The place is typical Chinese restaurant you could see at Chinatown, Manila.

The interior of DNC

This is their menu. The prices ranges from 95Php – 170Php.

Pili na!

They also have unlimited service tea.

tea, good for the stomach before/after eating

 The congee serves with raw egg on top. Underneath the thick white porridge are century egg, pork, and bola-bola. The porridge is very fine like a soup. Exquisite and yummy! Deserves to be top 1 best lugaw in Manila. 115Php.

The best! You can’t resist to taste.

7 bola-bolas’ in my congee. Yummy! DNC is very generous. Happy tummy

bola-bola

Pork spare ribs. Standard taste. Less in servings. 70Php.

steamed with black beans

We also ordered additional century egg for only 35Php.

yummy! but beware, high in cholesterol

I also ordered siomai, 4pcs, 70Php. Yum!

siomai-love this!

The facade and the place was renovated.

Dragon Noodle Center
1037 M.H. Del Pilar St.
Malate, Manila
Tel no.: 525-1563
Business Hours: Monday – Sunday 6:00 a.m. – 2:00 a.m.

We have tried many combinations (adding carrots, herbs, low-fat sour cream, chopped jalapeños and lemon), but found this one to be the best. It is the combination of the cabbage, the intense onions, fat from the sour cream, sweetness from the sugar and sourness from the vinegar that makes the coleslaw tasteful and delicious.

Ingredients

1/2 cabbage

2 small onions

1 cup sour cream (don’t use low-fat)

1/3 cup confectioners sugar

1/8 cup apple cider vinegar

Cut cabbage and onions into thin slices.

I a bowl mix together sour cream, confectioners sugar and apple sider vinegar. mix until smooth.

Combine cabbage, onions and sour cream sauce and mix well. Let rest in fridge for at least 1 hour, preferably 2-3 hours.

Serve in pulled pork burger or as a side dish for spare ribs.

Today we have chosen to use red onions, as they give the coleslaw a fabulous color twist. Regular onions can be used as well

Bon Appétit!

• cuocere al forno per 45mins a 220°;
• spennellare di tanto in tanto una salsa di olio evo, limone, sale, pepe e timo.

(Maris, Feb. 2013)

versione con contorno di patate e peperoni

Zomg this dish is super delicious! Spareribs with walnuts~ would do anything to try this again.

Serves 4

Ingredients
2 racks pork ribs
600ml cola
Enough water to cover
12 tbsp tomato ketchup
12 tbsp brown sugar
4 tbsp maple syrup
3 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
3 tbsp sweet chilli sauce
3 tbsp paprika
Handful sesame seeds

1. Preheat the oven to Gas mark 3/160C. Place the ribs in a deep baking tray and pour the cola over. Pour water over until the ribs are covered. Cover the baking tray tightly with foil and bake in the oven for around 2 hours, turning once half way. 
2. Mix together all the other ingredients in a sauce pan and bring to the boil, stirring. You could also add chilli flakes or powder at this point if you wanted the ribs to have a bit of a kick.
3. When the ribs have been in the oven for two hours, remove them and pour away the liquid. Wipe down the roasting tin as the ribs will have left a residue. (I also wiped the ribs down gently, but only because I thought the residue didn’t look very appetising. It won’t do you any harm!)
4. Cover the ribs with the marinade and leave for as long as possible – overnight is best but it should be at least an hour.
5. Preheat the oven (or light the coals if you’re lucky enough to be using the barbecue!) to Gas mark 6/200C. Cook the ribs for a further 20 mins, turning every now and then and basting with the sauce. Scatter sesame seeds over the ribs for the last few minutes of cooking.

We ate our ribs with spring onion mash and red cabbage, but what you have it with is up to you. Potato salad, chips, wedges, green salad are all good combinations, but the list is endless!

]]> http://whiskeyriverbbq.wordpress.com/2013/01/23/test-kitchen-tuesday-today-the-kitchen-tested-me/ Wed, 23 Jan 2013 13:46:43 +0000 Whiskey River BBQ http://whiskeyriverbbq.wordpress.com/2013/01/23/test-kitchen-tuesday-today-the-kitchen-tested-me/ Hey there y’all…welcome back to Que-Licious!

Yesterday was a pretty uneventful day in the kitchen, but it was a great day for writing a cookbook. My intention was to smoke a pork butt, develop a new recipe for a Carolina style barbecue sauce I have been working on, take some awesome mouth-watering pictures, and share with all you fine folks. Obviously that didn’t happen. I’ll tell you what did happen…winter in Ohio!

I knew I was in for a challenge right away when the temperature gage on our enclosed back porch said 2 degrees, or as I interpreted…GO BACK INSIDE! Nevertheless; I thought I would give it a try, mistake #1. I have fought the cold, the wind, the rain, and the snow of Northwest Ohio before when doing a smoke and settled in bundled up Eskimo style to get the smoker warmed up to start my smoke. Mother Nature and my smoker had other ideas. Try as I may, the wind and bitter cold was victorious over my attempt to bring a little warmth and sunshine into this blustery winter day.

