by TheLastWonton | Jun 29, 2017 | Appetizers & Snacks, Asian, Beef, Pork & Lamb, Hawaiian, Main Dishes, Recipes, Sauces, Dips & Condiments, Sides
Hot Sticks! Get your Hot Sticks, here! Hot off the barbie, that is. Touting sublime, slightly spicy, tangy, tender, grilled steak slices.
TOP TEN REASONS TO MAKE BEEF SATAY SKEWERS WITH CHEATERS' PEANUT SAUCE
10. They're easy to make and easy to eat.
9. Satay rhymes with cachet.
8. You get to nibble Asian street food, right in your own back yard.
7. No utensils required.
6. Meat on a stick, urges you to exclaim, "Goodness gracious, that's tasty!"
5. Slightly spicy, BBQ'd steak bits love creamy, tangy peanut sauce. Balance, baby!
4. You'll be groovin' to John Cougar's version of Rave On, without even realizing it.
3. They're pretty damn good with a glass of wine, a gin and tonic or an icy brewski.
2. You will be in the running to win the coveted GRILLIN' GOOD, GRILLIN' FINE Award.
1. When you serve them, a silly smile will spread across your face. Chick-a-boom!
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Adapted from Steamy Kitchen and The Lemon Bowl for
The Last Wonton. Thanks oodles, again, Jaden! Thanks, Liz!
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BEEF SATAY SKEWERS with Cheaters' Peanut Sauce
~ Makes about 12-15 skewers
1/4 cup dark soy sauce
3- 4 tablespoons fresh squeezed lime juice
1 heaping tablespoon finely chopped fresh ginger
1-2 tablespoons Asian chili sauce (like sambal oelek)
1 tablespoon fish sauce
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon sugar
1 1/2 pounds skirt, sirloin or ribeye steak cut (across the grain),
into 1/4-inch to 1/2-inch (roughly) thick slices
bamboo skewers (I use 9 1/2-inch skewers), soaked in water
Cheaters' Peanut Sauce:
1 50g (1.75 oz.) package Asian Home Gourmet Peanut Sauce Mix
1/2 cup water or coconut milk
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 heaping tablespoon peanut butter
1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
1-2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped
In a small bowl mix together soy sauce, 3-4 tablespoons lime juice, ginger, chili sauce, fish sauce, garlic and 1 teaspoon sugar. Pour into resealable bag, and add the beef strips. Massage to mix well. Marinate 30 minutes to 2 hours.
In the meantime, prepare the Peanut Sauce.
When ready to cook, heat grill to medium-high, direct heat. Thread and weave the beef onto the bamboo skewers. Make sure you spread the beef out, so that it cooks evenly. Grill for 2-4 minutes on each side, while basting with any leftover marinade. Serve with Cheaters' Peanut Sauce.
For the Cheaters' Peanut Sauce
Don't poo-poo this packaged stuff until you try it. It's pretty damn good. Everytime!
Pour peanut sauce mix in a small pot. Add water or coconut milk, brown sugar, oil, peanut butter, soy sauce, lime juice and cilantro. Whisk together well and bring to a boil on medium heat. Simmer uncovered for 2-4 minutes or until nicely thickened, stirring occasionally. Serve warm, or at room temperature with Beef Satay skewers.
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by TheLastWonton | Jun 27, 2017 | Beef, Pork & Lamb, Italian, Main Dishes, Pasta & Noodles, Recipes, Sauces, Dips & Condiments
Quick and easy! Perfectly al dente bucatini cloaked in a timeless tomato sauce, dishing up a little kick of heat, and simple medley of classic flavours. Mangia tutti!
One of my fave weekly errands is to hit Valoroso, one of the Okanagan's best Italian deli-grocery stores, to gather all the right ingredients to concoct some particular Tuscan, Roman, Calabrian, or other regional Italian dish, that has been stoking up my cravings.
And not only cravings to devour, but cravings to cook, make or bake.
I think that's one of the most fun things about food from the various regions of Italy, the making of. Granted, we often cannot get completely traditional making these types of classic dishes, as the perfect ingredients are not easily available. But we can get close enough to close our eyes, savour and imagine how seductive the real deal would be.
That's just what I did with Bucatini all'Amatriciana. I think this is a pretty darn good variation of the traditional. Good enough to keep it near of the top of my must-have list, for my next Italian escape. (Says she, as a big, big, warm, daydreamy, soft smile spreads across her face.)
