Asparagus

Selland's market-cafe in Sacramento is an uncommonly good café and often a source of inspiration for foods to prepare. Recently I had some of their asparagus and loved the texture - slightly crunchy (definitely not mushy!) - and the hint of lemon flavor along with the olive oil and Parmesan. Upon inquiry I was told that the asparagus had indeed been parboiled for 2 minutes and then tossed with Parmesan, olive oil, and some lemon zest. So easy!

Asparagus Recipe

• Cook time: 10 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 bunch of medium sized asparagus, about 1 lb
• 2 Tbsp of the most exquisite extra virgin olive oil
• 2 Tbsp freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest - freshly grated lemon rind
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

1 Prepare the asparagus by rinsing them thoroughly, break off any tough, white bottoms and discard. Cut into 1 to 2 inch sections, slicing the asparagus at a slight diagonal.
2 Fill a medium sized saucepan half way with water, bring to a boil. Add the asparagus and reduce heat slightly to a simmer. Parboil the asparagus for exactly 2 minutes. Drain the hot water. While the asparagus are still hot, toss them in a bowl with the olive oil, Parmesan, and lemon rind. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve warm or room temperature.
Note that when you are working with so few ingredients, it's important to make sure they are of the highest quality.

Yield: Serves 4.

Applesauce

There is nothing better than homemade applesauce with hand-picked apples, and it is so easy to do! If you want chunky applesauce, use a potato masher to mash the cooked apples. If you prefer smooth apple sauce, run the cooked apples through a food mill. The key is adding a few strips of lemon peel to the apples while cooking. The lemon heightens the apple flavor.

Applesauce Recipe

• Prep time: 10 minutes
• Cook time: 25 minutes

The sugar amounts are just guidelines, depending your taste, and on the sweetness of your apples, use less or more. If you use less sugar, you'll likely want to use less lemon juice. The lemon juice brightens the flavor of the apples and balances the sweetness.

Ingredients

• 3 to 4 lbs of peeled, cored, and quartered apples. (Make sure you use a good cooking apple like Golden Delicious, Jonagold, Granny Smith, Fuji, Jonathan, Mcintosh, or Gravenstein.)
• 4 strips of lemon peel - use a vegetable peeler to strip 4 lengths
• Juice of one lemon, about 3-4 Tbsp
• 3 inches of cinnamon stick
• 1/4 cup of dark brown sugar
• up to 1/4 cup of white sugar
• 1 cup of water
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt

Method

1 Put all ingredients into a large pot. Cover. Bring to boil. Lower heat and simmer for 20-30 minutes.
2 Remove from heat. Remove cinnamon sticks and lemon peels. Mash with potato masher.
Ready to serve, either hot or refrigerated. Delicious with vanilla ice cream or vanilla yogurt.
Freezes easily, lasts up to one year in a cold freezer.

Apple Cranberry Stuffed Pork Roast

Are you familiar with Cook's Illustrated? It's a magazine and a website from the same people who create the PBS show America's Test Kitchen. It's the only cooking show we watch with any regularity, and we read each issue of the magazine from cover to cover. What I love about the magazine is that they go into great deal of detail about the how's and why's of various cooking methods; I always learn something new. (What I don't love about the magazine is that they tend to overcomplicate things, just for that n-th degree of perfection.)
This apple cranberry stuffed pork roast recipe is based on a recipe from Cook's Illustrated (Sept 07). We absolutely loved it; I've been eating the leftovers for days. The filling is essentially a sweet sour chutney, made with brown sugar, vinegar, dried apples and cranberries. Though pretty much any chutney would work in this recipe. The roast is "double butterflied", filling applied, meat rolled up and roasted. The acidity of the chutney-ish filling tenderizes the pork roast from the inside. The original recipe calls for grilling the roast with soaked wood chips but you can easily make this roast in the oven. The recipe also uses dried apples, which can be a little hard to find. I think next time we may try making this with peeled, diced, fresh apples.

Apple Cranberry Stuffed Pork Roast Recipe

Ingredients

Filling

• 1 cup apple cider
• 1/2 cup cider vinegar
• 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 large shallot, peeled, thinly sliced
• 1 1/2 cups dried apples (packed)
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• 1 Tbsp grated fresh ginger
• 1 Tbsp yellow mustard seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Pork Roast

• 2 1/2 pound boneless center-cut pork loin roast (short and wide - about 7-8 inches long and 4-5 inches wide)
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

1 Before starting on the pork, put the pork roast in the freezer for 30 minutes to make it easier to cut. While the pork is chilling, you can make the filling.
2 Bring all the filling ingredients to simmer in medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Cover, reduce heat to low, and cook until apples are very soft, about 20 minutes. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve, reserving the liquid. Use a rubber spatula to press against the apple mixture in the sieve to extract as much liquid out as possible. Return liquid to saucepan and simmer over medium-high heat until reduced to 1/2 cup, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat, set aside and reserve this liquid for use as a glaze. Pulse apple mixture in food processor, about fifteen 1-second pulses. Set aside.

