Garlic Achaar Chicken

I actually made this awhile back, and unlike my cheese, it was a success!!

I used a bottle of Trader Joe's Garlic Achaar Sauce that Didi gave to me.

I cut 4 chicken thighs into 1-inch-ish pieces and sautéed them until they looked cooked.  I took them out of the pan and set aside.  Then I sautéed half a diced onion and 4 minced garlic cloves until the onions became translucent.  I emptied in the whole bottle of the sauce, 1/2 cup of sour cream (we didn't have plain yogurt) and well-drained (squeezed tomatoes to death) canned (14.5 oz.) tomatoes.  Finally, I threw the chicken back into the pan.

It actually came out more ono than the bottled sauce that I got from Ross.

Smoked Cheese

We inherited a smoker.  Here's my attempt at smoking cheese.

Grocery Shopping in Russia - 3/26/2022

 

Dd's Veal Saltimbocca

This looks so ono!

 

VEAL SALTIMBOCA

4 (5 oz.) thinly sliced veal cutlets (scallopini) 
4 slices thinly sliced prosciutto 
flour, for dredging 
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper 
2 TB olive oil 
2 TB butter 
2 TB white wine 
1/4 c. chicken broth 
Garnish: chopped Italian parsley 

 

Place plastic wrap on work surface. Place prosciutto on top of each piece of veal. Cover with additional plastic wrap; gently flatten veal pieces with a rolling pin or meat mallet until about 1/4-inch thick and prosciutto adheres to veal. 

Place flour, salt and pepper in shallow dish. Dredge veal in flour, shaking off the excess.  In a skillet over medium heat warm oil and 1 tablespoon of butter. Place veal into skillet prosciutto-side down. Cook 2-3 minutes to crisp prosciutto. Turn veal over; continue sautéing 1-2 minutes until golden. 

Transfer to platter; keep warm.  

Into skillet add wine stirring to scrape any browned bits. Add broth and remaining tablespoon of butter. Season with salt and pepper. 

For service drizzle sauce over veal. Serve immediately. 

Garnish with Italian parsley. Serves 2-4.

Kamiya Papaya

Just the other day Didi was at Times and noticed a whole bunch of people waiting around in the produce area.  She found out that they were waiting for the weekly delivery of Kamiya Papaya. 

I texted Cleta and asked if she had ever heard about it.  She said no, but she decided to pick some up from her neighborhood Times market for her husband who's been enjoying eating papaya almost daily recently.

Here's Cleta's photo.  Her husband liked it and said that it was "nice and sweet".

Colin's Churros

Colin made this a few weeks ago.  He actually made it twice, and this is his second attempt. Looks like it was a total success.  

The recipe is from the Joshua Weissman site.  Colin said that he opted to not do the chocolate part.

 

INGREDIENTS:

Churro Dough Ingredients:

• 6 tbsp (84g) unsalted butter

• 1 cup (235g) water

• 1.5 Tbsp (20g) granulated sugar

• 2 tsp (9g) vanilla extract

• 1 tsp (6g) fine sea salt

• 1 cup (140g) all purpose flour

• 3 eggs plus on egg yolk

Sugar Coating Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup (130g) granulated sugar

• 1 tsp (2g) ground cinnamon

Optional Mexican Chocolate Sauce Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup (123g) heavy cream

• 1 Tbsp (3g) espresso powder *you can use half this if it's too strong*

• 1/4 tsp (.5g) cayenne

• 1/4 tsp (.5g) ground cinnamon

• 1/2 tsp (2g) vanilla extract

• 5 ounces (140g) dark chocolate (60% cacao is best)

• Small pinch salt

INSTRUCTIONS:

Method:

1. Melt your unsalted butter gently over medium heat in a pot. Once melted, add 1 cup of water, 1 teaspoon of salt, 1 ½ tablespoons of granulated sugar and 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract. Bring to a boil.

