Alfredo: Simple and Sophisticated



Again, a wonderful tasty dish made by my 11 years old son, JT :) Eye-pleasing, but most of all, absolutely divine!

 

Part I:

1/4 cup butter ( it has to be real butter or it will get really oily)
1 cup heavy cream
1 1/2 cups grated parmesan cheese
1/8 teaspoon Pepper 

Part II (optional):

2 tbsp. olive oil

½ cup diced onions

4 cloves garlic

1 cup cooking wine or dry white wine

About 8 – 10 cherry tomatoes

¼ cup basil

 

Put all of part I in a pan on medium heat.  Stir frequently until the butter is melted and everything is well blended. You want to make sure to heat it on medium heat or it will not set up right.  Keep mixing it, once it starts to get a few bubbles and thickens take off heat.  Do NOT let it come to a full rolling boil or the sauce will get really thick and the oil will separate. Serve over your favorite pasta. 

Hold on! Don’t serve the sauce over your pasta yet. If you want more for your palate, try this:  

For Part II, sauté the garlic and onions in the olive oil until the onions are translucent. Add the cooking wine (or dry white wine) and on medium heat, reduce to about half. Add the cherry tomatoes, stir gently, and cook for about 5 – 7 minutes. Add the basil, and cook for about 2 – 3 minutes. Remove from heat. Add Part I, mix gently, and ooh, la, la…awesome-ness is done (that’s what my son said when he tasted it). 

A little secret that I’ve learned from my son: Add a clove of crushed garlic while boiling the pasta and a bit of salt. More awesome-ness!

 

 

 

Lemon Butter Mussels and Shrimp

 

 

6 tbsp. unsalted butter

2 tbsp. olive oil

½ a medium onion, diced

6-10 cloves garlic, peeled, and roughly chopped

one red bell pepper, de-seeded and diced

one yellow bell pepper, de-seeded and diced

2 lbs mussels, cleaned

1 lb. peeled shrimp

 

In a bowl, mix together:

½ cup cooking wine

juice from one whole lemon, or 2 tbsp. lemon juice

1 tsp. salt

2 tsp. garlic powder

two stalks of green onions, finely chopped

½ cup parsley, finely chopped

 

1.    In a large pot, heat and melt the butter and add the oil.

2.    Add and sauté the onions and garlic until onions turn translucent.

3.    Add the peppers and cook for one minute.

4.    Add the mussels, mix, cover, and turn down the heat to med-low. Simmer for about 10 minutes or until the mussel shells open up.

5.    Turn up the heat and add the shrimps. Stir, and cook for about 5 minutes.

6.    Add the remaining ingredients. Turn down the heat to med-low, gently stirring frequently, cook for about 10 more minutes.

7.    Remove from heat and enjoy!

Mochi Chicken

1 lb. chicken chopped to about nugget-size

½ cup mochiko flour (found in the Asian section of the grocery store)

¼ cup cornstarch

2 Tbsp. flour

½ cup shoyu (some online recipes say to add salt. I suggest to NEVER do this – shoyu and soy sauce is salty enough already)

¼ minced onion (and/or 1 stalk of green onions, finely chopped)

½ Tbsp. garlic powder

½ tsp. ginger powder

3 cloves garlic, finely minced 

1.  Combine all in a large bowl, mix, and let sit overnight.

2.  Deep fry on med-high heat, adjusting heat when necessary, for about 10-15 minutes, until golden brown, ensuring that the nuggets stay separated while frying. To double check if the nuggets are fully cooked, cut the thickest piece in half.

3.  Drain each batch of nuggets on paper towels or in a strainer, and plate them on a dish. Servings: 5-10.

 

Portuguese Sausage Cabbage Soup

 

Portuguese Sausage Cabbage Soup

By my 11 year old son :D

8 – 10 servings

So proud of my son to cook up this delicious hearty dish.

Portuguese sausage, sliced  (I got mine at Winco)

Garlic, minced

½ an onion, diced

3 stalks of celery, sliced

3 roma tomatoes

Large can of tomato sauce (approximately 1 lb.) plus one can of water

1 tsp. Hawaiian salt or regular salt

2 tsp. garlic powder

5 chicken bouillon cubes

dash black pepper

½ a head of cabbage, sliced

 

1.                  In a large pot, saute sausage with garlic and onions for about 7 minutes.

2.                Add celery and tomatoes and sauté for about five minutes.

3.                 Add tomato sauce plus one can of water.

4.               Add salt, garlic powder, bouillon cubes, and dash pepper.

5.                 Let it boil on high. As soon as it boils, turn the heat down to med-low and simmer for about 15 minutes.

6.                Add cabbage, turn up to med-high heat and let boil for about 5 minutes or until cabbage is tender.

7.                 Adjust seasonings as needed. Serve hot J

Loco Moco

Easy local isle recipe, anyone can make this….even on da mainland!! The recipe can vary from the type of gravy you use to adding toppings.

Cooked Rice

-set aside-

Ready-made hamburger patties, or make your own
Eggs
1 pkg. Lipton onion soup, which I used for this particular recipe, but you can use any (packaged) brown gravy that you can find in your grocery store
2 Tbsp flour

 

Optional (add one or more of the following):

onions, sliced and grilled
green onions
crispy onions (aka, French onions, found in your neighborhood grocery store)
For a more local flavor, add some furikake flakes on top. I can’t live without the stuff on my rice!

For steps 1-3, I multi-tasked between each one, but because this blog will be used by my kids the majority of the time, it’s much easier to go in the following order.

1.       Barbecue or grill up those burgers until golden brown. Do not add oil. The fat comes from the patties. Plate the burger meat.

2.       Simmer the Lipton onion soup and add flour. Stir until it thickens. 

3.       Fry up the eggs sunny-side up. I like mine eggs-over-medium or easy. Your choice. Place aside on a separate plate.

4.       Serve it up on a plate: layer each the rice, patty, and egg anyway you want it, and pour some gravy on top!

5.       Add the optionals and you’re good to go!

Beef and Veggie Curry

Combine the following to make the sauce:

½ cup soy sauce

½ cup water

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. cumin powder

2 tsp. curry powder

1 ½ tsp. ginger powder

½ Tbsp. flour

(all of the above ingredients can be adjusted to taste)

Set the sauce aside.

Add the following ingredients. Saute each, and in order, according to the suggested time-limit:

1.      1 potato peeled and diced into about 1/2” cubes, 15 minutes, med-high heat, then add…

2.      1/2 an onion, sliced, 1 minute, add…

3. 3 cloves garlic, minced, 1 minute, add…

4. 1.5 lbs. of thinly, sliced beef (sliced to about 1”), 5 minutes on almost-high heat, turn down to med-high heat, add…

5. 3 stalks of celery, sliced, 1 minute, add…

6. ½ a head of a small cabbage, sliced to about ½” squares, sauté for about a minute or two (depending how tender you want the cabbage)

7. Pour the above curry sauce into the sauteed concoction and stir around for about a minute or two.

Serve and enjoy!

 

 

Beef and Beans Adobo (Filipino)

Frying it up is just as delish as the classic version :)

1 cup shoyu

½ cup vinegar

2 cloves smashed garlic

½ an onion, sliced

1-2 bay leaves

A few dashes of black pepper or 1 tsp. peppercorns

3 lbs. flanken steak (thinly sliced beef ribs)

Frozen cut beans (or fresh....whatever you prefer), about 1 -2 cups

 

1.   Combine all of the ingredients and let the steak marinate for about 10 minutes or more.  Seriously, for thin sliced beef it absolutely does not take 24 hours to marinate. FYI.

2.   Heat non-stick skillet on med-high heat. Wait until the pan’s completely heated, then one at a time, put the meat in as much as you can fit in the pan.

3.   Let cook 5-7 minutes, turning frequently, until golden brown. The sauce will caramelize – that’s the best part, guaranteed! Place the meat on a plate.

4.   Continue cooking the rest of the meat.

Don’t hesitate on this next step:

5.   The marinade? Heat it in the same pan you just cooked the meat in, and let it simmer on med-low heat.

6.   Throw in the beans and let it sauté with the marinade until the beans are thoroughly cooked.

7.   Pour everything over the meat and mix thoroughly. Enjoy!

Simple Shrimp Stir Fry

 

Super simple and easy to make!

 

1 lb. shrimp

Broccoli florets, about 4 cups

1 zucchini, julienned

1/2 of an onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 tbsp. soy sauce



1 tsp. garlic powder

Instructions:
1.On med-high heat, saute' onions and garlic until onions are somewhat transparent.
2. Add shrimps and cook for no more than five minutes.
3. Add broccoli and cook for 3-5 minutes.
4. Add zucchini, cook until tender.
5. Add soy sauce and garlic powder. You may add some pepper to taste. Do not add salt -- soy sauce is already salty!
6. Stir fry another 3 minutes.

Korean Style Spinach

 

Ingredients:

• 1 pound spinach
• 2 Tbsp soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp sesame oil
• 1 Tbsp sesame seeds
• 2 cloves finely chopped garlic
• 2 tsp sugar (optional)

 

Preparation:

1.      Blanch the spinach in boiling water for 30 seconds.

2.    Remove spinach quickly and rinse in cold water.

3.     Gently squeeze the spinach to remove excess water.

4.    Mix soy sauce, sesame oil, seeds, salt, garlic, and sugar and mix into spinach.
(Serves 6 as a side dish)

 

Bulgogi (boo-goh-ghee)

 

·       1 pound flank steak, thinly sliced (or any pre-cut, pre-thinly-sliced beef)

·       5 tablespoons soy sauce

·       1/4 cup chopped green onion + 1 tbsp. for garnish

·       2 tablespoons minced garlic

·       2 tablespoons sesame seeds (optional)

·       2 tablespoons sesame oil

·       1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Directions

1. Place the beef in a shallow dish. Combine soy sauce, green onion, garlic, sesame seeds, sesame oil, and ground black pepper in a small bowl. Pour over beef. Cover and refrigerate for at least 10 minutes or more.

2. Pan fry in 1 tbsp. oil for about 5 minutes on med-high heat or until golden brown.