2 Preheat oven to 350°F or prepare your grill for indirect heat. You will be "double-butterflying" the pork roast. Lay the roast down, fat side up. Insert the knife into the roast 1/2-inch horizontally from the bottom of the roast, along the long side of the roast. Make a long cut along the bottom of the roast, stopping 1/2 inch before the edge of the roast. You might find it easier to handle by starting at a corner of the roast.

Open up the roast and continue to cut through the thicker half of the roast, again keeping 1/2 inch from the bottom. Repeat until the roast is an even 1/2-inch thickness all over when laid out.

If necessary, pound the roast to an even thickness with a meat pounder.

3 Season the inside of the roast well with salt and pepper. Spread out the filling on the roast, leaving a 1/2-inch border from the edges. Starting with the short side of the roast, roll it up very tightly. Secure with kitchen twine at 1-inch intervals. Season the outside of the roast generously with salt and pepper.
4 Place roast on a rack in a roasting pan, place in oven, on the middle rack.
You can also grill the roast, using indirect heat either gas or charcoal. If you are using charcoal, use about 5 pounds of coals, bank them to one side. Preheat the grill, covered. Wipe the grates with olive oil. Place roast, fat side up, on the side of the grill that has no coals underneath. Place the lid on the grill, with the vent directly over the roast. If you are grilling with gas, place all the burners on high for 15 minutes to heat the grates, brush grates with olive oil, turn off the middle burner, place roast fat-side up on middle burner. If you are grilling, turn roast half way through the cooking.
Cook for 45 to 60 minutes, until the internal temperature of the roast is 130 to 135 degrees. Brush with half of the glaze and cook for 5 minutes longer. Remove the roast from the oven or grill. Place it on a cutting board. Tent it with foil to rest and keep warm for 15 minutes before slicing.

5 Slice into 1/2-inch wide pieces, removing the cooking twine as you cut the roast. Serve with remaining glaze.

Serves 6-8.

Albondigas Soup

Albondigas soup is a traditional Mexican meatball soup ("albondigas" means "meatballs" in Spanish) that my mother has cooked for our family for almost 50 years. It is our version of comfort food. What makes the flavor of albondigas soup distinctive is the chopped mint in the meatballs. I once complained to a Mexican chef about the lack of mint in his cookbook's albondigas soup recipe, and he looked at me with surprise and said, "my mother puts mint in her albondigas!" You can, of course, skip the mint, substitute with a little fresh oregano or some cilantro, but to me, the soup's not the same without it. You can also vary the vegetables added, depending on what you have on hand and what's in season.

Albondigas Soup Recipe

If fresh mint is not available, you can use a couple teaspoons of dried mint from herbal mint tea. You can also vary the vegetables depending on what you have on hand. Spring peas in their pods instead of shucked peas, for example. Or you could add some chopped fresh zucchini or corn. My mother often puts a couple extra tablespoons of chopped fresh mint directly into the soup. Feel free to substitute ground turkey for the ground beef, we do it often.

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 large garlic clove, minced
• 3 quarts of chicken stock or beef stock OR water OR a mixture of both (we usually use half stock half water as the meatballs will create their own stock)*
• 1/2 cup of tomato sauce

• 1/2 lb of string beans, strings and ends removed, cut into 1 inch pieces
• 2 large carrots, peeled and sliced

• 1/3 cup of raw white rice
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1/4 cup of chopped fresh mint leaves
• 1/4 cup of chopped parsley
• 1 raw egg
• 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• A dash of cayenne (optional)

• 1 1/2 cup of frozen or fresh peas
• 1 teaspoon of dried oregano, crumbled, or 1 Tbsp fresh chopped oregano
• Salt and pepper
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

*If using prepared stock, be sure to use gluten-free stock if you are cooking gluten-free.

Method

1 Heat oil in large heavy-bottomed pot (5-qt) over medium heat. Add onion and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook a minute more. Add broth mixture and tomato sauce. Bring to boil and reduce heat to simmer. Add carrots and string beans.

2 Prepare the meatballs. Mix rice into meat, adding mint leaves and parsley, salt and pepper. Mix in raw egg. Form mixture into 1-inch meatballs.

3 Add the meatballs to the simmering soup, one at a time. Cover and let simmer for 1/2 hour. Add the peas towards the end of the 1/2 hour. Add a few pinches of oregano and sprinkle with salt and pepper, and a dash of cayenne, to taste.

Garnish with chopped fresh cilantro.

Yield: Serves 6-8.

