Clementine Vinaigrette

Use your tired old clementines to make a delicious salad dressing.  It's easy and a great treat for heralding out citrus season in the US.  Get a few 8 or 16 oz ball jars and enjoy this for a few weeks.

CLEMENTINE VINEGAR
about 2 clementines per 8 oz jar, thinly sliced (make sure your knife is VERY sharp to slice wilting clementines)
1 1/2 teaspoons black pepper corns per jar
1 1/2 teaspoons coriander seed
white vinegar (do not use anything else or you will ruin the subtle taste of this vinegar)

Put the sliced clementines, peppercorns and coriander seed in the ball jars.  Cover with white vinegar.   (Two is about the minimum number of clementines you should use for this size jar; you may increase the amount to almost pack the jars if you like).  Let sit for a week and it will be ready to use.

If you have used all of the clementine vinegar, you may refill it with vinegar for full flavor one more time and let it rest for 5-6 days before using.

MAKING THE VINAIGRETTE
To about a quarter cut of extra virgin olive oil, add a teaspoon of dijon mustard and honey.  You may add some minced garlic if you like.  Mix thoroughly with a fork or small wisk.  Strain about 1/4 cup of vinegar into the oil mixture.  Sprinkle with a small pinch of coarse sea salt (I like to use grey salt, but any salt you have on hand will really do).  Mix thoroughly.  Taste for balance and adjust according to your palette.   This dressing is wonderful over a spinach salad and goes very well with goat cheese, too!

Fried Wontons & Dipping Sauce

Once you break into that package of wontons to make soup, it's always a temptation to make fried wontons for little afternoon snack.  I stuffed these with leftover crab dip from The Fish Guys at Columbus' North Market ... they just melt in your mouth.  Oh, so easy and oh, so good.

WHAT YOU NEED
10-12 wonton wrappers
1/2 - 3/4 cup stuffing (I used crab dip)
~ 4 cups safflower or canola oil
small diameter saucepan, 5-6 inches tall
long insulated tongs
jelly, jam or preserves (whatever you have on hand)
dijon mustard
rice wine or cider vinegar
pinch of salt

MAKING THE WONTONS
[note: if you aren't comfortable working with very hot oil, ask someone to help you.  This oil will be about 350 degrees which can burn badly]

Fill a small diameter high edged saucepan no more than halfway from the top with your oil.  You want enough so that the wontons can float freely as they cook.  Heat over medium high until a drop of water dances on the surface of the oil.  While the oil is heating, stuff your wontons as follows.  This amount of oil can certainly make more wontons than the recipe calls for.

Lay a wonton wrapper flat on the cutting board.  Imagine the wrapper in two triangles divided along the diagonal -- you will fold the filled wonton along that diagonal line.  Moisten the edges of the wrapper using your fingers or a pastry brush.  Put about a teaspoon of the filling in the upper right corner, about 1/2 inch from the edge.  Fold over and press firmly to seal the wrapper.  Bring the long corners together and pinch together to seal.  Set aside on a plate and repeat until you have made as many as you like.

Once the oil is hot, carefully place 3-4 wontons in your pot, using your tongs.   They should immediately bubble up and begin cooking.  Watch carefully to make sure that the oil is hot enough that the wontons are cooking well and not burning.  You may need to adjust the heat.  The trick is not to add so many wontons that you cool the oil, don't crowd them.  While the first batch is cooking, line a plate or baking sheet with paper towels.  Once the wontons rise to the top of the oil and are slightly browned, remove them from the oil one at a time using your tongs and set them on the paper towel.  Continue cooking the wontons 3-4 at a time until the batch is finished.  It is fine to stack them -- just be sure to add a couple of paper towels between each layer.   Set aside to cool and drain.

THE DIPPING SAUCE
Start with 1 tablespoon each of jam, dijon mustard and rice wine vinegar.  Add a few grains of course sea salt (or a tiny bit of fine sea salt).  Adjust the components to suit your tastes.

