Happy Thanksgiving!

Menu

Bought:
Honeybaked Honey glazed Turkey
Honeybaked Ham

Homemade:
Honey glazed carrots
Cornbread in cast iron
Classic Stuffing
Mash potatoes
Vegetable gravy (My bf loved)
Cranberry sauce
Apple-Walnut Galette (pie)

Family brought over:
Potato salad
Hummus (don't ask)
Homemade squash
Asian mung bean cake

Everything was delicious and I was so happy to have all my families there. I am truly thankful for being so bliss with wonderful people in my life and great food to share!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Apple-Walnut Galette

It’s that time of the year again. Where love ones come together and enjoy a big feast starring the Turkey! This year I wanted to do something special and cook for the whole family.

The main menu was easy to think of haha the turkey! But I was struggling with the dessert. I couldn’t decide if I wanted to make my famous carrot cake or a pie.

Since I know my boyfriend’s dad loves apple pie that’s what I went with. I was going through my old Food Network Thanksgiving magazine issue from last year and stumble upon this recipe, Apple-Walnut Galette. It’s like an apple pie but with a twist.

What is a Galette you may ask? It’s a type of French pastry that is made with a rich and flaky crust. It’s generally rounded and flat and tends to be very crusty. It looks wonderful because you can see all the layers of apples and it tasted divine.

Korean Fried Chicken and Crispy Baked Garlic Fries

Pho tomato broth with fish and crab meatballs

Pork Noodle Salad

 

My oven broke so I had to improvised. The recipe instructed to bake the pork in the oven, so instead I pan fried it. I don’t have much experience cooking with pork, but boy did I learn one good lesson.

One of my chops were cooked perfectly. I shared that with my bf and it was juicy. The rest was still slightly pink inside. I ended up microwaving it and that was a HUGE mistake. All the juices came out of the pork and what was left was a gray chewy dry piece of meat. It was that bad I ended up throwing the rest away. Luckily I still had the noodles and it had pretty good flavors, so not all was lost. I definitely would make this again and bake the chops. And I’ve learned my lesson, NO MORE microwaving the pork.

Recipe

Prep time: 15 minutes. Cook time: About 30

You need:

• 6 ounces uncooked rice vermicelli
• ¼ cup rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 3 tablespoons mirin
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1 tablespoon fish sauce

• 1 cup julienne-cut carrots
• ¾ cup thinly sliced red bell pepper (about one small pepper)
• ½ cup thinly sliced green onions
• 1/3 cup thinly sliced fresh basil
• ¼ cup chopped dry-roasted peanuts
• 2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
• 1 teaspoon rice vinegar
• 1 teaspoon minced ginger
• ½ teaspoon minced garlic
• 4 (4-ounce) boneless center-cut pork loin chops
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
• Cooking spray

Directions

1. Preheat broiler.
2. Cook noodles according to package directions. Drain and rinse under cold water; drain. Place noodles in a large bowl. Add ¼ cup vinegar and next 4 ingredients) through fish sauce; toss well. Top with carrots, bell pepper, green onions, basil, and peanuts.
3. Combine hoisin and next 3 ingredients (through garlic). Sprinkle pork evenly with salt and pepper; place on a broiler pan coated with cooking spray. Brush half of hoisin mixture over pork; broil 3 minutes. Turn pork over rush remaining hoisin mixture over pork; broil 3 minutes or until done. Serve pork thinly sliced over salad.

Southeast Asian Fried Rice

I had some leftover brown rice and decided to make this Thai-style stir-fried one-dish meal. The key to making fried rice it to use old leftover rice. If you use fresh rice you will end up with a mushy dish.

I didn't have any broccoli the recipe called for at the time. Instead I added celery. I also did not add bacon. It was good, but next time I will try it with broccoli to get that extra vitamin C. 

Recipe

4 servings, 1 ½ cups of rice

You need:

• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon fish sauce
• 1 tablespoon less-sodium soy sauce or tamari
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
• 1 teaspoon sambal oelek, divided
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 bunch green onions
• 2 tablespoons peanut oil, divided
• 2 ½ cups left over rice
• ¼ cup vertically sliced shallots
• 1 (4-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken thighs, cut into ½ inch pieces
• 1 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into ½ inch pieces
• 2 cups broccoli florets
• 1 cup julienne-cut red bell pepper
• 1 ½ teaspoons minced garlic
• Cooking spray
• 2 bacon slices, cooked and crumbled
• 4 lime wedges

Directions

1.  Combine first 4 ingredients, ½ teaspoon sambal oelek, and 1/8 teaspoon salt in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk. Combine eggs and remaining ½ teaspoon sambal oelek in a bowl. Separate green tops from green onions, and diagonally chop; set aside. Cut green onion bottoms (white part) into 1-inch pieces; set aside.
2. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add 2 teaspoons oil to pan and coat evenly. Add rice; stir-fry 2 minutes, constantly. Transfer rice mixture to a large bowl. Heat 2 teaspoons oil in pan. Add shallots to pan; stir-fry 30 seconds or until tender. Add chicken; stir-fry 2 minutes or until lightly browned. Add brown sugar mixture to pan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 1 minute or until liquid thickens slightly, stirring occasionally. Add chicken mixture to rice mixture.
3. Wipe pan clear with a paper towel; return pan to medium-high heat. Add remaining 2 teaspoons oil to pan. Add broccoli and bell pepper; stir-fry for  3 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Add green onion bottoms, and garlic; stir-fry until fragrant. Add chicken/rice mixture to the pan and cook for 2 minutes or until heated through; return chicken  mixture in a large bowl.
4. Return pan to medium-high heat. Coat pan with oil. Add egg mixture to pan, swirling to coat pan; cook 30 seconds or just until egg is set. Transfer egg to a cutting board; chopped. Stir egg and bacon into rice mixture. Top with green onions and garnish with lime wedges.