Kathleen Rear

Calamari Stir-fry

Kathleen Rear

February 1, 2013

Something of an internationally miss-matched name, I know. My guess is that both Italians and Asians would be alarmed, but It turned out really well! It made the hour and some struggle to clean what turned out to be completely unprocessed squid very worth it! I’ll offer the how to at the end of the recipe so as not to put you off your appetite.

Calamari Stir-fry
1 lb. defrosted & cleaned Squid (rings and tentacles)
2 cups shredded Chinese (Napa) Cabbage
1 Carrot (thinly sliced)
1 cup Snow Peas (julienne)
1 can Baby Corn (drained)
Roughly chopped Cilantro to garnish

Heat a large saute pan or a wok over high heat and add a couple of tablespoons of canola oil. Once your oil is just starting to smoke toss in the squid and toss around till it starts to curl up and turn opaque.
Turn the heat down to medium heat.
Add the veggies and toss to combine with the squid. Add about 2 tablespoons of the Sesame Ginger Dressing and toss with the meat and veggies. Cover the pan for two minutes to allow the veggies to cook a little more.
Serve immediately over jasmine rice with another splash of the dressing over the top.

Ginger Sesame Dressing
1/4 cup Red Wine Vinegar
1/8 cup Toasted Sesame Oil
1/4 Canola Oil
1 teaspoon Sesame Seeds
1 tablespoon Brown Sugar
2 teaspoons Lime Juice
Dash of Fish Sauce

Combine all ingredients in a tightly sealed jar, then shake well to mix.

Cleaning squid how to:
Imagine my surprise when I defrosted my squid, opened the box to find completely unprocessed squid. Well crap!
As one does in this situation I called up Alton Brown’s Good Eats episode “Squid Pro Quo.”

That helped enormously, however, it didn’t cover how to skin or gut the wee beasties.

Follow AB’s instructions of how the de-head and cut the tentacles off. From there, for the remaining innards squeeze the tube of the body like a toothpaste tube (warning this is pretty gooey and inky)

Next gently detach the “backbone” from the skin inside the tube and pull carefully out. You’ll have to go fishing for it up there if you break it, but mostly they came out in one piece.

To skin them, hold the tubes onto the board and scrape the skin off with the back of your knife moving from the small end to the large. It comes off very easily.
Now cut your tubes into thick rings and give the squid meat a nice long wash in cold water. Pat or run it through a salad spinner to dry and store wrapped in paper towels and sealed tightly in Tupperware, or some such.

Carrot & Cilantro Salad Spring Rolls

Kathleen Rear

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January 17, 2013

Browsing through some collected recipes last week, I ran across a favorite for a carrot and cilantro salad that I’ve served with my version of Chicken Tikka Masala. It occurred to me that the salad would make excellent spring roll filling. I hadn’t yet attempted spring rolls so I turned, as I usually do, to the internet for tutorial. Happily, I immediately happened upon this video of Rachel of Elephantine making spring rolls.

I’ve followed her technique of stretching the rice paper wrapper over a salad plate for filling and rolling. Also, I learned that if you keep your finger tips wet it’s easier to manipulate the soggy yet delicate rice paper. First though, you’ll need to make the carrot salad…

Carrot & Cilantro Salad

5 Carrots (peeled and grated)
1/2 cup Fresh Cilantro Leaves
5 rice Spring Roll Wrappers

Simply grate the carrots with your food processor or on a box grater and toss with the cilantro leaves.

Lime & Cilantro Dressing

1 tablespoon finely chopped Fresh Cilantro
2 tablespoons Lime Juice
1 tablespoon Rice Wine Vinegar
3 tablespoons Olive Oil
2 teaspoons Sugar
1 teaspoon Lime Zest
1/2 teaspoon Sesame Oil

Salt & Pepper

Whisk all ingredients together and then toss with the carrot and cilantro mixture.

To assemble the spring rolls first gather a large pie plate or baking dish and fill it with warm water.
(I first tried it with hot water and burn my fingers)
Slide the rice paper into the warm water and allow it to soften for about 30 seconds or so. Take it gently out of the water and stretch it over a salad plate, dab off any excess water with a paper towel.
Place about 2 tablespoons of the carrot salad on the lower part of the rice paper and roll gently but tightly. About half way up, fold in the sides and continue wrapping until you reach the end.
Cut your spring roll in half and serve on a chilled plate.

The picture shows that I served them with peanut sauce but my guinea pigs thought that a light plum sauce or more Lime Cilantro dressing might be better.

Sunday Surfing

Kathleen Rear

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January 13, 2013

photo by colony13stars

It’s freaking cold out! Brrr! So lets stay in our robes and jammies, pour a nice mug of something hot and watch videos on the internet!

This looks so fun! Would be awesome to have at a party.

Shhhooooom!

Sorry that sound you heard was my jaw hitting the floor. That was incredible!
I love the internet!

The Brown Sugar Martini

Kathleen Rear

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January 4, 2013

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Someone turned 21 years old today!
You know what that means, boozing it up at the pub and getting free birthday drinks! Whooo Partay!

Oh wait, right she’s a cat.
Well SOMEONE needs to have a drink today! So in her honor I’ve made up a tasty cocktail.

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Why not mix up a batch and toast: “Here’s to very, very old cats! Happy 21st Birthday Sugar!”

The Brown Sugar Martini
Decorate a martini glass with a drizzle of caramel sauce.

In a cocktail shaker full of ice add:
1 Cinnamon Stick
1 part Brown Sugar Simple Syrup
(1/2 cup dark brown sugar & 1/2 cup water: Bring to a boil then cool before using)
2 parts Vanilla Vodka
Shake well and pour into your caramel swirled glass, then float a teaspoon of cream over the top.

