la table de david 2005

La Table de David
Cuisine du Monde a la Mode de Chez Nous

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Nos Spécialités

Jambalaya (La Nouvelle-Orléans, États-Unis)

Ma Po Do Fu (La Chine)

Split Pea Potato Soup (L'Italie)

Basil Chicken (La Thaïlande)

Noodles - stir-fried with beef and black beans (La Chine)

Satay With Peanut Sauce (L'Indonésie)

Beef Fillets Cooked In Wine (L’Italie) and Pasta with Roquefort Béchamel 

Ginger Chicken (La Chine)

Beef Stew Noodles (La Chine)

Bistro-Style Rib Eye Steak (La France)

Chicken Saltimbocca A La Marsala (L’Italie)

Merlot-Braised Chicken Involtini (L’Italie)

Sole Rolatini (L’Italie 1Q05)

Beef Enchiladas and Mexican Rice (Le Mexique 3Q05)

Chicken Sauté Meunière (La France)

Butterflied Roast Chicken with Potatoes (États-Unis)

Spice-Rubbed Flank Steak (États-Unis)

Beef Chow Fun (La Chine)

Napolitano Beef Ragu (Stracotto - Italian Pot Roast)

Mushroom Pesto Guanciale (L’Italie)

Hot and Sour Tofu Soup (La Chine)

Buccatini All’Amatriciana (L’Italie)

Les Entrées

Tomato-Ginger Soup (La Chine)

Carrot Ginger Soup (La France)

Leafy Salad with Mustardy Vinaigrette (La France)

Potato Leek Watercress Soup (La France)

Kerala-style Fried Tomatoes (L’Indie)

Potato Gnocchi with Butter and Prosciutto (L’Italie)

Drooling Gnocchi (L’Italie)

Pasta with Cilantro Pesto (Fusion)

Polenta with Fontina and Mushrooms (L’Italie)

Bruschetta de tomate  (l’Italie)

Niu Rou Xian Bing from Peaceful restaurant, Vancouver

Niu Rou Xian Bing from Peaceful restaurant, Vancouver, CA

Notes from watching an episode of Dianer, Drive-Ins and Dives.

Beef shanks in boling water with 

star anise

dried red chili peppers

real cinnamon

bay leaf 

clove

licorice root

fennel seed

black cardamon pods (looked big like nutmegs)

green onions

ginger

rock sugar

salt

light soy sauce

dark soy sauce

xiao shing

white pepper

Simmer covered for 4 hours

Dough 

(same as for the noodles apparently, which had 3 parts all-purpose flour and 1 part cake flour plus cold water and a little lye water).  

Roll out dough into a large rectangle, add shortening, salt, green onion slices across the surface, roll up dough in to a long sausage.  Divide into 3 oz pieces.  Roll each piece out into a plate size circle, Fry in oil til golden on each side.  

Spread the pancake with hoisin sauce (with rock sugar?), sweet bean sauce and scallion slivers.

Add thin slices of the beef, roll up and slice into 4 pieces on the diagonal.

Pan Fried Dumplings (Pot Stickers to me)

ground pork butt

granulated sugar 

light soy sauce

dark soy sauce

rice wine

white pepper

ginger

green onions

cold water

mix all together

add a large amount (1/4 the amount of pork?) minced pak choi

sesame oil

Dipping sauce, soy sauce, garlic, sesame oil and rice wine vinegar

Made bruschetta from the first big tomato of the season and from some cherry tomatoes.  Plants started out good but have grown slowly and the Pink Brandymaster looks like it's dying of a wilt.

Red Lentil Curry Soup

Inspired to try this out after having a soup with the same name at Salvador Molly's in Portland with Larry and Karen.   Didn't find a recipe so improvised my own.  Mine was definitely not the same but still good.  Mine was more strongly flavored with tomato (not sure Molly's had tomato) and even hotter than theirs.

