Seasoned Rice Vinegar; A Versatile Condiment.

When I received a bottle of Nakano Red Pepper Seasoned Rice vinegar in the mail,  I really was not sure what I would do with it. I had made some Hot & Sour Soup with a similar product in the past. I suppose a vinaigrette would have been a simple solution, but I decided to check the Nakano website to see what was in their recipe database. This great looking recipe caught my eye and I suddenly found myself in a stir-fry mood.

This turned out to be one of the freshest tasting stir-frys I have made and the sauce was nice and light and not gloppy and heavy. I was quite surprised by the versatility of rice vinegar. I will certainly be adding a splash of flavor more often now that I have had the opportunity to try Nakano's great product!   


 Garlic-Chicken Ginger Stir Fry

INGREDIENTS

1-1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken (preferably thighs), cut bite-size
6 large garlic cloves, minced
3 tablespoons minced ginger
3 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons NAKANO Seasoned Rice Vinegar—Original or Red Pepper, divided
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon soy sauce, divided
1/2 cup reduced sodium chicken broth
4 teaspoons cornstarch mixed with 2 tablespoons water
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 medium red onion, cut into 1/2-inch wedges
1 pound broccoli crowns, cut into small florets

DIRECTIONS
In a medium bowl, toss together the chicken, garlic, ginger, 2 teaspoons seasoned rice vinegar, and 1 teaspoon soy sauce; season with salt and pepper, as desired. Let stand 10 minutes.

In a small bowl, mix the broth, cornstarch (mixed with water), remaining 3 tablespoons vinegar, and remaining tablespoon soy sauce; set aside.

Heat a large wok or skillet over high heat; swirl the oil around the sides and bottom of wok.  Sauté the chicken in the oil for 6 minutes, stirring 2 or 3 times. Add the onion; stir-fry 1 minute.

Stir in the vinegar mixture; bring to a boil. Add the broccoli; stir-fry until the broccoli is tender-crisp and the sauce is translucent, about 3 minutes. Adjust the soy sauce and pepper to taste.

Makes 4 servings

Variations: Add one or more of the following: two cups of torn basil leaves; a cup of cilantro leaves; a couple handfuls of cashews; a slivered red bell pepper; sesame oil; or a tablespoon of Thai fish sauce or Chinese oyster sauce (reduce the soy sauce if you add fish or oyster sauce). For a spicy dish, season the chicken with 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper or add a couple of slivered jalapeños with the onion.

Nakano provided me with a $50 and a free bottle of seasoned vinegar for this campaign. They also want to award one lucky Last Bite reader with a prize package to enjoy!
The prize package will consist of One Bottle of Nakano product, a $25 Gift Card, and a recipe/coupon booklet!


To register to win the NAKANO Prize Package simply post a link in the comment section to your favorite NAKANO recipe found here http://bit.ly/dlCwV2.

 

Quick Summer Pickles Makes a Nice Crunchy Snack!

You might have a bumper crop of pickling cukes ready to harvest in your raised bed, planter, or standard garden. Maybe you just couldn't pass up on the beautiful green gems on the table at your local farmers market. Either way you have to do something great with all those cucumbers, right!

This  is a simple and inexpensive way to have and enjoy the crisp and tangy treats we all love to crunch on! There are no exotic ingredients and no complicated procedures or processes to producing the best, and freshest pickles you may ever eat.

Ingredients:
10-12 small cucumbers
2 Cups Vinegar 
1 Cup Water
3 Tblsps Salt
1/2 Tsp Sugar
small bunch fresh dill tops
small bunch flatleaf parsley
3 cloves garlic (optional)

Directions:
In a tub add dill, parsley, and garlic. Arrange cucumbers in tub with herbs. In a pot heat water enough to dissolve salt and sugar. Remove from heat. Add vinegar to mixture. Pour mixture over cucumbers in tub and allow to cool slightly. Put lid on tub and place in fridge for 3-4 days. Enjoy your crunchy pickles!

For large cucumbers cut in half or quarter into spears. You can adjust the components of the brine to allow for taste or even add your own blend of pickling spice.

