jean-george inspired fried rice

You'd be surprised how often we make fried rice at home. That is because my mother-in-law loves to make rice. She'll make 3 cups full for the 4 of us, when 1 cup is just enough. As a result, we are consistently faced with a big mound of leftover rice. Honestly, I am not complaining, especially when it comes to fried rice inspired by a Frenchman. That sounds a bit like an oxymoron, doesn't it? I was browsing through nytimes.com and came across this article from the minimalist. After reading then watching Mark Bittman go on about fried rice, I was intrigued to try out the key ingredient to Jean-George's fried rice, which is the crispy garlic and ginger. Why not? Our fridge is constantly stocked with the right ingredients anyways.

ginger fried rice
recipe adapted from the nytimes

ingredients

• 1/2 cup peanut oil
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic
• 2 tablespoons minced ginger
• Salt
• 2 cups thinly sliced leeks, white and light green parts only, rinsed and dried
• 4 cups day-old cooked brown rice, at room temperature
• 4 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons sesame oil
• 4 teaspoons soy sauce
• Fried shallots

directions

1. In a large skillet, heat 1/4 cup oil over medium heat. Add garlic and ginger and cook, stirring occasionally, until crisp and brown. With a slotted spoon, transfer to paper towels and salt lightly.
2. Reduce heat under skillet to medium-low and add 2 tablespoons oil and leeks. Cook about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until very tender but not browned. Season lightly with salt.
3. Raise heat to medium and add rice. Cook, stirring well, until heated through. Season to taste with salt.
4. In a nonstick skillet, scramble eggs in remaining oil. Toss in rice until well mixed.
5. Divide rice among four dishes. Drizzle with 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil and 1 teaspoon soy sauce. Sprinkle crisped garlic and ginger over everything and serve. Top with fried shallots.

bacon & onion quiche

So I was stuck with a little bit of problem yesterday. What to do with all my extra lasagna ingredients? What to do? What to do? We might be going away this weekend, so with pre-chopped ingredients in the fridge made me weary. After some thought, I realized these were all the ingredients to make a quiche! I love quiche! But I haven't made one for a long time, and I mean... long because my husband claims he has never seen me make it before. Since I've known my husband for almost 4 years, that means I haven't made a single quiche for that long. I use to make them all the time! Nonetheless, I haven't forgotten how to whip one together.

bacon and onion quiche
ingredients

• 1 pre-made pie crust
• 16 oz bacon, chopped
• 1/2 spanish onion, diced
• 1/4 cup shredded romano cheese
• 4 oz shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1/4 cup parsley, chopped
• 1/2 cup cream
• 1/2 cup milk
• 3 eggs
• salt and pepper

directions

1. preheat oven to 375 degrees F
2. prepare pie crust in pie pan according to directions on packaging but do not bake. set aside
3. saute bacon until cooked, add onions and cook until translucent. pour into the prepared pie crust and spread into an even layer
4. sprinkle an even layer of cheeses over the bacon and onion mixture
5. in a bowl, mix in eggs, cream, milk, and parsley. add salt and pepper. stir until well mixed.pour over pie crust over the cheese and bacon layers.
6. bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes. remove from oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes before serving.

bolognese lasagna

I'm too tired from making this lasagna to put together a proper post. Ha! I'm just kidding. But seriously, I had spent a whole day making this. At least it didn't take multiple days like my last lasagna creation. All in all, I would make this again even though it takes a day of labor. This recipe is a compilation of a few celebrity chef's recipes (dominantly bobby flay's) mixed with what I was able to get from the grocery store and a dash of my creativity.

un jour lasagna
sauce ingredients

• 1-1/2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 large spanish onion, finely diced
• 2 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red chili flakes
• 1 (28-ounce) cans crushed tomatoes
• 1/2 (15-ounce) can diced tomatoes
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil leaves 
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 pound ground turkey
• 1 pound ground lean beef
• salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 3/4 pound bacon, finely diced
• 1 1/2 cups finely diced spanish onion
• 1/2 cup finely diced carrot
• 1/2 cup finely diced celery
• 4 whole garlic cloves
• 1 cup dry red wine
• 1-2 cups chicken stock
• 1/2 (15-ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 6 sprigs flat-leaf parsley

 ricotta mixture ingredients

• 3 cups ricotta, strained in a cheesecloth lined strainer for at least 4 hours
• 2 large eggs
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil leaves
• 1/2 cup freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano
• salt
• freshly ground black pepper 

bechamel sauce ingredients

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 to 2 1/2 cups half and half, heated
• Pinch freshly grated nutmeg
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 3/4 cup grated romano cheese
• 1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano 

assembly ingredients

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• bechamel Sauce
• 1 pound lasagna noodles, cooked
• ricotta mixture
• grated parmigiano-reggiano
• fresh basil leaves
• bolognese Sauce

sauce directions

1. heat the oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat, add the onions and cook until soft, 3 to 4 minutes. add the garlic and red chili flakes and cook for 1 minute. add the diced tomatoes, bring to boil, season with salt and pepper and cook until the sauce is reduced and thickened, about 25 to 30 minutes. stir in the parsley and basil. set aside
2. in another pan, cook the bacon for 5-7 minutes, remove with slotted spoon. use the remaining oil to saute ground turkey and beef, cook until meat is done and remove from the pan.
3. add the onion, carrots, celery and garlic to the pan and cook until soft and lightly golden brown, 4 to 5 minutes.
4. add the red wine, scrape the bottom of the pan and cook until completely reduced. add 1 cup of the chicken stock, diced tomatoes and parsley and bring to a simmer. add the ground meats and 1/3 of the bacon  back to the pan, cook for 10 minutes, add more stock if it looks too dry. 
5. add in the tomato sauce and the rest of the bacon, cook until the liquid is slightly reduced. 
6. stir in parsley and basil and stir to combine.

ricotta mixture directions

1. stir together the ricotta, eggs, parsley, basil, cheese and salt and pepper in a bowl. cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour to allow flavors to meld. 

bechamel sauce directions

1. melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. whisk in the flour and let cook for about 2 minutes. slowly whisk in 2 cups of the half-and-half and continue whisking until the sauce is thickened, about 5 to 7 minutes. season the sauce with nutmeg, salt and pepper and whisk in the cheeses. if the sauce is too thick, whisk in some of the remaining milk.

assembly directions

1. preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
2. butter the bottom and sides of a 9 by 13-inch baking dish with the butter. ladle a thin layer of bechamel evenly over the bottom of the pan. place a layer of pasta dough, cut to fit the inside of the pan on top of the bechamel and top the pasta with the ricotta mixture and spread evenly. spread a thin layer of bechamel over the ricotta, sprinkle with a few tablespoons of parmesan and some basil leaves. top with another layer of pasta and spread the meat mixture evenly over the top. ladle an even layer of bechamel over the bolognese mixture, sprinkle with a few tablespoons of parmesan and some basil leaves. place the final layer of pasta dough over the meat mixture and ladle the bechamel over the top to completely cover the pasta and sprinkle with 3 tablespoons of parmesan.
3. place the pan on a baking sheet and cover loosely with aluminum foil. bake for 20 minutes. reduce the heat to 350 degrees F, remove the foil and continue baking until the top is golden brown and the filling is bubbling, about 25 to 35 minutes longer. remove from the oven and let rest 10 minutes before cutting. cut into slices and top with some of the tomato sauce, more grated cheese and chopped parsley and basil. 

junior's cheesecake

I've decided I'm not any good at making cheesecake. The cake usually comes out in one piece and quite edible but its just not like a slice of eileen's or brooklyn diner's, which I can shovel down my throat in less than a minute. Although I'm not a big fan of cheesecake, I will continue to (attempt) baking them since it happens to be one of my husband's (and my mother-in-law's) favorite desserts.

A couple of years ago, a co-worker of mine (at the time) had made a ginormous cheesecake for passover, which (luckily for us) resulted in a nice portion of leftovers. She generously brought it into the office to share with us. It was the most amazing homemade cheesecake I've ever had. Like I had previously mentioned, I'm not a big fan of cheesecake but I had a second helpful nonetheless. So I had to pry and ask her to share the recipe. She nonchalantly says "its one from the ny times". Quickly, I ran to my seat and went straight to the nytimes website. After a few minutes, I've discovered that the nytimes has published quite a few cheesecake recipes. Disheartened, I gave up and turned to google, where I ended up settling for a junior's cheesecake recipe adapted by molly o'neil from New York Cookbook.

Back to the drawing board... or google in my case in search for yet another cheesecake recipe!

junior's cheesecake
adapted from new york cookbook

ingredients

• 1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs 
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
• 3 tablespoons sifted cornstarch
• 30 ounces (3 3/4 large packages) cream cheese, softened
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup heavy (whipping) cream
• 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon extract

directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Generously butter the bottom and sides of an 9-inch springform pan. 
2. Mix graham cracker crumbs with butter. Press graham cracker crumb mixture into the bottom of prepared pan and refrigerate.
3. In a large bowl, combine the sugar and the cornstarch. Beat in the cream cheese. Beat in the egg. Slowly drizzle in the heavy cream, beating constantly. Add the vanilla, lemon extract and stir well.
4. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan. Bake until the top is golden, 40 to 45 minutes. Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 3 hours. 

Final notes: Next time I would try to cover it with some foil to prevent it from browning on top and I would also add more lemon extract or even lemon zest. 

a pink bridal shower

 bridal shower invitation with pink cupcakes and pink pretzels

My brother-in-law is getting married in August! Yay! I have the wonderful privilege to be a part of their wedding as a bridesmaid. As some of you may already know, I love weddings and what I love most about weddings are the paper goods. For the bridal shower, the bride picked out a cute invitation from weddingpaperdivas, who were a pleasure to work with. The turnaround for the proof and the actual invites was so quick and seamless.

recipe card

For the shower, the bridesmaids wanted to do a recipe box for the bride. Since I was in charge of sending out the invites, I wanted to send these cards with the invitation so that the guests would be able to fill them out before the shower. First, I scanned the invite pattern to create the cards (with photoshop), so that it would match the invitation. I found a cute recipe box from Hallmark so that it would be convenient for the bride to take home.

recipe box for the bride

Other than sending out the invitations, I was also put in charge of some of the games. For one of the games, I took the same invite pattern and made blank cards for the "who am I?" game. When the guests arrived, they were instructed to write out a memory they have shared with the bride without including their name. Later on, we had the bride read the cards aloud and guess who each was written by. Imagine the nostalgic atmosphere it created. The cards made a lovely keepsake for the bride.

cards for "who am I?"

Another game we played was the buzz word game. To begin, choose a "buzz word" such as bride, groom, wedding, etc. To go along with the invitation pattern, I made flowers out of felt and put them on bobby pins to use for this game. When each guest comes into the party, we handed them a felt flower. Then, if someone hears another person saying any of the "buzz words," they get to take that person's flower. The person with the most flowers at the end of the party wins.

 felt flowers on bobby pins

strawberry peach tart

simple strawberry peach tart

It's strawberry and peach season my friends! The local farmers markets are just flowing with blackberries, strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries. I've been in heaven binging on berries lately.

berries at the farmers market

I guess the only down side of having too many berries is not being able to eat them fast enough. Berries are so fragile and they spoil quickly, which makes me sad to see such good, fresh fruit go to waste. To preserve them a bit longer, I usually make jam for toast or a compote for ice cream. To change it up this time, I decided to make a tart and I managed to make one with little effort!

simple strawberry peach tart
ingredients

• 2 cups of strawberries, halved
• 1 cup of diced peaches
• 3 tablespoons of cornstarch
• 1/2 cup of sugar (less if fruit is very sweet)
• juice from a lime
• 1 pre-made pie crust 

directions

1. preheat oven to 350 degrees F
2. roll out pie crust and place in a pie pan. pierce the all over the bottom with a fork
3. mix the rest of the ingredients together and pour into the pie crust
4. bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes or until crust is a golden brown
5. cool before serving

whole wheat oatmeal raisin scones

oatmeal raisin scones

Oatmeal and raisins have always been comfort foods for me, especially when they're in a cookie. But don't be deceived by these mini rounds for cookies, they are simply just scones. What is a scone you ask? Since I now live in the South, I would describe them as a biscuit.  Most people down here would understand what that means. Scones have a crumbly texture and are not as sweet or moist as a cookie. The scone originated in Scotland but has become well known through the British, often associated with afternoon tea.  I came across a recipe from one of my favorite bakeries in New York City, Levain Bakery. They are famous for their monster cookies, which their recipes are kept top secret. However, the folks at Levain are kind enough to share their recipe for delicious oatmeal raisin scones. Well, I decided to make half a batch last night, but ran out of all-purpose flour. So instead of running to the store, I substituted whole wheat flour for all-purpose. In the end, the scones came out quite good especially with a spoonful of jam or honey!

whole wheat oatmeal raisin scones
adapted from levain bakery

ingredients

• 3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for the counter
• 2 1/2 cups rolled oats
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 2 tablespoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 12 ounces sweet butter - cold and diced small
• 1 cup golden raisins
• 1 1/2 cups half-and-half 

directions

1. Combine everything except the half-and-half until sandy in consistency. Do not over mix. (Mixture should not be creamed.)
2. Quickly pour in 1 1/4 cups of the half-and-half while mixing. If the dough appears at all dry add the remaining 1/4 cup of half & half until just combined. Again, do not over mix.
3. Turn the dough out onto a very well floured surface. If the dough is very sticky, flour the top of the dough also. Pat the mixture into a layer 3/4 to 1-inch thick. Using a 2-inch diameter round cutter, cut out the scones, dipping the cutter into flour each time between cuts. Place each scone, as cut, onto a parchment paper covered sheet pan leaving 2 to 3 inches between each scone. This should make 12 round scones. (You can also form dough into rectangular shape and cut with a knife into 12 square or triangular scones.)
4. Bake for about 18 minutes or until golden brown on both the top and bottom of scones. 

cream cheese pound cake

Happy Birthday America! To celebrate, I wanted to make something traditional for the office. And what more true blue to American culture than pound cake?

Do you all know why its called pound cake? Typically, it is made of a pound of each of four ingredients: flour, eggs, butter, and sugar. Can't get any more simpler than that! I ended up making one with a bit of twist - cream cheese.

cream cheese pound cake
adapted from allrecipes

ingredients

• 1 (8oz) package cream cheese, room temperature
• 1-1/2 cup butter, room temperature
• 1 cups white sugar
• 5 eggs, room temperature
• 2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 2 tsp vanilla extract

directions

1. preheat over to 325 degrees F.
2. in a large bowl, cream butter and cream cheese until smooth. add sugar gradually and beat until fluffy
3. add eggs two at a time, beating well with each addition. add the flour all at one and mix in. add vanilla.
4. pour into a 10 inch tube pan. bake at 325 degrees F for 1 hour and 20 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean.

Foodbuzz daily special inspiration is the stainless steel mixing bowls, great for this recipe.