Fry bread and fajitas. 6/13/18

Posted on June 16, 2018 by Beebamom

On Wednesday we took the family to the north rim of the Grand Canyon. It is exceptional and we were happy to give the kids a chance to see it.

A view from the north rim of the Grand Canyon

For lunch we ate in the dining room of the North Rim Lodge. On the advice of our waitperson we ordered elk chili in a fry bread taco. Fry bread is a flat bread dough that is fried. The dish got varying reviews from the table. Son thought his was great while I was less enthused. This is probably because mine was cold. I think I must have gotten the last of some pot.

Fry bread taco. Picture thanks to Cooking Classy.

Later we stayed over in Kanab, UT. Although dining choices there are limited, there are a few vegetarian restaurants and some Mexican restaurants. Due to our mixed party we went to the Escobar’s Mexican Restaurant. It was very good. John and I both ordered beef fajitas. I managed to transfer two of my three tortillas to my grandson, Sam, and my son. There was definitely plenty to eat.

Beef fajitas. Picture thanks to seriouseats.com

 

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Recipe: Shrimp with saffron Pernod sauce

Posted on June 14, 2018 by Beebamom

Saffron shrimp with Pernod sauce and yellow rice

Here is the recipe for the Shrimp in Saffron Pernod Sauce. We had this originally at the now defunct Kenwood Restaurant in California. We have made a few adjustments. I hope you like it as much as we do.

Kenwood’s Shrimp in Saffron Pernod Sauce   Serves 2 or 3

The Mixture
1 cup finely chopped tomatoes (if using drained, canned add 1 tsp sugar)
1⁄4 cup finely chopped celery
1⁄4 cup finely chopped onion
1⁄4 cup finely chopped fennel
1⁄4 cup finely chopped red bell pepper.                                                                                               1 cup white wine
1 clove minced garlic.                                                                                                                         Pinch of thyme                                                                                                                                   Pinch of oregano.                                                                                                                                    2 bay leaves
Healthy pinch of saffron                                                                                                                   Salt and cayenne to taste.

The Rest
1 cup heavy (double) cream
2 tablespoons Pernod
24 shrimp (31-40 count)
Fennel fronds or cilantro for garnish

Method
Cook “the mixture” until nearly dry. Be sure your vegetables are a very fine dice. Add 2 T Pernod and cook briefly to get rid of the alcohol. Add the cream. Add shrimp and continue to cook for 2 minutes (until shrimp is done.)
Serve with rice and garnish with fennel fronds or cilantro.

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Pancakes and shrimp. 6/12/18

Posted on June 14, 2018 by Beebamom

No doubt you are saying to yourself, is this like chicken and waffles? Interesting concept but this is what I made for the kids and what we adults ate for dinner. Two separate things.

I got the pancake recipe from my daughter-in-law so that the grandkids would for sure to  like it . The recipe comes from the Cook’s Illustrated Cookbook and I made it as best I could. Sam liked them a lot while Alex was not ready to give them two thumbs up. He told me they were fine but were missing the magical touch of his mom. He instead praised me for my Kraft macaroni and cheese. Okay, I am good with that. A mother’s dish should always be more magical.

Pancakes!

Later John and I (but mostly John) made saffron shrimp in Pernod sauce. It was a big hit. We have reformulated the recipe a bit and I will make a separate post of it. It is delicous and you will love it.

Saffron shrimp with Pernod sauce and yellow rice

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Zayde burgers and tots. 6/11/18

Posted on June 12, 2018 by Beebamom

Along with my blue box mac and cheese our other super hit with our grandkids is Zayde burgers. While Jon, the kids, and I went to the bread store and did a little sightseeing around St. George, John got the burgers ready for cooking. He seasoned the meat well and added a little baking soda to keep the burgers juicy even though we cook them more well-done for the kids.

Before dinner we had family movie time with some snacks. Today we watched the movie, Clue, since we played the game for the first time this morning.

Rounding out our dinner we had a bunch of tater tots and cole slaw. Since Jon and the kids also spent a couple hours at the pool, the kids were ready for an early bed time. (Daddy, Beeba, and Zayde too!)

Grilled hamburger and tater tots

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Sweet Italian sausage and polenta. 6/10/18

Posted on June 12, 2018 by Beebamom

Our son and two grandkids have arrived for a fun week in the hopefully not too blazing sun of Utah! Obviously there will be less time for blogging as we hike, swim, play games, travel to the Grand Canyon, etc., etc.

Meals will be a bit disjointed as we have some all together and some in two shifts, one for kids and one for adults. The first night we split up into mac and cheese lovers and sausage and polenta lovers. There is not much to say about the mac and cheese other than it comes in a blue box and is revered as Beeba’s mac and cheese.

For our grown-up meal we had Italian sausage with peppers and onions over polenta. I got to relax while John and Jon cooked. Pretty sweet!

