Szechuan eggplant with pork and hot bean sauce

My friend Chantal and I were feeling pretty relaxed and rejuvenated after our acupuncture sessions recently.   We left with instructions to refrain from touching our right ears for a couple of hours.   Do you know that your ears alone have dozens of reflex points that address a myriad of ailments including hypertension, nervous disorders and inflammation?   The bursa in my shoulder felt great after being stimulated by a dozen or so tiny needles and we decided on a casual lunch in nearby Chinatown.  

Le Lai Restaurant is situated in the old Dynasty Plaza shopping mall on Bellaire.   One of the original Chinese malls built long before the massive expansion of Chinatown in west Houston, Dynasty Plaza is now in desperate need of a facelift inside and out.   For now, it seems to be holding its own against umpteen spiffy malls nearby, thanks to an old and loyal clientele.

In Le Lai Restaurant, we noticed that were were the only Caucasians present – not an unusual sight considering the size of Houston’s Chinese community.   It is also a great indicator that were about to enjoy an authentic Chinese meal!   A large menu foreign to us both was posted at the counter but our table menus provided us with translations.   Service was terse and brisk and our order of whole fried fish and Szechwan eggplant was delicious.   At $4.50 per lunch plate, our bill came to $9.89 including tax.  To our surprise Chantal’s iced tea, my jasmine tea and two bowls of soup were included for free - quite a bargain!   We were quite satisfied until… 

An Oriental woman walked towards the exit, paused beside our table and smiled at us.  We were somewhat surprised to be acknowledged by this little old lady.   Before she disappeared through the door she gibed sarcastically,  “Cheaper than McDonald’s, eh?” 

Her question took several stunned seconds to digest.   We looked at each other in dismay and sheer disbelief.    We were obviously the result of a common stereotype that all Americans eat at McDonald’s.    We have never taken to fast food since we both grew up in foreign lands and are accomplished cooks.   Much of our friendship revolves around dining on gourmet food and wine, cooking and experimenting in the kitchen.   Heck, our meals and desserts are all made from scratch; my husband and I tend a vegetable garden every year; and for the Chinese lady’s information I make pasta, filo dough for strudel and even her native homeland’s dumplings from scratch!

Stereotypes about the eating habits of groups of people are unfortunate but very prevalent.   We all have them in varying degrees.   Had the old Chinese lady kept hers to herself she would not have shown herself to be ignorant and rude and we would have ended our meal on a more positive note. 

Bad vibes aside, here’s a recipe Chantal shared with me that she learned from Dorothy Huang, a local cooking instructor and author.   It’s important to have all of the ingredients ready before you start to cook as tender Japanese eggplant cooks quickly.   Here it is coated in a rich sweet and spicy brown sauce.

Szechwan Eggplant with pork and hot bean sauce

adapted from Dorothy Huang’s Chinese Cooking

Serves 2

Seasoning sauce:

1 tablespoon sugar

2 teaspoons cornstarch

2 tablespoons chicken stock

2 tablespoons hot bean sauce

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 tablespoon dry sherry

1 tablespoon cider vinegar

1 teaspoon sesame oil

Mix all of the ingredients listed for the seasoning sauce in a small bowl.  

 

Have all of the following ingredients ready before cooking:

1½ pounds Japanese eggplant (the long, slender kind with thin skins)

3 tablespoons oil

1 teaspoon minced ginger root

2 teaspoons minced garlic

¼ pound lean ground pork

salt, to taste

½ cup chicken broth

2 green onions, chopped

Rinse the eggplant.  If they are small, the peel will be tender and you do not have to peel them; if they are large with a tough skin, peel them first.  Cut eggplant into 1/2 inch chunks.

Heat oil in a wok over high heat.  Add ginger root, garlic and ground pork; stir for 1 minute.

Add eggplant and salt, stirring constantly for 1 minute. Add chicken broth, turn heat to medium, cover and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or more.

Add seasoning sauce and chopped green onions; stir until thickened and serve with steamed rice.

Prijatno!

Sōté seasoned salmon, roasted Hatch pepper sauce and Jicama mango ‘slaw’

I was introduced to a great seasoning blend after a volunteer stint recently.  If you are a Houston Chowhound, you are undoubtedly thinking about food most of your waking hours.   Which vendor has the freshest seafood?   Which taco truck is conveniently located on your errand route?   Where to savor your next gourmet meal?   So it was no surprise to me when a fellow civically-minded Chowhound organized a meeting of our food-obsessed minds at the Houston Food Bank early one Saturday morning.  

