Dinner's On The Table – The Personal Chef & Home Cooking Resource

     In the 10 years I’ve lived in Dutchess County I’ve seen a small explosion of Asian restaurants and Asian grocery stores that have really expanded my interest in Thai, Japanese, Chinese and Indian cuisines. As chefs this is fantastic because we are able to buy ingredients at these stores that just aren’t found at Stop and Shop, Hannaford or Price Chopper, which allows us to prepare truly authentic dishes for our clients (and ourselves) without traveling to Westchester, New York City or Northern New Jersey.

     But who would have guessed we would be lucky enough to have a Burmese restaurant open up…in Hyde Park! 

     Burma, officially the Union of Myanmar, is sandwiched between China, Thailand, Laos, India, Bangladesh and the Bay of Bengal. And you’re correct if you guessed that Burmese food is influenced by these surrounding countries, yet it has a flair all of its own.

     KT Sushi is located in the small shopping center across from Twist and the former Amish Market in Hyde Park on Route 9. Amish Market was one of our favorite grocery stores because you could find some interesting specialty foods there. But we also loved to grab a Hawaii Roll or Spicy Tuna Roll as well.

     If you miss Amish Market’s sushi bar, you can find the sushi chefs over at KT Sushi. They liked the area so much they decided to stay and open a restaurant. However, while sushi is 60% of the menu you can explore authentic dishes from Burma just a few miles from home.

     Now, while they do have a couple of tables in the back for eating there, they are built more for the takeout crowd – perfect for that quick lunch or dinner.

     Our favorites include Spicy Beef, Green Chicken Curry and Burmese Noodle Soup which is a delightful blend of chicken, egg, scallions, lemon juice, and noodles in a coconut milk broth.

     We find inspiration for menu items that we offer you from our own experiences. We’re currently perfecting some Burmese dishes and we’ll be adding Burmese recipes to our list later this year.
 

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     It’s cold and snowy outside. The wind chill is giving your goose bumps, goose bumps. You CRAVE soup! Soups are some of the most wonderful dishes to enjoy. They’re delicious, filling, and usually inexpensive to make. But they are time consuming to make as well.

     So, in the modern age we reach for a can of Progresso’s or Campbell’s. But they don’t always have the flavors you want and you may not have the right flavor in your pantry. Here is a quick solution for creating fantastic soup in only a few minutes using chicken broth you may already have waiting for you in your pantry when you don’t have the time and we haven’t cooked for you yet:

Spicy Chipotle Chicken Soup

16 oz of Chicken Broth or use Bouillon and Water (follow package directions)
1/2 – 3/4 cup of Vegetables and/or Beans
1/2 cup Cooked Chicken (optional)
1/4 cup Cooked Rice or 1/2 cup Uncooked Broken Angel Hair Pasta
1 tablespoon Chopped Cilantro (optional)
1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon Chipotle Powder (Can substitute Ancho or Chili Powder)
Salt and Black Pepper to taste (be careful that you taste before adding salt)

     Bring broth just to a boil in a sauce pan, turn down to a simmer. Break the pasta into 1 inch or smaller pieces. Add in all the ingredients except Cilantro.  Heat through or until pasta is soft. Add half the cilantro and cook for 1 minute. Add a dollop of sour cream (optional) or crumble in some tortilla chips and garnish with remaining cilantro. Serves 4-6. For another twist, sauté 1/4 cup of onion and 3 chopped garlic cloves before adding broth to the pan.

     If you read my Improv In The Kitchen posts you’ve noticed I like to play around with spices and make my own recipes. Frozen vegetables and canned beans are always in my freezer and pantry. You can use any combination of veggies to beans here. I had a Mexican frozen vegetable blend that had broccoli, carrots, beans, green beans and peppers in it. You can use corn and black beans or any other vegetable you have on hand. I actually used a packet of Lipton Chicken Noodle Soup as the base when I first tested this recipe out. You can use any brand chicken broth (College Inn, Swanson’s, Trader Joe’s, Wolfgang Puck) or even your own.

For Vegetarians: Substitute vegetable broth for chicken broth and firm tofu for chicken. Or simply add more beans.

Greek Chicken Florentine Soup

16 oz Chicken Broth or use Bouillon and Water (follow package directions)
3/4 cup Chopped Spinach
1/2 cup Cooked Chicken (optional)
1/4 cup Cooked Rice or 1/2 cup Uncooked Broken Angel Hair Pasta
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon ground marjoram or 1/2 teaspoon marjoram leaves
1 or 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (adjust to your tastes)
Feta Cheese, crumbled
Black Pepper and Salt to taste

     Add broth to sauce pan. Stir in oregano, marjoram and garlic powder and bring just to a boil, turn down to a simmer. Break the pasta into 1 inch or smaller pieces. Add in all the ingredients except Lemon Juice and Feta Cheese. Heat through or until pasta is soft. Add lemon juice and stir just before serving. Crumble feta on top when serving.

