Cooking at Home

[ChiFlyer]

As I have been talking about in another thread, the Thai Fiancee and I recently bought a house and had a Buddhist house blessing. The event was extended to also include an Engagement announcement celebration (her idea not mine, but no problem). 🙂

With the number of in-laws in town and also her nephew (I tied arms when he was born) requesting that I prepare a spaghetti dinner, I did so. Turned out pretty well, even though I was unprepared for the volume. There should have been a more liquid sauce. The Italian sausages were a new Calabrese variety (slightly spicy) from Jet Italian and they were great. I prepared those on the recently purchased Weber Grill. I got too much help from the Thai in-laws in starting the fire. Nuff said.

The table is ready

 

[ChiFlyer]

Beef and Peppers Stir Fry

Another Chinese-American stir fry dish here. This one from America's Test Kitchen (ATK).

Beef andPepper Stir Fry.pdf

This turned out really well. Both the wife and I enjoyed it. Read the recipe about the upfront velveting process. Makes a big difference. I used Flank Steak and it worked very well. A few things that I did.

• I substituted 1 TBSP of Fish Sauce for one of the Soy Sauce TBSPs in the sauce.
• I added 1 TBSP of Sambal Olek to the sauce.

This is a stir fry at high heat, so have everything ready to go before one starts cooking.

A couple of pics.

 

 

[ChiFlyer]

On 11/12/2022 at 12:42 AM, ChiFlyer said:

Sounds good. Are these clams similar to what are sold in the US as "Little Neck Clams"?  I really like using those for a "Linguine in Clam Sauce" recipe. I really have not found a good substitute here in the Pattaya area.

@glasseye Where is Rimping Market? When I do a Google search, I get a location in Chiang Mai. Is this what you mean?

[boydeste]

33 minutes ago, ChiFlyer said:

@glasseye Where is Rimping Market? When I do a Google search, I get a location in Chiang Mai. Is this what you mean?

He lives in CM, so I would think so. @Glasseye

[Glasseye]

7 hours ago, boydeste said:

He lives in CM, so I would think so. @Glasseye

 

Yes, there are several of them here. My primary spot to shop.

[ChiFlyer]

Pistachio Encrusted Salmon with Broccoli

https://www.eatingwell.com/recipe/272628/roasted-pistachio-crusted-salmon-with-broccoli/

A while back I dined at Aquapazza in Jomtien. I had a pistachio encrusted fish dish and was wow'd by it. I decided to try and mimic it at some point. Not all that long after that I stumbled across the recipe in the link. I was making it tonight, but at the last minute picked up a couple of extra dinner guests. Friends of the wife. I had bought extra salmon, so no big problem.

I usually do not like to experiment first attempts on guests, but the situation was what it was. The dinner turned out really well and drew rave compliments. Everybody gets lucky from time to time.

Only one pic of a partially eaten serving, as I zoned a bit.

 

[ChiFlyer]

Stuffed Peppers

https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/mr-johns-meat-stuffed-bell-peppers-3644409

This is an Emeril Lagasse recipe. I use it as a base and have made some minor tweaks to it. It is relatively straight forward to make and takes a little over 90 minutes start to serving. I think it tastes really good and the Mrs. agrees.

My tweaks are:

• I like using colored bells, instead of all green bells. The colored ones bring a little sweeter taste to things.
• I hit the crushed red pepper flakes with a double pinch.
• After taking the peppers out of the oven to cool for 10 minutes, I top them with a little shredded sharp cheddar. 

Out of the oven - I used a mix of pepper colors this night

 

Plated

 

[ChiFlyer]

The Mrs. had to head up to the Khon Kean area for a family matter. I decided not to go with this time. This was an opportunity in a way in that I could cook a few things that I like that she does not.

Pasta Putanesca

I assume all know that this became a famous simple Italian dish that ladies of the evening ordered after their work effort was complete for the evening. I think it is the Kalamata Olives that the Mrs. does not like and ok the tomatoes as well.

https://www.marthastewart.com/349905/pasta-puttanesca

This is obviously a Martha Stewart recipe. Think what you want about Martha, but she does make some very good recipes available to the general public without charge.

