San Diego eats

I just got back from a few days in San Diego (downtown) and had a lot of fun visiting my friend. Thank goodness I was hanging out with great people who love to eat too. We ate everything from Mexican to cheesecake.

My first food outing was a quick dinner at Prado (in the lounge) in Balboa park. I wasn't really impressed considering the prices but the food wasn't bad. We were pressed for time so I just got the shrimp tacos. In case you can't tell from my blog, I like to eat well for cheap. So I wasn't thrilled that my two tiny shrimp tacos were $7.50 when I'm sure I could find the same thing for much cheaper and even tastier (right, Kirk?). Don't get me wrong, the food was perfectly fine and is probably a great place to go if you're a tourist checking out Balboa park (which is SO beautiful! I should go more often).

For breakfast on Monday we went to St. Tropez bakery and cafe in Hillcrest. I wanted to get something cheap and they had a few pastries available up front. In my opinion, you can tell if a French restaurant is going to be good by their pastries. If their pastries aren't good then you probably won't like the rest of the food. I always love brioche (especially the round kind with the sugar crystals on top) and almond croissants so I figured I couldn't go wrong. To be honest with you, I was really disappointed. I miss the French bakery near my house when I was growing up. These pastries were extremely dry. I had to wonder if they even baked them that same day. (Which is sad because it was only noon! They should still taste fine). My companions got egg dishes that came with a side of potatoes. The potatoes were pretty good and they seemed to like the eggs so if you like eggs you might enjoy this place. I, on the other hand, will probably not go back. Oh, and my friend had a side salad which I SWEAR had store bought Italian dressing on it. You can call me a snob, but I think that's a big faux-pas in a French cafe/restaurant. Can't they make a vinagrette themselves?

For dinner we decided on P.F. Changs (it's one chain restaurant that I actually love). I know it's not authentic Chinese food but I love to go to P.F. Changs when I'm in Mission Valley. We ordered the chicken lettuce wraps (pretty good, I hadn't had them before), pan fried veggies dumplings (very good but small), spicy green beans (they got rid of the long beans! but these were fine), mu-shu chicken wraps (I didn't try this), and crispy honey chicken (one of my favorite dishes, usually I get the shrimp dish, though).

For dessert we decided to get some Cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory. I had actually never had cheesecake there. My keylime cheesecake slice was nice and light. I also tried the vanilla bean and chocolate chip cookie dough cheesecakes. They were all tasty.

So, now I'm going to get prepared for a dinner I'm having on Monday for four friends (plus my husband and I). Here are some restrictions: no cilantro, one person doesn't like shrimp, one person doesn't eat meat but does eat chicken/seafood, and no apples or pears. I have some dishes in my repetoire that I could make but I would like to make some new dishes too. If you have any ideas let me know! Oh, and my mom is visiting this weekend so I'll be doing most of the cooking the day of the dinner.

Hope you all had a great weekend!

Mini Goat Cheese Pizzas

One of my oldest and dearest friends is in town for the months so I'm going to spend Sunday and Monday with him. I'll be back on Tuesday to share whatever food we come across.

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In case you're making pizza tonight and need some topping ideas....

Whenever I make pizza I make one large thin crust and at least four small pizzas (as leftovers). The other night I made a large pizza with leftover Singleton's cheese and mozzarella and the small ones with goat cheese, mozzarella, bacon, pesto, roasted garlic and roasted peppers. If you like pineapples add those too (it's delish!).

Here are the small pizzas:

Chocolate White Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Last night I was craving dessert and it was probably around 3am (I'm a night owl) so I wanted to make something quick. I realized that I haven't used my Ina Garten cookbook (Barefoot Contessa Parties!) in a while so I made her Chocolate White Chocolate Chunk Cookies.

I'm not a big fan of white chocolate but it's the perfect contrast in these chocolate cookies. For once I don't really have any changes to make to this recipe except that I think 13 or 14 minutes would be even better for these cookies (rather than baking them for 15 minutes like the recipe says).

Handmade Tortillas

Why stop at making pasta by hand? Tonight I decided to go one step further and make my tortillas from scratch too.

CORN TORTILLAS

recipe (click on link above) by Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger

Last night's mango salsa went perfectly with a quesadilla made with fresh tortillas. They didn't brown well in my non-stick pan so I think next time I might add some oil to the pan to crisp up the tortillas a bit. I might even make some tortilla chips if I don't eat them all up right away.

Mango Salsa

For some reason I've been craving tacos this week (maybe I need iron?) and finally went to the grocery store today. Ever since I made mango salsa to go with my tacos a year ago I can't get enough of mangos with tacos. So tonight I made a mango salsa and gaucamole.

Tonight's mango salsa was slightly different than I usually make it. I make my salsas based on the balance of color. The only color that should stand out should be the mango yellow. Everything is diced and mixed with lime juice, a little olive oil, and cilantro. Tonight's mango salsa ingredients include: mango (duh), celery, English cucumber, red onion, serrano chiles, and fresh ginger. The mango was just ripe so it wasn't mushy yet. Mango salsa tastes even better in tacos when it's mushy. Usually I make it with scallions instead of red onion and the type of chile changes each time.

Salsas are my favorite homemade condiment/sauce besides aioli because they're easy, super flavorful, and oh-so-pretty. Nutritionists always say to eat colorfully and salsas are the perfect way to achieve that goal.

The Versatile Chocolate Chip Cookie

Two nights ago my husband was having a bad day so I decided to whip up something quick to make him feel better. There's no better comfort dessert than chocolate chip cookies in my opinion. Since we had about ten mini Heath bars in the pantry I decided to break those apart and mix them into the batter. I had tried that before and the toffee melted into the cookie and disintegrated but this time I made the chunks larger and they turned out perfectly.

I know there are a LOT of chocolate chip cookie recipes out there but I still love Nestle's Original Tollhouse cookie recipe. If you like your cookies chewy like I do, make sure you only bake them 10 minutes and if you refrigerate the dough, let it sit out for a while before you bake them so that the dough has a chance to soften. It makes a big difference in the texture of the cookie.

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A few weeks ago I was in the mood for cookies and I happened to have some rolled oats leftover from my pear scones so I decided to make oatmeal cookies.

I found a recipe for oatmeal cookies in the newest Gourmet cookbook (the HUGE yellow cookbook you see in the stores that is edited by Ruth Reichl). The cookbook has a TON of recipes but is frustrating to look through because the recipe titles are all in yellow which is very difficult to read.

This particular oatmeal cookie recipe was difficult to cut in half but I had no choice since I didn't have enough oats for a full recipe. They turned out fine, though. Unlike the average oatmeal (chocolate chip) cookie, these were pure oats. There is very little flour in the recipe so you MUST love oats in order to enjoy these cookies. I added chocolate chips and wouldn't try them without the chocolate for fear they would be way too bland. At first bite I wasn't sure that I would make these cookies again but by the time I finished the first cookie I was hooked and have been craving them ever since. They're best when eaten straight out of the oven so I recommend only baking what you can eat and saving the remaining dough for later.

Last-minute Cucumber Salad Ideas

Ever since the infamous Food and Wine article I've been thinking about how I need to keep on top of my blog and continue to challenge myself by trying new recipes and making more of my own dishes. Unfortunately my husband is now on night crew and will be going on a two week deployment which means I'm cooking for one. That means saving money but also not being able to make actual "meals." It's hard cooking fancy meals for one.

Since I haven't made any meals in a while I'm going to post two uses for cucumber in salads. These are perfect for leftovers or quick side dishes. They are a little obvious but sometimes it helps to get ideas when you're busy or stressed and are blanking out on what to make for a side dish.

#1: Cucumber Salad

English cucumber, thinly sliced
pepper, to taste
lemon juice (or white vinegar), to taste
handful of flat-leaf parsley, chopped
handful of salted cashews, chopped

Mix all ingredients in a bowl. I suggest using about 3 T. of lemon juice for 1/2 of an English cucumber. This is up to your taste since some people don't like too much lemon juice in their salads.

#2: Simple Quinoa Taboulleh

English cucumber, chopped
letover white quinoa (about 1-2 cups)
handful of flat-leaf parsley, chopped (or to taste)
juice of 1/2 a lemon
salt and pepper, to taste

Mix all ingredients in a bowl.

Grilled Cheese on Focaccia

Okay, this is my second grilled cheese sandwich of the day. I was planning on waiting until tomorrow to make my next one but all we have is cheese and bread in the house so I didn't have a choice!

I bought some cheese and tomato focaccia and spread some pesto and roasted garlic on the inside of the sandwich. Then I added Singleton's cheese from England which tastes exactly like sharp cheddar. I also added roasted red pepper and shavings of asiago cheese (my favorite cheese for sandwiches and burgers).


I grilled the sandwich on my grill pan and used a heavy pot to make it more like a panini (sorry, no fancy panini maker yet!). Right before the cheese melted completely I added a few leaves of baby spinach.

This sandwich was excellent. Nothing special but definitely excellent.

Cheese Sandwich Day

Grilled Colby Jack Cheese Sandwich on Rye

I've had a rough health day so I'm going to just have to post this grilled cheese I made for lunch and make a fancier cheese sandwich soon. This afternoon I bought some bread and an imported cheddar so I'll have to experiment with that. I've been dreaming about cheese sandwiches for the past few days. Over the next few weeks I'm going to have to experiment. I love a good challenge.

Lemon Bars

Ever since I can remember I have been making these lemon bars. They take a while to bake (45 minutes total) but are extremely easy and addictive. This is still my favorite recipe for Lemon Bars.

I can't believe I'm sharing this recipe with you all. This is my secret "go-to" recipe when I'm too lazy to make something more complicated and when I want to impress.

Lemon Bars

1 c. AP flour
1/2 c. butter, softened
1/4 c. powdered sugar
1 c. granulated sugar
2 t. grated lemon peel
2 T. lemon juice
1/2 t. baking powder
1/4 t. salt
2 eggs

1.) Preheat oven to 350.

2.) Mix flour, butter, and powdered sugar in small bowl or mixer. Press evenly with hands into the bottom of an ungreased square pan (8X8X2). Bake 20 minutes.

3.) Beat remaining ingredients in mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Pour over hot crust.

4.) Bake just until no indentation remains when touched lightly in center, about 25 minutes. Let stand until cool, then cut into squares.

Makes 25 squares (but in my opinion only serves 2)

Thursday will be Cheese Sandwich Day

I know, I know. This is old news by now. I have to give you my two cents on Pete Wells' article in the March issue of Food and Wine. First of all, I love this magazine. I'm pissed that a writer in this magazine would act like a "know-it-all." I understand that he is trying to say that there are some really good food blogs out there but the way he said that was insulting to many good food blogs out there.

The whole point of blogging is to bring people together who share similar interests. It's a great place to express yourself freely (whether you have 2 readers or 200) and learn from others. To judge bloggers by calling them "boring" is beyond me. How could someone be so insulting by taking quotes out of context from blogs and bad mouth them? One example is a quote about a woman's pumpkin cookies being cakey and that she didn't realize that they are supposed to be cakey. What's wrong with her saying that? She's mearly letting everyone know what she learned that day. I do that all the time and I'm not ashamed. I like to talk through my mistakes or misunderstandings.

Afterall, blogs are basically online diaries. Most people are not professionals and are just learning as they go. Myself included. It's been a few years since I was in college and my writing skills have gone to crap. Starting a blog was my way of keep my brain active and finding an outlet for my food/cooking passion. I was fortunate enough to meet others who share my passion.

Thursday is going to be Cheese Sandwich Day for food bloggers to show their disdain regarding Wells' asinine comments. It's silly but a cute way to say "we don't care what you say" and to stand up for those blogs that were unfairly mocked.

I thought Noodlepie's post today was interesting. He wrote about how the article was good because Pete Well's was saying that there are good blogs out there. He was sticking up for the article but 1.) he received a great review in the article and 2.) he's a journalist himself so he's essentially a professional writing a blog because he writes for a living. It's not really fair to compare professionals to amateurs. It's okay to say "these are exceptional blogs" but I think it's completely unfair to make fun of amateur blogs.

On the other hand, I do understand the idea of the "cheese sandwich blog." It isn't interesting to read what someone ate for lunch if it's something uninteresting and basic. However, a "cheese sandwich" is not neccessarily a good example since there are gourmet cheese sandwiches. In Los Angeles there are several popular restaurants that serve gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches.

I do wonder if my blog is considered a "cheese sandwich" blog. If Mr. Wells thinks my blog falls under that category I would be very annoyed. I just started this blog in December, I'm not a professional writer or chef, and I only know a little html. I'm hoping over the next year I can really make my site look professional and raise the stakes a bit in the level of difficulty and quality of the dishes I make. As far as restaurant reviews, those will still be few and far between while money is tight. When I do go to a place that's worth sharing I will still post about it. Knowing of delicious and affordable places to eat is priceless. I love reading about places to eat (especially affordable ones) from other blogs and really love the inspiration I get from bloggers' recipes.

Okay, that was more than two cents but I've said what I needed to say. One day I hope to be a good writer and chef and I have to start somewhere. Therefore, I will be making a cheese sandwich on Thursday and hope you will join me in making a statement about "cheese sandwich blogs."

Note: check out Kitchenmage's clever t-shirts for foodies and cheese sandwich lovers.

Martha's Cookies

Over the past few weeks I've made a few cookies from Martha Stewart's Holiday Cookies special issue magazine. I wasn't all that impressed with the few I tried for Christmas but the photos in the magazine are so impressive I always get conned into trying yet another recipe.

My first recipe was for Surprise Cookies. I was craving chocolate and I love marshmellows so this seemed like a good idea. For some reason I didn't realize that this was going to be cakey and similar to a ho-ho.

I made the dough and decided to only bake half of the dough. This first half I made according to directions and placed the marshmellows on top after baking for 8 minutes. When I made the chocolate icing to go over it I meant to make half of the recipe but somehow started making the full recipe half-way through the process. When I realized this I tried to resurrect the icing by making the full recipe. I'm not sure if the icing was thin because of my mistake or due to the recipe. The chocolate icing didn't really harden around the marshmellow and cookie. It was more of a see-through coating.




This first version of the Surprise cookies were a surprise. They were way too cakey and wayyyyyyyy too sweet. I did discover that they were fairly yummy with vanilla ice cream (which actually cut some of the sweetness)but decided not to bake the second half of the dough the same way.

I decided to just bake the rest of the dough as regular cookies and lightly drizzle the icing on top of them. They're still in my fridge because I'm out of ice cream and they aren't good without it.

***

My second attempt at Martha's cookie magazine was her Black and White cookies . I used to get them back in NY and D.C. but it's been a while since I've had a good black and white cookie.



The black and white cookie pre-"black and white" was good enough to eat by itself. Adding the white and black icing only made it that much better. I actually made just the white icing and used the leftover chocolate icing from the surprise cookies.

The result was quite delicious. I had to keep the cookies in the fridge to keep the icing from melting but they didn't last more than two days.

It's funny because my cookies were rounded on top and the photo in the magazine showed a flat cookie. I feel much better now that I saw the website's photo which looks a lot more like my cookies.

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Tonight I used some leftover cookie dough from my holiday Stained Glass Christmas Tree Cookies to make some Valentine's Day cookies. I also used my leftover chocolate and white icings along with some sprinkles for the occasion. The icing was a bit runny but they actually tasted pretty good. I already ate the K (for me) and the M (my husband). (L is for love, by the way).

Garden Grill and Extraordinary Desserts

If you walk past the Garden Grill on India Street you might not give it a second glance. The seating area is filled with cheap plastic tables and chairs and the only scenery is that of a soda machine and a wall of mirrors. I've seen cafeteria's that look nicer.

This is about as far as I can go in giving the Garden Grill a bad review. Everything else about the eatery is fantastic. You can easily get a meal for around $6 or "splurge" and get more food than you can eat for a total of $16. They offer salads, pita sandwiches, plates (which can feed two), many appetizers and even desserts. Since my husband and I flock to cheap yet tasty restaurants, we have been here many times. Between the two of us we've tried the kibbeh, labneh, hummus, tabboulleh, gyro sandwich, chicken shawerma, and kabobs (lamb, chicken, and salmon). They have dozens of more plates to choose from.

When we first started eating here the soda machine was broken and their menu was smaller (and maybe a bit cheaper?). Over the last six months they have redone their menu (they have a very easy-to-read picture menu), fixed their soda machine, and added specials. Despite the poorly done eating area, the rest of this hole-in-the-wall restaurant has been updated nicely.

Lately we've been on an extremely tight budget (military screwed us over...long story!) and haven't been able to buy groceries or go out to eat. Our plan for today was to go to the Chinese New Year fair downtown but when we got there we quickly realized it was very lame. There were only three food vendors and most of the other vendors were selling trinkets and non-Chinese items. Since we spent all of ten minutes at the fair we decided to "splurge" and eat at our favorite Mediterranean eatery.



Since we're on such a tight budget our splurging consisted of splitting a meal and getting an appetizer. We decided on the labneh with pita bread (which I used to get weekly at Jons up in L.A.) and the Chicken Schwerma plate. Each plate comes with a greek salad, basmati rice, hummus, pita bread, the main meat and a sauce. I requested the green chile sauce instead of the tahini because it's so flavorful and has a nice kick. We also got a bottle of water and a large coke (refilled twice) and the total was only $16. Not bad for the huge amount of food. We were both stuffed from the one plate and appetizer.

***

Unfortunately Valentine's Day is on a Tuesday and my husband works night shift right now so we won't be able to have dinner together. He's also going on a two week deployment in a few weeks. That's why tonight we decided to make our night extra special or extra-ordinary. You got it. We went to Extraordinary Desserts on 5th Ave in the Hillcrest area.

I was very proud of myself for remembering to take a picture of our food at the Garden Grill and kept reminding myself to take a picture of our cake at Extraordinary Desserts. I forgot. Can you blame me? How can I think of taking pictures when a decadent piece of chocolate cake is placed in front of my face?

I did remember to take a picture after we finished the cake:


Fortunately I got a cookie to take home to show you. It appears to be a chocolate linzer cookie with a little gold leaf and rose petals.



My husband also got a cup of their heavenly Kona coffee. Normally I would have gotten a cup of their Chocolate tears tea (handmade) but it's $5 and that was a bit too rich for our wallet. A small container of the tea is $22. One day when I have $22 to throw away I will definitely get that tea. It is truly divine. The best tea I've ever had.

Extraordinary Desserts also has a great selection of chocolates (Vosges, etc.) and gifts. The atmosphere is relaxing and comfortable whether you are in side in a booth or outside under a heatlamp.

One thing to remember when going to Extraordinary Desserts is to go early. We went at 6:30 and waited for about ten minutes. By the time we were sitting down the line was out the door and down the street. I was very surprised since it was so early. Normally we go around 9 or 10pm and it's very crowded then. They're open until midnight on Fridays and Saturdays. Oh, why can't there be an Extraordinary Desserts in North County?!

Garden Grill
3715 India Street
San Diego, CA 92103
(619)293-3660

Extraordinary Desserts
2929 5th Ave.
San Diego, CA 92103
(619)294-2132

For more pictures and another review, check out Kirk's trip to the Garden Grill.

Tom Yum soup base

One very strange fact about me is that I do not like soup. Up until a few years ago I wouldn't eat any soups at all. Now I will eat one or two Thai soups and at least one Chinese soup but I still dislike soups. The only soup I really eat, Tom Yum Koong, is one of my favorite foods. Kind of odd for someone who doesn't like soup, huh?

I've tried many canned versions and many restaurant versions. The restaurant versions are almost always good but I haven't really liked any of the canned versions (not surprising..they are canned). So last night I decided to make my own. I had some stock leftover from poaching chicken for my Chinese Chicken Salad so I went from there.

Since the Thai cookbook I own isn't very authentic I knew to skip my cookbooks and go straight for the internet. I found several different recipes from Thai websites and decided I would just make my own.

I took the leftover chicken stock (about 2-3 cups) and added another 2 cups of water, about 10 thin slices of ginger, leftover stalks of lemongrass from my lemongrass chicken dish, lime zest (still don't have kaffir lime leaves), a chicken breast tender (for more chicken flavor and to add later in the soup), and 6 Thai chilies.

I simmered this mixture for about an hour but removed the chicken breast after 25 minutes so that it wouldn't be dry.

Then I strained the mixture, returned it to my pot, and added a few peeled and deveined shrimp which I cooked for a little over a minute (I didn't have any mushrooms but if I were making this for anyone besides myself I would make sure it had mushrooms). I then stirred in 4 T. fish sauce, 4 T. lime juice, and 3 t. (one recipe called for 3 T.) of chili paste.

When I tasted the soup I was shocked at how unbearably hot it was. I have a high tolerance for [spicy] heat but this was too much. Fortunately, when dilluted with water it is perfect. So now I actually have more soup than I planned since I can use this as a soup base. I just add shredded chicken or shrimp and cilantro to garnsih.

My husband was teasing me this morning that I'm the only person he's ever heard of eating a spicy soup for breakfast. Of course "breakfast" was at 1pm so I don't really think it's very odd to eat soup then.

Anyway, Tom Yum is a simple soup that can be altered so many ways. I think I'll keep experimenting until it's the best soup I've ever had.

Broccoli with Rice Wine-Oyster Sauce

My mom received a subscription to Eating Well from a friend and I'm definitely reaping the benefits. While most of the recipes are super easy and some a bit boring, occasionally they have a great recipe or meal idea.

This simple side dish is a great accompaniment to any Chinese dinner.

Broccoli with Rice Wine-Oyster Sauce
(tomatoes omitted and recipe shortened)

from Feb/March 2005 issue of Eating Well

1 T. canola oil
1 T. finely chopped fresh ginger
2-3 cups broccoli crowns
1 teaspoon sesame oil (optional)

Rice Wine-Oyster Sauce:
1 T. Shao Hsing rice wine
2 t. oyster sauce
1/4 t. sugar
1/8 t. salt

1.) Heat up wok over high heat until bead of water vaporizes within 1-2 seconds of contact. Swirl oil in pan, add ginger and stir-fry for 10 seconds.

2.) Add broccoli and stir-fry for 2 minutes. Stir in Rice Wine-Oyster Sauce and cover for 30 seconds (skip this step if you want super crispy broccoli).

3.) Stir fry broccoli for 1 to 2 more minutes. Stir in sesame oil and serve immediately.

Note: I added snap peas to mine right towards the end (so that they only cook about 2 minutes total). You could also add peppers or a number of other vegetables for color and flavor.

Quick morning or dessert biscuits

Summer Berry Shortcakes
from The Way to a Man's Heart

(shortened/adapted from original)

2 c. AP flour
2 1/2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
2 T. sugar, plus extra for sprinkling
6 T. unsalted butter, diced
1 cup heavy cream (or milk)

1.) Preheat oven to 425 and grease baking sheet (or put stone in oven, if you use a pizza stone like I do).

2.) Stir together first four ingredients in large bowl. Rub in butter with pastry blender or fingers.

3.) Using a fork, lightly stir in all but 1 T. of the cream/milk, little by little, to make a soft dough.

4.) Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead 6-8 times, until smooth. Pat dough into rectangle about 1/2 inch thick. Cut with biscuit or cookie cutters.

5.) Spray stone with cooking spray and place uncooked biscuits on top. Brush with remaining cream and sprinkle with sugar. Bake for about 10 minutes until golden.

6.) Serve with whipped cream and berries. They also taste great with jam or nutella.

Makes a great quick dessert or breakfast. Enjoy!

Mini Shitake Egg Rolls

Last week I made vegetarian spring rolls and was just not satisfied with their turnout. Since I still had a bunch of beansprouts and shitake mushrooms left in the fridge I decided to make my own egg roll recipe. This time I cut the large square wrappers into quarters.



Filling:
1 cup diced shitake mushrooms
1/2 to 1 cup beansprouts
2" piece of ginger, minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 chile, seeded and minced
2 T. cilantro, chopped

I cooked the filling in my brand new wok (more about woks in my post about the Wok Shop in San Fran) and fried the filled wrappers in my deep fryer. They were a lot better than the vegetarian rolls I made the other day.


Here is a pictorial explanation on how to make eggrolls:

Lemongrass Chicken Skewers

Lemongrass Chicken Skewers

Chicken Paste:
2 large boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 small egg white
1 carrot, finely grated
1 small red chili, deseeded and chopped
2 T. chopped fresh garlic or garlic chives
2 T. chopped fresh cilantro
1 T. canola oil
salt and pepper

For Skewers:
4 long lemongrass stalks, each cut in half

1.) Roughly chop chicken and place in food processor with egg white. Process for a few minutes until the chicken turns into a smooth paste. Add carrots, chili, garlic or chives, and cilantro and process to mix well.

2.) Chill mixture in fridge for 15 minutes (to as long as a few hours)

3.) Using your hands, mold the chicken mixture around lemon grass stalks.

4.) Brush lemongrass skewers with canola oil and broil for 4-6 minutes, turning occasionally, or grill on a hot grill for the same amount of time.

Note: I used the broiler because of time restraints but they would taste and look better grilled. That's why I made my chicken into pita sandwiches with homemade tzatziki sauce (see photo below). Also, next time I would add some lemongrass to the chicken mixture.

Chinese Chicken Salad

Whenever I have some extra time on my hands I love to make this dish. Everyone has their own favorite Chinese Chicken Salad and this is mine.

Kady's Chinese Chicken Salad
w/Soy Vay's Cha-Cha
Chicken Salad Dressing

Serves 2-4.

2 large chicken breasts
my lazy-man's Asian mire poix: a few celery stalks, carrot scraps, scallions, ginger, sherry
2 celery stalks
2 carrots, peeled
1/2 red bell pepper (optional)
1 chile, minced
1 large handful of almonds, toasted
2 ounces of rice noodles, fried
1 cup of chow mein noodles (the fried kind)
1/4 cup lettuce per serving bowl, torn into pieces

(These are all approximate measurements. This salad works best if you make it to your own liking.)

1.) Fill a medium pot with water. Add a few celery stalks (I use the inside soft stalks), a carrot or carrot scraps, a hunk of fresh ginger, 1 or 2 scallions, and 1 T. of dry sherry. Place chicken breasts in pot and bring to a boil. The water shouldn't ever reach a rolling boil but it will eventually get to a simmer or soft boil. When poaching 2 chicken breasts like this I leave them in for about 15-20 minutes from start to finish. Strain and save the chicken stock. It's great for any Asian dish that calls for stock, soups, or when making couscous or similar grains. Take the chicken breasts out and let rest until cool on a cutting board or plate.

2.) Julienne the carrots and celery sticks. I like to use my Kyocera julienne slicer because it's so quick and easy. Be careful of your fingers, though! Use the hand guard if you can. You can use the Kyocera adjustable mandoline for the red pepper.

3.) When chicken breast is cool, shred with fingers into small stringy pieces. Place chicken shreds in a large bowl with julienned vegetables, minced chile, and toasted (and cooled) almonds.

4.) Always wait until serving to add the chow mein noodles, fried rice noodles, and lettuce to the salad bowl. If you think you'll have leftovers, just add these ingredients to each individual serving bowl or put them on a separate serving plate. They will get soggy if stored all together in the salad.

5.) While I have several recipes for decent Chinese Chicken Salad Dressing, I really like Soy Vay's Cha-Cha Chinese Chicken Salad Dressing. Always wait until the last minute to dress the salad.

Note: I did not include the chow mein noodles and almonds yesterday because I was out of the chow mein noodles and forgot the almonds. We were so hungry we couldn't wait to eat the salad! They do make a HUGE difference in the salad, so I don't recommend leaving them out.

Yellow Peppers Stuffed with Quinoa, Corn, and Feta Cheese

Everyday of this past week I have been putting off making this dish. The idea sounded simple but whenever I would read the recipe I just felt too tired to make it. I think it's because the recipe is poorly written.

I got this Yellow Peppers Stuffed with Quinoa, Corn, and Feta Cheese recipe from Eating Well's August/September 2005 issue. Unfortunately they don't have the recipe on their site so I'm just going to have to give you my version of the recipe so that I'm not plagerizing.

First of all, the recipe called for 4 whole yellow or orange peppers and that would be entirely too much food for the two of us, so I just used 2 orange peppers. We were only able to eat one half pepper each last night so we have leftovers.

Second, I didn't use corn because I only cook with fresh corn and it's not in season right now.

Some substitutions I made include replacing the jalapeno with one thai chile (these are hot so I thought one was enough but I could have used two). I used fresh baby spinach instead of regular or frozen spinach and I omitted the white winee in the recipe which I believe was a waste of wine.

So...with all of that said, here is my version of the recipe:

Orange Peppers Stuffed with Quinoa and Feta Cheese

2 orange peppers, sliced in half vertically (seed pepper but do not remove stem)
1 cup of cooked quinoa
2 scallions, thinly sliced (including 2 inches of the green part)
1-2 thai chiles
1 small clove garlic, finely chopped
1/2 t. ground cumin
1/2 cup fresh baby spinach
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
3 ounces feta cheese, diced (I used TJ's mediterranean feta which is crumbled)
1/2-1 red onion, thinly sliced
(omitted 1/4 c. white wine, you'll see why)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

1. Heat 1 T. oil in wok or skillet. Cook scallions and chile for 1 minute, or until soft. Add garlic, cumin, spinach, and 1-2 T. water. Cook, stirring occassionally, until spinach is wilted (about 1 minute). Transfer to large bowl.

2. Add quinoa, cilantro, and feta to bowl and toss to combine. Season with fresh ground pepper.

3. Wipe out skillet and reheat with 1 T. oil. Cook onions, stirring frequently, until they color around edges (3-5 minutes). Season with pinch of salt and pepper.

Note: You can stir in 1/4 cup of wine at this point but it's a waste of wine since you're only putting the onions in the bottom of the baking pan to flavor the peppers and I really don't think the small amount of white wine will make a difference. Since it is such a small amount of wine the flavor will cook off and only affect the onions. It's not enough flavor to affect the peppers. If you are planning on eating the onions with the peppers then I would use the white wine.

4. Transfer onions to a baking pan (large enough to hold the 4 halves of peppers).

5. Cook pepper halves in a large pot of boiling water for 4 minutes (until slightly tender). Drain and fill pepper halves with quinoa mixture. Place pepper halves in baking dish with onions. Drizzle 1/2-1 T. oil over peppers.

6. Bake peppers until heated through, about 15 minutes (or less if you prefer). Switch heat to broil and cook until tops are browned (about 4 minutes).

As far as stuffed peppers go, these are very good. I don't think I'm a huge fan of stuffed peppers. I would actually adapt this recipe even more and make it more like a salad, stuffing a raw pepper half with quinoa salad.

These would make a great addition to any dinner party.

Handmade Spinach Pasta

My third attempt at making pasta by hand went very well last night. I cheated a little and used Ecco La Pasta's spinach pasta mix (it saves a few minutes) but I did the rest by hand.

When using a stand mixer you should add 1/2 cup plus 1 T. of water to the entire bag of pasta flour. Mix on medium speed for a few minutes and voila: pasta dough.

You then pat the dough into two balls and cover one with plastic wrap to keep from drying out.

Pass through the widest setting on your pasta machine roller until you have smooth sheets of pasta (about 6 times). Then roll it through #4 to make a thin sheet to use for thick spaghetti or fettuccine.

Then roll it through a small setting (ex: #4) to make a thin pasta sheet for fettuccine or spaghetti.

After your pasta sheet is ready you roll it through the pasta cutter (whichever one you desire). I used the fettuccine cutter. I don't have a picture of this step because you have to move quickly and use one hand to hold the sheet and the other to grab the pasta. Make sure your pasta is dry so that it doesn't stick together. Flour is your friend if your pasta is too sticky.

I let my pasta dry out over a chair until I'm ready to use it. It only takes 3-4 minutes to cook in a boiling pot of salted water with a T. of oil to keep the pasta from sticking. If you're not used to fresh pasta it might seem raw but you'll get used to it quickly and love the taste.

Fresh pasta is so good that you don't want to overwhelm it with too much sauce. My husband and I prefer pesto sauce to marinara so I added a homemade pesto sauce and grated parmesean. (Note: I keep my parmesean and asiago cheese in the freezer. It lasts for months this way).