Jeffrey’s Redemption: Asparagus Risotto

Anyone who chooses to be on a reality television show and have their life on display for the world to see is either a narcissist, a lunatic, or a masochist … or all of the above. (I am sure the same can be said about bloggers but that’s for another time). But love them or hate them, you have to admit that these people have some serious balls to willingly jump into a fish bowl emotionally and in some unfortunate occasions literally, naked.

I am not much of a reality show watcher but I do enjoy watching a certain few skill-based shows, where contestants display some kind of talent to earn their 15 minutes of fame.  I think I enjoy watching The Next Food Network Star because it requires everyone to bring special something to the table, and it’s less cat fight and more competition, without some angry chef screaming at all times. Most of the contestants seem to respect and support each other (expect for a few who tried to throw their fellow contestants under the bus) and although that is probably not made for good television, I like the friendly exchanges of chefs and home cooks with different culinary point of view that surround the kitchen counter every week.

The drama may not come from each other on this show, but there certainly is a fair share of it to go around, especially from the judges (not Bob, Susie or Bobby but the other, guest judges). I don’t know if they take some kind of pleasure in shredding these poor contestants into pieces but they sure do a fine job at making them feel worthless.  (And the irony of it all is that many of them are former contestants of other reality shows who too received their own share of verbal beating.)  I especially cringed when Jeffery, one of the finalists, served a plate of risotto to a table full of culinary elites in last week’s episode, and received not lukewarm but ice cold feedback, many stating that it was the worst risotto they’ve EVER had!  Ouch!

But fans of Jeffery can rest assure that he is, indeed, a wonderful chef, despite a little hiccup. I know this because I went to Pomodoro for dinner the other night for a casual Italian grub with my boyfriend and was pleasantly greeted by Asparagus Risotto that Jeffery collaborated with Pomodoro’s Chef Adiano as part of its seasonal offerings. Being the culinary ambulance chaser that we are (just me, actually), we had to order it and to my surprise, it was quite delicious. My boyfriend was a little hesitant to give the dish the thumbs way up, but I thought the Arborio rice was perfectly cooked with the bite still in tact, and the rich flavor of the cheese made the experience very flavorful and satisfying. We ordered the half order of the risotto and split it as an appetizer, along with roasted beets and arugula salad, which helped whet my appetite for Bistecca, grilled skirt steak dinner.

I know that Pomodoro is a chain restaurant and it doesn’t complete with those wonderfully cozy mom-and-pop Italian diners around the corner, but I actually find it to be pretty pleasant.  The food is ordinary at best but the pesto that accompanies the bread basket is very delicious.  It’s definitely one of those chain restuarnts that actually doesn’t suck.

The season finale of The Next Food Network Star is this Sunday and I will be happy with either Jeffrey or Melissa to be crowned the next big thing on Food Network. Unlike the last year’s winner who I didn’t care too much for, I will certainly watch Jeffrey or Melissa’s show when it goes on air after the finale because of their charming personalities and their down-to-earth approach to cooking. And as long as they don’t turn out to be as annoying as Ms. EVOO, I will be a happy camper.

Pasta Pomodoro
21600 Victory Blvd, Woodland Hills, CA 91367
★★★☆☆

Delicious Movie: Kamome Shokudou

I watched this lovely 2006 Japanese film called “Kakome Shokudou” this afternoon and absolutely loved it.  The title means “Seagull Diner,” the name of the coffee shop where the movie takes place.

The story revolves around Sachiko (center), who opens a Japanese diner / coffee shop in Helsinki in hopes of introducing the Japanese “soul food” to the Finnish. She doesn’t want to serve sushi or other more commonly accepted “mainstream” food even if that means more people will come to the coffee shop. Instead, she sticks to serving lesser known but delicious “comfort” food like onigiri (rice balls) with umeboshi (dry plums) and okaka (bonita), which are still very foreign to the Finnish palette. Because of this, the store remains empty for many, many days.

The story introduces many interesting characters (both Finnish and Japanese) that slowly but eventually come through the door, and showcases the newly-formed friendships that extend beyond culinary, cultural and linguistic differences — with the beautiful city of Helsinki in the backdrop.

I hope the movie will be available in an English subtitle because I really think any food lovers out there will absolutely enjoy this flick.  Thanks to friend N for recommending this fabulous movie!

Summer Picnic at Home: Vegetable Frittata

Growing up in a Japanese household, our dining table was always filled with little plates of osouzai at dinner time – a small plate of pickled vegetable here, root vegetable cooked in soy sauce there. My mother was never satisfied with having just one main dish with the daily bowl of rice and miso soup, and she would go the extra mile to prepare additional something to go with dinner, even if it feel unnecessary at times.

While I adore that aspect of the Japanese culinary tradition, I also like the idea of having a bowl of something and nothing else, like the way Italians savor a big bowl of spaghetti.

Inspired by the casual, family-style dinner of our European friends, I decided to make frittata, an Italian omelet (and the champion of one-dish meal), for dinner.

Frittata is everything I look for in a simple summertime meal – piles of fresh summer vegetable and big hunks of cheese, warmly hugged in fluffy egg custard. Several handfuls of fresh herbs add a beautiful touch to this versatile dish that can disguise as breakfast, lunch or dinner. Because it can be served piping hot out of the oven or at room temperature, it makes a perfect romantic dinner, as well as a perfect picnic food. Can you imagine eating a piece of frittata with chilled glass of Chardonnay at an outdoor picnic? Aaah, I love summer!

Frittata with Summer Vegetables
(Serves 6 – 8, dinner portion)

3 medium size zucchinis, chopped
1 medium size red bell pepper, chopped
1 cup fresh or frozen corn
2 large onion (you can use less … but I just love the sweetness of summer onions)
1 tablespoon garlic, minced
3 tablespoon Italian parsley, finely chopped
1 tablespoon chives, finely chopped
4 large Roma tomatoes or 1 can of diced tomatoes
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
10 large eggs
1- 1/4 cup milk
1/2 cup Parmesan Reggiano, grated
1 cup Fontina cheese, grated
Olive oil
Salt and pepper

① Preheat the oven to 375 degree F.

② Sauté chopped zucchinis, bell pepper, onions, tomatoes and garlic in olive oil in a medium saucepan for about 8 minutes until vegetables are cooked but not yet translucent. I used my Le Cruset for even heating. Add salt and pepper to taste. Turn off the heat and add corn.

③ In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, Dijon mustard and parsley until eggs are light and fluffy. Add Fontina cheese and mix well. Add salt and pepper to taste.

④ Grease the casserole lightly with olive oil. Pour a small portion of the egg mixture on the bottom of the casserole dish.

⑤ Pour the vegetable mixture evenly onto the casserole dish and pour the remaining egg mixture on top. Make sure that Fontina is evenly distributed.

⑥ Put the casserole dish in the oven and cook for about 30 minutes until the outer layer is firm to touch.  Sprinkle Parmesan and chive on top, and bake in the oven until the Parmesan browns and the fork comes out clean when inserted in the center.

I served the Frittata with a side of spinach salad with grilled shrimp, dressed in homemade balsamic vinaigrette, and washed it all down with a bottle of Blackstone Merlot.  And for dessert, peaches cooked in agave syrup topped with whipped creme fraiche!

Dessert for the Soul: Carrot Cake

My father brought home a whole carrot cake for my 12th birthday and I knew immediately that he no longer loved me. Giving a teenager a cake, especially for her birthday, with bits of vegetable chunks is like passing out boxes of raisins to trick-or-treaters at Halloween. It’s just wrong. And totally not cool.

It was only later that I found out that my father bought me the carrot cake because it was the biggest and the most expensive one he saw in the glass showcase at a local bakery. He wanted me to have (his interpretation of) the best cake possible for my special day.  He must have been so disappointed seeing my face turn sour after opening the pink cardboard box, wishing it were one of those colorful cakes with lots of strawberries on top of the sugary icing. I was too young to appreciate my father’s kind gesture then, as well as the delicate and spicy flavors of a carrot cake.

This must be why I feel warm and protected whenever I have a piece of carrot cake now, like my father is giving me a big papa bear hug (though we’re Asians and we don’t hug … but you know what I mean).  As it turns out, carrot cakes with cream cheese frosting has become my favorite cake of all time over the years, and I enjoy it every time I’m away from home and feeling a little homesick. So it was no coincidence that I ordered a big sliver of the cake when I was in Indianapolis for business last week. I was in Indy for only two nights but I ordered it each night for dessert!

On my second night of the carrot cake indulgence, I invited my coworkers P and J over to my hotel room to enjoy this gigantic, six-layer carrot cake together lying around in bed, and watch So You Think You Can Dance. It was so nice to relax after a long day of work and enjoy the cake with grated carrots and zucchini, a hint of sweet maple syrup, smothered in delicious cream cheese frosting! And the waiter who brought up the cake to the room was so handsome, J was tempted to order another piece just so that he will come back to the room. I didn’t care too much about the waiter, but I would not have minded ordering another piece of the cake. And after we licked the plate clean, I called home to let my parents know that I love them very much.

(A side note:  Above is the picture of Downtown Indy taken from my hotel window. I heard that Michael Phelps was in town for the swimming championship and was staying at the same hotel.  I wish my sister could have been here because she is the biggest Phelps fan!)

French Pastry in your Kitchen: Pate a Choux

For me, profeteroles (or cream puffs) was the gateway drug, I mean pastry, that ultimately led to my full-blown addiction to baking.

I still remember sitting in my hand-me-down Ikea futon couch one night in my tiny one-bedroom Burbank apartment about five years ago, watching Emeril Lagassi make series of simple baked goodies on his show, in an episode called, “Pastry 101.” One of the pastries he made was profeteroles, and I was so intrigued by its simplicity that I walked straight over to my little kitchen and attempted my first of many pate a choux and pastry cream batches I will ultimately make, even before the show ended. I was especially intrigued by the fact that pate a choux required no stand mixer (some recipes ask for it but you can totally do without it if you choose), yeast, or any complicated and time-consuming steps. All I needed was a medium saucepan, a wooden spoon, a baking sheet and an oven, and ingredients I already had in my refrigerator and pantry (all-purpose flour, butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla extract). It was as simple as cooking the flour in boiling liquid (water or milk, depending on the recipe you use) with melted butter, and add eggs to it. The only difficult part is trying not to cook the eggs when incorporating them into hot dough.

I’ve tried a handful of recipes (Emeril, Martha, etc.) and although they all gave me wonderful results, I found the ultimate recipe for pate a choux that stood out from the rest, in its airy-but-perfectly-dense texture that I love so much in cream puffs. It is from a book called, “Field Guide to Cookies,” by lovely Anita Chu, creator of my favorite blog, “Dessert First.” (The book is an installment of the “Field Guide” series, a pocket size companion on anything and everything one needs to know on a topic of interest.) The book provides interesting history of every baked goodie imaginable, and although the book is tiny, it contains plethora of helpful hints and baking notes.

The recipe for porfeteroles is available in her book, but you can also find the pate a choux recipe on Dessert First. And if you have never been to the blog, I totally recommend that you grab a cup of coffee, sit down on a comfortable couch and indulge in her beautifully-written stories and salivate over yummy photos of delicious desserts.

Any of you out there who are still intimidated by this fancy French dessert, I hope you will get out of your comfort zone and give it a try. You will be amazed at how simple and fun making these little porfeteroles can be, and the reaction you receive from your friends and loved ones for serving these little heavenly morsels will make you feel like the best pastry chef in the neighborhood.

Just some simple tips:

Use a piping bag (or a plastic bag) to pipe out each dough. Make a swirl (think Pinkberry logo), and go back and put another pat of dough on top before patting it down softly with your finger. I find doing that makes a dough with perfectly-round top.

Make sure to start out at a higher temperature and reduce the heat after a few minutes (follow the recipe). Don’t be lazy! It really makes a difference in the airy-ness of the dough.

Use a serrated knife to split the dough. Fill the dough with anything you like (ice cream, whipped cream) but I find pastry cream to be the best. I highly recommend Emeril’s recipe although Anita’s is magical too.  I also enjoy the simplicity of powdered sugar on top but chocolate, as always, is a perfect topping too, both visually and taste-wise.

Happy baking!

Happy Birthday, America! BBQ at Home

As I was wishing my co-workers a wonderful and safe long holiday weekend on Thursday afternoon, I was thinking how quickly time will fly and before I know it, it’ll be Sunday. Well, I was absolutely right on that one. I have no idea where the time went but now, as I write this, it is Sunday and I will be going back to work in less than 20 hours!

Time seems to fly faster more as I age. I remember the year I spent in third grade in Japan and it felt like a lifetime. I still remember my teachers, my classmates, and even some conversation I had with my then-friends. But if you ask me what I had for dinner with my boyfriend last week, you’ll find me at a complete loss.

I wanted to make one dish for this year’s Fourth of July BBQ that will be memorable – a dish that is new, refreshing, and something I’ve never made before. It didn’t have to be mind-blowing or anything, but I wanted to make something that I will remember and perhaps incorporate into my regular repertoire. And Gazpacho came into mind.

I remember watching lovely Ina Garten make this cool, salsa-like summer vegetable soup once on her show and have wanted to try it myself for some time now. I thought this soup would be perfect to feed friends and family gathering to celebrate the Independence Day. The vibrant red color from ripe tomatoes were especially appropriate for the occasion, and the fact that I didn’t have to slave over the hot stove in this 100-plus degree Valley heat made the idea much more appealing!

Making this soup was a bit of a struggle because I don’t own a food processor and I had to chop all the vegetables by hand. I used my cheap, $10 blender to fine-chop half of the vegetables but it was difficult to make sure that I didn’t liquidly the onions and bell peppers! I’m happy with the result though because the vegetables blended nicely, while keeping some chunky pieces for wonderful crunchy texture.

I altered the recipe quite a bit, but you can find Ina’s Gazpacho recipe here.

The rest of the dishes were home runs too, with prosciutto ham wrapped melon as the starter (shown on top).  And thanks to my boyfriend who made panko and almond crusted mahi mahi with homemade tartar sauce …

… and seared albacore with scallion, ginger, garlic, homemade ponzu sauce, and a drizzle of piping hot sesame oil.  He is such an amazing chef and he even caught these fish he cooked with!

My father got busy at the grill to cook up his famous steaks!  He prepared us each a piece of New York steak (below) and filet tenderloin! Talk about a meat overload (and noone was complaining).  I was too busy eating to take pictures but my mother made a lovely pasta salad, and Asian Cole Slaw, our family holiday staples!

It was so wonderful for the Z family and W family to join us for the celebration.  Especially for the W family, this was their baby’s first Fourth of July BBQ and we were so happy to be part of it.

I hope everyone had a wonderfully memorable Fourth of July with your loved ones!