Easter Dinner

After a long weekend in Dallas, we stopped by my parents last minute to spend a little time with them for Easter and Dinner.  I had asked my brother to pick up the Steaks since I was still on my way back.  I wanted to do the Asian Glazed Steak for the Family. 

While I was seasoning the Steaks and making the Glaze, my mom said she wanted me to cook Escargot similar to what I had cooked the Mussel a couple weeks back.  I made a Thai flavored Broth to cook the Escargot in.  Sauteed some Onion, Garlic, Lemongrass and Scallions.  Poured in some white wine and Coconut Milk and just let it Escargot simmer in it.  The last couple minutes, I threw in some Thai Basil.  I was lucky my Mom always keeps French Bread on hand to dip in the sauce. 

Easter Cookies

Her Dad had prepared Easter lunch before we left to come back home.  Yes...I for once did stay out the way!  I did make Cookies for Dessert.  After a whole weekend of her sister promising to make Cookies...I decided gave in and made my own Cookies.  I am by no means a Baker, but enjoyed making it a couple weeks ago. 

After making Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies a couple weeks ago, I gave it a second go around in Dallas.  I went to the store to grab Chocolate Chips and wanted to throw in some sort of Nut, but thought that would not be Festive.  The perfect combination of Chocolate and a Nut and to make it Festive was Easter Almond M&M.  They were the perfect Pastel Colors to top off the cookies!

Only 16 Cookies fit on the Cookie Sheet.

From the Oven...

 

 to Cooling...

 

 To the Table...

After pulling out the first batch, I started to add more Cookie Dough and stopped myself and decided to have fun and make something for her neice.  To my suprise, it looked like a Bunny!

To a BUNNY!!!

Mushroom and Spinach Quiche

We were woken up by her sister throwing her baby on our bed...EARLY!!!  Her sister was trying to figure something to make that Morning for Breakfast.  She said she liked Cheese, but did not want much eggs.  Naturally, that sounded like a Quiche in my head. We went to the store to pick up a Pie Crust and Spinach.

Mentioned in a my previous post about Mini Quiches, I had only used 4 Eggs to make a dozen mini Quiches and it feed easily 4 people.  I had chopped up some bacon and cooked it and her sister said she did not want Bacon in the Quiche because it would get "Soggy"...so picky I know right!  Just Kidding.  It turned into a Vegetarian Quiche. 

I sauteed some Onion, Garlic, Mushroom and Spinach.  I whipped up the Eggs and Milk and through in some Herbs.

I had chopped up some Tomatoes and seasoned that with Salt and Pepper and Basil to top off the Quiche. 

 

 

FRY-day!

Well last Friday was the last Friday of Lent.  Crystal's family was planning to do a Fish Fry for dinner.  Lucky for us, her dad loves to Fish.  He had quite a bit of Fishes that he had filleted.  Crystal's Mom and herself wanted to have a Healthy alternative so we picked up a bunch of Squashes, Zuchinis and Mushrooms to Grill.

Me being me, I could not sit back and not cook.  I had offered to make a Beer Batter so I picked up a huge can of Fosters to make the Batter.  We Fried Fish and Mushrooms.  I never thought about it, but Fosters was a great option to use to make the Batter.

 

The Beginning...

Prep Station...



 

 Mushroom ready to go into the Batter...

Mushrooms all in..

Shaking off Excess Flour...

 

 Fish Swimming...

The End Result!...Delicious!

Grilled Fish and Veggies

Cheesy Frittata

Woke up starving this morning in Dallas at Crystal's parents house.  After digging through the fridge and pantry for ingredients...I found potato, onions, tomato, avocado, milk and eggs. It was determined a Frittata was going to be made.  Went through their spice cabinet in threw in whatever I got my hands on into the egg mixture. 

Nothing better to cook in than a cast iron skillet.  

Asian Glazed Ribeye and Green Beans

One thing I generally hate to do is freeze a steak, but we did this one time.  I like to buy my Steak as I eat it.  We had picked up some Ribeyes in a bulk pack a couple weeks ago and froze the extra.  Anyways, I was in the mood for Asian food tonight and had already taken the Ribeye out last night to defrost.  I seasoned the Ribeye with Asian 5 Spice Powder.  I had original made a Sesame Chili Soy Sauce Glaze for the Green Beans and made a bit much.  As I was searing the Ribeyes, I decided to pour the extra Glaze into the Ribeye.  From the brown sugar that was in the Glaze, it Caramelized the Ribeye perfectly. 

