Side Dishes for Oriental Pulled Pork

In today's Home and Garden Section of the Commercial Appeal, I published a recipe for an oriental style pulled pork sandwich. The side dishes I served with it came from prior columns. For those who don't cut out and save every column (and why not, I want to know!) here are the recipes.

For the two cole slaw variations I started with the Georges Bank salad dressing. I made it as published, except I used lime zest and juice instead of the lemon juice. I mixed it with packaged broccoli slaw (available in the produce section of markets). I also mixed it with an equal amount of mayonnaise for a slaw made with a small head of Chinese cabbage and a small head of bok choy, thinly sliced. I added a bit of slivered onion for flavor, and a slivered red bell pepper for color. You could quite handily substitute packaged cole slaw mix for the cabbage and bok choy. Both were liked equally by my guests, but I preferred the mayonnaise version.

BITTERSWEET GEORGES BANKS SALAD

Dressing:
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 tbsp hoisin sauce
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup white sugar
2 tbsp toasted sesame oil
1/4 cup vegetable oil
Salt and pepper to taste


BRAZILIAN BAKED BLACK BEANS GO ORIENTAL

3 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 cup onion, diced
1 can Rotel with lime and cilantro
3/4 tsp dry mustard
1/2 tsp Chinese five-spice powder
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1-1/2 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp hoisin sauce
1 tbsp Worcestershire
1/3 cup dark rum (or fresh lemon juice)
4 cups (3 cans) black beans, not rinsed or drained

Preheat the oven to 350. Heat the oil in a large pot. Add garlic and stir a couple of times. Add onion and cook until translucent. Add remaining ingredients except beans and salt. Bring to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes. Add beans, stir to combine and place in a casserole. and bake for about an hour. Serves 8-10.

A really good fish dish!

It started with leftover corn on the cob. We'd been part of a pot-luck cook-out and I'd made it the way I always do nowadays. I mixed the juice and finely grated zest of a lime into a stick of room temperature butter, slathered it on the shucked corn and wrapped it in foil. It takes about 20 minutes to cook on a hot grill, turning often, or in a 400-degree oven, on a baking sheet. Try it, and you'll never boil corn on the cob again.

I had four ears left over. I was going to my friends' house, Laretha and Bryce Randolph, to cook together and thought I'd like to try a version of a dish I'd read about in a restaurant trade magazine. At the farmers' market I picked up some lady peas and red bell peppers and we were set to go.
I used a spice rub Laretha had made for the fish, and a succotash to go under it. A bacon sauce on top made it what all at the table pronounced one of the best dishes we'd ever cooked together.

I know it looks long, but trust me, it's well worth it. I used golden tilefish, similar in taste and texture to the sadly overfished and expensive Chilean sea bass, but halibut or grouper would work well. You can made the rub any time, and you'll probably find lots of other things to use it on. You can make the succotash and bacon sauce earlier in the day and reheat at serving time. Then all you would have to do is sear the fish and you're good to go.

FISH WITH SUCCOTASH AND BACON SAUCE

For the rub:
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 1/2 tsp Spanish smoked paprika
3/4 tsp ground coriander
3/4 tsp Kosher salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

For the sauce:
4 ounces good smoked bacon, 1/4" strips
1 cup onion, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp unsulphured molasses
1 cup dry white wine
3/4 cup chicken stock

For the succotash:
3/4 lb lady peas or lima beans
1 slice bacon, minced
2 tbsp butter
2 red bell peppers, diced
1 cup onion, chopped
1/2 cup carrot, diced
1 or 2 jalapeño peppers, minced (see note)
4 cups corn cut off the cob, cooked or fresh
2 tbsp fresh thyme leaves, or 2 tsp dried thyme
1/4 cup heavy cream

To finish:
2 lbs firm-fleshed fish filet, cut into 6 servings
2 tbsp vegetable oil

Combine all the ingredients for the rub. Keep in an airtight jar at room temperature.

