Happy Thanksgiving

I love quiet mornings when I can just wake up at my leisure and enjoy the peace of the morning.  Because I usually play music at church on Saturday and Sunday mornings, I almost never sleep in. I do love playing music at church, and I wouldn't trade it for anything.  However, once in awhile, it's nice to just relax and feel like there's absolutely nothing that needs to be done.

This morning was nice, quiet, and relaxing.  I put the finishing touches on my Hi Rise Vanilla Bundt Cake to bring over to Bryan's aunt's house later on.  If you're curious, I put the equivalent of two loaves worth of batter into one bundt pan and it worked out nicely.  I did have to bake it for about 1 hour and 10 minutes total.

I spent some time reflecting on the bountiful things for which I was thankful. God has truly been gracious and good.  I don't deserve one bit of it.

I hope you all have some time to reflect on this past year.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

I can't wait to eat this cake!!!

Happy Thanksgiving

I love quiet mornings when I can just wake up at my leisure and enjoy the peace of the morning.  Because I usually play music at church on Saturday and Sunday mornings, I almost never sleep in. I do love playing music at church, and I wouldn't trade it for anything.  However, once in awhile, it's nice to just relax and feel like there's absolutely nothing that needs to be done.

This morning was nice, quiet, and relaxing.  I put the finishing touches on my Hi Rise Vanilla Bundt Cake to bring over to Bryan's aunt's house later on.  If you're curious, I put the equivalent of two loaves worth of batter into one bundt pan and it worked out nicely.  I did have to bake it for about 1 hour and 10 minutes total.

I spent some time reflecting on the bountiful things for which I was thankful. God has truly been gracious and good.  I don't deserve one bit of it.

I hope you all have some time to reflect on this past year.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

I can't wait to eat this cake!!!

Chinese Sticky Rice (Nuo Mi Fan)

I love love love Chinese sticky rice.  I used to love it whenever my mom made this dish while I was growing up.  There's something about the chewy texture of sticky rice that just makes me want more.  Plus, it just reminds me of home.  It's homemade Chinese comfort food at it's best.

And what better time to enjoy good Chinese comfort food than during Thanksgiving when you're with your family?  When a friend recently asked me for the recipe for sticky rice because she wanted to make it for Thanksgiving, I happily obliged  - by writing a post, of course!

The basic concept for this recipe is pretty simple.  Basically, you need dried black shitake mushrooms, sticky rice, and an aromatic flavoring agent such as dried shrimp, dried fried shallots, ginger, and the like. Meat is optional, but Bryan always insists on meat, so I usually add pork, but you can omit it or substitute it with another meat or with dried tofu.  I've included two versions of the recipe below.  The first one is a bit more traditional (uses dried shrimp), the second one can easily be made vegan if you omit the pork (uses ginger as a flavoring agent instead).

Chinese Sticky Rice (traditional)
Serves 4
Prep time: excluding rice soaking time, 45 minutes 
Recipe inspired by Chinese Cooking: Favorite Home Dishes (Wei quan cong shu)
 
Important: Soak 2 rice cups of sticky (glutinous) rice in water for at least 30 minutes but preferably several hours (I actually just soaked mine overnight).  Note: a Chinese rice cup is about 25% less than a traditional US "cup" measure.

The Rice
2 cups rice
1 1/2 cup water
1 T soy sauce
1 T vegetable oil (you can use sesame oil if you like its strong flavor)

In a rice cooker, combine the pre-soaked rice (drained), 1 1/2 cup water (or just fill it up to the level written on your rice cooker for 2 cups), 1 T soy sauce, and 1 T vegetable oil.  Cook rice according to the rice cooker's instructions.  The above picture shows you what the finished product will look like.

The "Goodies"
1/2 lb (225g) pork (I used pork loin) thinly sliced [can use more or less based on preference]
3 T fried shallots
2T dried shrimp
5 dried shitake mushrooms, sliced

Flavoring Agents
1/2 T cooking rice wine
2 T soy sauce
1/2 t salt
1 t sugar
1 T sesame oil

Soak the shitake mushrooms in hot water for about 10-15 minutes, until soft.  Slice into thin strips.  Heat 2 T oil in a wok.  Add mushrooms, dried shrimp, and deep-fried shallots.  Stir fry until fragrant (1-2 minutes).    Add the pork and cook until the pork becomes opaque, about 2-3 minutes.

Add the "flavoring agents" (rice wine, soy sauce, sugar, salt, and sesame oil) and stir to mix well.  Set this aside until the rice is done in the rice cooker.  Once the rice is done, combine everything together and garnish with cilantro (optional, but Bryan love cilantro so it becomes a garnish for everything . . actually, he even eats it like a vegetable sometimes.  Yeah, seriously.  Like full stalks).

Enjoy!

Note: Some people are really turned off by dried shrimp.  If you are one of those people, here is a modified recipe that works pretty well.  This modified recipe can also be used for a vegetarian or vegan version of this dish - just omit or replace the pork with something like 5-spice dried tofu.

Chinese Sticky Rice (Ginger-based)

adapted from Homestyle Cooking of Taiwan by the members of NATWA

2 cups rice
5 dried mushrooms
10 slices of ginger
1/4 to 1/2 lb of pork (optional)
1 1/4 cup hot water
2 T soy sauce

Crush the ginger slices in a plastic bag with a rolling pin to release the ginger "juices".  Heat 2 T sesame oil in a wok and brown the crushed ginger in the oil.  Once browned, remove the ginger slices.  Now saute the pork and mushrooms in the ginger flavored oil. Add soy sauce.

At this point, you can either add the cooked rice made from the above rice cooker method or add the soaked (but not yet cooked) rice to the wok.

Rice cooker method
Combine the cooked rice with the "sauce" (pork, mushrooms, etc) and serve.

Wok Method
Add the soaked rice to the wok, stir to combine ingredients, and add 1/2 cup hot water.  Cover wok and cook at high heat for 2 minutes.  Stir again and add the remaining 3/4 cup of hot water.  Continue stirring until rice is cooked.  Cover wok and cook at low heat for an additional 10 minutes.  Serve.

Enjoy! This one's for you, Jess!

Chinese Sticky Rice (Nuo Mi Fan)

I love love love Chinese sticky rice.  I used to love it whenever my mom made this dish while I was growing up.  There's something about the chewy texture of sticky rice that just makes me want more.  Plus, it just reminds me of home.  It's homemade Chinese comfort food at it's best.

And what better time to enjoy good Chinese comfort food than during Thanksgiving when you're with your family?  When a friend recently asked me for the recipe for sticky rice because she wanted to make it for Thanksgiving, I happily obliged  - by writing a post, of course!

The basic concept for this recipe is pretty simple.  Basically, you need dried black shitake mushrooms, sticky rice, and an aromatic flavoring agent such as dried shrimp, dried fried shallots, ginger, and the like. Meat is optional, but Bryan always insists on meat, so I usually add pork, but you can omit it or substitute it with another meat or with dried tofu.  I've included two versions of the recipe below.  The first one is a bit more traditional (uses dried shrimp), the second one can easily be made vegan if you omit the pork (uses ginger as a flavoring agent instead).

Chinese Sticky Rice (traditional)
Serves 4
Prep time: excluding rice soaking time, 45 minutes 
Recipe inspired by Chinese Cooking: Favorite Home Dishes (Wei quan cong shu)
 
Important: Soak 2 rice cups of sticky (glutinous) rice in water for at least 30 minutes but preferably several hours (I actually just soaked mine overnight).  Note: a Chinese rice cup is about 25% less than a traditional US "cup" measure.

