grilled swordfish and brown butter mango sauce with whole wheat fettuccine and green beans

i had a lot of leftover pureed mango from the mango-tamarind bbq sauce i made for the baby back ribs at last weekend's bbq. determined not to let it go to waste, i decided to experiment with a mango-based sauce for the swordfish steak i was preparing tonite.

i did a quick search on chow for how other people create mango sauce and found this post. it calls for browned butter, mangos, coconut milk and lime. i didn't have coconut milk so i subbed with what i had available, non-fat milk (bleh, i know).

i first defrosted the swordfish steak, patted dry with a paper towel, and seasoned both sides with salt and pepper, which then went into a hot non-stick grill pan with a little olive oil.

and prepared a package of tj's whole wheat fettuccine according to directions to al dente.

a handful of blue lake green beans were trimmed and washed.

and they went into the grill pan after the swordfish had grilled for about 3-4 min each side. a little olive oil, salt and pepper were tossed with beans until they were softened and browned.

i then quickly made the sauce by melting 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter in a saucepan over medium-low heat until it started to turn golden brown. you need to watch this carefully so the butter does not burn. a scorched taste will infiltrate the sauce if so. i then added about 1/3 cup of the mango puree (which was already sweetened) and then about a 1/4 cup of milk. a pinch of salt was added and then the juice of half a lime to balance out the sauce. i tasted the sauce several times, adjusting the quantities of each ingredient until it tasted damn good.

the plate was created by layering a bed of fettuccine, a handful of arugula, a splash of olive oil, the swordfish, a few green beans, and then drizzled the mango sauce over and around the whole dish.

the sauce was amazing by itself. nutty and buttery, sweet mango flavor but cut with the acidic lime and salt. i added some black pepper to kick it up a little. nicely balanced and it went great with noodles.

it tasted good with the fish, but the sweetness brought out the fishier flavor of swordfish, something that usually happens when you pair seafood and sweets together. (hence you rarely see such a combination.) i think the coconut milk would've toned down the sweetness a bit and the richness of it would blend better with the fish. guess i'll have to try that next time. otherwise, this was mm, mm good. and so easy to make.

pan-grilled steak with creamed corn and roasted carrots

it's been a while since i've cooked steak. while i, and probably many of you out there, regard steak as somewhat of a special occasion food, it's amazingly well-suited to hungry and beat professionals who come home from a long day at work just dying to slave over preparations for a home-cooked meal.

ok maybe we aren't "dying to slave." but steak cooks amazingly fast and requires only the simplest of seasonings. pair it with a couple of vegetables and a starch, if you want, and voila! a $25 steak dinner is served. yes, steak can be amazingly inexpensive too.

when you're at the grocery store, look out for the max packs and specials. while these may not include the choicest cuts, have irregular bones and may contain more fat, they'll often be a pretty good value and is usually from the same quality sides of beef. they just don't look as pretty. of course if you're used to purchasing $14.99/pound rib-eyes, this post ain't for you. but honestly, cooked correctly, you really won't notice. especially after a long day at work and you're starving.

i fired up my trusty non-stick grill pan on med-high heat and added a light drizzle of olive oil. the steaks, salted and peppered on one side, went down on the grill, salt-peppered side down. i then sprinkled the top surface with more salt and pepper and let it grill for 4-5 min. i then flipped the steaks over and grilled for another 4-5 min. this gets you to medium doneness. i highly recommend using a timer with an alarm. steak cooks very quickly and can result in a slab of dry, grainy grossness if you don't mind it.

beforehand i had tossed a 1 lb bag of peeled baby carrots with olive oil, salt and pepper and tossed that in the toaster oven on broil to roast for about 20 min. roasting brings out the natural sweetness of the carrot and concentrates its flavor. this method, usually done in a regular oven for a longer period of time, works well for any root vegetable.

i also opened 2 cans of unsalted creamed corn and simmered that slowly in a saucepan over low heat with a pat of butter and salt and pepper. i know, i know. canned corn. not fresh. blah blah blah. hey, i'm a hungry, tired working professional. convenience is good sometimes. anyway, use low heat or the bottom of the corn will scorch.

to plate i placed the steak on a bed of arugula leaves alongside the corn and carrots. the heat and moisture from the steak helps wilt the arugula by the time you're ready to sit down and eat.

you can see the grill pan created a wonderful browned crust on the steak, full of flavor. a drizzle of excellent quality extra virgin olive oil on top of the steak gives it a grassy note and the peppery arugula picks up the pepper in the steak beautifully.

the carrots are sweet and tender, the creamed corn, buttery and sweet.

