Dim Sum

We spent Mother’s Day with my family this year.  It’s been a while since I’ve spent Mother’s Day with my mom – B’s family usually takes over these days.  Eh, that’s another topic.

This year, we decided to spend it in Chinatown having dim sum.  Dim sum takes me back to when we were children and would trip down to Chinatown for a family meal at Three Happiness (back then, it was THE restaurant in Chinatown).  We would go upstairs and sit at a round table.  Mom and Dad would usually order.  Unfortunately, I don’t remember what I ate, I just remembered the steps going upstairs, the round table, and the tons of waiters, all wondering why we couldn’t speak Cantonese or Mandarin.

Three Happiness is looking a little tired these days.  We had reservations at Phoenix instead.  The dim sum there, while good, can’t compare to the dim sums in northern California.  My friend Alina took me to a place in Milpitas – King Crab – and it was AWESOME. My mom and I truly believe that Chinese cuisine, when mixed with some Vietnamese spices and herbs is an amazing mix – we found this out when we were in Paris, looking for something NOT French. 

So we had the usual dumplings, rice, noodles, hot tea.  Nixed the chicken feet.  But after lunch, we went to our favorite Chinese bakery: St. Anna’s.  I’m always so happy there – seeing all those treats in the glass counter: sio bao, sesame balls with the ubi in the center, red bean cakes or ‘hopia’ as I know it.  They also have almond cakes and others too various to mention.  We took home half a dozen of the pork buns (the only time I eat pork), a couple of the sesame balls, and a couple of the red bean cakes.  I felt like I was 12 years old again.

Tasting the ubi made me miss some of the things I can only get in the Philippines: Ubi ice cream; kalamaihati (I think that’s what it’s called); ebus; puto – the real ones in the banana leaves; the fruits like chico and mangoes, my mom’s tsokolate (she made me some when I went back to Chicago to visit a couple of weeks ago, but it’s not as though we were sitting in the lanai at their house in the Philippines, sipping it and eating puto and chico for breakfast).

I think maybe this winter, I will just need to go back home…

My New Project is a Cluster

UNGGGHHH!!! My new project is a clusterf**k.  I’ve always said that projects reflect the partners on board.  Well, this one clearly does.  The partner is a new partner, so EVERYTHING must be DONE RIGHT.  What an asswipe. Eh, he keeps doing this, he’ll get some negative feedback.  The last partner that I gave a negative feedback ended up “staffing up our practice in Calgary”. ROFLMAO!!!

Anyway, I do have some recipes, including a chicken enchilada with mole, a very easy pizzetta, and a new twist on coq au vin.  Take care everyone.  Will be back soon.

A Tough Few Weeks

Hi Peeps! It’s been a tough few weeks.  I’ve got plenty to write about, but not enough time.  I’ve been traveling again for a new client and a new project.  I’m thankful that I do have a project – we’ve just gone through a few rounds of layoffs – my company is one of those that does the ’silent layoffs’ so as to not ‘alarm’ anyone.  BS – I say. 

Ok, this week I promise – at least one new entry.

Note to Self v.1

I really must look in the pantry before shopping.

Cioppino (Seafood Stew)

Every now and then, I make one of our tried and true favorites.  It’s been years since I’ve done this one – it’s really very easy.  Cioppino is the Italian version of a fish stew (comparable to bouillabaisse) usually made from the catch of the day.  Since I live in landlocked Madison, WI and there really is no fish market like the one Chicago has, I use a variety of canned and frozen shellfish.  I suppose you could run out to the store and buy all the fish and shellfish fresh, and then prep them prior to making the stew, but who has time?

Ingredients

4 Tbs olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
2 Tbs chopped garlic
4 tsp dried oregano
1 1/2  tsp fennel seed
1 - 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes
2 cups bottled clam juice
1 cup dry white wine
2 – 6.5 oz cans chopped clams, drained, reserve the liquid
1 lb uncooked large shrimp, peeled, deveined
1 – 6 oz can crabmeat, drained
1/3 cup chopped fresh basil
Cayenne pepper
Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions

Heat olive oil in a heavy large pot over medium heat.  Add onion, garlic, oregano and fennel seeds. Saute until onion is tender about 6-8 minutes.  Add tomatoes, clam juice, white wine and liquid reserved from the clams.  Increase heat and boil until slightly  thickened, about 15 minutes.  Add clams, shrimp and crabmeat.  Reduce heat and simmer for 2 minutes.  Mix in fresh basil and simmer until shrimp are just opaque in center – about 2 more minutes.  Season to taste with cayenne, salt and pepper.

Strata for Breakfast or Brunch

My trainer Matt tells me I need more protein in my diet to help with weight loss and overall well being after my workouts with him and long runs.  However, I absolutely refuse to cut carbohydrates out – I need it for energy, especially as I have signed up for a 10K, a 10-mile and a 20K for the Spring running season. 

My thoughts turn to what protein can I add to my breakfasts – I come up with eggs.  So last weekend, instead of the usual bacon and eggs with hash combo or blueberry pancakes (not really low-carb, but one of my favorites), I decided to make a strata – an egg dish with bread, prosciutto, and cheese for breakfast.  This is an excellent dish for a brunch – serve it with a salad or other types of brunchy foods if you have a ton of people over.

My first encounter with a strata was in a little B&B in Patagonia, Arizona.  I kid you not – there is a town called that.  While I hated the other guests at the B&B, the owners were wonderful people.  I asked Nancy, the owner, how a strata is made.  Quite simply, a strata is prepared the night before so that the flavors have a chance to meld together.  In the morning, just pop it in the oven and one hour (or so) later – voila!  Breakfast is served.

Prosciutto & Goat Cheese Strata (from Madison Magazine)

Ingredients

18 slices firm white bread (sourdough or english muffin) crusts removed
6 ounces  prosciuto, thinly sliced
8 ounces goat cheese, crumbled
4 ounces provolone, thinly sliced
1/4 cup chopped green onions
6 Tbsp thinly sliced fresh basil

5 large eggs
2 and 1/2 cups whole milk
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp salt
3 Tbsp melted butter
Pepper to taste

Directions

Line the bottom of a 13×9x2-inch glass baking dish completely with 1 layer of bread, cutting some slices to fit.  Arrange half of the prosciutto evenly over the bread.  Sprinkle half of the goat cheese and layer half of the provolone over prosciutto.  Sprinkle with half of green onions and half of basil. Top with a second layer of bread.  Layer the remaining prosciutto, goat cheese, provolone, green onions and basil atop bread.  Cut the remaining bread into 1/4 inc cubes. Sprinkle over top.

Whisk eggs, milk, mustard, and salt in bowl.  Season with pepper.  Pour egg mixture over strata; press down on bread with spatula.  Drizzle melted butter over strata.  Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Uncover strata and let stand at room temperature 30 minutes.  Bake until center is set, about 1 hour.  Remove from oven.  Preheat broiler.  Place strata under broiler until the top is golden, about 30 seconds.  Cut into large squares and serve.

Curried Chicken Salad

For a lunch salad, here’s a recipe from the Junior League of Madison’s cookbook.  I do have to warn you, I am a member of the JLM – but not an active one.  I am a great believer in the JL and their awesome activities for the good of the community.  I became a JL member back in Chicago – where the activities and volunteer opportunities were geared for women who work.  Here in Madison, there are times where I felt I was a member of the JL back in the 1950’s – hardly any of the women worked or traveled for work.  Hence the reason why I am not an active member – the minute I was able to go sustainer, I did.  The one good thing the JLM came up with was their cookbook, Mad About Food.  The recipes are easy, ingredients are simple and available. 

The salad pictured here is my version of the one highlighted in the book.  I’ve changed it somewhat as B does not like raisins.

Dressing

2/3 cup mayonnaise
1 Tbsp honey Dijon mustard
1 tsp curry powder
1/8 tsp salt

Salad

4 cups cooked chicken cut into chunks (about 3 breasts)
1 (8 oz can) pineapple chunks, drained or 1 cup fresh pineapple
1/3 cup dried cranberries
1/3 cup thinly sliced celery
3 Tbsp thinly sliced green onion
1/3 cup slivered almonds, toasted
6-8 large lettuce leaves (Boston, Bibb or Romaine)
1 lb red grapes

Dressing: In a small bowl combine al dressing ingredients, mix well and set aside.

Salad: In a large bowl, mix chicken pineapple, cranberries, celery and green onion.  Pour dressing over and mix until well coated.  Refrigerate for 1 hour.  Adjust with salt and pepper to taste.

To Serve: arrange lettuce leaves on plates.  Spoon chicken salad over the lettuce and sprinkle with slivered almonds.  Garnish with red grapes.

Happy Chinese New Year

It’s the Year of the Ox – Water Buffalo to those of us who are from Asia.  I’m not sure what the characteristics are for those born in the Year of the Ox or what to expect for the new Chinese year, but thinking about the Chinese holiday makes me want to head back down to Chinatown in Chicago and have some dim sum.  Maybe, as I am not traveling this week – I might just sneak down there during the week and convince my brother to meet me for dim sum at the Phoenix.

My dim sum favorites are shrimp siu mai, char shao bao, and these little dessert balls I call sesame balls.  No chicken feet for me.  And the absolute best dim sum I’ve ever had was out in Milpitas, CA where my friend Alina and I would leave our client site for lunch and gorge on dim sum at King Crab.  The dim sum out there had a fusion of Vietnamese flavors using items like lemongrass and cilantro.  I miss it and miss Alina too.

I’ve not had dim sum here in Madison as I’ve heard mixed reviews on the chinese restaurants here offering up dim sum on weekends.  It’ll get here, eventually, and typical of the Madison restaurant scene, chefs will take it to a different level and charge an arm and a leg for what is essentially appetizers made with rice flour and little bits of meat.

Belated Happy New Year!

I just wanted to wish everyone a wonderful and prosperous new year. Especially to JM – who is one of the reasons I started this blog. Years ago, I found his blog just by happenstance. I wrote one comment back then. Flash forward to 2008, I remembered his blog and realized we now work for the same firm. His blog is listed in my ‘You should read’ column. One day, when I can haul my ass back to Manila, we will meet and he will make me adobo. 

New Years Eve was spent with friends at Magnus.  Never fails, if we stay home for the holidays or go skiing, we always try to come back before New Years to spend NYE at Magnus.  Usually, it’s just dinner then on to other celebrations, but this year, as I was under the weather, it was dinner and back to home.  Magnus is the place where we go for major celebrations: birthdays, holidays, promotions, etc.  Chris and Finn always greet us and wish us well.  The food is wonderful.  I had the scallops, others had the salmon.  And of course, we all had dessert.

I’ll write a little more later today (I hope) and add pictures from NYE.  Right now, I’m fighting off a weird infection.  Tootles.

Mongolian Beef

The other day I really wanted a meat dish.  Grilling is out of the question – the patio is covered under 20 inches of snow and indoor grilling just doesn’t cut it.  And I wanted something Asian as well, but absolutely no pork.  I trolled through my recipe files and found nothing.  I thought about going out for dinner, but eh, nothing appealed to me.  Then I remembered PF Chang’s Mongolian Beef entree and thought, hmm, there’s got to be a similar recipe somewhere.  I called my sister, S., who lives in the Netherlands (what is it about my family and this need to live abroad?).  She mentioned that there was a recipe out there on the net that’s a similar one to PF Chang’s dish, and that it had to have a layer of flour or cornstarch to make the meat crispy. 

So I trolled the net (duh, should have done this first) and found it.  Here it is with my variations.  The recipe can be found on recipezaar.com

Ingredients

2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon ginger, minced
1 tablespoon garlic, chopped
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup water
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
vegetable oil for frying – about 1 cup (see my directions, I’ve changed this)
1 lb flank steak
1/4 cup cornstarch
3 large green onions

Directions

To make the marinade/sauce: heat the 2 Tbsps. of oil in a sauce pan over medium/low heat.  Add the ginger and garlic to the pan and saute for about 1 minute.  Add the soy sauce and water.  Then add the brown sugar.  Stir until the sugar dissolves and then raise the heat to about medium and boil the sauce until it thickens slightly, about 5-7 minutes.  Remove the sauce from the heat to cool.

Slice the flank steak in an angled fashion, against the grain into 1/4 -inch thick bite size slices.  Place the steak pieces in a bag and pour the marinade/sauce over the steak.  Close the bag and distribute the marinade evenly.  Refrigerate for at least 1 hour, turning over the mixture once.  The original recipe doesn’t call for the meat to be marinated, but it’s flank steak, which is a very tough cut, so it needs flavor.

Remove the steak pieces using a slotted spoon and dip them into the cornstarch to apply a very thin dusting to both sides of each piece of beef.  Let the beef sit for about 10 minutes so that the cornstarch sticks.

The rest of the directions are a bit different from the original recipe, only because I thought using 1 cup of oil sounded disgusting.  Also, I don’t have a wok, so I used a skillet.  I used less than 1/4 cup of oil in a skillet – just enough to cover the bottom of the skillet.  Heat the oil over medium heat… hot enough but not smoking.  Add the beef to the oil and saute for about 2 minutes, or until the beef begins to darken on the edges.  Stir the meat around to cook evenly – another 2 minutes. 

At this point, the original recipe suggests the following (using the aforementioned 1 cup of oil): using a large slotted spoon, take the meat out onto paper towels and dump the oil.  Put the pan back over the heat, dump the meat back into the pan and simmer for one minute.  Add the sauce, cook for one minute while stirring.  Add the green onions and cook for another minute.

OK, as I did the initial read-through of the original recipe, I thought that the whole meat removal, dumping the oil, re-dumping the meat back into the pan was a pain in the ass.  So my take, if you don’t use a lot of oil, there won’t be a need to dump out and re-dump the meat.  Granted, in traditional Chinese cooking there is a lot of oil, but I think we can cut the oil by using only enough to saute the meat until cooked through.  Once the meat is cooked, add the sauce and stir for a minute, then add the onions and cook for another minute.

Picture: