Just Roast It!

Roasting vegetables in the oven is one of the easiest ways of fancying up any vegetable and entree. 

All you have to do is toss any vegetable, in this case I used broccoli, in some olive oil, then coat it in your favorite seasonings and/or cheese. I used lemon pepper seasoning and Parmesan cheese. Other flavor combinations I've used are Italian seasonings with any type of Italian cheese, simple garlic with season salt, and shredded cheddar cheese. Then bake ("roast") it in the oven between 375-425 degrees F depending on the type of vegetable until a bit charred.

That's it!

What?! Tiramisu Ice Cream!!

I was soooo excited when I saw this at the grocery store, Blue Bell Tiramisu ice cream!

I've never attempted to make tiramisu because it's always been really intimidating to me (maybe one day!), so this ice cream was perfect for me to feed my tiramisu cravings. It has a nice mix of coffee flavor with whipped topping and caramel sauce swirled through, and chunks of cake pieces and dark chocolate. The dark chocolate is my favorite addition to this ice cream.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Note: Products were purchased by me, with my own money. All opinions are my own. 

Pumpkin Cheesecake, Two Ways

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

For the past two years I have made pumpkin cheesecake for Thanksgiving. My mom and I aren't huge fans of pumpkin pie. I know, we're odd for not liking pumpkin pie. I'll eat it, but it's not my first preference when it comes to pies. This year, my mom requested pumpkin cheesecake again.

Thanksgiving 2010

Thanksgiving 2011

Even though these two cheesecakes look fairly different, the recipes are almost the same with a few minor adjustments.

Ingredients (first cheesecake)
Crust
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1 tablespoon sugar
5 tablespoons butter
Filling
3 (8 ounces) packages of cream cheese
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 eggs
1 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Farenheit.
Mix together the graham cracker crumbs and sugar with the melted butter. Press it into a 8" springform pan. In this case, the recipe makes too much crust and I ended up having the crust up the sides of the springform pan as well.
Bake the crust for about 5 minutes.
For the filling, cream together the cream cheese, sugar, and the vanilla extract with an electric mixer until smooth. Beat in one egg at a time until smooth.
Mix together the pumpkin puree, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a separate bowl.
Add in about a 1/3 of the cream cheese mixture to the pumpkin mixture and thoroughly combine. Set aside about 2 tablespoons of this mixture for the top marbling design.
Pour the pumpkin mixture into the graham cracker crust, then the cream cheese mixture on top to for a two layered cheesecake.
Drop the 2 tablespoons of the pumpkin mixture across the top of the cheesecake.
To make the marbled pattern, use a knife or a toothpick and follow the directions of the arrows in the picture below.

Bake the cheesecake for about an hour until the center is still a bit underdone because the cheesecake will continue to cook as it's cooling.
After it has cooled, store in the fridge overnight until the cheesecake is completely set.

For the second cheesecake, I used the exact same recipe except the crust measurements from 1 1/2 cups of graham cracker crumbs mixed with 1/4 cup melted butter. I reduced the cream cheese mixture as well to make a smaller cheesecake, so I used 2 packages of cream cheese, 1/2 cup sugar, and 2 large eggs instead of the previous recipes measurements. After mixing together the pumpkin, cinnamon, and nutmeg. About 2 tablespoons of that mixture was set aside (for the marbling on top) before the entire pumpkin mixture was incorporated into the cream cheese mixture. The second cheesecake did not have the 2 layers like the first. With the marbling, I followed to same pattern as the arrows in the picture above, but then added in circular swirls into the top as well to add more affects in the marbling.

Tips in baking cheesecakes:
Bake the cheesecake in a water bath to make sure that the cheesecake doesn't cook at too high of a temperature. This helps in preventing cracking and burning.
I've also heard covering the cheesecake with foil as it's baking also helps prevent cracks, but I've honestly never tired this method. 
Let the cheesecake cool inside the oven with the oven door open, before letting it cool out of the oven. Making sure it cools at a slow rate will also help the cracks and consistency of the cheesecake.
When the cheesecake if finally out of the oven to cool, run a sharp knife around the edge of the springform pan to loosen the sides so it cools away from the pan and will not stick.
Also remember to let it completely set in the fridge overnight after it has cooled. Being patient with this step is worth it.

Personally, I like the taste of the second recipe better, but the look of the first one more since the second cheesecake is a bit too orange for my personal preference in its presentation. What do y'all think?

Is That White Broccoli?

This is a great side dish to add to your Thanksgiving dinner this Thursday. Cauliflower gratin is a really straightforward dish to make, especially if you know how to make macaroni and cheese from scratch. The base is very similar to the cheese sauce for macaroni.

