I'm Back!

I know.. I'm a bad blogger. This always happens, I get super excited about a project and then after awhile the new-ness wears off I move onto something else new and exciting. Yep, commitment issues but let me share what I've been up to. The lack of motivation during the winter brought weeks of eating the same old dishes either due to laziness, exhaustion from work or lack of time.

My New Year's resolution was to have small dinner parties at home once a month and each time try something new. So far so good and the experience is wonderful. Let's hope I have new dishes to share in the upcoming months.

Long Beans w. Ground Pork



Fried Rice w. Chinese Sausage



Asian Style Butter Stir Fried Shrimp



Kare Kare (Oxtail)



Stir Fried Water Spinach w. Dried Shrimp



Bean Sprouts w. Ground Pork



Lnguine w. Clams



Chicken w. Chinese Broccoli



Seared Rib Eye Steak w. Chickpea Salad



Clams w. Black Bean Sauce



Anchovy Pasta



Leftover Prawn Mee Noodles Topped w. Pan Seared Shrimp & Pork



Vermicelli Grilled Shrimp - Bun Tom Thit Nuong

Chinese Fried Pork Chops

More attempts with pork chops. Tried this recipe while cutting the sugar in half. The taste was interesting and reminded me of french toast. Perhaps the egg in the marinade. Good but not for me.

Comfort and All Things Beautiful

The winter receded for a bit to make the past weekend somewhat enjoyable to be outdoors. C and I took the opportunity to snap a few photos around Brooklyn.



I have no hot water tonight.. WTF?? At least tonight it's not as blistering cold as it was last week. Nothing like comfort food to warm you up inside. Indulging in comfort food to me during cold days is drinking up the warm, rich chicken broth with tons of meat and cheese tortellini, saucy stir fried shrimp to pour over a warm bowl of steamed rice, and the ultimate dish of leftovers - garlicky, heavy, fried rice. This one was made from meat from leftover pork ribs I roasted last night.





Enjoy the slight heat wave while you can. I don't think mother nature is done with winter as of yet.

Winter Carb Hoarding

Ziti w. Prosciutto & Chicken

The winter seriously puts my carb craving into hyper drive. That's all I want to eat and I devour it. Winter brings winds cold enough to make you vulnerable, to want to crawl back into bed with a bowl of hot noodle soup. I wouldn't really eat in my bedroom though I was making a lame attempt at being dramatic in order to forget how lazy I've just become during these cold days.

After the Holidays with its "happiness and warmth" faded, the reality of winter sunk in. I think I like my job but the 10 minute walk to the subway while wearing 5 layers of clothing and still my face feels like it's going to rip off into the wind makes me suddenly feel the need to want to call in sick everyday. Since then I've sought the comfort of mom's home cooking, C's family's home cooking, Pizza Hut, Popeyes, Super Kew Chinese Take Out, and at work, bagels with cream cheese for breakfast, followed by a Sicilian slice for lunch. Seriously gross looking back. When I muster up the motivation to finally cook dinner it's either been noodle soup or pasta. Is it wrong that I don't feel guilty?

Beef Noodle Soup



Campanelle w. Leftover Roast Chicken from Chinese New Year Dinner, Bacon, White Bean & Kale

Christmas Day Breakfast - Bacon Corn Frittata w. Parmesan Cheese

I love the Holiday season - spending time with friends and my favorite sin of all time - gluttony. I admit the Holidays do become truly exhausting... after days of eating out or eating at others' homes and hearing mom dictate what to do in her kitchen I started missing cooking in my own kitchen. Some of the few dishes made during the month of December.

Galbi Jim - Korean Braised Short Ribs over Rice



Pork & Watercress Soup



Chinese Steamed Fish - The best part if pouring the hot fragrant oil over the fish.





Appetizer Experiment - Chicken Drumette Lollipops. I wish I remembered what I marinated the chicken in, so I could change up the combination. Flavor was only eh.



Weeknight Dinner - Three Cheese Tortellini from BJs w. Home Made Tomato Sauce (yes, from that batch of CSA tomatoes purchased over the summer) w. a side of Garlic Spinach.



Will post photos of the Holiday meals later..

I opened up my CSA box last week to find this funky looking thing. It reminds of of the creature in Little Shop of Horrors - "Feed me, Seymour!". The Romanesco Broccoli is a variant of cauliflower and can be treated the same way as any broccoli or cauliflower thus is ended up in my mid-week pasta.

Fettuccine w. Prosciutto, Kale and Broccoli



It seems as if this cold weather has gotten me on a carb and comfort food kick again. A fresh bunch of kale ended up on my CSA box along with more potatoes. With frozen Italian sausage in the fridge, it seemed like the perfect time to make one of my favorite soups - Zuppa Tuscana Soup inspired by Olive Garden.

Olive Garden was one of the better options when I schooled in Buffalo. For some reason the suburban OGs tasted so much better than their crappy outlets in NYC. The soup and salad lunch special for $6.95 could not be beat! As salty as it was, this was my favorite soup from OG, that every time I managed to find kale at Wegman's or Tops I'd be inclined to make a pot. Zuppa Tuscana is one of my first dishes I've ever cooked and still make today.



Another mid-week creation. Shrimp w. Linguine and Homemade Parsley Pesto



Malaysian Beef Curry adapted from this Kari Ayam recipe. Instead of chicken I used stewed beef and a Malaysian curry paste instead of powder.



I don't mean to cram my meals into one post, but laziness struck again and I wanted to get some food out of the way before the Holiday feasting begins - that means tons of food to come!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Comfort Food

Comfort food for me is salt, butter and carbs. I guess that's kind of my idea of umami. During the car ride home I was daydreaming about opening up a small restaurant - of course everything on the menu would be my kind of comfort food. Then again no one who cares remotely about their cholesterol would be visiting my place on a daily basis! Haha one day..

Vegetables need to make it into every meal to compensate for the load of crap I shove down my mouth daily. Thank goodness for the CSA box!



Dinner the other night - Simple Noodle Soup. One of my favorite dishes to throw all the emergency food into when we're too lazy to get anything fresh - marinated pork belly, two stalks of Chinese broccoli from the CSA, dried fried onions, frozen shrimp, frozen broth & scallion - ok, I cheated the scallions were fresh.

Simple Noodle Soup: Boiled dried noodles separately while warming up your broth (chicken, beef, veggie, etc.). Prepare other ingredients - I pan fried the pork belly and then the shrimp in the rendered fat. The veggies were thrown into the broth at the end to cook for a few minutes before serving. Once noodles are done according to taste, put them in bowls, topped with meat items & scallions. Ladle broth on top and add other toppings. I love my fried onion bits. Drizzle a bit of sesame oil before serving.



Last Weekend's Lunch. Egg Salad in Pita w. Baby Carrots

Egg Salad: Combine chopped hard boiled eggs, bacon bits, dijon mustard, mayo, splash of vinegar, salt & pepper. Chill.



Can't help but love a complete breakfast - it's what I look forward to on weekends!



Mid-Week Dinner. Beef Souvlaki Pita w. Homemade Tzatziki and Chickpea Salad

Beef Souvlaki: Beef cubes marinated in lemon, salt & pepper. They can be skewered and grilled but I seared the cubes on a cast iron skillet.
Tzatziki Recipe adapted from an online recipe I can't find at the moment. Plain yogurt, cut seeded or seedless cucumbers (shredded would be better) lemon, salt & pepper and olive oil. Chill for an hour or so to meld flavors.
Chickpea Salad - Drained and rinsed chickpeas mixed with tomatoes, cucumbers, minced shallots, parsley, juice of 1/2 a lemon

Always a Time for Food

Work has been getting the best of me lately. There are many days I come home with the lack of motivation to pick up a pan let alone pick up the phone for take out. Some days I'll be happy with a bowl of cereal or nuts but after awhile my stomach will crave something a bit more substantial. I'm tired and beat but on to better things! Meals from the past 1-2 weeks.

Cheese Tortellini (courtesy of BJs) w. Pancetta & Kale



My attempt at Caesar Salad with homemade dressing. Used the anchovies and all but am too paranoid to use a raw egg.



Lemon Butter Chicken Breasts with Roasted Garlic Potatoes



Cucumber Salad



Lemongrass Shrimp



Breakfast w. my attempt at Homemade Sausage Patties



Chickpea Salad



Pepper Steak Stir Fry

Crab Congee

The first time I've ever had crab congee was at my BF's parents' place. I sure licked that bowl clean. BF decided to replicate it last night. Me being the sous chef had the glamorous duty of opening and cleaning the raw & and very well alive blue crabs that were squirming for their lives as I ripped their top shells open. Me being an avid crab eater & dare I say expert in eating "cooked" blue crabs, this was supposed to be an easy feat but this job got me squealing and screaming everytime a claw would grasp my hands. Thanks, hun for giving me this opportunity.



Sauteed Veggies w. Garlic as a Side



Salt & Pepper Shrimp as a Side



Other dishes from this past week:
Fried Noodles in Garlic Shrimp adapted from here - added cured pork belly & kale



Korean Bulgogi Beef Lettuce Wraps



Topped with shredded carrot, fried onions & our own version of ssamjang.