Archive for October, 2007

Browned Sausages With Napa Cabbage Braise

October 18, 2007 at 2:22 pm · Filed under Recipes ·Tagged , ,

Another quick weeknight meal from today’s SFGate newsletter.

***********************************************************************

This dish, which can be prepared in less than 25 minutes, is great with roasted or boiled potatoes.

INGREDIENTS:
2 tablespoons olive oil
6 chicken-apple sausages, cut in half lengthwise
1/2 onion, sliced
1 large head napa cabbage, sliced widthwise
1/2 tart green apple, cored and thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1/2 cup dry red wine
1/2 teaspoon mustard
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 to 3/4 cup chicken stock

INSTRUCTIONS: Heat 1 or 2 teaspoons of the olive oil in a large skillet. Add the sausage halves and brown for a few minutes on both sides. Remove from the pan and cover with foil. Add the remaining oil to the pan and, when hot, add the onion and saute for a few minutes. Add the cabbage to the pan, stir to wilt slightly, then add the apple, garlic, wine, mustard, salt and pepper. Add enough stock so that the cabbage will be able to simmer without getting too juicy (it releases liquid while cooking). Bring to a simmer, cover and cook until the cabbage and apples are tender, about 5 to 8 minutes. If the sausages have cooled down too much, add them to the pan and simmer gently, uncovered, for a few minutes until reheated.

Serves 4

Source: SFGate newsletter 10/18/07

Leave a Comment

Kimchi Soup

October 18, 2007 at 2:19 pm · Filed under Recipes ·Tagged , , ,

I was just talking to my mom yesterday about kimchi and how it’s so great. I guess we’re a little biased since we’re Korean, but really, you can do so many things with it. You can eat it plain as a side dish, of course, but once it starts to get too sour, it’s wonderful in cooked dishes like soups or fried rice. Last night was a little chilly so I decided to make a kimchi soup. I didn’t feel like eating meat so I just added some korean squash and tofu, but I’ve made it with dumplings and/or meat in the past. Normally, I cook rice and dump it in my soup to eat together, but you can eat it separately or even add noodles.

ingredients
6 c chicken broth
1 c kimchi plus juices, sliced into small pieces
1 korean squash (I think these are also known as white squash), quartered lengthwise and then sliced
8 oz firm tofu, cut into cubes
red pepper flakes to taste

directions
Bring broth to a boil. Add kimchi, juices and red pepper flakes and cook until the kimchi begins to wilt. Add squash and tofu and cook until squash is done.

Leave a Comment

SFGate Food & Wine Newsletter

October 11, 2007 at 5:29 pm · Filed under Random ·Tagged

I lived in the Bay Area for most of my life and grew up with the SF Chronicle. Their food and wine sections are great and have won some awards so even though I don’t live there anymore, I still read it frequently. One of the things I love about it is their newsletter. It’s emailed to me every Thursday and highlights a produce item that is in season each week. Along with that comes recipes as well as tips on how to select and store the produce. Other features contained in the newsletter include:

  • Taster’s choice: A panel of food professionals rate different brands of supermarket items.
  • Pairings: A recipe with a suggested wine pairing.
  • Quick weeknight meals: An obvious favorite of mine. :)   (The Lemongrass-Steamed Fish and Braised Shortribs recipes came from here.)
  • Wine of the week
  • Question of the week: Readers submit questions.

Try out the newsletter and let me know what you think!

Comments (1)

fresh basil

October 9, 2007 at 10:00 pm · Filed under Random ·Tagged ,

i use a lot of fresh basil. i think it adds great flavor to a lot of dishes, whether it is pasta or an asian stir fry. it can be expensive to buy packaged basil every time you need it for a recipe, not to mention wasteful if you don’t use the whole pack. so about a month and a half ago, i was at trader joe’s and saw that they sold basil plants for $2.99 each. i immediately bought one and have been using it ever since.  everytime i need it, i just break off a few sprigs and shred the leaves into whatever i’m cooking that night.

Comments (1)

shrimp and corn with basil

October 9, 2007 at 9:34 pm · Filed under Recipes ·Tagged , , ,

dsc07841.JPG
this is the simplest recipe ever but it was actually quite tasty. we used frozen shrimp and frozen corn from trader joe’s (which is really sweet, by the way). i also didn’t have scallions, so i just seasoned it with some garlic salt. we ate this over rice, but i think it would be good tossed with some pasta too.

Ingredients
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
Kernels from 2 ears corn
1/2 lb. shelled large shrimp
4 scallions, chopped
1/4 cup fresh basil, thinly sliced

Directions
Melt butter with olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over moderately high heat, then sauté corn and shrimp, stirring, until shrimp are cooked through, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in scallions and basil and season with salt and pepper.

Source: Epicurious

Leave a Comment

Linguine with White Clam Sauce

October 1, 2007 at 3:17 pm · Filed under Recipes ·Tagged , ,

Linguine with clams is B’s favorite Italian dish. He orders it almost every time he sees it on the menu. This is a pantry version that I tried that is a combination of a 30-Minute Meals recipe A sent me and one I saw on MyRecipes.  We made this dish and thought it was pretty decent, although nothing can beat fresh clams.  I think next time I would add some lemon juice or zest since it seemed like it was missing some acid.

Prep: 12 minutes; Cook: 7 minutes.

Ingredients
4 ounces uncooked linguine
1 tbsp olive oil
3 cloves chopped garlic
2 fillets flat anchovies, chopped
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/4 cup white wine
2 (6 1/2-ounce) cans chopped clams, drained, reserving 2 tablespoons juice

salt and pepper to taste

Directions
1. Cook the linguine about one minute less than package directions.

2. While the pasta cooks, make the clam sauce: In a skillet over medium heat, add oil, garlic, anchovies and red pepper. Stir until anchovies melt. Add wine; continue to sauté another minute, or until garlic is fragrant but not browned. Add the drained chopped clams, wine and reserved 2 tablespoons clam juice; stir gently to combine, and simmer.

3. Add pasta to the skillet with the sauce. Stir and continue to simmer 3 minutes or until slightly thickened.

4. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Sources: MyRecipes, 30-Minute Meals

Comments (1)