Karl’s Ham Steak with Cranberry Orange Marmalade

When Safeway has a half price sale on hams (after a holiday) I buy a half a ham and cut it into ¾ inch ham steaks to freeze for later. A ham steak is pretty much just a slab of meat. The trick is what glaze do you put on it to dress it up.

Karl’s Ham Steak With Cranberry Orange Marmalade

Karl’s Ham Steak
With Cranberry Orange Marmalade

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Filed under Broiling, Main Dishes, Pork

Karl’s Xīfàn (Chinese Rice Porridge)

Daughter Miriam has been sick recently and is going in for a procedure in a few days. The doctor has put her on a restricted diet—no fiber; no red, orange or purple foods; nothing from the lily family. This cuts out many foods in our normal diet—no brown rice, whole wheat, tomatoes, carrots, onions, garlic, leeks, or any other “stringy” vegetables. How do I create a Sunday dinner that is both satisfying for everyone, but where she can still keep within this diet?

Karl’s Xīfàn (Chinese Rice Porridge)

Karl’s Xīfàn
Chinese Rice Porridge

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Filed under Main Dishes, Rice, Vegan, Vegetarian

Karl’s Biscuits II

Bread is mostly flour mixed with a liquid. However, because of the complex chemistry of the starches and gluten in the flour, small changes in handling techniques and additional ingredients can make a big difference in the texture of the final product. A few weeks ago I posted my updated recipe for light and flaky biscuits. I had been making these biscuits for years, so throwing them together was second nature. However, when I tried to make these biscuits as I had written the recipe they came out tough and dense.

Karl’s Biscuits II

Karl’s Biscuits II

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 Karl’s Pull-Apart Dinner Rolls

Adapted from a King Arthur Flour recipe

I do not make dinner rolls very often, because several family members are avoiding carbs or white flour breads. Jan’s friends came to Stitches and I was making them a Brazilian seafood stew. Jan’s friends are not avoiding white bread and I decided that pull-apart rolls would go well with dinner.

Karl’s Pull-Apart Dinner Rolls

Karl’s Pull-Apart Dinner Rolls

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Karl’s Brazilian Seafood Stew

Adapted from Chef John’s recipe

Jan’s school friends—Barb from second grade, Pat from I think about seventh grade—are in town for Stitches. This means another meal to create—with no meat with a face or chunks of tomato. A few ago I made some Jamaican coconut fish parcels that had a very flavorful broth, I decided to look for a soup that was similar, but different.

Karl’s Brazilian Seafood Stew

Karl’s Brazilian Seafood Stew

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Karl’s Chicken Teriyaki (Claudia’s style)

When I was leaving home as a youth, this is one of the first recipes I copied out of my mother’s card file. When Dad returned from Japan in the early ‘50s, he brought back a love of all things Japanese and several Japanese recipes. My mother was making chicken teriyaki when it was still an exotic foreign food in California.

Karl’s Chicken Teriyaki (Claudia’s style)

Karl’s Chicken Teriyaki
(Claudia’s style)

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Claudia’s Chicken Teriyaki

Before I left home for the first time, I sat down with my mother’s recipe box and wrote down my favorite dishes. This is one of the dishes that Dad brought back from Japan in the ‘50s.  When most American families were getting hamburgers and hotdogs, we were getting chicken teriyaki and rice once a week. When Jan and I were living in China I received great praise for my ability to eat with chopsticks. Because of dad’s love of things Japanese, I had been using chopsticks from the time I could hold them.

Karl’s Chicken Teriyaki (Claudia’s style)

Karl’s Chicken Teriyaki
(Claudia’s style)

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Karl’s Lion’s Head Meatballs with Baby Bok Choi (Shanghai Meatballs)

While we lived in China—1988-1990—we would occasionally be invited to a family meal by our Chinese friends. One Chinese New Year, Mrs. Wong made us lion’s head meatballs—with her own family’s recipe. Lion’s head meatball is one of the good luck dishes of Chinese New Year’s. The big round meatball is meant to represents the lion guardian spirit that will protect you through the next year.

Karl’s Lion’s Head Meatballs with Baby Bok Choi (Shanghai Meatballs)

Karl’s Lion’s Head Meatballs with Baby Bok Choi
(Shanghai Meatballs)

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Karl’s Biscuits and Andouille Sausage Gravy

My wife, Jan, is reading the Longmire mystery series. In the final book, Longmire has biscuits and Andouille sausage gravy. My wife came to me and said, “Make this.” Fortunately, I had some sausages left over from Fat Tuesday’s red beans and rice.

Karl’s Biscuits and Andouille Sausage Gravy

Karl’s Biscuits and Andouille Sausage Gravy

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Karl’s Red Beans and Rice

February 13th was Fat Tuesday and wife Jan asked for Louisiana food for dinner. As much as I try to avoid “add can A to can B” recipes, I will sometimes make do for a weekday meal. Of course, the brand of canned food matters.

Karl’s Red Beans and Rice

Karl’s Red Beans and Rice

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Filed under Beans, Main Dishes, Pork, Rice