Chicken Curry with Pineapple and Potatoes

Jan 26, 2010

 

I love curry but surprisingly I don't recall ever making it at home. I always think it's too complicated to make so I just leave it to the professionals to make it for me. Whenever I see it on a menu at a restaurant whether it be green, red, or yellow, mild or spicy, I must order it because I just love this stuff.  I love the sauce more than anything with my rice. The creaminess of the coconut milk has a velvety texture in my mouth with a party of flavors bursting inside from all the spices while the heat just dances away. I can't get enough of this stuff as I savor it one bite at a time. What's not to love about curry? I've been missing it lately and I knew I had to make it sooner or later. Tonight, I'm on a mission to make it for dinner. I didn't really know know where to begin but here I go. My mis en place contains chicken, garlic, coconut milk, curry powder, ginger powder, red chili peppers, and other seasonings. 

The outcome was surprisingly delicious as if I was dining at a restaurant. All the components of what I like about curry was right in front of me, and I made it.

Ingredients: 

1 tbs of vegetable oil

1 clove of garlic, minced

1 boneless chicken breast, cut into strips

1 1/2 tbs of curry powder

1 tsp of ginger powder

1 tsp of garlic salt

2 tbs of Thai fish sauce

2 medium potatoes, chopped

3 red chilies, chopped, seeded if desired

1 tbs of lime juice

1 cup of coconut milk

1 1/2 cup of pineapple, chunk

Directions:

Over medium pan, heat oil and saute garlic. Add chicken and saute until golden brown.

Add curry powder, ginger powder, garlic salt, and fish sauce. Saute ingredients for 2-3 minutes

Add potatoes, lime juice, coconut milk, red chilies, and pineapple and simmer for 10-15 minutes.

Steak with Spinach Cashew

Jan 23, 2010

I've been missing steak and I wanted it tonight for dinner. A simple marinade will do with a little soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, chili pepper, olive oil, and pepper. Grill it on the cast iron grill at home and it'll almost taste like it's been cooked on the grill. For the side dish, no baked potato tonight but some greens of spinach, bacon, and cashew nuts. Yes, Cashew nuts from the Philippines that my mom brought back on her trip which was given to me by my lovely cousin, Ate Au.  These cashew nuts are naked and taste sweet, and once I eat one I have to have more and more. Lately, I've been adding bacon to everything. I think I'm addicted to bacon which I don't mind at all. Who wouldn't like a smoky buttery piece of meat unless you're vegetarian or vegan of course.

Ingredients: 
5 tbs of soy sauce
4 tbs of teriyaki sauce
1 tbs of worcestershire sauce
2 tbs of olive oil
1/2 tsp of chili pepper
1/2 tsp of paprika
1/2 tsp of black pepper
2 8oz sirloin steak or any other cuts
2 slices of bacon
1/4 cup of cashew, unsalted
1 clove of garlic, sliced
1 12 oz bag of spinach
salt and pepper to taste

 Directions:
Combine soy sauce, teriyaki sauce, worcestershire sauce, chili pepper, paprika, black pepper in a plastic bag and mix well. Add the steak and marinate it for 3 hours or longer.
Heat cast iron grill or bbq grill. Cook steaks for 3-4 minutes on each side for medium rare or 130-135 degrees. Let the steaks rest for 5 minutes before cutting otherwise the juices will spill over the plate instead of staying in the meat.
In a pan, cook bacon until crisp and set aside. Saute cashews until golden brown and set aside. Saute garlic until golden brown. Add spinach and saute until wilted. Season with salt and pepper. Crumble bacon and add to spinach, and add cashews.

Restaurant Review: Smoke Eaters - Hot Wings

Jan 22, 2010

It's about 5:30 pm on a Friday evening with a light drizzle of rain. My friend and I decided to stop by Smoke Eaters - Hot Wings as we were in the downtown area. This place was featured on Man vs. Food where Adam Richman takes on the Hellfire Challenge of eating 12 of the hottest wings. The place had a several customers at the bar and a table full of loud college students which made the place seem like the place was packed. We ordered  10 wings, half atomic, half nuclear. The atomic sauce was sweet, vinegary, and tangy with a nice spice at the end. The nuclear was like the atomic except towards the middle of the bite, the spiciness starts to kick in much much faster. I felt nice and warm after eating the nuclear hot wings with a tingle to my mouth that I wanted to cool off with celery and blue cheese dressing. The celery was cut unto small bit size pieces rather than celery sticks that I'm used to when eating hot wings.  I much rather preferred the sticks which are a lot easier to handle with my fingers. Overall, the wings were very tasty and I would return here to try the next level  of spiciness.Would I ever do the challenge? Probably not? Maybe if I had enough practice.

The only way to wash down hot wings is a jar of Blue Moon beer with orange wedges of course.

Deviled Hot Dogs

Jan 21, 2010

Deviled Hot Dogs are sweet, tangy, and bite size delicious. They're wonderful appetizers, just stick a fancy toothpick to them and it'll be a sure hit to any party. Mr. T introduced me to deviled hot dogs a while ago and I remember the first time I had them, they were way too salty. I tried to wash off the sauce but there was too late to save. He called his mom immediately and asked what he did wrong and she said "Come to think of it, I never added salt." Ever since then he never added salt and they're perfect. Tonight, he made them and they're delicious.

Ingredients:

2 tbs of butter

1/2 cup of finely chopped onions

1 lb of hot dogs, cut into bite size pieces

3/4 cup of katsup

2 tbs of mustard

1 tbs of worchestshire

2 tbs of brown sugar

Directions

Melt butter over medium heat on a saute pan, add onions and saute for 2-3 minutes. Add hot dogs and saute until golden brown.

Add katsup, mustard, worcestershire sauce, and brown sugar and simmer for 10 minutes.

Chicken with Rosemary

Jan 18, 2010

I've never really used Rosemary until recently and I love it. It goes well with everything especially poultry with its minty, woodsy, and earthy aroma. Nothing more simple than chicken with rosemary. A little marinade of olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and of course rosemary is what is needed on this chicken breast. The crunchiness of the skin is music to my ears, and the buttery taste of it is of course mouthwatering. This chicken came out juicy, tender, and delicious. I can't think of a better dinner than this along with some roasted vegetables.

Ingredients: 

2 chicken breast

3 tbs of olive oil

2 tbs of balsamic vinegar

3 tsp of freshly chopped rosemary

1 clove of garlic, chopped

salt and pepper to taste

Directions: 

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and marinate for at least 20 minutes

Heat oven to 400 degrees

Place chicken skin side up and cook for 40 minutes or until temp reaches 165 degrees

Pink Butter Cookies & White Chocolate Chips and Toffee Biscotti

Jan 16, 2010

I spent the afternoon with my friend, Jennifer and her adorable girls who are growing up so fast. I remember when they were tiny tots barely crawling and now they're 4 and 3 walking, talking, and excellent little helpers in the kitchen. They love making cookies with Auntie Janice especially when they're pink and  I love making cookies with them. We made butter cookies, dyed it pink, and sprinkled them with sprinkles. They were very happy with the pink cookies.

Ingredients - adapted from Taste of Home Holiday Christmas Cookies and Candies

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon water
• 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
• 2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• Red  food coloring
• Sugar Sprinkles

Directions

• In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in water and extract. Gradually beat in flour and mix well. Place 1/3 cup each in two small bowls. Add red food coloring to one and green to the other; set aside.
• Shape remaining dough into twelve 1-in. balls and twelve 1-1/2-in. balls. Place one smaller ball above one larger ball on ungreased baking sheets; flatten slightly.
• For each snowman, shape 2 teaspoons of colored dough into a hat; place above head. For scarf, shape 1/4 teaspoon of each color into a 3-in. rope; twist ropes together, leaving one end untwisted. Place scarf around snowman's neck. Insert jimmies for eyes and nose.
• Bake at 350° for 15-18 minutes or until set. Cool on baking sheets. Yield: 1 dozen.

For us grown up, we decided to make Biscotti Cookies to go along with our hot tea. This cookie is crisp, buttery, and delicious.

 

Ingredients - adapted from taste of home holiday Christmas Cookies

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 3 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup of white chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup of toffee 
  

Directions

• In a large bowl, cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well. Stir in toffee bits.
• Divide dough in half. On a parchment paper-lined baking sheet, shape each portion into a 10-in. x 2-1/2-in. rectangle. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
• Bake at 350° for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown. Cool for 10 minutes. Transfer to a cutting board; cut diagonally with a serrated knife into 1/2-in. slices.
• Place slices cut side down on ungreased baking sheets. Bake for 20-24 minutes or until golden brown, turning once. Remove to wire racks to cool. Store in an airtight container. Yield: about 2-1/2 dozen.

German-Style Bratwurst and Sauerkraut

Jan 13, 2010

A few days ago I bought these gorgeous green crisp cabbage thinking I would make sauerkraut and use it that same day until I read the recipe...silly me. I didn't realize that sauerkraut took a few weeks to make that it needed to ferment. Since I was craving sauerkraut, I returned to the store, I guess I'll have to settle for store bought sauerkraut for now until I make my own homemade.

I love sauerkraut with its crunchiness, sourness, sweetness, and acidity as it's a must accompaniment for bratwurst, polish, and the reuben.  Made from shredded cabbage the process of making sauerkraut is like making pickles or kimchi. Surfing  around the net, I came across an easy resume from cooksrecipe.com of German Style Bratwurst and Sauerkraut that I had to make for dinner. Below is the recipe, the dish was delicious. The potatoes, apples, sauerkrat, and bratwurst was delicious, and washed it down with a nice dark beer of course.  


 German-Style Bratwurst and Sauerkraut

1 pound bratwurst (5 links)
6 slices bacon
1 small onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 32-oz. can sauerkraut, rinsed and well drained
2 medium potatoes, peeled and sliced
1 cup water
1/2 cup dry white wine or apple juice
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon instant chicken bouillon granules
1 teaspoon caraway seed
1 bay leaf
1 large apple, cored and sliced

1. In a large skillet cook bacon over medium-high heat until crisp. Bacon can be drained and set aside for another use. Reserve 2 tablespoons drippings in skillet.
2. Cook onion and garlic in skillet over medium heat until tender, stirring occasionally.
3. Stir in sauerkraut, potatoes, water, wine, brown sugar, bouillon, caraway and bay leaf. Add up to 1/2 cup more water, if necessary, to cover potatoes. Bring to boiling.
4. Score bratwurst; add to sauerkraut mixture and reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes or until potatoes are just tender, stirring occasionally.
5. Add the sliced apple; cover and cook for 5 to 10 minutes more or until apples are just tender. Remove bay leaf and serve.

Spaghetti alla Carbonara

Jan 11, 2010

Bacon to any recipe is my kind of dish and when you put that into pasta along with cheese it will definitely be a sure hit. I have always made the red tomato sauce for spaghetti so when I saw a cheese sauce in one of my cookbooks I knew I had to make it for dinner. Spaghetti alla Carbonara is simple to make, a sauce made with eggs and cream, bacon, and parmesan cheese are the only ingredients to make this dish. I was shocked that I never made it before and I'm going to love making this dish with it's smokiness, saltiness, and ooey gooey sauce make all the components of this dish delicious. 

Ingredients: adapted from Comfort Food

1 lbs of dried spaghetti

8 oz of panchetta or bacon, chopped

4 eggs

5 tbs of cream

salt and pepper to taste

4 tbs of freshly grated Parmesan cheese

chili flakes (optional) 

Directions: 

Cook pasta according to package

Over medium heat, cook bacon until crisp

Beat the eggs and the cream in a small bowl and season with salt and pepper

Drain the pasta and return to pan. Tip the contents of the skillet, then add the egg mixture and half the Parmesan cheese. Stir well then transfer to a warmed serving dish.

Sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan cheese, and chili flakes (optional)

Braised Short Ribs with Rosemary

Jan 10, 2010

Everyday when I walk my dog I pass by this huge Rosemary bush around my complex and my olfactory senses are awaken. There's something about the woodsy minty earthy fragrance of Rosemary that will do that to me and I couldn't resist taking (borrowing) some sprigs today.

What goes better with Rosemary than meat and I know exactly which one. For dinner I had to make one my favorite cuts of meat, Beef Short Ribs. It's meaty, juicy, and absolutely delicious.

Ingredients:
2 slices of Bacon
2 lbs of Beef Short Ribs
2 Carrots, chopped
2 Celery stalks,chopped
1 1/2 cup of beef stock
5 cloves of Garlic, peeled
1  Rosemary sprig
2 bay leaves

salt and pepper to taste


Directions:
Heat pan over medium heat. Cook bacon until crisp and set aside.
Season Short Ribs with salt and pepper. Brown Short Ribs in drippings on all sides. Set aside
Add celery, carrots, and saute until fork tender.
Add stock and scrape off brown bits from the pan. Return ribs to pan, add rosemary sprig, bay leaves, garlic.
Simmer for 1 1/2 hour

Top Chef's vending machine deviled eggs

Jan 8, 2010

I am a huge fan of Top Chef and I was ecstatic when my dear friend, Chau surprised me with a copy of the book Top Chef The Quickfire Cookbook for Christmas. I enjoy watching the show and often times I wished I was one of the judges tasting the food on those quickfire challenges. If only I could be Padma for just one day. As a chef'testant I'm sure it must be nerve wrecking to be competing with other talented chefs knowing only one dish is the winner and knowing that there could only be one Top Chef. The book is inspring and features many wonderful recipes for home cooks to try. The book isn't all about just the recipes though, it allows readers and fans to go behind the scenes with producers on how they come up with the concept of the challenges.

For tonight, I thought I'd start with the first recipe which is Ilan's corner-store deviled eggs from season 2, episode 4: Create an amuse-bouche with $10 of ingredients from a vending machine. Ilan used CornNuts for his vending machine product which was extremely creative, along with salami, eggs, olive oil, paprika, oregano, and zest and juice of lime. Since I didn't have the CornNuts and Salami, I used gold fish and bacon. It was very interesting indeed. Instead of lime, I used tangering since that's what I had and it turned out too tangeriney for me, sweet and citrusy. I'll still have to try Ilan's deviled eggs recipe.

My free bag of Stacy's Pita Chips

Jan 7, 2010

I finally received my coupon in the mail today for a free bag of Stacy's Pita Chip for becoming a fan on Facebook. These pita chips are baked not fried and come in a variety of flavor which I like. I dip them in hummus or artichoke or with nothing at all. When I eat these, I don't feel guilty as eating a bag of fried potato chips. So if you want a free bag, be sure to become a fan on facebook.

Korean BBQ Spring Salad with a Tangerine Honey Dressing

Jan 5, 2010

To start the new year right, I decided to make a salad with my favorite ingredients: spring salad greens, edamame, cucumber, walnuts, tangerine, and Korean bbq of course since I love Korean food. I forget about eating salads in the winter time because it gets cold and I crave a bowl of soup or stew but then again I'm in California and it's about 65-70 degrees outside. Since I've started working out again like very body else at my gym. I do like my meals light so I feel lighter and last longer unlike a heavy meal that will drag me down or make me sleepy.  My salad doesn't take long to make except for the Korean bbq which I make ahead of time or any meat or poultry will do.

Ingredients:
2 tbs of rice wine vinegar
1 tbs of sesame oil
1 1/2 tbs of tangerine juice or orange juice
1 tbs of honey
salt and pepper to taste
3 cups of spring salad mix
2 Roma tomatoes, sliced
1/4 cup of edamame
1 tangerine, peeled and sectioned
1/4 cup of cucumber, juliened
3 tbs of walnuts, chopped
2-3 Korean BBQ (see recipe here)

Directions:
In a large bowl, whisk together  vinegar, sesame oil, tangerine juice, and honey. Season with salt and pepper. Combine, spring salad mix,  edamame, tangerine, cucumber. Fold in dressing.
Assemble with sliced tomatoes on the bottom of the plate, salad mix, Korean BBQ, and sprinkle walnuts.

Brussels Sprouts with Bacon, Walnuts, and Maple Syrup

Jan 3, 2010

I've never had Brussels Sprouts when I was a kid and when I became an adult I was afraid to try them with their bad rap sheet. I finally tried it one day and to my surprise they taste just like cabbage which I Iove. It does have a little bitter taste to it that I like even more. I was going to bring this dish to Christmas but my family doesn't like them as much as I do so I made this all for myself. It's nutty, sweet, smokey, and delicious. These bite size green golf balls are here in the winter time and gone in the spring time. 

Ingredients: 
5 slices of bacon
3-4 cups of Brussels Sprouts, petite or regular,
1 tbs of butter
1 tbs of extra virgin olive oil
3/4 cup of walnuts, chopped
2 tbs of maple syrup
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees
Place bacon on wire rack and cook in the oven until brown and crisp (approximately 8-10 mintues) and set aside or brown bacon in a skillet.
Over medium heat  melt butter and olive oil in a saute pan. Saute Brussels Sprouts for 4-5 minutes until fork tender, season with salt and pepper.
Add chopped walnuts and saute until golden brown. Add maple syrup and stir until all the ingredients are well coated. Crumble bacon and sprinkle on top.

Pork Belly Reuben @ Bunk Sandwiches in Portland, Oregon

 

My winter road trip takes me to Oregon where I visit the most spectacular waterfalls, lakes, and tasty delights. I've wanted to visit Oregon for quite some time as I have friends who moved to Oregon from California who absolutely love it there. As I drive through the towns and cities, I've met the friendliest and courteous Oregonians. I miss Oregon already and already planning my next trip up.

After visiting Multnomah Falls in the morrning, I was hungry and craving for something that'll hit the spot. That's where Bunk Sandwiches comes in. Located in downtown Portland just across the street from the Oregon Ballet Theatre on SE 7th Ave and SE Morrison St, Bunk Sandwiches is a small place that loves their bacon and it shows with their mouth-watering sandwiches. My friend and I just barely made it after the TomTom took us to a hospital. Luckily her GPS on her phone brought us to the right place at 621 SE Morrison St., Portland, Oregon

As soon as you enter the door there's a line of people waiting to order their food as well as people waiting for their food off to the side. What quickly draws your attention right away is the black chalk board menu. Right away, the Pork Belly Reuben draws my attention and without hesitation that would be my sandwich to order. At $8 bucks, I thought it was expensive but then again, I've never seen a Pork Belly Sandwich so I didn't mind paying plus there's no tax that's a big plus compared to California's 9.25% tax.

 

The melted cheese, smoked porked belly, saurkraut, and toasted rye bread makes this mouth-watering melt in your mouth best sandwhich I've ever eaten.