Winter has been overstaying its welcome. And I’m tired of it. With a string of day upon day of gray and rainy, I have had it. I wanted a piping hot bowl of comfort.
But not if I have to work for it. Cause you know… I’m lazy.
And somewhere in the midst of that lazy gray mood, we invited some friends over for dinner. Aw man, that means I have to cook something.
Sounds like work to me. Cause you know… I’m lazy.
So I turned to my old buddy, Mr. Crockpot
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I have had a love-hate relationship with Pad Thai for a while now. I loved it when I had it in Thailand and I hated it anytime I ordered it at a restaurant stateside. You see, the so-called Pad Thai I’ve had in restaurants has always been coated in this weird orange-colored sauce that scares me. It tastes funny too. But when I visited Thailand 7 years ago, I learned that real Pad Thai is not orange or scary. Not even a little bit.
I also learned that the peppers in the panang curry in Thailand are not bell peppers like they are over here. I learned this as the locals in the restaurant all laughed at me when I burst into flames. Well, maybe I didn’t burst into flames and maybe they didn’t laugh at me, but it was a lesson I will never forget. Peppers in Thailand are hot… even the ones that look like bell peppers.
Anyway, enough about spontaneous combustion. I was telling you about my love-hate relationship with Pad Thai. I still sometimes order it, holding out hope that I’ll find the same light, fresh noodles sans freaky orange sauce that I loved in Thailand only to be disappointed once again.
But no more. Not since I found an easy and tasty Pad Thai recipe in the latest issue of Everyday Food (which by the way is quickly becoming my favorite food magazine).
Granted, the recipe is not 100% authentic — it doesn’t use fish sauce and tamarind and the 100 other ingredients the authentic version calls for — but it is light and fresh and easy with a capital E. You can seriously have this ready in 30 minutes flat (and most of that time is just soaking the noodles). I’ve made it 4 times in 2 weeks and unless I am on a beach in Thailand, I am never ordering Pad Thai in a restaurant again.
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Let me start by saying I’ve eaten this pasta more than 4 times in the last week. On purpose and willingly. And since I teased y’all with this picture the other day when I asked what do you eat when you’re alone?, I thought sharing the recipe was the right thing to do.
I’ve been watching a lot of tv lately. So much that this post could probably be called “confessions of a tv addict”. I’ve become so engrossed in all of the shows I never thought I’d watch like American Idol (is it wrong for me to be happy that Siobhan was voted off? She was just too… something. I never quite agreed when the judges doted on her. But then what do I know. She’s obviously talented and braver than I ever would be… I can’t even sing in front of my friends so can’t imagine going on stage and/or television. But I digress).
I even sometimes watch daytime tv. Yep, that’s how bad it is. Not soaps, I’ve never been much of a soaps fan except for that one summer in high school when I got hooked on Guiding Light. Then school started and I couldn’t be bothered to set the VCR to record it so I got unhooked (VCR!). It’s probably good there was no such thing as DVR or Tivo back then.
This daytime tv browsing has led me to watching bits of the Martha Stewart Show, Ellen DeGeneres, Oprah. I even watched The View one day. I felt a little nauseous after that. But really what I’m trying to tell you is that I watched Rachel Ray. It’s not that I have anything against her per se, but I could never watch her Food Network show because she was always so… perky. With all of the EVOO this and delish that. But somehow she seems a little toned down on her morning show. And I’ve found myself watching her cooking segment on multiple occasions. It was on one of those occasions that I saw her make a pasta very much like this one. And while I haven’t quite made it into fan territory, I am eternally grateful to Ms. Ray for this pasta.
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It’s that time of year again. You know, when even those who don’t follow football perk up at the mention of a Super Bowl Party. All of a sudden everyone’s got a favorite team. Or not. Football is just the excuse. The party is really about friends and the food. Actually, that’s really what life is about isn’t it? Good friends and good food… but I digress. We’re here to talk about the Super Bowl football food. What says football better than wings?
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Who else is tired of the MGD64 commercials? They’re kind of silly. Actually, I’m finding commercials a bit annoying in general lately. Maybe I should pick different content to watch (What? So I like the B movies… Mickey Blue Eyes, Beauty Shop, … is it really so wrong? I’ve been taking a break from cooking shows today. But the MGD64 and Old Navy commercials are getting to me). Oh, anyway. I can’t fight it. I like fluff and bad commercials come with fluff (unless it’s marshmallow fluff. Mm. marshmallows…)
I have made this Pho a few times before and it is extremely quick and produces an intoxicating broth. The anise and cloves with ginger and garlic… they blend beautifully. How to Eat Supper
One of the secrets is to roast the spices and other aromatics under the broiler to release the flavors and aromas (star anise is so pretty).
Vietnamese Rice Noodle Soup with Beef and Fresh Herbs (Pho)
(adapted from The Splendid Table’s How to Eat Supper: Recipes, Stories, and Opinions from Public Radio’s Award-Winning Food Show
1 medium onion, thin sliced
4 large garlic cloves, thin sliced
One 2- to 3-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and thin sliced
6 whole cloves
1 whole star anise, bruised; or 1/2 teaspoon anise seeds
fresh-ground black pepper
Four 14-oz cans chicken broth
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons Asian fish sauce (nam pla or nuoc nam)
6 to 8 ounces linguine-style rice noodles
6 to 8 ounces top round steak
1. With the oven rack about 4-6 inches, preheat the broiler. Line a sheet pan with foil.
2. Scatter the onion, garlic, ginger, cloves, anise and 5 grinds of pepper on the foil. Broil for 5 minutes, turning the pieces once. This will toast the edges of some of the onion and release the frangrance of the spices. Scrape everything into a 6-quart pot.
3. Add the broth, sugar, and fish sauce. Bring to a gentle boil. Cover and simmer for about 20 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, get the rice noodles ready. Put the rice noodles in a large bowl and cover them with hot tap water. Soak the noodles for 10 to 15 minutes, or until they are tender but a little firmer than you want.
5. If you are able to slice the beef thin enough, you can just put the beef in the bowl with the noodles and it will cook in the hot broth. I have found though that it is difficult to slice the beef thin enough even if I freeze the beef first. SO I usually throw the meat into the pot for 1-2 minutes before serving.
6. Divide the noodles between 2 bowls. Ladle bubbling broth into the bowls.
7. Serve it with a traditional “table salad” of cilantro, basil, serranos or jalapeños, bean sprouts and lime wedges (oh, and don’t forget the hoisin sauce and Sriracha!)
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