Almond Streusel Muffin Top

I added bit more butter to mix the streusel toppings and topped the almond slices first, then the streusel made this muffin even more better.  The sour cream really do a great wonder in the baked goods.

Hot Pot II

It's been soooo cold and this hot pot really hit the spot.

Duarte's Tavern, A Trip for Holiday Crab Cioppino Dinner

To celebrate the end of year 2010, we decided to have the end-of-the year dinner differently.  We made a special food trip to the Duarte's Tavern in Pescadero, California next to Highway 1 between Santa Cruz and Half Moon Bay for the 'famous' Crab Cioppino.  While my family is quite capable of cooking this delicious heart warming seafood chowder feast, they just know how, we wanted to check this place out after viewing the Guy Fieri's show.  So, after a few weeks of talk, I made a reservation for Thursday, December, 6 pm.  For us, it is an adventure trip as we have to cross the Santa Cruz Mountain, about 55 miles trip to the destination.  We all had a great expectation and anticipation of great cioppino, like our homemade ones, so, we skipped breakfast and had only a small bite of lunch.  The Tavern is a cozy family style dining area.  Imagine walking into someone's home.  Nice cozy front living room with bench against the front window for 4 guests and a small standalone bench opposite the cashier register for two.  The rest of the guests need to stand, and especially, if you don't have reservation... and think that it is very very cold outside, and maybe even drizzling with rain.  So, make the reservation before going.  For us, luckily we had 6 pm reservation and arrived early at 5:30 pm (left San Jose at 4:30 pm, going up La Honda, but recommend going 280N to Half Moon Bay, then Hwy 1 South), we were seated within 15 min.  As you step into the dining area, there are couple of round tables against the walls for 4-5. Country style... like a tavern.  They installed this cushioned bench against the walls where I sat.  A bit awkward, I thought.  My back felt like I was sitting up against a plank (wall). A square or rectangular table might have been better for this setup but.... becareful with the table legs.  If you didn't know, your knees would hit the table legs, ouch! but since there are only three of us, we had plenty of room surface for our dishes.  There is a larger rectangular family size dining table for 6-8 and like twelve more tables in different sections of the 'rooms'.  They made a cute little coffee shop counter seats right in front of the kitchen way.  The round bar stool chair looked like a mini-stool for kids.  The tight counter seating is also the way to the restroom and to the Tavern bar next door.  But all the minor discomfort of the seating were forgotten as soon as the hot sourdough breads were delivered.  They were fresh, and they were delicious.  We ordered three Crab Cioppino, $31/ea. One order each of Fried Calamari, $8.50, Mexican Coleslaw $3.50, and the two famous Ollielaberry Pies A la Mode $8.
The crabs in the Cioppino was good. What is good?  what is bad?  my own interpretation is - Bad, if the crab meat is powdery or dry stringy strands.  Good, if it with tenderness of fresh flesh that has some 'bounce' to it. But like many other guests who have been there and commented in the yelps, I agree that the sauce is missing 'something'.  I think it could have used a bit more salt. and, can't pinpoint what that 'something' is.  I had to request for the Tabasco sauce.  Could do without the cumin. We ate every bit of the seafood in the plate.  When we requested for the 3rd refills of the bread, that's when we got disappointed.  Each one of our plate had a plenty of good sauce and loose crab meat in it to be eaten.  We needed that wonderful hot bread to clean the plate.  As we patiently waited for it, the sauce has already cooled to the room temperature.  But we figure the hot bread will compensate for it. When it finally arrived....when we touched the bread basket's napkin, we kew right away that this is a 'Cold Bread'.  The waiter did not bring the bread himself.  We noticed he requested another service person to bring us the bread.  As I noticed that he is not waiting at any table to receive menu orders from the guests, I think he is a busboy.  How can the first two baskets of breads were so pippin' hot and this basket is dead cold and the cut pieces of the loaf were not 'contiguously' connected?  we wondered..... we leave it to your assumption.  We had to clean up the rest of the goodies in the plate so, we reluctantly took the bread and 'soak' it in the sauce, hoping that we can bite into it.  Forget it! it is rock hard.  So, we skipped the bread and finished the rest with good spirit.  (The fried calamari's very good.  The Mexican Coleslaw? thought it needed a bit more vinegar or something 'spunky' to awake our palate as the name is "Mexican".  Maybe we were expecting for some kind of 'heat'.  It was not there.)  We ordered their 'famous' Ollielaberry Pies A la Mode.  The pie is wonderful.  It is like eating a tangy and sweet blackberries and raspberries.  I would ask for the fresh cream topping the next time (if I ever return) rather than the Ice Cream, though.  Overall, I think the chef/owner knows exactly what he is doing when Guy was visiting.  I know our Cioppino's were prepared by the cooks.  But wished they prepare the sauce consistently as Guy described it.  And most of all, the bread should have been HOT.  The restroom should be well stocked even at 6 pm or 7 pm, and should not need other guests to let me know there is no toiletry in the stalls and for me to go request for service.  As with any restaurants, the unattended restroom  would win or lose customers instantly, and the cold xxxxxxxd bread is definitely a minus.

So, the $147.66 trip to the Duarte's Tavern?  It was a good food adventure trip that we made to celebrate the end-of-the-year.  Good or bad.  It was a great year.

Gingerbread Cookies Fun with Grandkids

We had a great fun making these tiny gingerbread people.

Kimchi Hot Pot - Guys' Dinner

A holiday present of Sukiyaki hot pot led to a creative meal on a cold rainy day with friend/family for this Kimchi hot pot.  Good job guys!

Snow Covered Yule Log

Per Grandson's request, for 2010 Christmas dinner party, we made a snow covered yule log with rice crispie owl friends.

The cake is chiffon coconut cake filled with custard cream with raspberries.  Covered with creme chantilly sprinkled with powdered sugar.  The grandchildren made the rice crispie owls based on the Legend of the Guardians: Owls of Ga'Hoole.

Sauted Fresh Baby Pumpkin with Mixed Mushrooms

Prepare Mushrooms first
Ingredients
1 C Mushrooms, button and shiitake, chopped
2 Tb clarified butter
1/8 tsp salt
pinch of black pepper
2 Tb Chicken stock
1 Tb extra dry vermouth

Saute mushrooms in the heated butter.  

Add all ingredients. Cook to evaporate liquid from mushrooms. Cook till they are slightly golden brown. Remove from heat. 

Set aside.  (You can always have two saute pan going.)

Sauted Baby Pumpkin Ingredients
1 6" Fresh baby pumpkin off the vine, washed, peeled, Julienned

2 Tb clarified butter 

Pinch of salt

Pinch of white peppper

Julienne pumpkin.

Saute pumpkin in clarified butter for 1 minute. (Taste for tenderness - Check every 15 to 30 seconds.) 

Add less than half of the cooked mushrooms.  Heat through.  Remove from heat.

Arrange on individual serving plate.  Top with mushrooms.

Or, Serve as family style on a platter and top with the mushrooms.

Asparagus Wishing Well

*Prepare sauce first.

Cream Mushroom Sauce Ingredients
1 C Mushrooms, button and Shiitake, chopped
3 Shallots, sliced
2 Tb Butter *clarified butter)
1/8 tsp salt
pinch of black pepper
1/4 C Chicken stock
2 Tb extra dry vermouth
2 Tb heavy cream

Add butter to heated saute pan.  Add shallots and cook till tender, but not browned.  Without removing too much butter out of the saute pan, remove shallots to a small bowl and set aside.  Add mushrooms and saute to evaporate liquid. Add shallots to heat through.  Add rest of the ingredients.  Cook till the sauce is thick and reduced in liquid.

Set aside, keep warm.  When asparagus is ready, spoon the sauce to the center of the Asparagus.

Asparagus Ingredients
1 lb Asparagus, washed, snapped and diagonally cut 2 inch
3 Tb Butter

Heat saute pan, add butter, remove butter scum (basically clarify the butter).  Medium high heat.  Add Asparagus.  Saute 1 min.
Remove from heat.  Arrange an individual size on a serving plate with hollow center for cream mushroom sauce.

Extra sauted asparagus?  serve it on a platter.

ChickMum (Chicken tenders sauted in mushroom sauce)

ChickMum Ingredients
9 Chicken tenders
4 Tb butter

Mushroom Sauce Ingredients
1 C button mushrooms,chopped
1 C fresh Shiitake mushrooms, chopped
Two 1/4 tsp salt each
pinch Black pepper
1/2 C Chicken broth
2 Tb extra dry vermouth
2 Tb heavy cream

Saute chickens in 2 Tb of butter.  Add pinch of black pepper and 1/4  tsp salt.  Turn it over after one side is seared. Set aside.
Saute chopped mushrooms in 2 Tb of butter, 1/4 tsp of salt, pinch of black pepper, 1/2 C chicken broth, 2 Tb extra dry vermouth, 1/4 C  heavy cream.  Simmer to reduce the sauce until it is thick.
Add chickens just to heat through.  Remove from heat.
Arrange chicken tenders - individual servings on a plate.  Arrange some mushroom sauce on top of chicken tenders and dot the plate with mushroom sauce.  Serve.

Holiday Biscotti with Maraschino Cherries

This Biscotti is the same recipe as the other one I posted.  Add 10 well drained and squeezed and chopped maraschino cherries.

Dip in melted chocolate and coat with toasted almond slivers.

Pucker Up - Lemon Cookies

This is lemon cookies.  I call it the Pucker Up.  Add 1 Tb of lemon zest and 1/4 C lemon juice to the basic cookie recipe.  Then, powder up with powder sugar while they are still warm.

Healthy Green Drinks for the holidays

Don't forget to treat yourself to the simple refreshing green drinks.
Ingredients
Put the following ingredients into a blender in the order given
1 Kiwi, peeled and cut into chunks
1 large Golden Delicious Apple or 2 small, peeled and cut into chunks
1/2 Cucumber, peeled and cored, cut into chunks
Juice from 1 lemon or Juice from 1 orange    (** remember to zest before squeezing and save them in freezer for the next baking project)
1/2 C Celery, washed and deveined -- Snap off 1 inch at one end and pull off the thread
1 C fresh spinach, washed
Add all ingredients into a blender to puree.
Serve
Enjoy!

MOCHI - SNOWMAN

Ho! Ho! HO! and Great Cheers! and a Greetings.
So, it's more fun time in the kitchen with Grand-kids.  More wishes and ideas cute cakes and cookies.  Here is from Good Ole' Japan's DAIFUKU MOCHI.  What else can this wonderful be presented other than by itself? hmm... and I came up with the Snowman!  Didn't know what to use to decorate it at first and even went a mile off to shop for gumdrops and so forth, but end up with Hershey's Kiss and Life Saver's Gummy Sours.
So follow the regular recipe for the DAIFUKU MOCHI in my blog, except that I used the powder form of DANGO powder that I found.  Much cheaper than the SHIRATAMAKO.
Have fun!
(Click on image for more details)