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Tocino (Filipino Cured Pork) | Make Ahead Mondays

July 9, 2012 by 46 Comments

UPDATE: The National Pork Board has generously extended the deadline for The Foodbank donation partnership with you all because you’ve been asking such great questions! In other words, every question you leave for pork producers in the comments on this post, the Foodie With Family facebook page, or on Twitter with the hashtag #sustainablepork will translate to 1 pound of pork being donated to The Foodbank of Ohio. No strings attached!

Pork.

It’s what’s for dinner in one form or another in our house most nights of the week. We are a porkcentric household. That has probably been pretty obvious here with all my use of bacon, chops, roasts, Cuban Pork, Cola Pulled Pork, Hot Tex Mess, and more (scroll down for porky goodness.) So when the National Pork Board contacted me to see if I wanted to take a tour of a sustainable pork farm, I replied with a pretty quick ‘yes’.  Then they contacted me again and made me an offer I couldn’t refuse.

They are going to donate one pound of pork to The Foodbank in Ohio for every question you all leave here for me to ask them when I go on the tour up to 1,000 pounds. Holy cow. Or should I say holy pig?

Just think of how many people we can feed if you all are curious enough!

Let’s talk for a moment about what I’ll be looking at when I head out to Dayton. According to the information sent to me by the National Pork Board, within a 50 year time frame, pig farmers have reduced their carbon footprint by 35%, reduced water usage by 41% and decreased the amount of land needed to grow feed by 78%. Additionally, we are getting more meat from fewer pigs – which helps reduce the use of natural resources to raise pigs.

 The Pork Checkoff has been honoring the sustainability efforts of pig farmers for 18 years with the Pork Industry Environmental Steward Award. The farm I will be visiting on July 24 was recently honored with this award.

So where do you come in on all of this? Just leave me a question in the comment area below (or on Twitter using the hashtag #SustainablePork ) between now and July 13th. All comments and tweets that have questions for me to ask the farmers and the National Pork Board representatives will count and one pound of pork will be donated per question or tweet.

~~

Now I figure you all know me well enough to realize that I couldn’t talk this much about pork without giving you a great recipe for it. That would just be unkind. Without further ado, I present to you one of my favourite freezer pleasers; Tocino. (Pronounced toe-see-no.)

Tocino is a Filipino dish that I have loved longer than I can remember. Starting with a humble and inexpensive pork shoulder (about $1.29/lb where I shop), a little slicing and a quick cure in some sugar and spice in a resealable zipper top bag, you end with a salty but sweet, crisped pork that tastes like super meaty bacon. It doesn’t take much work, and once you’ve tossed the pork with your sugar and spices, you can stash the bag in the freezer for up to six months before frying or grilling. Low investment, mega-payoff.

The sugary salty cure that enrobes the thin slices of pork keeps the mixture from freezing totally solid, so you can scoop out what you’d like to serve for dinner and leave the rest frozen for future meals. The traditional accompaniment for tocino is garlic fried rice and a fried egg for the classic Filipino breakfast called Tosilog. Doesn’t that sound like just about the best possible way to start a day? I speak from experience when I say it makes one heckuva lunch, dinner or snack, too.

Tocino is traditionally cured with red food colouring or other agents (like the pink salt, or saltpeter, used in curing other meats). I’m not super keen on food colouring, so I use beet powder as recommended by Jun-Belen. That man is a genius. The beet powder adds an appetizing red colour without adding any funky insect or chemical colouring. Lest you fear the beet, let me assure you it does not impart any beet-y flavour to the finished product.

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Tocino (Filipino Cured Pork) | Make Ahead Mondays

Tocino (Filipino Cured Pork) | Make Ahead Mondays

Do you love meaty bacon? Give this traditional Filipino, quick-cured, pork a try. An inexpensive pork should gets a boost from the fast-curing sugar, salt and spice combination and yields salty, sweet perfection that is reminiscent of thick cut bacon. It stores beautifully in the freezer for whenever cravings strike.

Ingredients

  • 3 pounds pork shoulder, sliced into 1/8-inch thick pieces
  • 3/4 cup raw or granulated sugar
  • 3/4 cup brown sugar (light or dark)
  • 1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
  • 3 tablespoons kosher salt
  • 3 tablespoons beet powder (you can substitute about 15 drops of red food colouring if you prefer.)
  • 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
    • For Cooking:
  • Vegetable, peanut or canola oil for pan frying

Instructions

Combine both sugars, the garlic, salt, beet powder (or food colouring), and soy sauce in a very large resealable zipper top bag (2 gallons) or a stain-proof container with a tight fitting lid. Close the bag or container tightly and shake to combine ingredients evenly. Open the bag or container, drop the pork slices in and reseal. If using a bag, squeeze the bag to thoroughly coat all of the pork with the sugar and salt mixture. If using a container, use your hands to move the pork around to be sure it is thoroughly coated in the mixture then close the container tightly.

