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2004

TODAY's CASES:

Bang Bang Shrimp

Bang-Bang Chicken & Shrimp

***Curry Sauce:***

2 teaspoons chili oil
1/4 cup minced onion
2 tablespoons minced garlic
2 teaspoons minced ginger
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground mace
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
3 cups coconut milk
***

2 medium carrots, julienned
1 small zucchini, julienned
1/2 cup frozen peas

***Peanut Sauce***

1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
2 tablespoons water
4 teaspoons sugar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon rice vinegar
1 teaspoon lime juice
1/2 teaspoon chili oil
***

2 chicken breast fillets
16 large raw shrimp, shelled
1/4 cup corn starch
1/2 cup vegetable oil
***

4 cups cooked white rice
***Garnish ***

1 1/2 cup flaked coconut
1/2 teaspoon dried parsley, crumbled
2 tablespoons chopped peanuts
2 green onions, julienned
 
1. Make the curry sauce by heating the chili oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. 
When the oil is hot add the onion, garlic, and ginger. Sauté for about about 30 seconds 
then add the chicken broth. Add the spices (cumin, coriander, paprika, salt, black pepper, 
and turmeric) and stir well. Simmer for 5 minutes then add the coconut milk. Bring mixture 
back up to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes or until sauce begins to thicken. 
Add the julienned carrots and zucchini, and the frozen peas. Simmer mixture for 10 minutes 
or until carrots become tender. 
2. Make peanut sauce by combining peanut butter, water, sugar, soy sauce, rice vinegar, lime 
juice, and chili oil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Heat just until mixture begins to 
bubble, then cover the pan and remove it from the heat. 
3. Toast the flaked coconut by preheating your oven to 300 degrees. Spread coconut on a baking 
sheet and toast it in the oven. Stir the coconut around every 10 minutes or so that it browns 
evenly, but watch it closely in the last 5 minutes so it doesn't get too dark. After 25 to 30 
minutes the coconut should be light brown. Take it out of the oven and let it cool. 
4. Cut the chicken breasts into bite-size pieces. Coat the chicken and shrimp with corn starch. 
Heat the vegetable oil in a wok or large skillet over medium heat. Add the coated chicken to 
the pan and sauté it for a couple minutes, turning as it cooks. Add the shrimp to the pan. 
Cook the shrimp and chicken for a couple minutes, until it's done, then remove everything to 
a rack or towel to drain. 
5. Build the two plates (or you can divide the meal into four portions) by filling a soup bowl 
with 2 cups of white rice. Press down on the rice. Invert the bowl onto the center of a plate, 
tap it a bit, then lift off the bowl leaving a formed pile of rice in the center of each plate. 
Arrange an equal portion of chicken and shrimp around the rice. Spoon the curry sauce and 
vegetables over the chicken and shrimp, being careful not to get any sauce on top of the rice. 
6. Drizzle peanut sauce over the dish concentrating most of it on the rice. Sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon 
of crumbled, dried parsley over the center of the rice. Add a tablespoon of chopped peanuts on the 
parsley, then place a pile of julienned green onions on top. Sprinkle 1/2 cup to 3/4 cup of toasted 
coconut over the chicken and shrimp and serve it up. 
---------------------------------------------------
Bang bang turkey    
  
 For The Bang Bang Sauce 

2 tablespoons groundnut oil 
2 teaspoons sesame oil 
3 tablespoons smooth peanut butter 
2 tablespoons Chinese chilli bean sauce 
1 tablespoon caster sugar 
1 tablespoon soy sauce 
1 and a half tablespoons Chinese black vinegar 
2 tablespoons water 

For The Salad 

1 medium head iceberg, finely shredded 
half cup (a small bunch) fresh cilantro, chopped 
half cup (a small bunch) fresh mint, chopped 
3 cups cold shredded turkey 
4 and a half oz cucumber 
1 scallion    
    
To make the bang bang sauce, pour the oils into a bowl and add the remaining ingredients, 
stirring or whisking to make a smooth, thickly runny paste. That's it. Made in advance, 
the sauce will keep in a jam jar in the fridge for at least a week. 

For the salad, arrange the shredded lettuce over the base of a large flat plate, then 
sprinkle the chopped cilantro and mint over the top. Drizzle four to five tablespoons of 
bang bang sauce over the lettuce and herbs and, in a smallish bowl, add four tablespoons 
to the turkey strips, turning them in the sauce until they are well coated. 

Arrange the peanutty turkey strips in a rough line down the middle of the salad, and then 
just peel and de-seed the cucumber and julienne into fine strips. Cut each scallion across 
into three, and finely slice into lengths, then sprinkle both over the bang bang turkey. 
Drizzle with a tablespoon or so more sauce and your exertions are over. 

Cheesy Mashed Potatoes

----- Original Message ----- 
From: Sherry
To: phaedrus
Sent: Monday, June 07, 2004 12:25 PM
Subject: tgi fridays mashed potatoes

> Does anyone have this recipe?  Thanks, sherry
>

Hello Sherry,

Do you mean the cheesy potatoes? The below recipe is the only one I know of that's even close.

Phaed

White Cheddar Mashed Potatoes

2 lbs. red potatoes, cut into 1 inch chunks
1 teaspoon salt for water
2 oz. garlic butter
1/3 cup heavy cream
4 oz. aged white cheddar or jack cheese, shredded

Wash potatoes and bring to a boil in salted water. Cook for 5 to 10 minutes
until potatoes are soft. Drain potatoes well.

Place back in pot or in a mixing bowl. Add cheese, cream, garlic butter, and
salt and pepper to taste. Beat until smooth with a whisk or potato masher.

Garlic Butter:
Saute 1 teaspoon minced garlic in 1 tablespoon oil for about 2 minutes until
softened. Mix with room temp butter and 1 teaspoon chopped fresh parsley.

Kurdish Lemonade

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Kim" 
To: phaedrus
Sent: Sunday, June 06, 2004 8:38 PM
Subject: kurdish lemonade

> We were at a wonderful Kurdish restaurant is St. Paul. They served Kurdish
> lemonade. Any ideas of a recipe. 
>
> Thanks for you help
>
> -kim
>

Hi Kim,

Sorry, no luck with either of these. From what I read, though you must have imported Omani lemons to make Kurdish lemonade.

Phaed

From: "nikki" 
To: "'Phaedrus'" 
Subject: RE: kurdish lemonade
Date: Monday, June 07, 2004 1:08 PM

This is not exactly the same, but someone on recipegoldmine sent it to
me...The one in the restaurant was tea colored and the most addicting
flavor. 

Kurdish Lemonade 

8 lemons 
3/4 cup sugar, or to taste 
1 teaspoon orange blossom water, or to taste 
generous 1/4 cup freshly chopped mint 
water (or seltzer) and ice cubes 
Squeeze the juice from the lemons and sweeten to taste with the sugar. Add
the orange blossom water and the mint, and stir or shake well together. Pour
a little into a tall glass and fill with water or soda and ice.

From: "nikki" 
To: "'Phaedrus'" 
Subject: RE: kurdish lemonade
Date: Monday, June 07, 2004 1:21 PM

Actually check out this recipe...I think it might be it! (chilled, that is)

Omani Lemon Tea - good anytime, but especially when you have a cold or the flu 

Ingredients: 

4 cups of water
5-6 whole dried Omani lemons (available outside of Oman in Middle Eastern groceries)
2 large Tablespoons of honey
more sugar to taste, if desired

Break the Omani lemons open and remove most of the interior, saving only the
dried peels. Boil the lemon peels with the water and honey for about five
minutes. Add a little sugar, to taste, if desired. Strain and serve piping
hot. 

Turron

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Michele" 
To: phaedrus
Sent: Tuesday, June 08, 2004 7:46 PM
Subject: Touron (Turron?)

Hi there -

I came across your Website while prowling around in search of touron. I
saw that someone else had requested a recipe, but I followed the recipe
link to see if the picture referenced resembled anything like what I'm
seeking, and it didn't.

My father was from Paris and my grandmother was from Biarritz, near the
border between France and Spain. Every year around Christmas my
grandmother would receive a loaf of touron (or maybe turron - I never
saw it spelled) from the old country - I always assumed it came from
Paris, because someone had a Limoges shop and sent us pieces
occasionally, but now I think the touron more likely came from Biarritz,
and I'm pretty sure it's a Christmas thang.