In this instance, I added some broccoli into the mix of cauliflower to add a bit of extra color and texture (the broccoli wasn't blanched beforehand like the cauliflower).

Ingredients
1 head of cauliflower (added an addition half a head of broccoli)
Salt
2 tablespoons of butter
3 tablespoons of all purpose flour
2 cups of hot milk
1/2 teaspoon of black pepper
1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg
1/2 cup mix of different cheeses: I used mozzarella and cheddar (typically the recipe calls for Gruyere, but I didn't have any)
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup bread crumbs

Directions
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Farenheit.
Boil the cauliflower in a pot of salted water for about 4-5 minutes. The salt will add flavor to the broccoli, similar to when you salt the water before you boil pasta. Do not overcook the cauliflower because the cauliflower will continue to cook as it's in the oven. Drain.
As the cauliflower is cooking, melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a saucepan over low heat. Slowly add the flour to the butter, stirring constantly to make a roux. It should be a consistency of a thick paste that's a light brown color, making sure not to burn it. Add the 2 cups of hot milk and continuously stir until the mixture comes to a boil. The mixture should thicken in about 1 minute. Turn off the heat, add the cheeses, black pepper, and nutmeg to the mixture. Remember to taste the sauce because you may have to add additional salt depending on how salty the cheese you use is.
In a glass dish, pour about 1/3 cup of the sauce into the dish, then add the cauliflower and broccoli. Add the rest of the mixture, making sure to coat the rest of the cauliflower and broccoli evenly.
Sprinkle the bread crumbs and some extra cheese on top and bake for about 20 minutes until golden brown.

You can use this exact same cheese sauce for pasta or other types of vegetables and bake the dish until golden brown similar to the directions above. This cheese sauce is versatile and can be used for many other dishes! Macaroni and cheese anyone?

I Cheated, Twice

I've been suffering from a bit of a writers block and obviously haven't been blogging much. Hopefully the anticipation of all the food from Thanksgiving will fuel my brain to write. And of course not having to slave away in the laboratory.

Fish is so simple to cook, especially tilapia.

I cheated with this meal and just stuck the tilapia in a foil pouch and baked it in the oven. The tilapia was seasoned with some seasoned salt, pepper, green onions, some fresh lemon slices, and garlic. It was baked at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes.

I also cheated with the side dish as well. I cooked Mediterranean curry flavored couscous from a box but added a bit of extra additions. I added fresh zucchini, mushrooms, and tomato into the flavored stock before bringing it to a boil and then adding in the couscous. Couscous is really quick and easy and takes pretty much under 10 minutes.

I cheated twice, but at least I'm being honest.

TWO for Me, None for You

Sorry I haven't been keeping up with my blog posts! I've been really busy with work and cumulative exams. Not the best combination for someone who already feels like a walking zombie all the time. Anyways, because of all the studying I've been doing, I decided to take advantage of Starbucks buy one get one free seasonal drinks.

Caramel Brulee Frappiccino

The caramel brûlée frappiccino is my all time favorite Starbucks drink! I always anticipate it eagerly around the holidays since it's offered only seasonally.

This Starbucks special is only offered from 2-5pm at participating locations until tomorrow, so take advantage while you still can!

Note: Products were purchased by me, with my own money. All opinions are my own. 

Baked "Fried Chicken"

Yes, you can make fried chicken by using your oven! There is no extra fat or grease involved, and it's just as good as the greasy kind, but healthier!

You can coat your chicken with any type of recipe you like. I do a typical coating of flour mixed with some paprika and season salt, then the chicken is dipped in milk, lastly coated in a store bought extra crispy seasoned chicken fry mix. Layer your cookie sheet with foil with a rack on top so the extra oil/grease that falls naturally falls away from the chicken will be collected in the foil, and will help keep the chicken from sitting in its own fat. I baked it at 375 degrees for about 45 minutes to an hour depending on how large the pieces were. Most online recipes say to coat the outside of the skin with some butter or fat in the last coating process, but a healthier tip is about halfway through the baking process, "baste" the outside of the chicken with it's own grease so the outside can continue to "fry."

This oven fried chicken was served with white rice and a spinach salad. A little guilty, but mostly healthy!

I have a secret: I like my fried chicken with ketchup! Classy, right?

Two Kinds of Cake at Once

I recently bought a cake pan set that helps you create a checkered cake. It came with 3 shallow 9" round cake pans and an insert that you fill with two different kinds of cake batters to create this checkered effect.

Strawberry and Rainbow Chip Checkered Cake

Excuse the messiness on the bottom of the cake carrier. I traveled with the cake, and apparently I don't drive very smoothly and it shifted on the way, hah.

