Grilled Salmon with Thai Basil Sauce

This is one of my all-time favorite recipes.  I found it in Cooking Light way back in the nineties and the first time I cooked it for friends, it was s show stopper.  "This," my friend Greg said, pointing at it with his fork, "is really good."  I'm pretty sure it was the first time I realized that not only could I cook food that didn't suck, I could find recipes that: a) blew people away; and b) even I could make without overtaxing myself.  Seriously, this recipe can be made well ahead of time, it doesn't take very long, and I've never known it to fail.

One additional bonus is that since all of the spice is in the sauce, kids and adults can take it or leave it as fits their own personal tastes.

Grilled Salmon with Thai Basil Sauce

1 & 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves (divided)
1/2+ cup fresh mint leaves (not quite 3/4 of a cup)
1-2 Tablespoons minced, seeded jalapeno pepper
3 Tablespoons white wine vinegar
4 teaspoons minced, peeled ginger
1.5 teaspoons sugar
3 teaspoons fish sauce
3 garlic cloves, chopped

4-6 six-ounce salmon steaks, at least 1 inch thick

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

 4-6 lime wedges

1. Prepare the grill.
2. Set aside 1/2 cup basil and the limes for garnish.
3. Combine the rest of the basil and the next seven ingredients (through garlic) in a blender or small food processor.  Process until relatively smooth. Set aside. 
4. Sprinkle salmon steaks with salt and pepper. 
5. Coat a grill rack with cooking spray (I use a separate grilling basket), then grill the salmon, skin side down, for five minutes. 
6. Turn the salmon over and grill for five more minutes.  Should be flakey when tested with a fork.  
7. Serve salmon on individual plates, with sauce in a bowl.  Allow everyone to take as much sauce as he/she desires.  Or none at all.  

Family Ratings

Will, who likes fish but doesn't take much of the sauce:  8.5

Lucy, who swears she hates fish but really doesn't and who likes Thai food:  8 (but really probably 10)

Jamie, who can't understand why anyone would eat that green stuff:  7

Ellen:  "Are you kidding? 10!"

Paul who's essentially just a big show-off:  10

My Own Private Kitchen

A little piece I wrote for Roads and Kingdoms about the best private kitchen in Hong Kong.  Arguably the best meal I've ever had.  Feel free to read about it here.

Salade Nicoise

There's just no other way to say this:  this dish makes you look really really cool.  And by "cool" I mean:  sophisticated, accomplished, cultured.  Bring this salad to a party and you will rise in people's estimation.  They will begin to look at you differently, and certainly with more respect.  Even people who used to look down on you, thinking you were trash from the wrong side of Main St., will begin to have second thoughts (not that I would, um, know).

I wish I were kidding, but I'm not:  this salad is just that cool.  Period.

And though it looks fussy--part of the cool factor, of course--it's really not.  I got this recipe from Betty Taylor, a Lexington institution who used to run a catering service out of her house, a beautiful massive brick estate home with twelve-foot ceilings, a grand staircase, and a dining room that could seat eighteen easily.  Betty was my neighbor, and years ago when I was on sabbatical and working on a now-defunct novel, I would sit out in the back yard under the shade of an oak tree and proofread my soon-to-be (I was certain) Pulitzer-prize winning manuscript.  More than once, a smell would drift over from Betty's kitchen, suffusing the air with the scent of rosemary or baking bread or stewing tomatoes.  Needless to say, this made it hard to work.  One day it actually got so bad that I had to walk over, knock on Betty's front door and say, "Please stop.  Whatever you're doing, please stop.  You're killing me."

Of course, Betty was nice enough that she let me in and gave me some of whatever she was making that day--a tomato tart, I seem to recall.  And she also gave me this recipe, which is a joy to cook, a joy to eat, and yes, a joy to show off to your friends.

