Category Archives: Meat Dishes

Appetizers and Small Plates, Baked Goods, Impressive Dishes, Main Courses, Meat Dishes, The Daring Kitchen

Baked Roast Pork Buns

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Recipe for The Daring Kitchen
Our Daring Cooks’ December 2011 hostess is Sara from Belly Rumbles! Sara chose awesome Char Sui Bao as our challenge, where we made the buns, Char Sui, and filling from scratch – delicious!

Grab Your Buns and Go to Town

I’ll admit that this is not my first time to the pork bun rodeo. From my sister’s obsession with the steamed version on Sunday’s at the dim sum parlor, to my husband’s cravings for the baked variety fresh from the Chinatown Roast Pork Bun Factory in NYC, I had a clear and compelling reason to learn how to make them for myself. I found a recipe by cookbook author Andrea Nguyen for the perfect little snacky bites and thought that I would try her recipe. But the idea of making that dough from scratch made me sleepy. Especially after cooking the pork for the buns not once but twice before stuffing. I saved myself a step and used Pillsbury dinner rolls to get the job done. The results were less than perfection in terms of the dough, but still so freakin’ delicious. Continue reading Baked Roast Pork Buns →

Easy to Prepare, Impressive Dishes, Main Courses, Meat Dishes

Kalua Pork

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When I last went to Hawaii, I made it a personal goal to eat my weight in kalua pork. Yes, that sounds disgusting, but I don’t even care. The stuff is so ridiculously good that I find myself longing for it in an almost atavistic fashion when I am not around it. I’ve known it to be a treat partially due to the complicated preparation – a whole pig is wrapped in ti leaves and banana leaves and then submerged into an underground pit called an imu and covered with coals and/or lava rocks. Sure, I could do that in my back yard. In Arizona.

Back to the drawing board, and as I’m looking through my We The Women of Hawaii cookbook, lo and behold, a recipe for kalua pork. In the oven, no less. I can do this! Apparently, after a little more research, I come to find out that the legendary Sam Choy makes his kalua pork in the same way, using mesquite liquid smoke to replace the flavors imparted by the burning banana leaves of the imu. But how the heck am I going to mimic banana leaves in my home oven? Continue reading Kalua Pork →

Appetizers and Small Plates, Easy to Prepare, Low Brow Treats, Main Courses, Meat Dishes, Pressure Cooker Recipes

Sweet and Sour Spare Ribs

Ribs require a hefty dose of patience to get them right, right? In order to achieve fall-off-the-bone tenderness along with a lacquered barbecue crust, you need to give them time and a lot of TLC.  Or do you?

These ribs are for the hungry and lazy – a troublesome combination that is often hard to please but will be bowled over by this ridiculously easy recipe. Parboil the ribs in a pressure cooker to cut down on the cooking time from hours to a mere 15 minutes. Paint with homemade glaze and broil for a few minutes for fresh off the grill goodness right from the kitchen and in a lot less time. Done and done.  I’m not kidding.  That’s really it.

Sweet and Sour Spare Ribs

1/4 c. of browning seasoning
3 tbs. of lemon juice
1/2 c. of apricot jam
2 tsp. of molasses
1/2 tsp. of dry mustard
2 tsp. of dark corn syrup
1/2 tsp. of ground ginger
2 tbs. of chili paste
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tbs. of soy sauce
4 drops of mesquite liquid smoke

1 onion, quartered
6 dried apricots
2 c. of chicken stock
3 lbs. of ribs

Mix the browning seasoning, lemon juice, apricot jam, molasses, dry mustard, corn syrup, ginger, chili paste, garlic, soy and liquid smoke. Add half of the marinade, onion, apricots and 2 c. of chicken stock to the pressure cooker. Top with the ribs (cut into thirds to fit in the cooker) and cook on high pressure for 15 minutes. Let pressure release naturally.  Remove ribs to a rack set over a cookie sheet and let dry while you make the sauce.  Add the remaining marinade to the pressure cooker and boil vigorously until reduced to a cup of liquid.  Brush the ribs on both sides with the marinade.  Turn the oven on broil and cook until lacquered and crisped.  Let rest for 5 minutes before carving.  Slice ribs into individual pieces and serve.

Easy to Prepare, Main Courses, Meat Dishes, Sandwiches

Italian BLT Panini with Pesto Mayo

When you can get your hands on a juicy tomato, you need to treat it right.  All of those mealy, hothouse tomatoes that are pushed on us by the grocery store are great for tossing, but that’s about it.  But then there’s that slim window of time where you can get your hands on heirloom tomatoes in a rainbow of colors, bumpy and rough on the outside, brimming with translucent tart juice in the center.  When the planets align and the gods deem you worthy of an incredible tomato, you’d better recognize and step up to the plate. Continue reading Italian BLT Panini with Pesto Mayo →

Breakfast and Brunch, Egg Dishes, Impressive Dishes, Main Courses, Meat Dishes, Recipes, Sandwiches

Steak and Egg Sandwich with Jalapeno Hollandaise

It’d be selling them short to claim eggs as my favorite breakfast food, as that leaves out all of the other meals where eggs win my heart.  Sure, I can appreciate a fluffy waffle or sugar-dusted french toast.  But if eggs are one of the options, all other sweet delights are off the table.  It’s eggs for me 100%.

