Tamarind journey comes to the end--tamarind glazed scallion pecan meat ball with pineapple and red pepper

In Simply Ming, he made a chicken pineapple red pepper with tamarind sauce. I used meatball instead of chicken. sK so loved to make meat ball, he enjoyed it so much, but I have never told him, he put into too much bread crumbs, which made it less juice:) Our Chinese version meatball never adds bread crumbs( we don't have this stuff actually). I am kind happy with how it came out. My way is:

egg, scallion, five-spicy powder, garlic power( too lazy to do minced garlic), minced ginger, soy sauce, a touch of sugar;
bacon grease^-^ , a little bit starch, pecan!!( bring you the surprising crunchy!
Roll the meat ball, brown it in the pan, then take them out of the pan, let them sit on the side on paper towel. Prepare pineapple chuck as in BBQ, rub them with cayenne pepper powder, brown sugar.
Saute garlic, scallion , onion in the pan, add red pepper, pineapple, stir for while. then add meat balls, stir, tamarind sauce.
Sprinkle with mince basil~~
This is for appreciating Richard, I eventually make my words come true. Hope he will enjoy it :)

And the tamarind journey comes to the end too. I am not saying it is not good stuffs, but it is eating my teeth all the time, I can't do it any more. ( You know what, literally translated from Chinese, it is called sour bean)

Fig rocks--roasted fig , proscuitto wrapped tofu

Love fig, especially Black Mission Fig. My friday dinner, roasted fig with thyme( it is soooo pretty) and proscuitto wrapped tofu with basil. It is proved that soft tofu wins over firm ones. And as alway, proscuitto filled in my house with a pleasant aroma when it was in the toast oven

Chili Ginger Honey Glazed Sirloin steak and asparagus risotto

I was going to make duck breast, but I couldn't get it either. So I use the same glaze sauce for steak. But steak doesn't have a skin as duck breast, so it is diffult to form the glaze layer.

Ancho Chili is very subtle,most of the flavor is honey giner, may I should have used more. But it is still good, as long as you don't tell people it is using the complicated fancy glaze sauce :)

I like to make risotto for my friends, we are great Chinese people and have been feeded by rice so long . Today's risotto is asparagus panchetta and pine nut version( with a touch truffle oil and white pepper). Still, it became dried after I added cheese at the end. I have to remember it!!

Thanks for his hard work today. Also I guess it would feel horrible for me to be alone in a rainy day.

Eggplant Panzanella and Raisin-Pine Nut Vinaigrette

Sarah is not at home in weekend as before, Noah went to NYC, GG moved out already. The whole apartment is mine again. It was raining, loudly but I like the cool and fresh. Herbert came over to help me move my stuffs into my new room. He was not here most of the summer, so hadn't got chance to have my food. I thought he deserved a great meal. New room is much smaller than I thought, now my stuffs , as well as I , are packing together, we all feel 'close' to each other. But one of the great parts is my coach is eventually facing the tv. I am so excited as soon as I imagine I can lie down on my coach watching food networks after I get home from now on. :)

Eggplant is a wonderful thing, I feel like most Chinese people have a special feeling for it. It calls for Japanese eggplant, I couldn't get it, so I used another kind of eggplant, which is also soft skin.
Eggplant Panzanella :
thin sliced eggplant, then brush with oliver oil , salt pepper, 350F, 30-40mins
Raisin-Pine Nut Vinaigrette:
Golden raisin, soaked in hot water until it is blown up. Following the way to make the basic vinaigrette, mixed with raisin and pine nut.

Cooking is my espresso--Baked Teriyaki Tofu with basil and pesto

I was so tired from work. With the concern about my see sight, I thought I really had to make myself carrot soup, and also some pesto chicken for lunch. That was what I thought after work, but after I walked home ( it was a long walk from central), I really wanted to do nothing but going to bed. Since I was not happy with going to bed at 9:30, hung out for bit. Then, I thought I might want to cook. So I just cooked, lemon-ginger carrot soup and pesto chicken. and I was amazed by myself, after cooking, I have been feeling so relaxed and happy :) That' me, maybe I was born to be a cook???

Teriyaki tofu is very simple. Usually I would marinade tofu with teriyaki sauce overnight, but if it was in a rush, I only marinaded it for about 15min, and I boil tofu in marinade sauce, after the sauce is almost gone, put tofu in oven( I used toaster oven), until it is dried.I saw a recipe to dip broiled tofu with pesto, so I copied it here, but I think it's just OK. But it goes perfectly with basil, sandwich tofu with 2 pieces of basil leaves. Cindy, my officemate likes it very much. Haha, we have been educated ladies should eat more tofu, so almost every Chinese woman like tofu~~

Pan roasted Tamarind glazed pork tenderloin

As I promised, I made tamarind shrimp skewer again , also pan roasted tamarind glazed pork tenderloin( instead of red pepper pineapple tamarind chicken from Simply Ming). Pan roasted is a really wonderful way to cook pork tenderloin.
Dry rub: one day aheadbrown sugar, garlic, powder, minced ginger, chili powder, scallion
Brine: 2 hours aheadGlaze sauce: the one I made before was too dry, so I used some butter to cook some garlic, jalapeno, scallion first, then added red wine and tamarind sauce. let it boiling to reduce. Use brown sugar to balance tamarind.
Pan sear ->Pour glaze sauce-> oven (375F 18 min. I did 20min, a little bit drier)
As same as steak, it will cook by itself after took out of oven
Collect the juice from the pan, pour it on the pork tenderloin. Done!

A completed view for my dinner party :

We had :

proscuitto wrapped fig with goat cheese stuffing, flora greens(wth flowers!), pesto and fig balsamic syrup.

Tamarind Shrimp with brown sugar chili Pineapple skewer

Tomato Basicl sweet corn pine nut risotto

Pan roasted tamarind glaze pork glaze

Proscuitto wrapped fig, cucmber mushroom salsa, bacon greased tortilla chips

James is back from Chicago, and will come over for dinner tonight. I knew it last night, very excited, I can cook! My plan is :

Appetizer:
Prosciutto wrapped fig arugula with pesto and balsamic syrup

Main course:
Tamarind glazed pork tenderloin, shrimp pineapple red pepper skew, with
Tomato basil sweet corn risotto.

I am kinda nervous about pork tenderloin and worry about it will turn out too dry. The drama part is I dreamed about the cooking process, but for my parents. As always. my parents never had ll the ingredients I want , and I was kinda messy but not screwed it up.

Sunday, today, suddenly becomes an energetic day. I am gonna cook a good breakfast, since I had a hard run last night; go to work, catch up ; go to grocery; cook dinner! It will be a wonderful day.

For breakfast, I was not going to make it so 'fancy' but it just got there. I want to say something about the salsa . It has cucumber mushroom thyme sweet corn, pine nut, with sherry vinaigrette. The idea of Cucumber +sweet corn is from sK. I like to use the mini cucumber, so I can keep the thin skin, lovely bright green. Mushroom is marinade with sherry vinaigrette and roasted. But it was in a rush this morning, so I pan roasted it. The highlight is THYME, I am dying for it now. It gives a magical aroma, either cooked or uncooked, unlike basil , the aroma is gone in cooked food. So I decide, my second dog will be named as Thyme :)

Because I pan roasted mushroom, so there was some vinaigrette reduction, so no extra vinaigrette needed as dressing.

The chips, I spreaded applewood bacon grease on the foil and backed tortilla( whole wheat ones )

Still using tofu caesar, I know it sounds weird, but it goes well with fig and tortilla, and It is super healthy, more protein than pesto or hummer.

Weekend Despression--Bacon Wrapped Tofu

Really, I am super depressive in the weekend, and usually Friday night is the worst. But last night, thanks to my friends, making me laugh all night and my cheek hurt :D.
It was very annoying that I woke up early in such a humid summer Saturday which meant I had to figure out how to kill a long day. But the positive side was I was able to watch a movie with an early bird ticket. I was going to watch Ponyo, but got there late, so watched the very popular District 9. But it didn't bring me any good mood, it is gross, violent and sad. So I decided to stay in the theater and watch Ponyo . YES, it was a wise decision, and it 's about love, and make you feel life is actually beautiful.

I was going to re-do the bacon wrapped chicken breast, but that little Ponyo doesn't have enough power to brighten my day. So it was degraded to bacon wrapped tofu. But surprisedly good, especially with cherry tomato, a BTT.
I was worried about soft tofu was not as good as firm ones, but it come out perfect. Maybe firm tofu would be very dry. You can never conclude before you try.

For the memory of the Rosemary restaurant--Proscuitto/Baconwrapped fig stuffing with goat cheese with pesto(/Tofu Basil Caesar) ,Fig Balsamic syrup

I really haven't eaten in many good restaurant. The most impressive one is the Rosemary restaurant in Vegas, which gave me a very general idea what the good food is, --small portion, fancy ingredients, amazing sauce, incredible combination, pretty presentation~~
I really hope I can check out a good restaurant in Boston, but I feel awkward to eat alone, and the money is also a pain. Every time I see the food judger in a show, I am so jealous of them. I don't think all of them can really cook, but they can just sit there to have a taste of the wonderful food. How fair?
Coincidently, there is also a special topic about fig in this month's bon appetite. I just started to eat fresh fig recently and they are so good, especially the black mission one, when I had the first bite, it almost felt in the heaven( today's dish can really make me feel IN the heaven :)

I was going to make it for E & T last time, but I didn't read the recipe carefully and thought it used dried fig. Tired from work, really wanted to do nothing but go to bed, on my way home, I just thought of this. I guessed maybe it could bring me some pleasure. And it turns out it is, that is the beauty of cooking , it can help you find out life is actually not bad.

The procedures sound difficult but since I have everything on hand, so it just got there.
1. Cut the smaller end of a fig in cross, so you can put in a small ball of soft cheese , I used goat cheese here.
2. wrapped fig with bacon, it is supposed to be prosciutto, but I don't have. so just go the bold way. Anyway, I like this applewood smoke bacon so much and even saved some bacon grease and it is my secrete ingredient.
3. 350F, 20-30mins, until bacon is crispy. Actually it can't be crispy, but I think prosciutto can make it.
Assemble:

In the center of the plate, using fig balsamic syrup to make a circle, then scope the dressing sauce into this area, so that it is trapped in the circle. I don't have pesto, and I guess my
tofu caesar also works and in order to make it alike pesto, I added some fresh minced basil, how genius I am ! And it works, it does!

At last put the bacon wrapped fig in the center, drizzled balsamic syrup on arugula.
How pretty it is! And it is a magic combination, I wish I could invent some creative dish like this.

Let me help you make it come true--Tamarind shrimp and brown sugar pineapple skewers

I hosted a BBQ today, mostly for Daddy Wu and Mommy Wu(? I don't know her last name$%$$)
They invited me for dinner twice, and made me feel like being back home. Very touching.
Today after they left, I really wish my parents were here and they could enjoy BBQ I prepared, and I could enjoy some being daddy's sweetheart time. Later today, I got an email from Mom, she said the picture I sent to her was very pretty!

This skewer is from Simply Ming, I remember I watched it with sK. It looked very complicated, but when I really made it, it was just simple and quick. I guess sK like it very much from his look when he was watching it. So this is for sK, for the memory of the time we watched food networks together.

I still have some marinade sauce , so I will do it in a short time. and I would like to do all the food in that episode( tamarind and brown sugar) , and with pictures :)

Never hurt to have a try-Tofu caesar

Very interesting idea, I guess it is trying to subtitle cheese with tofu and make it completely vegetarian. But I got to know how to make caesar dressing from scratch.
Basically:
Oliver oil( A lot ), garlic(Pan roasted first), whole grain mustard, olive, capers( I like to add it as complementary)

Bummer: I just realized I didn't pan roast garlic when I am writing this, I was wondering why the garlic is so strong there.

Maybe I didn't use enough oliver oil, so it turns out a little thick, like hummers, which I fall in so much. I think it will be a good spread for roast beef sandwich, I can use it for my lunch when school starts.

"You never made the same thing"-- RISOTTO

Zhaozhao locked her key in her car. there was supergirl that drove all the way to Malden to get the other key from her house and then drove all the way to watertown, accomplished the mission perfectly! The hero is ME-----Kungfu Gao
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Terminology:
Supergilr: Adnan told me he thinks I am a supergirl, because I can play with Aaron's code. I know he was joking, but it still made me very happy and full of confident, which matters so much. ~~~
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Go back to Zhaozhao and me, I was going to make DanDan noodle for her, but the super 88 is closed, so I didn't get the sauce I need. then we ate out at a korean restaurant, anyway not very impressive, even a little bit disappointing.
So Zhao and I had been seeing each other 3 days in a row, which we both think was too much.
I have to stop that, and I can't afford to losing zhaozhao.

So tonight's dinner is by myself, actually there was no dinner, I just have been planning to make it for long. Risotto, sK and I have made it once, but neither using the correct rice nor strictly follow the procedures.
I knew sK was disappointed with that, so even I could still cook in sK's kitchen , he probably wouldn't be happy to let me do that. You know what, sK, risotto is really good stuffs, I bet you would like it. But you might never be able to eat my risotto.
I studied the instructions many times ahead, but still made some mistake---------I added too much broth at the first time, 1/2 cup /time, I will keep it in mind , never forget :)
But it didn't hurt.

I added a lot of stuffs:
onion, garlic, spring onion, mushroom --------cooked before adding rice
Arborio rice:wine:broth=1:1/5:3
these things are added when it is done:
Bacon--precooked
roast chicken
spinach-cooked , drained
sweet pea
truffle oil

cheese(:rice =1:1)

it is said the successful risotto is "To test the risotto for proper consistency, spoon a little into a bowl and shake it lightly from side to side. The risotto should spread out very gently of its own accord.". I guess my risotto is a little dry, it can't spread, I ran out of stock, so just skipped that . Also I noticed it got dried after I added cheese. Also, also, I skipped the step that add 1tbs butter at the end, maybe it also help the rice spread??
But, but It is supper delicious, I mean it. Actually I only had risotto from Pike Place Market, never in a restaurant; if , if I could try one from a fancy restaurant, it might help me understand what 'successful' risotto means :) But now I can imagine the taste of other kinds of risotto, like with pine nut, buttersquash. Next time, I want to try basil tomato one, since I do think if it had some tomato in it, it would enhance people's appetite.

the story of title is my roommate said that when he saw me making it :)
it is not exactly true, I do make food repeatedly, just you got lucky :p
Julia finished 524 recipes in one year, I think I would need 3 years. I really need some one that can eat my food, no matter perfect or not. There is something that sounds simple, but it is the hardest in the world.

I still lack some genius--Apple Cider Glazed Baby Carrot

Eric, he is sooooooooooooo nice, I can't believe How LUCKY I AM. It is always fun to play with J instead of taking care of tickets,

I wrote a note in facebook, the title is ' you make me feel lucky' , for showing my appreciation to my super friends. I guess they must be very happy to see that, see we are closer. I didn't mention sK, I was going to do that, but I removed it. Does sK make me feel lucky? Probably not 'lucky' , but thanks to him anyway, Specially :)

(Now sK becomes 'S&BKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK'
in my pidgin. It is also my little revenge)

When I prepared my lunchbox for tomorrow, I just realized I don't have vegetable, only to bring carrot is kinda boring. Keep working on Apple cider to the end!!
I remember I saw something about orange flavor carrot , and after made the apple cider vinaigrette, I kind fall in apple cider and believe carrot would love it too.

Ingredients:
apple cider
apple cider vinegar
brown sugar
honey
BUTTER
tarragon
cinnamon
Sprinkled with basil

The reality:
Because I didn't measure, it comes out over dressed, I checked other people 's recipe and found out, Carrot: Apple Cider=1:1

Next Time:
I want to use some lemon juice and sprinkle with lemon zest, we will see:)
PS1: I have to admit I am not born to be a cook,otherwise I wouldn't over-dressed. But it's actually not that frustrating, I always have next try, right? Working hard to compensate for the lack of a little bit talent.
PS2: See , It is the plate E gave to me as my birthday gift. How could I close thorndike kitchen?
it is so pretty, thank YOU, E&T :))
PS3: I named myself ( invincible) KUNGFU Panda gao, it is such a happy name;I even can't remember how KF Panda is, maybe I should watch it again. If it was 10 years again, I would be so upset to be called as whatever kind of panda, but now somehow I could be counted as skinny person in North America, so I would never mind to be called as a panda ;p

Can I make it without cheese--bacon wrapped chicken breast with non-cheese stuffings

My super sweet Zhaozhao let me take her A/C and I had such a super sleep, didn't get up until 930am; well, my Zhaozhao called me in the morning to ask me about if she could park there, since I didn't get up , so missed her call. and my poor Zhaozhao got a ticket ~~~~. also she got her car the first scratch.

Sorry, Zhaozhao, let me cook some good food for you as a compensate, and we could deal with it together . Be happy, you are never alone, :)

I came up with this chicken bacon thing because they are in the refrig.
The original idea is I want chicken tender , stuffin juicy and bacon crispy.
I was going to use tomato as stuffing but was afraid it is difficult to be held , so I spreaded tomato paste, then minced garlic and basil leaves.

The reality is:
a little bit dry and garlicky~~~~

I checked some recipes online and they all use cheese as stuffing, I don't like to use it, because bacon is salty, cheese also contribute salty, I want something fresh!
After I thought over and over, I finally figured it out: it needs some fat in it, that is why people use cheese as stuffing. Bacon will lose fat after baked +broiled

So I come up with these ideas:
Butter version---
1) still the same ingredients, but spread with BUTTER, let butter cook garlic~~~

2) I remember the first big project I worked with sK was panchetta wrapped pork tenderloin , where the stuffing is lemon peel and rosemary. I think it is a good idea to borrow, but I would mix with butter(I may make some lemon rosmary butter square, which is easy to spread)

Cheese version---
1)mix tomato paste with some soft cheese/creamy cheese, not sure it will work

Prevent chicken from being dried---
Wrap the roll with foil when baking, then use broil to re-cook bacon to make it crispy.

Well, it is not that bad, NEVER GIVE UP, keep TRYING and EXPERIMENTING.
I might have a little faith on myself :)

For Super ZhaoZhao, exclusively--Chinese steamed bun(pan fried) sandwiched with spicy beef

My Super Sweet Zhaozhao lent me her brand-new A/C. So I drove over tonight and accidently made her a wonderful dinner just using those leftover. I am kinda proud of myself.

The highlight part is Chinese steamed bun(pan fried) sandwiched with spicy beef.

The inspiration is from the movie, I saw she used butter pan fried bread then put bruschetta on it. And I did two flavors, one is plain , the other is pepper(chinese styp) salt.

And the spicy beef is Zhaozhao' beef stew( chinese five spices style) , thin sliced , then mixed with garlic, some spicy sauce, and a little bit vinegar(like balsamic)
I am so happy seeing Zhaozhao was enjoying it so much, and it is going to be for my guests in a dinner party in the future.

Cooking, forever and ever--Fennel and Apple Salad with Apple cider vinaigratte

I watched Julie and Julia, and I was so excited before watching it and It didn't disappoint me, it is just something I thought I would love. THREE important points:
No.1 : it helped me confirm my determination. I really like cooking and I really think it is more fun to shop food than shop dress , I have to admit this point no matter how I think I never have enough clothes.
No.2 it also help me confirmed that we do need recipe, it is an instruction, we need it at the first time. sK doesn't like following recipes, but I would never know so much if I didn't read those genius recipes.
No.3 Cook with love, it is not necessary for the one of yours, just for the beautiful life, it is worthy your efforts .
No.3.5 It is easy to put some weights as a cook ~~~ But now, I have so many friends that want to be volunteers, which is great!

So I want to get back to my blog, record what I made, even without pictures. I have been bothered by it a lot, which became a little excuse that prevented me from keeping blogging.
Let me start over, a thorndike kitchen after refurnished.

Fennel and Apple Salad with Apple Cider Vinaigrette:
It is all because I have a big bottle of apple cider, so I think I have to do something with it.
the dressing part, I made a reduction of apple cider:

Apple cider: apple cider vinegar=4:1
Oliver Oil
Salt
Cinnamon stick ( when It was boiling , my roommate thought it was APPLE PIE ; P)

I didn't think of reduction until I mixed all of them, but I don't think the acid of apple cider vinegar got less too much after boiled. next time, I will boil apple cider and cinnamon first then mix with some apple cider, see what happens .

Assemble:
Fennel----it has to be very very thin sliced
Apple--- now my favorite apple is New Zealand jazz
pecan
some green( optional)

I have so many good stuffs in the past month, Iwill try to remember and blog them.