A zucchini duo

Shallow-fried zucchini rounds

Sauteed zucchini rounds

The last two nights’ dinners have included zucchini as the greenage. I did them two different ways. Cutting them into rounds and cooking them minimally seems to make Peter happy. I know it makes me happy.

Both methods start out the same way, by extracting some of the moisture from the zucchini (the same way you would with eggplant – by sprinkling it with salt). Trim the ends of the zucchini and cut into 1” (or so) rounds. I usually get 10 rounds out of each one. Put the rounds on a baking rack and sprinkle them liberally with kosher salt on both sides. Let them sit for 30 minutes, then rinse quickly and dry thoroughly with paper towels. From this point on the recipes diverge.

There is enough residual saltiness that I don’t add more.

Shallow-fried zucchini rounds
1 large zucchini
kosher salt
black pepper
smoked paprika
all-purpose flour
1 beaten egg
breadcrumbs, homemade or panko

Heat 1/8” vegetable oil in a wide sauté pan.

Let some moisture exude from the zucchini via the above method.

Sprinkle the zucchini pieces with paprika and pepper. Dredge in flour, shaking off excess, dip in egg, then coat with breadcrumbs. Set them aside on the rack for half an hour to let the coating set up.

The oil is hot enough when a drop of water flicked into it pops instantly. Fry the rounds 2 minutes per side, drain on a paper towel and serve.


Sauteed zucchini rounds
1 large zucchini
kosher salt
black pepper
garlic powder
onion powder
all-purpose flour
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp butter

Heat the olive oil and butter in a large sauté pan. When the butter’s foam subsides you’re ready to cook.

After the salting, rinsing and drying, sprinkle the zucchini pieces with onion and garlic powder and black pepper. Dredge in flour.

Saute 2 minutes per side until the zucchini browns a bit. Serve.

Spicy, sweet and sour chicken thighs

Kudos for the genesis of this recipe go to Life’s Ambrosia and Jenn’s Food Journey. I’ve combined elements from the former’s habanero chicken and the latter’s raspberry chipotle chicken. For the peppers I chose to use a few Thai bird chiles we saved from garden in anticipation of the first frost a few days ago. Instead of raspberry jam I used some apricot (which I had on hand).

My choice of chicken was skin-on thighs (I love the skin), again because I had a package (acquired at a low price from the Safeway manager’s specials bin). The Thai chiles aren’t terribly hot, so I used 2 and left the seeds in one of them. Having a marinade meant no brining this time.

Spicy, sweet and sour chicken thighs
2 Thai bird chiles, 1 seeded, 1 not, chopped
1/3 cup olive oil
1/3 cup white vinegar
3 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
1 tbsp apricot jam
½ medium onion, sliced thinly into half moons
4 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs

Place the first 5 ingredients in a bowl and whisk thoroughly together. Coat the chicken with this and marinate in a glass bowl covered with plastic in the fridge for a few to several hours.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a baking dish make 4 “nests” with the onion slices and place the chicken, skin side up, on top of them. Pour excess marinade over the top Bake to 165 degrees, 40-45 minutes (if chicken is at room temp).

Steak with a coffee rub

I got a great deal on 2 NY strip steaks at Safeway the other day - $4.50. Remembering a time, long ago, that I prepared steaks with a coffee rub, that’s where we went. Yesterday we harvested all the green tomatoes in anticipation of the first frost of the season last night. Not sure if it actually got that cold, but now Peter has made a green tomato soup and green tomato pasta sauce. He actually got out of bed at 3:30 am this morning and started cooking.

The stovetop grill works well with steaks. The secret is to get it hotter than Hades. This recipe made me happy. Sides included baked potato and a salad (the last of the garden’s romaine lettuce and a few ripened cherry tomatoes.

Steak with a coffee rub
2 steaks (rib eye, NY Strip, or other according to your preference)

1/4 cup coffee beans
1 tsp pepper corns

1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp parsley

2 tsp flour
1 tbsp olive oil
kosher salt as garnish

Pre-heat your grill to a medium-high grilling heat.

