What is unique to the AGA stoves is they are centrally heated and the stove cooks with radiant heat, there are no heat controls or electronic knobs – it is always on and ready to go. You might remember seeing the stove on the Two Fat Ladies television show. It's at the top of my wish list. 

 

A picture is worth a thousand words – check out the video.

 

 

 

I’m writing about my adventure because I adapted two yummy savory pancake recipes that I want to share with you, one being a scallion cilantro pancake that I adapted to an approximate 2 inch pancake to hold thin slices of teriyaki steak. I didn’t make the dipping sauce and I substituted chopped cilantro instead of the small cilantro leaves and sliced scallions instead of the 1 ½ inch pieces of scallions.  I like the pancake as a foil to the teriyaki steak - RECIPE

 

As for making teriyaki steak, so simple, get a jar of Kikkoman’s Teriyaki sauce and marinate your steak.

 

Again, I made smaller versions of the pancakes, 2 inch rounds to hold the smoked salmon. The pancakes were full of flavor and the mustard seeds (readily available in the McCormick display – the glass bottle priced out better than the little plastic jar) added a nice crunch.   I added some dill to the sour cream topping and didn’t used the caviar. These pancakes look like they would freeze well. Feel free to substitute crème fraiche for the sour cream. - RECIPE 

 

  

 2 to 3    Lemons, juiced

4 Cups  Water

¼ to ½ cup Fresh basil leaves

Sugar substitute or simple syrup

 

Add the lemon juice, water, and basil leaves to a blender/food processor. Strain the liquid to get rid of the processed basil leaves. Sweeten with sugar substitute or simple syrup to taste. Pour over ice. Enjoy.

 

Feel free to add a shot of vodka to this for a more adult refresher.

 

 

 

Yes, I know “best” is subjective when it comes to food but First Timer Ribs are the best ribs I’ve ever made and eaten. The recipe is from the king of barbecuing, Steven Raichlen (a Bawlmer Boy). If you can get your hands on some baby back ribs and you like to be king of your barbecue domain then this recipe will bring you praise beyond belief. Take the opportunity to get high on the food praise, enjoy the ribs' fireworks of oohs and aahs, but most of all, relish these delicious ribs. Make extra.

 

I use the standard, always reliable, Weber Charcoal Kettle Grill and follow every nuance of Steven’s instructions. In fact, I would love an invite if you are making them. Here is the link to the recipe.

 

I’ve made this recipe at least 5 times so I consider myself an authority on their preparation. If you have any questions- jot me an e-mail at diningdish@hotmail.com.

Bored with the old dishes, got the urge to try something new, want to spark your tastebuds, entertain with flair then this is the right place to come.  Here at the Dining Examiner's page there will be links to new recipes that will continue to change daily, they are from the great food magazines Gourmet and Bon Appetit.  There will always be new and inspiring dishes to use.  So keep me on your "check it out daily" list for the new recipes and a dinner invitation. 

Coming soon is a story on PHO and cooking in a pressure cooker. 

 

Remember, new recipes every day here at the Dining Examiner. 

Do you have a favorite recipe that everyone raves about? People beg you for the recipe?  You’ve refined the recipe so it can’t be any better? If you answered yes to these questions then you should consider entering it in Morton’s Restaurant Guest Prime Recipe Contest.

 

The winning recipe will be published in Morton’s new cookbook to be published next summer. The winner and guest win a trip to Chicago and dinner at Morton’s with one of the founders.  I would enter the contest but I have a published cookbook under my belt so I don’t qualify.  It is not to say that you can’t go to my post on Unbridled Cooking and take my Honey Truffled Chicken recipe and refine it to your own.  (If you enter my recipe and win you have to take me to Chicago for the dinner.)  

To enter the contest go to www.mortons.com/recipecontest  - Deadline is June 2, 2008.

  

Morton’s Restaurant Group Inc. is the world’s largest operator of company-owned upscale steakhouses.

 

 

I enjoy cooking for small intimate dinner gatherings and this past Sunday wasn’t any different as I put together an eclectic menu for friends. I start small, a simple 3 course dinner and BAM, it has grown, out of control cooking. (recipes below)  Keeping it simple doesn’t seem to be in my realm of reality, I ended up with 6 courses…yup, count them.