all this was done in about 20 min. and for about $11 for 2 steak entrees. so, busy professionals, toss out those microwavable frozen meals. you have no excuses anymore.

artichokes

have you ever had an artichoke? i think most of you have, but for those of you who haven't, here's some interesting food and prep facts about the funky looking vegetable named, artichoke.

artichokes are the unopened flowers and stems of a large thistle in the sunflower family. edible portions include the base of the green leaves, the tender inner heart, and the base of the choke itself. its peak season is early summer.

select artichokes that squeak when you squeeze them and feel heavy and solid. apparently brown streaks and scars are a good sign of delectable nutty flavor. you can store them in a plastic bag in the fridge for up to a week.

prep artichokes by plunging them in cold water to dislodge debris trapped between the leaves. then slice off the top quarter with a chef's knife and trim off the stem. using kitchen shears, snip off the spiny tips of the leaves. if you want to avoid discoloration, rub cut surfaces with lemon or keep in a bowl of cold water with lemon juice.

here, i boiled 2 prepped artichokes in about 3" of water to which i added salt, pepper, rosemary, white vinegar, and some olive oil. total time in the covered pot was about 30-40 min. they're done when you can pluck an inner leaf easily and the leaf is tender in the mouth. i then split one in half, drizzled some olive oil, and popped both of them into the toaster oven with the broil setting on and roasted the artichokes for another 10 min until the tips began to brown.

to eat an artichoke you pick off the outer leaves one at a time, dip it in the accompanying sauce (classics include mayonnaise-based variants) and place it between your teeth. biting gently, pull the leaf away from your teeth, scraping off the meat.

as you make your way to the inner leaves, you'll notice they get more and more tender. once you arrive at the choke, a collection of fuzzy leaves, use a spoon to scrape off the fuzz.

what's the left is the tender and extremely delicious heart. i just dip it into the sauce and bite off tasty chunks. mmm...

a cool fact about artichokes is that eating it causes a chemical reaction in the mouth that makes other foods or beverages taste sweeter due to a compound called cynarine. therefore you should serve them on their own or with neutral foods like pasta.

i always wonder who the heck came up with the idea to eat an ugly looking thistle bud. and how he or she figured out how to eat it...


*the above post contains paraphrasing or exact copy from david joachim's brilliant food tips and cooking tricks and the cook's thesaurus.

smoked salmon and arugula on ciabatta

take a loaf of trader joe's ciabatta bread, slice off a good portion and halve it, spread a layer of goat cheese on one half, drizzle olive oil and balsamic on the other, sprinkle some capers on the cheese, layer a few thin slices of smoked salmon over that, add a bed of arugula leaves, crack fresh black pepper over that, and cover the whole with thing with the top ciabatta half. badda bing badda boom. here's your freakin' sandwich...

peppery arugula picks up the fatty and rich salmon. capers give a nice burst of brine and goat cheese mellows out the entire thing. yum.

i always forget that sandwiches can be great, satisfying meals. even for wednesday nite dinner.

grilled salmon with roasted tomatoes and wild rice pilaf

a trip to trader joe's always inspires. looking for something healthier and lighter to combat the heaviness and richness of eating out all last week, christien and i decided to go the fish route for sunday nite dinner. i picked up a couple of salmon fillets, a box of mixed small tomatoes, a package of wild rice pilaf, and some small artichokes.

i first prepped the artichokes by cutting off the top quarter and the stem and snipped off the spiky tips of the leaves with kitchen shears. this then went into a pot of water seasoned with salt, pepper, olive oil, distilled vinegar and a few sprigs of oregeno. sorry, no pic here.

i then washed the tomatoes and tossed them with a little bit of olive oil, salt and pepper. the roasting pan went into a 450 degree oven for about 20 minutes.

the rice pilaf was made according to package directions and left to steam on the stovetop for an extra 20 minutes

in the meatime, i prepped the fish by rinsing in cold water and patting dry with paper towels.

salt, pepper, paprika and lemon juice made up the seasonings.

the salmon went into a hot grill pan, skin side down, for about 8 minutes. i then flipped it to grill another 4 or 5 minutes until just cooked through. you want to avoid overcooking salmon as it gets dried out and tough easily if you don't watch it.

meanwhile the tomatoes came out to rest on the stovetop while i checked the artichokes.

in this method, the artichokes are done when you can easily pull an inner leaf from the choke and the leaf is soft and tender.

and voila! sunday nite dinner is served. first up, artichokes drizzled with olive oil and served with a ramekin of mayonnaise and paprika.

