Recipe: Date Night Made Easy - Crockpot Beef Stroganoff & Roasted Broccoli

I'm sure many of you are like me - work full days and rarely have time to cook up a weeknight dinner. To make it more impossible, I travel every week for work too. So whenever I get the rare chance of working from home, I like to take advantage of the opportunity to whip up a homecooked meal for my fiance.

One of his favorite dishes is Beef Stroganoff, and with the help of a crockpot, it takes 15 minutes to prepare this dish and your date will be thoroughly impressed. Make him think you slaved in the kitchen :) I found a recipe on Cooking Light so the meal was more guilt-free. To balance out the heavy dish, I served the stroganoff with a side of roasted garlic broccoli. It was the perfect accompaniment with its slightly charred tips and bits of garlic chips.

To start, throw all your ingredients into the crockpot.

Mix in the wet and dry ingredients and turn on the slow cooker. That's it. You can go back to working or watching TV.

For the side, preheat the oven to 450 degrees, then combine the cut-up broccoli crown with 6 cloves of smashed garlic and 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil into a mixing bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Spread the broccoli on a baking sheet (there is no need to grease the sheet as the oil from the broccoli mixture will suffice) and bake for 20 minutes, or until brown. It's that simple, the texture of the broccoli changes (it's ends are crispy), it tastes great and it's good for you too.

Beef Stroganoff

Recipe adapted from Cooking Light

1 (1-pound) top round steak (1 inch thick), trimmed (I used beef chuck)

1 cup chopped onion

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon dried dill

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1 (8-ounce) package sliced mushrooms (about 2 cups)

3 garlic cloves, minced

1/3 cup all-purpose flour or 2 tbspn

1 cup beef broth

1 (8-ounce) container low-fat sour cream

2 cups hot cooked medium egg noodles (about 4 ounces uncooked)

Preparation

1. Cut steak diagonally across grain into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Place steak and next 8 ingredients (though garlic) in a 3-quart electric slow cooker; stir well.

2. Lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Place flour in a small bowl; gradually add broth, stirring with a whisk until blended. Add broth mixture to slow cooker; stir well. Cover with lid; cook on high-heat setting 1 hour. Reduce to low-heat setting, and cook 7 to 8 hours or until steak is tender. Turn slow cooker off; remove lid. Let stroganoff stand 10 minutes. Stir in sour cream. Serve stroganoff over noodles.

Recipe: Caramelized Onion and Mushroom Tart

Recently, I decided to have some friends over for a cocktail/appetizer party but I did not have too much time to slave in the kitchen so I decided to prepare a rustic tart. I found a recipe online from Closet Cooking but I replaced the gorgonzola cheese with gruyere and parmesan. I can't believe how great it turned out - the guests really enjoyed every last bite. It's a really simple recipe, and this tart is flatter and thinner than a heavier crusted pie. I went simple with the mushrooms and onions, but this versatile recipe can also be changed up a little by adding some meats or veggies.

Saute the mushrooms and onions.

The end product is simple and quick to prepare.

Serve the tart with an array of cheeses and salami from Trader Joe's. My favorite is the cheddar with caramelized onions.

Mushroom and Caramelized Onion Tart Recipe

Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion (sliced)
1 tablespoon butter
1 pound mushrooms (cleaned and sliced)
1 clove garlic (chopped)
1/2 teaspoon thyme (chopped)
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup white wine
1 sheet puff pastry (thawed as directed on package) 1/2 of a 17.3- (1 sheet)
1 1/2 cups shredded Gruyère cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon oil
1 handful parsley (chopped)

Directions
Heat the oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
1. Heat the oil in a pan.
2. Add the onion and cook until it starts to caramelize, about 20 minutes.
3. Add the butter and let it melt.
4. Add the mushrooms and saute until they start to caramelize, about 20 minutes.
5. Add the garlic and thyme and saute until fragrant, about a minute.
6. Season with salt and pepper.
7. Add the wine, deglazed the pan and cook until it has evaporated.
8. Roll the puff pastry out to a 16x10 inch rectangle.
9. Score a line around the puff pastry 1 inch from the edge and brush the edges of the pastry with water. Prick the center of the pastry thoroughly with a fork.

10. Spread the mushrooms and sprinkle cheese over the middle of the puff pastry.
11. Brush the outside inch of the pastry with the oil.
12. Bake in a preheated 400F oven until the a the pastry is golden brown, about 15-25 minutes. Let the pastry cool on the baking sheet on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Cut into 24 (3x2-inch) rectangles. Serve warm.
13. Garnish with the chopped parsley.

Recipes: St Paddy's Day Corned Beef & Mini Shepherd's Pie

Saint Patrick's Day falls on a Saturday once every 7 years or so and when that happens, the bars are always overly packed and the streets lined with cops. This year, we decided to celebrate at home instead. I much prefer cocktail parties to sit-down dinners (it's less work) so we decided to throw a party centered around green Irish food and drinks.

We kicked off the day of green festivities with green wine!!!

Not Irish fare but my sister makes a killer garlic soy sauce chicken wings. The wings are gigantic so you know she must have gotten it from an Asian market.

Shepherd's Pie is a classic Irish dish, something that I always have to order if I see it on a bar menu. I was excited to make it for the party but wanted to make it in an appetizer portion so that it would be easy for my guests to devour.

When I cook, I always try to make food as healthy as I can without sacrificing flavor. For the mini shepherd's pie, I used lean ground beef and substituted mashed potatoes with cauliflower mashed potatoes. The mash utilized a whole head of cauliflower and just one potato. It tasted just like mash potatoes but if you focused real hard on the flavor, you could taste a tinge of cauliflower. The consistency was also semi-creamy and consistent with regular mashed potatoes. None of the guests at my party even noticed that there was cauliflower in the mixture.

I adapted the recipe from the Food Network website. The recipe called for the meat to be layered over the mashed potatoes but I thought it would look more classic if the mashed potatoes were piped over the meat. These cute mini shepherd's pie were so delicious, a good party dish and easy to make.

Another Irish dish I prepared was corned beef and cabbage. If you have a slow cooker, this is about one of the easiest dishes to make but your guests will think you have been slaving in the kitchen. Thankfully, Vicente Foods in Brentwood was well stocked with corned beef that was packaged with the pickling spices.


Mini Shepherd's Pie Recipe
Makes 12 pies
Adapted from Food Network recipe

Cooking spray
1 can biscuits
(12) (recommended: Grands)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound ground Lean beef
1/2 onion, minced
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon cracked black pepper
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 cup reduced sodium beef stock
1 cup frozen mixed vegetables
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary leaves
Cauliflower mashed potatoes*
1 tablespoon granulated garlic powder
2 tablespoons granulated onion powder
2 cups shredded Cheddar

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Spray a 12-count muffin pan with cooking spray. Mold biscuits to the shape of each muffin cup. Par-bake biscuits for 6 to 8 minutes until light golden. Remove from oven and set aside. The muffins kind of puffed up a bit so I used a spoon to compress them against the muffin mould. You want to ensure that they look like cups and are able to hold the meat mixture.

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add ground beef and brown. Stir in the onions, salt, pepper and garlic and allow to cook together for a couple of minutes. Mix flour into the meat mixture and stir until a paste consistency is reached. Add beef stock to pan and stir in vegetables and herbs, the last few minutes, until combined.

Spoon the meat mixture into the baked biscuit. Then put cauliflower mashed potatoes in a piping bag and pipe on top of the meat. Top with cheddar cheese.

Return to oven and bake for 12 to 15 minutes until cheese is melted and browned. Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly before popping individual pies out with a knife

*Cauliflower mashed potatoes
Recipe from Good Housekeeping

1 large (about 8 ounces) Yukon gold potato, peeled and cut into 3/4-inch chunks
1 head (about 2 1/4 pounds) cauliflower, trimmed and cut into florets
2 cup water
2 teaspoon olive oil
1 clove garlic, crushed with press
1/4 cup loosely packed fresh parsley leaves, chopped
1/2 teaspoon grated fresh lemon peel
Salt and ground black pepper

Place potato and cauliflower in 4-quart saucepan. Add water; cover and heat to boiling over high heat. Reduce heat to low; simmer, covered, about 20 minutes or until potato and cauliflower are fork-tender, stirring once halfway through cooking. Drain vegetables, reserving 1/4 cup cooking liquid.

In same saucepan, heat oil and garlic over medium-low heat about 1 minute or until garlic is just golden, stirring. Reduce heat to low; return vegetables to saucepan. With potato masher or slotted spoon, coarsely mash vegetables, adding some reserved cooking liquid if mixture seems dry. Stir in parsley, lemon peel, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper.


Corned Beef Recipe

4 large carrots, peeled and cut into 3 inch pieces
10 baby red potatoes, quartered
1 onion, peeled and cut into small chunks
4 cups water
1 (4 pound) corned beef brisket with pickling spice packet
Bottle of stout (I used Guinness)
1 head cabbage, cut into small wedges

Place the carrots, potatoes, and onion into the bottom of a slow cooker and place the brisket on top of the vegetables. Pour the water and beer over the brisket, ensuring that the meat is covered with liquids. Sprinkle on the spices from the packet, cover, and set the cooker on High.

Cook the brisket for about 8 hours. An hour before serving, add the cabbage and cook for 1 more hour.

Slice meat against the grain and serve.

Recipe: Hearty Valentine's Coq au Vin

For Valentines Day this year, I wanted to make something hearty (get it?!?!) and comforting, but I also wanted to keep it relatively light (chicken or fish). So I decided on Coq au Vin, a classic French dish. The traditional recipe uses rooster but chicken is a fine and common substitution. The result is a flavorful stew with braised chicken that will always be juicy and tender. To make the dish more rustic, cook and serve it in an authentic Dutch oven (I just bought mine from Sur La Table).

I followed Ina Garten's recipe with a few modifications. We both prefer dark meat over white so I substituted the whole chicken with 6 pieces of dark meat. To reduce the fat content, I omitted the olive oil when cooking the bacon, removed the excess oil from the pot before browning the chicken, and also skimmed the sauce for oil towards to end. I also ramped up on the amount of mushrooms in the recipe. This will make your dish more filling and hearty.

You can serve the coq au vin with mash potatoes or a side of pasta. If you're going for pasta, pick something that the sauce can grab on to. I opted for wheat fusilli.

The recipe did take about two hours in total (because I took care in browning the chicken) but don't worry, you'll have 30-40 minutes downtime (when the pot is in the oven) to cuddle on the couch with your honey or gossip over wine with your girlfriends. Enjoy!

Dark is so much tastier than white.

Recipe: Coq Au Vin

Adapted from Ina Garten, Food Network
Serves 3

4 ounces good bacon or pancetta, diced
4 pieces of Chicken thigh, 2 piece of Chicken drumstick
1/2 pound carrots, cut diagonally in 1-inch pieces
1 yellow onion, sliced
1 teaspoon chopped garlic
1/4 cup Cognac or good brandy
1/2 bottle (375 ml) good dry red wine such as Burgundy
1 cup reduced sodium good chicken stock
10 fresh thyme sprigs

3 bay leaves
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature, divided
1 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 pound frozen small whole onions
1/2 pound cremini mushrooms, stems removed and thickly sliced

Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F.

Add bacon to a large Dutch oven and cook over medium heat for 8 to 10 minutes, until lightly browned. Remove the bacon to a plate with a slotted spoon. Remove excess oil from the pot.

Meanwhile, lay the chicken out on paper towels and pat dry. Liberally sprinkle the chicken on both sides with salt and pepper. When the bacon is removed, brown the chicken pieces in batches in a single layer for about 5 minutes on each side, turning to brown evenly. The browning process is the most important so don't rush it. If the chicken is browned properly, this prevents it from turning purple in the wine sauce, and the sauce itself will also become more flavorful. Remove the chicken to the plate with the bacon and continue to brown until all the chicken is done. Set aside.

Add the carrots, onions, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper to the pan and cook over medium heat for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onions are lightly browned. Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute. Add the Cognac and put the bacon, chicken, and any juices that collected on the plate into the pot. Add the wine, chicken stock, bay leaf and thyme and bring to a simmer. Cover the pot with a tight fitting lid and place in the oven for 30 to 40 minutes, until the chicken is just not pink. Remove from the oven and place on top of the stove.

Mash 1 tablespoon of butter and the flour together and stir into the stew. In a saute pan over medium-low heat, add the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter and brown the frozen onions. Add the mushrooms and cook until browned. Add to the stew. Bring the stew to a simmer and cook for another 10 minutes. If you feel that the sauce needs thickening, add more butter flour roux. Season to taste. Serve hot with a side of potatoes or pasta.

Leftover Eggs? Here's Chicken and Egg Curry Recipe:

I always find myself stuck with too many eggs in the fridge. I never learn my lesson and always buy the dozen when all I really need is one. When that happens, I scour tastespotting for recipes and am always tempted by the tasy pictures of carbonara, madelines and egg salads. They all sound good but I was hoping for something that would be more satisfying and hopefully utilize less butter, sugar, mayo or carbs. Since I grew up in Southeast Asia, my idea of comfort food is curry. I found this recipe for Malay Chicken curry which I used for inspiration. The recipe called for more chicken but I substituted with eggs.

The best thing is that curry recipes are so flexible. You can throw in whatever you have in your fridge: potatoes, okra, any meat such as fish/chicken/pork. I went with some chicken leg and chopped up some thighs. Because I had so many eggs, I didn't want to overload on the chicken and made this more of an egg curry dish.

Hard boiled eggs. I never know how to do it perfectly, but I read online that you have to bring the water to a boil, shut off the fire and close the lid. Let stand for 7 minutes, then run under cold water. They turned out perfect! My first batch of perfectly boiled eggs.

Next, brown the marinated chicken. You don't have to cook it all the way through as it will be braised further in the curry liquids.

Finally, add all the other ingredients and simmer. It's that simple. And with such a hearty and satisfying dish, you'll never be stuck making egg salads with leftover eggs ever again.

Recipe: Ayam Masak Merah (Malay-Style Red Chicken & Egg Curry)
Adapted from www.mycookinghut.com

Ingredients:
7-8 eggs
8-10 Chicken drumsticks/thighs
2 tsp Turmeric powder
2 red onions, diced
3-4 Tomatoes
4 tbsp Tomato Puree
2 tbsp Tomato Ketchup
1 -2 tbsp Dark soy sauce
1½ cups water
1/2 tbsp Sugar
Salt, to taste
Vegetable oil, enough to pan-fry

To grind into paste:
10 Shallots
2 tsp Ginger
5-6 Dry chilies
3-4 Fresh red chilies
4 cloves Garlic

Method:
1. Coat the chicken with turmeric powder and marinate for about 20-30 minutes.

2. Place eggs in saucepan and cover with 1-2 inches of cold water. Bring water to boil on high heat. After 3 minutes, take saucepan off heat, cover with lid and let stand for 7 minutes. Run cold water over eggs to cool. Peel.

3. In a wok or deep pan, fill with vegetable oil enough to pan fry the chicken. When the oil is hot enough, fry the chicken in batch until they turn slightly golden brown. Drain and set aside.

4. In a food processor, grind shallots, ginger, dry chilies, fresh chilies and garlic into paste.

5. In a pot, put about 3-4 tbsp of oil, put in the ground paste. On a low heat, cook until the oil surfaces the paste.

6. Then, put in onions and tomatoes. Cook until they are soft.

7. After that, put in tomato puree, tomato ketchup, dark soy sauce, sugar, salt. Adjust seasoning if needed. Mix well. Then, put in water. Bring to boil, then reduce the heat and cover for about 10 minutes.

8. Add in the chicken, mix well to coat the chicken with the sauce. Bring to a slight boil. Then, reduce the heat to low, add eggs and put the lid on and cook for another 30-35 minutes or when until the sauce has reduced and thicken.

Recipe: Grilled Asian Fish Tacos

What do surfers do when the surf is flat? They do dorky things like...

1) Watch surf videos all night...

and talk about how we wish we could surf like these guys do. Sigh..

2) Wax the boards...

Oh man, after stripping off coats of wax, this board's looks brand new! Ready to take it out once I get the stitches removed.

3) Drink lots of brewskies...

or make a delicious Moscow Mule.

4) And the smart Bettys rope their friends into installing surf racks in their new garage.

Check out my awesome racks! *snicker*

To feed 5 hungry surfers and thank them for their labor, I decided to make some grilled fish tacos for our movie night. There are many recipes online but many of them include the addition of a cilantro lime dressing (two of us hate cilantro). To switch things up a bit, I decided to make Asian inspired fish tacos which I found online.

You can choose any type of firm white fish which you can purchase from the fish department at your local grocery store, or frozen from Trader Joe's. Just be sure to defrost if it's frozen. I went with mahi mahi which held it's shape on the grill.

Marinate the fish for at least 30 minutes. Yeah, that's a lot of fish (2 lbs) but there was barely any leftovers.

You can grill it out on the BBQ but I opted for a grill pan and skillet.

The most important part of any fish taco is the condiments.

Asian slaw added freshness and crunch to the taco.

Spicy sesame chili sauce

I also made a chili cream sauce which had a nice zing to it.

This was such an easy recipe, and something that I'd definitely make again. I liked the Asian flavors which packed a lot of heat. It was light and healthy, especially when substituting with low fat mayo and low sodium soy sauce.

And for dessert, an awesome Opera Cake from Trader Joe's. Sorry dudes, I ain't baking for anyone.


Asian Fish Tacos
from Week of Menus
Serves 6

Fish 2 lbs of firm white meat fish
2/3 cup of mirin
2/3 cup of reduced sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon grated lime zest
3 tablespoons grated ginger
Flour or corn tortillas

30 minutes before cooking, mix mirin, soy sauce, lime zest and ginger all together. Pour over fish and allow to sit. After 30 minutes, remove fish from marinade.

Heat grill to medium high. Using cooking spray or oil, grease the grill so as to prevent fish from sticking. Cook for 4 minutes on one side and then turn. Cook for an additional 2 minutes until fish is firm and opaque. Remove from grill.

Warm tortilla over low heat. In a warm tortilla, add a nice chunk of fish. Top with the slaw, cilantro sprig and a few sprinkles of sesame chili sauce.

Asian Slaw
1/2 head of cabbage, thinly shredded
1 bunch of scallions finely chopped
1/4 cup of low fat mayonnaise
1 tablespoon soy sauce (reduced sodium)
1 tablespoon sesame oil
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
a good dose of black pepper

In a small bowl, whisk together mayonnaise, soy sauce, sesame oil, rice vinegar, and pepper. Toss together with cabbage and scallions. Set aside.

Sesame Chili Sauce
1/4 cup Sambal Oelek with garlic
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon sesame seeds

Mix all ingredients together. Set aside.

Chili Cream Sauce
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup of low fat mayonnaise
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon hot sauce
Juice of 1 lime
Salt and pepper to taste

Whisk all ingredients together. Set aside.

Hi, I'd like to introduce you to Mee Siam

This is Mee Siam. She's from Singapore. She's spicy, soothing, high in cholesterol, is delicate (noodles) yet heavy (gravy). Poor Mee Siam. Very few people know of her. She doesn't get the same attention as her popular Singaporean siblings, Laksa and Hainanese Chicken Rice. I don't know of any place in Los Angeles that serves her. But she's my sister's favorite. So when she flew in from Paris last week (sister, not mee siam), my mom invited the family over for dinner. And for one rare night, she was the guest of honor (mee siam, not sister).

