very hot), or a mix of these.
2. grapeseed oil's high smoke point means you can also use it in shallow frying without destroying its essential fatty acids, natural antioxidants, and phytochemicals.

Turkey Vegetable Minestrone Soup

 When using prepared stock, use the salt free so as to not end up with soup too salty. This is made out of the home stock from a Turkey dinner. I use the gravy too. You may want to thicken the soup with wonder flour to suit you desired thickening. Add port, and Madeira to add flavour.

2 quarts of turkey stock or beef stock
1 medium yellow squash, quarter length wise, then cross slice 1/4 thick 1 medium zucchini, quarter length wise, then cross slice 1/4 thick
3 large tomato, coarsely chopped or diced tomatoes 

1 tablespoon tomato paste concentrate
1 cup very finely chopped cabbage leaves (remove heavy stems first) (use coleslaw)
3 cloves garlic, chopped or more, if preferred 
1 peeled large  sweet onion, coarsely chopped
1 or 2 large carrots, peeled quarter length wise, then cross slice 1/4 thick 

8 ounces fresh green beans cut in 1 inch long sections
1 15-ounce can red kidney beans or white kidney beans
1 package of frozen lima beans or mukimame (shelled edamame)
16 ounces of Orecchiette pasta, (little ears)

Garnish
Olive oil
Fresh ground pepper

Graded Parmesan cheese 

Warm Ciabatta bread or toast rubbed with garlic

Balsamic vinegar

Prepared all vegetables as noted above. In a large stock pot, bring turkey stock to high boil. Add tomato, squash, zucchini, garlic, carrots, onions, kidney beans, lima beans and cook for 35 minutes. Now add fresh cut green beans, cabbage and pasta. When the pasta and green beans are tender, the soup is done.

Enchiladas Sauce II (Chile Rojo)

 

To control the amount of heat, use more mild New Mexico powder than other varieties. To make a hotter variety, mix both hot and mild New Mexico chile powder. This recipe makes for a sweeter result than starting with whole dried peppers and is faster to prepare.

1 Teaspoon Ancho powder

1 Teaspoon Aji Amarillo powder 

1 Teaspoon Guajillo powder

1 Teaspoon sweet paprika (or smoked pimenton)

1 Teaspoon of mild or hot New Mexico ground chile pow­der

2 Cups homemade rich chicken stock

2 Cloves minced garlic

5 Tablespoons lard (rendered pork fat) (Manteca rendered from good pork fat)

5 Tablespoons white all-purpose flour
2 Bay leaf

Pinch Mexican oregano(Lippia berlandieri)

1/2 Cup sour cream or more, as needed

Salt

Optional, pinch or two of sugar as required - see text

Optional, 1~2 teaspoon powdered quality beef bouillon (to taste)

Melt lard, then make a roux by blending the pork fat and flour, and cook it on low until it is a pale brown color. Remove from heat. Whisk in chili powders, garlic and oregano over very low heat, add chicken stock, and garlic. Simmer for 1 hours with a couple of optional bay leaves, a4

Cipollini In Saor - Venican Onions, with White wine vinegar, and Sugar in a Beurre Monté Sauce

This is a simple side to steak, or lamb.

Pearl onions

White wine vinegar

Sugar

Sweet Butter

Water

The pearl onions  are first boiled until “ all dente” in water that is slightly salty. Then the onions are steeped in water that is acidulated with white vinegar and a little white sugar. 

Beurre Monté is used to warm and serve the onions.

Beurre monté, literally “mounted butter” in French, is a cooking technique for preserving the emulsification of butter at high temperatures. In beurre monté, chunks of butter are whisked into hot water to create an emulsion stable up to 180 to 190°F. “Buerre monté” is also the name for the resulting liquid, which you can use as both a cooking fat and a finishing sauce.

agnolotti dal plin

Agnolotti is a type of pasta typical of the Piedmont region of Italy, made with small pieces of flattened dough folded over a filling of roasted meat or vegetables. Agnolotti is the plural form of the Italian word agnolotto. The “ dal pin” describes how their made, with a pinch. You should have a pasta wheel to cut these apart. There easy to make. Roll a long rectangle, pastry bag the filling, fold the pasta over to capture the dots of filling, pinch between them, cut apart edges with wheel. When filling the dots are off center to allow width-long side of the pasta to fold  lengthways. 

                   Seared Sea Scallops with Wild Mushroom Angnolotti 

What is Italian Dry-Cured Pork Jowl

 

 Italian Guanciale is the proper name, and it used to add flavor to many authentic recipes. It skipped as any expensive ingredient is usually ignored by the general public. In Italy, is required.

