Goulash and some Thai cooking

Last night I didn't cook dinner, but attended a Des Moines Community Education classs.  It was a cooking class on Thai soups.  I went with a friend and we had a fantastic time..  I don't think it would have been as much fun if it wasn't for going with Kristina.  We both like to cook and love Thai food.  So this was perfect. I highly recommend going to these classes with friends.  We learned how to make an appetizer and three soups. And I would make them all with some minor changes. I will of course feature them soon.

The appetizer was Thai Lettuce Wraps.  These were very good.  I'm not a fan of mushrooms, but did try them and they were pretty good.  I would just chop them, or dice the heck out of them and also had less of them.

The next soup was Tom Tum Goong.  This is a hot and spicy shrimp soup.  This was not over spicy in my opinion, but I will make it with a little more spice.

My second favorite soup was Ton Kha Gai.  This is Chicken in Coconut Soup.  This was also good.  Both these soups had oyster mushrooms.  For those that know me, I HATE mushrooms.  But I tried them.  And the oyster mushrooms were not that bad in small quantities.  So I will give them a try.

The final soup was Kiew Nam, Wonton Soup.  This was good.  The fun part of this is making the wontons.  I will have some changes to this recipe also of course.

The fun part of last night was to learn of new ingredients to use.  Last night I was introduced to fried garlic, oyster mushrooms, galangal, lemongrass, Thai chili, and Kaffir Lime leaves.

For more information on the ingredients mentioned above, click on the links.  For a quick explanation  galangal is similar to ginger, only it isn't edible.  It just flavors the soups.  Same with lemongrass.  This is also just flavor and don't eat it.  More about them, when I cook them.

Now to tonight's meal!

I made Goulash thanks to Budget Bytes.

The ingredients are:

1 lbs ground beef, I used 90%
1 onion, diced
4 tbs minced garlic
2 medium bell peppers (Red, yellow or orange make it more colorful)
1/2 cup red wine
2 tbs soy sauce
28 oz. Fire-Roasted tomatoes
15 oz tomato sauce
2 bay leaves
1/2 tsp Oregano, Basil, and Red Pepper Flakes
2 cups elbow macaroni

Directions:

Cook ground beef until browned, add onion and garlic.  Cook until soft, add bell peppers.  Cook until they are soft.







Add wine and mix to loosen bits on bottom of pan.  As a side note, I find it good to test the wine you are using.  I am, you have to make sure it is a good wine.  Tonight I used Bed Head Red from Jasper Winery. I'm more of a Malbec wine drinker, but Jasper Winery has some very good wines.




Add remaining ingredients except macaroni.
Cover and simmer on med-low for 30 minutes
Add macaroni and stir every 5 minutes for 15 minutes.

This is a great dinner for a COLD night.  At only 15 F outside, this was great.  For dessert I had some Strawberry Rhubarb Pie. YUM







Next recipe will be Chicken Piccata or Chicken in peanut sauce.