Jim's Asian Burgers with Homemade Catsup

• My new friend, Jim the Piper, is a fellow foodie. I have stolen his recipes to put on my blog. Enjoy!

  
  

  1 pound of ground meat (80/20)

  2 Tablespoons of grated ginger**
  San J Organic Soy to taste
  1 big garlic clove

• 
  

  Form 2-4 patties, depending on your size preference. Cook to desired doneness.

  
  

  ***Jim likes to freeze his ginger. For one thing, it lasts longer, and two, it's not that hard to grate, and it grates finer.

  
  

  Jim's Homemade Catsup

  
  
  6 ounce can of Muir Glen Organic Tomato paste
  Add about 1 tablespoon, maybe little more, of warm honey
  1 teaspoon of dried wasabi
  Add rice wine vinegar until it becomes smooth.
  Add a little water and keep adjusting the ingredients until it becomes a smooth, catsupy taste.
  
  

  • ****When you put everything together, instead of using pickles on the burger, try using the pickled ginger that is used with sushi.

Notes on a Tongue

Why does tongue disgust so many people these days? Not too long ago it was a staple of the American diet, being one of the cheaper meats.

Granted, it is not pleasant looking at it once unwrapped, and peeling the top skin off is no fun, but once boiled up it is the most tender, flavorful meat you'll ever eat.

Let's experiment.

Let's go buy a beef tongue. Actually, buy two because if you're going to cook for 4 people, you'll want enough.

Bring the tongue home. Put it in a large pot, cover it with water, add some salt and boil it for 20 minutes. Take it out of the water, cool it off under cold water, and either slice the skin off or peel it. You will notice that there are large root-looking things. I've heard these aren't too good so cut them off. Take all the meat that looks good to eat and slice it thin (1/2" to 1/4") and put it in your stews or soups. Cook it for another hour or so in your soup. You'll never know you're not eating beef tenderloin - yes, it is that flavorful, that tender.

Now you're thinking to yourself, "No way am I touching a tongue." You cut up raw chicken, don't you? How is this any different? I promise you, it's not.

"But Monica, I don't eat soup. How else can cook up a beef tongue? No one actually eats these things on a regular basis, do they?"

Well, here is a bit of info for you from Wikipedia. Try your hand at the new food. I promise you'll love it!

Beef tongue

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Cooked beef tongue.

Beef tongue is literally the tongue of a cow. The human consumption of beef tongue dates back to the days of Paleolithic hunters, who preferred the fatty portions of the carcass including tongues, as well as organs, brains, feet and marrow[1]. Beef tongue is very high in fat, at almost 75% of its calories derived[2]. Some countries, such as Canada, and specifically the province of Alberta who have a large beef export industry, export large quantities of beef tongue.

Preparation

Beef tongue is often seasoned with onion and other spices, and then placed in a bowl to boil. After it has cooked the skin is often removed and the rest of the tongue is served. Pickled tongue is often used by the preparer because it is already spiced. If cooked in a sauce, it can then later be reused as a sauce for meatballs or any other food item.

Another way of preparing beef tongue is to scald the tongue in hot water and removing the skin. Then roast the tongue in an oven similar to a roast beef, including using the pan drippings to prepare a gravy.

In Belgium beef tongue will usually be prepared with mushrooms in a Madeira Sauce.

Beef tongue around the world

Tongue is widely used in Mexican cuisine, and often seen in tacos and burritos. Boiled tongue or boiled brisket is traditionally eaten on the Jewish holiday of Sukkot, a harvest festival also known as the Feast of Tabernacles. Also, beef tongue is a part of Romanian cuisine, German cuisine, Portuguese cuisine, Persian cuisine, Philippine cuisine, Albanian cuisine, Russian cuisine and Japanese Cuisine (the dish gyutan originating in the city of Sendai).

New England Clam Chowder

INGREDIENTS

• 3 8-ounce bottles clam juice
• 1 pound russet potatoes, peeled, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

• 2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter
• 3 slices bacon, finely chopped
• 2 cups chopped onions
• 1 1/4 cups chopped celery with leaves (about 2 large stalks)
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/4 cup all purpose flour
• 6 6 1/2-ounce cans chopped clams, drained, juices reserved
• 1 1/4 cups half and half
• 1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce

Preparation

Bring bottled clam juice and potatoes to boil in heavy large saucepan over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low; cover and simmer until potatoes are tender, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat.