 Quoting Amazon 

Versatile Culinary Ingredient. Whether you're recreating beloved Italian dishes or exploring new culinary horizons, our imported Guanciale is a staple ingredient. Its rich, umami-packed flavor makes it a must-have specialty meat for every foodie and enhances sauces, risottos, pizzas, roasted vegetables and even salads.”

Many a butcher stills sell pig ears at a discount. Making your own  is easy, needed only rosemary and salt. 

But Amazon sells this, and it’s pretty expensive,  $58/pound.

Making your own Guanciale simply rub the ears with rosemary, and when done, bury them in salt. Put the bowl in refrig for a couple a weeks, dust them off. Freeze till needed.

Scrumdillyicious Tonkotsu Ramen Broth

It is hard to make an excellent ramen but this version shows the love it takes to laboriously execute a decent ramen. Don’t complain about how long it takes - there are no shortcut.

3 lb pig trotters, split lengthwise or cut crosswise into 1-inch disks
2 lb chicken backs and carcasses, skin and excess fat removed
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 large onion, skin on, roughly chopped
12 garlic cloves
1 3-inch knob ginger, roughly chopped
2 whole leeks, washed and roughly chopped
2 dozen scallions, white parts only, reserve light green parts for garnish 
6 oz whole mushrooms 
1 lb slab pork fat back

Place pork and chicken bones in a large stockpot and cover with cold water. Place on a burner over high heat and bring to a boil. Remove from heat as soon as boil is reached.
While pot is heating, heat vegetable oil in a medium cast iron or non-stick skillet over high heat until lightly smoking. Add onions, garlic, and ginger. Cook, tossing occasionally until deeply charred on most sides, about 15 minutes total. Set aside.
Once pot has come to a boil, dump water down the drain. Carefully wash all bones under cold running water, removing any bits of dark marrow or coagulated blood. Bones should be uniform grey/white after you've scrubbed them. Use a chopstick to help remove small bits of dark marrow from inside the trotters or near the chicken's spines.

Return bones to pot along with charred vegetables, leeks, scallion whites, mushrooms, and pork fatback. Top up with cold water. Bring to a rolling boil over high heat, skimming off any scum that appears — this should stop appearing within the first 20 minutes or so. Use a clean sponge or moist paper towels to wipe and black or gray scum off from around the rim of the pot. Reduce heat to a bare simmer and place a heavy lid on top.

Once the lid is on, check the pot after 15 minutes. It should be at a slow rolling boil. If not, increase or decrease heat slightly to adjust boiling speed. Boil broth until pork fatback is completely tender, about 4 hours. Carefully remove pork fat with a slotted spatula. Transfer fatback to a sealed container and refrigerate until step 7. Return lid to pot and continue cooking until broth is opaque with the texture of light cream, about 6 to 8 hours longer, topping up as necessary to keep bones submerged at all times. If you must leave the pot unattended for an extended period of time, top up the pot and reduce the heat to the lowest setting while you are gone. Return to a boil when you come back and continue cooking, topping up with more water as necessary.

Once broth is ready, cook over high heat until reduced to around 3 quarts. Strain through a fine mesh strainer into a clean pot. Discard solids. For an even cleaner soup, strain again through a chinois or a fine mesh strainer lined with several layers of cheese cloth. Skim liquid fat from top with a ladle and discard.

Finely chop cooked pork fatback and whisk into finished broth. To serve, season broth with condiments of your choice — salt, soy sauce, miso, sesame paste, grated fresh garlic, chili oil or a mixture of all — and serve with cooked ramen noodles and toppings as desired.

Roasted Rosemary and thyme Herbed Potatoes

The herbed potatoes are good anytime, but the excellent at Thanksgiving. Use the best extra virgin olive oil.

6 large russet potatoes, cut in wedges

1/4 cup extra Virgin olive oil

1/2 teaspoons sea salt

pepper with black and white pepper

4 teaspoons fresh rosemary

4 teaspoons fresh thyme

Cut potatoes into a shallow roasting pan, season and salt, coat with olive oil. Roast for an hour or until the potatoes take on a golden color in oven at 375F. Center pan when cooking. Unless roasting in a convection oven, turn pan a couple of times for even cooking.

Optional a little lemon juice and garlic will help flavor the dish. I use myer lemons and squeeze my lemon juice. The lemon can go on after cooked, but the garlic should be chopped fine and added with the potatoes so it’s cooked.

Garnish the serving dish, if you like, with diagonally cut scallions or more fresh thyme pieces.

