Peanut Butter French Toast

I love cooking French toast on weekend mornings because I always feel too rushed on the weekdays to make and enjoy it. The recipe for French toast is really simple: mix a few eggs together with a little bit of milk, soak a few slices of bread in the egg mixture, then pan fry each side until golden brown/yellow. For extra flavor, add a bit of vanilla and a few dashes of cinnamon and nutmeg to the egg mixture. After one side of the bread has been cooked, you can spread butter over it while the other side is cooking to infuse the butter flavor into the bread. I find that soft thick bread (like Texas Toast) is the best kind of bread to use, but any kind you have lying around works fine. In the pictures below, I used old wheat bread that I wanted to finish up and also spread chunky peanut butter between two slices of bread before soaking it in the egg mixture.

Mom's Fried Rice

When I was growing up, I would always get excited when my mom made fried rice. Not only was it delicious, but I would usually be at her side and she would let me (or politely insist that I) chop up the ingredients before cooking them up in the wok. Sometimes, she would even let me stir the rice right before it was done. I don't think that actually contributed much, but it made me feel important nonetheless.

Fried rice is a really easy dish to make, so it surprises me that so many Chinese restaurants manage to screw it up (either too salty, too greasy, too wet, etc.). This recipe is very flexible because you can put any ingredients you want into it. Don't be discouraged if you get it wrong the first time because making fried rice is highly a trial-and-error process in getting the proportions right. I am going to start off with a simple recipe and you can modify the ingredients as it suits you.

Ingredients (makes 2-3 Victor servings or 4-5 normal person servings):

-1.5-2 cups day-old refrigerated cooked jasmine rice
-3 stalks scallions (green onions) chopped
-half of a small onion diced
-about 1 cup of diced meat (I used Chinese sausage and Chinese bacon, but deli meat is fine)
-2 eggs beaten and lightly salted
-small can of veggies (peas, carrots, etc.)
-few tablespoons of low sodium light soy sauce
-dark soy sauce (optional)
-few tablespoons of oyster sauce
-vegetable oil
-few tsp salt
-salt

Note: I am pur po sely vague on the exact amount of each condiment because each person has their own preference. As you are cooking, you can always sample the rice and add more of something to your taste.

1. Heat up the wok to medium heat and add a layer of vegetable oil. Scramble the eggs in the wok and return cooked eggs to the same bowl they were beaten in. Break them into small chunks.

2. Turn up the heat an eighth of the way higher and add another layer of oil. Add chopped meat and onions to the wok and stir fry until they are slightly browned and oozing flavors and aromas. If the meat is raw to begin with, c ook until the meat is fully done. Return meat and onions back to bowl. If any char is left in the pan, use a wet paper towel to remove as much as you can.

3. Add another layer of oil to the pan (more here than in the first two steps). Drop in scallions followed by rice and stir fry while breaking up the clumps of rice. After stir frying for a few minutes add a tablespoon or two of soy sauce, a few teaspoons of oyster sauce, salt, and sugar over the rice and continue stir frying for another few minutes.

4. Add the cooked scrambled eggs, meat, and can of veggies to the wok and stir fry for another few minutes and it is ready to plate. If the color of the rice is not dark or salty enough, add more soy sauce or oyster sauce until it tastes suitable. If you like crispy rice at the bottom of the wok, leave the rice alone in the wok for some time before taking it out to plate.

See, that was pretty simple right? As you can see in the pictures (sort of), I used a carbon steel wok, but any large pan that you can use to stir fry is fine. I used to use a stainless steel wok, but a carbon steel wok gives Chinese cooking a MUCH better flavor so I won't ever go back. The only disadvantage is that you have to season the wok periodically and care for it in a very particular way. Happy eating y'all.

Salmon Linguine w/ White Wine Cream Sauce

Recipe: Serves 2-3

-8 oz dry uncooked linguine (or pasta of your choice)
-8 oz salmon fillets
-1/2 cup heavy cream
-1/2 cup chicken stock
-1 tbsp corn starch
-1/2 cup white wine
-2-3 cloves of garlic minced
-olive oil
-half of a small onion (white or yellow) diced
-half to three quarters package of button mushrooms
-shredded parmesan cheese
-half bell pepper cut into small thin strips or diced (optional)
-butter (optional to substitute olive oil)
-red pepper flakes (optional)
-dried or fresh dill (optional)
-dried or fresh parsley (optional)
-salt and pepper to taste

1) Rub salmon fillet with olive oil and season it with salt, pepper, and any other seasonings you want (garlic powder, Mrs. Dash, etc). I usually cook a half-inch fillet in the toaster oven for 20 minutes @ 375F.

2) While the salmon is cooking, prepare the pasta as directed on the package. After the pasta is done, rinse it with cold water to stop the cooking process and prevent sticking.

3) While salmon and pasta are cooking, heat up a large skillet to medium heat with just enough olive oil to coat the surface. After the oil is heated, add onions, garlic, mushrooms, and bell peppers and sautee them until they have shrunken and softened slightly (3-4 minutes).

4) Add white wine into the pan and allow it to simmer until the liquid has been reduced by half. Combine chicken broth and corn starch in a bowl and mix until there are no more clumps. Add this mixture along with heavy cream into the pan and stir contents until the sauce is of uniform color. At this point, the salmon should be done. Use a fork to break the fillet apart into flakes and add to the sauce.

5) Allow the sauce to simmer for a few minutes and reduce slightly. Add some red pepper flakes into the sauce if you like it spicy. You can also add dill to the sauce as it tends to go well with seafood, but be careful about adding too much.

6) After allowing sauce to simmer for 4-5 minutes, sprinkle a thin layer of parmesan cheese into the sauce. Stir the cooked noodles into the sauce and mix until the pasta noodles evenly coated by sauce. If pasta is not hot enough, you can microwave it for 30 seconds or to the desired temperature.

7) Serve onto a platter and sprinkle parsley (optional) and additional parmesan cheese on the pasta.

Comments: You can cook the salmon using whichever method you prefer. I just use a toaster oven because it's easy and saves energy. It is important that you time everything appropriately such that the salmon is cooked and ready to add to the sauce in step 4. I personally don't like food that is too spicy, but I feel the red pepper flakes add a nice kick to the taste. Lemon juice also goes really well with seafood, so you may also consider adding that to the sauce as well. Enjoy.