This is one of my favorite show-off meals. Most people have only had it in a restaurant, if ever, and they think it's really hard to make or full of exotic ingredients. In my experience, it's pretty simple and most ingredients are easy to find.
One ingredient that can be a little different is the fish sauce. You can find it in the ethnic section of most grocery stores. It's generally cheap (yeah!) and in a huge bottle. It is shelf stable for years. I keep mine in the fridge, but that's only because I don't want it lost in the back of the pantry. I really don't need two bottles of it just because I couldn't find the first. I've been cooking with fish sauce for 10 years and I'm only on my second bottle!
The other is bean sprouts. Although you can make your own with a little moisture and some dried beans, it's a whole lot easier to buy them. The produce section of the grocery store usually has them near some of the herbs or in an ethnic section. HyVee has them bulk here, but they are also pre-packaged in a lot of stores. If you can't find them fresh, they exist in a canned version. It's not nearly as good, though. These don't keep well, so buy them within a day or two of when you plan to use them. Also, rinse them very well.
This recipe is from Joy of Cooking. The prep work is a little time consuming, but if you're serving it to guests, all of that can be done in advance. The actual cooking time is pretty short. It serves 3-4 people (or two if you're really hungry). Leftovers are good reheated in the microwave.
If I remember correctly, we made this for you a couple of years ago. Maybe it was before you left for Italy?
Shrimp Pad Thai
Soak in hot water for 20-30 minutes:
6 ounces dried rice stick noodles (they are wide noodles that are about 6 inches long)
Drain and cover.
Stir together in a medium bowl:
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
Peel, devein and halve lengthwise
8 oz. large shrimp
(or you can do what I do, and find the cheaper medium shrimp and don't bother halving them. Also, most shrimp comes deveined and if it doesn't, you don't have to do it if you don't want to bother. It's purely aesthetic)
Toss into the cornstarch mixture and marinate for 15-20 minutes.
Place in a small bowl:
3 large eggs, well-beaten
Place on a small plate:
1/2 cup scallions in 1 1/2 inch pieces (we use fresh chives or scallions, depending on what we have available. You could even use plain white onion, just use about 1/2 the amount and cut it in thin strips. The green is prettier, though)
2-3 fresh red chili peppers, chopped (if you can't find these or don't want it as spicy, you can skip this part and just add the crushed red pepper at the end to your taste preference)
2 Tablespoons finely minced garlic (I use about 6 cloves pressed through my garlic press)
Stir together in a small bowl:
1/4 cup thai fish sauce (nam pla is the thai name. I use whatever fish sauce I can find, since my choices are limited)
1/4 cup lemon juice
3 Tablespoons sugar
On a plate, put these in clockwise order starting at the top (you add them in this order at the end in fairly quick succession, so it's easiest if they are all arrayed on a plate):
1/2 cup bean sprouts
1/3 cup roasted, unsalted peanuts, coarsely chopped (I have a friend who actually adds a tablespoon of crunchy peanut butter to the fish sauce bowl above and skips this, but I prefer the chopped peanuts)
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, cut in thin strips
1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper (more or less, depending on your preference in spiciness)
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
To cook:
Heat a wok (because everybody has one, right? Just kidding!) or a large skillet over high heat. When it's hot, pour in:
1/3 cup peanut oil (you can use another oil, but the flavor is best with peanut. It's also generally considered the best oil for stir-frying)
Swirl it around until it is hot, but not smoking - this happens really quickly. Maybe 20 seconds?
Add shrimp and cook until they are translucent (or until they are pink and white like cocktail shrimp). Remove to a plate with paper towels on it.
Add 2 more tablespoons peanut oil and swirl briefly.
Slowly pour in the eggs, stirring constantly, and cook until set. Remove to a plate
Add 3 more tablespoons peanut oil and swirl again.
Add the scallion/garlic mixture and stir briefly (10 seconds, just enough that the garlic browns a little - try not to burn the garlic, although I find it's nearly impossible when cooking at high temperatures).
