Summer Meal to Beat the Heat: Sausage and Peppers Sandwich, Burrata with Tomato, Grilled Nectarines

Menu:

Sausage and Pepper Sandwiches with Red Pepper and Basil Mayo

• Saute Sliced Onions + Red Bell Pepper + Yellow Bell Pepper + 2 cloves smashed garlic till softened (about 30 minutes)
• Grill 3 Sausages till warmed through (for 4 servings).  Slice on the diagonal
• Puree roasted red peppers, garlic, basil, combine with Mayo + Red Wine Vinegar + Salt & Pepper
• Toast Ciabatta Bread
• To build sandwich:  Spread Mayo, then spoon sausage and veggies

Heirloom Tomato Caprese with Burrata

• Slice tomatoes 1/3 inch thick.  Season with salt, pepper and olive oil.  Let marinade about 20 minutes
• Arrange tomatoes on platter and tuck burrata around the tomatoes
• Sprinkle basil and finish with more olive oil, salt and pepper and perhaps clear vinegar (I don’t like the cheese getting dark from balsamic)

Grilled Nectarines with Cinnamon Sugar or Herbed Balsamic Reduction

• For balsamic reduction: reduce 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar with chosen herb (rosemary or thyme) to about 4 tablespoons.  Add brown sugar and salt to taste
• Brush nectarine halves with oil, place cut-side down on grill set on high till cooked through and slightly soft
• Drizzle with the balsamic reduction or
  • Spoon mixture of melted butter, brown sugar and cinnamon. Place in grill to melt sugar
• Serve with ice cream and granola

Thai Chicken Rice

One of my favorite dishes to get from the hawker stalls when I visited my family in Penang! I don’t know why it has taken me so long to try it at home! The sauce is slightly different than what they make in Penang, but I sadly can’t remember what it taste like. This sauce is Thai-inspired. I had trouble finding the right soybean paste, but the thick Chinese version I found was pretty close. It just needed to be thinned out a bit.

Chicken and stock:

• 1/2 uncut chicken. Trim the fatty pockets and some skin to render for the rice
• 1/2 onion
• few springs of cilantro
• enough water to submerge the chicken, you may also use a bit of chicken broth
• salt

Place the chicken into the cold water, bring the water to a boil, then let simmer till the chicken is done (20 minutes). Remove the chicken and allow the broth to cool. Season to taste. Should be just lightly salted.

Sauce:

• 1 scoop of Chinese soybean paste or a few TBSPs of Thai soybean paste (Chinese version is more concentrated and saltier)
• small amounts of dark soy sauce and regular soy sauce
• sugar and vinegar to taste
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced and pounded
• 1″ knob of ginger, minced and pounded
• Red chilies, finely minced
• water to meet the right consistency

1. Start with the soybean paste and add water to create a thin sauce consistency (like soy sauce)
2. Gradually add the soy sauce and dark soy sauce. Use a light hand
3. Add sugar and vinegar to taste to get a good balance of both sweet and sour
4. Stir in the ginger and garlic and chileis

Rice

• 3 cups of Jasmine Rice, rinsed well. Could use a bit of Glutinous rice to improve the texture. The sweet rice needs to soak overnight)
• 2 TBSP minced garlic
• 2 TBSP minced ginger
• 3 TBSP rendered chicken fat (Take the fat and put in a cold pan with a little oil. Turn to medium low, careful not to burn or smoke the oil)
• Enough chicken stock for the rice cooker

1. In a wide bottomed skillet, fry the ginger and garlic in the chicken fat on medium. Do not brown. Cook for about 2 minutes.
2. Add the rice, turn up the heat and fry for about 2 minutes.
3. Pop the rice into the rice cooker and fill with chicken stock up till the line for 3 cups of rice.

Serving:

Plate a bit of rice on a plate. Top the rice with sliced chicken. Serve the sauce on the side. Te left over stock can be served with the dish as well.

gai yang

B and I went out for Thai food last Thursday. I ordered the quintessential Thai BBQ chicken, gai yang and developed the urge to try to make this dish I have when I was a kid at home after the restaurant served a different version….it just didn’t hit the spot.

I called my mom to get an ingredient list. The recipe belongs to a family friend who grew up with my dad. My mom gave me a few pointers, highlighting that galanga is a very important ingredient and to keep the grill low to avoid burning the sugars in the marinade. The results were very rewarding and everyone’s tummies were happy!

Ingredients:
8 pieces of chicken
2 t curry powder
1 inch chunk of ginger, minced
6 cloves of garlic, minced
stems from 1 bunch of clantro, minced
3 T lemongrass, minced
2 t palm sugar
5 T fish sauce
a bit of soy sauce
pinch if salt to taste
white/black pepper
about 1/2 can of coconut milk

Pound herbs with mortar and pestle
Add all ingredients to a bowl. Season to taste
Add chicken and marinade for a few hours

Grill on medium, and turn to low. Another method to try is to turn have the burners on medium (350F), and grill over indirect heat till cook through.

Serve with rice (sticky rice preferred)

lemongrass pork chops

Ingredients:
4 pork chops
1 1/2 T fish sauce
1 1/2 T dark soy sauce
2 T brown sugar
1T garlic
1/2 small onion
3 T lemongrass

Put sauce through food processor and marinate meat. Grill. Serve with lettuce, cucumber, prepared fish sauce, onion oil and broken rice

Curried Pork and Wok Tossed Spinach

• Pork Curry Paste
• Kaffir Leaf, fine chiffonade
• Fish Sauce
• Spinach

Slice pork into bite sized pieces Marinade pork in Fish Sauce Heat pan and fry curry paste till fragrant Add pork and sear. Add kaffir leaf Cook till pork is done Add fish sauce to taste Serve over wok-tossed spinach

Easy Weeknight Steak

• Steak
• Oyster Sauce
• Salt
• Pepper

Generously salt and pepper both sides of steaks. Brush with oyster sauce. Let sit at room temp for at least 30 minutes if possible. Sear on high in cast iron skillet for 4 minutes, without moving Turn over and continue to cook abour 5 minutes for medium. YUM!

Braised Short Ribs and Papardelle

Made this for the family when my parents were in town. Boneless ribs have less fat, but doesn’t add the gelatin that the bones provide, but I don’t really miss it. Alow plenty of time to slow cook and to cool sauce to skim the fat. I love the mushroom flavor which is intensified by browning the mushrooms separately and adding to the dish at the end.

Short Ribs:
2.5 lbs boneless short ribs
1 bottle red wine
3-4 carrots, in 1.5 inch chunks
3 shallots, sliced
1 large onion diced
3 leeks, thinly sliced
5 sprigs parley
fresh thyme
2 bay leaves
3 cloves garlic, smashed
1/2 tsp peppercorns (in cheesecloth if possible)
few cups of beef stock
0.5 lb mushrooms

Remove short ribs from fridge and season with salt and pepper. Let stand
Combine wine with all of the vegetable and seasoning except the mushrooms. Simmer until reduced to about 1 cup.

Right before browning, coat short ribs with flour. Brown in a separate pan on all sides. Add to the wine reduction. Add additional stock, salt and pepper.

Place in 350 degree over for about 3 hours, partially uncovered, till meat if fork tender. Let cool, then skim fat from top.

Using the pan used to brown the meat, sautee the mushrooms and set aside.

Prior to serving, bring sauce to a simmer and boil the papardelle. Combine pasta and sauce into pan used to brown meat and musrooms. Top with parsley and parmesan.