Gnocchi in Basil Cream Sauce

     Several weeks ago I purchased some potato gnocchi. Because I did not use them within a week, I froze the package and forgot it. It literally fell out of my overstuffed refrigerator's freezer today. Thought it might be a good idea to finally use them.....and this Basil Cream Sauce would be good. If it's good with pasta, why not with gnocchi?
                                                    Basil Cream Sauce
 Make a roux of: 2T butter and 2T flour.
Melt butter and add flour. Stir constantly for about 5 minutes to get rid of the raw flour taste.

Slowly add:
2c half and half
1/8tsp garlic powder
Cook with stirring until thickened.
Stir in 2-3T fresh basil or 2-3tsp dried ( I love basil and it is hard to have too much for me. Add more if you want, I could so with an additional tablespoon)
Optional - add 1/2c chopped deli ham of your choice
Stir in 1/4c Parmesan cheese. PLEASE use a good quality cheese.
Stir until smooth.

Serve over cooked gnocchi and garnish with fresh basil. I used potato gnocchi for these, purchased and not homade.


     Have you ever tried to make gnocchi from scratch? I did that today. Sweet Potato Gnocchi's. My mom is a new diabetic, and I thought she might not want the regular potato gnocchi from above. I found them to be very similar to making knoepfli ( a flour and egg dumpling my family puts in some soups. They take the place of bread or crackers). They did not get too heavy, a problem I sometimes have with knoepfli. I haven't figured out what I do wrong - I make knoepfli the same way each time, yet sometimes they are light, sometimes not. I wonder if I overcook them, either in the initial water or in the soup??
                                            Sweet Potato Gnocchi's

1/2 large sweet potato baked until soft enough to mash.
an equal amount of flour.
1/2 egg, small
1-2T milk, if needed
     * have your sauce ready before cooking gnocchi*   a suggested recipe follows
     Mash sweet potato and add flour. Work in well. Add the egg and mix well.

If dough is too dry, add just a bit of milk until dough is workable. Take about 1/2tsp dough and dip in flour. Roll into a ball and set aside on wax paper. When all dough is rolled out, start the process of shaping the gnocchi. Take a ball and push/roll it off the very end of a fork. Each one should have indentations from the fork tines, and on the opposite side, an indentation from your finger.

   ( The gnocchi above are my first attempt, so are not so pretty. They are made with 1/2tsp dough. I would recommend 1/4tsp - recipe I had was not clear in how much to use. These were OK, but I think they would look nicer if they were smaller.)
     Bring a pan of lightly salted water to a gentle boil. Add half of the gnocchi to the boiling water. they are done in about 3 minutes - when they float to the surface of the water.

     Serve with sauce.

      Suggested Sauce - a variation of the Basil Cream Sauce above. This is a Garlic Cream Sauce:

Saute 1/2 small onion, finely minced along with 3 cloves garlic, finely minced. Make the roux. Add the onion/garlic to the roux. Continue with recipe. Parmesean may be omitted if you wish.
I was a little disappointed with the recipe as listed above. So, I added 1tsp brown sugar, a few flakes of hot pepper, a dash of smoked paprika, 1/8tsp salt. I liked this sauce much better.

This is all that was left -

Kimchee Banh Mi

     I was so pleased with the flavors of the Pork Meatball Banh Mi I made the other day that I decided to try another version: the Kimchee banh mi.  The original recipe came from The Guilty Carnivore, but, as so often happens, I did not have all necessary ingredients and so used what I had on hand. This makes for a new taste, but since I have no idea what the original tasted like, I never know how my version compares. I am satisfied with the results of operating this way.
                                              My Version Of Kimchee Banh Mi

serves 1 well ( 2 sandwiches)

1 pork chop ( or your preferred cut) or 1 chicken breast
MARINADE:
1 stalk lemongrass, crushed very well
3 cloves garlic, mashed
hot chilis, minced, to taste. I like the aji limon *
1/4tsp ground ginger - fresh if you have it
fish sauce - about 3T
1T sugar
1/8tsp sesame oil
1/4 onion powder
(* Actually, I like almost any of the Aji varieties. These are hot, fruity and sometimes a bit sweet peppers generally from South America. You will need to raise your own, as I have never seen them in stores here. And seed is hard to find. But their flavor is unlike anything I had ever tasted. If you order fron Seed Savers Exchange - a place I highly recommend for theor work with preserving seed diversity - the members will occasionally send additional seeds to try at no cost.)
Mix all ingredients together and marinate pork chop or chicken for 2-4 hours.

To make sandwich:

Toast baguette and, if you choose, remove some of bread to make a pocket to hold the meat.

a kimchee banh mi deconstructed

Add cucumber for crunch, a layer of kimchee - minus liquid , cilantro or parsley or basil. I tried this with and without a tiny bit of the hot chili mayo from the pork meatball banh mi. I did not like the mayo, but when I tried just the sriracha sauce - just a bit, that I liked (my kimchee is not very hot, so the sriracha added the heat.)

This is an interesting sandwich flavor. It is one you will either like or totally dislike! I enjoyed it. Leftovers are going to work with me tomorrow.

PS The korean banchan I promised is in the works.........

Oh... and be careful of where you put your recipes---I had a small bon fire going at my elbow. While making sweet potato gnocchi (see tomorrow's post), my recipes got too close to the flame. Not good.

I have thought to get together info on locating hard to find seeds to make available for readers. If anyone has a variety they would like to add to the list, let me know. It may take me a bit to gather company names. Thanks.

Pork Meatball Banh Mi

     Have you ever heard of a Banh Mi? I had not until just very recently. I was looking for something Vietnamese or Thai to cook. Nothing struck my fancy from my cookbook collection ( I have a number of Southeast asian cookbooks that have great recipes. But I have read over them so often, I wanted a fresh take on things). And so I turned to Epicurious and  glad I am that I did. A whole new world of sandwiches came into view! I quite literally stumbled on the Banh Mi recipe and was led to another web site - Not sure how I got there, I couldn't retrace my steps so I could give an accurate map. Anyway - a great site called Battle of theBanh Mi has quite a bit of info on these tasty sandwiches, along with several recipes.

     So what is a Banh Mi? It is describes as a Vietnamese hybrid sandwich, Vietnamese baguette sandwich and French-Vietnamese sandwich. It is, I suppose, best served on a true Vietnamese baguette, which differs from the French version by often containing rice flour. But, small town almost central Illinois does not have such a thing as a Vietnamese baguette. So I will have to content myself with the French style found here. The filling for this sandwich can be chicken, shrimp, pork, beef, vegetarian. Toppings generally include a spice mayonnaise, pickled carrots and daikon (radish), hot peppers and cucumber slices.

     Epicurious actually had 2 recipes for this sandwich, a pork version from Bon Appetit and a chicken version from Gourmet. I chose to make for my first Banh Mi, the pork version because I had pork I needed to use.  I present to you:

                                             Pork Meatball Banh Mi          as presented on Epicurious. Serves 4
photo by ric w

For the Hot Chili Mayo:

2/3c mayonnaise

2 green onions, finely chopped

1T hot chili sauce (such as sriracha)    see my post from      for a sriracha recipe

For the Meatballs:

1 pound ground pork

1/4c finely chopped fresh basil

4 cloves garlic minced

3 green onions, finely chopped

1T fish sauce ( such as nam pla or nuoc nam)

1T hot chili sauce (such as sriracha)  -see 12-27-09 post for recipe

1T sugar

2tsp cornstarch

1tsp freshly ground black pepper

1tsp coarse kosher salt

For the Sandwiches:




2c coarsely grated carrots

2c coarsely grated peeled daikon (Japanese white radish)

1/4c unseasoned rice vinegar

1/4c sugar

Pickled veggies and Hot chili Mayo

1tsp coarse kosher salt

1T Asian sesame oil

4 10" long individual baguettes

Thinly sliced jalapeno chilis

16 large fresh sprigs cilantro







Preparation:

Hot Chili Mayo:

Stir all ingredients in a small bowl. Season with salt. Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill.




Meatballs:

Line rimmed baking sheet with plastic wrap. Gently mix all ingredients in large bowl. Using moistened hands and scant tablespoonful for each, roll meat mixture into 1" meatballs. Attange on baking sheet. Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill.

Sandwiches:

Toss first 5 ingredients in medium bowl. Let stand 1 hour at room temperature, tossing occasionally.




Preheat oven to 300 drgrees. Heat sesame oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1/2 of meatballs. Saute until brown and cooked through, turning meatballs often and lowering the heat if browning too quickly, about 15 minutes. Transfer meatballs to another rimmed baking sheet. Place in oven. Repeat with remaining meatballs.




Cut baguette in half. Pull out enough bread from each half to leave 1/2 inch thick shell. Spread hot chili mayo over each bread shell. Arrange jalapenos, then cilantro, in bottom half. Fill each with 1/4 of meatballs. Drain pickled vegetables, place atop meatballs. Press on baguette tops.  *** I would also add a few cucumbers for a crisp and clean crunch. This is not in the original recipe, but I think it adds a "little something" - that crunch, which I really enjoyed.





Serve and enjoy.

     This particular version has all the attributes so important to asian cooking: hot, salty, sweet and sour. 








I plan to try a number of other Banh Mi recipes in coming days. I'll keep you posted.




AND---- The temperature got up to 40 plus degrees today with lots of sunshine!! How great that was after the last weeks of COLD!  Hurrah!!!!!