then the salmon on a bed of wilted argula (the heat from the fish wilts it) served with rice pilaf and roasted tomatoes.

the salmon was well seasoned and moist, due to cooking with the skin on; it keeps the juices in. the peppery arugula provides a nice counterpoint to the greasier fish. the tomatoes were savory and sweet, providing a lot of great acidity against the fish as well. the pilaf, unfortunately, was underwhelming. it was too mushy in texture and i didn't season it with enough salt. i'm not used to making pilafs. asian cooking just requires rice and water. nevertheless, the meal came out great overall.

for dessert, i picked up some medjool dates, removed the seed, and then stuffed it with goat cheese. the result is a creamy, sticky sweet, and subtly tart couple of bites of goodness. i first had this at samovar tea lounge a couple months ago and jumped at the opportunity to make them when i saw the medjool dates at trader joe's.

all in all, a very healthy and light-tasting meal. unfortunately, we still subcumbed to food coma due to very big portions. ah well. yum.

pork chile verde

perusing the aisles of the new albertson's-turned-lucky's supermarket on a gloomy, foggy summer evening in daly city, i decided i wanted something pork and hearty for dinner (surprise, surprise). i seem to be into the mexican thing lately, so i picked up a package of boneless pork ribs, an onion, 2 carrots, and 2 small cans of salsa verde, a medium hot salsa made from tomatillos, to make pork chile verde.

in searching for a chile verde recipe, i came across many different versions and nothing that really appealed to me. so i decided to create my own based on what i've seen and tasted at mexican restaurants as well as my own culinary background. here's what i did.

i prepped ingredients by cutting the pork into 1" chunks, roughly chopping the onion and carrots, slicing a couple cloves of garlic, and chopping a small handful of fresh cilantro.

i seasoned the pork with salt and pepper and browned them in olive oil in 2 batches.

after getting a golden brown crust on the pork, i removed them to a plate to rest and added more olive oil to the pan.

the onions, garlic and carrots went in to saute for a few minutes until the onions started to soften. i then deglazed the pan with a bit of dry vermouth to loosen up all that browned goodness stuck on the bottom of the pan. this would richen the sauce greatly and add more depth and flavor.

the pork went back in along with the 2 cans of salsa verde. i brought this back up to a boil and then lowered the heat to very low so the stew could simmer for the next 1.5 hours.

i taste tested the chile verde a few times while simmering and realized the salsa verde i used was much too spicy and powerful. it was reducing and concentrating spices and flavor as moisture evaporated over the long simmer time. i had to add a half cup of water twice in order to get the stew to the right consistency and tame the spiciness a bit. once the pork had reached fork-tender texture, i removed the pot from the heat and set it aside while i prepped a wild rice pilaf and roasted some baby broccoli stalks in the toaster oven with some olive oil, salt and pepper.

this turned out great. the pork was flavorful, moist, and oh so tender. the carrots were sweet and soft, the onions had mostly melted into the sauce. i also sprinkled the chopped cilantro for garnish and a great kick of fresh green flavor. the chile verde itself was still pretty spicy, but bearable and really opened up the palate and appetite.

and as you can see, the pork had that "pulled" texture that only comes with long, slow cooking. mm... and besides the long simmer time, this dish is amazingly simple to make and so delicious and hearty to eat. expect pork chile verde to make my regular repitoire of recipes.

who needs no stinkin' recipe? if you know some basic cooking methods, you can apply them to any dish. be creative and fearless in the kitchen. good things result.

pork chops, onions and corn cobs: 3 ways

i bought a "max pack" of pork chops, onions, green bell peppers, and sweet corn cobs to feed me through the week's lunches and dinners. as you may have noticed, i tend to make things in bulk so i can just reheat and eat on off-cooking nites. it's just easier that way and i've been way too busy and pooped lately to cook on a regular basis. in this post you'll see how i made 3 very different tasting meals from the same ingredients.

the pork chop marinade consisted of fresh oregeno, garlic, lime juice, red pepper flakes, salt, pepper and olive oil, a preparation similar to the pork shoulder pernil dish that i love and cook so much.

for my first batch, i could only fit 2 of 4 chops i had prepped in my non-stick grill pan. i scattered half of the onions and peppers around the pan and grilled the chops for about 7 or 8 minutes on each side.

what i noticed immediately after flipping the chops the first time was that oregeno had burned way before the meat had begun to brown. not good. the last thing i wanted was charred herbs and undercooked meat. but i finished off the chops and plated with the onions, peppers, and corn cob.

it looks good, and tasted good for the most part, but there was a off-taste from the burnt marinade. the onions and peppers were great though, having caramelized and sweetened in the process. the corn was good and by the way, that's not a huge pat of butter, but a spoonful of sour cream sprinkled with paprika (thanks to jen for that tasty, less-caloric tip).

so for the 2nd batch, i decided to "roast" the chops in a hot oven in a small baking dish. my reasoning here was that this marinade tasted fantastic on a large pork shoulder roast like the pernil, so why shouldn't it work in this smaller application? at least i wouldn't get charred herbs and burnt taste. so i arranged the 2 remaining chops, onions and peppers in a shallow roasting dish and popped it in the oven at 400 degrees.

