Ghetto Fab Gourmet

Homemade Ice Cream - Malt & Nutella

2012-01-22T10:14:00.000-08:00

I bought an ice cream maker last month with the intention of making some alcohol-laced ice cream to share with my friends. I have made attempts on Kahlua ice cream and Bailey's ice cream, but they both came out to be really yummy milkshakes. I think it was the recipe that came with the ice cream machine. It only contained milk, cream, sugar and of course, I added a shot of flavored liquor. It doesn't help that alcohol doesn't freeze well.
On my third attempt, I was making ice cream for a work pot luck. I decided to use a recipe from one of my cookbooks. The recipe called for 2 eggs for a custard base. It was a little more work, but with the eggs as a binding agent, the ice cream froze beautifully into soft serve in 20 minutes! After packing it into a plastic container, it turned into 'non soft serve' ice cream in the freezer the next day.
I adapted the recipe slightly, reducing the sugar so that I can use Horlicks and Nutella as flavoring. Here are the results:

Malted Nutella Ice Cream Recipe

1 cup whole milk

1 pint heavy cream

1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 large eggs

4 tbsp Horlicks (Ovaltine or any other brand of malt powder also works)

5 tbsp Nutella

Combine milk, cream, sugar and vanilla in a large saucepan. Slowly bring to a boil over low-med heat, stirring occasionally. In a medium bowl. mix the Horlicks with a couple spoonfuls of hot milk mixture until you form a smooth paste. Once a paste is formed, add enough hot milk mixture to make it liquidy. Add the Horlicks mixture into the pot of hot milk mixture. Repeat with the Nutella.

Beat the 2 eggs in a metal bowl. One ladle at a time, very slowly add the hot milk mixture to the beaten eggs while whisking furiously. Yes, furiously. You want the hot milk mixture to gently temper the eggs without cooking them.

Once all the hot milk mixture is incorporated into the egg custard mixture, pour the custard mixture back into the pot and slowly bring to a gently simmer. Do not let this boil. Stir frequently with a wooden spoon until custard is at 170ºF or coats the back of the spoon. Take mixture off heat. Stir occasionally, letting custard cool to room temperature. Cover and refrigerate for 1 to 3 hours. The colder the mixture, the better.

Follow instructions of ice cream maker to turn the custard into ice cream! Makes 4 cups of ice cream.

The Malted Nutella ice cream was a big hit. I think I'll make another attempt at Bailey's ice cream after all...

Hot Pot Made Easy

2011-11-26T16:56:00.001-08:00

I decided to do a hot pot dinner on Thanksgiving this year. No turkey, no mashed potatoes, no cranberry sauce and no pumpkin pie. So it's not the most traditional Thanksgiving meal, but at least it was stress-free. I just wanted to drink wine and enjoy a great meal with good company without having to spend two days prepping and cooking and fretting over how the bird will turn out.

Hot pot, shabu shabu, lẩu, suki, sukiyaki, steamboat, fondue or huǒ guō is a social event. Each part of the world has a different version, but it is basically everyone dipping and cooking the pre-sliced ingredients in pot of hot soup base, cheese or chocolate that simmers in the middle of the table. I have many memories of family meals with everyone spending hours surrounding a pot of simmering broth chatting and eating.

Zion market was our first stop to pick up some ginger, lotus roots, pea sprouts, orange and thinly pre-sliced pork belly, beef tongue, ribeye and brisket.

99 Ranch had the portable propane gas stove and cans of propane. We also got some cuttle fish balls, herbal soup mix, rice noodles, moqua and napa cabbage. There are lots more items that would be great hot pot additions such as tofu, fish fillets, shrimp, dumplings, any thinly sliced meat, noodles, taro, potatoes, veggies and etc.

At both stores, there were a plethora of induction and electric hot pot sets. However, I wanted the portable propane gas version so that I could have the option of doing an outdoor hot pot as well. Funny how both Zion and 99 Ranch had the portable propane gas stove, but neither had the pot nor little scoops to go with it. SF (Thuan Fat) Supermarket had the pot and all the little scoops I needed to complete my hot pot kit.

Thanksgiving day: I spent about an hour or so rinsing and slicing up the veggies and preparing the soup bases. Depending on the region, the soup bases also vary. Since I got a half and half hot pot, I did one regular herbal soup base and one spicy herbal soup base, which didn't take long at all. To save time, I prepared the soup on my kitchen stove and then transferred to the portable hot pot setup.

Half and Half Herbal Soup Bases:
1 packet of assorted herbs
1 finger of ginger (peeled and chopped into large chunks)
6 cans of chicken broth
6 dried chili peppers
3 dried chrysanthemum flowers (optional)
Pour chicken broth, ginger and half of each herb from the assorted herb packet into a large pot. Bring to a boil. Transfer half of the broth to one side of the hot pot. Add the dried chili peppers to the remaining half of the broth and simmer for about 5 minutes. Transfer to other half of hot pot. Put the chrysanthemum flowers in a tea ball and add to the spicy side of the hot pot. In chinese medicine, chrysanthemum flowers are "cooling" and will balance out the "heatiness" of the spicy hot pot. The tea ball will help keep the flowers from disintegrating into the hot pot. Keep hot pot on a low simmer.

Rinse and strain the pea sprouts and napa cabbage. Moqua has a texture and taste just like winter melon. I prefer it to winter melon because it has a much thinner skin and is easier to prep. It soaks up the flavors of the soup like a sponge. Peel and slice the moqua into about 1 inch pieces. Peel and thinly slice the lotus root. My handy mandolin slicer really made a big difference with the lotus root. Parboil, rinse and drain the rice noodles.

Cut half-way into each cuttle fish ball with 3 horizontal slices.

Turn over to the other side and make one perpendicular slice half-way into each ball.

That way, there are slices on each side of the cuttle fish ball, while keeping the whole thing intact. This would help any meat balls cook quickly and evenly in the hot pot.

I laid everything out and we pigged out. To keep the soup from evaporating away thru out the meal, I add hot water as needed. The leftovers also made for a delicious noodle soup the next morning.

What about the orange? That was for my azuki dessert soup. More on that next time....

Beats N Eats Food Trucks Meet Up

2011-09-04T18:05:00.000-07:00

Update - The Beats N Eats Food Trucks Meet Up has been moved to a new location in Mira Mesa. Information to follow....
I have to apologize for not disclosing the information to the Beats and Eats Meet-Ups that have been taking place each Tuesday for the past summer months. I was looking through my posts and realized that I never finished this one.

The location is at the parking lot in front of the Tabe Kitchen off Murphy Canyon Road by Taco Bell, Happy Car Wash and Express Tire.

3690 Murphy Canyon Road, San Diego, CA

The trucks do not sell beverages at this event out of respect for the convenience store that they are parked in front of. I always purchased my beverage from the convenience store. Plus, they allow the food trucks patrons to use their restroom facilities.

Tables are chairs are available outside the convenience store where DJ booth is set up.

This food truck event, unlike some others, do not have an entrance fee. There is also DJ Kanoya providing the beats, hence Beats N Eats.

This shingdig happens every Tuesday from 6:30 pm - 9 pm. I thought this was only a summer food trucks event, but a very reliable source has told me that they are looking for a new location to continue this. I hope so, it's so much easier than chasing these trucks down on Twitter.

There are usually 4-5 trucks at this event. Tabe (the event organizer) and SuperQ seem to be the regulars. Some of the trucks that I've seen on the rotation are Sweet Treats, Asian Persuasion, India on Wheels (no longer in business), Pierogi, SD Street Eats and the Gooch. Most of these trucks take credit card for a small transaction fee and/or minimum purchase. There's also an ATM inside the store.

Makes me wish that I had four stomaches, like a cow, instead of just my measly singular human stomach. Sigh.

Clockwise: Tabe Kobe Beef Slider, Tabe Beef Short Rib Taco, India on Wheels Samosa, SuperQ Beef Brisket Sandwich (mostly eaten), Sweet Trucks Chocolate Covered Bacon

Asian Persuasion Longanisa Rice Bowl

Sweet Treats Tiramisu

Here's what I've tried so far:

Tabe

Kobe Beef Sliders - A child-sized burger served on a soft dinner roll w/ cheddar cheese and shredded iceberg lettuce. A pretty good starter or kiddie meal.

Tabe Beef Short Ribs Taco - I love korean bbq'd meat on a taco. My only complaint is the massive amounts of shredded iceberg lettuce. I took half of the lettuce off my taco and re-sauced.

Tabe Asada Fries - Super deliciousness. Grilled beef marinated in korean bbq sauce over crispy fries. This is an example of fusion gone right.

SuperQ

SuperQ Beef Brisket Sandwich - This is a meal in a sandwich. Sorry, I scarfed this down before I even remembered to snap a picture. It was a huge sandwich. I-needed-a-nap-afterwards huge. It's like a sourdough grilled cheese stuffed with tender beef brisket, mac n cheese and sautèed onions. The brisket was packed full of flavor. If you like a little spice in your life, ask them to add some jalapeños to your sandwich. You won't regret it. Unless you can't do spicy foods, in which case, you will regret it.

BBQ Chicken Salad - This is the most flavorful salad that I have ever had. Black beans, corn, shredded cheddar cheese, red onions, cucumber, tomatoes, shredded BBQ chicken and ranch served over a mix of greens. I was stumped as to what was making this salad so packed full of flavor when one of my friends pointed out to me that the chicken is infused with BBQ sauce. Great big portions and flavor.

Asian Persuasion

Longanisa Rice Bowl - In other words, a longsilog. And they do it so well. My egg was a perfect over easy with a runny yolk and nice crispy edges along the whites. The bite-sized chunks of longanisa were packed full of flavor, as longanisas should be, and had a good sear. The stir-fried garlic rice had a good wok hay, which means the cook was using a very well-seasoned cooking surface and really high heat. To achieve wok hay, you have to be able to use really high heat to sear in the flavor of each individual ingredient without burning any of it. I overheard the girl who took my order speak to the cook in Cantonese. A chinese cook with true skills is behind this filipino dish. They actually ran out of this dish one Tuesday at 7pm.

Pierogi

Meat Stuffed Pierogi - There were other items on the menu that were calling to me as well. Grilled polish sausages, hungarian pancakes and blitzers. But how could I not try one of the hand-made pierogis from a food truck named Pierogi Truck? Prior to ordering, I asked what's a pierogi? One of my friends started explaining to me that it is a pan-fried european dumpling. The lady from the truck overheard us and stuck her head out to inform us that she does not pan-fry her pierogis. "It would make the dough tough. We only boil ours," she said. Boiling is also the preferred method of cooking for freshly made jiaozi. Yes, most people probably think that pan-frying is the better way to make them. However, that's what you do to the store bought frozen jiaozi (which I also love). But when someone, like say your loving chinese mother (or someone else's loving chinese mother if you don't have one of your own), makes the jiaozi fresh from scratch, the best way to enjoy those as soon as they are made is to boil them. This allows you to really appreciate the texture of the dough. It is the rest of the batch that are frozen for later use, hence losing that freshly made dough texture, that is pan-fried. These were boiled, sprinkled with bacon and served with a side of sour cream. Yums. Like a european jiaozi. The dough was not too thick, not too thin and had a good "bite" to it. Much like my momma's. The filling is juicy, meaty and just plain good. I could eat about 20 of these in one sitting. There were also other meatless filling options.

Sweet Treats

Chocolate Covered Bacon - I know, it sounds weird. But it is one of those weird combinations that are honestly really good. Someone had made these for a work potluck once and had convinced me to give it a try. To much of my surprise, I really liked it. A crispy bacon strip covered in chocolate, probably the same kind that is used for chocolate covered strawberries. It is not at all greasy. For some strange reason, the salty sweet combo kinda reminds me of peanut butter and chocolate. I don't know why no one else gets that. Try it, it's good. I promise.

Tiramisu - Pretty good. I wasn't blown away, just a solid pretty good. The espresso bean on top was a nice touch. After all that food, I needed a giant hit of caffeine to keep me awake long enough for the drive home.

India on Wheels

Samosa - I got a potato filled samosa topped with a sweet and savory pesto-like sauce. It was good. Too bad they closed down the business. I guess a vegetarian food truck can only sustain so long when there are competing with meaty, guilty-pleasure fares.

Sesame Chicken Wings

2011-08-22T20:23:00.000-07:00

These chicken wings are super sticky and flavorful. They were a big hit at the Super Bowl party I brought them to last year.

Maltose honey can be found at the asian grocery stores. Regular honey can be used instead, but the wings will not turn out as sticky.

Sesame Chicken Wings

12 chicken wings

1/2 cup oyster sauce

1/2 cup hoisen sauce

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup maltose honey*

2 tsp five spice powder

5 tbsp sesame oil

1 stalk green onions, minced

3 tbsp sesame seeds

*Place the jar of maltose honey in hot water for about 15 minutes to soften before use, this will make it easier to scoop out of the jar.

Combine oyster sauce, hoisen sauce, soy sauce, maltose honey, and five spice powder in a sauce pan over low heat. Stir frequently until the mixture is completely blended. Turn off heat. Stir in sesame oil. Let mixture cool. Toss wings in marinade. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 350. Line baking pan with nonstick aluminum foil. Spread wings evenly on aluminum foil. Pour rest of marinade over wings. Bake for 45 minutes or until wings are cooked through. Sprinkle sesame seeds and green onions over wings.

Steamed Fish w/ Ginger and Scallions = Next Day Fish Flake Jook

2011-08-13T11:17:00.000-07:00

My favorite fish preparation is steamed with ginger and scallions then drizzled with a soy sauce and oil dressing. The heated oil brings out the essence of the ginger and scallions. Kwai Fei Gai is also prepared in a somewhat similar fashion. That is also my favorite way to cook chicken. I guess I'm just a sucker for anything that is steamed and dressed with the scallion and ginger oil. It goes so well over steamed rice. Mmmm, my mouth waters just thinking about it.

