dipset!!! easy dips 101

pic will post later.....

I think I'm the only person who would spend more than $100 shopping on "FOOD" o ya did I mention it's ON LINE 2??... Yes you heard it right "FOOD!!" And yes I did order it from the Internet.... Please don't judge me,I don't think I have a shopping problem nor a eating disorder...There are people spend more than $100 with in 10 Mins in casinos, and what did they get? NOTHING!!As for me, at least I can enjoy my food after I spent those cold heart cash ummhhahahah!! Introducing "HARRY & DAVID"every time I'm on that site i feel like I'm a fat kid in the candy stores, soo many choices, I wish I can have it all!....if you still can't understand how I feel, let me use another example, every time I'm on that site i felt like I'm in a high class strip club....I wish I can make it rain, I wish my arms are long enough so I can hug all the strip...oops I meant lovely ladies......anyways here's couple things I rcm'd as "MUST HAVE" on their site

• Red Peppers & onions Relish
  
• Royal Riviera pears

Anyways here's today's easy dip!
spinach, red pepper & onions dip

Ingredients

• Red Pepper & onions Relish
  
• philphielldipha cream cheese(spinach and onions flavor)
  

step uno
well, all you gotta do is plate the cream cheese on the plate and top it off with the relish.......easy enough right? It goes great with chips, and even better w/ some fresh breads!!!!

Beer belly or Pork belley???

It's only Mid Sept, but chitown is already getting windy again....o summer why are you leaving so early?Please stay for 1 more month.... But one good thing about mid Sept is - Oktoberfest ale comes out on the shelf again!ummmm hahahah evil wilson says "beer = good". So anyways, Pork belly and Oktoberfest?? How can you say no to them? It's like a match from heaven, just like adam and eve, Ari and Lloyd, Asian and rice. they meant to be with each other >_- anyways here's today's dish-

Oktoberfest braised pork belly
ingredients

• DA MEAT
  
  • Pork belly
    
  • salt
    
  • freshly grind black pepper
    
  • paprika
    
  • cayenne pepper
  
  
• Da sauce
  
  • half bottle of Oktoberfest(don' waste the beer, drink the other half yourself)
    
  • 1/4 cup of soy sauce
    
  • 1/2 tps of Brown sugar
    
  • 1 tps of honey
    
  • shallots chopped
    
  • 2 carrots chopped
    
  • ginger(cut into thin slices, about 2-3 pcs)
    
  • 2 clove of garlic(cut into 1/4, so about 8 pcs)

STEP 1 - Mclovin the pork belly

Cross cut square on the surface of the skin first, then rub the seasoning evenly on the meat. Let the meat sit aside for an hr.
Sear the pork belly(skin face down) till it look turn brown and crispy looking. for those who have a small kitchen or studio apt, MAKE SURE YOU OPEN THE WINDOW or TURN THE FAN ON!!but on the other hand if you want to smell like bacon and grease, be my guest and leave the window close....



STEP 1.5 - You can do 2 things at once

While searing the pork belly, bring a sauce pan on the burner, add bit butter and saute the shallots for 3 mins. Add the carrots and brown sugar into the sauce pan, mix the vegetables and sugar for another 3 mins. Add the ale, soy sauce, honey, ginger and garlic, turn the burner to low, and cover the lid up, let it sit till the sauce starts to boil.

step 2- I have no idea

Pre-heat the oven @ 275f. Pour the sauce in to the pork belly(the skin side face up) or vice versa. Cover the top with Tin-foil, and put it in to the oven for 2 hrs. Make sure your cookware can take high heat. Melting plastic does not go well with pork belly......
PS: While the pork belly in the oven, make sure you take it out every 30 mins, and glaze the meat with the sauce, so the meat won't be too dry after the cooking.

step 3 - I'm bit lazy to type out how to garnish


As title....so see the Pics for your reference......

To prove that I'm a real Asian.....

So some of my friends have been asking "Wilson how come you only write about western food in your blog, we thought you are Asian, what happen to Fried rice, Egg rolls, Crab rangoon and egg fu yang??(I think I should slap them for mentioning those dishes!!!)But the truth is, it's not I hate cooking Asian food, it's just I've ate , cooked, or watched my mom cooking Asian food for most of my life..... why can't I just do something else here......Speaking of my mom, she's coming in Oct!!!! I'm really looking fwd to that !!! But I'm also hoping she wont give me a curfew when she's here ........anyways, today I'm making one of my mom's favorite dish - stir fry rice-glass noddles( o man..she made it soooo many times when i was a kid.....)

MAMA HAN'S favorite dish-
BBQ pork stir fry rice-glass noodles

Ingredients

• Rice-glass noddles
  
• Red onions(chopped)
  
• Shiitake Mushrooms (chopped)
  
• BBQ pork - You can find them at major Chinese restaurants
  
• Broccoli (chopped)
  
• Soy sauce
  
• XO paste ( it's a paste made with scallops, hot chili pepper, and shiitake mushroom, can be sub for hot chili paste)
  
• chicken broth
  
• salt and pepper

Step 1: Oodles of Noddles

Boil a pot of water, with pinch of salt. And toss the noddles in once the water start to boil. By adding salt, it will give noddles bit extra flavor. drain the water out once noddle is about 80% done.



Step 2: stirrrrr fry

dazzle some EVOO in a wok, toss the red onions in once the wok heat up, then the broccoli , shiitake mushrooms and pork, pinch of salt n pepper for taste. Add bit more EVOO, and toss the noddles in the wok, code the noddles evenly with other ingredients, and then add chicken broth and cover the wok up till most the liquid are gone.Add the chili paste(xo paste), soy-sauce and salt/peppers for the final taste.

LogO!!!!!!!

All I gotta to say is getting old Sucks a big time, I can't believe I'm 26 already and will be in 30s in 4 years...bit scary just to think about that.... but I guess this year my bday is soooo important, everyone in the states got a day off lol(Sept 07 2009= labor day !!!!)so you are very welcome everyone!!! Anyways took some pics for the blog this weekend!! quite excited about them!!! all I gotta do now is write a html code for the Blog's background........(it's gonna be sooo much of work...god damn it !!!) But it would be a nice project for me to do during my 9-6 job hahahah!!! Special thanks to Louis Huang for helping out w/ his awesome camera n mad skills, and also special thanks to Deanna for pouring an awesome latte!!

LogO #1

LogO #2

The cafe'

The Barista:Deanna(she's behind the espresso machine)

Hope you all like the pic!!! happy trails guys !!! and see ya soon

How do you like them apples???

First I want to say thank you all for the support! Esp my Friends and families whom helped me to spread the words out!!!And second I really appreciate everyone whom spent their times to take a look at my blog!!!If one day I open a real restaurant you all get a VIP card !!! O wait does that mean I'll have to give out 500+ VIPs....damn!!!!maybe it's not a good idea for me to open a restaurant.... Anyways Here's today's special:

Pinot, dijon marinated Salmon serve with Rosemary Apple

(YES!!! APPLE!!!)
lovely Julie Lao(she's currently looking for freinds please contact me for further details >_-) ====>
(PS the Fish is dedicate to her, It's a really really easy & simple recipe, you won't even need to turn the stove on!But somehow I think she'll still be too lazy to try to make it....)

Ingredients :

• Sleeping with The Fish
  
  
  
  • Salmon Fillet - 2 pcs
    
  • dazzle of EVOO
    
  • 4 Table Spoon Dijon Mustard
    
  • 1/4 cup of Pinot Grigio
    
  • Juice of 1/2 lemon
    
  • Pinch of lemon zest
    
  • Salt & Pepper
    

• How you like them Apples??
  
  
  
  • 1 whole sweet apple(cut into slices)
    
  • Fresh Rosemary(DO NOT USE THE STEM!!)
    
  • Butter
    
  • 1/4 cup Smirnoff apple vodka.( or other white wine)
    
  • salt & pepper

Step 1 -Sleeping W/ da fish
You might be thinking "Wait a second, I thought we suppose to use fillet why does the pic looks like a strip???" Well here's the answer " Wilson is broke as hell, so he can only afford the salmon strip instead of fillet.......but ideally fillet is a better fit for this dish." Anyways let us start the marinate. Mix EVOO, Dijon Mustard, Pinot Grigio and lemon juice in a bowl, season it with salt and pepper with own preference. Place the fish on a shallow dish and spread the marinate evenly on the fish, cover the fish up and let it sit for 30 mins to a hr. Tick Tack Tick Tack ...... times up!! Pre-heat the oven and then set it to 300 F. Place the fish into the oven, since I hate overcook salmon I would say you should only leave the fish in about 20-25 mins. Whooooray DONE!!! EASY ENOUGH right?

Step 2-How you like them Apples??
Cut apple into slices( about 1.5 inch thick)set them aside and chopped up the rosemary finely for the later use. Melt butter in a saute pan, and throw the apples in make sure code them with the butter evenly, set fire to med and toss chopped rosemary in and cover the lid for 5 mins. then add liquor, cook till fork tender and season it with salt(to own preference).



Step 3 - The Final Touch
I'm a Virgo therefore I'm pretty annal bout certain stuff, plating is definitely one of them. I'll do the plating even when I'm the only one eating ...ha, as far as I concern visual definitely will help the taste bud, anyways, see pic for the final touch!!!

I'm bacccccck!!!!

Hello world!!! I guess it's just like Manny said " I'm baaaaaaaaacckkkk!!!!" But there are 2 differences here, 1st I didn't shoot steroid!!-_-, and 2nd I don't think my hair can grow as long as his, even through I really really want to! Think about this: AZN w/ dreadlocks!!!! how dope that will be???? Anyways, it's been a long time since I post something(foodmakesmehappy makes fun of my 3 posts in 6 months.....) So i figure it's time to start posting again, and I promise I'll do my best squeeze new recipes out of my brain... and I'll post more frequently too, please come back often and check us out !!!

PS I don't like the Korean host from top chef master, thank god Padma is back for top chef Vegas(she's soooo HOT!!! If Turtle can land Meadow Soprano, who knows maybe I'll get my chance to date Padma Lakshmi )

and PS PS top chef master winner : Rick Bayless's restaurant is in CHI!!! More on that in the future!!!

Reopen meal No. Uno -

Chive Mushrooms Risotto

Cake with Cream Tomato

Puree'

Step 1 :

I'll show u how to make white sauce.....giggity giggity o ya!!!
I'll prob.have to work on the title.......!!-_-
There are lot of ways to make white sauce but i don't feel like to type it all out. The quickest and the simplest way is get some Alfredo sauce from grocery store and add more stuff into it. As for this dish, I'll say add mushrooms + chives + parmigiana cheese and some chicken stock!

Step 2 :

Cakes anyone???

pre-heat the oven @ 250F. Then mix the parmigiano cheese/eggs, the white sauce, and the rice together, put the mixer in the fridge for at least two hrs. After the mixture is chill start to dived it into patties or meatballs size(up to personal preference) and bread them w/ the panko bread crumbs.
Deep fry them till the crust become golden color(usually about 2-3 Mins). put them aside and let the grease drain out a bit(or use paper tower pad it on the surface to get rid of grease) stick the cake in to the over for 15-20 Mins, make sure you don't put the cakes in the oven too long, other wise the rice will become dry.

Step 3 :

Tomato + garlic kills vampires!!!

Heat up sauce pan with butter, saute garlic and onions, add salt and pepper for taste. Add tomato in once onions turn yellow, turn the stove to low heat and cover it up for 10 Mins. Add red wine and chicken stock and continue to cover the lid till the sauce to boil. Add cream once the liquid vaporize bout 1/2 and turn off the fire and let it cool down for bout 5 Mins. The tomato should be pretty soft by now, you can use a blender to puree it. or use potato masher to get chunkier taste.

Step 4 :

The finishing touch

see pics, and use chive to garnish.

MEAL 8 : apple/ blueberry Bread Pudding, w/ butter poached pears

k so 2 blogs in 1 week, that's a first, but thanks to Louis, i got those awesome pics!!! anyways, this should be a quick one since i really don't' know what to write, plus i feel bit sick........Meal 8 is the first sweet treat form Latte & cig. so hopefully u'll like it!!! PS. to cindy, i did not use any EXPENSIVE ingredients this time!!!!

Ingredients:

Apple filling(quick way)
* 2 apples( skined n cut into pcs)
* whole cinnamon stick
* 2 tbl spoon brown sugar
* nutmug
* pinch of salt
* 1/2 cup of apple juice
* 1/4 cup of water

Bread Pudding
* 1 1/2 loaf of Italian Bread (cut into pcs)
* 3 eggs
* 1/2 cups of milk
* 1/4 cups of heavy cream
* 1/4 cups of heavy whipping cream
* 1/3 cups of Amaretto(if you want to get drunk u can add more)
* 3/4 cups of Brown sugar
* 1/2 cup of sugar
* pinch of salt
* 2 drops of vanilla extract.
* hand full of blue berries(if you want, you can change into chocolate chips)

Poached pears
* butter
* Brown sugar
* vanilla extract
* 1/2 of pears cut in to 1/8" slices

STEP 1 - Remember the time when the apple dropped on Newton's head??

Cut apples in to sq. pcs. Mix apple juice, water, brown sugar, cinnamon stick, salt, and nut mug in a cup. Throw the apples into the cups and stick it into microwave on high for 8 mins.

STEP 2 - the good stuff


Pre-heat the oven in 400f. Mix brown sugar, sugar and salt together, then whisk eggs, milk , cream, whipping cream, vanilla extract and Amaretto together in a big bowl. Add the sugar mix into the bowl and whisk it for another 5 mins. Toss the blue berry in and give it a quick whisk, and then put the bread into the mixture to let the bread soak the mixture. Get a baking dish and transfer half of the bread into it, then add the apple fillings on top, and top it off with the remaining bread. transfer the baking dish into the oven and let it bake for bout 25 mins.

Step 3- PP (poached pears!!!!)


Melt the butter in the skillet add brown sugar, vanilla extract whisk for a little bit, make sure that the ingredients are mix together. Turn the fire into the med heat, add the pears and let it poached evenly for both side.

STEP 4- Bread Pudding Assssssssmble?

Get the Bread pudding out of the oven and get a pc out of it, n add the poach pears on top, it's a really sweet dish so I rcm'd milk or black coffee w/ this sweet treat, k enough of this typing......I'm gonna get fat..........

meal 6: safaron cauliflower puree w/ seared seabass top it of w/ harry&davids' Relish!!!

OK ,i know 6 should come before 7 and 8 should came after 7, but o well, this is my blog so i guess 6 can come right after 7 lol. Anyways as you all know, I'm a big "top chef" fan, especially season 2 & season 3. Both winner of two seasons happened to be 2 of my favorite chefs from the casts; Ilan Hall(dude wears glasses, and so do i, need i say more??) and Hung Huynh (even he's a total jackass, but u can't deny the guy knows how to cook, plus he's Asian) I admit it's hard to judge the taste by looking at the dish, but you can tell the chef's skills and styles by the techniques and the plating. If you have watched the show before you would know saffron is Ilan's signature ingredients. In Meal 6 I'm going attempt to use saffron in my dish!!! therefore get ready this is latte & cig's version of top chef !!!!

Ingredients:
Saffron cauliflower Puree
* Cauliflower
* Leaks & onions
* Pinch of Saffron (apparently saffron is a really strong spices, if you just put a lil bit , the dish will get a strong taste, wish i knew that the first time........)
* Heavy cream or milk
* Butter
* bit of bout 1/8 of cup chicken stock
* pinch of salt / freshly grind black pepper.

Seared Sea Bass
* 6 oz Sea Bass fillet
* Lemon pepper
* Lemon zest
* Fresh grind black pepper
* Pinch of salt
* Juice of half lemon
* Dry Chardonnay/EVOO(2:1)

STEP 1- FISHY FISHY fish!!!
rub the seasonings and lemon zest on the fish and set it aside. Mix lemon juice , chardonnay, and EVOO well, n quickly dip the fish in for 10 mins and dry the fish off before you seared it.

STEP 2 - PUREEEEEE, i just like the sound of it.

Heat up a pot of water, and add saffrons(break into small pcs) and pinch salt. Add cauliflower in once it starts to boil. Drains the waters out (but keeps about 1 cup ) once the cauliflowers soften.

heat up the remaining "saffrons water" left overs and add chicken stock, onions and leaks. once the onions and leaks soften add heavy cream, mix well and turn off the fire.

Add butter, cauliflowers and saffrons/cream mix into the blenders. and set it on high for bout 30 secs.

STEP 3 - plate it and enjoy !!!

<==i add some relish n raw leaks on top of the fish for garnish.

Meal 7: winter spiced shrimp

So i luv my mom, she sacrifice soo much just to get me to states, n she's prob the only woman i the world i would ever use "Love", (I'm not Oedipus). But MEMOM Han is just like all other women, they will annoy the shit out of you sometimes........but o well, that's how families are. Anyways, I was talking to her the other day, and she was telling me that how cold it is in tw, so i asked her how cold is it over there; get ready for her answer ........."42F, 6C".....WTF, mom do you want to try -18 F...I'll do anything just to get 42F right now....back to the food, i love this dish, easy to make and some how i get warm after i eat it(maybe bc it's the wine i drank with.....)here's the meal 7 winter spiced shrimp, also known as Greek spiced shrimp. i found this recipe on line, but i also did little modification, so enjoy it!!!.

Ingredients:

* 6 -8 pcs shrimps
* pinched lemon pepper
* dazzled of EVOO
* 1/4 cup of white wine
* juice of Half lemon


* tomato(chopped to dices)
* 1/4 onions( chopped)
* 2 celery heart ( chopped)
* 1/4 cup of chicken stock
* pinch of cinnamon
* 2 pinches of all spices
* 2 tbs heavy cream

* feta cheese( w/ tomoato and basil blend)
* fresh dill

STEP1 - CROUCHING TIGER SHRIMP HIDDEN WILSON????

mix evvo, white wine and lemon juice. throw the shrimps in and let it sit for 15-20 mins. Take the shrimps out and dry them with paper towel n rub them with lemon peeper evenly. saute the shrimp with some quick fire(do not cook the shrimps too long as soon as the shell turn into red, get them off the skillet.) plate them on a plate(the kind you can put into oven later.)

STEP 2 SPICED TOMATO SAUCE

saute onions and celery in a sauce pan then add tomatoes and turn the heat to med. Once the tomatoes are cooked and turning to paste looking, add all spice, Cinnamon, and chicken stock. turn the heat to low, once it starts to boil add heavy cream to thicken the sauce. Set it a side.

STEP 3 - ASSSSSSEMBLE
So we got the shrimp done, and we got the sauce done, now we just need to put them together, first pre-heat the oven @ 300 F. Add sauce to the shrimp plate and make sure you cover all the shrimp w/ sauce, and put feta cheese on top. stick it in the over for bout 15- 20 mins, then add fresh dill to garnish the plate.

Meal 5 - Louis's famous Iatalian stew

Ok, i know i've been slacking but come on i have legit excuses; first my ghetto laptop is still broken, second i just ran out of ideas and there's no inspiration for me to cook(maybe i need to find a GF lol) , and last but not least i do not have killer camera (plus my photographer aka Louis has been bit busy w/ his GF jkjkjk) speaking of the devil, meal 5 is going to be dedicates to Louis, since it's his dish, I kind of steal it form his facebook photo album(FYI in the future, if you don't want reveal your secrets, don't put pics on facebook), anyways enough of this chitchat, let's cook!!!

Ingredients:

• Chuck Blade beef roast (w/ fat on it)
• whole onions
• glove garlic
• tomato (skin the tomato)
• 1 tbl spoon of tomato paste
• Fresh Italian Parsley
• touch of rosemary
• 2 bay leaf
• 1 tbl spoon of brown sugar
• 2 tea spoon of honey
• 2 cup of beef stock
• 1 cup of water
• 1 cup of cooking red wine ( merlot or cab if you wanna be fancy)
• 2 tbl spoon of red wine vinegar
• 3 -6 cracked black pepper
• pinch of salt and pepper
• 1/8 cup of cream or milk

Step1 - let's get this party started
cut the chuck beef roast into pcs, since it's a stew i recm'd bout 2inch of cube. or you can do however you like it, as long as it wont' be too big to bite, and season the beef with salt and pepper lightly.

cut the onions into pcs and mince the garlics, add EVOO into a pan and saute the onions/ garlics. once the onions turn into yellow add beef , and sugar.

step 2 - nice and slow

Once the beef turned brown add tomato, tomato paste and red wine vinegar, and make sure code the beef evenly with the goodies. Once the tomato looks cooked, add the red wine, beef stock and water to the pan, let it boil and set the fire between small to medium, close lid and leave it for 45 mins.

step 3. add all the herbs

Add all the herbs and honey and close the lid and let it cook slowly for another 1.5 hr, once the liquid become 1/3 add the cream to thicken the stew. n let it cook for another 20 mins. DONE!!!

After thought:since it's a stew dish so it's pretty amazing w/ rice (as you can tell i'm asian) but it is also really good just eat the stew w/ a good Baguette. Also you can add other stuffs in the stew for example: carrots, celery, potatoes, or asparagus(any things that is good for slow cooking). At the end, you are the chef, so creative and use you imagination!!!

image 1&2 from http://www.facebook.com/photos.php?id=600312170#/photo.php?pid=981612&id=600312170 louis haung

will upload more pics