Serve and enjoy!

Thai WonTon Soup (with homemade Apple-Ginger Broth)

This is a terrific, fun and very forgiving recipe.  I came up with it this fall for my October soup party thinking of the wonderful butternut squash soup I would have at my favorite Chinese restaurant in Cleveland, Sun Luck Gardens.  The important broth ingredients are the onion, ginger, apple, soy bean paste and wontons.  If you have access and familiarity to lemongrass, you can use that instead of lime.  The important technique is to continuously taste the broth to insure a balance of salty, sweet, hot and sour. Everything else is a party-in-your mouth bonus.  Although there are many steps, it really is not a complicated recipe.  Kids of all ages have a great time helping make the wontons.

DRIED MUSHROOMS
You can get interesting dried mushrooms today, even at your neighborhood grocery.  Buy a small pack and cover them in warm water to rehydrate.  Set them aside until you are ready to make the final soup.

THE APPLE GINGER BROTH
1-2 T extra virgin olive oil
1 white onion, roughly chopped to 1" pieces
5 stalks celery, roughly chopped (I usually use tired-old celery for this)
4-5 inches of fresh ginger root, peeled and chopped in largish-pieces
1 1/2 apples (I like gala, but you want a sweeter apple here) quartered
1 1/2 T black soy sauce (it's very thick and DO NOT USE regular soy sauce)
1 1/2 T soy bean paste
1 1/2 T rice wine or cider vinegar
1/2 bunch parsley, stems and all
1/2 cup basil leaves, whole
1 lime quartered
1 t turbinado or honey
1 pinch of salt
water
pinch of ground cayenne pepper

Heat olive oil on medium low in a large dutch oven or stock pot.  Add the chopped onions and celery at any time.  In order to wilt the vegetables, add a small pinch of salt and saute about 5 minutes, occasionally stirring.  Now, put in the ginger and apples and saute for a couple of minutes.  Pour in just enough water to cover the vegetables and bring to a simmer.  Add the black soy sauce (you can find this at any Asian Market), soy paste and allow to simmer for 5 minutes before adding the rest of the ingredients. Now add the rest of the ingredients.  Add a bit more water (perhaps doubling the volume) and bring to a boil.  As the mixture heats, taste it frequently for flavor balance as it heats to ensure it isn't too salty, sour or sweet. Remedies:

• Too salty: add more apple, cider vinegar, and water
• Too sweet: add a bit more soy sauce, perhaps more cayenne
• Too sour: add more apple and maybe a small pinch of sugar

Remember that is important to ensure the taste is balanced as you like it before it comes to a boil.  Allow the broth to simmer for about 45 minutes and add water if you feel it is getting too strong.   Turn the heat off and cool the broth to room temperature.  Strain through a cheesecloth or tea towel into a container (I lay my towel across a colander and have a second stock pot into which I strain it).

THE WONTONS

1/2 pack of wonton wrappers (usually found in the dairy case of your grocer near the tofu)

2 cups of minced stuffing (butternut squash, white button mushrooms, shrimp, tofu, whatever suits you)

1/4 -1/3 cup red curry paste

1/4-1/3 cup coconut milk

1 dish of water for brushing on to the wonton wrappers

I find that approximately equal amounts of red curry paste and coconut milk works best for my palate.  Use what you like, here.  Mix thoroughly in a bowl and adjust to your desired sweetness or heat.  Roughly chop your filling on a sturdy cutting board in your most sturdy place in the kitchen.

After roughly chopping, you will mince the filling.  You must use the Namwhan approved Thai method of mincing the filling until it is a pulp.  Grab your best chefs' knife.  With the knife in your dominant hand and your other hand behind your back, bring that knife's sharp edge down hard onto the filling ingredients, whacking it swiftly, hard and continuously until it is completely cut to a pulp.  Remember your Thai grandmother, smile and enjoy: She would tell you, "If you are too weak, you will never get a husband." Take that filling to task with a gleeful look in your eye (and keep that free hand behind your back).  Place the minced filling in a bowl and mix your curry-coconut sauce through it until the minced filling is nicely coated.

