Red Curry with Fish

Ingredients:

1 pound of firm white fish, such as halibut or haddock

2-4 tbs red curry paste

2 cups coconut milk

4+ slices of ginger (sliced into ‘coins’)

1 stalk of lemon grass, outer layer peeled, ends removed, chopped into ½ inch pieces

2-3 cloves of garlic, slivered

3 Indonesian lime leaves (also known as Kefir lime leaves)

1 lime

2 tbs fish sauce

1-2 tbs brown sugar

Cilantro, ¼ cup leaves

Thai basil, ¼ cup leaves

2 cups rice, cooked

Method:

Choose fish that is not too thin so that it will hold up throughout cooking. Briefly sauté fish on both sides in a small quantity of vegetable oil. Remove to a plate while you make the curry.

Add the red curry paste to the pan, and quickly stir-fry. Add 1 cup of coconut milk and blend well. As the curry sauce cooks, add ginger, lemon grass, garlic and lime leaves. (Be sure to know exactly how many ‘coins’ of ginger you add in case you wish to remove them prior to service.) Add the fish sauce, juice from one half of the lime, one tbs of brown sugar, and the remaining cup of coconut milk. Allow the ingredients to simmer a few minutes until the sauce is a consistency that you like.

Just prior to service, return the fish to the sauce and add the cilantro and basil. Serve over rice.

Cook’s notes:

This dish is quite flexible, and you can easily adjust the taste according to your own preferences. Add more coconut milk to reduce the spicy heat. Add more curry paste (a tiny bit at a time) if you like more heat. You can also add more lime juice, fish sauce, or brown sugar to fit with your own preferences.

Green or yellow curry pastes make a good variation of this dish.

Serve a lime and coconut salad as a refreshing side dish with this curry.

Lime and Coconut Salad*

Ingredients:

1 cup grated sweetened coconut

1 English cucumber, seeded

Grated zest and juice of 1 lime

1 jalapeno, minced

1 mango, cubed

1-2 tbs olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

*Adapted from the Joy of Cooking

Method:

Mix all ingredients and chill for at least 30 minutes before serving. May be made a day ahead, although it is best when served within a few hours. Other fruits may be used, such as papaya or melon. Delicious when served as an accompaniment to fish or curry dishes.

Texas Caviar

This recipe makes a flavorful salad or side dish. Adapt it with whatever you have on hand to suit your preferred tastes. Be sure to serve black-eyed peas on New Year's Day for good luck!

Ingredients:

2 cups of fresh black-eyed peas, rinsed and carefully picked over

2-3 slices of bacon, chopped into small pieces (see Cooks Notes below)

1 cup of sweet onions, chopped

1-3 fresh jalapenos, seeded and finely chopped (see Cooks Notes below)

Several cloves of garlic, minced

½ cup chopped stewed tomatoes, drained (or 1 cup of fresh tomatoes, seeded)

1 tablespoon Balsamic vinegar (or red wine, if you like traditional flavors)

1 tablespoon Worcestershire

Salt and pepper to taste

Method:

In a medium saucepan, cook the chopped bacon until the fat is rendered and the bacon is beginning to crisp. Remove the bacon pieces to a paper towel, and drain all but 1 tablespoon of fat from the pan.

To the hot fat, add the onions and jalapenos. After they have begun to soften, add the garlic, and then stir the vegetables to assure that the fat is evenly distributed.

After 1-2 minutes (don’t let the garlic start to brown), add the peas and enough water to just cover the peas and vegetables. Gently simmer for 20-30 minutes, covered, until the peas are tender. (Be careful not to overcook or the water will evaporate and leave you with a burned mess.)

Add the chopped tomatoes to the cooked peas, and then stir in the vinegar and Worcestershire. Simmer a few minutes more, uncovered until all liquids are absorbed.

Salt and pepper to taste.

Serve warm as a side dish or cold as a salad. May be made the day before to allow flavors to blend.

Cooks Notes:

There are a million ways to prepare a good mess of black-eyed peas. Begin by choosing what form of pea you will use: dried, fresh, canned, or frozen. Then decide if your peas will end up as the main course, a side vegetable, or an appetizer. It is all up to you! I start with fresh peas whenever possible, and let my imagination determine how the peas should be prepared.

If you don’t have fresh jalapenos available, it is fine to substitute canned jalapenos other fresh peppers. If you don’t have any peppers (fresh or hot), try adding some decent hot sauce such as Tabasco.

Black-eyed peas are traditionally cooked with bacon. If you don't have bacon, but have saved some bacon fat from previous cooking adventures, use that fat as a reasonable substitution. It will add a wonderful smoky flavor to the peas. You can also substitute chopped ham or even a bit of smoked sausage. It is up to you!

