Chicken Breast Stuffed w/ Goat Cheese & Sun-Dried Tomatoes

Pictures can only say so much. This photograph may not be the most appetizing but in reality this is probably one of the best chicken dishes I've cooked.

1 cup boiling water
1/3 cup sun-dried tomatoes (with or without oil)
2 tsp olive oil, divided
1/2 cup chopped shallots
1 1/2 tsp sugar
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 1/2 tbsp balsamic vinegar, divided
2 oz crumbled goat cheese
2 tbsp chopped basil
3/4 tsp salt, divided
2 skinless, boneless chicken breast
1/8 black pepper
3/4 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
2 tsp corn starch
2 tsp water

1. Combine 1 cup boiling water and tomatoes in a bowl. Cover and let stand for 30 minutes o until soft. Drain and finely chop.
2. Heat 1 tsp oil in large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add shallots, sugar, and garlic; cook 4 minutes or until lightly browned, stirring frequently. Spoon into a bowl; stir in 1 1/2 tsp balsamic vinegar.
3. Combine chopped tomatoes, shallot mixture, cheese, basil, and 1/4 tsp salt, stirring well.
4. Cut a horizontal slit through thickest portion of chicken breast to form a pocket. Stuff 2 tbsp cheese mixture into each pocket. Sprinkle chicken evenly with salt and black pepper.
5. Heat oil in pan over medium-high heat. Add chicken to pan; cook 6 minutes on each side or until done. Remove chicken from pan; cover and keep warm. Add broth and 2 tbsp vinegar; bring to boil. Combine cornstarch and water, stirring with a whisk. Cook 1 minute or until sauce is slightly thick, stirring constantly. Serve sauce over chicken.

Skirt Steak Salad

One of the many places I call home is in New Jersey. When I first moved there I thought it was really "the armpit of the US". For 14 months, the people who knew exactly what kind of stress I was going through from shared experience showed me the real beauty of Jersey. I miss my girls...

Of the many wonderful things about living in Jersey and near NYC, the highlight for me was of course... FOOD. :P The one particular food that sticks out in my mind was actually cooked by my friend, Jamie. I asked her for the recipe and now I feel like it's my duty to share it.

Marinating Skirt Steak
1/2 cup olive oil
1/3 cup soy sauce
4 scallions, washed and cut in 1/2
2 large cloves garlic
1/4 cup lime juice
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp ground cumin
3 tbsp dark brown sugar or Mexican brown sugar
2 lb inside skirt steak, cut into 3 equal pieces

1.In a blender, put oil, soy sauce, scallions, garlic, lime juice, red pepper, cumin, and sugar. Puree. In a large heavy duty, zip lock bag, put pieces of skirt steak and pour in marinade. Seal bag, removing as much air as possible. Allow steak to marinate for 1 hour in the refrigerator.
2. Remove Steak from bag and pat dry with paper towels. Cook on grill to desired done-ness. Once finished cooking, place meat in aluminum foil, wrap, and allow to sit for 15 minutes.
3. Cut along the grain of meat. Place it on a salad of your choice.

Vinaigrette
1 tablespoon shallot, minced
1/4 cup balsamic wine vinegar
1/2 cup olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

1. In a small bowl, whisk together the shallot, vinegar, oil and salt and pepper
2. Serve with a salad. Add minced fresh herbs as desired.

*Note: Jamie added grilled corn to the salad. Really, it tastes so good on any type of salad. I still think it tastes better when Jamie cooked it rather than when I did.

Spicy Coconut Shrimp Soup

I've been cooking but haven't been posting the recipes because my camera died. "Yay" for my camera coming back to life so that I can share more of my cooking with you. Anyways, I've found this recipe on my favorite cooking magazine: CookingLight. I add some udon noodles to this soup and still find that it require no extra seasoning. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. :D

3 1/2 cups fat-free, less sodium chicken broth
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1/4 cup finely chopped red bell pepper
1 tbsp light brown sugar
1 tbsp fish sauce
1 cup light coconut milk
1 lb large shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions
2 tablespoon thinly sliced fresh basil
2 tbsp fresh lime juice

1. Combine first 6 ingredients in a large saucepan over medium-high heat; bring to boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes.
2. Stir in coconut milk; cook 2 minutes or until hot.
3. Add shrimp to pan; cook 3 minutes or until shrimp are done.
4. Remove from heat; stir in green onions, basil, and juice.

