Avocado Eggrolls

One of my favorite appetizers from the Cheesecake Factory is their avocado eggrolls. So here's my little take on it. Eggrolls are generally deep-fried. For this, I did a quick pan-fry. You can bake them too, if you'd like. The ingredients a pretty straight forward and can probably be found in your own pantry. Avocado, onion, parsley, sun dried tomato, balsamic vinegar.

I paired the egg rolls with a Filipino style teriyaki sauce. These are great appetizers or if you're like me have them for dinner.

Makes 6 eggrolls

Avocado Eggrolls

1 medium ripe avocado - diced
1/2 medium sweet onion - sliced
1/2 c parsley - chopped
1 c sun-dried tomato (drained from oil)
Juice of half lime
1 Tbsp paprika
salt and pepper
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
1 egg - well beaten
6 egg rolls wrappers.
Canola oil
Pinoy Style Teriyaki Sauce (recipe below)

Saute the onions in a skillet until it they slightly turn brown, near caramelizing. Add the sun-dried tomato and saute for another 2-4 minutes.

Remove from the skillet and into a bowl season with a pinch of salt and pepper to taste. Add Parsley avocado and lime juice and balsamic vinegar. together. Mix together.

Take an eggrolls wrapper and place it like a diamond on a flat surface and place a generous scoop of the mixture.

To roll- bring the corner over and roll once. The bring in the sides and wet the top corner with the egg wash. Roll once more to seal. Do this for each.

Heat some canola oil in a skillet. When the oil is hot pan-fry the eggrolls each ride roughly 60 seconds or until golden brown. Drain on a paper towel and serve warm.

You may also deep-fry or bake these.

Serve with the teriyaki sauce

Pinoy Style Teriyaki Sauce

1 Tbsp Soy Sauce
juice of half lemon or lime
1 1/2 tsp brown sugar
1 Tbsp tomato ketchup
1 tsp worschestershire sauce

Combine all ingredients together.

Crisp Potato Skins

 Potato skins are fairly easy to make. I had some potatoes that I had gotten from the farmer's market that I nearly forgot about in the vegetable compartment. I say nearly as I knew they were there, it was figuring out when I was going to use them

Again my absentmindedness took over and I had left the potato skins a bit longer that i should have in the broiler. Thus cooking the cheese. Other than that it was still nice and crisp and most definitely delicious.

What did I do with the scooped potato pieces? I made some mashed baked potato wit pats of butter and shredded cheese. Yum yum!!

Makes 4 skins

Crisp Potato Skin

2 medium Yukon or russet potatoes
extra virgin olive oil
1/3 c shredded cheese - your choice
2 green onion - chopped
bacon bits - optional
sour cream - optional

Preheat your oven 450˚F

Half each potato length wise. Coat each half with some olive oil, place on a baking pan lined with foil and bake for 30-40 minutes.

Let the potatoes cool before scooping out the inside. Coat one more time with a little olive oil and bake for another 10 minutes.

Then turn on your broiler.

Top the potato skins with some of the shredded cheese and transfer the baking pan to the broiler. Broil for 5 minutes.

Let cool for a couple of minutes, then top with some sour cream, bacon bits, and green onion.

A Tale of Two Brunches

As I probably already mentioned, I love brunches. Just the fact it combines two meals into one. You can also have your choice of breakfast or lunch items. The combination is endless. Plus, I'm not usually a morning person, Sure I wake up early, but my mood is sometimes something else to be desired. But mention the word brunch (occasionally breakfast) and my mood perks up like Christmas morning.

Brunch #1. Early this week, I had a little outing with one of my bestest friends at Fred 62.  It was a lovely day out so we opted to eat on the outside tables. The place is a little trendy 24-hour eatery in the Los Feliz/Hollywood area. You can go there at 3am and order yourself their awesome mac and cheese balls. We spent some chatting it up before making our order. Their service is pretty fast.

My friend orders the Fred McMurray. Scrambled eggs, a sausage patty and hash browns on a buttery bun. Mouthwateringly good. Simple breakfast sandwich.

I ordered the New Amsterdam. Another breakfast sandwich. Scrambled eggs, bacon strips and hash browns on a buttery bun. I had to have my bacon. As much as I enjoy a good breakfast sausage every now and then, you can't beat the bacon. Plus a few dashes of tobasco and it made for satisfying meal. To wash it down, I had myself a cup of joe with free refills. My mug patiently sneaking into the shot in the back. I love the inhouse chip skewer holding it all together, too. This definitely trumps the Egg McMuffin any day!

Brunch #2. Panera. Well, I still had a couple coupon I need to use up. They're actually near expiration and I figured I'd take advantage of the opportunity while it was still here. This time it was for their Grilled Breakfast Sandwich. A buy one, get one free. Can't beat that right. If you see those kinds of coupons, use them. They're really a great deal. I took my mom with me before we headed out to the farmer's market to get this week's produce picks.

 It was a good sized sandwich. Just enough to hold me over. We both went for the fried egg, bacon and cheese on ciabatta. That was pressed like a panini. Again a simple sandwich. I haven't been disappointed yet by the quality of food served at this branch. Again, I washed it down for a hot cup of their dark roast coffee. 

On a little side-note -- Congrats to Manny "PacMan" Pacquiao!! ;-D

A sushi's birthday

I attended another birthday. The place: Zono Sushi. Location: Glendale, CA. They also have a branch in Burbank and Pasadena.

This place is known for their bento lunches, which are quite filling. We were a group of about 20. So I'm sure the servers were overwhelmed the the many directions coming at them from left and right. The server takes our orders and shortly after serve us with some complimentary boiled edamame.

The meal comes with the traditional miso soup. My favorite soup.

Miso Soup

Since we were a large group I'll only show you what my mom and I ordered. Let's just say it was a good mix all around.

 Clockwise from top left: Shrimp and Vegetable Tempura, Chicken Katsu with Ponzu sauce, California rolls, White rice, Mixed greens salad with Miso dressing and crispy wonton strips, Fried Gyozas with sauce, Pickled seaweed and a slice of cantaloupe.

My order (clockwise from top left): Crab and cheese puffs, Salmon Teriyaki, Mixed Sushi, Steamed white rice, Mixed Greend salad with Miso dressing and crisp wonton strips, Pickled Seaweed, A couple of Gyozas and cantaloupe slices.

My favorite was the Crab and cheese puffs. They're very much like Crab rangoons. Crab meat mixed with cream cheese, wrapped in a wonton wrapper and deep fried served with a sweet and sour sauce. The sushi was your ordinary combo of albacore tuna, salmon and, I think, yellowfin tuna.

Of course no birthday can't be complete without the cake.

The cake for today was a fruit tart cake with meringue frosting. Oh, we also got some complimentary mochi from the kitchen. The flavors were strawberry and vanilla. I had forgotten to take a picture of it. By the time I did remember, it was already gone. But it was good. Really filling at the same time.

Oven-Fried Eggplant

It's Friday, the 13th. Ooooo...Cue scary Halloween/Twilight Zone theme music. Have your lucky charms with you at all times. I'm not very superstitious. I've walked on several cracks and my mom is still walking upright. I do have certain rituals I do to keep myself in the "good luck vibe." I've thrown the occasional salt over the shoulder and a "knock on wood" every now and then. Are you superstitious? You don't have to tell me, if you don't want to.

Just like the my baked zucchini sticks, its relative cousin is the oven-fried eggplant. It's alter ego is the deep-fried kind. We're veering away from the alter ego for a moment to concentrate on the cousin.

Here's a neat little trick I learned from a friend to help it stay crispy. I cut the eggplant into 1/3-inch pieces toss them in a little salt and lay them flat on a baking pan for 1 hour. 1/2 hour would suffice. This takes out the moisture from the vegetable, so you'll get water droplettes on them. Pat the pieces dry with a paper towel them dredge them in the usual breading method of flour, egg wash, and my favorite, panko crumbs.

Baked them for 20-25 minutes and what I was left with was a nice crispy, yet still slightly tender inside. A healthy version of the fried stuff

Serves 2

Oven-Fried Eggplant

2-3 long Japanese eggplants (cut into coins)
1/4 c flour
1 egg - beaten
1/3 c milk
2-3 c panko
salt and pepper
horseradish mustard dip (recipe below)

Cut the egg plants into 1/3-1/2 inch chips. Place on a baking pan and sprinkle both sides with salt. Let it sit for at least 1/2-hour to let the moisture out of the eggplant. Then pat it dry with a paper towel.

Preheat your oven 400˚F

Cut the egg plants into 1/3-1/2 inch chips.

Create three breading stations
1 - flour seasoned with some salt and pepper
2 - Egg with milk - seasoned with pinch of salt
3 - panko crumbs

Bread each piece of eggplant 1, 2, and 3 in that order and place on an ungreased baking sheet.

Bake for 25 minutes. Give the pieces a flip half way through for an even browning.

Horseradish mustard Dip

2 Tbsp sour cream
1 1/2 Tbsp horseradish mustard
1 tsp lime juice

Combine all ingredients together.

Broccoli with Cheese Sauce

A combination of vegetables and cheese. Also a classic meal from yesteryear. You can't go wrong with that. Broccoli and cheese. Broccoli with cheese. Broccoli topped with cheese. A cheese sauce.

They seem at odds with each other, yet they taste so good. A simple steaming of the broccoli cook it until it's tender. I was tempted to add some pasta into the dish, but...actually I don't have an excuse why I didn't add the pasta. Come to think of it, why didn't I? Laziness maybe? Whatever the reason while the broccoli steamed away, I made a simple cheese sauce. Making a simple roux and adding a Mexican blend of shredded cheese with ricotta. It added an extra creaminess to the sauce.

Serves 2-3

Broccoli with Cheese Sauce


2 heads broccoli (chopped in sizable pieces) or 1 package frozen broccoli

Cheese sauce:
1 Tbsp Butter
1 Tbsp flour
1 c milk
1/2 c shredded cheese
1/2 c ricotta cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Place the broccoli pieces in the steamer and steam until tender.

Note: To steam in the oven. Place the broccolie in a cake pan or pie tin. add a small layer of water at the bottom and cover with foil. Place in a preheat 350˚F oven and bake until tender.

For the cheese sauce:
In a sauce pan, melt the butter and add the flour. Combine until like a dough-like substance. Then add the milk and stir until milk becomes slightly thicker. Add the cheese and stir again to combine.

Once the broccoli has been cooked through, serve on a plate and top with the cheese sauce.

Mashed Baked Sweet Potato with Aioli

I was trying to make sweet potato fries, but what I ended up with a smashed mess. I made the fries the same way I always do by seasoning with some olive oil, salt, pepper, paprika. Then I added some shredded cheese into the mix and that's when it took another direction. As I baked the fries, the cheese melted and cooked faster than the sweet potatoes, just to the point when the cheese became crispies. So in a last ditch effort to salvage what I had on the baking sheet, I decided to mash them. They were slightly soft and the consistency was just right for them. I added a little bit more shredded cheese and...voila! Baked mashed sweet potatoes.

For the "gravy" I made a simple aioli. I know you wouldn't find it paired together, but I've been known to pair sauces and condiments with dishes that don't really match. Some of you readers probably do the same thing. I also had some leftover egg yolks that I needed to use up. I was tempted to make a hollandaise sauce, but I didn't want to lug out another pan to clean, so I opted for a simple aioli. Again, this is something you wouldn't necessarily see paired with mashed sweet potatoes, usually you'd find them with meats and certain vegetables.

This is going to sounds totally weird, but they taste really great together. They really do. I dare not lie. You're just going to have to try this for yourself to see what I'm talking about.

Serves 2

Mashed Baked Sweet Potatoes with Aioli

3 small sweet potato (peeled and cut into strips)
extra virgin olive oil
salt
pepper
paprika
1 c shredded cheese
aioli (recipe below)

Preheat oven to 375˚F

Season the sweet potatoes with a drizzle of olive oil and seasoned with salt, pepper and paprika. Mix well to combine. Then add half the shredded cheese and mix.

Place the sweet potatoes onto a foil-lined baking sheet and bake for 15-20 minutes. The sweet potatoes should be soft and cheese melted.

Remove the sweet potatoes from the baking pan and mash with in a bowl. Mix in the remaining cheese.

Serve with the aioli.

Aioli
1 large garlic clove - crushed
2 egg yolks
juice of half lime
salt
pepper
1-2 Tbsp Extra virgin olive oil
2 Tbsp horseradish mustard

Whisk together the garlic and olive oil. Whisk in the egg yolks. Continually whisking add the lime juice and horseradish mustard. Season with some salt and pepper to taste.