The Sun and the Wolf

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

The Hunter and The Wolf

After last week's dinner, The Hunter was feeling pretty great about the cooking experience. The Sun, on the other hand, was feeling uninspired and tired. In order to recharge, The Hunter decided to step in and cook with The Wolf. Together they came up with: lightly breaded basa with garlic ginger soy drizzle, vegetable low mein, and sauteed garlic with fresh spinach. Cooking for many people can be stressful, but despite a few slight meltdowns, everything turned out just fine. P.S. thank you Johanna aka The Witch for taking pictures! And thank you, Michael, for making guacamole to start!

Guests: 11
Price: $48
*Insane amount of fish left over

Ready to cook - Stations set up:

Noodles:

For the Sauce:
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
1/4 teaspoon Chinese five spice powder
2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon Sriracha hot chili sauce
2 teaspoons cornstarch

Remaining Ingredients:
2 teaspoons canola oil
2 cups bean sprouts
1/2 cup thinly sliced scallions, white and green parts
1 cup shiitake mushrooms, sliced
1 cup shredded Napa cabbage
1/4 cup grated carrot
6 oz Chinese egg noodles or whole wheat spaghetti

Cook the egg noodles or spaghetti according to package instructions,
drain and set aside.
Stir all sauce ingredients together in a small saucepan set over
medium heat. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until thickened
and glossy, about 3 minutes. Set aside.
Meanwhile, set a large wok or skillet over medium-high heat. When the
pan is hot, add the two teaspoons of canola oil and swirl to coat. Add
the bean sprouts, mushrooms, cabbage, and carrot. Sauté for about 3
minutes, or until the vegetables begin to soften. Add the cooked egg
noodles and the sauce, tossing to combine. Serve immediately.

*Note: the sauce was a bit too thick when first made. . . adjust liquids according to personal preference with water.

Fish:

Sauce:

olive oil

fresh minced garlic

soy sauce

seasame oil

fresh grated ginger

water

Fish:

Fillets

3 eggs

3 cups flour

Sauté garlic in olive oil, add soy sauce and water, add ginger, bring to boil then reduce, add sesame oil. Wash fish fillets, bread with flour and egg, brown fillets in pan with olive oil. Serve fillets with sauce.

*Note: The Hunter was super excited about the fresh grated ginger. His trick: peel the ginger and freeze it whole overnight. Grate frozen ginger slightly ahead of time and allow to thaw. By freezing it, it doesn’t lose it’s moisture and is significantly easier to grate.

The Potato beering The Wolf as he breaded

Sautéed spinach:

olive oil

fresh thinly sliced garlic

fresh spinach

Heat olive oil in pan, to almost smoking, add spinach and immediately stir, add garlic and sauté until spinach is bright green. Serve.

End of the night :-)

** This upcoming week there will be no dinner as The Sun's birthday was this past weekend and the house needs some spring cleaning. But we will be back next week on our new night: Tuesdays!

Thursday, March 29, 2012

The Return of The Wolf

After several weeks without cooking, The Wolf was happy to return to the kitchen. We decided on a menu that was easy, quick, and new. Staying within our budget, we were happy with our choice to make: spinach, bacon, and roasted mushroom salad, linguine with clams and mussels, and basil pesto bread.

Guests eating: 10
Total cost: $47

Spinach Salad with Bacon and Roasted Mushrooms- recipe by Rick Bayless

Serves 8

8 ounces bacon, cut into ¼ inch pieces

4 cups oyster mushrooms

1 large red onion

3 tablespoons olive oil

juice of one lime

½ teaspoon dried oregano

½ teaspoon salt

8 cups spinach

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Spread bacon onto baking pan. Scatter mushrooms and onion over bacon. Roast until the bacon is crispy, 15 to 20 minutes, stirring halfway through.

Before going in the oven

In a small microwaveable bowl, combine olive oil, lime juice, oregano, salt, and 2 tablespoons water. Microwave high for 30 seconds.

Place spinach in a large salad bowl. Spring mixture over spinach. Dress, toss, enjoy.

*Note: we lined our baking pan with wax paper. This is not recommended as some of the food almost stuck to the wax.

