When Life Gives You Lemons… Make Lemon Curd

I am quite spoiled—in the lemon department. 

Shortly after moving to our house 15 some years ago, my family went on a day trip to Home Depot to look for plants for the front and back yard. My mom chose roses in all sorts of colors; my dad got the standard shrubbery; my little brother didn't care as he could barely even walk; and I, a lemon sapling. This could have very been a forecast of what's to come in my future!

In just a few years, the sapling grew from the top of my navel to taller than our house, producing an endless supply of lemons. We used them for lemonade, lemon coke, preserved lemons—nothing beats walking just a few yards for the fresh stuff. 

It wasn't till recently that I ventured out the beverage arena to give lemon curd a try. Armed with a recipe from Martha Stewart's Everyday Food, I went and picked out 2 plump specimens and got to work.

In a medium saucepan, I whisked together 1 cup sugar, 1 TB lemon zest and 8 egg yolks. Next I mixed in 2/3 cup fresh lemon juice (about 1 1/2 lemons) and 1/4 tsp salt. 

Once all the ingredients are well incorporated, I set the pan over medium-high heat and added in 10 TB unsalted butter, which equals to 1 1/4 sticks. I whisked constantly as lemon scent scrambled eggs wasn't my goal! 

In a few minutes, it was thick enough to coat a the back of a spoon. Strained and cooled in the fridge for a few hours, I had 2 cups of the lip-puckering compound.

Lacking foresight however, I did not prepare anything to serve the curd with… fail. 

After a mad scrambled, I found a box of Trader Joe's Vanilla Meringues, the hero of the day. With a generous smear of the lemon curd in between the airy cookies, I had myself a deconstructed lemon meringue pie! It works especially well as the cookies by themselves were too sweet for my taste so the lemon curd was instrumental in balancing the saccharine meringues. 

Love the classy ridges on the meringues. Makes me want to ask, "oh you fancy huh?" 

Hope you give it a try!

House of An's Noodle Off: How to Win People's Choice

My heart was beating so fast I was sure the crowd could hear it through the microphone, which was handed to me just a second ago after  the host announced my name. After a never-ending second of terror, I began to speak… 

The day was November 22, 2010. An ordinary Monday that started out as bland as it can be which included a long day at work. 

However, instead of driving home at the end of the day, I braved the traffic instead to Tiato to cook for over 100 people and to be on Fox News. How did I find myself in this situation? 

2 weeks ago, I entered a cooking competition on a nondescript Sunday. The An family had created the Noodle-Off to celebrate the prodigious Crustacean's 30th anniversary and the opening of their newest venture, Tiato and I got the heads up through a friend. 

Using the flavors of my childhood, specifically a beloved dish by my grandma, I overhauled the ubiquitous Italian Bolognese to create my own version. Gone were the tomato base and in its place, sour plum and dried tangerine peel worked their magic. Pancetta was out, replaced by Chinese Yunnan ham. I'll stop now before divulging all my secrets ;)

A couple of days later, I got the fateful phone call from the organizers and here I was, introducing myself and explaining my inspiration for the Asian Bolognese in front of a panel of judges, which included a better part of the famous An family (including the creator of the trademarked garlic noodles!), industry professionals and a full house. Oh yeah, Jane Yamamoto was there with her crew too. 

Although I am deathly afraid of public speaking—definitely lost a lot of sleep over anticipating that portion of the evening and have the under eye circles to prove it, it was an amazing experience that taught me much about competing and how to present oneself. Here's a list of Do's and Don'ts:

1. Do not wear black when appearing on TV. See example.

2. Separate yourself from your competition using your strengths. In my case, I took advantage of my design background to amp up my table.

3. If you have a difficult name, use a prop to help others remember you. In my case, I used a cup of tea, which doubled up as my beverage of the night. Double win.

4. Cook more than you need to for less trips to the kitchen. I was able to win over more attendees by serving still while other competitors were running back and forth because they ran out of food.

5. Leave behind works! I made little flags to hand out to everyone (even and especially the judges) so they will remember my dish. Muahaahah. 

6. Keep your answers short and sweet. Newscasters are under strict time restraints and will not hesitate to cut you off. 

7. Taste, taste and taste your food! Chef Helena told me afterwards that the reason she docked off points was because I overdid it with the sesame oil. DANG. 

7. Stop stressing and just have fun! 

Ultimately, the veteran competitor won. A retired administrator, she now competes full-time and have been cleaning house at various cooking competitions, including the Panini-Off early this year. 

But. I didn't go home empty handed! Yours truly won People's Choice, which was a $200 gift certificate to Crustacean—no too shabby eh? 

Photos courtesy of my friends and boss. Thank you for documenting the event as it went by in a blur for me! 

Fresheast : Be Kind to Yourself

Although I adore Chinese food, I'm quite wary of going to Chinese restaurants *Note: in America*. Partly because my parents dragged me along to way too many as a kid and I feel as though I've fill my lifetime quota. But mostly, I'm not too fond of the queasiness I am left with after a meal. The copious amount of oil and MSG within each dish just wreaks havoc to my stomach. 

So, when Ravine, the owner of Fresheast, invited me for a meal at his newly opened restaurant, I was cautious. 

But I did some research and learned that Fresheast wasn't a Chinese restaurant, but rather an eatery dedicated to sustainable ingredients and showcased flavors from Asia. Interesting.

I called up my friend and off we went to explore Fresheast. Tucked away in an unsuspecting plaza with Pavilions and a Chase bank in Weho, the restaurant is easily overlooked with the exception of day-glo green vinyl patterning on their windows.

The interior houses an eclectic mix of modern furnishings and traditional decorations tied together by the theme of sustainability. There were recycled chairs made out of coke bottles, reclaimed wood floors, Japanese wood screens and vintage bird cages—interior-wise, they certainly do as they preach.

However, we're there for the food so we ordered a few of their offerings. The menu was easily navigable with your choice of protein and sides as well as a few specialties (a burger even!).

For drinks, we tried the melonade, a refreshing blend of watermelon, lemon and palm sugar, which can be liken to a milder aqua fresca, and the Fresheast juice. The latter was the standout star, which startles at first with beets and kale, but then finishes on a sweet note with orange and apple. 

The Shanghai beef with brown rice and stir fried veggies came out first. The flavors was spot on for the beef, but the Harris Ranch grass fed beef unfortunately didn't have enough fat so it was too tough for my taste. I quickly abandoned it for the veggies, as they were crisp and had a kick coming from an abundance of grated ginger.

The grilled miso jidori chicken was my favorite. Perfectly grilled and lacquered with a no-too sweet miso glaze, it was a great pair with the quinoa. My friend and I fought over for the last piece! 

By then, we were both full, but we couldn't resist ordering their sorbet of the day: comice pear. Unbelievably creamy, yet made without dairy (impossible!!) and full of pear goodness, it was a great end to a tasty meal.

Best part? As we walked out, I was not overcome with the urge to go to the ladies room or the need to sit through a food coma. Rather, I felt uncharacteristically good and filled with energy. Even though we were off to watch Tangled, I was ready to run or lift something. Crazy huh? 

On that basis alone, I'll be back to Fresheast. I mean, of course it's a noble cause to support their goals of being sustainable and socially responsible—even their plates were made of recycled palm leaves. But it's rare to find a restaurant that's able to produce healthy dishes that actually taste good as well. Kudos!

A Green Dinner: an Homage to Munchies

Last month, I had the most expensive dinner to date. And what  an experience of a lifetime it was. This month marks the most interesting dinner party I've had the opportunity to cook for. 

This past Sunday, I was given carte blanche by a friend and fellow foodie to create the menu for his latest dinner party. The challenge? It was in 2 days and I was to include Cannabis Indica infused oil and butter within the courses served. 

Not one to shy away from a challenge, I accepted. Never mind that I've never cooked with the substance and the only experience I've had with it was a lone bite of brownie, the opportunity was too fun and risque to pass up. Did I mention there was a Thermador 48-inch range put into play? 

So, taking inspiration from all the TV shows (aka That 70's Show) that referenced the illicit substance, I based my menu on the foods one would want to consume after smoking. 

With the help of the attendants, we set out to revamp classic munchies. The first course takes on cheetos and other crunchy snacks with Poutine. Using ground pork and finely diced veggies, we made it into a spicy Japanese curry that was ladled over fries scented with Indica oil. To finish it off, we shaved aged white cheddar over and sprinkled on chives. Frysmith ain't got nothing on this!

For the 2nd course, I wanted to pay homage to Chipotle so we made a pan seared flap steak, served on top of quinoa seasoned Chipotle-styled with a squeeze of lime, cilantro, garlic and green onions. To round it off, a healthy heap of sauteed snow peas with garlic and bacon. The sauce was an infused Chimichurri.

After the heavy steak, a palate cleanser was sorely needed. To the rescue was a ginger pear granita served with a Cavas shot and elderflower. Taking a breather, there was no addition of green for this. 

For the last course, I took on the ultimate cliche—the special brownie. The host has made little special bundt brownies earlier so I warmed them up and paired it with a bacon peanut butter caramel with the addition of the infuse cream, banana foster ice cream and more bacon. I dubbed it The Elvis.

The setbacks though of having a non-Cannabis enthusiast cook a green-theme dinner is that I had no idea on the correct portions. I don't think any of the attendants felt the effects, which made for an ineffective dinner in that regards. However, food and flavor wise, I was very happy with the turnout and am already thinking of the theme for the next underground dinner party…

Fry party anyone?