Chicken Marsala

If you squint, you might very well be able to find a chicken breast (or two) in the picture. This is one of my staples when I have company over for dinner. It's fuss-free and it never fails to turn out right! Per usual, I'm never content unless I've experimented and modified a recipe. My version calls for extra mushrooms and the addition of cream to thicken the sauce.

Chicken Korma

A classic Northern Indian curry that features tender chicken pieces in a mild cream sauce. Most recipes for korma contain some proportion of the following four 'C' spices: coriander, cumin, cardamon and cloves. I like to spice mine up with a 5th 'C' - chilli!

Vegetarian Dish with No Veggies

This is my version of a vegetarian stew that consists of dried shitake mushrooms, fried tofu puffs, and braised mock abalone (wheat gluten). Quick, delish, and guilt free.

Lemon-Raspberry Squares

While browsing the Williams-Sonoma site, I came across a recipe for these gems. Since I already possess a coveted tried and true recipe for lemon bars, I thought it might be worthwhile to experiment with modifying my favourite recipe to include the raspberry bits. The result was a luscious batch of tangy lemon bars with the added zing of raspberry preserves (note to self: use seedless preserves for future batches!). In the morning, I brought a bunch with me to the office. At the end of the day, there was a lone cookie* left on the plate. Verdict? It was a success!!!

*The folks in my office suffer from the "last cookie" syndrome (i.e. everyone is too polite to finish the last cookie).

三杯雞

Literally, it means 'three cup chicken'. It's a traditional Taiwanese dish that is prepared by simmering the chicken in a mixture of dark soy sauce, rice wine, sesame oil, ginger, garlic and miscellaneous seasonings. The resulting sauce is complex and flavourful. Perfect when served with a side of freshly steamed Thai fragrant rice.

You Can't Have Your Cake And Eat It Too!

A rich, fudgy Bailey's Irish Cream Chocolate Bundt Cake...made specially for the neighbourette who mowed my lawn.

My Little Dumplings...

There was chaos in the kitchen this evening as I embarked on a dumpling making frenzy. The main ingredients for the filling was shrimp and pork, seasoned with sesame oil and oyster sauce. After wrapping more than a hundred dumplings, I froze a bunch of them and simmered a batch in chicken broth. Delish.

Bergedil or Perkedel

Basically, it's a deep fried meat and potato patty. Molly, our live-in help used to make the best patties...ever. I remember watching her prepare this dish and it took a lot of work! She would peel and shred the potatoes before deep frying them. Next, she would prepare an onion and ground meat mixture. Everything would then be mixed and seasoned accordingly. The final step was to form the mixture into patties, dip them in an egg batter, and deep dry them. This is definitely not a heart healthy option!

Buon Appetito!

Al dente angel hair pasta, topped with a hearty meat sauce (made with fresh homegrown tomatoes, minced garlic, Angus ground sirloin and a touch of basil) and a sprinkling of aged romano cheese.

The Right Curry Powder Makes The Right Curry!

My favourite curry powder has gotta be Earthen Pot Chicken Curry Powder! It's hard to come by, and I hoard it like a miser! This evening, I made a pot of chicken curry and had some of it with a bowl of fluffy jasmine rice. The curry is also awesome when it is served with a side of crusty french bread!

It's a Kick in the Mouth!

Sometimes, I crave things that are super tart! Recently, it has been really difficult to find Chewy Spree in the shops. Needless to say, I've stocked up on a bunch of them. The big bags are for me to snack on at work, and the little rolls are for my purse!

Whoppers

Not the burger...the candy! I chanced upon some Strawberry Milkshake Whoppers while I was at the shops during my lunchbreak. As a bona fide candy fiend, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to sample some! They were delish!!! I'll probably have a hard time deciding if I should stick with the regular chocolate malt balls, or be obsessed with the new strawberry babies. Why choose? I think I'll stock up on both types!

불고기

In English, it's known as Bulgogi (a Korean barbequed beef dish). Thin slices of top sirloin were marinated in a mixture of soy sauce, pear juice, sesame oil, black pepper, garlic, onions, ginger, wine and sugar for 48 hours. Instead of grilling it on George, I pan-cooked it. It was scrumptious with rice!

Confectionery!

I love me some candy. Here are three really good candy bars I found at my local World Market.


Check out the wrapper on the Yorkie bar. How's that for a totally un-PC product?!? It clearly states that "It's Not For Girls!", and on the back of the label it says "Do Not Feed The Birds!" Hmmph. How rude!

Chicken Tandoori, Followed by Chicken Tikka Masala

Lately, I've been on an Indian food kick. Tonight, I decided to make a large batch of Tandoori chicken. After marinating the chicken in a creamy mixture of yogurt and spices, I grilled it on George. The finished product was extremely moist and flavourful. The leftovers are perfect for making Chicken Tikka Masala, best described as a mild curry dish of chicken in a tomato-based sauce.

Fried Rice, Take 2!!

More fried rice. This time round, with spam and peas. Yum.

Pop Pop Poppadoms!

Poppadom. Papadam. Pappadam. Pappadom. Pappadum. Popadam. Poppadam. There are may variations on the way to spell the name of this Indian and Sri Lankan spicy snack cracker. The main ingredient is typically either black gram bean flour, chickpea flour, rice flour or lentil flour and it is seasoned with an assortment of spices.

Just Like Mama's Fried Rice!

Fried rice is one of those versatile dishes where you pretty much use whatever you have on hand. Some of the things I usually like in my fried rice (though not necessarily all at the same time!) are shrimp, roast pork, spam, shredded chicken, carrots, peas, and eggs. Tonight, I revisited an old favourite that I've not had in a long time. I used Chinese Sausage as the meat ingredient. It definitely brought back fond memories.

Eggplant-Tomato-Meat Concoction

The dish in question is actually a bastardized version of Tortang Talong. To do things the right way, one would stuff the eggplant casings with a mixture of meat, tomatoes and spices. My quickie version involves stir frying all the ingredients. Not a looker, but definitely oh so scrumptious.

Modified Version of Grandma's Fried Chicken

On the occasions where KFC, Church's or Popeyes fails to satisfy my craving for fried chicken, I whip up a batch of Grandma's Fried Chicken. Granny usually fries up a huge batch of chicken wings, but I decided on chicken thighs. Today, I added a pinch of ground ginger to Granny's standard recipe and it came out great.