I’m not a picky eater by any means, but for some reason I’ve never exclaimed, “Gee, I could really go for some goat tonight!” as I do with, say, lamb. Perhaps that’s because when I was twelve the farm that my parents moved us to came with a goat named Nanny. That shouldn’t have dissuaded me though – I also had a French Lop Ear rabbit named Nicholas, and I’ve eaten rabbit (albeit not too excitedly). We had chickens – I eat chicken. And I had a beloved horse named Pronto. You see where I’m going with this. In my defense, I had no idea I was eating horse. When I asked our waiter in Paris what kind of meat it was he made a sound I took more as a baaaa than a whinny. Sorry, Pronto, clearly I need tutelage in international animal sounds.

Back to the goat.

Barnaby finally convinced me to give it a try. I actually had tried goat once before and, though Nanny never won many points with me due to her frequent need to make hard contact with her horns and my rear end, I found it too gamey, a taste that always stayed with me. But he purchase some high-quality, grass fed goat from Thundering Hooves and I was won over. As with our other grass fed meats it was incredibly flavorful and tender.  We slow cooked a shank all day with white wine, rosemary, garlic and Alubia Criollo beans, a white Spanish runner bean with an amazing rich and creamy flavor. When we got home we were greeted with the heavenly aromas of wine, rosemary and garlic. The beans, a wonderful heirloom variety from Rancho Gordo (my new favorite bean purveyor), were perfectly cooked, the goat meat falling off the shank in delicate morsels.

A memorable meal indeed.

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Move over, Colonel Sanders, there’s a new fried chicken in town! Actually, it’s not new at all but it may be new to you. Chicken Karaage (or simply Karaage) is Japanese fried chicken. When I lived in Japan, every Saturday night after work I went to my favorite little izakaya (a Japanese pub that serves small bites) and ordered karaage – along with an assortment of yakitori, homemade tofu, and whatever fresh sashimi was on the menu.

Typically made with thigh meat, karaage are tender, juicy nuggets with a light and crispy exterior. The perfect pairing with this dish? A tall glass of ice cold beer. Give it a dash of Shichimi Togarashi spice (a blend of seven Japanese spices) and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice and this chicken dish will surely become a family favorite.

Click below for the easy recipe:

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I know it’s Saint Patrick’s Day and I should be writing about corned beef and cabbage, but I’m behind schedule and just put my brisket in the slow cooker this morning. So you’ll have to make do with grilled flank steak, which I think is a perfectly fine substitute (even though a bit blasphemous on St. Paddy’s day). Hopefully the green of the chimichurri sauce will help make it more festive!

Chimichurri is a classic Argentine sauce, predominantly made with aji molido, a mild red chili. It’s wonderful on grilled meats, but also makes a lovely dipping sauce for bread. With garlic, olive oil, vinegar and freshly chopped parsley, this sauce is sure to make you rethink the traditional Saint Patrick’s Day dinner.

Ouch, I think a leprechaun just bit me!

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We’re all busy this time of year. On top of the craziness of the season some of us are plagued by colds and longer commutes due to icy roads, are frantically wrapping up the 4th quarter at work, or working long hours launching a new business (hey, that’s us!). Few of us have the luxury of a private chef. Or a even butler named Hobson to take your coat and offer you a hot toddy when you return home. How nice would that be! Sigh…

Pull out that crockpot, fill it with a few choice ingredients, and when you come home from work you can pretend that Hobson spent all day whipping up a perfect hot meal for you. After a long hard day there’s nothing like coming home to the aromas of a hearty home-cooked meal. Just lift the lid and serve.

Beef Pot Roast

Large cut of beef pot roast
2 cups red wine
2 cups water
Yellow potatoes, quartered
Onions, quartered
Carrots, roughly chopped
1 Bay leaf
1 sprig rosemary
2 cloves garlic
Salt and pepper

Marinate the meat overnight in the red wine, keeping liquid after marination. Sear both sides of the roast then place in the crockpot. Add all other ingredients, including the red wine marinade, cover and set crockpot to manufacturers recommended setting.