Add the noodles and stir until well coated.
Add the fish sauce mixture and stir well.
Add the shrimp.
Add the eggs and stir well.
Add the ingredients on the plate in the order given and stir after adding each.
Serve!
Sunday, August 26, 2012
BBQ Sauce (and a coleslaw recipe, just for fun)
Making BBQ sauce is extremely easy. It's about the only way I can make sure that the sauce is safe to serve to my gluten-free friends and still tastes good. Both of these recipes are from Cooking Light magazine.
The first should be flavors you recognize- Gates BBQ from Kansas City!
Kansas City BBQ Sauce
Combine all ingredients in a medium sauce pan:
1 cup plus 2 Tablespoons ketchup
1 cup water
1/3 cup cider vinegar
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 Tablespoon onion powder (I've made it with fresh onion, too - just grate it and add a little extra)
1 Tablespoon chili powder
1 Tablespoon ground black pepper
1 1/2 Tablespoons molasses
3/4 teaspoon celery seed
1/2 teaspoon smoked salt (McCormick makes some, so you should be able to find it in the grocery store. It's a great addition to steamed vegetables if you want a little different flavor. Dan actually smokes his own. If we have any the next time you are in town, we'll send some home with you!)
Bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce to a simmer and simmer for 25 minutes.
As far as I can tell, this keeps for months. It makes 2 1/2 cups of sauce, so you'll have plenty to share with friends if you don't want that much. It's great over chicken or pork
Memphis BBQ sauce
This has a slight mustard flavor. My favorite way to eat it is over pulled pork with the coleslaw recipe below on top.
Combine all ingredients in a medium sauce pan:
1 cup ketchup
3/4 cup white (plain) vinegar
2 Tablespoons brown sugar
1 Tablespoon onion powder (again, use grated fresh if you don't have the dried)
2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce (Check to make sure it's gluten-free)
2 Tablespoons mustard
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper
Bring to a simmer and cook 5 minutes. Best served warm, but leftovers come out cold at my house and I haven't heard anyone complain :-).
Memphis Coleslaw
This is a slightly different coleslaw that isn't sweet. I like it by itself, but it's really good on pulled pork with the Memphis BBQ sauce.
Combine in a large bowl:
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1 1/2 Tablespoons mustard
1 1/2 Tablespoons white (plain) vinegar
1 Tablespoon mayonnaise
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
Add and toss to coat:
6 cups chopped green cabbage
-Jennifer
The first should be flavors you recognize- Gates BBQ from Kansas City!
Kansas City BBQ Sauce
Combine all ingredients in a medium sauce pan:
1 cup plus 2 Tablespoons ketchup
1 cup water
1/3 cup cider vinegar
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 Tablespoon onion powder (I've made it with fresh onion, too - just grate it and add a little extra)
1 Tablespoon chili powder
1 Tablespoon ground black pepper
1 1/2 Tablespoons molasses
3/4 teaspoon celery seed
1/2 teaspoon smoked salt (McCormick makes some, so you should be able to find it in the grocery store. It's a great addition to steamed vegetables if you want a little different flavor. Dan actually smokes his own. If we have any the next time you are in town, we'll send some home with you!)
Bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce to a simmer and simmer for 25 minutes.
As far as I can tell, this keeps for months. It makes 2 1/2 cups of sauce, so you'll have plenty to share with friends if you don't want that much. It's great over chicken or pork
Memphis BBQ sauce
This has a slight mustard flavor. My favorite way to eat it is over pulled pork with the coleslaw recipe below on top.
Combine all ingredients in a medium sauce pan:
1 cup ketchup
3/4 cup white (plain) vinegar
2 Tablespoons brown sugar
1 Tablespoon onion powder (again, use grated fresh if you don't have the dried)
2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce (Check to make sure it's gluten-free)
2 Tablespoons mustard
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper
Bring to a simmer and cook 5 minutes. Best served warm, but leftovers come out cold at my house and I haven't heard anyone complain :-).
