Flashback Friday - Shrimp Salad with Thai Flavors

This post originally appeared on Minxeats.com on June 8, 2012.

When the weather gets truly hot - up in the 90s - with high humidity, we don't really want to cook. Or eat, for that matter. Sometimes a nice cold salad is the best way to beat the heat. That, and cranking the air conditioning. 

I had a pound of shrimp in the fridge that was destined for either salad or cocktail, but I wasn't sure exactly what I wanted to do. When Mr Minx said he'd be happy eating PB&J, I was inspired to create a somewhat Thai-ish shrimp salad with peanut butter in the dressing.

Shrimp Salad with Thai Flavors

4 teaspoons smooth peanut butter
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 teaspoon Sriracha
1/4 tsp ground ginger
2 tablespoons chopped green onion
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 tablespoon cold water
1 tablespoon grated lime zest
1 teaspoon lemongrass paste
1 lb shrimp, cooked, peeled, and deveined, cut into approximately 1/2" pieces
5 Peppadew peppers, diced, or 3 tablespoons chopped red bell pepper
1 tablespoon Thai basil, chopped
salt and pepper to taste
peanuts and Thai basil for garnish

Combine first ten ingredients in a large bowl. Mix in shrimp, peppers, and basil. Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper, if needed. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use. Serve on lettuce-lined plates or on a sandwich.

Serves 2-4
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Flashback Friday - Pina Colada Cake

This post originally appeared on Minxeats.com on June 25, 2009.
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When I posted my pineapple upside-down cake photos on Facebook, a friend responded with a recipe for a cake that contained crushed pineapple. I decided to make the cake for Father's Day, so added a rum glaze and flaked coconut. Dad loves a good pina colada.


Pina Colada Cake

Cake
1 ­ 20 oz can crushed pineapple and juice
2 c all-purpose flour
2 c sugar
1 c coconut
2 eggs, beaten
2 t vanilla
2 t baking soda

Rum Glaze
1/4 lb. butter
1/4 c. water
1 c. white sugar
1/2 c. rum

Preheat oven to 350F. Place ingredients in large bowl and mix by hand until thoroughly blended. Pour into a well-greased bundt pan. Bake 30-40 minutes.

Prepare Glaze: Melt butter in saucepan. Stir in water and sugar. Boil 5 minutes (stirring constantly). Remove from heat and stir in rum. Drizzle glaze over cake. Allow time for cake to absorb glaze. Repeat until glaze is all gone.

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The cake was a big hit. It was moist, despite not having any fat in addition to that in the egg yolks. It wasn't light and fluffy, of course, but somewhat dense. I wished the coconut flavor was more pronounced, so might try this again, removing the pineapple juice and substituting coconut milk.

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Cauliflower Tikka Masala

One of the dishes we sampled at the new Topside at the equally new Hotel Revival was a dish of cauliflower flavored a la Indian butter chicken. It was really good, and reminded me that cauliflower would make a fine meat substitute in a similar dish, chicken tikka masala. So rather than fuss around like the restaurant did and fry the cauliflower separately, I just made straight-up cauliflower tikka masala. I've made the chicken version before, and used heavy cream for the sauce. This time, I used whole milk yogurt, which made it extra tangy and delicious.

Cauliflower Tikka Masala

2 teaspoons garam masala (divided use)
1 teaspoon ground turmeric (divided use)
1 teaspoon ground coriander (divided use)
1 teaspoon ground cumin (divided use)
1 teaspoon kosher salt (divided use)
5 tablespoons whole milk yogurt (divided use)
1 medium cauliflower, trimmed into florets
1 small onion roughly chopped
3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1-inch chunk of peeled ginger, roughly chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 14-ounce can diced tomatoes
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro plus sprigs for garnish
Steamed basmati rice (for serving)

Combine first five ingredients in a large bowl. Remove half of the spices to a small bowl and set aside for later. Add three tablespoons of the yogurt to the spices in the large bowl and stir well to combine. Add the cauliflower florets. Using your hands, rub the marinade into the cauliflower (using a spoon won't cut it), and set the bowl aside at room temperature for at least half an hour.

Place the chopped onion, garlic, and ginger in a food processor and pulse to a paste. Heat a large skillet and add the vegetable oil. Add the onion puree and cook over medium heat, stirring regularly, until the mixture gives up its juices and is starting to look dry. Add the spice mixture and stir to combine. Add the tomato paste and continue to cook the mixture until the tomato paste has darkened and the vegetables are soft, about 4 minutes. Add the canned tomatoes with juices and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer the mixture, stirring often, for 8-10 minutes. 

Meanwhile, preheat your broiler. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil and arrange cauliflower in a single layer. Broil for eight minutes, until cauliflower starts to blacken in spots. Turn the pieces over and broil for another 5-6 minutes.