Frustrated and defeated (and about a 15 minute rant to myself as to why we don’t live in Key West) I finally threw in the towel after a good 2 hour fight with the elements and the smoker and shifted gears. Standing there in the kitchen…hands on the table, head hanging low, I happened to fix my gaze on a picture hanging on the wall. A framed cross-stitching picture that my grandmother had made. Ever get one of those gut feelings like someone is trying to tell you something?

I got the message. I couldn’t help but think about mommaw and all those cold mornings when she would be the first one out of bed to start the fire in her cast iron cook stove and at that moment a wonderful flood of memories came rushing over me and I couldn’t help but smile…and then I started writing…and I wrote all afternoon. It was this time last year that I began a cookbook project called “The Forgotten Kitchen” which contains family recipes and stories of my life growing up with a grandmother who taught me to cook, love, and live. Several factors interfered with me finishing this book; most of which were self-induced. Returning to this project is a major accomplishment for me emotionally. Not only because of missing my grandmother and dealing with the demoralizing effects of Alzheimer’s Disease, but also because of facing the loss of my dad. I spent the last week of his life with him in the hospital and took my draft of “The Forgotten Kitchen” with me and would read to him after his chemo treatments until he fell asleep. Reading back over the chapters now, I can see him smiling and sharing memories with me of our time together as a family. The words I would read brought back memories for both of us, each one with a different meaning and special place in our hearts. I truly believe this cookbook is a turning point of some sort in my life; I’m just not sure of the direction yet, but I know I will be guided. I have learned to listen to that inner voice we all have telling us what we need to be doing but choose to fight it because WE think we know best. I could have stood in the kitchen and blamed the weather and cold and become so frustrated that I wasted the entire day being very unproductive. I could have broke down when I started remembering time with family on the farm and my dad sharing those stories with me during his last days…but I didn’t. A pretty amazing thing happened instead…I became inspired.

So, for this week’s “Test Kitchen Tuesday” I believe the kitchen tested me. I would like to end this post with and excerpt from my cookbook as another little sneak-peek into what’s to come when this bittersweet project is complete.

Keep cookin’ y’all.

“The landscape of a kitchen can leave just as effective of an imprint on the mind’s eye. For me, it is a cast-iron cook stove consuming one whole wall in the kitchen with a commanding presence; a batch of fresh apple butter and preserves sitting in mason jars to cool; an old buffet filled end-to-end with homemade pies; and the ever present combination of wood smoke and ham. With the scene always present in my mind, I chart my path and try to convince myself I am headed forward when in reality, I am constantly returning to that back porch to peek at that all familiar view through that old screen door.” 

~Excerpt Taken From “The Forgotten Kitchen”
Stephanie Robinson, Author

This what I got from the Kitchen:
Tuna in brine from can, sliced tomatoe and onion with siling labuyo seasoned with anchovy sauce (bagoong balayan), a cup of coffee with milk and I heated left over rice…Solve
Mybe due to excitement for a very important appointment today the reason why I got up so early!

Came back home about 12 noontime, have to cook lunch for the kids. Just what I’ve found in my pantry today; mung bean, pork spareribs and I bought one pack of spinach from Merkur Market. That was it. Seasoned with one btoth cube and few drops of anchovy sauce. With tomatoe and onion. My 2 kids loves mongo specially with spinach, what ever meat or fish we add. Amazing, but true. hubby and I we started giving them spinach when they were young. There’s nothing miraculous about it, I don’t think. We started serving it to them very young, always made sure it was tastily prepared, and always enjoyed eating it with them. Just like Popeye the Sailorman was a great lover of spinach!
They said that spinach has a high level of iron and excellent source of vitamin C. I love spinach too it doesn’t matter if it is cook with meat, fish, salad, in bread cases, with sour cream or even just blanch as side dish. I think kids can learn to love most vegetables, if they’re introduced early enough, prepared tastily enough, eaten often enough, and enjoyed by parents together with kids.

Well folks, we are to the point in our little barbecue adventure where we decided to make our bbq debut to test our product by introducing our barbecue to the general public. Granted, it was a most exciting, nerve racking, exhausting, and much anticipated event to prepare for as this was our first venture in mobile concession. We decided since it was just going to be the two of us, we would choose a small venue with a lot of different people in attendance so we could get a true sense for how well, or not so well, our product was received. Being only two months away from the annual four day event of the 127 World’s Longest Yard Sale, we decided to take a drive one Sunday afternoon along state route 127 in hopes of securing “the perfect spot” to set up our little barbecue stand. Given the fact that we were out two months in advance you would think available spots would be plentiful…not so. One very important lesson we learned right away was in planning and securing your spot for recurring events in advance…and sometimes, if not always, this means a year in advance. This is without a doubt the most important part of planning your year in mobile concession. It doesn’t matter how good your product is if you can’t get it in front of customers. So, after a day of traveling along State Route 127 in Ohio for most of the day we finally stumbled upon the place where Whiskey River BBQ would make it’s BBQ Debut…The Darke County Steam Threshers Association!

 We could not believe our luck! The Darke County Steam Threshers Association is located along State Route 127 at the York Woods that has both water and electric hookups, campsites, and a restroom/shower facility onsite…very important feature for us! We wasted no time in contacting the steam threshers to inquire about setting up our barbecue stand. Once we finalized all the details, picked out our spot, and paid our fees; we went home and started our planning process.

We knew we were going to have our sauce out there for customers to try and I have to admit I had that nervous-excited-nauseated feeling in my gut that was just not going to go away until that first customer tried our sauce! That is why the planning was going to have to be perfect and I would have to plan through the eyes of my customer. Now, two months may seem like a lot of time to get organized and plan for an event such as this; but I honestly could have used another couple of weeks and whole lot more insight. This was going to be a true learning experience for us.

I have attended so many fairs, festivals, and even a few bbq competitions (only as a spectator) and knew what drew me in as a customer looking for some good food and that is what I was going to duplicate for our customers. You know what I mean right…if you are looking for a fresh grilled Italian Sausage you wouldn’t get that from an vendor selling elephant ears. I would be inclined to buy one from someone standing over a hot grill rather than in front of a microwave is all I’m saying. So I really wanted our barbecue set-up to “look” like barbecue; complete with the red and white checkered tablecloth…as you can see from this picture taken in our driveway the day before the set up.

Not perfect…but it got me started. We were going to be setting up at a yard sale event, so there were no health department requirements to be met and everything was very casual just as if you were selling in your own front yard. The actual set up turned out to be a little different.

 This is our actual first set up which, for a yard sale event, I thought turned out pretty good. The important thing was to make our set up design friendly, inviting, and encourage word of mouth advertising! Which totally happened by the way! After we were satisfied with our set up design, we put together our menu, set our price, and started making sauce!

 If anyone out there reading this blog post has ever realized their dream coming true then you know what an indescribable feeling you get the moment you realize it’s becoming a reality. And that nervous-excited-nauseated gut is something that you will just have to get use to…in a good way.

Our plan was to arrive the night before the first day of the event, set up, and start smoking that night to be ready for the first customers by 10 a.m.; unfortunately mother nature had other plans for us and the rest of the participants of the event. We loaded the truck, hooked up the smoker, and just as we were getting ready to lockup the house and head to the event…it started to storm. Now folks, anyone out there living in Ohio knows that the weather here can turn on a dime…and it does. When I first moved to Ohio I was told if I didn’t like the weather to just wait about 15 minutes because it would change. They were right! We quickly turned on the television and sure enough there were storm warnings with a high wind advisory/tornado watch in place for the rest of the night…great! So, knowing we would be a day behind we decided to stay home, get a good nights sleep, and just start fresh in the morning. Sometimes these little reminders are necessary to help us realize exactly who is in charge of the planning.

After arriving a day late due to the weather, we decided to walk the campground and pass out our menus to the other vendors – even the food vendors – and let them know that we would be serving breakfast in the morning and baby backs on Saturday in case they wanted to place their order early. We also left a stack of menus at the front gate so yard sale shoppers would be sure to see that authentic slow smoked barbecue was being served at this event. We arrived at the York Woods around 8AM on the first day of the sale which was Thursday and not a too terrible busy day. For those of you who are not familiar with the 127 yard sale event, I would encourage you to check out the website. This event spans 675 miles from Hudson, Michigan to Gadsden, Alabama and people actually plan their entire vacations around this event. I was more than just a little excited with the possibility of getting customers from outside our immediate community to try our product.  From the first smell of the hickory wood to the first sandwich served our little booth was buzzing with customers! We loaded our smoker down with pork butts, brisket, and brats for the first day and decided that Saturday, the busiest day, would be the only day we would sell baby-back ribs. That would give us three solid days of selling food and capturing that all important customer feedback we so needed.

Oh…and did I forget to mention we gave our customer’s their choice of sauce to use? Sweet Baby Ray’s is probably one, if not the, most famous barbecue sauce on the market and I’d say anyone who has tried barbecue has more than likely tried their sauce and is familiar with the taste. So what else did we decide to offer our customers as an alternative sauce choice but SBR’s. Talk about a boost to the ego…we got it! We bought 2 gallons of SBR’s sauce and made 2 gallons of JD’s Jacked-Up BBQ Sauce and gave customers their choice of which sauce they wanted. They were free to taste each one and use as much as they wanted on their food. Just as I had predicted at our backyard pig pickin’…we were a hit! We ran completely out of our sauce on Saturday, and had to make another gallon just because of repeat customers choice!!! We did go through some of the SBR’s as well, but not even close to the amount of our sauce we went through! We ended up taking a gallon and a half of the SBR’s home and only about a half a gallon of our sauce. Not only did we receive compliments on our sauce, but our food as well!