1 yellow onion, minced
2-in piece ginger, grated or minced very fine
3 large cloves garlic, finely minced
1 large Serrano chili plus some small hot ones all finely minced
1 bay leaf
1 C split red lentils
1 T Draeger's hot (madras) curry powder
2 tsp Draeger's garam masala
2 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp whole cumin seed
1 tsp whole brown mustard seed
14 oz can petite dice tomatoes
4 C chicken broth
4 C water
salt and pepper
2T canola oil
splash of vinegar (I used balsamic but probably would have used lime juice if I had had a lime handy).
Served with minced cilantro and plain steamed rice.

1. Heat the oil in large sauce pan and add the minced onion and some salt and fry until soften and browning.  Add the ginger, garlic and peppers and fry another couple of minutes.  Add the whole spices in a hot spot and toast then add the powdered spices and toast.
2. Add the tomatoes, stir.  Taste and add salt and pepper, Now add the lentils, stock and water and bay leaf.  Bring to a boil and then simmer until the lentils are very soft and falling apart.  30-40 minutes.  
3. Blend soup with the immersion blender, taste and adjust the salt and acidity as needed.

Chicken Tikka Masala

Derived from the Bobby Flay Throwdown.  It's actually the challengee's recipe: Marianna Vadukul whose restaurant is Saffron in Chatham NY but was tracked down by The Enchanted Cook blog.

TIKKA MASALA RECIPE FOR 6 PEOPLE

• 4 breast organic chicken in cubes
• 2 large red onion thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons crushed garlic
• 2 tablespoons crushed ginger
• 1 can 28 oz. crushed tomatoes
• 1 cup of yogurt
• 1 cup heavy cream (optional)
• 2 tablespoons cumin
• 2 tablespoons garam masala
• 2 tablespoons turmeric
• 1 tablespoons chili podwder
• Salt

Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large heavy skillet over medium heat. Add in the onions and start caramelizing them until brown. Add the crushed ginger stir for 5 minutes,saute the garlic for 1 minute. Add cumin, garam masala, turmeric, chili powder, and mix well, until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Stir in tomatoes and yogurt. Simmer on low heat until sauce thickens, about 20 minutes. Add cubes of chicken, and simmer for 10 minutes. Season it with salt and transfer to a serving platter, garnished with cilantro. Serve with Bamati Rice or Naan.

My notes from the first (4/7/2012) and second (4/29/2012) times making it.  

I used 3 breasts and made the cubes 1/2 inch the second time because they were too big the first time.  I used Muirglen diced tomatoes and Fage greek yogurt.  The first time it was a little under acid and I added a little lime   juice and Phil pronounced it sublime.  Second time in came out too acid and didn't cook it long enough before adding the chicken so the tomato was too solid.  

Changes for next time.  Brown the onions longer.  Brown the spices a little more before adding tomatoes.  Use crushed tomatoes or cuise the diced ones to make them smaller and be sure on the full 20 minutes cooking time before adding the chicken.  Don't cover the pan to try to keep it from drying out -- Phil likes it drier.  

I served with a variation on Bobby Flay's rice (without the peas).  Second time tried it without the cinnamon as well but decided it was better with.  

July 1 update.  Made again using crushed tomatoes and 2C whole fat Greek yogurt.  Came out reasonably well.  I might have liked a little less acid and a little more richness.

Made red lentil dal (1 onion, ginger, garlic, cumin seeds, fennel seeds, turmeric powder, 1 can tomatoes, 4 C water not enough salt.)  Garnished with some fresh fenugreek leaves from the garden.

Tomatoes 2012 Day 1

Left side (top to bottom):

1. Beefmaster Hybrid 80 days, VFNASt, 16-32 oz
2. Carmello 75 days, VFNT, 5-7 oz (supposed to be very productive)
3. Park's Beefy Boy 70 days (from transplant), VFFTSt 12-18 oz
4. Super Beefsteak 80 days, VFN, 16 oz (open pollinated?)

