Food.OakMonster.com

Ragu Napoletano

2011-11-06T11:56:00.000-08:00

It wasn't difficult for me to fall in love with Italian cuisine. One of the restaurants we frequented growing up was Thailand's first Italian establishment owned by a Thai guy. My dad's friend, to be exact. My mom also made some killer bolognese in the slow cooker and I was always envied when I brought spaghetti to lunch at school.

As you know, when I first started to cook when Brandon and I got married, it was Rachael Ray who got me into the kitchen, but I quickly graduated from her onto Giada DeLaurentiis.

I can see some of you hard core food nerds rolling your eyes right now. But hey, like bacon to a former vegetarian, there is always a gateway. Giada got me interested in Italian cooking, cultures, and language. (I'm currently on my second year of casually learning Italian, made more difficult by being a third language learned on a second one.)

Naturally, I paid a lot of attention to Anthony Bourdain's No Reservation when he visited Italy once again in search of the origin of the Red Sauce. (00:47-06:32)

I took notes of all the ingredients mentioned in this video and paid close attention to what was being put in the pot. There isn't a recipe laying around or anything, so I just went for it.

The video more or less tell you everything that goes in the ragu:

Onion, garlic, good extra virgin olive oil. Pork sausage, veal, pork ribs, and braciole (pieces of veal wrapped around parmesan cheese, garlic, basil, parsley, raisins, pine nuts). You brown the meats in the pan, then cover it with tomato juice. Put it on super low, just so it barely bubbles, all day. Skim of the fat. Toss the sauce with the pasta as your first course, then serve the meat as main course with wild greens sauteed in garlic and pepperoncino.

A good testament to a solid base recipe is this: even I took off running with the ingredients and put my own interpretation to it, the result is still fantastic. I may have really been Italian in my past life after all!

For my Sunday supper, I didn't go to the length of doing the sauteed greens, but I did separate the meats from the sauce. However, I did provide plenty of scarpetta to mop up the sauce at the end.

Ragu Napoletano della Oakley

Inspired by this awesome Italian momma on No Reservation.

This recipe can easily feeds 6...or 4 really hungry people. :) Obviously, I winged the whole thing. So there's really no measurement to much of anything. Trust your judgement!

Extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper
1 lb. Italian mild/sweet pork sausage, kept whole
3-4 lbs. pork ribs (I prefer short ribs but country style will do too, whatever is available).
1 small onion, chopped
4-5 cloves of garlic, sliced
A palm full each of pine nuts and raisins, roughly chopped
About 1 TBS of tomato paste
28 oz. can of whole peeled tomatoes - San Marzano or any other kind, no salt added is better - straight out of the can, juices and all. And keep that can so you can discard the fat you'll be skimming into it later.
A cup of water
A palm-full of chopped Italian parsley
Parmesan cheese rinds -- if you have some. You can buy them from Whole Foods too now.
Accompaniment: grated Parmesan and crusty bread to mop up all the goodness

1. Heat the EVOO in a pot on medium-high. Liberally season the pork ribs. Brown all the meats, starting with sausage (yup...the whole thing goes in), one batch at a time. Set aside. Keep the fat in the pan.

2. Turn the heat to medium, add onion and garlic and a pinch of salt. Cook until soft. Add pine nuts, raisins and tomato paste. Cook a few more minutes.

3. Add the meat and juices back to the pot. Add the tomatoes, water, and parsley. Move the meat around to get the sauce all the way to the bottom and sneak the cheese rinds into there.

4. Turn the heat down to low and put a lid on it. Let simmer for an hour or two this way. It'll look like soup, but don't worry, we're going to get that reduced.

5. Take the lid off and break down the tomatoes with your spoon. Turn the heat down as low as it will go. The sauce should be slowly bubbling. (See the video!) Let that go for as many hours as you want!

6. About 30 minutes before serving, skim the fat off the top of the sauce. And there will be a LOT of it. (Still have the empty can? Good!)

7. Remove the meat from the sauce. Be careful as they're all falling off the bones at this point. Put the meat on a platter and keep warm. Discard cheese rinds.

8. Cook your pasta (I used rigatoni) in a pot of boiling salted water. You can reserve a cup or so of the pasta water then drain over the sink or, what I did, fish out the pasta from the pot and put it on the sauce directly so I have all the pasta water in the world to add to the sauce to loosen things up. If your pasta water is nicely salted, you won't have to worry about it diluting the seasoning of the ragu. Toss to coat.

10. Serve your pasta with a drizzle of really good extra virgin olive oil and side of grated parmesan cheese and the platter of meat.

Buon appetito!

Chocolate, Wine, and Boobies

2011-09-20T07:18:00.000-07:00

Posts on this blog and twitter about the Ghirardelli Intense Dark Pairings event are based on an advertising relationship. I have been paid to host and promote the Intense Dark Pairings event for Ghirardelli. I also received a discount from District Wine along with a bottle of wine as a raffle prize. However, the opinion about the Ghirardelli products and the District Wine are all mine. Mine!

Ghirardelli is supporting Breast Cancer Awareness Month by donating $1 to the National Breast Cancer Foundation for each code entered from the specially marked Intense Dark chocolates. As a part of this promotion, I was contacted to host an Intense Dark Pairings party, tasting the Intense Dark chocolates and pairing them with food and wine.

I lost my mother and a good friend to cancer. Any fight against any kind of cancer is my fight. Instead of just calling a few friends over to my house, I wanted to help spread the word as much as I can. So I reached out to my blogger friends and tweeps. But now I'd need a cozy venue for all my fabulous guests.

A wine tasting party that feels like it's being hosted in someone's (really nice) living room? Naturally, I called Mark and Angela at District Wine in Downtown Long Beach (@districtwine). They were more than happy to play host to an all-girl afternoon out. (Well, almost all-girl. We did have a Token Male...) They even threw in a bottle of wine for my raffle.

Annette (@dananner) is a happy camper!

Some of us started the party started a little early with District Wine’s Sunday special, $9 bottomless mimosas. Mark mentioned that the orange juice was just for color, and he wasn't kidding. The pour was generous and the glasses were never once empty. I'd definitely come back some other Sundays for this!

What made our tasting party even more special was that my friend Melissa (@melissakeyes), a breast cancer survivor, shared her story.

For the pairings, I received a guide of food and wine pairing suggestions which were put together by Leslie Sbrocco of Thirsty Girl. You too can host one of these tasting parties at home. The party planning kit, and tasting guide and videos are on this website. I am also giving away a mini tasting kit. Read on for more details.

Anyways. I passed Leslie's list along to District Wine along with some chocolate samples, and they came up with their own selection of wines. And here is our menu.

Ghirardelli® Intense Dark™ Evening Dream: 60% Cacao
District Wine's Pick: Frogmore Creek Iced Riesling, Tasmania
Food: Dried apricot

While the Riesling goes well with the wine and the apricot, it brings out so much of the apricot that the chocolate was more of the supporting actor. Still good though. One of the crowd's favorites.

Ghirardelli® Intense Dark™ Twilight Delight : 72% Cacao
District Wine's Pick: Taft Street Zinfandel, Russian River Valley
Food: This would've been paired with fresh raspberries but I forgot to bring them. Boo...

Another pleasant pairing of chocolate and wine here. But neither was memorable for me.

Ghirardelli® Intense Dark™ Midnight Reverie: 86% Cacao
District Wine's Pick: Layer Cake Malbec, Argentina
Food: Salted almonds, parmesan, and water crackers

Home run all around! The high cacao content makes the chocolate almost savory. Something magical happens with the chocolate, the parmesan, and the Malbec. Red wine fans all agreed this would be the wine they'd drink any day of the week. I would also suggest that you try this chocolate with some prosciutto. I had some at Cochon 555 and it was wonderful. I was thinking about bringing some for the tasting but I didn't want to scare my friends. LOL.

Ghirardelli® Intense Dark™ Toffee Interlude: Toffee bits and caramelized almonds
District Wine's Pick: Taylor Fladgate 20 Years Tawny, Portugal - OR - Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout
Food: Plush Puffs Vanilla Bean Marshmallows

The surprise hit of the evening was the Plush Puffs (found at my favorite store Fresh & Easy). Folks were nibbling on them even before our tasting began and there was nothing left afterward. I can only imagine what the toasted Puffs and this chocolate would taste like inside a S'mores! They're already magical in their respective raw form without the Graham crackers. Mark and Angela gave us a choice between a port or a beer here, and I chose the port. It just brought it all home perfectly.

My friend Jennifer also took fabulous photographs of the event. You can find the rest on her Facebook album.

It was a great afternoon of discovering flavors of Ghirardelli Intense Dark chocolates, finding new wines we love, making new friends, and raising awareness for breast cancer.

Look on twitter for #TGTaste and/or #IntenseDark for great coverage. I will update this post with links to the coverage from my fabulous guests as I get them.

Our cancer's butt kicker Melissa: Wine and Chocolate: Ghiradelli Intense Dark Chocolate at District Wine
Paulette (@girlplusfire/@pfont): Fighting Like a Girl: Ghirardelli & Vino at District Wine.
Rachel (@theartmuse): Intense Dark
Tamara (@divacowgirl): Hope
Veronica (@lbcshopper): Intensely Delicious Wine Pairing

Melissa and I with Mark and Angela, owners of District Wine

INTENSE DARK CHOCOLATE GIVEAWAY!

Be ready to join the Intense Dark Tweet Chat on October 5 at 5 p.m. PST hosted by Thirsty Girl (@beathirstygirl / #TGTaste). Enter to win your own mini tasting kit! Leave a comment down below (make sure to leave your valid email address) to throw your name into the hat to win a Ghirardelli Intense Dark Pairing kit with a pairing guide, wine charms, samples of Evening Dream, Twilight Delight, Midnight Reverie, and Sea Salt Soiree.

ETA: Congratulations, Alana (@AlanaGarrigues)! You've won the little pairing gift box! :)

Playing Hostess

2011-09-03T07:13:00.001-07:00

EVENT IS FULL! THANKS FOR YOUR INTEREST! Come back later to see our recap. :)

I'm honored that Ghirardelli Intense Dark Chocolate is partnering with me in putting together chocolate/wine pairing event in recognition of the Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Come sip some glorious wines, nibble some luscious Ghirardelli Intense Dark chocolates, and talk about boobies with me!

Disclosure: Posts on the blog and twitter about the Ghirardelli Intense Dark Pairings event are based on an advertising relationship. I have been paid to host and promote the Intense Dark Pairings event for Ghirardelli. I am also receiving a discount from the "Awesome Location" to host this event there. However, the opinion about the products and the "Awesome Location" are all mine.

Craft Beer Drinkers Unite

2011-08-01T14:53:00.000-07:00

I'm a lightweight. Since I can't drink a million beers like everyone else, my 1-2 pints must count. And the other stuff just don't cut it like the craft stuff.

Okay, I still like my Guinness occasionally, but the craft stouts and porters out there these days are damn tasty.

So, here's to you, craft beer drinkers and brewers!

Honey, I shrunk the Bacon-wrapped Meat Loaf

2011-06-28T17:37:00.000-07:00

Another one of Mark Peel's "New Classic Family Dinners" recipe that has become my household staple is the bacon-wrapped meat loaf.

There shouldn't even be a question as to why it has. Just look at the first two words in the title, man.

Bacon. Wrapped.

It was more "bacon-lined" than "bacon-wrapped", but hey, there's bacon INSIDE the meat loaf too. I'm not complaining

So the first time I made it, I went full scale but instead of 1 lb. each of ground beef, pork, and veal, I did 1.5 lb. each of pork and beef. I looked at the mixture in the bowl and there was no way ALL of that was going to fit into the one loaf pan. The recipe did say it would make 10-12 servings, but this seemed excessive...

I ended up with TWO very full loaf pans and a small free-form loaf. I took some to eat for lunch at work and had leftover party. Twice.

Obviously, this girl didn't learn from her past experience with the meatballs recipe from the same cook book.

Well, here's yet another adaptation of Chef Peel's recipe, scaled down to serve 2-4 people. And also simplified for easier clean-up.

Bacon Wrapped Meat Loaf for Four

8-10 thin-cut slices bacon to line the pan, 2 extra slices for the meatloaf.
1/2 cup fresh bread crumbs (or if you're lazy like me, I crumbled a few slices of day-old bread to come up to just about the same amount onto a baking sheet and set it in the oven while it preheats.)
1/4 cup whole milk
1 large egg, beaten
1 TBS canola oil
1 small onion, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
About 2 TBS chopped Italian parsley
1.5 lbs. ground pork
1.5 lbs. ground beef (20 percent fat)
Ketchup
8-10 sage leaves
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Slice 2 bacon strips into 1/4-inch pieces and set aside. Line a 9x5 inch loaf pan with the remaining slices, alternating the fat and thing ends.

2. In a large bowl (you'll be adding half of the meat mixture and the veggies into this), soak the bread crumbs in the milk for a few minutes, then squeeze out and discard excess milk. Beat in the egg. Set aside.

3. Heat the oil in the skillet over medium heat. Add bacon, onion, celery, and garlic. Season with salt. Cook until vegetables are tender. Remove from heat. Stir in parsley. Let cool for a bit.

4. Add a little bit of the still warm mixture to the egg and breadcrumbs, tempering the egg a bit. Then add all of the veggies into the egg/breadcrumb bowl. Combine well.

5. In a large bowl, combine the meats and season with salt and pepper. Kneed to combine.

6. One handful at a time, add half of the meat to the egg-veggie mixture, and combine well. Now plop all of this back into the meat-only bowl and combine well.

7. Take up handfuls of the meat mixture and slap between your hand to expel air, then fill the loaf pan. Using a spoon, make a depression down the center of the loaf and fill that with ketchup. Garnish with sage leaves, pressing them into the top of the loaf.

8. Place the loaf pan on a baking sheet (in case of fat spill-over) and place in the middle rack of the oven. Bake about 45 minutes or (until temperature gets to 140F). Remove from the oven and allow to rest for at least 30 minutes. Some of the juices will be absorbed back by the meat loaf.

9. Tip the remaining liquid into a bowl, then strain and skim off the fat. (In my case, there was nothing but fat. I use a little bit of that to drizzle anyway!) Slice and serve meat loaf with the juice and/or more ketchup.

I served mine with skin-on mashed potatoes made with cream, butter, and a bit of bacon fat I have sitting in the fridge. (Just a little bit!)

The Adventures at Starry Kitchen

2011-06-15T17:14:00.000-07:00

Crack Den Mother. That's what I called myself as a customer of Starry Kitchen in Downtown Los Angeles. Before I got too busy with my last job, I would be at SK at least once a week.

I've called Thi's (aka Kitchen Ninja) food crack. I'm sooo addicted!

So, SK is a crack den. And because I would drag EVERYONE to SK with me, so, I'm the Crack Den Mother, bringing in new Crack Babies.

Nguyen, the husband half of the SK team, loved it.

Now that I'm no longer working Downtown, I've been missing my at-least-once-a-month Starry Kitchen treat. Today I had a chance to pop into town, so I did.

It would've been about a year now that I first set foot at the place. My two friends who have heard about SK's underground origin and wanted to go, so I went with them.

It was seriously love at first bite. And first board slam.

A very energetic and animated Nguyen gave us the schpiel of how to order which accompanied by the slapping of his menu board and a surprise F-Bomb.

"We change our menu every week. We don't fuck around," said Nguyen.

Well, hell, since we're at it. I was fucking loving this place already, and I hadn't even eaten the food yet!

(I know, some people were offended/off-put by Nguyen's antics, but, just as he'd tell you, swearing is a part of him. You don't like it, then move on. He does tone it down in the presence of children, though.)

Oh, and he wasn't kidding about not fucking around either. There are 2 rotating "proteins" on the board, and each of them get 2 weeks on there alternately. So, yes, every week, one item is changed out.

Pair that with 5 different ways you can have your main course: in a wrap, a Vietnamese sandwich, a chopped salad, a Thai Cobb salad, or a lunch plate. Then you choose a side which could be a salad, a noodle of some kind, or a special fried rice. LOTS of variations to keep you interested!

The food totally sealed the deal. Pan-Asian food that tastes like a home-cooked meal. Thi works her magic over these dishes. It may not be a traditional Vietnamese/Thai/Korean etc. food, but the flavor profiles are unmistakably Asian. And yummy. Oh so yummy.

Then I tweeted. And Nguyen would tweet back. And back and forth we went. He does the same with his other foodies and bloggers and tweeps who came through the door.

It was the food that keeps bringing me back but I have to say it's also because the "TWEETment" Nguyen gives to his customers. We do feel like family at SK.

I mean, would I be able to go into any other joint and get this photo with the owner? (Thanks Annette!)

Or this. (Thanks @munke!)

I rest my case.

And because the menu changes all the time, I keep coming back for different things. My favorite things are Taiwanese Pork Chops, Spicy Korean Pork/Belly, Crispy Tofu Balls, Spicy Vietnamese Salad, Shallot Fried Rice, Kimchi Fried Rice, Garlic Noodles, Chicken Wing Beer Soup, and Thai Cobb Salad with Lemongrass Chicken (substitute wonton skins for bread). I got to try a few things from their dinner menu over Dine LA week, fried chicken wings were awesome. I haven't had anything there that was bad.

Oh yes, they also do dinners on the weekends. This summer, they're doing a "fooding" event, a collaboration with Laurent Quenioux, which is:

"a combination of unique culinary offerings and art inspired by feelings and beautiful fresh seasonal ingredients - food creating one of a kind event for each weekend offering. The Chef cooks what he wants, the Starry Kitchen team provides the atmosphere, service and soundtrack and the entire LQ @ SK team lends verve and style to each weekend event."

I'd better book my reservation. Like a girl can say no to limited menu items like Mushu foie gras and Squab, Veal Feet, Ginger Cone Boudin Noir.

Now, as a final note.

Tips on making the most of your Starry Kitchen lunch visit

1. Get there just a little before 12 or a little after 1 and you won't be crushed in line. 11:45 and 1:15 seems to be the magic numbers.

2. Read the menu before you go. Figure out what you want to eat in what kind of combination. If it's your first time, Nguyen will give you a quick lecture anyway...because it's fun! ;-)

3. If you have 3 orders or more, you can call ahead! It works out perfectly for me several times.

4. If you're there with a buddy, take your friend's order and send him/her out to secure a seat. Better be safe than sorry, yo!

5. If you're like me and never finish your plate, order your food "To Go Sit". They'll bring your food in to-go container to your table. That'll save them plates to wash and save you time to box everything up later.

Vegetarian Conversion

2011-05-18T13:00:00.000-07:00

Oh, the controversy around Chef Suvir Saran's grandstanding at Top Chef Masters competition a few weeks ago.

Yes, I know. I'm so totally current. LOL.

For those who didn't watch, this was what happened. The challenge was to make a lower calorie meal for the Biggest Losers contestants based on their high calorie favorite dish. Chef Suvir's diner liked bacon cheeseburger. Suvir made her a vegetarian "burger", more like a pita with some stuff inside it. She didn't like it.

There was a speech accommodating this dish about health benefits of vegetarian diet and harms from red meat that got a lot of people uncomfortable and even angry.

When asked why he didn't make his diner a healthier dish with meat in it like she had requested, he stuck to his principals--it's a change of lifestyle he's trying to get her to make.

Now, while everyone flipped out about him apparently cooking for himself and not for his diner, I have a counterpoint to make.

There are ways to make GREAT vegetarian burgers that would turn a meat eater into a believer. I know it for a fact, because I'm one of those converted.

Some of you know that I am a once-a-week lacto-vegetarian for religious purpose. I say yes to dairy but no eggs if I can avoid it. So I have been eating different vegetarian dishes on those Tuesdays. Once in a while, I'd run into something new and delicious that I would order even on the day that I eat meat.

For examples, I adore Soyrizo burrito and vegetarian bacon BLT at Mendocino Farms in downtown Los Angeles and I still sometimes dream about the homemade veggie patties at Crazy Burgers in San Diego.

All it took for me to pick a veggie burger over a beef one is the fact that it was tasty and satisfying. It didn't taste like soy or cardboard. It's so good that I don't feel like I was missing the beef or the bacon.

Such lifestyle changing burger exists.

It just wasn't what Suvir made that day. His pita creation failed to vow the diner and the critics alike. Unfortunately for him, that hurts his cause.

He could've made a veggie burger that tastes meaty and added some bacon substitute for the texture. (I don't know, fried coconut dusted with smoked paprika?) His diner would've been satisfied and his point proven correct.

Having said that, while people are up in arms about Suvir's message about vegetarianism, I applaud him for sticking to his gun.

Lifestyle can change, people. The man had a point.

Now, go out there and find yourself a gateway vegetarian burger. Then come back to talk to me about it. :)

A Few Good Pork at Cochon555

2011-05-03T21:02:00.000-07:00

Thanks to my friend and former contributor Chef Jay, I was alerted to Cochon555 in Los Angeles a few months back.

5 chefs face off cooking 5 heritage pigs with 5 wineries providing wine to pair. Such a glorious event befitting to be held in a former church in Downtown Los Angeles, Vibiana.

Chef Jay told me to volunteer, probably thinking they might let civilians into the kitchen to help. Of course, they were using local culinary students for that. But I volunteered nonetheless. And I dragged Aaron of Savory Hunter with me. And what a sport he was too, since he doesn't eat pork. But he did get to have the wine.

Octavio Becerra of Palate Food & Wine cooked a popular Berkshire. Chad Colby of Mozza nose-to-tailed a Hampshire. Tim Goodell of Public Kitchen & Bar served up succulent Spotted Poland China. Ben Ford of Ford’s Filling Station showed off the all American Hereford. And Joshua Whigham of The Bazaar went to town with the rare Red Wattle.

Wines were provide by the Scholium Project, Alysian, Arnot-Roberts, Copain Wines, and Red Car Wine. None of which I got to taste.

If you came through the gate on Sunday, you probably have talked to me or seen me. While I didn't know a lot of people there aside from Matt of Dig Lounge (his recap here), I got to marvel at all the people Aaron knows and was chatting with like LA Weekly's Jonathan Gold, and Erika Nakamura and the Lindy & Grundy's butcher shop gang.

Oh, and you guys would be so proud of me that I didn't scream and faint and/or beg for photo op when Michael Voltaggio turned up with his posse.

Clare, the volunteer organizer, did tell us to relief each other so all 6 of us could experience the event better. 2 volunteers went off into the event, and we never really saw them again. And I'm not a kind of gal who'd abandon ship when I made the commitment to come to WORK the event. Naturally, I was working through the whole thing and didn't get to enjoy the event the way it was meant to be enjoyed.

And I didn't bring my D40. You know, I didn't want my DSLR slathered in pork fat. It's just getting in the way of things. ;-)

But I did get some good pics from my phone and also get to sample some great stuff though. In the VIP area, I snagged me a sample of beer from Eagle Rock Brewery when we weren't too busy. Then after the rush, I answered Clare's plea that all of the GIANT oysters be eaten and cheeses from the Cheese Store in Silver Lake be consumed.

When I got a chance to do the round in the main event, all the lines were so long that I didn't want to get in one because I wanted to be fair to other volunteers. So I ended up sampling around the place, not at the chef's stations.

I had my first taste of technically raw pork--seared Iberico Fresco. It's the same pork that will eventually be cured up to that famous Jamon Iberico de Bellota. It was almost like tasting sushi, sweet and delicious.

Then I had more than my share of Devil's on Horseback, one with smoked bacon and one with prosciutto. And there was this blue cheese and bacon shortbread things that I would eat by the bucketful. I also fell in love with the odd pairing of prosciutto from Gourmet on Wheels with Hazelnut Orange Cinnamon chocolate from H3 chocolate. I hung around their table so much I was given 3 hunks of chocolate to review later. LOL.

Oh, and I got some mercifully strong samples of Johnny Appleseed cocktail from the fantastic St. Germain's cocktail too. Addictive!

While Aaron posted at the gate once the event started, I went into relief the poor couple that was manning t-shirt sales inside. Lance went around to get himself and his wife Sheila some food, and at some point he got me a plate too (I didn't know from which chef) but overzealous wait staff took it away while I was busy selling shirts.

By the time I got to do my final walk around, most stations have run out of food and/or were packing up. From Chef Tim Goodell's station, I got just a sampling of the pig's head and trotter sausage and posole and a shot of some really earthy but delicious cocktail to wash that down. While the sausage blew my mind, the posole was missing salt in a big way.

Then I moseyed over to see what was left at Chef Chad Colby's station and there was a few big chunks of sausage left uncut as the chef and crew were cleaning up. I told the chef that I was sad I didn't get to taste his food today. He told me to take the whole chunk of his nose-to-tail salami. Before he changed his mind, I stabbed it with a fork and walked away. I went around the rest of the party gnawing on my pork lollipop.

I almost missed Chef Neal Fraser's Porcelet de Lait pig roasts too. But I cruised by right before they rolled the cart out and was invited to pick up the pieces. Since I didn't have plate, with salami lollipop in one hand, I shamelessly dunk my other hand into the carcass and picked on all the morsels soaked in delicious pork fat. These little milk-fed piglets yield buttery, juicy tender meat--best I've ever had. I peered around to find a piece of skin when one of the chefs tossed me an ear which I quickly shoved in my mouth and happily gnawed away. I didn't care about the pork fat running down my arm. I was such a happy girl.

And happier yet when Chef Chad Colby won the competition that night. Pork karma!

As people rolled into the party bus heading to the after party at Public Kitchen + Bar, Aaron and I said our goodbyes and headed off to each of our own blissful evening. Sleep for him. And belly full of pork for me.

Happy Accident: Chocolate Cake Shot

2011-04-22T21:36:00.001-07:00

Having just hit my scotch newbie wall (read: about half of the Glenlivet on the rocks), I was pondering what else to drink next.

I watched curiously as the blond bombshell bartender at the Green Girl Saloon in Westminster pour Frangelico Hazelnut liquor and vodka into a shaker. What is she making? That's gotta be something creamy and delicious. But I didn't see her put any milk or anything in that. She repeated the mix a few times. It must be shots she's making, I thought. Interesting...

Then the girl shook this carton--is that salt or sugar?--to get the clumpy granules loose, ended up breaking the bottom off the carton and poured it everywhere. The carton looked like sugar.

But then I saw her served the shots up to that corner of the bar. With a wedge of lemon each.

WHAT?!

Hazelnut and lemon?! What the heck? Eew?

I let the mystery stewed until I got home. The research shows that somehow the combination of sugar, vodka, Franglico, and lemon makes a taste of chocolate. The Frangelico Chocolate Cake Shot, to be exact.

Same method as a tequila shot but change the ingredients: lick the sugar, take the shot of equal part vodka and Frangelico, suck the lemon.

I had to see for myself. While I don't have any lemons on hand, I have PLENTY of homemade Limoncello. As past cooking has proven, once in a while, I can use my homemade citrus liquor as a stand-in for lemon juice. Very sweet, very boozy lemon juice.

So here I went. Lick the sugar. Take the shot. Sip the Limoncello.

Hmm. Wait. I'm tasting chocolate. And then...Nutella?

HOLY SHIT IT'S A NUTELLA SHOT!

Who would've thought lemon and hazelnut liquor would put the chocolate taste in your mouth! The human taste buds never fail to amaze me.

Egging Me On

2011-03-27T17:09:00.000-07:00

I have been going to an Italian class for about a year now, and loving it. Once in a while, we would try to get together for lunch or dinner, or a potluck. So far, I have missed all of those except for one. So when my teacher Petra found another date to have a potluck dinner, I plotted out the Saturday.

I would go pick up my new car in the morning, cook in the afternoon, and attend the potluck that evening. I went with something Italian that would be easy to make, transport, and share. While I had successfully made Rachel Ray's Pasta Carbonara Tartlets in the past, I thought I'd try out Giada's recipe from Giada's Kitchen cookbook this time around.

But then while I was at the dealership, potluck dinner had moved up to lunch. I missed it. Again.

Moreover, I found myself Sunday morning staring into the fridge full of ingredients.

Ah, what the hell. Let's make a big ol' frittata in the cast iron skillet for brunch then.

It was a total hit. Brandon and I ate it again for dinner that night. That was just how addictive this was. And it was a good thing there were plenty leftover to satiate the need.

Do NOT let the list of ingredients scare you. There are quite a bit of components, but all you do is toss them together, stick it in the oven, top it off in the broiler, and that’s that!

Oh, and I bought everything at Fresh & Easy in one trip. So, this is considered a Dinner: Possible as well.

Big' Ol' Cheesy Pasta Frittata
Adapted from Giada De Laurentiis's Linguine and Prosciutto Frittata in Giada's Kitchen.

1/2 lb. linguine
7 large eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup mascarpone cheese, room temperature
6 oz. diced pancetta -- I use a pre-packaged pack from Fresh & Easy
About 1 cup of quartered bocconcinis -- about half of a 1/2 lb. tub.
1/2 cup freshly grated Asiago cheese
1/4 cup finely chopped Italian parsley
3 garlic cloves, minced
salt & pepper to taste
1/8 tsp. grated cinnamon - secret ingredient!

1. Bring large pot of salted water to boil. Cook and drain pasta, al dente, 8-10 minutes. Drain pasta. Cut with scissors into smaller pieces.

2. Cook pancetta in a cast iron skillet or other oven proof skillet until crispy. Take out the pancetta. Since we're baking the egg in this skillet, use the fat to grease the side and the bottom of the skillet. Discard the rest. (What I did is that I poured most of the fat out to a bowl, then use a pastry brush and went to town greasing the skillet.)

2. Preheat oven to 375F.

3. In blender (or you can get a good arm work out wisking it yourself!), combine the eggs, milk, cream, and mascarpone. Transfer to a large bowl, stir to combine pasta, pancetta, mozzarella, Asiago, parsley, garlic, salt and pepper, and nutmeg.

4. Pour the mixture into the skillet. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until firm and starting to brown. Switch the oven to broil and broil for a 2-3 minutes until the top is brown.

5. Slice and serve. Great for dinner and lunch too!

Drago Centro Loves Me

2011-02-14T08:03:00.000-08:00

Last week, Drago Centro (@dragocentro) in Downtown LA held a twitter contest: tweet what your relationship is like in terms of chocolate truffles. The winning post would win said truffles handmade by their pastry chef, Jashmine Corpuz (@jasHmineCorpus).

On Monday, I tweeted this: "Dark chocolate w/ salted caramel: harden & bitter on the outside, sweet & gooey on the inside taken w/ a grain of salt."

Well, we are! Brandon and I are not romantics. But we're insanely cute when there are just the two of us. Well, *HE* is insanely cute. I'm just kind of there, laughing.

The prize went to @carolineoncrack's "dark choc w/ bourbon & hint of jalapeno. we luv toasting us w/ bourbon."

On Tuesday, I went on a race tangent: "Husband contradicts yesterday's post. He said we're white chocolate with rice crispies because he's white & I'm Thai. LOL" --> "But then we'd go with coloring, we'd be more like with white chocolate and caramel..." --> "Or white chocolate and lemon cream. Or saffron...but that would make me more Snookie..."

The prize went to @robtak's "Bittersweet Chocolate & peanut butter b/c sometimes we're bitter, sometimes sweet, and at least one of us is nuts."

On Wednesday, I went straight for the jugular.

I channeled The King.

Whoever was doing the judging knows his/her Elvis. And I won. Chef Jashmine did ask to swap white chocolate for dark to balance out the flavors, and I was totally okay with that. I mean, I had this vision of Elvis in mind when I come up with that.

Although someone said dark chocolate *is* still Elvis, but in this gitup.

By the way, THAT's my favorite Elvis right there. Hee.

Thursday prize went to @carisunnie's "super dark chocolate outside with a cognac filling.my lost love left me bittersweet&drunk".

Friday prize AND the big $100 gift certificate went to @megreenwell's "Red chiles to represent my spicy redhead guy, bourbon for my Kentucky roots, and lime because we love to pucker up!"

Somehow, 4 out of 5 of us managed to meet up for a drink at Drago Centro when we picked up our loots on Saturday.

Rob was the first to arrive. Soon Caroline popped in to say hi and pick up her truffles. Her new puppy was waiting in the car so she couldn't stay. She left before Cari got there.

And as it turned out, Cari and Caroline's prizes were swapped! Sommelier Michael Shearin (@michaelshearin) was hanging out with us, so upon hearing about the mistake, he went back to the kitchen to see if there might be a few "flawed" cognac truffles to salvage. And there were two left.

And Cari, bless her heart, shared them with us. I'm happy that she at least got to actually taste her idea as beautifully realized at the hands of Chef Jashmine. (Sorry, Caroline!)

So we opened our boxes. Mine looked like this.

And not only they were beautiful, they were DIVINE!

Cari, Rob and I traded a few bites with each other so everyone got a little bit of everything.

Oh, and Caroline, we did like your jalapeno bourbon. Nice touch. ;-)

What a way to celebrate Valentine's Day: an afternoon with new friends, sharing a drink and some custom made truffles.

P.S. I didn't know about Drago Centro's awesome bar menu which is available all day. With full list of innovative cocktails and some $5 specials, one could find him/herself ordering a few plates and a cocktail special for less than $20. A bargain from a fine establishment like Drago Centro.

Happiness is...

2011-02-11T08:14:00.001-08:00

...a bowl of bacon. And a cup of coffee. Courtesey of Lemonade Downtown Los Angeles.

(The egg and mandarin oranges not included.)

Food.OakMonster.com

2011-01-25T08:27:00.001-08:00

I think it's time we move to our real home on OakMonster.com. So here we are!

Please make sure to update your RSS setting and all that.

I'm still playing around with the layout and all of that so you maybe seeing new things going on around here for a while.

Other than the fact that my newest batch of Moo cards has HmmFoodGood on them, I'm pretty happy about the move.

What do you think?

Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic

2011-01-16T10:08:00.000-08:00

I was one of those who rarely buy cookbooks. I used to mostly get my recipes from the magazines or over the internet. While I do have a few books in possession in Thai and English, classic and new, I never really “read” them.

I know that Chef Jay (who contributed a few posts here a while ago) reads cookbooks like us muggles do with paperbacks. When he recommended Mark Peel’s New Classic Family Dinners to me, he told me that I should actually read it.

So I did pay attention to non-recipe stuff. And I did learn a few things. But I didn't pick up any more cookbooks off my shelf to read.

So when I told Pim of Chez Pim back in September during my visit, she looked at me in disbelief. After picking her jaw up off the floor, Pim began my reprogramming. A mentor that she is, she took me on a raid of a local used bookstore for a few gems and then sent me home with a few more from her own shelves. She emphasized what Chef Jay had already told me: If you want to be a better cook, do READ the cookbooks.

So now, instead of jumping to the internet for a recipe, I first search my cookbooks. I may not have actually read many of them but by flipping through them, I'm absorbing a few things more than before. I’m also familiarizing myself with the contents of these books. At least I know where to come back to and what to read next time.

Brandon laughed the first time he found me with 5 cookbooks spread across the couch on Saturday afternoon, researching for what to make for my weekend supper. It has now become a familiar sight on Friday nights, or Saturday and Sunday mornings.

For New Year’s Eve dinner, I agreed to cook for James and Aurora and her sister Lee. I remembered having seen a recipe for Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic from one of my recent flip-throughs. It would be perfect. After all, James proposed to Aurora at the Stinking Rose in Beverly Hills, famous for their garlic-everything menu!

And there it was in the Cook’s Illustrated The New Best Recipes (2004) Irena had given to me for my birthday those many years ago when I was just starting to learn to cook. As a matter of fact, I used to subscribe to Cook’s Illustrated magazines but was way too intimidated to cook from them then, so I rarely went to this book for anything. Until now.

This recipe was surprisingly easy to make. And it was really easy to transport too. A perfect dish for a potluck!

Oh, and fun fact: 3 heads of garlic do produce just a tad over 40 cloves of garlic! LOL

And yes, I did sit and read about this recipe and the technique required, not just grabbing the instructions and run.

Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic
Adapted from the Cook’s Illustrated The New Best Recipes

First, you brine the chicken. Then we roast the garlic and shallots. Then we brown the chicken, deglaze, and braise. Then we finish the sauce. Easy! The book says this would serve 3-4. With bread and a side salad, I served this to 5 adults just fine.

1 whole chicken, cut up to 4 breast pieces, 2 thighs, 2 drumsticks, 2 wings.
1/4 cup table salt or 1/2 cup kosher salt
2 quart cold water
Freshly ground black pepper to season
3 medium garlic heads, cloves separated, unpeeled
2 medium shallots, peeled and quartered
Olive oil
Salt
2 springs of fresh thyme
2 sprig of fresh rosemary
1 bay leaf
3/4 cup dry vermouth or dry white wine (I used vermouth)
3/4 cup low sodium chicken broth
2 TBS unsalted butter

Preheat your oven to 400F.

Now, the chicken. The book have you buy a whole chicken and break it down yourself. I cheated and asked the butcher to cut up my whole organic chicken up for me. (He also bagged the carcass and giblets so I make basic stock from that too.) The original recipe says to discard the wings. Not a chance in my household! I guess if you want to use it in the stock, you can.

Now, the brine. Dissolve the salt in cold water in a large container. Immerse the chicken pieces in the brine and refrigerate about 30 minutes. Rinse the pieces in cold running water and pat dry with paper towels. Season both sides with black pepper.

Meanwhile, in a 9-inch pie plate, toss the garlic and shallots with a few small glugs of the olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Cover tightly with foil and roast until soften and beginning to brown, about 30 minutes. After the first 15 minutes, shake the pan around. At 30 minutes, uncover, stir and continue to roast uncovered for about 10 minutes longer until fully tender and browned. Remove from oven and turn it up to 450F.

Make a bouquet garni (herb bundle) by tying together thyme, rosemary, and bay leaf with a kitchen twine for easy removal. Set aside. (I only had rosemary and bay leaf, so I didn't bother to tie anything.)

In a heavy-bottomed ovenproof skillet (or in my case, my dutch oven), heat another big glug of olive oil on medium-high heat until beginning to smoke. Brown the chicken pieces, skin-side down, until golden, about 5 minutes. Brown the other side for another 4 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a platter and discard the fat from the pan.

Off the heat, deglaze with vermouth and broth, scraping up all the brown bits then add the bouquet garni. Set the skillet over medium heat, add the roasted garlic-shallot mixture, and return the chicken, skin side up, to the pan.

Place the skillet in the oven and roast until the instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the breast registers about 160F, 10-12 minutes. You can increase the heat to broil to crisp up the skin, 3-5 minutes. Transfer chicken to a serving dish. (If you're transporting the chicken and you have an oven there, save the broiling until you get to your destination. I put the chicken in an ovenproof dish and broil the chicken at Aurora’s so the chicken is both reheated and crisped.)

Using a slotted spoon, discard the herbs, and remove the garlic and shallots to place around the chicken, and set about 10-12 garlic cloves aside.

Over the skillet, push the reserved garlic through a mesh sieve into the sauce, discard the skin. (I just pushed them through my garlic press instead. Easy!) Bring the sauce to simmer over medium-high heat, whisking occasionally to incorporate the garlic. Adjust seasoning. Whisk in butter. Pour sauce into a gravy boat or a serving bowl to serve with chicken. (For transport, pour the sauce into a container and reheat at your destination.)

Serve the chicken with crusty bread to sop up the sauce and to spread the lovely roasted garlic on.

Christmas Eve Hail Mary: Cornbread and Chorizo Stuffed Roasted Chicken

2011-01-09T15:13:00.000-08:00

It all started with Aaron Sanchez on “Best Thing I Ever Made for the Holidays”. Dude showed us how he makes Achiote Marinated Cornish Hens Stuffed with Chorizo and Mustard Greens.

(If you first question is WTF is achiote? Yeah, join the club. LOL.)

“Can you make that for Christmas Eve?” Brandon asked. I told him I thought so.

The day before Christmas Eve, I hit the stores and found many problems with Aaron’s recipe. I swear to god I thought he added cornbread to the stuffing on TV, but it wasn’t included in his recipe. That’s fine, I figured. I’ll throw that in anyway.

First, I couldn’t find that achiote paste anywhere. Secondly, I couldn’t find Spanish chorizo anywhere. And thirdly, the hens were about $10 a bird at Whole Foods…and frozen the evening before. I also had invited my friend David over last minute so three tiny little birds for $30 almost made me want to cry.

I got a whole organic chicken and called it a day on the meat. As for the rest of the recipe, in the back of my head, I knew I had seen several cornbread and Mexican chorizo stuffing recipes for Thanksgiving. And since it would have a southwestern flavors to the stuffing, I was sure I could figure out some kind of a southwestern rub instead of the achiote paste.

So, I pretty much just winged the rest of my shopping list and hoped I don't have to run back out on Christmas Eve for anything else.

When I got home, I searched the web for a recipe for a stuffed roasted chicken. Fortunately for me, I found everything I needed in Emeril’s Chorizo Stuffed Roasted Chicken.

So, I combined the two recipes with other techniques I thought might work and went to town. All the while, I prayed for a Christmas miracle.

Dear Jesus: Happy Birthday early. Please don't let me fail. Dear Buddha: Hi ya. Can I please access my good food karma bank right now? And, Dear Mom. Um. Help?

I don't know if it was all the praying or my sudden installation of home cook confidence, but I’m happy to report that the result was delicious. However, I made way too much stuffing. But on the plus side, we had extra stuffing to nosh on and the leftover is hearty enough it can be eaten as a meal by itself.

Here goes the technically original recipe. Nothing was measured but I hope you can get a gist of it and adapt it for yourself.

Oakley's Hail Mary Cornbread and Chorizo Stuffed Roasted Chicken

Stuffing:

1 box of cornbread mix
½ lb. Mexican pork chorizo, casing discarded
1 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 bunch mustard greens, cleaned, trimmed and roughly chopped
About 2 cups of chicken stock. -- a few glugs to deglaze (say, ½ cup?) and a few more glugs to moisten the cornbread mixture to your liking.
2 tablespoons sliced green olives
Butter to grease a casserole
Salt & Pepper to taste

Warning: This makes for a LOT of stuffing. If you don't want too much leftover, just go half.

1. Make the cornbread according to package instruction. Set to cool. In a big mixing bowl, tear crumble cornbread in big chunks. Set aside.

2. Heat a large skillet. When the pan is hot, brown the chorizo for about 3 minutes.

3. Add the onion and garlic and saute for 2 minutes or until the onion is translucent.

4. Add the mustard greens and deglaze with a few glugs of chicken stock. Cook until greens have wilted, about 2 minutes. Turn off the heat. Add chopped olives.

5. Add the mixture to the bowl of cornbread. Add a few glugs of chicken stock to moisten. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

6. Stuff the chicken with the stuffing. Scrape leftover stuffing in a buttered ovenproof dish. Add the dish to the oven 10 minutes before the chicken is finished cooking. Bake for 10 minutes. Take out the chicken to rest before carving but leave the stuffing in there for another 10 minutes.

7. Serve extra stuffing with chicken.

Chicken:

1 fresh chicken (3-4 lbs.)
1 stick of unsalted butter, soften
About 1 TBS fresh, chopped oregano, scant TBS of dried oregano
About 2 tsp. of cumin
Salt and pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 400 F.

2. Rinse the chicken and remove giblets and reserve for later use. Pat dry the chicken. Season inside and out liberally with salt and pepper.

3. Add the oregano and cumin to the butter. Mix well.

4. With your hands, split the butter mixture into 3 portions.

5. With the chicken cavity toward you, using your fingers, part the breast skin from the breast meat and try not to rip the skin. Grab a portion of butter and stuff it into the space you have made between the meat and the skin, massage it into the area. Repeat on the other side of the breast.

6. Rub the last portion of the butter all over the chicken breast, legs, and wings. Everywhere!

7. Stuff the cavity of the chicken with stuffing. Using butchers twine, tie the chicken to secure the cavity, legs and wings.

8. Place the chicken on a roasting tray or cast iron skillet and into the oven and roast for about 1 hour. Baste generously with the buttery pan juice.

9. Reduce the heat to 375 F and continue to cook for 1 hour or until the meat starts to fall of the bones and the juices run clear. At 50-minute mark, add the stuffing casserole in to the oven. (See Stuffing instruction #6.)

10. Remove the chicken from the oven and rest for 10 minutes. Take out the stuffing casserole.

11. Carve the chicken into serving portions. Serve the roasted chicken with the stuffing.

(Seen here with David's side salad: heart of romaine, pecans, gorgonzola and raspberry dressing.)

Eater's Getaway: Santa Cruz

2010-11-28T13:58:00.000-08:00

I was joking with Mira about a month ago about heading up to Santa Cruz for the weekend and attend Pim of ChezPim.com's holiday baking class on Sunday. It turned out Mira and her husband already had plans to be in the area on Thursday and Friday. We agreed we'd try again later.

But then over my birthday dinner in mid November, Mira told me they changed their schedule to be up in the area from Friday-Saturday instead and that she wanted me to join them. I looked at Brandon and he nodded.

The next day, I secured my spot on Pim's couch, got a day off from work, and booked the same flight as Mira and her husband to San Jose.

I knew we would be doing a lot of eating. But I didn't quite expect the level of eating we did.

It started on the plane with Mira's home made tuna sandwich for brunch. We were the envy of that Southwest flight, I tell you.

Not long after we landed, we dropped Mira's hubby off in Palo Alto and headed straight for Santa Cruz. We gathered Pim and Aaron and headed to Phil's Fish Market and Eatery in Moss Landing, half way between Santa Cruz and Monterey.

The people behind us kept looking over as the waitress kept bringing out plate after plate to our table. NEVER underestimate the damage three Asian girls and a dude can do, yo.

Before. And after.

A dozen fresh clams (fresh, sweet, best I've ever had), clam chowder (delicious), crab salad (we picked the sweet fresh crab meat cleaned, the veggie was questionable that day), fried artichoke hearts, fried sardines (crispy, tender, delicious), fish and chips (light-as-cloud batter), and double order of garlic bread. And for the records, the fried calamari was one of those magical self-replenishing plate: we kept at it but it didn't look like we ate anything at all. (Aaron also wrote about the experience here.)

It was the best seafood meal I had in the U.S. so far.

A few hours after this meal, we were in Pim's kitchen for a home cooked dinner that would be enough to feed 6. Much later that night, a cake was baked. We were too tired to eat by then.

The next morning, Pim and I went into Downtown Santa Cruz for lattes and scones at Cafe Delmarette. This is the first time I had a Verve coffee. Starbucks who? Seriously! That was delicious! The pear and goat cheese scone was truly addictive as well, crumbly on the outside and fluffy on the inside.

A few hours after that, Mira returned to collect me and to get lunch. Pim took us to Restaurante Los Pinos. A hole in the wall produces the best damn ethnic foods, I tell ya!

Tacos Al Pastor were killers, flavorful and juicy pieces of pork. Machete taco was more like a tender marinated skirt steak with pile of grilled onion and avocado on top tortillas. Shrimp burrito was stuffed full and was bigger than Mira's arm. And the soppa came in a bowl big enough for Pim to wash her hair in, as Mira said. And they were all great food.

And of course, despite tight schedule and even tighter waistbands, we made our final stop at The Penny Ice Creamery. Pim brought me here the last time I visited a few months ago and I couldn't get their chocolate Devout Stout ice cream out of my head since. Because all the ice cream is made fresh daily, the flavors are never the same. This trip I got a scoop of the black tea orange with fresh jujubees in their homemade sugar cones. Refreshing and absolutely divine. We tried our best but none of us could finish our scoop that day.

What a sweet conclusion to a Santa Cruz escape! We are quite sure this won't be the last trip. ;-)

(And yes, that's bacon on my shirt.)

Oakohol Lab: Bacon Bourbon

2010-11-05T13:22:00.000-07:00

I hate whiskey.

While I can chug Jameson as a part of an Irish Car Bomb all day and thoroughly enjoy a Jack Daniels’ barbecue glaze, you wouldn’t catch me ordering a Long Island Iced Tea, a whiskey sour, or bourbon on the rocks. I never acquired the taste for whiskey and still struggle to develop the palate for it.

So when I came across an article in Togue Magazine about bacon-infused bourbon, I knew I found just the ticket.

Mixologist David Lee got into more details in the article about fat washing. But it comes down to simple few steps and voila! All the tasty smoky goodness without the grease!

My first experiment I did with cheap grocery store brand bacon and Jim Beam I had on hand. I tasted the result. Yep. Still tasted like whiskey to me...gag...gag...

Wait, was that a hint of bacon I got at the end? Not willing to swig more of this, I got my friend @DavidMoyle, a bourbon guy, to be my lab rat.

He said he can definitely taste the bacon. And he thought it might’ve just improved the Jim Beam, even. Paulette at Girl + Fire did the same experiment with scotch after I’ve told her about mine and she said the same.

Now we are ready for the large scale upscale production: Maker’s Mark and apple smoked bacon for David’s birthday present.

This was a large scale operation. 1 lb. of fatty apple smoked bacon (about half a cup of grease) to about 1 liter of the 1.75 liter bottle of Maker’s Mark. Awesome gift for your boozing friends especially when you can get some cool bottles from Cost Plus World Market.

I kept tasting and tasting and I thought the bacon essence was too little. Then again, I kept cringing at the taste of whiskey that I couldn't taste anything else. David and Cara (@remarx) said it was just perfect.

I brought the bottle to the bar we were meeting for David's bash. We were caught sneaking our tasting sips out of the paper bag by our waiter. However, after explaining the nature of the bourbon, instead of making David walk the bottle back to his car, the waiter asked his manager who happened to be a bourbon lover if it was okay.

He brought out classes for us to properly tasted it and that was that. We, of course, poured him, his manager AND the bartender a taster each too. LOL. They love bourbon at that bar and apparently I’ve just given them some ideas!

So now. The recipe you can’t muck up for just the regular sized 750 ml. bottle of Maker's Mark.

Bacon Bourbon

4-6 slices of apple smoked bacon. The fattier the better because we want the grease.
One 750 ml. bottle of Maker’s Mark
A wide mouth glass or ceramic container e.g. a pitcher, a jar
Optional: paper coffee filter or cheese cloth.

First, fry your bacon: put your bacon on cold pan and cook until crispy or you can cook them in a baking sheet in the oven. Pour the hot fat into the wide mouth container. Let cool slightly. Save some of those bacon to snack on or to garnish your bacon bourbon cocktail later.

Pour in your bottle Maker’s Mark. Stir. Put on a lid or cover with plastic wrap. Sit out in room temperature for 6-8 hours.

Put the jar in the freezer for 30 minutes or fridge overnight. The fat will solidify into a lid. Remove the fat.

For extra measure to make sure there’s no grease or bacon particles left floating in your bourbon, pour the bacon bourbon through cheese cloth or coffee filter.

Re-bottle. Re-label. Enjoy!

Oh, and just a precaution in case the bacon greasy goodness might go rancid on you, I keep my batch in the fridge.

Now, the big question is this: Did I like drinking my own creation? Unfortunately, the bacon just isn’t enough incentive for me to like the taste of whiskey.

But hey, I get to eat the all the cooked bacon afterward. I’m not complaining!

Ganging up at Drago Centro

2010-10-18T21:07:00.000-07:00

I’ve developed a few new obsessions these days and Groupon being one of them. To my surprise, a few months back, one of L.A.’s fine dining establishments Drago Centro had a Groupon for $30 for $60 worth of food and beverages. Fantastic deal!

It turned out Annette also bought one. However, to be able to use both Groupons, we need to have a party of 5 or larger. Naturally, a triple date was planned. Brandon and I. Annette and boyfriend Hank. My bus buddy Amanda and husband Colin.

And no, there was no 3.5 hour Italian cinema this night…to much of Brandon and Hank’s relief. But to our mild disappointment, we couldn’t use the Groupons with Dine LA special pre-fixe menu. Boo. And I was soooo looking forward to @michaelshearin's wine pairing!

Our awesome waiter not only made great recommendations on the foods and wine but on how we could maximize our dining experience. He suggested that we all pick one thing each, order a couple dishes of something, and they can portion everything out for 6 servings. No need to go family style or passing your plate around.

Deal!

Now, being a good foodie and a bad wine connoisseur, I took pictures of the food but didn’t bother to write down what wine we drank. Colin was our wine man and he ordered was some kind of a mixed grape Italian red. And it was one of a more reasonably priced bottle and went well with everything.

Oh, and the amuse bouche of salted cod croquette and herb aioli really stirred up our appetites.

For the antipasti, Colin picked l’insalata di pomodori, a salad of heirloom tomatoes, bocconcini mozzarella, pancetta, and basil crème. 2 orders divided 6 ways came out to be a perfect little starter salad. The tangy and sweet tomatoes cut the creamy cheese, and the crispy delicious pancetta was seriously the icing on the salad.

Then we were separated into 2 camps: those who wanted to try le animelle (crispy sweetbread, polenta, blackberry) and those who would rather not eat a calf's gland. Annette, Colin and I went for the sweet bread, and I really liked it especially with the blackberry sauce. Amanda picked la burrata, a plate of burrata, endive, basil pesto, and crostini...which was similar to the salad we just had, but still a lot of yummy.

I had the monopoly on the first course here as I wasn't going to leave Drago Centro without my favorite dish. The first time I ate at Drago Centro, I ordered le pappardelle al fagiano, and it has never left me. My most favorite of pasta, pappardelle, is home made and is tossed with the perfect amount of the roasted pheasant and morel mushrooms ragu. I was happy that everyone agreed with me on how lovely the dish was. And again, 2 orders portioned 6 ways was enough pasta to keep us moving forward.

Alas, the big show. Brandon chose la bistecca per due, a bone-in ribeye the size of my arm, meant to serve two, with potato, globe carrots, chanterelle, and smoked hollandaise. Now this half of a cow came up sizzling to be carved table side. What impressed us most is that all of each got our own warm plate with one globe carrot, a few chanterelle, a schmear of sauce, and a quarter sized lemony, herby potato patty. It was sooo cute!

Perfect proportion to the 2 slices of steak we each got. And here I am thinking, how could TWO people possibly finish this sucker by themselves?! It's HUGE!

The steak itself was perfectly cooked to pink perfection and well flavored. However, it still managed to be a little chewy. Now, the smoked hollandaise tasted like liquid bacon to me. I had to seriously restrain myself from licking the plate.

Served up at the same time were two orders of Hank's seafood choice, le cappesante which were seared diver scallops, artichoke, celery root, fennel. The scallops were HUGE and cooked perfectly.

What the menu didn't say that there were also shrimps...sweet, succulent shrimps that seemed to have been rolled in the roes. I ate two and I wanted more.

It had been a dining EVENT so far...and we've been sitting around for 2 hours at this point. Service had been spot on with the pace of the meal. Any faster, we'd never have gotten to where we were. And slower, we'd never leave the place. The pacing also matched well with my ancient Thai secret art of eating: slow and steady and in small portion!

But we weren't going to leave without dessert. Well, I was full enough to have forgotten to take any more pictures. LOL.

Hank, the New Yorker, must have his canolis. Here they served you with 4 different flavors and dish of milk chocolate gelato: stracciatella (essentially chocolate chips and cream), orange pistachio, rosemary pine nut, and tiramisu. I never really had a canoli before. So with Hank giving the approval, I ate the tiramisu one. And it was divine.

While at it, we also ordered two of the Italian cookie plate: itsy bitsy pieces of biscotti, torrone, baci di cioccolato , nocciolati, savoiardi, and marshmallow. They hit all the right spots.

We finally rolled out of Drago Centro 3 hours after we first sat down, blissfully overstuffed.

We joked earlier on that if the bill came out to be ridiculous, we would consider that Christmas present for each other. Let just say that after the Groupons, we WILL be buying each other Christmas present. The price tag with the discount was super reasonable.

Although when we think about it, after the way we ate, even without the discount, it was still surprising reasonable for a place like Drago Centro. It does feel like eating with a group here is better for your wallet than dining with just 2 or 4 people.

But of course, you’d have to allow at least 2 hours for maximum enjoyment in a group. We wouldn’t have as much fun there if we were on a schedule to run to the theaters afterward.

Would we do this again without the Groupon? Absolutely.

Glory be the Church of Cheese

2010-09-20T15:56:00.000-07:00

Forever and ever, amen!

(Click on the strip to see larger image.)

Full of (First and) Hope

2010-08-30T22:24:00.000-07:00

In an unsuspecting strip mall in downtown Los Angeles, a luxurious supper club is tucked away in the corner. And tucked away inside that is a speakeasy that sends you right back to the 40s.

Look up "hidden gem" and you’ll find First and Hope.

A friend told me about the place and the fabulous and innovative flight of mac and cheese. Where else would you take a girl who loves cheese for a pre-wedding last blast with her girl friends!

The party was started an hour before our dinner reservation as Amy and Celeste ended their days early. It didn’t take long before Amy, well known for her friend making prowess, chatted up First and Hope co-owner Parker Martin, restaurant designer Jeremy Ingram, and special event manager Mark Shunock. By the time Nhien the Bachelorette and I got there, we were whisked off to a tour of the restaurant and the Fedora, their “speakeasy” performance space, by Jeremy himself.

Talk about whetting your appetite! We were in the room in time for their lighting check. And the Fedora revealed herself to us gorgeously. Most bits and pieces in the room actually have history, not manufactured new. It was truly awe inducing. Mark informed us that wait until we come back in later to hear Brenna Whitaker perform to really be blown away. We didn't rush through our dinner but we could hardly wait to return to the Fedora for the show.

Back outside in the dining room, now fully alive with staff and diners trickling in, we were greeted by our waiter Johnny who was attentive, knowledgeable, and all around awesome. Not to mention handsome! I mean, the entire service staff came right out of a modeling catalog or something. And in those awesome uniforms!

At Johnny's recommendation, we ordered a bottle of wine and a mocktail crafted for our alcohol-allergic Bachelorette. And then we went to town with our orders.

First up, a potato amuse bouche. I inhaled that, more or less. Then pimento cheese and crackers I couldn't stop eating.

Then arrived BBQ Fried Oysters (Bacon BBQ Sauce & Celery Bleu Cheese Tapenade), tasty little morsels that were gone way too fast, and my mission dish, Praise the Lard! (And I was too hungry to take any pictures of these things. LOL!)

A trio of pork in a plate which I regretted that we share because I would've wanted it all for myself! Crispy Pigears over Heirloom Tomatoes, explosion of textures with crispy wisps of pigears and refreshing tomatoes. Kurobuta Pork Belly over Creamy Grits christened with warm Maple Dressing was superb, however my favorite has to be the Bourbon-Braised Pork Cheeks with a Crisp Soft Egg. The sweet, melt in your mouth pork with creamy egg inside crispy fried exterior. So. Effing. Good.

Then entered the grand finale, the Bachelorette's pick of Pecan-plank Whole Trout Stuffed with Baby Spinach and Lump Crab with a side of Heirloom Tomato & Cornbread Panzanella Salad. Nhien enjoyed this dish although I can't really tell you much about it because my focus was entirely on the Flight of Mac and Cheese.

All-About-The-Cheese Mac & Cheese Flight laid out beautifully on the table. First crock was Fiscalini Xtra Mature Cheddar, Lasagnette & Ritz Crackers. Creamy and homey. Next was Cypress Grove Goat Cheese, Conchiglie & Popped Corn. I had my doubts erased the moment I ate a forkful. Popcorn gave it the texture and the flavors were really good. Everyone else liked the popcorn/goat cheese best. But no, not me.

Naturally, my favorite is Porter Beer Cheese, Corkscrew Pasta & Rye Croutons with a sample of porter and small pile of what I think is pickled shallot/red onion. Put all the components in your mouth and sip the porter and all will be revealed to you!

Also came with the main event were our 2 side dishes collard greens and tater tots. The greens came with big hunks of thick bacon...which my friends left for me to destroy. (Good friends!) Tater tots were crispy outside and creamy inside, a texture I didn't expect from my tots but they were really, really good.

And of course, I wans't going to leave without dessert. I just didn't have room to go solo on what I wanted, the Porky Pig Banana Split (Bacon & Banana Ice Cream, Jalapeño Hot Fudge, Brandied Cherries & Caramel Pork Rinds) which no one wanted to participate in. LOL. We asked Johnny and went with his favorite LAPD Doughnut Shake Down. Boston Cream Pie Doughnuts & Chocolate Dipping Sauce with Strawberry Milkshake, Strawberry Compote & Strawberry Whipped Cream.

Seriously. Hit me with a bus. I can die happy.

And a surprise present from Mark and the boys for our Bachelorette was the Lemon Meringue Beehive. Coconut Macaroon, Lemon Curd, Lemon-Thyme Ice Cream & Toasted Marshmallow in a shape of a beehive. Sounds decadent but really refreshing. Definitely lighter than the doughnuts I can tell you.

As we wrapped up the dessert, music came pouring out of the Fedora. The fabulous Ms. Whitaker had taken the stage. And wow. What a voice! So back into the Fedora we went. With Brenna and her band on stage, the place really came alive. Intimate truly is the word for the place. It was simply amazing.

There are times when I really wish I live closer to downtown LA. And walking away from First and Hope that night was one of those moments. I wish I could hang out here any night there is a performance. The food. The vibe. The music. First and Hope has all I ever wanted.

Suddenly, living behind the Orange curtain becomes a serious inconvenience. I envy you, Downtown LA!

Tasty food and gorgeous photos at Phototasting

2010-08-01T15:47:00.000-07:00

All of you have been through the food photography journey with me. Remember when this blog actually had no photos at all? And then we started to get a little bit of this?

And then it becomes more like this?

And now, after a good 3 hours of presentation and hands-on workshop at Phototasting event at Cube Marketplace in Los Angeles, you have something like this.

And hopefully, I can keep up. :)

Phototasting (@phototasting) is a unique food sampling and restaurant photography workshop where participants are able to both shoot and savor a restaurant's cuisine. This one was presented by Pam of Rants and Craves, Claire of The Kitchy Kitchen, and Tony of SinoSoul.

I ran a bit late, having to hail in from Orange County through unexpected X Game traffic in Downtown LA. So Tony sat me right up front. At my table were the lovely Julie and Maggie, and two photographers and their serious Nikons, Thom and Edward.

First up was Tony who went over all the nerdy goodness about aperture, exposure, and depth of field. Oh, and in a nice way, RTFM. (For those uninitiated, that's Read the F*cking Manual.)

Then came the first course: Heirloom tomato and fresh peach, Cube imported buffalo mozzarella, 6-year balsamic, and fruity olive oil. Lovely flavors and mighty refreshing for a hot day.

I struggled a lot with trying to get the texture of the mozzarella. I'm a purist when it comes to my photography, but I had to fix this one a bit in post. Meh...

Pam was up next to talk about composition. Oh the many methods a food photographer have to go through for a perfect shot!

Out came the second course: Black truffle pizze with mozzarella and runny fried eggs. We all rushed through this one a little bit. Well, for one, Tony was urging us to eat it before the yolks get cold. LOL.

While all I really wanted to do was shove that crispy yet chewy pizze in my mouth, I did take some time to hold up the gooey, drippy, messy slice up for other to take a shot. I know all too well the power of black truffle and runny eggs. Yummmmm.

Entered Claire to talk about lighting. Filtered natural light is best, and we got plenty at the window at Cube. And of course flash photography is a major no-no for food. (Yes, you now may chuckle at people taking picture of their dinners with flash flying about the place.)

In came the last savory course: Pancetta wrapped porchetta, creamy polenta, and roasted broccoli.

Obviously, I was rushing through this shoot and not getting many shots of the whole dish. Well, not that I like after I've looked at them. Then again, I'm sure having me standing at the ready with plates and silverware, wanting desperately to dig in, was annoying to fellow photographers my table. Here they are, hard at work!

But...it's PORK, WRAPPED IN MORE PORK! Come on, man! Girl's gotta have her pork!

Oh, thanks, Jewels.

And finally, Claire went over how to fix things in post-production. A little touch here and there will make the picture. Too much and you got a Van Gogh on Acid.

Dessert was summer perfection: White nectarine shortcake with lemon verbena and fresh cream and raspberry sauce (I think).

I don't know why I struggled so much with the food but I had no problem taking pictures of the dessert. I took plenty and they were all gorgeous.

What a great idea of an event! I got a refresher on the nerdy photography stuff and learn new tricks. And of course, I get to have some fantastic food.

Only if we can do one in Orange County, that'd be nice too. ;-)

Here's the full slide show. You can see more of Phototasting pictures in their Flickr group.

The Capital Grille Los Angeles

2010-07-24T13:43:00.000-07:00

Is there such thing as a foodie karma? I think there is.

An envelope arrived in the mail for me at work from The Capital Grille, inviting me to a complimentary preview dinner before the grand opening of their Los Angeles location at the Beverly Center.

How the heck did I get on THAT mailing list?

True, I have written to a lot of restaurants all over LA to ask for silent auction donation item for work. So maybe instead of throwing out my letters, somebody actually put my address in their database? Or do I have a secret admirer who toss my name and address from my business card into the mix?

It doesn't matter. I got an invite to, after I've been there, what looks like to be the next hot spot in town. And I'm going!

A holler to my boss/BFF later, reservation was made for a girl’s night out.

We arrived at 7:30 and it was packed, partly because of the preview but also because the protest on Sunset Boulevard set off traffic jam everywhere and everyone ahead of us was late. The wow factor was there alright from the décor to the diners to the service staff.

Elegant old school steakhouse but updated to be sleek. We were just missing cigar smokes.

The service crew were all beautiful people. I mean, I almost wanted to bet that even their line cooks were underwear models or something at this rate! The servers and hosts were all well groomed, very formal composure with added Southern Californian warmth. The warmth, though, seemed forced—some were holding back and some were putting on more so they came off a little Stepford Wife-ish. But it could be because they were all trying to keep cool on a very busy soft opening.

Since our reservation ran late, we were pointed to the bar where we were served complimentary samples of their pineapple-infused vodka. Gotta love a potent potion masquerading as harmless pineapple juice!

Since the Boss Lady is allergic to alcohol, I ended up with both of those. And those little flutes weren't kidding around. I had to decline the list of wine picked by their master sommeliers at dinner time to make sure that I wouldn't fall off the tall bar chair where we were seated.

That was another downer. We were situated in a tucked away corner of the bar, peering with envy through glass wall into the dining room and open kitchen.

The light was dimmed but not dark. Well, dark enough that I couldn't talk any picture of my food with my phone. I wonder if that was planned....hmm....

So after trying to take the picture of the oysters, I did put the phone away for the rest of the meal. You guys will have to use your imagination.

Our preview menu was limited but we were told that we could order some things on the regular menu. Figured that we’d have to take half our dinner home anyway, we threw in an order of half-dozen oysters on the half shell on top of our appetizer selection of Wagyu beef carpaccio with arugula salad lightly dressed in lemon vinaigrette, topped with shaved parmesan.

The oysters were huge and tasted like the ocean. The carpaccio was delicate and melted in our mouths with a hint of curry or some spices on the crust.

The Boss Lady, a healthy eater most of the time, started to think about ordering fish. But she easily changed her mind to the Delmonico Steak after our server Natasha told us what it was. The steak is a highly marbled gargantuan cut just shy of a Porterhouse, dry aged, rubbed in porcini mushroom and 12-year-old aged balsamic. Natasha also suggested that it was to be cooked medium instead of the usual medium rare to get all the juices in the fat flowing. And oh my god was she right!

The steak was HUGE! What, did I land in the alternate universe version of Big Texan? Good golly. And the flavors. My GOD the flavors! It was like magical beef-flavored butter! Unicorns and Double Rainbow Oh my God good.

An absolute winner and totally craveable…which kind of sucks because at $45 a pop, it is quite an expensive habit to develop. Just sayin'.

Since Natasha was a recent transplant from Australia, I had to ask for her thoughts on the double cut lamb rib chops. She started tearing up as she talked about how the lamb tasted like home and smelled like her mom’s kitchen. She didn’t even have to tell me about the cherry mustard accompaniment (which, by the way, made me forget any and all mint sauces) because I was sold. Any lamb that can bring tears to the eyes of an Aussie, I’m in.

The big meaty chops came frenched and interlocked for presentation. The meat was tender, juicy, and with just enough lamb-y flavor to distinguish it from beef. The cherry mustard provided the zip and zing as you go along. If I didn’t have my braces, I would totally pick up the double bones and gnaw every morsel off in the middle of this high-end steakhouse--a notion that Natasha also agreed.

For a side dish, since spinach is my braces’ mortal enemy, we went with the Vidalia onion rings. Light, crispy batter with fat, juicy, sweet onion slices cooked to perfection made an addict out of the Boss Lady.

We did leave room for dessert, expecting something spectacular. At first we were a little deflated that 2 cold bowls of mixed berries in mascarpone cream (I think?) were served. But a bite into it, we were suddenly grateful to have something refreshing and on a lighter side to wrap up a beast of a meal.

To our surprise, for having had us waited for our table, our oysters were comp’ed. Score!

The price is steep but for the experience and the quality of the food, it was worth making a special evening out of it. Hell, the Delmonico alone is totally worth a few Hoover flags.

Put money in your piggy banks, kids, and break it wide open for a meal at The Capital Grille. You will not regret it.

Best Gift for New Moms

2010-06-20T17:44:00.001-07:00

This year is my baby boom year. Since March, friends left and right were having babies. It wasn't until after Aurora had her baby did I realized that I have found the best present for new moms.

Frozen homemade food.

There's ALWAYS leftover in my household. Even when I cut the recipe down, I still have stuff leftover for at least another meal. So when Aurora had Chloe back in March, she asked if I could cook full scale recipes and she would pay for the frozen leftovers.

I happily obliged.

So when another friends Justin and Olaina had their first baby last month, I went to town for the both of them.

Enter Simple Marinara Sauce and Companile Meatballs out of Mark Peel's New Classic Family Dinner cookbook, recommended by our very own Chef Jay.

There's a stand at my Alamitos Landing farmers market that sells very, very ripe organic tomatoes for $1 a pound. So it wasn't even an issue getting tomatoes for the sauce. Then again, a couple of huge cans of San Marzano tomatoes were readily available at my local Sprouts as well.

The meatballs turn out to also be good for sneaking vegetables into one's diet. I haven't yet told Brandon and James, Aurora's husband, that there are mushrooms in the meatballs. And they can't tell either. So, hooray!

Now, I have to warn you a little bit about the meatball recipe you'll see below. First of all, I didn't follow Chef Peel's recipe to the tee because, even at his own admittance in the preface, he tends to use a LOT of pots and pans. My cutting corners save us a few items to wash after.

Secondly, the amount of meatballs this recipe makes is obscene. They did warn you and you can probably tell by more or less 3 lbs. of meat needed. The recipe said to fry them, but after about 3 batches, I gave up and baked the rest. It turned out to be a better way to handle the amount of meatballs on hand. So I baked most of them and fry only the ones I was going to eat for dinner that night.

The best part about of of these? They freeze beautifully. You can just make them and save them for other busy nights or did like I did and gave them to your friends. :)

Ready to make some new moms happy? Here you go!

