Blueberry Vanilla Bean Mochi Cake

My friend Randy recommended this cake so I tried making it last night. If you like mochi, you will love the texture of this cake. It's also very easy to make. I didn't even need to whip out the KitchenAid. I did this one all by hand.

adapted from Gourmet Magazine

Makes one 9X13 pan, or 24 squares

• 1 lb box of Mochiko flour (3 cups equivalent)
• 2 1/2 cups of sugar
• 2 teaspoons of baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 14 oz cans of coconut milk - not lowfat (I used two cans of 13.5 oz)
• 4 large eggs
• 1/2 stick of butter (1/4 cup of butter) melted and slightly cooled
• 1 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped out
• 1 cup of blueberries, washed and picked over

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 9X13 baking pan.
2. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together mochiko flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
3. In a separate bowl or large measuring cup (4 cup capacity), beat eggs, then add coconut milk, melted butter and vanilla bean. Mix together until vanilla bean is well distributed.
4. Carefully pour the wet ingredients over the mochiko flour mixture and whisk until mixture is smooth and uniform in texture.
5. Pour batter into greased 9X13 pan. Carefully smooth out the top. Sprinkle blueberries over entire surface.
6. Bake for 90 minutes, until top is golden brown and the cake begins to pull away from the sides of the pan.
7. Allow cake to cool for about 30 minutes on a rack, and then carefully flip it out and cut into 24 squares, or the size of your choice. Can store mochi cake for three days, covered.

Avery's Sugar Cookies

I ate these at Jessica's baby shower when she was pregnant with Avery. So I decide to just name them after Avery to distinguish them from the other sugar cookie recipe I have. These are delicious, moist, soft and addicting. The frosting isn't the thin kind that you do a color flow with...even those look cute, they harden up to be too hard. This is a softer frosting so decorating isn't as "clean" but it's delicious to eat. Sometimes you gotta sacrifice "cuteness" for deliciousness. After all, we're talking about food, right?

Sugar Cookies
Yields about 24 cookies | Bakes in 7 minutes

2/3 cup butter, soften
¾ cup white sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
1 egg
1 tablespoon milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups all purpose flour

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
In a large mixing bowl, beat butter with an electric mixer, medium to high speed, for 30 seconds. Add sugar, baking powder and salt. Beat until combined, scraping sides occasionally. Beat in egg, milk and vanilla until combined. Beat in as much flour as you can with the mixer. Stir in any remaining flour.
Divide the dough in half. If necessary, cover and chill dough for 30 minutes, or until easy enough to handle.
On a lightly floured surface, roll half of the dough out at a time into 1/8 inch thickness or a smidge more. (A thicker cookie will cook up softer and more moist). The key to a successful batch is consistency. Make sure the dough is rolled out evenly and the cookies on each sheet are the same thickness. Using a cookie cutter, cut dough into desired shapes. Place 1 (or ½) inch apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.
Bake in a 375 degree preheated oven for 7 minutes, or until the edges are firm and bottoms (not sides!) are very lightly browned. If the sides of the cookie starts to look golden, take them out before they are overdone or burnt! Transfer to a wire race and let cool. Frost if desired.

Frosting

1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened
1 box powdered sugar
2 tablespoons milk
½ teaspoon vanilla
¼ teaspoon almond extract (the secret ingredient)

In a mixing bowl, beat softened butter on high for 30 seconds to a minute. Add 1 box of powdered sugar and beat on low until sugar clumps up around butter. Scrape bowl. Slowly add milk, 1 tablespoon at a time to butter and sugar. You may need more or less than 2 tablespoons to get the desired consistency. Continue to beat at medium speed until soft peaks form. Add vanilla and almond extract.
Beat thoroughly to incorporate, adjusting vanilla and almond extract to taste.
Note: The more milk used, the wetter the frosting , the longer it will take for your cookies “to set”. It is agood idea to let frosting set up before stacking and plating the cookies (usually an hour or more).

The kids decorating cookies for Santa! -Christmas 2011

Xoi Ga Lap Xuong

We all know Thim 5 is the queen of xoi, and we also know that Anh Hai Mike could whoop this up with his eyes closed..

For those of us who are not Thim 5 or Anh Hai Mike, I've put up this recipe.

Ingredients:

2 cups Calrose glutinous rice
3 chicken breasts
2 2/3 cups of broth (use the water you've boiled the chicken breasts in)
Green onions
Vegetable oil
Dried onions
3 to 4 Lap Xuong (the fat ones if you're a baller like me)
optional: thick soy sauce


Directions:

1. Soak your rice in water and set aside
2. Boil water with some salt. Add chicken and let it boil for 25 ish minutes until chicken fully cooked. Add a little pepper to the water if you're feeling adventurous.
3. As the chicken is boiling, chop your green onions and put it in a bowl with a little vegetable oil.
4. Chop up your lap xuong (diagonally. just kidding however you want!) and fry those bad boys up until they are goldeny delicious. Set aside.
5. At this point your chicken should be fully boiled. take the breasts out and SAVE THAT WATER. Measure out 2 and 2/3 cups of it.
6. Drain out your rice and put it in a pot with the 2 and 2/3 chicken broth that you have just made. Level out your pot. Bring it to a boil, and once it boils, put your flame on low and put a lid on it. Leave the pot alone for 20 minutes.
7. Shred up your chicken and then dress it up with some pepper, maybe a dash of salt.. and the tiniest bit of thick soy sauce for color and mild flavor.
8. Twiddle your fingers until the xoi is done cooking.
9. Once your xoi is done cooking, spread it out onto a platter of your choice!
10. Evenly distribute your chicken and lap xuong on top of it
11. microwave your bowl of chopped green onions and oil for 30 seconds. Spoon that goodness over the xoi
12. Take your dried onions and top your delicious xoi with it.
13. Take a picture of it and put it on facebook.
14. Brag to all of your friends about your delicious creation!

HOORAY!

Pumpkin Log

We found this recipe in a magazine, and it sounded easy enough for me to try it! The fact that it came out delicious means it was so easy, even I can do it!

Ingredients:
3 eggs
2/3 cup pumpkin filling
1 cup sugar
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
3/4 cup flour
2 tbsp unsalted butter
1 cup confectioner's sugar
3/4 tsp vanilla
1 pkg (8 oz) cream cheese softened

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 375. Grease a 10" x 15.5" cookie sheet. Place wax paper on the pan and grease the paper.

2. Mix together eggs, pumpkin filing, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon and flour, and pour into prepared cookie sheet. Bake for 15 minutes.

3. Immediately after removing from oven, turn the cake onto well confectioner's sugared tea towel. Remove wax paper from cake. Roll the cake into the towel lengthwise, and let cool for 1 hour.

4. For the filling; mix together butter, vanilla, confectioner's sugar and cream cheese. Unroll the cake and spread on the filling. Roll the cake back up. Refrigerate until served.

Amaretto Zabaglione

Zabaglione is an Italian dessert that is similar to a custard, but very light and airy with a kick of amaretto and Marsala.

(Custard served cold)

Makes 4 servings

Ingredients

• 8 egg yokes
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup of dry Marsala
• 1/4 cup of amaretto
• cinnamon to top

Directions

1. Prepare double boiler (I use the bowl from a stand mixer and a pot that is large enough to hold the bowl without it touching the water)
2. In the cold bowl, beat egg yokes and sugar until pale yellow
3. Add Marsala and amaretto to egg yoke mixture
4. Put bowl on heat and beat vigorously.  Remove the bowl from the heat periodically while continue mixing to prevent overheating the eggs. Overheating the eggs or heating them up too quickly may cause them to curdle.
5. When the zabaglione reaches 160 degrees, take it off the heat.  The zabaglione should have dramatically increased in volume and should also be much thicker.  The cooking should take about 10 minutes.
6. While warm, spoon into cups or martini glasses and topwith a sprinkle of cinnamon.  Serve immediately.  

The zabaglione can be served cold.  The texture will not be as smooth, but the custard will still be rich, airy, and tasty.

Vegetarian Ma Po Tofu

Based on the original Ma Po Tofu Recipe, this vegetarian version replaces the chicken broth and minced meat with vegetarian-friendly alternatives.   This variant was inspired by a friend who wanted to try Ma Po Tofu, but couldn't eat meat.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 lb vegetarian minced meat (Vegetarian Minced Meat)

• 1 tbsp fermented dried black beans, soaked in hot water for 5 minutes, rinsed, diced, and mashed
• 3 cloves of garlic, diced and mashed
• 1 teaspoon finely minced ginger
• 2 tbsp of scallions thinly sliced +  1 tbsp for garnish
• 2 1/2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1/2 tbsp of Sambal Oelek (more if you like it spicy)
• 1 tsp of sugar
• 1 cup of vegetable broth broth
• 1 tbsp neutral flavored oil (e.g. canola oil)