Our brisket sold out early on the first day (Friday), our baby backs sold out within two hours on Saturday, and by 2 o’clock on Saturday afternoon we were down to just pork butts and brats! There is no question in my mind that we would have ran out of food on Friday and one of us would have had to make a run to Sam’s Club just to have enough to keep up with the demand if it hadn’t been for the storm. In doing that, we would have had to tell our customers the product wasn’t ready, we were sold out, or they would have to come back…which was not an option. (See what I mean about that planning thing!)  To recap…that’s 40 pounds of brisket, 50 pounds of pulled pork, and 80 brats within 7 hours of the first day, not to mention 25 racks of ribs within 2 hours…I was a happy girl! To hear the response our food received and the overwhelming requests for our sauce just made me so proud and reassured us we were on the right path and this was a perfect way to test our product! We took a notebook along with us and took detailed notes on the good, the bad, and the ugly so we could get a handle on where we needed improving. In my opinion…it was everything except the way we cooked! That weekend we served people from Michigan, Tennessee, Alabama, and our community and the response could not have been more encouraging for us to continue on the next phase of our journey…a bigger event!

Keep cookin’ y’all!

Today I thought I would share how Whiskey River BBQ was born…and it all started with a backyard “pig-pickin’!” Actually, it started with the dream of starting my own food business, the pig-pickin’ just cinched it. For as long as I can remember, I have wanted my own food business; the problem…deciding which avenue I wanted to pursue because they all appealed to me. I was fortunate to have previously owned a small convenience store business, which included a deli. It didn’t take long for me to fall in love with that part of the businss and start adding to our menu. I also found that I thoroughly enjoyed interacting with the different types of customers that came into the store each day. I guess it’s because that environment reminded me a lot of my upbringing being surrounded by family, friends, and food that always created a good time. Simply stated, I didn’t know exactly what I was suppose to be doing with my life, but I knew it involved food. This would become very clear during a trip to Raleigh, NC one summer that lead to the purchase of our first little pig cooker.

During the summer of 2008, we found ourselves enjoying the hospitality of the wonderful residents in the small southern town of Zebulon, NC, east of Raleigh, as part of a road job for Jim’s work. While there, we happen to attend a weekend flea market at the State Fairgrounds and stopped by a booth of a smoker manufacturer (whose name truely escapes me now) who happened to be located on the carolina coast. So, pamphlet in hand, Jim headed to work the next day and asked the guys at the shop if they knew of the company or their product; and if they did what they thought about their smokers. The guys were quick to point out that they had no idea about that company but if we were looking for a smoker, there was only one place we needed to look…BQ Grills in Elm City, NC. Two of the guys had purchased a patio model for their own backyard and told us quote, “those guys can make damn near anything”. So, we got in the car and drove to Elm City and 3 months later we were the proud owners of our first little portable pig smoker.

So what’s a girl to do with a brand new portable pig cooker but throw a backyard pig-pickin’ for her family and friends…and that’s just what I did. We invited about 50 people out to the backyard and went hog wild! JD and I love cooking together especially for a crowd and with barbecue there are so many flavor combinations to create! JD is drawn more to the tangy vinegar based barbecue you would find in the Carolina’s; while I tend to gravitate toward the sticky, sweet-heat you mind find in Kansas City. I have rarely tried a style of barbecue that I couldn’t find something to like about it be the smoke, the sauce, or the meat. So when we decided to try our hand at a recipe for our own barbecue sauce and what style we wanted to use, you can imagine the trials and tribulations of finding one that stuck with both of us!

How it all began.

We both read book after book on barbecue trying to find some sort of inspiration to head us in the right direction we wanted to go with our products; almost to the point where I felt like I was on barbecue overload. So one day JD decides to dig out his own homemade barbecue sauce recipe that he had used for years yet somehow never managed to make for me until the pig pickin’ plannin’ was underway. My first and only question to him was why is this not on the shelf EVERYWHERE?!?!? Admittedly, I try almost all barbecue sauces I can get my hands on and I know a distinct flavor when I taste one…this sauce had it. You folks know what I’m talking about right? In a blind taste test I am certain that I would know Sweet Baby Ray’s sauce from Montgomery Inn’s sauce. Both sauces are two of my favorite’s because they each bring a unique identifier to the table…pun intended. The sauce that JD made for our pig pickin’ was that kind of sauce; a real one-of-a-kind taste…and we were not the only ones who thought so. All of our guests enjoyed it as well and we even had a couple of people ask where we bought it. (Proud moment)

Ahhhh…the smell of Hickory in the morning, a sign of a good day!

 So with that; we decided it should be our signature sauce/product and we call it “JD’s Jacked-Up BBQ Sauce”! Next, we focused our attention on the rub, the slather, the injection, and getting the star of the show ready for his grand entrance. I plan on another pig pickin’ this summer and will document our process from start to finish. So be sure to subscribe to the blog so you won’t miss the post!

