Lien & Andy's Wedding

Hold the tomatoes! I know I'm terrible... I said there would be more updates in the summer, but who knew summer would be filled with so much family festivities that I had to push blogging off slightly to the side. I'm hoping now, I'll be able to update more often with actual dishes instead of pictures from restaurant ventures.

 One of the most anticipated and special events that occurred while I was on hiatus was my sister, Chi Lien's marriage to my brother in-law, Andy. Lien, Phuong, and the folk's months of planning and preparations resulted in a weekend of unforgettable memories. Here are only a small handful of pictures from the wonderful weekend and a video of the Bridal Party dance entrance:

















Also check out my newly-wedded niece, Kimmy Nguyen's photography blog for pictures from the park: http://www.kimmynguyen.com/2011/08/wedding-lien-andy.html

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Belle Isle Exporation. Some pictures:

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What a good looking couple!

Food Venture: Da Nang

Last week a couple of coworkers and I had lunch at Da Nang. It was the closest Vietnamese restaurant in the area and I've been craving Pho for a while so we went to try it out.


Of course, I almost never order Pho ( even though I was craving it) and almost always order Bun Thit Nuong Cha Gio (Grilled Pork w/ Rice Vermicelli and Eggroll)


Sonila tried the Com Suon (Grilled Pork w/ Rice)


Cathy had Bun Bo Hue (Hue Style Beef Noodle Soup)
The food was good, the service not so good. Definitely not your typical Vietnamese Restaurant. The atmosphere was nice, but it was missing a little of the authentic vibe. If only Que Huong was closer!

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View of Detroit from Windsor, Canada.
Ps. 100th post! And a birthday shout-out to my favorite and most coolest guy, Chuc Mung Sinh Nhat Dad!!

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Random bits...



Night out with my hot dates.


Two very strange people. Two very hardworking and caring people. I heart them.


2011 Summer Concert and Comedy Show at Caesars Windsor Casino in Windsor, Canada.


Trina Bao Tran


MC Giang Ngoc


Manh Quynh and the beautiful Phi Nhung


Vietnam based singer Dan Truong


Hilarious comedians, Viet Huong and Hoai Tam


Huong Lan!


Super funny, talented, and great live performer, Bang Kieu!


Vietnam based Quang Linh too! Also highly talented and silly.

Also performances by Mai Thanh Son, Thu Phuong, Diem Suong, and Ngoc Anh


Mai Thanh Son, such a fresh voice.

Out of the Box: Turtle Cheesecake Brownies

Memorial Monday was not super exciting. Semi-spring-cleaned the house with the family, napped, complained about the heat, and hung out with Burst of Dori and her family. Got bored so we decided to get into kitchen.

I called on the help of my friend, Betty Crocker, again and we made Turtle Cheesecake Brownies!


You'll need a box of Betty Crocker's Turtle Brownie Mix


Preheat oven and prepare the mix as instructed. Leave the pouch of caramel to the side to use for decorating later.


Using a 12-Cup cupcake pan, fill the cupcake liners half way with brownie mix. Bake and let cool.




While the brownie cools, prepare the No-bake Cheesecake as instructed. No need for the Gramhm cracker crust unless you want to incorporate it in somehow. You can keep it for later use.


Once the brownies have cooled, fill the rest of the liner with the cheesecake mix. Snip a small corner off the caramel pouch and decorate the top of the brownies. Add a halved pecan or walnut and refrigerate for about 30 minutes.


Enjoy!!
Not bad for something that I winged in the spur of the moment.


Dori's watermelon rind salad. Yum!

Chuc Mom Sinh Nhat Vui Ve!

Happy 58th Birthday to my amazing, loving, and beautiful mother.



QQ Bakery Mango Fruit Cake.


Made with fresh yellow mangoes! The cake was very good, I like it.

Music Update!

Wedding bells are in the air! Less than two month's before the sister's big day. The playlist has been updated with happier songs (so hard to find!). Also updated with songs I've just recently come across like Reno Binh's Se Mai Yeu Em - love it!. And I brought back modern and traditional favorites.

Enjoy!

Simmered Fish | Ca Kho Xup

I learned how to make this from my mom a couple years ago. It's kinda like sour fish soup (Canh Chua Ca) meets braised fish (Ca Kho). The ingredients are similar to those of the soup, but with a small amount of cooking liquid like a braise. You can tweak it with your choice of vegetables normally used in sour fish soup (pickled mustard, bean sprouts, celery, etc).





Prep Vegetables: Sliced shallots, crushed garlic, cut scallions, sliced pineapple, tomatoes, and sliced bamboo shoot. I like to use the young yellow bamboo shoot (fresh or canned), not the sour white bamboo shoot for the dish.


A clean firm fish cut into steak size pieces and seasoned with fish sauce, sambal chili paste, salt, black pepper, and chili flakes. I'm using my favorite fish, Pompano.


As usual, infuse the oil, shallots, and garlic. Heat oil first, brown the shallots, add the garlic, and then a little sambal chili paste. (careful - sambal paste might start spattering in the oil!)


Add the pineapple.


After a quick stir of the pineapple, move the mixture to one side area of the pan to make room for the fish. Sear the fish steaks.


After searing the fish, layer the shallot/pineapple on top of the fish and deglaze with 1 cup of water.


Layer on the bamboo shoot and a sprinkling of chili flakes.


Layer on the sliced tomatoes.


Cover and simmer until the fish is cooked; about 10 minutes depending on the size.


Garnish with cut scallions and or cilantro.


Serve with rice. Simple flavors and refreshing!