Rick’s Spicy Shrimp with Peanut Sauce

 December 3, 2023

Variations on this dish are a staple in our house. If you have a well-seasoned wok, by all means use it. A 12 -inch skillet will also do nicely. I’ve been pleased with wild caught Argentinian Red shrimp, which I buy frozen and thaw out under cold running water.

You can use a variety of noodles, but my favorite for this are the folded rice noodles (Sen Lek) which come in 7 oz packages, which is perfect for this dish.

Ingredients

1 lb. large shrimp, peeled and deveined

2 limes

2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped

2 TBS peanut oil

Dried red chili flakes to taste

½ red bell pepper, seeded and cut into shreds

½ small onion, peeled a coarsely chopped

4 OZ. snow peas

½ cup smooth peanut butter

1 TS sesame oil

1 TBS honey

2 TBS fish sauce (Nam Pla)

½ cup dry roasted peanuts, chopped, for garnish

Cilantro for garnish

Salt and pepper

Recipe

In a large bowl zest one of the limes, and add its juice. Add peanut butter, sesame oil, honey, fish sauce, and about ½ cup of boiling water. Whisk to blend.

In a large pot bring water to a boil. Add salt. Add the rice noodles and remove from heat for about 10 minutes until soft but not mushy. Drain in colander. Add to bowl with the peanut butter.

In your wok or skillet heat oil over high heat for a minute or two. Add the shrimp, salt and pepper, red pepper flakes and stir fry for a minute. Add the sliced red bell pepper, onion and garlic and continue stir frying until the shrimp is pink, another minute or two. Add ½ cup of water, stir, and sprinkle in the snow peas. Cover and cook for one minute.

Empty the contents of the wok/skillet into the bowl, toss, garnish with cilantro and chopped peanuts. Enjoy!

Rick’s Kung Pao Chicken with Snow Peas

 April 28, 2023 by richardlfloyd

This is a flexible dish. You could skip the snow peas and serve with a different vegetable. You can adjust the heat by the number of chilis you use.

Ingredients

For the marinade:

2 TSP cornstarch

2 TSP water

1 TSP Chinese cooking rice wine (Shaoxing Wine) or dry sherry

1 TSP sesame oil

3 TBS soy sauce

A pinch of salt

1 TSP Sichuan peppercorns, ground in a mortar

1 egg white, beaten

For the sauce:

2 TBS dark soy sauce

1 TBS cornstarch

1 TSP sesame oil

2 TBS Chinese cooking rice wine (Shaoxing Wine)

1 TBS Chinkiang (black) vinegar

2 whole boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into ½ inch cubes.

4 to six dried chili peppers, such as Hunan chilis, Thai bird chilis or chiles de árbol.

½ red bell pepper, cut into ½ inch pieces

4 TBS peanut oil

½ cup dry roasted peanuts

2 scallions, sliced for garnish

4 OZ snow peas

Recipe

Whisk the marinade ingredients together in a medium bowl and add the chicken pieces and stir until all the pieces are covered. Marinate for half an hour while you make you preparations.

Bring a small pot of water to a boil. Add the snow peas. When the boil returns, drain the peas in cold water.

In a big non-stick skillet heat the oil over medium heat and when hot, add the chilis. Stir for about 30 seconds and add the chicken all at once and spread them across the skillet. Let them cook on one side for about 3 minutes and then turn them. Let the other side brown, add the sauce, the bell pepper, and snow peas. Stir fry until the snow peas are covered and the sauce is thickened and reduced, a couple of minutes. Turn the heat off. Add the peanuts and scallions. Stir and serve with rice.

(Photo: R.L. Floyd 2023) 

Greek Lemon Chicken Soup with Orzo (Avgolemono Soup)

March 25, 2023 by richardlfloyd

I had never had this soup until I started dating my wife nearly 50 years ago when I was introduced to it by her mom, who is a great cook. Her dad is the Greek, but her German mom cooked many Greek dishes. It became a favorite of mine, but I seldom see it on menus.

Years ago, I discovered a local pizzeria that made it and always ordered it. One day it was changed from “Avgolemono Soup” to “Lemon Chicken Soup with Orzo.” In my neck of the woods almost all pizzerias are owned and operated by Greek Americans. I asked the owner why the name change? He said, “I couldn’t give it away as “Avgolemono Soup,” but the same soup is now popular.” Go figure.

Full disclosure: I could, but I don’t make this from scratch. The is definitly a leftover soup for me, and since I made Ina Garten’s amazing “Skillet Roasted Lemon Chicken” this week I had some cooked chicken that already had a lemony flavor. This recipe serves two, but can be doubled.

Ingredients

2 TBS good olive oil (Greek, if you have it)

1 small carrot, peeled and chopped fine

1 small stalk of celery, peeled and chopped fine

1 scallion or shallot,  peeled and chopped fine

1 garlic glove, smashed and peeled

1 bay leave

1 pinch oregano

4 cups chicken stock or broth

2/3 cup orzo

1 cup cooked chicken, chopped or shredded

2 eggs

½ cup fresh squeezed lemon juice

Salt and pepper to taste

Recipe

Heat oil in a pot and sauté the carrot, celery, and scallion for several minutes until they are limp but not brown. Add the garlic and stir for another minute. Add the stock and bring to a boil, then lower the heat to keep a simmer. Simmer for 15 minutes. Raise heat and add the orzo, stirring until soup returns to a boil, simmer for 9 minutes or until the orzo is cooked to your liking.

Meanwhile, make the avgolemono by whisking together the eggs and the lemon juice in a medium bowl until they are frothy.

When the orzo is cooked add the chicken. Here’s the fun part. You have to temper the avgolemono or it will curdle. To do this place the bowl with the eggs next to the pot and  slowley ladle in two ladles of soup into the bowl while whisking continuously. Turn off the burner and stir the avgolemono back into the pot. Serve and enjoy!

Slow Cooker Chinese Short Ribs

 March 23, 2023 by richardlfloyd

I’ve always loved braising in my Dutch Oven. Tough cuts of meat like brisket and short ribs become meltingly delicious when braised. When my children and grandchildren were with us during the pandemic, they brought their slow cooker and I was hooked. When they left and took it with them, I bought myself one like theirs, a Cuisinart 6 ½ quart that has a sauté function, so you can brown things before you start the slow part.

Lately, I make many of my meals in the slow cooker, and have been inspired by the wonderful recipes by Sarah DiGregorio on the NYT cooking site.

I love beef short ribs and have made them numerous times in both the Dutch Oven and the slow cooker.  I typically make them like a pot roast or brisket, but this recipe is a new way to make them with an Asian flavor palate.

The inspiration for this recipe was from Mark Bittmans’s “Slow Cooker Short Ribs With Chinese Flavors.” This is simplicity itself. You don’t brown the meat. You just throw it all in the slow cooker and let it get happy for 7 or 8 hours.

I’ve added a few of my own tweaks. I strain and thicken the sauce and toss in some steamed snow peas.

Ingredients

8 beef short ribs, about 3 pounds

½ cup soy sauce

¼ cup brown sugar or honey

3 star anise

6 whole scallions, trimmed

1 3-inch piece cinnamon stick

5 nickel-size unpeeled slices of ginger

1 teaspoon Sichuan peppercorns

Cooked white rice for serving

A handful of snow peas, steamed

Chopped scallions for garnish

Recipe

Combine all the ingredients, except the rice, snow peas and garnish, in the slow cooker. Cover and cook until meat is very tender and falling off the bone, 7 or 8 hours on Low. Remove the bones and put the meat on a platter.

Strain liquid and thicken with 2 teaspoon corn starch, whisked with Sesame oil and1 TBS water.  Pour liquid over the meat and add the snow peas. Serve over rice and sprinkle with chopped scallions.

Rick’s Cataplana Shellfish Stew

 December 13, 2022 by richardlfloyd

Years ago, friends of ours brought us back a cataplana from their trip to Portugal. A cataplana is both the name of the cooking vessel and the dish that is made in it. The vessel is a clam-shaped copper pot with a hinge.  If you don’t have a cataplana, you can use a sturdy pot or Dutch oven with a lid. The dish is a shellfish and pork stew. There are many versions. Here’s mine. Since my cataplana isn’t very big, this recipe is for two, or maybe four with enough good crusty bread and a salad.

Ingredients

8 small live clams, like littlenecks or Maine mahoganies

8 large shrimp, peeled and deveined

½ lb. calamari, cut into round strips

½ yellow onion, chopped

½ red bell pepper chopped

2 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil

3 good canned tomatoes, crushed by hand with their juices

A pinch of saffron

A pinch of smoked paprika

2 thin slices of prosciutto, chopped fine

8 sliced rounds of chourico, linguica, or Spanish chorizo

½ tsp. dried oregano

½ cup dry white wine

½ cup water

Recipe

Set the cataplana or pot over low heat and put in the oil. Add the chopped bell pepper and onion, and stir. You want to make a sofrito as you do for a paella, so keep the heat low and stir from time to time. You don’t want to brown the vegetables, just soften them. In 10 minutes or so add the prosciutto and chourico and stir for a minute or 2.