Your wonton wrappers should be still in the package and close to room temperature.  Remove half from the pack and set on the cutting board or counter top along with a bowl of warm water, a pastry brush, the filling, and a plate onto which you can set the formed wontons.  Pull one wrapper out and look at it.  It is basically square.  You are going to fold the wonton on the diagonal and seal the filling into the triangle.  So, imagine: you are going to put your filling in one corner of the wonton shell.

With your pastry brush, or your fingers, moisten the edges of the wrapper.  With a teaspoon, drop a blob of filling into the upper right hand corner, inside the moistened edges.  Fold the empty side over the filled side and press the edges together very firmly.  It's okay if you squeeze a little filling out -- no worries -- just clean it up and press it together.  After the triangle is formed, you can press the long corners together to make a little crown.  Bring the points together and press them together firmly.  Set the cute little things aside on a plate.

You may freeze the extra wonton wrappers for later use.

THE SOUP

1 cup sliced button mushrooms

1 bunch of scallions, chopped; chop the dark green ends in 1" lengths discarding rough edges

wontons, filled

dried mushrooms, rehydrated

apple-ginger broth

fresh cilantro leaves

Bring the broth to a rolling boil if it is too concentrated, add water 1 cup at a time until you are happy with the flavor.  You may add the mushrooms at any time.  Once the broth is boiling, place the wontons into the broth one at a time, carefully and rapidly.  Add the scallions and return to a boil.  As the wontons  cook, they will rise to the top of the pot and the broth will return to a rolling boil.  Allow to boil for a couple of minutes and your soup is done.

Top with fresh cilantro leaves and enjoy!

Pad See-oo

Pad See-oo, Sweet Thai Dish

This simple recipe will appeal to those who like sweet dinners. It is a very common dish in Thailand, according to my Chef friend who gave this recipe to me. This is a GREAT recipe for vegetarians who are needing extra protein.

Flat noodles, cut before cooking if not already cut
2 cloves garlic, minced
head of broccoli, chopped
2 eggs
8 oz. extra firm tofu, drained and diced

Sauce
2 teaspoons dark soy sauce
2 teaspoons white distilled vinegar
2 teaspoons fish sauce (I don't use this, but I hear it is better with than without)
[editor's note: you can deliciously replace fish sauce with "Maggi Seasoning" available in the Asian of some groceries or at any Asian market]
3 teaspoons brown sugar

Mix sauce to taste. You may have to adjust, depending on the sweet to vinegar ratio. Set aside.

Place noodles in boiling water and cook. In a pan, drop two tbsp. of oil, and fry the garlic on high. Move garlic to one side of pan, drop in eggs, and scramble them. Once eggs are completed, add tofu and broccoli, cook until broccoli is bright green. Add 3/4 sauce on top, lower heat, and simmer. Add noodles, add rest of sauce, and mix together until sauce is absorbed.

Serve hot!

Goat Cheese Dressing

This recipe was developed in my kitchen by a dear friend.  It's amazing what a little inspiration and good wine can do for you...

3 tbs Goat cheese

2 tbs Plain yogurt

1 tsp Honey

2 tbs Olive oil

3 tbs Rice vinegar

1tsp fresh lemon juice (Meyer lemons, if available)

2 tbs Chopped scallion

freshly ground pepper

Whisk ingredients together until smooth & serve

Moroccan Root Vegetable Stew

This wonderful stew is perfect heart and body warmer for those often unappreciated winter root vegetables.  It is one of those recipes that just came to me -- inspired by much of the good food I've eaten over the last few years.  Serve with a great salad, nice crusty bread and a robust red wine.

