Pham Fatale Recipe Feed

New Beginnings

Fri, 25 May 2012 09:11:14 CDT

2012 has definitely been a life-changing year for me. Yesterday, I underwent the Naturalization Oath Ceremony at the Heritage Theater in Campbell, California, and along with 403 other people from 63 different countries, I became a citizen of the United States of America. As I recited the Pledge of Allegiance for the first time as an American citizen, I felt very emotional. It's been a long journey. Vice Mayor of the city of Campbell, Evan Low, greeted us and made a wonderful speech. He's such a passionate and energetic citizen. He's a fourth-generation American and he talked about the wonderful opportunities this country has given his family, including the ability to contribute and engage in the community and to do his part to shape the country.

I was particularly moved by his comments on the diversity of cultures and backgrounds that we share with each other, especially here in California. It meant all the more for me, given that my baby daughter was in attendance, as I am of French-Vietnamese descent and my husband is Indian-American.

If you had asked me before, I would always have said that 2000 was the best year of my life. I was a young engineering student who found an internship in Silicon Valley for the summer and I met the love of my life. But I have to admit that this year is rising up the charts. I've watched my little girl grow up into a very entertaining six month old, I've become a U.S. citizen, and I have one more exciting announcement: I've been given the opportunity to publish my first cookbook at the end of the year! It's been a dream of mine to write a book, and it was kind of surreal when I was approached about it earlier this year.

I just finished the manuscript so I'm beyond excited to be able to share the news with you! I'm truly living my American Dream. I'd like to say a heartfelt thank you to every single one of you, my readers, for sending your lovely messages of encouragement and for being such faithful followers of my daily cooking adventures. I've been sharing my everyday life with you for the past three years, and it's given me the opportunity to cross paths with many wonderful people along the way. It's been an amazing journey. So merci!

Now back to my favorite subject, which is food! Being a freshly minted American, it just felt right to make an apple pie, though of course, with my own twist. The tart crust is made with cream cheese. The pie is covered with diced apples and pecan crumbs and to make the dessert more visually appealing, I topped it with sliced apples and brushed them with apricot preserves at the end.

And finally, since Memorial Day weekend is upon us, I'd like to take the opportunity to thank our soldiers who have fought and continue to fight for our freedoms. God Bless America!

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Bun Bi Chay Recipe

Thu, 24 May 2012 05:16:50 CDT

Bun is a popular Vietnamese meal, which consists of rice vermicelli noodles, shredded lettuce, bean sprouts, cucumber, a protein element and dipping sauce. Bun bì chay is a vegetarian version that replicates shredded pork by using fried sliced jicama and fried tofu.

This is an ideal and very refreshing hot weather dish. The preparation is labor intensive, especially with chopping and frying, so I usually make a large quantity. It's delicious and keeps for a few days, so it's definitely worth the effort.

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Arugula Salad with Pesto Vinaigrette

Wed, 23 May 2012 10:25:11 CDT

I'm often asked what makes a salad delicious and my immmediate response is the dressing. You can make it very simply with vinegar and olive oil, but this time around I used the elements from the salad itself to increase the flavor.

The salad dressing is a combination of arugula, mâche, pine nuts and green olives. Sprinkle a little crumbled feta cheese and the salad is complete.

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Peanut Chicken Satay Recipe

Tue, 22 May 2012 05:19:45 CDT

Peanut sauce is always well appreciated. It's tasty, very easy to make and can be served with many different ingredients. Chicken Satay is a classic, and for this recipe I marinated the chicken and prepared the components of the dish in advance for a truly easy meal. The peanut sauce was made from scratch with peanuts that I blended until smooth and creamy, coconut milk, galangal, limes and fresh lemongrass.

For more texture, I added fried jiacama and fried tofu to the chicken breasts. I served the chicken satay with steamed jasmine rice, sliced cucumbers and chopped tomatoes.

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Tabouleh Stuffed Mushrooms (Mushroom Appetizer Recipe)

Mon, 21 May 2012 08:48:37 CDT

In this recipe, mushrooms are used as little receptacles for serving tabouleh. They make very refreshing appetizers, which pair perfectly with the beautiful weather we've had in the Bay Area.

I pickled the mushrooms days in advance so the mushrooms aren't raw but still hold their shape and don't darken. The appetizers are assembled at the last minute and they make an ideal dish for a buffet-style party. We're hosting our annual pool party soon, so I've been experimenting with fun, summer-y appetizers for the occasion and this mushroom dish is definitely going to make the list!

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Che Thai Recipe

Fri, 18 May 2012 08:21:38 CDT

Che Thai is a Vietnamese interpretation of a Thai dessert. It's made of a combination of coconut milk, half and half and pandan flavorings. This makes the base of the dessert, the rest is up to you. I usually add whatever I have available; it can be fresh jackfruit, longans, lychees, pomegranate seeds or agar agar jelly.

I have a funny anecdote about this dessert. When I first introduced it to my husband's family, everyone was very pleased and surprised by how refreshing it tasted, especially Lulu's uncle, Ibbu Mamu. It was a really hot summer day and I can still picture him, eating cup after cup of che Thai. At some point, he asked for the recipe. "Jackie, I love this dessert, it's so light and refreshing". After I listed off the ingredients though, he kind of freaked out, seeing as he had just polished off two very large cups!

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Buckwheat Pasta Recipe

Thu, 17 May 2012 10:20:41 CDT

Buckwheat pasta is a healthy alternative to white flour pasta. The result is a bit denser and more chewy but paired with the right sauce, the taste is still very pleasant.

Don't be scared by the dark color, which comes from the husk. I didn't use 100% buckwheat flour; I mixed with all-purpose flour to soften the taste of the noodles. Give it a try!

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Pommes Anglaise: Pesto Potato Salad Recipe

Wed, 16 May 2012 11:14:27 CDT

Pommes à l'Anglaise is just a fancy name for boiled potatoes. Once the potatoes were cooked, I coated them in pistachio radish pesto (I still had more radish greens in our garden) and softened the spicy flavor of the greens with yogurt.

The preparation is super easy, and this dish will go fast!

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Radish Pesto Recipe

Tue, 15 May 2012 07:40:13 CDT

Here's a simple pesto made with radish greens. Radish greens have a strong, peppery flavor, which adds an interesting dimension to traditional pesto. If it's too strong for you, you could mix it with more traditional greens, such as basil or spinach.

We grow our own radishes, and it's really wonderful to be able to use all the fruits of our labor. Radishes are one of the easiest and fastest maturing crops that can be planted in the garden. The "French Breakfast" variety used in this recipe only require about 22 days to mature. Here in California, that works out to at least four or five harvests per season. So expect to see more radish recipes as long as it's sunny out!

The longer you leave the radishes in the ground, the spicier they get and the hairier the leaves will become. The leaves are still edible, but, the texture may become unpleasant, which is why I decided to put these greens to use in a pesto. In France, there are several soups made with radish greens. Cooking the greens, in general, will mellow them out a bit.

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How to Make Fresh Pasta

Mon, 14 May 2012 06:57:37 CDT

Making homemade pasta is such an easy task that a child could do it. The rule of thumb is to count 1 whole egg to 3½ ounces flour. The rest is a little salt, olive oil and water as necessary. You could knead and roll the pasta dough with a rolling pin or use a pasta machine.

This weekend we used the pasta attachments of the Kitchenaid and played around with different shapes and finally agreed on making spaghetti. It turned out beautifully and we let the pasta air dry. Boiled in salted water, it tasted wonderful with pesto.

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