Nook & Pantry - A Food and Recipe Blog

Guest Post! Shanghai Drunken Chicken

2009-10-10T14:25:00.000-07:00

Shanghai Drunken Chicken at Rasa Malaysia Yes, I'm still here. No, I haven't forgotten about this blog. I know the crickets have been chirping here more than I've been posting. If only I have more free time because right now it's virtually non-existent. I can't remember the last time I've been sick but a bug was bound to get me sooner or later. I woke up this morning with the whole nine yards--fever, sore throat, cough, and aches all over. I tried to catch up on my reading but that wasn't happening. I should have known reading about urine and kidneys gets nowhere when you're sleep-deprived and feverish. So, instead of studying, I resigned myself to spending the day in my pajamas with chicken noodle soup, catching up on food blogs and many issues of Bon Appetit (au revoir Gourmet, you will be missed!). This is long overdue but check out my guest post on Rasa Malaysia! I was torn between drunken chicken or crab cakes; drunken chicken won but I did make some crab cakes after Bee got...

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Heirloom Tomatoes and Bacon

2009-09-12T00:12:00.000-07:00

The sandwich of summer, the BLT. I think my laptop caught me drooling over the shiny new Macbooks because it decided to die last week, two days before classes started. Awesome. After running every recovery, repair, and restore program, the consensus was that the hard drive irreparably failed. I've noticed that Dell computers start having problems after a year, suspiciously only a few days after the one year warranty expires. Luckily, I purchased a four year warranty with this computer but that means three more years before I can finally make the switch over to Macs. Absolutely everything was on that hard drive-a year of schoolwork, previous work files, blog stuff-everything! And stupid, stupid, stupid me didn't back anything up! Before I launched into a full-blown panic attack once I realized I had lost all of my beloved wedding photos and invaluable lecture notes, Steven was able to salvage everything. Whew! Crisis averted! But boy did I learned my lesson. Always back up on an...

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Macarons, macarons, macarons!

2009-08-25T21:09:00.000-07:00

I have the best friend who brought me the best souvenirs! After a month-long honeymoon hopping across Eurasia from Russia to France, E.’s final destination was Paris. The morning before her flight back to Seattle, she rushed over to Pierre Hermé to buy one of every macaron available that day. After a trans-Atlantic flight with a brief layover in Iceland, a collision in the X-ray machine (the macarons, not the people), 90 degree weather in Seattle, E. and husband E., and a dozen of the prettiest macarons made it back home, well-traveled, tired, and a little sweaty. That night, we hung out, drank French wine, ate French almond cakes and French rum cakes. Before Steven and I overstayed our welcome, we left the weary travelers and drove home with twelve macarons nestled in my lap and an obligatory mini Eiffel Tower. I am one lucky gal! Just look at those beautiful colors! I saved the Pierre Hermé plastic bag, Pierre Hermé decorative paper bag, the two macaron guides, and yes, even...

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Crab Cakes

2009-08-18T23:25:00.000-07:00

Mmm mm! 4 oz. crab cake with Israeli couscous (our current obsession) cooked in crab stock. I’m back! I spent the last month working at a clinic in the coastal fishing town of Westport, WA. I had some of the best seafood ever while I was down there – crab, salmon, tuna, spot prawns all fresh off the fishing boats. Before heading back to Seattle, K., the gal I was staying with, hooked me up with 6 Dungeness crabs to take home. Whoohoo! I also had the clams we dug up the day before, salmon a neighbor brought over from his fishing, and blueberries I picked from the shrubs outside the house. It was some seriously sweet loot to take home. My dad is in town and Dungeness crab is his favorite. We feasted on steamed crab with fresh ginger spiked black Zhejiang vinegar for dipping. I cleaned and picked out the meat from the leftover crabs for crab cakes. Dungeness crab is one of the meatiest crabs but even so, it took two very large crabs to yield one pound of crab meat. Jumbo lump...

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Extra Virgin Olive Oil

2009-07-25T16:56:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago I was asked by Gaea if I'd be interested in reviewing some of their products. I am by no means an olive oil expert but I thought, heck why not, tasting products is always fun. Gaea specializes in extra virgin olive oil but they also make Greek food products like cooking sauces and tapenades. They sent me a free 17oz. bottle of their extra virgin olive oil and a bottle of their Myconos (tuna and kalamata olives) sauce. By now, I’m sure everyone has heard that olive oil is good for you so I won't bore you with those details. An "extra virgin" olive oil is the highest quality and means that it has not been chemically treated or heated in the process of extracting the oil from olives. This is the kind you want to look for because it has the highest vitamins and antioxidant content and the most health benefits. "Cold pressed", olive oil obtained without the use of heat, is ideal but the term is unregulated and is used mainly as a marketing tool. "First press" is an...

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German Pancake/Dutch Baby with Apricot and Raspberry

2009-07-21T11:23:00.000-07:00

Steven and I bought a half flat of the biggest raspberries we'd ever seen from our local berry stand. We're lucky enough to live blocks away from the only Seattle location of the Spooner Farms berry stand. One more reason why I love our neighborhood. Raspberry season is coming to a close in Washington state and they will eventually be replaced by blueberries and blackberries. If you live in the North Seattle area or close to any of the other locations, I recommend you check out Spooner Farms and stock up on these amazing raspberries while you still can. Between the car ride home and breakfast, we polished off one half pint. Any suggestions for what I should do with the remaining 5 half pints? Steven and I aren’t big breakfast people but when I do make breakfast, I go all out. Bacon and eggs usually make an appearance, sometimes I do waffles, sometimes pancakes, and sometimes I get crazy and put everything together. The German pancake, also called Dutch Baby, is like a crepe...

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Duck Noodle Soup

2009-07-05T13:48:00.000-07:00

I walked into the Asian market only needing some tofu but walked out with over $80 of groceries and a whole roast duck. $1.28/lb white peaches, heck yeah! 99c/lb bok choy, yeah I need that too. Whoa, fish sauce is on sale?! Well, I still have some at home but it doesn’t hurt to have a backup right? As for the tofu I needed? Well, I got 2 shapes of deep fried tofu, a pack of pressed, firm, and silken. I had to restrain myself from those damn cute tofu knots. The roast duck, which was also on sale so how could I not get it, was the highlight of the trip. I brushed the sweet plum sauce on the skin and reheated it in the toaster oven to restore the skin to its original crispness. I asked to keep the head and neck so I could turn it into duck stock. Then, putting that 99c bok choy to good use, I added it to the stock for a simple but perfect lunch - somen, roast duck, bok choy, in a simple duck soup. It's comfort food, Chinese style. Simple Roast Duck Stock 1 roast duck head...

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Korean Pancake - Pa Jeon/Pa Jun

2009-06-30T21:59:00.000-07:00

updated from archives A few years ago when I was visiting Steven's parents, his mom made some Korean pancakes for us. They were so good, I just had to ask her for the recipe. Then I was shocked to see her pull out a packaged mix from the pantry. I always thought that homemade always trumps convenience but that may not be the case with pajeon. After looking at the ingredients in the package, which was mainly flour, I thought I could go home and recreate it. But Steven's mom warned me that she's tried doing that too and the pancakes didn't taste the same. Well, she was right, and with my first attempt, my pancakes were dense and gummy. After my original post over a year ago, I asked readers to share their pe jeon secrets and you guys offered some pretty good suggestions. I decreased the number of eggs from 2 to 1 and substituted some rice flour for all purpose flour. The resulting pancakes were excellent and the closest I've come to replicating the ones made from a package. ...

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Braised Lamb Shanks and Saffron Pearl Couscous with Cranberries and Almonds

2009-06-23T15:33:00.000-07:00

I always feel like I’m committing a culinary faux pas braising in the middle of June. I try my best to keep things seasonal but it just doesn’t happen when lamb shanks are on sale. How can I say no when there's marrow involved? Lamb shanks have to be braised (I honestly can't think of any other way to cook a shank cut) but I refuse to turn on the oven for 4 hours so I put the Le Creuset to good use on the stovetop. I tied the lamb shanks so they would keep their shape while cooking but it was futile. After about an hour of cooking, the shanks contorted out of the strings entirely. Same thing happened when I made Osso Buco. meh, oh well. Red Wine Braised Lamb Shank 2 lbs lamb shanks, roughly 2 1/2 to 3 inches thick 1 medium onion, small dice 1 medium carrot, small dice 4 cloves garlic, minced 2 Tbsp tomato paste 3 - 4 large thyme sprigs 2 bay leaves 1 1/2 C dry red wine Salt and freshly ground black pepper Olive, vegetable, or canola oil Water or chicken stock as needed Chopped...

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Basil Fried Rice

2009-06-22T16:25:00.000-07:00

Basil fried rice and pan fried salted mackerel I made a lot of fried rice during the school year. That and ramen (I'm very particular about my ramen)were my staples. The only constants for fried rice is leftover rice, which we always have plenty of, and egg. I would argue you need some sort of herb, which most of the time means green onion, in this case basil, but again that's debatable. If I'm feeling particularly fancy, I'll throw in some seafood (Trader Joe's seafood mix is great for this) or veggies, in an attempt to be healthy. But simple is good too, and fried rice doesn't get simpler than this. The fancy stuff: Seafood and Veggies Fried Rice with XO Sauce The basil came from my Aerogarden, a nifty hydroponic tabletop garden. It's pretty sweet but really expensive. If I hadn't gotten it as a gift I would have never considered buying one. It started as this... (week 2) aww, so cute! Grew into this... (week 3) Then I forgot to keep track... and it turned into this!...

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Greek Yogurt Review

2009-06-17T22:55:00.000-07:00

So delicious with honey and fruit, perfect for breakfast or dessert A few weeks ago, Kristina of Stonyfield Farms asked me to review their new organic Greek Yogurt, Oikos. It’s hard to review a product I knew I would like without even trying it, so to give it a fair shake, I compared it with some other Greek yogurts on the market, in particular the much raved about Fage brand. Greek yogurt is amazing. It’s as thick as sour cream and wonderfully creamy without weird additives like xantham gum and pectin that plague regular yogurt. Greek yogurt has all sorts of great things going for it. It’s high in protein, calcium, and has probiotic cultures that aid digestion. Even the nonfat yogurts are made with just dairy and cultures (make sure to check the ingredient list) unlike nonfat sour cream, which also has a bunch of added gunk. Oikos isn’t carried by my local Safeway but I was able to find it at another local grocery store, QFC (for Seattleites, I'm sure PCC and Metropolitan...

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Raspberry Lemon Cream Tart

2009-06-12T23:11:00.000-07:00

Whoops! Only had 2 minutes to take pics and forgot to take the tart out of the pan. Short and sweet recipe post today! I still had some cream cheese leftover from the wedding and the giant 3 pound Costco tub was taking up valuable fridge space. I was trying to do something with it but couldn't manage to use all of it. Then I made way too much filling for one tart shell so now not only is the gargantuan tub still sitting in the fridge, but I also have a container of whipped filling taking up even more room. Crap! Now I'll have to think of something else to use up the whipped filling but honestly I'll probably just end up eating it with some fresh fruit. Too bad I didn't get a photo of the sliced tart because the hidden layer of raspberry jam is a nice surprise-an idea I took from Dorie Greenspan's Hidden Berry Cheesecake. Speaking of which, I bet this recipe would work just as well with blackberry jam and fresh blackberries. Raspberry and Lemon Cream Tart 1 Prebaked Sweet...

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I Catered a Wedding Part 2: Wedding Cupcakes

2009-06-11T23:35:00.000-07:00

Tahitian Vanilla Cake with Raspberry Coulis and Matcha Green Tea Frosting Most of the wedding food was tested repeatedly but none as extensively as the wedding cakes. Even if the food was mediocre, I wanted E.’s cakes to be perfect. In between studying and midterms, I tweaked and adjusted the cake recipes all quarter long. I stopped baking everything else and focused solely on the cake for 2 months. I’ve never spent this long developing and testing a recipe. All that work was worth it because the cupcakes are some of the best things I’ve ever baked. The Planning When E. and I first started planning many months ago, we quickly settled on cupcakes instead of a traditional tiered wedding cake. Cupcakes are very trendy right now but we chose them for more practical purposes. A tiered cake would take days to put together and with me doing all of the food, it just wasn’t a feasible option. Cupcakes are also great for quality control. I can taste the cupcakes after baking to make...

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I Catered a Wedding

2009-06-10T18:14:00.001-07:00

It’s Wednesday now right? A week of studying, 2 finals, 3 days of food prep, a wedding, and 3 days of downtime including much needed sleep brings me to where I am now. I think I’ve finally recovered enough to form coherent thoughts again. A week ago today, I finished my last exam of the quarter and with that, officially finished my first year of medical school! That thought hasn't completely sunk in yet because right after the exam, I started on the wedding food. Wednesday: I tried to make a schedule for the next two days and time points for when food should be chopped, cooked, or baked. I knew it wouldn’t be followed but I had to at least try to delude myself into thinking there was going to be some sort of organization. Thursday: E. and I hit up Costco, the local veggie stand, Trader Joes, and 2 local grocery stores for all the food. That night, I made seedless blackberry puree for the salad dressing, 6 dozen gougeres, and the Marsala cream sauce. Friday: The majority of...

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Help! Lookin for a fluffy yellow (cup)cake recipe!

2009-05-27T18:36:00.000-07:00

A very close friend, E., is getting married in 10 days. I'm in charge of cooking most of the food and baking the wedding cupcakes. *gulp* Luckily for me, someone with no catering experience whatsoever, the wedding is small so I won’t be cooking for tons of people for the first time, when the most I’ve cooked for is a grand total of five. And don’t worry, she knows this. I would be a craptastic friend if I volunteered for this job and said “by the way...” a few days before the wedding. I'm trying to keep my cool for as long as possible and not flip out-verrryyyy important at this point. I finished testing all of the food last weekend (thank goodness for the 3 day weekend) and finished the yellow cake last night (there will be both chocolate and yellow cake). At least I thought I finished it. First attempt went in the compost bin because I did my math wrong, sad realization that mental math is not like riding a bike. Major fail. With the second attempt, the flavor is good, but the...

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LA Trip and Bibimbap

2009-05-24T11:06:00.000-07:00

Steven and I went on a short, laid back trip down to LA two weekends ago where we didn't do much but eat, our kind of vacation. It's ridiculous how much good food there is down in SoCal. First stop: xiao long bao. I’d been dying for a fix since my last Vancouver, BC trip. Steven and I were debating if we should visit Din Tai Fung since they’re world renowned and we’d be within 10 minutes of the only North American branch. After asking both Steven’s sister who’s eaten there and Wandering Chopsticks, we heard that the wait is too long, the dumplings are tiny and overpriced so we decided it wasn’t worth it. We love our soup dumplings but we’re also poor students. Instead, we visited both Mei Long Village and JJ's based on Wandering Chopsticks’ recommendations. The two restaurants are in the same complex, literally 30 feet away. Maybe we went at an off time, but the pork xiao long bao at Mei Longs barely had any soup. I was pretty bummed. The meat and the soup, albeit very little,...

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Red Wine Braised Beef and Sunchoke Creamed Spinach

2009-05-05T00:43:00.000-07:00

why, helloooo sexy When Steven and I went to the local outlet mall, I never expected to come home with a 13 pound addition to the kitchen. I didn’t even want to go inside the Le Creuset store because it’s just filled with gorgeous things I can't afford. *siiigh* Why bother? But Steven convinced me to take a peek and I’m sure glad he did because there happened to be a sale, a damn good one! The 5 1/2 quart Dutch oven was on sale for $150! Holy crap, what a freakin' steal! You bet I'm gonna get one. There was some inner turmoil about whether to get the original Flame or the sexy Cherry Red. It couldn't have been more perfect timing because the enamel on my Chefmate Dutch oven started chipping off. $40 for a pot that only lasted me 2 years or $150 for a lifetime warranty? The original plan was to get some lamb shanks or beef short ribs (inspired by Jen’s beautiful recipe) to christen the shiny new pot but neither of them were on sale. Instead, I got a chuck 7 bone roast, which...

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Roasted Tomato and Quinoa Soup & Grilled Cheese Sandwich

2009-05-04T17:46:00.000-07:00

(updated from recipe archives) My vegetarian friend complained that my blog has been leaning too far into carnivorism lately. I guess I have to come to terms with the fact that not everyone likes bacon food porn staring them in the face. To switch things up, I'm updating an oldie but a goodie. Last time I made this soup, I spent a good half day slow roasting tomatoes but because tomatoes aren't in season yet, a good substitute is Muir Glen fire roasted tomatoes. I finally got around to using the quinoa that's been sitting in my pantry since who knows when. Now I can cross off cooking quinoa for the first time off my list. I loved the texture and extra nutrition it added to the soup so I tried to convince Steven to let me add this superfood to our regular steamed rice. I can get away with sneaking whole wheat flour into baked goods and whole wheat pasta into spaghetti but messing with steamed rice? That was a no go. Whenever I make tomato soup I have to make the obligatory...

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Beef and Sausage Meatloaf with Roasted Bell Peppers

2009-04-22T01:03:00.000-07:00

So many recipes end up in the blog post graveyard because I couldn’t remember how I made it. I never write anything down because I always think I’ll remember everything but two weeks later, I'm racking my brains trying to figure out if it was 1 or 2 teaspoons of x, y, and z. I’ve had this meatloaf sandwich photo in my photostream for over two months because I neglected to write down the recipe the last time I made it. I finally got around to making it again and this time I was extra meticulous in measuring and weighing ingredients. Steven volunteered to be the kitchen scribe so this recipe finally made it down on paper. The roasted bell pepper makes it extra special but I understand if you don’t want to go through the trouble. The best part is the crisp bacon wrapping, that’s something you absolutely can’t skip. I will use any excuse to add bacon to something, preferably copious amounts of bacon. This recipe has one loooong ingredients list but it’s so worth it! The leftovers are...

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Pan-Seared Scallops and Leek Risotto (and Blackberry Vinaigrette)

2009-04-07T17:12:00.000-07:00

Now that spring is in full swing, Steven and I reenrolled in our CSA program from last year. It was definitely a good decision because our first box had lots of goodies, including sugar snap peas, my all-time favorite vegetable, leek, strawberries, and salad mix just to name a few. Since the quarter just started, I don't have to study 24/7 just yet, or at least I don't think I have to study... Of course I could be very delusional and falling behind as we speak. But while I'm still procrastinating, at least I have time to make a nice meal. And when it comes to risotto, you need plenty of time. Back in the good old days of only working part time, I had the time and patience to pull up a chair next to the stove and just sit there stirring absentmindedly. But nowadays life is way more frenetic and I have to be multitasking at least three things or I feel unproductive, which means I no longer tend so diligently to the risotto. I know you're technically supposed to stir risotto for...

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Corned Beef Hash

2009-04-03T21:19:00.000-07:00

The best part about corned beef is the leftovers but the hardest part is deciding whether to make corned beef hash or Reubens. Steven and I didn't want to choose this year so after making corned beef hash, Steven and I visited some of Seattle's finest Reuben establishments. Project Reuben is currently incomplete so that will be a story for another day. St. Paddy's day is long over but hopefully some stores are still selling corned beef. All you really need for corned beef hash is corned beef, onions, and potatoes. I added the red bell pepper to make it a little more interesting and it adds a nice color. I would have preferred Yukon Golds but I had some neglected Russets that needed to be used. Since Steven and I are unabashed carnivores, not only do we have to have a high corned beef-to-everything-else ratio, I threw in some bacon for good measure (cuz bacon makes everything better). Oh and don't forget the fried egg! Corned Beef Hash 2 slices of bacon regular thickness or 1...

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not-so-secret Chili

2009-03-31T22:58:00.000-07:00

Spring break is sadly over, but it was a fantastic two weeks filled with lots of cooking and baking. The freezer had to be cleaned to make room for food I froze for the upcoming quarter. One thing I made was a big batch of chili since it keeps so well, perfect for when we need emergency sustenance. I haven’t upgraded to making homemade chili powder from whole peppers because I have this giant container of chili powder I got from Costco years ago. I know, I know you’re supposed to throw away spices after 1 year but I can’t bear to do it! It’s still good, I swear! *Note to self*: no more buying spices at Costco even if it’s dirt cheap unless I plan on having it for decades. I probably won’t be making my own chili powder even after I use this stuff up because I’m just too lazy. To make my ancient chili powder more flavorful, I spike the chili with chipotle chilies, extra cumin and oregano. This time I thought I’d make my regular chili a little more interesting. Instead of using...

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Mac and Cheese

2009-03-28T21:54:00.000-07:00

I’m a sucker for interesting pasta shapes. Even though the pantry is currently overflowing with pasta, I couldn’t pass the Barilla sale display without picking up a box of this cool pasta shape. Fusilli bucati corti are spring shaped noodles with a hollow center - way more interesting than rotini or regular fusilli. Now that I think about it, I don’t think I’ve ever used elbow macaroni for mac and cheese. It's just too boring. I like making mac and cheese on the stovetop because I can control how cooked pasta is and keep the sauce from curdling. I've had sauce curdle on me in the past, which was so not tasty, and it's something I've been paranoid about ever since. I do miss seeing the mac and cheese come out all bubbly and browned from the oven with the toasty bread crumbs on top but it's a sacrifice I've come to terms with. Plus, we don't have a dishwasher and it's one less dish to wash. I just toast some bread crumbs with a little butter and some herbs either in a skillet or...

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Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies with Dried Cranberries and Pecans

2009-03-26T23:27:00.000-07:00

I have a bad habit not being able to follow a recipe word for word, not even my own! I always have to adjust, substitute, omit, or change something. It’s pretty ironic I keep a recipe journal (I hope I didn’t lose too much credibility there). Oatmeal craisin chocolate chip pecan cookies are my default cookie of choice. I love how there’s so much good stuff in these, there’s barely enough dough to bind everything together. It’s like trail mix in cookie form. And I have yet to meet someone who doesn't like these. The name is a mouthful but I can't come up with anything better. OCCCPC? POCCC? POC^3? Eh, med school is full of enough acronyms and mnemonic as it is. I’ve been making these cookies for years now, but the urge to change a perfectly good recipe struck again. Combined with post finals laziness, I couldn’t be bothered to measure out the 1 1/4 cup here and there so I changed everything to one cup. I was going to delete the original recipe but I’m guessing people who...

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Chicken and Basil Stir Fry

2009-03-24T17:53:00.000-07:00

I never understood why so many people like white meat over dark meat. White meat is so bland and boring and ridiculously easy to overcook. Dark meat on the other hand, is succulent and flavorful, nearly impossible to overcook, and actually tastes like chicken. Oh well, to each his own! It works out better for us dark meat lovers anyway because thighs and drumsticks are always cheaper than breasts. But no worries, this stir fry is delicious no matter what kind of chicken you like. Just be more careful about the chicken drying out if you're using a breast or tenderloin cut. I'm trying to post more student-friendly, easy/quick to cook recipes. Do you guys think a recipe like this would qualify? The ingredient list isn't terribly long and most of them aren't hard to come by. Prep and cook time was maybe 30 minutes? Chicken and Pepper Stir Fry with Basil 1 pound chicken thighs or breast sliced into strips or slivers 1 large red bell pepper sliced 1 large shallot, thinly...

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