Christmas Eve Dinner

We had a wonderful Christmas Eve dinner with Mo-Fo Duo, Auntie Sandy and Drew. It was a lovely and mellow dinner with great food, great wine and great people. Can't beat that combination!


Auntie Sandy made her famous Prime Ribs blanketed with rock salts


Mo-Fo made the Leek and Potato Gratin (which was so much better than my attempt last month) and stir-fry Sweet Peas


I made Brussels Sprouts with Bacon and Figs


After the dinner, we all played Pictionary and, for the first time ever, we won a game against Mo-Fo Duo while snacking on Mo-Fo's Red Velvet Mini Cupcakes.


Yes, what a wonderful Christmas eve dinner it was...

Tokyo - Part 2

Finally I have some free time to catch up with my blog... a month later! I thought I would not be too busy after I got back from my vacation but I was wrong as both work and my new aquarium had been keeping me on my toes - who knows setting up an ADA aquarium would be that hard (and costly too).

Anyway, here is the second part of my blog entry on my trip to Tokyo. I was so excited to be in Tokyo because it is such a beautiful and lively city and of course because there were so many delicious food to try. Sometimes we had difficulties ordering food because most (smaller) restaurants don't have English menu and either of us speak Japanese AND that the Porgy is allergic to seafood. Fortunately, some of our friends do speak Japanese so when we ate with them, we did not have to worry about using an EpiPen on Porgy afterward.

Izakaya in Shinjuku Sanchome: Ground chicken satay and daikon fries, Chicken karaage, Fried chicken and cheese (katsu style), and Pan friend Japanese potatoes.


Cute street food vendors


Maisen, great restaurant specializing in Tonkatsu. It's located in an old bath-house. I had a Kurobuta pork tonkatsu.


Neyn, a yummy and super cute donut shop in Midtown Roppongi district.


All you can eat Shabu-shabu and Sukiyaki in Shibuya.
Lunch at Roppongi: Grilled fish for me and Oyako-don for Porgy.


Kanda Yabu Soba in Marunochi district: Duck Soba, Unagi Soba and Buckwheat Mochi


Toriyoshi, a Yakitori place near Harajuku.


Espresso martini, Manhattan and Grilled cheese sandwich at New York Bar (Park Hyatt Tokyo).


Fantastic ramen place underneath Shinjuku Station: Shoyu ramen and Gyoza.

Tsukiji Fish Market, Tokyo

Wow... what a busy few weeks it has been - mountainous work loads, dealing with the burglary on my storage area (lost my new All Clad pots and pans... bummer), setting up a new 50-gallon ADA aquarium and going to Tokyo with Porgy for a well-deserved vacation. Now I'm somewhat back to my routine again although I haven't been inspired to cook lately. Thankfully, Porgy stepped up and cooked for us in the past few days.

I'm blogging our Tokyo trip as a two-part series because we had so much good food there and of course the infamous Tsukiji Fish Market. We arrived at the market around 10 am so we didn't get the chance to check out the early morning auction. However, we were lucky enough to still see the bustling and feel the pulse of the market. It was fantastic in a way that is hard to describe. In addition to checking out the market, we also had a fresh delicious salty sushi donburi. Needless to say, I had a big smile on my face for the couple of hours that we spent there.

Clockwise from top left: Tsukiji market scene, the wooden cart they use to transport the fish, dissecting a whole tuna, selection of knives at one of the vendors.


Clockwise from top left: Wonderful and logical sense, variety of fish on display, front shot of the trucks that they use for transportation (I was smiling like that), octopus.


Whale meat kiosk (I didn't try one).


Various shots of fish and prawn. Look at the high quality of the products!


Cockles clam - i used to have steam cockles back at home in Indonesia. Yummy!


The restaurant that we went to for our sushi donburi breakfast


Clockwise from top left: amaebi (raw shrimp), tamago (egg), hotate (scallop), maguro (tuna), chopped tuna with scallions, ika (squid). Center: ikura (salmon roe), uni (sea urchin).

Red Wine Braised Shortribs ala Hubert Keller

Earlier this, I tried Hubert Keller's Red Wine Braised Shortribs after watching his Secrets of a Chef show on PBS - serving it with corned polenta, stir fry bok choy and a bottle of J Winery's 2007 Pinotage.


Here's his recipe with a couple changes:

Ingredients:
4 pounds bone-in short ribs
salt and pepper
chayenne (my addition)
chili pepper (my addition)
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 small onions, peeled and sliced
2 carrots, peeled and coarsely chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 2-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and sliced thinly
2 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
1 stalk lemongrass
1 1/2 cups red wine, pinot noir preferably
1 cup strong coffee (my addition)
1 14-oz can diced tomatoes with juice
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons parsley, chopped
3 tablespoons tomato paste
3 cups beef stock
1 sprig fresh sage

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 350F.
• Heat olive oil in a 5-quart saute or casserole pan over high heat.
• Lay the short ribs out on a clean work surface and season all sides with salt, pepper, chayenne and chili pepper.
• When oil is almost smoking, add ribs and let sear on high heat, 5 minutes per side or until well browned. Use tongs to rotate the ribs.
• Once browned on all sides, remove ribs with tongs and place on a baking tray.
• Add onions, carrots, celery, ginger, and garlic to the same pan.
• Smash the lemongrass stalk with the back of the knife, slice, and add to pan. Saute vegetables for 2 minutes, or until softened.
• Over high heat, add red wine and scrape bottom of pan with wooden spoon as wine comes to a boil.
• Add tomato paste, diced tomatoes, brown sugar, parsley, beef stock, coffee and sage leaves to pan and bring to a simmer. Add ribs back into pan and cover with a tight-fitting lid.
• Place casserole in pre-heated oven for 1.5 hours. Remove cover and continue cooking for an additional 1 hour.
• When rib meat is very tender, remove ribs from oven, using tongs to place on baking tray. Cover with aluminum foil to keep warm.
• Pour the sauce through a fine-mesh strainer into a saucepan, removing all of the vegetables. Over medium low heat, simmer the sauce for 5 minutes until darker in color and thicker. Add the ribs to reheat.
• Serve ribs with sauce over polenta and bok choy.

Flourless Spiced Apple and Almond Tea Cake

A couple weeks ago I came across Flourless Apple and Almond Tea Cake at Citrus and Candy. The recipe seemed simple enough to follow and would be a perfect mid-day snack when I'm needing an energy boost.

In order to cut cost (since I bought most of my ingredients at Whole Foods), I decided to make my own almond meal by grinding the almonds in the food processor. It turned out delicious, but unfortunately was on the crumbly side because I couldn't grind the almond meal small enough. Next time I'll make it easy on myself and buy the almond flour, hopefully then it will turn out better. Lesson learned... In baking, just follow the recipe and not improvise like in cooking.


Here's the recipe according to Citrus and Candy, with the changes that I made:

Ingredients:
3 small apples - cored and cut into 8 wedges
30g (1.06 oz) unsalted butter
4 cloves (the original recipe only calls for 2)
4 cardamom (my addition)
50g (1.76 oz) raw caster sugar (I use powdered sugar, a mistake here. Maybe using regular sugar will be better?)
75g (2.65 oz or 1/2 cup) raisins

260g (9.17 oz) almond meal
220g (7.76 oz) almond
2 teaspoons baking powder
3 teaspoons ground ginger (the original recipe only calls for 2)
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg (my addition)
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon (my addition)
4 eggs
230g (8.11 oz) raw caster sugar (I used regular sugar)
125ml (1/2 cup) maple syrup

Apple and Almond Topping
2 red gala or granny smith apples - cored and thinly sliced
50g (1.76 oz) almonds, roughly chopped
20g (0.70 oz) unsalted butter - melted and slightly cooled
sprinkles of raw turbinado sugar

Directions:

• In a pan large enough to fit the apples in a single layer, melt the butter over medium heat and add the apples, cloves, cardamoms and sugar and mix to coat.
• Cook for 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until apples are starting to color and softened.
• Remove the cloves and cardamoms, and add raisins and stir for a minute or two until raisins have softened.
• Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.
• Preheat the oven to 160C (325F) and grease and line a 10-inch springform tin with baking paper.
• In a food processor, pulse the almond meal, almonds, baking powder, ground ginger, nutmeg and cinnamon until roughly chopped. Set aside.
• In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, sugar and maple syrup until thick, pale and fluffy - at least 5 minutes with an electric mixer. Note: After 5 minutes, mine still looked a bit watery and didn't get thicken up.
• Add the almond nut mixture and gently fold to combine.
• Add the apple mixture and gently fold to incorporate. Pour into a cake tin.
• Arrange the apple slices on top of the cake batter, overlapping a little to make a decorative circular pattern. Sprinkle the nuts over, drizzle with melted butter and scatter with sugars.
• Bake in the oven for 60-75 minutes (mine was closer to 75 minutes) until skewer comes out clean of cake batter.
• Remove from the oven and let cool completely in the cake pan before slicing and serving.

Shredded Beef with TriColor Beans and Tofu Puffs

I love using tofu puffs in Chinese dishes because they absorb the sauce's flavor very well. This Shredded Beef with TriColor Beans and Tofu Puffs is a nice comfort stir fry dish to be eaten on Sunday night. The crunchiness of the beans compliments well with the tofu puffs.

BTW, do you know that purple beans would change its color to green when fully cooked? I didn't know that, I wonder why...


Ingredients:
1 lb stir-fry beef meat, shredded (cut into strips)
1 lb of green beans
1 lb of yellow beans
1 lb of purple beans
1 pack of tofu puffs
1/4 cup of chopped parsley
1 onion, sliced
5 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon mirin
1 teaspoon of chinese shaoxing rice wine
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of white pepper
1/2 teaspoon of red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon of corn starch
1/8 cup of water
2 tablespoons of oyster sauce
2 teaspoon of corn starch, diluted in cold water in a small bowl

Directions:

• Marinate the shredded beef meats with garlic, soy sauce, mirin, shaoxing wine, salt, white pepper, red pepper flakes and corn starch for at least 1 hour.
• Before stir-frying the beef, add a tablespoon of oil to the meat so it won't stick to the pan.
• Stir fry the beef with a couple tablespoon of oil in a large pan or wok over medium high heat until just cooked. Set aside.
• In the same pan, stir fry the onion for a couple of minutes with a small amount of oil.
• Add in the beans and water and cook covered for 5 minutes until the beans are just al dente.
• Add back in the beef, tofu puffs, oyster sauce and dissolved corn starch. Mix well.
• Add the chopped parsley and stir together.
  

Banana Blueberry Lemon Muffins

Last night I made Banana Blueberry Lemon Muffins for my office's bake sale as part of Week of Caring/Community Support month. I used the recipe from Dragon's Kitchen and made some adjustment (added one more banana and blueberry) because I wanted the muffins to be lighter and more fruity. In addition to the muffins, I also made our Espresso Chocolate Chip Cookies - we refrigerated the dough for 24 hours for better texture and more concentrated flavor.


Ingredients:
2 1/4 cup flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 large ripe bananas, mashed
2 eggs
2/3 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon lemon juice
10 oz blueberries
2 tablespoons grated lemon rind
3 tablespoons raw sugar

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 375 F. Lightly grease muffin tin.
• Combine flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and lemon rind.
• Beat together bananas, eggs, brown sugar, butter, lemon juice and vanilla until blended.
• Stir in dry ingredients until blended. Stir in blueberries just until combined. Spoon into prepared muffin cups, dividing batter equally.
• Sprinkle the raw sugar evenly over the muffins.

Thai Coconut Chicken Soup

The San Francisco weather has been so strange lately. One day, it's above 80F and sunny... and then it'd be cold, windy and in the 50's next day. It's totally affecting my appetite and what I'm craving for. This Thai Coconut Chicken Soup is a versatile dish that can be eaten during warm or cold weather. The light coconut milk broth with hints of lemon grass and galangal would cool you down and the spiced chillies would warm you up. I love sitting on my couch and slurping this delicious soup while watching campy TV shows or movies.

Note: You might be able to find Galangal in Asian groceries. It's a relative to Ginger root but tastes different and more fragrant. If you can't find it, according to some websites, you can substitute it with ginger and some lime juice.


Ingredients:
1 lb boneless and skinless chicken breast or thighs, cut in strips
1 lb red potatoes, cut into quarter
1 can of straw mushrooms
3 cups of coconut milk
1.5 cups of water
2 stalks of lemon grass (cut into 3-inch lengths and pounded)
6 kaffir lime leaves (lightly bruised to release the flavor)
6 slices galangal
5 dried red chillies, seeded and soaked with water
5 tablespoons fish sauce
juice of half lime
2 tablespoons of chopped cilantro
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

• Stir fry the onion with a couple tablespoons of olive oil in a large heavy bottomed pot for a couple of minutes.
• Add the lemon grass, galangal, dried chillies, kaffir lime leaves and stir fry for a few more minutes until fragrant.
• Add coconut milk and water into the pot and bring it to boil.
• Add the potatoes and bring to boil again.
  
• Add straw mushrooms and chicken and boil it on medium heat for a few minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.
  
• Add lime juice and fish sauce to taste.
  
• Add chopped cilantro before serving.

Greek Bread Salad (Panzanella)

Lisa & Aaron invited us to their place for a dinner party last Saturday. Since Lisa is a very good cook, I thought I should make something delicious and tasty but not too complicated for me to follow (I had hungover from the night before) - so I went through Barefoot Contessa recipes online and found this yummy looking Greek Panzanella. This dish has a nice Greek twist with the addition of olives and feta cheese and it's easy to make to.

The menu:


Pre-dinner snack:


Greek Panzanella:


Super-moist Roast Pork Loin:


Farmer's Market roasted baby squash and red potatoes:


Thanks for a lovely dinner, Lisa! Next time, it's our turn to have you guys over for a mellow Saturday night dinner. Or we can just do an all out sushi dinner while we're in Tokyo. =)

Here is the recipe of the Greek Bread Salad from Ina Garten's Barefoot Contessa... Enjoy!

Ingredients:
Good olive oil
1 small French bread or boule, cut into 1-inch cubes (6 cups)
Kosher salt
1 hothouse cucumber, unpeeled, seeded, and sliced 1/4-inch thick
1 red bell pepper, large diced
1 yellow bell pepper, large diced
1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
1/2 red onion, sliced in half rounds
1/2 pound feta cheese, cut in 1/2-inch cubes
1/2 cup calamata olives, pitted

For the vinaigrette:
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/4 cup good red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup good olive oil

Directions:

• Heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in a large saute pan. Add the bread cubes and sprinkle with salt; cook over low to medium heat, tossing frequently, for 5 to 10 minutes, until nicely browned. Add more olive oil as needed.
• Place the cucumber, red pepper, yellow pepper, tomatoes and red onion in a large bowl.
• For the vinaigrette, whisk together the garlic, oregano, mustard, vinegar, 1 teaspoon salt and the pepper in a small bowl. While still whisking, add the olive oil and make an emulsion. Pour the vinaigrette over the vegetables.
  
• Add the feta, olives and bread cubes and mix together lightly.
  
• Set aside for 30 minutes for the flavors to blend.
  
• Serve at room temperature.

Herb-Marinated Pork Loin

After watching Ina Garten's show on Herb-Marinated Pork Tenderloins last Saturday, I knew that I had to make it one of this week because it looks so good and simple to make. I marinated the meat for 48 hours before cooking it and served it over a side of salad and couscous. Simple delicious and healthy dinner!


Ingredients:
3 lb boneless pork loin (or tenderloin)
2 lemons, zest grated
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (from the 2 lemons)
1/4 cup olive oil
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 tablespoons minced fresh rosemary leaves
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Directions:

• Combine the lemon zest, lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, rosemary, thyme, mustard, salt, black pepper and cayenne pepper in a sturdy 1-gallon resealable plastic bag.
• Add the pork loins and turn to coat with marinade. Squeeze out the air and seal the bag.
• Marinate the pork in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours or overnight (I marinated mine for 2 nights).
• Preheat the oven to 400F.
• Remove the pork loins from the marinade and discard the marinade but leave the herbs that cling to the meat. Sprinkle the pork loins generously with salt and pepper.
• Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large oven-proof saute pan over medium high heat.
• Sear the pork loins on all sides until golden brown (approximately 4 minutes on each side).
• Place the saute pan in the oven and roast the loins for approximately 15 minutes until the meat registers 137F at the thickest part.
• Transfer the pork loins to a platter and cover tightly with aluminum foil. Allow to rest for 10 minutes.
• Carve in 1/2-inch-thick diagonal slices. The thickest part of the tenderloin will be quite pink (it's just fine!) and the thinnest part will be well done.
• Season with salt and pepper and serve warm, or at room temperature with the juices that collect in the platter.