Wolfgang Puck's 20.21 - Dairy Foods

When I'm not blogging, cooking or throwing parties I can be found downtown Minneapolis working at an ad agency. Yup, that's my day job. I consider myself pretty darn lucky to have a job over the past 5 and a half years that I actually like, a lot. Some days I'd even say I love it. It's my ad agency gig that allows me to dine at fabulous places like 20.21 in the Walker Art Museum. I work in Media which means I get to hang out with great Media brands/content providers like the Wall Street Journal, Forbes and Fortune Magazine, BBC network, Architectural Digest, Better Homes and Gardens, social media like Facebook, Twitter, Linked In, and the list goes on and on.

These partners take me and my team at work out to dinner on a fairly regular basis. Did I mention above how much I like my job (oh yeah...I did). Fortune magazine took my team and I to 20.21 the other week and we ordered the tasting menu. Oh my god it was the most amazing array of courses, 10 courses to be exact. By the end of dinner I was experiencing physical pain from eating too much.

I won't say much more because the photos speak for themselves. If you can swing the steep prices at 20.21, go immediately.

My bellini - champagne with passion-fruit puree. I could have drank 99 of these, they were so good, but I practiced some self control (with the drinks, not the food) and only had one.

Possibly my favorite part of the entire meal, the tuna sashimi cup. Everyone should experience this once. Chicken cashew salad. My boss, Kathy's favorite.

Shrimp tempura.

Chicken in a lettuce cup.

The dinner entrees piled on my plate. I can't even begin to remember everything here.

A cookie buffet for dessert. Those are homemade marshmallows on the left.

Some sort of chocolate dessert. I had a bite but at this point in the dinner I was beginning to hurt. The best part of the dessert is the chocolate spoon with the cherry, to replicate the sculpture in the garden in from of the museum.

Ayam Pongteh/Braised Chicken in Fermented Bean Paste Recipes

I am not really sure what Pongteh means, but basically Ayam Pongteh is chicken, potatoes, mushroom braised in fermented soybean paste. This is a must order dish in any Nyonya restaurant. The flavorful chicken meat that has been infused with the salty bean paste, sweet shallots and garlic goes really well with rice. My good friend Shereen who reside in New Zealand is kind enough to share her family recipe with us. Thanks Shereen.

Ingredients :

2 Ib chicken
300gm shallots
150gm garlic
3 tbsp cooking oil
2 tbsp fermented bean paste (tau cheong)
1 1/2 - 2 cups water (depend on how much gravy you like)
4 medium size potatoes – peel and cut into half or quarter
5 whole Chinese dry shitake mushrooms – soaked in hot water until soft
2 tsp palm sugar or brown sugar – more if you like it sweeter
2 tsp thick black soy sauce

1. Clean, removed skin and cut the chicken into bite size pieces. Pat dry. Put the shallots and garlic in a food processor and ground it into paste.
2. Heat up the oil in a frying pan; add in the ground shallots and garlic. Stir fry until fragrant and lightly brown.
3. Add in the fermented bean paste, stir fry until fragrant. Add in the chicken pieces, continue to stir-fry and until chicken changes to pale color. Put in the water.
4. Bring it up to a boil, turn down the heat, cover and continue to simmer for 10 minutes. Add in the mushroom and potatoes. Continue to simmer for 10 minutes.
5. Add in sugar, black soy sauce. Continue to shimmer until gravy thickens, chicken is cooked and potatoes tender. Check seasoning.
6. Serve with warm rice.


Note: This dish can be kept in the fridge for a few days and it actually tastes better the next day.

Breakfast at Tiffanys - Dairy Foods

I was a very lucky gal the other weekend and got to have breakfast at Tiffanys...literally. My friend Jill's sister bid on a private breakfast event at a charity silent auction for 10 of her friends, and I got to go as Jill's date!

As a girly girl I must admit there was something kind of magical about being in Tiffany before normal store hours for your own private breakfast and the best part...trying on all the sparkly gorgeousness they have to offer.