30 min later, the pork was cooked. but it was a ugly, dull, grey-looking piece of bleh. no nice roast-y crust formed and the texture, while moist, was mushy. the onions and peppers were limp and bland. bleh. i had to endure this for 2 meals. does this picture below look any different from before it was cooked??

determined to get the formula right, i tried a 3rd time later that week. this time, i decided to stick with the grill pan to get that tasty caramelization that makes grilled food so good and ditch any marinade ingredients that would burn quickly. i combined garlic, cumin, paprika, salt, pepper and olive oil, basically a spice rub, no fresh herbs. 2 chops went down into the pan with red onions tossed with olive oil, lime juice, salt, pepper and a little bit of cilantro.

this time the chops browned nicely and cooked through evenly. i also shortened the cooking time to 6 minutes per side. by the time they were done, the onions were browning nicely as well and still had a little crunch.

it looked great so i plated myself a hearty portion. the corn this time was served with a lime half and salt. mm...

this was by far the most successful chop in terms of flavor, color, and texture. nothing was charred, the meat was nicely browned, and it was still moist and tender inside.

lesson to be learned? if you're pan-grilling meat that needs time to cook through, like pork chops, avoid fresh herbs in the marinade that will burn quickly. stick to spice rubs or if you really want to use fresh herbs, use hardy ones that will stand up to the searing heat like rosemary. also, don't expect roasting methods for large chunks of meat that sit in the oven for hours at a time will translate to small cuts of meat. the caramelization process doesn't go any faster and that's what you want for flavor, color and texture.

a discussion on oil smoke points

danielle: any idea what can be substituted for veggie oil
lawrence: what's the use for?
danielle: making banana bread (from a box) and it calls for it
lawrence: corn oil, canola
lawrence: BUTTER
lawrence: =D
lawrence: i think,
danielle: i can almost hear my arteries clogging
lawrence: that it calls for veggie oil because of its neutral flavor
lawrence: and not because of its high smoke point properties
danielle: hmmmm
lawrence: because you're baking, it won't matter that olive oil or butter have lower smoke points
danielle: what on earth does that mean?
danielle: im a new cook-er lawrence
danielle: :D
lawrence: smoke point
lawrence: when you heat oil over high heat
lawrence: the longer it takes for the oil to start smoking... aka start to burn... the higher the smoke point
danielle: ok
lawrence: so
lawrence: when you're stir-frying things at high heat temperatures
lawrence: you want to use an oil that has a high smoke point, so that you can get the temperature of the oil up really high so it cooks the ingredients quickly without burning the oil, which would make the dish taste bad
lawrence: chinese cooks use peanut oil to stir fry
lawrence: which has one of the highest smoke points
lawrence: and cause it also adds flavor to the dish
lawrence: if you were to use butter in a stirfry
danielle: i see
lawrence: the butter would've been completely burned by the time your veggies and meat start to cook
danielle: true
lawrence: and that'd add a charred flavor to your dish
danielle: but what about the banana bread?
danielle: is all that dirty bad for you oil my only option?
lawrence: which is why many cooks add olive oil to the butter when they want a buttery flavor but want to be able to cook at higher temps
lawrence: no
danielle: o i see
lawrence: what oil do you have at home
danielle: veggie
danielle: oliv
danielle: *olive
danielle: and i think canola
lawrence: uh
lawrence: but you said you wanted a sub for veggie oil
danielle: ya
danielle: bc i read the nutrition facts and it was BAD
lawrence: for veggie oil??
lawrence: vegetable oil is soybean oil
lawrence: it's 0 cholesterol
danielle: canola maybe? i dont remember
lawrence: anything can be subbed for veggie oil
lawrence: just depends on the use
lawrence: in yours,
lawrence: you can use canola, corn or olive oil
lawrence: although olive and corn will have a slightly stronger flavor
lawrence: how much oil are we talking about here?
danielle: not sure
danielle: i will have to look at the box when i get home today and report back
lawrence: can i post this convo on my blog?
danielle: are you joking?
lawrence: no