MADE WITH LOVE by............. The Burmese Mom

Lemon Rosemary Chicken

2013-02-19T19:44:00.001-06:00

This is such an easy dish to make. My family loves it and I love making it for them. I also have a huge bush of rosemary which makes it easier for me. No brining needed and it is juicy and delicious. I made two tonight since my family needs more than one!
Please feel free to try out the recipe below and let me know how it turns out for you.

Ingredients

1( 3-4 lb) chicken (fresh, never been frozen)

1 lemon

4-6 sprigs of fresh rosemary

4 cloves of garlic, peeled

1-2 TBS olive oil

salt and peeper to taste (or you can use lemon pepper)

1/4 C water

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Finely dice about 1 TBS rosemary and save the rest.

In a small bowl, squeeze 1 lemon (save the rind), add olive oil and diced rosemary. Mix well.

Rub the whole chicken with salt and pepper (or lemon pepper). Then rub again with lemon oil mixture.

Insert whats left of the lemon (the rind) inside the chicken cavity along with some rosemary sprigs and a garlic clove. Then place the rest of the rosemary sprigs and garlic in various parts of the chicken such as under the wings etc.

Place the chicken in a pan with 1/4 C water and bake uncovered for 1 hour 15 min, breast side down. Let it rest for 10-15 minutes before eating the whole thing!!

Valentine Cupcakes ( Lemon cupcakes)

2013-02-15T23:46:00.002-06:00

Cupcakes:

1 box Duncan Hine's lemon supreme cake mix
1 (3.4 oz) box lemon pudding
4 large eggs
1 1/3 C water
1/3 C vegetable oil

Mix all the ingredients together till well combined ( I used a hand mixer). Divide the cake batter among cupcake liners ( I made 18 large ones by filling 3/4 of the liners). Bake at 350• C for 18 minutes.
Remove from oven and cool.

Lemon Buttercream Frosting

Adapted from C.Taylor at food.com under the title Lemon Buttercream Frosting (From the Famous Sprinkles Cupcakes)

1 lemon zest and juice
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
3 C powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/8 tsp salt

Combine butter, salt and sugar well. Then add lemon juice, zest and vanilla. Beat till fluffy for about 3 minutes.

Bacardi Rum Cake

2013-02-15T22:48:00.002-06:00

Rum cake is one my family's favorite cakes and I always use this recipe from about.com. This recipe is very easy to follow and uses 1 cup of RUM!! We don't just drink rum... we put it in our cake too! Delicious and it's always a crowd pleaser at potlucks.

Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 45-60 min
Total Time: 1 hour, 25 min

Ingredients:

Cake
• 1 cup chopped, toasted pecans or walnuts
• 1 18-1/2 ounce yellow cake mix
• 1 (3.4 oz) package instant vanilla pudding mix
• 4 eggs
• 1/2 cup cold milk
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup Bacardi dark rum

Preparation:
Cake: Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Grease and flour 12-cup Bundt pan. Sprinkle nuts on bottom of pan. Combine all cake ingredients. Beat for 2 minutes on high with electric mixer. Pour into prepared pan. Bake for 1 hour. Cool in pan.

Glaze
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup Bacardi dark rum

Glaze: Melt butter in saucepan. Stir in water and sugar. Boil 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in rum. Note: The rum will cause steam. Be careful not to burn yourself.

Poke holes all over the cake and drizzle the glaze over top of Bacardi Rum Cake while it is still the Bundt pan.

The last step above is what I do different than the original recipe because this way I don’t lose the glaze to the bottom of the cake and keeps the cake whole moister. I let the cake soak up all the glaze for about 30 minutes before inverting it on a platter. I also save a couple table spoons of the glaze and drizzle more after inverting it on the serving platter.

Easy Butter Pecan cake

2013-02-15T19:18:00.000-06:00

Ingredients:
1 box Butter Pecan Cake Mix
1 can condensed milk
1 tub cool whip
Heath toffee bits to sprinkle on top

Directions:
Make the cake in a 9 x13 pan according to the box instructions.
Let cool for 15 min and then poke holes (I used chop sticks)
Pour the condensed milk over.
Top with cool whip and sprinkle toffee bits on top (or chopped pecans)

Marinated Cheese

2013-02-15T19:14:00.003-06:00

Look how pretty and colorful this easy dish is! The name sounds interesting as well. This simple appetizer was introduced to me at a holiday party a few years ago and my friend was nice enough to share the recipe. This yummy recipe is a keeper for certain and I am sharing it with you for you and family or friends to enjoy!

Ingredients

1/2 cup olive oil

1/2 cup white wine vinegar

1 (2 ounce) bottle diced pimento, drained

3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

3 tablespoons minced green onions

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon sugar

3/4 teaspoon dried basil

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 (8 ounce) package Cheddar cheese

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, cold

Directions

In a jar with a tight fitting lid, combine the olive oil, wine vinegar, pimento, parsley, green onion, garlic, sugar, basil, salt and pepper. Shake vigorously to blend. Set aside.

