My Addiction

Ad-dic-tion [ a dik shen ] – noun – The fact or condition of being addicted to a particular substance, thing, or activity.

I have an addiction called Chaussures de Toxicomanie. This addiction was dormant during my early stages of life and it’s now consuming me. I don’t quite remember when this developed, maybe during high school, not too sure. What I am sure of, this condition, disease, addiction or whatever you want to call it has a mind of its own and I just can’t control it. So what is chaussures de toxicomanie? It’s an addiction. An addiction for shoes. I love shoes and yes, I can’t control the urges! When I see a pair of fancy shoes at the store my nerve cells starts talking to each other and they release happy drugs, my mind goes blank, and all I think about is, “Do they have a 6.5?” Don’t judge me. Everyone has demons.  

Shoes. They make you feel sexy, cute, dainty, tall, and elongates your legs. Like many addictions shoes provide a euphoric feeling. Shoes are like men. Get the latest style. Use it. Walk all over it. Beat it up. Get a new pair. Just kidding! I would never beat up my shoes. 

YSL Tribtoo Platform Pumps

It’s an expensive addiction but at least you look good doing it! 

Samosas

Since I don’t plan on traveling to India anytime soon I thought I would bring India to me. I would love to travel to India one day but I get so discouraged when everyone comes back with horror stories of getting sick, food poisoning, and getting IVs jabbed into them. It’s not what I call a vacation. Anyways, I decided to make some samosas to support my Indian/fried food craving. I nabbed a recipe off FoodTv and found the recipe to be really easy but very time consuming. VERY time consuming. 

These are great little finger food when served hot and with a side of chutney. Unfortunately I didn't have any chutney but the samosas by itself were still delicious and packed with flavor. I mean, how many Chinese households have a jar of chutney tucked away in the pantry?! The recipe makes a yogurt dipping sauce to go with the somosas but I decided not to. I also experimented by using egg roll wrappers instead of the dough (for the lazy) and it came out well but I still prefer the dough that was made from the recipe. The dough from the recipe came out crispier and didn't suck up as much of the oil as the egg roll wrappers. With my recipe I included some carrots to gives it a nice extra burst of color. 

Potato and Pea Samosas (and CARROTS!)

Makes 20 Samosas

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp salt

1/2 clarified butter or oil

Cold water as needed, usually about 10 tbs

3 medium baking potatoes, boiled until tender, drained and cooled

1 cup minced onions

1 tbs minced fresh ginger

1 hot green chile, such as serrano, finely minced

1 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp garam masala

1 tsp cumin seeds

1/8 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1 cup frozen peas, thawed (I used canned. Thank you Mr. Green Giant)

3 tbsp chopped cilantro leaves

Directions

In a large bowl, combine the flour and 1/4 teaspoon of the salt and then rubbing 1/4 cup of the clarified butter into the flour until well combined and mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add the water, a tablespoon at a time, until the pastry comes together to form a ball, about 10 tablespoons. Knead the dough lightly and then form into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap and transfer to the refrigerator to rest for at least 1 hour.

While the dough is resting, make the filling. Peel the potatoes and cut into small dice and place in a bowl. Heat the remaining 1/4 cup of ghee in a medium skillet and add the onion. Cook until the onion is lightly caramelized, about 6 minutes. Add the ginger, chile, coriander, garam masala, and cumin seeds and cook until the spices are fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add the potatoes, 1 teaspoon of the remaining salt, and 1/8 teaspoon of the pepper and cook, stirring, until well combined, about 6 minutes. Add the peas and 3 tablespoons of the cilantro and set aside to cool completely.

Divide the samosa dough into 10 portions and roll each piece of dough into a circle about 5 inches in diameter. Cut each circle in half. Lightly moisten the straight edge of each half circle with water, and press together to seal; you should now have a cone-shaped portion of dough. Carefully spoon about 2 heaping tablespoons of the filling into the dough cone, then moisten the remaining edges with a bit of water and press together to seal. Repeat with the remaining portions of dough and filling.

When you are ready to fry the samosas, heat a large saucepan filled with at least 2 inches of oil to about 340 degrees F. Fry the samosas, a few at a time, and stirring to promote even cooking, until golden brown, about 4 minutes. (Note: these will float to the surface of the oil long before they are ready to be removed; make certain to cook them until the pastry is crispy and golden brown.) Remove using a slotted spoon and transfer to a paper-lined plate to drain. Repeat until all samosas have been fried. Serve with chutney, if desired.