A few tips:

• Don't freak out when you see the list of ingredients and the necessary steps.  There are a lot of steps, but they're all pretty easy, and it doesn't take that long.  I always find myself finishing this dish sooner than I think I will. 
• Don't skip the anchovies.  Believe me:  you want them in this salad because it gives the whole dish an earthy, salty taste.  If you have fussy little eaters, or if you yourself don't like the look of the slimy little buggers (the anchovies, not your kids), feel free to chop them (again:  the anchovies, not your kids) into tiny little bits that will disappear into the salad.  But again:  don't leave out the anchovies!  Doing so will diminish the taste of the salad enormously.  
• Don't overcook the tuna.  It absolutely must be pink in the middle.  Otherwise it'll taste like a big lump of masticated cardboard.  
• This salad can feed 10 people very easily.  Feel free to cut the recipe in half.  

Salade Nicoise

Ingredients:
6 eggs for boiling
1 lb. Tuna steak
1 small tin of anchovy fillets
2 bags freshly washed and dried mixed lettuces
2 lbs. small New potatoes
2-3 lemons, squeezed to create 1/2 cup of juice

1 lb. sugar snap peas or those really skinny French green beans

Nicoise olives (or Kalamatas, if you can't find Nicoise)

1-1.5 cups cherry tomatoes, cut in half

2 garlic cloves
1/4 cup small capers

1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard

1.5 cups first cold pressed extra virgin olive oil 

Fresh or dried dill weed OR Provencal herbs  (I prefer dill)
Fresh chives (chopped)
Freshly ground pepper and sea salt
2 Tablespoons vermouth

1. Hard boil six eggs, peel (under cold water for ease), place in a sealed plastic bag and refrigerate until later. 
2. Scrub and trim (if necessary) the potatoes, cut into halves and quarters (if necessary), and steam or boil until just done, 10-15 minutes.  Do not overcook.  If your fork can just go into them, they're perfect!
3. Puree garlic in a food processor. 
4. Add the Dijon mustard and the lemon juice to the food processor. 
5. Turn the processor on and very slowly--VERY SLOWLY--add the olive oil.  This should take up until about a minute or a minute-and-a-half before it's all in.  
6. Allow this mixture to emulsify into a creamy dressing, then season with salt, pepper, and herbs
7. Place the potatoes in a small bowl and drizzle with the vermouth.  Once they've absorbed that, add the fresh chives, the capers, and 1/2 cup of the vinaigrette.  Mix and set aside.  (If you're pressed for time, the potatoes can be prepared the day before and refrigerated).  
8. Rinse and dry your tuna steak.  Season with salt and pepper, then drizzle with a little of the vinaigrette. Allow to marinate while you warm up the grill or a skillet.  
9. Grill--or fry--the tuna on a very hot grill for three minutes on each side.  Do not overcook. 
10. Bring a pot of water to boil, then cook or sugar snap peas or your skinny fancy French beans until they turn bright green.  Then remove from heat, pour into a colander, and run cold water over the beans until cooled.  Set aside or refrigerate.   

Assembly:  

1. Pile the potatoes in the center of a large platter.  
2. Spread the lettuce around the potatoes. 
3. Circle the beans or peas around the potatoes, on top of the lettuce.  
4. Quarter the eggs (sewing thread works well for this) then scatter them and the tomatoes around the dish, on top of the lettuce. 
5. Place the anchovies, olives and capers at regular intervals on top of the lettuce.  
6. Cut the tuna into chunks and place it over the salad.  
7. Drizzle liberally with the vinaigrette.  
8. Serve!

Family Ratings: 

I'll be frank:  I don't normally serve this to the kids.  I love them, really I do, but this is just too good for them!  That said, I have prepared just the tuna steaks--seasoned with salt and pepper and drizzled with the vinaigrette included in this recipe--on their own to the kids, with great success.  Even Lucy, who insists she HATES tuna, gave it a 10.  Granted, we didn't tell her it was tuna, we just told her it was "steak."  Which gave Will, who likes fish, great glee.  

And for what it's worth?  Ellen and I both give the entire salad a 10.  And so do all our friends.  

Grilled Sate Beef with Peanut Sauce

This recipe is just tasty tasty tasty.  My kids love it, especially since they can control how much peanut sauce they do or don't have with it.  Serve with rice and a nice salad . . .

Sate Beef with Peanut Sauce

1-1.15 lb. flank steak

3 Tablespoons hoisin sauce

1/4 teaspoon salt

Sauce:  

2 Tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped

3 Tablespoons coconut milk

1.5 Tablespoons soy sauce

2.25 Tablespoons creamy peanut butter

1.5 teaspoons sugar

1.5 teaspoons lime jice

3/5 teaspoon red curry paste (you should be able to get this at your grocery store, on the "foreign" food shelf)

1. Start grill (or broiler, if you have air conditioning in your kitchen)
2. Cut steak diagonally across the grain in 1/4 inch slices. 
3. Combine steak and hoisin sauce in a bowl.  Mix to coat.  
4. Thread steak onto skewers.
5. Sprinkle with salt. 
6. Mix sauce ingredients together, stirring until smooth.  Set aside.  
7. Coat grill or broiler pan with cooking spray or lightly brush with oil.
8. Cook 3 minutes on each side or until they're done.  They should still be a little pink in the middle.  If they're not, they'll taste like chalk dust.  
9. Serve meat along with sauce in small dipping bowls.  

Family Ratings: 

Will, who loves this dish but hates picking little bits of beef out of his teeth:  9.999

Lucy, who hates peanut butter but digs this dish:  10

Jamie, who eats it without the peanut sauce:  10

Ellen, who's not a big beef eater, though she does have one of those funny hats: 8

Paul, who's a big fat pig:  10

Very Easy Grilled Korean Chicken

In terms of the ratio of things my kids love to things that are incredibly easy, this dish is the absolute winner.  It takes all of six minutes to prep, and all of my kids love it.  I use it with chicken breasts here, but it can also be used with thighs, salmon, steaks, or pork tenderloin.

Grilled Korean Chicken

1.5 lbs skinned, boneless chicken breast, cut into 2-3 inch strips
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons sesame oil
4 garlic cloves, minced

1. Mix together all of the ingredients except the chicken together in a small bowl.
2. Lay out chicken on a large plate and rub each piece with mixture.  Be sure to do both sides. 
3. Start your grill.
4. Allow chicken to sit for half an hour, more or less. 
5. Grill 3-4 minutes each side until juices begin to run clear and chicken is just firm to touch.

Family Ratings

Will, who tends to like grilled meat:  10

Lucy, who likes all things sugary:  10

Jamie, who'll go along with whatever his brother and sister do:  10

Ellen, who really hasn't forgiven me for going to Korea without her:  10

Paul, who's a lot like Lucy:  10

Baked Ham Feta Pasta

I've always laughed at recipes that state the obvious:  "Stir occasionally."  Oh really?  Because I like my pasta in one big  lump.  "Simmer on low."  Huh.  So "simmer" doesn't mean "boil at top speed"?  


Then my friend Julie sent me this recipe, and man:  I screwed it up six ways from Sunday.  First time I made it, I baked the pasta for 15 minutes uncovered it, stirred it, put it back in the oven--


--and promptly turned off the heat.  


 Needless to say, when I checked on the oven thirty minutes later, the pasta was kind of, uh, raw.  


The second time I cooked the dish, I missed the part where, after baking for 15 minutes, uncovering and stirring, I was supposed to RECOVER the pasta.  So that time my pasta was cooked to a crisp.  Even Lucy, my culinary adventurer, said, "It taste good daddy.  Except for the crunchy parts." 


Third time, though, I got it right, and had no regrets.  This is a tasty dish, and very kid friendly:  the feta and tomatoes add just enough zest to give it some kick, and the thyme makes sure you know you're not eating frozen pizza.  


Two notes:  First, notice that the dish has to bake for 45 minutes (covered the whole time--have I mentioned that?).  So this isn't one of those things you can throw together between soccer practice and piano lessons.  That said, what prep is there is pretty quick.  


Second, when Julie gave me the recipe, it called for four tomatoes and no onions.  I cut back on the tomatoes because one of my kids isn't crazy about cooked tomatoes.  I added the onions (in teeny-tiny, minced little bits) because I wanted a bit more kick.  And if you chop 'em small, kids won't even know they're there.  

