Delicious Accidents

I bought a bag of frozen tuna steaks from costco. I would have to say Mahi Mahi/Tuna is one of my favorite fish, namely because it’s meaty when cooked.  Salmon is just too darn fishy and I can only eat a small bit at a time.  Catfish is good, but only good fried.  Other than that, I haven’t experience much.  Fish can be pretty expensive, and you have to watch what you buy otherwise, it’s old and gross.

So anyway, last night, I wanted to use up some of the tuna steaks I bought.  I wanted some relatively light, so what better way to prepare than some asian inspired dish.  I’m not sure where I got the recipe or idea from. I perused my cooking light cookbook and saw some ideas.

I an “Asian” wet rub for the tuna before pan searing it.  To go along with that, I made some “Asian” noodles using soba noodles.

Brian’s comments while cooking - “Baby, that smells :-(”
Brian’s comments while chowing down - This is actually pretty good, it’s a bit salty but has just the right amount of spice.

Tuna Steak:
1/3 cup of low sodium miso
1 tbs of ginger
1 tbs of honey
1 tbs of red pepper flakes
1 tbs of Asian Chili sauce
1 tbs of rice wine vinegar
2 6oz tuna steaks

Rub the marinade on the tuna steaks and let sit for 30 minutes.  Pan sear in a tbs of hot vegetable oil to your liking.  I like mine medium, and I cooked it all the way for Brian.

For the noodles:
3 cups of cooked soba noodles
1 tbs of all natural peanut butter with some extra oil that sits on top for the dressing
1 tbs of lite soy sauce
1/2 tbs of grated ginger
1 tbs of rice wine vinegar
1 tbs of lime juice
2 tbs of sesame seeds

Toss the hot cooked noodles in with the rest of the ingredients and serve room temperature.

Note: I suggest adding edamame or cooked sugar snap peas to the noodles.  I didn’t have any on hand.

Sorry for the bad picture.  Took it with an iPhone as an after thought while we were eating.

I wanted to keep eating clean and fresh since I ate like crap yesterday.  And since it was 100 degrees outside according to my car thermostat, I wanted something light.  I decided on ceviche.  I made ahi tuna and shrimp ceviche.  It was great and even Brian liked it.

• 1/2 lb raw shrimp
• 1/2 lb of ahi tuna steak
• 4 limes
• 3 lemons
• a handful of cilantro
• 1/2 a small red onion
• 1 tomato
• salt and pepper
• habenaro or serrano pepper

1. cut fish and shrimp into tiny bite sizes
2. juice the limes and lemon
3. dice onion and tomato
4. mix all ingredients and let sit for 1-2 hours until the fish is cooked by the acid
5. garnish with salt, pepper, and cilantro
6. serve with crisp lettuce and guacamole

I actually stuffed into tacos using whole grain tortillas.  We ate it before there were any to take pictures of.  Sorry!

Maybe I’ll try to get some pictures of the leftovers.

I was supposed to spend all of March studying for my PMP exam. However, since I had Good Friday off, I spent the morning whipping up this challenge. The cake itself was easy to make, but I am no cake decorator. In fact I am such a failure at it. I’m not sure what it is, lack of tools, lack of patience. Whatever it is, the cake turned out delicious. The consistency was dense yet light. It was almost like a dense angel food cake. Not sure how to describe it. It almost tasted like our white cake from our wedding. The icing itself was perfect. I’ve tried making my own icing before, but it just turned out lumpy regardless of how I followed the recipe. This was light and not too sweet. Brian asked if it was a meringue. It starts out as one, but it’s actually a buttercream. I wasn’t a fan though of the lemon flavoring in the icing. The slight sour taste made me think it was spoiled. Maybe I should substitute the lemon flavor with coconut extract or better yet, some almond extract. We did enjoy the cake on Easter weekend. Each of us having a slice. I ended up throwing the rest away to keep us from devouring the entire thing. What a shame and waste, but it was certainly fun to make it. Hopefully we’ll have some company to share it with the next time I make the cake.

Anyway, here’s the recipe of Dorie’s Perfect Party Cake. I didn’t follow it to the tee. The only thing I didn’t do was layer it with rasberry jam since Brian doesn’t like rasberry. Next time I will try it with fresh strawberries. I did however layer it with shredded coconut. And please don’t hate on my cake decorating skills. I’ve got a ton to master.
For the Cake

2 1/4 cups cake flour (updated 25 March)
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 ¼ cups whole milk or buttermilk (I prefer buttermilk with the lemon)
4 large egg whites
1 ½ cups sugar
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
1 stick (8 tablespoons or 4 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
½ teaspoon pure lemon extract

For the Buttercream
1 cup sugar
4 large egg whites
3 sticks (12 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
¼ cup fresh lemon juice (from 2 large lemons)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For Finishing
2/3 cup seedless raspberry preserves stirred vigorously or warmed gently until spreadable
About 1 ½ cups sweetened shredded coconut

Getting Ready
Centre a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter two 9 x 2 inch round cake pans and line the bottom of each pan with a round of buttered parchment or wax paper. Put the pans on a baking sheet.

To Make the Cake

• Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt.

• Whisk together the milk and egg whites in a medium bowl.

• Put the sugar and lemon zest in a mixer bowl or another large bowl and rub them together with your fingers until the sugar is moist and fragrant.

• Add the butter and working with the paddle or whisk attachment, or with a hand mixer, beat at medium speed for a full 3 minutes, until the butter and sugar are very light.

• Beat in the extract, then add one third of the flour mixture, still beating on medium speed.

• Beat in half of the milk-egg mixture, then beat in half of the remaining dry ingredients until incorporated.

• Add the rest of the milk and eggs beating until the batter is homogeneous, then add the last of the dry ingredients.

• Finally, give the batter a good 2- minute beating to ensure that it is thoroughly mixed and well aerated.

• Divide the batter between the two pans and smooth the tops with a rubber spatula.

• Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the cakes are well risen and springy to the touch – a thin knife inserted into the centers should come out clean

• Transfer the cakes to cooling racks and cool for about 5 minutes, then run a knife around the sides of the cakes, unfold them and peel off the paper liners.

• Invert and cool to room temperature, right side up (the cooled cake layers can be wrapped airtight and stored at room temperature overnight or frozen for up to two months).

To Make the Buttercream

• Put the sugar and egg whites in a mixer bowl or another large heatproof bowl, fit the bowl over a plan of simmering water and whisk constantly, keeping the mixture over the heat, until it feels hot to the touch, about 3 minutes.

• The sugar should be dissolved, and the mixture will look like shiny marshmallow cream.

• Remove the bowl from the heat.

• Working with the whisk attachment or with a hand mixer, beat the meringue on medium speed until it is cool, about 5 minutes.

• Switch to the paddle attachment if you have one, and add the butter a stick at a time, beating until smooth.

• Once all the butter is in, beat in the buttercream on medium-high speed until it is thick and very smooth, 6-10 minutes.

• During this time the buttercream may curdle or separate – just keep beating and it will come together again.

• On medium speed, gradually beat in the lemon juice, waiting until each addition is absorbed before adding more, and then the vanilla.

• You should have a shiny smooth, velvety, pristine white buttercream. Press a piece of plastic against the surface of the buttercream and set aside briefly.

To Assemble the Cake

• Using a sharp serrated knife and a gentle sawing motion, slice each layer horizontally in half.

• Put one layer cut side up on a cardboard cake round or a cake plate protected by strips of wax or parchment paper.

• Spread it with one third of the preserves.

• Cover the jam evenly with about one quarter of the buttercream.

• Top with another layer, spread with preserves and buttercream and then do the same with a third layer (you’ll have used all the jam and have buttercream leftover).

• Place the last layer cut side down on top of the cake and use the remaining buttercream to frost the sides and top.

• Press the coconut into the frosting, patting it gently all over the sides and top.

It was more like 2 meals in 1. Originally I was going to make salmon stuffed crepes, but I saw this on Monika’s food blog so I thought I would try it. It only took 45 minutes to make the entire meal so it wasn’t bad. I have to say it is quite different from my usual meals but I loved it. I even took it to work today, but a lunch outing at an Indian place was much more enticing. MMM Indian food.

Anyway, check out Monika’s blog for the Salmon Piccata recipe.

As for the spinach crepes, all I did was make the crepes and stuffed it with some thawed out frozen spinach mixed with a bit of asiago cheese. I then rolled it up and made a bechemel sauce to go over it.

The recipe for the crepes are below:
2 large eggs
2/3 cup water
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Blend together eggs, water, flour, and salt in a blender until smooth.

Lightly brush a 10-inch nonstick skillet with melted butter and heat over moderate heat until hot but not smoking. Ladle about 1/4 cup batter into skillet, tilting and rotating skillet to coat bottom, then pour excess batter back into bowl. (If batter sets before skillet is coated, reduce heat slightly for next crepe.) Cook until just set and underside is lightly browned, about 30 seconds, then invert crepe onto a clean kitchen towel in one layer to cool. (It will be cooked on one side only.) Make 5 more crepes with remaining batter in same manner, brushing skillet with butter as needed and transferring to towel as cooked, arranging them in one layer.

