The Funky Kitchen

I’ve been sidelined the last little while by a nasty lingering cold.

This is a magical concoction that has been making me feel a lot more present, and a lot more well, so that most of day to day life still gets managed even though I’m not feeling my regular bubbly self. Last week was extra yucky because the cold came on the same day as I hurt my knee. I was a hobbling, coughing mess and felt pretty darn pathetic. With lots of rest, ice for my knee and a sweet Mr to help me feel better, I’m certainly mostly mended now.

Hopefully all my regularly planned for events: work, wedding planning and ahem… blog posts will go back to their appointed schedules!

This steamy cup of pick-me-up includes:

• Echinacea, a common herbal remedy used for fighting colds.
• Lemon for Vitamin C to improve immune function. Yay citrus!
• Honey, which is full of antioxidants and antimicrobials,  soothes a sore throat.
• Ginger to reduce fever, soothe the throat and help you rest.
• Cinnamon as an additional antioxidant, used in China as a remedy for the cold.
• Cayenne, a stimulant, to warm and ease pain.

It all comes together to make a heady cup of tea, but a potent treatment is what you need for a potent cold.

Cold Conquering Cordial

1 bag of echinacea tea (echinacea tea might be difficult to find, if you can’t get it try camomile!)

2 C boiling water

1 Tbsp lemon juice

1 Tbsp honey

1 tsp grated ginger

pinch of cinnamon

pinch of cayenne

Directions

• Use the boiled water and the tea bag to brew a pot of echinacea tea, allowing it to steep for five minutes.

• Assemble the remaining ingredients and stir them together.

• Pour the prepared tea over top.

• Sip your cold away. Fantastic.

Cups of this have been keeping me moving this week. It helps a craggy, froggy throat feel more like itself. I’ve got a rather high up, squeaky voice. When I’ve got a sore throat I sound ridiculous, my voice cracks and pitches something awful. Anything that helps with that situation is really appreciated. The heat from the cayenne and the steam from the tea help unplug your nose too!

If you’re having some trouble conquering your cold, you should try a nice warm cup of cold conqueror. Every little bit helps!

This time last year: Fudge Drop Cookies

And the year before: Cinnamon Bacon Buns

And the year before that: Buckwheat Honey Madeleines

It’s getting to be holiday party time! And I’m here to clue you into an awesome idea for your party, or a party/potluck/get together that you’re attending:

Cocktail sausages!

They don’t immediately jump to mind, I admit,  because they aren’t overly flashy or fancy. It’s difficult to pass on bringing something composed like roasted beet towers with blue cheese mousse when bringing something to a gathering, a savvy cooker does want to impress after all. Or maybe you’re putting on a spread, but don’t have a whole week to prepare all the attention requiring recipes that you’ve clipped out, and this dish gives you something to add to your table with little thought or effort.

With the holidays (whichever winter solstice time ones you celebrate) nearly upon us, though, it’s good to remember that food need not be fancy to be impressive and enjoyable, and I have yet to experience a crowd that hasn’t made a tray or two of cocktail sausages disappear.

While you’re rushing about trying to get into your party clothes and make sure that the napkins are out, these lovelies can bubble away in the oven unattended. They make for a tasty retro bite or two, whether off a toothpick or a cocktail stick. We really only eat them at parties, so they always make me want to get out my cocktail shaker.

Retro Fun Cocktail Sausages

(adapted from Nigella Lawson)

2 pounds cocktail sausages

1 Tbsp sesame oil

1 Tbsp garlic infused olive oil (or just regular olive oil, if you don’t have)

1/2 Cup honey

2 Tbsp soy sauce

Directions

• Heat the oven to 400 ° F.
• If the sausages come linked together, separate them, and then place into a shallow roasting dish.
• For the sauce, whisk together the oils, honey and soy sauce.

• Pour over the sausages and give them a bit of a stir so that they’re all coated.
• Roast for 35-45 minutes, or until they are well browned and starting to burst. If you happen to be in the kitchen, give the roaster a bit of a stir about halfway through the time.
• Serve with tiny forks, cocktail sticks, or toothpicks and enjoy hot!

This time last year: Butter Tarts

And the year before: Tortellini Soup

Before this, I thought that all of the little Chinese places around town had this spectacular little secret on their hands, char siu. Little did I know it would be so easy to do at home! Who knew?

I made char siu, not only because it is delectable as all get out, but to use it as an ingredient for something else. Keep your eyes open… Any guesses what’s coming next?

Char Siu

(recipe adapted from Momofuku for 2)

2 pounds pork tenderloin

3 Tbsp honey

3 Tbsp hoisin sauce

3 Tbsp soy sauce

1 tsp five spice powder

1 1/2 tsp pepper

1 Tbsp sesame oil

3 cloves of garlic, sliced

1 inch thumb of ginger, sliced

Directions

• In a bowl, combine the honey, hoisin, soy sauce, five spice, pepper and sesame oil until uniform.
• Reserve about 1/4 of the mixture for later basting.
• Stir in the sliced garlic and ginger.

This, my dears, is a bowl full of tastiness.

• Marinate the pork tenderloin in this marinade for 8 hours or overnight.
• The next day, bring your oven up to 350° F. Roast the pork in a racked roasting dish with a little water poured across the bottom so that drippings from the char siu will not burn.
• Baste with the reserved marinated every 10 minutes or so. When the internal temperature of the pork is 160° F (~40 minutes), give the pork one last basting and then turn the oven up to broil.
• Watch for the glaze that has built up to start to bubble a little and char. This will probably take a minute or two, so watch closely.  Turn and repeat for the other side.
• Remove from the oven and allow to rest, slice, and then serve!

So good! So so so good! Salty and sweet and a little bit spicy, char siu is one of those dishes that displays so well the fantastic balance of flavors you find so often in Asian cuisine. The home made result matches really well to the restaurant flavors, though mine was significantly less red than the char siu I’m used to seeing on it’s own or in char siu bao. From what I read it sounds as though the restaurant version is regularly dyed with food coloring.

I was really pleased with my results, using pork tenderloin as I did; the  somewhat brining effect of the marinade kept the meat really tender and moist. Using a cut of meat with such minimal fat makes a worrying cook like me concerned about dryness, but it didn’t dry out. Maybe next time I’ll try my hand with a different cut to see what that does to the dish.

While cooking my char siu in the oven is not really true to it’s barbecued origins, it still turns out so well. Once we get our barbecue set up, I’m hoping to make it again, because I’m sure it will just be that much better.

Mr says my char siu is: Tangy, slightly spicy, melt in your mouth goodness.

This time last year: Honey Semifreddo

And the year before: No Nut Nutella