Wash New York strip steaks under cool running water.
Fully dry the strip steaks (very dry) with paper towels.
In a food processor or chopper, coarsely grind and mix all dry ingredients together.
Rub each dry strip steak with the oil to very lightly moisten the surface. Remove all excess oil.
Evenly coat the New York Strips with the with the rub mixture. Press the rub mixture into the strip steaks using a flat-bottom plate, on a cutting board.
Grill the steaks over pre-heated direct heat for 8 to 10 minutes. Turn the strip steaks only one time when you see beads of juice over most of the surface. Remove the steaks from the grill to a platter or cutting board.
Allow the Cuban Coffee Crusted Steaks to rest under loose foil tent for 4 to 6 minutes before serving. Sprinkle with coarse kosher salt lightly over as garnish.

Oven-fried pork chops with stuffed delicata squash

The only time Scooper cares about food is when I assemble his kibble and canned stuff at about 6:30 am and 4 pm. So you see him below doing what he does best.

My original intent was to make pork chops the way I saw Giada do them on TV the other day. She fried them in very shallow oil. At the very last minute I decided to bake them.

As for the stuffed squash, I apologize to the one of you who posted stuffed acorn squash the other day with spinach. I’ve lost track as to who it was. When I found a single delicata squash at King Soopers the other day, I knew what I was going to do. The first thing was to harvest all of the (not so huge quantity) Swiss chard from the garden. It turned out to be exactly the quantity needed for this.

The chops were brined for about 6 hours in a combination of salt water and black pepper. No further salt was needed. As for the squash, the skin is edible and we choose to keep it on.

Oven-fried pork loin chops served with stuffed delicata squash
1 delicata squash
2 tbsp butter
onion powder to taste
chicken broth
Swiss chard, enough to make 1 – 2 cups cooked
1 large clove garlic, minced or pressed
salt and pepper
3 pork loin chops (it’s what the quantity in the package was)
1 egg
2 tbsp mayonnaise
1 tbsp water
black pepper
all-purpose flour
bread crumbs, homemade or panko
cooking spray

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Start by slicing the squash in half lengthwise. Scrape out the seeds and pulp. Place 1 tbsp butter, ½ tsp onion powder and some chicken stock into each cavity. Bake until tender, about 45 minutes or so. Remove from the oven and pour the remaining liquid into a saute pan (for the chard).

Chop or tear the chard into 2-3” pieces. Heat the squash liquid and cook the chard in it, with the garlic, Cook the chard in the pan for about 10 minutes, adding salt and pepper to taste. When ready to serve, nuke the squash to rewarm it, stuff it with chard, and you’re off to the races.

After brining, rinse the pork well and dry it. Sprinkle with some pepper, dust with flour, dredge in beaten egg (to which you have added the mayo and water), then in the bread crumbs. Let them rest for 30 minutes to set the coating. Place them on a wire rack over a shallow baking sheet. Spray them with Pam to enchance crispness. Bake until they reach 150 degrees. I know, I know, it doesn’t sound like a high enough temp, but it is. It will be pinkish in the center, but will also be more moist than at a higher temp. Trichinosis, an extremely rare occurrence these days, is destroyed at 138 degrees. So, no worrieds. Let the chops rest for 5 minutes before serving.

Sauerkraut, sausage and potato casserole

I’ve been mulling over what to do with some Italian sausages (mild) that are in the freezer. Then it hit me – I want mustard, I want horseradish, I want sauerkraut. Normally I would prefer to make my own sauerkraut but I’m impatient just now and simply bought some at Safeway. Normally I would buy sauerkraut in the refrigerated section, either in a bag or a jar.

Turns out I used canned sauerkraut. Kuner’s brand. After tasting it, I decided to rinse it slightly. No reason to leave all the chemicals in. Even though rinsing removes some of the flavor, the addition of caraway and capers helped compensate for that.

So as to make this a one-dish meal, I added some potatoes. There is nothing astounding about my sausage/kraut/potato casserole. It’s just darned good! Peter suggested adding some cheese. I just couldn’t bring my head around to that. In the end, he was perfectly happy with the results. I did agree that he could add a bread crumb streusel, a combination of crumbs,

Sauerkraut with sausages and potatoes
1 14oz. can sauerkraut, drained and lightly rinsed
1 tsp caraway seeds, ground or smashed
8 oz. red potatoes
8 oz. Italian sausages (spicy or mild, your choice)
1 tspn caraway seeds, lightly smashed in a mortar and pestle
2 tbs prepared horseradish, or to taste
2 tbs capers
black pepper to taste
½ cup chicken stock
Streusel: unseasoned breadcrumbs moistened with melted butter, about ½ cup

Cut the potatoes into 2” pieces. Cut the sausages into 2” pieces.

Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add the potatoes and sausages. Simmer 8 minutes. Drain.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Lubricate a medium casserole with cooking spray. Mix the caraway, horseradish, capers and some pepper in a bowl. Put the sauerkraut into it and toss. Put the potatoes and sausage into the casserole. Top with the sauerkraut and add the chicken stock.

Bake until hot and the sausages are cooked through, about 1 hour. You can do this as much as a day ahead. When you’re ready to eat it, top it with the streusel and run it under the broiler for a few minutes to brown and crisp it.

Leftover night

This is not a recipe posting, rather a report on leftovers. The lesson, if there is one, is simply that a person can do so many things with the stuff in those tupperware containers in the fridge.

It’s time to move on from the last posting, the LGBT sandwich.

The greens are kale which we harvested from the garden earlier in the summer, blanched and froze. Once thawed and braised they tasted wonderful. Braising them involved sauteing some onion and garlic and add the kale and some chicken stock, and or course salt and pepper. They take a surprising length of time to tenderize. They are a very hearty green, in the way that collards are. Some people add nutmeg to braised greens. I rarely do, only because I forget to.

We roasted a spaghetti squash the other day but only used half of it. Peter did a great job of sauteing it in butter and oil with one Thai chili pepper (garden again). Then he added some chopped parsley and basil. At the end he added some grated parmesan. My job was to cook the shrimp.

These were 31-40’s, a size that is cost-effective and cooks very quickly. Most of the time when we use ramen noodles we don’t use the flavoring packet. We do save them though. In this case I brought 2 cups of water to a boil, stirred in the contents of a chicken flavor packet, added the shrimp, and let them steep off the heat for 3 minutes. That’s all it took.

So have a look in that fridge of yours. Don’t be like we used to be and ignore those little containers until they start sprouting mold. Bon appetit!

LGBT sandwiches

I posted LGBT sandwiches a long time ago. Only one person commented. So, you are now going to get a primer on this particular sandwich. For those of you who don’t know, the normal translation of LGBT is “Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual, Transgendered”. If that offends you, go somewhere else.

My sandwich is “Lettuce, Gravlax, Bacon, Tomato”. I’m feeling particularly feisty today. Peter and I have been partners for just 3 months short of 30 years. We have decided that if we are ever to be married it will be somewhere it is recognized, not the case here in Colorado. What the hell difference does it make to anyone else what the status of our relationship is? Don’t give me the bible stuff unless you’re willing to explain why it advocates slavery and stoning and the inferiority of women.

LGBT sandwiches (2 servings)
4 slices of your favorite sandwich bread
Gravlax, sliced very thin
4 slices bacon, roasted or fried until crispy
Some kind of lettuce
Sliced tomato
mayonnaise
Salt and pepper to taste

We like to toast our bread, but that’s up to you. Do I really need to tell you how to construct a sandwich? I don’t think so.

Homemade gravlax

I’ve been in the mood for gravlax for the last few weeks. When an opportunity to get some wild-caught salmon at a good price arose at Safeway I leapt at the chance.

What is gravlax? Cured salmon. It could not be easier. If you like nova lox (as in lox and bagels) this is probably for you. It is actually less salty than nova lox, and you can control the salt by how much rinsing you do after it’s cured.

Homemade gravlax
1 lb. skin-on salmon filet
2 tbsp kosher salt (or 1 ½ tbsp table salt)
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp dried dill

Line a glass (or non-reactive) loaf pan with plastic wrap. In a small bowl stir together the salt, sugar and dill.

Cut the salmon into 2 equal-size pieces. Put one piece skin side down in the loaf pan. Scatter half of the curing mix over it. Lay the second piece, skin side up, on piece number one, with the thick side over the thinner side of it. Nestle it together in other words. Sprinkle on the remaining curing mix. Wrap the plastic tightly around the salmon and weight it down with some jars or cans. Refrigerate for 2-3 days. Turn the salmon every 12 hours.