Put the bag or container in the refrigerator and let it cure for at least 2 days before using, but up to 4. Alternatively, you can put the container or bag directly into the freezer (letting it sit for at least a week before using) for up to 6 months.

To Cook the Tocino:

Whether using fresh from the refrigerator or directly from the freezer, remove the amount of tocino you want to cook and let it sit in a colander for several minutes to drain any excess liquid.

You may either grill the tocino over high, direct heat, or pan fry in batches. To pan fry, heat about 2 teaspoons of oil in a heavy-bottomed skillet over medium-high heat. Fry the pieces until cooked through and browned with little charred bits, about 2-3 minutes per side.

Serve, if desired, with garlic fried rice and a fried egg for a traditional Filipino breakfast.

http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2012/07/09/tocino-filipino-cured-pork-make-ahead-mondays/

Don’t forget to leave your question for the pork farmers and National Pork Board below. Every question you leave will provide a hungry family with a pound of pork!

From July 23-24, I will be attending a tour of an Ohio family’s pig farm with the National Pork Board (NPB) focused on sustainability efforts in the pork industry. NPB will cover the costs of my trip, but all opinions expressed are my own.

 

Filed Under: Accessible Ethnic, Appetizers & Snacks, Breakfast Foods, Charcuterie, Comfort Food, Filipino Food, Freezer Pleaser, Gluten Free, kid food, Make Ahead Mondays, Meat, Rebecca, Recipes, Stretching your dollars Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Fabulous Homemade Ranch Dressing

July 3, 2012 by 12 Comments

This one’s for my friend, Peg. Peg bakes magnificent bread and sells it at our farmers’ market in Angelica, New York. Peg pointed a baguette at me last Saturday and said, “Rebecca. You need to do Ranch dressing. Soon.”  When someone brandishes bread at me, I listen.

It didn’t hurt that Peg was doing a little mind-reading. I had just been thinking that Foodie With Family was sorely lacking in the salad dressing category and it is BIG GREEN SALAD season and we all know how I feel about BIG GREEN SALADS (if not, click here.) It’s dunking season, too. Don’t forget all the summer snacking possiblities. Carrot and celery sticks, broccoli and cauliflower florets -oh heck- and breadsticks, and chicken wings, too. Just about everything is better with a little coating of Ranch dressing, isn’t it?

Remember that Ranch dressing doesn’t just come in packets. And good golly… that pre-made stuff in the bottle is horrific. Ranch dressing is -at the heart of things- a tangy buttermilk dressing loaded to the gills (were buttermilk to have gills, that is) with herbs. We all know fresh herbs taste better than dry ones, so why are we content to dress our salads with dry ones? This Independence Day, I call for a revolution. A Ranch revolution. A herby, garlicky, tangy, creamy, buttermilky dressing revolution.

Put pitchers of this out at your party! Put bowls of this out on your buffet for dipping! Celebrate your freedom from packets and bottled dressing!

Peg will lead the charge with a baguette.

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Fabulous Homemade Ranch Dressing

Yield: 3 cups of dressing/dip

Fabulous Homemade Ranch Dressing

No need to buy packets of mix or bottles of the stuff, Fabulous Homemade Ranch Dressing is just minutes away. Tangy buttermilk thickened with sour cream and mayonnaise is the base for the classic herb dressing that kids of all ages love on salads or as dip. Once you try the homemade version, you may never go back!

Ingredients

  • 1 1/4 cups cultured buttermilk (homemade, or storebought)
  • 1 cup sour cream
  • 3/4 cup mayonnaise
  • 1/3 cup, packed, finely chopped dill
  • 1/4 cup finely chopped parsley (flat-leaf or curly)
  • 1/4 cup finely chopped chives or green parts only of scallions
  • 3/4 teaspoon finely chopped fresh oregano
  • 1 large clove garlic, peeled and finely minced or pressed (or 1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic)
  • 1 teaspoon salt (or more to taste)
  • freshly ground black pepper to taste

Instructions

In a mixing bowl, whisk together all ingredients until smooth. Pour into a canning jar or pitcher, cover tightly and refrigerate for up to 10 days.

http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2012/07/03/fabulous-homemade-ranch-dressing/

Filed Under: Appetizers & Snacks, Comfort Food, Component Foods, Condiments, Gluten Free, Party Food, Rebecca, Recipes, Salads, Stretching your dollars Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Pissaladière (French Pizza)

June 15, 2012 by 4 Comments

I spent my senior year of high school as an exchange student in the Alsasce region of France.  How my parents managed to pull that off in the middle of a divorce on a church salary and as a full time student I have no idea, but I am eternally grateful. I took full advantage of the opportunity they gave me and studied (the boys. Sorry, Dad.) at a French high school, traveled through France, Germany, Switzerland and even a wee bit of Italy, drank up the culture, admired the architecture, consumed my weight in pastry, read their literature, attended sporting events, hiked the countryside, walked the city streets (only the safe ones, ish. Sorry, Mom.), made lifelong friends, and -in retrospect- did everything I could have wanted to do.

