by TheLastWonton | Mar 6, 2016 | Food and Drink
WELCOME ~ E KOMO MAI
I AM STILL STOKED TO NOW INCLUDE MY LATEST TRAVEL POSTS, AS TIME MOVES ON. IT’S A BIG, WIDE, WONDERFUL, TASTY, WORLD AND I AM SO EXCITED TO SHARE MY EXPERIENCES WITH YOU. FOOD AND TRAVEL, BABY, JUST GO TOGETHER.
The promise and glorious renewal of Spring, the lazy, hazy, crazy patio-lingering days of Summer, the bounty of overflowing roadside stands and colourful beauty of Autumn and the sheer, homespun warmth and nostalgic comfort zones that Ol’ Man Winter heralds.
Oh, the delicious and auspicious possibilities, as the seasons unravel.
But let’s not rush. Instead let’s welcome and linger in our favorite flavour zones as they present themselves to us.
HONEYED SRIRACHA WINGS ~ The Winner! of Food Network Magazine’s Secret Ingredient “Cook with Honey” Contest. They said think like an Iron Chef and dream up a dish using this month’s secret ingredient. So I did.
Now, as we roll out more gloriously, golden-hued, throw-on-a-sweater days of Autumn and feel the warmth of the afternoon sunshine on our up-turned faces, it is time to reap the harvest, and savour the delicious pleasures of things like happening upon that forgotten, crazy-delicious, blackberry patch; finding funky fungus in the forest and figuring out whether we can or we can’t….and circling campfires, plunked all comfy into lawn chairs, with smokies on sticks in hand, and conversations that that go longer than sunset colours fill the sky.
There’s that unmistakable aroma of backyard barbecues drifting in on autumn breezes, pears macerating in Grand Marnier and menus strewn with delicious comfort. Slow simmered, wine blasted, divinely tender beefy shortribs piled onto pillowy mashed potatoes; port wine and butter basted, cornbread stuffed, mouthwatering roast turkey; pumpkin custard riddled with cinnamony spices, tucked into pastry and baked to flaky perfection; Parmesan and black pepper riddled pasta boasting saucy deliciousness made with the last of the heirloom tomatoes; and of course crispy edged, brown sugar brined, pan-sauteed pork chops draped with juicy maple-laced, spiced infused, orchard-fresh baked apples.
Oh mama! how good it is to celebrate the bounty of the harvest of sublime, earth-to-table, indulgence.
I can’t wait to throw on some great tunes (because cooking without music is like a bee without a buzz) and play with some sumptuous new flavours and ingredients, not knowing where they might take us……Into the Mystic……perhaps….
Though, as we go, please be patient with this Forest-Dweller, as I continue to learn the blogging ropes…..as I figure out how to make my blog good lookin’, with lots of what I like best and even more of what you like best.
Stay tuned, much more to come. Goodies from here, recipes from there. What I’m cookin’ up these days in My Okanagan Kitchen, as I gaze upon the beautiful forests of Trepanier, up above the lakeside hamlet of Peachland in BC’s beautiful Wine Country. Family feasts, down home comfort and tasty little treats.
“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the
things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do.
So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor.
Catch the trade winds in your sails.
Explore. Dream. Discover.”
~ Mark Twain
Autumn sunset skies as seen from our hillside lanai, in the Okanagan Valley.
On the other hand, I’m going to sweep you away to far off tropical islands with my memoirs of what I conjured up in My Hawaiian Kitchen a few years back when I was lucky enough to call the amazing Big Island of Hawaii home for a few years. And these days too, when I’m blissed out to be vacationing to my ‘Home Sweet Island Home”. Bountiful island ingredients, local specialties with my own little twists and ono (delicious) new revelations on old stand-bys and of course Hapa tunes to fill my spirit and kitchen with luscious Aloha.
“And the sun poured in like butterscotch and stuck to all my senses.”
~ Joni Mitchell
Sunset view from the lanai just off one of my favorite Hawaiian kitchens.
So come on in! I’m here waiting for you with a big warm invitation to pull up a stool along my kitchen counter, plunk down at my dinner table, or just hang out with me while I do what I love best. Alo-ha!
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THE LAST WONTON RECIPE INDEX
THE LAST WONTON TRAVEL INDEX
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“My kitchen is a mystical place, a kind of temple for me. It is a place where
the surfaces seem to have significance, where the sounds and odors carry
meaning that transfers from the past and bridges to the future.”
~ Pearl Bailey
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by TheLastWonton | Nov 29, 2015 | Italian, Main Dishes, Pasta & Noodles, Sides, Vegetarian
Geniusly simple tomato sauce, a creamy layer of peppery Cheddar sauce, an ooey, gooey crown of melty, tangy, Italian Asiago and of course stand up and cheer rigatoni. Sì!
