Happy Xmas and Happy Birthdays 2010

Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas!



Hotpot dinner (late lunch): Soup based or fried with butter.


Cutie!


Mom and Phuong made Taro and Tapioca Pearl sweet dessert. Mom suggested we add vanilla flavoring and I suggested ginger. The two flavors together, delish.

Happy Birthday to my two favorite Phuongs!


QQ Bakery Vanilla Fruit Cake
Sweet Dreams Venetian Delight Cake

Vietnamese Egg Rolls | Cha Gio

We had a Secret Santa gift exchange on Wednesday at the company and held a potluck to open the gifts while enjoying good food. I signed up to bring in egg rolls. This was my second time ever making them, usually I just help with prepping, rolling, or frying while Phuong or Mom does the seasoning. I'm substituting what usually would call for ground pork with ground chicken.

For 50 egg rolls:

You'll need to defrost 2 packs of wrappers (Spring Roll Pastry).


Soak a handful of dried woodear mushrooms in warm water for 10 minutes.


At the same time, soak 2-3 bundles of cellophane/bean thread noodles in warm water for 10 minutes(I used 4, but should have cut back on 1)


Meantime, shred 1 medium carrot.


Drain and mince the mushrooms. Drain and cut the softened noodles into about 1 inch pieces. Cut the carrots into small pieces. Combine 2 lbs of ground chicken with the mushrooms, noodles, carrots, 3 cloves minced garlic, and 3 shallots. Season to taste with fish sauce, salt, black pepper, hot pepper flakes, and sugar.


Mix ingredients thoroughly. (Microwave test to see if you may need to adjust seasoning)


Lay the wrapper so that it looks like a diamond and spoon some of the filling onto the corner closest to you.


Roll forward 1/3 of the way, tightly.


Fold in the two sides, and continue to roll forward. When you reach the end, dab a little water on the tip and seal.


Continue to roll the rest of the egg rolls, best to lay it on seal side.


Heat up some corn oil in a shallow pot (or deep fryer)


When oil is hot enough for frying, drop the egg rolls in and cook on medium heat, when they're golden brown and floating to the top, they're done.


Pull from oil and let drain on basket lined with paper towels and newspaper.


Phuong taught me a tip on how to transport them easily and keep them crispy (not putting them in a tubberware and covering it). Fold down a large brown paper bag and line with paper towels.


Stack the egg rolls straight up. Neat way to serve it too!

The delicious spread: Meatballs w/ BBQ sauce, Spinach Pie, Sushi, Wings, Stuffed Grape Leafs, Fruit Salad, Salad and various Pasta Salads, Turkey Chili, Hummus, Tamales, and Banana Pudding.














Yum!

All these good eats along with all the chocolate gifts scattered all around the office...will have to hit the gym for sure after the holidays.

Snapshot 4

Water Tower in Chicago, Illinois December 2010.

New Music PL!

A reader from Canada emailed me and requested that I do not remove the Vietnamese playlist. So instead, I've update a previous PL with new songs, newly discovered old songs, and old favorites. Enjoy!

The old playlist is available here if you want to listen:LOL BLOG PL

Thanks for the request Nick, I don't think the blog would be the same without the Viet tunes!

The Amazing Race season is over and Top Chef season recently begun. Not happy the AR's finale and results but TOP CHEF ALL-STARS is a must watch! Go Carla!

And a belated birthday shout out to 'baby' sis, Lien. Hope you had an awesome one! Miss ya!

New Look !

The blog under-went a slight makeover much thanks to the niece, Kimmy!

I'm loving the banner and slide show addition. Cute huh?

Now, I just need to update the music playlist. Thinking about either sticking to Viet, going instrumental, or maybe holiday music. Hmmm...shall see. What do you guys think?

I also want to add a section to display readers food pics inspired by the blog. If you've tried out any of the recipes and took pictures, please email them to xxlevanxx@gmail.com.

Also check out Kimmy's DYI & Photo Blog:

A Kimmy of All Trades

Kimmy Nguyen Photography Blog

Thanks!

Thanksgiving 2010

Wow, can you say lazy? New layout on the way.

Meantime, below are visuals from last week's Thanksgiving feast. Family and relatives, I heart you guys! Amazing weekend spent with amazing People! =)


OG's spread.






TP's Turkey


TP's Ham (Loved it!)


Phuong's (?) Pork Loin ;)


My Pasta Salad (not too tasty)


Phuong's FireCracker Shrimp


My Asparagus


TP's Carrot Soup


TP's Green Bean Casserole


My Roasted Garlic Mash


TP's Homemade Turkey Gravy

Forgot to snap:
TP's Mac N Cheese
Cindee's Jambalaya

Snapshots by Various Photographers...
(may need to click to play slideshow)



And A Happy 23rd Birthday to the Bro.

Mussels Baked in a Dynamite Sauce

I mentioned before in a previous post that my first time ever eating this dish was during my visit to Florida in September 2009. My niece, Mai, made it one night and it was really good. A little too spicy for me, but still good. Mai, if you're reading this, thanks for introducing this dish to me!

Not sure why I haven't posted this yet, after all the times I've made it. Lien visited this weekend and wanted to try it, so here is the latest batch and the one I like the most of all the ones I've made.



Defrost and clean a box of frozen cooked mussels on the half shell. Checking for and removing any beards.


After you clean them, flip them over into a colander/draining basket and let drain for about 5 minutes.


Meantime, prep: minced garlic, finely chopped shallots, and finely chopped imitation crab meat.




Remove the mussels from the shells.


Cut the mussels into small pieces.


Add: Kewpie Mayo, Sriracha hot sauce, the garlic, shallots, and imitation crab meat. Season with soy sauce, salt, and pepper. Mix well.


Line a cookie sheet/baking dish with aluminum foil. Fill the half shells with the mussel-mayo mixture and place it on the baking sheet. Bake at 350 until bubbly (15 Minutes) and then broil low for another 2 minutes.


Serve. Makes a great party dish!