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Pesto baby

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This is a basic pesto recipe. I had some fresh pesto in the Cinque Terre a few years back. It rocked. In fact, I loved it so much I have been dreaming of the day I can go back for a visit, or in my dreams, to live.

Since that time, I have been making pesto in the spring and summer. Instead of just using it on pasta, although it is good for that, try it on grilled chicken and lamb chops. That’s right- lamb chops, or better yet, a full rack of frenched lamb ribs. It is delicious.

And while the recipe below is THE basic basil pesto recipe, pesto is only limited by your palate and taste imagination.

Pesto

1/4c toasted pine nuts- I buy a huge Costco bag and stick it in the freezer to keep the oil from going rancid. Take a little out at a time and toast it. I put left over toasted pine nuts back in the freezer.
1-2 cloves garlic
a huge bunch of basil
olive oil
1/4c parmesan cheese- I prefer grated for this but shredded is okay
salt pepper

Stick all the ingredients except oil and cheese in the food processor. Whirl. Slowly add oil as the machine goes. Add enough oil that it is slightly runny. Stop machine. Add parmesan. Pulse. Don’t overheat the cheese. Pulse until incorporated. It should be thick but not paste like. More like not so thick pancake batter. If that makes sense.

Taste. Add salt and pepper to taste. Do this last because parmesan is usually salty. If you add salt beforehand, it might get too salty.

** good herbal substitutes: cilantro and parsley- also good on chops. Spinach & sub out pine nuts for toasted walnuts- good on chicken and as a spread for dipping. Some people like sundried tomatoes as a pesto. See how the combos are only limited by your imagination? It’s true.

Frittata

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I try to make a Frittata at least once on the weekend. Usually on Sunday. Some people follow exacting recipes to combine flavors. Me, I just use left over veggies from the week.

Frittata

1 onion, diced
3 slices bacon also diced, or ham or some other fatty pork or breakfast meat that’s yummy
9-12 eggs
1/2 c parmesan cheese
1/2 c cream, milk or half and half
left over veggies- asparagus, spinach, bell peppers, potatoes, tomatoes, whatever you have in the fridge or cupboard
handful of parsley minced
salt/pepper

1. Preheat oven to 350. Fry up onion and bacon together in oven proof skillet. I use cast iron.

2. While onion and bacon are frying, mix together eggs, cream, parmesan and parsley in large bowl. Add some salt and pepper. I normally add 1/2 tsp of both.

3. Add veggies and cook until all have been brought up to temperature.

4. Pour egg/cream mixture over veggies in skillet. Cook until bottom is set. About 2-5 minutes.

5. Transfer to oven. Cook until top is golden brown. It will balloon up. Wait for it.

6. Cut into wedges and serve. Alone for breakfast or with a salad for lunch or dinner.

Spicy Cold Soba Noodle Salad

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I’m Asian. Well, part Asian. I love buckwheat noodles, aka soba noodles. Do yourself a favor and spend the extra money to buy 100% buckwheat soba. The taste is distinctive. The difference is vast. Modern wheat, in my opinion, is evil. Traditional old fashioned wheat had chromosomes in the low teens, like 14 or so. Today, our wheat has been genetically modified to have around 41 or so chromosomes. Do the research and think about putting that in your body. Just don’t. Buckwheat plants have pretty much been left alone in the modification department. So the stuff you get today is how the plant naturally developed. Okay, off the soap box.

You can find 100% buckwheat soba noodles in Asian markets.

Spicy Cold Soba Noodle Salad

1/2- 1  pound soba or Japanese buckwheat noodles

The Sauce:
1/3 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon molasses
3 tablespoons sesame oil
3 tablespoons chili oil
3 tablespoons seasoned rice wine vinegar

The Veggies:
1/2 bunch scallions, white and green parts, thinly sliced
1 c match stick cut yellow bell peppers
1 c thinly sliced baby carrots
1 c deseeded and thinly sliced cucumber
1 c thinly sliced celery
1/2 c whole cilantro leaves (no stems)- optional
1 c lightly sauteed shitake mushrooms- optional
1 c shredded roasted chicken- optional

The Directions:
Place soy sauce in a saucepan over medium heat, add brown sugar and bring to a boil. Turn heat to low, stir in molasses, and return to simmer. Transfer to a mixing bowl. Add sesame oil, chili oil, and vinegar, and whisk to combine.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a rapid boil. Add noodles, bring back to a boil, and cook, stirring occasionally, until they just begin to soften, about 3 minutes. (Soba noodles can overcook very quickly, so stay nearby.) *I like some of my veggies slightly cooked. So I add carrots to the water as well. And maybe the bell peppers, depending on my mood. Or if I am adding shitake mushrooms, I will saute everything I want cooked in half olive oil, half chili oil. *

Have ready a large bowl of iced water. Drain noodles, plunge in iced water, and drain again. Place in a colander and rinse well under cold running water. Combine noodles, veggies and sauce, toss well with scallions and any optional ingredients, and chill.

Coconut Curry Soup with Lobster

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When I lived in Alaska, I traveled to Hawaii a lot. For vacation with my family and for work. One of the times I was in Hawaii, I got to stay on Maui which was a treat because I mostly stayed on Oahu. During that trip, I rode horses through volcano canyons, traveled the road to Hana and ate a lot of good food. One of the places that I remember eating at during that trip was Mama’s Fish House. They had the most sublime Coconut Curry Soup with Lobster. I have tried recreating it over the years. The recipe below is the closest I’ve gotten. It is rich and a little spicy. It is also a lot delicious.

If you are ever on Maui, stop by Mama’s. Some of the best seafood I’ve ever eaten was found there. You won’t be disappointed.

Coconut Curry Soup with Lobster

3 11 ½-oz. cans coconut milk
1 oz. ginger root- keep whole or quarter for ease of removal
2 sticks lemongrass, chopped roughly in big chunks
1 Tbsp. fish sauce
¼ cup sugar, brown (I actually prefer palm sugar or coconut sugar)
2 lime leaves, kaffir preferably
1-1inch piece galengal- again, keep whole or quarter
1 tsp. Thai red curry (I add a little more cause I like things spicy)
1 cup lobster stock, or chicken stock, or fish stock (more for thinning)
1 lb lobster, cooked and diced

optional garnish:
1/2-1 lb julienned shitake mushrooms
1/4  lime juice (almost necessary to help cut the richness)
1/4/-1/2 cup minced cilantro
1/4-1/2 lb julienned carrots
3-4 stalks thinly sliced green onions

DIRECTIONS:

1. Rinse ginger and any other item which have been grown directly in dirt in water and dry off. Place coconut milk, ginger, stock, lemongrass, galengal, sugar, curry and fish sauce in a pot. Bring to a boil and then simmer for 20 minutes.

2. Add lime leaves and infuse them into the soup. About 15-20 minutes. Strain the curry soup of all the items in it. Add half the cooked lobster. When you go to plate, add a small mound of lobster in the middle for presentation and extra lobster chunks–always a plus.

3. Garnish with carrots, shiitake, lime juice, green onions and cilantro leaves in any combo and amount according to your taste buds. However, limes are almost not optional.

Beef Shortribs with Parmesan Polenta

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One thing I like to do is to get something going and then to leave it alone. I have a lot of other things to do beside stand over a stove for hours on end. Really, to stand over anything. It’s probably why I like using the crock pot. But the crock pot is handy only with certain foods, certain recipes cause it doesn’t do what a cast iron dutch oven will do. For the beef short ribs in the recipe below, I use a cast iron dutch oven. Cast iron cookware ROCKS. If you don’t have some, if you don’t have well-seasoned, well-used cast iron, it is about time you got with the program. Properly seasoned cast iron is virtually non-stick and indestructible.

Good cast iron cookware is passed down from generation to generation. It is an heirloom. One of the things many lamented they lost in the aftermath of Katrina was their cast iron cookware that had boiled gumbos for hundreds of years. It is believed that a small part of the food cooked each time leaves a little something behind adding to the food magic that occurs when cooking with cast iron. Given what I know of physics, I think it is true. I can see an atom or two being substituted out with another atom or two displacing the originals. Whatever it is, cast iron that old and well-used makes food magic. Plus it adds iron to your diet. See, multi-tasking at its best.

Beef Shortribs with Creamy Polenta

4-8 Beef short ribs
1cup onion, chopped roughly
1cup carrots sliced
1/2 cup celery, diced
2-3 cloves garlic
thyme
2cups red wine
2cups broth, beef or chicken
1-2 bay leaves
salt
pepper

polenta
parmesan

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
2. Season short ribs with salt and pepper. Sear on all sides over medium-high heat.
3. Add half the onions, half the carrots, half the celery and all the garlic to the pot. Cook until most of the liquid, if any, has cooked off.
4. Add thyme and bay leaves. Add the broth and wine. Make sure that all the ribs are covered in liquid.
5. Bake in oven, covered, for at least 2 1/2 hours.
6. In the last 45 minutes, add remaining onions, carrots and celery.
7. Take out of oven, remove the ribs from juices. On medium heat, reduce the liquid in the pot by 1/2. Add more salt and pepper to taste. Serve over creamy polenta.
8. Make polenta according to directions on package while liquid is boiling down. Right before removing from heat, add in 1/2-1 cup parmesan.