Our guest of honor!

 We trimmed, we slathered, we rubbed, we smoked, and 14 hours later…WE ATE!

Whole pig smoked for 14 hours!

Our guests were treated to whole hog barbecue slow smoked for 14 hours over a mix of hickory and apple wood, baked beans, potato salad, coleslaw, and roasted cheesy potato pockets compliments of my good friend Amy Donaldson at Live.Love.Mom! A good time and full bellies were had by all who attended and after receiving such good compliments about our sauce and the taste of our barbecue; we couldn’t help but wonder what complete strangers would think our food. So, with that thought we set out to find a “test market” to see what John Q. Public thought of our barbecue, but more importantly…what about that sauce! Well, it just so happened that we were going to get the opportunity to see during the annual 127 Yard Sale weekend…and we couldn’t have been happier with the results!

Our first “official” setup!

 Keep cookin’ y’all!

]]> http://whiskeyriverbbq.wordpress.com/2013/01/16/whiskey-river-bbq-is/ Wed, 16 Jan 2013 14:00:24 +0000 Whiskey River BBQ http://whiskeyriverbbq.wordpress.com/2013/01/16/whiskey-river-bbq-is/ Hey Y’all! Welcome back to Que-Licious!

I thought I would take a few minutes and introduce the dynamic duo behind Whiskey River BBQ…

Stephanie (me) & JD.

My name is Stephanie and together with my best friend, love of my life, and partner in swine Jim (JD for short) we make up Whiskey River BBQ.  It should come as no surprise that our first date was at a barbecue joint in West Virginia and I do believe the business plan for Whiskey River was conceived that very night. We quickly discovered we both had a love of  smoked food, cooking for our family and friends, and creating memorable dishes with lots of flavor be it in the kitchen or in the backyard over a fire. As you may have guessed by our name, we have a “slight fondness” for Jack Daniels and we do cook with Whiskey…sometimes we even put it in our food. We believe that good barbecue is all about an unmistakable flavor combination that you can’t get enough of and that the cooking method should be authentic by smoking quality meats low and slow over a wood fire. That’s just what we do when we create our unique flavor combinations which has led us to the next phase in our barbecue adventure…packaging and distributing our products. I’ll cover this part in future blogs so for now, just sit back and get to know who we are, where we came from, and where we want to be on this smoke-filled whiskey-soaked barbecue journey.

My facination of cooking with a wood fire dates back to my childhood, long before the Steven Raichlen’s and Paul Kirk’s of the world, sitting in my grandma’s kitchen while she cooked on her cast iron wood buring stove. The gentle sound of a cracklin’ fire, the sound of the cast iron skillet sizzling sage sausage from a freshly butchered hog, and her smile while she was cooking set me on the path I am pursuing today. The barbecue part didn’t enter my life until the early 90′s while living briefly in both North Carolina and Texas. Talk about lessons in barbecue! For JD, it was a similar influence when his dad use to cook his famous stuffed peppers, cabbage rolls, or anything else! His dad would take a few simple ingredients and create unforgettable flavor combinations. Imagine if you will picking the right pepper, stuffing it with a sensational pork sausage/ground sirloin mixture, and topping it off with fresh canned tomato juice…Oh My Goodness! The ability his dad had to combine just the right ingredients was not lost on his son…believe me! Just as my grandmother inspired me to use high quality meat prepared over a wood fire, JD was just as inspired by the flavor infused foods passed down to him by his dad. He became facinated with smoking food when his mom bought him an electric smoker one year and has been smokin’ ever since. Together…we are cookin’ up so pretty darn good food!

Some of the best memories in our lives were created at the kitchen table, surrounded by family and friends, and that is what we want Whiskey River BBQ & Catering to bring to your table. I guess you could say we’ve been preparing for this adventure in barbecue for quite some time. We are dedicated to preserving the memories of our mentors in cooking by keeping those recipes and cooking methods alive through our food and products we create because of their influence. And we want to share our creations with you!

So where do we want to be one, two, or five years from now…still smokin’! The next few blogs will touch on how we tested our product and how Whiskey River BBQ & Catering came to be. Believe it or not, it was as simple as a backyard Pig Pickin”!

Keep Cookin’ Y’all!

Last fall I decided to put together a cookbook featuring my grandma Robinson’s scratch recipes my family has enjoyed for years. I know what you’re thinking right…another cookbook of comfort foods…that couldn’t be farther from the truth. I am sure when a cookbook of this nature is put together there is some collaberation with the person that inspires the book to be written in the first place. Perhaps you gather all the hand written recipes that were tucked away in recipe boxes and between the pages of cookbooks and sit down together at the kitchen table and go over each one carefully as to not forget an important step or that must have ingredient. Well, not this particular cookbook. The Forgotten Kitchen was inspired by the woman who taught me to grow a garden, can and preserve, how not only to cook but cook with love, and most of all, how to become self-sufficient when that is your only option.