I am proud to be a member of the Daring Baker’s Challenge. This is my first challenge, and needless to say I was quite intimidated. Julia Child’s french bread. I remember growing up watching her on the weekends and thinking how odd she was. I never really saw her as an icon for cooking shows, I suppose because I was young. But nowadays her and Jacques Pepin are the best of the best. I wish foodnetwork can have more genuine cooks on the show.  Anyway, here’s this month’s recipe.

I have to say that I didn’t do so well with this challenge. I mean seriously 8 hours of breadmaking?? On top of that, I think my yeast is old because it didn’t seem to rise properly. AND being the impatient person that I am, I undercooked it. I did after all make a big ole loaf. I should have just made little baguettes or rolls. Anyway, I stuck it back in the oven for a few more minutes. We ended up making sandwiches out of it, and it’s certainly tasty when it’s warm and fresh. Brings me back to the days when my mom used to bake bread. For now I will stick with the breadmaker, but I certainly would want to refine my breadmaking skills. My mom would be proud.

This is cited from the Weekly Spark articles I get. Some of it is surprising, although I don’t know too much about fish. I always thought shellfish was bad, I guess Oysters are actually good for you, although I don’t even know if oysters are shell fish. I’m also surprised that Bluefin Tuna is bad for you. Anyway, we need to eat more fish in our house.

Best Fish
Anchovies (all varieties)
Atlantic Herring (U.S. and Canada)
Oysters (farmed)
Alaskan Sablefish
Black Cod
Alaskan Salmon (wild)
Sardines

Worst Fish
Chilean Sea Bass
Toothfish
Grouper
Marlin
Orange Roughy
Rockfish (Pacific)
Rock Cod (Pacific)
Atlantic Salmon
Shark
Sturgeon (wild)
Swordfish (imported)
Tilefish
Bluefin Tuna

So in honor of Valentines Day, Brian and I decided to forgo any fancy dinners in a crowded restaurant and decided to cook ourselves. Brian went out and got me flowers. Although I wish the boy remembered that I love orchids. Although the arrangement of the roses he got me last night was beautiful.

It turned out quite nicely. We started out with fried coconut shrimp. Then Brian had filet mignon and I had veal chop both accompanied by mashed potatoes and roasted acorn squash, and Italian red wine which I got from Central Market. What a splurge. I know we avoided the fancy restaurant, but if we were to add up the bill for tonight’s dinner, I think it came out to 100 bucks. Still cheaper than your usual Bob’s or III Forks.

We ended with coconut cake from the store and prosecco. I think I did most of the cooking, whereas Brian peeled and mashed the potatoes. Silly boy thinks you’re supposed to mash it before you cook it, so he made tiny little cubes. I was like what are you doing?? He said, it makes it easier to mash. He also opened the wine, which I guess counts for something.

I have to say that steak isn’t hard to make, but I hated having to babysit it. But I had to do it right for a $25 cut of meat, I certainly didn’t want to waste all that money on a badly cooked piece of meat. I didn’t have a pan to sear it on, and you had to either use a stainless steel pan or a cast iron pan. So instead, I stuck it in the oven under the broiler for a few minutes and gradually lowered the temperature. It spent 18 minutes in the oven, but it still didn’t look cook enough and according to my thermometer, it was only at 120 degrees. So I turned on the stove and let it sear on the baking pan atop the stove for another 4 minutes. That seem to do the trick. Medium just like we like it. I usually don’t go out for steak but maybe 1-2 times a year, so this certainly was a treat.

The steak and potatoes were good, but Brian hated the acorn squash. Thought it was too squishy. Whatever. I liked it. I seasoned the squash with dried herbs, tossed them in olive oil and stuck in the oven for about 15 minutes at 350 degrees. It came out perfect. I love pumpkin and squash. The best part of the night of course was giving Reesey her wine, and the pink prosecco. I love sparkling wine, and prosecco is light and crisp. It was still exhausting. Next time, maybe we’ll have frozen pizza.

I make such a mess when I cook. But we got most of it cleaned up last night. In the process though we missed last night’s episode of Lost, which I hope to catch up this weekend. THREE day weekend baby. Thank goodness, because work was starting to get to me.

This is my first attempt at making gnocchi or vodka sauce. It’s actually my first time eating it. To my surprise it was quite good. I was afraid the gnocchi would be too heavy. I didn’t really find my recipe anywhere. I originally was planning on making a Rachel Ray Recipe of gnocchi with chicken meatball soup. But I didn’t have all the ingredients on hand. Plus I had leftover pasta sauce that I needed to use up. Brian actually liked the gnocchi, and the leftovers I had for lunch was still just as good, even better than last night.

