Adventures in House Sitting: Pasta Night

Post II of Adventures in House Sitting - focused on cleaning out THEIR cupboards...
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Actually this is truly an impossible task...the custom made cabinets surrounding the kitchen walls are fully stocked and a separate pantry is also overflowing with goods!
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Rummaging through this kitchen is almost like going shopping, from the pasta cabinet, to the canned goods, through an amazing spice drawer, to the overly stuffed Subzero fridge and freezer...the possibilities for a meal are endless!!
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Tonight I settled on a simple pasta dish.
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Fresh grape tomatoes from the fridge
Fresh garlic from the counter top Garlic Keeper
Canned artichoke hearts from the cupboards
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Chicken breast from the freezer...
yes, I had some foresight to take them out in the morning before work haha!
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I browned the chicken in olive oil

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Added the garlic, fresh tomatoes, artichokes, a can of diced tomatoes (decided during cooking we need more liquid), salt/pepper, garlic powder, oregano, plenty of crushed red pepper for a spicy kick and finished with some quality parmigiano reggiano.
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Quick, easy, nutritious and 30 minute meal worthy...

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with a whole bunch of great leftovers!

Who wouldn't want one of these???

Yes, that is a bowl of my green Thai curry, but that is not what I am asking about...

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What I want to know is who out there wouldn't mind one of these??

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Sure it looks like a gas burner, right? Look closer, notice how perfect the blue flame is? There is no glowing orange fire, as so happens when I turn on my stove. Here the gas flow is just right...creating this perfectly even beautiful blue flame.

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So I'll ask you yet again, who wouldn't want one of THESE?!?!?

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That is right, your very own Viking Professional Series Gas Range!

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Now how about if your super duper fancy Viking Professional Range was in something like this??

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Yes, an extremely large marble topped island in the middle of...

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a kitchen just like this!!
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This is the much gloated about kitchen of my Adventures in House Sitting. The design is based on an Inn the couple stayed at in Napa during their early years together.
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Can you imagine coming home each day to cook in one of these?!?! I mean, don't get me wrong, I LOVE my kitchen at home. It's the best kitchen I've ever had the pleasure to call home...but really look at this one, just amazing!!!
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Having house-sat for these folks for a few years now, I know just what items I have to make during my stay. You see their son LOVES food and even more so, is WILD about spicy food!!

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On the menu for this episode of Adventures in House Sitting is Thai Green Curry made with coconut cream (remember, according to my fabulous half-Thai sister in law, it's better than coconut milk...more rich and greater flavor!)

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I had some pork in the fridge at my house, so as I packed up my Asian cupboards (somethings you just can't find or buy elsewhere) and I threw the pork into the mix.

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I also had some green beans, sweet baby peppers, vidalia, and a lime to use up.

The baby carrots came from their fridge.

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A true melting pot for all things needing to be cleaned out of the fridge!

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As the simmering pot begins to meld on this gray day, the sun decided to show itself in the evening...so many windows in this place, but at this time of night standing next to the stove is the place to be. Just outside those french doors is their stone patio where during the summer fresh herbs and tomato plants are grown from within the patio floor...literally steps from the kitchen, yum!

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A splash of evening sun is added to the pot.
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Delicious and a huge hit!!

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Now I must ask you one final time, who wouldn't want one of these?

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Next to one of these...
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And not just the bowl of comforting, sun kissed curry...

or the beautiful patio with a view...

But something to cook on just like one of these...

ah, yes for now I'll keep dreaming...

Asian Hot Wings

Recipe from our Super Bowl 2010 Menu (Super Bowl Sunday 2010).

The following quantities will work for anywhere from 5-10 lbs of chicken wings. Anymore than that and you'll have to up the amount.

Chicken Wings, split if you'd like
1/4 cup ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tbls salt
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup Sriracha Chile Sauce (use less if you'd like to lower the heat on these)
1-1.5 sticks melted unsalted butter (preference again, if your conscience says less better, then go for it!)
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
3 limes, finely grated zest and juice

Begin by coating wings with coriander, cumin, cinnamon, salt and olive oil. Cover and allow to marinate in refrigerator for at least 4 hours to overnight.

Preheat oven to 475 degrees. Place seasoned wings on wire rack over a baking sheet and put into oven. Allow wings to bake for 45+ minutes, or until skin is crisp. You can rotate/flip wings halfway through cooking to ensure both sides get crispy, but it is not absolutely necessary. Since on the rack, they will crisp on the underside, but end up a bit crispier if you do flip since the fat is dripping off them down into your baking sheet. [Also note, this cooking method will produce a lot of smoke, so turn on your kitchen fan or crack a window as needed.]

Add sriracha, melted butter, cilantro, lime zest and lime juice to a bowl large enough for tossing the cooked wings. May also be done in batches. [Note, if your sriracha is stored in the fridge, you will need to use caution when adding the melted butter...otherwise it'll end up solidifying.]