• 1 package of soft tofu, drained, and cut into cubes (You can use silken, but it will be a little harder to work with since soft tofu is slightly firmer)
• 2 tbsp cornstarch mixed with equal part water
• 1 dash of sesame oil

Directions:

• Heat a large pan over medium heat and add oil.
• Once the oil is hot, add the garlic, ginger, fermented black beans, and  scallions.  Cook until garlic and ginger is soft, but do not brown.
• Add Sambal Oelek to the pan and cook for a minute. 
• Add vegetarian minced meat to mixture and stir to combine.
• Add vegetable broth pan, soy sauce, and sugar.  Bring mixture to boil.
• Slowly stir in enough cornstarch mixture until thickened enough to coat a spoon.
• Add tofu and carefully stir mixture until tofu is warmed through being careful not to break the tofu.
• Stir in sesame oil. 
• Serve immediately topped with scallions.

Vegetarian Minced Meat

Vegetarian minced meat, what an invention.  Its not meat, but it has a similar texture and a taste that can mostly pass for meat.  Many times whenever you need minced meat, you can usually use the vegetarian alternative.

Here is a vegetarian minced meat option that I have used in a few Asian dishes that worked great.

New Vegetarian Section Coming

To all non-meat eaters, by request, I am starting a new vegetarian section putting up new vegetarian recipes and vegetarian-variants of existing recipes.  Hopefully these recipes will help us all eat and enjoy more vegetables.

Stay tune...

Kicked up Kirkland Signature Sweet Mesquite Seasoning

I really like the Kirkland Signature Sweet Mesquite Seasoning with its smoky flavor, but I always found it too strong to use alone.  So I decided create a rub using it as a component so I can keep its smoky essence, but balance it out with some sweet and spicy tones.  

Makes enough for a full rack of baby back ribs or half rack beef ribs.

• 1/4 cup of brown sugar
• 1 tsp cayenne
• 1 tbsp garlic powder
• 2 tbsp onion power
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 3/4 tbsp kosher salt
• 1 1/4 tbsp Kirkland Signature Sweet Mesquite Seasoning

1. Thoroughly mix all ingredients
2. Store in air-tight container

Slow Cooker Chicken Chili

I adapted this recipe from MarthaStewart.com, made some changes as per the reviews of other users. Its a delicious and hearty meal, and I love it because you just throw everything in and let the slow cooker do the work. One interesting ingredient is sweet potato-- perfect for a cool, Fall evening. Enjoy!

Ingredients

1 pounds chicken breast tenderloins
3 tablespoons chili powder, plus 2 teaspoons
1 (15-ounce) can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 (15-ounce) can white beans, drained and rinsed
2 (28-ounce) cans diced fire roasted tomatoes
1 medium sweet potato (about 10 ounces), peeled and diced into 1 inch cubes
1/4 finely chopped white onion
1 (15-ounce) can low-sodium chicken broth
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon kosher salt
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pinch ground cloves

Toppings: Sour cream, shredded Cheddar or Jack cheese, chopped scallions, and chopped pickled jalapenos

Directions

Put the chicken in the slow cooker. Add 3 tablespoons of the chili powder and all the rest of the ingredients. Stir everything together, cover, and cook on LOW for 6 to 8 hours.
Just before serving, take out chicken and shred with fork and throw back into pot.Stir in the remaining 2 teaspoons of chili powder and season with more salt and pepper, to taste, if desired. Divide the chili among warm bowls. Serve with the topping of your choice.
*Stirring in chili powder right before serving brightens the flavor of the chili.

Simple Lemon Cupcakes with Lemon Curd

Makes 2 dozen

• 1 box Betty Crocker Super Moist Yellow Cake mix
• 1/3 cups canola oil
• 1/4 cup cold water
• 3 large eggs
• 1/3 cups lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons lemon zest
• 1 cup sour cream

1. Preheat oven to 330 degrees F. Line 2 standard muffin tins with cupcake liners; set aside.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat on low oil, water, eggs, lemon juice, lemon zest, and sour cream until mixed.
3. Slowly add cake mix. When entire bag is added, increase mixer speed to medium and beat for 2 minutes until thoroughly combined.
4. Fill each muffin cup half full with batter. Transfer muffin tins to oven and bake until a skewer inserted into the center of one of the cupcakes comes out clean, 18-22 minutes. Let cupcakes cool completely before topping with lemon curd and then swiss meringue buttercream. Garnish the cupcakes with a sprinkle of finely grated lemon zest.