Melt butter in heavy large pot over medium heat. Add bacon and cook until bacon begins to brown, about 8 minutes. Add onions, celery, garlic and bay leaf and sauté until vegetables soften, about 6 minutes. Stir in flour and cook 2 minutes (do not allow flour to brown). Gradually whisk in reserved juices from clams. Add potato mixture, clams, half and half and hot pepper sauce. Simmer chowder 5 minutes to blend flavors, stirring frequently. Season to taste with salt and pepper. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Refrigerate uncovered until cold, then cover and keep refrigerated. Bring to simmer before serving.)

**This was a fabulous recipe. However, I'm thinking of adding regular white fish instead of clams and adding 1 or 2 Tbsp of fresh parsley.

Notes on a Meal

It was a fabulous idea. And by was, I mean there was a glitch. A minor glitch, but a glitch nonetheless.

I forgot about the turkey.

There are reasons I don't cook a lot of poultry - the main one being it is fairly unforgiving. I meant to take it out upon the arrival of my guests, but I just plain forgot. I will say this - bacon wrapped, sausage and pecan stuffed turkey breast has phenomenal potential. Drizzled with balsamic vinegar, it was pretty yummy flavor-wise. And the "bacon-wrapped-only" turkey breast was flavor fantastic. There was a delicious smokiness added. Once you got past the super-dry texture. At 375*, an hour an a half would have been perfect. This may be a meal I make again for a book club because the effort expended was worth the taste.

Mignonette is an interesting sauce. While freakishly potent by itself, it lends a superb flavor to both clams and scallops. As 3pm approached I was very, very tired and had no energy to tackle clam chowder and realized upon opening the bag of lettuce that there would be no salad course. I melted some butter, plated the mignonette and we had a seafood platter as our first course. It was so delicious that I am considering only serving seafood next year! Mignonette is a spicy, vinegary sauce. I had expected something sweeter. I really didn't taste anything sweet. I didn't think the sugar was enough to even cut the vinegar, which may have been the purpose all along. I also expected something a bit more "onion-y". The vinegar overpowered everything. I used a champagne vinegar and it was still potent.

My gnocchi were better than they have been in the past but my sauce was not fabulous. There is something missing that would complement the sweet potato and I just haven't hit it yet. What was wonderful is that even though this sauce was a bit spicy from the pepper, my kids inhaled the gnocchi. Maybe a savory gravy is what is needed, or perhaps a cream-based sauce. Maybe a red-wine butter sauce?

The hit of the show were the nuts. I highly recommend these for any occasion. As a person who does not eat nuts, I can honestly say I ate almost 2 cups of these yesterday! What a delight. They were served with the cheese course and went with everything. I may even keep some in the freezer to use as a cake topping!

Last, but not least, the parmesan crisps. They turned out fantastic, did everything right, filled them with a fantastic filling, and ended up not liking them. They are too robust in their flavor for me. I filled them with a mixture of cream cheese, mascarpone, and goat cheese with 1/8 tsp of salt and they were delicious. I really liked this cheese mixture with the truffle honey and I'm thinking of making a tart with it.

My expectations of my food were not met, but the company was wonderful and that's really what counts. When there are little ones in the mix, large meals are sometimes impossible but I am looking forward to some different leftovers from my Thanksgiving meal. I hope you all had a wonderful turkey day.

Sweet and Spicy Nuts

INGREDIENTS
3 egg whites
2 tablespoons water
3 cups walnut halves
2 cups pecan halves
1 cup whole unblanched almonds (I didn't use almonds, I used 3 cups pecans instead)
2 cups sugar
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground ginger
2 teaspoons grated orange peel (I used 1 1/2 tsp dried lemon peel)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
**I added 1/8 tsp of pepper
**I added 1/2 to 1 tsp of orange extract after the eggs but before the sugar

DIRECTIONS
In a mixing bowl, beat egg whites and water until frothy. Add nuts; stir gently to coat. Combine the remaining ingredients. Add to nut mixture and stir gently to coat. Spread into two greased 15-in. x 10-in. x 1-in. baking pans. Bake, uncovered, at 300 degrees F for 20-25 minutes or until lightly browned, stirring every 10 minutes. Cool. Store in an airtight container.

**The suggestion given in some of the comments was to use Pammed parchment paper. Last year these stuck to my pan so we will see if this way helps.

Bon Appetit!

Gingerbread Recipe

Well, here's hoping for the best!


