Crab Rangoon and Bonito Risotto

I decided to make crab rangoon after watching Ming Tsai make lemongrass and lobster rangoon.  I had some Cape Cod blue crab left and was in the mood.  They were pretty good but I would make some changes next time.  Joe doesn't like them too cream cheese-y.  But I like it with lots of cream cheese.  Joe also does not like crab much, so I wanted to make a good balance for him.

8 oz cream cheese
8 oz crab meat (I ended up using about 10 oz, and I think next time I will use 7 oz)
water chestnuts, diced fine
salt and pepper
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp soy sauce
2 scallions, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tbsp red onion, diced fine

I used maybe 2 teaspoonfulls of filling in each wrapper, and I made a couple shapes when I folded them.  I sealed them with egg wash (1 yolk and some water).  I fried them in oil for about 90 seconds.  By the way, they yield 48 rangoons, so I froze what we were not going to cook.

As for the risotto, I stupidly did not taste the broth I cooked with, so it came out WAY too salty, but I will definitely change the recipe here.

Arborio rice
bonito broth (I used a granulated formula mixed with chicken broth, soy sauce, fish sauce and sugar... but I would probably use just water next time)
1 cup white wine for deglazing
Broccoli
black pepper
1 shallot, diced fine
1 clove garlic, minced
grated parmesan cheese

I made it just like any other risotto- but I chose a bonito flavor because I was making crab rangoon... Asian and Asian.  Bonito broth has the flavor of most tempura dipping sauce or Japanese fried tofu sauce- for those of you who do not know what I am talking about.  I always used to put the sauce on my rice and that is what inspired this dish.  I wanted to bulk up the veggies so I added broccoli.

Here are some photos.

I hope you try these recipes because they were great- and if you use my changes they'll be much tastier for you!

Sienna updates

Sienna has grown so much over the past month!  She is finding new places she can jump and we are looking forward to having the toilet training kit arrive.  I like to walk around the house barefoot, but when I step into the bathroom it's like walking on the beach.  Everyday I need to sweep or vacuum!

I can't wait to train her to use the toilet and we are confident she'll learn to use it fairly easily.  In the meantime, we have put her litter box on top of the toilet so she understands to go up there.

She went to her first vet appointment with few hassles.  She did touch the doctor's sterilizing liquid and was not pleased when the doctor washed out her mouth, haha.  The next appointment will include shots (eek!)

She's an eating, playing machine!  We're still working on behavior training, but when she's being good she's SO CUTE.

I bathe her a couple times a week so she gets used to water- but she now enjoys jumping into the tub or sink and drink any dripping water.  Or just hang out in there.

She took a trip to the Cape with me to visit my parents.  She loves the big house- compared to our apartment.

That's about it.  Here are some photos: old and new.

8 weeks old

10 weeks old

 13 weeks old:

 where's the kitty?

 haha

We love her so much and look forward to what she'll be like as she gets older.

Rest In Peace, Paw Paw

I have been "away" for a while.  My grandmother passed last month and I was at the mercy of the family's schedule.  It was not so much unexpected as unwanted.  

She lived a great life, full of more experiences than most people could hope for.  I am unsure, but she was somewhere around 93 years old.  She came from China during the war, with her husband and son, and they made their life in New York with four more children.

I was never able to speak with her because I could not speak Chinese and she could speak very little English.  But I adored her and she made me proud of who I am.  She gave me my Chinese name and she gave me the passion to cook.  She was so loved.  Her three living children, ten grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren will miss her.

She is with her husband now, finally, after about 30 years apart.  As well as with her two daughters, taking care of them all.

Rest In Peace, Paw Paw.  We love you.

The family grows

Joe and I adopted a kitten!

We knew we've wanted a pet for a long time.  Joe has always wanted a dog but a city apartment on the third floor is no place for a dog.  Joe was very allergic to cats so that was not an option- so we started with the idea of a cute Holland Lop (bunny).  I found a great breeder but she was young and did not return my calls or emails when I asked her to email photos of the litters or contact me when they have a litter.  So that fell through.

Next, I caved and we planned on finding a puppy.  I found a beautiful husky that would be ready the next month- but after checking with the management company, we were not allowed to have a dog and I was crushed.  We know there are dogs in the building, so I thought I would just have to have it approved.  I reluctantly called the breeder and she was very understanding and returned the deposit.

So, nearly a year later, we decided a kitten would be okay and we would deal with the allergies until we get over them.  I was looking on Craigslist and found an ad about the MSPCA Kitten Adoptathon that was only 4 days away.  I consulted with Joe and we decided to go for it!  I was so lucky that my shift was covered at the restaurant and I'll explain later.

My good friend Leanne came down from Hew Hampshire to help me that day (I went to Petco the morning of the adoptathon).  There were a few obstacles before we could get in line.  We showed up 30 minutes early and I had to have an application approved, which included having proof that we could have a cat.  Big Problem.
1.) The management company was closed on Sundays
2.) Leanne could not get internet service there
3.) Joe could not find the email on my account from 2009 when I asked about the dog
4.) The lease says only approved animals can live there (no cats, dogs, etc unless approved)

I asked the staff if they would let me use their internet.  I was not even sure I had saved the old email.  But after a quick search, BINGO- got it.  By the time we got in line there were probably 20 people ahead of us and I was very anxious.

I wanted a gray cat, and when we got into the room, I had Leanne stay with one cat while I looked around.  Joe and I had discussed the kind of cat we want or don't want.  Neither of us liked a white cat with patches.  But when I passed a tiny little female kitten who had a tiger tail and a couple light brown patches, I had to hold her and I was sold.  I had to have her.

We love this little kitty so much.  She's our baby now and she is spoiled.  We have not decided on a name because we wanted to know her first.  She's still a baby- she sleeps a lot.  And when she's not sleeping she's playing until she tuckers herself out again.  So I have not gotten great photos of her.

I do not want to be one of those people who writes novels about every little hiccup she makes- but it's hard not to.  I will try to update with photos soon though!

99 days to Vegas

Okay, that number is not accurate, but I don't want to share everything publicly.

We are taking a well-deserved vacation and decided Vegas would be the spot.  It will be near our 9th anniversary and we are very much looking forward to our getaway.  Honestly I wanted somewhere tropical where I could relax on a beach, get a tan, and feel pampered- but that option was much too pricey.  Plus timing did not work in our favor.

But we loved Vegas when we went 5 years ago, so we will revisit it.  The first time we went, Joe was going to Iraq the first time and we lived it up.  It was one of the most fun times of my life because we spent almost a week together doing almost everything on a whim.  And isn't it fitting that near the beginning of his military career we went there and now that it is near the end we go again?

Give us some ideas!  We want to do one really nice dinner and one nice show.  I've seen a Cirque show before and ideally we could go see one this time as Joe has never seen one.  The Bellagio has nice restaurants but I'd like suggestions for all!

Does anyone know the place where you can get discounted tickets on the day of the shows?  My dad told me about a place they always have discounted tickets for a show later on that day.  Ideally we do not have to spend $150/ticket on a Cirque du Soleil show- but unless I can find good discount sites will I even have another option.

I'd love suggestions on where to go, what to do, etc to give us options!

Cape Cod Blue Crab!

So a couple months ago my mom and I were told how to best catch blue crabs.  When I was a kid I would stay out of that murky brackish water while my mom would walk around with a net and catch crabs for dinner.  We would catch maybe 10 for the day.

There were kids saying at a house on our street (tourists), and they would come back each day with a small bucket of them after a few hours.  And then we found out how it's done.  I checked with my Louisianian/Creole/French friend and she quickly verified that the best way to catch crab is to tie chicken to a string (a chicken neck, drumstick, etc), throw it in the water, wait until it's taught (they're trying to walk away with it), pull them in and net them.  It's simple!

My mom probably caught 100 this season.  She and I spent one summer day catching them and caught 44!  We thought there was a problem and that all the crabs were gone.  While scientists debate changes in the Cape Cod waters, we found there were still plenty of male crabs out there.  We steamed them all and it took around 4 hours to pick out all the meat!  Half of it is in my freezer, but not before I could make a couple dinners including crab cakes.

I made them a bit more Asian by adding water chestnuts.  I did not use a recipe but I used mayo as a base, added a little dijon mustard, water chestnuts (cream cheese would have been nice too), cayanne pepper, and breadcrumbs.  I made patties with them and dusted them with panko, pan fried them and served them with a homemade quick tartar sauce.

And there is nothing better (or simpler) than steamed blue crab.

Chinese (chicken) noodle salad

This is one of my favorites.  My mom first made it when I was in 6th grade for an "international day" at school.  It was a huge hit.  I forgot about it for years but in college she brought up this dish and I could not wait to try it out.

I often make a whole pound of it and it will last us a few days.  It works best with angel hair pasta in my opinion.

Recipe:
1/2 c. soy sauce
1 tbl mirin (if you don't have it just skip it or use a tad more sugar)
2 tsp sugar
2 tsp-1 tbsp grated ginger
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
1-2 cans chopped or sliced water chestnuts
1 cup (or so) snow peas, sliced
1 cup diced chicken
1 lb angel hair pasta
crushed peanuts and scallions to garnish

*boil pasta. While that is cooking, mix all ingredients (except peas, water chestnuts, chicken, peanuts and scallions) together and put in fridge. Once pasta is done, drain and cool. 
Blanch snow peas in hot water until bright green (about 1 minute)
Cook chicken however you like (bake, sautee, etc) and let it cool (best is to have it cooked ahead of time and waiting in the fridge

Mix cool pasta with sauce, peas, chestnuts, and chicken. It's best to cool it for a while (it's a cold dish) but if you can't wait, top with scallions and peanuts and dig in!
*the sauce quickly settles to the bottom, so mix frequently and before serving.

please note- I used thin spaghetti for this photo because I did not have angel hair

I have not been making this with chicken, so I just leave it out or add more snow peas.  I hope you try this one!  It's great for next-day lunch.

Risotto

How Joe and I often choose to do dinner is by what we feel like that day.  It's not the best way to do it honestly, because we cannot shop for sales.  Plus, Whole Foods has great quality food, but it is not cheap!  Joe will often go out for a walk and pick up anything we need for dinner that we do not already have.

One day I decided to make risotto, something I've never made before.  I did not have arborio rice but I had orzo and I thought that would be fine.  Asparagus risotto with chicken was the plan (I'm exploring vegetarianism a bit, so mine would not have chicken in it).  But while Joe was out I thought about salmon if it was cheap.

I used chicken stock (I'm not a strict vegetarian), and blanched the asparagus in the stock so it would have the most flavor while using it in the risotto.  I used half an onion, diced fine, and sauteed it in butter until soft.  I also included thyme.  

In went the orzo and I stirred it until it was chalky.  I then deglazed the pan with half cup of white wine and waited until it was absorbed to start adding the hot stock about a cup at a time, stirring almost constantly over medium heat, until the orzo was cooked.  Stir in about 1/4 cup of grated parmesan and it's done.

Between stirring in the stock, I prepared the salmon.  They did not scale it at Whole Foods, so I ended up skinning it.  Salt and pepper, pan fried about 2 minutes per side.

It was incredible and I believe Joe said it was the best thing I've made.  I hastily took the photo because I wanted to eat! It is a nice way to make a healthy, creamy-ish pasta dish without adding cream.

Introduction

For those of you who don't know me, I'm Erica.  I'm your everyday post college graduate struggling with finding a clear career path while juggling two jobs, low finances, and a fabulous relationship.  I love cooking and many people have suggested blogging about it so here I am.

Should I keep up with the blog, I plan to post the dinners I make, recipes if I have them, and photos as well.  But a food-only blog this is not.  Enjoy!