Creamy Christmas Cabbage

This is dish I only make once a year for Christmas because its so good but so bad for you. It of course involves pork fat. The smoky salty bacon perfectly flavors the bland but sweet cabbage.

Bacon Creamed Chinese Cabbage

1 large chinese cabbage (3-4lbs)

1/2pkg bacon

4Tbsp AP flour

3 cups milk

1/2 cup cream

salt

white pepper

Wash cabbage and cut into 2inch chunks. Cook all the stem portions first till softened. Add the leafy parts and cook till wilted. Remove from pan and drain the liquid. Cut bacon into chunks and render the fat and cook till crispy. Remove bacon from pan and add the flour to the rendered fat (2-3Tbsp) to make a roux. Cook flour and fat paste for 3-4 min to cook out raw flour taste. Add milk slowly and whisk to combine and prevent lumps. Add cream, salt and pepper to taste. Bring mixture to a boil for 2 min while whisking. Stir in cabbage and 3/4 of the bacon. Combine well. Pour into oven safe dish and bake at 350F until bubbly. Sprinkle remaining bacon on top and serve hot.

Aloha! I'll Shoyu Chicken!

Its so cold and miserable in the city right now I thought it might be good to think warm thoughts so I thought of the time I went to Hawaii. My best friend in college grew up in Hawaii and he always made this dish for holiday potlucks.

Shoyu (Soy Sauce) Chicken

1 cup soy sauce

2 cups water

1.5 cup coke

2inch ginger

1 head garlic

1 lemon

3 stalks scallions

1T whole peppercorns

6 pieces chicken thighs or drums (skinless)

Cut ginger into large chunks and smash. Cut head of garlic in half . Cut lemons in half and squeeze juice and put skins in to the pot (or crock pot). Cut scallions into large chunks. Put everything in a pot and cook on a low simmer until the chicken is tender. Serve over rice or noodles. It is even better the next day.

Shoyu chicken over sesame noodles.

The Hawaiians probably eat this with nasty fermented Poi but you don't want to go near that stuff if you're from the mainland (I don't mean China).

Spicy Chuck

Chuck is what some of the kids in my neighborhood use to call my brother (Charles) when we were in elementary school. If you tried to call him that now he will probably pound you down into ground chuck which makes for some decent burgers. Chuck is a large section of the cow's shoulder and depending on which portion you get your roast will be juicy or a bit dry and stringy so you must cook it low and slow. Try to get a portion that doesn't look like a huge block of meat but one that is tied together and has some fat.

Spicy Caramelized Onion Roast Chuck

3lb Chuck (trimmed & tied)

1lrg onion (sliced)

1tsp crushed red pepper

1tsp cayenne pepper

1tsp paprika

1 tsp dry herb mix ( no rosemary)

3T sherry vinegar

1 bottle dark beer

5 cloves garlic

1 cup carrots (large chunks)

1/2cup celery (small chunks)

5 plum tomatoes (peeled & diced)

Preheat oven to 300F. Season meat well with salt and pepper. On high heat, sear meat on all sides in a little veg oil. Remove meat from pan and add onions. Reduce heat slightly and cook until onions start to caramelize. Add crushed red pepper, cayenne, paprika, herbs, vinegar and cook till well caramelized. Remove onions and de-glaze pan with 1/4 of the beer.

Add carrots, celery and garlic. Sweat veggies then add plum tomatoes and rest of the beer. Place the meat and onions back into the pot. Meat should only be 1/3 submerged in liquid.

Place pot into oven with lid on and roast for 4hrs basting periodically. Once done take meat out and slice. Skim fat off liquids at the bottom, strain out the liquids and reduce to make a sauce.

Serve with mashed potatoes and some of the carrots.

Time to start spicing it up.

My favorite cookie of all time is this ginger cookie. I've been trying to perfect it for years and I think I've almost got it to where I want it to be but its still not perfect. I'm a perfectionist so it may never be perfect, but its still darn good. Its crispy around the edges but still chewy in the center and its not too sweet (and if you use splenda you can reduce the calories and not feel as guilty).

