RECIPE: "Cheaty" Pho

On a rainy day, I love nothing more than a steaming hot bowl of spicy pho. We have a couple of good Vietnamese restaurants (my favorite being Pho Far East) that offer huge bowls for less than $8. But eating pho takes every bit of concentration I have (using chopsticks and a spoon at the same time is incredibly difficult for someone as naturally clumsy as I am), so enjoying this meal with a 2-year-old in tow who also needs my full attention, well, let's just say is something I would rather not do in public. It's not pretty, and feels a little neglectful to both the toddler and the pho. But when the craving hits, while short of a true authentic pho experience, this recipe satisfies, can be made easily, and most importantly, can be eaten in the privacy of my own home. Elmo is a wonderful babysitter and will buy me 30 minutes alone with my fish sauce, basil, beansprouts and almighty Sriracha. "Sometimes mommies and daddies just need some quality time alone. With soup. You'll understand one day."
DISCLAIMER: This is not a very authentic recipe and will likely cost more and not taste quite as good as a real pho joint. In other words, child-less readers, enjoy your pho before you have babies. Don't get me wrong: they are wonderful, life-altering, blah, blah, blah, but man do they take the fun out of dining out.

INGREDIENTS:
Broth:
48 oz. good quality beef stock (I like Kitchen Essentials)
1/2 sweet yellow onion, thick sliced
2 inch piece of ginger, peeled and halved
2 T. fish sauce
1 T. salt
1 T. sugar
2 whole star anise
1 T. fennel seeds
1 T. coriander seeds
1 cinnamon stick
3 whole cloves
Additions:
6 oz beef (Note: you can really use any kind of beef or combination of beef for pho - my husband likes meatballs and shank, but I prefer thinly sliced rib eye steak when making it at home because you don't need to pre-cook it - it cooks in the hot broth)
1/2 sweet yellow onion, very thinly sliced
Chopped cilantro
8 oz (about half a pack) of pho noodles (you can find these at any Asian market)

Start by charring the onion and ginger (using a grill pan or oven broiler). Toast all the spices and add spices, onion, ginger, fish sauce, salt and sugar to the stock. Simmer covered for 2-3 hours (hint: if you are short on time, just 2x all spices, ginger and onion and simmer for 1 hour). Strain out all solids. In a separate pot cook noodles until soft (10-15 minutes). Slice steak very thinly (it helps to pop it in the freezer for 20 minutes prior to slicing). Bring stock up almost to a boil. Place generous serving of noodles on the bottom of bowl. Top with raw steak, onions and cilantro and ladle hot broth on top. Serve with the following family-style accompaniments.

Garnishes:                                                      
Lime wedges
Bean sprouts
Basil
Sliced jalapenos

Sauces:
Fish Sauce
Soy Sauce
Sriracha
Hoisin

RECIPE: Grandma Katie's Sugar Cookies

This recipe comes from my husband's grandmother Katie. I will be baking A LOT of these this weekend.

1 cup butter

1 ½ cups confectioners sugar

1 egg

1 tsp. vanilla

2 ½ cups flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. cream of  tartar

½ tsp. salt

Cream  butter  and confectioners sugar. Beat in the egg and vanilla.  Sift flour, baking soda and cream of tartar and add.  Wrap and chill dough. Roll out to 1/8 inch and cut into desired shapes.  Bake 400degrees 6 to 8 minutes. When completely cooled, frost with buttercream.

LOCAL DEAL: One day only at Whole Foods

Tomorrow only, Whole Foods on Ridge Road has Chuck Roast on sale for $3.99/lb. The perfect cut for Beef Stew.

RECIPE: Oyster Stew

One of the best parts of our annual day-after Thanksgiving oyster roast are the day-after the oyster roast leftovers. If you are going to go all out calorie-wise this weekend anyway, you might as well cap it off with a creamy, bacon-laden oyster stew. This is not a traditional oyster stew (it is probably closer to a chowder) and purists might take issue with this recipe for having too many additions (bacon! potatoes! corn! oh the horror!), but it sure is tasty.

INGREDEINTS:

4 strips bacon, diced
One yellow onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 T. all-purpose flour
1 c. dry white wine
2 Yukon or red-skinned potatoes, cut into small cubes
2/3 c. frozen corn
2 c. seafood stock (you may need more if you don't have much liquor - adjust as needed until you get the desired consistency).
.5t Old Bay seasoning
.5 c. heavy cream
3 dozen raw oysters and liquid* (if your oysters are huge, you may want to chop in half, but otherwise leave them whole)
Chives, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste**

In a large pot, cook the bacon until about halfway done then add the onion. Cook together until the bacon is crisp, then add the garlic, cooking for one more minute. Sprinkle with flour and cook for 1-2 minutes more, until the raw flour smell is gone. Add wine and stir. Add the next 5 ingredients. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 25-30 minutes, or until potatoes are cooked through. Add oysters and reserved liquid and cook until edges begin to curl - don't overcook! If the stew seems too thick, add a bit more stock. Adjust seasoning. Garnish with chopped chives.

*When shucking, Be sure to save the liquor from the oysters to add to the pot.
** Do not add any salt until AFTER you have added the oysters and liquor as some oysters and their liquor are very salty. You may not need any additional salt at all.