Steaming is the best way to enjoy any fresh salt-water fish with a firm flesh. I don't recommend this recipe for fresh water fish like trout or catfish. This method highlights the taste and texture of the fish instead of masking it with stronger flavors. It is best to use the freshest fish possible. I have always thought that this dish is the reason why most Chinese restaurants have the live fish tanks. I would not order this dish from a restaurant without those tanks.

My mom used to make this dish with a whole fish that she gets from the market that same day. Head and tail included. Since I was cooking for one, I got a single fillet of sushi grade mahi mahi.

Steamed Fish w/ Ginger and Scallions

8 oz fillet of firm fleshed, salt water fish (mahi mahi, snapper, sheepshead, etc)

1 stalk scallions, minced

4 inches fresh ginger, julienned or grated

4 tbsp vegetable oil

2 drops sesame oil

2 tbsp soy sauce

Place a steam rack in a wok.

If you don't have a steam rack like that one, you can rig one up with two pairs of chopsticks. Like so:

Add enough water to the wok until it just stops short of where the plate would be placed on your rack. Heat to simmer.

Spread half of the ginger and scallions evenly onto a heat proof plate large enough to fit the fish, but smaller than your wok. Make sure the plate has sides that comes up.

Place your fish on top of the ginger and scallions. Spread the rest of the ginger and scallions on top of your fish.

Place the plate on the rack. Make sure water level is sufficient. Cover with wok lid and steam for about 10 minutes.

*If you are steaming a whole fish, make sure the fish is cleaned. Scour both sides of the fish with 3 parallel slashes and stuff with ginger and scallion mixture as well. Add an additional 5 minutes of steam time for every 8 oz.

Take plate off rack. Drizzle with soy sauce. Take rack off wok. Drain water and dry wok. Heat oil in wok. Carefully pour heated oil over fish.

If you have any leftovers, you have all the ingredients to make Fish Flake Jook for breakfast the next morning.

Fish Flake Jook

From Leftovers:

leftover steamed fish, flaked into bite-sized pieces

leftover steamed rice

water or chicken broth

salt

white pepper

Simmer the leftover rice with twice as much water or broth, stirring frequently until rice is broken up. Add more water or broth if rice becomes too thick. I like my jook to be more of a soupy consistency. Turn off heat. Stir in fish flakes. Ladle into bowls. Add salt and white pepper to taste.

From Scratch:

8 oz fillet of firm fleshed, salt water fish (mahi mahi, snapper, sheepshead, etc), slightly frozen

1 stalk scallions, minced

4 inches fresh ginger, julienned

2 drops sesame oil

2 tsp soy sauce

1 cup uncooked rice

3-4 cups water or chicken broth

salt

white pepper

Thinly slice fish against the grain. ~~Cut fish into bite-sized chunks.~~ Mix fish together with scallions, ginger, sesame oil and soy sauce. Marinate for at least 30 minutes in the refrigerator.

Bring water or broth to boil. Add rice. Lower heat to a simmer. Partially cover by placing lid over pot, but propping one side of the lid up by placing a chopstick underneath one side of the pot. Stir occasionally. Cook for about 30 minutes or until rice is soft and broken.

Turn off heat. Immediately stir in fish. The residual heat should cook the fish without overcooking it. Ladle into bowls. Add salt and white pepper to taste. Makes 6 servings.

Lazy snacks - Nori wraps

2011-08-08T18:53:00.000-07:00

Summers are lazy for me. Especially when it comes to turning on the stove or oven in an already hot house. My friend VT introduced me to the idea of lazy nori wraps. I dare not call it sushi or even categorize it as Japanese food since our ingredients vary so much. Sometimes it's a snack, sometimes it's a meal. The wraps are basically nori, a starch, some kind of pickled veggie, and maybe a protein. The protein is optional. Make sure all the ingredients are either chilled or at room temperature. Otherwise, you'll have some burned fingers.

Nori Wraps

sheets of nori

starch ingredient

pickled veggies, cut into small pieces

protein ingredient (optional), cut into bite-sized chunks

Take a sheet of nori and cut it in half. Cut those in half again. And cut those in half again. You should have rectangles that are 1/6th the size of the original sheet. Or you could also buy the little nori rectangles that are pre-cut to that size.

Place a scoop of the starch ingredient, a piece of pickled veggie and the protein ingredient in the middle of a piece of nori. Fold and enjoy.

Easy, right? Here are some variations that I have tried out.

smoked salmon, capers, white rice
umeboshi, bún (rice vermicelli noodles)
Spam, sushi rice
quinoa, cilantro, lightly pickled cucumbers, tomatoes
leftover Red Quinoa Salad
tuna salad, orzo pasta, capers
century eggs, gari, white rice
deviled eggs, sun-dried tomatoes, brown rice
sticky rice, pork sung

Go Ahead, Crowd the Mushrooms

2011-08-06T18:05:00.000-07:00

Julia Childs stressed, "Don't crowd the mushrooms."

Crowding would result in steamed instead of the nicely browned mushrooms. But seriously, who has the time and patience to brown batch after batch of mushrooms? I have a 14-in pan and each batch barely yields a single side serving.

Crowd the mushrooms, but crowd them in a cast iron pan.

I have found the perfect solution. Crowd the mushrooms, but crowd them in a cast iron pan.

Cast iron retains heat well enough so that the moisture from the mushrooms will soon evaporate away, allowing the mushrooms to brown.

Oh, Julia. I love you, but I'm breaking your rules.

Do not stir!

Sautéed Mushrooms

8 oz mushrooms, thinly sliced

2 tbsp grapeseed oil (or any vegetable oil)

Heat cast iron pan over med-high heat. Add oil and swirl around to make sure oil covers the entire surface. Allow the oil to heat for 30 seconds.

Spread the mushrooms evenly in the pan.

DO NOT stir. I know it's hard to resist stirring, but it is important to the browning process to not stir until after the first layer of mushrooms starts to brown.

Cook until the mushroom juices evaporate.

Once the first layer of mushrooms have just started to brown, stir up the mushrooms so that the other layers get to the bottom of the pan. Spread evenly.

The mushrooms will shrink during the cooking process, allowing more surface area on the pan.

Do not worry about the pan being dry at this point. Let the juices from the other layers evaporate and brown. Do no add more oil.

There you have it, perfectly browned mushrooms even with crowding.

Nicely browned mushrooms :o)

Living It Up...In National City (The Waterfront Grill)

2011-08-04T19:58:00.000-07:00

Great view, right? That was my lunchtime view. Was I at a fancy yacht club? Nope, I was lunching in National City. Yep, far in the background behind those sparkly yachts is the Navy yard.

I was actually lunching in front of a place that sells yachts! Yep, those babies are brand spanking new. And right next to the sales office is the Waterfront Grill (not to be confused with the Waterfront in Little Italy).

The Waterfront Grill is in a fairly new building on Pier 32 in the mostly industrial area of National City. It's yacht club posh without the posh membership fee.

Walking in, the menus were in a basket that hung on one of the columns underneath a sign that directed me to order at the counter. I decided on the Blackened Fresh Fish Sandwich with a side salad ($10.50) and iced tea ($2.25). I was handed real glassware and a number for the server to find my table. There's indoor and outdoor seating. Since the weather has been so nice and warm, I decided on the covered patio overlooking the pier full of boats located just outside the sales office. As I wait for my food, I fantasized about owning one of the yachts and being one of those people who spent the day out on it instead of having to schlep back to the office right after lunch. How cool would it be to drive up on my shiny new boat and have lunch? Sighs.

My plate arrived with real flatware wrapped in a linen napkin. The sandwich was open faced on toasted ciabatta bread with the usual sandwich fixings. Lettuce, tomatoes and red onions. My fish was indeed fresh and moist, seasoned with a cajun rub that had just the slightest hint of heat. I was expecting the side salad to just be lettuce and some tomatoes. Instead, I got a spring salad mix with tomatoes, sections of mandarin orange, candied walnuts, dried cranberries, carrot shavings and a tangy vinaigrette. Ahhhh. So this is how the other side lives....

The Waterfront Grill

3201 Marina Way

Pier 32

National City, CA 91950

Red Quinoa Salad

2011-08-02T13:43:00.000-07:00

Quinoa (pronounced "keen-wah") is a grain that is very rich in protein and amino acids. The taste and texture is similar to a nuttier couscous. I tossed together a vegetarian quinoa salad that was both refreshing and surprisingly satisfying. The quinoa packaging instructions say to cook it with 1 part quinoa with 3 parts water. Some of my friends who are more familiar with this grain also recommend that method, similar to cooking white rice. I have not been successful with that method. My quinoa never turned out very fluffy that way. I recently bought a new cookbook which included instructions on steaming quinoa. It was genius. My quinoa turned out light and fluffy.

Red Quinoa Salad

1 cup red quinoa

2 cups water

3 tsp salt

balsamic vinegar

olive oil

3 tbsp pine nuts

3 tbsp crumbled feta cheese

3 tbsp dried cranberries

baby spinach and arugula mix

Rinse quinoa in a fine sieve. Bring water to boil. Add quinoa and boil for 10 minutes. Drain quinoa into a fine sieve. Fill pot up with 2 inches of water and bring to a boil. Place sieve with quinoa over the pot of boiling water. The water should not touch the quinoa. Adjust water level accordingly. Place lid over quinoa. Steam for 15 minutes. Stirring every 5 minutes for even steaming. Check water level constantly and add more boiling water as needed.

Let quinoa cool. Toss with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Mix in pine nuts, feta and cranberries. Serve chilled over spinach and arugula.

Jook

2011-07-29T23:47:00.000-07:00

It is pronounced "joke" in cantonese. Most Asian cultures have variations of jook (a.k.a rice porridge or congee). It is commonly eaten for breakfast or when one is not feeling well. Some make it thick and some make it soupy. I prefer the soupy consistency. There are many version of jook. Fish flake, chicken, century egg w/ lean pork, vegetarian, etc. Plain jook can be served with condiments such as fu yur, salted duck eggs, fried shallots, dried salt fish, youtiao, tianjin preserved vegetables, etc. The plain version is the foundation of all other versions.

Plain Jook

1/4 cup uncooked rice

3 cups water

Combine ingredients in crock pot and cook for 4 hours on low.

Or
Bring water to boil. Add uncooked rice. Cook over low heat for 1 hour. Stirring occasionally. Add more water if jook gets too thick.

Grill On!

2011-07-22T11:06:00.000-07:00

Although we haven't been having the heat wave that has swept the rest of the US, last week was a little too warm to be cooking in my kitchen. I invited some friends over to taste test my latest concoction of Grilled Oyster Sauce Wings and Grilled Baby Bok Choy with Balsamic. This is a great last minute dinner. I defrosted the wings in cold water and then whipped together a quick marinade. I usually just drizzle some oyster sauce over my greens, but my marinade already had an oyster sauce base, I decided to use balsamic to balance out the flavors. This went nicely with steamed white jasmine rice and chrysanthemum iced tea. I also made a chilled azuki dessert soup, but it didn't turn out like I wanted. I will post the recipe for that once I perfect the technique in my crazy kitchen lab. Until then, here are the recipes for the main course:

Grilled Oyster Sauce Wings

1/2 dozen wings

1/3 cup oyster sauce

3 tbsp soy sauce

1/4 tsp five spice powder

1 clove garlic, finely minced

Combine oyster sauce, soy sauce, five spice powder and garlic in a medium sized bowl. Toss in the wings to thoroughly coat. Refrigerate until ready to grill, tossing about halfway through to ensure even marinading. Place on hot grill, over medium heat. Brush on 1/2 of remaining marinade after 15 minutes and flip wings over. Brush on rest of marinade and cook for another 15-20 minutes or until done.

Grilled Baby Bok Choy with Balsamic

baby bok choy

grapeseed oil or vegetable oil

balsamic vinegar

coarse sea salt

Split the baby bok choy into halves, lengthwise. This makes it easier to clean off the dirt that is trapped in between the layers. Rinse and drain. Lightly brush grapeseed or vegetable oil on both sides of the bok choy. I used my handy Misto sprayer filled with grapeseed oil, which really does make my life so much easier. Place the bok choy on the hot grill just until grill marks start to form. Sprinkle on sea salt and balsamic vinegar just after flipping. Don't need to go crazy with the balsamic, just a little splash will do. Bok choy are done once grill marks start to form on the other side.

Cubicle Cuisine: Brats!

2011-07-19T13:39:00.000-07:00

Lunch during the work week doesn't always have to be confined to frozen meals, reheated leftovers or eating out. The office break room can become a pretty decent kitchen if you just modify some recipes just a little bit. In this post, we will be having brats. There was a lone survivor leftover from the weekend and I decided to bring that in for lunch the following Monday. Not a dried out precooked brat to be heated up mind you. I cooked it at work with the handy dandy microwave.

I'm cheating a little on this post because there were already microwave instructions on the back of the packaging. As per the instructions, I placed the brat in a container and filled it with hot water, loosely cover, 1 min and 45 secs, flip and repeat. DO NOT try to nuke your brat without water. Best case scenario, you'll be munching on dried out brat jerky. Worst case scenario, you'll spend the rest of the day scraping off dried out pieces of brat that exploded all over the microwave.

After cooking in the microwave, place the brat link next to the bun in the toaster oven if you have one in your office kitchen. The surface of the link should sizzle up nicely as the bun toasts up. Almost like it's fresh off the grill :o) Remember, NEVER leave the toaster oven unattended while in use. Nothing like subjecting the rest of your office to the smells of your burnt lunch experiments for the rest of the workday...

