How this pasta is named is disputed. “The way a whore would make it” or simply quick and dirty, it represents a traditional Italian recipe which thought to have originated in Napoli. The sauce is usually served with spaghetti, although it may also be used with other dry pasta types like buca- tini, vermicelli or even rigatoni.
Heat a large covered pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Taste the water to insure salt level. When the water is boiling, start the sauce.
In a frying pan, cook tomatoes, olives, and chili over medium high heat for 5 minutes stirring occasionally. Start boiling the pasta. Continue cooking the tomatoes for another four minutes then add garlic, capers and anchovies, optional squid and cook 2 minutes more on high heat. Remove from heat. Drain the pasta. Immediately toss with the sauce and garnish with chopped parsley.
2 tblsp guajillo powder*
1 tblsp ancho powder*
4 cups home made chicken stock that is reduced
3 tomatillas, cut in half
2 tomatoes, cut in half
2 tablespoon Manteca ( lard )
1 onion, halved and thickly sliced
½ head garlic, peeled and sliced
⅓ cup chopped peanuts
¼ cup black raisins
2 tsp cumin
1 toasted corn tortilla
1 tablespoon dried thyme
1 tblsp allspice
5 whole cloves
3 cinnamon sticks
2 star anise
dark chocolate to taste, chopped and added last
3 tablespoons white sugar
Water as required
salt to taste
Notes:
1. Garnish with sprinkles of seasame seeds, I you want.
2. Blended produces smoother results
* powder chilies yeild a smoother result.
2 large eggplant or 4 Japanese eggplants
1 vidalia onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic,minced
1 fresh hot red chili, seeded and chopped
2 tbsp chopped basil
1 tbsp Concentrated tomato paste
1 tsp salt
Pinch of sugar or balsamic vinegar
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Thai often combine fish flavors with lemon grass, kaffir lime leaves, and coconut milk. For color they use a variety of colorful vegetable and herbs.
Optionally, add bruised kaffir leaves when adding coconut milk
Heat a wok until hot, add oil, when smoking, add garlic, ginger, scallions whites, smashed lemon grass. When cooked, add tomatoes, snow peas, fish sauce, lemon, black pepper, pinch of salt, coconut milk. When hot, add fish, shrimp and cook 4 minutes. Then add cilantro,basil,scallion greens. Serve.
With a massively flavorful, spicy broth as its secret weapon, Tan Tan Ramen (Tantanmen) is a Japanese noodle soup that is certainly not for the faint of heart. The familiar aromatic combination of garlic, ginger, and scallions cozies up to the likes of miso, toasted sesame, peanuts, and Sichuan sesame paste.
Hong Shao Rou, also known as red braised pork belly, is a traditional Chinese dish from the Hunan and Zhejiang provinces that holds a special place in Shanghai cuisine. The dish features pork belly braised in a mixture of soy sauce, caramelized sugar, and various spices, resulting in tender, flavorful meat with a glossy, caramelized coating.
The Shanghai version consists of pork belly cut into thick pieces, caramelized sugar to achieve a signature red color and sweetness, and both light and dark soy sauces to add depth of flavor and color.
The Hunan version, which is more traditional, will also include the Shaoxing wine, a Chinese cooking wine that enhances the overall flavor, and aromatics such as ginger, garlic, star anise, and cinnamon add complexity, dried chili peppers, bay leaves, and scallions.
Unlike the Shanghai version, which is a mix of sweet and savory, the Hunan version is more spicy and aromatic.
The cooking process begins with blanching the pork belly in boiling water to remove impurities. Sugar is then melted in oil to create a caramel base, and the pork is simmered in a mixture of soy sauce, wine, and spices for about an hour until it becomes tender and infused with flavor. The final step involves reducing the sauce to a thick, glossy coating on the pork.
The slow braising process ensures that the pork belly achieves a melt-in-your-mouth texture. Often served with steamed rice or vegetables to balance its richness, Hong Shao Rou is a beloved comfort food in Chinese cuisine, appreciated for its deep flavors and satisfying texture.
Begin by slicing your pork belly into 3/4-inch (2 cm) thick pieces.
Heat a pot of water until boiling, then add the pork belly pieces and cook for a couple of minutes. Remove the pork from the pot, rinse it, and set it aside.
Over low heat, add oil and sugar. Cook until the sugar melts slightly, then add the pork, the ginger, the garlic, Cinnamon. Increase the heat to medium and cook until the pork is lightly browned.
Reduce the heat to low and add Shaoxing cooking wine, dark soy sauce, and water. ( I pre measure the wine, soy and water in the same large measuring cup.)
Cover the wok* and cook over medium heat for about 45 minutes to 1 hour until the pork is meltingly tender.
Stir every 5-10 minutes to prevent burning, and add more water if it becomes too dry.
Once the pork is done, if there is still a lot of liquid, uncover the wok, increase the heat, and stir continuously until the sauce reduces to a syrupy consistency. Serve with white rice.
* A flat cover smaller than the wok will also work, to retain steam.
 |
| Shaoxing Wine |
1 tablespoon peanut oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 or more slices of fresh ginger, smashed, then chopped finely
8 heads baby bok choy, trimmed and cut into bite-size pieces
Sea salt or soy to taste
Cook in boiling water til just tender. In a fry pan, heat the pan, when hot, add the garlic and ginger. Stir with a chopstick. Add the cut up choy. Stir or toss to coat. Eat over steam white rice
Nothing is fresher from the garden that is hardy even sweeter than snap pea greens. The nice thing about harvesting them is that the grow back rapidly and I include snap peas too. Combine with other favorite green and enjoy as a salad to company.
