Tips & Tricks

For anyone that spends as much time in the kitchen as I do, you're welcome.

Mother's Dumplings

Over the past month I've become slightly obsessed with dumplings. I've always loved them, and if put in front of me, I would never leave one to not join the rest of his friends, but now I think I've taken it to another level. Last week I went to our new local Asian Supermarket and got all the fixin's for several types of dumplings. Rice flour, wheat starch, tapioca starch, shaoxing wine, ground pork, shrimp and the list goes on.... but before I got my hands dirty I had to do some research first!

It was a beautiful, sunny afternoon for Mother's Dumplings!

We ordered the kimchi to start which was fresh and had a slight sweetness to it which was a nice change to other japanese style kimchi's we were used to.

Then on to some boiled pork and dill dumplings which were loaded with dill! These were light and tasty, everything you would ever want in a dumpling.

Finally we had a couple of beef buns and an order of steamed shrimp, egg and chive dumplings. Everything we ordered gave me the inspiration I needed to start my own dumpling factory at home.

Stay tuned for my homemade attempts...

Homemade Vietnamese

I've always had weakness for the Vietnamese cuisine.  There's something about the combination of sweet, savoury and spicy flavours but with that, still light and refreshing, that has an addictive quality. These three recipes are definite staples in any  Vietnamese restaurant and turned out ridiculously tasty at home too! 

Bun Bo! ( Beef and Vermicelli Bowl )

Ingredients

Vermicelli noodles

Beef ( any way you like it, I chose cubed tenderloin pieces )

1/4 cup minced lemongrass 

1/4 cup sugar

2 tbsp fish sauce

1 tbsp ground pepper

2-3 cloves garlic, minced

2-3 shallots, minced

3 tbsp sesame oil

1 tbsp dark soy sauce

To dress bowl:

Thai Basil, cilantro, cucumbers, beansprouts, peanuts, scallions, carrots, nuoc mam cham

Directions

Place vermicelli in boiling water for about 6-8 min, stirring regularly so it won’t stick to the bottom of the pot. The noodles should be still slightly firm but easily break apart. Drain and flush with cold water to stop cooking process. Combine remaining ingredients in a bowl with beef to marinate for a minimum of 1 hour.  Pan fry beef with excess sauce until cooked to your liking. In a large bowl, combine vermicelli with grilled beef, fresh thai basil, cilantro, cucumbers, beansprouts, crushed roasted peanuts, fried scallions, carrots and dress with nuoc mam cham.

Nuoc Mam Cham ( Dipping Sauce )

Ingredients

1/2 cup of warm water

1 tbsp rice vinegar 

2 tbsp fresh squeezed lime juice (about 2 limes)

2 tbsp sugar

1 hot thai chile 

3 cloves of garlic

1/8 cup fish sauce

Directions

Mix warm water and sugar together until sugar is dissolved. Add lime juice, vinegar, minced garlic and chilies. Finally, add the fish sauce and stir. For a deeper red color, add some chile garlic sauce. You can also add pickled carrots and daikon into the nuoc mam cham for a more authentic taste.

Cha Gio ( Spring Rolls )

Ingredients

1 lb ground pork
1 medium carrot, shredded
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1/2 cup wood ear mushroom, soaked
1 cup bean thread noodle, soaked and cut
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground pepper
1 package rice paper

Directions

Mix all ingredients together in a large mixing bowl. Any type of ground meat can be substituted or combined such as chicken or turkey or pork and shrimp.

Place about 2 tbsp of filling onto the edge of your wrapper and roll up the sides. Fry in small batches at 350 degrees until golden brown. Place on a plate with paper towel to get rid of excess oil.

Note: Rice paper will never brown as nice as wheat based paper. If using rice paper, fry only a few at a time, do not let rolls touch each other or they will stick together.

Paprikash!

Growing up in a arab/hungarian home, you can imagine the diverse meals that made appearances at the dinner table. Humous and labneh were always staples in our fridge and goulash or chicken paprikash were standard. I wanted to attempt to make paprikash like my mama used to, so I convinced her to share the family recipe. The only ingredient I didn't add was the sour cream to keep things a bit lighter. It turned out delicious and I've even had requests from Mr. Campbell for a repeat performance.