Memphis Coleslaw
This is a slightly different coleslaw that isn't sweet. I like it by itself, but it's really good on pulled pork with the Memphis BBQ sauce.
Combine in a large bowl:
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1 1/2 Tablespoons mustard
1 1/2 Tablespoons white (plain) vinegar
1 Tablespoon mayonnaise
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
Add and toss to coat:
6 cups chopped green cabbage
-Jennifer
Shall we consider the maternity leave over?
It's been 3 1/2 weeks since William was born and I've not had a chance to sit down to blog! I'm sorry for my absence and can't wait until you get a chance to meet the reason for my break in posting recipes.
On the plus side, I just spent three weeks hanging out with a gluten-free friend and her kids, so I have a lot of new recipes to add :-).
Jennifer
On the plus side, I just spent three weeks hanging out with a gluten-free friend and her kids, so I have a lot of new recipes to add :-).
Jennifer
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
Watermelon Salsa
We were lucky enough to get our first watermelon from our own garden this year! It was small, so I wanted to find a way to make it last a little. I found a great recipe from Cooking Light magazine (which I changed to fit the ingredients I had) and we paired it with grilled chicken. It was a fun way to use the fruits of the season.
The portions are huge for one person in the original recipe, so I'm going to try to trim it to a more reasonable amount for you and a roommate or friend.
Watermelon Salsa
1 cup chopped watermelon
1 cup chopped cantaloupe (or you can use honeydew melon or any other melon you like)
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
Juice from one lime, or about 1 tablespoon lime juice
1 lime worth of grated lime rind
2-3 shakes of chili powder (depending on how spicy you like it)
1/2 of a jalapeno finely minced (again, adjust this to your spicy-taste)
1 1/2 tablespoons finely chopped onion
Salt to taste
Mix it all together and let it sit for 15 minutes to meld the flavors.
-Jennifer
The portions are huge for one person in the original recipe, so I'm going to try to trim it to a more reasonable amount for you and a roommate or friend.
Watermelon Salsa
1 cup chopped watermelon
1 cup chopped cantaloupe (or you can use honeydew melon or any other melon you like)
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
Juice from one lime, or about 1 tablespoon lime juice
1 lime worth of grated lime rind
2-3 shakes of chili powder (depending on how spicy you like it)
1/2 of a jalapeno finely minced (again, adjust this to your spicy-taste)
1 1/2 tablespoons finely chopped onion
Salt to taste
Mix it all together and let it sit for 15 minutes to meld the flavors.
-Jennifer
Bulk cooking for one?
It seems a little crazy, but you can do some bulk buying and cooking for one. It's a great way to save money and make sure that the ingredients you are using are definitely gluten free.
I was thinking about this as we were getting ready for the arrival of my gluten-intolerant friends from Texas. My friend Lynn comes to visit when I have a baby for about three weeks to help around the house with laundry, cooking, cleaning, kid-watching, etc. (we do the same for her when she has a baby) It's a great arrangement! I wanted to make things easy for her to feed my 4 older kids and her 3 kids. It can be a challenge when we're both up and running and becomes really challenging when one of us is hanging out in bed!
Anyway, to make things run smoothly it works best if we don't have to worry about cooking meat or beans; ingredients we need for almost every meal. Sometimes, you just want to grab already prepared ingredients, throw them together and feed a pile of people. Since we can't have most of the easy, pre-prepared/processed foods, we make our own. Some of what you can do will depend on your freezer space. Investing in a small chest freezer may be a good idea if you find that you enjoy cooking this way.
Quick Note on Containers
You can re-use sour cream or yogurt containers if they have lids, or you can buy the re-usable/disposable gladware style containers you find in the store. Both are easy to label and stack. I don't recommend using ziplock bags- they break easily and it is difficult to do quick thaws- especially if you are using a microwave to thaw. Empty mayo and pickle jars are also handy to have on hand for saving leftovers in the fridge. However, freezing with them can be difficult since glass doesn't give the same way plastic does and you can end up with broken jars in your freezer.
