The Best Minestrone Soup!

This recipe is courtesy of the Williams-Sonoma Cooking at Home Cookbook. However, as usual, I changed the original recipe quite a bit. Haha. This soup is excellent at any time of the year, but I feel like it's best in the Fall and Winter-time. It warms your bones ever so much, but you don't get that feeling of being overstuffed with the fat from a heavy soup. I am all for heavy soups, don't get me wrong, but this one is great for a healthier option. Plus, who doesn't love a classic Italian soup like this?

The Recipe:

3/4 -1 cup canned cannellini beans
1 yellow onion
1 garlic clove
1 large carrot
1 big handful of shredded cabbage (I bought pre-bagged shredded cabbage)
2-3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
1 cup chicken broth or stock
4 cups Vegetable stock
1 14oz can Italian seasoned diced tomatoes
1 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 cup dry ditalini or small pasta
2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
1 medium handful fresh parsley
salt and pepper

Grated Parmesan Cheese for topping

The Procedure:

1. First, finely chop the onion and garlic and set aside.
2. Warm the olive oil in a large deep pot (stock pot)
3. Saute the onion and garlic for a few minutes, until translucent. Meanwhile, finely chop the carrot and set your handful of shredded cabbage aside.
4. Add the chicken broth/stock and vegetable stock into the pot.
5. Add the canned diced tomatoes.
6. Add the carrots, cabbage, dried basil, oregano, sugar, bay leaf and fresh (chopped)parsley
7. Cover the soup partially and simmer until the vegetables are tender-soft(25-30 mins).
8. Add the dried pasta, cannellini beans, balsamic vinegar, and salt and pepper (quite a lot salt).
10. Simmer for another 15 minutes or so. This will cook the pasta and allow flavors to fully infuse into the soup.
11. Ladle into bowls and top with a good hunk of grated parmesan cheese and some parsley to give it a pop of color.
12. Enjoy!

Grad School

Hey folks!

Sorry for the delay in posts! I just got into Grad School and now have some time to write on here again using my new kitchen. :D

-Beth

Thanksgiving Sides Cooking Class!

Chef Brad and I taught a fabulous cooking class at Williams-Sonoma. We cooked a variety of dishes focusing on Thanksgiving sides and everything turned out great! We also had a wonderful audience. Thank you to everyone that attended. We hope to see you at future classes. Check out the dishes we made! I will post the recipes as well.

Moroccan Couscous Salad

One morning, I woke up from a strange dream about going to Epcot Center in Disneyworld Orlando, FL. Whenever I think of Epcot, I always think of food because you get an opportunity "eat around the world" so to speak. Basically you can eat Japanese, Mexican, and German food in the same day. Who would have thought? I particularly remember how much I loved the food in "Moroccan world", especially their couscous salad. For those who do not know what couscous is, it is a Middle Eastern dish using a type of wheat called Semolina. Couscous is a staple food in Morroco and comes as tiny round, pasta-like granules. After the dream, I went searching for a recipe that was close to the one I had at Epcot, and was successful! I mean, I would drive to Orlando to get it, but its 2 hours away, I'd have to buy a ticket into the park, then pay for gas, and probably have to stop and ride the troll ride in Norway.... This is just easier lol. I was pleasantly surprised to find that this dish turned out to be so similar to the one at the park and was absolutely delicious. So without further adieu, here is the recipe!

The recipe:

Moroccan Couscous Salad

1/3 red onion

1 clove garlic

Some red bell pepper (about a half)

Some green bell pepper (about a half)

Pinch of nutmeg

Pinch of cinnamon

1/2 cup Regular olive oil plus a little for sauteing

1/4 cup raisins (optional)

1/3 cup chickpeas

1/2 cup orange juice

Instant couscous ( I would suggest using about 1 cup)

Some fresh parsely

water

salt and pepper

The procedure:

Before you do anything, cook your instant couscous in a small pot with the directions on the back of the box. It is important to take the couscous off the heat after the water comes to a slight boil. Then you just let is sit with the couscous and after about 5 minutes, Baddabing! you have couscous ready to go .

