A Simple and Delicious Traditional Chinese Noodle Dish - Ma Yi Shang Shu

The name Ma Yi Shang Shu literally translates to "ants climbing a tree", but there are no ants or trees involved. My mom has been making this dish for at least 30 years. It is a true and tried recipe. I have loved the taste of this dish since I was a young girl. My sisters and I used to fight over the last few morsels of this dish. The recipe is courtesy of Grandma(my mom). The dish takes less than 30 minutes to prep and cook. The only caviat is that you MUST use bean thread vermicelli, not rice vermicelli which is a mistake I made the first time I attempted to make this dish. The bean thread vermicelli will absorb all the liquid that is called for in the recipe. When I used the rice vermicelli, the dish was tasty, but we had soup, not a noodle dish. So, learn from my mistake and use bean thread vermicelli. This vermicelli can be found in any Asian store. Grandma told me to look for the red dragon on the package so there would be no mistake.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 bundles of bean thread vermicelli
• 6 oz of ground pork
• 1tbsp of soy
• 1tbsp of rice wine
• 1tsp of sesame oil
• 3 green onion finely chopped
• 1 tsp of finely grated ginger, use a microplane grater
• 1 1/2 tsp of chili hot paste (if you want it extra spicy, add more of the chili paste)
• 1 tbsp of minced garlic
• 2 cups of chicken stock
• 2 tbsp of soy
• 1/2 tsp of salt
• 1/2 tsp of sugar
• 1 tsp of cornstarch
• white pepper (DO NOT SUBSTITUTE WITH BLACK PEPPER-its a totally different taste)
• canola oil

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Marinade the pork in the soy, rice wine and sesame oil as you prepare the other ingredients.
2. Combine the seasonings which are 2/3 of the green onion, ginger, garlic and chili paste and set aside. The rest of the chopped green onion will be used later.
3. Combine the stock, soy, salt, sugar and cornstarch.
4. Place the bean thread vermicelli in a large mixing bowl and add enough hot water to cover the bundles. They should soft immediately, if not leave them for a minutes. Remove from the water and set aside.
   
5. Coat the bottom of a wok or deep sided skllet with oil and cook the ground pork. As the pork cooks, make sure you break up any large clumps with your cooking utensils. Once it is thoroughly cooked, which should be about 5 minutes, move the meat to one side of the pan.
6. Add the seasonings and cook until fragrant. Then mix the meat into the seasonings and continue to cook for a minute.
7. Add the soften bean vermicelli and thoroughly mix into the meat and seasonings.
8. Stir your mixed stock and add to the pan. Bring it to a quick boil and reduce the heat. Continue to cook uncovered until the liquid is all absorbed. It should take about 5 minutes or so. Give the noodles a stir once in a while. Once all the liquid is absorbed, the dish is ready.
9. Put in a serving dish, sprinkle with white pepper and throw the saved chopped green onion on. Its ready to serve.

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Copyright © 2007, 2008 Lizabetti.com, All Rights Reserved

Pizza Quattro Carnita

I will not claim any authenticity in the name of this pizza, Quattro Carnoso would probably be more accurate, but I like the sound of Quattro Carnita. Basically I am trying to convey the idea of four meats, but there is stuff besides meat on each quarter.

This is really four pizza's in one. Moving clockwise from the top:

1. Fresh tomato, bacon, onion, and black olive
2. Smoked salami, black olive, and fresh tomato
3. Italian sausage, Italian peppers, grilled onions, and fresh tomato
4. Ham, green olive, and fresh tomato

The only problem with this pizza is that it is difficult to share. I did manage to cut it into eight pieces so that both Lizabetti and myself could try each section, but no more than 2 people can get a share. This is the perfect pizza for two people. If you have company, I suggest making 4 whole pizzas.

This pizza is great to make outdoors in the Stone Pony or in you standard indoor oven. I think that you will agree that this pizza makes a nice addition to Lizabetti's collection of Italian recipes.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 lb ball of pizza dough. I bought mine at a local pizza parlor.
  
• 2 Links fresh Italian sausage, grilled
  
• 1-2 fresh tomatoes, diced
  
• 1 fresh Italian pepper
• 1 yellow onion
• 2 strips of cooked bacon, can be microwaved at 1 minute per strip
• 1-2 Portabello mushrooms, grilled
• 2 Oz. smoked salami. Use your favorite salami.
• 6 black dry cured Moroccan or French olives
• 6 Martini olives
• 2 slices of ham, diced
• 1 teaspoon dry oregano
• 1 teaspoon garlic
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 8 oz mozzarella cheese, shredded
  

Directions:

1. Dice the tomatoes and place in a colander over a bowl.
2. Lightly salt the tomatoes and mix in some dry oregano. Leave to drain.
3. Roll out the dough and brush with olive oil and garlic. Set aside.
   
4. Grill the sausage over low heat for about 30 minutes.
   
5. Rub the mushrooms with garlic and brush with olive oil.
   
6. Grill the mushrooms, fin side down first. Flip after 5 minutes and cook for an additional 5 minutes.
7. Grill the peppers and onions individually.
8. Slice the sausage.
9. roll out 2 stick shaped pieces of dough and criss-cross over the base. This forms a border between the 4 sections.
   
10. spread the tomatoes on the dough, cover with cheese.
11. build the slices as follows:
    1. Sausage, peppers, onions
    2. ham, green olives
    3. bacon, black olives, onions
    4. Salami, black olives
12. Top each section with additional cheese.
13. Bake at 425^o F for 30 minutes.
14. Let stand for 5-10 minutes before cutting.
    
15. If desired, sprinkle with crushed red peppers and serve with ice cold beer. Mangiare!
    

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Copyright © 2007, 2008 Lizabetti.com, All Rights Reserved

Healthy Hearty Hommus

Hommus is a delicious dip served in many Middle Eastern countries, but it is also a healthy vegetarian dish with enough flavor and protein to be served as a main course. Many variations are made, but in this recipe I stay very close to the classic style. Most recipes you will see use canned garbanzo beans(chick peas). This is fine, but the canned beans lack the naturally nutty flavor which is characteristic of the authentic version. Also, using the dry beans gives the dip a much richer texture. For this reason I make the recipe with toasted garbanzo beans. It is not much effort, and I think you will agree that the flavor is much more robust than other recipes.

A popular way to serve this dish is part of a mazza snack tray that includes hommus, baba ghanouj, labna, cucumber dip, and bakdooniseya. Put out some fresh bread and vegetables and you have enough delicious healthy snacks for a cocktail party or a football game. If you want to parley this into a vegetarian buffet dinner, just add fava beans and falafel.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup dry garbanzo beans (chick peas)
• 1 head of garlic
• 4 tablespoons tahini
• 3 juicy limes
• 1/2 bunch of parsley
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, optional, add more if you like it spicy

Directions:

1. wash garbanzo beans, soak in luke warm water for 24 hours or until soft
2. drain the garbanzos and lay on a cookie sheet, lightly salt
3. Cover the cookie sheet with foil or another cookie sheet and bake at 350^o F for 30-40 minutes. You have to cover it because the garbanzos tend to pop and fly around your oven.
4. Place the beans in a food processor. Add 1/2 cup of water and pulverize until it reaches the texture of coarse peanut butter.
5. Add parsley and peeled garlic. Pulverize until smooth.
6. Add tahini, olive oil, and squeeze in lime juice.
7. Pulverize until smooth.
8. Serve with pita bread, cut vegetables and olives.

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Copyright © 2007, 2008 Lizabetti.com, All Rights Reserved