Sundried Tomatoes with Chicken and Mushrooms

Adapted from Bella Sun Luci Sun Dried Tomatoes "Bella's Chicken w/ Mushrooms" recipe. The recipe is good, but I added a few more details and few changes to kick it up a notch.

Ingredients

• 1 cup of sun dried tomatoes in olive oil, drained, and julliened
• 1/8 cup reserved oil from sun dried tomatoes
• 1/8 cup plain olive oil
• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1 large onion, finely diced
• 4 large garlic cloves, finely minced
• 1 1/2 tsp dried basil
• 1 lbs white mushrooms, sliced
• 1 cup dry red wine (I prefer Trader Joe's Charles Shaw Merlot for the job)
• 1 cup of chicken broth
• 1/4 cup of tomato paste
• Pinch of pepper flakes
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 tbsp flour

Directions

1. Season chicken breasts with salt and pepper.
2. In a skillet, heat reserved oil and olive oil over medium high heat and brown chick breasts
3. Transfer chicken to plate.
4. Lower the flame to medium and in the remaining oil, saute onion, garlic, pepper flakes, and basil until onion is soft.
5. Add mushrooms and sun dried tomatoes and cook until softened.
6. Whisk in wine, chicken broth, and tomato paste and bring to light boil.
7. Add chicken and juices back into th (e skillet and bring liquid to full boil.
8. Lower the flame to medium low and simmer for 15 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.
9. Transfer chicken to a platter, keep warm and covered (if using aluminum foil, don't let it touch the chicken because the tomato sauce will cause the aluminum to leave a metallic taste).
10. Thoroughly cut butter and flour together and whisk into sauce and simmer, continually whisking until thickened.
11. Pour over check and serve.

Chocolate Ganache

All you need is a food scale and you can never mess up ganache. This is delicious and SO simple to make. I learned how to do it at my Epicurean cooking class I took with Jackie a few weeks ago.

Ingredients

• Equal parts of bittersweet chocolate, chopped and heavy cream by weight

Directions

1. Measure equal parts of bittersweet chocolate, chopped and heavy cream.
2. Put the chocolate in a medium bowl and set aside.
3. Heat up heavy cream in a medium pot until a gentle boil is established.
4. Pour heated cream into bowl of chocolate and stir chocolate until melted.
5. Let ganache cool down to room temperature before using.

Vanilla Bean Cupcakes with Matcha Green Tea Buttercream

Makes 2 dozen

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
• 2 cups sugar (*tip: try reducing this to 1 1/2 cup, it was a bit sweet)
• 2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste or 1 vanilla bean, scraped
• 5 large eggs, separated
• 1 3/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon all-purpose flour
• 1 cup plus scant 1/3 cup cake flour (not self-rising)
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup sour cream

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 standard muffin tins with cupcake liners; set aside.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixere fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add vanilla; beat to combine. Add egg yolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
3. Sift together both flours, baking powder, and salt into a large bowl. With the mixer on low, add flour mixture; mix until well combined. Add sour cream; mix until well combined.
4. In a clean bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Gently fold egg whites into batter.
5. Fill each muffin cup half full with batter. Transfer muffin tins to oven and bake until a skewer inserted into the center of one of the cupcakes comes out clean, 18-22 minutes. Let cupcakes cool completely before frosting.

Green Tea Swiss Meringue Buttercream

Follow recipe for Swiss Merginue Buttercream, at the end when you add the vanilla, add 1 tablespoon of matcha green tea powder.

Buttercream Frosting for Cookies

This is from Jess:

Ingredients:
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened
1 box powdered sugar
2 tablespoons milk
½ teaspoon vanilla
¼ teaspoon almond extract (the secret ingredient)

Instructions:
In a mixing bowl, beat softened butter on high for 30 seconds to a minute.
Add 1 box of powdered sugar and beat on low until sugar clumps up around butter.
Scrape bowl.
Slowly add milk, 1 tablespoonat a time to butter and sugar. You may need more or less than 2 tablespoons to get the desired consistency.
Continue to beat at medium speed until soft peaks form.
Add vanilla and almond extract.Beat thoroughly to incorporate, adjusting vanilla and almond extract to taste.

Note: The more milk used, the wetter the frosting , the longer it will take for your cookies “to set”. It is agood idea to let frosting set up before stacking and plating the cookies (usually an hour or more).

Brown Butter Brussels Sprouts

Everything tastes better with butter, even Brussels sprouts.

Makes 3 servings

Ingredients:

• 16 oz Brussels sprouts, stems trimmed and halved (cut and "X" in the stem prior to halving supposedly makes the Brussels sprouts more tender).
• 4 tbsp salted butter
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
• 2 tbsp grated parmesan cheese

Directions:

• Bring to boil 2 quarts of water and 1 tbsp of salt.
• Add Brussels sprouts to water and cook for 10 minutes or until tender. Drain.
• Melt butter in a large pan over medium-high heat until butter is golden brown. Add Brussels sprouts and cook until thoroughly caramelized
• Remove from heat and add lemon juice and pepper.
• Serve and sprinkled with parmesan cheese.

Port Braised Pork Butt with Figs

Delicious dish with an affordable cut of pork.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 tbsp kosher salt
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• 1/2 tsp dried sage
• 1 tsp dry mustard
• 2 tbsp olive oil

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 4 lb pork butt, most external fat trimmed. Rolled and tied.
• 1 medium yellow onion, diced
• 1/2 cup carrot, diced
• 1/4 cup scallions, sliced, white parts only
• 1 cup port wine
• 1 1/4 cup chicken stock
• 1 cup dried figs, cut into quarters
• 2 bay leaves
• Salt and freshly ground pepper

Directions

• Pre-heat oven to 325 F.
• Mix kosher salt, black pepper, thyme, sage, mustard, and olive oil. Rub onto and thoroughly cover pork.
• Heat oil in a dutch oven on high heat. When the oil is hot and slightly smoking, add pork. Brown pork on all sides. Remove pork and set aside.
• Lower heat to medium and add onion, scallions, and carrot to dutch oven. Cook vegetables until soft.
• Pour port and chicken broth into dutch oven scraping the brown bits from the bottom. Add figs and bay leaves and bring to boil. Add pork back in. Cover with foil and lid to form a tight fit.
• Place the dutch over into the oven and cook for 1 to 1 1/2 hours until the pork is tender and the internal temperature of the pork is 165 F. Remove pork from pot and set aside covered loosely with foil to rest for about 10 minutes.
• Remove the bay leaves. Remove 1/4 cup of the figs, carrots, onions and puree. Stir puree back into the sauce to thicken. Add salt and pepper to taste.
• Remove string from pork and slice to 1/2 in. thick slices.
• Serve slices with sauce, figs, and vegetables.

Ma Po Tofu

Spicy bean-paste and chili tofu dish from the Szechuan province in China. This dish goes great on top of rice.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 lb ground pork
• 2 tbsp Shaoxing wine
• 1 tbsp cornstarch

• 1 tbsp fermented dried black beans, soaked in hot water for 5 minutes, rinsed, and mashed
• 3 cloves of garlic, mashed
• 1 teaspoon minced ginger
• 2 1/2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1/2 tbsp of Sambal Oelek
• 1 tsp of sugar
• 1 cup of chicken broth
• 1 tbsp neutral flavored oil (e.g. canola oil)

• 2 tbsp cornstarch mixed with equal part water
• 1 package of soft tofu, drained, and cut into cubes (You can use silken, but it will be a little harder to work with since soft tofu is slightly firmer)
• 1 dash of sesame oil
• 2 tbsp of scallions thinly sliced

Directions:

• In a bowl, mix 1 tbsp cornstarch with Shaoxing wine. Add ground pork to mixture and mix to incorporate and let marinade for 5 minutes
• Heat a large pan over medium heat and add oil.
• Once the oil is hot, add ground pork and cook until brown.
• Once the pork is brown, move the pork to one side of the pan. On the opposite side of the pan, add the garlic, ginger, fermented black beans, scallions, and Sambal Oelek and cook for a few minutes. Stir mixture and pork.
• Stir in soy sauce and sugar to pork.
• Add chicken broth to pork and bring to boil.
• Slowly stir in cornstarch mixture until thickened enough to coat a spoon.
• Mix in sesame oil and add tofu. Carefully stir mixture until tofu is warmed through being careful not to break the tofu.
• Serve immediately topped with scallions.

Corn Casserole

This is a really easy recipe that I got from my MIL. It's a staple at every Oberly holiday meal, and its no wonder why-- its delicious! It has the taste of the corn goodness that they serve at Chevys, with a corn bread texture with whole grains of corn. Need I say more?

Ingredients
-1 can whole corn, drained,
-1 can creamed corn
-1 stick unsalted butter
-1 egg, lightly beaten
-1 package of Jiffy corn muffin mix
-1 cup of sour cream


Directions
Mix all together, pour into 8x8 baking pan and bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees.