Kabocha Squash and Pork Stir Fry

Another recipe that ticked all the boxes for "sounds like I'd like this" (savory ground pork, sweet kabocha squash, Japanese style flavorings). I was a little worried the squash wouldn't get fully cooked but as long as you slice it thinly enough it shouldn't be a problem.

Verdict: I loved it (good sweet-salty-savory combination) and would definitely make it again.

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RECIPE: Kabocha Pork Stir-Fry (Namiko Chen, Just One Cookbook)

Biscuits and Sausage Gravy

This recipe is a common Southern breakfast dish and comes to me through my sister's boyfriend, Sam, who is not Southern but genuinely likes cooking. He cooks things on his own from scratch, not just when she invites him to cook together! Yay.

My mom came to visit this weekend and stay overnight at my house. We normally cook breakfast together when we see each other, so we all convened in my kitchen to cook breakfast in the morning. My sister and Sam brought ingredients for biscuits and gravy, and I was excited when I heard Sam had made this recipe before. I tried biscuits and gravy one time and thought it was fine, but it is not something I grew up eating, and I was unmotivated to make it for myself because I didn't like it enough to go through the process of trying recipes until I found one I liked, and it seems like biscuits and gravy is something for which there would be a lot of dubious recipes.

I love biscuits as a food and have tried to make them from scratch at least 3 or 4 times, but I was never satisfied with the end result. Each time I was disappointed they didn't taste like the canned ones. They were all bitter and metallic tasting so I didn't try for a long time. Today was different. He handed me the recipe for the biscuits, and my sister and I worked on them while he made the gravy. They were pretty easy to make since I was familiar with the process. I got them out of the oven and they actually. tasted. good. Not bitter at all. I can make biscuits I like now!

Notes:

• The photos in this entry depict a doubled batch. We served it to 5 people and had a little less than half left over.
• Use aluminum free baking powder! The biscuits are less likely to be bitter that way.
• Sam sometimes makes these as drop biscuits, either as 8-10 small biscuits like the recipe calls for or 4 larger ones (you may need to bake them longer). I shaped the dough into a 3/4 inch thick rectangle and cut it into 12 pieces (for a single batch, cut into 6) with a chef's knife.
• Sam liked the flaky and layered texture of my batch. I attribute this to not overhandling the dough and cutting in the shortening with a pastry blender rather than a fork -- this keeps the fat in larger chunks.
• I lined the baking sheet with parchment paper instead of greasing it and it worked great.
• I baked the 12 biscuits for 13 minutes and it was perfect -- they were golden brown on top while being fully cooked but not dry in the middle.
• I'm considering making the biscuits with another fat sometime (butter in particular) and seeing how they go because I'm not a fan of shortening.
• If you end up with extra biscuits, they taste great warm with butter and/or jam.
• Sam usually uses Italian sausage for the gravy but I think breakfast sausage might also taste good.
• The leftover gravy can be refrigerated and reheated. It thickens more as it cools, so you will likely need additional milk or water to thin it out.

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RECIPE:

Biscuits and Sausage Gravy

from Baker's Corner Baking Powder (biscuits), Betty Crocker (gravy)

Serves 4, up to 6 with additional meal items

Biscuits
2 cups all purpose flour
2 1/2 tsp aluminum free baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup Crisco or other shortening
3/4 cup milk
1 tbsp butter, melted (for brushing)

Sausage gravy
1/2 lb pork sausage meat (breakfast sausage or mild Italian sausage)
1 tbsp butter or canola oil
2 tbsp all purpose flour
1 cup milk (we used 1%)
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Prepare biscuits: Preheat oven to 475°F. Stir together flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium mixing bowl. Cut in shortening with a pastry blender until the texture of coarse crumbs (around 1/8 inch / 3 mm pieces). Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and pour the milk into the well. Stir with a fork until milk is just incorporated and dough begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl. Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured cutting board or other flat work surface and knead for approximately 30 seconds, or until the dough just comes together, taking care not to overwork it. Pat into a rectangle about 7 inches long, 4 1/2 inches wide and 3/4 inch thick, then cut into 6 pieces (3x2). Transfer to a parchment lined baking sheet and brush the top of each piece with melted butter. Bake for 11-15 minutes or until golden brown. If there's any melted butter left over, brush the baked biscuits with it after removing them from the oven. Serve warm with gravy.

Prepare gravy: Heat a skillet or deep frying pan on the stove over medium-high heat. When the pan is hot, add sausage to the pan and fry until well browned. Remove browned meat from pan into a medium bowl, keeping the drippings in the pan, and set aside. Return pan to the heat and add butter or oil. When the butter is melted, sprinkle in the flour with a wooden spoon. Stir to combine, being sure to scrape the browned bits off the bottom of the pan. Cook for 2-3 minutes, until mixture bubbles and has turned light brown. Whisk or stir in milk a little at a time, making sure mixture is smooth. Continue to cook, stirring constantly, over medium-high heat until mixture boils and thickens slightly. If it gets too thick, stir in more milk, a little at a time, to thin it to the desired consistency. Stir in salt and pepper, then add cooked sausage back in, stirring gently to combine. Serve hot over biscuits.

Szechuan Green Beans and Ground Pork

 

This is a recipe I stumbled upon when I had ground pork and didn't know how to use it. I was looking for recipes and I thought this one sounded good. It's probably the best recipe I've ever tried on a whim, honestly. It's pretty simple to make and incredibly good! Even my parents like it! I have made this many times in the last 10 years or so and the version written below takes my preferences into account.

Notes:

• The photos above depict a double batch.
• This is not meant to be swimming in sauce like a lot of American Chinese food.
• I partially cook my green beans before adding them because adding them in raw results in them being not quite cooked. Be sure you drain the water from your green beans really well or it will prevent the ingredients from frying properly and dilute the sauce.
• The original recipe specifically called for white rice but eat it with whatever rice you like. I have eaten it with white Japanese rice, white jasmine rice, and brown Japanese rice, and all were quite good.

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RECIPE:

Szechuan Green Beans and Ground Pork
adapted from a recipe by Leeann Chin and Katie Chin, originally published in Cooking Light, April 2006
Serves 3-4

2 cups hot cooked rice

2 tbsp hoisin sauce (Lee Kum Kee brand is my favorite)
1 tsp sugar
1/4 to 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper (more if you like it really spicy)
2 teaspoons low-sodium soy sauce
1/2 pound ground pork
1 tsp corn starch
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp freshly ground white pepper (if you don't have white pepper, black works too)
1 tsp peanut or canola oil
1 tsp minced garlic
2 1/2 cups cut green beans, partially cooked and drained very well (I partially cook frozen ones in the microwave and then squeeze some of the water out before adding to the pan)

Stir together hoisin sauce, sugar, red pepper flakes, and soy sauce in a small bowl and set aside.

Combine pork, cornstarch, salt, and pepper in a bowl or on a plate until just mixed.

In a large non-stick skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. When oil is hot, add garlic and fry until fragrant and very light brown, being careful not to let it burn. Add the pork mixture to the pan and fry until it is no longer pink, stirring occasionally with a wooden spatula to break it into large crumbles. Add the green beans and fry for about 3 more minutes, stirring occasionally. Make a well in the center of the pan and pour the sauce into the well. Once it has heated up and starts to thicken and bubble and caramelize (about 1 minute), stir it into the pork and green beans to coat. Serve over hot cooked rice.

Teriyaki Pork Rice Bowl

Today's adventure in cooking is once again brought to you by Just One Cookbook! I turn to Nami's blog for many a Japanese food recipe because it covers a lot of good home cooking recipes that I miss from my host family, and new home cooking recipes to try. Donburi (rice bowls) remains one of my favorite genres of Japanese food, so I was excited to try this when I saw it.

Pork chops are something that can be hard to make interesting. When I was a kid my mom would bread them with crushed crackers and pan fry them, and I liked them even if they could be kind of dry. My husband had only ever had them coated in Shake-n-Bake and it was a frequent meal at his house. He didn't like it all that much to begin with and quickly got sick of it, so for the longest time he was convinced he hated pork chops. He was really suspicious the first time I said I was making pork chops, but once I assured him there would be no Shake-n-Bake anywhere near it he agreed to try it. I am slowly trying to make his knee jerk reaction to the words "pork chops" go away, and so far he's liked all the ways I've prepared them. Just don't call them pork chops when you tell him what it is and it's fine. ;) We've half jokingly taken to calling them "pork steaks" instead, haha.

This, however, was the first way I've had pork chops that I thought was exceptional.

I tripled the recipe since I had a family size package of pork chops, and it seemed like it would make good leftovers. I made very minor substitutions: bottled minced ginger and garlic instead of fresh because it's what I had, and baby spring mix instead of iceberg lettuce. I made sure the garlic was drained really well since it was going to be cooked in oil. I also cooked the sauce down slightly after removing the pork chops from the pan to make it a little thicker. I tasted the sauce all by itself after reserving it from cooking and it seemed like it was missing something, but on top of the finished dish, it's perfect! Resist the urge to add anything to it. I feel like the amount of cornstarch listed is very generous and you could easily do with less; I used maybe 3/4 of that amount.

Verdict: For how easy this is to make, it was REALLY good. My husband also really liked it. I will definitely be making this again!

RECIPE: Teriyaki Pork Donburi

Carnitas (Mexican Braised Pork)

Today's adventure in cooking is brought to you by The Homesick Texan!

My oldest brother introduced this recipe to me when he made it for one of our family gatherings at Christmas. I have made it a couple of times since then, both with my family and on my own. This latest iteration was made while hiding from the insane cold the polar vortex brought this winter. Sounded like the perfect thing to make when it's absolutely frigid outside.

I like to keep it very neutrally flavored so that I can use it for a variety of things. You can put it in any Mexican or Tex-Mex dish that calls for carnitas. You can put barbecue sauce on it and eat it in a sandwich. I've put it in ramen (though I'm not sure everyone would like that).

RECIPE: Carnitas, Houston Style

Roast Pork Loin with Balsamic, Dijon, and Thyme

Today's adventure in cooking is brought to you by Kitchen Confidante! I tried out this recipe because I had fresh thyme to use up, and wanted to make something a little special to welcome my husband home from a trip but also not have to go to the store because the weather was supposed to be awful.

I think the marinade was supposed to turn out a little thicker than mine did. I think it was because I used jarred minced garlic instead of fresh and perhaps a little too much oil or vinegar (I eyeballed things rather than measuring exactly). The only thing I did differently was not sear it before roasting it in the oven. I thought searing it after marinating was kind of an odd choice, technically speaking. Plus, the last time I tried to sear a marinated pork loin, the marinade on it burned and I had a hell of a time cleaning the pan. (It had a significant amount of sugar in it which probably didn't help, and this recipe seems to have less but the searing after marinating idea still seems strange to me.)

I served it with oven roasted potatoes (with thyme and onion) and steamed broccoli, and we cooked and reduced the marinade to serve as a sauce, which was pretty salty and garlicky.

Personal verdict: It was good but not exceptional -- I wouldn't go out of my way to make it again. Still searching for a go-to pork loin preparation. Pork tenderloins seem to be far too easy to eat too much of but I think it's because they're inherently appealing, like you could put just about anything on it and it would taste good. My favorite so far was a garlic parmesan pork tenderloin I had at a Brazilian rodizio grill. If I could find a good recipe for that...

RECIPE: Roast Pork Loin with Balsamic, Dijon, and Thyme

Pork and Napa Cabbage Millefeuille Hot Pot

I tried Just One Cookbook's millefeuille nabe (hot pot) for dinner tonight. Nabe/hot pot dinners were some of my favorite winter meals at my Japanese host family's house and I miss them every winter. Single tabletop burners are common in Asian households but I do not have one, which makes it particularly hard to eat in the traditional style, where everyone sits around the table and cooks ingredients in the pot on this burner as they eat. I was particularly drawn to this recipe because you can cook all the hot pot ingredients at one time on the stove and then serve it.