When the cauliflower is almost done, add the remaining 2 tablespoons of yogurt to the sauce and stir well to combine. Toss in the cauliflower, stirring to coat it with the sauce. Turn the heat to low and cover the pan to allow the cauliflower to cook to your preferred texture (it will still be a bit crunchy when it comes out of the broiler, but that's the way I like it).

Serve with rice and cilantro garnish. A side of roasted okra is nice, too.

Posted on Minxeats.com.

Flashback Friday - Fumetto #19 - Always Dieting Girl

This post originally appeared on Minxeats.com on March 22, 2012
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Support the Boys & Girls Club of Metro Baltimore with Fogo de Chao

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Flashback Friday - Where There's Smoke...

This post originally appeared on Minxeats.com on August 6, 2012
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Some time ago, my brother bought us a stovetop smoker. This one, to be exact. We used it exactly once, to smoke some pork tenderloins. We neither burned the house down nor filled it with smoke, so I suppose the first experiment was largely successful. Except that the meat didn't taste particularly smoky. Recently, I got it in my head that I should put the smoker to use again, this time smoking some vegetables. The Fourth of July was coming up, and on that day we'd be eating beef burgers flavored with the smoke from the grill. Portobello mushrooms make pretty good burger substitutes and I wondered if they'd be even better when smoked.

Mushrooms, buns, and poblano peppers were purchased during our usual weekly trip to the grocery store and hung around in the fridge awaiting the weekend. And then Mother Nature struck, knocking out our power for four days. The mushrooms got packed up with the rest of the contents of fridge and freezer and were transported to Dad's place, where we lived until BGE got the electricity up and running (I think they saved our neighborhood for last). Rather than let the mushrooms dry out and go to waste, I chopped them up and used them to stretch a bit of frozen pasta sauce from our freezer (a bonus - doing so made for two fewer things to carry home later).

Once we were back in our own digs, I was determined to make the smoked mushrooms, come hell or high water. (The temperatures around here sure did feel like hell.) I also smoked some thickly sliced onion that became a sweet and tangy jam for topping the mushroom burgers. I was pretty pleased with the results. While the smoked mushrooms would never fool a carnivore, they made for a fine meatless supper.

Smoked Portobello Burgers with Smoked Onion Jam

4 large or 8 small portobello mushroom caps
1/2 onion, sliced thickly

Place mushrooms and onion in a stovetop smoker and smoke according to manufacturer's directions for about 15 minutes. Allow to cool inside smoker. When cool, remove mushrooms and set aside. Place onions in a saucepan to make the jam.

Onion Jam

smoked onion
olive oil
pinch salt
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon smoked paprika (optional)

Add a teaspoon or so of olive oil and a pinch of salt to the saucepan of smoked onions. Cook on medium heat, stirring often, until the onions start to wilt and become translucent, about 10 minutes. Stir in brown sugar and vinegar, turn heat to low, cover, and simmer an additional 20-30 minutes, until onions are very soft and have caramelized. If there's too much liquid left in the pot, raise the temperature and cook, uncovered, until the juices thicken. If the onions aren't smoky enough, stir in the smoked paprika.

To serve:
olive oil
sliced cheese (optional)
Hamburger buns
mayonnaise
roasted poblano or red bell pepper, seeded and sliced into strips
avocado slices

Heat a bit of olive oil in a large skillet and add mushrooms. Cook on both sides for a couple of minutes to heat through. Top with cheese in the last minute or so of cooking, if desired, and cover pan.

Spread a bit of mayo on each side of a hamburger bun and add a few strips of pepper. Place one large or two small portobello caps onto the peppers. Top with avocado (tomato is nice, too) and a spoonful of onions.

Posted on Minxeats.com.

Sparkling Ice Cocktails

When offered the choice between sparkling or still water in restaurants, I take still every time. Unflavored carbonated water isn't my thing, but I do like sparkling flavored beverages, as long as they are somewhat sweet. I always keep a bottle of what I call "fizzy water" on hand, mostly to dilute my orange or grapefruit juice. While I'd love to guzzle a big glass of juice every morning, 8 fl oz of OJ has about 111 calories, which are probably better used on an egg and half a slice of toast. Instead, I pour about 2 ounces of juice (with pulp!) in my glass and add a few ounces of no-calorie lime fizzy water. I'm so used to drinking it that way that straight-up juice doesn't seem quite right.

In addition to saving a few calories on juice, I like to use my water to top off a glass of booze, especially in the warmer months when I don't want as much alcohol in a drink as I might in the winter. I'll take a Manhattan in January, but in June I'd rather sip on a spritzer. And while my usual generic grocery store brand fizzy water is ok for such applications, I have discovered that Sparkling Ice is even better. It's flavored with actual fruit juice, so it tastes better than the stuff I used to use,  and contains vitamins and antioxidants in the form of green tea extract. Sparkling Ice is sweetened with Sucralose, which means it has sweetness but zero calories.

