On raiding the pantry and the commencement of summer

It has taken an entire week of respite for the shock to wear off – it’s finally summer break! And only now can I truly begin to appreciate it. The last semester has ended and there is a sense of finality and closure to everything. For example, my apartment lease lets up soon and we will be moving out in a few days. One of my roommates has already checked out actually, carelessly bestowing upon us a fridge full of rotting food and pantry of who-knows-how-old delicacies. So after screening for mold and the like, the left over food needed fast attending to before any further attack by the various micro-organisms that occupy our Raj Properties building (welcome to the typical Berkeley apartment). This left us with a considerable amount of spices, Nutella, tostadas, lots of frozen chicken, half empty bottles of liquor, and plenty of starches and carbs like rice and pasta. So, what to do with all this food? Kari has been begging for Tequila Lime Chicken, an Ina recipe, for months at this point, and just to appease her AND just to have a reason to use all this left over food, why not? So after work Monday night, I marinated the chicken and let it sit in the fridge, along with my Crepe batter! Yes, crepes for dessert! I couldn’t wait until dinner!

Tuesday comes around and with all this time on my hands, why not attack the mold and mildew? I’ve been living in filth for an entire year, why not restore the apartment to its former glory in the last 3 days I have to live in it? So I cleaned. All the while, I was reminded of Giselle from Enchanted, humming and singing and dancing while I vacuumed and scrubbed. Cleanliness is godliness, you know. The afternoon light starts to spill over the balcony and someoneiknow arrives just in time to drive Kari and I to Berkeley Bowl, possibly the most amazing grocery store ever. Upon returning home, I start the meal – furiously attacking the head of red cabbage, barking orders at Kari and someoneiknow to do homework, ripping open cans of tomatoes, stirring up the pot of rice – just another day in the kitchen with Anh, I guess. And dinner is served!

Tequila Lime Chicken
Found on Smitten Kitchen

Ingredients
1/2 cup gold tequila
1 cup freshly squeezed lime juice (5 to 6 limes)
1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice (2 oranges)
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon minced fresh jalapeno pepper (1 pepper seeded)
1 tablespoon minced fresh garlic (3 cloves)
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 whole (6 split) boneless chicken breasts, skin on*
Directions
Combine the tequila, lime juice, orange juice, chili powder, jalapeno pepper, garlic, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. Add the chicken breasts. Refrigerate overnight.
Heat a grill with coals and brush the rack with oil to prevent the chicken from sticking. Remove the chicken breasts from the marinade, sprinkle well with salt and pepper, and grill them skin-side down for about 5 minutes, until nicely browned. Turn the chicken and cook for another 10 minutes, until just cooked through. Remove from the grill to a plate. Cover tightly and allow to rest for 5 minutes. Serve hot or at room temperature.

Crepes

From Food Network’s Alton Brown

These crepes were fabulous! Soo good and who knew they were so simple? We filled our crepes with Nutella, carmelized bananas (sliced bananas sautéed in a little brown sugar and butter) and fresh strawberries. They were topped with a little ice cream and more Nutella. Yuum! Perfect for entertaining or even a normal weeknight dinner. Yes, they are THAT easy.

Ingredients
2 large eggs
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup water
1 cup flour
3 tablespoons melted butter
Butter, for coating the pan

Directions
Combine all of the ingredients. Place the crepe batter in the refrigerator for 1 hour. This allows the bubbles to subside so the crepes will be less likely to tear during cooking. The batter will keep for up to 48 hours.
Heat a small non-stick pan. Add butter to coat. Pour 1 ounce of batter into the center of the pan and swirl to spread evenly. Cook for 30 seconds and flip. Cook for another 10 seconds and remove to the cutting board. Lay them out flat so they can cool. Continue until all batter is gone. After they have cooled you can stack them and store in sealable plastic bags in the refrigerator for several days or in the freezer for up to two months. When using frozen crepes, thaw on a rack before gently peeling apart.
*Savory Variation: Add 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 cup chopped fresh herbs, spinach or sun-dried tomatoes to the egg mixture.
*Sweet Variation: Add 2 1/2 tablespoons sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and 2 tablespoons of your favorite liqueur to the egg mixture. ( I didn’t use any liqueur and they tasted just fine, though I am sure a little wouldn’t have hurt.)

Family dinners are wonderful! Sharing food with the people you love most in the world – it is a beautiful thing. The fond stories, the shared laughs, the memories! And the food itself only enhances the loving relationships between those at the table. It really saddens me to learn that this tradition isn’t practiced as much anymore. With our busy lives, it’s hard to have everyone gathered around the table and even harder still for everyone to actually enjoy and appreciate each other’s company. But since it is summer now, we have no excuse to forgo family meals or time with loved ones. So to add to my ever growing list of summer goals, one of them is definitely to have more meals like this; and to really appreciate the summer; and more importantly to appreciate those people you spend your summer days and nights with.

Bon appétit!
—Anh—

A Panacea for Post-Finals Doldrums

Over the span of 7 hours, I was violently assaulted (to put it mildly – Victor would say ‘raped’), first by Niels Bohr at 8 in the morning, then again by Siegmund Gabriel at noon. I came out of both exams satisfied with my expression of creative wit as most of my answers sounded like this: “The answer has not yet been revealed to man” or “Man is not meant to know” or “Still awaiting divine intervention.” So all in all, I had done terribly and felt as much. The BART ride home was melancholy and pitiful as I reminisced over the ups and downs of the semester. And there was nothing to cure my low spirits… well, almost nothing.

So for two days, I drowned all those worries and fears under the sand, under the waves, under the skies and stars. The raging red of the setting sun, the glaring blood-orange of the rising moon as it peaks over the edge of the water. Such were my days filled, numbing it all away. And still I was not yet ready to face reality, so I hid myself in my comfort zone, the fervor and frenzy of my kitchen. And the bi-product? Peanut Butter and Jelly Bars – the ultimate comfort food, reminiscent of those sweet elementary school lunches tucked inside my plastic Animaniacs lunch box. Those were the days…

Peanut Butter and Jelly Bars
This recipe can be found on Martha Stewart and also in Martha Stewart’s Cookies.
Ingredients
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pan
3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pan
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
2 1/2 cups smooth peanut butter
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups strawberry jam, or other flavor
2/3 cup salted peanuts, roughly chopped

Directions
1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9-by-13-inch pan with butter, and line the bottom with parchment paper. Grease the parchment, and coat inside of pan with flour; set aside. Place butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on medium-high speed until fluffy, about 2 minutes. On medium speed, add eggs and peanut butter; beat until combined, about 2 minutes.
2. Whisk together salt, baking powder, and flour. Add to bowl of mixer on low speed; combine. Add vanilla. Transfer two-thirds of mixture to prepared pan; spread evenly with offset spatula. Using offset spatula, spread jam on top of peanut-butter mixture. Dollop remaining third of peanut-butter mixture on top of jam. Sprinkle with peanuts.
3. Bake until golden, about 45 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool; cut into about thirty-six 1 1/2-by-2-inch pieces.

Now, I have fed these to a few people at this point and the general consensus is, why eat these bars when a pb&j sandwich will suffice? As Kari put it, these bars are the sum of parts, no more and no less. That translates to not spectacular, but then again, they disappeared fairly quickly, so who knows? Piggy requested more jam, so next time I would definitely add more jam. In addition, the bar’s base is not very satisfying, so next time I might try playing around with my Smitten Kitchen Peanut Butter Cookie dough for a base.

Kitchen time is my ultimate cure-all, and just an hour of making these bars was enough to bolster my spirits for a few days. Tomorrow is Memorial Day and it looks like I have a full day at Ici Ice Cream (click for a virtual tour). This upcoming week will be consumed by Ici as well as long hours in the lab. I have a lot to do before I leave for my 3-week sojourn to Australia in July, but hopefully I will have plenty of chances to update often. So please check back soon, and can’t wait until we next meet again!

Happy cooking!

—Anh—

Picnic for Two

It’s been a rough week, and for once it wasn’t school related. This runs a bit deeper and flows a bit thicker than stressing over Schrodiner, because I’m talking about emotional stress. The kind that persistently ebbs and flows, lingers and aches, an unyielding but blunted throb. It made me rather pensive and somber most of the week – not to mention prickly, snappy, and hard to work with (sorry Chi Nhu An!).
But fortunately for me, I have heaven-sent fairy godparents who quickly made things a lot better. And the result was (1) an opportunity to cook for someoneiknow and more importantly (2) time to talk with someoneiknow to smooth things over. And what better way to facilitate a heavy-hearted conversation than with comfort food? Keeping that theme in mind, I had to choose dishes that would cater to those needs – and I can proudly say that I met them one-for-one. Pesto, Pomodoro y Mozzarella Paninis and Italian Chicken Salad with Homemade Red Wine Vinaigrette. Can I say delicious? And before the actual event, I had plenty of taste testers confirm and acknowledge that the food was in fact edible (I bake not cook…). So menu chosen Tuesday night and on Thursday at about 2pm I headed to Safeway and gathered all the ingredients. Got home by about 3pm and started. Keep in mind I had a final at 6:30pm later that night. Anyway, I finished everything by about 6:15pm, ran to the final (thanks Kelly), conquered it, then rushed home to package everything for the picnic. Got home and fed the fairy godparents. Jumped into the car and rushed down to San Jose. I felt like Cinderella being whisked away to the ball because the fairy godparents had planned everything out. So I sat helplessly in the backseat while the magic frenzy was working up front, and with each mile bringing me closer to San Jose, I felt a growing sense of restlessness along with a case of fluttering butterflies in my stomach. I didn’t know that could still happen! Not pleasant, but not unwelcomed either. Lots of madness and the fairy godparents going crazy over the little details. But in the end, it happened. The clock did strike midnight, and I didn’t lose my glass slipper nor did my clothes turn to rags or my coach (godfather’s scion!) turn into a pumpkin. Exeunt.

Pesto, Pomodoro y Mozzarella Paninis

This is actually one of my favorite sandwiches to make. It is loosely based off a sandwich found in Ina Garten’s Barefoot Contessa at Home. And did I mention it is easy and very college student friendly? The only thing to keep in mind is that in order to bring out the flavors of this sandwich, everything needs to be fresh and of good quality – do not skimp or the sandwich will seem like a big slab of lard (no joke – Kari cannot stress this enough). Fresh mozzarella and fresh tomato are key. Good quality pesto (preferably from pine nuts) is a bonus. Crusty bread (Italian, French, even Sweet Batard) handles the cheese and pesto the best. For this picnic, however, I went simple and just used honey nut and grain sandwich bread. This serves at least 3-4 people, with leftovers for lunch the next day…

Ingredients:
2 large ripe beefsteak tomatoes
1 ball fresh mozzarella
1/2″ thick sliced white bread (it really works with any bread)
1 cup pesto
Directions:
Uniformly slice the tomatoes and fresh mozzarella about 1/8-1/4″ thick. Spread a table spoon (or as much as necessary to cover) of pesto over one slice of bread. Layer mozzarella and sliced tomatoes on top. Top the sandwich with another slice of pesto-spreaded bread. Place into a hot stove (med heat to melt, then med-high to toast) top pan and press a heavy plate right on top of the sandwich. This is college friendly – no expensive panini machine involved, though Kari does occasionally use her George Foreman. Toast until cheese melted and bread has browned, or to your own preference. Kari likes her bread charred. Yum.

Italian Chicken Salad and Red Wine Vinaigrette
Source: Food Network

This was soooo good! The individual elements are only decent, but once everything is thrown together, sooo delicious! The salty capers and savory chicken are a great contrast to the sweet and tangy vinaigrette. The butter lettuce is also sweet and adds richness to the salad. We also ate the leftovers with mixed organic greens, which is bitter, but paired so well with the chicken. There is a lot of red onion in this recipe, so if you don’t mind having onion breath then keep it. If not, I suggest a dessert mint . I did not strictly follow this recipe as it serves 12. I used one roasted chicken, 1 bell pepper, half an onion, 3/4 cup parsley (I love it), toasted peanuts, a tablespoonful of capers. The Vinaigrette was also reduced, but remember — this isn’t baking. This is cooking- where recipes are merely guidelines not the procedure for great food. Also, props to Piggy for shredding the whole chicken all by herself. Good job!

Ingredients:
10 cups coarsely shredded cooked chicken (from about 3 purchased roasted whole chickens)
2 cups roasted red and yellow bell peppers, drained, patted dry, and coarsely chopped
1 1/4 cups paper-thin slices red onion
3/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves
3/4 cup slivered almonds, toasted
1/2 cup drained capers
1 1/2 cups (about) Red Wine Vinaigrette, recipe follows
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
24 butter lettuce leaves (from about 3 large heads)
1 (4-ounce) piece Parmesan, shaved with vegetable peeler
Directions:
Toss the chicken, bell peppers, onion, parsley, almonds, and capers in a large bowl with enough vinaigrette to moisten. Season the chicken salad with salt and pepper, to taste.
Arrange 1 large lettuce cup and 1 small lettuce cup on each plate, overlapping slightly. Spoon the chicken salad into the lettuce cups. Drizzle more vinaigrette over the salads. Sprinkle with the Parmesan and serve.

Red Wine Vinaigrette:
Ingredients:
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 teaspoons honey
2 teaspoons salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 cup olive oil
Directions:
Combine the vinegar, lemon juice, honey, salt, and pepper in a blender. With the machine running, gradually add the oil and blend until emulsified.

I didn’t mean to make this a cliffhanger, but to satisfy your curiosity, the picnic went very well despite all things. Lots of good conversation; good food; and of course, good company.

The weather was a bit chilly, though, and I was far too absorbed with the conversation to eat much. That just means there are leftovers for the next day. Yum! Anyway, I am not much of a romantic, but I really think that cooking a meal and then surprising your significant other with a basket full of food is such a sweet thing to do. I feel that the effort alone paves way for smoother sailing further down the river… Please excuse the imagery (I tend to talk in metaphors when the subject gets a bit sticky), but you know what I mean. And you know what helps even more? The best fairy godparents ever! Thank you soo much!
This will be my last entry for the next two weeks. Finals are around the corner. But for the rest of you, good luck to you all – whether in the kitchen, in the classroom, or in love.

—Anh—