After a short tour of the facility, we entered the vast kitchen.   A thorough hand-washing followed, and then we donned the oh-so-flattering hairnets, plastic aprons and gloves and formed two long assembly lines.   I was in first position in my line, separating individual containers and portioning out handfuls of ice-cold spaghetti from an enormous bin to my right.   My friend Maureen followed with a piece or two of chicken, and the rest in line scooped vegetables, sauce, parmesan, fresh basil (yes fresh basil) and lastly, canned fruit.   By the time each container reached Gary, Maureen’s husband,  it was pretty greasy and sticky.  Gary was responsible for one of the ‘sealing machines’ and tried gallantly to keep the plastic wrap in position so that it could form a tight seal on each tray before it was carted off to the freezer.   Fortunately for us he is mechanically inclined and in less than three hours we had assembled almost 1,000 wholesome meals!

To my left was a quiet gentleman named Larry.   He was not part of our assembly line.  He had a special spot at the head of the table and was our designated “basil chopper”.   Larry wowed us with his superior knife skills by mincing bushels of basil for the spaghetti dinners we were packaging.   I later found out that his ‘gramma’ Douglas developed a recipe for a delicious Kosher seasoning named Sōté. 

Sōté, pronounced So-tay, stands for “salt of the earth”.    The Serb in me and my knowledge of Cyrillic loves the use of diacritic marks in the label!   Sōté is a mixture of Kosher salt, black pepper, paprika, garlic, chilli, ginger, spice extract, turmeric and other spices.   It is not spicy and contains no MSG.   Salt is King here and the accompanying spices dance delicately around him.  

Coarse Kosher salt, black pepper, paprika…

Larry gifted me with a few containers to share with friends and family (disclaimer: I am not making a dime as I promote it).   I have used it on baby back ribs and flatiron steaks with great results.    Sōté is also suitable for vegetables but be forewarned that it is mostly salt so a little sprinkle goes a long way.   I lightly sprinkled the salmon in my recipe below and paired it with a homemade roasted Hatch pepper sauce for a little fire and a sweet and crunchy jicama salad – the pairings were excellent!     

Sōté is locally produced (another positive point in my mind) and packaged by the Texas Custom Spice Company in Houston.   The packaging is understated and comes in a well-sealed metal container with a see-through lid.  To order Sōté, click on the link.   Also for sale are cool t-shirts and salt shakers.  

Juicy ‘slaw’

Sōté rubbed salmon with Hatch pepper sauce and Jicama mango slaw

Serves 2

¾ lb salmon filet

Sōté seasoning or seasoning of your choice

1 tablespoon olive oil

Pat salmon dry with a paper towel to remove any moisture. Rub a little Sōté seasoning on the salmon, remembering that the Sōté is mostly salt.

Pour olive oil into an oven-proof pan or cast iron skillet. Heat pan over medium heat until the oil is very hot. Carefully add the salmon, skin side down. Cover with a splatter shield if necessary to prevent oil from splashing everywhere. Sauté salmon until the edges begin to turn color, about 5 – 6 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the broiler. Remove pan with salmon from heat and place under broiler for 2 minutes to sear the top. Remove pan from oven using an oven mitt. Serve with Hatch pepper green sauce and Jicama mango slaw.

Hatch pepper sauce

¼ cup mayonnaise

¼ cup sour cream

1 roasted Hatch pepper (spicy or not), skin removed, stemmed and seeded

1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

¼ cup lightly packed cilantro leaves

1 peeled and chopped Roma tomato

Place all ingredients in a small blender and blend until smooth. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Jicama mango ‘slaw’

½ lb jicama, peeled and julienned (use the mandoline for this if you have one)

1 mango, peeled, sliced thin and then longwise into thin strips

8 radishes, sliced thinly (here again, the mandoline comes in handy)

1/3 cup red onion, sliced thin

¼ cup cilantro, chopped

4 tablespoons fresh orange juice

4 tablespoons fresh lime juice

1 teaspoon sesame oil

salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl. Chill until ready to serve.  Serve using tongs to drain slaw from the juices.

 

Colorful juice from the ‘slaw’

Prijatno!

