Cranberry 'n Persimmon Sauce

We're continuing with our Thanksgiving Theme recipes.  I'm so grateful for all the ideas I'm getting from Chef Azuki for my Thanksgiving feast!  My family had a preview meal of the famous crock-pot stuffing along with this delicious cranberry sauce.  I loved the persimmon in the sauce which tempers the tartness of the cranberries.  Sweet Fuyu Persimmons are in season so get some at your local farmer's market or grocery store.  If you're growing some in your yard, you're even luckier!

Cranberry 'n Persimmon Sauce

Ingredients:
1 bag (12 oz) cranberries
1 C sugar
1 C water
2 fuyu persimmons finely chopped
1/2 tsp of cinnamon

Directions:
1.  Boil the cranberries with sugar and water
2.  When cranberries just start to pop, mix in persimmons and cinnamon
3.  Simmer until desired consistency and cranberries are soft

Fuyu means winter and there's something so wonderful about enjoying seasonal fruits.  The addition of the fuyu persimmon into this cranberry sauce is simply genius.  It brings back memories of friends or relatives bringing a big bag of persimmons during this time of year.  I'm also stocking up on Satsuma tangerines, another winter growing fruit.

BeaNspiration:  Don't miss out on the treasures of the season!!!!!!!

Crock-pot Stuffing

Here's a tasty stuffing recipe that uses a hint of soy sauce to create a winning combination with either rice or mashed potatoes.  I know my grandmother always made her Thanksgiving meal with a pot of rice, and there was something about her stuffing that made it seem perfectly normal. I'm not sure if she put soy sauce in her stuffing too; but I wouldn't be surprised if she did.  Chef Azuki's stuffing was a hit with my family as we enjoyed roasted chicken, stuffing and rice!  A perfect autumn night's feast!

Crock-pot Stuffing

Ingredients:

1 lb sage sausage

1 box Stuffing mix

1 onion finely chopped

2 stalks of celery chopped

1 can low sodium chicken broth

1/4 C unsalted butter

1/2 C chopped pecans

1 Tbsp soy sauce (shoyu)

Directions:

1.  Brown the sausage in a frying pan

2.  Add Chicken broth, pecans, onion, celery, pecans and browned sausage to a crock-pot

3.  Add melted butter and soy sauce and stir

4.  Slowly stir in stuffing mix until broth is absorbed and other ingredients are dispersed evenly

5.  Heat on high for 1 1/2 hours

Turn setting to warm and serve.  It was so delicious the pecans and celery created the perfect
texture.  Using the crock-pot will make serving warm stuffing a breeze.  I'm making this stuffing for Thanksgiving!

BeaNspiration:  Magical holiday fun starts with simple ideas!

Coconut Curry Chicken

Chef Azuki has been wanting to make curry.  She bought some coconut milk and decided to try Coconut Curry.  Chop, chop, chopping the veggies and chicken is all it takes to make another delicious meal.

Coconut Curry Chicken

Ingredients:
1 can (14.5 oz) chicken broth
1 can ( 13.5 oz) coconut milk
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
2 tsp. curry powder
1 large potato chopped
2 stalks of celery chopped
4-6 baby carrots chopped
1 cup cooked chicken chopped

Directions:
Put all the ingredients in a pot
Stir the ingredients togethers as it cooks
Once it boils simmer for 20-30 minutes or until vegetables are tender

Serve with rice and garnish with pickled ginger.

BeaNspiration:  Stir the cauldron and meld together delicious flavors!!!!!!

Chicken Nimono

Chef Azuki never ceases to amaze me. I love how she just tosses ingredients in a pan or pot and ends up with a delicious melding of tantalizing tastes. Today she was inspired by her mother's, simmering dish called Nimono. Any kind of meat can be added but Chef Azuki had some chicken breasts today, so she chopped them up and made this fantastic warm soup/stew-like dish. The evenings are starting to get a little chilly so this one pot wonder will warm your soul with satisfying comfort.  It's a good time to eat your root vegetables, grounding you before the cold winter comes.  I love cooked daikon, it mellows out when cooked and absorbs the delicious flavors of the sauce.

Chicken Nimono

Ingredients:

5 C water
1/8 C shoyu (low sodium soy sauce)
4 tsp hondashi
2 T sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 C chopped chicken
2 potatoes, peeled and chopped
2 C daikon cut into short sticks, like french fries
1/2 C of carrots large chunks or use baby carrots
1 bunch of green onions chopped into 1 inch sticks
2/3 C edamame

Directions:

1.  Put in water and chicken in a pot or large pan
2.  Cook over medium heat until boiling and foam forms on top of the water
3.  Ladle off the foam and add all the rest of the ingredients to the pot
4.  Heat on medium for 30-40 minutes
5.  Check to make sure the vegetables are tender

It's ready to eat with a bowl of rice.  Nimono is a sure-fire hit for fall!

