Cooking with Eowyn
Jan. 22nd, 2011 08:05 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
next_to_normalIt's Restaurant Week here in DC, so I've been eating out more than usual, but I did manage to fit in a few recipes from my new cookbook that Megan gave me for Christmas.
Unfortunately, they were... not great, but I will keep trying! At least it has fabulous pictures, and that is my number one criteria for a good cookbook. :)
The first recipe I tried was Caramel-Braised Cod, except I didn't use cod. I used haddock or halibut... I don't actually remember, it was a week ago. Whatever was on sale at the supermarket. Here's the recipe:
1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup plus 1 tsp sugar
1-1/2 lbs cod fillets, 1 inch thick
2 tbsp olive oil
3 tbsp fish sauce
1 scallion (white and light green parts), thinly sliced
Combine the red pepper flakes, salt, and 1 tsp sugar in a small bowl. Rub the fish with half of the mixture and set aside. Combine the other half of the mixture with 1/4 cup water, the oil, and the fish sauce; set aside.
Put the remaining 1/4 cup sugar in a large, heavy-based saute pan with straight sides and cook over high heat until the sugar starts to melt at the edges and turns golden brown, about 2 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium when the sugar starts browning and stir energetically with a wooden spoon. When the caramel is a reddish mahogany brown (another 1 to 2 minutes), take the pan off the heat. Stirring gently, slowly add 1/2 cup water to the pan; be careful, as the caramel may steam or spatter. If the caramel doesn't dissolve completely, return the pan to medium heat and stir until dissolved. Stir in the fish sauce mixture.
Put the fish in a single layer in the saute pan. Bring to a gentle simmer over medium-low heat and braise the fish, uncovered; use a soup spoon to baste the fish with the sauce occasionally. After about 7 minutes, gently flip the fish and continue to braise and baste until the fish is opaque throughout, another 5 to 7 minutes. Serve over rice with the sauce and sprinkled with the scallions.
Serves 4.
Okay. So. I am not sure what went wrong here, but I've never made caramel before and... well, I probably didn't do it right because it didn't seem very caramelly. Or maybe it's the fish sauce that I didn't like. Either way, the sauce was NOT GOOD. It wasn't sweet, which you'd kind of expect from a caramel-based sauce, right? The first meal I had wasn't too bad. It had a funny taste to it, but I managed to eat it. When I had the leftovers for a second meal, though... ugh. I couldn't even finish it and ended up dumping it down the garbage disposal. I mean, I hate to waste food, but yuck!
I made Green Beans with Brown Butter and Pecans as a side dish for the fish:
2 lbs green beans, trimmed
8 tbsp (1 stick) butter, cut into pieces
1/4 cup finely chopped shallots
1/2 cup chopped toasted pecans
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the green beans; cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Plunge them into ice water to stop the cooking. Drain and reserve.
In a large skillet over medium-high heat, melt the butter. Add the shallots and pecans; cook, stirring, until the butter turns a light brown and begins to smell nutty (be careful not to burn it). Add the beans and toss to coat. Cook until the beans are warmed through, about 3 minutes. Add the lemon juice and season with salt and pepper.
Serves 8 to 10.
Well, first of all, I am not cooking for 8 people, so I cut the recipe in half-ish (12 oz beans, half of everything else). These came out somewhat better than the fish, although it's hard to go wrong with butter and pecans. :) I did expect them to be a bit more flavorful. They tasted pretty much like any other bean/nut combination. But at least they were edible, even after reheating, which is more than I can say for the fish!
Tonight, I made Chinese Chicken Salad:
2-1/2 cups thinly sliced red cabbage (about 1/3 medium head)
1/2 cup shredded carrots (about 1 large carrot)
1/3 cup thinly sliced scallions (about 4, white and green parts)
1 tsp plus 3 tbsp low-salt soy sauce
3-1/2 tsp sugar
Kosher salt
1 clove garlic
1 1-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and sliced
1/4 cup packed cilantro leaves, plus 1 tbsp chopped
3 tbsp creamy peanut butter
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 tbsp peanut oil
1 lb thinly sliced chicken breast
1/3 cup chopped peanuts, toasted in a dry skillet over medium heat
In a large bowl, combine the cabbage, carrots, scallions, 1 tsp soy sauce, 1 tsp sugar, and a big pinch of salt. In a small food processor, chop the garlic and ginger. Add the 1/4 cup cilantro and chop thoroughly. Add the peanut butter, 1 tbsp hot water, the lemon juice, 1 tbsp oil, 3 tbsp soy sauce, and 2-1/2 tsp sugar. Pulse until well combined, scraping the bowl as needed.