Chutney was an English equivalent of a Hindu word. The condiment was probably brought back
to England first by the East India Trading company maybe as early as the 17th century. For the
Hindu and Indians, chutneys are typically eaten on special occasions such as weddings or by the
well-to-do3. Chutney, in this book, refers to condiments either fresh or cooked that contain fruit.
My recipe was originally modeled after English Major Gray Chutney. I found that by making it
spicier, the resulting chutney became a lot more interesting. This recipe is largely based on taste
and, would seem, at the outset, to be very over spiced. In actuality, vinegar moderates everything
in time and the chutney is just right after 6 months. Once canned, it will last several years. When
canning anything, you must insure all equipment is sterile. A hot jar lift and a mason jar canning
funnel would be useful otherwise hold jars with oven mitts.
Serve chutney with broiled or grilled fowl, steak, lamb, pork or roast. (It’s good on toast!)
Although preserved chutneys are available in India, nobody there has ever heard of Crosse and
Blackwell Major Grey’s Chutney.
All things chickeny and mutt'ny
Taste far better when served with chutney
This is the mystery eternal:
Why didn't Major Grey make Colonel?
Crosse and Blackwell was originally founded as West and Wyatt, the company was purchased in
1830 by Edmund Crosse and Thomas Blackwell. Today the Crosse & Blackwell brand is part of
The J.M. Smucker Company family of products. “Since 1706, Crosse & Blackwell products have captured the exotic flavors, textures and aromas of the world’s most interesting cuisines. Many of our savory products feature historic flavors connected to the culinary traditions of Great Britain. Our chutneys are boldly flavored condiments combining choice herbs, spices, and luscious tropical fruits and vegetables. Originally derived from Indian cuisine, its name comes from the word
“chatnu,” meaning “to taste.”
2 cups bottled water to start (more if needed later)
1 cup corn syrup
1 cup of Apple cider vinegar
2 cups (or more) of sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 teaspoons ground white pepper
1 teaspoon ground red pepper
Kosher or sea salt to taste (no iodine salt)
3 teaspoons ground coriander
3 teaspoons prepared hot mustard
1 tablespoon ground cloves (quite a lot)
½ teaspoon ground cardamom
1 ½ teaspoons ground allspice
1 teaspoon ground mace or ½ teaspoon nutmeg
A lot of fresh peeled ginger (1/3 pound) sliced thin on a mandolin.
10-15 red and green jalapeño chilies, stemmed, seeded and sliced lengthwise then in half
10 – 15 large firm mangoes, peeled, coarsely chopped. (see note 2)
2 large white onions cut wedge-wise lengthwise not in slices
10-20 large green tomatoes1, sliced length wise (squeeze out extra seeds)
1 pound golden raisins
3 tablespoon lime juice (juice from two limes)
If you don’t have access to green tomatoes, you may use more mangos.
Bring water, lime juice, salt, spices, sugar, corn syrup and vinegar to a high boil. Adjust the salt,
sugar, vinegar and water to get correct sweet-sour. The salt level should be a bit more salty at
this point to compensate for the fact we have not added the solid ingredients. Add the solid
ingredients and heat ingredients to a boil and add more water if it’s needed. Cover and boil 5
minutes. Pull off heat. When the mixture is not so hot, ladle it onto sterile quart sized mason
jars, and tighten to seal. Place sealed jars in a pot of boiling water with the water level about half
way up the jar. Boil the jars for 20 minutes. Remove for heat and cool. Set aside in a dark
cupboard for at least 6 months to mature.
Notes:
1. If you don’t have access to green tomatoes, you may use more mangos.
2. About Mangos: When ripe, mangoes are fully colored from green to yellow with a red
tinge, feel fairly firm but yield when pushed and have a fruity aroma. Do not use soft or
mushy fruit or ones that have bruises. Wash the fruit, cut off the stem about ¼ inch up so
a peeled fruit will stand upright on the cutting board. Cut off the cheeks of the fruit with a
large knife and use a smaller knife to trim around the woody core. Avoid slices too deep
that include cutting into the tough woody core. Coarsely chop the mango pieces. If you
wish to, you may use your hands to further remove some of what clings to the mango
cores over a bowl. Mango come into season around January and at peak season become
inexpensive and best flavored. (January through March)
3. Chutney is expensive at around 50~95 cents an ounce. So making your own chutney is a
real cost saver if mangoes are in season.
This is the Roman way of preparing this dish.
The filling is all the ingredients save the sauces and a reserve perfect leaves of basil as garnish. I prepare individual dishes with oval chaffing dishes because they look pretty.
Fill tubes gently with fingers or a piping bag. Put white sauce on the bottom in individual chaffing dishes, add the shells, and top with the red sauce. Prinkle with Parmesan. Place on a tray to catch spillage. Bake in a 400 oven for about 45 minutes, or until golden brown. You may find you need to turn down the over the last 15 minutes.
Fresh sprigs of basil help the disk more fancy.
Cleaning the sides of the chafing dishes help them look nicer.
