Wednesday, May 21, 2014

Grand Marnier Shrimp with Lettuce Salad

Grand Marnier Shrimp on a bed of lettuce is Cathelyn's favorite dish. It is very easy to prepare and she loves the salad with the mandarin oranges.

Ingredients
8 to 10 jumbo shrimps
1/2 cup cornstarch
2 cups canola oil for deep frying
For the sauce:
1/2 Grand Marnier cognac
1/2 cup orange juice
1 cup mayonnaise
For garnishing:
1 head of lettuce, shredded
1 cup mandarin orange (from the can)
1 cup sweetened walnuts

Preparation/Cooking Time (45 minutes)
1. Cook the Grand Marnier in a saucepan for 5 minutes to burn off the alcohol.
2. Set it aside to cool.
3. Cook the orange juice in a saucepan and reduce it to a syrup, about 10 minutes.
4. Set it aside to cool.
5. Put the cornstarch in a shallow bowl.
6. Dredge the shrimps with the cornstarch.
7. In a small deep fryer, cook 3 shrimps at a time for two minutes.
8. In a small bowl, mix the Grand Marnier cognac and orange juice together.
9. In another bowl, add 1 cup of mayonnaise.
10. Pour a small portion of the liquid on the mayonnaise and whisk gently.
11. Pour just enough liquid on the mayonnaise to make a slightly thick sauce.
12. In a big serving plate, arrange the cooked shrimps on top of the garnishings (lettuce, walnuts and
      mandarin oranges).
13. Slowly pour the Grand Marnier sauce over the shrimps.


Monday, May 19, 2014

May 19 - Baked Chicken And Egg Noodles

I am starting this blog for my daughter Cathelyn. Hopefully, when she has more free time, she could start filling up this journal.

Cathelyn is growing in her interest in cooking. It could be the countless episodes that she watched in Food Network or just the thrill of being creative when cooking. She has cooked many times in the past. She loves the "Chopped" cooking episodes they had during the past summer. She begins to have a good sense of identifying the key ingredients and tastes of the food she eats.

When we had our Mother's Day dinner at Morimoto's, she decided that she wants to be a chef someday...just like Iron Chef Morimoto. And with a doting mother like me, I would like to give her as much opportunities to make that dream possible...


Ingredients
12 pieces of chicken drumstick
1 head of garlic, minced
2 tbsp. of minced ginger
2 cups of Italian bread crumbs
2 tbsp. coarse sea salt
1 tsp. freshly ground pepper
2 medium size carrots, diced
4 celery stalks, diced
1 cup minced scallion
12 oz. Light 'n Fluffy Egg Noodles












Preparation/Cooking Time: 1 hour
1. Fill a pot with about 3 quarts of water. Bring it to a boil.
2. Add the chicken drumsticks, ginger, garlic, salt, and pepper.
3. Let it boil for 30 minutes. Do not cover the pot.
4. Take out the chicken from the pot. Put the heat down to low.
5. Preheat the oven to 475 degrees Fahrenheit.
6. Put the 2 cups of Italian bread crumbs in a big, shallow bowl.
7. Dredge the chicken in the bread crumbs and lay them flat on a broiler pan.
8. Bake the chicken for 30 minutes.
9. While baking, cook the egg noodles in the chicken broth.
10. Turn the heat back to medium.
11. Add the carrots and celery. Let it cook for 20 minutes
12. At the last 10 minutes, add the scallion and egg noodles.

Tuesday, May 20, 2014

Pork Adobo and Green Beans

The momentum is on! Cathelyn had another free afternoon, that means no long homework for the day. So I was happy when she volunteered to make dinner. She bought some green beans to accompany the pork adobo. We have a very enjoyable time eating our "comfort food" dinner.

Ingredients
2 lbs. pork shoulder, cut-up
1 cup [Silver Swan] soy sauce
1 cup [Datu Puti] white vinegar
1 head garlic, peeled
1 tbsp. whole black pepper

2 lbs. green beans, cut-up to 1 inch long
1 [Vidalia] sweet onion, minced
1 stick of butter
2 tbsp. oyster sauce
dash of salt





Preparation/Cooking Time: 1 hour

1. In a Dutch oven pot, put the pork, soy sauce, 
    vinegar, garlic, and pepper.
2. Cook the pork adobo until the liquid is almost
    dried up, about an hour, but be careful not to
    burn the meat.
3. When the pork has been cooking for 30
     minutes, start cooking the green beans in
     another pan.
4.  Melt the butter in medium heat.
5.  Add the onions and sauté for 10 minutes until
     transparent.
6.  Add the green beans and oyster sauce.
7.  Cover the pan and cook the beans for 20 minutes.
8.  Add a dash of salt.
9.  Serve the pork adobo and green beans with white rice.