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If there's one thing I like stocking my freezer with, it's puff pastry. Pepperidge Farm is one brand I usually keep on hand. The other one I like is Dufour Pastry Kitchens brand, however it can be hard to find. Nonetheless, with puff pastry, I'm never too far away from whipping up some great appetizers to serve guests or just to snack on. My parents are visiting from overseas and I made the
One summer cuisine we really enjoy is Jamaican. Since summer is coming to an end in the next few weeks, we wanted to get a taste of Jamaica and it's flavorful dishes. Our favorite Jamaican dish? Hands down, it's Jamaican Jerk. This time, I made these Jamaican Jerk Shrimp Skewers and served them up with a Fresh Pineapple Salsa. It's not only delicious and colorful, it also gave us a taste of
With each week that goes by, I'm loving my courses more and more. I certainly started my courses with a decent amount of culinary knowledge but I love the fact that there is so much more for me to learn. My classes are in the afternoon and evenings so when most people are winding down from their long day, I'm soaking up tons of culinary info in the lecture portion of my course. When I'm in my
Chicago is always full of so many surprises and treasures. Just when you think you know all about the city and have a good grasp of where to go for various types of eats, you find out about another place to check out. Well, over the past weekend, I hosted a culinary tour and taco crawl for friends and shared with them a few hidden gems in the Little Village neighborhood of Chicago. If you are look
Asian cuisine will always be comfort food to me. It doesn't matter if it's Filipino, Chinese, Japanese, Thai, Vietnamese or even Korean food. I like to get a dose of any of these cuisines at least once a week. One of my favorite Asian cuisines is Korean for its combination of sweet with spicy flavors, various textures and all the delicious banchan (side dishes) Korean cuisine is known for. A dish
Breakfast... is the hardest meal for me to eat. I was doing really well with eating breakfast for several months, but somehow I fell off the wagon recently. I think it's due to caring for my lil guy the minute I get up in the morning. By the time he's all taken care of, I get caught up with things I have to do for the day and before I know it, it's almost time for lunch and my lil guy's next feedi
One of our favorite Italian inspired dishes here at home is a shrimp scampi. My husband recently suggested this dish and when I didn't have any shrimp on hand, I improvised and used chicken instead. Some folks may be familiar with Olive Garden restaurant's chicken scampi dish on their menu and this Chicken Scampi recipe is inspired by that. It has a nice punch of garlic, a butter and white wine sa
One of my husband's complaints about me is that I'm crazy about cleaning. If I'm not in the kitchen cooking or baking and I'm not online blogging, he'll be the first to tell you that I'm somewhere around the house cleaning. I don't know - maybe it's just a habit I picked up from my mom. But what my husband doesn't understand about cleaning is that often times, it's like finding long lost treasures
This week's Project Pastry Queen (PPQ) challenge are the Texas Big Hairs Chocolate Hazelnut Meringue Tarts, chosen by me, here at What's Cookin, Chicago!. I chose this recipe because working with meringues is something I don't do often and this looked like a great recipe involving chocolate and hazelnuts. Besides, the title and presentation of these tarts are just too fun to pass up!... When i
Fall is just around the corner and I've been anxious to cook up some fall favorites. Even though it's still a little too early for all the comforting fall dishes, I came up with a little fall teaser recipe. This Chicken Pot Pie Penne combines the deliciousness of a classic chicken pot pie with pasta for a nice casserole any time of year. Get a taste of fall now!... With the end of August practi
Ham & cheese is a favorite sandwich filling, which many kids are enjoying these days at the start of the new school season. It happens to be my favorite too and the best ham & cheese sandwich I've ever had was on the streets of Paris. Nothing beats slightly salty jambon (ham), along with smooth, buttery emmenthaler cheese tucked into a warm, toasty baguette that has been kissed with a touc
After many years of informal cooking and baking experience in both home and commercial kitchens, it was time for me to take the plunge and go to school.... culinary school, that is! I plan on blogging my thoughts each week, recapping things I've learned and the overall experience. Doing so will also help me further absorb what I've learned, hopefully making me a better student in the long run. So