Roasted chicken
I have a lot of mouths to feed, so I cook 4 chickens at a time when they go on sale. It takes the same amount of time in the oven for 4 as it does for one. Then, I strip the chicken from the bones, chop it and put it into freezer containers that are about what I need for one recipe. For me, that's 2-3 cup containers. For you, one cup containers probably make more sense. I'll use this to put together things like the Tabbouleh salad or chicken tacos as well as a quick lunch where I grab chicken and frozen peas, thaw them and put them in front of the kids. Protein and a vegetable make lunch, right?
Recipe for Roasted Chicken:
Rinse chicken and remove the giblet bag (very important! I've had friends accidentally cook the chicken with the bag in it...yuck!). Make sure the chicken is all the way thawed. If it starts frozen in the middle, it will stay raw in the middle and overcook on the outside. My quick and dirty way to flavor it is to peel and quarter an onion and stuff it inside the chicken. You can also halve and throw a lemon or orange in for flavor if you have an old one in your fruit drawer... Then rub olive oil inside and outside the chicken and sprinkle with salt and pepper. If you can stick some salt and pepper under the skin on the breast, it's even better. Put in in a casserole dish and bake at 400 degrees for about an hour. If you prick the leg or thigh the juices will run clear. It should register at 175 on a meat thermometer.
Roasted pork
This works on the same principle as the chicken. I use pork shoulder roasts, since they are inexpensive. They have the added benefit of being very tender and forgiving. Its hard to mess up a pork shoulder. There's quite a bit of fat in it, so it can be cooked multiple times without much trouble. It shreds well for pork tacos or sandwiches. It's also darned tasty fresh from the oven!
Recipe for Roasted Pork
Get a rub you like, or mix equal parts salt, pepper, cumin, chile powder, paprika, and brown sugar (start with a tablespoon of each) then add a teaspoon of red pepper if you like a little spice (or more to taste) and a dash of nutmeg. Rub it all over the outside of the pork roast and put it in a 325 degree oven for four hours. This WILL heat your house up, so I usually do this when the weather is getting cooler. The roast is done when a meat thermometer reaches 185 in the thickest part of the roast, near the bone. At this point Dan and the kids start picking bits off the outside of the roast - samples are big in our house! Let it "rest" for 15 minutes so the juices can re-distribute throughout, then carve into whatever you want to serve. You can do 1/2 inch slices and serve with vegetables for dinner, then chop the rest into recipe-sized chunks and freeze in 1 cup containers for easy snacks, meals and recipe-sized portions.
Dried Beans
Dried beans are significantly cheaper than buying them canned, but if you're doing them on the stovetop, they take forever and are kind of a pain. However, if you have access to a crockpot, you can soak the beans overnight in a bowl, then throw them in the crockpot with an onion and any spices you like, cover them with water that goes about 2 inches above the level of the beans and turn the crockpot on low for 10 hours. They end up about perfect. Then, you can use what you'd like and portion the rest out into your freezer. If you are going to freeze the beans, I find it best to drain them before freezing so they come out looking like beans instead of mush. If you make a lot of bean soups, though, you can freeze it with the liquid. I'll try to remember post my favorite black bean soup recipe for you.
Boy this ended up being a long post. I hope it's a little useful as something besides bedtime reading when you're suffering from insomnia!
-Jennifer (with quite a few edits from Dan)
I was thinking about this as we were getting ready for the arrival of my gluten-intolerant friends from Texas. My friend Lynn comes to visit when I have a baby for about three weeks to help around the house with laundry, cooking, cleaning, kid-watching, etc. (we do the same for her when she has a baby) It's a great arrangement! I wanted to make things easy for her to feed my 4 older kids and her 3 kids. It can be a challenge when we're both up and running and becomes really challenging when one of us is hanging out in bed!
Anyway, to make things run smoothly it works best if we don't have to worry about cooking meat or beans; ingredients we need for almost every meal. Sometimes, you just want to grab already prepared ingredients, throw them together and feed a pile of people. Since we can't have most of the easy, pre-prepared/processed foods, we make our own. Some of what you can do will depend on your freezer space. Investing in a small chest freezer may be a good idea if you find that you enjoy cooking this way.
