Story and Photos by Sharon Hudgins Recipes: Roasted Hot Peppers in Soy Sauce Fresh Hot Pepper Sauce Kimchi with Steamed Rice Pan-Fried Crab Cakes Fired Beef (Pulgogi) Korean food may well be the great undiscovered Asian cuisine in Texas. Texans chow down at Chinese and Indian buffets, stop off at sushi bars, slurp Vietnamese pho, and tickle their taste buds …
Techniques for Freezing Peppers
Hi Dave,I have seen a lot of things on the internet about freezing peppers. Most say to chop up, place on a cookie sheet, freeze, then place in a zip lock bag. Is there anything wrong with simply picking peppers off of the plant, placing in a zip lock bag and going directly into the freezer? The peppers I am …
Chiles Burn Calories?
Q: Hello Dave, I am trying to burn fat, and I want to know is it safe to eat as many chile or cayenne peppers as I want to everday to boost my metabolism. Please let me know. Thank You.Elzi A: Hello Elzi:Eating chiles can boost your metabolism and burn calories but you have to eat a lot of them. …
Kangaroo Kabobs
Cook these meat kabobs separately from vegetables; vegetables should be cooked for a longer time at a lower heat. You can use some of the orange chile marinade for the vegetables as well; divide it before you pour marinade over the meat. Note: This recipe requires advance preparation.
Ingredients
1 1/2 pounds kangaroo loin, cubed
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
1/3 cup olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon red chile flakes
Instructions
Put the cubed meat in a large resealable plastic container or zippered storage bag. Sprinkle salt and pepper over the meat. Add the other ingredients and shake vigorously until the mixture is combined and the meat is coated. Refrigerate 4 hours or overnight.
Heat a charcoal or gas grill to high.
Thread the meat cubes onto long metal skewers. Grill over high heat, turning at least once, until the meat is cooked no more than medium rare. Remove the meat from the grill and allow it to rest at least 5 minutes before serving.
If you want to use the marinade as a sauce, pour the remaining liquid into a blender and puree completely. Then heat the sauce to a boil in a saucepan. Simmer 5 minutes and pour over the kabobs.
Spicy Morel Sauce for Meat and Poultry
The odd-looking morel does not have a cap but rather a fruit body about four inches long that is pittted and resembles a honeycomb. Since the darker the mushroom, the stronger the flavor, the morel is prized as one of the strongest mushrooms with its earthy and smoky flavor. It is related to truffles, but far more common. They are spring mushrooms, available fresh from April through June, although specialty markets will have them all year long in the dried form. They are easily rehydrated. Morels are particularly common in the midwest, and a festival is devoted to them in Boyne, Michigan. Since morels have never been successfully cultivated, mushroom lovers depend upon foragers. A word of caution: never eat morels raw, as they contain toxic helvellic acid, which is destroyed by cooking.
Ingredients
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1/4 cup water
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1/4 cup sugar
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1/4 cup red-wine vinegar
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1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar plus additional to taste
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3 tablespoons unsalted butter
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24 fresh morels (about 1 pound),cleaned and trimmed (or 1 ounce dried morels, soaked, reserving 1/2 cup soaking liquid)
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1/3 cup finely chopped shallots
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1 teaspoon cayenne
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2 cups dry red wine
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2 cups chicken stock
Instructions
In a small heavy saucepan, boil the water with the sugar, without stirring, until a golden caramel color results. Remove the pan from the heat and carefully add the vinegar and balsamic vinegar down the side of the pan. Stir the mixture over moderate heat until the caramel is dissolved, about 3 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat.
In a heavy saucepan cook the morels in butter, stirring, over moderate heat until liquid from morels is evaporated, about 5 minutes. Transfer the morels with a slotted spoon to a bowl and reserve. Add the shallots and the cayenne to the pan and cook, stirring, until golden. Stir in the wine and boil until reduced to about 1 cup, about 15 minutes.
Add the stock and reserved morel soaking liquid (if using dried morels) and reduce to about 1 1/4 cups, about 15 minutes. Remove the pan from heat and stir in caramel mixture. Add the morels to sauce with salt and pepper to taste. You can serve the sauce as is or processed in a blender or food processor.