The weather has cooled down quite a bit and it's put me in a comfort food mood. One comfort food I love is pasta. Who doesn't like pasta? All the various shapes, flavors, textures... and let's not forget the wonderful sauces to eat them with! Since I'm back in school this week, I don't have much time to whip up meals like I used to (not to mention a 3+ month old to cater to!). However when I came
How do you like your steak? Every now and then, I like to cook up a good, solid steak with little preparation. There's something about keeping the integrity of the steak using straightforward seasoning to really appreciate its true flavor. Normally when I prepare steak, it's simply seasoned with sea or kosher salt, fresh ground black pepper and granulated garlic powder. A drizzle of olive oil befo
If there's one thing we rarely do is have Chinese take out. I don't see the need to since making Asian dishes come so naturally for me. This recipe for Stir Fried Cashew Pork is one that you can prepare in less than 30 minutes - definitely faster that any Chinese restaurant delivery service! And I'm willing to bet it tastes better too without any MSG... Stir Fried Cashew Pork is definitely a Chin
While the temperature outside is easily in the upper 80s/lower 90s, we're staying pretty cool indoors with the air conditioner cranked up. It's so cool inside our house that I'm usually wearing a light- to medium-weight sweater. Feeling especially chilly today, I figured it wouldn't hurt to have a mini preview of the soup season to come. For lunch, I prepared this steamy bowl of Spicy Asian Chicke
There's something about foods that are sticky and sweet. Think barbecue, sticky buns, taffy... and chicken. Yes, chicken! This recipe for Vietnamese Style Caramel Chicken is a sweet and savory dish that's full of complex flavor yet so simple and quick to prepare in less than 30 minutes! Have I piqued your interest and curiosity? Read on!... Vietnamese Style Caramel Chicken is a dish that consis
This week's Project Pastry Queen (PPQ) challenge is Rather Rich Corn Muffins, chosen by Amanda of Fake Ginger (who has the recipe within her blog). Looking at the recipe, I wanted to jazz it up a bit and as a result, came up with these Loaded Cornbread Muffins... a variation of the original recipe. We all know and love a good cornbread muffin. However, this recipe is not that. It's not good - i
Salads are one thing we need to make more exciting in our house. Usually, I'll throw together a salad with some type of green, cheese, nuts and a fruit. But after awhile, it gets a bit boring and I'm looking for new ideas. Well, I came across this recipe for Shanghai Chicken Salad and we were hooked! It's a nice change of pace from our usual salad lineup that tastes pretty dang good... This sal
If there's one thing I don't take for granted, it's the relationships I have with people in my life. Regardless if they are familiar faces or new acquaintances, I love meeting new people and forming friendships. I met Debbie last month when she attended the Rick Bayless garden tour I hosted. She's an avid home gardener and had quite a few tomato varieties she was growing. When Debbie attended a re
After a whole week of Indian favorites to share, I hope the recipes have inspired or motivated some folks to give Indian cuisine a chance in home kitchens. Here's one more Indian recipe for Chicken Makhani, also known as Indian Butter Chicken. Although I didn't include this dish in my recent Indian cooking class I hosted last weekend, it was a dish requested by one of my students. I occassionally
If there's a drink you should order at an Indian restaurant, it's a lassi! What's a lassi? Simply put, it's a shake usually made with yogurt and fruit. Some are made with a blend of spices or even vegetables. One reason why I recommend ordering a lassi is not only is it delicious, but it helps tame those spicy and hot Indian dishes too. For the Indian cooking class I taught recently, I showed folk
Curry is one of those spices that took me awhile to appreciate. Initially, the aroma of curry didn't really appeal to me until I learned to embrace it living near the Devon neighborhood of Chicago a few years ago. The Devon Desi Corridor on Chicago's north side will transport any city dweller into a world of Indian and Pakistani culture. Here is where I learned so much about Indian and Pakistani c
Garlic. If there's one ingredient I cannot live without, it's garlic. In fact, without really giving it a second thought, I almost always start savory recipes with sauteed garlic and onions. But for the recent Indian cooking class I hosted, we used garlic in a different way. For this Garlic Naan recipe, minced garlic is mixed with olive oil and herbs which was then brushed on freshly baked naan fo
One thing I love about cooking is how a faux pas can still turn into something pretty great. While teaching an Indian cooking class, the samosa dough didn't make quite enough for the entire class so we improvised and made mini Potato & Pea Samosas instead... which really ended up looking like mini empanadas after they were filled. Regardless, they were quite delicious and easy to prepare. So t
It's been several months since I've hosted my usual culinary events for What's Cookin, Chicago due to my maternity hiatus. But now that I've gotten the hang of motherhood for the past three months, I'm ready to get back into the kitchen! This past weekend was quite a culinary adventure to say the least. I hosted two cooking classes with my group and had a delicious blast. One class I taught and ho
This week's Project Pastry Queen challenge is Watermelon Lemonade, chosen by Ashley of Delish who has the recipe within her blog). With the crazy heat we've been experiencing here in Chicagoland this summer, this recipe was such a great choice! It's refreshing to say the least and the mere presentation is beautiful and colorful!... Imagine cooling down with a nice, cold glass of classic lemo
Nothing adds some life to a table like a colorful salad! There's no doubt why the summer months are wonderful to enjoy various salads. My favorite reason why I enjoy salads even more in the summer is the bountiful options of colorful vegetables to incorporate into all kinds of salads. For our Mediterranean Grill Party last weekend, this Greek Salad certainly added some beautiful colors to the tabl
With the tail end of summer wrapping up, we've been taking advantage of our grill to cook our dinners lately. Our favorite these days are kabobs of all kinds - meat, veggie, fruit... whatever we can skewer is fair game! When we hosted our Mediterranean Grill Party last weekend, we had a lot of fun serving up various kinds of kabobs and these Lemon & Oregano Chicken Kabobs were quite popu
Sometimes the best recipes come out of quick thinking, little time and lots of pressure. With guests coming in a matter of minutes to our Mediterranean Grill Party, I didn't have time to prepare the desserts I had in mind. So in a 'MacGuyver' moment, I came up with these Creamy Nutella Tartlettes that turned out to be a great hit at the party. Thank goodness it worked out, otherwise my dessert tab
Who can resist eating things on a stick? It's such a fun way to serve and eat food... and you have to love the fact there are no utensils involved! I knew I had to throw in some kabobs on our Mediterranean Grill Party menu for the recent party we hosted. These Beef Kofta Kebobs were the perfect dish and were quite popular among guests. The secret was all in the seasoning...At some of my favorite M
Sometimes it can be frustrating to have a picky eater in the household. Well, maybe not really picky, but a person who refuses to eat certain foods that you happen to like. Enter my loving husband. He *hates* eggplant because of it's texture and won't go near any dish that involves it. The only way I can get away with making a dish with eggplant is if we have company who would eat it along with me
One of my absolute favorite Greek dishes is spanakopita, which is a mixture of spinach, onions, cottage cheese and feta cheese wrapped with buttery, crispy phylllo dough. Most often, this dish is served as a pastry covered casserole. I added spanakopita to our Mediterranean Grill Party menu but to make it more party friendly to enjoy, I formed them into Spanakopita Rolls instead. They were a hit a
When I think of Mediterranean cuisine, one of the first things that come to mind is hummus. Hummus is generally chickpeas and tahini processed together with a few seasonings and herbs. Rather than making the usual traditional version, I wanted a more refreshing flavor to add to our Mediterranean Grill Party menu. As I was searching for possible menu items, I came across this recipe for Lemon Artic
It's hard to believe that my little man is growing up so fast! He's now 3 months old (seriously, where did the time go?!) and to celebrate, my husband and I threw a party with family and friends. Since we love throwing a party with some kind of food theme, we fired up the grill for a Mediterranean Grill Party!... Mediterranean cuisine is a perfect choice during the summer. Aside from grilling
This week's Project Pastry Queen baking challenge is Fredericksburg Peach Cream Cheese Tart, chosen by Tara of Smells Like Home (who has the recipe within her blog). Given that we're a small family of 3, having a full tart in the kitchen would not be a good thing. So instead of making a full tart, I made a few smaller ones instead, which I'll name "Peaches & Cream Tartlettes". Let me tell yo
When we're having an Italian inspired dinner, I often make stuffed mushrooms to add to the menu. If you're a mushroom fan, you can certainly appreciate how versatile it is to stuff mushroom caps with all sorts of fillings. One of our favorite fillings would be sausage. These Sausage Stuffed Mushrooms were delicious and the filling was especially cheesy, just the way we love it... The combinat
Do you prefer foods that are more sweet or savory? For me, I prefer savory flavors, which is probably one reason why I also prefer cooking over baking. To help give me a balance of making both sweet and savory dishes, sometimes I need reasons to bake sweet treats. One way to do that is to participate in baking groups such as Tuesdays with Dorie and now, a new baking group, Project Pastry Queen. I
We love asian dumplings in our house and they're one of our 'go-to' foods if we're not in the mood to put much effort in meals. I tend to make large batches and freeze so there's always some kind of asian dumpling stashed away in my freezer. With my sister and her family in town, I planned an Asian inspired dinner and included these Pork, Ginger & Mushroom Shumai Dumplings as an appetizer. The
When you're planning a Japanese dinner menu featuring sushi and seafood, what do you serve non-seafood eating folks? This was the question I asked myself since my brother in law is not a seafood fan. Taking inspiration from local Japanese restaurant menus, I decided to make Chicken Katsu and served it with a Homemade Teriyaki Sauce. The verdict? "This is awesome!," says my non-seafood eating broth
Do you have any culinary regrets? For me, one would be the fact that I didn't make my birthday cake from scratch this year. I had a birthday fiesta a few months ago where the menu theme was inspired by Cinco de Mayo since my birthday was only a few days before. For my birthday cake, I ended up purchasing a Tres Leches Cake from a local Mexican bakery since I didn't have time to make a cake that we
Well before I went to school, my first teacher was my mom and my first classroom was the kitchen. My mom would teach my siblings and me our colors, numbers, alphabet, shapes and sizes all using food and things around the kitchen. Our field trips were often to the grocery stores where she'd point out fruits, vegetables, meats and other foods, usually telling us how they're grown, where they're grow
One of my favorite Latin inspired dishes is empanadas. The fact that they can either be sweet or savory as well as the versatility of being served as an appetizer, main dish or even dessert is what really appeals to me. For a recent dinner, I prepared these Beef and Cheese Empanadas as a started to a Latin inspired dinner. I've never seen anyone have such a reaction like my sister and her family t
My sister and her family are visiting from Virginia this week and of course, I'm putting out all the stops since I see them once a year, if that. They don't have too much variety when it comes to food where they live so I planned a whole week of theme dinners for all of us to enjoy. For their first night here, I prepared a Cuban/Latin themed dinner with some of our favorites... Considering th
It's time for a remake! Since I've started blogging back in January 2007, I've tried to feature a different recipe every time I post. With so many recipes out there I'd love to try, it wasn't hard to make a new dish everyday. However, I do have some standby recipes I enjoy making often. One such recipe is this Black Bean & Corn Salad. I recently made this for a Latin inspired dinner for
It's been a really hectic past couple of days in my kitchen, hence the lack of recipe posts lately. However I will be posting an explosion of recipes within the next couple of days, if not weeks to make up for it! For one, my sister and her family are driving in from Virginia and staying the week, so I've got some great meals planned during their visit. But before that, I've been working on a spec
Thank you to all the local Chicagoland folks that participated in the Share our Strength: Taste of the Nation Chicago giveaway! Two lucky winners have been randomly selected based on the number of their comment, in response to what one of their favorite restaurants is in Chicago. Find out who won and what culinary adventures are planned for What's Cookin, Chicago in August... It's been several
Leftovers... you either love them or hate them! In our house, we like them and afford throwing away food as much as possible. So when we have a mish mosh of ingredients leftover, one way I like using them up is to come up with a filling of some sort. In this case, I had a few ingredients left over from a Tex Mex dinner I prepared. Looking what I had to work with, I made these Southwestern Chicken
Vietnamese cuisine is full of refreshing flavor and perfect for hot summer days. It's been awhile since I've had some really good Vietnamese fare (oh, how I miss living in the city!) but the cuisine really isn't too difficult to make at home. One of my favorite Vietnamese appetizers is the fresh spring rolls, also known as Goi Cuon. Traditionally, they're made with a combination of shrimp, pork an
Citrus flavors are all the rage during the summer months for it's refreshing flavor. With the raves I received on the recent Key Lime Cheesecake Bars I made recently, I decided to make them again with a slight twist. I used a combination of lemon, lime and orange to make these Triple Citrus Cheesecake Bars. It's one of the best ways to highlight summer's citrus fruits! These were fantastic and
