Whisk the glaze ingredients together in a bowl and the sauce ingredients together in a different bowl. In a third bowl, mix the garlic, ginger and 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil.
Heat 3 Tbsp of vegetable oil in a large, stick-free skillet on medium-high heat. Add mushrooms and cook, without stirring, until browned on one side, about 2 to 3 minutes. Reduce heat to medium and use tongs to turn the mushrooms to brown the other side. When mushrooms are browned and tender, about 5 minutes, increase the heat to medium-high and add the glaze. Cook, stirring to coat the mushrooms, 1 to 2 minutes more. Transfer mushrooms to a large bowl. Wipe out skillet with a paper towel.
Heat a teaspoon of vegetable oil in the skillet on medium-high heat until the pan begins to smoke. Add carrots (or other longer cooking veggie) and cook, stirring occasionally, until they begin to brown, 1 to 2 minutes. Add 1/2 cup broth and cover skillet. Cook until carrots are tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Uncover and cook until liquid evaporates. Transfer carrots to bowl with mushrooms. Wipe skillet clean with paper towel.
Heat a teaspoon of vegetable oil in the skillet on medium high heat until it begins to smoke. Add the bell pepper and bok choy stems or napa cabbage cores and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables begin to brown and soften, about 1 to 2 minutes. Add leafy greens and cook for a minute further. Push the veggies to the side of the pan and add the garlic-ginger mixture in the clearing. Cook 15 seconds, until fragrant, and then mix in with the other vegetables.
Add all the vegetables back into the pan (mushrooms, carrots, etc.). Add the sauce to the pan. Mix well and cook, stirring, until the sauce has thickened and all the vegetables are coated with the sauce, about 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to a serving platter. Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds if desired. Serve immediately. Recommended with rice.
Secret Recipe :
Serves 3 to 4.
Ingredients
Glaze
2 Tbsp soy sauce (use gluten-free soy sauce if you are avoiding gluten)
2 Tbsp honey
1/4 cup of chicken or vegetable broth
Sauce
3 Tbsp soy sauce (use gluten-free soy sauce if you are avoiding gluten)
3/4 cup chicken or vegetable broth
2 Tbsp honey
1 Tbsp rice vinegar
1 teaspoon Asian chili sauce
1 Tbsp corn starch
Vegetables
4 teaspoons minced garlic
4 teaspoons minced fresh ginger
4 Tbsp vegetable oil, preferably a high smoke-point oil such as grapeseed oil, peanut oil, or canola oil
About 2 lbs of cremini or button mushrooms, quartered
2 cups of a long-cooking veggie such as sliced carrots. Other long-cooking vegetables that can be used are broccoli florets, cauliflower florets, asparagus (diagonally cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces), or green beans (trimmed, diagonally cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces)
1/2 cup chicken or vegetable broth
1 cup of a more quickly cooking vegetable such as red bell pepper (stems, seeds removed, cut into 1/2-inch dice) or snow peas (strings and ends removed)
1 1b leafy greens - bok choy or napa cabbage (separate the stems of the bok choy and the tougher core of the napa cabbage from the greens)
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion, season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally until the onion begins to soften - about 5 minutes. Add the garlic. Cook a couple minutes more.Add eggplant and tomatoes. Cover. Cook, stirring occasionally until eggplant is very soft, about 15 minutes.
Add vinegar, nuts, olives, raisins, sugar, and capers. Cook uncovered over medium-low heat until vegetables begin to break down, about 10-12 minutes.
Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature. Mix in the parsley. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Relish can be refrigerated, covered, up to 5 days.
Secret Recipe :
Ingredients
3 Tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely minced
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1 medium sized eggplant - about 1 lb, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Use the additional tomato juice to thin the soup to desired consistency. Adjust seasonings to taste. Better the next day.
Secret Recipe :
Serves 8.
Ingredients
6 fresh, ripe tomatoes, seeds removed (cut tomatoes in half, squeeze out seeds into a sieve over a bowl to catch the juice, use the juice, discard the seeds), chopped
1 cucumber, peeled, seeded, chopped fine
1 red bell pepper, chopped fine
2 stalks celery, chopped fine
1 Tbsp fresh dill, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons sugar
2 zucchini, chopped fine
1/2 medium sweet onion, chopped fine
1-2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 cups tomato juice (in addition to the juice made when you squeezed the tomatoes above)
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
2 Tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup sherry vinegar
1 teaspoon chopped fresh oregano (or pinch of dry)
Preheat the oven to 350F. Cut the butternut squash lengthwise in half and scoop out the guts and seeds and discard them (or save the seeds and toast them). Pour 1/4 cup of water into a pyrex or ceramic baking dish and place the butternut squash halves cut side down. Bake for 40 minutes or until a fork easily pierces the squash. Allow to cool for 10 minutes. Scoop out the squash flesh from the skins and purée with a blender (work in batches or place in a bowl and use a hand blender). Discard the skins.
