Shrimp Stir Fry

I've said it once, and I'll say it again, stir frys are awesome. They're fast, they're easy, and they're pretty much the most versatile thing one can cook. Throw in what you have and voila, you have an instant stir fry. I love this version a lot because it's very fresh with the crisp vegetables, and the sauce just pulls everything together. Thanks to the folks over at Aggie's Kitchen for this great recipe that I tweaked just a tad.

Ingredients:

1 lb. shrimp, peeled and deveined
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons canola oil
1 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated
1 broccoli head, chopped
1 onion, thinly sliced
1 can sliced water chestnuts
1 cup snap peas
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons corn starch
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
2 teaspoons chili garlic paste
1/4 teaspoon fish sauce

Combine the rice vinegar, soy sauce, chili paste, cornstarch, fish sauce, and sesame oil in a small bowl until well incorporated.

Heat a skillet under medium to high heat. Add the oil, garlic, and shrimp. Saute until shrimp are just pink, about 3 minutes. Take shrimp out of pan with a slotted spoon and set aside.

Add onion and broccoli to wok. Cook for about 2 minutes. Then add water chestnuts and snap peas. Cook for another 2 minutes. Add shrimp back in and stir in sauce. Let sauce thicken and mix well, maybe 5 more minutes. Really just cook it until the vegetables are to your desired doneness. Some like them crispy, some like them mushy. I like them somewhere in between. You can serve with rice or eat by itself. Enjoy!


This was absolutely great. Whipped up in minutes. It probably took more time prepping the vegetables and the shrimp and it did to actually have everything cooked and ready. Definitely a keeper recipe!

Chipotle Pork & Cheddar Quiche

This was my first time making a quiche, and considering it went over very well, it won't be my last. This was extraordinarily simple and delicious. Andy seemed to love it, seeing as he ate it for lunch the next day. This is unusual because he's an avid believer of not eating the same thing twice in a row (which I don't understand why you can't have things two days in a row, but to each his own). This was inspired by these mini quichelettes over at La Fuji Mama blog.

Ingredients:

1 & 1/4 cup flour
11 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
3 eggs
1 teaspoon salt, divided in half
1 lb. ground pork
1/2 teaspoon ground chipotle chili powder
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 teaspoon minced chives
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 teaspoon garlic powder
fresh ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

This crust was simple, but full of flavor. Just mix flour, butter, 1 egg, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt in bowl until mixture forms clumps. Then gather into a firm ball.


Line a greased pie dish with the crust mixture and press down until whole pan is covered. You should have just enough to cover the whole dish and the sides.


Heat a large skillet under medium high heat and cook your pork until no longer pink. Season with the chipotle chili powder, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Take off heat and set aside.

In a separate bowl, combine the remaining two eggs, heavy whipping cream, remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, and pepper. Beat by hand until well combined.

To assemble quiche, line bottom layer with ground pork (I had a good amount left over, but Andy used it as a garnish for his quiche pieces so it didn't go to waste). Then top with cheddar cheese and chives. And finally fill rest of quiche with the egg/cream mixture (you should have just enough to perfectly fill the dish).

Bake for about 30-40 minutes, until your crust is golden brown. Let rest for 10 minutes before slicing. Serve topped with extra cheese or leftover ground pork.


This was a great weeknight meal. I loved how every bite was simple and delicious. The quiche was creamy inside, but not runny. The pork just added a nice subtle depth of flavor and the crust was simple to die for. Enjoy!

Garlic Noodles w/ Chicken

All I can say is yum! These were perfectly done garlic noodles and thanks to White on Rice Couple for posting this recipe which they got from Steamy Kitchen's cookbook (there's a link on their page for the book, which I think I'm going to invest in soon!)

Ingredients:

1 box spaghetti noodles
2 large chicken breasts, cut into small cubes
3 tablespoons butter
6 leaves fresh basil, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1-3 teaspoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon oyster sauce

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add noodles. Cook until about al dente, roughly 7-9 minutes for spaghetti noodles. Strain the noodles and add back into pot. In a separate large skillet, melt butter under medium heat and add garlic. Saute garlic until fragrant, about a minute. Then add chicken and cook until white throughout. Remove chicken with slotted spoon and set aside.

Add brown sugar, soy sauce, and oyster sauce to skillet. Stir until brown sugar dissolves and then add chicken and noodles. Make sure to coat everything evenly with the sauce.

Remove from heat and stir in basil. Serve and eat up!

This was such a quick meal to prepare and tasted really like authentic garlic noodles. I highly recommend the cookbook it came from and will be snagging up a copy of my own soon! Enjoy!

Bangers N Beans

When I gave Andy his choices of what I was to make this past Sunday, he didn't sound thrilled with any of the choices whatsoever. I was for certain he was going to pick the ribs, but no ribs. I guess he didn't like the last time I made ribs (too much fennel in the rub overpowered the ribs, my own fault of course). So he reluctantly said the sausages and beans. I find myself using Cannelini beans a lot lately, and why not? They're full of nutrients and way cheap. Bon Appetit featured this recipe in it's October 2009 issue in a series of 10 rustic Italian recipes using the beans.

