I’ve Got A Secret # 3

February 18, 2011 at 2:56 am John Davis Leave a comment

Learning how to cook is hard and it’s easy.  If you watched your mother slaving away trying to feed five kids and an exhausted husband, then it’s hard.  Deep down you don’t want to wind up like your mother.  You can take all the cooking classes in the world and you just aren’t going to enjoy it – too many bad vibes to overcome.  That doesn’t mean that you won’t learn how to cook, but it will be challenging.

My mother loved to cook – all three dishes:  Brisket which resembled shoe leather.  Pineapple upside-down cake, which was quite moist and tasty.  And, the piece de resistance – her renowned sweet and sour cabbage soup, a great Eastern European dish, popular in Jewish delis.   The three dishes were the extent of her repertoire.  She may have made others, but none stuck with me, though I don’t believe I suffered from malnutrition.

My mother was totally unaware of her culinary shortcomings, but whatever she served, she did with a joyful exuberance.

I’ve approached cooking with a similar enthusiasm.  I looked up a few recipes that seemed tasty and went to work.  I found I enjoyed planning meals, shopping, preparing, setting the table and even doing dishes. I do it all and am entirely self-taught, though I’ve picked up quite a few tips by cooking with others.  The joys of cooking are apparently in my DNA, my genes.  I can’t help myself!

I’ve received lots of compliments from family and friends, though my menu is limited.

Below is my piece de resistance, which pairs nicely with a pinot noir, sangiovese or rich chardonnay.  It is reprinted from Cooking Light Magazine:

Halibut in Tomato Shitake Broth

8  ounces uncooked udon noodles (thick, round fresh Japanese round noodles) or spaghetti.

1 teaspoon olive oil

1 teaspoon bottled minced garlic

1 ½ cups clam juice

2 teaspoons red curry paste

4 cups thinly sliced shitake mushroom caps (about ½ pound mushrooms)

2/3 cup diced canned tomatoes, undrained

¼  teaspoon crushed red pepper

4  (6 ounce) halibut filets

¼  cup chopped basil

1/8 teaspoon salt

 

1.       Cook noodles according to package directions, omitting salt and fat.

2.       While noodles cook heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat.  Add garlic, cook 1-1/2 minutes, or until tender, stirring constantly.  Add clam juice and curry paste stirring with a whisk.  Add mushrooms, tomatoes and pepper, bring to a simmer.  Add fish, sprinkle with basil and salt.  Cover and cook five minutes or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork, or until desired degree of doneness.  Serve over noodles.  Yield: 4 servings.

 

Kind regards

John Davis, founder, Wine Insiders

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