Except for one thing.

You see, the year I spent in France was smack dab down the middle of my seven year stint as a vegetarian. Sigh. That’s right. I spent a school year in the sausage capital of the world. As in the region of France that is best known for its charcuterie and specialty hams and oh man. (That sound is me smacking my head on the desk repeatedly.) I want a do-over on the meat portion of the trip.

To be fair, I must assert I did not do without good food, lack of ham notwithstanding.  France is a food mecca no matter how you eat. I had cheese and pastry and vegetable tartines and more cheese and more cheese and yet more cheese. I put a great deal of French cheese under my belt. Given that I was not partaking in the local meats (weep, gnash, moan), the hospitable folks of the area pushed many cheeses my way. And if you think I ran out of cheeses to try whilst in La Belle France, you’re sorely mistaken.

With all the multitudinous fromages I munched, you might think think it’s a cinch that cheese was my favourite food in France. That distinction, however, belongs to a food that will always reign supreme in my heart as the ultimate in French food. It’s not a high-falutin’, fancy-pants, five-days-prep food either. It’s that good, solid, favourite-of-the-citizens selection: Pissaladière.

Pissaladière is not technically an Alsatian dish (Whimper, see lack of ham tirade above.) but it is at its heart a seminal French dish. It is, in a nutshell, French pizza. The crust is a little breadier than Italian pizza, it’s covered with a thick layer of caramelized onions, and topped with salty, oil cured olives and anchovy fillets. This is a dish that encapsulates why -among other reasons- I love France so much. They don’t shy away from stinky food when it tastes great.

Some day, I’ll get back to France. I’ll tour the places where I spent some of the most defining time of my youth. I’ll once again eat my weight in cheese and pastry, tour the countryside and admire the architecture. But this time, I’ll take my own cute guy with me, and I’ll try that ham and sausage, dangit.

…and I will most certainly have a pissaladière. Or three.

This post was sponsored by Frigidaire. When you share your own do-over moment at Facebook.com/Frigidaire, Frigidaire will donate $1 to Save the Children’s U.S. programs. Plus, Frigidaire will help cover the costs for one lucky visitor to win the ultimate do-over.

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Pissaladière (French Pizza)

Pissaladière (French Pizza)

Pissaladière is the ultimate in French street food; crispy crust, caramelized onions, anchovies and salty, oil-cured olives. Because it is wonderful served both warm and at room temperature, it makes perfect picnic fare. La bonne vie is sitting on a blanket with a slice of Pissaladière and a glass of chilled, crisp white wine.

Ingredients

  • 1 pound pizza dough preferably this
  • 3 medium onions, peeled, halved and cut into thin half-moon shapes then roughly chopped
  • 3-4 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme or 1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme
  • 1/2 a bay leaf
  • 3 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • black pepper to taste
  • 8-10 oil packed flat anchovy fillets, patted dry
  • 16 oil cured olives, pitted and halved (You don't need to be fancy about it. Pop the pit out with your fingers and tear the olives in half.)

Instructions

Preheat your oven and a pizza stone to 500°F (or up to 550°F if your oven can go higher.)

While the oven preheats, gently heat the olive oil in a heavy-bottomed skillet. Add the onions, thyme, bay leaf, garlic, salt and pepper, stirring to evenly coat with oil, and cook gently over medium low to low heat (lowering if necessary to prevent over-browning) for about 20 minutes, until the onions are softened and just lightly browning around the edges. Do not caramelize the onions completely or they will scorch in the oven giving a burned taste to the final product. Remove the bay leaf from the caramelized onions.

Dust your work surface with flour and gently stretch your pizza dough into a circle. Use a floured rolling pin to stretch the dough out until it is about 1/8-inch thick. Generously cover a pizza peel with semolina or cornmeal.

Spread the onion mixture (including the oil) to within 1/4-inch of the edges of the crust. Arrange the anchovies and olive halves over the top of the onions. Give the peel a gentle shake to be sure the dough isn't sticking. If it is, carefully lift that area and sprinkle more semolina or cornmeal underneath to fix it.

Slide the dressed dough onto the hot stone and bake for between 8 and 15 minutes, depending on the heat of your oven, or until it is evenly browned and crisp underneath. Use the peel to transfer the Pissaladière to a cutting board.

