Book 108: Autumn Gatherings

by Rick Rogers

Wow! This was easy and delicious! What more could one ask for?

This would be perfect for company. It takes hardly any time at all to throw together. I made the sauce while the rice was cooking, and the salmon roasted for maybe 20 minutes. I always buy the Coho salmon - it's thinner, which equates to a shorter cooking time, and I think it has a better flavor.

Whenever I have to make a reduction of any kind, it always takes way longer than stated in the recipe. Not sure what it is that I am doing wrong. Maybe I don't cook it at a high enough temperature, worried that I may burn it. I also don't have one of those fancy pans with sloped sides that are made for sauce reductions.

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The instructions for this sauce says to reduce the liquid to two tablespoons, about 6 minutes - it took longer as usual. I can't tell you how long, for I did not pay attention to the time. But that's OK. It was ready in plenty of time - even if it wasn't, it would have been worth the wait. This sauce in my opinion, is to die for. I kept going back for more, I just could not get enough of it.

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You may be thinking that this looks like a really small piece of salmon. I had purchased three-quarters of a pound for the two of us, and received a call from our daughter that she would be stopping by, and I had asked her to stay for dinner. She offered to stop and pick up some more fish, and I said we would make do - and we did - it turned out to be the perfect amount.

According to the American Heart Association, a serving of fish is two to three ounces.

WW: Chinese American Shrimp with Lobster Sauce

Wok Wednesdays wokking through Stir-Frying to the Sky's Edge
by the fabulous Grace Young

This stir-fry was delicious!

I had reservations as to whether I wanted to proceed with the recipe after reading the directions. I had purchased peeled and deveined shrimp to save on preparation time; only to find out that you need the shells to make the lobster sauce.

I have mentioned several times on the importance of reading a recipe completely - and I did! Only by the time I went to the grocery store, I just jotted down what I thought I needed. It's a good idea to re-read the recipe in its entirety, right before going to the grocery store.

I commented on the Wok Wednesdays Facebook page that I did this, and Grace (yes, the Wok Goddess Extraordinaire herself responds to our never ending questions) says that using only clam juice, the recipe would still turn out just fine - though the shells "add an amazing layer of rich flavor".

I'm looking forward to making this again using the correct ingredients. Seriously, can it be better than it was? I can only imagine~ till next time.

 Mise en Place

1. Shrimp

2. Soy sauce, pepper

3. Pork, ginger, garlic

4. Serrano pepper (The recipe called for Thai red chili)

5. Fermented black beans

6. Clam juice, soy sauce, pepper

7. Clam juice, cornstarch

8. Egg

9. Scallions

Are you asking yourself as I did, "Where is the lobster?" After a quick Google search (what would we do without Google?) this sauce is typically served "over" lobster, not made with lobster. And boy is it tasty! (Even with my omission of the shrimp shells.)

I served this over brown rice which was made with a mixture of leftover chicken and vegetable stock from our Thanksgiving feast. I wish I could remember what stock I used more of, for the rice was really good too.

The leftovers were equally delicious the following day. Good for me, that the hubby forgot to take it in with him for his lunch. ;)

We are asked not to post the recipes here on our blog. If you would like the recipe, you will find it on page 179 of Stir-Frying to the Sky's Edge, which you can purchase at your local bookstore or find it at your local library. I highly recommend purchasing the book - you won't be disappointed. 

 

Wok Wednesdays is an online cooking group. If you would like information about joining us, click here, or visit us on Facebook. Would love for you to wok along with us!

Squash Enchiladas with Tomatillo Sauce

Recipe from Bon Appétit | July 1998

Don't pass these up because they have no meat or poultry - they are fabulous! Even my sister who is a meat and potatoes kinda gal loves them. This would make a great addition to your (non-traditional)Thanksgiving menu, vegetarian or not.

I made these one evening when my meat loving sister was coming over for dinner and as they were baking she asked what kind of enchiladas we were having. I just looked at her, and she knew they were squash... how she knew I don't know. Maybe because I tend to use it often in recipes. We laughed so hard - she was hesitant to say the least, but she ended up loving them. Score!