I managed to find and purchase one of the cheapest items in the store (a pendant necklace on a black cord from the Notes collection), but I actually love it and just got lucky that it didn't break the bank.

The brunch food was not very extensive, some mini quiches, fruit, pastries and mimosas (my favorite part). The decor was beautiful, those pinks and blues would be a lovely color combo for a wedding or any fun, girly event.

There is a funny story to go along with my purchase. Jill took a photo of me holding up the blue box and sent it to my husband. He called within about 30 seconds of receiving the photo to be sure I wasn't spending too much money.

We got to try on gorgeous engagement rings. This one was my fave (but I still love mine more)

Raisin Buns Recipes

When I saw the raisin buns at this Blog I knew I have to try it out. This raisin bun is much softer and flakier than the usual Cinnamon Rolls . I don’t have a lot of experience in making this type of flaky dough as I find them too tedious and I have to do a lot of rolling. But the urge of making this gets the best of me. Since the weather is getting much cooler so it is the best to make this as keeping the dough cold so the butter does not melt during rolling is critical. I did put the dough back into the fridge in between rolling for an hour before working on it again as the butter start melting on me. For those who like this type of flaky bread, do try it out. It is really good. I bet you can't stop at just eating one ;)

Ingredients:

2 cups (250 g) flour
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp sugar
1 packet (7 grm) dried yeast
½ cup water
113 grm of cold butter - cut the butter into 4-5 pieces

1. Put all the ingredients except the butter in a mixing bowl. Mix and knead dough until smooth and elastic. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it rise until double its size. It will take about 2-3 hours.

Roll out the dough and place the cold butter in the center of the dough. Bring in the four corners to the center. Please refer to the video here on how to roll out the dough. After you are done rolling let the dough rest in the fridge for 2-3 hours and then you can make some rolls with the fillings of your choice or some croissants. I decided to make some raisins buns with it.


For the raisins buns you need:

1 quantity of the ready dough
½ cup of dark brown sugar
2 tsp of cinnamon powder
1 cup of raisins

1 egg (for egg wash)

1. Prepare a baking sheet and line it with parchment paper. Mix sugar, cinnamon powder and raisins together in a bowl. Roll out the dough into rectangle shape about 1/3” thick. Sprinkle the mixture on top.
2. With your palm lightly press the filling ingredients into dough and then roll them up like a Swiss roll. Secure the roll by pinching both ends of the roll. Cut the rolls into ¾” pieces and line them on the baking sheet.
3. Place them in a warm spot and let them rise for an hour or until they are doubled in size. Beat the egg and brush it over the buns. Bake them at 350°F for about 20-25 minutes or until they are golden brown.
4. Remove them from the oven and let them cool for as long as you can resist them before digging into it.

Real party: a vintage-themed baby shower - Dairy Foods

I co-hosted a vintage themed baby shower last weekend for my dear friend, Jill. We were paired up randomly as roommates freshmen year of college and have been close ever since. I am very excited for her upcoming bundle of joy.

The shower was a lot of fun and no details were overlooked. Don't forget to click here to see the inspiration board and menu for the day.

Enjoy the photos!




The dessert display. The cupcakes are red velvet and homemade. The cake was not.

A menu, chrysanthemums in glass baby bottles and a vintage (looking) frame with a black and white photo of the mom to be when she was a baby. Cute!

Mini cucumber sandwiches. These were simple, but delicious.

Caprese skewers. Always a hit.

The red velvet cupcakes with "babycakes" and "sweet" pennants. I made each of those pennants by hand using a free template from Vintage glam blog, click here if you are interested in the template. Very easy but a bit time consuming.

Chrysanthemums in cylinder vases with the invitation displayed.

More flowers in a vintage (looking) vase surrounded by crystal scatters.

This was a simple double layer cake with raspberry filling from Target bakery. I decorated it with green ribbon and flowers. The cake received a ton of compliments on taste.

I love this candy cone box. I got the idea from Hostess with the Mostess blog (a great entertaining blog) and had my friend Libby's boyfriend build it. I decorated it with satin ribbon and vintage-y fabric. The cones are filled with the mom to be's favorite candy. Click here to get step-by-step directions on how to build your own.