Ingredients

Chicken thighs or drumsticks

1 1/2 tsp hungarian paprika 

1/2 cup chicken broth

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

2-3 tablespoons of butter

1 large onion

garlic

salt

pepper

Gnocchi ( or nokedli, hungarian dumplings, if you're feeling ambitious )

Directions

1. In medium sauce pan saute onions and butter over medium heat.

2. Rub garlic halves over chicken, then sprinkle chicken with paprika, salt and pepper.

3. Add chicken pieces to pan and brown, turning occasionally, until golden, about 6 minutes. 

4. Add stock and bring to simmer, scraping up browned bits from bottom of pan and cook on low until chicken is tender and sauce is thickened.

5. Serve over gnocchi or nokedli with a side of red cabbage.

Mama and I

Some Pesto and my Pooch

We've been so busy these past few weeks getting everything together for the big move to Toronto that my creative cooking flow has come to a halt temporarily. I did however slap together some fresh pesto the other night as a quick fix for my addiction. We used this on spagetti with salmon one night and as a base for pizza the next. It kept for about 5 days in the fridge.

Homemade Pesto

3 large garlic cloves
3 cups loosely packed fresh basil
1/2 cup pine nuts
2/3 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano, coarsely grated
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

Directions

1. In a food processor or blender, finely chop garlic cloves.
2. Add basil, nuts, cheese, salt and pepper, then process until finely chopped.
3. With motor running, add oil, blending until incorporated. If pesto seems dry, add more olive oil, 1 tbsp at a time.

Also, here is a cameo photo of my pooch Nemo who I will miss dearly when we move ( not to be mistaken for one of my recipes, he is just a guest star on Cheese Please ).  Nemo is the best puppy anyone could ever ask for and Mama and Papa Sawaf will take very good care of him. He watches me cook from time to time and is quite the vacuum cleaner for rogue morsels. 

The San Francisco Treat!

I don't think anyone knows why Rice-a-Roni is dubbed "The San Francisco Treat", where crab and clam chowder clearly take that title in my mind. We took a short pit stop in San Fran this weekend on the way to Napa for a wedding. I had two things on my "to eat" check list: garlic crab and Boudin's clam chowder in a bread bowl. We only had 6 hours to span the length of as many piers our little legs would take us. Our first midday stop was Pier 39 where we bee lined to Boudin. Having not had nourishment in our stomachs since 6am that morning, I couldn't think of anything more satisfying than a tummy full of warm, creamy clam goodness surrounded by fresh baked sourdough bread.  Adam had never had said bowl o' goodness before and was pleasantly surprised. After lunch we walked over to Fisherman's Wharf where the HQ bakery is located and found an alligator made of bread! A day of walking around that city definitely burned off any Boudin calories accumulated at lunch. For dinner we found a cute little seafood spot and got our crustacean on with garlic crab and mussels in a red curry coconut broth. We'll be back, if not for the rice-a-roni, then definitely for the seafood.

http://www.boudinbakery.com/

Tenderoni and Cheese

Once in a blue moon I crave a big bowl of dairy and carbs. Who am I kidding, more like once a week, but whose counting? I know the simple solution to this would be a blue box full of chemicals and the humbling of my tastebuds, but I typically choose the road less travelled and this time devoted an entire episode of Sons of Anarchy to homemade mac and cheese.

Ingredients

• 8 oz. macaroni or other pasta (I used whole wheat rotini)
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1 garlic clove minced
• half of a white onion diced
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon paprika plus more for sprinkling on top
• 2 1/2 cups 2% milk
• 3 cups grated medium cheddar cheese and gruyere
• spinach, ham (or anything you would like to add!)

Directions

1. Boil the pasta until al dente, according to package directions. Drain and rinse with cool water to stop the cooking, and return to the pan you boiled it in. Set aside. (toss with EVOO to keep the noodles from sticking if it’s going to be awhile before you make the sauce)
2. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
3. Over medium heat, melt the butter garlic and onion.
4. Add the flour, salt, dry mustard, pepper, and 1/8 teaspoon smoked paprika. Stir constantly over medium heat for about three minutes to start a roux.
5. Stir in the milk.
6. Keeping on medium heat, whisk constantly for about 10 minutes, until the sauce thickens.
7. Remove from heat, and stir in 2 cups of the cheese, stirring until melted.
8. Pour the cheese sauce over the noodles and toss gently until all noodles are covered.
9. Add half the noodles to a baking dish.
10. Sprinkle on half the cheese.
11. Add the rest of the noodles.
12. Sprinkle on the rest of the cheese, and dust lightly with the smoked paprika.
13. Bake for about 25-30 minutes, until it starts getting a slightly dry and a tiny bit brown on top.
14. Consume then nap.

Yield: 5-6 servings

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