Highlight For The Night

Without dessert, a dinner party would not called a complete dinner. I remembered a funny story...one time I hosted a dinner at my close friend Ronnie's house. We invited 2 French friends to join us. I made a mixed green salad with French vinaigrette, a great loaf of bagette, cream of kabocha soup, roasted rack of lamb with sun-dried tomato crust and serve with roast root vegetables. They told me that the excitement was stepping up on each dish, almost to a climax when I pulled out the rack of lamb. They were waiting for my dessert as the finale. But I didn't have enough time to make dessert ahead. Sabri and Camille thought that I was joking. They said, "C'mon, Alice! Don't hide the dessert...bring it out!". So sorry that I disappointed them! It was pretty hilarious that the way they talked about food as if they are having some intimate moment with girls! From that experience, I realize that how important the dessert is for some people. I found a few recipes for dessert which is easy and fast to make. It helps those last minute call situations.

MIXED SUMMER BERRIES COMPOTE

16 oz (1 lb) fresh strawberries, hulled, halved/quartered

6 oz fresh raspberries

6oz black berries/blue berries

zest of 1/2 lemon

2 tsp fresh lemon juice

1/4 cup sugar

1 cinnamon stick

1/4 tsp vanilla extract

1 tbsp Cointreau/Grand Marnier/any orange liquor

2 tsp cornstarch + 2 tbsp water

1. Put all the berries in a large sauce pan. Add in the sugar, lemon juice & zest, cinnamon stick, vanilla extract and liquor and heat in medium-low heat. When it boils, turn the heat down to low and let it simmer for 15 minutes, stir occasionally, until the berries and softened.
2. Mixed 2 tsp cornstarch with 2 tbsp water. Stir the cornstarch water into the sauce, and the sauce will be thickened. Turn off the heat and pour the berries sauce in a pan or glass bowl (keep the cinnamon stick in the sauce) until it completely cool down.
3. Remove the cinnamon stick before you chill the berries compote in the fridge or serve it warm.

Remarks:-

• If berries are not in season, use frozen mixed berries instead.
• You can make it a day ahead before serve. Can keep in the fridge for a week.
• It's great with vanilla ice-cream, angel food cake, pound cake or for making English trifles.
• Put in 2-3 tbsp sugar first and then taste the level of sweetness before you add the remaining 1 tbsp. Add more or less of sugar according to your taste.

East Meets West

When I first tried the Kabocha (Japanese winter squash/pumpkin), I absolutely fell in love with this kind of pumpkin. Kabocha tastes like a mixture of pumpkin and sweet potato with of a hint of chestnut fragrance; and also, has more depth and texture than regular pumpkin or butternut squash. I like to improvise the recipe with the ingredients that I can find in the market. Kabocha is such a versatile ingredient for Asian, western or even fusion cuisine! Here's my version of Cream of Pumpkin Soup!

CREAM OF PUMPKIN SOUP

(serves 4-5)

1 small to medium Kabocha (Japanese pumpkin), removed seeds, hard skin and diced
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 stalk of celery, finely chopped
6 cups vegetable stock or chicken stock
1 tsp Herbs de Provence
100ml double(heavy) cream/ half & half/ milk
1 tbsp chopped Italian parsley
1 tsp olive oil
Salt & freshly ground black pepper

Croutons (optional)

1. Heat 1 tsp olive oil in a 3.5 qt sauce pan with medium heat. Saute chopped onion and celery until soften. Add in kabocha and herbs de Provence, saute for another minute.
2. Pour in the vegetable stock and bring it to boil. Cover and simmer for about 15 minutes until the kabocha and the vegetables are easily to break by the spoon.
3. Remove from heat. Pour the soup in the blender to puree the vegetables in two batches, or use a hand-held blender to puree the vegetables in the pan, until smooth.
4. Return the soup in the pan and bring it to boil. Add cream in the soup, stir well. Season with salt and ground black pepper.
5. Serve in bowls and garnish with Italian parsley and croutons (optional).

Remarks:

• Preparing kabocha:- Half the kabocha with a strong chef knife or cleaver, then, scoop out the seeds and veins with a tablespoon and cut into wedges. Cut the hard skin with knife or peel with a heavy-duty vegetable-peeler. And dice it into desirable pieces.
• Kabocha can be found in Asian markets, gourmet or major chain grocery stores.
• If you can't find the kabocha, you can substitute it with butternut squash.

Healthy Twist

After I moved to L.A., I stop eating red meat. But I miss some of the red meat dishes...what should I do to resemble the meat dishes without breaking "no red meat" rules?! Then, I found the taste of turkey is very similar to lean pork meat. So I started from using ground turkey. One of favorite dishes is Meat Balls. I learnt the basic French recipe of making meat balls from my good friend Estelle and transfer it to a healthy version in Provençal style.

MEDITERRANEAN LINGUINE WITH TURKEY MEAT BALL IN HOME-MADE TOMATO SAUCE

(Serves 4)

1 x 16 oz pack dried linguine

For Meat Balls:

1 x 1.25 lb. ground turkey meat (preferably the kind with dark meat in)

1 large shallot, minced

2 cloves of garlic, minced

2 tbsp fresh Italian (flat-leaf) parsley, finely chopped

1½ tsp Herbs de Provence

¼ cup bread crumbs

1 egg

Salt & freshly ground black pepper

2 tsp olive oil

For Tomato Sauce:

1 medium onion, finely chopped

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 x 28 oz can diced tomato with juice

1 small carrot, finely diced

1 celery stalk, finely diced

2 bay leaves

½ tsp dried sweet basil

½ tsp dried oregano

1 tbsp soft brown sugar

1 tbsp olive oil

Salt & freshly ground black pepper

1 tbsp chopped fresh Italian parsley

1. Mix the ground turkey, shallot, garlic, Italian parsley, Herbs de Provence, bread crumbs, egg, salt and black pepper well in a large bowl.



2. Make about 16-24 meat balls according to your preference and place in a cookie sheet or plate. Cover with cling wrap and chill in the fridge for about 30 minutes.



3. Add 1 tbsp of olive oil in a heated saute pan at medium to medium-high heat. Saute the chopped onion, add in a small pinch of salt until soft but not brown, about 5 minutes. Add in garlic and saute for another minute. Pour in the chopped tomatoes with the juice, tomato paste, dried sweet basil, thyme, bay leaves, and water. Bring it to boil and simmer for about 20 minutes.



4. While cooking the tomato sauce, heat a non-stick skillet with 2 tsp of olive oil. Place the meat balls in the skillet and brown the surface until golden. Set aside on a plate lined with a paper kitchen towel (absorb the excessive oil).



5. When the tomato sauce is ready, add in the soft brown sugar and season with salt & black pepper. Add in the meat balls and let it to simmer for another 10 minutes until the meat balls is cooked through.



6. At the meantime, cook the pasta in salted boiling water according to the instruction on the package. Drained and serve on the plate.



7. Serves the meat balls with sauce on top of the pasta. Sprinkle the chopped Italian parsley on top.

Remarks:

• If you are a red meat lover, you can use ground beef & pork, or ground beef & veal, or ground beef & lamb.
• I would prefer to use unsalted can tomatoes because it's more easy to control the salt, especially for health conscious people.
• If you can't find shallot, you can substitute with finely chopped red onion.
• If you don't have Herbs de Provence, use Italian mix herbs.

Tea Break

Afternoon tea is one of the food cultures originated from U.K. Traditionally, a pot of tea is served with milk and sugar, along with some biscuits (cookies), scones, toasts or finger sandwiches. I'm getting into baking, especially making breads lately. After browsing and searching for different bread recipes online, I found that quick bread is easy for beginners and fast to make because no yeast is used or dough kneading is required. They are very good with tea or coffee as breakfast or afternoon tea! I found this easy recipe on All Recipes: http://allrecipes.com/ and I modified the recipe for a healthier version. It doesn't need a lot of technique and the ingredients are easy to find in the grocery store/supermarket.

BUTTERMILK & OATMEAL BREAD

1 cup rolled oats

1 cup buttermilk (low fat)

1/4 cup Canola oil

1 egg, beaten

1/2 cup packed soft brown sugar

1/2 cup all-purposed flour

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1. Preheat oven at 350˚ F (175˚ C).


2. Mix the rolled oats with buttermilk and let it stand for 15 minutes.Stir the Canola oil, eggs and brown sugar into the oat mixture. Mix the all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together. Then add into the oat mixture.


3. Greased a 8.5" x 4.5" loaf pan and pour the batter into the pan.


4. Baked in the preheated oven for 60 minutes until done.

Great Summer Party

Here's summer again...that means party time is on! Pineapple and mango are in season right now. They are very versatile and good to mix with different ingredients. Mango, chili pepper and mint are great combination and create a exotic taste. That gives me another inspiration of a new recipe. This recipe doesn't require lots of preparations and it's very fast to prepare. So it's a perfect summer party food!

SUMMER TROPICAL FRUITS SALSA

1 medium fresh pineapple, skin & core removed, diced into small cubes/pieces

2-3 medium fresh ripe mangoes, remove skin and stone, diced into small cubes/pieces

1 Jalapeno or Serrano pepper, seeded and finely chopped

Zest & juice of 1 lime

1/4 cup finely chopped small red onion (optional)

1 tsp fresh mint, finely chopped

1 tsp fresh cilantro/coriander leaves, finely chopped

Salt & freshly ground black pepper

1 pinch of granulated sugar

1. Place pineapple, mangoes in a large mixing bowl. Add in zest & juice of lime, onion, Jalapeno/Serrano pepper, mint and cilantro. Toss well and season with salt, black pepper and sugar.


2. Serve immediately or chilled with Tortilla chips.

Remarks:-

• Cut the crown and the bottom of the pineapple with a sharp knife. Then cut the hard shell from top to bottle. Quarter the pineapple and trim the core. Then slice the pineapple to bite size. (as shown above)
• Remove a thick slice from both sizes of the mango, cutting as close to the stone as possible. Peel the skin & flesh around the stone with a sharp knife, and cube the flesh. Score each thick slice into squares, cutting down to the skin but not through it. Push the skin out into a convex curve so that the cubes can be removed easily by the spoon.

Quick Fix Meal

On a week day night, most of the people will go for fast food or frozen dinners after work. You don't have energy for making a fancy dinner and try to have something fast and simple, and then relax. As a matter of fact, there's a simple way to make a dinner without hassle. Only a few ingredients needed and you will have a delicious dinner in 20 minutes.

TUNA/SALMON & MUSHROOM PASTA

8 oz penne/farfalle/fusilli or any shaped pasta

1 tsp margarine or butter

2- 6oz can tuna in water or 1- 14oz can salmon in water (remove skin & bone if any)

8 oz white button mushrooms, cleaned and sliced

1 small onion, finely chopped

2 cloves of garlic, minced

3/4 cup green peas (frozen), thawed

1 tbsp olive oil

1/2 cup/ 125ml double(heavy) cream or half & half

1 pinch ground nutmeg

2 tbsp fresh Italian parsley, chopped

salt & ground black pepper to taste

grated Parmesan cheese to serve (optional)

1. 
   
   Put pasta in salted boiling water and cook until al dente or according to the instruction of the package. Drained and toss with the butter or margarine.


2. 
   
   While cooking pasta, heat the saute pan at medium heat. Saute the onion and garlic with 1 tbsp of olive oil. Season with a pinch of salt and saute until softened but not brown. Add in the mushroom and cook for 2 minutes. Then add in the tuna or salmon and break into smaller pieces with the spatula and cook for another 3 minutes.


3. 
   
   Pour the cream in and add the green peas and simmer for about 5 minutes. Add in the ground nutmeg and season with salt and black pepper. Toss in the parsley and the drained pasta. Mixed well and let the sauce coats the pasta.


4. 
   
   Served in a warm bowl and sprinkle some Parmesan on top (if desired).

• 
  
  If you don't like fish, substitute fish with diced cooked ham, roasted chicken or turkey.


• 
  
  For a more healthy version, skip the butter or margarine and use canola or olive oil spray.

Comfort Food

Some friends asked me why Chinese people look younger than their age. The secret is the Chinese soup. Without serving with the soup at dinner, it doesn't feel like having a complete Cantonese (Southern Chinese) meal. We used to drink one or two big bowls of soup at dinner. From the view point of Chinese medicine, Chinese soup can rehydrate and nourish your body. Believe it or not?! I really treat soup as my comfort food. Since I moved to L.A., I didn't make a lot of Chinese soups because it's not easy to get the ingredients. And the other reason is I quit eating red meat (pork, beef, lamb and duck). Therefore, I make western style of soups very often. Here's the recipe of a hearty soup that can easily turn to a vegetarian version.

LENTIL SOUP

1 1/2 cups lentils (green), rinsed

1 tbsp olive oil

2 medium carrots, peeled and diced

1 medium onion (yellow or white), diced

2 cloves of garlic, minced

4 cups vegetable stock + 4 cups water

2 ripe tomatoes, peeled and diced (or 1- 14 oz can diced tomatoes, drained)

1 tsp dried thyme

2 bay leaves

1 tsp balsamic vinegar

3 slices turkey bacon/pork bacon, diced (optional)

salt & ground black pepper

1. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a soup pot over medium heat. Saute the onion, celery, carrots, garlic and bacon (optional) for about 5 minutes, until the vegetables are soften and fragrance.
2. Stir in lentils, tomatoes, vegetable stock/water, bay leaves and dried thyme.
3. Bring it to boil, reduce heat and simmer for 35-45 minutes until lentils are tender.
4. Stir in the balsamic vinegar, salt & ground black pepper.
5. Discard the bay leaves and serve in warm bowl.

*REMARKS:

• To skin the tomatoes: Make a cross slit at the bottom of the tomatoes, then blanching in the boiling water for a minute. Remove and place the tomatoes in cold water. The skin will peel off easily.


• You can omit the bacon if you want to have the vegetarian version.