Boulder's Apple Strudel Pie

I've made this pie before, but it's become one of my regular desserts to make. This time, I made it for our friend, Cecilia, in Boulder, Colorado when we were staying there. This, I promise you, will be a hit at any party.

Ingredients:-

5-6 Red Delicious Apple

1/2 cup Brown Sugar

1 Teaspoon cinnamon

1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract

1 Teaspoon Salt

1/2 Stick Unsalted Butter

8" Frozen Pie Shell

1 Tablespoon Lemon Juice (optional)

Toppings:-

1/3 cup All-purpose flour

1/2 stick unsalted butter (soften)

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 Teaspoon cinnamon

* Mix all together with hand, until crumbly. Dont over do it.

Methods:-

1. Peel and slice the apple, so that you can arrange it on the pie shell.

2. Heat a pot in medium, and melt the butter. Throw in the apple, sugar, cinnamon and salt.

3. Cook for 15 min or until the apple filling get syrupy and shiny. Add vanilla and lemon juice (optional). Cook for another 10 min until little concentrate.

4. Fill the pie shell with the filling and put the toppings cover the pie. Then bake at 375 C for about 25-30 min.

The only day I made Kung Pao Chicken

Kung Pao Chicken is very americanized. In fact, a lot of chinese food you might eat at your local chinese restaurant you would never actually find in China. But now they have become a part of our american culture, and are most likely here to stay. Gregg's family loves this type of chinese food, so I made it especially for them, this one time, when they came to visit our new house for the first time.

Recipe:

1 Chicken Breast (cut into chunk)

1 Red bell pepper (cube or slice)

1/2 Onion (cube or slice)

1 stalk Green Onion (chopped)

1 clove Garlic (chopped)

1/2 cup Roasted Walnut (chopped)

1 Tablespoon Oyster sauce

Method:-

1. Heat the work high, add the cooking oil and then the garlic. Stir for just few second, not to burn the garlic. Immediately add in the chicken. Stir the chicken until little golden, or half cooked.

2. Add in bell pepper, onion and green onion, stir fried for a minute.

3. Add the oyster sauce and stir until even.

4. Lastly, just throw in the Walnut, stir for few second. Then serve.

Bao Bao (Full Full) :)

Ginger Thyme Pork Chop

A friend of Gregg wanted me to cater for her an entree one day. I made her my signature Ginger Thyme Pork Chop with White Wine mixed mushrooms sauce. Yes, white wine instead of red. Sometimes, we have to be adventures a little, see the outcome. And certainly, it was good. Why have to restrict yourself with all the French or Italian cooking, claiming that Red Wine must go with Red Meat, White Wine should go with White Meat. It is all depends on the quantity you used and also the taste you wanted. See, cooking is fun....

Marinating Pork Chop:-

4 pieces Pork Chop
1/4 cup White Wine
1 Tablespoon Ginger (smashed and minced)
1 Tablespoon Fresh Thyme leafs
1 Tablespoon Soy Sauce
1 Teaspoon Salt
1 Tablespoon Sugar (can use brown sugar)

* Put all into a Ziploc bag and put into the fridge marinating it overnight, or at least 4 hours.

Methods:-

1. Heat the non-stick pan with some cooking oil (say about 3 Tablespoon) over high heat. Searing meat, you have to put high actually so that the brownish is formed and also it will not overcook the pork chop.
2. Put the marinated pork chop one at a time (the marinade in the bag is for making the mushroom sauce), seared for 3 min at least each side. Then put on the plate for rest for a minute and then seared again for another min on each side (this step is to let the meat rest, so that the meat stay soft and moist).

Mushroom sauce:-

1 cup Baby White Button mushroom (sliced)
1 cup Baby Portabella mushroom (sliced)
1/2 cup White Wine (I used Sauvignon Blanc)
1 Tablespoon Shallots (minced)
1 Teaspoon Fresh Thyme leafs
The marinated residue from the Pork Chop marinade (very important)

Making the sauce:-

1. Sauteed the mushrooms together with some cooking oil over medium heat until little brown, seasoned with little salt and pepper.
2. Add in the shallots, stir for few seconds and then add wine and thyme leafs together.
3. Add the Pork Chop marinade and simmer until reduce. Depends on how thick the sauce you want it. See, I try not to use butter. It tastes good as well and healthier.

5 am Coffee Cake and 5 am Scones

I call them 5 am coffee cake and scones, because I couldn't sleep one night, so just decided to get out of bed and start baking. It reminded me of the days when I was a baker and used to wake up early and make all the sweets for the customers who would soon be coming.

Recipe:

Soon to come

Bacon Wrapped Asparagus

Let's face it, bacon wrapped anything tasted good. But bacon wrapped asparagus is easy to roll up with bacon, and tastes great. This is perfect for a party appetizer.

Recipe:

Bacon
Shrimps - shelled
Asparagus

1. Roast the asparagus with olive oil, salt and pepper in the oven, 350 F for 10-15 min. Or just saute it for few min on high heat (faster this way).
2. Use the paper towels to ged rid of the excess oil on the asparagus and put a side.
3. Put the bacon in the microwave for 1 min, get rid of the fat. Then put a side to cool.
4. Wrap the asparagus, shrimp with bacon, use a toothpick to secure them. Once done all the wrapping, dip them in a teriyaki sauce (dilute with little water), put them on a sheet pan with rack. To let the excess teriyaki sauce dripped.
5. Once done, lay the wrap one at a time on the non-stick pan (no oil added) at medium heat and sear them until brown/charred. You can see the excess fat from the bacon will come out.

Selamat Mencuba (Have a good try)

A Square of Salmon

Salmon is always a great staple to have, very healthy and a good square meal, so I made it into a square of Salmon. I just arranged some romaine lettuce leaves as the square "bed" to lay on, then layered it with a little rice, a layer of roasted vegetables, the salmon and the sauce. A perfectly healthy lunch or dinner!

Recipe:

Soon to come

New Home, First Meal

I just wanted to share this picture with everyone. Gregg bought his first home, and I cooked him his first meal here. As you can see, we had no patio set, no tables, no chairs, so a $3 Home Depot bucket became our dining chair. I made my famous fried rice and chicken, and as you can see, Gregg was as happy as can be, :)

Trout Bourguignon

I am sure most people love Beef stew or Beef Bourguignon. However, what if you have other meat instead especially a Trout, Salmon, Seabass, Talapia, Sole, Catfish, Snappers, etc in your freezer? Dont worry so much, I am showing you how to make Trout Bourguignon, Chef Chong's way. The main thing of Bourguignon is the sauce char winery flavor. Yes, red, white or even sake is good, as long as there is a alcohol in it. Cooking is about fun and suiting your own taste buds.

Recipe soon to come.......

Craisins Alaskan Halibut

Chef Neda who is the Private Chef for a wealthy family in San Francisco and ex-Chef for French Laundry gave me some frozen Alaskan Halibut few days ago. I was thinking, should I just seared it with salt and pepper or making it more fancy and gourmet. Well, of cos, more gourmet and fine dining experience, Chef Chong's way. I have some craisins in the fridge, cut leeks and romaine. Good light bright idea, genius.... See, nothing goes to waste. Always keep those extra vegetable tops or shoots in a ziploc bag or air tight containers to keep it fresh. I was using Japanese Sake for this Halibut and it was wonderful. Gregg loves it and we were silent when we had the first bite of the halibut... yum yum yum....:)
Recipe soon to come.............

You can Sushi too!

You don't have to be an expert Sushi Chef to make sushi. In fact, you don't need any specific ingredients besides the rice and the nori (seaweed). Again, whatever's leftover in your fridge/freezer is fair game. This weekend, I had leftover bacon, eggs, shrimp, mushrooms and cucumber. I tried combining a couple of these ingredients, and you know what, it tasted great!