the ordinary chef

blk. Spring Water

Thu, 17 May 2012 12:08:30 -0400

First question: would you drink a refreshing glass of black water?

Strangely, it exists thanks to a company called blk. and according to reviews on Amazon, it really actually doesn’t taste like water. I can’t imagine how I would react to trying to find refreshment from something that is opaque black.

The water contains a plant-based mineral, fulvic minerals, that plays a vital role in plant growth. When extracted and added into water, it natually turns the water black without using any artificial dyes.

You can purchase this in bulk on Amazon: 24 16.9oz bottles for $55.00 which comes in at $2.29 each bottle.

A Lil' Strawberr-spiration

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 18:50:00 -0400

It’s strawberry season, y’all!

The peak time for strawberries lasts a few weeks between the months of May and June. Because of the warmer spring, it has come a little early. You can find strawberries on sale practically at any store right now and they’re all plump, red, sweet, and oh so delicious. I picked up a container at Wal Mart [bows head in embarrassment for a brief second at the admittance that I shopped at Wal Mart] for $1.

There are so many things you can do with them: cupcakes, fruitcakes, smoothies, lemonades, tarts, pies, salads, dressing, ice cream, and the list continues on forever.

Hopefully this will help inspire you to go make something delicious!

1. Strawberry Cheesecake Muffins

2. Strawberry Lemonade

3. Strawberry Salad with Candied Almonds and Strawberry Balsamic Vinaigrette

4. Strawberry Bruschetta

Quick & Easy: Bacon Fried Rice

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 13:28:59 -0500

Bacon fried rice. Need I say more?

Serves: 4

Ingredients:
2 cups rice (white or brown)
4 slices of bacon
½ onion, finely diced
4 scallions, finely sliced
1 tbspn minced onion
2 garlic cloves
1 cup frozen peas
2 tbspn vegetable oil
3 tbspn soy sauce
chili garlic sauce (for spice; optional)

Optional Garnishes:
scallions

Directions:

Cook the rice according to directions (about 1 ½ cups of water to 2 cups of rice).

While the rice is cooking, lay out the bacon on a foil-lined cookie sheet and place into a cold oven. Bake at 400˚. Once the oven reaches 400˚, keep a watchful eye on it because the bacon should be close to crispy and done (about 2-3 minutes after oven reaches 400˚).

Once the bacon is done cooking, place cooked bacon on a paper towel to dry. Transfer the bacon fat into a large skillet (be careful!) and add the onions, scallions and garlic. Cook on medium-high heat until the onions are translucent and the garlic is fragrant. Add peas and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Transfer to a bowl.

Once the bacon cools, crumble. Then, with the skillet still oily, scramble the eggs. Transfer to a bowl.

Use a paper towel to wipe off any remaining residue. Add the vegetable oil and when it’s hot (not smoking), add the white rice and lightly fry for 3-4 minutes.

Mix in the onion/garlic mixture, scrambled eggs, crumbled bacon, and soy sauce. If desired, add additional soy sauce and/or chili garlic sauce to taste

You might notice something else besides bacon. I threw in some chinese sausage in there last minute!

Enjoy!

Quick & Easy: Shellchiladas

Mon, 09 Jan 2012 14:45:57 -0500

Who knew combining pasta and enchiladas would make such a good weeknight dinner?

It’s a small venture away from something you typically see. Jumbo shells, enchilada-style? As you may or may not know, my husband and brother-in-law are half Mexican so I could see why they were skeptical at first. After a few bites, I noticed head nods and soon enough, cleaned plates.

Credit for “shellchiladas” goes to the hubby.

Serves: 3

Ingredients:
12 jumbo pasta shells
1 lb. lean ground beef
1 (10 oz.) can enchilada sauce
1 tbspn minced onion
¼ tspn dried oregano
¼ tspn ground cumin
¼ tspn dried basil
½ cup refried beans
Shredded ‘Mexican 4-Cheese Blend’

Optional Garnishes:
chopped tomatoes
shredded lettuce
cilantro
hot sauce
crema mexicana (or sour cream)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350˚.