Quesadillas

 These were first made with corn, but many prefer flour tortilla. The bigger the better.

The filling can be a good melting cheese and any thing you desire. Take a large metal frying pan and heat to hot. When hot, add 1/2 teaspoon and coat the cooking surface with a brush so a thin coating is formed.

Heat your tortilla until it begins to color by flipping several times. The toasting improves the flavor and rids the meal of being raw. When it have the required browning, add cheese, your filling(s), a fold in two.

Use one on these Mexican cheeses:

• Manchego
• Queso asadero
• Oaxaca *
• Chihuahua

 

Or if preferred, use Monterey Jack.

For filling I suggest you add tasty muchrooms, thinly sliced onions, tomatoes sliced, and your favorite peppers.

If making fresh tortillas from masa, you’ll be more authentic. Remember to make some fresh salsa that includes cilantro. 

* This is the usual cheese.

omnivorescookbook Sichuan Eggplant

I’ve taking  the liberty to change this recipe a slightly. 2 Chinese long eggplant (which is less bitter than the American version)

2 Sliced red sweet pepper ( could sub with any pepper as long as red) (The Chinese include dry varieties)

2 Sliced scallions

        

Sauce

• 2 tablespoons Chinkiang vinegar( black vinegar)
• 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine 
• 1 tablespoon spicy fermented bean paste doubanjiang
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 4 tablespoons peanut oil 
• 1/8 teaspoon Sichuan pepper 

• 4 cloves garlic , chopped
• 2 teaspoons ginger , minced

• 2 to 3 tablespoons chopped cilantro for garnish (Optional)

Prepare sauce

• Mix Chinkiang vinegar, light soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, spicy fermented bean paste, and sugar in a small bowl.
• Heat peanut oil in a small saucepan over medium heat until warm. Add ginger and garlic. Stir and cook until fragrant. Turn to medium low heat. 
• Add the vinegar mixture. Stir and cook until bringing to a simmer. While grilling eggplant, put the saucepan on the grill, over indirect heat to keep warm. Add a bit of water if the sauce gets too thick.

Cook eggplant

• Halve the eggplants lengthwise. Score the inside flesh in a criss-cross pattern using the tip of a small knife. Cut as close to the skin as you can without cutting through it.
• If using a gas grill, set all the burners to high heat and preheat for 15 minutes. Clean the cooking grate. Make sure the grill has reached medium-high heat.
  
  
• While waiting for the grill to heat, brush cut sides of the eggplant slices with peanut oil. Season with salt.
• Grill eggplant over medium-high heat with the lid open, for 8 to 10 minutes, until the surfaces are charred with dark grill marks. Flip once in the middle. If the eggplant gets charred too quickly, move to the cooler side of the grill, but not too far from the fire. Cook until the texture becomes creamy. Transfer to a plate to cool.

• Pour sauce onto eggplant right before serving. Serve warm, or at room temperature.

When judging the heat, hold hand 5 inches above the  grill. It should be comfortable, 3 to 4 seconds.

Carne Asada Marinade*

 

* spicy

1 cup orange juice

1/3 cup lemon juice

⅓ cup lime juice

1 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped fine

½ cup soy sauce

5 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon ancho powder

1 tablespoon Aji Amarillo 

2 tsp cumin

2 tablespoon sweet paprika

1 tablespoon ground black pepper

2 teaspoon finely chopped canned chipotle pepper 

1 teaspoon dried oregano

½ cup olive 

Marinate skirt steak 24 hour before cooking, the grill slices of steak until just done

Steve’s Steak Sauce

The destination of this sauce is your larder. No longer it ages, the better it gets. I save other sauce bottle for my own.

1 chopped onion

2 tbl olive oil

1 small can tomato paste

Start with 1 cup water, more to adjust thickness

2/3 cup orange juice

1 tbl kitchen Bouquet browning sauce

1/8 cup red wine vinegar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup sugar or enough to correct sweetness

1 tbl minced ginger

1/8 cup lime juice( juice from two limes)

1/8 tsp ground cloves

1/8 tsp ground coriander seeds

1/2 tsp mustard powder

1 1/2 cup raisins

1/3 cup honey

2 cloves crushed garlic

7 tbl tamarind paste

1 tbl ground orange rind

White, black and red pepper to taste

Pinch of thyme

Salt to taste

Sauté 1 chopped onion in two tbl of olive oil. Cook until onion is translucent. Add ginger and garlic, cook 1 minute then other ingredients and water. Cook to well blended, about 1/2 hour. Using a post blender, blend to a fine consistency. Correct the pepper and salt. Add more lime juice or vinegar as needed. Bottle in sterilize jars. The sauce will develop as it ages.

De Felici Artichokes Roman Style (Carciofi alla Romano)

Italy is the world formost grower and consumer of Italian artichokes. This recipe was described to me in detail by my waiter at Da Felice Trattoria in Rome’s Tedesco district. The restaurant has mixed reviewsdue the gruff nature of the owner, signore Felice, who has the tendency to bounce those he does not like but if you look like a “foodie”, your welcomed. The menu is not written down, the waiter will tell you about the days offerings. For many Italians, this place is a favourite and tend to fill up early for lunch. As I recall, it’s cash only.

This recipe is for globe artichokes.

12 young artichokes with stems attached

1 cup olive oil

3 crushed cloves of garlic

Pinch red pepper

1 cup table white wine

1/3 cup wine vinegar

1 cup water

Preheat the oven to 350F. Prepare a tin foil to cover the pan. In a small pan, add the olive oil and water. Heat the pan to a boil, add the crush red pepper, turn down the heat to medium, let cook for a minute or so. Turn off, add the garlic. Cover, and let stand for 90 minutes covered. This allows the garlic to infuse the oil. Add vinegar to taste.

Wash the artichokes. Using a sharp knife trim the outer leaves show the inner lite greener leaves show. Cut the top off, leaving 3/4 inch of the choke above the hearts. Using a peller, peel down the stem leaving the stem free of the outer tuff parts. Rub each artichoke with lemon juice as you prepare the chokes as you go so as the keep the colour. Place each choke, wash in water, then inverted, stem up, face down in cooking pan with our water/oil mixture. With all the chokes done, cover them with a large sheet of tin foil. Place in over for 90 minutes or until easily pierced with a knife.

Remove from oven. Carefully crack the foil, careful to avoid being burned by escaping steam. Allow these to cool, the either leave on counter or refrigerate to use the next day.

To serve, add chokes stem up to a small frying pan, add some liquid from the pan we oven cooked the artichokes in. Heat the frying pan to hot, put in preheated oven at 350F for 10-15 minutes until hot.

This restuarant is on Via Mastro Giorgio 29, Roma.

Lori’s Italian Stuffed Tomatoes

 My sisters recipe. “Pomodori Repieni al Forno” is a favourite of mine. Served hot or cold they are unique and flavourful. Cold, outdoors is my favourite way to eat these, topped with a tablespoon of my best olive oil and a sprig of basil.

1 cup uncooked long grain white rice

6 tbl of extra virgin olive oil

8 large vine ripen tomatoes

1 tsp black pepper, and a little salt

6 large cloves  garlic, minced

1 large bunch finely chopped parsley

Cut the “lid” off the tomatoes and retain. Being careful the preserve the integrity of the walls of the tomatoes, hollow them out with a thin spoon. Use a tip of a sharp knife to cut at x at the centre of each tomato to make the task easier. Reserve the pulp to combine it with the garlic, salt and pepper, rice and parsley. Squeeze the pulp through your hands to break it up to smaller pieces. I use a bowl for this task. Now, fill each tomato, then add the lids. You will not be able to use up the rice mixture-no worries.

Arrange tomatoes in a Pyrex dish. Pour the olive oil over each tomatoes til all of the oil is evenly divided amougst them.

Cook at 325F for four hours. Periodically baste the liquid runoff back over the tomatoes as the cook. One or two may split while cooking, some make plenty.

Not all the rice will cook. This is normal. Try it first this way. Otherwise, the last hour, add 1 tsp water in each tomato and cover them with tin foil over the dish forming the best seal you can, the cook further.

Only through long cooking, can these tomatoes develop such a sweet and intense tomato flavour.

Zucchini Pie

 

My mother was a gourmet chef and a world traveler so it was extreamly hard for me to prepare something she never had for me. This was my effort to treat her to something that was possibly new.

Select 2 or 3 small fresh zucchini the same diameter.

1 cup fresh, finely shredded Romano and Asiago cheese

1 slice day old sour dough

2 tbl butter

1 tbl olive oil

1 clove finely minced garlic

White pepper

Parchment paper

Chopped chives

Preheat oven to 350F with a pizza stone or floor tile.

Cut a ten inch square of parchment paper. On one side, draw a 9 inch circle to serve as a outline. Turn the paper over. Tape it to a cookie sheet with masking tape.

Fine spread the cheeses. Brush the day old bread with garlic butter and olive oil. Make garlic croutons. When cool completely, turn bread into bread crumbs, About 1/3 cup.

Slice the zucchini the thickness of a dime using a Madeline so the slices are uniform. Cover the 9 inch circle on the parchment so that all slice just touch each other but none overlap. Sprinkle with a sparse layer of cheese, sprinkle with bread crumbs. Apply white pepper. Remove the masking tape. Now, carefully place the cookie sheet over the stone. Cook 12-15 minutes until crisp.

When pie is crisp, allow it to cool until the cheese firms. Garnish with chives.

Note: 1. The bread crumbs provide the oil to cook this pie.

Judy Cestra’s spinach dip in a bread bowl

 

Judy was our Neighbor and when she hosted a party, no one stray from her spinach dip.

One round of sourdough bread, hollowed to form a bowl.

1 Baguette of sourdough bread, cut into dippable bites

1 pkg. spinach, uncooked, chopped and drained

1 can sliced water chestnuts, drained, chopped finely.

1 cup best foods mayonnaise 

1 cup sour cream

1 teaspoon salad supreme seasoning

1/2 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp dill

1 tsp lemon juice

Place spinach in a towel, wring dry. Mix all ingredients except bread, cover, a merge flavours overnight.

Serve in prepared bowl with dipping bread around on the platter.

Terra Brava’s sautéed Portobello Mushroom

 

This recipe came from St Helena’s Terra Bravo before it closed. It is now a former shadow of itself.

1 clove crushed chopped garlic

3 tbl olive oil

2 squeezes of fresh Meyer lemons

2 tbl cream sherry

4 lg portobello mushrooms caps, stems removed

Salt and pepper

Optionally, red pepper

2 tbl tarragon vinegar

1 ear baby white corn

1 tbl chopped shallots

3 tbl butter

1 bunch sugar

Pinch of nutmeg

Garnish

A few leaves of Basil, chopped

A few nasturtium flowers

Rub mushroom caps in olive oil, salt and pepper, red pepper, and sauté on both sides until tender. Deglaze with sherry. Set caps aside. Add butter to pan, sauté the shallots and wilt the spinach with vinegar and squeeze of lemon. Use a lid to keep the initial steam in. Remove the spinach and chop. Add fresh corn, a pinch of nutmeg, add back the spinach. When corn is warn, assemble the plates, put a bit of spinach and corn on each plate, top with caps. Sprinkle a few corn kernels on each cap. A squeeze of lemon, a splash of sherry top the caps plus a little melted butter. 

Garnish with basil and flowers.

CIA Grilled Vegetables

 

Inspired from a show I watched on the culinary institute of America, St. Helena, Ca. It is very popular with my crowd. 

2 yellow squash, cut into 1/4 inch strips

2 zucchinis, cut into 1/4 inch strips 

Green beans

Portobello mushrooms, cut into 1/4 slices

Two small Japanese eggplants

Baby carrots, with greens cut to 1/2 inch

2 Vidalia onions, cut into 1/2 pieces, toothpicked to hold together

1 red pepper, cut into fourths; seeds, ribs, and stem removed

1 yellow pepper, cut into fourths; seeds, ribs, and stem removed

3 large potatoes, parboiled and halved

1 bunch asparagus stalks, peeled, woody section removed

1/2 cup olive oil

2 tablespoon minced garlic

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

Pepper, as needed

Marin

Juice from 1 1/2 lemons, plus zest from 2 lemons

Chopped Italian parsley (Giada De Laurentiis uses basil with more flavour)

4 tbl Parmesan 

Cut eggplants, squash, zucchini into 1/4 “ slices. Soak skewers and toothpicks thoroughly so the don’t burn away as you cook. (Recommend 3 hours) Skewer or toothpick onions, potato every 1/4 inch starting 1/8 of an inch from the outside edge.  Make horizontal cut between skewers or toothpicks. If using skewer, sharpen them first so the spear easily. Use steel skewers for the peppers like shiskabobs.

Marinate all the vegetables in a mixture of Marin, lemon juice, lemon zest, 1/4 cup olive oil. 

Marinate for at least 40 minutes.

Grill on high heat until done on both sides. Put peppers on first, 10 minutes later, do the other vegetables. When done, move to a platter. Carrots cook first due to their sugars, let them be a little al dente.

Stay on top of it, everything cook fast, that the toughest thing about this recipe.

Salt and pepper, Parmesan and little parsley, and a squeeze of lemon finish them off to serve.

Note: 

1. Mose Coleman, a Georgia farmer in the spring of 1931, planted onion that were surprizingly mild and sweet. Due to his fortitude, in spite of the depression, both the popularity and sales of the Vidalia onion grew into the official state vegetable of Georgia.