Easy Vietnamese Caramelized Pork

Shea, Ed, Jamila and I all just finished a fantastic weekend camping in Deception Pass. We went on a gorgeous hike/ridge hike at Ebey's Landing, and relaxed on the beach of the Puget Sound. We also cooked some fantastic vegetarian camp-side food. From farro with leeks and eggs to a picnic of caprese sandwiches to bibimbap using the fire AND the camp stove, we ate well!

But when we got home, if you can believe it or not, we were hungry again! Thus, I invited Matt over for some caramelized pork. from Ruth Reichl's cookbook. This recipe is so easy but so delicious. I made it seem extra-fancy by serving it with lots of fresh herbs (mint, basil, green onions, cilantro, and lettuce). My one tip is to be sure to be patient and to cook the pork long enough so it actually caramalizes and turns into the deliciousness it really is!

Easy Vietnamese Caramelized Pork
Courtesy of Ruth Reichl in "My Kitchen Year"

Ingredients
2 cucumbers
3/4 pound pork tenderloin
 2 tablespoons fish sauce
mint
basil
peanuts
1 lime
siracha
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
salt ginger
vegetable oil
1 small onion (sliced thin)
1 clove garlic (smashed0
4 teaspoons sugar
pepper
rice

Directions
Pour the rice vinegar into a small bowl and add a pinch of salt and 1 teaspoon of sugar. Slice the cucumbers into thin rounds, along with a small knob of ginger. Put them into the vinegar and allow the flavors to mingle while you prepare the pork.

Slice the pork tenderloin very thing (this is easiest if you pit the meat in the freezer for half an hour to get it very cold before slicing.)

Get a wok so hot that a drop of water dances on the surface and then disappears. Add a couple of tablespoons of neutral oil and then add the onion and the garlic immediately. As soon as it is fragrant, add the pork and 1 tablespoon of sugar and stir-fry, tossing every few minutes for 10-15 minutes until the pork has crisped into delicious little bits.

Take the wok off of the heat and stir in the fish sauce; it should become completely absorbed. Grind in a lot of black pepper.

Remove the ginger from the cucumber and mix the cucumbers with the pork. Whether you want to add the marinade is up to you depending on how much vinegar you like!

Serve with rice, along with mint, basil, peanuts, cilantro, and siracha.

Harvest Roast Chicken with Grapes, Olives, and Rosemary

Long time, no post! I haven't posted since Februrary, but at least I have a pretty good excuse for my absence. Over the past 5 months, a lot has changed in my life! I got married (and had the best wedding...EVER!), went on a fabulous honeymoon to South Africa and ZImbabwe, started a new job, and bought a new car! It has been a crazy and amazing couple of months, for sure, but things seem to be settling down and normalizing a little bit now with Shea and me. 

Speaking of normalizing, it only makes sense that my first recipe since a long hiatus is a Deb Perlman recipe. If you know anything about my cooking, you know that I consistently love any recipe that was created or posted by Deb Perlman. This recipe is no exception. 

When I saw this recipe, I immediately thought of Shea's mom's classic recipe for Chicken Marbella. Shea's mom makes Chicken Marbella for family parties and large groups in Chicago, and it is one of my favorite recipes to eat. It plays with sweet and salty flavors of olives and apricots and chicken by marinating the chicken overnight and then roasting it in the oven. 

This recipe from Deb Perlman plays with the same sweet and salty flavors with the chicken through the grapes and olives, but it takes only a fraction of the amount of time to prepare as Chicken Marbella. From soup to nuts, you will have a crunchy-skinned, juicey piece of chicken with a creamy and flavorful gravy in about an hour. Be sure to take your time crisping the chicken skin, and then you are basically home free with this recipe!

Before the recipe, here's pictoral proof of our wedding and honeymoon! 

Harvest Roast Chicken with Grapes, Olives, and Rosemary Recipe

Courtesy of Deb Perlman's Smitten Kitchen

Ingredients

• 3 pounds (1 1/3 kg) chicken parts (thighs, drumsticks, and/or breasts), with skin and bones
• Table salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 cup (90 grams) seedless grapes
• 1 cup (130 grams) pitted Kalamata olives
• 2 small shallots, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup (120 ml) dry white wine
• 1/2 cup (120 ml) chicken broth
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh rosemary

Directions

1. 1.
   Preheat your oven to 450 degrees with a rack in middle. Pat chicken dry, and season generously with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Heat oil
   in an ovenproof 12-inch heavy skillet (use a cast-iron skillet if you’ve got one) over medium- high heat until it shimmers. Working in two batches, brown the chicken, skin side down first and turning them over once, about 5 minutes per batch. I like to take a lot of care in this step, not moving the chicken until the skin releases itself and has a nice bronze on it.
2. 2.
   Return the pieces to the pan, skin side up, and surround the pieces with grapes, olives, and shallots. Roast the chicken in the oven until it has just cooked through and the juices run clear, about 20 minutes. Transfer the chicken, grapes, and olives to a platter, then add wine and chicken broth to the pan juices in skillet. Bring liquid to a boil, scraping up any brown bits, until it has reduced by half, for 2 to 3 minutes. Strain sauce, if desired, then pour it over the chicken. Garnish with rosemary and see how long it takes guests to offer to slurp the sauce up with a spoon.
3. 
   
   
   
   
   

Provencal-Style Artichoke Soup

This soup was the perfect end to a fantastic week. This week, I had the pleasure of having 3 fabulous visitors all in town - Dunya, Michelle, and Bethany! Dunya got to Seattle on Tuesday, and we have been spending every evening hanging out and eating great food in Seattle. Michelle and Bethany arrive on Friday, and we have been whooping it up in Seattle and on Bainbridge island all weekend.

Everyone left this morning, and Seamus and I thought we should eat some soup this week to keep it light in response to all of the food and drinks over the weekend. Ed and Jamila came over and we played Scrabble, and we cooked up this delicious soup. This soup is both light and flavorful at the same time, and was unlike any other soup I have had before. We substituted the heavy cream for skim milk, and used basil instead of tarragon, but otherwise followed the recipe closely. A great Sunday evening meal!

Provencal-Style Artichoke Soup

Ingredients
2 tablespoon oilve oil
18 ounces frozen artichokes, thawed and patted dry
12 ounces white mushrooms, trimmed and sliced thin
1 leek, white and light green parts only, halved lengthwise, sliced 1/3 inch thick and washed
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 anchoy fillets, rinsed and minced
1 teaspoon minced fresh thym
3 tablespoons all purpose flour
1/4 cup dry white wine
3 cups chicken broth
3 cups vegetable broth
2 parsnips, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
2 bay leaves
1/3 cup heavy cream (I used skim milk)
2 tablespoons minced fresh tarragon or basil (I used basil)

Directions
1. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat until shimmering. Add artichokes and cook until lightly browned, 8 to 10 minutes; transfer to a plate. Add remaining 1 tablespoon oil to pot and head over medium heat until shimmering. Add mushrooms, cover and cook until mushrooms have release liquid, about 5 minutes. Uncover, cook until mushrooms are dry and browned, about 5 minutes.

2. Stir in leek and butter and cook until leek is softened, 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in garlic, anchovies, and thyme and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in flour and cook for 1 minute. Stir in wine, scraping up any browned bits, and cook until nearly evaporated, about 1 minute.

3. Gradually whisk in chicken broth and vegetable broth, smoothing out any lumps. Stir in parsnips, bay leaves, and half of artichokes and bring to boil.

4. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer gently until parsnips are tender, 30-40 minutes.

5. Off heat, discard bay leaves. Stir in cream , tarragon, and remaining artichokes and let stand until srtichokes are heated through, about 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and serve.

Mushroom Frankies with Cilantro Chutney

It's a Sunday night, and I am "taking back Sunday!". What I mean by that, mostly, is that I am getting back into a hobby that I love - cooking!

Seamus found this recipe earlier in the week, and we kept not making it. I am not exactly sure why, but probably because it was a new recipe for a food we had never had before, and the situation with the tortillas/eggs seemed like a lot of work. But it is Sunday night, we bought a nice bottle of wine, and we have some time to cook and catch up with family and friends.

And we made the frankies! The first time around, I served Seamus a frankie without the cilantro chutney. I had made the filling, and friend the tortilla, and forgotten to make the chutney and it seemed like too much work. The frankie was delish as-is, but Shea asked about the chutney, so I made another round of frankies, this time with the chutney.

It's worth making the chutney! While the frankies are good on their own, the chutney takes them to the next level!

And sorry about the weird picture; we had already eaten all of the frankies by the time I remembered that I wanted to blog abouth

Mushroom Frankies 
with Cilantro Chutney


Courtesy of Food and Wine

INGREDIENTS

CHUTNEY


• 1 cup full-fat yogurt

• 1/2 Granny Smith apple, cored and thinly sliced

• 1/2 cup roasted unsalted peanuts

• 1 serrano chile—stemmed, seeded and chopped

• 2 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

• 2 cups chopped cilantro leaves and tender stems

• Kosher salt


FRANKIES


• 1 small sweet potato, peeled and cut into 
1/2-inch dice

• 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon canola oil or ghee
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds

• 1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced

• 2 teaspoons minced garlic

• 1 pound mixed mushrooms, sliced 1/4 inch thick

• 1 tablespoon finely grated peeled fresh ginger

• 1 teaspoon garam masala
• 1 teaspoon chili powder

• 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric

• 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut milk

• 1/3 cup chopped cilantro, plus small sprigs for assembling

• Kosher salt
• Pepper

• 3 large eggs

• Six 8-inch roti or flour tortillas

• 2 cups finely shredded green cabbage


HOW TO MAKE THIS RECIPE

1. Make the chutney In a blender, puree the yogurt with the apple, peanuts, serrano and lemon juice until smooth. Add the cilantro and pulse until just combined; season with salt. Refrigerate until ready to use.

2. Make the frankies In a medium saucepan of salted boiling water, cook the sweet potato until tender, about 
10 minutes. Drain well and pat dry with paper towels.

3. In a large nonstick skillet, heat 1/4 cup of the oil. Add the cumin and cook over moderate heat, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook until fragrant, 30 seconds. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender and almost all of the liquid has evaporated, 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in the sweet potato, ginger, garam masala, chili powder and turmeric. Add the coconut milk and cook until hot, 2 to 
3 minutes. Stir in the chopped cilantro and season with salt. Scrape the mushroom filling into a large bowl and keep warm. Clean the skillet.

4. In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs and season with salt and pepper. In the skillet, heat 
1/2 teaspoon of the oil. Arrange 
1 roti in the skillet and drizzle one-sixth of the beaten egg (about 2 tablespoons) over it. Flip and cook the roti over moderate heat until the egg sets, 
1 minute. Transfer to a plate and tent with foil. Repeat with the remaining oil, roti and eggs.

5. Arrange each roti egg side up on a platter or plates and top with some of the mushroom filling. Drizzle with some of the chutney and finish with the shredded cabbage and cilantro sprigs. Roll up the roti and serve, passing more chutney on the side.

6. 
   

Cream of Celery Soup

It has been TOO LONG since I have posted! I am glad to say that I am back to blogging in the year 2017, and couldn't be more pleased to share this recipe for cream of celery soup!

Celery isn't always the most stand-out vegetable in a dish; in fact, Seamus called it "the velvet moth" of vegetables (sorry for the inside joke). But there's a reason celery is the base of so many other great foods - because it tastes good!

And this soup tastes good! There are layers of rich-homey flavors of celery which come from using the root, stem, and leaves of the plant. I'm going to have another bowl! :)

Cream of Celery Soup
Recipe courtesy of Food and Wine

INGREDIENTS

• Three 1/2-inch-thick slices of sourdough bread, crusts removed, bread cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, 2 tablespoons melted
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• Kosher salt
• Pepper
• 2 medium yellow onions, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 1 1/4 pounds celery root, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 1 bunch of celery, stalks thinly sliced (6 cups), leaves reserved (1 1/2 cups) 
• 1/2 cup parsley leaves
• 1/2 cup baby spinach
• 1 1/4 cups heavy cream

HOW TO MAKE THIS RECIPE

1. Preheat the oven to 325°. In a large bowl, toss the bread cubes with the 2 tablespoons of melted butter, 1/8 teaspoon of the nutmeg and a generous pinch each of salt and pepper. Spread the bread cubes in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet and bake until golden brown, about 25 minutes. Transfer the croutons to a wire rack.
2. Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, melt the remaining 4 tablespoons of butter over moderate heat. Add the onions, garlic, 1 tablespoon of salt and 1/2 teaspoon of pepper; cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are softened, about 8 minutes. Add the celery root, cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until very soft, about 8 minutes. Add the sliced celery, cover and cook until just starting to soften, about 3 minutes. Add the chicken broth and simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in the parsley, spinach and 3/4 cup of the celery leaves and cook for 1 minute, until wilted. Add the cream and simmer over moderately low heat for 10 minutes, until heated through. Season the soup with salt, pepper and the remaining 1/8 teaspoon of nutmeg.
3. Working in batches, puree the soup in a blender until very smooth. Pour the soup into a clean saucepan and rewarm over low heat, if necessary. Mince the remaining 3/4 cup of celery leaves. Ladle the soup into bowls, garnish with the minced celery leaves and the croutons and serve.

Corn Risotto-Stuffed Poblano Peppers

Seamus and I have had a BUSY couple of weeks. Two weekends ago, we took a trip to Shi Shi beach with our friends, and Seamus proposed to me! Of course, I said yes, and we have been celebrating ever since!

Because Seamus is so thoughtful, he planned his proposal the week before a planned trip to see both of our families. We spent 5 days in Chicago/Wisconsin celebrating with Seamus's family and then headed off to South Dakota to celebrate with mine. We ate fantastic food along the way, including an incredible dinner at Ruxpin Chicago and my mom's ancho-chile pork ribs in Yankton.

And in the midst of all of our celebrating, my dad's US Senate race is heating up! Most recently we hosted a Rally to Restore Sanity in South Dakota where the Yankton County Democrats came together for hot dogs and potluck with speeches and singing together.