Ingredients

* 4 cups flour (I used 3 cups white, 1 cup whole wheat)
* 1 1/2 cups brown sugar (Original called for 2 cups white)
* 4 teaspoons baking powder
* 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
* 1 1/4 teaspoons ground cloves
* 1 1/4 teaspoons ground nutmeg
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 1 Tbsp ground ginger (Original called for 1 tsp)
* 1/8 - 1/4 tsp ground black pepper (Original did not call for this, but I like the flavor)
* 2 eggs
* 2 cups milk (I used reconstituted dried buttermilk)
* 2/3 cup molasses **
* 1/3 cup golden syrup or light corn syrup **
* 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Directions

1. In a large bowl, combine the first eight ingredients. In another bowl, combine the eggs, milk, syrup and oil. Stir liquid into the dry ingredients, just until moistened(batter will be thin). Pour batter into two greased 9x5x3 inch loaf pans.
2. Bake at 325 for 60-70 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks.

**(Original recipe called for 1 cup of maple syrup, not molasses and golden syrup. I got that substitution from another recipe. The other recipe's comments said not to use a whole cup of molasses - to cut it with golden or light cane syrup as the 'molasses only' makes it too bitter.)


Bon Appetit!

Sauce for Scallops

Mignonette Sauce:

2 shallots, minced

3/4 cup good Champagne vinegar or white wine vinegar

1 tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon chopped fresh green herbs such as parsley, dill, and/or chives

Place the shallots, vinegar, and sugar in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Cook uncovered for 1 minute. Remove from the heat and allow to cool to room temperature. Add the pepper and herbs and serve with the raw oysters.

Yield: 1/2 cup

Hors d'oeuvres Idea

Lacy Parmesan Crisps

Makes 12

1 (3 oz) piece Parmigiano-Reggiano

Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 375*. Line a baking sheet with nonstick liner.
Grate 1 cup cheese using large holes of a box grater.
Arrange 6 mounds (1 rounded Tbsp each) of cheese 3 inches apart on liner, then flatten each mound lightly with a metal spatula to form a 3-inch round.
Bake until golden, 7 to 10 minutes, then transfer crisps with spatula to a rack to cool completely, about 5 minutes. ****
Repeat procedure with remaining cheese to make more crisps. (Best of Gourmet 2007, pg. 207)

****Cool the way you would cool tegoline - 30 secs out of the oven remove with thin metal spatula and drape over a rolling pin. Maybe over a small muffin tin to make cups?

Filling ideas:

Mascarpone - 1/2 lb, Cream cheese - 4 oz. Mix with salt and pepper. Sicilian herbs or herbs de Provence? Pipe into cheese 'cookie', top with diced roasted red pepper/caper/red onion/olive oil "salsa". Maybe make topping into a puree? Save some plain to top with truffle honey.

Goat cheese - pipe into 'cookie'. Top with truffle honey.

Herbed goat cheese. Done with the "salsa".

Is there another hard cheese this could be done with? Five year aged gouda? Fill with what?

Who the heck put rice in my risotto?!?!

Where do I begin?

I am saddened. One of my favorite restaurants here in ABQ is using regular rice in place of arborio rice in their risotto. How can I tell? Because long grain rice looks a certain way when it is overcooked into a gummy, gooey mess. I know this because it is a particular bad habit of mine.

I will say it again folks. Do not use regular rice in place of your risotto rice! It doesn't turn out the same. Risotto should be creamy - shiny and creamy. There is butter and cheese involved. This is a beautiful time-consuming dish that is always worth it. Risotto should NEVER look like liquidy pig slop.

Yes folks, liquidy pig slop. With chunks of snow peas. Wow, was it gross.

Am I becoming a food snob? Unfortunately, yes. But I really want to get what I pay for. The idea was a good one - a mushroom (and snow pea) risotto. I can see what they were going for. But why would you cut up the snow peas? Wouldn't you want the peas to be scattered over your dish like leaves in the fall? Isn't that the idea?

And, unfortunately, the snow peas were way too sweet for the mushrooms. I'd have stuck with a plain mushroom. Served with the chicken chop (an interesting cut of the breast with the wing) stuffed with bleu cheese and pecans (which I would have liked chopped) it was good, but the snow peas didn't match anything in the dish. Next time maybe fried spinach for greenery?

I love the ideas on this restaurant's menu but sometimes I wonder what the heck the chef was thinking of when it comes to his starches. This is not the first time I have been disappointed. There was the "barley incident" right after they opened. A fabulous idea overcooked into a disgusting blob meant to be a stuffing. Very disappointing.

Why Giorgio Rocks

I think there will be risotto in Heaven.

