Ambitious Deliciousness – Dont Eat Lazy.

After reading two books about French cooking, I was inspired to try a braising technique. I happened to have a half bottle of red wine, so I figured I’d throw into a pot with some pork. Braising, in essence, is searing the protein at a high temperature, then slow cooking with a little bit of liquid until the tissues in the meat break down into buttery goodness.

This dish took a few hours, but I didn’t mind, as I had a bunch of other dishes to tend to. You can totally impress your friends with this dish, especially on a special occasion. I placed the pork on top of a purple yam wasabi mash, along with Brussels sprouts with smoked paprika. I will share those recipes in another post, so stay tuned.

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Hi errbody!

I’ll be honest and say that I’ve been a lazy blogger and have not been cooking as much as I should. Instead, I’ve been sitting on my butt, reading on the couch. Lucky for you, I thought I’d share specifically about the ones that made me hungry. I just finished two books (not on Kindle – good ‘ol paperback): Angelina’s Bachelors and Julie & Julia.

Photo Credit: Jodi Webb

Angelina’s Bachelors is the story of a woman who loses her husband unexpectedly, but ends up finding herself again by cooking for a bunch of guys in her hometown, who end up becoming her closest friends. This book, at first, was a bit too Oprah’s book club for me, but it was a fast and hungry read, complete with Italian recipes that made me drool. I was not totally wrong about it being a book club book because there were questions in the end for you to discuss with your “group.”

Photo Credit:Amazon

The second book I read was Julie & Julia. Many are surprised to find that I haven’t seen the movie (not sure if really want to, to be honest). It was inspiring for me to read about all the techniques Julie learned, while going through Master The Art of French Cooking. Throughout the book, I was amazed at the volume of butter used in the recipes. French cooking is not easy, and I think I’ll have to wait a while before throwing myself into something so complicated.

Since I’m not used to reading about recipes in such great detail, I really enjoyed these books because it gave me a better understanding of the actual recipe. Not only that, but it confirmed that food is, and will always be more meaningful if you share it with people you love.

Next week, I shall return with some recipes to share. For now, I’d like to know – have you read any books this year that you’d like to recommend?

I wanted to share about my very first butternut squash gnocchi making experience with y’all. Gnocchi, for those of you who might not know, is a pasta usually made of boiled potatoes and flour, with countless variations, from ricotta cheese to fresh spinach!

The end result is supposed to be pillowy, chewy bites of butternut squash goodness, dressed with a light tomato sauce. My version ended up being a gooey, flavorless blob of dough instead.

Next time, I will try the pan frying method instead. I would also use at least 1 potato for its starch texture. The only redeeming part? The sauce came out wonderfully flavorful and light, I ended up cooking some regular pasta as to not waste such great tasting sauce.

Do you have a favorite gnocchi recipe? If so, please share in the comments!

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As a Korean girl who grew up in Queens, I’m a snob when it comes to Korean food. It also doesn’t help that my mom is an excellent cook. So when I was contacted to review a restaurant in the Union Square called BAK Korean Kitchen and Craft Beer Hall, I was more than intrigued.

Bulgogi Bibimbap at BAK (and Dan’s arm. Hi Dan!)

I had to find out – how did the food stack up to its Koreatown competition? I wasn’t sure what to expect but I went with a hungry stomach and my camera in tow.

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For some reason, I always remember this episode of Full House where Michelle says “Happy New Year” in a sing song-ey voice. Does anyone know what I’m talking about?

“Happy New Year! Happy New Year! Happy New Year!”

As I look back on 2011, I’m pleasantly surprised by all the memories that every recipe invokes for me. I remember all the delicious meals I share with friends and family. I’m also reminded of my culinary failures. I tried to grow my own herbs (unsuccessfully), I messed up macarons more than once, and I completely ruined my pressure cooker!

In 2012, I want continue on this journey of learning to be a better cook. I’m so thankful that I have an outlet where I can talk about food and cooking. Thank you for reading and commenting and trying out these recipes!

From my kitchen to yours, happy new year!

Hope everyone had an abundant holiday with family and friends! I feel as though I’ve gained about 5 pounds in the past two weeks, which is quite terrible news for a bride-to-be. It’s time for me to shape up and get back into the routine of healthy eating and exercising!

Here is a photo of a quick and easy pasta dish I made using leftover cherry tomatoes, ham, cheese, along with a lemon I found in the back of my fridge. I did not expect these flavors to complement each other so well but they did! The pine nuts added a nutty note, along with a crunchy textural contrast.

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Is it true that calories don’t count during the holiday season? While I believe that we should be aware of what we put into our bodies, there’s something about calorie counting that sucks all the fun out of dessert. As long as you’re not eating 4 dozen cookies in one day, you’ll be fine!

If you’re looking for thoughtful, inexpensive and delicious gifts – look no further! Edible gifts win (hands down) over ugly sweaters or soaps that end up in the back of your closet. They also make great host(ess) gifts for your next party you’re attending.

Here are some delicious recipes you should try!

Peppermint Bark: All you do is melt chocolate, then put it back together with candy and peppermint flavoring. It makes the perfect edible gift!

More recipes after the jump!

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As a food blogger, you’d think I could remember to take photos of what I make, especially for special occasions. It seems that often forget to get good photos, then regretting it. Sigh. When will I ever learn?

Thanks for the pic, seester!

It happened once again while I was cooking dinner for our wedding party, in honor of my fiance’s birthday this past weekend! During the process of figuring out an Italian themed menu, I became obsessed with a particular pork belly porchetta recipe. I say obsessed, because I searched high and low for the perfect piece of pork -  whole, boneless, rind-on belly with the rib meat. Apparently, you can get it special ordered at a butcher, at most places!

For those of you who might not know, what is porchetta?

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Back in July, I attended a great event by Harry & David. I’m writing about it now since the event was centered around their Holiday Collection!

There was a cocktail reception, along with a cooking demonstration. It was fun to see what dishes we could cook with some of their products! Harry & David consistently dishes out good quality products, not to mention tasty. I can’t think of anyone who would not want to receive delicious treats from them!

This beauty was raffled off. Sadly, I did not win!

At the event, we tasted the following dishes made with Harry & David products: seared lamb, butter poached shrimp, pulled pork sandwiches and grilled cheese!

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Thank you all for participating in the Dolce Gusto coffee machine giveaway! I loved reading each and every one of your comments. Maybe one day I can be a barista again.

Here’s how I picked a winner: I entered all of your names into a Excel spreadsheet, and assigned a random number to each name. Then I used the random number generator to pick a winner. The number I got was 31, which belonged to…

Suebin, who said “latte.” Congratulations! I will email you so please keep an eye out!

Thank you for participating and have a great weekend!