The Culinary Diaries

Welcome to Key West, land of seafood and roaming chickens...

My hubby's meeting is over and now it was time for both of us to enjoy what's left of our vacation...we had two and a half more days. Not a lot of time to enjoy one of Florida's more famous destinations: Key West.

But not before taking some great shots of an almost entirely edible gingerbread town on display at the Westin.



These pics were taken while I waited for my husband to get out of the very last meeting that they were having. About past 2pm, we finally headed out with our friends, to pick up some Indian food, return the rental car and pick up a bigger one, and our road trip to Key West began.

We stayed at the Radisson Hotel. It was my first time staying there, and I was surprised that my husband booked somewhere well known. But the price was pretty decent when we booked it, so we said, why not?

Well, I found out why the price was decent...all of their rooms looked like motel rooms. Yikes...and we paid $90 a night...that's a ridiculous price to pay to stay in a room that looks like a motel room. It had double queen beds, a refrigerator, free internet access, and yes there is a pool in the back of the hotel...I guess to compensate the shortcomings of the room. 

Oh well.

But, we didn't go to Key West to stay holed up in a room.

It's impossible to get lost in Key West...about 2 miles south, and you will hit not only the main hub, but the other side of the island, which was teeming with life, energy...and seafood!


This is like, my once in a blue moon meal, eating lobster, which was the draw to the Two Friends Bar, in which they had a sign advertising their $20 lobster meal. Here is a more decent picture of the lobster tail.

The last time I had lobster was during our honeymoon cruise back in 2007.

It was Venetian night what can I say?

The meal was fabulous and not a bad start to our Key West vacation!

First week of 2010: two new recipes already.

I should not be chicken in cooking dishes from my own country.

But my past troubles with cooking noodle dishes, and constant berating my mother to show me how to cook this dish, had lead me to no avail...until last Friday.

I also realize that if you don't get certain brands of ingredients, they will not taste as you remember as a kid...either that, or if you do not have a cast-iron pot sets like my parents used to have. Something that my husband thinks is nonsense.

I had the pancit noodles in the cabinet for months (good thing that they are non-perishable!) and the Wing, Wing Chinese sausage in the freezer for months, but I had not the courage to make the Philippines renowned dish. I have had trouble with Pad Thai, and the Spicy Szechwan noodles. I can't imagine trying to make fried cantonese noodles. I don't know if I used too much noodles or too little noodles, but for some odd reason, there is always something wrong with the finished dish...or I should say, unfinished dish. I was ready to give up.

But then enter this site called Rasa Malaysia, as I am browsing through my go-to internet site for food, called Tastespotting, which lead me to that site. Tastespotting features thousands of recipes from hundreds of different, and wonderful, food blogs. I am constantly inspired by this site, not only for the recipes, but for the photographs that accompany them. I am a visual learner, and if I cannot see what the finished product looks like, I am inclined not to use the recipe.

Rasa Malaysia is a site that features hundreds of Asian recipes, many of which I am very familiar with. Pancit Bihon is the pancit dish that I grew up with. And armed with the chinese sausage, in which, in my opinion, makes my family pancit bihon recipe, and the Excellent brand of bihon noodles, or rice noodles as they are known, along with some cantonese yellow noodles, this is the recipe that is featured in the blog, and surely, this is probably where my mother got her recipe. Here it is, per a Filipina guest blogger named Charlotte, on Rasa Malaysia, and with the photos I took of the process.

Pancit Bihon Recipe
Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

8 ounces “Excellent” brand rice sticks
2-3 pieces chicken thighs or drumsticks
1 small green cabbage (shredded in 1/2 inch pieces)
2-3 medium carrots (either shredded or chopped thinly crosswise)
1 small onion (finely chopped)
2 cloves garlic (minced)
1/2 pound shrimp (shelled and deveined)
1 tablespoon canola oil
2 tablespoons dark soy sauce
1 tablespoon fish sauce (optional, add 1 tablespoon soy sauce  if not adding fish sauce)
Freshly ground black pepper

Optional Garnishes:

Lemon wedge
Chopped scallions
Chili garlic oil

Method:

Boil chicken in 4 cups of water to make the stock. Once cooked, shred the chicken meat into thin strips. Discard the bones and set the stock aside.

