Red-Wine-Braised Oxtails

I was in quite a mood a couple weeks ago in the meat department. Sometimes I see strange cuts of meat and I get too excited. Next thing I know, I am putting away turkey legs and oxtails!
I finally decided to commit my entire Saturday afternoon and make oxtails for our date night. Oxtails are Aaron's favorite so I had to find a really good recipe! This one was nice and simple, and I already had most of the ingredients! This recipe takes about 4 hours, but 3.5 of those hours is just you sitting on the couch while the oxtails cook themselves in the oven! It turned out very tender and delicious, so it is very worth it!

Ingredients
1 bottle of dry red wine
6 large oxtail pieces (about 3 pounds total)
2 tbsp unsalted butter
4 garlic cloves
2 medium carrots
1/2 medium onion
2 celery ribs
6 thyme sprigs
3 bay leafs
3 cups beef broth
salt, pepper

Preheat oven to 325 degrees

In a 4 to 6 quart heavy saucepan boil wine until reduced by about half. Trim oxtails and pat dry. Season oxtails with salt and pepper. In a deep heavy ovenproof kettle just large enough to hold oxtails in one layer heat 1 tbsp butter over moderately high heat until foam subsides and brown oxtails on all sides. Transfer to bowl. Coarsely chop garlic, carrots, onion, and celery. Add vegetables to kettle and cook in 1 tbsp butter over moderately low heat, stirring until softened.

Arrange oxtails over vegetables and add reduced wine, herbs, and enough broth to just cover oxtails. Bring liquid to a boil and braise oxtails, covered, in middle of oven 3 to 3.5 hours, or until meat is very tender but not falling off the bone. Transfer oxtails with a slotted spoon to a bowl and keep warm. Pour braising liquid through a fine sieve into a large saucepan and discard solids. Boil liquid until thick, shiny, and reduced to about 1 3/4 cups and whisk in remaining tablespoon butter.

By the way, this sauce makes for an excellent dip for the Bacon Bread. I'm just sayin'.

Nicole's Manchego, Onion, and Bacon Appetizer

An easier than easy recipe for a party that Nicole taught me.

Ingredients:

1 block of Manchego cheese
5 slices of bacon (preferably thick, but thin will do too), cut into 1 inch pieces (they'll shrink after they cook
half of a medium sized red onion
Salt
Pepper
Paprika

Fry the bacon on the stove until crisp. Take out and drain on paper towel. Throw away all the fat other than two tbsp.

Cut onion into slices big enough to wrap around half inch cheese cubes. Caramel in the bacon fat with salt, pepper, and paprika.

Cut the cheese into half inch pieces.

Wrap the cheese in the caramelized onions and top with a piece of bacon. Secure with toothpick.

TADA!!

Jambalaya by Tom!

We're really lucky to have a guest chef on Our Family Kitchen - Aaron's pops, Tom! The other day I was in the mood for something from the South and knew that the only person I should ask for a recipe was Tom.

For my first foray into Southern cooking, Tom suggested that I make a jambalaya. His recipe makes for a lot, and at first I was a little puzzled by the steps that were unfamiliar to me (cooking the shrimp in the rice? stewing the sauce for an hour? The enormous amount of onions used?). Well I should have known to never doubt Tom's recipe! I made the dish exactly as prescribed and it was just perfect. Here it goes:

Jambalaya by Tom (with my notes)

Ingredients

3 large onion, chopped

2 bell peppers, chopped

1 cup of oil

1 8-ounce can of tomato sauce

1 6-ounce can of tomato paste

1/2 cup of chopped green onion tops

1/2 cup of chpped parsley

2 cloves of garlic, minced

6 cups of water

5 teaspoons of salt

black pepper and cayenne pepper to your taste (remember you want it to be a little tingly, but not burning hot)

2 bay leaves

4 cups of raw rice (I used Basmati rice)

2 pounds of peeled and deveined shrimp (use 2 lb if you are only using shrimp. For mine I use 1 lb shrimp, 1 lb chicken, 1.5 lb andouille sausage)

Steps:

1. Saute onions and bell pepper in oil over low heat until onions are transparent; add tomato sauce and tomato paste and cook on low heat for one hour.

