Porchetta and Potato Nik

Potato Nik

I live pork! Everyone seems to like pork. McCall’s Meat and Fish prepared a Porchetta for us. All we needed to do was pop it in the over for a few hours. It was delicious. The skin gets very crispy. You can get the recipe for how to make Porchetta from our blog of: Feb. 24, 2014. Click the date to get the recipe.

With the Porchetta we made Potatoes Nik. Potatoes Nik is like a gigantic potato pancake. Really crispy on the outside. It is made in a cast iron skillet. You can get the recipe for Potatoes Nik from our blog of: Oct. 21, 2016. Click the date to get the recipe. By the way, the name Potatoes Nik comes from Yiddish, it was an Ashkenazi Recipe.

Galbijjim

We had dinner at Majordomo, a new restaurant and had Korean Style Short Ribs (Galbijjim). The meat was very tender and sweet. We decided to make it at home. Cathy found this recipe. It is interesting when the dish is finally completed and served, the sweet potatoes look like chunks of meat. Until you actually bite into the food you don't know if it is Beef Sweet Potato in your mouth. They look the same. At any rate this is our first Korean dish that have made. Cathy really liked it. 

Galbijjim

Author: Hyeon Jeong
Recipe type: Dinner Cuisine: Korean
Prep time: 40 mins Cook time: 30 mins Total time: 1 hour 10 mins Serves: 4 

A super delicious non-spicy savory dinner. Always eaten at Chuseok, Seol, birthday parties, wedding parties and special events. Perfect for impressing your party guests

What You'll Need 

1 kg Pork Ribs Water 

11 Garlic, peeled(40g)
1 Small Piece of Ginger, peeled (5g) 1 Medium Size Onion
1 Pear, peeled 

4 tbsp Sugar
4 tbsp Rice Wine
2 tbsp Sesame Oil
1⁄2 tbsp Sea Salt
1⁄2 tbsp Pepper
8 tbsp Soy Sauce
1⁄2 tbsp Oyster Sauce
2 Spring Onions, finely chopped (40g) 

6 Chestnut Mushrooms
1 Red Pepper (optional)
1 Green Pepper (optional)
2 Carrots
2 Sweet Potatoes (can be replaced with potatoes) 

1 Red Chilli, finely chopped (optional) A Pinch of Roasted Sesame Seeds 

How to Make It

1.    Soak the pork ribs in water for half an hour. This removes the taste of blood from the meat. 

2.    While pork ribs are soaking, we can make the Galbijjim sauce. Peel and quarter the onion and pear. Put the garlic, ginger, onion and pear in a blender or food processor and whizz them until you have a paste. 

3.    In a big bowl, add the onion mixture, sugar, rice wine, sea salt, sesame oil, soy sauce, oyster sauce, pepper, and two thirds of the chopped spring onions. Stir until well mixed. 

4.    Drain the pork ribs after 30 minutes and put them in the bowl and covering them with the sauce. Marinate them for a minimum of 1 hour. You can marinate them overnight in the fridge if you are preparing for a dinner party in advance. 

5.    Heat a wok over a high heat and pour in the ribs and sauce. Add enough water to cover the ribs. The amount of the water depends on the size of the pan. For your reference, I used 300ml of water in the wok on my video. 

6.    Lower the heat to the medium after the sauce has boiled for 10 or 15 minutes. Simmer until the liquid has reduced by half. It took me half an hour. Check the pan occasionally and add more water if needed so the ribs don't burn. You can slow cook the meat if you like to use your slow cooker or oven. You can also use a pressure cooker if you have one. If you use a slow cooker or pressure cooker, you don’t need to add extra water. The cooking time of the slow cooker, oven and pressure cooker depends on the equipment.

7.    While the galbijjim is on the stove, prepare the vegetables. Chop the stem off the chestnut mushrooms. 

8.    De-seed the red and green peppers and chop them into quarters lengthways. Cut those pieces into quarters again. 

9.    Chop the sweet potatoes in half lengthways and then quarter each side. Cut the carrots into 2 cm thick pieces. 

10.  Add the sweet potatoes, give them a mix and cook until they are soft, adding water if necessary. 

11.   When the sweet potatoes are soft, add the carrots and cook them for another 2 minutes. Add the peppers and mushrooms and cook for another 3 minutes. Add water if needed. 

12.   The Galbijjim is ready. Add more salt or sugar to taste. Garnish with the chopped spring onions, chillies and roasted sesame seeds. You can eat it with a fresh bowl of rice and side dishes. The sauce is great to dip with fresh bread as well! Enjoy!

Teriyaki Salmon and Stir Fried Asparagus

We liked both of these dishes. We have made Teriyaki Salmon before. We purchased the beautiful steaks at McCall's Meat and Fish.

The Stir-Fried Spicy Asparagus is an excellent way to prepare the green spears!

Stir-Fried Spicy Asparagus

New York Times

Holding out for regional produce may seem absurdly romantic, or a little stubborn, but there’s no denying the thrill when, after months of apples, potatoes and sturdy greens, suddenly asparagus appears in full force at the market. Finally, spring has arrived.

