Angie's Dad's Best Cabbage Coleslaw

INGREDIENTS

* 1 medium head cabbage, shredded
* 1 large red onion, diced
* 1 cup grated carrots
* 2 stalks celery, chopped
* 1 cup white sugar
* 1 cup white vinegar
* 3/4 cup vegetable oil
* 1 tablespoon salt
* 1 tablespoon dry mustard
* black pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS

1. In a large bowl, combine cabbage, onion, carrots, and celery. Sprinkle with 1 cup sugar, and mix well. In a small saucepan, combine vinegar, oil, salt, dry mustard, and pepper. Bring to a boil. Pour hot dressing over cabbage mixture, and mix well.

Note

This is best if made a day ahead to 2 weeks ahead. If you make it far ahead, drain juice prior to serving.

Indonesian Fried Rice

Ingredients

(4 servings)

1 1-inch chunk tamarind pulp
1/2 c Chopped shallots
1 1/2 tb Chopped garlic
2 Red serrano chiles, chopped
1 ts Shrimp paste (optional) or: Anchovy paste
1/2 ts Turmeric
1 ts Salt or to taste
3 tb Vegetable oil (or more if needed)
6 oz Med shrimp (41-to-50 per lb) shelled and deveined
1/2 c Diced red pepper
1/2 c Green peas
1 c Shredded purple cabbage
6 c Cooked long-grain white rice (cold)
2 tb Ketjap manis or: Dark soy sauce
1 tb Light soy sauce
3 Green onions, thinly sliced
1/2 c Diced cooked chicken
1/2 c Chinese barbecued pork or: Ham

GARNISHES:
Fresh coriander leaves
1/2 English cucumber thinly sliced

Instructions

COVER TAMARIND PULP with 1/2 cup of boiling water. With the back of a fork, mash the fibers and seeds. When dissolved, strain, and reserve 1/3 cup of tamarind water. In a food processor or mortar, process or pound the shallots, garlic, chiles, shrimp paste, turmeric and salt into as smooth a paste as possible. Set a wok or skillet over medium-high heat. When hot, add the oil and spice paste; gently brown. Turn heat to high and add the shrimp; stir-fry until they turn bright orange, about 30 seconds. Remove and set aside. Add bell peppers, peas and cabbage; stir-fry until vegetables are cooked but still crisp, about 1 1/2 minutes. Add rice; stir-fry together, breaking up the lumps of rice. When the rice grains are separated, add tamarind water, ketjap manis, light soy sauce, green onions, chicken, barbecued pork and reserved shrimp; mix together. Check for seasonings. Transfer to a serving plate, garnish with coriander and arrange the cucumbers around the edge.

Noodles and Vegetables or Mie Djawa (Indonesian Recipe)

6 servings

* 1/2 cup sliced ham (Or boneless chicken)
* 1/2 cup shrimp
* 2 tbs. soy spice
* 1 medium onion minced
* 2 cloves garlic minced
* 1 cup shredded white cabbage (or bok choy cut up in 1 in. pieces or both)
* 1/2 pound snow peas
* 1/2 cup fried onion flakes
* 1/2 pound dried noodles
* 1 tbs. vegetable oil

Cook the noodles in boiling water 5 minutes, rinse with cold water and drain. (If spaghetti noodles are used prepare it as recommended on the package) Brown the onions and garlic in oil, then add sliced ham, shrimp, soy sauce, white cabbage, snow peas (or Chinese pea pods) and stir fry for 5 minutes, add noodles and mix carefully and simmer for 5 minutes more.

Garnish the dish with thin sliced omelets and onion flakes and serve with shrimp puffs.

Saumon au Micro-onde, sur un lit d'épinards ~ Salmon on a Bed of Baby Spinach (French Recipe)

INGREDIENTS:

* 4 pre-seasoned salmon fillets

For the salad:
* 3-4 cups baby spinach (1 10-oz bag)
* 2 plum tomatoes, seed core removed and cut into julienne
* 1 cup blanched green beans
* 2 small endives, julienned
* 2 Tablespoons black niçoise or Kalmata olives
* 1 Tablespoon capers, drained and rinsed
* 2 Tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
* 3 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

PREPARATION:

Prepare the vegetables:
1. Put the spinach in a large bowl. Cut the plum tomatoes in half lengthwise. Scoop out the seed core and julienne the tomatoes. Add to the spinach.

