In the chaotic kitchen of a recipe developer, you get a food blog called FoodMayhem.
I'm Jessica, an Asian-American, born and raised in NYC, and that's Lon, my Jewish, white husband. While professionally trained as a French culinary- and pastry chef, many of FoodMayhem recipes are my attempt to preserve and share authentic Chinese and Taiwanese recipes learned from my mom. We don't eat Chinese food every day, so you'll get a little bit of anything we find delicious enough to share: from our Eastern European side; recipes and techniques learned from my restaurant days; restaurant reviews, food travel tips; and a few other juicy bits along the way. Welcome to FoodMayhem!
Fresh Direct had lamb top round for sale and I was happy to see that it came in a 1 1/2 pound size, which is manageable. I decided on a simple preparation that would help me utilize the butternut squash and parsnip, I just got from the farmer’s market. What stands out for me is that this cut of lamb is so lean. The ingredients give the feel of fall, yet it’s very light and perfect for this very warm fall we’re having.
Wandering through the farmer’s market yesterday, Jessica and I were discussing whether or not grapes were in the berry family. The answer is yes. If you didn’t already know Jessica loves berries. Then, as if the universe was calling to us a moment later we found ourselves in front of a beautiful stand of chili peppers (one of MY favorite types of berries). They had a huge selection of Pennsylvania-grown chilis, including some Pequins — yum. We bought five and home we went for me to start cooking.
Chimichurri is one of my favorite flavors. I have made it with different types of vinegars and gone back and forth between cilantro and parsley, but all versions come out wonderful. If you have extra sauce left-over, save-it. It goes well on chicken, fish, almost anything. I wrote down the recipe we used for our July 4th barbecue yesterday. Hope you had a fun and yummy one!
Inspired by the nicely spiced lamb meatballs at Alta, I decided to make Moroccan Spiced Meatloaf. Lon happens to love meatloaf and the last time I made it, he raved. I love when he loves my food so I thought this would be a good shot and I think this one beat the last one!
I had the Yum Yum Sisterhood over for Brunch. Our mission is always social eating but today we also started folding paper cranes for two important people to Julie and Lily, who were diagnosed with cancer. Our best wishes goes out to them. We had a great time as we always do and I got several compliments on the food. Here’s what we had:
Pumpkin Bread
This is a simple and perfect pumpkin bread for a holiday season brunch. The texture and color is amazing. I will definitely make this again.
Salmon Cake Benedict with Garlic Roasted Potatoes
This was my own creation. I did not write down an exact recipe for poaching the eggs, the sauce (a pseudo hollandaise), and the potatoes but I did finally write down my recipe for the salmon cakes that I’ve made several times. People always ask me for the recipe and I didn’t have one until now:
1 can (7oz) Kirkland brand Salmon (other canned salmons are awful)
1 cup chickpeas, mashed
1/4 cup minced yellow or white onion
1 green onion, chopped
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon dried cilantro
pinch cayenne (adjust to your spice)
2 teaspoons olive oil or non-stick spray
1. Mix all the ingredients in a bowl.
2. Divide and shape into six patties. Set aside.
3. Prepare a skillet with oil or non-stick spray on medium high heat.
4. Place the patties on the pan, careful not to break them.
5. Cook them for 3-4 minutes on each side.
6. Remove from pan and serve.
Whole Wheat Pancakes with Sauteed Apples
The pancakes came out so fluffy and flavorful enough to eat alone but even better with sauteed apples on top.
With all the excitement, I forgot to take more pictures of the food. =(
We went to Chatham Square Restaurant Chatham Square Restaurantfor Dim Sum today. It was average for Chinatown Dim Sum, which has declined in the last few years. Dim Sum in Flushing is better. The good thing about any meal in Chinatown is that you get to do some great shopping afterwards. We picked up a 1 1/2 pound swordfish steak, along with lots of other goodies.
We grilled the swordfish steak (6 min on one side, 3-4 min on the other, here is a close-up) and I made a sauce that really impressed Lon. If you don’t like Swordfish, the sauce could easily be served on salmon, a fried fish (like Skate, Tilapia, Catfish, any…), or even Sea Scallops. It’s easy too! Just mix all of these ingredients together and spoon on top of fish.
This makes enough for 4 servings:
