Swiss Steak

Back in January Julia Xanthos from the NY Daily News came to our home.  Julia had found this blog/website and was asking if I had a recipe I would share in a food feature.  With my three daughter's we shared the process of making Swiss Steak and Julia filmed us.  She asked a lot of questions for her article and took photos of the recipe process as well.  Today my recipe was featured on EthNYC Eats, isn't that so cool!  Maybe being the mom of five children makes my recipe an especially good choice for Mother's Day.  Who knows why my recipe was chosen, but the video turned out really well.  If you get a chance check out my recipe here.   The video is below as well.

Sodium Free Shrimp Chow Mein

My youngest sister, Adrienne, is dealing with a health concern that requires her to eat a low sodium diet.  She requested I try my hand at creating a low sodium chow mein recipe.  My goal ended up creating a chow mein recipe without any added sodium.  While researching the elusive umami flavor, that flavor that is pivotal to Chinese and Japanese cuisine such as chow mien, I learned some cool stuff about what flavors really give the umami flavor in recipes.  Monosodium glutamate is the flavor compound that we have come to call the fifth flavor of umami.  Oyster mushrooms are high in glutamates, the highest content of all mushrooms.  My recipe uses the umami of oyster mushrooms to replace soy sauce and oyster sauce, the two ingredients used in traditional chow mein sauce.  

Chow Mein is one of the yummiest Chinese take out items on the menu.  This is all homemade.

Shrimp Chow Mein Ingredients:

Chinese Noodles (homemade noodles recipe below)
2 packages Oyster Mushrooms
1 Red Bell Pepper
2 Carrots
6 cloves of Garlic
1 Yellow Onion
1 bunch of Green Onions
1 head of Napa Cabbage
3 inch piece of Ginger
4 cups Water
2 lbs. Raw Deveined Shrimp
Toasted Sesame Seed Oil

Chinese Noodle Ingredients:

1 1/2 teaspoons Baking Soda
3 Eggs
3 cups All Purpose Flour
1 1/2 teaspoons Sea Salt
3/4 cup Tapioca Flour
6 tablespoons Water

Combine all dry ingredients for noodles together in a mixer bowl and mix completely
with a paddle attachment.

Beat eggs and water together, then add to the flour mixture.   Knead with a
dough hook for 5 minutes.

Using a pasta machine, roll dough to the number 2 thickness and cut with the spaghetti cutter.
Use tapioca flour to keep the noodles separated.

Boil a large pot of water.  Boil noodles for 30 seconds.

Drain noodles well.

Peel ginger and onion.  Cut onion in half.  Add half the mushrooms without the stems, garlic,
and 3 cups of water to a pressure cooker pot.  Cook ingredients on high for 10 minutes.
 This will be the sauce for the chow mein.

Puree sauce from the pressure cooker in a blender.

Pour sauce into a small pan and cook over low to medium heat until reduced by half.

Cut carrots, bell peppers, and green onions into 1/4 inch matchsticks.  

Cut cabbage and remaining oyster mushrooms into chunks.

Preheat wok over high heat.  Be prepared for smoke and have windows and fans on to
circulate the air.  Add 2 tablespoons oil to the wok and begin stir frying carrots.

Next add the bell pepper and stir.

Have ingredients ready and waiting next to the wok.

Add shrimp and more oil.  Stir fry until the shrimp is pink and opaque.

Add more oil to flavor.

Now for the cabbage, green onions, and mushrooms.  Stir fry.

Add noodles and stir.

Stir fry with some more oil if needed.  We want the noodles to be slightly crispy on the outside.

Push sauce through a sieve over chow mein.

Stir and cook for minute or two more and serve.

Enjoy!

Sodium Free Shrimp Chow Mein

Printable Recipe Found Here

Shrimp Chow Mein Ingredients:

Chinese Noodles (homemade noodles recipe below)
2 packages Oyster Mushrooms
1 Red Bell Pepper
2 Carrots
6 cloves of Garlic
1 Yellow Onion
1 bunch of Green Onions
1 head of Napa Cabbage
3 inch piece of Ginger
4 cups Water
2 lbs Raw Deveined Shrimp
Toasted Sesame Seed Oil

Chinese Noodle Ingredients:

1 1/2 teaspoons Baking Soda
3 Eggs
3 cups All Purpose Flour
1 1/2 teaspoons Sea Salt
3/4 cup Tapioca Flour
6 tablespoons Water

Chinese Noodle Process:

Combine all dry ingredients for noodles together in a mixer bowl and mix completely with a paddle attachment.

Beat eggs and water together then add to the flour mixture.   Knead with a dough hook for 5 minutes.

Using a pasta machine, roll dough to number 2 thickness and cut with the spaghetti cutter.  Use tapioca flour to keep the noodles separated.

Boil a large pot of water.  Boil noodles for 30 seconds.

Drain noodles well.

Shrimp Chow Mein Process:

Peel ginger and onion, cut onion in half.  Add half the mushrooms without the stems, garlic, and 3 cups water to a pressure cooker pot.  Cook ingredients on high for 10 minutes.  This will be the sauce for the chow mein.

Preheat wok over high heat.  Be prepared for smoke and have windows and fans on to circulate the air.

Add 2 tablespoons oil to wok and begin stir frying carrots.

Next add the bell pepper and stir.

Have ingredients ready and waiting next to the wok.

Add shrimp and more oil.  Stir fry until the shrimp is pink and opaque.

Add more oil to flavor.

Now for the cabbage, green onions, and mushrooms.  Stir fry.

Add noodles and stir.

Stir fry with some more oil if needed.  We want the noodles to be slightly crispy on the outside.

Push sauce through a sieve over chow mein.

Stir and cook for minute or two more and serve.

Enjoy!

Bacalhau com natas

We are celebrating a favorite recipe from Portugal. According to Wikipedia "Bacalhau com natas (literally "cod with cream") is a popular way of cooking salted cod (bacalhau) in Portugal. It is an oven-baked dish consisting of layers of bacalhau, onion, diced fried potato and cream. Using dairy products such as cream or cheese is not common in traditional Portuguese main courses, however the popularity of this dish—in households and restaurants—make it a classic. The origin of this dish is unclear, but a similar one using cod and cream was invented by chef João Ribeiro in the 1930s." The reference can be found Here.  I used fresh cod for my recipe, supposedly this recipe used dried salted cod because it was more widely available than fresh.

 Bacalhau com Natas, not sure how to say this, but it was yummy.

Ingredients for this recipe are:

2 lbs. Fresh Cod

1 Yellow Onion 

1 3/4 cups Milk

2 cups Heavy Cream

4 Large Thin Skinned Potatoes (Eastern or Red Potatoes)

2 tablespoons Flour

6 tablespoons Butter

3 tablespoons Olive Oil

Freshly Ground Pepper

Salt

Preheat oven to 450 Fahrenheit

 Clean potatoes and thinly slice.

Peel onion, cut in half and thinly slice.

Preheat 10 inch skillet, add 3 tablespoons butter and 3 tablespoons olive oil.  Sauté onions and 
potatoes until tender.

Place potatoes and onions in oven proof dish, 12 inch oval ceramic if you have one or 9x13 glass dish.

 Melt remaining 3 tablespoons butter in pan that you just emptied potatoes and onions from.  

 When butter stops foaming add flour and whisk.  Cook flour for 3 minutes.

 Add milk, cream, salt, pepper, and whisk until thickened.

 Place filets on potatoes, sprinkle salt and pepper on filets.

 Pour cream over fish and potatoes.  

 Bake for 15-20 minutes, until golden and bubbly.

Enjoy!

Bacalhau com batas

Printable Recipe Found Here

2 lbs. Fresh Cod

1 Yellow Onion 

1 3/4 cups Milk

2 cups Heavy Cream

4 Large Thin Skinned Potatoes (Eastern or Red Potatoes)

2 tablespoons Flour

6 tablespoons Butter

3 tablespoons Olive Oil

Freshly Ground Pepper

Salt

Preheat oven to 450 Fahrenheit

Clean potatoes and thinly slice.

Peel onion, cut in half and thinly slice.

Preheat 10 inch skillet, add 3 tablespoons butter and 3 tablespoons olive oil.  Sauté onions and potatoes until tender.

Place potatoes and onions in oven proof dish, 12 inch oval ceramic if you have one or 9x13 glass dish.

Melt remaining 3 tablespoons butter in pan that you just emptied potatoes and onions from.  

When butter stops foaming add flour and whisk.  Cook flour for 3 minutes.

Add milk, cream, salt, pepper, and whisk until thickened.

Place filets on potatoes, sprinkle salt and pepper on filets.

Pour cream over fish and potatoes.  

Bake for 15-20 minutes, until golden and bubbly.

Enjoy!