Not Your Ordinary Spaghetti

I figured a long time ago that regular italian spaghetti with the marinara sauce and meatballs did not suit my taste. So I decided to make my own spaghetti with my own flare. This was enhanced by some collaboration with my mom when I was at the age of "why are you making me cook, i hate the kitchen age". When you learn the ingredients, it sounds funny, but wait til you try it and taste it, because it is delicious, and it is different.

ground lean beef and chicken.you will only use half of the chicken and half of the beef.unless you're making this for a party of 8 or more

 minced cloves of garlic, and half a head of onions.unless you and your fellow eaters love onions, fry in olive oil until golden brown and your house smells delicious!

 then add in your meats.cook until you don't see any reds on the meat.add salt, pepper, soy sauce (Asian soy sauce, not some American brand), oyster sauce.you season this with these seasoning according to your taste.

 add in your pasta sauce.it doesn't matter what you have in your pantry or cupboard, you can even add in some diced or chunky cuts of tomatoes that's sitting in your fridge's vegetable crisper.

 make sure you have cooked your pasta aldente and drained before starting in with your garlic and onions.then mix in your pasta.

 viola!toss in some grated Parmesan or your fave cheese, or your regular Krafts cheese Parmesan.and trust me it is very delicious.

AnQi

3333 Bristol Street

Costa Mesa, CA 92626

714.557.5679

AnQi, the creators of Crustacean, offers a more casual dining experience for the people of Orange County with a Euro-Asian flare. The décor of the restaurant is very, how do you say, Asian. Well, aside from the obvious the space is clean, mysterious, and modern. The menu had a list of hot and cold tapas, entrées, as well as a prix fixe menu. Though the prix fixe menu looked appetizing we went with the garlic noodles, 2 tapas dish and an entrée to share. 

An’s famous garlic noodle was basically noodle with garlic. There wasn’t anything special about the noodles. In fact, I thought the noodle tastes too floury.

Filet mignon potstickers was nothing out of the ordinary. The quality of the meat filling was better than a normal but for $12 I’m sure I can find something better tasting at a lower cost.

Bun Bao. There was too much bun and not enough pork. I thought that this dish lacked flavor. It needed more ginger hoisin. The little bit of pork that I did have was at least moist.

Misoyaki Black cod was good. I love cod and as long as you prepare it correctly you can’t go wrong. The cod was moist and tender. The glaze was sweet but not overpowering. 

 DINNER-WEAR

Top and skirt by Full Tilt. Heels by Chinese Laundry. Purse by Split.

Blazer by Halogen. Tank by LaROK. Jeans by J Brand. Sandals by YSL. Purse by Fendi.

Croque Madame

By: ML
It was another windy morning, I was hungry, and I was not about to step out into the cold. I had some eggs and left over gruyere. Eggs sandwich you say? Egg sandwich indeed. I didn’t want a simple egg sandwich and I didn’t want to cook up a storm for a measly little sandwich. As I was sitting on the kitchen counter looking at my eggs and kicking the open air I had an epiphany. So here goes my train of thoughts (FYI I have a really random thought process which you will notice over time), eggs, brunch, bread, butter, Thomas Keller, french fries, Croque Madame! I remember Bouchon had really yummy butter and then that reminded me of the brunch menu which offered Croque Madame (hot ham and cheese sandwich. It sounds so much fancier in French!).

So this post is a salute to Thomas Keller via Rachel Ray. I picked up the recipe from FoodTv and made a coupe of my own adjustments.  

Croque Madame, easy, fast, and delightful. This open faced sandwich was a perfect homemade brunch that went perfectly with an episode of the HBO special mini series, "Mildred Pierce." How very appropriate. 

With this recipe you will be making a béchamel sauce which is essentially a white sauce. Instead of a béchamel sauce I made a Mornay sauce. There really isn’t a huge difference in these two sauces. A Mornay is simply a béchamel base with grated cheese in it. Simple right? Plus, you can’t deny yourself of extra cheese. It’s like saying, “No, I don’t want the Leprechaun and his pot of gold.” Ok, no Leprechaun but yes pot of gold. Anyways, I used Gruyere in my Mornay sauce and instead of Swiss cheese I used Gruyere as well. If you didn’t know, I love Gruyere! I also substituted the slices of ham with turkey and for garnish I chopped up some cilantro. Minor changes and still delicious. Enjoy!    

Madame Croque

2 Servings 

Ingredients
4 tbsp. butter, divided
1 rounded Tbsp. all-purpose 
1 cup milk
Salt and pepper
1/8 tsp. fresh grated nutmeg
2 tsp. Dijon mustard
2 slices white bread
2 large eggs
4 slices of ham
4 slices deli Swiss cheese
Chopped parsley leaves, chives, or thyme leaves for garnish - choose from any or all on hand 


Directions

Place a small sauce pot over medium low heat and melt 2 tablespoons butter in it. Whisk in a rounded tablespoon of flour and cook 1 minute or so. Whisk in milk and bring to a bubble then drop heat to low. Season the sauce with salt, pepper, nutmeg and Dijon. When sauce coats back of a spoon, turn off heat.

Heat 1 tablespoon of butter in each of 2 medium nonstick skillets, both over medium low heat. When butter melts add 2 large eggs to the first skillet, keeping the whites separate from each other. To the second skillet add 2 slices bread and toast lightly on first side then turn the bread. Top turned bread liberally with sauce and 2 slices of the ham and the Swiss cheese on each slice of bread. Use a spatula to transfer the eggs to the tops of the open faced sandwiches. Cover the pan with foil and turn off heat. Let pan stand 5 minutes to melt cheese and set sauce and eggs.

Top sandwiches with chopped herb or herbs of choice and serve. Spoon any leftover sauce over top of the eggs before garnishing.

Roscoes Chix and Waffles

By: LB

a night at Roscoe's Chix (and that is what they call chicken on their menu) and waffles (in long beach) before heading to dollhouse with my partner.*hint: make sure you know what you order and don't change your mind, unless you want to be scolded by your waitress!Speaking from experience, this was our first time ever to be scared to order.when the check came, we made sure we got it all down because we didn't want to get scolded again and embarrass ourselves in front of the people waiting to be seated. And make sure you read signs posted because they don't want the split checks! There really isn't much to say about chicken and waffles, the name says it all. And yes, it is delicious!

Roscoe's House of Chicken & Waffles
730 E Broadway
Long Beach, CA 90802

Popovers! The New Muffin Top

By: ML
Ever since my popover experience at BLT in New York I’ve been wanting to recreate the delicious moment at home. I had the recipe, I had the ingredients, and a couple years later I finally bought a popover pan. In my defense, a couple of years later is better than not buying the dumb pan at all. With a few simple ingredients, a great whisking arm, and my all time favorite cheese I was able to bake up a batch of my very own popovers.

Popovers are cooked by using steam which gives it a real airy and hollow inside. These little joys of greatness was crunchy on the outside and soft in the inside. The Gruyère gave the top of the popover a cheesy goodness with a hint of nuttiness. Enjoy them hot out the over by itself, with jam, butter, or all of the above. I picked all of the above. Hearty breakfast treat. Thank you BLT!

BLT Popover 

Makes 12 popovers (I made 18)

Ingredients 

4 cup of milk, warm

8 eggs

4 cup of flour

1 1/2 heaping tbsp. salt

2 1/4 cup of grated Gruyère

*I made sure all the ingredients were at room temperature before baking. 

1. Place popover pan in oven. Heat the oven and pan to 350º.

2. Gently warm milk over low heat and set aside. 

3. Whisk the eggs until frothy and slowly whisk in the milk (so as not to cook the eggs). Set the mixture aside. 

4.  Sift the flour with the salt. Slowly add this dry mixture to the egg mixture and gently combine until mostly smooth. 

5. Remove the popover pan from the oven and spray with nonstick vegetable spray.

6. While the batter is still warm, fill each popover cup three-fourths full.

7. Top each popover with approximately 2 1/2 tbsp. of grated cheese (I put more. Don't be shy)

8. Bake at 350º for 50 minutes, rotating pan half turn after fifteen minutes, until popovers are golden.   

*Don't peek after the half turn or else the popovers will deflate. 

9. Take out of oven, remove from pan, and serve immediately.