Monthly Archives: September 2014

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September 19, 2014

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Fish, Recipes

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Pan Fried Cod Over Bok Choy

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My sister reminded me the other day that I needed to use our bok choy soon, otherwise it was going to go bad. Instead of being a normal person and using what I had in the fridge to make a meal, I went out and bought some fish in order to not waste $2 worth of bok choy lol. Anyways, I bought cod since that seemed easiest at the moment. This was a pretty fast meal that you can make in about the time it takes your pot of rice to cook, so everything will be ready at the same time, which is always a good feeling.

Ingredients:

  • Cod fillets
  • 1/3 cup soy sauce
  • 2 tsp sesame oil
  • 1 tsp ginger
  • 2 cloves of garlic minced
  • Dash of white pepper
  • Bok Choy, halved
  • Jasmine rice

Directions

  • Place the cod fillets, soy sauce, sesame oil, ginger, garlic, and white powder and let marinate for 30 min
  • In a skillet, over med heat, fry the bok choy halves (turn sparingly) in 1 tbsp of oil
  • In a large frying pan, over med-high heat, heat the oil until smoking
  • Add the cod fillets and cook thoroughly and there’s a nice, crisp to the outside (~3 min on each side)
  • Place the fish and bok choy over a bed of rice and eat

All in all a quick, healthy, and flavorful Asian meal. Hope you enjoy it!

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September 15, 2014

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Appetizers, Recipes, Salads

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Picnic Broccoli Salad

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At the request of the ladies in my life to eat healthier, I have been making more salads than ever before. When they asked, my first thought was boring! Then I requested if mac salad, potato salad, and pasta salads count, but apparently they do not. Thus, today is a broccoli salad, complete with mayo, bacon, and cheese…yummm healthy….Actually, it’s not unhealthy and its pretty good too. I mean you can always make it unhealthy by adding as much crap as you want into it, but I kept it pretty simple.

Ingredients

  • 3 heads of broccoli, florets chopped into eatable pieces
  • 1 cup mayo
  • juice of 1/2 lemon
  • 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • salt and pepper
  • 6+ strips of bacon (up to you)
  • 1/2 red onion, chopped
  • Halved grape tomatoes
  • Shredded cheddar cheese (as much as you desire)
  • Chopped nuts (I used walnuts)
My bacon is happy

My bacon is happy

Directions

  • Blanch the broccoli florets in a pot of boiling water, drain and set aside
  • Mix the mayo, lemon juice, vinegar, sugar in a bowl
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • Meanwhile, fry the bacon until crispy, dab with paper towel to get excess oil off
  • Chop the bacon
  • Add the bacon, onions, tomatoes, nuts, and cheese to the broccoli and mix well in a large bowl
  • Add the sauce and mix thoroughly (use enough to coat well, but you don’t need to use all of it)
  • Let sit in the refrigerator for at least 30 min
  • Serve and enjoy

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September 12, 2014

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Appetizers, Recipes, Salads

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Seared Tuna with Asian Vinaigrette Salad

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My uncle loves to go deep sea fishing, and recently went out for tuna. He caught some yellowtail and some yellowfin. Every time he goes I always ask for some, and this time, he delivered! Tuna is pretty expensive to buy, so getting it fresh for free is pretty awesome. I seared the tuna and served it over a salad with an asian vinaigrette. The salad was made from a spring mix and napa cabbage cut into strips like a slaw.

Ingredients

  • Tuna loin
  • Spring salad mix
  • Napa cabbage
  • Grape tomatoes
  • 1/2 red onion
  • 1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1 tbsp soy sauce
  • 1/2 lime, juiced
  • 1 tsp grated ginger
  • Some chopped cilantro
  • 1/2 cup canola oil
  • 1 tbsp sesame oil
  • Salt and freshly ground pepper

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Directions for tuna and salad

  • Rinse the tuna and pat dry with paper towels
  • Grind black peppercorns onto a plate and roll the tuna loin in the pepper
  • Pour a little canola oil into a pan on high heat
  • Sear the tuna for a few seconds on each side, place on a plate and put it in the freezer for a few minutes to stop the cooking process
  • Cut the napa cabbage into strips, halve the tomatoes, and thinly slice the red onion

