Steak au Poivre with Sauteed Porta Bella Mushrooms
Most of our evening meals are simple, often pulling from the freezer any leftovers from my weekend cooking marathons. We spend our energy taking care of the boys, coaxing them to eat their dinner and use good manners, and conversation centers around the day and what the boys did in school or any new milestones. We try to minimize the chaos, but I’ll tell you we’ve heard it all during dinner.
“Daddy, I peed on the potty all by myself!”
“I don’t want to use my fork!”
“I don’t like this. I can’t eat it.”
“Daddy? Mommy? Have some more [fill in the blank]?” (pause) “Oh. May I have some more [fill in the blank], please?”
“Mommy, I love my vegetables!” (Usually said after being told there will be no dessert for little boys who don’t eat all their dinner.)
“Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!” [airplane noises]
“Oh, please don’t put that in your hair.” (pause, sigh) “OK, I guess you need a bath tonight.”
“Ghhhh!” (Said while the toddler throws his food or bowl or cup or spoon on the floor. Usually followed by tears because now he doesn’t have the food/bowl/cup/spoon/whatever.)
By the time we get the boys to bed we’re both exhausted and can easily fall asleep wherever we sit, Read more
Beef and Bell Pepper with Black Bean Sauce
October 30, 2007 by Andrea
Filed under Asian, Beef, Grow Your Own
As I have written in previous posts, I did not grow up with Asian food, and it wasn’t until I moved to Saipan for my first overseas teaching job in 1989 that I had any exposure to the real thing. The island was (and still is) populated with a mix of nationalities and there were a handful of Asian grocery stores around the island. The one closest to my house was in Chalan Piao right on Beach Road, and I remember going shopping there for the first time and feeling utterly bewildered when I looked at the food products. I was looking for a particular kind of Chinese noodles and some Chinese cooking sauces, but I couldn’t seem to figure out what products were Japanese vs Chinese vs Korean, so when I finally stumbled across a shelf that had Lee Kum Kee products with English labels, I was relieved and bought my first jar of Lee Kum Kee Black Bean Sauce.
That experience is how my Asian cooking and condiments love affair got started. I didn’t have a clue about any of the other ingredients in the store, I just knew that I had tasted a delicious beef and black bean sauce with noodles dish at Diamond Chinese Restaurant in Garapan and I wanted to learn how to make it myself. I still enjoy making the dish, and I was able to make it recently with the last of this year’s bell peppers from our garden. Read more
Chinese Beef and Broccoli with Tomato
I used to order this dish at China House Restaurant in Saipan, and the combination of flavors grabbed me. Admittedly this is an Americanized version of Chinese broccoli beef, but I like the extra layer of flavor the tomatoes add. Don’t add them too soon or cook them for too long; otherwise, they will turn to mush.
The key to making this dish successfully is to prep everything ahead of time. You’ll feel like you are on a cooking show with all the bowls of measured ingredients beside you, but it will help immensely because once you start stir-frying things move very quickly.
Preparation time depends on how long you want to marinate the beef, which can sit for 30 minutes or up to 3 hours. Freezing the beef for about 20 minutes prior to cutting will make it much easier to achieve very thin slices. Read more
Mom’s Stroganoff
This recipe is almost a family legend. Mom got the recipe from a friend of hers, and she has passed it on to many, many people who enjoyed the dish when visiting my parents. Since my father is a hunter, my family makes this with venison instead of beef.
Equipment
sharp knife
6 quart crock pot Read more
Bulgogi
I fell in love with bulgogi when I lived in Saipan and though I could get it at every Korean restaurant on the island, I wanted to learn to make it myself. So I approached the mother of one of my Korean students and asked for her bulgogi recipe, but instead of sending the recipe she sent me about five pounds of marinated bulgogi meat! So either my request didn’t translated well or she felt that a gift of bulgogi was more significant than just the recipe. After a few more requests I finally managed to get the recipe, but Mrs. Kim continued sending me her marinated meat just about every month for the rest of the school year.
[photo coming]
[Updated February 6, 2009]
Equipment
sharp knife
gallon plastic bag for marinading
wok or grill for cooking Read more