Ingredients:
adapted from Sausages w/ White Beans in Tomato Sauce from Bon Appetit Oct 2009

2 tablespoons olive oil
5 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
4-5 hot Italian sausages, cut in half
2 15 oz cans Cannelini beans
1 cup plus more of chicken stock
2-4 fresh sage leaves
1 15 oz. can whole tomatoes plus juice
1 cup elbow macaroni
salt and pepper to taste

The original recipe said to use whole dry beans and cook them in this flavorful broth. One problem... I couldn't find dry cannelini/kidney beans for the life of me. Maybe I wasn't looking hard enough, but I made do with what I COULD find and used the canned beans and made my own little simmering broth.

Combine the beans, chicken stock, 1 sage leave, and 1 crushed garlic clove (or more if you want). You want to make sure the stock covers the beans by at least 2/3. Then let that come to a boil and simmer on the stove for about 10-15 minutes. The longer you let it sit, the more the flavor will penetrate the beans, but if you let it sit too long, you end up with little or no liquid, so just watch it carefully and you be the judge.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large skillet and over medium heat add the garlic. Saute until slightly brown, about 1-2 minutes. Add the sausages and cook until browned, 5 minutes or so. Add 1/2 cup of the bean cooking liquid (or water), tomatoes, and the rest of the sage to the pan. Let simmer for about 5 minutes. Add the beans, along with the rest of the liquid (should be about a cup or so). Cover the pan with aluminum foil or a lid and let simmer under medium heat for about 30 minutes. About halfway through, about 15 minutes, add the elbow macaroni and cover again to resume simmering.

After the 30 minutes, uncover and you can keep simmering if you want the sauce to slightly thicken, or you can serve right away after adding salt and pepper to taste. I didn't simmer for any longer because I found that the macaroni absorbed a lot of liquid and in itself somewhat thickened the mixture.

Serve while hot and garnish with either sage leaves or parmesan cheese. Enjoy!

And once again, I prove Andy wrong. He found that the beans were quite flavorful and actually enjoyed the meal! What can I say...

Spice-Rubbed Duck W/ Roasted Grapes & Kale

I love me some duck. It's absolutely amazing to be how people can say that it's too fatty or game-y. The fat is where the flavor is people! Stop counting calories and taste the flavor!! That's what food is all about right??? Adapted this from a recipe I found in the Oct. 2009 issue of Bon Appetit.

Ingredients:

1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon fennel
3/4 teaspoon black peppercorns
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1 whole duck (or 4 small duck breasts)
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 garlic cloves peeled and smashed
1 bunch kale, thick center stems removed, and leaves roughly chopped
3/4 cup chicken broth
1 lb. red seedless grapes, stemmed

Now I didn't get off work in time to make it to the butcher's to get pre-cut duck breasts, so I had to buy a whole duckling from the grocery store. This was actually more cost efficient to me, as it was only $12 for the whole duck, as opposed to the $20 something I would pay for 4 nicely cut breasts. Yeah, I would only get 2 breasts out of the duckling, but I couldn't let the rest of that meat go to waste so I used both thighs and legs also. And it was my first time ever cutting a whole duck. It was kind of something amazing, but that's for another day, let's get to cooking...

Grind the first 5 ingredients in a coffee grinder or spice mill. I don't see the sense in buying an extra appliance when 1 appliance doubles as two, so I love my coffee grinder for that.

Score your duck, skin only of course, in a diamond pattern. Sprinkle spice blend all over duck and massage into the meat and skin, but not too rough. You're supposed to cover and chill overnight, but I did it in the morning and cooked the duck later in the evening, so I'd say as long as you give it about 5-8 hours, it's sufficient. Make sure you let the duck sit at room temperature for 1 hour before you start cooking though.

Place 1 rack of your oven in the top third and 1 rack in the bottom third. Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.

Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add your garlic and saute until starting to slightly brown, about 3 minutes or so. Add your kale, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and let it wilt a bit. Add the chicken broth and bring to a boil. Reduce your heat to low and cover. Cook until the kale is tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Then uncover your pot and increase the heat to high and cook until most of broth is evaporated, 2 to 3 minutes. Watch it carefully though because my kale almost burnt, but I keenly heard the first sizzle and quickly took it off the heat and added a tad bit of broth to save the day. Set the kale aside.

Heat a large ovenproof skillet over high heat. Add duck breasts, skin side down, and cook until skin is brown and fat is rendered, about 8 minutes. Then place duck, skin side up, on baking sheet and place in oven. For medium rare, roast about 8 to 10 minutes. If you want it more done, then cook longer. Tent the duck with foil after taking it out of the oven and let rest for 10 minutes before slicing.

In same skillet you used to brown duck, pour off all but 1 tablespoon of fat and add grapes. Roast in the oven until the skin starts to split, about 15 minutes.

Thinly slice your duck breasts, garnish with grapes, and serve alongside kale.


I made this duck the same day that we had out crazy cookoff with a bunch of our friends. We were still stuffed from lunch, but the duck was so worth it to eat, even when we really weren't that hungry. It left us feeling great inside and the duck was perfectly cooked. The grapes were a wonderful accompaniment and when you took a bite of the duck and the grapes at the same time, it was like a party in my mouth. Definitely a must try recipe for all the duck lovers out there! Enjoy!

Links 10-23-09

This week has been great. 6 course birthday dinner on tuesday was amazing. I couldn't ask for a better birthday. And... Andy got me an Immersion Blender which I've been wanting for FOREVER! I can't wait to use it. I'll probably make a soup or something here in the next few days so look out... Anyway, yeah, I said 6 course birthday dinner along with wine pairings. It was as follows:

1st course
Murphy Goode Sauvignon Blanc
Chilled Crab and Shrimp filled Crepe with a Blood Orange Gastrique Garnished with Crushed Macadamia Nuts

Second Course
Freemark Abby Napa Chardonnay
Butternut Squash and Apple Bisque topped with Mascarpone Cream

Intermezzo

Third Course
La Crema Monterey Pinot Noir
Fresh Baby Arugula tossed with Strawberries, Spiced Almonds and Roquefort Cheese Drizzled with a Strawberry Vinaigrette

Fourth Course
Matanzas Creek Bennett Valley Merlot
Roasted Quail served with Pancetta Fried Brussel Sprouts Finished with a Quince and Pomegranate Chutney

Fifth Course
Stonestreet Fifth Ridge
Peppercorn Encrusted Boneless Wagyu Short Rib served with Potato Hash, Roasted Cherry Tomatoes Topped with a Béarnaise Sauce

Sixth Course
Cambria Tepusquet Syrah
Chocolate Filled Donut with Blackberry Jam served with Coffee Ice Cream

Yeah, reason #34597 why Varanese is THE best restaurant in Louisville, in my personal opinion.

Anyway, on to the links...

Mike's Amazing Cakes - Ok... this guy has a chicken cake. Not a cake with chickens on it... but an actual chicken, as a cake. Ace of Cakes has nothing on this guy...

Chocolate Chip Cookies - How do you like your cookies? Thin and crispy? Light and fluffy? This page has the perfect cookie for you because all the types are listed on one convenient page!

Chicken Parmesan - Very great pictures and how-to on how to make an italian classic

Upside Down Apple Pie - This seriously has to be the best looking apple pie ever. I love this blog.

Falafels - I heart Falafels. These look delicious.

Alright well that wraps it up. I'm off all weekend, so it's going to be spent studying. Yay... and still waiting to hear back from my pharmacy school applications, although for some reason they didn't receive some things so I had to send them again... keeping the fingers crossed!!

Soy-Spiced Braised Pork Ribs

I have a confession. I was oh so excited about these ribs. It was a night where I had to work and I was just gonna let these babies braise in the slow-cooker all day and just be tender and fall off the bone meat. So didn't happen. I made the mistake of setting the temperature too low and it was like they sat in luke warm water all day. The flavor was there, the meat was cooked, it just wasn't what I had envisioned... but so it goes... as adapted from Foodies' Kitchen

Ingredients:

1/2 teaspoon star anise
1 cinnamon stick
1 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup sake
1/4 cup sherry wine
1/4 cup sugar
1 bay leaf
salt to taste
1 lb. pork ribs
1 to 2 cups water

Alright, I've got to start out by saying that the ribs were probably the meatiest ribs I've ever bought. I've never seen ribs with so much meat to bone ratio. With that said, let's get on with it...

Combine all ingredients, except ribs and water in slow cooker. Stir to dissolve sugar.

Add the ribs and add water until ribs are about 2/3 covered.

Crank slow cooker to high until mixture comes to a boil. Then simmer down at low for 8-9 hours. Don't make it too low like I did, or you'll just have lukewarm liquid around the ribs and they won't get tenderized properly.

And that's pretty much it. I did make a quick sauce out of the braising liquid though.

Take 1 cup of liquid and heat in small saucepan under high heat. Mix 1 tablespoon of corn starch with 1 tablespoon cold water. Add to saucepan and stir until thickened. Take off heat and season with salt and pepper to taste. Drizzle over the ribs.

Andy said the best part of the meal was the mac n cheese. It was the Annie's Mac N Cheese, which I personally think is the best boxed kind you can get. He said the ribs were good, he didn't care for the cinnamon spice in there, but he said they weren't bad. That's a nice way of him telling me I shouldn't make that again for a long time. But anyway... you win some and you lose some. And if you guys haven't signed up yet, sign up for the next Foodie Fights, where i'll be the judge since I won this last competition with cumin/pecan. Thanks to all that voted! Enjoy!