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

Steamboat Dipping Sauce

Every family has their own expectations of what steamboat should be, right down to the name.  Mom always called it steamboat, but most people I know call it hot pot.  This past month, we had four hot pot meals with different families, including my own.  I came to realize and appreciate how each family had their own 'recipe' and method for hot pot.  
For me, the way steamboat should go is to start with plain water, although many others start with seasoned broth.  Add the meats and seafood in to start seasoning the broth.  We coat many of the meats with raw egg or soy sauce to enhance the broth.  
In regards to ingredients, my mom always hand-sliced all the meats, and although very popular among most other hot pot tables, we did not have the assortment of fish/meat balls, probably because we lived far from an Asian market.  Nowadays, we get the meat pre-sliced shabu-shabu style, and our feast also includes meat/fish balls.  Vegetables were almost an after thought in our house, but it was always napa cabbage.  My friend, though, searched multiple stores to find a particular vegetable that she considered to be the quintessential green for the occasion.  My family saved noodles for last to enjoy with the broth we made; a stone soup of sorts.  I have yet to see another family do that.  I recall eating glass noodles as a kid, perfect for a delicate broth, but now I enjoy wheat noodles.  Udon noodles also seem to be popular in other families.
Another highly contended variation is the dipping sauce.  Many people I know go to the trusty Taiwanese BBQ sauce, something I had never tasted until having hot pot with my in-laws.  It's delicious, but I still prefer what I grew up with, of course.  It is a variations of a family friend. He was a friend of my paternal grandfather, who I've seen as a  kid while visiting Bangkok in the early 90's.  It was quite well known from what I remember my mom telling me at the time.

Must haves at steamboat: Egg and soy sauce coated Chicken and Beef, Shrimp, Squid, Sliced Fish, Glass noodles, Napa cabbage, Tofu

Dipping Sauce:

• Preserved tofu with chili
• Lemon or Lime juice
• Sugar
• Cilantro
• Garlic Oil (1 head of garlic, minced, then gently heated in about 3/4 cup of oil until golden brown. Be careful with the heat, it will continue cooking after the heat is removed)
• Chili or chili sauce
• Crushed peanuts

• In a small saucepan, heat the tofu and stir, mashing the tofu into a paste.
• Add sugar to taste.
• Take off the heat and squeeze in lemon juice.
• Add a little water to thin out the sauce.
• Stir in chopped cilantro and chili.
• Spoon on garlic oil. Top with crushed peanuts and more cilantro.

Pork Satay and Peanut Sauce

SATAY MARINADE

• 2 pound country spareribs cut into  thin strips
• about 6 oz coconut milk
• 1 tablespoon red curry paste
• 1 tablespoon fish sauce
• few stalks lemongrass, smashed
• half bunch cilantro stems, smashed

1. Marinate for a few hours, then thread pork onto small bamboo skewers that have been soaked for at least 30 minutes
2. Grill over medium heat

 

 

SAUCE

• about 6 oz coconut milk
• 1 heaping tablespoonful red curry paste
• 1/4 cup natural peanut butter
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• fish sauce to taste
• 1 tablespoon white vinegar
• 1/4 cup water

1. Over a medium flame, stir the ingredients together in a small saucepan, cook until smooth.  Adjust seasoning to taste

Thai Chili Sauce

From the shesimmers blog: http://shesimmers.com/2011/03/thai-three-flavored-sauce-newbie.html

• 40 g red chilies (about 20 bird’s eye chilies or 3 large red jalapeño peppers), finely chopped
• 40 g peeled garlic (about 10 large cloves), finely chopped
• 40 g peeled shallots (2 large), finely chopped
• 20 g finely chopped cilantro roots or stems (about 1/2 cup, packed)
  (The above ingredients can be pulsed to a coarse paste in a food processor.)
• 150 g palm sugar, chopped (about 1 cup, packed)
• 4 fluid ounces water (1/2 cup)
• 70 g brown sugar (1/3 cup, packed)
  2.5 fluid ounces fish sauce (1/3 cup)
• 2.5 fluid ounces tamarind pulp (1/3 cup)
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

 

1. In a medium saucepan, fry the garlic-shallot-cilantro-chili paste in the vegetable oil over medium-high heat just until fragrant.
2. Add the remaining ingredients to the saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil, lower the heat to maintain a simmer.
3. Reduce the sauce down to about 1 1/2 cups; remove from heat. The sauce will thicken up slightly upon cooling.
4. Store the cooled sauce in a glass jar and refrigerate or freeze.

Weeknight Pasta Sauce

INGREDIENTS

• 1 small onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 carrot, finely chopped
• 2 sweet Italian sausages
• 8 oz slice mushrooms
• 28 oz can sliced stewed tomatoes with Italian seasoning (S&W brand)
• 3 oz tomato paste
• 1/2 cup beef broth
• 2 fresh tomatoes, whole
• sprig fresh thyme
• handful chopped basil
• 1 tsp sugar to taste
• frozen peas and frozen spinach

INSTRUCTIONS

Saute onions and garlic until translucent.  Add carrots and cook until softened

Add sausage and break into small pieces

Once the sausage is browned, add mushrooms and cook until all of the juices have evaporated

Add tomato and paste cook for 1 minute.  Add canned tomatoes, broth, thyme, basil and the fresh tomato.  Let simmer for about 30 minutes

Add sugar to taste, add frozen peas and spinach right before serving

Chocolate Sauce

http://www.browneyedbaker.com/homemade-hot-fudge-sauce-recipe/

INGREDIENTS:

2/3 cup heavy cream
½ cup Lyle’s Golden Syrup, or light corn syrup
1/3 cup dark brown sugar
¼ cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder
¼ teaspoon sea salt
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped, divided in half
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a 2-quart saucepan over medium-high heat, bring the cream, syrup, brown sugar, cocoa powder, salt and half of the chocolate to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low or low (enough to maintain a low simmer), and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

2. Remove from the heat and stir in the remaining chocolate, the butter, and the vanilla extract, stirring until smooth. Let cool for 20 to 30 minutes before using (it will thicken as it cools). Store in a jar or airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. To reheat, microwave for 30 seconds to 1 minute until it’s pourable but still thick.

Turkey Gravy

• 3 cups water
• 6 cups chicken broth
• turkey neck and giblets
• 1 onion
• Pan drippings from turkey

Brown giblets and neck in a large saucepan till golden

Add onions and cook for 5 minutes

Add broth and water.  Bring to a boil, then simmer for about 30 minutes.

Strain into a large measuring cup and set aside.  Bring back to a simmer once ready to make gravy.

Collect pan juices, strain, and defat in a large measuring cup

In a large saucepan, heat a few tablespoons of pan drippings, and add 1/2 cup flour.  Cook for a few minutes, then add room temperature liquid to dissolve to prevent clumps.

Whisk in remaining liquid (about 12 cups).  Bring to boil, then simmer for 20-30 minutes to thicken.

Our turkey is well salted and herbed therefore, no additional seasoning is needed.

Pizza Sauce

INGREDIENTS

• 28 oz can plum tomatoes
• 1 onion cut in half
• 2 cloves garlic, grated
• 2 sprigs basil
• salt
• sugar to taste

Put tomatoes through food processor till chunky

Place in small saucepan with remaining ingredients and let simmer for about 1 hour

Chunky Strawberry Balsamic Sauce

http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2013/07/strawberry-balsamic-sauce.html

• 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
• 2 cups ripe strawberries, stemmed, hulled, and roughly diced
• 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/8 teaspoon lemon zest

1. Bring balsamic vinegar to a boil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer until vinegar has thickened and reduced to 1/4 of its original volume, 5 to 10 minutes.

    

2. Stir in strawberries, sugar, salt, and lemon zest. Increase heat to medium and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer until strawberries have released their juices and softened, about 5 minutes.

    

3. Using the back of a wooden spoon, crush strawberries against side of saucepan. Continue to simmer until sauce has thickened and is syrupy, 5 to 10 minutes more.

   Spoon over ice cream, waffles, oatmeal….

Chimichurri style sauce

• 4 TBSP chopped Basil
• Few sprigs of oregano, chopped
• 1/2 cup chopped Parsley
• 3 cloves minced Garlic
• 1/2 small Shallot, minced
• splash Red Wine vinegar
• 3/4 cup Olive Oil
• Juice from 1/2 Lemon
• Red pepper flakes (optional)

Combine all ingredients except for about 1/2 of the olive oil in a food processor.  Pulse until the herbs are finely chopped

Add the remaining olive oils and stir to combine

Season with salt and pepper to taste

Letting the sauce rest overnight will let the flavors mingle and mellow out the punch of the raw garlic

Spread onto grilled steaks, add to cooked rice or anything else for some fresh herb flavor!