Toss wings in prepared sauce, plate and serve immediately.

Make for good leftovers, but the wings will loose their crispiness.

Enjoy!

Eat your heart out Rachael Ray

While we're on the topic of delicious Korean food, I've got a quick fix that would make even Rachael Ray, the queen of 30 minutes meals wonder...just how did she do it!?!?!

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Since my trip to the Korean Store, I have been craving a childhood favorite of hot Korean rice cakes. This quick and easy recipe is awesome if you like spicy and a unique gummy/chewy texture!

With the Korean Store being as far away as it is, we always have Rice Cakes on hand.

No, they are not the traditional crunchy rice cake snacks you'd find in your typical grocery store. These chewy pieces of heaven are straight up Korean! My mother always related the consumption of these to the younger generations...specifically students.

The great thing about the Korean Rice Cake other than being cheap (which is why the young kids love them so much!), easy to prepare and usable in a variety of ways...is that they freeze wonderfully and can be stored for a long period of time!

Silly me actually began this weeknight cooking adventure with the long cut rice cakes we had in the cupboard. I later found out these were actually well overdue (cause I didn't think to freeze them). The good news is we had a couple of bags of the sliced rice cakes in the freezer, so I ended up substituting later on.

Traditionally, I've not had these spicy rice cakes with meat. They actually would make a perfect option for hosting veg-head (aka vegetarian) friends.

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As you now by now, the Hubs says: a meal is not a meal unless there is meat. Soooo to cooperate with his theory on dinner, I decided to mix up some basic Korean Pork to incorporate.

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Typically the preparation of the meat takes a good bit of time. Tonight, being late as it is, I go for rustic chunks.

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Lots of garlic, salt, pepper, sesame oil.
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The pork is cooked over high heat.

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The rice cakes from the freezer are simmered in water.

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Once the cakes are softened I add them to the pork and stir in the magical combo of hot pepper/bean paste, soy sauce, vinegar, sugar...the use of scallions kicks it up a notch, but we didn't have any on hand, oh well!

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Here it is! Less than 30 minutes later a deliciously fiery treat...

with some meat (for the Hubs).

This dish hit the spot. The spicy rice cakes' flavor and texture are wonderful!!

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The only downside about these are that they do not make great leftovers. The rice cakes will dry out and stick together...not reheating well for lunch the next day.

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As Rachael says...and remember a good meal is never more than 30 minutes away!

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Next time we venture into these I hope it is to show you all Rice Cake Soup! Cause that is one soup that we'll have on in this house for winter, guaranteed :O)

Baby It's Cold Outside!

On this particularly freezing evening I wanted
Round II of spicy Thai Curry!


My semi-homemade version however is very creamy and green :O)

The Secret...Green Curry Paste from a can, Coconut CREAM (not milk...there is a difference) and fish sauce. I can thank my half-Thai sister-in-law for these tid-bits...our family is like an Asian Invasion! I should also note that her curry, no matter the color, is much more authentic and delicious...mine is merely a knock off version.

GOOD AND SIMPLE!

I think the Red Pepper either ate a Green One

or it was about it give birth to one.

Mix it all up and simmer.

Looks creamy eh?


Add some mushrooms
(I've been absolutely addicted to mushrooms lately...can't get enough!)


Taking on a lot of flavor!


My rice.

It's even easier than my simple curry...I have a nifty Korean rice cooker that does all the work. It's actually the same one I have from my Frosh year in college (yes, we need to upgrade soon to the family sized one...it's getting hard to entertain with this mini version).


His and Hers.

On this particular night we used shrimp...

It was so warming and wonderful...and the leftovers were even better!!

How High (aka Hot)?

One of my best friends K-T and her fiance came to visit last weekend.

We went out for Thai to end our long day of fighting crowds, a strange encounter with a power tripping crossing guard and the flat out stresses associated with holiday shopping!


Side note - BYOB is perhaps one of the best inventions.

The reason for our trip out...a fiery bowl of Thai Curry!

When we ordered we each requested our curry be hotter than normal. Usually you can say extra x 10 at most restaurants, only to be disappointed with something that barely tickles the tongue.

The waitress asked each of us on a scale of 1 to 5, how hot?

A 5 for me of course, K-T went with a 3

and her fiance a bold 4.

We drank, slurped our soups, munched on the apps...

and then came the curry...

the fire breathing Thai curry!

So delicious and WICKED HOT!!

We became giggly...it was like a drug!

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Our faces were flushed, tongues burning

and laughter filled the air!


To explain how hot...
we were high off this stuff, that was how hot!!

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We ended the night rockin' out our high on guitar hero!

What a fabulous time!!

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[P.S. I know there is not much cooking lately...but no worries, it's on the way!]