No More Turkey, Please!

Ahi Tuna Slices

Thanksgiving is in my rear-view mirror, but leftover turkey lingers.  I didn’t mind it for lunch the day after Thanksgiving, and I was equally happy to eat more leftovers on Saturday night. 

That was then.  This morning I woke up and checked out space in my freezer.  Yup!  Just enough room for those lonely turkey legs that no one wanted to eat.  In a few weeks they will look a lot more delicious.

Now what? 

How Much Meat Is Too Much?

I remember the rare occasions when my family would eat out.  If we were traveling, my father would always pull up to a Howard Johnson’s and order Veal Parmesan.  It was almost like he was a taste-tester, going from restaurant to restaurant, making sure the food was identical.

When we were at home, though, he switched his eating-out preference to Roast Prime Rib of Beef. That’s a cut of meat we all loved, and on those rare occasions when we ate out that’s what we all ordered. 

Looking back, I can’t believe how much meat arrived on my plate and how little remained when the wait staff took my plate away.  Today 1 slice of prime rib would probably serve 4 people at my house.

Use at Least 1 Exotic Ingredient in Every Recipe

Thai Chicken Pizza

Here’s an idea to make dinnertime a little jazzier.  Add at least one exotic ingredient to whatever you’re cooking.  It could be a new spice you want to try or an unusual vegetable.  Maybe substitute peanut oil for canola oil. That will definitely change the favor of the dish.

If you don’t like the end result, add another exotic ingredient to counteract the first one.  Or add water or broth and turn the dish into a soup.  Throw in a handful of noodles or possibly a drained can of corn or beans.

How Far Can You Stray From a Classic Recipe?

I’ve been aware of Gado Gado, an Indonesian salad, for years.  I’ve admired pictures of it and even considered making it at one point.  But I never did because 1) it looked like too much work, and 2) it didn’t appear filling enough to be a main course.

Sunset Magazine’s July issue carried a recipe for this salad, and I finally decided to try it.  ‘Too much work’ and ‘not filling enough’ still seemed valid concerns, so I decided to add a few of my own touches and subtract one of theirs--the bean sprouts, because there were enough cold vegetables already on the platter.

Meat and Salad in One Bowl = Strange Bedfellows

I don’t usually have meat in my salad – or salad on my meat.  In fact, when I was growing up, my mother set out “salad plates” so that her salad wouldn’t mingle with other dinner items.  No gravy ever touched a lettuce leaf in our house.

In college I discovered Chef’s Salad: hard-boiled eggs, strips of ham and/or turkey or roast beef, tomatoes, cucumber and grated cheese, mixed into chopped iceberg lettuce and covered with Thousand Island Dressing.  It made a great dinner on the run.

Remember Recipe Cards?

Back when I first started cooking, some grocery stores offered free recipe cards.  They were made of heavy-duty paper, cut into a 3” x 5” shape so they would fit into a wooden or metal recipe box.  On one side would be a detailed recipe and on the other a picture of the end result.  The cards were marketing tools.  If the picture looked attractive and the recipe called for a pound of stewing beef, why not buy some right now?

Ramen Noodles Not Just for College Students

If you toss out the flavor packet (too much salt), packaged ramen noodles can be the basis of a reasonable emergency meal.  I proved it last night when I was scrambling to get dinner on the table and discovered two lonely packages of ramen noodles at the back of a pantry shelf.  They were just what I needed for the leftover pork stir-fry I wanted to make.

Bok Choy: What Is It and How Do I Cook It?

Baby Bok Choy

The first time I saw bok choy in the produce department, I thought it was a new kind of celery.  One end had thick white stems attached to a base and the other end had big leaves.  Since I was tired of my usual beans, broccoli, spinach and asparagus, I bought a large bok choy so I could try it out.  Here’s what I learned:

India Meets Italy at My Table

Pasta with Indian Cauliflower Sauce

I like food from other countries.  Maybe it’s because I grew up in a Western Pennsylvania coal and steel town populated by many nationalities.  Every summer weekend my family attended a community picnic featuring dishes from a specific nationality.  The Italian Picnic introduced me to Spaghetti and Meatballs and Veal Parmesan.  The Polish Picnic offered Grilled Kielbasas (sausages) and Sauerkraut.  I loved the Flatbread on offer at the Syrian Picnic and the Stuffed Grape Leaves, Baklava and Tiropita (cheese turnovers) at the Greek Picnic.

