Roasted Balsamic Brussels Sprouts

I was lucky I didn't grow up in a household where my mom put the fear of brussels sprout in me. I welcomed veggies at a young age. Though, I didn't always eat them as I should have. I preferred the unhealthy stuff over the healthy. At last now, I try to get as much vegetable as I can. I also never really got why kids disliked them. I look at them now and I see that they're cute little things. They're baby cabbages.

I decided to cook them in a simple way. Roasted. Well, also be cause I was clueless as to how else I can cook them. Roasting veggies seems like an obvious choice. Plus, I also like the way roasted veggies taste. It was a win-win situation on my part. Tossed in some extra virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar and salt. and lightly sprinkled some shredded cheese on top to garnish. Again super simple, yet oh-so-delicious.

So eat up on those brussels sprouts. There's nothing to be afraid of.

Serves 2-3

Roasted Balsamic Brussels Sprouts

1 lb brussels sprouts (cleaned and halved)
extra virgin olive oil
balsamic vinegar
salt & pepper


Preheat your oven 450˚F

Combine the the halved brussels sprouts in a generous drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar and season with salt and pepper. Toss together until all the brussels sprouts have been coated.

Place onto a baking sheet and roast for 25 minutes.

Vegetarian Egg Benedict

I decided to cook a little brunch on a Saturday. It's been a while since I've done that really. Usually I just have myself a nice piece of toast with a little bit of butter or nutella or a bowl of cereal with a splash of milk. But on this particular day I decided to make some special for myself. There wasn't any special occasion. It was a lovely day out and that called for a nice simple meal. A lazy Saturday

This is actually the first time I've poached an egg myself. Usually when I have it, it's other people who've made it for me. I looked on the web on various "how-to" I alsao didn't have many eggs, so I couldn't afford to mess up many times. I still have to work on my poaching skills, but I'm happy with the way the eggs turned out. I like my yolks slightly runny. I've got to practice a bit more on getting the egg to stay in shape.

I got a little lazy to make a hollandaise sauce. After stressing out over poaching eggs, making a sauce wasn't an option for me. It was a lazy Saturday remember? No room for stressing out. So I opted for a simple honey-mustard sauce instead. Toasted a couple slices of bread and topped it with some slices of avocado, tomato and the poached eggs. Drizzled some of the honey mustard sauce and devoured the whole thing.

Makes 2 open-faced sandwiches

Vegetarian Eggs Benedict

2 eggs
2 tsp white vinegar
water
2 large slices of sourdough bread
1 small tomato - sliced
1 small avocado - sliced
ricotta cheese
Juice of half lemon
salt and pepper

Honey Mustard Sauce
2-3 Tbsp Dijon Mustard
2 Tbsp Honey
1 tsp lemon juice

Toast the bread in the oven or toaster oven.

Combine the ingredients for the honey-mustard sauce and set aside. Toss the acovado slices in some lemon juice to keep it from browning.

Fill a skillet halfway with water. Add the vinegar. Bring the water to a slow boil.
The best way to add the egg into the water is to crack them into a small bowl, that way you can remove any shell that may tag along for the ride.  Slowly add the egg and reduce the heat to a simmer. For for roughly 3 minutes until the egg whites have set and the yolk remains soft. Cook a little longer for harder yolks.

Remove the egg with a slotted spoon and place on a paper towel to drain.

Assemble the sandwich:
Spread some ricotta cheese on each slice of bread. Top with some slices of tomato then avocado. Top with one of the poached eggs. Season with a tiny pinch of salt and pepper. Drizzle a generous helping of the honey mustard sauce on top.

Choco Lemon Madeleine Muffins

How about a little basket of muffin goodness to start your day off right? I remember Heavenly Housewife, of From Donuts to Delirium, posting about madeleine cookies. Oh how I love those shell-shaped cookies. I commented about I wish I could make them, but I didn't have a the mold pan. She responded by suggesting using a muffin pan. My dahhhhling HH, you a genius!! Why I didn't think of that before I have no idea? A solution was staring at me right in the face and yet, I couldn't see it.

The original recipe came from a cookbook my mom had given me as a gift one Christmas called  Williams-Sonoma Foods of the World, Paris. The recipe was called Madaleines Au Citron or Lemon Madeleines. I enjoy a madeleine cookie every now and then maybe with a cup of tea or coffee. I've sometimes get a tub of them from Costco, whenever I shop there.

For this one, I changed it up a bit by adding a bit of cocoa powder to the recipe. I don't have a madeleine cookie mold, so in came the mini muffin pan. Though, a madeleine pan would be nice to have. (Note to self: add to kitchen wish list) Takes only several minutes to bake and it's super good with a hint of lemon flavor. You have one, you can't resist and must have another.

 Makes 12-16 muffins.

Choco Lemon Madeleine Muffins
adapted from Williams-Sonoma Foods of the World, Paris

2 eggs
1/2 c granulated sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond extract
1/2 c flour
1 Tbsp cocoa powder
1 tsp lemon zest
1/4 c unsalted butter - melted
powdered sugar (optional)

Preheat your oven to 375˚F

Baste your muffin pan with some of the melted butter and dust the molds with some flour and pat off the excess.

Sift together the flour, cocoa and salt.

Cream together the melted butter and sugar. Then add each egg beating after each one. Followed by the vanilla extract and almond extract.

Slowly add the flour mixture and combine.  Then fold in the lemon zest.

Divide the batter evenly among the molds and bake for 10-12 minutes. Let it cool for 10 minutes from removing from molds.

Dusting with some powdered sugar is optional.

Baked Catfish with Tomato Salsa

Here fishy, fishy, fishy, fishy. One of my favorites is catfish. For this, I simply baked it. Sometimes the simpler the dish, the better it tastes. No need to complicate the flavors. I've been enjoying the Emeril's Original seasoning quite a bit since I received them a couple months ago. I just seasoned the catfish on there good. Gave the fishy fillet a little massage and a little bit of rest that way the meat can absorb the spices. You can use any seasonings you prefer.

I baked it for a good 10-15 minutes. The end result is a tender flaky fish that's flavorful and juicy. I paired it with simple tomato salsa that I mixed it with some chopped sweet onion, chopped parsley and lime juice.

Served it with a little dome-shaped ball of rice that I drizzled some of the tasty fish juices on top and extra salsa on the side.

Serves 2-3

Baked Catfish with Tomato Salsa


2 catfish fillet
Emeril's Original Seasoning
    (or your choice of seasonings)
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Tomato Salsa (recipe below)


Preheat your oven 375˚F

Pat the fillets dry. Lightly coat each fillet with some extra virgin olive oil. Then coat with the seasoning (or your own blend/choice of seasoning) Be sure to rub it into the flesh of the fish and let it sit for at least 15-30 minutes.

Place the fillets on a foil-lined baking pan and bake for 10 to 15 minutes. Depending on thickness.

When cooked let it sit for 2 minutes to let the juices redistribute within the fillets. 

Serve warm and drizzle some of the fish juices that may have collected on the baking pan.

Top with some salsa.

Tomato Salsa

2 small to medium ripe tomato - diced
1/4 c Parsley - chopped
1/2 small sweet onion - diced
Juice of half lime
salt and pepper to season

Combine all ingredients together. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper.

Daikon Miso Soup

I had bought a large fresh daikon radish from the farmer's market. I love diakon radish. It's some good stuff. It's used in a Philippines soup called sinigang. I'll be making that in the near future. For this one soup, I just wanted something fairly simple. It can't get any more simple than making miso soup. How easy is it? Well, all you need is stock or water and miso paste. Then add tofu and green onions. It only takes minutes to make.

I love miso soup. I always make it a habit to order a nice hot bowl of the stuff whenever I eat out at a Japanese restaurant along with with some fresh edamame and whatever sushi I'm in the mood for.

Traditional miso soup uses dashi, which is fish stock. Since fish stock isn't readily available as vegetable or chicken, I went for some veggie stock. making this a perfect vegetarian dish. So some veggie stock, water, daikon radish and a little salt and pepper and that's about it. I added some ramen noodles shortly before serving as it doesn't take long to cook.

Serve 2.

Daikon Miso Soup

1 12oz can vegetable stock
1 Tbsp white miso paste
1 1/2 c water
1 long daikon radish - peeled & cut into 1/8-inch slices
1 packet ramen noodles (minus seasoning)
salt & pepper

Combine the water and vegetable stock in a pot. Add the radish and bring to a slight boil and until the radish becomes tender.

Dissolve the miso paste in a small bowl with some of the stock before adding into the soup. Then add the dissolved miso into the pot and let it simmer for several minutes.

Add the ramen noodles 5 minutes before serving.

Baked Potato Cassserole

With Thanksgiving approaching here in the US, I figured I'd get a little head start as to what I might be making for that day. I've been thinking about what I will be cooking up on that day. How many dishes, which one I'll have to make in advance, which I'll have to make first thing on the day of.

Rather than going to a traditional mashed potato, I figured I'd give a baked potato with a twist a try. It's similar to making mash potato except that it's filled with the baked potato goodness of sour cream, cheese, and onion (or green onion). Topped with more cheesy goodness on top. Must not forget about the butter, too. What you see before is what happens when mashed meets baked. Oh, you can add bacon, too. I would have put it in this, but i didn't have any left. I'll be sure to pile on the bacon bits on Thanksgiving.

Cheesy goodness with every bite. It looks like a mess in the casserole, but every single mouthful is worth it. I had it with some walnut salad.

Serves 2-3

Baked Potato Casserole

9 baby potatoes or 2 large russet potatoes (rinsed and peeled)
1 c shredded cheese (plus extra for topping)
2-3 Tbsp Sour Cream
1/2 medium sweet onion chopped or 2-3 green onion stalks chopped
1/4 c milk
2 Tbsp sour cream
1 Tbsp butter
salt and pepper
bacon bits (optional)

Boil the potatoes in a pot until tender. A knife should pierce through without hesitation.

Preheat your oven to 425˚F

Mash the potatoes with a masher ricer orr food processor.

In a large bowl, combine the mashed potatoes, onions, sour cream, cheese, milk, and butter. Mix well. Season with a little salt and pepper. Mix in the optional bacon bits as well.

Transfer the mixture into a lightly greased casserole. Bake for 25 minutes. Just before removing, top the casserole with some extra cheese and leave for another 2-3 minutes until the cheese is melted.

Serve warm.

Panera

First, don't forget to switch you clock back an hour. We're back to normal time again.

I worked on one production this week, but it was relatively a short day, so no meal on set. But I will say that it was for Disney Channel movie. Here's a funny tidbit. We were shooting a Grauman's Chinese Theater in Hollywood. During one of the breaks we had a small group of teeny boppers came casually walking up and squealed like fan girls do, The whole "O.M.G" and the "That's HIM!! AHHH!!!" It was a hilarious sight to see. I'm sure they'll be talking about that moment for the next year. Did I ever act like that during my teenage years? Not that I remember. I was always the "pretend you're not staring" type.

Anyway, I did have a lovely lunch with my mom. They recently opened up a Panera Bread several blocks away from where I live and I was really excited about it. WOOT!! The branch I usually went to was in the next city over, so I was happy that this one was only walking distance. The only reason we decided to eat out was becuase I had a coupon that was to expired that day for buy one get one free offer. It was one of those mailers I received a while back. It was an offer I couldn't refuse. It was actually an offer for their You Pick Two deal where you order any two of a half sandwich, half salad, or half soup. Why not, right?

My mom had the Sierra Turkey. Which consisted of "Smoked turkey breast with chipotle mayonnaise, field greens & red onions on our Asiago Cheese Focaccia." With a cup of Vegetarian Summer Corn Chowder and a bag of chips.

I had the Mediterranean Veggie. It had "Zesty Peppadew™ piquant peppers, feta cheese, cucumbers, lettuce, tomatoes, onions and cilantro hummus on our Tomato Basil bread." With a cup Vegetarian Summer Corn Chowder and half a small whole wheat baguette to dip with my soup. I really enjoyed the the soup a lot. They was a bit of spice to it. Just enough not to overpower the taste of the corn. The sandwich was really tasty as well. Together they filled me up just right. Not too heavy and not too light.

Early this week, I received an email from Sophia from Burp and Slurp to a link for a video about grocery shopping, but it wasn't you ordinary video. It was a musical about grocery shopping. I laughed my butt off when I watched this and I thought I'd share it with you too. So sit back and relax and enjoy!