International Edition of Tasty Travels: Thailand--Part 3 Phuket

9.12.10 Kan Eang Seafood Restaurant #2

After a day of travelling--it took us about 8 hours, with the rest stop in Krabi, to drive from Trang to Phuket, we took advice from someone at the hotel and found this seafood restaurant.  Granted we got lost during the first couple of days in Phuket, this seafood restaurant was in a remote area of Phuket and it took us a couple of wrong turns before we found it.


But it was definitely worth it. We ate pineapple crab fried rice--they put the crab fried rice in hollowed out pineapple and I think they grill it. Also, we ordered one crab per person--steamed and served with the traditional thai chili sauce (oil, thai chilis, and red pepper flakes blended for dipping)--Sounds simple... but oh so good!

At this restaurant, we did a "hot pot" type of cooking dish. They gave us a steaming hot broth and sliced raw fish and meat to throw in to the broth. I wasn't really in to it--like some of the "hot pot" experiences in life, you just want to eat... you don't want to have to cook it! But the variety of steamed fish and steamed seafood really came out well.


Of what I remember about the mussels in Kan-eang style, they were steamed with lemongrass, ginger, and of course, thai chilies. Unfortunately, I cannot remember beyond that. And the crab was so fresh and so yummy!



9.14.10 (Another) Local Seafood restaurant on the waterfront


We found a nice table on a cement boardwalk that reminded me of Ocean beach (San Francisco, CA).  Among the dishes we ordered were the favorites, pad thai and we got a steamed clam dish.  My mom loves clams! Any style... but her favorite, in the US, is steamed mussels and/or clams in a garlic white wine sauce--this dish was right up her alley. This dish was so good--she had to order another.


Honestly, my only criticism was that mine were a little sandy. Eeks! But if you look at the photo, you can see how rich in flavor the broth or sauce was that came with it, seasoned with chilis and basil (of course).

9.15.10 Ratri: what we called the Jazzastaurant (jazz and a restaurant)--Lizzie's Birthday

To our disappointment, this place advertises of jazz and fine dining (it's in the name! for goodness sake), but really, they were playing CDs. There was no live music that we were hoping for, and since it was rainy that day, there was only one party other than us.

To our delight, they sent a car to pick us up. The drive up the mountain is windy and reminiscent of going to Lake Tahoe. And when you're finally up there, it's the most beautiful view! We even caught fireworks that night-- what luck, since it was Liz's birthday.


Off the menu, we had chicken, lamb and beef satay as a starter.
I'm not sure if you recognize those appetizers of what I call "pancakes". They're like asian quesadillas  but instead of cheese inside, there's usually green onions or maybe a meat stuffing. And I have no idea how to make them. When I find out, I will blog about it;o)

Aside from the tamarind shrimp and lemongrass fish (not pictured), we also what I noted as sweet and sour duck. Me, I love duck! So this was delicious!

Below, in different version of mussels, we had steamed mussels in a creamy curry sauce. Looks as good as it tastes... always!

Tasty Travels 2011: Brick Restaurant, Jacksonville

My one and only entry of eats in Jacksonville is going to be on Brick Restaurant.  Located in the Avondale district of Jacksonville is this classy restaurant. If you're traveling with a meateater like Coby (Boyfriend), and you love seafood like me, then this restaurant is perfect for you. It's got something for everyone.

For starters, we had Paella Croquettes. Yes! They sound as delicious as the name. It's basically a rice ball, breaded and deep fried to yummy goodness. Served with a chipotle dipping sauce. I'm pretty sure if I wasn't traveling with so many people, I would have eaten all of what came on the plate! We also had a bread and cheese platter--it's their "Caramelized Brie with bread and served with pecans". I loved it. The melty cheese you can have by the spoonful... along side a pecan... or smeared on a slice of baguette... or BOTH!



For the entree: The scallops came highly recommended. BUT, I opted for something different. I guess that day I felt like some seafood. I chose the Sesame-crusted Ahi Tuna. Unfortunately for me, it was seared a bit longer than I desired. Overall it was a great dish! One of my favorite things about the Brick is that with every entree you have the choice of chilled couscous, coleslaw, french fries, baked potato, or side of the day. When I saw couscous, I was sold!!! It was delicious... with the raisins... and not overcooked or dried out at all. Served with a large tomato--kinda throws me, but is a refreshing palette cleanser when you've completed your meal.

This is the prime rib... cooked what I can only imagine to be medium-well. It's monster! And one of the pluses of this place is the well proportioned plates they serve. The prime rib was yum!

(I know it's taking me a while to get to it...) Fortunately for me, everyone at the table was kind enough to give a sampling bite of their meal. I, of course, was sitting next to the largest, juicest, perfectly cooked ribeye in the whole restaurant. Coby's ribeye (Please note: This item is not on the menu.) was so good that when he had finished three-quarters of it. I took up the task of finishing the rest! (**snicker**) [T, I hope you're enjoying the food photography on this one. Turns out I DO like to take pictures of food with a fork poking in to it!]




Warm Turkey Sandwich - caramelized onions, swiss cheese on ciabatta bread and chef's dressing

 This is the Brick's Warm Turkey Sandwich. Sounds as good as it tastes... makes you want to curl up by a fire with a blanket over your lap... and no one to share it with. You'll devour this thing on your own.  I was lucky enough to get a bite of this. I think Alex, the honored guest, ordered it with extra caramelized onions on the side. I appreciate having this sandwich on ciabatta, I think it's light enough to balance out and not overtake the turkey, swiss and onions. (and of course, not so tough that you're ripping up the insides of your mouth--if you eat a lot of sandwiches, I think you'll know what I mean.)


And finally, I must go to the Sea Scallops--they're seared with crystallized ginger, served with coconut jasmine rice, bok choy, and spinach and citrus cream sauce. This by far, is definitely a favorite at the restaurant and comes highly recommended for good reason. The chef has clearly perfected the crust and flavor palette for this dish. The rice was good--which is surprising (sorry) considering it's not an asian restaurant. And well, I've always loved scallops. 

Finally, the Brick will always hold a special place in my heart. Not just because Alex worked there, and not just because it was my last meal in Jacksonville (for now), but because it was a wonderful dining experience--the atmosphere and the service were great too!


http://www.brickofavondale.com/



Blueberry Shortcakes

photo courtesy of E.Hom (She cooked it and I took the picture!)

A lil birdie told me to try this super easy recipe for Blueberry shortcakes. The secret ingredients are lime juice and coconut milk... I woulda never guessed it!


The discovery of this tasty recipe happened when my sister and my niece were flipping through a magazine. And what once was a Mother's day treat has turned into a weekend brunch treat.  It's easy when you have all the ingredients, but I'm pretty sure that I ran to the store for vanilla extract and may be a lime or two. (I tend to get two because when I got one once and it turned out to be dried out. I had to weigh skipping it or going out to the store a-gain!)


I'm giving full credit to my super sister on this one. I don't even want to get in to the disaster that was when I tried to make it... Let's just say, the shortcakes were dry, the blueberry sauce was runny and... *brace yourself* I substituted cool whip for the whipped cream--I usually always prefer homemade whipped cream versus the cool whip.

Blueberry Shortcakes

SHORTCAKE:

2 cups flour

1 tbsp baking powder

4 tbsp sugar

1/2 tsp salt

4 tbsp cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes

3/4 cup heavy cream (If you dare, use about a 1/4 or 1/2 cup of coconut milk instead of heavy cream.)

1 egg slightly beaten

1 tsp of vanilla

lemon (or lime) zest

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place the flour, baking powder, sugar, salt and butter in a food processor. Pulsate everything in 3-second intervals until everything resembles coarse meal. (Again, no food processor, just mix by hand meaning use your hands!)

Transfer everything to a large bowl. Stir in heavy cream, egg, vanilla, and lime zest mixing the dough by hand until it forms into a uniformed and slightly moistened dough. On a floured surface, scoop out half the dough and form a ball. Flatten the dough until your disk is approximately 3/4" in height. Press down the outside of the dough circle so the center is slightly taller. (If you need pictures, you should refer to the link at the end of this entry.)

Cut each circle in quarters. You should have enough dough to make 8 shortcakes total. Bake for 15 minutes on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or on an ungreased cookie sheet. Remove the shortcakes from the baking sheet and cool on a wire rack. While shortcakes are cooking, prepare the blueberry sauce and whipped cream.

BLUEBERRY SAUCE:

2 cups of blueberries (I think my sister's also tasted better because she was using fresh instead of frozen.)

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup water

fresh juice from 1 lemon or lime (whichever you used for the zest)

Cook blueberries, sugar, water and lime juice on medium high heat for 5 minutes stirring occasionally. (The thing that I don't like about working with frozen fruit is the extra wetness that comes with it. If you've ever had your sauce turn runny and watery, it's probably because I didn't drain or press the fruit before I used it in the sauce. I might try eliminating the water part of the sauce recipe and add as needed.)

WHIPPED CREAM:

1 cup heavy whipping cream

1/4 cup sugar

1 tbsp vanilla extract

In a medium bowl, make a batch of sweetened whipped cream by whipping heavy cream, sugar, and vanilla with a hand mixer or by hand with a whisk until your cream has formed peaks.

PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER:

Slice each cake in half horizontally. Place the bottom half on a plate. From there layer everything. Start by adding a couple spoonfuls of blueberry sauce on top of the cut side of the cake. Next add a dollop of whipped cream and then place the other half of the cake on top. Finish the shortcake off with a couple more spoonfuls of blueberry sauce and another dollop of whipped cream.

