So yea. Back long time ago i went to Japan with my best friends. We had an awesome time there and one of the best meals we had was a really traditional style Sukiyaki. I was so nice and there was some lady that cooked it for you and everything. The beef was so good and everything was just great. Well i felt like i had to make it. Since no where in Ann Arbor which i have seen has a good sukiyaki it was my goal to make an awesome sukiyaki. This was my take at sukiyaki. I took a bunch of recipes all over the place and my memory of japan and did this. The ingredients might not be exactly what is in sukiyaki but it worked. Hopefully i can make it even better as i keep making it!
here are the pictures of my sukiyaki adventure
So the ingredients i used are
- 5-7 large Sukiyaki sliced beef (Thin slices of really tender marbled beef)
- Half a package of Shirataki (Konnyaku noodles does matter color)
- Half a package of Firm Tofu
- 2-3 Naganegi (Japanese Bunching Onions, they are in between a leek and a green onion)
- Handful of Shungiku (Chrysanthemum Leafs)
- 1/4 cup of sugar
- 1/4 cup of soy sauce
- 1/4 cup of mirin
- Slice of Beef Suet (Fat from the kidney but any fat would really do)
- White rice
- 1 egg
You first want to start out by cooking the Shirataki. First chill the shirataki (or take it right out of the fridge) and then boil it for about 5 minutes. You should notice that it has gotten a little stiffer now. After you cook it cool it really quickly to stop it from cooking and to chill the noodles. Cut them into nice lengths so you don’t have to slurp it. Next chop up all your other ingredients. Slice the Naganegi ince long diagnol slices. Wash the Shungiku and then slice the hard root part. Usually it will come with a longer stem which is really hard to eat. You want to cut that off. Finally cut the firm tofu into nice 1-2 inch blocks or so. The blocks should be big enough so they don’t fall apart when picked up with chopsticks but not too small. Oil a pan on medium heat and fry it on all sides so you get a nice brown on all the sides.
Now it’s time to start the actual Sukiyaki cooking! Start out by heating a nice pan on low-medium heat. A iron sukiyaki pan would be the best but i didn’t have one at the time so i used a frying pan. First melt some Beef Suet so there is enough oil to cook. The Beef Suet provides a really nice flavor. Then turn the heat up to medium heat. Start cooking some of Naganegi in the pan. You want to get the flavor of the Naganegi in the oil. Turn it so both sides of the Naganegi get cooked. Right before the Naganegi starts to brown slightly put the slices of beef on top of the Naganegi. I moved the Naganegi around so that all the slices of beef would lay on top of it. I let it cook till the meat was still red but also turning color. Then i put the sugar on top of the beef and also the soy sauce and mirin. I carefully mixed the sauce together in the pan, in order not to break apart the pieces of meat. Then i added all the ingredients in except the Shungiku. I positioned all the ingredients so they would each be in a region of the pan. Right before the beef was just about done i put in the Shungiku because it cooks really fast. Voila! the Sukiyaki part is done. Eat it with a bowl of rice and 1 beaten egg. You have to dip the Sukiyaki into the egg then eat it over the rice! That’s the best way to eat it!!!!!!! Don’t chicken out and not use the egg! Bon app!
So Christmas is coming and i thought let’s make some cookies. I searched online and found a nice recipe for molasses crinkles. They are like the ginger snap cookies with that nice spice flavor you get around christmas time. So what could go wrong with Molasses Crinkles? Well Nothing went wrong. Just I realized don’t make cookies that taste just like if you bought them. I made these cookies and thought to myself …. I can just buy the same thing. I should of made something like crazy ooey gooey chocolate chip cookies or something. Though i have to say i do enjoy the cookies especially with some milk but i’m not going crazy over them! Next time i’m gonna make a carrot cake or something like that.
Anyways here are the pics of my little cookie monster adventure
The ingredients for these cookies were
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup vegetable shortening
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter
- 1 cup dark brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 cup molasses
- 1/3 cup sanding or raw sugar for topping
Whisk together the Flour, Allspice, Cloves, Ginger, Salt, Cinnamon, Baking Soda so that everything is mixed together. Start beating together the Vegetable Shortening, Butter and Brown Sugar for about 3-4 minutes in the mixer. When it’s mixed and fluffy add the egg and molasses and keep beating it together. When that has been mixed in lower the mixer speed to low and slow pour in the flour mixture. Keep mixing until everything is mixed together very well.
Preheat oven to 375F. Start rolling the cookie dough into 1 inch balls. It helps to have wet hands when doing this because the batter can get really sticky. After you roll the balls dip one side of the ball into the sugar you have for topping. You want one end to have sugar so when it bakes it is on top. Put these balls about 1-2 inches apart from each other on baking sheets. Put the cookies in the oven for about 8-11 minutes. The longer it cooks the crisper it is. I did around 8-10 and it came out half and half. Next time i might go for about 8 minutes. Anything lower than that and the cookies are still in a ballish shape. So after the time is up take them out and let them cook for a couple minutes. I had to do about 3 rounds of baking because i only had 2 baking pans. It’ll make around 50-60 depending how big your dough balls are…. 
There you go! Molasses Crinkles! Enjoy!
So i was being really lazy and the easiest thing to make is… *drum roll* PASTA! I made a simple pasta with a simple sauce. I like Farfalle pasta and i like cream sauce. I know most people like tomato pastas but i’m more of a cream sauce fan. Soooo what better than pasta with bacon!! I remember a random quote that said the way to save any dish is “add bacon, butter and a sauce”. Sooo bacon it is! This is really quick but it makes a lot of pasta which is good because i ate it for lunch and dinner two days straight.
A side note is that Carbonara is typically not a sauce dish. You want enough sauce to coat the pasta. But everyone likes it differently 
So here it is
Here are the simple ingredients for this recipe. This is once again another recipe from Jamie Oliver
- 1 lb Farfalle
- 1 Egg
- 10 Tablespoons of Heavy Cream (You may need more or less depending how much sauce you like)
- 10-12 Slices of Bacon
- 1 Cup of Frozen Peas
- 3 Sprigs of Fresh Mint
- 1 Cup of grated Parmesan Cheese (More cheese is always better )
Sooo that seems really simple. It really is simple! So basically whisk together the cream and egg and season with salt and pepper and set aside. Get a big pot of salted water boiling and throw in your farfalle. Be sure to cook it based on the directions on the package because sometimes they cook differently. At the same time start cooking your bacon. You can cook it however you want but i fried it. You can bake it if you want. Either way i cooked it till it was crispy and golden brown. I then remove the bacon oil from the bacon because i didn’t feel like having a heart attack right there. Right before the farfalle is done add the peas to the pot so it can boil with the farfalle. You should taste the farfalle to know when it’s done rather than rely too much on the directed time. Once the farfalle is done strain the farfalle and peas. Mix the Bacon and Farfalle and Peas together. You don’t want to chill the farfalle or anything because you want the heat of the pasta to heat and thicken the sauce. Throw in the mint with the mix and toss around. Add the cream and egg mixture all around the mix and stir around. You should start to see the sauce becoming thicker as the egg is slowly getting cooked. Throw the cheese on top and BAM! You’re done! This should make 4 generous portions. I divided it all into nice little tupperware so i can microwave and eat it for the other times. Bon App!
I’ll start off by saying the KitchenAid Mixer is one of the best things in the world. It’s so easy and soooo good. I think i can bake anything int he world now that i have one. (Back to the post)
Soooooooooo…. Today i made Pavlova. Besides little kiwis running around Pavlova is the first thing i think about when i think of New Zealand. This actually was my first time making Pavlova. I’ve had this every year for as long as i can remember because my best friends family always makes it for dinner occasions. I always look forward to having it with a nice cup of tea. I was afraid of making it because i thought it’d crack like crazy or i’d make it wrong and it wouldn’t taste right and maybe even be chewy. But i guess it all turned out great. I brought it to the office and everyone really liked it. The crust came out crispy and the inside was nice and fluffy. The double strength Vanilla really did wonders. I understand why everyone says Penzey’s Vanilla is the best. The Strawberry and Kiwi on top of the Pavlova really made it perfect.
I think for the size of Pavlova you make and the ingredients, that this is a pretty healthy dessert. (If you can call desserts healthy…..) It’s basically just egg whites and sugar. Anyways here are the pictures.
The ingredients are so simple you won’t even believe it. Other recipe sites suck. These ingredients are the best.
- 6 egg whites
- 1 1/2 cup of sugar
- 1 teaspoon of red wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla (I used the Penzey’s Double Strength)
- 1/4 cup of water
- A Bunch of Strawberries
- A Bunch of Kiwis
- 1 1/4 Cup of Whipping Cream
- 2 Tablespoons of Brown Sugar
Preheat the oven to 375F. The first thing to do is put the egg whites and water together and start whisking away. Whisk until the egg whites and water get really bubbly. At this point while still whisking slowly pour in the sugar. Keep whisking away until it gets really thick and shiny and it starts to form peaks. While still whisking add the vanilla and vinegar. Whisk till it’s mixed into the mixture really well. You don’t want only part of your Pavlova to taste good. Now wet some baking paper and put it on a baking sheet. Scoop on the Pavlova mix onto the baking paper. Be sure to scoop it into a nice circle shape and start smoothening and shaping it into a cake like shape.
Throw the Pavlova in the oven at 375F. Let it sit in the oven for 10 minutes then turn the temperature down to 205F and leave it there for about 1.5-2 hours. Be sure not to open the oven because the Pavlova might cool down and get all messed up. You can quick take a peek to see if it’s done but don’t do that until maybe an hour has pasted. While you wait you can start slicing up the fruit. Just slice it unto circles or small slices so you can top the Pavlova.
While there’s about 10 minutes left for the Pavlova you should start making the whipped cream. Just throw the brown sugar and whipping cream together and start whisking away. When it looks like cool whip you know you’re done.
Take out the Pavlova and spread the whipping cream on the top of it. Place the fruit on top of the whipping cream and Voila!!! You’ve got Pavlova topped with Strawberry and Kiwi over Whipping Cream
MMMMmmmmmmmmmmm….. Chocolate!!!!! Everyone loves chocolate!! Especially ME! And i love molten chocolate cake! I love the one they have at Pacific Rim in Ann Arbor. They have it with sake-macerated cherries and a coconut-Kahlúa ice cream…. (Sometimes which i need to learn how to make). Though i can’t get the sides to it i can make the chocolate cake!!! I made this and it was soooo goood. I ate it with some Vanilla ice cream. I was trying to find coconut ice cream but i couldn’t find any good ones. Basically you can make the batter way ahead of time and put it in ramekins. Ramekins are the custard bowl like things. You can google it and see. I used 4 inch ramekins but i’m pretty sure any size will do. You might have to adjust the cooking time accordingly though. I’ll stop rambling and let you see what it looks like. It’s soooo simple that anyone can do it in very little time!
Now doesn’t that make you want to get in your car, buy the ingredients and make it yourself?????!!!!!!!! Just writing this makes me want to make it again
The ingredients are so simple..
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder (i used the Penzey’s dutch processed)
- 2 ounces semisweet chocolate (I used Ghirardelli semi-sweet baking)
- 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 2 large egg yolks
- 1 large egg
- 2 teaspoons all purpose flour
That’s all the ingredients!!! So the first thing to do is preheat the oven to 350F. Then mix the sugar and the cocoa powder together in a bowl. Then melt the semisweet chocolate and the butter in pan in low heat. You want it to slowly melt. While it melts mix it to a nice smooth consistency. After it all melts and it’s a nice smooth liquid take it off the heat. Then whisk in the cocoa powder/sugar mix. After you whisk in the cocoa/sugar mix whisk in the egg yolks first. Then whisk in the egg and the flour. Whisk it good and try to keep it as smooth as possible. Butter up the ramekins so that the cake comes out really easily and doesn’t stick. Throw in the ramekins into the oven and let it sit there for about 10 minutes. Mine were in there about 10-11 minutes for 4 inch ramekins. This should make 2 small 4 inch cakes or 1 large 4 inch cakes. If you have 3 inch ramekins you could probably make 2 larger ones. After 10-11 minutes take out the ramekins from the oven. (BE CAREFUL NOT TO BURN YOURSELF). Then gently loosen the cake around the edges of the ramekin. The knife should glide around the ramekin. Turn them over onto the serving plate and voila! You have now made molten chocolate cakes. For simple toppings i used confectionery sugar on top and scooped some vanilla chocolate on the side. There are recipes for a nice mint-fudge sauce and such which maybe i’ll try another time. When cherry season comes i’ll maybe try the sake-macerated cherries or some other type of cherry sauce. BON APP!
