Spicy Date Night

After being reminded about our nostalgic pop stars by the ongoing publicity about the Beckham family moving to the US, the Spice Girls being the guest performers in the Victoria Secret's fashion show, Victoria Beckham on Larry King's show and etc, I decided to pay to watch their reunion concert in hp Pavilion, downtown San Jose. I was fairly excited, at least I thought I was, until I saw throngs of teenage girls dressed like the Spice, middle age women in sexy dresses and high heel boots, all getting trendy to meet the fashion icons... I felt a bit out of place when I looked down at my Columbia jacket and my long black *sigh* pants.

Waited nearly 45 minutes for the show, crazy screaming had already started way back then. Just when I thought I lived way out of the excitement, the five pop stars appeared from the bottom of the stage, it was a nice opening with slide show of five young girls' pictures which turned into hot women, then there appeared the Spice Girls! The crazy screaming and the loud music made it very hard to hear their singing, I paid special attention to our beloved Mrs. Beckham's singing, yet to no avail. The screaming got even more impossible whenever during her turn to sing.

Despite having my concert moments ruined by the carried away girls/women, there were a few slow songs that actually made me live in the moment, as if the world stopped for a second, just swaying along beside him and enjoying the incredible special effects of the plasma screens. Overall, the concert was not all about singing, it was about fashion and it was mui caliente :p I thought I might share some clips with you all, hopefully you can figure out who is who in the small video clips. Enjoy...

Enchanted by Enchanted

We went to watch Enchanted the day after its opening night, and I know there will be a lot of you who will disagree with me, or even puzzled, why am I so mesmerized by the show? It's childish, some might think, or it is rated as not worth spending money for in the theater. At least I know I paid for a two hours of living in the fantasy of happy ever after, which is a princess language that does not exist in reality. The cartoon world princess finds it hard to understand the real life, why do people get divorced and what is the feeling of angry. She gives out money to strangers, seeing everyone she meets as her new friend.

While we think that she is just being stupid and unreal, isn't that what we're after day in and day out, happiness,free of jealousy or rivalry? We want to indulge in great food, want more money, want bigger house, always thinking that the future job will be better than the present one... Of course we stumble a lot upon our pursuit of happiness, why not just stop for two hours thinking of ways to change for a better life, and enter her world of carefree happiness, just like the time you spent hundreds of dollars in Disney's theme parks, it is nice to at least seeing the princess is safe from the witch's poisonous apple, and live happily ever after, and gets her dreams come true.

To all the guys out there still laughing at me, isn't it the same concept when you play your fantasy football, warcraft, or fantasy NBA with sky high virtual achievement? So, being enchanted by fairy tales and princess stories is not girlish or childish, it's just another way to get away from our journey to pursue happiness :)

Still disagree? At least bring your girlfriend along, share a seat and hold her hands while she's enjoying her fairy tale fantasy. Because if you're not sharing a dance with her, let her live in the dance of the prince and the princess :)

Chicken Wing: Buffalo Style

I always crave for Buffalo Wild Wing's chicken wings, it is sort of our tradition to go to BWW on Tuesday to take advantage of the Tuesday's special price. Asian Zing is my favorite sauce, but I would like to try something new, something more asian. I schemed through the fridge, I have Tom Yam paste for the hot asian taste, and mayonnaise for the saucy consistency, perfect! I thought I could use some innovative way to re-create this popular dish and save us some cash :p It turned out to be quite a hit. Enjoy...


Ingredients:

18 Chicken wings
Dashes of Garlic salt
1/2 cup of Mayonnaise
1 tsp of Tom Yam Paste
2 tsp of sugar
1/4 of water

Directions:

1. Wipe dry the store bought chicken wings and cut into half.
2. Marinate the chicken wings with dashes of garlic salt for at least two hour, or overnight.
3. Fry the marinated chicken wings until golden brown and "crunchy-looking".
4. Prepare the sauce: Combine Mayonnaise, Tom Yam paste, sugar, and water.
5. Testing: If the sauce consistency is too watery, add more mayonnaise, add more Tom Yam paste if you like it stronger.
6. Toss the fried chicken wings together with the sauce in a mixing bowl.

Daddy's Noodles With Mushroom Sauce

When I was living at home, I didn't like home-cooked food. No offense, mom, dad, auntie. I remembered I always crave for white bread with hot chocolate every time dinner was served in front of me. I frowned especially Chinese soup was forced to me, I drank soup with a straw, hating the transparent layer of pork grease on top. Of course my family 'despised' my weird behavior. However, having spent 5 years drifting away from home, I prepare mostly Chinese food for dinner, the loaf of bread is always tossed with growth on it, and it took me a year to finish a pack of Milo (hot chocolate from Nestle). I definitely miss our traditional cooking. My dad has a signature dish when he prepares for supper when someone in the family is hungry at night. He will sautéed ground pork with garlic and mushroom, make it into a sauce and pour it over boiled noodles. When my parents were here for my graduation, they made the dish again, and I was awaken by the fragrance, it was 7 am in the morning. Mom and dad's cooking have improved over the years, now it's the restaurant level that I'm talking about, thanks to the longtime investment on cookbooks and Astro. I didn't ask for the recipe, I re-created the nostalgic dish based on my childhood memory and appreciation. I have decided to keep a record on my cooking, with nice photos and recipes, hoping that one day, I can get to serve my parents with my time-tested recipes, but now, I don't get the chance just yet...I regret the time at home when I didn't appreciate dinner, overlooking my mom's sincere intentions of cutting recipes from newspaper, recording cook shows, and making notes. I'm not embarrassed by my new found hobby, it's not housewives' job, for what it's worth, it's made with love, and it's something your gold/platinum mastercard can't buy.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup of Chinese Anchovies (rinsed and dried)
2 spoonfuls of garlic
Generous amount of fried shallots
1/2 lb of Chinese Choy sum (green veggies)
1/2 lb of Bean Sprout
10 dried shitake mushrooms (soaked in water, quartered)

10 pre-made frozen wonton (recipe will be up soon)
3/4 lb ground pork
Wonton noodles/spaghetti

Seasonings (to taste):
Sugar
Soy Sauce
Oyster Sauce

Directions:

1. Fry the ground pork and mushrooms, while frying, season it with 1/4 tsp of salt and dash of pepper.
2. Take out the pork and mushroom, add more oil to sautéed the anchovies and garlic until golden brown.
3. Add 3 cups of water and the rest of ingredients and bring it to a boil.
4. If the mixture is too watery, add some dissolved corn starch to make the sauce nice and thick.
5. Boil some wonton noodles and serve it over the sauce, sprinkle fried shallots on top.

A Unique Birthday Cake(s) For Him

It's just been less than a week since I last baked a large size birthday cake, it would be too much cake in the fridge if I bake another one, but it was his birthday, I wanted to make him something that symbolizes his special day. Although he felt that it was just another day for him, but little did he realize that without this special day, I would not have met him :) I came across this cute black bottom cupcakes with cream cheese toppings. Who says cupcakes cannot be birthday cake, it's the sweet thought that counts, creamy toppings with heavenly rich moist chocolate cake, he can't get it anywhere else :p

INGREDIENTS:

Toppings:

• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 1 egg
• 1/3 cup white sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup white chocolate chips

Black Bottom Cake:

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chip
  
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup water
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line muffin tins with paper cups or lightly spray with non-stick cooking spray.
2. In a medium bowl, beat the cream cheese, egg, 1/3 cup sugar and 1/8 teaspoon salt until light and fluffy. Stir in the white chocolate chips and set aside.
3. In a mixing bowl, mix together the flour, 1 cup sugar, cocoa, baking soda and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Add the water, oil, vinegar and vanilla. Stir together until well blended. Fill muffin tins 1/3 full with the batter and top with two spoonful of the cream cheese mixture.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes until the fork comes out clean.

Strawberry Cake for a Friend Who DOES NOT like Chocolate.

October happens to be birthdays month. We celebrated three birthdays in two weeks, for our long-time friend, for him, and for myself. It was Oct 3rd, and this friend of mine, doesn't like any chocolatey ingredients in dessert. Thus, fruit cake is the only kind to go for. On the other hand, I love cakes, I love desserts which are creamy, chocolatey, and non-fruit base kind. It was hard to pick a cake recipe, I don't prefer fruit-based, the birthday boy doesn't like chocolate. I have tried making orange cake in the summer 2006, it was a big hit and I was remembered making The Orange cake. I tried blueberry coffee cake, but it didn't turn out perfect because the fruit was sour. Okay, I guess we can all agree on strawberry cake, the childhood flavor and the symbol of elegance. The cake might be gone by now, but the friendship is here to stay.

By wyteh

Ingredients:

• 1 (18.25 ounce) package yellow cake mix
• 1 (3 ounce) package strawberry flavored gelatin mix
• 1 cup mashed fresh strawberries
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup milk
• 4 eggs
  

Strawberry Frosting:

• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
• 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
• 2 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
• 3/4 cup fresh strawberries
• 1 cup of corn starch
  

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour 3 (9 inch) round pans.
2. In a large bowl, stir together cake mix and gelatin mix. Make a well in the center and pour in 1 cup mashed strawberries, oil, milk and eggs. Beat until blended. Scrape bowl, and beat 4 minutes on medium speed. Pour the batter into two pans.
3. Bake in the preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, then slowly flip the cake out of the pan.
   
4. To make the Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting: Mash the 3/4 cup strawberries to make 1/2 cup, then drain well; set aside. In a medium bowl, beat cream cheese and butter until smooth. Blend in the confectioners' sugar and drained strawberries. Beat on medium speed until the frosting lightens and is well combined. Frost cake between layers, on top and sides. Chill until frosting sets before serving.

Forget the Frozen Pizza, Here's My Spicy Shrimp Fried Rice :)

It's a lazy Saturday morning where everything seems so calm staying at home. Waking up at 11.30 in the morning, then continuing slumber part II in the couch in front of the tv. At this point, even though the stomach starts growling, you just don't feel like dragging your thousand-pound frame across the street to get something to eat. Let's see, we have frozen pizza in the fridge, yikes, some frozen uncooked produce that do not scream lunch at this point. Now you start craving some piping hot food like Harold & Kumar. Yes, hot food is the only thing that will satisfy your weekend lunch craving. I have an idea that will not cost you to get out of your comfort zone and it's so easy to make that I guarantee you to be eating in your couch in before noon. How about some spicy shrimp fried rice with root beer float, the ultimate indulgence in no time.

Ingredients

1 handful of Chinese anchovies
15 raw shrimps, halved
1 sausage, sliced
5 cups of rice, cooked
1 onion, sliced
1 spring onion
2 eggs


Seasonings

1 handful of fried onions
2 tbsp of oyster sauce
2 tbsp of soy sauce
dash of garlic salt
1 tsp of chili paste
dash of pepper
1 tsp of sugar
2 tbsp of oil

• Heat up oil in a wok, add in rinsed Chinese anchovies and stir fry until golden brown.
• Stir fry onions, then add in shrimps and sausages.
• Crack two eggs and stir to combine egg yolks with the rest of the ingredient, add some pepper and soy sauce to the eggs to season it.
• When the eggs are cooked half way through, stir in the rice, continue blending the rice with the half cooked eggs and other ingredients.
• Add in all the seasonings above and combine well.
• Cut spring onions in strips and put on top of fried rice as garnish.
• Don't forget to taste the fried rice before served, feel free to add any seasoning to taste.
  

Life Stuff...

I haven't been writing or updating my blog for a very long time, because I kinda lost interest for awhile in updating my life when I went through graduation, finishing up my last practical training, looking for a job and other ordeals. I gave up cooking nice food, because my summer place is kinda messy, then I moved here and there after I graduated for the sake of job hunting. Unhappy, depressed, just going crazy to jump start my life. I cooked to sustain, not for interest anymore, where there is a point in my life that I hate cooking. After a period of good depression, I was sick of being down despite of all the concerns I got from the people who love me. I suddenly realized that no matter how tough my life happens to unfold, life still goes on whether I like it or not. I decided to walk out from my shadow, I'm gonna be patient, tenacious, and cheerful. Now, I feel happier and brighter, and let's share some dishes that I've cooked and pass along the joy.

Breakfast Ideas

What helps you to wake up in the morning? Is it a cup of freshly brewed coffee from your automatic coffeemaker or the barking of a puppy from your smart phone that just won't stop? Whatever it is, we all need a reason to jump start our day, why don't start with spending a lil more time on the most important meal of the day. Making a good breakfast for my loved one, or myself has always been my motivation to wake up early in the morning, for I just love the culinary art and the finishing touch that adds colors to my edible creations. Thus, I'm constantly looking for interesting ideas to kick it up a nudge and still not hold me back in my busy schedule.

I've been in a craze to try out recipes with blueberries as main ingredients lately, not forgetting my parents love blueberries too, it would be nice to experiment with some recipes and pick the best so that I can impress them when I go home next time :p Here's one of the recipes involving blueberries, it's called my Crumbelievable Bluebberry Coffee Cake, which has a crumbly topping and is great with coffee.

Crumbelievable Bluebberry Coffee Cake

Streusel (Crumble) Topping:

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 2/3 cup all-purpose flour

For the cake:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 cup fresh blueberries

DIRECTIONS:

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Spay a 9 inch cake pan with butter coating.
   
2. Making the streusel topping: Mix 1 brown cup sugar and 2/3 cup flour, a bowl. Cut in 1/2 cup butter or margarine; mixture will be crumbly. Set aside.
3. For the cake: Beat 1/2 cup butter until creamy; add 1 cup white sugar, and beat until fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. Whisk together 2 cups flour, baking powder, and salt; add alternately with the milk to the mixture, and beat well.
4. Spread half the batter in the prepared pan. Cover with berries, and add remaining batter by tablespoons. Then, cover with streusel topping.
5. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 55 to 60 minutes, until deep golden brown. Finishing touch: Dust with confectioners' sugar (optional).

Blueberry French Toasts

Breakfast in Bed

As romantic as it sounds, I've always been a lil disturbed by the thought of having breakfast in bed, with dry throat, funny taste in the mouth, I just don't feel like eating the moment I wake up. Or am I just jealous over those who're lucky enough to have their loved ones prepare breakfast for them every morning?
I've been craving for nice buttery french toast over the week, and I offered to make him some for breakfast and he just said no everyday, he didn't feel like eating french toasts. One fine morning, just when I thought it's another day when I would wake up at the wrong side of the bed and had to crawl to work, I was awaken by the most amazing smell from the kitchen. He was making French Toasts! I crawled back to bed and wanted to continue my dream, and there he was bringing the french toasts to me, when I thought I was still dreaming about it.
I swear, that was the sweetest thing..Of course I didn't brush teeth, drank some water and had my breakfast. Though he forgot to add sugar into the egg batter, tasted some soy sauce in the bread, guess it's from yesterday's cooking still sticking on the pan, but I really appreciate the thought of him sacrificing his sleep, setting aside his stuffs...and made me breakfast in bed, my very first one...

We always have the fantasy of celebrating some quiet, romantic moments with loved one with breakfast in bed, this kinda perfect pictures doesn't fail to slip in my mind once in a while...However, forget about the hotel room service settings, though I wake up into my kinda shattered summer house where the ceilings always look like they's gonna fall down on me, what is most important is the company, someone that I can greet my morning to even though I just get off at the wrong side of the bed...

There's no soy sauce or unperfect finishing in this, all I see is a homemade french toasts that is ultimately made up of LOVE...

Sandwich: From Ordinary to Gourmet

An afternoon quick-fixed meal couldn't be better by preparing a hot grilled sandwich made with any ingredients you have in your pantry or leftover food in the fridge. Sandwich is one of my favorite lunch menus as it is ready in no time.

Creative versions of panini: Based with store bought sliced Vienna white bread and a good piece of cheese (choose from Cheddar, Gouda, Harvati, Monterey Jack, Provolone, Baby Swiss, Colby, Brick etc. These cheeses melt well). Top it with meat such as Salami, turkey or ham deli meat, leftover Rotisserie chicken breast, meatloaf, roasted beef or pan-fried spam. Additionally, roasted red bell pepper and baby spinach complement the sandwich in a colorfully nutritious and flavorful way. The finishing touch: Spray both sides of the bread with garlic flavored butter spray and grill it until the cheese is melted.

Grilled Cheese Topped with Smoked Turkey and Gravy:

Start with cutting off smoked turkey meat (may be substituted with roasted chicken, roasted pork or beef)
Gravy Recipe:
Ingredients:

1/2 lb of smoked turkey meat
1 1/2 cup chicken broth (may be substituted with broth from chicken cube)
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
4 large white mushrooms, sliced thin and lightly sauteed
1 large onion
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 cup milk
2 tablespoons of dill or 3/4 tbsp of dried dill
salt to taste

Directions:
In a saucepan, fry onions till softened, add in chicken stock and bring to a boil.
Seasoned with black pepper and add the mushroom.
Add in the rest of ingredients and whisk into the simmering chicken broth until thickened.

Alternative 1: If a grill is not available, try toasting the buttered sandwich on a covered frying pan on low heat on both sides until cheese is melted.
Alternative 2: Replace Vienna white bread with foccacia bread for more flavors. Half the foccacia bread and grill the white part of the bread while retaining the flavored part of the bread inside.