VIDEO: Angel Hair Pasta with Asparagus & Truffled Egg

My newest video.. enjoy!

1. Marinate your asparagus (5 stems per person) in olive oil and salt and pepper.

2. In a saute pan, line bottom with OO -- this is your sauce. Add crushed garlic and red pepper flakes. Warm through on low, but don't cook.

3. When you drop the angel hair in the boiling, salted water, drop the asparagus in a grill pan.

4. The pasta takes only a minute or two to soften, so once al dente, transfer pasta to saute pan with the warmed olive oil. Reserve some of the cooking liquid and add to pasta as needed. Season with S&P.

5. Start your poached eggs.

6. Your asparagus will probably be done at this point.

7. Turn up the heat for the pasta and toss to coat and finish cooking.

8. Plate pasta. Add asparagus. Top with egg. Top egg with S&P (I used truffle salt) and truffle oil.

9. Finish with fresh basil and parmesan reggiano.

Roasted Cauliflower

Oh yes. We just had a huge Thanksgiving feast last night, but I'm hungry again! Being a fan of cauliflower, I looked some recipes online and came across roasted cauliflower. It looked simple and tasty, so I decided to go for it.

Before the oven

All done!

Recipe was pretty easy and took a mere 10 minutes to prepare.

• 1 head of cauliflower
• 3 cloves of garlic, chopped up
• olive oil
• garlic salt
• pepper

Preheat over to 400 degrees. Cut up the cauliflower into florets and put into a baking dish. Toss in the garlic and drizzle olive oil on top. Add salt and pepper to taste. Put dish into over and bake for 27-30 minutes until the tops are brown and tender. Remove and serve immediately. You can add a sprinkle of parmesan cheese, but this was tasty without it.

Enjoy!

Slow Cooker- Honey Garlic Chicken

I'm a huge fan of the slow cooker because I don't like to spend hours slaving away in the kitchen. The last two weekends I've put the crock pot to good use. Last weekend was beef stew which turned out pretty good. This weekend I tested out chicken. Yes, chicken can be cooked in crock pot and it comes out tender! I used boneless, skinless thighs and breasts for this recipe as there are finicky eaters in my household.

Honey Garlic Chicken

• 2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs and/or breasts. Up to you on what your family prefers
• 5 cloves garlic, chopped up
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 1/3 honey

Wash and trim off fat from chicken. Put into slow cooker. I used a 4 qt Rival Crock Pot which I got from Ralph's for around $20. Combine all the ingredients into a mixing bowl. Pour over chicken and make sure it's coated evenly. Cook on low for 5 hours. Serve over rice.. enjoy!

This is a great meal to make first thing in the morning so you can enjoy it for lunch. The smell of the chicken is seriously amazing. 

Potato Leek Soup

It's been chilly in LA which means it's the perfect time for soup! I made this wonderful potato and leek soup last night and it was delicious! Simple comfort food that is budget friendly too.

 INGREDIENTS

• 4 medium Russet (or other starchy) potatoes
• 2 Tbsp unsalted butter
• 2 stalks leeks
• 1 clove garlic, peeled and crushed
• ½ cup dry white wine
• 1 qt chicken broth or stock
• chopped up pancetta to garnish

Cut leeks into 1/2 to 1 inch thick, roughly the same size

Peel potatoes and cut into the same size as leeks

Add butter to a big soup pot and melt over medium heat

Add leeks and garlic and cook for 2-3 minutes

Add wine and reduce by half

Add stock and potatoes, bring to a boil. Simmer for 15 more min till potatoes are easy to cut with a fork, but not mushy

Put into a blender and puree working in batches if needed

Put back into pot and simmer for a bit longer

Serve in soup bowls and top off with some pancetta or bacon if desired


Enjoy!

Nem Nuong Khanh Hoa- Authentic Vietnamese Food

Located in a strip mall in Alhambra, this Vietnamese restaurant is a hidden gem. With low prices and tasty food, the owners know how to please an audience.

We ordered Pho Tai, Bun Bo Hue and Nem Nuong along with three fresh coconuts. Yes, coconuts cut out at the top so you can just sip the juice! Nothing in the can beats that.

The Pho Tai was okay, kinda flavorless, but my kid wanted it badly. I think Pho 999 is still the best in terms of pho.

Bun Bo Hue was very good, albeit not that spicy. I liked that she asked us if we wanted blood and other funky items in there. We said no thanks. I'm prefer my beef noodle soup sans the red stuff. It came with a dish of veggies to add into the broth. One thing I like about Vietnamese food is the abundance of fresh veggies. Makes me feel healthier as I stuff my face.

The Nem Nuong was good and it was my first time trying it. Basically, you get a plate of veggies, a plate of meat and shrimp and rice paper to wrap your own spring rolls. I liked the variety veggies especially the mint and perilla. The dipping sauce was kinda blah though, just a weird flavor and not spicy at all.

Total bill was $42 for our party of four. Not a bad deal for all this food! I would come back and try the other dishes. Make sure you get the Nem Nuong, it's their specialty.    

4****

Nem Nuong Khanh Hoa
1700 W Valley Blvd
Alhambra, CA 91803
(626) 943-7645

New Video- How to Poach An Egg

I've found the secret to poaching eggs.. vinegar and..

Khan Shabu Shabu - Great Deal for $9.99

We came here for the $9.99 lunch special and it was so worth the trek!

The Japanese style shabu is the way to go. It comes with your choice of normal or spicy broth. I was feeling adventurous so decided to try the spicy broth and boy was it HOT. It was so hot that I had to ask the waiter to change out the broth to normal. Wimp. The normal broth way tastier anyway.

Special comes with prime beef, a huge plate of veggies consisting of cabbage, tofu, scallions, carrots, 1 piece of bok choy and udon noodles. There was so much napa cabbage I felt like a bunny. It took a while to make a dent in that plate.

One of the advantages of being at a Korean restaurant is the banchan you get with your meal. We got potato salad, kimchee and cucumbers. The potato salad was the best so we got more. Yay for unlimited refills!

Also, you get free iced tea with your meal.

All this for a mere $9.99? Believe it.

Service was on par and we used the call button when we had to.

Highly recommended. Can't wait to come back!

4****


Khan Shabu Shabu
210 N Western Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90004
(323) 465-6688