Do you use fish sauce when you cook? It's an Asian condiment that brings a salty, fermented quality to a dish. You've probably had it in Pad Thai or another dish in a restaurant somewhere and you may not have even noticed it. Something salty? A little bit of pleasant funk? Fish sauce. Now, even before I stopped eating meat, I never cared for or ate fish, and there's a long story to go along with that--but I won't bore you with it at the moment. Suffice it to say, my maternal grandfather had an odd sense of humor.
Back to the sauce. After over fifteen years of cooking without meat, I've become pretty adept at adapting anything to be meatless. It isnt that hard, but there are certain condiments, like fish sauce, that remain out of reach. Occasially, if you're shopping during the right season and in a good store, you can find a bottle of vegetarian fish sauce at the Vietnamese market (labeled chay), but those are few and far between. And there ain't no Vietnamese market in Midland--that I know of anyway! Which is why I was excited to discover a recipe for a fishless fish sauce in Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything Vegetarian, right on my bookshelf. It is simple and adds that certain j'en sais quoi to my dishes. I'm using it this week to make my Spicy Edamame...
Recipe: Fishless Fish Sauce
1 tbsp. dulse (a form of seaweed), crumbled
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablspoon Tamari or soy sauce
3 tablespoon water
4 limes
1 tablespoon light brown sugar
Whisk the dulce, garlic, soy sauce and water together in a small bowl. Grate the zest of two of the limes into the bowl, then juice all four limes into the mixture. Add the brown sugar, then whisk until dissolved. Decant into a small jar and let the flavors meld. Keeps for a how long? I would say a while. And that, my friends, is vegetarian fish sauce.
I realize I am late to the table (Ahem.) with this one, but I was afraid you were too, so I wanted to share this fantastic, easy and delicious idea with you: lasagna cupcakes! No, no, no...it's not what you're thinking. I would never suggest you bake cupcakes that are flavored like lasagna. These are individual lasagnas baked in a cupcake pan and they are delectable and super simple.
The secret? Won ton wrappers. You can either buy the round ones (some places stock them) or do as I did and buy the square ones, then cut them with a biscuit cutter. What are won ton wrappers? Basically fresh pasta, right? So what you get are little lasagnas layered with thin sheets of pasta and your favorite filling. If you have a pasta roller, you could do the same with it and just cut the pasta into round to fill the tins. In fact, this is perfect for satisfying a variety of taste, because in theory you could make each lasagna a different flavor.
Recipe? I would love to give you one, but in this case, lasgana cupcakes are not an exact science. You need ricotta, sauce, mozzarella and maybe some Parmesan to make them, plus whatever else you would like to add. Thin slices of zucchini? Broccoli? Tomatoes? Whatever. If you are using a firmer vegetable, you may want to cook it a little before using it as filling.
Spray your pan with cooking spray or a light layer of oil, then layer won ton wrapper, ricotta, sauce+any other filling and then cheese. Repeat and for the final layer use a won ton wrapper, sauce to the edge and them a layer or cheese.
In the end, pop these into the oven at 350 degrees for 20 minutes and you are good. Let them rest for five minutes and you're ready to serve. I've made several variations, including a traditional tomato as well as a butternut squash. They are great leftover and are a perfect meal with a salad or any simple vegetable.
One of my favorite finds at the HEB (here, everything is better) in Midland has been the house brand thin and crispy pizza crusts. Perhaps they have a regular brand at your store, but HEB stocks three different varieties in the larger size, including whole wheat, plus a three pack of individual sized crusts in original and whole wheat. If you love a thin pizza crust--and I do!--then these are for you. Just top with some sauce, your favorite toppings and bake for 10 minutes. Since they are par-baked, that's all it takes. Include some veggies and a green salad on the side, and you have a quick and pretty healthy dinner on the table in just a few minutes.
We had some leftovers seitan, so tonight we experimented with a BBQ chick-un pizza topped with sauce, garlic and thinly sliced onions. It was messy, like BBQ is supposed to be, but it was quite delicious!
As was this magnificent sugar bowl. Yes, that's right: sugar bowl. I was shopping with my friend David in Houston when we came across it at a vintage store. He remembered how enamored I was with it and sent it as a very generous birthday gift. I have never seen anything like and I cannot wait for you to come over for coffee and sweet rolls, so that I can serve you sugar from this magnificent bowl!
And speaking of coffee, I picked up this great milk frother/steamer on a recent trip. I hate putting cold milk in my coffee and now I never will! I will be very happy to serve you a fancy coffee with some hot foamy goodness to which you can add sugar from my fly sugar bowl! Or steamy cocoa? Easy, breezy with the touch of a button.
And finally, I got a handy little tortilla warmer that reminds me of one of my favorite designers, Alexander Girard. Supposedly, 45 seconds in the microwave and it will keep the little guys warm for up to an hour! I'll report back on how it works...
When is the last time you learned to cook eggs in a new way? I mean, there are basic ways to cook an egg, plus some fancier ones...but not that much in the way of innovation.
Scrambled
Fried (over multiple ways)
Boiled (from soft to hard)
Coddled
Shirred
Baked
What else?
I remember when my mom taught me how to scramble eggs and suddenly I could feed myself. There are still few things that taste as good to me as an egg sandwich on whole wheat bread slathered with mayonnaise. Or as was served in our house, Miracle Whip. But after you learned to scramble an egg, to fry an egg, to boil an egg; what next? Perhaps you can poach an egg like a pro, but have you ever done a scrambled-poached egg?!
I read about this method in Food & Wine and it is quite interesting: you whisk the eggs, then dump them into a swirling, boiling pot of water. They cook for less then a minute, them just drain and serve. The result is a light-as-a-cloud, omelet-ish egg that can be salted, sauced and enjoyed. It's a simple technique and one you should try. I served mine with a variation on the goat cheese sauce and some sautéed spinach. Delicious!
A couple of weeks ago, I finally had the pleasure of entertaining in the new place. It was relaxed and casual, with dinner served on the terrace on a beautiful West Texas evening. I wanted something simple, so I opted for Italian, utilizing some of my favorite recipes which are easy fare, but not your basic spaghetti with meatless balls.
To start, I served some olives, breadsticks (HEB sells the brand above from Liguria in three different flavors, but you can find them here. Addicted!) and these delicious artichokes which are similar to a stuffed version, but oh so much easier.
Next was one of my favorite salads for fall: Dama Bianca. This salad is very simple, but combines ingredients in a way that makes them special--and delicious! Fennel, celery hearts and fresh mozzarella dressed with lemon juice and olive oil combine to create the "white lady," an Italian classic.
Recipe: Dama Bianca
What makes this simple salad so delicious is the care you take in preparing the ingredients. Unless you're a master chef who can slice celery and fennel like it is butter, it's best to use a mandolin as paper thin slices of both take on a different quality than thicker slices. Likewise, tearing the cheese gives it the perfect, feathery texture to complement the crunch of the vegetables. Traditionally, this salad is made with the female fennel bulbs, which are fat and wide and considered to be sweeter than the male.
2 medium fennel bulbs, stalks discarded, but reserve a few of the fronds for garnish
6 pale inner (white) celery stalks, leaves reserved and stalks thinly sliced
1 (1/2-pound) ball buffalo mozzarella, roughly torn
1/2 tablespoon grated lemon zest
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
6 tablespoons good-quality fruity extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
Halve fennel lengthwise and remove the core, then thinly slice crosswise with a mandolin or shaver, then layer in a large salad bowl. Top with celery and mozzarella. Whisk together zest, juice, oil, sea salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper and drizzle over salad. Garnish with the celery leaves and fennel fronds.
For the main course, I served a pasta dressed with a pea and walnut pesto then tossed with some white beans. This sauce is delicious anytime of year made with frozen peas, but is especially good with fresh peas in the spring. My published recipe is vegan, but I used Parmesan cheese since it was dinner for company.
Dessert was my best chocolate gelato recipe with amaretti cookies crumbled over the top. Of course I had a small bowl to nibble on the side. No one wanted coffee, so we sipped small glasses of Weller's bourbon, which has always been a favorite I could never find in Indiana.
It was a fun evening and wonderful to share food with friends.
