Cooking

Cooking is relaxing, enjoyable and delicious. I like to experiment, mix different ingredients and observe the results. I like to work with other cooks, I am amazed at what I can learn.

I make some pretty good Asian food, I like Thai and Szechwan, keep it spicy! I make a coconut milk red curry chicken that is so sweet and spicy you can’t stop eating it. You would never believe some of the ingredients it takes to make it taste right. They use the really nasty stuff called fish sauce, don’t breathe deeply when handling this stuff, but if you leave it out of the recipe it will never taste right.

I am really good at Mexican dishes. Tacos, Enchiladas, Chili Rellenos and Burritos.

I make some chicken enchiladas that take three days that are everyone’s favorite. I start by marinating the chicken for two days in oil, chili powder, cumin, garlic, crushed red pepper, chipotle peppers and green chilies. When you roll them up, add a little more green chilies, cheddar and jack, then top with more green chilies and cheese. After cooking in the oven or microwave, add sour cream and or salsa to taste. Don’t ask how much of any ingredient, I make them to taste every time and have no idea how much I use. (That is half the fun!)

I like smoking meats: salmon, trout (apple wood), chicken and turkey (mesquite) and beef (mesquite and hickory). I like an electric smoker, it is way easier to control the temperature.

There is nothing like fresh smoked fish. Make a brine stiff enough to float a potato, add about 1/4 cup of honey or brown sugar. Soak the fish for 3 hours, smoke over low heat for 3 more hours.

This dish was a group effort. I was making some smoked salmon to serve at a party and one of my friends got artistic with my salmon and cream cheese mousse…

I like cooking unusual breakfast items: airy popovers, German pancakes, blintzes and pecan waffles. It took me a while to figure out that these recipes require room temperature ingredients. In the old days when the recipes were written, people did not have refrigerators.

German pancakes when done right are large fluffy baked pancakes that are served with butter, lemon and powdered sugar, they should melt in your mouth. 1/2 cup flour, 1/2 cup milk, 2 eggs and 1 additional yolk, whip smooth. Heat a metal handled pan on the stove, grease liberally with margarine (butter burns), pour the batter into the pan and tilt to coat the sides. As soon as the batter has set up, put in a 450° oven and wait until the edges turn a little golden brown. Butter liberally, add lots of powdered sugar and lemon to taste, fold the edges in and invert to serve. If done right the lemon sugar syrup should leak all over the plate, use it like any other syrup with pancakes.