Macadamia Nut Crusted Halibut with Mango-Papaya Salsa

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One day it was cold. The next day it was warm. Today is gonna be hot. Hot I tell you.

Spring makes me want to get out my shorts and just be outside. Seriously I get itchy feet to not spend anytime indoors. I think it is stir crazy madness from being indoors all winter. If I didn’t have yoga during the winter, I’m sure I would commit mass homicide. Ya know?

The other thing spring does is make me think about food. Okay, maybe I think about food all the time. I like to cook. I like to eat. I like those two things together even more. Even when I travel, the first thing I do is look up different restaurants, holes in the wall and generally check out the food sitch. Museums, places of interest and what the region is known for are secondary. I gotta say I was in HEAVEN when I went to Italy. Umm, cause, ummm, there was just so much damn delicious food at really beautiful places next to museums and places of interest. And the wine, sheesh. Nirvana. Seriously.

But I digress. Spring. Food. Got it. So spring makes me think of things like pesto sauce and pasta primavera. It makes me want to trade in my beef and lamb for scallops and fish. Lighter food for warmer weather. Makes perfect sense to me. Not just salads and the like. But delicate sauces, seafood, chilled white wine. Lets not forget the fruit. Spring makes me crave fruit. Juicy berries. Pineapples and tropical good things.

Having lived in Alaska, I got a lot of great seafood. And for those of you that don’t know, Alaska has GREAT restaurants with really innovative chefs. They do amazing things with seafood. What is even more interesting is the close connection that Alaskans have with Hawaiians. Guess it’s cause we are all so remote from the rest of the country. Both states are separated by miles of stuff before we can get to the next state. So we stick together in lots of ways.

One of the best ways is the fusion of food. The recipe I am posting below is from a restaurant in the Kenai Peninsula, home of the best fly fishing in the world. A place where you can catch record breaking salmon. It is considered the playground of South Central Alaska. And it is. The restaurant is Mykel’s. If you get a chance to go, do. You won’t be disappointed. In either Mykel’s or the Kenai. Seriously.

This recipe combines fish with fruit. Alaska with Hawaii. It says spring. It taste delicious. Fabulosity all rolled together. They make it with a Mango-Papaya Salsa. I prefer a spicy Strawberry one. Both are good. Enjoy.

 

By: Taz

Macadamia Nut Crusted Halibut with Mango-Papaya Salsa

4 6- to 7-oz. Halibut Filets
1 cup Macadamia Nuts—crushed
3/4 cup Panko (Japanese bread crumbs)
2 Eggs
1 Tbsp. Water (mixed with eggs)
Flour for dredging
Peanut Oil for sautéing
Seasoning Salt

Place macadamia nuts and panko in food processor bowl fitted with a work blade. Using pulse, crush nuts and panko together until you achieve a medium coarseness. Do not over grind nuts or you will extract oil. Beat eggs with water until smooth. Heat a large saute pan or skillet on medium-low to medium heat. Lightly season halibut, dredge in flour, shake off excess then dip in egg mixture, then place in macadamia nut mixture and coat well. Press nuts on and lightly shake off excess. Add oil to pan and place halibut in pan. Let brown 3 to 4 minutes then turn over. Continue cooking halibut until golden brown on both sides—approximately 6 to 8 minutes total time. If using thick filets (one inch or more), finish cooking in a 350 degree F oven for 7 to 10 minutes. Serves 4.

Mango & Papaya Salsa—Hawaiian Style

1 Papaya—peeled, seeded and cut into small H-inch pieces
1 Mango—peeled, seeded and cut into small H-inch pieces
3 Tblsp. Sweet Chili Sauce
1 can Papaya Nectar (11.5 oz. can)
1 tsp. Mint Flakes—crushed
2 tsp. Chopped Pickled Ginger
1/4 tsp. Salt
Place cut fruit into a mixing bowl, add all other ingredients and mix well. Let set two hours. Can be made up to five days in advance. Serve at room temperature or just warm (do not let boil–fruit will fall apart).

Strawberry Jalapeño Salsa

15-20 strawberries, chopped into small even dice
1/3 medium red onion, finely minced
1 cucumber, peeled and diced
handful of cilantro, well rinsed and finely chopped
1 Jalapeño, finely minced, seeds and all.  (leave the seeds out for less heat)
juice of 1 lime
fresh cracked black pepper

Mix everything in a bowl.  Chill until ready to serve.
~about one hour before serving