In a large skillet over medium-high heat, heat 1 tbsp oil. Season the chicken pieces with salt and cook on one side until the edges are white (1 to 2 minutes); turn and cook until just firm, another 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer to a cutting board and let rest for 3 to 4 minutes. Slice the chicken into generous 1/4-inch strips, add to the cabbage mixture, pour in the dressing, and toss well. Garnish with the remaining cilantro and the toasted peanuts.
Serves 2 to 3 as a main course.
This one turned out decent, and it gave me the opportunity to use my hand blender, since I don't have a food processor. It was a little too saucy, but I may have been overzealous with the peanut butter. I can't help it - I loooooove peanut butter! However. This deserves a warning: the sauce tastes good, but looks GROSS once it's blended. I am not even kidding. I mean, it's brown and kind of goopy, with little green bits... yeah. "Already been digested" may have come to mind. But once you mix the salad all together, it's fine. Really! Even Chelsea liked it! (Then again, I swear, that cat will eat anything. Peanut butter-coated cabbage? IDEK. My mom has decided to be flattered that Chelsea always tries to eat her homemade spaghetti sauce and escarole soup, lol.)
Oh, and it's meant to be served warm, FYI. I'm not exactly sure how to accomplish that with the leftovers. I suspect microwaving will make the cabbage soggy. Hmmm. Toaster oven, perhaps?
Unfortunately, they were... not great, but I will keep trying! At least it has fabulous pictures, and that is my number one criteria for a good cookbook. :)
The first recipe I tried was Caramel-Braised Cod, except I didn't use cod. I used haddock or halibut... I don't actually remember, it was a week ago. Whatever was on sale at the supermarket. Here's the recipe:
1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup plus 1 tsp sugar
1-1/2 lbs cod fillets, 1 inch thick
2 tbsp olive oil
3 tbsp fish sauce
1 scallion (white and light green parts), thinly sliced
Combine the red pepper flakes, salt, and 1 tsp sugar in a small bowl. Rub the fish with half of the mixture and set aside. Combine the other half of the mixture with 1/4 cup water, the oil, and the fish sauce; set aside.
Put the remaining 1/4 cup sugar in a large, heavy-based saute pan with straight sides and cook over high heat until the sugar starts to melt at the edges and turns golden brown, about 2 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium when the sugar starts browning and stir energetically with a wooden spoon. When the caramel is a reddish mahogany brown (another 1 to 2 minutes), take the pan off the heat. Stirring gently, slowly add 1/2 cup water to the pan; be careful, as the caramel may steam or spatter. If the caramel doesn't dissolve completely, return the pan to medium heat and stir until dissolved. Stir in the fish sauce mixture.
Put the fish in a single layer in the saute pan. Bring to a gentle simmer over medium-low heat and braise the fish, uncovered; use a soup spoon to baste the fish with the sauce occasionally. After about 7 minutes, gently flip the fish and continue to braise and baste until the fish is opaque throughout, another 5 to 7 minutes. Serve over rice with the sauce and sprinkled with the scallions.
Serves 4.
Okay. So. I am not sure what went wrong here, but I've never made caramel before and... well, I probably didn't do it right because it didn't seem very caramelly. Or maybe it's the fish sauce that I didn't like. Either way, the sauce was NOT GOOD. It wasn't sweet, which you'd kind of expect from a caramel-based sauce, right? The first meal I had wasn't too bad. It had a funny taste to it, but I managed to eat it. When I had the leftovers for a second meal, though... ugh. I couldn't even finish it and ended up dumping it down the garbage disposal. I mean, I hate to waste food, but yuck!
I made Green Beans with Brown Butter and Pecans as a side dish for the fish:
2 lbs green beans, trimmed
8 tbsp (1 stick) butter, cut into pieces
1/4 cup finely chopped shallots
1/2 cup chopped toasted pecans
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the green beans; cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Plunge them into ice water to stop the cooking. Drain and reserve.