It’s done. Rinse the salmon pieces well under cold water and dry them with paper towels. Wrap in fresh plastic and store in the fridge. It will keep for a number of days, although in our house it don’t last long. To serve, slice against the grain very thinly. Put it on eggs, bruschetta, blanched potato slices, or whatever.

Seared lamb loin chops with honey/mustard vinaigrette

Went to Safeway yesterday and got some Italian sausages and two lamb loin chops from the manager’s special bin (really cheap). I want to use the sausages to recreate (in my own way) a dish Peter and I shared on Wednesday evening when we were taken to dinner at one of Denver’s finest restaurants, Olivéa. It was called “Kleenex pasta with pork ragu and castelvetrano olives”. The olives are my absolute favorites, very lightly brined and brilliant green. Kleenex pasta just means 3”x3” squares of homemade pasta (fazzoletti in Italian).

As for the lamb, it’s not often easy to find in spite of the fact that Colorado is known for its home-grown lamb. Loin chops are a bit fatty, but quickly seared in a screaming hot pan, they are a welcome diversion from the usual beef, pork, chicken that dominate our diet.

Seared lamb loin chops with honey/mustard vinaigrette (2 servings)
2 tbsp Dijon mustard
2 tsp honey
2 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp olive oil
2 lamb loin chops, about 1/2 lb. each, trimmed of excess fat
olive oil
1 tbsp butter
salt
pepper
all-purpose flour

Make the vinaigrette by combining the mustard, honey, vinegar and olive oil in a bowl. Whisk it well. When ready to serve the lamb, nuke it for 15 seconds.

Rub the chops with some olive oil. Sprinkle them with salt and pepper (to taste) and dredge them in a bit of flour. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil and 1 tbsp butter in a skillet. Get it screaming hot. Put in the chops and sear them on each side for 3-4 minutes max.

Chicken gams a la Betty Grable

The name of this recipe means absolutely nothing – it’s just a bit of whimsy from my addled brain.

I spent 24 hours sorting out in my mind what I wanted to do with a package of chicken legs (5 in total) I got at a bargain price at Safeway. First of all, I brined them. Now I know none of you (that I am aware of) brine your chicken or pork. It’s just something I’ve gotten into the habit of doing. In enhances flavor and moistness. It is certainly NOT essential, but, what the heck, why not try it? This time I added tarragon and red pepper flakes to the brining liquid. I won’t be telling Peter that part until he chomps down on his first leg and says, “ooh, that’s good”. He’s fussy about tarragon, although whenever I use it without telling him he’s pleased with what I put before him.

The other experimental part of this was the use of our convection toaster oven. We use the thing almost exclusively for making bread crumbs and croutons and for heating dinner plates or bowls. It’s a good piece of equipment and I decided it was time to put it through its paces.

The little oven did well, but didn’t particularly speed up the process. The total cooking time was pretty much what it would have been in the regular oven. They were, however, very tender and moist. And (egad) Peter knew about the tarragon.

Chicken gams a la Betty Grable
5 (or more) chicken legs, brined for 3-4 hours, rinsed and dried
olive oil
black pepper
garlic powder
onion powder
cayenne pepper
salt and tarragon (if you don’t the brining thing)
2 tbsp butter, melted

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

Cut a slit in each side of the drumsticks. This improves even and more rapid cooking. Rub each leg with some olive oil. Rub some black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne and tarragon on them and into the slits.

Put the legs into a shallow roasting thing and cover them with foil. Put them into the oven for 30 minutes, then remove the foil, increase the heat to 350 degrees, drizzle them with the melted butter, and roast an additional 30-45 minutes until they are cooked through and somewhat browned.

Pasta ponza

As the garden begins to wane we are still able to enjoy a few things. The basil is still viable, there is some green out there that we need to pick even though we’re not 100% sure what it is. We may or may not get more eggplants. All in all, it’s been pretty much of a bumper crop of most things we planted. There are still potatoes under the ground that we have yet to start harvesting. This recipe is wonderfully savory. Peter made some tweaks in it. I’m not even sure what they are except for the addition of some mascarpone cheese that was left in the fridge.

I’m posting the full Monte, even though we made a half recipe last night. Even at that we’ll get two or more meals from it. Peter wanted me to get rotini pasta, but Safeway didn’t have any in the 50/50 whole grain selections from Barilla. Oddly enough, I bought exactly what Giada called for. Here goes:

Pasta Ponza (adapted from Giada De Laurentiis)
Butter for greasing
2 cups (12 ounces) red cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
2 cups (12 ounces) yellow cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
1/4 cup capers, rinsed and drained
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus extra for seasoning
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus extra for seasoning
1/2 cup Italian-style seasoned breadcrumbs
1 pound ziti or other short tube-shaped pasta
1 1/4 cups (2 1/2 ounces) Pecorino Romano cheese, grated
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
Directions
Place an oven rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Butter an 8 by 8-inch glass baking dish. Set aside.
Place the tomatoes, capers, 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in the prepared baking dish. Toss to coat. Sprinkle the breadcrumbs over the tomato mixture. Drizzle the top with olive oil and bake for 30 to 35 minutes until the top is golden. Cool for 5 minutes.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain and reserve about 1 cup of the pasta water.
Place the pasta in a large serving bowl. Spoon the tomato mixture onto the pasta. Add the cheese and toss well. Thin out the sauce with a little pasta water, if needed. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Sprinkle with the chopped parsley and serve immediately.

Fast times in Highland

Highland is the Denver neighborhood where we live. We’re near to just about everything we need (or want).

Prepare to sneer. Peter left for 48 hours in San Fran yesterday afternoon. I was left to my own devices for the first time in nearly a year. Yes, I could have done what I had planned: more ham burgers (from yesterday’s post), but I have had a hankering for some KFC chicken for a while. Turns out the nearest one to our house is also a repository for Long John Silver’s fish. What was it going to be? I knew the fish would be salty, but I just wanted a piece for old time’s sake.

So, shameless pig that I am, I got 2 pieces of chicken, sides of cole slaw and baked beans, 2 fish sticks with fries, and a Dr. Pepper. Eat your heart out. I have never noticed any one of you mentioning fast food, but that did not deter me. Look, I’m 66 years old, I take cholesterol meds every day, and I was entitled!

When I was 18, I worked at one of the early McDonald’s. My first assignment was making French fries. Most of you have never tasted the originals. I started with a bag of Idaho’s, which went into a peeling drum. Then they were put through a fry cutter into a sink full of water, rinsed three times, well drained, par-fried in lard for a few minutes, and hung (in baskets) on a sort of peg board rack. When you needed more fries they went back into the lard for a few minutes. They were incomparable, and can be reproduced at home at great expense of labor. A serving of fries cost 19 cents in those days (only one size was available). The basic burger was 19 cents, the cheeseburger 29 cents (I think). The only other things we sold were soft drinks and shakes. How times have changed!

So, enough of that. Just look at that photo and tell me your mouth is not watering. (If it’s not, don’t tell me.)

Turned out the fish wasn’t salty at all. It was light, delicate, and delicious. As for the chicken, well, what can I say? It was that KFC taste that I was lusting for. The fries were cold by the time I got home. The cole slaw was crunchy goodness, and the beans warm and inviting.

Needless to say I didn’t eat everything. I’ll reheat the other piece of fish, the chicken thigh, the leftover fries, for my lunch. It probably won’t be as good as last night, but it will give me one more frisson of nostalgia. Have another look...

Ham burgers with artichokes

I got creative yesterday and came up with this. It’s not a typo, it is “ham burger” because it’s ham mixed with mashed potato and made into a burger,. It’s fluffy and delicious. The slice of ham I refer to is one of those available all the time at the market.

As for the artichoke hearts, I use frozen ones which are darn near as good as fresh and I don’t have the time or the inclination to deal with those spike heads of goodness. Personally I would not make this with canned artichokes, though it certainly could be done.

My apologies, but my measurements are approximations. You want about equal parts of chopped ham and potatoes. As for the milk and butter, add enough to make the potatoes nice and creamy. The meat and potatoes are both just sticky enough to hold together in the sauté pan. You could add an egg, but I think it would be too wet. Maybe just a yolk – up to you. You could also dredge the burgers in bread crumbs. I thought about doing it but decided not to.

