Today I cooked a four course Mother’s Day meal. I found all recipes online. The meal consisted of the following:
Appetizers
Prosciutto, Pear, and Fig Tea Sandwiches
Smoked Salmon, Chive Cream Cheese, and Cucumber Tea Sandwiches
Salad
Arugula, Watermelon, and Peach Salad
Main Course
Tilapia with Mango Pico, Garlic Bacon Rice, and Black Beans
Dessert
Caramelized Bananas with Vanilla Bean Ice Cream
Porcupine Meatballs by Albert Moyer, Jr.
Here is the general recipe for these delicious little balls. Of course, I always tweak mine a little, but that’s my secret.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/porcupine-balls-recipe2/index.html
This dish is influenced by both Japanese and Korean cuisine. It consists of teriyaki beef short ribs, japanese eggplant with mixed vegetables and garlic, and rice topped with a little bit of Sriracha hot sauce. I don’t have a recipe because I make most of my dishes up in my head. After you cook so long, you get to where you know how to balance the seasoning and mix things up.
To start, gather your ingredients. Which are 2 lbs chicken breast, one onion, one jalapeno, four zucchini or calabacita, a bag of carrots, 15 cloves of garlic crushed, soy sauce, oyster sauce (Lee Kum Kee preferred to avoid MSG), and black pepper. This meal will feed eight people easily(I like leftovers), and takes about 40 minutes to prepare. For the Vegetarians and Vegans, add some soy based meat product or stick with veggies and rice.
Chop zucchini, onion, and chicken breast. Slice jalapeno and carrots with a mandolin or food processor. I prefer a mandolin. It’s great hand exercise. Watch your fingers!
Stir fry meat first with half the crushed garlic and about one tablespoon canola oil, because you will not have room for 2 lbs of chicken, and all the vegetables in a wok. Add about a tablespoon of soy sauce and two tablespoons of oyster sauce to meat. Also, season liberally with black pepper. Cook, drain, and add to large bowl. Then stir fry vegetables separately with other half crushed garlic, one tablespoon canola oil, and two tablespoons of soy sauce, and liberally add crushed black pepper. Cook the vegetables long enough to be warm and crunchy. Mix chicken and vegetables together. Cook two cups of white rice following package instructions. Serve up and enjoy!
Chicken Vegetable Stir Fry with Oyster Sauce
Albert Moyer, Jr. 