     For Vegetarians: Substitute vegetable broth for chicken broth and firm tofu or cannellini beans for chicken.     

     These soups are perfect for a quick dinner or taken to school or work for lunch the next day. Please note: Dinner’s On The Table, when cooking for clients, makes all soups from scratch. 
 

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Gobble gobble gobble

First we stuffed the bird, then we stuffed ourselves.  It’s inevitable that we’ll be eating turkey sandwiches for the next week.  I don’t know about you, but I actually like a nice fresh turkey sandwich the day after Thanksgiving.  

If that sounds like a fate worse than death, here are a few ideas.  If you aren’t feeling creative, or you just don’t like to cook, the easiest option is to package meal-sized servings of turkey, stuffing or potatoes and gravy in Tupperware, then stick it in the freezer.  Pull it out the day before you’re planning on eating it, and just nuke it.  Instant easy meal after a long day of holiday shopping.  I like some of the other options a little better.  Turkey Pot Pie, Turkey Chili, Turkey Soup, Turkey Salad, Turkey Stir Fry, Turkey Tacos, Turkey Fajitas, Turkey Croquettes, Turkey Hash, or just have the old stand by…Hot Turkey Sandwiches.  You could even use it for breakfast by adding it to the filling for you Sunday morning omlet. 

Keep in mind that the turkey isn’t the only thing you can get creative with.  You can use the potatoes or the stuffing as a topping for your pot pie.  The veggies can go into a pot of soup.  Even the cranberries can be transformed.  Mix them into a container of cool whip, spoon them into a dessert dish and top with crushed graham crackers or chopped walnuts.  Top some non-fat vanilla yogurt with a spoonful of cranberries and sprinkle with granola for a healthy breakfast or snack. 

(If you have any pie left, your best bet is to eat it or freeze it.)

If you like some of these ideas, but don’t want to spend another day cooking until next Thanksgiving, give me a call.  We can schedule a cook date and whip up something delicious with your leftovers. 

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We were grocery shopping in Adams Fairacre Farm (www.adamsfarms.com) last week, wondering if they might have fiddleheads, and to my surprise, they had MORELS!!!!  I’ve never seen these fresh, only dried.  Not having a clue what I was going to do with them, I bought a half pound of these beauties. 

When we got home, I went straight to my trusty computer to search for recipes.  I found many that were basically breaded and fried.  Some were just dusted with flour, some had an egg wash, neither thrilled me.  I put them in my Tupperware FridgeSmart container in the fridge and almost forgot they were there.  A few days later, we grilled up a lamb roast for dinner.  After finishing dinner that night, I remembered the morels.  That’s when I decided to make a Morel Sauce to go with the leftover lamb.  I sauted an onion with garlic and added the sliced morels.  I let them cook until they had a little browning.  I added 2 tablespoons of flour to make a roux, then added a splash of Madiera and some low sodium beef stock (canned broth works great).  I let it thicken a bit before adding slices of lamb.  I let the lamb simmer while finishing the garlic fanned potatoes. 

Dinner that night was GREAT! 

I Can’t wait for the leftovers.

Side note…Adams has fiddleheads! 

www.adamsfarms.com

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On our way home from our cook date Tuesday afternoon, we decided to check out the Rhinebeck Health Food store.  We were very pleasantly surprised to find ramps and fiddlehead ferns.  After checking out the rest of the store, we decided to purchase some of each. 

Tonight was our first try at both this year.   We cooked fiddleheads a few years ago but we’ve never had ramps.  I did a quick internet search for recipes and got a few ideas.  Fiddleheads can be used in many recipes that call for broccoli and asparagus and they lend themselves nicely to oriental dishes, so since we were making cedar plank salmon with a wasabi soy glaze and healthy fried rice for dinner, the fiddleheads made a really nice vegetable side dish.  I blanched them for a few minutes until the were nice and tender then tossed them in a hot skillet with olive oil.  I added 3 sliced ramps to the pan, sprinkled a pinch of salt and that was it! 

We bought enough ramps to last us a few weeks, but only enough fiddleheads for dinner tonight, so I guess we have to go back for more while they’re available. 

Just a note…neither have a very long shelf life, but I’m storing the ramps in my new Tupperware FridgeSmart container.  I’ve had mushrooms last for literally weeks and lettuce keeps until we actually finish it, so the ramps should be good until we finish them too.  No more wasted produce for us!

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Welcome to Dinner’s on the Table!  I’m a Personal Chef in Dutchess County servicing Hyde Park, Staatsburg, Rhinebeck, Red Hook, Clinton Corners and all surrounding areas. 

As a Personal Chef, I will meet with you to assess your dining needs.  I will then bring everything I need to prepare delicious and healthy meals right in the safety and comfort of your home.  You have the choice of deciding on your menu or you can let me surprise you!  Either way, you get to enjoy a relaxing dinner after a hard days work.

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