It's our first night back after our vacation, and it is our first time cooking together in a long time,  so I thought I would bring out my favorite cookbook, The Smitten Kitchen, and find a recipe that we haven't tried yet. Flipping through the book, I saw this recipe for stuffed peppers. I always think of Seamus when I see stuffed peppers because that was the first successful meal he ever cooked for me (and the first time I ever had a stuffed pepper was that time!), so this recipe was the perfect capstone to a celebration of our upcoming nuptials!

P.S. -  Happy Fourth of July!

Corn Risotto-Stuffed Poblano Peppers

Courtesy of The Smitten Kitchen by Deb Perlman

Ingredients:
8 large fresh poblano peppers
6 cups chicken or vegetable stock
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
2 cups arborio rice
1/2 cup Mexican beer
1 1/2 cups fresh corn kernels (from about 2 cobs), or 1 1/2 cups frozen and defrosted corn kernels
3/4 cup monterey jack cheese (I used well over a cup, oops!)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1/4 cup crumbled queso fresco
3 tablespoons sour cream
1 tablespoon milk (I used lime juice)
Fresh cilantro, chopped, for garnish

Prepare Peppers: 
Place chiles directly onto gas burners and turn flame to high. Using tongs, rotate chiles frequently until their skins are blistered on all sides, about 4-6 minutes each. If you don’t have a gas stovetop, you can roast the chiles under the broiler (also turning frequently). Put blackened chiles in a bowl and cover tightly with saran wrap. NOTE: Deb says you can skip this step entirely if the skins don’t bother you.

Make Risotto: 
In a medium saucepan, heat your stock to a low simmer. On a separate burner, heat a larger saucepan or dutch oven over medium heat. Once the pan is hot, add olive oil and heat through. Add onion to hot oil and sauté until soft and translucent, about 8 minutes. Add the garlic and cook one minute longer. Add the rice to the pot and stir for a minute or two, until it becomes lightly toasted. Pour in the beer, scraping up any stuck bits from the bottom of the pan. Let the beer simmer for a minute or so, until it’s almost disappeared. Ladle one cup of warm stock into rice mixture and simmer until absorbed, stirring frequently. Add remaining stock 1/2 cup at a time, allowing stock to absorb before adding more, and stirring often. Along with the final addition of stock, add the corn. Total cooking time for the rice is about 30 minutes, after which it should be creamy and tender. Once all the stock and corn are added and stock is absorbed, stir in the monterey jack cheese and salt and pepper to taste (I found I needed a fair amount of salt and pepper, perhaps due to my low sodium chicken stock). Remove risotto from heat.

Assemble and Bake: 
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. Remove chiles from bowl and gently rub off the skins, which should remove easily. Cut a slit lengthwise in each chile and remove the seeds and membranes as best you can. Leave the stems on – they’re cute. Fill each chile with risotto and arrange stuffed chiles in a baking dish. Sprinkle with the queso fresco. Bake for 10-15 minutes, until top begins to brown.

To Serve: 
In a small dish, whisk together the sour cream and milk (or lime juice) with a pinch of salt. Drizzle the mixture over the hot chiles. Garnish with cilantro.

Farro Risotto with Arugula, Cherry Tomatoes, and Lemon

A funny thing about Shea's brother and sister-in-law (Brian and Hally), is that every once in a while, they will give us an anonymous gift. Last year, they sent us a gift card with no name attached, and this year, they sent us a gorgeous America's Test Kitchen  cookbook. It is always fun to receive a gift in the mail, but it is even more fun when you get to do some detective work around where it came from!

Shea has been doing most of the cooking at our house lately; I have been tied up in work, and Shea has been taking the opportunity to cook some amazing meals for me. I am one lucky gal!

Tonight, Shea made this amazing recipe with all of my favorite ingredients - Parmesan, arugula, cherry tomatoes, and farro. It is even more delicious than it sounds. I HIGHLY recommend!

Farro Risotto with Arugula, Cherry Tomatoes, and Lemon

Courtesy of The Complete Cooking for Two Cookbook by America's Test Kitchen

Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion, chopped fine
salt and pepper
1 garlic clove, minced
1/s teaspoon minced fresh thyme or 1/8 teaspoon dried
3/4 cup farro
1 and 1/2 cup vegetable broth
1 cup water
6 ounces cherry tomatoes, quartered
2 ounces (2 cups) baby arugula
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1/4 teaspoon grated lemon zest plus 1 teaspoon juice

Directions
1. Heat oil in medium saucepan over medium heat until shimmering. Add onion and pinch salt and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic and thyme and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

2. Stir in farro and cook until lightly toasted, about 2 minutes. Stir in broth and water and bring to simmer. Reduce heat to medium low and continue to simmer, stirring often, until farro is tender, 20 to 25 minutes.

3. Stir in tomatoes and arugula and cook until vegetables are softened, about 1 minute. Off heat, stir in Parmesan, butter, and lemon zest and juice. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve.