Getting past the glut of turkey leftovers and finding something that appeals to a houseload (including myself) of cold-sufferers who can hardly taste anything created quite a challenge, but it was met by a delicious dish I hadn't made in awhile- Indonesian sate. Sate is a dish that can be made with chicken pork or beef, but I usually use pork, it is a nice switch from chicken and boneless country style ribs have the perfect mix of lean and fat to be neither dry nor greasy, and you can often find them on sale. If you can't find boneless ribs, then any cut of pork loin will work.
In our family, the star of this dish is not the meat (which is delectable), it is the amazing peanut sauce which elevates the lowly jar of peanut butter to new heights with the addition of a very few common ingredients. I always double the sauce,because it is in great demand - a combination of smooth, creamy, sweet and spicy- served over long grain and wild rice, it is perfection!
How do I know this was the right choice for beating the leftover-and-cold-doldrums? Because before I could even get a picture, it was all gone!! Give this a try- you won't be sorry (and don't count on leftovers)!
Indonesian Sate
2 lbs of country style boneless pork ribs, cut into uniform-size chunks (you could use chunks of chicken instead) 3 tbsp soy sauce 3 tbsp sherry 1/2 tsp sate seasoning (I got this from Penzey's and it adds a lot of flavor, but if you don't have it, it is okay)
3-4 garlic cloves chopped 1 tbsp olive oil 1 cup smooth peanut butter 2 tbsp brown sugar 2 tbsp soy sauce 1 1/2 -2 cups chicken broth juice of 1/2 lime 1-2 teaspoons red pepper flakes
Mix the soy sauce, sherry and spice in a zip-loc bag and put pork chunks in to marinate for an hour or so. In the meantime make the peanut sauce. Saute the garlic in the olive oil. Stir in the peanut butter, then add brown sugar, soy sauce, stirring to incorporate. Slowly stir in chicken broth until sauce has consistency you like. Stir in lime juice and then add pepper flakes a bit at a time until your desired level of heat is reached. Keep sauce warm. Remove meat from marinade, place on broiler pan and drizzle with olive oil. Broil meat until done, turning pieces as necessary. Serve meat with sauce and rice.
Some of the biggest fans of my cooking have been the friends of my children who have eaten at our house over the years. We have always had extra places at our table for dinners, both routine and holiday. One of my daughter Colleen's friends, Hope, came all the way from Florida to visit and ate dinner with us some time ago. Now first I have to say that Hope is a really great woman and I am so jealous since she has my dream job - she is a midwife. Since she visited us, Hope has become one of my Facebook friends and I have to admit I really look forward to reading her updates about the many babies she delivers nearly every day. Hope has become an honorary Dowd, even stopping in to visit my sister in law and niece when she and her husband took her dream trip to Ireland earlier this fall.
When Hope visited, I honestly don't remember what I cooked, but Hope sure does. I made a Pumpkin-Chipotle Soup that she has been begging me for the recipe ever since. I haven't been torturing her , but I made up the recipe, and I wanted to make it again to make sure I didn't give her a recipe for disaster. I actually made it in the interim but each time, I didn't think about writing down the ingredients until I was already halfway through. Well this past weekend when it was rainy and cool, I decided it was a perfect time to make Pumpkin Chipotle Soup and I was determined to capture the recipe so I could give it to Hope to recreate at home.
This is a wonderful soup recipe- a delicious meatless meal that is rich, but not heavy, with a touch of heat from the chipotle. When we serve it, we top it with crumbled bacon, grated monterey jack cheese and french fried onions.It would also be great with a dollop of light sour cream. I hope all of you will try it, but Hope, this one is for you and all the little pumpkins you deliver!! I guess it would be great for Autumn, too (maybe on Glee night!)
Pumpkin-Chipotle Soup
1 small onion chopped
2 tbs olive oil
1 can pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix)
1 quart chicken stock
1 quart fat free half and half (or real half and half if calories are no issue)
1/2-1 chopped chipotle pepper in adobo sauce(add a little at a time until you get the level of heat you want)
Optional garnishes: crumbled bacon, shredded monterey jack cheese, french fried onions
Saute the onion in the olive oil, until transparent. Add chicken stock. Stir in canned pumpkin with whisk until smooth. Add half and half in a slow stream,whisking into pumpkin mixture. Chop chipotle pepper very fine and add a little at a time, stirring and tasting after each addition to get to the heat you want. Heat through but do not bring to a boil. Ladle into bowls and top with garnishes as desired. Serve with bread and a salad for a delicious fall or winter meal.
There are always new food sites popping up - new food blogs, product sites and food communities- just waiting to be discovered, and it is often hard to stay on top of your old favorites while exploring new and exciting sites. But sometimes the old opens up the new and that happened for me today and so I want to share my new find with you as well.. Today, I saw a post update by one of my favorite bloggers, Susan of Food Blogga, asking for votes for her oatmeal topping in the Quaker Oatmeal Challenge for charity as well as her chocolate cookie recipe on food52. As a blogger who is loyally devoted to my fellow blogger, I voted for Susan's topping (Cinnamon Comfort in Round Three for those of you who want to support Susan's charity as well!), and then travelled around until I found food52. The brainchild of Amanda and Merrill, both prolific food writers with the New York Times, the site has as its mission celebrating the best cooks in the world- home cooks, definitely a sentiment I share. Food52 offers a place for cooks to share recipes and tips, and a blog, as well as contests, pulling recipes that will eventually be included in a book. What a great idea!! With the lofty goal of being the one site on food that you will need, food52 is a fun new site that is worth checking out (and make sure you take a look at my mother-in-law's stuffing recipe which is the cornerstone of the Dowd family Thanksgiving-you won't be sorry). Before you know it, food52 is bound to be an old favorite!
As I have posted recently, I am open to recipes wherever they come from. I particularly love to look in unexpected places for inspiration and recently my inspiration came from a Penzey's Spice catalog. Penzey's is an incredible purveyor of spices, but their catalogs, website and, and magazine, Penzey's One, are all great sources for unique and delicious recipes. So far I haven't made one recipe from them that hasn't been extraordinary, and this one is no exception. As a bonus this dish, Curry Toast, is a quick and easy dinner for those busy nights you get stuck at the office- Add a salad or some fruit and you have a balance meal in minutes. It also uses fairly cheap ingredients making it perfect for a family on a budget.
I used the recipe in the Penzey's catalog and made some adjustments based on what I had on hand, and every time I have made it it is a bit different based on the cheeses I use. As easy as a grilled cheese sandwich, but better!
Curry Toast
1 package (6 ) English muffins 5 tbsp butter 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (Monterey Jack also works well) 1 cup shredded swiss cheese 1/4-1/3 cup mayonnaise (I used light with great results) 1 bunch green onions chopped (including the green parts) 1 tsp sweet or hot curry powder (your choice, but use Penzey's of course) 1-2 garden tomatoes
Split and toast the muffins, then butter and place on cookie sheet. Mix the cheeses, green onions curry powder and mayonnaise gently until well-combined. Slice the tomatoes in uniform slices and dry off with paper towels,placing a tomato slice on each muffin. Cover the tomato slices with the cheese mixture and broil for 4-8 minutes until brown and bubbly. Now try not to eat all 12 yourself!!
I don't have to travel often for my job and usually it is a short jaunt twice a year but the beginning of October I had occasion (my boss was delivering Congressional testimony, and I was delivering him!) to travel twice within the space of 3 days to Washington DC. Once I drove both ways, but the second time I decided to take the easy way out and took the train. While it was a lot of travelling in a little time, the bonus was that I got to spend two nights with my daughter and son who live in Shirlington.
I grew up in Winchester VA, a town that is now a DC bedroom community, but I still love visiting Washington- there is so much to do and see and the pace is so different from where I live now. And as a foodie, there is all manner of food to experience there. One thing I know- if I lived in DC, I would probably weigh a lot more than I do because with so many choices, I would want to experience (and consume) it all! So, in the land of 1000 restaurants, where did I eat during my visit? The first night, I arrived on a Sunday evening (after making my way through hellatious traffic), and my daughter,her significant other (boyfriend sounds so juvenile) and my son were debating where we should go for dinner. With choices like Ethiopian, Vietnamese, Greek, French, Chinese laid in front of me, I caved in and told them to decide. The guys proposed a Spanish/Latin American Restaurant in Dupont Circle that Gavin had been to and Olu had heard good things about and so we piled into Olu's car and headed for Lauriol Plaza. Even though Gavin told me it was big, I was in no way prepared for the modern urban building that looked like it took up a whole block! And even on a Sunday evening, the place was packed! Inside, the restaurant offered multi-level dining,and just being there gave you feeling of fiesta- laughter, clinking of glasses, conversation and music- it felt like home, only louder. I love Spanish and Latin-American food and the reviews I read while waiting for our table made me anxious to check out the menu. While we got settled, our waitress came and took our drink orders, and delivered salsa and some of the thinnest, crispest chips I have ever had. My son, who is a former sous chef, wanted Ceviche for an appetizer, but they were out so he ordered some mussels instead. Katie and Olu ordered some sweet plantains to split. I didn't try the plantains, but Gavin's mussels were cooked to perfection, and the broth made me want to ask for more crusty bread to soak up its goodness. When it was time to order entrees, I was conflicted- I overcame my overwhelming desire to order mole, which I do almost every time I am in the vicinity of Mexican food they offered a special of lamb fajitas which sounded amazing, but I decided on Enchiladas de Marisco, enchiladas stuffed with shrimp and scallops in a seafood sauce with cheese. I encouraged Olu, who was feeling a bit punk,to order the special that was a shrimp with garlic broth that sounded perfect for someone nursing a cold, but he ordered a pork dish instead. Katie ordered chiles rellenos with cheese, and Gavin ordered the Santa Fe Platter that had a cheese chile relleno, a cheese enchilada and a guacamole taco.
Gavin and I have the best luck- besides the fact that his mussels were an amazing app that easily could have made a dinner itself, his combo was full of cheese and had a complexity of spices that was pleasing even to a former chef. Katie was not very happy with her entree, but mainly because it was not what she expected. It was covered in a tomato-y sauce, but when she told our server she adjusted the bill. My enchiladas were amazing! Since seafood has to be cooked just right I was worried that they might be overcooked, but my fear was misplaced because Lauriol Plaza clearly knows seafood. The seafood sauce was delicately flavored and complemented, rather than smothered the morsels of shrimp and scallops. I would have loved to try dessert but I was stuffed to the gills, so we headed home. A great meal and a real dining experience in the land of 1000 restaurants! If you are in the DC area- check out Lauriol Plaza, you won't be disappointed!
