Family, Friends and Food....: 2010

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Ztejas

I'm usually not the biggest fan of Mexican food, but I love their happy hour.

Amazing roast squab, that you can order while you inhale dim sum. This is one of the many reasons why we frequent Vancouver, or Richmond to be more specific. There is a huge difference as most of the chinese restaurants are in Richmond. We go there at least 2-3 times every year. The routine is very similar - dim sum is the first stop, then shopping, then afternoon snack of bubble tea and little cakes, and then night market if it is summer time, or some great restaurant for dinner in Richmond.

A proud moment with my girlfriends - look at the dim sum cartons that are stacked on top of each other. We meant business as we were super hungry. There was no talking, just eating. Almost all of us were dim sum pros, except for my friend Esther, who was a newbie! Here's her perspective of the trip - it is hilarious how she reacted to our "serious" eating! http://bit.ly/fmWqbX

Steroid sushi - cheap and huge, and pretty decent. This was definitely a happy meal.

Japa dog - this hot dog stand made our list of must-do's just this year. We really love the seeweed, wasabi mayo, and bonito flakes on top of the hot dog and wonder why no one ever thought of it before.

Fast food, casual food. Are you kidding me? I have been contemplating reasons to move to Vancouver, when I saw how high the quality of convenient food was.

Night Market - the destination for a summer trip. You can get any kind of snack you want - chicken hearts and liver on a skewer, potato curls on a stick, noodles, dim sum, soups, sandwiches..anything you can think of.. Yes, we love it.

Palace BBQ

Korean BBQ - all you can eat meat for about $15 for lunch, before the slight price increase. We went there after a lovely hike and went a little out of control. Put all you can eat meat in front of asian people and I think it can be rather dangerous. We have all acquired the skill to eat way beyond the amount our stomach can hold, after being trained by our parents to eat our money's worth and more at buffets.

Monday, December 20, 2010

Amy's Cooking Lesson

Here are two friends that deserve credit for 1) loving to cook and eat 2) for always trying to teach me a thing or two about cooking 3) always believing in me that I too, will be able to cook someday

Throughout our many happy hours in the past few years, we always knew that one day, eventually, that we would have to cook our own food.. the time has come, and let me tell you, it's not all that bad. And happily, it still involves good wine..

Amy, the pro in the kitchen, and the one who is responsible for making me have two different colors of soy sauce, amongst a myriad of sauces.

The below is a pot of goodness, it's our version of soon-doo-boo, and has saved us countless $$$ for not having to go out every time we have a craving for this soup..

The Dinner Party

I have been wanting to host dinner parties all my life and I haven't been able to because the cooking part has been the biggest hurdle for me. This hurdle has finally been overcome, and I am so excited to invite more people over for lunch/dinner, especially if it involves connecting two friends that I know will become good friends on their own.

Roasted Red Pepper Risotto

Chicken Paella

This dinner party grew to a total of 10 people, and there were a handful of moments when I wanted to feign sickness to call the whole event off. But with plenty of time on my hands, I was able to spend one day procuring groceries and prepping veggies, and another day to cook the new recipes. Success was sweet as my party was a little shocked that I was able to produce the following: roasted red pepper risotto, chicken paella, citrus/ginger chicken wings, as well as an artichoke dip. I, was of course, the most shocked one of them all.

Through this process, I have found that I thoroughly enjoy cooking - from peeling char-broiled peppers and working with the soft flesh beneath, to stirring happily while the risotto soaks up chicken broth, and browning chicken and seeing the beautiful crisp skin that results. I think that it's an experience that really fulfills the soul, and while going to restaurants is still a necessity, I think that getting to cook is a luxury, rather than a chore.

And true dinner party success to me, is always defined by the dinner table conversation. I know we were on good ground when I couldn't hear myself talking to someone who was sitting right next to me. It's all about interacting with people, and coming away a little changed - whether you had to express yourself, or define or defend yourself, you are given a little spotlight and a chance to shine.

