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.

"Pamping" Spread: Hamburgers, Hot dogs, and Chicken and Shrimp Kabobs

I found this new word for "camping" but it's not really camping when you're staying in a cabin and you're provided with a gas grill to make food--you have a bathroom and a jacuzzi tub... a nice warm bed. 

"Camping" means catching food with your bare hands and bringing it home to cook over an open fire. Today, we're "pamping" and making the usual bacon cheeseburgers and sausages. Our cheeseburgers are layered with munster and smoked gouda slices. Sidenote: I never shy away from an opportunity to bring up my favorite dog, which is a "Chicago dog". Traditionally, it is a all-beef frankfurter with yellow mustard, chopped white onions, sweet pickle relish (should be bright green almost neon), a dill pickle spear, tomato wedges, pickeled sport peppers (look kind of like a lil peppercino), and seasoned with celery salt. I tried to make my "hobo" version by dressing up my sausage with tomatoes, onions, a pickle, and mustard with no ketchup. It was delicious but still not the same.

The kebabs or kabobs were nothing fancy. I had prepped them before our trip. Taking good ol' dark meat: Rinsed with salt water and sliced chicken thigh meat and skewering them. Also, I bought some really good shrimp (25-30--meaning 25-30 shrimp per pound, is how they're referred in the deli/fish dept) . I made sure they were shelled, deveined and then I skewered them up and seasoned them with my favorite: Lemon pepper and garlic salt.

Now, one of my favorite things to do is get creative with the leftovers. Our first morning we had the pleasure of having Belgian waffles with strawberries, and bacon and breakfast sausage.  We had plenty of bacon leftover... enough for dinner the next night and breakfast the next morning. Now, my mom taught me how to make scrambled in the microwave.

Scrambled Eggs (Using a Microwave)

2 eggs (at a time works best--I also did 4 eggs at once*)

a little bit of water

Take a microwavable bowl (I used a paper one). And crack the eggs into the bowl and scramble--adding a little bit of water (about a teaspoon). Put it in the microwave and heat uncovered for the first round 1-2 minutes (*For the 4 eggs at once, I had to do it 2-3 minutes to start.) Then remove the bowl from the microwave and stir. Then place in the microwave again and heat in 1 minute increments until the scrambled eggs are fluffy and fully cooked.

And voila! I cubed up my leftover hamburger patty with cheese and mixed it with the scrambled eggs for a Cheeseburger scramble. Also, to my disappointment, the coffeemaker in my cabin was broken. Luckily, I had coffee, a coffee filter and a hot water pot. I made my own "hobo" cup of coffee by pouring hot water over a coffee filter with coffee that I rubber-banded to my paper cup. It was perfect!

See! Pamping isn't so bad... you just roll with the punches;o)

I *Heart* Bitchin Kitchen!!!

Yes, this is an endorsement. I'm sitting at home watching (U.S.) Cooking Channel--honestly, I can't even remember what show I'm watching--but on comes this commercial for "Bitchin' Kitchen". The commercial peaked my interest--Nadia G has this way of combining the best flavors in a way that you would never think of. I've been hooked ever since she said "Pink Grapefruit Meringue Pies". *sigh* just saying them I hear this heavenly sound in my head.

I printed out the recipe and promised myself I would try to make it. The recipe was pasted to my fridge for a couple of weeks...

After watching the "Recession Recipes" episode (of which I loved loved loved all the recipes), it was almost 8pm and I hadn't made any dinner yet. So I'm thinking... what do I have in my fridge and my pantry... and I'm thinking... this Nadia G's puttanesca recipe is perfect! I grab some new anchovies from the corner store which happened to have been rolled with capers:o/ but no worries! I work with what I got... I made enough pasta and sauce for myself and I had wanted to save half of it for lunch the next day but it was just so good I had to eat it all!!

Luckily, a few days later I had planned on making some yummy treats for my co-worker friend's birthday. I said what a perfect opportunity to make the Meringue pies.

Here are pictures and links as promised:

Note: I made my "meringue pies" in a cupcake form--that way I could make more to share:)

Spaghetti alla Puttanesca

 http://www.cookingchanneltv.com/recipes/zesty-spaghetti-a-la-puttanesca-recipe/index.htm 

Grapefruit Meringue Pies

http://www.cookingchanneltv.com/recipes/nadia-g/pink-grapefruit-meringue-pies-recipe/index.html

MND: Cornbread Stuffed Porkchops with a side of Seared Scallops

"MND" that stands for Monday Night Dinner!! So it's not everyday that I feel like making a two... maybe three-course meal. C's roommate's dad had never experienced jaxie's Stuffed Porkchops. The time had come... who doesn't love and appreciate cornbread stuffing porkchops wrapped in... (pause for suspense) BACON!!!

Okay... so after about a three-hour drive from SF to Sacra-tomato... I breeze in... pull out the stuff and start cooking.  I can honestly say that I have some cooking experience that I can actually time these courses to all come out at the same time.

Menu:
Seared Scallops with... Field Greens
Andouille Stuffed Double Cut Pork Chops
Roasted Fingerling Potatoes
Roasted Cauliflower

You'll never have seared scallops such as this--mi hermano found this recipe for Seared Scallops with a dressing made of... (pause for suspense) Silken tofu. Honestly, I have NEVER ever made anything with silken tofu.. but this is my favorite recipe. I'm still perfecting it, cuz I gotta figure out how to get it smooth without a blender or food processor. I tell you like I tell the boys, "It may look funny, but it sure tastes good."

Seared Scallops with Field Greens (minus the "new potatoes")
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/healthy-recipes/NU00341

Andouille Stuffed Double Cut Pork Chops (second time posting)
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/emeril-live/andouille-stuffed-double-cut-pork-chops-recipe/index.html

The recipe for Roasted Fingerling Potatoes


2 lbs. fingerling potatoes
6 cloves of garlic, crushed (hmmm... I used minced)
EVOO (drizzled), about 1 or 2 tablespoons
salt and pepper


Heat oven to 500 degrees.


Spead potatoes on a cookie sheet. Spinkle garlic over potatoes. Coat evenly with extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO) and season with salt and pepper. Roast for about 20 minutes.

Sunday dinner: Rack of Lamb with Ratatouille

My sister and my mama made dinner the night before. So it was my turn I guess. Mamacita had pulled out the rack of lamb. I said, "Guess I'm making rack of lamb." God bless foodnetwork.com, so I type in "rack of lamb" to see what I could realistically do.

And here's what I found:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/my-country-my-kitchen/roasted-rack-of-lamb-with-ratatouille-and-a-tarragon-lamb-jus-recipe/index.html

I knew mi mamacita had tarragon in her pantry so I wasn't worried there. Honestly, ever since I've seen the Disney movie "Ratatouille", I've always wondered... how hard can it be?! Seriously though, if a mouse can do it, I can cook it!

I found this recipe for Rack of Lamb with Ratatouille. I will also be straight about the fact that by the time that I was done I didn't have the energy--maybe I had the time to make the gravy.

International Edition of Tasty Travels: Thailand--Part 2 Trang

9.4.10

Restaurant: Tam Aloud

The phrase means, "Everything you find you can see, hear, taste... you can find everything here". Or in other words, it might also mean, "you can do everything here. "Aloud" means "around here". And "Tam" means "do everything together".

I distinctly remember sitting in this restaurant reminscing about the first time I had vietnamese (rice paper) wraps in a vietnamese restaurant in Davis, CA. It sucked! Because I was so hungry that I was angry I had ordered it because it required me to "cook my own food"--in the sense that you have to soak the rice paper in hot/luke warm water to soften it up before loading it up with goodness.

I revisited this experience in Thailand. The looks of this restaurant was very modern. There's a version of "Rosie the Riveter" on the wall saying "You can do it". And next to that is a very inspiring poster about winning. I can only imagine what was the history of this little restaurant that looked like a house.

9.5.10 [no name] THE Local Seafood Place

After our day trip to Trang beach, we had worked up an appetite from eating nothing but peanuts and drinking from juice boxes. On our way to the beach, we had gotten directions from a kind restaurateur in exchange for returning for lunch. 

We pull up to the restaurant and they placed us at a nice table on the beachfront.  After we finished ordering, the kind restaurateur came over again to warn us of the oncoming rainstorm. We were advised to take our fruit drinks and beer to the covered tables across the street.

And then came the food: Curry soft shelled crab--they have way of tossing the crab with onions and green onions and a curry sauce with coconut milk, crab fried rice, unnamed fried fish, steamed octopus, and we ate a type of snails that I will never know the name of.

 Curry Soft Shell Crab

The fried fish above had the consistency of a flounder. It was deep fried and covered with a sweet chili sauce. I might have had about four or five fried fish while in Thailand, and they were all good!! They have a way of lightly frying the fish, and the meat is still moist. Oh! And how could I forget the steamed water prawns! They're in the background... iSpy.

Finally, I leave you with a shot of the rainstorm--the backdrop of one of the best meals we had in Trang.

 

9.6.10 dinner at home from the Trang market

A lot of this trip was learning about Thai culture. And for me, it was the little things like just eating a meal at home. We made a pot of rice at home. But when the refrigerator is the size of say a mini fridge you might find in a cute little loft in the city, we are forced to venture out and buy dinner. My brother-in-law explains that because of the humidity and for sanitation/health reasons, it's customary not to store a lot of food in the house, so he pops out to the daily market to pick up about five to six different tapas (small plates) for dinner.

Here's a picture of the local fruits--I remember my brother-in-law, P telling me about the bananas. They have nicknames. One is called a "thumb" banana (lost in translation?) because it's shaped like a thumb. It's got a more dense consistency. The other is a "fingerling" banana and it's because it's more slender... like a finger!

 

This grilled fish was firm and meaty like a salmon or a mackerel. It had that charbroiled taste that fish might have from being cooked on an open grill in the market. I could only imagine--it wasn't until on our return trip and last day in Trang that we visited the market. 

(Below) This is my favorite dish! It was a curry cake steam-wrapped in a banana leaf! I refer to this chinese dish often--it is comparable to a chinese steamed egg. It's filled with that wonderful curry flavor. Be careful because the spicy level on this dish is red alarm hot! Coupled with some rice, it was perfect!

Finally, dessert!! Again, wrapped in banana leaf was a coconut sticky rice dessert with a sweet sugary paste in the center. I'm pretty sure I had two of these that night!

9.8.10 The Balcony Cafe

I felt like I had stepped in to a small neighborhood cafe in San Francisco. If you are like me, you grew up in the Sunset district in San Francisco, you should be familiar with the term "ABC". That means "American Born Chinese"--that's what I am! There's a bit of a subculture there.

I grew up where there are restaurants that appear to be Chinese, but really it's American food made Chinese style. There's one restaurant in my neighborhood that serves dishes such as "Spaghetti with XO sauce" or one of my favorites "Black Pepper Pork Chop".  What's an XO sauce? It's not the ordinary Italian sauce that you're thinking should go with spaghetti--it's more of a sweet tomato ketchup based sauce--I think my dad grew up with such kinds of sauces (haha).

Back to Thailand...

After our day visit to the University of Trang campus, we went to lunch at a local cafe in town. It had a beautiful atrium patio in the center with small potted plants and stone statues of children.  Plastered on the wall were cute colorful modern paintings and there were couches in the area by the coffee bar and cake display window.

After reading through the descriptions of what seemed to be about 50 different dishes (Tio, it reminds me of that restaurant we nicknamed 101 dishes!)... I finally settled on what seemed like the safest bet. It sounded like a chow fun Thai style. I was excited!