Emergency: Bring on the Ground Turkey

I try to make a list before I go get groceries, although sometimes I leave the list on the counter.  Other times I’m in the store looking at the list and somehow failing to see one of the items I’ve written down.  I have yet to understand why that happens.  I’ve just been to the eye doctor, and I am not going blind.

Maybe to compensate, I always buy a package of ground turkey when it’s on sale—even if it’s not on my list.  I probably just forgot to write it down.

Cooking Can Be Great Self-Entertainment

“It’s not fun to be in the kitchen,” an old friend told me recently.  He was explaining why he was eating frozen TV dinners every night.  His wife was out of town, and he wasn’t willing to employ cooking skills he learned in college to feed himself.

Sesame Oil: What Is It and How Do I Cook with It?

Sesame oil is sold in small bottles and is used mainly for flavoring.  Be careful if you use it for frying because it can burn easily. 

The oil is pressed from roasted sesame seeds and is usually a golden color, although I have seen a brown version.  It’s popular in Asian cooking.  Add a few drops of sesame oil just before you serve a stir-fry or tofu dish, and you will be surprised how much it improves the taste with its unique nutty flavor.

Hoisin Sauce: What Is It and How Do I Cook with It?

Thai Pasta Salad

Hoisin sauce is an Asian condiment, in some ways similar to ketchup.  I first came across it when I ordered Peking Duck at a restaurant.  This sauce, which is a deep, rich brown, appeared in a bowl when the duck was served.  The waiter advised spreading some on the accompanying pancakes and then adding slices of duck .  I was enchanted with the flavor of the sauce and assumed it was part of the Peking Duck recipe.

Years went by before I tasted hoisin sauce again.  Then I discovered it’s a key ingredient in Thai Chicken Pizza, one of the offerings at the California Pizza Kitchen chain.  In that instance hoisin sauce is mixed with peanut butter to make the ‘pizza’ sauce.

Is Asparagus Your Enemy?

I never imagined vegetables could be considered evil until I heard a 12-year-old say, “Asparagus is my enemy.”  A food fight was brewing at my dinner table until a portion of salad took the place of the offending vegetable.

Cooking Fast Often Means Cooking Small

Early in my kitchen days I figured out that the quickest way to get cooked meat, potatoes and vegetables on the table was to cut them up into small pieces before cooking them.  It takes more than 1 hour to roast a chicken, 20 minutes to poach a boneless chicken breast in water, 8 minutes to grill or broil a skewer of chicken kebabs and 2 minutes to stir-fry 1/2-thick strips of chicken.  If I were truly in a hurry, stir-fry was my cooking method of choice.

Similar timetables hold true for beef, lamb and pork.

Why Is Cabbage One of the Most Hated Foods on the Planet?

Asian Chicken Slaw

The stuffed cabbage I grew up with was loathsome, although I now realize it was the fatty ground beef stuffing that made it so. My kids still talk about the dinner ladies and the smell of overcooked cabbage at their London elementary school.

Fish Taco with Cabbage and Salsa

So what prompted me to buy a cabbage the other day?  I was making fish tacos, and raw shredded cabbage is a perfect accompaniment.  But cabbages are big and they’re dense.  After making the tacos, I had about three-quarters of the cabbage left.  What was I going to do with it?

A Tale of Two Woks

Stir-Fried Shrimp and Vegetables

Last night it was a face-off between shrimp and tofu.  The shrimp won (no leftovers), but the fight  was close.  The contenders:

1 pound (21-25 per pound) raw shrimp - cost $5.77 (on sale)

12 ounces extra-firm tofu, cut into small squares - cost $1.49

Stir-Fried Tofu and Vegetables

Cooking two dishes at the same time is stressful. Here are some tricks I learned: