When in Rome…

Posted byfotinitheo1Posted inUncategorized
This week in my mission to relearn to cook with different ingredients and on an induction stove (thanks Kate for pointing out that it’s not electric) I’ve finally managed to have some success! And not a minute too soon. I am definitely sick of eating out so much.  Eating out, especially during the week, makes me feel like we’re not really living here.  Finally cooking some yummy meals has made me start to feel like this is home.  Once all our kitchen stuff gets here it’ll be even better.

I started with the old standby to build my confidence.  Sauce and meatballs! I had to finagle the recipe, not because of lack of ingredients at the store but because I not surprisingly forgot to buy some. But this turned out delicious!  I always make Batali’s simple sauce and Barefoot Contessa’s meatballs.  Both turned out yummy even though I made the sauce with no carrots and the meatballs with only two types of ground meat instead of three and only one type of breadcrumbs instead of two.  I also am incapable of making my meatballs round, they are more of an oblong shape but still tasted good.

Sauce:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/mario-batali/basic-tomato-sauce-recipe12/index.html

Meatballs:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/search/delegate.do?fnSearchString=barefoot+contessa+real+meatballs&fnSearchType=site

Then I decided I might as well try to make an Asian dish.  I want to try to start cooking with more local ingredients and flavors.  This stuff has to taste better and be fresher than the produce they import from the US.

I always love Asia noodle and beef soups and I know Randy does too so I decided to tackle this as my first Asian dish.  I was a bit scared but it turned out to be relatively easy and super tasty.   Oddly enough when I went to the supermarket to get all the ingredients the Green Curry Paste was in the imported section. Guess it’s not that commonly used here, but they had all the ingredients!

I made the broth and the noodles.  We don’t have a grill so I roasted the vegetables in the pan and Randy broiled the steak in the oven.

Thai-Style Beef with Noodles

Ingredients:

  • 1 tablespoon soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon mild honey
  • 2 tablespoons Asian fish sauce, divided
  • 1 pound flank steak
  • 3 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
  • 2 large shallots, thinly sliced (1 cup)
  • 1 tablespoon finely chopped peeled ginger
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons Thai green-curry paste
  • 1 3/4 cups reduced-sodium beef broth
  • 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
  • 1 red bell pepper, cut into 1/4-inch strips
  • 1 bunch scallions, trimmed and cut into 3-inch pieces
  • 3/4 pound dried Asian egg noodles
Mix together soy, honey, 1 tablespoon fish sauce, and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a shallow baking dish, then add steak and turn to coat. Marinate at room temperature 20 minutes.

While steak marinates, heat 2 tablespoons oil in a small heavy saucepan over medium-high heat until it shimmers, then cook shallots, stirring occasionally, until browned well, about 8 minutes. Add ginger and curry paste and cook, stirring occasionally, 1 minute, then add broth and simmer 5 minutes. Stir in lime juice, remaining tablespoon fish sauce, and salt to taste and keep warm, covered.

Heat grill pan over medium-high heat until hot, then lightly oil. Grill steak, turning once, about 8 minutes total (for rare). Transfer to a cutting board and let stand 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, toss bell pepper and scallions with remaining tablespoon oil, then grill, turning frequently, until softened, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl.

While steak stands, cook noodles in a pasta pot of boiling unsalted water until al dente, 4 to 7 minutes. Drain well, then add to vegetables and toss well. Divide noodles among 4 deep bowls and top with broth. Cut steak in half lengthwise, then thinly slice across the grain and serve on top of noodles.

I never thought I would hear Randy say this but he did say it could use more vegetables.  This coming from someone who recently told me that vegetable stir fries are one of his worst enemies.

We’ve also found a great store nearby, Santis that carries good meat and great wine.  We are definitely happy.  I know you nosey nellies want to know what the failed mean was.  I attempted Ratatouille (thanks for nothing epicurious Rustic Ratatouille).  It was very time consuming and dry.  So bascially the opposite of what Ratatouille should be.

In other random thoughts, I have to say I may find Rachel Ray a little annoying, but her garbage bag idea is brilliant.

In other news what has Adam been up to you ask?  Well he’s been helping me out around the kitchen.  Baby obsession to end all baby obsessions- the broom, dustpan and kitchen cabinets.  I won’t need to hire any help now that I have Adam on the job 🙂

Since I’ve already rambled so much on this post I may as well continute. The weather in the evenings has been been great so we’ve been going on family walks.  These have been great and it’s so nice to do something after dinner.  It has definitely been the thing I enjoy most about the weather here.

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