photo by estebandid

I was really lucky at Thanksgiving this year…

I haven't had a Thanksgiving tradition, per se, in a long time.  Friends, family, friends of friends, pot lucks - Thanksgiving has been more about spending time with people than about tradition.  This year, I got to spend some time with great friends and have a fantastic meal.  Exceptional meal - perhaps the best lamb I have ever had.  Here's where the lucky part comes in - I was sent home with a huge quantity of leftovers.  Score.

There's a good chance others are dealing with large amounts of leftovers too.  Turkey sandwiches are great, but it seems like there are some interesting alternatives in the world of street food.

I chose empanadas, in part because its been a while since I made empanadas, but mostly because empanadas and meat pies need a considerable amount of protein.  This recipe would be great with any turkey meat, but I used dark meat from the legs.     

This is a spicy recipe, so if you don't like spice, cut way back on the hot pepper.  I use the same chilies that I use in chili - in this case Texas Red. 

I decided to make the shells (rather than picking up the pre-made La Salteña) and I think it was a perfect match.  If you make these, I recommend the same path.  I served these with mango salsa.

Turkey & Ham empanadas

Filling:

3 Tbsp olive oil

2 medium onions, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 bay leaves

1 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp dried red chili

1 tsp hot red chili, cayenne or reshampatti

1 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp mexican oregano

1/2 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp black pepper

1 cup chicken stock

1/2 cup white wine

1/2 cup green olives, sliced

1/2 cup raisins

1 1/2 cups cooked turkey, diced

1 cup cooked ham, diced

Directions

1. Heat the oil in a cast iron skillet over medium heat.


2. Sauté the onion, garlic and bay leaves until the onion begins to soften and become translucent.


3. Add all the spices and cook for two minutes.


4. Add stock and wine, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.


5. Add olives, raisins, turkey and ham.  Return to a boil and simmer on low heat for 10 minutes.


6. Remove from heat and remove bay leaves.  Allow to cool before finishing.


7. Finish using the recipe for finishing empanadas
   

photo by Darwin Bell

While I am no huge fan of Apple products, I do like my iPhone.  It’s a mostly useful device with some entirely useless applications.  Some time back I picked up an interesting app - Distant Shore.  I liked the company's other app, Koi Pond.  Distant Shore is a simple concept - you walk along a beach picking up shells.  Along the way you might find bottles with messages in them.  When you've collected 5 shells you get an empty bottle you can fill with any message you like.  Other users reply to your messages and you to theirs.  Simple idea.  Distant Shore is the kind of game a four-year-old can enjoy.  I know one and he loves picking up bottles and shells.

I send the same message every time; "what's the best street food where you are?"  Not everyone replies, and not every reply makes sense.  But in the replies come, from all over the world.  Its was from Distant Shore that I learned about "garbage plates".  Thanks - now I know how bad American food can get if you really try.

By far, the most enthusiastic responses, besides "hot dogs!", are about Xiao Long Bao.  The incredibly small number of users out there collecting virtual shells simply love soup dumplings.  I can't really blame them - they truly are amazing.

Thinking about soup dumplings got me thinking about an obvious fusion that would be wonderful - Gumbo Dumplings.  I make gumbo on a regular basis, so I know what happens to leftovers.  When chilled the gumbo becomes fairly gelatinous.  A perfect fit for these fantastic little packages.

Unless you have a dinner party that you're working on, I would recommend only making enough gumbo aspic to make the number of dumplings you plan in one sitting.  That said, these would be a huge hit at any dinner party, assuming you have the time and energy to make the gumbo.

Gumbo dumplings

2 cups gumbo

Frozen dumpling skins (get these at your local asian market)

Directions

1. Strain the solids out of the gumbo and put the liquid in a glass bowl.  Put in the refrigerator, in the crisper drawer, and allow to gel over night.


2. Dice the solids from the gumbo to a small/fine dice.  Store in the refrigerator overnight.


3. When ready to make the dumplings, put the skins out on a board.  Run a wet finger around the edge, making sure the entire skin has water on the edge.  Form the skin into a bowl (see picture above).


4. Into each skin, drop a bit of the sausage/chicken and a bit of the gumbo  liquid.  Don’t overfill.


5. Seal each dumpling with a little twist.  Make sure each dumpling is sealed tight.


6. Finish as you would Xiao Long Bao, but cook for just 8 minutes.

photo by Trevor H

The trend of food trucks using Twitter as a marketing and tracking tool is getting plenty of press.  Kogi BBQ in LA is the big winner - they have been mentioned throughout the press covering interweb trends.  The press is well deserved - it’s a creative use of technology and a good match for an entire new market.  Some of these trucks are serving food that is a vast departure from the standard taco trucks that lure workers off construction sites.

One of the trucks that garners local press is Kung Fu tacos in San Francisco.  The tacos that consistently make the news are their duck tacos, although not always with positive results.  I really don't believe this is how they prepare their duck, but this is how I do it.

This is my second and last of the duck season recipes.  Not that I am tired of duck, but I don't want to use up my small and valuable stash.  I had to experiment and learn with these, so I made a dent in the little corner of my freezer that is storing these little treasures.

These are a great weekend lunch.  Just start the marinating process first thing in the morning and they'll be ready to go by lunch time.  I add a leaf or two of cilantro, but the tacos are just as good without.

Don't underestimate the importance of good corn tortillas.  I live in a town high in tortilla density, and I can only find one good source (Fiesta).

Duck tacos

Skinless Duck breasts

Corn tortillas

Mango salsa

Brine:

1 cup water

1 cup orange juice

1/2 cup salt

10 black peppercorns

1 clove garlic, smashed

Marinade:

1/2 cup mirin rice wine

1/2 cup light soy sauce

1/2 cup strong brewed tea

2 Tbsp honey

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 tsp ground black pepper

1/2 tsp ground red pepper

1/2 tsp ground clove

1 garlic clove, minced

Directions

1. Combine the brine in a bowl and brine the duck for 2 hours.


2. Rinse the duck in cold water and pat dry. 


3. Combine the marinade and marinate the duck for another 2 hours.


4. Heat some olive oil in a cast iron skillet over medium heat.


5. Add the duck breasts and baste with the marinade. Cover and cook for 5 minutes.


6. Turn the breasts over, baste with more marinade, cover and cook for 5 minutes.


7. Remove from heat and let the cooked breasts rest, covered, for 10 minutes.

The marinade is a variation in the basic James Beard marinade.

photo by Rodrigo HerRaz

In Texas, quesadillas are everywhere.  You'll find them in bars, in cafeterias, in trailers and stands.   There is, of course, a downside.   At any moment, there are large portions of truly mediocre quesadillas being hurled upon unsuspecting party guests.  Cheese, microwave, cut, repeat.  It’s a sad but predictable circle of food. 

And yet, there is an upside to the quesadilla.  Every parent knows the power of the quesadilla to overcome the willpower of a kid turning their nose up at every meal.  They're such a perfect hush puppy. 

Quesadillas can be made with a variety of fillings, but the basic is really simple - tortillas with cheese. 

The best, in my opinion, are simple cheese quesadillas with fresh roasted Hatch green chilies.   Since those really only make their appearance in late summer, the timing is a bit limited.

photo by crd!

Once quesadillas make the jump from pacifier to adult food, you're going to need a good salsa.  There are thousands.  My personal favorite is from a long gone chicken restaurant that made a roasted habanero salsa.  Try as I might, I have never been able to recreate that recipe.

Mango salsa is so versatile and simple.  It goes perfectly with so many dishes and rarely overpowers.

Quesadillas

Flour tortillas

3 parts Monterrey Jack cheese

1 part Queso Asadero or Queso Blanco

Directions

1. Heat a cast iron skillet over medium heat that has been lightly greased with butter or olive oil.


2. Put a tortilla on the skillet and let it cook for a bit.  No more than 30 seconds.  Flip the tortilla and do the same on the other side.


3. Put whatever fillings you like on the tortilla and let it cook, letting the cheese start to melt.


4. Fold the tortilla over on itself, so that it forms a half moon.


5. Flip the quesadilla until it is cooked through.  Do not burn the tortilla.

Mango Salsa

1 ripe mango, cut into 1/4-inch dice

1 avocado, cut into 1/4-inch dice

1/2 red onion, minced

2 cloves garlic, smashed and minced

fresh lime juice from 1 lime

1 jalapeño, seeded and minced

1/2 in. ginger, grated if frozen, minced if fresh

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Combine all the ingredients in a small bowl.


2. Can be prepared ahead of time and refrigerated.

photo by minishorts

If you have read this blog at all, you've noticed a few areas where I take some liberties:

• Street food can have many definitions and variations.  It's good enough for me if I think something should be a street food.


• I am heavily influenced by ingredients.  It would be pretty easy to throw up a recipe for tacos, but if there is something in season its usually a good time to talk about it.

This is one of those times.  It’s the time of year that if you are lucky enough to have a friend that hunts, or time to get out there yourself, you are getting ducks.  I was recently lucky enough to get the golden cooler filled with fresh teal duck breasts, and this recipe is the first thing I thought of. 

Since you can pretty much get any noodle dish in Bangkok, I feel like I can take some liberties with noodles.  This a great way to cook duck breast and its even better on noodles.

Duck can get pretty gamey, so it’s a great idea to brine it first.  This recipe takes some time to brine and marinate the meat, so I recommend you do the marinating overnight if you want to serve this for lunch. 

It would not be accurate to call this asian, but you don't see many noodle bowls on ranches in Texas.  The noodles vary in time and texture, so you are on your own for cooking soba the way you like.   In the next couple weeks I'll do duck tacos while ducks are still in season. 

Soba noodles with wild duck

2 lbs duck breast

Soba noodles, cooked to your liking

Brine:

1 cup water

1 cup orange juice

1/2 cup salt

10 black peppercorns

1 clove garlic, smashed

Marinade:

1/4 cup brandy

1 cup red wine

2 onions, minced

1/2 tsp thyme

1/2 tsp marjoram

1/4 tsp allspice

1 bay leaf

The rest:

3 Tbsp butter

3 Tbsp olive oil

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 lb. fresh mushrooms, sliced

3/4 cup chicken stock

1. Rinse the duck and pat dry.


2. Mix the brine in a bowl until the salt is dissolved.


3. Put the duck into a glass bowl and cover with the brine.  Cover and refrigerate.


4. Brine the duck for 2 hours.


5. Rinse the duck, clean the bowl and return the duck to the glass bowl.  Cover with the marinade.


6. Marinate overnight or for 5-6 hours.  Stir when you can.


7. Strain the marinade into a bowl.  Reserve both the solids and liquids.  Remove the bay leaf and discard.


8. Heat the oil and butter in a cast iron skillet over medium heat.  Brown the duck for 10 minutes.


9. Add about half the reserved onions from the marinade.  Cook for another 7-10 minutes.


10. Add the garlic, mushrooms, stock and 1/2 cup of the marinade liquid.  Bring to a slow boil.


11. Reduce the  heat to a slow simmer, cover, and cook for 1.5 hours.


12. Spoon over the soba noodles.