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August 14, 2015

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Drinks

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Strawberry-Basil Lemonade

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Hey guys! So I recently moved to Fresno, CA, where it is ridiculously hot – like 100 degrees at 5pm hot, which is crazy. So I thought I would cool off and make myself a good, old-fashioned, lemonade because there are really few things better. But this time I also thought maybe I’d spice things up a bit. Also because I had some left over strawberries that I needed to use.  I really did not have any recipe and have no idea if this is bogus or complete bs, but it tasted good even if I ended up eating the strawberry chunks.

Ingredients:

  • Water
  • lemons
  • strawberries
  • sugar
  • basil

I made the lemonade by squeezing 2 fresh lemons and mixing it with a couple cups of water.  This turned out to be way too tart obviously, so I added sugar until there was still some tartness, but not too bad (I figured I would get added sugar with the strawberries).  Then I cut up the strawberries and basil as finely as I could and threw them in.  Added a few cubes of ice and viola! Enjoy the rest of what little summer we have left people!

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August 7, 2015

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Meat

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Hawaiian Hoisin Spare Ribs and Pineapple Slaw

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Hey, so it’s been awhile (2 months) since I have last posted, which when I think about it is a really long time. It’s not like I haven’t cooked in 2 months, but I guess nothing worthwhile?  This is a recipe I did awhile back and it turned out really well.  I got the recipe for the ribs here and made both the ribs and the slaw.  They complement each other nicely with the citrus and crispness of the slaw to contrast the sweet and savory of the ribs.  However, for the slaw, the recipe requires a lot of ingredients so I left a lot of things out, which didn’t detract from it at all IMO. Also, this requires a lot of stereotypical Asian ingredients, so thankfully I have most of this at home. But if you don’t, it does require a lot.

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Ingredients:

Ribs:

  • 5 lbs spareribs/baby back ribs
  • 1 cup hoisin sauce
  • 1/2 cup dark soy sauce
  • 1/2 cup honey
  • 1/4 cup sesame oil
  • 1/4 cup rice vinegar
  • 2 tbsp minced garlic
  • 2 tbsp minced ginger
  • 1 tsp red pepper flakes
  • 1 tbsp salt
  • 1 tsp pepper
  • 1 cup chicken broth

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Slaw:

  • 1/2 cup cider vinegar
  • 2 tbsp honey
  • 3 tbsp soy sauce
  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil
  • 1/4 cup sesame oil
  • 1 tbsp red pepper flakes
  • 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
  • 1/4 cup sliced green onion/scallion
  • salt and pepper
  • 2 cups diced pineapple
  • 1 cup julienned red pepper
  • red and green cabbage shredded (I used the premade slaw mix from the market)

Directions:

  • In a large saucepan over medium heat, combine the hoisin, soy sauce, honey, vinegar, sesame oil, garlic, ginger, and red pepper flakes
  • Bring to a boil and let simmer until a thick glaze. Remove from heat and let cool
  • @ 275 degrees, place a wire rack in a large baking dish and pour the chicken broth into the bottom of the dish
  • salt and pepper the ribs on both sides, wrap in foil, and place on baking rack
  • Wrap the whole pan in foil and bake for 1-1.5 hours
  • Let the ribs cool for ~15 min and then drizzle/coat the ribs with the glaze
  • Broil for ~5 min making sure not to burn the glaze
  • After removing the ribs and letting stand, drizzle a little more glaze
  • For the slaw, whisk together the honey, vinegar, and soy sauce
  • Slowly add the oils while whisking, and then add the cilantro, peppers, and green onions
  • Add salt and pepper to taste
  • In a bowl, mix the cabbage (or premade mix) and the pineapples
  • Toss in the dressing and refrigerate until ready to serve
  • Enjoy!

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June 3, 2015

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Fish, Recipes

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Black Bean Fish

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Hi everyone. So it has been awhile again. I actually didn’t realize how long it has been since I last posted. The other day I made a Chinese style black bean fish that came out pretty good.  It’s a dish I have never made and rarely order when I go out to a restaurant due to the usually awful ratio of onions and bell peppers to fish.  But, when you make it, you get to control things like that so it all works out.  I got the recipe from here.

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 lb sole fish fillet cut into pieces and marinate with 1/2 tablespoon corn starch (I used Swai fillets)
  • 2 tablespoon Lee Kam Kee black bean sauce
  • 1 small onion (quartered)
  • 1 small green bell pepper (cut into small pieces)
  • 2 green onions chopped
  • 5 slices fresh ginger
  • 1/8 tsp fish sauce
  • 1/2 tsp sugar
  • 1/8 tsp sesame oil
  • 1/4 tbsp corn starch mixed with 3 tbsp water

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Instructions:

  • In a wok, add some cooking oil over medium heat
  • Add the onion, bell pepper, and ginger and fry until cooked and aromatic
  • Add the fish, fish sauce, sesame oil and black bean sauce and stir-fry until fish is cooked
  • Add the corn starch to thicken the sauce and stir in the green onions
  • Serve with rice
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April 25, 2015

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Appetizers, Meat

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Shiny Crispy Chicken Wings

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My mom gave me a Chinese cookbook a while back, but I have never actually opened it or used it. Now I cook a lot of run of the mill Chinese food, using a lot of pre-made sauces thanks to Lee Kum Kee. However, this time I decided to open the book and try a chicken recipe. This recipe is called “Shiny Chicken” and I was hesitant because of the name, but it actually turned out pretty well. It can be used as an appetizer, or serve it with some rice and call it a main dish.  However you want to do it! Have a crack at it and let me know what you think.

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Ingredients

  • 1/2 chicken, or chicken wings/legs
  • 4 tbsp soy sauce, separated
  • 2 green onions chopped
  • 1 tbsp ground ginger
  • 1 1/2 tbsp sugar
  • 2 tbsp white vinegar
  • t tsp sesame oil
  • oil for frying

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Directions

  • Wash and dry the chicken
  • Rub the chicken with 1 1/2 tbsp of soy sauce
  • Combine the green onion, ginger, sugar, vinegar, sesame oil, and 2 1/2 tbsp soy sauce in a bowl and set aside
  • Heat a wok and add the oil to fry (or use a deep fryer if you got one)
  • Fry the chicken wings until skin is golden and crispy (and the meat is cooked)
  • Pour the sauce mixture over the chicken and feast!

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April 15, 2015

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Fish, Recipes

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Baked Honey Cod

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I have been trying to eat healthier recently.  More salads, fruit, and fish.  It is not really easy since i like meat so much, but it hasn’t been all bad either. I came across this recipe for a honey baked cod on Yahoo! Food that was taken from another blog and it seemed easy and delicious.  Turns out it is quite easy and tasty, but I couldn’t get the dark caramelization that they show in the picture. I am not convinced that you can get that by baking it. I think you have to broil it, but hey, I just followed the recipe on this one (kind of).

Ingredients

  • ¾ cup honey
  • ½ cup soy sauce
  • ⅓ cup sesame oil (seemed excessive but who knows)
  • ⅓ cup apple cider vinegar
  • 1½ tsp freshly ground pepper
  • 1 tsp freshly chopped ginger
  • 4 to 6 oz cod fillets

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Directions

  • Combine all the ingredients in a bag and marinate the cod for 24 hours (my slight change was I marinated it for ~5hrs)
  • Preheat the oven to 450 degrees and bake for ~8 min
  • Enjoy a nice healthy meal

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April 9, 2015

Posted under

Appetizers, Salads

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Caprese Salad

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Congratulations Jenn for getting into MBA school. As a celebration, I told her I would cook her something, and lo and behold she requested a salad…boring right? Well she also requested to have mozzarella cheese incorporated some how, so I immediately thought of a caprese salad. Now I have never made a caprese salad before, but was shocked how simple it really is. It’s not exactly my fave salad though, so maybe thats why. But interestingly enough, I told my sister what I was doing and she said she LOVED caprese salad…who knew? Definitely not me lol.  Anyways here it is!

Ingredients

  • 1/2 lb Mozzarella cheese, sliced
  • 3 tomatoes on a vine, sliced
  • Fresh basil
  • Salt
  • Fresh cracked pepper
  • EVOO

Directions

  • Layer the slices of cheese and tomatoes with a basil leaf in between
  • Sprinkle with salt and freshly cracked pepper
  • Drizzle EVOO over
  • You can also add balsamic vinegar or a reduction to the dish but I chose not to
  • Eat this super refreshing salad

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March 26, 2015

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Meat

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Red Wine Roasted Chicken

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Like I said in a previous post, I pretty much spend free time trolling Yahoo Food and other food blogs/sites.  I came across this one for a roast chicken recipe and it looked good and easy, so I thought I would do it.  I have tried this dish twice now, and I have to say, the first time, I wouldn’t call a disaster, but it definitely didn’t turn out well.  Thankfully, I stuck with it and it was much better the 2nd go around.  A few of the flaws that arose were I didn’t use any potatoes and I also had way more chicken than the original recipe had.  As it turns out, you need those potatoes to soak up some of that water, and when you have about 2x as much chicken as the recipe calls for, it also takes a lot longer to cook.  Who woulda thunk?  Anyways, the 2nd time, I was much better about what I was doing ad while I still didn’t use potatoes, I put in less water and had a much better turn out. I think the one downfall this time around though was that it came out a little too oily in the vegetables from both the water and the chicken juice.

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Ingredients:

  • ⅔ cup red wine
  • 6 tbsp/100 g tomato paste
  • 3 sprigs thyme, leaves picked
  • 3 sprigs marjoram, leaves picked, or ½ tsp dried
  • ½ cup red wine vinegar
  • 1 whole chicken, cut into 8 pieces (I used chicken leg quarters)
  • Salt
  • Pepper
  • 18 oz/500 g baby potatoes, washed (Didn’t do that)
  • 3 onions, quartered
  • 6 carrots, peeled and quartered lengthwise
  • ½ cup water

Directions

  • Mix the wine, tomato paste, marjoram, thyme, and red wine vinegar
  • Season the chicken with salt and pepper
  • Place the chicken in a plastic ziploc bag and pour the sauce over the chicken
  • Shake the bag to make sure each piece is well coated and let marinate for at least 30 minutes (I did about 2 hours)
  • Make a bed of vegetables at the bottom of a large baking dish/tray and pour in the water
  • Place the chicken pieces over the vegetables (skin side up) and pour the remainder of the marinade over the chicken
  • Cover with foil and roast in the oven for ~30 min at 400 degrees
  • Uncover the chicken and baste with cooking liquid and roast again uncovered for another ~15 minutes (I had to go ~30min)
  • Pour yourself a nice glass of red wine and enjoy!

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March 17, 2015

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Meat

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Beer Braised Short Rib

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So the slow cooker is a thing of genius when you think about it.  It’s what I always think of when I hear that guy’s phrase “set it and forget it” even though he wasn’t selling a slow cooker at all. It just seems to fit that line so much better. Because you can literally set it for hours, go to work, come back, and shabam…you can have dinner.  Now you want to make lunch, that’s a bit tougher.  But I doubt most people are using a slow-cooker for lunch.  Anywho, I decided to make a short rib because I get it a lot when I am out and don’t want to spend the dinero all the time on the steak.  It’s a tender piece of meat and I enjoy that melt in your mouth texture.  I got the recipe from Yahoo Food, which is what I do when I am bored at work. It came out well and it allowed me to go do other things in my day, which was greatly appreciated.  Overall, I am pretty happy with the dish.

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Ingredients:

  • 2 lbs boneless beef short ribs
  • 1 tsp kosher salt
  • 2 tsp ground black pepper
  • 1 cup flour
  • 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 tbsp butter
  • 2 onions, sliced
  • 4 carrots, cut into sticks
  • 5 garlic cloves, smashed
  • 6 oz stout beer
  • 1 qt beef stock
  • 1 sprig rosemary

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Directions:

  • Reduce the beef stock in a sauce pan to ~1cup
  • Season short ribs with salt and pepper then cover them in flour
  • Cook in a dutch over (I used a cast iron pan) over med-high heat until brown on all sides
  • Add the onions and carrots as a bed in the slow cooker
  • Add the short ribs on top and add any left over pan drippings
  • Cover the ribs with the garlic, butter, herbs, salt, and pepper
  • Add the beer and the beef stock
  • Cover and cook on high for 6 hours
  • Enjoy (I put them over whipped garlic mashed potatoes)

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March 5, 2015

Posted under

Appetizers, Recipes

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Tropical Chili Shrimp Appetizer

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So the other day I decided to make a light appetizer using some shrimp I had, but wasn’t enough for a meal.  This is a recipe that I made up as a conglomerate of some other recipes I saw while flipping through a magazine and thought I would try and combine aspects of each that I thought would be interesting. It turned out pretty good and refreshing, which is not something I would normally say about a shrimp dish, but it really was. It is also super easy and takes very little work to put together and only 1 pan, which is always a plus.  Try it out and let me know how it goes!

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Recipe:

  • 8 oz shrimp
  • 1 tbsp chili powder
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • Salt
  • Pepper
  • Pinch of red chili flakes
  • Juice of 1 lime/lemon
  • 1 Mango, cubed
  • 1 Avocado, cubed
  • toothpicks

Instructions

  • Wash and pat dry the shrimp
  • In a bowl, mix the shrimp with chili powder, salt, pepper, a pinch of red chili flakes, and garlic
  • In a pan over medium heat, cook the shrimp until they turn orange/pink, and add the lime juice as you cook
  • Remove them from the pan and using a toothpick, stick a shrimp on top of 1 mango cube and 1 avocado cube

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February 22, 2015

Posted under

Appetizers, Recipes, Sides, Soup

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Classic Grilled Cheese Sandwich

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So I decided to try a Meatless Monday thing and made a classic grilled cheese sandwich, that I paired with a tomato bisque soup and basic salad with balsamic vinaigrette.  Who doesn’t love a good grilled cheese sandwich?  There is just something nostalgic and comforting about it.  But in the past and growing up, I always made it with slices of American cheese. Now don’t get me wrong, I actually love American cheese and think its delicious, although others might feel that it’s too processed, which I can understand.  This time, I tried to be slightly more sophisticated and used parmesan and mild cheddar cheese.  I read somewhere that it is better to use 2 different types, with one being saltier (parmesan). So I kinda went with it, and actually it turned out pretty good. Although, I don’t think you can eff up a grilled cheese unless you burn it super bad, but even then, there’s a market for that.

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Ingredients:

  • Bread (whatever kind, I just used regular good old fashioned white bread)
  • 1/2 tbsp butter
  • 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
  • 1/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese

Directions:

  • In a small mixing bowl, toss the 2 types of cheeses together and blend them together
  • In a skillet over medium heat, melt 1/4 tbsp of butter and add the slices of bread
  • When slightly toasted, flip the bread and add the cheese blend to both slices
  • When the cheese begins to melt, flip one slice on top of the other
  • After a few minutes, flip the sandwich to finish melting the cheese and toasting the other slice of bread
  • Cut and enjoy like your inner kid wants to

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