Thanks for hanging in there and being patient while I have been composing this. Here are the recipes from our budget $10.00 and under meal for two challenge. Bookmark and enjoy!
Pumpkin and Walnut Ravioli with Sage and Brown Butter / Twee Fried Apple Pies
From our winner Tipsyhausfrau
Pumpkin and Walnut Ravioli with Sage and Brown Butter
1 (16oz) package of refrigerated wonton wrappers (set aside at least a dozen of these for use in dessert)
1/2 onion, chopped fine
2 cloves garlic, diced fine
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/2 cup part-skim ricotta
1 can (15oz) puréed pumpkin
1/4 cup grated Parmesan, plus some for finishing
6 tbsp butter
1/2 tsp dried sage
Olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a large skillet (medium high) and soften onions for about a minute. Add garlic, walnuts, and nutmeg, stirring frequently, until walnuts are fragrant and garlic is beginning to golden. Transfer mixture to food processor and blend briefly until walnuts have incorporated and are no longer chunky. Taste and alter for seasoning if required.
Drop spoonfuls of mixture onto center of one wonton wrapper, then wet the edges. Wet the edges of a second wrapper and place down so that the two moist edges adhere and press down around the filling pocket on all sides to seal. Set aside on a plate and cover with a damp paper towel as you work. Be sure to keep your assembly area dry so the wonton wrappers don’t adhere to the plate. Begin a large pot of salted boiling water as you work.
At this point you can begin the browned butter – melt the butter and sage in a small saucepan on medium heat and swirl/stir frequently. Eventually the butter will take on a golden brown hue and nutty taste. Take care not to burn it! When it reaches a dark golden hue, remove from heat and set aside.
Cook 4-6 ravioli at a time in the boiling water until wrapper becomes soft and somewhat translucent. Pull each ravioli out with a slotted spoon, rather than use a colander to drain – these are quite fragile. Prepare each plate with a helping of ravioli, a generous drizzle of browned sage butter, and a sprinkling of parmesan and black pepper. Enjoy!
Twee Fried Apple Pies
1 large 20oz apple, or approx. 2-3 med/small apples, diced
2 tbsp butter (remainder of stick from entrée)
Reserved wonton wrappers (at least 12)
1/4 cup plus 3 tbsp sugar
1 plus 1/2 tsp cinnamon
Vegetable oil, for frying
Heat butter in a small skillet. Add diced apples, approx. 1/4 cup sugar (strongly recommend to taste; it depends on the apple!), and 1/2 tsp cinnamon. Stir until apples are softened. Begin heating oil in a deep skillet – no more than 1/2 inch is needed. Test readiness by flicking a few drops of water into hot oil. It should sizzle and pop, but not violently. Also make your cinnamon-sugar mixture for sprinkling on top – in a small bowl, combine 1 tsp cinnamon and 3 tbsp sugar. Set next to a wire cooling rack for later.
Fill each wonton wrapper – place a small spoonful of apple mixture in center of wrapper , wet all edges around filling with a dab of water, and fold corner over and seal into a triangle shape. Set filled wontons aside under a damp paper towel as you work. Without crowding the pan, carefully place filled wontons into the skillet and brown lightly, flipping to get both sides. This won’t take very long at all – maybe a minute, total. Place finished pies on cooling rack (NOT paper towels) and immediately sprinkle generously with cinnamon and sugar mixture. Cool completely. Serve alone, or with mothereffing ice cream. If you can afford it.
Gruyere Cheese Crisps, Kale & Sausage over Fettuccine, Pear Galette
(recommended drink: Brooklyn Lager)
From Greenwitch_Refugee
Gruyere Cheese Crisps
1/2 cup Gruyère cheese, grated
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place the grated cheese in two, four inch circles on a baking sheeet and bake for 10 minutes, or until the cheese is pale golden and the edges appear crisp. Let cool in the pan until cool enough to touch. Break apart (if neccesary). Eat immediately.
Kale & Sausage over Fettuccine
2 cups fettuccine
3/4 bunch kale, washed and roughly chopped
2 sausages, I used mild Italian chicken sausage, sliced half inch pieces
1 tbsp Parmesan cheese
2-3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
Red pepper flakes
Salt & pepper
Olive oil
1 cup reserved pasta water
Cook pasta according to package directions. In a large skillet over medium high heat warm olive oil. Add sausage and cook about 3 minutes per side. When cooked through and browned, remove from pan and set aside. Turn heat to medium. Add another tablespoon or so of olive oil scraping up and sausage bits in the pan. Toss in the garlic, stirring for about 30 seconds. Add kale, stirring to coat in the oil. Add salt, pepper and red pepper flakes to taste. Add half a cup of the reserved pasta water. Turn heat to low, cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Return sausage to the pan and turn off heat. Place pasta in bowls and top with the kale and sausage. Spoon accumulated pan juice over top. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
Pear Galette
1 prepared, refrigerated pie dough
2 Bartlett pears, thinly sliced
1 tbsp apricot preserves
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp hot water
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, toss pear slices with half the sugar and cinnamon. On a baking sheet lined unroll the pie dough. Mix the apricot preserves with hot water. Brush about half over the pie dough. Arrange the pear slices, leaving about 2 or three inches around the edges. Fold edges inward. and sprinkle with the remaining sugar. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the crust is golden and the pears are cooked through. While still hot, brush the remaining apricot preserves over the galette.
French Bread with Herbed Garlic Butter / French Country Cassoulet / Apple Crisp with a Drizzle of Heavy Cream
From NurseWretched
First, I made the dessert.
Apple Crisp with a Drizzle of Heavy Cream
Preheat oven to 375 F. Grease a 2 quart glass casserole dish with some butter.
2 apples, sliced thinly (I used a food processor)
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup quick-cooking oats
1/4 cup butter, slightly softened (I just let it sit on the cooktop while the oven heats up.), plus another 2 tbsp butter cut up into smaller cubes (set aside)
1/3 tsp ground cinnamon
1/3 tsp ground nutmeg
Place the thinly sliced apples in the greased baking dish. In a small bowl, combine the rest of the ingredients, cutting the butter in with a pastry cutter. Sprinkle over the top of the apples, and dot with the butter that you cut up into little cubes. Bake at 375 F for about 30 minutes, until apples are tender. I then placed it on a burner on the stove where the oven vents, to help to keep it nice and warm. Drizzle with a little heavy cream right before serving.
Then, while that was baking, I made the Herbed Garlic Butter.
Herbed Garlic Butter
Microwave 1 stick of sweet cream butter until softened (about 17 seconds). Through a garlic press, do 2 garlic cloves. Add about 1 tsp Mrs. Dash original. Mix it all up, form into a pretty mound in a butter dish and refrigerate until firm.
Leave that oven on! We’ll be baking our main course at 375 F, too, so it’s all good.
French Country Cassoulet (Serves 6)
Olive oil
2 smoked pork chops (about 1 pound), fat and bones trimmed off, cut into small cubes
1 can (15.5 oz) kidney beans
1 can (15.5 oz) great northern beans
1 can (15.5 oz) black beans
1 can (15 oz) tomato sauce
4 medium carrots, sliced thinly (I used a food processor)
2-4 small onions, thinly sliced into rings
About 3/4 cup red wine
2 tbsp. brown sugar
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp. fresh thyme or 1 1/2 tsp dried
In a large 12 inch skillet (needs to be oven-safe) sauté the onions in 2 tbsp olive oil over medium heat. Add the smoked pork chops. Meanwhile, drain the beans and and rinse them off. Turn the heat up to medium-high. Add the carrots and sauté until it starts to caramelize/brown nicely. Put the garlic cloves through the garlic press and sauté for bout 30-45 seconds. Grab the wine and de-glaze the pan, scraping off all that delicious browned bits on the bottom of the pan. When that’s done, Add the rest of the ingredients and mix up. Put it in the oven for about 30 minutes, until carrots are tender. The last 10 minutes, pop in the french bread to brown and get warm and toasty.
Lamb and Okra Stew / Grilled Fruit and Cinnamon Whipped Cream
From Grand_Inquisitor
Lamb and Okra Stew
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 clove garlic
1 small onion
1 plum tomato
1 large potato
2 lamb shoulder chops
1 box frozen okra
1 tsp. dried rosemary
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. dried parsley
1 tsp. dried mint
1 tsp. red pepper
2 oz. cheap beer
Salt and pepper to taste.
————-
1 hoagie roil
1/4 stick butter
Pick really good record or radio station to listen to while you cook. Remove bones from lamb and put bones and onion skin in 2 cups water. Bring to a boil, then simmer for at least 30 minutes. Strain out bones and onion and set stock aside. Throw okra in a bowl on the counter so it defrosts while the stock cooks.
Cut lamb into chunks, dust lightly with flour, and set aside. Heat oil and add garlic and onion. Saute for 2 minutes. Add potato and lamb, saute for 2 more minutes and then add tomato. Saute again for about 2 minutes and then add okra. Add Rosemary, cinnamon, parsley, mint, red pepper, and about 3 tbsp. salt and about 2 tbsp. black pepper. Saute for 5 minutes. Stir in beer. (BONUS: share the remaining 10 oz. of beer with your roommate as you cook, it makes everything more festive). Add stock and bring to a light boil.
Turn heat on really low, cover, and let simmer as long as you can, at least 1 hour. I usually make this in the afternoon while the roommate and I are doing a project around the apartment so it gets to simmer a good couple of hours. Stir occasionally so the bottom doesn’t burn. Uncover about 15 minutes before eating. Taste and add salt if needed. While the stew finishes spread butter on bread and heat on grill or broiler. Grill bread 1 minute on each side before eating.
Grilled Fruit and Cinnamon Whipped Cream
1 tbsp. vegetable oil
1 pear
1 banana
1/4 stick of butter
1 tbsp. brown sugar
1/4 pint whipping cream
1 tsp cinnamon
Soften butter. Mix brown sugar and butter and set aside. Whip cream with cinnamon until you have a nice whip cream consistency. Stick in refrigerator. Cut pear in half and remove core. Slice banana lengthwise and the in half so you have four pieces. LEAVE SKIN ON THE BANANA. Heat grill and brush with oil. Grill pear about 6 minutes per side, then add banana to grill for about 4 minutes per side. Turn fruit with the non-peel side up and brush butter and brown sugar. Put sugar side down on the grill for about 30 seconds. Caution: sugar burns quickly, so don’t walk away. Plate fruit and top with whipped cream. Rejoice in human existence.
Japanese Ginger & Miso Soup with Udon / Strawberries & Cream
From BaldwinP
Japanese Ginger & Miso Soup with Udon
1 litre (4 cups) of store-bought beef stock
180g organic udon noodles
1 small carrot
2 handfuls of beans
3 white cap button mushrooms
2 spring onions/scallions
1 tablespoon of white miso paste
1/2 tablespoon dried ginger
Splash of soy sauce
Peel and slice carrot into thin coins. Chop beans into 1.5 inch pieces. Finely slice the mushrooms and spring onions. Put the tablespoon of miso into a medium bowl. Bring stock to the boil in saucepan 1, and water to the boil in saucepan 2, then reduce heat on both saucepans to a simmer. Cook udon in the water according to the packaging (mine is 11 minutes). Add carrot, beans and ginger to the stock and occasionally stir for about 3 minutes.
Add mushrooms to the soup. Cook for 1 more minute. Turn off the heat under the stock and ladle some hot stock into the bowl with the miso. Stir the miso/stock mixture until the miso is fully dissolved, then pour the mixture back into the rest of the soup, add the soy sauce, and stir thoroughly. Drain the cooked udon, place in bowls, pour soup into bowls, sprinkle with the spring onions. Eat. This is very versatile according to taste and what’s available. Chicken or vegetable stock instead of beef. Snow peas or spinach instead of beans. Cheap, easy, tasty, filling, nutritious but still a bit special and classy.
Strawberries & Cream
1 punnet of strawberries
4 tablespoons of cream
Half a tablespoon of sugar
Teaspoon of vanilla essence
Mix cream with sugar and vanilla essence and whisk a little to thicken it. You can whip it all the way into whipped cream if you really want to. I think that’s excessive. Prepare the strawberries as you like. I slice the tops off, and halve the larger strawberries. Put strawberries in bowls. Spoon cream over them. Remind yourselves that strawberries & cream are THE dessert of the English upper class, cost like $10 a tub at Wimbledon, and here you are eating big succulent strawberries with cream at home on a shoestring. Ha!
Tuscan Cannellini Beans with Broccoli / Quick Cacciatore Style Chicken Thighs with Quinoa and a Side of Zucchini / Chocolate “Pudding” with Crushed Hazelnuts
From Tacky_Tick
Tuscan Cannellini Beans with Broccoli
Olive oil
¼ onion
1 clove garlic
1 small broccoli crown
1 can cannellini beans
½ teaspoon dried rosemary
½ teaspoon dried thyme
Pepper
Chop the onion into small pieces, no more than ¼ inch wide. Dice or crush the garlic. Chop the broccoli into small pieces, between ¼ inch and ½ inch wide. Drain and rinse beans. Heat about a tablespoon of olive oil in a pan over medium heat. When the oil is hot, add onions and sauté until translucent, about 3 minutes. Add garlic, stir in with the onion for no more than one minute, so you don’t burn the garlic. Add broccoli to pan, mix together and cook for about three minutes. Add beans to pan and mix together. Then add rosemary, thyme, and just a little pepper to taste. Cook until beans are hot, about 3 minutes, stirring frequently. The broccoli should be bright green. Remove from heat when done.
Quick Cacciatore Style Chicken Thighs with Quinoa and a Side of Zucchini
1 cup quinoa
Olive oil
¾ of an onion
1 large garlic clove or 2 small cloves
1 small zucchini
4 chicken breasts
1 can chopped tomatoes with Italian seasoning (basil and oregano)
Salt
Pepper
½ teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried thyme
½ teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 cup quinoa
Cook quinoa according to directions on box. Cut onion into thin slices. Slice garlic as thinly as possible. If the clove is very large, you may want to cut the slices in half. Slice the zucchini into thin slices. Rinse chicken and pat dry. Rub a little olive oil on both sides and season both sides with a little salt and pepper. If you are using kosher chicken, you shouldn’t need to ad any salt.
Heat olive oil at medium high heat in a sauté pan that has a cover. There should be just enough olive oil to cover the pan. Brown the chicken for three minutes on both sides. Then take the chicken out of the pan and put to the side. You want to use tongs to handle the chicken so you don’t pierce the chicken and lose the juices. There will be fat left in the pan from the chicken, this is good and yummy and you are allowed the yummy fat since you are eating low carb tonight. Add onions to the pan and cook until they are translucent. As the onions cook, they will release liquid that can be used to deglaze the pan if you mix with a wooden spoon or wooden spatula.
Add garlic and mix together for just one minute so you don’t burn the garlic. Then push the onion and garlic to the edge of the pan to make room for the chicken. Add the chicken back to the pan, skin side up. Then pour the diced tomatoes into the pan, so it fills up around the chicken but there is also a little on the chicken. Cover the pan and cook for five minutes. Uncover and add the zucchini. You can just scatter the pieces around the pan, but try to make sure they are in the sauce rather than on the chicken. Cover the pan again and cook for ten more minutes. When finished, take the chicken out of the pan and mix the zucchini in with the sauce. To serve, pour the sauce, including the onions, over some quinoa. Serve the zucchini on the side. You can put the chicken on top of the quinoa or serve it next to it.
Chocolate “Pudding” with Crushed Hazelnuts
This chocolate “pudding” is a simple dessert that tastes amazingly like pudding while keeping all the health benefits of yogurt. It is quick, healthy and delicious. You can make the meal dairy free by using soy yogurt or coconut yogurt. However, using coconut yogurt will push the full cost over $10 unless you make a smaller serving. The hazelnuts can be left off if there is a nut allergy, but they do add a nice texture. The recipe also calls for stevia, which is an all natural sweetener. The cost is minimal because stevia has such concentrated sweetness that you need very little. However, if you don’t have stevia around, it is expensive to buy a bottle just for this dish ($12.99 at Whole Foods). You can use vanilla yogurt instead and then just skip the stevia. This will however increase the amount of carbs in the dish.
2 cups plain yogurt
Vanilla flavored stevia drops, 20-30 drops depending on taste
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa
12 hazelnuts
Mix the yogurt together with the cocoa powder until the powder is completely mixed in and there are no lumps. Add stevia. Start with 20 drops, mix and taste for sweetness. Add a few drops at a time until it is the right level of sweet for you (20 is perfect for me, but I don’t like sweet desserts). Crush hazelnuts and sprinkle on top of “pudding” when you are ready to serve.
Chicken Pot Pie / Apple-Berry Crisp
From Shes_a_Rainbow
Chicken Pot Pie
1 whole chicken breast
1 tbsp butter, or use the melted fat from cooking the chicken
2 tbsp flour
2/3 cups chicken stock
1/2 cup milk [whole is best but 2% will work]
Splash of lemon juice
Splash of white wine, if you have some, otherwise, don’t worry about it!
1/2 cup from bag of frozen pea/carrot combo
Pinch of rosemary, parsley, sea salt, pepper
Start by shredding your chicken. Melt butter/chicken fat over med-low heat (hey, I never said this was HEALTHY,) and add just enough flour that it combines. Heat for a minute, and then add chicken stock. Whisk until there are no more lumps. Add milk, whisk until mixture starts to thicken (about two minutes). Add lemon juice and wine, and salt, pepper, rosemary and parsley. Mix in chicken, and peas and carrots. (You can add any vegetables you want, really — sometimes I’ll add potatoes, but you have to boil them first. You can add celery, but you have to saute it a bit or it’s crunchy. Be creative! My family’s picky so we keep it simple)
Pour into a baking pan or pie pan. Now, create your crust:
2/3 cups all-purpose flour
2 tbsp butter
1/4 cup milk
1/3 tbsp baking powder
Large pinch of salt
Set aside 2/3 cups all-purpose flour in a large mixing bowl. Prepare 2 tablespoons COLD butter, 1/4 cup milk, 1/3 tablespoon baking powder, and a largeish pinch of table salt. Dump everything but the milk in the food processor. Pulse it a few times until the butter is in pea-sized chunks. Add the milk and mix until JUST combined — any more and it will be too tough. Roll the dough out and cut into squares. Arrange these on top of the chicken mixture. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until the biscuits on top are browned and the creamy chicken is bubbling.
Apple-Berry Crisp
You’ll need:
2 medium apples
3/4 cup of frozen mixed berries [whatever you can find at the market; I think mine was strawberry, raspberry, blackberry and blueberry]
Zest and juice of 1/2 a lemon
1/2 cup of sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/8ish cup of flour
1 tsp of cornstarch
Splash of vanilla
Mix all this stuff together. Dump it in a pan that it will fit in. Or, split it among individual ramekins. Whatever.
For the top:
6 tbsp COLD butter
3/4 cup flour
3/4 cup uncooked oatmeal
1/2 cup of brown sugar, 1/2 cup of white sugar
Dump everything but the oatmeal into the food processor. Pulse pulse pulse. It will look kind of like sand. Add the oats. Mix it in by hand because the blade will cut up the oats. Pour it all on top. Stick the whole thing in the oven for about 45 minutes at 400. Pull it out and let it sit for about 15 minutes before you serve.
Roasted Chili-Spiced Butternut Squash over Caramelized Onions & Black Beans /
Cheesecake Pie
From Homoviper
Roasted Chili-Spiced Butternut Squash over Caramelized Onions & Black Beans
1 small butternut squash peeled and cut into 1 inch chunks
1 red onion sliced thinly
1 yellow onion sliced thinly
6 – 8 whole, unpeeled cloves of garlic
1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed
Olive oil
2 tbsp of butter
Chili powder
Cumin
Red pepper flakes
Salt
Pepper
Pinch of sugar
Arrange the squash and garlic cloves in one layer on a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and toss to coat. Sprinkle with chili powder, salt and pepper. Toss to coat. Put in a 400 degree oven for one hour, turning and stirring at the halfway point. Melt butter in a thick bottomed pan over medium heat. Add a couple tablespoons of olive oil. When the pan is hot, get your sliced onions in there. Salt them and add the pinch of sugar. Stir to get everything coated and then just let them go, stirring occasionally. (As you might be able to see in my picture, not all of my onions were fully caramelized, but goddamn it was late and I was hungry. When the squash is done, set it aside. When the onions are almost fully caramelized squeeze the roasted garlic from its paper into the onions. Add cumin and red pepper flakes to taste. Stir to combine the garlic and spices with the onions. Stir in the black beans and continue to cook just until the beans are heated through. Adjust salt/seasoning as necessary.
Cheesecake Pie
For the crust:
1 1/2 cup of crushed Teddy Graham Cookies
6 tbsp of melted butter
1/8 cup of sugar
Melt the butter, pour over the combined crushed cookies and sugar. Mix it up so it’s like wet sand. Press into a 9″ pie plate, evenly along bottom and sides. Bake at 400 for ten minutes and set aside to cool.
For the filling:
8 oz of cream cheese at room temp
1/2 c sour cream
1/2 c sugar
1 egg and 1 yolk
1/2 t vanilla
1/4 t lemon zest
Beat the cream cheese until smooth. Blend in the sugar until it gets light and fluffy. Slowly blend in the sour cream, the eggs, the vanilla and the zest. Pour into cooled pie crust. It goes into a 325 degree oven for…honestly I’m not sure. I adapted this from a regular cheesecake recipe so I started checking it after 35 minutes. I think I took it out around the 50 minute mark. You know what you’re looking for: the outer edges are set and the middle is just a bit jiggly still. I didn’t really have a way to put the pie plate in a water bath so I put the pie plate on the middle oven rack, and on the rack beneath it I put a 9×13 Pyrex baking dish filled halfway with steaming hot water. That seems to have done the trick because, bitches, this came out PERFECT.
Fresh Corn Salsa / Southwestern Casserole
From Ross
Fresh Corn Salsa
1 clove garlic
2 tomatoes
Cilantro sprigs
1 Cuban or bell pepper
1 ear corn
1 shallot segment
Cut pepper and tomatoes into large segments and place into food processor. Mince garlic & shallot and prepare cilantro by removing leaves from the stems. Add to processor. Pulse just a few times, until all the pieces are about 1/4 inches. Cook corn and add kernels to salsa mixture. Add salt & pepper to taste. Serve with chips.
Southwestern Casserole
2 cloves garlic
1 c. elbow pasta
1 jar Pace Picante (spicy, mild… your choice)
1/2 lb. ground beef
2 c. freshly grated cheddar
1 bag tortilla chips
Cook elbow pasta to al dente, drain & set aside. In another pan, brown ground beef with minced garlic. Drain. Mix in about 3/4 of the jar the Pace Picante & all of the elbow pasta and a 1 and 1/2 cup of cheese. Make sure to mix this well. Put mixture in oven-safe casserole dish. Bake uncovered at 375? for 15 minutes, remove from oven and pour and spread remaining salsa on top of mixture. Take tortilla chips and break them down into smaller pieces (but not totally crush them) and put a single layer on top of the mixture. Bake for another 5 minutes, top with remaining cheese, return to oven until cheese is melted as desired. (Note the casserole recipe can easily be doubled (large jar of salsa instead of the regular size, 2 cups of noodles, 1 pound of ground beef, more cheese) and you can feed a family of 4 with some leftovers.)
Steamed Pork and Chive Dumplings / Shrimp Stir Fry with (Not So) Fine Red Wine
From MissLinda
Steamed Pork and Chive Dumplings
6 dumplings
1 tablespoon soy sauce
Pork and chive dumplings: Prepare six dumplings per the directions on the package. There should be three options—boil, steam, or fry. I usually steam them in a bamboo steamer for about 16-20 minutes, or until the internal temperature is at least 160 degrees. Serve with a side of soy sauce.
Shrimp Stir Fry with (Not So) Fine Red Wine
1 lb shrimp, cleaned and peeled
1 green bell pepper, julienned
1 yellow onion, julienned
1 nub of ginger, peeled and thinly sliced
4 pieces of baby bok choy
3 dashes of Chinese Five Spice
Salt
Pepper
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 cup white rice
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 glasses of Medoc, 5 oz pours
Cooking time: 15 minutes for the baby bok choy; 9 minutes for the stir fry; rice per directions on your bag of rice. Start the rice and baby bok choy first. Wash and dry the bok choy. Cut off the bottom and slice in half lengthwise. Heat up a grill or a flat pan on medium heat and coat with a drop of vegetable oil. When it’s hot, place the bok choy cut side down and let it brown. Add one cup of white rice to two cups of boiling water. Reduce heat and simmer with the lid on for the length of time indicated on the package.
While that is cooking, clean and peel 1lb of shrimp. Pat the shrimp dry with a paper towel and sprinkle with salt and pepper, then 3 dashes of Chinese Five Spice. When there is 10 minutes left on the rice, heat a wok on high heat. When it is extremely hot, add one tablespoon of vegetable oil, then the ginger for about a minute. Next add the onion, then the pepper. Stir it all together for a few minutes until the vegetables soften. With two minutes left on the rice, add the shrimp to the wok with 1 tablespoon of soy sauce. Cook until the shrimp are solid white. Serve the stir fry over a bed of grilled baby bok choy and rice with a glass of red wine.