Heat a large wok to medium-high heat. Add canola oil. Stir fry the garlic and onions until the onions turn clear. Be careful not to burn the garlic. Add the shredded chicken pieces and shrimp (if using). Once the shrimp turns pink, add cabbage and carrots. Lightly stir fry 2-3 minutes. Pour the mixture onto a bowl and set aside.

 

Pour the chicken stock into the heated wok. Once it starts boiling, turn the heat down to medium. Add rice sticks, soy sauce, and fish sauce. Boil for another 5 minutes or so until there is approximately 1/4 cup stock left. Add the meat mixture back into the wok. Lightly stir fry until all the liquid has evaporated. Add freshly ground pepper to taste.

 
Garnish with a lemon wedge, chopped scallions, and chili garlic oil.

Cook’s Notes:

1. For an authentic taste, I recommend using Filipino brands such as Excellent rice sticks (rice noodles with a little cornstarch mixed in) and Lauriat dark soy sauce. Both are available in most Asian grocery stores.
2. I use a well-seasoned wok but most saute pans should work. Just be careful when the stock is drying up as the noodles would stick to the pan. Keep tossing the noodles to keep them from sticking. Although I have not tried it myself, a non-stick pan would probably work well since this recipe does not use a lot of oil.
3. Even though most Asian recipes would tell you to soak the noodles in warm water, boiling the noodles in the stock infuses a more intense flavor and keeps the noodles moist.
4. As with any recipe, adjust according to your taste. I like mine salty-sweet with a healthy portion of vegetables that have a slight crunch to them. For softer vegetables, cook a little bit longer once everything is mixed in the wok.

**My Notes: 

I did not have any cabbage on hand, so instead, I used zucchini. I also used shredded carrots just because it was faster (and it was on sale!) but thinly sliced carrots will do as well. I added celery because that was what my mom used in her recipe.

You noticed that I also added the yellow cantonese noodles along with the bihon noodles. I'm thinking of experimenting on adding even more sliced veggies to make it healthier at least. The zucchini was a great veggie to start.

When I took a forkful out of the wok when it was done, I think this was the first time, ever, since making old family recipes, this actually tastes just as I remember it as a kid.

I'm not scared of making this national dish, anymore.

That same day, I was looking at another recipe from a brand new book that I got a couple of days before from a bookstore that is closing down. I love it when there is a bargain to be had. The book is called All Cakes Considered and the author is one of the hosts of the NPR show All Things Considered. 

There was one cake on the front cover that caught my eye and I decided that it would be the first cake that I would try...alll I need is cake flour.

The name is kind of funny though: It's called The Naughty Senator, and according to the story that she wrote as the inspiration of the cake, it was inspired, of all things, by the Senator Craig sex scandal. Curious to say the least.

Regardless of how this cake was inspired, I was eager to try it. It has mint added in, and it involves a marbling technique, one is chocolate, and the other is dyed a pastel green to hint at the mint flavor, although it also says, that you can substitute vanilla, or almond extract instead of the mint.

The Naughty Senator (Peppermint and Chocolate Rum Marble Cake)

2 cups sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature
4 large eggs
3 1/2 cups sifted cake flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
2 teaspoons peppermint flavoring or extract
1/2 teaspoon green food coloring
2 teaspoons rum or rum extract

1. Center a rack and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare the pan.

2. In a small bowl, combine 1/2 cup of the sugar and all the cocoa. Set aside.

3. With the mixer, cream the butter at medium speed, gradually adding the remaining 1 1/2 cups of sugar. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. 

4. In a separate bowl, dry whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together.

5. With the mixer on low speed add 1 cup of the flour mixture, beat then add 1/3 cup of the milk and beat again. Repeat until all of the flour mixture and milk are blended into batter. Beat on medium-high speed for 2-3 minutes.

6. Pour half of the batter into a clean medium bowl. 

7. Add the peppermint flavoring and a couple of drops of green food coloring to one bowl of the batter. Mix just enough food coloring to make it into the shade of a pastel pink.

