Citizen of the World

Matt came home excitedly with some Vietnamese fresh water shrimp last week from one of our local Korean markets. They're kinda blue before you cook them. The first picture on the left is of them defrosting.  Then, Matt started cutting up the fixings for Pho (a delicious, hearty Vietnamese soup with noodles and/or rice, chicken, and greens like cilantro, mint, and basil, along with bean sprouts, picant red pepper, and lime - as you see on the platter).  While Matt was cooking, I ordered some white rice from the Chinese place down the road along with some sauteed green beans and sauteed bok choi.  YUM!  Oh, and see the half egg? That's a hard boiled Korean soy egg - scrumptuous!

When the Chinese delivery guy showed up, I opened the door and took the bags to sign the bill. He looked into the kitchen from the hallway, noticed the steamer in one of our woks, and asked, "What are you cooking?"

Me: "Pho" (pronounced "fah").
Delivery guy: "Wha?"
Me: "Pho"
Delivery guy: "Wha? You use Chinese bamboo steamer..." pointing into the kitchen at the stove.
Me: "Pho. Uh... shrimp. We're steaming shrimp."

I had to leave it at that.  He wasn't Vietnamese; he was Chinese. Not sure if they have something similar in authentic Chinese cuisine, but it's evidently, surely, not pronounced "fah". 

The Pho was fantastic, tasty, and absolutely filling; the shrimp do have a wonderfully sweet, delicious tamale that's better than the one found in a lobster. But, eating the shrimp was a PITA (pain in the ass).  The shells were papery and it's awful to have to dig through a sauced shell to the fat free meat and find the prized tamale. There's also just something a little unappetizing about sucking out a spread out head just behind the shrimp eyes. I know that crawdad head suckers are gonna get on me about that, but even those little critters are different than these shrimp.

Though they're very tasty and we're glad to have had the experience, large, unshelled saltwater shrimp are flavorful enough, easier to eat, and more forgiving,

So, for the last two nights, Matt's been trying out Jacques Pepin's way of de-boning a chicken. In this video, I do love how Jacques says, "Lollipop!" and "Wiggle". Watch the video then look at Matt's chicken. My husband's amazing!!

Matt's de-boned & stuffed (with pancetta & bread crumbs) chicken before baking:



Matt's baked de-boned chicken:



Ain't he cute? Boy, was that chicken tasty!! I love when Matt cooks. He's fantastic; my big belly's a tell.

It's become clear that I'm addicted to truffles. Not the chocolate kind, though they're wonderful, too. No, this addiction is to black and white truffles - the underground mushrooms that are hunted and found by pigs or trained dogs in France (and parts of the US, namely Tennessee and North Carolina!).

This addiction is to black & white truffles and black and/or truffle oil. They are VERY tasty and yummy and delicious, but a very expensive thing for an addiction. Unless one has a connection for excellent quality oils at very low prices, as do I, thanks to the Fancy Food Show at the end of June. They are rightly called the diamond of the kitchen at costs ranging from $350 to $500 a pound for black truffles (the richer in flavor of the two types).

Here are examples of my most recent indulgences: Last week, I had a truffle/tomato snack Thursday evening. For dinner on Friday, Matt made us truffle gravy to go over our roasted chicken; we removed the skin and flattened the breast in order to pour the gravy into the meat - amazing. Saturday night at a birthday dinner in Manhattan, one of the restaurant's best dishes, and the one I ordered, was the parpadelle with beef and truffle oil in the sauce - VERY yummy.

And, last evening I had to have yet another truffle/tomato snack. I love summer tomatoes. It's a simple snack bursting with flavor and exploding with delight: I cut 1/4" thick slices of a large New Jersey beefsteak tomato onto a plate, lightly sprinkle Baleine's sea salt and freshly ground pepper onto each slice. You must use Baleine's (fine) sea salt. I turn each slice over and season each again. Then, I open a bottle of either black or white truffle oil and waft the aroma toward my nostrils with my hand as one would do with a fresh bouquet of flowers. The oil drips slowly over the thick, seasoned tomato slices and the slices glisten invitingly.