As I began writting her recipes and methods down, I began to remember so many Sunday dinner’s spent at her house growing up. I remember watching her start a fire in the wood burning stove, the glorious smells drifting out of her kitchen, and the way her highboy buffet would be filled end-to-end with pies and the occassional cake. I am blessed to have so many memories of and with her, and I wish she could remember those days as well.  My grandmother suffers from the devastating effects of Alzheimer’s Disease. So you see folks, there will be no talks at the kitchen table, no cooking in the kitchen next to one of the most admired women in my life, and certainly no hand-written recipes. As the book started to come together, I realized it needed to be more than just a book of recipes and methods. It needed to be a book about the memories created out of one woman’s love for her family expressed through her food.

So what does putting together our family recipes have to do with a bbq business? EVERYTHING! I have taken those same family favorites and made them my own by adding my bbq twist. For example, my grandma’s homemade chicken and dumplin’s are my absolute favorite food ever. So given my love of barbecue style food, I made the dish my own and call it Smoked Chicken & Dumplin’s. To me, this is the best of both worlds. So these days I find myself reviewing these pages that I have “set to paper” (as she would say) and laughing when I remember a mischievious child’s actions on a Sunday afternoon in her house, crying because I miss her so, and eating because…well…I have to test the recipes. My goal is to have the book ready by her birthday this year which is April 1, 2012 so please keep watching the blog and other social sites for updates on when the book will be available. A percentage of the sales of the cookbook will be made to the Alzheimer’s Association (alz.org) in her name, Lucille Mae Robinson.

The Forgotten Kitchen is filled with memories of how my grandmother taught me to cook, working with her in the garden, and how her influence helped guide me to this point in my life which is exactly where I need to be…in the kitchen.

Keep Cookin’ Y’all!

Sesame – Cilantro Sticky Rice:

Please click click here for the instructions! Please enjoy as I know I will be making this over and over for years to come!

Last night Jason called to check in about an old favourite of his, spareribs with barbecue sauce, a meal he often requested as a child. I love spareribs too, but seldom make them these days, so I asked him to document his preparations. He sent me the old recipe which he had written down over the phone during his school days, the photos you see here, and the final verdict: “They turned out great – just as I remembered them…one of my all-time favourites.”

Jason bought one side of ribs at Windsor Packing Company (4110 Main Street) which offers excellent quality meat at reasonable prices. He told me that his purchase, which was enough for 2 people with leftovers, cost about $9.00. He followed the instructions on a YouTube video to trim it.

Here are the ribs after the first hour of baking:

Pork Ribs with BBQ Sauce
2 strips pork ribs
salt and pepper

Sauce:
1 c. ketchup
2 T. lemon juice
1 clove garlic, minced
1 t. grated ginger
2 T. brown sugar
1 t. mustard
1 t. worcestershire sauce
1/4 t. liquid smoke

Preheat oven to 350º. Place ribs in large roasting pan and season with salt and pepper. Roast about 1 hour. Mix sauce ingredients and spoon over top of ribs. Bake another hour, covering with foil if they get too brown.

There are a myriad of barbecue sauce recipes out there and most people have their favourite version. This recipe can be adapted according to your taste: less sugar, more ginger and garlic, and/or a splash of hot sauce. Play with it!

Here they are, served with spinach salad and mashed potatoes.
Bon appétit, Jason and Maggie.

Christie came over yesterday and we went through cookbooks to select our recipes.  We divvied up the grocery shopping.  Last year we went through all of the recipes and came up with 3 waves of 3 or 4 dishes each.  It sounds like an obscene amount of food but the point is to have a small amount of each thing.  Although we loved everything we made last year, we decided to go mostly with new things.  The only carryover from last year was the spareribs.

If this seems like way too much effort, take a look at your favorite cookbooks (or perhaps at your favorite blog!) and pick something you really like.  Choose a recipe that feels like a little bit of a stretch and make the cooking your New Year’s Eve entertainment.  Pull out your nicest china and make the evening special for you and your loved ones.  If you like to dress up, go for it – I’ll probably be in jeans.  It will be a last hurrah before we start eating lighter and healthier in 2012.  (You will be seeing a lot of lower calorie dishes on the menu plan after the first of the year.)

Here is the menu for our Tapas feast.  I’ve listed each recipe individually in case you want to incorporate a couple of items.  I went to the liquor store and got a nice Spanish red wine and a nice Spanish white to go with all of our dishes.  These recipes are to serve 4.  I’ll take pictures New Year’s Eve.

Mushrooms with garlic and parsley

• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 12 oz mushrooms, cleaned and stemmed
• 4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup sherry
• 1 TB finely chopped parsley

Heat oil in a large pan over medium heat.  Add mushrooms and brown 1 – 2 minutes per side.  Add garlic and thyme and stir until garlic is just browned, about 30 seconds.  Pour in sherry and cook until it is mostly evaporated.  Season to taste with salt and pepper, top with parsley and serve.

