Watermelon Caprese Salad and Sisters

Doesn't this picture look like some scary bloody horror show?

Growing up, I loved to copy my sister. Everything she did always seemed so perfect. I wanted to be just like her. I copied the way she colored, her handwriting, everything! I would even take her art projects, that she spent DAYS on, to school to show all my friends. And broke them. Haha... Funny now, but not so much back then.

Anyway, somehow everything I did never looked as perfect as the way she did it.

I suppose this salad is no exception. She made us these yummy appetizers when we were visiting her in Napa. They were cubed watermelon, mozzarella, and basil stuck on a toothpick and drizzled with balsamic reduction. Perfectly bite-sized.

I was craving it a few weeks ago and decided to make it. As you can see by my picture my watermelon is all chopped in different sizes. And we had no toothpicks. Oh, and on my first attempt I reduced my balsamic vinegar until it was the consistency of...  well... cement. On my second attempt, I was scared to make the same mistake twice so I didn't even bother to let it reduce.

Aside from the look, it tasted so good!

Ingredients

Watermelon, cubed

Fresh Mozzarella

Basil, julienned

Balsamic Reduction (Or in my case, cement)

Pepper

To make the reduction, just heat up some good balsamic vinegar in a sauce pan. Wait until it starts to boil, reduce the heat and let it simmer until you get the consistency you want. Place the watermelon on a plate and top with all the other ingredients. Hope yours doesn't look like mine!

p.s. I've long since accepted the fact that my style just isn't impeccable. It's crazy and messy and that's just me! 

두부 조림

Moving on to another side dish...

I don't even know what 두부 조림 means. Google Translate says "Boiled Tofu." But it's not really boiled. So I tried just 조림 and they said it means, "afforrestation." I'm PRETTY sure that's not what I did to the tofu. To me it means cooking it in some sauce until the liquid starts to disappear. So whatever the word is for that is what it is. Anyone want to define it for me?

This side dish is a nice go-to dish because it's so quick to make. Basically, buy some firm tofu, cut it into thin squares and fry it in some oil. When it's almost all cooked, top it with the Korean staple of soy sauce, sesame oil, minced garlic, red pepper flakes, and sliced green onions. Go easy on the soy sauce because it can be really salty. Cook for a few more minutes and then eat it. That's it!

(I use about 2 parts soy sauce to 1 part sesame oil. Everything else you add to your preference.)

Optional: My sister dips her tofu in egg before she fries it and it's super good that way too. :)

Oh and I almost forgot! Don't forget to wash your tofu before you cook it. I dunno why, my mom says to. That's why.

계란 말이... egg roll?

Since we got married, I've been attempting to make more Korean food. Why? I don't know. 

Anyway, 계란 말이 (gaeran mari) isn't really an egg roll. It IS egg, and it is rolled... but it's not an egg roll. Capisce?

I guess it's more like an omelette. I made it in a kind of non-traditional way because... well because I felt like it. It tasted like 계란찜 (gaeran jjim) which I love, so I was happy. :D Anywho, Korean food is a little tricky because if you ask any Korean ajumma how to make a dish, they don't give you measurements. And like a true Korean ajumma, which I am now because I'm married, I won't either!

If you want to make it the "traditional" way, eliminate the milk/water and the sesame oil

Ingredients:

Eggs

Milk/Water

Onions/Green Onions, diced really small

Carrots, diced really small

Salt

Sesame Oil

Pepper

Heat up a pan with some oil on low heat. Beat everything together. Pour into the frying pan. As it cooks, start to roll the egg at one end. Let it cook, then roll it again. Keep repeating until the whole thing is rolled up. One thing my mom taught me, is to put a sheet of 김 (laver) at the beginning before you roll it. It's good that way, but also good without. When it's all cooked through, slice it and serve!

As you can see, I served it with some sriracha. Btw, I went to a Thai restaurant once and the server got mad that I called it sriracha. Apparently Si Racha is a region in Thailand and the rooster sauce that we all love is just chili sauce. I don't care what it's called. I love me some SRIRACHA.

Pan-Roasted Chicken with Leeks

For my birthday last year, A got me a subscription to Food Network Magazine. It's awesome because now that we don't have cable, it's like watching Food Network at my own leisure!

A few days ago, we bought a cast iron skillet at Macy's (which A had to lug all around the mall but that's another story haha!) I decided to make this recipe as the first ever thing to cook with my cast iron skillet. After cooking it, I realized I need to lift weights or something... or maybe I could just lift my skillet over my head 20 times a day.

Back to the recipe, I didn't brown the chicken enough which is why my chicken doesn't look the nice deep brown that it does in their magazine:

It probably also helps that they have professional chefs, food stylists, and photographers. Sigh, when will my food look this awesome? Answer: Likely never.  *cries* Thanks for the moral support, inner voice.

So here's the recipe. It's really easy! I cooked the roux for a little too long and so it came out a bit too thick. Also, I think less flour and more chicken stock would make it taste better. 

A and I enjoyed it in the 100+ degree weather with some rice. What should I cook next in our cast iron?

Cold Soba Salad

I realized recently that I blog the things that I cook not to share recipes, but so I could remember what I cooked and what general ingredients I used. Why? Because there are those days when I can't think of anything to cook for dinner and I can just flip through my blog to see what I enjoyed/didn't enjoy. It's also nice to look at how I started out barely being able to make spaghetti to making up my own recipes.

This dish was something I just decided to cook because it was hot outside and I had a bunch of corn in my fridge. On a side note, I've recently discovered that fresh corn in the summer is delicious! I've roasted it in the oven, fried it on a pan, eaten it raw, and tried it in a handful of different recipes.  An easy one is just to cut the corn off the cob raw, add some diced red onions, avocado (slightly hard), lime, cilantro, s&p and enjoy with chips. So good! Another way I've had it is cooked in a pan with some diced onions, mixed with raw diced bell pepper, basil, some olive oil, vinegar, and s&p.  (Serve chilled)

Anyway, this past week I bought 5 ears of corn and I thought I'd roast it. But the weather was so hot, it was just sitting in my fridge. So I decided to make a cold noodle salad with it. Because it was kind of on the fly, I didn't really pay attention to how much of what I used. But you can just adjust according to your preferences.

Ingredients:

Soba noodles (cooked, then rinsed in cold water to chill)

2 Ears of Corn, raw (Just remove the husk and slice off the kernels. Use the back of your knife to scrape the creamy yummy goodness left on the cob)

1 Bunch of Cilantro, chopped

1/2 Red Bell Pepper, diced

1 Jalapeno, diced

1 Medium Carrot, julienned

1/4 Onion, diced into very small pieces

2-3 Stalks(?) of Green Onion

Toasted Sesame Seeds

For the Dressing:

Soy Sauce

Sugar

Sesame Oil

Olive Oil

Ginger Powder

2-3 Cloves of Garlic, minced

Vinegar

Freshly Ground Black Pepper

Sriracha

I honestly don't remember how much of what I used.  about 3 tbsp soy sauce, 1-2 tbsp sugar, 1-2 tbsp sesame oil, 1 tbsp olive oil, 1/4 tsp ginger, 1 tsp vinegar, 1/2-1 tbsp sriracha

Mix it all together. Eat it. 

Yummy yummy, That's a Pizza Pie!

My nephew has this crazy Elmo toy that sings a song about making pizza... "Yummy yummy that's a pizza pie!" The pizza has eyes and a mouth and sings too. It's all very... loud and confusing.

Anyway, this pizza recipe is SO easy and so good! Why so easy? Because I don't make my own pizza dough. Although, I suppose I could, but who has the time? Plus, I'm afraid my pizza might grow eyes and a mouth and start singing with me. So if you're on a time crunch, this is a good go-to recipe that doesn't require much cooking.

Ingredients:
Heirloom Tomato, sliced (I'm sure any other tomato would be just as good)
Basil, julienned or torn into small pieces
Fresh Mozarella (I used ciliegine in water)
Garlic
Your choice of marinara/pizza sauce/pasta sauce. I used Mezzetta: Napa Valley Bistro's Creamy Vodka (which is not made in Napa Valley btw...)
Pizza dough (I used the one in the can that pops and gives you a heart attack)
Dried Italian Herbs
Salt
Pepper

Slice/grate the mozarella. Since I had ciliegine on hand, they're just too small to grate. So I sliced instead. Unroll the pizza dough and bake as indicated on the can. (Some require prebaking) Spread some pasta sauce onto the prebaked dough. Don't use too much or your pizza dough will be soggy. Next, do a layer of cheese, then a layer of tomatoes and garlic, then a little more cheese, and then top with basil and some Italian herbs, salt, and pepper. The cheese melts then spreads so you might want to go easy on it! Pop it in the oven and bake until the cheese melts.

Some variations: Use pesto sauce, or add pepperoni

Hummus = Whale?

Don't ask me why, but I used to think hummus was made out of whale.
"Would you like some hummus?"
"No thank you, I don't eat whale."
Not that I have a problem with people eating whale. (Gasp! You mean I don't care about Whale Wars? No, I don't.) I just thought it was like... blubber. Gross.

Anyway, sometime during/after my college years I discovered that hummus was, in fact, NOT whale. It's chick peas/garbanzo beans! And, it's delicious! This was an exciting discovery.

Anywho..... off the topic of my stupidity and on to the subject of making hummus. It's super easy to make as long as you have a food processor of some sort.

Ingredients:
1 can (15 oz) of Garbanzo beans
1-1.5 tbsp of Tahini
2-3 cloves of Garlic, minced
1/3 cup of Sundried Tomatoes, in oil
1.5 tbsp of Basil, julienned
1-1.5 tbsp lemon juice
Salt
Olive Oil

Pour the liquid from the can of garbanzo beans into a separate container. Process the beans, garlic, tahini, tomatoes, salt, and basil until smooth. If it's too thick, add some of the reserve liquid. Taste your hummus. Does it need more tomato taste? Add some more tomatoes, or some of the oil. Do you like more garlic? Add more!

The thing I love about this is that you can just add more or whatever to your liking and adjust to your own taste.  Oh, and if you just want plain hummus, take out the tomatoes and basil.

Pour the hummus into a shallow dish. Using the back of a spoon or something, make a shallow dip in the center of your hummus and pour in some olive oil. Top with paprika if you'd like.