Cook pasta shells according package directions.

While shells are cooking, cook beef in a large skillet until almost all brown. Add onions to beef and cook until onions are fragrant and translucent. Stir in oregano, cumin and basil.

Add about 3/4 can of enchilada sauce and 1/2 can of refried beans. Mix well.

Using a small spoon, fill each shell with beef mixture until each shell is plump. Be gentle! You want to be careful not to tear the shells.

Place shells into a 9x13 baking dish. I lined mine with aluminum but they did stick when I took them out, so I would be careful. Pour the remaining enchilada sauce evenly over the shells, cover and place the dish into the oven for 20 minutes.

During the last 5 minutes of cooking, sprinkle the shredded cheese over the shells and cook uncovered for the remaining period.

Garnish with desired toppings!

A New Year's Resolution: Eat Better

Tue, 03 Jan 2012 17:59:00 -0500

Happy New Year!

What does this mean exactly?

Well…

1. A new year means trying to sweep under the rug all of the failed attempts in years prior to make exercising a habit. This is when we can all confidently say, again, that we will exercise and lose xx pounds without anyone remembering what we said last year.

2. It means that those who frequent the gym are more than likely complaining about it being too crowded and start counting down the days until it’s back to normal again. It’s always inevitable that people start dropping off like flies.

3. It also means that the Oreos and Klondike bars will stay on the shelves at the grocery store a couple of weeks longer than they usually do.

Many years of failed attempts and witnessing my spiral downwards mid-year every year, I decided that I was going to try something different.

Resolution #1: Eat better

Yes, it’s pretty general. True, it’s not as cliché as “lose weight”. BUT, it also means that if I accidentally miss one day of my Insanity workout, I won’t feel like a failure which means that I would be less likely to lose hope and give up on every single resolution I have for the year.

A few tips I’m going to try to follow myself:

1. Keep up with produce that’s in season. And if you have to, subscribe to a service (if available in your city) that delivers farm-fresh produce. In Austin, we have services such as Greenling and Farmhouse Delivery.

If you don’t have access to that, keep up with what’s peaking with the Epicurious Peak-Season Map or just take a stroll through the farmer’s market.

Use ‘em to challenge yourself to cook something different and outside-the-box.

2. Set aside a comfortable number of days per week to cook at home and plan it. Dedicate one day a week to sit down and plan meals for your x number of days. Print out calendars, bookmark recipes, have it somewhere you can view on a daily basis, put up a chalkboard menu board in your kitchen. (Mine is 5 days per week and I have dedicated Sunday morning to plan so I can go grocery shopping Sunday afternoon for the week.)

3. Subscribe to a magazine or, for free, food blogs. As an artist, I find inspiration in various places every day. This also applies to the inspiration to cook which, for me, can be found in magazines or blogs. Once you get those glands salivatin’, you’ll be in the kitchen in no time.

Clean Eating, Magazine
Cooking Light, Magazine
food gawker, Aggregated Blogs
Skinny Taste, Blog
smitten kitchen, Blog
taste spotting, Aggregated Blogs

4. Skip the snack aisle! Except for the first grocery trip of the month. This one is always easier said than done. Always. It takes every ounce of will power in my body to not look down the snack aisle and see rainbows and unicorns. But, rest assured, it can happen. It has happened. Buy a handful of moderately healthy snacks to last through the month and ration it out to last.

So there you have it. These are the goals I’ve laid out for my top resolution of the year. It seems fairly easy to do, doesn’t it? :)

Holiday Hostess with the Mostest!

Wed, 14 Dec 2011 13:30:05 -0500

Hosting a dinner isn’t easy and the nervous thoughts never fail to ring in your head while you’re preparing dinner. Rid yourself of the extra stress by preparing a few quick hors d’œuvres beforehand for your guests to pass around and snack on to keep them occupied. It’s always a good conversation starter, too.

1. Cranberry Brie Bites

2. Puff Pastry Mini-Cinnamon-Rolls with Pistachios

3. Pancetta Cups with Goat Cheese and Pear

4. Little Chicken Baskets

The State Fair of Texas

Tue, 18 Oct 2011 13:23:00 -0400

By the State Fair of Texas, I mean the Mecca of Anything You’ve Ever Dreamt of in Fried Form.

I haven’t been in 6 years but since we’re now living in Texas again, it was worth the drive. It hasn’t changed much, or at all, besides the fried food offerings. Fried bubblegum, fried beer, fried moon pies, fried bacon, fried salsa, fried guacamole,.. you catch the drift.

I wanted to try as many interesting fried things as I could, but it seems like after a 3rd order and the $20 spent, there was a tinge of guilt falling over me.

1. Deep Fried Frozen Margarita

Let’s just say this gave me a stomachache the moment I swallowed it. I still don’t understand what made this a deep fried frozen margarita. It definitely wasn’t frozen but obviously just fried.

What was fried? I have no idea.

Would I recommend it? No.

2. Fried Salsa

This was delicious! Surprisingly delicious! They served it with a spoonful of queso. The outside was crusted with tortilla crumbs that created a nice crunchy texture on the outside. Once you bit in to it, the salsa oozed out. I’m tempted to recreate this at home, if I can muster up the willpower to fry something myself.

3. Chicken Fried Bacon

…a.k.a a heart attack waiting to happen. There was more batter than there was bacon inside of it and the oil was penetrating the paper try. It was salty and tasted like I was expecting. I wish I would have spent my 12 coupons elsewhere.

Salsa Roundup: El Chile Salsa a la Charra

Thu, 13 Oct 2011 13:33:00 -0400

Where: Whole Foods
Price: $6.99
Spice Level: None
Rating:

Oh my joy! One of the first restaurants I tried in Austin on a visit here from SXSW was El Chile. I loved it! The free chips and salsa were delish and their prickly pear margaritas were addictive. Had I known then what I know now: they bottled and sold their own salsa.

I’ve mentioned before that I absolutely prefer local salsa over large names found at Target or Wal-Mart. El Chile is located on the east side of Austin with a sister taco stand, El Chilito, a few doors down. Their salsa is better than good, it’s amazing (and award-winning).

Enough about that.. let’s move into the salsa itself.

The consistency is close to liquid–there are no chunks of tomato or chunks of anything for that matter. You better be good at balancing because it can get messy since the salsa can just slide off your chip and all over your white shirt (speaking from experience). You can taste the simplicity yet the flavors are so bold and rich with a hint of smokiness.

What’s even better is that it’s composed of only 5 ingredients: roasted tomatoes, jalapenos, garlic, salt and apple cider vinegar. How they made those 5 ingredients taste like heaven? That’s beyond me.

This looks promising: La Dolce Vita Food and Wine Festival

Fri, 30 Sep 2011 16:27:28 -0400

This looks promising: La Dolce Vita Food and Wine Festival

Monday Morning: Cheers to Fall

Mon, 26 Sep 2011 11:05:00 -0400

Apologies for the hiatus, I was away in Spain for a bit and came back to chaos. Since I’ve been gone, fall must have slowly rolled in. The early mornings and late evenings have been brisk and beautiful here in Austin. What better way to celebrate fall’s arrival than with a few fall cocktails?

1. Smoretini

2. Pumpkin Cheesecaketini

3. Spiked Apple Cider Floats

4. Comet Cocktail

Ben & Jerry's 'Schweddy Balls'

Thu, 08 Sep 2011 15:37:00 -0400

Ben & Jerry just announced a new flavor, ‘Schweddy Balls’, adding on to the plethora of other unique flavors (and names), such as Jimmy Fallon’s creation for Ben & Jerry, ‘Late Night Snack’, which consisted of vanilla bean ice cream with a salty caramel swirl and chocolate-coated potato chip clusters.

‘Schweddy Balls’ is made with vanilla ice cream, rum, fudge-covered rum balls and milk chocolate malt balls and was named to pay homage to a previous Saturday Night Live skit

"Deep Fried Texas Salsa™ - This spicy medley of jalapenos, roasted garlic, onion, tomato, and pepper..."

Thu, 01 Sep 2011 16:53:00 -0400

“Deep Fried Texas Salsa™ - This spicy medley of jalapenos, roasted garlic, onion, tomato, and pepper is rolled together, dipped in masa, and covered in crunchy tortilla chips. Into the fryer and served with warm, deliciously creamy queso.”

- Wow.

@ State Fair of Texas 2011

Quinoa Stuffed Poblano Pepper in a Tomato Sauce

Wed, 31 Aug 2011 16:53:00 -0400

My husband and I are on yet another diet, which limits our intake of carbs and junk food and to eat in small portions.

Since we’ve moved, it’s been challenging to cook every night when there’s something else always lingering. Like painting a room. It’s been a little over a month now and I’m trying to get back in to the swing of things.

I was craving stuffed peppers and came across these beautiful, dark green poblano peppers at the store. It’s easy to make and there’s a lot of options to stuff it with. Adhering to the low carb mentality, I opted for quinoa.

Serves:
2 with a bit of stuffing leftover

Ingredients:
2 poblano peppers
1 cup shredded cheese (preferably a Mexican blend)
toothpicks

..for the stuffing…
1/2 quinoa
1 cup broth (chicken or vegetable)
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/2 jalapeno, seeded and diced
1 garlic cloves, minced
1/8 cup cilantro, chopped
1/2 tablespoon soy sauce
1/2 lime, juiced
1 cup tomato sauce
1/2 cup frozen or canned corn
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon cayenne (or to taste)
2 teaspoon chili powder

…for the tomato sauce…
2 cup tomato sauce
2 tablespoon ketchup (or tomato paste)
S+P to taste

Optional Garnishes:
sprig of cilantro
sour cream

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350˚.

In a small saucepan, add quinoa and broth and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce the heat and simmer for 11-13 minutes, or until liquid is absorbed. Let stand a few minutes and fluff with a fork.

While the quinoa is cooking, roast the peppers. (See below for roasting instructions) After roasting, carefully cut a slit, making sure not to tear the pepper, from the top (base of the stem) to the bottom tip of the pepper. Remove the seeds. *Caution: you might want to wear gloves to remove seeds!* Wash remaining seeds off with water.

Saute the onions, garlic and jalapenos until onions are fragrant.

Add saute mix to the quinoa, along with the cilantro, soy sauce, lime juice, tomato sauce, corn, cumin, cayenne and chili powder. Mix well.

Once the mixture is done, carefully stuff each pepper with enough mixture to fill the entire pepper. Use toothpicks to secure the opening.

Mix together the 2 cups of tomato sauce and ketchup, add a little S+P to taste and pour it into a baking pan. Spread evenly.

Place the peppers on top of the tomato sauce and put it in the oven. Bake, covered, at 350˚ for 20 minutes. Uncover the peppers and sprinkle with cheese. Continue baking another 10 minutes, or until cheese is melted.

To serve, scoop some of the tomato sauce at the bottom of the pan onto a plate. Carefully place baked peppers on top and garnish as desired.

PS. Don’t forget to remove the toothpicks!

Enjoy!

How to Roast Peppers

On a gas stove: Place peppers on the burner, making sure they’re close to the flame. Char each side of the pepper until the pepper has a nice burn on all sides. Don’t worry, the cracking noise is a good thing! Remove from the heat once all sides are blackened and place in a zip lock bag. Close the zip and let sit for 5 minutes. Once you remove them from the zip lock bag, place them under cold water and the skins should easily come off!

In the oven: Place the peppers in a baking dish skin side up. Broil ~7-8 minutes, then flip the peppers and broil an additional 7-8 minutes. Place it in a zip lock bag. Close the zip and let sit for 5 minutes. Once you remove them from the zip lock bag, place them under cold water and the skins should easily come off!

Salsa Roundup: Native Texan Fire Roasted Salsa

Fri, 26 Aug 2011 13:34:00 -0400

Where: Central Market
Price: $5.99
Spice Level: Medium
Rating:

Now here’s a mantra I can stand behind:

“Nothin’ but honest to goodness honest to goodnessness. That’s why Native Texan Brand Salsa is made with only the best of what Texas has to offer.”

Because of my affinity for local products, this salsa screamed at me from the shelf. I checked the consistency, because my favorite kind of salsa is the runny one. The kind of salsa that doesn’t even attempt to cling on to your chip. Check!

I grabbed the Fire Roasted jar, being in the mood for something smoky, a bag of Xochitl chips (thank goodness they had them) and went on my merry little way forgetting to even look at the other flavor profiles they had on the shelf.

Overall, it’s definitely one of the better salsas I’ve had in awhile. The consistency was perfect: not too runny and had just enough clumps of ingredients to dig up. The spice bite was just right and the smokiness wasn’t overbearing.

Once I run out, I’ll probably be driving back to pick up another jar.

A Clean Erase

Wed, 24 Aug 2011 11:56:30 -0400

I painted a whole wall in my office with chalkboard paint last weekend. Barely writing on it, I noticed that when I erased the wall, it wasn’t clean and left a trail of chalk behind. I didn’t want to scrub it off too hard with the fear that it would scratch or erode the surface of the paint.

The solution: Use a rag or a lint-free cloth, dab it in a little Coke (Dr. Pepper works, too) and start erasing. Don’t worry, the soda won’t leave your wall sticky. It’ll return the chalkboard wall to it’s original state, free of any traces of chalk drawings!

Monday Morning: It's a Wang Thang

Mon, 22 Aug 2011 11:21:00 -0400

I love me some chicken wings, especially the asian-inspired kind. I’ve tried various recipes and these are my top four.

They’re super easy and will make for a quick, albeit messy, weeknight meal. Or better yet, buy some beer, make ‘em all and invite some friends.

1. Spicy Baked Chicken Wings

2. Asian Glazed Drumsticks

3. Sriracha Sweet & Spicy Wings

4. Chicken Kicap

Enjoy!

Monday Morning: Watermelon

Mon, 08 Aug 2011 12:09:50 -0400

Oh, delicious and sweet watermelon. Even though I don’t know how to pick a good one out of a bunch, that won’t deter me from loving you and wanting to devour you.

In the height of the heat, there’s nothing I ever want more while in the sun than a nice, cold watermelon. Or the product of a watermelon.

1. Watermelon and Feta Salad

2. Watermelon Jalapeno Margarita

3. Watermelon Mojito Popsicles

4. Watermelon and Strawberry Granita with Thyme-Infused Whipped Cream

The First Four

Tue, 19 Jul 2011 11:39:00 -0400

It’s been a week since we’ve moved in to our first house in the University Hills neighborhood (or is this Windsor Park?) after a long 3-day drive from Brooklyn, NY. The most exciting thing about living here is having a new pool of restaurants and bars to try out.

Understandably, it’s going to be tough not to compare my food experiences in New York to those that I will be experiencing here in Austin. Hey Austin, you have some big shoes to fill.

These are the first 4 restaurants I’ve visited so far, which are responsible for the extra 2 lbs. I’ve managed to pack on. A half pound per restaurants, not too shabby.

1. Franks 407 Colorado Street
I like Frank’s. I like the vibe, the drink menu and their kick ass branding. The hot dogs, however, are subpar compared to the gourmet dogs I’m used to eating: Crif Dogs and Asia Dog.

We chose a few dogs off of the menu that we thought sounded delicious. The Sonoran dog was our first choice: wrapped in bacon, deep fried, stuffed with cheese, topped with pinto beans, grilled and fresh onions, diced tomatoes, mayonnaise, mustard and jalapeno sauce. When it was brought out, we were impressed by the beastly size of it. The first bite? Not necessarily the greatest. It was a bit bland, but I blame that solely on the amount of pinto beans. If it weren’t for the beans, I think this would have been better than it was.

Next up: Taco Dog. It is what it sounds like it is. A hot dog topped with ground beef, lettuce and tomatos. This, too, was also a little bland and probably could have used a little hot sauce.

Last but not least: Mini Dog Trio. This was the best thing I had all day, but it probably could have also used a flavor punch.

All in all, the flavors just weren’t there for me. They sounded and looked appealing, but my taste buds wouldn’t agree. But, with that said, I’ll probably be coming back. Something has got to scratch my Crif Dog cravings.

2. El Chile Cantina 41809 Manor Road
This place is DELICIOUS. I’ve been dying for Mexican food and, unlike Rosa Mexicana or Dos Caminos, it doesn’t cost an arm and a leg in Texas. I absolutely love their free chips and salsa, so much that I think our table went through 3 bowls of chips.

I got the Enchiladas Verde, which were excellent, and even better when it was paired with their prickly pear frozen margaritas. Delish!

This is one of the places where I will continue coming back to until I’ve tried everything on the menu.

3. Chuy’s Tex-Mex Mulitple Locations
It is what it is: a chain restaurant. Like the Chili’s of American food. It felt like a chain restaurant but we came here for the margaritas. I also heard through the grapevine that they have an unlimited nacho bar during happy hour, which would probably be the only reason why I would ever choose to come back here over any other Tex-Mex restaurant in Austin.

4. Pho Van 8557 Research Blvd # 120
We ate here with my parents, who drove in from Dallas to help us unload the truck. My perception of pho restaurants is that they’re all the same, but if it’s bad then you’ll know it’s bad.

With that said, my parents seemed to be content with the food they were served. That speaks volumes, as my mom is ridiculously picky about what she eats. If there’s any distate for it, she’ll push it around her plate, criticize it and eat a few bites to coat her stomach before she drives home to cook her own dinner.

I’m not sure if I’ll be coming back here, but I also haven’t weighed the options here in Austin. This may be one of the only pho restaurants in Austin for all I know.

We're movin' it to Austin!

Wed, 15 Jun 2011 12:12:20 -0400

Apologies for the hiatus.

After much thought and Googling, I am very excited to announce that this blog will soon be turning into a food blog based on my foodie adventures in Austin. Austin, the food truck capital of the world.

I’m VERY excited about the turn of events and I can’t wait to get started.

July 1st is the day, folks. July 1st.

Visiting home

Mon, 28 Mar 2011 14:35:00 -0400

I’m always ecstatic when I get to visit home because I know I’ll come back to New York ten pounds heavier from all of the delicious home cooked meals my mom made. At the rate of eating 5 times a day, who wouldn’t gain ten pounds?

There’s a routine to my visits home. My mom calls me a couple of days in advance to ask me if there’s anything particular that I’ve missed or that I’ve been craving. There always is. When I arrive to the house, there’s always 2 choices and normally, I eat both instead of choosing. Mama didn’t raise no dummy.

Without fail, there is always my favorite dish waiting for me practically every day of my visit: bánh ướt. Bánh ướt translates into “wet cakes”, but the translation isn’t representative of the actual dish. It’s actually sheets of thinly cut rice noodles, topped with chả lụa, a Vietnamese pork sausage, and garnished with fried shallots, chopped fresh mint and then splashed with nước chấm, which is a prepared fish sauce using garlic, lime, peppers and sugar (the same sauce you see with eggrolls, spring rolls, vermicelli dishes, etc.).

My mom’s homemade bánh ướt

Catfish salad