Indian Nann

This is Indian style naan bread in a skillet.

Ingredients

All-purpose flour - 2 cups
Salt - 1 tsp, more for sprinkling
Active dry yeast - 2 tsp
Sugar - 1 TBSP
Warm water - ¾ cup, about 100°F
Plain yogurt - ¼ cup
Olive oil - 1 TBSP

Yields : 6
【Garnish】
2 tablespoons Ghee

1-2 tablespoons fresh herbs – cilantro, parsley, scallions or chives.
【Optional addition】
½–1 teaspoon whole seeds
or finely chopped garlic ( 2 tablespoons)
or finely chopped onion or shallot (2 tablespoons)

Steps

1. Mix yeast, sugar in warm water, and let it stand for 10 minutes or until it is frothy. Then stir in  olive oil and yogurt.
2. In a large bowl, whisk flours, and salt together. Pour the yogurt mixture into flour mixture and combine with a fork, and with a floured hand, knead the dough until just a few times and form a ball. Drizzle with a little olive oil to coat all sides of the ball and place it back in the same bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Place the bowl in a warm spot and let rise until it doubles in size – 1 to 2 hours.

3. When dough has doubled, place it on a well floured surface, and divide into 6 pieces.

4. Roll each piece out into a ⅛-¼ inch thick round or oval, about 4 by 8 inches long. They don’t have to be perfect and can be any shape, just make sure thickness is uniform, and is not more than ¼ inch thick. If adding garlic or onion, press some of the finely minced garlic into the dough on one side, just using your fingers and you can actually do this in the pan if you want. You can also roll the garlic into the dough, when it rolling out.

5. Heat a DRY cast iron skillet over medium to med-high heat. Cooking one naan at a time, place it in the hot skillet, and cook until large bubbles appear on the surface, and bottoms are deeply golden ( check after a couple minutes) then flip. Cook for a few more minutes on the other side until the bubbles are deeply golden, then set aside and cover with a towel or foil to keep warm.

6. Cook all the naan, then brush each one with ghee, and a light sprinkling of salt, stacking. Right before serving, sprinkle with chopped cilantro, parsley, or scallions (optional).

Dublin Coddle

This traditional Irish supper dish of sausages, bacon, onions and potatoes dates back at least as far as the early eighteenth century. It is often made to use up leftovers. The name comes from the verb coddle, meaning to cook food in water below boiling.

Ingredients

Potatoes - 4 lb 

Onions - 2 large, peeled and sliced thickly 

Pork sausages - 1 lb (I used chicken sausage)

Bacon - 1 lb, thick cut 

Water - 2 cups
Bouillon - 2 tsp, Beef or chicken

Fresh parsley - 3 to 4 TBSP, chopped (omitted)

Salt - to taste

Coarse-ground pepper  - to taste

Steps

1. Boil the water and in it dissolve the bouillon cube. 

2. Peel and cut the potatoes. Cut the onions. Grill the sausages and bacon long enough to color them.  Drain briefly on paper towels. 

3. Preheat the oven to 300°F
4. Chop the bacon into one-inch pieces. If you like, chop the sausages into large pieces as well. (Some people prefer to leave them whole.).  In a dutch oven, start layering the ingredients: onions, bacon, sausages, potatoes. Season each layer liberally with fresh-ground pepper and the chopped fresh parsley. Continue until the ingredients are used up. Pour the bouillon mixture over the top. On the stove, bring the liquid to a boil. 

5. Put the covered dutch oven in the oven and cook for at least three hours. (Four or five hours won't hurt it.) At the two-hour point, check the pot and add more water if necessary. There should be about an inch of liquid at the bottom of the pot at all times. 

6. Mix and serve.

Beef Steak Fajitas

Followed this steak fajitas recipe with what I have available on hand. 

Ingredients

Steak - 1 lb, flank or skirt steak

Oil - 1 TBSP 

Yellow onion - 1 large,  peeled and sliced with the grain
Bell peppers - 2-3 of various colors, stemmed, seeded, de-ribbed, sliced lengthwise into strips
Salt - to taste
【Marinade】
Juice of 1 lime/lemon
Olive oil - 2 TBSP
Garlic - 2 cloves, peeled, minced
Ground cumin - 1/2 tsp
Fresh jalapeño pepper - 1/2, seeded, ribs removed, finely chopped (omitted)
Fresh cilantro - 1/4 cup, chopped, including stems (omitted)

Steps

1. Mix all marinade ingredients. Coat the steak with the marinade and let it sit at room temperature for an hour, or longer in the fridge. 

2. Before you cook the meat, wipe off most of the marinade and sprinkle the steak with salt.
3. Set a large cast iron pan or griddle over high heat and let this heat up for 1-2 minutes. Add the tablespoon of oil to the pan and let this heat up for 1 minute. Add the steak, frying on each side for 3 minutes, or to desired doneness. Remove from pan and let sit, tented with foil, for 5 minutes. 

