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Month: October 2020

Vietnamese Phở

The exotic soup that will feel right at home in your kitchen: Pho. Hear me out on this one. The broth is one of those “all day”, one lazy Saturday endeavors that pays in big flavor. And, it’s really an enjoyable dish to serve your family or to share a cozy evening with friends. Both born and raised in Viet Nam, Lindsey and Victor Price give us a lesson in this delectable soup. They also share their adjustments to Texas culture and give a glimpse into their past life in Viet Nam. AND, they are just a fun couple! Welcome to Lindsey and Victor’s kitchen!

Vietnamese Phở

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Servings 6

Ingredients
  

Aromatics

  • 2 large onions, halved
  • 5 oz ginger, sliced down the center

Spices

  • 10 star anise
  • 4 cinnamon sticks
  • 4 cardamom pods
  • 3 cloves
  • 1.5 tbsp coriander seeds

Beef Bones

  • 3 lb beef brisket
  • 2 lb meaty beef bones
  • 2 lb marrow bones (cut to reveal marrow)
  • 15 cups water

Seasoning

  • 2 tbsp white sugar
  • 1 tbsp salt
  • 3 tbsp fish sauce

Per Bowl

  • 1.5 oz medium flat rice noodles
  • 1 oz beef tenderloin, raw, thinly-sliced
  • 3 to 5 brisket slices (used for broth)

Toppings

  • 1 handful bean sprouts
  • 5 sprigs Thai basil
  • lime wedges
  • finely-sliced hot chili
  • Hoison sauce
  • Sriracha

Instructions
 

Aromatics

  • Heat a heavy based skillet over high heat (no oil) until smoking
  • Place onion and ginger in pan cut side down,, Cook for a few minutes until it’s charred, then turn. Remove and set aside
  • Toast Spices lightly in a dry skillet over medium high heat for 3 minutes

Remove Impurities

  • Rinse bones and brisket then cover with water in large stock pot.
  • Boil for 5 minutes, then drain.
  • Rinse each bone and brisket under tap water.

Broth

  • Wipe pot clean, bring 4 quarts water to boil.
  • Add bones and brisket, onion, ginger, spices
  • Add onion, ginger, Spices, sugar and salt - water should just barely cover everything.
  • Cover with lid, simmer 3 hours up to 8 hours
  • Remove brisket (should be fall-apart tender), cool then refrigerate for later.
  • Simmer remaining soup uncovered for 40 minutes
  • Strain broth into another pot, discard bones and spices. Should be about 10 cups.
  • Add fish sauce, adjust salt and sugar if needed. Broth should be beefy, fragrant with spices, savory and barely sweet.

Assemble

  • Prepare rice noodles per packet, just prior to serving
  • Place noodles, raw beef, and brisket in bowl.
  • Ladle hot broth over all - beef will cook to med rare
  • Serve with Toppings on the side

Notes

  • Brisket adds way more flavor into broth than any bones and other beef like chuck. Left over broth freezes well for months.
  • Marrow bones can be subbed with more meaty beef bones but soup may lack richness.
  • Partially freeze (about 30 minutes) beef before slicing thinly. Many Asian markets also will thinly slice for you.

Daddy’s Chili and Nanny’s Cornbread with Lou Ann in Hunt, TX

The Texicureans team had an exciting day in the kitchen with Lou Ann Smith and her family. We explored some of her favorite family recipes, including her dad’s chili and her nanny’s cornbread, and talked Texas traditions in her beautiful kitchen in the family home in the Texas Hill Country near Hunt, Texas.

Lou Ann and her husband are avid gardeners and raise chickens and goats on their rural acreage, and the family’s love of food has inspired the next generation likewise.

Click the YouTube window below to watch the video and scroll down for both the chili and cornbread recipes!

Lou Ann's Daddy's Chili

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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Course Main Course
Cuisine American
Servings 6

Ingredients
  

  • 2 lbs. lean chuck roast, cut into chili-size pieces (ask your butcher to do it so you can select the chuck roast)
  • 1 medium onion
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 tsp black pepper
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 5/8 cup chili powder
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 1 small can tomato paste
  • 2.5 cups water

Instructions
 

  • In a large pot, brown the chili meat. When no longer pink, add onion and continue cooking until slightly browned. 
  • Stir in the cumin, pepper, salt and chili powder. Cook until spices are fragrant. 
  • Add the garlic, tomato paste and water and cover. 
  • Simmer for 25-30 minutes or until meat is tender.