Though I’ve yet to meet an egg that I didn’t like, there is something about perfectly scrambled eggs in sandwich form that makes me grin bigger than Christmas morning.  This sandwich gilds the proverbial lily by adding tender steak to the party, and ups the egg quotient with a piquant topping of jalapeno hollandaise (made in the blender for quick and easy eating).  Yes, darlings, this one is trouble.  And the best kind of trouble you can get in to, no less.  Comfort-food noshing, hangover staving off, one-on-one private time with you and your breakfast a la Hall & Oates kind of trouble.  You know exactly what I’m talking about, so don’t even pretend. Continue reading Steak and Egg Sandwich with Jalapeno Hollandaise →

Easy to Prepare, Main Courses, Meat Dishes, The Daring Kitchen

Rooibos Beef Stew with Sweet Potatoes

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Recipe for The Daring Kitchen
Sarah from Simply Cooked was our November Daring Cooks’ hostess and she challenged us to create something truly unique in both taste and technique! We learned how to cook using tea with recipes from Tea Cookbook by Tonia George and The New Tea Book by Sara Perry.
From the fragrant sauce of orange peel, ginger and cinnamon sticks, this beef stew screams holiday delight like no other.  Typically, when I’m prepping for a Daring Kitchen Challenge where I don’t get to choose the exact recipe that I follow for the challenge, I have a bit of a notion as to how it’ll turn out.  From all the time spent in the kitchen, I can usually gauge how well or poorly I’ll be able to execute the dish, and what the resulting taste profile will be like.  Let me tell you – this stew knocked my friggin’ socks off.  I went into it thinking, “Beef stew with sweet potatoes…this’ll be warm and comforting and simply homey.”  Boy, was I wrong – in addition to all of those things, this stew was heady with spices and full of complex flavors.  Almost floral at times.  And the rooibos tea forms a stock that is spicy and rich and glorious.  I immediately made a mental note to save this recipe for friends and loved ones, because it embodied all I love about my favorite dishes.  It personified the melding of seemingly ordinary ingredients into something novel and special – a dish worth savoring for just a little bit longer. Continue reading Rooibos Beef Stew with Sweet Potatoes →

Egg Dishes, Impressive Dishes, Main Courses, Meat Dishes

Moo Shu Pork with Homemade Pancakes

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Recipe for The Daring Kitchen

The October Daring Cooks’ Challenge was hosted by Shelley of C Mom Cook and her sister Ruth of The Crafts of Mommyhood. They challenged us to bring a taste of the East into our home kitchens by making our own Moo Shu, including thin pancakes, stir fry and sauce.

I’m totally mad for moo shu and I think that what does it is the inclusion of the awful sounding (but awfully addictively good) tree fungus. Tender pork, spicy ginger and matchsticks of bamboo shoots all solidify the greatness, but it’s the ebony slivers of the tree fungus that make me crazy with delight over this one. I’m known to pitch an actual fit over my chinese takeout if the moo shu order comes with white button mushrooms as a substitute. Blech. Not cool. Continue reading Moo Shu Pork with Homemade Pancakes →

Easy to Prepare, Lighten Up, Meat Dishes, Poultry Dishes, The Daring Kitchen

Yogurt Chicken

Recipe for The Daring Kitchen
Mary, who writes the delicious blog, Mary Mary Culinary was our August Daring Cooks’ host. Mary chose to show us how delicious South Indian cuisine is! She challenged us to make Appam and another South Indian/Sri Lankan dish to go with the warm flat bread.
This dish was happened upon by accident – while making tandoori chicken for the first time, I worked out a version that would leverage the tenderizing properties of the yogurt without any turmeric (the hubs can’t eat it).  The result was a delicately spiced marinade that turned white meat chicken into a moist, flavorful treat that could hold up to cooking without drying out.

I prepped this dish as part of August’s Daring Kitchen as my husband couldn’t eat the tumeric-spiced coconut curry meatballs that were the focus of the meal.  Thank goodness I made enough chicken for all to try, because his “special” dish became one of the hits of the party. Continue reading Yogurt Chicken →

Main Courses, Meat Dishes, The Daring Kitchen

Meatballs with Coconut Curry

Recipe for The Daring Kitchen
Mary, who writes the delicious blog, Mary Mary Culinary was our August Daring Cooks’ host. Mary chose to show us how delicious South Indian cuisine is! She challenged us to make Appam and another South Indian/Sri Lankan dish to go with the warm flat bread.
When tasked with creating a curry from Southern India or Sri Lanka, I decided to take cues from our host, Mary Mary Culinary, and do a little research to put a happy spin on my recipe for The Daring Kitchen. Her Sri Lankan coconut curry was divine – a blend of chilies, tamarind, fresh curry leaves and coconut milk simmered with cubes of tender lamb. I found that because of the Dutch settlers in Sri Lanka, there were several dishes that formed from the hybrid of cultures. One was the use of meatballs in various curries and baked dishes. Given that I am a lover of the meatball in all forms and ethnic spins, I decided to take Mary’s curry and marry (ha!) it with a meatball. Continue reading Meatballs with Coconut Curry →

Appetizers and Small Plates, Easy to Prepare, Main Courses, Meat Dishes, Recipes, Seafood Dishes, Side Dishes

Littleneck Clams with Chorizo and Garlic

My husband likes most all that I cook for him – in fact, the only thing that got a resounding thumbs down were my Cold Peanut Noodles – I still say it’s not the noodles so much as his distaste for cold pasta, but that’s another story for another day.  But because of his regular approval, I live for those dishes that mean adoration spelled across his face in a smile – the ones that get a “This is REALLY good, baby!” instead of a mere “It’s good.”  The bites that make him look up immediately, eyes creased with a smile, the satisfaction emanating in a grin and nod.  They don’t tell you when you get married that you become hypersensitive to context clues, but alas, here I am, reading facial expressions like ancient runes, sussing out the inside scoop. Continue reading Littleneck Clams with Chorizo and Garlic →