Cool for five minutes, cut into wedges and serve warm or at room temperature.

http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2012/06/15/pissaladiere-french-pizza/

Filed Under: Accessible Ethnic, Appetizers & Snacks, Bread, Comfort Food, Party Food, Pizza, Rebecca, Recipes

Salsa Beef and Bean Lettuce Cups

June 1, 2012 by 9 Comments

I went to bed the other night all prepared to make delicious little calzones for the family’s dinner the next evening. The next day, the temperature outside was roughly that of the surface of the sun. And humid.

Now I don’t know about you, but when it feels like a giant sauna outside, I am not much disposed to baking. (That was a giant euphemism for you couldn’t PAY me to heat up the oven.)

The moral of the story is don’t menu plan.

Actually, the moral of the story is to be flexible. I took the ‘guts’ of the doomed calzones and turned it around into something quick and not at all oven-y. I fried up some bacon, added it to some browned ground beef then stirred in a can of our favourite chili beans and a fistful of chopped cilantro. Thanks to great sale on produce at our local-ish grocery, we were well stocked on lettuce. The result was a smoky, saucy, beefy, bacony, beany concoction that somehow managed to be filling without being heavy. We served it in crispy lettuce cups, topped it with grated cheese, velvety ripe avocado cubes and some spicy salsa, sat on the porch and let what little breeze there was cool us all down. Three cheers for switching it up!

The no-vegetable contingent had the toppings (meat and cheese, thankyouverymuch) over brown rice while the rest of us happily munched our lettuce cups. We ended up liking the dish so much we made it two nights in a row.  Then two nights later, we made it again. Thank heavens for bursts of inspiration!

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Salsa Beef and Bean Lettuce Cups

Salsa Beef and Bean Lettuce Cups

Crisp, fresh lettuce cups with a smoky, saucy, beef, bean and bacon filling are topped with lime-kissed ripe avocado cubes, shredded Cheddar cheese and a generous dollop of your favourite salsa for the ultimate hot-weather dinner. Easy enough for busy evenings but pretty enough to serve to company, you'll be sure to add this to your regular meal rotation!

Ingredients

    For the Beef Filling:
  • 1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef
  • 1/2 of a pound of sliced bacon
  • 1/2 an onion, peeled and finely diced
  • 1 clove garlic, peeled and minced or pressed
  • 1 can (15.5 ounces, approximately) chili beans in sauce
  • 1/4 cup chopped cilantro or parsley
    • To Serve:
  • Butter or Iceberg lettuce leaves
  • shredded extra sharp Cheddar cheese
  • cubes of ripe avocado with lime juice squeezed over them
  • salsa

Instructions

To Prepare the Filling:

Stack the bacon slices and cut cross-ways into 1/4- to 1/2-inch thick strips. Fry those over medium heat in a 12-inch, heavy-bottomed skillet or frying pan until crispy. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the bacon to drain on a plate lined with paper towels. Pour the remaining bacon fat from the pan and return the pan to medium heat.

Break up the ground beef into the hot pan and add the chopped onions and garlic. Use a wooden spoon to continue breaking the beef and working the onions and garlic into it as it cooks. When the beef is no longer pink in the center, drain off any fat (if there is any!) and return the pan to the heat. Add the can of beans with their sauce, stir well and bring up to a simmer. You can simmer it to thicken the sauce if necessary.

Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the cilantro.

To Serve:

Stack the lettuce leaves 2 to 3 thick to provide a little structure for when you lift it to eat it. Scoop about 1/3 to 1/2 cup of the beef filling in the center of the lettuce cup. Top with the shredded cheese, cubes of avocado and a dollop of salsa.

http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2012/06/01/salsa-beef-and-bean-lettuce-cups/

Filed Under: Appetizers & Snacks, Comfort Food, Happy Healthy and Wise, kid food, Main Dish, Meat, Party Food, Rebecca, Recipes, Stretching your dollars Tagged With: , , , , ,

Rosemary and Garlic Slow-Roasted Almonds

May 31, 2012 by 13 Comments

My friend Lisette is a good person to befriend. She’s funny. She’s charming. She has exquisite taste. And wherever she goes, she has snacks.Good snacks. She has bags of granola bars, homemade energy bars and her signature Rosemary Garlic Roasted Almonds.

My children hover around Mrs. Heckathorn on field trips with their best “I’m starving!” faces on in the hopes that she’ll break out her stash of almonds and offer to share. Is it because I don’t bring food? Or they don’t like what I have? No. It’s just that a.) they love Mrs. Heckathorn and b.) they love those nuts. Big time.

 

Why?

Lisette slow roasts raw whole almonds (overnight!) in a very, very low temperature oven with just enough garlic, rosemary and salt to make them utterly habit-forming. The fragrant, piney rosemary flavour amps up the sweetness of the almonds. The garlic roasts down to a mellow, mild garlic presence and the salt. Well, what isn’t better with a little salt?