Makapuno Pound Cake

Makapuno Pound Cake    Serves: 10 - 12
Ingredients:	1 box pound cake mix Cake filling and topping: 1 can evaporated milk 1 egg 1/2 cup sugar 1/2 teaspoon lemon extract 1/2 cup water 2 tablespoons cornstarch 1 cup makapuno, chopped (young coconut used to make halo-halo)
Cooking Method:	Bake pound cake according to directions on box. Set aside to cool. In sauce pan, mix evaporated milk, egg, sugar, lemon extract. Slowly add mixture of water and cornstarch, stirring constantly until thickened. Add chopped makapuno. While cake topping is warm, put filling in-between pound cake and on top. Wait 5-10 minutes for topping and filling sets to harden. Place in refrigerator for faster setting of topping on cake.

Almond Gelatin with Fruit Cocktail and Lychees

Almond Gelatin with Fruit Cocktail and Lychees Serves: 12
Ingredients:	1 package (4.55 ounces) Agar Dessert Mix Artificial Almond Flavor 1 can (17 ounces) fruit cocktail, refrigerate before using 1 can (10 ounces) lychees, refrigerate before using
Preparation:	Follow the instructions to make almond gelatin, let cool and refrigerate overnight. Cut the cold almond gelatin into square blocks in a big bowl, pour the fruit cocktail with juice and lychees with the juice in and slightly mix together.

Halo-Halo with Pili

Halo-Halo with Pili     Serves: 1 - 2 Ingredients: 1/2 cup Manila mango, diced 1 tablespoon cantaloupe or honeydew melon, shredded 1 tablespoon cooked ube (purple potato) 1 tablespoon lakatan (native banana) or cooked saba (plantain), sliced 1 tablespoon makapuno (freak coconut) 1 teaspoon cooked yellow corn 1 teaspoon cooked mung beans 1/4 cup toasted pinipig (roasted and pounded immature rice) 1 tablespoon watermelon ice, shaved to fill tall glass 1 teaspoon honey 1/4 cup evaporated or condensed milk 1/4 cup young coconut juice 1 teaspoon pili nuts, chopped   Preparation: Layer fresh as well as cooked fruits and vegetables in a tall glass. (Note: cooked and/or preserved fruits and vegetables are available in Asian-American stores.) Fill with shaved ice. Add honey. Pour evaporated milk and young coconut juice over contents. Top with pili nuts. Serve immediately.

Sweet Potato Pudding

Sweet Potato Pudding Serves: 4
Ingredients:	3 medium size sweet potatoes 4 cups whole milk 1 can condensed milk 1/4 teaspoon cardamon powder 1 tablespoon brown sugar 1 cup cane sugar 1 tablespoon unsalted butter blanched almonds and raisins
Cooking Method:	Remove the skin of sweet potatoes and wash under running water. Then cut into small squares. Boil the whole milk in a heavy bottomed skillet on medium heat. Add sweet potatoes to the boiling milk and lower heat. Continue to cook until sweet potatoes are well done, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and mash potatoes until smooth. In a separate skillet, heat 1 tablespoon unsalted butter. Add blanched almonds and raisins and fry on very low heat until they turn light brown. Remove from skillet to a plate and set aside. In the same hot skillet, add brown sugar and cardamon powder, keeping heat low. Next, add mashed sweet potatoes along with condensed milk and sugar. Turn heat to medium, cook, stirring constantly until the consistency becomes desirably thick.   Remove from heat. Immediately transfer the dessert to a serving bowl and let set to cool. Garnish with almonds and raisins. Chill in refrigerator. Serve with a dash of heavy cream on top.

Caviar Eggs

Caviar Eggs

 

  6 Servings

Ingredients:

6 hard-cooked eggs
6 tbsp caviar (red or black)
1 tbsp chopped chives or green onions
1 tbsp chopped parsley
1 tbsp mayonnaise or sour cream
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper 

Direction:

Shell the eggs, cut them in halves, and remove the yolks. Mash these well and combine with the remaining ingredients. When it is thoroughly whipped together, heap it into the whites with a spoon, or pipe it in, using the rosette end of a pastry tube.

For a first course, serve 2 halves per person. Arrange them on greens and pass a Russian dressing. Or double the recipe and serve it as a salad course with watercress, Russian dressing, and crisp French bread.

Almond-Sherry Mushroom Pate

Almond-Sherry Mushroom Pate

Almond-Sherry Mushroom Pate

 

1/2 small onion quartered
1 small clove garlic
1/2 pound fresh mushrooms halved
2 tbsp butter
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp tarragon crushed
1 dash white pepper
10 ounces blanched whole almonds toasted
1 tbsp dry sherry
1 tbsp heavy cream 

In food processor with metal blade, process onion and garlic with on-off bursts until coarsely chopped; set aside. Process mushrooms with on-off bursts until coarsely chopped. 