Success meter (1-3): 3

We love the sweetness of the squash paired

with the zing of the salsa. Trust me - these

are really, really good. You'll be amazed.

Book Eighty-Two: 365 Great Barbecue & Grilling Recipes

by Lonnie Gandara


              Cajun Firesticks with Fire and Ice Dipping Sauce


Saturdays are reserved for "date day" with the hubby. We do a bike ride, go shopping at our upscale market for something to barbecue for dinner and finish off the evening enjoying the lovely weather on the back deck.

This Saturday however Andy had "fun day" with his rock crawling buddies and I did a solo bike ride. But the barbecue is still on! As I write this he is on his way home and the chicken is marinating, the sauce is made and the flavors are melding.

Andy's toys.

This recipe is listed under the chapter Hot Beginnings (appetizer). I chose to serve it as a main course. Instead of buying chicken breasts and cutting them up I purchased one package of chicken tenders just under a pound and this turned out to be the perfect amount for the two of us.

The Fire & Ice Dipping Sauce lives up to its name! It was really spicy, but cool at the same time. Loved it! The recipe calls for two jalapeño peppers; which I recently read about here, that the older, wrinkled ones I would pass up in the store for the "fresher" smooth skinned ones are actually hotter. I used one wrinkled jalapeño and half of a serrano pepper that I had in the fridge; this added some heat to the sauce, where the coolness came from the yogurt and mint.

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This is my favorite Cajun spice blend.

It has no added salt. The others I have had

in the past were way too salty for my taste.

Spiced up and ready to marinate for a couple of hours.

The beginnings of a wonderful sauce.

I kept thinking of this as green goddess dressing though

I have never made or had it.

Ready for the grill.

Make sure to soak your wooden skewers in water

 beforehand so they do not burn.

Beautiful evening sky.

Book Seventy-Three: The Silver Palate Cookbook

by Julee Rosso & Sheila Lukins



                        Pasta Sauce Raphael



I received this book as well as The Silver Palate Good Times Cookbook as a Christmas gift from my sister-in-law many many years ago. The latter has been used so much that the binding has come undone and the book is now in two pieces.

I quickly scanned the recipe earlier in the day and did not take note of the amount of time this needed to cook. I did not start dinner till late and so I cut the cook time in the first step by half, cooking the tomatoes till they broke down and melted into the onion mixture. Unless you have wonderful tasting homegrown tomatoes, you can save a lot of time by using canned. I'm sure they would work just as well.

The recipe says it makes enough sauce for 4 pounds of pasta. I cut the recipe in half and felt it was just enough for 1 pound. This coming from someone who does not like to drown their pasta in sauce. I did substitute spaghetti for tortellini; this may be the reason for the discrepancy.

Success meter (1-3): 3

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Book Fifty: Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking

by Marcella Hazan


        Tomato Sauce with Garlic and Basil


Once again feeling a bit guilty for choosing such an easy recipe. I always feel that for blogging purposes I should opt for a more elaborate recipe to post. Simple however can be good or better than some of the more intricate and time consuming recipes.

I don't know what it is about restaurants, they always serve the pasta swimming in sauce - and this I am not a fan of. I prefer my pasta to have a light coating of sauce; so it needs to have bold flavor. You can not go wrong with fresh basil and garlic; and in my case a bit of chili pepper for heat. The recipe does not call for chili pepper, but I do like my food spicy so I added a homegrown Thai Chili.

Marcella instructs you to tear the basil leaves into small pieces. I resisted the urge to julienne them and tore them as instructed - a bit tedious; I would julienne them. To julienne basil, you stack several leaves together, roll and slice. Much faster than tearing each leaf into pieces.

Having to peel the tomatoes may sound tedious, but really there is no effort involved. To do this you just boil the tomatoes for about one minute or less (until the skin cracks), drain them, and as soon as they are cool enough to handle,  slide the skin off - and they do slide off effortlessly. Do be careful chopping the tomatoes, for they are a bit slippery without their skins.

(Edit: This is even better the next day!!)

Success meter (1-3): 3

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