Yield: 4 servings

Baby Back Ribs

Usually I'm not big on BBQ's but the weather has been so nice and I've been having MAD cravings for baby back ribs. YUM! I did some research and found out that you may need to dedicate good amount of time in order for great tasting baby back ribs. Today was my day off from work, so I had a considerable amount of time to spend cooking. So the trick to having the meat fall clean off the bone is to slowly cook the ribs. Some people suggest bowling the ribs and others suggest baking them. I don't own a large pot so I stuck to baking them. Since I had a lot of time to cook today, instead of marinating the ribs with store bought barbecue sauce, I made everything from scratch. I found the recipe on www.allrecipes.com (I love this site. I highly recommend you visit it the next time you want to look for a recipe). Ok. So enough babbling... Here's the recipe:

Ribs
2 lb baby back ribs
salt
ground black pepper
1 tbsp ground chili pepper (optional)
vegetable oil

1. Preheat oven to 300 degree F.
2. Cut the racks to total 4 half racks. Rub in salt and pepper, and if desired chili pepper, onto the meat. Wrap each half rack in aluminum foil (shiny down) coated lightly with vegetable oil. Bake for 2 hours.

Barbecue Sauce
Vegetable oil
1yellow onion, minced
1 1/2 cups water
6 oz tomato paste
1/2 cup white vinegar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 1/2 tablespoons honey
3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
1 1/4 teaspoons liquid smoke flavoring
2 teaspoons whiskey
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (may substitute paprika instead)
1/2 tablespoon ground red chile pepper

1. While the ribs are baking in the oven, heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Sauté the onions in the oil for 5 minutes. Stir in water, tomato paste, vinegar, brown sugar, honey, and Worcestershire sauce. Season with salt, black pepper, liquid smoke, whiskey, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, and red chili pepper. Bring the mixture to boil, then reduce heat to simmer. Simmer for 1 hour, uncovered, or until sauce thickens. Remove heat and set aside.

Grilling
1. Preheat the outdoor grill for high heat.

2. Remove the ribs from the oven. Remove the racks from the foil and place on grill. Grill the ribs for 3-4 minutes on each side. Brush sauce on the ribs while grilling. Tip: Brush the sauce on a minute or two before you remove them off the grill. If you add the sauce too early, it may burn.

ENJOY!!!

Hand roll Salmon Sushi & Zaru Udon

One of my favorite food to order at Sushi Ten (a local sushi restaurant here in Tucson) is Zaru Udon and salmon sushi. Sushi can be a incredibly easy and fun dish to make. Half of fun of having sushi at home is the process of making it. Hand roll is cost effective since you don't need to go out an buy a sushi mat.

1 (5 oz.) center cut salmon fillet, skin removed, cut in strips
4 teaspoons sesame oil
4 teaspoons soy sauce
1/2 finely chopped green onion
Toasted nori shets, cut in 1/2 lengthwise
Asparagus spears, trimmed to 5-inches long, cut in half, lightly steamed
Thinnly cut carrots
2 cuts cooked Sushi Rice, recipe follows

1. In a bowl, mix together the chopped salmon, sesame oil, soy sauce, and green onions.

2. Arrange all the above on a serving platter and serve on the side with wasabi, sweet pickled ginger and soy sauce.

3. Place a sheet of nori, shiny side down on a work surface. Place rice on the left side of the nori sheet. Place salmon mixture, asparagus, and carrot on top of the rice, diagonally. Roll the nori over the filling.

Sushi Rice
2 cups of rice
vinegar
salt
sesame seed (optional)

1. In a bowl, cool the rice to room temperature by fanning. Add vinegar to moisten rice and a pinch of salt to the cooled rice. Top with sesame seeds.

Zaru Udon
Udon noodles
Chopped green onions
Soymen sauce

1. Bring a medium pot of water to boil. Add the udon noodles and boil for 2-3 minutes. Rinse with cool water and drain well.

2. Add the udon noodles to a bowl of soymen sauce. Add chopped green onion and wasabi to the sauce.

If available, white asian radish can be cut in thin strips and added to the sushi and/or grated to the soymen sauce.

Chocolate Strawberry Shortcake

The grocery store was crowded last night. I guess a lot of people this year decided to eat in for Valentine's Day. My friend, Katie, and I decided to cook dinner for ourselves and a few other people. My favorite was the chocolate strawberrry shortcake that she found on Epicurious.com. Lovely, right? Just for the sake of it being Valentine's day, we cut the biscuits in the shape of hearts.

Biscuit
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup chilled whipping cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 400 F. Line baking sheet with parchment.
2. Whisk first 5 ingredients in large bowl.
3. Using electric mixer, beat cream and vanilla in medium bowl until firm peaks form.
4. Stir cream into flour mixture until moist clumps form. Transfer mixture to lightly floured surface and knead gently until dough forms ball, about 10 turns.
5. Pat dough out to 3/4 inch thickness. Using 3-inch cutter, cut out biscuits. Gather dough, pat out again, and cut out total of 6 biscuits.
6. Place biscuits on prepared baking sheet. Bake until toothpick inserted into centers comes out clean, about 15 minutes. Transfer to rack; cool.

Strawberries
2 pounds small strawberries, hulled, quartered
6 tablespoons powdered sugar, divided
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
2 tablespoons Grand Marnier or other orange liqueur
1/2 teaspoon finely grated orange peel
pinch of salt

1. Stir strawberries, powdered sugar, and next 4 ingredients in medium bowl.
2. Cover and chill at least 1 hour and up to 2 hours.

Whipped Cream
1/2 cup chilled whipping cream
1/2 cup chilled sour cream
2 tablespoons powdered sugar

1. Using electric mixer, beat chilled whipping cream, sour cream, powdered sugar until soft peaks form.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Valentine's day and got to spend it with someone special.

Dduk Gook (Rice Cake Soup) with Ggoo Me (Beef Seasoning)

Yesterday was the start of the New Year according to the lunar calender. In Korea, it is a tradition to start the first day of the new year with a dish we call "dduk gook" ("rice cake soup"). Usually it is served as breakfast, but I made it for dinner yesterday.

1/2 package of pre-cut rice cake
1/2 lb of ground beef
2-3 teaspoon sesame oil
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup water
salt & pepper
soy sauce
1/2 square tofu, chopped in small cubes (1x1x1 cm)
3 green onions, chopped
1 jalapeño, finely chopped
1 egg, beated
1 sheet of dried seaweed, cut

1. Pour rice cake in a bowl covered in water. Let it sit for 30 minutes.

2. In a large saucepan, heat sesame oil. Add ground beef and cook, stirring occasionally. Add salt, pepper, and garlic. Pour water and let it boil. Reduce heat and add soy sauce for taste. Let it simmer for 2-3 minutes. Add square tofu and let it simmer until cooked. Add half of the green onions and jalapeño.
* The ground beef seasoning recipe (called Ggoo me) is unique to the Southern part of Korea (Andong) where my dad is from. Most Koreans don't know about this recipe because most Koreans are from Seoul.

3. Meanwhile, pour the rice cake and water into a pot. Add additional water to submerge the rice cakes. Bring to boil. Remove from stove when rice cakes are sticky but firm. (At this time, if you want to add mandoo/dumplings you may do so.)
4. On a small skillet, cook the egg like you would cook an omelet. Remove onto cutting board once cooked. Chop lengthwise.
5. In a bowl pour rice cake soup. Top with egg, seaweed sheet, and the rest of green onion. Ground beef is used for seasoning the rice cake soup so it may depend on the person. My family serves it in a separate bowl so we can top our soup to make it fit to our own taste.

2 servings

A little blurb:
The past year, the Year of the Rat (my year), was overall a great year. I think the biggest accomplishment was finding a career to bring me fulfillment, people to share my joy and hardship with, and a city where I felt at home. This year, I look forward to learning how to love and enjoy the time with myself. Onward to the Year of the Ox! May the New Year bring you joy and good fortune

Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto

Today was one of those days where I don't really have much motivation to cook, but eating out doesn't really seem to be a good idea... (especially since I don't have any income yet). Well, this recipe (created by one of my favorite TV chef, Giada) turned out to solve ALL my problems. I only spent 10 minutes in the kitchen and didn't have to dig deep into my pocket. As an added bonus, this pasta dish was D-lish!!! This has easily become one of my favorite dish.

8 ounces rotini pasta
1 (8.5 ounce) jar sun-dried tomatoes in olive oil
3 garlic cloves
1 cup fresh basil leaves
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
Salt & pepper

1. Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salt water until tender but firm, stirring occasionally, about 8 minutes. Drain, reserving 1 cup of the cooking liquid.
2. Meanwhile, finely chop the sun-dried tomato in it's oil, garlic, and basil leaves. (You can do this by using a food processor, but I like just using my knife. I find that it creates a better texture.) Transfer the tomato mixture to a large bowl. Stir in the Parmesan.
3. Add the pasta to the pesto and toss to coat, adding enough reserved cooking liquid to moisten. Season the pasta, to taste, with salt and pepper and serve.

Thai Coconut Curry Shrimp

I found this recipe in Cooking Light (September 2008 issue). This is my first time using coconut milk so I wasn't sure how much to tweak the recipe. To play it safe, I just followed the exact recipe and it turned out great. However next time I plan on using a little less than the recommended amount of coconut milk. Also, I think the dish could use a spicy twist. To accomplish this, I ended up sprinkling crushed red pepper. Using fresh jalapeño or Thai chili may also do the trick.

1 teaspoon canola oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/4 teaspoon red curry paste
1 teaspoon sugar
12 oz large shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/2 cup coconut milk
2 teaspoons fish sauce
1/4 cup chopped green onions
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil

1. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and curry paste to pan, and sauté 1 minute, stirring occasionally. Stir in sugar; sauté 15 seconds. Add shrimp; sauté 3 minutes or until shrimp are done, stirring frequently. Stir in coconut milk and fish sauce; cook 30 seconds or until thoroughly heated. Remove from heat; stir in green onion and basil.

Yield: 2 servings

Fried Rice

You just can't go wrong with fried rice. Unlike eating fried rice from a Chinese restaurant, cooking it at home can be very healthy. I substitute the usual beef or pork for turkey sausage. Also, I learned from a friend that adding sun-dried tomatoes adds a bit of kick to the dish. Overall, I can say it's safe to add any vegetable you want to make it unique. I usually make a lot and save it in the fridge. Great for packing lunch. YUM!

2 teaspoon olive oil
6 garlic cloves, minced
1 carrot, cut into bite size pieces
1 broccoli head, cut into bite size pieces
salt & pepper
4 diced sun-dried tomatoes (optional)
1 cup turkey sausage (or any meat of your choice), cut into bite size pieces
3 cups of cooked rice (more or less if you prefer)
soy sauce
2 teaspoon sesame oil
3 eggs lightly beaten
2 chopped green onions

1. Heat oil in large sauce pan (or if you have one, a wok) on medium-high heat. Add garlic; sauté for 1 minute or until golden. Add carrots; sauté for 1-2 minutes. Add broccoli; sauté for 1 minutes (I realized adding more oil before cooking the broccoli makes it crispier). Add sun-dried tomatoes and turkey; sauté for 2-3 minutes or until meat is cooked. Season liberally with salt and pepper.
2. Add rice, soy sauce, and sesame oil. Mix until even distribution.
3. Make a well in the center of fried rice. Add the eggs to the center. Carefully mix the eggs with the fried rice as it cooks. Add green onions and mix for 1-2 minutes.
4. Dinner is served. :)

Yields: Plenty!!!

Chicken & Broccoli Teriyaki with a Twist

I wanted to finish the rest of the chicken that I bought for yesterday's meals, so I decided the easy and healthy, yet very mouth-watering chicken teriyaki. I made some minor adjustments to this simple Japanese dish (i.e. I added some vinegar to the sauce and broccoli to the whole dish). Naturally, since I'm Korean and love a bit of kick to food, I threw on some crushed hot red peppers. I think the little touches made it better than just the plain chicken teriyaki I was used to.

2 (6 ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast
1 1/2 cup broccoli, cut into bite size pieces
4 teaspoon canola or vegetable or olive oil
6 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoon brown sugar
6 tablespoon soy sauce
2 1/2 tablespoon sesame oil
4 tablespoon white vinegar
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
pinch of salt
crushed red pepper (optional)
sesame seed (optional)

1. Heat olive oil in a non stick skillet over medium-high heat. Add a pinch of salt and pepper to season chicken. Add to skillet; sauté for 2 1/2 minutes on one side, then flip over. Remove when chicken has lightly cooked through. Cut the chicken into slices.
*A trick I use to save time is to place the chicken turned over in a preheated oven at 350 for 10 minutes while I prepare the rest of the ingredients.
2. Place 1-inch of water in a small saucepan; add broccoli. Bring to boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 5-8 minutes or until crisp-tender.
3. Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a non stick skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic; sauté for 2 minutes until golden brown. Stir in sugar, soy sauce, sesame oil, vinegar. Cook and stir for 1-2 minutes or until sugar has dissolved.
4. Drain the broccoli. Transfer over the chicken and broccoli to the sauce. Toss in the medium-high heat for 2-3 minutes. Serve over rice (pictured above) or on side. Add a pinch of crushed red pepper and sesame seeds.

Yield: 2 servings

Chicken Schnitzel

This chicken recipe turned out absolutely delicious. Goes great with a garden salad dressed with a combination of country dijon mustard, olive oil, soy sauce, and lemon juice. The chicken can be served on the side (not pictured) or as part of the salad (pictured above). Since it was baked in the oven with minimal olive oil, it was very light and juicy. I wonder if it remained juicy because I made it without halving the chicken breast. Enjoy!

4 (6 ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/2 cup dry bread crumbs (1/2 loaf of dried bread if making from scratch)
1 1/2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
2 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley
2 teaspoons chopped fresh chives
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon olive oil

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Place each chicken breast half between 2 sheets of plastic wrap; pound to 1/2-inch thickness using a meat mallet. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper.
3. Place flour in a shallow bowl. Combine mustard and egg in a shallow dish. Combine breadcrumbs, cheese, parsley, chives, and garlic in a shallow dish. Dredge 1 chicken breast half in flour, turning to coat; shake off excess flour. Dip in egg mixture; dredge in breadcrumb mixture. Repeat.
4. Heat olive oil in a large non stick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken; sauté for 2 1/2 minutes or until chicken is browned. Remove from heat. Turn chicken over; move onto olive oil greased pan; place in oven. Bake at 350 for 10-20 minutes or until chicken is done.

Yield: 4 servings