Cubicle Cuisine: Scrambled Eggs

2011-07-16T06:00:00.000-07:00

Since working in an office, I've reacquainted myself with the microwave quite a bit. During my first year as a college freshman, I had gotten quite good at microwave cooking. Yes, it was real cooking, not just reheating frozen meals and corn dogs. But, I have not really used my microwave that much since I have moved out of the dorms and learned how to really cook. My microwave at home is left unplugged most of the time. I'll use it to melt butter or reheat food, but even then I usually use the stove for that stuff most of the time. I have been getting some pretty good use out of the microwave in the office break room. I think I have gotten the microwave scrambled eggs technique down to a science.

You will need:

Microwave

Microwavable bowl

Eggs

Water

Fork

Salt (optional)

Pepper (optional)

Any other seasonings you want on your eggs (nothing raw)

Crack your eggs into the microwavable bowl. Use as many eggs as you like, just make sure your bowl is big enough so that the eggs don't spill over whilst cooking. If it does, clean it up, there is no such thing as an Office Mommy.

Beat your eggs with the fork and add 2 tbsp of water for each egg. Add the salt, pepper and any other add-ins. I added about a tablespoon of chives & onion cream cheese that were leftover from bagels once and my eggs were herbaliciously creamy. I've also used plain half & half from the coffee stash instead of water. Mix all of that in.

Cook in the microwave at 70% Power for 15 seconds and stir. Repeat until your eggs are cooked to your desired doneness. The more eggs you use, the more cycles of cooking and stirring.

Point Loma Pho and Grill

2011-07-14T16:06:00.000-07:00

Pho is one of my all time favorite comfort foods. My parents grew up in Hanoi and I used to wake up on the weekends to a big pot of chicken pho that my mom has prepared for us kids to serve ourselves. It seems that pho has become the new sushi or thai food.

Point Loma Pho and Grill opened last year near my work. That means I don't have to far for a pho fix during lunch. I usually get the #4 Pho with rare steak, brisket, tendon and tripe. It's an okay bowl of pho that satisfies my cravings. The steak is thinly sliced and still pink in the center when the bowl arrives to the table. By the time my sprouts and basil were mixed in, the steak's completely cooked in the hot broth. Well-done steak is an option, but the meat would overcook in the hot broth and become tough by the time you mix everything together. The reason for ordering rare steak for your pho is so it would cook in the hot broth right before you dig in. I enjoyed the tendon, which is tender and a good amount. The brisket's nice. The amount of tripe is always disappointing. I don't think I've ever gotten more than two small pieces of tripe. Too bad, I like tripe. The broth is a little too sweet for my taste and lacks the beefy flavor. It's americanized vietnamese food. The shrimp pho is a good start for someone who has never had pho before and is put off about trying things like tripe and tendon. Although chicken pho or pho with just steak are also good newbie options.

Broken rice dishes and boba drinks are also on the menu. There is also the sizzling beef platter served in a hot cast iron plate. Marinated beef, onions, and green peppers with a bowl of steamed rice. Have you ever seen that commercial with the waiter walking through the restaurant with the fajita platter? Yeah, it's like that.

The service is quick and efficient as with all pho places. The staff is friendly and always makes sure our water glasses are filled. It's not the best bowl of pho I've ever had, but it's a good place to take your friends for their introductory bowl of pho. I'd still go back for a weekday lunch time pho fix.

Point Loma Pho and Grill

2788 Midway Drive

San Diego, CA 92110

Grilled Lemongrass Chicken Wings

2011-06-23T21:54:00.000-07:00

Since my lemongrass has been growing rampant in my little container garden, I decided to thin it out and do something with it. My mom used to make a fish sauce marinade for pork that went with her bun thit nuong. Bun thit nuong is a cold Vietnamese noodle dish that consists of marinated grilled pork, vermicelli noodles, an assortment of thinly shredded lettuce, cucumber, sprouts, pickled carrots and daikon, coarsely ground roasted peanuts, mint and a nuoc mam cham vinagrette. It's a really refreshing rice noodle salad that replaces my pho cravings in the summer. Unfortunately, I have yet to find a restaurant in San Diego that measures up to my mom's bun thit nuong. The grilled pork is just never quite right.

My mom's marinade for her grilled pork was savory, citrusy and slightly sweet. I didn't have all the ingredients for bun thit nuong, but I did have a huge bag of frozen chicken wings. While the wings defrost in a bowl of cold water in the sink, I began pounding together the ingredients for my marinade. Unfortunately, I didn't pay that much attention to what my mom threw into her marinade or even the measurements for that matter. So I kinda winged it. I tasted and adjusted until I finally got it close enough. So here's the recipe for my Grilled Lemongrass Chicken Wings, which is inspired by my mom's Bun Thit Nuong. My measurements are not exact, but hey, it's close enough.

Grilled Lemongrass Chicken Wings

10-12 chicken wings

2 cloves garlic

4-5 stalks fresh lemongrass, white parts only and minced

1 tbsp sugar

4 tbsp nuoc mam (fish sauce)

1 tsp sesame oil

juice from 1/2 lime

With a mortar and pestle, pound together the garlic, lemongrass, and sugar. A food processor will do if you don't have a mortar and pestle.

In a small bowl, combine the lemongrass mixture with the nuoc mam, sesame oil and lime juice. Rinse the chicken wings and pat dry. In a large bowl or freezer bag, toss the chicken wings with the marinade until completely coated and marinate for at least 4 hours. Re-toss the wings every hour or so to get them to marinate evenly.

Fire up the grill and cook the chicken wings for about 15 minutes each side or until the meat closest to the bone is no longer pink.

More than just salad

2011-04-26T21:23:00.000-07:00

I got some romaine hearts that were on special at Fresh & Easy. I wasn't thinking salad. I wasn't thinking grilled. I was thinking about sauteed. I was thinking about the way my friend's husband made them. He is Taishan and an excellent chef, which is good news for my friend because I don't think I've ever seen her cook anything that wasn't Top Ramen. She does make a very good sou chef, gotta give her credit for that. When I was visiting one evening, she started washing and chopping 10 minutes before he walked through the door. After cooking at the restaurant all night long, he started throwing together a simple, yet delicious late night dinner.
The one dish that I still remember is the simplest. Romaine hearts sauteed with fermented tofu, which tastes kinda like blue cheese made from tofu. I was skeptical as I watched him prepare this dish. Up to that point in my life, the only way I've seen romaine hearts prepared has been raw or lightly grilled in a salad. Plus, fermented tofu??? Really?
He convinced me to give this homestyle dish a try and I was converted. It was light and refreshing. The fermented tofu added just the right hint of savoriness (I could go fancy and call it "umami") that highlights the seared edges of the romaine. I am salivating whilst thinking about romaine hearts. Whowouldadunkit?

Umami Romaine Hearts
1 Romaine heart
1/4 cube fermented tofu
1 tsp garlic, minced
1 tbsp vegetable oil

Step 1: Slice the romaine heart lengthwise into 8 pieces.

Step 2: Heat wok or frying pan with 1 tbsp vegetable oil.

Step 3: Add romaine hearts and garlic to pan. Cook until leaves are just starting to wilt, turning every now and again.

Step 3: Add fermented tofu. Just 1/4 cube will do, this stuff is potent!

Step 3: Continue cooking until fermented tofu is melted, about 2 minutes. De-glaze the pan with about 2 tbsp of water in the final 30 seconds if you want some sauce for that rice to soak up.

Osen Tamago

2011-03-23T22:18:00.000-07:00

I have always loved eggs. In my opinion, the yums factor will almost always be raised 2 fold when topped with an egg...3 fold if the yolk is runny...4 fold if the runny yolk is a fresh, free range, golden orangish hue. Well, you get the idea.
I have recently decided to take my egg addiction to a heightened level. I am talking about being able to enjoy an occasional osen tamago without trekking all the way to the hot springs of a japanese spa. Although, if anyone wants to sponsor me for a trip...
"Osen" means "hot spring" in Japanese, so "osen tamago" literally translates into "hot spring egg." The temperature of the hot springs are perfect for soft poaching an egg in it's shell so that the whites are cooked and opaque, but still runny and the yolks are set, but still soft.
Since I live no where near a hot spring, my newfound obsession has been to replicate the osen tamago method in a home kitchen.

I researched the internet and found some recipes for making osen tamago in the rice cooker.
Cooking an egg is really a scientific endeavor. Adjustments had to be made based on the size of the egg, temperature of the egg, the number of eggs and the elevation I live in.

I found that large eggs are easier to work with than jumbo eggs.
Always use the freshest eggs possible.
Rinsing the eggs with tap water to bring them to room temperature prior to cooking helps minimize cracking and helps the egg cook evenly.

Cooking more than 3 eggs at a time has huge effects on the temperature and cooking time.
And did I mention, use the freshest eggs possible?

After 2 attempts with the rice cooker method, I was finally able to crack open an egg with runny whites and a softly set yolk over some fluffy white rice drizzled with soy sauce.
I also wanted to try to achieve a runny yolk with the the runny, yet opaque whites. That proved to be harder to do with a rice cooker. Either my whites were undercooked or my yolks were overcooked. The temperature of the warm setting on my rice cooker was not up for the task.
So I decided to come up with my own stove top method for cooking a runny yolk osen tamago. This was even more trying than experimenting with a rice cooker. I went through 5 eggs before I finally perfected the temperature and timing.

Stove Top Osen Tamago Method:

Stove Top Method - 23 minutes

Bring a pot halfway with water and bring to a boil. Take pot off heat. Bring egg to room temperature by running it under tap water. Place egg in a bowl small enough to fit inside the pot with the lid on. Place the bowl inside the pot and cover. Depending on your elevation, the timing might have to be adjusted. I found that cracking open the egg after 23 minutes works perfectly for me. Add about 2 minutes for every additional egg, but do not try to make more than 3 at the same time.

Runny whites and runny yolk

Rice Cooker Method:

Rice Cooker method drizzled with soy sauce afterwards - 50 minutes

Cook rice in rice cooker. Once rice cooker switches over to the Warm setting, rinse the egg under tap water to bring to room temperature and place on top of cooked rice in rice cooker. The yolk should just start to set after about 50 minutes, but the whites should be cooked, yet still runny.

Sun-dried Tomato Alfredo Pasta

2010-11-28T17:38:00.000-08:00

Pasta is almost always my default ingredient when I don't know what I want to eat for dinner. It can be a really dressed up or simply tossed with olive oil, chili pepper flakes, parsley and parm. Sometimes I like to make an in-between effort. I made this sun-dried alfredo pasta for a friend of mine who was visiting. I started to make plain chicken alfredo but then spied a jar of sun-dried tomatoes. I've used the Classico Sun-Dried Alfredo sauce before and really loved the flavor that the sun-dried tomatoes gave to the sauce. I figured that creating a similar recipe from scratch wouldn't be too difficult.

Sun-Dried Tomato Alfredo Pasta

8 oz of your favorite pasta

1 boneless skinless chicken breast

1 cup broccoli, chopped into bite-sized pieces

1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes

1 tsp minced garlic

1 roma tomato, diced

1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan

1 pint heavy cream

1 tsp olive oil

Boil a large pot of water. Add chicken breast to water and boil until cooked. Remove chicken from water. Slice the chicken and set aside.

Add pasta to the chicken water and cook according to directions on package. In the last 3 minutes of the pasta cooking, add the broccoli to the pot. Drain, but do not rinse.

While the pasta is cooking, prepare the sauce.

In a large sauce pan, sautée the garlic and sun-dried tomatoes in olive oil over low heat for about 1 minute. Blend the sun-dried tomatoes and garlic with the heavy cream until smooth. Add the cream mixture back to the pan and turn heat up to medium. Stir frequently until sauce barely starts to simmer, about 10-15 minutes. Turn off heat. Add the pasta, broccoli, diced tomatoes and chicken to the sauce and stir. Add parmesan and toss thoroughly. Serves 3-4.

Not exactly as quick and easy as the Classico sauce, but close enough and it was yummies.

Garden Pesto Grilled Chicken

2010-08-13T11:11:00.000-07:00

Since my herb garden has been growing out of control, I decided that the most logical thing would to make homemade pesto. After all, that's why people plant fresh herb gardens, right?

Pesto Ingredients
about 3/4 cup basil
3 sprigs marjarom
2 sprigs lemon thyme
splash of raspberry vinegar
dash of sea salt
olive oil

Rinse all the herbs and put them in a blender/food processor, I used my handy handheld stick blender (I love that thing!). Add just enough olive oil to cover half the herbs. Blend until all the herbs are blended together into a paste. Add the salt and raspberry vinegar. Slowly drizzle in more olive oil by the tablespoonful and blend until you get a creamy consistency (like a creamy salad dressing). And you've got pesto! To store this, I froze individual pesto cubes in ice cube trays and then kept them in a freezer bag.

I marinated some skinless chicken thighs in the pesto for about 1 hour and then cooked them on the grill for dinner that night. The meat got a good sear and was packed full of fresh herbalicous flavor. Yums. I love my little garden.

Classics Malt Shop

2010-03-22T18:23:00.000-07:00

I was going through all my food photos and realized that I never did a post on the Classics Malt Shop, even though it's one of my go-to lunch spots.
This little gem is located in a food court on Midway Drive, next to Chase Bank. Although their menu offers more exotic type burgers like ostrich and buffalo, it is not so overwhelming that it distracts from a good ol' fashioned regular beef burger with all the fixins.
I usually go for the Cheeseburger with fries and a regular soda. Their shakes are also really good, made with real ice cream and can be a meal in itself.
The patty is well-done, but is juicy with the slice of American cheese melted right on. The veggies and pickle are always crisp and fresh. That all comes on a standard sesame bun. The skin-on french fries are crispy and always hot. Ketchup, mustard and mayo are available at the counter. You can also ask for ranch dressing. Nothing fancy, but just consistently good simple food and great service.
The place is family-owned and operated. The guys who run the place are related to each other as brothers and cousins. The chosen decor of the place reflects their love for classic cars. Every now and again you'll see some mint condition classics in the parking lot. Childhood pictures adorn the walls of this little place. Try to guess who's who. I always love this place because of the simplicity of the food, not to mention the warm and friendly service. These guys make you feel like old friends everytime.
There's also more seating in the courtyard, which is surrounded on all sides by the other eateries in the food court. And they ask if I want a free refill on my drink everytime as I get ready to leave.

Classic Malt Shop
3615 Midway Dr
Ste B
(between Fordham St & Kemper St)
San Diego, CA 92110
(619) 226-1600

www.classicsmaltshop.com

Petrushka

2010-01-31T12:13:00.000-08:00

Note: I apologize for the poor picture quality. I was trying to be incognito about my food documentation and had the flash turned off.
Last night VT and I decided to check out Petrushka, a new Eastern European restaurant that just opened up between Pomegranate and Dao Son last night before heading up to Stone Brewery for a birthday celebration. There was a guy manning the skewers of meat on the grill outside of Pomegranate. My tummy growled in response. What a great advertising technique. There was a long wait for Pomegranate as we walked by. We got seated as soon as we walked into Petrushka.
The decor is very rustic trendy with a warm, welcoming feel. Artisan lamps at every table. The menu hinted that Petrushka was somehow related to Pomegranate, which serves Georgian-Russian dishes. There are plenty of good vegetarian options on the menu that sounded so good that even carnivores like me would enjoy with out missing the meat. Main dishes ranged from $10-20.

Our server made sure we knew that this was a cash only establishment as he filled our water glasses, which looked like a smaller version of mason jars, with ice water and lemon wedges. When I asked if they had a drink menu, he replied: "Yes, that is me." All 30 selections of Eastern European beers, California wine and Australian Malbec was stored inside his head. Or so he claims. I was tempted to ask him to list all the beers from light to dark. As this thought entered my head, he started naming all the countries of beers they had. That list alone overwhelmed me. I told him I liked dark beer. He started his detective work to figure out how dark by asking me if I wanted something like a stout or a porter. Obolon Okcauumobe, the 5.3% Ukranian beer he recommended to me had a sweet, caramel malt flavor. I wonder where I can get a whole case of this.

VT got what I think is called the Balkan coffee. It seems more like an espresso drink than just coffee. It came in a cute little metal pitcher and she was brought a little espresso cup and saucer. It had a hint of sweetness and wasn't as bitter as regular espresso. Very yummies.
We munched on some sweet and dense darkly colored pieces of bread and a mini loaf of soft white roll with a crusty outside that came with herbed butter.
VT was going for a sliced steak dish, but got talked into the chicken special instead. I ordered a chicken dish that I couldn't pronounce. A different server delivered our food and I think that he might have given me VT's dish and vice versas. I got a plate that consisted of two skewers of seasoned ground chicken with couscous, savory tomato sauce and slices of green bell peppers. VT got a plate of pita bread w/ a piece of skinless boneless fried chicken thigh (?) and thick slices of roasted red bell peppers sitting on a mix of green peppers and onions. VT thought her chicken could have used more seasoning. Since the piece of chicken from her plate that I tried was cooked to a golden brown on the outside and juicy on the inside, I thought a little salt and pepper would have saved it. Or maybe the idea was to put a little of everything on the pita bread so that the flavors would be mixed together.

My chicken skewers were very flavorful and moist. The only other time that I've had couscous was when I tried to make it from a box. What I made tasted like cardboard. Petrushka's couscous was much better. It was seasoned with what looked like finely chopped dill and cilantro. I felt fine afterwards, which leads me to believe that I was wrong about my dill allergy.
After about my second bite, I realized that the menu description of my dish included roast red bell peppers. I mentioned to VT that I think we might have gotten each other's dishes, but she debunked my theory. Since I was happy with what I ended up getting, I didn't disagree with her.
When I asked for a box, I got a styrofoam container. The menu boasted the restaurant's sustainable food policy and I had expected one of those biodegradable to-go containers. Other than that, the food, service and atmosphere was great. On our way back to the car, the guys manning the grill outside of Pomegranate asked us what we got and what we thought of the food. I still have yet to try Pomegranate, but this is becoming my favorite block in this town.

2312 El Cajon Blvd.
(between Louisiana St & Texas St)
San Diego, CA 92104

Mitch's Seafood

2010-01-30T12:37:00.000-08:00

A couple of months ago, my boss treated me to lunch at Point Loma Seafood. After lunch, we noticed Mitch's Seafood, located on the 1st floor of a 2-story building sitting by the water. My boss and unofficial boss decided to treat me to lunch again this past week. We decided to head over to Mitch's and found a whole lot of construction going on over there. The building that houses Mitch's was also under construction. Thankfully, they had a sign up saying that they were open during construction. We went for an early lunch, so there were only 2 tables taken up when we walked in. The menu is written on a chalkboard above the counter. There is a decent selection of local beers on draft. Too bad it was a work day. There is a great view of the water and boats. The girl at the counter was very nice and offered to answer any questions. They had 3 different types of fishes on special: yellowtail, corvina and something else I can't recall. I asked what corvina was and the girl said it was a mexican sea bass. I was very close to ordering a grilled corvina fish taco, but then I spotted the calamari platter on the board. My boss got the fish and chips and wasn't too impressed with the portion size. There was 3 or 4 large pieces of fish in his order, which would be okay if you didn't compare his platter and mine. Unofficial boss got 2 grilled yellowtail fish tacos. Nice sized fillets that looked grilled to perfection. We ordered and paid at the counter and the girl brought the food to our table. It looked great. I love that they gave you a choice of batter fried or grilled fish for your tacos. I always preferred a grilled fish taco.

My calamari platter was enormous and cooked perfectly. Underneath all those crispy fried tentacles and tender rings, were crispy golden french fries. The cocktail and tartar sauce didn't taste like they came out of a jar. I couldn't decide which I liked more, so I alternated. The homemade coleslaw was crunchy, not too soggy. Though I could have used more acidity. Not bad for $9.50. I managed to finish off all of the calamari, but couldn't stuff more than a couple of pieces of fries. This would be good to split with another person. Oh, how I wish I could have ordered a beer to go along with this. As it got closer to noon, construction workers and fishermen started drifting in for lunch. Still, not as crowded as Point Loma Seafood. The food came out within minutes of ordering and the prices were also great. I definitely look forward to coming back.
Note: This place does not share the free parking lot with Point Loma Seafood. There is an ACE parking lot in front (right across the street from Captain's Quarters). The first 1/2 hour is free and then $1 per hour after that. We only had to pay $1. I can't wait to come back an try everything else on their menu board.

1403 Scott St
(between Fenelon St & Garrison St)
San Diego, CA 92106
(619) 222-8787

www.hudsonbayseafood.com

Acqua

2010-01-26T19:38:00.000-08:00

Checked out Acqua at the Mission Bay Hilton for Restaurant Week this season and I was pleasantly surprised. I normally don't expect very much from a hotel restaurant. Especially when my friend and I arrived to an almost empty restaurant with no host(ess) in sight. Luckily, one of the other staff members noticed us standing there and took it upon himself to get us seated. Once we were seated, things started to get rolling. The gentleman who seated us came back with a basket of rolls and asked us to select from at least 3 different types. I usually prefer having the bread basket left at the table, but not in this case. My rosemary bread tasted like it was fresh out of the oven. The butter was whipped and at the perfect temperature for spreading. As soon as I finished the last bite of my roll, there he was again with the basket! Each roll was warm and tasted oven fresh.

The server came over shortly after we were seated and set down our complimentary glasses of champagne, which was a little fruity and sweet. Then returned with an amuse bouche, compliments of the chef. Isn't it just so pretty!?! The acidity from the drizzle of sauce balanced out perfectly with the saltiness of the generous piece of pancetta, sliver of beet and shaving of parmesan (?). The apricot preserve that the red endive lettuce was sitting on provided just the right amount of sweetness when I picked it all up and ate it in one perfect bite.
One may argue that I was bribed and therefore can no longer be trusted. To this, I say: Yeah, I can be bought. But when the chef and kitchen puts this much effort into conceptualizing and then executing that perfect bite with a freebie, I get really excited thinking about the food that I'm actually paying for. I mean, they set the bar pretty high with this first bite.

The empty tables started filling up by the time our appetizers arrived. My friend gave me a taste of her 5-Spice Roasted Butternut Squash Soup. It was very creamy with a hint of savory. The generous pieces of lobster meat was served on the side for the diner to mix into the soup so that it would not sit in the hot soup and become tough and stringy. I almost wished I had ordered that, until I tasted my perfectly cooked jumbo seared diver scallops. The chantrelle mushrooms were cooked to a perfect crispiness. I love crispy mushrooms. I don't know what that foam is that's sitting on top, but I hardly noticed it. Again, I love pancetta.

My friend's filet mignon was so melt-in-your-mouth tender that it could be baby food. Why can't all steaks be cooked like that? WHY!?!?! The chef recommended medium rare for my venison. Note to self: Always order rare. The general population might like their meat pink (or worse, well done to death). I like my red meats red. The acidity from the calvados sauce and the sweetness from the slices of grilled asian pear balanced out the gaminess of the venison with out covering it up. I love gamey meats, alot of my friends don't. I think if they had this, they could be converted. I thought my sauteed spinach was too salty, but I always complain about too much salt when everyone else swears its perfectly seasoned. The rosemary aroma also added a little something something to the taste of the meat with out really flavoring it. I don't know how that happened, it just did.
Does my main course look really skimpy for a main course? Well, I didn't photograph the bowl of spaetzle that came with my venison. It was sauteed in butter to a nice golden brown. It heated up wonderfully for my lunch the next day. How was it you ask? It was sauteed in butter, need I say more?

Have you ever been full but couldn't stop eating because what's in front of you is just too good for you to stop? That's what happened when I got my crepe w/ vanilla gelato. The marzipan filling was so addictive that I couldn't stop. Anyone know where I can get a whole jar of this stuff?
Props to our server and the rest of the staff for always showing up exactly on our last bite to clear away the plates and making sure the kitchen fired the next dish at the exact perfect moment. Each dish tasted like it was just cooked at that exact moment and we didn't have to wait in between each course.

Wokking - Soy Sauce Noodles w/ Stirfried Pea Sprouts

2010-01-10T19:02:00.000-08:00

My cast iron wok from the Wok Shop in San Francisco arrived last week. I followed the instructions for seasoning before use. I wiped the entire surface down with vegetable oil and 'baked' it in the oven at 250 and let it cool. I repeated that process three times before I actually used the wok, just in case. To test out my handy work, I decided to make stir-fried pea sprouts and soy sauce wok fried noodles. Success! No sticking whatsoever :o)

The wok kit came with a lid and wok ring. The people at the Wok Shop decided to include a little recipe book and some accessories as well. The metal spatula, bamboo spoons and wok cleaning brush are great extras. But can anyone tell me what that little back scratcher-like thing is for?
Soy Sauce Noodles
2 rounds of dried egg noodles
3 tbsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp sugar
2 tsp rice vinegar
1 tsp sesame oil
3 tbsp vegetable or canola oil
1/4 cup minced green onions, green parts only
Cook noodles in boiling water for about 3 minutes, or until the noodles loosen from the 'nest' form. Strain the noodles and rinse in cold water. Leave the noodles in the strainer, we want all the excess water to drain away.

In a small bowl, mix the soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar and vinegar together until the sugar dissolves. In a big bowl, toss the noodles and the sauce mixture together.
Heat wok. Add oil once wok is hot. Add the noodles and stir-fry for about 5 minutes. Add the green onions and stir-fry for another minute. Serve. This is a common breakfast item in Hong Kong.

Stir-fried Pea Sprouts
1 bunch pea sprouts
1 tbsp garlic
2 tbsp olive oil
salt to taste
Heat wok. Add oil once wok is hot. Stir-fry garlic and pea sprouts over med heat until sprouts are wilted. Add salt to taste. Serve.

Oyster Sauce Chicken Wings

2009-12-21T19:40:00.000-08:00

Here's a simple chicken wing recipe that I came up with over the weekend. The cornstarch adds just enough crunch to the skin without turning it into fried chicken.

Oyster Sauce Chicken Wings
3 tbsp premium oyster sauce
1/2 tsp sesame oil
1 lb chicken wings
1 tbsp cornstarch
2 tbsp vegetable or peanut oil

Cut wings between joint. Marinate the wings in mixture of oyster sauce and sesame oil for 1 hour. Toss the wings while sprinkling with cornstarch to get even coverage. Use only enough oil to coat a frying pan. Pan-fry the wings over medium heat until done. This recipe also works with oven-baking if you want to omit the oil.

Gourmet Bagger

2009-10-24T11:29:00.000-07:00

The first time I went to Gourmet Bagger, I had the All That And More Albacore. It was the best tuna melt I've ever had. The perfect amount of crunch from the bits of celery on lightly grilled sourdough with cheddar, a single leaf of romaine, slices of tomatoes and a generous pile of sprouts. Mmm...sprouts. Too bad I started getting itchy eyes after I finished my sandwich. Turns out, I'm allergic to something in the tuna salad.

The next time I went back, I opted for the Chicken Salad on whole wheat. Like the tuna, it came stacked with sprouts, tomatoes, romaine and nice crunchy texture from the celery. It's delish. Still, I jealously eye my co-worker's ATM Albacore that she always orders. Maybe it's the fact that I know I shouldn't have it.

The Egg Salad was good. Though, unlike the ATM Albacore and the Chicken Salad, the Egg Salad was a little bit drippy. I'd order it again. Each order comes with a small soft chocolate chip cookie and a piece of candy. For $0.99, you can get 2 chocolate chip cookies that are about the size of a small saucer.

On another visit, I noticed that their soup of the day was Lobster Bisque. Never mind that it was about 75 degrees out and I was getting the Bagger Cheesesteak as well. I added the bisque to my order.

I've never been to Philly and I can't say that I'm any kind of cheesesteak conniosseur, but I liked it. Caramelized onions, red bell peppers, mushrooms, thin sliced steak meat, and provolone cheese on a lightly toasted soft roll. Wish there were more mushrooms, I love mushrooms. I can't wait to try their other hot sandwiches.

The Lobster Bisque had a strong cheesy flavor, but the shellfish flavor also came through. Not a traditional lobster bisque, but still quite yummy. I got it again two days later when I went back for a Chicken Salad on wheat.

The drill at this little sandwich shop is to order at the counter and then find a seat. The cashier writes down your name and order on a brown paper bag and passes it on to the kitchen. You then take a seat and one of the guys from the kitchen come out with your order calling your name. There are indoor and outdoor seating. This place gets pretty busy during the lunch hour, but it usually doesn't take too long for your food to get to you.

Gourmet Bagger

www.gourmetbagger.net

Point Loma location: 3357 Rosecrans St, San Diego

Miramar location: 7128 Miramar Rd, San Diego

Dinner at Thee Bungalow

2009-10-19T21:52:00.000-07:00

For my final Restaurant Week meal, my friends and I decided on Thee Bungalow. Since I was going to be dining with some slightly pickier eaters, we had to review several menus before making that decision.
Every table received an amuse-bouche of Beet Salad served on a spoon with a twisted handle, compliments of the chef. The yellow beets tossed in olive oil and topped with microgreens were simple and refreshing. For my first course: Lobster Bisque. Nice creamy texture, but the stock was a little weak on lobster flavor. I'd order it again.

On of my friends had a deconstructed interpretation of French Onion Soup. It came in a soup dish with a cheesy crouton floating in the middle. The focus was all on the sweet oniony beef broth My friend, whom has never had French Onion Soup before, really enjoyed this.

I had the New Zealand Rack of Lambs with baby carrots and baby squash. The eight pesto crusted chops were a warm pink. The meat was very tender and tasty, especially when it sopped up some burgandy-mustard glaze. I was using my fork and knife at first. After attacking most of the meat with my utensils, I switched to a more hands on approach and gnawed on the rest of the bones. It was delish and extremely filling. I struggled to finish my plate, but I did it.

Two of my friends orders the Scottish Salmon, which came with roasted purple potatoes, sauteed pea tendrils, sweet corn foam, and a pinot noir sauce. I tried a piece and it had very good sear on the outside, moist inside layer.

Our other friend had the Beef Short Ribs with sauteed chard, truffled potatoes, and two pieces of cantelope. The short ribs were so tender that it fell apart as soon as the fork came near it.

The Meyer lemon crème brûlée was good. It had a nice even sugar crust. It had a smooth custard and subtle citrus flavor.

We also pre-ordered the chocolate soufflée that is suppose to serve two for the four of us to share. The server brought out 2 gigantic chocolate soufflées. Even if we had not just had a complete 3 course meal, these two soufflées would have been enough for all four of us to share. The chocolate sauce was poured table-side. The texture was light and fluffy. The flavor was very rich and not overly sweet. All in all, I was very satisfied with my meal.

Parking lot alert: The parking lot is a gravel lot. Drive in carefully or you will end up with loose gravel flying up at the sides of your car. Also, not high-heel friendly.

Crab Stuffed Tilapia!

2009-10-05T18:53:00.000-07:00

Peohe's
1201 First Street
Coronado, CA 92118

A friend of mine had raved to me about the Crab Stuffed Tilapia that she had ordered from Peohe's a couple of months ago. Since it was one of the items on their Restaurant Week menu, I had to try it out for myself.
We had made reservations, so were seated pretty quickly. Unfortunately, the service was really slow. Seems that the kitchen wasn't keeping up with the demand. The servers were very attentive, but it was a long wait in between placing our orders and being served each course.
My first course of Lobster Bisque was extremely flavorful. The essence of lobster really came through in the stock used for this. However, I would have preferred the bisque to be creamier. I wonder if they added any cream, other than the little swirl that was drizzled on top. Lobster meat is generally used as a garnish, if at all, in lobster bisque. There was a really generous chunks of lobster meat in the bisque. Gotta love that!
Second course: Crab Stuffed Tilapia! The tilapia was breaded with panko crumbs and, of course, stuff to the max with real crab meat. The fish was moist and well seasoned. I would go back just for this. There was a very generous side of wild rice. I really enjoyed mixing some of the panko crust with the rice. It was yummies.
My biggest disappointment was the crème brûlée. Mainly with the brûlée part. There was only a bit of the burnt sugar crust near the edge. The custard was nice and I loved the macadamian nuts, too bad I didn't get more of the crunchy, sugary crust that makes custard into crème brûlée.

Eating Snails and Drinking Wine!

2009-09-21T18:00:00.000-07:00

The French Gourmet
960 Turquoise Street • San Diego, CA 92109

Based on their Restaurant Week menu, I have been wanting to try this little place since last year's Restaurant Week. Unfortunately, I failed to make reservations last year. This year, I planned ahead and it paid off.
This cozy little restaurant is located on Cass and Turquoise Street. There is no parking lot, but parking on the street was easy enough. Especially if you elect to go on a Tuesday night like I did. I have no idea what the parking situation is like closer to the weekend, but since they are not located near the strip of bars, I don't think it would be a problem.
The French Gourmet is in the $30 grouping of participating restaurants serving a 3-course prix fixe menu. Most of the participating restaurants offered 3 options for each course. I was surprised to see that the French Gourmet menu offered 4 choices for the first course and 5 for the main course.
FIRST COURSE/APPETIZER

Escargots à la Bourguignone - A half dozen escargots broiled in garlic herb butter
Onion Soup Gratinée - Onion Soup topped with a slice of French bread and melted Swiss cheese
Veal Sweetbread and Artisan Sausage -Sweetbread sautéed with lemon and grilled sausage, served on braised red cabbage
Grilled Caesar Romaine - pretty self-explanatory

ENTRÉES Choice of entrée served with vegetable of the day unless otherwise noted.

Bacon-Wrapped Beef Tenderloin - With a gratinée of blue cheese and demi-glace. Served with potatoes au gratin
Pan Seared Local Sea Bass -Seared fresh sea bass with a rosemary-shallot cream sauce. Served with asparagus and cherry tomato risotto and sautéed spinach
Cabernet Braised Short Ribs -Served with a natural jus reduction and Truffle potato purée
Moroccan Chicken - ½ chicken grilled and baked in a fragrant marinade of lemon-lime, mint, garlic, onion, cilantro and cumin over couscous
Crevette Scampi -Shrimp sautéed with garlic butter, lemon, cream, and white wine. Served with rosemary potatoes

DESSERTS

Patisserie Maison - your choice from daily selection of pastries
Duo of Crêpes Maison - Thin French “pancakes” filled with raspberry coulis and chocolate ganache and topped with fresh sabayon
Cheese Plate - Artisan and Imported Cheeses

There is were also options for a glass of wine with your meal for $9.95 OR $15 for wine pairings. Guess which one we went for?
I don't know where the stereotype of snooty French servers and maitre'd came from because Gino immediately put us at ease. He assured us that it was going to be a fun evening. This cozy restaurant with the bakery in front has less than a dozen tables, most of which are for parties of two (I saw one table that had a party of 4). I felt as if I were invited to a home for a very nice dinner party instead of being at a restaurant. From our server to the person who bussed our plates in between courses, each one of the staff who served us made a point of asking us how we were enjoying our meals.
Right before the first course, Gino presented VT and I with 2 glasses of white wine EACH! He explained to us that one was Old World wine and the other was New World wine, both made from the same type of grape. He explained to us that New World wines tend to be fruitier. Old World reds are earthier and Old World whites have more minerality, sometimes with a slight hint of citrus. Gino then presented us with a challenge: Try to guess which is the Old World wine and which is the New World.
This is the first time I've ever double-fisted wine, much less at a nice French restaurant. It was a pretty fun drinking game. We were sniffing and sipping both of our glasses simultaneously. VT's guess was the complete opposite of mine. Gino came back and unveiled the mystery, VT guessed correctly and won. Turns out, the one I liked was the Old World style.

Our first course of Escargots arrived piping hot. VT said that her garlic butter was still sizzling! If you've never had escargot before, I advise you to not be intimidated by these sluggers. My parents grew up in Vietnam, which was French occupied for 100 years. So I've never been scared to eat snails. The taste and texture is similar to clams, minus the mushy innards of clams. Like clams, if overcooked, escargot can become rubbery. These were perfectly tender. We dipped our bread into the little divets of the plate to capture all of that melted yummy butter and garlic bits.
My second course was the Bacon-Wrapped Beef Tenderloin (rare). VT got the Sea Bass. For the second course, we each got a glass of red and a rose for the second course. No test this time, just a nice brief explanation and left us to enjoy the food. The Rose wine was refreshing.
My potato au gratin was at least 2 inches tall. Nicely browned cheesy top crust. Each slice of potato layer was consistently thin. Unfortunately, my beef was overcooked to a medium. When Gino came over to check on us, I informed him of my non-rare meat and he had the kitchen immediately redo my steak while I kept my original plate to snack on the gratin and baby veggies (asparagus, baby yellow squash and baby carrots). Our server also came over and apologized for the mix up.
I had a small sample of VT's fish and risotto (also came with a side of baby veggies). I gotta confess, I was jealous. The sea bass was moist and flavorful with a perfectly seared outer layer. The risotto was smooth, rich and creamy. I forgot if the red was a Burgandy or if it was a Pinot from Burgandy. I didn't like it so much at first sip. However, when my pleasantly rare steak arrived, neatly presented on small plate decorated with the demi-glace, I changed my mind. The rich, beefy flavor of the meat somehow change the taste of the wine. The blue cheese gratinee made my already bacon-wrapped tenderloin a bit too salty for my taste (I admit that I have a lower tolerance for salt than most people). I scraped it off and mixed it in with the potato au gratin. Mmmm...gratinee with gratin. The beef was simply seasoned and the bacon didn't compete with or mask the natural flavors of the meat.
O, dessert! I am not much for sweets, but when the place has a bakery that is the first thing you see walking in, you gotta expect to be wowed. VT and I both went with the Patissiere Maison. The server brought over a very large platter with a variety of sample pasteries for us view and choose from. After selection, she returned with fresh pasteries straight from the bakery. My dark and white chocolate egg shell was filled with chocolate ganache, topped with fresh raspberries and a strawberry in the center was lightly sprinkled with powdered sugar. Only a slight hint of sweetness (in a good way because I don't like overly sweet desserts), the tartness of the berries cut through the richness of the chocolate. VT's strawberry shortcake was divine. Two ultra light layers of white cake sandwiching strawberries and whipped cream, topped with white chocolate shavings. The strawberries were lightly marinated with sugar to draw out the natural juices. This crimson berry was the star of the show.
The Muscato and Port were so sweet that I could only take a few sips of each. I really don't have much of a sweet tooth. It worked out for the best since I still had to drive home after dinner. Warm and hospitable service paired with food that celebrates the natural flavors of the ingredients equals my favorite Restaurant Week restaurant. In fact, my favorite restaurant in San Diego. The generous wine pairings didn't hurt either.
BTW, the French Gourmet has extended their Restaurant Week menu until Saturday, September 27th

Costco Wontons

2009-08-20T17:50:00.001-07:00

My co-worker introduced me to these frozen wonton soups a couple of weeks ago. She gave me a bowl to try and I've been hooked ever since. Costco sells these for $9.99 for a 6-pack. Each bowl contains frozen broth and 5 individually frozen shrimp wontons. The flavorful broth is seasoned with scallions, ginger and garlic. The wonton wrappers withstood being cooked, frozen and reheated. They did not fall apart, yet were silky soft. There is simply a whole shrimp inside each wonton. I got a wonderfully firm and toothful feeling when I bit into the shrimp. No mushy frozen shrimp for me! The portion size is just perfect for a light breakfast, but when you also want to feel like having something substantial at the same time. Add some ramen noodles for a nice slurpy lunch?
Oh, where were these when I was in college? I really think I could live on these and never get tired of them.
Ghetto Fab Tip: One of my other co-workers whom we've lured into our Wonton Soup Cult has discovered that these containers are the perfect size to be reused as parfait containers. Just make sure to wash it out really well. I like to reuse the containers for freezing individual servings of homemade stock.

Dong Po Rou

2009-08-16T08:07:00.000-07:00

Dong Po Rou is on the top of my Guilty Pleasures List. I mean, I'm basically eating chunks of braised un-salted bacon here. As Su Dong Po (real name Su Shi) says, "With gentle heat and a bit of water, the dish would surely taste good when it is done in its turn."
Removing the tiny little hairs with tweezers were tedious and straining on my eyes, but soooo worth it in the end. I started to tie up each cube of pork with green onion stalks, but ran out of green onions half way through the process. The green onions held the layers of pork together, keeping them from falling apart. However, the "loose" cubes didn't fall apart too badly. As you can see, they held together pretty well. Just had to be extra careful when transferring the pieces.
I stir-fried some ong choy in garlic and olive oil. I usually add shrimp paste or fermented bean curd to my ong choy, but I didn't want the flavors to compete with my oh-so-decadent-melt-in-your-mouth-cubes-of-braised-pork-belly. The last step, steaming, is really the secret to eliminating the greasiness. Yum, simple white rice soaked up the consumè-like sauce just perfectly.

