The Gourmet Mama

Ever seen something in an Asian market or even the supermarket and wondered what the heck it was and how on earth you could use it? Well, no longer. In our Exotic Food posts, we`ll be showing you just how to use those weird foods that you never knew how to cook.

Dragon fruit or pitaya, is a bizarre fruit, indeed. The outside looks, well, kinda like a dragon, with thick, leathery red skin that forms large, green-tipped scales. Cut this fruit open and you`ll find either white or bright purple-red flesh, speckled with tiny black seeds.

You`re most likely to find dragon fruit in the Oriental markets, though it is actually native to Central and South America. Dragon fruit grows on cacti that thrive in the drier tropical areas, but has been cultivated with great success in Asia.

So, now that you know what this sucker is . . . what do you do with it?

The best way to eat dragon fruit is to simply peel it and eat it raw. The taste is similar to a kiwi, but less acidic and usually sweet. Since they don`t last long, you`ll want to eat it the day you bring it home from the market. The flesh should be fairly firm, but give with a squeeze of the fruit.

For something a little more exotic, try one of the following recipes:

Dragon Fruit Smoothie

1 dragon fruit, peeled and diced

1 banana

1/2 cup plain yogurt

1/4 cup orange juice

Blend all together in a blender and serve. This is infinitely more colorful if you use the red variety.

Fruit Salad in Dragon Boats

2 dragon fruit

2 kiwis, peeled and cubed

1 cup sliced strawberries

Sugar to taste

Vanilla ice cream

Cut the dragon fruit in half, lengthwise and carefully remove the fruit without damaging the skins. Cube the flesh and toss with remaining ingredients in a small bowl. Place a small scoop of ice cream in the center of each dragon fruit skin half and heap the fruit salad on top. serve immediately.

Want more? Make a dragon fruit pizza, jelly mooncake, or a simple salad.

Photos in order are by: J. Fisher, Denise Soong, Jerry Daykin

Wine is a perfect way to make any meal a little gourmet and add some sass and perk up a regularly boring meal. The best part about it is you can enjoy…I mean “sample” the wine while you are doing the cooking. If your worried about feeding your children alcohol, don’t! The process of heating the wine when you are cooking with it burns off most of the alcohol, leaving a subtle taste of wine without a high alcohol content. In fact, if you boil it in a liquid, it loses 85% of its original alcohol content. Here are the top five rules to remember when you are cooking with wine.

1. Never, ever cook with a wine that you would not drink! If it’s not fit for human consumption, its not fit for cooking with either.

2.  It is important to use the right wine with each different kind of food, so here is a basic guide to help you out. Red meat dishes, soups with root veggies and beef stock should all be paired with a full bodied red wine. Seafood, poultry, pork and veal, veggie and chicken soups and white sauces should be paired with a dry white wine. Desserts should be mixed with a sweet white wine.

3. When adding it to cooking, here are the suggested amounts to add.

Soups - 2 tablespoons per cup

Sauces - 1 tablespoon per cup

Gravies - 2 tablespoons per cup

Stews and Meats - 1/4 cup per pound

Poaching liquid for fish - 1/2 cup per quart

4. Cooking is a great way to use leftover wine! If you want to store leftover wine properly, pour it into smaller bottles, cork it tightly and store it in the fridge.

5. Use whatever wine you like to drink rather than getting cooking sherry. It usually has salt or chemicals added to it and is generally more expensive than regular sherry.

Beef and Cabbage Soup

Prep time: 20 minutes

Cooking time:3 hours, 30 minutes (I know it seems like a long time but its well worth it and you only have to stir it occasionally.)

Ingredients

1-1/4 pounds beef top round roast

2 slices bacon, finely chopped

1 medium onion diced

1 medium carrot diced

2 medium ribs celery diced

1 medium green bell pepper, cored, seeded and diced

1/2 cup red wine (try a Cabernet sauvignon)

1/4 cup A-1 sauce

2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

1-1/2 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1 teaspoon chopped garlic

1/4 teaspoon dried oregano, crushed

1/4 teaspoon dried thyme, crushed

1/2 teaspoon whole caraway seeds

8 to 9 cups water

2 beef bouillon cubes, crumbled

1/2 large head green cabbage cut into 1-inch large dice

1 (3-ounce) jar roasted red peppers, drained and diced

Preparation

Trim beef, saving fat. Cut beef into 1/2-inch cubes and fat into 1/4-inch cubes.

In a large pot (6 quarts), add bacon and beef fat. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until all fat has been rendered and remaining pieces of fat and bacon are brown but not burned. Remove browned fat and bacon pieces and set aside. Leave liquefied fat in pot.

Saute onions, carrots, celery, and green peppers about 4 minutes. Add beef, raise heat to medium high and saute meat about 3 minutes. Return browned pieces of fat and bacon to the pot.

Stir in wine, A-1 sauce, Worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper,garlic, oregano, thyme and caraway seeds. Stir about 1 minute. Pour in 8 cups water and add crumbled beef bouillon cubes (or base). Stir until cubes or base have dissolved completely.

Add cabage and roasted red peppers; bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer several minutes, or until scum stops accumulating on top. Partially cover and continue to simmer 3 hours, stirring occasionally. Skim again, if needed. Taste for seasonings and if too thick, add more water. (May need up to 1 cup.)