2. Remove outer leaves from the endives. Cut in half lenghtwise and cut out the core. Julienne the endives and add the the spinach.
Add the olives and capers to the bowl.

3. Prepare the salmon fillets according to the directions on the package. (The ones I used, said to poke holes in the platic wrap and microwave for three minutes.)

4. While the salmon is cooking, prepare the dressing: In a small bowl, whisk together the lemon juice and olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.

5. Pour the dressing over the spinach and vegetables and toss to coat.

To serve:

Divide the salad among 4 dinner plates. Top with the salmon and serve.

Szechuan Beef Recipe - Dry-fried - Gan Bian Niu Rou Si (Chinese Recipe)

* In this Szechuan recipe the beef is dry-fried, making it chewy and crispy. If you like, you can replace one of the carrots with 1/2 cup of celery that has been strung and cut julienne-style. Feel free to make the dish hotter by adding more chili paste or sauce if desired. Serves 3 to 4.




INGREDIENTS:

* 1 pound beef (flank or sirloin steak is good)
* 2 regular carrots
* 1 tablespoon minced ginger
* 2 scallions (spring onions, green onions), white parts only
* 1 tablespoon sweet bean sauce (also called bean sauce)
* 3 teaspoons chili paste or chili sauce
* 7 1/2 tablespoons oil for stir-frying, or as needed
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1 tablespoon Chinese rice wine or dry sherry
* 1/2 teaspoon sugar
* 1/2 teaspoon roasted Szechuan peppercorn (see link in recipe directions for instructions)

PREPARATION:
Cut the beef julienne style, across the grain into thin slices less than 1/4-inch thick and 2 1/2 - 3 inches long. Wash, peel and julienne the carrots into thin strips about 1/8 inch thick and 2 1/2 - 3 inches long.

Mince the ginger. Cut the scallion into lengths about 2 1/2 inches long, and then into into thin shreds.
In a small bowl, combine the bean sauce and chile paste or sauce. Set aside.
Preheat the wok on medium high heat for at least 30 seconds. (The wok is ready when you can feel the heat when holding the palm of your hand 2 - 3 inches above the wok's surface).

Add 1 1/2 tablespoons oil to the preheated wok, drizzling down the sides. When the oil is hot, add the julienned carrots. Stir-fry for 2 minutes, stirring in the salt. (Do not brown the carrots). Remove from the wok.
Heat 6 tablespoons of oil in the wok over medium high to high heat. When the oil is hot, add the beef. Stir-fry for approximately 10 minutes, until the beef is crispy and dark brown and chewy (you will hear the beef sizzle as it dries out). Splash the beef with the rice wine or dry sherry during the later stages of cooking.
Push the beef up to the sides and drain all but 2 tablespoons from the wok. Add the bean sauce and chili paste or sauce mixture. Stir-fry for a few seconds, then add the ginger and scallions. Stir-fry for a few seconds, until aromatic, then return the carrots to the wok.
Stir in the sugar and the roasted Szechuan peppercorn. Taste and adjust seasonings if desired. Serve hot.

Korokke (Croquettes) - (Japanese Recipe)

* Korokke is not an original Japanese dish. There are many different kinds of korokke today, varying in their fillings. The recipe below introduces you two of the most popular kinds of korokke: white cream korokke and meat potatoe korokke.

Ingredients:

* White Cream Filling
o Butter
o Flour
o Milk
o Canned corn
* Meat potatoe filling
o Potatoes
o Ground beef or pork
o Onion
* Other Ingredients
o Flour
o Eggs
o Bread crumbs
o Korokke sauce*
o Japanese mayonnaise*
o Cabbage

* May not be available in Western supermarkets; but you should be able to find it in Japanese grocery stores that exist in most large European and American cities.

Preparation:

White cream filling:

1. Melt the butter in a fry pan and add flour.

2. Add the milk and stir until the sauce becomes homogenous.

3. Wait until the white mass is very viscose and add the canned corn.

4. Give the cream into a rectangular dish and put it into the refrigerator for several minutes where it should become more solid.


