Posted by
manda on March 15th, 2010
Pi Day: the best excuse to make a ridiculous amount of pie. Kinda like how Valentine’s Day is the best excuse for gorging on chocolate For our Pi(e) Day we made three pies: Skillet Shepherd’s Pie, open-faced Apple Pie and Lemon Meringue Pie.
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We made a Shepherd’s Pie in our new cast-iron skillet. If you’re curious about the topping, I can explain. I had a box of Au Gratin Potatoes that I wanted to use instead of typical mashed potatoes. I soaked them in boiling water without actually making them with milk and butter like the box said. Which was a bad idea because the potatoes didn’t soak up enough water and ended up kinda al-dente slash crispy. I gotta attempt this one again.
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Next up was an open-faced Apple Pie. Yum. ‘Nuff said.
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Rob has a thing for lemon-y things like Lemon Bars and Key Lime Pie. And we have 3 dozen eggs to eat before we leave for China in a week. So! Lemon Meringue
Continue reading Pi(e) Day!
Posted by
manda on October 27th, 2009
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Ever since the new Julie & Julia movie came out, there’s been a flurry of boeuf bourguignon recipes! That being said, we wanted to stay authentic and so we looked up the original Julie Child recipe and it is a mouthful – lots of detail and precision which we can’t afford on a hectic weeknight. So we decided to try out this 1994 recipe courtesy Epicurious and Bon Appetit (go epicurious!) We halved the recipe and it was delicious. And so, with pride, we can say we’ve cooked our first French dish! Bon appetit
Continue reading Beef Bourguignon
Posted by
manda on October 18th, 2009
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(I wish I had the cooking knowledge and skill to craft these recipes myself, but until I finish reading thru my copy of The Professional Chef, foodnetwork will have to do.) That being said, this is another lovingly ripped-off recipe courtesy of Chef Tyler Florence: Shepherd’s Pie. We’ve made a few changes to the recipe (read: simplified) so here was our final recipe list
Mashed Potatoes:
3 pounds potatoes, thick chunks
1 tablespoon kosher salt
half and half
1 big pat of butter
2 dollops of sour cream
Tips: After the potatoes have been cooked and boiled, drain the water but return the potatoes to the pot and put on the lowest heat (it’ll cook off the remaining moisture so the potatoes aren’t watery!). Optional: add chives or roasted garlic.
The Good Stuff:
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 pounds ground beef
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 cup chopped onion
2 bay leaves
Salt and pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons flour
2 cups canned beef broth
2 stalks celery, diced
1/2 bag frozen peas and carrots
Chopped parsley
2 tbsp A1 Steak Sauce (secret ingredient #1!)
Shredded Cheddar cheese (secret ingredient #2!)
Tips: Right before you put the beef+veggies into the casserole dish, mix in the A1. Also, after the casserole has cooked in the oven for 30mins, turn your oven to High Broil for 8-10 mins to get the potatoes nice, crispy golden brown. Sprinkle a little cheddar cheese on top
Continue reading Shepherd’s Pie
Posted by
manda on October 12th, 2009
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The saga continues! After rounding up a group of our most adventurous friends, we came back to try more of the tasty food. We had the tu dou tiao (cold potato slaw), niu rou mian (beef noodle soup), niu wei mian (oxtail soup), and more of the jiu cai he zi (chive pies) and yang rou jia bing (lamb burger). The tu dou tiao ($3) was good and cold, crunchy, marinated in a little fish sauce (we think!), topped with a teeny bit of cilantro and pepper flakes. The niu rou mian ($4.50) at Lanzhou Hand-made Noodles was amazing: freshly made thin noodles in a beefy soup along with thick yet tender slices of beef. If you’re feeling dangerous, add in a few drops of the table chili oil. Their niu wei mian ($5.50) was also good but the soup wasn’t as complex and the oxtail wasn’t as meaty.
We failed to snap a pic of the noodle dishes before we devoured them but there’s
Continue reading Golden Shopping Mall – Part II