The overall dish takes less than an hour to prepare and has a very vibrant flavor. There are a few ingredients (Kalamata Olives, Capers) that are not carried in many Banglamung food stores, but are available at both VM and Lazada.  

I use linguini for the pasta with this recipe, as it being ribboned, holds the light sauce better than something like spaghetti. 

Anyway I thought it turned out well.

In the pan ready to serve.

Plated

   

Edited June 12, 2023 by ChiFlyer

[ChiFlyer]

Sometimes the simplest of things taste the best.

I often make sandwiches on Saturday night. This one, altered significantly, has become a favorite of mine.

https://www.eatingwell.com/recipe/250881/avocado-tomato-chicken-sandwich/

The main differences are:

• The Mrs. does not like tomatoes very much, so I substitute a cucumber. I take out the seeds of the cucumber, dice it and combine it with a TBSP of mayo and some black pepper. I use this mix instead of tomato slices. The Mrs. likes it this way and so do I.
• I tend to roast my own chicken. Usually about 30 minutes at 190 C., if I am using chicken thighs, 25 minutes for Chicken Breasts. Both work well. I prefer thighs, but if I have extra breasts from a whole chicken those work as well.
• Make sure your avocados are mature. No overly green ones.
• I toast some multi-grain bread to build the sandwiches. 
• Very tasty and more or less healthy.

A pic.

 

 

Edited June 12, 2023 by ChiFlyer

[Glasseye]

On 5/29/2023 at 10:51 PM, ChiFlyer said:

Pistachio Encrusted Salmon with Broccoli

https://www.eatingwell.com/recipe/272628/roasted-pistachio-crusted-salmon-with-broccoli/

A while back I dined at Aquapazza in Jomtien. I had a pistachio encrusted fish dish and was wow'd by it. I decided to try and mimic it at some point. Not all that long after that I stumbled across the recipe in the link. I was making it tonight, but at the last minute picked up a couple of extra dinner guests. Friends of the wife. I had bought extra salmon, so no big problem.

I usually do not like to experiment first attempts on guests, but the situation was what it was. The dinner turned out really well and drew rave compliments. Everybody gets lucky from time to time.

Only one pic of a partially eaten serving, as I zoned a bit.

 

 

I have never heard of such a match up. Looks delightful. 

[ChiFlyer]

Chicken Provencal with Bulgur

Chicken Provencal is a recent addition to my lineup. I am still tweaking the following recipe as I see room for improvement.

https://www.eatthis.com/chicken-provencal-recipe/?utm_source=msn&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=msn-feed

I plan on and have started making the following changes. My reason for doing so is that, despite coming up with a good starting point, the author has gone overboard on the "healthy" angle giving up too much taste.

• Instead of using fresh tomatoes, I use a 14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes (drained). Much more efficient and the taste is as good IMO.
• The order of the wine/broth and tomatoes/onion/garlic steps needs to be reversed, partially because of my choice to use canned tomatoes. I use a stainless steel saute pan for the chicken step. This creates a fond that is best de-glazed using the wine/broth. De-glazing adds tremendous flavor. If one were to follow the author's sequence, the fond would become blackened. Not good.
• As more of a side note, the basil in the pics is from the Mrs' home garden.

Some pics of the chicken.

Ready to serve

 

The Bulgur

I had never eaten, much less cooked, bulgur before. Reading the chicken recipe got me interested in checking it out. After reading up about Bulgur on the net, I thought it would be good to have an alternative side compared to Couscous just to extend my Mediterranean Grains choices.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bulgur

I used this recipe for Bulgur.

https://www.keepingthepeas.com/bulgar-pilaf/#recipe

Alone and by itself this recipe yields a rather bland drier oatmeal (almost) grain with a bit of a nutty flavor. However, when I plated it so that it soaked up a little of the chicken wine sauce it was great. The Mrs had picked more basil than I needed for the chicken, so I mixed the extra into the bulgur. 

In the future I can add ingredients to the Bulgur in order to up the taste. My Couscous adds (Safron, raisins, chopped nuts, etc. come to mind.

 

All in all the diner turned out decent enough. I need to continue to refine both of these recipes.

 

Plated

Edited June 23, 2023 by ChiFlyer

[Derek Dangleberries]

18 minutes ago, ChiFlyer said:

Instead of using fresh tomatoes, I use a 14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes (drained). Much more efficient and the taste is as good IMO.

I noticed that neither the recipe, nor you, mention adding a teaspoon of sugar.

My Mum always said that when cooking with tomatoes you should add a teaspoon of sugar to remove any tartiness.

[ChiFlyer]

12 minutes ago, Derek Dangleberries said:

I noticed that neither the recipe, nor you, mention adding a teaspoon of sugar.

My Mum always said that when cooking with tomatoes you should add a teaspoon of sugar to remove any tartiness.

I am pre-diabetic, so I never add sugar unless a recipe directly calls for it. When a recipe does call for it, I consider honey instead. I suspect that the canned diced tomatoes covers the sugar angle. Not sure.

[ChiFlyer]

Shrimp Etouffee

This is a Cajun (Creole if you prefer) dish. There is a difference I have been told, but I feel that the two have blended over time. I made this recipe for about the third time last night and it turned out really well IMO.

https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/shrimp-etouffee-3645379

The recipe is from Emeril Lagasse. Partially, by accident I ended up tweaking Emeril's recipe and the result was very good. I will likely use my tweaked version going forward. I had not planned ahead all that well, so I only had 3 cups of shrimp stock. With the reduced (I cut everything by 50%, otherwise too much food) volumes of ingredients that I was using I decided to add 1 cup of a good white wine along with the 3 cups of shrimp stock. By pure dumb luck, the result was improved.

The Mrs really liked it as did I.

In the pot

 

Plated

 

Edited July 3, 2023 by ChiFlyer

[ChiFlyer]

Rack of Lamb in a Wine Sauce with Rosemary Roasted Potatoes

This is one of my favorite sort of fancy dishes to make. It takes about 90 minutes and is very tasty. There are two recipes here -> the Lamb and the Potatoes. First the Lamb.

https://www.thespruceeats.com/lamb-with-red-wine-sauce-3057947

You can find frozen lamb racks at both Villa Market and Makro. Not all of the ones at Makro are Frenched. You want your rack Frenched (fat cut out between the bones up to where the meat starts). You can do this yourself, but it is a bit of a pain.

Lamb with Wine Sauce on the side. I like mine medium rare.

 

Roasted Potatoes (I add a little minced garlic for a deeper flavor)

https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/robin-miller/roasted-red-potatoes-with-rosemary-recipe-1916877

 

 

Edited July 22, 2023 by ChiFlyer

[ChiFlyer]

Chicken and Asparagus Bake

There are some good things about this recipe. Tastes great. Less Filling. (Oh, that has been done before) 🙂 .

Really it does taste very good. Because it is a one baking pan (two if you live in Thailand, more later on that), there is minimal cleanup. It takes about one hour to get to the table. It is relatively healthy. 

Before I post the recipe link a comment -> the recipe as stated does not work well in Thailand for a variety of reasons. I will get into these when I state my changes.

https://www.eatingwell.com/recipe/278009/one-pan-chicken-asparagus-bake/

Ok, the factors that make the changes necessary and there are a considerable number.

• Thai kitchen ovens (at least the ones that I have had) are not large enough to accommodate a large American sized baking sheet. One has to use two smaller baking sheets for this recipe and that affects the cooking times.
• I have never seen Yukon Potatoes in the Pattaya area. They were my go-to in the US. I have tried several of the available types here in Pattaya and tend to use Idahos. In this case I dice these to about 1 inch pieces. Idahos require a longer cooking time as they contain more starch.
• I use boneless skinless chicken thighs for a recipe like this. They handle the heat better and for me chicken breasts tend to dry out in dishes like this. Boneless-Skinless Chicken Thighs are not usually sold in the Pattaya area. Villa Market does sell bone-in skin-on chicken thighs. I usually buy those for something like this. I have done this a lot and I can skin and de-bone a chicken thigh in a few minutes. Your kitchen scissors is your friend for the de-boning part. The Mrs loves to use the skin and bones in her Isan cooking, so this is a win-win in our case.

Ok, nuff bs - the restated recipe.

• Preheat oven to 190 C
• Slice and dice the veggies
• Make the initial coating saice
• Cover the baking trays with aluminum foil and lightly spray with canned EVOO
• Coat Chicken, Potatoes, and Carrots with initial coating sauce. Feel free to make more than stated in the recipe. I did.
• Add and cook potatoes for 15 minutes on one tray
• Add carrots and cook for an additional 15 minutes on the potato tray
• At the same time add coated chicken to the second tray and cook for 15 minutes.
• Make the second sauce.
• Pull the trays. Add the asparagus to the veg tray. Add lemon wedges to the chicken tray. Check chicken temp with thermometer.
• Turn oven to broil at 220 C.
• Broil for about 10 minutes keep an eye on things. Pull trays. Temp chicken looking for 165 F. Top with chopped parsley and dill.

I went through the effort of explaining all of this as I thought it was very tasty. The Mrs. liked it as well, but said more asparagus and less carrots. hmmm, the carrots were already severely cut back and I do like carrots.

Some pics.

Chicken coming out of the overn

 

 

Vegies coming out of the oven

 

Plated

 

   

[ChiFlyer]

Ropa Vieja

This is a version of the classic Cuban dish. In case anyone does not know, "Ropa Vieja" translates to "Old Clothes". I have never been to Cuba, but I have spent some time in both Miami and Key West. Both cities have a lot of excellent Cuban restaurants, many of them inexpensive.

This is an ATK recipe, so I only have a pdf file available.

Ropa Vieja.pdf

Folklore has it that this dish was prepared on Sundays by the abuelita (little grandmother) for the entire family to sit down to. The dish takes 3 hours to bring to the table, but 2 hours of that is a braising process in a 150 C oven.

The only store that I have found which reliably carries brisket is the Makro on Sukhumvit in Jomtien. The brisket is currently at the end of the beef cooler cabinet at the back of the store. What they sell is more than a little fatty, but trims up well enough.

The GF Thai Wife and I both really like this dish and I make it about twice a year. She in not too fond of olives, but likes the rest of it. Her former brother in-law loved this dish and once ate 4 plates of it when he was visiting. Not much in the way of leftovers that weekend.

I cut the cumin back to 1/2 tsp as the wife does not care for the smell. For the vinegar I use sherry vinegar. I think it really brightens the taste. You will probably not find sherry vinegar in any store, but it is available through Lazada.

In the pot

 

Plated

 

 

Edited July 31, 2023 by ChiFlyer

[ChiFlyer]

Spaghetti alla Nerano

I came across this recipe while surfing some foodie sites. It sounded interesting, so I decided to give it a try.

https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/285205/that-zucchini-spaghetti-stanley-tucci-loves-spaghetti-alla-nerano/

This is almost veg. The cheese makes it not entirely veg.

The Mrs. and I both really liked it. It is easy to make, somewhat unusual, and very tasty. I fry the zucchini the night before and as the recipe says I put it in a bowl and cover it with plastic wrap. If you decide to try this recipe, I suggest that you watch the video that is in the link.

You need good cheeses to make this work. I buy mine from either online at Jet Italian or in store at Stilo Italiano on Jomtien Second Road near soi 5 (only open Noon to 5 PM).

A few pics.

