Bruschetta

A few months ago, I had watched the movie Julie & Julia, because almost everyone I knew suggested I should. Its about a girl who blogs about recipes she makes from Julia Childs' cookbook. Hmmmmm, sounds familiar. I was intrigued. Unfortunately, the movie left a lot to be desired. The story sort of dragged. So I was rather disappointed. However, there were some recipes that Julie made that caught my eye. Like her bruschetta (although they didn't really identify the dish in the movie. I just guessed it to be bruschetta). It looked delicious and I've always loved eating bruschetta as an appetizer in restaurants. So I vowed to someday try to make some. Julie's bruschetta had, what looked like, both yellow and red tomatoes. For this recipe, I only used red Roma tomatoes.

Hubby absolutely loved these. He couldn't stop eating them. He said they were quite tasty. And I have to agree with him.

1 loaf french baguette (about a foot long), cut into 1/4" thick slices

olive oil

1-2 cloves garlic, cut in half

5 Roma tomatoes (or any medium tomatoes you like), seeded then chopped

3 stems fresh basil, chopped or chiffonade

salt & pepper

1) Preheat oven to 400 deg F. Place sliced baguette on baking sheets. Drizzle the top of the baguette slices with olive oil. Bake for 10-15 minutes, until they start to turn golden brown. Cool for about 2 minutes. Rub garlic (cut-side down) on toasted baguette. Set aside.

2) In a medium bowl, combine chopped tomatoes and basil. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Mix thoroughly. Top prepared baguette slices with tomato mixture and serve.

Steamed Fish with Black Bean Sauce

Tomorrow is the first Friday of Lent. That means we have to abstain from any meats for every Friday until Easter. So I wanted to search for another good seafood recipe because, frankly, I'm running out of ideas for non-meat meals. I came across this recipe once again from Steamy Kitchen. I've always loved Black Bean sauce when I order it at Chinese restaurants, so I wanted to give this a try.

This dish was so easy to make. And you can use practically any type of fish for this recipe. I love buttery white fishes such as halibut, cod, and especially sea bass. For this particular meal, I happened to have cod fillets and so its what I used. The recipe called for sake, which I didn't have, so I used white wine and it came out fine. Deeelicous, actually. I'm so excited to have found a great recipe for fish rather than just grilling or baking it.

4 thick fish fillets

salt & pepper

4 Tbsp. Chinese Black Bean sauce, mixed with a splash of sake or white wine

8 Tbsp. sake (or any white wine)

1 1/2 inch piece fresh ginger, peeled

2 green onions (or one bunch of fresh chives), chopped

6 Tbsp. olive oil

2 tsp. sesame oil

1) Season both sides of fish with salt and pepper. Spread 1 tablespoon of Black Bean paste on the top of each fish fillet. Place in a heatproof dish. Add sake or wine on the bottom of the dish and steam for 10-15 minutes over high heat in a steamer.

2) While the fish is steaming, use a vegetable peeler to slice ginger into thin slices, then use a knife to jullienne into thin slivers.

3) When fish is finished, pour the cooking liquid into a deep dish for serving. Place ginger and green onions over the fish.

4) In a small frying pan, heat olive oil and sesame oil just until it begins to smoke. Pour over fish (ginger and chive will sizzle). Transfer fish into the serving dish with the liquid. Serve with steamed rice.

Killer Cajun Shrimp

Its Fat Tuesday. And for those who are not familiar with what Fat Tuesday is really all about, its a day for many Christians (mostly Catholics) in the South indulge or binge on food before the Lenten season starts on Ash Wednesday. Ash Wednesday is usually a day of fasting for many of those who want to partake in some sort abstinence. Some fast entirely for the day of Ash Wednesday. Others, like myself, fast all sorts of meats or poultry for Ash Wednesday (and then every Friday after that until Easter). And since its our last day to really eat meat whenever we want, hubby and I decided to indulge (but not too much as we're still watching our caloric intake). However, I still had to prepare food for our lunch tomorrow, Ash Wednesday. That meant only seafood or vegetarian dishes.

I didn't have much of a selection of seafood recipes in my archives. So I decided to search through the archives of blogs I frequented and found this recipe from Steamy Kitchen. Living in LA, I've never been to a restaurant called Killer Shrimp, which is where the name of this recipe comes from. So I don't have much of a comparison as far as taste. But I can say that this dish was quite yummy. It reminds me of some dishes I've tried at Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. The recipe was quite simple to make, but required some ingredients that I didn't readily have. So I had to make a quick run to the supermarket. I served this with some french bread that hubby brought home to sop up all the spicy broth.

2 Tbsp. dried or fresh rosemary

2 tsp. dried thyme leaves

1 Tbsp. dried fennel seeds

2 tsp. celery seed

1 Tbsp. crushed red pepper flakes (less if you like it less spicy)

2 tsp. black pepper

2 tsp. kosher or sea salt

1/2 small onion, diced

1 celery rib, diced

5 cloves garlic, minced

1 stick of butter

1 1/2 quarts chicken broth

16 0z bottled clam juice

1/2 lemon (cut in half)

3 oz tomato paste

1 cup white wine

2 lbs. shrimp (de-veined)

1) Using a mortar and pestle, smash all the spices (rosemary, thyme, fennel, celery seed, red pepper flakes, black pepper and salt). You can also quickly run a knife through the spices on a cutting board to help release its flavors. Set aside.

2) In a large pot, melt butter on medium heat. Add onion, celery, and garlic. Cook until fragrant and soft. Stir in prepared spices.

3) Add broth, clam juice, lemon, tomato paste, and white wine. Simmer on low for at least 1 hour. Add more salt if needed.

4) Just before serving, add shrimp and simmer until shrimps are pink, about 3-5 minutes. Serve in bowls with french bread or white rice.

Chinese Broccoli Beef Noodle

I came across this when I was looking through some recipes at Steamy Kitchen. I love eating Chinese noodles, specifically Chow Mein. It looked really easy to make, and I had bought a huge batch of thinly sliced beef from Costco that I wanted to use up, so I decided to try to make it for dinner tonight. This recipe called for egg noodles, but it also indicated that you can use spaghetti pasta, which is what I used tonight. I didn't find Chinese broccoli, so I used some broccoli rabe that I found at the supermarket. The flavors of this dish was so yummy. Its reminiscent of Mongolian BBQ that I get at the mall. However, I think I may just use regular broccoli the next time I make this and can't find Chinese broccoli. Broccoli rabe was a little too bitter for this dish. But I'm definitely making this a regular dish at home.

3 Tbsp. soy sauce

3 Tbsp. oyster sauce

3 Tbsp. rice wine or dry white wine

1 Tbsp. sugar

1 Tbsp. cornstarch

1 tsp. sesame oil

1 lb. beef, thinly sliced

1 lb. fresh or dried noodles/spaghetti pasta

vegetable or canola oil

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 1/4 cups chicken broth

1 lb. Chinese broccoli, regular broccoli, or broccoli rabe

black pepper

1) In a medium bowl, whisk together 1 tablespoon each of soy sauce, oyster sauce and white wine. Add sugar and continue whisking until sugar dissolves. Stir in cornstarch and continue stirring until smooth. Add sesame oil and beef. Mix well. Marinate for at least 20 minutes. Discard marinade.

2) Cook noodles according to package directions until al dente. Drain and set aside.

3) Heat oil in a wok or skillet over high heat and stir-fry garlic until fragrant, about 10 seconds. Add beef, a single layer at a time, and stir-fry until tender, about 1-2 minutes. Add more oil between batches as necessary. Transfer beef to a plate.

4) Heat another 1 tablespoon oil in the wok or skillet over high heat. Stir fry broccoli until they are coated with the oil. Pour 1/4 cup broth and reduce heat to medium-low. Cover broccoli and cook until tender, about 3-5 minutes. Transfer broccoli to the beef plate.

5) Add remaining 3/4 broth, 2 tablespoons of soy sauce, oyster sauce and wine to the wok and bring to a boil over high heat. Add noodles and cook until liquid is almost completely evaporated, but lightly moistened, about 2-3 minutes. Add the cooked beef and broccoli and mix thoroughly. Season with pepper to taste. Transfer to a serving platter.

Korean Style Taco with Cabbage Slaw

In search for a Korean taco recipe (preferably a Kogi taco recipe), I came across two versions. One was with a Kogi BBQ sauce. The other was with a Korean style salsa roja from Closet Cooking. The version with the Kogi BBQ sauce had a slight sweetness to it. This one had a kick to it and was more spicy. Both were equally good, depending on how you like your tacos: sweet or spicy. But I feel that this one was a little bit closer in taste to Kogi's tacos. However, this one required a few more steps. The good thing about this is it made a lot of sauce, so I put the remaining sauce in an airtight container to use again later on. I used my Bulgogi Beef in this recipe and then topped it with a Cabbage/Lettuce slaw. You can also top this with cilantro and chopped onions, as well as kimchi. But we opted to keep it as is. Hubby and I really enjoyed these.

Korean Style Salsa Roja

1/4 lb. plum tomatoes

1/4 lb. tomatillos (husked and washed)

1 cup water

20 dried chiles de arbol

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 Tbsp. grated garlic

1 Tbsp. grated ginger

2 Tbsp. Korean fermented hot pepper paste (Gochujang)

1 Tbsp. sesame oil

1 Tbsp. sesame seeds (toasted and crushed)

1) Roast tomatoes and tomatillos until charred on all sides, about 10-12 minutes.

2) Place tomatoes, tomatillos, water, chiles, and onion in a sauce pan. Bring to a boil and simmer until onions are tender, about 20-30 minutes. Drain and reserve the liquid.

3) Place everything (except the sesame seeds) in a blender or food processor and puree, adding reserved liquid a little at a time to get the desired consistency. Strain liquid. Add prepared sesame seeds.

Cabbage Slaw

1 Tbsp. sesame oil

juice of half a lime

1 Tbsp. soy sauce

1 Tbsp. Korean chili powder (Gochugaru)

1 Tbsp. sesame seeds

1 cup shredded romaine lettuce

1 cup shredded cabbages

1) Whisk together sesame oil, lime juice, chili powder, and sesame seeds. Toss with lettuce and cabbage.

To assemble the tacos

1/2 lb. cooked Korean Bulgogi Beef
corn tortillas

cabbage slaw

Korean Style salsa roja

1) Place 2 warm corn tortilla on a plate. Top with cooked beef, 1 teaspoon of sauce, and then cabbage slaw.

Korean Style Tacos with Kogi BBQ Sauce

Many people know that I have a huge love for Korean Tacos. Preferably from the Kogi truck. Unfortunately, the trucks are not readily accessible. So I don't get to eat it as often I would like. I have been craving for some Kogi tacos lately, but they haven't been anywhere near me. I wondered if anyone on the internet had a similar recipe for Korean tacos and to my surprise, I found a couple of recipes that tried to replicate Kogi tacos. I decided to try both recipes for dinner tonight. This recipe is from Steamy Kitchen, which has become a new favorite blog of mine.

The recipe for Kogi BBQ sauce comes from Kogi chef himself, Roy Choi. I couldn't believe that he actually gave out a recipe, but Jaden managed to nudge one of the owners of Kogi to get this recipe from Chef Roy. The sauce was really simple to make. Its adding all the extra toppings that make the tacos pretty complex, but oh so delicious. I used my recipe for Bulgogi Beef and topped the whole thing with a cabbage/lettuce slaw that I found from another Korean Taco recipe from Closet Cooking. You can also top the taco with onions and cilantro, even Kimchi. But we opted to keep this as is. The end product was something any Korean taco lover would love - Hubby and I included.

Kogi BBQ Sauce

2 Tbsp. Korean fermented hot pepper paste (Gochujang)

3 Tbsp. sugar

2 Tbsp. soy sauce

1 tsp. rice wine vinegar

2 tsp. sesame oil

1) Whisk all ingredients together until sugar has dissolved and mixture is smooth.

Cabbage Slaw

1 Tbsp. sesame oil

juice of half a lime

1 Tbsp. soy sauce

1 Tbsp. Korean chili powder (Gochugaru)

1 Tbsp. sesame seeds

1 cup shredded romaine lettuce

1 cup shredded cabbages

1) Whisk together sesame oil, lime juice, chili powder, and sesame seeds. Toss with lettuce and cabbage.

To assemble the tacos

1/2 lb. cooked Korean Bulgogi Beef
corn tortillas

cabbage slaw

Kogi BBQ sauce

1) Place 2 warm corn tortilla on a plate. Top with cooked beef, 2 teaspoons of sauce, onion/cilantro mix, kimchi and then cabbage slaw.

Crab Hush Puppies with Aioli sauce

We used to frequent Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. and order their Hush Pups, which I absolutely love. So I was excited to find this recipe again from my Costco cookbook. I had bought some canned lump crab meat from Costco about 2 weeks ago with the intentions of making this recipe one day. And so before the crab meat goes bad, I decided to finally make it for lunch today. And boy were they good. I served this with a quick Aioli that I made. This recipe makes a huge batch, so I called my brother up to see if he wanted me to set him aside some. He loves Bubba Gump's Hush Pups as well. So he'll be coming by later today.

4 cups canola oil for frying

2 cups yellow cornmeal

1 cup all-purpose flour

2 Tbsp. baking powder

2 Tbsp. sugar

1 Tbsp. salt

1/2 - 2 Tbsp. hot sauce (depending on how spicy you like it)

2 eggs

1 1/2 cups milk

1 lb. lump crab meat

1 cup corn kernels

5 large green onions, thinly sliced

2 Tbsp. butter

Aioli sauce

1) Heat oil in a heavy pot over high heat until it reaches 275 deg F. Preheat oven to 250 deg F.

2) While the oil is heating, stir together cornmeal, flour, baking powder, sugar and salt in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs, milk and hot sauce. Add liquid mixture into dry mixture and stir until combined. Fold in crab and corn kernels.

3) Over medium heat, saute green onions in butter until soft. Stir into batter.

4) Using 2 teaspoons, carefully add 1 rounded teaspoon full of batter to the hot oil and fry, turning until golden for 3-4 minutes. Transfer with a slotted spoon to paper towels to drain briefly. Transfer hush puppies to a shallow baking pan and keep hot in the oven while frying the remaining batter. Serve immediately with aioli sauce.

Aioli sauce

1/4 cup mayonnaise

1 Tbsp. mustard

1 tsp. pepper onion relish (or regular pickled relish)

salt & pepper to taste

1) Stir all ingredients together until well combined. Season with salt & pepper to your liking

A Sweet Design

Since I haven't posted any new recipes this week, I decided to do a review of this awesome new custom cake studio I encountered last week. A Sweet Design is a bakery that I've been dying to try out. I first discovered this place a couple of years ago, when they were located about 2 miles from their current location. Because that location was closed down, I, unfortunately, did not have a chance to check them out. I thought they went out of business. Then, I was driving around one day and was so stoked to discover that they had just moved to a new location. I searched online and discovered that they now sold cupcakes! And everyone knows how much I love cupcakes.

I decided to pay them a visit last week with my daughter to try out some cupcakes. My daughter's birthday is coming up in a couple of months. Those who know me well know that I prepare for this event for almost 6 months in advance. So I wanted to try out some of their goods to see if we can order her birthday cake here.

My friend, Kiran, had shared her experience with me when she decided to check them out as well. Unfortunately, her experience wasn't that great. She said the workers she encountered didn't seem like they wanted to help her. So when I walked in the shop, I was already armed with the attitude that the workers will be rude. But they were far from it. My daughter and I walked in a rather plain looking store. You would never know that this was a cake store if they didn't have their cake display. It just looked so plain inside. On one small counter were their cupcakes. We picked out 6 cupcakes to buy. The girl at the counter even made recommendations on what to pick. I then asked the girl at the counter some questions about their custom cake ordering and she directed me to the girls behind the desk, who were assisting others at the time. I was later approached by the owner, Joeleen, who was so sweet and accommodating. Just her attitude alone made me want to come back here. And we definitely will after trying these yummy cupcakes when we got home:

Oreo - a vanilla cupcake with Oreo crumbs

Cola confetti - recommended by the girl at the counter. Hubby said it tasted like cola

Cafe Latte - this is a delicious twist on a regular old mocha cake

Sherbet - tasted exactly as it sounds, sherbet

Reese's pieces - a chocolate cupcake with peanut butter frosting

Pink Velvet - their signature cupcake, which is, more or less, a strawberry cupcake

You can probably already guess which one my daughter picked out - the Pink Velvet Cake. Hubby and my favorite is the Cafe latte. So we've decided these two flavors were probably what we're going to choose from for my daughter's cake, if not both ;) All the cakes were flavorful and moist. But these two seemed to have unique flavors we're looking for. I can't wait to go back again for the consultation and try more cakes.