Here I am standing in front of our table just moments before the gates opened and we were three-deep in hungry foodies eager to taste this great tuna. The fish was sampled very simply with "flavor enhancers" in front of each different variety. The consensus was, as I knew it would be, that the tuna was awesome.
Anyway, stay tuned for more foodie fun soon, including a brand new video recipe I shot before I left. Thanks!
Whenever you see those headlines like, "Worst Take-Out Food Choices Ever," on the various websites, you can be sure that sweet and sour pork will be near the top of the list.
That's because it's usually made from fatty pieces of pork shoulder, cut into cubes, dipped in a thick batter, deep-fried, and finally coated with a super-sugary, thick, starchy sauce.
I'm no shrinking violet around high-calorie food, but classic Chinese-American take-out sweet and sour pork is basically deep-fried, sugar-coated, fatty pork chunks. And yes, once in a while, it's pretty damn awesome (like twice a decade).
For a more reasonable way to enjoy the same basic flavors, I think this pork tenderloin version is a nice alternative. As I say in the video, pork tenderloin is lean, very easy to cook (as long as you can get past those ridiculous fears about slightly pink pork), and the sauce takes about two minutes to prep.
By the way, this is not simply fake Chinese food; it's actually fake, fake Chinese food. The aforementioned death nuggets we call sweet and sour pork are not even remotely close to any kind of authentic sweet and sour preparation in real Chinese cuisine. Or at least that’s what I heard Anthony Bourdain say one time. Now that's research.
Anyway, I thoroughly enjoyed this plate of florescent food, and if you're a fan of the Chinese take-out version, I believe you will too. Also, I would suggest tossing in some green onions (the white parts) along with the garlic, and save the green tops to garnish with as I did with the chives. Enjoy!
Sweet and Sour Pork Tenderloin Ingredients:
For the sauce:
1/3 cup ketchup
1/3 cup seasoned rice vinegar
reserved pineapple juice from can
2 tablespoons brown sugar
4 cloves minced garlic
1/4 cup chopped green onions, white parts, optional
2 teaspoons Asian hot chili sauce (sambal or sriracha), or to taste
1/4 cup water or chicken broth to thin sauce
1 teaspoon soy sauce, or to taste
For the pork medallions:
1 pork tenderloin, trimmed, cut, flattened into four medallions
salt and fresh ground black pepper as needed
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 teaspoon butter
1 can (8-oz) pineapple chunks, drained, juice reserved
4 cups cooked white rice
2 tablespoon chopped green onion tops or chives to garnish
Well, that's one blog title I couldn't have anticipated writing, but that's exactly what's happening tonight as I board a red-eye for Miami.
As many of you know, I won the Tonnino Tuna Chef Challenge recipe video contest, and one of the prizes was getting to serve as their Chef Ambassador for the year. As part of my duties, I'll be representing them at the 10th Annual South Beach Wine & Food Festival.
Pictured here is an "Upside-Down" Tonnino Jalapeño Tuna Taco Bite that I created to celebrate the event. Recipe cards will be available at the Tonnino booth at the Grand Tasting, but I've posted the written recipe below, just in case you're looking for a cool app for your upcoming Oscars party. Enjoy!
Note: I've finished the sweet and sour pork video, and will be posting that tomorrow, so stay tuned! Also, be sure to follow along with me on Twitter for my bite-by-bite coverage of the #sobewff, as we refer to it in the tweets.
"Upside-Down" Tonnino Jalapeño Tuna Taco Bites
Makes about 24
1 small jicama (about 1 1/2 lbs), peeled
1 jar (6.7-oz) Tonnino Tuna Fillets with Jalapeno in Olive Oil
2 tablespoon diced roasted red pepper, or pimento
1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 teaspoon ground dried chipotle
1/4 cup crushed corn nuts, or as needed
Using a sharp knife, trim the peeled jicama into a cylindrical shape, about 2-inches in diameter. Using a vegetable slicer, or knife, slice the jicama into about 24 "chips" (about 1/8-inch thick).
Drain the tuna (saving the oil for a salad dressing), and add to a small mixing bowl. Pick out the pieces of jalapeño that came with the tuna, and dice fine. Add back to the bowl. Add the red pepper, cilantro, and chipotle. Mix with a fork until combined. Divide the tuna mixture onto the jicama chips, and top with the crushed corn nuts.
I'm getting things ready for my flight to Miami tomorrow, where I'll be attending the South Beach Wine & Food Festival. I'll have much more on that tomorrow, but the good news is I'm almost done editing a couple terrific new video recipes. One features my much lighter take on sweet and sour pork, and the other a very sexy concoction inspired by, believe it or not, chocolate covered cherries. Stay tuned!
This crispy, crunchy, and extremely refreshing coleslaw recipe features a very under-utilized vegetable found in almost every large American grocery store's produce section – I'm talking about jicama.
In fact, there's a good chance you've never had it, which is a shame. The flavor is very mild, and subtly sweet. It's just perfect for raw salads like this coleslaw, and blends wonderfully with the tart apple and crunchy cabbage.