These nuts aren’t just delicious, they’re simple. Oh my goodness. You have no excuse (other than forgetfulness) not to have these on hand. The most work of the entire process is peeling and mincing or pressing a garlic clove. Slap ‘em on a pan and let them slow-roast to pure savoury perfection while you snooze.

If you’re a little nervous about letting your oven go overnight (even at such a low temperature) you can use a dehydrator if your dehydrator has an adjustable thermostat. Just set it down around one hundred and seventy degrees Fahrenheit. Ta da!

Not only are they crave-able and simple, but they’re oh-so-good for you. In a one-ounce serving of almonds, you get a full twelve percent of your USRDA of protein with zero cholesterol, thirty five (35!) percent of your daily allowance of vitamin E, and about as much calcium as one-quarter cup of milk. (Plus, you don’t have to drink milk. SCORE!*)

*I know, I KNOW. Milk is good for you. I just don’t like to drink it. Never have. Ask my sister who -when we were children- kindly managed a switcheroo with me so she would drink my milk and her own and I wouldn’t have to touch it.

Make yourself nuts today! In a good way!

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Rosemary and Garlic Slow-Roasted Almonds

Rosemary and Garlic Slow-Roasted Almonds

These fragrant and toasty rosemary garlic almonds slow-roast in an ultra low oven overnight (so as not to destroy all those good fats that almonds contain) while you sleep. When you wake, you are in possession of one ultimately sustaining and habit forming snack. Make yourself nuts today! In a good way!

Ingredients

  • 4 cups whole, raw almonds (out of the shell)
  • 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 clove garlic, peeled and minced or pressed
  • 1 teaspoon kosher or sea salt
  • 3/4 teaspoon whole dried rosemary, crumbled between the fingers to break it into smaller pieces

Instructions

Toss all of the ingredients together in a mixing bowl until everything is evenly dispersed and the nuts are evenly coated with oil. Pour the nuts onto a rimmed baking sheet and spread them into a single layer. Put in a cold oven and set the temperature to 170°F or thereabouts. Roast overnight (or 8 hours) or until the oil is absorbed and the nuts appear matte. Remove from the oven, cool completely and transfer to a canning jar or another container with an airtight lid. The seasonings may fall off of the nuts. That's okay! Just transfer the seasoning to the jar as well!

These are good for up to a month, kept tightly covered, at room temperature. I seriously doubt you'll be able to keep your hands (and mouth) off of them that long, though!

http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2012/05/31/rosemary-and-garlic-slow-roasted-almonds/

Filed Under: Appetizers & Snacks, Comfort Food, Happy Healthy and Wise, Healthy Foods, kid food, Party Food, Rebecca, Recipes, Snacks, Stretching your dollars, Vegetarian Tagged With: , , , , ,

Kimchi Pancake (Kimchijeon)

May 4, 2012 by 6 Comments

Back in the day -when I worked early hours as a prep cook and late nights as a slinger of pub grub- I wondered more than once how I’d ever find true love when I always smelled like garlic, onions and a fryolater. It was a valid concern folks… I remember one particularly busy week (the café where I worked was in a tourist town that hosted an insanely well attended annual festival) when I broke apart,  peeled, and minced hundreds of heads of garlic and almost as many onions. I spent hours upon hours on my feet frying onion rings and French fries and Monte Cristo sandwiches and dill pickles. I went to a social event at my college after getting off of my shift without hitting the shower first. I heard no fewer than five people say -as they walked by me- something like, “Woah! Are they making garlic fries? I totally smell garlic fries.” or “Something smells like old oil!”

I  was sure that I had to give up cooking or live a lonely life. As it was, I was looking at it all wrong. I just had to find a man who loved garlic, onions and French fries.

…And find him I did. Well, actually, he found me, but that’s a story for another day. My beloved Evil Genius doesn’t just love garlic, onions and fries, he loves almost all stinky food. In fact, more often than not, the stinkier the better. The day my husband discovered kimchi was one of the happiest days of his life.

Our well-loved and now defunct (sob) favourite restaurant was the scene of that happy day. We sat at our usual table and the owner approached us with a small bowl of some vibrant red salady looking stuff. Since we trusted Mr. Wong, we dug in before asking what it was while he told us, “This is my homemade kimchi!” We were both instantly hooked, but my husband’s love of kimchi was stratospheric.

He started buying kimchi at the local Asian market to keep in our refrigerator for occasional snacks, but soon that wasn’t enough. He would walk across the street from his office to the market to buy containers of their funkiest, bubbliest kimchi to have for lunch in his cubicle.

…Do you see where this is going?…

He ate kimchi in a cube farm. Now, I know they’ve improved cubicles and made them look almost like little pods in very chi-chi offices, but whatever they’ve done, they still don’t have technology to contain smells within the airy vertical confines of a cubicle.