How to Cook Real Food: An Online Cooking Class

 Jamie Oliver’s “Food Revolution” is spreading the word about just why we need to eat “real food” for our health. Michael Pollan tells us to cook from scratch — he says, “Eat real food. Not edible food-like substances. Eat things your great-grandmother would have recognized as food.”

SIGN UP TODAY!

It seems simple enough. Eat real food. Cook from scratch. Shop locally. But how do you make it happen in your own kitchen? Especially those of us who never learned how to cook — we were raised on microwave suppers, boxed cereals and toaster pastries. We all face the challenges of a modern life – balancing work and parenthood, all the while trying to feed our families healthier meals.

Our food supply has changed drastically in the past few decades. These days, you have to be a chemist to make sense of it all. Artificial growth hormones. Hydrogenated soybean oil. High-fructose corn syrup. And isn’t organic food more expensive? Sure, eating healthier is great, but not if you go broke in the process. How do you feed your family healthy, nourishing meals without spending all day in the kitchen and blowing your food budget?

You value real food, your local economy and your family’s health. But just how do you get started?

MORE INFO HERE!

Recipe: Honey Mustard Grilled Chicken

Rich and delicious, this chicken dish features complex flavors that will surprise and delight you!

Ingredients:
1/2 cup Mayonnaise
3 tablespoon Pebble Creek Roasted Garlic & Red Chile Mustard
1 tablespoon honey    
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
pinch salt    
1 green onion, chopped    
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Directions:
In a bowl, combine all ingredients except chicken and green onion. Set aside 1/3 cup mustard mixture. Grill chicken, brushing frequently with mustard mixture until chicken is cooked, and juices run clear. Serve chicken with reserved mustard mixture and garnish with chopped green onions if desired.

Makes 4 Servings

Best Recipe In The West Casting Amateur Cooks!

Do you have a family recipe that has people begging for more? Is there a recipe that your family has passed down from generation to generation?

Perhaps it's something regional like Burgoo from Kentucky or Fish Taco from Baja. Is your recipe worthy of the title “America’s Best Recipe?”

PARADE Magazine along with a major network are shooting a Pilot episode to find "America's Best Recipe". They are casting for the Pacific Regional Pilot and you can be part of it by simply emailing them.

All the information is available is at the Parade magazine website.

Foodbuzz Tastemakers: Emeril's Gourmet Chicken Broth

Our good friends at Foodbuzz have sent us a selection of fine Emeril's products to sample and report out findings. One of those items
was some of Emeril's gourmet chicken broth. We decided to make a local favorite meal that would definately feature the full flavor of Emeril's broth; Chicken PHO.
Below is the recipe we created. This dish can be made with a variety of noodles; we cooked three kinds to suite everyone's desires. The tasty PHO was equally delicious
with both egg and rice noodles, and was even great with low carb shirataki noodles.

Ingredients

2 ounces rice or egg noodles
1 piece ginger root
1 garlic clove, crushed
4 spring onions, chopped
3 tablespoons fish sauce
1 stalk lemongrass, chopped
6 cups Emeril's chicken broth
4 ounces raw chicken, sliced in strips
1 bunch baby bok choy
4 large carrots peeled
2 ounces bean sprouts
1 small bunch fresh cilantro stems
4 cloves
2 star anise
1 tsp coriander seeds
1 lime

Directions

1. Add the ginger, garlic, bok choy, carrots, fish sauce and lemon grass, and spices to the broth and simmer for 45 minutes.

2. Strain and reserve.

3. Add the chicken pieces to the strained stock and simmer for 10 minutes.

4. Cook the noodles in boiling water for four minutes.

5. Drain and divide the noodles between the soup bowls.

6. Pour the soup over noodles.

7. Garnish each bowl with some of the bean sprouts, cilantro and a wedge of lime.

Serve with Hoisin and Sriracha hot sauce.

Foodbuzz Tastemakers: Nakano Rice Vinegar

Thanks to the great people at Foodbuzz and Nakano brand foods we have the opportunity to bring you a great recipe from their booklet.

The awesome flavor of the Nakano rice vinegar gives this soup that wonderful tang that is reminiscent of your favorite Chinese food restaurant. This soup is incredibly easy to make at home and as delicious as any restaurant will produce. All the ingredients are available in most regular grocery stores.


NAKANO HOT & SOUR SOUP

4 cups (32 oz.) chicken broth
1/4 cup NAKANO NATURAL RICE
VINEGAR or NAKANO SEASONED RICE
VINEGAR—ORIGINAL
2 Tbsp. lite soy sauce
114 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes or 1 tsp.
hot chile oil
4 ounces firm silken tofu, well drained,
cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 can (15 oz.) sliced mushrooms or
straw mushrooms, drained
1/2 cup drained canned bamboo shoots
3 Tbsp. water
2 Tbsp. cornstarch
1 egg white, slightly beaten
1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions
2 tsp. dark toasted sesame oil

Combine broth, Nakano Seasoned Rice
Vinegar, soy sauce and red pepper flakes in a
large saucepan; bring to a boil over high heat.

Reduce heat to medium; simmer 2 minutes.
Stir in tofu, mushrooms and bamboo shoots;
heat through. Combine water and cornstarch,
mixing until smooth. Stir into soup; cook until
soup boils and thickens, about 5 minutes,
stirring frequently.

Remove from heat. Stirring soup constantly in one direction,
slowly pour egg white in a thin stream into soup. Stir in green onions and sesame oil.

Ladle into soup bowls. Serves 4 (makes about 5-1/2 cups).

Tip: Silken tofu is sold alongside regular tofu
in the produce section of your supermarket.
Its creamy texture is excellent in soup. If
unavailable, diced cooked chicken or pork
may be substituted.

Total preparation and cook time: 25 minutes

Nutritional information per serving:
111 calories; 7g protein; lOg carbohydrate;
5g fat; Omg cholesterol; 1,573mg sodium

Brew-B-Q Father’s Day Contest. Sponsored by MUG Root Beer

The Last Bite Food Network member "The BBQ Grail" is hosting a contest sponsored by Mug root beer. We love to support our members; especially when prizes are involved, so check out this great contest and win your Dad some awesome MUG swag!

MUG Root Beer knows 40 percent of dads have received a Father’s Day gift that wasn’t on their wish list. This year, MUG Root Beer is reinventing the Father’s Day tradition with Dad’s favorite past time-a frosty brew and ingredients for spending time with family and friends outdoors. I have received five MUG Root Beer “Brew-B-Q” Gift Packs. The gift pack contains a cooler, 2 liters of MUG Root Beer and all the ingredients to make their special Southern Brew-B-Q Sauce recipe

Does your dad deserve to win a “Brew-B-Q” Gift pack? Or maybe your husband? If you’d like to nominate someone, send an email to to bbqgrail@earthlink.net and tell me why “dad” deserves to win. Remember, this is a Father’s Day contest so it has to be about dad, the kids and BBQ. You can include a picture if you’d like. (If you send me a picture, you are giving me permission to publish!) All entries will be posted on the BBQ Grail blog. Winner’s will be decided by me and announced here on Father’s Day. You’ll receive an email if you win, requesting your address.

Foodbuzz Tastemasters: Buitoni Riserva Wild Mushroom Agnolotti

After a long Sunday loaded with household chores, a visit to the farmer’s market, and some light gardening it was time for dinner. Feeling somewhat drained I was looking for a simple solution to a tasty meal without a lot of mess and prep. Thanks to Buitoni and The Foodbuzz Tastemaster program I had that solution close at hand.

Buitoni’s new Riserva line of fresh pasta has eclectic flavors such as Quattro Fromaggi Agnolotti, Wild Mushroom Agnolotti, Chicken and Four Cheese Ravioli, and Braised Beef Sausage Ravioli. I received the Wild Mushroom Agnolotti in my package.

Buitoni describes it as follows:

A blend of earthy mushrooms, including sweet, rustic portobellos and delicate criminis, creates an impeccable pairing with fresh-roasted garlic and imported grana padano and parmesan cheeses, wrapped inside thin layers of stone-ground semolina pasta.

