June 14, 2010 - Baked buffalo wings and double tomato bruschetta

I love chicken wings!  Yet I rarely make them.  Why? Because deep frying is difficult, messy, and often causes burns on my arms.  I hope to own a deep fryer some day, but with the space in our kitchen, it is just not feasible at the moment.

But now that I discovered this recipe, chicken wings might become part of my dinner repertoire after all.  The best part about this recipe is that it creates crispy wings by baking.  I used Frank's RedHot sauce as suggested and turned out great.

While I was shopping for chicken I looked around for a blue cheese dip to go with, but couldn't find it, so I decided to make my own.  This dip was nice and creamy, and not overwhelmed by the blue cheese flavour.

I made bruschetta to complete our bar-themed dinner.  This recipe is one we've had for years now, and is our favourite.  Two things that make this bruschetta unique are the addition of balsamic vinegar and sun-dried tomatoes, both of which add bursts of flavour.  I'm especially in love with sun-dried tomatoes.  It amazes me how heat from the sun can turn a simple tomato into something so delicious.

June 13, 2010 - Fresh squeezed lemonade

As a school kid, I participated in bake sales but never lemonade stands, so until now I'd never made lemonade.   I went straight to allrecipes.com and picked out a recipe with a confidence-inspiring title - "Best Lemonade Ever".  I was shocked by how many lemons were needed just to make 2 liters of lemonade!  I had recently purchased a lemon reamer (until now, juicing was done by squeezing with my hands), so it was time to test it out.  This simple wooden tool was so efficient I regret not having purchased one earlier.  I served the lemonade in a champagne glass to celebrate summer in elegance.

June 8, 2010 - Pico de gallo chicken quesadillas

I think quesadillas are perfect for weekdays because they're not too time-consuming, yet this one dish covers the key food groups.  Normally I serve quesadillas simply with a dollop of sour cream, but tonight the addition of "pico de gallo" from this recipe added a refreshing touch.  Pico de gallo is a fresh uncooked condiment made from tomatoes, onions, and chilies.  I used spinach tortillas in hopes of adding some extra colour and the slightest Popeye effect :)

June 7, 2010 - 鶏肉のしょうが焼き (Ginger chicken)

Shougayaki, meats marinated in ginger sauce and fried, are typically made using thin slices of pork, but tonight I decided to try it out with chicken using this recipe.  With the bed of red and green pepper, to me the dish looks more Japanese-Chinese and traditional Japanese, but it was tasty nonetheless.

I went on to adding more colour to the usual hiyayakko (cold tofu) by added tomatoes and avocado using this simple recipe.  

Last but not least, to celebrate our first meal on our balcony this summer, we opened up a bottle of namazake that we brought back from Japan in May.  Namazake is a type of sake that hasn't been pasteurized and therefore has to be kept refrigerated.  To those who are new to sake drinking -- when you look for sake in a liquor store, try to find the freshest one.  Most sake should not be aged, unlike wine!

June 2, 2010 - Salad of curried cashews, pear, and grapes with Italian wedding soup

Salads can be interesting.  Before I got into cooking, making a salad meant tossing together some lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, and corn out of a can (yes, you heard me right, corn.  Japanese people do this).  But since then I've discovered that fruits, nuts, and meats all make great additions to a bowl of leaves.

This recipe was great because the curried cashews added heartiness, while the pear and grapes added juiciness.  I think the curried cashews would be a good snack on its own.

The soup and salad combination seemed like the obvious thing to do, so I decided to try making Italian wedding soup with this recipe, since I've had this soup many times in restaurants but never made it at home.  While researching for recipes, I found out that this "wedding soup" has nothing to do with weddings at all!  It has to do with the "marriage" of meats and vegetables - how well they go together in this soup.  

May 31, 2010 - Chicken satay with spicy peanut sauce and cucumber relish

It is now July (yes, I'm a bit behind, still..) but I am still constantly thinking about how good this was!  It was that good - definitely on my unofficial top 10 list.  A great recipe from the Food Network.  The chicken was marinated really well, so well that it was enough on its own and the peanut sauce was just icing on the cake.  As usual, I substituted chicken breast with thighs.  The cucumber relish was a refreshing touch too - similar style to Japanese sunomono.  I can't wait to try this again with other meats.  

May 30, 2010 - Pineapple fried rice

I was browsing for a fried rice recipe when I came across this recipe from Closet Cooking.  I glanced through the ingredients and started imagining the wonderful combination of fruits, nuts, and a hint of curry flavour.
Pineapple boat!! I was very excited when I remembered about food being served in whole pineapples in some restaurants. Fun and fresh!  After a couple of 'how to videos' on YouTube we were ready for a tropical evening.

May 25, 2010 - Seafood Paella

A nice weekend out in Vancouver in May is rare, so we decided to make the most out of it by crabbing at Ambleside Park.  Our track record crabbing in Vancouver had been unimpressive, so we didn't go with high expectations. But, as you can see, it was a success!  We caught one red rock crab that was exactly the minimum size we are allowed to keep.  Not a millimeter bigger.  I think he's posing quite nicely for the photo, isn't he?

Being on the dock all afternoon made us crave a good seafood paella.  Using this recipe, I made it special by using a Spanish rice called bomba rice, which authentic paella should be made from.  Usually I use arborio rice since that's the only type available in my local grocery store, but today I found a store that carries bomba.   I can't wait to get an actual paella pan some day.  I know I don't really need it considering how many times I make paella in a year, but I just think it'd make a big difference in the texture of the rice.

As a finishing touch I let Mr. Crab be the centre of my paella. Don't forget to drizzle fresh lemon juice on everything. Yum!

May 18, 2010 - Molasses Coffee Marinated Pork Chops

Trust me, it's not burnt.  Ask Alton Brown!  Molasses and coffee sounded too intriguing not to try his recipe, and what else was I planning to do with all that molasses leftover in my kitchen anyway?  The pork tasted better than it looks in this photo, but I'm not sure if I'll ever return to this recipe.  A lot of molasses was used, and I'm not sure that the coffee added anything.  Because of all the molasses, it's also hard to grill without charring.

May 10, 2010 - Taste of India

If you have some leftover lamb in your freezer, it's a good opportunity to make some lamb curry.  Tonight I picked this recipe.  For us, making curry doesn't involve rushing to the grocery store with a long list of ingredients, since we already have most Indian spices in our pantry.

As a side, I decided to try this Kachumber recipe.  Apparently "kacha" means raw or uncooked in Hindi. This dish is made from raw vegetables cut into small pieces, reminiscent of Mexican salsa. It was a simple yet refreshing contrast to the curry.  

My impression of Indian cuisine = spicy food + really REALLY sweet desserts

I am usually not a fan of their sweets, but rice pudding is an exception!  Prior to immersing myself in Indian cuisine, I remember being very hesitant to try rice pudding.  Rice and milk just seemed like a weird combination to me.  I'm glad I tried it.  Unfortunately there is no link to this recipe because it's from my Vij's cookbook (Vij's is a fine-dining Indian restaurant in Vancouver).

And why not complete the meal with some cold mango lassi?  Sorry, no link for the same reason as above.  If it's mango season, use fresh ataulfo mangoes (the yellow ones, not the red and green ones - huge difference in flavour!)