Big Batch of Simple Tomato Sauce

I double the original Mark Peel's recipe and add my notes here. Just take everything off by half for smaller batch. But why would you want to do that? :)

6 TBS EVOO
4 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
4 lbs. fresh ripe tomatoes* -- peeled, seeded and chopped OR 2 28-oz can chopped tomatoes with juice. (If you use the San Manzano, you can chop that or run it through the food mill. I did that my first time with my first batch.)
Salt and pepper
A handful of basil leaves without stem, chiffonade OR left whole per original recipe
Optional: splash of fruity balsamic vinegar

*Tips from Mark Peel on seeding tomatoes: Don't waste the juice! Place strainer over a bowl, cut tomatoes in half at the equator and squeeze. Rub the pulp against the strainer to get maximum juice. Dump the seeds.

Heat the oil with garlic over medium-low heat and simmer a bit. Add the tomatoes, salt and pepper, simmer 45 minutes, stirring often, until thick. Adjust the flavors. I splash a wee little splash of balsamic in there to give it a little bite and sweetness.

Add basil and remove from heat. Let basil steeps for 15 minutes or longer. Original recipe has you remove the whole leaves afterward. I just chiffonade mine and left it in there.

Not Companile Meatballs

I bastardized the original recipe a little bit for the sake of convenience and lack of desire to do any more dishes than necessary. It's still tasty at the end.

3/4 lb. ground pork (if grinding your own meat, use pork butt or shoulder cut into 1-inch cube)
3/4 lb. ground chicken (chicken breast cut into 1-inch cube)
3/4 lb. ground beef (chuck cut into 1-inch cube)
1 TBS EVOO
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 oz. cremini mushrooms, cleaned and finely chopped (if you want to do it full Companile style, just chopped chunky would do it)
Salt and pepper
3/4 cup cold dry white wine
4 oz. old bread, crust removed, chopped (full Companile: cut into 1-inch cubes)
3 TBS minced fresh Italian parsley
Optional: flour to coat before cooking. Also original recipe uses 1 tsp cracked fennel seeds. Brandon isn't fond of fennel seeds so I left that out.

Combine ground meat in a mixing bowl of your standing mixer--this will save you a bowl. Heat oil over medium heat, add onion. Cook until tender then add garlic and stir until fragrant. Add mushrooms and salt (and fennel seeds). Cook until tender. Add 1/4 cup white wine, bring to simmer. Add bread, stir, remove from heat so the bread absorbs all the goodies from the pan. Add the mixture and parsley to the meat. Chill for 30 minutes in the refrigerator.

(Full Companile: Before adding the parsley, run the mixture through the food processor THEN add to the meat. I know it's the the same but I didn't really want to go through this hassle.

Also, if you're grinding your own meat, you'd add the mixture and parsley to the bowl of meat chunks, season with salt and pepper, and stir to combine. Chill the whole thing 2-4 hours, then grind the whole thing.)

Place ground meat mixture in a standing mixer with paddle attachment. Add the remaining 1/2 cup of very cold white wine and beat at medium speed for 1 minute. Turn to low and beat another 2 minutes until well mixed and holds together in a clump. Cover and refrigerate until very cold.

Preheat your oven to 400F. Check the meatballs' seasoning by cooking up a little piece in a pan. Form your meatballs, place them on parchment paper on a baking tray with edges. Bake for 20 minutes.

(Full Companile: Lightly flour the meatballs and brown on both sides over medium heat in canola oil, about 4 minutes per side or until firm to touch. Simmer the meatballs in sauce. Chef Peel also suggests that you freeze the tray(s) of meatballs uncooked, then transfer to bag. But of course, I'm helping out the moms so mine are fully cooked going into the freezer.)

La Dolce Vita

2010-06-04T07:30:00.000-07:00

There's always something awesome in LA Times' Daily Dish blog. And I came across this gem last week.

Dinner + movie: "La Dolce Vita" with your sweet corn agnolotti? Drago Centro kicks off its "Dinner and a Movie" summer series with the Fellini classic next Thursday, June 3. Chef de cuisine Ian Gresik prepares a four-course menu to go with the film: heirloom tomato salad with burrata and crostini; sweet corn agnolotti with pancetta and lemon brown butter foam; New York steak with crispy potatoes, maitake mushrooms and salsa verde; and strawberry torta with balsamic crème and mascarpone. Thursday, June 3, 7 p.m. $40 per person.

I called Drago Centro the moment I saw the post. I mean, $40 for a 4-course at Drago Centro? That's a crazy good deal, yo! I even managed to talk Brandon to come up to town for it.

The first hurdle was that the hostess didn't know what was going on. But she took my reservation anyway. But of course, Betty at the Times was awesome as you can see on the thread, and I clarified my reservation.

And then the Lakers got to the finals. Bless their hearts, Lakers fans Annette and Hank still came to dinner with Brandon and I anyway. Unlike others who canceled their reservations. The Vault would accommodate 20-25 but there were only 8-10 of us in there last night.

La Dolce Vita? Okay, I sort of get the message of the movie. As a USC film minor graduate, I *should* be falling all over myself for a Fellini film, but all I could do was admire the belly of the film as it flew over my head.

I was kept glued for a bit to see if I could understand any of the Italian. I picked up 4 words/phrases out of the whole movie. LOL.

And holy crap, it was LONG. It lost Brandon somewhere at the haunted house. It lost me after the break up, ("Get in the car! No! Get out of the car! No!")

But the food. My GOD the FOOD! And the wine pairing ($20 for 4 wines for the 4 courses)! Mamma mia!

Heirloom tomato salad with burrata and crostini + Prosecco di Valdobbiadene: Principe, Silver Emotion 2008

Fresh, fresh, fresh! The tomatoes were lovely and the burrata creamy. I could eat this all day. The prosecco was flowery and absolutely sublime. I can also drink that all day. :)

Sweet corn agnolotti with pancetta and lemon brown butter foam + Gavi di Gavi, Villa Sparina, Piemonte 2007.

We were all very close to licking the bowl on this one. Perfection in every bite. The corn was already sweet but somehow manage to not overpower the Gavi di Gavi. Just divine.

New York steak with crispy potatoes, maitake mushrooms and salsa verde + Sangiovese, Brancaia, Tre, Toscana 2006.

I had to swap my steak with Brandon because he likes his well cooked, but even then, the beef was tender. The potatoes and the mushrooms were on the saltier side but once you eat it with deceptively under-seasoned steak, the symphony in your mouth went off. With the Sangiovese, I didn't want this plate to end.

Strawberry torta with balsamic crème and mascarpone + Maculan, Dindarello 2007

The dessert didn't stand a chance to begin with and we were looking for ANY distraction from the movie at this point. A blink and everyone had inhaled their creamy and refreshing treat. The Maculan was a bit of a wake-up call on the sweetness at first sip but once again, everything was alright once it mingled with dessert.

What a meal! What an experience! I know I'll be there in a heart beat at the next one.

Costa Rican fare

2010-05-13T13:55:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, I took at 6-day trip to Costa Rica. I was there for a destination wedding of my friends with my BFF Nora as my date, and to spend a few days with my friend from 20 years ago.

We spent most of our time in the all-inclusive hotel Paradisus Playa Conchal and didn't venture out too much. The hotel food wasn't all that impressive. Actually, for what they boast on their website, it was disappointing.

However, I did discover the joy that is that national dish of gallo pinto--rice and black beans, essentially. The Bride pointed out to me that the local's breakfast is gallo pinto and a fried egg topped with salsa. And if available, fried ripe plantains aka plantanos. Again, one of my favorite things to eat.

And what a breakfast! I mean, I had that for the next two mornings we were at the resort. And it stuck with you too! I mean, I had breakfast at 9, skipped lunch, and enjoyed 2 very strong Zombies at the swim-up bar and I held up wonderfully.

Our first day, though, I had the omelet everyone was raving about. And we did got out of the pool to have lunch. I ordered a steak wrap at the "snack bar". Oh, the glorious, delicious grass-fed beef. Well marinated and cooked to perfection! It was tasty.

For dinner, we dined at the Mexican restaurant. I ordered ceviche and seared scallops, doing appetizers for dinner, and I wasn't impressed with either. I looked around at the table and I didn't hear anyone go ga-ga over their food. Then again, we were all too busy drinking. Hahah!

The best meals I had in Costa Rica, ironically, was the first AND last meals.

We landed in the capital of San Jose at 9 in the morning. By 10 a.m. we arrived at a local restaurant, Calilu, to wait for our shuttle to pick us up to take us to Playa Conchal, the beach where the hotel is. The shuttle, however, wasn't going to get here until 3 p.m.

So I started in on my order.

As far as I know, Arroz con Pollo is a national dish. So I ordered that for lunch with a cup of coffee.

We'd need something to snack on for the rest of the time, so I went with the fried green plantains with guacamole. The guac was more like mashed avocado. But thankfully, they have house salsa.

Oh. My. GOD! They did sell it by the jar and I should've bought it! It doesn't look like much but it hit you smack in the mouth in a very, very good way.

The surprise dish was what was described as "grilled chicken tacos with melted cheese". It was more like grilled chicken tacos drowned in cheese fondue with pickled veggies and pico de gallo to cut the richness. Nora didn't care for it much so we eventually swapped plates half way into the meal. Hmm. Melted gooey cheesy goodness...

My Costa Rican friend Richard took us up to see the Poas Volcano (which we didn't see because of the fog) and we stopped at a local restaurant. The food was so so there. Didn't quite blow my mind.

On our last day of the trip, Richard, dropped us off to putz around Downtown San Jose to wait for our flight. And putz around we did.

My Fedor guidebook has a lot more of restaurant recommendation than what Nora had. And after all considerations, we started to head back to the National Theater for their little cafe we poked our heads into earlier when we were lost.

But then we spotted another menu on the wall of this good looking building. Having only our credit card to rely on at this point of the trip, we didn't care much for the higher price point and headed in.

We didn't know until we sat down that we were about to do lunch at the historic Gran San Jose hotel.

As a parting meal, Nora ordered her own Arroz con Pollo. As for me, I already knew I wasn't going to hold my Meatless Tuesday while in a beef country, so I ordered a "typical" marinated (skirt, I think) steak cooked to perfect medium rare covered in grilled onion with rice, beans, and platanos.

Heaven on a plate, y'all.

Did I wish I was more adventurous with my eating as well as my travel? Yes, a little bit. But at the same time, both Nora and I were going for maximum leisure. Milking the trip for all our worth would mean sacrificing our relaxation time. So we stayed put in the white-wash little resort and didn't go zip-lining or jungle cruising. We didn't even made it to Cameron Dorado just a short walk up the beach.

But hey, when the swim-up bar calls you, you don't walk away from it. ;-)

Read my full account and lessons learned from the Costa Rica trip here.

10 out of 11 ain't bad

2010-04-18T22:52:00.000-07:00

Today I went to farmer's market to stock up for the week.

I washed all the produce and put them away.

Then I baked Pim's recipe banana bread.

Then I boiled some eggs for breakfast for the rest of the week.

Then I sat down and peeled and scraped peels off of 12 lemons and started my new batch of Limoncello. This time, I'm using grappa.

Then juiced all 12 lemons.

With juice of 6 lemons, I made fresh strawberry lemonade with basil infused syrup.

The rest of the juice, I poured into ice cube tray and froze for later use.

Then I added some vodka to my glass of strawberry lemonade.

Then I made Coq Au Vin for dinner.

Then I grabbed a Mochi ice cream with a paper towel to thaw out a bit. But I got into writing my OakMonster blog a little bit and forgot.

11 things food related I did today and I messed only one up. Not too shabby.

Vegetable Chili (Con Carne)

2010-04-08T22:12:00.000-07:00

Food & Wine magazine arrived a few months back with Winter Vegetable Chili on the cover. Perfect for this part-time vegetarian! I can make a vat of it and freeze for later. Brilliant!

Not wanting to leave the hubby out of dinner, I decided to make half of it veggie and the other half with beef. Both turned out fabulously!

I looked at the recipe and just went to town with the cooking. I didn't follow the directions too much, skipping the whole blender thing altogether. I used diced tomatoes--something I always have on hand--and no chipotle/adobo. I just added the tomatoes and Chipotle Tobasco and keep going. One less step to follow = one less thing to wash, yo!

There wasn't any parsnips at my farmers market. So, I just went with daikon. I have never cooked a daikon before, and we didn't really seek it out when we dine out. So it was to my surprise that Brandon told me he actually likes daikon.

After 10 years of knowing the man, 8 of that being married to him, I just found that out now. Then again, he surprised me when he ordered duck confit at the RH... But I digress.

Daikons and carrots seem to roll in every weekend at my farmers market. So as far as I'm concern, I'm making this thing year round! (Gotta love Southern California!)

Like I said, I'm also not big on using chipotle and adobo. Last time I added that to a chili, the heat was too much for my taste buds and the smokiness was too much for Brandon.

Fortunately, I've fallen in love with Chipotle Tobasco which delivers just enough of the smokiness AND milder heat. It's perfect to use here.

Now, my adaptation of the original recipe for those who want to feed both herbivores and omnivores in the house!

Indecisive Vegetable Chili (Con Carne)

Serve with brown rice, chopped red onions, cilantro, sour cream and tortilla chips or bread toasts.

The Veggie Part

1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped
2 medium garlic cloves, very finely chopped
1 large red bell pepper, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1/2 half of a large daikon, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1/2 pound carrots, cut into 1/2-inch pieces - I used heirloom carrots to add colors.
1 tablespoon chile powder
1 tablespoon ground cumin
Salt and pepper
One 14-ounce can diced tomatoes
Shakes of Chipotle Tobasco - not too horribly spicy, a few shakes will give you the smokiness you need.
1 1/2 cups water
1 cup canned hominy, drained
1 cup canned red kidney beans, drained
Optional: A splash of good balsamic vinegar
Optional: Cayenne pepper if you want more heat without the smokiness of more Chipotle Tobasco.

Heat the oil in a heavy saucepan or Dutch oven. Add the onion and garlic, cook until slightly softened. Add the bell pepper, daikon and carrots and cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned in spots. Stir in the chile powder and cumin and season with salt. Cook a little more.

Add water and the diced tomatoes and juices to the pan along with the hominy and beans and bring to a boil.

To have your chili both ways at the same meal, you split the veggie batch in half at this point. Add half of the veggies into the saucepan with the browned meat and keep the other half pure veggies. Simmer both.

Cover partially and simmer the chili over moderate heat until the vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes.

All veggies special touch: you can brighten this up with a little balsamic vinegar. I thought it could use a little acidity but instead of the usual apple cider, I thought balsamic would be nicer. And I was right! For some reasons, the balsamic doesn't taste so good with the beef to me. But you can try that if you'd like.

The Con Carne Part

A glug of oil
About 1 lb. of lean, ground sirloin (or more if you want to make this more of a beef chili with veggies instead of the other way around.)
A pinch of salt and pepper.
About 1 tablespoon chili powder
About 1 tablespoon cumin
A splash of Chipotle Tobasco
Optional: A tiny, itsy, weensy splash of Worcestershire Sauce.

Heat a glug of oil to a skillet. Brown about 1 lb. of lean ground sirloin, seasoned mildly salt and pepper. Add the spices. Deglaze with a bit of water/broth. Add the beef and pan juices to the veggie chili. Adjust seasoning to your liking.

Con Carne Special Touch: If you'd like a bit more beefiness, add the Worcestershire Sauce. Not too much though. It'll overpower the flavors you've just built.

Questionable Easter Menu

2010-03-29T07:56:00.000-07:00

Surprise to see this on my DVR's recording cue... ;-D

ETA: LA Times Food Blog "Daily Dish" picked this up! Well, helloooo LA Times readers. :)

Gordon's Chops

2010-03-21T10:26:00.000-07:00

I'm a fan of Gordon Ramsay's The F Word on BBC America. Given, I usually skipped through the kitchen challenge part unless there's a recipe I really liked, but I love how Gorden teaches us to cook not with a recipe but what goes in it.

Then again, once in a while I still have to peak and find out the actual recipe e.g. how hot the oven has to be, that kind of thing.

One recipe is a big hit here at the house, the Spiced Pork Chops with Sweet Potatoes. Watch the video here.

ETA December 2010: Original recipe link has gone dead so I'm recreating the recipe for you right here.

Oh, and it's really easy to make and doesn't take a lot of time. Perfect mid-week dinner.

Adapted from the new healthy version featured on Rachael Ray's recently.

4 pork loin chops with bone, about 10 ounces each
1/2 to 1 teaspoon mild chili powder, to taste
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
Sea salt and black pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
Few thyme sprigs
4 garlic cloves (unpeeled), lightly smashed
5 to 6 star anise, lightly smashed
1 teaspoon coriander seeds, lightly crushed

First, the marinade. Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl. Rub it all over the chops and sit and marinade for at least 30 minutes to overnight.

In a hot pan with a few glugs of olive oil, sear the pork chops until brown on each side. Tilt the pan and baste the chops with all the juices and oil. Then into the oven for 350F. About 10 minutes or so until the meat is just firm when lightly pressed.

And that's that for the chops! Serve drizzle with some of the pan juice.

The original recipe serves with some mashed sweet potatoes, but since Brandon isn't big on sweet potatoes, I just did regular mashed potatoes. I also saved time by not peeling the potatoes.

My notes:

I did half a recipe: 2 chops, 2 potatoes. Aside from the oven temperature (180C is 350F, by the way), everything else was pretty much eyeballed.

But you know me and my household picky eater. I'm actually surprised that Brandon's okay with the star anise and coriander seeds. Instead of crushing with a pan like Gordon, I pulled out my new "spice grinder" to play with, a Cuisineart coffee grinder actually. Heeheee. Other than that, the pork chops were done up according to the recipe.

Sometimes I want to just make the pork with regular mashed potatoes for Brandon AND sweet potatoes for me because I'm curious. I'll let you know if I ever get there. :)

Now, Gordon's way of cooking the sweet potatoes is to boil them in chicken stock and then you drain out the broth. I know you'll get more flavor into the potatoes but I feel that is such a waste of broth! With my plain taters, I cooked them in salted water and added a splash of stock along with butter and a little cream when I mashed them to get the flavor back in. Frankly, why waste a perfectly good pot of stock!

The spices on this pork are ADDICTIVE! I can't get the flavors and the smells out of my head for days. The way we cooked it, the pork is nice and juicy. I'm already drooling just thinking about it.

Girl Baby Shower Treats

2010-03-03T22:36:00.000-08:00

This past weekend, my friends and I threw a baby shower for our friend Aurora. "Smush" is a girl whose due date is March 10. Being the 2nd baby, Aurora wanted to keep the shower small.

Lupe is a phenomenal home cook so naturally she was in charge of the afternoon snacks. I have seen Giada made these (Mini) Mascarpone Cupcakes with Strawberry Glaze on her show so it was the first thing that came to mind when figuring out the menu. It's so easy too!

I did double the recipe as I was supposed to make 2 dozen regular sized cupcakes. However, I ended up with 24 cupcakes, measured out at 1/2 cup of batter each, plus enough batter left to make one 9-inch round cake.

As for the glaze, I used 1 full cup of strawberries for double batch. It was getting wayyy to sticky with just 2/3 cup.

The girls enjoyed the cupcakes. The hubby got the round. ;-D

Now for more cutesy shower stuff, inspired by Aurora's undying love for white chocolate covered caramel apples, I decided to make them as party favors.

First, I bought 15 small gala apples which turned out to be just sweet enough after all the coatings. Per the tips I read online, I dipped them in boiling water, wiped off the wax, and let them dry overnight.

Let me tell you, even after Food Inc. experience, seeing the residual wax clinging to the apples after the dip turned me off from store-bought fruit all together. And yeah, some of them I have to re-dipped and re-wiped. Ick.

Now, for the layers, I was VERY generous with the ingredients. READ: I'm so bad at dipping and dripping off excess that I have a nice thick coat of both caramel and white chocolate. Nobody complained, however. I'm sure if you're more patience and frugal, you can squeeze up to 6-7 small apples out of the batch.

For each set of 5 apples:

1 bag of Kraft Caramels.
3 TBS of heavy whipping cream
3 4-oz bars of Ghirardelli White Chocolate. I don't recommend using chips. The reasons are below.
Parchment paper with a quick coating of non-stick spray

First, the caramels. Follow instructions on the back of the bag. However, I substituted 2 TBS of water with 3 TBS of cream. Helloooo, why use water when cream is on hand, right?

Once the caramel is set (mine did in about 15-20 minutes), start up the double boiler and melt the chocolate bars. Dip. Let drip. And spin gently for even coating.

Now, the warning about the white chocolate chips. I found a recipe online that told me to melt 12-oz white chips with 2 TBS of butter. So I did a double batch and the whole damn thing seized. A flash back to the Great Chocolate Seizure of Christmas 2009!!

So I wasted at least half an hour of my schedule running back out to the store, cursing the white chips under my breath all the way there and back. But I digress.

Back to the apples. I waited about 15-20 minutes before I applied the sprinkles. I just held the apple by the stick horizontally and slowly released a handful sprinkles on it as I turned. Some people waited until the chocolate set a little more before applying sprinkles and nuts etc. so it doesn't melt into the chocolate or slide down. I didn't have time.

If you have an hour or more, you can let the chocolate dipped goodness cool in room temperature. However, I was in a rush so I had to stick everyone in the fridge. Even then, it wasn't quite firm enough to put in the plastic bags.

So I took the whole darn tray to the party. We bagged them as the guests were leaving.

Well, that's it. REALLY easy. However, the Ghirardelli bars ain't cheap. About $3.35 a bar at my store. I used 9 although I could've gotten away with 8 or less.

But look at these though. I think they're worth the money, don't you?

A food revolution: My reaction to Food Inc.

2010-01-31T10:12:00.000-08:00

You know me. I eat everything. Never say no to anything except for margarine, sweeteners, and anything boasting low calories or low fat.

Just about a year ago, I had a rant about people not eating what they preach. As I am a non-selective omnivore, I don't preach about cruelty to animals if I was still buying farmed meats. It wasn't because I was against ethical eating. But my belief is that if you personally don't eat ethically, you don't have any rights to whine about how bad it is out there for the animals or the planet.

After I watched Food Inc., I now have one foot in the door of ethical eating. I'm still a long way from being a complete preacher for the cause, but at least I am going to try to get as many people as I can to watch this film and work it out for themselves.

Before this movie, I have started going to the farmers market and be conscious of what I bring home a little bit more for a few reasons. First, there *is* a convenient farmers market right here in Long Beach. Duh! And lastly, Brandon has a sensitive stomach that reacted to a few things. We have come to find out that it is most likely the high fructose corn syrup. On my part, I tried to look at the label as much as I can to weed HFCS out of his diet. He does a little bit too but not quite as much.

But this film actually gets Brandon himself to start looking at labels on his own. (Although he still can't quite get rid of Dr. Pepper but he has reduced the amount consumed tremendously.)

Now THAT is the power of Food Inc.

What changed our minds is to watch as the food conglomerate manipulate every aspect of the food chain for their profits.

The seed license thing pisses us off royally. You have to use their seeds or if you even get a cross-pollination, now your feed is theirs because of the genetic marker which subsequently drive all the farmers to use only their seeds and had to buy new ones every season. And the seed company, the only one there is, doesn't get prosecuted for monopoly? Seriously?

Brandon had first hand experience with this when he spent a year at a college in Oklahoma. The college obviously had a focus in agriculture. His friends were ranchers and farmers, so he heard all of these corporate bullying stories.

Sure, I'm no farmer myself and can't say that I know one. But I grew up in a country where rice farming is the life blood. I cannot imagine somebody out there in Thailand going after poor farmers saying they cannot use their rice as seeds, that they need to buy seed rice from just this one company every season. Seriously. I cannot even fathom that.

Now, on to the meat. I am still a long way away from giving up meat altogether. But after Food Inc., I am trying my best to not purchase or consume commercial chicken.