Korean Ideas - banchan and ssam jang

     I had a bit of time at work tonight to look up some information about Korean food. This came about from the latest Saveur magazine. It is their "Saveur 100" issue - recipes, restaurants and gadgets. Included is a reference to a Korean condiment called Ssam Jang and a recipe for it. In "googling" this name, I found several recipes. It seems this is very much like catsup in that there are many different tastes , textures and consistency. In that issue, there was also a reference to Korean"banchan", or side dishes. Naturally, I could not pass up this opportunity to research recipes fitting these categories.  I found several promising dished to try. And while I have no recipes to share tonight, I'll leave you with this promise - this week I'll be preparing several banchan with an additional side of ssam jang and I'll keep you posted with the results.
     Please share your recipes for your favorite Korean dishes, the more the merrier. We can all learn together and share our cooking adventures.

     As a side note, the temp was below zero this morning and at noon was a whopping 9 degrees, But it was sunny - beautiful.When  I checked my solar heater, the air was warm. Air coming out of heater got up to 70 degrees !- a 60 degree air temp increase. I am soooo pleased. We still need to figure out how to automate this setup, since at present, someone must be here to open the system to the house and close it. I have no picture of this to share, I'll try to get one for the next post.
     Hope you enjoy a couple more photos from our ski trip.

Pickapeppa Sauce, Shrimp and Mango Salsa

     I found a recipe in the 11/12 09 issue of Cooking with Paula Deen that I have been wanting to try. The holdup? No Pickapeppa Sauce. I tried looking for a Pickapeppa recipe  to no avail. It is a  product from Jamaica. Ingredients include tomato, peppers, onions,  sugar,cane vinegar, mango, raisins,and spices. It is not hot, like a hot sauce would be. It is sweet. And a taste unlike anything I have tried before. I have only used it in the following recipe, so I can't tell you how it would be as another sauce ingredient or by itself.


My thanks to Michael Watz from Evanston, Il for sharing this recipe in Paula's magazine. Italics are my additions.

                                   Biloxi Spiced Shrimp W/ Pickapeppa Sauce and Mango Mojito Salsa

Serves 4  This is a long recipe with lots of ingredients, but once prep work is done, it goes together quickly. Is it basically a shrimp salad.

 Marinate Shrimp for 30 minutes in:
1/2c Worcestershire sauce
2T oil
12 jumbo shrimp. peeled and deveined--- I used shrimp my friend brought back from South Carolina. They are medium shrimp, so I prepared more. See blog dated 12-20-09 for prep of shrimp



 Spice Mixture for Shrimp
(makes 2/3 cup)
1/4c chili powder -- I used Tony Chachere's Original Creole Seasoning instead of plain chili powder
1/4c sugar
2T salt
1T ground cumin
11/2 tsp Spanish paprika -- I used smoked paprika
1tsp curry powder
1tsp unsweetened cocoa powder -- YES. you won't really taste it. Think mole' sauce.
1/8 tsp ground cinnamon

Combine all ingredients and set aside. Makes enough for a second recipe.

 For the salad

4C mesclun greens -- a variety of greens, not just iceberg lettuce really is preferred
1/4c balsamic vinegar --please use a good vinegar.

Toss together.

 Mango Mojito Salsa
Makes about 3c
2c peeled Mango, pitted and diced
1/4c Red or Green bell pepper -- red pepper is sweeter than green, I only had green to use
1/2c finely chopped onion, red preferred for color
2T olive oil -- I omitted this
11/2T fresh mint, minced -- winter in Illinois does not usually include fresh mint. I used 1tsp dried
1T fresh lime juice -- please do not substitute lemon juice
1T seasoned rice vinegar -- found in health food or asian grocery store
2tsp dark rum -- I don't like rum, so I omitted this
11/2tsp fresh cilantro, minced
1tsp fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
1/2tsp fresh garlic, minced
1/2tsp Serrano chili, seeded and minced -- I used what I had on hand, Aji Cristal. I think any mildly hot pepper would substitute
1/2tsp honey

In small bowl, combine all ingredients. Allow to stand at least 30 minutes. Stir gently before serving.


 Pickapeppa Cream
1 7oz can chipotle peppers in adobo sauce -- I forgot this and the cream suffered for it. Only 1tsp will be used for recipe, so lots will be left over. Cut down amount used if a milder sauce is preferred.
2c Sour Cream
1/2tsp grated lime zest
2T fresh lime juice -- don't substitute lemon juice.
2tsp Pickapeppa Sauce
1tsp salt

Place chipotles in blender and puree. Place 1tsp puree in a bowl, reserving remainder for another use.
Stir in remaining ingredients. Cover and chill. 


PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER    

Remove shrimp from marinade and blot excess marinade on paper towels.

Lightly coat shrimp with seasoning mix.

Heat 1/4c oil in non-stick skillet over medium heat. Cook shrimp in batches, for about 2 minutes. If using fresh caught shrimp, they are done when they turn slightly pink and begin to curl.  Keep warm while remainder cook.

Toss mesclun once more and divide onto 4 plates. Top with Mango Mojito Salsa and Shrimp. Drizzle with Pickapeppa Cream. Serve immediately.  Enjoy.


     As you know, my family went skiing for a few days. My youngest did not go along, which really hurt. Still, it was great to be with my other sons and my daughter-in-law. Two friends of my middle son came up also. The evening before we were to leave for home, a winter storm started. By Thursday, 8 inches of new snow had fallen, wind was gusting to 50mph, temperature was below zero, and it was still snowing. Roads were icy and snow covered a good portion of the way home.
     Skiing was good. We were at Chestnut Mt in Galena, Ill and Snowstar in Dubuque, Ia. I've posted a few pictures to share with you.

vacation

I will be away from this blog for a few days - family skiing vacation! Yeah!!. Back Friday. Hope to have good pictures. Take care. annie

Artichokes with Fennel

So a friend of mine has repeatedly told me how great artichokes are. I decided to give them a try. I searched and searched for an appealing recipe. Most of what I found were dip recipes, not what I was looking for. Since I also had a fennel bulb, I thought I'd see if I could find a recipe for the two of them together...not many of those out there. I finally found a likely selection on Food and Wine's web site. Never having tried artichokes before, I was glad this recipe gives basic preparation instructions. But if my friend had not told me how to eat them, I would have been lost.
                                                  Baked Artichokes with Fennel

Serves 4 as a first course

4 artichokes
1/2 lemon, plus 1/2 tsp fresh lemon juice
1/4c olive oil, plus 3T
2 medium fennel bulbs- trimmed, halved lengthwise, cored and finely chopped


1 large red onion, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tsp thyme ( I used 1/4 tsp ground, dried thyme)
salt and pepper
2T chopped flat leaf parsley, finely chopped, plus 1/2c leaves
1/2c coarse fresh bread crumbs

1. Using a sharp knife, trim artichoke stems to 1 inch and cut off 1 inch from the top. Using kitchen shears, trim 1/2 inch from each leaf. Halve the artichoke lengthwise, and scoop out the small spiky leaves and the hairy chokes. Leave a few layers of leaves.



                  


Rub the cut parts of the artichoke with the halved lemon ( you'll see from the photo above, that they brown very quickly) and set them, cut side down in a basket steamer. Steam over boiling water about 10 minutes until the hearts are tender.


2. In a deep skillet, heat 1/4c oil until shimmering. Add the fennel and onion and cook over medium high heat, stirring until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and thyme, season with salt and pepper and cook until vegetables are just beginning to brown, about 4 minutes longer.

 (as you see, I used a white onion, instead of a red because that is what I had on hand)
Remove from heat and cool slightly. Add chopped parsley.

3. Heat oven to 450 degrees. (Original recipe calls for toasting breadcrumbs in the oven. I melted a bit of butter and cooked them on the stovetop). While oven is coming to temperature, Heat 1T oil in skillet. Pat artichokes dry and add them to skillet, cut side down. Fry  over moderate heat about 4 minutes until deep golden.

4. Place artichokes cut side up in  large baking dish, Top with fennel mixture. Sprinkle with toasted bread crumbs and bake 15 minutes, or until heated through

5. Arrange 2 artichoke halves on a plate. In a bowl, toss the parsley leaves with the remaining 1T oil and 1/2 tsp lemon juice seasoned with salt and pepper. atop with a bit more parsley and serve.
 (I apologize for not having a photo of completed dish - the picture I thought I thought took was no where on my camera.)( To eat the artichokes, my friend explained that each leaf is separated and only the very bottom of the leaf is consumed. There is a small "meaty" area that is scraped out and eaten. Scraped out either with the teeth or a knife. I was surprised at how very little there was to actually eat.)

As for taste, the fennel mixture was very good. The artichokes, not so much. I was very disappointed with their flavor. Basically, the 'chokes were tasteless. I did not feel they offered anything to the dish, except as  a vessel for the fennel. Maybe this was just a bland artichoke in they way that winter tomatoes really don't resemble ripe summer tomatoes. No matter, I will not be trying artichokes again any time soon.

It should be said that I do not fault the Food and Wine recipe in any way. I suppose I just do not appreciate the delicate flavor of the artichoke. And my friend? She steams them and dips them in melted butter and loves them. I guess this is a case of "to each his own". If anyone has anything to change my mind about these, please let me know. And I cannot imagine making artichoke dip.