Monday, October 8, 2012
It's time to pull the tomato plants. What to do with all those green tomatoes still left on the plants in your garden?
Fried Green Tomatoes with Sriracha Thousand Island Dressing If you are like us, we are the last people to pull our tomato plants. We have lots of green tomatoes sitting on our counter. We just hate to throw them away. Fried green tomato salads are one of our favorite early fall lunches. We like to compliment these tomatoes with a spicy dressing. Sriracha Thousand Island dressing goes perfectly with little hunks of goat cheese on top of hot fried green tomatoes. Served on a bed of arugula (rocket) toss in a simple oil and vinegar dressing, this lunch is tasty, zesty and just for two. Sriracha Thousand Island Dressing 2 Tablespoons of mayonnaise 1 teaspoon of ketchup 1 teaspoon of sriracha 1 teaspoon of cider vinegar 1 teaspoon of sweet …
Saturday, September 22, 2012
A delicious Thai dinner in under 30 minutes!
Tempura Thai Style Soft Shell Crab Live soft shell crabs cannot be found in Norcross so the next best thing is frozen. This particular product of frozen soft shell crab is all natural, no preservatives, fully dressed and live processed. These crabs were a medium size so 2-3 crabs are typical for each serving. Most Asian markets will carry this product or ones that are similar. Since this product is frozen, time will need to be set aside for thawing. These crabs are individually wrapped so it took about an hour on the counter to thaw 8 crabs. Gently unwrap the crab and rinse under cold water and pat dry. Since these are ‘soft-shell’, they are very delicate so handle with care. Tempura is a typical Thai style of frying these crabs. It’s …
Saturday, August 11, 2012
A flavorful, healthy summer dinner.
Thai Grilled Flank Steak with Forbidden Rice Salad Because of its rarity, legend has it that back in the day, only Chinese royalty were allowed to eat this black rice so hence the name Forbidden Rice. It is much more readily available today and can be found in any Asian grocery store. It is very common to mix black rice with other types of rice. Black rice became very popular in the 80s throughout the culinary world in Europe. It seemed that every up-and-coming new chef had a black rice dish on their menu. Black rice actually turns a purplish color when cooked. It has a rich nutty flavor that goes well with fruit or vegetables. It is very commonly paired with mango as either a dessert (rice pudding) or a rice salad as in this recipe. …
Saturday, July 14, 2012
Beat the heat with this cold noodle salad!
Grilled Lemongrass Chicken with Rice Noodle Salad The level of diet restrictions among today’s consumers can be a bit intimidating when hosting a dinner party these days. I have found that sticking to a ‘soy-less’ Asian menu typically allows just about everyone who has a restricted diet something to enjoy. There are so many Asian ingredients that are flavorful and healthy. Rice noodles are naturally gluten free and low in calories. They can be served hot or cold. These noodles cook in just one minute so if you are serving these noodles in a soup, add them right before you serve the soup. We like them cold so after boiling them for the one minute, they must be rinsed in cold water immediately to stop the cooking process. To keep them from …
Saturday, June 9, 2012
Need a beach recipe for your vacation this summer? Here is a quick & easy recipe that everyone will love.
Tempura Oyster Salad with Sriracha Mayonnaise Going to the beach this summer? Here is an easy recipe that is perfect for a beach vacation where fresh oysters are plentiful. Tempura batter fried anything makes even the pickiest of eaters happy so if little ones are part of the dinner crowd no worries, they will not skip a beat with this recipe. Seltzer water is the key ingredient to keeping this batter light and crunchy; great for seafood of any kind. Even if a beach vacation is not in your future, Hong Kong Supermarket seafood department has live, fresh oysters plus all the ingredients needed for this tasty dish. Tempura Oysters 1 cup of all-purpose flour 8 oz. of seltzer water ¾ Teaspoon of salt 2 Tablespoons of cornstarch 2 Tablespoons …
Saturday, May 12, 2012
Adding pretty quail eggs to your Mother's Day brunch menu adds just the right flare!
Quail Eggs, Salad and Shrimp & Goat Cheese Quiche Looking for an interesting Mother’s Day brunch menu? Garnish the plate with quail eggs, they are in season. Quail eggs are just beautiful and cook in half the time as chicken eggs. They are easy to find in Norcross. Both Hong Kong Supermarket and Tomato carry quail eggs. Pairing the eggs with a nice salad and a scrumptious quiche is a perfect treat for a special day. Shrimp and Goat Cheese Quiche 1 sleeve Pillsbury Refrigerated Piecrust ¾ lbs. large shrimp shelled, & deveined 1 cup of Vidalia onion, chopped 2 Tablespoon of canola oil, divided ½ Teaspoon crushed red pepper Salt & pepper to taste 4 oz. goat cheese, crumbled 2 large eggs 2 large egg yolks ½ cup whole milk ½ cup heavy whipping …
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Easy grilling recipe for a crowd!
Chinese Barbecue Pork (Char Siu) & Coconut Rice Barbecue season is here! Tired of the same old grilling recipes? Try some Chinese barbecue pork. With just a few ingredients, it is very easy to make and great for a crowd. Hong Kong Supermarket has all the ingredients for this easy dinner. Keep in mind that the long marinating time is a must, no cheating. Not only does it flavor the pork but it will tenderize it as well. Since it requires a minimum of overnight marinating, it makes dinner the next day a snap. Coconut Rice is an easy and tasty side dish for this grilled barbecue pork. Using coconut juice instead of coconut milk will cut the calories down. So if feeding a large crowd is on your agenda, this recipe is for you. Chinese Barbecue …
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Typically Americans don't eat a lot of cabbage. Green Cabbage is a good source of Vitamin C and calcium. Here is a great way to incorporate it into your mashed potatoes.
Traditional Irish Colcannon St. Patrick’s Day will be here Saturday. Are you planning an Irish menu? Irish cuisine is nothing fancy but simple comfort food. Since my family loves mashed potatoes, we chose to make Colcannon. Colcannon has a quaint history to it. Charms were wrapped in white paper and stirred into the final product. The charms consisted of a thimble, a ring, a button, a miniature horseshoe and a silver sixpence. Whoever got a charm would know their future such as the ring for marriage, the horseshoe for good luck, the sixpence for wealth, the thimble for spinsterhood and the button for bachelorhood. Colcannon is a very simple recipe of mashed potatoes mixed with green cabbage and green onions. Simple. Easy. Delicious. Since…
Sunday, February 19, 2012
It’s all in the roux! People in New Orleans who cook define themselves by their roux.
Crawfish Etouffee This recipe calls for a light color roux that anyone can manage. On a recent visit to the Hong Kong Supermarket, I came across a 5 lb. bag of wild caught, cooked and frozen Cajun-style whole crawfish. You might think that 5 lbs. is a lot, but it took 10 lbs. to yield 2 lbs. of shelled crawfish tails, which is the perfect amount for this dish. This recipe is not as spicy as some, which made it appealing to everyone at my table. Crawfish Etouffee 1 tbsp. of Creole Seasoning – used Tony Chachere’s 4 tbsp. of unsalted butter 1.5 cups of finely chopped onion ¼ cup of finely chopped celery ½ cup of finely chopped green bell pepper 1 lg. shallot minced 4 cloves of garlic minced ¼ cup of all-purpose flour 2 cups or more of …
Sunday, January 15, 2012
Try Pad Thai for a quick and easy weeknight dinner
As the New Year begins, light dinners are ever popular for those who have resolutions to live healthier and to eat healthier. Pad Thai fits the bill. There are many variations of Pad Thai: Some include exotic items such as tamarind paste, pickled turnips or Korean red pepper powder. This recipe, made with ingredients from the Hong Kong Supermaket, comes together quickly, so it’s important to have all the ingredients prepped and ready to go ("mise en place" as the French say). Pad Thai 1 (248g) pkg. of rice stick noodles, ¼-inch wide 3 Tbsp vegetable oil 1 chicken breast half, diced into 1/2-inch pieces ½ lb of shrimp ½ lb of extra firm tofu, diced into 1/4-inch cubes 2 eggs 2 cloves of garlic minced 1 cup green onions sliced 1 cup bean …
Neva Spell
1:43 pm on Monday, December 24, 2012
Well, Pam, we meet at the chicken again. I want to try this recipe one more time butt, lets be careful about undermining each others chicken . . . Does your chicken taste better with skin attached or no, and even with butter added to skinless? What say you about touching competition and undermining the chicks? Have a Merry and Happy and even Blessed Holiday. . . more ›