Tuna Puri wins 2nd place at the Tournament de Tuna!

I travelled the world in my mind with ideas for a winning combination of flavors that would wow the judges during Saturday’s Tournament de Tuna.  I bounced from Portugal to Spain, Northern Africa to Greece, and I finally settled way out east in India! 

Featuring canned Portuguese tuna, Queen of the Coast was introducing its products to the USA.   The Queen herself made a graceful appearance.

It was an intimate affair – six eager contestants butting into each other in the home kitchen as we plated our promising dishes.  From left to right:  Todd Romero, Chantal Duvall, yours truly, Joni Buck, and Holly Erickson watched Jenn Molholt win with her tasty Baked tuna fritter with spicy/tangy tomato relish and avocado.   It was crispy on the outside, perfectly tender on the inside and delicious! 

After much hype on Facebook,  the romantic and adventurous Raphael made his grand appearance, fresh off his seafaring boat.  He was very handsome, charming and gracious, even when Chantal planted a big red kiss!  His accent made my legs buckle…and it looked like he was enjoying my Tuna puri! 

Pani puri is an Indian snack (chaat) found in street food carts.  A foodie friend, Jay recently introduced me to a great vegetarian restaurant in Houston called Shiv Sagar.  Their dosas are excellent and that’s where I spotted the delicate pani puri.   (Thanks Jay for steering me away from making dosas, oy!)    I picked the soft-spoken restaurant owner’s brain for information and ideas for pani puri and eventually bought a package.  They had potential -  small, hollow, crispy fried breads are the vessels for spiced vegetables and sauces.   In order to incorporate the canned tuna, I checked with my Indian connection and knowledgeable friend, Manjula.  

A vegetarian herself, Manjula described the various sauces I should use and assured me that tuna would fit right in.  Her mother’s own garam masala and a fair amount of chopped onions contributed greatly to the richness of the filling.   Willing taste-tester and an excellent cook herself, my neighbor Cheryl stated that the sweetness of the yoghurt sauce balanced the spiciness of the serrano chiles in the green sauce.  The sauces – one sweet, one sour, and one spicy; and a variety of crunchy and leafy garnishes created a complete flavor and textural sensation. 

This was my presentation.  A shot of Mango lassi completed the plate.

Thanks to Karen, Dwight, Joan and Amber at Soundworks for hosting the fun-filled affair and giving us amateur cooks an opportunity to experiment and revel in each other’s company.  Judges Brandy Graesser of Hubbell and Hudson Viking Cooking School, food marketing wiz George Darsey, and Raphael himself made positive comments and I walked off with a fantastic prize – cooking lessons at the Viking Cooking School, perfect for someone who’s always willing to experiment in the kitchen! 

Yours truly, Jenn, Raphael, Holly and the Queen of the Coast

Now to the recipe!  Start with paper-thin Pani Puri (these are made by Satyam Foods & Snacks, Inc.), and thin, crunchy sev, a vermicelli-like snack made with chick pea (gram) flour.

Here’s the filling…simple ingredients deliciously seasoned with garam masala and black mustard seeds. 

To make a hole for the filling, tap the top of one side of each puri with the back of a spoon, and then fill it with the tuna mixture.  Drizzle with Spicy green chutney, Dahi, pomegranate molasses and top with sev, chives, tomato and cilantro.  Pop the entire puri in your mouth for a blast of savory, sweet, sour and spicy heaven!

Tuna Puri   Please note that this recipe looks more complicated than it is!  You can substitute store-bought Spicy Cilantro Chutney and the rest of the components are very simple to assemble.

One bag (7.4 oz) Pani Puri (small, fried and hollow Indian breads, available at all Indian grocers)

Tuna and Chick Pea filling

1 – 2 tablespoons olive oil

1 cup finely diced onion

1 – 2 teaspoons garam masala (a spice mixture available at all Indian grocers)

½ teaspoon black mustard seeds

1 cup diced fresh tomatoes, seeds removed

3 cans (6 oz/170g each) Queen of the Coast Tuna Salad with Chick Peas, or 5 oz canned tuna in oil plus 11 oz cooked chick peas

salt, to taste

In a medium saucepan, heat olive oil. Add onion and sauté for 5 minutes until beginning to soften but not brown. Add garam masala and mustard seeds and cook for 1 minute. Add tomatoes and sauté for 1 more minute. Add canned Tuna Salad with Chick Peas and stir gently until heated through. Season with salt, if necessary.

Spicy Cilantro Chutney ( substitute with store-bought chutney, if you wish)

3 green chiles such as serrano or jalapeno, stemmed and seeded

¾-inch piece peeled fresh ginger

3 tablespoons lemon juice

1 tablespoon oil

¼ cup water

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon sugar or jaggery (palm sugar)

1 tsp cumin seeds, toasted

1 bunch cilantro (about 5 ounces) less about 6 stems- reserve for garnish

Place all ingredients except for the cilantro in a blender. Pulse until combined and finely chopped. Add cilantro and blend until smooth. Season with additional salt if necessary.

Dahi (sweetened yoghurt)

1 cup plain yoghurt

1 tablespoon sugar or jaggery (palm sugar)

½ teaspoon pomegranate molasses

pinch of salt

Whisk yoghurt, sugar, pomegranate and salt to blend. Adjust to taste.

For the garnish:

½ cup sev, a fried vermicelli-like snack made with gram (chick pea) flour (available at all Indian grocers)

pomegranate molasses or sweet tamarind chutney (available at all Indian grocers)

¼ cup finely sliced scallions or chives

½ cup chopped fresh tomato

leaves from about 6 stems cilantro (reserved from Spicy Cilantro Chutney), finely chopped

To assemble Pani Puri

Carefully make a hole on one side of each pani puri. Fill each one about ¾ to the top with warm Tuna and Chick Pea filling. Arrange pani puri on a serving platter. Drizzle with Spicy Cilantro Chutney, Dahi, and garnishes (sev, pomegranate molasses, scallions, tomato and chopped cilantro). Serve with a shot of Mango Lassi to cool the palate!

 

Mango lassi

2 cups plain yoghurt

2 mangoes, peeled and chopped, or 2 cups frozen mango cubes

¼ cup milk

toasted and ground pistachio nuts and a slice of fresh mango for decoration

Blend yoghurt, mangoes and milk in a blender. Pour into glasses and sprinkle with chopped pistachio nuts. Serve cold.

Mango lassi – refreshing and not too sweet!

Click on the link for more pictures of the Tournament de Tuna. 

This post is my entry to the Magic Bullet To Go Giveaway, for which you can find details @ Fun and Food Cafe. You could win a Magic Bullet Food processor!  It’s easy!

Prijatno!

Fish tacos with spicy pineapple salsa and red cabbage slaw

Favorite son, Alex and his lovely girlfriend, Alyssa are quite an accomplished young couple.  Both will be graduating from a reputable university in May with degrees in Chemical Engineering and a B.A. and Masters in Accounting respectively, and Husbie and I will finally get a raise…whoop!  I recently received a text from Alex asking me that if they opened a cafe, would I ‘pastry chef it up?’  My initial response was absolutely, but first go and earn some money in the field that you have been studying for the past five years and then we’ll talk! 

The ‘kids’ are fast becoming very skilled in the kitchen that I step aside and watch in amazement and burst with pride as they pickle vegetables, brew beer, make mayonnaise from scratch, grill burgers with blue cheese sauce, make gyros and much more.   I guess I shouldn’t be so surprised since it’s sort of written in their genes!  Alyssa hails from a Louisiana family that takes it’s food very seriously.  Her mother, Rhonda is an excellent cook who can stuff a shrimp like no one’s business and make a hearty chicken and sausage gumbo that’ll make you want to slap ya’ mama!  I have never resorted to fast food as a means of sustenance for my precious children and am happy to see that their philosophy of eating includes an appreciation and respect for fresh ingredients that not only nourish the body, but also provide a healthy avenue for creativity.

Alex’s interest in ethnic cuisines began in a Cuban restaurant.  At the age of two, Husbie and I watched in amazement as he polished off a bowl of spicy Cuban salsa without a flinch of an eye!  In junior high, he experimented with salsa concoctions and loved to share them with his classmates.  One such salsa was so spicy that it managed to agitate the entrails of an intrepid classmate that he had to leave class and go home; I sincerely hope he hasn’t been scarred for life!

Here’s a meal that Alex and Alyssa treated us to recently.  Inspired by Rhonda’s recipe, these fish tacos are easy to prepare and include a sunny tropical salsa, crunchy red slaw, buttery avocado slices and delicate tilapia.