Right side (top to bottom):

1. Pink Brandymaster F1 Hybrid, 80 days, VF, 10 oz (potato leafed)
2. Marianna's Peace 85 days, , 10-16-32 oz pink (potato leafed)
3. Yellow Brandywine 90 days, , 16 oz  (potato leafed)
4. Sunsugar 62 days, FT, 1/2 oz
5. Grape 65 days, Late Blight resistant, 1/2 oz

I usually plant the tomatoes on tax day weekend.  This year there was a lot of rain in the weekdays before the weekend and I delayed planting until Sunday because the Sat night low temperature predictions ranged from 45F-48F. 

Redug the bed last year.  This year just added 1/2 Box of E.B Stone's Tomato and Vegetable Food and 1 Bag (2 cu feet) havest supreme soil admendment before planting.

April 30 (two weeks) photo:

Lentil Dal

Dal


Dal Makhani - Low Fat Recipe

I ended up using hulled red lentils (1 c) instead of the the urad and kidney beans, cooked them in 1.5 C water + 1C non-fat milk until tender and nearly dry.  Added the separately fried onions, spices and tomatoes and more water and simmered 10-15 minutes.  Needed more salt than I used.
Ingredients
1/2 cup urad (whole black lentil)
1 tbsp rajma (kidney beans)
1 cup low fat milk
1/2 tsp cumin seeds (jeera)
1/2 cup finely chopped onions
1 tsp ginger-garlic (adrak-lehsun) paste (I used 1T)
1 tsp chilli powder
1/4 tsp turmeric powder (haldi)
2 tsp coriander (dhania) powder
3/4 cup fresh tomato pulp (I used diced tomato)
1 tsp oil
salt to taste

For The Garnish
2 tbsp chopped coriander (dhania)

Method
Clean, wash and soak the whole urad and rajma overnight. Drain and keep aside.
Combine the dals, and salt with 2 cups of water and pressure cook till the dals are overcooked. Whisk well till the dal is almost mashed.
Add the milk and 1 cup of water and simmer for 10 minutes while stirring occasionally.
Heat the oil in a non-stick pan and add the cumin seeds. When the seeds crackle, add the onions and ginger-garlic paste and sauté till the onions turn golden brown.
Add the chilli powder, turmeric powder, coriander powder and tomato
Pulp with ¼ cup of water and sauté for 5 to 7 minutes.
Add this to the dal mixture and simmer for 10 to 12 minutes till the
Dal is thick and creamy.
Serve hot, garnished with the coriander.

RECIPE SOURCE : Cooking with 1 Teaspoon of Oil

Thai-Inspired Chicken Orzo soup

Cooked without a recipe Jan 9, 2012

• 10 C chicken stock
• 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast in 1/4 in dice
• 3-4 T thai green curry paste
• 3 kaffir lime leaves
• 3/4 C large orzo
• minced garlic
• minced ginger
• sliced mushrooms, crimini and shitake
• 1 yellow onion diced
• small shredded napa cabbage
• 1-2 T Fish sauce
• 1-2 T Shao Xing rice wine
• 1/2 diced red bell pepper
• Snow peas cut in thirds
• 1 large egg
• minced cilantro for garnish
• minced mint for garnish
• 2 tsp oil
• (used some cucumber in this rendition but Phil didn't like it).

Heat oil in dutch oven.  Saute mushrooms until browned.  Add onion and saute.  Add garlic, ginger and stir fry briefly.  Add chicken and fry to get some browning if possible.  Add the curry paste.  Cook briefly.  Add the curry leaves.  Add the stock and bring to boil.  Add the fish sauce and rice wine, Add the orzo and reduce to simmer. 

When the orzo is nearly cooked through add the peas and peppers and simmer for a minute or two.  Add the egg while stirring as for egg flower soup.  Add the napa cabbage and serve passing the cilantro and mint to be spinkled on each bowl.