I knew the moment I came across Rigatoni Pie online that it was destiny. I mean, really, how could I not, how could anyone not, give this one a whirl?
This dish just envelops all that's fun about tootling around in the kitchen. It's all Comfort, with a capital 'C', it whispers sweet nothings to our constant craving for Italian deliciousness, it puts childlike abandon into the making of it and it's company worthy.
The recipe that caught my eye was on The Noble Pig blog, and made with a delectable meat sauce. It looks perfectly delicious just the way it is, but I had a hankerin' to fiddle with it a bit.
This time around, for my rigatoni pie, I opted for a meatless version, kicking up the tomato-y, cheesey quotient. I don't think you can go wrong, with or without meat, but quality ingredients are a must. Don't skimp. Use ingredients that would make that special Italian Auntie, we all wish we had, smile.
I got some imported Italian Pasta Jesce rigatoni, some canned San Marzano tomatoes, Parmigiano Reggiano and some wonderful, nutty, sweet, tangy soft Italian asiago from my fave Italian Deli – Valoroso.
Then it was just…..Ready, Set, Go…….
I wanted to make my pie ahead of time, to bake later that evening, so first thing in the morning I whipped up My Marcella's Tomato Sauce and a batch of black pepper and Worcestershire riddled Cheddar sauce, so that they could cool down to room temperature before I put the pie together.
Then I cooked the rigatoni, just under al dente – the package suggested 13 minutes, I cooked mine 11 minutes and immediately rinsed with cold water until the pasta was completely cooled.
Pasta is tossed with a bit of olive oil and Parmesan, then stacked, upright in a buttered springform. Too fun!
Next, top the rigatoni with tomato sauce, schmooching the sauce down into the noodles to fill the centres.
Next, layer on the cheese sauce.
A crown of fresh tomato slices and grated Asiago.
Mangi con passione! Eat with passion!
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Thanks to The Noble Pig, for another great recipe
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RIGATONI PIE – 8 servings
1 recipe My Marcella's Tomato Sauce
4 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
1 1/2 cups milk
2 cups shredded 'old' Cheddar cheese
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
Sprinkling of sea or Kosher salt
Lots of freshly ground black pepper
1 pound rigatoni
2 tablespoons good quality Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 cup Parmesan cheese, finely grated
Butter for pan
1 plump, just ripe, fresh tomato, sliced
2 cups creamy Asiago cheese, grated
Make cheese sauce:
Melt 4 tablespoons butter in pot, over medium high heat. Let start to just brown a bit. Whisk flour into butter until smooth. Reduce heat and add milk to butter mixture, whisking to combine. Cook and stir until mixture thickens. Add Cheddar cheese, whisking until smooth. Add Worcestershire, salt and pepper. Sauce should be thick, but if it is too thick, just add a bit of milk. Whisk to combine and remove from heat.
In a large pot of salted boiling water, cook pasta until slightly underdone (I cooked mine for 11 minutes when the package indicated 13 minutes). When done, rinse well in cold water and drain again. Toss pasta with 2 Tablespoons olive oil to coat, then add grated Parmesan and gently toss to evenly distribute.
Generously butter 9-inch springform pan.
Tightly pack pasta into pan, standing each piece on end. Spread tomato sauce on top of pasta. Push the tomato sauce into the pasta holes filling each one up. Told you this was fun to make!
Now top tomato-y noodles, with the cheese sauce and smooth into an even layer.
Lay fresh tomato slices on top of cheese sauce and top with grated Asiago. Cover with foil
Place springform pan on a pizza pan or cookie sheet, in case a bit of the tomato sauce wants to leak out.
Bake at 400F for 20 minutes, uncover, and bake another 15-20 minutes, until cheese is bubbly and golden. Remove from oven and let stand for 15 minutes. Run a knife around the edge to loosen, then unmold. Ta da! Cut into wedges and serve.
We had our pie with chewy, toasty ciabatta garlic bread, all crusty from the oven and wedge salad with Spicy Thousand Island dressing.
"Cooking is like love. It should be entered into with abandon or not at all"
~ Harriet van Horne
by TheLastWonton | May 25, 2015 | Appetizers & Snacks, Asian, BBQ, Beef, Pork & Lamb, Filipino, Main Dishes, Recipes
Skewers of savory, sweet, little char-grilled pork bits of juicy deliciousness. Masarap pulutan! Delicious finger food!
I mean really, it's great to grill all year long, even when Ol' Man Winter's chilly presence makes you scoot quickly in the back door, beaming, with your prized plate of I-cooked-this-outdoors-even-though-it's-snowing goodness.
But, here in the Okanagan, once May long weekend hits, those BBQ cravings wham-bam, thank-you ma'am, kick into high gear. With pizzazz!