Cut the block of Cheddar cheese in half lengthwise. Cut crosswise into 1/4 inch slices to form squares. Repeat with cream cheese. Arrange cheese squares alternately in a shallow baking dish with slices standing on edge. You can arrange in a single long row, or 2 parallel rows depending on the size of your dish. Pour the marinade from the jar over the cheese slices, cover and refrigerate for at least 6 hours, or overnight.

To serve, remove slices to a serving platter so they are still arranged in an alternating pattern. Spoon some of the extra marinade over the cheese, and serve with crackers.

Mini Rum Cakes

2013-02-15T18:43:00.000-06:00

Awhile ago, I received a really nice gift of a mini Bundt cake pan which makes six small cakes. I put that into use this weekend and made the cutest mini rum cakes. I used the Bacardi Golden Rum Cake recipe from about.com but omitted the pecans since I didn’t have them that day and shortened the baking time since they were so small. This recipe is from 1 box of cake mix and makes one regular size (12 cup) Bundt cake (see my Bacardi rum cake post )or 10-12 mini bundt cakes as seen in my pictures.

Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 30-35 min
Total Time: 1 hour, 25 min

Ingredients:

Cake
• 1 18-1/2 ounce yellow cake mix
• 1 (3.4 oz) package instant vanilla pudding mix
• 4 eggs
• 1/2 cup cold milk
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup Bacardi dark rum

Glaze
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup Bacardi dark rum

Preparation:

Cake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour 12-cup Bundt pan. Combine all cake ingredients. Beat for 2 minutes on high with electric mixer. Pour into prepared pan. Bake for 1 hour. Cool in pan. Poke holes all over the cake and drizzle the glaze over top of Bacardi Rum Cake while it is still the Bundt pan. (This is what I do different than the original recipe because this way I don’t lose the glaze to the bottom of the cake and keeps the whole cake moister. I let the cake soak up all the glaze for about 30 minutes before inverting it on a platter.)

Glaze: Melt butter in saucepan. Stir in water and sugar. Boil 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in rum. Note: The rum will cause steam. Be careful not to burn yourself.

Mini Lemon Pound Cakes

2013-02-15T16:10:00.000-06:00

My hubby said he likes the lemon pound cake from Starbucks so I searched the great world of internet for a recipe and sure enough there was one with the name Starbucks Iced Lemon Pound cake Copycat Recipe from Picky-Palate's website. My icing was not as thick as it should have been. I must have made it too runny. I will try again for thicker icing but it was still yummy! Very lemony and everyone loved the mini loafs. It was from a box cake mix and was very easy to make. I made 6 mini loafs and wrapped them up and gave away as gifts.

Ingredients for the Cake

1 box Yellow Cake mix

1 (4.3 oz) Lemon pudding mix

1/2 C vegetable oil

1/2 C Milk

4 large eggs

8 oz sour cream

6 TBS fresh squeezed lemon juice (about 3 lemons)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. and spray 2 loaf pans generously with cooking spray
Place all cake ingredients in no particular order into stand or electric mixer, beating until well combined, about 1 1/2 minutes. Divide cake batter between two prepared loaf pans spreading evenly. Bake for 45-55 minutes, until golden brown and cooked through. Remove and let cool for 15 minutes before removing loaves from pans.

Icing

4 TBS fresh squeezed lemon juice
2 1/2 C powdered sugar

To make icing, mix powdered sugar and lemon juice well till it reaches a thick consistency that is easy to drizzle. Drizzle generously on cakes.
Takes about 20 min for the icing to dry.

Mint Chocolate Cookies

2012-12-21T10:12:00.003-06:00

Mint Chocolate Cookies

My hubby loves Andes mints and I was so excited when I saw Crafty c0rn3r's Mint Chocolate Cookies on Pinterest. I rarely make cookies and I am not very good at making them but I gave it a try and they were a hit! There is room for me to improve of course…One thing I did wrong was that I mixed in the mint chips too soon instead of folding them in at last. So please be careful. Also, the cookies fell flat and turned out thinner than I would have liked so I will skip flattening the dough balls before baking next time. She used regular Andes mints and had her kids unwrap them and then chopped them. I was lucky and I got a bag of baking Andes mint chips at walmart. Other than that, I followed crafty c0rn3r’s easy recipe! DELICIOUSLY MINTY!

Ingredients:

2 3/4 cup flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup unsalted butter (at room temperature)

1 1/2 cup sugar

1 egg

1 tsp mint extract

20 drops green food coloring

1 bag (10 oz) Andes baking mint chips

Directions

Preheat oven 375 degrees.

Sift the dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt) together and set aside.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in egg and mint extract.

Gradually blend in the dry ingredients. Add green food coloring and mix until even colored.

Lastly, fold in the Andes mint chips.

Use a cookie scoop or roll rounded teaspoonfuls of dough into balls using a spoon or your hands, and place onto ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake for 8-10 minutes. Let stand on cookie sheet for 2 minutes before moving them to wire racks to cool.

Jewelry Hanger

2012-12-14T11:24:00.001-06:00

How cool is this jewelry hanger?? I got the idea from Pinterest and asked my hubby to make me one. I got the little ceramic knob pulls from World Market and Pier 1. They range from $3.00 - 98 cents! ( what a bargain, right? ) Hubby found the perfect piece of wood from his parents' yard and Viola! We got THE coolest jewelry organizer. Hope you make one and share your picture with me.

