In an ironic twist, she made us: Jessica was Sriracha (she’s Asian) and I was Tabasco (I’m white).

We learned that we are good at taking pictures of food and terrible at taking pictures of or ourselves.  Here are a few attempts, laugh along with us!

 Jessica and Caya Setting Up

Ice & Caya Can’t Get Enough of Each Other

Ice Going Nuts; Caya Watches

Mama, Stop Playing with Your Cap

We Gave it a Shot. Enough Hot Stuff for One Year

The thought this time was a drink to celebrate autumn; even though it was 85 degrees today. Jess had recently prepared the FoodMayhem pumpkin puree, most of which went into her amazing pumpkin lasagna.  It was glowing orange in the fridge; calling out to me much like the green crystal calls to Superman. However, instead of drawing me to the north pole, this drew me to the liquor store, where I bought a spiced rum, Cruzan 9 Spiced Rum, a good, inexpensive rum for cocktails.

The night before I experimented a bit and tried combining with Bruce Cost’s amazing ginger ale; but the result was cloying and I used too much cinnamon. With guidance from Jessica’s sensitive palette, I refactored the drink into the current incarnation. We are quite pleased with the results.

The feedback from our “tastebud” guests was overwhelmingly positive. A very drinkable cocktail where you can taste the rum and it’s not too sweet, it inspires tastes of the fall and everyone felt it tasted familiar yet new. Jason thought it  could use more pumpkin, so feel free to experiment.

In this drink the pumpkin flavor is not strong, but rather serves to thicken to drink making a very smooth consistency without savory hints. Give this drink a shot (pun intended) and let us know what you think!

Update: since we first wrote this, we served the same drink to more guests to again generally favorable feedback.  We have a winner.

Ingredients

• pinch spice mix (equal parts cinnamon, allspice, & nutmeg)
• 1 tablespoon pumpkin puree
• 1/8 teaspoon grated ginger + ginger sticks to garnish
• ice as needed
• 2 ounces apple cider
• 1 ounce spiced rum

Instructions

1. Toast spice mix in a dry pan until fragrant.  Remove pan from heat and add freshly grated ginger and pumpkin puree. Stir well to combine.

2. Pour mixture into an ice-filled cocktail shaker.  Add rum and apple cider.  Shake vigorously to combine.

3. Strain into a champagne flute or cordial glass. Garnish with a stick of fresh ginger.

Happy autumn!

For those that never cook and Valentine’s Day is your only foray into the kitchen, you can buy cooked and peeled shrimp (look for tails on) and the cocktail sauce, and just arrange it on the plate. For those that want to do more cooking, you can buy raw shrimp, cook it yourself, and make fresh cocktail sauce. I like mine extra spicy and tangy.

The Shrimp Hearts make a perfect starter/appetizer course. After that, I suggest a deep red-colored sauce over your choice of pasta. Top with some fresh basil. It’s an aphrodisiac! Finish with chocolate, maybe a Red Velvet Cake or Double Chocolate Truffle Cupcakes! Happy Valentine’s Day to you and your honey!

Valentine’s Day Shrimp Cocktail
~for two

• 2 tablespoons ketchup
• 1 teaspoon prepared horseradish
• 1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
• 6 large cooked shrimp

Instructions -

1. In a small bowl or ramekin, stir together ketchup, horseradish, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Set aside.

2. Peel shrimp, leaving tails on.

3. (Optional: Use a pastry brush to brush a stroke of cocktail sauce down the center of the plate.)

4. Arrange shrimp in pairs, as hearts on the plate. Serve more cocktail sauce on the side.

For fun, as we did last year, we compiled a list of the top 10 posts of 2010 (based on traffic). I’d love to know what your favorite post of 2010 was too!

#10 Chinese American Potato Salad

I can’t tell you happy I am that this modest dish made the top 10. It’s a nostalgic part of my childhood that I really loved sharing. I was even more surprised when so many chimed in, being familiar with this dish. I felt connected to this secret club of people who grew up with this lesser known, yet not forgotten potato salad.

#9 Soy Sauce Chicken

I have to thank my mom for this essential Chinese recipe. I was just there to document and photograph the beauty of this simple technique that showcases freshly killed chicken. There’s nothing like it.

#8 Un-fried Buffalo Wings

I’m wary of recipes that try to reduce fat or somehow make a diet version of a long-loved comfort food. Taste and results always come first for us and my readers know that so when I say you can make these buffalo wings without deep-frying them, you know it’s worth the shot.

#7 Crunchy Cranberry Salad

I shouldn’t be surprised that this recipe is so viewed. Long before I posted it, it was always one of those recipes that everyone asked me for after they tasted it. It’s also one of my favorites purely because it’s made with ingredients I always have in my pantry. Keep this recipe within arms reach!

#6 Basic Mei Fun

This year, I spent a lot more time learning Chinese recipes from mom. It’s something I’ve always intended on doing yet schedules conflicted or travel time seemed daunting. Now that we live closer, I’m so glad that I’m putting all this invaluable knowledge and wisdom down in writing. I’ve been getting so much feedback on it too, from other Chinese Americans who may be too far from mom or just didn’t know how to transfer mom to recipe. I’m so glad these recipes have been helpful to you! More to come…

#5 Very Strawberry Ice Pops

I just noticed that this was the recipe I posted on my birthday. Maybe that gave me a little bit of luck, pushing this cool summer treat to #5 for 2010. What’s not to love about a dessert that is both healthy and natural?

#4 Lucky Basil

I love that this one isn’t even a recipe, just a simple decorative idea that is also functional. We eat with our eyes and I have to admit that I do like playing with my food.

#3 Caramel Macchiato Cupcakes

I love that so many have made this recipe and sent me pictures. It has even been re-posted on other blogs like My Buttery Fingers and Eats Well With Others.

#2 Tea Eggs

Tea eggs are uniquely beautiful aren’t they? Often, traffic is heavily influenced by the photos and it definitely helped push these into the #2 spot.

#1 Homemade Ginger Ale

…and the #1 post of 2010 is Homemade Ginger Ale! To think, this post was inspired by being sick and needing some good ginger ale. Well, the numbers speak and this is damn good ginger ale made with real ginger!

Very Honorable Mention

Only posts that were posted in 2010 were in the running for this top 10. Makes sense when called, “Best of 2010″ right? Yet, I feel you should know that the most viewed post during 2010 (with about half a million pageviews!! ) was actually a post written in the summer of 2009: Garlic Knots – For Superior Garlic Breath.

There must be a lot of vampire slaying food blog readers out there.

I did execute and Lon was more than pleased with the transition from his vision to my hands. This is more of a plating design idea than a recipe and it’s so shockingly simple. It can be made with literally 2 ingredients: sweet potato and pea shoots. Actually, you can use this for Thanksgiving too!

How to Make a Pumpkin Patch Side Dish:

Bake some sweet potatoes (with holes poked with forks) wrapped in aluminum foil at 375 degrees F until soft. The time will vary depending on the size of the sweet potato but average one takes about an hour. Allow them to cool enough so you don’t burn yourself and peel them. Mash the sweet potato with a fork. You can add butter, brown sugar, salt and pepper if you like or leave it plain depending on your taste preference.

Form the mash into circles and ovals.  Pumpkins come in many shapes and sizes. Draw lines with a toothpick. Use pea shoots to decorate as stems and vines. You can serve them all on one plate as a family style side dish or place a pumpkin on the side of each plate.

Tips and Notes:

~Pea Shoots can be purchased at most Chinese supermarkets.

~Figure each pound of sweet potato to serve 3 people.

~You can do this with yam, butternut squash, carrots, or a mixture of but sweet potato is the easiest to work with because of the added moisture.

~You can shape the pumpkin ahead of time and store them in the fridge and re-heat when you are serving, but don’t put the pea shoots on until ready to serve because they will wilt if you heat them.

Hope you all have great celebrations planned and if you don’t, it’s not too late. Check out these recipes and throw one together!

Burger

If you’re having a 4th of July party, you’re having burgers right? Well, through the years, we’ve made some very tasty burgers. The Juicy Lucy, our Banh Mi Burger, and The Breakfast Burger have been featured on A Hamburger Today (Serious Eats) and Jucy Lucy Restaurants. We’ve even got a burger bun recipe for you, and a Turkey Burger recipe if you’re trying to keep things a little lighter this year. So, I’m totally cheating on the “4 recipes” and calling these seven recipes, one. Don’t say I didn’t give you choices.

Curry Beef Skewers

After burgers and dogs, the next thing you expect at a 4th of July shindig is meat on a stick, right? Well, here’s my favorite meat on a stick: Curry Beef Skewers. The flank steak is marinated and can be made that day (good for procrastinators). Then, you can have friends help with the skewering while you’re getting the other dishes out on the table.

Cold Noodles with Peanut Sauce

Cold Noodles with Peanut Sauce may not seem like traditional July 4th fare to you. Yet this dish is a staple at every BBQ that has ever occurred at my mom’s house and no one would let it be otherwise. I am 100% certain it will be at this year’s BBQ and it should be at yours. Trust me. It’s the perfect, refreshing side dish next to all the heavy, grilled food. Plus, it’ll satisfy your vegetarian guests as well.

Red, White, and Blue Pie

What’s a celebration without dessert? This Red, White, and Blue Pie is the obvious one for this holiday. Colors aside, it’s actually one of my favorite summer desserts because I love, love, love berries; plus, there’s a light creaminess to it that adds just the right touch of sinfulness to make it party-worthy.

I hope you’ll use one of these recipes for your 4th of July and if you do, please let me know!

As I did last time, I’m going to recognize that I don’t know what YOUR dad’s favorites are so I’m sharing my dad’s must-haves. Each of these dishes mean something to me in terms of “dad” but it’s personal and you’ll have your own. Maybe we’ll have some similar ones? The funny thing is, my mom and dad are like eating opposites, actually opposites in almost every way, so I wasn’t worried about repeats of the same recipes showing up. This one is totally different than my mother’s day recipes.

Photo by Steve Wu

Unlike my mom, my dad is not a very adventurous eater. (That’s my dad at our wedding.) He knows what he likes and he sticks to it. He has his favorite restaurants and he’ll go and order his regular dishes. With only a few exceptions, my dad sticks mostly to Chinese food. He doesn’t like vegetables, avoids cold food, and he’s a germ freak. Don’t let him catch you sticking your chopsticks in a dish instead of using the serving spoon.

Breads

I know where I got my obsession with fresh bread from, my dad. The two of us are always the ones to get full before dinner by devouring whole bread baskets. There’s something about the texture and aroma or really fresh, right out of the oven, bread. It’s addictive and intoxicating. You try so hard not to eat so much, but there’s just no way. I have three bread recipes that are killer and I couldn’t even decide which one. I know my dad would love them equally and the best idea would be to make all three!

Garlic Knots
Mixer Made Soft Pretzels
Whole Wheat No Knead Bread

Dungenous Crab with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce

In the battle of crab vs lobster, the crab always wins for my dad. He loves steamed crabs, crab cakes (less filler), stir-fried crabs, deep fried soft shelled crabs, and the two most favorite of favorites are the King crab legs and Dungenous Crab. I immediately thought of the beautifully steamed Dungenous Crab Lon made, with a Roasted Red Pepper Sauce.

ABC Scrambled Eggs

My dad eats breakfast at his office cafeteria every weekday and he eats the same thing every day, eggs. Don’t worry, he has a great low cholesterol, just naturally. It’s a good thing since he’s not a very healthy eater. His cafeteria makes the eggs in a few standard American styles: boiled, fried, scrambled, and omelets. He loves eggs but I think he’d be really tickled about this Chinese twist I added to scrambled eggs when my cousins came over. With Chinese sausage, fried shallots, and scallions, I call them ABC Scrambled Eggs.

Chicken Soup

My dad told us stories about when he first came to this country. He had no money and had no idea how to cook. He lived on canned chicken soup for years. I can’t imagine how he can still like chicken soup after that, but he loves it. While he will no longer accept canned soups,  his chicken soup consumption is still pretty frequent. This past winter, I decided to try several different chicken soups from many different cultures. Even though it’s not what you’d think of as a celebratory dish, my dad would love to have it on Father’s Day.

New England Clam Chowder

I think I already mentioned how much my dad likes soup. Did I mention it has to be really hot? Steaming hot and he’d like to see the smoke. I hate having to be redundant with another soup, but to be true to my dad, I have to say New England Clam Chowder is one of his favorites. This is a little weird because he’s generally not big on dairy but he sure does love ordering this soup.

Blueberry Coconut Cream Cake

My dad has a sweet tooth, though he’ll never admit it. When we were kids, my brother and I knew that he had a secret stash of cookies and chocolates in the bottom drawer of his desk. We would go and steal from his tins and he couldn’t say anything or we would tell my mom. Now, I often make my dad cakes for birthdays or bring him pieces of my banana breads. It’s hard to pick an ideal dessert for him since he likes so many. He does love coconut and tends to like fruit-filled cakes so naturally, this Blueberry Coconut Cream Cake came to mind.

Dad, you need to eat more vegetables! The little bit in the soup doesn’t count.

So, how can I help you decide what to make for Mother’s Day? Without knowing what your mom’s favorites are, I won’t be able to hit this one out of the ball park. So, I thought I’d share my mom’s absolute favorites. Here’s 8 winning recipes. I hope you’ll try one or more out this weekend!

Remy Mussels

My mom loves shellfish (and this apple does not fall far from the tree). She often gravitates towards clams and mussels on the menu at restaurants. These Remy Mussels with Bacon and Fennel really impressed my mom, and it’s a great starter. Make sure to get some crusty bread for dipping!

Balsamic Drenched Portobello Mushrooms

I believe I’m the one who introduced my mother to Portobello mushrooms. She’s totally in love now and keeps an eye out for them. But, she never makes them herself, preferring to stick to cooking Chinese food, what she’s an expert at. She’ll just ask me to make them for her. She’s also a huge fan of acids. I think I introduced her to balsamic vinegar as well, another gold star favorite now. The two together make Balsamic Drenched Portobello Mushrooms.

Salads with Vinaigrette Dressings

Any meal I make for my mom has to include salad. She loves vinaigrette and often asks me to make little jars of dressing for her. I’m going to cheat here and give you a couple of salad/dressing recipes. It’s only fair because my mom seriously loves every salad I have ever made and tells everyone my salads are better than any you’ll get at any restaurant. You can serve it on Sunday or make little jars of these dressings and give them as gifts too.

Roasted Garlic & Sun-Dried Tomato Dressing
Crunchy Cranberry Salad
Beet, Goat Cheese, Honey Walnut, Mandarin Salad

Beef & Spinach Lasagna

I have already mentioned on this blog, how much my mother loves lasagna. Every once in a while, my mom says something like, when you happen to be making lasagna, could you just save me some? What she really means when she hints that way is, she finished the freezer stash I made for her last time, and needs me to replenish her stock. Her favorite lasagna in the world is this Beef and Spinach Lasagna. It’s great if you need to make something ahead of time.

Burgers

I always think it’s kind of funny that my mom likes burgers. Most of the Chinese parents I know in her generation, including my dad, aren’t big on American foods. They feel like it’s heavy and greasy. Not my mom, whenever she gets a chance to eat without my dad, she goes for burgers, mac & cheese, and steak. Go figure. I’m quite proud of my Banh Mi Burger and may be serving that this year. Hmm…

Chocolate Cake

This set wouldn’t be complete without dessert, but my mom isn’t really a sweets person. Her only weakness is chocolate cake. Forget ice cream, strawberry shortcake, creme brulees, and fancy tarts. She just wants a plain, no frills, chocolate cake. She probably prefers it without frosting, but since you’re looking for a show piece, try this Simplified German Chocolate Cake.

Hope you have a great Mother’s Day with your mom!

]]> http://www.foodmayhem.com/2010/05/8-mothers-day-recipe.html/feed 14 http://www.foodmayhem.com/2010/03/lucky-basil.html http://www.foodmayhem.com/2010/03/lucky-basil.html#comments Fri, 05 Mar 2010 18:21:48 +0000 jessica http://www.foodmayhem.com/?p=7451 St. Patrick’s Day is coming up and I’m not Irish, but I love Irish Soda Bread. I can’t claim to do much pub crawling, but I did just post about potatoes. I never got into Lucky Charms, but through some twisted and fortunate miscalculation of the leprechauns, I got the luck of the Irish. Yup, I’m the luckiest gal around. I’ve got the most supportive husband, the smartest dog (she does at least 30 tricks), the most non-overbearing mom, and another reservation for Brooklyn Fare.

This St. Patty’s Day, I’m going to spread my luck around with four leaf clovers, a traditional symbol of luck. I picked up a four leaf clover punch at Paper Presentation 23 West 18th Street, New York, NY 10011 (I’m pretty sure they’re available at most craft stores.) and punched out basil clovers.

I chose basil because it’s relatively flat and has a wide enough leaf to punch shapes out of, but you can try other flat leaf greens. Admittedly, this was a little more time consuming then I thought it would be, mostly because the leaves are not perfectly flat so they need a little coercing to get in and out of the puncher. It’s really easy though and is such a low cost way to holiday-up your dish. It’s also subtle and elegant, not all covered in green-food coloring.

Once you’ve punched out your clovers, they can be tossed onto anything you would put basil on (assuming you are using basil). I used them to garnish a plate of slow roasted tomatoes and bocconcini. Yum!

(Picture too big? or like?.)

Recently, Rachel and Brandon brought me some beautiful abalone from Australia. It just so happens that it’s especially prized during Chinese New Year where it is often part of the celebratory meals, as well as a common gift family members bring to each other.

Since, I’m on that combining Chinese New Year and Valentine’s Day kick (see Fortune Cookies with Love and Red Dumpling Sauce), I decided to dress up this abalone and throw in my favorite aphrodisiac, oysters. (I never celebrate a V-day without them.)

With fresh seafood, you don’t want to do too much to them, so this is actually very easy and pretty quick. Basically the abalone is seared quickly while the oysters are steamed, and an aromatic topping is added. The key is to be ready to move quickly so that these delicate bites reach each intended mouth as quickly as possible. When you read through the recipe, you’ll see that it is easy to adjust to any portion size you want (1 slice of abalone and 1 oyster per person). I chose 6 arbitrarily so that I could write a recipe for those that are more comfortable with one. The sauce is probably enough for at least 20 amuse.

Abalone and Oyster Amuse
~6 amuse

• 6 (1/8″) slices abalone

sauce

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup chopped scallions
• 1/4 cup Seasoned Soy Sauce for Seafood
• 2 tablespoons minced ginger
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon rice wine
• 1 pinch sugar

• 6 oysters, cleaned with cold water
• 1 teaspoon vegetable oil

Instructions -

1. Set up serving spoons in a platter.

2. Tenderize abalone with a meat tenderizer. Set aside.

3. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a small sauce pot on high heat. Add scallions, seasoned soy sauce, ginger, garlic, cooking wine, and sugar. Swirl for 10 seconds, then remove from heat and set aside.

4. Set up a steamer and steam oysters for about 2 minutes, depending on the size.

5. While oysters are steaming, heat 1 teaspoon vegetable oil in a shallow pan on high heat. Place abalone slices on the pan and allow to sizzle for 10 seconds on each side. Place one in each soup spoon. Place oysters with liquid on top of each abalone.

6.  Use chopsticks to put a little of scallion mixture on top of each. (You don’t want to spoon on because you don’t’ want that much of the liquid.) Serve immediately.