Yes my friends Bacon French Toast!

I'm not a breakfast gal for it tends to make me sleepy. Oh I enjoy all the foods associated with breakfast (especially Eggs Benedict & country fried steak with biscuits and gravy) and will once in a while make it for dinner but as a early morning meal I'll usually pass for a nice huge cup of strong hot coffee. Moe on the other hand acts as though he's dying if he doesn't eat a hearty breakfast and lunch. . .and dinner. Yep he's a 3 square meal type of man and yet he stays in perfect shape. The last time I indulged in making breakfast for us, I decided to make an easy French Toast. As I'm happy dipping my bread slices into the egg batter and buttering my skillet, Moe bellows from the other room like I'm across a soccer field "HEY HON! CAN YOU PLEASE PUT BACON ON IT!!!!! I walk into the living room with my eyebrow raised "seriously?" Moe replies like a little boy with a big smile on the verge of getting a big pancake sized lolly "Yep I like mine sprinkled with bacon bits and cooked into the batter." I do one of those "hmm okay" and shrug going back into the kitchen to do my mans bidding. Usually I'm a peanut butter, syrup and powdered sugar girl, might be blog worthy. . . and it is. Oh I know it's not for everyone but I'm starting to believe bacon really is good in everything. :)

Ingredients:
6 slices of bread (I use whatever I have on hand, but I know it's great with slices of thick french bread.)
4 large eggs
dash of cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup of milk 
1/2 cup of prepared real bacon bits (I use Costco's)
butter for pan

Directions:
In bread size container or bowl beat the eggs, cinnamon, milk and vanilla.  On medium heat, melt butter in large skillet, making sure the whole bottom of the skillet is buttered. Plop your bread slice into the batter and flip--totally saturating both sides with the batter but not making it fall apart soggy. Place the slices onto heated pan. Sprinkle bacon bits on the top of uncooked side. Once the bottom is golden, flip and cook the topside. Sprinkle additional bacon bits on cooked side. Flip again once the other side is golden, this ensures both bacon sides are cooked. Repeat the process until all 6 slices are cooked. 

Serve with a pat of butter, maple syrup, peanut butter, powered sugar, banana slices, strawberries, raspberries, blueberries--the choices are numerous and all so good! If you want a big breakfast great sides would be sausage and eggs--truly a fall back into bed worthy meal! 

Chinese Chicken Salad

I'll tell you now that I'm not much of a salad person. I'm not the order a salad type of gal at a restaurant. . . I know it's good for me and I really should eat more of the green stuff but..... :/ On occasion I'll eat a salad but it has to be fully loaded! My friend Paul who's a chef in Las Vegas posted a quick recipe for Chinese Chicken Salad the other day. I've had this type of salad many times before but usually with raman noodles for the added crunch and not deep fried wonton noodles. I had most of the ingredients on hand with a few substitutions and made it--that's the great thing about cooking on the fly is adapting recipes to what you have already and to your own taste buds. Paul's recipe called for candied peanuts using a simple syrup. I had a bad of Trader Joe's Sesame Honey Almonds and used that instead. I used a bottle Asian Sesame dressing but think next time I'll make my own--how hard could it be right? I'm thinking this would be great with a honey poppy seed dressing too. Quick, easy and great for potlucks and hot summer nights. 

Ingredients (Recipe adapted from Paul. Makes 6 servings): 

1 small head green cabbage, shredded

2 large carrots, shredded

3 large boneless chicken breasts or 6 boneless thighs, cooked and cut into strips or cubes

8 wonton wrappers, cut into strips and deep fried

honey roasted sesame almonds, chopped or chopped peanuts

1 1/2 cup pineapple chunks

1 tablespoon black pepper

Asian dressing

Directions:

Shred the cabbage and add to a large mixing bowl. 

Add the black pepper, cold cooked cubed/stripped chicken to cabbage and 2 cups of the dressing, mix. Taste, add more dressing to taste. Shred the carrots and set aside. In a food processor chop the almonds or peanuts and set aside.

Remove a stack of10 wonton wrappers from package and slice into 5 sections.

Heat Canola or Vegetable Oil in deep cooking pot or deep fryer. Add the wonton strips and fry until golden brown. Drain on paper towels or wire fryer basket. 

Plate up the salad, place some shredded carrots on top and pineapple chunks, garnish with almonds and fried wontons. You can keep the wontons in long strips or slightly crumble. I like the presentation of the long strips. 

Pistachio Cream Puffs...Can you say mmmmm?!

Great news! Finally a pastry cream filling that holds up as well as the ones in the fancy bakeries!!!! I owe it all to Sarah from the Curry Cooks fb group, Sarah formerly managed a restaurant which included a bakery. I've attempted many variations of fillings and although the flavors were great I felt the fillings were never quite thick enough. Sarah, bless her heart came up with the answer--unflavored gelatin! The perfect thickener and why didn't I think of this? I have packets of it in my pantry at all times yet never put the 2 and 2 together. After playing around with the different measurements of ingredients to create the consistancy I wanted, I finally found the one for me. Not too thick and not at all thin. You'll notice I used only 1 package of pudding mix, it gave the cream a nice gentle flavor. I'm a happy woman!

Mighty Moe and I were enjoying these last night and he asked me what I did differently, when I told him, he commented that punk rockers use gelatin to make their mohawks stand straight up.....who knew eh?  

Ingredients Pastry Cream filling (adapted from Sarah Myers recipe):
2 packets unflavored Knox gelatin 
2 tablespoons hot water (to help dissolve gelatin)
1 package Pistachio instant pudding (use any flavor you want)
3 cups heavy whipping cream
1 cup whole milk
1 tablespoon powdered sugar (plus more for dusting cream puffs)

Ingredients for Cream Puffs (makes 9 large or 12 medium ones)
1 cup water
1/2 cup butter or margarine
1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup flour
4 large eggs

Directions: 

In small cup stir together gelatin and water. It's important to quickly stir in the hot water and then slowly add it into the cold whipping cream--you don't want the gelatin to harden. Combine all the other pastry cream ingredients. 

Beat on medium high until thickened. 

If it's too thick for your preference, add more milk or heavy cream alittle bit at a time. 

Cover bowl with plastic wrap to avoid the filling skinning over. Place in fridge for at least 3 hours before serving. 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
In a medium nonstick pan, add the water, butter, vanilla and salt and bring to a boil. Stir and remove pan from heat. With a wooden spoon stir in the flour. You'll notice the dough will easily form a ball. 

Get ready to beat. At this point you can remove the dough from the pan or beat the eggs in directly in the pan (I use a hand mixer). Beat in the eggs until smooth and thick. 

Line a baking tray with tin foil and drop generous dollops of the dough onto the foil at least 2" apart. 

Bake for about 40 minutes or until puffy and golden. Let completely cool on wire rack.

To assemble cut the cooled puffs horizontally with a knife being careful not to tear the delicate tops. Fill frosting tube with the cold pastry cream with a large sized tip. Depending on the size of puff--pipe out about 2/3 to 1 cup of filling onto each bottom puff. Cap it with the top and dust with powered sugar. You can drizzle with chocolate or caramel. For pistachio I kept it simple with the powered sugar. 

Vietnamese Coffee

The greatest thing about technology for me is that I can take my laptop or smartphone anywhere and blog. I decided today was perfect for catching up on some posts I've been meaning to do. I have a file full of images all ready to go that I can quickly pull from. Here's a quick one for Vietnamese Ice Coffee--I promised one of the gals from the FB group Curry Cooks I would post this. This is a very strong (in flavor not in potency) and rich ice coffee which is yet another byproduct of the French occupation in Vietnam. The key is the medium ground course Chicory coffee! If you've never tried this please do order one the next time you're in a Vietnamese restaurant--it's never burnt tasting and it's wonderful!

Ingredients:

2 heaping teaspoons ground Cafe Du Monde French Roast Chicory coffee

2 -3 tablespoons sweetened condensed milk

1 - 1/2 cup hot water

Ice cubes

Tool: Vietnamese Coffee Press (can find this at most Asian Stores or specialty cooking store)

Directions: 

Bring to a boil in a teapot up to 2 cups of water. 

In a tall glass, place your desired amount of sweetened condensed milk and top with ice cubes. Unscrew the coffee presser and place 2 heaping teaspoons of the ground coffee. 

Replace the presser and finger tighten the press by turning clockwise. With a butter knife further tighten the presser by placing the blade of the knife into the grove at the top of the tightener. 

Place the press securely ontop of glass. 

Fill the press chamber with hot water. Now it's a waiting game. 

The press slowly drips the finished coffee into the glass. Once the water has drained through, remove from glass, stir and take a test sip. As you can see below, I took a test sip and decided I had room for more coffee. I didn't need to add new coffee grounds. If you want more coffee, place the press back onto the glass and add more hot water. 

Stir and enjoy! 

Japanese Yakisoba Noodles

Noodles are one of those easy satisfying Asian dishes that are both savory and easy to make. The key really is in the sauce and the process of cooking it. If you've read my other Asian dish posts you'll see there is a recurring theme of the process. Usually it starts with sweating the onions and garlic. Adding the meat and veggies then the sauce. Many of my friends think Asian dishes are oh so complicated but it really isn't I promise!

Ingredients (serves 4-5):

1 package Yakisoba Noodles (most grocery stores now carry this in their vegetable aisle)

1 1/2 lbs boneless pork or chicken, cut into thin 1/8" thick strips

4 cloves of garlic, minced

1 cup sliced mushrooms, sliced

1 cup green beans or 2 cups chopped bok choy

1 cup zucchini or any type of squash, cut into slices

1 medium onion, thinly sliced (yellow or sweet onion)

2 tablespoons olive or canola oil

Sauce:

2 tablespoons Worchestershire Sauce
2 tablespoons thick soy sauce
5 teaspoons Ketchup
3 tablespoons Oyster Sauce
3 tablespoons Sugar

1 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 cup water

2 tablespoons sriracha

Optional: Dried red chili flakes to taste

Directions: 

heat oil in large nonstick skillet on medium high heat, add onions and garlic, stir. Once sweated or sauteed add the sliced pork, continue stirring until pork is cooked. 

Add all the vegetables and stir, cook for about 5 minutes and reduce heat to medium. Add all the sauce ingredients directly into the pan and stir to incorporate, let cook for another 5 minutes. 

Remove the noodles from the package and try to break them up a bit using your hands. 

Place noodles on top of the mixture in skillet, DON'T stir the noodles yet. 

Reduce heat to medium low and cover the skillet with a lid. Let gently simmer for 10 minutes. Remove lid and stir the noodles into the cooked mixture making sure all the strands are well coated. 

Transfer to platter and enjoy!

What to do with lemongrass

Lemon grass is commonly used in green curries. Vietnamese dishes often use lemon grass finely shredded up in marinades and used with fish, chicken or pork. I used to shred my own but found the ones found pre-shredded in Asian markets a much easier alternative. This marinade can be used on chicken or pork and is certainly distinct and flavorful. The first time I made this for Moe's parents they loved it so much they made it themselves the next weekend. They told me theirs wasn't as good due to the cut of lean pork loin they used--when making this it is essential to use a fatty cut of pork to capture the juiciness and flavor. This dish can be served with rice. Served over rice noodles with some shredded carrots, cucumbers, crushed peanuts and fresh herbs like mint, basil or Asian coriander leaves.  Also great for Vietnamese Banh Mi sandwiches. 

Ingredients:
3 lbs pork shoulder or country style boneless pork ribs, cut into thin strips
1/2 cup shredded lemon grass
5 garlic cloves, chopped or grated
1/3 cup sugar
3 tablespoon fish sauce
2 tablespoon thick dark soy sauce
1 tablespoon black pepper, cracked
1 tablespoon olive or canola oil
3 tablespoon water
1/2 teaspoon white pepper or white pepper salt
3 tablespoon chopped roasted peanuts or almonds
Optional: 1 tablespoon crushed red chili pepper flakes

Directions:
Cut pork into 1/4" thin strips that are approx. 3"-4" long. In medium bowl or container, combine pork and all the ingredients. 

Thoroughly mix to cover all the pork strips. Refridgerate for at least 3 hours or overnight. 

Preheat oven to 325 degrees on broil. Take the marinaded pork out of the refrigerator and evenly spread onto un-greased baking tray, being careful not to overcrowd. This recipe is for 3lbs and will require 2 trays, broiling 1 tray of meat at a time, or you can char grill these on a grill plate. 

Place the tray onto middle rack of oven and let broil for about 15-20 minutes until it starts sizzling and getting a bit crispy on top. Carefully slide out of oven and flip each strip, place back into oven and  continue to broil until you see the tops sizzle and are evenly cooked. This should take a lot less time, approx. 10 minutes. Remove from oven, transfer to platter and finish it off by sprinkling some crushed peanuts or almonds on top. 

Bacon Wrapped Jalapeno Poppers!!

My friend Autumn treated me to some delicious hot Bacon Wrapped Jalapeno Poppers the other weekend. Her recipe is wonderfully simple and she grills them to capture that all so good smoky flavor. Addicting to say the least! I helped her remove the seeds and neglected to wear gloves to protect my skin--I woke up in the middle of the night to two hands that felt like they were on fire....wear gloves!! I shot a few quick photos and am happy to share her recipe along with another filling recipe option which I have used often in making poppers and stuffed mushrooms and stuffed baby red potatoes--easy appetizers that are always a hit at parties. A party hint when serving these treats that tend to disappear all too quickly, set out 1/3 of them at a time throughout the party to help ensure later arrivals don't miss out!

Autumns Recipe

Ingredients:

24 jalapenos, seeds removed

24 toothpicks

Filling:

1-2 package of softened cream cheese (depends on how big your peppers are)

1 package of bacon (any kind of bacon, peppered or maple bacon is awesome with poppers)

Directions:

Wearing latex gloves, wash jalapenos. Using a small paring knife make a slit on one side of pepper from top to bottom. Remove the seeds. With a teaspoon, fill each cavity with softened cream cheese. Tightly wrap 1 slice of bacon around each filled jalapeno. Secure with toothpick. Repeat process until all of the peppers are filled. Place on baking sheet and place sheet onto hot charcoal grill, gas grill with lid closed or 325 degree oven on bottom rack on broil with oven door slightly ajar. Make sure to flip the poppers when they turn crispy and golden on the bottom, watch out for grease splatters. Once done, drain on paper towels and enjoy!

My filling Recipe (use for 24 bacon wrapped jalapenos, 35 large white button mushrooms, 4 medium zucchini boats or 24 baby red or Yukon potatoes)

Ingredients:

11/2 packages of softened cream cheese

1 cup crispy bacon bits (real bits not imitation bits)

1 green onion, sliced

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1/3 cup sun-dried tomatoes, diced

1/2 cup cheese, shredded or crumbled (cheddar or blue cheese)

Optional Herbs if stuffing potatoes, zucchini or mushrooms: 

1 teaspoon dried rosemary/1 teaspoon diced fresh rosemary

1 teaspoon dried parsley/1 teaspoon fresh parsley, diced

Directions:

In medium mixing bowl place all filling ingredients and mix by hand or with electric mixture until well blended.  If stuffing jalapenos, see directions above. If stuffing mushrooms, remove stems and fill caps. If stuffing zucchini hollow out some of the raw zucchini before stuffing. If stuffing potatoes, boil the potatoes until cooked, drain excess water and let cool. Hollow out part of the potatoes and fill the cavity. Place on baking sheet and place sheet onto hot charcoal grill, gas grill with lid closed or 325 degree oven on bottom rack on broil with oven door slightly ajar. They're done when they turn a nice golden brown on top (approx. 15 to 20 mins.), no need to flip unless making jalapeno poppers. Transfer to serving tray. If making zucchini appetizers, cut each zucchini boat into finger sized food portions, about 1 1/2" cuts. 

Steamed meat buns.....yummers!

Every culture seems to have to go snacks--for example Mexicans have Empanadas and the English have mini pot pies etc., Asians have steamed buns. Here's another one of my mother's recipes, Banh Bao (Vietnamese steamed buns). I can't even tell you all how often my sister and I helped our mother make dozens of these over the years, where were those child labor laws back then? JK! Vietnamese steamed buns are another one of those recipes that is similar to the Chinese version often served at Dim Sum. These little fluffy dough balls contain a savory pork and Chinese sausage filling in Vietnam but in China you'll usually find them filled with the minced bbq Chinese pork--both versions are very good and once I have a good recipe for the traditional Chinese ones I'll be sure to share with you all. There are a variety of different recipes for the Vietnamese fillings but I like to keep them simple and true to my mothers recipe. Although not complicated to make, these do require alittle practice, but once you've done it a few times it's a breeze. I make over a dozen of these at a time to keep in the fridge for a quick microwavable snack on the go--really great for cold busy mornings.

Bun Dough

Ingredients: 

2 packages of Bot Banh Bao (each package makes 12 small buns, I make mine medium large and make 8 per package)

extra all purpose white flour

(You can find this at the International or Asian markets--doesn't need to be this brand.)

Pork Filling

Ingredients
1 1/2 pound ground pork (not lean pork)

3 links Chinese sausages, sliced into thin rounds 
1 1/2 Tablespoon oyster sauce
1 1/2 Tablespoon  fish sauce

1 Tablespoon of cornstarch
1 Tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
1/2 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced or grated

1 teaspoon ginger, grated (optional)

1 green onion, chopped (optional)
4 hard boiled eggs (cut into quarters)
1/3 cup frozen green peas, thawed

For Assembly: Parchment/Wax paper – cut into 3” squares

Directions for Dough: 

Mix dough per package directions and add additional flour as needed. The dough tends to be a bit too sticky, you want a nice consistency--slightly sticky and not gooey sticky. To moisten it up if needed, add more warm milk. Cover and let rise in warm place for about 1 hour.

Directions for Filling: 

In a separate mixing bowl, combine ground pork, oyster sauce, fish sauce, cornstarch, ginger, garlic, onion, sugar, salt, pepper and mix together well (I use my hands). I usually do a smell test but since this may be your first time you may want to take a tiny bit of the filling and microwave it and add more seasonings depending on your own preference. 

For Assembly:

Cut your squares of wax/parchment paper. Gather all the fillings around you for ease. Make 16 dough balls by tearing dough in 1/2, then each 1/2 into another 1/2, continue until you have 16 relatively even balls in total. Place 1 dough ball into the palm of your hand and flatten using your other hand. Each flatten disk should be alittle bit larger then your palm and extend to the middle of each knuckle. You can also just use a rolling pin if you prefer. I like the palm method so I don't have to mess with peeling it up from the rolling surface. 

With the flatten dough in your palm, put a very generous tablespoon dollop of filling onto the center of disk. Add a wedge of egg and 1-3 slices of Chinese sausage and about 3 peas. Gather the dough edges up around the filling and pinch the ends close to a gentle point, give the point a gentle twist and place onto a square of wax paper. Repeat the process with the remaining dough and fillings. 

Time to break out the steamer. I use a traditional Bamboo steamer, I like the aroma the bamboo gives off and thinks it adds a little bit of flavor to the buns. A stainless steel steamer works well too. Fill your steamer base up 1/2 way with water and bring to a boil. Place the basket on top and the buns in, making sure not to over crowd them, they'll expand and you don't want them sticking to each other. 

Place the lid on and steam for about 25 minutes. Remove them to cool on wire racks and repeat the process until all the buns are done. 

Let them cool for at least 10 minutes before you chow down. As I mentioned earlier, you can refrigerate them and reheat as needed in the microwave or you can freeze them. They freeze pretty well and are easy to thaw out and reheat. Enjoy! 

Peach Caramel Crumble Pie

Peaches are in season and there's a nice crop of them available here. When I lived on Whidbey  Island we had some massive cherry, apple, pear and peach trees. I used to anxiously climb them and check out the fruit for picking. My parents canned everything we couldn't readily eat, but nothing beats homemade fresh fruit pies and cobblers. After my long Ann Curry rant on here, I went onto fb and joined some Support Ann Curry groups. It's been very nice to be able to commiserate with others who feel much like I do about that whole NBC mess. I've met some great people and am now in a recipe group called "Curry Cooks" :D......For this pie, I'm using Sarah Myers' pie crust recipe which I have adapted just a tad and also using Helen Willingham's vinager tip. Sarah is a retired Bakery Chef so guess how excited I am! Looking forward to all the wonderful recipes from this group. This is a very basic peach pie recipe with a crumble top, it looks ugly but just like people it's whats inside that counts and the insides are luscious!


Crust

Ingredients (adapted from Sarah Myers & Helen Willingham):
1 1/4 cups flour (all-purpose)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup shortening, chilled

1/4 cup unsalted butter, chilled
2 tablespoons ice water

1 tablespoon distilled white vinager

Directions
Whisk the flour and salt together in a medium size bowl. Transfer flour and salt mixture into a pastry blender or food processor, cut in the cold shortening and cold butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. 

Drizzle 2 to 3 tablespoons ice water over flour. Toss mixture with a fork to moisten, adding more water a few drops at a time until the dough comes together.

Remove dough from processor and make into a ball.  Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for at least 30 minutes before rolling.

Once dough is chilled, tear out 2 pieces of plastic wrap to the size of your pie pan with an additional 2 inch boarder. Place the dough in-between the plastic wrap and roll out dough to the size of your pan. Once rolled out, remove top layer and position over the pan and release the top layer of plastic wrap. Finish off the edges by crimping them.

Place the pie pan into refrigerator until you're ready to fill it.

For the Peach Filling

Ingredients:
3 pounds ripe yellow or white peaches, pitted and sliced into 1/2-inch wedges (approx. 8 cups)
2 tablespoons brown sugar (light or dark)
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon of vanilla

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)

Note: 1 cup of jarred caramel ice cream topping (not the magic shell kind. This will be used later and not mixed into the filling.)

Directions:

Place sliced peaches into medium sized mixing bowl and add the brown sugar, flour, vanilla and cinnamon. Mix well and set aside. 

For The Crumble Topping

Ingredients:1/3 cup packed brown sugar (light or dark)
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces

Directions:In a small bowl or processor, combine all the ingredients and pulse or stir until the butter is well incorporated and crumbly.

Pie Assembly:Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Remove pie crust from refrigerator and pour in the peach filling. 

Pour 1 cup of caramel topping over the filling. Sprinkle the crumble on top. 

Place pie pan on baking sheet. Bake for approx. 1 hour and 20 minutes. The topping and crust should be a nice golden brown color.  

(Told you it's ugly! But boy is it good!) Let cool for at least 1 hour before serving with ice cream for Peach ala Mode. It's very good cold with a big dollop of whipped cream. ;)