1 Chop red onion, red pepper, green pepper, put into a bowl and set aside.

2. Chop garlic finely and set aside

3. Heat a little olive oil in your pan and saute onion and peppers until translucent on medium-high heat.

4. Add garlic and saute for a 1-2 minutes.

3. Add cinnamon and nutmeg. This is really to your own taste. I added just a pinch of each.

4. Lower heat to medium. Add the 1/2 cup of olive oil, the raisins, chickpeas, orange juice, salt and pepper. Let this cook through and reduce slightly to intensify the citrus flavor. If heat is too high, you may lower it to your desire.

5. In a large mixing bowl, combine the couscous with the pan mixture.

6. Chop the fresh parsely and add it to the bowl.

7. Mix thoroughly to coat the couscous.

8. Finally, refrigerate the couscous. To me, it's best eaten cold, but its still delicious warm.

9. Enjoy!

Notice how wonderful your kitchen smells from everything sauteing together? A little hint of cinnamon. A little hint of orange. I little hint of pepper. The unlikely combination of flavors creates a Middle Eastern masterpiece that is slightly sweet and fresh. Hope you all like it. Leave me some comments!

Chicken Fried Rice

Chicken Fried Rice

For people who enjoy "Asian American Food", fried rice is a must! We have all had it at one point, but I sat down and asked myself a very important question. How can I make fried rice at home and still make it taste like it came right out of Benihana's or the Chinese takeout place down the street? After a little research, I found multiple recipes that claimed to have the best recipe for fried rice. So, naturally, I combined them all to make my own version! Its amazingly simple to cook and has WOW results.

The Recipe:

Serves 3

2-3 Cups White Rice, *cook your rice beforehand and put it in the fridge for a half hour to chill. This is the SECRET to making good fried rice.

3 Eggs

Few stalks of Green Onion

1 small Yellow Onion

1-2 Carrots

4 Cloves of Garlic (or more, depends upon how garlicy you like it!)

2 Chicken breasts (boiled, grilled, roasted, what have you)

Few Tablespoons of Butter

Soy Sauce

Sesame Seeds

Vegetable Oil

Cooking Spray

Salt

Pepper

The Procedure:

1. Cook rice ahead of time and chill in fridge for half hour. (steamed or boiled instant rice is fine)

2. Whisk eggs together in a bowl until blended

3. Spray cooking spray into a frying pan and set heat to medium/medium-high.

4. Add whisked eggs to pan. Let cook through and fold over to make an omelet. Flip a couple of times to ensure even cooking. Remove omelet to a plate and set aside.

5. Mince yellow and green onion, garlic, and carrots. Cut egg in very small pieces as well.

6. In large skillet over medium/ medium-high heat, pour in a couple Tablespoons of vegetable oil.

7.Saute yellow and green onions, carrots, and garlic until translucent and fragrant.

8. Add your cooked rice and eggs to the skillet and make sure to mix thoroughly.

9. Add as much soy sauce as you like. I put a fairly good amount in until rice looks light brown.

10. Add Butter and let melt through. I usually make a little hole in the center of the rice to help the melting process.

11. Add sesame seeds and mix.

10. Let rice cook for 5-10 minutes over medium heat. The best technique is to flatten the rice in the skillet, let saute for a few minutes, then mix, flatten rice again, and cook for a another few minutes until desired doneness.

11. Top with extra sesame seeds and green onions for a beautiful look and fresh tasting garnish.

12. Enjoy!

I tasted this, and I think the garlic and green onion really make the dish. To me, it tastes right of Benihana's, who are well known for their fried rice.

Hope you like it, and let me know your thoughts!

Spicy Caramelized Shrimp with Lemongrass, Ginger, and Chiles

Spicy Caramelized Shrimp with Lemongrass and Ginger

I made this fantastic recipe with Chef Brad for our latest Sous Chef Series Class at Williams-Sonoma. The original version comes from a recipe at the Slanted Door restaurant along San Francisco Bay in California, which serves gourmet Vietnamese fusion dishes. However, Brad and I put our own twist on it, as we do with most recipes.