In the end, I was happy for the large blended fruit drinks. My aunt and I opted for the Thai iced coffee.

I wasn't so happy when I tasted my faux chow fun (Thai style).  [Below] Remember that ketchupy tasting sauce that I was describing earlier, well this was yet another version of that. In the end, I found myself wanting what everyone else ordered. Especially, one of my favorite, the flat noodles stir-fried with ground pork and basil. [Above] I'm not sure who ordered it but also on the table was a stir fried noodle dish that was saucy underneath and topped with deep-fried noodles--it looked and tasted delicious!

And that was Trang! Upcoming: The last entry to the Thailand series: Phuket!    

Leftover-Chicken Sandwich

So I don't know about you guys... but lately those fast food commercials seem extra appealing. I've been seeing that one for BK... for the buy one get one free Chicken sandwich. Showing great restraint, I have not fallin in with the bad crowd, instead I decided to make a slightly healthier version of a chicken sandwich.

Hence, my leftover-chicken sandwich:

Pan-fried chicken thigh fillet, seasoned with lemon pepper and garlic salt
Flatbread
Avocado
Colby-jack cheese
Thousand island dressing

It was delicious! :)

Brussels Sprouts Au Gratin

One of the fun things about living in a rented apartment is that you get old junk mail from the old tenant. I'm sure I didn't sign up for the Trader Joe's newsletter but sometimes I flip through it because it has some good ideas for recipes. In this year's "Thanksgiving" edition, they had a bunch of ideas for brussels sprouts. I have to be honest (Mom, please don't be mad at me.), I never liked brussels sprouts... Until! I started cooking it myself. I got tired of the usual broccoli, green beans... or (if I was really lazy, I'll just make) frozen peas.

The other day I was at Nugget Market (my favorite overpriced "organic" market), and I bought a huge block of Gruyere cheese. I do not even know why... maybe I was tempted to make onion soup (so much work--I need a good cheese grater, Santa.) Anyways, I found this brussels sprouts recipe.

Brussels Sprouts Au Gratin
Ingredients:
shallots
cream
beef stock
Gruyere cheese (or any melty cheese)
brussels sprouts, quartered

Wash and cut the brussels sprouts. Pan roast the shallots. (I used a 12-inch type skillet.) Add the brussels sprouts, cream and beef stock. I also threw in some crushed (or minced) garlic. I like to cover it because it makes it cook faster. After it's done, remove from heat and top with Gruyere cheese.

If you must know, C and I had this with pork chops and mashed potatoes. Yum!

Halloween: Witches' Hats

For the record, my potluck at work for Halloween happened to be on the same night as Game 5 of the World Series. Like any Giants fan, I only had enough energy and attention to make something simple. Therefore, I went browsing around the internet for the recipe that was the easiest.

Witches' Hats

Ingredients:
red or orange frosting
1 package (11.5 oz.) fudge-striped shortbread cookies (about 32 cookies)
1/2 package (13 oz.) milk chocolate kisses, unwrapped

Pipe a small mound of frosting in the center of each chocolate covered cookie bottom. Press a chocolate kiss on frosting. Pipe a frosting band and bow around base of each kiss.

Uber-easy! and I thought they looked super cute!

International Beer Taste Test: Chang Beer vs. Singha Beer

Which do you prefer of the Thai beers?

Honestly, I don't think Thai people drink a lot of beer with their food. But sometimes, on a "nice" humid summer day, you might be sitting on the beach, about to enjoy a freshly made meal and you are looking for that "ice cold one". And no, I did not fly all the way to Thailand to taste the beers!

There was one day in Trang (Thailand) when I was thinking about Chang beer versus Singha beer. I think at first I found myself liking the Chang beer better. It had a little bit of a sweetness to it. The Singha beer tastes more heavier and has more bite. (I apologize to the beer drinkers--I don't have nearly the beer-describing-vocabulary.)

In the end, I went home with a Singha shirt... so I think my choice is clear.