Fish tacos with spicy pineapple salsa and red cabbage slaw  Serves 4

8 corn tortillas, warmed. I found very good yellow corn and wheat flour blend tortillas from La Tortilla Factory in Santa Rosa, California. They didn’t crack when folded as many corn-only tortillas do. They are available at Kroger grocery stores (one of the few good things I can chime about that comes from this chain. Living in the ‘burbs comes with its own challenges, one of them being the lack of great stores!)

Red cabbage slaw (see recipe below)

Spicy pineapple salsa (see recipe below)

1 avocado, halved, pitted, peeled and sliced

4 pieces of tilapia, or other mild white fish

Coat tilapia in a little oil.  Season with salt, pepper, paprika and cayenne, to taste.  Just before you are ready to eat, broil the tilapia for about 8 minutes until just cooked.

Serve tilapia with warmed tortillas, pineapple salsa, avocado slices and red cabbage slaw.

Red cabbage slaw

½ red cabbage, finely sliced

1 cup cilantro leaves

1/3 red onion, thinly sliced

4 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

2 tablespoons honey

2 tablespoons lemon or lime juice

2 tablespoons canola oil

Place sliced cabbage, cilantro leaves and sliced red onion in a large bowl. Mix vinegar, honey and lime juice in a small bowl.  While whisking quickly, add canola oil to vinegar mixture.  Add to coleslaw and mix thoroughly.

Spicy pineapple salsa – this recipe calls for more than you’ll need for the tacos.  The rest makes a refreshing tropical dip when served with tortilla chips.

1 large can (20 oz) crushed pineapple in its own juice

1 cup cilantro leaves, lightly packed

2 tablespoons fresh lemon or lime juice

3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar

hot sauce, to taste.  Alex loves Sriracha brand to spice things up. 

Place all ingredients in food processor and blend.

 

This post was submitted to Susan’s informative blog Yeastspotting for this week’s edition.

Prijatno!

Pork Satay with Peanut sauce and Pepper dip

Indonesian restaurants are a dime a dozen in The Netherlands, but here in sprawling Houston (a city that boasts more ethnic eateries than any other city in the US) it is inconceivable that there are only two (deux, dva, dos, yes only 2) listed.  Compared to Chinese, Vietnamese and Indian restaurants, they are an anomaly.  When visiting my sister and her family during their two stints in Holland, Sama Sebo on Hooftstraat, down the street from the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, was our favorite Indonesian restaurant.  With our little boys, we would stop in for an afternoon snack between sight-seeing and the museums and always order the Sateh.  Normally quiet between meals, we had the entire place to ourselves.  They also serve a nice Rijsttafel.

I have longed for the Sama Sebo recipe.  Their Sateh was served accompanied by a dark and spicy peanut sauce (the likes of which I have not had since) and slices of fresh bread.  I believe this recipe comes pretty close to the real deal, but Sama Sebo’s sauce will always be my sentimental favorite!  My nephews were my taste-testers today – one of them the little boy in a stroller in Sama Sebo sixteen years ago!  He is now 6’4” tall and a freshman in college!  Both he and his brother gave this Satay two thumbs up and made me promise to make it again, as well as Jen’s dumplings!

The January 2010 DC challenge was hosted by Cuppy of Cuppylicious and she chose a delicious Thai-inspired recipe for Pork Satay from the book 1000 Recipes by Martha Day.

The recipe below includes my minor changes.  I chose to use pork tenderloin because I like the leanness factor and I was confident the marinade would inject a lot of flavor into the otherwise bland meat.  I was right and it was tender and moist and very flavorful.  The fish sauce in the marinade is optional but I always include it;  what would an Asian dish be without it?  If you want to see the original recipe, please see Cuppy’s link above.

Pork Satay with Peanut sauce and Pepper dip

Satay marinade

1/2 small onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tablespoon ginger root, chopped
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon ‘lite’ soy sauce
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric

½ teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 teaspoon fish sauce
2 tablespoons vegetable oil (or peanut or olive oil)

1 pound pork tenderloin or loin

If you have a food processor, place all ingredients except the pork and blend until smooth.  Otherwise, chop onion, garlic and ginger as fine as you can and mix with the other ingredients until well blended.
Cut pork tenderloin in half crosswise and then into 1 inch wide by 1/2-inch thick strips (the strips should measure about 4 - 5 inches in length).  Place in a bowl or Ziploc bag and add marinade.  Blend together so that the pork strips are completely covered.  Chill for 2 hours for tenderloin and 4 hours and up to 24 hours for less tender cuts.