I put the artichoke hearts into the microwave for 3 minutes covered (no added water in spite of what the package says). Then stirred them and microwaved them another 3 minutes uncovered. Peter made a streusel of bread crumbs, salt and pepper, parmesan cheese and olive oil which we topped the artichokes with and broiled for 2-3 minutes until browned. Yum.

Ham burgers (4 servings)
For the burgers:
2 medium red waxy potatoes
¼ cup milk
2 tbsp butter
1 slice ham, usually around 1 lb. or a little less
2 tbsp capers
2 tbsp Dijon mustard
black pepper
1 tbsp olive oil

Cut the potatoes into 1-2” pieces and put in a pot. Cover them with water. Bring it to a boil. Add salt, and let them cook for 10 or so minutes until mash-worthy doneness. Drain and return to the pot. Add the milk and 1 tbsp butter and mash thoroughly. Oh, I don’t like to peel my potatoes, but that’s up to you.

While the potatoes cook, trim the ham of excess fat and remove the little round bone in the center. Cut into 1” pieces and put it into the food processor. Add capers and mustard and some pepper. Pulse until finely chopped. Remove to a large bowl.

Combine the ham mixture and the potatoes and fold together. Form into 8 burgers. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil and remaining tbsp butter in a sauté pan. When the butter has melted and foam has subsided, add burgers, 4 at a time, and sauté 3-4 minutes per side until browned and a little crisp on the outside. Handle them carefully as they will be delicate.

Stir-fried beef w/caramelized broccoli and quinoa

A hastily taken photo – I was hungry and my food was hot!

Here’s a recipe I posted back in June. Had just one comment (thank you Jenn). So, I’m thinking, why not do it again. We needed a green veg for dinner last night and we both like this way of preparing broccoli. The next question was what to have as a protein. Found some quinoa in the pantry and put that on the menu. My pet peeve about broccoli is how difficult I have found it to get it to the table nice and hot. It doesn’t seem to retain heat very well. This method solves the problem pretty successfully.

Quinoa is a perplexing thing. The package tells you to use 2 parts liquid to 1 part quinoa. Then simmer it 15 minutes until the liquid is absorbed. Well, the liquid doesn’t absorb. You have to drain it. Each time I make it I use less broth (I prefer broth to water). Last night’s was 1 2/3 cups to just under a cup of quinoa. It still required draining, but there was relatively little liquid left.

So I ended up with 2/3 pound top sirloin and I reproduced a stir-fry from a few months ago.

Spicy beef stir-fry with caramelized broccoli

Coating:
2 tablespoons freshly ground cumin

1 tablespoons dried chile flakes

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

Beef Stir-Fry

10 oz. beef fillet (tenderloin)

2 tablespoons peanut oil

1 teaspoon Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry

1 tablespoon light soy sauce

1 pinch sea salt

½ medium onion, thinly sliced

1 spring onion, finely sliced (green part reserved for garnish)

To make the spicy coating: Mix all the ground cumin, dried chile flakes, black pepper, and salt, on a plate.

Mix the rice wine and soy sauce together in a small bowl.

To make the beef: Prepare the fillet by hammering it with a meat mallet, or the side of a Chinese cleaver.

Slice the beef into wafer-thin slices, and coat the pieces in the spice mix.

Heat a wok or pan over high heat and add the peanut oil. Add the beef and stir-fry for less than 1 minute until browned and tender. Remove the beef to a bowl and set aside.Add a little more oil to the wok. Stir-fry bell onions and garlic for 2 minutes until softened. Add bean sprouts and bell pepper and cook, tossing constantly, for a couple of minutes. Add noodles and beef, rice wine and soy sauce, and toss to heat.Serve immediately with the scallion greens as garnish.

Caramelized broccoli
1 broccoli crown
1 tsp olive oil
1 tbsp butter
salt and pepper to taste
red pepper flakes (optional)

Cut off the broccoli stem, trim it and cut off the outside layer. Reduce it to 1” pieces or so. Cut the florets into 1” pieces.

Heat olive oil and butter over medium (5 on my 1-10 dial) until the butter is melted and looks about to begin browning. Add the broccoli stem pieces and sauté for 2 minutes. Sprinkle salt and pepper into the pan and the red pepper if using. Add the florets and sauté, without stirring, until the bottom side begins to brown. Flip them over and do the same to the other side. Total cooking time will be about 6 minutes, give or take. Serve at once.