Monday, May 30, 2011

Beet Salad


Beet Salad
Prep Time: 1 hr 20 min       Cook Time: 30 min     Ready In: 1hr 50 min
Serving Size: 4


I have found this recipe online and I have tried it out. The lettuce didn't really fit in here and I think it would be better to omit the lettuce.

INGREDIENTS

4 Medium Size Beets
3 Large Oranges
1 Lime
1/4 Cup Olive Oil
Salt to Taste
Ground Black Pepper to Taste
2 Tbs Orange Juice
1 Roman Lettuce


DIRECTIONS

Bring a pot of water to boil. Put in beets and turn heat to medium and cook for 30 minutes.
Cool beets and cube beets into big chucks. In a bowl, mix together orange zest, lime juice, orange juice,olive oil, salt, pepper and beets. Let beets cool for at least one hour in the fridge.

Cut the top and bottom of oranges. Remove peel with a knife and cut between skins to obtain orange wedge. 

Rinse roman lettuce and tear into pieces. Place lettuce onto a serving plate. Top with beets and orange slices and serve!

Grill Steak


Grill Steak
Prep Time: 5 min    Cook Time: 4-10 min     Ready In: 15 min
Serving Size: 1


Many people have asked how I can cooked my steaks with good grill marks. More so, how do I know the stake is medium rare. I have some tips for those of you out there!!


INGREDIENTS
Steak (T-bone, Fillet Mignon, Rib Eye, Round, Sirloin)
1 Tbs Oil
Salt to Taste
Pepper to Taste


DIRECTIONS

I find that it doesn't matter which cut of steak you choose to have that matters. It is how you handle the meat!!! Oh and of course, always get the best grad cut of meat as possible ie. Triple A.

Take the steak out of the fridge and let it sit on the counter for 5 minutes.

Preheat a cast iron grill pan to med-high, grease it with 1 tbs oil. Let the pan heat up for last least 5 minutes. You would want the pan to be completely hot. Food will only stick to a pan if the grill is not not enough.

Pat steak dry with paper towels, this is a very important step, you do not want any water content between your steak and grill pan.

Season meat with salt and pepper on both sides. Place steak onto the grill. Depending on the thickness of the meat, the cook time will differ. I only flip my stake once on the grill pan, this is how I get my grill marks on my steak.

I like my steak medium rare. Cook one side of steak for 2-3 minutes and then flip it over. The trick is to place your index and middle finger onto the middle of the steak and push on it. If the steak bounces back with a little force then your stake is cooked to medium rare.

If you push on the steak and the steak doesn't bounces and stays down with a dimple, your steak is at a rare stage.

If you push on the steak and the steak is really tough to push into then your steak has reached to well done stage.


Usually it comes with practice with knowing when your steak is well done, medium rare and rare!





Sunday, May 29, 2011

Caviar Toast


Caviar Toast
Prep Time: 5 min    Cook Time: 5 min    Ready In: 10 min
Servings: 4


INGREDIENTS

2 Slices of Thick Bread
1 Tbs Butter
4 Tbs Caviar
2 Tbs Chopped Flat Leave Parsley
4 Tsp Sour Cream


DIRECTIONS

Put bread into a toaster oven. Heat until golden brown.
Remove the crust of the toast and slice toast in half.
Spread butter onto toast, on each pieces of toast top two sides with chopped parsley.
Spoon Caviar onto the center of the toast.
Top with a dollop of sour cream on each piece.
Serve Immediately!

Baked Salmon


Baked Salmon
Prep Time: 5 min   Cook Time: 17 min    Ready In: 22 min
Serving Size: 4


This is a supper easy recipe that my aunt used to make.


INGREDIENTS

Salt to Taste
Fresh Ground Pepper to Taste
1/2 Cup Mayo
1 Salmon Fillet (about 1.5 lb, 3/4 inch thick)


DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place salmon on baking sheet. Top with salt and pepper. Spread a thin later of mayo on top of the salmon. Bake for 17 minutes. If your salmon is thicker, you may need to add more baking time.

