Little Hot Pot

You walk into the restaurant and the smell of a wonderful herbal broth fills your nose.  Your expectations rise and the selections on the menu don't disappoint - a wide assortment of veggies, meat, seafood, tofu, and even dumplings and such.

The only downer to the meal was the lack of choices in dipping sauces - it's like being all dressed up for the prom with no shoes!  Overall, I was happy with the quality of food that was provided, so maybe I'll just have to bring my own dipping sauce if I go again.

Success or flop?

As a good hubby who is encouraging his wife to cook more, Joe has been very generous with his praise.  So sometimes it's hard to figure out if the dish is really good.  The true test for me is how long the dish lasts in the fridge - if it is gone within a day or two, I know it was a hit!

The only thing that Joe has requested so far is lettuce wraps.  He is really open to what I cook, but sometimes I run into something he can't stand, like eggplant (which I love!)

So I like to think of cooking for Joe as similar to feeding a stray cat - he likes to eat randomly throughout the day and I like having different containers of food available for when he gets hungry and meanders into the kitchen for some food.

It runs in the family..

 Robert:  "My prime rib came out great, let's cut it so the family can dig in."

 Lissa:  "Can I sample I mean, help you with anything?"

Lissa: "Yummy.. this is so good, let me get another piece"
Robert:  "Glad I got the bigger one.."

Lissa:  "Glad I got to this prime rib before anyone else..will camp out here until I'm noticed!"

Moral of the story is and many of you can attest to this - if you see me or any of my cousins approaching you in the kitchen, don't expect help.  We are really there to sample.  :)

Hot and Sour Soup

I love hot and sour soup and after I made this at home, I like it even more.  I didn't always have the right recipe though, because some have led me to make a soup that is neither hot or sour!

This is a fairly simple recipe, and as I was devouring bowl after bowl, I knew had enough ingredients to make a second batch.  Here are the two secret ingredients and my friend made sure I had the right stuff, by escorting me to Ranch 99 so I would know which isle to find it.  I love my friends.  :)  Use this brand of vinegar for the recipe that calls for "mature vinegar."  I added a few sliced shiitake mushrooms and sliced bamboo shoots to this soup.

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/577584


1/4 cup dried wun yee (Cloud ear mushrooms) *
1/4 cup lily buds *
1 quart Chicken Stock (Home Made taste better, but any avaliable is fine)
1 ounce pork butt, slivered
1 square extra firm tofu, rinsed and diced into 1/2 inch squares.
2 tbsp cornstarch (necessary evil)
2 tbsp Chinese Mature Vinegar * (For the Sour)
1/3 cup finely minced scallions
1 tsp ground white pepper (For the Hot)
1 large egg, beaten
1/2 tsp sugar

1) Soak cloud ear and and lily buds in separate bowls for 30 minutes to soften in cold water.
Drain, remove hard spots from cloud ears and cut in half. Remove hard ends from lily buds and tie into knots.
2) Bring Chicken stock to boil over high heat. Add cloud ear, lily buds, tofu and pork and return to boil.
3) In a small bowl, combine cornstarch and vinegar. When the soup returns to rolling boil, stir cornstarch/vinegar slurry into the soup. Stir until soup is thickened.
4) Remove soup from heat, stir in scallions, white pepper, beaten egg and sugar. Serve piping hot

Mushroom Risotto

I love cooking risotto - stirring the rice round and round is so relaxing and calming.  The combination of mushroom, parsley (I used cilantro), white wine, and parmesan cheese in this recipe is so good.  The mushrooms had to be sauteed separately and they were able to brown b/c they were not crowded in this pan (it totally makes a difference!)

This is what the risotto looks about half way, as I stir patiently, waiting for the rice to soak more and more stock.  The below is close to done, and ready for the parmesan cheese and butter to be stirred in, and then it turns into a velvety and soft risotto!

risotto with mushrooms

serves 3-4

⅓ cup dried wild mushrooms, preferably porcini (I used shiitake)
6 oz fresh mushrooms or 12 oz if doubling recipe
juice of ½ lemon
6 T butter
2 T finely chopped parsley
3 ¾ cups vegetable stock
2 T oilve oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
1.5 cups risotto rice
½ cup try white wine
3 T freshly grated Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper


1. place dried mushrooms in 1.5 cups warm water.  soak for a least 40 min.                                          filter water through sieve and reserve.
2.  wipe and slice mushrooms.
3. in heavy frying pan, melt a third of the butter.  stir in fresh sliced mushrooms and cook over moderate heat until they release their juices and begin to brown.  Stir in parsley, cook for 30 seconds more and remove to a side dish.
4. place stock in a saucepan, and add mushroom water.  heat broth to a simmer.
5.  heat another third of the butter with olive oil in the same pan the mushrooms were cooked in.  stir in the onion and cook until it is soft and golden.  add the rice, stirring for 1-2 minutes to coat it with the oils in the pan.  Add the soaked and sauteed mushrooms and mix well.
6.  pour in the wine, raise the heat slightly, and cook over moderate heat until it evaporates.
7.  add one small ladleful of the hot broth.
8.  over moderate heat, cook until broth is absorbed.
9.  add a little more broth and stir until rice dries out again.
10.  continue until 20 minutes, taste the rice.  add salt and pepper
11.  continue cooking until rice is tender, but firm to the bite.
12.  total cooking time maybe 20-35 minutes, if you run out of broth, use hot water.
13.  remove risotto pan from heat.  stir in remaining butter and parmesan.  let rest for 3-4 min before serving.

(from Best-Ever Vegetarian, Linda Fraser)

Bobby's Hawaiian Restaurant

I feel like the Food Network's Dives, Diners, etc show sold me up the river, after I tasted the food here.  It was featured on the show and since then, I had been wanting to try them out.  Happily, in serving my civic duty, I was close enough that I could drop by to this Everett restaurant for lunch.  While the service was great, the food was another story.

The ahi poke was hard to finish - it seemed like they decided to use the cheapest cut of ahi available.  The kalua pork was decent, although it definitely isn't like the kind you can get from Hawaii.  The macaroni salad was actually the best tasting out of the three.  The morale of the story - don't go to a Hawaiian restaurant expecting the real deal.  I know I am the last to get the memo on this, but just sayin', so that other people don't experience the same disappointment!

I feel bad for my harsh critique, although perhaps, certain friends in my life have elevated the bar of quality and I can never go back - homemade kalua pork, kalbi ribs, ahi poke..

Porkie Pig

I try not to think of him when I inhale the following.  I usually don't have a preference to meats, but lately it's been about the pig.  My friends got me hooked on this bacon and once you've tried this, you refused to settle for anything else they call "bacon."  Have you seen such photogenic bacon?  The pieces are thick and the flavor is intense and smoky.   I totally get why Virginia is known for their bacon!    http://virginiatraditions.com/store/main.aspx?DepartmentId=38  

The perfect plate - red velvet cake, drumstick ice cream and bacon.