May 2007

From this page comes this Tuesday’s question… What are 10 greatest accomplishments in my life (so far)? In no particular order…

1. Becoming prepared enough to be Wendy’s spouse. 
2. Graduating college with a Bachelor’s degree.
3. Going back to school and graduating again with a degree in Culinary Arts.
4. Going to college in the first place – at the time of the decision to go, there were motivating factors that made me consider not going. I’m glad I went.
5. Becoming a SCUBA diver.
6. Becoming a home-owner.
7. Managing my great credit to keep it, um, great.
8. Developing the ability to identify, set, and complete goals.
9. Maintaining balance in my life — it is easy to be “sane but overwhelmed”.
10. I haven’t gotten to this one yet…

                      -= Exported from BigOven =-

                    Crispy Shrimp in Kataifi Crust

Joël Robuchon was inspired to create this dish after tasting a Vietnamese recipe for shrimp coated with soft vermicelli. “But I’m much more into Mediterranean flavors at the moment,” he says. He also wanted a crispy crust, so instead of vermicelli he uses kataifi dough, a Middle Eastern pastry that resembles shredded phyllo.

Recipe By: Food & Wine magazine, February 2006, page 106
Serving Size: 4
Cuisine: French
Main Ingredient: Shrimp
Categories: Advance, Food & Wine Magazine, Hors dOeuvres, Appetizers

-= Ingredients =-
3/4 cup fresh orange juice
1/2 teaspoon jasmine tea
4 rosemary leaves
1/2 teaspoon cornstarch mixed with 1 teaspoon cold water
1/4 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
Salt
1/4 pound kataifi dough ; (see Note), snipped into 4-inch lengths
1/3 cup basil leaves ; finely shredded
1/3 cup chives ; cut in 1-inch lengths
1 large egg
1 tablespoon water
All-purpose ; flour
16 large shrimp ; shelled (but with tail shells left on) and deveined
Freshly ; ground pepper
Vegetable ; oil

-= Instructions =-
In a small saucepan, combine the orange juice with the jasmine tea and rosemary and simmer over moderate heat until reduced to 1/4 cup, about 5 minutes. Strain the infused juice and return to the saucepan. Bring to a simmer and whisk in the cornstarch mixture, then cook until thickened, about 30 seconds. Stir in the balsamic vinegar and season the orange-rosemary sauce with salt.

In a large, shallow dish, separate the kataifi dough into individual threads using your fingers. Add the basil and chives and toss to distribute throughout the pastry.

In a shallow bowl, beat the egg with the water. Spread the flour in another shallow bowl. Season the shrimp with salt and pepper. Holding the shrimp by the tail, dredge them in the flour and shake off the excess, then dip them in the beaten egg and roll in the kataifi; press to help it adhere.

Set a rack over a baking sheet. In a large, deep skillet, heat 1/2 inch of vegetable oil to 350°. Fry 4 or 5 shrimp at a time until the kataifi is golden brown and crisp, about 1 minute per side. Drain the shrimp on the rack. Season with salt. Serve the shrimp with the orange-rosemary sauce.

** This recipe can be pasted into BigOven without retyping.     **
** Easy recipe software.  Try it free at: http://www.bigoven.com    **
 

Tonight’s HAPPY MOUTH outing was orchestrated by Chuck, and he selected Chez Nora in Covington Kentucky as our destination. Dinner was at a long table in their back room (though a few members had enjoyed a cocktail on the restaurant’s rooftop bar before dinner). I sampled the Smoked Chicken & Goetta Spring Rolls and found them to be pretty darned good. My entree was Pecan-Crusted Walleye, which was delicious.

Finally, after weeks of trying to diagnose and fix the problem of article links displaying as http://www.drewvogel.com/?page_id=885 (which isn’t very human-readable or friendly), I accidentally stumbled upon the solution to allow friendly URLs (like http://www.drewvogel.com/archives-heatmap-tag-cloud/).

If you spot any weirdness, please let me know!

                      -= Exported from BigOven =-

                    Soba Noodle Salad with Chicken

Recipe By: August 2001 Food & Wine magazine, page 68
Serving Size: 4
Cuisine:
Main Ingredient:
Categories: Food & Wine Magazine, Poultry, Side Dish, Appetizers

-= Ingredients =-
3/4 pound Soba Noodles
7 tablespoon Peanut Oil
5 tablespoon Soy Sauce
2 tablespoon Rice Vinegar
2 teaspoon Sesame Oil
2 clove Garlic ; Minced
dash Hot Sauce
1/2 pound Smoked Duck Or Chicken ; Cut Into Matchsticks
1/3 cup Chives ; Chopped
2 ea Scallion ; White & Light Green Parts Only, Sliced

-= Instructions =-
1. In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the soba noodles until al dente. Drain and transfer to a large bowl. Toss the cooked noodles with 1 tablespoon of the peanut oil to coat. This may be done several hours ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator.

2. In a large bowl, whisk the soy sauce together with the rice vinegar, sesame oil, garlic, and hot sauce. Slowly whisk in the remaining 6 tablespoons of peanut oil. This may be done several hours ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator. Stir sauce well to mix prior to the next step.

3. Add the dressing to the noodles, and toss to coat. Add the duck (or chicken) and chives, garnish with scallions, and serve at room temperature.
** This recipe can be pasted into BigOven without retyping.     **
** Easy recipe software.  Try it free at: http://www.bigoven.com    **
 

Just a few days after I upgraded to the previous version of WordPress, the new version (2.2.0) comes out. I upgraded today, and it seems to be working well so far.