Candied Bacon Macaroni and Cheese

Candied Bacon Macaroni and Cheese

I first made this dish for my friend Sydnie quite awhile ago and at that time it was the first time I had made stovetop mac and cheese from scratch.  I remember it being so rich, creamy dreamy, and tasty that it only took about a bowl and I was knocked out cold.  All of a sudden 2 years later, this past week I had a ridiculous craving for my homemade mac and cheese so I decided to recreate this comforting dish.  There really isn't very many things that a bowl of mac and cheese cant help on a day you're feeling down, so I hope this recipe can be used to spread the love.  To those who I promised this recipe to over the years, I'm sorry it took so long! hope you all enjoy.  Cook. Eat. Love. Smile.  

Candied Bacon Macaroni and Cheese

Macaroni and Cheese

1 Box (16oz) of any short pasta (shells, penne, macaroni, etc)

½ lb uncooked bacon

16 oz of extra sharp cheddar

5 slices of American cheese

1 pint Heavy Whipping Cream

1 pint whole milk

2 tbsp of light brown sugar

2 tbsp of garlic powder

2 tbsp of Sriracha

2 tbsp Worcestershire

2 tbsp Black Pepper

~1 tbsp salt (or to taste)

Bread Crumbs

½ cup of Italian Bread Crumb (or any herbed bread crumbs)

1/3 cup of olive oil

1 tbsp of garlic powder

2 tsp of red pepper flake (optional)

1 tsp of brown sugar

1 tsp dried parsley (for presentation)

Prep Work:

1.     Follow the pasta package and cook until al dente

2.     Strain the pasta and leave on the side to cool (do not wash the pasta or add any olive oil)

3.     Slice the bacon into small bits

4.     Heat a small sauté pan to cook the bacon until crispy

5.     Right at the end, candy the bacon by adding the 2 tbsp of brown sugar

6.     Strain the bacon bits and save the bacon fat to the side. 

Procedure:

1.     Warm the bacon fat, heavy cream, and whole milk in 3 qt saucepan at medium to medium high heat

2.     Slowly bring the mixture to a low boil and stir constantly (the mixture should slowly thicken

3.     Once at a low boil, bring down the temperature to a little below medium

4.     Stir in the cheese a handful or a slice at a time to fully incorporate the cheeses

5.     Add the candied bacon, garlic powder, Sriracha, Worcestershire, black pepper and keep stiring

6.     Add the salt to taste. 

7.     Once cheese sauce is ready, slowly add in the cooked pasta

8.     Mix until all coated and sauce is evenly dispersed and set aside to mix in. 

9.     In the same small sauté pan that cooked the bacon, warm the olive oil slightly

10. Add all the bread crumb ingredients and mix thoroughly

11. Toast until the bread crumbs turn darker brown and become fragrant

12. Scoop some macaroni and cheese; sprinkle the breadcrumbs on top, and some parsley on the very top. 

Christina and Sam's Stuffed Pork Loin and Cream of Mushroom Pasta

Sam, my cooking partner in crime, and I first made this dish back in our freshman year for Brother's Appreciation.  The recipe and idea was all our own and who would have thought it would taste so good.  It was a huge hit and thankfully i recently finally had the chance to make it again with Lyssie one afternoon, and also in a smaller scale compared to 60 or so servings.  When I make this dish, I think of the seniors who graduated later that year that I so dearly miss, especially the ones that scarfed it down and of course the seniors who have asked me about putting up a recipe.  So to those who have waited ever so patiently, thanks for bugging me about writing up the recipe.  And to those who graduated that year and whom i havnt seen in so long; anytime you all come by to visit, i'd be happy to make it for ya'll.  But until then, this recipe is for you.  Please Enjoy.  Cook. Eat. Love. Smile. 

Stuffed Pork Loin with Cream of Mushroom Pasta

Christina and Sam’s Stuffed Pork Loin and Cream of Mushroom Pasta

1 4-5 lbs pork loin

4 cups of spinach

1 large diced white onion

5 slices of bacon

1 cup of feta cheese

1 bag of rotelle pasta

1 can of Campbell’s cream of mushroom

½ cup of milk

salt

sugar

black pepper

garlic powder

cooking/butcher’s string

sheet pan and rack

Prep-work

1.     Butterfly the pork loin to about ¾ of an inch thick. 

2.     Salt, pepper, garlic powder both sides of the pork that now resembles a sheet

3.     Cook the bacon until crispy and when finished, candy/add some sugar to the still-hot bacon. 

4.     Cut the bacon into bits

5.     With the residual bacon fat still in the pan, sauté the onions until caramelized and spinach cooked down

6.     On another burner, boil the pasta until aldente and drain. 

7.     Preheat the oven to 350 F. 

Procedure

1.     Evenly place the ¾ of the feta cheese, 2/3 of the spinach and onion mixture, and bacon in the middle of the sheet of meat

2.     Then wrap the meat back onto itself, to create a loin that is stuffed with the mixture. 

3.     Carefully tie the loins together to keep it from falling apart with the cooking twine/butcher’s string.

4.     Heat a nonstick pan to medium high and oil it down

5.     Then, place the loin onto the pan, and sear all sides until it becomes golden brown. 

6.     After searing, place the loin onto a sheet pan with a rack and bake for approx 40 minutes. 

7.     While baking, the cream of mushroom, leftover feta cheese, milk, and left over spinach and onion mixture should be combined to make a creamy sauce.  Add the pasta and cook until well combined. 

8.     When the pork is done, ALLOW THE MEAT TO REST, for at least 15 minutes to retain the moisture. 

9.     Cut into 1 inch thick pieces and serve with the pasta.   

Dok Buk Gi (Spicy Korean Rice Cake)

It's been a long time since I posted, school has been crazy and I havn't had a chance to really sit down and write recipes for everything I've made.  When I made this, it was a relatively gloomy day, absolutely PERFECT for this kind of dish and I made it with my roommate Katie Park and Christine Be, both of whom I feel can be good judges for this korean comfort food dish.  I made it without much of an inkling of how to, I just bought the ingredients and hoped for the best, and just enjoyed my time with my friends but it turned out great and we even had visitors to eat with us.  I'd recommend this to anyone who wants some good spicy, warm your core up comfort food.  It's great and super easy to make, especially if you have a korean super market around like we do at UCI.  Please enjoy.  Cook.Eat.Love.Smile.  

04.13.12 Dok Buk Gi

Dok Buk Gi 

1 package of fresh dok (cylindrical rice cake found in

1 package of flat fish cake

1 package of your favorite fresh noodle

1 lbs of pork belly

¼ of a cabbage

½ a medium onion

4 stalks of green onion

2 eggs

3-4 tbsp of gochujang (Korean red chili paste)

3-4 tbsp of water

2 tbsp of ketchup

1 tbsp of honey

1 tsp of bulgogi marinade

1 tsp of oyster sauce

Prep-work:

1.     Slice the cabbage and onion into thin slices

2.     Cut the fish cake into equal sized triangles

3.     Cut the pork belly into 1.5 inch pieces

4.     Cut two green onion stalks into 2 inch pieces

5.     Cut one green onion stalk into small slices

Procedure:

1.     Take the sliced pork belly and cook until crispy with some rendered fat. 

2.     Take out the pork belly and fry the fish cake, onion slices, cabbage, and green onion in the fat

3.     After cooking for 10 minutes, add gochujang and water to make into a thin red soup. 

4.     Cook for a few minutes, and then add the rice cakes

5.     Cook all of the ingredients until the sauce gets thick from the starch from rice cake

6.     As the sauce gets thick, add the pork belly, ketchup, honey, bulgogi marinade, and oyster sauce

7.     Cook and add water or more chili paste to taste and texture

8.     In another pan, fry the two eggs sunny side up

9.     Sprinkle the remaining green onion and place the fried egg on top. 

10. Serve hot in a large serving platter

Honey Walnut Shrimp

This dish has always been a favorite treat of mine and probably a lot of kids growing up.  When my family would have those extended family dinners, I'd be sure to request this dish hoping that my parents would order it.  Since the past HK style dishes came out well, my friend and I decided to meet up to make this childhood favorite.  The recipe I've written here is based on a recipe on allrecipes.com but the tweaks in there are all mine.  This dish is fun and easy to make, and pretty close to the original; but most definitely cheaper than the dish from the restaurants.  Hope you all have as much fun making it as I did.  Please enjoy this recipe.  Cook. Eat. Love. Smile. 

04.06.12: Honey Walnut Shrimp
Photo Credit: Catherine Wong

Honey Walnut Shrimp

10-15 (approx) large shrimps, peeled and deveined

8 oz package of walnuts

1 ½ cups of corn starch

4 egg whites

¼ cup of mayonnaise

3 tbsp of condensed milk

3 tbsp of honey

1 cup of oil for frying

Prep-Work:

1.     Whip the egg whites until foamy

2.     Make the batter by combining the cornstarch and egg whites until a pasty consistency

3.     Allow the batter to rest for about 15 minutes. 

4.     Make the sauce by combining the mayonnaise and the condensed milk in a separate bowl, the sauce should be a very smooth consistency without lumps from the mayonaise

5.     Line a sheet tray with foil and place the walnuts in a single layer on the foil

6.     Then drizzle the honey and evenly coat all the walnuts  

7.     Place it in the oven at 375 F and occasionally stir the walnuts to cook evenly

Procedure:

1.     Place the oil into a pot and bring to 350 degrees

2.     Dry the shrimps and dip into the batter

3.     Then place the shrimp into the hot oil in batches to avoid dropping the temperature

4.     When lightly golden brown, retrieve the shrimp and place on a paper towel

5.     Fry all the shrimps

6.     Then place the shrimp into a bowl with as much of sauce as wanted and ¾ of all the walnuts, and toss evenly so that all the shrimp and walnuts have sauce

7.     Then plate and serve with the rest of the walnuts sprinkled on top.  

Hong Kong Style Spaghetti Bolognese

If you ask anyone whom I've talked about food to, then it is more than likely I have mentioned my favorite dish at my all time favorite restaurant.  It's hong kong style spaghetti bolognese from R.H. Garden Cafe in Rowland Heights.  This dish that I order all the time since I was literally 5 years old, is not just confined to that restaurant but I definitely use it as a gauge to rank my favorite hong kong style cafes.  I'd like to call myself a connoisseur of this dish, but I guess that's pushing the obsession a bit.  Now I have tried to imitate this dish countless times, but there's always something I feel like that's missing and I dont know what.  However, this recipe is very close to my favorite dish, very sweet and ketchup-y unlike the traditional Italian Spaghetti Bolognese.  It wont ever be able to replace the dish from actual Hong Kong cafes, but rather it's used as a simple to make, tasty dish, to satisfy my persistent cravings when I can't have it when I'm at school.  Please enjoy this recipe.  Cook. Eat. Love. Smile.

04.03.12: Hong Kong Style Spaghetti Bolognese

Hong Kong Style Spaghetti Bolognese

1 lb of ground beef

1 lb of spaghetti

½ large onion

1 carrot

~5 large button mushrooms

4 large cloves of garlic

1 can of diced tomatoes

½ can of tomato paste

½ jar of favorite spaghetti sauce

1 ½ cups of ketchup

1 cup of shredded cheese

2 tbsp brown sugar

2 tbsp honey

1 tbsp of soy sauce

1 tbsp garlic powder

1 tbsp cream cheese

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp of red pepper flakes

Prep-work:

1.     Mince very finely the carrots, garlic, mushroom. 

2.     Finely dice the onion

Procedure:

