Basil Dressing

My hanging garden is rampant with Basil and Parsley. The heat and the rain have generated a monstrous explosion of leafy green herbs. I suppose I will need to do something about that.

Basil is a tender low-growing herb. Basil is a culinary herb prominently featured in Italian cuisine, and also plays a major role in the Southeast Asian cuisines of Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos. The plant tastes somewhat like anise, with a strong, pungent, sweet smell.

There are many varieties of basil. That which is used in Italian food is typically called sweet basil, as opposed to Thai basil, lemon basil and holy basil, which are used in Asia. While most common varieties of basil are treated as annuals, some are perennial in warm, tropical climates, including African Blue and Holy Thai basil.

Basil is originally native to Iran, India and other tropical regions of Asia, having been cultivated there for more than 5,000 years

Basil is commonly used fresh in cooked recipes. It is generally added at the last moment, as cooking quickly destroys the flavor. The fresh herb can be kept for a short time in plastic bags in the refrigerator, or for a longer period in the freezer, after being blanched quickly in boiling water. The dried herb also loses most of its flavor, and what little flavor remains tastes very different, very weak.

Basil is one of the main ingredients in pesto—a green Italian oil-and-herb sauce. Its other two main ingredients are olive oil and pine nuts. The Chinese also use fresh or dried basil in soups and other foods. In Taiwan, people add fresh basil leaves to thick soups. They also eat fried chicken with deep-fried basil leaves. Basil (most commonly Thai Basil) is commonly steeped in cream or milk to create an interesting flavor in ice cream or chocolates (such as truffles).

I’ve done a pesto post prior, perhaps a Basil vinaigrette suitable for a salad dressing, an Italian sauce or a marinade for fish or meat.

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“Amerasian” Cuisine – StopLight Pepper Steak

Well, It had to happen.. The loyal fan club has started kvetching that I am introducing too many new foods, too many new ideas, too many new tastes. Seems they like boring.. (To me boring is only good in a combat zone…)

Ah, well, here is a tried and true Asian specialty that even my fan club can make and enjoy. And just to make sure I don’t stretch any brain cells amongst my readers, I’ll use a recipe that is truly an American’s vision of Chinese food… (Also StopLight peppers are Red, Yellow and Green bell peppers, not a pepper that grows at a stop light…)

Wikipedia says:

Pepper steak also called green pepper steak) is a stir-fried Chinese American dish consisting of sliced beef steak (often flank, sirloin, or round) cooked with sliced green and/or red bell peppers and other seasonings such as soy sauce and ginger, and usually thickened with cornstarch. Sliced onions and bean sprouts are also frequent additions to the recipe. Evidence for the dish’s existence in the United States dates from at least 1948.

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Tomato Soup and Pasta Sauce

Cold and rain,
Such a Pain,
How’s a soup from Spain?

Ok, the weather has been bleh for the last several days. Rain, mist, cool, cold, at one point, hot, steamy, sweaty at another, and then back to cold and wet, just the perfect thing for pneumonia…

Now there is just one thing to defeat the achy, bakey feeling… SOUP!

But what if I start with a super thick and hearty flavorful tomato sauce and then thin down to a soup consistency with my homemade chicken stock, and kick the mouth feel up with real cream….

When Roasted, the peppers get a nice char on them, the garlic and shallots become soft and deep-flavored, and the tomatoes get so sweet, you’ll know the final sauce has got some other rogue chef secret ingredients. Even just plain roasted tomatoes will be awesome on your pasta or pizza. Also great about this sauce – the thick consistency. As anyone who’s tried to make a fresh pasta sauce knows, tomatoes are FULL of water and make for a runny sauce, you spend hours simmering to cook off the water and caramelize the tomatoes . Not so with roasting. The sauce is thick and rich and oh so delicious!