Linguine with Clams and Mussels

Serves 4-6

1 pound linguine

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temp

¼ cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

salt and pepper to taste

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 large shallots, sliced

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup white wine (Pinot Grigio recommended)

1 cup vegetable broth

½ teaspoon red pepper flakes

12 littleneck clams, cleaned

12 mussels, cleaned

Mussels waiting to be cooked (The Sun had a small emotional breakdown with this one)

Pasta: Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the past and cook for time indicated on the directions, stirring occasionally. Drain and return to pot. Add butter and parsley and toss.

Sauce: In a large saucepan, heat oil over medium heat. Add shallots, salt, and pepper, to taste. Stir frequently until soft, about 3 minutes. Add garlic and cook until aromatic. Add the wine and simmer until liquid has reduced by half. Stir in the broth, red pepper flakes, clams, and mussels. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Bring the mixture to a simmer. Cover the pan and cook until all the shellfish are opened, about 5 minutes. Discard any open ones.

Using tongs, remove the shellfish from the pan and set aside. Pour the cooking liquid over the pasta and toss. Remove the shellfish from their shells and toss into the pasta. Serve.

*Note: because of our budget, we could not afford fresh clams. We used canned clams and added them in with the cooked mussels at the end. While we are sure that fresh clams would have been better, we worked with what we had.

Basil Pesto Bread

1 baguette

2 cups packed fresh basil leaves

2 clove garlic

2/3 cup olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

½ cup Parmesan cheese

Combine all ingredients except the bread in a food processor. Adjust seasoning to taste. Meanwhile, toast bread. Spread basil over warm bread. Eat.

The Sun was much less diligent than normal as she was too busy sitting outside enjoying the weather to cook very much or take many pictures. So guests are missing, as is the final presentation. But alas...

Michael Nep wore these...

The Hunter wanting to be left alone with Facebook

Matt and The Witch

The Sun and Chrissy

Hello??

The Hunter attacking Bo, late night

Goodnight!

Thursday, March 22, 2012

Guest Chef: The Hunter

Yesterday, The Sun got back from vacation and was recharged and ready to cook. Unfortunately, The Wolf had prior commitments and was unable to take part in the cooking process. Enter: The Hunter (previously known as Joshua Bates). He decided to step up and completely take over this week's dinner. He sent out the invitation, planned the menu, went grocery shopping, and aside from some prep work from The Sun, did all of the cooking himself. It was an excellent dinner, and despite feeling overwhelmed at times, everything went great.

The menu: pork chops with Dijon sauce, roasted new potatoes, and carrot and parsley salad.
Guests: 9

Pork Chops with Dijon Sauce- from simplyrecipes.com

Serves 4

1 tbsp butter

1 tbsp olive oil

4 pork chops

salt and pepper

¼ cup shallots, chopped finely

1 cup Chardonnay

¾ cup chicken stock

¾ cup heavy cream

2 tbsp Dijon

1 tbsp chopped parsley

1. Pat the pork chops dry with paper towels. Sprinkle salt and pepper all over them. Heat olive oil and butter in a large skillet over medium high heat. As soon as the butter has melted, add the pork chops to the pan and sear them about 3 minutes per side.

2. Remove the chops from the pan and pour off the fat. Add the shallots and cook for about 30 seconds. Add ½ cup of the wine and bring to a boil while deglazing the pan. Stir in the stock and return the chops to the pan. Bring the sauce to a simmer then reduce heat, cover and cook until done (about 10 minutes depending on thickness of chops).

3. Remove the pork chops and set aside on a warm platter and cover with foil. Add the remaining half cup of wine and boil. Reduce the juices by half. Add the heavy cream and boil 3 more minutes. Remove from heat and whisk in parsley and mustard. Place over chops and serve.

Roasted New Potatoes – from simplyrecipes.com

Serves 4

1 ½ lbs of red potatoes, cleaned and quartered

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 teaspoons rosemary

¼ teaspoon salt

pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 450. Place potatoes in a mixing bowl with all the ingredients and toss until well coated. Spread the potatoes as a single layer on a baking pan and roast for 40 minutes or until browned.

Carrot and Parsley Salad-- from MoosewoodCooks.com

3 ½ cups carrots, shredded

1 bunch parsley, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

3 tbsps fresh lemon juice

¼ cup olive oil

salt and pepper

Combine shredded carrots and chopped parsley and mix. In a separate bowl combine the garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, and salt and pepper. Stir dressing into the salad while tossing. Serve.