Me and Spam

Not many people will admit it these days but everyone loves SPAM-I'm sure vegetarians have a secret longing for it too.

What else is so portable, long lasting and well-tasty?

Peanut butter. Yet good old PB lacks that protein punch.

One can of Spam has enough protein for 6 adults as a matter of fact.

Spam has kept our troops going for decades and lets face it-tastes better than SOS.

Perfect for camping, super quick busy day suppers and of course-nuclear holocaust.

Too salty you say-I have low blood pressure says I. ;P

And versatile? So very! I admit I have just a few recipes though.

My current favorite is Spam Musubi.

And it is so good!

Let's get started shall we?

Spam Musubi

Sushi rice

2 cups medium grain rice(risotto rice can be used)- Place the rice in a pot and cover with water, swirl with your hands and drain off the milky water-do this several times til the water is mostly clear and no longer milky.

2 1/4 cups water

I use a rice cooker and cook the rice according to it's directions. However if you do not have a rice cooker don't despair-perfect rice is obtainable on your stove top in a large pot with a tight fitting lid. Place the rice and the water in the pot and bring to a boil. Cover with the tight lid and let boil for 1 minute. Reduce heat to medium for 4-5 minutes and then to low for 10 minutes, NEVER removing the lid. Remove pot from heat and let sit with the lid on and covered with a dishcloth for 10 minutes. Wallah-your rice should be perfect(it worked well for me before I got the rice cooker)

In a small pan combine over low heat:

1/3 cup rice vinegar

3 tbsp sugar

1 tsp salt

Here's the trickiest part.

Put the cooked rice(still hot) into a large bowl and sprinkle/slowly pour the vinegar mixture over the rice. Lightly fold the rice with either forks or rice paddles to thouroghly coat the rice, being careful not to smash the grains. If you have a helper have them fan the rice as you are folding-this evaporates excess moisture and makes the rice shine.

The Spam

Open your can of Spam carefully-unless you want to spring for a musubi mold-you can transform it into a handy reusable mold. At one time the cans had keys and later each end was rolled. These days that is not the case but with a little luck and if you hold your tongue just right you can cut off the end with a hand held can opener.

Slice the Spam into 8 slices

Pan fry until as crispy as you like and then add to the pan:

2-3 tablespoons Hoisin sauce mixed with 1/4 cup water and continue cooking til each Spam slice sports a nice glaze.

Now you'll need to get your Nori ready(We are fortunate enough to have a couple of oriental stores here and the local Ingles and Bi-Lo carry a small selection of Japanese ingredients-everything needed for this recipe-if you can't find any locally I recommend Ichiban Kan-their prices are good and shipping is reasonable.

Cut the nori into strips that are nearly the same width as your mold of choice.

Place a nori strip under your mold and layer in a couple of tablespoons of sushi rice then a slice of Spam(with wasabi spread on it if you dare-I dare of course) and then a couple more tablespoons of rice. Place the former lid on top of your layers and press down-compacting your layers and sliding the mold up and off. Carefully peel away the press(former lid) and wrap the nori around your musubi, wetting the end to make the nori stick to itself.

Repeat until you have as many musubi as you had Spam slices and dig in.

Leftover rice should be used right away as it gets hard relatively quickly. We like to use it to make pineapple sushi, cucumber and carrot rolls, etc...all of which-including the musubi-will keep for several days in the fridge if tightly wrapped in clear plastic wrap-just pop it in the microwave for 10 seconds or so to soften up the rice.

Enjoy

Pork and Mushroom Marsala with Risotto...

...is what we had for supper last night. And let me tell you it was delicious. It still is actually because we have some left for lunch.
So, I actually don't have a recipe for this-I made it after watching Lydia make it on PBS Sunday. I had everything but the mushrooms and Sunday is grocery day for me so I just added them to the list. Lydia didn't serve risotto with the pork but I thought it would be a good idea-and it was. I had gotten some "wafer thin" boneless pork chops and was going to do a pork and cabbage stir fry but the last minute change in plans was welcome.

Pork and Mushroom Marsala

1lb thin sliced pork chops (or if you can't get those just flatten your boneless chops with a small heavy skillet)
Season the pork with salt and pepper
lightly coat the pork with flour

Heat a large skillet(mine is 14") over medium high heat and when it is hot add enough oil to cover the bottom of the pan and come up the sides a little-maybe an eighth of an inch-I used a mix of olive and canola oils(heating the pan first will help keep the meat from sticking-I don't know why, but it does-especially when you are using so little oil)

When the oil is very hot gently lay your chops in and sear on both sides-don't overcook!-you will be reheating them later and no one likes a tough dried out pork chop.

Remove chops to a plate and set aside.

While the meat is cooking you will have gotten ready:

2 shallots diced small
1lb mushrooms sliced thin(I used a mix of white, baby bella and portabella from the bulk bins)

Add them to your hot pan and cook stirring constantly until shallots are transparent and mushrooms have a little color

Add:
1 1/2 tsp rubbed sage
1/2 tsp dried thyme
Salt and pepper to taste
About a tablespoon or so of flour

Stir in:

1 cup dry Marsala
1 cup chicken broth

Deglaze your pan and bring liquid to a bubble, then lower the heat and let simmer a couple of minutes
as the sauce thickens return the chops to the pan and continue to simmer oh, 5 minutes or so(remember your super thin chops are done so you are mainly reheating them and allowing the thin flour coating to thicken the sauce even more).

Wow, Its ready! Serve with whatever you like, rice, risotto, noodles, or even mashed potatoes might be good.

Now on to the risotto. I actually don't use arborio rice because I buy sushi rice in 20 lb bags and I think (though a purist might argue) that they can be used interchangeably. Yes I have rice cooker and use it several times a week. On my wish list is one with fuzzy logic so I can fresh hot rice in the mornings for breakfast and to put in lunches. Whoops I got distracted-I love rice. Anyway...

Risotto

In a heavy bottom medium size pot over medium heat:
1 tbsp olive oil
1 cup rice

When rice is translucent and fragrant stir in:

1/4 cup chicken stock
stir til absorbed
add
1/4 cup chicken broth
stir til absorbed
add 1/2 cup chicken stock
stir til absorbed
say fuck it and add the other cup of stock making sure your flame is as low as it will go
stir in a half tsp of thyme
stir another minute or so
cover
turn off the burner but leave pot on hot stove
In about 10 minutes your risotto will be ready
Add a little more liquid if you want it creamier
and right before serving stir in about 1/4 to 1/2 cup parmesan

Now B did not go for the strong flavor of the chicken stock so next time I will go half stock half water-of course I would have used a bit of white wine if I had had any. Alas we drank it all. Not yesterday, but a few days ago, and forgot all about it at the store what with my green bag situation. Next time perhaps.
Toodles! I'm off to second breakfast which this morning is toast with nutella. Yummy!