Recipe - Latin Chicken and Rice Casserole

Latin Chicken & Rice Casserole (Cuban style Arroz Con Pollo)

Recipe - Dim Sum - Lo Mai Gai (Chinese Sticky Rice in Lotus Leaves)

Lo Mai Gai (Chinese Sticky Rice in Lotus Leaves)

I don't know much about Chinese cooking, but there are some dishes that speak to me.  But there are dishes that I love and I want to learn how to make.  Lo Mai Gai is one of them.  Learning the name for it, as opposed to just pointing to it as a Dim Sum cart whizzes by, is hard enough!   But after researching the dish and the different ways to prepare it, I've come up with my own version.

Recipe - Chawanmushi (Japanese Savory Egg Custard)

Japanese Savory Egg Custard (Chawanmushi)

Chawanmushi is a savory custard unlike any dessert custard, and one of my favorite traditional Japanese dishes.  It's typically served as an appetizer, and it uses special cups, designed just for making Chawanmushi.  This recipe uses ingredients that my family enjoys, but you can get creative and use so many different fillings.  Chicken, spinach, bok choy, asparagus and peas. are also great in this dish!

Recipe - Burmese Tea Leaf Salad

Burmese Tea Leaf Salad (Lahpet Thoke)

During a recent trip to San Francisco, we finally dined at the much raved about Burma Superstar.  One dish we knew to try was the Tea Leaf Salad.  According to their website they actually go to Burma to get the tea leaves (Lahpet) for their salad.

Easter 2011 - Lunch and Cookie Decorating!

I wasn't raised in a religious family. And as much as I am aware that this will offend people, celebrating Easter really isn't much more than a commercial holiday to me - and I love to have an excuse to buy brightly colored decorations and get my family together!

Recipe - Carne Asada with Entomatadas Verdes

Carne Asada with Entomatadas Verdes

We love marinated meats in our house, I like to marinate things in advance then freeze them to prepare for quick meals later.  This is one version of Carne Asada - Mexican style marinated skirt steak.  I like to serve this version with Entomatadas Verdes, which is basically corn tortillas covered in Queso Fresco, fresh onion slices and a tomatillo sauce.  Tomatillos are similar to green tomatoes, but not as sour.  Tomatillos melt well when cooked and are also the base for Chile Verde.  

View the recipe for Carne Asada with Entomatadas Verdes here

Recipe - Japanese Tsukemono Layered Rice

As with most families, we have a bunch of family recipes and foods that remind me of my childhood.  I plan to share them on my blog, I am sure other families have similar recipes to ours!  I don't know where this recipe originated, I just know we make it for family gatherings when the theme is Japanese food.  Like our recent Mochi Making day, I figure, if we're going to get together to do a Japanese tradition, we should probably have Japanese foods!   

Tsukemono are Japanese pickles and are common in most Japanese households.  Some may be an acquired taste, and some smell awful!  But even my SO, who isn't Japanese, and wasn't exposed to them until he met me, enjoys them.  If you enjoy pickled vegetables, give them a try!

Japanese Tsukemono Layered Rice

Makes 20-25 servings

• Assorted Japanese Tsukemono pickles

Recipe - Miso Sesame Asian Chicken Salad

I think Asian Chicken Salads are really common, I have several versions that I've made, this one is the easiest, and possibly my favorite non-spicy version!  The dressing is Miso Sesame, with a ton of flavor!  If you are in a hurry, you can buy bottled Asian Sesame dressing too!

This recipe is for a large party sized serving but it can easily be scaled down for lunch or dinner using leftover chicken.

Miso Sesame Asian Chicken Salad

Recipe - Pakui, Pacqui, Pakai...Uhh... Grandma T's Sweet and Sour Pork

I have no idea what the name of this dish is called, or how it's spelled.  My family had a small debate about it, and I don't know if we ever really came to an agreement.  My Grandma's famous recipe is written in Japanese, and none of us can even come close to translating it and even if we could, I don't think she ever cooked from a recipe.  This is a family favorite and really easy to make!

Grandma T's Sweet And Sour Pork

Recipe - Mochi with Daikon and Dashi

Once a year my family gets together to have lunch, and make Mochi.  It's a pretty involved process, and much easier to do with a large group of helpers!  Once the Mochi is made, there are a bunch of ways to eat it... here's my favorite way...

Mochi with Daikon and Dashi

2011 Mochi Making

My family is very far from a traditional Japanese family, actually, my cousin once said we look like an ad campaign from United Colors of Benetton. :) However, one tradition we try to keep alive is annual Mochi making. We don't make Mochi the traditional way, kneading and pounding away at glutinous rice. No, we're modern. There's a machine that will do it for you. I don't think our palettes are distinguished enough to notice the difference anyways. But, even with the machine, it's still a huge task, and that's why we only do it once a year. We get together for lunch and we have a ton of food! Some people just come to hang out and see everyone, and get togethers are always fun with my crazy family!

The process starts at least 1 day before the get together. The rice needs to be soaked in water for about 12 hours.

Recipe - Monica's Dark Chocolate Pecan Toffee

Monica's Dark Chocolate Pecan Toffee

Recipe - Monica's Coconut Macadamia Toffee

Monica's Coconut Macadamia Toffee

Recipe - Monica's Rocky Road Toffee

Monica's Rocky Road Toffee

Recipe - Monica's Butter Toffee

Last Christmas I decided to try making toffee. My first attempt was using a recipe I found online and I failed miserably! After stirring the mixture constantly for about 45 minutes, I ended up with a sheet of wet burnt sugar and oil.  I felt discouraged, and didn't think I would ever be able to pull it off.   I learned that the separation of the sugar and oil is caused from several different factors.  If you don't stir enough, or if you stir too much.  Also if the temperature of the toffee is changed too drastically, like by pouring it on to a cold metal sheet pan, which is likely the mistake I made.  I started researching different techniques and after a couple of failed attempts, I finally came up with this version.  It's easy to do, no constant stirring, and so far, I haven't had the butter separation problem!

Monica's Butter Toffee

Pictures from L to R, Coconut Macadamia, Rocky Road, Dark Chocolate Pecan

Recipe - Chicken Parmesan

Chicken Parmesan

Chicken Parmesan can seem like an overwhelming task in the kitchen, anything deep fried can be a lot of work to clean up.  This quick and easy recipe isn't baked, it's fried, just the way Chicken Parmesan should be!  I topped each piece of chicken with Provolone cheese and served it with Marinara sauce and spaghetti.  I doubled up this recipe and made this for a birthday party for a group of 8, and it was simple, and it was a hit!

Recipe - Triple Chocolate Chip Brownie Cookies

These cookies are the perfect chocolately indulgence.  They are chewy like a brownie and crispy like a cookie!  Instead of drizzling the white chocolate on top, I tried to make heart shapes, for the whole Valentine's Day theme, but the hearts didn't turn out so well.  I think that was a combination of my bad piping skills and the melted chocolate was too runny.  I'd opt for the drizzle next time for sure!

Triple Chocolate Chip Brownie Cookies

Recipe - Ham, Egg, Spinach and Cheese Crepes

For Valentine's Day brunch I made these savory crepes.  These crepes are not made in the traditional French way.  This recipe is simple and these crepes are thicker than traditional French crepes.   I like the heartier crepe when it's filled with ham, Gruyere, egg and spinach.  If you prefer a thinner crepe, add additional water and milk.  These crepes are a little crispy on the outside,  which I really enjoy.  You can substitute whole wheat flour, however you may need to add additional water until the batter reaches the right consistency.  I don't recommend using anything other than real butter for this.  Actually, I don't recommend using fake butter or margarine for anything, ever.  Under any circumstance!

Ham, Egg, Spinach and Cheese Crepes

Recipe - Vietnamese Sandwiches (Banh Mi)

Vietnamese Sandwiches (Banh Mi) 

One of my favorite sandwiches is the Banh Mi.  Here in Seattle we have several restaurants that sell them for anywhere between $2.50 - $10.   We enjoy the International District's Saigon Deli $2.50 chicken or pork Banh Mi, and in Ballard, The Monkey Bridge serves up a tasty beef version for about $7.75 (it comes with soup too!).  This is my version, perfect when I have left over Lemongrass Pork.  This week, since I had already made Bun, I was able to use most of the same ingredients to make these savory and sweet sandwiches. 

Recipe - Vietnamese Noodle Salad (Bun)

Vietnamese Noodle Salad (Bun)

Serves 4