Simply June

Salt

2011-01-30T23:13:00.001-05:00

Yesterday while we discovered downtown Newburyport, MA, I stumbled upon Grand Trunk Imports selling specialty imported food and wine.. YUMS! We spent some time there and ended picking up a few yummy items to stock my always full pantry.

Among my “loot” where these 2 salt; Hickory Smoked Salt and Red Clay Salt. They weren’t cheap since a container of the specialty salt cost about twice the price of a big container of plain ol’ table salt. However, I can’t help getting some to try. I love trying out various food, and when it’s a couple dollars..I usually would not hesitate to purchase it.

So guys…..I need some help and ideas to use these 2 salts, maximizing its flavors……….. Recipes..Ideas..please? Some help guys?

Italian Wedding Soup

2011-01-15T00:05:00.000-05:00

I saw this yummy Italian Wedding Soup recipe from my Ina Garten cook book and I’ve been wanting to attempt it for the longest time but never did until one snowy day. This was also sort of semi spontaneous as I only thought of making the soup while shopping for some groceries a day before the big snow storm (we were greeted by more than 19” of fresh powdery snow!!) Having to just know the key ingredients; ground meat, sausage, spinach, pasta and chicken stock, I guessed my way through the rest of the ingredients!

I’ve never tried Italian Wedding Soups before though I’ve seen it plentiful on menus. Most of the time, the meatballs are beef and if you know me well enough, I can get very picky when it comes to beef. I never knew what were the origins of the Italian Wedding Soup either. My best guess was it might be a soup served often at an Italian Wedding? After some Googling and yes the help of Wikipedia, I found out that it’s just a soup that consist of vegetables and meat and it’s very common in Italian restaurants in US. I guess, I was totally wrong about this being a typical soup being served at a Italian wedding! Extracted from Wikipedia, “The term "wedding soup" is a mistranslation of the Italian language, minestra maritata ("married soup"), which is a reference to the fact that green vegetables and meat go well together. Some form of minestra maritata was long popular in Toledo, Spain before pasta became an affordable commodity to most Spaniards, though the modern wedding soup is quite a bit lighter than the old Spanish form, which contained a large variety of meat, rather than just the meatballs of modern Italian-American versions”

Long story short, I modified and came up with my version of Italian Wedding soup very much inspired by Ina Garten. Her Italian Wedding Soup recipe can be found HERE. This soup is a perfect for lunch (or dinner) during one of those cold wintery days!

ITALIAN WEDDING SOUP RECIPE

Ingredients:

Part A (Meatballs)

3 Hot/Spicy (Fresh) Italian Sausage (about 9 oz), Squeeze the meat from the casing
6 oz ground pork
1/4 cup Italian Bread Crumbs
1 Tbsp Grated Parmesan Cheese
2 Tbsp Chopped Fresh Parsley
2 Tbsp Chopped Fresh Cilantro
1 Tbsp Milk
1 Large Egg
1 Pinch of salt
1/2 Tsp Black Pepper

Part B (Soup)

2 Tbsp Oil
2 Stalk Celery, Finely Chopped (About 1 Cup)
2 Medium Onion, Finely Chopped (About 1 Cup)
3-4 Cloves Garlic, Finely Chopped
1 Cup Macaroni Elbows
10 Cups Chicken Stock
6 - 8 Oz Spinach
Black Pepper
Salt

Method:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Mix Part A (meatballs), place the ground pork, sausage, bread crumbs, parsley, cilantro, Parmesan cheese, milk, egg, salt, and pepper in a bowl and combine gently with a fork. With a teaspoon, measure about 1tsp of meatballs, roll them and drop them onto a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. (You should have about 80 x 1 tsp size meatballs). Bake for 20 minutes, until cooked through and lightly browned. Set aside.

In the meantime, prepare part B (soup). In a pot, heat oil over medium high heat. Add garlic, onion and celery and saute until softened, 5 to 6 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the chicken stock bring to a boil. Add the pasta to the simmering broth and cook for 6 to 8 minutes, until the pasta is tender. Add the meatballs to the soup and simmer for 1-2 minute. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Stir in the fresh spinach and cook until the spinach is just wilted. Serve immediately.

June’s comments: Feel free to omit the cilantro if you’re not a big fan of it. I love cilantro very much and try to include them in my meals whenever possible! This recipe serves 4-6.

20% Off @ TGI Fridays!

2011-01-14T20:30:00.001-05:00

Hey guys! Here’s a money saving coupon for your next meal at the nearest TGI Friday's! Click on the image to be directed to the coupon to print. This coupon is just valid for US locations.

I’m not affiliated with TGI Fridays in any way…just merely sharing a money saving coupon whenever I see them! I LOVE COUPONS!!

Cranberry Apple Sauce (Jelly)

2011-01-12T10:17:00.001-05:00

I’m sorry but for one reason or another I hate canned cranberry sauce….I think the look of the sauce when it comes out of the can turns me off. So, I never buy canned cranberry sauce and I try to avoid eating them when it’s served. =) Sorry, if I offended anyone!

Cranberry sauce is SO EASY to make, so why buy canned ones? Fresh homemade cranberry sauce might cost a little more, but hey at least you know it’s fresh and free of preservatives. The easy ones are just boiling water, cranberry and sugar all in one pot for a couple minutes. I came across this recipe from my Food and Wine magazine and added it to my thanksgiving dinner menu. It looked and sounded yummy, I just had to try it..and I love it !I enjoyed the slightly crunchy texture the apple gave…..this recipe is a keeper!

The original recipe from Food and Wine recipe is found here and knowing me, I had to modify the recipe (just a little), so my version is below.

CRANBERRY APPLE SAUCE (JELLY) RECIPE

Ingredients

One 12-ounce bag fresh cranberries
1 Large Fuji Apple, Diced into 1/2” Cubes
3/4 Cup Sugar
3/4 Cup Apple Juice

Method

Line an 8-by-4-inch loaf pan with plastic wrap and spray the plastic wrap with nonstick cooking spray.

Combine the cranberries with the apple, juice and water in a medium sauce pan. Bring to a boil and cook over moderately high heat, stirring frequently until the cranberries are completely broken down and the sauce is very thick, about 15-20 minutes. Scrape the cranberry sauce into the prepared pan, let it cool down then refrigerate until it’s chilled. Just before serving, invert the jelly onto a serving plate and remove the plastic wrap. Slice with a serrated knife before serving.

Easy Fruit Tarts

2011-01-09T21:08:00.001-05:00

This is another dessert that I put out during my Thanksgiving dinner. I always love fruit tarts/fruit flans but I did not want to sweat too much to prepare it yet still want to make a presentable yummy dessert. Making a quick and easy dessert was crucial especially since I have a lot of other dishes to prepare. Well, I couldn’t make up my mind to just make one dessert. So, I ended up making 4 kinds because I wanted to make sure every picky eater (if any) have some kind of dish/desert that they will be able to enjoy.

I always feel uncomfortable making pie crusts from scratch and will defer to the help of store bought crusts whenever possible. With the help of Pillsbury, Jello and Dole, and some what minimal preparation time, I came up with a plate of semi healthy (look at the colorful fresh fruits), individual dessert tarts.

Here are some instructions to make this dessert. I used mini tartlet tins to bake the crust. This way, there’s no fear of ruining a dessert when you cut into it. Every portion is somewhat the same (bite) size. Oh yeah, baking spray was also very helpful to enable an easy removal of the baked crust from the tin.

EASY FRUIT TART RECIPE

Ingredients:

1 Package Pillsbury Pie Crust, at room temperature
1 Package Jello Instant Vanilla Pudding
Milk (for the Vanilla Pudding)
1 Small Canned Mandarin Orange
Fresh Strawberries
Kiwi
Baking Spray

Method:

Preheat oven to 400F. Spray tartlet tins with baking spray. Unroll pie crust on a flat surface and using a round cookie cutter (size of cookie cutter needs to be larger than the top rim of the tartlet, sorry I do not have the exact measurements!) stamp out the pie crusts. Press each “cut” crusts into the each tartlet tins. Gently prick the base of the pie crusts so that the crust does not bubble up when you bake it. Bake the tartlets at 400F for about 10-15 minutes, or until the crusts are golden brown.

In the mean time, prepare the Vanilla Pudding per the instruction on the back on the box, set aside and let it chill. Drain your mandarin oranges and cut the strawberries into quarters. Slice the kiwi into 1/2” thick slices and cut them into quarters.

Once the pie crusts are baked, let them cool before you start to assemble the tartlets. Fill the chilled crusts with till about 3/4" full. Arrange the fruit slices as you please and serve immediately! Enjoy!!

June’s Comments: It depends how big your tartlet tins are, I think I came up with maybe 14-16 tartlets with one package of pie crust. And I think I may have used up 1-1/2 package of pie crust for my purpose. The extra fruits that you may end up with; combine them together and make them into a fruit salad. Extra vanilla pudding?..Just eat it as is, or with the fruit salad! =)

There are no restrictions to the type of fruits to use. The reason why I chose those three was for color. Feel free to use raspberries, blueberries, mangoes, peaches, etc. Let your creativity run wild and have fun!

Pumpkin Cake

2011-01-08T22:25:00.001-05:00

Here’s another post to start my new year and keep my new year resolution going! Yay! With busy work schedule, I don’t cook as often anymore and the laziness in me just refrained me from updating the blog! Sorry!!

So, I made this pumpkin cake back in November for Thanksgiving. This year we had a sit down dinner with about 12 guests. I should probably reserved more details on what I did for Thanksgiving dinner for another post. Ana, my friend from work and I were discussing the Thanksgiving menu and after some googling, we both made this for Thanskgiving. I think both our guests enjoyed this super moist pumpkin cake.

The original recipe extracted from www.allrecipes.com. My recipe has been modified slightly using the spices I have.

PUMPKIN CAKE RECIPE

Ingredients:

2 Cups Granulated Sugar
1 1/4 Cups Vegetable Oil
1 Tsp Vanilla Extract
2 Cups Pumpkin Puree
4 Large Eggs
2 Cups All-Purpose Flour
3 Tsps Baking Powder
2 Tsps Baking Soda
1/4 Tsp salt
2 Tsps Pumpkin Pie Spice
1/2 Tsp All Spice
Powdered Sugar (Optional – for dusting)

Method:

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease and flour a 12x18 inch pan. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Set aside.

In a large bowl combine sugar and oil. Blend in vanilla and pumpkin, then beat in eggs one at a time. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Spread batter into prepared 12x18 inch pan.

Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool. Dust with some powdered sugar just before serving if desired.

June’s Comments: I like using a bundt cake pan when I’m baking a cake that will not have any frosting on it. I feel that it makes the cake look a little special, and that extra dusting of powdered sugar gives the simple cake a little “oooh-aaahhh” effect.

Happy New Year 2011!

2011-01-08T21:45:00.001-05:00

2010 has been a great year, and I hope 2011 will even better! What is your new year resolution? Mine, will never be to lose weight/to go on a diet… coz it never worked for me…. I love eating too much that I have a hard time refraining myself from all those glorious food……

So, my new year resolution is to update this abandoned blog of mine, a little more often… I just realized that it’s been more than 6 months since it was last updated!!

Sorry!! Well, stay tune for more updates…I guess!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Yorkshire Pudding

2010-06-27T00:55:00.002-04:00

The theme was English. The party was all about the England VS USA FIFA World Cup 2010 game. I’m not a big fan of football/soccer so I’m basically there just for the FOOD! =)

I had to make something English……easy and quick. I have always wanted to make Yorkshire Pudding and this party was the perfect reason for me to churn out some. Yorkshire pudding isn’t really a dessert like the many other puddings. This is usually eaten with roast beef and gravy. I guess, you could say this is like how you would eat dinner rolls or biscuits.

The recipe I found online HERE on www.about.com looked quite scary. It reminded of how my grandma would measure the ingredients to make her cookies/cakes. Don’t get my wrong grandma’s cakes/cookies are delicious…It’s just because I’m so used to using proper measuring cups and scale! I tried the recipe I found online anyway; couldn’t ignore the reviews it’s gotten.

Glad to say the Yorkshire Pudding turned out excellent! Everyone at the party enjoyed it! The English boy at the party thought it was pretty authentic! It looked pretty close to the ones I had at Lawry’s Steakhouse for sure….mini version though!

Here's the Yorkshire Pudding recipe by Elaine Lemm of www.about.com. LOVE IT!

YORKSHIRE PUDDING RECIPE

Ingredients:

4 Large Eggs, Measured In a Measuring Cup
Equal quantity of milk to eggs
Equal quantity of all purpose/plain flour to eggs
Pinch of salt (or two for more flavor)
2 tbsp lard, beef dripping or butter

Method:

Heat the oven to the highest temperature possible, however, do not exceed 450For the fat may burn.

Pour the eggs and milk into a large mixing bowl and add the pinch of salt. Whisk thoroughly with an electric hand beater or hand whisk. Leave to stand for 10 minutes.

Gradually sieve the same volume of flour (as the eggs) into the milk and egg mixture, again using an electric hand beater or hand-whisk to create a lump free batter resembling thick cream, if there are any lumps pass the batter through a fine sieve. Leave the batter to rest in the kitchen for a minimum of 30 minutes, longer if possible - up to several hours.

Place a pea-sized piece of lard, dripping or ½tsp vegetable oil into your chosen Yorkshire pudding tin, or a 4 x 2"/5cm hole tin or 12-hole muffin tin and heat in the oven until the fat is smoking. Give the batter another good whisk adding 2 tbsps of cold water and fill a third of each section of the tin with batter and return quickly to the oven. Leave to cook until golden brown approx 20 minutes. Repeat the last step again until all the batter is used up.

June’s Comments: I used muffin tin to make mini Yorkshire Pudding and the recipe gave me about 20-24 yummy Yorkshire Pudding. I used butter instead of lard/pan drippings. Butter burn easily, so be careful not to burn it if you’re using butter instead of lard/drippings. I did not leave my butter smoking in the pan; just enough to melt the butter before pouring in the batter.

Baby Shower Cupcakes

2010-06-23T23:56:00.000-04:00

A couple weeks ago, I volunteered to make baby shower cupcakes for one of my co-workers. I was excited and nervous at the same time. I had plenty of ideas flowing, but needed one that would not take up too much time after work. Plus, I need to make enough to feed about 50 people.

A few days prior to the baby shower, I started shopping around for supplies and sort of settled with some designs. It was going to be cupcakes for sure. Figured out a game plan of how I was going to execute the project after work. The plan was to stretch the whole project into 2 days (nights to be exact).

The first night, I made the decorative part……..Kneading the fondant and mixing the white fondant, turning it into pastel colors. And then using cooker cutter and also hand shaping them into my different shapes and sizes.

The second night, it was all about the baking. Chocolate and Cherry Vanilla cupcakes to be exact, topped with a vanilla frosting and my decorative fondant!

The day of the baby shower, the husband helped me bring the cupcakes to work. I think the cupcakes were a success. Everyone seem to be in awe and some even had 2-3 helpings of cupcakes. Pat on the back for me! Yay! =)

Happy Father’s Day!

2010-06-20T00:00:00.000-04:00

My Father, My Guiding Light

Dad, you’re like the sun to me,
a sure thing, always there,
beaming light and warmth on my life.
Whatever is good in me today,
I owe to your wisdom, your patience,
your strength, your love.
You taught me by example,
as a role model,
how to be my own person,
how to believe in myself,
instructing me without controlling me.
Even when we disagreed,
you held us together,
so our bond was never broken.
I understand what you did for me,
and I am so grateful that I have you
as my solid foundation, my rock.
I respect you, I admire you, I love you,
my guiding light, my father.

By Joanna Fuchs

Happy Father’s Day Dad, Father-in-Law and all the dads out there!

Happy Birthday, Bro! XOXO

2010-06-18T00:00:00.000-04:00

Another Year

I’m wishing you another year
Of laughter, joy and fun,
Surprises, love and happiness,
And when your birthday’s done,

I hope you feel deep in your heart,
As your birthdays come and go,
How very much you mean to me,
More than you can know

By Joanna Fusch

Here’s wishing my brother a HAPPY 24th BIRTHDAY!!

See you soon!

EVOO @ Cambridge, MA

2010-06-17T00:13:00.000-04:00

The husband and I picked EVOO for my birthday treat. The husband had wanted to bring me to Sorellina, an Italian restaurant which was given thumbs up and a must try by few of our friends. Dining at Sorellina will set the husband back easily $200 for some appetizers, entree, dessert and wine. Since the husband has gotten me a very nice birthday gift, I decided to be considerate and suggested we look for other fine dining place with an affordable prix fixe menu.

EVOO came up in the search and we can’t ignore the great reviews it was given by diners. And with a 3 course prix fixe menu of $38 (add $17 for wine pairing), this had to be the place! Oh, and they try to use local ingredients in their daily menu. We were ecstatic to try out their eclectic menu.

We’ve looked at the menu online and somewhat made up our mind on what we were going to try. Upon arriving at the restaurant and being seated (a plus for the husband for making reservation!), we noticed we were given a daily menu. Some of the stuff we had seen online wasn’t there and was replaced by equally delicious selection.

Some bread and especially yummilicious grissini, olive oil & balsamic mixture was brought out for us to snack on.

All 5 of us took the prix fixe 3 course meal with wine pairing. It was a no brainer for us! There were about 7-8 kinds each of appetizers, entrees and desserts to choose from their prix fixe menu. Here’s what we ordered:

1) Vermont Goat Cheese Pierogi with Roasted Garlic and Crazy Ben’s Locally Foraged Wine Cap Mushrooms (Bottom Left). Steve ordered this and if not for the goat cheese, I would have ordered this too! It looked so good, I think it tasted as good as it looks.

2) EVOO’s Country Pate with Pickled Fiddleheads, Boozy Fig Jam, Whole Grain Mustard and Grilled Bread (Bottom Right). Rob ordered this dish, and it must have been good coz he cleaned the plate.

3) Red Hot Oven Baked Pete & Jen’s Rabbit Empanadas with Peppered Celery Root Salad and Cilantro – Pumpkin Seed Puree (Bottom Left). Rabbit seem to be the thing for the husband, he will order rabbit if it’s on the menu. “Pete & Jen’s Rabbit” sounded like somebody’s pet, don’t you think? The husband thought the empanadas were just ok. I bet if it was fried, it would have tasted better. Who doesn’t like fried stuff?

4) New Jersey Asparagus soup with Parmigiano Reggiano, Red Chili Flakes and EVOO (Bottom Right). Seyda and I went for the soup. Seyda liked it, I wasn’t quite sure if I did. I love creamy smooth soup and this was something I did not expect. There were chunks of roughly pureed asparagus and it wasn’t creamy like how i like my soups. =)

5) Seared Golden Tilefish Fillet with Organic Potatoes, Fiddlehead Ferns, Wild Ramps, Cilantro, Curried Potato Broth and Minted Carrot Salad (Bottom Left). Seyda ordered this for her entree and I remember her loving her fish dish. It does look very good from the other side of the table. The skin of the fish looked like it was fried to crisp golden perfection.

6) Donnie’s spring Dug Parsnip Biscuit filled with Slices of Brown Sugar Cured-Hickory Smoked Leg of T’s Pig, Quick Pickled Sweet Onions, Equinox Farm’s Spinach and Caramelized Pig Gravy (Bottom Right). When this was first served to Rob, we all teased him that it was one heck of an expensive burger. =) It surely looked like a burger but definitely does not taste like your Mickey D’s or Burger King! It was delicious although we had a hard time trying to guess what was the grainy stuff in the gravy. r

7) Seared New Bedford Day Boat Sea Scallops with Smoky Pig’s Skin Risotto, Equinox Farm’s Spinach, Fennel, Crispy Onions and Sweet Pepper Vinaigrette (Bottom Left). This was mine, all mine and I love it. The sea scallops were huge, fresh and seared to perfection. The risotto; full of smoky pork flavors. Everything paired well together with my wine. =)

8) Turf in Surf; Crisp Fried Spicy Chicken Sausage Stuffed Chesapeake Bay Soft Shell Crab with Adobo, Smooth and Creamy Potato Salad and Spring Vegetable Slaw (Bottom Right). The husband and Steve ordered this and it looked SO CUTE when it came!! Portion was small, but it was good surf and turf!

We did not share/try each other’s entrees or appetizers but we surely pass the plate around when it came to desserts. I unfortunately forgot to take with me their dessert menu. The name/description is to my best ability.

9) Chocolate Banana Pudding (Bottom Left). This was pretty good, although the chocolate flavors were stronger than the banana.

10) Warm Chocolate Truffle Cake with Toasted Marshmallow (Bottom Right). This was sinfully delicious. Very dense and rich with a slightly goey chocolaty “filling”. I would recommend this if you’re a big chocolate fan.

11) Strawberry Rhubarb Oat Crisp with Sour Cream Ice Cream (Bottom Left). I’m not a big fan of rhubarb so this is something I wouldn’t order. It is good if you like rhubarb. The sour cream surprisingly tasted better than expected. It reminded me of frozen yoghurt.

12) Sticky Toffee Parsnip Cake with Prune Raisin Ice Cream & Spiced Walnuts (Bottom Right). This was the yummiest dessert that night. Well, at least Seyda and I agree that I picked the best one. The prune ice cream was creamy good. The parsnip cake surpassed my expectation of a “vegetable cake” and was so rich and yummy. Spiced walnuts were the best I’ve tasted.

Service that night wasn’t the greatest for a fine dining restaurant. I guess, the casualness in the restaurant down played the service. The 3 hostesses were not very professional and looking at them ~~work~~ standing around ~~looking awkwardly pretty~~ doing almost nothing were to me a waste of resource. The place weren’t that big to need 3 hostesses. Our wait staff were also so-so; nothing to shout about. The one who brought us our wine pairing was so busy she didn’t quite stop and explain the wine nicely to us. She tend to walk away as she tells us the wine we were drinking.

Despite the somewhat poor service, EVOO scored an above average in my books. I give the place 2 thumbs up for its creative and quite delicious menu. The service does have room for some improvement. Portions were just nice if you take a 3 course meal, with no left overs to take home unlike when we dined at L’andana Grill. L’andana has one of the best service, and yes bang for my buck!! I do like that EVOO uses local produce and tells you where they got them from. =)

Head over to EVOO’s for some modern American cuisine! You’ll be surprised with their eclectic MENU.

350 3rd Street
Cambridge, MA 02142
(617) 661-3866

Hong Shao Rou (Red Cooked Pork Belly)

2010-06-14T23:23:00.001-04:00

The husband was browsing my Saveur magazine and he came across a section on Chinese food. He told me that he will cook all the dishes from that Chinese stir fry section for me and he did on my birthday!

The Hong Shao Rou (translated to Red Cooked Pork Belly by Saveur) was our favorite. This was one of the yummiest pork I’ve eaten. I’m so proud of the husband to be able to whip up such delicious and additive dish (Thanks, Saveur for the great recipe). Now the husband has another dish to add to his repertoire. I wonder when will he start baking???

We enjoyed the Hong Shao Rou SO MUCH the husband cooked more 2 days later, doubling the portion..so that we have more to eat and can eat it over 2 days. I made sure the husband wrote down the variation he did and measured everything precisely. Besides doubling the portion, he substituted the fresh chili for dried chili. Click HERE, if you’re interested to see Saveur’s original version. They should have warned us that this dish can be quite additive!!

It was extremely hard rationing the pork belly so that it last us 2 days..we were so tempted to just gobble the meat down in one sitting! It was THAT GOOD! That weekend, with a total of 3 Hong Shao Rou meals…I felt like a pig… my belly felt like big fat slab of pork belly. Serve me right for being such a glutton! Here’s the husband’s tweaked version of Hong Shao Rou! Let me know if you guys enjoyed it as much as we did!!

HONG SHAO ROU RECIPE

Ingredients:

2 lb. Boneless Pork Belly Cut Into 3/4” Strips
2 Leeks, White & Light Green Parts Only, Roughly Chopped
2” Piece Ginger, Peeled & Thinly Sliced
12 Dried Chili
6 Pcs/Cubes Red Fermented Tofu, Mashed
4 Tsp Liquid from Red Fermented Tofu
1 Tbsp Canola Oil
2 Tsp Sugar
2 Tbsp Dark (Sweet) Sao sauce
4 Bay Leaves
4 Star Anise
Salt
15-17 Cups Water

Method:

Bring 10-12 cups salted water to a boil in a pot. Add pork and cook for 5 minutes. Drain pork and set aside. Wipe out wok (or use a stainless-steel skillet instead). Set over high heat until wok begins to smoke. Add oil around edge of wok, swirling to coat bottom and sides. Stir fry dried chili and ginger for about 30 seconds. Then add leeks and cook, tossing constantly, until fragrant, about another 30 seconds. Add blanched pork and cook, tossing often, for 3 minutes.

Add sugar, soy sauce, tofu and its liquid, and salt and cook, tossing, until ingredients are browned, about 6 minutes. Add 5 Cups of water, bay leaves, and star anise and let it come to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low, cover, and simmer until pork is tender, about 40–50 minutes.

Uncover, increase heat to high, and cook, stirring, until liquid reduces to 4tbsp about 10-15 minutes.

June’s Comments: If you want more liquid/in your pork, you can just cook it in high heat for about 5 minutes instead of 10-15 minutes. Serve this over warm rice or even steamed Man Tou…

Garlic Bistro @ North Chelmsford, MA

2010-06-13T22:06:00.001-04:00

The husband and I are believers in giving second chances. Some times it works out ok, sometimes not. Unfortunately Garlic Bistro disappointed us the second time around. =( We first dined at Garlic Bistro about 2 years back and our whole dining experience wasn’t that great. Hence, it took us 2 years (or more) later to gain courage and revisit the restaurant; mainly coz the 3 other Thai places we called were closed.

When we first ate at the restaurant, I remember that it was one hot summer. The restaurant did not turn on its AC, had it’s door wide open. We were sweating while eating our not very great Thai food. Everything was overly sweet and with bead of sweats flowing down the forehead, we weren’t enjoying ourselves.

This time around, the restaurant was empty when we arrived there at dinner time. A waitress and presumably the owner/manager were the only ones in there. We decided to do take out and asked for the menu to browse. The owner kept insisting us to dine in and to take a sit, etc . The owner was a bit over friendly, it got a bit intimidating. We decided to just stand, look at the menu, order, leave and come back later. We already knew what we wanted to order. We picked up the food in 10 minutes, went back home and was quite disappointed.

Here’s what we ordered:

1) Duck Green Curry – Green Curry in coconut milk with sliced bamboo shoot, eggplant, zucchini, green pepper, string beans @ $13.95 (Bottom Left). The portion was significantly small compared to our favorite Thai place; Rostip. The knife skill seem to be missing, with all the vegetables cut up into large slices. The little and thinly sliced duck meat look liked it was steamed; hence the lack of flavor. The green curry did not have much flavor and at $14 for this entree that does not come with free rice, it was SO NOT WORTH IT! The dinner portion was like Rostip’s lunch portion (maybe even less).

2) Crazy Noodle (Pad Kee Mao) – Rice noodle dish; stir fried with chicken in hot chili sauce with string beans, onions, red pepper and hot basil leaves @ $10.95 (Bottom Right). This one was also a let down with knife skills missing. Everything was large, and it seem to me not much love was put into cooking this noodle dish. The noodle again for about $11 was very little for the amount we paid and compared to other restaurants. Noodle was a little on the hard side. There were more chicken and vegetables than the noodle. Flavors were again missing from this dish.

3) Golden Bags – Ground shrimp, water chestnut, mushrooms, Thai spices; wrapped with tofu skin and served with sweet plum sauce @ $6.95 (Bottom). I thought this was the best dish of them all. The “bags” were filled with shrimp (and perhaps meat). The husband however thought this was also a little on the bland side.

Unfortunately, this place does not deserve the phrase third time’s a charm! With small portions, expensive prices, bland dishes……I doubt we’ll be going back to Garlic Bistro. It’s sad, coz this place is so much nearer to our place. The portions were so small that we did not have leftovers unlike when we get takeout at Rostip where dinner entrees are worth 2 meals! And I’m not a fan of Asian restaurants charging extra for plain white rice!

If you want to give Garlic Bistro a try; check out their menu HERE. Maybe it’s just us not liking the food there. They have a big dining area and there’s plenty of parking in the plaza area!

121 Drum Hill Rd
Chelmsford, MA 01824
(978) 454-8337

Testing Out the New Lens..

2010-06-11T21:07:00.000-04:00

Took my camera and my new 50mm lens I received from the husband on my birthday. Here are some shots I took over the Memorial Day weekend when we decided to check out Great Brook Farms @ Carlisle, MA.

Clafouti

2010-06-10T22:44:00.000-04:00

Clafouti is a baked French dessert with cherries and has a texture like flan. I made it for my French themed dinner and that was decided just hours before my dinner party. I googled for recipes and found a Clafouti recipe by Julia Child, shared by many other bloggers. Can’t go wrong when so many people are sharing the recipe!

Julia Child’s Clafouti recipe also call for Cherries. With Bing Cherries going for $3.99 – 4.99/lb, I wasn’t quite willing to get them to make dessert. Strawberries were in season and were much more affordable. So, I went with that alternative.

The clafouti honestly looked kinda ugly when it came out of the oven. But with the help of powdered sugar, fresh strawberry and mint leaves, I disguised the look and made it look fancy! =) The guests enjoyed this dessert and I was pleasantly surprised it tasted better than it looks. Next time, I will try it with other fruits instead. Maybe those will turn out better looking!

Here’s Julia Child’s (Cherry) Clafouti recipe.I would suggest not using strawberry as an alternative!

CLAFOUTI RECIPE

Ingredients:

1-1/4 Cups Milk
2/3 Cup Sugar, Divided
3 Large Eggs
1 Tbsp Vanilla Extract
1/8 Tsp Salt
1/2 Cup All-Purpose Flour
3 Cups Cherry, Pitted
Powdered Sugar For Garnish

Method:

Preheat oven to 350 F. Using a blender, combine the milk, 1/3 cup sugar, eggs, vanilla, salt and flour, and blend.

Lightly butter an 8-cup baking dish, and pour a 1/4-inch layer of the blended mixture over the bottom. Set remaining batter aside. Place dish into the oven for about 7-10 minutes, until a film of batter sets in the pan but the mixture is not baked through. Remove from oven (but don’t turn the oven off, yet). Distribute the pitted cherries over the set batter in the pan, then sprinkle with the remaining sugar. Pour the remaining batter over the cherries and sugar.

Bake in the preheated oven for 45 to 60 minutes, until the clafouti is puffed and brown and a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve warm.

June’s Comments: If you do want to incorporate strawberries in your clafouti, I would suggest using about 2-1/2 cups of halved (or quartered) strawberries. I made my clafouti in individual 7oz ramekins. I ended up with 6 individual servings! =)

Shrimp Mayo (II)

2010-06-09T22:58:00.000-04:00

Husband and I love Mayo Shrimp and I’ve made it once before. We recently ordered take out from a restaurant near our place and just couldn’t resist what we saw on the menu; Jumbo Shrimp Mayo. Just had to order it!

The Shrimp Mayo was slightly different from what’ve we’ve had before but it was still good. I recognized immediately that they used coconut milk in the sauce. Mmmm….

So, a few weeks later I attempted to recreate what we had I tweaked the recipe I used before and was pleased with the result. It tasted like our take out dinner the other day!

MAYO SHRIMP RECIPE

Method:

Part A (Fried Shrimp):

1/2 Lb Shrimp, Peeled & Deveined
1 Large Egg White
1/4 Cup Corn Flour
1/4 Tsp Baking Soda
1/8 Tsp Salt
1/3 Cup + 1 Tsp Oil

Part B (Sauce):

2 Tbsp Mayonnaise
2 Tbsp Condensed Milk
1-1/2 Tbsp Coconut Milk
2 Tsp Lemon Juice

Method:

Mix egg white, corn flour, baking soda, salt and 1 tsp oil in a bowl until you get a smooth paste. Pat dry the shrimp and mix them into the paste/batter. Make sure shrimp is well coated with the batter.

Heat 1/3 cup oil in a small pan over medium heat and slowly drop the nicely coated shrimp one at a time into the hot oil. You do want to make sure the oil is at least 1/2” deep. Add more oil if your pan is bigger. Do not overcrowd the pan with the shrimp. Fry the first side of the shrimp until it’s golden brown before flipping them over to fry the second side. This shouldn’t take too long as the shrimp cooks very quickly.

While the shrimp is cooking, prepare the sauce part by mixing Part B in a bowl until well combined. Set it aside. Remove fried shrimp, drain oil and place them in a bowl. Pour sauce over the shrimp and coat well before transferring onto a serving platter. Serve immediately with some white rice. You could also place the sauce on the side instead of coating the shrimp in them!

Bar Lola @ Boston, MA

2010-06-08T22:24:00.000-04:00

Tapas, Sangria and Live Flamenco! This is as Spanish as you can get outside of Spain! We love Tapas and fell in love with Flamenco especially after our trip to Barcelona last year. Seyda told us about Bar Lola and live Flamenco there. We decided to check it out and really enjoyed the whole experience. Sorry, my pictures weren’t the greatest. Poor lighting + Shaky hands = BAAAD picture!

The house Sangria was pretty yummy. We has front row seats and had direct view of the Flamenco performance. Although the performance was good, it would have been better if they were actually on the stage. Their outfits fell a little short compared to the traditional Flamenco dancers; no long flowy dresses.

Here’s what we ordered for Tapas. We picked 2 Tapas each and pass it around the table.

1) Calamares Fritos Tenerife - Fried calamari with mojo ali-oli & Lola’s tomato sauce (Bottom Left). I don’t think this came with the tomato sauce, but the mojo ali-oli was awesome. The calamari lightly coated in batter and fried to golden brown deserves 2 thumbs up!

2) Bunuelos - Seasoned vegetable & cheese puffs (Bottom Right). This was light and very flavorful. I forgot was the the dip/sauce that came with it though. I think bell peppers were one of the key ingredients in this puff.

3) Vegetarian Crepe (Bottom Left). I can’t seem to find this on their online menu now. I forgot what was in the filling (beans perhaps?) except that it was a vegetarian crepe. The crepe itself was however nice was thin.

4) Langostinos Rebozados - Prawn fritters with a savory mango & scallion sauce (Bottom Right). The batter was rather thick (but fluffy) on this, but it was nicely seasoned and deep fried till crisp. Fried seafood are generally good in my books. =) I can’t help dipping my fritter in more yummy mango sauce!

5) Crostones de Cangrejo con Salsa de Piquillos y Gambas - Maine crab meat, sofrito and cheese crustini’s with a piquillo-shrimp sauce (Bottom Left). Crabcake and sauce was good. Lump crab is definitely not used in this cake.

6) Spinach Dip with Pita Bread (Bottom Right). Again, I can no longer find this on their online menu. I don’t care much for this dish. For some reason, I did not like this dip; maybe it’s the cheese that they used.

7) Pato con Naranjas Valenianas - Roasted duckling with Valencia orange sauce (Bottom Left). Duck is one dish that the husband will order at most Tapas (and any other restaurants). This was good. The orange sauce was light and refreshing. The duck was moist and delicious.

8) Pinchos de Pollo a la Mostaza - Chicken skewers with mushroom-mustard sauce (Bottom Right). While the husband usually order a duck dish, Rob will usually order chicken. The grilled chicken skewers were not bad, although I’m not a big fan of chicken breast. The white mustard mushroom sauce were creamy good; I can’t get enough!!

9) Flan Al Caramelo - Caramel Custard and Sugar Biscuit (Bottom Left). I like that they put in a little more effort to make the dessert look pretty. Seyda ordered this and the flan was light, smooth and delicious. The turn off was the hard sugar biscuit on the base. It was quite inedible.

10) Budin de Pan - Bread Pudding with Mango Sauce (Bottom Right). A nice slice of bread pudding drizzled with mango sauce, sprinkled with berries and topped with whipped cream. My kind of dessert and I love it!

11) Tarta de Queso - Fresh White Cheese Tart with Berries (Bottom Left). The husband ordered this and we all agreed that it was the BEST dessert that night. I’m not a big fan of plain cheesecake, but I actually enjoyed sampling this. This cheesecake was nothing like the dense and uber rich New York cheesecake. It was light, almost fluffy, and was perfect with the berry sauce. I’ve never had a cheesecake like this and would definitely eat this again!

12) Tara de Chocololate - Chocoloate Tart with Passion Fruit Cream (Bottom Right). It sounded good but this was quite a let down. I think this was maybe store bought. The chocolate tart was quite frozen, it was kinda hard to dig in.

I forgot the prices of the Sangria ($24 per 1 L pitcher?) and the Tapas. They were slightly higher ($1-2 more) than the other Spanish restaurants we’ve been to. On average I think it was about $8-9 per Tapas. However, if you factor in the free live Flamenco….the whole experience is pretty worth while. We spent about $77 per couple. Not bad for a night of entertainment, drinks, food and company!

Service was overall ok. Nothing too spectacular, although with our “front row” seats, it was quite hard to hear what the wait staff was saying!

If you’re perhaps interested in learning the Flamenco, check out Flamenco Boston. She’s one of the Flamenco dancers at Bar Lola that night. She/They seem to be performing quite regularly at Bar Lola, so check out their next scheduled performance.

Don’t forget to check out Bar Lola’s delicious menu. Bar Lola is just located a street from Newbury Street. So, get your shopping done and head over for some dine and wine!. Plenty of metered street parking on Newbury Street, but it’s also usually quite hard to get coz of the many shops and restaurants there!

160 Commonwealth Avenue
Boston, MA 02116-2707
(617) 266-1122

Cheesecake Brownie

2010-06-07T00:07:00.001-04:00

I promised my friends from work I would bring brownies to work the following week. Brownies are pretty easy to make and this is one sinful chocolaty treat that most (not-too health-conscious) people would say yes to!

I sort of knew what kind of brownie I wanted to make; Cheesecake (Cheese) Brownie. I’ve tried a recipe by Martha Stewart once but I was in the mood to try other recipe. It was when I stumbled upon David Lebovitz’s Cheesecake Brownie that I knew I just had to try out this version! I’ve tried a few of his recipes and have no regrets trying them. They were all delectable!

After work (and dinner), I gathered the ingredients needed and started baking. I wasn’t going to wash my electrical appliances (i.e. mixer) and used a traditional whisk and my muscles to do the work of blending the ingredients into a smooth consistency!

Here’s the chocolaty sinful Cheesecake Brownie by David Lebovitz. And like usual, I like to tweak things a little; this time I sprinkled a handful of chocolate chips to the batter prior to baking. The result was a fudgy like brownie with bits of chocolate chip and random sections of cheesecake! Yums!

CHEESECAKE BROWNIE RECIPE

Ingredients:

Part A (Chocolate Batter)

6 Tbsp Unsalted, Cut Into Pieces
4 Oz Bittersweet / Semisweet Chocolate, Chopped
2/3 Cup Granulated Sugar
2 Large Eggs, At Room Temperature
1/2 Cup All-Purpose Flour
1 Tbsp Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
1/8 Tspn salt
1 Tspn Vanilla Extract
1/2 Cup Chocolate Chips
1/4 – 1/3 Cup Chocolate Chips (Optional)

Part B (Cheesecake Batter)

8 Oz (1 Block) Cream Cheese, At Room Temperature
1 Large Egg Yolk
5 Tbsp Granulated Sugar
1/8 Tspn Vanilla Extract

Method:

Line a 9-inch (23cm) square pan with foil, making sure it goes up all four sides. Use two sheets if necessary. Mist with non-stick spray or grease lightly. Preheat oven to 350 degrees (180C).

In a medium saucepan, melt the butter and chocolate over low heat, stirring until smooth. Remove from heat and beat in the 2/3 cup (130g) sugar, then the eggs. Mix in the flour, cocoa powder and salt, then the vanilla and chocolate chips. Spread evenly in the prepared pan.

In a separate bowl, beat together the cream cheese, the yolk, 5 tablespoons (75g) of sugar, and vanilla until smooth. Distribute the cream cheese mixture in eight dollops across the top of the brownie mixture, then take a dull knife or spatula and swirl the cream cheese mixture with the chocolate batter. Sprinkle with more chocolate chips if desired.

Bake for 35 minutes, or until the batter in the center of the pan feels just set. Let cool, then lift out the foil and peel it away. Cut the brownies into squares.

June’s Comments: I used salted butter instead of unsalted butter; therefore I skipped the salt in the batter. I used bittersweet chocolate (chips) throughout the recipe as I think bittersweet chocolate gives a richer chocolaty taste. Feel free to use semisweet ones.

Mobile Blogging..

2010-06-06T13:56:00.000-04:00

…..and more aboard the mighty MegaBus! The husband and I are on the bus from Boston to New York for a one day trip. The ultimate purpose of our trip to the big apple is to renew our passports. After weighing in the pros and cons of driving ourselves vs taking the bus; we decided to take the bus since it would be more stress free! With a price of about $50 roundtrip for 2 and free WiFi on the bus, we have no reason to say NO! Plus, we probably save a bunch of money finding parking too! I am looking forward to stuffing my face silly in NYC and of course getting our passports renewed asap!

Revisited: Rostip Thai Restaurant @ Dracut, MA

2010-06-04T15:58:00.000-04:00

Remember in my previous post, I was boasting about the yummy Thai food @ Rostip? Well, we went back there again probably about a week or so after I wrote about it. This time, we ordered lunch take out to see how the portions were.

Food was again very affordable and the portion was quite good for lunch (especially for the price we paid); with 3 entrees costing us about $21. Here’s what we ordered:

1) Pad Kee Mao (Drunken Noodle) – Wide flat noodles stir fried with carrots, string beans, bell peppers, basil leaves, broccoli and chicken in a hot chili basil sauce @ $5.95 (Bottom). The portions was surely huge for a $6 noodle entree. While it might be slightly on the greasy side, I love it. The husband said they might have use a little too much of oyster sauce; it tasted a little salty to him. 2) Panang Curry (Shrimp) – A thick red spicy curry with coconut milk, green peas, bell peppers, basil leaves and finished with a touched of shredded lime leaves. Garnished with steam vegetables @ $6.50 (Bottom Left). The lunch entree came in a nice container with 2 compartments, one for rice and another for curry. This curry was a little sweeter than the green curry we ordered, but still yummilicious!

3) Green Curry (Duck) – Green chili curry with coconut milk, string beans, bamboo, peas, basil leaves and bell peppers @ $6.95 (Bottom Right). This was the second time that we’ve ordered this dish and still loving it!! This was recommended by the friend who introduced us to Rostip. The curry was so aromatic and flavorful, the duck (fried or roasted) was just perfect.

Rostip is certainly high in our list when we are craving for Thai food. We’ve recently tried another Thai place nearer to our place and totally did not like it. I will blog about the misadventure of that one day where Rostip and 2 other Thai places were closed! And we just had to get Thai food after building up steam talking about Rostip Duck Green Curry!!!

Salmon & Spinach Quiche

2010-06-03T21:36:00.000-04:00

Quiche for my French themed dinner! It was easier than expected especially when I use store bought crust. Here’s an easy recipe for either breakfast, lunch or dinner (like what I did!)! I did not fuss with the crust for my version of quiche and just used a store bought pie crust for it. I thought it turned out pretty well. The quiche although has cream and eggs was kinda light.

SALMON & SPINACH QUICHE RECIPE

Ingredients:

1 Pillsbury Pie Crust, Defrosted
6-7 Oz Smoked Salmon, Chopped
1 – 10 oz Packaged Frozen Spinach, Defrosted and Drained
3/4 Cup Cream
4 Large Eggs
1/2 Medium Onion, Chopped
2 Cloves Garlic
1 Tbsp Butter
Salt & Pepper

Method:

Preheat oven to 350F. Melt butter in a pan, add garlic and onion. Sauté until garlic is lightly brown and set aside. In a medium bowl, beat eggs and cream. Add chopped smoked salmon, spinach (with all juice squeezed out), onion mixture. Season with salt and pepper and set aside. Line a 9 inch tart pan with the pie crust, trimming excess crust. Lightly pierce the crust with a fork, then pour in egg mixture.

Bake quiche for 30-40 minutes or until the center is set. Serve either warm or even at room temperature! Enjoy!

Psst…Mom..you gotta try this recipe! =)

My Birthday Meal

2010-06-01T00:46:00.000-04:00

The husband had the day off and he offered to cook us a 4 course Chinese Meal for my birthday, a day early! I couldn’t say no when the man wants to cook. Plus, I had to work so I left all the cooking (and grocery shopping) to him!

I’m super duper proud of him and his cooking skills. The husband got inspired after he browsed my Saveur magazine and they had a section on Chinese stir-fry. He made 4 delicious dishes from that publication! And I did not even lift a finger. I let him have the kitchen to himself; one of the few times I actually stayed out of my territory without hovering over his shoulder! I should let him cook more often and I can just sit back, relax and wait to eat!!

Here’s what the husband made for us:

1) Tomato Egg Stir Fry (Bottom Left) : This was not bad, it reminded me of a dish I made a while back. This one was not bad, although we thought it could use a little more seasoning.

2) Pork (Beef) & Leek Stir Fry (Bottom Right): The recipe called for pork, the husband accidentally used beef instead. This dish was pretty good!

3) Bok Choy & Mushroom Stir Fry (Bottom Left) : This dish was very different from how I usually cook my bok choy. This was a dry version; no sauce, no gravy….yet not bad at all! It was an interesting change!

4) Braised Pork Belly (Bottom Right): This was by far the BEST dish of the night and one of the best pork dish I’ve had. We loved it so much, we cooked it again a few days later….doubling the portion! That explains the extra layer of fat I have around my waist! All the pork belly goodness went to my waist!

All these recipes are extracted from the Saveur magazine. Perhaps, I will post the recipe in another blog entry later! =) I’m getting so hungry just thinking about that yummy in my tummy pork belly!!

Thanks, darling for a great home-cooked Birthday Meal!

My New Toy!

2010-05-31T00:15:00.001-04:00

And loving it! This was a birthday gift from the husband and I’m still learning to take pictures with my brand new ~~macro~~ lens! =)

The Blogger Turns 29!

2010-05-29T00:00:00.000-04:00

Another year has crept up to me…I’m now 29..in denial and there’s no turning back.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!

Excuse My French…….

2010-05-27T22:41:00.000-04:00

My French themed (inspired might be more accurate) dinner…that is! It had been quite a whiel since I last had my usual suspects over for a home cooked meal. After Chris’ Italian themed dinner 1-2 weeks ago, I knew it had to be our turn to have people over. The main reason is to motivate us to clean up the house; big time! The second reason; for some good old company. The third; I really miss spending time in the kitchen after being in the workforce again!

I wasn’t in the mood to cook something random and French seem like a cuisine that would impose some kind of challenge to me! Plus, I really want to make some quiche. I actually did not finalize the menu until about 4 Horus before I started making dinner. Usually I have the menu pretty much nailed down the day before. It was hard this time when it was a specific theme and I wanted something that does not cost an arm and a leg. Here’s what I did beside trying to set the table as fine dining looking as possible with my limited dinnerware set.

1) Cheese Platter with brie; a soft cow’s milk French cheese, whipped cream cheese with garlic and herbs, rosemary cracker, French baguette and grapes. That was like an appetizer as we drank some nicely chilled Sauvignon Blanc.

2) Lobster Bisque (Bottom Left) – Made a huge pot of creamy lobster bisque; a popular New England Soup. Lobster was in season @ $4.99 per lb. We can afford some! =) Bisque is a smooth creamy French soup with a crustacean broth as a base. The husband thought the soup could be thicker. My other guests liked as it wasn’t too starchy and was light. I enjoyed it as well but agreed with the husband. Instead of using cognac like in many recipe, I used the cheapest wine Walmart has. $3 per bottle if you want to know how much I paid for it! =)

3) Creamy Seafood in Puff Pastry (Bottom Right) – Scallops, Tiger Prawns and Mussels were sautéed and cooked in a béchamel sauce with a splash of (Walmart) wine. Chopped chives were also stirred in before platting. I baked some puff pastry, made pockets and “stuffed” the creamy seafood into them. The result, a fine looking dish. Don’t you think? I thought it looked very fancy, and yet it wasn’t too hard to prepare. Best of all, my guests and my husband loved this!

4) Salmon & Spinach Quiche (Bottom Left) – I for some reason have been wanting to make this for quite a while. It was shut down my the husband and a friend when I offered to make quiche for dinner and both the boys wanted KFC!! I was finally able to make it for my French themed dinner. I did not mess with the crust and use pie crust instead and baked it in a tart pan. Smoked salmon and frozen spinach was the 2 key ingredients in this dish. I really liked this. It felt really healthy with all the spinach and we had plenty for lunch the next day! =)

5) Strawberry Clafouti (Bottom Right) – Clafouti is a baked French dessert with cherries and has a texture like flan. I had wanted to make a Chocolate soufflé, and realized that was a lot of work and chances of the soufflé failing was rather big! Strawberry clafouti has a last minute idea and I used a Julia Child’s recipe! The clafouti honestly looked kinda ugly when it came out of the oven. With the help of powdered sugar, fresh strawberry and mint leaves, I disguised the look and made it look fancy! =) The guests enjoyed this dessert and I was pleasantly surprised it tasted better than it looks. Next time, I will try it with other fruits instead. Maybe those will turn out better looking!

5) Ratatouille (Not pictured and no, not the movie!) – Chris made and brought this over along a bottle of yummy rosé. He layered tomatoes, eggplants, zucchini, bell pepper and cheese and baked it. Awesomely delicious! =)

That’s it for my French themed dinner. Did I mention we played French music and finished about 4 bottles of French (or French grape) wine? =) I can’t wait for the next themed dinner @ Seyda and Rob’s. The theme is English! This will be interesting! I can’t wait!! Any ideas what English food should I make?

Limoncello Cake

2010-05-24T23:01:00.001-04:00

The theme was Italian potluck and it was a get together at Chris’s to catch the Celtics vs Magic game. I usually volunteer to bring dessert, and this get together was no different. I offered to bring dessert (thought we did buy a vegetarian pizza from our favorite pizza parlor as well) and of course I had to think of something Italian. I wanted to make something different yet easy. Tucked in the corner of out little bar, was a bottle of delicious Limoncello. Limoncello Cake it is!

Limoncello is Italian Lemon Liquor mainly produced in Southern Italy. The liquor itself is sweet itself and great as shot, on rocks or as part of a cocktail. In my case, it was part of cake! =) You might think it was a waste to just pour liquor and make cake out of it, but it was worth it. The cake was indeed Limoncello-y, thanks to the glaze!

I googled for a recipe and settled for one I found on www.allrecipes.com. Here’s the recipe I followed and adapted accordingly to my preference.

LIMONCELLO CAKE RECIPE

Ingredients:

Part A (Cake):

1 Cup Plain /Lemon Yogurt
2 Large Eggs
1/3 Cup Canola Oil
1/2 Cup Lemon Juice
2 Tbsp Lemon Zest (About Zest of 3 Lemons)
1-1/4 Cup Sugar
1/4 cup Limoncello Liqueur
2-1/4 Cups All-Purpose Flour
1-3/4 Tsp Baking Powder
1/2 Tsp Baking Soda
1 Pinch Salt

Part B (Glaze):

1/4 –1/2 Cup Powdered Sugar
1/4 Cup Limoncello

Method:

Preheat oven to 350F. Prepare an 8-inch cake pan with cooking spray.

Whisk together the yogurt, eggs, canola oil, lemon juice, lemon zest, sugar, and 4 tablespoons limoncello in a large bowl. In a separate large bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Gently stir the dry ingredients into the wet. Do not over mix or the cake will be tough. Pour batter into prepared pan.

Bake in the preheated oven until top is golden and a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean, about 35 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly.

Stir Part B (Powdered Sugar and 1/4 Cup Limoncello) together in a small bowl until smooth. Poke small holes all over the top of the still-warm cake with a fork or toothpick. Spoon the glaze over the cake and spread with the back of a spoon. The glaze will seep into the cake and add moisture.

June’s comments: I used a bundt pan to give the cake a little more pattern. I should have removed the cake from the pan when I poured the glaze. Glaze on the cake that would have made the cake look a little prettier. And definitely cover any imperfections!

The Asgard @ Cambridge, MA

2010-05-23T21:45:00.000-04:00

Sorry for my long hiatus from the world of blogging. I’ve just been busy with work and was also lazy to update the blog when I get home…….

Anyway, here’s an Irish Pub we ate at a few weeks back. Asgard, Irish Pub & Restaurant is located in Cambridge, MA and offers both indoor and outdoor seating. We sat outdoors coz we had Brady with us that day. We soon found out that apparently, the city of Cambridge does not allow pets on the premise. We had to tie Brady up to a tree nearby and keep a watchful eye on the poor confused guy.

Anyway, I did not take much pictures due to poor lighting and shaky hands. =( Here’s what we ordered;

1) Artisan Cheese Platter – A combination of imported Irish Cheese, sliced pears (canned), mandarin oranges (canned), pickles and assorted cheese @ $14 (Bottom Right). I only like the Dubliner in the selection.

2) Bangers 'N Mash - Grilled light-seasoned pork sausages served on Colcannon mashed potatoes with onion gravy and topped with onions straws @ $14 (Bottom Left). I’ve always heard about it, never had it and so wanted to try it. It was a great choice. The pork sausages were so juicy, flavorful and filled with porky goodness! I also learn a few days later that Colcannon mash potatoes is actually mash potatoes with cabbage, an Irish dish. Yums! I could use more of the gravy though.

3) Beer Battered Fish & Chips - North Atlantic cod fillets dipped in our beer batter and fried to a golden brown. Served with Kinsale fries, house-made coleslaw and tartar sauce @ $14 (Bottom Right). The husband and Rob ordered this. It came with 2 large pieces of quite delicious fresh fish in a not-too thick batter. The chips were not too bad too I think. I liked that they served the entree on a newspaper like paper. =)

Service was decent. Nothing too spectacular, not too shabby either. All of us did enjoy the great food and company. Although, I was feeling quite uneasy having Brady tied to the tree and him trying to get our attention.

I will definitely return to Asgard for some yummy pub food….minus my four legged companion =) Check out their menu HERE. Don’t bring your dog, unless you’re wiling to tie her/him to the tree!

350 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02139
(617) 577-9100

Killer Stare??…..

2010-05-22T21:53:00.000-04:00

He doesn’t look too please with me, does he? =)

Rostip Thai Restaurant @ Dracut, MA

2010-05-12T23:07:00.000-04:00

Review of this place should come sooner. We fell in love with this place and have gone back about twice in less than 2 weeks. A friend of work mentioned Rostip to us some time last year but never quite gave us the name or exact address of the place until a few weeks back. When we finally have the name and address, it took us 2 tries to actually try out the place. The first time we were there, they weren’t open. We finally went there during one lazy weeknight and decided to dine in.

The place is small, but decently decorated. There were more take outs then dine in customers; we were the only dine in patrons that night. Here’s what we ordered:

1) Shrimp Tom Yum Soup (Bottom Left)– Famous Thai hot and sour soup seasoned with exotic Thai herbs, lemongrass, lime juice, mushrooms, cilantro and scallions @ $3.25. This came with 3 large succulent shrimp. The soup wasn’t the best I’ve had, it’s just average. It could use more lime or tamarind juice and definitely more cilantro. I do however like that they cooked the mushrooms thoroughly instead of serving the mushrooms almost raw like many Thai restaurants do.

2) Crab Rangoon (Bottom Right) – 8 Wontons stuffed with cream cheese and shredded crabmeat, fried until golden brown and served with pineapple sauce @ $4.75. When the order came only 6 pieces was brought to us. While I really liked the filling, they could fill up more. Not sure about the presence of crabmeat either. I was glad we did not pay for the dish when the check came. The nice wait staff told us the crab rangoons were on the house! Yay!

3) Pad Thai (Bottom Left) – The most famous Thai rice noodle stir fried with shrimp, chicken, egg, bean sprouts, minced turnips, scallions and crushed peanuts @ $7.95. This was pretty good and for $7.95, it was bang for the buck!

4) Red Duck Curry (Bottom Right) – Red chili curry with coconut milk, bamboo shoots, string beans, peas, basil leaves and bell peppers with roasted duck @ $12.95. We LOVE this dish and I really appreciate that the curry comes with a serving of white rice at no extra charge. Substitution/extra order would be charged accordingly of course! The curry was rich, thick and so aromatic. The roasted duck meat (boneless) were sautéed with the curry and vegetables were aplenty! This was just perfect! And yes, portion was humongous too!

5) Thai Ice Coffee @ $1.50. This was the most inexpensive glass of Thai Ice Coffee I’ve ever had. Huge glass for less than $2 is my cuppa “coffee”! If you’ve never had Thai Iced Coffee, you gotta try it! And it was cute our straw was decorated in a rose origami. =).

There was so much food that we even doggy bagged the Pad Thai and the curry home, and ate it for another dinner! =). Great prices, delicious Thai cuisine, friendly service…it wasn’t a surprise we decided to go back there again.

It was take out this time and we ordered the Chicken Mango Curry (Not Pictured) – Chicken sautéed with sliced mango, carrots, snow peas, bell peppers, onions and string beans in House special yellow curry and coconut milk @ $7.95 and Green Duck Curry (Not Pictured) – Roasted Duck sautéed with green chili curry with coconut milk, bamboo, string beans, peas, basil leaves and bell peppers @ $12.95. We prefer the Green Duck Curry better than the Mango Curry. Maybe it’s because we’re a big fan of roasted duck. =) We were given some Thai rolls (Spring Rolls), FREE! The vegetarian spring rolls here delicious and the fact that they were again on the house made me a happy customer! We again had so much curry that we ate for lunch the next day. All I had to do was cook more rice!

What are you waiting for? Head over to Rostip’s for some delicious Thai food, excellent service and bang for your buck! I recommend the Red and/or Green Duck Curry!

Let me know if they throw in some freebie with your meal. I’ve never had a restaurant being so generous during my first 2 visits…I hope they keep serving me some free food the next time we’re there! Writing about the duck curry is making be salivate….maybe I can convince the husband to go this weekend!

7 Broadway Road
Dracut, MA 01826
(978) 275-9902

Chicken Cacciatore

2010-05-10T21:53:00.001-04:00

It was a stressful day at work and when I got home I was in the mood to cook and de-stress. I somehow got the mood to cook some Chicken Cacciatore and googled for some recipes. I’ve not made it before, not sure if I’ve tried it before but I often see it on menus and cooking shows. It sounded delicious and the many times I’ve had the urge to make it…I’m always missing some key ingredients. This time, I was lucky to have all the major ingredients needed.

Chicken Cacciatore is actually an Italian dish. According to Wikipedia, Cacciatore means hunter in Italian and in cuisine, "alla cacciatora" refers to a meal prepared "hunter-style" with tomatoes, onions, mushrooms, herbs, often bell pepper, and sometimes wine. Cacciatore is popularly made with braised chicken (pollo alla cacciatora) or rabbit.

I went with a recipe by Giada de Laurentiis of Food Network. The recipe looked a little different, I followed the most part of it and tweaked a tiny bit by leaving out chopped basil (coz I don’t have any) and adding chili flakes (coz I see some recipes that calls for it).

