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Showing posts from July, 2014

Grilled Salmon with Chili-Lime Sauce

This is from Quick & Easy Vietnamese by Nancie McDermott. McDermott has become a real favorite of mine for simplified but authentic Asian meals. This could not have been easier or more delicious. 'Nuff said. Get out there and cook it! Grilled Salmon with Chili-Lime Sauce STEP 1 2 tablespoons vegetable oil 2 tablespoons coarsely chopped ginger 1 tablespoon chopped garlic 1 tablespoon chopped shallots or onion 2 tablespoons fish sauce 1 tablespoon soy sauce 1 tablespoon sugar 1-1/4 pounds thick salmon, tuna, halibut, or other meaty fish filets Combine all the marinade ingredients, dissolving sugar. Marinate fish for 20-30 minutes at room temperature or refrigerate for up to 1 day. STEP  2 — Chili-Lime Sauce 1/4 cup fish sauce 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice or white vinegar 2 tablespoons water 2 tablespoons sugar 1/4 teaspoon chili-garlic sauce 1 tablespoon thinly sliced green onions Combine sauce ingredients, dissolving sugar. Place on platter on which

Tips & Tricks: Side to Side Whisking

I like to whip cream using a whisk instead of my Kitchen Aid mixer. There's something tactile about watching the cream change as I whisk it around. And to my mind it makes less to wash up after. Though that's probably not really true. But it's stuck in my head, so there you go. I was interested when the July/August Cook's Illustrated has a piece on The Best Way to Use a Whisk. It turns out that "side-to-side" works best. Much better, in fact, than the standard beating action we've all been taught. There's a lot of scientific talk about "shear force" and suchlike, and you can pick up a copy to get all the scoop.  I made a Pavlova last weekend and whipping up that cream with a back and forth action was definitely easy. I also must put in a word here for Trader Joe's heavy cream. They've got really great dairy products, including a cottage cheese that is better than any of the regular stores. And their whipping cream is a nice th

Pavlova with Strawberries

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This is from The Silver Palate Cookbook . The Pavlova is a meringue based dessert which was created in honor of the Russian ballerina, Anna Pavlova. Like her, as the story goes, it is light, airy, and elegant. I'll tell you this. It is absolutely delicious. Everyone had two helpings. It is also much, much easier than you might imagine. If you've got a mixer for whipping the egg whites it will be a real breeze. If not, however, hand whipping will do just fine. It will just take a little while. I'd say that more important than a mixer would be the superfine sugar which blends so easily into the egg whites. I've worked with meringue cookies enough that when I realized I didn't have an 8" springform pan, I didn't panic. Instead I experimented and it worked out just fine (details of that are in the recipe). The guest of honor whose visit inspired this dessert production doesn't drink so I didn't use any liqueur on the strawberries. It was delicious