(Meanwhile I marinated 1 lb chicken thigh pieces in lemon juice, salt, and pepper. I browned the chicken pieces. I also browned the andouille sausage and sliced them)

2. Add remaining ingredients, stir well and bring to a boil; pour into a greased baking dish, cover and bake at 300 degrees F for one hour or until rice is cooked

3. The final product should not be wet; more of the consistency of mashed potatoes, if you get my drift.

4. If you're into white whines, a good Italian Orvietto goes well, but you can also serve it with hearty red wines (a good petite syrah like Spellbound is a good compliment).

5. Serve with a nice green salad, balsamic vinegrette dressing

Indian Grilled Chicken Marinated in Milk & Yogurt

This was a contest winner! Not by me, of course, but still, a winner!
All pictures courtesy of The Pioneer Woman.

You can take out the salt and pepper and it would be very healthy. You can even eliminate the milk, Nandita says, but it's 2% so that shouldn't be a big deal. Yogurt is so good for you. Also, if you think grilling outside is unhealthy (mom and dad) you can make this in the oven.

Recipe once again from the Pioneer Woman. Go here for more pics!


Indian Grilled Chicken Marinated in Milk/yogurt

Chicken pieces (whatever kind your family eats)- must have the bone and skin still on.
Plain yogurt
2% Milk
Garam Masala spice
Kosher Salt
Black Pepper
Marinate chicken OVERNIGHT in a mixture of all ingredients.

Heat grill to around 300-400 degrees.
Place chicken skin down on grill and bake for until internal temp is 140.
Flip chicken over and continue to bake until chicken has reached 165 F for at least 4 minutes.
Remove from grill and let it “rest” for at least 3 minutes.

Let me know how it turns out! I made it today with jsut some chicken thighs and it was deLIcious!

A "Special-ality" - Chris's Meat Loaf

I have gleaned yet another secret recipe from Chris's ever-surprising repertoire! This time, he brought a secret bag of ingredients to make meat loaf. But being a former investigative journalist (kidding!), I spiked his drink with truth serum (not really!) and got this recipe out of him (seriously!).

Now this is comfort food at its finest - and just the thing to christen my cast iron skillet.

The meatloaf is a mixture of three different kinds of ground meat: beef, pork, and lamb. Chris says his mother usually use all beef at home. Mix in one chopped onion, an egg, garlic salt, crumbled bouillon, and a handful of fresh bread crumbs (we use the bag we got in North Beach when Joey took me on a tour).


Usually the recipe calls for some ketchup but I didn't have any so Chris improved with some shrimp cocktail sauce.

After mixing in all the goodies, you can form the meat loaf in a cast iron skillet in whatever shape you want. For example, the shape of Taiwan:



Or, more appropriate to its name, you can form it into a ...



... meatloaf.

Slather some more cocktail sauce or ketchup on top and sprinkle some regular or brown sugar over the ketchup/cocktail sauce. Bake, covered, at 350 degrees for about 40 minutes, then bake, uncovered, until the top is nice and brown (about 15 more minutes).

While the meatloaf baked, Chris whipped up some mashed potatoes - using a hand held mixer to make sure that the taters are nice and airy.

The result? A delicious, comforting, savory meat loaf dinner!



Mojo and Keelo circled around the kitche and salivated/tried to get onto the kitchen table as the meatloaf baked in the oven.



But wait, Mojo Jojo is looking so weird in that picture! The flash never does him justice. Here is a picture of Mojo looking more like himself:


There, that's better.

Chris's Meat Loaf
1/3 lb ground beef
1/3 lb ground pork
1/3 lb ground lamb
1 egg
1 onion, finely chopped
1 pork bouillon cube, crumbled
about 1/2 cup fresh bread crumbs
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
pinch each of oregano and thyme
1/4 cup ketchup, plus more to glaze
pinch of sugar

Preheat oven to 350F.

Mix all the ingredients together, add more breadcrumbs if necessary. Mixture should be soft. Don't overmix.

Shape the loaf in a cast iron pan, or if you don't have one, use just a regular baking pan. Glaze with more ketchup and pinch of sugar.

