Cleta's Vingha D'alhos

I love a vinegary pork and potato dish, and below is Cleta's version made with an authentic portagee-neighbor recipe.

RECIPE FROM MY PORTUGUESE NEIGHBOR

VINGHA D’ALHOS SAUCE 

For PORK ~ BEEF ~ LAMB ~ CHICKEN

7 cloves garlic

1-1/2 Tbsp salt 1/2 Tbsp black pepper

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar 1/4 cup shoyu

5 cups water

Grind the garlic into the salt – why?  That’s what my Portuguese neighbor did.

Put a little oil in a pot and brown your meat item.

Add in the rest of the ingredients and bring to a boil.  When it boils, lower the heat to a medium-low, cover and cook.  When your meat item is almost done, add in 5 large potatoes and cook until done.  If the liquid gets too low, add more water.  If it tastes too bland, then add more vinegar and shoyu to taste.

My neighbor said, “Not too salty, not too vinegary but juuust riiight!”

When the meat and potatoes are cooked through, remove to a pan that can be put under the broiler.  Brush some oil over everything and place under broiler to brown.

For the gravy, add 1 can of Cream of Mushroom soup to the remaining liquid. Bring to a boil and thicken with flour and water. 

Memories…..

She also used to make a wonderful Watercress and cucumber salad to go with this dish.  I wish I knew how to make the dressing but then again, I don’t eat watercress anymore…..   

Cy's Breakfast

 From Pho 97 on Maunakea.

 

 

Pliosaur Fossil

A 150-million-year-old skull of a pliosaur was extracted from the cliffs of the Jurassic Coast in Dorset, UK.  150 million years old!  And look how huge it is!  Can you imagine something like that actually swimming in the ocean?  Ho da scary!

Dd's Black Peppercorn Tri-Tip Roast

Merry Christmas, peoples!  Here's another one of Dd's recipes.  Sure looks wonderful!

 

BLACK PEPPERCORN SPICED TRI TIP ROAST SAUCE AU POIVRE

 

2 lb. tri tip roast

2 TB olive oil

1 tsp. paprika

1 tsp. freshly coarsely cracked black peppercorns

1/2 tsp. chili powder

kosher salt

Sauce Au Poivre:

1 TB butter

2 TB shallots, minced

1 c. beef stock

1/2 c. heavy whipping cream

1/4 c. brandy

2 TB red wine

2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

2 TB green peppercorns in brine, drained

1/2 tsp. fresh thyme, chopped

Kosher salt, to taste

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

 

Start a day ahead of time. Trim any silver skin from roast as needed.  In a small mixing bowl combine oil, paprika, peppercorns and chili powder.  Spread over roast.  Season generously with salt. Place in a ziplock bag; allow to sit overnight.  

 

Thirty minutes before you plan to roast the meat, remove roast from refrigerator. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place roast in a foil lined baking dish. Roast 35-50 minutes, or until internal temperature is at 125 degrees F.

 

Sauce:  In a saucepan over medium heat sauté shallots in butter. Add beef stock; bring to a boil, scraping any browned bits off bottom of pan.  Let boil until reduced to around 1/4 cup, about 10 minutes. Add cream, brandy, wine, Worcestershire sauce and peppercorns. Cook until slightly thickened, about 3 minutes. Stir in thyme; taste for seasoning.  Use immediately.

 

Remove meat to a cutting board; allow to rest 20 minutes before slicing.  Cut into thin slices. For service drizzle with Sauce Au Poivre.  Serves 3-4.

Wendell's Tazukuri

Wendell followed a recipe from Just One Cookbook to make this Candied Anchovies dish.  He tweaked the recipe by adding in a stalk of gobo, a hasu bulb and some dried shrimp.   He said that the softball guys "pounded um" (twice).

 

  

Cleta's Fried Garlic Peanuts

Cleta's peanut snack is soooo addicting.  Hard to stop eating.  I think the fried garlic pieces are my fave.

 

Here's an easy recipe from Recipes by Nora.

Ingredients

• 8 ounces raw, shelled peanuts, about 2 cups (see note)
• 1 cup neutral-flavored oil (see note)
• 8 cloves garlic thinly sliced
• Salt to taste

Instructions

• Rinse the raw peanuts under running water to remove excess dirt. Let them air-dry for about 10 minutes on a rimmed baking sheet or large tray. 
• In a wok, submerge the peanuts in cold neutral-flavored oil and set it to medium-low heat. Stir them constantly to prevent them from burning.
• When the oil starts bubbling, add the garlic. The garlic should brown in 3 to 5 minutes; the peanuts will be ready at that point.

  Peanuts cook differently depending on their size and oil temperature. When you start them in cold oil, they take between 6 and 10 minutes to cook.
• Once the peanuts and garlic turn lightly brown, turn off the heat. The residual heat will cook them further. It's okay to undercook them a bit, but overcooking will make them bitter.
• Remove peanuts and garlic from the oil and spread them on a baking sheet lined with paper towels. 
• Sprinkle the peanuts with salt while still warm. They will become crunchy as they cool.

Also, Cleta was inspired by Chef RV Manabat.

 

Kigumi House

I thought this was interesting.  It documents a house being built using only traditional Japanese carpentry techniques. The precision is so amazing.

The translated description of the video says:   We are pleased to present the full-length video ``Wood-framed house'' produced at the ``Wood-framed house disassembled'' exhibition. Building a hand-carved half-timbered house using traditional carpentry techniques. In today's world where a variety of new building materials are available, master carpenter Akinori Abo (Koki Mori) continues to stick to natural materials and handicrafts. What Mr. Abo thinks about and how he builds his house is described. This is a documentary film that follows the construction of a half-timbered house from design to completion.

On Da Desk

 I made a bunch of sympathy cards.  Been needing them lately.  😢

Cy's Spinach and Artichoke Dip

Cy used Dd's recipe to make this.  It's Dd's version of Ryan's Grill's dip.  Cy said it's not hard to make.

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained well

1 (14-ounce) jar marinated artichoke hearts, drained, coarsely chopped

2 tsp. butter

2 cloves garlic, minced

¼ small onion, chopped

1/2 c. mozzarella cheese, shredded

1/2 c. + 2 TB Parmesan cheese, grated

¼ c. sour cream

1//4 c. mayonnaise

1/2 teaspoon  salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

In a large mixing bowl place cream cheese to soften. Set aside. In a small skillet over medium heat saute onion and garlic in butter until limp. Add to cream cheese. Sitr to combine well making sure cream cheese is very soft. Add remaining ingredients using ¼ cup of parmesan cheese.  Sprinkle with remaining 2 tablespoons of parmesan cheese. Place under broiler until the cheese on top is melted golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes.

Serve warm with crackers, tortilla chips, baguette slices, crostini, or crudités.

Wendell's Three-Ingredient Biscuits

Wendell saw this recipe on Facebook.  You just combine 2 cups Bisquick, 1/2 cup sour cream and 1/2 cup Sprite.

 

Wendell said that the dough was too sticky to pat or roll out like the instructions said, so he just spooned it into a muffin tin.  Bake at 425 degrees for 12 to 15 minutes or until golden brown.  It came out so light and yummy.

Honolulu Marathon

 Here are just a few photos from Sunday's marathon.

 

   

   

   

   

   

   

 

Sam's Pork Carnitas

This is another Sam's Club food item which we enjoyed.  I pan fried it instead of throwing it in the microwave.  It was $14.78.

 

 

Sam's Gyro Kit

 This was so good.  Highly recommend.  $13.98.

 

 

Dd's Turkey Wild Rice Soup

Here's another leftover turkey recipe from Didi.

 

LEFTOVER TURKEY WILD RICE SOUP

 

¼ c. long grain wild rice, soaked 1 hour, drained well

2 tsp. butter

2 tsp. olive oil

½ c. carrots, chopped

½ c. celery, chopped

½ c. onion, chopped

1 c. mushrooms, thinly sliced

1 clove garlic, chopped

¼ tsp. dried thyme

¼ tsp. dried rosemary, dried

½ tsp. salt

¼ tsp. black pepper

4 c. turkey broth

1 tsp. Italian parsley, chopped

½ c. leftover turkey gravy

½ c. half and half

2 tsp. all-purpose flour

1 ½ c. leftover turkey, coarsely chopped

Garnish: chopped Italian parsley

 

In a large saucepan over medium heat warm butter and oil until hot.  Add carrots, celery, onion, mushroom, garlic, thyme, rosemary, salt and pepper. Cook, stirring often, until vegetables are slightly tender, 3-4 minutes.  Add broth, rice and, parsley. Bring to a simmer and cook until rice is tender, about 20 minutes. 

In a small mixing bowl, whisk together turkey gravy, half and half and flour until smooth.  Stir into soup. Simmer until slightly thickened, 5-6 minutes.  Stir in turkey and heat through. Season to taste with additional salt and pepper, as needed.  Garnish with parsley. Serves 2-3.

Sold Out?!

I went to Daiso mostly to stock up on my favorite sponge and this is what I saw.  No favorite sponge.