I have only spread mayo on half of the salmon because I actually like to have half and half so your guest can have a choice to choose from!


Friday, May 27, 2011

Cheddar Olive Balls



















Cheddar Olive Balls
Prep Time: 20 min      Cook Time:  20 min      Ready In: 40 min
Serving Size: 40


INGREDIENTS

1 Cup Grated Cheddar
1/2 Cup Butter At Room Temperature
1 1/4 Cup Flour
1 Tsp Paprika
40 Green Olives, Pitted



DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease baking pan.
In a large bowl, mix together cheddar, butter, flour and paprika. With your hand cover each olive with dough.


Put the dough covered olives into the fridge for 10 minutes. This allows the balls to take it's shape.
Place into oven and bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown on the outside.











Watermelon & Tomato Salad


Watermelon & Tomato Salad
Prep Time: 10 min      Cook Time: 0 min     Ready In: 10 min
Serving Size: 4


This recipe is actually an inspiration from Rick Moonen Restaurant at Las Vegas.
I have had a version on watermelon and tomato salad at his restaurant and this is my take on the dish!

INGREDIENTS
2 Cups Diced Watermelon
2 Sliced Heirloom Tomatoes ( I couldn't find any Heirloom so I just used regular ones)
4 Medium Basil Leave
4 Tsp Feta Cheese

Paprika Aioli
1/2 Mayo
1/4 Cup Fresh Lemon Juice
3 Tbs Paprika
1 Tbs Tomato Paste



DIRECTIONS

Mix mayo, lemon juice, paprika and tomato paste together in a bowl.

Place tomatoes and watermelon on serving dish. Top with cheese and drizzle with aioli. Sprinkle with chopped basil leave.

I have seared some scallops along with this dish as a side to go along with the salad.

Pasta Salad With Grilled Vegetables

Pasta Salad With Grilled Vegetables
Prep Time: 15 min    Cook Time: 25 min     Ready In: 40 min
Serving Size: 6


INGREDIENTS

1 Cucumber, Diagonal Cut Into 1/2" Slice
1 Large Zucchini, Diagonal Cut Into 1/2" Slice
2 Orange Bell Pepper, Cored and Seeded, Quartered
2 Tbs Olive Oil
6 Cups Cook Pasta, Drained & Chilled
1 Cup Corn
1 Cup Fresh Mozzarella, Diced Into Bite-Size
1 Cup Grape Tomato, Halved
1/2 Small Red Onion, Thinly Sliced
2 Tbs Chopped Basil
1/2 Cup Balsamic Vinaigrette
1/4 Tsp Salt
1/4 Tsp Fresh Ground Black Pepper



DIRECTIONS

Preheat grill to medium high. Brush corn, zucchini and peppers with olive oil and grill vegetables for 10-15 minutes until tender turning once only.

Set grilled vegetables aside to cool. Cut vegetable into bite size.

In a large bowl, toss together grill vegetables, pasta, mozzarella, onion, tomatoes, basil, vinaigrette, salt and pepper.

Thursday, May 26, 2011

Smoke Salmon & Caviar Sandwich


Smoke Salmon & Caviar Sandwich
Prep Time: 5 min     Cook Time: 0 min        Ready In: 5 min
Serving Size: 1

This is a really quick and easy recipe for a fancy sandwich.

INGREDIENTS

2 Slice of Bread
2 Tsp Lumpfish Caviar (Available at Granville Island)
2 Tbs Cream Cheese
4 Slice of Smoke Salmon



DIRECTIONS

Remove bread crust and place bread on a plate. Scope cream cheese onto one slice of bread and put into microwave for 10 seconds, this will make the cream cheese softer and easier to spread. With a knife, spread the cream cheese around the bread to coat evenly.

With a plastic spoon, take 2 tea spoon of caviar and spread evenly onto cream cheese. Evenly top with smoke salmon and another slice of bread to enjoy!

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Green Tea Cheesecake


Green Tea Cheesecake
Prep Time: 10 min     Cook Time: 25 min     Ready In: 1 hr 35 min
Serving Size: 8


INGREDIENTS

2 Cups Cream Cheese
3/4 Cup Sugar
2 Tbs Green Tea Powder
1 Tbs Vanilla Extract
2 Eggs
1 Pie Shell


DIRECTIONS

Pre heat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium size bowl, beat cream cheese at room temperature with sugar, green tea powder, vanilla extract, and eggs until well blended.

Pour mixture into the pie and flatten the surface with a spatula. Bake cake for 25 minutes and let cook in the fridge for 1 hour before serving.





Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Bibimbop (Korean Beef & Mix Vegetable with Rice)


Bibimbop (Korean Beef & Mix Vegetable with Rice)
Prep Time: 15 min     Cook Time: 35 min     Ready In: 50 min
Serving Size: 2


INGREDIENTS

1/2 Lb Chop/Ground Beef
1 Cup Bean Sprout
2 Cup Spinach
2 Cup Beltflower Root (can be purchased at H-Mart)
8 Shiitake Mushrooms
1 Medium Size Carrot
1/2 Medium Size Zucchini
2 Eggs
3 Cup Short Grain Rice
1 Tbs Sugar
1 Tbs Sesame Oil
1 Tbs Sesame Seeds
4 Tbs Kochujang (Korean red pepper paste)



DIRECTIONS

Rinse rice with water. Cook rice in a rice cooker with 3 cups of water. This should take about 30 minutes.

Slice the zucchini thinly, add sesame oil and cook for 3 minutes on a frying pan. Let zucchini cool on a plate. Julienne carrot and cook  the carrots for 3 minutes and let cool on a different plate. Julienne mushroom and stir fry for 3 minutes and cool on a plate. Julienne beltflower root and stir fry for 3 minutes and cool on a plate.

Bring 4 cups of water to boil. Add sprouts and cook for 4 minutes. Drain sprouts and add salt to taste. Cook the spinach for 4 minutes as well and squeeze all excess water out of the vegetable and salt to taste.

Season beef with salt to taste and stir fry until cooked about 7-10 minutes.

Place rice on the bottom of a bowl. Top with vegetable and beef. Cook eggs sunny side up and place egg on top of the bowl to finish the dish.


With a spoon, mix vegetable, beef, rice and egg together. Add in Kochujang to taste and ENJOY!!

Monday, May 23, 2011

Italian Meat Balls


Italian Meat Balls

Prep Time: 10 min     Cook Time: 20 min      Ready In: 30 min
Serving Size: 48 meat balls


INGREDIENTS

1/2 Lb Lean Ground Beef
1/2 Lb Lean Ground Veal
1/2 Lb Regular Ground Pork
1/2 Lb Lean Ground Pork
2 Cups Bread Crumbs
2 Cloves Minced Garlic
2 Eggs
1 Cup Grated Romano Cheese
1 1/2 Cup Luke Warm Water
2 Tbs Fresh Chopped Parsley
2 Tbs Salt
3 Tbs Ground Black Pepper
2 Tbs Olive Oil


DIRECTIONS

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.

In a large bowl, combine all the ground meats, eggs, cheese, bread crumbs, parsley, salt and black pepper. Add water into the meat 1/2 cup at a time. Mix in the water slowly with the meat with your hands making sure everything is well blended.

Shape the meat balls with your hands about 2 inches in diameter. Grease baking pan and with olive oil and bake meat balls for 20 minutes.


I have made some pasta to go with the meat balls. I have cooked a box of angle hair as per the directions provided on the box. Poured out a jar of alfredo sauce and added in 1 cup of milk. Brought the sauce to boil and added 8 springs of chopped basil and dinner is served!!