We went to a few good Asian markets around town to get the ingredients, which was an adventure in itself! In one of the markets, the owner even had to go into her secret freezer in the back of the store to retrieve the Thai chiles that we needed. Those suckers are hot! For shrimp lovers, this dish is fragrant and flavorful. The lemongrass, ginger, and garlic soften in the pan and diffuse through the shrimp and caramelized sauce making your kitchen smell unbelievable.

For the ingredients in which you may have to go to an Asian market to buy, I've made a small list for you to make it easy.

1. Thai chiles- these are small and come in yellow, orange, green, or red. The recipe calls for only 2-3 of them, but they definitely give the dish a kick.

2. Lemongrass- long, firm, grassy-like stalk (green at top, white on bottom)

3. Palm Sugar- this comes in a small plastic jar or it can come solid (breaks apart).
4. Fish sauce- probably one of the worst concoctions you will ever smell. Trust me I know it is intimidating,but this ingredient is very common in Asian cooking and chances are, you have had it before! When all is said and done, it really helps the dish come together.


5. Ginger- I am pretty sure you can find ginger at any local grocery. However, just in case, Asian markets always have an abundance of it.

The Recipe:

Makes about 4 servings

20 Medium-Large Shrimp, peeled and devained
1 pound Palm Sugar
3/4 cup Fish Sauce
2-3 Tablespoons Vegetable Oil
1 Tablespoon Soy Sauce
2 Shallots
2-3 Thai Chiles
1/4 cup Lemongrass
2-3 Garlic cloves
1 Hunk of Ginger (maybe 2-3 Tablespoons worth. You will cut julienne the ginger)
1/4 cup chicken stock

Steamed White Rice to serve on the side

The Procedure:

Before completing anything, cook your rice AND have it warmed and ready at the end for serving.

1. Whack lemongrass with something heavy like a rolling pin or large book to make it easy to chop. Then slice lemongrass into rings (as you would a green onion) starting from the white bottom portion. Discard the first few chops until you reach the fleshy part. The fleshy part is what you want. Set aside when you collect approx. 1/4 cup.

2. Chop ginger into matchsticks, mince garlic, and slice shallots thin. Set aside.

3. Spoon palm sugar into medium sauce pan and let melt until bubbling.

4. Add fish sauce and stir thoroughly until it comes to a boil.

5. Take off heat and set aside.

6. In large skillet, heat vegetable oil over medium heat.

7. Add shallots and chiles and let saute for 1 minute

8. Add lemongrass, ginger, and garlic and cook for another minute or two

9. Add chicken stock, soy sauce, and as much caramelized sauce as you like (I used about 1/3 cup)

10. Add shrimp, toss to coat, and let cook through for about 5 minutes or until plump and pink.

11. Serve immediately over white rice

12. Enjoy!

Note: You will have quite a bit of the caramelized fish sauce/palm sugar mixture left over. If you want to cut down the fish sauce and palm sugar when cooking it, then feel free to do so.

Dumpling Day!

While working on my last entry in the blog, I received a phone call from one of the waitresses at a Japanese Hibachi restaurant that my family and I have attended for about 17 years. She had heard of my San Francisco Dim Sum adventure in Chinatown and how I was slightly disappointed in the dumplings I had tried. She claimed be a great cook with authentic Chinese recipes, particularly when making Dim Sum dumplings. So, she invited me over for a taste! Of course I was eager to drive over. Dumplings? Homemade? Heck yea!

The dumplings were fantastic and better than anything that I had in Chinatown. She had made pork and vegetable potstickers made with a Chinese leek that you can only purchase at Asian markets. She also made fluffy pork and mushroom buns using...surprisingly...Pillsbury biscuit dough! These were my favorite. Like biting into little clouds on the outside and savory Asian porkness on the inside. Everything was delicious. She also made her own dumpling dipping sauce, spicy chili sauce, and her own beef jerky (all fabulous).

So generous and kind, Cathy fed me dumplings until I was bursting at the seams! The foodie lesson learned that day? You don't always have to go far to get great, authentic cultural food.

Here are the pictures from that day: