Lemon Ricotta Cookies with Lemon Glaze
I’m sure you know by now that cookies aren’t really my thing. My true passion lies with muffins so I don’t bake cookies that often but I try to fit in a batch here and there because the boyfriend loves them.
August 2011
23 posts
Sweet and Smoky Oven Spareribs
Each time I’ve made ribs, it always included a homemade bbq sauce with ketchup, worcestershire, brown sugar, vinegar etc. but this recipe didn’t include any of that (except for the brown sugar), which is what makes this recipe so extraordinary. I slathered the ribs with a wonderful spice rub, which then slow-cooked in a low oven for about 6 hours. I then took the natural juices that the ribs excreted during these 6 hours and reduced it to create this amazing syrupy sauce. It was so much easier than making a bbq sauce and it tasted 100 times better than a bbq sauce. After all, how can you beat a thick syrupy sauce made from it’s own fatty juices?
Strawberry Stuffed French Toast
This has been on my breakfast menu for quite some time but I’ve been putting it off for as long as I could because it seemed so complicated to make. But once I started making it, I couldn’t believe how simple it was. Yes, there were a lot of steps to it but the instructions were very simple and filling the toast with the strawberry cream cheese filling wasn’t as messy as anticipated. Actually, it wasn’t messy at all! The filling stayed put when it was coated in the egg mixture and it also stayed put when I was flipping it on the skillet. Not only was it mess-free but it tasted amazing! The creamy filling in between the crisp yet tender slices of bread wasn’t too sweet but sweet enough to really let you indulge during breakfast time. They were so good, I devoured 2 of these in less than 10 minutes and I was ready to steal some more from the boyfriend.
These are absolutely perfect to make for your special someone on Valentine’s Day or even an anniversary.
Sweet and Sour Pork Stir-Fry
Like the Beef and Scallion Stir-Fry, this is another dish that’s not only faster than Chinese take-out but tastes better than take-out. The only thing I would actually change though is to cook it in a large saucepan versus a skillet since there were just to many ingredients to fit in the skillet. But other than that, it was a delightful dish that was both savory and sweet with plenty of vegetables and chunks of juicy pineapples throughout in a nice thick and creamy sauce.
Shrimp Jambalaya
It was my first time making jambalaya and I’m happy to say that it was a success. Now this is more of a quick version of a jambalaya, even though it took about an hour or so to make, and it tasted absolutely amazing. It was filled with smoky sausage, jumbo shrimp, and plenty of vegetables in a paprika-rice base. Sounds tasty, right? It was a delight to make and even more fun gobbling it up!
Beef and Scallion Stir-Fry
I’ve really been enjoying cooking Chinese food. Most of the dishes are quite simple to make and they require the same ingredients, like soy sauce, hoisin, cornstarch, and vegetable oil so once you’ve stocked up on those ingredients, you’re pretty much set. This dish was no exception and it took less than 30 minutes to make. There was also just so much flavor surrounding the succulent chunks of meat that were wonderfully complemented with the scallions that were then topped with the red pepper flakes, giving it that subtle spiciness. The boyfriend and I devoured this entire dish without any leftovers.
Sauteed Wild Mushrooms
There was a lot of dicing and chopping involved in this dish but the recipe itself was fairly simple and tasted great. Plus, I had some fun with it and used some interesting mushrooms, like white and brown beech mushrooms. But what’s amazing is how It required such little ingredients yet there was so much flavor and juice throughout the entire dish. It paired very well with everything and it still tasted amazing as leftovers.
Spinach and Cheese Strata
I wasn’t even sure what a strata was but I was very intrigued by this recipe. It’s filled with eggs, bread cubes, spinach, and two different kinds of cheeses so what’s not to like? And the best part about this recipe is that you make it 8 hours in advance so when you’re ready to eat, you can just pop it in the oven and voila, dinner is served.
White Chocolate Chip Pancake Muffins with Maple Syrup Glaze
The muffin world is endless, really. You can make fruity muffins, zucchini muffins, donut muffins, and now you can make pancake muffins! And this is exactly why I have this tiny uncontrollable obsession with making muffins. You could be so innovative and there’s never an end to what kind of muffin you could make.
Now this pancake muffin was super easy and quick to make and it tasted just as I expected. It was an even fluffier version of a pancake with syrup built right in! Once it was topped with that syrupy, powdered sugar goodness, I was in heaven.
Fingerling Homefries
I love homefries. Not just because it’s full of carbs but because of that wonderful crust that envelops the potatoes. It makes it nice and crisp but there’s still that fluffiness on the inside. It becomes more of a hybrid between mashed potatoes with crisp potatoes, giving you the best of both worlds. Now this particular recipe was quick and simple and a perfect side dish to almost any main dish. It’s definitely a keeper and I’ll be sure to make it again.
I also highly recommend topping them with ketchup and Tapatio. It’s to die for, really.
Banana Coconut Pineapple Muffins
I’m not much of a coconut fan but since it was just one of the ingredients and not the actual star of these muffins, I knew it wouldn’t be a problem. After all, I really do love carrot cake and German chocolate cake and both have ample amount of coconut. Now even though the coconut wasn’t the main ingredient, it was really vital to this recipe. It provided a very aesthetic look on top and although it didn’t really provide much of a taste, it created a nice texture to the muffins, a good crunch with each bite. That was then complemented by chunks of pineapple, all wrapped in a banana base muffin.
It was a very enjoyable tropical muffin, perfect for the summertime.
Zucchini-Parmesan Loaf
I still had some zucchini to use up after making the Zucchini Ricotta Fritters so I decided to make this simple zucchini-parmesan loaf. I spread some ricotta cheese on top, which balanced the saltiness from the Parmesan. It was a nice spin on dinner rolls before a big meal and a good way to use up the zucchini.
Bistro Burgers with Pickled Onion
Back in LA, it was so difficult to find brioche rolls. I called various bakeries and supermarkets and they were nowhere to be found. But when I was doing my weekly grocery shopping at Trader Joe’s here in San Francisco, I found these beautiful brioche rolls by the bread aisle. I was overfilled with joy and couldn’t wait to make these fancy burgers.
Farfalle Pasta with Smoked Salmon and Cream Cheese
Sometimes during the weekends, I really like to invest my time and make complicated, time-consuming recipes. But I’ve noticed that the simplest recipes get the most recognition. Take this simple pasta dish as an example. It consists of just 6 ingredients and the only cooking that really needs to be done is boiling some water for the pasta. Everything else is pretty much just thrown into a bowl and mixed together, creating the simplest, yet most delicious, pasta dish. It had such a well balanced creamy, saltiness to it and my favorite part of the dish was, of course, the smoked salmon. It was kind of like a hybrid of raw salmon sushi with the smokiness that you get from bacon. It was an absolute hit with the boyfriend, and he claimed that this was his new favorite pasta dish.
Sometimes, simple is just best.
Orange Chicken
The only reason why I wanted to make this dish was because of the title of the recipe: Panda Express Orange Chicken. I love Panda Express just as much as the next person but because it’s in the fast food category, I can’t eat it as much as I want to so I decided to make the homemade version.
Zucchini Ricotta Fritters
I never really had Americanized fritters since I grew up eating Korean fritters, like 파전 (Korean scallion pancakes) and 김치부친개 (Kimchi pancakes). So when I saw this fritter recipe, I figured it would taste very similar to Korean fritters since the concept of making them was pretty much the same but that wasn’t the case at all. These fritters were wonderfully crisp on the outside with such an enjoyable fluffy interior from the ricotta, which you never get to experience with Korean fritters since it’s made into such a thin layer. Now the best part of these fritters was the lemon flavor, which gave it that refreshing burst of flavor. And that last bit of lemon juice on top made these absolutely perfect.
Asian Inspired Braised Beef Short Ribs
This dish tasted very similar to Korean braised short ribs, which is one of my favorite Korean dishes. It was braised in a low oven for 2 1/2 hours, which not only made the house smell absolutely amazing but it created such succulent chunks of meat. It was just fall-off-the-bone tender and melt-in-your-mouth delicious, which was then topped with the flavorful braising liquid. It did take a long time to make but since most of the time was spent either marinating in the fridge or braising in the oven, there wasn’t much that needed to be done. It was such a hit with the boyfriend and we enjoyed the leftovers just as much the next night.
Blueberry Lemon Cream Cheese Muffins
My muffin obsession continues with this wonderful batch of blueberry lemon cream cheese muffins. Lemons and blueberries go so well together and the surprise lemony cheesecake filling was such a delight. Since there was just a teaspoon in each of the muffins, it was not overpoweringly sweet and instead, it just made me want to eat more muffins!
Tonkatsu (Pork Cutlet)
Tonkatsu is another one of my childhood favorites and my mom made it the best. I recreated her recipe, keeping it very simple with flour, eggs, and panko, and it tasted just like it did when I was growing up, wonderfully crisp on the outside with piping hot pieces of pork on the inside drizzled with my favorite tonkatsu sauce, the bulldog brand. It paired very well with the Korean Curry and the boyfriend and I enjoyed our homemade Korean feast.
Korean Curry
I packed my bags along with every single piece of cookware that I own and made the long 5 hour trek to San Francisco to visit the boyfriend. It was a bit hard adjusting to the new kitchen but since there is a working stove and oven, I can’t complain too much.