Cover, bake for 40 minutes or until the meat loaf is cooked through. Uncover and bake for about 15 more minutes until the top is golden brown.

Swat kittens away before you open the oven door.

Slice and serve with mashed potatoes!

Chris says the leftovers would be perfect for a meatloaf sandwich, but I ate it with rice, of course!

Pig's Feet in Soy Sauce Over Rice

Serves 3-4

2-2/3 lb pig's feet
1-1/2 T soy sauce
6 1" sections of green onions
4 cloves of garlic, peeled

Group A:
3 C water
3/4 C soy sauce
1 T cooking wine (rice wine or sherry will do)
1/2 T rock sugar or white sugar
1 star anise (or 1.4 t five spice powder)

4 C cooked rice

Chop pig's feet into 5-6 pieces. Blanch in boiling water. Remove, drain, and spoon the soy sauce over the outer service of the pig's feet. Set aside.

Heat 4 T of oil in a preheated wok. Fry the green onion and garlic until fragrant. Put in the pig's feet and fry until the surface is golden brown. Add group A and cook over medium heat for 40 minutes. Cook until 1-1/2 cups of liquid remain (about 1-2 hours more) on medium-low heat.

Chinese-Style Fried Chicken

I treated myself to some Chinese-style fried chicken yesterday and the day before - it was totally delightful and not very hard to make. I do a shallow pan fry so it's not a huge mess in the kitchen (ugh hate deep fat frying!). I made a batch the day before yesterday, and brought the leftovers with me to eat at a park while tanning. I highly recommend it!

Chinese Fried Chicken

4 pieces of chicken thighs or whole drumsticks, deboned
1 egg yolk
1/2 to 2/3 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon white pepper

5 tablespoons corn starch

vegetable oil for frying

Rinse the chicken and pat dry. Marinate the chicken in egg yolk, salt, and pepper for about half an hour.

Dredge the chicken in corn starch, shake off the excess and set aside.

Heat enough oil to cover a flat frying pan (about .5 cm depth) over medium heat. Slide in the chicken pieces without over crowding the pan. I put a mesh splatter screen over the pan to prevent...splattering.

Fry about 8 minutes on each side, depending on the thickness of the chicken. They should be cooked through in about 15 minutes.

While the chicken cooks, prepare the dipping sauce of your choice. I like to drizzle a mixture of soy sauce, chopped ginger, chopped scallion, thinly sliced jalapeno peppers, with a dash of sugar and lemon juice.

When the chicken is done, set it on paper towels or a cooling rack for a few minutes.

Note: some recipes recommend a second frying to make it really crispy. Well, when I'm making it just for myself, I really can't be bothered. But you should try it and let me know how it goes!

Family Kitchen Field Trip: Meat Pie a la Chris

Hello family, lace up your sneakers and get ready for a treat: we are taking a field trip to my friend Chris's kitchen for a recipe from his family! I've heard about this humbly named dish from Chris for some time now, but I couldn't quite picture what a "meat pie" looks like. So in my mind I had conjured a few possibilities: a Hot-Pockets type of pastry (hand-held for maximum eating efficiency)? Something like a Sheperd's Pie (the only other meat-filled pie I know)? A meat cobbler dotted with streusel (I hoped not)?

The real meat pie a la Chris is a lot more delightful and delicious and less meaty than I imagined. It's bubbly, cheesy, and fun to make and eat.

In fact, it looks like this (hot sauce on the side because I'm a wimp):


Meat Pie a la Chris

2 ready-made 9 inch frozen pie crusts (we got these from Whole Foods but any good brand will do)
2 cups ground beef
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 onion, diced, about 1/3 inch thick
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 can black beans, drained
1 can corn, drained
1 can tomato, diced
1 cup black olives, chopped roughly
2 stalks scallions, chopped
1 1/2 cup shredded Mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup whole milk yogurt or sour cream
hot sauce of your choice

Preheat oven to 400F.
Unwrap the frozen pie crusts and place them on a baking sheet.