The Rice
1 1/2 cup water
1 T soy sauce
1 T vegetable oil (you can use sesame oil if you like its strong flavor)

In a rice cooker, combine the pre-soaked rice (drained), 1 1/2 cup water (or just fill it up to the level written on your rice cooker for 2 cups), 1 T soy sauce, and 1 T vegetable oil.  Cook rice according to the rice cooker's instructions.  The above picture shows you what the finished product will look like.

The "Goodies"
1/2 lb (225g) pork (I used pork loin) thinly sliced [can use more or less based on preference]
3 T fried shallots
2T dried shrimp

Flavoring Agents
1/2 T cooking rice wine
2 T soy sauce
1/2 t salt
1 t sugar
1 T sesame oil

Soak the black mushrooms in hot water for about 10-15 minutes, until soft.  Slice into thin strips.  Heat 2 T oil in a wok.  Add mushrooms, dried shrimp, and deep-fried shallots.  Stir fry until fragrant (1-2 minutes).    Add the pork and cook until the pork becomes opaque, about 2-3 minutes.

Add the "flavoring agents" (rice wine, soy sauce, sugar, salt, and sesame oil) and stir to mix well.  Set this aside until the rice is done in the rice cooker.  Once the rice is done, combine everything together and garnish with cilantro (optional, but Bryan love cilantro so it becomes a garnish for everything . . actually, he even eats it like a vegetable sometimes.  Yeah, seriously.  Like full stalks).

Enjoy!

Note: Some people are really turned off by dried shrimp.  If you are one of those people, here is a modified recipe that works pretty well.  This modified recipe can also be used for a vegetarian or vegan version of this dish - just omit or replace the pork with something like 5-spice dried tofu.

Chinese Sticky Rice (Ginger-based)

adapted from Homestyle Cooking of Taiwan by the members of NATWA

2 cups rice
5 dried mushrooms
10 slices of ginger
1/4 to 1/2 lb of pork (optional)
1 1/4 cup hot water
2 T soy sauce

Crush the ginger slices in a plastic bag with a rolling pin to release the ginger "juices".  Heat 2 T sesame oil in a wok and brown the crushed ginger in the oil.  Once browned, remove the ginger slices.  Now saute the pork and mushrooms in the ginger flavored oil. Add soy sauce.

At this point, you can either add the cooked rice made from the above rice cooker method or add the soaked (but not yet cooked) rice to the wok.

Rice cooker method
Combine the cooked rice with the "sauce" (pork, mushrooms, etc) and serve.

Wok Method
Add the soaked rice to the wok, stir to combine ingredients, and add 1/2 cup hot water.  Cover wok and cook at high heat for 2 minutes.  Stir again and add the remaining 3/4 cup of hot water.  Continue stirring until rice is cooked.  Cover wok and cook at low heat for an additional 10 minutes.  Serve.

Enjoy! This one's for you, Jess!

Basta Pasta Enoteca

We have been long time fans of Basta Pasta in Cambridge.  In fact, when they first opened in our neighborhood (circa 2007), we used to eat there every week.  The place provided tremendous value, both in terms of quality and quantity.

After going weekly, we got to know the owners, brothers Reno and Altin Hoxallari.  They are good, honest hard workers, and have really become successful through their dedication and hard work.

A tiny bit of background . . . Reno spent about 10 years working in some of Boston's well known high end restaurants before finally deciding to branch out on his own.  Though the original Cambridge restaurant looks like a casual pizza joint, just take one bite of one of Reno's specials and you'll know that this is not a random pizza joint.

Imagine our excitement when we found out that the Hoxallaris were opening their second Basta Pasta! This new one, in Quincy, has a full bar, full service, and also offers a wider menu selection that includes several seafood dishes, dessert, and coffee.

They finally opened in October, and we FINALLY had a chance to visit last week.

We had a fabulous time.

Antipasto with Grilled Fennel, Roasted Red Peppers, and Italian Cured Meat.  The vegetables tasted great and the cured meat was fine.  I'm not a big cured meat fan, so I only thought it was OK.  Bryan said "the salami is pretty good!"  I actually do not know if this is on the menu, but Reno treated us to this starter to welcome us to his new restaurant.

