cioppino {italian seafood stew}

 One of our favorite places to eat in California is Phil's Fish Market. Their cioppino is so yummy, even chef Bobby Flay couldn't beat Phil in cioppino cook-off. :) This year for Christmas, my husband wanted to try making his own version of cioppino. It turned out really good and it was very simple to make. It's hearty and warms you up -- perfect for Christmas dinner! We got the original recipe from Whole Foods, which is my husband's favorite store to shop for good food.

Ingredients:

Garlic - 4 cloves
Red pepper flakes - 1/2 tsp
Yellow onion - 1 large (chopped finely)
Fennel - 1 bulb
Green bell pepper - 1 med
Diced tomatoes - 1 (28 oz) can
Kale - 2 cups (chopped in big pieces)

Chicken broth - 2 cups
White wine - 1 1/2 cup [optional - replace with chicken stock]
Tomato paste - 2 TBS
Dried oregano - 1 tsp
Dried thyme - 1 tsp
Dried basil - 2 tsp
Salt & pepper - to taste

[Seafood goodness] **see TIPS
Cod fish - 1 lb
Crab meat - 1 tub (8 oz)
Medium shrimp - 1 lb (tails on)
Mussels - 1 lb

French baguette - however much you need **see TIPS
Olive oil or butter - for brushing
Garlic salt - dash

Prep:

1. Chop garlic and onion finely.
2. Trim, core and slice fennel. (we didn't know how, so we checked out online. Here)
3. Cut green peppers in slices (discard seeds)
4. Chop Kale and wash couple of times. 
5. [Seafood] Cut cod fish into 1-inch pieces. Shell and de-vein medium shrimp (leave the tail on if you like), wash mussels if they are not prepared beforehand. **see TIPS

Cook:

1. In a large pot (at least 7-8 quart), heat 2 TBS oil and fry garic, red pepper flakes, onion, fennel, bell pepper and kale until softened - about 5-7 minutes. 
2. Stir in can tomatoes (put the whole thing with liquid and all), broth, wine and tomato paste. Stir in seasonings - oregano and thyme. Bring soup to boil.
3. Reduce heat to medium-low. Cover and simmer for 25-30 minutes. 
4. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 400F. Cut the french baguette into 1/2 inch thick. Brush olive oil onto the surface, sprinkle with a dash of garlic salt. You can use butter if you prefer more butterly taste.  Bake for 7 minutes on one side, flip on the other side and bake for another 8 minutes.
5. [Seafood] Add in fish and crab in the broth and simmer for 5 minutes. Don't over stir or else the fish will break into small pieces. 
6. [Seafood] Add in shrimp and mussels. Cover and simmer for about 5-7 minutes. Make sure the mussels are open. 
7. Season with basil, salt and pepper.

Serve:

1. Serve soup hot with freshly baked bread. A nice refreshing salad on the side will be good, too.
2. Don't forget sparkling cider to celebrate! 

TIPS

• I found all the ingredients in Costco. Get the tail-on, raw, de-veined shrimp from frozen section. Crab meat is a can one. For mussel, they usually have packaged prepared ones (not frozen, so check at refrigerated section). If you can't find mussel, they sell can clams, which is a good substitution. 
• French baguette from Costco is really yummy, too!
• Not a big fan of baguette? Use sourdough bread instead. You can even core out round sourdough bread and pour the soup inside, just like at Phil's.

pineapple coleslaw

We have a pretty decent coleslaw recipe. But one day, my husband said, "it needs some kick to it" and then he took out a can of pineapples and mixed it with the slaw -- it was a big HIT! The pineapple coleslaw tasted much better than the original recipe and it brought back memories from all the awesome food we ate in Hawaii.

Ingredients:

Coleslaw mix - 1 packet [16 oz] (or cabbage 1 small & carrots 2) **see TIPS
Onion - 1/3 cup (diced)
Mayonnaise - 2/3 cup
Vegetable oil - 3 TBS
White sugar - 1/3 (or more for sweet tooth) **see TIPS
White vinegar - 1 TBS
Salt - pinch
Poppy seeds - 1/2 tsp
Lemon juice - 3 tsp

Crushed pineapple - 1 small can (drained)  

 

 Prep:

1. Dice onion and drain can pineapple. 
2. Cut cabbage and carrots if you are cutting your own. 

Diced onion and drained crushed pineapple

Cook:

1. In a big bowl, combine all ingredients. Mix well. Adjust the taste. That's it! 

Ready to mix!