2. Once it reaches a boil, bring to medium-low heat add in 1 cup of all-purpose flour. Mix together until it forms a cohesive dough, then remove from heat and add 3 eggs and one egg yolk.

3. Transfer mixture to a piping bag fitted with a large star tip.

4. Fill a large, heavy bottom pot halfway with oil and set in a candy/deep fryer thermometer. Heat up to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

5. While that’s heating up, whisk together granulated sugar and cinnamon. Transfer mixture to a small baking dish. Then set a wire rack on a baking sheet and cover it with a paper towel.

6. Pipe your batter directly in the oil until it’s about 4-5 inches long. Snip it off with scissors. Fry for 5-8 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from oil using a spider and place on your paper towel landing. Allow to drain for 30 seconds and then toss in your sugar mix. Repeat with remaining batter.

7. For your chocolate sauce, bring your heavy cream to a boil. Add in vanilla extract, cayenne pepper, ground cinnamon and espresso powder. Mix in your dark chocolate until thoroughly incorporated and fully melted.

On Sale at Palama Market

Sale ends 3/24  😳 .  Only $1.39.  You try first. 

Ross's Tuesday Club

 I got a $9.60 senior discount the other day at Ross!

This is what I bought. 

Cleta's Chinese-Style Swai

Cleta made this a few weeks ago.  Looks so ono!!

1 Swai fillet; sprinkle w/salt, white pepper. 

Cut thin julienned ginger,  green onion and scatter half over fish.  

Steam for 5-6 minutes.  Pour off the liquid from the steamed fish.  

Mix 1Tbsp shoyu, 1 Tbsp Shaoxing wine, and 1 tsp sesame oil.  Pour over fish. 

In small pot heat up 2 Tbsp EVOO.  When hot add other half of ginger, green onion.  Let oil get really hot then pour over steamed fish and serve.

Yevgenia Albats

 I try to keep this blog light-hearted and stress-free, but my heart right now is with Ukraine.  

And so for today, I'd like to share this video . . . an interview with brave Russian journalist Yevgenia Albats who speaks out from inside Russia.

THANK YOU, V!!!

My cousin V dropped these off the other day, a day after my Snacktime post!  She is so thoughtful and generous.   💗

V's recipe is 1 tablespoon of the oil and 3 tablespoons of the popcorn.  Melt the oil in a saucepan and throw in 3 kernels.  When they start to pop and you recover from the startle, throw in 3 tablespoons of the kernels. 

I put the heat on "low" to avoid burnage and it took around 4 minutes before the 3 test kernels popped.  Cover and do the "jiffy pop" shake until the popping sound stops.

I added garlic oil (from Ross), kakimochi and furikake.  Came out so ono.  Thank you, V!!!  I love you lots.

On Sale this Week

Here are a few things that caught my eye while I was looking through ads a few days ago. 

At Marukai

Also at Marukai.  Seems cheap, yah.

Whole Foods pizza.

Also at Whole Foods.

This is at Times.

Snacktime

I love this.  Too bad it's salty and makes my blood pressure go up.  Bah!

Popcorn ($.95) and kaki mochi ($.99) are from Chef Zone.  Furikake is from Times.

Oil-Absorbing Pads

 This is my favorite Daiso product.

I would say that it can mop up about 2 tablespoons of oil.

Landon's Stuffed Jalapeños

Landon halved some jalapeños, stuffed them with cream cheese, sprinkled on taco seasoning and wrapped them with bacon.  

He threw them on the hibachi alongside some steak which we were having for dinner.  Needless to say, it was supah ono (BACON).

I Cried and Cried

They even called his mom to let her know that he was okay.

Cleta's Shoyu Pork with Eggplant

This looks so good, and Cleta said that it's easy to make.

Base sauce:  Equal parts shoyu, sugar and sake.  Add grated in ginger to taste. 

Cut eggplant and soak in water while you fry pork. Add the drained eggplant into pot, pour sauce about 1/3rd way up, cover and gently toss occasionally until all the eggplant is soaked through and cooked.