From Jacques Pepin, More Fast Food My Way.

Peas, Mushrooms, and Endive This stew features an unusual combination of vegetables. Petite peas are the small ones in the pods, which are sweeter and more tender than the starchy large peas. The slight bitterness of the endive and the earthy taste and firm texture of the mushrooms lend complexity to this dish.
4 SERVINGS

2 teaspoons peanut or canola oil
1 cup coarsely chopped white mushrooms
1 large Belgian endive, cut crosswise into 1-inch slices (about 2 cups)
2 cups (about 8 ounces) frozen petite peas
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1½ tablespoons unsalted butter

Heat the oil in a large skillet. When hot, add the mushrooms and endive. Cover and cook over medium to high heat for 4 to 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the moisture is gone and the mixture starts sizzling. Add the peas, salt, and pepper, uncover, and continue cooking for about 2 minutes, or until the peas soften and get hot and tender. Add the butter and cook for another minute while tossing the mixture. Serve.

Recipe: Stir-Fried Lamb With Chili, Cumin and Garlic

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Published: September 20, 2006

Time: At least 30 minutes

Readers’ Opinions

Forum: Cooking and Recipes

1½ pounds lamb shoulder
1 tablespoon cumin seeds
½ teaspoon crushed red chili flakes, or to taste
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
1 tablespoon soy sauce
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Peanut or neutral oil, like grapeseed or corn, to film the bottom of the skillet
1 cup trimmed and roughly chopped scallions, optional
Chopped fresh cilantro leaves for garnish, optional.

1. Cut lamb into ½-inch cubes (easier if meat is firmed in the freezer for 15 to 45 minutes). Toast cumin seeds in dry skillet over medium heat, shaking pan occasionally, until fragrant, a minute or 2. Toss together lamb with cumin, chili, garlic, soy sauce, a large pinch of salt and a healthy grinding of pepper. If you like, cover and refrigerate until ready to cook, up to 24 hours.

2. When ready to cook, put a tablespoon of oil in a large skillet (ideally, it will hold the lamb in one layer, or nearly so) and turn heat to high. When hot, add lamb. Cook, undisturbed, for about a minute, then stir once or twice to loosen lamb from skillet. Cook another minute, then stir again. Add scallions, if using, and cook, stirring occasionally, until scallions glisten and shrink a bit and the meat is about medium.

3. If you want a slightly saucier mixture, stir in ¼ cup water and cook another minute. Serve hot over rice, garnished, if you like, with cilantro.

Yield: 4 servings.

A Lamb Classic From Mongolia

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By MARK BITTMAN

Published: September 20, 2006

IF I were to ask someone who knows about the world’s cuisines, “Where is the combination of chili, cumin, garlic and lamb a classic?” the most likely answers would be North Africa, the Middle East or elsewhere in western Asia. But this dish is straight from Mongolia, via the street vendors of Queens, and it’s little more than those four ingredients.

Related

Recipe: Stir-Fried Lamb with Chili, Cumin and Garlic(September 20, 2006)

Readers’ Opinions

Forum: Cooking and Recipes

On the street, the lamb is marinated for who knows how long, threaded onto skewers, grilled quickly over very hot charcoal and sold for a buck — maybe two — a stick. If you wanted to do it that way at home, you could, with good wood charcoal and a grill rack pretty close to the heat. You want to sear the lamb, but keep it medium rare.

The combination takes perfectly well to stir-frying. Start with lamb shoulder; leg is not lean or tender enough for this treatment. You can use loin if you prefer, but the dish will cost at least 10 times as much and it won’t be any better. Marinate it dry (or nearly so; I use a little soy sauce, for complexity) for as long as you like — 10 minutes, an hour, a day. The flavor will get a little stronger, though not much.