Does this take time YES!. Is it worth it? YES! It IS all about the taste and the comfort that good food brings. If you can not understand that experience, I’ll leave the can opener out on the counter

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Basil and Japanese Eggplant, Thai Style

I have some very nice Japanese Eggplants, and I have Basil, I have hot peppers, I have garlic, sounds like a quick stir fry. Now Since I HAD planned to grill some chicken, I’ll chop up a breast or so and add that in. One might leave the chicken out and use soy sauce to replace the ubiquitous fish sauce, and have a quite delicious vegan meal…

Really this is truly Thai soul food, so I might as well go all the way with sugar, fish sauce, the heat of the chili’s and the bitterness of the Basil for a flavor balancing….

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Meatless Monday – Baked Potato

Recently, I was asked, “What is the PROPER way to bake a potato?”. To my dismay, I could not lay out the specifics on how to do this. Even worse when I went to look it up here, I had not posted about this most basic of foods, prepared in the most basic of ways..

I am looking for a nice fluffy, creamy flesh, a crisp skin, with a hint of salt.

The loyal fan club can “Sit Down, and Shut up”, or I will spend the next week perfecting my vegetarian chili recipe. “Beans, lots and lots and lots of Beans, and Yes… Tofu!!“

A baked potato is the edible result of baking a potato. When well cooked, a baked potato has a fluffy interior and a crispy skin. It may be served with fillings and condiments such as butter, cheese, ham, or chicken. Potatoes can be baked in a convection oven, a microwave oven, on a barbecue grill, or on/in an open fire.
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Fried Zucchini Chips

Last night we, (my fellow employees, my employer and I ) celebrated my 10 year anniversary with my current employer.

The event was at a local tavern / restaurant, (surprise, surprise), but one of the snacks server was a wonderful zucchini chip, breaded, deep fried, and hit with a touch of sea salt. These were so good the remoulade dipping sauce, (while delicious), was not needed.

Very much a dish from my youth. Fresh from the garden squash, (yellow, summer, crook-neck, or zucchini), sliced thin, tossed in seasoned corn meal and quick fried, usually served hot. (actually, back in the day, we just stood around the stove grabbing pieces off the plate as they came out for the frying pan.)

Background
Squashes generally refer to four species of the genus Cucurbita native to Mexico and Central America, natively grown in parts of North America, Europe, India, and Australia. In North America, squash is loosely grouped into summer squash or winter squash, as well as autumn squash depending on whether they are harvested as immature vegetables (summer squash) or mature vegetables (autumn squash or winter squash). Well known types of squash include the pumpkin and zucchini.

When used for food, squash are usually picked when under 8in/20cm in length and the seeds are soft and immature. Mature squash can be as much as three feet long, but are often fibrous and not appetizing to eat. Squash with the flowers attached are a sign of a truly fresh and immature fruit, and are especially sought by many people.

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Smoked / Roasted Jalapeño’s

Often I call for jalapeño peppers to kick up the flavor or heat in a dish up a notch, but rarely do I have a recipe that uses them as the main ingredient. Using these, in this recipe, allows me to state, right up front, this dish is hot, this dish is NOT for the wimpy, this dish is rogue chef fare.

A lot of recipes call for bacon, and in my opinion, every thing tastes better with bacon, but there are folks who do not eat pork, or do not eat meat, that would savor the flavor of this dish, so I’ll use a bacon flavored, (not containing pork or meat), vegetable flake to add the taste and texture of bacon crumbles to this. Likewise I’ll use dairy to smooth the harsh edges of the jalapeño flavor and make it a nice even burn….

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PubGrub – Jacket Potatoes

One of the “starters” offered at a upscale restaurant on Piccadilly, and a very sumptuous one at that.

Of course, there are those who are asking the question, “Sumptuous, Potatoes?”, and my answer is, “Yes, Potatoes!”

Rich, creamy, with really crisp, crunchy skins and fluffy, floury insides with something lovely melted into them?

I am not talking about the usual microwaved messes, that are shriveled, dried out, and generally just not up to the task, but I am talking about the largest potato you can find, slow cooked, (say two to three hours), then split open with a crisp crackle of the skin, fluffed with a fork, and drizzled with butter, kosher salt and pepper. This is the most simple form of comfort food I know of.
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