Ready to serve

 

Plated

 

 

[ChiFlyer]

Chicken Piccata

This is a standby recipe for me. I have been making it for several years and it never fails me. From Alton Brown:

https://www.cookingchanneltv.com/recipes/alton-brown/chicken-piccata-reloaded-8710324

In case anyone does not know, "Piccata" is the Italian word for lemon, so this is basically Italian Lemon Chicken. I like to serve it with Pasta Shells. This is a recipe where one can prepare things in the early afternoon and then spend less than an hour doing the cooking after a late afternoon swim. The early afternoon preparations:

• This recipe calls for boneless skinless chicken thighs. To my knowledge these are not sold in the greater Pattaya area. Boneless hind quarters (thigh and leg) are sold, but for me that does not work. Bone-in chicken thighs are sold at Villa Market. I go to the one at Little Walk. I prep these by taking off the (skin and excess fat) and then removing the bone. I have done this many times, so it takes me about 5 minutes per chicken thigh. Alton Brown shows how to do this in the recipe video. I do not exactly follow his method. I start the separation with a boning knife as does AB, but then I use a kitchen scissors to complete the separation. Much faster IMO. The skin and bones do not go to waste as the Mrs. likes to use them as a base for some Thai dishes.
• Rinse and slice the mushrooms ahead of time as well.

The recipe goes fairly quick at about 45 minutes, but one has to time the pasta to the chicken. I start the pasta water at the same time as when I add the first chicken thighs to the already hot pan.

Some pics:

Chicken ready to serve

 

Pasta ready to serve

 

Plated

 

 

[ChiFlyer]

Pesto Corn Salad and Shrimp

I noticed this recipe while browsing a foodie sight. Decided to make it tonight. Both the Mrs and I enjoyed it.

https://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/pesto-corn-salad-with-shrimp/

Lots of pluses here:

• Easy to make - only about an hour to get it to the table
• Healthy
• Tastes great

There were a few things in the recipe that I decided to change and also will change a few more the next time I make this dish:

• The Mrs grows basil in our garden. I use that to make my own pesto. I added one clove of garlic to the food processor. I used a mini food processor, as it did not seem worth the effort of bringing out the big one.
• The recipe calls for boiling the corn. Bad move. I steam mine for about 8 minutes, much better taste.
• The recipe calls for grilling the shrimp on a full outside grill. Waste of time both for setup and cleanup. I used a stove-top grill pan and that worked great.
• Also threading the shrimp on skewers needs attention. There are many methods for this. I suggest doing a Google search and deciding what works best for you. The basic problem is eliminating/reducing the spin. I double pierce each shrimp and pack them closely. Not perfect, but ok for me.
• Next time I make this, I will roast the cherry tomatoes. This is a much better taste. Following is an Ina Garten recipe for roasting tomatoes.

https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/roasted-cherry-tomatoes-recipe-1940316

Obviously, one can skip the basil in Ina's recipe as that what the pesto sauce is doing. I will also consider reducing Ina's cooking time as I do not want the tomatoes getting too mushy within the salad.

The Salad

 

The Shrimp

 

Plated

 

 

[Glasseye]

Try this one....

 

 

I would fcuk it up for sure.....

 

 

[Glasseye]

I'm going to have to do this soon. Makes my mouth drool like a fcuking dog !

 

 

[Glasseye]

I had some stale pasta wasting away in a cabinet. So I cooked it up.

 

Threw in two cans of tuna (I prefer the tuna in oil). Added some salt, pepper, garlic powder, and a big tablespoon of mayo (added some creaminess).

 

Turned out great. Will make again for sure.

 

 

[ChiFlyer]

On 8/29/2023 at 9:54 AM, Glasseye said:

I'm going to have to do this soon. Makes my mouth drool like a fcuking dog !

 

 

Interesting. I am a fan of Worcestershire Sauce. Just a thought -> you might want to use Fish Sauce instead of Soy Sauce for the marinade. Might give it a better punch.

[Glasseye]

10 minutes ago, ChiFlyer said:

Interesting. I am a fan of Worcestershire Sauce. Just a thought -> you might want to use Fish Sauce instead of Soy Sauce for the marinade. Might give it a better punch.

Yes good point about the fish sauce.

 

I love a good Worcestershire sauce also.