HAPPY BIRTHDAY BIG BIRD!

It was the bf's birthday on the weekend & all he really wanted to eat was PIZZA HUT & an NBA championship trophy cake! It's his birthday so that's what he got and then some....

I couldn't not cook anything so I ended up making side dishes & appetizers... oh & a MINT BLUEBERRY yogurt SMOOTHIE that wasn't served because we forgot all about it. Anyway, I ended up making a ROASTED vegetable salad with fresh BOCCICINI (spell check??) drizzled with an OLIVE oil & AGED BALSAMIC vinegar & egg rolls (we call this LUMPIA).

Filipinos normally serve egg rolls at parties. Typical egg rolls consists of ground beef, onions, garlic, seasoning & on the bf's side of the family - chestnut, all wrapped in a WONTON wrapper & fried. I'm not much of an egg roll eater because it doesn't really appeal to me. Maybe because I see it as just ground beef wrapped in fried, oily wrappers.

So ofcourse, I invent my own egg rolls ;) My new found FAVOURITE ingredient to use is CHINESE 5-SPICE. I also don't like using only ground beef but a mix with ground pork & in this case minced shrimp too.

Enjoy!

ROASTED VEGETABLES AND BOCCICINI WITH BALSAMIC OLIVE DRESSING
2 tomatoes, quartered
1 italian eggplant, sliced
1 orange pepper, sliced
1 zucchini, sliced
1/2 small tub of boccicini, sliced in half
2 T dried basil
3 T dried oregano
cracked black pepper & kosher salt to taste

• Preheat oven to 450F
• Place eggplant, pepper & zucchini on baking sheet
• Place tomatoes & pepper on another baking sheet
• Drizzle with olive oil, basil, oregano, salt & black pepper. Toss everything together with hands
• Place in oven and roast for 25 minutes. Flip & roast for another 20-25 minutes or until slightly charred
• Let cool
• Place in bowl & add cheese. Drizzle olive oil & balsamic vinegar on top

LAYA'S EGG ROLLS

1/2 lb ground beef
1/2 lb ground pork
1/4 lb shrimp, peeled, deveined & minced
1/4 C carrots, sliced into matchsticks
1 med onion, finely chopped
6 cloves garlic, minced
2 T dried basil or
2.5 tsp chinese 5-spice
1/4 C light soy sauce
2 T fish sauce
1 T sesame oil
2 tsp murin
pack of wonton wrappers, cracked egg
kosher salt and cracked black pepper

• Mix ground beef, pork & shrimp together
• Add basil, chinese 5-spice, salt & pepper to meat mixture. Set aside
• Add sesame oil to pre-heated pan
• Saute onions and carrots until soft
• Add meat. Season with more basil & chinese 5-spice
• Add soy sauce, fish sauce & murin
• Continue to saute until ground meat is cooked
• Take off heat & let cool
• Add 1.5 t of meat mixture into wonton wrappers & seal with egg
• Fry in hot oil
• Serve with sweet chilli sauce or murin mixed with fish sauce in a 3:1 ratio

Home alone & Home Cooking.. CHICKPEA MASH & LEMON HERB SHRIMP SAUTE

The bf is on a work retreat since last Sunday. I normally do all the cooking at home which I have no problem of doing so. Although I miss him & wish he was here, I'm really enjoying the fact that I can splurge on one of my favourite staple ingredients to use, while he's gone. I love cooking with LEMON/LIME & LEMON/LIME ZEST.
To his point, when 'I put too much of it', lemon juice & zest overpowers the dish. To my point, these ingredients makes the dish pop & is what makes it tastes so much better.
Lately I've been cooking thai, east & west indian & filipino food. Today, I'm sticking with Mediterranean ingredients. I made chickpea mash & lemon herb shrimp saute. Hope you enjoy:





CHICKPEA MASH
1 can of chickpeas, drained
1 medium onion, diced
5 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 lemon, juiced & zested
1 Tbs olive oil
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp sesame seed
kosher salt to taste
ground black pepper

• Heat oil & add onions. Cook until softened
• Add garlic, lemon zest, oregano & basil. Let cook for 2-3 minutes
• Add chickpeas & sesame seeds. C
• Cook until softened. Mash with fork in pan
• Add lemon juice, salt & pepper

LEMON HERB SHRIMP SAUTE
1 lb shrimp, peeled, deveined & butterflied (tail left on)
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
1 zucchini, thinly sliced
1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, cut in half lengthwise
6 cloves garlic, minced
3 sprigs fresh thyme
2 Tbs olive oil
1 Tbs dried oregano
1 Tbs dried basil
1/2 tsp chili flakes
1 lemon, juiced & zested
kosher salt to taste
ground black pepper

• Rub shrimp with half of the basil, oregano & lemon zest. Set aside
  
• Add chili flakes & thyme to pan while oil is heating
• Add onions & let cook until softened
• Add garlic, remaining oregano, basil & zest, zucchini & cherry tomatoes. Let cook for 3-5 minutes or until vegetables have softened
• Add shrimp & cook until shrimp turns pink. Squeeze in lemon juice.
• Add salt & pepper to taste

Note: The next time around, I would add either water, white whine or chicken stock to the chickpea mash for a smoother texture.

Day 07: Dad's 55th Asian Inspired Birthday Meal

My latest interest - cake baking & decorating have kept me busy from cooking & blogging. I'm a little bit disappointed just because I've been procrastinating on my first love - cooking. It's been awhile, but I'm back to post my previous dishes I've made.

Caramelized Pineapple Cake

My Dad turned 55 on November 7, 2009. I attempted to make Vietnamese BBQ Pork Chops. I had a vision of bbqing pork chops you would order at any typical vietnamese restaurant, but turned out to be a lot more asian inspired considering the ingredients I chose to marinade the meat. Although it didn't turn out to my initial planning, the chops were still pretty good!

Alongside the main dish, I paired the pork chops with Basil Shrimp & Coconut Rice ... I tried to keep the asian theme!

My family including my parents, the bf & my siblings' significant others had no problems clearing up our plates. One suggestion from the birthday man himself (also known as the very hard critic to my food!) - cut down the sweetness of the marinade.

Enjoy the recipes because my family sure did!

Asian-Influenced BBQ Pork Chops

Basil Shrimp

Asian-Influenced BBQ Pork Chops
15 pork chops
1 C banana ketchup
8 T toyamansi
4 T dark rum
3 T soy sauce
1 T spicy vinegar
6 cloves garlic, chopped finely
1 each lemon & lime
salt & pepper

1. Season cleaned pork chops with salt & pepper.
2. Mix remaining ingredients for marinade in bowl.
3. Marinade pork chops in large ziploc bag & let sit for 2-3 hours.
4. BBQ on grill on low heat until cooked through.

Basil Shrimp
2 lb shrimp, peeled
2 C pineapple chunks
6 garlic cloves, minced
2 T dried basil
1 t ginger, sliced thinly
1 lime, zest & juice
salt & pepper

1. Season shrimp with salt & pepper. Set aside.
2. In fry pan, saute garlic & ginger until soft. Season with salt & pepper.
3. Add dried basil & let cook for a couple minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. Add shrimp & lime zest to pan. Once the the shrimp starts to turn pink, add the pineapple & let cook until pineapple begins to break down slightly.
5. Once the shrimp is completely cooked, squeeze in juice of lime. Set aside until serving.

Coconut Rice
5 C parboiled rice
1 can coconut milk
Water enough to total 6 cups liquid.

1. Add all ingredients into the rice cooker & let cook until done.