Serve: 

1. Perfect side dish for any BBQ or fried food!

 TIPS

• Coleslaw mix is  very convenient and pretty affordable (about $2). It'll save you time.
• Add 1/4 sugar first, and add more until it's sweet enough for you.

perfect steak

For special occasions, we like to eat steak. In our family, only my husband can make perfect steak. This time he used Momofuku cookbook to read up on different cuts of meat (whereas me... I don't know the difference between dry aged and regular meat.) and methods of preparing the steaks. I love it when he cooks -- especially when he makes steak! He made steak on Father's Day and he prepared three different cuts of meat. It was delicious. :) Thank you, hubby!

 

Ingredients:

Steak meat

• Dry aged rib-eye steak
• Dry aged New York steak
• New York steak

Sea salt
Pepper

Butter
Garlic - 3 cloves 

[Caramelized onions]**see TIPS
Sweet onion - 2
Butter - 2 TBS

He used Kuching black pepper all the way from Singapore!

Prep:

1. Season the steak (liberally) with sea salt and pepper (According to Momofuku chef, "salt like you'd salt a sidewalk in New York in the winter."). Set it aside in the room temperature for 30 minutes.
2. Slice onions for caramelized onions.
3. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Cook:

1. [Caramelized onions] On a pan, melt 2 TBS of butter. Add onions and stir continuously until golden brown. The volume of the onion will decrease significantly. Don't let it sit in the pan or it will get burnt. Continue stirring for about 20-25 minutes on medium low heat.
2. [Steaks] Heat the pan. When the pan is good and hot, steak should sizzle aggressively when it touches the pan. Brown the steak. (Don't touch it or press the meat!)
3. After a minute, take a peek. Seared side should be golden brown. Flip it. Sear the other side for one more minutes. 
4. Stand the steak up on the side for 30 seconds and do the same on the other side. 
5. Put the steak in oven for 6-8 minutes. 
6. Return the pan to the stove top over low heat. Add the butter and garlic to the pan.  As soon as butter melts, start basting: Use one hand to tilt the pan up at a 45-degree angle and , with the other hand, use a very large spoon to scoop up butter from the pool in the pan and spoon it over the steak. Continue for a minute. 
7. To test the steak, use metal stick like cake tester. Insert it sideways in the middle, and take it out and touch it with your lower lips. For medium rare, it should be warm to your touch. If it's too hot, it's well-done. 
8. Take out the steak and let it rest for at least 10 minutes.

Serve:

1. Enjoy your steak with caramelized onion, salad, fries, or any of your favorite sides (or just enjoy the meat.)

TIPS

• Add white mushrooms to the onion adds different flavor. 
• No grill? No griddle? No worries. Frying pan can actually cook good steak.

chocolate & peanut butter mousse cheesecake

Yesterday was my birthday and my sweet husband woke up at 5am in the morning and sacrificed his exercising time to make this wonderful and better-than-any-cheesecake-I've-tried birthday cake. He knew how much I enjoy home baked cakes and desserts. The cake and my husband's efforts were the two best birthday presents for me this year (among many other wonderful gifts and kind gestures from others). So here's the recipe for the awesome cake -- this will make anyone smile. :) 

Ingredients: 

[Chocolate crust]
Chocolate wafer/graham crackers - 1 1/2 cups
Butter - 1/4 cup (melted)

[Mousse Layers]
Creamy peanut butter - 3/4 cup
Cream cheese - 5 oz (soften)
Butter - 2 TBS (soften)
Confectioners' sugar - 1 and 1/4 cups
Heavy cream - 1 and 3/4 cups (whipped, divided)
Bittersweet Chocolate chips - 5 oz
Milk chocolate candy bar - 1 (3 and half oz size) - chopped
Sugar - 1/2 cup
2% Milk - 1/4 cup
Vanilla extract - 1 tsp

[Ganache - optional] *see TIPS
Bittersweet chocolate chips - 6 oz
Heavy cream - 2/3 cup
Vanilla extract - 1 tsp
Shaved chocolate - optional

Prep:

1. Grease 9-in spring-form pan. 
2. [Crust] Melt butter in a large microwavable bowl. Add in wafer/graham cracker crumbs. Press onto bottom of a 9 in. springform pan.
3. Measure all ingredients and set is aside (believe me, this will save you time and stress later!)