8. Pour 2/3 of the now green batter into the bottom of the cake pan. Set aside the remaining green batter.

9. Clean off your mixer beaters, dry and return them to the mixer.

10. Add the cocoa and sugar mixture to the yellow batter and add the rum or rum extract. Beat until smooth.

11. Using your spatula, pour the chocolate flavored batter over the green batter in the cake pan. 

12. Layer the remaining third of the green batter over the chocolate batter. Then marble. 

**Take a small spatula or plastic knife and cut through the middle of the batter ring to the bottom of the pan. Bring the spatula or plastic knife toward you and then up toward the side of the pan. Rotate the cake pan with your other hand and repeat. You will do 2 rotations total. No more.

13. Bake for one hour. When the cake tests done, cool for 15-30 minutes in the pan, the unmold onto a cake rack. 

I love pound cake. Although, I have to say, I'm not sold on the mint idea on a cake. Naturally, it goes better with ice cream for me.

I will try this recipe again using a totally different flavoring instead of mint and, of course, use a different food coloring. I do love the cocoa, and using the cake flour makes a huge difference in the texture of the cake. I'll do either vanilla or almond extract. Other than that, this cake recipe is fantastic! If not fantastic looking with the marbling technique.

This concludes my first week of new recipes. By the end of this week, I should be able to make at least two more. Maybe I'll make the goal this year. I'm crossing my fingers.

Chili on a Cold Winter's (yes, even in North Carolina) Night.

Someone lied to me.

When we first moved to North Carolina, my husband told me that it does not snow or get cold down here, except when you are on the mountains. Now that is understandable. The mountains always have snow.

But here it is, a January, and it is cold as Chicago down here! My feet are like icicles. Not fair I say.

But it does bring to mind, wintry food.

Ah, chili!!!

I love chili. Especially during the winter. This chili, I have done Cincinnati Style with the onions and cheese. No pasta though. It's way too filling already by itself.

I have made this at least a month and a half ago, but it is a definite keeper in my book. It also sounds like I should make this tonight since it is so cold out here. But as we have leftovers from last night, I may take a rain check on that.

This recipe came from a very old edition of a Betty Crocker cookbook. It is an edition that my parents had when they were first married, and kept when I was born. They have long lost this cookbook over the years (probably worn out because I kept flipping through it constantly as a kid), but one day I was at a Salvation Army in Chicago, in the book section, and lo and behold, I spotted it:

Sorry for the blurriness.

Except for the cover, (the one that my parents had is hard bound...this one is in a binder), this is the same cookbook I remember looking at as a kid, and this is where I found my featured Chili recipe. It is still so good.

Chili Con Carne

2 pounds ground turkey (it calls for ground beef, but these days, we do not use it)
2 cups chopped onions
2 cans (around a regular size can each) tomatoes
2 cans (15oz each) kidney beans, reserve liquid
1 can (15oz) tomato sauce
1 tbsp. sugar
3 tbsp. chili powder
1 tbsp. plus 1 1/2 tsp. salt

1. Cook and stir ground turkey and onion in Dutch oven or large roasting pan until meat is brown and onion is tender. Drain off fat. 

2. Stir in tomatoes, reserved kidney bean liquid, the tomato sauce and seasonings. heat to boiling. Reduce heat; simmer uncovered for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Stir in beans. Simmer, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes or until of desired consistency.

Serves 12. 

**Cook's note: (mine, not Betty Crocker) I had pared it down to serve 12, since this recipe was made to serve 24.

Please feel free to add whatever makes your chili recipe, your chili recipe. I added the following to mine: green bell peppers in Step 2. I also find that the addition of cumin, garlic powder and slightly more chili powder, as well as a pinch of cayenne pepper does the chili justice. If you want to add even more veggies, just adjust the seasonings.

Short on time, and no canned tomatoes in the pantry? I would use pasta sauce. Yes, that's right: I said pasta sauce. Why not? It is still made out of tomatoes, and when you taste the chili, you would never know the difference. Any old marinara would do, just season it up to your taste. 

On a final note, I actually simmered mine on low heat for 2 hours to let the flavors meld together. The result was fantastic. 

And of course, perfect for the chilly wintry night. Ahhh...