All the paper products were coordinated to match the vintage-y paper from the invitations.

Nyonya Acar/Spicy Pickle Vegetables Recipes

I love Acar, but I never attempt to make it until a couple of weeks ago. Acar is a type of vegetable pickle/salad popular in Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia. Made from different vegetables like cucumbers, long beans, carrots, cabbage and is pickled with spicy paste and vinegar. Ground peanuts and sesame seeds are also added to this dish. Acar is commonly served as a condiment to be eaten with a main course. This is a great vegetarian dish too.

I adapted the recipe from Star Kuali and simplified the ingredients and method to suit my taste and ingredients I have in hand.

Ingredients :

1 cucumber - (removed the seeds) and cut into 4cm strips
150g cabbage leaves, cut into 2.5cm squares
2 carrots cut into 4cm strips
150g long beans, cut into 4cm strips

To make into paste:

6 fresh chillies
5 dried chillies –soak in hot water until soft
6 shallots
2 cloves garlic
2 cm fresh turmeric root/1 tbsp ground turmeric
1” galangal (lengkuas)
3 candlenuts/almond or macadamia nuts
1 stalk lemon grass, sliced finely
1” of shrimp paste (belachan) - optional

Vinegar mixture:

1 cup of white vinegar
1 cup water
6 tbsp of brown sugar (more if you like it sweeter)
1 tsp salt
200g roasted peanuts, skinned and pounded
5 tbsp roasted sesame seeds

For blanching the vegetables:

600ml water
400ml vinegar
2 tbsp salt
2 tbsp sugar

1. Rub cucumber slices with 1 tbsp salt. Leave aside for one hour. Wrap in clean towel or muslin cloth and squeeze out excess liquid. Put all the ground ingredients in a food processor and ground into paste and set it aside.
2. Bring water, vinegar, salt and sugar for blanching vegetables to a rapid boil. Blanch the vegetables (except cucumber) one type at a time for 15 second. Remove and using a clean kitchen towel, squeezed the water out of the vegetable and set it aside.
3. Heat up about 3-4 tbsp of oil in frying pan and stir-fry the ground ingredients until fragrant and the oil begins to separate. Stir in water and vinegar. Add sugar and salt and bring to a boil, then leave to cool completely. Check seasoning as you might need to add more sugar to it.
4. Stir in all the prepared vegetables, peanuts and sesame seeds. Store in a clean jar and refrigerate.

Steamed Nori Meat Rolls Recipes

Something quick, simple and healthy for lunch or dinner. This dish goes great with rice.

Ingredients:

2 sheets nori seaweed

Filling:

300 grms ground meat
200 grms shrimp - roughly chopped
2 spring onions
1/2 carrot - grated
1 tbsp cornstarch
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp of soy sauce
salt and pepper to taste

Sauce :

3/4 cup chicken stock
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tsp cornstarch
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 sesame oil
salt and pepper to taste

1) Mix all the filling ingredients together and let it marinate for half and hour. Divide into 2 portions.
2) Put one portion onto the seaweed and roll it up. Cut it into 6-8 pieces roll and steam it for 15 minutes.
3) While the roll is steaming prepare the sauce. Put all the sauce ingredients into a small saucepan and bring it up to a boil until sauce reduce and thicken.
4) When the rolls is done, pour the sauce over and serve warm.

Men and Manny's Steakhouse - Dairy Foods

There is something about men and Manny's that go together really well. My friend Libby and I decided to take our significant others on a double date to Manny's steakhouse a couple weeks ago and the date was a smashing success. I don't think the guys have stopped talking about the perfect rib eye or the amazing martinis since.

Now this is not the type of date we go more than a couple times a year because there is nothing affordable about Manny's. We spent about $350 for the four of us which I realize is a ton of money, but it was worth it.

We ate a lot and everything was amazing.

On the table - Martinis. Porterhouse. Ribeyes. Oysters on the half shell. Mashed potatoes. Mushroom. Creamed spinach. Chopped salad.