Soup To Satisfy A Pho-natic!

So the BF got me a Flip video camera for Christmas and I've been experimenting with it [Read: Figuring out how it works]. Thus far I haven't made a video that could be posted without editing (shockingly, not many meals can be cooked and filmed in under 5 minutes to fit the YouTube standard) and my poor little laptop doesn't have the memory to edit video. But soon there will be Bacon & Other Bad Habits videos! I'll let you just take a moment to imagine all the potential kitchen catastrophe and debauchery...Yes, there will be wine involved, that much is certain. Yes, potentially even before noon.

One of our favorite meals is the Vietnamese beef and broth soup known as Phò and it is our go-to "I don't want to cook, let's go eat out somewhere" meal. While the Asian markets do carry the spice mixture that purports to make this delicious broth I'm nervous to try to make it at home. (This is truly a case of why mess up a good thing?). However, that doesn't mean I can't take my inspiration from phò and the Vietnamese and make a rice noodle brothy soup with beef. Not in the least!

Since I haven't yet got that whole editing/posting thing together, here's a recipe that I filmed and then pulled the stills out. The images are a little blurrier than the usual, but you still get the idea. Plus, maybe later on you'll get a bonus video prize when I hire a middle school-er to figure out newfangled technology. Kids these days. Your bonus prize for now is that this sucker is really really cheap to make, super filling, and notta lotta calories. For the win! All ingredients can be found at an Asian market or specialty grocer (Whole Foods carries all this stuff, even the lemongrass, if your local grocer doesn't have it).

Vietnamese-style Beef Noodle Soup
--TBSP sesame oil
--cooking spray
--small onion, diced
--garlic, minced
--TBSP chile-garlic sauce
--TBSP fish sauce
--TBSP lime juice
--TBSP soy sauce
--jalapeno, stem and seeds removed, diced fine
--red bell pepper, stem and seeds removed, diced
--1 lemongrass stalk, ends discarded (slice this if you will plan to eat it in the soup, otherwise leave whole so you can discard it after cooking)
--4 thin steaks (I used top round), sliced crosswise into long, thin pieces
--TBSP sesame seeds
--black pepper
--cilantro, dried or fresh chopped
--2 cups beef broth
--1 cup chicken broth

--8 oz. medium (marked Pad Thai or Banh Pho) rice noodles (about 1/2 of a typical 16 oz. package)
--green onion, chopped into 1/4" rings
--Thai basil leaves (optional)

Heat a large pot over medium heat. After a few minutes spray with cooking spray and add the sesame oil to allow the oil to coat the pan. Sauté onion and garlic under fragrant and onion begins to get translucent. Add the chile-garlic sauce, fish sauce, soy sauce, and lime juice and stir to combine. Add the jalapeno and red bell pepper and saute for a few minutes before adding the lemongrass.

Lemongrass is a spiky little critter that will add tons of flavor to and is a staple of Asian dishes. If you want to try to eat the lemongrass I recommend soaking it in warm water for 30 minutes before cooking it. Otherwise it is a non-soluble fiber that stabs at the gums when one attempts to chew it...so like a bay leaf feel free to put in a whole stalk or one that has been chopped in half and then remove it after the cooking process is complete.

Season the steak pieces with sesame seeds and fresh cracked black pepper. If using dried cilantro, season the steaks with this now. If using fresh cilantro, add it at the end. Add the meat to the pot and stir to combine the mixture

Add the broths and water and bring the soup to a boil. Once boiling, add the rice noodles and cover the pot. Simmer for 20 minutes, covered, stirring occasionally.

Remove lid. If using large lemongrass stalks, fish out and discard. Add the chopped green onion and Thai basil (I chopped mine up). If using fresh cilantro, add it now as well. Stir to combine. Serve! To add more spice, add more chile garlic sauce or use what I call "Rooster" (but is really known as Sriracha).

Dammit Jim, I'm a cook, not a doctor...
Time: 60 minutes
Serves: 6
Calories: 272 per serving

I'm Not Julia Child, But Who Is?

In Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Julia Child writes, "As is the case with most famous dishes, there are more ways than one to arrive at a good bouef bourguigon." I've never actually cooked any of Julia's famous recipes nor do I own any of her famous cookbooks (though Christmas is coming up *wink*wink*) but I absolutely appreciate her approach.

You see, there isn't a "right" or "wrong" way to cook necessarily--many good dishes come out of different styles. If following a recipe exactly isn't for you (and trust me, it's not for me) then think of each recipe as more as a guideline. The changes you make, the ingredients you add or remove, the ideas you glean, these all make the dish your own by putting your very own personal stamp on it. (And for those of you who think you're hopeless cooks, following the recipe step-by-step does NOT make you a bad cook. Some follow rules, others like to break them.)

Beef Burgundy (or bouef bourguigon to Julia) is a rich dish of wine soaked beef, carrots, onions, noodles, carrots. Part stew, part pasta, it is an excellent cure for the winter blahs or to warm cold bones. It makes enough for a feast to feed a large crew or to freeze portions for later.

Beef Burgundy
--6 pieces of bacon
--1/2 cup flour
--salt & pepper
--1 1/2 lbs beef stew meat
--1/2 small onion, diced
--garlic, minced
--2 large carrots, peeled and sliced
--3 dry cups assorted sliced mushrooms
--bottle dry red wine
--1 heaping spoonful of tomato paste
--14.5oz can of diced tomatoes
--thyme
--oregano
--1 small bag of frozen peeled pearl onions
--egg noodles
--beef broth

Cook the bacon strips in a dutch oven over medium-high heat. I use scissors to cut mine up into smaller pieces before sautéing. Once the bacon is mostly cooked (crisp but not too crisp), use a slotted spoon to remove it from the pan, leaving as much of the bacon grease/drippings in the pan as possible.

Season the flour with salt and pepper. Dry the beef with a paper towel and then toss in the flour to coat. You want the beef nice and dry so it will sear beautifully. Working in batches, sauté beef in the bacon grease until browned on all sides. Remove and set aside.

In the same pot, saute the onion and garlic for a minute or so until it is fragrant. Add the sliced carrots and saute a minute before adding the mushrooms. Saute until both are tender but not soggy. Add the meat back in to the pot. Dump in the bottle of wine, add some tomato paste, the diced tomatoes, and the spices. Cover and simmer for one hour, stirring only occasionally.

After one hour, add the pearl onions and egg noodles. Pour in enough beef broth to cover the noodles and stir all to combine. Cover and simmer on medium heat for 20 more minutes. Remove the cover and, if necessary, boil to the consistency of sauce you desire (though the noodles should soak up most of the added broth). Season with salt and pepper and serve.

Dammit Jim, I'm a cook, not a doctor...
Time: 2 hours
Serves: 6
Estimated Calories: 780 per serving

Another Asian Delight, Please!

Apparently I'm a little obsessed with Asian food. I mean, it's not anything I didn't actually know before--given the option of where to go out to eat, I'm likely to list four Asian cuisines out of five cuisine choices. But I've noticed that I also like to cook Asian-inspired treats as well, as evidenced by the fact that I made the Pad Thai recipe below twice in the same week...

This recipe is pieced together from many places: Various internet recipes, reading the ingredients on the ready-made stuff at the store, my own random additions. It has one solidifying piece though--everyone I make this for really likes it. It may seem complicated but it really is just that it's a multi-step process. Making pad thai yourself will require a trip to the Asian specialty grocer as many of the ingredients can be more easily (and cheaply) sourced there. One thing to note, if you can only find tamarind in a large package at the Asian grocer you can buy a jar of the pre-made "Pad Thai Sauce" on the same aisle and jazz it up by adding more chili paste.

I've included pictures from both of the weeks preparations. The first, a quiet dinner with family, the second, feeding many hungry mouths on girl's night.

Pad Thai
--1 package rice noodles (these will be marked "pad thai" or "banh pho")
--peanut oil (olive oil will work as a substitute)
--garlic, minced
--shallots, minced
--brick extra firm tofu, drained and cubed
--1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into smaller strips
--pad thai sauce (recipe for this below)
--1 egg
--20 medium or large uncooked de-veined shrimp, tails on
--green onions, sliced into 1/4" thick rounds
--bean sprouts, washed and drained
--1/4 cup unsalted dry-roast peanuts (found on the bulk foods aisle of most grocers)
--fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
--limes, quartered

Pad Thai Sauce:
--1/4 cup fish sauce
--1/4 cup tamarind sauce (instructions below)
--2 TBSP brown sugar
--chili paste, to taste (I use the chili and garlic sauce made by the Sriracha folks)

Prepping the Tamarind:
Tamarind comes in either paste or pulp form, either of which will need to be soaked in hot water first. If you're using tamarind paste, start with a spoonful mixed into 1/4 cup of hot water. If you are using pulp, for every one tablespoon of pulp use 1/3 cup boiling water.

