Trader Joe's Mushroom and Herb Risotto

I'm super happy that there's a Trader Joe's very near me. I'm a fan of Trader Joe's prepared food and produce and found that the items are not quite reasonably priced. In fact some items at Trader Joe's are cheaper than the other grocery store I frequent. So, I buy few things that I know is cheap (or delicious) at TJ, and others at the other place.  I love their selection of international cuisine some pretty good, and some just ok.

Anyway, being a sucker for Italian food and mushrooms, I had to get this box of Mushroom & Herb Risotto I saw at TJ @ $1.99. Everything is prepackaged (rice and seasoning) and all I needed to do is add the oil and water. I had expected the rice to be par boiled for shorter cooking time, but it's not. So, the cooking time took a bit longer than I expected for this risotto. There were good amount of dried mushrooms, but of course like all pre-packaged food... the picture on the box is always better than the end result! And in this case, it's quite true... even though there were lots of dried mushrooms, the picture on the box looked more tempting.

I cooked the risotto per the instruction on the box but added a splash of wine and some chicken broth to cook the risotto. I forgot, but I think I might have to add a little more water than instructed to get the risotto in the consistency I wanted. And I couldn't help but finish it off with a drizzle of truffle oil. The taste of the risotto before my addition of truffle oil was pretty good; not too salty and had good amount of seasoning for a $2 product. At least this TJ product was better than my recent mushroom & herb risotto purchase which cost me about $3 and tasted very odd. I think I would get this again in the future....it's the perfect serving for 2 people!

PS: This is my personal review and I'm not affiliated with Trader Joe's for this product review.

Simply June 

Must Love SPAM - Hawaiian Inspired Loco Moco, My Version

I've never had Loco Moco until I moved to California. And in the 5 months, we've been here... I've eaten/tasted it 3 times and fairly enjoyed it. The first time I tasted it was at a Japanese restaurant in LA, when the husband ordered a Hamburg Curry Loco Moco Style. It thought it was a weird name and dish...but it was interestingly good.  A couple weeks after that, we scored tickets to the LA Food and Wine festival and one of the best dishes I ate was Sam Choy's Loco Moco. Honestly, I did not know what I ate (at first) but I knew it was SOOOO GOOD.. my friends agreed with me too.... That Loco Moco, came with fried rice, delicious hamburger patty, sunny side up egg with luscious runny yolk and to die to sauce. We tried to go for seconds, and they ran out already. Boo! If only Mr. Sam has a restaurant in the LA area! Anyway, the third time I tried some Loco Moco was at a Hawaiian food chain restaurant; L&L Hawaiian Barbecue. That one looked a bit greasy and tasted ok.

If you are new to Loco Moco, I guess it's basically, rice with burger patties, sunny side up eggs and gravy. It's sort of a Hawaiian comfort food. Not sure what Loco Moco meant, but  don't mind eating more Loco Mocos!

Anyway, with a package of ground pork in the freezer and some SPAM meat (get over it, I love SPAM!) in the fridge, I decided to make my own version of loco moco. There weren't enough SPAM for me to just pan fry it for the husband and I, so I decided to incorporate it into the burger patties. If I had more SPAM, I would have added more. Lol!

Here's my version of Loco Moco... don't be afraid of SPAM!  The recipe is just for the burger patty and gravy. Prepare about 5 servings of steamed white rice and sunny side up eggs (1 or 2  eggs per serving) to go with the burger and gravy! Can't get more Hawaiian that this, Spam & Loco Moco! All I need is my hula skirt and ukelele!

SPAM (PORK) BURGER PATTIES & GRAVY RECIPE
*Makes 10 patties (5 servings)

Spam Burger Patties Ingredients

• 1 lb Ground Pork (not too lean)
• 3-4 Oz Spam, Finely Chopped
• 1 Stalk Green Onion, Finely Chopped
• 1/2 Medium Onion, Grated
• 2 Tsp Garlic Powder
• 1/2 Tsp Salt
• 1/4 Tsp Ground Black Pepper
• 1-1/2 Tbsp Oil

Gravy Ingredients

• 3/4 Cup Low Sodium Chicken Stock (or More if needed )
• 4 Tbsp All Purpose Flour
• 1 Tbsp Soy Sauce
• 2 Tsp Sugar
• 3 Tbsp Ketchup
• Ground Pepper

Method

Mix all the ingredients except the oil in a bowl. Divide the mixture into about 10 portions and shape them into a ball then slightly flatten them in a 2" diameter disc, keeping the edges smooth. Make a little dent in the middle of the patties so that the burgers will cook evenly.

