Cook Yu Cook Mi

Banh Chung Chien (Paula Dean Style)

2012-01-23T13:21:00.000-08:00

This is really not a recipe, but more of a epiphany. As any good 'ol Vietnamese (or in my case a Chinese whole really appreciates Vietnamese food) knows, banh chung is good, but when you chien it, it gets that much better. Now, if you are able to kick up the chien'ing (Americanized verb tense of a Vietnamese word) process, even better. For this, we can take inspiration from Paula Dean, then queen of adding butter to everything. Using butter to chien the banh chung gives it an additional layer of flavor that

Makes 5 servings (about 4 slices per person)

Ingredients

1 5x5 square banh chung (preferably one made by Thi's Ba Noi) sliced into 1/4 in thick slices
3 tbsp butter
1/8 cup cu cai (pickled diakon and carrots) drained
Sriracha to taste

Directions

Using a 12 in skillet, heat butter over medium-high until it stops bubbling
Add 4-5 slices to skillet. Cook until golden brown and then turn each slice over and continue cooking until the other side is golden brown.
Plate each 3-4 slices topped with the cu cai and Sriracha.

P.S. Thi is going to attempt her own Banh Chung recipe next Tet so stay tune.

Chewy Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip cookies

2012-01-04T10:24:00.000-08:00

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup peanut butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
2 eggs
2 tablespoons water
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups chopped semisweet chocolate

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
In a large bowl, cream together the butter, peanut butter, brown sugar, and white sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the corn syrup, water, and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt; stir into the peanut butter mixture. Fold in chocolate chunks. Drop by 1/4 cupfuls 3 inches apart onto ungreased baking sheets.
Bake for 12 to 14 minutes in the preheated oven, or until edges are golden. Allow cookies to cool for 1 minute on the cookie sheet before removing to wire racks to cool completely.

Tips from Hong:

** I used less than 2 cups of chocolate chips (quantity and type of chips depends on your liking)
** Cool the dough in the refrigerator for about 2 hours
** Roll into 2 inch balls and press down with a fork dipped in sugar
** Bake the cookies for 12-13 minutes
** Cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to cooling rack

Ultimate Double Chocolate Cookies

2012-01-04T10:14:00.000-08:00

Hong made these cookies a couple of Christmases ago and I've been hooked ever since! She shared the recipe and added a couple notes.

Notes from Hong:

I followed the recipe exactly
I found that adding the suggested amount of semi-sweet chocolate chips made the cookie too rich
I liked peanut butter chips rather than the semi-sweet chocolate chips
Other chips that might be delicious = caramel, andes mint, or white chocolate

RECIPE:
from Ghirardelli.com
yields 24 cookies

Ingredients

12 ounce(s) Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
10 ounce(s) 60% Cacao Bittersweet Chocolate Chips
6 tablespoon(s) unsalted butter
3 eggs
1 cup(s) sugar
1/3 cup(s) all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon(s) baking powder
1 cup(s) chopped walnuts

Directions

In double boiler over hot water, melt bittersweet chocolate chips and butter. In large bowl with electric mixer or whisk, beat eggs and sugar until thick; stir into chocolate mixture. In small bowl, stir together flour and baking powder; stir into chocolate mixture. Gently mix in semi-sweet chocolate chips and walnuts. Using a sheet of plastic wrap, form dough into two logs, each 2 inches in diameter and about 12 inches long. As dough will be quite soft, use plastic wrap to hold dough in log shape. Wrap tightly; refrigerate at least 1 hour or until firm. Heat oven to 375°F. Unwrap dough; with sharp knife, cut into 3/4-inch slices. Place slices 1 1/2 inches apart on greased or parchment-lined cookie sheet.

Bake 12 to 14 minutes or until shiny crust forms on top but interior is still soft. Cool on baking sheet; store in airtight tin up to 1 week.

Blueberry Vanilla Bean Mochi Cake

2011-12-24T09:52:00.000-08:00

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

Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 9X13 baking pan.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together mochiko flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
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.
Carefully pour the wet ingredients over the mochiko flour mixture and whisk until mixture is smooth and uniform in texture.
Pour batter into greased 9X13 pan. Carefully smooth out the top. Sprinkle blueberries over entire surface.
Bake for 90 minutes, until top is golden brown and the cake begins to pull away from the sides of the pan.
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

2011-12-23T10:24:00.000-08:00

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

2011-11-21T11:24:00.000-08:00

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

2011-11-21T11:05:00.001-08:00

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

2011-10-01T23:20:00.000-07:00

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

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)
In the cold bowl, beat egg yokes and sugar until pale yellow
Add Marsala and amaretto to egg yoke mixture
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.
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.
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

2011-09-30T23:04:00.000-07:00

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

2011-09-30T22:18:00.000-07:00

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

2011-09-30T16:56:00.000-07:00

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

2011-09-30T16:49:00.000-07:00

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

Thoroughly mix all ingredients
Store in air-tight container

Slow Cooker Chicken Chili

2011-09-26T16:44:00.000-07:00

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

2011-07-01T14:45:00.001-07:00

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

Preheat oven to 330 degrees F. Line 2 standard muffin tins with cupcake liners; set aside.
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.
Slowly add cake mix. When entire bag is added, increase mixer speed to medium and beat for 2 minutes until thoroughly combined.
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

2011-04-03T21:00:00.001-07:00

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

Season chicken breasts with salt and pepper.
In a skillet, heat reserved oil and olive oil over medium high heat and brown chick breasts
Transfer chicken to plate.
Lower the flame to medium and in the remaining oil, saute onion, garlic, pepper flakes, and basil until onion is soft.
Add mushrooms and sun dried tomatoes and cook until softened.
Whisk in wine, chicken broth, and tomato paste and bring to light boil.
Add chicken and juices back into th (e skillet and bring liquid to full boil.
Lower the flame to medium low and simmer for 15 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.
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).
Thoroughly cut butter and flour together and whisk into sauce and simmer, continually whisking until thickened.
Pour over check and serve.

Chocolate Ganache

2011-03-31T20:30:00.000-07:00

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

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

Vanilla Bean Cupcakes with Matcha Green Tea Buttercream

2011-03-27T22:02:00.000-07:00

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

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 standard muffin tins with cupcake liners; set aside.
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.
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.
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.
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

2011-03-26T21:51:00.000-07:00

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

2011-01-30T22:21:00.000-08:00

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

2011-01-30T22:19:00.000-08:00

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

2011-01-30T21:36:00.000-08:00

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

2011-01-18T17:24:00.000-08:00

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.

Peppermint Bark

2010-12-27T09:41:00.000-08:00

I made this to give out to work for the holidays. The vice president's wife told me that it was the best homemade peppermint bark she ever had! So funny since it's only 3 ingredients. Super simple to make, I plan to do it every holiday to give out.

Ingredients

2 lbs high quality white chocolate, like Lindt’s (do not use chocolate chips)
1 cup of crushed candy canes
2 tablespoons peppermint extract

Directions

Place candy canes in a plastic bag and hammer into ¼-inch chunks or smaller.
Melt the chocolate in a double boiler.
Combine candy cane chunks with white chocolate (add peppermint extract at this point).
Pour mixture onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment or wax paper and let it set.

NOTE: Instead of white chocolate, you can use vanilla CandiQuik or Almond Bark (found only at Wal-mart in CA). Then you can skip the double boiler and follow the package instructions to melt it all in the oven. So much easier and just as delicious!

Royal Icing

2010-12-19T10:11:00.001-08:00

This is just the recipe that comes with my Wilton meringue powder. It works and I added a little almond extract to give it that taste I'm familiar with growing up and eating these. Tina and Bao approves of the almond extract. Mike doesn't like it. I do, so it's staying in! The royal icing dried pretty quickly as is...maybe 30 minutes. The thinned out version I made for color flowing took a couple of hours to set.

Ingredients
1 tablespoon meringue powder
1 1/3 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons warm water
1/8 tsp almond extract

Mix with a stand mixer on low until stiff peaks (high on a handheld mixer).
Stir on low and mix almond extract and mix in almond extract at this point.
Pipe or spread onto cookies.

Makes 1 cup. Enough to cover 20 cookies.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Chewy oatmeal chocolate chip cookies

2010-12-16T09:35:00.000-08:00

I made these for Mike and Tina last night and they said they were the best they ever had from me (I've been making oatmeal chocolate chip cookies since high school). These are chewy with the right amount of saltiness.

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter, soften
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cup quick cooking oats
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

Directions

Preheat oven to 325
In a large bowl, cream butter, brown and white sugar until smooth.
Beat egg then stir in vanilla extract.
Combine flour, baking soda and salt; add this flour mixture to creamed mixture and stir until just blended.
Mix in oats and chocolate chips by hand.
Use small disher to drop batter onto increased baking sheet.
Chill for at least 10 minutes in the refrigerator.
Bake for 15 minutes. Cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes. Transfer to cooling rack to cool completely.

Tip: I scooped the extra dough onto parchment and freezed them for 30 minutes before putting them all in a bag for the freezer.

Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake

2010-12-05T08:33:00.000-08:00

Yes, this sounds funny, but it produces one of the most moist and rich chocolate cakes.

Ingredients

1-18 oz box Betty Crocker Super Moist Devil's food cake mix
3 eggs
1 cup water
1 cup of real mayonnaise (not Miracle Whip)

Follow directions on the box to bake, but use mayonnaise in place of oil.

Pumpkin Apple Bread

2010-12-01T23:48:00.000-08:00

A yummy and easy recipe from a friend.

Great recipes are meant to passed around & this one is the best I've ever tasted - moist, etc. Will make your whole house smell like autumn!!!

I add about a cup of chopped walnuts to the batter cause I love walnuts w/ apples & pumpkin & also sprinkle chopped walnuts on top of "topping".

I double the topping. I pour 1/2 batter into the loaf pan -sprinkle one serving of topping & pour rest of batter & then put second serving of topping on top of that - killer!

For topping:
1 Tbs all-purpose flour
5 Tbs sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 Tbs unsalted butter, softened (I use "salted" just cause I don't have "unsalted" in my house usually)

For bread:
3 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp salt
2 tsps baking soda
1 1/2 tsps ground cinnamon
1 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground allspice
1 (15-oz) can solid-pack pumpkin
3/4 cup vegetable oil (I use 3/4 cup butter instead - wonderful!!!)
2 1/4 cups sugar
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 Granny smith apples, peeled, cored, and chopped (2 cups)

MAKE THE TOPPING: Blend together flour, sugar, cinnamon. Melt the butter in the microwave and pour into the dry mixutre. Mix with a fork.

MAKE THE BREAD: Put a rack in the middle of oven and preheat oven to 350F. Butter two 9 X 5 inch loaf pans. (I just spray "PAM" into pans.)
Sift together flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and allspice into a medium bowl. Then add oil(or butter), sugar, and eggs in a large bowl. Add the pumpkin. Add flour mixture, stirring until well combined. Fold in apples (and walnuts if using nuts).

Divide batter between buttered loaf pans. Sprinkle half of topping evenly over each loaf. *Remember, if you double the topping, do batter, topping, batter, topping. So yummy to have that topping the middle, too.

Bake until a wooden pick or skewer inserted in center of bread comes out clean, 50 to 60 minutes.

Cool loaves in pans on a rack for 45 minutes, then turn out onto rack and cool completely, about 1 hour.

This bread is meant to be SHARED!!! Make for your neighbors, your coworkers, your family. The only downside to this is it will be requested every year!

You can bake and freeze, too. It freezes well. Just thaw in room temperature the day before.

Whipped Cream Cream Cheese Frosting

2010-11-21T21:52:00.000-08:00

Been looking for a pipable cream cheese frosting forever and not only is this recipe pipable but it's beautifully silky and not too sweet! Adapted from Allrecipes.com

Ingredients

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, room temperature
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream

Directions

In a small bowl beat whipping cream until stiff peaks form; set aside.
In a large bowl combine cream cheese, powdered sugar, sugar, salt and vanilla. Beat until smooth, then fold in whipped cream.

Moist Carrot Cake (from Scratch)

2010-11-21T00:09:00.000-08:00

For mah-mah's birthday, Tina and I made her an awesome, super moist, not-too-sweet carrot cake from Allrecipes.com.
I topped it with a whipped cream cream cheese frosting I also found on Allrecipes. This will be my go-to carrot cake recipe now!

Yield 1 - 8x12 inch pan (I made a two layer 6-inch cake with 11 cupcakes)

Ingredients

3 eggs
3/4 cup buttermilk
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 cups shredded carrots (about 2 large carrots)
1 cup flaked coconut
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 (8 ounce) can crushed pineapple with juice
1 cup golden raisins, soaked in boiling water for 5 minutes

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour an 8x12 inch pan.
In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Set aside.
In a large bowl, combine eggs, buttermilk, oil, sugar and vanilla. Mix well. Add flour mixture and mix well.
In a medium bowl, combine shredded carrots, coconut, walnuts, pineapple and raisins.
Using a large wooden spoon or a very heavy whisk, add carrot mixture to batter and fold in well.
Pour into prepared 8x12 inch pan, and bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 1 hour. Check with toothpick.
Allow to cool for at least 20 minutes before serving.