Cook:

1. In a Kitchenaid mixer bowl or in a bowl, beat the peanut butter, cream cheese and butter until smooth. 
2. Add confectioners' sugar and beat until smooth. 
3. With a spatula, fold in 1 and 1/4 cup whipped cream; spread over the crust. 
4. [Chocolate mousse layer] Place bittersweet and milk chocolate in a bowl. In small saucepan, bring sugar and milk just to a boil. Pour over chocolate and whisk until smooth. Stir in vanilla.
5. Cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally.
6. Gently fold in remaining whipped cream.
7. Spread over peanut butter layer; cover and freeze for 2 hours or until firm.
8.  [Ganache] Place chocolate in a bowl. In a small saucepan, bring cream just to a boil. Pour over chocolate and whisk until smooth. Stir in vanilla. Cool to reach spreading consistency, stirring occasionally. Spread over cheesecake. Refrigerate until set.

Serve: 

1. With knife, loosen cheesecake from pan; remove rim. 
2. Top with shaved chocolate if desired. 

I prefer little bit frozen - it's like ice cream cake, mousse cake and cheesecake in one!

TIPS

• This layer will make the cake richer. If you want to keep the light mousse cake, just skip the ganache. But if you love chocolate, it's another layer of awesomeness. :) 
• If you like ice cream cake, just eat right out of the freezer. It's sooooo good!

all-in-one fried rice

My daughter loves to eat, but she's also good at picking 'green' stuff out from her food. This recipe has lots of 'hidden' veggies, but still got other food (meat, eggs, rice, etc) to distract her. She loves fried rice and this recipe is another one-dish wonder (all-in-one dish!) in our family. It's very quick and easy to make --  perfect when you have left over rice and little bit of this and that. :) 

Ingredients:

Rice - 3 cups (measuring cups, prefer overnight/left over rice)

Beef - 100 g (1/2 cup sliced)
Chinese sausage - 2 (chopped)
Spinach - 2 cups (chopped)
Green onion - 1 stalk (chopped)
Eggs - 3 (beaten)

Lettuce - thinly shredded

Soy sauce
Sugar
Oyster sauce*

 Prep:

1. Slice beef and marinade with 1 TBS soy sauce, 2 tsp sugar, salt and pepper. 
2. Chop Chinese sausage, spinach, and green onion into small pieces.
3. Cut lettuce in thin slices, wash, pat dry and keep in a container (and in the fridge) until ready to use.
4. Beat eggs, add salt & pepper. Set aside. 

Cook:

1. Heat the wok/frying pan with 1 TBS of oil.  Fry beef until brown. Add in sausage, fry for another minute. Add in spinach. Fry for couple of minutes. Take out from the wok.
2. In the same wok/pan, add 1 TBS of oil. Fry eggs until almost done, then add in rice and mix well. Add in 1 tsp salt and sprinkle pepper. Fry for 2 minutes.
3. Combine back beef, sausage and spinach with rice. Add in 1 TBS of oyster sauce, salt & pepper to taste. Fry for 3-4 minutes, until somewhat dry. 

Step 1: Cook meat and veggies first. Take it out.

Step 2: Fry eggs and add rice

Serve:

1. Serve fried rice with lettuce and green onion. 

TIPS

• You can add any ingredients you can find in the fridge. The key to remember is fry the meat and veggies separate from egg/rice so it won't be too soggy.
•  * secret recipe - my husband's fried rice is the best I've tasted and it's because he adds oyster sauce and lettuce. Thanks, hubby!