To cook:

If using wooden or bamboo skewers, soak your skewers in warm water for at least 20 minutes before preparing skewers to try to prevent them from burning.  As you can see from the pictures, my skewers charred, but fortunately they didn’t effect the flavor of the meat.
Gently and slowly slide meat strips onto skewers. Discard leftover marinade.
Broil or grill at 290°C/550° F for 8-10 minutes or until the edges just start to char. Flip and cook another few minutes until cooked through.

Peanut sauce

3/4 cup coconut milk (6 oz or 180 mls)  Next time, I will reduce this amount for a thicker sauce.
4 tablespoons peanut butter (2 oz or 60 mls)
1 tablespoons lemon juice (0.5 oz or 15 mls)
1 tablespoons ‘lite’ soy sauce (0.5 oz or 15 mls)
1 teaspoon brown sugar (5 mls)
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin (2.5 mls)
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander (2.5 mls)
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/4 cup chopped peanuts (as a topping)                                                                

Mix dry ingredients in a small bowl. Add soy sauce and lemon, mix well.  Over low heat, combine coconut milk, peanut butter and your soy-lemon-seasoning mix. Mix well with a whisk until the peanut butter has melted and the mixture is smooth. 

Pepper dip

4 tablespoons ‘lite’ soy sauce (2 oz or 60 mls)
1 tablespoon lemon juice (0.5 oz or 15 mls)
1 teaspoon brown sugar (5 mls)
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 finely chopped green onion (scallion)

Mix well. Serve chilled or at room temperature with the Peanut sauce and chopped peanuts.

 

Thanks to Lis and Ivonne for founding our Daring Bakers and Daring Cooks groups and keeping us on track with great ideas. 

Prijatno!

Slow-roasted BBQ pork sandwiches with Sweet-and-Sour Coleslaw from Mustards Grill

Stacey’s Shredded pork tacos in Colorado last year were spicy and succulent and I have been looking forward to experimenting with a pork ‘butt’ again .   Slow-cooked all day, the pork ‘butt’ is actually part of the shoulder and is the perfect example of an inexpensive cut of meat that turns into wonder when cooked in low heat over a long period of time.  Marbling that runs throughout prevents the pork from drying out and eventually melts away allowing it to be ‘pulled’ or shredded effortlessly.  I have considered becoming a vegetarian many times, but I always reconsider when thoughts of tender smoked ribs, sugar-crusted ham and pulled pork come to mind! 

Having dined at Mustards Grill (an institution in the Napa wine country) our wine group agreed that Cindy Pawlcyn and her crew are experts in preparing pork.  Their BBQ Baby back ribs are marvelous and the Mongolian pork chops with braised red cabbage has been a signature dish for many years.  Fortunately for us, the Mustards Grill Napa Valley Cookbook was published in 2001 and it remains a favorite until today. 

It is SOME COOKBOOK!  Our wine group has used it many times:  Hanger steak with watercress sauce and Onion jam at Jeff and Doris’ was to die for and the Crab cakes with red beet and horseradish remoulade and Seared Ahi tuna on sesame crackers with wasabi cream are brilliant appetizers.  Brian and Helen have mastered the Mongolian pork chops.  Strawberry-rhubarb cobbler with black pepper biscuits topped with Caramel ice cream, and Lemon-lime meringue pie (with it’s sky high brown sugar meringue) are most impressive – just ask Nina!  Being a person who doesn’t partake of dessert very often, she scarfed a generous slice of the pie down in no time and we’ll never let her forget it!  

Slow-Smoked BBQ Pork Sandwiches with Ooo-Eee! Sauce is a great recipe that requires the meat to be smoked over a period of several hours.  Having endured unusually frigid temperatures in Houston of late, setting up the smoker was out of the question!  I opted to slow-roast it in the oven and was rewarded with sweet, juicy and very tender meat that took no effort to pull apart.  Apply the seasoning rub the night before you plan to roast it, if possible.

Slow-Roasted BBQ Pork Sandwiches with Ooo-Eee! Sauce and Sweet-and-Sour Coleslaw adapted from the Mustards Grill Napa Valley Cookbook

1 (2½ - 3 lb) bone-in pork butt or picnic roast (I bought a 7lb picnic roast and doubled the rest of the ingredients)

rind of 1 orange, grated finely

1½ tablespoons of freshly ground black pepper

1½ teaspoons ancho chile powder (or chipotle chile powder – for a spicier finish)

½ teaspoon sweet paprika

½ teaspoon hot paprika

1/4 cup kosher salt

3 tablespoons sugar

Ooo-Eee! Sauce

½ cup of your favorite BBQ sauce

½ cup cider vinegar

¼ cup apple cider

¼ cup sugar

¾ cup water

You will also need:

½ red onion, thinly sliced

6 seeded bread rolls

Sweet-and-Sour Coleslaw (see recipe below)

Lay the pork butt skin side up on a cutting board. Using a sharp knife, cut the skin off the pork butt through the fatty layer dividing the skin and the meat. Set the skin aside.

In a small bowl, combine the orange peel, black pepper, ancho chile powder, sweet paprika, hot paprika, kosher salt and sugar. Rub this mixture liberally on the pork, using your fingers to push the seasonings into all the crevices and indentations by the bone. Replace the pork skin on the meat and season it as well. Cover the meat and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or preferably overnight.

To slow-roast: Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Place the pork butt in a heavy roaster which is just big enough to fit the roast. You want the roast to fit snugly in the roaster so that the moisture is not dispersed too much. Cover roaster with the lid and place in the oven. Immediately reduce the temperature to 225ºF and allow the meat to roast for about 5-7 hours. You can even do this overnight.

During the last hour of roasting, remove the lid and allow the pork skin to crisp. Remove from the oven and test for doneness: prick the meat with a fork and twist the fork. If the meat falls apart, it is done! Allow the meat to cool for a little while and then pull it apart, removing any fatty parts that have not melted away.

Towards serving time, combine all the sauce ingredients in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook until it is slightly thickened. Carefully add the pulled pork pieces to the sauce and stir together to coat the meat.

To assemble the sandwich: Cut the bread rolls open and remove some of the soft bread inside (this will provide a nice ‘nest’ for the meat). Toast the rolls. Scoop a generous amount of pork on one toasted half of a roll, top with sliced onions, Sweet-and-Sour Coleslaw, and top with the other half of the roll. You can also serve the coleslaw on the side, if you prefer.

Sweet-and-Sour Coleslaw

½ to ¾ head of red or green cabbage, thinly sliced

1 red bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced

2 carrots, peeled and grated

¼ cup sugar

1 teaspoon dry mustard

1 teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/3 cup cider vinegar

2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

Combine sliced cabbage, bell pepper and carrots in a large bowl. To make the dressing, combine the sugar, mustard, salt and pepper in a small saucepan. Gradually whisk in vinegar and olive oil. Bring to a boil over medium heat and cook for 1 minute. Cool for about 5 minutes and then pour the dressing over the cabbage mixture. Refrigerate until ready to be served.

Prijatno!

Smoked Salmon with Shallot mayonnaise and Meyer lemon slices

As they say “time flies when you’re having fun”!   It’s been a year since I started Prijatno!  and it has been a most enjoyable and enriching experience.   Since I’m the ‘live to eat’ type and not vice versa ‘eat to livers’ - too skinny - I’ll never be one of them  I take my adventurous palate and relish the chance to try new ingredients and challenges out of the ordinary.  I’ve made my own homemade puff pastry and Chinese dumpling dough.  I have enjoyed sharing my family, my culture and traditions with you as well as phenomenal dinners, programs and places.

Personal issues with computers aside techno geeks – I’ll never be one of them,  I love the blogging process.  It starts with creativity and cooking in the kitchen and moves on to recipe development (if it’s mine), writing and editing,  photographing, organizing it, and finally the most fun of all is pushing the ‘Publish’ button and waiting to receive your comments!  I am thrilled that I have found a suitable avenue for sharing my culinary experiments and adventures with you because I believe good food and recipes are for sharing, after all!

Thanks for the positive feedback from fellow bloggers, readers and followers.   Comments are very important to me so don’t be shy!  If you’ve never written a comment to a blog post, try it - it’s easy!  Just click on “click to leave a comment” at the end of this post and follow the directions.  If you don’t have a “profile”, a Google account takes just a couple of minutes to set up.    