Fill a pot with water and salt (1 tablespoon of salt for every 2 quarts of water). Set over high heat to bring to a hard boil. Add the pasta and cook at a hard boil, uncovered until al dente.
While the pasta is cooking, pour the olive oil into a wide skillet on medium heat. Add the shallots and sauté until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the butternut squash purée and cook for about a minute, mixing it in with the shallots. Add the cream, a tablespoon at a time, slowly stirring it in to incorporate and to avoid lumps. Stir in the Parmesan. Add the nutmeg, salt and pepper. Add water (or chicken stock) to thin to the consistency you want. Take off heat and add the parsley and lemon juice. Cover the pan to keep warm.
Check pasta. When ready (al dente) drain and plate. Pour the sauce over the pasta. Garnish with a little extra parsley and Parmesan. Serve immediately.
Secret Recipe :
Serves 4.
Ingredients
1 butternut squash weighing about 2 1/2 pounds
8 ounces of bow-tie pasta
1 tablespoon of olive oil
1/3 cup of chopped shallots
1/2 cup of packed, freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup of heavy cream
1/8 teaspoon of grated nutmeg
1 tablespoon of chopped parsley
2 teaspoons of lemon juice
Salt and pepper to taste
Water as needed to thin the sauce
note
Be careful when you cut the squash, winter squash are hard! The best way to do it safely is to slice a bit off of both ends so that you can stand the squash upright without it rolling. Then cut down the middle. See how to cut and peel a butternut squash for visuals, though note for this recipe you do not want to peel the squash before roasting.
Prepare the roast by cutting it in two along a major seam. Use a knife to remove large pieces of fat from each piece, leaving thin layer of fat on meat. Season the pieces on all sides with salt and pepper. Put the two halves back together and tie with kitchen twine to keep it from falling apart.
Adjust oven rack to middle position; pre-heat oven to 300°F. Pat beef dry with paper towels. Place pancetta in 8-quart heavy-bottomed Dutch oven. Cook pancetta over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until browned and crisp, about 8 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer pancetta to paper towel-lined plate and reserve. Pour off all but 2 tablespoons fat from the pan. Place pan over medium-high heat. Heat until the fat begins to smoke. Add beef to pot and cook until well browned on all sides, about 8 minutes total. Transfer beef to large plate; set aside.
Reduce heat to medium; add onions, carrots, celery, and tomato paste to pot and cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables begin to soften and brown, about 6 minutes. Add garlic, sugar, flour, and reserved pancetta; cook, stirring constantly, until combined and fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add wine and tomatoes, scraping bottom of pan with wooden spoon to loosen browned bits; add thyme sprig, rosemary, and parsley. Return roast and any accumulated juices to pot; increase heat to high and bring liquid to boil, then place large sheet of foil over pot and cover tightly with lid. Set pot in oven and cook, using tongs to turn beef every 45 minutes, until a fork easily slips in and out of meat, about 3 hours.
Remove from oven and transfer beef to cutting board; tent with foil to keep warm. Allow braising liquid to settle about 5 minutes, then, using wide shallow spoon, skim fat off surface. Add minced thyme, bring liquid to boil over high heat, and cook, whisking vigorously to help vegetables break down, until mixture is thickened and reduced to about 3 1/2 cups, about 18 minutes. Strain liquid through large fine-mesh strainer, pressing on solids with spatula to extract as much liquid as possible; you should have a couple cups strained sauce. Reduce sauce further until you have 1 1/2 cups. Discard solids in strainer. Season sauce to taste with salt and pepper.
Remove kitchen twine from meat and discard. Using chef's or carving knife, cut meat against grain into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Divide meat between warmed bowls or plates; pour about 1/4 cup sauce over and serve immediately.
Secret Recipe :
Serves 6. Ingredients
1 (3 1/2 pound) chuck roast, boneless
Salt and ground black pepper
4 oz pancetta, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
2 medium onions, chopped medium (about 2 cups)
2 medium carrots, chopped medium (about 1 cup)
2 ribs celery, chopped medium (1 cup)
1 Tbsp tomato paste
3 medium cloves garlic, minced or pressed through garlic press (about 1 tablespoon)