Ingredients

1-1/2     pounds pencil-thin asparagus (or substitute small or medium asparagus, split lengthwise)

1           tablespoon vegetable oil

Salt and pepper

3           garlic cloves, minced

1           tablespoon grated ginger

1           serrano or other fresh hot chile, finely chopped

A large handful of basil, mint and cilantro leaves

Preperation

1.   Snap off and discard the tough bottoms of each asparagus spear. Cut the asparagus into 2-inch lengths

2.   In a wok or cast-iron skillet, heat the oil until nearly smoking. Add the asparagus, season generously with salt and pepper and stir well, making sure the asparagus is coated and glistening with oil. Continue to stir-fry over high heat for about 1 minute, until the asparagus looks bright green and barely cooked. Add the garlic, ginger and chile and stir-fry for 30 seconds more.

3.   Transfer to a serving platter and scatter leaves on top. Serve immediately.

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Teriyaki Salmon

Gordon Ramsey

Ingredients

2       cm piece of fresh root ginger, finely sliced

2       garlic cloves, peeled and finely sliced

3       tbsp soy sauce

2       tbsp maple syrup

1       tbsp mirin (rice wine)

Olive oil

4       salmon fillets (about 500g in total)

Sea salt and freshly ground pepper

Method

Serves 4

1.   Put the ginger and garlic into a bowl and mix with the soy sauce, maple syrup, mirin and a drizzle of olive oil.

2.   Place the salmon fillets in a dish, season with salt and pepper and pour the sticky dressing over them. Cover with cling film and set aside in the fridge to marinate for up to 2 hours, but at least 20 minutes.

3.   Place a large frying pan over a medium heat and add a dash of oil. When hot, add the salmon, skin side down, reserving the marinade. Cook for 2 minutes, then pour in the reserved marinade and cook for
a further minute or so, until the salmon fillets are opaque halfway up the sides. Turn them over and cook on the other side for 3–4 minutes, basting with the sauce so that the salmon is well coated. Add a splash of water if the sauce is too thick.

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4.   Serve the salmon fillets on individual plates, spooning over any teriyaki sauce left in the pan.

Sesame Chicken With Cashews and Dates

Sesame Chicken With Cashews and Dates is an interesting dish. I liked the idea of the dates cooked with the  Chicken and Cashews are my favorite nut.

Sesame Chicken With Cashews and Dates

New York Times

Dates add a touch of sweetness to this savory chicken and scallion stir-fry. If you don’t have a wok or a 12-inch skillet, you might want to cook this in two batches in a smaller pan. That will ensure a nice, browned crust on the meat. And if you want to substitute chicken breasts, stir-fry them for only 2 minutes in Step 2 before adding the rice wine.

Ingredients

4           tablespoons toasted (Asian) sesame oil

1           2-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and cut into about 12 “coins”

6 to 8    garlic cloves, peeled and smashed

1           bunch scallions (white and green parts), cut into 2-inch lengths

3 to 4    dried red chiles, or 1/2 teaspoon chile flakes

2           pounds boneless chicken thighs (preferably skin on, but skinless is O.K.), cut into 2-inch chunks

½          cup toasted cashews

⅓          cup rice wine or dry sherry

3           tablespoons dark soy sauce or tamari

4           pitted dates, thinly sliced

3           cups fresh basil or cilantro leaves, or a combination

Rice vinegar or lime juice, to taste

Cooked rice, for serving

Preparation

1.   Season the chicken with salt and pepper while you heat a 12-inch skillet or wok over high heat until it’s very hot, at least 2 minutes. Add 2 tablespoons of the sesame oil and swirl the pan; the oil should thin on contact. When the oil is hot, add the ginger, garlic, scallions and chile. Stir-fry until the garlic is golden at the edges, 2 to 3 minutes.

2.   Add the 2 remaining tablespoon oil, chicken and cashews, and stir fry until it starts to brown, 4 to 5 minutes (turn down the heat if the cashews are browning too quickly). Add the rice wine, soy sauce and dates; simmer until the sauce reduces to a syrupy consistency and the chicken cooks through, 5 to 7 minutes.

3.   Stir in the herbs, sprinkle with rice vinegar or lime juice, and serve over rice.

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Scallops with Seaweed Butter

We started with a salad with Carrot-Ginger Dressing. This was a new recipe for us. I liked the dressing. It was very different from what we usually make. We will make it again. Sautéed Scallops were enlivened with a very interesting Seaweed Butter. I also like the fresh taste of the sea on top of the Scallops. The dinner had two winning new recipes.