He cracked open the jar of kimchi and almost instantly heard people saying, “Oh my gosh. Do you smell that?” “I think there’s something dead in here. Call maintenance!” He stood up, mouth ringed with red hot pepper sauce, and said, “I don’t smell anything!” and sat back down. This carried on for a few days before his colleagues realized the source of the smell and he was asked, in very specific language, to keep his kimchi in the break room.

The next day he retreated to the lunch room to eat his kimchi. Within minutes, a posse of his co-workers showed up to beg him not to eat it in the office ever again. He offered to share to defuse the situation. They didn’t take him up on it. He was forced to take his kimchi love back underground. He brought his chopsticks and kimchi home and stashed the jar in the fridge mumbling something along the lines of, “This wouldn’t be a problem if we were in Korea. Dangit.”

The man is my soul mate.

I’ll be the first to admit that kimchi is rather odiferous. But people, if you put that aside and taste it your rewards will be many and glorious. It is crispy, spicy, juicy, garlicky and a power-packed-punch of umami. It is, for lack of a better description, spicy Korean sauerkraut. Yes. It is fermented. Sometimes (if you’re really lucky) it’s bubbly and wild. There is nothing better than a jug of kimchi that needs to be stored over a rimmed container to catch bubbling juices.

Now just imagine if you will a bunch of this fabulous stuff chopped up, mixed into a batter and pan fried to form a crispy, savoury snack cake. Hello, gorgeous! That wicked smell that accompanies kimchi transforms into a magical, alluring, irresistible smell when it is cooked. I whipped up a batch of kimchi pancakes at a local church during a children’s cooking class. When I tell you this church is big, that doesn’t begin to tell you the size of the building. People were coming from all over saying, “What smells so good?”, “It smells like the best Chinese restaurant ever in here!”, “Whatever you’re making, can I try it?” There were people who don’t venture past meat and potatoes asking for a taste. It’s like a siren song. It’s like alchemy. It’s like Rumpelstiltskin spinning kimchi into gold. In short, it’s what you want to eat. In abundance. And no one will ask you to leave the building, but they might ask you to share.

 

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Kimchi Pancake (Kimchijeon)

Kimchi Pancake (Kimchijeon)

Kimchi undergoes a magical transformation in this crispy, savoury snack cake from something for die-hard lovers only to something that even unadventurous eaters want to try. Beware, though, this is so good it's habit forming!

Ingredients

  • 1 cup chopped kimchi
  • 3 tablespoons of kimchi juice (the liquid in which kimchi is packed)
  • 2 tablespoons chopped green onion
  • ½ cup water
  • ½ cup all-purpose flour
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • Neutral oil for frying (canola, peanut, grapeseed, vegetable, etc…)
    • Optional:
  • ½ cup cooked peeled shrimp, chopped
  • ½ cup cooked, shredded pork
  • Chopped green onions for garnish

Instructions

In a mixing bowl, stir together all of the ingredients (except for the frying oil) until the mixture is evenly coloured and there are no dry flour spots.

Add about an 1/8-inch coating of neutral oil to a heavy-bottomed 10 to 12-inch skillet (cast-iron or nonstick) over medium high heat. Spread the kimchi pancake batter thinly in the pan and fry until the bottom is crisp and the top is cooked most of the way through (some wet patches of batter, but mostly cooked batter on top.) Carefully flip the pancake using two spatulas for control, then continue cooking the pancake until the underside is crisp and has some charred bits. Flip the pancake over again and cook the first side for 1 minute more.

Serve garnished with chopped green onions whole in a platter for people to pull apart with fingers or chopsticks, or cut into bite sized pieces.

http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2012/05/04/kimchi-pancake-kimchijeon/

 

 

Filed Under: Accessible Ethnic, Appetizers & Snacks, Comfort Food, Happy Healthy and Wise, Korean Food, Recipes, Stretching your dollars, Vegetarian

Asian Marinated Cucumber Salad

May 3, 2012 by 28 Comments

I have something special for you today.

Yesterday, I gave you my husband’s all-time favourite entrée. Today, I’m giving you his all-time favourite salad. Tomorrow, I’ll give you his all-time favourite appetizer. If I believed in keeping secret recipes*, these three would be at the top of the list because they make you look so talented when you serve them.

*But I don’t believe in secret recipes or lessipe (leaving out an ingredient or process when sharing a recipe). In fact, you might have to pay me NOT to share a recipe with you. The true joy in food -at least for me- comes from sharing it. Refusing to share a recipe or a crucial step in one is tantamount to blowing a big, fat, wet raspberry at someone when they ask you for help. In other words, it ain’t right.

Here’s the thing; the food looks stunning and tastes amazing but takes so little effort you’ll be left feeling a little funny accepting all the inevitable praise that comes from serving it. For instance, we have the salad pictured above.