More important than the length of time is the freshness of your cumin. You absolutely need cumin seeds, not ground cumin. It’s worth the two or three minutes it takes to toast the seeds before marinating the meat. You can grind them if you like, but I like the little bit of crunch the seeds add.

For stir-frying, get your pan really hot, then add some oil and the lamb and leave it alone for a minute; let it sear. Stir it and let it sear again.

I offer a couple of other options, but it’s that basic combination of flavors, no matter where it’s from, that’s doing the work here.

THE MINIMALIST; A Little Skin, A Lot of Fire

By Mark Bittman
Published: September 03, 2003

THIS recipe could unite those who would become ecstatic when they see a dish of chicken skin on a restaurant menu and those who would flee into the street.

I'm in the first group. My own fascination with chicken skin began with my grandmother's chopped liver, mixed with bits of crisp-fried skin -- the best part, as everyone knew.

My fascination was revived recently at the Grand Sichuan restaurant on Second Avenue near 56th Street, where I had a stir-fry of chicken skin and whole dried chilies. There's not much more to the dish than that, but it is a beauty. (They can also make it with chicken meat instead of skin.) This recipe, from my kitchen and not from the restaurant, combines skin and meat. You can eliminate the skin; just start with a couple of tablespoons of peanut or vegetable oil.

The keys to dishes that feature handfuls of dried chilies are one, don't eat the chilies. And two, don't let any of them break open while cooking; each broken one will intensify the heat exponentially. But they're sturdy devils, so this is not that difficult.

The browned chilies lend the dish a nearly fiery smokiness, rather than just plain fire. I'm fairly timid when it comes to hot food, but the heat of this dish does not overwhelm me.

Browning the skin renders its fat, which in turn is used to cook the other ingredients. It's best to stir-fry the ingredients in batches, to brown them nicely, then combine them and build the simple sauce.

Needless to say, this is for a select audience, but if you find the right group, ecstasy may result.

SICHUAN CHICKEN WITH CHILIES

Time: 40 minutes

4 chicken leg quarters (legs and thighs)

Salt

20 to 40 whole dried red chilies

1 red bell pepper, seeded and finely chopped

1 tablespoon chopped garlic

2 tablespoons dry sherry

1/2 cup chicken stock

2 tablespoons soy sauce.

1. Skin chicken, and cut skin into 1/2-inch pieces; set aside. Bone chicken, and cut meat into 1/2-inch pieces; set aside separately.

2. Turn heat under a wok or 10-inch skillet to medium-high and add chicken skin. Cook, stirring occasionally and adjusting heat so skin browns but does not burn, about 10 minutes. Sprinkle with salt, and remove to a bowl, using a slotted spoon.

3. Add chilies and cook, stirring occasionally, until they puff and darken, 3 or 4 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon to a separate bowl. Add bell pepper and a pinch of salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until it browns, about 5 minutes. Remove and combine with chilies. Add as much chicken meat as will fit in one layer, and cook until browned on one side; season with salt. Stir and cook until browned; remove and repeat with remaining chicken.

4. Add garlic, followed by chicken, peppers and skin. Stir to combine, then add sherry, stock and soy sauce. Cook until mixture is saucy, about 3 minutes, then serve with white rice. Chilies should not be eaten.

Yield: 4 servings.

THE MINIMALIST; A Condiment Gets to Shine STIR-FRIED CHICKEN WITH KETCHUP

By Mark Bittman
Published: May 12, 2004

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THIS is a perfectly contemporary dish: Manchurian in origin, inspired by an Indian chef who lives in New York and based on an ingredient that is in almost every refrigerator.

It's stir-fried chicken with ketchup, and before you turn your nose up, think of hoisin sauce, oyster sauce, mayonnaise, Worcestershire sauce, salsa and all the other condiments that somehow are often considered inferior in haute cuisine circles.

Then think how good ketchup can taste.

