Lao Food: Sour Fruit Dipping Sauce

I have been craving sour stuff lately. I follow some Lao women on instagram, and I saw that they made some green mangoes with a dipping sauce that my mom used to make. It definitely brought me back. I remember Maman would make those and I would end up eating fist fulls of mangoes and then giving myself a tummy ache after. Sad to say, I still haven’t learned my lesson. The last time I had this was when my mom was still alive. It was definitely nostalgic, biting into that sour mango with the salty, spicy, sweet sauce.

Ingredients, Fish Sauce, Shallot, Red Thai Chili Pepper, sugar and toasted rice powder.

Mince the peppers and shallots.

Stir sugar into the fish sauce to taste.

Mix in the fresh ingredients.

Add the toasted sticky rice powder.

Stir, stir, stir.

Let it chill in the fridge while you wash, peel and cut your mangoes. Everything is to taste, so no measurements. You got this. It definitely hit the spot. I was a little sad because one of my mangoes was a little bit sweet.

Posted on November 12, 2014 by miemo 0

Mama Miemo’s Guacamole

For those of you who have savored my guacamole, here’s my secret. THERE IS NO SECRET 🙂 All basic ingredients made with love. That’s why you think its good. When you cook with heart, you can taste it.

Ingredients:

4 Avocados
1 small tomato diced
1/2 a squeezed Lime (or to taste)
1/4 cup Cilantro chopped
1/4 Onion, diced
1 Jalapeno minced
Kosher Salt, to taste
Cayenne, if it’s not hot enough

Peel and chop the avocados, mix all the ingredients and season to taste. Enjoy!

Posted on October 10, 2014 by miemo 0

Crab Bisque

Another soup to keep you warm? Crab bisque. This is a pretty quick easy way to do it. Again there are no measurements. Because I am using condensed Campbells soup, the more milk the better or it will be way too salty!!!

Stir in the lump crabmeat and heat on medium until steaming, do not let it boil.

Add curry powder and black pepper to taste. Easy right? You gotta keep tasting and alternating milk and curry until you get it the way you like. If it tastes bad, that is your fault not mine! Once you get it steaming and the taste you like, enjoy! I like it with a little bit of toasted, buttered, garlicky bread.

Crab Bisque

Ingredients:
1 can (10.5oz) of Condensed tomato soup
1 can (10.5oz) of Cream of mushroom
Lump cooked crabmeat
Whole milk
Salt
Pepper
Curry Powder

Directions:
In a pot whisk together the tomato soup and cream of mushroom. Add one can of milk to start. Whisk until well mixed. Add crabmeat, make sure not to add to much. You want it to be a good amount of crab per bite, not too much, not too little. Stir till well mixed, turn on the heat to medium. Bring it to steaming, NEVER LET IT BOIL. Stir frequently so it doesn’t burn on the bottom. Once hot, taste it. And add black pepper, salt, and curry to taste. If its still too salty, add milk to make it creamy.

Posted on October 8, 2014 by miemo 0

Fall is Here! Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes

Well. Maybe tomorrow. But I’m excited. Time for comfort foods. And pumpkin EVERYTHING. Surprisingly, I have not had a pumpkin spice latte yet. I am boycotting them this year because Starbucks rolled it out too early. To get the pumpkin spice fix, I made pumpkin spice cupcakes with cinnamon cream cheese frosting.

Can I tell you a secret though? I didn’t use a cupcake recipe. It was for whoopie pies. Whoopie pies look too much like macarons, and I am still on hiatus, so I instead of scooping them into cookies, I just stuck it in a cupcake pan and called it a day.

Spice up your life.

Pumpkin, brown sugar and butter.

I added some cinnamon to this recipe.

Posted on September 22, 2014 by miemo 0

What’s For Dinner: “Fancy” Jar Spaghetti

I’m excited that it’s September. Temperatures should start cooling, and yes, it’s time for comfort food. Next up for this round of “What’s for Dinner” is what I like to call Fancy spaghetti. Why is it fancy? Because it’s a dressed up version of your jar spaghetti sauce. No time to get fresh tomatoes and make your own sauce from scratch. But with all these additions it will give you that fresh taste you need to please your family.

I brown hot Italian sausage as my base. Lots of flavor in there!

Then I add the extras. Green bell peppers.

Sauteed onions and mushrooms.

I then add my favorite jar of spaghetti sauce. Ragu in traditional.Let them simmer together. If your family likes meatballs you can throw those in too. Sometimes, if I don’t feel like meatballs, I’ll brown ground beef, and throw in slices of Italian sausage instead.

How about that for a quick way to fancy up a jar of spaghetti sauce?

Fancy Jar Spaghetti

Ingredients
2TB Olive Oil
1/2 a sweet onion, diced
1 Small package of white mushrooms, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 lb Italian Sausage (I use hot, you can pick what you like)
1 medium green bell pepper, diced
45 oz jar of Ragu Traditional (or your favorite jar sauce)
1 pkg of spaghetti noodles, cooked per instructions on box

Directions:
In a large saute pan, toss olive oil, garlic and mushrooms until tender and onions until clear. Set aside. In a large sauce pot, brown Italian sausage. Add in the green bell peppers, onions and mushrooms. Stir until well mixed. Season if you’d like. Top with spaghetti sauce. Simmer for at least 30 minutes. Serve over noodles with garlic bread.

Posted on September 10, 2014 by miemo 0

Chef Shadow

Not too long ago, I was given the opportunity to work with Chef Seng on a private event. It was a meal for 20 people. It was an engagement party, and the bride used to teach English in Laos, and LOVES Chef Seng and her restaurant.

It was a really great learning experience for me. Watching how a chef runs her kitchen with a staff, versus me cooking alone. I definitely learned a lot, and enjoyed myself, but it does reaffirm my idea of me NOT wanting to own my own restaurant. I would like to do private chef cooking, or catering, but there is a lot that goes into owning a restaurant that I don’t see myself doing anytime soon.

You put a lot of yourself on the line, and on a time restraint. We are lucky that the Chef loves it so much, because she blesses our bellies with her culinary creations. I’ll stick to catering parties, making dinners, and cooking for my cookbook and blog!

Posted on September 3, 2014 by miemo 0

What’s for Dinner: Smokey Bleu Pizza

Do you love pizza? My husband does. And as a die hard teenage mutant ninja turtle fan, I too love pizza. Fireworks pizza in Leesburg, is his favorite spot for his favorite pizza. Its a wood fired pizza with gargonzola, bacon and a balsamic reduction. Since I love a challenge…I tried to recreate it at home. It was a SUCCESS! Here’s how you too can have a fancy pizza for dinner.

Start off with pizza dough. Let’s be real here, if you wanted to cook this for dinner tonight, you would have bought pizza dough. Because that’s what I did, from trader joes.

Flatten it out. Really thin. I like to make two pies from one bag of dough to ensure a thin crust. Then I bake it slightly, without toppings, to make dinner ready, faster without worrying if my dough is cooked all the way through. While you do this, cook 6 slices of bacon until most of the fat is rendered out. Don’t cook all the way through though!

Slice half an onion into these ringlets (is that what they are called?) and caramelize them…in.the.bacon.fat.

Sauce up your pizza crust. Again, store bought pizza sauce from trader joes. He’s the man.

A little mozzarella to give a good base.

Bacon. You probably don’t need a picture of every step, but I was going to make it into an animation, then changed my mind.

Caramelized onion rings.

Pockets of gargonzola, that will melt into gooey deliciousness. Bold statement from someone who does not like any time of bleu cheese.

Something different, but works well. Shrimp. medium sized, pre cooked. Top it with a little more mozzarella and sprinkle of fresh rosemary. Because it works. Bake for about 7 minutes. Drizzle balsamic reduction… throw it back in there for another 3 minutes. Serve hot.

Smokey Bleu Fancy Pizza
Ingredients
1 packaged of ready to cook pizza dough
6 bacon slices
1/2 sweet onion, thinly sliced
1/4 cup of pizza sauce (more or less depending on how saucy you like your pizza)
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella
1/4 cup of Gorgonzola crumbles
20 medium cooked shrimp
1 TBS fresh rosemary, chopped
Balsamic Vinegar reduction/Glaze

Directions:
Preheat oven to 450F. Roll out the pizza dough into a nice thin crust. Bake for 5 minutes, flip then bake for another 5 minutes. Pull it out and set aside to cool.