Directions for vinaigrette

  • Heat the vinegar in a small saucepan over medium heat, then mix the sugar in until it dissolves
  • Combine the oil, soy sauce, lime juice, sesame oil, ginger, and cilantro
  • Pour in the vinegar and sugar mix
  • Mix the dressing and chill in the refrigerator for ~20 minutes

Slice the tuna into ~ 1/4 inch slices and serve over the salad. This was my first time making an asian vinaigrette, and I really liked it. I was getting tired of balsamic dressings, so this was a nice alternative. The napa also added a different flavor and textural element which was nice. Overall, the salad was really good and I used the leftover dressing again the next day. And then there’s the tuna, which is always delicious. Hope you enjoy!

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September 9, 2014

Posted under

Dessert, Recipes

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Limoncello Raspberry Torte

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Like I said in the previous post, I was going to post the dessert that my sister made for our parents. We were going with a full Italian theme, so it made sense to go with something like, say, tiramisu. But, my sister doesn’t like tiramisu, so it seemed unfair for her to make something she doesn’t even enjoy eating. We have had a lot of cheesecake recently, so that was also out. That’s when she came across this recipe for a limoncello raspberry torte. We actually had limoncello by chance from our family trip to Italy a couple of years ago. We bought a bottle because it was supposed to be a popular drink, but for some reason, we never opened it. So this seemed like as good as time as any to crack it open. The recipe itself is super easy and it tastes good too.

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Ingredients

  • 2 cups raspberries, divided
  • 2 tbsp confectioners’ sugar
  • 2 tbsp Limoncello
  • 1 brick, 8 oz, Neufchatel cheese
  • Shortbread cookies for serving

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Directions

  • In a bowl, mash 3/4 of the raspberries
  • Mix in the sugar and limoncello, until raspberries are chunky, but semi-reduced
  • Refrigerate for at least 20 minutes
  • Place cheese on a plate
  • Combine remaining berries with the reduced mixture
  • Pour the mixture over the cheese
  • Spread the mix over shortbread cookies and enjoy
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September 5, 2014

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Meat, Recipes

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Sirloin Steak with Red Wine Sauce

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We’ve been doing this blog thing for a few months now and I have kept up with it a lot better and more consistently than I ever thought. Who knew I’d actually enjoy it. It has made me branch out and try new things, take some risks, be more creative, and plate better. My mom also keeps updated with it, checking periodically. But, without fail, every time I talk to her, she always asks me when she is going to get a meal like that, or why she is the one cooking when we come back to visit. Which, actually, is a good point. That seems unfair, so when we went back home for Labor Day, my sister and I decided to whip up our parents a full 4-course Italian meal because my mom was specifically asking about the shrimp scampi that I made previously. So that ended up being the 2nd course, with the 1st being a salad. This steak was the 3rd and then my sister made a raspberry limoncello dessert, which I will post later. The recipe called for flat iron steak, but I used sirloin instead because why not. It is super simple and the sauce is pretty damn tasty.

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Ingredients

  • 2 lbs of sirloin steaks
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 3 tbsp EVOO
  • 6 tbsp cold unsalted butter
  • 1 onion, thinly sliced
  • 1 tbsp minced garlic
  • 1 tsp dried oregano
  • 1/4 cup tomato paste
  • 2 1/2 cups dry red wine

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Directions

  • Salt and pepper the steaks, drizzle with EVOO
  • Cook to your desired doneness and then let it rest, tented with foil
  • Slice the steaks against the grain
  • For the sauce, melt 2 tbsp butter in a saucepan on medium heat
  • Saute the onions till done, then add salt and cook for a few more minutes
  • Add the garlic and oregano and saute for another minute
  • Stir in the tomato paste and cook for a few minutes, stirring constantly
  • Mix in the wine, stirring occasionally, until the sauce reduces by half (says 10 minutes, but it took a lot longer for me)
  • Melt 4 tbsp butter (cut into chunks) into the sauce
  • Strain the sauce into a bowl, extracting as much liquid as possible
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • Pour over the steak, or serve on the side and enjoy

 

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Overall the steak and the red wine sauce was really good. It was cooked just right and the sauce didn’t have too heavy of a wine flavor. It was a little shocking how much butter went into it, but it was delicious, so all was forgiven. My parents really enjoyed it too, which was the most important part.