Dale Talde, the Filipino American chef, won the elimination challenge again at Top Chef! That’s win two for him (individual) and he also won a group challenge.
The challenge was to make a lunch box - healthy, hearty diabetic-friendly, and delicious - for the Chicago Police. He did a bison meat salad - bison meat is like beef but has lower cholesterol content. He made it with Asian flare - some Vietnamese-style seasonings which prompted one other contestant to say that he is one-dimensional and can only cook Asian dishes. While other contestants invented recipes that are way out of the range of the normal police diet, the judges said that Dale’s creation was a good transition from the lunch food that the police usually eat at their cafeteria. The goal of the challenge was to change behavior of the police to eat healthier food.
I was trying hard to make something different for mother’s day brunch. I didn’t want it to be over the top. I just wanted something simple, easy to make and, frankly, I am tired of rich Filipino dishes, so I wanted something fresh and yup, different.
So, how about bagel and lox?
If you have access to smoked salmon, this is very easy to do and really is something quite far away from the usual Pinoy dishes yet familiar to the Filipino palate because … it has a hint of ‘tinapa’ since the salmon is smoked.
Needs:
bagel, cut in half and toasted
cream chees (plain or with mixed with ingredients)
capers
smoked salmon (from the deli)
red onions sliced into rings
cucumbers sliced
large ripe tomato, sliced
little bit of dill
butter
salt and pepper
Make sure that the bagel is warm - we always put them into a bread basket covered with cloth napkin just like in restaurants.
Butter and/or spread cream cheese on the bagel.
Add in different layers, salmon, tomatoes, onions and cucumber slices.
Add capers and dill on top. Sometimes the capers are mixed with the cream cheese so they won’t fall off :-). The capers, I think, while optional, are important because they give some acidic taste that really wakes your taste buds up.
Here’s how mine looked today at lunch, served with a side dish of wild rice salad:
Wild Rice Salad
Needs:
wild rice, cooked in chicken broth
white rice, cooked in chicken broth
pecans
green onions
yellow raisins
dressing of grated orange rind, olive oil and orange juice and salt and pepper
I’ve been keeping irregular hours lately because of deadlines etc. Like yesterday for example, I learned that our departmental website is due to be deployed by next week. And since I am supposed to be involved in assembling it, last night I had to pull an almost overnighter to tweak it.
Consequently, I overslept, woke up at noon, had breakfast (well, orange juice, that’s all) and slept again… and then woke up for lunch … at 4 pm.
But there wasn’t anything in the fridge, no left overs, nothing except a bag of shrimp in the freezer.
What to do … what to do.
Easy.
Whip up an impromtu shrimp stir fry! That’s why it important to have that bag of cooked shrimps in your freezer! You can buy these now by the bags cheap - usually farmed shrimps from Thailand. If you have a Costco in your area … go and grab a bag or two. You’ll never know when you need them. For times like these, and for times when you have unexpected company, you could easily whip up something simple and something delicious .. even something healthy!
Rummaging in my pantry, I was able to find a can of mushrooms, an onion that is almost growing, and some spring onions that is almost dying in the vegetable compartment of the fridge.
I now use olive oil (or if I have some, virgin coconut oil) for cooking. I read somewhere that both oils are healthier.
Note: this is all done in high heat.
Heat oil in a skillet, add garlic and onions and saute them until onion is transparent and garlic is brown. Add the mushrooms. Mix for about two minutes.
Add the shrimp, mix, cover for about two to three minutes to let it thaw out. Add salt to taste. Since onion is already salty, you may need just a tad of salt. I now use sea salt that I brought back from the Philippines. I also read somewhere that it unprocessed sea salt contains more nutrients and more elements in them than processed iodized salt.
As an option, mix in a teaspoon of cornstarch dissolved in three tablespoon of water for thickening.
Served with steamed white rice. Now, rice, I never run out :-).