Meet Rachel Khoo

Kathleen Rear

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January 3, 2013

Recently I’ve been watching Rachel Khoo on Cooking Channel in the U.S. They’ve been replaying her BBC Two show The Little Paris Kitchen.

I love her recipes and her teeny tiny Paris kitchen! Last night I made her Chicken Dumpling Soup. Yum!
I’ll be delivering the left over to an ailing family member later today.

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Her cookbook is due out in February!

Holiday Panettone Loaf

Kathleen Rear

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December 21, 2012

We didn’t make it to Pazzoria Bakery this year for our panettone bread so I thought, “How hard could it be?” As it turns out, not that hard! After some experimenting I think I’ve got it right.

Panettone Loaf

For the dried fruit mixture:
1/4 cup each of:
Dried Cranberries
Dried Currants
Golden Rasins
Dried Plums (Prunes) Snipped into small bits
Candied Orange Peel (Click here for how to)
1 cup Triple Sec or Orange Juice

Except the candied orange peel, measure into a small sauce pan, all of the dried fruit and the triple sec. Bring it to a boil then take it off the heat, cover and let the fruit steep for about and hour. When cool, strain off the liquid and add to the dough mixture (see below).
Chop the candied orange peel into half-inch chunks set aside until time to add to the dough (see below)

For the dough mixture:
1 tablespoon Active Dry Yeast
1 cup Warm Water (110 degrees)
1/2 cup Sugar
2 large Eggs
1/2 Cup Plain Yogurt
4-5 Cups All Purpose Flour
1 teaspoon Salt
1/4 teaspoon each of: Allspice, Cinnamon, Nutmeg

Measure the yeast into a small bowl and add the water and 1 teaspoon of the sugar. Let the yeast develop for about 5-10 minutes.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the yeast/water mixture the rest of the sugar, salt, eggs, spices and the yogurt. Mix well with a whisk.

Add the dough hook to your mixer and turn it on low-speed.

Add the flour by 1/2 cup increments until you’ve added 2 1/2 cups of flour.

Now, add the cooled dried fruit mixture and the candied orange peel.
Continue adding the rest of the flour. You might not need all of it so add by increments again.

Your dough will be very sticky. That’s okay! Remove from the mixer and place it into a large, buttered bowl. Place it into a nice warm spot covered with a tea towel. Let it rise for an hour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Turn out the dough onto a well floured surface and knead into a ball. Plop your dough into a panettone paper mould or a high sided cake pan. Cut an X into the top of the bread. Allow to rise again for 30 minutes.

Bake in the lower 1/3 of the oven for about 1 hour and 20 minutes, and according to instructions if baking in the mashine (find more details at www.village-bakery.com).

You can give this super rich and dense bread for a gift or eat it up on Christmas morning!
Serve with orange marmalade and butter.

Hassleback Potatoes

Kathleen Rear

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December 20, 2012

This is a British derivation on a Swedish recipe created by the Hasslebacken Hotel a few centuries ago. I love that its super simple but looks very fancy. Perfect for my Christmas Eve feast!

Hassleback Potatoes

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

12 Yukon gold potatoes of medium size
3 tablespoons Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper

Wash and dry the potatoes. If your potatoes seem to not want to lay flat you can cut a very small slice off the bottom of the potatoes to give them more stability.

Now, begin from the middle and make cuts through the top of the potato stopping when you’re almost all the way through. Leave the last 1/4 of the potato uncut. For smaller potatoes you can place them in a wooden spoon to act as a guide for your knife.

Let them soak completely covered in a bowl of cold water for about 10 minutes or even longer if you’d like to make ahead.

Rinse and dry the potatoes and place them on a foil lined baking tray. Sprinkle over the olive oil and salt and pepper. Bake for about an hour, checking with the tip of a knife for tenderness and if they are cooked through.

The layers you’ve cut will have spread into a fan shape, pretty!

Take them out of the oven and cover with foil while you make the topping, or if you need the oven for your roast or somesuch you can hold them here for up to 30 minutes.

For the topping:
1 cup Panko crumbs or plain bread crumbs
3/4 cup grated Parmesan Cheese
1/4 cup Garlic Olive Oil
1 teaspoon Dried Oregano
1/2 teaspoon Pepper

Mix everything together and sprinkle over the potatoes, making sure you get some into the spaces that have opened during baking. Pop them back in the oven for about 10 minutes, or until the topping is golden brown.
Serve with sour cream or blue cheese crumbles.

Sunday Morning Surfing

Kathleen Rear

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December 16, 2012

Lets stay in our jammies and goof off out on the internet…

Basement Jaxx always makes me smile.

Who knew it was so hard to make a Manhattan in Paris?

The Fine Art of Italian Hand Gestures. Just in time for that family gathering… (Heh)

The fine art of The Last Minute Hostess Gift.

Mind Blowing and Badass and Hooray 2013 movie trailers.

Grocery Store Gift Basket (Bathtime)

Kathleen Rear

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December 10, 2012

Start with a nice basket or bath caddy, then fill with as many indulgent bath items as you can find. This gift might be especially helpful for the college freshman who’ll carry toiletries back and forth between a communal bathroom.
(Ahhhhh! Dorm flashback! Ahhhhh!)

Grocery Store Gift Basket (Jetsetter)

Kathleen Rear

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December 5, 2012

If your friend travels frequently, or is planning a trip in the near future why not stock them up with all those travel sizes that are essential for plane travel.

Start with an inexpensive quart size make-up bag and fill with as many travel size goodies you can squeeze in. Lip balm, hand sanitizer, pain reliever, travel candle, eye mask, snacks and, my favorite, Loo-Pourri air freshener! Essential on a long flight, am I right?

For more info on the products in this post click here!