Happy Thanksgiving!

Found on google images

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!  This is the second Thanksgiving Hubs and I have celebrated together as a married couple, but unlike last year, we’re doing a combined Thanksgiving dinner this year.  Last year, we drove to my parent’s house for Thanksgiving, spent a couple days there, and then drove back to the Bay Area to go out for a belated Thanksgiving dinner with his family.  This year, since I didn’t have much time off of work, we’re staying local.  My mom and my brother are arriving into town this morning and later tonight, his family is coming over.  Should be interesting.  The only other time that our families got together was our wedding.  But they’re all okay with it, so…okay.

As for the Thanksgiving spirit, at this particular second in time, I’m not feeling particular thankful for the neighbors next door.  Construction has been running overtime these past few days, beginning at 8am and ending around 10:30pm.  Last night, I could hear the workers giving high fives and congratulating each other in Mandarin for finishing the job.  I was happy too because I thought they were done.  Not so.  A little before 7am this Thanksgiving morning, another white work van pulled up outside our bedroom window and work began again.  This time I actually went next door to talk to the owner about it.  All the other stuff I can tolerate, but I draw the line at hammering and loud construction noises at 7am on a national holiday.

What I am thankful for, however, is our lovely family of two (Hubby and me), that our parents still have their health, that we have food and shelter and clothing, and that we both still have jobs in these scary economic times.  Very basic stuff, but you know, its the basics that matter. Happy Thanksgiving. 

Construction next door sucks.

You wouldn’t think it would be the case, but the construction work going on next door is actually influencing Little Bear’s Kitchen.  Someone bought the condo right next to ours and for the last two weeks, workers have been coming on a daily basis to renovate the place.  Aside from the usual renovation annoyances like the hammering and banging on our shared walls, the workers have also set up camp in front of our condo, since it is incredibly convenient for them.

Outside our bedroom window, they’ve placed their work table, where they cut lumber, granite and steel pipes.  The noise for the latter is like fingernails on the chalkboard, ack!  Outside our office window is their van, all their equipment and supplies, and their hang out place when they are not working.

How does this affect Little Bear’s Kitchen?  I use the office for my food photography.  I love the natural lighting the office receives…the best in the whole apartment.  I set up the food on a table next to the windows and always open the drapes wide open when taking pictures.  Obviously I can’t do that with a bunch of strangers loitering around just a couple feet away, on the other side of those windows.  And they are always here, from early morning to dinner time.

Hopefully they finish up soon and leave.  I’m all for employment and people working, but its starting to get ridiculous just how much the renovations next door have affected our day to day life.  Water to our unit has been shut off by the workers (without any notice), our windows and drapes have to be closed at all times, and most annoyingly (besides the noise), those guys are parking in my parking space.  Thanksgiving is coming up soon.  I’m quite excited about the menu I’ve come up with and want to take some pictures of the food.  My mother-in-law is bringing the turkey, but I’ll prepare the sides and dessert.  My brother is also coming in from out of town, so it will be a joint family dinner.

Pumpkin Pancakes…

…were what we had for breakfast this morning.  A nice change from the usual instant oatmeal, cold cereal and frozen waffles that usually grace our breakfast plates.  I picked up some pumpkin pancake and waffle mix from Trader Joe’s a few weeks ago, but didn’t get around to making some until today.  The verdict?  Yummy.  Fluffy, light pancakes with just a hint of pumpkin and spice.  Much much better than the Bisquick mixes I remember.  Sometimes I’ll get stuff from TJ’s just to try out and regret it, but I’m definitely liking this pumpkin pancake mix.  I’m even looking forward to making some again in a couple of days.

Shaking Beef

Lazy Saturday today…I love these days of being able to sleep in late and leisurely spend the rest of the day with Hubs.  We must be becoming a boring old married couple because the highlight of our day was having lunch together at Quickly.  That and visiting the newly renovated, newly opened Target in downtown Sunnyvale, which was packed full of people.  Its really nice inside and even has a sizable grocery section, complete with fresh fruits, milk, cheese, etc.  We had intended to just go browse, but we ended up buying a few bags of candy, haha.  I also bought some shredded coconut.  I found a recipe for Jamaican Banana Bread that has a rum and coconut topping, which sounds yummy.  Anything with rum has to be good right?  I’m hoping to try that recipe later this week.

A couple years ago, when I was still living in San Francisco, I heard a lot about The Slanted Door, a hip Vietnamese fusion restaurant located downtown.  The reviews on Yelp praised The Slanted Door for its innovative, delicious dishes, and it seemed like a “must-try” restaurant.

Then last year, through the wonders of Google, I found Charles Phan’s recipe for Shaking Beef.  Shaking beef is quite possibly the most popular dish at The Slanted Door, or at least its very high up on the list.  Charles Phan is the restaurant’s chef and has published his shaking beef recipe several times.  I believe I got this recipe from the SF Chronicle.

The recipe below is very straight-forward and the shaking beef is delicious.  I made this for the in-laws once and my mother-in-law loved it.  Cooking the beef to medium-rare (or medium-well if you so desire) results in tender, juicy, flavorful meat.  I cut back on the amount of soy sauce used in the original recipe, but otherwise, kept everything else the same.

I’ve also made this dish with and without the dipping sauce, which I feel is entirely optional.  The meat is so flavorful on its own that I feel the dipping sauce is not needed.

The picture above doesn’t do the food justice (photographing brown meat and making the picture drool-worthy isn’t easy!) but trust me, this Shaking Beef is really good.

Shaking Beef, by Charles Phan of The Slanted Door

Marinade:
2 T. chopped garlic
1 t. sugar
1-1/2 t. salt
3/4 t. coarsely ground black pepper
2 T. vegetable oil
1-1/2 lbs. filet mignon, cut into 1″ cubes

The Vinaigrette:
1/4 c. rice vinegar
1 T. sugar
1/4 c. rice wine
3 T. light soy sauce
1 T. dark soy sauce
1 T. fish sauce

Stir-fry:
4 T. vegetable oil
3 stalks green onion, cut into 1″ pieces
1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced
2 t. butter

Dipping Sauce:
Juice of 1 lime
1/2 t. kosher salt
1/4 t. coarsely ground black pepper

Prepare the marinade by combining garlic, sugar, salt, pepper and oil in a large glass bowl.  Add the filet mignon cubes to the marinade, tossing well.  Cover and let sit in the refrigerator for two hours.

Make the vinaigrette by combining the rice vinegar, sugar, rice wine, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce and fish sauce.  Whisk together well and set aside.

Heat a wok over high heat.  Divide the beef, green onions and red onions in half, so that you can cook these in two batches.

Add 2 tablespoons of oil to the wok.  When the oil starts to smoke, add the first portion of beef in an even layer.  Let it sit undisturbed until the beef forms a brown crust on the bottom, about 2 minutes.  Using a spatula, flip the beef over to brown the other side, about 1 minute.

Add half of the green onions and red onions to the wok and cook for 1 more minute.  Pour half of the vinaigrette down the side of the wok, then shake the pan to release the beef and toss with the vinaigrette.  Add 1 teaspoon of butter and continue to shake the pan until the butter melts.  Remove the beef and onions from the wok.  Keep warm.

Repeat the last few steps with the second portion of beef, green onions and red onions.  Transfer to a serving platter.

Prepare dipping sauce by putting salt and pepper in a small bowl and squeeze lime juice over it.  Serve alongside the beef.

Serves 4.

Korean pancakes

One of the benefits to living in the South Bay is being in close proximity to the large number of Korean grocery stores, restaurants and shops in Santa Clara.  Korean cuisine is my favorite…I love the spiciness, the kimchi, and the abundance of vegetables in each dish, making it seem so fresh and healthy.  And need I mention all the side dishes that come with each meal at the restaurant?  Score!  Hands down, my favorite Korean restaurant in the South Bay is Choi’s Kitchen.  They give the best variety of side dishes (in my opinion), a lot of side dishes, have a varied menu with lots of choices, the food’s great and the prices fair.  In fact, my surprise birthday dinner was at Choi’s Kitchen this year.  Hubs knows me very well!

But I digress.  I’m supposed to be talking about Korean pancakes.  I brought up Choi’s Kitchen because it was there that I first tasted the hot-off-the-pan deliciousness of Korean pancakes.  The contrasting textures of the pancake had me at hello…the crisp exterior, crunchy vegetables and seafood scattered throughout, combined with the fluffy, steaming interior…yum!  Paired with the right dipping sauce, it’s a perfect accompaniment to a Korean meal or any meal, actually.

While you can make the batter from scratch (and maybe one of these days I will), I had a bag of Korean pancake mix handy in the pantry.  They sell these mixes at all the Korean grocery stores for just a few dollars and it makes this dish so much quicker to make.  Following the directions on the bag, I made two cups of batter, working out all of the lumps.  I then thinly sliced a red bell pepper and a green bell pepper, diced up a small zucchini, chopped up some chives from the garden, and added it all into the batter mix.  I made two huge frying-pan-sized pancakes, cooking on both sides for several minutes each.  Easy.

For the dipping sauce, I combined soy sauce, chili oil, crushed red pepper flakes, and toasted sesame seeds.  After whisking everything together, I had a delicious dipping sauce that complemented the Korean pancakes quite nicely.

Recipe trial and failure.

I subscribe to a site called Tastespotting.  Its an amalgam of reader-submitted recipes, food-related stories and events.  I often browse the site for inspiration, become hungry in the process, and sometimes try the reader-submitted entries.  Based on the amazing pictures on Tastespotting, I had high hopes for two recipes in particular, but sadly, they never really took off.

The butternut squash soup was a dish I labored over for more than an hour, dreaming of silky butternut squash soup paired with hot, fluffy bread.  When I lived in San Francisco, I made butternut squash soup a few times.  Paired with fresh sourdough bread from the Boudin bakery (just a few blocks away!), this simple meal was quite possibly one of the best ever.  I’ve since lost that recipe for butternut squash soup, but stumbled upon one for roasted butternut squash soup with wild rice and apples.

Sadly, it wasn’t as great as I hoped it would be.  I’m hesitant to post the links to the recipe and the website because the end product just wasn’t very good.  I followed the basic recipe instructions, but left out the wild rice and apple chunks at the end, since I wanted a smooth-textured soup.  Instead, I added the apple directly into the broth and pureed it along with everything else.  With everything that went into this soup (veggie broth, celery, carrots, apple, onions, thyme, butter, butternut squash, almonds, etc), I had expected lots of flavor.  Unfortunately, the end product was very bland.  There wasn’t as much of a butternut squash flavor as one would expect, or any flavor at all.  Trash day was today and sadly, this batch of soup went out with it.

Another recipe that looked promising was the one for “authentic” Kung Pao tofu.  I brought the leftovers to work the next day and my coworker was like, what the heck is kung pao tofu??  I said, you know, its like kung pao beef, kung pao chicken, but with tofu instead.  Ohhhh…weird, was the response I got.

I have to say that this dish tasted very ABC and like an Americanized attempt at a Chinese dish.  Hubs had a lot to say about this.  It didn’t taste like kung pao to me either, but for what it’s worth, it wasn’t too bad.  I kind of liked it.  It had a sweet, slightly spicy, salty flavor.  It looked great and smelled great.  Paired with rice, the mix of veggies and tofu made for a substantial meal.  I won’t be making this dish again in the near future, but I won’t write it off completely.  I will say though that the sauce is incredibly thick…I had to thin it out with an extra 1/2 cup of hot water to avoid a big gloppy mess.  Too much cornstarch in the sauce recipe in relation to the amount of liquids used, I think.

More miso soup, please

Now that we’ve moved onto November and colder weather, I’ve been making a lot more soups and stews.  Curries and hot pot will soon be added to the mix.  This week, Hubs asked me to make some miso soup.  He rarely makes requests, so I was only too happy to oblige.

We happened to be at Nijiya this past weekend and I bought some delicious San Jose tofu, which I used in this soup.  I’ve only ventured out to the actual San Jose Tofu Company once (it’s located in San Jose’s Japantown), but Nijiya sells batches of this tofu.  I love this brand of tofu for its fresh, slightly sweet flavor.  Its the only tofu I’ll eat straight out of the container, accompanied with just shoyu (of course, after a rinse to get the tofu liquid off).  San Jose tofu seems to be more delicate and prone to slight crumbling, as opposed to store-brand tofu, which is why the soup looks a little cloudier.

Miso soup is quick and easy to make.  It’s simple, requiring only a few ingredients, all of which can be found at your local Ranch 99, Nijiya, or other Asian grocery store.  I usually make it to taste, measuring out only the dashi powder, miso, and water, as reflected by the recipe below.  You can add however much wakame (seaweed), tofu, and green onions you like.

Miso Soup

1 t. dashi powder
4 1/2 c. water
2 heaping T. white miso paste
Wakame, torn into strips
Firm tofu, cut into small cubes
Green onions, diced

In a medium-sized pot, combine the dashi powder and the water, stirring to dissolve the dashi powder.  Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to medium, allowing to simmer.  Add the miso paste, stirring to dissolve completely.  Add the wakame and tofu cubes.  Simmer for an additional 1-2 minutes.  Ladle into individual serving bowls and garnish with green onions.

Serves 6.

Chicken Saltimbocca

I actually cooked this dish over a week ago, but didn’t get the chance to blog about it until today.  Hubs and I have been busy trying to clean up our little rental and make it more livable.  Maybe then I won’t want to buy a house so much.  We got a new mirror and entry table for our living room, got rid of some other stuff, and all in all, it looks pretty nice and open now.

Now on to the food.  Giada’s recipes never fail me and this one definitely did not disappoint.  I was looking for a new way to cook chicken and as it turns out, I had all the ingredients on hand to make chicken saltimbocca.  That rarely happens for any dish.

While a bit labor intensive, this dish is fun to make.  And once you get the hang of it, you can run it like an assembly line and speed up the process a bit.

And yes, I used toothpicks from Maggiano’s to secure the chicken, since I couldn’t find regular ones.  I won’t do that again.  The plastic, of course, didn’t hold up very well and I ended up throwing them away after the meal.  Next time, wood toothpicks for sure.

The finished product not only looked beautiful on the plate, but tasted amazing as well.  The swirls of dark green spinach, followed with the thin pink line of prosciutto, the melted cheese, and then surrounded with flavorful white chicken…gorgeous!  By searing the chicken on both sides, you also achieve a contrast in textures from the outer crisp chicken skin to the soft spinach leaves on the inside.

This dish is definitely a winner.  Days after the last of the chicken saltimbocca was gone, my husband was still talking about it.  Guess that means I gotta make it again. 

Chicken Saltimbocca, from Everyday Italian, by Giada de Laurentiis

1 (10-ounce) box frozen chopped spinach, thawed
3 T. olive oil
1 1/4 t. salt, plus more to taste
1 t. freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste
6 chicken cutlets (3 ounces each), pounded to flatten evenly
6 paper-thin slices of prosciutto
1/4 c. freshly shredded Parmesan cheese
1 (14-ounce) can reduced-sodium chicken broth
3 T. fresh lemon juice (from 1 lemon)

Squeeze the frozen spinach to remove all excess water.  In a small bowl, toss the spinach with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and season with 1/4 teaspoon each of salt and pepper.

Place the chicken cutlets flat on a work surface.  Sprinkle both sides of the chicken cutlet with salt and pepper.  Lay 1 slice of prosciutto on each chicken cutlet.  Spread an even layer of spinach on top of the prosciutto, then sprinkle evenly with Parmesan cheese.  Beginning at the short taped end of the chicken, roll up each cutlet (as with a jelly roll).  Secure with a toothpick.

In a large, heavy skillet, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil over high heat.  When the oil is hot, add the chicken rolls and sear for 2 minutes on each side, until they are golden brown.  Add the broth and lemon juice, bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat to medium, cover, and simmer until the chicken is cooked through, approximately 4 minutes (for me, it was more like 10 minutes).

Using tongs, transfer the chicken to a plate and set aside.  Increase the heat to high and cook the sauce for approximately 5 minutes, until it is reduced to about 2/3 cup.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Drizzle the sauce over the chicken and serve.

Serves 6.

Oriental Flank Steak with Asparagus and Wild Rice

We rarely eat steak, but this past week, we were both craving some red meat.  Coincidentally, Safeway was having a sale on flank steak, so we were able to buy a pack and cook it up that very same week.

I did have to make some changes and adapt the original recipe to suit our palate.  Mainly because Hubs likes his steak well-well-done.  He freaks at the sight of pink meat and will not eat it.  He can’t explain it except to say he grew up eating mostly tofu and if there was red meat, it was always well done.

So after searing the steak on both sides, I added the remainder of the soy sauce mixture to the pan, along with 1/3 cup of water.  I covered the pan, reduced the heat to low, and let steak and soy sauce mixture simmer for an additional 20 minutes.

The result?  Nice, juicy, well-done steak.  Paired with roasted asparagus with balsamic brown butter and wild rice, this oriental flank steak hit the spot.  It was deliciously flavorful, tender and juicy, and even made for great leftovers the next day.  Yum!

Oriental Flank Steak, adapted from The Best of Cooking Light

1/3 c. low-sodium soy sauce
1/8 c. white wine vinegar
1/8 c. water
1 T. sugar
1/2 t. black pepper
1/8 t. ground red pepper
1 garlic clove, minced
1 (1-pound) flank steak
1 T. vegetable oil

Combine the first 7 ingredients together in a bowl, mix well.  Reserve 1/3 cup of the soy sauce mixture and set aside.

Place the flank steak in a gallon-sized zip-top plastic bag, along with the remaining soy sauce mixture.  Let out any air trapped inside the plastic bag and seal.  Marinate in the refrigerator for 2 hours, turning the bag occasionally.

Heat vegetable oil in large skillet over medium-high heat.  Once the oil is hot, place the flank steak into the skillet and sear on each side for 3-4 minutes, or until desired level of doneness.  With the remaining soy sauce mixture, freely baste steak as needed.  Once done, transfer steak to a plate and cover loosely with aluminum foil to allow juices to be reabsorbed into the steak before slicing.

Serves 4.

Cocoa Fudge Cranberry Cookies, oh my.

After years of hibernation, my love for baking has reawakened and is back.  Blame it on those toffee cookies for reminding me just how fun and easy baking can be…not to mention how rewarding.

The original recipe is called “Cocoa Fudge Cookies,” but I’ve adapted it slightly to include dried cranberries.  I was just experimenting and luckily, my hunch was right.  The cranberries add a nice layer of tartness and contrast to the richness of the chocolate.  The cookie’s edges are nice and crisp, while the center is perfectly chewy and fudgy…yum!

Cocoa Fudge Cranberry Cookies, adapted from The Best of Cooking Light

1 c. all-purpose flour
1/4 t. baking soda
1/8 t. kosher salt
5 T. butter
7 T. unsweetened cocoa powder
2/3 c. granulated sugar
1/3 c. packed brown sugar
1/2 c. plain low-fat vanilla yogurt
1 t. vanilla extract
1/2 c. dried cranberries
Cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup and level with a knife.  Combine flour, salt, and baking soda in a bowl; gently mix together.

Melt butter in a large bowl–I microwaved it for 1 minute on high, then removed it from the microwave to let cool slightly.  Stir in cocoa and sugars.  The mixture will resemble coarse, wet sand.

Add yogurt and vanilla, stirring to combine.  Add flour mixture, stirring until moist.  Lastly, add the dried cranberries, mixing well so that cranberries are evenly dispersed.

Drop by level tablespoons 2 inches apart onto baking sheets coated with cooking spray.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 8 to 10 minutes or until cookies are almost set.  Cool cookies on pans for 2 to 3 minutes or until firm.  Remove cookies from pans, cool on wire racks.

Makes 2 dozen cookies.