Sparkling Ice comes in 16 flavors. The Lemon Lime is my favorite, because it's the most neutral and versatile (IMHO), but I'm also fond of the Pink Grapefruit, Ginger Lime, and Coconut Pineapple. Combine any of those flavors with a little white rum and a lime wedge and voila! Instant cocktail! But you could also add fruit juices and fancier garnishes and make perfect party drinks, like the ones featured below.

Tropical Flower Punch

1 cup of coconut rum
1 cup of mango juice
2 cups of orange juice
¼ cup of grenadine
2 cups Sparkling Ice Coconut Pineapple
Edible flowers, for garnish

In a large punch bowl, combine the coconut rum, mango juice, grenadine, Sparkling Ice Coconut Pineapple and stir. Fill glasses with ice and ladle in the punch, garnish with edible flowers serve.

Citrus Punch

2 cups vodka
½ cup lime juice
3 cups pineapple juice
2 bottles Sparkling Ice Orange Mango
1 tablespoon ground nutmeg
1 orange, sliced
1 blood orange, sliced
1 lemon, sliced
Pineapple slices

Pour the vodka, lime juice, pineapple juice, Sparkling Ice Orange Mango, and nutmeg in a large punch bowl. Toss in orange, blood orange, lemon slices and stir. Fill glasses with a ladle, garnish with fresh pineapple.

Pretty much any combination of liqueurs, juices, and Sparkling Ice would make a fine summer sipper. Try Deep Eddy Cranberry Vodka with the Ginger Lime, your favorite Sweet Tea flavored vodka with Classic Lemonade, or anything else you can dream up!

* Any products in this post that are mentioned by name may have been provided to Minxeats by the manufacturer. However, all opinions belong to Minxeats. Amazon links earn me $! Please buy!

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Flashback Friday - Sichuanese Cookery

This post originally appeared on Minxeats.com on July 22 2009.
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Mr Minx and I went to H Mart last week to pick up some needed staples: Kewpie mayo; dark soy; noodles; Mexican chorizo. I also wanted to pick up some chile bean sauce to use in Sichuan cookery. You see, after reading Fuchsia Dunlop's excellent Shark's Fin and Sichuan Pepper, I bought her Sichuan cookbook, Land of Plenty.

The first thing I attempted was "ants climbing a tree," or, vermicelli noodles with ground pork.

I had eaten an excellent version at Grace Garden and wanted to recreate it. Unfortunately, this recipe didn't do the trick. My noodles were spicy and salty and that's about it - missing any nuance of flavors found in Chef Li's version. I kinda had an idea that would be the case, so I also cooked up a stir fry of scallops, langoustine tails (advertised as such at Trader Joe's but they sure taste like crawfish to me), oyster mushrooms, and gai lan (Chinese broccoli) in black bean sauce to go with. I love how gai lan is both bitter and sweet at the same time.

Next time I have a hankering for ants climbing a tree, I'll try this recipe. Or this one.

The second recipe I chose from Land of Plenty was for a family favorite, kung pao chicken. It was scrumptious, and my house now smells like a Chinese restaurant - sweet, meat, and garlic. I didn't use the "generous handful of dried red chiles" called for because 1) I didn't have them; 2) I like spicy food but I didn't want to hurt myself; I used cayenne instead. I'll definitely make this one again, maybe with shrimp next time.

Kung Pao Chicken (adapted from Land of Plenty by Fuchsia Dunlop)

4 chicken thighs, boned and skinned, cut into small cubes

2 large cloves of garlic, minced, and an equivalent amount of fresh ginger, cut into thin slices

5 scallions, chopped, white and green parts separated

2/3 cup roasted unsalted peanuts

cayenne to taste

Sichuan peppercorns

for marinade

1/2 t salt

2 t light soy sauce

1 t Shaoxing rice wine or medium-dry sherry

2 1/4 t cornstarch

1 T water

for sauce

3 t sugar

1 1/8 t cornstarch

1 t dark soy sauce

1 t light soy sauce

3 t Chinkiang or black Chinese vinegar

1 t sesame oil

1 T water

1. Place chicken in a bowl with marinade ingredients, set aside.

2. Combine sauce ingredients in small bowl. Add minced ginger. Set aside.

3. Heat a large skillet and add 2 tablespoons of cooking oil. When hot but not smoking, add chicken and after chicken cubes have separated, add ginger and white part of scallions. Stir fry until the meat is cooked through. Season with cayenne and, if you have it, ground Sichuan pepper.

4. Stir the sauce and pour into the pan, continuing to stir the meat. When the sauce is thick and glossy, stir in the peanuts and remove from heat.

5. Garnish with scallion greens and serve with rice.

Serves 2 - 4, depending on appetite and side dishes.

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