Potatoe meat filling:

5. Cook the potatoes and smash them.

6. Fry the ground meat with cut onions, and then remove as much oil as possible.

7. Mix the meat, the onions, and the smashed potatoes, and add a little bit of salt.


Deep Frying:

8. Form the meat potatoe mixture into hamburger like pieces with a diameter of about 6 cm and a thickness of about 1 cm.

9. Cut or form the white cream in pieces of about 2x2x4 cm. The rectangular dish should haven given the cream the desired form and makes the cutting easier.

10. Put one piece after the other first in the flour and cover all its surface. Then cover it with beaten raw egg, and finally with bread crumbs.

11. Deep fry the korokke pieces until they are beautiful golden.

12. Cut some green outer cabbage leafs in thin strings.

Foie Gras Accompanied With Rocket Salad & Roasted Prawns (French Recipe)

Ingredients

4 persons
150 grams of rocket salad (spicy green salad)
16 prawns ( medium to large )
Maille Old Style mustard (wholegrain)
500 to 600 grams of raw duck foie gras .
Salt and pepper
Maille Vinaigrette Provençale
Olive Oil.

Preparation

- Coat a pan with olive oil. Peel the prawns and place in the pan. Cook for 2 minutes on one side.
- Turn the prawns over and coat with Maille Wholegrain mustard. Cook for a further two minutes.
- Wash the rocket salad
- Cut thick slices of duck foie gras, and cook in a hot pan without any oil nor fat for two minutes on each side.
- Once the foie gras is cooked, place on absorbing paper and season with salt and pepper.
- Season the rocket salad with the Maille Provençale Vinaigrette (one tablespoon).
- Place a slice of foie gras in the middle of each plate, and add rocket salad.
- Place 4 prawns around the foie gras

Sweet and Sour Chicken (Chinese Recipe)

Sweet and Sour Chicken

Ingredients:

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts
3/4 cup baby carrots
1 cucumber
1/2 red bell pepper
1 garlic clove

Marinade:
2 tsp Chinese rice wine or dry sherry
1 tsp cornstarch
Batter:
1 - 2 eggs, lightly beaten
3 TB potato starch*

Sauce**:
4 1/2 TB rice vinegar
1 1/2 TB black rice vinegar
3/4 cup water
3 TB tomato paste
4 1/2 TB brown sugar
3/8 tsp chile sauce, or to taste
1 1/2 tsp cornstarch mixed with 6 teaspoons water

3 1/4 cups oil for deep-frying and stir-frying

Directions:

Cut the chicken into 1/2-inch cubes. Marinate in the rice wine or sherry and cornstarch for 30 minutes.

While the chicken is marinating, prepare the vegetables: mince the garlic clove, peel and cut the cucumber into thin slices, and cut the red pepper into cubes. Chop the baby carrots. Bring a large pot of water to boil and blanch the carrots briefly in the boiling water. Drain thoroughly.

In a small saucepan, add the ingredients for the sweet and sour sauce and bring to a boil. Turn the heat to low and keep warm.

To deep-fry the chicken: Preheat 3 cups of oil to 350 - 375 degrees Fahrenheit. While waiting for the oil to heat, brush the chicken cubes with the beaten egg and dip in the potato starch to cover. Deep-fry the dredged chicken pieces in batches, being careful not to overcrowd the wok. Deep-fry for 3 - 4 minutes until the chicken turns golden brown. Drain on paper towels.

To deep-fry the chicken a second time if desired: bring the oil temperature up to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Deep-fry the chicken in batches, very briefly for less than a minute, until the chicken turns brown. Drain on paper towels.
Drain all but 2 tablespoons oil from the wok. When oil is hot, add the garlic and stir-fry briefly until aromatic. Add the carrots. Stir-fry for about 1 minute, then add the red peppers. Add the cucumber or save to use as a garnish. Bring the sauce back up to a boil and add to the wok, mixing with the vegetables. Add the chicken. Heat through and serve over rice. Garnish with the cucumber if desired.

*Cornstarch can be substituted for the potato starch

**This recipe is designed to make extra sauce for mixing in with the rice. It can easily be adjusted either up or down depending on how much sauce you want - just be sure to keep the proportions constant. For 3/4 lb of chicken, reduce quantities by 1/3 - ie. use 3 TB rice vinegar, 1 TB black rice vinegar, 1/2 cup water, 2 TB tomato paste, etc.