Pantry raid, asian style

I was craving something Asian today.  I may have to do with the fact that I did get a Thai massage (best massages ever!).  I grabbed some salmon, bok choy, ginger, green onions, and Shiitake mushrooms from Whole Foods.  When I got home, I basically pulled out every Asian ingredient I could think of, and came up with this:

PANTRY RAID ASIAN SALMON


I didn't measure any of this out, so it's all rough estimates...


SAUCE


1 T freshly minced ginger
1 T freshly minced garlic
1 T finely diced jalapeno (I left the seeds in)
2 T chopped green onion
3 T sesame oil
3 T honey
2 T hoisin sauce
1 T dark red miso paste
2 tsp or more Sriracha (Asian hot sauce... makes everything taste better)
1 tsp corn starch
1/3 cup soy sauce

Blend in a blender until combined into a liquid

BOK CHOY


1 head bok choy, bottom trimmed, soaked and dirt rinsed
1 cup Shiitake or other type of mushrooms
1.5 cups chicken broth
1/4 cup sliced green onion
half of sauce recipe from above
sesame seeds

Add ingredients to a dutch oven or large lidded pot and bring to a simmer for about 30 minutes or until nok choy and mushrooms are very tender.


SALMON


2 salmon filets (about 6 ounces each)
salt
pepper
peanuts

Season salmon generously with salt and pepper.  Heat 1 T butter and 1 or 2 T sesame oil in a heavy bottomed fry pan on med to med-high.  When the pan is hot, add salmon, skin side up, to the pan.  Cook for 4 minutes and flip.  Once turned over, pour remaining sauce over the salmon and cook for another 3 to 4 minutes.  Plate salmon on top of bok choy and garnish with peanuts.

This cook time was for a medium-rare to medium salmon.

Flat is beautiful

Okay, so I stole my title from Alton Brown and his pizza episodes for Good Eats (my favorite show, ever!).  I probably learned more about cooking from him than anyone else, so I had to give him a shout-out.  There seems to be nothing quite comparable to a night of home-made pizza making with friends.  This was on the agenda for last night.  A few recent visits to Nashville's City House inspired my friend Brandon Jenkins (designed the killer logo for Dry Toast) and myself to plan a pizza night of home-made, gourmet pies.

I believe most great things in life are simple.  The same applies to pizza.  It should have a few top quality ingredients (too many, and flavors start covering each other up), and the crust should be stellar.

Where to begin?  The two more important ingredients are the crust and the sauce.  As I said, SIMPLE!  

FOUNDATION

THE CRUST

I have used a few pizza recipes in the past, including one from Alton Brown and one from Wolfgang Puck.  This time, however, I decided to make a dough derived from a simple Country Loaf bread recipe from the the book I've been journeying my way through this year, Tartine Bread. 

The author and owner of Tartine Bakery in San Francisco, Chad Robertson, takes his readers step by step through the process of making incredible hand made, naturally leavened (no yeast!!) bread that looks and tastes as if it came from the best bakery in town.  I'd tried two of the bread recipes from the book so far, which both turned out wonderfully, and figured the pizza dough had to be great.  It's the same bread dough simply shaped into pizza rounds.  

In the morning, as I was preparing my leavening, it was not developed to the extent I had wanted it to be (wasn't fully floating in water), however I was running out of time, and if I had not started the bread dough, we wouldn't had pizza.  To my surprise, the pizza crust turned out great.  Everyone enjoyed it.  Had I allowed the leavening to develop a tad longer, the outer edge of the crust would probably have risen and puffed up more (next time I will do this), but the flavor was incredible, and it did not seem lacking in any way.  Ingredients in the dough: flour, water, salt.  

THE SAUCE

You may recall my post on Spaghetti & Meatballs from last month.  The sauce from "The Frankies Spuntino Kitchen Companion & Cooking Manual" was so great, I decided to make it again for this.  So simple too: canned whole San Marzano Tomatoes, whole garlic cloves, good olive oil, salt, and crushed red chili flakes.  Key ingredient: time.  It simmered for about 5 hours yesterday.  I think I could've eaten a bowl of this and called it a night!  Here's the recipe adapted from the book.  This is only 1/4 of the original recipe.  It was plenty for 2 or 3 pizzas.

1 28-ounce can of whole peeled Italian Style San Marzano Tomatoes

1/4 cup good olive oil

4 whole cloves of garlic

kosher or sea salt

crushed red chili flakes

Add oil and garlic to a dutch oven or large pot and let them simmer for about 10 minutes.  Meanwhile, pour the tomatoes in a large bowl, discard the basil leaves and tough ends of the tomatoes (they will squirt everywhere if you're not careful!).  After 10 minutes, add the crushed red chili flakes to the oil for about 30 seconds.  Add the tomatoes and salt.  Let everything simmer for at least 4 hours.  Your patience will be greatly rewarded!

THE SECRET INGREDIENT

So, I said Brandon and I were inspired at City House.  What sparked such inspiration?  Chili oil drizzled on top of the pizza we had ordered!  It was amazing, with a subtle background of heat, amplifying all of the other flavors on the pizza, and leaving a lingering spice in your mouth.  Only one thing left to do: eat another piece!

THE PIES

Now that the foundation was ready go, here were the pizzas we ended up making:

CLASSIC MARGHERITA

Fresh Mozzarella

Fresh Basil

Sunday Sauce

Chili Oil

Crushed red chili flakes and cracked black pepper for garnish

Brushed olive oil on crust

POTATO

This was also adapted from a few of this pizzas on City House's menu.  The potatoes really make the pizza rich and filling.

Scalloped Yukon Golden Potato

Olive Oil for base

Ricotta Cheese (I really only use Polly-O brand.  It's unlike anything else.)

Cooked Wellshire Farms bacon 

Frozen Peas

Brushed olive oil on crust

CHORIZO AND CHEESE

Thinly sliced rounds of Chorizo sausage

Grated Pecorino Romano Cheese

Goats Cheese

Chile Oil

Brushed olive oil on crust

BBQ CHICKEN

This has been one of my favorite pizza flavors since I was really young.  It was a must.

Honey BBQ sauce

Roasted Chicken Breast, shredded and tossed in chili oil

Goats Cheese

Sliced purple onion

Brushed olive oil on crust

ICING ON THE CAKE

My foodie friend, Jeff, joined our pizza dinner, and he had inquired earlier in the day if I had anything planned for dessert.  He brought and incredible home made Macadamia Nut Ice Cream (molded in a Le Creuset terrine), sliced into beautiful squares and garnished with a sweet, salty, and crunchy Macadamia Nut Brittle.  Over the top!

"This is the song that never ends..."

Do you remember that song?  That's right... Lamb Chop!  Ah, the memories of growing up.  Well I'm afraid to say that last night the song finally ended.  I ate Lamb Chop.  At least the Spiced Lamb Chops from last month's issue of Bon Appetit.  I'd been wanting to try my hand at cooking lamb for quite sometime, and this seemed like the perfect recipe to use.

I bought an 8 rib rack of New Zealand Lamb Chops at Whole Foods and sliced the ribs into indivdual cuts.





Spiced Lamb Chops

Ingredients

8 whole cloves
1 small dried chile (I think I used a dried Serano)
2 teaspoons fennel seeds
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/4 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
1 6 ounce container of Fage or Chobani Greek yogurt
2 teaspoons finely grated peeled fresh ginger
8 lamb rib chops (each about 1 inch thick), excess fat trimmed



Preparation

Combine first 5 ingredients in small skillet. Stir over medium heat until spices are aromatic and slightly darker in color, about 3 minutes. Transfer spices to bowl and cool. Grind spices to coarse powder in spice mill. Combine spices, yogurt, and ginger in 11x7x2-inch glass baking dish. Add lamb chops and turn to coat with mixture. Let marinate 30 minutes.
Preheat broiler. Line rimmed baking sheet with foil. Arrange chops on baking sheet. Broil lamb to desired doneness, about 3 minutes per side for medium-rare. Transfer 2 lamb chops to each of 4 plates.


To round out this meal, I decided to use my go-to Creamy Polenta recipe, adapted from an old Bon Appetit recipe as well...

 
Creamy Corn-Studded Polenta


Ingredients

3 1/2 cups low-salt chicken broth
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup polenta (coarse cornmeal)
1 can of corn
1 tablespoon butter
Shredded cheese of your choice


Preparation


Bring broth, cream, and salt to boil in medium saucepan. Gradually whisk in polenta; reduce heat to medium-low and simmer 10 minutes, stirring often. Add corn; increase heat and bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low; cook until polenta is soft, thick, and creamy, stirring often, about 15 minutes. Stir in butter and cheese (I used parmesan and goats cheese), and season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve hot.
 
Italian Prosciutto wrapped Asparagus

Ingredients

25 spears of fresh asparagus (buy thick, bright green spears if you can find them).
4 slices of Prosciutto
Olive oil
Kosher salt
Fresh ground pepper


Preparation

Cut the ends off the asparagus.  Toss in olive oil and season with salt and pepper.  Divide into 4 bundles of spears, and wrap each bundle with a slice of prosciutto.  Roast in the oven at 350 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes.

"Maybe"

Such a soft word.  And, yes, we all use it to some degree or another.  What's it mean to you?

Uncertainty?

"I'm spread too thin"?  

"Could be fun... but then again something MORE fun just might come along."?  

How has our culture evolved into such a fast-faced, over-worked, over-committed lifestyle where, apparently, people want to have the "perception" of pleasing everyone, yet lack the willingness to give definitive answers and, apparently, the ability to collectively interpret such a gray word in the same way.

I came across this article today, and I found it to be an interesting read.  Hopefully you do too.

Too Many Powers of Maybe

Here's my take.  In most social settings, maybe means no.  When I send facebook invites to a party, most of the maybes and even a good handful of the yeses never make an appearance.  People want to please everyone, yet the ending result is probably a bit closer to the opposite.  It's okay to say no.  I'm certainly not offended by the answer.  I also think quality of experience diminishes as we spread ourselves thinner and thinner. 

As for planning, it's simply difficult and frustrating to organize an event around people who don't commit.  Dinner with friends? Have enough food and drinks for the ones who were thrilled enough to say yes.  Don't strain yourself to make sure there's going to be enough for those who "might have time to swing by".  This quote from the article pretty much nailed it on the head for me: [maybe means] 'You are not that important; other people or things might come along that are really more important,'

 More than anything, I try to take it all with a grain of salt.  Maybe is most often a weak answer, yes, it does annoy me most of the time.  I still use it occasionally, but I try to remember being on the receiving end of the answer and practice those simple words, yes and no, more frequently.  I think our digital selves are becoming more and more detached from true interaction, emotion, and how we affect others.  I've seen it in friendships, dating, and even the workplace.  We should probably just stop all of this social planning in the real world and start hosting group chat parties online.  It would sure cost a lot less, invitees wouldn't even have to be friends you've met in the real world, and maybe - just maybe - some of those folks might actually start increasing their attendance rates.

The 100/0 Principle

The following is adapted from an e-mail I received from my manager at work yesterday.  

Brian Tracy said..."Eighty percent of life's satisfaction comes from meaningful relationships."   Think about it...when you look back at the end of your life, what will really matter?  I'm betting the top of your list will include the quality of your relationships.

Life is busy...lots of clutter.  That's why from time to time, we all need to be reminded of what's most important.  So here's the question:  If your relationships are one of the most important parts of your life, what are you doing to make them all they can be?  

So, what is the most effective way to create and sustain great relationships with others?  It's The 100 / 0 Principle: You take full responsibility (the 100) for the relationship, expecting nothing (the 0) in return.

Implementing The 100 / 0 Principle is not natural for most of us.  It takes real commitment to the relationship and a good dose of self-discipline to think, act and give 100 percent.
The 100 / 0 Principle applies to those people in your life where the relationships are too important to react automatically or judgmentally.  Each of us must determine the relationships to which this principle should apply.  For most of us, it applies to a special someone, work associates, customers, family and friends.

STEP 1 - Determine what you can do to make the relationship work...then do it.  Demonstrate respect and kindness to the other person, whether he/she deserves it or not.

STEP 2 - Do not expect anything in return.  Zero! Zip! Nada!

STEP 3 - Do not allow anything the other person says or does (no matter how annoying!) to affect you.  Even if the other person tells you to “slow down” or “I’m not feeling this” or “it’s not going to work”.   In other words, don't take the bait.

