japanese curry

It's risky cooking for my dad. He's yin, always choosing meat and potatoes over all other conceivable option. He'd rather eat in and watch the game on TV.

Me: "Dad, what do you want for your father's day dinner?"
Him: "Hamburgers."
Me: "Aw, I want to make you something special! If you could pick anything in the world, what would it be?"
Him: "Pizza."

I'm yang, preferring fresh tasting Cal Med fare or other interesting flavors. I adore eating out and consider myself a budding foodie (probably not apparent by these simplified meals, but I'll get to the good stuff soon!).

Him: "What's on your agenda tonight?"
Me: "Bran and I are going out to dinner at a place called Simon. The chef is Kerry Simon, Iron Chef America champion! He's creating a 4 course tuna tasting menu with wine pairing. I'm so excited!"
Him: "You had me until 'out to dinner.'"

My Funky Potato (would be an awesome band name, right?)

So you can see why he might be a bit apprehensive about this Japanese Curry business. Brandon did vouch for it- we have made it on other camping trips and he quite loves this meal- but it was very out of my dad's comfort zone. It didn't help that it's not the most visually appetizing meal in the world, though it smells divine! Dad, the trooper that he is, gave it a shot...

... and he liked it!

In fact, everyone liked it! It's quite a feat to successfully feed 14 hungry campers with a meal that only one had ever even tried before. Even the kids were fans. You'll like this. It's easy, warm, soul soothing. Perfect for camping. It will be an instant comfort food. I promise.

*Japanese Curry*
equal parts:
yukon gold potatoes, diced
carrots, diced
onions, diced
chicken, diced

oil for sauteing
water for boiling

1 (or more) box prepackaged Japanese curry*

white rice

*available in the Asian foods section of most big markets

*equipment*
1 high sided pot (such as a dutch oven)
something to make rice in
serving spoons

Saute your meat and onions in a big pot in a few tbsp of oil or butter. When the onions are soft and meat slightly browned, add in the rest of your diced veggies and add just enough water to cover the ingredients in the pot (about 3 cups). Cover and bring to a boil.

When the potatoes and carrots are just tender, add the broken up curry to the pot. Stir to mix. Let cook 5 more minutes.

Serve over rice.

tacos!

Camping in Devils Postpile (Mammoth Lakes, CA) was great fun and the food was simple yet fabulous! The weather was cold and cloudy for the most part, but the fishing was decent and the scenery is some of the most beautiful you can find anywhere in the world. There is something incredibly special about cooking while set amongst towering pine trees and a rushing river. Everything just tastes better.You can't beat this view.

Cooking successfully while in nature takes lots of forethought, especially if it's in a secluded location (like DP) and you have to pack in your ingredients AND your equipments. This means that planning is key! With just a little bit of work - and a very good checklist of items to take with you - you can be prepped to make meals simply and deliciously. I suggest making a list of meals that you'll make for each night, then thinking about every ingredient you'll need in making it. It's important to remember to pack simple things like salt, pepper, tongs, etc. or you'll regret it (says the chick who forgot oil a few years back).

So, to help you out, I'll be making a very detailed list of the items needed to pull off each of the next 5 meals. Each meal for my camping trip was planned for about 10 adults, and since it is camping, I'll just write an ingredient list rather than exact measurements. These meals are so simple that you will want to estimate how much you'll need for the number of campers in your party. Also, I'll jot down the equipment that you'll need.

These meals are not meant to be gourmet. It's just good, wholesome food that can be thrown together relatively quickly and with little prep time. And it tastes good.

*Simple Camping Tacos*
ground meat (turkey or beef)
garlic salt
salt
pepper
vegetable oil

cilantro
onions
grated cheddar cheese
jarred salsa
lime

corn tortillas

*Equipment*
cast iron skillet
large non stick pan
tongs

plates
napkins

For the meat: Brown the meat up in a couple tbsps of vegetable oil in a cast iron skillet. Season and set aside.

For the shells: Heat up 1/4 cup of oil in the non stick pant. To fry them, quickly put them in the oil on side A and leave in for just a sec. Quickly turn it over to side B and fold it in 1/2 until lightly browned. Flip it over to the other side of side B and brown on that side. As soon as they're cooked, put them on a paper towel lined plate and salt them! Seriously, this makes them great!
Assemble your tacos with whatever accoutrements you like. I like cilantro, salsa, cheese and a super quick squirt of lime, but feel free to bring anything else you like.

It will fill you up and satisfy you. Until s'mores, that is.

bibimbap

BEE-BIM-BOP! This is the most awesome word to say. I'm really lucky that Audrey did not smack me across the face when we were shopping for the ingredients and then while we were making it. I can be annoying at times. C'mon, say it with me!

