Thursday, January 31, 2008

The Best Souvenirs for hei : D


YAY to Carol & Eddie!!!
They went to Hong Kong : 0
So Goh goh and i had to cat-sit Sugar for Carol : )

What did Carol get us in return?
The BEST kind of Souvenirs for STF, of course!

From Left to Right, Top to Bottom:
- Calbee Curry Flavored Chips
- Calbee Teriyaki Honey Chicken Wings Flavored Chips
- Glico Chocolate Cream Collon
- Freshly Sealed Beef Jerky *_*
- Air Bubble Chocolate
- Air Bubble Strawberry & Milk Chocolate

YAYYYYYYYY!!! : D
Y'All know what's the right thing to do,
next time you go on a trip, RIGHT? ; )

Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Fake Chicken Cacciatore

I set out to try to make Chicken Cacciatore
for the first time. EVER.
(ack... i can't even spell CACCIATORE by heart.)

The night before:
Marinate Chicken thighs (skin on) with salt / pepper overnight.

Next day:
Drenge them in flour : ) so juice would stay in, i suppose?



Slice up some onions



The recipe suggested chopping rosemary.
but i failed miserably... -_-"
i couldn't find a way to chop them without them flying
all over the place.
i gave up before they had a chance to land on my eyeball 0_o"



Sauteed the onions, rosemary with minced garlic : )
AROMATICS! : D ahhh haaa!
i learned that word from Mr. Alton Brown.



Ohoh... backtrack a little.
before cooking the aromatics,
i deep-fried the thighs in the same pot with olive oil.




There's gotta be some sort of starch to go with this dish, right?
So i decided, SHELLS pasta would be a good match : )



Although, i didn't realize how long it'd take for them to cook,
just because they're LARGE 0_o (14-16 mins!)



While the pasta's boiling away,
my focus turned back to the sauce.
Added a) Dry White Wine + b) Canned Diced Tomatoes : )



After a while, dump all the chicken back into the rich, beautiful sauce.
(Private remorse of the moment: NOOO!
There goes the crispy skin! : / )




On my way home from work,
i saw my new favorite veggie: Mini cabbages!
For some reason, they taste somewhat buttery *_*
BUTTERY veggie!
Can you imagine how satisfying this is,
for those that enjoy the intense flavor (& thought) of butter
minus the horrifying calories?!



After lots of bubbling in 3 pots...
TAAAA DAAAA! : D



Goh goh's comments:
- "I don't know what I'm eating,
but I'm hungry!"

Okay, what he meant was this:
This dish does not taste like what he expected
of Chicken Cacciatore...
The sauce is not as thick as it usually is --
(which brings the question... does it mean i should use:
a) cornstarch? b) tomato paste instead of diced tomatoes?)
BUT IT TASTES GOOD NONETHELESS!

Yup! I'd call this the most successful Pasta dish as of today : )
Despite the unsuccessful recipe and all...

Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Semi-Failure: Beef Pot Roast

YAY! New Toy : )
Do you know what this is?



The Japanese call it "Shuttle Chef,"
which in essence, is like a slow cooker
minus the electricity : )

Fafa recommended using it to make soup / congee,
but i was in an adventurous mood the other day,
so i decided to test it out & make a pot roast.

Originally, i set out to buy a pork pot roast '_'
But somehow Stop & Shop doesn't have it that day...
so i got Beef instead, thinking i can improvise...
(hmm but that might have been the fatal error...)



Aromatics / Veggies: Potatoes, Onions,
hmmm and i don't know why i used an apple also.


Everything diced up : )
you can see the garlic being diced at the corner, too!


then i marinated the pot roast with
salt, pepper, garlic powder & onion powder : )


Brown it, baby!



I skipped a few steps in the pics coz i was busy:
1) take the roast out of the pan,
2) pour the veggies into the Shuttle Chef pot,
3) put the roast back in,
4) cover it with diced garlic,
5) pour a can of chicken broth into the pot,
6) bring to a boil,
7) pour a can of cream of mushroom in also,
8) stir!



BUBBLE BUBBLE BUBBLE...



Then i put the heavy hot pot into the Shuttle Chef,
leave it in overnight, and in the morning...

VOILA!

But then... this post is named
'Semi-failure' for a reason. : /

I guess due to the nature of Beef,
the pot roast came out quite tough,
and for those that like their steak RARE,
i'd have probably killed the cow like 10 times, in their opinion.

The sauce came out really well, very flavorful,
and so was the roast & veggies.



i made macaroni to go with this : )
& Fafa suggested slicing the roast REALLY THIN,
to make up for the toughness : b
while goh goh suggested cooking with red wine next time,
to break down / tenderize the meat texture.



Yay! it's all good : )
No successes could be achieved without mistakes, right?

Monday, January 28, 2008

Teerah MeeSue



Hi.
I made Tiramisu again.
I'm getting bored of this dish.
But it could feed lots of people,
and it's easy to make.
Plus they all love it : )

Maybe I should challenge myself to make it
more from scratch next time --
whatever that means... 0_o

*Credits: Adeline & Winxy --
for the huge Mikasa bowl! : )
What would i have made this cake in without your gift?!

Sunday, January 27, 2008

i heart Jasmart!



I just can't get enough of Jasmart! : DDD
These are my newest finds at this fascinating
Japanese supermarket @ downtown Manhattan,
@ St. Marks / Astor Place : )

From left to right, top to bottom:
[Top]
- A 12 pack of the yummy chocolate cookies,
Japanese style -- in acorn shape! --
Crispy & bought @ bargain price : D SCORE!
- Mango nectar drink
with chunky, chewy mango jello *_*
- White Peach nectar drink
with feather-like peach pulp... DROOL 0_o
- Grape Juice with a sharp, genuine
(black) grape flavor --
without the extra cup of sugar!
Mighty goodness! : )
- Konbu Onigiri (Rice Ball)
with soy sauce flavored konbu
(seaweed) and sesame : )
MY FAVORITE!
- White chocolate capped mushrooms,
with dark chocolate cookie bottoms.
- Creme Brulee flakey cookies!
This was so buttery & yummy
that i didn't want to finish them all
at once... : )))

[Bottom]
- Aluminium tray instant udon...
MmmMMmmmMM... *_*
- Pizza flavored chips! : D
Super cheesy & flavorful.
I love the ridges in the chips too!
(Why are Japanese chips so much better
than the American ones?!?!?!)
Goh goh and i finished it in no time!
- Spicy Scallops snacks *_*
They use REAL scallops yo!
Soooooooooooooo goooooooooooood...
- Rice Crackers! : D AHHHAAA!
On sale! YUM! : )

Friday, January 25, 2008

Runny Raspberry

For this past Sunday's dinner,
i got very ambitious --
even after spending all day in the kitchen,
deboning those monstrous wings --
i decided i could make a dessert dish also!

So i made a Runny Raspberry...thing.
[Some call it bar, some call it square,
some call it strudel... but it's sorta none/all of the above.]

Alright. The RUNNY part was unintended,
and i've been trying to find out what went wrong in the process.

I used:

Eggs


All-purpose Flour + Sugar


Salted butter
(coz there were no unsalted around...
& as a result? i added more sugar...)
+ Lime juice


Seedless Raspberry Preserves
+ Some semi-sweet chocolate morsels,
which became invisible after baking.



So what went wrong?
I suspected it could be:
a) i added too much lime juice.
b) i added too much preserves.
c) i didn't add enough flour.
d) All or some of the above.
e) i may never find out 0_o"

Anyhow, thanks to the Chins
for enjoying this Runny Dessert nonetheless,
& letting me play in their kitchen! : D

p.s. MUST SERVE THIS DESSERT HOT!
This with Ice-cream was like a match made in heaven!
(wait a sec... is that why this Thing was runny?)

Thursday, January 24, 2008

Dessert Only

One day, goh goh and i got home after work,
and neither of us feel like cooking...

What did we end up eating for dinner?





Yup. All desserts!
Cheesecake, Loaf cake, Chocolate truffles,
Vanilla Fudge Ice-cream, Chocolate covered Almonds...


As if to make ourselves feel HEALTHIER,
we had some apples / Korean pears afterwards.

Don't you wish you live with us? : )

Tuesday, January 22, 2008

Deboning Session

We caught Zach in action again...
HAVING A FEAST eh, little buddy? : )

Yes, we created these BONELESS monsters again...
as requested by the Chins : )


Although, this time --
i hosted a deboning session with 2 participants--

Student #1. Donna


She's dicing some tilapia, which we were going to use
to stuff the chicken wings : )


TAAA DAAAA! Such a beautiful sight... *_*
I then, proceeded to marinate them with:
sea salt, white pepper, lime juice, garlic, rosemary...


Stuffing #2: Marinated Minced Pork with Mushrooms
(Marinated with: salt, black pepper, sesame oil...)


YAY! There you see Student #2, Nick!


According to Nick, deboning chicken wings
make his hands 'Chickeny';
& he called this thumb-in-wing action "Chicken Finger."


There, you see us putting Chef Nick at (more) work,
dicing up the mushrooms : )
This boy is growing up to be ladies' ideal man!


Meanwhile, Donna's friend Nancy came by,
and made very yummy guacamole *_*

i wonder if i can find a way to stuff chicken wings
with guac one day... that'd be something i can eat ALL DAY!

These are worth 2 hrs of hard work yo!!
(Totaling over 70 wings!)


After that, Donna had more fun with some chicken breasts...
Fajita in the making : )


Meanwhile, i sauteed the minced pork with the mushrooms.
Note: They're not fully cooked!
I just cooked them to about 70% done.

Then, we sauteed the fish also,
let them cool a lil bit,
then start stuffing! : )


Left: Minced pork/mushrooms;
Right: Apple / ham.


Goh goh seemed quite troubled,
when Donna suggested him to don an apron.


Pan-fried goodness : D

MMmmmmmMMm... O-I-L-Y.




A close-up shot of the apple & ham wings : )

After adding honey & bbq sauce,
they're put into the oven,
then transformed into these juicy, crispy beauties!



Yeahhhhhh! Such was our perfect Sunday dinner
with the company of friends & families! LOVELY! : )