Dong Po Rou Recipe
1 lb pork belly, tweezed and cut into 1-inch cubes (cutting is easier if the pork belly is slightly frozen)
2 hands ginger, slightly charred
2 bundles of green onions
1 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup Shaoxing wine
2 tbsp rock sugar or brown sugar
3 tbsp black tea leaves

Tie each piece of pork belly with a piece of green onion, like tying ribbon onto a present. It helps to pour boiling water over the green onions first and then let them cool enough to touch. It makes them more pliable.
Brew the tea leaves in a pot of water, enough to cover all of the pork belly. Meanwhile, sear all sides of each piece of pork belly.
Discard leaves and save tea. Dissolve sugar in the tea. Chop the ginger into 1-inch chunks. Add ginger, soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, any leftover green onions, and pork belly pieces to the tea mixture. Simmer for about 2 hours.
Remove the pork belly pieces and set aside. Strain the sauce and skim away any fat (and there will be a thick layer of fat). Set sauce aside. Steam the pork belly pieces, with enough sauce poured over it to coat each piece. The pork should be steamed for about 45 minutes. I like to save the rest of the sauce for pouring over rice with this dish.
If there are any leftovers, store the pork belly separately from the sauce. Reheat by steaming with sauce poured over it.

Thai Green Chicken Curry

2009-06-14T09:30:00.000-07:00

I have been on a curry kick lately. However, ordering out conflicts with my plan to pay off my loans by the end of this summer. So off to SF market I go! I can't believe how simple it was. I checked out a couple of recipes online and went with the recipe from Temple of Thai. Here is my modified version of the recipe:
1 can Green Curry paste
2 cans coconut milk
1 fresh bamboo shoot, julienned
5 pieces of chicken tenders, cubed
1 tbsp palm sugar
1/2 bunch of thai basil
4 thai chili peppers
fish sauce to taste
Sautee the paste in a big pot over medium heat until fragrant. Mix in the coconut milk. Add the rest of the ingredients. I prefer my curry to be slightly thicker compared to most restaurants. No soupy curry for me. However, I you like your curry to be thinner you can add a couple tablespoons of chicken broth or water. Add it slowly so that your curry doesn't end up being too thin. I only added enough to keep it at the consistency of spaghetti sauce while it's simmering. Cover with a lid and let simmer until the chicken is cooked and the bamboo shoots become tender. About 20 minutes. Stir occassionally so that the bottom doesn't get scorched. Add fish sauce to taste and serve over rice. I topped mine off with an egg over easy. The runny yolk mixed with this creamy curry just took this meal to a whole other level. The next day for lunch, I added hard boiled eggs instead and it was delish!

Homemade Char Siu Bao

2009-05-19T18:28:00.000-07:00

My first attempt at baking char siu bao was quite a success. I have tried and failed at baking with yeast before, so I was expecting my bread to come out flat and hard. I used a recipe from Visual Recipes and it turned out great. My char siu came pretty close to the ones that you can buy from a chinese bbq place. If I had use maltose instead of honey, I bet it would have been even better. I had alot of leftover char siu and filling. I stored them in the freezer for the next time around.
I sprinkled baking powder into the dough as I was kneading it for the last time and I think that helped make the bun even fluffier. I reheated some of these babies up for breakfast the next day. 20 ~~minutes~~ seconds in the microwave and the buns were still soft and fluffy.

Steamed Pork Pattie w/ Shrimp Paste

2009-04-01T16:52:00.000-07:00

I was watching a Hong Kong drama in which one of the characters referenced this homestyle dish: Haw Jurng Jing Yok Bang, or Steamed Port Pattie w/ Shrimp Paste. Here is a little excerpt from the scene:
Husband was in an accident which left him crippled. He is majorly depressed after he got out of the hospital. Wife decides to make Husband's special dish for him to cheer him up. Husband's Brother came over for dinner and was praising her cooking skills. Wife says that the Steamed Pork Pattie w/ Shrimp Paste is Husband's fave. She even made a special trip to go buy the shrimp past because they had run out. Husband says that this dish is so good that he'd have to have at least 3 bowls of rice to go with it.
I didn't even pay attention to the rest of that episode. I was obsessed with trying out that dish. I mean, three bowls of rice? It's gotta be good. The only problem is that I couldn't find any recipes online and you can bet that this isn't something you can find on any menu. I can't read Chinese, so if anyone knows of a place that has this dish on their "secret" Chinese menu, please let me know.
Do I give up? My obsession mind would not allow it. So I made up my own recipe. Most homestyle Chinese dishes are pretty basic and true to their namesakes. Here it is:
1 lb ground pork
1/2 tbsp shrimp paste
1/2 tsp sugar
1 stalk green onions/scallions, minced (green parts only)
Mix all ingredients together really well. Form patties and place into a wide bowl for steaming. Set bowl in a pot of water that just reaches the bowl's half way point. Cover and steam for about 20 minutes after the water starts boiling or until the meat is no longer pink, depending on how thick your meat patties are. Serve over rice.
I started my rice just before I prepared the pork patties and I cursed my rice cooker for not working faster.
I had this meal with a side of steamed bok choy w/ oyster sauce. I poured some of the juice from the pork patties over my rice. It was delicious. I too had three bowls of rice.

St. Tropez Bakery and Bistro

2009-03-30T16:04:00.000-07:00

A couple of months ago, I went to lunch with some coworkers at St. Tropez Bakery and Bistro in Hillcrest. One of my coworkers were raving about the Salmon Salad. I got the Berry Savory Salad, which came with fresh greens, candied pecans, sliced strawberries and goat cheese. I added Salmon for an extra charge. Everyone else got the Salmon Salad and loved it. I am not a salad person, but I give these salads 2 thumbs up.
About two weekends ago, after a day of wondering around the museums at Balboa Park, my friend and I were trying to decide where to go for an early dinner. I was telling her about the fantastic salads at St. Tropez and she suggested that we try it out for dinner. Besides, she happened to have in coupon in her Uptown magazine.
The place is bright and colorful. There is artwork up around the walls and even a mural on the ceiling! Since we arrived a little before 4pm, there was only two tables in the patio area which were occupied. The server was very pleasant. I ordered a filet mignon and my friend had the Coq Au Vin. I forget which wine it was that we had ordered, but it was good.
We were munching on the complementary sliced baguette while we were waiting. Man, that's some good bread. It was perfectly toasted while still being soft on the inside. I was most addicted to the herb aioli spread the side. This was so much better than butter (I don't say that a lot because I love my butter). The aioli was creamy and the fresh herbs were not overpowering at all. We were so engrossed with the aioli that we didn't even notice that our food hadn't arrived until the server came over and apologized for the wait!
Apparently, they had overcooked my medium-rare steak and they were going to redo it for me. He even asked if I would like something while we wait. All I asked for was more bread and aioli! Later, my friend told me that he was probably offering us an appetizer on the house. I wish she would have kicked me under the table! But we both agreed that if he had not come over, neither one of us would have noticed the delay.
My steak arrived cooked to perfection. I truly appreciated the fact that they went through the trouble of re-cooking my steak instead of trying to serve it to me anyway to see if I'd send it back. The potatoes were nicely seasoned with rosemary. The spinach sauteed with garlic weren't anything special, but good. My steak was only too salty on one corner, thankfully not throughout.
My friend's Coq Au Vin came with both a breast and a leg, potatoes, and sauteed veggies. She said that the chicken was fall off the bone tender and very flavorful. She seemed to enjoy it alot and cleaned her entire plate.

Store Bought Potstickers

2009-03-19T09:08:00.001-07:00

Got some frozen potstickers at Thuan Phat a couple of weeks ago. Pork, scallop and shrimp are a pretty good combination. I pan fried some of these bad boys for a potluck style dinner party that I went to and they were a big hit. There were a consistent amount of sweet baby scallops in each dumpling. I would get a baby shrimp in every third potsticker or so, but the scallops made up for that shortfall.
I would still prefer homemade, but these are great when I don't feel like spending an entire day making dumplings. I ate an entire bag for dinner one night.

Deconstructed Dim Sum Dish

2009-02-20T15:31:00.000-08:00

I had a craving for one of my favorite Dim Sum dishes this past week: Lo Mai Gai. The only problem was that my craving hit at dinner time. For those of you unfamiliar with Dim Sum, it is only served at Chinese restaurants during the breakfast/brunch/lunchtime hours.
I had almost all the ingredients that I needed to make this dish at home. The only other thing I needed was the lotus leaves. Why don't I just go out and buy some? Lotus leaves are usually sold dried and would require soaking at least overnight. Being impatient, I made a deconstructed version of Lo Mai Gai. I cooked the sticky rice in my rice cooker and the rest of the ingredients on the stove. Once everything was done, I mixed everything together and tada!

What's Better Than Ramen?

2008-11-18T21:14:00.000-08:00

Like many students, I survived my college days by stocking up on ramen noodles ($$ I saved meant more $$ for drinking!) I would gussie up a bowl of ramen by adding eggs, veggies and whatever meat I could find for a well-balanced meal. Rachel Ray has that travel show called $40 a Day, well I could've hosted $5 a Day! However, I wouldn't be going on such exotic adventures. It would just be me digging through the cupboards and leftovers for ingredients to add to my ramen. Not as exciting.
Last time I went grocery shopping, I got a value pack of chicken thighs, napa cabbage, spinach, fish balls, shrimp balls, and package of dried scallop egg noodles (the thin kind). With the exception of the vegetables, everything could be stored either in the freezer or cupboards for a quick and easy noodle bowl.

Ghetto Fab Noodle Bowl (enough for 2 bowls of noodles)
1 chicken thigh ($0.50 from the family value pack that was on sale)
4 fish or shrimp balls (about $0.30)
napa cabbage or spinach (about $0.10)
2 bunches dried scallop egg noodles (about $0.40)
fish sauce or salt to taste (have on hand)

Boil chicken thigh and fish/shrimp balls until chicken is cooked all the way through. It helps to make cuts on the fish/shrimp balls to speed up the process. The chicken water will be the base for your broth. Add napa cabbage/spinach and noodles when the chicken is done cooking. Stir a little to loosen up the noodles. Shred the chicken and divide between two bowls. Season the broth with either fish sauce or salt. I personally prefer fish sauce, it adds more depth to the broth. I have Squid brand fish sauce, which is MSG free and all natural. Divide everything up between the two bowls. Not bad for $0.65 a meal, eh? A smidgen more than a pack of ramen, but ya gotta class it up and treat yourself once in a while.

The Westgate Hotel

2008-08-30T10:03:00.000-07:00

Sorry about the text only post. I was at a training seminar which took place at the Westgate hotel in the Gaslamp District this past week. The interior decor of this place was very Victorian and elegant. Doormen were posted by the front door, wood baby grand piano in the lobby, chandeliers, mellow lighting. A very romantic setting, which made it very hard for me to stay awake during the training.
There was a spread of coffee, Tazo tea, juice, muffins, croissants, bagels (next to a toaster!), yogurt and fresh fruit set up outside of the conference room where the training took place. Though nothing fancy, the quality and presentation was top notch. That in itself made it feel like a luxurious spread.
As soon as I got to the conference room, one of my coworkers leaned over to me and told me that the coffee and muffins are to-die-for. I had quit drinking coffee, so I just got some orange juice and a muffin. Now, she has always been very much a tea guru and I was surprised to see her drinking coffee. It must have been very good because she had several cups of it. She was right, the muffin was deeelish. It was rather petite. The muffin top had a very nice crumbly texture in my mouth with out falling apart in my hands. It was very moist and light. I still dream of those muffins. One of my other coworkers was eating a flaky pastry that looked like a croissant with fruit filling. She was pleasantly surprised to find cream cheese in the filling.
The next day, I was blurry eyed and not quite awake and decided to have a croissant and fresh fruit with cranberry juice. After I poured the juice, I thought the color was a little off. A closer look at my glass, I discovered that it was tomato juice! I hate tomato juice. Don't like V8 or bloody Marys. But since I had already poured it out, I might as well suck it up and finish it. I took a little sip and to my surprise, it was really good! It wasn't too thick and tasted like fresh ripe tomatoes. I got up and refilled several times. The croissant had been lightly toasted and was nice and flaky. The fruit was extremely fresh and ripe. I couldn't get over how sweet the watermelon was.
During one of our lunch breaks, we wondered past a tea party! There was even a lady playing the harp.

Live Uni - Sushi Lover's Envy

2008-08-15T16:59:00.000-07:00

Everyone knows that when it comes to seafood, the fresher the better...
Just alive yesterday: I used to work for a subcontractor and one of the guys there would always go out on fishing trips on the weekends. He would always pack an extra large lunch to share after his fishing excursions. Sometimes, vendors would rent out those big fishing boats and take our project managers out on a day long fishing excursion off the coast of Baja or even Alaska! There would always be a company BBQ when those guys came back with a bounty of fish caught and frozen just the day before (catches from fishing boats are all thrown into the gigantic freezer on the boat as soon as the fish comes out of the water). Besides grilled fish, there would also be the occasional dish of sashimi set aside for the few sushi lovers there.

Iron Chef Michiba once presented the King of Indonesia with the written word "Fresh" ...
Never frozen: At another previous job, I worked with a guy who grew up in Hawaii. He used to tell me about catching fish straight from the ocean and cutting it into sashimi right there on the beach.

Still kickin'
All the above sounds like a sushi lover's paradise, right? How's about uni that is still moving as you're eating it? Last night, discovered a place that offered the option having your sea urchin served live or made into a bisque. Guess which one I went for

Our server made a comment about how much she loves the fact that it is still moving when she set the bowl down in front of me. I looked down and sure enough, the spikes were moving and continued to do so even as I was spooning the roe into my mouth.
How does it taste? The texture is smooth and light. Similar to custard. The only way I can think of to describe the flavor is for you to close your eyes and picture yourself being out in the middle of the open sea (it has to be the open sea, not the beach). Imagine taking in a deep breath as a cool ocean breeze washes over your senses. That's what it tastes like.
If that's still to vague, well, you're just gonna have to try it for yourself. All I can say is that all the uni that I've ever had at sushi restaurants cannot hold a flame to this one. Where did I go to sample this euphoria for my taste buds? I'll give you a hint: It is NOT a sushi restaurant.
Give up? Here's another hint

Cafe 2121

2008-08-09T11:16:00.000-07:00

I love poached eggs. Mmm...golden liquid yolk encased in a pillowy cloud of whites. I think this may be my favorite sandwich of all time. "This" is the Presto Pesto Eggs Sandwich from the kitchen of Cafe 2121 on Adams Avenue. Two soft poached eggs sitting on top of fresh spring greens sprinkled with crumbled feta. Pesto sauce was lightly drizzled over this lovely concoction. All this laid between a lightly buttered and toasted french roll. Very messy to eat, but it was heavenly. The pesto sauce was light and did not overwhelm the eggs, which were the star of this sandwich.
Van and I have been waiting to try this place out. I was ecstatic to find this offering on the menu. I was practically drooling when the owner took our order.
This little cafe had a very nice and cozy atmosphere. Though small, I did not feel cramped at all. In the middle of our order, a little boy from the table nearby came running over to the owner and wouldn't leave his side. He kept saying that he wanted to see the baby. The little boy stayed to witness our orders.
Van ordered the Normal Heights Stacker, which looked and smell absolutely delicious. She really enjoyed it. The sandwiches came with a choice of soup or salad. We both went with the soup. It was yummy goodness. A crock of garbanzo beans, beef, herbs and vegetables in a rich beef broth. It was so filling that I was worried I wouldn't be able to finish my sandwich. Van didn't enjoy the garbanzo beans as much as I did. I also ordered an apple flavored iced tea. It came to the table freshly brewed in a french tea press with a glass of ice. The owner was nice enough to demonstrate how it works. When the tea press is sitting on top of the glass, the tea will pour out leaving the tea leaves behind. Once the tea press is taken off the glass, the bottom of the tea press will be sealed off and can be set aside without worry about it leaking. I have seen this contraption before at a friend's house. It was fun to see my iced tea being "made." The tea was unsweetened, which I prefer. But there were also packets of sugar available at the table. The tea was delicious. Had a nice apple aroma and was very refreshing.

Ingrid rocks!

2008-05-31T23:29:00.000-07:00

I love office potlucks. There is always a huge variety of food and you don't have to think about what to do for lunch! Luckily, I work at a place where most people share my enthusiasm for potlucks. I once had 3 potlucks in a 2 week period to go to. My position there happens to be intermixed with a couple different departments, so multiple potlucks are one of the benefits :O)
My only problem when I started that job was that I didn't know how to cook a whole lot of dishes that were good enough to feed to others. I could just go to the store and buy something from the deli, but where's the fun in that? Then I remembered the Chipotle Tamale Pie recipe from Food Network that my former supervisor had showed me. It was tasty and easy. I deconstructed the recipe so that I could cook it in the crockpot instead of the oven. I'd add chopped black olives and corn to the mix. I'd also add the adobo sauce and leave out the chipotle chili pepper, since not everyone in the office has a high heat tolerance. Being lazy, I would often skip the cornbread. My famous "chili" has been a big hit at the office and goes well with a big scoop of mexican-style sour cream.
What are your favorite potluck recipes?

Homemade Guacamole is the best...with crabmeat is even better

2008-04-20T12:34:00.000-07:00

Since the 2007 Firestorm, avocado prices have climbed. Lucky for me, someone at work has an avocado tree. Beautiful and luscious avocados. Even better looking and bigger than the ones at the grocery store.
I waited patiently for them to ripen...and I made guacamole. As I was going through my kitchen cabinet for spices, I noticed a can of crabmeat. With some blue corn tortilla chips from Henry's, this is what I created...

I didn't take exact measurements, just tasted as I mixed things together (I must be turning into my mother). Here's the list of ingredients:
1 large ripe avocado
1 can crab meat
mayo (just enough to make guac creamy)
cayenne pepper
salt
onion powder
splash of raspberry vinegar (didn't have lime)
dried tarragon

Chinese Wedding Banquet...survival of the fittest

2008-04-02T22:33:00.000-07:00

Went back to Sacto last month for a friend's wedding. Luv asian weddings. The reception was held at the Rice Bowl, I think they tried for Happy Garden but it was already booked. Anywho...got some photogs to share. There was the traditional Jellyfish and Cold Pork appetizer, Shark Fin and Crab Soup, Honey Walnute Shrimp, Kwai Fei Chicken, Deep-Fried Pheasant, Assorted Sauteed Veggies w/ Shrimp, Fried Rice, Deep Fried Lemon Chicken, Mini Sesame Balls, Mini Pineapple Buns, Braised Red Snapper, Mango Pudding (molded into the shape of a Koi fish) w/ Condensed Milk, and two or three other dishes that I probably left out. I can't wait for another wedding :o)
Sorry, didn't get shots of all the dishes. My whole family was invited and at that table, food disappears pretty fast. There is a Chinese saying that describes meal times w/ my family that loosely translates to: "Fast hands = got. Slow hand = nada." I found out that my sister's boyfriend even put us in a paper that he wrote about competition, after the first couple of times eating w/ my family. In a family of six, you gotta learn to fight for your food. I feel sorry for the family of 3 who were seated at our table...

Mom's Chicken Broth Recipe

2008-03-11T23:27:00.000-07:00

A couple weeks ago, it seemed that everyone around me was getting sick. I depleted my supply of Airborne and still got the sniffles. So I called up my mommy and got the recipe for her homemade chicken broth. This simple broth is the most effective way to "chase" away a cold.

Mom's Chicken Broth Recipe:
1 pound chicken (wings, thighs, drumsticks, or leftover roast chicken w/ bones)
1/8 cup Shaoxing wine
1 big thing of ginger, peeled (about the size of 3 thumbs)
2 stalks green onion, green parts minced and white parts left whole
salt to taste
1 bay leaf
In a large pot/crockpot, combine the chicken parts, Shaoxing wine, white parts of the green onions and bay leaf. Slightly char the ginger over an open flame (matches, lighter, stovetop...). Throw the ginger into the pot. Add enough water to cover the ingredients. If not using a crockpot, prop the lid up w/ chopsticks so that the pot is not completely sealed off. Simmer on low for at least 2 hours.
I generally make a big batch and freeze them so that I'd always have chicken broth in stock.

Whenever I'm feeling sick (or starting to), I like to make Macaroni Chicken Soup. It's filling and nutritious comfort food.
Macaroni Chicken Soup
2 1/2 cups Mom's Homemade Chicken Broth
1/2 cup roughly chopped fresh spinach
1/2 cup cooked macaroni (or any other shell-type/hollow-shaped pasta)
1 egg, slightly beaten
1/4 cup cubed or shredded cooked chicken

Bring chicken broth to a boil. Throw in spinach. Lower heat. Slowly drizzle beaten egg into
broth, much like how you would make Egg-Drop Soup. Add everything else. Ladle into big soup bowls. Consume.

Linguine w/ spicy seafood

2008-03-02T23:25:00.000-08:00

Pasta and rice have always been staples in my kitchen. I hate that I can't finish a loaf of bread before it expires, so I rarely buy it. I like my bread to be soft with that slight fluffiness that is lost when kept in the refrigerator. Could anyone tell me where they sell half loaves of bread? Anywho, I love carbs. As much as I like meat, I thought the Atkins diet was absurd. Give up pasta, bread and rice? I'm not saying that you won't lose weight on the Atkins, I've known people who have lost a lot of inches on that diet in a short amount of time. I just never thought it was a particularly healthy option, especially for your colon. Is getting there faster really worth the sacrifice on your health?
I've noticed that most diets that are becoming more popular these days (i.e. Weight Watchers, South Beach diet) are more geared towards eating healthy while losing weight. I commend those of you who are paying more attention to you overall health than the scale, for doing it the right way and not taking short cuts with fad diets.
I may not be on a diet, but I do recognize that healthier alternatives are just as great tasting. This post will also include a healthier version of my Linguine w/ Spicy Seafood recipe.

Healthy version (nutritional info from here):
1 tsp olive oil (44 calories)
1/8 box of Barilla linguine (200 calories)
1 clove garlic, minced (5 calories)
1/2 small onion, chopped (15 calories)
3 tbsp dried parsley (11 calories)
3 cups Fresh Express Organic Baby Spinach (35 calories)
3 oz Surimi or imitation crab meat, chopped (84 calories)
8 oz Organic Low Sodium chicken broth (15 calories)
4 tbsp crushed red peppers (0 calories)
salt & pepper to taste

Boil linguine in chicken broth. If needed, add just enough water to cover pasta. Stir occasionally. While pasta is cooking, saute onions and garlic in olive oil over low heat. When onions are translucent, add crushed red peppers, parsley and spinach. Add a bit of the chicken broth from the pasta water to the spinach mixture. Cook spinach until wilted. Turn off heat. Toss pasta, surimi and spinach mixture together. Add just enough chicken broth/pasta water to coat the linguine. Salt and pepper to taste. Serves 2.

Original version:
2 tsp olive oil (80 calories)
3 tbsp butter (306 calories)
1/8 box of Barilla linguine (200 calories)
Water to boil pasta
1 cup fresh parsley, finely chopped (22 calories)
1 clove garlic, minced (4 calories)
1/2 small onion, chopped (14 calories)
3 cups Fresh Express Organic Baby Spinach (35 calories)
3 oz Surimi or imitation crab meat, chopped (84 calories)
4 tbsp crushed red peppers (0 calories)
4 tbsp grated parmesan (88 calories)

Boil pasta. Stir occasionally. While pasta is cooking, saute onions and garlic in olive oil and butter over low heat. When onions are translucent, add crushed red peppers, parsley and spinach. Cook spinach until wilted. Turn off heat. Toss pasta, surimi and spinach mixture together. Sprinkle parmesan on top. Serves 2.

Presto Pesto!

2008-02-21T21:13:00.001-08:00

I love pesto. It's one of the easiest things for me to make since the sauce does not require cooking. It is basically a bunch of fresh herb, nuts, and olive oil in a blender. Doesn't that just make it a liquid version of an herb salad? Though I did boil the linguine and make some turkey meatballs from scratch, so some cooking was involved. I had some leftover Asagio cheese spread that I decided to throw in. So I hit all four food groups with this one dish, that's always a plus.

Zesty Parsley-Walnut Pesto
1 bunch of fresh parsley
1/2 cup walnuts
1/2 cup olive oil
5 tbsp Asagio cheese spread
3 tbsp grated parmesan cheese
1 tbsp roasted garlic
zest of 1 lemon
juice from 1/2 lemon
Salt 'n Pepper to taste

Dump everything into a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Also freezes beautifully. I divided up the pesto into individual portions and froze them in plastic containers, along w/ the turkey meatballs and some slightly under cooked linguine. Talk about creating your own TV dinners.

Turkey Meatballs
1 pound of ground turkey
1/4 cup fine bread/cracker crumbs
3 tbsp garlic powder
3 tbsp dried parsley
2 tsp salt
2 tsp black pepper
1 egg
2 tbsp olive oil

Blend the crumbs, garlic powder, dried parsley, salt and pepper in your handy dandy blender. In a med sized bowl, mix the turkey, egg, olive oil and crumb mixture together. Preheat oven to 350. Form meatballs and place on baking sheet. Bake for about 20 min, depending on how big you make your meatballs.

Other than Pho???

2008-02-17T22:53:00.000-08:00

Have you ever been hit with a double craving? It's hard for me to go to a pho place and order something other than pho. I'd go in craving something else on the menu, but as soon as I follow my nose thru that door, I'm also craving pho. I know that the true foodies out there understand my angst.
Well, one night, I was hit with a craving for Vermicelli w/ Grilled Pork and Fried Spring Rolls. It is a cold vermicelli salad with marinated grilled pork, shredded veggies, roasted peanuts, and cut up pieces of egg rolls (the good kind with meat, none of that fake cabbage-filled stuff). Oh, and the vinegar and nuoc mam based dressing. So I head over to Cao Dao for an order to go. As soon as I smelled the delicious aroma of the pho broth and saw everone in the restaurant slurping on their soups, I got hit with an instant craving for pho. But my craving for the vermicelli was still as strong as ever. There was no way I would be able to eat both. Each of these dishes are enough to fill me up.
The nice guy at the counter waited very patiently while I was sorting out my dilemma. I went back and forth and it went something like this:
...I have pho almost everytime I'm here, I should get my vermicelli.
...Everyone looks so happy with their soups, it smells sooo good
...mmm...grilled pork
...tripe...flank...broth
...crispy, yummy spring rolls

...you can get pho next time you're here...
...if you don't get the vermicelli now, you'll be craving it for the next 2 weeks

So I ended up getting the vermicelli. The nice server even offered me a seat at one of the few empty tables and brought me a glass of ice water w/ a slice of lime while I waited for my to-go order.
As soon as I got home, I tore into the takeout box and mixed up everything except for the spring rolls. The pork coulda used more charring, but was tender and savory. The lightness of the vermicelli, shredded veggies, and vinegar dressing balanced out the strong flavors of the pork. Roasted peanuts added a nice crunchy texture. The fried spring rolls/egg rolls were crispy and had a good amount of meat filling. It wasn't like mom's, but it satisfied my craving.

Green Eggs and Ham

2008-02-17T15:06:00.000-08:00

I remember when I first moved out of my parent's house, the first thing my mom asked me was if I wanted a rice cooker. I've compared notes with some of my friends and it seems that most Asian mothers feel that the rice cooker is the ultimate kitchen appliance, especially for their kids who don't know squat about cooking a decent meal. Of course, when I moved into the dorms, there was barely enough room for my printer. Since I learned how to make rice in the microwave, I told my mommy that I was doing fine without a rice cooker. It wasn't until I moved into an apartment and stole a small rice cooker from my parents pantry that I discovered how wrong I was to reject my mother's advice (yes, I bow my head in shame). I discovered that I could use it as a steamer and cook whole meals in it. I don't know how I could have lived so long without one of my own (though I also discovered that using the rice cooker for slow cooker recipes can be disasterous).
Today, I did my momma proud by making Century Egg and Lean Pork Porridge in the rice cooker. The flavor of the eggs are too overwhelming by itself, but the smooth consistency of the porridge mellows it out just perfectly. After a night of drinking, this hits the spot better than anything on the taco shop menu.

I like my porridge to have a "loose" soupy consistency, so I added boiling water to my bowl of porridge just before serving. Took me many trials and finally a call to my mommy helped me discover this secret: Don't add more water to the whole batch, the rice will just soak it all up and expand.

The "whites" of the preserved egg is a dark amber color, whilst the yolk is a greenish-gray (or grayish-green). I wonder if Dr. Seuss' Green Eggs and Ham were inspired by this traditional chinese dish. Hehehe. Here is the recipe for one of my all-time favorite breakfasts as a kid.

Century Egg and Lean Pork Porridge
1/3 cup uncooked rice
3 cups water
1/4 cup lean ground pork
2 century eggs, diced
boiling water or chicken broth (optional)
sesame oil (optional)
nuoc mam or salt to taste
white pepper (optional)

Garnish:
ginger, thinly sliced into matchsticks
minced scallions
yao ja gwa

Cook the rice and 3 cups of water in the rice cooker, leaving the lid propped up just a little. Let cook 15 minutes.
*You can also use a slow cooker, set on low. The slow cooker will take longer to cook the rice. Add 3 hours to cooking time if using a slow cooker.
Break up the ground pork and stir into the rice. Once rice is done cooking and pork is no longer pink, carefully fold the diced preserved eggs into the rice. Scoop the porridge into a bowl, only filling the bowl up halfway. Add boiling water to the bowl of porridge until it has reached your desired consistency. Add fish sauce or salt to taste. Add a few drops of sesame oil and dashes of white pepper (black pepper is also fine, just doesn't look as pretty). Garnish with ginger and scallions. Serve with yao ja gwa.

Tutorial on Fried Rice

2007-12-02T16:15:00.000-08:00

I have been asked a couple times about how to make fried rice. I always thought that it was a fairly easy dish because it's basically diced up leftovers heated up with day-old rice. It wasn't until I saw the episode of Sam the Cooking Guy demonstrating how to make fried rice that I realized how easy it is to screw this up.

He made the recipe way more complicated than it had to be. I thought his whole show was based on simple ways to making complicated recipes? No wonder people are confused. Anyway, I digress...

So I've decided to create a tutorial on how to make fried rice. You can make this dish with fresh ingredients or yesterday's leftovers. I like using leftovers (meatloaf fried rice, anyone?), because everything is already cooked and all you need to do is heat it through.

The most important thing is to start with day-old rice, or at least cold rice. Otherwise, you'll end up with a very mushy mess.

You might want to stir the rice around a bit to separate the clumps. You don't have to be meticulous about it, but you don't want big lumps of rice either. The only basic ingredients are the rice and eggs. You can add whatever else you want to your fried rice. Of course, don't forget a bit of oil so that everything doesn't end up sticking to your cookware. Order of ingredients to go into the pan is aromatics (garlic or onions) first, then meat, then veggies, and last egg-rice mixture.

Fried Rice
3 cups day-old rice
2-3 cloves of minced garlic (use ginger if making seafood fried rice)
1 1/2 cup choice of meat diced into bite sized pieces
1 cup choice of assorted fresh, frozen or leftover veggies, roughly chopped (if using snow peas, leave whole)
1 small diced onion
2 stalks of finely chopped green onions (parsley or cilantro are also good substitutes)
2-3 drops sesame oil (optional)
2 eggs, lightly beaten
vegetable oil
salt or soy sauce to taste

In a bowl, mix the eggs into the rice until well coated. Set aside. Heat wok or large nonstick saucepan. Add olive/vegetable and sesame oil and heat over medium flame.
Add onions and cook until translucent. Remember to always stir constantly when cooking this dish.
Add garlic and stir for about 1 minute.
Add meat, stir until halfway cooked.
Add veggies. Cook for another 2 minutes or until heated through.
Add egg-rice mixture.
Stir in green onions. Stir until egg is no longer runny. Turn off the heat and add salt or soy sauce to taste. Makes about 3 servings.

The Linkery

2007-12-01T21:52:00.000-08:00

A couple weeks ago, I went to The Linkery with a friend of mine who just moved to North Park. Sorry about the text-only post, I didn't have a camera with me at the time. According to their website, The Linkery menu changes from day to day. Their kitchen creations feature produce from local independent California farms. The meats are all-natural and the veggies are often organic. Believe me, you can taste the difference. If you don't believe me, go to the grocery store and buy the organic grass-fed ribeye and compare it with the other ribeye. I shun hormone injected beef, I shun thee.
To all the beer snobs out there, you will find no Budlights or MGDs at this restaurant bar. The beer list features local breweries. I'm not a big wine drinker, but the wine list was a mile long and includes wines from all over the world.
This cozy neighborhood restaurant was packed when we arrived at around 7pm. There was also another sign in the waiting area that explained their No-Tipping policy (18% gratuity is automatically added to your tab.) My dinner buddy and I went to the bar for a beer while we waited. We were promptly seated before the bartender even got a chance to pour our beer (Mission Helles Lager for me and the Coronado Red for Dinner Buddy), I was pretty impressed considering there were two parties ahead of us. The nice waitress made sure our beers would be delivered to us. I ordered the Goat's Leg with Butternut Squash Gnocchi. Dinner Buddy went with a Picnic Platter of links. She decided on two Chicken links, Chicken Cordon Bleu and another one that was mixed with a variety of herbs.
The waitress also brought us a carafe of water for our table. She informed us that the water is infused with sage. Dinner Buddy pointed out the sage leaf resting on the bottom of the carafe. It was refreshing and a nice palate cleanser, which is great because we sampled everything on each other's plates.
Something was a little off when our dinners arrived. We finally switched beers and all was well. Her chicken links went much better with my Mission Helles lager and her robust Coronado Red matched the gameyness of my goat. I normally like my meat a little rare (this was cooked well-done) but I loved the flavoring. Slightly sweet and savory, didn't overpower the natural game flavor of the goat. The Butternut Squash Gnocchi was delectable, though I didn't care for the white sauce that accompanied it. It was way too sweet for my taste. Dinner Buddy's links were a major hit (duh, it's called The Linkery.) I'm not a big fan of Cordon Bleu, but I think I might have eaten most of Dinner Buddy's plate. I couldn't remember the name of the other link that she had ordered, but that was just as fabulous. The combination of herbs complimented the flavor of the chicken nicely. The Picnic Plate also came with a small plate of breads and a side of sauteed spinach, garlic and onions. The bread was nice and crusty on the outside, soft on the inside. I didn't care for the sauteed spinach. All I tasted was garlic, which I love but I also would have liked to taste the other ingredients. Dinner Buddy enjoyed the spinach very much and pronounced her love for garlic.
The dessert menu also listed beers that would match well with some of the items. I've heard of dessert wines, but dessert beers are ingenious! We split a Grilled Pound Cake, which was served with whipped sweet cream and fresh raspberries. The slightly charred outer layer of the chocolate pound cake my taste buds to a different level. Dinner Buddy also ordered a cup of Dragonwell tea, served hot. It arrived in one of those tea-mugs that had a removable part that holds the tea leaves (filled to the brim with loose leaves) and a cover so that you can let your tea steep to the strength of your liking.
Overall, the food was great. More emphasis on the flavor and quality rather than quantity. I was left satisfied, but not full. The service was prompt and attentive, well worth the 18% tip that was automatically added onto the bill. The starters ranged from $6-11, salads $6-14, mains $12-19, and desserts $6-13. With my student loans kicking in, I couldn't afford to eat here every week. But this is my new favorite splurge eatery.

Hours:
7 days a week
5pm-11pm or whenever

3382 30th Street
in North Park
San Diego, CA
(though they are going to move to a new location on University Ave soon)

Pomegranates - Part II

2007-11-18T21:12:00.001-08:00

The organic beef ribeye looked really good at the market. I used the rest of my pomegranate reduction as a marinade. The sweet and tangy taste of the pomegranate married well with the beef. Too bad I got distracted by Dancing with the Stars and overcooked my steak. Ho-hum.

Pomegranates - Part I

2007-11-18T20:09:00.001-08:00

I would like to express my gratitude to those who have fruit trees in their backyards. You always share the bounty of your harvest and I am greatly appreciative.

I wandered into the kitchen/break room at work last week and discovered a bowl of pomegranates with a note that said something like "Please take!" Now I give myself credit for showing restraint and only taking one.

I have fond childhood memories of my mom getting pomegranates from the local farmers market when they were in season. One by one, I would pop each delectable red ruble into my mouth. Wearing my old-red-pomegranate-eating t-shirt, I would savor each moment when the tangy juices burst onto my tongue.

As I started to peel into my pom, a light bulb went off. I put the rubles into a small pot and added just enough water to cover the seeds. After straining and reducing the liquid, I added mirin and ginger powder. And this is the creation I have come up with...

The pomegranate reduction mixed with the pan jus from the pork chop created a tangy and

savory sauce. I actually tipped my plate to drink what was left of the sauce after I finished the dinner.

Oyster sauce pasta???

2007-11-04T21:38:00.000-08:00

What to do when you have a cupboard full of pasta that was on sale last week but no tomato sauce? I thought about pasta carbonara, but I gots no bacon. So I just pulled some chicken thighs out of the freezer, poached them in salted water. The poaching liquid created a nice broth. The pasta shells gets added. This is my new favorite way to cook pasta. It absorbs all the chicken flavory goodness. Add some chopped up cauliflower (that was the last of my supply) and stirred in 2 tbsp. oyster sauce (which, btw, tastes nothing like oysters). The starch from the cooking liquid made the sauce nice and thick.
Yep, this is one of my ghetto meets gourmet shining moments. When it's the end of my grocery cycle and I have odds and ends to work with. The chicken was flavorful and moist. I really liked the combination of oyster sauce with cauliflower. The flavor is savory with just a hint of sweetness. This is great comfort food.
There are a couple things that I would do differently the next time I make this. I'd try to add the cauliflower in a bit earlier so that the pasta doesn't get too soft. I would also add some color to it. What is it with me and beige food lately? Maybe a sprinkle of green onions at the end, or some colorful veggies like carrots.

Got Pork?

2007-11-04T21:08:00.000-08:00

Mmmm...pork. The other white meat. And incidently, Homer Simpson's favorite meal is pork chops.
I didn't have the foresight to thaw out the pork chops that I had in the freezer. So I just ran the package under some cold water, just enough to defrost the very outer layers of the chops. I rubbed the rosemary between the palms of my hands to release the flavor and aroma. Rosemary is one of those herbs that goes well with almost any meat. Little bit of freshly ground pepper here and a shake of salt there. The meat made a satisfying sizzle sound when it hit the pan, mmm...pork. Made sure it was cooked all the way through. I also sauteed some sweet onions and garlic with cauliflower. I guess this is a pretty beige meal, but I don't got any greens in the fridge this week. I made two and saved the other piece of pork chop for lunch. I think it was even juicier the next day when I reheated it in the microwave(55 seconds on med-high). Don't ask me how that's possible, I was just blessed by the almighty Pork Gods.

I am an Asparagus Junkie

2007-10-18T07:51:00.000-07:00

It is technically not asparagus season yet, but there has been very good sales on this tantalizing veggies that had me justifying my green indulgence. I bought a bundle last week as my one not-on-the-list impulse item (some would opt for chips and sweets, I covet the asparagus).
I pan roasted the entire bundle in garlic and olive oil and ate that with a side of lamb chops. But then I was left asparagus-less after that meal. Like a junkie seeking her next fix, I made a special trip to the grocery store the next day and bought two more bundles.
In an effort to show some restraint, I only steamed up half a bundle this time. Now when it comes to asparagus, I don't like to do too much to it. I like to enjoy this vegetable without a whole bunch of other ingredients masking its full flavor. Mmmm...dressed with a touch of sesame oil, lemon zest and a sprinkling of sesame seeds...life is good.
Grilled Rosemary Garlic Lamb Chops
2 lamb chops
3 tbsp olive oil
3 tbsp rosemary
2 cloves garlic, minced
juice of 1/2 lemon
salt to taste
Mix the olive oil, rosemary lemon juice and garlic together. Marinate the lamb chops in this mixture for about 3 hours in the refrigerator. Grill to desired doneness. Salt to taste just and serve. Please never ever salt your lamb before it is done cooking. That would make the meat toughen.

Dressing for Asparagus
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp sesame oil
zest of 1 lemon
pinch of salt
dash of black pepper
1/2 tbsp sesame seeds
Mix all ingredients together and toss with steamed or grilled asparagus.