Korean Japchae

I know what you're thinking... Jap-what? Japchae. Kind of like a Korean version of Filipino pancit (which I'm still partial to). Andy described it as a taste he's never experienced before... good or bad, I took it as a compliment.

On a side note, another late post and I apologize. Middle of the weeks have been rough. Too many tests crammed in there, but I promise, I'm still lighting up that kitchen! Just a couple more weeks and spring break will be here and I'll be Savannah, Georgia bound... any recommendations of things to do down there for anybody that's been?

Ingredients:

1 rib-eye steak, thinly sliced and most fat removed
1 bunch spinach
2 carrots, julienned
5 shiitake mushrooms, stems removed and thinly sliced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 onion, sliced
handful of green onions, thinly sliced
3 tablespoons soy sauce, divided
sesame oil
1 tablespoon sugar, divided
1 package vermicelli rice noodles
1/8 cup seasoned rice vinegar

Bring a pot of water to a boil and add rice noodles. Cook for about 3-5 minutes, then drain and place in large bowl.

Add 1 tablespoon of soy sauce and 1 teaspoon of sesame oil. Mix well.

Wash the spinach and blanch for about 1-2 minutes. Drain well and mix in with noodles.

In a large skillet under medium high heat, add about 1/2 tablespoon of sesame oil and stir-fry the carrots, onions, and garlic. Add that mixture to the noodles.

Add beef and mushrooms to same skillet and cook until beef is done. Add 1 tablespoon soy sauce, and 1/2 tablespoon sugar. Stir in the green onions and add mixture to noodles.

Finally, add in remaining soy sauce and sugar, 2 teaspoons sesame oil, and rice vinegar. Mix well and serve!

Like I said, I'm still partial to the Filipino pancit after eating this dish. It was tasty.... different... but tasty nonetheless. Enjoy!

NY Strip Steak w/ Hoisin Steak Sauce

My brain is fried. I keep trying to catch up on homework/studying and I just feel like I'm falling farther and farther behind. Nothing is late, thank goodness, but it sure it putting me under pressure with these last minute papers and tests. I guess it's pretty much all my fault... I've become quite the procrastinator in the past months. I need to start getting in a strict regimen of things again, but I digress.

This steak was absolutely tasty, it was a perfectly refreshing meal.

Ingredients:
Adapted from Bon Appetit's January 2010 issue 'Grass-Fed Strip Steak w/ Spicy Hoisin Sauce and Cucumber Relish

1 tablespoon olive oil, plus extra
2 shallots, thinly sliced
small handful fresh cilantro, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger, divided
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/2 cup chicken stock
1/4 cup hoisin sauce
3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons honey
1 English cucumber, cut into 1/4 inch cubes
1/4 cup seasoned rice vinegar
2 NY strip steaks
2 onions, thickly sliced
salt and pepper to taste

To make the steak sauce, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a saucepan under medium high heat. Add the shallows, cilantro, garlic, 1 tablespoon of the ginger, and crushed red pepper. Saute for about 5 minutes. The sauce wasn't as spicy as I'd like it to have been, so if you're wanting some spiciness, I'd suggest adding more red pepper here.

Add the chicken stock, hoisin sauce, and soy sauce. Bring to a boil and cook for 5 more minutes. Turn heat off and stir in honey. Set sauce aside.

To make a quick relish side, mix cucumber, remaining ginger, and rice vinegar in a medium bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.

Place oven broiler on high.

For the steaks, simply rub both sides of steaks with olive oil. Gently brush on some of the steak sauce on both sides of the steaks as well. Broil steaks on top rack of oven for about 4-5 minutes were side for a nice medium rare. Transfer to a cutting board and let rest.

Meanwhile, brush the onion rounds with olive oil. Broil these guys for about 4-5 minutes, until they're soft and charred.

Thinly slice the steak and serve with remaining steak sauce, onion rings, and relish.

This was completely delicious. It was a simple meal, but it was so balanced. Didn't leave us feel bloated or tired. The relish really "wakes" you up in a sense. It's a great accompaniment to the steak and onions! Enjoy!

Beef Tips & Gravy

Well, today I took my first step into fully deciding I'm going to graduate school as opposed to pharmacy school. I bought a GRE study book. Now, some may think, just because I bought the book, doesn't mean I'm going to study it, or actually take the exam. But on the contrary, I wouldn't have shelled out the cash if I wasn't going to deliver. It's kind of a subliminal message to myself that hey, maybe things (such as rejections) happen for a reason and your path at life isn't supposed to go the way you thought and maybe it's supposed to go this way. Trust me, I know about things happening for reasons and life taking detours. I've had plenty. Anyway, I'll keep you updated on the school front.

Now, beef tips and gravy I think is just one of those comfort food recipes. Not your normal meat and potatoes kind of dish, there's tons of flavor here.


Ingredients:

1/4 cup canola oil
5 onions, roughly chopped
3 garlic cloves, sliced thinly
1 tablespoon dried marjoram
1 & 1/2 tablespoon tomato paste
3 tablespoons paprika
1 & 1/2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
1/2 cup white wine vinegar
1/2 cup red wine (I used a Shiraz)
6 cups chicken stock
2 bay leaves
zest from 1 lemon
3 lb. sirloin, cut into chunks
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon cold water
salt and pepper to taste

Turn a crockpot on high setting.

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the onions and cook until soft, about 25 minutes. Add garlic and marjoram and stir until fragrant and garlic softens, about 2-3 minutes. Add in the tomato paste and stir constantly for about 3 minutes. Add paprika and cayenne pepper and stir well. Remove from heat and let flavors meld together.

Add the mixture to the heated crockpot and add vinegar. Stir well, cover, and let vinegar absorb into vegetables for about 2-3 minutes. Add in chicken stock, bay leaves, and lemon zest.

Sprinkle sirloin chunks with salt and pepper. In same skillet for onions, add beef chunks (you can wipe the skillet if you want to, but I think it adds to the beef so I didn't). Brown chunks on all sides and then add to crockpot. Deglaze skillet with red wine, scraping the sucs from the pan. Add wine to crockpot as well. Stir mixture, cover, and let cook on high for at least 3 hours. The longer it sits, the more tender the meat will be.

Uncover crockpot and carefully take out beef with a slotted spoon and transfer to bowl. Tent with aluminum foil. Pour crockpot liquid and onions into a large sauce pan and bring to a boil until reduced to about 5 cups, about 15 minutes. Let cool momentarily and blend with immersion blender until mixture is nice and smooth. Season with salt and pepper. If you want to thicken the liquid just a tad, mix 1 tablespoon cornstarch with 1 tablespoon cold water in a small bowl. Add to liquid and stir. Then add blended liquid, along with beef chunks, back into crockpot. Turn to low or warm setting. Let simmer for about 5-10 minutes and serve along with rice or egg noodles and some roasted vegetables.

This was truly some good comfort food. It was slightly chilly outside and this was a hearty enough meal to truly warm one up! Enjoy!

Sunday Morning Burger

No, this isn't meant to be eaten for breakfast... however, it wouldn't be a bad idea. I just think this whole concept of a burger came out of pure adaptation for what was available in my fridge. And seriously... every time I top something with an egg (whether poached or fried), it's been absolutely delicious. This is no exception... I highly recommend you try this... like, now.

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground pork
1 Granny Smith apple, grated
1 onion, grated
1/4 cup panko bread crumbs
1 tablespoon ground sage
salt and pepper to taste
1 egg/burger patty
cheese (I used slices of Velveeta)
Kaiser rolls
margarine or softened butter
1 teaspoon olive oil

In a medium bowl, combine the ground pork, apple, onion, bread crumbs, sage, salt, and pepper. Mix until well combined. Form into 4 good sized patties. You can probably make 8 thinner patties if you wanted to, but I'm a fan of a big juicy burger.

Preheat oven to 375 F.

Heat a large oven proof skillet under medium heat and add olive oil. Brown the patties on each side, about 2-3 minutes per side. You don't want to cook them all the way through, just get a nice crust on the outside.

Place skillet in oven and cook for about 20 minutes, or until cooked through.

Meanwhile, you can fry your eggs. I did mine one at a time and I like them over-easy. You can cook them up any way you wish, but make sure you have a nice oozy (but still done) yolk!

Open Kaiser rolls and butter both sides. Place in oven for about 5 minutes to toast.

To assemble burger, place patty on bottom bun, top with egg, then cheese and cover with top bun. In my opinion, this doesn't need any condiment. The oozing egg is just what it needs and the burger is one of the juiciest burgers I've ever eaten.

This was absolutely wonderful. This to me, is like a sausage, egg, and cheese muffin to the extreme. McDonald's has nothing on this. This. Is. Great. Try it now! Enjoy!

Buffalo Chicken Soup

I apologize in advance, this was supposed to be posted yesterday and in my whirlwind of studying/homework/procrastination, it seemed to have slipped my mind. Trust me, I've been banking on Friday since Sunday. This is a week I've been dreading, and it's mostly my fault. I had plenty of time to do these things, but no, I had to procrastinate. I cleaned the pantry, the fridge, the spice cabinet, the living room... all to avoid homework. Who does that?!?! That's insanity. I hate cleaning... but I dread homework. Anyway... here's a somewhat lazy soup... that I have to warn you... is pretty darn spicy, so I'd cut the hot sauce by a bit if you're not the spicy lover we are (and even we could only eat half of our bowls because of the heat).

Ingredients:

2 large chicken breasts, cut into chunks
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons butter, divided
1 onion, diced
2 carrots, peeled and sliced
2 stalks of celery, sliced
4 cups chicken broth
1/4 to 1 cup Frank's Red Hot Sauce (depending on your taste)
1 cup shell pasta
blue cheese for topping

In a medium bowl, add flour, salt, and pepper. Dredge the chicken chunks and set aside.

In a dutch oven over medium heat, melt 1 tablespoon of butter. Add the chicken and cook until browned on all sides. Remove the chicken and set aside again.

Add remaining tablespoon of butter to pot and add vegetables. Cook until soft and translucent, about 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add back in the chicken, chicken stock, hot sauce, and shells. Cook until noodles becomes soft. The longer you let it sit, the spicier it will get!

Top with blue cheese and dig on in!

This was definitely delicious, just incredible spicy. If I made it again, I would definitely only use about 1/4 to 1/2 cup of hot sauce as opposed to the 1 cup. I mean, I like really spicy things, but this was sinus cleansing spicy. I did have a cold still and it did have my nose running for about 30 minutes. So if you're into that, be my guest and add the full cup! Enjoy!

Vegetarian Nachos

Vegetarian? I'm not usually one to eat things without meat. Not that I don't dislike plain vegetables, it's just I can never find anything filling and appealing enough to eat without meat. I know vegetarians everywhere are cringing at that statement, but maybe you guys could give me some insight eh?

These were actually supposed to be faux tacos, too, but once again, I had to improvise. Jicama was supposed to be sliced really really thin so it would act as a taco shell for my filling, but I ran into 2 problems. #1... I didn't have a mandolin (which I'm really thinking about investing in sometime soon) and #2... my knife skills aren't amazing and I couldn't slice really really thin. So nachos were born.

Ingredients:
Adapted from the Top Chef Quickfire Cookbook "Richard B.'s Vegetarian Tacos"

1 large jicama, peeled and cut into thin slices or wedges
2 avocados, halved and pitted
1/2 large papaya, peeled, seeded, and diced
2 roma tomatoes, seeded and diced
juice from 8 key limes
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
10 corn tortillas, quarted
vegetable oil for frying
sour cream
shredded cheddar cheese

Because I couldn't use my jicama as taco shells, I used them as faux nacho chips instead. Along with a mixture of corn tortilla chips (which I'll give the details on making here in a minute) to give it some added texture. And let me just say... I love jicama. Not many people know about jicama (key example, the grocery store clerk who completely had the "what the hell is this?" look on his face. It's kind of ugly on the outside, but on the inside is a sweet apple-y flavored vegetable after you peel the exterior. Anyway, I digress...

In a medium bowl, lightly mash up the avocados, papaya, and tomato. Mix in the lime juice, coriander, cinnamon, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Mix in as much of the 1/2 cup of cilantro as you'd like, but save some for topping if you wish.

To make your tortilla chips, add enough vegetable oil to a large heavy pan to bring it up about 1/2 and inch. Heat the oil under medium high heat and fry about 10 chips at a time, or more if you wanted to and had a big enough pan. Cook each for about 30-45 seconds per side. Place in a bowl lined with paper towels and salt each batch as they come out of the oil. It will allow the salt to "stick" on the chip, if you will.

To plate, get a large plate and mix in the jicama with the chips. Pile on the avocado mixture, top with shredded cheese, and then sour cream, if desired. Maybe strict vegans can't do those last 2 toppings, but pile it on however you wish!

I really loved the flavor profile of this dish. The avocado mixture with the chips tasted differently than with the jicama chips. It was kind of crazy how well the jicama paired with the mixture. When the chips were in the dip, you could really taste the lime, but when the jicama was thrown in there, the lime sort of "blended" in and you could really get a sense of all the flavors in the dish. This really impressed me and would be a great appetizer dip for any occasion! Enjoy!

Poblano Meatball Soup

I was once again snowed in this week. Still sick. Still cold. Still cleaning instead of catching up on homework. What's perfect for a situation like that? Soup, of course! And this soup was great! The meatballs really added a depth of smokey, delicious flavor!

Wedding planning has sort of come to a stand still. I'm in the process of brainstorming theme ideas. I picked out bridesmaid dresses. One of my sisters gave me her approval and the color is just great... it's Pewter... not Pewtrid. For some reason, when I was explaining these bridesmaid dress colors at work, I said Pewtrid, instead of Pewter... and they all got a quick laugh out of that. Of course, I didn't get it at first, and then realized I didn't memorize my Crayola colors before I came in and Pewtrid definitely was NOT the color I wanted.

Anywho... onto the soup...


Ingredients:
Adapted from Bon Appetit's Jan 2010 issue - "Poblano Albondigas w/ Ancho Chile Soup"

2 large poblano chiles
1 lb. ground beef
2 zucchini, 1 grated and 1 roughly chopped
1 onion, 1/2 grated and 1/2 diced
1/4 cup panko bread crumbs
1 egg, beaten
4 garlic cloves, 2 pressed and 2 minced
1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon plus 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 tablespoons chili powder
5 cups beef broth
2 cups water
1/2 cup basmati rice
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
juice from 1 lime
4 corn tortillas, cut into thin strips

To make the meatballs, line a baking sheet with some wax or parchment paper. Take the poblanos and put them under the broiler in the oven for about 10-15 minutes, or as long as they have some good charring on all sides. Place the pepper in a paper bag and let steam for about 10 minutes. This allows the skin to separate from the flesh of the pepper, and makes it easier to peel. Stem, seed, and peel the poblanos once cooled. Chop them up real good and place in a large bowl.

Add in beef, grated zucchini, grated onion, panko breadcrumbs, egg, pressed garlic, 1 tablespoon cumin, 1 teaspoon oregano, and a big pinch of salt. Form into 1-inch diameter meatballs and place on baking sheet.

In a dutch oven, heat oil under medium heat. Add diced onion and minced garlic. Saute for about 5 minutes, or until onion is soft. Add chili powder and remaining cumin and stir for about 1 minute. Add the beef broth, water, and remaining oregano. Bring to a rolling boil and them reduce the heat to a simmer. Let cook for about 10 minutes.

Mix in the chopped zucchini and rice. Increase the heat to medium high and drop the meatballs in one at a time. Then lower heat to a simmer again and cook for about 20 minutes, covered, until meatballs are cooked through. Stir in cilantro and lime juice. Season with salt and pepper as needed.

To make tortilla strip topping, heat a 1/2 inch layer of vegetable oil in a heavy pan. Fry the strips for about 1 minute, until starting to turn golden brown. Ladle soup into bowls and top with fried tortilla strips.

This was definitely a great way to warm up and truly it made me feel a little bit better considering my cold! Enjoy!