Fried Zucchini Sauce with Garlic and Basil

by Marcella Hazen

1 1/2 lbs fresh, young zucchini
salt
10-12 fresh basil leaves
1/2 cup flour
Vegetable Oil
3 garlic cloves, peeled
4 Tb butter
1/2 c freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano
1 lb pasta (best with fettuccine)

1. Soak the zucchini for 20 minutes in cold water, them wash free of all grit. Drain, trim away both ends and cut zucchini into sticks 2 1/2 inches long and 1/4 inch thick.
2. Put zucchini in a colander and sprinkle liberally with salt. Toss the zucchini 2 or 3 times to distribute the salt evenly, and let stand for at least 2 hours.
3. Remove the zucchini and pat dry with paper towels. Rinse and dry the colander, which you will need again.
4. Rinse the basil in cold water. Pat dry with paper towels and tear the leaves by hand into small pieces. Set aside.
5. When you are ready to fry, set the colander over a platter, and put the zucchini back in it. Dust the zucchini with the flour, shaking the colander to coat them evenly and shed excess flour.
6. Put enough veggie oil in a frying pan to come 1/4 to 1/2 inch up its sides. Add the garlic and turn the heat on high. When the oil is quite hot, put in as many zucchini sticks at one tiem as will fit loosely in the pan. Check the garlic and as soon as it begins to turn brown, remove it and discard it. Turn the zucchini sticks, cooking them until they become colored a golden brown all over, then transfer them to a cooling rack to drain or to a platter lined with paper towels. Continue adding zucchini to the pan in as many batches as necessary until it is all done.
7. Cook and drain pasta. Add butter to pot that pasta was cooked in and let it start to melt. Add zucchini, basil and cheese and mix together. Add pasta and toss thorouhghly. Serve at once.

Clay-Pot Miso Chicken

From www.epicurious.com

Makes 4 generous (main course) servings

2 1/2 lbs chicken thighs, with skin and bone
½ c wood ear mushrooms
5cups water, divided
About 2 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
1stalk burdock root (sometimes called gobo)
1/2 teaspoon distilled white vinegar or fresh lemon juice
1 and one 1/2 tablespoons canola oil
1 large onion, coarsely chopped
1 lb fresh shiitake mushrooms, stems discarded, large caps quartered
1 and one ½ tablespoons finely chopped peeled ginger
1 and one ½ tablespoons finely chopped garlic
1/2 cup mirin (Japanese sweet rice wine)
1/2 cup white miso (also called shiro miso)
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/2 lb mustard greens, tough stems and ribs discarded and leaves coarsely chopped (8 cups)

Accompaniment: steamed rice
Garnish: chopped scallions

Preheat oven to 500°F with rack in middle. Pat chicken dry, then roast, skin side up, in 1 layer in a shallow baking pan until skin is golden brown, 35 to 40 minutes. While chicken roasts, soak wood ear mushrooms in 2 cups water until softened, about 15 minutes. Drain in a sieve, then rinse well and discard any hard pieces. Drain well, squeezing out excess water.

Transfer roasted chicken to a bowl and pour pan juices through a fine-mesh sieve into a glass measure. Let stand until fat rises to top, 1 to 2 minutes, then skim off and discard fat. Add enough stock to bring total to 2 cups liquid. Reduce oven to 300°F and move rack to lower third. Peel burdock root, and, if more than 1-inch-thick, halve lengthwise. Cut crosswise into 1-inch pieces. Transfer burdock root to a bowl, then add vinegar and 1 cup water.

Heat oil in a 7- to 8-quart heavy pot over medium-high heat until it shimmers, then sauté onions until softened and beginning to brown. Add shiitakes, ginger, and garlic and sauté until garlic is golden, 3 to 5 minutes. Add mirin and boil, stirring and scraping up any brown bits, 1 minute. Stir in miso and soy sauce, then stir in chicken, wood ear mushrooms, burdock (drained), stock mixture, and remaining 2 cups water. Bring to a boil, skimming off any froth. Cover pot and braise in oven until chicken is tender, about 1 hour.

Stir in mustard greens and continue to braise, covered, 5 minutes. Serve in shallow bowls over rice.

Springtime Hot Pot

Ingredients: (Include as few or as many as you desire)

konbu (dried kelp)
negi (Japanese leek)
shungiku (chrysanthemum leaves)
hakusai (Napa cabbage)
fresh shiitake mushrooms
fresh shimeji mushrooms
fresh enoki mushrooms kuzukiri (arrowroot starch noodles) or thin rice noodles
medium tofu daikon radish (for grating)
ponzu (citrus, soy sauce and vinegar based condiment) beef or pork sliced paper thin (Uwajimaya sells it already sliced and labeled “for sukiyaki” or “for hotpot”) garlic chili sauce, if desired

Preparation:

About two hours before dinner, soak two 2-inch pieces of konbu in a stockpot-full of cold water. About an hour before dinner, soak the kuzukiri noodles in a bowl of cold water. Now grate the daikon radish and cut all the other ingredients into bite-size pieces and artfully arrange on serving plates. Just before dinner, bring the stockpot with the konbu to a simmer -- but don't boil.