Saturday, May 21, 2011

Korean Fried Rice


Korean Fried Rice
Prep Time: 10 min    Cook Time: 20 min     Ready In: 30 min
Serving Size: 4


Here is my version of Korean Fried Rice, working with what I have in the fridge.


INGREDIENTS

4 Cups of Cooked Rice
2 Cups of Diced Kimchi
5 Tbs Kochujang
1/2 Zucchini Thinly Sliced
1/2 Carrot Julienne
2 Stalk Celery Julienne
1/2 Onion Finely Diced
1/2 Lb Ground Beef
4 Eggs
1 Tbs Furikake
1 Tbs Sesame Oil
2 Tbs Vegetable Oil



DIRECTIONS

In a large frying pan, add in vegetable oil. Cook beef until medium, about 4 minutes. Add in onion, zucchini, carrot and celery. Cook until beef is fully cooked, about 4 more minutes. Pour out ingredients into a bowl.

In the same pan, add in rice and kochujang and kimchi and sesame oil. Stir well for 3 minutes. Return vegetables and beef to pan. Cook until everything is well mixed. Place the rice into serving bowls.

In a small pan, cook 4 sunny side up eggs. Top each rice bowl with an egg and sprinkle with Furikake.

Friday, May 20, 2011

Stuffed Bell Pepper


Stuffed Bell Pepper
Prep Time: 10 min      Cook Time: 25 min       Ready In: 35 min
Serving Size: 2


INGREDIENTS
2 Large Bell Pepper (Orange, Yellow, Red or Green)
1/4 Onion Finely Diced
1/4 Zzucchini Finely Diced
4 Mushrooms Finely Diced
2 Tbs Raisin
1 Cup of 5 Minute Rice
1 Cup of Hot Water
1/4 Tsp Saffron
1/4 Tsp Cumin
1/4 Tsp Curry Powder
1/2 Tsp Salt
1/4 Tsp Hot Pepper Flakes
4 Springs of Parsley
1 Tbs Vegetable Oil



DIRECTIONS

Pre heat oven to 450 degrees.

In a medium size bowl, combine hot water and saffron together. Let the saffron sit in water for 5 minutes. Add in rice to the bowl and microwave for 3 minutes.

Stir the rice and add in onion, zucchini, mushroom, raisin, cumin, curry, salt and pepper flakes.

Cut the top off the bell pepper and take out the seeds. Fill the pepper with the rice mix with a spoon and pack the rice down.

Rub oil onto the outside of the pepper and place pepper into the oven for 20 minutes.

Take out the pepper and let cool for 5 minutes before serving.

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Hockey Puck Cake

Hockey Puck Cake
Prep Time: 3 hours     Cook Time: 35 min      Ready In: 3h 35 min
Serving Size: 11




INGREDIENTS

2 8 x 8 in Chocolate Cake
2 Cups Butter Cream Icing or Frosting

1 1/2 Cup Royal Icing
4 Cups Semi Sweet Chocolate


DIRECTIONS


Bake chocolate cake and let cool. In this case, I have used a box of cake mix and followed their directions.
Cut the cake into 8 pieces. Crumble each piece. Make sure there are no big chucks because this will lead to lumpy pucks.

Mix in icing and crumble cake until smooth.

Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Form the crumble cake into a 3 inch ball. Put the ball into the center of a circle cookie cutter. Flatten the ball with fingers and remove cookie cutter.

Put the cake in the freezer for 15 minutes until solid. Meanwhile melt the chocolate in a double boiler.
Dip each cake into the chocolate and smooth out the edges with a spatula. Put the cake back into the freezer for 10 minutes. Take out the cake and decorate with logo.

Make three batches of royal icing, white, green and blue.
First make a white circle as base and let it set and dry about 25 minutes.
Now pipe a blue rectangle and draw in a hockey stick. Fill in the corners with blue and leaving the hockey stick white and let  dry for 25 minutes.

