Sunday, November 22, 2015

Tkb (The Kebab Shop)

     Get ready for this one.  I can honestly say one of the most pleasantly surprising meals I've had in a while.  I've frequented this place many times as there is one so close to my work in Poway, but never seemed to have ordered this until one day I just decided to try it out.  Now I've heard in the past from the workers "would you like that California style" and never really thought anything of it.  Thankfully I decided to give it a try and behold this awesomeness!
 
Lamb and Beef Doner Kebab "California Style"
 
      The down side to this meal is the add on is about 3 dollars bringing price to about 10 dollars for the Doner itself but this is more than enough to satisfy you and I have a pretty monster appetite so that is saying a lot.  What makes it California Style is the addition of French Fries and very good creamy Feta, reminiscent to what is added in a California Burrito.  I've always thought a basic lamb beef Doner was a great meal in itself because the Kebab Shop always has very fresh crispy vegetables and the amount of food is perfect but the additions certainly make it a different beast of a meal.  You get more texture and the rich salt creaminess of the chunks of feta are out of this world. Make sure you get extra garlic yogurt sauce with the your Doner and the addition of the sumac pictured above adds a mild smokey acidity to every bite.  At the end of your meal do not forget the "After Doner Mints".... Great Pun TKS!  Enjoy Peeps.

Tuesday, November 3, 2015

Bon"quiche"sha

Bonjour

     Posting up a completely scratch quiche I did for the fams about a couple weeks ago.  I know anything like hand made pie shells always make people double think that maybe this is to hard.  All you have to do is get your hands a bit dirty and it will be well worth the effort,  just like many things in life right?  Look how great this looks!

Arugula and Maple Sausage Quiche

For Pie Shell

AP Flour 2cups
Salt 1Tbsp
Melted Butter 1/2 Cup
Water 2Tbsp

Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl and incorporate.  Cover and let rest for 30 minutes for ingredients to absorb into the flour before rolling out.  Flour a work surface and with a rolling pin roll out a thin even circle of dough that will cover your whole pie tin.  Pre heat oven to 350 degrees and par back shell by using beans and parchment in the bottom of the shell to prevent rising for about 12 minutes.

For Filling

Eggs 4 Each
Arugala 2 Cups
Sliced Sausage 1 Cup
Sharp Cheddar 1 Cup
Julliene Yellow Onion 1/2 Onion about 1 Cup
Kosher Salt TT
Black Pepper TT

First scramble eggs then combine the rest of the ingredients and fold into the egg.  Pour mixture into the par baked pie shell then bake for another 10 to 12 minutes until eggs are fluffy and bouncy, be careful not to over cook the eggs.

Surprised even my 2 year old Jacob loved it.  Finished it with some fresh fruit and boom!  Easy but fancy!  Enjoy

Thursday, October 22, 2015

The Laotian Spot!

    Much apologies for the long absence but I am back and with some pretty good content (not biased at all)!  This one will be a review of a restaurant in Murrieta called Noodle Land that I found on accident because of Mel's cousin Ryan and his wife Boonmee.  Shoutout Chicagoans!  She definitely schooled me in the magical wonders of Laotion food so without delay please feast your eyes on this lunch that I rave to anyone and everyone about.

Green Papaya Salad and Fresh Beef Jerky

     Now we had this with traditional Lao style sticky rice not the dessert kind with coconut and mango.  The sticky rice is made over a stove top in a cone shaped bamboo steamer allowing the natural rice starches to stay in the rice and produce a sticky translucent accent to the two dishes above.  The green papaya salad is a traditional Som Tam but Lao style which has a bit more acidity than the Thai style.  The Jerkey are thin strips of beef marinated in Lemon Grass, Garlic, and some secret ingredients I am not sure of then fried to order. You almost get a chewy cure type of flavor enveloped in a bunch of aromatics.  

     These three components together gave me a feeling I haven't felt in a long time which I can only describe in this sentence, "WTF ALL OF THIS WORKS TOGETHER AND TASTES SO GOOD."  I put the all caps because that's how it felt like I said it in my mind the first time I had this.  Boonmee and Ryan proceeded to eat with their hands using the sticky rice and making a perfect vessel to make the perfect bite with the rest of the food.  I would like to thank the Gube family especially Ryan for marrying Boonmee and letting me experience this type of cuisine which I have to fight the urge of spending all my money on for my meals everyday. 

     Everyone go out and try this place and order these three things,  I highly recommend it! 

     Disclaimer: I got a 5 out of 10 on the spicy scale on the papaya salad and Mel said her mouth was on fire so order accordingly.  Enjoy you won't regret it!

Friday, August 14, 2015

Playing w/ Food!


Good Day!

     So who doesn't love some French Toast?  That's what I thought!  So for good measure lets stuff this French Toast with some sweet salty creamy tart goodness.  This is the Cream Cheese and Lingon Berry French Toast.  You know those berries that Ikea puts on all their plates in their restaurant, well they go great in this dish adding some nice tart acidity to cut through the sweet batter of the French toast.  

Lingon Berry and Cream Cheese Stuffed French Toast 
(1 Serving)

2 Slices Texas Toast
1Tbs Lingon Berry Preserves
3/4 Cup Soft Cream Cheese
French Toast Batter
     2 Whole Eggs
     1 Cup Whole Eggs
     1 Tps Ground Cinnamon
     1 Pinch Ground Clove
     1 Pinch Ground Ginger
     1/2 Cup Confectioner Sugar (Save Some for Garnish)
     1 Vanilla Bean or 1Tps Imitation Vanilla

     Mix together French Toast Batter ingredients until well incorporated.  Dip a slice of Texas Toast until well soaked but not saturated (I know its an art!).  If you don't soak enough batter the middle will be dry because the bread is thick,  If you saturate the bread completely its can becom every dense so find the right amount to make a fluffy French Toast.

Dipping the Texas Toast

     Next you want to use a griddle if possible that way you get even heat distribution.  The hard part of doing it in a normal pan is the bread will most likely burn because it is hard to control the heat.  I would suggest and electric griddle with a thermostat to get a nice even color on the French Toast if you have trouble control heat on a conventional burner.  To start you want to cook one side of the soaked Texas Toast flip over then put in your fillings.

Stuffed French Toast on the Griddle

     You'll know you are done when the cheese gets melty (You can finish this in the oven if you want really bubbly cheese,  just place in a oven safe pan and bake at 300 Degress F for 10 or so minutes.  Assemble the 2 slices together like a sandwich and cut on the diagonal.  I suggest real 100%  maple syrup if possible.  Very easy dish brought to another level.  Enjoy!  My spoiled counterpart sure did!

Assembling the French Toast

Lingon Berry and Cream Cheese Stuffed French Toast!

Thursday, August 6, 2015

Sweet Potato Shrimp Fries

Konichiwa!

     Well I cant take all the credit for this dish because it was actually my attempt to recreate a great idea.  I have to give props to Saw Leaf Vietnamese Food in the Anaheim Packing District,  They had this dish on special and of course I had to try it myself.  It was about 4 dollars for a small sized french fry cardboard tray equivalent to an In and Out order of fries.  In my mind it seemed like all the flavors made sense and boy did they.  You get a sweet, salty, herby, spicy kick all in one as well as a crispy texture, whats not to love!

     Of course me being the constant chef minded guy I had to know how to recreate it myself even make it better dare I say.  Who am I kidding I automatically knew what to do to make it better!  Humble brag.  Anyways here is my recipe for my recreation and check out the platting below.  I served these family style and before I knew it they were all gone thanks to my staff.  The best part is this dish is so easy!

Sweet Potato Shrimp Fries (Serves 2)

Premade Sweet Potato Fries (Matchstick is the best to keep the crispy texture)
1lb 20/25 White Mexican Shrimp
1 Cup Diced Spring Onion
1 Cup Sriracha Mayonnaise
     1 Tbs Sriracha
     1 Cup Mayonnaise
     1/2 Cup Rice Wine Vinegar Unseasoned
     2 Tbs Toasted Sesame Oil
1 Lemon or Lime Whole
Kosher Salt TT
Black Pepper TT

Season defrosted shrimp with oil salt and pepper and char broil on highest setting being careful not to over cook the shrimp but getting great grill marks, about 3 minutes a side.  You want to look for a great char to add a smokey note to the dish.  Let cool to room temperature about 10 minutes and coarsely ground the shrimp with a knife or I used a robot coop or food processor.  Don't cut the shrimp when it is too hot or you will release the juices from the shrimp causing a dry product as well as steaming while you cut which makes the shrimp soggy and lose its texture.  In a food processor or blender (I prefer the food processor you get better emulsification I feel because it has a whipping motion more than a blend creating an airy sauce) combine the ingredients for the Sriracha Mayo and incorporate well.  Fry your sweet potatoes to your desired doneness I like it at 350 degrees for 6 minutes so they are pretty crispy but not burned.  Layer the fries first, then the Sriracha mayo, then the ground shrimp, finish with spring onions and salt and pepper.  Before eating squeeze the fresh acid over the fries and please be prepared with tissue to wipe away your tears of happiness. Buon Apetito!

Sriracha Mayonnaise

Grilled White Mexican Shrimp

Sweet Potato Shrimp Fries w/ Lemon Halves

Sweet Potato Shrimp Fries!

Thursday, July 30, 2015

Hot Summer Soup

Yo!

     As always, I hope your day has been peachy and much appreciation for reading!  Today I'll be reviewing a place in Irvine called Boiling Point.  Mel has been raving about this place so of course, I had to come and give it a try.

     Boiling Point is a mid to high price range Taiwanese style hot soup restaurant.  The ambiance is a bit hipster with black walls and very dim lighting.  There was an abundance of staff which was great. They did serve water out of styrofoam cups which I found a bit weird but I guess as long as you get iced water and they did do a great job of making sure it was filled to the brim (for me, this is always a deciding factor as to how much I tip them).  The menu is very simple, 10 preset hot soup items made it easy to order.  It was a simple as ordering, "Number 9," which was the Japanese Hot Miso Style Soup.  After you order you get a choice of a side of rice or vermicelli (thin rice noodles), I ordered the vermicelli.  Everything is pretty standard, but something that wasn't standard was the metal stands that they bring the soups out on.  These metal stands hold the soup you order and had chipping gel that they place on fire in the bottom of the stand that held a steel wok-style soup pot on top.  Then they place it table-side keeping your soup boiling hot for a good 25 to 30 minutes.  As you eat the soup you're left with more vegetables and meat then broth so the servers will come around and refill your broth anytime you ask.  Service was prompt and we were well attended to so from that aspect this restaurant is great.

     Now on to the food!  I'll start with my soup...I ordered the Japanese Miso Style Soup with mild spiciness (you can choose how spicy you want).  The broth wasn't the best I've ever had but it was still pretty good.  In the soup they had maitake & enoki mushrooms and that alone sold me on the dish.  The mushrooms added a great light umami flavor to the broth.  Under the hot soup there were tofu cubes, fried tofu skin slices as well as thinly sliced pieces of pork.  They did add way too much cabbage for my liking as I ended up with about a quarter of a cabbage left over at the end of my meal. There was even half of a shell crab and a single Little Neck clam added to the soup which were great but so small in portion to actually enjoy so I'll call those a garnish.  All in all, I would rate the dish a 6 1/2 out of 10, maybe a flat 6 because of the price.  This dish was considered a premium item costing me $16.99 for the whole meal.  For a fair price (food cost wise), I would charge $12.99, which just happens to be their lunch price.  The biggest flaws I saw were the lack of the seafood additions and a lack of the fermented miso flavor that I love in my broths.  

     Now on to Mel's dish who ordered their House Special Soup.  Although the dish had great flavor, there was a prominent smell from the tripe and intestine that they used to make the broth.  Now Mel has no sense of smell so I can't fault her for not catching this aroma, but my son's meal was the rice with a little bit of her broth.  This boy, who is now two and a half, proceeded to review the dish himself calling it "Stinky!" haha!  Mel still said she would eat this everyday if she could, especially since you're able to add more broth to whatever you can't finish of your hot pot and take it to-go, which in itself is a full meal to eat later (she says it's like a two-for-one deal).  In addition to the soups there were an array of different sauces on the table.  There were two types of chili pastes and one sweet sesame concoction that actually complimented the soups very well.  What you would do is scoop the soup out of the hot pot into a smaller bowl where you can add your rice noodles or in Mel's case ramen noodles (which is an additional price), then if you wanted you could finish your bowl with the side sauces.  When you go to try this place do not try the soup straight out of the hot pot as you will severely burn yourself like a certain idiot I know who shall remain nameless...I would personally only go there for lunch as I feel the value is rather fair compared to dinner.  I've mentioned in earlier posts that when I review a dish or a restaurant I take food costs into account as well as service and quality.  It's really hard for me not to take the food costs into account being in the industry and knowing how much all of this costs.  Would I come here again?  Sure!  But next time I'll go for lunch.  Give it a try and let me know what you think.  Happy eating!


Boiling Point in Irvine

Japanese Miso Style Soup (closer hot pot) and the House Special Soup

Side Dish of Vermicelli (to add to your soup when it arrives)

Tuesday, July 28, 2015

Simple Is the Best

Good day everyone!

     Hope everyone is doing well! The purpose of this post is to review a restaurant I recently ate at.  The premise starts with a random gathering of friends that haven't seen each other for quite a while, I wonder why it's so hard to keep in touch no matter how close your friends are?  I guess it's the demands of life in general and especially a person around my age where everyone's getting married and starting to have families of their own.  Reminds me that we have a lot of weddings to attend to next year, are we all grown up now?  I start to think so but when I'm around my boys, they give me reason to second doubt myself haha.  I guess I just want to reiterate that your friends are precious and always take the time to spend time with them whenever you have the opportunity.  

     So we decided to eat at a place where a majority of my group used to work, Upper Crust Pizza in Vista.  I consider the whole group a bunch of foodies so to choose this place to eat is I guess uncommon for us.  But we were looking for something quick and simple but not too quick and simple, know what I mean?  The picture below is a dish I had a lot in high school while my friends were working there.  I decided to order my usual from many years back which was a Roast Beef Sandwich and a Garlic Cheese Pizza Bread.  Even though I noticed the staff are all a bunch of people I didn't know, I found the food to be just as good as I remember.  This place is very family friendly and all the ingredients are very high quality without that very high quality wallet breaking price.  This hot sandwich, which they make with pizza dough and your choice of meat and cheese then finish off in their pizza oven, is one of the best sandwiches I've ever had which I can say with the utmost confidence.  First of all, it comes to you warm which is very important and you can tell it was made to order.  The dome gives it a great texture having a very crispy outside and it's very soft inside which does well to soak up all the flavors from the juices of the meat.  I know not a lot of people tend to hold this in high regard but the quality of their cheese and even their vegetables are great.  Not to mention the sandwiches are a lot bigger than I remember as I was only able to finish half of the sandwich and half the pizza bread.  Better yet the cost of this meal was a whopping $11 for which I was able to split into two meals.  Now on to the pizza bread (I like to call it garlic bread on crack). They actually throw this dough to order and instead of being just bread with cheese on it like most other places, they use their high quality cheese with some delicious house made garlic butter.  Paired with their house made ranch, you got yourself a winner not only on the garlic bread but with the hot sandwiches as well.  

     The general consensus in my opinion is that this is a great place to eat as I have been coming here for years.  The only reason I don't come here more often, which is probably a good thing, is because I live about an hour away.  I know it seems like I am just reviewing a mom-and-pop pizza restaurant,  but I really feel like it's more than that.  Being in the food industry, you know how bad food costs have risen and for them to be able to stick to using the same quality ingredients is really a testament to their dedication to bringing their customers great flavor all while not breaking the bank.  If you haven't been here, and I doubt that you haven't if you've been a resident of Oceanside and Vista, let this be motivation for you to go and try the place.  When I eat, I tend to really break down what I'm tasting, like the cost and quality of the ingredients and I'll always give my two cents on my opinion of the food.  Mel really hates it because she says I ruin every meal for her haha.  But I am one of those people that if you want to charge me $12 for a burger it better be a dang good burger and if I can tell that the quality meets the price, I'd be more than willing to pay.  Do you know of any other good mom-and-pop places in the North County/San Diego/Temecula areas that I haven't heard of? I'd be more than willing to go try and compare opinions.  Also sorry for that first bite in the picture I couldn't control myself!  

Roast Beef Hot Sandwich and Garlic Cheese Pizza Bread

Tuesday, July 21, 2015

Down with the Kobe

Konichiwa!

     Back with another one, this time featuring family day off lunch and the infamous Kobe burger!  Mel and I decided we are going to be going back on our juicing diet soon so I decided the last supper so to say would be best spent on a great burger.  I was able to get my hands on some ground Kobe beef so why not share with you my loyal readers!
     Starting with the meat it has always been a big debate whether or not to use egg and breadcrumbs as a binder for the burger ir to just simple go with the raw natural flavor of the meat.  I think it really depends on the person. When you add seasonings and binders to the burger you tend to get a fluffy texture to the meat plus a great way to retain the juices.   Some will argue you are tainting the flavor of the meat by doing so.  My compromise was to do the meat with seasoning only and try a Kobe meatloaf coming in the near future to see the difference in taste.  
     I invite you all to taste the difference when you make your own burger from buying a frozen burger or a burger from a fast food restaurant.  This was so juicy and you just cant beat the flavor of kobe,  So try it yourself and hopefully ill be be able to stay awake after I ate myself into food hibernation!  By the way the grapes on the plate were grown in my parents back yard!  Super sweet, tempted to do my very first batch of wine with those.

Sesame Glazed Kobe Beef Burger 
(1 Serving)

6oz Ground Kobe Beef
TT Montreal Seasoning
1/4 Julienne Sweet Yellow Onion
1 Slice Gouda
1 Slice Swiss 
1 Chicken Egg
1 Brioche Bun

Sesame Glaze
1 Cup Sesame Oil
Cracked Black Pepper
1 Cup Brown Sugar
1 Cup Soy Suace

Sriracha Mayonnaise
1oz Sriracha
3oz Mayonnaise

     Make the glaze by blending all ingredients for glaze in a vitamix.  In a bowl mix sriracha and mayonnaise together reduce amount of sriracha if too spicy.  Pre heat oven to 400 degrees.  Pre heat cast iron skillet on high heat to get maximum sear.  In a bowl mix ground Kobe beef and Montreal seasoning and form 6oz patty about an inch thickness.  When skillet is smoking throw on burgers.  Sear 1 side approximately 1 minute.  Flip burger over and transfer skillet to oven.  Finish burger in 8 minutes for medium rare.  I like to grill my onions in the rendered fat from the burger but you can grill onions separate if desired.  In a small saute pan cook the egg over easy on low heat until whites are cooked.  Assemble burger and enjoy!


Finishing in the oven with grilled onions
Sunny side up egg
Open face

Monday, July 20, 2015

Chicharron Ni Manok

Greetings Travelers,

     There aren't many things that are better than a fried crispy confit piece of chicken skin.  When I was very young, I remember being in the kitchen with my Grandma while she was roasting chicken. She would always pull up a piece of the skin and laid it in the pan where all the fat was rendering.  She would tell me to wait patiently and always gave me the first piece of that delicious crispy skin.  

      It was a regular day at work this past Sunday.  My cook Monley and I were tearing it up as usual, aka working hard, as Monley was prepping the chicken for our Chicken and Dumplings dish for Tuesday evening.  While he was cleaning the half chickens, he was saving all the pieces of extra chicken skin and fat.  I didn't think much of it at the time seeing as I am trying to stay away from fatty foods because that is what I am myself at the moment, when he then throws a pot on the stove next to me which had water, the extra chicken skins, fat, and some bay leaves and peppercorns.  I wondered what he was making and asked him, to which he replied, "I am making chicharron, are you a rookie cook?"  I guess he was right because what he made was one of the coolest things I've seen in a while. 

      My usually approach making chicharron from chicken skin is to cook the skins until soft and fry them in oil.  The genius part of this cooking method is that you do these steps plus more to further intensify the chicken flavor, and this guy didn't even know how complex the way he was cooking it was.  By boiling the chicken skins with bay leaves and peppercorns you soften the skin as well as render the fat, which then picks up all the flavor in the skin itself.  As the water evaporates you essentially confit the skin, or cook it in its' own fat, all while keeping the flavor from the aromatics you added initially.  When there's no water left and the fat starts to hit the smoking point caramelizing the chicken skin,  you are then achieving the crispy chicharron texture which again has all the flavor from when you first started the process.  The only tip here is that the chicken will burn once the water is gone fairly quickly so babysitting is required toward the end.  Not only is it a genius way to make this but it's all done in one pot!  Makes clean-up a breeze.  Super simple and super delicious, tell me what you think!


Chicharron Ni Manok

Thursday, July 16, 2015

Thursday Schmurzday

Happy Thursday my fellow grinderz!

     To start of this post I would like to reiterate how much I dislike the I-15 with a picture of my drive to work today at 10:00am when the morning traffic supposedly dies down.  Thanks for closing the express lanes by the way!

     On to a happier note my sister just recently embarked on a easy to west united states road trip and was kind enough to resupply my ever so important beer supply with a rare west coast find, Yeungling amber lager.  First time I had a yeungling was from on of my wolfpack kin #basicbro officer Ralph Villejo.  I would describe this beer as follows, "like a budwiser bit tastes great all the way through."  This beer is just a smooth all the way through traditional lager,  the hops are so subtle and the flavor is so crisp that it just tastes so refreshing.  As a matter of fact my sister Trina wanted me to drink one right away even though they were not properly cooled and even though I hate beer that is warm I preceeded to finish the entire beer.  It just brings to mind that this beer has been around for such a long time that you could taste all the years experience that has gone into the creation of this product.  Wish these were more excessible here in California so I could spend all the expendable income I dont have on this drink.  If you havent had the pleasure of trying it please find a way you wont regret it.  In the mean time ill find the will not to polish all six of these in one or two days.

     Continuing from yesterday's post Mel just sent me this completed art project circa 2008.  I remember in her uc riverside days when she started this project that it seemed like she would never finish.  Well I was wrong now in 2015 and it looks so good!  You can see her change in tastes through the years starting from the top left of the piece and ending with our sons name and our anniversary so cleverly inserted at the bottom right.  I do have a few lines and dots that I have to take credit for but I guess ill let Mel have the credit for this artwork!  Anyways its almost Friday so keep grinding and I believe in each and everyone of you. I dont care what anyone else says about you!  

I-15 and 78
Yuengling!
Mels 7 Year Project

Wednesday, July 15, 2015

Mel Thee Artiste

     Howdy!  Appreciate your support and taking the time to check out my blog!

     I've always thought myself a pretty creative and artistic person.  I am very lucky that I have an outlet to create food as well as make a living.  Which brings me to another equally if not more creative person than myself, my wife Mel!  Pictured below are some drawings she had the time to do in lieu of watching my little baby monster, Jacob. I am very excited about this because I feel that Mel doesn't get enough opportunities to express her creative side.  Ever since I can remember she has always been a great artist.  Those that know her will always say that you should see her handwriting which looks like a typewriter.  I've always encouraged her to hone her skills and just create because she is so good at it, but she's always too busy or has something preoccupying her.  I really dislike it when she says, "I'm not very good at it," but I 100% always adamantly disagree and these two drawings are no exception. 

     Of course me being the entrepreneur-minded one,  I wonder to myself if there is a market for these hand made drawings?  To me, it looked like they were just bought out of an IKEA or our favorite addiction Hobby Lobby.  I would think these would go great in a bedroom or hallway #homeownerproblems.  Would you buy these for your home?  I'd appreciate the feedback!  I have considered Etsy and Craigslist to test the waters out but we will just have to wait and see.  Always excited for new ventures and just finding ways Mel can draw a dang picture!  Maybe this will help with her clumsiness because she can get some of that pent up creativity out or just plainly be able to think about other things than poopy diapers once in a while.  I'm sure I'll get punished for this post later so I'll make this short and end it there.  Support the Mel Creativity Fund guys!
  

Monday, July 13, 2015

The Leftover Prodigy

What's up!

     So as you see in the title of the post this is going to be about leftovers and the self-proclaimed prodigy that I am!  Being a self-proclaimed prodigy is difficult and exhausting but thanks to my affinity to never wasting food, I feel I am well deserving of the title.  The age old question of, "What should I make for dinner," gave rise to what I feel like turned out to be a real winner.  When I formulate a dish I really like to make it a point to incorporate different sides of the palate and different textures as well,  mouth feel is just as important (That's what she said...) Sorry for that, but I couldn't resist... Back to the task at hand! I would like to present to you....

Lump Crab and Salmon Fried Rice Wrap

6oz Lump Crab
4oz Salmon
3 Whole Eggs
1 Ear of Fresh White Corn
3oz Peas
3oz Carrots
4 cups Cooked White Rice (not too wet)
1 cup Ponzu
1/4 cup Oyster Sauce
Salt and Pepper
1 cup Mayonnaise
1 Tbs Sriracha
12 Inch Flour Tortilla
10 slices Wonton Strips
2 Tbs Olive Oil

     In a fryer, fry wonton strips until crispy.  Set oven at 350, roast the corn for 15 minutes and cut off the cob into kernels.  Season salmon with salt and pepper and bake for 10 minutes.  In a bowl, mix mayonnaise, sriracha, sesame oil, salt and pepper and set aside.  In a wok or pan on high heat, add the olive oil and let heat.  In a bowl, beat the eggs and add to the pan and cook about 15 seconds.  Add the peas and carrots and saute for another minute.  Add cooked white rice and incorporate.  Add the lump crab and cooked salmon, break into small pieces, and incorporate as well.  While incorporating add the ponzu, oyster sauce, salt and pepper and stir fry until you get some color on the rice (about 5 minutes).  In a griddle or pan on medium heat, warm up the tortilla on both sides.  Take a tortilla and add some spicy mayonnaise mixture, crab fried rice, and wonton strips.  Wrap it up and enjoy!

    Mel says, "Why is this so good?!"  Try it out and tell me if you agree!

Fried Wonton Strips
Lump Crab and Salmon Fried Rice
Fried Rice Wrap

Sunday, July 12, 2015

Sunday Soba and Brews

Happy Sunday friends!

     Left for work at 4am today so thought I would award myself for waking up that early with a couple cold ones and a nice cold soba dish after getting home.   

     I found a GAME OF THRONES (!!!!) SAISON at my local Costco and got an IPA from my good friend Jeremy, thanks bruh! I love saisons because they have a smooth and spicy complex flavor.  The Game of Thrones beer in particular wasn't my favorite I am sorry to report.  The flavor starts pretty well almost reminiscent of a quad which has sweet and spicy notes then takes a bad, bitter turn at the finish losing all that great flavor.  If you like saisons, give it a try and let me know what you think.  To me, different perspectives are an important ingredient in the creative process so I'd love to hear different opinions.  The other beer that was so kindly shared with me, (and by shared I mean I pretty much drank the entire bottle) was an IPA.  Now every time someone asks me if I like India Pale Ales I always say that I have to be in the mood because they tend to have a very strong, hoppy, and bitter flavor, especially the stone IPA's which are known for their strong hop flavor.  So apparently this was a special batch brew that was made to have the perfect maturation on July 4th and although we were a bit late, I rather enjoyed this beer.  The bitter flavor of the hops was pleasantly restrained which really made an enjoyable flavor all the way through.  Solid beer, good job Stone Brewing.

     So what goes good with beer on a hot day?  I know you were thinking cold soba, right?!  The dish is pictured below in front of my authentic bonsai tree, so appropriate.  

   One thing I have always had trouble with when it comes to cooking is pleasing the wonderful wife.  The favorites of Mel's taste which I have dubbed, "Cafeteria Palate," consists of meatloaf, chicken fried steak, and chicken pot pie which I'm 99% sure are her 3 favorite foods.  So I thought something like cold soba was a long shot for her but I just made it regardless.  

   Anyways this dish happened to be one of my favorites.  The soba has a very fresh, slightly bitter flavor which I like to pair with a sweet sesame dressing.  For some protein, I added a fluffy sweet japanese style tamago (or egg) and finished it off with some furikake.  Very simple and best of all my baby boy Jacob and Mel loved it!

Cold Soba Noodles

Ingredients:
Dried soba noodles
Sesame oil
Ponzu
Brown sugar
Pineapple juice
Black pepper
Kosher salt
Vegetable oil
Whole eggs
Granulated sugar
Furikake rice seasoning
Scallion

   Bring a pot of water to boil with salt and some vegetable oil.  Cook soba noodles until desired doneness and stop the cooking process with an ice bath to protect the texture and avoid overcooking.  In a mixing bowl, crack the eggs, add a pinch of sugar, and whip vigorously to create a fluffy texture.  In a hot oven-safe sautee pan, pour the egg mixture and finish in the oven on low heat (about 6 minutes).  Transfer to the refrigerator and serve cold.  
   Combine the rest of the liquid ingredients with a pinch of salt and generous amount of black pepper in a blender minus the oil.  While blending on high, slowly add vegetable oil to emulsify the mixture so it coats the noodles well.  In a bowl, mix the soba with a little of the dressing and finish with the egg, furikake seasoning, and chopped scallion.

Great recipe for the summer. Hope you guys enjoy the dish.  Have a blessed Sunday!

Game of Thrones Saison

Stone IPA

Cold Soba Noodles

Friday, July 10, 2015

Channeling the Inner Pinoy

Good ebening eberybodies.

     That's my fake filipino accent for clarification. Made a filipino-as-possible dinner tonight which is ironic because I feel like I have the least experience with this region of cuisine. A culmination of my upbringing in my endeavors of filipino food would have to be this conversation that I have frequently with my master chef mother (love you mom!).

Mom - Justin come here and eat now.
Me - Dang mom this food is dank! How do you make it?!?
      (Not sure if the kids use "dank" anymore...)
Mom - I dont know I just put stuff in the pot.

     Hence I never learned any of my mom's cooking secrets. I am glad to report my mom and I's communication skills have improved to a point where I can actually get what ingredients and techniques are used in her dishes. Hopefully we will improve further and get some actual measurements so I can replicate those flavors. Nonetheless, we all know who the best chef in the whole world is, and that is without a doubt "Mom."  
     There is this fish my mom left for me from our last kamayan night, which is a dinner where you cover a table in banana leaves, put a row of steamed white rice, a plethora of meats and you eat with your finest utensils, your hands! I'll have to find the pictures from that night. Anyway the fish I was talking about is called Pampano.  I've had no prior experience cooking this fish so I went with these flavors as you'll see below and it turned out to be pretty good while tasting distinctly pinoy in my opinion. Here's the recipe:

Broiled Pampano on Braised Spinach with Hibiscus Sawsawan

For Spinach....
Spinach
Julliene yellow onion
Chopped garlic
Fish sauce
Unseasoned rice vinegar
Ponzu
Salt and black pepper

On high heat quickly saute onions and garlic with a little olive oil.  Add spinach and seasonings and turn to low and braise for 45 mins.  Transfer to a pyrex or steel baking pan

Fish....
Whole cleaned pampano
Cucumber
Cilantro
Lemon
Kosher salt

Stuff the pampano with lemon slices, cilantro and cucumber.  Rub kosher salt on the skin of the fish.  Place fish on the bed of braised spinach and place into the oven or salamander on HI broil until the skin carmelizes.

For sawsawan (I believe it means to dip, please excuse me I am a coconut filipino, I think you can figure out what that means haha)....

Unseasoned rice vinegar or cane vinegar
Hibiscus tea
Fish sauce
Granulated sugar
Diced cucumber
Salt and pepper

Dissolve sugar in hot hibiscus tea, let cool to room temp and mix with the rest of the ingredients. Serve with steamed white rice.

 Mel ate it with the left over lump crab fried rice, I'll post this recipe later!

     The dish itself had good flavor and the meat on the pampano was buttery and flaky .  What I love about filipino food is you get a very eclectic mix of flavors that hit multiple sides of your pallet.  Sugar, fish sauce, and vinegar gives you a salty sweet acidic sawsawan sauce that goes great with the fish.  The story on the hisbiscus in the sawsawan is I ran out of sugar and had some hibiscus simple syrup that we were using for our passion iced tea drink Mel and I make and I guess it's a good thing because it adds a great flowery depth to the sauce. I like mixing the spinach and fish with my rice and lettting the rice soak up all that sawsawan flavor. Mel hates fish and she ate a good helping!

     Well I hope you like the recipe and remember to always thank your mom for being the greatest cook you know!






Tuesday, July 7, 2015

Peaks and Valleys

   Well, had an interesting day today.  

   It started with an hour and a half drive to work (I hate you Interstate 15 by the way, in case you didn't hear me the first 1000 times), then on to a very, very, very productive work meeting -_- ..... Then straight to preparing for our first official event for URBN Market.  I had the privilege of doing a dessert tasting for a bride-to-be and I thought we put on a great display if I do say so myself.  In the picture below you'll see one of our dessert bar options which is a Salted Caramel Cheesecake.  All I can remember is being too excited to take pictures of the whole display because I was so focused on putting on a good show for the bride.  The day looks like it's starting to pick up into a positive spin and then on the way home I finally received a call from the City of Poway regarding my business license. They had bad news and as of right now I am not allowed to work out of the current kitchen that I'm working in due to some zoning issues according to the city.  I'll have you know that this has been a long process already, thank you city workers for delaying my life endeavors.  

   So to continue my rant I guess I just feel like the whole day has been peaks and valleys.  I've constantly heard that it's not about what you fail at or what bumps in the road there may be but how you react to those instances, but gosh darn sometimes it really gets you frustrated, you know?  Here I am in my own head thinking why are they making it so hard for me to pursue something I just want to do and to support my family?  I guess I'm really liking this blog business because I got to vent it out but in the real world I'm going to just pick myself up and keep going forward.  When I really think about it, it's really not that bad because I get to go home to my beautiful wife and my beautiful son in my beautiful house so really life is just beautiful.  

   Not trying to sound like a preacher but I want everyone to sometimes take a step back and realize that we should just count our blessings because there is so much in life to be thankful for. #firstworldproblems 
Salted Caramel Cheesecake

Welcome!

     First post yay!  So randomly after a long day at work I somehow came to the decision of grabbing that piece of the American dream aka Starting a Blog!  Haven't been out to eat much lately but have been blessed with being able to do some pretty great events.  So please take this first blog as an impromptu introduction.

     I am a typical work your way up, school of the hard knocks Executive Chef.  I guess you could say I was a late bloomer to the whole culinary scene.  Food has always played an important role in my life as I always found myself cooking for my family, friends or for our club events at school (Shoutout APSU!).  It wasn't until I realized Community College wasn't for me when I found out that I really wanted to cook for a living.  I started cooking at a retirement home in Oceanside and by 21, I was lucky enough to be running the place.  I learned a lot about food costs and budgets but was missing the finer qualities of cooking so I was able to land a Sous Chef position at Valley View Casino & Hotel.  I had the pleasure of personally running every outlet from the pizza and pho fast food dining, to the 1,200 cover a night lobster buffet, to the fine dining voted San Diego's Best Steakhouse, Black & Blue.  I feel I would still be about that life and grinding the long hours but my little baby boy Jacob changed that thought process quickly.  I found a job back in my origins of assisted living and I am now an Executive Chef & Director of Food Services.  I feel I get the best of both worlds still being able to be involved with my passion of cooking while also being the Father and Husband my family deserves, you know?

     URBN Market Catering is my new born baby of a company.  Trying to apply all my experience and passion and maybe make a living off of something that I personally made with my own hands and built from the bottom up, that is where I ultimately want to be.  This blog seems like a good place to share and record different events and recipes I make.  Maybe it will be a place I can vent when I have that bad day.  But anyway thanks for stopping by and I hope you find some interesting things on here!