Mee siam is fried vermicelli noodles (bee hoon) topped with hard boiled eggs, tofu, sprouts and shrimp, and doused with a spicy gravy. Apparently the Malaysian version omits the gravy which IMO is the best part of the dish. Mee siam means Siamese noodles, however it's not a Thai dish. It's commonly found in Singapore and parts of Malaysia. The recipe below is from my neighbor in Singapore (Mrs. Liau) and it's measured in the metric system. Sorry, it's more authentic that way (actually, I'm just too lazy to convert, sorry!)

Mom doesn't skimp on the shrimp and hard boiled eggs. I did warn you, it's high in cholesterol.

The gravy is made with prawn stock and soy bean paste. It's spicy and has a tinge of sourness from the tamarind.

You gotta wash down spicy food with mimosas. Alright, I know that's a weird combo but in my home, bubbly is the drink of choice.

Mom also made another household favorite, Beef rendang.

When she's cooking for the family, she makes her version with beef tendon instead of meat. She'll make a meat version if we have guests. Thankfully we were all family that night so tendon it was. She also made it extra extra spicy, just the way we like it. The tendon was cooked to a point that the cartilage was broken down and almost got to a gooey consistency.

For the caucasians in the family, mom also made some non-spicy safe food. Boy are they missing out.

Mixed greens with miso dressing and croutons. You know, that large box of greens from Costco? Well, you're getting that if you cannot handle spicy mee siam and spicier tendons.

Fried rice with Chinese sausage, shrimp and vegetables.

Cooking up some shellfish for seafood pasta- yet another safe dish.

The seafood was topped with tomato sauce and there you go, the fastest dish ever.

For dessert, almond toffee from my Aunt Cindy's store Haven & Co. in Brentwood. Addictive but the sweetness is welcomed after a spicy meal.

Mee Siam Recipe
From Evelyn Liau

Bee Hoon:
A)
1/4 cup oil
30g dried prawns, finely ground
1 cup sambal tumis

B)
2 chicken stock cubes
2tsp salt
3 tsp sugar
1 3/4 cup water

C)
800g bee hoon, soaked in water for 1/2 hr and drained
2kg bean sprouts, washed and drained

A. Heat oil. Fry dried prawns on low heat till fragrant. Add sambal tumis. Mix well. Set aside half of the fried mixture to make gravy.

B. Add to the remaining half of the fried mixture from A. Bring to boil.

C. Add bee hoon and top with bean sprouts. Do not stir too often but cook until gravy is almost absorbed. Fry with the help of chopsticks, mix bee hoon and bean sprouts evenly. Reduce heat and fry slowly till bee hoon is dry and fluffy. Remove to cool on large tray.

Prawn Stock:
1kg prawns
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1 litre water

Bring water to a boil. Add prawns and boil for 6 to 7 minutes to cook. Remove prawns to a basin of iced water. Drain and remove shells. Slice each prawn length-wise and set aside for garnishing. Use the prawn stock for the gravy.

Gravy:
2 litres water
1 litre prawn stock fried mixture from A
3 tbsp taucheo (fermented soy bean paste), finely ground
4 tbsp sugar
2 big onions, thinly sliced
125g tamarind paste, soaked in 1 cup water, squeezed and strained
2 chicken stock cubes
4 tbsp peanut butter

Bring all ingredients to boil for 20 minutes. Reduce to moderate heat and simmer for another 15 minutes. Season according to taste. Pour into a deep serving bowl.

Garnishing:
Cooked prawns from prawn stock
12 hard boiled eggs, sliced
4 big tau kwa (bean curd), fried and sliced
125g chives, chopped
10 small green limes, halved

To serve, place the bee hoon on a large serving plate. Arrange garnishing on a tray with compartments. Put fried bee hoon into individual bowls, garnish and add gravy. Serve hot.