CityMama™

Homemade Herbed Breakfast Sausage

 

Turkey breakfast sausage

This is a fun and easy kid-friendly cooking project for your weekend breakfast.  The best part about making this sausage is that you know exactly what goes into it.  This is my mom's recipe. One of my earliest memories of my mom cooking is her making batches of this sausage and freezing it. I used 96% fat-free turkey, but she uses pork. Which is delicious.

Herbed Breakfast Sausage

Note: I use a food processor to chop the onions, garlic, and herbs, then I combine that with the ground pork (or turkey and egg white), salt, and chilis. Also, wet your hands before forming the patties to keep them from sticking to your fingers.

1 pound lean ground turkey or pork

1 egg white (omit if you are using pork)

1/4-1/2 yellow onion depending on what you like

1 clove minced garlic

1 tsp. chopped fresh rosemary

8-10 chopped fresh sage leaves

1 tsp salt

crushed red chilis to taste

Combine all ingredients, form into 6 patties and pan-fry or grill (over medium heat), or bake until cooked through. (I baked the turkey sausage for about 30 minutes on a lightly-oiled foil-lined pan at 325º.)

Honolulu Summer 2009: Part IV, Recipes from my Hawaiian childhood [David Eyre Pancake]

 

I love to cook, that's no secret, but what I love most about it is cooking dishes for my girls that I used to eat as a kid. I made one of those dishes this morning: a Dutch baby pancake.

My mom used to cook these for breakfast all the time when we were kids and I don't know why I haven't done it before.  They are stupidly easy--much easier than making and flipping pancakes since it cooks itself.

The recipe I used is the same recipe my mom used, and it's named for David Eyre, an "island gourmet." He apparently served it to Craig Claiborne who, in turn, printed the recipe, and the rest was history. If you make Dutch babies, chances are, you are making a  "David Eyre Pancake."

You can google David Eyre Pancake and come up with lots of different variations, but this is how I made it.

• 1/2 cup sifted flour

• 1/2 cup milk

• 2 eggs

• 1/2 tsp nutmeg

• 3 tablespoons of butter (I originally used four as my recipe called for but I would reduce the amount next time)

• 3-4 tbsps of powdered sugar (sifted first or sprinkled through a sieve)

• juice of half a lemon

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In mixing bowl combine flour, eggs, milk, and nutmeg. Whisk together until well-blended. Melt the butter in a large oven-proof saute pan (11-12 inches) or equivalent baking dish. Pour batter into pan, put in oven, and bake for 18-20 minutes until puffed and golden brown. Sprinkle with sugar and lemon juice, return to oven for a minute (watch so it doesn't burn), then remove. Serve garnished with fresh fruit if desired. I used local chopped mango.

It was gone in about 2 minutes.Bunny got a huge kick out of eating something her Mamma used to eat as a kid and asked when I would be making it again. My answer? Whenever she wants.

The girls loved watching this cook. It's kinda spectacular!:

 

 

Garlic Edamame Heaven

Not garlic edamame, but still delicious.

When I was in Honolulu for spring break we had dinner at Side Street Inn which has become a sort of "last night in Hawaii" tradition for me. Side Street looks like every sports bar/restaurant in any city in America. The thing that sets it apart is the delicious, anything-goes, local-style food. This is a sports bar that forgoes most of the usual sports bar fare. You won't find nachos here, but you will find other treats like broiled hamachi kama (when they have it), sublime deep-fried chicken gizzards, and passion-fruit-glazed ribs. And, yes, the most kickass chicken wings you've ever eaten.

I am never disappointed when we have dinner there and this time was no exception. In fact, we had eaten an entire dinner consisting of: steamed clams with Portuguese sausage, kalbi, kimchi fried rice, mixed poke (ahi and tako [octopus]), king crab legs, Caesar salad and macaroni salad all served family style, when for dessert, my brother ordered another order of the steamed clams.  They were that good.

But the dish that took the meal over the top was their garlic edamame. Try to see if you can imagine it: boiled, salted edamame (already delicious in their own right) tossed with tons of chopped garlic, melted butter (which made it heavenly), and olive oil (or just olive oil if you prefer) with just a hint of spiciness, finished with a squeeze of lemon.  Presented at the table they looked like green velvet dusted with snow from all the garlic. (Here's a photo that does not do it justice--there's just not enough garlic on this batch.) They were amazing.

Today I went out and got a bag of edamame with the intention of recreating the dish, when lo and behold, some quick Googling brought up Side Street's very recipe.  Their recipe makes a mountain, which is perfect for dinner parties (or one very ravenous party of 8).  If you make this I promise you will be addicted.  And you don't even have to go to Honolulu to taste them.

More Side Street Inn photos.

Pasta with wild coho salmon, peas, and dill

This is one of those recipes that has become a new classic. I often see it on menus at Italian restaurants and because I love salmon, it's hard for me to resist.  It couldn't be simpler to make at home, and best of all, it's a great way to use up leftover salmon and that last 1/3 of a bag of frozen peas that is cluttering up your freezer.

My recipe contains dill, and dill is one of those herbs that I never thought my children would like, but it turns out, they are as crazy about the stuff as I am.  Back before I had kids, I was an English (ESL) teacher, teaching English to students from other countries who wanted to take the TOEFL test to go to university here and for new U.S. immigrants. It was one of the best jobs I've ever had and one of the most enlightening experiences of my life.

Salmon Cakes Your Family Will Love

 

Here's another iPhone post on the go. I have to say, having this new gadget has changed my approach to blogging about food and dinners. If you hadn't noticed the iPhone posts you will when you see all the typos. (The texting sucks.)

These salmon cakes are made with:

• 2 cans of skinless, boneless salmon
• 3/4 can of cream of mushroom soup
• A squeeze of lemon
• 1/2 cup of fine breadcrumbs
• Freshly snipped dill
• Fresh ground pepper

Combine all of the above into a stiff mixture. Form into 8 patties and fry in olive oil until browned. Serve hot with lemon wedges.

Both of my girls loved this so much that they asked me to prepare it next week. Specifically "on the 19th." Kids will eat it.

It's not fancy, but you'll swear it was.

Sicilian-style broccoli sauce for pasta

Broccoli, garlic, onions, raisins, anchovies (omit if desired), white wine, double-concentrated tomato paste (from a tube), and a pinch of saffron. Came together in about 10 minutes.Try it. You'll like it.

Bin Dae Tok [Korean Mung Bean Pancakes]

These pancakes (or fritters if you make them smaller for appetizers) are one of the dishes that my mom makes that I don't ever even attempt because they won't turn out the same. (Apparently I'm not alone.) When I was in college and home on a vacation or break, bin dae tok, roast beef with Yorkshire pudding, and pasta alla carbonara (my mom is a fabulous cook) were three dishes I would request as soon as I returned home.

Now that she lives in Silicon Valley for part of the year, I can have her make mung bean pancakes anytime. Tonight, as she was preparing them, I finally wrote down the recipe for posterity (something I've been trying to do more of) and can share it with you. I forgot my camera so please note that the camera phone photos do not do these justice. They are much yummier-looking in person. And they smell amazing as they are cooking.

The mung beans you need for this look like yellow split peas. They are also sold whole and are green, but avoid those. They are available at any Korean market and at Indian markets where they are known as moong dal. These pancakes are very forgiving and as long as you have the base of the pureed mung beans, you can pretty much add anything to it making them vegan or not.  Koreans like to make their pancakes "pretty" so there is an art to skillfully arranging sliced carrot flowers and chives atop the "raw" side of the pancake before flipping them over, but you don't have to bother.  Just chop up your veggies (leftovers are great in these) and huck them into the batter, then pan fry away!

Mexican-style Grilled Corn

My favorite way to eat corn is boiled with butter and salt and pepper. I like it plain so you can really taste the sweetness.  This, however, is a very close second. Or maybe a tie for first.

Grill corn:

Smear corn with mayo (or my fave: mayo mixed with Sriracha or Tapatío sauce) the roll in finely crumbled cotija cheese:

Squeeze a lime over it (and add extra hot sauce if you're me) and devour. Wallie says, "It's deee-lishiss!"

Penne with raw tomato-pepper sauce

This sauce is completely raw and probably not like anything you've ever had on pasta. I first had it when I was visiting my family in Rome. My aunt made a version of it (I hope I am doing it justice) and it blew me away. I had never tasted anything like it and as soon as the explosion of flavors hit my mouth, I knew I had to learn to make it.  Thankfully, it's easy.  Easy but tastes hard. And sometimes that's what it's all about, right?

I've never seen this on any menu in any Italian restaurant in the States, or even in Italy for that matter. It also doesn't appear in my numerous Italian (as in, written in Italian) cookbooks.  I hope you enjoy it.

Here is our cast of characters, and aside from olive oil, basil, salt and pepper, this is pretty much it:

Shakshouka

There is a Middle Eastern restaurant not too far from where I live that makes Shakshouka so delicious that I literally dream about it. Ever since I first tried it, I haven't been able to get the flavors out of my head: the tender zucchini sauteed with onions and herbs and feta, served with rice...heavenly.

Recently I went to the restaurant for lunch because I was craving this dish so badly only to discover that they don't serve Shakshouka at lunch. That's when I discovered that I needed to learn to make it myself. I read lots of recipes and discovered that there as many ways to make this dish as there are people who make it. I tinkered and think I hit on a method that's even better than what is served at the restaurant. If you make Shakshouka at home, I'd love to know how you do it.

My girls devoured this. Both are crazy about feta so they instantly loved it. Wallie especially loved the way the silky egg yolk mixed with the squash and tomatoes. Hope your kids like it, too!

SHAKSHOUKA

I used tomatoes and herbs from my garden. All the other ingredients were local except for the feta. Serve with rice pilaf or warmed pita bread. Simple yet so delicious.

• extra-virgin olive oil
• 4-5 cloves of garlic (less if you don't adore garlic like I do)
• 2 sweet onions, halved and sliced
• 3 Korean squash (paler and more gourd-like than Italian zucchini), cut lengthwise then chopped into half moons (zucchini is a fine substitute)
• 3 tomatoes, quartered (more if you want it more tomatoey)
• 1 sprig of fresh oregano, leaves chopped
• 4 eggs
• 4 ounces of good-quality feta, crumbled
• 8-10 basil leaves, chopped
• salt and pepper to taste

Heat a large saute pan (with lid) over medium heat, pour in a generous amount of olive oil (at least 4-5 glugs or tbsps). Add garlic and onions and saute for about 5 minutes until onions are soft and garlic is golden. Add in zucchini and tomatoes. Stir, then cover and let zucchini and tomatoes cook down, about 15 minutes. Stir occassionally and lower heat if needed. Add in oregano and salt and pepper to taste. make four little wells in the shakshouka and crack an egg into each. Sprinkle liberally with feta and cover for 5 more minutes until eggs are just set and feta is melted. Remove from heat, sprinkle with basil and serve at once. Serves four.

Shakshouka dished up in my bowl ready to be eaten!