Chinese Winter Melon Soup

For the chilly late-Fall and Winter nights coming up, may I recommend brewing up a big ol’ pot of Chinese winter melon soup. It’s as good a chicken soup and much, much tastier.

Plus, it’s easy to make.

Ingredients

• CHINESE WINTER MELON, 1, peeled, seeded, cut into 2-inch chunks
• WATER, 3 cups
• CHICKEN BROTH, 3 cups (or two cans)
• CHICKEN, 1 cup fresh or leftover, cut into small pieces
• FRESH GINGER, 1 3-inch piece, sliced into rounds or smashed
• COOKED HAM, ¼ cup chopped
• MUSHROOMS, 8 ounces sliced and sautéed, or 2 small cans
• GARLIC SALT, to taste
• GREEN ONIONS, chopped for garnish

Directions

1. In a large pot, bring the water and chicken broth to boiling.
2. Add in the chicken, fresh ginger, cooked ham, and mushrooms.
3. Bring back to a boil, then add in the Chinese winter melon and reduce to a simmer.
4. Cook until the melon is tender.
5. Add garlic salt to taste, and garnish with chopped green onions.
6. Serve hot in a bowl with steamed rice on the side.

Chicken Cacciatore 2

Here’s another version of chicken cacciatore, which is kind of based on Giada De Laurentis’ recipe, but altered somewhat because I didn’t have all the ingredients required in her and/or my original recipe.

I also didn’t have the fresh herbs Giada used, so I substituted dried. Plus, I added in some sliced calamata olives to give a deeper flavor dimension, and used white wine instead of red.

Ingredients

• CHICKEN PIECES, 6 to 10, skin-on, with bone
• FLOUR, ¼ cup
• GARLIC-FLAVORED OLIVE OIL, ¼ cup
• BUTTER, 2 tablespoons
• MUSHROOMS, 8 ounces, sliced
• ONION, 1 large, frenched
• GARLIC, 2 cloves, minced
• CALAMATA OLIVES, 12, pitted, sliced into 4 pieces each
• TOMATOES, diced, 1 14.5-oz. can, with juices
• THYME, dried, 1 teaspoons
• BAY LEAF, 1 or 2
• WHITE WINE, ½ cup (I used Chablis)
• GARLIC SALT and FRESHLY GROUND BLACK PEPPER 

Directions

1. Melt the butter in the olive oil in a large flat pan over medium heat.
2. Slowly sauté the mushrooms. Set aside.
3. Add in the garlic and cook gently until the onions are translucent. Set aside.
4. Dust the chicken in flour, shake off excess flour.
5. Brown the chicken pieces in the olive oil, remove and set aside.
6. Slowly sauté the onions, adding in the garlic after a few minutes, season with salt and pepper, cook until tender but not browned.
7. Add in the mushrooms, the onions and garlic, and the remaining ingredients into the pan.
8. Return the chicken to the pan.
9. Check the seasoning, cover and simmer for 40 minutes.
10. Remove the cover, and cook for another 5 minutes uncovered, until the sauce is thick.
11. Skim the excess fat, remove the bay leaves, and serve with pasta or rice.

Hawaiian-Style Oxtail Soup

 

The first time I had oxtail soup, I’d just returned to Hawaii after 10 years on the mainland, and was introduced to it by my mother-in-law, who owned a local-style restaurant in downtown Honolulu. She made it a point to tell me that the natural gelatin (which was copious) from the oxtails was good for one’s health.

 

It was delicious. One of my jobs (when I worked there on holidays and some weekends) was cutting the oxtails into vertebral segments. Once you knew how to do it, it was a snap.

After my in-laws closed their restaurant, I had to rely on other restaurants, with varying degrees of success. I never made it myself. Until now.

Determined to learn how, I did research, finding a basic recipe on the ‘Net, and adapting it to my own taste. You know what? It worked. I made my first pot recently and it was a resounding success. Uber-yummy. Most delicious.

This recipe serves eight hungry people, and here’s how I made it:

INGREDIENTS

• OXTAILS, 5 pounds, separated
• ORANGE ZEST, 1 orange (or, 1 strip of dried orange peel)
• STAR ANISE, 6 whole
• GINGER, 2 three-inch chunks, sliced thin lengthwise
• SALT, 2 or three tablespoons, to taste
• PEANUTS, ½ cup shelled, skinned, raw
• SHIITAKE MUSHROOMS, 8, soaked if dried, sliced into strips
• CHAI PO (Chinese preserved turnip), one lump, chopped up
• MUSTARD GREENS, 2 bunches fresh (about 6-7 cups loosely packed), coarsely chopped
• GREEN ONIONS, 2, chopped, for garnish
• GINGER (Again), finely grated, for garnish

 

DIRECTIONS

1. Fill a large pot halfway with water and bring to a boil. Add the oxtails and parboil for 30 minutes.
2. Drain the pot, rinse the oxtails with water, trim off any unwanted fat (I leave mine on, it adds to the flavor).
3. Return the oxtails to the pot and cover by an inch with cold water. Add the orange zest, star anise, ginger and salt.
4. Bring to boil, reduce to simmer, cover and simmer for an hour.
5. Add the peanuts, mushrooms, chai po, and a handful of the mustard greens.
6. Simmer for three additional hours (or longer), until the meal is fall-off-the-bone tender.
7. Skim off the liquid fat and test the seasoning. Add in the mustard greens, simmer for an additional couple of minutes until the greens are tender.
8. Serve with the garnishes.

(If you want to, let the soup cool and refrigerate overnight. The fat will congeal and can be removed easily. Just reheat to eat.)

Banana Nut Bread

This recipe is very easy to make. No mixing appliance is required, just a spatula, along with a 4x8 loaf pan, and a large mixing bowl. The result is a very tasty banana bread that’s a little on the dense side, just the way I like it, especially when slathered with lots of creamy butter.

The riper the bananas, the better. I use bananas that are so ripe their skins are black.

Ingredients

• BANANAS, 3 ripe, mashed
• BUTTER, 1/3 cup softened
• SUGAR, ¾ cup
• EGGS, 2 beaten
• VANILLA, 1 teaspoon
• WALNUTS, ½ cup, chopped
• BAKING SODA, 1 teaspoon
• SALT, 1 pinch
• FLOUR, all-purpose, 1½ cups

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350˚.
2. Cream the butter and sugar together, add into the mashed bananas, in a large mixing bowl.
3. Mix in the eggs, vanilla and walnuts.
4. Mix in the baking soda and salt.
5. Mix in the flour.
6. Butter the inside of the loaf pan, fill with the banana batter and bake in the oven for 1 hour.
7. Allow to cool on a rack before removing from the loaf pan and slicing. Serve with lots of creamery butter.

Spiced Pecan Pumpkin Quick Bread

Last October, when the wife and I were browsing in the Ala Moana Center’s Williams-Sonoma store, I picked up a package of their Spiced Pecan Pumpkin Quick Bread mix, fully intending to put it together during the Fall holiday season.

Well, things being the way they are, I put it away in the cupboard and didn’t get to it until a month or so ago.

It's a snap to make. All you do is mix the contents of the package with a cup of water, two eggs and a stick of melted butter. Pour the batter into a greased muffin pan (or use paper muffin cups) and bake 20 to 30 minutes in a preheated 350-degree oven until a toothpick comes out clean and dry.

Make sure to rotate the pan so all the tops brown evenly.

Then, after removing them from the pan and cooling them off on a rack, slather cream-cheese frosting all over the top and decorated with some cute candy sprinkles.

The frosting consists of a stick of soft butter, a cup of soft cream cheese, a cup of powdered sugar, and a teaspoon of vanilla. Combine the ingredients until smooth, and then ice the muffin tops with a butter knife or any other flat utensil.

 

I made 16 muffins with the mix, but you can make it as a loaf in a bread pan. Or, I guess, you can make cookies out of the mix.

Delicious!

 

Scallops Wrapped in Bacon

You’ve had these as canapés and appetizers, but they are also great as an entrée, serving three to four per person.

They’re totally delicious. I mean, with bacon and maple syrup, what’s to not like? And it’s so easy to make that it’s almost a crime to write a recipe for the dish.

Sure, they're rich, but try it. I guarantee you’ll like it (unless you don’t like scallops or bacon or butter or maple syrup).

Ingredients

• SCALLOPS, 12, large
• BACON, 6 slices, cut in half
• BUTTER, 1 tablespoon
• MAPLE SYRUP

Directions

1. Rinse and pat-dry the scallops.
2. Wrap the scallops with bacon and secure with toothpicks.
3. Place on sheet pan lined with parchment paper.
4. Top with pea-sized pat of butter.
5. Broil 20-30 minutes at 425°, turning once, until bacon is cooked.
6. Remove from oven and drizzle with maple syrup.

Scallops and Snow Peas with Salsa

Scallops aren’t cheap, and when you get a chance to buy some in bulk at a reasonable price, do so. Costco has deals all the time, but be prepared to buy enough for three meals. What I do is break the bulk and repackage the purchase into two or three packages of a dozen large scallops each, using my vacuum food saver.

Actually, you can substitute the salsa with any kind of sauce you want. If you’re in the mood for Italian, use marinara sauce. Country gravy is good, and if you want French instead, use a beurre blanc.

Ingredients

• SNOW PEAS, approximately two dozen in the pod
• SEA SCALLOPS, 12 large, each cut in half horizontally
• ONION, ¼ of a large or ½ of a medium, sliced
• GARLIC SALT, to taste
• BUTTER, 2 tablespoons
• OLIVE OIL, ¼ cup
• SALSA, commercial brand (I use Pace Mild), ¼ to ½ cup 

Directions

1. Prepare, rinse and dry the scallops, seasoning lightly with garlic salt.
2. String the peas if necessary, and boil until just tender in water seasoned with garlic salt. Drain and set aside.
3. Sear the scallops in a hot pan with olive oil and butter until barely cooked through, remove from heat and set aside.
4. Sauté the onions in the buttered pan.
5. Add in the snow peas, then the scallops, including any juices.
6. Add in the salsa and heat through.
7. Serve with rice or tortillas.

Apple-Pinoli Bread Pudding

Pinoli are shelled pine nuts with a very distinctive and mild nutty flavor all their own. This recipe is a “tinkered-with” recipe of one I have used for a while, this time adding in some chopped apples and toasted pinoli instead of my usual raisins.

Use a stale French baguette (the skinny, long loaf); the staler and drier the bread is, the better it will soak in the custard liquid. If your bread is fresh, dry it in the refrigerator overnight. That’ll do the trick.

If you bake it for 45 minutes, the top will be nice and crusty, and the inside pretty moist. If you prefer a drier bread pudding, then leave it longer in the oven.

Ingredients

• BREAD, 1 French baguette
• BUTTER, 4 tablespoons, melted
• EGGS, 8 beaten
• MILK or HALF AND HALF, 4 cups
• SUGAR, 1½ cups
• CINNAMON POWDER, 2 teaspoons
• NUTMEG, ½ teaspoon
• VANILLA EXTRACT, 4 teaspoons
• PINE NUTS, ¼ to ½ cups, shelled and lightly stove-top toasted
• APPLE, 1 large, ½-inch diced

Directions

1. Using a serrated bread knife, cut the French baguette bread in half lengthwise, then cut each half in half the same way. Cut crosswise into 1-inch cubes (see the introduction, re drying the bread overnight if necessary).
2. Prepare the pine nuts and apple; combine them with the rest of the ingredients in a large mixing bowl and add the bread cubes.
3. Let it soak for a while (15 minutes should be okay, as long as the bread becomes wet throughout.
4. Pour the bread mixture into an 11x9 pan and spread evenly.
5. Bake for 45 minutes to an hour in a 350˚ oven.
6. Remove from oven and let stand for a half-hour before serving.

Sautéed Tilapia with Tomato Mélange Relish

Tilapia is a very tender, flaky white fish with a somewhat neutral flavor that adapts well to seasoning and sauces. Or, in this case, a tomato relish. I call it a “mélange” because of the various ingredients that I use.

The last time I made this, I had a jar of pickled bell peppers that added the perfect zing to the relish. If pickled peppers aren’t available, use diced green and/or red bell peppers instead. I would roast them first and char off the skins.

Adding calamata olives adds saltiness to the combination of sweet-sour pickles, the acidity of the tomatoes, and the sweetness of the honey. And of course, the onions turn sweet in the butter.

Ingredients

• TOMATOES, 3 medium Maui or Vidalia, seeded and diced
• ONION, 1 large, chopped
• CELERY, 2 stalks, diced
• PICKLED PEPPERS, ¼ cup (more, or less, to your liking), chopped
• CALAMATA OLIVES, 10, seeded, chopped
• HONEY, 1 tablespoon
• GARLIC SALT, to taste
• BLACK PEPPER, freshly ground, to taste
• TILAPIA FILETS, 4 to 6
• SEASONED SALT, to taste
• OLIVE OIL, about 1 tablespoon each for the relish and the fish
• BUTTER, 3 tablespoons for the relish, 2 tablespoons for the fish

Directions

1. First, make the relish. Heat the olive oil and melt the butter in a large pan.
2. Cook the onions over medium heat until soft but not browned.
3. Add the celery, tomatoes, pickled peppers and olives and heat through.
4. Add the honey, garlic salt and black pepper.
5. Heat through and set aside.
6. Next, sauté the tilapia; season the filets with the seasoned salt.
7. In a clean large sauté pan, heat the olive oil and butter until it’s melted.
8. On medium heat, brown one side of the filet, then flip over and brown the other side.
9. Serve the fish over a bed of tomato relish.

 

 

Rigatoni with Garlic Shrimp

This is a pretty light and delicious main course. I saw a version of this recipe, called aglio gamberetti con pomodoro in Italian, on David Rocco's Dolce Vita show on the Cooking Channel, and added in the mushrooms and olives because I had some leftover in the refrigerator.

I used rigatoni, but you can use whatever pasta you have in your larder.

Ingredients

·         OLIVE OIL, ¼ cup

·         GARLIC, 2 cloves

·         SHRIMP, 16 headless, size 16/20

·         CHERRY TOMATOES, ½ cup, halved

·         ZUCCHINI, 1 medium, ¼-inch dice

·         MUSHROOMS, 4-6, sliced thin

·         OLIVES, ½ cup sliced

·         LEMON, ½, juice, plus zest if desired

·         GARLIC SALT, to taste

·         BLACK PEPPER, freshly ground, to taste

·         PASTA, about one cup, rigatoni or your choice

Directions

1.       Cook the pasta and set aside.

2.       Clean the shrimp by removing the legs, cutting down the back with scissors and removing the vein. Leave the shells and tails on for extra flavor.

3.       Slice or crush the garlic and heat it in the olive oil.

4.       Sauté the shrimp in the hot oil until just orange/pink inside. Set aside.

5.       Sauté the tomatoes, squishing them slightly.

6.       Add the zucchini, mushrooms and olives.

7.       When the veggies are cooked and slightly tender, return the shrimp to the pan.

8.       Add the lemon juice.

9.       Add in the pasta and mix well.

Insalata Caprese

One of my favorite salads is Insalata Caprese, more commonly referred to by its English name – Caprese Salad (or, “salad in the style of Capri”).

I forget when I first discovered this salad, but once I did, there was no stopping me once I saw it on an Italian restaurant menu. Plus, it’s so easy to make. Nothing to it, just get the right ingredients and arrange them on a plate.

If the basil leaves are limp when you buy them, refresh them by placing in iced water and they will perk up.

Ingredients

·         ROMA TOMATOES, as many as you like, estimating one per diner

·         MOZZARELLA CHEESE, one ball, soft and moist

·         FRESH BASIL LEAVES

·         OLIVE OIL, extra virgin top quality

·         BALSAMIC VINEGAR (optional), aged, from Modena if possible

·         SALT and PEPPER to taste

Directions

1.       Slice the tomatoes into rounds, approximately 3/8 of an inch thick.

2.       Slice the mozzarella cheese into rounds, about the same as the tomatoes.

3.       Chiffonade some of the basil leaves.

4.       Arrange the tomatoes, cheese and basil in alternating layers.

5.       Sprinkle with olive oil (and balsamic vinegar), then salt and pepper to taste.

6.       Arrange a few basil stem tips and leaves on the plate as decoration.

Spaghetti and Spare Ribs

I once saw Iron Chef Michael Symon prepare a dish similar to this on his Symon’s Suppers show on The Cooking Channel, so I thought I’d see what I could do with it.

