(CLICK ON PIC TO ENLARGE)

One of the many things we found real fast about living near Wisconsin and Iowa is there is no shortage of sausage and cheese. I also found no shortage of kale (one of my favorites) even during the winter. It has 133% of the daily values of Vitamin A and 134% of Vitamin C. Since I like a good soup or gravy, I put together this dish.

Meat
½ lb. sliced kielbasa (pork or turkey)

Mirepoix
1 onion – chopped
2 carrots – peeled and sliced ¼”

Vegetables
1 bunch kale – chopped
8 small baby Dutch yellow potatoes – rinsed with skin and chopped into bite-size squares
1 clove garlic – minced

Sauce
½ cup dry white wine
2 cups chicken stock
1 TBSP corn starch – mix first in two TBSP of cold water then add to the pot

Seasoning and Herbs, Oil
Salt and Pepper
3 TBSP olive oil
1 TBSP Dijon mustard
1 TBSP dry mustard
1 tsp. marjoram

In a large 5 quart sauce pan add meat and one TBSP oil and brown. Remove the meat. Add the potatoes and a dash of sea salt and fry to a point where there is a little crisp on the skin. Make sure to fry the potatoes real good as the flavor adds a lot to the pot.  Remove the potatoes. Add a little more olive oil and sauté the onions and carrots. Add the wine and deglaze the pan. Return everything to the pot and add the kale and one cup of chicken stock. Cover and cook down the kale about 5 minutes. Add all the remaining ingredients, stir in the corn starch, herbs, mustard and seasonings and cook covered on warm for 30 minutes. Serve.

(click on pic to enlarge)

Irish stew (Stobhach Gaelach) is any variety of meat and root vegetables. Originally, the dish used goat meat and now mostly made with lamb. However, lamb can be expensive here and the taste can be too sweet and gamy. My recipe uses pork stew meat. The reason I use pork versus beef is I will brown the pork first to create a fond (The culinary term, French for “base” or “foundation”) as I do in a Jambalaya.

I also use less meat, just enough to add flavor. Most recipes are built around a pound of meat. I use one-half pound. After browning the meat, I will also create a demi-roux (butter and flour) to thicken the fluids and create a gravy, then sauté the mirepoix in the roux. I will then add a bottle of Guinness Stout a cup at a time and whisk creating even thicker gravy. This continues to build flavors.

I will also add whole potatoes, but mashed potatoes if you desire can be added, which will thicken the gravy further. The other root vegetables and the Brussels sprouts (baby cabbage) are then added. Add herbs and more fluids and cook slow for almost 2 hours on a very low heat.

Ingredients (shown in the picture above, click on pic to enlarge):

Mirepoix
1 small onion – chopped
½ bell pepper, – seeded and chopped
1 celery stalk – peeled and chopped
2 garlic cloves – cut into small coins

Meat
½ Lb. stew pork – cubed
2 TBSP olive oil – (for browning meat)

Vegetables
3 carrots, cut into 1-inch pieces
12 Brussels sprouts, halved
2 cups potatoes, or as needed – cubed w/skin

Seasoning, Herbs and Stock
Salt and pepper
1 small bay leaf
2 cups chicken stock (or as needed)
¼ cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 TBSP balsamic vinegar
12 fluid ounce bottle dark beer – Guinness Stout

Demi-Roux
2 TBSP All-purpose flour
2 TBSP butter

In the olive oil brown the meat and then remove.

Add the flour and butter and whisk for several minutes until the flour starts to brown.

Add the mirepoix and sauté until you can smell the onions start to cook.

Move the mirepoix to one said and add ½ cup of Guinness Stout beer and deglaze that half of the pot.  Move the mirepoix to the other side and add another ½ beer and deglaze the other side.

Add the remaining beer and stir into a thick paste.

Add all the remaining ingredients and return the meat.  Add chicken stock until the ingredients are covered.  Cover, bring to a boil, then reduce to low and cook 1½ to 2 hours.

Gyōza Sauce (pronounced ji-ohz-i)

Gyōza sauce is a dipping sauce used mostly with pot stickers. But, I use it with a piece of salmon. I buy frozen salmon, defrost it, fry it in sesame oil, and then serve it on a salad or on the side with stir fry veggies. I make this sauce for it. This sauce is also served with Hamachi Kama (broiled yellowtail gill plate) at sushi bars.

Gyōza is a non-standard Japanese word. The Chinese word Jiaozi means dumpling. These dumplings are stuffed and served boiled, steamed or fried.

1 piece salmon
Sesame seeds
1 tsp. sesame oil

Gyōza Sauce
½ cup rice vinegar
½ cup soy sauce
½ tsp. red pepper flakes
1 garlic clove minced
½ tsp. ginger minced (or grated)
1 tsp. sesame oil
1/3 cup minced green onions

Baste the salmon with sesame oil and then add one teaspoon of the oil to a nonstick fry pan. Cook a minute or so on each side, then sprinkle with sesame seeds, drop in a dash of Gyōza and cook until done. When eating, dip the salmon in the remaining Gyōza sauce.

(click on pics to enlarge)

In between the occasional Cajun roux, I try my best to eat as many greens and vegetables as possible. I have not had a hamburger or a steak in a very long time. In fact, I have reduced my meat intake by more than half. I use meat mostly for the flavor. When frying meat, it will leave a brown thick glaze called a “fond”. By adding a little liquid after and scraping the pan the liquid will deglaze the fond and that will add all sorts of great flavors to the dish. Also keep in mind adding onions, celery and some peppers directly after, the sugars are released and adds even more flavor. The idea is to keep building flavor.

This stir fry recipe can be cooked in a wok or a skillet. As long as the pan is fairly hot. Any meat and any vegetable can be used. After frying the meat and veggies I use a sauce and then serve that on a bed of cooked Ramen noodles. The Ramen noodles I use are those cheap packs in the store for less than a dollar. I discard the dry seasoning pack.

The most important thing is the sauce. This recipe is for 2 servings.

Sauce:
½ cup chicken stock
2 Tbsp. sugar
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
4 Tbsp. Chinese black vinegar (½ white wine/ ½ balsamic vinegar)
2 tsp. Ketchup
2 tsp. cornstarch (added to the cold chicken broth and whisked, the cornstarch thickens the sauce)
(If you like to add a hot chili, I add a TBSP of Chiu Chow Chili Oil by Lee Kum Kee

Veggies:
Select and prepare vegetables.
The basic veggies are Napa cabbage (Chinese cabbage), celery, carrot sticks, green beans, shiitake mushrooms (I use dried and re-hydrate), scallions and also daikon radish sticks when available, bamboo shoots or whatever you like.

Meat:
1/2 Lb. pork chops, chicken or beef chopped into small bite size pieces
1 TBSP minced garlic
½ TBSP freshly grated ginger
½ small yellow onion chopped
Chili oil

Ramen Noodles:
1 pack of Ramen noodle. Crack noodle pack in half then cook as per the directions. (8 minutes boiling water)

Oil:
Canola oil (I use whatever I need). To get the wok started first get the wok hot then add the oil. For this dish I start with 1.5 TBSPs. This is where you develop a feel for the food. If you do it this way the meat will not stick.

Fry the pork and remove

Add the onions, garlic, ginger and a dash of wine to deglaze the pan

Add the veggies

Return the pork

Add the sauce

Let cook and cover while cooking the noodles

After, the best way to clean the wok is to get it hot and then add soapy water, then rinse.

Can it be that easy?  (Someone say yes!)

click on pics to enlarge

Bánh mì Vietnamese-Style Sandwich

Pronounced: bon me

This is a very healthy sandwich and easy to make. It is also great for those times when you don’t have a lot of time to cook. I am a fan of New Orleans poor-boys and French Quarter Italian Muffulettas but this New Orleans’ standard ranks with the best of sandwiches. I found this sandwich last year when working in a predominately Vietnamese section of South Mississippi. After the war many Vietnamese migrated to the Gulf Coast – a home very similar in many ways to the one they left. In the 19th century they were under French Colonial rule and adopted many French cooking methods. The marriage of Asian, French and New Orleans cooking is a perfect match.

The main points about this sandwich are you can use any type of meat. Traditionally it is made with seasoned pork, pork pate or chicken but you can use any cold cut. My sandwich includes a thinly sliced olive loaf and sliced turkey. True to the main features of the sandwich it is garnished with sliced cucumber, fresh cilantro, sliced jalapeño and an easy to make pickled daikon radish and carrot mix called Do Chua. It is served on French bread or some sort of baguette. Banh Mi translated means “all kinds of bread”. The Vietnamese bake their own version of a single-serving French baguette specifically for Banh Mi.

First make the Do Chau. I will offer this website for you to see how to make it. http://www.vietworldkitchen.com/blog/2009/05/daikon-and-carrot-pickle-recipe-do-chua.html 

1 carrot cut is small matchsticks.
1 3-inch piece of daikon radish cut into small matchsticks
4 TBSP of sugar
½ cup white vinegar
½ cup warm water
Sea salt

Cut the carrot and radish into match sticks. In a bowl mix the veggies with 2 tsps of sugar and sprinkle with salt. Mix with your hand and let sit for about 20 minutes. This will wilt the veggies and remove some water. When the daikon and carrot can be bent without snapping, rinse it in water and drain.

In a large bowl add the remaining sugar, the water and stir, then the vinegar and stir. Mix all in a container or a jar, cover and leave in the refrigerator at least an hour before serving. The pickled mixture can last three to four weeks in your frig.

Build the Banh Mi:

Bread sliced in half
Mayonnaise
Several slices of sliced olive loaf
Several slices of sliced turkey
Sliced cucumber
Sliced jalapeño
Cilantro
Do Chau
Soy Sauce

Spread the mayonnaise on the bottom slice of bread. Add all the meat.

Ready to eat. This sandwich is incredible.