I’m reposting an earlier recipe because I took a pic of the finished product earlier today. This is one of my “go-to”recipes since it’s not that hard to make, however it does require a lot of prep in terms of cutting and chopping everything to be ready for the quick stir fry.

• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup tamarind paste (store-bought or made yourself – can be substituted with ketchup in a pinch but not recommended)
• 2/3 cup fish sauce
• 2-3 thai chili’s (or other chili that you prefer)
• 4 garlic cloves
• firm tofu (optionally soaked in soy sauce for a few hours)
• 1 package pad thai noodles
• 2-3 green onions
• 1 cup loose bean sprouts
• 1 carrot
• 1 lime
• 2 eggs
• 1 chicken breast (or 12 shrimps or combination of chicken and shrimp)
• 2/3 peanuts
• coriander/chinese parsley for garnish

1. Soak the noodles in warm water for 30 minutes, do step 2 while waiting.
2. Prep all the ingredients by slicking the green onion into 3/4″ pieces, julienne the carrot and tofu, wash the bean sprouts, and slice the chicken breast into thin strips.
3. Make the sauce by combining the fish sauce, sugar and tamarind paste, stir well until sugar is dissolved.
4. Put the wok on the stove and turn to maximum setting, when the oil in the wok is smoking, quickly add the garlic and chilies, followed by the chicken. If using shrimp, add shrimp when chicken is almost completely cooked and then cook thoroughly.
5. Move the cooked chicken and shrimp to one side of the wok, exposing about half of the bottom of the wok, add a bit more oil. When the oil heats up, add the eggs and scramble lightly, then mix the entire meat mix with the eggs.
6. Wait for wok to heat up again then add the softened noodles. Add the sauce to the mix and toss until almost cooked. Add the carrot/green onions/bean sprouts, toss, then serve on a plate.
7. Garnish with coriander and crushed peanutes, and slices of lime.

Tonight I got the chance to cook for a friend. She wasn’t very specific in what she wanted so I combined a recipe that I got off of Guy Fieri from Food Network. He placed a nice skirt steak on a 4-herb chimichurri. Instead, I used a sirloin steak, also cut on the bias, and served on top salsa verde – a variation of traditional sasla verde and his 4-herb chimichurri. The picture isn’t the best since i put the steak on a bed of salsa verde, but I’ve been experimenting with the D90 and the picture came out really well. Here’s the recipe:

• sirloin steak
• lemon juice
• garlic
• cilantro
• congac
• salt and pepper
• olive oil

1. Marinate the steak in lemon juice, chopped garlic and cilantro, salt and pepper lightly oiled with olive oil.
2. Get the grill pan on medium high heat and sear both sides for 1 minute. Finish cooking in the oven until desired doneness is reached (I prefer rare for this).

• salt and pepper
• olive oil
• basil
• parsley
• oregano
• garlic
• green onion
• capers

1. Roughly chop all ingredients except olive oil. Add to food processor and pulse quickly while drizzling olive oil until it’s smooth but still has some rough consistency.
2. Serve on top of steak after slicing it on the bias.

My version of beef stew is an variation of Alton Brown’s recipe from Good Eats. It involves seperately roasting the stew meat low-and-slow in the oven before adding it to the stew. This accomplishes a few things – makes the stew meat extremely tender and keeps the vegetables in the stew from being all mushy.

• tomato paste
• canadian rye
• Worcestershire sauce
• paprika
• dried herbs, any combination of thyme, oregano and rosemary
• stewing beef, bought from the grocery store
• kosher salt
• large yellow onion, thinly sliced
• carrots chopped
• celery chopped
• red potatoes, unpeeled and diced small
• Freshly ground black pepper
• chopped fresh parsley leaves

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the tomato paste, rye, Worcestershire sauce, paprika and dried herbs. Set aside.Season the stewing beef with kosher salt. Place a large grill pan over medium-high heat and sear the meat until browned on all sides. Once browned, remove the meat to the bowl with the paste and toss to coat. Transfer to a large piece of heavy-duty aluminum foil and seal tightly. Place the package into a metal pan and put into a cold oven on the middle rack. Set the oven to 350 degrees F and cook for 2 hours.

In a large saucier heat some butter on medium heat. Add the onion with salt and stir to separate the onions into rings. Allow to cook for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the potatoes along with a pinch of black pepper and stir to combine. Next, add the liquid from the meat and stir. Cover tightly and decrease the heat to low so that no heat is escaping the lid. Cook for 30 minutes or until the potatoes are fork tender.

Once the potatoes are tender, uncover and set the meat atop the vegetables. Add carrots and celery and continue to cook for 10 minutes. Serve sprinkled with the parsley.