4. Cook the vegetables while the meat is resting. Add a little more oil to the pan if necessary, then add the onions and bell peppers. Cook for 5-6 minutes total.
5. Slice the meat across the grain into thin slices. Serve immediately with shredded cheese, salsa, shredded iceberg lettuce, sour cream, guacamole and warm flour tortillas.

Guacamole

I took the recipe and opted out the ingredients my family did not like - cilantro, onion.

Ingredients

Ripe Avocados - 2
Salt - 1/4 tsp, or to taste
Fresh lime juice or lemon juice - 1 TBSP
Minced red onion - 2 TBSP to 1/4 cup (omitted)
Serrano chili - 1 or 2, stems and seeds removed, minced
Cilantro - 2 TBSP (leaves and tender stems), finely chopped (omitted)
Ripe tomato - 1/2, seeds and pulp removed, chopped (used 1 whole)
A dash of freshly grated black pepper
Red radishes to garnish (omitted)

Steps

1. Cut the avocado, remove flesh. Using a fork, roughly mash the avocado. (Don't overdo it! The guacamole should be a little chunky.)

2. Sprinkle with salt and lime (or lemon) juice. The acid in the lime juice will provide some balance to the richness of the avocado and will help delay the avocados from turning brown.
3. Add the chopped onion, cilantro, black pepper, and chili. Chili peppers vary individually in their hotness. So, start with a half of one chili pepper and add to the guacamole to your desired degree of hotness.
4. Chilling tomatoes hurts their flavor, so if you want to add chopped tomato to your guacamole, add it just before serving.
5. Serve immediately, or if making a few hours ahead, place plastic wrap on the surface of the guacamole and press down to cover it and to prevent air reaching it. (The oxygen in the air causes oxidation which will turn the guacamole brown.) Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Simple Flour Tortilla

This is recipe from King Arthur flour. It yields 8 tortillas.

Ingredients

All-Purpose Flour - 2 and 1/2 cups, plus additional as needed
Baking powder - 1 tsp
Salt - 1/2 tsp
Lard - 1/4 cup, or use butter, shortening (I used Ghee)

Hot tap water (about 110°F to 120°F) - 3/4 to 1 cup

Steps

1. In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
2. Add the lard. Use your fingers or a pastry blender to work the fat into the flour until it disappears.
3. Pour in the lesser amount of hot water, and stir briskly with a fork or whisk to bring the dough together into a shaggy mass. Stir in additional water as needed to bring the dough together.
4. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured counter and knead briefly, just until the dough forms a ball. If the dough is very sticky, gradually add a bit more flour.

5. Divide the dough into 8 pieces. Round the pieces into balls, flatten slightly, and allow them to rest, covered, for about 30 minutes.
6. While the dough rests, preheat an ungreased cast iron griddle or skillet over medium high heat, about 400°F.
7. Working with one piece of dough at a time, roll into a round about 8" in diameter. Keep the remaining dough covered while you work.

8. Fry the tortilla in the ungreased pan for about 30 seconds on each side. Wrap the tortilla in a clean cloth when it comes off the griddle, to keep it pliable. Repeat with the remaining dough balls.

If there are leftovers, allow them to cool completely, then wrap tightly in plastic and store in the refrigerator. Reheat in an ungreased skillet, or for a few seconds in the microwave.

Creamy Spinach Stuffed Salmon

This is a simple recipe from @everylastbite Instagram. I modified it to be egg-free.

Ingredients

Salmon fillets - 4 large pieces
【Filling】
Mayonnaise - 1/4 cup(replaced with 1/4 cup yogurt and 1/4 mashed avocado for egg free)
Spinach - 3 packed cups, raw
Garlic - 1 clove, crushed, chopped
Chili flakes - pinch
【Seasoning】
Salt - 1/4 tsp
Black pepper - 1/4 tsp
Olive oil - 1/2 TBSP
Ghee/butter - 1 and 1/2 TBSP
Shallots - 2, finely diced
Garlic - 2 cloves, crushed
Lemon juice - 1 TBSP
Lemon wedges - for garnish

Steps

1. Carefully cut a pocket in each fillet, not go more than 3/4 the way through.
2. Add spinach to a large skillet with a splash of water and cook for a minute until the spinach has wilted. Place cooked spinach on paper towel to remove excess water. Chop the cooked spinach.
3. In a bowl stir together the mayonnaise, garlic, spinach and chili flakes. Spoon the mixture to stuff the salmon fillets.

4. Season the salmon with salt and pepper.
5. Heat the olive oil and 1/2 TBSP of ghee in a non-stick skillet on medium high heat, place the salmon fillets in and leave them to cook for 3-4 minutes or until golden. Gently flip and cook another 3 minutes on the other side. Transfer cooked salmon to a plate.
6. Add the remaining 1 TBSP of ghee to the pan along with shallots and garlic, cook for a few minutes until the shallots soften. Reduce the heat to medium low and stir in lemon juice. Return the fillets to the pan and leave them to cook for another 2-3 minutes.

7. Before serving spoon the sauce over the fillets and garnish with parsley and slices of lemon.

Glutinous Rice Siu Mai(糯米烧卖)

Siu Mai is like Chinese dumplings, you can put all kind of ingredients in it. I used what I had, but you can also put in fresh bamboo shoot, dried mushroom, Chinese sausage, corn, green peas, etc.

Ingredients

【Filling】
Glutinous Rice - 3 cup, soak in water overnight

Pork - 1 lb, diced

Baby Bella mushroom - 10+, diced

Carrot - 1 stick, diced

Dried black wood ears - 10+, soften by soaking in water, then chopped

Onion - half, chopped
Dried Tofu - 2 squares, diced
Soy sauce - 6 TBSP, or to taste
Oyster sauce - 2 TBSP, or to taste
Cooking wine - 1 TBSP
Sugar - 1 TBSP
Oil - 2 TBSP
Salt - to taste
White pepper - to taste

【Wrapper】

All purpose flour - 4 cups

Warm water - 1 and 1/4 cups

Steps

1. Prepare the ingredients.

 

2. In a large frying pan, first add oil and onion to stir fry until onion is fragrant; then add meat and cooking wine;  finally add carrot and other ingredients to stir fry until fully cooked.

3. Add the drained glutinous rice, when the rice is half cooked, add all the seasoning.

4. Put the rice mixture over cheese cloth on a steamer, poke a few holes. then steam high for 25-30 minutes.

5. When the rice is a bit cool down, divide and roll them into rice balls, about 50g each.

6. Put flour and warm water in a mixer with dough hook, make into a smooth dough. Cover and let it rest for half a hour.

7. Divide the dough into small portions, about 17g each. Roll out each wrapper to about 4.5" diameter round, make sure the skirt is thinner than the center.

8. Wrap the Siu Mai into a vase shape. Steam high for 5 minutes and serve hot.

Note: Uncooked Siu Mai can be stored in Ziploc in freezer. When ready to consume, do not defrost, just steam high for 10 minutes.  

Roasted Asparagus & Cheese

A quick and easy recipe from Costco website.

Ingredients

Asparagus - 1 lb, stems trimmed
Olive oil - 3 TBSP
Garlic cloves - 4 (doubled that for garlic lover), peeled and minced
Salt - 1 tsp
Black pepper - ½ tsp
Parmesan cheese - ¾ cup
panko breadcrumbs - 1 cup
Unsalted butter - 4 TBSP, melted
Mozzarella cheese - 1¼ cup, shredded

Steps

1. Preheat oven to 425°F.
2. Arrange asparagus on a greased baking sheet.
3. In a small bowl, combine olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper. Drizzle over asparagus. Toss to evenly coat.

4. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, or until asparagus is vibrant green and starting to get tender.

5. Mix Parmesan, breadcrumbs and butter. Remove asparagus from the oven. Top with mozzarella and breadcrumb mixture.

6. Return to the oven. Broil for 4 to 6 minutes, or until the cheese melts and the breadcrumbs become golden brown. Serve immediately.

Matcha Pound Cake

I liked the Matcha pound cake from Starbucks Japan. So when I saw this recipe,  I was happy to try. The loaf was baked just right with crust outside and soft center. This is pound cake, Japanese style, which means is it not very sweet and buttery.

Ingredients

Eggs - 4

Cream of tartar - 1/4 tsp (optional, I did not use)

Sugar - 1/4 + 1/2 cup

Butter - 10 TBSP, at room temperature
Whole milk - 3 TBSP

Vanilla extract - 1 tsp
All purpose flour - 1 C + 2 T
Cornstarch - 2 TBSP

Matcha powder - 1 TBSP

Baking powder - 3/4 tsp

Steps

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 8 x 4″ loaf pan with parchment paper.
2. Use a stand mixer with whisk attachment to beat egg whites until foamy. Add in the cream of tartar and keep beating. Gradually add in the 1/4 cup of sugar and whip until stiff peaks. Transfer whipped egg whites to a large clean bowl. Set aside.
3. In the same mixing bowl, change to paddle attachment to cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Gradually add in the egg yolks one by one, and then add the milk and vanilla extract. Mix until combined.

4. Remove the mixing bowl and sift in about 1/3 the dry ingredients (flour, cornstarch, matcha, and baking powder) and alternate with 1/3 the egg white mixture, repeating until everything is combined together.

5. Transfer the cake batter to the lined loaf pan. Carefully bang the pan to release any trapped air bubbles.

6. Bake for 60-65 mins, until golden brown on top, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let cool completely before slicing.

Note: Sliced cake can be individually wrapped in plastic wrap and frozen for up to 2 months. Just remove from the freezer about 15-20 minutes and leave at room temperature before serving.