What changed my mind is the footage of the newly hatched baby chicks piled onto moving conveyor belt to get sorted, grabbed up one by one and stamped on the head to go to a farm where their feed has been engineered so that they would grow so fast and with much larger breasts that their bones and internal organs can't keep up. They would take 2 or 3 steps before they had to sit down again and many of them flat out died because of the growth spurt.

However, the image of happy piggies on a free range farms makes me want to eat them more. LOL. But I digress.

Another thing Food Inc. brought up, which has also been the reason why I haven't ventured into ethical eating sooner, is the high cost of "real foods". When you can feed your entire family of 4 for $10 at McDonald's but you can buy a few pound of fruits for just that much, most people would go for the McDonald's because that is all they can afford.

That was us for many years. Now that we are able to pay a little more for our foods, we try to shift that direction and find savings in other aspects of our lives instead. But still, when Food Inc. put it in front of us to see how things are being manipulated so that fresh food is more expensive than fast food, that doesn't sit well with us either.

Then again, we *are* addicted to junk food here as well. We are no angels. But I must say that the guilt associating with pulling up to any drive through has gotten a little bit heavier that before.

But man, watching how "meat filler" was made really turns me off to buying burger patties ANYWHERE.

So there. Personally, I am going to try to...

Cut down / Give up commercially-grown chicken and commercial burger patties.
Avoid any products with HFCS as much as I possibly can.
Eat seasonally and locally. Whatever fruits and veggies I can get at the farmers market should be the ingredients for my dinner. If I have to go to grocery store for a produce, that means it is not in season and I shouldn't be eating it in the first place.
If I can help it, buy organic or humanely raised/killed meat. This one is a tough one, however I am going to try!

Oh, and I have started to do Meatless Monday thing on Tuesdays. Not to save the planet but for a spiritual reason. You can follow my progress over at OakMonster.com.

Now, off you go. Rent Food Inc. If you have Netflix, you can watch it right now on your computer or through your XBox.

Do it. It'll totally change how you see what you're eating now.

*

Do you have any tips to share on how to eat more ethically or how you are changing the way you're eating at home? Share them right here in the comments. I can use some suggestions. :)

*

ETA: Just got back from farmers' market with a pound of ground bison to once again make bison burgers. Whole Foods was just a stone throw away but the Mister rather us spend $$ to support the grass-fed, free roam bison ranchers. I don't mind that at all.

Also, I went into Fresh & Easy, picked up my favorite grab-and-go chicken masala and rice, and after much internal debate, I put it back down. I REALLY frickkin' love that stuff but I wouldn't be sticking to my ethical eating guns if I consciously purchase that thing. I'm proud of what I did...but at the same time a little sad about not eating what I like any more. :-(

Hot Chocolate on a Stick

2010-01-11T21:50:00.000-08:00

I know, I know. You guys would say, "I could've used this during the holidays!" Pretty much, so did I.

But hey, you can give this wonderful gift at ANYTIME. So hush. And read on. :)

Just Spotted OC tweeted about this fantastic gift idea of Hot Chocolate on a Stick on Giver's Log website.

Sounds like fun! You know, stick this in a hot cup of hot milk and make yourself an AWESOME mug of hot chocolate.

[ETA: Many have asked if you can just eat it from the stick. My answer would be, why not? LOL. But the purpose is to get melted into a hot cup of milk though.]

So I set off to make a batch of 40 sticks for my coworkers. The recipe is simple enough so I was all cocky about it. And I got my butt kicked a couple of times before I got it right.

If you make sure to do the following, you will NOT fail.

Ingredients

8 oz. chocolate bars, chopped up. Bittersweet, semisweet, milk, OR white! Just not chips. I used 4 oz. each of Ghirardelli 65% Cocoa and the Bittersweet chocolate bars from the baking aisle.
1/4 cup dutch process cocoa, sifted. I also used Ghirardelli here.
1/2 cup confectioner’s sugar, sifted
pinch of salt

Melt the chocolate hunks over double-boiler, in a bowl over simmering water, or in the microwave. Whatever your preferred method is. Then add the dry ingredients. Stir until smooth. It'll have the consistency of chocolate frosting. While still warm--careful when handling this!--transfer chocolate gooey goodness to a ziptop bag. Cut off a corner and pipe the chocolate in your the mold of your choice. This recipe gives me about 8 oz of chocolate at the end.

Just FYI that about one ounce of Hot Chocolate On A Stick to 1 cup of milk is the ratio.

For my version, I used 1-oz Dixie condiment cups (from Smart & Final) for the mold and fancy bamboo skewers from Cost Plus World Market. But you can find one-ounce cube ice cube trays anywhere, really.

Now the tips to follow strictly.

1. Not a drop of water or any other liquid anywhere. A drop of water and the chocolate will seize up. There is a fix by adding some oil, but seriously, would you want THAT?

I found online that someone said I could add liquor to chocolate before melting and it will not seize up. Sure, that works if you're not adding anything else to said melted chocolate. It does NOT work here.

After my first semi-successful batch (see next), I put some Grand Marnier in with the chocolate chunks. They melt just fine. But then, once I added the dry ingredients, it seized. Completely. No saving it.

2. Measure the dry ingredients AFTER they have been sifted. Yep. I got lazy there with the first batch and put everything in the sift and sifted onto the melting chocolate. It started to look like it seized up but I added more chocolate chips (see next) and it melted out. However, the end result had a bit of a dull and slightly gooey finish and refused to come out of the shot glasses I used as molds.

3. Use good chocolate BARS. My first batch I used good chocolate CHIPS. Apparently, not the same thing. I learned my lesson.

4. Keep your eyes on the sticks. It may be standing up when you first put it in the chocolate, but it might not stay there. Keep adjusting. I didn't have too much time to get it properly straight but that sort of added to the charm.

To wrap the finished products, I used snack-sized Ziplock bags. Sure, I could've wrapped each of them in cellophane--or even with the sandwich bags--then tied them up with bows and cute little labels. However, I was pressed for time. So, I printed a sheet of return labels of what it is and "Melt into 1 cup of HOT milk" instruction and slapped that on the ziplock bags. Heh.

It was so much fun to make, I'm a bit addicted.

Now I am a proud owner of a couple of plastic ice cube trays which do hold 1-oz each per cube. And a couple of the silicone ice molds from IKEA. (Word of warning. The IKEA molds, each of the heart- and flower-shaped ones only holds 0.5 oz. Yeah, I'm thinking maybe I can use hot metal skewers to put 2 hearts together afterward? Hmm....)

I'm thinking up ways to incorporate booze into this. I mean, booze + chocolate chunks = well melted chocolate. Maybe I can dip the finish stick in a coat of boozy chocolate melt? Then again, I can always give someone a jar of the 0.5-oz nuggets and a baby bottle of Kaluah. Right?

I am also thinking I can use the molds to make, wait for it, chocolate-covered candied bacon...ON A STICK!

So much fun. So much possibilities!

DIY Limoncello

2009-12-14T22:46:00.000-08:00

I was completely fine with the manufactured limoncello, the Italian lemon liquer, that are now easily available at BevMo...until Justin and Olaina came back from Rome with a small bottle of the real stuff.

I have been in search for a palatable manufactured one since then. And I have not found one that even comes close to the little bottle Italy-shaped bottle from Rome.

While I researched for those, I found that limoncello could be made at home, and found a recipe.

One bottle (750 ml) Everclear
One bottle (750 ml) vodka (I would recommend a decent bottle, like Smirnoff, but nothing too extravagant)
20-25 organic lemons
Simple syrup made with 4 cups sugar and 4 cups of water.

ETA: Recently, I've been making limoncello with a bottle of Grappa Piave (about $29 for one liter--best value!), 12-15 lemons, and simple syrup mad with 2 cups each of water and sugar. More flavorful, a little smoother, but still pack a good punch.

Hell, yes! I made the Strawberry-infused sake already. This should be cake walk.

You soak pith-free peels of 20-25 wax-free, preferably organic lemons in a bottle of Everclear and a bottle of regular Smirnoff vodka for 2-4 weeks in a cool, dark place. Drain and add simple syrup. Stick it in the fridge for another week. And ecco! There's your limoncello.

Yes, dear. I did say Everclear.

Everclear to get the flavors out. Good vodka to round out the edges. I found some other recipes that use 2 90-proof Smirnoff instead. But I think Everclear probably does a better job.

But then, there were a few hurdles.

The first hurdle, finding organic, wax-free lemons. I'm sure I probably could pick up those at Whole Foods or something, but I'd prefer someone's backyard lemons. So I bartered with my coworker Rob: a bottle of limoncello for 20+ lemons.

The second hurdle, peeling them lemons. Okay. Call me paranoid. From what I read up, a wee little bit of white pith could turn the batch bitter. So, I painstakingly, may be even unnecessarily, scrape each and single piece of lemon peel I carved off the lemons. It took at least 2 hours.

I set up a little station in front of the TV with a bag of lemon, a glass jar, a garbage bowl, a peeler, and a small paring knife and put in a DVD. And to town I went on the lemons.

The rest is gravy.

You just have to plan it out, you know. Obviously, you can make it today and have the stuff tomorrow. My first batch was done in the fall. The second batch is now wrapping up in the fridge, waiting to be bottled for Christmas.

I found Cost Plus to have all sorts of bottles. I also bought a few little jars to make sample shots for Limoncello virgins. Just tell your friends to KEEP THE BOTTLES for refill later. ;-)

You can use all sorts of other bottles for this too. Paul gave me an empty scotch bottle with a cork-top which is totally awesome. And here I am, downing a New Zealand sparkling mineral water for the bottle for Shane.

The effort and patience to make this was definitely huge. But trust me. It's soooo worth it! It tastes fabulous and make fantastic gifts.

Wayward Chef

2009-12-07T20:00:00.000-08:00

Please say hello to my friend Dusita aka Chef Kipf! She's been taking classes at Dusit Thani Culinary school since July with my best friend Tong. Great pictures of some Thai food you won't see in restaurants in America and her journey as a culinary student.

Come on down and follow Kipf on her culinary journey!

Happy Halloween

2009-10-29T07:13:00.000-07:00

My apology for having been absent so long . Thrill the World has finally come to a close, officially, although I have to lead another mini team of zombies to dance at Halloween on Pine once more before we can call the whole thing quit.

The big team, over 100 zombies, are going to perform at the Clippers half-time show on the same night. I'm sticking with my hometown(ish) because I'm cool like that. Besides, I just made some money for Inner-City Arts for not being up at Staples Center. So yey, me.

Anyhoo. Happy Halloween, everybody!

Tales of Two Restaurants: The RH and Bottega Louie

2009-09-13T18:54:00.000-07:00

Wednesday, I was at the RH at the Andaz West Hollywood. I've heard of the Andaz because of Blogger Prom back in February, the event I missed out on. Long story short, I was invited back to dine at the RH along with my boss.

And what a meal it was.

Starters: Shrimp ceviche (that's SAY-VEE-CHAY, Jennifer of Top Chef), not that thrilled about. Heirloom tomatoes salad with local goat cheese...oh my god good. Talk about things in season tastes best!

But there was the Peregordine egg which is fois gras topped with poached egg and sauteed mushrooms topped with truffle with truffle buttered toasts for dunking.

I had to pinch myself as to how good that was. Actually I tweeted that I would bathe in it. @davidmoyle joked back that it would make an interesting shoot. I told him if the Andaz would give me a bath tub full of it, he could totally shoot me. It's that good.

Oh god, I'm drooling thinking about that.

Main courses brought me the scallop daily special with roasted summer veggies. Perfectly cooked as everything was, it didn't blow my mind.

Nhien's order of duck confit, however, it was as good as Irene Virbila of LA Times says. She gave me a couple of bites to taste in exchange for one of my scallops. Crispy skin. Moist, delicious, tender meat.

I wanted to steal her plate and ran with it. Unfortunately, I was wedge between Nhien and our host Jaime in the comfy booth in the back. Dang...

We topped off with blood orange sorbet, a crisp, clean, and refreshing day to end the meal. The pear tart I have heard so much about just had to wait another day as I couldn't even find room for it.

On Friday, I finally made my way to the much celebrated Bottega Louie in Downtown LA. We were not disappointed...much.

Well, I really wish there were more flavors for the Italian sodas. But that's just me. Portabello fries with herb aioli? Good lord, why didn't WE think of that?! A coworker ordered magherita pizza which wasn't bad but I didn't jump up and down for it. Neither did I for the Ceasar salad my boss ordered.

However, my Trenne (pen shaped) pasta, braised New York steak with kale, surprised me. The pasta was toasted up crispy. Yes, the perfectly al dente pasta with a crispy edge. It looked like fries at first sight. And boy, the textures were perfect altogether. Out of the ballpark, this dish.

We couldn't walk out of the place without checking in on the dessert counter. The back holds the "cold" stuff like the bitty fruit tarts, creme brulee looking tarts, and the eclairs. The front by the door as the colorful (and quite tasty, as we discovered) macaroons and cupcakes.

Thank GOD Bottega Louie wasn't closer to the office. I would break my back eating there everyday. Seriously.

ETA: For the price, I would definitely say the RH gives me more bang for the bucks. That quality, yummy food in the super sleek setting? You would've thought it would break your bank, but it doesn't. VERY reasonable.

Bottega Louie is a toss for me value wise. Did I feel like I got $15 worth out of my pasta? Yes, I did. $2 for the bitty fruit tarts? Yes, of course. But, I felt like I was paying a lot more for the meal than I did at the RH. Just sayin'.

Brown Butter Ice Cream with Bacon

2009-08-25T21:26:00.000-07:00

First, I must thank Pim, "queen of food bloggers" at Chez Pim and now also author of The Foodie Handbook.

It's her Brown Butter Ice Cream recipe that brings us to this monumental moment in my food biography.

Kids, I have made the perfect ice cream to mix the bacon into.

I made Brown Butter and Bacon Pasta back in the early days of HmmFoodGood, and have been in love with the flavor combination since. Naturally, when I read about Pim's ice cream, the first thought that came to mind was, "Hmm...I wonder if we could put bacon in it..."

Off I went, following all the steps listed in Pim's recipe down to the tee...well, except for the chilling in the fridge part.

There are TWO trickiest points in this recipe you must take heed.

First, browning the butter. Too brown and you'll have to strain off the burned chunks. Too light and you won't have the nutty buttery goodness. Once the pot started to foam up, I watched that thing like that Ice Age rat watches an acorn. I had to keep picking up the pot and swirl the foams away to check on the color since I can't see through the foams. This is when your nose comes into play. The moment the butter smells nutty, you know you're there.

I did have all the little brown bits and I kept them in. Not only they looked pretty, they tasted really frakkin' good.

Second and lastly, the sugar. When you're done with the custard and you taste it before sticking it in the fridge to chill, you would feel like it needs a little bit more sugar.

DON'T. ADD. MORE. SUGAR. Pim has configured this out to perfection. Trust me on this one. As a matter of fact, trust HER. It doesn't taste too sweet now but when everything mellows out in the freezer, you will find that it is perfect exactly where it is.

Now, the chilling before churning. I learned the metal-bowl-in-iced-water trick from my first ice cream experience. Almost instant gratification, I like! So, after blending, I poured the custard in a metal pot partly submerged in iced water and whisked it about until the mixture is chilled.

My one mistake was in the churning. I think I might have taken the mixture off the machine a bit too soon. Patience surely is not one of my virtues. Haha!

But deep down, my real fear is that I would keep "tasting" the mixture and there wouldn't be any left to freeze.

Instead of the creamy, scoop-able goodness I should've gotten, my ice cream is rock solid out of the freezer. However, after leaving it out, it's totally easy to scoop and as smooth and creamy as it was supposed to be.

If this somehow happens to you, I'd suggest about 10 minutes before you're ready for dessert, put the ice cream in the fridge. It'll be ready for scooping then.

Hence, a wee bit issue with photographing them. I have to let it soften enough to scoop. But then it starts to melt REALLY fast. So please, pardon the melt in these photos.

First up. THE reason why we make this ice cream in the first place: apple wood smoked bacon. Crispy fried and chopped to sprinkle-able perfection.

The sweet. The salty. The buttery. The nuttiness. The smokiness. The cold. The warm. The custard. The crunch. The melt. The chewiness.

This has everything you'd ever want in food in texture and flavors. It was perfect. PERFECT!

Someone call Saint Peter and tell him that I am now ready for those Pearly Gates.

The bacon topping got me concern about actually adding the bacon bits into the ice cream mixture itself. If we do that, we would lose that crunch.

I must experiment with making the bacon cups for this... OOOOHHHH...

Topping #2 is for the less adventurous. Since I didn't have any Fleur de Sel to use per Pim's suggestion--and nor did my local Bristol Farms--I went with Murray River pink flake salt from Australia. Oh, and the pink flaky salt melts so fast I couldn't even catch a picture of it.

The salt cuts the sweet just right. And even if it melted off, the mildly saltiness lingered on the bite when you get to it still. It was wonderful.

And finally, topping #3 for the "normal" people: turbinado sugar. It provides the wee bit of crunch and the extra sweet kick. And it looks pretty on a plate.

Two ice creams under my belt now. I think I'm feeling a wee little bit cocky. Hahah!

So, go ahead. Make a suggestion for my next ice cream adventure!

Sweet Sensations

2009-08-12T21:12:00.000-07:00

Once again, I followed Elizabeth to one of her cooking classes. This time at the Cypress Community Center. A very nice facility with the industrial kitchen which fit 12 people a wee bit too snugly but we managed.

On the menu were three summer desserts: Fruit Crisps, Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting, and Dark Chocolate Mousse.

I was happy with my decision to grab a small dinner before heading out the class. The torture some of the hungry students had to suffer while busying themselves with all these lovely ingredients was tremendous, apparently.

Our class was split into essentially 4 groups. 2 to attack the fruit crisps and one each to the red velvet and chocolate mousse.

I was there purely for the chocolate mousse. Brandon LOVES chocolate mousse, and, as I found out from Elizabeth, it's actually a non-dairy dessert. And this whole time I thought it was chocolate and cream! But I digress.

I was in the group with Darlene whom I met before at the basic cooking class at PREP and another girl. Darlene was in charge of the chocolate. The other girl whipped up the yolks. And I did the egg whites and final assembly.

Elizabeth would stop whatever everyone was doing so we could watch the key part about each of the recipe.

For the fruit crisp, she explained how the size of the fruit cubes is important to the texture of the cooked product. Smaller chunks of fruit = mushier fruit filling.

For the red velvet cake, a recipe Elizabeth adapted from her aunt from Arkansas, we watch to see where we'd stop with the red and that the secret ingredient is buttermilk and vinegar.

For the mousse, we watched closely for the "ribbon stage" as we whipped the heck out of egg yolks, and the soft peak for the egg whites. Elizabeth could be heard several times, "Oakley, stop banging on the bowl!". I kept forgetting that hitting the bowl would settle all the air I was trying to whip in. Whoops.

And of course, the fold.

Folding the fluffy ingredients correctly will maintain the airiness. (No. Banging. On. The. Bowl!) I've folded stuff before but put on the spotlight in front of class, somehow I was like a neanderthal being handed a stick for the first time. I was quite frustrated as to why I couldn't fold properly.

It wasn't until I got home did I realize that DO know how to fold. I usually hold the spatula in my LEFT hand, folding to the right. Elizabeth was showing the class with the right hand going to the right and that was how I held the spatula, and THAT was why I couldn't do it right.

Ah, the joy of being ambidextrous.

In the end, we all enjoyed the fruits of our labor--almost literally. The fruit crisps were yummy. The red velvet cakes were just right...even the little baby ones!

The dark chocolate mousse? It definitely rivals my all-time favorite Belgian Chocolate Mousse from Fresh & Easy.

Oh god. Now I crave the rich chocolatey goodness. ARGH!

We've been spotted!

2009-08-06T22:27:00.001-07:00

Kids, our humble little blog has been nominated for an award at Just-Spotted.com. Who knew we would get this kind of love from the OC!

So, spread the word around and go vote for us, would ya? I'd be grateful if we're not dead last. ;-)

A quick fish dish...ginger honey lime glazed opah

2009-08-03T11:10:00.000-07:00

I threw this together Friday night, and we really liked the results. We're not big on marinating fish in citrus when I'm going to cook it as it tends to make much of the fish a bit mushy. So I went with a glaze. Sorry I don't have exact amounts. You can add more or less of things to suit your taste.

In a small saucepan, mix:
2-4 tbsp honey
the zest of a lime
the juice of two limes
1/4 cup sake
1/4 tsp fresh grated ginger, along with a few slices of the ginger
a dash or two of soy sauce

Chop up some macadamia nuts and roast them in a 400F oven for 5 minutes or so, until brown and toasty.

Simmer on low heat until reduced and syrupy

For the fish:
1 good sized fillet of opah or other firm fish
2 tbsp flour
salt and pepper
1 tsp wasabi powder

Mix flour and seasonings in a shallow dish. Lightly coat fish, just enough so it won't stick to the pan like crazy. Heat a skillet over moderate heat, add a bit of olive oil, then cook the fish to desired degree of "done". Remove from pan, let rest a moment or two, slice and plate. Spoon over the sauce, sprinkle with some of the nuts, and serve with a veg and some steamed white rice. Yummy!

KitchInspirations: Corn Fritters Challenge

2009-08-02T14:28:00.000-07:00

July brought us a corn fritters challenge at KitchInspirations! Fresh or canned or frozen corn in a batter. That's pretty much the rules.

I have completely forgotten that Thai people do corn fritters too, Tod Mun Kaopoad. And that is what I ended up making.

Vines, Brews, and Food

2009-07-30T21:38:00.000-07:00

Our contributor Mrs. Tooth has been quite a busy bee with moving into a new home and building her dream kitchen and wine cellar. On top of that, she started her own blog at VinesBrewsFood.Blogspot.com.

Head down that direction for a more expert level home cookery than what we have going on here at this joint. ;-) And of course, the wine she drinks and the beer Mr. Tooth brews.

Camp Omelette

2009-07-25T17:36:00.000-07:00

Brandon and I went car-camping to test our camping gears for one night at San Onofre/San Mateo campgrounds in San Diego.

Friday morning, we woke up on our own sweet time, stopped to buy more gears and lunch, then hit the road.
And of course, my first question when Brandon was packing the gears into the car, “Honey, where are my pans?”

Brandon had bought a set of non-stick camp cooking set. And I had all the intentions to make us hot breakfast the next morning.

As a good little Hobbit should. LOL.

Along with my pots and pans, I also packed a swig of olive oil, a good amount of salt and pepper, chili flakes, and Paula Deen's house seasoning (salt + pepper + garlic powder + onion powder). Oh, and of course, 4 eggs to cook breakfast with.

We were testing the camping food from Mountain House for dinner. Plus we really wanted to make sure that I *can* cook us dinner out in the wild once we get to the backpacking phase which we both want to do.

The next morning, I rolled out of the tent around 6:30 a.m. and started my own fire in the pit. Given, I used a lighter and a piece of paper to start it, but hey, I did it!

The omelette was simple. Just house seasoning to the eggs and a bit of olive oil. Originally I wanted to make scrambled eggs but the smoke and flying ashes encouraged me to put a lid on it and let it cook into an omelette instead.

It definitely took a while to cook than on stove top, but hey, we weren't in a hurry. And there's that lovely little smokey flavor to it as well.

Well, may be that was just my hair smelling like smoke from the fire the night before.

A couple shakes of Tobasco we had left from tasting the military MRE (Meals Ready to Eat) the night before completed the hot breakfast.

When we got back, I bought all sorts of little plastic containers for my spices for the next trip. Paula's House Seasoning and Tobasco are DEFINITELY a must. Also, a travel sized empty bottle for shampoo will work wonder for olive oil.

I am all set for our next adventure!

Attack of the Giant Zucchinis

2009-07-11T09:16:00.000-07:00

First, Pat gave me a larger than average zucchini from her garden along with a recipe for cream of zucchini soup...which I lost.

Then, she brought me two more zucchinis.

Humbly, I took the smaller one home to make something for a company potluck that could be eaten at room temperature as the office microwave is not really all that capable. Food & Wine magazine showed up on a Saturday afternoon with a recipe for a cold zucchini soup.

Zucchini Soup Two Ways?

I sound like an Iron Chef.

Cream of Leek and Zucchini

Since I lost Pat's Mom's recipe, I had to scramble for another online recipe that would use celery and leeks because I already bought them. I came across one on Bread & Honey blog and adapted that to what I have on hand.

I figured that one of the small, big zucchini I got from Pat and celery heart would be equal to amount of zucchini required. And it was. I also omitted tarragon and fennel seeds here, and used fresh thyme instead. And of course, being a meat eater, I used chicken broth instead of veggie one.

And I decided to drizzle my awesome quality, finishing olive oil on top. Yummy!

(And please ignore the oil slick in these photos. I was too clumsy when I dressed this up and too hungry to re-stage!)

Alain Coumont's Chilled Zucchini Soup with Purslane

I didn't expect to find any purslane out there, given that this also was the first time I've ever heard of this weed/herb. But I grossly underestimated my local farmers market: while I was looking for arugula, I found many bundles of purslane right next to it.

8 zucchinis or 3 lbs. required here equaled to my giant zucchini with the seeds/core cut out. I mean, look at them seeds!

What took the most time making this recipe is chopping the veggies.

So. Much. Zucchini!!!!

I cut that sucker in 3 parts, quarter each part, and then cut another third before I started slicing. I saved a few blocks of it to shave for garnish The first batch I kept the skin on, then I realized it might be too tough a texture. So I peeled the rest. In hindsight, I probably could've sliced the quarter and left the skin on as everything ended up blended anyway.

I was *this* close to add chicken stock to the soup instead of the water. But having never made a chilled soup before, I didn't want to risk having gross chilled chicken fat showing up in the soup.

And voila, the first ever vegan recipe I ever made!

I served this at the office potluck in short, clear plastic cups, dressed with purslane, zucchini ribbons, and a drizzle of olive oil. All 15 cups were taken from the tray however I found about half in the trash afterward, uneaten. Not everyone like "cold soup" as it turns out. But those who loved it, like my boss and a couple health-conscious people, really do love it.

Afterthought: Both recipes are pretty much the same up until when you need to add liquid. The hot soup required flour, stock and cream, while the cold one just needed water. Fun, eh?

Bison Burgers

2009-06-29T19:26:00.000-07:00

Brandon and I rode our bikes out to Alamitos Bay Farmers Market a couple of Sundays ago. Amidst the fruits and vegetables, I spotted a sign that said "Grass-fed Bison".

Naturally, I popped on over.

"So, what cha got?"

The kindly gentleman behind the table said, "Everything".

Ken of Lindner Bison didn't have to tell me about the humanely raised, sustainable agriculture, grassfed and grass-finished bison with lower fat and higher nutrients, and all of that.

I was already sold at the word "bison".

This is also the one area Brandon one-upped me in the eating department. He had bison before, having practically spent most of his summers in New Mexico.

So we bought a pound of burger. For about $10.

Was it worth it?

Every. Single. Penny.

Ken told me to just season it with salt and pepper and onto the grill. Because bison meat is very lean, I should cook them to medium rare to medium to stay juicy.

On the way out of the market, I picked up spring onions and a bag of fresh ciabatta rolls to accompany the burger.

I halved the spring onions and drizzle some olive oil on it, and salt and pepper. On to the grill they went. I also lightly grilled ciatbatta bread for Brandon.

With the meat, I did just as Ken told me to do. One pound of meat. Salt. Pepper. Divided into 4 portions. And on to the grill!

There was barely anything dripping from anywhere on my grill pan from the burger. There was more oil from what I rubbed onto the spring onions grilling on the other end.

The meat was like the most flavorful beef I've ever had. Absolutely delicious on its own. Yet, enhanced with a side of grilled onions.

Beefy without ANY grease. Tons of flavor. Delicious.

I would love to have a stock pile of this fabulous meat in my freezer. However, since we're saving for a house over here (yey!), we'll have to settle on a monthly Tatanka treat.

KitchInspirations: Strawberry Shortcake Challenge

2009-06-15T22:05:00.000-07:00

My friends Traci and Irena came up with the idea of a monthly cooking challenge.

Quite simply, Kitchen Inspirations. Where friends gather for a monthly cooking challenge to take a base recipe, make it their own, and share the results ~ All for the love of great food.

The June challenge is Strawberry Shortcake. As long as you have cake, strawberries and cream, you can take your creative license anywhere.

So, I made Grilled Pound Cake with Mascarpone Ice Cream and Macerated Strawberries.

Pasta Carbonara Tartlets

2009-06-14T15:39:00.000-07:00

What to bring to a baby shower potluck brunch with a vegetarian mom-to-be among the meat eating crowd?

Everyday with Rachael Ray Magazine provided an answer a couple of months back with the recipe for Spaghettini Carbonara Tartlets.

The original recipe of 1/2 lb. spaghettini (aka "Thin Spaghetti") makes about 24 tartlets. I cooked up the whole pound to double the amount. Being generous with the pasta in each cup, I made 42 tartlets.

I split half of the pasta to follow the recipe (Pancetta Tartlets) and the other half for my own vegetarian adaptation (Green Peas Tartlets).

However, I did make one double-batch of the egg mixture to save on using more bowls.

First, I very lightly salted the egg mixture for the Pancetta tartlets first. With all the pancetta, these guys really didn't need much salt. Once finished with them, I add another extra pinch of salt into the egg mixture so now we'll have the right seasoning for the Green Peas version. Easy, eh?

I also put almost a cup of parmesan in with the noodles and just topped each tartlet with a pinch more.

Pancetta Tartlets

The original recipe is made with cube pancetta. If your local market is anything like mine, I only found thinly sliced pancetta. It actually worked better for me as the thin ones cooked up super crispy, like super fine bacon. I bought 2 packs of those, rolled them up, sliced them and halved those slices, and into the pan with a little drizzle of olive oil.

And I am sure you can use your choice of bacon instead of pancetta and it'll do wonderfully as well.

Green Peas Tartlets

Instead of the hot pancetta grease to toss with the pasta, I just heated up a tablespoon or so of olive oil in a pan with a few flakes of red chilli and used that. I heated up about 1/3 of a bag of frozen green peas in the microwave, just so it's warmed through, not cooked until mushy. And I topped the tartlets with the peas instead of the pancetta.

Final results? BEAUTIFUL little nests of yummy goodness to take to a 16-people potluck brunch!

Gone bananas

2009-06-08T14:27:00.000-07:00

ETA: Just realized I could be counting this as my new recipe goal #5!

Indeed, I went a little banana on Sunday afternoon.

I have 3 ripe bananas sitting on my dinner table and a very ill husband on the couch. What's a girl to do but to go grocery shopping and then bake, bake, bake!

Not to mention with Mr. My Head Hurts So Bad I Throw Up can use some nutriants. And bananas are good for nausea and help with replenishing loss potassium and what not.

So I picked Giada's Banana Muffins with Mascarpone Cream Frosting recipe from Food Network and went out to pick up extra ingredients.

I also add one not-so-ripe banana to the 3 very ripe ones. Doesn't seem to affect anything there. Oh, and I omitted the walnuts because I can't really chew them with braces and Brandon isn't keen on nuts.

Well, remember how I'd bitch once in a while that the Vons by my house sucks? They might have finished with the renovation in there, but they still don't carry anything worthwhile.

Like, you know, mascarpone cheese?

Not wanting to drive to another grocery store, I figured I can substitute with more cream cheese. So, 3 oz. of cream cheese plus 1/3 cup extra = 6 oz. of cream cheese. And it works out well for me taste-wise. I'm sure it'll have different flavor if you actually use mascarpone, but in a pinch, all cream cheese still works.

In hindsight, I wonder if the mascarpone might help stabilize the frosting a little bit. Our apartment got a bit warm with the baking and I found my frosting a wee bit melty. With my extra cream cheese substitution, the frosting is essentially a whipped honey cream cheese butter. It doesn't quite stay put as frosting when warm...but OH MY GOD is that good on warm muffins!

Besides, B can't really stomach the creaminess of the frosting right now. The muffins were better left naked. So I put the frosting in a tub and put it in the fridge and frost as I go.

Using 1/3 measuring cup to spoon the batter into the cups, I actually ended up with 24 muffins.

It's a good thing I made that many because I pretty much had 3 of them for dinner last night. LOL.

Strawberry Sake

2009-05-31T19:14:00.000-07:00

Really, summer in a glass.

I read this article in the LA Times many years ago, and since then had made this lovely Strawberry-infused Sake so many times, it's become a part of my repertoire.

Put it simply, halve 2 pints of fresh strawberries (quarter if they're huge). Put it in a sun tea jar. Pour a bottle of cheap regular (junmai) sake over it. Let it sit in a cool dark place--not the fridge!--for 3 days.

And voila! On the 4th day, you put the whole jar in the fridge or you can strain out the fruit. Using a sun tea jar has the advantage of the spout--no straining needed to pour!

You might find that the smell and taste of it on the 3rd day may be a little bit on the riper side of the strawberries. Fear not, the taste DOES mellow out once it is chilled.

Oh and it keeps for about a week. After that, it will start to taste a little funny...

Well, I forgot to take a picture of the jar before I extract the sake to take to a friend's barbecue. Essentially, the color and juices have come out of the berries and into the sake. The fruit themselves looked like a white sock that has been in a red load of laundry.

You know how cheap sake has that bite to it? Well, the berries took in all of that too. A friend of ours decided once to just have the sake soaked berries for dessert. She liked the bitter, you see. Boy, did she get wasted faster than any of us actually drinking the sake!

Bottling tip: I have found that Voss premium spring water glass bottle to work beautifully for my transport. As I have found out, you can buy the plastic version of these at retail store in the big liter bottle and the little one. Some of the bars to sell the small bottle ones too. So...if you happen to buy those fancy schmancy water, keep the bottle.

I used to buy small bottles and corks from the beer brewing supplier store, slap on my own label and gave them to friends. But if I can find small Voss bottles out there, I don't have to trek to the special store for bottles now. However, I think I'll be paying more for the fancy water. Heh.

New direction

2009-05-22T22:42:00.001-07:00

Well, kids. I've got me some braces.

I haven't cooked since the separators went in a few weeks ago. Well, outside of my mashed potatoes with peas experiment? I cooked nada.

My poor husband has been feeding himself since then, more or less.

Now that the braces are actually in, I haven't eaten anything really solid in a few days. And I expect that every month after tightening, I'm going to be begging for something soft and liquidy AND delicious.

All those soup and puree recipes I tossed out? Yep. Regretting doing that now. But I'm sure y'all will provide me with enough inspiration and guidance to find some more.

Sometime this weekend, I will have to completely restock my fridge and pantry with soups and other mush-able veggies. AND I will need to purchase a hand blender.

Definitely, I'm whipping up Giada's sweet pea and mint puree and freeze them in little baggies at some point this weekend.

Because a girl can only drink Muscle Milk and mush up Animal Crackers for so many days.

Now, about that potatoes and peas experiment. It was an experiment born of complete burn-out on soup...and the fact that my eyes were dilated from the optometrist that I couldn't leave the house to go buy anything else to eat. So I raided the pantry and the fridge.

I didn't know how it was going to turn out so I didn't take a picture. And it actually was pretty damn tasty!

Mashed Potatoes and Peas

The "recipe" is totally adjustable to how many potatoes you have or want to cook.

Boil up some baby Yukon gold potatoes (halved or quartered) with a few cloves of garlic (smashed and peeled) and salt. Drain and smash them around a little bit.

I did remove the skin once the potatoes were cooked. It was easier that way. (Then again, I didn't think I could chew the skin.) But that's really optional.

In another pot, heat up some butter, the amount you would use to mash the potatoes, with a few sprigs of thyme. When that sizzled, add frozen green peas, season, and saute that around. When the peas started to get mushy, add cream--again, just about the amount you'd use to mash the potatoes with--and heat through.

Take out the thyme sprigs before pouring the butter/cream/peas mixture into the potatoes. Now mash around some more.

Add a handful of Parmesan cheese and a pinch of pepper. Mash some more. Serve.

French Bistro Favorites

2009-05-09T19:02:00.000-07:00

Through the month of May, Elizabeth is offering a 2 for 1 deal for her cooking classes: register one and bring a friend for free. So Aurora and I joined forces and enrolled for this one.

Aurora is ever the trooper. All of the dishes have dairy in it. Then again, out of all of Elizabeth's May classes, this one has the most potentials that our husbands would actually eat the food.

I was a trooper that day too, having been in bed all day from bad sinus infection. Aurora picked me up and I shambled in there, thinking this would be a cake walk.

Oh, no. It was action-packed, mad house of a class. But oh so much fun.

The menu: Leek and potato gratin; Grilled Chicken and Steak with Blue Cheese Sauce; Tomato, pinenut and cheese flat breads, and chocolate tart with creme fraiche.

The class was full, doubling the size of our learn to cook. However, they were all experienced cooks so there was not stumbling through anything there. Aurora and our new friend Chuck were the only two newbies. Again, taking the mother hen role, I volunteered us to do the blue cheese sauce and the flat bread.

We were busy with our flat bread enough that we actually missed out on the gratin and the tart completely. On the plus side, we now know how to roll out a pizza dough. A good trade off, really.

Unlike the deviled eggs that came in last, the flat breads were actually done first so we all had something to snack on for the rest of the class. My god was THAT yummy!

We also did get up close and personal with the grill pans as our flat breads were being cooked right underneath there. All of the ovens and stoves were going full blast. It got quite hot in the kitchen.

The leek and potato gratin came out next. It doesn't look like much here, but boy it was one yummy layers after the other in there.

Time seriously flew by in this class! The crowd size probably helped with that too. The next thing I knew, it all came together for me to snap pictures.

Mind you, I had lost my appetite for the day and didn't have much to eat outside of 2 soft boiled eggs and a handful of crackers all day. Suddenly, I was hungry. Really hungry. But my stomach just couldn't take much of the food.

However, the tart went down quite smoothly.

We will probably be taking a break from taking classes for a little while. But we do adore Elizabeth so you bet we'll be back for more later.

Cooking 101: Part 3

2009-05-04T19:02:00.000-07:00

And just as we were comfortable cooking and being around everyone, the last "Learn to Cook" class at Prep Kitchen Essentials in Seal Beach came to an end last Wednesday. [Here's part 1 and part 2.]

But boy did we go out with a bang.

On the menu were Chicken and Vegetable Stir Fry with Spicy Peanut Sauce, Beef Braised in a Red Wine Sauce with Vegetables, Jasmine Rice Pilaf, and Smoked Paprika and Black Olive Deviled Eggs.

All the tasks get divvied up and everyone was attending to different things. But we were all chopping, slicing and dicing together at one point. I took charge of the Deviled Eggs since I've never actually made them before. Aurora came to assist as, for a change, she is a one-time veteran!

The braised beef, once it was in the oven, smelled sooooo good it drove any of us standing at the stove top bonkers. Unfortunately, the appetizer of Deviled eggs actually got finished last. Whoops.

But the food were great. I brought my regular size bottle of wine and shared with half the class. Aurora and I ended up chatting up with Elizabeth over more wine after class for a little while.

Some of us are so addicted to Elizabeth's casual teaching style that we want back for more. Actually, Aurora and I are returning for one more bout tomorrow for the French Bistro Favorites. Like you can say no to the thought of steak and blue cheese sauce and potato gratin!

Why aren't you taking a class yet? :)

Cooking 101: Part 2

2009-04-23T21:27:00.001-07:00

Elizabeth was right. We'd fall better in step in our second "Learn to Cook" class at Prep Kitchen Essentials in Seal Beach. [Here's part 1]

This class went faster and smoother than the first one, I think. Everyone gained confidence from the last class. Now in this kitchen, they could do anything! It was totally awesome.

On the menu last night, Butter Lettuce Salad with Chopped Vegetables and Dijon Vinaigrette, Herb Roasted Whole Chicken with Homemade Gravy, Roasted Seasonal Vegetables, and Romano Cheese and Herb Omelettes.

We learned the fine art of dicing and mincing. Here's Elizabeth showing us how to dice a radish. On the side there, how to make "pretty" cucumbers. She also showed us how to seed a tomato and properly open up an avocado, and later on, gave me strategy on attacking a butternut squash.

Aurora and I chopped all sorts of veggies including an eggplant and a couple of tomatoes. I just wanted to do them because I don't get to work with these much at home because Brandon doesn't eat either. (Cooked tomatoes are okay, just not raw.) And ditto with Aurora's household. But hey, now we know how to cut up an eggplant if we need to!

A by-product of that is a section about seasonal veggies. I'm slowly learning about seasons for the veggies as a part of my culinary education.

Having grownup with seasonal fruits for dessert and never actually had to shop for my own produce, I only knew that fruits have seasons, not the veggies. Once I started learning to cook, I was spoiled rotten by whatever was available in the grocery stores. Only recently have I learned about using seasonal--and even local--ingredients. New cooks should know about that first hand, and Elizabeth told us that right off.

Local ingredients in season are going to taste better than something off-season shipped in from wherever.

Then there was the chicken. Oh, the dirty mind of my side of the table about breasts and thighs, stuffing a lemon up in there, and the poses of the chicken. And only Aurora and I were the only two on our side drinking wine and half a glass even! LOL.

You see, we were roasting a whole chicken. Elizabeth's method is to tuck the wings under the chicken, lay it on the side for the first part, flip to the other side, then finally finish off with the breast up so we have even browning and cooking time.

I couldn't help pointing out that the wings tucking behind the head was like someone lounging at the pool with her hand behind her head. Once we laid the chicken side way, now it was looking like the supermodel poolside lounging pose. It didn't help that the chicken was lathered up in butter, luxuriously reclining over a bed of vegetables.

It was soooo much sexier when it came out of the kitchen at the end though.

So far we had been very hands on with the slicing and dicing, but the major cooking tasks had been offered up for volunteers. So while some of us were busying with our part, we might miss out on something else. A couple tackled the vinaigrette. Another lady, pan gravy. The rest of us were making proper French omelettes.

I was taught in the school of stir-wait-stir-wait-on goes topping-now flip in a third-now fold the rest on to plate. Elizabeth's was the let sit-lift and pour egg under-on goes topping-lid on-flip in half. The eggs were fluffier her way. It takes longer and more patience, but DEFINITELY fluffier.

Voila. Fluffy and delicious, herb-y and cheese-free omelette that Aurora made. She should be VERY proud!

A few...okay 3...of us actually got Elizabeth to save the giblets for us to nibble on. The Asian and half-Asian duo over here obviously love this stuff but to our surprise, the Token Male (I think he said he's from South Africa...) also ate some.

I mean, come ON! Perfectly roasted veggies all cooked up with pan juices and giblets that cooked in broth and other deliciousness? You were gonna throw that out?! Blasphemy!

A LOT of fun and seriously delicious meal. Perfect for anyone's first dinner party!

Next week, stir fry, pilaf, hard-boiled eggs, and braising.

Cooking 101: The Real Deal

2009-04-15T21:44:00.000-07:00

Just got back from 3 hours in the kitchen at Prep Kitchen Essentials in Seal Beach in the first of three sessions of cooking classes.

Why would I need a cooking class if' I've been doing this a while? Well, for one, I think I could still use professional guidance on my techniques. But more importantly, I'm taking this class so that Aurora would finally have her cooking lessons.

Aurora is a mom of a one-year old, and she doesn't really cook. She has always said she wants to learn and she wants to do more now that she has a kid.

So this was a birthday and Christmas present for her from Brandon and I.

For tonight's class, we made Vegetable and Barley Soup, Pan Seared Pork Chops with a Mushroom and Shallot Pan Sauce, and Perfect Mashed Potatoes. Our instructor, Elizabeth, is fantastic. You know sometimes you could feel really intimidated by your instructor? Not here! Especially when you get to sit down and have your dinner with her at the end of class.

The group of 8 was split down the middle. Our group was designated the non-dairy one because of Aurora's allergies and another lady's intolerance. With me being the most experienced one of our half, I felt like I was TA'ing at some point. LOL. But that's good to be helping people feel comfy in the kitchen.

The knife skill part was first. We learned to slice today. It was just like the video Chef House posted for us a while ago which I have since learned to do. There was no vegetables flying across the table or anything. I guess having fancy Japanese steel to play with helped. Even the newbies could slice the mushrooms REALLY thinly. Amazing.

(And yes, you can bring your own wine! Since Aurora can't really drink while still breast feeding, I have to bring the little bottle. Oh, and yeah, Black Swan Shiraz is pretty tasty even in little bottles.)

We learned a lot. And had a wonderful time. Looking forward to the next 2 Wednesdays!

ETA: Elizabeth said as long as it's not interfering with the class, I can take pictures. Next time, I'm bringing the Nikon!

ETA2: Hello Seal Beach Daily tweeps and readers! :)

2009 Goal #4: Crepes

2009-04-12T12:40:00.000-07:00

Fluffy buttermilk pancakes. Done that.

Puffy and custardy Dutch Baby. Yep, made that too. (Actually, it's qualified as a new recipe made this year. Will have to blog that later.)

Crepes. Never done it. Until this morning.

I have a little bit of history with crepes. The first I've ever had was one of the several Crepe Suzettes we had growing up. It was my mom's favorite dessert. And of course, in Thailand, they made it table side. With the flambe and all of that, it was a spectacular childhood memory. That and watching my mom watching the table side service, learning how it was done so she could make it at home later...which she did.

She made hers with cognac instead of Grand Marnier because, well, "We already opened the cognac. Until we run out of this, there's no reason to open another bottle." But I totally digress.

Now it's my turn to make the crepes.

This morning, I whipped up basic crepes from The Big Book of Breakfast to fill with Nutella and strawberries.

The recipe tells you to throw everything in a blender and wait 1 hour. I was too lazy and hungry for that, respectively. So I hand whisk everything and sit the batter down for about 10 minutes while I prepped the strawberries and Nutella.

Whisk together 1 1/4 cup milk and 2 eggs. Then whisk in 1 cup flour (whole wheat in our case as I completely forgot to buy AP flour), a pinch of salt, and 1 TBS melted butter.

Voila! Batter up.

Low-medium heat. A dab of butter on non stick pan. Lift up the pan. Pour in batter and swirl. Put pan on heat, let cook. Flip and let cook 10-15 more seconds, and you're off.

Stuff with whatever you'd like. We just happened to have all these strawberries to eat.

The first crepe was scrapped. COD: Inability to swirl the batter around the pan, resulting in "scrambled" cake. First thought to be because of the batter was too thick, so I added a splash more milk. As my experience grew, I think the pan was too hot so the batter cooked up before I could even swirl anything.

The second crepe was also scrapped. COD: Wrong tool to use to flip resulting in structural instability and eventual collapse. (Also contributed to the COD of the first crepe.) Toss everyday plastic spatula. Deploy rubber spatula.

The rest was lots of yummy goodness.

St. Patty's Feast 2009

2009-03-17T07:43:00.000-07:00

Here's the preview of tonight's dinner for 12.

Yep. The massive vat of Guinness Stew is back. (Not in picture, a pound of carrots. And actually, I only used 3 potatoes, one box of stock, and 1.5 bottles of Guinness.)

I made the stew last night and Brandon hauled it into the fridge for me. He will graciously haul it back out and start the simmer when he gets home.

Here's the finished, piping hot product.

And now something that will be consumed this morning my office hungry vultures.

That's the Guinness Chocolate Cupcakes with the Bailey's Cream Frosting I made last year for the house party. Now I can watch my unsuspecting colleagues stumble through the office. Hehe.

The dozen kids tonight, instead, will have the Nigella's Chocolate Guinness Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting. [ETA: This recipe has become such a huge hit that I've been making it for just about every occasion now. Hahaha!]