Melt butter in medium skillet, add onion, garlic, mushrooms, salt, tarragon, and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until most liquid has evaporated. Reserve 2/3 cup almonds for garnish. Process remaining almonds until coarsely chopped. Reserve 2 tbsp. 

Process remaining almonds to form a paste. Add mushroom mixture, sherry and cream; process until smooth. Add reserved 2 tbsp chopped almonds, process with on-off bursts. Cover and chill. Mound pate on serving plate. Garnish with reserved 2/3 cup almonds.

Almond Mushroom Pate with Cream Cheese

Almond Mushroom Pate with Cream Cheese

Almond Mushroom Pate with Cream Cheese

 

Serves 6 

2 tbsp margarine
1 sm onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 1/2 cup sliced mushrooms
1/2 tsp tarragon
1 cup blanched whole almonds
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp soy sauce
1 ds white pepper
2 tbsp cream cheese, optional 

Garnish: slivered or finely chopped almonds, fresh parsley sprigs, pimiento strips, or sweet red pepper strips, optional

In a large skillet, melt margarine. Add onion, garlic, and mushrooms. Saute until tender but not browned. Add tarragon, stir until it is softened. 

Pour mixture into a bowl of food processor. Add remaining ingredients. Process until mixture is smooth. Add cheese if you prefer a more spreadable consistency. Spoon into a serving bowl. Top with garnish of your choice. 

People who do not like ordinary pate seem to love this one. Vary the herbs and substitute the vegetables as you wish. Serve with water crackers, thick slices of crusty French bread, thin slices of whole wheat bread, or unsalted whole wheat crackers. May be frozen.

Seafood Egg Rolls  Yields: 24 - 30 rolls
Ingredients:	1 large onion, chopped 1 large tomato, diced 2 teaspoons garlic powder 8 ounces crab meat (fresh or imitation) 8 ounces shrimp (peeled, cooked and finely chopped) 8 ounces fish (cooked and flaked) 2 tablespoons light soy sauce 2 teaspoons each of salt and pepper, or to taste 2 ounces of raisins (optional) 1/4 cup dried cilantro 1 egg, beaten Wrappers: 24-30 egg roll wrappers (available in Oriental stores) 1 egg, beaten
Cooking Method:	Saute the onion and tomato. Add crabmeat, shrimp and fish. Season with garlic powder, salt, pepper and soy sauce. Stir until thoroughly mixed. Add cilantro and raisins. When thoroughly heated, remove from heat and let cool for about 20-30 minutes. Mix in the beaten egg. Measure about 2 tablespoons of the mixture and place on each eggroll wrapper - follow directions on the wrapper package. Seal with beaten egg. Deep fry in hot oil until brown, drain excess oil on paper towel. Serve with Philippine Banana Ketchup or with a sweet and sour sauce. You can substitute any seafood of your choice.

Banana Wafers Serves: 4
Ingredients:	2 raw green bananas 1 teaspoon black pepper powder salt to taste oil for frying
Cooking Method:	Remove the skin from bananas and cut into about ¼ inch thick slices in a crosswise manner. Heat oil in a frying pan and fry the slices until crisp. Remove from frying pan and place on a plate covered with paper towels. Sprinkle salt & pepper over the fried slices while they are hot. Serve with tomato ketchup.

Spring Rolls
Ingredients:	8-10 large Chinese mushrooms large head of cabbage 1 carrot 1/3 pound lean ground pork garlic powder salt and pepper to taste 1/4 pound cooked salad shrimp frozen wrappers (preferably Spring Home Spring Roll Pastry or Weichuan) egg white vegetable oil
Cooking Method:	Cover mushrooms with boiling water and let soak at least 15 minutes while preparing other ingredients. Quarter cabbage and discard core. Shred into 1/8 inch strips by pushing quickly through a food processor using the slicing disk. Put cabbage into a large mixing bowl. Peel carrot. Using the vegetable peeler, cut ribbons of carrots directly into bowl of cabbage. Saute pork in a large deep skillet. Add garlic powder, salt and pepper to taste. When cooked, add to the cabbage. Defrost and rinse shrimp; remove visible veins, then add to cabbage. Drain mushrooms, remove stem and slice very thinly. Add to cabbage. Add more seasoning and mix well. Return to skillet over medium heat and toss continually until cabbage starts to wilt slightly. Remove from heat and return to mixing bowl. When cool, squeeze all excess liquid from filling. Heat oil in wok or skillet on high heat. If using a deep fryer, heat to 350 degrees. Using 1/3 cup of filling, wrap spring rolls in the usual manner. Seal tightly with egg whites. Fry several at a time until wrapper is golden brown. Lift out of pot with tongs and drain well on paper towels before serving.