Tender Braised Oxtail

As Wiki explains, “Oxtail (occasionally spelled ox tail or ox-tail) is the culinary name for the tail of cattle. Formerly, it referred only to the tail of an ox or steer, a castrated male. An oxtail typically weighs 2 to 4 lbs. (1-1.8 kg) and is skinned and cut into short lengths for sale.Oxtail is a bony, gelatinous meat, and is usually slow-cooked, often stewed or braised….”

I personally think that most meat near bones such as wings or ribs and oxtail of course are delicious. There are many people who are not adventurous and won’t try oxtail but I really wish they would because it is TASTY!

However, if you were looking for a quick meal, this is not the one because unless you have a pressure cooker, Oxtail takes about 3-4 hours to prepare and at the end you will get a well deserved delicious dish of tender juicy oxtail in a rich brown gravy. I serve this dish with steamed white rice and my family LOVES it.

I usually purchase Oxtail from Asian or Hispanic grocery stores. I look for big meaty pieces that are not too fatty but you can’t avoid fat or bone if you are going to eat oxtail. I developed this oxtail recipe after trying different recipes and eating oxtail from different restaurants. I used many recipes as my guidance before coming up with the one that is most suitable to my family’s taste and mine.

Here is the recipe I would like to share:

Ingredients:

2-2.5 LB oxtail pieces
1 TBS oil
3 bay leaves
1 large onion, chopped
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp salt
1 TBS soy sauce
Dash cayenne pepper
¾ to 1 Cup water, (depending on how thick or thin you’d want your gravy to be)

Directions:

1. Wash and pat dry the oxtails with paper towels.
2. Season them with salt, pepper, cayenne, garlic pepper, and soy sauce.
3. Heat up the oil in a Dutch oven and when it is hot, add the seasoned oxtails to sear and brown them on all sides for about 5-7 min.
4. When the oxtails are brown, add bay leaves and chopped onions. Mix well and cook for a few minutes.
5. Add the water, cover and cook on low for at least 2 hours or till tender.
6. Serve with rice.

Note: This step is not necessary but if you have time, let the oxtail pot cool in the fridge for several hours till all the fat floats to the top and solidifies. Remove the fat from the top, reheat and serve.

Step by Step Jambalaya Recipe

Jambalaya! What is Jambalaya? Where is it from? How many types of Jambalaya are out there? Well according to Wiki , "Creole jambalaya originates from the French Quarter of New Orleans, in the original European sector. It was an attempt by the Spanish to make paella in the New World, where saffron was not readily available due to import costs. Tomatoes became the substitute for saffron. As time went on, French influence became strong in New Orleans, and spices from the Caribbean changed this New World paella into a unique dish. In modern Louisiana, the dish has evolved along a variety of different lines. Creole jambalaya, or red Jambalaya as it is called by Cajuns, is found primarily in and around New Orleans, where it is simply known as 'Jambalaya'. Creole Jambalaya includes tomatoes, whereas Cajun jambalaya does not."

There is always more than one way to make a dish and YES there are a millions ways different people make their Jambalaya. After a few times of trial and error and some experimenting with different Jambalaya recipes, I came up with the one that is best for my taste and my family's. You can use my recipe as a guide and adjust it to your taste and what you have available in your kitchen! There is no rules, but just have fun and enjoy cooking this flavorful filling dish!

Here is how I make my Jambalaya:

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons canola oil
1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning
1 pound smoked sausage, sliced into rounds
1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, boiled and cut into 1 inch pieces
(Note: I sometimes boil a whole chicken, use both the broth and the meat)
1 pound peeled and divined shrimp, raw
1 cup onion, diced
1 cup bell pepper, diced
1 cup celery, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon Cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoon hot pepper sauce, (more or less depending on your taste)
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
2 cups uncooked white rice
4 cups chicken broth (or water)

Optional: If you want a red (tomato based) Creole Jambalaya, throw in a can of small tomato sauce or Rotel or Italian crushed tomatoes, etc. Use what you have in your pantry!



The Holy Trinity (Onion, bell peppers, and celery)















Heat the oil on medium heat and sautee the garlic and bay leaf for about a minute till fragrant.















Add the Holy Trinity, salt, and Caynne pepper.














Cook till all the veggies are almost tender for about 5-6 minutes.















Add the rice.














Mix well so that the rice will cook without sticking and lumping together.















Add the Cajun seasoning powder, thyme, black pepper.















Add the broth and the rest of the seasoning sauces (hot sauce etc). Stir once. cover and let it simmer over low heat for about 20-25 minutes.















Add the chicken, saussage, and raw shrimp during the last 10 minute of cooking.















Mix and taste. Rice should be fully cooked, but not mushy or very wet. You can now enjoy Jambalaya!!

Bread Pudding with Rum Sauce

Bread pudding is another easy desert with endless variations fruits or flavors or sauces one can think of. Banana bread pudding, chocolate bread pudding, rum sauce, caramel sauce, whiskey sauce, with raisins or without....the list goes on and on. I enjoy many different kinds of bread pudding and I will share a basic bread pudding with rum sauce recipe here. they are from two different sources. The bread pudding is from grouprecipes but I do not remember where I found the sauce recipe. I searched for hours on the Internet to remember where I got it so I can give the proper credit but unfortunately I wasn't able to:(

Ingredients For The Bread Pudding

4 Cups scalded milk
3 Cups cubes of day old or toasted French bread
1 3/4 Cups sugar
1 TBS butter
1/4 tsp salt
4 eggs slightly beaten
1 tsp vanilla

Directions:

Soak bread in 2 cups of the hot milk for 5 minutes.
Put in greased pan.
Add the other 2 cups of scalded milk, butter, eggs, and sugar.
Add vanilla.
Mix well and slowly pour over bread mixture.
Bake 350 degrees for 45 min to 1 hour.

Ingredients for Rum Sauce

3/4 cup sugar
2 TBS flour
1 cup water
1/4 C heavy cream (optional)
1 stick butter
1/2 tsp vanilla
3 TBS rum

Directions:

Combine flour, water, sugar and butter in a sauce pan.

Cook over medium heat until mixture begins bubbling. Add the cream, keep stirring for one minute.

Remove from heat and add the vanilla and rum. Mix well. You are done.

Pour the rum sauce over the entire bread pudding or over each individual serving.

Note: I used raisins to garnish (optional).

Banana Foster French Toast

I had Christmas this year with my two little cousins and my daughter. I promised them a good breakfast for Christmas morning before we open our presents. I searched for french toast recipes and I found this Paula Deans Recipe. I did some changes cause her recipes usually are a little too sweet for my taste and also to downsize the amount because I didn't want 8 servings. I loved that she used croissants and I was very excited to try that and they turned out delicious. It was very easy and quick as well. I will definitely make it again.

Yield:8 servings

Times:Prep5 min ,Cook 10 min
Total 15 min

Ingredients

* 4 large eggs (I only used 3)
* 1 cup heavy cream
* 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 8 tablespoons butter, divided
* 8 large croissants, halved (I used 6 )
* 1/2 cup dark corn syrup
* 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar (I used 1/4 Cup)
* 1 cup maple syrup
* 1 cup chopped pecans
* 6 ripe bananas, halved crosswise and lengthwise (I used 4)
* 1 teaspoon rum extract


In a shallow dish, whisk together eggs, cream, and cinnamon. In a large skillet, melt 2 tablespoons butter over medium-high heat. Dip 4 croissant halves in egg mixture to coat both sides. Using a fork, remove croissants from egg mixture, letting excess mixture drip off. Place croissant halves in hot skillet. Cook 2 to 3 minutes per side or until lightly browned. Repeat procedure with remaining butter and croissant halves. Set aside and keep warm.

In a large skillet, combine corn syrup, brown sugar, maple syrup and pecans. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat, and simmer for 2 minutes. Add banana halves and rum extract. Coat with the syrup mixture, and simmer 1 minute. Spoon over French toast. Serve immediately.

Omelette Roll Slices

Most of us know how to make an omelette. Here is a recipe of an omelette with a cute twist to it! The twist is that it is made into a roll and then sliced, that's all! You can put anything you like just like a regular omelette. Today, I put some onions and mushrooms. I usually put finely diced onion, carrots, and roasted seaweed (Korean or Japanese). Noone taught me how to make this, but I first ate an omelette in a roll and sliced from a Korean grocery store. I liked it and started making them as a side dish because they are easy, pretty, and TASTY!



Basic Recipe: (change it up by all means!)

2-3 eggs, beaten
about 1/2 C finely diced onion, carrots or any veges of your choice

Mix the veges and egg. Pour it in a slighly greased skillet. Cook for a few min till you can roll it in tight roll. Let it cool and slice. They are so pretty!

Click here for a good website that shows step by step pictures if you want to see good pictures and how to fold etc.

WE ARE ON A ROLL!: The Daring Cooks' October 2010 Challenge

Our October 2010 hostess, Lori of Lori’s Lipsmacking Goodness, has challenged The Daring Cooks to stuff grape leaves. Lori chose a recipe from Aromas of Aleppo and a recipe from The New Book of Middle Eastern Food. The challenge this month requires Daring cooks to make a filling (meat or meatless, but must include rice) and roll it in grape leaves (or Swiss chard, kale, cabbage or some tough green).
I didn't even attempt to find the grape leaves because I am not a big fan of them. I thought about using collard or mustard greens and using fish or shrimp but time was running out and I just did STUFFED CABBAGE ROLLS!I am pleased with how they turned out. I made up the filling with some basic ingredients.
Ingredients for filling:

ground turkey
cooked rice
diced onion
diced celery
salt and pepper
soy sauce
sesame oil

Depending on how much you want to make, just eyeball the ingredients. I used 2:1 ration of meat:rice. Added spices and sauteed a lil onion and celery (add or omit what you like). Blanched the cabbage leaves. Remove the hearts and stuff them with the filling. Roll. Cover with boiling salted water and bake for 20-30 min or boil till the meat is done about 8 min.




The Filling



Blanched Cabbage Leaves





Before Rolling




Cute Cabbage Roll




Enjoy the Stuffed Cabbage Rolls!!

Yummy Mini Turkey Patties

Today I decided to put this post up for my daughter who loves these little turkey patties. I usually use ground pork to make meat patties since we don't eat a lot of ground beef in our house. One day I decided to use ground turkey instead and we loved it more than the pork so since then I have been using turkey. I think this is going to please your children as well. I usually make a soup and rice to go with these (being an Asian house hold, you know we LOVE RICE!). I have bought meat patties from the Korean gerocery store I go to but they are not my favorite. I think they add mashed up tofu or something and I can barely taste any meat. So, here is how I make mine just the way we like it in our house:

Directions

1 lb ground turkey (lean)
1 tsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp sesame oil
1 TBS soysauce
1 tsp sugar
2 TBS Korean pancake flour (use regular flour if you can't get korean pancake flour)
salt and pepper

Combine the above ingredients well and make small patties.

1 egg, beaten
some Korean pancake flour

Dip the patties one by one in egg then flour (shake the excess off) and pan fry with a little bit of oil till they are golden on both sides.