Carrot-Ginger Dressing

Lucky Peach

Peter Meehan

Makes 1 cup

1       piece (2") fresh ginger, sliced

1       small carrot, roughly chopped (about ¼ cup)

¼      cup roughly chopped onion

2       Tbl rice vinegar

1       Tbl soy sauce

½      Tsp sugar

1       Tbl sesame oil

¼      cup vegetable oil

+       kosher salt

With the motor running, toss the ginger and carrot into a blender. Add the onion, vinegar, soy sauce, and sugar, and process until smooth. Slowly drizzle, in the sesame oil and vegetable oil and blend until emulsified. Season lightly with salt. The dressing will keep, covered and refrigerated, for 1 week.

Seaweed Butter 

Sheela Prakash 

It's hard to improve on the classic combination of bread and butter. But when you add dried seaweed (yes, seaweed!) to the butter, it turns the simple ingredient into a salty umami bomb you'll want to munch on any time of day. 

This recipe comes to us from Chef Ben Jackson over at Drifters Wife in Portland, Maine. The cozy wine bar, known for its natural wine selection, features an inventive menu of small plates that changes nightly. One dish in particular that caught our attention was their bread and butter. That's because it's not just any bread and butter — it's bread and butter 2.0, thanks to local sourdough and house-made dulse butter. 

Dulse, a seaweed that's harvested locally in Portland, is the key to Drifters Wife's surprising compound butter. For those who don't have access to Maine's coastline, don't fret — you can find dulse at Whole Foods and health food stores. 

The seaweed is dried, crumbled, and folded into softened butter, and adds a salty, almost bacon-like flavor. Best enjoyed on nothing but a slice of good sourdough, it's a simple snack that's far from ordinary. Beyond bread, it wouldn't be out of place tossed with pasta or roasted vegetables, either. Anywhere you want to add a kick of umami richness, this butter is ready and waiting for you. 

Get our favorite brand: Dulse Flakes from Maine 

Seaweed Butter 

Makes about 1 cup 

1/4 ounce dulse seaweed (about 1/3 cup, lightly packed)
2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch cubes and at room temperature

Slices of sourdough bread, for serving 

Arrange a rack in the middle of the oven and heat to 225°F. 

Spread the dulse out in a single layer on a baking sheet. Roast until dry and crisp, about 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes. Transfer to a food processor fitted with the blade attachment and process into fine, crumb-sized pieces, but not total dust. 

Add the butter and process until completely mixed in with the dulse, about 30 seconds, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. 

The dulse butter can be used immediately or placed in the refrigerator for a couple of hours to firm up a bit first. Enjoy it spread on slices of sourdough bread as an appetizer or snack. 

Recipe Notes 

Storage: Store leftover butter in the refrigerator in a covered dish or ramekin, or spooned onto plastic wrap or parchment paper and rolled into a log. When kept in the fridge, the butter is best when eaten within 1 week; it can also be stored in the freezer for up to 3 months. 

Where to find dulse: Dulse is a seaweed that looks a bit like red lettuce and grows in the wild, on the Pacific and Atlantic coastlines. It is available at health food stores and Whole Foods, as well as online. 

Lamb Chops and Lentils with Corn

This was a delicious dinner. The weather was warm on this spring day, so we decided to grill. We even got fresh Corn to throw on the bar-b-que. The Spiced Pineapple Lentils were perfect with the Grilled Lamb Chops. Who would have thought of adding Pineapple to Lentils? I wonder if there is any Indian recipe for Lentils and Pineapples? They have both in India. Cathy decided to add Diced Snap Peas to the Lentils. It added a great chewiness to them. Both of these recipes are excellent.

Spiced Pineapple Lentils

Mesa Mexicana

Milliken Feniger

Serves 4 to 6

3       tablespoons vegetable oil

2       onions, diced
1       teaspoon salt

1       teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

3       garlic cloves, crushed

2       cups lentils, washed and picked over

3       cups water

½      cup canned crushed pineapple

Heat the oil in a medium pot over moderate heat. Saute the onions with the salt and pepper until golden, about 10 minutes. Stir in the garlic and lentils and cook 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Pour in the water, bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook, covered, 45 minutes. Stir in the pineapple, remove from the heat and serve.

Grilled Lamb Chops

East Meets Southwest

Michael Fennelly

4       cloves garlic, chopped

1       teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary

¼      cup olive oil

½      cup bottled pomegranate juice

½      teaspoon kosher salt

½      teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

12     loin lamb chops, about 1-1/4 inches thick and french-cut

Fresh mint sprigs, for garnish

A northern California friend first told me about marinating lamb in pomegranate juice, and it continues to be my favorite way to prepare it.

Look for the pomegranate juice in Middle Eastern grocery stores and gourmet-foods shops.

In a medium-sized bowl, combine the garlic, rosemary, oil, pomegranate juice, salt, and pepper. Mix well. In a shallow, nonmetallic container, arrange the lamb chops. Pour pomegranate mixture over lamb and turn chops to coat evenly. Let stand for 3 hours at room temperature.

Remove lamb chops from marinade and place on grill over hot coals.

Grill until done as desired, about 4 minutes per side for medium rare.

Arrange on a heated plate with a small dish of chutney on the side.

Garnish with mint. Serve with mashed potatoes.

SERVES 4.