Amatriciana sauce is a traditional Italian pasta sauce based on guanciale (cured pork cheek), pecorino cheese, tomato and in some variations, onion. Originating from the town of Amatrice (in the mountainous Province of Riete of Lazio region), the Amatriciana is one of the best known pasta sauces in Roman and Italian cuisine. The Italian government has named it a traditional agro-alimentary product of Lazio. Cool!
I couldn't get my hot little hands on guanciale, but in researching found that pancetta is a most suitable substitution.
I changed a few things, but mostly followed the recipe posted by Daniel Gritzer on Serious Eats. Daniel states: "Debate rages over the correct way to make a classic Roman amatriciana sauce of cured pork and tomatoes. We tested all the variables to come up with this ideal version, which packs a delicate heat, gentle black pepper spice, sharp Pecorino Romano cheese, and the intriguing interplay of sweet-tart tomato sauce and rich, fatty cured pork."
To that I say, 'Grazie!'.
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BUCATINI all'AMATRICIANA – Serves 4
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
6 ounces guanciale, or pancetta, cut into slices about 1/4-inch thick, then small diced
2 good pinches dried red pepper flakes
1/3 cup dry white wine
1, 15-20 ounce can whole peeled tomatoes, preferably San Marzano, crushed by hand
Sea salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper
1 pound Italian dried bucatini pasta
1/2 cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese, plus more for serving
In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add guanciale or pancetta and cook, stirring, until lightly browned, about 3-4 minutes. Add red pepper flakes. Stir and cook another minute. Add wine and cook, scraping up any browned bits on bottom of pan, until nearly evaporated, about 2-3 minutes.
Add tomatoes and bring to a simmer. Season with salt, and generously with pepper.
Meanwhile, boil pasta in salted water until just shy of al dente, about 1 minute less than package recommends. Using tongs, transfer pasta to sauce, along with 1/4 cup pasta cooking water. Cook over high heat, stirring and tossing rapidly, until pasta is al dente and sauce has thickened and begins to coat noodles. Remove from heat, add cheese and toss quickly to incorporate. Season to taste with more salt and pepper. Serve right away, passing more cheese at the table. Mmm….
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by TheLastWonton | Jun 26, 2017 | Appetizers & Snacks, Baking & Desserts
Deliciously crunchy and buttery, boasting butterscotch chips, milk chocolate chips and semi-sweet chocolate chips.
Ever remember the first time you tasted something? I do.
….It was a beautiful Okanagan summer morning. I was contentedly basking in the warmth of the sun, and the warmth of being at my favorite aunt and uncle's house. I was ever-so-comfortably perched, there on the balcony, overlooking the lush greens of the nearby, hillside vineyards and the remarkable shades of blue of the lake.
There wasn't anything out of the ordinary, or an incident that urged remembering, about this morning. Just one of those easy peasy moments in time, that so gently defines fleeting blessings, and sticks with you forever more.
This pleasure-in-lingering-moment was about to encounter a brush with deliciousness.
We could always count on Auntie Alice to pamper us, like only she could, with home style goodies. You might say, within our family, that she almost had her own brand.
So when the plate of still-warm-from-the-oven cookies appeared, it was not a surprise, just a yummy reminder of pure childlike pleasure.
Comfort. And tea. And Auntie Alice and me, sitting, munching cookies and shootin' the breeze. I seem to remember that resistance was futile, for both of us, that day. So we had another one. Or two, and lingered longer.
Here's Auntie Alice's recipe. No outspoken ingredients or preparations, just a tasty, crunchy, almost shortbread-ish cookie fix, with a triple whammy of butterscotch, milk chocolate and semi-sweet chocolate chips.
May you have an auntie, almost as special as mine, to share these with.
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From Auntie Alice's recipe box,
(and maybe adapted from Best of Bridge)
to The Last Wonton
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AUNTIE ALICE'S SLAB COOKIES – Makes about 2 dozen, 2-inch square-ish cookies.
1 cup butter, at room temperature
1 cup brown sugar, lightly packed
2 cups flour
1/2 cup butterscotch chips
1/2 cup milk chocolate chips
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 350F. Butter a 10 x 15-inch baking sheet.
In bowl of electric mixer, beat butter and brown sugar, until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Add flour. Mix well. Stir in chips and mix with wooden spoon, or your hands, to distribute evenly.
Pat mixture evenly onto cookie sheet. Bake at 350F for about 22-25 minutes, until golden brown. Cool a bit, then cut into squares or diamonds while still warm. Serve with tea, or milk, or coffee, or all by themselves. But whatever you do, share them.
by TheLastWonton | Jun 19, 2017 | Appetizers & Snacks, Baking & Desserts, Treats
Nostalgic, sticky treats, amped up with nutty browned butter and sea salt.
HEL-LOH, my salt-kissed sweetness!
What sorcery is this?
This is sweet, salty, nutty, sticky, soft, retro, irresistible, sorcery. And that's a fact, Jack!
The teensy weensy little detail of browning the butter and tossing in just a spurt of sea salt, before adding the marshmallows and cereal, changes everything. Divinely.
First bite makes your taste buds smile with that ol' familiar, tasty-treat pleasure.
Ahhh, but then, those tiny, sublime differences kick in and there's no looking back.
These treats are simply, just so good. And, of course, crazily easy to make.
Come on, you know you waaahnt to……..I double dog dare you!
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Adapted from Smitten Kitchen and Pioneer Woman
for The Last Wonton. Thanks oodles Deb and Ree!
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BROWN BUTTER RICE KRISPIE TREATS – Makes about 20 square-ish treats
1/2 cup butter, plus extra for pan
Heaping 1/4 teaspoon sea salt or pink Himalayan salt (be generous)
1, 10-ounce bag mini marshmallows (6 cups)
6 cups Rice Krispies (about 1/2 a 12-ounce box)
Thoroughly butter a baking sheet.
In a large pot, melt butter over medium to medium-low heat. It will melt, then foam, then turn clear golden and finally start to turn brown and smell nutty. Add sea salt. Stir frequently, scraping up any bits from the bottom as you do. Don't take your eyes off the pot as while you may be impatient for it to start browning, the period between the time the butter begins to take on colour and the point where it burns is often less than a minute.
As soon as the butter takes on a nutty color, reduce heat to low and stir in the marshmallows. Continue stirring until marshmallows are melted and smooth.
Remove the pot from the stove and gently fold in the cereal, until combined. Turn the mixture onto the buttered baking sheet and press flat with your hands. As you press the mixture together, create an outside edge with a spatula.
Let cool, cut into squares and and listen up for the "Mmmm-ing".
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by TheLastWonton | Jun 17, 2017 | Beef, Pork & Lamb, Main Dishes, Recipes, Sauces, Dips & Condiments, Sides
Perfectly grilled steak plunked atop a rich, creamy, caramelized onion riddled, blue cheese tang-ed puddle of goodness. Rahther luscious.
I do so like blue cheese and steak.
I do so like them, for Pete's sake.
Would you eat them on the docks?
Would you eat them with a fox?
Down on the docks.
Or with a fox.
Here in my house.
With Cliff the spouse.
I would so eat them here or there.
I would so eat them anywhere.
I would so eat blue cheese and steak.
I would so eat them, for Pete's sake.
When you eat delicious barbecued steak, hot off the grill, with passionately creamy, softly piquant Onion Blue Cheese Sauce, apparently your inner Seuss comes out to play. Which makes this fun to make, and eat!
For me there's something almost therapeutic about caramelizing sweet onion slices in sizzling butter. Those first darker brown edges that waft aromas into the kitchen, smelling like heaven. Then the persistent, almost honey-coloured, golden brown that invades the entire pan. But this time we're not stopping here. Uh uh.
Now we get to gently stir in a cup of cream, and watch as the white cream slowly, effortlessly, takes on that beautiful golden hue of the caramelized onions. [cue overture] Then, in with the blue cheese, and ta-da your sauce is finito.
And you immediately think……..for Pete's sake, hurry up with that BBQ'd steak, I want to try this sauce!
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Adapted from The Pioneer Woman for
The Last Wonton. Thanks plenty, once again, Ree!
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GRILLED STEAK WITH ONION BLUE CHEESE SAUCE – Serves 2
2 Ribeye or New York Strip steaks
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 tablespoons butter
1 medium sweet (Walla Walla or Vidalia) onion, sliced
2 plump garlic cloves, minced
1 cup heavy cream
Generous 1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese
Salt and pepper both sides of the steak. Grill to medium-rare, medium or to your liking.
Saute onions in butter over high heat. Cook for 5 to 7 minutes, (reducing heat if necessary, so onions do not brown too quickly), or until dark-ish golden brown and caramelized. Stir in minced garlic. Reduce heat to simmer and pour in cream. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes until slightly reduced (only by about 1/3). Stir in blue cheese until melted. Season with pinches of sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste.
Serve steak on generous puddle of sauce.
Generous, because……This is so good so good you see. Hope you enjoy this, just like me!
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