BeaNspiration:  Look around and be inspired by the season!

Pork Gyoza

Baby BeaN is so sad that his favorite fast food Asian eatery doesn't have gyoza anymore.  Luckily for us Chef Azuki has a recipe to remedy that dilemma.  Yes, let's try to make some gyoza!

Pork Gyoza

Ingredients:
1 lb. lean ground pork
1 T sesame oil
1 clove garlic crushed or chopped
2 T soy sauce
1 tsp salt
3 bunches of green onion
608 napa (japanese cabbage) leaves, finely chopped
1 12 oz package round wraps wonton skin
1-2 T of canola or vegetable oil for frying


Directions:
1.  Saute pork, sesame oil, garlic, soy sauce, salt, napa, and green onions for 7-10 minutes
     (Make sure the pork is thoroughly cooked)
2.  Remove filling from heat and cool
3.  In each round wrap add filling
4.  Wet the edges with water and fold the wrap in half
5.  Pinch the edges together creating a beautiful rippled look at the top
6.  Put the folded edges down into a heated pan with oil
7.  Pan fry in a little oil until lightly browned
8.  Add a small amount of water and cover for 5 minutes
9.  Carefully turn over and cook the other side
10.  Take out and serve with you favorite dipping sauce

Baby BeaN doesn't need any sauce.  He just gobbles it down.  I like it with ponzu and others like a variety of sauces available at the market.  Have it anyway you like it and enjoy!!!!!!

BeaNspiration:  Be inspired to make it yourself!

Spicy Garlic Edamame

I love eating edamame (boiled soybeans) as a mid day snack.  It's delicious plain or with a little salt. But sometimes you're in the mood for something a little more fancy, maybe a party or a special magical night of family fun.  Chef Azuki makes every day and night magnificent with
easy delicious recipes.  Try this one tonight!

Spicy Garlic Edamame

Ingredients:
1 lb frozen edamame
3 garlic cloves peeled and crushed
1 T sesame oil
2 T soy sauce
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper


Directions
1.  Place edamame and 1/4 C water in  microwave safe bowl
2.  Microwave on high for 5 minutes or cook according to directions
3.  In a separate pan, saute garlic with sesame oil, soy sauce, salt and red pepper
4.  Add the edamame to pan and toss together
5.  Plate the edamame and serve

Everyone will love this!  Have it as a snack or serve as a side dish to your meal.
It'll disappear magically!

BeaNspiration:  Delicious snacks can be easy to make!

Terrific Teriyaki Turkey Meatloaf

This delicious recipe was made by Chef Azuki with ingredients she had at her house.  There's a funny story about getting older and needing reading glasses that goes along with the unusual dimensions of our ingredient list.  Chef Azuki has these cute measuring cups in a variety of colors and each one holds a certain amount.  We both thought we were using the 1/4 Cup, but to our more critical eye, we found that it was indeed the 1/3 Cup we were using.  So if you're wondering how we came up with 1/6 of cup of soy sauce, that's 1/2 of a 1/3 cup.  Got that?  Does it sound like a common core math problem?  Well, we won't ask you to explain it back to us.  At least we're still laughing and enjoying our cooking adventures, even if we're going to have to break down and get reading glasses.

Terrific Teriyaki Turkey Meatloaf

Ingredients:
2.5 lbs of ground turkey
1/6 C shoyu (low sodium soy sauce)
1/3 C ketchup
4 Tbsp Brown sugar
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1 C of panko
1 egg

Directions:
1.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees
1.  Mix together shoyu, ketchup, brown sugar and garlic powder
2.  Put the ground turkey in a large bowl and add the shoyu mixture and combine the ingredients
3.  Add panko (Japanese style bread crumbs) and egg, then incorporate this in well
4.  Put it in a pyrex loaf pan
5.  If you like the top of your meatloaf to look caramelized save a little sauce to pour on top
     (you'll have to watch it and tent it with foil if it starts to burn)
5.  Cook for 1 - 1 1/2  hours depending on your oven  (internal temperature of 160-170 degrees)


Yummy!  This is one terrific meatloaf!  I loved the hint of Asian flavor and the panko really kept this meatloaf moist.  You can find panko in the Asian section of your grocery store.  Try it, it's Great!

BeaNspiration:  Laughing through your culinary adventures is magical!