INGREDIENTS
extra virgin olive oil
1 medium sweet onion, diced
1T garlic, minced
1T fresh ginger, minced
1lemon, zest and juice 
1 1/2 T tagine spices 
1 1/2 T hot madras curry powder
1 to 1 1/2 quarts vegetable broth
1 14-oz can diced fire-roasted tomatoes
1/4 sauerkraut, chopped
1 T cider vinegar
1 large yam, peeled and diced
1 rutabaga, peeled and diced
1 large celery root, peeled and diced
3-4 whole cloves
2" piece of cinnamon

(optional) 3/4 - 1 lb firm tofu, pressed and diced (or salmon is delicious in this recipe; please remove the skin before dicing)
salt and pepper to taste


RECIPE
Chop the root vegetables and set aside in a large bowl.  In a large soup pan, heat 1-2T of olive oil over low heat.  Add onion and a small pinch of salt saute until the onions thoroughly softened.  The salt will help the onions weep rather than burn.  Drop in the garlic, ginger and lemon zest and stir.  Allow the mixture to cook for 1-2 minutes before adding the dry spices.  Mix the tangine spices  and curry powder through onions, and then add the chopped root vegetables.  Add just enough broth to enable you to coat the vegetables with the spice and then raise the heat to medium high.  Add more broth, covering the vegetables by about 1/4 inch and bring to a simmer.   Once simmering, add the remainder of your first quart of broth, the tomatoes (and one can of water), sauerkraut, lemon juice and vinegar.  If the mixture doesn't have enough broth for the amount of vegetables, add more broth.  


Reduce the heat back down to medium and allow the stew to simmer gently for at least 30 minutes.  After about 10 minutes, add the cinnamon and cloves.  In the last 5 minutes add the diced tofu. Salmon is very good in this recipe in place of tofu, as is shrimp.  Serve topped with fresh flat leaf parsley and a freshly cracked pepper.

Easy, Chick Pea and Artichoke Pasta

This I make often at the end of a work day.  It takes about 1/2 hour to cook and I've always got left overs for lunch later in the week.

INGREDIENTS
1T extra virgin olive oil
3-4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 14-oz can diced roasted tomatoes
1 t dried oregano
1 t fennel seed, crushed
zest of 1 lemon
1 14-oz can artichoke hearts in water, drained
1 14-oz can garbanzo beans
1 small can chopped clams (optional)
1 t crushed red pepper

Pasta of your choice.  I love whole wheat linguine with this one.

RECIPE
Heat oil over medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add the garlic.  Almost immediately, add tomato; then spices; then other ingredients. Cook pasta to near el dente.  Drain pasta and add it and 1 ladle full of pasta water (as necessary) to sauce/vegetables to simmer to desired thickness. Simmer for 1-2 minutes.  Remove from heat.  Top with gremolata (a blend of finely minced garlic, parsley and lemon zest) and/or a sprinkling of parmesan cheese.

Holiday Cocktail Sauce

While picking up fresh oysters at the seafood counter, my partner asked, "Would you hand me a jar of cocktail sauce?"   I responded, "I can make that.  I have the ingredients."  "Do you have horseradish?"  "Of course," I told him.

INGREDIENTS
juice from half lemon
1T horseradish
1/2-2/3 cup crushed tomatoes
2T tomato paste
1T vodka
1 teaspoon Worchestershire sauce (or pickapepper for vegetarians)
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
sprinkle of grey salt

RECIPE

Squeeze 1/2 lemon into a bowl.  Add 1/2 cup crushed tomatoes (I like to use fire roasted, but any will do).  Add the remaining ingredients aside from the salt.  Check for desired thickness.  You may wish to add more crushed tomato until you the cocktail sauce is the thickness you prefer.  Sprinkle a touch grey salt (or any course salt you have on hand) over the top, right before serving. Those who are lucky enough to get a crunch with their bite will be delighted.

Serve with crudite, fresh oysters, grilled shrimp, calamari, smelts, hard boiled eggs, or with a savory omelet.  You can also use this as a base for a wonderful Bloody (or Virgin) Mary.