taste of summer

Strawberry Shortcakes folks!!!!

Using good ole Bisquick to make my rustic biscuits with a dabble of sugar, milk, and real butter - this formed the cake.

Hulled and sliced California strawberries with a sprinkle of sugar to bring out the natural juicy goodness within.....

Topped with whipped cream...uh...yes please!

california - too uptight

omg...i can't believe how crazy uptight and lame california is!

sfgate.com - if your recycling bin is visible from the street, you will be issued a citation and fine for $100!

oh, and if the butt of your car parked in YOUR driveway in front of YOUR property is just barely touching the sidewalk or crossed over, you will get a fine.

....is it me or should the state of california should worry about more important things like actual CRIME?

haha im complaining again..sorry.

filling a complaint

does anyone notice how frequent folks complain?

last night's grey's anatomy episode w/ george vowing to not complain.

i'm motivated to do the same. hence my complaining now...do it as much as i can in one go and then try not to complain as much.

only b/c while in the car, tony was complaining about how he never purchases snacks at the movies and i mention that i'm always thirsty (so true) and that i'm forcing my thirsty-ness????

what the hell? if that's not complaining then i don't know what is! i FORCE myself to drink a lot of water???? that bugs me a lot b/c it's always my fault for something i do...i don't ever downgrade him on his golfing - always being upbeat and happy and encouraging..he complains about how he feels he's gaining weight, i don't see anything wrong. but he'd have no problem slinging it back to me, telling me i need to move and lose weight and wash my skin more and all my breaking out is b/c i don't care of my face blah blah blah.

fuck im nursing a wound. =(

Cheesecake

Anniversary dinner went really well! We spent roughly $40 all together and saved a bundle! But the highlight of the dinner was dessert!

Okay, this dessert was super easy! First off, have a package of Biscoff cookies. Biscoff cookies are sooo good! It's like cinnamon and a slight tang of caramel in a thin crunchy cookie. I found them at Walgreens for about $2.80 for an 8.8 oz package. The rest of the recipe I used Tyler Florence's for the Ultimate Cheesecake.

Crust:
8.8 oz package of Biscoff cookies, finely grounded
1 stick of butter, melted.

Using fork, mix well. Using a springform pan (8 in) and a 3 in mini size, spray w/ nonstick cooking spray. Line the bottom w/ the cookie crust and up the sides, roughly 1 inch up. Try to uniformly press cookie crust down. Mine was erratic and thick - but I loved it anyways!

Set this to the side in the fridge.

Filling:
1 pound cream cheese, 2 (8-ounce) blocks, softened
3 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 pint sour cream (that's 16 oz)
1 dash vanilla extract

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese on low speed for 1 minute until smooth and free of any lumps. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, and continue to beat slowly until combined. Gradually add sugar and beat until creamy, for 1 to 2 minutes. Add sour cream, lemon zest, and vanilla. Periodically scrape down the sides of the bowl and the beaters. The batter should be well-mixed but not overbeaten. Pour the filling into the crust-lined pan and smooth the top with a spatula. Set the cheesecake pan on a large piece of aluminum foil and fold up the sides around it. Place the cake pan in a large roasting pan. Pour boiling water into the roasting pan until the water is about halfway up the sides of the cheesecake pan; the foil will keep the water from seeping into the cheesecake. Bake for 45 minutes. The cheesecake should still jiggle (it will firm up after chilling), so be careful not to overcook. Let cool in pan for 30 minutes. Chill in the refrigerator, loosely covered, for at least 4 hours. Loosen the cheesecake from the sides of the pan by running a thin metal spatula around the inside rim. Unmold and transfer to a cake plate. Using a spatula spread a layer of Warm Lemon Blueberry topping over the surface.





Unfortunately water got into the springform. Doesn't matter - it's still delicious! I ate over half of it...I'm not ashamed, b/c it was THAT good!

anniversary dinner

Hmm, seems like our anniversary is coming up (1 yr from day we got engaged) and I am debating between copping out and go to a restaurant OR cook. I don't want to spend 80+ when I can cook everything for half that much (Tony, just give me the difference!).

I'm really debating on the menu...so this is what I have:
- tuna tataki salad (it was a solid dish, i want it again!)
- steamed/boiled dungeness crabs (how the f*c* am i gonna crack it open?)
- side of sesame noodles in a peanut sauce
- homemade cheesecake w/ a biscoff cookie crust.

I'm super excited about the cheesecake as I will be using Biscoffs! Biscoffs are the most delicious and delectable, undeniably addictive crisp cookies. It's literally like crack cookie-style! A slightly burnt taste, but w/ a great cinnamon flavor and crunch...ohhhh...I'd go Homer Simpson on these.....*drool*

So Tony can pay for the dinner and I'll make it...no need for any gifts...just pay for my food dang it!

Northern VN eggrolls

Love me so eggrolls! Vietnamese eggrolls are super duper different from the kinds you see in Chinese restaurants. Sometimes VN eggrolls are called spring rolls as the skin wrapper is paper thin and smooth and crispy. I normally make my mom's style which is made of ground pork, carrots, cabbage, etc..however, I forgot to buy the cabaage!

So instead, I'm making the Northern VN style eggrolls. Well I call it Northern style b/c a lot of my friends who speak the northern dialect..well, their parents make it this way, so I'm just making an assumption (apologies if offending anyone!) Typical NVN eggrolls are typically made of ground pork, shittake mushroom, carrot, and bean thread noodles.

This recipe is idiot proof, even if it wasn't spiced perfectly, it's okay, b/c the dish is meant to be eaten w/ nuoc mam or fish sauce. What you will need is a lot of TIME and patience.

- 1.75 lbs ground pork
- 4 to 5 dried shittake mushrooms, rehydrated in warm water for 30 minutes, then sliced thinly
- julienned carrot (grated carrots work really well, but since i dont own one..)
- bean thread noodle, soaked in warm water at least 15 min
- green onion chopped
- garlic powder
- soy sauce
- sugar
- salt
- black pepper
- sesame oil
- spring roll sheets
- beaten egg



1. Okay, using a huge mixing bowl, add in the ground pork.
2. Throw in garlic powder, sugar, sesame oil, soy sauce, black pepper, salt, carrots, mushrooms, and bean thread noodle (make sure you cut them before adding - they are LOOOOONG).
3. Mix by hand.


Okay, I was too busy (and dirty!) rolling the eggrolls, so I don't exactly have the pictures to show how to fold them in.

1. Take one sheet and lay it diamond side towards you as such.
2. Fill it in about one tablespoon of mixture, about cigar length. Make sure it is NOT thick, b/c then cooking time will increase and chances of consuming raw meat runs higher.
3. Using the bottom corner, fold it upwards OVER the mixture.
4. Taking both corners on left/right side, fold it inwards over the edge of the mixture.
5. Roll it upwards, keeping it tight.
6. Before you seal it, brush w/ egg and roll it all the way.

Damn it, I really need pictures to prove it...no worries, it'll go up one day soon.

OKAY FRYING: Heat oil up to 325-350 F. The trouble w/ frying is sometimes the skin will crisp up and become golden brown BEFORE cooking the inside meat. All of this is trial and error.

Drain and enjoy w/ a Thai chili sauce or nuoc mam. You can definitely freeze these but do it in a sheet pan. If you throw it in a zipper bag, then the eggrolls can lose their shape. Once frozen, then you can bag them. The technique again when frying to make sure the oil is low enough to cook thoroughly but high enough to crisp w/o making it soggy.

Crab Rangoon - kiss of death

Who doesn't love cream cheese filled deep fried wontons?! At China Pearl, their crab rangoons are HUGE and super garlicky. I know of some places that make theirs w/ low grade cream cheese and the result is a toothpaste like consistency and absolutely no flavor! My recipe is super easy, but I warn you: you will NOT be gettin any lovin from ANYONE b/c this is GARLICKY!

- Two 8 oz bricks of Philadelphia cream cheese
- 8 cloves of minced garlic (if you can, garlic paste)
- handful of green onions
- black pepper
- crabmeat (frozen hand picked is great, but i'm cheating w/ imitation)
- olive oil
- wonton skins (thick kind - perfect for frying)


1. Place about 1/2 tbs of olive oil in a pot on medium high.
2. Quickly toss in garlic and sautee. Do NOT burn it. The intention is to release the aroma.

3. Add in cream cheese. Stir constantly to ensure that the cream cheese is smoothed out and super pliable, not melted. Shut off heat.

4. Add in TONS of cracked black pepper.
5. Add in green scallions. (My mom thinks it's too tart, so you can add a bit of sugar)

6. The cream cheese mixture should now be speckled in black, soft, and super garlicky. At this point, you can either take a Ritz cracker and dip or proceed.

7. Take wonton skin. Fill about a teaspoon or a bit more of the mixture into the center.

8. Wet the wonton w/ water or egg wash mixture on the perimeter.
9. Take one end to the other in the form of a triangle.

10. Wet one point and bring the dry point to the other end.



11. To deep fry, set your setting at 350 F. Throw in the fryer until golden brown, roughly 3 minutes.
12. Drain and serve w/ a Thai sweet chili sauce.

For any extras, you can place them in the freezer and save for another day. The consistency will not be as smooth or hot as the first day you make them, but just let it fry longer w/o burning the wonton skin.