Thai Salad

THAI SALAD

Serves 8

This salad is versatile, fresh and packed with flavor!! Other great ingredients to add are mangos, sprouts or avocados. Enjoy getting creative.

Choice of protein: (½ pound flank steak, or 1 lb ground pork, turkey or chicken or 1 ½ lb wild salmon fillet, or 2 large organic chicken breasts)

Marinade:

2 tablespoon olive oil

5 garlic cloves, minced

¼ cup tamari (soy sauce)

Juice of 1 lime

Salad:

1 cup diced cucumber

½ cup shredded carrot (about 3-4 carrots)

¼ cup thinly sliced green onion (1 bunch)

¼ cup chopped cilantro

¼ cup coarsely chopped Thai basil leaves (regular basil can be used)

Shredded butter lettuce or romaine lettuce

¼ cup chopped mint

1 garlic clove, minced

Juice of 1 lime

¼ cup Thai sweet chili sauce

6 tablespoons fish sauce

¼ cup rice wine vinegar

¼ cup red wine vinegar

2 Tablespoons toasted sesame oil

2 Tablespoons olive oil

½ cup blister peanuts (trader joe’s)

  

To marinate steak, salmon, or chicken breast: Mix oil, garlic, tamari and juice of 1 lime. Pour over flank steak, chicken or salmon in marinade.  Refrigerate 1 hour or overnight.

To cook ground pork, ground turkey or ground chicken: No marinade needed. To cook, add 2 tablespoons olive oil to the pan, to coat the bottom. Cook ground meat with minced garlic, then add lime juice and tamari and cook until all the juices are gone.

To cook steak or salmon: Discard marinade. Heat a heavy sauté pan over medium-high heat and sear the beef or salmon about 5 minutes per side until medium rare. Peel skin of fish if present. Cut beef into thin slices across the grain or shred the salmon fillet.

To cook chicken breasts: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Bake chicken for 40 minutes with marinade.

Salad: In large bowl, combine the cucumber, carrot, green onion, cilantro and basil in a bowl. Add shredded lettuce to bowl and mix. In a separate bowl, combine the lime juice, mint, sweet chili sauce, fish sauce, vinegars, minced garlic and oils to make the dressing.

Toss the salad with dressing and then Top with your protein of choice and sprinkle salad with peanuts. Drizzle each salad with a little more dressing. Garnish with whole sprigs of cilantro and lime wedges.

The Last Vineyard Table Secret Supper

House made chorizo

Melissa of Honeybeesting.com

 

A big Thanks to Elsom Cellars

Quiche

Quiche with an Old Fashioned All Butter Crust

 This quiche, with an impressive crust, is great for breakfast, brunch, lunch or dinner and is especially delicious served with a lightly dressed green salad. A nine inch spring form pan is best for this recipe, but a pie or tart pan can also be used.

8 Eggs

¼ Cup heavy cream

1 Tablespoon mascarpone

Pinch kosher salt, fresh cracked pepper

1 Bunch sliced scallions

1 Tablespoon unsalted butter

½ Cup diced ham

½ Cup Beecher’s flagship cheese, shredded (or any other strong cheese like Spanish Manchego)

All butter crust (blind baked and cooled - recipe to follow)

(Try adding any combinations of these: caramelized leeks, boiled and diced potato, sautéed mushrooms, blanched asparagus, cooked bacon, chopped spinach ETC!!)

Whip eggs, cream, mascarpone, salt & pepper in a bowl. In small pan over high heat, sauté scallions in butter for 2 minutes, next add ham and cook another 2 minutes.

Pour onions and ham into the bottom of the crust. Pour egg mixture over contents (be sure eggs don’t go higher than the top edge of the crust) Sprinkle cheese on top. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. Let sit 15 minutes before slicing.

All Butter Short Crust Dough
2 Cups Flour

9 Tablespoons cold butter, cubed
2 Large egg yolks

1/2 Teaspoon salt
3 Tablespoons ice water

Using a food processor, add flour, butter, yolks and salt, and pulse a few times. Drizzle in ice water while pulsing. Mix until dough looks like coarse meal (about 20 seconds) Pour dough onto a sheet of plastic wrap. Knead only a few times to form a ball, pat into a flat disk, and chill at least 1 hour or overnight. You will pull it out of fridge and let it warm up. Roll dough out between two pieces of plastic wrap to about ¼ inch thick. Push into 9” spring form pan, making sure there are no holes, pushing the crust all the way up the sides. Bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees. Let cool before adding the contents.

Chunky Chicken Chili

Chunky Chicken Chili

The way this chili mixes sweet and spice is appealing to kids…and will keep you warm on these wet autumn days.

1 Medium white onion, chopped

1 Red pepper, chopped

1 Yellow pepper, chopped

1 Jalapeño, chopped, (seeds discarded, unless you want lots of hot spice!!)

5 cloves garlic, minced

2 Tablespoons olive oil

4 Boneless, skinless chicken breasts

2 Tablespoons chili powder

2 Tablespoons ground cumin

½ Tsp dried oregano

½ Tsp kosher salt & pepper each

1 Cup water (used reserved water from boiling chicken)

1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard

1 (14oz) can diced tomatoes

1 Box chicken stock, low sodium

1 (12oz) jar chili sauce

3 (15oz) cans beans (mix any kind you like: kidney, great northern, black, white, etc.)

In a large sauce pan, bring water to a boil, then add the chicken breasts and boil for 10 minutes.  (Reserve water) Cut up chicken in to small bite size pieces. (Some of the chicken may still be slightly pink, but it will continue to cook when added to the chili pot)

 In a separate stock pot, sauté onion, peppers, jalapeños and garlic in olive oil for 5 minutes. Add diced chicken, chili powder, cumin, oregano, salt and pepper, cook for another 5 minutes. Next add 1 cup reserved water, Worcestershire, Dijon, tomatoes, chicken stock, and chili sauce, simmer for 10 minutes. Next add beans, simmer 10 more minutes. Serve chili with your favorite toppings: plain Greek yogurt or sour cream, fresh cracked pepper, Tabasco sauce, diced onions, cilantro, chives, and/or cheddar cheese.