Turkey Meatballs

• 1 lb of ground turkey
• 1/4 cup of Italian breadcrumbs
• 1 tbs of red pepper
• 1 tsp of garlic powder
• 1 tsp of onion powder
• 1 tsp of seasoning salt
• 1 egg beaten

Vodka Sauce

• 1 large jar of your favorite pasta sauce
• 1/4 cup of vodka
• 1/4 cup of skim milk (a true vodka sauce uses heavy cream)
• I liked mine chunky so I add a can of petite diced tomatoes

Gnocchi
No recipe here, I just bought the potato kind off the shelf in the pasta section.

1. Simmer the ingredients for the vodka sauce on low for 30 minutes. For the next 10 minutes add the gnocchi and turn the heat up to medium. Gnocchi will cook in the sauce.
2. While the sauce is simmering, mix in the ingredients for the turkey meatballs and shape them into 1.5 inch balls. Place them on a baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.

Serve the gnocchi with meatballs on the side or covered in sauce. Enjoy.

Pad Kee Mow (with chicken) - I prefer this dish over Pad Thai since the latter is too sweet I think. I also made this dish since it’s the only thing Brian would ever order at a Thai restaurant. I think he’s just sticking to what is safe.

Pad Kee Mow stands for drunken noodles and is a standard Thai Street dish.

This recipe makes a ton so we had plenty of leftovers. I also have to say that this is my own recipe adapted from my mom’s kitchen. Brian thought it was a bit bland, but I think it’s just right. If it’s too bland, just double the sauces.

• 1 tablespoon chopped Thai chiles (I didn’t even notice the spice, so I would add more)
• 2 tablespoons coarsely chopped garlic
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• black pepper
• 3 tablespoons fish sauce
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons oyster sauce
• 3-4 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 chicken breast sliced
• 1 box dried wide egg noodles, 1/2 inch wide, soaked in hot water until tender for about 15 minutes. If it’s still not al dente, toss it in boiling water for about 3-5 minutes.
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup fresh Thai basil, and buds (I omitted because I didn’t have any)
• 3 Roma tomatoes, sliced into quarters
• 2 cups of snow peas (you can add any veggies, most restaurants use green bell peppers)

1. Heat up non stick pan and make an omelet with the eggs.
Slice up cooked omelet and set aside.

2. Preheat wok on high heat with 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil. Add in garlic and brown sugar. Let the sugar carmalize a bit. I only used sugar because I didn’t have dark soy sauce on hand. 1 - 2 minutes is good. Just don’t let the garlic burn.

3. Add in the chicken and let it sit for about a minute before stir frying. Once the chicken is and cooked, add in the
fish sauce, soy sauce, and oyster sauce, and black pepper. Toss it around for about 3 minutes. Add in snow peas. Stir fry for another 2 minutes.

4. Toss in cooked noodles and eggs. Add more fish/oyster/soy sauce if needed. Add in lime juice, tomatoes, thai peppers. Stir fry for another 5-8 minutes.

Garnish with thai basil and enjoy.

I’ve always been intrigued by these. They remind me of either the oatmeal cream pie made by Little Debbie or the Moon Pies that Brian claims to taste a bit artificial. The recipe originates from the Pennsylvania Dutch area. But enough with the history. I made them tonight and yet again another easy recipe. Not to mention Brian loved them. I remember coming downstairs and seeing a bite missing off one of the pies sitting on the cooling rack. I know it wasn’t Reesey’s teeth mark. Anyway, I made these as a test for our company bake sale in two weeks. I think these will be a hit. Anyway, click on Epicurious for a better picture.

Here’s the recipe from Epicurious…

For cakes:

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup Dutch-process cocoa powder
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup well-shaken buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 large egg

For filling:

1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened
11/4 cups confectioners sugar
2 cups marshmallow cream such as Marshmallow Fluff
1 teaspoon vanilla

Make cakes:

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Whisk together flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt in a bowl until combined. Stir together buttermilk and vanilla in a small bowl.

Beat together butter and brown sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes in a standing mixer or 5 minutes with a handheld, then add egg, beating until combined well. Reduce speed to low and alternately mix in flour mixture and buttermilk in batches, beginning and ending with flour, scraping down side of bowl occasionally, and mixing until smooth.

Spoon 1/4-cup mounds of batter about 2 inches apart onto 2 buttered large baking sheets. Bake in upper and lower thirds of oven, switching position of sheets halfway through baking, until tops are puffed and cakes spring back when touched, 11 to 13 minutes. Transfer with a metal spatula to a rack to cool completely.

Make filling:

Beat together butter, confectioners sugar, marshmallow, and vanilla in a bowl with electric mixer at medium speed until smooth, about 3 minutes.

Assemble pies:

Spread a rounded tablespoon filling on flat sides of half of cakes and top with remaining cakes.

Cooks’ notes:

• Cakes can be made 3 days ahead and kept, layered between sheets of wax paper, in an airtight container at room temperature.
• Filling can be made 4 hours ahead and kept, covered, at room temperature.