Author Archive
Spätzle
This is a German dish, sort of a mix between a soft egg noodle and a dumpling, but not quite either one, cooked in simmering water or stock then fried. Commonly served with a meaty stew or gravy. I made this on 9 Mar 2018 and it is not only easy, it is exactly how how I remembered this from a German restaurant in Phuket, and it is excellent. Commonly written as spätzle, spatzle, and spaetzle. This is easily made by one person with a spätzle maker AND NOT a grater, that can result in a mess.
Equipment
- spätzle maker (spätzlehobel)
Ingredients
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ⅛ teaspoon ground white pepper
- 4 eggs, chicken or duck
- ½ cup milk
- butter, for frying
- 2-3 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped, for garnish
Instructions
- This is a typical spätzle maker, on the end opposite the handle is two tabs, these keep the maker attached to your cooking pot. The hopper slides back and forth on the flat part on the pot.
- Here it is on my cooking pot. The tabs hold the flat plate on the pot so one hand can work the hopper and the other hand to pour the batter into the hopper.
- In a large mixing bowl, add the flour, salt, pepper, and nutmeg and whisk to combine.
- Beat the eggs. Add half the eggs and half of the milk to the flour mixture and mix, then add the remaining eggs and milk, and mix until smooth. The batter is thin, this is a perfect consistency.
- Fill a medium sized pot half full with water or even chicken stock, Heat to simmering.
- Pour the batter into a 2 cup or large measuring cup, when the water is simmering, simply attach the spätzle maker to the pot, use one hand to slide the hopper back and forth and the other hand to simply pour the batter into the hopper.
- Let the spätzle cook until it floats to the top of the water, it is fast, use a large slotted spoon to remove and place them in ice water to cool them and then place in a colander to drain. Repeat with remaining dough. At this point, you can use the spätzle in soups if desired in place of egg noodles.
- Once all the dough is cooked in the water, heat a large non stick skillet 2 or 3 tablespoons of butter, add the spätzle and fry, turning often, until starting to crisp up.
- Serve as a side with a meaty dish. I cooked some stew beef in my pressure cooker and simply added that to a sauce pan of beef gravy, easy and perfect meal.
Notes
Low cost.
Variants: 1. Fry in bacon fat and 5-6 slices of chopped bacon. 2. Fry some onion and garlic until soft and the onion is softened, add the spätzle and mix in, then add 1-2 cups Swiss cheese, there, you just made Käsespätzle, the German version of mac and cheese.
Used in Recipe Listed on this Site:
- Crock Pot Chicken & Noodles II, made it, GO-TO recipe.
- Hungarian Gulyás.
Thung Thong, Thai Crispy Dumplings
These are Thai dumplings, also known as Golden Purses. These sound absolutely delicious. These can be made with pork or chicken.
Ingredients
- 7 spring onions, white finely sliced, green part reserved
- 1 tablespoon cooking oil, plus more for frying dumplings
- 1 tablespoon aromatic paste, listed below
- 115 grams white button mushrooms, diced to 1/2 inch pieces (4 oz)
- 250 grams ground pork, or ground chicken (8 oz)
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
- 1 teaspoon fish sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- 1 can whole water chestnuts, optional, 250 gram (8 oz), drained, rinsed, diced 1/4 inch
- 18 wonton wrappers, square or round
- sweet chili sauce, or plum sauce
For the Aromatic Paste
- 1 head garlic, separated into cloves and peeled
- 1/4 teaspoon white pepper powder
- 1/4 cup cilantro stems , loosely packed
Instructions
To Make the Aromatic Paste
- Grind together the garlic, pepper, and cilantro with a mortar and pestle until a smooth paste. Set aside 1 table of the paste for the dumplings, the remaining can be frozen for up to a month.
For the Dumplings
- Heat a large non stick pan with 1 tablespoon of oil on high heat. When hot, ad the sliced spring onion white parts, aromatic paste, and the diced mushrooms, stir often and cook until the spring onion is softened. Add the pork, soy sauce, oyster sauce, fish sauce, sugar, and water chestnuts (if using). Break the ground pork up as it cooks with your spatula, until cooked through and no liquid remains in the pan. Set the pan aside, this is the dumpling filling, and allow this to cool to room temperature.
- When the filling has cooled. Heat a small pot of water, about half full, to boiling. When the pot is boiling set out a bowl with ice water near the the pot. Add the spring onion green parts to the boiling water and blanch for 30 seconds, keep them submerged in the water as well. After 30 seconds, remove them to the ice water to cool them. Remove from the ice water and pat dry, then cut each green piece in half lengthwise, these are the ties for the Golden Purses.
- Open the refrigerated wonton wrappers and place on a plate, place one wonton wrapper on a work surface, keeping remaining wrappers covered with a towel to prevent them from drying out.
- Depending on the size of your wrappers, place between 1 teaspoon and 1 tablespoon of filling in the center of the wrapper. wet the 4 edges of the wrapper with water on your fingertip, draw up all the sides and pinch together at the top, so that it looks like a little bag an the bottom is rounded. Use a piece of the spring onion green and tie that around the top of the dumpling, and knot that. Trim the ends of the green.
- Repeat with the remaining wontons.
- Heat about 2-3 inches of cooking oil in a large pot, when the oil is hot, add a few dumplings at a time with a slotted spoon and fry until golden brown, remove with the slotted spoon to paper towels to drain, continue to fry remaining dumplings.
- Allow dumplings to cool for a few minutes, serve with a sweet chili sauce or plum sauce for dipping.
Notes
Low cost.
This recipe was inspired by good friend, Daniela Dalaa Payerl.
Thailand. Recipe here is courtesy Tara's Multicultural Table and her recipe is here.
United States.
Thailand. Recipe here is courtesy Tara's Multicultural Table and her recipe is here.
United States.
BBQ Chicken (Pressure Cooker)
This is excellent BBQ chicken! I used my 9 liter (9½ quart) stove top pressure cooker with a pressure of 80 kPa (12 psi), so this will work equally well with electric pressure cookers. Follow all safety precautions for your model of pressure cooker. Link to the shortcut is listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Equipment
- Pressure Cooker
Ingredients
- 1 kilo chicken pieces, legs, thighs, breast, your choice (2 lb)
- paprika, to taste
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 1 onion, minced
- ½ cup BBQ sauce, OR make from a shortcut
- ½ cup water
- 2 tablespoons white vinegar
- splash cooking oil
Instructions
- Heat your pressure cooker on medium heat with a splash of cooking oil, no lid for this. When hot, brown the chicken pieces for a few minutes on each side, season as you desire with salt, pepper, and paprika and brown the pieces, you are browning not trying to cook the chicken through, that comes later, work in batches as needed. Return all the browned chicken to the pressure cooker and remove the cooker from the heat.
- In a bowl, mix together the BBQ sauce, water, onion, and vinegar. Pour sauce over the chicken. (I used the variant and went with Sriracha sauce.)
- Place the cooker back on the heat and secure the lid to the cooker. Turn heat to high to lock up the cooker and get the jiggler moving and releasing pressure. Start timing for 8 minutes and reduce the heat to maintain the jiggler movement and pressure release.
- At 8 minutes, turn off the heat and move the cooker to an unused burner to do a natural release of pressure, about 10-15 minutes.
- Open pressure cooker carefully, plate with a side or two, serve. (Now out of fear of loosing a hand or arm during the feeding frenzy, no photos this time of a plated dish. This photo also shows 3 thighs have been removed.)
- This photo was leftovers on the day after and just nuke to reheat 🙂
Notes
Quarters (leg and thighs attached, just separate yourself in a few seconds), is about 55 Baht. Considering 6 servings, this is about 30 cents per meal, excluding sides.
Variants: 1. Swap out BBQ sauce for a chili sauce, think Sriracha (chili and garlic sauce) and this will be the first way I test this recipe. 2. Increase the chicken to 1.5 kilo (3 lbs), permitting on your pressure cooker.
Tortilla Pizzas
This is a cheater recipe when you want a fast and simple pizza. This is a base recipe for 1 tortilla pizza, no quantities are listed, this is a make as much as you want guide. The use of a microwave makes this quickly with no heating up of your kitchen.
Equipment
- Microwave
Ingredients
- 1 flour tortilla, 8-10 inch size or so
- marinara sauce
- Mozzarella Cheese, shredded
- toppings, of your choice
- Italian seasoning, as desired
Instructions
- Place a tortilla on a microwave safe plate.
- Spread some sauce evenly on the tortilla, keeping about ½ inch from the edge. I also added some smoked, chopped, ham. Amount of sauce (or other topping) is up to you.
- Sprinkle with Mozzarella cheese. Amount of cheese is up to you.
- I added some thick cut pepperoni. Sprinkled the pizza with Italian seasoning (after I took the photo), and cook in the microwave for 1½ minutes. Microwaves can vary, so start with 1 minute first and check to make sure the cheese is melted and gooey.
- Remove from the oven, slice, and serve. Enjoy.
Notes
Low cost per pizza.
Crab Rangoon Ravioli
No, this is not a crab and cream cheese wonton in a ravioli, how odd would that be? Think of Crab Rangoon filling in a ravioli, how awesome does that sound? Inspired by a conversation with the recipe author at Spend With Pennies.
Ingredients
For the Filling
- 125 grams Cream cheese, (4 oz)
- 140 grams crab meat, see For the Filling Step 1 (5 oz)
- 1-2 spring onions, thinly sliced, white and green
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- pasta sauce of your choice, for serving
For the Egg Pasta Dough
- 1½ cups all purpose flour
- 2 eggs, chicken or duck
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon sugar
Instructions
For the Egg Pasta Dough
- In a large bowl, add the flour and mix in the salt and sugar. Make a well in the center and crack in the eggs. Use your fingers to slowly mix the eggs and flour together until it forms a ball, it will come together. Knead the dough for just a few minutes, adding flour if it starts to get sticky. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and place in the fridge while you prep the filling.
For the Filling
- For the crab, you can use canned (drained), fresh picked, or even imitation. If using imitation, just cut each crab stick into ¼ inch pieces and use your hands to break them apart, very easy.
- Mix up the filling in a bowl, room temp, you want the filling to be good and soft as you are going fill some raviolis with this. Cover and set the filling aside.
To Assemble the Ravioli
- Feel free to make your ravioli in squares, rounds, or half moons, your preference. For this recipe, I will use a 3 inch dumpling press.
- Take your dough from fridge and cut into quarters. Using 1 piece of dough, flour a work surface and roll out the dough with a rolling pin, get it as thin as you can.
- When the dough is rolled out, cut circles just a bit larger than the press.
- Take a circle and flip it over and place on the press, push down in the center to fit the press, then press along the edges to make sure dough it tight on the press.
- Take about a teaspoon of filling and place in the center of the press. Use a brush and brush one side of the edge of the press with water.
- Fold the press in half and squeeze to crimp the edge, any of the dough that comes out from the press, just scrape off with a knife. Open the press and remove the ravioli and place on a lightly floured plate.
- Take the leftover dough, form into a ball, roll out and repeat the steps. I used 2 pieces of dough from the original ball and made 15 ravioli.
To Cook and Serve
- Use any sauce you like, prepare your sauce or used jarred, your preference. A tomato pasta sauce, or an Alfredo sauce.
- When your sauce is simmering, go ahead and cook the ravioli.
- Heat a pot of salted water to boiling. Add some ravioli using a slotted spoon without over crowding the pot, and cook for 4 to 5 minutes, remove with a slotted spoon to a plate.
- Ladle on your sauce, and enjoy.
Notes
The Cream cheese will cost about 60 Baht/125 grams. The imitation crab will cost about 50 Baht/140 grams. (When I buy fresh crab, I will price this once I pick 140 grams.) Figure 3 servings, this is about $1.08 per serving.
Crab Rangoon Grilled Sandwich
No, this is not a sandwich with the crab and cream cheese wontons grilled between bread, think of the filling grilled between bread 😉 These are delicious! Inspired by a conversation with the recipe author at Spend With Pennies.
Ingredients
- 125 grams Cream cheese, (4 oz)
- 140 grams crab meat, see Step 1, (5 oz)
- 1-2 spring onions, thinly sliced, white and green
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- sliced bread, as needed
- mayo, or butter, as needed
Instructions
- For the crab, you can use canned (drained), fresh picked, or even imitation. If using imitation, just cut each crab stick into 1/4 inch pieces and use your hands to break them apart, very easy.
- Mix up the filling in a bowl, room temp, you want the filling to be good and soft as you are going to spread this on bread. Heat a non stick pan on medium low or low heat.
- Spread some mayo or butter on two slices of bread, place one slice, mayo side down on parchment paper, spread some filling on that slice, be generous, then top with the second slice of bread, mayo side up. Place in the hot pan.
- When the bottom is golden brown, flip and cook the other side until golden brown.
- Remove from pan, cut in half from corner to corner, or best you can with homemade bread, serve.
- Repeat for additional sandwiches.
- Serve and enjoy.
Notes
The Cream cheese will cost about 60 Baht/125 grams. The imitation crab will cost about 50 Baht/140 grams. (When I buy fresh crab, I will price this once I pick 140 grams.) Figure 3 servings, this is about $1.08 per serving.
Pork Rib Curry I
My wife makes most of the Thai dishes here at the house, and certainly all the ones that use shrimp paste. My wife made this on 8 Feb 2018 for the family, served 4, twice.
Ingredients
- 1 kilo pork ribs, separated between the bones (2 lbs)
- 3-4 shallots, peeled and smashed
- 1 palmful black peppercorns
- 2-3 tablespoons red chili paste
- 2-3 tablespoons shrimp paste
- 1-2 handfuls hot Thai basil, this is the large Thai basil
- cooked rice, for serving
Instructions
- Heat a pot of water and add the shallots and peppercorns.
- When the water is boiling, add the pork ribs. Here is the ribs used.
- And into the pot.
- Now get your chili and shrimp paste out and ready. Shrimp paste on the left, chili paste on the right.
- And wash the basil and get that ready.
- When the meat is tender, about 30 minutes to an hour, mix in the chili and shrimp pastes. and let simmer / low boil for another 30 minutes.
- Then add the basil and let that wilt down, takes just a minute or so.
- Stir the basil into the curry and let it simmer for a few more minutes.
- Ready to serve with rice.
Notes
I will estimate 120 Baht for the ribs. For 6 servings, this is about 59 cents per serving.
Family recipe by my wife, Rrayada Thayer.
Thailand.
Thailand.
Cornmeal Whitefish I
The only time I have eaten fish coated in cornmeal was catfish in Tennessee, and that was years ago. Time to change this I will use shark catfish but it has a whitefish flavor, not at all like catfish. This is make as much as you want recipe, no servings, times, or quantities are listed for this (read that as simple).
Ingredients
- whitefish fillets, figure 1-2 fillets per peron
- all purpose flour
- eggs
- cornmeal
- cayenne pepper
- salt and pepper
- cooking oil
Instructions
- Cut your whitefish fillets in half if you like, easier to manage that way.
- Place 3 shallow bowls on the counter, place some flour in the first bowl, 2-3 eggs in the next bowl and beat them with a fork, then some cornmeal in the last bowl. Add a pinch of cayenne pepper to the flour and the cornmeal.
- Heat a large non stick pan with a good splash of cooking oil. When the oil is hot, dredge each fillet in flour and shake off excess, then in egg and shake off excess, then in cornmeal, the into the hot oil. cook until golden brown on the bottom then turn fillets over and cook until golden brown, remove to paper towels. I am cooking the fish fillets on the right, my wife is cooking wontons on the left.
- When all the fillets are cooked, serve with a vegetable and a salad for a nice meal.
Notes
For the fish, go with about 130 Baht/1 kilo of Pangasius fillets. For 4 servings, this is about 96 cents per serving.
Inspired by seeing cornmeal coated fish photos from a number of good friends.
Smokey Campfire Dipping Sauce
This is a copycat recipe and comes from a good friend, and it has regards in her family. On my to make list.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup Thousand Island dressing
- 1 teaspoon horseradish
- 2 tablespoons BBQ sauce
Instructions
- Put everything in a bowl, mix well, sauce is ready.
- Serve as a dipping sauce with your favorite wings, a blooming onion, or any of your grilled favorites.
Notes
Low cost.
Recipe and photo, provided courtesy of good friend, Mary Weinberger.
United States.
United States.
Jalapeño Popper Chicken Fries
This sounds good for a family get together, watching a sports game with friends, or even as a main dish served over rice or pasta with a salad on the side.
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons cooking oil
- 2 chicken breasts
- 8 slices bacon, chopped
- 4 jalapeno peppers, finely diced
- 2 cloves garlic, smashed and minced
- 3 cups whipping cream
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 2 1/2 cups Cheddar cheese, shredded
- french fries, cooked
- spring onion, chopped, for garnish
Instructions
- In a large non stick pan, heat the oil then add the chicken, cook for about 4-5 minutes each side, remove from pan.
- Add the bacon and cook until just crisp, then add the garlic and jalapenos and fry until just fragrant. While the bacon is cooking, dice the chicken.
- Stir in the cream, salt, and pepper and let it simmer on low heat.
- Then stir in the cheese, then the chicken. Simmer for a few minutes to melt the cheese into the sauce.
- Pour the sauce over a large tray of hot french fries, hand everyone a fork, and dig in.
Notes
For the number of servings, this is low cost, only thing costly would be the cheese at about 180 Baht, but 10 servings, low cost overall.
Variant: 1. Make this a main dish served over rice or pasta and a salad on the side.
Provided courtesy of good friend, Stephen Connell.
United States.
United States.