Quick Note on Containers
You can re-use sour cream or yogurt containers if they have lids, or you can buy the re-usable/disposable gladware style containers you find in the store. Both are easy to label and stack. I don't recommend using ziplock bags- they break easily and it is difficult to do quick thaws- especially if you are using a microwave to thaw. Empty mayo and pickle jars are also handy to have on hand for saving leftovers in the fridge. However, freezing with them can be difficult since glass doesn't give the same way plastic does and you can end up with broken jars in your freezer.
Roasted chicken
I have a lot of mouths to feed, so I cook 4 chickens at a time when they go on sale. It takes the same amount of time in the oven for 4 as it does for one. Then, I strip the chicken from the bones, chop it and put it into freezer containers that are about what I need for one recipe. For me, that's 2-3 cup containers. For you, one cup containers probably make more sense. I'll use this to put together things like the Tabbouleh salad or chicken tacos as well as a quick lunch where I grab chicken and frozen peas, thaw them and put them in front of the kids. Protein and a vegetable make lunch, right?
Recipe for Roasted Chicken:
Rinse chicken and remove the giblet bag (very important! I've had friends accidentally cook the chicken with the bag in it...yuck!). Make sure the chicken is all the way thawed. If it starts frozen in the middle, it will stay raw in the middle and overcook on the outside. My quick and dirty way to flavor it is to peel and quarter an onion and stuff it inside the chicken. You can also halve and throw a lemon or orange in for flavor if you have an old one in your fruit drawer... Then rub olive oil inside and outside the chicken and sprinkle with salt and pepper. If you can stick some salt and pepper under the skin on the breast, it's even better. Put in in a casserole dish and bake at 400 degrees for about an hour. If you prick the leg or thigh the juices will run clear. It should register at 175 on a meat thermometer.
Roasted pork
This works on the same principle as the chicken. I use pork shoulder roasts, since they are inexpensive. They have the added benefit of being very tender and forgiving. Its hard to mess up a pork shoulder. There's quite a bit of fat in it, so it can be cooked multiple times without much trouble. It shreds well for pork tacos or sandwiches. It's also darned tasty fresh from the oven!
Recipe for Roasted Pork
Get a rub you like, or mix equal parts salt, pepper, cumin, chile powder, paprika, and brown sugar (start with a tablespoon of each) then add a teaspoon of red pepper if you like a little spice (or more to taste) and a dash of nutmeg. Rub it all over the outside of the pork roast and put it in a 325 degree oven for four hours. This WILL heat your house up, so I usually do this when the weather is getting cooler. The roast is done when a meat thermometer reaches 185 in the thickest part of the roast, near the bone. At this point Dan and the kids start picking bits off the outside of the roast - samples are big in our house! Let it "rest" for 15 minutes so the juices can re-distribute throughout, then carve into whatever you want to serve. You can do 1/2 inch slices and serve with vegetables for dinner, then chop the rest into recipe-sized chunks and freeze in 1 cup containers for easy snacks, meals and recipe-sized portions.
Dried Beans
Dried beans are significantly cheaper than buying them canned, but if you're doing them on the stovetop, they take forever and are kind of a pain. However, if you have access to a crockpot, you can soak the beans overnight in a bowl, then throw them in the crockpot with an onion and any spices you like, cover them with water that goes about 2 inches above the level of the beans and turn the crockpot on low for 10 hours. They end up about perfect. Then, you can use what you'd like and portion the rest out into your freezer. If you are going to freeze the beans, I find it best to drain them before freezing so they come out looking like beans instead of mush. If you make a lot of bean soups, though, you can freeze it with the liquid. I'll try to remember post my favorite black bean soup recipe for you.
Boy this ended up being a long post. I hope it's a little useful as something besides bedtime reading when you're suffering from insomnia!
-Jennifer (with quite a few edits from Dan)
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