To serve:

Place the donabe on a portable burner on the dining table, surrounded by plates of ingredients. Gather your guests around. Arrange the first round of ingredients in the donabe, fill with the konbu broth, cover and bring to a boil. Once boiling, serve in bowls, topped with grated daikon and a hit of ponzu and garlic chili sauce. Eat. Repeat.

(This is a fairly traditional Japanese recipe, but I found it on www.japanesefoodreport.com)

Spaghetti with Sicilian Meatballs

Sauce
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 28-ounce cans diced tomatoes in juice
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
4 tablespoons dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flake (if desired)

Meatballs
2/3 cup fresh breadcrumbs
3 tablespoons milk
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
1 large egg
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 pound sweet Italian sausages, casings removed
1 pound ground beef (not lean)
2 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted



1 pound spaghetti

For Sauce:
Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium-low heat. Add onion; sauté until golden, about 10 minutes. Add garlic; stir 1 minute. Add tomatoes with juices and 2 tablespoons basil; bring to boil. Reduce heat; simmer until sauce thickens, breaking up tomatoes with fork, about 1 hour. Mix in basil, oregano, and pepperflake (if desired). Season with salt and pepper. Set sauce aside.

For Meatballs:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly oil baking sheet. Mix crumbs and milk in medium bowl; let stand 5 minutes. Mix in Parmesan, onion, basil, egg, garlic and pepper. Add sausage, and pine nuts; blend well. Using wet hands, form mixture into 1 1/4-inch balls. Place on baking sheet. Bake until meatballs are light brown and cooked through, about 30 minutes. Add to sauce.

Cook spaghetti in large pot of boiling salted water until just tender but still firm to bite. Drain. Mound in dish. Bring sauce and meatballs to simmer. Spoon over spaghetti.

Chili-Rubbed Chicken with Barbecue Table Mop

From Bon Appetite 1995

serves 6

Dry-rubbed before grilling, the delicious bird is then generously drizzled with a zesty sauce at the table-twice the firepower for twice the fun.

Chili Rub
3/4 cup chili powder (about 3 1/2 ounces)
3 tablespoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons cayenne pepper

Mop
1 cup hickory barbecue sauce
3/4 cup ketchup
1/3 cup orange juice
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce (such as Tabasco)

Other
2 3 1/2-pound chickens, quartered, backbones discarded
3 cups mesquite wood chips, soaked in cold water 1 hour (optional)

For Chili Rub:
Mix all ingredients in bowl.

For Mop:
mix first 5 ingredients in medium bowl.

Arrange chicken in single layer on large baking sheet. Season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle chili rub generously on both sides of chicken; press to adhere. Let stand at room temperature 1 hour.

Prepare barbecue (medium-high heat). When coals are white, drain chips, if using, and scatter over coals. Place chicken, skin side down, on grill rack away from direct heat. Cover grill and cook chicken until cooked through, turning every 5 minutes and covering grill, about 35 to 40 minutes (chili rub may look slightly burned). Serve hot or warm, passing mop separately.

Mediterranean Chicken Packets

From Everyday Food, April 2009

Serves 4

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
salt & pepper
1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes, drained
4 artichoke hearts from a can, quartered (I use TJs in oil, and eliminate oil from below)
12 Kalamata olives, pitted and halved
4 tea capers
1/2 c crumbled feta (2oz)
1/2 tea Italian seasoning
1 Tb olive oil
Rice, cooked

Preheat oven to 375. Place four 12-inch squares of parchment papter or heavy-duty foil on a work surface. Place a chicken breast on one half of each square, leaving a 2-inch border; season with salt and pepper.

Dividing evenly, top chicken with tomatoes, artichokes, olives, capers, and feta. Sprinkle with Italian seasoning and oil. Fold parchment over ingredients, and crimp edges to seal.

Place packets on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake until chicken is opaque throughout, 20-25 minutes. Serve on rice.

Smoky Beef Tacos with the Fixin's

From Everyday Food March 2009

serves 8

2-3 Tb chopped canned chipotle chiles in adobo
1/2 c ketchup
8 garlic cloves, chopped
2 tea dried oregano
coarse salt and ground pepper 1 boneless beef chuck roast (about 3 lbs)
16 corn or flour tortillas

1. Preheat oven to 350. In a heavy pot with a tight-fitting lid, stir together chiles, ketchup, 1 c water, garlic, oregano, 2 tea salt, and 1/4 tea pepper.

2. Cut beef into 4 equal pieces. Add to pot, and turn to coat. Cover, and bring to a boil; transfer pot to oven. Bake, covered, until beef is fork-tender, about 2 1/2 hours.

3. Transfer beef to a bowl. With a large spoon, skim off and discard fat from cooking liquid. Shred beef with two forks; moisten with cooking liquid as needeed. Season with salt and pepper. Serve beef with tortillas and desired toppings.


Avocado-Red Onion Reslish
Combine 2 diced avocados adn 1 finely chopped medium red onion with 1 Tb fresh lime juice. Season with salt and pepper.

Corn and Tomato Salsa
Combine 10 oz thawed frozen corn, 1 c quartered grape tomatoes, 2 tea vegetable oil, and 2 tea red-wine vinegar. Season with salt and pepper.

Cilantro-Lime Crema
Stir together 16 oz reduced-fat sour cream, 1/4 c fresh lime juice, and 1/2 c chopped cilantro. Season with salt and pepper.