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Some people turn their noses up at the mention of oxtail, but this underrated meat is succulently delicious. When slow cooked for many hours or quickly blasted in a pressure cooker, which we did, the gelatinous meat turns tender and fall-off-the-bone fantastic. Oxtail is also quite inexpensive, making it easy on the pocketbook, which I’m sure we can all appreciate right now. Use up that leftover red wine for stewing and this meal just gets more economical by the minute!

Red Wine Stewed Oxtail

Approximately 2 lbs. oxtail
1 16 oz. can of chopped tomatoes
3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1 medium yellow onion, sliced
Red wine
1 Bay leaf
Salt and pepper
Olive oil

In a large stockpot or pressure cooker, brown the onions, garlic and oxtail in a splash of olive oil. After browning, add the red wine (and chicken stock if you need more liquid) until it just covers the oxtail. Toss in the bay leaf, a good pinch of salt and freshly cracked black pepper.

Bring to a boil, then reduce to simmer; cover. If you are using a stockpot allow the oxtail to simmer for a few hours, or until the meat starts to fall easily from the bone. If you are using a pressure cooker, cook for about 40 minutes.

Delighful served over couscous and sprinkled with a tasty herby-citrus gremolata.

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Photo: Gaku

During the cold months when I lived in Japan I loved a nice hot bowl of nikujaga. In jest, I used to call this dish “Mick Jagger.” To me, when my students said “nikujaga” or “Mick Jagger” they both sounded almost the same, so it gave us many belly grabbing laughs.

Japanese Rolling Stones fan student: “I love Micku Jagga!”
English food loving teacher: “Me too, it’s so delicious!”
Japanese Rolling Stones fan student: “What!?”

Nikujaga literally means “meat (niku) potatoes (jaga),” and to most Japanese (as well as this Gaijin) it’s comfort food. It’s a simple dish of thinly sliced beef stewed in sweetened soy sauce with potatoes, shirataki noodles (also known as konnyaku noodles; a low carb, non-wheat noodle), carrots and onions.

In the late 19th century, while studying naval science in England, Japanese naval legend Tōgō Heihachirō was inspired by the hearty, nutritious beef stews of the British Royal Navy. Upon his return to Japan he commissioned the chefs of the Imperial Japanese Navy to create a version to serve their seamen.

And, thus, was born Mick Jagger…I mean, nikujaga <wink>.

Nikujaga

1/2 lb thinly sliced beef loin cut into 1 1/2 inch length pieces
4 potatoes, peeled and quartered
1 onion, cut into wedges
1/4 lb carrot, cut into bite size chunks
1/2 package shirataki noodles
2 1/2 cups dashi soup (*see below)
2 Tbsp mirin (sweet cooking rice wine)
2 Tbsp sugar
4 Tbsp soy sauce

Heat 1 tbsp of vegetable oil in a deep pot and quickly saute beef. Add onion, carrot, potato, and shirataki in the pan and saute together. Pour dashi soup stock and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and skim off foam. Simmer until potatoes are softened. Add sugar and mirin; cover. Simmer for about 5 minutes and add soy sauce. Simmer until the liquid is almost gone.

Makes 4 servings.

*Dashi is a stock that is the base of many Japanese dishes. There are many variations, but a common variety is made from dried kelp and bonito (fish) flakes. Many people nowadays use instant dashi. You can purchase it in Asian (and some non-Aisan) markets as well as on Amazon.com.

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Today’s a quickie as I’m attending my first BlogHer Conference in San Francisco, CA. Upon arriving I felt a bit homesick for the Bay Area, fog and all. I actually had to change from my Capri pants and sandals to jeans and closed-toe shoes (with socks!!) in the Nordstrom ladies’ room. Brrrrr! Mark Twain was certainly right when he said “The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco.” Apparently I will never learn how to dress appropriately in the Fog City.

On to the good food stuff…

The great thing about loving food and cooking is coming up with new and different twists on recipes. I’ve written before about brining chicken, and we tried it again with pork chops, this time with a different type of brine. Pork chops can often get dry when roasting and grilling, so this will help moisten your meat and ensure juiciness with each and every bite.

Beer Brined Pork Chops

2-4 thick-sliced chops
1 bottle of beer (any type)
2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons kosher salt

Soak pork chops in brine for 1-2 hours. Drizzle with olive oil and freshly cracked black pepper, then toss on the grill!

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I have a deep love for cheese. Actually, it borders on an addiction, but (so far) I am able to live my life normally.

Does flying to Argentina for cheese count as normal?

A couple of years ago Barnaby I went to Argentina to visit friends. Really, it was to visit friends, the cheese (and wine, meat, leather!) was just a bonus. After our visit in the glorious Buenos Aires, we rented a car and headed into the pampas. Destination: Tandil, home of the famous Epoca de Quesos (Epoch of Cheese).

The Epoca de Quesos is housed in one of Tandil’s oldest buildings just off of the main square. This charming building was constructed in 1860 and operated as a staging post for travelers, when it took the better part of a month to get to Tandil from Buenos Aires. In the 1920’s it was converted into a general store and then in 1990 became an eatery to showcase the region’s incredibly rich tradition of artisinal cheese and cold-cut production.

The selection of cheeses offered was nothing short of fantastical…herbed, studded with chili peppers, dusted with smoked paprika; fresh-made to aged and ranging from the milk of cows, to goats and sheep. The old wooden shelves were laden with many cheeses I’d never seen or heard of before and the smell! Well, the smell was a bit like old, nasty milk at a vintage dairy. But to a cheese lover, it was perfume.

In addition to their bodacious assortment of traditional cheeses, they offer about 40 different cold cuts – salami, prosciutto, chorizo, mortadella – as well as other delicious snacks; beer and wine; and goodies.

Like the travelers of old, we settled into the back garden after a long dusty drive. They offered a variety of house tasting menus for 30-40 pesos each (about $10 USD). We chose a mix of meats and cheeses, which came on a rustic wooden board with a country bread. Adding to our delight was a wonderful bottle of red wine and an old-fashioned siphon of cold seltzer.

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The sun has finally decided to show itself here in Seattle, which means the barbecue has once again been hauled out of the garage and has settled back into its usual spot on the patio. At last. What better way to wrap up a nice sunny afternoon than to throw something tasty down on the grill?

For tonight’s grilling pleasure I chose one of our favorite cuts of meat: flank steak. Flank steak (sometimes known as London broil) is cut from the belly of the cow, is long and flat, and relatively tough – but very flavorful! Since it tends to be on the chewier side most preparations call for marinating or braising in order to break it down.

Another foolproof method is to simply sear it on high heat until medium rare and slice it thinly. The results are tender, tasty and succulent pieces of steak. Here’s one of my favorite crowd-pleasing preparations:

3 cloves of garlic, crushed or finely minced
¼ cup parsley, finely chopped
Juice of half a lemon and the zest
Olive oil
Salt and black pepper to taste
Baby arugula
Parmigiano reggiano cheese
Truffle oil (optional)

Rub the garlic and salt on one side of the steak then spread the chopped parsley, creating a paste. Drizzle with olive oil, and add fresh ground black pepper and the juice of half a lemon. Grill on high for 4-6 minutes on each side, turning 90 degrees to get those nice grill marks. Let your meat rest about 10 minutes before slicing.

Thinly slice the meat against the grain and at an angle. On a platter, make a bed of fresh baby arugula and lay your slices of meat on top. Shave slices of parmigiano reggiano on top, add some lemon zest, give it a little drizzle of truffle oil and you’re good to go!

We served this al fresco along with a simple Caprese salad and rosemary roasted red potatoes.

Note: How can you tell if your steak is medium-rare? Poke the steak with either your finger or fork. If it feels squishy then it’s rare. The tip of your nose feels like a well-done steak. If you want a visual guide check out The Finger Test For Doneness from the Science of Cooking.

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