Spring Salad with Beets, Greek Yogurt, Arugula, Strawberries, and Homemade Vinagrette
AMYzzing Culinary fEATs! i
Blueberry Brie Galette
Hats off to my sous chef Kyley Eng for this amazing creation! If you’re a sucker for appetizers, cheeses, or blueberries (all three of which I adore), this recipe is easy to make, impressive to put out, and TO. DIE. FOR.
http://www.perrysplate.com/2011/07/blueberry-brie-galette.html
Caramel Apple Crisp
I have the greatest and most creative friends in the world! SO MUCH FUN :)
What a wonderful birthday surprise!
(Source: homphotography)
Chocolate Caramel Dulce de Leche Bread Pudding (with Cinnamon Bread!)
What a weekend to remember J All the credit for making this wonderful reunion happen goes to Miss Kristin Loo! She declared early this summer that a family reunion was happening in October: no ands, ifs, or buts. And so, her brain child produced this wonderful weekend in Newport with three of our families: the Loos, Louies, and Girouxs. We were missing Miss Christina, as well as the Tanaka and Dang families, but they were there in spirit!
The true treat of the weekend was the amazing cooking of Chris Louie! We were spoiled with steak, venison, and smoked salmon pasta Friday night, and then with Ling Cod, Salmon, artichokes and asparagus Saturday night: boy oh boy what a treat! I think we all pretty much ate ourselves into oblivion. A food coma was never so delicious! Friday night we ventured to golden spoon for some frozen yogurt treats (never has a yogurt shop worker looked so disgruntled as when eleven Asians piled into her shop four minutes before closing time ;) ) And Saturday night I had the special joy of being able to make dessert, especially one of my all-time favorites Bread Pudding!
Some alterations and adjustments we made this time that truly knocked this dessert out of the ballpark and I’ll be sure to replicate for next time:
- Use 2 cups of heavy whipping cream (instead of the required 1 ½ cups)
- Use the whole jar of caramel sauce (1 ¼ cups instead of 1)
- Use the whole bag of chocolate chips (called for ½ cup, who on earth would only add a half cup of chocolate chips?! Go big or go home is my motto when cooking J )
- Use the whole loaf of egg bread (10 slices instead of the required 8)
- The real winner of the recipe: cinnamon bread slices!!! The adults garnered this bag of cinnamon bread samples from the swap meet we visited earlier that morning and let me tell you, these were the perfect addition! We toasted them in the oven for 10 minutes before adding them and YUM! They totally made a difference: DELISH! When making this next time, I’m either going to go half and half with the cinnamon bread or all the way (might be a bit too sweet though, experimentation required)
- The one thing that we did miss out on though was extra caramel at the end to drizzle over the top, so when you’re making this, make sure you save some at the end for presentation (and taste J )
Serve this puppy with a generous scoop of ice cream, and you’re in business! A fun way to get back in the kitchen and fill my baking void; nothing beats cooking for the people you love the most <3
My last baking escapade of the summer! It was my last day at home and I still had the bulk of my packing to complete. However, when it comes to deciding between baking or anything else, we always know which option wins ;)
At least for this occasion I had a legitimate excuse! My great friend Tommy graciously offered to give me his rip stick for free! He wouldn’t accept any money so I paid him back in the only way I knew how: cookies!! J
You might recognize these puppies from earlier in the summer: Jen and I made them for family worship in July. My strongest memory from making these cookies the first time is that they don’t taste good coming out of the oven! However, this time they were superb, literally melting in your mouth in their warm, chocolatey, peanut butter goodness. I may or may not have eaten half of the bowl of cookie dough as well…. It tasted just like peanut butter, how can you resist?!
I think the trick this time was the difference in peanut butter. The first time I used cheap store-bought crunchy peanut butter. This time around, we only had enough for half a cup of that same peanut butter, so the other half cup (recipe calls for 1 cup) I used Skippy Creamy Peanut Butter. So if you’re going to make these (which you should, they’re delicious!), use good peanut butter (I’d reckon that Reeses peanut butter would be absolutely killer!!)
Other things to keep in mind:
~These cookies literally suck half your kitchen into their peanut-buttery depths. They call for 4 cups of flour, 2 sticks of butter, a cup of peanut butter, and other large amounts of ingredients, so know that going into this!
~The recipe says it only makes 36 cookies…I don’t know what size cookies these people eat but this recipe makes 90 easy!
~It calls for 24 mini peanut butter cups and 1 ½ cups of chocolate chips, GO OVERBOARD! I don’t believe there is such a thing as too many reeses or chocolate chips J I went for 30 cups and probably around 2 ½ cups of chocolate chips and they were perfect!
~UNDERBAKING is the key! They’re not going to look done, but trust me, that’s how you want them! It asks for 10-12 minutes in the oven, I went with 8-9. Make sure the bottoms are slightly browned, pull em out of the oven, and right afterwards, transfer them to the granite countertop (or any cool countertop), let them cool for a few minutes, than transfer to a large Tupperware to store with the lid on, this will keep them moist
~If God ever created cookies to be eaten with milk, these are them! And trust me, you’re going to want to, they’re so peanut buttery you’ll be licking your chops and the only way you’re going to have the extra one, two, or three you want after the first one is if you have a nice cold glass of milk to go with it J
Post-Skiing Breakfast: Lemon Blueberry Brown Sugar Pancakes
So sad story precedes this breakfast ;) Tony, Rosie, Alex, Tommy, and Stephanie all arrived that morning bright and early (like 7:30 am in the summer early!) psyched out for a day of skiing on the lake with a big breakfast to follow. Turns out my inner blonde had kicked in earlier that week and I had forgotten to hit the kill switch on our boat to turn off the battery. Needless to say, we spent the better part of the morning sitting in the boat trying every option to get the boat and battery running. We finally had to call it a morning and headed back to the house disappointed.
However, though boating may have been a fail, breakfast definitely was not! Rosie, Steph, and I tag teamed it on the pancakes here, which you might also recognize from earlier in the summer. A tried and true recipe, these have become a favorite in the Giroux house already! If you’re going to make these, don’t forget the secret ingredients of almond extract and vanilla J I personally like to eat mine with a bit of fresh lemon juice squeezed on top, or lemon curd, or just old fashioned syrup is tasty as well!
Also, I made these with Melissa Shafer when she was here and ended up leaving the melted butter in the microwave (of course ;P) and they turned out alright! But when I did them this time (with the butter) they turned out much fluffier and lighter, so definitely don’t skip that step, although if you forget it they still taste delicious! Another trick is to not add the blueberries into the batter. I usually pour the pancakes, then drop a few blueberries evenly spaced onto the pancakes and use my finger to cover them with batter (so they don’t burn on the other side). This way you have control over how many blueberries are in each so they all come out even J
Not to be forgotten with that delicious breakfast is the beautifully arranged buttered toast by Steph, the gorgeous and perfectly scrambled eggs by Rosie, and the hash browns, bacon, and fruit salad by my momma!
All in all, I’d say it was a successful morning because that delicious breakfast made up for the missed ski run!
Chocolate Macaroons for Miss Kyley Eng’s Birthday!
Vegetable Tian Ratatouille
Lemon Rosemary Chicken with Capers
Gemelli Alfredo
Caprese Salad with Pesto
HAPPY BIRTHDAY KYLEY!!
