Tofu Quenelles with Wasabi Mayonnaise Sauce


This is not the most healthy dish, but once in while you need a doze of grease in your body to oil those old joints I'd say to justify having these delicious things :) The wasabi mayonnaise is key here, you can't have one without the other ok?

Ingredients:
- 1 block of tofu medium firm
- 2 eggs
- 1 sheet of nori (japanese seaweed)
- 1 Cup of oil for deep frying
Dipping Sauce:
- 3 T japanese Mayonnaise ("Kewpie")
- 1 t wasabi (more if you like it hot :))
- Mix together well (pic 5,6) while to egg-tofu is frying.

Serve 4-6

Preparation:
- Drain the tofu and dry with paper towel
- Scramble the tofu with the eggs until well mixed (pic 3)
- Shred the nori with scissors and mix in with the tofu and egg (pic 4)
- Heat oil in skillet over medium high heat
- Drop a tiny bit of the mixture into the oil, if it starts to sizzle right the way the oil is ready
- Make egg-tofu quenelles with a soup spoon and drop them into the hot oil
- Turn them over once with a spatula when they are golden on the bottom side
- Remove well both sides are golden and drain on a double layer of paper towels.

- Serve with the wasabi mayonnaise sauce, hot. yummy good!!

Finger Tiramisu


I like to serve the tiramisu in individual fingers that way every one can decide how many fingers they want for the evening as a 'pick me up' .

Ingredients:
- 3 large eggs, separating whites and yolks
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 cup espresso or strong coffee
- 2 Tbsp. Rhum or Cognac or Brandy
- 8 oz. BelGioioso Mascarpone (pic 1)
- 1/8 cup freshly grated Valhorana dark chocolate or cocoa
- 20 ladyfingers - Savoyardi (pic 7) are best as they are drier and don't get too soggy.
Makes 10 Finger Tiramisu

Preparation:
1- Combine 3 egg yolks, 1 Tbsp. espresso, sugar and Rhum in large mixing bowl. (pic 2) Beat 2-3 minutes. If concerned about raw egg, place the bowl over a bain marie while beating the egg.
2- Add BelGioioso Mascarpone (3) and beat 3-5 minutes or until consistency is smooth (pic 4).
3- In another bowl, combine 3 egg whites and a pinch of sugar (pic 4). Beat until mixture forms stiff peaks. Gently fold into Mascarpone mixture (pic 5). Tip: Fold the 1/2 of egg white in first, and adjust accordingly. Lesser is better than too much egg white which causes the mixture to run :)
4- Pour rest of espresso into flat dish (pic 6), dip one side of each Ladyfinger (sugared side pic 7), and layer on bottom of dish. Keep the ladyfingers slightly separated if you want to serve them individually.
5- Spread 1/2 Mascarpone mixture and sprinkle with cocoa then continue with a second layer of ladyfingers and finish with a Mascarpone layer and chocolate sprinkle (pic 9,10).
6- Refrigerate at least 3-4 hour before serving, overnight is better.

Lychee Chicken Salad

The sweet refreshing taste of fresh lychee is a surprise touch to this chicken salad which is light and tasty in itself as it is with the balanced taste of salt, pepper and lime and chicken.

Ingredients:
- 1 chicken breast
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 small lime
- pinch of fresh ground pepper
- bird-eye chili (optional) (pic 2)
- 1/2 dozen fresh lychee (pic 2)
Serve 2

Preparation:
1. Boil the chicken breast for 12' or so until just done, take it out of the broth and let it continue to cook while it cools off.
2. Peel the lychee and slice off the meat all around (pic 3), avoid cuting into the inside brown skin if you can, it's edible but better left off this salad :)
3. Mince the chilies and set aside (optional)
4. Shred the cooked chicken with your hands or 2 forks (pic 1)
5. Sprinkle the salt and pepper over the chicken and mix well.
6. Squeeze the lime juice over the chicken and mix well again. Adjust the seasonings to your taste.
7. Add the chili, lychee and serve. You can also add some chopped coriander leaves for some green color especially if you leave out the chili.

Scallops on a sugar cane

I don't know about you but the only way for me to keep some sanity is to play with food after a long stretch of work, getting myself recharged mentally with some creative juice and physically with some delectable food :)

So here we go, seared scallops on a sugar cane, a concoction I invented on a whim, inspired by our 'chao. to^m' or shrimp-paste(d)-on-a-sugar-cane. It's a lot faster and easier to make then its cousin :) and very tasty indeed.

Don't forget to chew on the sugar cane as you gobble down the scallop, the sweet sugar cane juice goes wonderfully well with the scallop!

Click on photo for a mouth-watering close-up :)

Ingredients:
- a dozen scallops
- a sugar cane
- a pinch of salt
- a few drops of olive oil
- 1 tsp Hot Chili Garlic Sauce (tuong ot toi con ga). This is the secret sauce :) that adds the zing and color to the dish, although it's optional, I highly recommend it.
Serve 2

Preparation:
- Rinse the scallops and pat dry with a paper towel
- If using fresh sugar cane, peel and chop crosswise into 2 1/4- inches long pieces, then chop these lenghtwise into thin sticks (pic1 below)
- With a small pointed and sharp knife cut a small slit into the side of each scallop, piercing all the way through to the other side. Sprinkle with a tiny bit of salt.
- Insert the sugar cane stick through the scallop shishkabob-like (pic 2)
- Put a couple of drops of olive oil into a non-stick skillet over high heat until it starts to smoke.
- Place the scallops in and seared quickly on each side, don't overcook or the scallops will turn very chewy (pic 3)
- Add the hot chili garlic sauce to the scallop sparingly, remove and serve hot off the skillet!

Beef Rolled in Perilla leaves - Bo` La' Lo^t' - revisited

Tipped off by my sis-in-law I tried this version of beef rolls using la' tia' to^ instead of la' lo^t' and was very happy with the result as well as the fail-proof nuoc mam recipe from my bro-in-law. Yep, ILs are quite handy some time :)

Tia' to^ also known as red perilla, beefsteak leaves, or akashiso have an anise-cinamon-ny flavor which goes very well with beef. It is milder than the green variety aka rau kinh gio*i' or aoshiso which has a stronger lemony-spicy taste.
We mostly use both as part of our 'rau tho*m' green salad whereas the Japanese uses both for a variety of culinary purposes. The red variety is used for example to color umeboshi (pickled plum) and pickled ginger. After Perilla is pickled with umeboshi, the leaves are sometimes dried and pulverized. The resulting Shiso Momiji is a condiment, a kind of seasoned salt. It is traditionally served with Tofu and some Tempuras.

Japanese chefs add red perilla to tofu or bean curd dishes or use it wrapped around pieces of meat. Green perilla leaves are often wrapped around sushi or served with "sashimi" as a garnish. They also are added to soups, tempura or dried and sprinkled over rice. The tiny seed pods are sometimes added to shoyu to make a condiment to accompany Tempura.

Anyway, I quite like it as a substitute for la' lo^t' in making these beef rolls. Have a go at it, you won't regret it!

Ingredients:
- 1/3 lb ground beef
- 2-3 medium size shallots minced
- 2-3 "stinking rose" :) i.e. garlic cloves minced
- 1 tsp of salt and freshly ground pepper

- a bunch of red perilla with large leaves

Preparation:
1. Soak perilla leaves in water, rinse and set aside. (pic 2)
2. Mix ground beef with minced shallots and garlic. (pic 1)
3. Season with salt and pepper (pic 1)
4. Put a spoonful of beef mix on the red side of the perillo leaves, roll and keep in place
with a bamboo skewer. Continue until the skewer is filled up, about 5-6 rolls (tip: soak the skewews in water first so they don't burn when you put them on the grill) (pic 3, 4)
5. Preheat your barbecue grill. Grill the beef skewers until slighty charred about 5-8'
6.Garnish with chopped roasted peanuts
7. Serve with lettuce, mint, cilantro, rice noodle (bun') and nuoc mam (recipe follows)

Nuoc mam recipe: Mix - 4 parts warm water- 2 parts sugar- 2 parts nuoc mam (fish sauce)- 1/2 part vinegar- Chili sauce con ga` to taste

Blackberry Ice Cream

It's still not too late in the season to make some blacberry ice cream. Have it plain or serve it with some juicy fresh blackberries on the side or with some Valhrona dark chocolate chips (just chop half a tablet into small chips and drop them in while it's churning. The luscious combination of flavors and textures will blow your mind away :)

Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 C fresh blackberries
- 1/2 + 1/4 C sugar, divided
- 1/2 + 1/4 C whole milk
- 1 + 1/4 C heavy cream
- 1 + 1/2 t pure vanilla extract (optional)

Preparation:
1. In a small bowl, combine the blackberries with 1/2 C of the sugar. Stir gently and allow the berries to macerate in the sugar for 2 hrs (pic 1). Mash or puree the berries. ( pic 2)
2. In a medium mixing bowl, use a hand mixer on low speed to combine the milk and remaining granulated sugar until the sugar is dissolved (pic 3), about 1-2 minutes. Stir in the heavy cream, and strain in the pureed berries, vanilla and mix well (pic 4,5,6)
3. Turn the machine on; pour the mixture into the freezer bowl, and let mix until thickened, about 20 to 25 minutes (pic 7). The ice cream will have a soft, creamy texture (pic 8). Transfer the ice cream to an airtight container and place in freezer for about 2 hours. Remove from freezer about 15' before serving. (pic 6)

Very Berry Jello Tart

I love this time of the year when berries are at their best. There is an orchard by my house that has raspberries and blackberries picked right off the vines for sale every day at their fruit stand, and needless to say, I just have to stop there every day :)

This is a lovely dessert to have with some Creme Chantilly (or Cool Whip if you are ... lazy :))

Ingredients:
- 1 packet of Knox Unflavored Gelatine
- 1/2 cup of Monin Raspberry Gourmet Syrup
- 1/2 cup of water + 2 Tbsp
- 1 small basket of raspberries
- 1 small basket of strawberries
Serves 4

Preparation:
1. Rinse the berries and pat dry with a paper towel. Remove the strawberries' caps and cut them in half.
2. Combine the syrup and 1/2 cup of water in a small pot and bring to a boil, stirring well.
3. Sprinkle the gelatine over 2 Tbsps of cold water and let it soften for a minute or so.
4. Add the hot syrup and stir until gelatine completely dissolves, about 5 minutes.
5. Place the strawberry halves and raspberries into a pie dish. Pour the syrup and gelatine in and refrigerate until firm, about 4 hours.
6. Serve with whipping cream (optional)


And here are a couple of cute stories to tell while you serve the very berry jello tart:

" Have you every eaten a double strawberry? Legend says that if you break the strawberry in half and share it with a member of the opposite sex, you will soon fall in love with each other -
the strawberry being a symbol for Venus, the Goddess of Love, because of its heart shapes and red color" - source: whatscookingamerica.net

and

" Did you know that originally all raspberries were white? But then one day, as the child Jupiter’s furious cries echoed from the mountains, deafening even the Corybants themselves, the nymph Ida, daughter of King Melissos of Crete, tried to pick a raspberry to calm him. As she bent over, she scratched her breast on the thorny canes. Her blood appeared in droplets, forever dying the berries a startling red. " - source: theworldwidegourmet.com

Enjoy!