In a skillet, cook the bacon for the sauce until lightly browned. Remove with a slotted spoon and reserve. In the remaining fat, cook the onion and garlic until tender. Add the molasses and cook, stirring for a couple of minutes. Add the wine and cook until almost evaporated. Add the chicken stock and simmer briefly. Add the bacon and set aside.

Cook the lady peas with the minced bacon in water to barely cover, for about 20 minutes or until just tender. In a skillet over medium heat cook the bell pepper, onion and carrot until tender. Add the corn and stir to combine. Add the lady peas with their cooking liquid and the thyme. Simmer until the liquid is reduced slightly. Add the cream and simmer briefly. Taste and season with salt and pepper as desired.

Sprinkle the rub over the fish. In a heavy skillet over medium-high heat, heat the oil and cook the fish until well-browned and just barely done.
Serve the fish on a bed of succotash. Drizzle the sauce with the bacon over the top and serve immediately. Serves six.

NOTE: One jalapeño pepper with the seeds removed will give a nice zing. Leaving the seeds in makes the dish hotter. Use your own taste in hotness as a guide.

I stopped in Fresh Market the other day for one of those "Berry Mascarpone Coffee Cake" things that I really like, and on the way through the produce department, found these "Easter Egg Radishes." Aren't they pretty?

I had to have them, and took them home to share with a friend. In the classic French style of serving, I had some crusty bread, excellent French butter and a little pot of sea salt. What a nice little mini-feast it was!

Now I'm a Chef?

What a treat! To have one of Mantia's favorite recipes featured in the September issue of Memphis Magazine!

















Now I'm pretty sure you can't read the recipe from this page but the photographer took almost an hour to shoot the final plated dish, and what a lovely job he did. So I wanted to show it off. You'll find the recipe below.

1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup white wine or cider vinegar
1 tbsp whole coriander seed, crushed
1 tsp whole cumin seeds, crushed
1 pinch ground cloves
1 tsp mixed peppercorns, crushed
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp kosher or sea salt
1 tbsp fresh ginger, peeled and grated
1 or 2 jalapeño peppers, minced (see note below)
1/2 cup each seedless black, red and white grapes, cut in half

In a non-reactive saucepan, combine the sugars, spices and salt and bring to a boil. Add the ginger and jalapeño peppers and simmer a minute or two. Remove from the heat, and add the grapes at once. Stir well and let set at room temperature for about an hour. This makes about 2 cups of salsa and is good with almost anything you grill, especially fish or poultry. It keeps very well in the fridge.

NOTE: For the mildest amount of heat, use one pepper and remove the seeds and inside veins. For or heat use all of one pepper. For those with asbestos tongues, use all of two peppers.

Frugal Eating Tips from the Simpsons

"Cutting calories and saving d'oh: 25 lessons 'The Simpsons' taught me about cheap, healthy eating"javascript:void(0)
Publish Post

That's the title of an entry on the blog "Cheap Healthy Good." There are so many good food blogs out there that I rarely single out one to recommend, but this is good reading.

Example:

When grocery shopping, it helps to look for whole foods and stick to the perimeter of the store. It’s healthier and less expensive overall.

Homer: Olive oil? Asparagus? If your mother wasn't so fancy, we could just shop at the gas station like normal people.

First Shot from San Diego

I know, really I do, that I promised lots of news and shots from my San Diego trip, generously hosted by my friend Tom Price. But we stayed really busy most of the time, and besides I failed to take the cable to download pictures to the laptop.

We were amused to find that there was a comic book convention: 125,000 comic book lovers flooded the town, many in costume. Here you see me and my friend Merrill Lee Toole (who lives in Los Angeles) with a Mexican doughnut.

We were less amused to find that because of the convention, except for our first night we were not going to be able to stay in the lovely downtown Westin Hotel, since it had been booked for months.

