Asian Turkey Lettuce Wraps

I was reading Amalah the other day, and she mentioned one of her kids chowing down on the Asian Turkey Lettuce Wraps they sometimes make... and usually gave to their kids on noodles or rice. I thought they sounded great, so I made 'em.  Now, we don't do spicy*, so I was the only one who ate the meat stuff as written, but Mr. Kluges enjoyed his plain cooked turkey wraps with a sprinkle of rice vinegar and some Chinese 5 Spice Powder, and declared them yum.  I added carrot ribbons (peel your carrot as usual, then just keep attacking it with the peeler - viola! Carrot ribbons!) to the mix both for color and the additional vegetable and would totally do so every time.  My girls decided that carrot ribbons wrapped around fresh mint leaves were da bomb, so you know, whatever.  We had these with a side of soba noodles, too. Also, these are really a hot weather food, so plan for them on a summer day, not this rainy, cold crap we're having here today.

Asian Turkey Lettuce Wraps
(via Epicurious via Amalah)
Serves 4

1 Tbl. peanut oil [I just used olive oil.]
1 large onion, chopped
1 1/4 lb. lean ground turkey
1/2 c. purchased Asian peanut sauce
1 Tbl. hoisin sauce
1 Tbl. soy sauce, plus additional for dipping
1 cucumber, peeled, seeded, chopped (about 1 1/4 c.)
1/3 c. coarsely chopped fresh mint plus 1/3 c. small mint sprigs
[optional, but yummy - 2-3 carrots turned into carrot ribbons]
12 large butter lettuce leaves [or any large lettuce leaf - maybe even cabbage???]

Heat oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add onion and saute until beginning to brown, about 3 minutes.  Add turkey and saute until brown [but not very brown, 'cuz burnt ground turkey is dry and crunchy and yucky] and cooked through, breaking up with back of spoon, about 7 minutes.  Add peanut sauce, hoisin sauce and 1 Tbl. soy sauce; heat through. (Can be made 8 hours ahead.  Cover and refrigerate.  Reheat in microwave or skillet, adding water by tablespoonfuls to moisten if necessary, before continuing.) Stir in cucumber and chopped mint (I skipped adding this mint.). Season with salt and pepper.

Transfer turkey mixture to medium bowl.  Place mint sprigs and lettuce leaves on platter. To make wraps, spoon turkey mixture onto lettuce leaf, add a few mint sprigs (I preferred mine w/o the mint), [add optional carrot ribbons, too], fold in sides over filling, and roll up.  Pass additional soy sauce alongside wraps for dipping.


 *and by "don't do spicy," I mean I adventurously mix some medium salsa in with my mild, so you know, YOU might want to spice yours up a bit!

Italian-Style Monchong Fish

I've got a favorite guy at my local Festival Foods.  He used to be at the deli counter, but got a promotion to the meats/fish counter (maybe even asst manger?).  Anyway, I trust him.  He's recommended enough stuff to me that I like that I'm willing to take a risk on him.  (Except the pumpkin pie bread pudding, but that's a texture thing for me.)  He says it's good; I'll give it a try. Not that it's all one-sided - I've given him both the Chicken Saltimboca recipe (for which he said his wife both thanked and cursed me :) ) and the rib/beer can chicken rub. 

So, when I was in this week, I asked him if he had any new good recipes for me.  Here's what he gave me... along w 12 oz. of monchong when I said I wanted to give it a go.  You guys - it's SO good!  Penguin was all, it's ok, but not my favorite, but the other 3 of us were NOMNOMNOM! My guy gave me our approximately 12 oz as one slab, but I chopped into 4 pieces without issue.

Monchong Italian-Style
http://mantestedrecipes.com/recipe/1435/monchong-italian-style.aspx

Recipe by: DefenseEngineer

Monchong, which is generally sold pre-cut into thinnish fillets, lends itself to quick cooking, pan-frying in less than 5 minutes. The flesh remains moist and has a mild flavor acceptable even to those who don't love fish.

  Ready in 20 mins

Ingredients

Serves: 4

• 4 (3-ounce) fillets Monchong
• Flour, salt and pepper for dredging fish
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 2 tablespoons capers (optional)- my vote - NECESSARY! Yay for saltiness!
• 8 cherry tomatoes, sliced lengthwise - we had oven-dried, frozen-in-oil cherry tomatoes & they were yum in this, but in the summer I would try fresh.
• 1/4 cup minced fresh Italian parsley
• 1/4 cup minced fresh basil - I had a bit of leftover fresh basil from Mr. Kluges's supper last Sunday, augmented by some frozen-in-oil from our garden last year.
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar (Have I mentioned our fav balsamic/oil place lately?)
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil (Because THEY ARE AWESOME!)

Preparation method

Prep: 10 mins | Cook: 10 mins

1. Wipe Monchong fillets with paper towel and dust each fillet lightly with flour that has been well-flavored with salt and pepper.[I rinsed my fillet well in cold water first, then patted it dry because I'm paranoid about fishy-flavor.]

2. In a bowl, toss together capers, tomatoes, parsley, basil, garlic, vinegar and olive oil. Taste and add salt and pepper or additional balsamic vinegar if needed. Set aside.

3. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in frying pan over high heat; add Monchong fillets, allowing even space around them. Fry fillets until golden-brown.

4.Turn and sauté until golden-brown.

5.Place fillets on plates and dress each with one-quarter of the vinaigrette.

6.Serve immediately.

Thymely Roasted Sweet Potato Cubes

Again, these were requested over at Musing & Mutterings, but if I don't keep any & all recipes here, they're totally going to be non-findable for me later.

Thymely Roasted Sweet Potato Cubes

Peel two giant-sized, 3 regular, or 4 smallish sweet potatoes. Cut into 1/4" to 1/2" dice.  This should  be about enough to cover a 9x13"pan at pretty much a single layer.  Pour on some olive oil and sprinkle on some (fresh, preferably, but dried is fine) thyme & some (preferably coarse-grained/kosher) salt.  Bake at 350F (very adaptable to more/less heat), stirring occasionally but not too often, until sweet potatoes are soft & have acquired at least one roasted/caramelized/not-quite-burnt-but-really-brown side.

Vanilla-Brown Sugar Squash

This was requested over at Musings & Mutterings, but if I don't also post it here, I'll completely lose track of it.  Fancy name notwithstanding, I totally made up this recipe, so adapt at will!

Vanilla-Brown Sugar Squash

Cook a butternut squash.  For me, that means halve a butternut squash and scoop out the seeds. Put both halves cut-side down in a 9x13" pan with about 1/2 inch of water and cook for an hour, or until soft.  Scoop the flesh out of the skin and discard the skin.  (You can totally do this ahead of time or, as in the case of this Turkey Day feast, use leftover squash.)  Mash/mix the squash with butter.  LOTS of butter, and a fair amount of brown sugar and a decent splash of vanilla.  Mash until you deem the texture suitable, adding more butter as needed. (Julia Child note: more butter is good!). I made ours early with leftover squash & kept it warm in a minicrockpot, which worked very well.

Roasted Radishes

Yes, seriously. Roasted radishes. I know, it sounds bizarre, but they're really actually tasty. We've gotten radishes the last several weeks in our CSA box, and they've kind of built up 'cuz who has  big ol' BUNCH of radishes for a snack?! They'd mentioned roasting radishes in their newsletter so I figured, hey, why not? Good way to use up these not-so-crisp-anymore radishes filling up my fridge.

I didn't want to search through the newsletters so I just did a quick online search, which gave me what I was basically planning anyway.  This is really so very simple that it's only a mental recipe, but roasted radishes are unusual enough I wanted to share the idea.

• A lot of radishes (Recipe says 1 lb.; I used 3 or 4 bunches, some rather not-so-crisp) Wash 'em, cut off their tips and tails, and quarter.
• Toss with olive oil and large grain (kosher-type) salt. I did this right in the pan I was going to use anyway 'cuz hey, less dishes.
• Roast in oven until done.  Done may mean more or less caramelized for you, but give them time to mellow and roast - maybe 30 minutes? I had them in at 325F 'cuz that's what I wanted for my roast, but you've got a lot of leeway here as long as you're keeping an eye on them periodically so they don't burn.

That's it. I know - not really a recipe, but I never would've thought to try roasting radishes without our CSA's suggestion in the newsletter.  Mr. Kluges and I found them tasty, but the girls weren't so keen. Also, beware the radish burps later. :)

Basic Beer-Can Chicken with All-Purpose Barbecue Rub and mental grill-roasted beets

Ok, twice now I've looked here on Recipeeps for this recipe, thinking I'd already posted it, and twice I've been disappointed.  So, here it is finally!  This is another recipe by Steven Raichlen, but this one's found in his Beer-Can Chicken [and 74 Other Offbeat Recipes for the Grill] cookbook. Occasionally I've paraphrased or added to the instructions. I often grab some beets from the garden, wash 'em, lop off their tips and tails, wrap 'em in foil, and let them roast on the side of the grill with the chicken since the grill's on so long anyway.  Pull them off shortly before the chicken, let cool briefly, and slip/easily peel the skins off while staining but not burning your fingers.

***  NOTE: If using a gas grill, make sure you've got plenty of propane before starting, hey? ***

Serves 2-4.

1 can (12 oz.) beer (You can sub fruit juice or soda, but you need to use a can anyway)
1 chicken (3 1/2-4 lbs)
2 Tbl. All-Purpose Barbecue Rub* or your own favorite rub
2 tsp. vegetable oil

He also calls for wood chips soaked in water or beer, but I never bother.  So if you want those directions added in, let me know & I'll add them.

1. Pop the tab of  the beer can and pour off half [or consume! DFFs forever!]. If cooking the chicken on the can [rather than a fancy holder with a built-in liquid holder], make two additional holes in its top. Set aside.

2.  Remove [and discard or keep for another use] any giblets; remove and discard extra fat just inside the body and neck cavities.  Rinse the chicken, inside and out, under cold running water, then drain and blog dry with paper towels.  [Note: you'll now be using portions of the rub. BE CAREFUL to not contaminate your big container with chicken germs 'cuz the recipe below makes a lot more than you need.] Sprinkle 1 tsp. rub inside the body cavity and 1/2 tsp. inside the neck cavity.  Drizzle oil over the outside of the bird and rub it all over the skin.  Sprinkle the outside of the bird with 1 Tbl. rub and rub it all over the skin.  Spoon the remaining 1 1/2 tsp. of rub into the beer can.  Don't worry if it foams up.

3.  If cooking on a can: Hold the bird upright, with the opening of the body cavity at the bottom, and lower it [you might need to coax it a bit] onto the beer can so the can fits into the cavity.  Pull the chicken legs forward to form a sort of tripod, so the bird stands upright.  The rear leg of the tripod is the beer can.  If cooking on a roaster, fill it with the beer mixture and position the chicken on top, following manufacturer's instructions.

4.  Tuck the tips of the wings behind the chicken's back. [I often end up securing them with a little cooking twine.]

5.  Set up the grill for indirect grilling and preheat to medium.  [Wood chip stuff here, if interested.]

6.  When ready to cook, stand the chicken up in the center of the hot grate, over the drip pan and away from the heat.  Cover the grill and cook the chicken until the skin is dark golden brown and very crisp [totally the best part! Converted my daughter back away from vegetarianism!] and the meat is cooked through, 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours.  If using a charcoal grill, you'll need to add 12 fresh coals per side after 1 hour. If the chicken skin starts to brown too much, loosely tent the bird with aluminum foil.

7.  If cooking on a can, using tongs,hold the bird by the can and carefully transfer it in an upright position to a platter.  If cooking on a roaster, use oven mitts or pot holder to remove the gird from the grill while it's still on the vertical roaster.

8. Present the bird to your guests. [Ooooh!  Aaaaah! Can we eat it yet?] Let the chicken rest for 5 minutes, then carefully lift it off its support. [Not always as easy as it sounds, but be careful & persistent.] Take care not to spill the hot beer or otherwise burn yourself.  Halve, quarter, or carve the chicken and serve!


*All-Purpose Barbecue Rub
1/4 c. coarse salt (kosher or sea)
1/4 c. dark brown sugar
1/4 c. sweet paprika
2 Tbl. freshly ground black pepper
Mix together. Store in airtight jar away from heat and light.

Creamed spinach

This is the Julia Child version, so don't faint over the amount of dairy involved. :-)

 From frozen spinach: Thaw two 10-oz packages of frozen spinach just until you can cut through it with a heavy knife. If spinach is chopped, slice into 1/2" pieces. If whole, chop into small bits.

From fresh spinach: Blanch 1.5 lbs. spinach in salted boiling water until wilted and almost tender. Strain, squeeze out liquid, and chop. Melt 1 1/2 T butter in a heavy saucepan Add spinach

For frozen: Cook, covered, over low heat for a couple minutes until for spinach has thawed and released its juices.


For both: Cook over moderately high heat, uncovered, 2-3 minutes until moisture is evaporated. Add 1/4 t salt, pinch of pepper, small pinch of nutmeg. Lower heat to moderate and sprinkle on 1 T flour, sifted. Cook, stirring, for 2 minutes Remove pan from heat and slowly add 1/2 cup heavy cream by spoonful, stirring to incorporate each spoonful as it is added. Bring to simmer, cover, and cook on low about 15 minutes, stirring frequently to keep spinach from sticking to pan and adding additional spoonsful of cream as necessary if spinach becomes too dry. Remove from heat and fold in 1 T softened butter. Serve.

Jamaican jerk chicken

NOTE: Thanks for the formatting, Ms. Huis!
I'm pretty sure I've served this to most of you at some point over the years. Made it again yesterday for a Gewurztraminer tasting, and realized I hadn't even posted the recipe here. "Everything but the kitchen sink" is a little too vague, but not far off the mark.

Combine in a large bowl:
1 T allspice
1 T thyme
1 1/2 t cayenne
1 1/2 t black pepper
1 1/2 t sage
3/4 t nutmeg
3/4 t cinnamon
2 T salt
2 T garlic powder (I often substitute fresh garlic and add it with the onions below)
1 T sugar

Slowly add:
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup soy sauce
3/4 cup white vinegar
1/2 cup orange juice
juice of one lime

Add: 1 habanero pepper, seeded and minced
1 cup chopped white onion
3 scallions, finely chopped

Marinate 4 chicken breasts for at least one hour. Grill, basting with marinade as necessary. Meanwhile, boil leftover marinade and serve as dipping sauce.

Chicken Saltimboca with Lemon Butter Caper Sauce

Oh. My. Gosh.  I CANNOT believe I haven't given y'all this recipe before.  The lemon butter caper sauce itself is... just... oh, I would marry myself just to get it.  I got this recipe at a community ed cooking class with Chef Jeff, and I cannot overstate how awesome his classes are.  They might start a tad slow, and you might not eat until 9:30pm, but oh, the food, and OH, the RECIPES!!!  YUM!!!!!!!!

Caper Butter Sauce 
(Makes about 3/4 cup of sauce) [I strongly recommend doing 1 1/2 recipes of this 'cuz it's so good!!!]

1/2 c. Chablis [or other dry white wine- I've even subbed in a mix of cooking sherry & sake]
1-2 Tbl chopped [or smushed in the pan] capers
1 Tbl. freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/4 c. heavy whipping cream
1/4 lb. [1 stick] unsalted butter cut into 1/2 inch pieces

1. In a fairly big sauce pan, combine wine, capers & lemon juice; reduce to 1-2 Tbl.
2. Add cream; reduce by half and remove from heat.
3. Add butter, whipping [stirring] immediately and constantly.  You may need to place sauce back over VERY low heat (in short intervals) to incorporate all the butter.  Be very careful not to let this sauce get too hot (just warm to the touch) or it will separate.  [If you must wait and keep it warm, use a double-boiler or bowl-over-water.]

 Chicken Saltimboca
(makes 2 servings) [but you might as well make 4 'cuz hello!  Too much work otherwise!]
2 six-oz. good quality chicken breasts
2 pieces [or a bit more] thinly sliced prosciutto
2 Tbl. chopped fresh sage
2/3 c. quartered artichokes (canned or frozen)
3 Tbl. olive oil
1/2 c. flour
salt and pepper to taste
3/4 c. lemon caper butter sauce [see above for awesomeness]

1. Season the chicken breasts with salt, pepper and fresh sage (go easy on the salt [or eliminate] as the proscuitto ham and capers are naturally salty); place proscuitto ham on top of each chicken breast.  Using a meat tenderizer [or marble rolling pin!], carefully pound the ham into the chicken until each piece is uniform in thickness (approximately 1/2 inch).
2. Place a 10-inch saute pan over high heat.  When hot, add 1 Tbl. olive oil; lightly dust the chicken in flour; place in the pan prosciutto side down and reduce the heat to medium; saute the chicken 3-4 minutes per side or until golden in color and cooked completely through.
3. Transfer chicken to a warm serving plate; heat the artichokes in the same pan and scatter over chicken breasts; top with butter sauce and serve.

Easy Chocolate Truffle Cake

You will love me for this recipe.  Or hate me, I guess, if your New Year's resolutions including losing weight.  This cake is the richest, most compact chocolate delivery system I think I've ever had.  Cut yourself a small piece... and a strong coffee with it is divine.  This recipe is originally from some chocolate cookbook I checked out of the Blarney library... and then had Mr. Kluges photocopy the recipe. The cake should be made at least one day before glazing.


Easy Chocolate Truffle Cake

250g/9 oz. plain chocolate, chopped [Use GOOD quality chocolate from a real chocolate shop, not just some semi-sweet chips.  Seriously.]
225g/8 oz. unsalted butter, cut into pieces
75g/ 3 oz. sugar
120ml/4 fl oz. whipping (heavy) cream
15ml/1 Tbl vanilla essence (vanilla)
6 eggs
[a bunch of boiling water for step 4]

Chocolate glaze:
175g/6oz plain chocolate, chopped [see previous note]
50g/2 oz. butter, cut into pieces
whipped cream for decoration
rose petals for decoration [optional]

1. Preheat oven to 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4.  Generously grease a 9" by 2" deep round or scalloped spring-form pan (23cmx5cm deep).  Line bottom with waxed paper and grease waxed paper.  Wrap bottom of pan in foil.
2.  In a saucepan over low heat, melt chocolate, butter and sugar with cream, stirring frequently until smooth; cool slightly.  Stir in vanilla.
3. With electric mixer, beat eggs lightly, about 1 minute.  Slowly beat chocolate into eggs until blended.  Pour into spring-form pan and tap gently on work surface to break any large air bubbles.
4. Place spring-form pan into larger roasting pan and pour boiling water into roasting pan, about 2 cm/ 3/4" up the sides of the spring-form pan.  Bake 25-30 minutes, until the edge of the cake is set, but the center is still soft.  Remove spring-form pan from water-bath, and remove foil.  Cool on wire rack competely; cake will sink in center and may be cracked.
5. Remove side of spring-form pan, and turn cake onto wire-rack placed over baking sheet to catch any drips.  Remove pan bottom and waxed paper.
6. Cake should be made at least one day before glazing.  Prepare glaze.  In a saucepan over low heat, melt chocolate and butter, stirring until smooth.  Pour over cake, tilting rack slightly to spread glaze.  If necessary use palette knife [or spatula] to smooth side.  Leave to set.
7. With palette knife, carefully slide cake onto serving dish.  If you like, pipe whipped cream border around edge. [Or sprinkle designs with powdered sugar or whatever.] 
8. Note - we've never attempted the sugared rose petals, but here are the directions if you're feeling especially fancy & brave!  Dip the rose petals in lightly-beaten egg white, then in caster [super-fine].  Allow to stand on greaseproof [waxed should work or parchment] paper in a cool place for about 2 hours.  Place iin center of cake.  Serve with softly whipped cream on the side.