I wanted to keep the sauce light to compliment the pasta, so that we could taste the pasta and filling. So many sauces bury the flavors of the pasta so all you can taste is the sauce. I created a light garlic-sage cream to elevate this fantastic pasta. I sautéed a little garlic in olive oil and added in a splash of chicken stock and sage. Remove the sage leaves once the sauce has begun to reduce. Just a splash of cream and the pasta goes in to finish cooking. I arrange the pasta on two plates and finish the sauce by mounting with a little butter. The mounted sage cream is spooned over the Wild Mushroom Agnolotti. This pasta was fresh and delicious and the mushroom, cheese, and roasted garlic filling was earthy, smooth, and sweet. You could taste the individual elements of the filling and the combination of those elements was sublime.

This pasta was a perfect with the broccolini and vine ripened tomatoes that we picked up earlier that day at the farmer’s market. The broccolini was lightly sautéed and the tomatoes were sliced and sprinkled with kosher sea salt and drizzled with extra virgin olive oil.

The Buitoni Riserva Wild Mushroom Agnolotti was the perfect center of the plate for our farm fresh produce.

Things Are Heating Up For California Caterer.

Do you remember that Top Chef Quaker Oats Challenge I asked you all to vote on a while back? Well here's the skinny:

Our fellow Foodie friend Maurice "Ben" Larimer made it to the finals and then he won the cook-off event with his Oatmeal Crusted Chile Relleno. He used a combination of Poblano/Pasilla peppers to keep things lively! The Chiles are stuffed with an Oatmeal Goat Cheese, Mango, and Grilled Chipotle Shrimp Stuffing, and are topped with a Green Chile Ranchero Sauce. Even the description is enough to get your mouth watering! “Top Chef Winner Hosea loved the dish”, says Larimer, “and so did Annie from Quaker Oats and Nikki”

The grueling day began at 7am with a walkthrough of the small outdoor kitchen. At 9am the dinner bell sounded and it was off to the races; only 45 minutes to complete the entire dish. Ben tells us that his best time so far was 47 minutes during his home trials. It seems as though Ben had found his groove and managed to complete and plate the dish with 2 minutes left to spare. I can’t imaging cooking Chile Rellenos start to finish is such a short time. Incidentally, Chef Larimer was the only male contestant out of the ten semi-finalists.

This cook-off is scheduled to air on bravotv.com on Monday, April 6th in its entirety. So be sure to check that out!

When Maurice “Ben” Larimer is not whipping up prize winning dishes in record time he puts his 21 years of culinary experience to good use at CocoMoe’s Catering in Red Bluff California.

With his passion for food and perfection Ben has acquired a reputation for amazing food, and an incredible sense of what foods fit best for your event. His experience dates back to 1986 when his first job was a dishwasher/prep cook in a small restaurant in Oklahoma. From there he has apprenticed under 2 separate chefs 1 Spanish, 1 Italian for a total of 4 years. After working in the industry for a number of years, Ben decided to give catering a try.

CocoMoe’s has catered for many celebrities including the likes of, Brooks & Dunn, Reba McEntire, Trace Adkins, Colin Raye, The Beach Boys, Jesse Colin Young and The Youngbloods, George Thorogood and The Destroyers. Also businesses and groups such as the Redding Rodeo Association, Shasta Regional Hospital, Wal-Mart Redding , and their most important accomplishment to date, over 11,000 Marines at 29 Palms Marine Base. As well as many residents of the Northstate here in California.

To learn more about Larimer and his catering business, you can log on to www.cocomoes.net

Just Simply Great Products!

Our friends at Just Simply Good Stuff sent us a box of sample to check out and we have been dragging our feet or tongues, getting to the taste tests. So recently we went on a total taste test rampage and dove head first into this box of savory spice blends.

Robin Carter’s seasonings are all created from scratch using her own recipes. They grind and mix individual chilies, herbs, and spices to create unique dry rubs and blends, and salt is only used to enhance the blends not weigh them down. Their spice blends are all natural, contain no MSG, and are simply delicious.