Friday, December 17, 2010

taking stock

Making stock is such a relaxing activity for me. I love cutting up the aromatic vegetables and throwing them together for a colorful mix. I love adding peppercorn and cilantro and the whole house is filled with a wonderful smell. Chicken stock with rotisseri chicken bones were super sweet, and I am excited to try shrimp stock next.

http://www.whats4eats.com/soups/chicken-stock-recipe

Chicken stock, or chicken broth, is a basic of the kitchen in many cuisines. Homemade is always best, but stock from scratch can be reasonably substituted with low-sodium canned broth. Avoid bouillon cubes or granules if at all possible. They are very high in sodium and have only a whisper of the flavor of homemade. The recipe here is for a basic European-style chicken stock. See the variations for different versions from around the world.
Makes about 2 quarts

Chicken bones -- 3-4 pounds
Water, cold or room temperature -- 3 quarts
Onions, peeled and chopped -- 2
Carrots, peeled and chopped -- 2
Celery, chopped -- 2 stalks
Parsley -- 1/2 bunch
Fresh or dried thyme -- 2 tablespoons or 2 teaspoons
Bay leaf -- 1 or 2
Peppercorns -- 8 to 10
Salt -- to taste

Method

Place bones in a deep stockpot and add cold water to cover. Place the pot over medium flame and bring to a boil. As soon as water begins to boil, reduce heat to low and simmer slowly for 2 to 5 hours. Do not stir, and skim the scum and excess fat from top of the simmering stock periodically.
After 2 to 5 hours, add the vegetables, herbs, peppercorns and salt, pressing the vegetables down into the pot. Do not stir them in. Simmer for 1 more hour.
Remove the stock from the stovetop and strain through a fine-meshed strainer or several layers of moistened cheesecloth into another large pot or container. Set in the refrigerator and chill completely.
Scrape the chilled fat off the top of the stock and discard. Use the chicken stock in recipes or transfer into storage containers and freeze for later use.

Shiku

Late summer, I was pleasantly surprised and delighted as I walked through Ballard, to meet up a friend for happy hour. The shops were so cute and the restaurants were plenty - we spotted a couple that we definitely want to come back for, including Bastille for brunch.

The Bruce Lee roll - I thought it was a total cliche, but it totally lived up to its name.

Fried Cheesestick with Shiso with strawberry marmalade dipping sauce - it was an adventurous pick but it was so delicious!

How cute is this neighborhood!

Ginger oil dipping sauce

I was trying to explain to my mom, how I saw my grandmother making this a couple of years ago when I had visited her in new york, when my dad chimed in and explained the process. First, mince ginger, scallions, and cilantro. Then toast salt for a few minutes and add to the mixture. And finally, heat oil in the wok until it sizzles to top off the mixture.

Apparently, this was a recipe that my dad had recalled from when he was young, when my grandmother had made it for him. It was such a moment for me it was so nice to have a very random, but shared memory of my grandmother with my dad.

I have much to practice in terms of making this dipping sauce like my grandmother's - she chopped everything so finely and it will take much time for me to create the exact taste. But every time I make it, I will think of her.

Salumi

Although the tourists outnumbered the locals, a friend of mine and I bravely stood in the 50 person line in order to try this place. It was a sunny day, we had a friday off, and we were determined.

Would I stand in line again? No. Although I had a fabulous time catching up with my friend, the sandwich was not worth it! Too much bread to meat ratio. What we did get of the meat was great, but really, it was more hype than food at this point.

Lunching in pioneer square was fantastic - the weather was just right.

Dessert was the best part....I spotted gelato available in rice flavor at a near by cafe! this is not as common, but my favorite flavor, so I had to do it.

Here are a few more pictures from that sunny seattle day...

Mistral

What a lovely display...it added to the experience and the oysters were perfect in taste and texture.

Wow, was my reaction to this hamachi crudo with greens - pleasing to the eye and the palette.

my main course was good, although I wish I got the steak!

The only restaurant that I have been too, where they nailed every one of their signature desserts. All 6 were delightful - not too sweet, creative and just right.

Mediterranean Kitchen

Hello to quality and quantity - this is a favorite of anybody that I know. Love the flavors, and as a friend had mentioned, she could swim in the garlic dipping sauce that they give you for the bread (you can buy a whole bottle from them). This is the appetizer sampler - the fried cauliflower is a surprise for most - you don't think you will like it, but you will!

The best part is that the waiters are super fast and think on their feet! Here's a chicken dish that I had recently and found that I enjoyed it even more when I asked for the white sauce to be served on the side.