In a large skillet over medium-high heat, melt the butter. Add the shallots and pecans; cook, stirring, until the butter turns a light brown and begins to smell nutty (be careful not to burn it). Add the beans and toss to coat. Cook until the beans are warmed through, about 3 minutes. Add the lemon juice and season with salt and pepper.
Serves 8 to 10.
Well, first of all, I am not cooking for 8 people, so I cut the recipe in half-ish (12 oz beans, half of everything else). These came out somewhat better than the fish, although it's hard to go wrong with butter and pecans. :) I did expect them to be a bit more flavorful. They tasted pretty much like any other bean/nut combination. But at least they were edible, even after reheating, which is more than I can say for the fish!
Tonight, I made Chinese Chicken Salad:
2-1/2 cups thinly sliced red cabbage (about 1/3 medium head)
1/2 cup shredded carrots (about 1 large carrot)
1/3 cup thinly sliced scallions (about 4, white and green parts)
1 tsp plus 3 tbsp low-salt soy sauce
3-1/2 tsp sugar
Kosher salt
1 clove garlic
1 1-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and sliced
1/4 cup packed cilantro leaves, plus 1 tbsp chopped
3 tbsp creamy peanut butter
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 tbsp peanut oil
1 lb thinly sliced chicken breast
1/3 cup chopped peanuts, toasted in a dry skillet over medium heat
In a large bowl, combine the cabbage, carrots, scallions, 1 tsp soy sauce, 1 tsp sugar, and a big pinch of salt. In a small food processor, chop the garlic and ginger. Add the 1/4 cup cilantro and chop thoroughly. Add the peanut butter, 1 tbsp hot water, the lemon juice, 1 tbsp oil, 3 tbsp soy sauce, and 2-1/2 tsp sugar. Pulse until well combined, scraping the bowl as needed.
In a large skillet over medium-high heat, heat 1 tbsp oil. Season the chicken pieces with salt and cook on one side until the edges are white (1 to 2 minutes); turn and cook until just firm, another 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer to a cutting board and let rest for 3 to 4 minutes. Slice the chicken into generous 1/4-inch strips, add to the cabbage mixture, pour in the dressing, and toss well. Garnish with the remaining cilantro and the toasted peanuts.
Serves 2 to 3 as a main course.
This one turned out decent, and it gave me the opportunity to use my hand blender, since I don't have a food processor. It was a little too saucy, but I may have been overzealous with the peanut butter. I can't help it - I loooooove peanut butter! However. This deserves a warning: the sauce tastes good, but looks GROSS once it's blended. I am not even kidding. I mean, it's brown and kind of goopy, with little green bits... yeah. "Already been digested" may have come to mind. But once you mix the salad all together, it's fine. Really! Even Chelsea liked it! (Then again, I swear, that cat will eat anything. Peanut butter-coated cabbage? IDEK. My mom has decided to be flattered that Chelsea always tries to eat her homemade spaghetti sauce and escarole soup, lol.)
Oh, and it's meant to be served warm, FYI. I'm not exactly sure how to accomplish that with the leftovers. I suspect microwaving will make the cabbage soggy. Hmmm. Toaster oven, perhaps?
no subject
Date: Jan. 23rd, 2011 05:49 pm (UTC)I guess I will never understand People Who Cook. :) (The beans sounded good, if a bit work intensive for me. I like veggies like that if someone else is making them.)
no subject
Date: Jan. 23rd, 2011 06:42 pm (UTC)I like cooking because there's a sense of accomplishment that comes from making a whole meal. It's also a useful skill, being able to feed yourself, cheaper than eating out, healthier than eating frozen food all the time. And it's just a fun hobby.
Of course, I don't understand People Who Breed Dogs, so... different strokes, lol.
no subject
Date: Jan. 23rd, 2011 07:09 pm (UTC)Oops, missed the bottom of it. Yeah, I don't understand us sometimes either. LOL
no subject
Date: Jan. 26th, 2011 06:01 am (UTC)And I hope the cookbook won't be a total fail! I did enjoy looking at the pictures of yummy seeming food.
no subject
Date: Jan. 29th, 2011 04:19 am (UTC)