World Cup of Yum

Pork Bok Choy Boats

Everybody loves a lettuce wrap. But what’s even better? A bok choy boat! Lettuce is bland and tends to be just a flimsy vehicle for delivering the filling into your face. Baby bok choy has a nice flavor and crunch, which complements the filling nicely and serves as a sturdier scoop. It also presents nicely, so…

Lincoln Restaurant Review

Gold Dig #39 Lincoln is one of just a couple Pasadena eateries that make Jonathan Gold’s 101 Best Restaurants list. They do breakfast and lunch, a nice selection of baked goods, and good Stumptown coffee. The building is a refurbished machine shop, which they have transformed into an airy space with lots of natural light, a view…

Tea Time II

We had so much fun at Tea Time, that we decided to do an encore presentation. We had tea and sweets again of course, but also expanded into more of a full-on meal – no complaints here! We’re hoping to make this an ongoing occurrence, and I’m personally hoping the feast continues to get more…

Elote

Elote, a.k.a. Mexican corn on the cob, is a magical treat that always induces warm fuzzy feelings for me. Perhaps because it’s the kind of food you usually get from a street cart or at a fair, and then eat while walking around. I like to make an Elote bar at BBQs, where people can…

Mian Restaurant Review

Gold Dig #38 Mian is a noodle house in the San Gabriel Valley (what I like to think of as LA’s real Chinatown). It is one of two restaurants by chef Tony Xu that makes Jonathan Gold’s 101 Best Restaurants list – the other is Chengdu Taste (check out my Chengdu Taste Gold Dig too). It’s a fairly…

Sweet & Spicy Broccoli

My mom taught me this awesome trick to make broccoli a gorgeous color and great crunchy texture. You basically throw it into boiling water, then immediately pull it out and run it under cold water. Then you can quickly stir-fry it over high heat to infuse whatever flavors you’d like – I like these spicy…

Dry Okra

Cookbook Club – Madhur Jaffrey Indian Cooking The cookbook for May’s Cookbook Club was Indian Cooking by Madhur Jaffrey. I chose the Dry Okra. Go to my Cookbook Club site to see all the Indian cooking we did. For now – my dish! When I’ve eaten okra dishes in the past, I liked the taste…

B-day Bites

Through the Cookbook Club, I have made some incredible friends. I am so grateful to have them in my life. And a nice bonus to having a bunch of chef friends… they can put together a pretty mean birthday feast 🙂 This was a meal full of all of my favorite things – seafood, grilled…

Atchara

Atchara is a Filipino side dish of pickled green papaya. The crunchy acidity of atchara makes it a great accompaniment to cut through the grease of fried or grilled meats. I remember going camping with one of my best childhood friends, and happily sitting by the fire eating a big bowl of rice, meat, and…

Son of a Gun Restaurant Review

Gold Dig #37 Son of a Gun is another of Jon and Vinny’s eateries that makes Jonathan Gold’s 101 Best Restaurants list. You can also check out my Petit Trois review and my Animal review. Son of a Gun is their seafood spot, or as they refer to it on their website – a “hip, nautical-themed restaurant”….

Greek Salad

I like a Greek Salad because it’s got great crunch and body, but also feels hearty, probably because of the feta. It’s easy to throw together, and keeps well as it’s another one of those salads with no lettuce to get soggy in the dressing. You can use whatever kinds of cucumbers and tomatoes you…

Avocado Pasta

Did you know that Compton used to be a giant avocado grove? I didn’t. My friend lives there, and she has one of the remaining avocado trees. It is the most epic avocado tree I have ever seen. Huge, with giant incredibly delicious avocados to match. Every year around avocado season, I try to make…