Probably the hardest part was standing all the layers up into the pot. For reference, the pot I used was about 10" in diameter and I think it was the perfect size, possibly even a little small. I stuffed those enoki mushrooms in there because we desperately wanted to eat them, and not because there was extra room.

I was really happy with the result. We served it with ponzu and shichimi togarashi. It was light but filling, and warming (it was a cold night). I would absolutely make this again!

RECIPE: Millefeuille Nabe (Hot Pot)

Gyoza (Japanese Style Potstickers)

For those unfamiliar with pot stickers, they are a type of Asian pan-fried dumpling filled with ground meat (usually pork) and vegetables. I first tried them during my year studying abroad in Japan. My host mother would occasionally buy dinner at the department store on days she didn't have time to cook, and sometimes she would get these.

You can usually buy pot stickers frozen at Asian markets and they are tasty and reasonably healthy for a quick meal, but homemade ones taste significantly better and are absolutely worth making yourself if you're up to the task. Filling and shaping them is admittedly a lot of work, and if you can recruit people to help you, you should make a lot of them and freeze them for later.

I think my favorite part about these is the meaty flavor of the pork mixed with the salty, tangy dipping sauce.

Notes:

• You will likely use a lot more than 1 teaspoon of filling in each one. I tend to fill them quite a bit more than that and I still end up with a few extra wrappers.
• I have used square wrappers when I couldn't find round ones. Fold them diagonally to form a triangle when you close them.
• I usually freeze them after assembling but before cooking. Freeze them on a pan for ~30 minutes before placing them in a freezer bag. If you throw them all in the bag at once and then freeze them, they will freeze into a giant ball and they are near impossible to cook properly from frozen that way. Yes, I have done this before and don't recommend it
• I like to serve these with freshly cooked Japanese rice (white or brown) and a steamed or boiled green vegetable like pea pods, edamame, green beans, or broccoli.

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RECIPE:

Gyoza (Japanese Style Potstickers)
very slightly adapted from the recipe in Let's Make Japanese Food! by Amy Kaneko
Makes about 48

Filling
1/2 lb napa cabbage or green cabbage, shredded and then finely chopped into lengths no longer than 1/2 inch and squeezed between paper towels to remove excess moisture
3/4 lb ground pork or chicken
2 green onions (white and green parts), minced
3 fresh (or dried and rehydrated) shiitake mushroom caps, minced finely
1/2 bunch fresh chives, minced (if you can't find these, use 2 more green onions)
1 tsp peeled and grated fresh ginger, or 1/4 tsp dried powdered ginger
1 tbsp minced garlic (about 3 large cloves)
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tbsp sake (I recommend Gekkeikan or Ozeki)
1 tsp soy sauce

About 50 round gyoza or other Asian dumpling wrappers, each about 3 inches in diameter (the thinnest ones you can find)
2 tbsp canola or other neutral oil, for cooking each batch
2-4 tbsp water, for cooking each batch (depends on the size of your pan)

Dipping sauce (per person, adjust to taste)
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp Japanese rice vinegar (unseasoned)
A few drops sesame oil
A few drops chili oil or small amount of chili paste (optional, if you like your dipping sauce spicy)


Prepare the filling: Place the cabbage, ground meat, green onions, shiitakes, chives (if using), ginger, garlic, sesame oil, sake, and soy sauce in a large bowl. Mix together with your hands until just combined. Be careful not to overmix the filling.

Shape the gyoza: Fill a small dish with about 1/4 cup water and place it near you. Keep a clean, dry baking sheet lined with parchment paper nearby (this will hold the shaped dumplings). Remove the wrappers from their package and wrap the stack loosely in a clean, damp towel or paper towel so that they do not dry out while you work. Place a single wrapper in the palm of your hand. Spoon about 2-3 tbsp of the filling into the middle. Using your other hand, dip your fingertip into the dish of water, then gently wet half of the edge of the wrapper with this finger. Fold the wrapper, matching the wet edge with the dry, closing the filling inside. Pinch the edges firmly to seal. Pleat the edge about 3-4 times, pinching the pleats closed to keep them in place. Place the dumpling on the baking sheet with the pleated edge pointed up. Repeat until you have used up either all the wrappers or all the filling (I usually end up with extra filling.

If you are planning to freeze any dumplings, do so at this point. Make sure none of them are touching each other. Place the pan in the freezer for approximately 30 minutes, then remove them from the pan and put them in a freezer bag for up to 6 months.

Cook the gyoza: Place a frying pan on the stove over high heat. Make sure you have a lid handy that is big enough to cover the whole pan. Add the canola oil to the pan after about 5 minutes. When the oil is hot enough (you can check by flicking a drop of water into the pan; if it immediately begins sizzling the oil is ready), place your desired number of gyoza in the pan in a single layer, making sure they can all sit flat on the bottom of the pan and the pleated edges are pointing up. When the bottoms have browned slightly (after about 3 minutes), add about 2-4 tbsp of water, enough to just cover the bottom of the pan. It should sizzle and generate a lot of steam. Cover the pan immediately with the lid to trap the steam inside. Reduce the heat slightly and cook covered for about 5 minutes. Remove the lid and cook for several more minutes. They are ready when the water has completely evaporated from the pan (it will sound different when the water is gone) and the dumplings are a deep golden brown on the bottom. Remove the pan from the heat.

If cooking the dumplings from frozen, you can cook them directly from the freezer. When at the steaming stage of cooking, let cook for a few minutes longer than you would if they were fresh.

Gently slide a spatula under the cooked dumplings to remove from the pan so as not to tear the wrappers. Place on a plate, flipping them so that the browned side faces up. If you're really skillful, they will come out all stuck together in one big piece with the crust intact! Serve with dipping sauce.

Make dipping sauce: Place all ingredients in a small dish and stir to combine.

Ramen Robstravanganza

I threw a party to welcome Sarah home from her 3 month stay in France. She really missed ramen and had always wanted to try making her own, so I decided to make some from scratch for her. There were also several other recipes she sent me while she was there that I quietly saved and made for the party. Since I was not keen on making the noodles from scratch, I bought some refrigerated ones from the Asian grocery store since they have a better texture than the flash-fried ones in dry packets. We did not put a tare in the broth but I would like to try one of these two next time.

RECIPES

• Ramen components
• Pork Bone (Tonkotsu) Broth -- I used this as a general guide also with some tips from other recipes. I didn't put mushrooms in it but I did use the onion. Definitely rinse the bones. It ended up boiling for about 6 hours and was incredibly rich and lovely. I used neck and leg bones. I made it another time and it wasn't quite as good, so maybe I'll follow the suggestion to also put chicken bones in next time.
• Momofuku Pork Belly (Epicurious)
• Jammy Soft-Boiled Eggs (Bon Appetit) -- I've tried this method several times and they are consistently the perfect texture.
• Ramen Eggs (Just One Cookbook) -- use the jammy soft-boiled eggs you made in the above recipe for this. I prefer making these in larger batches since they take so long.
• Spicy Bean Sprout Salad (Just One Cookbook) -- this was good in the ramen as well as on its own.
• Chopped green onions
• Wasabi Pea Snack Mix (Kendra Vaculin via Food52) -- I did not make the wasabi peas from scratch because I did not have time, and the effort would be wasted on me anyway since I don't really like them. This was sneakily spicy in that it didn't taste very spicy at first but as you eat it a pretty good burn develops. I used less sriracha than was called for.
• Miso Butterscotch Bars (Aliwaks via Food52) -- sweet and salty wins every time. They didn't quite have the texture I was hoping for but they were delicious.
• Peach Rosemary Tea Collins
• Chuhai / Shochu Highball (The Drink Blog) -- chuhai is an incredibly popular adult beverage in Japan, so much so that you can buy it in a can at any time of the day from a convenience store. It's also really easy to make, and versatile in that you can flavor it with nearly any kind of fruit to suit your taste.

Sausage and Fennel Seed Rolls

While browsing for finger food type recipes to make for a tea party, I came across this recipe and thought it sounded delicious. I was a little worried about working with puff pastry because I'd never done so before, but it turned out to be just fine. I liked the finished product quite a lot! This is definitely party food and not an everyday food but I'd absolutely make it again for a special occasion. My version includes some very small changes from the original and is localized for people living in the United States.

Notes:

• I got plain ground pork and mixed my own set of spices and seasonings into it. I liked this quite a lot but if you have a favorite pork sausage mix or want to save time by getting pork sausage, by all means use that instead.
• Puff pastry is usually sold frozen and often comes in boxes of 2 sheets that measure about 15x10 inches. The original recipe calls for 375 g (~13.2 oz). I bought a 17 oz box and I had some left over.
• I prepared this the previous evening and refrigerated it overnight, then baked it a couple of hours before the party per the make ahead directions on the recipe. It worked really nicely.
• By the time it was done baking, there was a big puddle of grease at the bottom of the pan. I am pretty sure it was from the meat so if you are worried about that, or cannot or don't want to eat pork, maybe a leaner ground meat would work better, though it will not taste quite as rich as pork. I'd recommend ground chicken, turkey, or venison.

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RECIPE:

Sausage and Fennel Seed Rolls

Adapted from BBC Good Food

Makes 2 logs, about 20-24 pieces total; serves about 6-8

Sausage filling

14 oz plain ground pork

2-3 cloves minced garlic (about 1-1.5 tsp)

2 tsp dried powdered or rubbed sage

2 tsp kosher salt

1/2 tsp crushed red pepper

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 tbsp water

Pastry

2 sheets puff pastry

1 tbsp fennel seed
1 egg or egg yolk, beaten, for brushing onto pastry

Place all ingredients for the sausage filling in a medium bowl and mix with your hands or a spoon until evenly mixed. Be careful not to overwork the mixture. Divide into 2 halves. Place one half of the sausage mixture on a piece of saran wrap about 16 inches long. Shape the mixture into a cylinder or log about 12 inches long, then wrap it tightly in the saran wrap. Transfer it to a tray or plate and place in the refrigerator. Repeat with the other half of the sausage mixture. Let chill for at least 15-20 minutes (you can chill it for longer).

Preheat oven to 390°F (400°F if your oven doesn't set to 390°). Unfold puff pastry sheets onto a flat work surface lined with parchment paper. Cut one of the pastry sheets in half lengthwise (to make 2 pieces 15 x 5 in). Unwrap the chilled sausage logs and place one in the center of each piece of the cut puff pastry. Top each with 1/2 tbsp fennel seeds. Using a sharp knife, make cuts every 3/4 inch from the edge of the pastry to the meat along the long sides of the puff pastry to create little tabs; if you're very precise about your math you should end up with 19 cuts/20 sections on each side. Fold up the ends. Starting at one end, pick up a tab from one side of the roll and drape it over the sausage, then repeat with the one from the other side. Do this until all of the tabs are folded over the sausage. Repeat with the other roll. If you are baking them immediately, lift the rolls onto a baking sheet (the parchment paper helps with this) and brush with the beaten egg.

Cut six 3/4 inch wide strips lengthwise from the other puff pastry sheet (15 inches long by 3/4 inch wide). Reserve the leftover pastry for another use. Lay 3 of the strips with their tops overlapping, pinch the ends together, and braid them. Once you have braided all the way to the bottom, pinch the ends together to keep them from unraveling. Repeat with the other 3 strips. Place one braid on the top of each of the sausage rolls, and if you are baking them immediately, brush the braids with the beaten egg.

Place rolls in the oven on the second rack from the bottom and bake for about 40 minutes, or until the outside is golden brown and pastry has puffed up. Once baked, they can be sliced and served immediately, or they can be served at room temperature.

If making ahead: Do not preheat the oven while you prepare the pastry and do not brush the rolls with beaten egg. After shaping, cover the rolls with saran wrap or place inside a container with a lid and refrigerate until ready to bake (up to 24 hours). They may also be frozen for several months and defrosted in the refrigerator overnight before baking. If you freeze them, place in the freezer for about 1 hour on a flat surface to firm up, then wrap tightly in saran wrap and store in a plastic freezer bag. Brush rolls with beaten egg just before baking.