Cy's Breakfast

Lam's.  $14.65.  I love chow fun and this one looks good!

Ceramics Class

Ceramics class started again.  I made the two cigar ashtrays in the middle, Erick made a bonsai plant bowl to the left of them, Cleta made cute cat wind chimes above and Geri made the hibiscus plate on the upper right corner.  

Maybe I'm more used to the easily ruinable nature of working with clay now.  I’m not as annoyed at it as in the last session. Yet.

Being Kai

Below is a compilation of some phone videos of Kai.

Manju!

Wendell went to Kauai recently for a softball tournament and came home with some Lawai manju.  I've been craving it ever since and even wondered if we should go to Kauai to pick up more.

And so I started looking up recipes.  I decided on Keeping it Relle's Sweet Potato Manju recipe because it was "simple" and used a lot of buttah.  Plus, she did a YouTube video showing how to make them.

 

You don't have to put them on a wire rack to cool, but I did because . . . 

   

this is what they looked like just out of the oven!!  Whaaaat??!!  I thought I would need to drain them, but eventually the melted butter disappeared and I guess was absorbed into the manju.  I figured that the next time I make this I would use 2 sticks of butter instead of 3, BUUUUT it turned out so ono that I think I might just stick to 3.

You can find the recipe on YouTube just below the video.  I used one can of Koshian instead of sweet potato and ended up with 20 pieces instead of 18.  My bake time was about 10 minutes longer than stated.  Also, the recipe calls for 4 egg yolks, so I used the whites to do the egg wash instead of wasting another whole egg.

Dungeness Crab from Yi Xin Cafe

We ordered food from Yi Xin Cafe in Market City for Landon's birthday and the Dungeness crab was a major hit.  It was super meaty, super ono and super expensive.  

Curry Crab with Naan Bread ($72.95)

 

Singapore Style Chili Crab ($68.00)

 

It was messy to eat, but DA SAUCE.  DA SAUCE.  That was enough for me.

Drop It

The other day while playing in the yard I could tell that Kai had something in his mouth that he was trying to hide from me.

I told him to "drop it".

 

He spit it out.  It was a rock.

  

Dd's Beer-Braised Beef Shank

This looks so good, I'm thinking I need to go shopping for some beef shank.

BEER BRAISED BEEF SHANK

 

1 ½ # bone in beef shank

¼ c. flour

Kosher salt, freshly cracked black pepper

Olive oil

1 small onion, stew-cut

1 celery stalk, stew-cut

1 small carrot, stew-cut

1 tomato, wedges

4 cloves garlic, crushed

1 heaping TB tomato paste

12 oz. amber beer

1 c. beef stock

2 tsp Italian seasoning

¼ tsp. dried thyme

1 TB Worcestershire sauce

1 TB red wine vinegar

Kosher salt, freshly cracked black pepper to taste

 

Place flour in a shallow dish; set aside. Season beef shank well on both sides with salt and pepper. Dredge in flour. In a saucepan over medium heat brown shank on both sides in oil. Add onion, celery, carrot and tomato into saucepan.  Saute until slightly limp, 3-4 minutes. Stir in tomato paste and garlic. Cook 2 minutes. Add remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer; cover. Simmer 1 1/2 -2 hours or until beef falls apart easily. 

Serves 2.

Wendell's Halibut with Lemon Caper Sauce

Mahina's parents went fishing in Alaska recently and shared some of their catch with us.

Wendell made this super onolicious dish using a recipe from the kitchn site.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 small lemon
• 2 cloves 

  garlic 

• 1 tablespoon 

  capers

• 4 tablespoons 

  cold unsalted butter

• 2 sprigs 

  fresh parsley

• 4 (4 to 6-ounce) skinless halibut fillets
• 1 teaspoon 

  kosher salt, plus more as needed

• 1/4 teaspoon 

  freshly ground black pepper, plus more as needed

• 2 tablespoons 

  olive oil

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Prepare the following, adding each to the same small bowl as you complete it: Finely grate the zest of 1 small lemon (about 1 teaspoon). Juice the lemon until you have 2 tablespoons. Mince 2 garlic cloves. Rinse 1 tablespoon capers well under cold running water, if salt-packed, to remove salt.
2. Cut 4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter into 4 pieces. Coarsely chop the leaves and tender stems of 2 fresh parsley sprigs (about 1 tablespoon). Pat 4 (4 to 6-ounce) skinless halibut fillets dry with paper towels. Season all over with 1 teaspoon kosher salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper.
3. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large cast iron or nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until just starting to smoke, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the halibut and sear undisturbed until well browned on the bottom and the sides are cooked just past halfway up the fillets, 4 to 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium, flip the fillets, and cook until just cooked through and the flesh flakes easily, 3 to 5 minutes more. Transfer to a serving platter or individual plates.
4. Reduce the heat to medium-low. Add the lemon juice mixture and scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Add the butter one piece at a time, waiting until each piece is almost completely melted before adding the next.
5. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the parsley. Taste and season with salt and pepper as needed. Pour over the halibut and serve immediately.

Cy's Breakfast

Beef Curry with Tripe and Tendon from Heaven Chinese Noodle and BBQ Cafe.  $13.

Wendell's Filipino Grilled Pork Belly

Wendell followed a Foodland five-ingredient recipe to make this.  He made it for his softball team and we got the leftovers.  It was yummy.

 

• 1 pound Pork belly
• 1/2 teaspoon Salt
• 1/2 teaspoon Black pepper
• 1 tablespoon Minced garlic
• 1/2 cup Brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon Shoyu
• 1/2 cup Banana ketchup (or regular ketchup)
• 1 tablespoon Oil (any neutral oil)

INSTRUCTIONS 

• Cut pork belly into 1/2inch strips. In a large bowl, combine pork belly, salt, pepper, garlic, sugar, and shoyu. Mix well.
• Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in refrigerator to marinate overnight or for at least 1hour.
• Once the pork belly has finished marinating, in a small bowl, mix ketchup and oil. Reserve for basting.
• Preheat grill to med-high heat.
• Once grill is ready, place pork belly down and cook for 6-8 minutes on each side, basting the top of the poke belly after flipping it over.
• Cook until internal temperature reaches 165°F or desired doneness.