Clams in green sauce

• 16 clams, cleaned
• 1 TB chopped parsley
• 3 TB olive oil
• 2 TB chopped Spanish onion
• 1 clove finely chopped garlic
• 1 TB white wine

Boil a quart of water in a large pot.  Add clams a few at a time and cook until just starting to open (about 10 seconds).  Remove from heat and continue with remaining clams.  Remove the clams from their shells over a bowl to preserve the clam juice.  Puree the clam juice with the parsley in a blender.

Heat olive oil over medium heat and saute onions until soft (about 3 minutes).  Add garlic and wine and cook for about 30 seconds.  Add 2 TB of the parsley sauce and cook for 1 minute.  Place clams on a plate and cover with the sauce.

Fried zucchini with shrimp and bacon

• 1 large zucchini
• 4 strips of bacon
• 4 jumbo shrimp (cooked and peeled)
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• flour
• olive oil

Spareribs

•  1 rack of spareribs
• 1/3 cup sherry or wine
• 5 tsp paprika
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 TB oregano

Preheat oven to 425.  Lightly oil a large roasting pan.  Cut ribs into individual ribs and spread in a single layer in pan.  Roast for 20 minutes.

Combine sherry, paprika, garlic, oregano with 2/3 cup water in a measuring cup and whisk together.  Remove from oven and pour off fat.  Reduce oven temperature to 350.  Coat ribs with sauce and roast for another 45 minutes.  Serve hot.

Potatoes with shallots and rosemary

• 24 oz fingerling potatoes
• 4 TB olive oil
• 1 TB finely chopped rosemary
• 6 shallots, sliced in thirds
• 2 cloves garlic, sliced

Bread with dark chocolate and olive oil

Last year I think we just ate leftover Christmas cookies for dessert but when I saw this, I had to add it to the list.

• 4 thick slices of crusty bread
• 4 oz good quality dark chocolate broken into pieces
• 4 TB olive oil
• sea salt to taste

Preheat oven to 200.  Toast bread (in a toaster) until lightly browned.  Brush bread with olive oil and top with chocolate pieces.  Heat in the oven until the chocolate melts (about 5 minutes).  Sprinkle with sea salt and serve.

Check out my General Tso’s Braised + Glazed Spare Ribs recipe after the jump!

General Tso’s Braised+ Glazed
Spare Ribs

Serves 2
Total time: 1.5 hours

Ingredients

• 1 dozen spare ribs (about 2 lbs), seperated
• 1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
• 1/4 cup  rice vinegar
• 1/2 cup of hoisin sauce
• 1T sriracha
• 2T sesame oil
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1T vegetable oil
• 2tsp ginger, minced
• 5 garlic cloves/2T, minced
• 12 dried red chilis
• 1T cornstarch
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup scallions, chopped
• 4 cups of prepared white rice
• 2 cups steamed broccoli

Equipment

• wok with lid
• medium mixing bowl
• whisk
• baking sheet
• foil
• cooking spray

1. Combine chicken stock, soy sauce, hoisin, rice wine vinegar, sriracha, sesame oil, & sugar in a bowl. Whisk together and set aside.
2. Heat 1T vegetable oil in a wok over high heat. Add ginger & garlic and saute approx 30 seconds until fragrant without browning.
3. Add sauce mixture to wok. Add ribs and dried red chilis.
4. Bring to a boil. Cover and reduce to medium-low.
5. Allow to simmer for 30minutes and then flip/rearrange spare ribs. Add chicken stock as needed if liquid reduces too low.
6. Re-cover and allow to simmer for an additional 3o minutes.
   If prepping a day ahead, you can stop here. Remove from heat, allow to cool completely, and store in refrigerator over night. Resume with Step 7 approx. 30-45 minutes before serving.
7. Pre-heat oven on Lo broil setting. Cover a baking sheet with foil and coat with cooking spray.
8. Remove wok from heat and transfer ribs meaty side down on baking sheet. Broil approx. 4 inches from heating element for about 5 minutes. Turn ribs (or use my genius method noted below) and broil for another 5 minutes until glazed & crispy.
9. While ribs are under the broiler, return sauce to stove over medium heat. Whisk together cornstarch & water. Add to sauce and combine. Bring to boil, stirring regularly, for about 3 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to thicken.
10. Toss ribs and half of scallions in thickened sauce.
11. Plate 2 servings of white rice and divide ribs. Spoon extra sauce on top and sprinkle with remaining scallions. Serve with steamed broccoli.

I’m a genius.

When it came time to flip my ribs to the meaty side, I realized that they were too arched to magically stand up and broil to the level I wanted to achieve. Lightbulb moment! I grabbed my bundt pan, flipped it over opening side down, covered it with foil, and draped the ribs around the arched disc. Please note that all your ribs may not fit so you may have to broil in batches. Also, make sure to lower your oven rack down a level or two so that their is still a headspace of about 4″ between the broiler and ribs.

