This is my “chunky” red sauce recipe.  It has chunks of carrots, celery and onion in it.   I serve it over homemade pasta but we’ve also had it with rice and with just steamed veggies like zucchini and spinach. (more…)

This is a recipe for Chinese-style BBQ pork chops.  It will remind you of Chinese BBQ pork (Char Siu) but is something you can make without a lot of prep and without firing up the oven.   It uses a combination of a dry rub and a basting sauce.

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Drunken Noodles is one of my favorite Thai dishes.  Some restaurants call it Spicy Noodles and the actual Thai name for the dish is Pad Kee Mao which literally means Stir Fried Shit Drunk.  No one really knows why this dish has this name as there’s no alcohol in it.  The best explanation I’ve heard is that it’s a favorite of late night drinkers in Thailand, on their way home from the bar when they are Kee Mao.  (Others say it’s because the noodles can’t stand up, like a drunk, but I don’t buy that.  Most noodle dishes are like that.)  You can make this with shrimp, chicken, beef, tofu or just about anything.  I’ve had it in restaurants with various veggies added in like onion, green pepper, string beans and more.  Mine is a simple recipe with just noodles and meat, but I like to serve it with a steamed (microwaved) Asian green veggie on the side like Baby Bok Choy or Choy Sum.  The simple greens make a nice contrast with the complex flavors of the Drunken Noodles.

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I had made this dish once before as a test but was inspired to make it again by the eggplant, pepper and tomatoes I saw in a friend’s garden over the weekend.  This is a little different than a regular ratatouille in that it uses chicken to add some protein.  I’ve also added mushrooms to give it a chicken cacciatore feel as well. (more…)

This is my recipe for Sweet and Sour Cabbage Borscht, aka Cabbage Soup.  It’s my most requested recipe.  Even though it’s called “borscht” there are no beets in it.  It is based on my mother’s recipe which I’ve modified.  I make it in the slow cooker, my mother made it on the stovetop.  It can be a side dish or a full one-pot meal. (more…)

This is a variation on the Chile Coloradical recipe also posted here.  I love Molé sauce and I thought I would try adding a little Molé flavor (with a twist of course) to the sauce.

Make the Chile Coloradical recipe but add 1 tbs of cocoa powder (100% cacao, not the sweetened stuff), 1 tsp of ground cinnamon and 1 tsp of espresso powder (see, I told you there was a twist).  If you don’t have espresso powder then regualr instant coffee will probably do.

I had just got in some different chile powders and wanted to play with them.  Chile Colorado has always been one of my favorites and it seemed well suited to one of my favorite cooking appliances:  the slow cooker or crock pot.  I’d never made Chile Colorado before so I did some research.  It would appear the best Chile Colorado recipes use no tomatoes, but I wanted to use a lot in mine – so Chile Coloradical was born! (more…)

I wanted to make a sauce that was very flavorful but low in fat, calories and carbs to go with grilled salmon.  I created this one using lime, chipotle chili powder and tequila as the main flavors.  It’s both tart and spicy with a fair amount of heat.  I wanted it to be kind of thick but didn’t want to use a starch (like cornstarch) to thicken it and I also wanted the flavor of the tequila but not the alcohol.  Reducing the sauce solved both problems.  Although I used this for salmon, you could use it on almost anything like grilled chicken or pork chops.  (Probably wouldn’t go so well with beef.) (more…)

This my recipe for beef sukiyaki.  I make it in the crock pot.  Most sukiyaki is made very quickly on the stove top or at the table, but this version came about because I tried a stove top version but used cross rib steak for the beef and it was just too tough.  To salvage the leftovers I put the whole thing into the crock pot and let it simmer all day.  The beef was very tender and now I just make it this way.  You can certainly make this recipe on the stove top, just substitute very tender beef and simmer everything in the broth for about 30 minutes. (more…)

If, like me, you like your Ahi lightly seared (and rare on the inside) with a tasty sauce, you’ll like this dish.  I created the marinade out of my head one day.  Serve it with a salad and some Asian vegetables or rice if you’re not watching the carbs. 

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