Thai Cooking With Penny



Penny's Thai dinners are legendary!



When a friend from long ago came back into town and offered to cook a Thai meal for her friends, we were only too willing to participate!

Penny has history with us all. For Bill and myself, it included an adventure down in the Florida Keys swimming with dolphins, followed by the most incredible dinner on the beach at a waterfront restaurant. Penny lives life in the fast lane, so it’s always fun to catch up with her again. And Thai food is her specialty.

Julie had complied with Penny's very detailed shopping list, and then the party began with various cooking assignments. Come along now and join in the fun! Your mouth will soon be watering!

I grew up with a mother who knew how to cook anything – her dishes were nothing short of miraculous. But the most intriguing thing about her recipe book, which I inherited when she passed away in 2007, was the scant detail on each page. As though all one needed to know were the basic ingredients. The directions might read “Make sauce, add chopped vegetables, cook very slightly, then add meat.” I’d learnt how to fill in the gaps and do a little improvising, which made cooking a lot of fun.

I pass on to you the same challenge. Experiment with taste, and add extra things if you have them in the fridge. Pretty soon you’ll find you’re the next Pioneer Woman blazing your own culinary trails. Don’t be afraid to experiment!



Scott, the master chef, grills the sirloin steak to perfection.

Sirloin Steak  Splash with fish oil, lime juice and crushed red peppers. Jab holes in the steak with a fork so all the good flavors soak in, then grill and slice into thin strips.




Ann chops the scallions for the chicken curry

Green & Red Curry
 
Dice chicken breasts, slice and dice onion and garlic, and cut snow peas into bite size segments. Heat oil in a pan (coconut, Asian or olive oil are the best choices).



Saute chicken and vegies. Add coconut milk, sliced bamboo shoots, a teaspoon of green and red curry paste, green beans, zucchini, Asian eggplant, long skinny Thai peppers, and red peppers. Add more curry to taste (that’s the fun part!).


Vegies cook in a wonderful curry broth



Taste testing is the best job, as Dayle discovers



Penny and Julie prepare the sirloin steak.


At this time I need to explain that all these assignments are going on simultaneously. How you organize your own grand master plan is up to you. Invite a bunch of good friends over, and it’s easy!

Thai Salad
Grated carrot, thin sliced onion, cucumber, cilantro leaves, scallions, and lots of lime juice. Add strips of the grilled sirloin steak and thinly sliced hot pepper, and wow! Do you have a great accompaniment to the chicken curry.

Serve the curry on a bed of rice, add the Thai salad, and now it's time to relax and enjoy.







The Thai dish is ready to eat!

  

To this I would add a bottle of crisp, white wine, and you have an awesome meal!

Penny has many more incredible recipes, but we'll just have to wait till she's back in town…

In fact, after reading this abbreviated version of her delicious masterpieces, she will probably fly in on the next whirlwind and chastise me for not giving you all the intricate and specific details of her cooking class. Not just any fish oil will do. And curry paste...there are different degrees of quality and heat. Did you get the right kind of Thai peppers? You get the idea. Maybe next time I will be put on shopping duty. Ah, perfection is in the details.

Apologies, folks. This is the relaxed Australian version.
Can I pour you a glass of wine?