Sweet Italian sausage with peppers and onions over polenta

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Spaghetti!!!!! 6/8/18

Posted on June 9, 2018 by Beebamom

Yesterday was not a good day for many reasons. Anthony Bourdain committed suicide, our  so-called president sided with our enemies rather than our allies, our Department of Justice decided not to defend an attack on Obamacare effectively wiping out insurance for people with pre-existing conditions, and my knee which has been managing quite nicely since its cortisone shot stopped managing.

But there was spaghetti with meat sauce for dinner! I waited a whole week for this. Maybe the world would look sunnier if I ate it every day.

Admit it! You want to eat this!!

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New! Vietnamese shaking beef. 6/7/18

Posted on June 8, 2018 by Beebamom

I get all sorts of cooking email in my inbox. The other day I got a recipe from Milk Street for Vietnamese Shaking Beef. Since I am a fan of all sorts of southeast Asian cooking and John was interested we decided to make Milk Street’s Vietnamese shaking beef. The shaking refers to the cook’s shaking of the wok.  John did not shake the wok but he did cook the beef in our electric wok. (Luckily we have an outlet on our patio so he could cook it outside since we really don’t want to mess up the kitchen!)

The recipe calls for a pungent marinade with lots of soy and fish sauces. Then it asks you to brown the meat which is difficult since you have just made the meat too moist on the exterior. Our bigger problem, though, was finding the right cut of beef here in southern Utah which is not known for a lot a variety or anything exotic in meats and vegetables. So instead of using tri-tip or sirloin tips, he used top sirloin. So it ended up that the meat was tough.

Asian shaking beer on a bed of watercress and accompanied by rice

I have not eaten a lot of watercress. Although the watercress was super bitter by itself it was the perfect foil for the beef and onions with its salty sauce. The rice was left over from our salmon meal. I added some soy and fish sauce to it to make it fit with the flavor profile of the dish.

NOTE: I had the leftovers for lunch today. I took the big tough pieces of beef and cut them into 4 to 6 smaller pieces. The smaller pieces made the dish totally acceptable. The beef was not nearly as chewy.

 

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Colorful dinner with new technique. 6/6/18

Posted on June 7, 2018 by Beebamom

The other day we were watching a segment of America’s Test Kitchen and they had a technique for getting salmon cooked perfectly. First you brine the fish for 15 minutes. Then you start the cooking with the fish skin side down in a unheated  non-stick pan with salt and pepper in the bottom. As the pan heats up the fats under the skin release and help to cook the meat. After eight minutes you turn it over and do another eight minutes on the other side. (Times are approximate depending on the thickness of the fish. Farm raised salmon should be cooked to 125F and wild to 120F).

John used a non-stick pan and the grill as a heat source. Much less mess and smell in the house!

While this was going on I cooked some Vigo Spanish rice according to the package directions. It turned out delicious and much less salty than Zatarain’s. I also steamed/sauteed fresh green beans. I added a chiffonade of onions and optional ham. The plate looked so colorful and the dinner was delicious and healthy!

Pan-roasted salmon with Spanish rice and green beans

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Jumbo scallops. 6/5/18

Posted on June 6, 2018 by Beebamom

Fried scallops, tartar sauce, and collard greens with corn

The fishmonger at Harmon’s had promised us that there would be fresh scallops in on Tuesday. These scallops turned out to be beautiful and enormous! On our menu we had planned on fried scallops, steamed new potatoes, and collards and corn. Once we got a closer look at the size of these scallops we nixed the potatoes. Just the scallops and the vegetables would be enough.

These scallops must have been U-10s or ten scallops to a pound.   Even though John cooked the scallops until the outside was golden brown and delicious, the interior was maybe a little on the too rare side. If we get big ones like these again we will have to cook them a minute or two longer. Still though, they were fabulous.

The collard greens were quite bitter, more than usual. Having the sweet corn with them helped but I read that in addition to adding a sweet element, using a fatty element like bacon or sausage, blanching them first, adding acid like lemon juice, or plenty of salt will help. I will keep that in mind the next time I make them. And as usual I made the Fish Market tartar sauce which is a combination of mayonnaise, sweet relish, yellow mustard, lemon, and grated onion. The yellow mustard is the key to its savory goodness.

Close-up of yumminess!!

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Vegetarian Pad Thai. 6/4/18

Posted on June 5, 2018 by Beebamom

This pad Thai was semi-successful. I used dried tofu in place of the shrimp in the original recipe. That was a mistake. The tofu was so compacted that it did not absorb any of the sauce. Otherwise it was pretty good and I will try it again with firm or extra firm tofu. The recipe is from Food and Wine and you can get it here. Be sure to use a large enough pan to cook it in. Mine was a bit too small which made the mixing of components difficult.

Vegetarian pad Thai

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