I love the result of the Chicken Cacciatore. It went well with the bottle of red wine we opened for dinner. That was a great week night dinner. Can’t complain when there’s wine with the meal. =)

CHICKEN CACCIATORE RECIPE

Ingredients:

8 Chicken Thighs (Skinless and Boneless)
2 Tsp Salt (Plus more to taste)
1 Tsp Fresh Ground Black Pepper (Plus more to taste)
1/2 Cup All Purpose Flour
3 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 Large Red Bell Pepper, Chopped
1 Onion, Chopped
3 Garlic Cloves, Finely Chopped
3/4 cup Dry White Wine
1 ( 28-ounce) Can Diced/Crushed Tomatoes
3/4 Cup Chicken Broth
3 Tbsp Capers, Drained
1 1/2 Tsp Dried Oregano Flakes
1 Tsp Chili Flakes

Method:

Sprinkle the chicken pieces with 1 teaspoon of each salt and pepper. Dredge the chicken pieces in the flour to coat lightly.

In a large heavy sauté pan, heat the oil over a medium-high flame. Add the chicken pieces to the pan and sauté just until brown, about 5 minutes per side. If all the chicken does not fit in the pan, sauté it in 2 batches. Transfer the chicken to a plate and set aside. Add the bell pepper, onion and garlic to the same pan and sauté over medium heat until the onion is tender, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add the wine and simmer until reduced by half, about 3 minutes. Add the tomatoes with their juice, broth, capers and oregano. Return the chicken pieces to the pan and turn them to coat in the sauce. Bring the sauce to a simmer. Continue simmering over medium-low heat until the chicken is just cooked through, about 30 minutes for the breast pieces, and 20 minutes for the thighs.

Using tongs, transfer the chicken to a platter. If necessary, boil the sauce until it thickens slightly, about 3 minutes. Spoon off any excess fat from atop the sauce. Spoon the sauce over the chicken, then sprinkle with the basil and serve.

June’s comments: I served my chicken cacciatore over some home made mashed potatoes (did I tell you it’s easy to make your own?) and steamed green beans. You can always serve the chicken cacciatore over some pasta or steamed rice.

Happy Mother’s Day!

2010-05-09T00:22:00.000-04:00

A Thousand Thanks

Mother's Day brings to mind
The thousands of things you did for me
that helped make me happier,
stronger and wiser,
because I had you as a role model.

I'm grateful for all the times
you healed my hurts
and calmed my fears,
so that I could face the world
feeling safe and secure.

I'm thankful for all you showed me
about how to love and give--
lessons that now bring
so many blessings to me
each and every day.

Your sacrifices and unselfishness
did not go unnoticed, Mom.
I admire you, I respect you,
I love you.
And I'm so glad you're my mother!

Happy Mother's Day!

By Joanna Fuchs

Happy Mother’s Day Mom, Mom-in-law and all the mothers out there!

Phien’s Kitchen @ Lowell, MA

2010-05-05T21:36:00.000-04:00

Phien’s Kitchen was kinda like a diamond in the rough find. We’ve driven past this restaurant a couple times in the past and have never thought of trying it out. The exterior of the place didn’t quite appeal to us. But that one weekend, we braced ourselves and decided to try the place out as we’re looking for a place to have fun.

Nobody was dining inside the very simply decorated restaurant. I don’t think we’re that late for lunch. We weren’t sure what we got ourselves into and wasn’t just going to leave the place without giving it a chance. So here’s what we ordered.

1) Peak Kai /Chicken Wings (Bottom) @ $6.95 – Marinated in soy sauce, garlic and black pepper. This was definitely marinated in some turmeric powder as well. About 6 (or was it 8) pieces of crispy fried chicken wings in an order. It was juicy and so darn good!

2) Lard Nah/Fried White Noodles (Bottom Left) @ $10.95 – With pork, shrimp and squid. Fresh wide noodles with garlic snow peas, mushroom, baby corn and Chinese Broccoli. The price of this was quite steep for noodles in comparison with many other restaurants serving the same stuff. However, this plate of noodles was loaded with lots of mea, seafood and vegetables. Like many restaurants, there are usually more meat/vegetables than the noodles itself. I would appreciate a little more noodles. This noodles, is a little on the sweet side but not as sweet as the ones we’ve had elsewhere. We like it and had plenty to pack home. So, overall the price of this plate of noodle wasn’t that bad since one would eat it for 2 meals.

3) Fer /Beef Stock Noodle Soup (Bottom Right) @ $8.95 – Homemade beef broth with shaved beef, shrimp, squid, meatballs, scallions, celery and cilantro. Served with a plate of bean sprouts, fresh herbs and lime on the side. The husband couldn’t resist this beefy noodle soup and had to try it. It was slightly different than the Vietnamese Pho as this had shrimp and beef. Price for this was also steep in comparison to the many places the hubby’s had similar beefy noodle soup. For a start, the portion was smaller than most places. Hubby thought this was ok but did not fancy the meatballs. He commented that the meatballs have some odd spice/flavor that he did not quite fancy.

Overall service was ok. There were a couple customers doing take outs while we were there. I guess, we might return in the future for some Laotian meal. I googled Phien’s Kitchen and found out that they have a pretty good review on www.yelp.com; 4/5 stars. Apparently, their papaya salad and their sticky rice dessert is good. I’m already eyeing their sticky rice dessert! =)

Want some simple Laotian meal? Head over to Phien’s Kitchen:

586 Westford St.
Lowell, MA 01851
(978) 441-0014

Yellow Cake with Jam Filling

2010-05-04T21:23:00.001-04:00

Seyda was having a lunch get together and I offered to bring dessert. I told her I will be bringing her a “Presidential” cake. A cake served at the White House actually. Armed with my latest cook book, I browsed for an easy recipe and decided to try the Perfect Yellow Cake filled with Raspberry Jam recipe. This cake apparently has been served during George W. Bush’s administration at many of his afternoon activities.

Although Ms. Clumsy here used the wrong flour by mistake (I used all purpose flour), the cake turned out was delicious. I trust my friends’ compliments. =) It would have been lighter if I’ve used the right kind of flour. The cake wasn’t that bad, just a little dense like pound cake, but not that oily. I used orange zest instead of lemon zest and strawberry jam instead of raspberry. A dusting of powdered sugar on the cake, covered flaws and made the cake look rustic and oh-so homemade! Here’s the recipe extracted from Roland Mesnier’s Basic To Beautiful Cakes:

YELLOW CAKE WITH JAM FILLING RECIPE

Ingredients:

3 Cups Cake Flour
2 Tsp Baking Powder
1/4 Tsp Salt
3/4 Cup Butter, Softened
1 Cup + 3 Tbsp Sugar
2 Large Egg Yolks
2 Large Eggs
1 Cup Milk
1 Tbsp Vanilla Extract
1/2 Tbsp Grated Lemon Zest
2/3 Cup Raspberry (or Strawberry Jam)
2 Tbsp Powdered Sugar

Method:

Preheat the oven to 375F. Grease and flour a 10 inch round cake pan with 3 inch high sides. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt together in a medium bowl and set aside.

Beat butter and sugar until well combined but not fluffy. Add eggs, egg yolks and beat until well combined. Scrape down the bowl once or twice as necessary.

Gradually add half the flour into the mixture and stir using low mixer speed until just combined. Add half the milk, and mix until just combined. Repeat with remaining flour and milk. Stir in vanilla and lemon zest.

Transfer batter into baking pan, smooth the top and bake for about 40-45 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the center of the cake. Let cake sit in pan for about 5 minutes, then run a knife along the edges to loosen cake and unmold it. Let cake cool completely.

Once cool, split cake into two horizontal layers using a sharp serrated knife. Spread jam evenly over the bottom layer of the cake and top with remaining half. Sift with powdered sugar and serve. This should serve about 8-10 people.

June’s comments: Did I mention that the cake wasn’t overly sweet as well? If you like, you can always cover the cake in a ganache or some whipped cream.

Have Food / Wine, Will Eat!

2010-05-02T00:05:00.000-04:00

I’m blessed to have friends who love to eat, cook, and DRINK!! The husband and I won’t say no to food and wine. =) A couple weeks ago, our friend Steve invited a few people to his place for a Spring Wine Luncheon. Being a wine connoisseur/collector and a well traveled person, he’s definitely knowledgeable about a lot of things, food included and of course he knows his wine!

Steve put out a well-planned fabulous menu that puts me to shame. Pear seem to be the “mascot” of that day’s lunch. I can never confirm my party menu until hours prior to the party making last minute changes as necessary. Here’s what we were pampered with :

1) Assorted cheese platter with candied walnuts and imported crackers. He brought out 4 very different cheese for us to try. Goat cheese, Brie, Piave and a Candied Ginger and Mango Cheese from England. My favorite was the Piave, an Italian cheese. The Brie, a soft French cheese was my second favorite. The Candied Ginger & Mango Cheese was my third favorite. It was definitely different from the many cheeses I’ve tried in the past. A little too sweet for me. The goat cheese however was something I never liked. I tried it, and still did not like the taste of goat’s milk. Blood Orange Mimosa was a yummy drink to get the afternoon going!

2) Pear me up - Bosc pear salad: Bosc pear, peeled, cored and halved, drizzled with extra virgin olive oil and rosemary, baked until soft, lightly coated with ~~maple syrup~~ plum sauce. Served chilled along side a spring mix salad with balsamic vinaigrette and blue cheese. Apparently, Steve cannot find his maple syrup, so he got creative and used plum sauce. It turned out yummy. The pear was soft, sweet and flavored with rosemary. The pear and the salad was a great combination; sweet and tangy. Unfortunately I took a pass on the cheese and had the hubby finish my cheese. I would however learn to bake this baked pear though.

The salad was paired with a Robert Sinskey rosé from Napa Valley. The wine was slightly sweeter than the usual rosé I’ve had in the past. Very refreshing, crisp and definitely paired pleasantly with the salad.

3) Eggselent planting - Roasted eggplant marinara: eggplant, sliced in strips, with eggwash, sautéd in light olive oil until tender, arranged in layers in a casserole dish, drenched in marinara , topped with mozzarella, parmigiano and romano, and baked. Served with fresh French baguettes.

Ahhhhh… this was SOOO GOOD! This was like Eggplant Parmesan, done differently. It has a rustic feel that gave me a warm fuzzy feel. Comfort food at its best. Eggplant was thinly sliced and was tender. The loads full of marinara sauce was very inviting especially with those chunks of crusty baguettes in front of me. I did not waste any single bit served and wasn’t shy to use my hands. I soaked up all the sauce with the bread and was wishing I had more!!! I could seriously eat 2 servings of this!

This was served with a Chianti, a red wine I’ve learned to love recently. I was never quite a red wine person, but I’ve been drinking quite a bit of Chianti lately. =) I forgot how this tasted as I was too caught up with my entree!

4) Peared up again - Poached vanilla pear: bosc pear, peeled and cored, poached in Riesling with fresh vanilla bean. Served chilled with reduced poaching sauce. Who can say no to pear poached in wine and vanilla beans?? Although it looked very simple, the pear was light and delicious. I ate the poached pear with some of the parching sauce. It does not need anything else.

This was served with Tokaji, a Hungarian dessert wine. Mm…. sweet wines are my favorite. Enough said.

Wine Luncheon was great! Thanks, Steve for having us over and sharing your expertise with us!

Formosa Taipei II @ Nashua, NH

2010-05-01T22:19:00.000-04:00

We’re always in the Nashua area for shopping since it’s just a stone’s throw from our place. During one of our many trips there, we saw a sign for some Taiwanese cuisine in town. We think it’s a new place and was determined to try Formosa Taipei II out the next time.

During one my lazy to cook dinner days, we decided to make a trip to Nashua for some wine/liquor shopping and dinner. Upon entering the restaurant and we realized that, the place probably used to be some Japanese restaurant in the past; with the sushi bar now being used as a storage/bar area. My first impression honestly wasn’t the greatest. Here’s why, after being greeted by the host and telling him we needed a table for 2, the host was quickly distracted when a party of 5 showed up behind us. He proceeded to sit the party of 5 who came after us. The husband and I was left standing there, I was in disbelief how the host just ignored us. He totally forgot about us. When he returned he greeted us as if he just saw us which we then hinted that he’s forgotten about us.

The host ushered us to a dining area, quite packed with people and very brightly light. Brightly lit restaurants are great for picture taking, but does not give you the cozy feel. The menu looks pretty good. They have a variety of Taiwanese cuisine and American Chinese food.

We decided to stick to a more authentic Chinese/Taiwanese food. Here’re what we ordered:

1) Little Juicy Steamed Pork Bun / Xiao Long Bao (Bottom Left) @ $6.95. This is actually more a dumpling than a bun. You have to be very careful when you eat it, as there is hot liquid (soup) inside these tiny babies if the dumpling skin is still perfect. These steamed ‘pork buns’ comes with a ginger vinegar sauce. The way I eat this is to gently bite into the skin and slowly sipping the hot liquid. Then, I’ll dap a little of the ginger vinegar sauce and eat the whole dumpling. Of course, being ever so careful not to burn my tongue at the same time! This was not bad….but no wow factor. I’ve not had enough to really comment on this.

2) Assorted Fresh Mushrooms Hot Pot (Bottom Right) @ $12.95. This one came bubbling hot in a stainless steel pot with a fire below it. It was boiling hot with plenty of oyster mushrooms, straw mushrooms, shitake mushrooms and maybe button mushrooms. There were also some baby bok choy and bean thread vermicelli noodles in the soup. I thought this wasn’t great. I find the soup a little oily and the soup a little tasteless unfortunately.

3) Sautéed Bean Leaf Top (Bottom Left) @ $14.95. This vege is always expensive. We’ve ordered this dish in other restaurants and have paid $16 for an order (portion was bigger than this) of it. In the market/grocer, expect to pay about $3.99 /lb for this vegetable, more often called Snow Pea Tips ( I think). We ordered this sautéed with garlic and it’s always delicious.

4) Tea Flavored Duck (Bottom Right) @ 13.95. I think we were given about a quarter duck perhaps? The dish definitely does not look very appetizing, all black and looked fried. I thought it was going to be dry. Surprisingly, the duck was actually moist and we could taste the tea flavors. We would order this again. It would have been nice if there was some kind of dipping sauce to do with the duck.

Overall, except for the forgetful host and one of the waiter pouring us “yellow water” (he filled up a pepsi/coke jug with water and served everyone “tainted water”)……..the service was quite good. Food came out decently fast. It would be nice if the dim the lights a notch. We would go back there again for some Taiwanese food fix.

Check them out if you’re in the Nashua area. The premise is located up the hill and cannot be seen from the Daniel Webster Highway; you need to turn into one of the strip mall areas (not too far from Costco). Here’s the Nashua location:

295 Daniel Webster Highway
Nashua, NH 03060
(603) 888-7999

They also have a location in Lexington, MA if you like to try it out. =)

The Stars and Stripes Cafe @ The Smithsonian

2010-04-29T23:15:00.000-04:00

I would go to the museum often if they have food like this!! Since we were up early and did not have a single bite to eat, we decided to head to the Stars and Stripes Cafe at the American History Museum at the Smithsonian for brunch/lunch.

I was glad we decided to eat there. There were a good selection of different kind of food (and desserts). The dining area is spacious, contemporary and has a great view; I think it was the Washington monument.

I ordered the Cherry Blossom special which was chicken salad on Cranberry Walnut bread. It was one of the best chicken salad sandwich I’ve had. The contributing factor was definitely that slightly sweet, slightly tangy cranberry walnut bread. The mayo dressing in the chicken salad was just nice. The bread was soft enough to hold the chicken salad. It however cost quite a bit since it did not come with any sides. $9 for my chicken sandwich. The cup of crème brulee you in the picture was not part of my sandwich. That little baby cost me about $4.50. While the crème was nice and smooth, it was missing that caramelized crystal crust on top. It was funny how Qi, my brother’s gf and I took the exact same thing.

Both the husband and my brother went for the fried stuff. The husband ordered a chicken sandwich, onion rings and my all time favorite cheese curd (YOU GOTTA TRY IT!!). My brother ordered a hot dog and onion rings. Fried Cheese Curds are most likely a Midwestern thing and I was ecstatic to see it in DC. I miss my fried cheese curds and the husband surely know what I like!! It wasn’t cheap for the amount of cheese curds we were given. The husband chicken sandwich was normal, nothing too shot about. The onion rings on the other hand were good, crunchy and fresh off the fryer! =). And cheese curds……Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

We spent close to $70 for 4 people at the Stars and Stripes cafe at the American History Museum. Considering that we did not pay to get into the museum, I guess the price is not that bad. Although, I did hear many patrons cringing at the price of the food there. At least, the cafe is serving good quality food. =)

Sightseeing Washington DC – April 3, 2010 (Part Two)

2010-04-28T00:59:00.001-04:00

This is one ambitious short trip to the capital of the United States. We squeeze in a walk around the Tidal Basin and to the Jefferson Memorial to enjoy the scenery of the Cherry Blossoms. From there, we walked towards the Smithsonian and spent the rest of our days in 3 different museums. We pick and choose the sections we wanted to see most in the museums spent more time in one section and less or none in some others.

Smithsonian Institution (according to Wikipedia) is an educational and research institute and associated museum complexes, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities and magazines. Most of its facilities are located in Washington, D.C., but its 19 museums, zoo, and nine research centers include sites in New York City, Virginia, Panama, and elsewhere. The museum is perfect for family fun and definitely every educational. Best part..FREE! No entrance fee! Eating at the museum does however cost you, i.e, we spent about $70 for lunch for 4.

Here are the pictures from our maiden tour into the Smithsonian. First stop was the American History Musuem. I wasn’t too keen to go to this one, but I was glad I did at the end of it!

Something old and something new. Top Hat from Abraham Lincoln (Bottom Left) which is at least 140 years old and Michele Obama’s Inaugural Ball evening dress (Bottom Right). The first lady had just recently donated this dress to the museum. See Michele Obama in the dress HERE.

And the renown Julia Child’s kitchen (bottom), donated by the chef herself in 2001. I don’t need to own 20 frying pans, I nor do I want her kitchen…I just want to be able to cook like her. Boeuf bourguignon, perhaps? Or the duck dish, Pate de canard en croute?

After spending a couple hours at the American History museum, we walked to the Natural History museum. I did not see much that captured my attention, perhaps the exhibition was almost like the Field Museum in Chicago?

We were greeted by this huge 14 foot tall African elephant (Bottom Left) in the lobby area. Don’t worry, it wasn’t live and kicking. It was just a statue. (I think) that comes alive at night. =)

We walked around and stumbled the evolution of man area. I found one of the display interesting (Bottom Right). Click to see more clearly. Are we seriously 60% genetically similar to banana trees??

We were eager to catch a glimpse of the Hope Diamond at the Natural History Musuem (Bottom Left). There were many people surrounding all those precious stones on display taking pictures and wishing they could own just one. I was one of them =) The Hope Diamond weighs at 42.52 carat and is believed to be cursed. The Smithsonian houses this huge rock which is removed from its original setting as it is apparently getting a new upgraded setting in the future.

There were also some other interesting natural minerals (Bottom Left) that were so colorful and pretty.

After the Natural History Museum, we walked towards the Smithsonian Castle (Bottom Left) which is mainly an information center and perhaps an event hall. The garden (Bottom Right) at the back was nice with nicely trimmed plants and rows of tulips.

Our final stop was the Air & Space Museum. Just tons of air craft and the history of it. I spotted Amelia Earheart’s airplane (Bottom Left). She was the first woman to fly across the Atlantic. We then realized, this wasn’t the air and space museum we wanted to see. We wanted to see the Air and Space Museum @ Udvar-Hazy Center which was a couple minutes’ drive away and not in the National Mall area.

Overall, the visit to the museums were quite educational. it would have been better if they had better air conditioning inside. It was hot and stuffy sometimes and I’m not sure if it was because of the large crowd on a Easter weekend? Or was it always like that. Well, can’t complain much since did not pay the entrance fees…but I think part of our tax dollar probably made its way here…right?

Taco Dinner

2010-04-27T23:05:00.001-04:00

I’m not a Taco expert so I wouldn’t necessary know the difference between a good, great or bad Taco. I enjoy eating Tacos but do not eat it often as I can be quite picky about my beef. I bought this Casa Fiesta Taco Seasoning Mix from the grocer for about a dollar as part of my quick week night meal plan. Instead of the regular ground beef, I use ground pork. The mix was easy to use. All I did was brown the meat, add the seasoning and water and cook it for about 20 minutes or less overall. In no time, the husband and I was having a little “Taco Party” in front of the telly.

I bought some tortillas, shredded some lettuce, cut up some tomato, brought out the cheese (Mexican blend) and salsa! I prepped the stuff while I was cooking the ground meat and dinner was ready in no time! it was a perfect quick and delicious meal for 2-3 people. I thought the taco seasoning was good and the taco meat was better than Taco Bell’s. I did however added twice as much water as instructed on the back of the packaging, =)

This won’t be the end of my Taco dinner! I will perhaps stock up a couple packets of this seasoning on my next grocery run! Spare lots of napkins to eat the tacos as it does get a little messy. A couple bottles of icy cold beer to wash the tacos down would be good too!

Peach Panna Cotta

2010-04-25T21:56:00.000-04:00

After I had this wicked good panna cotta @ L’andana Grill, I’ve been wanting to attempt them myself. I googled for recipes and soon found out that panna cotta does not contain egg. Panna Cotta is cooked Italian cream. It is gelatinous and a basic panna cotta contains milk, cream, sugar and of course gelatin.

I wanted something different other than plain panna cotta and decided to make use of the canned peaches I have in my pantry. Peach Panna Cotta it is! It was quite easy to make since it was basically boiling the cream (and pureeing the fruit) and waiting for it to cool and set.

As much as I would love to post the recipe from my attempt in making the peach panna cotta, I would like to make it one more time and perfect the method first. My cream firmed up but it was not as smooth as I liked it to be. I either had a lil’ too much of agar-agar powder, did not dissolve it entirely or should have stuck with gelatin powder. Agar-agar is a gelatinous substance derived from red alage and is widely used in Asian desserts. Gelatin on the other hand is derived from the collagen inside animal’s skins and bones. Other than the not-so-right texture, I really liked the hint of Peach in the cream and the top layer of “Peach Sauce” enhanced the cream more. =)

Food & Wine Pairing

2010-04-23T23:49:00.001-04:00

As much as I love my food and my wine, I’ve never really had a proper food and wine pairing meal. I just usually order or drink whatever I was in the mood for; most likely a sweet wine.

Tomorrow, a friend of ours is generous to organize a food and wine pairing luncheon at his home. The friend being a wine collector/connoisseur and a frequent traveler has put up a delectable 3-4 course menu, each with a wine pairing or two. Looking at what he’s planned for us made me feel like I’m actually going to be dining at a fine restaurant! I can’t wait to taste them and learn a thing or two from Steve! I will most likely shamelessly take pictures of my experience. =)

Sightseeing Washington DC – April 3, 2010 (Part One)

2010-04-22T23:26:00.000-04:00

After spending one night in Baltimore, we started the day early and drove to Washington DC. When I said we started the day early…we did..we check out between 7am – 7.30am. After loading stuff into the car, filling up the tank we finally made it into DC slightly close to 9 I think. Finding parking was quite tough but we managed to park in a shopping mall and walked to the main attractions. The walk wasn’t that bad. Weather was quite decent, although it was a bit chilly early in the morning.

We did not really visit all the historical monuments and memorials this trip as we’ve seen it a couple times..minus the cherry blossoms. I’ve done all the monuments and memorials twice or thrice, the last was last year when I brought my parents and my brother here. I don’t think I’ve poasted pictures from that trip. Maybe I will well….when I’m not that lazy to go through my archives =).

So, here are pictures from the main reason we took the trip…Cherry Blossoms!!! All of these Cherry Blossoms are taken around the Tidal Basin as we walked towards the Jefferson Memorial.

The cherry blossoms are definitely pretty. They are not as huge as the ones in Japan though. These Cherry Blossoms were actually gifts from the people of Japan to the people of the United States in 1912.

Since we’ve had enough of monuments and memorials, we took the opportunity to visit some Smithsonian museums. I’ll post pictures from our trip to the museum next! =)

Been a Lil’ Lazy…

2010-04-21T22:20:00.000-04:00

Sorry I’ve not been updating this blog as frequently as I used to. The only excuse I have is I’ve been a lil’ lazy especially after a long day at work. I spend most of my days at work now, and I don’t have the luxury to be cooking fancy stuff on weekdays anymore. Fret not, I’m still cooking.. just a lil lazy to update my blog…..

My week night meals are now usually quick and easy meals. That does not mean I’m eating instant noodles, frozen food, canned food or sandwiches with deli meat……It’s hot cooked food…mostly from scratch!. On some days, I do however go all out, if I get home early from work, not too tired or is in the zone to cook something a lil’ fancy…..These days too, I try to bake sweet treats on weekdays and bring it to work to bribe the people I work with.. =)

Look out for posting on my first attempt at making Panna Cotta (Italian custard/cooked cream).

Pitango Gelato (Fells Point) @ Baltimore, MD

2010-04-19T23:07:00.000-04:00

When we were looking for our hotel (Admiral Fell’s Inn) and a place to park, we drove by this Gelato place and I just knew where I would be getting my dessert / ice cream fix there that day! Being pampered with so many yummy gelati in Italy (this reminds me that I’ve yet to post my gastronomic indulgence in Rome), I was excited to see this place.

So, after out seafood dinner at Shuckers, we got ourselves some gelato. Not before we walked back to the hotel for our sweater. =) Pitango Gelato is just a few steps away from our hotel. How strategic! There was a line at the store and while waiting in line, we were occupied with looking at the flavors and description hung on the wall. I forgot how many flavors were there; 16? 24? different flavors of gelato and sorbet.

Unlike many other gelato places, all their gelato were hidden in covered and lowered bins behind the counter. No bright rows of yummy gelato can be seen here!

I picked cardamom and mojito. The husband picked cafe espresso and green tea. Both small @ $4.85 per cup. Large was at $6.50. The highlight of Pitango’s Gelato was that they use all-organic local dairy products, eggs, sugar and chocolate. They also use fresh local seasonal fruits, depending on availability.

While I could taste the “mintyness” of my mojito sorbet, it was lacking something…perhaps rum (since it was rum-free). The cardamom gelato has a nice subtle aromatic flavor. Not creamy to my preference and the flavors could be a little more intense. We agreed that hubby’s cafe espresso was the best choice. A taste of it will just wake you up. The green tea gelato however was lost under the strong flavors of the espresso. Overall, it’s not bad although the texture unfortunately weren’t as creamy or smooth as I liked it to be. Beggars can’t be choosers. I will go back there again…but if you fly me to Rome, I’ll go in a heart beat!

Want a frozen treat? Head to Pitango Gelato @ Fells Point:

802 South Broadway
Baltimore, MD 21231
(410) 702-5828

Shuckers (Fells Point) @ Baltimore, MD

2010-04-17T22:26:00.000-04:00

I just realized I seldom take time to research for places to eat when I travel. When I mean research, I meant taking days/weeks in advance before the trip to compile a list of places to try out when I’m on a vacation, etc. The only time I actually research is the night before or the hours leading to meal time. Thankfully, internet is readily available and online reviews are some times quite reliable. =)

On our trip to Baltimore, the husband and I only researched for places to eat well… a couple hours before dinner time. We found a few choices and in fact stumble upon a restaurant with very good reviews; Kali’s Court. Menu looked good, ambiance(from the pictures) looked nice but we were not in the mood to pay too much for dinner. And there weren’t any price on the menu. This usually mean it’s gonna cost quite a bit. =)

So, we picked Shuckers which was just across the street from our hotel in historic Fells Point. It’s a more casual and laid back kinda restaurant perfect for us to just kick back and rest ~~our~~ my sore feet. The service at first were quite iffy. We got in through the back entrance not knowing what we did, and stood in the restaurant waiting for somebody to sit us. There were plenty of tables and wait staff walking around. It felt as if we were invisible as no one directed us to the right spot or spoke to us. All of them just walked by these 2 “lost souls”. Getting tired of being ignored, the husband asked the bar tender and we finally managed to find our way to the right spot and put our names down. With the many empty tables around, we still had to wait about 15 minutes. I guess they did not have enough wait staff for all the tables? Or do they just wanna make you wait so that it seems like they are very busy? =)

We requested to be seated outside, since this restaurant is located next to the harbor. We wanted to enjoy being near the water. It was rather chilly out but we put on a brave front and sat through dinner, 2 glasses of beer and each other’s company. Here’s what we ordered:

1) Cream of Crab (Crab Bisque?) @ $4.49 (Bottom Left). I initially ordered a bowl of it, but the wait staff brought me a cup instead. This was a blessing in disguise! Even though the soup was yummy, thick, creamy, flavorful and filled with chunks of crab meat…..it was SOOOO SALTY!! I’m glad I was brought a cup of soup instead of a bowl of soup!

2) Petite Crab Cakes - Three of our homemade jumbo lump petite crab cakes broiled golden brown & served with tartar sauce @ $12.99 (Bottom Right). Somehow I just had to have crab cakes when I’m in Baltimore…after all there should be a reason why there is the famous “Maryland Crabcakes” on restaurant menus right? =) About 3 golf ball size petite crab cakes came with the order. Crab cakes although indeed very petite, they were very delicious. Unlike many other crab cakes I’ve had in the past, there were hardly any fillers in the crab cakes. It was seriously just crab business. Fresh lumps of crab meat, minimal seasoning. I could eat more of it if it wasn’t $12.99 per order. =)

3) Seafood Quesadilla - gulf shrimp, lump crab & bay scallops, onion, pepper & tomato lightly seasoned and grilled in a flour tortilla, served with salsa & sour cream @ $8.99 (Bottom Left). This was my first time having a seafood quesadilla and it was pretty good. I don’t know what gulf shrimp is, but I do know the shrimp in the quesadilla where tiny weeny ones. =) I did taste the bay scallops and lump crab though. For $8.99, it’s quite a reasonable price to pay for a quesadilla..I think.

4) Basil Lump Tuna - Blackened Ahi Tuna, grilled to your desired temperature and topped with lump crab & basil garlic butter served on a bed of fresh field greens @ $19.99 (Bottom Right). The husband ordered this dish and it was a great choice. The large chunk of tuna was cooked rare (to our preference) and was topped with a good amount of lump crab. Yums!! The tuna was perfect (you can’t go wrong when it’s cooked rare or sashimi style, lol) and the buttery crab basil topping were different and refreshing. I did not care for the side that hubby ordered; snap peas. It looked a tad overcooked.

The overall service was good. There is plenty of metered parking near the harbor, if you’re not within walking distance to the restaurant. Depending on your luck and the time of day, you may have difficulties finding street parking. There are many bars and restaurants in the area. There are 2 hour, 4 hour and also garage parking. The 4 hour ($1 per hour) metered street parking would be the ones nearest to the restaurant.

If you’re visiting Baltimore and / or happen to be in the historic Fells Point area, check out Shuckers :

1629 Thames Street
Baltimore, MD 21231-3449
(410) 522-5820

Udon & Plum Wine

2010-04-15T21:24:00.001-04:00

That was a quick, delicious meal for a lazy dinner! I bought a couple packets of Udon Instant Noodles from the local grocery store the other day and cooked them for dinner. I added some fishcakes, shrimp and baby bok choy into the noodles to make it a more “complete” meal. The best part of that meal was enjoying a glass of my favorite wine; Japanese Plum Wine.

Let me just do a brief intro of the Udon Noodles first. If' you're not familiar with Udon; it is a thick Japanese wheat noodle often served in a light broth. This is widely served in Japanese restaurants or you can get instant ones which aren’t bad at all. The ones I got were Myojo Udon noodles, and this brand is quite readily available in many grocery stores! It’s just like cooking any instant noodles and by adding a few ingredients of your own, it brings the instant Udon up a notch. =) I’ve not tried any other brands, and I don’t see a reason to try other brands coz I’m happy with this one! =)

So, dinner that night was totally Japanese. I opened my bottle of favorite wine. Choya Umeshu (Plum Wine) is available at most liquor store and does cost a bit. Well, it cost more than what I usually pay for a bottle of wine. I bought this bottle (750ml) of plum wine for $18 (excluding tax). The wine is sweet, slightly sour with hints of sour plum. It also comes with about wine infused green plums. If you’ve not had this wine before, it’s sweetness can be compared to a sweet Riesling or Muscat, I guess. It’s definitely one of my favorite wine and something I would order at a Japanese restaurant. Try it, I think if you like sweet wine, you’ll enjoy this Plum Wine! If you don’t, I’ll gladly finish it for you!!

Mmmmmm…..writing about it makes me want to pour myself and enjoy another glass of yummy plum wine. =)

Sightseeing Baltimore, MD – April 2, 2010

2010-04-14T00:12:00.002-04:00

Here’re some pictures from my weekend getaway to see the spectacular Cherry Blossoms in Washington DC. We made a stop in Baltimore and stayed at a hotel in Fells Point; a historical waterfront area in Baltimore, MD.

All these pictures are taken during our walk from Fells Point to the Inner Harbor.

1) Tug Boat (Bottom Left) docked at the harbor across from the Admiral Fells Inn, where we stayed for a night. While the hotel is nice and charming,it is not a great place if you treasure your sleep. =)

2) Yacht Club (Bottom Right) with boats docked nicely in rows.

3) Sneak peak of Cherry Blossoms (Bottom). The husband said that there’s no point going to DC if we can see the Cherry Blossoms in Baltimore.

4) And more Cherry Blossoms (Bottom Left)

5) Some other kind of Blossom (Bottom Right). Not sure if they are also cherry blossoms?

6) Saw this magnificent (gold?) statue/monument (Bottom Left) on our random walk around Baltimore. It was majestically placed in the center of a rotary, and surrounded by tall buildings.

7) Hard Rock Cafe (Bottom Right). I think the cafe is located in an old mill perhaps? I used to make it a point to stop by any Hard Rock Cafe store at every city I visit to get souvenir t-shirts for either myself, my now hubby and/or my brother. That expensive habit died a couple years ago. =) Now, I’m just collecting fridge magnets. =)

8) Lightship Chesapeake (Bottom Left). This ship was completed in 1930 and was once in use with the US lighthouse system.

9) USS Constellation (Bottom Right). This war ship is over 200 years old and now sits permanently at the Inner Harbor in Baltimore, MD.

Baltimore, MD is a nice little charming city rich with maritime history. This was my fourth visit here, second in one year. This is a nice place for a short getaway.By the way, parts of the city still have cobblestone roads, so make sure you wear comfortable SNEAKERS!

Revisited : The Pongal @ Billerica, MA

2010-04-13T20:22:00.001-04:00

Unlike my many other restaurant review postings, this post will not contain pictures. Read about (and view pictures) my first visit to The Pongal HERE. My first experience wasn’t that pleasant; both food and management weren’t at their best.

We were there again over the weekend for some reunion with hubby’s ex co-workers. There were 11 of us and 8 were Indian (that’s why we chose this place). Food this time was MUCH better than the first. At least the food were not overly salty or bland this time. All seasoned quite perfectly unlike the first time we ate there. The dish I enjoyed the most there was the Manchurian Okra and the Cilantro Rice.

However, I do want to rant about the spotty service we received. The service we got from the management to be exact. Service from the wait staff was excellent. They never gave us a chance to empty the water glasses; they were always topping it up to the rim. Empty plates were also cleared away very timely. Thumbs up to the wait staff for doing a great job.

With 11 in a group, one of our friend decided to call ahead to make a reservation. The husband and I was the first to arrive (unfortunately) and had to deal with the whole nonsense from the management who obviously don’t know what they are doing or just don’t appreciate their customers. In my opinion, they have zero to none customer service!

When we got there, there were 3 hosts (they might be the owners?) at the counter. One was quite friendly, the other two not so. The friendlier one tried to help us and we told her we have a reservation for 11 and she brought us to a table; the wrong table. They weren’t our friends. We walked back to the counter, the lady was obviously lost and confused coz there weren’t any records of a table for 11. And she did not apologize to us either. All she did was smile sheepishly. She asked the other not so friendly guy who then acknowledged that he know of such reservation, and proceeded to escort us to the “table” set for 8. Apparently, someone gave up our seats. And no we weren’t late. In fact we were 10 minutes early! With no apology, the (rude?) host said that he will place 8 of us at the same table and said he’ll place 4 people at another table, once that is cleared! WHAT THE HECK? SERIOUSLY? What’s the point of making a reservation if they are going to give up your seats when you’re not even late!

I was getting impatient and really PISSED. This host never did apologize to us either. Thank goodness all of the husband’s friends showed up coz it would have been embarrassing that we make all the fuss and nobody showed up!! When our friends finally came, we waited about 5-10 minutes for the management scramble and make room for everyone. They had to move the customers (which happen to also be a big party) next to us, one table down to accommodate all of us at the same table.

After finally settling down, we went right ahead for the buffet. The meal was good, the crowd better. It was funny how hubby first got to know his friends in Chicago and now work brought to everyone Massachusetts. It was a nice little reunion for the husband.

Will I go back? Most likely NO. With this crappy customer service we received from the management, I rather spend my money elsewhere. Lunch buffet was $14.95, quite high for a lunch buffet. I think the price went up by a dollar since our last visit almost a year ago.

Lemon Bars

2010-04-12T19:55:00.001-04:00

Lemon Bars…Lemon Squares…whatever you call it, this is one yummilicious Lemon Bar! I’ve always enjoyed Lemon bars/squares usually from catered events. I have a thing for this tart and tangy dessert but have never made it from scratch. The first time I made some lemon bars, I used Krusteaz lemon bar mix and I remember not getting a great lemon bar. My bars did not look like the picture on the box. It was all messy I probably threw the not so great lemon bars away out of frustration.

I had some Lemon Bars at work recently and that sparked my inspiration to make my own Lemon Bars. I found a Lemon Bar recipe on www.allrecipes.com and decided to try it out with a little tweaking based on the reviews.

The result was some awesomely lemon bars. The filling/ “curd” was SO GOOD! Tart and tangy just the way i like it. The sweet salty buttery crust was a great companion to the tart lemon filling. The bars were half crust, half filling. The lemon filling was definitely refreshing and you get “burstfuls” of fresh lemony goodness in your mouth. I brought it to work and I’m happy to say it was quite a hit!

Here’s the simple recipe. It takes just about an hour to bake the dessert, but you do need to let it cool down before cutting into it!

LEMON BARS RECIPE

Ingredients:

Part A (Crust)

1 Cup Butter, Softened
1/2 Cup Granulated Sugar
2 Cups All-Purpose Flour

Part B (Filling)

4 Large Eggs
1-1/2 Cups Granulated Sugar
1/3 Cup + 2 Tbsp All-Purpose Flour
3 Medium Lemons, Juiced
Zest from 1 to 1-1/2 Lemon

Method:

Preheat oven to 350F. In a medium bowl, blend together softened butter, 2 cups flour and 1/2 cup sugar. Press into the bottom of an ungreased 9x13 inch pan. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until firm and golden.

In another bowl, whisk together the remaining 1/12 cups sugar and 1/4 cup flour. Whisk in the eggs and lemon juice. Lightly and randomly poke crust with a skewer/fork. Pour over the baked crust. Bake for an additional 20 minutes in the preheated oven. The bars will firm up as they cool. Cut into squares.

June’s Comments: It took me about 30 minutes to bake the crust till golden. If you’re not a big fan of tartness, reduce the juice of lemon to 2 medium lemons. If you do reduce the juice, reduce the flour to about 1/3 Cup or slightly less. Use fresh lemons for this recipe!

PS: Mom, I think you’ll enjoy this recipe! Try it and let me know!! =)

Hudson Super Buffer @ Hudson, MA

2010-04-11T18:17:00.000-04:00

We’ve been told that there’s an awesome Chinese Buffet with a variety of food and affordable in Hudson, MA. The husband and I finally went to the place 2 years later after we heard of how good the place was. Unfortunately, I beg to differ. Well, at least I don’t think it was worth the 40 minutes drive for us to get there just to get Chinese Buffet which wasn’t that spectacular. We have access to one which is just 10 minutes away and for about the same price. Good if not better.

Hudson Super Buffet does offer quite a huge selection of food. Like many buffer places; it’s usually quantity not quality. I did however, enjoyed the sushi selection they put out. For the battered fried seafood or chicken, it’s more batter than the actual stuff. Fried noodles were quite tasteless and oily. For the amount they are charging, patrons do get some raw oyster and clams on the half shell, some cocktail shrimp and crab legs. I never touch raw oysters in buffet places as I’m afraid of getting a tummy upset. =p.

The seafood soup was like starch with water and you’ll get some occasional bits of tiny chopped seafood, corn and swirls of egg drop. Soup was tasteless overall. =( It was almost like drinking water seriously.

Dessert selection is more or less the same stuff you get at every other Chinese buffet. I just ate some fresh fruits from the dessert line. =)

Overall, I find the place quite claustrophobic; low ceilings and quite tight dining area. I guess the low ceiling really makes things worse. In some dining area, you could literally reach the buffet line by just stretching your hands a little. Service is as good as it can get at a buffet place. Not terrible, but nothing to shout about either. I forgot how much we paid for the weekend lunch buffet. Figure something between $12.95 - $14.95. I somehow think it was more than that coz I remember telling the husband it wasn’t worth it.

I don’t think we’ll be back for another round of Chinese Buffet @ Hudson Super Buffet. Like I first mentioned, 40 minutes for a nothing to shout about buffet just isn’t worth it. If this is the only Chinese buffet in town, it’s not that bad I guess. =). Hudson Super Buffet is located across from a cemetery (Another reason for me not to go back! I don’t like cemeteries and the husband always had a great time teasing me about it) and have ample parking:

167 Broad St
Hudson, MA 01749
(978) 568-9889

Souvenir from DC

2010-04-09T17:05:00.000-04:00

While visiting the American History Museum @ Smithsonian, we stumbled upon a Pastry Chef promoting his book and also of course signing it. I wasn’t that interested at first because I’m never a fan of paying full price for stuff. I’ve never paid full price for books. I usually pay at least 10-20% less or more when I can get a great deal!

I collect cook books and I tend to buy every now and then. On sale, of course. Out of curiosity, I decided to check out the book and the chef.We soon found out that Chef Roland Mesneir was the Executive Pastry Chef for the White House and has served over 5 presidents! He’s now retired from the White House but is still in the pastry business.

I just couldn’t pass up the opportunity to get my first signed book by a famous chef and had to get it! I’m thankful for the generous husband who got me the book. The book cost USD30, but a signed copy (dedicated to me!) and photo opportunity with the renown chef = PRICELESS!!!!

Watch out for the cakes I’ll be churning out! In no time, I’ll be eating cakes like the the many Mr. Presidents, their families and their special guests did! =)

Pasta Scramble-Nara

2010-04-08T00:10:00.001-04:00

That was the name the husband gave my attempt at cooking Pasta Carbonara. I’ve always loved eating pasta carbonara but have never learnt the proper to make it. I googled for a recipe sometime ago and have never gotten the chance to try it out until a couple weeks ago.

Do you know that the white creamy carbonara sauce contain egg? Yes, whole egg or egg yolk is one essential ingredient in making the sauce. I was very surprised as well. I’ve always thought it was cream. I guess this is what makes it different from Alfredo sauce.

So, I made some the other night and used Tyler Florence’s Spaghetti Alla Carbonara recipe. The recipe seem quite easy enough and the reviews were great. I did add some mushrooms to my version. I unfortunately misread the cooking method and overcooked the egg mixture which resulted to give me a scrambled egg like texture / sauce! Boo! Although the look wasn’t the greatest, the taste was awesome! This is my second time using Tyler Florence’s recipes and I had great results both time. My other attempt at his recipe was Chicken Marsala. Here’s Tyler Florence’s Spaghetti Alla Carbonara recipe. Please pardon my “Scramble-Nara” picture. =) User (Chef) error was to blame.

SPAGHETTI ALA CARBONARA RECIPE

Ingredients:

1 Lb Dry Spaghetti
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
4 Oz Slab Bacon, Cubed or Sliced Into Small Strips
4 Garlic Cloves, Finely Chopped
2 Large Eggs
1 Cup Freshly Grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, plus more for serving
Freshly Ground Black Pepper
1 Handful Flat Leaf Parsley, Chopped

Method:

Prepare the sauce while the pasta is cooking to ensure that the spaghetti will be hot and ready when the sauce is finished; it is very important that the pasta is hot when adding the egg mixture, so that the heat of the pasta cooks the raw eggs in the sauce.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, add the pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al-dente. Drain the pasta well, reserving 1/2 cup of the starchy cooking water to use in the sauce if you wish.

Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a deep skillet over medium flame. Add bacon and sauté for about 3 minutes, until the bacon is crisp and the fat is rendered. Toss the garlic into the fat and sauté for less than 1 minute to soften.

Add the hot, drained spaghetti to the pan and toss for 2 minutes to coat the strands in the bacon fat. Beat the eggs and Parmesan together in a mixing bowl, stirring well to prevent lumps. Remove the pan from the heat and pour the egg/cheese mixture into the pasta, whisking quickly until the eggs thicken, but do not scramble (this is done off the heat to ensure this does not happen.) Thin out the sauce with a bit of the reserved pasta water, until it reaches desired consistency. Season the carbonara with several turns of freshly ground black pepper and taste for salt. Mound the spaghetti carbonara into warm serving bowls and garnish with chopped parsley.

June’s Comments: Don’t repeat what I did. I poured in the egg mixture with the heat still on…resulting in a scrambled sauce! =p

Olive Garden Sweepstake

2010-04-07T00:27:00.001-04:00

I came across this sweepstake on a TV commercial and I’m psyched to share it here! Olive Garden’s sweepstake is back. A chance to win a culinary trip to Italy is my kind of thing. Food + Italy = ME!!! All you need to do is just submit your email address to see if you win either the trip or the gift card. I’m trying my luck everyday or at least as often as I remember to do so!

The sweepstake is going on now till May 9th, 2010 and you have one chance per day. Here’s what you might win :

4 Grand Prizes (8-day guided trip for two to Italy)

Learn from Italian chefs at Olive Garden's Culinary Institute of Tuscany
Experience the local cuisine of Rome and Florence
Explore the Rocca delle Macie Winery

500 Gift Card Prizes

Every day you return, you could win a $25 Olive Garden Gift Card!

Good Luck! I’m not affiliated with Olive Garden in any way. I’m just sharing this because I love this promotion and I want to win a trip to Italy!! =)

Stuffed Mussels

2010-04-06T00:12:00.000-04:00

With a package of frozen cooked New Zealand mussels I have in the freezer, I decided to do something with it for my Tapas Party. I’m not a huge fan of those plump mussels (or any similar shellfish), but I don’t mind them when they are chopped. I decided to google for a stuffed mussels recipe and found one on my favorite online food sites; Tastespotting. I found a recipe here and extracted bits and pieces from it.

The mussels can definitely be prepped / stuffed ahead and baked about 15-20 minutes prior to serving. You do want to make sure to cover and store the stuffed mussels in the fridge if you do not plan to bake it right away.

STUFFED MUSSELS RECIPE

Ingredients:

10 Cooked Mussels, On Half Shell
2 Tbsp Chopped Onion
2 Tbsp Chopped Bell Pepper
2 Clove Garlic, Minced
2 Tbsp Flour
6 Tbsp Milk
1 Tbsp Butter
Salt & Pepper
2 Tbsp Bread Crumbs
1-2 Tbsp Grated Parmesan

Method:

Preheat oven to 400 F. Carefully remove mussels from shells and chop them. Set shells aside for stuffing. Set chopped mussels aside.

Heat butter in a pan over medium high heat. Add onion, bell pepper and garlic. Sauté until bell pepper is soft. Stir in flour and cook for a few minutes to make a roux. Gradually, stir in milk to achieve the béchamel sauce. Season with salt and pepper. Once sauce thickens, remove pan from heat.

Stir in chopped mussels and evenly stuff them into the mussel shells. Sprinkle some bread crumbs and parmesan cheese over the stuffed mussels. Placed them on a baking pan lined with some foil and baked them for about 15 minutes or when the crumbs turn slightly brown. Let mussels cool slightly before serving.

Sneak Peak : Cherry Blossoms!

2010-04-05T23:35:00.000-04:00

Here’s a sneak peak picture of the Cherry Blossoms. I am back from my trip to Washington DC and Baltimore, MD. Trip was great and Cherry Blossoms were lovely. It was definitely fun meeting up with my brother and his gf. I will post more pictures later! =)

Purple..Purple..Purple..

2010-04-03T00:26:00.000-04:00

I made some Black Magic Cupcakes and brought it to work the other day for some colleagues’ birthday. I matched the purple cupcake liners (I received from Lilia of My Sweet Hearts Bakery) with the homemade cream cheese frosting (partially colored purple) and sprinkled some purple sugar on the frosting to bring out the colors even more. I thought they turned out nice.………simple yet elegant! And it was all about simple color coordination to create some cute cupcakes. Although they looked fairly cute, and (quite tasty, I hope!) I think the Black Magic Cupcakes go better with chocolate ganache frosting. =) It brings out the “chocolatiness” of the chocolate!

Cherry Blossom….I’m excited!

2010-04-02T00:25:00.001-04:00

*Picture borrowed from DC pages

After years of hearing how beautiful the Cherry Blossoms in DC are, I finally managed to persuade the husband to take a trip down during this year’s Cherry Blossom Festival. YAY!! It’s supposed to be in peak bloom right around now (according to the 2010 Bloom Watch forecast). Since it is Easter weekend and we have off from work, we decided to hit Washington DC and most likely New York. It was my master plan, thankfully the husband did not say no. We both agreed that the game plan would be Cherry Blossoms and the Smithsonian. The many times I’ve been to Washington DC were always visits to the historical monuments and memorials. This time, we’re skipping the memorials.

Can’t wait for my trip! I do hope the Cherry Blossoms don’t disappoint me. I’ll be armed with my dslr to shoot some good pictures (hopefully) of the blossoms. If not, I’ll just ~~steal~~ borrow the ones my talented brother will most likely take! Oh yes, I’ll also be meeting up with my brother and his gf during this trip! It’s been a couple months since I last saw them. =)

Have a great Easter Weekend!

L’andana @ Burlington, MA

2010-04-01T00:09:00.000-04:00

The timing was perfect. Hubby’s cousin who works as a flight attendant happen to be in this part of the world. Since she’s not been to Boston, she took a bus from NYC to see us. Boston Restaurant Week was going at the same time. If you’re not familiar with Boston Restaurant Week, this happens about twice a year, 2 weeks each I think. Participating restaurants in Boston and greater Boston area will offer a lunch and/or dinner 3 course menu. Lunch is about $20.10 for a 3 course meal while a 3 course dinner is $33.10. Some restaurants even offer a light lunch menu @ $15.10 which includes a 2 course meal. These restaurants will come up with a list of appetizers, entrees and desserts to choose from. Some places only give you about 3 from each category to choose from. Some more to choose from.

I suggested hubby to bring our special guest in town out for a nice dinner. Boston restaurant week is a great way to dine a 3 course meal at a fancy restaurant, and not pay the high price for it! Hubby picked suggested L’andana partly because it’s nearer to home. We checked out the restaurant menu and fell in love with what we saw. The restaurant rating seems pretty good too!

We got seated, browsed through the menu and the wine list. Yes, we went a little fancy and ordered a bottle of wine for dinner. All of us ordered the Zuppa di Funghi (Wild Mushrooms, Parmesan Crema Soup). It was came in a footed bowl (Bottom Right). Soup was delicious. Very creamy, very earthy and definitely very mushroomy, with white foamy stuff on the top. It also had quite a bit of pepper in it. Quite large portion if I may add. Finishing the whole bowl of soup left little room in my tummy for the rest of the dinner yet to come! It was even a lot of soup for the husband! =) If you were to order the soup ala carte, it would cost you $12 per bowl.

Oh, olive oil soaked toast (Bottom Left) came with a side of olive oil (and sun dried tomato puree?) dip. Although the toast was good, I would prefer if it was a little soft and less oil. Although, we were there strictly for its Restaurant Week menu, I could not resist the Truffle Fries @ $9. I had to order it, no matter what the husband say! It’s probably one of the most expensive order of fries but they are darn good fries with plenty hint of truffles and parmesan cheese. We couldn’t figure out where the truffles were. I don’t think they actually gave us shavings of truffles. That would have cost us $90 for an order of fries! Perhaps truffle oil were used. Or a tiny tiny dusting of heavenly truffle. =)

Hubby ordered the Wood Grilled Sirloin, with Watercress & Mushroom salad and Gorgonzola Creama (Bottom Left). The entree although could use some brighter colors were otherwise good. The sirlion was grilled to perfection. Very flavorful, very tender. Hubby finished it quite quickly.

His cousin and I ordered the Duck Leg Confit with Orange Glaze Wild Mushroom Risotto (Bottom Right). I knew I was going to order that the first time I saw the menu. I was right! Again, portion was quite big. 2 nicely roasted duck leg came resting on a bed of super yummy mushroom risotto. The duck confit was so moist, flavorful and was literally falling off the bone. I don’t even need a knife to dig into the duck legs. The risotto, according to hubby’s cousin (who’s been to so many places around the world and ate good food) said it was one of the best risotto she’s had. There were lofs of mushrooms in the risotto. I think there were porcini mushrooms in it.

For dessert, husband and I ordered the Panna Cotta di Caramello; Fresh vanilla bean, almond praline & brittle, caramel sauce (Bottom Left). This will cost about $10 if you order it ala carte. I never had panna cotta before and I was surely glad I ordered it! It was creamy, rich and I wished I had more! It reminded me of cream brulee, but not as heavy. Panna cotta is basically custard with just milk and cream, no eggs unlike cream brulee or many other custards.

The cousin ordered Chocolate Creama; Semi-Sweet Chocolate mousse, chantilly cream, walnut and almond biscotti (Bottom Right). This one will cost $9 if ordered ala-carte. RIch chocolate, not overly sweet. I tried it and still preferred my panna cotta. Maybe it’s just because I’m not the biggest mouse fan.

The overall dining experience was wonderful! Nothing beats catching up with family over some fine yummy Italian meal. There were many attentive staff bringing out food, filling up water and clearing out empty plates promptly. The dining area was pleasant with some upbeat music and was nicely decorated. The chairs were huge, perhaps enough to fit 2 of me. =)

I will definitely be back. Perhaps during special occasion or another restaurant week event or whenever the hubby feels a little generous. They have a few other sister restaurants which I’ve heard from friends that they are very good as well! Pat on the back for the husband who stumbled upon this place. It was one of the best Italian fine dining I’ve had! =)

Check out L’andana’s menu HERE. Plenty of parking in this stand alone premise. They are however only open for dinner.

86 Cambridge Street
Burlington, MA 01803
(781) 270-0100

Chicken Kebabs

2010-03-31T00:10:00.000-04:00

I was in the mood for some Chicken Kebabs, and somehow I was thinking Mediterranean style. It must have been the Couscous I had that inspired me to cook ala Mediterranean. At least I tried, by combining a few different spices into the marinate.

The verdict was some pretty darn good (so called?) Mediterranean inspired Chicken Kebabs. Both hubby and I really liked the dinner I made that night! And I even ate up the bell peppers. =). I bet this chicken kebab will taste awesome on the grill! I will try this on the grill when the weather is nice and warm (and rain free!). I’m getting tired off all the rain we’ve been getting in New England.

CHICKEN KEBABS RECIPE

Ingredients:

2 Pcs of Chicken Breast
2 Tbsp Onion Powder
1 Tbsp Garlic Powder
1 Tbsp Ground Cumin
1/4 Tsp Salt
1/4 Tsp Black Pepper
1/4 Tsp Paprika
2-3 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 Clove Garlic, Minced
1-2 Tbsp Chopped Cilantro
Bamboo Skewers
Bell Pepper, Cut into Squares (Optional)

Method:

Clean and cut chicken breast into 6 (almost even) pieces per chicken breast. That will give you 12 pieces then. Mix onion powder, garlic powder, cumin, salt, pepper, paprika, minced garlic and chopped cilantro into a bowl. Then add chicken breast and 1 tbsp olive oil. Let chicken marinate for 1-2 hours (or more).

Skewer chicken breasts, alternating with some bell peppers (or any other vegetables) if you like. Heat remaining oil in a pan over medium heat. Fry chicken kebabs, rotating it around every 2-3 minutes so that the chicken will cook evenly. Depending on how big your chicken kebab is, it might take 15-20 minutes to cook the chicken through. Cook until chicken juices run clear. You don’t want to consume uncooked chicken, nor do you want to eat over-cooked chicken! This will serve 2-3 people.

June’s Comments: Since this was a Mediterranean inspired kebab, I served it with some Couscous. Instant Couscous from Near East! It’s a great pantry item to have and yes, quite delicious and cooks within minutes! I also steamed some broccoli for a balanced meal. =)

Funny!! Don’t You Think?

2010-03-30T22:04:00.001-04:00

I thought this picture of Brady was hilarious. This picture was taken when Brady was attempting hubby’s “turn around” command. He can sometimes turn while standing on two legs, sometimes he’ll turn standing on all four legs…..

Asparagus with Red Pepper Sauce

2010-03-29T21:50:00.000-04:00

I’ve been teaching myself to appreciate bell peppers. One step at a time. =) I never liked bell peppers, but I wouldn’t mind them in a dish. I will use them in a dish but I will eat everything but the pepper (capsicum). These days, I’m incorporating peppers into my dish whenever I can. And yes, I’ve been eating them. Mommy will be proud of me! =)

This was one of the dish I made for my Tapas party. I love the contrast colors from the green asparagus and the red (orang-y) bell pepper. I separated the asparagus from the sauce so that it will look less messy. My guests will also have the option to eat the asparagus with or without the sauce.

This recipe is adapted from HERE. I made some changes to it, mostly in terms of reducing the sauce proportions. I did not want to drown the asparagus in too much sauce. =) This is quite easy to make and the sauce can definitely be made in advance! That will give you one less thing to make on the day of your party! =)

ASRAPAGUS WITH RED PEPPER SAUCE RECIPE

Ingredients:

Part A (Roasted Asparagus)

1 Lb Asparagus, Ends Trimmed
1-1/2 Tbsp Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper

Part B (Red Pepper Sauce)

1 Red Bell Pepper, Deseeded & Chopped
2-3 Cloves Garlic, Chopped
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 Tbsp Red Wine Vinegar
1/2 Tbsp Chopped Basil /Parsley
Salt & Pepper

Method:

Preheat oven to 400 F. In a glass pan,drizzle asparagus with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast asparagus for about 15-20 minutes until asparagus are tender.

Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in a pan over medium high heat. Sautee garlic and red bell pepper until peppers softened. Once peppers are soft, turn off heat and let it cool. Empty entire mixture from the pan into a blender. Add red wine vinegar and basil (or parsley). Puree until mixture is smooth. Season with salt and pepper. Serve the red pepper sauce with the roasted asparagus.

Goodbye, My Beloved Grandma..

2010-03-26T22:08:00.001-04:00

I receive the phone call I never wanted from my family….Grandma had passed away and gone to a better place. Grandma’s been sick for quite a few months and the doctors have warned us that she does not have much time left. I was hoping to be able to see my “Ah Ma” this year when we make a trip back. I guess it’s too late now and she’s probably looking at us from heaven right now.

I am devastated when I got the news. I was still praying and hoping for a miracle that grandma will pull thru and prove the specialists wrong. My occasional dreams of grandma recovering and is her healthy beaming self is just another dream now.

I will miss my Ah ma dearly. I will always remember the fond memories we share. I will miss her smile, her laughter and her presence. Goodbye, Grandma. I know you’re in a better place right now and will be watching us from heaven. I will always love you!

Congee Hot Pot

2010-03-24T20:45:00.001-04:00

Here’s another take on hotpot/steam boat, cooking the meat in rice congee. Rice congee is basically rice cooked in LOTS of water. I quickly pulsed my congee in the blender to just puree the rice a little when I prepared my Congee for my hotpot. I cooked my congee in some chicken broth to give it more flavor.

Hotpot / steamboat is one very popular concept of cooking food in the Asian community. It is most fun when eating hotpot in a group. Chinese, Koreans, Japanese, Vietnamese, etc have their versions of hotpot. Names maybe different and ingredients may differ from one country to another but the idea is the same, cooking food in broth. You can practically throw anything you want into the pot and let it cook. Bear in mind that if you’re throwing something raw (meat for instance), thinly slice it so that it will cook quickly. And you do want to make sure all raw food is properly cooked before consuming.

The idea of having a Congee hotpot/steam boat is not originally mine. I’ve had it in Malaysia and it is a different twist from the the regular broth version. If you’re not familiar with hotpot or steamboat, think fondue. It’s slightly different from those cheese or chocolate fondue, but it’s the same concept as Fondue Bourguignonne; cooking food in oil! =)

I’ve heard that in places like Melting Pot (a chain fondue restaurant) have Court Bouillon (cooking food in broth) just like the Asian hotpot style. They however do not want patrons to drink the flavorful broth from cooking all the food. Hence they don’t give you a ladle or a spoon to deter you from drinking the flavorful soup and burnt your mouth/tongue! I guess it’s all about the liabilities that they do not want to mess with. That is like the best part in Asian hotpot; the broth after all those cooking!! Everyone would have a bowl of the soup eaten with noodles.

I prepared a little congee hotpot for the husband and I utilizing my electric fondue pot. We scooped some of the congee with the ingredients we dumped in and eat it in front of the telly. =) This fondue pot I received as a wedding gift is one of my favorite item! I’ve used it in almost all kind of fondue you can think of..cheese, chocolate, Bourguignonne, broth and the most recent; congee!

Have a electric fondue pot? Or a Hotpot / Steamboat kit…try cooking food in congee! Do make sure the congee is a little runny so that it cooks the food better and won’t burnt! =)

Red Lentil @ Watertown, MA

2010-03-23T21:41:00.001-04:00

The husband and I are never an all-vegetarian fan (or anything healthy). The word vegan sends a chill down our spine. I guess we tend to associate the words healthy/vegetarian/vegan to bland and flavorless. On several occasions, when we had vegetarian food we end up hungry a few hours later.

So, when our friend Crystal suggested that we try out Red Lentil, a vegetarian/vegan restaurant..we were skeptical. After looking through the menu, I was however super duper hyped about dining there. The menu looked so exotic and sounded really really good. Reviews were also great! I was very excited and decided to invite my friends Seyda and Rob to join us as well.

I called in about 30 minutes before we got there to make a reservation. We sort of got the time we wanted but it surely beats having to arrive at the restaurant without a reservation and waiting forever. We got seated quite soon after that as more patrons arrived and waited for a table. The restaurant was bright and buzzing with diners. It however does not offer too many seating; maybe 40 max (and that includes seating at the “bar'” overlooking the open kitchen concept).

Here’s what we ordered:

1) Butternut Squash Polenta @ $13.99 - Grilled polenta, oyster mushroom ragout, warmed sesame asparagus drizzled with cilantro sunflower seed pesto (Bottom Left). Crystal and I ordered this yummy and very filling dish. The magic words “mushrooms”, “polenta” and “cilantro” won me over. 2 big chunks of grilled polenta went very well with the oyster mushroom ragout which seem to be cooked in some tomato sauce perhaps? The grilled asparagus was heavenly. The portion for this was huge that I ALMOST has a tough time finishing it!

2) Eggplant Rollatini @ $16.99 – Eggplant stuffed with seitan, served with beans and some kind of sauce (Bottom Right). I forgot the exact name and description to this dish which was one of the Special for the night. Hubby ordered this dish and I thought the presentation was very nicely done. They took a lot of effort to make it look oh-so-pretty! Seitan is actually wheat gluten, made to look like meat. Although the portion somehow looked smaller than mine, the husband said it was very filling. I guess all the gluten and beans filled him up really well! He enjoyed his food.

3) Sweet Potato Pizza @ $13.00 – Sweet Potatoes, onion on a crisp base (Bottom Left). This was another special for the night and I forgot how much this cost and what was in it. All I remember was sweet potatoes. This was Rob’s dish and it was apparently also very good as hefinished it. =)

4) Tropical Blend Smoothie @ $4.50 - Strawberry, blueberry, raspberry and mango (Bottom Right). These are some of my favorite fruits and I had to order the smoothie when I saw it! It was really good. The blueberry flavors were probably the strongest and all other flavors were very subtle. I didn’t mind, coz it was thick, rich and GOOD!

5) NIrvana Delight @ $13.99 An Ayurveda inspired meal, balanced with nutrition, flavor, texture, color and variety- Grilled Tandoori marinated tofu served with cold quinoa salad and spinach, topped with beet relish and cucumber yoghurt sauce. Seyda knew right off this was the dish she wanted and the tofu was apparently very good!! Too bad I forgot to take picture of her colorful and delicious dish!!

All of us thought the food were VERY GOOD and had wonderful flavors! Service was kinda iffy depending on the wait staff I guess. For starters, Seyda’s dish came last as the order apparently did not go through. We did not have to wait too long before they brought it out though. However, the same waiter also forgot about hubby’s Iced Tea. We had to ask different wait staff 2-3 times before it FINALLY came. I guess all the wait staff were overwhelmed with the many patrons dining and waiting? And one harassing diner who kept telling the wait staff how to arrange the tables for her party did not help either =P.

With those 2 forgivable service glitch, the overall service was good. Water was filled very promptly and everyone was very friendly. We decided that this is one Vegetarian / Vegan place that we will patronize again!

There are ample metered street parking in the area. They take reservations for party more than 6 people. Since the premise is small, I would suggest keeping your parties small to avoid waiting too long for a table. 6 would be a good number, 4 the best! Check out their menu HERE. Oh, if you’re planning to go there for lunch, print out this money saving coupon HERE.

600 Mount Auburn Street
Watertown, MA 02472
(617) 972-9188

Citrus Sangria

2010-03-22T00:01:00.001-04:00

Sangria is one of my favorite drink @ Spanish restaurants. One liter of this yummy concoction will cost an average of $20 in restaurants. This will usually give 4-5 people a glass each. Now, making it at home will of course cost less (just like every other food you make yourself!).

There are many versions and many ways to make sangria. You can add almost any kind of fruits to this “punch” and it will still be good. There are even white wine versions of Sangria which are equally yummy. It’s all about your personal preference. Just be sure to serve it ice cold though! And don’t water it down too much! =)

CITRUS SANGRIA RECIPE

Ingredients;

1 Large Bottle of Merlot (1.5 L), Chilled
1 Cup Orange Juice
1 Cup Water
1/2 Cup Sugar
1 Orange, Thinly Sliced
1 Lime, Thinly Sliced
1 Lemon, Thinly Sliced
2-3 Cups Ice (or more)

Method:

Put 1 Cup of water and sugar in a pot over medium high heat and let mixture cook until all sugar has dissolved. Set syrup aside and let it cool.

Empty a whole large bottle of merlot, orange juice, syrup (half or all) and fruit slices. Let mixture sit for about 30 minutes to an hour (or more) in the fridge. Add ice into the bowl before serving.

June’s comments: I used Sutter Home’s Merlot which cost less than $10 for a large 1.5L bottle. Feel free to garnish your wine glass with a slice of citrus tucked at the rim of the glass for garnish! You don’t need to use all the syrup for the Sangria. This is up to you on how you like your Sangria, on the sweeter side or not. This large bowl of Sangria was enough for 5 people, about 2 glasses each.

Tapas Party @ Home

2010-03-20T23:40:00.000-04:00

Last weekend, the hubby and I had a somewhat spontaneous party and invited some friends over. Having a party motivates the both of us to clean up the house and making it guest worthy! I will usually take charge of the kitchen and cooking, while hubby has the whole house to himself…to clean that is!

We made everything about 3-4 hours before the guests arrived. The only thing I made the night before was the flan, which took FOREVER to cook (about 2 hours), thanks cooking the custard in a big and deep container!

Here’s what we served our guests:

1) Sangria (Bottom Left) - What is a Tapas Party without some Sangria? This was a concoction of merlot, syrup, orange juice and slices of lemon, lime and orange. I think all of us enjoyed this bowl of Sangria….not a drop left at the end of dinner! =)

2) Edamame Spread (Bottom Right) – Inspired by the ones served @ Solea’s, I made my own version. Pureed edamame, peppers, cheese, olive oil and seasoning. Served this with slices of baguette.

3) Stuffed Mussels (Bottom Left) – Chopped mussels with onion, pepper and seasoning in a béchamel sauce, topped with parmesan cheese and breadcrumbs.

4) Garlic Mushrooms (Bottom Right) – Sautéed cremini mushrooms with garlic, olive oil and a squeeze of lemon juice.

5) Roasted Asparagus with Red Pepper Sauce (Bottom Left) – Asparagus doused with some salt, pepper and olive oil and roasted till tender. Sauce was red pepper pureed with a splash of red wine vinegar for some zing.

6) Tortilla Espanola (Bottom Right) – Spanish Potato Omelet. One of my favorite Spanish Tapas!

7) Hooters Style Chicken Wings (Bottom Left) – Deep fried wings coated with hot sauce and butter. This has become hubby’s signature dish. =)

8) Garlic Shrimp (Bottom Right) – Succulent shrimp sauteed in olive oil, butter, garlic and a sprinkle of chili flakes for a little kick!

9) Spanish Flan (Bottom) – Custard cooked in a water bath. This is one of the easiest and yummiest desserts to make! Mental note to myself, bake the custard in smaller ramekins instead of a big container. Baking the custard in a big container took the custard about 2 hours to cook and set!! Ramekins only took about 1 hour or less.

On top of Sangria, we also had some yummy and somewhat pricey wine that our friends brought over! Good food, great wine, awesome company….it was a great way to end the week and lI guess look forward to the Monday blues? =p Will be posting recipes to the stuff I made at the party soon! =)

Lemon Grass @ Lexington, MA

2010-03-19T22:33:00.001-04:00

We met hubby’s friend from work for lunch last week and decided to do Thai food. We picked Lemon Grass Thai Cuisine @ Lexington downtown. Hubby said the place is pretty decent. When we arrived, the place was pretty busy and got a little busier after that. The interior is quite typical of a Thai restaurant with many decorative Thai wall hangings and (religious?) statues.

Here’re what we ordered:

1) Thai Iced Coffee @ $2.50 (Bottom Left). Delicious ice cold coffee, a must at Thai restaurants. This is not your Starbucks or Dunkin Donut Coffee. It’s different and it’s better. =) Well, I think it’s better and it tasted just like Malaysian Coffee I get at home too!

2) Tom Yum Goong @ $3.95 – The famous Thai Hot and Sour Shrimp Soup, spiced with lemon grass, chili, lime juice and mushroom (Bottom Right). This is Thailand’s famous soup and the description describes the soup. There are 3 succulent shrimp in the soup with slices of raw mushrooms. The soup was good, spicy and sour just the way I like it. At certain restaurants, I ended up asking for extra lime/lemon so that I can increase the sourness. I do however wished they threw in more cilantro, rather than spring onions.

3) Pan Fried Dumpling @ $6.95 – Stuffed with minced chicken and vegetables, served with light soy sauce (Bottom Left). Steve ordered this and we tasted it. 5 pieces of perfectly fried dumpling for almost $7 is a bit on the pricey side. There weren’t as much meat in the filling, more vegetables but they were good. It was nice and refreshing to have more vegetables in the dumplings than meat.

4) Tamarind Duck @ $9.95 – Fried boneless roasted duck with snow peas, babycorns, and bamboo shoots in our house special spicy sauce. I bet it was good coz Steve remained quiet when he ate this lunch. =) I did not try his dish, but there surely are lots and lots of bamboo shoots in this dish.

5) Mango Curry @ $9.95 – Combination of shrimp and chicken with mangoes with mild yellow curry, assorted vegetables (Bottom Left). I ordered this dish so that hubby can try it as he couldn’t decide what we really wanted. There were a decent amount of chicken and shrimp covered underneath the mount of colorful vegetables. The curry is good. Not overly spicy and the mangoes cooked in the curry were very very tasty. Mangoes are thinly sliced here compared to some other places where they cube the mangoes.

6) Duck Choo Chee @ $9.95 – Fried boneless roasted duck in Thai’s popular Choo Chee curry and vegetables (Bottom Right). Hubby ordered this dish which is one of his usual at a Thai restaurant. Again, more vegetables piled on top of the fried piece of chicken. I am clueless as to why they described the meat as fried roasted duck…twice cooked? Anyway, the duck was quite generous and fried nicely. Hubby enjoyed his dish. I thought the curry wasn’t that good. I like my Mango curry better. Perhaps coz mine was a little on the sweeter side?

Overall, I will be back for lunch and or dinner. I like that the rice came with the curry without extra charges. Prices were overall very reasonable for lunch. Hopefully it’s the same for dinner. The staff was pretty friendly and quite attentive. Plates were cleared timely and glasses were topped off frequently.

If you’re in town or feel like doing Thai, head over to Lemon Grass for some yummy Thai food. Check out there menu HERE. There are decent amount of parking in the area too.

Edamame Spread

2010-03-17T21:31:00.001-04:00

This recipe is inspired by my trip to Solea’s and I got addicted with their bean spread that they brought out for us. I decided to recreate it and serve it at my party. The twist was using edamame instead of red beans as described by the waiter at Solea’s. I had a bag of edamame sitting in my freezer and decided this would be a great way to free up some freezer space! My freezer is so packed, frozen stuff might come crashing on you when you open it!!

Edamame is very commonly served as appetizers in Japanese restaurants and are often boiled in salt water (sprinkle with more salt before serving) and served in their own pods (Bottom Left). To eat it, one would need to split open the pods to eat the “peas” inside. I usually stick the edamame into my mouth, holding it by the ends and using my teeth to squeeze out the peas. And for those of you who might now know about this….edamame is green soybeans!

The overall result of my edamame spread is quite satisfactory. At least my guests seem to enjoy it!There is certainly more room for improvement! Except for the taste of the parmesan cheese, the taste is slightly different than the ones served at Solea’s. Perhaps the beans used does make a big difference. I could I guess add a couple tablespoon more of bell peppers to the recipe in the future to see how the taste will change. This is however quite a healthy snack for those of you who’s health conscious. Here’s the recipe.

EDAMAME SPREAD RECIPE

Ingredients:

1 Lb Edamame Pods
3-4 Tbsp Chopped Bell Pepper
3 Cloves Garlic, Chopped
1/2 Cup + 1 Tbsp Olive Oil
1/2 Cup Grated Parmesan Cheese
Salt & Pepper

Method:

In a pot, boil some water (enough to cover the edamame). Once water is boiling, add edamame pods and salt. Cook edamame for about 5-10 minutes. Drain, let cool and remove the peas from the pods. Discard the empty pods.

Heat 1 tbsp of oil over medium high heat. Add chopped garlic and bell pepper. Sauté mixture until bell pepper is soft.

Add peeled edamame, bell pepper mixture, a pinch of salt, a few cracks of pepper and parmesan cheese in a food processor. Blend mixture until smooth while slowly pour in olive oil. Season with more salt and pepper as needed. If you want a runnier spread, you could add more olive oil. This will give you about a little over 1-1/2 cups of spread. Serve the edamame spread over crusty baguette or crisp crackers.

June’s Comments: I ended up with about 8.5 Oz of edamame beans (after shelling them).

Vanilla Cupcake with Red Bean

2010-03-15T22:33:00.000-04:00

I forgot how I came across this recipe but it was definitely sometime last year when Seyda and I had a baking craze going on. Perhaps she was the one who found this awesome recipe! Anyway, I have made these yummilicious cupcakes occasionally since then. The red bean filling is so Asian, so different and definitely my cuppa “cake”! I made them both with and without frosting, depending on weather I’m feeding other people or not. If I’m just making it for my own consumption, I usually leave the cupcakes as is; frosting free. I’m not the biggest fan of frosting. As much as I love desserts, I find frostings most of the time too sweet for my palate.

The original baker whipped out a nice exotic Date-Pineapple Frosting to go with her Mooncake Cupcake. I decided to just pair the cupcake with a plain Cream Cheese Frosting. The baker also made her red bean paste filling from scratch. I find that store bought ones (the smooth paste kind) worked like magic and saves me time!! Here’s the recipe (I cut the recipes into half) of the divinely delicious Vanilla Cupcakes with Red Bean (Mooncake Cupcakes).

VANILLA CUPCAKES WITH RED BEAN RECIPE

Ingredients:

Part A (Cupcake):

1/2 Cup Unsalted Butter @ Room Temperature
1 Cup Sugar
2 Large Eggs
1- 1/4 + 2 Tbsp All-Purpose Flour
3/4 Tsp Baking Powder
Pinch of Salt
1/2 Cup Milk
1/2 Tsp Vanilla Extract
About 1/2 Cup Smooth Red Bean Paste Filling

Part B (Optional Frosting):

Cream Cheese Frosting
Sesame Seeds (White and/or Black)

Method:

This method and recipe will give you about 24-26 small cupcakes.

Refrigerate red bean paste to firm it up and roll them into about 1 tsp balls. Place them on a parchment paper and set aside (in the fridge) until ready to use.

Preheat oven @ 350F. Beat butter on high until soft, about 30 seconds. Add sugar. Beat on medium-high until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, beat for 30 seconds between each. Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Add to mixer bowl. Add the milk and vanilla. Mix to combine.

Fill each cupcake paper about 1/4 full and make a little well in the batter. Gently press in a bean paste ball. Top with more batter until about 3/4 full. Smooth with the back of a spoon. Place cupcakes on baking sheet and bake in preheated oven for about 15-20 minutes or until skewers come up clean.

Let cupcakes cool before frosting! Spread cupcakes with frosting and roll frosted cupcakes onto sesame seeds. Or just sprinkle it!

June’s comments: I baked my cupcakes in individual small soufflé cups. With this baking cups, I can bake more cupcakes at once without using a cupcake pan. Feel free to use regular cupcake liners, but remember to use a cupcake pan to hold the shape!

You can make these cupcakes as regular/standard size cupcakes. This will then yield you about 12 regular cupcakes. Increase the size of the red bean paste to about 3/4” balls to get more red bean in your cupcake! Standard size cupcakes will take about 20-25 minutes to bake.

=====================================================================================

CREAM CHEESE FROSTING RECIPE

Ingredients:

1/4 Cup Butter @ Room Temperature
4 Oz Cream Cheese @ Room Temperature
1 to 1-1/2 Cups Powdered Sugar
1/2 Tsp Vanilla Extract

Method:

With an electric mixer, mix the butter and cream cheese together, about 3 minutes on medium speed until very smooth. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl to ensure even mixing.

Add the vanilla extract and mix. Slowly add the powdered sugar. Keep adding until you get to desired sweetness and thickness.

Spread or pipe frosting onto cooled cupcakes.

June’s Comments: I hade enough frosting to spread onto my small cupcakes. Double the frosting if you need more!

Solea Tapas @ Waltham, MA

2010-03-14T21:31:00.000-04:00

We were planning to dine at Solea’s back in February and finally managed to do lunch there 2 weeks ago. The husband has brought up this Tapas place to me and I’ve been wanting to try it since then. Since we’ve been meaning to try out their Tapas there for quite a while, we went all out from sangria, tapas, paella to dessert on our maiden trip there.

Solea is located in somewhat an eclectic downtown Waltham on Moody Street. There were many ethnic stores and restaurants as well as interesting shops on this street. Solea’s establishment is surprisingly bigger than I expected. The interior is quite decently decorated. I do love the whimsical pendant lights at the bar. There weren’t much people in there at lunch hour. I forgot what time we arrived. But, maybe we were seated at the quieter side of the dining area. Like I mentioned, Solea’s premises is bigger than I expected.

We skimmed through the menu and already knew what we wanted to order. We ordered a pitcher of Sangria @ $20 for the two of us. =) A basket of cold crusty bread (Bottom Left) arrived along with an amazingly addictive spread. It was so good, I couldn’t stop eating it. The husband had to hide it from me. I later found out that the spread was made from a mixture of red beans (I wonder if it was red lentil, actually), parmesan, pepper and spices. SO GOOD!!!!!

Here’re the 3 tapas (Bottom Right) we ordered to share (while waiting for the paella to arrive):

1) Patatas Bravas - Wild, Hot & Spicy Potatoes @ $5.00 (Right). The garlic sauce and the spicy sauce were so good! The potatoes were tender. It would have been nicer if they were crispier on the outside. But these were definitely better than the ones we had in Tasca.

2) Camarao Piri Piri - Grilled Shrimp with Piri Piri Sauce @ $7.00 (Left). The succulent shrimp was slightly charred and that gave the shrimp a nice smoky flavor. The Piri Piri sauce on the other hand was just ok. It was spicy and to me there weren’t much flavors to it.

3) Pato Braseado, Roasted Duckling with Berry Sauce @ $8.50 (Center). This is absolutely divinely delicious!!!!!!! The duck leg was (fried or roasted…I forgot) perfectly. The meat wasn’t very gamey and very moist in the inside. The berry sauce definitely goes well with the duck.

And then came one of the thing we missed most after our trip to Europe; Paella! We ordered their Paella Valenciana - Chorizo, Pork Sausage, Chicken, Shrimp, Squid, Scallops, Clams & Mussels cooked in Saffron Rice @ $24.00 (Bottom Left). It came so beautifully assembled in a Paella pan. It was truly food art! Colors were amazing! There were so much seafood that you hardly see the rice. Seafood were generous, fresh and tasty. The paella was overall good. I did not care for the huge chunks of artichokes though.

For dessert, we ordered their Vanilla Flan @ $6.00 (Bottom Right). This unfortunately was very disappointing. The flan wasn’t smooth. It had so much air bubbles that it felt like eating sponge (not that I’ve eaten it before). It’s shameful that I could make better ones than this. And this not very yummy flan cost us $6. Boo! I would have sent this back if they waiter were to asked me how was dessert.=p

Overall, I will be back! I will drag the husband back for tapas, paella, sangria and anything but their flan! Service that day was impeccable! They were very attentive (I hope this remains true even when they are swamped!) and they even gave us new sets of plates, silverware and napkins just before our paella came. Flamenco played in the background throughout our meal which gave the whole dining experience even more Spanish like! Their prices may be a little higher (compared to Tasca’s), but the quality of food (and service) compensates for their higher prices!

What are you waiting for?? Grab your friends for some yummy Sangria and tapas!! There are public metered parking (and quite affordable) available behind the shops. Check out their menu HERE. Here’s their location:

388 Moody Street
Waltham, MA 02453-5204
(781) 894-1805

And He Turns 1! Or Is It 2? Or 3?

2010-03-13T00:00:00.000-05:00

He turns ONE in our household! It’s been exactly one year since we rescued Brady from the local animal shelter. Although he was supposed to be one year old when we got him, out vet suspects he’s at least two………. Whatever his age is…he’s ours!

And he’s got a big attitude in that tiny body of his!! =) We just adore him and still find him very amusing till this day! Each day, we still learn something new about our little four legged guy who stole our hearts away!

These two pictures are some of the most recent shots we have of Brady. I should try to take more this weekend! Read about Brady here:

Our Boy, Brady (See how skinny he was then!!)
B-R-A-D-Y

Salmon Cakes

2010-03-12T19:21:00.000-05:00

I have a can of red salmon (what ever that is) sitting in my pantry. I think my inlaws got them when they were here and yes they’ve been sitting a while in my always very packed pantry. I can never go hungry if I’m stuck at home!! =)

Having never seen, heard and let alone use canned salmon, I had to think of a quick way to use it. Making cakes/croquettes was a brilliant idea to use up canned fish. I held my breath as I opened the can and dump the contents into a bowl. I don’t know what to expect. The canned salmon was actually a portion of a cut up salmon, cooked till bones are tender (skin still intact) and squashed into a can! Other than that, it looked any boiled salmon I guess…

Japanese Breadcrumbs (Panko) gives the cakes a nice little crunch! Ground cumin in the salmon cakes was a nice little spice spruce me up and gave the cakes a little different flavor. Here’s the recipe for the Salmon Cakes.

SALMON CAKES RECIPE

Ingredients:

1 Can Red Salmon (14-2/4Oz can)
2 Ribs Celery, Diced (About 1 Cup)
1 Medium Onion, Diced (About 1 Cup)
2 Cloves Garlic , Minced
4 Tsp Dijon Mustard
1 Tsp Chopped Parsley
1 Tsp Lemon Juice
1 Tsp Ground Cumin
2 Large Eggs
2 Tbsp Butter
Salt & Pepper
1 Cup Panko
Oil

Method:

Drain juice from salmon and remove skin and as many bones (bones are edible, but I like to remove them) as you can. I ended up with about 9 oz of salmon. Mash the salmon and set aside.

In a pan, melt butter over medium high heat. Once butter has melted, add onion, celery and garlic. Saute mixture until onion is soft. If you prefer, you can also cook until the celery is soft. I personally prefer a little crunch to the celery.

Once that is done, set the mixture aside and let it cool. Add celery & onion mixture, cumin, lemon juice, dijon mustard, salt and pepper add one beaten egg into the mashed salmon. Mix well and use a ice cream scoop (or not) to scoop them and shape them into discs/patties (About 2-1/2” x 3/4”). Beat an egg. Gently dipped the salmon patties/cakes into the the beaten egg mixture and coat patties well in Panko crumbs.

Heat a pan with oil (to cover at least half the height of the salmon cakes) over medium high heat. Fry the Panko coated salmon cakes until golden brown on the first side and continue the same for the second side. This will give you about 9-10 pretty delicious salmon cakes!

June’s Comments: The Salmon Cakes can be quite fragile but will firm up after you cook them. I love to serve anything fried with a concoction of mayonnaise (my favorite dipping condiment!!), ketchup and chili sauce. Serve the Salmon Cakes as is, with some salad or sandwiched between bread! =)

Asian Bean Curd Garlic Ribs

2010-03-11T20:08:00.000-05:00

This dish is inspired by a friend who made it back in college. That was creeping close to 10 years ago now!! Yikes! I forgot how she made it, and what she used in this dish. All I remember was the 3 main ingredients; ribs, fermented bean curd and garlic.

I made this dish a few nights ago ( it wasn’t the first time I made it according to how I like it) but this time I took the effort to jot down my version of the yummy bean curd garlic ribs. My friend probably added much much more garlic than I did. Since, I usually make more for the husband to bring to work the next day I did not want the husband to have a garlicky breath when he confronts his colleagues or stink up the cafeteria when he’s reheating his food. =)

Anyway, here’s my version of the beancurd ribs…..feel free to add a few more cloves of garlic! =)

ASIAN BEAN CURD RIBS RECIPE

Ingredients:

1 Lb Pork Spare Ribs *
5-6 Cloves Garlic, Minced
2 Pieces Red Fermented Bean Curd
2 Tbsp Liquid reserved from Bean Curd
2 Tbsp ShaoXing Rice Cooking Wine
1 Cup water
2 Tbsp Oil
1 Stalk Green Onions, Chopped (Optional)

*Have your butcher cut up the ribs into smaller bite size pieces.

Method:

Mash the fermented bean curd in a bowl and coat the ribs and let them marinate for about 30 minutes to an hour. In a pot, heat oil over medium high heat. Once oil is hot, add garlic and sauté until garlic is fragrant and slightly brown on the edges but not burnt. Add ribs, turn heat to high and stir fry ribs to sear the outside for about 3-4 minutes. Then, add wine, water and reserved liquid from the bean curd. Lower heat to medium low, and let ribs cook for 30 minutes to an hour until tender, adding a little more water if necessary. Transfer onto serving platter and garnish with green onions. Serve this with steam rice. This should serve 2-3 people.

Revisited: Feng Shui @ Chelmsford, MA

2010-03-09T21:27:00.001-05:00

This is one rare occasion the husband and I went to Feng Shui for their ala carte menus. Our past visits there were mainly for their mouthwatering Sunday buffet dinner which serves lobster and a variety of sushi in addition to regular Chinese food. I’ve written about Feng Shui and it’s Sunday dinner buffet HERE and HERE.

We were craving Sushi…or was it just me and I wasn’t in the mood to travel too far away from home to satiate my craving for sushi. Feng Shui was the nearest to us and we know they serve quality food and have a great atmosphere. We’ve always enjoyed dining there in their (quite new) and tastefully decorated dining area.

Here’s what we ordered:

1) Chirashi @ $18 – 12 pieces of sashimi on a bed of sushi rice. This is a set that came with a cup of miso soup and salad (with ginger dressing). I’ve been wanting to order Chirashi since the first time I had it in Chicago. The dish as nicely presented, colorful and definitely appetizing. I love the sushi rice which was sprinkled with Furikake. The sushi were fresh and the raw fish slices were quite generous. Except for the salmon and tuna sashimi, I don’t know what the rest were. There were 2 slices of sesame coated fish which was then quickly seared. And the chef actually gave me 13 pieces of sashimi, plus two slices of Tamagoyaki (Japanese Omelet).

2) Makimono Combo @ $19 - Spicy Tuna, California & Crazy Maki (Bottom Left). This also came with a cup of miso soup and salad with ginger dressing. The 3 kind of maki that came in this set was probably some of the most popular ones. Spicy Tuna is sushi roll with chopped raw tuna, mayo, chili and cucumber. California Maki is sushi roll with imitation crabstick, cucumber, avocado and tobiko. Crazy Maki is sushi roll with shrimp tempura, cucumber, avocado, spicy mayonnaise, tobiko with nori (seaweed) on the outside. Pretty good overall. I don’t care for the California Maki that much but do love the Spicy Tuna maki.

3) Spider Maki @ $10 – Deep fried soft shell crab with avocado, cucumber & tobiko (Bottom Right). We ordered this to share and I thought it actually cost more than $10. This wasn’t the greatest maki I’ve seen. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still delicious, but we felt the “workmanship” on the Spider Maki wasn’t there. It looked kinda sloppy.

Service there is often pretty good. And food is fresh and yes delicious! =)

If you’re in the area and want some Japanese or Chinese food, head over to Feng Shui for a good time. Plenty of parking so you don’t need to stress over that. Order a glass of plum wine to go with your meal!!! It’s really GOOD!

285 Chelmsford Street
Chelmsford, MA 01824-2343
(978) 250-8888

Kuih Ketayap

2010-03-08T23:05:00.001-05:00

I don’t know what “Kuih Ketayap” means. All I know is “Kuih” means cake or some times associated with cookies. For convenience sake, we could just call this Malaysian Crepe with coconut filling. This is another one of Malaysia’s variety to cakes/desserts and can be eaten at any time of the day. You can get this crepe (already assembled) from “kuih” vendors at any time of the day. And it’s a norm for one to eat “dessert” for breakfast. In fact, in Malaysia (and some other Asian countries) we eat even eat rice, noodles, etc for breakfast.

Anyway, back to the the green Malaysian crepe. The main difference in this crepe batter compared to the Western kind is perhaps the coconut milk (an essential in many Malaysian desserts) and the green coloring which is either the natural juice extracted from the pandan leaves or in my case artificial pandan paste which gives the batter a bright green hue (and a slight pandan flavoring).

The kuih is rather easy to make. The harder part is probably cooking the crepe and ensuring that it does not stick to the pan or tear. I use frozen grated coconut in this recipe and a combination of gula melaka (palm sugar) and brown sugar for the syrup part. I was running low on the gula melaka hence I decided to combined 2 different kinds of sugar. If you have plenty of gula melaka to spare, by all means feel free to use it. If you’re unable to find gula melaka, brown sugar is perfectly fine. Here’s the recipe.

KUIH KETAYAP RECIPE

Ingredients:

Part A (Coconut Filling):

3 Oz Gula Melaka
3 Oz Brown Sugar
2 Tbsp Water
6 Oz Frozen Grated Coconut, Thawed
2-3 Pandan Leaves
1 Tbsp Corn Flour + 2 Tbsp Water

Part B (Crepe):

2/3 Cup Flour
1-2/3 Cup Coconut Milk
1 Tsp Oil
2 Tsp Sugar
Pinch of Salt
4 Tbsp Water
1 Large Egg, Beaten
Pandan Paste
Oil (For cooking crepe)

Method:

In a pot, heat gula melaka, brown sugar, water and pandan leaves over medium high heat. Once sugar has melted, stir in grated coconut. Let coconut cook for about 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly. Then, mix 1 tbsp of corn flour with 2 tbsp of water and stir that into the coconut mixture. Cook for another 5 minutes then remove coconut mixture from heat. Let it cool.

In a bowl, add flour, sugar, salt and make a well. Slowly pour in coconut milk, oil, egg and water into the “well” and whisk mixture until you get a smooth batter. Add green coloring according to your preference. Note that the color will turn slightly darker as the crepe cooks. Sieve mixture and set aside.

Lightly oil (with a brush perhaps) a 10” pan and pre-heat it over medium heat. Pour about 1/4 cup of batter onto pan and quickly swirl batter around pan to get a nice thin and even layer. Cook the crepe until edges are slightly brown. The center of the crepe should be cooked by then. Gently loosen the crepe from the pan, using a silicone spatula. Quickly and gently transfer or flip crepe onto a plate. Continue until you use up all batter.

To assemble the “kuih”, place about 2-3 tbsp of the coconut mixture on a piece of crepe. About 1”-1.5” away from the edges. Take the edge closest to you and cover over the coconut mixture. Tuck in the two sides, and continue rolling forward making as tight roll of a roll as possible but gently. The crepe is very fragile!

Serve this at room temperature for breakfast or afternoon tea! This makes about 9-10 pieces of Kuih.

Nourish @ Lexington, MA

2010-03-07T20:45:00.000-05:00

The husband met up with his colleagues from work one weekend. They picked Nourish @ Lexington for lunch. The name of the restaurant itself sounded very healthy and we weren’t too sure what’s being served as we did not have time to research the place.

There was plenty of natural light in the cute tastefully decorated restaurant. We met up with husband’s colleagues who were already there waiting. We got our menus and started browsing through. First thing that we realized was everything sounded healthy. Husband and I are probably not the world’s healthiest eaters. =)

A little information on the restaurant before I move on to introduce you what we ate there. Nourish apparently just opened its doors last July and its a family operated and owned business. The offer a range of eclectic vegan and non-vegan friendly menu. Once thing that really caught my attention was they are kind of a sustainable restaurant getting as much of their produce from local farms and businesses. Therefore, their prices may be a little higher than usual although they do try to price them reasonably.

So, here’s what the husband and I ordered. I did not want to be rude and harass everyone else at the table to take pictures of what they ordered. Can’t give my hubby’s colleagues a bad first impression…right? =P

1) Alaskan Cod Cakes @ $12.95 - Pan-fried cod/potato cakes served with seaweed salad, dill mayo sauce and greens (Left Below). The dish came quite nicely presented but the salad surely overwhelmed the “star”; the cod cakes. Since my dish was supposed to be an entree, I thought the salad and the greens were a little too much. There were only 3 pieces of cod cakes and a whole bed of salad and greens. The seaweed salad while it was good wasn’t what I had expected. I had expected to see the green kind of seaweed salad like those found in Japanese restaurants. My “seaweed salad” was grated carrots and I guess shredded pieces of seaweed. The greens, on the other hand wasn’t very appealing. The cod cakes were good. I tasted pieces of fish and hardly noticed the potatoes. The dill mayo sauce paired very well with the cod cakes. Perhaps it’s mainly due to the reason that I’m a HUGE mayo fan! =) With the amount of greens and salad, I think this should be called a salad.

2) Blackened Salmon @ $13.95 - Wild Alaskan salmon, creole sauce, coconut jasmine rice, steamed broccoli (Right Below). Husband ordered this dish and when it came, a few of us actually thought it was a piece of chicken breast. The fish was smoldered in the creole sauce that it was hardly recognizable. The first impression that we had on the dish that it looked like something from the cafeteria. Husband commented that he felt like they did not put much effort in plating the dish together. I unfortunately have to agree with him. Flavor wise, I really like the coconut jasmine rice. The fish was pretty decent too….just perhaps a little too tiny?

Atmosphere and company was wonderful. The service was just ok. It surely took a long time for the wait staff to check on us and for us to pay our lunch. She might be a little overwhelmed with the party of 9 plus the her other customers I guess.

If you’re in beautiful downtown Lexington area and want a healthy lunch, do try out Nourish. Check out their menu HERE.

1727 Massachusetts Ave
Lexington, MA 02420
(781) 674-2400

Korean Sweet & Crispy Chicken Wings

2010-03-05T00:05:00.000-05:00

Crispy, sweet and addictive! I just love this Korean style chicken wings the husband made a couple weeks ago. The wings were so good, I wished we had more of them. Who wouldn’t like sweet and sticky caramelized wings. The hint of ginger and roasted sesame seeds brought the wings to another level. It was indeed finger licking good!!!! =) The wings still tasted delectable the very next day!

I found the recipe from David’s Lebovitz’s site (one of my favorite food blogs). This recipe was originally adapted from this Korean cook/chef, Maangchi. We (the husband) tweaked the recipe a little so, the wings may not be as crispy as it was supposed to be. We had problems with the batter, not quite adhering to the chicken wings so we added the white of a large egg to the batter. That coated the wings better and we still love the after effect. And we also made use of what we had in the pantry, incorporating some maple syrup. Here’s the recipe with our changes.

DAK GANG JUNG RECIPE

Ingredients:

1/4 Cup All-Purpose Flour
1/4 cup Corn Flour
1 Large Egg
1 Large Egg White
1 Tsp Salt
1/2 Tsp Chili Powder
14 Chicken Wing Segments
1/2 Cup Water
1- 3” piece of fresh ginger, peeled and thinly sliced
1-1/2 Tbsp Soy Sauce
1/2 Cup Light/Dark Brown Sugar, Packed
3 Tbsp Mirin
1/4 Cup + 2 Tbsp Corn Syrup
2 Tbsp Maple Syrup
1-2 Tbsp Toasted Sesame Seed
1 Tsp Red Chili Flakes
Oil

Method:

In a large bowl, mix together the flour, starch, egg, salt and 1/2 teaspoon ground chili pepper until it's a thick paste. Add the wings and mix with your hands until they're thoroughly coated. Let wings marinate for about 1 hour.

Deep fry the wings in a pot of hot oil over medium high heat, twice in batches. About 15 minutes the first time and 1-2 minutes the second time. Then drain well.

In a large pot or wok, bring to a boil the water, ginger, soy sauce, brown sugar, Mirin, corn syrup and syrup. Let cook until the mixture becomes syrupy and thick, and starts to foam. It should be about as thick as honey.

Turn off the heat and stir in the cooked wings, sesame seeds, and chili flakes, until completely coated.

June’s Comments: Don’t be afraid to use your elbow grease when you incorporate the wings and the sweet sticky sauce!!