I learned about the genesis of this dish from Suvir Saran, an Indian chef in New York. In the version he cooked for me, Mr. Saran tossed cauliflower in a slurry of cornstarch and egg, then deep-fried it. The crust was exquisite, and the cauliflower perfectly cooked. But it was what happened next that really got my attention: He finished the cauliflower in a sauce, made in about three minutes, containing nothing more than ketchup, garlic and cayenne pepper.

The garlic and cayenne gave the ketchup a significant leg up, and the brief cooking time caramelized the sugars. In all, the ordinary ingredient we all grew up with was transformed into a glistening, almost exotic sauce, one that latched on to that cauliflower as if the molecules had fused.

''This recipe is one of many dishes created by Chinese immigrants who now live in India,'' Mr. Saran said. ''You see it in Calcutta's Chinatown, where it's sold on the street, to be eaten off toothpicks.''

I tried making the dish with cauliflower that I didn't deep-fry; it wasn't the same. But when I floured some chicken and seared it in oil until it was quite crisp, then turned that in the sauce, I knew I had hit it: Manchurian-style chicken. (And, yes, you can eat it with toothpicks if you like.)

If you take to this dish, you might start to play with it: cook some peanuts with the chicken, toss some slivered scallions or cilantro in at the end (the color is brilliant, as you can imagine), substitute soy sauce for the salt, or start with squid or shrimp. It's all pretty flexible, and just think, you already have the main ingredient.

STIR-FRIED CHICKEN WITH KETCHUP

Time: 20 minutes

1 1/2 pounds boneless chicken, preferably dark meat, in 1/2- to 1-inch chunks

1/2 cup flour, more as needed

4 tablespoons neutral oil, like corn or canola

Salt and pepper

2 tablespoons slivered garlic

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste

1 cup ketchup.

1. Toss chicken with flour so that it is lightly dusted. Put 2 tablespoons oil in a large skillet, preferably nonstick, and turn heat to high. When oil smokes, add chicken in one layer. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

2. When chicken browns on one side, toss it and cook until just about done: smaller pieces will take 5 minutes total, larger pieces about 10. Remove to a plate. Turn off heat and let pan cool for a moment.

3. Add remaining oil to pan and turn heat to medium high. Add garlic and cayenne pepper and cook, stirring, about 2 minutes. Add ketchup and stir; cook until ketchup bubbles, then darkens slightly. Return chicken to pan and stir to coat with sauce. Taste and adjust seasoning, then serve.

Yield: 4 servings.

Recipe: Pernil

Published: January 2, 2008

Time: At least 3 hours

Related

The Minimalist: Let the Oven Do All the Work (January 2, 2008)

1 pork shoulder, 4 to 7 pounds (or use fresh ham)

4 or more cloves garlic, peeled

1 large onion, quartered

2 tablespoons fresh oregano leaves or 1 tablespoon dried oregano

1 tablespoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon ancho or other mild chili powder

1 tablespoon salt

2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

Olive oil as needed

1 tablespoon wine or cider vinegar

Lime wedges for serving.

1. Heat oven to 300 degrees. Score meat’s skin with a sharp knife, making a cross-hatch pattern. Pulse garlic, onion, oregano, cumin, chili, salt and pepper together in a food processor, adding oil in a drizzle and scraping down sides as necessary, until mixture is pasty. (Alternatively, mash ingredients in a mortar and pestle.) Blend in the vinegar.

2. Rub this mixture well into pork, getting it into every nook and cranny. Put pork in a roasting pan and film bottom with water. Roast pork for several hours (a 4-pound shoulder may be done in 3 hours), turning every hour or so and adding more water as necessary, until meat is very tender. Finish roasting with the skin side up until crisp, raising heat at end of cooking if necessary.

3. Let meat rest for 10 to 15 minutes before cutting it up; meat should be so tender that cutting it into uniform slices is almost impossible; rather, whack it up into chunks. Serve with lime.

Yield: At least 6 servings.