Cranberry Apple Crisp

2012-12-12T09:29:00.003-06:00

Prep Time: 30 Minutes Cook Time: 1 Hour
Ready In: 1 Hour 30 Minutes
Servings: 12 Ingredients:

Filling

6 apples - peeled, cored and chopped
1 (12 ounce) package fresh cranberries,roughly chopped
11/2 cups white sugar
1/3 cup quick-cooking tapioca

Topping

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup unsalted butter

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a large bowl, combine apples, cranberries, and sugar.
Cover, and set aside for about 20 minutes.
Mix in tapioca, and set aside for 15 to 20 minutes, until tapioca has absorbed fruit juice.
Spread mixture into a 9 by 13 inch pan.
In a medium bowl, combine flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, salt, and butter.
Work mixture with fingertips until crumbly. (Tip: easier if the butter is frozen hard enough to grate with a grater).
Spread mixture over the apple-cranberry filling.
Bake 45 to 60 minutes on the bottom rack of the preheated oven, or until apples are tender when tested with a wooden pick.

Wild Orange Marmalade Recipe

2012-12-11T15:12:00.002-06:00

My in laws gave me many tiny oranges from their orange tree. I couldnt figure out what kind of oranges they were. They were a little bit smaller and more round in shape than Kumquarts. They have very thin skin and no white part between the fruit and the skin. They have big seeds inside and are tart so I decided that they were wild oranges!

I peeled and juiced all the tiny oranges I had. I got about 2 cups of peel and about 2 cups of juice. I will do my best to share "the recipe" with you but this is one of those things I made without a recipe and with what I have on hand. So take the basic methods of jam making and apply.

Here is how I made the marmalade:

About 2 Cups wild orange Peel, finely diced or in strips
1 1/2 Cup wild orange juice from the fruit
1 1/2 Cup sugar
1 package Sure Jell fruit pectin

Put everything in a sauce pan and bring to a boil till all the sugar melted. Lower the heat to low and let simmer for 30 min. Put in mason jars and enjoy!

Lemon Curd

2012-12-11T13:43:00.000-06:00

My in laws have a Myer lemon tree and they gave me some beautiful lemons. I was trying to figure out what to do with them and eventually decided to make lemon curd using Ina Garten's delicious lemon curd recipe I found on food network's site. This recipe uses all the zest and the lemon juice so I felt like I am fully using the pretty lemons. Also, I can enjoy the lemon curd in the fridge for a while.

There are many ways to enjoy this delicious spread and many recipes are available on the internet world.

Here are a few of my favorite ways to enjoy lemon curd..
               Over fluffy ricotta pancakes
               Filling inside raspberry or coconut cupcakes
               Spread on a cheesecake
                Make mini lemon tarts
and many more.....

The recipe is as follows:

Prep Time: 20 min   Cook Time:10 min   Level: Easy
Serves: 3 cups

Ingredients

3 lemons
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 pound unsalted butter, room temperature
4 extra-large eggs
1/2 cup lemon juice (3 to 4 lemons)
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt

Directions

Using a carrot peeler, remove the zest of 3 lemons, being careful to avoid the white pith. Put the zest in a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Add the sugar and pulse until the zest is very finely minced into the sugar.
Cream the butter and beat in the sugar and lemon mixture. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, and then add the lemon juice and salt. Mix until combined.
Pour the mixture into a 2 quart saucepan and cook over low heat until thickened (about 10 minutes), stirring constantly. The lemon curd will thicken at about 170 degrees F, or just below simmer. Remove from the heat and cool or refrigerate.

I canned mine in mason jars and stored them in the fridge.

Rosemary Garlic Pork Loin Roast

2011-12-25T00:24:00.005-06:00

Around the holidays pork loin goes on sale and I usually get one. I couldn't find the recipe that I usually use but I am very pleased with this one that I came up with. I used very few and ingredients to make this yummy juicy pork.

Ingredients

3-4 lb pork loin ( that was what I bought to feed 7 adults)
1 TBS minced garlic
1 TBS Rosemary (chopped small)
1 tsp olive oil
1 tsp salt
Pepper
1 TBS olive oil
some water

Preheat the oven to 475• F.
Rinse and pat dry the pork.
Rub the pork loin with 1 TBS olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and peeper.
Make a paste using rosemary, garlic and 1 tsp olive oil.
Cut small slits all over the pork loin and stuff put the herb paste into them.

Bake the pork uncovered for 15 min. Then reduce the heat to 425•F and bake about 40 more minutes or till the meat thermometer reads 150•F.

Add a little bit of water (1/4 cup ) into the pan while baking and do not let the pan burn.

Let the pork sit for 15 minutes before slicing.

Samgyetang (삼계탕) Korean Ginseng Chicken Soup

2011-12-13T21:21:00.015-06:00

HERE comes another soup recipe you may say, but I cannot tell you enough times how much I love soups and stews. This soup definitely is a special occasion type of soup not because it is hard to make but because of the ingredients I have to gather before making it. I have never ever bought fresh ginseng till I made this soup the other day and it was pricey. I am sure getting dried ginseng would have saved me money but I wanted to follow this recipe from Norecipes exactly. I encourage you to visit the original website mentioned to see all the fun pictures too. I read that this soup is served in the summer in Korean but I made this on a cold rainy day. I love hot soups on a cold day! I aslo doubled the recipe because I had company. I made a special trip to a Korean gerocery store and found all the ingredients needed and I bought everything fresh. I wouldn't leave anything out, but I must say that I loved the chestnuts in the soup very much because they are so sweet and add a little crunch in the soup. I also bought a premade package with dried ginseng, jujubes, rice , and etc to try another time and compare and the taste and convenience.
I am so thankful for Internet and fellow food blogger such as Norecipes for sharing the recipes and allowing me to learn. This is the recipe I used.

Serves 2 hungry people

1/2 cup sticky rice (also known as “sweet rice” or “glutinous rice”)
2 Cornish game hens
2 tablespoons kosher salt (halve if using regular salt)
2 tablespoons pine nuts
3 small fresh ginseng roots (dried works okay too)
6 cloves of garlic, peeled
10 jujubes
4 whole chestnuts
4 cups low sodium chicken stock (preferably home made)
1 scallion thinly sliced
sea salt for serving

The morning you want to make the Samgyetang, wash the rice and soak it in a bowl full of cold water. Rub each hen with a tablespoon of kosher salt, both inside and out.

When you’re ready to start cooking, drain the rice and mix it with the pine nuts. Add a ginseng root, garlic clove, jujube, and chestnut into the cavity of each hen, then split the rice between the two hens. Add another garlic clove, jujube, and chestnut to each chicken, then cut a small slit into the flap of skin just above each drumstick and thread the end of each drumstick through both flaps as shown in the photo below. You could also use a toothpick to “stitch” the opening shut, you just want to keep the opening closed so the stuffing doesn’t all fall out.

Add the chicken stock and remaining ginseng root, garlic, and jujubes to a pot that’s just big enough to hold both hens. Bring to a boil, then carefully add both hens. Return the soup to a boil then cover and turn the heat down to low and simmer for one hour.

Serve the Samgyetang in a small pot or stone bowl along with the soup, then garnish with the scallions. Give each person a small plate of salt that can be added to the soup to taste, or be used to dip the chicken meat into.

Smothered Pork Chops

2011-12-02T11:44:00.024-06:00

I love southern food and this is one of them. I recently got a dutch oven as a gift and it is perfect for for making tender thick cut pork chops browned and smothered ( slow cooked in gravy). I just love gravy and this dish is perfect over white rice. Basically, you will be eating rice and brown gravy with a bonus, tender pork chop. I will not be giving you the exact measurements of the ingredients but will walk you through the basic smothering steps with pictures and all. so enjoy and feel free to email me with questions and comments.

Ingredients (Approximate)

1.5 to 2 lb pork chops of your choice ( I used bone in, thick cuts)
1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
1 Tsp Cajun seasoning powder, optional (salt and peeper will work too)
2 TBS soy sauce
4 Cups stock/broth/ or water
2 TBS oil
3/4 Cup flour

Rinse and dry the pork with paper towels. Season with salt and pepper or Cajun seasoning powder.

Heat the oil the Dutch oven or big skillet.

Put the flour in a plastic bag and shake the pork chops one by one and add to the hot oil and brown them on both sides. Take them out and set aside.

Add the onions and peppers to the pan and saute them till tender about 5 minutes. Then add the soy sauce. Cook for a minute or two.

Then add your choice of stock ( I used turkey stock I made after Thanksgiving. Bring to a slow boil.

Add your pork chops back into the boiling gravy and cover. Let simmer till pork is fork tender. (this will depend on your pork and the cook ware you use) I did about 2 hours. Taste the gravy and season as needed.

The final results looks like this. Serve with rice.

Homemade Kimchi in Two Hours!

2011-11-06T12:35:00.037-06:00

Making kimchi is easier than you think...or at least I think so. maybe because I love cooking and making everything from scratch when I can. My family loves kimchi so I enjoy making a big batch and giving some away to my family and friends. I have never made whole Kimchi but usually make the already chopped Kimchi. I think it is considered the "easy" Kimchi. I have not noticed the taste difference in the two. So, I choose to make this cut Kimchi using Maangchi's Kimchi Recipe.. I did double the recipe because I have so many people to share.

You will need:

Vegetables:

10 lb Napa cabbage
10 Green onions, cut in 2 inch pieces
1/2 Cop julienned carrot
2 Cups julienned Daikon radish
2 Cups leek, chopped

1 Cup sea salt

For the Porridge:

1/4 Cup sugar
3 Cups water
1/2 Cup sweet rice flour, see picture below

Seasonings:

1 Cup fish sauce
3 Cup hot pepper flakes

1 Cup whole garlic cloves
2 TBS minced ginger
1 Cup onion, chopped

*Tip: Use a food processor.

Preparing the cabbage:

Trim the discolored outer leaves of 10 pounds of napa cabbage.
Cut the cabbage lengthwise into quarters and remove the cores. Chop it up into bite size pieces
Rinse cabbage in cold water and put the soaked cabbage into a large basin. Sprinkle salt.

Every 30 minutes, turn the cabbage over to salt evenly (total salting time will be 1½ hours).
1½ hours later, rinse the cabbage in cold water 3 times to clean it thoroughly

Drain the cabbage and set aside in a huge basin or plastic bowl..

Add the other vegetables (green onions, leek, carrot, and radish).

Making the Porridge:
Put cups of water and sweet rice flour in a pot and mix it well and bring to a boil.

Keep stirring until the porridge makes bubbles (about 5 minutes).

Add the sugar.
Stir and cook for a few more minutes until it’s translucent.

Cool it down.

Making Kimchi Sauce:

Place the cold porridge into a large bowl.

Using a food processor, puree the ginger, garlic, and onions. Add this to the porridge along with fish sauce, hot pepper flakes.

Now you have Kimchi Sauce.

Add the kimchi sauce to your bowl of prepared veggies.

Mix well by hand ( must wear gloves or your hands will burn!!!).

Now that you have your well mixed fresh Kimchi, put it in wide mouth glass jars or air tight plastic containers. (Korean stores sell different containers for kimchi storage). This is ready to eat if you choose to.

A little "Kimchi Knowledge".......for those that ask me when Kimchi will be ready to eat after making it. Eat it Right away!!

Fresh Kimchi: Just made, not fermented, not sour yet.
"Old" Kimchi: Well fermented. Sour and great for cooking such as making Kimchi stew, stir fry, pancakes, fried rice etc.

Kinchi Tips:

* make sure your hands, all you utensils and bowl, knives etc are clean.
* Wear Gloves.
* Vinegar can be used to get rid of strong smells in the jar after kimchi is all gone and you want to clean your jar for reuse.
* Keeping the jar of kimchi in the sun for several hours will speed up the fermentation process and kimchi will sour fast.
* Keep a small container full of kimchi at room temperature to get "old" kimchi for cooking and majority in the fridge for the fresh kimchi.

ENJOY!!!

Galbi Tang ( Korean Beef Short Rib Soup): The Daring Cooks’ September 2011 Challenge

2011-09-14T13:20:00.007-05:00

Peta, of the blog Peta Eats, was our lovely hostess for the Daring Cook‟s September 2011 challenge, “Stock to Soup to Consommé”. We were taught the meaning between the three dishes, how to make a crystal clear Consommé if we so chose to do so, and encouraged to share our own delicious soup recipes!

Being a soup lover, this challenge gave me so many ideas of what I wanted to make. I picked this Korean Beef Short Rib Soup because my family requested it and also I found a great deal on the short ribs.
I am not Korean but I LOVE Korean food and learned to make many Korean dishes mainly from blogs, sometimes friends and from eating out. Galbi Tang is simple to make if you have some time to make the stock and let the beef become tender. Tang in Korean means soup. This website lifeinkorea has a great list of Korean soups, the meanings, and even how to eat them.

Wiki also has some good information on this dish including how to prepare too.

Here is how I make mine.

Ingredients

2 LB Beef Short Ribs (in big chunks)
1 Large Onion
5 Garlic Cloves
1 TBS whole Black peppercorns
1 tsp salt
5 Green Onions (white part only)
1 6 inch piece of Daikon Radish
2 eggs

Seasonings for the Beef:

2 TBS Light Soy Sauce
1TBS Ground Toasted Sesame Seeds
1 tsp Sesame oil
1 TBS Minced Garlic

Garnish:
chopped green Onions
Sesame seeds

To get rid of some blood from the bones, soak the ribs in a cold water for at least 1hours changing the water a couple times.

Place the ribs in a pot and cover with new cold water and boil vigorously for 5 minutes. There will be scum /foam on the top. Remove the pot from the heat and strain the ribs. Wash the pot and the ribs so there is no more scum.

Place the clean pieces of beef back in the clean pot and fill the pot with 10-12 cups of water. Add salt, Daikon Radish, onion, green onions, peppercorns, and whole cloves of garlic.

Bring to a boil, and then simmer over low heat till the meat it tender ( about 2-3 hours. You want the meat to be falling off the bones when you eat. Must simmer over low heat or the stock will be cloudy. )

After about an hour, take the radish out and slice the radish and keep aside to put back into the soup later.

When the meat is tender, strain the meat and veggies. Discard the veggies. Season the meat with seasonings above.

Let the stock cool in the fridge for several hours or overnight so the fat will come up to the top and you can skim and throw away the fat. This step is necessary to obtain a good Galbi Tang that is not oily. If you are in a hurry, you can also scoop out the oil that comes up to the top as much as you can.

Bring the broth back to a boil along with Daikon and seasoned meat when ready to eat.

If everyone likes eggs in your soup, crack the eggs directly into the boiling broth before serving and break the egg up in the pot. Otherwise, you can make a thin omelet, slice it up and add that to the individual bowls.

Sprinkle with green onions and sesame seeds. Serve very hot with rice. Hope you have yummy kimchi to go with it too!

Chicken Tikka Masala ( Easy Version)

2011-09-08T22:02:00.026-05:00

If you like Indian flavors and want to try making some at home quickly, this would be one recipe you may like. Have you ever seen jars of different Indian curry sauces in ethnic stores? Well, I bought one for Tikka Masala and used it for this easy dish. Hope the step by step pictures will help you to make a similar dish at home. This is probably far from what an Indian mom or grandma would call Tikka Marsala but HEY! it sure was an easy yummy curry!

You will need:

1 Lb Chicken ( I used boneless skinless thighs)
Veggies of your choice (I used 1 yellow squash, 1 red bell peppers)
Some cilantro leaves, chopped
1 TBS oil
salt, to taste
1/2 Cup water or broth

Tikka Masala Sauce Jar (see picture below)

Cut the chicken into bite size piece. Sprinkle some salt.

Have your veggies cut up and ready.

Heat up the oil in a wok.

Add and saute the chicken about 5 minutes.

Add the veggies and cook for a few minutes.

Add about 1/2 jar of the sauce. Mix well.

Add the broth or water and cilantro leaves. Simmer about 20 minutes with low heat, uncovered till meat and veggies are tender and sauce has thickened.

Serve this colorful dish with some rice.

Apple Walnut Gorgonzola Turnovers

2011-09-03T17:09:00.000-05:00

I love gorgonzola cheese and was searching for recipes that use this cheese for a party. I found several recipes that sounded good but I chose to make these mini turnovers from simply recipe because I love the combination of apples, gorgonzola and honey. They turned out well and we enjoyed them. I will make this again and when I do, I will put a little more gorgonzola than the original recipe calls for. The combination of the sweetness of honey and apples, the crunchy walnuts and the cheese was AWESOME!

Recipe:

If using prepared frozen puff pastry sheets, they need to be defrosted in the refrigerator at least 3 hours before using.

Ingredients
* 1 1/2 cups peeled, cored, chopped apples (use a good cooking apple such as Jonagold, Pippin, Granny Smith, Jonathan, Golden Delicious, Gravenstein, Mcintosh)
* 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
* 1/4 cup crumbled gorgonzola cheese
* 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme leaves (or 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme, crumbled)
* 2 Tbsp honey
* 2 7-ounce prepared puff pastry sheets (total 14 ounces)
* 1 egg, beaten

Method

1 Place chopped apples in a bowl, microwave on high heat for 5 minutes until apples are cooked through. Remove from heat and let cool. Drain excess moisture. Once cooled, chop further so that the pieces are between 1/4-inch and 1/2-inch square. (Note you can skip this step if you want; the main purpose is to get the apples to release some of their moisture before cooking into the pastry.)

2 Combine apples, walnuts, gorgonzola, thyme and honey in a small bowl.

3 Preheat oven to 400°F. Working with one puff pastry sheet at a time (leave the second one in the refrigerator until using it) roll out the pastry to a size of 9-inches by 12-inches. Cut into 12 3x3-inch squares (a pizza slicer works great for this). Paint 1/2-inch of border around each square with beaten egg (this will help the pastry seal). Place a heaping teaspoon of the apple walnut mixture in the center of the squares. Fold over the squares into a triangle shape, stretching the dough if necessary to cover the filling. Use the tines of a fork to crimp the edges. Place triangles on a silpat or parchment paper lined baking sheet, with space between the triangles. Chill for 5 minutes in the refrigerator before baking, or chill while you prepare the second puff pastry sheet.

4 Whisk in a half teaspoon of water into the remaining beaten egg. Use a pastry brush to paint on the tops of the pastry triangles for a nice glaze. ( I sprinkled some sea salt on the top too). Place in oven and cook for 15-20 minutes until nicely puffed up and lightly browned. Allow to cool for at least 20 minutes before serving.

Makes 24 turnovers. Serve either warm or at room temperature. Can be made several hours in advance.

Irish Cream Brownies with Toffee Bits

2011-08-12T16:51:00.000-05:00

Brownies are so easy to make and so yummy! Also, there are many little twists and varations you can create which makes them so FUN to make. I found an awesome recipe from allrecipe for these Irish Cream Brownies. I have been making these for almost every potluck or gatherings since. Hope you try these yummy little treats and enjoy them. I think they are very tasty!

Here is the recipe:

Yield 24 brownies

Ingredients
* 1 (20 ounce) package brownie mix
* 1/2 cup Irish cream liqueur
* 1/2 cup vegetable oil
* 2 eggs

* 2 teaspoons milk
* 2 tablespoons Irish cream liqueur
* 1 teaspoon brewed coffee
* 1/2 cup butter, softened
* 2 cups confectioners' sugar
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 1/2 cup toffee baking bits (such as Heath Bits 'O Brickle®) (optional)

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9x13 inch baking pan.
2. Stir together the brownie mix, the 1/2 cup Irish cream liqueur, vegetable oil, and eggs. Spread in the prepared pan.
3. Bake in the preheated oven until the top is dry and the edges have started to pull away from the sides of the pan, about 30 minutes. Remove from oven to cool completely on a wire rack.
4. Place the milk, 2 tablespoons Irish cream liqueur, and coffee in a small, microwave safe bowl. Microwave on High until the mixture boils. Set aside to cool completely.
5. Beat the butter and confectioners' sugar with an electric mixer in a bowl until smooth. Add the vanilla extract and the cooled Irish cream mixture, and beat well. Spread evenly over the cooled brownies. Sprinkle evenly with the toffee bits.

Nutritional Information

Amount Per Serving Calories: 276 | Total Fat: 14.2g | Cholesterol: 32mg

Blueberry Limoncello Cake with a Limoncello Glaze

2011-07-03T16:41:00.000-05:00

Doesn't the name alone sounds good already? I was immediately drawn to this Blueberry Limoncello Cake when I first saw the name popped up during my search for summer deserts that uses limoncello. I was recently introdued to limoncello and successfully made a bottle of it for the first time. I didn't want to drink all of it but wanted to use some of it in baking, so here I go...making this yummy cake which was easy to bake. I will share the recipe for limoncello in another post. There are many limoncello recipes floating on the Internet if you'd like to make it or you may purchase is as well.

Here is the recipe from About.com.

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes
Total Time: 55 minutes

Ingredients:
* 3 cups flour
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 2 cups fresh blueberries
* 1-1/2 cups butter, room temperature
* 2 cups sugar
* 3 eggs, room temperature
* 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon limoncello, divided
* 2 tablespoons lemon zest, divided
* 2 cups powdered sugar

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Grease 9x13 cake pan.

In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt with a wire whisk. Set aside.

Place blueberries in a small bowl. Add 2 tablespoons of dry ingredients. Toss gently and set aside. (This is done so blueberries don't sink to bottom of cake.)

In an another bowl, beat butter and sugar until fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time.

Add 1 tablespoon limoncello.

Add the dry mixture and combine completely.

Fold in 1 tablespoon zest and blueberries.

Carefully add batter to prepared pan.

Bake for 30-35 minutes.

Cool pan on rack for 15 minutes before adding glaze.

Cool completely before serving.

Glaze:

With a wire whisk, stir together powdered sugar, 1/4 cup limoncello and 1 tablespoon lemon zest. Drizzle over cake, then spread for even consistency.

ENJOY!!!

Tiramisu

2011-06-18T17:30:00.017-05:00

Coffee lover? Got a sweet tooth? Then you will LOVE this classic Italian desert! Tiramisu, (in Italian: Tiramisù), literally means "pick me up". It is a layered desert consists of ladyfingers dipped in strong coffee typically Espresso, layered with a whipped mixture of egg yolks and mascarpone, flavored with liquor, and some cocoa sprinkled between layers. I have made this desert several times using different recipes and my favorite is the one I found on Alessi brand ladyfinger cookies package. It is in a green package. I kept this recipe but sometimes use any brand lady fingers which works just fine. I haven't tried making my own lady fingers. I have been told that they are easy to make. One day, I will try that and will also try making a Tiramisu flavored cake or even a cheesecake.

HERE IS THE RECIPE:

Ingredients:

For making Zabaglione Cream:
5 Large egg yolks
1/4 cup Sugar
1/2 cup Marsala wine (sweet)
2 TBS Sugar

1 cup Whipping cream, chilled
2 TBS Sugar

1 lb Mascarpone cheese

2 cups freshly brewed espresso or 2 cups strong coffee
1/2 cup Brandy or Marsala
1 TBS Vanilla
2 packages Alessi Savoiardi cookies, or any other ladyfinger cookies (I used about 24 fingers)
2 TBS cocoa powder
Chocolate shavings to garnish (optional)

Directions:
Making Zabaglione Cream: In the top part of a double boiler or a heat proof bowl ( I used my glass bowl), beat eggs and sugar together until the mixture is pale yellow in color.

In the bottom part of the double boiler or a sauce pan, bring water to a boil then reduce heat to simmer.

Place egg yolk mixture over water and gradually add Marsala, beating continuously.

Scrape bottom and sides occasionally and cook 6 to 10 minutes or until soft mounds can be formed.This is your Zabaglione.

Transfer to bowl (if you didn't use a bowl already), cover and refrigerate 30 minutes.

Whip cream with 2 TBS sugar until soft peaks form.

Fold whipped cream in Mascarpone and Zabaglione until well blended. Cover and refrigerate 1 hour.

In a separate bowl, mix espresso, 2 TBS sugar, Brandy and vanilla. Carefully and quickly dip the lady fingers in the coffee mixture one at a time so they are well saturated but not falling apart. Arrange cookies on the bottom of a 9" by 13" pan (or a spring form pan.)

Note: Some just brush the cookies with coffee mixture using a pastry brush or even sppon the coffee carefully over. Try it one cookie and see what works for you. The goal here is to get the coffee flavor into the cookies without them falling apart.

Spoon 1/2 cheese mixture over cookies and sprinkle with 1 TBS cocoa.

Repeat one more time ending with cocoa. Cover and refrigerate at least 5 hours or overnight so that cookies can soften as they absorb moisture. (Very important part for all the flavors to marry)

Garnish and serve.

Chicken Pesto Florentine

2011-06-18T17:27:00.001-05:00

I came across this wonderful pasta recipe from Simply Recipe when I was searching for recipes that would help me use up the basil that I have in my garden. This recipe calls for fresh pesto and many other ingredients that I love. I followed the recipe and everyone at the dinner table was very happy with this dish. I like creamy pastas but I LOVE this one for the fact that it is not too creamy that it makes you feel guilty after eating, and it also has veggies that I like. I will make this again and again!!