Lastly, with the green royal icing, pipe around the blue rectangle, leaving about 3mm space in between.

Serve it to any Canucks Hockey Fan : )

Saturday, May 7, 2011

Pretzel Twists


Pretzel Twists

Prep Time: 1 hr 30 min      Cook Time: 8 min      Ready In: 1 hr 38 min
Serving Size: 48


INGREDIENTS
8 g Active Dry Yeast
1/2 Tsp Sugar
3/4 Cup Warm Water about 110 degrees
2 1/2 Cup Flour
1/4 Cup Sugar
2/3 Tsp Salt
1/2 Tbs Oil

1/2 Cup Baking Soda
4 Cup Boiling Water



DIRECTIONS

In a small bowl, combine warm water, dry yeast and 1/2 tsp sugar and let stand for 10 minutes.

In a large bowl, mix together flour, sugar and salt. Make a well in the center of the bowl and add in oil and the yeast mixture.

Knead the dough until smooth about 10 minutes. Oil a bowl and place dough into the center. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and place in a warm place until the dough is double in size. This will take about one to one and a half hour depending on how warm the room is.

Pre heat the oven to 450 degrees. Line baking sheet pan with parchment paper. Place a sheet of wax paper onto a working surface. Separate dough into 48 pieces. Split each piece in half and roll dough into two balls. Form each ball into a rod  about 1.5 inch long with the palm of your hands. Twist two rod together to form a pretzel twist pinching the ends together.


In a medium size bowl, mix together boiling water and baking soda. Dip pretzel twist into the baking soda water for 30 seconds and place onto the baking pan.

Bake pretzels for 8 minutes.


For various topping ideas:

Dip pretzel in melted butter and sprinkle with salt
Dip pretzel in melted butter and sprinkle with Cinnamon sugar

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Braised Duck Legs


Braised Duck Legs
Prep Time: 30 min     Cook Time: 2 hrs      Ready In: 2hr 30 min
Serving Size: 6


INGREDIENTS

6 Large Duck Legs Defrost overnight in the fridge ( Ava.@ Save on Foods, frozen individually packed)
1 Cup of Dry Red Wine
2 Heads of Garlic
8 Fresh Spring of Thyme
1/2 Cup of Raisins
1/2 Cup of Dry Sour Cherries
4 Cups of Chicken Stock



DIRECTIONS

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Season duck legs with salt and pepper to taste.
Bring a large pan to medium heat, brown legs skin side down for 10- 15 minutes. Turn leg over and cook for two more minutes over medium heat.

Remove duck leg from pan. Deglaze pan with red wine, scraping down the bits that are on the bottom of the pan. Boil wine for 3 minutes and add in garlic, thyme and dried fruits. Return duck legs, skin side up to the pan. Add broth to the pan and place into oven let simmer for 2 hours uncovered.

Take out legs and set a side. Pour the braising liquid into a oil separator. Remove fat and set a side. Pour the braising liquid through a sieve and onto a sauce pan. Boil liquid until reduced to 1/3 the volume.

Serve duck legs with long green beans and mashed potatoes!

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Sesame Ginger Vermicelli Noodles



Sesame Ginger Vermicelli Noodles
Prep Time: 25 min    Cook Time: 10 min      Ready In: 35 min
Serving Size: 4

INGREDIENTS
1 Pkg Rice-Vermicelli Noodles
1 lb Strip Loin Steak
2 Tsp Vegetable Oil
1/4 Tps  Salt
2 Tbs Sesame Oil
2 Tbs Graulated Sugar
1 Tbs Fish Sauce
2 Tbs Minced Ginger
1/2 Cup Rice Vinegar
2 Cloves Garlic, Minced
1 Carrot, Coarsely Grated
2 Cups of Baby Spinach


DIRECTIONS

Soak vermicelli noodles in a large bowl with hot water for 10 mintues.