Ham Feta Rigatoni

12 ounces rigatoni (or other medium-sized pasta)
1 1/2 cups diced ham (about 8 ounces; don't go cheap here:  get black forest or smoked ham, at the very least)
3 large plum tomatoes, chopped 
3 Tablespoons micro-minced red onion
1 cup (or slightly more) crumbled feta cheese 
1 cup grated mozzarella cheese (about 4 ounces) 
1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme 
1 cup whipping cream 

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. 
2. Butter 13 x 9 x 2-inch glass baking dish. 
3. Cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water until just tender but still firm to bite. Drain. Place in prepared baking dish.
4. Mix in ham, tomatoes, feta cheese, mozzarella cheese and thyme. 
5. Pour cream over. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and toss to blend. 
6. Cover with foil. 
7. Bake pasta 15 minutes. Uncover and stir to coat pasta evenly with melted cheeses. 
8. Cover again. Have I mentioned this?  You should cover again.  And leave the oven ON. 
9. Bake another 15 minutes.  Uncover and mix again.  
10. Recover.  
11. Bake another 15 minutes or less, until cooked through.  

Family Ratings

Will, who likes ham:  10

Jamie, who for some bizarre reason won't eat the ham but likes everything else:  7

Lucy, who picks out most of the tomatoes until we yell at her:  9

Ellen:  10

Paul, who's pretty much going to love anything that has two different kinds of cheese plus butter in it:  10

Deep-Fried Sweet and Sour Tofu

The trick to this recipe is to lie.  When your kids ask "What's for dinner," tell them, "Sweet and sour chicken."

Seriously.  

Actually, our kids like tofu.  This always surprised me, but then I met other parents who said the same thing (about their kids, not about mine).  And I guess it makes a little sense:  after all, the texture of tofu is generally inoffensive, and it simply picks up the tastes of everything it's cooked with, so as long as you cook it with good stuff, what's the big deal?  

This recipe comes from Gary Rhodes's Great Fast Food.  Because he's English, this is in the "Hot and Spicy" section of the cookbook.  Lord knows what he and his editors were thinking, because it's neither.  

This is served over egg noodles.  It also works with rice.

Deep-Fried Sweet and Sour Tofu

14 oz. (or thereabouts) firm or extra firm tofu, cubed

Vegetable oil

1 tsp. peanut oil

4 English Cucumbers, cut into chunks (no need to peel; regular cukes will also work, although you will need to deseed)
4 ounces unsalted peanuts

4 Tablespoons sugar

6 Tablespoons soy sauce

6 Tablespoons rice vinegar

2 Tablespoons tomato puree (you can usually buy this in a tube in the Italian section)

2 tsp. cornstarch mixed with a little water to make a paste

Egg noodles to serve.  

1. Heat 1.5-2 inches of vegetable or canola oil in your wok.  When it's really really hot, add your cubed tofu. 
2. Cook for 3-6 minutes, until golden brown.  You should stir some, but not too much.  Let it cook.  
3. Spoon the tofu out of the wok, setting aside on a plate lined with paper towels.  
4. Drain off the oil from the pan and wipe with a paper towel. 
5. Heat the peanut oil in the wok.  When it's hot, add the cucumbers and peanuts.
6. Cook 3-4 minutes.  Remove from pan, leaving behind juices. 
7. Mix tofu and cucumber in a bowl, and cover. 
8. Mix the soy sauce, sugar, rice vinegar, and tomator puree together in the wok.  
9. Simmer for 1-2 minutes.  
10. Add the cornstarch mixture and allow sauce to thicken. 
11. Spoon over the tofu/cucumber mixture, and serve over noodles.  

Family Ratings:  

Jamie, who, yes, does think the tofu is chicken:  10

Will who actually likes tofu, especially with the peanuts:  10

Lucy, who likes the idea of tofu more than the actual tofu:  9

Ellen, who thinks we should have been eating this stuff for years:  10

Paul, who likes deepfrying crap until it's barely healthy anymore:  10