This is the recipe equivalent of the town where I spent all of my elementary and middle school and some of my high school years; if you blink you’ll miss it. You slice cucumbers and onions, you pour a couple things on top and toss then refrigerate. Then you eat it. And again, like my small town, if you blink it will be gone. For a salad that is so easy and has so few ingredients, the taste will blow you away. It is clean, fresh, bright and accompanies Japanese Salmon over Linguine beautifully, yes, but it is also good with all sorts of seafood, chicken and pork,  or even stashed on sandwiches in place of pickles.

…Or eaten furtively with a fork straight from the refrigerator while holding the door open with your pajama clad knee. Not that I’ve done that. Today.

Here comes the recipe, don’t you blink!

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Asian Marinated Cucumber Salad

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Asian Marinated Cucumber Salad

This delicate, fresh, vibrant, crisp, marinated cucumber salad is the perfect accompaniment to seafood, chicken and pork dishes.

Ingredients

  • 1 large English (seedless) cucumber, very thinly sliced
  • ¼ of a sweet onion, very thinly sliced
  • 1/3 cup rice vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
  • 1 tablespoon minced fresh dill or ½ teaspoon dried dill weed
  • ¾ teaspoon salt
  • 3/4 teaspoon sugar
  • ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

Instructions

Gently toss together all of the ingredients until everything is evenly coated. Put in a container with a tight fitting lid and refrigerate for at least an hour prior to serving. This keeps well, refrigerated for up to 5 days. Gently toss again before serving.

Cooking Notes:

I use a mandoline to slice my cucumber and onion paper thin. If this is not available to you, use the sharpest knife you can and slice as thinly as is possible. It will still be great if you can't get paper thin slices, it just won't be quite as delicate.

http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2012/05/03/asian-marinated-cucumber-salad/

Filed Under: Accessible Ethnic, Appetizers & Snacks, Happy Healthy and Wise, Healthy Foods, Recipes, Salads, Side Dishes, Vegetarian Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Kitchen Sink Hush Puppies | Pepper Jack and Ham Deep Fried Cornbread

April 17, 2012 by 12 Comments

 

I have a deep love for hush puppies that began -as so many things did- in my childhood in Kentucky. I was awfully young when we lived there and don’t have very many concrete memories of the place aside from creek stomping, salamander capturing, and sledding down coal piles in snow suits*, but one thing I do remember vividly is making occasional treks out of the holler and into the biggest nearby town for excursions that almost always ended in a trip to Long John Silver’s.

*No really. We did that. Being a family from Michigan, we missed our sledding hills and winter sports while living in Kentucky. My mom’s clever solution was to kit us out in snow suits and go sledding down a local coal pile.

Now, I know very well that hush puppies weren’t invented by or exclusive to Long John Silver’s  but it was my favourite part of the long haul into town and back. In all likelihood, it was what made me behave in public. Deep fried foods have that power over me and always have.

A fried fish dinner with hush puppies was my inevitable order and -truth be told- I ordered that every time just for the hush puppies. I pushed the fish around the greasy little cardboard clam shell case hoping I’d missed a piece of hush puppy here or there.

Dead crispy, dark golden brown, deep-fried nuggets of cornbread studded with onions: what wasn’t to love? The answer is nothing. And though my time in Kentucky was limited, my adoration for hush puppies remained. My mom didn’t do a ton of deep frying, despite the fact that her affection for all foods fried is as abiding as mine. She did break out the boiling oil for special occasion foods like lumpia and hush puppies, but it wasn’t a regular thing. I think this cemented the idea that fried foods -hush puppies, in particular- equaled celebration food.

I’m a little (okay, a lot) more loosey goosey with the deep fat frying than my mom. I’m pretty easy to persuade that it’s time for some deep-fried something or other.  When I got home from a successful vendor meeting for our local farmers’ market where I was introduced as the newest member of the management team (Shout out to Angelica Farmers’ Market: The best local producer and artisan market in Western New York!) I felt pretty excited. Where some people would take that excitement and go for a run, tidy a room, complete a project, I channeled it into HUSH PUPPIES! …Because that’s just the kind of gal I am.

I cranked up the heat under two inches of oil in a pan, spent five minutes chopping some goodies to toss in, measuring, and mixing, and in the time it took the oil to heat, I was standing by with my little scoopy thingy in hand, ready to get my fry on.

Here’s where the magic happens. When I dropped the first couple of scoops of hush puppy batter into the pan and the scent bubbled up  on the oil, my kids -who had been energetically flying around the yard, climbing trees and living in their imaginary worlds all day long- materialized behind me asking things like, “What smells so good?” and “Are those for us? Please say yes!”. My wee six year old said, “Are those for dinner? Or just part dinner?”

Hush puppies don’t take long, folks. This is not a delayed gratification food. When I pulled the first batch out a mere three minutes after dropping them in, the kids were standing by with forks in hand, ready to skewer on my say so. And skewer they did. Forks rammed down into those hush puppies so fast I feared for my fingers. Little teeth nibbled away and happy groans were heard. The same six year old who had previously asked what part of the meal these would comprise announced, “This is the best part dinner of my whole life. Ever.”

Unlike back in the day of the simple unadorned hush puppy, though, today’s were extraordinary. A plain hush puppy is good enough, mind you, but when you add minced ham, green onions and spicy pepper jack cheese to the usual chopped onions, you get a hush puppy that will, well, hush your puppies. We’re talking about what is essentially craggy, crispy, deep fried corn bread balls stuffed with creamy, spicy pepper jack, salty minced ham and two kinds of onions. These aren’t your standard issue Long John Silver hush puppies, people. Not by a long shot.

What do I serve these with? Mainly I serve them with this sauce and gorge myself, but I suppose there are those of you with more will power than I have and to you I say, “Serve them alongside fish dinners, with soup or salad, with chili or with a good supply of toothpicks and napkins on a buffet table.”

While you whip up something to accompany these, I’ll be over in my chair with my feet up trying to come up with a reasonable explanation for how many of these I ate. Carry on.

Some Notes:

  • I prefer these made with a nice coarsely ground corn meal. The widely available canister cornmeal will do alright, but for the ne plus ultra of hush puppies, go for the really gritty stuff.
  • Please, for the love of all things good in this world, grate your own cheese for these. It doesn’t have to be fancy cheese. It doesn’t have to be expensive, but don’t use the pre-grated cheese-in-a-bag. That cheese is coated with stuff to keep it from clumping which also has the net effect of making it melt in a way that isn’t as happy making. There’s a time and a place for the pre-grated stuff, but it’s not here.
  • Mince your ham into the itty-bittiest pieces you can produce. The same goes for the green onions and the sweet onions. It’s all about the distribution, folks. The finer you mince those things, the better the chances that you’ll get a little of everything in each bite. That is a very good thing. Trust me.
  • Don’t get fancy with the way you drop your batter into the hot oil. You don’t want perfection of shape on these. The irregular, jutting-out parts are the crispiest spots on the hush puppies. Those are the bits that render me powerless against them.

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Kitchen Sink Hush Puppies | Pepper Jack and Ham Deep Fried Cornbread

Kitchen Sink Hush Puppies | Pepper Jack and Ham Deep Fried Cornbread

These dressed up hush puppies are craggy, crispy, deep fried corn bread balls stuffed with creamy, spicy pepper jack, salty minced ham and two kinds of onions. Eat them as a stand alone snack or appetizer, or serve alongside fish dinners, soups, salads or chilis.

Ingredients

  • 2 inches of canola, peanut or vegetable oil, or lard in a high-sided, heavy-bottomed pot or skillet (or an electric deep fryer)
  • 1 1/4 cups cornmeal
  • 3/4 cup all purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 2 tablespoons butter, melted
  • 1 cup plain yogurt or buttermilk
  • 1 large egg
  • 1/4-1/2 cup finely minced or chopped fully cooked ham
  • 1/4 cup finely minced or chopped green onions
  • 1/4 cup finely minced or chopped sweet onion
  • 1/4 cup shredded pepper jack cheese

Instructions

Place the oil-filled pot over medium high heat and bring the oil to 375°F. Line a bowl or baking pan with paper towels and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the corn meal, flour, salt, sugar, baking soda, black and cayenne pepper with a whisk. In a separate bowl, use the same whisk to thoroughly combine the butter, yogurt or buttermilk and egg. Pour that directly into the flour mixture, add all of the mix-ins, and use a spatula to stir everything together gently, just until no more dry pockets remain and it is combined evenly.

Use a 1 1/2 teaspoon scoop (or simply mound the batter on a teaspoon) to drop the batter into the hot oil. Fry only as many as can comfortably fit into the pan while leaving room for them to move around. Don't overcrowd that pan! Fry the hush puppies for 2-3 minutes per batch, flipping them about halfway through the cooking. Use tongs or a slotted spoon to transfer the finished hush puppies to the paper towel lined bowl or pan and let drain briefly before serving.

These are best when served hot, but are still great warm or room temperature. You can store leftover hush puppies in a paper towel lined, tightly covered container in the refrigerator and reheat them for just a few minutes in a hot oven to re-crisp them.

http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2012/04/17/kitchen-sink-hush-puppies/

Filed Under: Appetizers & Snacks, Bread, Comfort Food, kid food, Party Food, Rebecca, Recipes, Side Dishes Tagged With: , , , , , ,
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