Valentine's Dinner #2 -- OMAHA

I'm a little behind in posting this...
but here's our 2nd Valentine's day dinner! ; )

Since goh goh wasn't able to schedule the Kittichai
dinner on Feb. 14th, he decided to go the extra mile
& cook a special homemade meal ; )

Here's the mushroom / onions / diced Tilapia side dish
bubbling in the red wine / Balsamic Vinegar : )

When goh goh announced 2 weeks prior to V-Day,
that he's gonna cook and has planned a special meal,
i knew that something's up.

But i definitely didn't think he'd go so far...
as to order Omaha Steaks!!!



I ended up picking out Ribeye &
Pork chops for the night...

Pork chops were cooked on the stovetop
in a corningware dish -- i didn't know that
could be done!
It's so true that you can learn something new
every day : ) hehe...

Here's the chef's content smile,
with a special occasion drink: Sparkling cider!
(Although, we both agree that the traditional
Apple flavor tastes better than the berries / peach!)

Yipppeee! : ) Such a wonderful meal ; )

Thanks, goh goh : D

** p.s. In terms of the Omaha Steaks,
we agreed that they didn't really live up to the hype,
the fame and the $$$.

A normal Ribeye, i suppose, would be much thicker
than what we received in the package.

It doesn't taste bad,
but it doesn't taste any better than
the fresh ones we can get at Stop n' Shop either.

It wasn't an unpleasant experience,
but neither was it spectacular : 0

Well, let's see if the other cuts are better
(we still have the filet mignon & the burger patty
in the freezer).
I'll certainly let you know '_'

STF Reunion : D

The origin of this site's name: Share The Food --
also known as STF --
first came about as a playful suggestion by Goh goh...

Back in July 2006, i wrote my very first song,
and entered a song writing competition.
To perform the song in the finals,
i got goh goh to play guitar,
and Christen to play violin ; )
STF became our (unofficial) band name,
and it signifies our special bond : D

Last week, we invited Christen & Joy over for dinner,
but unfortunately, Joy was sick : (
Hence, it ended up being a STF Re-U!



Yup! This depicts our normal role:
Me cook, he washes dishes : D

For this special occasion, i decided to...
do some more cooking experiments : b haha...

This meal contains:

- Boiled Potatoes



Peeled ; )



Sliced!



Mixed in Mushrooms / Minced Pork...
TAAA DAAA! Chinese Mashed Potatoes : )
No butter, but oyster sauce instead!



- Thin Sliced Pork Chops marinated in OJ overnight
(Inspired by my experiment with the OJ chicken)



Laid out flat on the foil



Added dabs of BBQ sauce + Honey : )



After they came out of the oven,
i added ketchup, too ; )



- Stir fried Spinach + Diced Ham : )




Yippeeee! Mo + Ko


& CMS + HLN : b




I wasn't feeling too fancy that day,
so i just cheated and made HK style Mango Pudding.



Stuck in the fridge for a couple of hours...



Served with Orange Creamsicle -- Citrus-y & refreshing! : )



Such was a beautiful night filled with
wonderful conversations & satisfied stomachs ; )

YAYYYYYYY to STF!

Welcome! Taste Testers!

It's a beautiful thing
to have friends come over to our place,
and be the taste testers of my cooking ; D



Well, as the saying goes...
Friends don't let friends go hungry... RIGHT? : D



Thanks to David,
we got some shots of my cooking in action!



Black bean Garlic Pork Chops bubbling in its sauce ; )



Lap Cheung (Chinese Sausage) diced,
awaiting to be added to the rice : )



The kindest guest, Aaron,
washing dishes for us : )



I made the stir-fry cabbage/corn dish too spicy,
with too much Garlic Spicy sauce... 0_o"
So i was trying to reverse the trauma
by adding sugar... : b haaa!



Yay for friends!
YAYYYYYY for God's blessings & provision,
that we have a home to accomodate others
while serving them with yummy yummy : )

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?

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! : )