A Spanish Twist on Barbeque

 

It's not just barbeque that Grillmaster Matt Moore is in to these days, in his new cookbook Butcher on the Block, Matt told Tonia's Kitchen branches out into a fall favorite, paella. Matt says he really enjoys working with rice and cast iron cooking on a smoker. And this is an ideal recipe for that kind of cooking. He adds that you can play with the ingredients, subbing in calamari for the shrimp, and chicken thigh for the Chorizo sausage. Matt noted he considers his recipes kind of like templates, and you can play around them as you wish.

 ½ lb Spanish Chorizo Sausage, sliced into ½ inch slices

1 Tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
½ Medium Yellow Onion, finely diced
1 5 oz Package Mahatma™ Saffron Yellow Rice
1 Cup Canned Petite Diced Tomatoes
2 Cups Chicken Stock
½ lb Large Shrimp, peeled and deveined with tails on
1 Cup Frozen Green Peas, thawed

On the stove top, heat skillet over medium high heat; add chorizo and brown for 2 – 3 minutes. Remove chorizo and place on a paper towel lined plate to drain excess grease and cool. Add oil and onions to the skillet and cook for 3 – 4 minutes, or until onions become translucent and tender. Next, add entire contents of the rice package to the skillet, and stir well to coat the grains in oil. Next, add tomatoes and stock and bring to a boil. When mixture reaches a boil, reduce heat to medium low and simmer for 20 – 25 minutes. With 10 minutes remaining on the rice, fold in the chorizo, shrimp, and peas (allowing the ingredients to ‘steam’ in the rice). Continue to cook until the rice is al dente and the shrimp are bright pink and firm. Remove from heat and plate. Serve.

Fresh Salmon Tacos

As the weather warms up, you might be looking for grilling ideas, and what's better on the grill than a delicious seared salmon! And why not make it a little more special and flavorful. Jess Larson, who's writing the cooking blog, Plays Well With Butter, stopped by Tonia's Kitchen to talk about her recipe for Grilled Salmon Tacos. She says they are full of flavor and spice, and really can make a spring or summertime barbeque or picnic. Jess told Tonia that she likes to use wild-caught Salmon from Alaska, and season it up on the grill!

• 1 pound fresh salmon fillets, skin removed and diced into 1-inch cubes
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• ½ teaspoon dried oregano
• ½ teaspoon onion powder
• kosher salt and ground black pepper, to season
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 lime, juiced
• For the Green Sauce-

• 1 cup mayonnaise
• ¼ cup buttermilk (or 1 scant teaspoon lemon juice + scant ¼ cup milk)
• 2 large, juicy limes, juiced (approx. ¼ cup juice)
• 1 bunch fresh cilantro (approx. 1 cup loosely packed leaves and tender stems)
• 1 medium jalapeno, deseeded as desired and roughly chopped
• 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
• 3 green onions, roughly chopped
• 3 cloves garlic
• kosher salt and ground black pepper, to season
• Optional: Prepare the green sauce: In a food processor, combine all listed ingredients for the sauce. Season with 1 teaspoon kosher salt and ground black pepper as desired. Blend until smooth and creamy, stopping to scrape down the sides as needed. Taste and adjust seasoning. Transfer to a bowl and set aside or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
• Season the salmon: In a large bowl, combine the salmon cubes with chili powder, cumin, smoked paprika, garlic powder, oregano, onion powder. Season with 1 teaspoon kosher salt and ground black pepper as desired. Toss until the fish is well coated.
• Sear the salmon: Heat the olive oil in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Once hot and shimmering, add the salmon. Cook undisturbed for 2 minutes, then flip and cook another 90 seconds to 2 minutes, or until cooked to your liking. Work in batches if needed to avoid overcrowding the pan. Transfer the seared salmon to a plate and squeeze fresh lime juice over top
• Assemble the taco bowls: Build your seared salmon taco bowls as desired. I love starting with a base of shredded cabbage and cilantro lime rice, then topping with fish, pico de gallo or salsa, avocado or guacamole, a generous drizzle of green sauce, and finely chopped cilantro. Enjoy!
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Spice Up Your Side Dish

And by spice, we mean from Korea. Sarah Ahn, who wrote the new cookbook Umma, came by Tonia's Kitchen to talk her recipe for Braised Baby Potatoes, and they give quite the kick. Sarah told Tonia the recipe itself is simple, but really can kick up the flavor of your dinner. These are, just as the name of the recipe sounds, braised potatoes with a variety of Asian flavorings. It's a really nice change from just an ordinary side dish. Instead, it becomes something extraordinary!