Cook the bacon strips until ALMOST done. Most of the fat should be rendered out. Set aside on paper towels to remove excess grease.

Assemble the pizza. Tomato sauce, mozzarella, then the additional toppings. Sprinkle a little rosemary at the end, then bake for 7 minutes. Drizzle balsamic glaze and pop it back in for another 3 minutes.

ENJOY!

Posted on August 25, 2014 by miemo 0

Kalbi Cookoff

The other day, we had our friends Bear and Bona over. The Husband and Bear each made their own kalbi recipe and they “competed” on seeing who’s was better.

Turns out, their marinade was very similar and everyone liked everything. Along with those lateral cut beef ribs, we marinated flank steak (cut for fajitas) in a bottle of bulgogi mix. For sides we had spice cucumbers and korean potato salad. My contributions to the cook off.

What’s your favorite cookout recipe?

Posted on August 18, 2014 by miemo 0

Bacon Egg Toast Cups

These cute little guys are my favorite brunch thing to make. And apparently a favorite to eat as well! So I guess it’s about time I share the recipe. They are super easy to make, and always a hit.

Ingredients
1/2 stick of butter
12 slices of wheat bread
1/2 cup of shredded cheddar
12 slices of bacon
12 large eggs
Salt & pepper to taste

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375F. Rub down a cupcake/muffin tin (for 12) with butter. Using a rolling pin, flatten the slices of bread. Cut a circle out of the bread using a mug (approximately 3.5″ diameter). Cut the circles in half. Place two halves of bread, overlapping in each cup of the muffin tin. Arranging it so that it lines it like a cup. Sprinkle cheddar in each cup.

Partially cook the bacon, rendering out most of the fat. Set on paper towels to get excess fat. Cut the bacon in half and arrange over cheese in the muffin tins. Be sure to flatten them out in the muffin cup.

Crack an egg into each of the muffin cups. Top with salt and pepper. Bake in the oven until egg whites are set, about 15-25 minutes depending on how you want your yolks cooked.

Posted on August 13, 2014 by miemo 0

Fried Chicken

Can I tell you something? Deep frying scares me. I know, I’m southern. What’s wrong with me. I’ve been popped in the face by oil before. That’s what happened. However after years of cooking I’ve gotten the key concept down. Hot oil + Water= Death. Simple enough, you would think. It’s not always applied.

When Vina said she wanted a homecooked southern meal, fried chicken is always the first thing to pop up. I had to face my fears and give her want she wanted. After all, she shot beautiful engagement photos for us. She can have whatever she wants.

This recipe is so simple, that I don’t even want to call it a recipe. Just follow the instructions kid, you got this.

First and foremost, you need chicken. Chop up a whole one, or just buy the pieces you like. Make sure they are completely thawed. PAT THEM DRY. This is important. After they are dry. Place them in a baking dish and pour buttermilk over it. Put it in the fridge over night, flip the pieces half way through. I also added a little salt and pepper.

Preheat the oven to 325F. In a ziplock bag, mix together flour and cornmeal with your favorite seasonings (I like cajun seasoning). Shake it up. Add the chicken pieces a couple at a time if you are doing only wings, or one a time if you are doing whole chicken parts. Let them rest on wax paper for about 15 minutes or while you heat up your oil. This helps the coating stay on better.

Fill a deep cast iron pot with about 1/2 in of oil. I used avocado oil. You can use criso shortening or peanut oil. Any high heat oil will do. Heat the oil to 350F degrees. Gently place a few pieces of chicken in the hot oil (don’t crowd the pot). Leave it alone for about 2 minutes, until one side is golden. Then flip over until the other side is a deep golden color as well.

Place the chicken on a cooling rack with paper towels underneath it to catch oil drippings. When all the chicken is fried, place the rack on a cooking tray and bake in the oven for about 15 minutes or until chicken is cooked all the way through.

Enjoy!

Posted on June 18, 2014 by miemo 0

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