Behold, the decadence!

The cake was an experiment on Saturday night. I was going to take it to my friend's birthday party but someone else was already bringing a cake. Then again, the cake looked so good I figured I'd keep it in the fridge for today's party.

I'm sure it would be yummier fresh; but after a couple of days in the fridge, it's still very tasty.

Erin Go fricki'n Bragh, y'all!

2009 Goal #3: Chicken Fried Steak

2009-02-15T10:00:00.000-08:00

I am sticking to my plan to take more pictures. And so far I've been doing pretty well. I'm adding pictures to the Foolproof Breakfast Skillet here.

And last night's victory of my first attempt at Chicken Fried Steak and Country Gravy. Pretty groovy, eh?

For this lovely household favorite, I used the Alton Brown method of cooking (skipping the thyme and flavoring gravy with a bit of garlic and onion powders) with Paula Deen's seasoning, flavoring one side of the steaks with her House Seasoning (salt, pepper, garlic and onion powders) and seasoning salt on the other. Rounding out the meal is a side of mashed potatoes with just chicken broth for moisture and a little pat of butter for creaminess. The gravy will handle the rest. And voila, close to perfection.

A meal for 2-3 here used 1 lb. cubed steak and 2 potatoes, by the way. I used the above recipes as my guide than exact science.

I say close to perfection because of the meat. I didn't tenderize my own or have the butcher do it at the store, but I picked up a pack of pre-cubed steak from Fresh & Easy. It was super convenient and it was fresh. Brandon managed to not get any grizzle but I wasn't so fortunate. Will I buy F&E cubed steak again? In a pinch, absolutely. But if I have more time, I'd probably go to the butcher shop to have some round steaks properly cubed.

How deep is your love?

2009-02-14T16:44:00.000-08:00

I started a tradition at the office of having a Valentine's Day potluck. The first year we did it, we had a table full of sweet stuff. Then we started to encourage savory treats as well.

Last year I did a champagne cheese fondue that was tasty despite the look. That taught me that cheese fondue cannot be reheated as it separated into butter and the rest of it.

Sticking with the savory trend, this year I made 7 layer dip. Nothing spectacular, really, until I was done with it.

Behold, "How deep is your love? 7 layers!" Dip!

What's underneath all that is pretty simple really with only a few secrets that drove the office bonkers. They ate the whole thing within 2 hours.

My recipe will make use of all of the ingredients. No leftover to throw out or save. Well, maybe a little bit of green onions left, but that's about it.

Oakley's Now Famous 7 Layer Dip

1. No-fat refried beans - Heat it in small saucepan and melt half a bag of the shredded Mexican mix cheese into it. From this base, you can layer your dip however you'd like.

2. Sliced black olives. Not the tiny can and not the big can. The middle sized one.

3. Chopped green onion.

4. Fresh salsa from the refrigerated section. I used medium one to give it a little heat.

5. Fresh guacamole. You can make it or buy it from the store. I bought the one with 2 packets in a pack. I have found that there's not enough guac in the little tub/bag.

6. Big tub of sour cream + 1 packet of taco seasoning. Yep. THAT's the secret.

7. Topped with the rest of Mexican cheese.

Magazine Drive

2009-02-01T10:44:00.000-08:00

This is a re-post from my other blog. It started as a weekend update that turned into somewhat a foodie experience. So, here it is.

I was on the couch most of the day yesterday. Oddly enough, it was quite a productive afternoon.

I haven't quite gotten caught up with all my magazines. I would leave them on my little side table/cabinet by the couch so I can read them when I plop down. However, the Man of the House doesn't like seeing stuff on there (even though he generally sits on the other side of the couch), so he would put them in the cabinet.

Since I don't see the magazines there, I forget about them. Until the newest one arrives in the mail to remind me about the last one that I didn't read.

"Everyday with Rachael Ray" and "Real Simple" get read earlier on and don't hang around the house very long. I read through them and ripped out the recipes or tips I need and then tossed the mags. With "Self" magazine, this one needs a thorough reading so it goes straight to the bathroom counter. (Yes, I read a lot in there. It's a family thing.) I usually keep them in there also because I see them every morning when I get ready. Just seeing the magazines there is a good enough motivator. And finally, "Entertainment Weekly" gets read almost immediately, or before bed, as any good pop culture vulture would.

However, the one that I get really, REALLY behind on is "Food & Wine". These guys do need undivided attention. Unlike a recipe book like Rachael Ray's or generally boring foods of Real Simple, F&W is an educational read for me. After all, I am an inspiring cook. You can't really improve your skills cooking simple stuff all the time!

I read F&W almost as thoroughly as I read "Self". I did put it in the bathroom once and found it thoroughly inappropriate for obvious reasons.

So yesterday, I put the telly on and parked my butt on the couch and went through the stack. 2 Rachael Ray's and one Real Simple later, I finally got to F&W and found that I pretty much haven't read them since August.

And boy, what a resource! I learned all sorts of things just going through 2 of those last night. I may not rip out all of the recipes but I briefly look at those left behind as well. I checked out the ingredients I didn't know and was surprised by little things I picked up like Jose Andres. Last week I didn't even know who the guy was until I saw him on Anthony Bourdain's D.C. episode. Now I saw in F&W that he has a restaurant, The Bazaar, in LA at SLS Hotel, AND next week is LA Restaurant week and you can get a prefix there for $44.

Knowledge is indeed power.

And all of this from sitting on a couch, reading magazines and watching television.

ASIDE: I also watched 2 documentaries over the past few days. Encounters at the End of the World about people who live and work in Antarctica. And then I watched via Netflix on-demand Man on Wire about Phillippe Petit who walked the wire between the top of the World Trade Center towers back in the 70s. Both are essentially about a completely different breed of human, seeking their places in the world in non-traditional ways. Encounters was a little bit slow at time but Man on Wire played out like a crime caper and it was quite fun to watch. See? Horizon expanded over the time spent on a couch!

2009 Goal #2: Crunchy Fish with Noodle Toss

2009-01-25T21:01:00.000-08:00

It has just now come to my attention that my food blog has no pictures of what I made.

Um...yeah...about that.

Well, here's the thing with me. When I cook dinner, I serve it right away. I wasn't much for presentation if it's just me and Brandon. So, I just cooked, served, ate, and I reported the result afterward. Apparently, I'm breaking a food blog rule.

I promise I'll try to do better next time! But for this recipe I made last week (and the next one I'll post which I made tonight), you'll just have to forgive me.

For those who's been reading here a while, you'll know that I don't cook fish often because Brandon doesn't care for it much. However, the only fish that gets his approval is cod. I have some in the freezer from Fresh & Easy, so one night I started to look around for a recipe.

The only recipe I could find that I have most of the ingredients on hand was Rachael Ray's Crunchy Japanese Fish with Vegetable and Noodle Toss in her 365: No Repeats cookbook.

Panko Cod and Garlic Soba Noodles - Serves 2.

Fish:
2 pieces of cod. (about a pound)
Pinches of cayenne pepper
A splash of rice wine vinegar
About a cup and a half of panko breadcrumbs
1/4 cup of butter, melted.
Salt and pepper.

Preheat oven to 400F. (Then go work on boiling your noodles.) Season the fish with salt, pepper, and cayenne. Splash the vinegar and toss. Dip fish in melted butter then coat evenly in panko. Place on non-stick cookie sheet and bake for 18-20 minutes until golden and crisp.

Noodles:
1 bundle of soba noodles. (Mine came with 4 bundles. Having cooked up 2 proves to be too much for the two of us.)
A couple TBS of vegetable or olive oil
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 inch piece of ginger, grated (or half a TBS of minced ginger from a jar)
1 cup shredded carrots. (According to the original recipe, you can add more veggies here like bell peppers, bean sprouts, scallions, and water chestnuts.)
1/3 cup of soy sauce
A splash of Mirin

Cook noodles to al dente, drain. After the fish goes into the oven, heat the skillet. Add oil, garlic, ginger and carrots. Cook for a minute. Add drained, hot pasta. Add the soy sauce and Mirin and remove from heat. Toss the noodles around until the sauce is all soaked up. Add a little pepper here if you'd like.

Serve noodles with the fish. Ta-da!

Ethical Eating

2009-01-12T21:44:00.000-08:00

The conversation started out with where to buy a bus pass. A check cashing place next door to a Vietnamese market. Which has great seafood. Some of them in tanks.

"I can never pick the seafood out of the tank," said someone on my bus. "I feel so bad."

"But you do eat seafood, don't you?" I had to ask.

"Yes. But I can't pick it out of the tank like that."

"So, you're saying that you will eat the fish as long as you don't see it coming out of the tank you just looked at?"

"Yes."

THIS, people, is what I have a problem with.

Those who will whine about how they can't stand to see lobsters in a tank, cows in the pen, or, like most Californians recently, chicken in tiny coup. But they still eat the things from the conditions which they said they don't condone.

People do eat according to what they believe too. Vegans and vegetarians who do it to not harm animals. Some people will eat just about anything else but baby animals i.e. veal or lamb. Folks who only pick free-range meat products because they want to know that the animals have been treated humanely.

And then there's Ted Nugent who only eats what he hunts. I'm against hunting or fishing for fun--if you're out to kill it, it should be because you need it to nourish you, not because you're bored. So I'm good with Uncle Ted there too.

I believe that the sooner the animals I eat get on my plate, the sooner their suffering has come to an end. So I will eat any kind of meat from anywhere. I don't go around whining about how cruel it is that the chicken don't get to spread their wings because I buy generic farmed eggs coming out from one of those farms. If I really have a problem with that, I would be buying free-range.

I respect other people's food ethics. I just don't like people who act out loud that they care about the welfare of the animals but probably have no idea or don't even know where what they're about to eat came from.

Am I a bad person for not caring how the cows die for my burger? Probably.

But hey, at least I'm honest!

Oh and speaking of animal cruelty before coming to your plate. If I could give an award for "Most likely to convert people from eating lamb", Jamie Oliver's "Jamie At Home" cookbook wins that prize.

On his chapter on lambs, on the left hand page discusses the differences between lamb and mutton, and all the different cuts of the meat.

On the right hand side is a picture of the most adorable baby lamb on the planet, staring at you like, "Why do you want to eat me?"

Yeah, dude. Thanks.

2009 New Recipe Goal #1: Turkey Sloppy Joe's

2009-01-07T15:59:00.000-08:00

One of my goals (NOT resolutions) this year is to cook at least one new recipe a month.

I've studied Jamie Oliver's "Jamie At Home" that Nhien got for me for my birthday. I've gone back to thumb through the Food Network Favorites my sister-in-law got for me a couple of years ago. Next up is to start sifting through my folder full of ripped-out recipes to pick some more potential.

However, last night, I craved Sloppy Joe's and found myself without any sauce on hand.

So I saught help from the Queen of Burgers and the Sloppy Joe's. Rachael doesn't disappoint me with the Turkey Sloppy Joe's recipe. I served that on ciabatta sandwich rolls.

The recipe is a little hard to get through because it is written for kids to cook. But it boils down to this: brown the meat, add the veggies, the sauce, simmer, serve. All in no time at all!

My notes on this is minimal, really. I only have yellow onion on hand and no bell pepper. I also threw in 2 cloves of garlic. As the case of may of Rachael's turkey recipe, I added more Worchestershire sauce and more grill seasoning to get the flavor right where I want it. I also added a little tobasco and apple cider vinegar for the zip and tang.

Oh, and I didn't get all the way through with the chees fries. Just the Joe's.

One down. At least 12 more to go!

Perfect Holiday Meal

2008-12-28T21:04:00.000-08:00

I love Tyler Florence.

I watched him make Filet Mignon with Blender Bearnaise and Bacon and Brussels Sprout Hash on Food Network about a week before Christmas. I was drooling. And inspired, so much so that I started to ask around to find "orphans" for me to feed.

Fortunately for me, my aunt and her family were available. Off the market Brandon went to pick up almost 5 lbs. of beef tenderloin.

"This better be good meat for the price I just paid," he texted me from the check-out line.

Oh yes. Yes, it was.

For the beef, I followed the instruction to the tee, especially the part where the meat should be in room temperature. You see, I forgot to tell Brandon to ask the butcher to have the meat trimmed and tied up so I had to do that myself. Not a lot of silver skin to trim but trimming and tying took longer time that I thought.

The meat came out very tender, perfectly medium to medium rare. I even deglazed the skillet with brandy, add a little broth and a knob of butter to make pan sauce.

The bernaise was incredibly easy. I managed to mess up just a little bit but I recovered quite well. First, I had sherry vinegar in my pantry and not champagne. Per some suggestions online, I substituted rice vinegar for that. Then, I ran out of my little bottles of white wine I bought for cooking. Being a mostly red wine household, I had to crack into a bottle of a sweeter white wine instead of the dry...which I hope will compliment the rice wine and make up for the champagne vinegar. The reduce still came out tasty and the sauce was perfect.

The hash, now that one I changed around a bit. Since I was already making mashed potatoes, I omitted the potatoes in the hash. I also used both frozen pearl onions and brussels sprouts.

All components, even with the mashed potatoes, went very well with each other.

As for dessert, brownies a la roasted banana gelato was the star.

**

Now for the drinks. I adapted Giada's Sgroppino recipe by using different flavors of sorbet. The pomegranate-blueberry was quite a hit for the holidays. (In the summer, I made this with mango sorbet. Yum!)

Culture of Food

2008-12-05T00:42:00.000-08:00

Thai people love to eat. Our ability to eat and the variety of cuisines stun most foreigners.

I mean, an entire floor of a shopping mall is a food court. Restaurants pepper every corner of every street. You might even find outside those establishments more food stalls.

Thai portion is small so you can try many things. We also like to share our food family style. Only in fancy "Western" restaurants are where you get your own dish.

Thai people seem to have unsatiable appetite. We would have breakfast, then a snack a few hours later, 2 bowls of noodles for lunch (one soupy, one dry), and out again for something sweet in the afternoon, perhaps another snack before dinner. And desserts. There is ALWAYS room for dessert be in pieces of fruit or a scoop of vanila ice cream atop a small bowl of strawberry Jell-o.

The best example of our eating cultures and love of food is epitomized by our road trip with my mom's best friends yesterday.

Brandon and I joined my mom's best friends for a road trip to Khao Yai National Park to check in on Aunty Or's future vacation home being constructed. While waiting to be picked up, we started out with a light breakfast, knowing that a trip with the aunties mean a lot of pit stops for tasty treats during the 3-hour drive.

Wouldn't you know it, when they picked us up, they were ready with Pah Tong Goh (Chinese fried dough) and bags of coconut juice. To their delight, I threw in a box of Cheez-it in the fray.

We picked up some Khao Tang (crispy rice cakes) at Tesco Lotus as we made our first pit stop.

Once we turned down the road toward Khao Yai, we stopped to stock up on fruits, pumpkins, and other vegetables at the aunties' usual fruit stall. I bought papayas and mangos for my family, dried chili for my American friends, and homemade candied tamarind for myself. (I had their papaya today and it was the sweetest I've ever eaten!)

We also bought fire roasted sweet potatoes and corn which we snacked on the rest of the way.

Then on to lunch at a neighborhood restaurant/shack famous for their ham. At first I was a little cautious. "Ham" in Thailand usually means the flimsy little lunch slices. But they brought out a ham RIB, y'all. As in 2 ribes still on their with the ham steak attached, fried to golden and crispy perfection, very Thai. We have never had ham like this in the U.S. I gnawed the ribs clean.

Other dishes were local. Gaeng Pbah ("jungle soup") made with fresh soup base pounded this morning, fresh baby shitake stir fried with crushed black peppers, 2 orders of fluffy Thai omelets, and stir fried morning glory.

The aunties topped of lunch with bowls of Sala fruit cooked in syrup, served over shaved ice.

Amazingly, we didn't really stop for much food along the way, to Aunty Or's house (being constructed) through the National Park. We talked about stopping for fish-sauce marinated barbecue chicken just outside of Bangkok if the aunties and our driver would remember where it was they found that stall.

We stopped once for a quick potty break. The aunties, however, managed to find more food to pack into the car. This time, salted fish fresh from the river just across the street from the gas station. Our driver started laughing at this point because there was not much more room in the van for anything else.

Oh, but just you wait. A few more clicks, we pulled over at yet another farm stall for mandarin oranges. Lots. Of. Oranges. The farmer lady let us sample a few. We bought 4 10-kilo bags of the juicing mandarins. Since we were out of room in the storage area, we put them by our feet. The lady gave us a few more oranges to snack on as we drove off.

And oh yeah, because we had our hands full of oranges, we forgot to stop at the chicken place. LOL. The missed snack resulted in all of us being completely starved when we crawled into the edge of Bangkok.

We made the final stop at THAI Airways Catering office which actually has a restaurant. The food was absolutely first class. I had the first decent snapper a la meuniere in Bangkok here. The aunties ordered prawn wonton soup and prawn Pad Thai. We also passed around super tasty green curry with crispy roti flats. And 2 tiny lamb chops, well done but we still so tender. Buttered/creamed spinach served as side was awesome too.

Wrapping up was their signature tamarine-lemon iced tea, cherry cheesecake, and creme caramel with vanilla ice cream.

Gotta love the road trip with the aunties. You'll never get bored eating.

Thai food. All the time.

2008-11-19T22:18:00.000-08:00

2 weeks, babies. I'll be gone for 2 weeks. Not that you'd miss me much over here anyway...right? ;-D

I'll be in Thailand enjoying home cook meals and local fares. Will write about it from there...or when I get back.

P.S. Chef House--wish you could be home at the same time too, dude!

Garlic + Pork = Awesome

2008-11-14T08:05:00.000-08:00

After having read about Senor Big Ed in the LA Times, the girls and I gave this Puerto Rican hole-in-the-wall a try.

One word.

Mofongo.

It might not be as glorious as the one Anthony Bourdain had in the beach shack in Puerto Rico, but the concoction of mashed fried green plantains, garlic, olive oil and pork cracklings, served with fantastic broth is pure heaven.

We ate many other things that night and we loved them all. Slow cooked pork leg. Softball-sized potato ball stuffed with ground beef (relleno de papa). Arroz con gandules (Spanish rice with pigeon peas and pork). Tostones (fried green plantains patties). Pastelilios (beef-filled turnovers). Pastel (tamale made with plantain).

The meal is heavy in your stomach but VERY light on your wallet. However, we found service to be on island time. Don't come here if you're in a rush.

Oooooooo....mofongo.

Hmm. Bacon.

2008-11-11T20:38:00.000-08:00

@fresh_and_easy introduced me to Lords of Bacon.

It's good to know someone is more obsessed about bacon that I do.

Happy Little Callous

2008-11-05T07:42:00.000-08:00

As you might have noticed, I haven't been in the kitchen in a while. My life has been orbiting around Pick Up Stix and Pizza Hut's Toscani Pasta because of my crazy schedule. This week I decided to cook a little.

I hit Fresh & Easy last night with the ingredients for a crock pot pot roast I would toss together this morning. Having watched the knife skills video recommended by Chef Jay a while ago, I decided to give the new knife grip a shot.

All I did was cutting carrots and quartering red potatoes and onion. I have this little red mark on the side of my index finger from gripping the knife on the blade, not the handle. It hurts a little right now, but I'm sure in time I will have a callous on that to compliment my kick-ass knife skills.

Mr. Chocolate's surprise appearance

2008-10-13T11:02:00.000-07:00

Last week's episode of Girls Next Door, the girls went to Madam Chocolat to make chocolate body part for Hugh Hefner's birthday.

The girls wanting their private parts cast in chocolate, I wasn't surprised about that.

"Was that...is that...oh my god!? Is that who I think it is?" I pointed at the television.

"Who's doing what?" Brandon leaned over from his computer.

"Is that Jacques Torres?! Is that Jacques Torres putting the molding stuff on Bridgets' boobs?!?"...And now he's taking the mold off of Holly's hoohah!"

"Who the hell is Jacques Torres?!"

Okay. I must admit that was a total foodie moment.

When I first started watching Food Network years ago, Jacques was the one in the morning doing his chocolate show. Ah...the great sugary constructions I could never repeat in my own kitchen!

And of course, he appears on Food Network many times after that as a judge on their challenges and what not.

But well, here he is on GND, helping his wife with their chocolate work at the shop, helping Kendar makes her "chocolate starfish". It's just...bizarre. LOL!

Mr. & Mrs. Torres and the rest of the crew, you guys are such good sport! :-D

Foolproof Breakfast Frittata

2008-10-05T12:58:00.000-07:00

AKA Oakley's Famous Breakfast Skillet.

A Sunday favorite born out of pure laziness to clean too many pans for making breakfast. I scoured the web back in the days to look for a one-skillet option. Many variations later, I now have this frittata down solid.

Everything is adjustable to your liking to pretty much use this as your guide and go forth on your own, Egg Master! :)

Oakley's Egg and Potato Breakfast Frittata

This recipe can feed from 2-4 people. I usually do 4 eggs for 2 of us, but 6 eggs will feed 4 people easy.

You will need: 4 strips of bacon (or any breakfast meat you like), half a bag of frozen Potato O'Brien (cubed potatoes with peppers and onions), 4-6 eggs, shredded cheddar cheese, mik/cream/broth and seasonings.

In a cast iron skillet or oven-proof regular one over medium heat, fry up 4 strips of bacon however you'd like i.e. chop them up first and fry, or fry in strips and chop 'em later. I do the latter to save on washing the cutting board and knife. If you don't do bacon, cook up whatever breakfast meat you'd like here. Crumble that and set aside.

Meanwhile, mix together 4-6 eggs (see above), a splash of milk/cream/broth, a pinch each of salt, pepper, onion powder, and garlic powder. If you like some heat like us, throw in a pinch of cayenne too. Whisk and set aside.

Take the bacon out of the skillet when done cooking and save the fat to cook the rest. (Or if you want to go a little healthy, you can drain the fat and use olive oil.) If it doesn't look like it has enough fat to fry the Potato O'Brien, add a few drizzles of olive oil.

Turn on your broiler.

Break up a bag of Potato O'Brien and put about half a bag into the hot pan. Spread the potato out in a single layer. Sprinkle with Seasoning Salt, a bit of ground pepper, a pinch of garlic powder, and cayenne pepper if you'd like. Stir. Let the potato cooks for a while before you stir and spread again so the little cubes will brown and the onions caramelized nicely. Stir it up a few more times.

Once the potato is, say, 50% browned, pour the egg mixture into the pan and turn the heat to low. Mix the potato and the eggs, scraping off the bottom of the pan, and let it sit until the egg is starting to set. It's important that it's still a little runny.

Sprinkle 2 handfuls of shredded cheddar cheese on top, and then the crumbled bacon. Put the skillet in the broiler.

Check in a few minutes until the cheese is browned. Take out the skillet. Rest for a few minutes. Slice and serve.

The Omnivore's 100

2008-09-07T09:47:00.000-07:00

Blogger friend Kuri posted this list on his site of 100 things to eat before you die. What kind of a food blog are we if we don't answer the call!

Readers and contributors, feel free to do your own version and post your results here as well as there. :)

The Omnivore's 100

1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.
2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten.
3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating.
4) Optional extra: Post a comment here at verygoodtaste.co.uk linking to your results.

OakMonster's additional - I'm going to Italicize what I haven't eaten yet but REALLY want to someday! Also, the VGT version links some of the lesser known items to Wikipedia for your convenience. Not here. You get to do your own culinary research and learn something new! :)

69 out of 100 over here!