BEE-BIM-BOP
BEE-BIM-BOP
BEEEE-BIIIIMMMM-BOOOOOOP!

That's not even how you say it! It's buh-BEEM-bop, but BEE-BIM-BOP has a much better ring to it, if I do say so myself.

Bibimbap is a traditional Korean dish that means "mixed rice." That's because you throw everything over rice and mix it all together. Audrey's family makes it (though they're not Korean), so she was kind enough to show me the ropes this weekend.

*Audrey's Bibimbap*

1 pound ground turkey
1/3 cup red miso
2 bunches green onions
1 bag bean sprouts
2 big bunches spinach, rinsed well
white rice
4 eggs
soy sauce
sesame oil
sesame seeds

First things first, make your rice.

Boil a big pot of water. Blanch the bean sprouts for less than a minute. Fish them out of the water and set them aside. Now, blanch your spinach. Strain through a colander and set aside in a separate bowl. Flavor both the spinach and sprouts with about a tbsp each of soy sauce and sesame oil. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and let marinate.

Meanwhile, cook the meat through in a large saucepan with 3/4 of the green onions. Once the meat has been cooked through, add in the red miso and soy sauce to taste.

Keep the meat covered and warm. Fry the eggs in a separate non stick pan, but keep them runny in the middle.

Assemble the bowls by layering the bottom with rice and each the spinach, bean sprouts and meat into 1/3s over it. Top with the egg.

Mix it all up. Eat.

parmesan polenta with sausage ragout

Do I make anything *without* sausage these days? I mean really people! I swear I usually don't cook like this, but it's been so cold and wet this last month that I've been craving it. And it's been in the fridge, so that's motivation enough.

This is the easiest meal ever. I originally got it from epicurious, but I changed it a bit and mine tastes better!

*Parmesan Polenta with Sausage Ragout*

4 links spicy sausage
2 bell peppers
1 package mushroom, more for the mushroom lovers
1/2 cup dry red wine
3 c. marinara sauce (homemade or bottled)
2 lbs polenta (I use 2 of those Trader Joe's tubes)
Parmesan cheese

Heat your oven to 450 degrees.

Heat up your sausage in a dutch oven over medium-high heat. Once it's brown, add in your mushrooms and bell peppers (you can add red pepper flakes if you like it spicy, but remember that the sausage is also hot). Cook for 2-3 minutes. Add in your wine and marinara and bring the mixture up to a boil. Let it simmer until it has reduced a bit, about 10 minutes.

In the meantime, cut your polenta into 1/2-3/4 inch slices on the bias. Place them on a cookie sheet and sprinkle them with parmesan chees, approx. 1 tbsp on each piece. Put them in the oven for about 5 minutes. Once they are warmed all the way through, place them in your broiler to melt the cheese and let it turn to a lovely golden brown.

Serve 2 pieces of polenta with a big heap of the ragout. Pair with a bold red wine.

Haven't I mentioned that I'm writing a cookbook? 1001 Ways to do Sausage (badum bum, tsssss!).

potato soup with leeks and sausage

This is a super easy weeknight dinner for when you're feeling lazy and the weather is dreary. Perfect occasion for your enameled cast iron dutch oven! Important note: It's really crucial to salt and pepper your dish throughout the cooking process. Food with salt & pepper added only at the end sometimes falls flat. When you adjust seasoning at each stage, the flavor is much more developed. Yum factor increases. Celebration ensues.

*Potato Soup with Leeks and Sausage*
4 links andouille sausage, cut into bite sized pieces
5 fatty leeks, cut lengthwise and then into 1 inch pieces
1 stick butter
2 tbsp flour
6 largish red potatoes, diced to 3/4 inch squared
6 cups of chicken stock
salt and pepper
1 bay leaf

Brown up the sausage in your skillet with 2 tbsp butter over medium high heat. Once it looks done, take it out and set it aside. Don't clean out your pan.

Put in the rest of the stick of butter, and turn the heat down to medium. Once your butter is bubbly, put in your leeks and some salt and pepper. Work them out, yo! Make those puppies sweat, but don't let them brown. This will take a good 15 minutes and look something like this:
When the leeks are tender (not smooshy), put in your flour. Cook that for at least a couple minutes to mellow the flour our. Once that's done, add the rest of your ingredients, including your cooked sausage. Season up your soup again.

Let this whole mixture cook together with the lid on for about 15 minutes. At this point, check your potatoes. The soup is done when your potatoes are fork tender. I really need to get you guys (hahahahahhahahahahahahahahahhahahahahahhahaha, like anyone but me reads this) my garlic bread recipe because it goes great with just about everything.

Enjoy!