Add the crushed tomato, wine and water and bring to a boil. Add the oregano, saffron and paprika. Add the calamari, shrimp and clams, cover tightly and cook at medium high heat for 6 to 8 minutes or until the clams have opened.

Discard any clams that don’t open. Serve with crusty bread and a salad and a dry white wine.

 

Rick’s Split Pea Soup with Smoked Ham Hock

 November 3, 2022 by richardlfloyd

I like to make this when the weather gets cold. It’s cheap eats, but good! The ham hocks come in packages of three or four (also sold as “smoked pork hocks.”) The trick is to put them in individual freezer bags and freeze them, so you always have them on hand. You can defrost them in the microwave. This is an easy and delicious soup.

Ingredients

1 lb. bag dried green split peas, rinsed

1 TBS olive oil

1 smoked ham hock, about a pound

1 yellow onion, diced

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 carrots, peeled and diced

8 cups chicken stock

½ tsp dried thyme leaves

 

Recipe

In a cast iron Dutch oven or heavy bottomed pot, heat the oil over medium high heat and brown the ham hock on all sides for about five minutes (I use tongs.). Remove the ham hock to a plate. Put the onion and garlic in the pot and sauté for about five minutes. Don’t burn them. Add the carrots, and stir for a minute or two. Then add the chicken stock, half of the split peas and the thyme. Return the ham hock to the pot. Turn up the heat and bring to a boil. Lower the heat to a gentle simmer, partially cover, and let it get happy for about an hour.

Skim the foam off the top. Remove the ham hock to a plate. If you have an immersible blender this is where it shines. Purée the soup until it is nearly smooth. You can also do this in the blender. Add the remaining split peas and return the ham hock. Simmer for about an hour or until the split peas are tender. I take the ham hock out about ten minutes before the soup is done to let it cool. I cut it up into small pieces, discarding the fatty pieces. Put the ham hock pieces back in the soup for a few minutes to reheat. Serve soup with crusty bread, oyster crackers, or croutons. Enjoy!

(Photos by R.L. Floyd, 2022)

Rick’s Greek Moussaka

August 12, 2022

One side of my wife’s family is Greek and we all enjoy Greek food.  This recipe is always a hit. A rich lamb tomato sauce between eggplant layers and topped with a rich feta bechamel sauce makes a great main course. Add some stuffed grape leaves and a real Greek salad and you have yourself a meal.

Ingredients

For the lamb sauce:

2 tbs. extra virgin olive oil (Greek if you have it.)

1 lb. ground lamb

1 large yellow onion chopped

3 cloves garlic finely chopped

3 14 oz. cans chopped tomatoes

¼ tsp. ground allspice

¼ tsp. ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon dried mint

Salt and pepper to taste

1 large eggplant, cut into 1/3 inch slices

For the bechamel topping:

3 tbs. unsalted butter

3 tbs. all-purpose flour

1 cup crumbled feta cheese

1 cup whole milk

2 eggs, beaten

1/3 cup Parmesan cheese, finely grated

Recipe

Heat olive oil in a heavy saucepan. Add onion and cook, stirring until soft, about 4 minutes. Add lamb and cook stirring until no pink remains. Break up clumps with a wooden spoon. Add the allspice and cinnamon and stir to incorporate. Add tomatoes with their juices and the mint, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a strong simmer and cook for 30 minutes, stirring from time to time.

Oil 2 cookie sheets and place eggplant slices on them, lightly brushing them with olive oil. Broil 4 inches from flame for 4 minutes. Turn slices over, brush lightly with olive oil and broil for 4 minutes. You may need to do two batches.

Oil a 9 by 13 oven-proof baking dish and line the bottom with half the eggplant, overlapping the slices slightly. When the lamb sauce is finished spoon it over the eggplant, and place the remaining slices on top of the sauce overlapping slightly.

Move rack to middle the oven and pre-heat it to 375 degree F.

In another saucepan melt the butter over medium low heat and add the flour, whisking for 3 minutes. Add the milk in a steady stream while whisking for about 5 minutes until sauce thickens and no lumps remain. Add the crumbled feta and whisk until it has melted into the sauce. Remove the sauce from heat and cover. Let it sit for 5 minutes and then pour in the beaten eggs while whisking until they are incorporated into the sauce. Pour the sauce over the baking dish to cover the top. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Place in oven and bake for 30 minutes or until the bechamel sauce is lightly brown. Let the dish sit for ten minutes before serving.