It was fairly easy to make this checkered effect, but it was messy! It was difficult to get the two different cake batters into each of the portioned sections of the cake pan insert.

The cake was frosted with a mix of homemade whip cream and rainbow chip frosting. Store bought frosting is too sweet at times, so I like to either make my own frosting from scratch or mix freshly made whip cream with some frosting.

Whip Cream

The recipe I used for the whip cream:
1 cup of whipping/heavy cream
1 teaspoon of powder sugar
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

I decrease the amount of sugar because after I make the whip cream, I add in about half a cup of the store bought frosting. The result is a lighter, creamier frosting that isn't sickly sweet.

Can't make up your mind? Now you can have two kinds of cake in one!

Soup with Pancakes...Weird Combination?

This post isn't as weird as the title makes it seem. I made my take on a spicy Korean kimchi veggie soup with green onion pancakes.

Spicy Korean Kimchi Veggie Soup

The soup consists of tomatoes, zucchini, mushrooms, tofu, kimchi, all in a chicken stock mixed with a few tablespoons of the kimchi base and black pepper. Usually, this soup isn't vegetarian (besides it being in chicken stock) because I like to add in sausage the majority of the time.

The green onion pancakes ARE vegetarian, and surprisingly not as difficult to make as I thought. Peter from Taiwan Om Nom taught me how to make these. These "pancakes" are more similar to a tortilla then a typical pancake. I'm not sure why they're referred to as pancakes since the Chinese translation doesn't translate to pancake either...

Green Onion Pancake dough

The green onion pancake dough consists only of 2 parts all-purpose flour to 1 part of water. Mix the two thoroughly with your hands, feel free to flour your hands and use a bit of extra flour to prevent stickiness. Then let the dough sit for 30-45 minutes, covered with a towel. I got impatient and didn't do this...make sure and take the extra time to do this because the texture of your pancakes won't turn out as well if you don't! I learned this the hard way. Mine were definitely not as good as the ones Peter made in this post.

Green Onion Pancake spiral shell

Separate the dough into small palm sized portions and roll each of them out. A tip is to use wax paper on the kitchen counter with a generous amount of flour when rolling out the dough. I also didn't have a rolling pin, so I usually either use a cylindrical tall drinking glass or a tall shot glass depending on the size of the dough. Take about half a teaspoon of vegetable oil and spread it on the surface of the rolled out dough and add salt and chopped green onions. Roll the dough up like a fruit roll up; remember those sweet, "healthy" childhood snacks?. Then roll the "long rope" of dough into a snail shell shape. After it's in the snail shell shape, roll it out once again and then fry it in a shallow pan of vegetable oil.

See, it's not TOO weird. Okay, maybe it is a little bit. Definitely not as weird as the pancakes you were thinking of though, right?

Too Cold for Snow?

I always hated the fact that you could only get snowcones during the summer, but you don't have to worry any longer because Bahama Buck's is open all year long.

Half key lime pie and coconut cream pie with extra cream

You can get your snowcone fix anytime of year, with any flavor you desire. Bahama Buck's has a vast variety of flavors to choose from, and other menu items such as smoothies, paradise fruit, and even coffee drinks. The fact that they're open all year long, have some of the best shaved ice I've ever had, and have a ton of flavors is a plus, but they're pretty expensive for a snowcone. I do not indulge very often, but this is the place to go when it's cold outside!

Note: Products were purchased by me, with my own money. All opinions are my own.

Time to be Vegetarian

I tend to eat like a vegetarian fairly often. It's not necessarily that I'm purposely trying to eat that way, but because I really like vegetables, am sometimes too lazy to prep and prepare meat dishes, and it's also healthy!

I really like tofu, but only when it's used/cooked correctly. I don't eat tofu when it's right out of the package... So I can see why some people have a bad impression of it since they've never had it prepared in a tasteful manner.

I didn't fry my own tofu, but bought prepackaged fried tofu puffs/balls (not exactly sure what they're called in English, haha) for this dish. This dish is really simple. I stir-fried the fried tofu, broccoli, and mushrooms with black bean garlic sauce, soy sauce, black pepper, and only about a teaspoon of sugar to balance the saltiness from the two sauces. To thicken the sauce, I added about a teaspoon of corn starch that was mixed with a bit of water beforehand. I served this simple but healthy dish over white rice.

He Would be a Great Husband...

The title is actually a quote from my mom in reference to one of my guy friend's, Peter, who cooked both dishes in this blog post. He made the green onion pancakes and the crispy chicken nuggets from scratch! 

Green Onion Pancakes

I will be posting the green onion pancake recipe in a future blog post because I tried to make them when I came back from Austin...the key word is TRIED. Peter's are definitely better. Y'all should definitely check out his and Daphne's blog, Taiwan Om Nom, that they write together. All their recipes are centered around Taiwanese food.

Crispy Chicken Nuggets

The recipe for the crispy chicken nuggets is on Taiwan Om Nom as well. The link will take you specifically to that recipe! I definitely ate well when I visited Austin, and it was nice to have a home cooked meal on top of all the great restaurants I went to. So to all men out there: learn how to cook, it'll make you a great husband! Or at least find you a girlfriend.

This is the end of my Austin food series!

He Wants Janie, or was it Jenn?

This is Janie...the Janie Roll. This roll consists of unagi (grilled eel), shrimp tempura, and cucumber rolled uramaki style; topped with avocado, masago caviar, and sesame seeds. This roll was probably the highlight of our meal because it was unique, and had a mix of interesting textures and flavors, especially between the unagi and masago.

Janie Roll

This was the first time I've ever been to Sushi Zushi in the Domain, and I was very impressed with the quality of the food, service, atmosphere (though it was a bit dark), and the portion sizes of their happy hour rolls. They have Happy Hour from 3-7pm, so we took advantage of some of the cheaper rolls listed on it. We also ordered a couple of rolls from the main menu, and goodness, their menu is very intimidating because of its huge size. The waitress was very patient with us though, which was really appreciated.

I really liked all the rolls we ordered, but was not very impressed by the cheese appetizer. I do not remember the specific name of it, but it tasted just like fried mozzarella cheese sticks but without the flavor of the Italian spices, and it had this interesting sweet sauce. Thankfully we didn't spend too much on it since it was on their Happy Hour menu, I can't even find this appetizer on their main menu.

Fried cheese?

The three rolls we ordered off the Happy Hour menu were the Key West Roll, Spicy Salmon Roll, and Philadelphia Roll. I was expecting fairly small rolls since most places that have a Happy Hour menu reduce the sizes of their rolls during this time, but I think each roll was "normal" size. 

Key West Roll and Spider Roll

Since I was expecting smaller rolls, I was expecting to have to order more food halfway through. I ended up not having to do this, and both of us were really full and satisfied at the end. The Key West Roll consisted of shrimp tempura, avocado, and cucumber topped with eel sauce. The other rolls had the same ingredients similar to other sushi places.

Spicy Salmon Roll and Philadelphia Roll

The location of this particular Sushi Zushi is great since you can go walk around and shop in the Domain afterward. I love shopping, especially on a happy stomach!

Caliente!

Hmmm...this post has nothing to do with Mexican food, BUT it does deal with spicy food!

Cajun food is something I don't get to enjoy that often since I currently do not live in a city that offers fresh seafood. We're in a desert I tell ya! I don't always trust the quality of some of the seafood that's shipped in. Thankfully, Austin offers some great seafood options, and one of those is French Quarter Grille.

Blackened catfish topped with crawfish etouffee

The restaurant has such a cute interior that's cozy and comfortable. It's not too expensive considering how much seafood you're getting in your entree. Though I went during lunch, so I'm not sure if there's a difference in prices between the lunch menu that I saw, and the dinner menu. I was worried that they would skimp on the seafood portion, but they definitely did not.

Blackened catfish topped with crawfish and shrimp gumbo

I was so full afterward that I didn't order dessert, but I really wanted to. They had a few different kinds of Creme Brulee (regular, chocolate, raspberry) and cheesecake. Other items I want to try off their menu in the future are their Fried Green Tomatoes and their Cajun Crawfish Cheesecake (I believe that's what it's called). It apparently is a special appetizer that is not listed on their menu, but has a lot of hype behind it. I overheard one of the waiters describing it to a nearby table when they were ordering. 

Don't be nervous that the words crawfish and cheesecake are together! Would you be brave and try it?

BBQ or Barbecue?

If you live in Texas or ever visited Texas, you have to try the BBQ.

Combination Plate: Sausage, Ribs, Brisket

I went to the original Salt Lick in Driftwood, Texas when I was visiting Austin. It's about 30 minutes southwest of town. I recommend getting there early though because they usually have a long wait. We had to wait approximately 45 minutes, and we arrived around 10:30-11am.

This is probably some of the best BBQ I've never had in Texas, well anywhere actually. The various meats (beef ribs, brisket, sausage) were tender and flavorful, and their bbq sauce had the right balance of sweetness, tanginess, spiciness, and savoriness. It was also nice being able to order a combination platter because I have a hard time just choosing one item. I'm usually not a huge fan of sides, and tend to be really picky about them...especially when it comes to sides served with bbq. Their sides (cole slaw, beans, potato salad) could stand on their own though, and were not overwhelmed by the presence of the actual bbq itself.

Do you call is barbecue or BBQ?