   

• 3 small potatoes (375g)
• 1 medium carrot (75g)
• 2 cups water
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 Tbsp + ½ Tbsp soy sauce
• ½ Tbsp sugar
• 1 Tbsp garlic, minced
• Green onions, chopped
• Black Pepper
• ½ Tbsp sesame seeds, roasted
• Sesame Oil (optional)

1. Peel and chop 3 small potatoes (375g) and 1 medium carrot (75g) into small circles, about ½ inch thick. Submerge chopped potatoes in water to prevent browning. Carrots need to be smaller than potatoes because they tend to take longer to cook. Optional: Trim off the edges of potatoes and carrots if you want to maintain its shape and edges.
2. Add 2 cups of water in a pot over medium-high with 1 tsp of salt. Add in potatoes and carrots. Cover pot with lid. Watch carefully the next 5-7 minutes. The water will come to a boil. You only want to cook potatoes and carrots 50% through. A chopstick should struggle to pierce through. The potatoes can easily turn into mashed potatoes if you do not watch carefully!
3. Once potatoes and carrots are cooked 50% through, drain water and save ½ cup of the pot water.
4. Put drained potatoes and carrots back in the empty pot and add in ½ cup of the pot water over medium-high heat. Add in the following ingredients, mixing gently in between: 2 Tbsp + ½ Tbsp soy sauce, ½ Tbsp sugar, 1 Tbsp minced garlic. It should be boiling at the bottom. Cover with lid and let it cook until the potatoes and carrots become just about fully cooked.
5. Once potatoes and carrots are just fully cooked, the bottom should be thick. Give it a gentle mix and reduce heat to medium. Add in some black pepper, handful of chopped green onions, and ½ Tbsp of roasted sesame seeds, turn off heat and mix. Optionally, you can mix in a drizzle of sesame oil as well. Serve immediately and enjoy!

An Authentic Taste of Korea

And really, there's nothing more authentic in the Korean food vernacular then Kimichi. It is a staple of the Korean diet, loaded with probiotics and something that's seen a surge of interest with American chefs. You may have seen jars of the stuff lining the shelves at your local grocery or Costco, but now you can learn how to make the real thing at home. Sarah Ahn, who wrote the new cookbook Umma, stopped by Tonia's Kitchen to talk about her recipe for this venerable spread that's been passed down from her grandmother and her mother. Sarah told Tonia she uses fresh chili peppers, as is custom. Even her relatives from Korea tell her this is a very special creation!

In a very large bowl, add in all the ingredients and gently mix with hands (wear gloves).

• Chopped cabbage, drained

• Flour mixture

• Green onions, chopped

• Brown onion, textured blend

• ⅔ cup garlic, minced (125g)

• Optional: Asian Pear OR Fuji Apple, textured blend

• 1 Tbsp Salted Fermented Shrimp (Saeujeot) (26g)

• 1½ Tbsp Three Crab Fish Sauce (30g)

• 1½ Tbsp Korean Fish Sauce for Kimchi (30g) (We use CJ brand)

• 1 Tbsp Korean plum extract (We use CJ brand)

• ½ tsp Korean new sugar*

• ½ cup Korean red pepper powder (57g), be sure to use high quality powder*

Store kimchi in an airtight container. We store kimchi in Lock & Lock containers. You can use Mason jars. Any airtight container will do.

Place outer layers on top (this helps cover the air gaps between the chopped kimchi between).

Set aside, at around 60℉ temperature overnight. My Mom just sets it aside in our outdoor patio (during winter season— 50℉ to 60℉, for those living in East cold/colder regions, find coldest area in your home) or dining room (during summer season— room temperature) depending on the season.

The next day: Once the kimchi forms liquid all throughout the container and the kimchi has pruned up a bit, it’s time to refrigerate.

Refrigerate and taste kimchi that’s at the bottom every few days. Toss around kimchi so that the kimchi on top gets rotated to the bottom and the kimchi on bottom gets rotated to the top (then cover with outer layers at the very top).

The taste will change as it slowly ferments. Enjoy it when it tastes perfect for you. We eat fresh kimchi (barely fermented) and very fermented kimchi depending on our moods and the dishes we are having; we eat it at every stage.

Fermentation time varies on how much salt was used and season. It’s key to taste as it ferments. Your kimchi should taste tangy and slightly sour, and even more so when it’s very fermented.

Try a Less Sweet Donut

 

This one comes to us from Southeast Asia, where most people there prefer their dessert on the less sweet side. Sarah Ahn, who wrote the new cookbook Umma, told Tonia's Kitchen about her recipe for Ooyoo Cream Doughnuts (Milk Cream Doughnuts). They're Korean in origin and Sarah says there's not much of a difference here between standard donuts and her creation, as they are still fried after baking. But the difference here is that instead of frosting, Sarah uses whipping cream and strawberries for the topping. And the cream itself is not heavy. Instead, it's airy and with just the right amount of sugar. But just because it's less sweet doesn't mean it's not a hit. Sarah told Tonia she put a platter of them at America's Test Kitchen in their break room. They didn't last long!