A cause for celebration, one of my very best friends and sisters Kyley Eng was celebrating her 19th birthday. Stephanie Wong and I wanted to do something special for this very special lady, so naturally we had to bust out all the stops! Unfortunately we were missing Denise Zhu, the last member of our Fab 4: ZEWG (Zhu-Eng-Wong-Giroux), but she was there in spirit (incarnate in the butterfly I brought for decoration ;) )
After much careful planning with Kyley’s awesome boyfriend James Ibali and tons of texts going back and forth coordinating the special surprise, I arrived at James’ apartment at 4 to start cooking! This was essentially my first time cooking a meal from start to finish all by myself in a foreign kitchen, and I actually really loved it! I brought along a French Bistro CD that came with a cookbook, transporting me straight to Disney’s Ratatouille. I have a feeling this CD will become a constant whenever cooking for the mood it brings: I felt like I was a chef cooking for a French Bistro in the early years, too much fun!
My mom helped me prepare the chicken at home before transporting it to James’ house. And boy was it nummy! If you’re looking for a delicious and easy chicken dish that’s sure to impress, check it out. We originally got the recipe from ‘French Women Don’t Get Fat’ but of course made several excellent adjustments, including frying the chicken in panko, using POG instead of lemon juice, and adding capers to the end.
- Egg wash and dredge chicken breast in seasoned panko, lightly pan fry to a golden brown over medium heat
- Combine the following and pour over the chicken:
- ¼ cup olive oil
- juice of 1 lemon (can substitute orange juice, we used POG!)
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 tsp minced garlic
- couple sprigs fresh rosemary
- couple teaspoons capers
- place a lemon slice and a sprig of rosemary on top of each chicken breast
- bake for a half hour covered in foil (to steam the chicken)
The next dish, the Vegetable Tian Ratatouille was a surefire winner to add to any repertoire! It’s super easy, delicious, healthy, and presents beautifully! Gathering this recipe from ‘Barefoot Contessa’ (with more adjustments of course), you begin by sautéing chopped onions in olive oil then laying them down at the bottom of the dish. Then slice tomatoes, potatoes, zucchini and cucumber and alternate them in rows around, adding sliced bell peppers to the sides for presentation. Sprinkle olive oil, salt, pepper, and thyme over the finished product and bake covered for 35 minutes (if I remember correctly, don’t quote me on that…) then sprinkle with swiss gruyere cheese and bake for another 20 (again, don’t quote me on that). DELISH!
The Gemelli Alfredo I cheated a bit on, just using the fun shaped Gemelli pasta and store bought alfredo sauce, adding some garlic salt and pepper to taste as well as a few squirts of lemon juice to the sauce.
Of course, no meal is complete without the appetizer of caprese salad with fresh tomatoes, mozzarella, basil, pesto sauce, olive oil, and salt and pepper, and some homemade grands fresh out of the oven!
The best surprise of the night was surprising Miss Kyley! She and James were doing homework at her house and we waited until Steph got here to summon Kyley over (James’ used the excuse of making curry puffs at his place…so sneaky!) Steph and I hid behind the couches and as Kyley walked in to the dark apartment, we jumped out and yelled surprise! Ahhhh I love surprises too much, it was just too much fun!
The four of us enjoyed a wonderful meal talking and spending time together, listening to Disney Music, and making origami on the table that I had used to decorate for the colorful paper J Hint: when planning any party, use origami paper! GREAT table fun and conversations occur over it, who knew?! Haha
All in all, it was a wonderful evening with even more wonderful friends. Happy Birthday Kyley, we love you!!!!
Red Velvet Cupcakes (for September 11) :)
Kahlua Cheesecake, Round TWO!
It was just too good the first time, had to make it again!!!!! We had the special honor of having my dad’s friends Phil and Angela and their sweet baby daughter come visit us and the special occasion required the best of desserts, so naturally Chocolate Kahlua Cheesecake was on the menu following a delicious Rib-eye stead grilled by dad and a yummy dinner created by mom!
What made this version better than the last is that I made it in advance enough so that it got to chill overnight so it cut beautifully and was just the right texture of cheesecake. DELISH!!! I have a feeling this cheesecake is going to become a Giroux Favorite (this is the first dessert I’ve replicated within two weeks here at the Giroux house and am sensing many more such occurrences with this cheesecakes :)
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Vanilla Bean Cheesecake Tartlets with Gingersnap Crust/ Cookie Dough Crust with a Passion Fruit Glaze
Oh man, what a treat these were! Melissa and I came home from a wonderful day in downtown Grass Valley and exploring Empire State Mine (I forgot how beautiful it was!) and we were in a baking mood! More like a cheesecake mood actually ;) After paging through the Dessert Bible by Bon Appetit and picking over 25 different cheesecake recipes, we landed on this deliciousness!
The funniest part about these cheesecakes were that when we ran out of ginger snap crust, we didn’t really want to make more (it takes forever to break into crumbs!) so we were looking around and spotted the Tupperware of left-over cookie dough from the day before (we made Barb Bolt’s cookies, delish!) that we had been munching on the whole time we were baking, and decided to use that as a crust instead! We baked the cookies in the muffin tin for about 8 minutes, took it out and patted the sides down (they puffed up) and then filled it with cheesecake. Next time, skip the baking of the cookies because they get baked with the cheesecake instead and turn out a little crunchier than I like my crust. But they still tasted delicious! I mean cookie dough and cheesecake, what better combination is there?! J
The top called for a guava nectar glaze but we only had passion fruit in the house, and this turned out just as great! The glaze was actually Melissa and my mom’s favorite part because it turned into a delicious jelly! You can use this to top almost anything, not just cheesecake, although I would say this was the perfect addition, balancing out the cheesecake with a delicious fresh fruity-ness.
We served the cheesecakes on the boat following our pizza dinner and they were a surefire winner with Steph, Kyley, James and Auntie Joanna and my parents! (and even David’s friends, post-dinner ;) )
Adjustments we made:
~this cheesecake was not actually made for tartlets, more for a giant cheesecake, but they taste so much better and are so much more fun to eat this way!
~we switched the crust to a gingersnap crust, which is so much yummier than the graham cracker because you get that extra zing J
~we found that when doing the crust into the cookie tin/heart pan, do the layer around the sides first, and then pat down the bottom, it’s so much easier than trying to work your way up the sides from the bottom!
Garlic Chicken Pizza with Alfredo Sauce
Vegetable Lover’s Pizza
Margherita Pizza
What trip to the Giroux house is complete without a dinner on the boat! We were going to bust out all the stops for miss Melissa. The night before we had shared Giroux style sandwiches (ciabatta with pesto, artichoke jalapeno, grilled chicken, and gouda) at Nagir Winery, so tonight we were bustin out some homemade pizza! The favorite of the night was definitely the garlic chicken with the alfredo sauce. The players on this pizza on top of the alfredo sauce were the grilled chicken strips, artichoke hearts, strips of bacon, chopped onion, and minced garlic sprinkled all over. The combination of flavors is truly quite indescribable, you just have to try it for yourself ;)
We also made a vegetable lover’s pizza with marinara sauce, loaded with fresh spinach, zucchini, fresh tomatoes from Lori Hanson’s garden, chopped olives, red bell pepper, chopped onion, and mushrooms. I love round table’s veggie lover’s, but I’m sorry Round Table, nothing really quite comes close to homemade pizza with fresh veggies!
Our last pizza was your traditional margherita pizza with marinara sauce, giant slices of buffalo mozzarella cheese, fresh generous slices of tomatoes, and fresh chopped basil. Simple, elegant, and delicious, an Italian classic that will never go out of style.
Of course, it goes without saying that you LOAD these babies with cheese prior to popping them in the oven for about 20 minutes. After taking them out of the oven, we wrapped them in foil, brought them down to the boat, and feasted with Joanna Wong, Stephanie, Kyley, and James for a beautiful night enjoying the sunset over the lake!
Cilantro-Lime Sauce on Tilapia Fish Tacos
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/cilantro-lime-dressing/detail.aspx
Strawberry Shortcake with Chocolate Sauce