Chicken Florentine Pesto Pasta Recipe

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes
Yield: Serves 6-8.

We've used fresh spinach in this recipe, but you could easily use frozen. Just defrost and drain.

Ingredients

12-16 ounces dried short pasta (bowties, penne, gemelli, etc)
4 chicken breast cutlets (1 1/4 to 1 1/2 pounds total)
Salt
2 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 yellow or white onion, chopped, about 1 cup
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup white wine or stock
8-16 ounces of fresh spinach*, washed, long stems removed and chopped
Black pepper
1/4 cup cream
1/4 cup (or more) pesto, see here for recipe

*To wash spinach, fill up a clean sink basin with cold water and let the spinach soak in the water. Move it around a bit to loosen any dirt. Fresh spinach is usually pretty dirty, so you may need to do a couple of soakings. Remove the spinach and shake off excess water. Lay the spinach leaves down on a clean towel and pat dry.

Directions:

Bring a large pot of salted water (add enough salt so that the water tastes salty) to a boil. Add the dried pasta and cook until al dente.

While preparing the pasta, cook the chicken. Sprinkle the chicken breasts with salt, heat the olive oil in a sauté pan and brown the chicken breasts on both sides over medium-high heat. They don't need to be cooked all the way through, just browned. Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside.

Add the chopped onion to the pan and sauté 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally. While the onions cook, slice the chicken into strips. Put any pieces that are cooked all the way through in one pile, and put the ones that still need a little cooking in another pile.

When the onions are just beginning to brown, add the garlic and cook another minute. Add the white wine or stock and boil vigorously until the liquid is reduced by half.

Add the spinach and the undercooked pieces of chicken to the pan. Using tongs, turn them over to coat them with the juices in the pan. Continue to cook, turning and stirring often, until the spinach is wilted and the chicken cooked through, about 2 minutes.
Turn off the heat and add some black pepper, the pile of cooked chicken pieces and the pesto. Stir to combine. Drain the pasta put it in a large bowl. Add the cream to the saute pan and stir well to combine. Add the contents of the pan to the bowl with the pasta and mix well. Serve at once.

Fresh Basil Pesto...Straight from my garden :)

2011-06-17T17:24:00.001-05:00

Oh what a delicious way to use up all the basil I have in my garden! I am so delightful that I found this fantastic pesto recipe from Simply Recipe. I used some of this pesto in
my chicken pesto florentine and my family quickly ate the rest as an appetizer with some bread while I was making the pasta dish. I did add a little more olive oil than what the recipe called for but I am sure it is fine the way it is too. Pine nuts are expensive and I have heard that using macadamia nuts instead is also delicious. I am not sure how much money you will save though. This little one cup of pesto can get pricy especially if you have to buy everything, but I was able to use my basil from the garden. I made sure the olive oil and the parmesan were also good quality. next time I will try it with Romano cheese to see which one I prefer. This recipe requires a food processor but there are recipes that do not. I will never buy pesto again!!!

Fresh Basil Pesto

Yield: Makes 1 cup.

Ingredients

2 cups fresh basil leaves, packed
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan-Reggiano or Romano cheese
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup pine nuts or walnuts
3 medium sized garlic cloves, minced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Equipment needed: A food processor

Directions:

Combine the basil in with the pine nuts, pulse a few times in a food processor. (If you are using walnuts instead of pine nuts and they are not already chopped, pulse them a few times first, before adding the basil.) Add the garlic, pulse a few times more.

Slowly add the olive oil in a constant stream while the food processor is on. Stop to scrape down the sides of the food processor with a rubber spatula. Add the grated cheese and pulse again until blended. Add a pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.

Serve with pasta, or over baked potatoes, or spread over toasted baguette slices.

Easy Chicken Marsala

2011-05-18T18:19:00.004-05:00

I like chicken, I like mushrooms and I LOVE this easy yummy chicken Marsala! I am not sure what the best thing is to serve this with but usually, I serve it with some angel hair pasta or sometimes mash potatoes. I have not tried making this in a larger quantity but I would like to try soon. There are many recipes floating on the Internet for this dish and I use this recipe from Allrecipes and it was awesome. The recipe did not say whether to use sweet Marsala or the dry but I used the sweet one. Also, I butterflied the chicken breast, put them in between two sheets of clear wrap and pounded them to 1/4 inch thick before cutting them a little bit smaller. It was such a quick and easy delicious recipe with simple ingredients. I am keeping this recipe!!Would you like to try it too?

Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:

1/4 cup all-purpose flour for coating
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - pounded 1/4 inch thick
4 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup sliced mushrooms (I used 8oz pre sliced baby Bella mushrooms)
1/2 cup Marsala wine
1/4 cup cooking sherry

Directions:

In a shallow dish or bowl, mix together the flour, salt, pepper and oregano. Coat chicken pieces in flour mixture.
In a large skillet, melt butter in oil over medium heat. Place chicken in the pan, and lightly brown. Turn over chicken pieces, and add mushrooms. Pour in wine and sherry. Cover skillet; simmer chicken 10 minutes, turning once, until no longer pink and juices run clear.

Nutritional Information

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 448 | Total Fat: 26.6g | Cholesterol: 99mg