Ginger Cookies

2.75 cups AP

2.5tsp Baking Soda

0.5tsp salt

1T ground ginger

0.5tsp all spice

1tsp ground black/mixed pepper

3T fresh ginger,microplaned

1.5 sticks butter (soft)

0.5 cup light brn sugar

0.5cup splenda (for baking) or granulated sugar

1/3 cup unsulfured molasses

1 lrg egg

Cream your butter and sugars together. Add eggs and cream till very light. Add molasses, salt, gingers and spices and continue to paddle the mixture to fully incorporate the spices. Add flour, baking soda mix till combined. Scoop batter and refrigerate until firm enough to roll into balls and coat with granulated sugar. Bake at 350F until they puff and start to crack. Do not over bake.

Chasing Tail

Every fall everyone in my family would count the days until it was cold enough for my dad to make his hearty oxtail stew. I don't know where he learned to make it, but everyone in the family has tried to replicate it and it is never the same. I on the other hand, just make it better (my dad doesn't think so but what does he know). I also make it in a crock pot because I like to set it and forget it, though that is pretty hard because the delicious smell will fill the house.

Oxtail Stew

1.5 cups carrots

1 cup celery

1 lrg onion

4 plum tomatoes*

2 cloves garlic

1tsp herbs de Provence

1/4cup soy sauce

3lbs oxtail

3 med russet potatoes

14oz chicken stock

2 cups water (or enough to cover)

*you may take a short cut and use canned Italian plum tomatoes if you don't mind/like/can't taste the tin can in your stew

Dice the carrots, celery and onions very small. Blanche, peel and remove seeds from tomatoes (very important for texture) then dice.

Season the oxtail pieces with salt and pepper and roast in the oven at 450F until they are browned. Remove from pan and place in crock pot. Turn crock pot to high.

Using the pan and fat from your oxtail sweat down your onions, carrots and celery. Add your herbs and garlic (whole smashed). Add your diced tomatoes and 1/4c soy sauce then cook to reduce liquids. Add to crock pot.

Bring chicken stock, water and secret ingredient* 1/2c root beer to a boil and pour into crock pot. Add diced potatoes. Cook for 5 hrs until oxtails are tender. It is best to make this a day in advance to develop the flavors and so you can skim the fat off the top once it cools. If you are impatient like my family just use a ladle and skim the oil off the top once its ready.

Garnish with (lots of cilantro... just kidding) chili oil if you like it spicy.

*root beer can be left out and substituted with beer or water depending on if you like flavor OR not, and a tablespoon of sugar.

Chilly night is perfect for Chili Night!

I was inspired from watching the national chili cook-off contest on TV and it turned out to be perfect for a cold rainy.

It is Texas style, strictly meat only! In competition chili making they all use tri-tip sirloin. If that isn't available to you I hear chuck is also okay but whatever you do DO NOT use ground meat! Personally I also like beef shank meat but that has quite a bit of sinew that you would have to cut around but the texture once cooked won't be all dry and fibrous as chuck might be. I bet beef cheek might be good as well.

Crockpot Chili

2lbs Tri-tip sirloin (cut into small chunks)

1 onion (diced small)

16oz jar of salsa

80z tomato puree

1T tomato paste

1bottle med/dark beer

3T chili powder

2tsp garlic powder

2tsp cumin

1tsp cayenne pepper(more or less depending on taste)

1tsp chipotle chili powder

2tsp oregano

1tsp smoky paprika

salt& pepper to taste

Sweat onions and brown the meat then add all the dry spices. Dump all of the meat mixture and the rest of the ingredients into the crock pot and turn on high for 3-4hrs.

I served mine over cilantro rice, topped with avocado, pickled guidilla peppers, corn and more cilantro! (sorry all you cilantro haters are fools).