Making the Sauce:
Mix all the ingredients together, stirring well until the sugar dissolves. If you need to add a little heat to do this you can make the sauce in a saucepan over low heat, stirring often. I recommend making the sauce while the noodles are soaking and the chicken is cooking and then setting the sauce aside for later. If you like you can make the sauce the day or morning before and stick it in the refrigerator until you're ready for it.

Making the Pad Thai:
Soak the noodles in tepid tap-water for 10 minutes. Don't let them get soggy! It's better to under-soak the noodles and add some water to the pan later than to have ooey-gooey noodles.

In a large skillet with deep sides, add enough oil to evenly coat the bottom of the pan and heat on high. Cook the garlic and shallots for a few minutes (I also like to toast a few peanuts with them). Add the tofu chunks and sear on each side until golden. Add the chicken pieces and cook until cooked all the way through, stirring regularly so nothing scorches. If things seem to be cooking too fast or to hot, reduce the heat to medium-high.

Add the soaked noodles and toss into the mixture like a salad so you don't break them.  Add the sauce, pouring it evenly over the pan to minimize the need for stirring.  In the center of the pan, make room for the egg. Crack the egg into the pan and scramble it before mixing it up into the rest of the meal.

Add the shrimp and stir gently. (Shrimp will cook quickly from the heat of all the items in the pan so it need not make its way to the bottom of the pan). Add 1/2 of the bean sprouts, most of the peanuts (if you didn't roast most of 'em from the start), and sliced green onions and stir to combine.

Plate it up! Top with remaining sprouts, peanuts, cilantro, and limes.

Dammit Jim, I'm a cook, not a doctor...
Time: 1 to 1-1/2 hours
Serves: 6
Calories: 471

Dinner-Party Party-People!

It's cold where a lot of you are (and buried in snow if you're anywhere close to the East coast!) and perhaps you're feeling a little stir crazy. Summer is a great time for barbecues and outdoor revelry, but what about when you're cooped up in the winter?

I earned my Jr. Adult status recently by hosting a dinner party with some of my favorite people. They helped by each bringing an ingredient and their smart selves for fabulous conversation. I had scrabble and the Olympics in case the conversation lulled, lots of wine, antipasto as appetizers, sorbet for dessert, and a delicious hearty stew as our main focus.

What's key with a dinner party is to have either a variety of dishes or make dishes that can be easily adapted to fit the dietary needs of your guests. We had one pescetarian and one pescephobic in our midst so I made a small separate pot without the sausage, and simply dished out the fish-haters bowl of stew before adding the mussels to the rest of the pots.


Spanish-Style Noodle Bowls
--1 lb. of linguine, capellini, or other thin pasta
--1 lb. chorizo
--garlic, minced
--1 yellow onion, diced
--2 pinches saffron threads
--1 green bell pepper, seeds removed, diced
--1 bell pepper of another color (red, yellow, orange), seeds removed, diced
--1 32 oz. box chicken broth
--1 cup white wine
--1 container of plum, cherry, or grape tomatoes, chopped in half
--1 lb. mussels, scrubbed and de-bearded

Cook noodles per package directions.

Heat a large stock pot (one that has a well-fitting lid) over medium heat. Add the chorizo and cook, stirring and breaking apart into smaller chunks. Once cooked, pour off some of the grease into a jar or container (never down the sink!), leaving some of the oil in the pot with the meat.

Add the onion, garlic, and saffron and cook for 2-ish minutes, stirring constantly. This allows the saffron to permeate and creates a nice base. Next add the chopped peppers and cook until peppers are tender.

Add the wine and half of the chicken broth and bring to a boil. Allow to boil for a few minutes before adding the rest of the chicken broth. Then turn down to simmer. Add in the tomatoes and give a healthy stir.

You have two options about the noodles. You can drain them and add them to the pot now, giving a healthy stir so as to mix well. Or you can dish the noodles into bowls and pour the stew over top. Whichever you prefer!

Now add the mussels to the pot. Cover with the well-fitting lid and leave covered to steam for 3-5 minutes. Open and serve!