Giorgio's recipe was fantastic. I know I didn't cook it just right. Yes, it took a little extra time to cook. Yes, I'm pretty sure I should have used the entire 10 cups of broth instead of only 9 cups. But ladies and gentlemen, we are talking spoonfuls of Heaven.

It is a wonderful dish when the 1 year old and 4 year old shovel it in faster than you can. And the oxtails, well, fabulous. Could have used another 30 minutes, but when you've got little ones in the mix you eat the meal just shy of perfect.

I'm really into feeding my kids home cooked meals nowadays. How satisfying is it to hear Peter making yummy sounds while I'm cooking dinner? I've been reading some blogs lately that deal with feeding your kids too well too early. They say things like, "If you don't give your kids crap food then that will be the forbidden food and that's all they'll eat in the later part of their life". I don't think so. Really. I don't take this as a dare - too much. I am a firm believer that processed food has been the downfall of our health in the American society. But that is another rant for another post. I'm not saying my kids don't eat pizza once a week, because they do. But it's whole wheat with spinach and fresh tomatoes, not frozen with pepperoni. You can take any processed food, take out food, or restaurant food and make it your own at home. Hamburger Helper takes just as much time to make as a pot of goulash. Home made food made with fresh ingredients tastes better and is better for you.

I'm posting this blog because I know there are some of you out there who look at recipe books as things to use for dinner parties. Some of you view Rachel Ray as a god send. That's all good and well, but there are steps past Rachel. There are fabulous cookbooks out there with recipes of your heritage; recipes that haven't been made since your grandparents and their parents were alive. Take out those books, study them and USE THEM!!!

The recipes that I find are fantastic. The use of fresh produce in my cooking has gone up dramatically in the past few years. Sage has become my favorite herb out of the garden - more on that later as well. Italian cooking - real Italian cooking - is my passion, second only to French cooking. The smells, the flavors, the intimate stories the chefs share make you feel as though you were sharing a little piece of their lives.

I challenge you to dust off those cookbooks and try something new. Take a step outside of your comfort zone.

Bon Appetit.

Exciting Moments For Me, But Maybe Not You...

It is a morning of one of our "breakfast readings" of Made In Italy by, Giorgio Locatelli and as I am flipping through his recipes it dawns on me I have seen him cook on television before.

How exciting!!!

I was studying up for our Thanksgiving meal last year - served French-style - and was looking for something different to make for part of the main course. I was flipping through between Food Network and the Travel Channel when I saw this man making a pumpkin risotto. It took all of 30 minutes from start to finish. And the best part of all, it looked easy.

He moved on to a Risotto with Barolo wine (a personal favorite) and cheese. I guess the recipe stuck in my mind because I thought, how odd to make rice with wine. Of course, my mind has just been jiggled enough to remember the show - Tyler's Ultimate, and he was visiting Italy and made a stop at this Giorgio's family's restaurant.

Anywho...after a little searching I found a pumpkin risotto recipe online - not a bad recipe, but not the exact recipe either. It turned out fabulous (served with turkey, of course, and roasted balsamic glazed cipollini onions) and there was barely a serving left for me! Again, this morning as I was flipping through my book I discovered the two recipes back to back. Not exciting for anyone but me, but thrilling that I have found both recipes!

And now, for the sharing-caring portion of the day - the recipe. Do not use regular rice as it will not work. Arborio and carnaroli rice are high-starch medium grain rices which have the ability to absorb lots of liquids and release starches which *make* the risotto. You can get arborio rice at your grocery store. Make sure to chop your onions as finely as possible - you want them to melt into the dish, not be large and obtrusive. For those who are interested, this dish is considered a Primo dish - served before the main course on its own. It is filling enough to be served alone for dinner with wilted greens or as a starch/vegetable dish with a meat. The version I made was great with the turkey for Thanksgiving, and I would think it would be a great pairing with anything from roasted chicken to veal to roast beef. I plan to serve it tonight with braised oxtails.

Risotto alla zucca e noce moscata (or, Pumpkin and Nutmeg Risotto)

2 cups pumpkin, cubed
2 cups milk
10 cups good chicken stock
3 1/2 Tbsp butter (I like to half and half this with olive oil - a personal preference)
1 onion chopped very, very fine
2 cups superfino carnaroli rice (I'm substituting arborio rice)
1/2 cup dry white wine
grated nutmeg to taste (I'm using a little more than 1/4 tsp)
salt and pepper

For the mantecatura (mantecatura is when diced cold butter and finely grated parmigiano reggiano is whipped in to make the texture as creamy and smooth as possible):

5 Tbsp cold butter, cut into small cubes
1 cup finely grated Parmesean

Soak the pumpkin in milk for up to 12 hours (somehow the milk seems to act as a catalyst and help the pumpkin to cook better), and drain just before you start making the risotto.