In a large saute pan over medium heat, crumble ground beef and cook until cooked-through. Add chopped onion and minced garlic, stir and cook until onion slices are translucent. Salt and pepper to taste. Add the balsamic vinegar and reduce until the vinegar is almost gone.

Note: Now, here is where the recipe gets a little hazy. I had been distracted by Chris's new kittens, who were perched on a leather couch, heads perked up, intently watching the cooking process.


So, while I was distracted by the kittens, there could have been some other seasonings added to the beef but I am not exactly sure what. Judging from the contents of the cupboard, my guess is that it could be garlic powder, a dash of gravy mix, or boullion cube. I think it could be the gravy mix but I am not entirely sure. I will just say for now that it is salt, pepper, and gravy mix with 85 percent certainty.

"The beauty of meat pie is that it's different every time. it changes with moods, seasons, lovers." - Chris of the meat pies

Well, hmmph. Back to the recipe.

Add the drained canned corn, black beans, 2/3 cup of the olives, and diced tomatoes with juice. Season well with salt and pepper (and plenty of it!). Cover and simmer for 15 minutes so the flavors can blend.

Suggested activities while the meat pie filling simmers: 1) play with kittens (if available), 2) play some music from your lap top (a little Daft Punk?) or 3) shred the cheese and take the yogurt/sour cream out of the fridge. I recommend all of the above.

After 15 minutes, simmer the mixture uncovered for 5 more minutes for the liquids to evaporate. The filling should not be soupy.

Divide the filling into the pie crusts evenly. Sprinkle each pie generously with cheese.

Bake on the middle rack of the oven for 20-25 minutes until the cheese is deep golden brown and mixture is bubbling. Rotate the pies in the middle of baking if your baking sheet is just a tad too big to fit into the oven, as it was the case on our field trip.

Remove pies from oven and let it rest for a few minutes until it stops bubbling.

To serve: top each slice with a dollop of yogurt or sour cream, dash of hot sauce, and dot it generously with scallions (it really adds to the flavor) and some more olives.

Mom's pork chops - two ways to serve

My mom's pork chops are one of my favorite dishes. We ate it a lot as kids -- she'd marinate the chops in soy sauce, garlic, and sugar. Right before searing it in the pan she'd ask me to sprinkle some cornstarch on the chops while she turned them over. They always come out crispy on the outside and very moist and tender on the inside.

My interest in these pork chops was renewed when I saw an article on how to make the perfect pork chops in the new Cook's Illustrated magazine. The test kitchen at Cook's Illustrated had made these scientific conclusions:

1. Center cut chops or rib chops are best. Always buy bone in, about 3/4 inch thickness.
2. Start with a cold pan - these chops are not thick enough to withstand high heat searing and retain their juices. A cold -- or lukewarm -- pan cooks the chops instead of drying it out, while still creating a crust.
3. Cover the chops partway through cooking.

So I called mom to verify this information. She gave me a few more tips: don't trim the fat off the chops, and pound them a bit before marinating.

I made two attempts at this pork chop recipe -- it wasn't exactly like my mom's but in a pinch, it will do. I served it first Chinese style with stir fry cabbage with garlic, and stir fry baby bokchoy with ginger and baby shitake mushrooms.

My second attempt was a little more ambitious -- I serve the chops on a bed of spring mix with sliced green apples and tomato. On top of the chops were some sauteed mushroom caps in garlic and butter. The pan juices made a nice dressing but I whisked some semi homemade ranch for this salad (hidden valley ranch dry mix).

Mom's Pork Chops

Serves 2

2 large bone-in center cut or rib cut pork chops, about 3/4 inch thick
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1-2 teaspoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1-2 tablespoons olive oil

Pound the chops with a meat mallet a couple of times until tender (or until it relieves your daily stress, whichever comes first). On a plate, sprinkle the soy sauce, sugar, and garlic evenly on both sides of the chops. Marinate for about 20-30 minutes.

In a pan over medium heat, pour enough olive oil to lightly coat the pan. Drain the chops of the marinade and lightly coat with cornstarch. Cook the chops for about 5-6 minutes on each side. Cover midway through. The chops should be lightly sizzling as you cook.

To serve:
2 cups sliced mushrooms - i used baby shitake and baby portabellos. The more variety, the better. (clean the mushrooms with a damp cloth before you slice. Do not wash.)
1 clove of garlic, minced
1-2 tablespoons butter
1-2 tablespoons olive oil

2 handfuls of salad spring mix
1/2 green apple, thinly sliced
1 tomato, sliced

1/2 cup ranch dressing (You can use bottled but I like the semi home made kind -- hidden valley ranch dry mix, whisked with whole milk and mayonnaise).

In a pan over medium heat, add butter, olive oil, and garlic and stir fry until fragrant. Remove the garlic if you don't want a strong garlic taste (that's me). Add mushroom slices and evenly coat them with the oil. Don't move the mushroom slices around too much in the pan, make sure they are cooked and a little brown. Set aside.

On two plates, divide evenly the salad mix. Fan out the apple slices and tomato slices as you like.

Put the porkchops over the greens and pour the pan juices - if not too greasy - over the chops. Top with mushroom mixture. Drizzle ranch dressing over tomato slices and serve dressing on the side.

Italian meat sauce -- super quick or super slow

I have been a big fan of Marcella Hazan's book that I stole. Her meat sauce requires some patience but the result is a really mellow, smooth sauce.

The meat sauce is perfect with fresh angel hair pasta or use it in the polenta bake or lasagne.

If you don't have time to make Marcella Hazan's awesome meat sauce, I usually simmer a good store bought sauce to fake it. It tastes intense and home-made as long as you simmer it down to reduce the sauce. Here's what I do:

Sautee one cup of ground beef and one cup of mild Italian sausage.
Combine it with one jar of Rao's Marinara sauce or Romano's Marinara Sauce.
Add 1-2 tablespoons sugar and fresh ground pepper (Rao's sauce is especially tart, so I'd definitely use the sugar).
Simmer over low heat with the lid partially open (or what I sometimes do is put a splatter screen over it) until sauce is reduced by 1/4 or at least when the meat sauce is very thick.
Throw away the jars before guests arrive.

If you fancy yourself an Italian grandma, here is Hazan's recipe:

Bolognese Meat Sauce

1 Tbs vegetable oil
3 Tbs butter
1/2 C. chopped onion
2/3 C. chopped celery
2/3 C. chopped carrot
3/4 pound ground beef chuck
1 C. whole milk
1/8 tsp. grated nutmeg
1 C. dry white wine
1 1/2 C canned Italian plum tomatoes, cut in with their juice
salt
pepper
freshly graded parmigiano-reggiano cheese

1. Put oil and butter in a pot with chopped onion. Turn heat on to medium. Cook and stir onion until translucent. Add chopped celery and carrot. Cook for 2 minutes more, stirring the vegetables to coat them well.

2. Add ground beef, a large pinch of salt, and a few grindings of pepper. Break up the meat and stir well, cooking until the beef has lost its raw, red color.

3. Add the milk and let simmer gently, stirring frequently, until it has bubbled away completely. This can take a while. Add the 1/8 tsp of grated nutmeg and stir.

4. Add the wine and let simmer until it has evaporated. This can take a while. Add tomatoes and stir thoroughly to coat all ingredients. When the tomatoes begin to bubble, turn heat down so that the sauce cooks at the laziest simmer with ocassional bubbles breaking. Cook uncovered for 3 hours or more, stirring from time to time. If the sauce begins to dry out and the fat separates from the meat, add 1/2 C of water to keep it from sticking to the pot. At the end, however, no water should remain and the fat must be separate from the sauce. Taste and correct for salt.

Hazan says you can use 1 part pork to 2 parts beef for a tastier sauce.

Ribs Round Two: Brian's Korean BBQ Marinade

Our smoke alarm got a pretty good workout this week when we roasted the rest of the ribs last night! It was a battle of Asian marinades and the winning marinade, courtesy of my college friend Brian, is below:

Brian's Korean BBQ Ribs

2 parts medium soy sauce
1 part water
brown sugar
Plenty of chopped scallions
4-5 cloves of garlic, crushed
3-4 tablespoons of sesame oil
Grated ginger to taste
Lost of fresh ground black pepper

Mix together the soy sauce and water in a large glass or glass measuring cup. Pour enough brown sugar into the cup such that when the sugar settles, it reaches to about a third of the cup. (This is exactly how Brian told me the recipe over the phone. I love the inexactitude of homemade recipes because that's how you know it has been passed down in a family kitchen).

Note: For our marinade of two lbs of pork ribs, I used 2 cups soy sauce, 1 cup water, about 1/2 cup sugar because I don't like my meat too sweet.

Stir to dissolve the sugar. Add the scallions, garlic, sesame oil, fresh ground pepper, and grated ginger (Sorry Brian, I know you don't add ginger in your recipe but I love ginger).

Pour over ribs and marinade over night.

Preheat over to 350 degrees.
Wrap the ribs completely in foil. Bake for about an hour until meat is soft.
Remove the ribs from the foil. Turn the over to broil.
Broil the ribs, meat side up, for 10-15 minutes or until crisp and brown on the outside. Or until the smoke alarm goes off.

The star of our Christmas meal: smoked ribs

Dad and Mom saw an episode of America's Test Kitchen called Rainy Day Barbeque. The result of dad's special smoked ribs, modified from the show's recipe, is stellar!

If you live in a house with a sensitive smoke detector like ours, plan on having a couple of helpers when the smoke alarms goes off, to either fan the smoke away, or climb up on a chair to unscrew the offending alarm.

Oven-Barbecued Spareribs

Serves 4

Rub
6 tablespoons mustard (we used Dijon)
2 tablespoons ketchup (we used sodium-free ketchup)
3 medium cloves garlic , minced (about 1 tablespoon)
2 teaspoons ground black pepper
1 tablespoon sweet paprika
1 tablespoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 1/2 tablespoons kosher salt
3 tablespoons brown sugar (we substituted this with 3 tablespoons of honey)

Ribs
2 racks spareribs , 2 1/2 to 3 pounds each, trimmed of surface fat, membrane removed each rack cut in half
1/4 cup Lapsang Souchong tea leaves (finely ground)—from about 10 tea bags, or 1/2 cup loose tea leaves ground to a powder in a spice grinder)
(Dad used a mixture of jasmin, hojicha, black tea, and other assortments from our ever-growing tea cabinet)
1 cup apple juice


1. For the Rub: Combine mustard, ketchup, and garlic in small bowl; combine pepper, paprika, chili powder, cayenne, salt, and sugar in separate small bowl. Spread mustard mixture in thin, even layer over both sides of ribs; coat both sides with spice mixture, then wrap ribs in plastic and refrigerate for at least 8 hours and up to 24 hours.

[For a deeper flavor, we just mixed everything together -- the mustard, ketchup, honey, garlic, and all the spices, and coated the ribs with the mixture]

2. Transfer ribs from refrigerator to freezer for 45 minutes. Adjust one oven rack to lowest position and second rack to upper-middle position (at least 5 inches below broiler).

Place baking stone on lower rack; heat oven to 500 degrees. Sprinkle ground tea evenly over bottom of rimmed baking sheet; set wire rack on sheet.

Place ribs meat side up on rack and cover with heavy-duty foil, crimping edges tightly to seal.

Roast ribs directly on stone for 30 minutes, then reduce oven temperature to 250 degrees, leaving oven door open for 1 minute to cool.

While oven is open, carefully open one corner of foil and pour apple juice into bottom of baking sheet; reseal foil. Continue to roast until meat is very tender and begins to pull away from bones, about 1 1/2 hours. (Begin to check ribs after 1 hour; leave loosely covered with foil for remaining cooking time.)

3. Remove foil and carefully flip racks bone side up; place baking sheet on upper-middle oven rack.

[We then coated the ribs with a mixture of sugar and soy sauce]

Turn on broiler; cook ribs until well browned and crispy in spots, 5 to 10 minutes. Flip ribs meat side up and cook until well browned and crispy, 5 to 7 minutes more. Cool for at least 10 minutes before cutting into individual ribs. Serve with barbecue sauce, if desired.

Meatballs! YOM.

1 cup fine fresh bread crumbs
1 1/2 cups milk
2 medium onions
1 1/2 pounds ground pork
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
2 1/2 teaspoons salt
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup minced fresh flat-leafed parsley leaves

1/2 cup olive oil

In a large bowl soak bread crumbs in milk 10 minutes. Finely chop onions. Add onions and remaining meatball ingredients to bread crumb mixture and with your hands blend together until just combined well (do not overmix). Form mixture into walnut-size balls and arrange on large trays or baking sheets.

In a large heavy skillet heat 2 tablespoons oil over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking and brown meatballs in batches without crowding, shaking skillet to maintain round shape and adding remaining oil as necessary.

Parmesan Chicken with Baby Greens

Here is my contribution. I made it the other day and it was very good and easy. You can also use pork chops instead of chicken breast. You can also omit the baby greens part, if you don't like vegetables.



2/3 cup panko (Japanese breadcrumbs) or fresh breadcrumbs
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh marjoram (or any herb you choose, like basil, thyme, etc. Or you can omit it completely.)
1 egg
4 skinless boneless chicken breast halves (about 1 1/2 pounds total)

4 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons white wine vinegar (don't really need that either if you don't have it.)

6 cups mixed baby greens

Stir together panko, Parmesan, and marjoram on large plate. Whisk egg in small shallow bowl. Place chicken in plastic bag. Using rolling pin, pound to flatten to 1/2-inch thickness. Place chicken on plate; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Brush on all sides with egg. Dredge in panko mixture, turning to coat evenly.

Heat 2 tablespoons oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken and cook until deep golden and cooked through, about 4 minutes per side. Transfer chicken to plate. Reduce heat to medium; cool skillet slightly. Add remaining 2 tablespoons oil and vinegar. Stir, scraping up browned bits, until vinaigrette is just hot.

Divide baby greens among 4 plates. Drizzle with vinaigrette and top with chicken. Sprinkle with pepper and serve.

Makes 4 servings.

Auntie #1's stir-fried mushroom with pork

This is the big meal that Auntie #1 made for us in Bianchao -- she was kind enough to be my first guinea pig of the family recipe project when I sat down with her at Ahma's house. Here are two recipes she shared with me. I don't have exact measurements as I haven't yet reproduced this dish myself so I am just guessing here. But if you have better measurements please comment and let me know!

Stir-fried mushrooms with pork
(lower right corner of the photo)
1 clove garlic, chopped
1/2 cup to 2/3 cup pork, sliced
1 tomato - diced
half a red bell pepper, roughly chopped
half a green bell pepper, roughly chopped
mixture of your favorite mushroom -- we had shitake, maitake, and brown, all in big irregular slices
1/2 to 1 pork flavor boullion cube
cooking oil

Over medium heat, stir fry garlic until fragrant. Add pork and tomato, stir fry until cooked. Add the mushroom, stir fry until combined. Add pork boullion cube. Then add the red and green bell peppers.

Whether you should thicken this dish with cornstarch is still under debate between Aunt 1 and Uncle 4, who made this dish again a few days later.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The crowning glory of the dinner was the Mapo Tofu, of which I had obtained the recipe from Aunt #1 a week before I went to her house for dinner.

Mapo Tofu

2 cloves of garlic
minced pork
soy sauce
water (I am guessing 1 to 1 1/2 cups but she said just use your judgment)
mushroom essence/powder
pepper (white or black?)
1 red chili pepper, sliced
2 large pieces of tofu, diced
corn starch to thicken
dash sesame oil
green onions, sliced, to taste

Marinate minced pork in soy sauce for 5 to 10 minutes. Slice one clove of garlic. Finely chop the other clove, set aside. In a wok over medium high heat, stir fry the garlic slices until fragrant. Add minced pork to the wok, stirfry until cooked. Add 1 to 1 1/2 cups of water, more soysauce to taste, and the mushroom essence, pepper, and chili pepper. Stir to combine. Add the tofu and bring to boil. Thicken with corn starch. Turn off the heat and sprinkle with the finely chopped garlic, green onions, and a dash of sesame oil.