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Tuesday, June 21, 2016

JAPANESE: Yuzu Kosho AND Yuzu Kosho Oil - condiments QUICK LINKS - Add spice to your July 4th picnic












The juice makes a floral vinaigrette; it's also used in ponzu, an addictive Japanese dipping sauce. Bottled yuzu juice can be found at specialty foods stores and Asian markets. If unavailable, substitute 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice and 1/2 tablespoon fresh orange juice for RECIPE ABOVE.  

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Meet yuzu kosho oil, the easy-to-make hot sauce that will have you obsessed. Yuzu kosho, a fermented chili-yuzu paste, is common in Kyushu, in southwest Japan, where it’s often sold in a little jar, says Ganso Yaki co-owner Harris Salat. His executive chef and co-owner, Tadashi Ono, dreamt up a riff on the paste (which on its own is too thick to use as a sauce), which they call “yuzu kosho oil,” and which is as easy as pie to make on your own. 
And it goes on everything: chicken? Yes. Beef ribs? Yup. Sautéed mushrooms? Absolutely. 
Ono simply took the yuzu kosho, added yuzu juice and a glug of oil, and put a little jar of it on every table. As Salat says, “It works great with fish, pork, chicken, beef, lamb; it’s so versatile!”
It’s also insanely addictive. Give it a whirl, use it on everything, and report back!
Yuzu Kosho Oil
Courtesy of Tadashi Ono, Ganso Yaki
½ cup vegetable oil (such as soybean oil)
1 tablespoon red yuzu kosho* (available online and at specialty Asian markets and Amazon.com
½ tablespoon yuzu juice.
Blend together until smooth. Store in refrigerator for up to one month.
*Melissa Clark, genius recipe developer for The New York Times, suggests that, if you’re not able to find bottled red yuzu kosho, you can substitute 1 teaspoon of hot sauce or chile powder mixed with 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice and 1 teaspoon lemon zest. 
Recipe from Martha Stewart

Grilled Salmon and Chilled Somen with Yuzu Sauce

This tasty dish, courtesy of chef Takashi Yagihashi (Takashi's Noodles), is a great way to serve noodles on a warm day. 


  • 4 (4-ounce) salmon fillets
  • Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
  • 12 ounces dried somen noodles
  • 12 cherry tomatoes, halved
  • 1/4 cup chopped daikon
  • 1/4 cup chopped cucumber
  • 1 cup Yuzu Dipping Sauce
  • 8 stems mitsuba, cut into 1-inch pieces (or substitute with daikon sprouts or cilantro)
  • DIRECTIONS

    1. Heat a grill or grill pan over high heat. Season salmon with salt and pepper; place salmon on grill and cook, turning once, until medium-rare, 2 to 3 minutes per side.
    2. Fill a pot with water and bring to a boil over high heat. Add noodles and cook according to package instructions. Drain and rinse noodles under cold running water. Drain well and divide evenly between 4 bowls.
    3. Top each bowl of noodles with tomatoes, daikon, and cucumber. Place a salmon fillet in each bowl and drizzle with sauce. Garnish with mitsuba and serve.

Thursday, June 9, 2016

AMERICAN: from the Kitchen on Foodnetwork - Make the Most of Your Summer Bounty


The Kitchen starts off summer with Marcela Valladolid's 

Grilled Pork Tenderloin with an Apricot Serrano Salsa, 

then Katie Lee shows how to make recipes from 

leftovers with her Pork Tenderloin Quesadillas. Learn 

how to keep produce fresh all summer long and how to 

better your backyard with DIY tips and tricks. Plus, 

author and nutritionist Joy Bauer joins the fun with her 

healthy Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream, food and 

lifestyle expert Chadwick Boyd makes Radish and Snap 

Pea Bites with Brown Butter Rosemary Drizzle, and 

Geoffrey Zakarian whips up a Pina Perfected cocktail. 










Wednesday, June 8, 2016

AMERICAN; WINE AND CHEESE PARTY pairing chart, photos and VIDEOS!



Sauvignon Blanc 

Pinot Noir

Pinot Grigio

Cabernet Sauvignon

Gruner Vetliner

Zinfindal

Riesling

Merlot

Champagne

































INTERNATIONAL: ITALIAN REGIONS 3 - Basilicata PHOTOS - REPOST - UPDATED WITH VIDEOS

Basilicata Italy
Basilicata is in the southern part of Italy and is divided into two sections:  Matera and Potenza.  Food is with only the freshest local ingredients and prepared following ancient recipes. 
Matera
The peasant traditions of Matera have given light to dishes that often make use of ingredients that are difficult to find elsewhere. Local favorites include zuppe (legume soups), fresh wild chicory served on pureed fava beans or Peperoni di Senise (red peppers that are dried, fried and salted and used as a seasoning) or sweet Majatica Olives from Ferrandina (uncured olives that are fried or salted) or Sarconian Beans or wild mushrooms or Tartufo (truffles)
Fresh meat is rare but Pignata (a mutton stew) cooked in an earthenware pot covered with a layer of bread dough which causes the pot to act like a pressure cooker in a wood burning oven. Pork sausages are popular and the most eaten Salsicce Lucana which are seasoned with fennel seeds and often pepperoncino (a fiery chili pepper).  At restaurants meals are served with Pane di Matera (oven baked bread with durum wheat flower which has a hard crust and is light yellow inside.
Matera has much in common with the region of Puglia: Orecchiette (handmade pasta) prepared with fresh tomato or with turnip greens, broccolis, cauliflower or with breadcrumb and sultana. In this province hot pepper is very used called in three different ways: diavulicchiu, frangisello, cerasella.

Another typical dish is the cotto di fichi (cooked figs) a kind of cream made of boiled and dried figs. The dish changes a bit with prickly pears instead of figs. The local Cardoncello mushroom, cooked in different ways and or eaten row with ricotta cheese, lemons and olive oil from Murge of Matera. And then the wheat and chick-peas soup, the cialled a kind of soup with stale bread, eggs, olives, tomatoes and other vegetables, but also some traditional dishes linked to the religious events.

A typical Easter dish of Matera is the cardi with cacio and eggs and the pirc'dduzz (pasta dressed with cooked wine) and a typical Easter dish of Irsina is “fusilli” with fried breadcrumb and cooked figs.
In the Metaponto area fish dishes are very common as “scapece” (fried anchovies marinated with vinegar) and the dried salted cod prepared with peppers.

Lamb and sheep are also very common in this province. Another typical dish is the gnummaridd, special rolls filled with sheep and kids giblets. It's worth to taste also eels with hot pepper, tomatoes, mint and laurel. Typical cheeses are: ricotta cheese, sheep milk cheese and burrata (fresh mozzarella and cream cheese).

Fish dishes are typical of Matera as the delicious fish soup, eels, trouts and baked codfish. But the main dish it's always the starter and in particular all kind of handmade pasta: "orecchiette", "cavatelli", strozzapreti" and "strascinate" and the typical dish "fusilli" with broad beans. 

Typical desserts are: figs with honey, pasch'nisch, a September dessert prepared with semolina and cooked must; the cuccìa, as in Potenza province, a boiled wheat dessert mixed with chocolate, pomegranate, walnuts and cooked wine.

Typical wines are: Val Bradano, Sangiovese, Moscato, Malvasia, Elixir of walnuts 

Potenza

Potenza is the capital of Basilicata, which is divided into Potenza and Matera provinces. (named for their capitals). The region is crossed by the Lucanian Apennines; its main river is the Bradano. Because of a dry climate and a scarcity of groundwater, farming is difficult, although it is the occupation of most inhabitants of the generally poor region.

Typical tastes of the delicatessen from Basilicata are very strong: the chili pepper, aromatic herbs. The basic food is pork: natives from Basilicata are very good in making ham, sausages, capocollo (salami made with pork neck) and bacon. 

Typical dishes are for example: "cotechinata", fried pork, "peperonata" with pork, "sanguinaccio". Sheep and lamb are also very common. 


And don't forget about cheeses: soft cheese, "provola" (fresh cheese made in a round shape from buffalo's milk), ricotta cheese; "caciocavallo" that means "Cheese on horseback". Its name comes from the maturation method used: the curd is left to dry by placing it "straddling" upon a horizontal stick or branch; and of course the "pecorino from Moliterno". 

The three most famous wines from Basilicata are: the red Aglianico (which have the Controlled origin denomination -Italian quality assurance label), the white and sparkling Moscato and the dessert wine Malvasia.