Shoo-Maii!

Today we made some Chinese Food!!

Won Ton Soup : The filling for the won tons is shrimp, ground pork, green onion, s&p, light soy sauce, sesame oil, just a little bit of beaten egg (tsp), and pinch of corn starch. The soup is just Chicken stock that I cooked the shrimp shells in for a while then strained. Then Just poached the won tons, then put them in the soup!! Came out good!!

 Hong Kong Style Noodle Cake with Seafood Sauce : Too Good! and easy to make. the stiry fry had squid, shrimp, crab meat, shaoxing wine, sesame oil, s&wp, cornstarch, and veg. oil. with Baby bok choy, shiitake mushrooms, green onions, ginger, garlic, snow peas. After being sauted, tossed it in a sauce that I made with Hoisin sauce, soy sauce, oyster sauce, chicken stock, sesame oil, and a little corn starch slurry to thicken it up. I had cooked the Honk Kong style egg noodles, then let them dry, then put it together in a flat circle and fried it. You can Kind of tell by looking at the bottom it is some what like a noodle "cake". It was So Good!!

 Siu Mai (Shoo-mai) : These were just steamed pork dumplings. The filling is with ground pork, shrimp, water chestnuts, soy sauce, Rice wine, sugar, sesame oil and cornstarch. These were really good too, along with the won tons!

Well, I just keep on cookin' and keep on praying and believing and searching for a place to work/intern at. I have to start interning somewhere by April 9th, so i need to find something no later than the middle of March. AGH!! I want to stress, but there is no need because God is always on time and I know something will work out where ever I go!!

Hope you all are doing well, and enjoy the dishes I make!! =]

Deuce.

<3

...and if you like Shrimp and Grits and all em'...

YUUUM!! This whole week, this whole class is just YUUMM!! Every dish is just different, full of flavor, and DEE-LII-SHUSS (Madea voice lol) Im learning so much about the different cultures and getting a little sample taste of how they do things in the culinary world on their side. And Im LOVIN it!! Hope you do too =]
          SHRIMP & GRITS

 Rabbit Jambalaya

Sounds crazy, but after  I blocked out my thoughts that it was rabbit, it was really good, and spicy just like i like it!! Lil Rabbit Tasted like Chicken!!



If you want recipes to try any of the things i post on here, feel free to hit me up and let me know ill send it to ya!! I encourage yall to go and try some of the things I put on here. Most of it is easy to make but real good. Take a step out the norm and go on' head make some rabbit jambalaya =]

Deuces.

<3

Shrooms!

Today I cooked with a lot of MUSHROOMS! I personally dont like mushrooms, BUT, when I cooked with them today it was soooooo goooodd!!!!! Let me show you!!

WILD MUSHROOM BRUSCHETTA: This was sooo good, I can only imagine how mushroom lovers would feel about this. It's wild mushroom mix (cimini, shiitake,chanterelle, portabella, and a couple others) sauted in butter, olive oil and shallots. Added white wine and a little water and cooked au sec (dry). Then melted in some parmigianino reggiano (parmesean cheese). I toasted some of the bread  then put some mascarpone cheese on it (yuumm!!) then just topped it off with the wild mushroom mix!! A bite of this gives you so many different flavors, all soft and not over powering each other. I was surprised the shrooms even had flavor. lol

 POLENTA PASTICCIATA: This is Polenta and its layers with (Pasticciata) which is sweet italian sausage, carrot, onion, celery, garlic, porcini mushrooms, red wine, cut up tomato, (salt, and balsamic vinegar for taste)and topped with rosemary and parsley. on top is sliced melted fontina cheese. This was good too! Polenta reminds me of a softer corn bread, and the meat mixture went well with it, had a lot of flavor. The green stuff on the side is BROCCOLI RABE: just broccoli rabe, with onion, garlic, anchovy, red pepper flakes, s&p and evoo.

 Farro Risotto. Just Risotto but with FARRO which is a yummy grain!! I put a little too much cheese in mine (I know, how could there ever be too much cheese!?!?!) but if I would have added a little less it would have been just right. But the flavor, texture of the farro came out good!

today was successful!! Everything came out so good, and I thank God for always BLESSING my food!!

Keep me in your prayers. I have no idea where I am going to be doing my intern at =/ Im praying for direction! 

 have a good day my little criminis!!

Deuces.

<3

wooahh kimosabe!

Today we made SUSHI!!!! && today i struggled =/  It was kinda hard to roll it. I wish we had more rice, I wouldve practiced more. But I was limited. But overall it came out pretty good and I was proud of myself.

 I had made California Rolls, Spicy Tuna Rolls, (Left) w/ raw Tuna, (right) Salmon. The Spicy Tuna roll was mixed with chili paste, mayo, cilantro, and a dash of soy sauce. It was good! I was nervous because of the raw tuna but it was reallly good!

Check out my little leaf I made with the Wasabi =D

This brought back memories of when me and Athenna tried making Spam Musabi back in the day. LOL TOTAL FAIL!!! but we still ate it. Now that I have a little experience making/rolling it the right way Im going to have to make some for her when I go back to cali!

Deuces
<3

Some Mo' Samosas Please!

Very pleased with the outcome of todays dishes!! Yesterday we learned about the Indian culture. I was excited to cook today because ive never had Indian food before, just a thought of what it might be like. (SPICY and FULL of flavor!) & Todays dishes was just that.

TURNIP, POTATO AND GREENS CURRY: This dish was simple yet really good, definately full of flavor. We used Spinach, turnips, potatoes, ginger, green chile, mustard seeds, Cumin seeds, curry leaves, turmeric, coriander, cinnamon, s&p, and tomatoes. As you can see the spices used are strong ones! But this dish was so good. I served it with Basmati Rice and Pickled carrots and celery I had made (from vinegar, salt, sugar, cumin and a little bit of pepper. That came out good too (if you like pickled things....I do!)

                                              

 This is the same thing, except the pinkish stuff is RED BEET RAITA. I was pretty surprised at how much I liked this!! Its, Red beet (I roasted it in the oven first thing), with a mixture of yogurt, sugar, salt, cumin, sesame seeds (i didnt use that today), Scallions and cilantro. I saw some fresh mint leaves and imagined it going well with this mixture so I put some in there, and it went OH.SO.Well (yayya). The beets are to be folded into the yogurt mixture after being cut and not so much that it turns pink. I forgot to add LIME (which really adds a good kick to it) so i had to mix more than I wanted to. But it doesnt hurt, it just looks more pretty with the white and red swirls=]

   Me Preppin for the Samosas *Big Smile*

 This was http://thebombdiggidy.com/

SAMOSAS

Sooo easy to make. And so DEE-LISH!!lol the Filling is...Cumin seeds, ginger, serrano chile (or jalapeno or what ever chile you prefer, i say the hotta' the betta'!) Shallot, Russet potato, sweet potato, salt, green peas, and cilantro. The dough was very easy to make too. Just flour, black pepper, turmeric, ghee (very clarified butter) baking soda, warm water and a pinch of salt. Just knead it for about 5 minutes, let sit for about 30min, the roll out!!=] The Green stuff is Green Chutney (serrano chile, shallots, lime juice, mint leaves, cilantro, fresh ginger, sugar, yogurt, and water and salt as needed) This was SPICY!! but GOOD!! It went too well with the Samosas. I want some more already!!!

Hope you all are enjoying the different cultures of food as much as I am!! I get to learn to make SUSHI next! I can not WAIT until i get to coook for family and friends!

Love&Peace

Deuce.

<3

HEY!! =]

todays dishes consist of:

Pastelles de Yucca: this is ground beef, ham, with onion garlic achiote paste, onion, mild green chile, cilantro, raisins, spanish olives and capers...its all wrapped in a yucca and potatoe mash, wrapped in a big banana leaf.

You roll it and tie it. Then put it a boiling pot of water and cook for 45 minutes.

Plate & serve. It was hard plating this dish, it was kind of soft.

It came out alright. I dont like bananas at all and the banana leaf really did give off banana flavors lol but i think i would have liked it more if i didnt wrap it in the banana leaf.

Bobo de Camarao with fried Yam Chips: This was really good. all it really is is Cassava (yucca) boiled and cooked until tender, then mashed liked potatoes, then mixed with coconut milk, cream, and cilantro, all cooked until flavors develop. i had made a "shrimp stock" with the shrimp shells after i peeled and devained the shrimp. i sauted the shrimp in onion and garlic in the pan, then after the cassava creamy mixture was strained i put the shrimp in and cooked just for another minute. Also, I just cut up some yams with the mandolin and then deep fried them. Came out good!!



Everyday, I have no choice but to progress and grow. I have a million and two things going on in my mind, just about everything. But I am staying strong in prayer and in faith.

Deuces

<3

SPICE World

So we learned a little about spices and Moroccan food yesterday. Today we made a few seasonings/sauces, and cooked with Beef, Scallops, && Quail. It all came out sooo good! Enjoy=]

 The Top beef skewer was marinated with a Chimmichurri sauce that I made. Everyone used it up before I was able to decorate my plate *sad face*. But it still came out good. The bottom beef skewers were seasoned with a Southwestern Chili Powder that i made. It was a pretty good mixture of spices! and Spicy, just like a like it ;)   (im not gonna list all the ingredients, its soo much!!)and its decorated with Saffron Israeli CousCous.{ My beef looks over done but i promise its not.It wasnt that dark. Its the camera on my phone (lol) My chef said it was cooked perfect. yay.}

These are Moroccan Skewered Scallops. On the left, it was marinated with Charmoula. (another sauce i made). On the right, its seasoned with Ras el Hanout (all the seasonings and sauces/marinates i had to make). And then also the Saffron Israeli CousCous.

 Poor Quaily.

They were so adorable.

 Quail Yakitori

Yakitori is a Japanese glaze, and its usually applied at the end of cooking (so it wont burn). First I seasoned the quail with Shichimi Togarashi (A Japanese 7-spice seasoning I made). Then glazed it with the Yakitori at

the end. I only tasted a little piece because I felt bad for the lil fellow but it was really good.

This was seasoned also with the Shichimi Togarashi, but I made a Peanut Sauce with this one. My Peanut Sauce came out soo good I was happy becuase I love me some good chicken skewers with a good peanut sauce, so I was happy i got to make one (and now i have a recipe! yee!)

Deuce.

<3.

Let It Begin...

Made some gooooood food today!!
Too excited to be back...

 SALT& PEPPER PRAWNS
Blanched, deep fried (both only for a quick second) and then sauted with some fresh chilies, garlic, ginger, & ground Sichaun. The Seasoning on the little plate is dipping salt which is just salt, Chinese 5-spice, and sichaun peppercorn. This dish was really good, though i ate the shrimp without the extra dipping salt.

 PAN SEARED FILET MIGNON OVER SCALLION MASH AND SALT CRUSTED BEET
The beet was made first by mixxing egg whites, salt, fresh thyme, cracked black pepper all together. Then i just put it all over the beet like a crust basically. put it on a sheet pan and back for about an hour and 15 minutes.The scallion mash was too good too. Just potatoes, milk, butter, sour cream, s&p, and scallions yuumm!! then i just seasoned and seared the filet mignon. I know a lot of people love Filet Mignon but I'm just not a big fan of steak period. But it was good.

SUNOMONO (CUCUMBER SALAD)
Cucumbers and Daikon that i let sit in a Rice Vinegar and sugar mixture (first let sit in salt about 15 minutes, then rinse with water. then put in vinegar mixture. added some cherry tomatoes at the end which gave it a pop with the color =]

Deuce
<3

BACK AT IT ;)

HEYYY!!!
So glad to be back at it. Ive been on "break". Mainly just working, sleeping, gettin' things together.
Hope everyone is well!! I am now in my Cuisine Across Culture class!! WHOOOOP!!! Im excited about this class. only one more to go after this. excited to grow, and learn more about the different cultures, and spices. IM READY!!

Ill be back to posting often. sorry for being MIA =/

Over the break of course i went to multiple places to eat. i rarely cook at home (not because i dont want to, but i have only 2 pots and not a lot of money for groceries =(  story of my college life lol )
when the bestie came i finally went to Giodornos. and yess it has thheee best deep dish pizza!! We only had one slice and we were full! lol but the food was really good.

I also got to eat at this restaurant called YOLK. OMG, their breakfast was soooooo good. I had'nt eaten good breakfast meal, let alone breakfast, in a long time. So I was glad to have been taken there =)

                                We got our GRUB ON!! haha



So, i did cook the other day. Tried something totally different but it came out so good!!

ok. lol this is:
turkey burger topped with monterey jack cheese
granny smith apples, blueberries and peaches cooked over low heat mixed with chili powder
rubbed garlic on the bread and toasted it.

it came out so good!! happy=]

DEUCE.
<3.