 

The Steak was cooking to a Medium Rare.  Both the Green Beans and Steak had so much flavor to it.  It was a little bit of Salty, Sweet, and Spicy.  The brown sugar formed a very nice little crust on the Steak. 



Chimichurri Tacos

Well I took last night off from cooking and enjoyed one of Black Bean Burger that I had made and froze last Friday.  It was still great 3 days later!  (more Vegetarian "Burgers" to come in the very near future)

Well tonight, was something that was quickly thrown together.  I have made this numerous times in the past and it had always been a hit since day one but have not made it in a while...Chimichurri Tacos.  I quickly marinaded the Beef and then made a Chimichurri Aioli.  While waiting for the the marinade to absorb into the Beef, I found a head of Red Cabbage in the fridge and started chopping away with some Onion to make a Slaw for the Tacos.  I made a quick Grapefruit Vinaigrette and tossed it with the Slaw.  I looked up and had a Mango on my Fruit Platter and sliced that up and threw it in. 

The combination of everything together worked out very well especially the Slaw and Beef.  I had used Jalapeno as part of the marinade for the Beef and it had a bit of a kick to it.  The Mango added sweetness to the Slaw.  The combination of sweet and spicy was perfect and the Chimichurri Aioli just topped it all off. 

Red Brick Tavern-Conroe

I found myself in the Conroe area for lunch today and stopped by a restaurant that I have been hearing about first from my friend Clark and many people the past several weeks...The Red Brick Tavern in downtown Conroe.  The second you walk in the doors, you see the the Kitchen which I thought was pretty awesome.  There was a wooden panel hanging from the ceiling with a Guitar carved into it.  The establishment was small but with the open concept, it made it feel much bigger. 

I had asked the server a bit about the Bar and Grill and he said that they get a busy lunch crowd and evenings.  I believe he said that they have live music on the weekends.

The server had recommended either their Wood Fired Pizza or Pulled Pork Sandwich.  I went for the Pulled Pork Sandwich topped with Onion Strings with a side of Truffle Creamed Spinach.  For me, they had the perfect size menu...it was straight to the point.  The menu offered a variety of options. 

 

The food was absolutely amazing and service was great.  I will be visiting again after Lent is over.  This is a must go to place. 

Shrimp Cupcake...Fried

Another typical Sunday...went to my parents for lunch.  Most of the time I do the cooking.  Today my Mom had done all the preparation and all I had to do was cook it.  Most of you are probably wondering Shrimp...in a Cupcake...and Fried?  For one...Fried almost anything is amazing!

We had a traditional Vietnamese dish that I grew up eating and learned how to make when I was young.  These little "Cupcakes" called Banh Cong are fried in a Rice Flour Batter filled with Green Beans and Onion and topped with Shrimp.

This was served with Banh Cuon, which is a steamed translucent thin rice noodle and various Vietnamese Ham. Fish Sauce with Chili Sauce topped it all off. (Fish Sauce is either a love or hate thing...no in between)

 

 Batter, Bean and Onion Mix, and Shrimp

 

The Ladles look like individual cupcake tins

The Bubbly Goodness

 

 Does not get any better than this!

One Dinner Idea for Many Meals

This was part of Boss man's Beef.  I had trimmed the roast down and deboned it to get this nice Roast.  I do not remember what cut it was. 

 

I had made more of a French Herb Crust for it and let it sit overnight in the fridge. Served with it was Balsamic Glazed Brussels Sprout.  The Roast was seared off and finished off in the oven.  I took a bottle of Red Wine and deglazed the pan to get a nice rich sauce for dinner.  

 

As I had mentioned before, I am not a fan of leftovers because it gets in the way of me cooking every night.  Meals like this are great because leftovers can be used for other meals if you are always tight on time to cook every night.  We had made sandwiches for lunch and one night we made French Dips out of it. 

What do you do with Extra Cream Cheese...

We had had a couple friends over and I had served Chicken Marsala (no pic).  We all wanted something sweet after dinner so I checked in the fridge and had tons of Cream Cheese and Raspberry. 

The Outcome: White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake.  Now this was the first successful Cheesecake I have made over the years.  I made a Raspberry sauce the I swirled into the White Chocolate Cheesecake.  The Hearts were resulted from 7 blobs on top and ran a butter knife through it.

 

 

I got so caught up in making the Cheesecake that I failed to remember that there is a cooling time.  

HomeMade Hummus in less than 5 Minutes

Tonight's appetizer features Hummus.   One of the items we were suppose to buy at the store when we were out was Hummus, but we got caught up shopping and buying clothes that we forgot.  Luckily we had a couple cans of Garbanzo Beans in the pantry.  Instead of Tahini sauce, we put in Sesame Oil and Garlic all in a blender.  5 seconds later...we had Hummus. 

 

 

Burger Please...hold the Beef!

We are down to the finals days of lent. We typically eat fish, but not as much as we have been lately. Fish nor seafood in general did not sound good for dinner tonight. Instead we had a "Burger" for dinner tonight with a side of Hot Sweet Potato Fries. 

 

 

Looks like a Burger

Taste like a Burger

But it is not a Burger!  I present to you...Black Bean Burger!

I had lunch with a friend a couple weeks ago at Pure, a health food restaurant in The Woodlands and he had ordered a Black Bean Burger.  I was curious to what it was and he said it was just pure black beans. 

And then last week, we were at Sam's Club and my brother Kenny was sampling food and he tried their Black Bean Burger.  He said it was really good.

At this point I had to try it so I decided to make it.  To our surprise it was really Delicious.  I had seasoned it with some Cumin, Oregano, Salt and Garlic Powder.  Crystal and I have not had this much Beans in a long time!

The point is, it is a great alternative to a Burger.

Spicy Cajun Chicken Alfredo

So I couldn't resist!  Crystal was in the kitchen defrosting chicken to prepare a Chicken Salad and I jumped in and made a small, slight change to our Dinner...Spicy Cajun Chicken Alfredo is what came from it! 

Alright so it was a complete change, but we did have a side salad with the Entree. It was a lighter sauce than your typical Creamy, Thick Alfredo Sauce. The Chicken was pan-seared with an Italian Spice that I had put together in my New Spice Grinder that I have been putting on everything.

The Challenge: Cheese in Asian Cuisine

Cheese is the most amazing thing ever.  As you can tell from my previous post about my Wine & Cheese Party, I LOVE Cheese.  Cheese is good anytime of day and on anything (generally).  I would not know what to do with myself if I could not have cheese. 

BUT has anyone ever gone to an Asian Restaurant that has incorporated Cheese in their Dish (besides Sushi and that is just Cream Cheese).  The preferred Cuisine growing up that my parents took us to were Asian Restaurants.  Not just any Asian Restaurant, but it had to be in Chinatown.  I remember just driving an hour for just a bowl of Pho!  There were no Cheese in anything!!!

My Challenge is to create a Traditional Asian Dish that Cheese is the Star of the dish.  Anyone have any thought or suggestions or have done this?  Because I sure am curious!  I will experiment this weekend and post my attempts...FAILURE or SUCCESS!

PS...I am taking a break from the Kitchen tonight!  Check back tomorrow for new dishes!

Asian meets Mexican...

Tonight's dinner was something thrown together real quick and simple.  I was craving Pineapple and had Pork in the fridge and naturally Tacos Al Pastor was the most common sense thing to do!  I did not have all the ingredients to make your more traditional Tacos Al Pastor so naturally I had to put an Asian twist to it.

For the topping on the Tacos, I used the can of Pineapple that I had used the juice from for the Pork marinade.  Threw in some Onions, Cilantro and Fish Sauce and had a quick Asian Pineapple "Salsa".

Corn is always great no matter what time of day and I needed a side.  I opened the fridge and had an Avocado that was really ripe so I creamed the Avocado and tossed the Corn in.  Came out pretty great...I need to make a name up for it.

Here we go...a quick and simple dinner on a Tuesday night:

 

 



The Asian Pineapple "Salsa" complimented the Taco very well.

The corn surprisingly was delicious.  It reminded of the Cream of Corn that Rudy's BBQ serves.

For a simple dinner, it had explosion of Flavor going on between the Cumin and the Fish Sauce.  Happy Eatings!

4 Eggs Sure do Go a LONGGGG WAY!

Several months ago my brothers spent the night over and I normally cook Breakfast for them when they do.  To my surprise, I had only 4 eggs left in the Fridge the next Morning and I had to feed 4 people (2 Brothers, Girlfriend and Myself!

What I had in the Fridge:

• 4 Eggs
• Gallon of Milk
• A Puff Pastry Sheet in the Freezer
• Cheese
• Spinach
• Mushroom
• and HomeMade Pesto with Basil from the Garden of Joy and Richard.

4 Eggs do go a long way!  With all the above Ingredients...came along the Mini Quiches!  The Outcome was 12 Mini Quiches and they were Delicious!  Had a nice little kick to it as well with the Red Chili Flakes. 

First Batch

Should have taken the Flash off the Camera, but I liked it so much, I made a 2 Dozens for the Office!

 

 

I think everyone at the Office enjoyed it as much as we did at Home or they were just being nice!

Another day Experimenting in the Kitchen!

Valentine Day Surprise 2012

This was from Valentine's Day 2012.  I had surprised her with dinner when she got home from work.  It was alot of hard work but was worth it.  I stopped by HEB and could not decide what to make so I made a little bit of Everything!  All I knew was Corn Chowder sounded really good and I stopped by the store just for those ingredients (1st time making it and was not the last time)

Starting from the Top Left Corner going Clockwise:

• Grilled Lobster with a Herb Butter
• Pan Seared Citrus Scallops with a Citrus Reduction
• Fried Yucca with a Chimichurri Aioli
• Balsamic Glazed Asparagus
• Corn Chowder
• Ribeye Steak with Chimichurri

I think we went straight to bed after dinner!

Lighter Fare Breakfast

So after yesterdays big meal, I decided to have a Lighter Fare Breakfast! As many of you know already, I have been trying to eat "Healthier" BUT Pork Belly does not count...its PORK BELLY!

This mornings breakfast included fresh Cantaloupe and Grapefruit.  To top it all off!...the last of the HomeCured Pork Belly.  Once again, I cut off a Large piece of it and seared it off and rendered out the fat that resulted in a Nice and Crispy and OH SOOOO GOOD skin.

 

The Saltiness of the Pork Belly enhanced the sweetness of the Fruit!

 

A Lazy Saturday Turned into a Creative Saturday.

A Lazy Saturday Turned into a Creative Saturday.
 

"Nothing starts a day of better than Pork Belly!"

 
This morning started off with a HomeCured Italian Style Pork Belly that I cured for 9 days.  Instead of thinly slicing the Pork Belly, I cut off a 1" thick cut, seared and rendered the fat into a nice and crispy crackling.
 

 
 
 
After a Belly full of Pork Belly, I decided to have my brothers and cousin over for dinner.  What started off as a Crawfish boil then Pan-Fried Tilapia quickly turned into Fish and Shrimp Taco when I saw the delicious Mahi-Mahi and Shrimp H-E-B had in the seafood display.
 
Tonight's dinner included a Ceviche, Shrimp and Fish Taco with a Mango Relish and topped off with Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies and a Tall Glass of Milk.
 
The Menu was inspired by the fact that my Brother and Cousin gave up Meat.
 
As a Starter, I conveniently had Tilapia, Mango, Lime, Tomatoes, and Avocado on hand. 

 
Main Course entailed Shrimp and Fish Tacos.  I had picked up some Red Cabbage to make a quick topping for the topping but the Mangoes were just screaming at me to use me on top of the Fish and Shrimps.  That in turn lead to Spicy Mango "Slaw".
 

 
The Sweet and Spiciness of the "Slaw" was a perfect addition to the Fish an Shrimp. 

The 4th and 5th Taco definitely pushed the Belt Buckle a bit.  I never do have a sweet tooth but when I have to loosen up the Belt Buckle Full, I crave for something sweet and I do not keep sweets around.  My little cousin was having a sweet tooth as well. 

The thought of smelling my home up of with freshly Baked Cookies made me jump back into the kitchen!  Never baked Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies before.  I just took a typical Chocolate Chip Cookie I normally back and replaced some flour with Oatmeal and Viola!  Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

 So we rushed it a little bit!  On a normal basis, I like to let my cookie dough rest for a little while to chill before I bake them.  Either way, they turned out terrific!