Notes

This is really best the next day.

Lou Ann's Nanny's Cornbread

Lou Ann Smith's Nanny's Recipe, adapted from Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook, 1941 edition
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Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 18 minutes
Course Side Dish
Cuisine American
Servings 8

Ingredients
  

  • 3/4 cup flour
  • 1 cup coarse ground cornmeal
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 3 tsp baking powder
  • 2 tbsp sugar (optional, depending on your taste)
  • 2 well-beaten eggs
  • 1 cup whole milk
  • 1/4 cup melted butter (original recipe used shortening)

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 400 degrees
  • Put cast iron skillet into oven to heat for about 15 minutes before beginning the recipe.
  • Stir dry ingredients together in large bowl. 
  • Separately, combine eggs, milk and melted butter or shortening. Add to dry mixture and stir just until moistened.
  • Remove skillet from oven and pour cornbread batter into skillet. Return to oven and bake for 18 - 20 minutes or until golden brown and beginning to pull away from the sides of the skillet.

Chocolate Haystacks

Although we may not have a tremendous amount of Fall Color in Texas, the cooler weather conjures images of haystacks, pumpkins, and chrysanthemums. A sweet culinary rendition of these musings are “Haystacks”. This chocolate version (if its not chocolate, it’s not desert, right?) has a spicy element. You can leave out the cayenne sprinkle for kids, and for those special little trick-or-treaters in your life, they easily wrap individually.

I recently had these available as an after dinner treat for a family gathering that included several college students. They did a quick disappearing act . (I secretly had craved one for breakfast the morning after, and there were none to be found)

Spicy Chocolate Haystacks

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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 3 minutes
Course Dessert
Servings 12

Ingredients
  

  • 24 oz dark chocolate chips
  • 12 oz package chow mein noodles
  • 1 ½ cups walnuts
  • 1 tbsp cayenne

Instructions
 

  • Prepare two sheet pans with parchment paper
  • Chop walnuts with a chopper or with a knife into fairly medium pieces.
  • Melt chocolate chips in a large glass bowl for about 3-4 minutes in microwave, stirring every minute.
  • When completely melted and fluid, add chow mien noodles and walnuts. Stir.
  • Scoop tablespoonful of mixture and use another spoon to drop onto parchment paper.
  • Pour cayenne pepper into a tea strainer, and lightly dust with pepper.
  • Place in freezer fo 10 minutes to firm and be able to store in an airtight container.

“Tweener Time”

It’s that “tweener” time of year – from repressively hot to intoxicatingly cool: The fresh aroma of mornings with a cup of coffee in hand, donning a hoodie when headed out for a morning workout, and basking in the sun over the noon hour: early autumn in Texas means sunny days and cool nights. In the Texas garden, this means summer quash is still available and carrots and verdant greens become of age. I call this soup “Early Fall Soup” as it incorporates both seasons.

Make a pot for dinner, share some with a neighbor, and create quick personal lunches by pouring in 12 oz cups, wrapping with saran wrap and freezing in the door of your freezer.

Early Fall Chicken Soup

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Course Soup
Cuisine American

Ingredients
  

  • 4 chicken breasts
  • 2 large red potatoes
  • 1 lb carrots
  • 1 large pattypan squash (or zucchini)
  • 6 small turnips
  • 48 oz chicken broth
  • 1 large yellow or white onion
  • 3 garlic cloves
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp pepper
  • 6 fresh oregano stalks - 6" (remove leaves)
  • 3 fresh rosemary stalks - 6" (remove leaves)
  • 1 bokchoy

Instructions
 

  • Boil chicken breasts in 8 cups water for 30-40 minutes, remove breasts with tongs & shred with a fork. Place in refrigerator. Reserve broth.
  • Cube squash into 1” pieces
  • Dice potatoes into approx 1/2 “ cubes
  • Slice carrots into 1/2” slices
  • Mince garlic
  • Dice onion
  • Thinly slice turnips, then dice
  • Place all (except chicken) above in pot with chicken broth & reserved broth.
  • Remove leaves from oregano & rosemary & add along with salt & pepper to pot.
  • Cook on medium for 20 minutes.
  • Add sliced bok Choy & cook additional 7-8 minutes.
  • Add shredded chicken