"Date Night" Cooking Class pt. II

Just in Valentine's Day or simply for a cheesecake craving, this Berry Cheesecake Bite Recipe that my friend S and I learned at cooking class is perfect. It was a perfect portion and the blueberries were a delicious pairing for the desert. I'm a huge cheesecake fan and it is probably my favorite desert, enjoy!

Berry Cheesecake Bites

Filling

• 8 oz. cream cheese, softened
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/4 cup sugar

Crust

• 7-9 cinnamon graham crackers (or 1 cup of graham cracker crumbs + 1 tsp. cinnamon + 2 Tbsp. sugar)
• 3 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted

Topping:

• 1 cup blueberries, or other berry, fresh or frozen
• 2 tbsp water
• 1/2 tbsp sugar
• 1 tsp water
• 1/2 tsp cornstarch
• 1/2 tsp fresh lemon juice

Preparation
1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line 12 cups of a mini muffin tin with paper liners or grease each cup very well.
2. For the crust, if not using store bought graham cracker crumbs, break the cinnamon graham crackers into chunks and pulse them into a food processor until they are fine crumbs. (This should yield about 1 cup of graham cracker crumbs.) With the crumbs in the food processor, pulse while slowly pouring in the melted butter until combined and resembling wet sand. Divide the crumbs between 12 cups of the prepared mini muffin tin, pressing the crumbs into the bottom and a little bit up the sides to form the crust. Set aside.
3. For the filling, beat softened cream cheese and egg in a medium bowl with an electric mixer until smooth and thoroughly combined. Add vanilla and sugar, and continue beating until combined. Spoon the spilling into each mini muffin cup, filling almost to the top.
4. Bake for 12-15 minutes, until the tops are no longer glossy and the centers are set. Allow the cheesecakes to cool about 30 minutes at room temperature. If using paper liners, remove the cheesecakes from the pan to cool. If not, let the cheesecakes cool in the pan, then put them in the refrigerator to cool for at least 1 hour.
5. To prepare topping, combine berries, 2 tbsp water, and 1/2 tablespoons sugar in a small saucepan over medium-high heat; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 3-5 minutes. Combine 1 tablespoon water and 2 teaspoons cornstarch in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk. Add cornstarch mixture to pan. Bring to a boil; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Transfer mixture to a bowl; cool to room temperature. Stir in 2 teaspoons juice. Spoon about 1/2 tbsp of blueberry mixture on top of each room temperature cheesecake.
6. Once cool, store cheesecakes in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

S and I DEMOLISHED the Cheesecakes. All in a day's work!

"Date Night" Cooking Class

Sorry for the lack of posts but it has been a crazy week! I've lost vision in my left eye so now it is mainly light and dark shadows which has been extremely difficult to deal with. But today's post should make up for it! My friend S and I signed up for a free cooking class at our university's gym (yes they offer cooking classes, how contradictory) and it was "Date Night on a Budget". Thank goodness it wasn't all couples because otherwise S and I would have been more lonely (just in time for Valentine's Day too). The food however was absolutely wonderful!

Golden Garlic Parmesan Breadsticks

• 1 (17 1/3 ounce) package frozen puff pastry sheets, thawed
• 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 head roasted garlic, peeled or 6 cloves of fresh garlic minced
• 1/4 cup butter, melted
• 1 egg beaten with 2 Tbsp milk or water

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees and lightly grease a baking sheet.
2. In a shallow dish (pie pan), combine cheese, garlic and butter,
3. On a lightly floured surface, unfold pastry sheets. Brush pastry with melted butter mixture. Cut each sheet into 15 strips. Gently twist pastry sticks, and place on a prepared baking sheet.
4. Brush egg mixture over each stick.
5. Bake for 12 minutes. Remove to wire racks to cool.

Mozzarella Spinach Chicken Roll With Browned Butter Shallot Sauce (serves 4)

• 4 (4-6 oz) boneless chicken breasts
• 1/2 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 10oz bag frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained, or 1 lb fresh baby spinach blanched and squeezed dry
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 3 tablespoons butter, divided
• 1/4 cup shallots, minced
• 2 teaspoon lemon juice
• 4 large sage leaves, chiffonade
• salt and pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Add oil and garlic to medium saute pan. Heat the pan over medium heat, saute garlic just until it begins to brown and add spinach. Cook spinach until heated through. Place aside in a mixing bowl and allow to cool.
3. Once spinach has cooled, add mozzarella cheese and mix well.
4. Prepare chicken: cut a small incision into each chicken breast to form a pocket for stuffing. Use a wooden spoon to enlarge the pocket. Stuff about 1/4 cup on spinach mixture into each pocket. Season chicken all over with salt and pepper.
5. Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a large skillet. Brown the chicken on all sides over medium-high heat, placing them seam side down in the pan first. Remove to a baking sheet lined with foil, and bake until chicken temperature registers at 160 degrees.

Add the 3 tablespoons of butter and shallots to the pan juices. Heat the pan and cook the butter and shallots just until the butter begins to froth and brown. As soon as you see color in the butter remove from heat. Add lemon juice and sage, taste for seasoning and serve over chicken!

I'll post the salad recipe and desert recipe tomorrow! Enjoy!

Cafe Bizou Review

Last week was L.A. Restaurant Week and there was a whole list of places to visit, so we chose Cafe Bizou but unfortunately we didn't realize that it only applied from Monday to Fridays :( so when we got there we just got something else. I ordered the sesame coated salmon with a potato pancake in a wine sauce and my friend J got a kobe beef burger with bleu cheese and the works. Let me just say: bleu cheese and kobe beef = heaven! Kobe beef is a special type of beef because the cows have been hand massaged so that the beef is extra extra tender. I ordered the soup of the day, which was delicious and the salmon was cooked perfectly moist. Overall the experience was extremely wonderful and I would love to go back to try their other yummy dishes!

Cafe Bizou
91 North Raymond Avenue
Pasadena, CA 91103-3919
(626) 792-9923

Bulgogi, Tofu and Kimchi OH MY!

I've always been very willing to try new food and I look forward to experiencing new types of cuisine. So when my friend S told me that she had never had kimchi before I was dumbfounded. Maybe it's because I'm Asian so the idea that she's never had it before seems so impossible but she's Caucasian and used to food like Beef Stroganoff. And S was surprised when I told her that I had never made chili from scratch (which I plan to do in the near future). This whole college experience has opened my eyes a lot. Last week I invited her and our friend A for an Asian-inspired meal. I had some pre-marinated spicy pork Bulgogi that I bought from a local Korean supermarket named H-mart, marinated tofu with green onions, kimchi and rice. I was a bit frightened that S would not like kimchi (the smell isn't exactly the most appealing) but she actually enjoyed it! Here's the recipe for the tofu: instead of putting it on skewers and grilling it I simply pan fried it with a little bit of oil.

Ingredients

3/4 cup Vegetable oil
3 tbsp Fresh lemon juice
4 1/2 tbsp Soy sauce
1 Scallion, thinly sliced
3 Garlic cloves, pressed
1 tsp Ground ginger
16oz Firm Tofu, drained, pressed
And cut into 1" cubes
12 Fresh mushrooms
10 Cherry tomatoes
1 Red pepper, cut into 1" pieces
1 Red onion, cut into chunks and
Seperated

Preparation

Combine oil, lemon juice, soy sauce, scallion, garlic and ground ginger in bowl. Toss 1/3 of the marinade with the tofu to coat and marinate in refrigerator for 6 hours.
In a large bowl, combine the mushrooms, tomatoes, red pepper and onion. Pour remaining marinade over vegetables and toss.
Thread the tofu and vegetables, alternately on skewers.
Cook on the grill 10-15 minutes, brush with marinade and turn several times.

S has also informed me that she has never had dim sum. I'm speechless.

(I'm with) Coco Shrimp.

Whenever I go out to eat I always ask myself two questions when deciding what to order: What am I craving and am I capable of making of this dish? If I believe that I can make a dish at home then its not worth ordering for me.One dish that is fun to make but a little more on the slightly difficult side is Coconut shrimp. It's not exactly the healthiest but it sure is DELICIOUS! My friend J.L. made this dish so props!

Beer coconut shrimp

Ingredients

• 24 large shelled shrimp with tails
• 2 cups of coconut flakes
• 1 large egg
• 2/3 of a cup of beer
• ¾ of a cup of flour
• 1½ tsp of baking powder
• vegetable oil

Method

1. Whisk the egg, beer, baking powder and ½ a cup of flour in a large mixing bowl until a smooth batter is formed.
2. Place the remainder of the flour in a bowl and all of the coconut in a separate bowl.
3. Grasp the shrimp by the tail and dip into the flour and then the batter. Allow any excess batter to drip off.
4. Then, roll the shrimp in the coconut, making sure that the shrimp is evenly coated.
5. Set the coated shrimp on a plate or dish and place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to set.
6. Pour 3 cups of vegetable oil in a deep fat fryer and heat to a temperature of 375°F (190°C).
7. Remove the shrimp from the refrigerator and fry in the hot oil in small batches for several minutes or until golden brown.
8. Remove from the oil and drain on kitchen paper to remove excess oil.
9. Serve hot with a sauce or dip. 

We served it with tartar sauce, cocktail sauce, but most importantly orange marmalade. Its the perfect combination!


P.S. Team Coco- today's post is dedicated to the genius that is Conan O'Brien.

Home Fried Chicken (HFC).

HFC (as taken from the Internet)

Ingredients:

• 4 pounds chicken pieces
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 2 large eggs
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons salt
• 2 teaspoons pepper
• 3 cups vegetable oil
• salt

Preparation:

Rinse chicken; pat dry and then set aside. Combine milk and eggs in a bowl; whisk to blend well.
In a large heavy-duty resealable plastic food storage bag, combine the flour, salt, and pepper.
Dip a chicken piece in the milk mixture; let excess drip off into bowl. Put a few chicken pieces in the food storage bag and shake lightly to coat thoroughly. Remove to a plate and repeat with remaining chicken pieces.
Heat oil to 350°. Fry chicken, a few pieces at a time, for about 10 minutes on each side, or until golden brown and cooked through. Chicken breasts will take a little less time than other pieces. Pierce with a fork to see if juices run clear to check for doneness. With a slotted spoon, move to paper towels to drain; sprinkle with salt.