One problem with jicama is how it's marketed. As you'll see in the video, the label described it as, "a Mexican potato," which is just a terrible comparison. If you want to make something sound unappetizing to an American, have them think they are going to be eating something that's like a raw potato. Yum.
Jicama does have a similar texture to a raw potato, but that's where that comparison ends. It is a little starchy, but pleasantly so, and each bite produces a mini explosion of juicy goodness. So, don't be afraid! I hope you buy some jicama on your next trip to the market, and give this easy side dish recipe a try soon. Enjoy!
Apple Jicama Coleslaw Ingredients: 1/2 small green cabbage, sliced into 1/4-inch strips 1/2 jicama, sliced into 1/4-inch strips on a vegetable slicer 1 large Fuji apple, sliced into 1/4-inch strips on a vegetable slicer For the dressing: 1/4 cup pineapple juice 1/2 cup mayonnaise 1 tsp sugar hot sauce to taste salt to taste 1/3 cup crushed corn nuts
During the video panel discussion I participated in at the 2010 Foodbuzz Blogger Festival, I offered to showcase videos created by any of the young, budding video bloggers in attendance. One such blogger is the lovely and talented, Mijune, from Follow Me Foodie.
Of course when I made my offer, I should have been clearer that I didn't really want videos whose quality and production value were better than mine, but it's too late now. A promise is a promise. Here are Mijune's first two videos – an introduction to her new format, and a review of YEW Restaurant & Bar at The Four Seasons Hotel in Vancouver, BC.
By the way, the second video illustrates why I could never do video reviews. Once you feed me, any semblance of journalistic integrity dissolves like a pinch of salt in a free bowl of soup. Enjoy!
I've always wanted to cook something on Himalayan pink salt, but I just can't for the life of me tell you why. I knew that flavor-wise there couldn’t be any real difference between cooking on pink salt, and simply seasoning with it, but that didn’t seem to matter.
Just the idea of cooking on what's basically a slab of crystal, appealed to some indefinable internal force inside of me. Having said that, I still reserve the right to continue to mock those people that wear crystals for their healing properties, because that's just nuts.
Anyway, back to these shrimp. As I summarize in the video: it was fun, I'm glad I did it, but I don't think I would do it again, unless it was for some showy, interactive first course.
There's no doubt letting your guests cook their own shrimp on hot, pink salt would definitely be a neat way to start off a dinner party.
Above and beyond the Himalayan pink salt experiment, the ultra-simple shrimp preparation seen here can be easily adapted to your trusty non-crystal saute pan.
You'll be pleasantly surprised how good seared shrimp are with nothing more than a pinch of cumin and cayenne. Just don’t forget the salt! Enjoy.
Note: After you cook on it, the salt block can be scraped clean, rinsed off (even though they said not to), and wiped dry. It's a completely antiseptic surface and can be reused as many times as possible.
Ingredients: 1 pound large shrimp 1 teaspoon grapeseed oil 1/4 teaspoon cumin 1/4 teaspoon cayenne salt to taste if using conventional cooking methods
Tomorrow, I hope to have a new video up where I cook on a hot slab of pink Himalayan salt. I've been wanting to try this for a while, and finally found a nice piece of this sexy salt in a neighborhood grocery store. Will it work? Will it crack? Will it be too salty, or not salty enough? Will it taste like Yeti? Stay tuned!
I love cooking with leftovers, and this artichoke and spinach stuffed shells recipe is a perfect example of why. There's something very satisfying about turning a dish of tired leftovers into a vibrant new creation. It's also great exercise for your cooking muscles, which should never be confused with your following-a-recipe muscles.
When you follow a recipe, you're tying to manipulate food into something fabulous that fits some beautifully idyllic description, or looks like some photoshop'd picture in a cookbook. When you're cooking with leftovers, you don't have as lofty of a goal. In fact, your usually just trying to keep something from going straight into the bin.
Much like a sports team that has nothing to lose, and plays great because of their free and easy attitude, the same thing often happens when cooking with leftovers. In fact, if I weren't so jetlagged, I'd come up with some brilliant metaphor for living life with this same approach.
Due to dangerously high quantities of food at our Super Bowl party (by the way, how 'bout dem bones!), I found myself with a significant amount of leftover spinach artichoke dip. I've always enjoyed spinach and ricotta stuffed pasta shells, so I thought I'd see if I could turn this fairly unattractive dish of food into something slightly less unattractive.
As you'll see from the video, I think I succeeded. The would have been too long had I included the making of the béchamel sauce, but we've done that one many times, and you can see that recipe video here. I just made a standard batch of white sauce, and tossed in a handful of grated Gruyere.
Anyway, I hope this video inspires you to take a look around the fridge, and fearlessly, and without any grand expectations, make something into something else. Enjoy!
Technical Note: Do not adjust your monitors! This was filmed at my mom's home on a dark winter's day, so the lighting is not very good. Although, it is kind of fitting for the subject.
Artichoke and Spinach Stuffed Shells Ingredients: (recommended as a side dish)
3 cups leftover spinach artichoke dip
1 generous cup ricotta cheese 1 egg
salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
red pepper flakes to taste
juice from one lemon
1 box jumbo shells
1 batch béchamel sauce with 1 cup of grated cheese added to it at the end