As it turns out Just Simply Good Stuff is more like Really Great Stuff! It has taken us quite some time to get through all the items that we received because they are so versatile we kept finding new uses for them. A favorite of our; the Lemon Lime Salt is fantastic on Beer Can Chicken. The Wild Game Rub elevated my Grilled Tri-Tip to new heights, and the Smoky Jalapeno Rub was extraordinary as a pre-seasoning for hot wings. We also used the Lemon Lime salt to make some remarkable Tequila Lime Prawns!

For those of you whom have been to the Just Simply Good Stuff website you know there is a library of recipes and serving suggestions that show you great ways to use these wonderful products. We went through and recreated a few of these to get a feel for how Robin intended the spice blends to be used. We were very pleased with the results! Here are the recipes that we used:

Smoky Jalapeno Corn on the Cob

Butter corn, sprinkle with Smoky Jalapeno Rub & Smoky Mesquite salt. Wrap in foil, grill or bake. This recipe is especially handy when you're feeding a crowd. Just unwrap the corn and you're good to go! (No need to pass around all of the butter and salt & pepper… it's already done!)

Grilled Zucchini

Slice zucchini lengthwise, layer 3 - 4 sheets of paper towels, lay slices on and sprinkle with kosher or sea salt, let set for about 20 minutes to draw out some moisture, rinse lightly and pat dry, brush both sides lightly with olive oil. Sprinkle on Mediterranean Medley and Lemon/Lime salt lightly on one side; grill (2-3 min) until you get golden brown grill marks, flip & repeat. Remove, sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Serve immediately while hot.

Holiday Prime Rib Roast

Prime Rib Rub

1 Prime Rib Roast 7-8 lbs (or about 4-5 ribs)

Directions

Ask the butcher for the small end of the Prime. Season generously on all sides with our Prime Rib Rub, Place Roast bone side down in a hot pre-heated oven at 450 degrees for 15 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 250 degrees and cook about 20 to 30 minutes per pound. Test the beef with a meat thermometer in the thickest part of the roast (center of the eye) being careful not to touch the bone. Remove the roast when the internal temperature reaches 130 degrees for rare, 140 for medium rare or 150 degrees for medium. Cover the roast loosely with aluminum foil and let sit for 1/2 hour. The internal roast temperature will continue to rise about 5 degrees even after you take it out of the oven.

You can see how simple it is to get great results with Just Simply Good Stuff products. Try some of these unique and delicious blends and soon you will have your own favorite way to prepare Simply Great Food!

Sunday Dinner: Soy Sauce Roasted Chicken

Today’s Sunday Dinner was inspired by some samples delivered to us by the people at Wan Ja Shan. Their soy sauce products are so vibrant and delicious it makes cooking a great meal a simple task. It’s true that when you start with great ingredients you get great results!

This dish is prepared classically as a pan fried heavily sauced dish served over rice. We chose to lighten it up a bit and use the sauce as a baste for the whole roasted bird.

Ingredients:
1 whole roasting chicken
1/3-1/2 cup soy sauce (use low sodium if you like)
1/2 cup water
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
1/4 cup rice wine or dry sherry
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, crushed
1/2 teaspoon five-spice powder
1-2 piece star anise
2 cloves garlic
chopped hot chiles (optional)
1 stalk scallion, chopped
sesame seed

Directions:
Mix all ingredients, except chicken, scallions, sesame seeds in a deep roaster over medium heat.

Add chicken, and then roast at 375degrees for 15 minutes per pound. Baste chicken occasionally.

Chicken is done when the juices run clear or the internal temperature reaches 160 degrees in the thickest part.

Remove chicken from the sauce and set aside in a platter to rest.
Skim fat from the sauce, thicken it with cornstarch mixture (1 tsp cornstarch dissolved in 1 TB water) and pour the sauce over chicken.

Sprinkle scallions and sesame seeds and serve with rice and steamed broccoli.

Need a Recipe? Got a Recipe to Share? This is a great place to do it! Email us with your recipe and we'll add it to the list and give you some props too!