The dish turned out pretty good. It’s not hard to make because I used jarred marinara sauce. You can use any sauce you want, perhaps even make your own, but I used Mezzetta Napa Valley Bistro Pasta Sauce that we picked up at the local Safeway Supermarket.

Ingredients

·         PORK SPARE RIBLETS, 10-12, separated and trimmed

·         CANOLA OIL, approximately 1½ cups

·         FLOUR, about ½ cup

·         SWEET ONION, 1 large, chopped

·         BACON, 4 slices cut into lardons

·         MARINARA SAUCE, 1 jar, about 3 cups

·         CHERRY TOMATOES, 15 smashed

·         CALAMATA OLIVES (Optional), 10 chopped

·         GARLIC SALT, to taste

·         BLACK PEPPER, freshly ground, to taste

·         DRIED SPAGHETTI, up to 1 pound

Directions

1.       Heat the oil in a large pan until a little flour tossed into it sizzles.

2.       Flour the riblets and brown on all sides, remove and set aside.

3.       In a large pot, brown the bacon in about a teaspoon of the oil.

4.       Add the onions and cook on medium heat until translucent.

5.       Add the marinara sauce and tomatoes (and optional olives), combine thoroughly.

6.       Season with garlic salt and ground pepper.

7.       Place the browned riblets into the sauce, stir, coating the riblets, cover and simmer for 1 hour.

8.       About 15 minutes before eating, cook the spaghetti pasta per package directions.

To serve, remove the riblets from the sauce pot, skim off the excess pork fat, add in the pasta and stir until evenly coated. Place a serving of sauced pasta on a plate, along with 2-3 riblets.

Spinach and Italian Sausage Lasagna

Nobody doesn’t like lasagna. Take a tip from Garfield the Cat and have it often. It’s not that hard to make, although getting your mise en place ready is a bit time-consuming. Once that’s done, however, it’s just layer and bake.

If you make your own marinara sauce, great. Me, I’m lazy, and I use store-bought jars of marinara. You can add other stuff in your lasagna – olives, green onions, zucchini, crispy bacon, leftover sausages – it’s all up to you and your “druthers,” whatever you like.

Lasagna is personal.

Ingredients

·         LASAGNE NOODLES, 1 box

·         ITALIAN SAUSAGE, 1 pound, removed from casings

·         SPINACH, 1 bag fresh (or, 1 box frozen)

·         MUSHROOMS, ½ pound sliced

·         RICOTTA CHEESE, 16 ounces

·         EGGS, 2 large

·         PARMESANO REGGIANO CHEESE, 1 cup grated

·         MOZZARELLA CHEESE, 16 ounces grated

·         MARINARA SAUCE, 1 large jar or 16 ounces homemade

·         OLIVE OIL, 1 tablespoon

·         GARLIC SALT 

Directions

1.       Grate the parmesan and mozzarella cheeses, and set aside.

2.       Cook the spinach with lots of salted water until just wilted. Take out with a slotted spoon and let cool.

3.       Use the spinach water to cook the lasagna noodles until just al dente. Lay the noodles flat on a tray to cool.

4.       Sauté the Italian sausage in a tablespoon of olive oil until crumbly, set aside.

5.       Sauté the mushrooms in the pan drippings and oil, and set aside.

6.       Mix the eggs into the ricotta cheese until well blended, set aside.

7.       Spoon and spread a little marinara sauce on the bottom of a lasagna pan and line the bottom with a layer of lasagna noodles.

8.       Spread marinara sauce on the noodles, then layer with sausage, then ricotta, then spinach, then parmesan, then mushrooms, then mozzarella.

9.       Continue layering two more times, concluding with a layer of lasagna noodles, marinara, whatever else you may have bits of, and lots of mozzarella.

10.   Cover with aluminum foil and bake for one hour in a 350˚ oven. After one hour, remove the foil and continue baking for an additional 15 minutes or until the mozzarella cheese has turned slightly golden.

11.   Remove from oven and let stand for at least 15 minutes before serving.