Love for Spotify

So I've been on quite a recipe kick lately . . . there are other things in my life that get CUC'ed! :)  If you are a facebook friend of mine, you've seen me post a lot of links to random songs on SPOTIFY!  Josh told me about Spotify over a year ago.

Spotify is a Swedish-based commercial music streaming service providing content from a range of major and independent record labels, including Sony, EMI, Warner Music Group and Universal.  Total users reached 20 million by December 2012. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spotify). 

This little green sphere has really changed my life!  I think all music lovers will agree with me . . . one of the joys of hearing something that touches you is the ability to share it with someone else!  And Spotify allows you to do just that, instantaneously, at that very moment! 

When I think about you
I think about 17
I think about my old Jeep
I think about the stars in the sky
Funny how a melody sounds like a memory
Like a soundtrack to a July Saturday night

~Springsteen by Eric Church

Indeed, it is pretty awesome how a melody sounds like a memory!  I strongly recommend you give Spotify a listen; you'll fall in love as I did.

Here is a playlist of my favorite tunes both old and new, thank you for letting me share!

Sweet Disposition ~ The Temper Trap
It's Time ~ Imagine Dragons
Never Gonna Leave This Bed (Acoustic) ~ Maroon 5
Springsteen ~ Eric Church
Someday ~ The Strokes
Say (All I Need) ~ OneRepublic
I Want the World to Stop ~ Belle & Sebastian
Dakota-Decade in the Sun ~ Stereophonics
I'd Rather Dance with You ~ Kings of Convenience
Gotta Have You - The Weeppies
1,000 Ships ~ Rachel Platten
Southern Girl ~ Amos Lee
Spaceman ~ The Killers
Starlight ~ MUSE
Siempre Me Quedara ~ Bebe
This Is the Day ~ The The
Bruises ~ Chairlift
Beautiful Girl ~ INXS
Sympatique ~ Pink Martini (Hotel Costes)
Stero Love (Edward Maya Acoustic) ~ Kaitlyn Rosenblum
Good Life (Acoustic) ~ Tyler Ward ft. Heather Janssen

One of my favorite things about Spotify is discovering so many new versions of songs that you already love.  Acoustic versions are often refreshing and brings a whole new perspective to your favorites! 

Cheers to the silly little tunes that got you by the heartstrings! <3

Grilled Lemongrass Pork Chops

Every chef has a signature dish or something she is known for knockin’ out of the park . . . this, my friends, is mine J  I’ve been accused of lacing these bad boys with crack!  Harharhar!  This is a really easy recipe that involves a few of those Asian essential ingredients that I love to cook with:  nuoc mam, oyster flavor sauce, garlic powder, white pepper and onion powder!

BUY:

• 8-10 thin pork chops with bone-in
• Minced garlic – 1-2 tsp
• Oyster flavor sauce  - 1-2 tbsp
• White pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder (1/2 tsp each)
• Cayenne pepper – a few sprinkles
• Sesame Oil – 2-3 drops
• Fish sauce (nuoc mam) – 3 tbsp
• Red pepper flakes – 1 tbsp

PREP:

In a large ziploc bag, place all of the ingredients.  Add the pork chops to the marinade.  Leave in fridge for at least an hour before cooking.

I like to serve these chops with jasmine rice and a cucumber, tomato, onion salad.  You can make this and leave in fridge to cool until you’re ready to serve supper!

Cucumber Tomato Onion Salad:  Dice one red onion, a few roma tomatoes, and one large cucumber into ¼ inch size cubes, set aside.

Dressing for the salad:  In a small bowl, mix 1 tbsp of sugar, ¼ cup of balsamic vinegar, ½ tbsp. of crushed black pepper, and 2-3 splashes of olive oil.  Stir until sugar has dissolved.

**Don’t pour the dressing over the salad until ready to serve, it will make everything soggy.  When ready, toss the salad in the dressing and add fried onions and a couple of tears of a cilantro bunch to finish.

CUC:

I use a gas grill . . . don’t be disappointed, I hope my next grill can be both a gas and charcoal master!  Gas is good because it heats up quickly and can be controlled with more precision.

I normally start the grill on high, use a half of an onion on end of a barbecue fork to clean the grill and then reduce heat to 375-400 degrees.  Place chops on the grill and close the top.  **The thickness of your chops will determine the cooking time.  I usually use thin chops, so cooking will be rather quick, about 10 mins (5 mins on each side).

Remove chops from the grill when finished, remember to turn off the gas valve.

Plate with a serving of jasmine rice and cucumber tomato salad.

My mouth is watering already!!!  Hope you enjoy it!

Mexican Shrimp Cocktail

AKA:  Campechana de mariscos, a spicy tomato-based, citrusy cocktail packed with shrimp and avocado.   I learned this recipe from some friends whose son used to play soccer with Jonah when he was younger out in Sugarland.  Sylvia shared this delicious recipe and it has been a party pleaser for almost a decade now.  :) The only other place that serves this dish outside of mine and Sylvia’s cocina, is Goode Co. Seafood; it’s not bad there, but you’ll love making on your own!

The most important part is to find a gi-normous martini glass like this one at Marshalls or Tuesday Morning!  It makes it that much more fun to serve!!!

BUY:

• A bag of already cooked, tail off, peeled medium-sized shrimp (H.E.B. – about $11.98 a bag)
• 2 large tomatoes, firm and red, not soft; chopped into pico de gallo sized chunks
• 1 large red onion, chopped into pico sized pieces
• A bundle of cilantro (chopped coarsely)
• 2-3 fresh green jalapenos (sliced into pico sized pieces)
• 1-2 limes (keep half of the lime for freshening the avocado when serving)
• Tabasco (4-5 drops, or according to your desire for spice)
• Half a cup of ketchup (generic brand)
• 2-3 pinches of salt
• ½ tsp of black pepper
• 1-2 whole avocados, sliced and cubed when ready to serve, squeeze lime on top to keep avocado fresh
• 1 bag of tortilla chips for dipping

PREP:

• Soak the frozen shrimp in warm water to thaw. 
• Dice and cut tomatoes, onion, jalapenos and cilantro
• Mix all ingredients in large bowl

CUC:

There is essentially no CUCing involved in this recipe! 

• Drain the shrimp and remove all excess water (as much as you can) before adding the shrimp to the mixture. 
• Toss and taste for desired level of spice.  Add more lime or tabasco as needed

EAT:

• Pour mixture into serving piece (giant martini glass)!
• Cut up the avocado and add on top
• Serve with tortilla chips!

Egg Rollin'

Vietnamese Shrimp Egg Rolls

 I can’t tell you how often we crave these in my house, it is so easy to make if you have all of the ingredients around . . . most of the ingredients are dry so you can keep them handy in your pantry J 

There have been many occasions when I don’t have this or that so any variation of these will work just fine, be creative, be brave . . . they will taste great if you season them right! 

Remember, these are CUC recipes, these will not taste like traditional Vietnamese or Chinese egg rolls you may be expecting, but I promise you’ll never settle for one of those again after you have one of these! ;)

*Let me apologize now for my incorrect use of measurement . . . I’m a CUC.  In my kitchen, there are dashes, splashes, a little bit of this and a lot of that.  I’ve tried to guesstimate the equivalent portions as best as I can.   Cooking is so much more forgiving than baking!  It’s ok if you don’t have exact measurements, most of the time, the measurements are for marinades, and you really can’t do much damage that way! 

CUC ON!

This recipe will make about 24-30 egg rolls, takes less than an hour to prepare and cook.

BUY:

• 1 lb Shrimp – probably the best place to buy shrimp is at the Asian market, it is always so much less expensive- anywhere between $3.99 - $5.99 a lb, depending on the size.   This is what I use out of convenience and because they will be mashed up anyway. The size really doesn’t matter.   I usually go for the medium sized, already peeled ones (you have to devein yourself).  HEB has the med large ones already deveined and halved, so peeling is super easy – so this will be your best bet!  Use a large knife to chop up the raw shrimp into a paste.
• 1 yellow onion - medium sized, diced into tiny pieces
• Garlic (1 heaping tbsp) – use the already minced in a jar version (I always keep a large jar of this in my fridge, makes things that much simpler)
• ½ cup chopped Mushrooms – I’ve used all kinds, from portabellas to Chinese dried fungus (the black ones); my favorite is the black fungus.  Whichever you use, dice into small pieces.
• 2 bundles of Glass Noodles (bean thread) – one of my pantry essentials, so easy to use! Soak the noodles in hot water til soft (5 mins), then chop into small sections to be added to the mixture.  
• Sesame or olive oil (1 tsp)
• Nuoc Mam (fish sauce) – 2 tsp

Any of these brands will work

• Maggi (special soy sauce) – 2 tsp 

• Ground Black pepper, onion powder, and garlic powder
• 1 pack Rice Paper – I use the small ones, (6 inch diameter)

• warm water to dip rice paper in

 CUC:

Get yourself a helper like mine :)  He is awesome at rollin!!!  back to work, no smiling!

• Mix all of the ingredients into a large bowl. 
• One of my tricks is to set 2-3 plates out for rolling the egg rolls.  By the time I am finished rolling the first one, the next paper will be ready for rolling.  You should start with 2, not 3, leave that to the pros ;)
• Dip and rotate the rice paper quickly in the hot water bowl.  DO NOT let it sit (will become gummy and un-usable)

• *When deep frying rice paper, you have to be very careful, there is water in the rolls that you just made, drop slowly and watch out for popping.
• Shrimp cooks very quickly, kepp turning the rolls in the oil and when you notice the mixture turning orangey, it is done cooking.  Rice Paper egg rolls will not turn the golden brown that you are used to seeing on egg rolls, they tend to be very light in color when they are cooked.

So my mom finally decided to share one of her egg roll cookin secrets with me after 20 yrs!!!  She adds a little bit of brown sugar to the warm water to give the egg rolls some color and the brown sugar is not overpowering and only adds a tiny bit of sweetness to the already delicious flavor!

NOM:

I usually have these yummy egg rolls with rice vermicelli, lettuce, mints, cilantro and cucumber and really tasty Nuoc Mam sauce (this is not the same as the store bought fish sauce in the bottle, this is a special Lam family recipe).  I will post soon!!!  Enjoy!

Other variations:

If you are making a ton of these, add 1/2 lb of ground pork to the recipe!  I have also used lump crab meat with my shrimp mixture.   One time I added cilantro, green onions and jalapenos to the mixture and I must say, it was pretty fantabulous!  You really can't go wrong as long as your have shrimp, glass noodles and onions!

If you are not a fan of the rice paper egg rolls, you can always use the traditional egg roll wrapper, it is rice flour based and will fry up much easier, but you will have to cook them a bit longer.   You will need to use an actual egg to seal the egg roll wrapper versus jsut warm water.  

They will be equally delicious!!

NooDelicious!

The secret to a good pho broth is a solid base of beef bones and plethora of spices and herbs. 

Growing up in Long Beach, MS, we didn’t have Pho Noodle shops around every corner like it is here in Houston.   It was always a treat when Mom would start a pot late Saturday night after she came home from work to be ready for breakfast or brunch on Sunday morning.  The big, beautiful aroma would fill the entire house by morning.   

There are a few really good noodle houses here but one rule of thumb is to never order the Pho at a place without the word PHO in its name!  I am pretty good at picking out the canned or boxed soup mixes from the overnight homemade brew—it is imperative that you let the broth cook for a loooooong time; it’s the only way to suck the marrow and sweetness out of the bones. 

Watch this if you are not easily offended by vulgar language, which is so not the case for Cuc, but this video is pretty darn hilarious! 

WOK DA PHUC!!!

BUY:

• Garlic, lots of it!  I’ve recently started to roast my garlic (whole head or bulb) before using it.  2 whole bulbs will do, roast one and mince the other. 

• 2 big yellow onions (one for the broth and one to slice for garnish later)
• 2 stalks of lemongrass (whole)
• Ginger root (a pretty big piece you can cut up)

• Beef bones, neck bones, oxtail, and Nam Gau (like a brisket, with a layer of fat in the meat) . . these are just my favorites to have in the soup; you can have all sorts of craziness like tripe, tendon . . . fatty fat, chicken  bones, turkey legs ;)  not really!