We tried four appetizers.  Upper left: Sauteed calamari with garlic, capers, olives, and tomato sauce ($6.95) Upper Right: Sauteed  Shrimp and Clams [this was a special because they had run out of PEI mussels, which are usually on the menu] Lower Left: grilled shrimp and arugula salad [this was the special of the day], and the Mini Arancinis ($5.50) - deep fried rice balls stuffed with Fontina cheese.

We have had the Sauteed calamari and Mini Arancinis many many times in Cambridge, and they both tasted the same here.  The calamari has great flavor, and tastes especially good with the grilled flat bread that comes with the dish.  The Mini Arancinis are really good too.  Eat it quickly though!  I waited too long to eat mine and it had turned cold and soggy.  It's delicious when it's fresh! We thought the shrimp was just slightly overcooked in the Shrimp and Arugula salad, although it was perfectly cooked in the Sauteed  Shrimp and Clams, which we all agreed was the best appetizer. The flavors in this dish were beautifully fragrant, with that aromatic broth you can only get from seafood.  Long after the shellfish was eaten, we continued to dip bread into the broth because it was THAT good!


They make their own homemade fusilli, which has an incredibly delicious chewy texture.  It's totally worth the extra $1.95 to get fusilli as your pasta option.

I ordered the special of the day: Butternut Squash ravioli in a Brown butter Sage sauce ($18).  These were clearly homemade, and the texture was incredible.  I couldn't stop chewing it!  The mushrooms were also very flavorful, having absorbed much flavors from the sauce.  The arugula added a nice peppery balance to the dish.  I really loved it. Yum.  Reno is an excellent cook and I have always loved his specials at the Cambridge location.

One person ordered the Frutti di Mare with Linguini ($18.95), one of the several dishes that is unique to this location.  The seafood was fresh, and the flavors were delicious.  Furthermore, the portions are large and generous - we both took a significant amount of pasta home with us.

Another person ordered the Orrechiette with Broccoli Rabe and Sausage [this was another special of the day].  I've had this at the other Basta Pasta before, and it's pretty good.  The pasta was cooked to a good al dente texture and the ingredients were fresh.

Bryan ordered the Frutti di Mare with Fusilli (same as above but with fusilli) - $18.95 (plus $1.95 for the fusilli).. This dish was an excellent value.  The portion size was generous and there was a lot of seafood.

As we were enjoying our meal, Reno stopped by and excitedly told us about the new brick oven they had at this place. Check it out! We tried a simple Marguerita Pizza ($11.95).  It was fantastic.  The brick oven really makes a difference, and this pizza is actually BETTER than the ones made in the commercial ovens at the Cambridge location.  The pizzas range between $12 and $13 and are personal sized.

This location also has dessert, so we had to try all of them.  We tried the Homemade Cannoli ($4) and the Homemade Tiramisu ($5).  Both are solid, though not as good at the ones you can find in the North End.  The cannoli has a pretty good shell - solid with a hefty crunch.  The filling was pretty good and not too sweet.  Each order comes with 2 cannolis, so I shared an order with Bryan.

We also tried the Homemade Tiramisu, which definitely had a strong rum flavor (maybe just a tad too strong).  I thought it was OK - there are lots of tiramisus that I like better than this one.  It could be a matter of personal preference, I'm no sure. This tiramisu is still not bad, just nothing special.

We enjoyed a few espressos with the desserts.

Over all, we think this place is a great addition to the Quincy dining scene, and personally I'm more than just a little jealous of people who live in Quincy.  I would love to have a restaurant like this near me. We have always wished that the Basta Pasta in Cambridge sold alcohol and seafood.  Furthermore, Reno's an amazing cook, and he's cooking full time in Quincy now.

We're going back next week!

Basta Pasta Enoteca
150 Hancock St
Quincy, MA 02171-1706
(617) 479-7979

Basta Pasta Enoteca

We have been long time fans of Basta Pasta in Cambridge.  In fact, when they first opened in our neighborhood (circa 2007), we used to eat there every week.  The place provided tremendous value, both in terms of quality and quantity.

After going weekly, we got to know the owners, brothers Reno and Altin Hoxallari.  They are good, honest hard workers, and have really become successful through their dedication and hard work.

A tiny bit of background . . . Reno spent about 10 years working in some of Boston's well known high end restaurants before finally deciding to branch out on his own.  Though the original Cambridge restaurant looks like a casual pizza joint, just take one bite of one of Reno's specials and you'll know that this is not a random pizza joint.

Imagine our excitement when we found out that the Hoxallaris were opening their second Basta Pasta! This new one, in Quincy, has a full bar, full service, and also offers a wider menu selection that includes several seafood dishes, dessert, and coffee.

They finally opened in October, and we FINALLY had a chance to visit last week.

We had a fabulous time.

Antipasto with Grilled Fennel, Roasted Red Peppers, and Italian Cured Meat.  The vegetables tasted great and the cured meat was fine.  I'm not a big cured meat fan, so I only thought it was OK.  Bryan said "the salami is pretty good!"  I actually do not know if this is on the menu, but Reno treated us to this starter to welcome us to his new restaurant.

We tried four appetizers.  Upper left: Sauteed calamari with garlic, capers, olives, and tomato sauce ($6.95) Upper Right: Sauteed  Shrimp and Clams [this was a special because they had run out of PEI mussels, which are usually on the menu] Lower Left: grilled shrimp and arugula salad [this was the special of the day], and the Mini Arancinis ($5.50) - deep fried rice balls stuffed with Fontina cheese.

We have had the Sauteed calamari and Mini Arancinis many many times in Cambridge, and they both tasted the same here.  The calamari has great flavor, and tastes especially good with the grilled flat bread that comes with the dish.  The Mini Arancinis are really good too.  Eat it quickly though!  I waited too long to eat mine and it had turned cold and soggy.  It's delicious when it's fresh! We thought the shrimp was just slightly overcooked in the Shrimp and Arugula salad, although it was perfectly cooked in the Sauteed  Shrimp and Clams, which we all agreed was the best appetizer. The flavors in this dish were beautifully fragrant, with that aromatic broth you can only get from seafood.  Long after the shellfish was eaten, we continued to dip bread into the broth because it was THAT good!


They make their own homemade fusilli, which has an incredibly delicious chewy texture.  It's totally worth the extra $1.95 to get fusilli as your pasta option.

I ordered the special of the day: Butternut Squash ravioli in a Brown butter Sage sauce ($18).  These were clearly homemade, and the texture was incredible.  I couldn't stop chewing it!  The mushrooms were also very flavorful, having absorbed much flavors from the sauce.  The arugula added a nice peppery balance to the dish.  I really loved it. Yum.  Reno is an excellent cook and I have always loved his specials at the Cambridge location.

One person ordered the Frutti di Mare with Linguini ($18.95), one of the several dishes that is unique to this location.  The seafood was fresh, and the flavors were delicious.  Furthermore, the portions are large and generous - we both took a significant amount of pasta home with us.

Another person ordered the Orrechiette with Broccoli Rabe and Sausage [this was another special of the day].  I've had this at the other Basta Pasta before, and it's pretty good.  The pasta was cooked to a good al dente texture and the ingredients were fresh.

Bryan ordered the Frutti di Mare with Fusilli (same as above but with fusilli) - $18.95 (plus $1.95 for the fusilli).. This dish was an excellent value.  The portion size was generous and there was a lot of seafood.

As we were enjoying our meal, Reno stopped by and excitedly told us about the new brick oven they had at this place. Check it out! We tried a simple Marguerita Pizza ($11.95).  It was fantastic.  The brick oven really makes a difference, and this pizza is actually BETTER than the ones made in the commercial ovens at the Cambridge location.  The pizzas range between $12 and $13 and are personal sized.

This location also has dessert, so we had to try all of them.  We tried the Homemade Cannoli ($4) and the Homemade Tiramisu ($5).  Both are solid, though not as good at the ones you can find in the North End.  The cannoli has a pretty good shell - solid with a hefty crunch.  The filling was pretty good and not too sweet.  Each order comes with 2 cannolis, so I shared an order with Bryan.

We also tried the Homemade Tiramisu, which definitely had a strong rum flavor (maybe just a tad too strong).  I thought it was OK - there are lots of tiramisus that I like better than this one.  It could be a matter of personal preference, I'm no sure. This tiramisu is still not bad, just nothing special.

We enjoyed a few espressos with the desserts.

Over all, we think this place is a great addition to the Quincy dining scene, and personally I'm more than just a little jealous of people who live in Quincy.  I would love to have a restaurant like this near me. We have always wished that the Basta Pasta in Cambridge sold alcohol and seafood.  Furthermore, Reno's an amazing cook, and he's cooking full time in Quincy now.

We're going back next week!

Basta Pasta Enoteca
150 Hancock St
Quincy, MA 02171-1706
(617) 479-7979

Ma Peche (Momofuku Midtown)

I just came back from a wonderful trip to the Big Apple. While I was there, I enjoyed a great lunch with some New York City based food bloggers - Andrea from High/Low Food/Drink and Cindy from Chubby Chinese Girl, Michelle from Taste As You Go and Christine from Fresh Local and Best.  We met at Ma Peche, the new midtown restaurant by David Chang of famed "Momofuku."

I guess the actual restaurant is technically not open yet.  However, they are serving a limited menu full of $10 lunch specials at the mezzanine level of the Chambers Hotel in midtown.  For $10, you get a choice of a lunch entree and a drink.  You can add a cookie from the Momofuku Milk Bar for an additional $1.85.

The space is nice although definitely not designed to be a restaurant.  You sit in couches and enjoy your dishes slightly hunched over a coffee table.  Although I found the couches extremely relaxing, I can see how it might be awkward to enjoy a full blown meal in that setting.

Cindy and I shared two dishes.  The bun du riz is a sauteed rice noodles dish with pork ragout and saw leaf herb.  I thought the flavors of this dish were great, and the rice noodles had a nice and chewy texture.  The dish was not huge, though I actually prefer the smaller portion size because I could finish it with no problem.  Plus it wasn't too greasy, which is often characteristic of these types of noodle dishes.  Michelle especially enjoyed the deep fried shallots because they provided a crunchy, contrasting texture.  Definitely a good choice.

The Goi Calamari is a squid salad with fish sauce, Thai basil, and greens.  This dish was nice, light and refreshing.  It was a bit on the tart side, which makes it an excellent summer salad.  Cindy thought it was good but not wow, more like a papaya salad, sans papaya. I think having it as the starter and then finishing with the bun du riz was the perfect idea.

I have never been to any Momofuku restaurant before, but apparently the Banh Mi is pretty well known.  The Banh Mi Maison (of the house) consisted of three different types of terrine with cilantro and diakon.  The Banh Mi Poulet (chicken) had chicken, lemongrass, lettuce and mint.

I did not try either of these, but Christine was rather pleased with her sandwich, and Andrea says if you're a pate lover, this would be your choice.

Of course, we all got to enjoy the incredibly delicious cookie.  Definitely get this if you go!  It was a peanut butter cookie that had some sort of toffee inside.  It was SOOOO GOOOD!!  I still can't stop thinking about it.

In summary, this is a great place to go if you are in midtown during lunch.  The $10 price tag is very reasonable and a great way to sample a bit of Momofuku without spending too much money.  Definitely arrive early.  We arrived right at 11AM (opening) and had no problem finding a table.  By noon, almost all of the tables were filled up.

Thanks again gals for a wonderful lunch in New York City!