Thanks to my ever so special, lost-family-found heritage, and my deeply entrenched passion to explore in any new culinary directions, we have added tender, tasty, barbecued pork skewers to our family favorites.
I have come to know that this style of pork BBQ is standard family fare and very popular street-food in the Philippines. Lucky ducks!
Pork shoulder is cut into irregular, thin slices, rather than cubes, and marinated overnight, to get all happy. The next day the meat is strung on wooden skewers (that have been soaked in water) and grilled, whilst being basted with the marinade that has been deliciously doctored up and simmered down. The char-grilled goodness that results will have you, Mmmm-ing, from the very first nibble.
And the aroma that wafts when these babies are grilling…..my oh my!
In fact, the oddest thing happened, when I was on the back deck queing up these skewers. Never happened before. There is a squirrel that visits our forest back yard every day, but he's pretty shy, so never comes too close to us. But, the entire time I was grilling this pork, that squirrel stayed, perched on a deck chair, eye-balling me and chattering away. Almost unnerving!
Obviously the aroma is more enticing than I thought.
Filipino pork BBQ makes great appies, with icy cold bevies. But also, of course, a perfect main course with rice and salad. Or (oh yessss!!) a couple of skewers laid across the top of a steamy bowl of wonton soup or saimin make quite an irresistible combination.
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Thanks to Vancouver Eating Club blog for sharing Yaya's coveted recipe!
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PHILIPPINE PORK BBQ – Makes 16-18 skewers
For marinade:
1 head garlic, all cloves peeled and minced
2 teaspoons sea or Kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper (I use a good bit more, for a fine pow!)
1/3 cup dark soy sauce
5 tablespoons brown sugar
1 can 7-Up or Sprite
1-2 lemons, juiced
1.5 kg. boneless pork shoulder, sliced thin into 1 1/2 – inch pieces
16-18, 11-inch bamboo skewers
For basting sauce:
Left-over marinade
3/4 cup ketchup or *banana ketchup*
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons corn or vegetable oil
2 tablespoons brown sugar
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
For marinade, mix all ingredients together, add pork, mix, mix, cover and refrigerate overnight.
Soak bamboo skewers overnight, to avoid splitting and burning.
An hour or two before grilling, drain marinade into a medium pot, for basting sauce. Set aside. String marinated pork pieces onto skewers, spreading out the meat a bit, so it cooks evenly. Refrigerate skewers until ready to grill.
Meanwhile add ketchup or banana ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, oil, brown sugar and freshly ground black pepper to marinade, in pot, and stir over medium-high heat until it comes to a gentle boil. Reduce heat and simmer sauce 15-20 minutes.
Pre-heat BBQ to medium-high. Grill skewers, turning occasionally, for approximately 12-15 minutes per side, basting generously with the sauce, til meat is evenly cooked and there's lots of tasty little charred edges. Total grilling time, about 30 minutes.
Serve hot from the grill. Mmmmm…...
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**Banana Ketchup or Banana Sauce is a popular Philippine condiment made from mashed banana, sugar, vinegar and spices. Banana ketchup was made when there was a shortage of tomato ketchup during World War II. Available in the Asian Food section of many grocery stores, or Asian food specialty stores. Our local SuperStore always has a good supply.**
by TheLastWonton | May 10, 2015 | Main Dishes, Recipes, Seafood, Soups & Stews
Big, plump, tender shrimp are simmered in a tomato, onion, paprika, tarragon and cream mixture, laced with hot sauce, to make a luscious stew. Something spicy this way comes!
Wikipedia says: Étouffée or etouffee (pronounced: [e.tu.fe] ay-TOO-fay) is a dish found in both Cajun and Creole cuisine typically served with shellfish over rice. The dish employs a technique known as smothering, a popular method of cooking in the Cajun areas of southwest Louisiana. Etouffee is most popular in New Orleans and in the Acadiana area of the southernmost half of Louisiana as well as a popular dish in the coastal counties of Mississippi.
And now popular in the small, picturesque, lakeside berg of Peachland, B.C.
A couple of years ago Saveur magazine had this great feature article on the food of New Orleans. My jets were fired! Inspiration deliciously intact, I started tinkering and perfecting our version of etouffee. Since then, this spicy concoction has just become one of those things I make.
So yesterday when Forest Grump said he had a craving for some spicy etouffee, I said, "Me too!"
Minutes later I threw on one of my fave old movie soundtracks – The Big Easy – turned up the volume, and was off and cooking. And singing, with gusto, as I chopped, stirred, simmered and tootled about the kitchen.
Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that Etouffee is really easy and fun to make. Try it, you'll see what I mean. Talk-in' 'bout, Hey now ! Hey now ! I-KO, I-KO, un-day
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SHRIMP ETOUFFEE – Serves 3-4
3 slices bacon, or pancetta, finely chopped
6 tablespoons butter
3 green onions, chopped
3 plump garlic cloves, minced
1 stalk celery, finely chopped
1/2 large sweet onion, finely chopped
1 large tomato or 2-3 plum tomatoes, chopped
1 Anaheim pepper, finely chopped
1 teaspoon dried tarragon
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 bay leaves
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
3 tablespoons flour
2 cups chicken stock
1 pound (16/20 count) peeled, deveined shrimp (or your favorite size)
1/3 cup whipping cream
3 tablespoons Louisiana hot sauce, plus more for serving
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/3 cup finely chopped Italian parsley, plus more for garnish
Cooked white, sticky or Jasmine rice
**[If you like kick-ass spicy, just add one fresh jalapeno, finely chopped, and have your way with amping up the quantities of cayenne and freshly ground black pepper.]**
Heat bacon or pancetta in a large, rather high-sided, skillet over medium-high heat until rendered, about 3 minutes.
Add butter, green onions, celery, onions, tomatoes and peppers; cook until soft, 7 minutes.
Stir in tarragon, paprika, cayenne, bay leaves, salt and pepper. Cook 1 minute. Stir in flour, cook 2-3 minutes, stirring.
Add stock, stirring, and bring to a boil, over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-high and cook until reduced by one-third, about 12 minutes. (I often make the recipe, to this point, ahead of time. Then just before ready to serve, I continue…..)
(If you have made the veggie, stock mixture ahead of time, you may want to loosen it up a bit as you re-heat it, with a little extra chicken stock.)
Add shrimp to gently simmering mixture; cook and stir, flipping shrimp over, until cooked through, about 4 minutes. Stir in cream, hot sauce, Worcestershire and parsley. Serve with rice, more hot sauce, and some crusty bread for dipping in the sauce. Oh, cher!
by TheLastWonton | May 9, 2015 | Baking & Desserts, Fruits, Pies
A juicy sweet tangle of bright, ruby red berries, boasting a buttery, crunchy, old-fashioned topping with just a whisper of maple. Love me tender!
Aaaah, strawberries. Our gorgeous, blushing, sexy, first fruit in the spring to ripen, fragrant, sweet orbs of nostalgic deliciousness.
They taste like summer, and of course possess that unmistakable, almost intoxicating scent. Maybe that has something to do with strawberries being a member of the rose family.
And they're kind of cheeky too, being the only fruit that wear their seeds on the outside.
Speaking of outside, it was a beautiful spring day, like many other in the Okanagan Valley….robin's egg blue skies, warm sunshine, blossoms and greening everywhere you looked. As soon as I walked in the door, that sweet aroma hit me, then I saw Save-On's big, buy-these-berries-now display. So I did.
And before I left that store I knew exactly what I was going to make. Simplicity and comfort. But first one quick stop at the Dairy Queen to grab a litre of soft-serve, and here we are.
Making this easy peasy crisp was a damn good plan. The berries' juicy sweetness seems to heighten from baking, but they still keep their shape, and the buttery crunch of the oatmeal laden topping, made my tastebuds 'belly-bump' each other. And, of course, a la modeing, was a grand idea, indeedy.
I have this weird little quirk, that happily happens so often to me. A song will come to mind when I see, or do, or taste or feel something, in all the right ways. When I was enjoying my Strawberry Crisp, Love Me Tender kept playing and replaying in my mind. Maybe it will for you too.
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Thanks to Sugar & Spice by Celeste food blog for inspiration
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STRAWBERRY CRISP – Makes 8 servings
Filling:
2 pounds fresh, ripe strawberries, hulled and halved lengthwise
1/3 cup sugar
1 heaping tablespoon instant tapioca
Topping:
1 cup flour
3/4 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup butter, melted
2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
Preheat oven to 350F. Have a 9-inch, deep dish pie plate, or other similar baking dish ready.
For the filling: In a large bowl toss strawberries with sugar and mix lightly to evenly distribute. Pour into pie plate and set aside.
For the topping: In a large bowl stir together flour, rolled oats, sugars and cinnamon until well blended. Stir in melted butter and maple syrup until evenly moistened crumbs form. (I usually use my hands for this, and do a little squeezing here and there to get some big and little clumps happening. Texture is a very good thing.) Spoon the crumb mixture over the filling.
Bake the crisp until the juices are bubbling and the topping is golden brown, 35-45 minutes. Let cool at least 10-15 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature. Delicious with DQ ice cream, passion fruit ice cream (thank-you President's Choice), or Kahlua laced whipped cream. Love me tender, love me sweet…