Heat a frying pan over medium heat. Add in oil and brown steaks about 3-4 minutes for medium rare each side. Remove meat from pan and let it rest for 5 minutes. Sprinkle stakes with salt and pepper to taste.

In a bowl, whisk together sesame oil, sugar, fish sauce, garlic and ginger. Drain noodles and add in vingar mixture. Toss in carrots and spinach until evenly coated.

Place noodles in a serving bowl and top with sliced steaks.

Sunday, May 1, 2011

Ahi Tuna Wrap


Ahi Tuna Wrap

Prep Time: 10 min      Cook Time: 5 min       Ready In: 15 min
Serving Size: 2


INGREDIENTS
2 Pieces of Ahi Tuna, about 1/4 of a lb (I have purchased these at Costco, they come in 5-6pc pack frozen)
1 Stock of Green Onion
1 Avocado
2 Tortilla
1/2 Cup of Arugula

DRESSING
2 Tbs Olive Oil
Zest of 1 Lime
Juice of 1 Lime
1/2 Tsp Wasabi
1 Tsp Soy Sauce
5 Drops of Hot Sauce
2 Tsp of Sugar
1 Tsp of Pepper
2 Tsp of Salt
1/8 Cup of Toasted Sesame Seed

DIRECTIONS
In a medium bowl, combine all the dressing ingredients and mix together with a whisk.

Dice the avocado into big chucks and add into the bowl, the lime juice will prevent the avocado from turning brown. Chop green onion finely and add it to the bowl as well.

Bring grill to high heat and sear all sides of the Ahi tuna, leaving the center raw. Cook each edge for about 30 seconds.

Cube the tuna and combine it in the bowl. Put a tortilla on a serving plate. Place 1/4 cup of arugula on the center of the tortilla. Place half of the tuna mix on top and fold the tortilla and serve the dish!

Teriyaki Beef


Teriyaki Beef

Prep Time: 2hrs     Cook Time: 10 min     Ready In: 2hrs 10 min
Serving Size: 4


INGREDIENTS
1 lb. Tender Beef Steak
1/4 Cup Soy Sauce
1/4 Cup Mirin
2 Tbs Sugar
1 Tsp Minced Ginger
2 Cloves of Minced Garlic
2 Cup of Cooked Rice
1 Carrot, Thinly Sliced
2 Stock Celery, Thinly Sliced
8 Mushroom Sliced
1 Onion, Thinly Sliced


DIRECTIONS

In a zip log bag, mix together soy sauce, mirin, garlic, sugar and ginger. Add in the beef and refrigerate for at least 2 hrs and up to 2 days.

Bring a frying pan to medium heat and cook beef for 3 minutes each side. Rest the beef for 5 minutes and sliced the beef into strips. In the same pan, bring vegetable and marinate to a boil and cook for 3 minutes. Return beef to the pan and cook for 3 more minutes or until everything is well cooked.

Place a bed of rice onto serving plate and top with teriyaki beef!

Chicken Quesadilla with Mango and Brie


Chicken Quesadilla with Mango and Brie

Prep Time: 15min    Cook Time: 20 min     Ready In: 35 min
Serving Size: 4

INGREDIENTS
2 Cup of Cooked Chicken Meat
1 Cup of Brie Diced
1/4 Cup of Chopped Cilantro
1 Tbs Vegetable Oil
4 Large Flour Tortillas
1 Mango Sliced
3 Tbs Finely Chopped Pickled Jalapeno


DIP
1/2 Cup of Sour Cream
2 Tbs Lime Zest
2 Tbs Lime Juice


DIRECTIONS
Shred chicken into strips.

Heat a non stick pan on medium. Add oil to coat the bottom of pan and add one tortilla. Place a forth of chicken, mango, brie, cilantro and jalapeno over half of the tortilla. Carefully fold the tortilla half. Cook until the tortilla is golden brown. About two minutes each side.

Repeat for the rest of the tortillas.

In a small bowl, combine sour cream, lime zest, lime juice and stir well.