IRRESISTIBLE ASIAN RIBS

Back when Good Husband and I were courting our favorite restaurant was a takeout Chinese hole-in-the-wall.   The menu featured the usual dried ribs, chicken balls and stir-fries.  But there was a second  menu.  Exquisite food prepared for a discerning clientele.  Late night mah-jong players.    Andy Chan was a brilliant chef.  His dishes were sublime.   We ordered off this menu.  It influenced our cooking forever.

We hung out in Andy’s kitchen, sitting on what Andy called  Chinese Chesterfield’s (rice bags).  This amazing man shared his recipes and  his knowledge with us.  He told  how  he started out sweeping floors and scrubbing pots in restaurants in Hong Kong.    How secretive their chefs would  be.  Hitting him if they thought he was watching how they cooked.  Andy moved his Chinese take-out restaurant to a new location on Hill Avenue, in Regina, Saskatchewan.  He called it PEARL RIVER.

More than thirty years ago our restaurant,  ROXY’S BISTRO,  served French cuisine with a decided Asian flavour.  Today they call it fusion.  We called it “Andy’ style” or chinoise.   It made our reputation.  We will be forever grateful to Andy Chan for dishes like “fish in the  sink”  and  “fish cooked three times”,  and for filling our courtship days with the flavours of ginger, star anise, sesame oil and exotic vegetables.

This is not a complicated recipe.  The secret to irresistible, tender and succulent  ribs is  braising the ribs first  and then the slow, low temperature cooking in the oven.  You can use any type of pork ribs  when you make  ASIAN PORK RIBS .

THAI RED BEEF CURRY … a recipe you should have in your apron pocket

The first time I made this recipe it was so spectacularly delicious the entire dish was consumed by two people.  The Good Husband was even looking for more.  This recipe should absolutely be in your apron pocket.   You could simple stop at the curry paste and coconut milk, but the  grated lemon peel, ginger, fish sauce and brown sugar or honey gives the dish more layers of flavour.    It’s so easy why wouldn’t you go for the gusto.

Use this recipe as a blueprint for any Thai red curry  and experiment with different ingredients in place of the beef.  Boneless chicken or shrimp work well.  Do a mixture of  vegetables such as baby corn, eggplant,  green beans,  sweet potato and broccoli.

Buy the best quality brand of curry paste available, some are better than others.  If you find a good one, this will taste remarkably authentic.  Also buy the best  quality  coconut milk.  I like the organic brands.

 

THAI RED BEEF CURRY  serves 4   recipe at  Mrs Butterfingers

SPICY PUMPKIN PIE …. so good you’ll want to make it year ’round!

 

Our family spent Thanksgiving with my brother and his amazing wife.    My contribution to the feast was sweet potato mousse and pumpkin pie.  Pumpkin pie is the favorite dessert of our two nephews so I really wanted to pull out all the stops.

This is the best pumpkin pie I’ve ever made.   AND THE EASIEST!!  Sweetened condensed milk  creates a delicate yet rich,  creamy texture.    An intriguing combination of spices is perfectly matched to the pumpkin flavour.    The filling is easy peasy to make.  You can use a gingersnap crust or your favorite pie crust.  The secret to the perfect pumpkin pie (which is a custard) is to ALWAYS blind-bake your pastry.  You’ll eliminate soggy crusts.

For a nine-inch pie

1 (15 oz) can pumpkin ( not pumpkin pie filling)

1 (14 oz ) can sweetened condensed milk

2 large eggs

2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp freshly grated ground nutmeg (If you have never used whole nutmeg now is the time.  You’ll never go back to the pale, imitation powdered nutmeg)

1/2 tsp allspice

1/2 tsp sea salt

reheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a medium bowl whisk your eggs, now whisk in the sweetened condensed milk, the pumpkin , spices and salt until smooth.  Pour into your baked crust.    Bake for 40 minutes or so until a knife inserted 1 inch from crust comes out clean.  Cool.  Garnish as desired.  I like to pipe whipped cream onto the pie filling.  A generous scoop of vanilla ice cream would be deliciously gilding the lily.

GINGER SUGAR COOKIES … THE COLONY OF LOST RECIPES …. the lost is found

Back in the Sixties I discovered the perfect ginger cookie recipe.    It was in Gourmet magazine; March l965 to be exact.     It was an unforgettable melding of ginger, cinnamon, and cloves deepened with molasses.    Then I lost the recipe.     It had gone to that place where lost, misplaced and forgotten recipes go.   This week I found my ginger cookie recipe  in Gourmet magazines THE COOKIE BOOK.  This book contains the single best cookie recipe from each year l941-2009.

GINGER SUGAR COOKIES

This is a recipe that makes you home smell like Christmas.   The cookies deliver a flavour that lingers in your mouth long after the last bite.

Makes about 11 dozen cookies.  Have all ingredients at room temperature.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees F

Cream 3/4 cup shortening or butter and gradually beat in l cup dark brown sugar, firmly packed.

Add in l egg and 1/4 cup molasses and blend thoroughly.

Sift 2 1/4 cups sifted flour with 2 tsp baking soda, l tsp each of cinnamon and ginger, 1/2 tsp cloves and 1/4 tsp salt.

Gradually blend the dry ingredients into the creamed mixture and chill the dough for 1 hour.  This is important.

To form the cookies, scoop out a heaping teaspoon of the dough and dip the tops in sugar.  Arrange the balls at least 3 inches apart on a parchment lined baking sheet.  Press the dough down a little.    Sprinkle each cookie with 2 or 3 drops of water (this gives them their characteristic crackled look).

Bake the cookies in a moderately hot oven (375F) for about 7 to 8 minutes, or until they are firm.

CHEFS NOTES;

Use ordinary mild molasses.  If you take the cookies out of the oven a bit early, when they have just set, they  will be soft and slightly chewy.  Leave them to bake a little longer, and they’ll get crisp.   These cookies keep well and are even better on the second day.