Good Times and Good Food with Dave

[Bushcraftdave]

Tonight I used a recipe from Ethan Becker (Becker Knives) family cookbook, JOY OF COOKING, to make Linguine and Clams.

I wanted to use fresh little neck clams but my local market ran out! Good thing, the recipe had a canned clam variation.

Ingredients:
extra virgin olive oil
Onions (I used shallots)
Garlic
Chili flakes
Dried oregano
(Added fresh Italian parsley, lemon zest and juice)
White wine
Salt and pepper

I mixed in the pasta too rough and it broke into little short strands. I need to be more careful next time. I also shouldn’t saved some pasta water for the sauce

Next time I might add an anchovy to the sauce and definitely make sure I had fresh live clams.

 

[John Fenna]

I am afraid that shellfish do not do it for me - red meat is my thing But - I accept that some folk like seafood and that looked like some folk would enjoy it

 

[Bushcraftdave]

For tonight’s dinner, I worked in tandem with my girlfriend and we took our taste buds to the far East, to Japan.

She made a Japanese curry. From what I understand, curry originated in India and made its way throughout Asia. I’ve always liked Thai curry growing up and then I enjoyed indian and Japanese curry. They’re all very different.

My job was the deep fried pork lion, encrusted with panko bread crumbs. I fried up 6 of them so I experimented with different seasonings. The pork all had salt and pepper, but for some I added chicken powder or garlic powder.

I used flour, egg, and panko for the crust. Fried up in peanut oil.

I made a quick Japanese coleslaw. We made Japanese short grain rice to soak up all the curry goodness. Some pickled radish as a palate cleanser

 

[John Fenna]

That looks interesting - I know nothing of Japanese cuisine....

 

[Bushcraftdave]

That looks interesting - I know nothing of Japanese cuisine....

This was quite tasty, great for a cold evening. Next time I’ll make it with beef

 

[Bushcraftdave]

The other month a forum buddy encouraged me to make Carne Guisada a Mexican dish, sort of like a beef stew but thicker that you can serve on flour tortillas, with rice, or alone as a stew.

I’ve never cooked anything Mexican or Tex-Mex before so I was a little intimidated. Over the weeks, probably closer to 2 months, I’ve been looking at recipe after recipe.

First I had to select a good chuck roast with good marbling. The best one happened to be on the smaller size but that’s fine, it’s usually just for my gf and I. Then I had to get Mexican oregano and cumin or “comino” in Spanish. I’ve never used either of the two, so I was eager to taste it first before cooking with it.

before:

After:

For the oil, I decided to use the beat oil on the world bacon fat!!!!

In most Carne Guisada recipes, they lightly browned the meat but I wanted to get some serious Maillard Reaction going and build a nice fond. I used the method of searing the whole roast all
At once instead of cutting it up, in order to limit the amount of water that would be expelled and counteracting the caramelization I was going for. But I’m sure if I had a high powered stove like some of you guys, I could’ve cooked off water easily and quickly. I let it rest a bit and then I cut it up.

It’s all about the spices! I mixed it up a bit. The spices I used were: cumin, Mexican oregano, paprika, ancho chili powder, salt and pepper. I used minced garlic, but I’m thinking garlic powder would probably be better. There’s also onion and bell pepper in there with a tomato.

So most of the comments I read from the recipe blogs, had a lot of comments about how it was supposed to be like a gravy and thick not loose and soupy. I went a little overboard because my potatoes broke down and made it thicker than I had wanted. Potatoes were optional but my gf loves them so I added them.

For sides we had corn salsa and Mexican rice and we ate the Carne Guisada as tacos. The corn salsa was really easy- a can of corn, half a red onion, a jalapeño, cilantro, and 1 lime.

 

[Mesquite]

That does look mouth-wateringly tasty

 

[John Fenna]

Oh boy! Despite my being on death's door with Covid that makes me interested in eating!

 

[Bushcraftdave]

Oh boy! Despite my being on death's door with Covid that makes me interested in eating!

How are you feeling now John? I hope you’re fully recovered and back into the swing of things

 

[Bushcraftdave]

Today, I’d like to introduce you folks to a dish that’s near and dear to me. It’s a stew from Vietnam- a French stew with a Vietnamese twist such as- lemongrass, star anise, coconut juice, fish sauce, soy sauce, and Chinese 5 spice

I usually cook on the weekends and I love stews but they take too long to cook. I found a great deal on a new pressure cooker so I took the plunge. Normally this stew takes 2 hours but I was able to do in 1 hour, only 38 mins of pressured cooking. Everything came out tender.

This is the calf muscle or beef banana shank

I had lots of tough cuts in there, beef shank and tendons. I got 10 out of 10 scores, so high marks on this one.

This is the recipe I worked off of: https://www.pressurecookrecipes.com/instant-pot-bo-kho/#recipe

 

[John Fenna]

Now that I am free of Covid ( ) my appetite has returned big time - and boy does that look and sound good!

 

[Bushcraftdave]

Now that I am free of Covid ( ) my appetite has returned big time - and boy does that look and sound good!

I’m glad to hear it! Eat up brother! Toast to you and your health

 

[Bushcraftdave]

My ultimate goal is cook a killer pot of Pho Bo (Vietnamese Beef Noodles). For my first foray into Pho I decided to make it easy and use an Instant Pot and cook Pho Ga (Vietnamese Chicken Noodles), because there’s less ingredients and half the cooking time.

Toasting the Coriander, Cloves, and Chinese cinnamon

Now the rest of the aromatics- onion and ginger

All the ingredients in the pot! In addition the ingredients above, I added a bunch of cilantro and green onions. I had no room in the pot so I stuffed it all up the chicken! I added a Fuji apple and sea salt. This cooked under low pressure for 15 mins.

Served up with all the table side seasonings

 

[Mesquite]

Very tasty looking indeed.

I've got to ask, what's the flavour difference like between Ceylon and Chinese cinnamon?

 

[Bushcraftdave]

This evening, travel with me to south east Asia to the Kingdom of Thailand, formerly Siam. I made two Thai dishes: Creamy Tom Yum Goong and Thai Holy Basil Stir Fry or Krapow.

I used the recipes from: https://hot-thai-kitchen.com/. I’ve made 3 of the recipes from there and everything has been great. Better than the average Thai restaurant. Highly recommend it:


Tom Yum Goong:

Shallots, galanga (similar to ginger), lime leaves, Thai chili, lemongrass

Shrimp Stock

Evaporated milk and Thai chili paste added

Krapow:

 

[Mesquite]

Looks delicious