Rolled Sugar Cookies

2010-11-18T10:27:00.000-08:00

[Updated 2010-12-05]

This is just a recipe for the cookie. I will post the royal icing frosting in a separate blog entry. I wanted to make cookies for Christmas so I found this awesome recipe on Allrecipes.com. The original makes 60 so I cut it in half to make less since I was trying it out. It was a perfect soft and tender cookie. I highly recommend this recipe!

The picture is of the naked cookies...pre-frosting!

Yields approx. 24 cookies

Ingredients

3/4 cup butter, softened
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions

In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Stir in the flour, baking powder, and salt. Cover, and chill dough for at least one hour (or overnight). Tip: Chilling dough is extremely important. If dough is not adequately, the cookies will not keep their shapes and will flatten.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Roll out dough on floured surface 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Cut into shapes with any cookie cutter. Place cookies 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets.
Bake 6 to 8 minutes in preheated oven until cookies are slightly golden at the edges. Cool completely.

Haupia Cake

2010-11-18T10:22:00.000-08:00

I made a cupcake version for Throwdown against Mike (and won) but for Mom & Dad's birthday, I decided to do it in a cake. They loved it! So did Ba Noi. We discovered that this cake is best eaten cold.

Cake:

1 box white cake mix
2/3 cup coconut milk
2/3 cup water
2 eggs

Haupia Filling:

2 cups coconut milk
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
4 tablespoon corn starch
1/2 cup water
1 tsp vanilla (I didn't have vanilla when I made this cake so I used one whole vanilla bean)

Frosting:

1/3 cup coconut milk
1 tablespoon unflavored gelatin
2 cups heavy cream
6 tablespoons sugar
shredded coconut, to top

DIRECTIONS

Cake:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Put cake mix, coconut milk, water and eggs into a large mixing bowl. Mix well and fill 2 cake pans. Bake for 40 minutes. Cool completely.

Haupia Filling:

In a sauce pan heat coconut milk (do not boil).
Mix sugar, salt, and cornstarch with water; stir into hot coconut milk.
Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens (cook over low heat to avoid curdling). Stir in vanilla and cool.

Frosting

Soften gelatin in 1/3 cup coconut milk; dissolve over hot water.
Cool.
Whip cream; fold in gelatin mixture and sugar.

Assembly

Slice each layer in half.
Pipe a border of frosting to keep the filling in.
Spread filling on top.
Top with a cake layer.
Repeat until all layers are done.
Frost, pipe and put a layer of the filling on top! Chill & serve.

Chocolate Health trifle

2010-09-14T09:55:00.000-07:00

I made this for a bbq with the OCEB. It was the best one yet since I didn't use any Cool Whip. Mike says next time to make more chocolate mousse so I modified the recipe below with this change:

1 prepared brownie cut in cubes
1 quart whipping cream
3.9 oz box chocolate pudding
1/2 cup hot water
1/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup health bits

Measure out 2 cup of whipping cream and whip to soft peaks.
Meanwhile mix pudding with hot water.
Stir 1/3 of whipped cream into pudding mixture. Fold this mixture into
the remaining whipped cream until no streaks of white remains. Set
aside.
Whip the other 2 cups of whipping cream and sugar to soft peaks.
Assemble trifle: chocolate mousse, brownie, whipped cream, 1/4 cup
Heath bits repeat 2 more times ending with the last 1/4 cup of health
bits as garnish. Chill overnight.

Haupia Cupcake

2010-08-29T21:41:00.000-07:00

For a cupcake throw down challenged by my very own husband, I knew I had to up my game because he's not only good at everything, the kitchen is his turf...usually. I ate a haupia cake at Zippy's when we were in Maui a month ago and I remember telling Jackie, "I HAVE to learn how to make this filling! I could drink it!" So when I had to come up with a kicked up classic flavor, I decided on coconut and to kick it up with the haupia filling. It was sooo good it actually won the throw down for me. The whipped cream frosting kept this delicate cake super light and refreshing...especially for a cupcake.

Makes 20-24 cupcakes

INGREDIENTS

Cake:

1 box white cake mix
2/3 cup coconut milk
2/3 cup water
2 eggs

Haupia Filling:

2 cups coconut milk
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
4 tablespoon corn starch
1/2 cup water
1 tsp vanilla

Frosting:

1/3 cup coconut milk
1 tablespoon unflavored gelatin
2 cups heavy cream
6 tablespoons sugar
shredded coconut, to top

DIRECTIONS

Cake:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Put cake mix, coconut milk, water and eggs into a large mixing bowl. Mix well and fill cupcake pan. Bake for 20 minutes. Cool cupcakes.

Haupia Filling:

In a sauce pan heat coconut milk (do not boil).
Mix sugar, salt, and cornstarch with water; stir into hot coconut milk.
Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens (cook over low heat to avoid curdling). Stir in vanilla and cool.

Frosting

Soften gelatin in 1/3 cup coconut milk; dissolve over hot water.
Cool.
Whip cream; fold in gelatin mixture and sugar.

Assembly

Use cone method to create cavity for filling in cakes.
Fill cavity with about a tablespoon of filling.
Put cake cap back on.
Chill for 30 minutes to set filling.
Top with generous dollop of whipped cream frosting.
Top with shredded coconut.

Pistachio Swiss Meringue Buttercream

2010-08-28T23:23:00.000-07:00

Makes about 4 cups

4 large egg whites
1 cup sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened, cut into tablespoons
Sweetened pistachio paste, to taste
Green food coloring (optional)

Put egg whites and sugar into the top of a double boiler over a pan of simmering water. Whisking constantly, cook until sugar has dissolved and mixture is warm (about 160 degrees).
Pour heated egg whites into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat egg white mixture on high speed until it forms stiff (but not dry) peaks. Continue beating until fluffy and cooled, about 7 minutes.
Switch to the paddle attachment. With mixer on medium-low, add butter two tablespoons at a time, beating well after each addition. Increase speed to medium-high; continue beating until frosting appears thick, about 3 minutes. Reduce speed to low; add 1/4 cup pistachio paste and mix until incorporated. Add more if a stronger flavor is desired (I used about 1/2 cup).

Sweetened Pistachio Paste
Makes about 1 cup

1 cup pistachios, skins removed (if pistachios are salted, rinse them well)
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup hot water

In a food processor, grind pistachios and sugar until it becomes a fine meal. With the processor still running, Slowly add hot water, one tablespoon at a time scraping the bowl often, until a thick but spreadable paste forms. Transfer to a bowl and press plastic wrap against the surface. Cool to room temperature.

Credits: How to Eat a Cupcake blog

Spumoni Cupcake

2010-08-28T23:22:00.000-07:00

Slight adapted by a recipe I got off of "How to Eat a Cupcake" blog. Only difference is I didn't use cherry extract and opted to do a mix of maraschino cherries and canned cherry because I thought the canned cherries tasted too much like prunes plus when I eat the maraschino cherry, that tastes more like the cherry ice cream in spumoni to me. I also halved the recipe to make only twelve cupcakes.

This cupcake is half cherry batter and half chocolate batter topped with pistachio buttercream to finish off the three classic flavors in spumoni ice cream.

Cherry Batter

4 tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
6 tbsp sugar
1/2 cup + 6 tbsp. flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1/4 teaspoon cherry extract (I didn't have any)
1/4 cup whole milk
1/8 cup chopped cherries (canned or frozen, thawed)

Chocolate Batter

4 tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
6 tbsp sugar
1/2 cup + 2 tbsp. flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1/4 teaspoon cherry extract (I didn't have any)
1/4 cup whole milk
1/8 cup chopped cherries (canned or frozen, thawed)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour a standard 12-cup muffin pan, or use paper liners. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
With an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition; add cherry flavoring and mix until combined. On low speed, beat in half the flour mixture, followed by milk; end with remaining flour mixture and chopped cherries. Mix just until incorporated (do not overmix).
Fill muffin cups with 3 tablespoons of each batter, side by side. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center of a cupcake comes out clean, 20 to 22 minutes. Cool cupcakes in pan, 5 minutes; transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Banana Cupcakes

2010-07-19T10:21:00.000-07:00

Super delicious and moist I made these cupcakes for Jackie's 26th birthday. I originally was going to do a tres leche cupcake but had 3 overly ripen bananas that I had to do something with. I topped it with my new Swiss meringue buttercream recipe and added around 4 tablespoons of mashed bananas to it at the end to make Banana Swiss Merginue Buttercream. The results were delicious!

(Cupcake recipe from Crazy About Cupcakes by Krystina Castella.)
Makes 18-22

Ingredients:

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup mashed ripe bananas (About 2 bananas)
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Insert liners into a medium cupcake pan.
With an electric mixer on medium speed, cream the butter and sugar together until fluffy, about 3-5 minutes. Add the eggs to the creamed mixture and beat well. Add the bananas and mix well.
In a separate bowl sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt.
Add all the dry ingredients to the creamed mixture and mix until completely integrated.
Add the milk and vanilla. Mix for 1 minute on medium speed.
Fill cupcake liners one-half to three-quarters full (take this seriously, I underfilled and they didn't rise enough) with batter. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of cupcakes comes out clean. Cool cupcakes in the pan.

Swiss Meringue Buttercream II (Less Butter)

2010-07-17T12:13:00.000-07:00

[Updated 2011-03-30]

Makes about 4 cups (enough to frost 24 cupcakes)

Ingredients

4 large egg whites
1 cup sugar
1 1/4 cup (2 sticks + 1/2 a stick) unsalted butter, slightly softened and cut into 1 tablespoon portions
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions

Put egg whites and sugar into the top of a double boiler over a pan of simmering water. Whisking constantly. Tip: Remove the upper vessel of the double boiler from the steam source periodically while continually whisking when it gets too hot to touch. When the upper vessel is cool enough to touch, but still very warm, return upper vessel to steam.
Cook egg white and sugar mixture until sugar has dissolved and mixture is hot to the touch (about 160 degrees). Tip: Using your fingers, pinch a portion of the mixture. The mixture should fill smooth and not grainy.
Pour heated egg whites into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat egg white mixture on high speed until fluffy and cooled, from 5-7 minutes. Tip: The egg white mixture should form stiff peaks.
Switch to the paddle attachment. With mixer on medium-low, add butter two tablespoons at a time, beating well after each addition. Tip: While adding the butter, the mixture may begin to break. This is OK. Continue adding in the remaining butter.
Increase speed to medium-high; continue beating until frosting appears thick, about 3 minutes. Reduce speed to low; add vanilla extract and continue beating 2 minutes to eliminate air bubbles. Tip: At this point, the mixture should appear thick and continue to become more frosting like. If this does not happen after a few minutes of mixing, you may need to add additional butter. If additional butter is needed, add the butter 2 tablespoons at a time (in 1 tablespoon portions) and mix well before adding each 2 tablespoon portion. Check after each 2 tablespoon portion addition if the mixture is beginning to thicken. If so, there is no need to add additional butter.

Note:

When doubling the recipe, use the following ingredient list:

8 large egg whites
1 3/4 cup sugar
2 1/2 cup (5 sticks) unsalted butter, slightly softened and cut into 1 tablespoon portions
3 teaspoons vanilla extract

Credits:
How to Eat a Cupcake blog

Martha Stewart's One-Bowl Chocolate Cupcakes

2010-06-13T22:01:00.000-07:00

I tried it...I baked from scratch. Besides breads and cookies, I like the semi-homemade approach to things but for some reason, I felt like trying it so I started slow with this easy recipe from Martha Stewart. It was easy to do and yielded a pretty moist cake!

Makes 18 to 24

Ingredients

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
3/4 cup warm water
3/4 cup buttermilk
3 tablespoons safflower oil
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners; set aside. Sift together cocoa powder, flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into a large bowl. Add eggs, warm water, buttermilk, oil, and vanilla, and mix until smooth, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides and bottom of bowl to assure batter is well mixed.
Divide batter evenly among muffin cups, filling each 2/3 full. Bake until tops spring back when touched, about 20 minutes, rotating pan once if needed. Transfer to a wire rack; let cool completely.

Basic Waffles (Heart-shape recommended but optional)

2010-05-10T16:45:00.000-07:00

Alton Brown's recipe from Foodtv.com:

Ingredients

4 3/4 ounces all-purpose flour, approximately 1 cup
4 3/4 ounces whole-wheat flour, approximately 1 cup
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons sugar
3 whole eggs, beaten
2 ounces unsalted butter, melted
16 ounces buttermilk, room temperature
Vegetable spray, for waffle iron

Directions

Preheat waffle iron according to manufacturer's directions.
In a medium bowl whisk together the flours, soda, baking powder, salt, and sugar. In another bowl beat together eggs and melted butter, and then add the buttermilk. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir until combined. Allow to rest for 5 minutes.
Ladle the recommended amount of waffle batter onto the iron according to the manufacturer's recommendations. Close iron top and cook until the waffle is golden on both sides and is easily removed from iron. Serve immediately or keep warm in a 200 degree F oven until ready to serve.

Baked French Toast Casserole

2010-04-05T11:07:00.000-07:00

Photo courtesy of Food Network.

We ate too fast for me to take a picture. LOL

I wanted to make breakfast during our Mammoth trip without having to stand and flip pancakes or French toast the entire time. I decided on this Paula Deen recipe due to the high commenting and ratings on FoodTV.com. I changed it a big (substitute white sugar for corn syrup because I didn't have any). In an effect to streamline packing for our trip, I did the egg mixture and praline mixture (san butter of course) before hand. When we got to the cabin, I just sliced the bread, pour the egg mixture on top, then melted the butter, mixed it with the praline mixture and spread on top! (I didn't do it overnight in fear that it would be too soggy...maybe I'll try it next time, that would make it even easier!) So easy and so delicious. Very fluffy, almost like a bread pudding:

Ingredients

1 loaf French bread (13 to 16 ounces)
8 large eggs
2 cups half-and-half
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Dash salt
Praline Topping, recipe follows
Maple syrup

Directions
Slice French bread into 20 slices, 1-inch each. (Use any extra bread for garlic toast or bread crumbs). Arrange slices in a generously buttered 9 by 13-inch flat baking dish in 2 rows, overlapping the slices. In a large bowl, combine the eggs, half-and-half, milk, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt and beat with a rotary beater or whisk until blended but not too bubbly. Pour mixture over the bread slices, making sure all are covered evenly with the milk-egg mixture. Spoon some of the mixture in between the slices. Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight.

The next day, preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Spread Praline Topping evenly over the bread and bake for 40 minutes, until puffed and lightly golden. Serve with maple syrup.

Praline Topping:

1/2 pound (2 sticks) butter
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup chopped pecans
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl and blend well. Makes enough for Baked French Toast Casserole.

Nana's Brownies

2010-03-29T09:00:00.000-07:00

I got this recipe from a friend. It's her nana's signature. It's super easy and it freezes well, too.

In a saucepan (large enough to fit all the ingredients) on the stove, melt together:

2 sticks of butter (1 cup)
4 oz. (4 squares) unsweetened baking chocolate squares (the packet I usually get comes with 8 squares)

Once melted together, remove from heat (wait approximately 5 minutes or so).

Add 2 cups white sugar

Add 4 beaten eggs

Add 1.5 cups flour, 1 tsp. baking powder, 2 tsp. vanilla

I add chocolate bits and walnuts (but I don't measure them). This is a preference.

Bake in a 13x9 baking pan at 300 degrees for 35-40 minutes.

(This is SUPER SIMPLE compared to all the other stuff you guys have on here. Hehe...my 1st post :))

Chicken Enchilada Casserole

2010-03-21T21:31:00.001-07:00

We had left over rotisserie chicken from Costco so Anh 2 Mike wanted me to cook something that would clear up some space in our fridge. I found two recipes on Allrecipe and took pieces of to make the ingredients I have word. Then I cooked it low and slow to get the flavors to meld together (a trick I got from brother Steve). It was good. Next time I will double the sauce. It came out a litte dry.

Ingredients

2 cups diced chicken breast meat (about half a Costco chicken)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
1 (15 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 (4.5 ounce) can diced green chile peppers, drained
1 (15 ounce) can corn, rinsed and drained (I used frozen I had in the freezer and defrosted it)
1 (6 ounce) can of tomato paste (2 cans next time)
2/3 cup water (1 1/3 cup next time)
2 tablespoon hot sauce (4 tablespoon next time)
1/4 bag of taco seasoning mix (1/2 next time)
1 package (6 inch) corn tortillas
2 cups shredded Mexican blend cheese
1 (8 ounce) container sour cream

Directions

Preheat oven to 320 degrees.
In a medium bowl, mix together chicken and sour cream.
In another bowl, mix cilantro, beans, green chile peppers, and corn. Set aside.
In another bowl, mix the tomato paste, water, hot sauce, taco seasoning.
Spoon a layer of the tomato mixture into the bottom of a 9x13 casserole dish.
Layer tortillas on top of the tomato mixture.
Spread more sauce, then chicken mixture the bean/corn mixture then sprinkle with cheese. Repeat layers until desired amount (I usually do 3).
For the top, spread the tomato sauce then sprinkle with remaining cheese.
Cover with foil and put it in the oven for 1 1/2 hours or until melded together and bubbly.
Serve with more cilantro and a side of fresh avocado. Yum...

Footnotes
Make the meat layer thin to cut the richness.

Verdict
Served it to Bao and Anh 2 Mike. Anh 2 Mike had seconds. Both says it was good but could use more sauce.

3-Cheese Roasted Garlic Mac n Cheese

2010-03-15T10:04:00.000-07:00

We had all this fancy leftover cheese from a wine and cheese party so Bao suggested I made mac n cheese with it. So I did! It was delicious!

Ingredients:

Any short grain pasta
Milk
Roux (butter and flour)
Cheeses, grated
Roasted garlic, mashed
Salt
Pepper
Panko bread crust
Olive oil
Parmesan cheese

Directions:

Cook pasta as package directed.
Bring milk to a boil over medium heat.
Add roux and cook to desire consistency.
Add cheese a handful at a time.
Salt and pepper to taste.
Add cooked pasta to cheese sauce.
Transfer mac n cheese to a baking dish.
In a small bowl, mix panko, parmesan cheese and olive oil.
Spread breadcrumb mixture over mac n cheese.
Bake at 375 until top is golden brown.

Baked Brie

2010-03-08T16:27:00.000-08:00

This baked brie has roasted garlic and toasted pine nuts all wrapped in puff pastry. It was delicious! The only baked brie we ever made that was completely devoured!

Ingredients:

Small Brie wheel
Garlic, oven roasted
Pine nuts, lightly toasted
Store-bought puff pastry, defrosted to room temperature
Egg, beaten

Directions:

Roll out the puff pastry so it doesn't puff too much when you bake it.
Cut around the puff pastry so you have enough to cover the entire Brie wheel but not too much excess that it will be lumpy on the bottom.
Put the pine nuts, and mushrooms on the puff pastry circle you just cut, now put the Brie back on top of it.
Wrap until all the ends meet and it's seal.
Put the seam side down.
Brush with egg wash and bake at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes or when puff pastry is golden brown.

Classic Lasagna

2010-03-07T19:54:00.001-08:00

Well, kind of classic because it's a red sausage with cheese and sausage...not so classic since I put sriracha, sugar and soy sauce in it. But that's the secret, family! Sounds weird but oh so delicious!

Ingredients:

1 box lasagna noodles, cooked
1 lb Italian sausage
1 jar of spaghetti sauce
sriracha, to taste (optional)
sugar, to taste
salt and pepper, to taste
soy sauce, to taste (optional)
1 8oz tub of ricotta cheese
1 egg
2 tablespoon fresh parsley (or basil), chopped
1 (2 cup) bag of shredded mozzarella
Parmesan cheese

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Cook sausage in pan until brown. Add spaghetti sauce and season with sugar, sriracha, soy sauce, salt and pepper.
In a medium bowl, mix ricotta, parsley and egg until combined.
In a 9 x 13 casserole dish, put a layer of sauce on the bottom so the noodles won't stick and you will get clean cuts.
Next layer noodle, then ricotta, mozzarella and meat sauce. Repeat 3x or until you only have 4 noodles left.
Top with mozzarella & Parmesan and bake for 20 minutes or golden brown.

Banh Chuoi Nuong

2010-03-06T13:59:00.000-08:00

(Vietnamese Baked Banana Bread/Pudding)

Growing up Mom always made this with left over bread and overly ripe bananas. I love it. I remember eating it for breakfast the big morning of the Whittier earthquake and how everybody was upset the food tank almost fell on mom but I was upset I lost my banh chuoi during the quake. LOL. (Selfish, fat kid...)

I have a lot of ripe bananas and we bought a bag of day-old bread at Lee's Sandwich for 50 cents. I called Mom and she told me how to do it over the phone. So of course, there are no measurements.

Ingredients:

Day old French bread
Milk
Sugar
Bananas, sliced length wise
Butter

Directions:

Break the bread into small pieces (1/2 inch cubes or pieces)
Mix milk and very little sugar (since bananas are sweet) into the bread in a large bowl. Bread should be soaked with milk mixture.
Butter a pan and put a layer of the bread mixture in.
Layer bananas next. Sprinkle with sugar to caramelize.
Put a thin layer of bread on top of the banana later.
Lastly, pour melted butter over the top. Sprinkle with a little more sugar.
Bake at 350 degree for an hour.

Notes:

Don't use too much milk and the cooking time should decrease. Just enough to soften the bread.
Use salted butter

Peanut Butter Cup Trifle

2010-02-28T13:46:00.000-08:00

BEWARE: This is NOT diet food. I am not responsible for what this trifle could do to your waistline!

Using the brownies I posted earlier, I made this peanut butter cup trifle. Very similar to the pistachio one I made in the past, it came out delicious. Love the different texture the peanut butter cup added.

Ingredients:
1 batch of peanut butter cup brownies, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 (3.9 ounce) box of instant chocolate pudding
1/2 cup warm water
1 pint (8 oz) whipping cream
1 16 oz cool whip, unfrozen
caramel sauce
9 mini Reese's peanut butter cups

Directions:
Mix chocolate pudding with water until combined and set aside.
Whip up whipping cream until firm peaks.
Take 1/3 of the whipped cream and mix it into the chocolate pudding mixture.
Fold the rest of the whipped cream into the choclate mixture until combined.
To assemble the trifle, put a layer of brownie, then spoon over some caramel sauce, then pudding, then cool whip and repeat.
Garnish the top with 9 miniature Reese's peanut butter cupcakes and drizzle with caramel

Peanut Butter Cup Brownies

2010-02-27T14:21:00.000-08:00

The husband brought home a delicious peanut butter cup brownie on Tuesday and I've been thinking about it ever since. I'm making a trifle for dinner with friends tomorrow night so I decided to try it. Of course since I'm making a trifle, I'm not going to bake it from scratch. I go the good ol' Ghirardelli brownie mix, cut up some mini Reese's peanut butter cups and the rest is DELICIOUS! So easy. You have to try it if you like chocolate and peanut butter.

Ingredients:

1 box of Ghirardelli brownie mix
12 mini Reese's peanut butter cup, cut into quarters.

Directions:

Prepare brownies according to box instructions.
Pour batter into a greased pan.
Dot with peanut butter cup quarters, pressing it into the batter a little.
Cook for as long as the box says (until a toothpick come out clean)
Enjoy with a big glass of milk!

Ga Kho Gung (Carmelized chicken with ginger)

2010-02-27T13:53:00.000-08:00

I thought that since I'm a mom now, I should seriously start trying to cook like mine. Trust me, I've tried before and fail miserable every time, some how, I think I got it. I made this last night. (Now I know why Mom cooks in the garage...my house STILL smells like nuoc mam today!)

Ingredients:

1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup mam
1/4 cup water
2 chicken breast, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 tbsp ginger, shredded
Sprachia hot sauce

Directions:
Put oil in to a skillet on medium high. Brown the chicken in two batches and set aside.
Put the sugar in the skillet and cook until brown. Add mam and water until boiling.
Add chicken back in and cook covered for 30 minutes.
Remove cover and cook until the sauce reduces and is thicken. Add some Sprachia hot sauce to taste.
Serve with rice.

*Don't forget to use the pot to make Com Bac 7, sisters! That's the best part!

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cupcakes

2010-02-19T09:25:00.000-08:00

I got this recipe off of Allrecipes.com for chocolate cake and modified it slightly for cupcakes! It's so moist and chocolatey! I'm definitely using it again.

Ingredients

1 (18.25 ounce) package devil's food cake mix
1 (5.9 ounce) package instant chocolate pudding mix
1 cup sour cream
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
1/2 cup warm water
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
In a large bowl, mix together the cake and pudding mixes, sour cream, oil, beaten eggs and water. Stir in the chocolate chips and fill cupcake liners 2/3 of the way.
Bake for 25 to 30 minutes (rotating the pans half way through, or until top is springy to the touch and a wooden toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool cupcakes thoroughly in pan at least 10 minutes. Take out of pan and completely cool on a cooling rack before frosting.

Baked Egg Muffins

2010-02-15T07:40:00.000-08:00

I came across this recipe while browsing the web. It's really fast and really rather tasty and all you really need is your basic breakfast items to assemble. Cook the bacon the night before to save time, and simply assemble and bake in the morning. I added a bit of truffle oil before serving and it was delish!

Ingredients
-bread
-butter
-bacon
-eggs
-cheese
-chives

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Butter your muffin tin. Cut edges off the crusts of the bread and butter the bread slices. Press each slice gently into the bottom of the muffin cup. Bake for 3 to 6 minutes, depending on the thickness of the bread, until it is starting to crisp.

Remove tin from the oven, place the bacon on the bottom of each cup. Save some bacon for garnishing. Crack an egg into each cup. Season with salt and pepper, and cover with cheese.

Place the muffin tin back into the oven and bake for 10 to 14 minutes until the whites are just set, or to the desired consistency. Remove the bread cups with a spoon, garnish with chives and bacon bits.

note: I baked mine for 15 minutes because I didn't want the yolk to be too runny.

Deviled Chicken

2010-02-10T17:57:00.000-08:00

Please siblings, if you should try any of the recipes I post, please make it be this one! I made this on a whim tonight based on things I had on hand, and it was quite a pleasant surprise! Used a recipe off of allrecipes.com but made some modifications with things I like to cook with and recommendations made by commentors. Served it on a bed of mac and cheese, and will definitely keep this recipe in my usual rotation of recipes!

Ingredients

1/8 cup butter
1/2 cup miracle whip
2 tablespoons spicy honey mustard
8 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
salt and pepper to taste
1 (16 ounce) package Stovetop corn bread stuffing mix

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Empty stuffing mix ontp a baking sheet or cutting board and crush the bread crumbs to minimize large pieces
Melt butter/margarine and mix in a small bowl with mayonnaise and mustard. Pour mixture into a shallow bowl or plate.
Season chicken with salt and pepper to taste. Roll seasoned chicken breasts in mayonnaise mixture, then dredge in stuffing mix and place in a lightly greased 9x13 inch baking dish. Bake in the preheated oven for 1 hour or until chicken is cooked all the way through.

Triple Strawberry Cupcake

2010-02-10T11:40:00.000-08:00

I made a cupcake bouquet for Angie for V-day for a friend. Her friend likes strawberry cupcakes with vanilla frosting. So I made this cupcake from my Cupcake Doctor book called Pretty in Pink. I'm going to call it a Triple Strawberry Cupcake so it makes sense. Hahaha. I topped it with my favorite Swiss Meringue Buttercream and it was delicious. Very moist from the real strawberries.

Triple Strawberry Cupcakes (AKA Pretty in Pink)
Makes 24 cupcakes

Ingredients

1 package (18.25 ounces) plain white cake mix (I used strawberry cake mix...that made it triple)
1 package (3 ounces) strawberry gelatin
1 cup finely chopped fresh strawberries with juice from 1 1/2 cups whole berries (see “The Cupcake Doctor Says” below)
3/4 cup milk
3/4 cup vegetable oil
4 large eggs

Directions:

Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F. Line 24 cupcake cups with paper liners. Set the pans aside.
Place the cake mix, gelatin, strawberries and juice, milk, oil, and eggs in a large mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer on low speed for 30 seconds. Stop the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Beat 2 minutes more on low speed, scraping down the sides again if needed. Spoon or scoop 1/3 cup batter into each lined cupcake cup, filling it three quarters of the way full. Place the pans in the oven.
Bake the cupcakes until they are lightly golden around the edges and spring back when lightly pressed with your finger, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove the pans from the oven and place them on wire racks to cool for 5 minutes. Run a dinner knife around the edges of the cupcake liners, lift the cupcakes up from the bottoms of the cups using the end of the knife, and pick them out of the cups carefully with your fingertips. Place them on a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.

The Cupcake Doctor Says…
“Although these cupcakes put the season's best berries to good use, they are also perfect for those berries that arrive at your market from far away and have little juice and less flavor than good local berries. If you are using juicy berries, drain them well and use only the juice that clings to them when the berries have been chopped for the cake and the frosting. A pinch of cinnamon picks up the strawberry flavor in the cupcake batter.”

Source: The Cupcake Doctor, by Anne Byrn

Dutch Baby Pancake

2010-02-07T20:22:00.000-08:00

Baked in a large, hot skillet, the thin, eggy batter puffs up like a popover. To serve, slide the pancake from the skillet onto a plate and dust with powder sugar.

Ingredients

Serves 4

1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 large eggs
3/4 cup milk
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon confectioners' sugar
lemon wedges

Directions

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Heat a well-seasoned 10-inch cast-iron skillet over high heat. Add butter to melt.
In a separate bowl, whisk together all ingredients, except confectioners’ sugar, until smooth. Pour over melted butter in skillet. Bake until puffed and brown, about 20 minutes. Slide pancake onto a serving platter. Serve immediately, cut into wedges, with confectioners’ sugar sifted over the top. Serve with a lemon wedge.

Sausage-Stuffed Mushrooms

2010-02-07T09:24:00.000-08:00

This was adapted from Ina Garten's stuffed mushrooms. We did not use sherry since we didn't have any and just marinated the mushrooms in red wine (Merlot) and olive oil. We also did not have any mascarpone cheese, so we used a combination of cream cheese and goat cheese that we had in the fridge. Goat cheese can be very strong so the ratio was 3 to 1, cream cheese to goat cheese. The filling is so good and rich and it was really easy to make.

I included Ina's original recipe and marked our adaptations in italics:

Ingredients

16 extra-large white mushrooms
5 tablespoons good olive oil, divided
2 1/2 tablespoons Marsala wine or medium sherry (Merlot or any red wine you have)
3/4 pound sweet Italian sausage, removed from the casings
6 scallions, white and green parts, minced
2 garlic cloves minced (I used 3 cloves)
2/3 cup panko crumbs
5 ounces mascarpone cheese, preferably from Italy (1 ounce goat cheese & 4 ounces cream cheese, mixed together)
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan
2 1/2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley leaves
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
Remove the stems from the mushrooms and chop them finely. Set aside. Place the mushroom caps in a shallow bowl and toss with 3 tablespoons of the olive oil and Marsala. Set aside.
Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add the sausage, crumbling it with the back of a wooden spoon. Cook the sausage for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring frequently, until it's completely browned. Add the chopped mushroom stems and cook for 3 more minutes. Stir in the scallions and garlic and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the panko crumbs, stirring to combine evenly with all the other ingredients. Finally, swirl in the mascarpone and continue cooking until the mascarpone has melted and made the sausage mixture creamy. Off the heat, stir in the Parmesan, parsley, and season with salt and pepper, to taste, Cool slightly.
Fill each mushroom generously with the sausage mixture. Arrange the mushrooms in a baking dish large enough to hold all the mushrooms in a snug single layer. Bake until the stuffing for 50 minutes, until the stuffing is browned and crusty.

Pigs in a Blanket

2010-02-07T09:15:00.000-08:00

We spent Super Bowl XLIV at Steve and Jenny's with the babies and watched the Saints beat the Colts (31-17) in a very exciting game.

Here is the simple pigs in the blanket we always make.

Ingredients:

1 Pilsburry Crescent rolls (Each triangle cut into 3, the long way)
1 packages of Aidell's chicken apple sausages, mini (Or Lil Smokies)
1 egg, beaten

Directions:

Prepare a baking sheet but wrapping with foil.
Roll a sausage into the cut Crescent roll.
Brush with egg wash.
Bake at 350 for about 10-15 minutes or until golden and puffed.
Serve with ketchup!

Zucchini Bread

2010-02-04T09:30:00.000-08:00

I started with a recipe I found on Allrecipes.com and substitute the white flour for wheat flour. It came out perfectly. It does have a hint of a wheat taste for those of you who don't like wheat but we're use to it in my family. Top with some honey whip and it's perfect. (I omitted the nuts to keep it kid-friendly.)

Ingredients

3 cups wheat flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil (OR ½ cup veg oil & ½ cup apple sauce)
2 cups brown sugar
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups grated zucchini
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Directions

Grease and flour two 8 x 4 inch pans. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
Sift flour, salt, baking powder, soda, and cinnamon together in a bowl.
Beat eggs, oil, vanilla, and sugar together in a large bowl. Add sifted ingredients to the creamed mixture, and beat well. Stir in zucchini and nuts until well combined. Pour batter into prepared pans.
Bake for 40 to 55 minutes, or until tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan on rack for 20 minutes. Remove bread from pan, and completely cool.

Honey Whip

2010-02-04T09:29:00.001-08:00

I made this up to replicate Souplantation's Honey Whipped butter. It came out perfectly and really complimented my zucchini bread:

Ingredients:

butter, room temperature
honey

Directions:

Whip up butter on medium speed until soft and fluffy
Turn the mixer to low and pour a even stream of honey into the mixer and count to 26.
Scrape the bowl down and whip for 1-2 minutes.
Serve on your favorite muffin or bread!

On top of warm zucchini bread.

Creamy Sausage & Mushroom Penne

2010-01-26T15:29:00.000-08:00

I modified this from Giada's recipe I watched her do on my day off with the kids. I added meat of course. LOL. I'm sure it's delicious without the meat, but for my house it doesn't feel like dinner unless there's protein in it. You can take the meat out and it's completely a vegetarian dish since you use veggie stock. It's delicious and easy! Try it out!

Ingredients

* 1 pound penne pasta
* 2 tablespoons olive oil
* 1 pound sweet Italian sausage, casing removed
* 2 shallots, minced
* 1 clove garlic, minced
* Salt and freshly ground black pepper
* 1 pound assorted mushrooms, (such as cremini, shiitake and button), cleaned and sliced
* 1/2 cup white wine
* 1/2 cup vegetable stock
* 1 cup (8 ounces) mascarpone cheese, at room temperature
* 1/2 cup grated Parmesan
* 1/4 cup chopped parsley

Directions

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes.

While the pasta is cooking:

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the sausage and cook until golden brown. Add the shallots and garlic to the pan. Season with salt and pepper. Cook until soft, about 2 minutes. Add the mushrooms to the pan and season with salt and pepper. Cook until mushrooms are tender, stirring occasionally, about 5 to 7 minutes. Turn the heat to high. Add the wine and cook for 3 minutes until all the liquid evaporates. Add the stock and simmer until liquid is slightly reduced. Remove the pan from the heat. Add the mascarpone cheese. Stir until creamy. Drain the pasta, reserving about 1 cup of the pasta water, and transfer to a serving bowl. Add the mushroom mixture and the Parmesan. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Toss well to coat pasta, adding the reserved pasta water, if needed, to loosen the pasta. Garnish with the chopped parsley. Serve immediately.

Banana Pancakes

2010-01-23T10:13:00.001-08:00

Yes, I like to make pancakes. I was watching Bobby Flay Throwdown and had to try a new technique: whipping up egg whites then folding to get a lighter, fluffier pancake. It worked so great I'm gonna do that for all my pancake recipes from now on!

Ingredients
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon white sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg, beaten
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 ripe bananas, mashed

Directions
Combine flour, white sugar, baking powder and salt. In a separate bowl, mix together egg, milk, vegetable oil and bananas.
Stir flour mixture into banana mixture; batter will be slightly lumpy.
Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake. Cook until pancakes are golden brown on both sides; serve hot.

Lemon Pineapple (Cake-Mix) Cake

2010-01-17T21:49:00.000-08:00

This is the cake from The Cake Doctor's Inside Out Pineapple Cake but I did not bake mine in a tube pan or make the glaze. I combined this with the stable whipped cream frosting and used two 6-inch cake pans I borrowed from Jackie to make my first birthday cake. It turned out delicious!

Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 50 minutes

Ingredients:

1 package (18.25 ounce) plain lemon cake mix
1 cup crushed pineapple packed in
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil such as canola, corn, safflower, soybean or sunflower
4 large eggs

Preparation:

Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 10-inch tube pan with solid vegetable shortening, then dust with flour. Shake out the excess flour. Set the pan aside.
Place the cake mix, undrained crushed pineapple, sugar, oil and eggs in large mixing bowl and blend with an electric mixer on low speed for 1 minute. Stop the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat for 2 minutes more, scraping the sides down again if needed. The pineapple should be well blended into the batter. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing the top with the rubber spatula. Place the pan in the oven.
Bake the cake until it springs back when lightly pressed with your finger and just starts to pull away from the sides of the pan, 48-50 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool for 15 minutes. Run a long, sharp knife around the edge of the cake and invert it onto a rack, then invert onto another rack so the cake is right side up. Allow it to cool completely 30 minutes more.

Yield: 16 servings

Recipe Source: The Cake Mix Doctor by Ann Byrn (Workman Publishing)

Pipable Whipped Cream Frosting

2010-01-17T21:39:00.000-08:00

Steve doesn't like buttercream so I had to research a whipped cream frosting sturdy enough to decorate just to make it pretty. I am pretty happy with this recipe.

I made 3 batches of this: one for the crumb coat and 2 to frost the cake. I had a cup leftover.

Ingredients

1/4 cup cold water
1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 tablespoon white sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

Chill mixing bowl and beaters for at least 15 minutes before using. Place water in a small microwave-safe bowl. Sprinkle gelatin over water and allow to soften 5 minutes.
Dissolve gelatin by microwaving for 2 minutes, stirring after every 30 seconds. Remove from microwave and let stand at room temperature for 10 minutes; gelatin must be liquid but not warm when added to cream.
Remove bowl and beaters from refrigerator and pour in cream, sugar, and vanilla extract. Beat together just until beater marks begin to show distinctly.
Add gelatin mixture to cream, pouring in a steady stream while beating constantly. Beat until stiff peaks form. Use immediately.

Hawaiian Macaroni Salad

2010-01-17T21:06:00.000-08:00

Simple macaroni salad like the ones served at Hawaiian fast food places like L&L. Nothing fancy. Good side to all the flavorful Hawaiian dishes such as Moco Loco or BBQ chicken.

Serves 4 -6

Ingredients

3 cups large macaroni
2 potato, peeled, cooked and diced
1/4 cup grated carrot
1 cup Best Foods Mayonnaise (a must)
1/4 cup milk
salt & pepper to taste

Directions

Cook macaroni till tender.
Add grated carrots, mayonnaise, and milk till well coated. Salt & Pepper to taste. Use more mayonnaise if needed.
Chill in refrigerator.
When ready to serve, add more mayonnaise to keep salad from drying out.

Meaty Pineapple Curry Fried Rice

2010-01-17T20:52:00.000-08:00

Servings: 10-12

Ingredients

2 cans of light SPAM cut into hearty cubes
3 sticks lap chang sausages halved lengthwise, diced
1 shallot minced
2 cloves garlic minced
1/4 cup cilantro roughly chopped
1 cup pineapple wedges into quarters lengthwise. Reserve 4 tablespoons of juice.
1/2 cup frozen peas
3 carrots diced
1/4 large red onion diced
2 tbsp curry powder
4 large eggs lightly beaten with pinch of kosher salt
4 tablespoons oil for stir-frying, or as needed
5 cups cold cooked brown rice
kosher salt
1 - 2 tablespoons light soy sauce, as desired

Directions

Using a wok, working in batches, pan fry SPAM until lightly crispy. Remove and set aside
Pan fry lap chang until lightly crispy. Remove and set aside.
Pour out excess oil.
Add 1 tablespoon oil to wok. Add carrots and onion and cook until carrots are tender. Remove and set aside.
Add 2 tablespoons oil to wok. When the oil is hot, add the eggs. Cook, stirring, until they are lightly scrambled but not too dry.
Add 1 tablespoon of oil to wok and add shallot and garlic to wok and stir fry for a few seconds.
Add SPAM, lap chang, carrots, onions, and peas to wok and stir fry for a few minutes.
Add rice and soy sauce.
When rice is heated through add pineapple wedges and reserved juices.
Add curry powder and mix well.
Add salt to taste.
Add cilantro and quickly stir fry for a few more minutes.
Serve immediately.

Orange Barbeque Salmon Taco with Red Cabbage Slaw and Chipotle White Sauce

2010-01-15T20:50:00.000-08:00

We found this highly-rated Bobby Flay recipe on FoodTV.com and adjusted it to make our lives easier. Bobby Flay has this intimidating long list of ingredients to make his own BBQ sauce...we simply used premade BBQ sauce and added the flavor components not usually found in BBQ sauce. We're not sure if it tastes like Chef Flay's, but it was still delicious. The grill fish made this a pretty light meal. We also used both salmon & tilapia and I think we all liked the tilapia more.

Here is the adjusted recipe:

Ingredients

2 (10-ounce) salmon fillets (or tilapia fillets)
Olive oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Orange BBQ Sauce, recipe follows
8 (6-inch flour) tortillas, cut to size
Chipotle White Sauce, recipe follows
Red Cabbage Slaw, recipe follows
Cilantro leaves

Directions

Heat grill to high.

Brush salmon with oil and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Grill the salmon skin-side down for 3 to 4 minutes or until charred and a crust has formed. Brush with some of the BBQ sauce, flip over and continue grilling for 2 to 3 minutes for medium doneness. Remove from the grill and brush with more of the sauce. Let rest 5 minutes and flake with a fork

Grill tortillas for 20 seconds per side. Divide the salmon among the tortillas, top with the red cabbage slaw and smoked chile sauce and cilantro leaves; fold and eat.

Orange BBQ Sauce:

Prepared BBQ sauce like Sweet Baby Ray Ray
Splash of fresh orange juice
Pinch of sugar
Splash of Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Whisk together all ingredients in a small bowl and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Chipotle White Sauce:

1 cup prepared mayonnaise
2 tablespoons chipotle puree
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Whisk together all ingredients in a small bowl and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Red Cabbage Slaw:

1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
1/2 small red onion, coarsely chopped
2 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves (We omitted this)
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro leaves
1 tablespoon honey
1/2 cup canola oil
Salt and pepper
1/2 head red cabbage, finely shredded

Combine all ingredients, except cabbage and onions, in a blender and blend until smooth. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Place cabbage in a large bowl and toss with the vinaigrette. Season with salt and pepper and let sit 30 minutes in the refrigerator before serving.

Sloppy Chicken Mini Sammies

2010-01-13T16:42:00.000-08:00

I got the recipe from Rachael Ray. Don't let the picture turn you off, these are delicious! Quick and easy, and a great recipe to make changes to and experiment with! I replaced the mustard with sweet and spicy honey mustard, added another half tablespoon of brown sugar and used sriracha for hot sauce, of course.

Ingredients

12 bake-off dinner rolls, any brand
1 teaspoon plus 1 tablespoon smoked paprika, divided
1 tablespoon vegetable oil, 2 turns of the pan
2 tablespoons butter
2 pounds ground chicken
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 medium to large onion, finely chopped
2 tablespoons grill seasoning (recommended: Montreal Seasoning blend by McCormick)
1 tablespoon hot sauce, eyeball it
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 rounded tablespoonfuls spicy brown mustard
1/2 cup water

Directions

Heat the oven as directed on package of bake-off rolls. Arrange the rolls on a nonstick cookie sheet and sprinkle the rolls with about 1 teaspoon of smoked paprika, 1/3 palmfull. Bake rolls until golden and soft and remove.

While rolls cook, heat a deep nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add vegetable oil then melt butter into the oil and add chicken. Crumble and brown meat 3 to 4 minutes then add in the garlic and onions. Add 1 tablespoon smoked paprika and 2 tablespoons of grill seasoning to the chicken. Continue to cook over medium-high heat.

Mix hot sauce, tomato sauce, Worcestershire, brown sugar, mustard in a small bowl then stir into the meat and reduce heat to low. Stir in about 1/2 cup of water to keep the mix loose as it simmers. Simmer gently 10 minutes. Split rolls and scoop chicken into them and serve.

Chicken Marinade

2010-01-13T14:19:00.000-08:00

I thought it was time I start using marinades so I found this one on Allrecipes.com that sounds good. I didn't measure and it turned out great. I also omitted the liquid smoke because we didn't have any.

Ingredients

2/3 cup olive oil
2/3 cup reduced-sodium soy sauce (I used a little dark soy for color)
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 tablespoons liquid smoke flavoring (Didn't have any)
2 tablespoons spicy brown mustard (Didn't have any)
2 teaspoons ground black pepper (Used white pepper instead)
2 teaspoons garlic powder
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

Directions

In a large bowl, mix the olive oil, soy sauce, lemon juice, liquid smoke, mustard, pepper, and garlic powder. Place chicken in the bowl, and coat with the marinade. Cover, and allow chicken to marinate a maximum of 4 hours in the refrigerator. (I marinade for 30 mins)
Preheat the grill for high heat.
Oil grill grate. Discard marinade, and place chicken on grate. Cook 6 to 8 minutes on each side, until juices run clear.

Meatball Bagel Pizza

2010-01-10T13:23:00.000-08:00

Just to show that not everything posted on this blog needs to be fancy (nor does everything coming from our kitchen for the matter), I posted lunch: meatball bagel pizza. I looked in our fridge, saw a couple of things we had could be a delicious meal, and voila!

Ingredients:

one bagel
mozzarella cheese, shredded
Costco frozen meatballs, heated and sliced in half
marinara
dried oregano (optional)
dried basil (optional)
garlic powder (optional)

Directions:

Cut bagel in half.
Spread sauce, then arrange meatballs, more sauce, spices, cheese.
Put in oven until cheese is melted and golden.

Pumpkin Pancakes

2010-01-10T10:31:00.000-08:00

We had a can of pumpkin I had extra after making Paula Deen's pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving last year so I decided to make pumpkin pancakes for Anh 2 Mike and the kids. It was good. The vinegar sounds weird but what it does is curdles the milk and makes mock buttermilk. Try it. It's easy. I usually mix the dry ingredients the night before to speed it up in the morning.

Servings: 6 | Adapted from Allrecipes.com

Ingredients

* 2 cups all-purpose flour
* 3 tablespoons brown sugar
* 2 teaspoons baking powder
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 1 teaspoon ground allspice
* 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1 1/2 cups milk
* 1 cup pumpkin puree
* 1 egg
* 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
* 2 tablespoons vinegar

Directions

1. In a separate bowl, mix together the milk, pumpkin, egg, oil and vinegar. Combine the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, allspice, cinnamon, ginger and salt, stir into the pumpkin mixture just enough to combine.
2. Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake. Brown on both sides and serve hot.

Lemon Pepper Chicken Fettucine Alfredo

2010-01-07T22:29:00.000-08:00

I made this one up! Using store-bought alfredo sauce made this a pretty quick dinner option. I did kick it up by adding zest of one lemon to bring out the lemon in the chicken and the Trader Joe's lemon pepper pappardelle pasta.

Ingredients:

3 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
salt
pepper
juice of one lemon
olive oil
paprika
garlic powder
1 pkg of Trader Joe's pappardelle pasta
1 jar of Trader Joe's alfredo sauce
zest of the same lemon above
parsley, for garnish

Preparation:

Zest lemon and set aside. Chop up parsley and set aside.
Put olive oil, salt, pepper, paprika, garlic powder and the chicken breasts in a gallon freezer bag. Mix it around and let marinade in the fridge for 15 minutes.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Put some oil in an oven-safe pan on the stovetop at medium-high heat. Get chicken from the fridge. Make sure the pan is hot then put the chicken on. Brown both sides of the chicken (approximately 2-3 minutes on each side).
Put the pan in the oven for 25 minutes or when the internal temperature of the chicken is 180 degrees (juices will run clear when pierced) and take out and let rest.
Boil water and cook pasta to package instructions.
Drain al dente pasta and using the same pot you boiled the pasta with, heat up alfredo sauce. Add lemon zest to sauce.
Toss pasta in the sauce pan.
Slice chicken and serve with a slice of lemon.
Definitely eat with freshly squeezed lemon juice. It cuts through the richness of the alfredo.

Trader Joe's Lemon Pepper Pappardelle Pasta

Boeuf Bourguignon avec Nouilles Aux Oeufs

2010-01-03T21:43:00.000-08:00

Inspired by the movie, Julie & Julia

Made this using chuck and serve on top of egg noodles.
Original recipe created by Julia Child | Serves 3

Kitchen Supplies:

5 quart dutch oven
Slotted spoon

Boeuf Bourguignon:

6 ounces bacon (use plain salt-cured)
1 Tbsp. olive oil or cooking oil
1 1/4 pound lean stewing beef , cut into 2-inch cubes (I used chuck)
1 carrot, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 brown onion, cut into eighths
1 tsp. kosher salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
2 Tbsp. flour
3 cups full-bodied, young red wine , such as a Chianti (can also use a Shiraz or Syrah
2 to 2 1/2 cups brown beef stock or canned beef bouillon
1 Tbsp. tomato paste
2 cloves mashed garlic
1/2 tsp. thyme
Crumbled bay leaf
Blanched bacon rind
1 pound quartered fresh mushrooms , sautéed in butter (recipe below)
Parsley sprigs
Cooked egg noodles

Remove rind from bacon, and cut bacon into lardons (sticks, 1/4 inch thick and 1 1/2 inches long). Simmer rind and bacon for 10 minutes in 1 1/2 quarts of water. Drain and dry.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Add oil to dutch oven and sauté the bacon in the oil over moderate heat for 2 to 3 minutes to brown lightly. Remove to a side dish with a slotted spoon. Raise the heat until fat is almost smoking before you sauté the beef.

Dry the stewing beef in paper towels; it will not brown if it is damp. Sauté it, a few pieces at a time, in the hot oil and bacon fat until nicely browned on all sides. Set the beef aside with the bacon.

In the same fat, brown the sliced vegetables. Remove the vegetables to a side dish and pour out the sautéing fat.

Return the beef, bacon, and vegetables to the dutch oven and toss with the salt and pepper. Then sprinkle on the flour and toss again to coat the beef lightly with the flour. Set the dutch oven uncovered in middle position of preheated oven for 4 minutes. Toss the meat and return to oven for 4 minutes more. (This browns the flour and covers the meat with a light crust.) Remove dutch oven from the oven and put it on the stove top. Turn oven down to 325 degrees.

Stir in the wine, and enough stock into the dutch oven so that the meat is barely covered. Add the tomato paste, garlic, herbs, and bacon rind. Bring to simmer on top of the stove. Then cover the casserole and set in lower third of preheated oven. Regulate heat so liquid simmers
very slowly for 2 1/2 to 3 hours. The meat is done when a fork pierces it easily.

While the beef is cooking, prepare the mushrooms. Set them aside until needed.

When the meat is tender, pour the contents of the casserole into a sieve set over a saucepan. Wash out the casserole and return the beef, bacon, and vegetables to it. Distribute the cooked mushrooms over the meat.

Skim fat off the sauce. Simmer sauce for a minute or two, skimming off additional fat as it rises. You should have about 2 1/2 cups of sauce thick enough to coat a spoon lightly. If too thin, boil it down rapidly. If too thick, mix in a few tablespoons of stock or canned bouillon. Taste carefully for seasoning. Pour the sauce over the meat and vegetables. Recipe may be completed in advance to this point.

For immediate serving: Cover the casserole and simmer for 2 to 3 minutes, basting the meat and vegetables with the sauce several times. Serve in on a platter on top of egg noodles and decorated with parsley.

For later serving: When cold, cover and refrigerate. About 15 to 20 minutes before serving, bring to the simmer, cover, and simmer very slowly for 10 minutes, occasionally basting the meat and vegetables with the sauce.

Recipe for Sauteed Mushrooms

Kitchen Supplies:

10-in skillet

Sauteed Mushrooms:

1 pound quartered fresh mushrooms
2 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp olive oil

Place skillet over high heat with butter and oil. As soon as you see the butter foam has begun to subside, indicating it is hot enough, add the mushrooms. Toss and shake the pan for 4 to 5 minutes. During their saute, the mushrooms will at first absorb the fat. In 2 to 3 minutes, the fat will reappear on their surface, and the mushrooms will begin to brown. As soon as they have browned lightly, remove from heat.

Rosemary Gorgonzola Mac n Cheese

2010-01-01T16:00:00.000-08:00

Ingredients
Milk
Cream
Roux (Flour + Butter into a cream)
Cooked Pasta (of your choice)
Rosemary
Gorgonzola
Shredded White Cheddar
Parmesean Cheese
Paprika
Salt
Pepper
Olive Oil
Panko Bread Crumbs

Directions

1. Bring milk and cream to a simmer in a pot with two rosemary sprigs.
2. Once simmered, remove rosemary.
3. Now bring the milk mixture to a boil and add roux to the milk until desired thickness is acheived.
4. Add all cheeses
5. Season sauce with salt and pepper
6. Add cooked pasta
7. Put pasta + cheese mixture into a baking dish
8. Combine olive oil and Panko bread crumbs and paprika into an even mixture.
9. Top the dish with bread crumb mixture
10. Broil until golden and delicious
11. Put on stretchy pants
12. Eat Eat Eat!

Note: Any combination of cheeses can be used for this recipe, and additions such as bacon, mushrooms or cumin is appreciated and encouraged.

Creme Saint-Honore (Cream Puff Filling)

2009-12-31T23:52:00.000-08:00

Creme Saint-Honore is a custard filling with beaten egg whites. I originally made Creme Patissiere and complained it was too thick. After watching Julie & Julia, AHM got inspired to buy Julia Child's cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking, and I used the Creme Saint-Honore recipe from her book and LOVE it. It's so light and airy, a lot like Beard Papa's. I wish I had a vanilla bean and it would be perfect. With that said, I deleted the original gross pastry cream recipe I used to fill my cream puffs.

Creme Saint-Honore (Custard Filling with Beaten Egg Whites)
About 5 to 6 cups

Ingredients:

1 cup granulated sugar
5 egg yolks
1/2 cup flour (scooped and leveled)
2 cups boiling milk
1 tablespoon butter
1 1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract (I only put in 1 teaspoon)
8 egg whites (I used 9 because I had 4 left over from the first pastry cream attempt)
Big pinch of salt
2 tablespoons granulated sugar

Directions:

Gradually beat the1 cup of sugar into the egg yolks and continue beating for 2-3 minutes until the mixture is pale yellow and forms the ribbons.
Beat in the flour.
Beating the yolk mixture, gradually pour on the boiling milk in a thin stream of droplets.
Pour into saucepan and set over moderately high heat. Stire with wire whisk reaching all over bottom of pan. As sauce comes to a boil it will get lumpy, but will smooth out as you beat it. When boil is reached, beat over moderately low heat for 2-3 minutes to cook the flour. Be careful custard does not scorch in bottom of pan.
Remove from heat and beat in the butter then add the vanilla extract. Move into a large mixing bowl and set aside.
Meanwhile, beat the egg whites and salt together until soft peaks are formed.
Sprinkle the sugar and continue beating until stiff peaks are formed.
Stir one quarter of the egg whites into the hot custard.
Fold in the rest 1/3 at a time.
If the cream is to be served cold, chill it in the refrigerator.

This can be used for filling cream puffs, tarts or eaten as a dessert cream!

Pesto Cheesy Chicken Rolls

2009-12-30T18:46:00.000-08:00

Isn't it beautiful?

In my adventure to learn to cook more proteins, I found this chicken recipe from Allrecipes.com. Fool-proof method on Allrecipes? Go for the one with hundreds of reviews still in the 4 1/2 stars and up range and read the comments from other cooks.

Anyways, Anh 2 Mike & I were skeptical to if chicken would look good sent straight to the oven so I pan-seared it on medium-high until brown then put it in the oven.

OMG! This has to be the best chicken I cooked to date. Usually when I cook chicken (unless it's in a casserole), I hate it. It's dry, over cooked and just unappealing. Today's chicken was so good, I'm so proud of myself. Who knew! I definitely recommend this recipe and in the future want to try it with artichoke heart and Parmigiana Reggiano.

Here is the recipe with my modifications (Recipe adapted from Allrecipes.com):

Ingredients

4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - pounded to 1/4 inch thickness
1 cup prepared basil pesto
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
Approximately 4 sundried tomatoes per chicken, julienne
salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Put about 1-2 tablespoon of oil in an oven-safe pan (we used our cast iron skillet) and heat up on medium high.
Salt and pepper the chicken.
Spread 2 to 3 tablespoons of the pesto sauce onto each flattened chicken breast.
Spread shredded cheese over the pesto. Roll up tightly, and secure with toothpicks.
Place the chicken in the hot pan seam side down. Cook on each side for about 3 minutes a side or until golden brown. Put the oven-safe pan into the oven
Bake uncovered for 40 minutes in the preheated oven, until chicken is nicely browned and juices run clear (I checked to see when the internal temperature was 180 degrees).

Lime and Honey-Glazed Salmon with Basmati and Broccolini

2009-12-29T00:43:00.001-08:00

I wanted to start working on cooking proteins more. Bao and Anh 2 Mike says the flavor is good but I think I learned something today...I don't like salmon. I only like salmon raw or cooked. I just don't like the taste of cooked salmon...and I cooked it perfectly, not overcooked at all (according to the difficult critics, Anh 2 Mike and Bao).

But if you like salmon, this is a good recipe. I learned that the rice took 10 minutes to cook before adding the salmon in my oven.

Ingredients:
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons finely grated lime peel
2 tablespoons honey (I put a lot more than 2 tbsps...more like 5. lol)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro plus additional for sprinkling
4 teaspoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon olive oil
3/4 cup sliced shallots (about 3 large)
1 1/2 cups basmati rice (9 to 10 ounces)
3 1/4 cups (or more) low-salt chicken broth
4 5-to 6-ounce skinless salmon fillets
1 bunch broccolini, bottom inch trimmed, stalks separated if necessary

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 450°F. Whisk lime juice, lime peel, honey, 2 tablespoons cilantro, and soy sauce in small bowl; set aside. Heat oil in large deep ovenproof skillet or casserole (with lid) over medium-high heat. Add shallots and sauté until beginning to soften and brown, about 5 minutes. Stir in rice, then 3 1/4 cups broth; bring to boil. Cover skillet tightly with lid; place in oven and bake 10 minutes (rice will be almost cooked through and most of broth will be absorbed; mix in more broth by 1/4 cupfuls if dry).

Remove skillet from oven. Sprinkle rice lightly with salt. Sprinkle salmon with salt and pepper and arrange on rice, pressing in lightly. Tuck broccolini in around fish, with stems anchored in rice. Spoon 1 tablespoon lime mixture over each salmon fillet. Cover skillet tightly and return to oven; bake until salmon is just opaque in center and broccolini is crisp-tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Drizzle remaining lime mixture over fish and rice; sprinkle with additional chopped cilantro and serve from skillet.

Credits:
Bon Appétit
October 2009
by The Bon Appétit Test Kitchen

Cream Puffs

2009-12-27T15:46:00.000-08:00

Fresh out of the oven!

I decided to bring my childhood back by making Monkey Bread first, and now homemade Cream Puffs. I used the Joy of Cooking recipe for both the Choux Paste (Pate A Choux) and the Pastry Cream. Both turned out great!

Choux Paste
About 2 1/2 cups

Ingredients:

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup milk
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 large eggs, at room temperature

Preparation:

Combine milk, butter, sugar and salt in a large saucepan. Bring to a full boil over medium heat.
Remove from heat and add flour all at once and stir vigorously with a wooden spoon.
Once incorporated, return to high heat to cook flour. The mixture will look rough at first but it will suddenly become smooth, at which point you should stir faster. The butter may ooze out, which is fine; it simply means that the moisture is evaporating. In a few minutes, the paste will become dry and not cling to the spoon or the sides of the pan, and when the spoon is pressed on it lightly, it will leave a smooth imprint. Do not overcook or overstir at this point, or the dough will fail to puff.
Transfer to mixing bowl and let cool for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add one egg at a time on stir on a stand mixer, low on a hand mixer or by hand with a wooden spoon. Make sure that the paste is smooth each time before adding the next egg.
Continue to beat with each egg until the dough is smooth and shiny. The proper consistency has been reached when a small quantity of the dough will stand erect if scooped up on the end of a spoon.

Cooking Cream Puff Shells:
Makes about a 15 puffs

Position a rack in the lower third of the oven. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Scoop the paste into a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch plain tip (I also used a star tip and it looks cute). Shape the paste into puffs on a ungreased baking sheet.
Before baking, lightly sprinkle a few drops of water over the shapes on the pan for a light, airy texture.
Bake for 10 minutes.
Reduce the heat to 350 degrees F and bake for 25 minutes or until golden brown and very firm to the touch.
Remove to a rack and cool completely.

Pastry Cream (UPDATED 01/01/2010):
I deleted the original recipe because it was gross and added the Creme Saint-Honore from Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking here. Use this instead!

Assemble cream puffs:

I used a star tip and filled each puff from the bottom.
You can dust w/ powdered sugar, or drizzle chocolate or just eat it plain to serve!

Original cream was too thick.
Use the Creme Saint-Honore recipe I added later.
WAY BETTER!

Zucchini & Mushroom Casserole

2009-12-25T23:25:00.000-08:00

This is a modification of the original zucchini stuffing recipe that Lisa Mann gave me. I like mushrooms, so I sauteed mushroom with onions and added it to the recipe. Bao likes those fried onions in green bean casserole...so I threw that in too! Turned out great and probably better than the original. Here is the recipe w/ the new modifications:

Zucchini and Mushroom Casserole

Recipe Details:
Makes 1 - 2 quart casserole
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

6 large (6 cups) zucchinis (chopped to 1/2 inch rounds)
1 can (10.75 oz) condensed cream of mushroom soup - use only 2/3 of the can
2/3 cup sour cream
1 box of Stove Top chicken stuffing
1 small yellow onion - finely diced
1 box of crimini or button mushrooms, sliced
1/4 cup melted butter
1 1/2 cup of canned fried onions

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 2 quart casserole dish.
In a large saucepan over medium-high heat, cook zucchini in lightly salted water until crisp-tender, about 5 minutes. Drain, and place in a large bowl.
Sauteed mushroom and onion until mushrooms are tender.
Stir the zucchini, mushrooms, condensed soup, sour cream, onion, 1 cup of fried onions, and half of the dry stuffing.
In a small bowl, mix together remaining stuffing and melted butter.
Put the zucchini mixture into the prepared dish. Top with the stuffing mixture.
Bake for 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the top is golden brown.

Panna Cotta with Strawberry Balsamic Compote

2009-12-25T00:01:00.000-08:00

I love panna cotta so when Anh Hai Mike and Bao suggested I make panna cotta for our Xmas dinner I was up for the challenge. I found this recipe on epicurious.com. It was simple to make and delicious! The strawberry sauce sounds weird but it is SO good!

Yield: Makes 6 servings

Ingredients
Panna cotta
2 tablespoons water
1 1/4 teaspoons unflavored gelatin
2 cups whipping cream
1 1/4 cups plain goat's-milk or whole-milk yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup sugar

Strawberries
2 1-pint baskets strawberries, hulled, thinly sliced
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Preparation
For panna cotta:
Pour 2 tablespoons water into small bowl. Sprinkle gelatin over water. Let stand until softened, about 15 minutes. Whisk 1 cup cream, yogurt, and vanilla in large bowl to blend. Heat remaining 1 cup cream and 1/2 cup sugar in small saucepan over medium heat, stirring until sugar dissolves and cream comes to simmer. Remove from heat. Add gelatin mixture, stirring to dissolve gelatin. Mix hot cream-gelatin mixture into yogurt mixture in bowl. Divide mixture among six 3/4-cup ramekins, using about 1/2 cup for each. Refrigerate desserts uncovered until cold, then cover and refrigerate overnight.

For strawberries:
Toss strawberries, vinegar, sugar, and pepper in large bowl to combine. Let stand 30 minutes, tossing occasionally. Spoon strawberries over panna cotta and serve.

Goat Cheese, Sun-dried Tomato & Basil Skewers

2009-12-24T10:09:00.000-08:00

This is Bao's recipe and Anh 2 Mike made the batch photographed above by me.
I'm just posting it to take credit. Haha...kidding.

Goat Cheese, Sun-dried Tomato & Basil Skewers
These are so refreshing and delicious you really can't eat just one! It's best eaten all in one bite.

Ingredients

Goat cheese, rolled into 1/2 inch balls
Crushed unsalted pistachios
Sun-dried tomatoes, straightened out and cut in half
Grape tomato, halved
Basil leave, torn into 1/2 inch pieces
Skewers or toothpicks

Preparation

Roll the goat cheese into 1/2 inch balls then roll the balls onto the crushed pistachios.
Skew the half tomato, then the basil, then the sun-dried tomato and last the goat cheese ball at the end.

cake balls

2009-12-23T14:34:00.000-08:00

Little bite-sized cakes, whats not to love? This recipe is very easy and so open for modifications and variations. Use any box cake or even your own cake recipe with any frosting combination and its sure to be a big hit! Add more chocolate, sprinkles, or nuts for decorations. Great for gifts and favors!

Ingredients

-1 (18.25 ounce) package cake mix
-1 (16 ounce) container prepared chocolate frosting
-1 bar chocolate flavored confectioners coating (or almond bark or bakers chocolate squares
Directions

Prepare the cake mix according to package directions using any of the recommended pan sizes. When cake is done, let cool for 30 minutes and crumble while warm into a large bowl, and stir in the frosting until well blended.
Use a melon baller or small scoop or spoons to form balls of the chocolate cake mixture. Place on wax paper on top of baking sheet.
Place prepared balls in freezer for 1 hour or refrigerate overnight.
Melt chocolate coating in a glass bowl in the microwave, or in a metal bowl over a pan of simmering water, stirring occasionally until smooth.
Dip the balls in chocolate using a toothpick or fork to hold them. Place on waxed paper to set.
Enjoy!

Tips

-If cake balls are breaking while being dipped in chocolate, they need to be chilled longer

-If adding decorative details, be sure to place them on the chocolate dipped ball before the chocolate sets. If drizzling chocolate on top of the dipped balls, do so after the chocolate has set.

Cinnamon-Caramel Bread Pudding

2009-12-23T12:18:00.000-08:00

Anh Hai Mike actually made this last year for Thanksgiving and we had some leftover and Hong and Linh got to try it. When she asked for the recipe this year, we had no idea where it was. We got it off of our Bon Appetit magazine and luckily found it online.

Photograph by Sian Kennedy - Bon Appetit

Cinnamon-Caramel Bread Pudding
Makes 16

Ingredients

20 3 1/2x3 1/2-inch slices cinnamon-raisin bread (not ends)
12 large eggs
2 1/2 cups whole milk
2 cups chilled whipping cream, divided
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoons finely grated orange peel
Pinch of salt
2 tablespoons powdered sugar
Purchased caramel sauce, warmed

Directions

Cut bread into 3/4-inch cubes. Place in very large bowl. Whisk eggs, milk, 1 cup cream, and next 4 ingredients in large bowl until sugar dissolves. Pour egg mixture over bread; toss to coat. Cover with plastic and place plate on top to submerge bread in egg mixture. Chill at least 4 hours or overnight.
Stir bread mixture; let stand at room temperature 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 375°F. Butter sixteen 3/4-cup custard cups or ramekins; divide between 2 roasting pans. Divide bread mixture among cups. Add enough hot water to pans to come halfway up sides of cups.
Bake puddings until puffed, edges are golden, and tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 40 minutes. DO AHEAD Let puddings stand at room temperature up to 2 hours.
Using electric mixer, beat remaining 1 cup cream and powdered sugar in medium bowl until peaks form. Serve puddings warm or at room temperature with whipped cream and warm caramel sauce.

Monkey Bread

2009-12-23T11:57:00.000-08:00

Something from our childhood - I think we all remember making this one with Co Muoi as kids. Bao and I ate it and agree it tastes like our childhood...some foods just brings back so many memories!

Monkey Bread Recipe
(Adapted from AllRecipes.com...my changes are highlighted in color)

Ingredients

2 (16 ounce) packages refrigerated biscuit dough
1 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup raisins (optional) *I didn't use raisins but want to try rum raisins next time

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease one 9 or 10 inch Bundt® pan.
Mix white sugar and cinnamon in a plastic bag. Cut biscuits into quarters. Shake 6 to 8 biscuit pieces in the sugar cinnamon mix. Arrange pieces in the bottom of the prepared pan. Continue until all biscuits are coated and placed in pan. If using nuts and raisins, arrange them in and among the biscuit pieces as you go along.
In a small saucepan, melt the margarine with the brown sugar over medium heat. Boil for 1 minute. Pour over the biscuits.Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 35 minutes. Let bread cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a plate. Do not cut! The bread just pulls apart.

Swiss Meringue Buttercream

2009-12-18T02:48:00.000-08:00

Probably the only frosting I will make from now on. So light and creamy but not very sweet. Easier to make than it sounds!

Ingredients

Makes about 4 1/2 cups, enough for about 24 cupcakes

1 cup sugar
5 large egg whites
2 cups (4 sticks or 1 pound) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 teaspoon pure vanilla

Directions

Place sugar and egg whites in the heat-proof bowl of an electric mixer. Set bowl over a pan of gently simmering water, and whisk until sugar has dissolved and egg whites are hot to the touch, about 3 minutes. Test by rubbing the mixture between your fingers; it should feel completely smooth.
Transfer bowl to mixer stand. Using the whisk attachment, beat on high speed until mixture has cooled completely and formed stiff and glossy peaks, about 10 minutes.
Switch to the paddle attachment on medium high, and add the butter, one piece at a time, and beat until incorporated after each addition. Don't worry if the buttercream appears curdled after all the butter has been added; it will become smooth again with continued beating. Add vanilla, and beat just until combined.
With the paddle attachment, beat on the lowest speed to eliminate any air pockets, about 5 minutes. If using buttercream within several hours, cover bowl with plastic wrap, and set aside at room temperature in a cool environment. Or transfer to an airtight container, and store in the refrigerator, up to 3 days. Before using, bring buttercream to room temperature, and beat on the lowest speed with the paddle attachment until smooth, about 5 minutes.

Great video for reference:

Gulliver Creamed Corn

2009-12-17T11:35:00.001-08:00

Adapted from Hong.

Ingredients

2 bags frozen kernel corn (defrosted)
1 1/2 cups whipping cream
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar
3 tablespoons flour mixed with 3 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

Directions

Bring the whipping cream to a boil. Reduce the heat and add corn. Simmer for 5 minutes. Stir in salt, and sugar. Make a paste out of the butter and flour, and stir into the corn and cook until thickened. Turn corn into oven proof dish, sprinkle with cheese and dot with butter. Can refrigerate up to 4 days. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until bubbling and golden brown.

Note: It's very important that you cook the butter/flour for a while to get rid of the flour taste. I'd say about 10 minutes.

Cookies and Cream Cupcakes

2009-12-02T12:59:00.000-08:00

From the Cake Doctor, I used this recipe to bake up the Cookie Monster cupcakes for the babies' 1st birthday. This was a favorite among Vil and Shanielle. If the skinny people ate more than one, you know it's good! Combined with the Swiss Meringue buttercream, it was delicious.

Jackie did an variation of this using mint oreos and devil's food cake mix that was also killer.

Ingredients

30 Oreo cookies
1 package (18.25) plain white cake mix
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3 large eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Buttercream frosting

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Count out 12 Oreos and separate top and bottom. Make sure some of them still have icings on it. Put the half cookie with icing side up on the bottom of the cupcake liners.
Put the other 12 half and remaining Oreos in a large ziplock bag and crush. Set this aside.
In a large mixing bowl, combine cake mix, sour cream, vegetable oil, eggs, vanilla and crushed Oreos.
Fill liners with batter 3/4 full.
Bake for 20 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Let cool then frost!

Pumpkin Pie

2009-11-26T12:50:00.000-08:00

This recipe is courtesy of Paula Deen & the Food Network. Mike says it's the best pie I made so far (and I usually stick to what's on the Libby's cans when it comes to a recipe). Combined with a pie crust recipe that I learned from my friend Jessica H (won constantly wins pie contests with her awesome peach pie) it turned out really yummy.

Ingredients

* 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
* 2 cups canned pumpkin, mashed
* 1 cup sugar
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1 egg plus 2 egg yolks, slightly beaten
* 1 cup half-and-half
* 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) melted butter
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger, optional
* 1 piece pre-made pie dough (I made my own)
* Whipped cream, for topping

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Place 1 piece of pre-made pie dough down into a (9-inch) pie pan and press down along the bottom and all sides. Pinch and crimp the edges together to make a pretty pattern. Put the pie shell back into the freezer for 1 hour to firm up. Fit a piece of aluminum foil to cover the inside of the shell completely. Fill the shell up to the edges with pie weights or dried beans (about 2 pounds) and place it in the oven. Bake for 10 minutes, remove the foil and pie weights and bake for another 10 minutes or until the crust is dried out and beginning to color.

For the filling, in a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese with a hand mixer. Add the pumpkin and beat until combined. Add the sugar and salt, and beat until combined. Add the eggs mixed with the yolks, half-and-half, and melted butter, and beat until combined. Finally, add the vanilla, cinnamon, and ginger, if using, and beat until incorporated.

Pour the filling into the warm prepared pie crust and bake for 50 minutes, or until the center is set. Place the pie on a wire rack and cool to room temperature. Cut into slices and top each piece with a generous amount of whipped cream.

Orange-balsamic Glazed Chicken

2009-10-13T21:14:00.000-07:00

I was watching TV just like any other day and I saw Rachael Ray making this dish. I looked it up online, and what do you know-- I have all the ingredients! Instead of fresh rosemary however, I used dried and it still turned out great. Wonderful balance of sweet and tangy... enjoy!

Ingredients

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs or breasts or any combination of light and dark meat
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
2 to 3 sprigs fresh rosemary, leaves chopped
1/3 cup orange marmalade
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup chicken stock
2 scallions, whites and greens, finely chopped
4 cups baby arugula

Directions

In a large pan, heat the extra-virgin olive oil over medium-high to high heat.

Season the chicken liberally with salt, pepper and poultry seasoning. When the oil is hot and ripples, add the chicken and brown for 5 minutes, then turn and sprinkle with rosemary. Cook until the chicken is tender and cooked through, about 5 minutes more.

In a small bowl, stir together the marmalade, vinegar and stock and pour over the chicken. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes or until the sauce has thickened and becomes a thin glaze. Add the scallions during the last minute of cooking time. Arrange on a serving platter and serve topped with arugula greens.

BBQ Chicken Chopped Salad

2009-10-05T14:29:00.001-07:00

This one we made up and it turned out great. Who really needs a recipe for BBQ Chicken Chopped Salad?

INGREDIENTS

romaine lettuce, chopped
1 red onion, chopped
1 can of corn, drained
1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed
cilantro, chopped
cotija cheese, crumbled
english cucumber, chopped
tomatoes, chopped
avocado, chopped
chicken breast, chopped
Sweet Baby Ray Ray bbq sauce
Ranch dressing

Directions

Toss and serve!

Chicken Tortilla Soup

2009-10-05T14:21:00.000-07:00

So quick and so easy. Great to take to lunch the next day!

Adapted from Six Can Chicken Tortilla Soup from Allrecipes.com

INGREDIENTS

1 (15 ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
2 (14.5 ounce) cans chicken broth
2 cups of cooked chicken, cubed
1 (15 ounce) can black beans
1 can green chile peppers, drained
fresh cilantro, chopped
2 tomatoes, diced
a little cumin
salt & pepper to taste
sour cream, optional but highly recommended
cotija cheese, optional but highly recommended
fresh avocado, sliced, optional

DIRECTIONS

Dump it all in the pot (except chicken) and cook until it boils!
Using a hand blender, blend until smooth. Add chicken.
Garnish with a dollop of sour cream, fresh avocado, cotija cheese and fresh cilantro.
Enjoy!

(Blueberry) Oatmeal Pancakes

2009-08-30T10:46:00.001-07:00

Oatmeal blended into the batter is a good way to get the family to have some oatmeal in their diet! These are delicious and easy to make. I added 1 cup of blueberries into the batter. The sweetness of the maple syrup compliments the tartness of the fresh blueberries. I'm thinking about grounding up some macadamia nuts into the batter and adding sliced bananas for a Hawaiian inspired version!

TIP: I mixed the dry ingredients the night before because I'm really lazy in the morning. When I woke up, I just had to mix in the wet ingredients which took a second and started cookin'

Blueberry oatmeal pancakes...yum.

RECIPE: Banana Oatmeal Pancakes
(Adapted from Allrecipes.com)

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup quick cooking oats (I used regular not quick cooking oats)
1 tablespoon white sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup buttermilk (I used regular milk)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 egg
1 cup fresh blueberries (optional)

DIRECTIONS

Place flour, oats, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, buttermilk, vanilla, oil and egg in a food processor and puree until smooth.
Stir in one cup of blueberries (or any other mix in)
Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake. Brown on both sides and serve hot.

Classic Buttery Yellow Cupcakes

2009-08-20T16:07:00.000-07:00

I like this recipe because it's a firm cake so it will make decorating easier. Plus it has a very nostalgic taste. Makes you feel like a kid again!

Ingredients

1 pkg (18.5 ounce) plain butter recipe yellow cake mix
1 pkg (8 ounces) reduced-fat cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
4 large eggs
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 24 cupcake cups with paper liners. Set the pans aside.
Throw all the ingredients into a large mixing bowl. Blend on low with an electric mixer for 30 seconds until all the ingredients are well blended then stop the machine and scrape down the sides. Increase the mixer to medium and beat for 1 to 2 minutes more, scraping down the sides again if needed. The batter should be smooth and thickened. Spoon or scoop 1/4 cup batter into each lined cupcake cup, filling it two thirds of the way full. Place the pans in the oven.
Bake until they are golden and spring b ack when lightly pressed with your finger, about 24 to 27 minutes.
Remove and cool on wire racks for 5 minutes in the pan.
Remove cupcakes and cool on wire rack alone for another 15 minutes.
Frost then serve.

Chocolate Pistachio Trifle

2009-07-08T09:44:00.000-07:00

I made this trifle for Van and Eric's last dinner in California for their 4th of July visit. It came out perfectly. (So glad they didn't eat it for breakfast since I left them home alone with it!)

(Adapted from the Chocolate Trifle recipe from allrecipes.com)

SERVINGS: 12 servings (One trifle bowl)

INGREDIENTS:

1 (19.8 ounce) package brownie mix (I used Ghirardelli's dark chocolate brownie mix)
1 (3.4 ounce) package instant chocolate pudding mix
1 (3.4 ounce) package instant pistachio pudding mix
2 - 1/2 cup water
2 - (1/2 pint) heavy whipping cream
2 (8 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed
1 (1.5 ounce) bar chocolate candy, optional (I used mini chocolate chips sometimes)

DIRECTIONS:

Prepare brownies according to box. Let completely cool. Cut into 1-inch cubes.
Whip up heavy whipping cream. Meanwhile, mix chocolate pudding mix with 1/2 cup of water. Fold the whipped cream with the pudding & water mixture. Fold in 1/2 (4-ounces) of the thawed whipped topping until you can no longer see any white streaks.
Repeat step 2 with the pistachio pudding mix.
In a trifle bowl, layer half of the brownies cubes, then 1/2 the chocolate mousse, then 1/2 the pistachio mousse, then half of the existing container of whipped topping. Repeat layers. Top with shaved chocolate bar or mini chocolate chips. Chill for 8 hours before serving.

Spam Clay Pot-like Rice

2009-04-21T00:00:00.000-07:00

This is my twist on the classic Cantonese sausage clay pot rice. Instead of using using lap cheung and clay pot white rice, I used Spam and stir fried brown rice.

UPDATE: I procrastinated writing this recipe so it may not be completely accurate. If you found something that isn't right, please tell me and I will update it.

INGREDIENTS

6 cups cooked brown rice
1/2 can SPAM sliced into 1 in by 1/2 in and 1/4 in thick pieces
8 black mushroom caps, stems removed and sliced
1/2 tablespoon ginger minced
1/2 tablespoon dried shrimp coarsely chopped
2 tablespoon soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon sugar
dash of sesame oil
dash of white pepper
1 sprig of cilantro (leaves only) roughly chopped
1 tablespoon canola oil

DIRECTIONS:

Pan fry SPAM until crispy. Remove SPAM pan and set aside.
Combine soy sauce, sugar, and sesame oil into bowl and set aside.
Add canola oil to pan and heat on high until just smoking.
Add dried shrimp and ginger to pan and stir fry for 30 seconds.
Add mushrooms to pan and stir fry for 3 minutes.
Add SPAM back into pan and then add the rice. Stir fry to mix.
Add soy sauce and pepper to mixture. Stir fry for 3 more minutes to thoroughly mix.
Add cilantro and quickly mix.
Remove rice from heat and serve hot.

Delicious Lemony Salmon, Cream Cheese & Dill Crepes

2009-04-20T23:35:00.000-07:00

It really is all in the name. This is my first attempt in contributing to this blog. Bare with me. As you all know I never really measure any ingredients, so if you're attempting to replicate this... good luck.. and let me know how it tastes!!

Ingredients:
Already Made Crepes (don't judge me)
Smoked Salmon
Fresh Dill
Cream Cheese
Lemon Mustard Vinaigrette
Baby Romaine Lettuce
Pepper
Lemon

The best part about this recipe is the fact that I did not cook any of it. I will now describe how these babies were assembled:

1. Heat the crepes (do not do this for too long, they will end up like crackers.... yes, this is by experience... )
2. Combine cream cheese, chopped dill, and pepper together. Spread onto the crepe.
3. Place Smoked Salmon with a squeeze of lemon onto the cheese
4. Toss romaine in vinaigrette and place on top of salmon
5. Wrap it up, and enjoy!!

Don't be a jerk. I know the garnish is just ridiculous. I tried, okay?!

Van's Tuna Salad

2009-04-13T17:46:00.000-07:00

I didn't take any photos because... well, I was too hungry! haha I'm sure everyone in the family has a tasty tuna salad recipe and doesn't need mine, but I added cumin powder and spicy honey mustard and it gave it just the kick it needed!

Ingredients:

- 2 cans of tuna (6 or 7 oz each)

- 6 tbsp miracle whip or mayonnaise

- 1 tbsp sweet honey mustard

- 3 tbsp sweet pickle relish

- 1 tbsp minced dried onion

- 1 dash cumin powder

- 1 pinch garlic powder

Directions:

Combine all ingredients and mix well. Serve with crackers or bread. For another variation, put on a bun with a slice of cheddar, and toast for a tuna salad melt.

Enjoy!

Perfect Red-Dyed Egg

2009-04-11T22:13:00.001-07:00

After some trial and error, I finally got a dye mixture that produced a nice deep red egg. There eggs are beautiful for red egg and ginger parties.

INGREDIENTS

8 eggs
1 fl oz liquid red dye
8 cups cold water
1/8 cup + 1 tblspn white vinegar
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
Olive oil for polishing

DIRECTIONS:

In a stainless steel pot, add water, dye, vinegar, salt, and eggs.
Bring liquid to boil.
Once the liquid is in full boil, turn off fire and remove from heat.
Cover the pot and let sit for 15 minutes.
Remove eggs from liquid and let cool on wiring rack.
Once eggs are cool, polish them with olive oil by using a paper towel.

Thien Vu Cheesecake

2009-04-06T15:35:00.000-07:00

Graham Cracker Crust
Ingredients:
2 cups of graham cracker crumbs (We used 3 cups for a 9inch pan)
1/4 cup of melted butter (Used 1/2 cup (one stick) for a 9inch pan)

Directions:

Line bottom of pan w/ parchment
Mix above ingredients and put in pan

Cheesecake
Ingredients:
3 8oz. cream cheese packages
1 cup sugar
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla (I used one and 1/2 vanilla bean pod)

Directions:

Mix cream cheese, vanilla and sugar
Add egg one-at-a-time and mix
Pour over crumb crust
Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes* (*Try baking at lower temperature 250 degrees so cake does not dry out)
Take out for 6 minutes

Topping
Ingredients:
1 pint of sour cream (16 oz tub or 1 lb)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla (I used 1/2 a vanilla bean pod)

Directions:

Beat for 2 minutes
Start from the outer edge and cover the top of the cheesecake
Bake for 6 minutes

Spicy Chicken Tortilla Casserole

2009-03-29T17:07:00.000-07:00

We love casseroles at our household. I particularly love them because you just put everything in one baking dish and put it in the oven. This came out of a casserole book I have at home. We ate it tonight for the first time and thought it was delicious! Its great for your kick of Mexican food. It tastes really fresh!

Ingredients:

- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

- 1 cup chopped green bell pepper

- 1 small onion, chopped

- 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

- 1 lb chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces

- 1 jar (16 oz) salsa, recommend chunky style

- 1 can (2.25 oz) sliced ripe olives

- 6 corn tortillas, cut into halves

- 2 cups (8 oz) shredded Mexican flavored cheese

- sour cream (optional)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add bell pepper, onion, and garlic; cook for 2 to 3 minutes or until vegetables are tender.

Add chicken; cook, stirring frequently, for 3 to 5 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink in center. Stir in salsa and olives; remove from heat.

Place 6 tortilla halves onto bottom of ungreased 8-inch square baking pan. Top with half of chicken mixture and 1 cup cheese; repeat layers.

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until bubbly. Serve with sour cream.

Zucchini Stuffing

2009-03-25T22:29:00.000-07:00

Got this recipe from my friend, Lisa Mann. She uses a pressure cooker to cook the zucchinis but I don't have one of those so I did the old-fashion boiling technique.

Recipe Details:
Makes 1 - 2 quart casserole
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

6 large (6 cups) zucchinis (chopped to 1/2 inch rounds)
1 can (10.75 oz) condensed cream of chicken soup (substitute with cream of mushroom to make vegetarian)
1 (8oz) sour cream
1 box of Stove Top chicken stuffing (substitute with cornbread stuffing to make vegetarian)
1 small yellow onion - diced
1/2 cup melted butter

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 2 quart casserole dish.
In a large saucepan over medium-high heat, cook zucchini in lightly salted water until crisp-tender, about 5 minutes. Drain, and place in a large bowl. Stir in the condensed soup, sour cream, onion.
In a small bowl, mix together stuffing and melted butter. Spread half of the stuffing mixture in the bottom of the casserole dish, add a layer of the zucchini mixture, and top with remaining stuffing mixture.
Bake for 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the top is golden brown.

Sesame Ginger Glazed Chicken & Stir-fried Broccoli

2009-03-24T16:50:00.001-07:00

It is of no surprise to anyone that I am not the family cook. There really is nothing too special about this dish, but I just thought maybe I'd share with you what I eat almost on a weekly basis for dinner! There really aren't any clean measurements.... I kind of throw it all together and it tastes different everytime, but I'm sure you get the idea.

Ingredients:

- Chicken breast tenderloins (Or plain chicken breasts)

- Salt

- Pepper

- Dried minced onions

- 1/4 Onion sliced

- Grounded Ginger

- Chicken seasoning

- 1/4 cup Sesame Ginger marinade (Lawry's brand)

- 1/4 cup Hoisin sauce

- 2-3 tbsp Soy sauce

- 2-3 tbsp Terriyaki Sauce

- 1-2 tbsp Sriracha

- Broccoli Florets (Broccoli Wokly) Steamed

- EVOO

- Minced garlic

- Teriyaki stir fry sauce

Directions:

Season all sides of chicken with salt, pepper, dried minced onions, grounded ginger, and chicken seasoning. Oil a frying pan, place chicken in pan and cook on medium for about 7-9 mins per side.

Meanwhile, in a bowl, mix Ginger sesame marinade, Hoisin sauce, Teriyaki sauce, Soy sauce, and Sriracha. Set aside.

After chicken cooks on the outside, add onions to the pan. Once chicken is thoroughly cooked, brush sauce on all sides of chicken and over onions as well. Let simmer in sauce.

In another pot, add 3-4 tbsp of EVOO. Add garlic (to your preference). Add broccoli and stir until broccoli is well coated. Drizzle teriyaki stir fry sauce and splash a little bit of soy sauce. Continue to mix until evenly coated and broccoli is at the firmness/softness of choice.

Enjoy!