1.     Heat a large pan with medium high heat. 

2.     Take a large stock pot and boil water for the pasta

3.     When the pan is hot enough, add a 3 tbsp of olive oil and sauté the carrots, onions, and mushrooms until soft

4.     Then add the garlic and cook until fragrant

5.     Add the ground beef and cook until almost cooked all the way

6.     If the water in the stockpot has come to a boil, add the pasta and cook until well done. 

7.     Then add the spaghetti sauce, diced tomatoes, and tomato paste and stir to combine well

8.     Add the ketchup, soy sauce, Worcestershire, and cream cheese

9.     Add the brown sugar, honey, garlic powder, and red pepper flakes

10. Then add the pasta into the creamy sauce and combine well

11. Add onto a baking pan (line with foil for easy cleanup) and then top with at least a cup of shredded cheese (a little more couldn’t hurt)

12. Bake at 400 for 10 minutes or until the cheese is melted on top

13. Serve hot and fresh out of the oven.  

Cantonese Comfort Food: Cha Siu, Fried Tofu and Mushrooms, and Bok Choy

This meal started off as a craving for some home cooking as many of us are in the midsts of recovering from exams and sicknesses.  It's ridiculous how easy it is to get sick in college, whether it be from being around sick people when you try to take care of them, or just not eating that healthily like we used to at home.  The meals at home were always balanced enough to keep us healthy and what not and after this meal, it made me appreciate all the more how our parents took care of us at home. The cha siu, tofu, and bok choy were all things that I grew up eating for dinner and after having so much westernized food all the time in college, I guess I was bound to start craving for familiar foods that I grew up with.   So me, my room mate, and a great friend, all of us from AACF, decided to pull together a home-cooked meal reminiscent of home.  The night before the lunch, the three of us went grocery shopping to find all the ingredients and I can't help but feel so blessed to have a 99 ranch so close to school that making chinese food is possible; what a blessing it is to be able to live in Irvine.  The next morning, we all started to prepare/cook and another friend came over to share the meal.  It truly was a great time of bonding and catching up, what better way to do it over comfort food.  Please enjoy all three recipes.  Cook.Eat.Love.Smile. 

03.03.12: Cantonese Comfort Food Meal

Cantonese Comfort Food: Cha Siu, Fried Tofu and Mushroom, and Bok Choy

03.03.12: Cha Siu

Cha Siu

6 tbsp of Cha Siu paste marinade (Lee Kum Kee)

3 tbsp of canola oil

approx 3 lbs of pork shoulder

2 tbsp honey

2 tsp water

Prep-work:

1.     Take the pork shoulder or pork butt and cut it into evenly thick slices around an inch and a quarter thick.   

2.     Take a gallon Ziploc bag and place the marinade and canola oil into the bag (it will be very sticky) so place it in there carefully

3.     Place the pork shoulder slices into the bag and coat the meat very well.  Massaging the marinade into the pork is encouraged. 

4.     Place in the refrigerator over night. 

Procedure

1.     Line a baking sheet with foil and place a wire rack on top. 

2.     Preheat the oven to 375 F.

3.     Place the pieces of pork on the rack, not letting any of them touch or get too near each other. 

4.     Save the marinade for basting later on. 

5.     Place the meat back into the oven and bake for 30 minutes

6.     After 30 minutes, flip the meat over with tongs and baste the other side of the meat very generously. 

7.     Put the meat back into the oven and bake for another 30 minutes

8.     When the meat looks slightly charred on the outside and has a bright red coating, take the meat out to rest for at least 10 min. 

9.     Meanwhile, take the honey and water and mix in a small bowl

10. Brush the mixture over the meat to give it a glossy finish. 

11. Once cooled and rested, slice the meat and serve as a main dish or appetizer. 

03.03.12: Fried Tofu and Mushrooms

Fried Tofu and Mushroom  **these are approx values, because I need to make sure with my friend what we did exactly, but nonetheless it is very close. 

1 pack of fresh shitake mushrooms (1 lbs or so)

1 pack of fried tofu

3 stalks of green onion

3 large cloves of garlic

2 slices of ginger

2 tbsp of oyster sauce

1 tbsp of soy sauce

4 tsp of cornstarch

approx 4 tsp of water

1 tsp of honey

1 tsp of brown sugar

Prep-work:

1.     Take all the mushrooms and clean them with a wet paper towel (do not run them under water because they will become gummy)

2.     Take the green onion stalks and cut them into 1.5 inch strips

3.     Take the ginger root and cut two slices of ginger. 

4.     Take the cloves the garlic and mince them finely

5.     Take the oyster sauce, soy sauce, honey, brown sugar and mix in a small bowl

6.     Take the cornstarch and water and make it into a slurry (to thicken the sauce)

Procedure:

1.     Heat a nonstick pan to medium to medium high heat and coat the bottom with oil

2.     Drop the two slices of ginger and let the ginger cook for about a minute

3.     Place the green onion strips, mushrooms and garlic and cook until the mushroom changes colors

4.     Add a little bit of water (2 tbsp or so) to help the mushrooms cook through without burning

5.     Add the tofu and allow it to warm through while stirring

6.     Add the oyster sauce mixture and cornstarch slurry

7.     Cook until the sauce thickens

8.     Serve hot and in bowl that retains heat

03.03.12: Steamed Bok Choy

Steamed Bok Choy

1 pack of Bok Choy

2 slices of ginger

2 cloves of garlic

1 tsp of sesame oil. 

approx 3 tbsp of water.

Prep-work:

1.     Clean the Bok Choy with running water

2.     Take a ginger root and cut two slices

3.     Mince two cloves of garlic

Procedure:

1.     Heat a pan to medium and coat the bottom with a little oil

2.     Place the ginger in the oil to cook for a minute

3.     Add the garlic and cook until fragrant

4.     Add the Bok Choy with water and cap the pan so the veggies can steam

5.     When wilted and shrunk add the sesame oil and toss lightly

6.     Serve the bok choy on a plate that can hold water.   

Fresh Fish Tacos

This recipe was actually more of an impromptu recipe, that was inspired by a trip to the farmers market with two wonderful friends of mine.  At UCI, every saturday morning UTC hosts a farmer's market with great produce and all sorts of goodies including fresh seafood.  When i first made this recipe, I was still a freshman in the dorms and I remember taking any chance I got to cook in an upperclassman's apartment.  So as I was walking around the farmer's market, I found inspiration from one of the fish mongers who tried to sell these great looking sole filets at discounted price.  I bought the fish and decided to make a fresher-tasting fish taco that wasn't battered and deep-fried like u would find at say Rubio's, but rather fish easily grilled to perfection to really capture the taste of fresh fish and make it a lighter meal.  Please enjoy.  Cook.Eat.Love.Smile. 

04.30.11: Fresh Fish Tacos 

Fresh Fish Tacos

2 Sole Fish Filets (any white fish will work)

6 small tortillas

1 cup of Mexican cheese blend (or favorite cheese)

1 cup of shredded lettuce

2 tomatoes

½ large onion or 1 medium onion

3 cloves of garlic

1 stalk of green onion

½ tbsp of basil

¼ tbsp black pepper

¼ tbsp salt

Prep-work:

1.     Dice the tomatoes with the juicy insides

2.     Dice the onion

3.     Mince the garlic, chop the green onion

4.     Sprinkle the pepper, salt, basil on both sides of the fish filets

Procedure:

1.     Heat non-stick pan with a little oil to medium – medium high

2.     When the pan is hot enough, place the filets and cook about 3 min on each side or cook until you start seeing the filets turn white on both the side on the pan and on the edges of the fish, then flip

3.     Once finished cooking, take the fish off the pan and roughly chop into large chunks of fish

4.     Then take the pan with a light coating of oil and heat to medium high. 

5.     Add the onions and cook until almost translucent

6.     Add the garlic and green onions and cook until fragrant

7.     Then take the mixture off the pan and to the side with the fish

8.     Heat the pan again to medium-high heat without the oil

9.     Add 2-3 tortillas onto the pan depending on the size, but do not allow the tortillas to touch each other. (Cook in batches)

10. Sprinkle cheese and on top of the tortilla and allow to melt slightly

11. Then when melted, take off the heat and build the taco adding the onion/garlic mixture, fish, lettuce, and tomatoes.