Anyway, it was the most delicious confection. Its taste was reminiscent
of marzipan, but its texture was a little more firm - NOT like nougat by
any means. It came in a round loaf the color of pie crust or anything
almond. As I recall, it was maybe eight inches across and a few inches
in depth, and when she cut into it, the inside revealed several layers
of the same consistency but different flavors and colors. I think there
was one with glace fruits, one with nuts (maybe walnuts), one with
pistachios, one very much like marzipan, one that tasted of
orange-flower water, maybe more. I don't specifically recall if one of
the layers was chocolate, but it's possible.

Each pastel-colored layer was around 1/3" thick, and the slices were
dense, but a little crumbly. Of course, no one's ever heard of it, and
in my searches I keep coming across these bricks of nougat - not what
I'm looking for. The texture wasn't candy-like or chewy like nougat -
like I said, it was like a dense, slightly dry marzipan, and it was the
best thing in the whole world.

With this description, do you think you might be able to find a supplier
or even a recipe? I would really appreciate it.

Thank you,

Michele 

Hello Michele,

Here's the scoop on turron (excerpted from "Turron" by Rohan Daft"):

"Though officially classed as a nougat by the EU, turrón, a super-rich mix of
roasted almonds, honey, sugar and egg white, is not altogether unlike
marzipan, with the sugar and honey being boiled together before the almonds
and egg whites are added. Then it is spread out and, on attaining the
correct degree of firmness, cut into weighty inch-and-a-bit-thick slabs. A
good turrón will contain in the region of 67 per cent almonds and 16 per
cent honey."

"The true home of turrón is the Costa Blanca (so-named because of the
prominent white blossom from the indigenous almond trees) on the south-east
coast and, in particular, the two towns of Alicante and Jijona. Alicante is
traditionally home to a hard turrón containing whole almonds, whereas Jijona
has always busied itself with the much softer and pleasantly oily,
crushed-almond version, which is pressed between granite rollers before
being spread out and cut."

"Though the two towns very sensibly took the decision to stick to their own
versions and not tread on each other's toes some years ago (the Moors began
to make the stuff a good while before they were finally expelled from the
country in 1492), there has always been a certain friendly rivalry between
them. Nowadays, the turrón of Jijona is generally acknowledged to be the
true favourite among the populace."
------------------------------
"Turron de Jijona" (soft nougat)

Ingredients :

1 dessert spoon cinnamon
250 gms sugar
250 grams white honey
250 grams toasted almonds
250 grams toasted hazelnuts
5 egg whites
Chop the nuts finely and then crush them in the mortar until they become a
smooth paste
Beat the eggs whites stiffly and then add them to the paste
Put the honey and sugar in a saucepan and bring to the boil
Add the paste to the honey mixture
Mix constantly with a wooden spatula for ten minutes
Remove from the heat, put into wooden moulds lined with rice paper
Leave to cool and then sprinkle with cinnamon
--------------------------------------------------------
Turron de Alicante" (hard nougat)

Ingredients:

1 kilo Rosemary Honey
500 gms sugar
2 egg whites
1,500 gms almonds, heated up in oven
1 lemon
Slowly heat the honey in a saucepan until all the water that it contains has
evaporated.
Add the sugar and mix with a wooden spatula
Beat the egg white until stiff and then add to the mixture.
Stir briskly with the spatula for eight to ten minutes then stir slowly over
a low flame until it begins to caramelize (turn brown)
Put the hot almonds into the honey mixture with the rind of the lemon
Mix well and let cook slowly for a few minutes taking care it does not stick
The mixture is then poured into wooden moulds lined with rice paper
After two and a half hours, the turron is cut. When it is completely cold,
the slices are stored in an airtight container

Ketty Lester - Gloomy Sunday

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Mel" 
To: phaedrus
Sent: Tuesday, June 08, 2004 12:11 PM
Subject: Record Album

> Many years ago , Keddy or Ketty ( Sp. ?? )
> Lester made a record album called : "Love
> Letters in the Sand " . One of the songs was
> " Gloomy Sunday " . Would love to purchase
> that album !          Thanks : M.B.
>

Hello Mel,

Well, I have good news & bad news..... "Love Letters", by Ketty Lester, has been re-released on CD. You can get it at Amazon.com:

Ketty Lester

The bad news is that "Gloomy Sunday" isn't on this re-release of the album.

I looked, but could not locate a copy of the original album for sale.

Phaed

For the strange urban legends about this song, see: Gloomy Sunday

""


Copyright (c) 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 Phaedrus