It worked out beautifully though, since Tom found a newly renovated Clarion Hotel right around the corner from San Diego's Little Italy. It was also within walking distance of a lot of the things we wanted to see.

More about the restaurants in Little Italy (and elsewhere) in another post.

Really good brunch bake

I am often asked how I come up with all the recipes I use. The truth is, sometimes I’m inspired by a dish I’ve had in a restaurant. Sometimes it’s from a friend who has entertained and served something that had me whipping out my camera. Sometimes it’s something I just read about in a restaurant review or other food writing and tried. And once in a while it’s sort of serendipity, throwing something together that sounds good--and tastes good, too.

This recipe inspiration was none of the above. Looking through the coupon clipper section of the newspaper a few weeks back, I noticed a recipe in tiny print beside a coupon for Martha White products. I clipped it out (along with the coupon, of course) and stuck it on my refrigerator door.

A week or so later, I wanted something for a brunch dish, and there was the recipe staring me in the face. I gave it a try. As I tend to do, I made some changes to suit my taste. I thought it was delicious, and so did my friends.
There’s almost always some time during the summer that serving brunch or a hearty breakfast seems the right way to entertain. This is the perfect recipe for that.

If you use a rotisserie chicken from the supermarket, as I did, it will take only a little over half an hour from start to finish. If you chop your onion and bell pepper the night before and store in the fridge, it will cut a few minutes from the prep time. You can buy the cheese already shredded and mixed in the dairy section of the supermarket. You can make the dressing, shred the lettuce and dice the tomato while the base is baking.

It takes about half the meat from a small roasted chicken for this recipe, so you’ll have some left to make chicken salad, chicken soup, or just to nibble on.

This and a little fruit makes a perfect plate. This may well become one of your staple brunch recipes!

SOUTHWESTERN CHICKEN BRUNCH BAKE

Topping:
2 tablespoons olive oil
¼ cup onion, finely chopped
¼ cup red bell pepper, finely chopped
About 2 cups cooked chicken, shredded
¼ cup cilantro leaves, minced
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon chili powder (I used Mexene)
½ teaspoon ground cumin
1 can Rotel tomatoes (preferably with lime and cilantro)
1 cup shredded Mexican cheese mixture
Crust:
1 egg
½ cup milk
1 7-ounce package Martha White Sweet Yellow Cornbread Mix (see note)
Salsa Dressing:
¾ cup buttermilk ranch dressing
½ cup cilantro leaves
1 teaspoon chipotle Tabasco sauce (or more, to taste)
½ cup purchased salsa verde
Juice and finely grated zest of one lime
To Finish:
3 cups shredded lettuce
1 cup Roma tomato, seeded and diced
1 avocado, sliced

Preheat the oven to 400 F. Make the topping: In a heavy skillet, heat the oil and cook the onion and bell pepper until tender, stirring often. Stir in the chicken, seasonings and tomatoes and simmer about 5 minutes.

Make the dressing: In a blender or food processor, combine all ingredients and pulse several times to blend but not quite puree completely. Scrape into a bowl, cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk the egg and milk together. Add the cornbread mix and stir just until combined. Grease a heavy 10” skillet that can go into the oven. Pour the cornbread mixture into the pan and top with the chicken mixture. Sprinkle with the shredded cheese. Bake 20-25 minutes, until golden brown and the cornbread is done.

Let cool slightly and cut into wedges. Place on serving plates, top with the lettuce, avocado and tomato and drizzle with the salsa dressing. Serves 6.


NOTE: Most local Kroger stores carry the Sweet Yellow Cornbread Mix. If you are unable to find it, use another variety that calls for milk and egg.

Cute little desserts

Some of my friends and I frequent the Carrabba's on Poplar in front of Clark Tower. Mostly we go for happy hour. It's a pleasant place, quiet (except for the occasional opera piece on their muzak system) and the folks who work there are unfailingly charming.

I was in with a friend this weekend to get one of their fire-baked pizzas. They were rolling out these cute little desserts. They offered us samples. (See why we love it?) Our favorite was the one with marsala-scented zabaglione topped with fresh raspberries and blueberries. I also liked the one with butter cake on the bottom, pastry cream and strawberries, but all were very tasty.

With six varieties, they are all $2.25 each and just the right size for following a big Italian meal. If you have a tableful of folks, or if you're a bigger dessert eater than I can ever be, the whole rack of six is $13.00.

Reed's Curried Carrot Soup

If you’ve been a regular reader of this blog for a while, you know that I am truly blessed with great friends who love to cook.

One couple you’ve read about before are Reed Malkin and his wife Diane Benson. In the past few months they have initiated what has become a regular affair: the Sunday afternoon dinner. Folks trail in over the early hours of the afternoon, and enjoy a glass of wine, or a French aperitif. There are always dishes of olives and perhaps a few slices of salami to nibble on, and some of the guests might bring an appetizer to share.

Around 3:00 Reed will wander toward the kitchen and start bringing out the first of what is always several courses of really yummy food. And usually the lovely Miss Benson will wind up the meal with one of her home-made desserts. By 6:00 or so, everyone heads home.

I really like this idea and may steal it for my own. It makes an easy, casual way to entertain. The hosts aren't faced with a pile of dirty dishes late at night (or even worse, early the next morning). The guests can go home and do what they need to do to get ready for work the next day, and everyone can get to bed at a reasonable hour.

A recent gathering featured a wonderful curried carrot soup to start. The main course was a marinated and grilled tuna loin that one of the guests had fished out of the sea just the day before, with an orzo risotto and a great baked dish reminiscent of ratatouille, topped with cheese. Dessert was home-made ice cream and cookies.

You know how I love dishes that can be made ahead, so I had to ask for the soup recipe. It makes a great first course in the heat of summer. With its garnish of shrimp, I think you could make a great luncheon with a big green salad. And look how easy it is!

REED'S CURRIED CARROT SOUP

1 bunch green onions, chopped
1 small yellow onion, chopped
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon curry powder (see notes)
1 1/2 pounds carrots, peeled and chopped
2 1/2 cups chicken or vegetable stock
1 can (14-16 ounces) coconut milk (see notes)
Juice and zest of one lime
For garnish:
2 green onions, thinly sliced
1/4 cup shredded coconut, toasted
4 to 6 large shrimp, cooked, peeled and deveined
4 tablespoons fresh cilantro leaves

In a heavy pot, over medium heat, sauté the green and yellow onion in the butter until starting to soften. Add the curry powder and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are tender.
Add the carrots and the stock. Bring to a simmer, cover and cook until the carrots are very tender, about 20 minutes.
With a hand blender, or in a food processor, puree the soup until very smooth. Add the coconut milk, lime juice and zest. Cover and chill .
When ready to serve, ladle into bowls and top with the garnish. Serves 4 as a main course, or 6 as a first course.

NOTES: Reed used hot curry powder which gave it a pretty good kick. If you prefer, you may use mild curry powder. The coconut milk is the unsweetened sort, found in the oriental food section, not the sweetened cream of coconut found in the beverage mixer section of the supermarket.

Be Mantia's Sandwich Chef for a Day!

  It's easy! Just submit your idea for the perfect sandwich for Mantia's. Our crew will pick the five most appealing to them, and we will feature them as sandwich specials the week of June 2. If we gets lots and lots of good ideas, we'll extend into the following week.

The sandwich that sells the most will be named after its creator, and honored with a permanent place on our rotating list of sandwich specials. The person who submits it will enjoy dinner for two at Mantia's.

Votes may also be cast on our new Facebook page in a special section. You may also submit your recipe on our Facebook page.

In addition to the fame and fortune that the winner will enjoy, Mantia's will donate $1.00 for each of the special sandwiches sold during that week to the Kidney Foundation of West Tennessee.

Ask one of our associates for an entry form and let's get rolling!