In my last post I talked about our Meyer lemon crop.  We have been enjoying the lemons in desserts, salads, drinking water and in this delicious sandwich with smoked salmon.

 

Smoked Salmon with Shallot mayonnaise and Meyer lemon slices

Makes 4 sandwiches

Shallot Mayonnaise

1/2 cup mayonnaise

3 tablespoons finely chopped shallots

2 - 3 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro or parsley

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

    

4 - 8 thin slices of firm bread (I used homemade oat bread).   That’s 4 slices for ‘open-faced’ sandwiches, and 8 slices if you like your sandwich ‘closed’.

1 Meyer lemon, sliced as thin as you can

4 oz smoked salmon slices

1 tablespoon chives, chopped

To make the Shallot mayonnaise: combine mayonnaise, shallots, cilantro or parsley, and black pepper in a small bowl. Set aside or refrigerate if using later.

For open-faced sandwiches: Toast 4 slices of bread. Spread with Shallot mayonnaise. Top with thin slices of Meyer lemon, smoked salmon, a small dollop of Shallot mayonnaise and some chopped chives.

For closed sandwiches: Toast the remaining 4 slices of bread and top the sandwiches with them. Slice in half and enjoy!

Prijatno!

Italian Green Sauce – Salsa Verde

Have you ever seen such a beautiful bouquet of flat-leaf parsley?   This organically grown herb grows in one of the vegetable beds at Sylvan Rodriguez Elementary School in Houston.  In the shadow of the Williams Tower (formerly Transco Tower see it in the top right hand corner?)  this notable school hosts the Recipe for Success program that I praised in my previous post.  I picked a lovely bunch and admired my fresh arrangement at home for several days – pinching leaves and enjoying the crisp green taste in my mouth it’s a great breath freshener!

Remember when curly parsley was merely a colorful decoration on your dinner plate, left untouched, then dumped in the rubbish bin?   Fresh parsley has since taken top billing in our kitchens in the likes of tabbouleh, chimichurri and pesto.  It’s a subtle flavoring in many other dishes including dressings, stocks and sauces.  Loaded with Vitamin C (it has three times the amount in oranges), Vitamins A and K, iron and folate, parsley also has therapeutic value as a diuretic.  When used to make tea, it can reduce high blood pressure.  It can also help to settle an upset stomach and is rich in antioxidants.  Because it is so readily available, don’t even think about buying the dried, dead leaves in a jar to cook with – it just won’t cut it and I’ll come and admonish you!

I looked for a recipe that used a generous amount of fresh parsley.  Green Sauce, or Salsa Verde comes from Mario Batali’s Molto Mario cookbook.  Batali serves this sauce with a variety of meats (calf tongue, veal, brisket, beef cheeks, sausage, capon and turkey) in broth.   With all of those meats in a bowl, Mario found a way to add a seafood component as well, so…salt-packed anchovies come on the scene via a flavorful and complex sauce.  After test-tasting the mixture, I added a clove of garlic – and WOW – it’s the bomb!   Not only is it delicious, it’s also very versatile - you can use it as a dipping sauce or in an appetizer (see my crostini below).  We enjoyed the sauce with roasted chicken breasts the other night and on broiled fish and sweet potatoes last night. 

 

Italian Green Sauce – Salsa Verde     Adapted from Mario Batali’s Molto Italiano cookbook.

I bunch Italian flat-leaf parsley, rinsed, leaves only

4 salt-packed anchovies (canned), rinsed and picked over for visible bones (anchovy bones are very soft, small and edible so you don’t have to remove them all)

1 small bunch mint, rinsed, leaves only

2 tablespoons capers, rinsed

1 hard-boiled egg, cooled

1 clove garlic, peeled

1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes

4 cornichons or ½ large kosher dill

2 tablespoons white or red wine vinegar

½ cup extra virgin olive oil

freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Place parsley, anchovies, mint, capers, egg, garlic, cornichons, vinegar, olive oil and black pepper in a food processor and blend until smooth.

Serve at room temperature.

And just because I’m my father’s daughter and I have the stomach and taste buds that can handle intense flavors, I made crostini with toasted sesame bread and green sauce.  I topped them each with a tiny, briny, oily and pungent anchovy filet - not for the squeamish…but give it a try!

 Prijatno!