• Cinnamon sticks (4-5)
• Spices:  star anise, cloves, coriander seeds, dried Thai peppers (you can buy an already prepared bag of spices at the Asian market)
• Cheesecloth or a contraption like this to hold all of your little spices, I call it the spice-keeper ball thingy
• Olive oil, Fish sauce, onion powder, garlic powder, white pepper, sugar

• Eye of round (2lbs, sliced “tai” thin), bo vien (beef meatballs)—you won’t need these until ready to serve
• Fresh Pho Rice noodles (vacuumed sealed bags)
• Bean sprouts, basil, cilantro, jalapenos, green onions, lime – all for garnish
• Fried onion chips
• A really, realllly big gi-normous stockpot!

PREP:

• Clear your schedule for at least 6 HRS!!! play scrabble, watch a movie, knit a sweater . . .
• Roast the bulb of garlic (leave the peel on), set aside
• Wash the bones and all the meats under warm water (not the eye of round or meatballs)
• Cut the lemongrass stalks into 3-4 inch pieces
• Peel the ginger and cut into 2 inch pieces, big enough to fish out later on
• Place all of the SPICES in the cheesecloth and tie or in the spice-keeper ball, use a lot of the star anise!

CUC:

• In the stockpot, add a tbsp of olive oil and the minced garlic, sauté until browned, not burnt!  Add enough water to fill the pot 1/3 full
• Add the beef bones, oxtail and brisket meat to the stock; a few dashes of garlic powder, onion powder and white pepper and a few splashes of fish sauce on the meat for a light braise and then add enough water to cover the meat
• Let it come to a boil and add the ginger, cinnamon sticks, lemongrass, whole onion (with peel), whole roasted garlic (with peel), fill the pot with water, bring to a boil and then reduce heat to med-low heat.
• The key to a good pho broth is to keep it clear, you need to keep skimming the foam off the top of the broth and discarding it (the foam comes from the bones cooking down)

***So here's my challenge when cooking pho  . . . because it has to cook on low for so long, the stock reduces.  As it is reducing, you have to continue to refill the stock.

Shhhhhhhhh!!!! 

Here is my secret  . . . . I can’t believe I am givin’ it up!  And don’t judge me, it works!!!

If you make a separate pot of broth using a spoonful of this stuff and water, you can continue to replenish the reduced beef stock throughout the cooking process and it won’t dull the flavors of your pho broth.  (It’s like using a beef bouillon or chicken stock instead of water)

After a good 2-2 1/2 hrs, you can lower the heat to a simmer, lowest possible setting and keep watch.

I like to leave the heat on low as long as possible (sometimes 2-3 additional hours); when I used to cook Pho for the bar, I would have to transfer the stock to 3 separate crockpots.   I would also remove all of the bones at this point and and shred the meat from the oxtail and the beef bones.  I would also slice up the Nam Gau meat.  You can let cool and place in the fridge or leave on warm in the crockpot overnight.

EAT:

• Warm the pho broth on the stove or turn crockpot on to high
• Chop up half of the cilantro bunch and green onions and set aside, slice the onion and jalapenos as well.
• Slice the bo vien meatballs
• Create a garnish plate with bean sprouts, remaining cilantro, basil, sliced fresh jalapenos and limes
• Empty the fresh pho noodles into a big bowl of hot water to soak and soften (the hot water will semi cook the noodle).  Place a small serving of noodles in a pho bowl and place in the microwave for 30 secs when you are ready to serve.
• Add a few pieces of bo vien and a few slices of the eye of round (some people like a lot of meat on their bowls!)
• Scoop broth over the noodles and meat; make sure you get some of the oxtail and brisket too!  The heat from the broth will finish cooking the rice noodles in the bowl.  Garnish with the cilantro/green onions mixture and sprinkle with fried onions.

Your guests can add the remaining garnish to their liking.  Serve with Hoisin sauce, sriracha and black pepper.

HappYness!

So I’m a SharePoint SME (Subject Matter Expert) by day for Chevron and a scrabble lovin’, spotify listenin’, Parks n Rec  watchin’, hardcore foodie and YELPER! by night :)  

I set a goal for myself late last year that by the end of 2013, I wanted to become a member of a group that I really admire and follow.  . . . just a couple of weeks ago, I was notified of my nomination and approval to join the YELP! Elite Squad!  Woohoo!  So you’ll probably see a few links on my blog about reviews and whatnot! 

Here's a link to my YELP! Profile:  http://cucmonsta.yelp.com/.  I would really like your feedback; YELPing gives me the opportunity to combine two of my loves, writing and fooding! 
_____________________________________________________________________

A few years ago, I started jotting down recipes that I thought maybe I’d like Jonah to have one day . . . I’m big on TITLES, so the first version of this collection was called:  The CUCbook.  Second iteration:  Onion powder, Garlic Powder and White Pepper (I promise this will make more sense later). 

For what it’s worth, this blog only increases the size of my canvas to share the little things that conjure up my HappYness.   I hope others enjoy reading it as much as I will enjoy writing it!   As soon as I figure out how to blog more creatively and do crazy things like upload videos and stuff, this may become a full-time job (JK, a sugar daddy is not in my immediate future;  I’ll leave the leisure living to my world traveling sister—it’s good to be VANJ )!  

If there are recipes that you would like, this is the place to ask for them J  I plan on making Pho again soon before the Texas heat hits us, so you’ll see a good recipe for some yummy homemade Pho.  There is a link to COMMENTS at the bottom of each entry; it would warm my heart to hear from you guys!

Chicken Pot Pie

I’ve never really had homemade chicken pot pie . . . The closest would probably be one of those single frozen pot pies you can get at the grocery freezer; for the life of me, I can’t remember how that went over, maybe it’s been blocked out for obvious reasons ;)

Josh asked me a while back to make this for him, I didn’t admit it at the time but I really didn’t know how . . . chicken soup?  Got it!  Chicken n dumplins – Been there!  Chicken Pot Pie – Just CUC it! J

It was really pretty easy, aside from the intimidation factor, it really is like chicken soup without the soup.  I took a few shortcuts that you will LOVE!!!

So here are the ingredients, all obtained at your local HEB (I love me some HEB!):

• 1 whole rotisserie cooked chicken (Honey BBQ or Mesquite BBQ, the sweetness is good)
• 1 Stalk of celery (funny enough, what many people call a “bunch of celery” is really a stalk and what people call a “stalk of celery” is really a branch J) – sliced and then chopped)
• 3 large carrots (or a bag of baby carrots – enough for a half cup  chopped)
• 1 large white or yellow onion (chopped)
• 2-3 cloves of garlic or 2 tsp of already minced garlic
• 4-6 large mushrooms (sliced into  1-inch size pieces)
• 3-5 potatoes (cooked through ahead of time, peeled and cubed)
• Fresh parsley – 1/3 cup chopped
• 1 container of Cresent prepared Dough  (contains 8 pieces)
•  Flour
• Ramekins (recipe will make between 4-6 individual pot pies)
• 1stick of butter
• Salt, pepper, oregano, thyme
• 1 can of cream of chicken
•  Better than Bouillon – 2 tbsp

________________________________________________________________________

1.  In a large pan, sauté the garlic, carrots, celery, onions with 1/3 of the stick of butter.
2. Once onions are translucent, add the Better than Boullion and the cream of chicken
3. The mixture will thicken up a bit, add the chicken, mushrooms, and parsley
4. Add  a couple of tsp of pepper, 1 tsp of salt, a good 8-10 shakes of oregano and thyme
5. Cook a few more minutes, then take off heat and let cool.  *If you try to place the crescent dough on top of the mixture when it is too hot, it will start to melt the dough – it does not have to be cool, just not piping hot.
6. Preheat the over to 425 degrees
7. Clear an area on your counter for rollin some dough!  I used a pint glass in lieu of a rolling pin J  sprinkle a little bit of flour on the space and rub some on the glass or pin, remove the dough from the container, they will be pre-cut into triangular shapes.  Depending on how many pot pies you plan on making, divide the dough to accommodate your needs.  I made 4 from this recipe, but my ramekins were pretty big.
8. Roll the dough in a circular shape to drape on top of the ramekin. 
9. Place a layer of potatoes in each ramekin
10. Fill each ramekin with chicken and veggie mixture to the rim
11. Cover each ramekin with the crescent dough, make a couple of slits in the top for the dough to breathe
12. Place in the oven for 25 mins or until dough is golden brown!

EAT!!!! Nom Nom Nom!!!!