1. Venison (Home made, kill-our-own dear sausage at my friend's family's home in Texas. Staring out the window at some of the dear while I ate that. A little screwed up.)
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding (I haven't had the "blood sausage" version, but I have eaten "steamed blood". Actually, I love that stuff.)
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes (Well, mead is made out of honey...?)
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese
26. ~~Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper~~
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O (I was the jello shot queen during my college years. Making them to carry into the Coliseum in the cooler that carried food to feed song girls and yell leaders. LOL.)
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects (Apparently, I did when I was a kid. Fried locust, something like that.)
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk (It was in a tea...)
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal (I could eat this in high school and it went nowhere. Not in my hips or my but...)
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini (Dirty vodka martini is my favorite however.)
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine (I MUST get to Quebec!!)
60. Carob chips (Gross...but I ate it.)
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin
64. Currywurst (Saw this on Anthony Bourdain's Germany episode. I was drooling everywhere.)
65. Durian
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe (Thanks to Dave and Nik!)
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu (Believe it or not, parents had this in the liquor shelf. So we tried it as a kid. One sip and we almost died. LOL. It tasted like jet fuel then, probably still is now.)
77. Hostess Fruit Pie (Brandon craves this once a year. One bite is enough for me.)
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant. (Some day I will be able to afford this...)
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa (Had regular harissa, but that's a completely different thing.)
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor (Not recently, but in one way or the other, I had this in Thailand.)
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake

On bacon

2008-09-03T08:46:00.000-07:00

Yelp's newsletter ended with this bit.

...chef Anthony Bourdain calls bacon the “gateway protein” for its mystical ability to tempt even the staunchest vegetarian back to the dark side...

Best quote ever.

P.S. Thanks to the lead from Food Goat, I see this alarm clock in my future.

A little crush

2008-08-29T11:00:00.000-07:00

Okay. Not completely a food blog entry. But kind of.

My "crush" on Fresh & Easy store is covered by the press.

Finding Nirvana at Salad Bin ran in the Business Casual Column in the Torrance Daily Breeze today. (Folks reading this 2 weeks from now may not see the link. I’ll be sure to post a PDF later.)

Thanks, Muhammed again for coming down to my humble abode last week!

Easy Baked Eggs

2008-08-24T21:32:00.000-07:00

I have held on to a recipe from Real Simple magazine that is a baked eggs and potatoes for the longest time. Pretty much, you bake halves of potatoes to a certain point, then you crack eggs on each half and continue to bake. I kept forgetting to get the potatoes to make this recipe, so nope, I don't know what this one tastes like just yet.

However, browsing through Food Network, I came across the new show "Ask Aida". Aida is personable, maybe a little stiff still, but I'd watch her cook. But man, her "co-host", that geeky dude, he's not helping the show. It's like Tyler Florence's How to Boil Water. I would watch Tyler cook, like I do now with is Ultimate shows, but that chick with him wasn't adding to anything. But I digress.

Aida was finishing up the Baked Eggs with Canadian Bacon, Spinach, and Aged Cheddar and they looked DELICIOUS.

The baked eggs got stuck in my head once again when I woke up this morning. I obviously don't have any Canadian bacon on hand nor spinach, aged cheddar, cream, or sourdough so I improvised.

Oakley's Easy Baked Eggs

A few slices of lunch meat - ham or turkey would do.
4 eggs
A splash of milk
A few slivers of butter
4 big pinches of shredded cheddar cheese
Salt and pepper
Optional: Cayenne pepper or hot sauce, fresh herbs of your choice, garlic powder, onion powder, whatever you want to flavor this with. Go crazy!

Preheat the oven to 350F. Put lunch meat in the bottom of each ramekin and crack one egg over that.
To each ramekin, add a splash of milk, a bit of butter, and seasonings. Top all of them off with cheese.
Put ramekins on a baking sheet and bake for 15-18 minutes for runny eggs. If you like it well cooked (like Brandon), bake for 20-25 minutes.

Brandon didn't want cheese toast so I just throw in two slices of buttered bread on the same baking sheet, and pull them out about 10 minutes in. You can certainly use your toaster on the side instead, or a broiler after the eggs are done baking.

Very easy and straight forward, y'all!

Dinner Possible - A Crossover

2008-08-22T18:17:00.000-07:00

I have been blogging over at the Temple quite a bit these days as some of you might have noticed. In order to bring my two food blogs closer, I started to implement a few changes.

First, you might notice my little feed on the side from the Temple. I'm doing the same thing over at the Temple with a feed from HFG.

Now, I'm going to also bring over Dinner Possible segments from the Temple. It's pretty much my favorite recipes that I cooked up recently with a twist of having most ingredients bought at Fresh & Easy. They're good recipes that apply to groceries from ANY store, so I think I should probably cross-post so y'all can enjoy them too.

Here goes the most recent Dinner Possible post from the Temple. Next time, I will post tandem. :)

Dinner Possible: Roasted Chicken and Croutons

I was supremely inspired after watching him made the Proper Chicken Salad. Essentially, he roasted chicken thighs in a pan on top of pieces of ciabatta bread which turned out to be some awesome croutons in the process. He also made his salad dressing from scratch.

I took shortcuts by buying a bag of romaine and bottle of Caesar. Didn't I tell you guys I was lazy?

However, I did follow Jamie's recipe on the chicken and ciabatta almost to the tee, except that I substitute thyme for rosemary (Brandon doesn't like rosemary), added a few lightly smashed clovers of garlic in the mix, and used bacon instead of pancetta. Also, after laying on the bacon, I roasted it up to 30 minutes extra because the bacon refuses to crisp up.

The bacon layer:

The chicken layer:

The crispy delicious crouton layer:

I also served the meal differently. Instead of shredding the chicken for a salad, I featured the chicken thigh, bacon, and the croutons as a main course with salad on the side. It worked out very well that way as well. This recipe feeds 4.

Oh, and I don't know how but we ended up with a handful of romaine, a few croutons and strips of bacon leftover to have for lunch the next day.

The Fresh & Easy version totaled up to about $4 per person with extra chicken and bacon for future use.

ETA: When I made this the second time for the pictures, I decided to do a pan gravy as well. Just dumped some flour into the leftover grease, cooked that up, and deglaze with chicken stock.

Ultimate Corn Bread Recipe

2008-08-14T21:06:00.000-07:00

This was posted by guest contributor Chef Jay, an east coast based professional chef.

Among all regional American cooking, Southern food is my kinda everyday food. One thing can’t be missed when serving southern food is cornbread If I eat at any BBQ place or southern style restaurant, my meal won’t be completed without cornbread and butter. Many restaurants in New England do serve cornbread along with their meal as well.

When I worked at The Concord’s Colonial Inn, cornbread was my favorite thing to nip during busy day if I don’t have time to sit down eating whole meal. Pook also love it too. I often had to grab some home for her. The best thing walking into the Inn at 630am was the smell of cornbread and baked good came from the basement of the Inn. People always ask for recipe. We never gave out as it has been our traditional recipe for over 40 years. Later, I found out the secret recipe isn’t real secret. They used corn muffin mix because of convenient purpose. Case closed.

Then, I went to work at Union, known for contemporary American cuisine. Cornbread there is voted “the Best of Boston” since opened. Baked hot in small cast iron pan. I love that recipe too but we used oil instead of butter. To me, butter, lard, bacon fat, pork fat and cow fat makes food so delicious. I will never live my life cooking without using natural fat.

After baking/testing roughly 20 cornbread recipes and a few adaptation over the course of 6 months, This is what I came up with. Sometimes, I make corn bread when I get home after work & feel hungry. It takes a few minute to prepare it. Let it bake when I am in the shower.

Here is the recipe.

1/4 lb butter (1 sticks)

1/2 cup sugar

2 eggs

3 oz diced, roasted green chilies (Optional, I skipped it this time)

3/4 cups creamed corn (Can) used Del Monte Brand.

(What da heck, throw it the whole can). Do not substitute with kennel corn.

1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

3/4 cups AP flour

1/2 cup yellow cornmeal

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/s tsp salt

With an electric mixer, cream together the butter and sugar. When it is smooth beat in the eggs, green chilies, creamed corn and grated cheese. Sift the dry ingredients together and stir into the wet mixture. Bake in a greased cake pan or muffin tins at 350 F (convection oven) for about 25-35 minutes, depending on the size of the baking pan. The objective is to get a toasty crunch on the outside while remaining moist and chewy inside.

I personally pour 1/2 cup water in a small bake tray and put inside the oven while baking cornbread. The steam will make cornbread moist and soft.

I sometimes skip the green pepper but add diced fried bacon with bacon fat into the mixture. The result? You have to try it.

I can only tell you that this cornbread recipe will be served in my future restaurant....

Julie: Fully cooked

2008-08-07T07:54:00.000-07:00

This is Julie after I baked her. Oh, and I also added a few glugs of Meyer's rum and a splash of good vanilla.

Julie has the consistency of a sourdough with a little sweetness. The bread feels heavy but the texture is not. She leaves a little bit of grease trail behind with that 1/2 cup of oil I had to add to her, but it wasn't gross. Overall, this is some tasty bread!

Pat O. is baking her version with cinnamon and nutmeg. I will have to report in when she gets to the office.

The experience with this "Hemin" Friendship Bread has been fun. And here is MY VERSION of the Hemin bread instruction (PDF) on what to do when you get yours, completed with the debunking of the holy bread myth and why you need to use a wooden spoon.

Can't you believe it? I was reading out there during my research and found someone talking about using the wooden spoon only with the bread because of its holy property. LOL.

Anyhoo. Have fun when you get yours!

Three Aspect of Knife Skills - 6 Min. - Watch it

2008-08-06T19:56:00.000-07:00

This was posted by guest contributor Chef Jay, an east coast based professional chef.

I have read a knife skill book by Peter Hertzmann, excellent one. But real pictures would be nicer than illustrations.

Anyway here is the clip of how to properly hold your knife, how to hold your food, and knife motion. Just tips to save you from cutting yourself. Click here to bring to you to watch the clip on his website.

Just watch it then. It will save your beautiful nails and finger tips for cat fighting or manicure instead of japanese yakuza-ing your finger off one day.

Julie: Day 9

2008-08-06T09:30:00.000-07:00

Tonight, I bake! You'll have the report tomorrow. But I think she's ready. The smell is incredible and the consistency is almost like a dough you could roll with your hands.

And yep, I'll post MY version of the instruction for this lovely culinary chain letter tomorrow.

Julie: Day 8 - And other news

2008-08-05T07:50:00.000-07:00

First of all, please welcome Chef House of She Said Pastry He said Food to our humble blog. House and I "met" online after he responded to one of my posts about my mom's passing. We got to talking and the next thing I know, he started to blog. He may be an experienced chef, but House also talks about street food and how to improve our home cooking. Hopefully we can all learn from his input.

Welcome, Chef House!

And now, Julie report. She was SUPER bubbly last night. She rose up to just about the same size the other day. Since the photo and report is one day behind, Julie's bake off day actually is tomorrow. I will report in on how she did and, yes, I will post the instruction as well.

Julie: Day 7

2008-08-04T08:02:00.000-07:00

Look at how big she's gotten! When I left the house this morning (Day 8 picture tonight), she was a little bit bigger than this now.

And the kitchen starts to smell a little bit like bread even when she's all covered.

Julie: Day 6

2008-08-03T22:21:00.000-07:00

There she grew! And she was thick enough to hold up a spoon all on her own. Neat, eh?

I also just now realized that the 10th day when I suppose to bake her, I can't do it. I'll be at a dinner that night. Hopefully, I can leave her on the counter for one more day. Or I can stay up until midnight baking her...?

Any expert suggestion on what I should do?

Julie: Day 5

2008-08-02T18:48:00.000-07:00

This is Julie before feeding. Big bubbles and the smell, still yeasty, but a little bit on a questionable side than a fresh bread smell the day before. But hey, that's the process.

This is Julie after I fed her milk, flour, and sugar. A little bit more in volume and she's thicken up quite nicely.

Julie: Day 4

2008-08-01T10:37:00.000-07:00

Bigger bubbles at the end of Day 4.

So far, she seems happy, bubbling away. She's smelling of fresh bread right now. I wonder how this might change once I feed her flour, sugar and milk tonight.

Oh, someone has asked if I will post the instructions for the bread here. I will as soon as I retype up a new sheet so everyone can use it for their friends later on.

Julie: Day 3

2008-07-31T07:38:00.001-07:00

Not much going on. Still bubbly after stirring.

By the way, I've done some more research on the Hemin bread starter which is what Julie is. I updated it over on Julie Day 1. Check it out.

Julie: Day 2

2008-07-30T11:38:00.000-07:00

Look at all the bubbles! She's definitely alive.

Julie Watch: Day 1

2008-07-29T09:41:00.000-07:00

This is Julie, my friendship bread starter passed to me from a friend. Julie will be my first bread that is not banana nut!

ETA: Upon reading the instruction further, I come to find out that this is NOT the traditional Amish Friendship Bread. Instead, this is the urban-mythical Hemin Bread.

Essentially, it's the same thing as the Friendship bread but someone started to add the whole Catholic myth to it. i.e. the starter came from Padre Pio of the Vatican and therefore this bread is holy. Brilliant story for an urban myth, whoever started this one.

Oh, and the whole using ONLY the wooden spoon thing is not adding any more magical element to the dough. I don't know why exactly yet--some please shed some light on this one. But I'm sure it has to do with chemical reaction of yeast and metal, and the fact the dough would stick to the metal spoon like crazy.

Daily breakfast in one shot

2008-07-23T20:26:00.000-07:00

One of SELF Magazine's time saving tips suggested that on Sunday, you make these mini frittatas in muffin tins and now you have a protein-pack breakfast on the go for the rest of the week. Just pop 'em in the microwave for a minute and off you go.

What a brilliant idea! So I tried it out, adapting the ingredients from the healthy turkey bacon and feta cheese and bell peppers to bacon and cheddar cheese and some tomatoes.

I also doubled the SELF suggestion and made total of 12 egg "cups", 6 for me and 6 for Brandon. One cup for me in the morning followed by a few pieces of fruit was enough. Brandon would heat up at least two.

I left his in the fridge at home, and I brought all 6 of mine to the office. Super convenient!

Make-ahead Daily Egg Breakfast "Cups"

This recipe makes 12 cups.

The base:
One dozen eggs
A splash of milk
Spices of your choice: I use a dash of garlic powder, onion powder, and cayenne pepper.
Salt and pepper

The Stuffing:
This one is totally up to you. But what I like is this.
Bacon pieces (I chop up 1/2 lb. or 8 slices of bacon and fry it up in a separate pan.)
Shredded cheddar cheese
Chopped and seeded tomatoes...or halved grape tomatoes, 2 per cup.

1. Preheat the oven to 375F. Grease your 12-cup muffin tins well. (Trust me. Scraping baked egg/cheese out later was no fun.)

2. Whisk the base ingredients together with a whisk or a fork until well blended. Fill each cup with the mixture, leaving room to add your "stuffing". You may have a wee little bit of egg mixture left at the end.

3. Add your stuffing to each cup with cheese going on last.

4. Bake for about 13-16 minutes until golden. Leave on the rack to cool. Pop them out and store them in the fridge.

5. Reheat in the microwave for about a minute.

Bargain Gourmet

2008-07-10T07:43:00.001-07:00

LA Times released their list of Los Angeles good bargain for foodies. Everything from one dollar tacos to pre-fix meals for less.

It's not exactly "cheap" eats, but you'll get more bang for your bucks for good food all over town.

I just wish they release one for the OC as well.

P.S. LA Times also reported that Thomas Keller is to open Bouchon bistro in Beverly Hills. Someday, I will eat there. Hopefully not a replacement for one thing on my list of things to do before I die, to have a meal at the French Laundry...hopefully on the night that Chef Keller is there.

What did we just eat?

2008-07-04T16:38:00.000-07:00

Pringles are not potato chips, judge says in British tax case
From Bloomberg News

Pringles, Procter & Gamble Co.'s salty snack stacked in a tube, are not potato chips, a London judge ruled today in a tax dispute.

Pringles don't fulfill the legal definition of "potato crisp," the British word for "chip," allowing them to be sold tax free in the United Kingdom, Justice Nicholas Warren at the High Court in London ruled.

Under British law, most food is exempt from Britain's 17.5% sales tax. Even so, the national tax office claimed that Pringles were covered by an exception for products such as potato chips, sticks or puffs "and similar products made from the potato, or from potato flour, or from potato starch."

Procter & Gamble's lawyers claimed at a May hearing that Pringles don't look like a chip, don't feel like a chip, and don't taste like a chip, according to the judgment. They also claim the snack isn't made like a chip since it is cooked from baked dough, not potato slices.

Potato chips "give a sharply crunchy sensation under the tooth and have to be broken down into jagged pieces when chewed," the Cincinnati-based company's lawyers argued. "It is totally different with a Pringle, indeed a Pringle is designed to melt down on the tongue."

Warren agreed. Pringles aren't "made from the potato" for the purposes of the tax office's exemption, he said. He didn't say what Pringles are, other than that they're tax-exempt.

The British tax office said in an e-mailed statement that it would consider the judgment "with a view to deciding whether to appeal."

In a similar case in April the British government was told by Europe's highest court, the European Court of Justice, to entirely refund Marks & Spencer Group more than 20 years-of sales duty charged on chocolate-covered tea cakes.

Between 1971 and 1994 the tax office incorrectly classified them as biscuits, which are taxable, rather than cakes, which aren't.

We don't know what Pringles are either, but they are sooo frelling addictive! Sour cream and onion. I can eat the entire tube by myself.

Actually, I have done that before in my younger days.

That, and a whole package of Chips Ahoy.

Yakult Cult

2008-06-29T10:48:00.000-07:00

Asian expats of America rejoice! Our beloved yogurt drink Yakult is now available in the more convenient local grocery stores. No more cross-town trek to the Asian market for these delicious, probiotics babies!

Since I have developed little stomach issues these past few years, I have been searching to get Yakult back into my life. Unfortunately, American stores only carry drinking yogurt...that don't seem to do anything for me. Then the probiotics trend arrives and comes the eat-with-a-spoon yogurt. Still not the same.

And one day, a commercial for Yakult came on. I scared Brandon silly when I squealed at the TV. Brandon has also come to know the power of Yakult as my mom fed him 2 of those daily while we were in Thailand and he came home more or less without much incident. ("He's a big guy. He HAS to drink two!)

Before the probiotics hype hits America, Asia has enjoyed the benefits of Lactobacillus casei strain Shirota in Yakult for over 70 years.

In Thailand, Yakult is always linked to the image of pretty ladies on a bicycle with the cooler of Yakult in the back, delivering fresh bottles to your house everyday. "Sao Yakult" or Yakult girl in uniform, much like the American image of a milkman, was a part of the morning scenes all over the country, almost as iconic as the monks out for food alms. As time changes, the bicycles are replaced by motorcycles and sometimes it's the delivery man instead of the girl.

My mom had not gone many days in her life. We always have Yakult delivered and we all were to drink one before we got to school. At some point, it was just mom and dad as I wanted to buy them at school with my friends at recess. Unlike Red Bull, there isn't a limit written anywhere as to how many bottles of these you can drink a day, but most people stick with one or two. Since Yakult helps with digestive system, the common mis/conception is that too many of these and you'll be clinging to the johns. Nobody would want to take that risk.

Yakult is sweet and a little tangy with the consistency of milk. Not the thick and glug-y of the drinking yogurt or the thick AND super tart Kefir. But the best part of this 2.7 fl. oz. bottle is that you can grab one, shoot it and leave without missing a step. It's perfect in everyway, this little thing.

Cheers to Yakult! Here's to good health, everyone!

Eat for a Cure

2008-06-16T22:52:00.000-07:00

A re-post from my main blog. But it's food related, so hey!

So the Lesser Weevils had our little fundraiser dinner tonight at Thai Issan in Cerritos. Samone and Tom, the owner, graciously donated 10% of our tab to AIDS Walk.

And they are promising 15% donation from now until June 27, one week after the walk (which I can still turn my money in, I think) at their other restaurant, the Delightful Crepes Cafe in Long Beach. The Yelp review for the place is a little iffy. Even I who had been there once think the place still needs a little work. But they ARE working on improving the menu. Give it a shot if you want to try something new.

Delightful Crepes Cafe
1190 Studebaker Rd
Long Beach, CA 90815

At least give a new place a try WHILE SUPPORT THE WEEVILS! Just tell your waiter that you’re supporting Oakley’s Team at AIDS Walk Long Beach, and they’ll make a note of it.

Or you can just donate to the Weevils directly and not try a new restaurant. Up to you. Any kind of donation helps.

Fine lines for anchovies

2008-06-14T12:58:00.000-07:00

I have never cooked with anchovies before. Brandon announced that he hates it, and my only experience with it is that it's on my pizza (back in the days) or that it's a component of my cesar salad.

But after I drooled over the Fettuccine with Tomatoes and Crispy Capers recipe in my food porn, and having watched Giada cooks with it many times, I decided that it's time to crack a can open and dive in.

I followed every instructions...except the tomatoes. With the tomato scares, I halved grape tomatoes and tossed them in instead.

The crispy capers, I TOTALLY adore. I can snack on those crunchy, tangy beads all day. The overall flavors of the dish was delicious except for one minor flaw.

While flavorful, you can't eat the pasta with the prosciutto together. Too damn salty. And while the pasta by itself tastes glorious and flavorful, I believe there is just too much salt over all because Brandon and I both experiences some kind of mouth pain afterward. My gum was raw and his mouth seemed to have blistered.

Being the first time cooking with anchovies, I wondered if 4 fillets were too many when you put it together with salty prosciutto AND capers.

That said, I do love the overall flavors. Perhaps next time I won't use too many anchovies and might just omit the prosciutto. Or I just have to get the prosciutto from an Italian deli like I did last time as the Vons brand ones seems to be a lot saltier.

But I won't be cooking this for Brandon again. Now that he finds out anchovies are involved in this. ;-)

Top Chef finale

2008-06-12T22:44:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Stephanie! She deserves it. I think she has great skills and her personal development through the course of the show is just inspiring.

Although, my bet was on Richard. However, as Ted said, there will be much more good things coming his way. I totally believe it! (Awesome blog entry, by the way.)

And yes, ring the bell for the fact that the certain "bronze medalist" didn't take the cake. Making existing Thai food your own by topping it with new ingredients doesn't make you innovative.

I voiced my opinion on LA Times' blog and to Ted's blog on Bravo as well.

Now, I'm on to So You Think You Can Dance. Hahah!

Oh my

2008-06-10T08:23:00.001-07:00

Food & Wine Magazine = Food porn.

Yes. Yes it is.

I was reading the newest issue featuring best new chefs yesterday. I must have made some kind of noise that Brandon turned right around from his XBox.

"Damn, girl! WHAT are you reading?"

"Fettuccine with tomatoes and crispy capers...AND prosciutto."

He stared at me for a second.

"What?"

"You're weird."

He also stared at me earlier when I kind of muttered that before I would totally sell my kidney for a reservation and pay my bill at French Laundry. One of those things I want to do before I die.

Steak and Egg Dinner

2008-06-07T09:39:00.000-07:00

I watched Giada makes the Grilled Tuscan Steak with Fried Egg and Goat Cheese last weekend and I had been thinking about it all week.

Since Brandon is out of town all week, I felt a little guilty to buy any steaks from the grocery stores at they come pre-packaged in two. I could've gone to ones with a butcher shop and get just one steak, I supposed, but none of those stores are nearby.

Fortunately for me, Fresh & Easy carries single rib-eye steaks and surprisingly not-very-goaty goat cheese.

First of all, it's REALLY simple to make. I mean, you can grill outdoor or indoor, or if you're like me, you would just cook it up in your cast iron skillet.

If you're like me, you'd season your steak on that little container/butcher paper it comes in. And if you're like me and not wanting to dirty up your knife and cutting board, you can just rip the parsley onto your plate. Then, the only thing you really need to clean afterward is the pan you fry your egg with.

Lazy does it simpler! Haha.

While the steak rests, I used the same pan to fry the egg--just had to swirl the leftover fat around the pan and then bring the heat way down from cooking the steak earlier. See? One pan!

I served this with a side of spring mix salad tossed with just Italian dressing.