My friend got this recipe from All Recipes – their description reads: “Chocolate cream cheese cupcakes, rich and gooey. Serve these little gems with a tall glass of ice cold milk.”

INGREDIENTS

• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 1 egg
• 1/3 cup white sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup water
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line muffin tins with paper cups or lightly spray with non-stick cooking spray.
2. In a medium bowl, beat the cream cheese, egg, 1/3 cup sugar and 1/8 teaspoon salt until light and fluffy. Stir in the chocolate chips and set aside.
3. In a large bowl, mix together the flour, 1 cup sugar, cocoa, baking soda and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Make a well in the center and add the water, oil, vinegar and vanilla. Stir together until well blended. Fill muffin tins 1/3 full with the batter and top with a dollop of the cream cheese mixture.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes.

I thought I posted this recipe earlier, but a quick search revealed that it was missing from all my posts. This is one of my “go-to”recipes since it’s not that hard to make, however it does require a lot of prep in terms of cutting and chopping everything to be ready for the quick stir fry.

• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup tamarind paste (store-bought or made yourself – can be substituted with ketchup in a pinch but not recommended)
• 2/3 cup fish sauce
• 2-3 thai chili’s (or other chili that you prefer)
• 4 garlic cloves
• firm tofu (optionally soaked in soy sauce for a few hours)
• 1 package pad thai noodles
• 2-3 green onions
• 1 cup loose bean sprouts
• 1 carrot
• 1 lime
• 2 eggs
• 1 chicken breast (or 12 shrimps or combination of chicken and shrimp)
• 2/3 peanuts
• coriander/chinese parsley for garnish

1. Soak the noodles in warm water for 30 minutes, do step 2 while waiting.
2. Prep all the ingredients by slicking the green onion into 3/4″ pieces, julienne the carrot and tofu, wash the bean sprouts, and slice the chicken breast into thin strips.
3. Make the sauce by combining the fish sauce, sugar and tamarind paste, stir well until sugar is dissolved.
4. Put the wok on the stove and turn to maximum setting, when the oil in the wok is smoking, quickly add the garlic and chilies, followed by the chicken. If using shrimp, add shrimp when chicken is almost completely cooked and then cook thoroughly.
5. Move the cooked chicken and shrimp to one side of the wok, exposing about half of the bottom of the wok, add a bit more oil. When the oil heats up, add the eggs and scramble lightly, then mix the entire meat mix with the eggs.
6. Wait for wok to heat up again then add the softened noodles. Add the sauce to the mix and toss until almost cooked. Add the carrot/green onions/bean sprouts, toss, then serve on a plate.
7. Garnish with coriander and crushed peanutes, and slices of lime.

Same recipe, using spaghetti instead of farfelle

Got this recipe from an old episode of Naked Chef.

• 10 pieces of pancetta or bacon
• olive oil
• 1 clove garlic, finely, chopped
• handful thyme
• 1/2 large savoy cabbage, halved, and, finely, sliced
• handful parmesan cheese, grated
• 1 lb. dried farfalle
• salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 lb. cheese, buffalo, mozzarella, diced into 1-inch pieces
• toasted pine nuts
  1. In a pan, fry off pancetta in a little olive oil until lightly golden.
  2. Add garlic and thyme and soften.
  3. Place in Savoy cabbage with the Parmesan then stir around and put the lid on the pan.
  4. Cook for a further 15 minutes, shaking every now and again, while you cook farfalle in salted boiling water until al dente.
  5. When the cabbage is nice and tender, season and loosen with some nice peppery extra virgin olive oil.
  6. Toss the drained farfalle into the cabbage and at the last minute mix in mozzarella and pine nuts.
  7. Serve immediately.

Here’s a great video on how to make California Rolls:

I saw this recipe on Roger’s TV show this week and gave it a shot myself, with a few exclusions because I was crunched for time. Served with some sauted spinach that had a dash of sesame oil.

Cooked lunch for a friend today and she probably wants the recipe so here it is. Putanesca means “Harlot’s Pasta” meaning it was put together by the ladies of the night after a day’s work. It really is thrown together with things from the fridge and cupboard. An easy pasta recipe:

• Dried Pasta (bowties or penne or farfalle)
• Anchovies in oil
• capers
• chopped artichokes in oil
• olives
• sun dried tomatoes
• roasted peppers
• chopped garlic
• chopped italian parsley
• grated parmesan

1. Boil water and prepare the pasta per directions
2. Warm olive oil in the pan and add garlic and anchovies
3. when garlic is softened and anchoives disappeared, turn up the heat and add olives, capers, peppers, tomatoes,
4. Stir in cooked pasta and 4 ounces of the pasta broth
5. Serve topped with fresh ground pepper and grated parmesan