Cutting each slice into succulent quarters or thirds, I can sense the truffle as the slice passes onto my tongue. The tomato juices moisten my tongue. The salt brightens the taste throughout my mouth. The pepper bites my tongue just enough to round out the experience.

My eyes close. I chew slowly and dream. In a forest in southern France, the wind blows through oak trees where future truffles are growing, waiting to be found and end up on my taste buds.

To Matt's surprise and excitement, he's discovered that, for me at least, the taste of truffles is somewhat of an aphrodisiac. Let's just say, he's not kept the truffle oil away from me since we got it!

In the South, where I'm from, we always had a traditional New Years Day breakfast. Folks up here always tend to frown, or skew their faces a little when I describe the meal, but every Southerner knows about this tradition in someway, shape, or form. Since I moved to NJ, my family has either sent me home with the makings of the traditional breakfast (because I couldn't find certain ingredients up here) or I'd stay long enough down there (not often) for the breakfast. In the odd year that I couldn't bring back the fixings or didn't stay there through NYE, I "made do", as we say, and fixed something akin to the traditional breakfast, which traditionally consists of black-eyed peas, collard greens, and hog jowl. These things must be the first things you eat on New Years Day.

The black-eyed peas are seasoned with some of the hog jowl, salt and pepper and cooked in a pot. Depending on the cook, you can choose to reconstitute dried beans overnight, or use canned or frozen - sometimes just as good; I used canned.

The collard greens are traditionally cooked from fresh, but that's a pain in the butt. I got frozen this morning and they turned out great! I seasoned them, too, with a slice of hog jowl, salt and pepper.

The hog jowl was fun! The package I found this afternoon was already sliced, which was just perfect. It was also smoked and salted - extra special! I had to pound out each slice so it was as thin as possible and then lay each slice in a bowl of buttermilk. Later, I floured them and fried them up in the pan.

While the veggies were cooking and the flattened hog jowl slices were marinating in the buttermilk, I made southern buttermilk biscuits with Bisquik (the best stuff in a pinch and for expediency.) I've recently discovered that my family has taken to buying and baking up FROZEN biscuits! I at least held a little more to tradition than frozen biscuits!

When everything was done and the biscuits were in the oven, I quickly made some gravy, and opened some of my Dad's green tomato relish. We laid everything on the table and dug in. It all smelled so delicious that I didn't even think to take some pictures. Matt and I ate EVERYTHING. It was wonderful and I held to my traditional New Years Day breakfast - at 3:30 PM.

Oh, and as the story goes in our neck of the woods, black-eyed peas are for good luck, collard greens represent money, and hog jowl good health for the new year. Here's hopin'!

Harvest Soup (a recipe):

4 cups low sodium chicken broth
2 medium boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 medium 1/4" sliced zucchinis (straight)
2 medium 1/4" sliced yellow summer squash
1 cup diced celery
1 large or small leek depending on taste
2 cups mixed wild mushrooms
1 bunch of fresh sage
1 parsnip
1 cup shredded carrots
1 cup shredded cabbage
1 cup sliced onions
1 tbsp rosemary
1 tbsp onion powder
2 tbsp freshly ground pepper
Salt to taste

Pour the broth into a deep soup pot. Add 4-6 cups of water and the bunch of sage (whole - you will remove later). Bring to a boil. Add into and poach the breasts in the broth for 15 minutes on medium high.

Slice the zucchini, squash, and leeks into 1/4" chunks and the parsnip a little thinner. Remove and dice the chicken breasts.

Turn the temperature down to medium. Add to the broth the diced chicken, the zucchini, squash, leeks, carrots, onion, cabbage, and some salt, rosemary, and onion powder, but at least 1 tbsp freshly ground gourmet pepper.

Cook the mixture for 20 minutes. After 10 minutes, add the mushrooms and the rest of the pepper. Add salt to taste (the intent is that there not be an overpowering sense of the salt, but enough to bring out the sweetness of the vegetable mixture).

Taste the soup and adjust the salt and pepper as preferred. Serve 1 1/2 - 2 cups in large bowls.

Each serving of two cups adds up to very little fat, low sodium, just under 300 calories(!), and high vitamins and minerals. I will post the nutrient facts later, but wanted to get this out in case you wanted an idea for a fall dinner. Enjoy!!