Shanghai: Day 2

It's been awhile since I've used this thing, but since Facebook is prohibited in China, I'm hoping this is a good way to share with everyone some of the things I'm experiencing. And today had a lot of experiences!

This will likely be one of my calmer days in Shanghai, so my co-manager, Stephanie, and I took advantage of the downtime and did some sight-seeing. We went to the Yuyuan Gardens, which were founded between 1559 and 1577 by the Pan family. They're classical Chinese gardens which were ransacked during both the Opium War and the Taiping Rebellion. They're an example of Ming dynasty garden design, and some of the highlights are the Three Ears of Corn Hall, the Exquisite Jade Rock, the Hall or Heralding Spring, and the gilded woodwork of the Ancient Stage.

For lunch, we went to a very nice Sichuan restaurant. Sichuan food is known for being spicy, but I kind of think they saw 3 Western women and toned it down a notch. I went with two other Program Managers, and we each picked out an entree to share. The other two picked familiar proteins - Sweet and Sour Ribs, and Crispy Duck. I went by the recommendation of a local, and got a Sichuanese specialty - Braised Pigeon! That big bowl on the right is my pigeon, and it was delicious - tender meat, spicy brother, flavorful vegetables. The amount of bones in each bite was a bit unappetizing, but once you got past that, it was pretty amazing. Next on my list of traditional Shanghainese food to try is frog legs!

Dinner :: Beef and Ginger Stir Fry

Okay, I have to be honest with you. If you're reading this, you've probably noticed that I haven't posted in a really long time. Awhile ago, I thought it would be fun to make beef stir fry for dinner. I found a recipe for beef and ginger, and I've never actually cooked with fresh ginger so I wanted to give it a try. It also looked very simple, which I've become a fan of lately - not because I'm lazy, but because I think it tastes better.

This dish as a complete and utter disaster. Dis. Ast. Er. The thing about stir fries if you have to be quick on your feet, and not prone to anxiety attacks. I am neither of those two things. Well, at least when I'm in the kitchen. I'm a pretty level-headed person in general, though I wouldn't want to go through a major catastrophe or natural disaster with myself or anything.

First of all, I saw the train coming down the tracks at 90 mph before I even began. I knew to expect things to happen quickly, so I chopped everything ahead of time, grated the ginger, put it all in separate prep bowls so I could just dump it in and keep stirring, stirring, stirring. Yeah, that didn't work. Some of the prep bowls were out of arm's reach, and then the smoke alarm started going off in the bedroom, and then the one in the back stairway started going off. Panic! Panic! Panic!

And then, to top it all of, the meal tasted disgusting. It was bland and ick. I learned that I don't like ginger. And so I did something I'm ashamed to admit - I got disheartened and didn't want to write about it. Who wants to blog about something so unpleasant? But I've decided to renew my commitment to blogging, to cooking, and to trying new things. I'll get back in the saddle and hopefully you'll start hearing from me more regularly again soon!

Finally, so this post isn't a complete loss, I want to share the one success story from this dish. I've never been able to cook rice well by the method I've seen in most recipe books, which is using a little bit of water in a saucepan. I always end up losing half the rice because it sticks to the bottom. Well, Mark Bittman recommends cooking the rice more like pasta (which kind of makes sense). So you fill up the pot with water, bring it to a boil, add your rice and stir. Once it returns to a boil, you should probably lower the heat so it's just simmering, and just check on it until it's cooked. Easy! Why didn't I think of that?

So it wasn't a complete failure after all, I guess...

Dinner :: Skillet Lasagna

I can't say enough good things about this dish. It was simple, tasty, easy yet still rewarding to create. One of my favorite recipes! It's very important to get the right kind of lasagna noodles. This recipe calls for no-bake, so in other words, you want to get the noodles that need to be boiled in water (or in this case, tomato sauce).

Skillet Lasagna
Recipe courtesy of Aug/Sept 2009 Food Network Magazine

Heat 1/4 C. olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high. Add 4 sliced cloves of garlic; cook until golden (1 minute). Add 1.5 lbs. diced ripe tomatoes, 1 T. chopped basil/parley (your choice), 1/2 t. salt, and pepper to taste; cook until "saucy," about 5 minutes. Transfer to a blender and puree. Return 1 C. of the sauce to the skillet and reduce heat to low; reserve the remaining sauce.

Meanwhile, mix 1 C. ricotta cheese, 1 egg, 2 T. grated parmesan, 3 T. chopped herbs, 1/2 t. salt, and pepper to taste in a bowl. Wash and peel 1 carrot and 1 zucchini into ribbons (I used my potato peeler).

Place 2 sheets no-bake lasagna noodles over the sauce in the skillet. Layer half of the carrot and zucchini on top; drizzle with olive oil and season with slat and pepper. Cover with a layer of baby spinach (about 1.5-2 C.), half the ricotta mixture, a few pieces of thinly sliced mozzarella and 2-3 T. of the reserved tomato sauce. Repeat the layers, ending with noodles. Top with any remaining sauce and the rest of the mozzarella (in total, you'll want about 1/3 lb. of mozzarella). Cover and simmer until the lasagna is cooked and the cheese melts (20-25 minutes).

Let rest for a few minutes before slicing, Garnish with more parmesan and fresh herbs.

Checking on the status of the noodles - nope, not done yet!


The final product! I promise you, it tastes better than it looks (and don't look too hard because I burned some of the cheese...). Here's a trick if you don't have a cooling rack - turn your muffin tin upside down and put the dish on that.