Bring the stock to a boil in a pan next to where you are going to make your risotto, then turn down the heat to a bare simmer.

Melt the butter in a heavy-bottomed pan and add the onion and half the drained soaked pumpkin. Cook gently until the onions are softened but not colored (about 5 minutes on med-high).

Add the rice and stir around to coat in the butter and "toast" the grains. Make sure all the grains are warm before adding the wine. Let the wine evaporate completely until the onions and rice are dry. Start to add the stock, a ladleful or two at a time, stirring and scraping the rice in the pan as you do so. When each addition of the stock has almost evaporated, add the next ladleful. Continue cooking for about 15 to 17 minutes, adding stock continuously as above.

After about 11 to 12 minutes, add the rest of the pumpkin. Continue adding stock, but slowly toward the end so that the rice doesn't become too wet and soupy, otherwise when you add the butter and Parmesan at the end it will become sloppy. The risotto is ready when the grains are soft but still al dente.

Turn down the heat and allow the risotto to rest for a minute; then, for the mantecatura, using a wooden spoon, vigorously beat in the cold butter cubes and finally the Parmesan, making sure you shake the pan energetically at the same time as you beat. Season (add the salt and pepper) and add nutmeg to taste then serve.

What is a "Foodie"?

food·ie [foo-dee] –noun Slang.

a person keenly interested in food, esp. in eating or cooking.

I am a foodie. Over the past few years I have found comfort and solace in cooking. To me, cooking you a delicious meal is my way of saying, "I love you and I appreciate you" - and yes, I love my friends. Words that are so hard to say sometimes can be shown in dishes that I study, prepare and place in front of you. As a Southerner it is also my way of saying, "I'm so sorry for your loss," or, "I hope this makes you feel better."

I have experimented with food since my first dish 22 years ago at the tender age of 12. I remember the dish - chopped hot dog with egg and cheese. I put the cheese in too early and the whole thing stuck to the pan. But it was delicious because *I* had cooked it. Mom brought me into the kitchen with her once I entered high school. I was daring with the cheese toast. My cousin, Angie, and I thought to surprise our parents with dinner once but found nothing more than a can of mushrooms and a can of peas, which even then sounded unappetizing. I guess it was the thought that counted. I think I was a sophomore in college the day I threw a can of sliced olives into a lasagna that I had made. Dad has never let me forget it - "Who puts olives in lasagna?!?!"

Well, I do.

I will make that dish up to him some day, and it will be fantastic. Because that is what I do. I sit and think of fantastic things to cook for the people I love and care about, and how I will manage to cook them. I read and reread my Gourmet Magazines. I am addicted to cookbooks. If I find a fantastic one on sale I buy it because I MUST have it. My current purchase was a $75 - 600 page Italian cookbook that I got for a mere $22 - specifically "Northern Italian" cooking. I will occasionally pull it out to read for the kids as they eat their breakfast.

I follow food trends the way my brother-in-law follows Futures. I was ecstatic this morning as my new favorite, Anthony Bourdain, said something that I had told Corbett Friday night over dinner - the new cooking trend is going back to more traditional cooking. The super-innovative trends like the foam of Ferran Adria (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferran_Adria) are fantastic, but reachable by only a select few - Adria is in a class all by himself. I love watching people like Bourdain and Andrew Zimmern who take you to the depths of a society to show you how other cultures live and eat. It excites me and sends me on Internet excursions to find new things to eat and cook for my family.

Food is exciting to me because it is hard for it to be boring. You can always spice it up with a new ingredient and you can always make it your own with a few additions or subtractions. It is a subject that most everyone enjoys talking about and it is never malapropos. Food makes people happy and a good meal can put a smile on even the crankiest of faces. I like making people happy and I like making people smile; food is just a happy medium for me.

So there you have it, a little step into the lavender-scented fields which are in my world.

Bon Appetit.

Everyone Else Has a Blog So Why Shouldn't I?

Everyone and the neighbor's dog has a blog so I've decided to make one as well. Read it and enjoy it or take one look and run away. Either way, I've decided to write my thoughts down since, due to small people in my house, saying them out loud seems to be more trouble than it's worth these days.

This blog is dedicated to food - something I truly enjoy both cooking and eating. A conglomeration of my foodie thoughts and ideas with the occasional recipe thrown in. Heck, I may keep a blog of my favorite recipes. I just don't know.

Bon Appetit.