Mangosas

Ingredients:

1 part champagne
1 part mango juice
1 splash of lime or lemon juice

Choose a beautiful glass and fill it half full of mango juice. Slowly add champagne until glass is almost brimming. Squirt a little lime juice (lemon if you prefer) or add a wedge to the side of the glass.

Cooks Notes:

I like to use Odwalla’s Mango Tango. It has a lovely thick consistency that is not thinned out too much by the champagne.

Also, if you serve too many mangosas you might need to break out the party hats or get a few extra lampshades for people to wear. Consume with caution. It is a good idea to avoid talking to a realtor after consuming mangosas or you might find yourself in ownership of a very strange house.

Traditional Swiss Cheese Fondue

This recipe was shared with me by a fondue angel.

Ingredients:

Several garlic cloves, halved
1 ½ cups dry white wine
1 heaping coffee spoon cornstarch (approximately one tablespoon)
1 tablespoon kirsch
pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
2 cups grated Gruyere
1+ cup Emmental
1 scant cup Vacherin Friboureois

French bread, cut into bite-sized cubes, very lightly toasted (just enough to give the bread a little extra substance, not enough to brown the bread)

Method:

Mix a slurry of kirsch, cornstarch, and freshly grated nutmeg. (See Cooks Notes below.) Go easy on the nutmeg because a little goes a long way. Set aside to use later.

Rub the inside of a heavy-bottomed fondue pot with the cut side of a garlic clove. Leave the cut garlic in the pot, and add a few more halved cloves in the pot if you like garlic. If you are not a fan, the extra cloves can be omitted.

Mix the three grated cheeses together in a large bowl, and place the bowl near the stove where you will make the fondue.

Add the wine to the fondue pot and place on a low burner. The wine should heat slowly to the point of a very gentle simmer. Once the wine has simmered a few moments, remove the garlic cloves. Slowly add cheese to the pot, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon in a figure-eight pattern. Do not stir in a circular motion or there is a risk of the cheese clumping into an unwieldy ball. Gradually add cheese until it is all gone, or until you think it looks just right to you! Do not allow the cheese-wine mixture to boil.

When the cheese has all been incorporated into the wine, and the mixture is almost at the point of boiling, add the kirsch and cornstarch slurry. (It helps if you can take an extra hand to give the slurry a quick stir before adding it to the melted cheese). Continue stirring the cheese in a figure-eight pattern for 6 to 8 minutes until the mixture is smooth and creamy.

Guests should be at the table when you are at the point of adding the cornstarch. Put someone in charge of lighting the flame. Put someone else in charge of pouring wine. Put yourself in charge of transporting the hot fondue pot to the table.

Use long-handled forks or bamboo skewers to dip the bread into the cheese.

Cooks Notes:

Some people recommend mixing the dry cornstarch with the cheeses rather than making a kirsch slurry. I’ve done it both ways, and both have worked well. The recipe here is based on my Swiss angel’s method. Choose the one that works best for you. If you decide to add the cornstarch to the cheese, add a little kirsch to the wine after it comes to a gentle simmer. If you are in a pinch and have no kirsch, use a little brandy (the slight flavor difference might be noticible, but won’t detract terribly).

Regarding the relative proportions of the three cheeses, my Swiss angel said that, for him, the perfect balance is 50% Gruyere, 30% Emmental, and 20% Vacherin. No matter what proportions you choose, strive for approximately a pound or more (4+ cups) of grated cheese. The Gruyere will help make the fondue creamy, and the Ementaler and Vacherin will add flavor depths.

Wine recommendation:

Any good dry white wine, particularly a Savignon Blanc (thank you Swiss angel for that suggestion!)

Spicy Pecan Munchies

1.5 pounds of shelled pecan halves (about 6 cups)
1/4 to 1/2 stick butter (to taste, but less is better)
1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce
generous helping of sea salt flakes (or regular salt)
cayenne pepper, to taste
ground cinnamon, to taste

Preheat oven to 250 degrees Farenheit.

Melt butter with Worcestershire sauce in a large roasting pan.

Add pecans, stirring to coat nuts with melted butter and Worcestershire.

Stir every 10 or 15 minutes until liquids are absorbed. This slow roasting can take an hour or more. Don't get fidgety and turn the temperature up or the pecans will burn!

Add spices when all liquids are absorbed and the pan is removed from the oven.

While the nuts are still hot, add salt (about 1 teaspoon at a time) until it tastes right to you. Don't add too much or the nuts will be too salty to enjoy later.

Shake in cayenne, stirring quickly so that it is evenly distributed. I like a lot of cayenne, but gentler souls might prefer much less. It is up to you!

Add a bit of ground cinnamon for a softer flavor note that will compliment the cayenne nicely. A little bit will do. Tasters will likely know that something is there, but not be able to identify it is cinnamon.