Mr. S Birthday Feast 2012- Crab Cakes with Tarragon Aioli

The main course of the feast was crab cakes. Since the crab mixture needed time to marinate, I made it the day before and pan fried them right before serving them. I think this is the reason the crab cakes were very flavorful and delicious.



Crab cakes:
Ingredients
*2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh chives
*1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
*1 1/2 tablespoons mayonnaise
*1/2 teaspoon grated lemon rind
*1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
*1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
*1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper
*1 large egg
*1/3 cup panko
*1 pound lump crabmeat, drained and shell pieces removed
*1 tablespoon olive oil, divided
*Tarragon Aioli

Directions
1. To prepare crab cakes, combine first 8 ingredients. Add panko and crab, tossing gently to combine. Cover and refrigerate 30 minutes.
2. Fill a 1/3-cup dry measuring cup with crab mixture. Invert onto work surface; gently pat into a 3/4-inch-thick patty. Repeat procedure with remaining crab mixture, forming 8 cakes.
3. Heat 1 1/2 teaspoons oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add 4 crab cakes to pan; cook 4 minutes or until bottoms are golden. Carefully turn cakes; cook 4 minutes or until bottoms are golden and crab cakes are thoroughly heated. Remove cakes from pan; keep warm. Wipe pan dry with paper towels. Heat remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons oil in pan. Repeat procedure with remaining 4 crab cakes.
4. Serve crab cakes with tarragon aioli.

Mr. S Birthday Feast 2012- Chicken-Orzo Soup

Since I have limited time to make the meal, I decided to make a very easy and hearty soup- Chicken Orzo Soup! It only took me 20 minutes to make and most of the time was spent prepping the ingredients.


Ingredients
*4 cups homemade chicken broth, divided
*1/2 cup uncooked orzo
*2 teaspoons olive oil
*2/3 cup coarsely chopped carrot
*1/2 cup coarsely chopped celery
*1/2 cup chopped onion
*3/4 pound skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
*1 1/4 cups water
*3 fresh parsley sprigs
*1 fresh thyme sprig
*4 cups fresh baby spinach
*1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
*1/4 teaspoon salt
*1/8 teaspoon black pepper

Directions

1. Bring 1 3/4 cups broth to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add orzo; cook 10 minutes or until done. Drain.
2. While orzo cooks, heat a large saucepan over medium heat. Add oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add carrot, celery, onion, and chicken; cook 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Stir in remaining 2 1/4 cups broth, 1 1/4 cups water, parsley, and thyme; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer 10 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Discard herb sprigs. Add orzo, spinach, juice, salt, and pepper; simmer 1 minute.

Mr. S Birthday Feast 2012- Tuna Poke

First Course of the feast is Tuna Poke. This is our favorite appetizer at all time and it is very easy to make. The most important thing is to get very fresh sushi grade tuna and marinate it at least an hour to 2 before serve.


Ingredients
*1/4 cup chopped green onions
*1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
*1/2 teaspoon grated peeled fresh ginger
*1 1/2 teaspoons peanut oil
*1/2 teaspoon dark sesame oil
*1/2 pound sushi-grade tuna, cut into (1/2-inch) cubes
*1 garlic clove, minced
*3 piece wonton wrap


Directions
1. Combine the first 7 ingredients in a medium glass bowl. Cover and chill 2 hours.
2. Heat 1/2 cup oil in a sauce pan. Cut wonton wrap into 1/2. Drop wonton wrap one by one in hot oil for around 30 seconds on each side or until golden. Serve crispy wonton wrap with Tuna Poke.

Mr. S Birthday Feast 2012

It's another year of Mr. S Birthday Feast. Every year, I would make a multiple courses meal to celebrate Mr. S's birthday. Click here to see Mr. S Birthday Feast 2011.

Menu for Mr. S Birthday Feast 2012:
Tuna Poke
Chicken-Orzo Soup
Saffron Risotto with Butternut Squash
Crab Cakes with Tarragon Aioli
Maple-Gingerbread Pots de Crème

Mr. S's birthday was on a Wednesday, so I spent around 1 hour the night before to prep some of the food, including roasting the butternut squash, marinate the crab cake and making the tarragon aioli. Then I spent around 2 1/2 to 3 hours on Wednesday to prepare the meal.

Spicy Coconut Chicken Casserole

I like cooking with coconut milk. They enhance the flavor of all dishes and they are very nutritious.  The flavor of this dish is amazing and it is a good weeknight dinner option.

Ingredients

*1 tablespoon olive oil

*4 whole chicken legs (about 3 pounds total)

*Coarse salt and ground pepper

*1 can (14.5 ounces) light coconut milk

*1 1/2 cups canned reduced-sodium chicken broth

*1 to 2 teaspoons Thai red curry paste

*1 cup jasmine rice

*2 red bell peppers (ribs and seeds removed), cut into 1-inch pieces

*8 ounces green beans (stem ends removed), cut into 1-inch lengths

*1/2 lemon, cut into wedges, for serving

Directions

1) In a 5-quart Dutch oven or heavy pot, heat oil over medium-high. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Working in two batches, cook chicken until browned, 6 to 8 minutes; transfer to a plate.

2) To pot, add coconut milk, broth, 1/2 cup water, and curry paste; bring to a boil, and stir in rice. Add chicken (with any juices), arranging pieces in a single layer. Cover, and reduce heat to medium-low. Cook, without stirring, until rice is almost tender, 15 minutes.

3) Scatter bell peppers and green beans on top of chicken mixture; cover, and cook until vegetables are crisp-tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Serve with lemon wedges on the side.

Chinese Style Pork Jerky

Some of my Chinese friends were talking about homemade pork jerky.  The Chinese jerky is soft and juicy while American jerky is hard and dry!  Outside of using pork, you can find beef, chicken and boar jerky.  The best place to get Chinese jerky is from Macau.  I am challenging myself for some homemade jerky to comfort my homesick. Ingredients *1 pound ground pork  *4 tablespoon sugar *1 tablespoon honey + 1 tablespoon honey (for basting) *1 1/2 tablespoon soy sauce *1 tablespoon rose cooking wine (optional, will taste different without) *1/3 teaspoon salt *pinch black pepper *pinch white pepper Directions 1) Put all the ingredients in a medium size bowl, except 1 tablespoon of honey for basting, stir them quickly for about 4-5 minutes.  Cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for at least half an hour. 2) Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.  Prepare basting sauce with mixing 1 tablespoon of honey with 1 teaspoon of warm water. 3) Place a piece of plastic wrap on the counter top, then put 1/3 of ground pork on the wrap, finally place another piece of plastic wrap on top of the pork. Roll the pork into 2mm thick.  Transfer the pork to a baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes each side. Baste the pork with honey water. Increase heat of the oven to 350 degrees F, bake for 8 minutes each side. Cool down on rack. Cut into bite size.

Recipe from here

Balsamic and Onion Pot Roast

I love slow cooking because I can come home with a delicious meal waiting for me. CC and I and some friends shared a pastured grass-fed cow again this year and I got a quarter cow from this local farmer.

This is what my second freezer look like with a quarter of beef.

Tonight, I made a recipe that is similar to a recipe that I made before, but this time I used less ingredients and the flavor is as good as that recipe.


Ingredients
*3-4 pound boneless chuck roast
*1-2 T steak rub
*black pepper to taste
*1-2 T olive oil
*1/4 cup water
*2-3 large onions, peeled and thickly sliced
*1 cup homemade beef stock
*1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
*1/2 cup tomato sauce (You can substitute one can diced tomatoes, drained well)


Direction
1) Trim the fat from the roast. Rub meat well with steak seasoning and black pepper. Heat heavy pan with small amount of olive oil and brown roast well on both sides. Deglaze pan with 1/4 cup water and add to sauce mixture.

2) Bring 1 cup beef broth to a boil and cook until reduced to 1/2 cup, then let cool slightly and mix in balsamic vinegar and tomato sauce.

3) Place onions in bottom of slow cooker. Put meat on top of onions and pour beef stock mixture over. Set slow cooker to low and cook 6-8 hours, until beef is tender.

4) Remove meat from slow cooker and cover with foil to keep warm. Drain liquid from slow cooker and remove as much of the fat as you can with fat separator or skimmer. Cook down liquid by about 1/3, and serve sauce with meat and onions.