Shaved Ice Sundays

Buffalo Wild Wings Grill and Bar in Chino Hills

noreply@blogger.com (shavedicesundays) — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 18:27:00 +0000

After trying Wingstop, we got into the chicken wings mood yet again. I've heard about Buffalo Wild Wings Grill and Bar and wanted to try it. When we got there on a Sunday afternoon, the place was packed, and there wasn't even a Lakers' game on.

Reading Yelp, we decide to give the Asian Zing wings a try. These were too mild for my taste, but they were alright. The Mango Habanero wings were medium hot and good, but I'm actually not a fan of the sweeter wings. Now, since I don't quite remember which of these two wings were which, I'll put these two side by side below.

The Parmesan Garlic wings were quite floury and not as crisp as those at Wingstop, but they are tastier than those at Wingstop. I liked these the most of the ones I tried today.

We also ordered BBQ chicken tenders for the kids. Again, these tasted better than those at Wingstop, but they were just alright.

How does this establishment compare to those at Wingstop? I definitely say that these are wings are meatier, but I think i will have to go back and try some of their hotter wings to be able to compare the flavors.

This branch of Buffalo Wild Wings Grill and Bar is located at 3160 Chino Ave. in Chino Hills, CA(909) 591-9035

Wingstop in Baldwin Park

noreply@blogger.com (shavedicesundays) — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 18:31:00 +0000

After a nice outing with the family, we stopped by Wingstop in Baldwin Park and grabbed some chicken wings.

We ended up getting the family pack which gave us up to four different flavorings. I originally wanted the atomic flavor, which is super spicy, but the person at the counter talked my cousin out of it. I should have been there to stand my ground.

My favorite of the ones we did get was the cajun flavored wings. Granted, the wings were small and measly, but the flavor was good. These were a tad salty, so stay away if you don't like salt. It had just the right amount of spice for me.

The original hot flavored one has that good tabasco flavor, but it was quite soggy.

The garlic parmesan ones were nice and crispy, but it was sorely lacking in taste.

My least favorite was the honey barbeque ones, mainly because I'm not a fan of that type of flavor. But if you are a fan of such, they tasted alright.

The family meals come with potato salad that was awful and bland and with fries that are equally as bad. It also comes with a lot of carrots and celery sticks. I wish there were more of these.

I didn't take a photo, but we also ordered some chicken strips for the kids, which were dry and bland. I don't recommend these.

All in all, Wingstop was okay, but hubby and I immediately looked into other wing places.

This branch of Wingstop is located in 3127 Baldwin Park Blvd in Baldwin Park, CA (626) 962-4400

Rau Muong Xao Toi (Stir-Fried Water Spinach with Garlic)

noreply@blogger.com (shavedicesundays) — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 15:20:00 +0000

I have a love-hate affair with rau muong (water spinach). I can't stand it because its cousin, the field bindweed, has taken up residence all over our backyard, but I love it because as a food, water spinach is just so healthy and delicious in every way. I love it in spiral strips in our bowls of bun rieu, but mostly, I love it sauteed with nothing but garlic and a little bit of fish sauce. My kids slurp these up.

Ingredients:
Water spinach, 1 pound
Garlic, 6 cloves minced or chopped
Fish sauce, 2-3 tablespoons
Oil for frying, 2 tablespoons

Wash the water spinach and cut off about 4-5 inches of the tougher parts of the stem, leaving the skinnier parts and the leaves behind. Let dry completely.

Heat up the oil in a wok to medium high heat and sautee the garlic to release the fragrance, about a minute.

Add in the water spinach and start stirring with a pair of tongs to evenly wilt the spinach. This will take about 3 minutes or so. Season with the fish sauce to taste and then remove, getting rid of the excess liquids left behind.

Scarlet Tea Room in Pasadena

noreply@blogger.com (shavedicesundays) — Thu, 21 May 2009 16:31:00 +0000

I know it's approaching Father's Day, but I have to go back and do a post on my whereabouts on Mother's Day. This year, I was kid free for Mother's Day lunch. It was heaven. My cousins and siblings wanted to take our mothers to an afternoon tea (and for my father's birthday), and after realizing how expensive the buffet at the Huntington Library was, we settled on the Scarlet Tea Room in Old Town Pasadena. At $38 dollars a person for the Mother's Day Tea, it's far from being a bargain (and also a reason why the kids were absent), but we thought it was a nice two hours of pampering.

The room is quite small but quaint and dainty, with various pretty ceiling decor, everything a little tea room should be. In terms of the menu, I've been here once before for a bridal shower, so I knew what to expect. The five course tea ceremony is their speciality and is essentially what the Mother's Day Tea menu is. There are also other options available too if you want to just come in for tea and a quick bite, or for a nice dinner or lunch.

As soon as we were seated, our party was able to order our choices of tea. You can get a pot per person, but as suggested to keep things simple, we ordered three pots at first for the entire party and then added a fourth. We chose the Fiji green tea, the organic passion green tea, a tropical tea with a long Hawaiian name, and if I remember correctly, one of the berry infusion teas. The last three were alright, but the Fiji green tea was very aromatic and delicious. The teas were brought out in dainty pots and served in little cute cups. The servers continue to fill your cups whenever you run out, so we drank a lot that day.

The strawberry sorbet was our first course. This was light and simple and good because we were starving.

We were also served almond mimosas (non-alcoholic if requested). I couldn't really taste the almond in there.

Scones were then brought out with an assortment of sandwiches. I thought we were suppose to order a choice of four types of sandwiches per person, but I guess to make it simple, they just brought out the whole lot. This then forced our party to pick and choose and divide so we could all have a taste of the good ones. We were disappointed in this aspect. The savory sandwiches were very good, but we had a hard time finishing up the sweeter ones, like the cranberries and citrus ones. In fact, the kids got to eat these as leftovers when I reunited with them.

The scones were excellent, very light and airy. The ginger scones were good although a bit bland, but the pumpkin ones were moist and so very delicious, especially with the cream that was served with them. I didn't care much for the lemon curd or the strawberry perserve that was also brought out for the scones.

Spring petits fours (mini-cakes) were then brought out along with miniature cupcakes and berries. By this time, we were all quite full, so a lot of these desserts looked way too sweet to even attempt and ended up in the kids' tummies, but I did try both of them. Yep, the mini-cakes were too sweet, but the cupcakes were quite moist and delicious.

Then to end everything, little plates of strawberries romanoff were brought out. These were so-so, but thank goodness the plates were small.

It was then time for potty breaks and the huge bill with the 20 percent tip added and the expected complaints from our Asian parents about why this was so overpriced and not worth it and how for less than this price you could go to nice buffet in Vegas. I still think they enjoyed the experience at least. I agree, this is overpriced and we could do this at home for a fraction of the cost, but the goal was to feel pampered, and I think the Scarlet Tea Room accomplishes that. I haven't been to afternoon tea anywhere else to be able to compare, but my cousin liked her experience at the Ritz-Carlton better because you don't have to divvy up the sandwiches, but I think we had to due this do to our large group. Overall, this was to me a very enjoyable tea experience, but only for special occasions.

Scarlet Tea Room is located at 18 W Green St in Pasadena, CA (626) 577-0051

Wolfgang Puck at Sam's Club

noreply@blogger.com (shavedicesundays) — Mon, 11 May 2009 08:00:00 +0000

You know, it's tough having kids in LA. Lugging around a carseat with a fat baby in it for 15 minutes while hubby tries to find parking in near 90 degrees weather is tough. And thinking you're ready to leave for a gig but having the baby barf all over your clothes at the last minute is tough. Such was my morning on the way to interview Wolfgang Puck at the El Monte Sam's Club grand reopening. Have you ever been to Sam's Club or Costco on a weekend? Try a grand reopening. Well, I'll just leave it at that.

You probably know Wolfgang Puck as the celebrity chef who caters to the stars on Oscar night or as the owner of famed restaurant Spago in Beverly Hills.I was given a grand opportunity to meet with the renowned chef while he was there promoting his cookbook, knife set, and cookware set. I was very happy I got my questions in, although the questions had nothing to do with any of the products he was promoting.

Me: Hi, I'm so and so with a locally based food blog. Can I ask you a few questions regarding your food products?

I left out the name of my blog because he'd probably look at me like I was nuts if he heard Shaved Ice Sundays.

Wolfgang: Sure.

Me: I was actually curious as to how you decided to go from Spago and catering to marketing food in a warehouse setting like Sam's.

Wolfgang then told me that he actually got the idea from those times when his patrons took food from his restaurants home.

I was thinking "really?" I thought that it would have been a bit more complex if he had had a revelation in his dreams or something from the Sam's Club gods.

Me: So Sam's didn't approach you at all with this idea?

Wolfgang told me it actually was his idea to approach Sam's Club.

Me: Can you tell me what the involved steps are when it comes to going from having this idea in your head to actually getting the finished product marketed and out to the people?

I guess Wolfgang did not want to go into a lengthy answer regarding all the nuisances that goes into creating a frozen food product, but he told me that being in the restaurant business, he has so many connections that it was an easy process to get it done.

Me: In the planning stages of creating a recipe for a frozen food product, do you have to take into special consideration the various ingredients and whether the quality would withstand the freezing process and packaging process? Do you feel like you ever have to compromise?

Again, I was thinking he'd come up with some foo foo answer, but he gave a very honest answer that surprised me, stating that he always tries to use the best quality ingredients possible in coming up with something and then hopes for the best when it goes through the process. He states that essentially you never know until you try it.

Me: I would get your book and knife set but I actually don't have a membership to Sam's.

Wolfgang asking a Sam's Club guy nearby, "Do you need a membership to purchase these?" The guy answers yes. Wolfgang says that someone can help me get a membership. I did not have time to wait in the huge line to get a membership, but I really wanted to get a signed cookbook for a giveaway drawing for my loyal readers. You know who you are. Of course, I couldn't let this chef get away without a photo with yours truly, and so I offer and he accepts kindly.

Me: Thank you so much for answering my questions!

Wolfgang: You're welcome, my dear.

I was very impressed with how this world famous celebrity chef was so down to earth and really didn't mind that I dragged him away from his commercial duties to talk to a foodblogger who mind you, is not even a year in the making. Thank you to the folks at Sam's Club for making this happen and for making Wolfgang so accessible, no matter how short a time. I'm just so glad that a little baby barf didn't stop me.

El Taquito Mexicano Truck in Pasadena

noreply@blogger.com (shavedicesundays) — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 15:45:00 +0000

My family and I have been on a Mexican food eating binge lately. We've been wanting to try out this taco truck in Pasadena for the longest time after my cousin heard good things about. Finally, after a nice day of hiking in Altadena, we stopped by this place on the way home to grab some tacos. Food trucks are always in my mind risky business in terms of health code adherence, but that's never stopped me from eating at any establishment. This truck is located in a small parking lot, so park on the side street and walk there.

Once you get there, you'll be greeted with the nicest servers. We ordered some tacos al pastor (marinated pork tacos) and some tacos carne asada (beef). The cousins also ordered some lengua (tongue). We asked for red sauce, which is the spicy version.

These tacos are authentic and bare bones. They were on the small side, so I'd say we had to eat 3 or 4 to get full. Still, four tacos come out under 5 dollars, so this is still a good deal. Our carne asada tacos were delicious, the meat being quite tender and cut up nice and small. This made it easy for the kids to eat. I will have to say that I was expecting real salsa, and not hot sauce. Although I love fire, the hot sauce was a tad too spicy and there was too much on each taco. This overwhelmed the tacos somewhat. Next time, I will go with the milder green sauce or order the sauce on the side. And don't think I made the kids eat the hot sauce. I left it out for them.

The tacos al pastor has more flavor since they are marinated, and again, the hot sauce overpowered the meats. But the meat was nice and tender. The cousins like the lengua too. By the way, the servers asked us if we wanted radishes with the tacos, and we declined.

This taco truck opens up towards the evening hours until the wee party hours, so don't try to come here for lunch. Do come for solid quality, back to basics tacos.

El Taquito Mexican Truck is located at 510 S. Fair Oaks Ave. in Pasadena, CA (626) 577-3918

Ostioneria Colima in Hacienda Heights

noreply@blogger.com (shavedicesundays) — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 16:17:00 +0000

Do you sometimes get food cravings that last weeks and weeks and you can't just kick them until you satisfy them? Well mine recently was for any kind of ceviche, and although I tried ceviche at Taco Nazo and thought it was good, I wanted to try another place. With Yelp to the rescue, I found out about Ostioneria Colima.

We missed the parking in front when we drove by, so we kept going and parked in the large plaza just down the street and walked over. As soon as we got inside, we felt like we were in Baja.

The menu on the large board was in Spanish except for the "Order Here" sign. The TV's on the ceilings were all in Spanish and the servers spoke Spanish to me. It was a good thing my Spanish skills are quite good. We were the only non-Hispanic folks there, so we felt like how non-Asians might feel walking into a Chinese restaurant, but at least it's a good sign because then I knew this was the real deal here. Let's play a game. Can you spot R's bald head in the photo above?

The inside seating is quite cramped, but there are seats outdoors too. Out came some chips and salsa. This was very good and spicy salsa, and the chips were excellent.

Reading the reviews, I decided I had to get the campechana, which is a seafood cocktail. Mine came in a huge glass cup with large shrimps and fresh avocado, octopus pieces and I believe abalone cubes. Believe it or not, the cup I ordered was the small. I'm wondering how big the large is. This campechana was a little on the sweet side, but nothing that a little Mexican lime juice and some Tapitio hot sauce couldn't fix. You know Tapitio makes everything taste better, and I'm not just saying that because the owners' children were C's classmates in preschool.

We also ordered a shrimp ceviche, which came out on a tostada. Again, some Mexican limes and Tapitio were called for, but it was loaded with shrimps and was excellent.

I forgot to warn hubby about the size of the tacos, so he ordered five fish tacos, and that was way too much for our small family. The fish tacos above are not the kinds I normally like. The fish itself was tough, resembling more of the Vietnamese fried fish (Ca Chien) than the lightly battered and fried kind that I like in fish tacos, and the cabbage and white sauce added a bitterness to the tacos that I didn't find enjoyable.

Same with the shrimp taco I ordered. Too chewy. I looked around and was tempted by the oysters on the half shell, and the price on that was not bad, but since we ordered too much food, I'm saving it for next time. I also heard good things about their spicy shrimps (Camarones Diablo) and am looking forward to another trip to taste those too. If you're in the mood for some good Mexican mariscos, I highly recommend Ostioneria Colima. For tacos, go elsewhere. Oh, by the way, make sure your kids don't keep pressing the little black buttons on the windows and tables, because those buttons call the servers over, and they'd be angry if they have to come over for nada.

There are some other Ostioneria Colima's sprinkled around the Southland, but this got the best reviews.

Ostioneria Colima is located at 1136 S. Hacienda Blvd in Hacienda Heights, CA (626) 333-8017

Vietnam House in San Gabriel

noreply@blogger.com (shavedicesundays) — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 17:14:00 +0000

When my Danish cousins were about to fly away from us, we decided to take them to Vietnam House in San Gabriel so that we could tentalize them with this one last memory of a good Vietnamese meal. My family and I go to Vietnam house regularly whenever we crave some good Viet grub, and since it's roomier than Golden Deli across the street, it's a little easier to find a place to sit here for our large groups, and the food in my opinion is almost as good.

Because my parents are creatures of habit and hang on to a good thing when they find them, and since I usually go get pho' in the Alhambra area only with their company, we have yet to try Vietnam Restaurant, not to be confused with this one. As fellow blogger Wandering Chopsticks has explained in depth the relationship between all three restaurants mentioned above, Vietnam Restaurant should be quite good and I'm looking forward to going there. For now, Vietnam House is not too shabby for pho' and when we crave it, Vietnamese 7 course beef (Bo Bay Mon).

Parking is rough here. Just circle and circle until you find a space.

My cousins ordered the Com Thit Nuong (rice with grilled pork), pictured above, while my brother ordered Com Cha Thit Nuong, which is essentially the same as the above but with some Vietnamese quiche added. I've had both here before and have always loved them.

They make their Suong Sa Hot Luu, pictured on the left, the way I like it, with lots of mung beans, tapioca strips and mock pomegranate pieces, and the juice is not overly sweet. The Soda Xi Muoi (Salted plum in soda) is always perfect here.

Their Cafe (or Ca Phe) Sua Da. Have never tried it here but my husband liked it.

I ordered the Pho Tai Sach Bo Vien, which is actually not on the menu. The 4 meatballs were huge, halfway split, and a little chewy but still good, with the noodles being on the skinny side. The broth looks a little murky but was bursting with flavor as always from all the herbs. It's a very good broth. Lots of rare steak in this bowl and not too much tripe, which is how I like it.

No sawtooth herb is offered here, but you order bean sprouts cooked already like my dad does. I don't like bean sprouts either way, cooked or raw and often leave them out in my bowl of pho'.

Mom ordered the Hu Tieu Tom Kho (Vermicelli with Shrimp without soup). Actually the soup is brought out in a separate bowl. Mom gobbled it up. Their hu tieu here has never disappointed.

The service I've noticed was not on par as it has been in the past. They actually messed up my mom's order intially and brought out Hu Tieu Tom Cua instead, but they took it back. You can see from the photo above that we were very tempted to eat it anyways. I also noticed they messed up an order for another table next to us, but that other table was not as forgiving. Can't stand rude customers. Even though they messed up the orders, the food comes out lightning fast. You can't complain.

Hubby order Pho Dac Biet as always. Their special bowl of pho has a good balance when it comes to ingredients. Not too much tendons, a good amount of rare steak.

Vietnam House never fails to disappoint our appetite for things Vietnamese.

Vietnam House is located at 710 W Las Tunas Dr. in San Gabriel, CA (626) 282-3630

Cafe Lago Buffet at the Caesars Palace Hotel in Las Vegas

noreply@blogger.com (shavedicesundays) — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 16:31:00 +0000

So you thought I was through with all the Vegas posts, didn't you? I just never got around to working on this post, mainly because this buffet itself was so disappointing. When we arrived at the Cafe Lago inside of Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas, we saw how empty the place was. Not a great sign. The only reason we ate here was because we moved our rooms over to this hotel after staying at the Bellagio for a few nights, and it was too easy to just go downstairs and find the buffet.

The room itself was beautifully decorated.

The buffet itself was tiny, and the selection was small. Of course the crab legs. the cocktail shrimps, and the prime rib were all there, but there was not much else to offer.

I initially thought that there were oyster shooters available when I saw those small glasses, but one had just cocktail sauce, and the other just olives. Disappointing.

There was a soup station that claimed that wonton soup was available. On a cold night, that sounded good, and I tried a bowl. Beneath those huge lids were the soups, and you could add in mushrooms and various other toppings. But alas, the wontons were no where to be found. So I asked the server where they were, and she said that that was it. What?? Then why do you label it as wonton soup? We got into a very good discussion with our waitress, a nice Vietnamese lady, who basically told us that no one ever likes the soup. She pointed us into the direction of the buffet at Wynn, very honest of her, and she kindly mixed up some free Mimosas for us without asking. The Mimosas are usually extra. We felt like we've know her all our lives.

The pastry bar was just ok. Nothing really stood out here.

There were some good things about the buffet. There was an everflowing chocolate fondue fountain. Dark chocolate and white chocolate, with lots and lots of strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, and other fruits for dipping. I didn't care too much for the chocolate itself; I just went for those blueberries and blackberries because if I ate 10 pounds or so of those, I could get my money's worth. And I think I just about did that.

One other thing I liked about Cafe Lago was this large selection of these mini-parfaits. In particular, there was a guava parfait that was truly special, and the others were good too. There were some jello shots that were quite good. And they had real ice cream, not soft serve.

So what Cafe Lago lacked in their meats, they try to make up for it in fruits, ice creams, and parfaits. I don't think that's enough to warrant a voluntary return visit, as there are much better buffets out there in Vegas, such as the one at the Bellagio and Le Village Buffet at the Paris Hotel.

Cafe Lago is located at the Caesars Palace Hotel and Casino at 3570 Las Vegas Boulevard South, Las Vegas, NV (702) 731-7928

Garden Cafe in Alhambra

noreply@blogger.com (shavedicesundays) — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 17:52:00 +0000

When my cousin from Denmark and her friend came to visit last month, we found out that they were not very used to eating a lot of things that SoCal Asians are used to eating. So one night for dinner, we decided to take them to the Sunday Cafe on Atlantic Blvd. in Alhambra only to find it closed. Hurriedly, we then drove over to the Garden Cafe instead because we knew at least there would be some foods they would be able to eat. It was a rainy night and the place was emptier than I remember on other visits.

Dinner started out with some creamy soup, which we requested since our visiting Danes don't like tomatoes. Tasted fine except it seems the salt was not incorporated into the soup properly. The creaminess was excellent, though.

The avocado milkshake was good and smooth. Can't really mess that up. Baby R sucked this up.

The rice porridge with fish and chicken was smooth and very good, but they could have cut up the chicken into smaller pieces.

My brother told me that his green tea with boba was very delicious. Cream and sugar were provided.

The seafood chow fun was bland and was pretty greasy.

The sizzling seafood udon was again greasy and bland, and the noodles a little doughy tasting.

The Baked Sole Fillet in Spinach Sauce was nice and creamy, except the sauce wasn't really a sauce. It was more like a bed of chopped spinach added to the bottom of the dish.

The meat dishes really surprised me. The deep fried spicy pork was delicious, a tad salty but perfectly tasty and fried. It wasn't really spicy at all though, since the kids could even eat them.

The combination grilled meat plate was also very good. The chicken, pork, and beef were very tender, and although the lamb was just a tad tough, all the meats were delicious.

We also had a curry dish that was kind of strange. It had a thick consistency to it, and I felt as if the whole dish didn't meld together. And it needed some lemon or spice or something to add some life to it.

I think Garden Cafe had its hit and misses. But as I've said before, I normally don't come to these Hong Kong style cafes like this one or Boston Kitchen or Maxim Cafe for the food. It's more to socialize or simply because it's open late.

Garden Cafe is located at 228 W. Valley Boulevard, Alhambra, CA (626) 289-1833

Nuoc Mam (Vietnamese Fish Sauce for Dipping)

noreply@blogger.com (shavedicesundays) — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 17:43:00 +0000

Nuoc mam, nuoc cham, nuoc mam cham. What's what? In our family and in most Vietnamese families we know, the term nuoc mam refers to both the bottled fish (anchovies) sauce used for seasoning and the mixture that sees that bottled fish sauce mixed with water, sugar, and citrus to create a concoction that we use to either dip a vast variety of Vietnamese rolls in or to pour over certain Vietnamese foods, such as with com tam (broken rice). But in general, this dipping sauce is also referred to as nuoc cham or nuoc mam cham. Cham means dip.

My mother, and grandmother, for that matter, makes her nuoc mam a little differently than the norm. The nuoc mam I now inherit from her and will someday pass on to my children is a bit sweeter, as it uses oranges in addition to lemons, and includes coconut juice (coconut water). Using coconut juice may seem unusual, but a cousin of mine uses coconut soda. So yes, there are many ways of making nuoc mam.

Just a note, for the kids and the wimps, you can leave out the chili peppers and the chili paste, but it just won't be as good! The chili peppers are better minced, but when in a time crunch, you can can just chop them. My mother actually doesn't use the chili peppers. She just adds in the chili paste.

Ingredients:
8 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/4 cups coconut juice (from 1 coconut)
juice from 2 1/4 oranges
juice from 2 medium lemons
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon fish sauce
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
3 teaspoons chili paste (optional)
4 red chili peppers, minced (optional)

This makes one quart of the nuoc mam.

Start by putting the garlic and sugar into a large bowl.

Add in the liquids (coconut juice, water, orange juice, and lemon juice).

The fish sauce we use in our family is the Viet Huong Three Crabs brand. You can see the bottle in the above photo.

Let me just take a moment to say something about my mom. Whenever she makes a dish and I ask her for the measurements of say...sugar, she'd answer me like this: "What do you mean, if you make a lot, you use a lot of sugar, and if you want to make a little, you use less sugar." I know, Mom, but there's this word called proportion. So for every dish I learned from her, I have memorized the ingredients but have never really measured how much, and she's never measured how much. And now that I've started measuring for this blog, I want to be dead on, so that's as dead on as you get up there. Of course, you can adjust the sugar and fish sauce and lemon juice to your liking. Making nuoc mam is easy. It's just about proportions.

Just one more tidbit. I was pleasantly surprised while reading EatTravelEat's blog to learn that I was chosen to receive the Proximity award to honor the friendships between bloggers.

The actual text of the award reads:

“This blog invests and believes the PROXIMITY - nearness in space, time and relationships! These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in prizes or self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers! Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award.”

And so I pass on the love. The lucky eight people who I'm passing this award onto are:
Tastes of Home, The Eaten Path, mother may I?, Big Boys Oven, A Fat Cat Who Created a Vegetarian, Tangled Noodle, Shizuoka Gourmet, and Eat Life. Thank you for all for supporting and reading my humble blog.

Restaurant Empire 2

noreply@blogger.com (shavedicesundays) — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 23:00:00 +0000

My all time favorite game to date is this little game called Restaurant Empire. I saw it sitting in the bargain bin at Best Buy a few Christmases ago and knew I had to try it. Granted, it took me about a year to finish the game because in order for me to play it, I have to steal an hour here and there in the wee hours of the night. But those hours allow me to do something I would never do, and that is to run my very own restaurant(s). The game is addicting in that, not only do I get to design my restaurants, hire and fire staff, and pick and choose what items I place on my menus, but the plot is kind of fun too, and the graphics is not too shabby.

Now, the release of Restaurant Empire 2 is scheduled for sometime this April, and I need to find an excuse to buy it for myself or for someone to buy it for me. If you're interested in screenshots, GameSpy has tons of them. For those who love Cooking Mama because it's food related, give this game a try.

Pan-Grilled Curried Pork Chops with Spicy Kumquat Chutney

noreply@blogger.com (shavedicesundays) — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 17:21:00 +0000

Last week I posted a recipe for my kumquat chutney. I also inherited a dozen pork chops from my mother-in-law and thought it'd go well with the chutney, and it does. These pork chops are also pretty good on it's own, as the curry gives it a great flavor. I've experimented with many different methods to produce a great juicy pan-grilled pork chop and have gotten the best results from an adaptation of Simply Recipes, although I used a rub that I inherited from my mom, minus the ginger. I don't necessarily like ginger, but ginger powder makes meats so tender.

Ingredients:
4 pork chops
3 tablespoons curry powder
1/2 tablespoon ginger powder
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons black pepper
2 teapoons salt
olive oil for frying
cast iron skillet

As suggested, choose thinner pork chops for best results for this method. I used 1/2 to 3/4 inch chops. As you can see from the photo above, they're thinner than the kumquats. If you use thicker chops, you can try covering the pan as suggested on Simply Recipes. I haven't tried this method without a cast iron skillet, and I have found that I do need to grill a little longer than the 2 minutes per side recommended on the Simply Recipes website.

Mix all the ingredients well and rub them into the chops front and back, dividing the rub evenly between the 4 chops. Let sit in the fridge for about 30 minutes, then take them out to bring them back to room temperature just before grilling.

Heat some oil on a hot cast iron skillet on medium high heat. Once the oil is hot, turn the heat to medium and put the chops in to sear for 3 minutes on one side. Turn to the other side and turn off the heat. Let them sit there for another 3 minutes on the pan and promptly remove. Enjoy them on their own or spread the chutney on them and then enjoy them.

Spicy Kumquat Chutney

noreply@blogger.com (shavedicesundays) — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 16:14:00 +0000

My mom has a kumquat tree in her backyard that produces tremendous amounts of fruit, and since she doesn't eat them, she ends up giving them away. I came home with a huge bag of these beautiful fruits a few weeks ago and decided that instead of making my usual jam, I'd try something different and make some chutney. The process of making chutney is quite similar to making jam or marmalade, except that spices are usually added.

Ingredients (Makes about a cup):
40 kumquats
1 1/4 cup sugar
1 cup apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon coriander
water
chopped green peppers (optional)

Wash the kumquats and chop them, removing the seeds. This is the most time consuming part.

Place the kumquats in with just a bit of water to just cover the kumquats and bring to a boil. Turn the heat down to medium and continue cooking for 15 minutes, stirring every so often.

Now add in the vinegar, sugar, and coriander and bring back to a boil again. Turn the heat back down to medium and continue for another 30 minutes or so until the mixture has thickened. Make sure you keep stirring to prevent burning. You can then add in the chopped green peppers. Because of the kids, I left this out and added them individually to my serving.

Maxim Cafe in Rowland Heights

noreply@blogger.com (shavedicesundays) — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 23:13:00 +0000

A bunch of girlfriends and I wanted to get some breakfast a few weeks ago. So one of the gals suggested either Garden Cafe or Maxim Cafe in the Rowland Heights area, and since I haven't tried Maxim yet, I kinda led them towards Maxim. Most of them didn't know I had a food blog yet, so they were cracking up when I pulled out my camera and snapped away.

Maxim Cafe is one of those typical restaurants that boast Western decor yet serve Hong Kong fare and is open until the wee hours of the morning. I usually never come to these types of places because I want to have awesome food. It's mostly because I can't think of anywhere else to go, or because nothing else is open, or because I just want a place to sit down and chat for a really, really long time. Maxim is located in the same plaza as Coconut Bay Bar and Grill, and since it was a weekday morning and everyone was at work, it was pretty empty.

I kept things simple and ordered their combination breakfast deals. For almost six dollars, I got a piping hot bowl of rice porridge, rice rolls with oyster sauce (I think), and a cup of tea. I liked the consistency of the porridge at Boston Kitchen more, but I liked how they added in some Chinese doughnuts into the porridge. I had ordered the Beef and Egg Porridge, but I didn't realize the egg was broken into the porridge still raw. I had assumed that there would be bits of cooked eggs chopped up already in the porridge. Next time I'd order a different porridge. You can also substitute coffee for the tea, and they give you condensed milk to add to either beverage. The rice rolls had a good chew to them and were alright for breakfast.

My friend ordered an American style breakfast that came with an omelette, hash browns, toast, and tea or coffee . Her mushroom omelette looked so good from the outside that my friend let me have a bite, and did I regret it. The filling was soggy and just tasted blah. Another friend ordered the same combo with a seafood omelette. I was curious to how that one tasted, and she did offer some to me, but I was just too lazy to walk over and taste it. She did say it was good, and I trust her judgment.

I thought the waitresses here were nice at first because they brought extra plates and utensils for our kids without us asking, but then after two hours, it seemed they were rushing us out when there was hardly anyone in the restaurant. Hey, girls need more than two hours to chat, so we took it outdoors and let the kids romp in their bushes.

I think I will have to try the dinner fare here to make a definitive assessment of their food. For now, I'd just say their breakfast is so-so, but this is a great place for socializing if you can keep it under two hours.

Maxim Cafe is located at 18904 Gale Ave. in Rowland Heights, CA (626) 913-7777

Kang Kang Food Court in Alhambra

noreply@blogger.com (shavedicesundays) — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 16:47:00 +0000

The weather in Los Angeles has certainly been up and down lately. A few weeks ago on a warm, windy afternoon, Hubby and I took the kids to the park to fly their kite. We were scheduled to get some shaved ice at the Kang Kang Food Court in Alhambra, but truthfully, I was excited to meet my inspiration and fellow food blogger Wandering Chopsticks and taste test the Jing Dong Meat Pie she recommended there.

WC got a taste of the kids that day. Baby R was teething and being weaned simultaneously, so he was not a happy camper. But WC took to him immediately and graciously held him while I sampled the food. She didn't flinch a bit when R decided to go for his bowl of rice cereal, splashing milk all over poor WC's pretty dress and the floor. The other two for some reason decided to take turns going on long potty breaks with Hubby, but otherwise, they were fairly patient as Mom chatted with her Hubby-dubbed long, lost twin (because we have a lot eerily in common).

For a warm afternoon, the place was quite empty. I remember years ago before this place closed down for remodelling, and when we used to call it Shau May, it was always packed with people, but it was also a lot more grimey. The removal of the dirty carpet and a fresh coat of paint did wonders. Now the place seems roomier and cleaner.

I ordered some shaved ice for the kids at the shaved ice bar. Now, I don't know what the story is with this location and that of the Shau May in Monterey Park. Both locations offer the same stuff, so either it's a chain, or it's owned by the same people. The shaved ice bar offers the same stuff as the Monterey Park Shau May, but when I tasted the rice balls, they seemed harder than those at the Monterey Park location. Otherwise, it was all good.

On a sidenote, I want to demonstrate how sleepy and distracted I was that day. The girl at the counter who took my order asked me what table number I was at so that they could bring us our food later. I started telling her my phone number until WC stepped in with the correct info.

I decided to order two of the Jin Dong Meat Pies thinking one wouldn't be enough for all of us, but boy was I wrong. I had leftovers for the next day. WC pointed out the pretty layers in the pie, and when I bit into it, it was bursting with flavor. If you love ginger, you'll love this, because there was a lot of ginger mixed in with the pork. I didn't care much for the ginger, but I liked the texture of the pie itself and the flavor of the meat.

A few weeks later, I regretted not trying the Shanghai Pan-Fried Dumplings that they are also famous for, so I sent Hubby to order take out for dinner. The dumplings were noticeably juicier than that of the Monterey Park location, and my parents became a fan, even though the juice squirted all my mom's clothes before I had time to warn her. Yeah, they were that juicy. This photo just doesn't do them justice. We also ordered the meat pie again, and this time there was less ginger for some reason, but still yummy.

Kang Kang Food Court offers cafeteria style food for takeout also. So, Hubby also ordered some of their three item combinations.

The first combo consisted of steamed chicken with ginger and scallion, steamed shrimp, and steamed chinese brocolli. The chicken was not the usual steamed chicken I'm normally used to. The scallion/ginger dressing was not as salty, and the chicken felt soggy and actually grainy to me. I'm just used to firmer meat. The shrimp was also soggy, grainy, and not so fresh, but I liked the sweetness of the sauce. The chinese brocolli was just that, average.

The second combo had steamed cabbage with tofu, fish with black bean sauce, and soft tofu with meat and vegetables. Both tofu dishes were bland to me, but the silky texture of the soft tofu was nice. I did not like the fish at all. The sauce was overly salty, sour, and just plain strange. You also get some soup with the combos, but this "soup" is basically some broth with a bit of bean sprouts in it. Not even worth drinking.

Both Kang Kang Food Court and Shau May are comparable, but whenever I want the Pan Fried Dumplings, I'd come to this location. Just don't order them for takeout because it took them half an hour to fill our order. I think I will also stay away from their combination items, although it's a good deal for $4.25 for the three items. Parking is also tough here, but it's worth the trouble.

Kang Kang Food Court is located at 27 E. Valley Blvd in Alhambra, CA (626) 308-3898

Pho So 1 in Las Vegas, Nevada

noreply@blogger.com (shavedicesundays) — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 08:00:00 +0000

My family always seem to seek out a Vietnamese restaurant on each lengthy vacation we go on, whether it be in the Northwest or the East Coast, or here in Vegas. Us folks in SoCal often take for granted the goods we have in our backyards, and I'm often reminded of our blessings when we go on these Vietnamese food hunting sessions while on holiday. Here in Vegas, a decent pho' restaurant will just have to do. We were craving pho', and to my family, Pho' Kim Long down the street was overpriced and a disappointment. And since my cousins had just eaten at Pho' So 1 a few days earlier and recommended the place, we decided to try it out ourselves and drag them along for their second visit.

Walking into the restaurant, my mom and I exchange a few words. "Gee, it's dirty". But a little grime never scared us off before. In fact, it's often joked that it's a good thing. The rest of our relatives are already there awaiting us, and so we quickly order our food, which arrives quickly via Hispanic servers who can say "Pho Tai" better than Hubby can.

My Pho' Tai Sach (rare steak with tripe pho') is average. What can I say, it's Vegas. The broth is a bit on the oily side but had a good flavor, and the noodles and meat are alright. My hubby liked his Pho' Dac Biet.

My aunt suggested we order their Pho' Xao Thap Cam, which basically translates to "assorted fried pho'". This was a very interesting dish. The pho' noodles are fried to create a crunchy, chewy pancake layer on which an assortment of seafood, meats, and vegetables are placed on, and the whole thing is topped off with a sweet gravy reminiscent of Thai rad nah gravy. It wasn't out of this world, but it was pretty good.

My cousin's verdict on his Bun Bo Hue (Hue beef noodle soup): good.

I didn't think the Che Suong Sa Hot Luu (a Vietnamese dessert of agar and tapioca in coconut milk) was very good, as it was sparse on pretty much everything, but Hubby liked his Ca Phe Sua Da (Vietnamese Iced Coffee), which I noticed came out already in the glass.

Pho' So 1 means "Pho' Number 1", but I'd have to disagree when I think of all the pho' restaurants I've eaten at in SoCal. But because the food and prices are ok, this restaurant will be my go to Vietnamese restaurant for now in Vegas until we try out a few other ones there in the city.

Pho So 1 is located at 4745 Spring Mountain Rd., Las Vegas, NV (702) 252-3934

Pan-Fried Garlic Chives Shrimp Dumplings

noreply@blogger.com (shavedicesundays) — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 07:43:00 +0000

Since the Lunar New Year is coming up, I'd thought I'd do a post on one of mine and my kids' favorite dumplings. I first tried these in a Bay Area dim sum restaurant years ago, but I'm not always able to order them readily at my usual dim sum eateries in SoCal. So a few years ago I tried making them myself and was successful. Although I've got my own version for the filling now, I've tried various recipes for the dumpling wrapper (basic har gow wrappers), and have liked this one provided by Elaine from A Series of Kitchen Experiments. I double the ingredients in order to get more dumplings skins.

Garlic chives are also called Chinese Chives and are a little different than the usual chives you might use in American cooking. They have a stronger flavor, and the leaves are flat. I love eating these straight up after boiling them for a while, which I did daily while recovering from having my kids, as they are supposely great for the postpartum era. I call it an era because it really is an era. Garlic chives are also good in soup with tofu.

Ingredients for the Dumpling Skins:
1.5 cups wheat starch
1/2 cup tapioca starch
1/2 teaspoons salt
1 cup boiling water

Ingredients for the Filling:
3/4 pounds garlic chives, chopped
1/3 pounds shrimps, deveined and diced
1 teaspoon tapioca starch
2 teaspoons sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
dash pepper

Ingredients for Dumpling Sauce:
2 tablespoons light soy sauce
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon chili (optional)

You'll also need oil for frying.

First, wash the chives. In a pot of boiling water, add the chives in for a couple of minutes, then drain them. Add in the shrimp and the rest of the filling ingredients and mix well.

Prepare the dough for the dumpling skins. Mix the starches and salt together in a bowl and then add in the boiling water. Mix the dough with your hands until you are able to get a dough that you're able to roll out. I often do what Elaine suggests and add in an extra tablespoon of the boiling water at a time if it's too dry. The consistency of the dough is a little tricky to achieve. Too little water and it'll be too crumbly and fall apart. Too much water and it will be too sticky and hard to work. If you accidentally add too much water, try putting in a little bit more of the wheat starch to rebalance it. When your dough is ready, keep it covered with plastic wrap to prevent it from drying out.

Take a 3/4 inch ball of dough and pat it out with your hands until you obtain a flat circular disk about 2 inches in diameter. I don't like to "roll" them out because they often stick to the board anyways. Take about 2 teaspoons of the filling, place it on the disk and then pull up the dough around the filling and close the dumpling up. Flatten the whole dumpling a little. I get about 20 dumplings from this amount of dough, sometimes a little less.

Arrange the dumplings in a flat pan with a thin layer of oil on the bottom. Fry the dumplings 2 minutes per side on medium-high heat. Then add 2/3 cups water to the pan, cover, and steam for 6 minutes. Remove the cover and continue cooking until the water evaporates, about 1-2 minutes more. Then fry for about 2 minutes more on each side until crisp and slightly brown.

Serve with the dumpling sauce. Gung Hay Fat Choy, and Happy Inauguration Day for those in the States.

Kung Fu Plaza Restaurant in Las Vegas

noreply@blogger.com (shavedicesundays) — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 06:13:00 +0000

Kung Fu Plaza Restaurant is one of the first restaurants you see as you enter Las Vegas Chinatown from the strip. I can't stand the name of the restaurant, but the food is not too shabby. A few years ago, I thought this place was the bomb, but I think because of the combination of food we ordered, I left feeling underwhelmed. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't so spectacular either. This restaurant offers both Thai and Chinese cuisine.

Gotta have Tom Yum. We ordered the seafood. For 13 bucks, they didn't give us much soup, and the seafood was sparse, but it tasted alright.

The Pad Thai was decent. Kind of hard to mess up pad thai.

My sister ordered the Cashew Chicken. This was just an average dish.

The Pan-fried Catfish was everyone's favorite. The fish wasn't perfectly fried by a long shot, but the sauce was very good. I'm not sure why it says that the sauce is "curry like" on the menu, but it was a bit spicy, and the basil added fragrance. I love spicy!

Ok, let me tell you about this dish that hubby ordered. He has a history of ordering bad dishes. This was the Pa Nang Curry with Beef. It was like scooping a spoonful of peanut butter into my mouth. My mom said it was "so weird" in Vietnamese. It was.

I'd come here again since the restaurant is so accessible and we've had good experiences here in the past. But, I still have yet to visit Lotus of Siam, which I've heard has been called the best Thai restaurant in the U.S. by several sources. So next time I'm in Vegas, this will be my destination for Thai food.

Kung Fu Plaza Restaurant is located at 3505 S. Valley View Blvd, Las Vegas NV (702) 247-4120

Le Village Buffet at the Paris Hotel in Las Vegas

noreply@blogger.com (shavedicesundays) — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 09:45:00 +0000

After the kids spent their 1o dollars at Circus Circus in order to win 2 pillows, 4 bouncy balls, and a light up toy, we met up with the rest of the family at the Paris Hotel for our New Year dinner.

Le Village Buffet, along with the buffet at the Bellagio, are two of my favorite buffets on the strip, although I haven't tried the one at Wynn's yet. The ambience here is wonderful and brings me memories of me and hubby sitting outside a cafe in the real Paris sucking on escargot. Well, just me with the escargot bit because hubby would never eat snails.

The snow crab legs and cocktail shrimps are always good here, and this time around they had Jonah crab claws. I was surprised to find out that Jonah crabs used to be considered a nuisance to New England lobstermen, as I found them sweet and delicious. There were delicious baked oysters too, but no raw ones.

The dessert section is wondeful. Their creme brulee is perfect, and they have a crepe bar where they will make your crepe to order. We always seem to end our dinner with soft serve.

They also have good flan, nice and light. That brown thing there is one of the kids' brownies, which was too sweet for me.

My mom was able to have her crab legs warmed up by the waiter, although I prefer my snow crab legs fresh and chilled as I find them juicier that way. The waiters, of course, bring you all the drinks you want.

Le Village Buffet is located at the Paris Hotel at 3655 Las Vegas Blvd S., Las Vegas, NV (888) 266-5687

Noodles at the Bellagio in Las Vegas

noreply@blogger.com (shavedicesundays) — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 06:48:00 +0000

New Year's Eve was a blast sipping champagne and playing Apples to Apples, Cranium, and Celebrity with the family and relatives at the Bellagio Hotel in Vegas. The kids got to stay up late, the grandparents got to gamble, and I really wish I can show you photos of baby R with his 2009 glasses on him. We went out onto the strip to countdown to the New Year, but this year, the fireworks spectacle was a disappointment. C and J thought it was the greatest thing though, so that's a-ok with me. The next four days were spent shopping, eating, hiking, sleeping, sitting in the jacuzzi, and experiencing Vegas through the kids' eyes. Old things are always new again with young'uns in tow.

We were quite tired after our drive from SoCal, so we decided to eat at the Bellagio, where we were staying for a few nights. The "cheapest" thing we could find here was this Asian restaurant named...Noodles.

At 15 bucks for something like chow mein, you're paying for the decor or something else, certainly not the food. Rows and rows of dried noodles were on display on the shelves.

Even with my parents paying our tab, our hands were tied from being thrifty folks, so we tried finding some of the cheaper things on the menu. This meant things like the Signature Premiere Rice...

...which was bland fried rice despite the bits of pineapples and raisins they stuck in there.

The Signature Chow Mein Mandarin Noodles with Barbeque Pork was surprisingly good, although the dish was a bit heavy on the onions. The noodles were thick and tasty.

And the Yaki Udon with Chicken was just average, on the salty side, and heavy on the bell peppers, although I liked the texture of the noodles themselves.

The chicken slices were quite large in this dish.

These three dishes cost about 50 bucks and barely fed three adults and two young kids. When you're stuck in a Vegas casino and you've got few options, a place like Noodles is a decent place to get overpriced food. Otherwise, get in a car or taxi and head over to Vegas Chinatown for better Asian food.

Noodles is located at the Bellagio at 3600 Las Vegas Blvd. South, Las Vegas, NV (888) 987-6667

Lee's Sandwiches in Rowland Heights

noreply@blogger.com (shavedicesundays) — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 21:00:00 +0000

Honestly, I've never been a big fan of Lee's Sandwiches. Their sandwiches and che just don't taste authentic or fresh to me, and there are better places to get Vietnamese sandwiches, such as Van's or Banh Mi Che Cali's. But when you're stuck out here in the Rowland Heights/Diamond Bar area, there's really no quick place to go for a good banh mi, until now.

My friend and I have joked about opening up a Lee's for a while now, so when I found out from hubby that one actually opened up in Rowland Heights, I was pleasantly surprised. Sometimes I just have to get a good Viet sandwich, and a so-so sandwich is better than none at all.

Unfortunately, when the family went on one of the coldest nights in December, I wanted some Vietnamese dessert (che), and when I asked the girl at the counter if they had any, it seemed as if she didn't know what I was talking about. They did have the thach (agar desserts) that the kids love, but I really wanted some warm che, doggonnit! At least their cafe sua da (Vietnamese iced coffee) was familiar and just like how we drink ours at home. Don't ask me why I wanted ice coffee on one of the coldest nights in December.

Like I said, their sandwiches are so-so. And again, sometimes you just really want some banh mi. Lee's also have ham croissants and the like if you're not so into the Viet stuff.

This branch of Lee's Sandwiches is located at 18194 Colima Road, Rowland Heights, CA

Christmas Truffles

noreply@blogger.com (shavedicesundays) — Thu, 25 Dec 2008 18:50:00 +0000

Happy Holidays to all of ya!

After four parties, three Christmas programs, lots of shopping, a trip to Disneyland, losing my voice, and dealing with one teething and flu-sickened baby (still sick), I'm back. Apologies to my readers who have visited and have found me MIA. I hope you had a beautiful Christmas as we did.

This Christmas, I decided to make boxes of truffles for all of the kids' teachers and our local children's librarian after seeing the recipe in a Kraft Foods magazine, of all places. So easy but makes one big mess when you have kids.

Ingredients for the Truffles:
20 squares (20 ounces) of Baker's semi-sweet chocolate
8 oz. Cream Cheese

Ingredients for Decorating:
Sprinkles
Crushed Nuts
Coconut Shavings
Powdered Sugar
Cocoa Powder
General Foods International Creme Caramel Coffee Drink Mix
2 ounces Baker's white chocolate, melted

Baker's semi-sweet chocolate comes in packages of 1 ounce squares with 8 squares to each box, so buy two and half packages. I've tried this with Nestle Toll House chocolate also, but the Baker's gave a darker, smoother color that I liked.

Microwave cream cheese on high fo 15 seconds. Melt 8 chocolate squares according to the package and mix in the cream cheese until well blended. You can use a mixer but I did it by hand and it came out fine. Chill for about 15 minutes until the mixture firms up and then shape into 3/4 inch balls. Place each ball onto a silt pad or wax paper. I got 32 balls out of this.

Melt the rest of the chocolate squares according to the package. Take each ball and dip each into the molten chocolate. The recipe called for a fork for the dipping process, but I found a toothpick was easier. Don't worry about the hole left on top, as you can cover this up with large sprinkles, nuts, or other decorations.

Make sure you put the sprinkles or nuts on before the chocolate has already re-solidified or they won't stick. I also decorated some with coconut shavings. I also drizzled on melted white chocolate with a toothpick on some of the truffles. Make sure that the dark chocolate has already solidified before drizzling it on though.

A variation I tried was to take some of the balls and roll them into the Creme Caramel Coffee Drink Mix instead of dipping them in the molten chocolate. Came out nice. The recipe also suggested rolling them in powdered sugar, nuts, or cocoa, but I didn't try that.

Box the truffles up and they make beautiful Christmas gifts. I suggest making the truffles a day or two before giving them out, keeping them in the fridge, and make a note to tell your gift recipient to put the package in the fridge once they receive it from you to prevent spoilage.

Crock Pot Rice Porridge (Congee or Jook)

noreply@blogger.com (shavedicesundays) — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 22:34:00 +0000

There is nothing like a warm bowl of jook on a cold and rainy December evening. Cooking jook in a crock pot is so easy and satisfying. This makes for creamy jook, and you can adjust it as thick or as thin as you'd like. I have a fairly large crock pot that holds 6 quarts, so you will need to adjust your amounts and time for a smaller pot.

Ingredients:
2.5 cups long grain rice (I use jasmine)
4 quarts water
1/2 pound chicken meat, diced
1/2 pound chicken bones
1 quart chicken broth
6 preserved duck eggs
chopped green onions for garnish
salt, white pepper, and/or fish sauce (optional for seasoning)

First, dice the chicken meat.

Wash the rice and put the chicken bones, chicken meat, and chicken broth in the crock pot.

Then add in water to reach the 5 quart mark on the crockpot. This gives you some room for adding in more water if needed and also the preserved eggs later. Some people like ginger in their jook, so add it if you prefer, but I am not a fan of ginger.

The preserved duck eggs often come packaged like this.

You don't need to cook them, as they're preserved. So remove the shells...

...and cut them into eighths.

It takes me 4 1/2 hours on high setting to get my jook really creamy. I stirred it every half hour for the last hour to keep it from sticking at the bottom. If your jook is too thick to your liking, add in more water and stir. If too thick, cook it a little longer.

Remove the bones if you want when the jook is done. Add in the duck eggs 5 minutes before serving. I enjoy mine with some green onion, a spoonful of fish sauce, some salt. and lots of white pepper.

Guava Butter

noreply@blogger.com (shavedicesundays) — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 22:41:00 +0000

Several weeks ago, I had to use up the lot of my pineapple guavas from my tree before they went to the birds, and one of the ways I used up some of the smaller ones was in making this guava butter. Very easy to do, and it provided our family with a delicious spread for our breakfast breads and bagels for the next few weeks. This amount makes a small half pint jar of the butter.

Ingredients:
About 6 pineapple guavas (enough for 1 1/2 cups of guava pulp)
1 cups sugar
1 teaspoon citrus juice

Put the guavas in a processor or blender.

Push this pulp through a sieve to remove the seeds.

Boil the sugar, citrus, and the pulp in a pot for about 10-15 minutes until the mixture thickens up.

Pour the mixture into a sterilized mason jar if you'd like to preserve it. I placed some in sterilized baby food jars since I was using it immediately.