Chicken Chow Mein

Gam’s Hey Fat Choi
Lately, I’ve had Chinese food on the brain. The reason is obvious—it happens every year at the start of Chinese New Year.

In honor of the Year of The Ram, and because my family likes it, I have been cooking more meals with an Asian flavor. I’ve never been that good an Asian cook, but I think I’m getting better. I made a Bok Choy Stir Fry the other night and managed to not burn the garlic.

My grandmother, a.k.a. Gam, was my Chinese Food Ambassador when I was a kid. She loved Chinese food but she rarely ordered take out. She usually made it herself. She had a collection of Chinese Cookbooks and old pages from Chinese cooking classes that she had taken over the years. When she passed away, I inherited them. (Okay. inherited might be a strong word. I packed them in a box with her wok, clay pot, bamboo steamer and chop sticks and got them to my house before my sister figured out what was happening. She got the purple water goblets. We’re even.)

I have clear memories from my childhood of Gam, and her wok, and her super-long chopsticks that she always used—whether she was cooking Chinese or not. Because Gam taught my sister and me to cook with her chopsticks, I can eat at a Chinese restaurant without fear of looking like a fool…or worse, asking for a fork. (Gasp!)

In honor of the New Year and Gam’s love of the cuisine, I give you Gam’s recipe for Chicken Chow Mein from her cookbook called Chopsticks, Cleaver and Wok by Jennie Low. You can make this recipe with pan fried noodles (Hong Kong Style) or fresh cooked Chow Mein noodles. The crispy version is listed here but it’s easy to swap for the softer version. (Just don’t pan fry the noodles.) I have also listed Gam’s notes from the pages so you can see her interpretation.

Chicken Chow Mein (Gai Chow Mein)
From Chopsticks, Cleaver and Wok by Jennie Low
Serves 6 Read more…

Mushroom and Shallot Quiche

Quiche Me

This weekend is our cookbook club dinner and I can’t wait. It seems like forever since we did the last one.

This time we are cooking from one of my new favorite cookbooks, Around My French Table by Dorie Greenspan. It is an entire cookbook of French comfort food. Or maybe it’s just MY idea of comfort food (mmmm…butter). The recipes are relatively easy, the food is uncomplicated, and the flavors are fabulous. It’s basically the kind of food you would expect if you were invited for dinner at a friend’s home—in Provençe. May we all be so lucky.

I have made a number of recipes from this book, and have never come across a bad one. One of my all time favorites is Pumpkin Stuffed with Everything Good which I love and have written about about in September of 2012.

Because the girls have been busy lately, I have decided to make the Mushroom and Shallot Quiche ‘cause I need to use up my eggs. I have always enjoyed a good quiche. They are pretty, easy to make, and a quiche is a great way to make use of the random veggies in your fridge. Paired with a tossed salad, and perhaps a glass of wine, and you have a tasty, très French lunch.

Mushroom and Shallot Quiche
Adapted from Epicurious
Around My French Table by Dorie Greenspan Read more…

Roasted Cauliflower & Hazelnut Salad

I’m So Fancy.
Last week was the Fancy Food Show at Moscone Center in San Francisco. It’s a long day, and I usually end up with a stomach ache by the end. At no other time is it appropriate, let alone encouraged, to try the Salmon Jerky one minute, and wash it down with a coffee soda the next. (By the way, not a fan of the coffee soda.) Add the endless array of kale products and…you get my drift.

Despite the wacky mélange of fine foods, it’s a lot of fun. Plus there are the foods I never pass up because chances are I won’t get to taste them anytime soon. Legitimate Iberico Ham from Spain? 50 year old? (Yes. You read that right) Balsamic Vinegar? Real French Cheese? I’m talking the gooey stinky stuff that will change your life. Then there’s the Wagyu Beef! (O.M.G! The Wagyu Beef!)

The real point of this gastric free-for-all is to learn what is new and trendy, and what we will see on the market shelves in the coming year. That said, here are my takeaways from this year’s Fancy Food Show:

1. Power to the Veggies
Kale is still king, but it now has competition in the form of broccoli, cauliflower and sweet potatoes among other vitamin-packed vegetables. Everywhere I looked there was a different snack item proclaiming it’s particular health benefit. And Chickpeas! They’re everywhere.

2. Caramel is Taking Over
There will always be plenty of candy at the show. That’s just the nature of the beast. In years past chocolate, in any form, dominated. This year, I was surprised to see that while there was plenty of chocolate, there were caramels in every form and flavor including some infused with a variety of hot and trendy spices. (It’s all about the turmeric, y’all.)

3. There’s Something About Mary
Mixology is still the rage, and walking down the aisles there were plenty of options to liven up your cocktail party. Most interesting was how many booths were either offering you a bloody mary or at the very least inviting you to try their bloody mary mix. Others were pairing bloody marys with the beef jerky they were actually there to sell. (Which is a whole other craziness…Jerky everywhere.) Of course, the bloody mary could be another manifestation of the power veggie movement that happens to involve Vodka. I am okay with that.

4. Here for the Pate
Many vendors and attendees were thrilled about the ban on fois gras being struck down by the courts, and they showed it by handing fois gras out to everyone. I was happy to be right in the middle of it. Watch the shelves for some really great pates in the coming months as vendors ramp up their offerings.

5. Doing Things Right
One thing that was blatantly obvious this year is the number of vendors who are very concerned with making sure that if they are going to make something, they make it the way it should be made…almost to the point of obsession. These producers aren’t making products just because they can. They are making them because they really care about producing food for people that is the purest form of the product. For example, Italian pestos that are created in the same manner that it has been made for hundreds of years. Bottled lemon juice that literally tastes like you bit into a lemon because they take the time to add lemon oil to a specially constructed bottle. All throughout the show, there were vendors like this who were passionate about what they produce. I was inspired.

I have to say that this year was the first time in a while that I walked away from the Fancy Food show excited. It was not the same old stuff, only re-packaged. We found a number of products that we are excited about, so be on the lookout for new things in the aisles. And, of course, we’ll let you know about them.

In the meantime, jump on the veggie bandwagon and try the recipe below. It’s a great way to get your vitamins and liven up your winter palate.

Roasted Cauliflower and Hazelnut Salad
Adapted from Yotam Ottolenghi

Cauliflower, raw or lightly cooked, is a useful salad ingredient, above all in winter when there isn’t a great variety of fresh vegetables available. It soaks up flavors particularly effectively and benefits from anything sweet and sharp. This Roasted Cauliflower and Hazelnut Salad is inspired by a recipe from a brilliant Australian chef and food writer, Karen Martini. Read more…

Bachelor Beef Stew

The Comfort of January

January, for me, is a slow month. The chaos of the holidays is over. There is usually a lull in youth sporting activities—though this year the boys are trying basketball. And there just isn’t that much going on, which means I get a bit lazy.

This time is all about the crock pot. My issue is that I get tired of the same old same old. Pot roast is great…occasionally. You can only do so much chili and pulled pork before you lose your sanity (and your waistline). So I have been looking for new recipes to try that are good but also fall into that comfort food category and, don’t require a lot of prep so I can throw them in the pot in the morning.

Most crock pot recipes are heavy on the beef mainly because you can use the tougher cuts that break down over long periods of cooking and are melt in your mouth good at the end. This one uses steak tips which make it even easier for those days when you’re really lazy since you don’t even have to cut it. The use of the microwave might seem weird but it works. Just try it next time you’re on the couch with a book and don’t want to move much.

Bachelor Beef Stew
Recipe adapted from Slow Cooker Revolution
by Americas Test Kitchen Read more…