Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Chinese Spare Ribs (Chinese night)

Ingredients
3 tablespoons hoisin sauce
1 tablespoon ketchup
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon sake
1 teaspoon rice vinegar
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
1/2 teaspoon grated fresh garlic
1/4 teaspoon Chinese five-spice powder
1 pound pork spareribs
Directions
In a shallow glass dish, mix together the hoisin sauce, ketchup, honey, soy sauce, sake, rice vinegar, lemon juice, ginger, garlic and five-spice powder. Place the ribs in the dish, and turn to coat. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator for 2 hours, or as long as overnight.
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Fill a broiler tray with enough water to cover the bottom. Place the grate or rack over the tray. Arrange the ribs on the grate.
Place the broiler rack in the center of the oven. Cook for 40 minutes, turning and brushing with the marinade every 10 minutes. Let the marinade cook on for the final 10 minutes to make a glaze. Finish under the broiler if desired. Discard any remaining marinade.

Pecan Rice (Holiday Spice)

Ingredients
1 cup brown rice
2 tablespoons margarine
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 cup finely chopped pecans
2 tablespoons minced parsley
1/4 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
Directions
In a saucepan bring 2 cups water to a boil. Add rice and stir. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 40 minutes.
When rice is done, melt margarine in a small skillet over medium heat. Saute onions, pecans, parsley, basil, ginger, pepper and salt. When onions are tender stir mixture into rice and mix well.

Hot and Sour Soup

Chinese night
Ingredients
5 fresh wood ear mushrooms--I didn't use wood ear, I used oyster mushrooms. You could also use white mushrooms.
4 fresh shiitake mushrooms
4 cups chicken stock
1/3 cup diced bamboo shoots
1/3 cup lean ground pork
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon white sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
3 tablespoons water
1/2 (16 ounce) package firm tofu, cubed
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon sesame oil
2 tablespoons thinly sliced green onion
Directions
After trimming off any tough stems, slice the mushrooms. Place the mushrooms, stock, bamboo shoots, and shredded pork into a saucepan. Bring to a boil, and simmer for 10 minutes.
Stir in soy sauce, sugar, salt, white pepper, and vinegar. Combine cornstarch with 3 tablespoons water. Add a little of the hot soup to the cornstarch, and then return all to the pan. Heat to boiling, stirring. Add the bean curd, and cook 1 to 2 minutes.
Just before serving, turn off the heat. Stir the egg in gradually. Mix in sesame oil. Sprinkle each serving with scallions.

Baked Spaghetti Squash

1 medium spagetti squash (2 1/4 lbs)
12 oz bulk Italian sausage
1.5 cups sliced fresh mushrooms
1 medium green or red sweet pepper, chopped
1/3 cup finely chopped onion
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 4 1/4 can chopped pitted ripe olives (optional)
1/2 tsp dried Italian seasonings, crushed
1.5 cups purchased red pasta sauce (I used homemade marinara)
1.5 cups shredded Monterey Jack, mozzarella or Italian blend cheese
1/4 cup snipped fresh Italian (flat leaf) parsley


1 Halve squash crosswise, remove seeds. Place cut sides down in 2 qt rectangular baking dish. (Use one bigger than 9x9 as this was not big enough). Add 1/4 cup water. Cover with vented plastic wrap, Microwave on high power for 13-15 min or until squash is tender when pierced with a fork; rearrange once for even baking. In large skillet, cook mushrooms, sausage, sweet pepper, onion and garlic over medium heat until sausage is no longer pink. Stir to break up sausage. Drain off fat (I did not do this as there was very little fat to drain off).
2. Preheat oven to 350. Scrape pulp from squash (about 3 cups). Wipe out baking dish and coat with non stick spray. Spread half the squash in the dish. Add half the sausage mixture and half the olives. Sprinkle with seasoning and 1/8 tsp black pepper. Top with half the sauce and half the cheese. Top with remaining squash, sausage, olives and sauce. Bake for 30 min. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake 5 min or until cheese is melted. Let stand 10 min. Sprinkle with parsley. Serves 6.