Heat 1-1/2 tbsp of oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Once oil is hot, place the burger patties onto the pan and let the patties cook for about 3-4 minutes then flip to continue cooking the other side for another 3-4 minutes or until patties are brown and cooked through. The patties should feel somewhat firm when done. Remove the patties and set aside. Do not discard the oil/drippings as you'll use it for the gravy. 

Sieve the oil/drippings into a sauce pan over medium heat. Add flour and stir to let mixture combine. Then whisk in 3/4 Cup of chicken stock, soy sauce, ketchup and sugar. Whisk and let the gravy simmer over medium heat. If the gravy is too thick, add a little more chicken stock or water. Ground some black pepper and the sauce is ready.

Assemble your Loco Moco

Prepare 5 servings of steamed white rice and 5 (or 10) sunny side up eggs. Place 2 spam burger patties and desired amount of eggs on each serving of rice. Drizzle with the gravy and enjoy immediately!

Enjoy!

Simply June 

2 Rotis for Lunch

Frozen roti canai/ roti pratha is probably one of the easiest Malaysian food I can get in the US and I'm very thankful for that. I can't imagine myself trying to make roti canai; twirling and tossing the dough (almost like making a pizza I guess) and make a couple Malaysian pancake/crepe just to satisfy cravings. So, I'm very thankful to be able to get them at most Asian grocery stores and even Trader Joe's; just look for them at the frozen food sections. Some brands are no doubt better than others. Trader Joe's roti pratha are pre-cooked and not as flaky as I liked it to be......but it's inexpensive and is the most convenient option for me.. I can just walk down the street to get it. I think my favorite is Kawan brand, which comes in 5 frozen (flatten) dough that you need to cook until golden brown and will give you a nice crisp flaky delicious  result. No oil required to cooked these roti canais since they are already laden with grease.

Anyway, I "made" lunch one day and decided to fry up some Roti Canai. I was craving for some smoke salmon cream cheese with bread, and decided to spread it over roti canai instead. It was a pretty delicious choice for my limited pantry. I like this combination! I wonder what it would taste if I added some smoked salmon over the cheese? Mmmmm....

After I devoured my "entree", I decided to make dessert; Roti Kaya. No rocket science to making this, just again cook the roti canai/roti pratha per instruction and spread a thin layer of kaya (coconut egg jam). I could make my own kaya if I wanted, but since I had a store bought one in the pantry, I used that instead....and voila, dessert!

Have fun trying!

Simply June 

Hainanese Chicken Rice

Updated December 14, 2013

Hainanese Chicken Rice is one of the best Malaysian comfort food, and most ingredients are easily obtainable in the US. Hainanese Chicken Rice is very popular in Malaysian and Singapore and it is usually served with some cucumber, soy sauce, chili sauce and complimentary soup. To make it your own, it's pretty easy although there are many optional parts to make up the delicious comfort food.

Since the husband chose to have Hainanese Chicken Rice for dinner 2 days ago, I've decided it's the perfect time to note down the ingredients, method and all of how I make my Hainanese Chicken Rice.  I usually like to use chicken thigh instead of whole chicken, but in this recipe I'll be using chicken legs (thigh + drumsticks) as that was what I had in the freezer. I usually make the fragrant/flavored rice in a rice cooker, so if you do not have one.. it's ok.. you'll just need to adjust your cooking method a little. I don't have the instructions for cooking rice in a regular pot, as I'm pretty bad at it. =( I believe there are 2 ways to prepare the chicken; by steaming it or by boiling it. I've always cooked mine the latter.

I make chicken rice (via boiling method) very often but I've never written down the recipe and exact measurements. However, due to some requests for the recipe lately, I know that I needed to put everything down on paper...and after posting a picture of the HCR on Facebook and getting an overwhelming response of "likes" and comments, I was glad I took the time to write the ingredients and steps on paper that day. My friends have requested for the recipe and I have to say I had a success story when my friend was very thrilled with the way her HCR turned out based on my over the Facebook rough instructions. I can't take all the credit as she did the cooking and made the adjustments... I just told her what to do and what to use!

The Hainanese Chicken Rice in Malaysia does not come with the ginger garlic/scallion sauce.  I first fell in love with this sauce when I ate a steamed chicken from a Chinese restaurant in Chicago. This sauce is quite commonly served with steamed chicken in Asian restaurants. So, I now always make this dipping sauce every time I make Hainanese Chicken Rice and the husband loves it! For a guy who likes spicy food, he prefers the ginger garlic sauce over chili sauce when he eats his chicken rice. As for the chili dipping sauce, I've always just gotten them from the store; most bottled chili sauce (typically from Indonesia/Malaysia or Thailand) works for me.

Here's the lengthy instruction to make some Hainanese Chicken Rice. The list will look tremendously long and tedious, but it's really not that bad...and will be oh-so-worth it once you sit down and enjoy your meal. Here's the recipe!

HAINANESE CHICKEN RICE RECIPE
*Serves 3-4

Part (A) - Hainanese Chicken 
Ingredients

• 6-8 Chicken Thighs
• 2-3 Inch Ginger, Sliced
• 10 Cup Water
• 1-1/2 Tsp Salt
• Ice Water Bath

Method

In a large pot, let 10 cups of water and ginger come to a boil over medium high heat. Trim the chicken to remove access chicken fat and skin. Gently score the meat closest to the bone to slightly detach it to ensure shorter cooking time. Do not completely remove the bone.

Once water is boiling slowly add chicken thighs and salt. Make sure water covers the chicken, if not add a little more water. Let the chicken boil for about 15 minutes over medium high heat. Using a ladle, gently remove as much of the "white foamy scum" and as much fat from the soup. Then, reduce heat to medium low and let chicken legs simmer for about 20-25 minutes or until chicken legs are cooked. To test wether the chicken is cooked, careful remove a piece of chicken, and poke the chicken (nearest to the bone). If the liquid runs clear, that means the chicken is cooked. If pink juice flows out, continue cooking for a few more minutes.

Once cooked, remove from heat and place immediately in a ice water bath for about 5-10 minutes. Then, remove from ice water bath, let it drain, slice chicken thighs (bone in or out) and set aside.

Do not discard the chicken broth from boiling the chicken as it will be used multiple times throughout the recipe.

Part (B) - (Chicken) Flavored Rice

Ingredients

• 10 Cloves Garlic, Chopped (About 3 Tbsp)
• 1 Tbsp Sesame Oil
• 1 Tbsp Vegetable Oil
• 2 Cups Uncooked Jasmine Rice, Washed
• 2 Inch Ginger, Sliced
• Chicken Broth (from Part A) sufficient to cook your rice.
• 2-3 Pandan Leaves, Knotted
• Pinch of Salt

Method

In a frying pan, heat 1 Tbsp of Sesame Oil and 1 Tbsp of Vegetable Oil over medium heat. Add chopped garlic and sauté until garlic is golden brown. Remove fried garlic and set aside. Do not wash frying pan. 

Over medium high heat, add 2 tbsp of the fried garlic (and some garlic oil) into the same frying pan. Add sliced ginger and rice and stir fry the rice for about 5 minutes. Transfer "fried" rice into a rice cooker and add leftover chicken broth from Part A. Add pandan leaves, a pinch (or two) of salt, and turn on the rice cooker and let it work its magic. 

The remainder of the fried garlic (and oil) will be used in Part C for the Soy Dipping Sauce to go with the chicken rice.

June's Comments: Add sufficient liquid to the rice, as how you would usually cook plain rice. Don't make the rice too al dente, though. It needs to be soft, fluffy and fragrant. I've been using the pressure cooker to make my rice, and do not use as much liquid. Adding the extra chicken fat and skin from the broth when cooking the rice makes it extra fragrant!

Part (C) - Soy Dipping Sauce (for rice and chicken)

Ingredients

• Fried Garlic + oil from (Part B)
• 2 Tbsp Dark Sweet Soy Sauce
• 3 Tbsp Light Soy Sauce 
• 1 Tbsp Oyster Sauce
• 4 - 6 Tbsp Chicken Broth (from Part A)

Method

Mix all ingredients listed above in a bowl and set aside till serving time. 

Part (D) - Ginger Garlic Dipping Sauce

Ingredients

• 8-10 Garlic Cloves, Finely Minced (About 3 Tbsp)
• 2 Stalk Green Onions/Scallion, Finely Chopped (About 3 Tbsp)
• 2 Inch Ginger, Peeled & Finely Minced (About 3 Tbsp)
• 8 Tbsp Vegetable Oil
• 1-1/2 Tsp Salt

Method

Mix all ingredients listed above in a bowl and set aside till serving time.

June's Comments: Must use fresh garlic. Do not use pre minced ones from the store. 

Part (E) - Optional Soup

Ingredients

• Remaining chicken broth from Part (A)
• 8-10 Fish Balls
• Dash of pepper
• 1 Stalk Green Onion/Scallion, Chopped
• Salt to tast

Method

Heat remaining chicken broth from Part A over medium high heat. Add fish balls and let them cook until they are "floating" and slightly "bloated". Season with pepper and salt if needed and garnish with chopped green onion before serving.

TO SERVE

Ahh... finally the serving and eating part. Community style would be easiest, that way everyone can take as much as they want. Drizzle some soy dipping sauce over the chicken thigh platter and serve with some sliced cucumbers. Serve rice warm, don't forget to bring out the tasty dipping sauces and simple soup! Enjoy!

*Sorry for the crappy picture. This was an older picture taken with my phone.

Simply June 

Egg & Chinese Sausage Fried Rice

Fried Rice is often associated with Chinese. The husband and I often joked that whenever we travel overseas, he needs to go to get his fix of Chinese Fried Rice....One reason being...he can never live without his rice and second reason being there's always a Chinese restaurant everywhere you go.. and sometimes in the least expected town out of no where.... you'll find a Chinese take out restaurant.

My fridge was getting empty and I'm still trying to maximize everything before I stock up at the grocery store. No, it's not that the grocery store is far from me, in fact I can easily walk there in 5 minutes! It's just being lazy and trying to make sure I utilize as much as I have first before buying more food.

Chinese Sausage is one thing that keeps pretty well, and it's something that I will usually have in my fridge. I love it in fried rice as well as dishes like Claypot Chicken Rice. Chinese Sausages (or more fondly known as Lap Cheong in Cantonese are like many western cured dry sausages like salami and chorizo. Lap Cheong is sweet and salty, and unlike Chorizo it's not spicy. I believe Chinese Sausages are mostly cooked before consuming unlike the salami where you can just sliced it up and munch it with some cheese and wine.

Combining my 2 favorite items; chinese sausage and eggs and a limited pantry, I made egg & chinese sausage fried rice. In this recipe, I cooked the egg separately as I prefer bigger chunks of scrambled egg. Overnight rice is the best option for fried rice, so that you do not get wet soggy fried rice. I planned ahead for this meal by cooking extra rice the night before so that I have extra rice for today's dinner menu. Here's the recipe!

EGG & CHINESE SAUSAGE FRIED RICE RECIPE
*Serves 3-4

Ingredients

• 4 Chinese Sausage, Casing Removed & Sausages Sliced Thinly
• 3 Crabstick, Sliced (Optional)
• 4 Large Eggs, Lightly Beaten with 1 Tsp Soy Sauce
• 4 Cups Overnight Rice
• 1 Cup Frozen Peas (or Frozen Mixed Vegetable)
• 2-3 Cloves Garlic, Chopped
• 2 + 1 Tsp Tbsp Vegetable Oil
• 1 Tbsp Oyster Sauce
• 2 Tbsp Premium Light Soy Sauce 
• 2-3 Dash of White Pepper,  ( or To Taste)
• 1 Stalk Green Onion, Chopped

Method
Heat wok over medium high heat. Stir in sliced chinese sausage and let the fat render. Once the sausages are slightly brown, remove sausages from heat and place in a bowl. Do not clean the wok.

Add in 1 tsp of oil into the same work and add beaten eggs. Stir it occasionally and break the eggs into pieces. Continue cooking the egg until you get a dry scrambled egg consistency. Remove scrambled eggs from heat and place with the sausages. Do not clean the wok.

Heat 2 tbsp of oil in the same wok over medium high heat Then add chopped garlic and sliced crabsticks and saute mixture until garlic is slightly brown. Add frozen peas and continue to stir mixture until peas are defrosted. Reduce heat to medium, then add overnight rice, chinese sausages, scrambled eggs, oyster sauce, light soy sauce and dashes of white pepper into the wok. Stir occasionally for about 4-5 minutes so that everything is mixed well. Serve immediately with sprinkles of chopped green onions.

June's Comments : As the chinese sausages are already salty, I try not to add too much sodium to the rice. If you eat every spoonful of fried rice with a piece ( or two) of the chinese sausages, that should give you enough sodium in every bite! 
You can get Chinese Sausages in most Asian grocery stores, and even some American grocery stores ( if there's a huge Asian population in the area). You can even get it on Amazon.com ( this is the brand I use).  

Simply June 

Easy Udon Miso Soup

After a weekend of hosting friends at our place which also involves a whole lot of non stop eating and drinking. I wanted something lighter and healthier for the husband and I. OK, maybe the side of panko crusted shrimp with my noodles isn't the healthiest option....but it was good (and easy to make!!). =)

This posting is actually for my brother. Since we moved, he now doesn't have his sister to make dinner for him. In my recent conversation with him, I told him that I will come make some easy stuff and post it here for him. This way, he doesn't have to spend too much time to make dinner after work or spend too mch money eating out!

With the right ingredients in your fridge/pantry, you could easily make this miso noodle soup quickly. It's perfect pick me up on a cold gloomy day or bright sunny days like in California.

Udon is a thick Japanese wheat noodle and while I used udon in my noodle soup, feel free to use soba noodles or even pasta! I usually find my udon in the refrigerated section of the Asian grocery store and even the American stores. You can also find dried udon but I've yet to try them out. As for Soba noodles, most Asian aisle in your local grocery store would carry them in a dry form. You'll need to cook the noodles first before using them. Here's the recipe for one hot delicious (and quite healthy) bowl of udon miso soup!

EASY UDON MISO SOUP RECIPE
*Serves 1
Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp White Miso (plus a little more if you want it a a little more salty)
• 1/2 Tsp Dashi Granules
• 2 Cups Water
• 1 Bundle/Package fresh Udon noodles, blanched
• 1 Tsp Chopped Green Onions 
• Small bundle of shimeji mushrooms (optional)
• 1 -2 Pcs of Crab Stick, blanched (optional)
• 2-3 Slices Japanese Fish Cake (optional)
• Handful of your favorite vege, blanched (optional)
• Thin Shreds of Nori (optional)

Method
In a small pot, add dashi and water and let the mixture come to a boil over medium high heat.  Then, add mushrooms and japanese fish cake and let it simmer until mushrooms are soft. Ladle about 1/2 cup of stock into a bowl, and carefully whisk in the miso until smooth. Pour the miso mixture back into the pot and turn off heat once the miso soup starts to simmer.

In a bowl, add the blanched Udon (or noodle of choice), crab stick and vege. Carefully ladle the hot soup along with the fish cake and mushrooms over the noodles. Top with chopped green onions and shreds of nori. Enjoy immediately!

Notes: There're various kind of miso and some of the most popular ones are white (Shiromiso), red (Akimiso) and mixed (Awasemiso). The differences between these miso are the the intensity and the saltiness. White miso being the mildness has the shortest fermentation time. If you do not have white miso in your pantry, feel free to use red miso. You might need to readjust the quantity of the miso though to get the correct level of saltiness to your preference.


Simply June 

Braised Chicken & Mushroom

I made a huge pot of delicious hot and sour Chai Boey (literally translates to leftover) soup yesterday. I guess in the olden days and perhaps till today, the soup is partly made using left overs. Even though I know the husband and I can devour the soup with a bowl of rice, I had to cook a protein dish partly so that the husband has something to bring to work for lunch the next day. Soup is little messy to bring in a container, so a chicken dish it is!

I make dinner almost every weeknight and will usually cook a little more for the next day's lunch. It's a habit that I've been doing even when I'm working. It's nice to save a little bit of lunch money and I guess know what goes into your tummy. =) The money we save on weekday dinner/lunchs goes into out eating out escapades on the weekends.

Using whatever I had in the pantry and the fridge, I made a braised chicken and mushroom dish. The recipe might differ sometimes depending on what I have on hand. I usually do not add the snow peas to this dish, but couldn't help to add a pop of color into the dish. Plus mommy said I must eat my vege! Here's the recipe of the braised chicken and mushroom we had last night.

BRAISED CHICKEN & MUSHROOM RECIPE

Ingredients

• 4 Pieces Chicken Thigh, Cut into Pieces
• 1 Can Straw Mushroom, Drained
• 2 Inch Carrots, Sliced Thick
• 2-3 Oz Snow Peas
• 1/2 Medium Red Onion, Cut into wedges
• 2 Inch Ginger, Sliced
• 2-3 Garlic Cloves, Smashed
• 4-6 Pcs Dried Chili (for more heat, cut chili into pieces)
• 1 Stalk Green Onion, Cut into 1 inch 
• 2 Tbsp Sesame Oil
• 1 Tbsp Oyster Sauce
• 1 Tbsp Dark (Sweet) Soy Sauce
• 1 Tbsp Light Soy Sauce
• 2 Tbsp Chinese Rice Wine
• 1/2 Cup Water 
• 3 Tsp Cornflour + 2 Tbsp Water Mixture

Method

Heat sesame oil in a wok over medium high heat. When oil is hot, add dried chili, ginger, garlic and sautee till slightly golden. Add chicken thigh, mushroom, onion, carrot, oyster sauce, dark soy sauce and light soy sauce. Stir fry chicken until the meat is no longer pink, add rice wine and 1/2 cup water. Reduce heat to medium, and let chicken simmer for about 10-15 minutes. Add in snow peas and green onion. Stir in cornflour mixture and cook until sauce thickens. Serve immediately with warm rice.

Simply June 

Zucchini Blossoms

Well, hello again! We're now nicely settled in our new house and bits and pieces of stuff to do....I think we're very comfortable at our permanent home (good bye temporary corporate apartment...though I miss the cleaning services provided) and loving the new place! And we can't wait to be able to host parties and have friends over! I'll blog more on perhaps what we've done to the place in another entry..

Back to the main topic of this entry.....Zucchini Blossoms!!! Ever since I tried Fried Zucchini Blossoms for the very first time in Rome, I was hooked! This was a while back and while I never really got to try it again at restaurants, I had been looking for fresh blossoms to try to make them myself. All these years, I had a hard time finding it at the local grocer back in the east coast. I remember the fried Zucchini Blossoms being absolutely delicious...it was crispy, yet so delicate with a delicious savory cheesy filling  ....and having it on the streets in Rome near the Pantheon was a bonus experience!

You had to see the excitement when I found them at a local Farmer's Market. I had wanted to check out the vendor selling Asian greens as we're quite deprived from them even though we're only about 45 minutes from LA. The grocery stores around the area only have bok choy and perhaps napa cabbage. This Asian green vendor has a good selection of Asian greens at very reasonable prices, and that was where I got my bag of beautiful zucchini blossoms. A bag of 20 blossoms for $2! Can you believe it???  I couldn't say no; got a bag of it and some other vegetables!

2 days later, this was what I made! Stuffed Zucchini Blossoms with lemon herb ricotta filling. While I enjoyed the light and crispy batter (I used beer, rice flour and all purpose flour).. I thought my filling lacked a little something. Perhaps something more savory. My friend had suggested mozzarella and anchovy filling which sounded really good..so I might try it the next time I got a bag of the flowers again. In the mean time, do you have a stuffed zucchini blossom recipe for me to try and fall in love with?


Simply June

My Birthday Meal

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!

Excuse My French…….

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?

Chicken Cacciatore

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.

Have Food / Wine, Will Eat!

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!

Taco Dinner

  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!

Food & Wine Pairing

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. =)

Udon & Plum Wine

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. =)

Olive Garden Sweepstake

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!! =)