 

Pot Stickers with a Yuzu Dipping Sauce

Tom Yum Soup (inspired by my dinner at Redfish)

Grilled Caesar Salad

Lemon Basil Sorbetto

Honey Truffle Marinated Chicken, Steamed Asparagus with Apricot Marmalade and Oven Roasted Potatoes

Yellow Cake with Fudge Icing with Fresh Strawberries

 

Guess what, I didn’t take any pictures at dinner - not a one but I have put together a couple post pictures.   I’m going to write this in course order though food prep was much different.

 

 

 

Pot Stickers: This was a last minute decision to have a munch in the den with drinks before we sat down to dinner. I pulled the Pot Stickers from the freezer, sautéed them and then steamed them per the package instructions. 

 

Yuzu Dipping Sauce: I used a tablespoon of yuzu juice (lime juice is a good substitute), 2 tablespoons of Asian fish sauce, 2 tablespoons of water, 1 teaspoon fresh grated ginger, 1 small garlic clove thinly sliced and 1 teaspoon of sugar to balance the acid of the yuzu juice. Mix and make adjustments to your taste buds.

 

 

Tom Yum Soup:  I had homemade chicken broth(see below)  and combined it with low sodium chicken broth (total 4 cups), diced shallots, sliced mushrooms, shredded carrots and the Instant Sour Shrimp Paste (tom yum) for the chili-sour flavor* (1 teaspoon).  I peeled 8 shrimp and put the shells in a strainer that I put in the stock to cook a bit and add more flavor. I added the shrimp about 2 minutes before service so they wouldn’t be over cooked. I previously boiled off some egg noodles (I was out of rice noodles) which I added to the stock just after the shrimp.

 

* the instant sour shrimp paste is spicy and I suggest start with a regular teaspoon and let it blend well into the soup. Give it a taste and add a bit more until you reach the level of heat you want in the soup. 

 

Grilled Caesar Salad: I had just gotten the new Food and Wine-June 08 and on page 160 they had Seared Romaine Spears with Caesar Dressing. I got Romaine hearts at the produce store on sale for 99 cents…yes, 99 cents. I cut the romaine heads in half lengthwise and brushed with Canola oil and grilled them until they had a slight char on both sides but were still crisp.  The dressing swapped out egg yolks with low fat mayonnaise, red wine vinegar, garlic cloves, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce and Tabasco.  I processed all the ingredients and slowly added Canola oil.  I dressed the plate with the dressing and put the romaine spears on top, salt & pepper, shaved Parmesan-Reggiano cheese and chopped tomato.

 

Lemon Basil Sorbetto: I wrote about this before, it is SOOO good and I had about 11 lemons leftover from a food styling job just the week before so I filled in to the 20 lemons needed. I zested all the lemons before I juiced them and froze them for future cooking endeavors. The recipe is from Executive Chef Bill Crouse at Sotto Sopra – RECIPE.  This was my intermezzo.

 

Honey Truffled Chicken: First I purchased two whole chickens and brought them home and broke them down into parts. I took the wing tips, the backs and gizzards and threw them in the pressure cooker with onions, carrots, celery, parsley stems and salt for a quick stock-used in the Tom Yum soup.

 

Marinade for the chicken:

 

4 ounces of honey

2 tablespoons chicken stock

2 tablespoons of truffle oil

2 tablespoons of chopped fresh thyme

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon of fresh ground black pepper

 

Mix all the ingredients for the chicken. Coat the chicken pieces well and marinate them overnight in the refrigerator. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and bake the chicken about 45 minutes (test for doneness with an instant read thermometer.) As the oven preheats mix up the basting mixture. As the chicken cooks, baste it from time-to-time. 

 

 

Basting mixture for the chicken:

3 tablespoons honey

1 tablespoon chicken stock

2 teaspoons of truffle oil

1 tablespoon of chopped fresh thyme

2 teaspoons of fresh ground black pepper

½ teaspoon of salt

 

 

Oven Roasted Potatoes: I chose to use the tiny red potatoes. Remember start your potatoes in cold water with lots of salt. (If what you are cooking grew below ground you start it in cold water and if it grew above ground you add it to boiling water). Once at a boil, I let them cook 5 minutes and drained. I tossed the potatoes in olive oil, salt, pepper, paprika, chopped parsley, garlic powder, and chopped shallots and put them on a cookie sheet in the oven with the chicken. Every time I basted the chicken, I gave the pan of potatoes a shake.

 

Asparagus: From the WomenHeart’s All Heart Family Cookbook, I used their recipe for steamed asparagus and slivered carrots topped with Apricot marmalade and grated ginger. This is a fabulous cookbook that doesn’t feel like a diet cookbook.  There are many recipes I have fixed and many more I am going to make.  It emphasizes heart healthy foods, 40 foods proven to promote heart health. Ladies, don’t be fooled, heart disease kills more women than breast cancer. This is a cookbook that should be on your shelves – the food tastes great plus you learn how many choices you do have with heart healthy foods.   

 

 

Yellow Cake with Fudge Icing: This is an ongoing quest of mine to find a really moist, dense yellow cake. Where as this cake was delicious,  denser and moist, it wasn’t what I’m seeking ~ so I still search for my holy grail of cakes. PLEASE, if you have a yellow cake recipe that is really dense and moist send it to me (diningdish@hotmail.com).

 

I tried the cake recipe from Restaurant Eve which was in the Washington Post-I did not make their icing.  I searched the internet for a chocolate fudge icing recipe and was ready to make one that called for condensed milk. I knew I had a can in the cupboard only to find out it had a date on it from 1996.  Needless to say, I chose another recipe  – Caroline’s Chocolate Fudge Frosting that came out great (I added a pinch of salt to it and only used ½ cup of milk.  I think salt brings out the chocolate flavor)

 

Heathens that we were, we polished off ½ the cake between 4 people.  I probably should put a warning on this menu “Do Not Try This At Home~ It Can be Harmful to a Full Night’s Sleep and One’s Waistline.” I’m still eating cake and sorbetto; I sent the leftover chicken, asparagus and potatoes home with my guests.   

 

Are you an unbridled cook?  We can start a club and go insane cooking for each other...but what a way to go.

I’m not sure when I first heard of Chef Barbara Tropp. It was so long ago, and many meals have passed since then. Barbara was the chef/owner of China Moon Restaurant in San Francisco and a leading authority on Chinese food. Her interest in Chinese culture started in high school and led to doctoral studies at Princeton. Her passion took her to Taiwan for two years where her two host families guided her on a Chinese culinary path.

Her first cookbook, The Modern Art of Chinese Cooking Techniques and Recipes, came out in 1982. James Beard said, “Barbara Tropp’s volume on Chinese cooking is a unique achievement. Her intelligent and thorough explanations are detailed and truly great. The choice of recipes is exciting. This is a magnum opus for any cooking addict.” More praise appears on the book cover from Maida Heatter and Craig Claiborne.

Entertaining with China Moon

Her China Moon Cookbook is amazing, detailed and always on the money. Her recipes were complex and one made a commitment to make her recipes. I have two distinct memories of entertaining with Chef Tropp’s recipes. The first is the China Moon Infusion Chicken Broth, starting with chicken stock and then making the same recipe with the stock instead of water, and the final step, cooking the stock a third time with whole bulbs of garlic and lemongrass. The average consumer would know that it tasted good but I served this to a food scientist who immediately recognized the depth and layering of flavors.

In the mid ‘90s, I had invited Chef Gino Troia and his wife for dinner, but knew what I served could not be Italian. I decided on what I knew would be wonderful: Clear-Steamed Salmon with Ginger-Black Bean Vinaigrette from the China Moon Cookbook.

She Empowered Many

Chef Tropp broke ground not only in combining California and Chinese cuisines, but also as a leader for women chefs and restaurateurs. It was Barbara along with others like Joyce Goldstein and Lydia Bastianich who spearheaded a now-thriving organization which promotes and lends guidance to women in the restaurant industry: Women Chefs and Restaurateurs (WCR). Little did I know when cooking her recipes that I would benefit from her efforts and be part of the organization she helped create.

A Great Loss

Sadly, in late 2001, Barbara died of ovarian cancer at age 53. Her husband, Bart Rhoades, continues to support WCR and comes to their annual conference every year to present the Barbara Tropp Award. Recently, Bart announced he had just discovered an unfinished, unpublished article of Barbara’s and agreed to mail it to me. I hope you enjoy this new found glimpse of the late, great Chef Tropp. I leave it in the unedited state it was sent to me. I hope you relish this rare opportunity to share once more in Barbara’s passion.


By Barbara Tropp Bon Appetit - Chicken

It is difficult not to like chicken! Or at least I would think so – I, who grew up with a chicken farm down the road (across the way from the corn fields that supplied the vegetable course for our chicken dinners), and who came of culinary age in Taiwan, where the chicken is enchantingly and naturally sweet, and so prized a creature that old men (such as the one I lived with) did verbal battle in the morning marketplaces over the merits of this plump bird or that svelte one. No indeed, chicken on my tongue and to my way of thinking is one of the great foods!

Especially in the warm summer months, chicken is a regular on my Chinese-inclined table. I make an extra effort to plan dinners simply, so that I have time to shop for the freshest possible bird. Shopping as I do in a Chinatown poultry market, I know the chicken is fresh-killed that morning and at its natural best, but if I am traveling and hungry for chicken I look for the same signs of freshness in the everyday supermarket birds – a smooth, glossy skin stretched over a plump breast, a discernable moistness, and no sign of excess juices afloat in the bag or storage tray. And then I plan my meal to show off my prize. A stir-fry of “Spicy Tangerine Chicken” served with a crisp green salad, slices of hot garlic bread and a glass of cool wine, or skewers of “Grilled Chinese Chicken Wings” bedded on seasoned rice and washed down with fresh lemonade is my own personal summer style. I avoid Chinese banquets like the plague, and turn to a simple East-West menu with the same happy pleasure that I would greet a shady tree.

Thinking in terms of cooking pleasure, if you are new to cooking a whole chicken and are intimidated by recipes such as “Chinese Curried Chicken”, “Steamed Chicken with Sweet Sausage and Scallion Oil” and “Orange and Tea Smoked Chicken” that call for you to chop up an entire bird, take heart! It is actually a very easy business. The main trick is to have in hand a sturdy, thick-bladed cleaver that will not knick when it hits the bone, and, if you wish an additional friendly tool, a poultry shear. Then, it’s a matter only of method. I first remove the wings and legs by cutting neatly around the joint, bending the wing or leg back to snap the bone free of the socket, and making the extra cut or two needed to free the joint. If the legs are big, I chop them Chinese-style into thirds across the bone (some good-spirited, hearty whacks do the job), and split the wings in two by cutting through the central joint. Next, I cut the body of the chicken into two by cutting first through the breast bone and then along one side of the backbone. The last step is to cut along the rib cage to divide each half in half again, and then to chop each fourth across the bone into rectangular pieces that make a good-sized morsel then claimed by a fork or chopstick. This act of chopping takes more time to describe than to execute, so don’t hesitate to give it a try.

Similarly, if you are new to cooking Chinese-style and fear that your precious summer hours will be wasted slaving over a chopping block and hot wok, put your fears aside. Recipes such as “Steamed Chicken Dumplings”, “Sourdough Chicken Toasts’ and “Rice Crumb Chicken” – pretty appetizers, the trio – are simple enough for even a novice cook. “Stir-Fried Hoisin Chicken with Hazelnuts”, while involving a marinating step and the classic attention to chopping vegetables and aromatics, may be prepared a full day in advance, leaving the final 3-minute cooking to the leisurely moments just before dinner. And “Chinese Chicken Noodle Soup with Toasted Almonds” and “Cold and Crunch Chicken Salad with Two Sauces” are do-ahead dishes as well, with the additional appeal of the familiar.

Here, then are some lively alternatives to the usual summer chicken. Approach them with confidence and enjoy them with a cold beer and a refreshing salad. It’s summertime and the Chinese Cookin’ is easy.

Rice Crumb Chicken

Soft slices of chicken breast are coated with seasoned rice and steamed, making this a very simple appetizer or light main course.

4-6 hors d’oeuvre servings or 2 entrée servings

½ pound boned and skinned fresh chicken breast
½ teaspoon finely minced garlic
½ teaspoon Chinese chili sauce (optional)
2 teaspoons finely minced scallion, white and light greet parts only
1 tablespoon Chinese rice wine or dry sherry
1 tablespoon soy sauce
½ teaspoon Chinese or Japanese sesame oil
1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon raw white rice
½ teaspoon “Roasted Szechwan Pepper-Salt”
additional pepper-salt for dipping - or – “Hakka Garlic Sauce”

Lightly pound fillets and breast pieces with the broad side of a cleaver until 3/8-inch thick, then cut crosswise into pieces about 2 inches long and 1 inch wide. In a small bowl, toss the chicken, garlic, chili sauce, scallion, wine, soy sauce and sesame oil, stirring well with your hand to coat and separate the slices. Seal airtight and set aside at room temperature for 30 minutes to an hour or overnight in the refrigerator.

In a dry skillet, toast the rice and pepper-salt over moderate heat stirring until the grains turn golden, about 5 minutes. Remove the hot mixture to a food processor fitted with the steel knife and grind to a nubbly consistency about half the size of a peppercorn. Combine the rice mixture with the chicken, tossing to distribute the crumbs.

Arrange the slices in a single layer on a heatproof plate at least 1-inch smaller in diameter than your steamer. (Do not worry if the crumbs do not entirely cover the chicken.) Steam over medium-high heat 15-20 minutes until rice is tender.

Serve with an accompanying dip dish of “Roasted Szechwan Pepper-Salt” or “Hakka Garlic Sauce”, or a simple mixture of 1 part soy sauce and 1 part unseasoned Japanese rice vinegar with a dash of sesame oil or hot chili oil.

Roasted Szechwan Pepper-Salt

A wonderful, all-around seasoning. Store in an airtight jar.

Makes ½ cup.

¼ cup Szechwan peppercorns
½ cup old-fashioned kosher salt

Toast peppercorns and salt in a dry skillet over moderately low heat, stirring, until salt turns off-white. Peppercorns will smoke; lower heat if needed to prevent scorching. Remove hot mixture to work bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel knife and process for a full minute to obtain a coarse powder. Alternatively, pound in a mortar with a pestle. Sieve to remove peppercorn husks.

Hakka Garlic Sauce

A zippy sweet garlic sauce perfect with chicken.

Makes ¼ cup.

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon very finely minced garlic
2 tablespoons unseasoned Japanese rice vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar

Combine the garlic, vinegar and sugar in a small dish, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Set aside 15 minutes to allow flavors to develop, and stir before serving.

©Dara Bunjon

 

As I touch this delicate paper cookbook/pamphlet, Wartime from July 1944, it starts to fall apart in my hands. My husband, a flea market-yard sale devotee, garnished this piece of history for me a couple of months ago. I thought I would share some of the interesting parts of this wartime food legacy with you.

Wartime rationing is not anything most of us have had to deal with in our lifetime. These were times when you didn't have strawberries in the dead of winter, no one knew about nutritional packaging, and there were no TV dinners or fast food joints. In those days you barely had enough butter.

Americanism was promoted when the US was at war in 1944. The opening line of the foreword "We, as a nation, are great meat eaters." The closing line "This series has been carefully prepared with the hope that it will be of real practical value in helping your family and every other family using them to be healthy and happy American citizens."

The Lunch Box chapter continues with the Americanism. "Good foods and proper ones are the bases of healthy, strong bodies. Healthy men and women are vitally necessary to win this war. Yet many workers are not eating the proper foods to give them energy and "pep."

Here is a peppy recipe for a Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich:

Butter two slices of bread. Spread one slice with peanut butter and one with jelly. Put the two together and brush the outside with melted butter. Sauté in butter in a heavy skillet.

Note-Marmalade, or jam may be used in place of jelly.

 

In 1944 there were Seven Basic Foods:

 

Wartime offered a 2-week menu planner so one could appropriately take advantage of the leftovers, no waste. Probably the most unusual combination I saw recommended was a bacon and pickle sandwich on enriched white bread.

 

In the Vegetable Cooking section one can learn how to cook Jerusalem Artichokes. I didn't fathom that this was something grown in the US at that time.

I hope you enjoyed this snippet of Wartime history from 1944 and it's view of how we lived. 

Do you have any pieces of food history you would like to share?