Rib Roast, X-mas 2010

I like food.

Actually, that’s not totally accurate.  I love food.  These items were cooked by either myself or my wife over the past year.  The feature image above is a rib roast I made for Christmas, cooked over about 6 hours on a grill.  The recipe comes from Adam Perry Lane’s book Serious BBQ, which is potentially the most amazing cookbook I’ve ever used; everything we’ve made from it has been fan-freaking-tastic.

The wife made the delicious and unfortunately named “sugar balls” below.  The other two items — the turkey and the rack of ribs — were both done on our smoker, were equally big hits using more APL recipes.

The oak trees in our yard are quickly shedding their leaves to prepare for the coming winter.  In contrast, Pilot, my normally petite cat is just a bit bigger as he’s now holding on to his fur (and hopefully appears more formidable in the eyes of the field mice).  The resident Great Horned owls are making their presence known to each other with their mating calls, their hoo-hoo-hoo from late evening to early morning one of the most welcome, beautiful sounds I’ve ever heard.  When I step out at night the air is crisp and chilly, delivering a bite to my cheeks that grows just a bit sharper each day.  I am responding to nature’s changing mood, as well.  I’m hungry for more substance on my plate.  No longer is a simple salad sufficient for a meal; now it is desirable only as a prelude to a heartier, more robust main course.

If you look at my category cloud on my sidebar you might notice that beef and pork are quite underrepresented though I enjoy both very much.  I shared these Pork Ribs with Orange Glaze last year, the citrus and herbs winning my heart for the twist on the classic, sweeter preparation.  In the Languedoc region of southwest France spareribs are prepared in the oven, roasted until the meat is very tender.  Traditionally, a special implement called a flambadou, a perforated wrought iron cup (that was secured to a rod) was used as a basting instrument.  It was heated until red-hot and a piece of country ham fat was placed inside.  As the fat melted it would drip onto the ribs, imparting a charred, ham flavor to the meat.  Then an herb-infused oil would be brushed on the ribs as a finishing touch.

I have no flambadou but melt-in-your-mouth spareribs infused simply with herbs de Provence and mint sounded no less appetizing to me.  After rubbing the ribs with salt and pepper, I let the oven do the work.  The oil–infused with a mix of dried herbs, fresh mint, balsamic vinegar and sugar–was used to glaze the meat before broiling and I couldn’t have been more pleased with the results.  I am certain that the traditional Languedoc preparation would have been superior to this, more modern, version but I can honestly say that the ribs I served in my northern California kitchen successfully transported me to southwest France, even just for a short while. Oo la la! 

French-Style Spareribs

* adapted from The Cooking of Southwest France

This recipe doesn’t require any deep frying and it could be done in less than 30 minutes.  The selection of spareribs is the key to success.  I like to use a “meaty” baby back rib so you can have the flavour from the bone but enough meat to take care of your hungry appetite.  Since this dish has a very strong taste, it is best to go with an ice cold “White Zinfandel” to balance it out.  I am not a wine expert so you might want to find a wine of your own choice to go with it.

Total cooking time: 30 minutes

Key point:

• Ask your local butch for a “Meaty” pork baby back rib
• Use cane sugar instead of white sugar
• Use Chinese rice vinegar instead of regular white vinegar

INGREDIENTS
1 Lb︰ meaty baby back rib (cut to desired size)
1 tbsp︰ Shao shing wine (yellow wine)
2 tbsp︰ rice vinegar
3 tbsp︰ cane sugar (1 1/2 pieces)
4 tbsp︰ light soya sauce
5 tbsp︰ water

STEP
1. Parboil ( partial boiling of food as the first step in the cooking process.) the spareribs in boiling water. Pat dry.
2. Put all ingredients in a saucepan and boil for 2 mins in high heat. Lower the heat and simmer for 20 mins till tender.
3. Turn to high heat again till sauce thickens, and serve immediately.

TIPS
You can cook with 5-layers pork (pork belly), but scoop away oil before serving. (Takes one hour cooking time)  This is another very tasty Chinese dish made famous by a poet from years ago. (東坡肉)

材料
排骨︰ 500gm
紹興酒︰ 1湯匙
米醋︰      2湯匙
片糖︰      3湯匙  (1 1/2片)
生抽︰      4湯匙
水︰          5湯匙

做法
1.用滾水將排骨汆水，瀝乾。
2.將所有材料放進鍋，以高火煮 2分鐘，然後以低火焗 20分鐘至全熟。
3.轉至高火直至醬汁厚身，上碟。

貼士
1.你可以五花腩代替，但上桌前要先把肥油撇掉。(東坡肉)
2.這是一道和其名稱一樣有趣的排骨烹調法。
3.但炮製時緊記不要搞亂材料的分量，否則做出來的味道會很不同。