STEP 4 - Be persistent with your graciousness and kindness.  Often we give up too soon, especially when others don't respond in kind.  Remember to expect nothing in return.  By being persistent in your kindness and respect for another person, you may likely change the dynamic of a relationship. 

At times (usually few), the relationship can remain challenging, even toxic, despite your 100 percent commitment and self-discipline.  When this occurs, you need to avoid being a "Knower" and shift to being the "Learner." Avoid Knower statements and thoughts like "That won't work," "I'm right, you are wrong," "I know it and you don't," "I'll teach you," "That's just the way it is," "I need to tell you what I know," etc.

Instead use Learner statements and thoughts like "Let me find out what is going on and try to understand the situation," "I could be wrong," "I wonder if there is anything of value here," "I wonder if..." etc.  In other words, as a Learner, be curious!
Principle Paradox:  This may strike you as strange, but here's the paradox: When you take authentic responsibility for a relationship, more often than not the other person quickly chooses to take responsibility as well. Consequently, the 100 / 0 relationship quickly transforms into something approaching 100/100.  When that occurs, true breakthroughs happen for the individuals involved, their relationship, their teams, their organizations and their families.

Now, I'm usually one to advocate complete balance in any relationship - if it's not fair, get out and avoid people who don't give their share.  That said, I think reading this reminded me that it's still good to give selflessly without and expectations whatsoever at times.  If you anticipate ZERO return, anything is a positive outcome.  I also know for me, I actually feel good about making effort to do something positive for someone else...

"Some people are stupid!"

On a daily basis, I usually run into a few people who's levels of intelligence cause me to scratch my head... or at least laugh and wonder how they function in their day-to-day lives.  [*Everyone does it!  I'm just willing to admit it ;).]  Yesterday, I encountered a particularly off-color fellow who wasn't particularly stupid... he was just completely "full of shit".

Here's one of my favorite skits from George Carlin.  I'm pretty sure you'll relate...

Spaghetti & Meatballs... Enough Said

Valentine's Day was a few weeks ago.  To celebrate, I had a small group of friends over for dinner - more of a singles awareness party.  I decided to make home-made spaghetti and meatballs.  This dish had been on my mind for quite sometime, and it had been a LONG time since I'd had great spaghetti and meatballs.  I found the perfect recipe.

For Christmas, my mom got me a book I'd been wanting, called the "The Frankies Spuntino Kitchen Companion & Cooking Manual" , and it is one of the coolest cook books I've seen!  Along with killer recipes for pastas, sauces, vegetables, salads, meats, and desserts, it covers basic kitchen / pantry supplies, and essential tools one should have at home.  Not only are the recipes great, but there is a story to go along with many of them.  I made the "Sunday Sauce" and the raisin and pine-nut meatballs.  The story that went with the sunday sauce described how the old italian women would wake up before the sun came up to start the sauce.  After attending mass, the meal would continue to come together for a massive feast, with the sauce, of course, as the star of the show.  Although I'm not from an Italian family, it reminded me of growing up and being around family for certain meal gatherings.  It goes to show how we don't simply eat for taste.  Love and memories go along with a meal.

I followed the sauce recipe to the t, and it was phenomenal!  It was super simple: tomatos, olive oil, garlic, salt, and crushed red chili pepper.  It did take four hours, though!  Time is what brought all these flavors together to make some of the best sauce I've ever tasted.  I had never really experienced garlic in this way before.  As the sauce cooked, it became extremely tender and sweet. 

As for the meatballs, I did modify them just a tad.  The recipe in the book called for ground beef.  I went with a three-part blend of beef, veal, and pork.  I think this brought a more complex flavor to the party, and there's nothing like pork fat to make something better, right?!  I roasted them in the oven for about 30 minutes, then the day of the meal, they spent sometime in the sauce before being served.  [I made the meatballs two days ahead].

As for the pasta, I picked up fresh some fresh made linguini (they were all out of spaghetti for the day) at the coolest Italian market in Nashville's Germantown neighborhood: Lazarolli.  If you plan on doing any Italian cooking, please check this place out.  They were extremely friendly and helpful.

The fact that nobody at the table had any desire to pickup a fork for dessert meant on of two things: nobody likes chocolate anymore... or the meal was tasty enough, everyone ate enough to hibernate for a month or two.