Inspirational link:

http://savorysweetlife.com/2010/06/blueberry-shortcakes/ 

Sundance Cafe (Sacramento, CA)

A while back I was talking about a shrimp melt that I had in Seattle... Well, I had to put it up against my local favorite, Sundance Cafe's Shrimp melt. They'll always do it up right for me. I've seen this place go through about three different menus. And I remember this shrimp melt was on the very original menu.

I'm not sure if they put mayonnaise on this one inch bread and I have to ask what kind of cheese they use. But it's just a few bay shrimp with cheese melted on bread. It's making my mouth water thinking about it.


More recently, my experience with Sundance Cafe has been with the lunch specials. I'm pretty sure this is the only place in a 2 block radius that does a daily soup all year round, and I appreciate it. My top lunch specials are:

FIRST, just know that I never know what I'm going to order when I walk in... My only usual order is the iced Mexican mocha--for some reason it's my favorite... I think because they use Ghiradelli chocolate in their mochas. Anyways, back to the food. I cannot tell you how deep rooted my love for Chicago dogs are. But they actually had decided to make Chicago dogs that day. (This will only be the second time I've wikipedia'd something on this blog.) 


If you don't know what's in a Chicago-styled dog, take a look:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago-style_hot_dog 

Granted, it was the "Sundance version" of a Chicago but it was so delicious. I don't always like pickles, but when it comes a Chicago dog, it's just laying in the bun with the dog. Also, I like the wedges of tomato, and I like how Sundance substituted the "sport peppers" with pepperoncini peppers. Technically, it's not the same, but it still tasted good. And finally, their lunch specials always come with a side. This day was the bombest chili I've ever tasted. I think I loved it so much because it was chunky, a little sweet, giant red beans... mmm.


SECONDLY, I was in there recently and I got the chicken double-cheese quesadilla with a side of... wait for it... tomato bisque. It was the best combo one could think of. It's like having a grilled cheese with tomato soup. All you need is a side of guac and sour cream to the quesadilla (which I got)... And oh yeah, I dipped a quesadilla in my soup! It was sooo goood!

Now I don't have pictures of these devoured lunch specials, you'll have to check them out for yourself!
Sundance Cafe 455 Capitol Mall, Sacramento

Le Chicken Cordon Bleu

One Sunday, mi mamacita and I spent the whole morning watching PBS (public broadcasting station) cooking shows. One of our favorites is America's Test Kitchen. They lured me in with the recipe for Chicken Cordon Bleu. It just seemed so easy!!


And it was... today my mom and I made Chicken Cordon Bleu. It was, in fact, really fun and easy!
Unfortunately, I don't have a picture to share, but I do have the recipe...

Foolproof Chicken Cordon Bleu
25 Ritz crackers (about 3/4 sleeve)
4 slices hearty white sandwich bread, torn into pieces
6 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
8 thin slices deli ham (about 8 ounces)
2 cups shredded swiss cheese (I used slices of swiss cheese and it worked just as well.)
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 2 pounds total)
salt and pepper
3 large eggs
2 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 cup all-purpose flour


1. MAKE CRUMBS Adjust oven rack to lowest and middle positions and heat oven to 450 degrees. Pulse crackers and bread in a food processor until coarsely ground. (I don't have a food processor, so I usually place all the ingredients in a ziploc bag and roll a can over it a few times. You can also take a wooden spoon to it when it's laid out on the baking sheet and complete the crushing to the right consistency.) Drizzle in butter; pulse to incorporate.  Bake crumbs on rimmed baking sheet on middle rack, stirring occasionally, until light brown. 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer to shallow dish and leave oven on.


2. STUFF CHICKEN Top each slice of ham with 1/4 cup shredded cheese. Roll into tight cylinder. (Tip: I rolled all my ham and cheese slices first. Then cut all the chicken slits so that you only wash your hands once.) Pat chicken dry with paper towel, season with salt and pepper. Using paring knife, cut into thickest part of chicken breast to create a deep pocket with opening of 3 to 4 inches. Stuff each pocket with two ham-and-cheese rolls and seal. Refrigerate chicken for at least 20 minutes before breading.


3. COAT AND BAKE Beat eggs and mustard in second shallow dish. Place flour in third shallow dish. One at a time, coat stuffed chicken lightly with flour, dip into egg mixture, and dredge in crumbs, pressing to adhere. Breaded chicken can be refrigerated, covered, for 1 day.) Transfer chicken to clean baking sheet. Bake on lowest rack until bottom of chicken is golden brown, about 10 minutes, then move baking sheet to middle rack and reduce oven temperature to 400 degrees. Bake until golden brown and chicken registers 160 degrees, 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer to cutting board, tent with foil, and let rest 5 minutes. Serve!

It's a lot easier than it sounds, I promise.

New England Cheese Baked Swordfish and Roasted Califlower

If you or someone you know dislikes eating fish, you'll want to look at this post. Maybe I learned it from my mom... when you have a husband (my dad) and/or significant other, C, who "dislikes" eating fish, you have to find creative ways to get him to eat it. Like my grandma, she used to tell me that if I didn't eat fish my neck would get fat! (hahaha) I've assisted my mother in this department--See Seafood Gumbo. My dad eats it. He's not super excited about it but he smiles and mixes it with a lot of rice! And I've even made it for C too.

 good stuff: this dish was just too exciting that I couldn't wait to share all the wonderful no-meat dishes I've been trying these past couple of weeks. I should explain that for the past three weeks, C and I have taken a challenge to eating no-meat for one month. (We started craving burgers a week ago. I'm being supportive even though I'm not the one who was directly challenged.)

This challenge has not only inspired me to cook again, but it's allowed me to cook new dishes! My dad, though he dislikes fish, would always order either the seabass or the swordfish from this one neighborhood Japanese restaurant we went to in San Francisco. He's always accounted for how swordfish is a meaty fish, and that's why he likes it--another plus, not a lot of bones.

I bought a couple of swordfish steaks from Trader Joe's, and pulled them out of the fridge when I decided to make it for dinner. It was a good 1" steak, the skin still on and one was slightly bigger than the other.

I was searching on the internet on Tuesday trying to find a good recipe. It was between three recipes: Swordfish Italiano (on cooks.com) or Blackened Swordfish with Sweet Potato Crab Hash (a "best-of" recipe from foodnetwork.com).  Honestly, I thought C might like the blackened swordfish because he likes grilled steaks. The Swordfish Italiano was a simple-medium difficulty recipe. The Blackened Swordfish was very involved. (Links to these recipes are provided below.)

Finally, I decided to make this cheesy baked fish. I figured that that was the best way to cook it with a lesser chance that I would overcook it.

New England Cheese Baked Fish
2 fillets Swordfish (or other firm, white fish such as Halibut, Cod, or haddock)
1 can (10 3/4 oz.) condensed cream of celery soup
1 cup sour cream
1 cup medium cheddar cheese
Italian seasoning and Garlic to taste (optional)

Arrange the fillets in a single layer in a shallow buttered pan. In a saucepan, combine the undiluted soup and sour cream. Blend well. Add 3/4 cup of cheese and heat over low heat, stirring constantly until the cheese melts. Stir in the italian seasoning and minced garlic to taste. Spread this over the fillets.

Bake in 375 to 400 degree oven over 25 minutes or until the fish flakes easily. (I read the package that the swordfish steaks came in and depending on the thickness of the steaks and probably the heat in your oven, you might give or take 15 minutes. The ones I bought took about 15 extra minutes, so 40 minutes altogether.) Sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup of cheese and return to oven until cheese melts. Serve immediately.

I served the swordfish with rice pilaf and roasted cauliflower. I thought, since I have the oven on, in this 98 degree Sacramento heat, might as well do the veggies in the oven easy. I cut up the cauliflower and spread it over a shallow roasting pan (or you can use a cooking sheet). Toss it with minced garlic, olive oil, and I sprinkled some thyme over it. So easy!

Other recipes for another day:

Blackened Swordfish with Sweet Potato Crab Hash

Swordfish Italiano

Quinoa with Leftover Pork Chop and Roasted Red Pepper Crab Bisque

Yay for me! It's my first time making and eating quinoa. I was home alone for lunch this weekend. I'm definitely on some sort of kick where I feel like I should be cooking more (and eating out less). So in that spirit, there was Trader Joe's Quinoa in my pantry that I had bought a couple months ago--saying to myself, I should try this... I wonder if I might be able to substitute it for the cous-cous in my Thai curry shrimp recipe (see August 19, 2008 post). But after trying it, I can see how it's it's own "animal".

Sadly, a lot of the times when I'm cooking, I get a lot of help. I buy some pre-made items and I'm starting to put them together. Last trip to Safeway, I was craving soup because we're having these flash rain storms in Sacramento in May! I saw this Roasted Red Pepper and Crab Bisque that sounded good. After taking it home, it was disappointingly overpowered with roasted red pepper flavor that I couldn't taste any crab or even fish stock... if it had any in it.

So to give my lunch dish some flavor, I poured some of the Red Pepper Crab Bisque into the quinoa in the last 5-10 minutes of cooking. I also threw in some frozen corn and leftover pork chop. This dish was delicious, and didn't take long to make--which was a good thing because I had only had my morning coffee.