Black Bean and Corn Enchilada Egg Bake

What's this? My first breakfast recipe! I'm going to take this opportunity to come out of the, ahem, pantry, and admit that I am not a breakfast lover. On a few occasions nothing makes me happier the a Moons Over My Hammy at Denny's, but for the most part, I'd much rather have your regular, run of the mill, non-morning food. However, I do love eggs, and beans, and cheese, so I was pretty excited to make, and eat this recipe. Before you glance at it and decide to make it tomorrow however, know now that it needs to sit and soak for at least four hours. That gets me every time!

I will give you the recipe, and then I will include my changes afterward (my changes=always better!)

Ingredients

10 (6 in) corn tortillas

1 (15 oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 (11 oz) can vacuum packed whole kernel corn with red and green peppers, drained

1 (10 3/4 oz) can condensed nacho cheese soup

6 eggs

2 cups milk

1 tsp cumin

2 oz (half cup) shredded Cheddar cheese

1/2 red bell pepper, if desired

3 sprigs fresh cilantro

Directions

1. Grease 13x9 inch baking dish. Arrange and overlap 6 tortillas on bottom of dish. Spoon beans and corn evenly over tortillas. Spoon cheese evenly over vegetables. Cut remaining tortillas into 1 inch strips; arrange over top.

2. In large bowl, combine eggs, milk and cumin, beat well, Pour over tortilla strips. Cover tightly, refrigerate 4 hours or overnight.

3. Heat oven to 325 F. Uncover dish, sprinkle with cheese. Bake at 325 F for 55 to 60 minutes or until eggs are set. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

4. To serve cut into squares. If desired top with sour cream, salsa, red peppers and cilantro

My Changes

I like the fiesta nacho cheese soup that Campbell's makes, it just has a lot more flavor. I also incorporate a can of spicy Rotelle in with the veggies to give it a great kick and color. And if you like a really fluffy egg, use the two cups of milk, but on accident I forgot the milk completely, and it was a bit denser, but also seemed a lot more packed with flavor. Perhaps you could meet in the middle and just put one cup of milk in! Anyway, have fun with this recipe, it's one that I love to play with!

4 pts per serving

Serving size: 1/12 of recipe

cal 190, 7g fat, 3g sat fat, 115mg chol, 420mg sod, 22g carb, 3g fiber, 5g sugar, 10g prot

Turkey Rolls Cordon Bleu

I really love this recipe, it's fun and easy and it keeps everyone at the table happy. It's also low fat/calorie and weight watchers compatible.

Ingredients

4 1/4 lb turkey cutlets raw

4 (1 oz) slices reduced sodium ham

2 (1 oz) slices reduced fat Swiss cheese (not always easy to find, so if it's crucial you have a low fat cheese, use mozz)

3 TB plain dry bread crumbs

1 TB reduced cal mayo

1/4 cup dry white wine (I just sub with chicken broth)

1/4 cup reduced sodium chicken broth

1 tsp butter

Directions

1. Top each cutlet with a slice of ham and then a half slice of cheese. Roll up jelly-roll fashion and secure with toothpicks.

2. Spread the bread crumbs on a plate or a sheet of wax paper. Bush the turkey rolls with mayo; dip in the crumbs, pressing down to coat.

3. Spray a large nonstick skillet with nonstick spray and set over medium-high heat. Add the turkey rolls and saute until browned all over, about 5 minutes. Add the wine, broth, and butter; bring to a boil. Cover reduce the heat, and simmer until the turkey is cooked through and the sauce thickens, about 5 minutes longer.

5 points per serving (1 roll)

234 cal, 6g fat, 3g sat fat, 95mg chol, 434mg sod, 5g carb, 0g fiber, 37g prot, 125mg calc

For a good side dish, cook medium shells according to directions. After cooking turkey rolls, add 1/4-1/2 cup chicken broth or white wine to skillet to deglaze the bits in the pan. Add favorite herbs and seasonings (garlic salt, parsley and maybe red pepper flakes), and add pasta. Toss to coat. DELISH!

Bumbu Bali 's Traditional Balinese Food .................... Nusa Dua - Bali, Indonesia

Bumbu Bali is a restaurant that serves good authentic Balinese food. This restaurant is highly reommended by many guides and is recognised even by local to be one of the most popular Balinese restaurant. It has a cooking school that that teaches locals and visitors on culinary skills of Balinese dishes down to the choosing the ingredients at the market. Every Wednesday and Friday Bumbu Bali would provide a cultural performance (Time: 08.00pm to 09.00pm) for dinner. During lunch time, the restaurant and cooking school is not opened for business. There is a Bumbu Bali Baru that is 500m away (travelling towards the end of Nusa Dua). This is where I had my lunch.

Here's my recommendations

Sate, skewered meat (pork, beef, duck, chicken, seafood). The recommended ones are Sate Lembat Bebek (minced duck) and Sate Lilit (Minced Seafood on Lemongrass) ..............

Hasil Laut Bumbu Kuning (Assorted Seafood in Yellow Tumeric Sauce). The sauce is tasty and is good to go with white rice ..............

Be Celeng Base Manis (Pork in sweet soy sauce). It doesn't look good but it's good! ...............

Nasi Goreng (Fried Rice) ...............

For desert, the Godoh and Pisang Rai (fried and steamed bananas with brown sugar dip)  ...............

There's also the list of fresh fruit mix that is good on a warm Balinese afternoon .................

One important tip when you eat there : When they place a candle right in the middle of the table that is congested with your food, do not ask to remove the candle. It is for chasing the persistent flies away more than lighting up any darkness in the afternoon.

Cost : RP 180 000 / person

Address : Jalan Pratama, Tanjung Benoa, P.O.Box 132 Nusa Dua 80363Bali - Indonesia

Tel : 62 361 774502 or 62 361 772299

Opening Hours : Lunch-Dinner 11.00 a.m- 11.00 p.m.

Country : Bali, Indonesia

Website : http://www.balifoods.com/bumbu/

Trattoria Cucina Italiana ................ Seminyak-Bali, Indonesia

The restaurant ............... Trattoria, as the name already suggest that its Italian, can really whip up a good Italian dinner. The restaurant is relaxed and easy like all restaurants in Bali. No point getting all formal and uptight in Bali. The Trattoria only serves dinner. For Bali's low season the restaurant is packed by 8pm. So the food must be something. This place is also known to make good pizzas but tonight nobody in my party fancy one. So there's no pizzas in the recommendations that follows.

The following are my favourites. I heard that the menu always varies so I wonder if you'll get to eat the same dish again.

Mozarella cheese with sliced tomatoes ...............

Seafood soup that contains fish, mussels, prawns and the soup is so tasty and good for going with plain bread ...............

Pork sausages wrapped with bacon ...............

The bacon wrapped sausage close up ...............

"Bunny Ears" Tiramisu ...............

Note that there's no unit number for the restaurant. There's no need as you'll get even more confused looking for it if you follow the unit number. The unit number do not run sequentially. Just lok for the prominent sign.

Address : Jalan Laksmana, Oberoi Seminyak, Kuta-Bali

Tel : 0361 737082

Country : Bali, Indonesia

Ah Chung Mian Xian 阿宗面线 ............... Taipei, Taiwan

Ah Chung Mian Xian 阿宗面线 is a well known name in Taiwan known for its "orh ah mi sua" in the Hokkien or Min Nan Chinese dialect, rice flour noodles. The photo above shows one of its outlet in Xi Men Ding 台北西门町阿宗面线(仙霞店). Look at the photo. Do you think it's popular? There's no proper seats for the customers the last time I was there. I dont know if they still let the customers stand and squat around to savour this Taiwanese street food.

The "mian xian" 面线, vermicelli is soft after being boiled with their special gravy. Little oysters are added in this gooey but marvelously tasty dish. Of course, it's an eat and run concept for Ah Chung 阿宗.

.............. Yes this is me eating the mian xian.

Address : Chang Ning District No. 699 Xian Xia Road (Xi Men Ding, Between Anlong Road and Weining Road) , 长宁区仙霞路699号(安龙路威宁路之间), Xi Men Ding Taipei

Tel : 021 62905001

Country : Taiwan

Lan Fong Yuen 蘭芳園茶餐厅 @ Gage Street, Central, Hong Kong

This is a popular "cha chan teng" 茶餐厅 patronized by TV celebrities in the region. The main draw for me is the milk tea 丝袜奶茶 and the pork bun 猪扒包.

丝袜奶茶 Milk Tea

To help enhance the taste of the ice milk tea, and prevent
taste dilution when the ice melts, they actually freeze the milk
tea into ice cubes and add them to every cup of Iced Milk Tea.
This is the kind of effort put into making good ice milk tea.

鸳鸯 Yin Yang Coffee and Tea Mixed
This coffee and tea mix is an acquired taste for some
but it is common knowledge that this drink originates
from Hong Kong. However, this is debatable on a global basis.

I thought that the pork bun was especially good when eaten at the shop. I had 2 of them to myself. The meat is very tender. Three years ago, I actually takeaway 12 of the pork buns and then fly back to Singapore. The boss stacked 6 buns in a bottom layer, add a card board, and then another layer of 6. Then all tightly packed and tied up in a plastic bag. Makes it easy to stuff it in the luggage bag if you want to. I don't think you can takeaway the buns as I did before nowadays (Airport checks are getting more stringent).

猪扒包 The Pork Bun

Although the pork bun originates from Macau,

Lan Fong Yuen manage to make them good if not better.

Their bun is softer than the Macau version.

A bisection view of my pork bun
reveals the mayonnaise, tomato and well marinated
pork meat sandwiched between the bun halves.

I'll try to visit the store whenever I'm in Hong Kong. There's nothing close to their standard in the 猪扒包 and 丝袜奶茶 in Singapore. It's an eat and go place ...... so let's not talk about the ambience .......... its typical 茶餐厅 standard. No frills service available.

丁面 "Instant" Noodles

Another food evolution of the Hong Kong culture is the 丁面 "Instant" noodles

that is sold in "char chan tengs" 茶餐厅 like Lan Fong Yuen. Instant noodles with

a sausage, an egg and some vegetables, the traditional Hong Kong street fast food.

Cost : about HK$30 per person

Address : 7 Gage Street, Central, Hong Kong Island

Tel : 28540731

Country : Hong Kong

Shin Yeh Taiwanese Cuisine 欣叶 ............... Taipei, Taiwan

Shin Yeh is a restaurant that serves refine Taiwanese cuisine. It's a good comfortable place to enjoy traditional Taiwanese food with the refine touches.

.......... inside the restaurant

The following dishes are those that I think is good,

1) Free flow of porridge with sweet potato

2) Fried vermicelli with pumpkin

3) Pork belly bun : Fillings includes : pickled vegetables, peanut and pork belly meat.

4) Poached Savoury Duck in Boullion 咸水鸭

Address : 34-1, ShuangCheng Street, Taipei 104 ,Taiwan

Tel : (02) 2596 3255

Website : http://www.shinyeh.com.tw/

Dinner at Momofuku Ssam Bar

After the session with David Chang at the Gourmet Institute I was even more eager to try dining at one of his Momofuku restaurants.

Though Chang has written that he believes we are moving towards a less future with less cheap industrial meat, he is firmly in the carnivore camp. Be forewarned, at Momofuku Ssam Bar, the menu says, "We do not serve vegetarian friendly items," and they're not kidding. It is a very meaty menu. It's also a menu full of surprises.

I was a bit taken aback to see a list of four different root beers on the menu. I was even more amazed to discover how wonderfully well root beer pairs with the spicy, lusty flavors of his food.

What did I eat at Momofuku Ssam Bar? The famous steam buns with pork belly hoisin, cucumber and scallions, of course. They melt in your mouth and might possibly be a candidate for my next round of the parlor game "name your last meal."





A perfectly tender charred chili spiced calamari salad with ginger, scallions, crunchy radishes and bits of feathery mizuna. You may have had calamari salad before, but you've never had it like this. It was an addictive combination of textures and tastes, not too spicy but juicy and bursting with flavor.


The least Asian influenced of all the dishes we tried, was several different cuts of Long Island duck with djion spaetzle, brussels sprouts and Five Spoke cheddar. Sharp and creamy spaetzle and bitter sprouts balanced the richness of the expertly prepared duck.


A refreshing house cured hamachi with edamame, horseradish, pea leaves was our last dish, save for a nibble of Satur Farm's crispy fried brussels sprouts with mint, scallions, and a fish sauce vinaigrette thanks to Anil of Six Apart and Alaina of Serious Eatswho coincidentally happened to be dining right next to me at the long central communal table/bar. Beware the food blogger sitting next to you! Your food is not safe from my fork!

I really can't say enough good things about the food at Momofuku Ssam Bar. The biggest problem is wanting to order everything on the menu. As it was I missed out on a whole section of offal that included crispy pig's head torchon, Sichuan beef tendon with mango and peanuts and blood sausage with seckel pears, lime pickle and frisee. More to try next time I suppose...

Next up--lunch at Bar Modern

Cooking Secrets from David Chang

David Chang, James Beard Rising Star Chef for 2007, is one of the most hyped chefs in New York, so much so that he even jokingly once referred to himself as "overrated pseudo chef," in an interview at Serious Eats. Yet one of the reasons I wanted to go to New York was to hear David Chang present at the Gourmet Institute and to eat his food. I was not disappointed. His food is luscious, bold and sexy and his obsession with perfection and quality seem to fit comfortably with his innovative use of traditional techiniques and delectable flavor combinations.

There were three recipes and several techniques I learned from his session at the Gourmet Institute that I will surely be adding to my repertoire. First off he shared a recipe for "tare" which he described as a type of Japanese barbecue sauce that gets added to many dishes and sauces. The basic formula was 4 parts dark soy sauce, 1/2 part brown sugar and 1 part mirin. After allowing it to simmer he placed a knife (honing) steel he heated over a flame into the pot to infuse the sauce with smoky flavor.


Pickled mustard seeds were used as a garnish on braised pork belly with daikon and apple. It's another simple recipe I will play with using different types of mustard seeds, and can use as a finishing touch to add crunch and a pop of spice to all kinds of dishes, especially vegetables. Chang made them by combining 1/2 cup mustard seeds with a cup of water, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1 tablespoon of sugar and simmering until thick.


But the true focus of the session was on dashi, a "universal ingredient" according to Chang and one that can be used not only as a soup broth but also as a braising liquid. After demonstrating a more traditional method of making it using hand shaved katsuboshi or bonito flakes he also showed the audience his bacon version. The traditional version was used for a soup of cockles with fingerling potatoes, scallions and sea beans.


For the bacon dashi, Chang's technique was to simmer konbu (a type of dried seaweed) then add uncooked smoky bacon and allow it to steep like tea for 15 minutes, extracting the flavor and juices from the bacon. Could you use the same technique for making dashi with roasted tomatoes, porcini mushrooms or dried shrimp? Why not? Chang used the bacon dashi for a soup with salt-pickled Fall vegetables and a sliver of Benton Smoky Mountain ham. The pickled vegetables were made by curing sliced carrots, radishes and savoy cabbage with equal parts salt and sugar for an hour.

Next up--dinner at Momofuku Ssam Bar

Links to a few more David Chang articles and interviews:

David Chang profile on Eater

ABC Dateline David Chang interview and recipes

Chang on What the 21st Century will Taste Like from Esquire magazine

Casa Verde ............... a breakfast hideout in the botanical gardens

Casa Verde is a Les Amis Group food outlet opened in place of Cafe Les Amis and the cafe is located inside the Singapore Botanical Gardens (Visitors Centre). This is a popular venue for the weekend morning and a good place to rest after a jog or walk in the garden. For those who are blessed with kids, this place is a good family breakfast place with plenty of space for kids to move about. For dog lovers, your pet are most welcome as long as you keep a poo bag handy (Poo bags are provided at the garden entrance).

......... You can have your meal indoors ...........

........... or you can have your meal outdoors .............

This Sunday morning, after visiting the monthly orchid sale in the botany courtyard in the gardens, I decided to visit this cafe for breakfast. The list of food in Casa Verde ranges from Western breakfast, cakes and breads to the local delights like laksa. There is also a list of pizzas and of course, Italian freshly ground gourmet coffee. Guess what ........... Les Amis's management had gotten Buko Nero chef Oscar Pasinato to create the menu for Casa Verde. If you've feast at Buko Nero, you'll know it's minimum culinary standards.

It's self service for the over-the-counter food and drinks. Only freshly prepared meals will be sent to the table.

Here's what I had with my wife and mother-in-law;

Western Set (S$13.50) - Choice of fried or scrambled eggs with chicken sausage, bacon, grilled tomato, hash brown, mini croissant, 2 slices of toast served with butter & preserves, orange juice or fruits with coffee or tea.

Cinnamon french toast with fresh berries and maple syrup (S$8.50)

Banana Muffin (S$3.00) and Chocolate Chip Brioche (S$2.50)

The following contents are added on 21st February 2009. After a jog in the gardens with HY and our friends. Here's what we had ...... slurp!

Waffle Set (S$8.50) - Waffle topped with strawberries.

Gourmet Breakfast (S$14.00) - Choice of fried or scrambled eggs with chicken sausage, back bacon, grilled tomato, hash brown,  mushrooms, 2 slices of toast served with butter & preserves.

Address : 1 Cluny Road, Singapore Botanical Gardens (Visitor Center)

Tel : +65 6467 7326

Country : Singapore

Dinner in a Pumpkin

Being new to this whole food blog experience, it has dawned on me now that this is probably one of those things that I should have posted about a month ago, and not after Halloween. Forgive the rookie? Anyway, this is one of those dishes that is full of nostalgia for me because my mom has made this every Halloween for as long as I can remember. I know it seems weird to eat something that was cooked in a pumpkin, but it is so delicious and very comforting. Plus, if you like winter squash, then you will love the soft cooked pumpkin on the inside, mmm. It's like a cross between spaghetti squash and butternut squash, and now that I'm an adult, it's probably my favorite part. You should really try this at least once, it won't disappoint.

Ingredients:

1 small-medium pumpkin

1 onion chopped

1 lb hamburger

2 TB soy sauce

2 TB brown sugar

1 can cream of chicken soup

1-2 cups of cooked rice

1 can sliced water chestnuts

Directions:

Cut off top of pumpkin and clean. Saute meat and onions until cooked-drain. Add soy sauce, brown sugar and soup. Simmer 10 minutes. Add rice adn water chestnuts. Spoon into pumpkin and replace top. Place pumpkin on cookie sheet. Bake one hour or until tender.

PORK ROAST..now this is "home cookin'"..one of mom's specialties... pulled and served over steamed veggies...

pork roast ready for 4 hours in the oven @ 300 degrees...results are best when done in a Le Crueset dutch oven...this happens to be mom's lucky orange oval...

Teriyaki Chicken Thighs

I got this recipe from Ellie Krieger off the Food Network and I love it. It's incredibly easy and require little work. And it's low-fat, which you will hopefully seeing a lot more as I am trying to "health-en" it up around here!

Ingredients

1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce

2 TB brown sugar

2 TB dry sherry (if you omit this, it's just as good)

2 TB rice vinegar

2 garlic cloves, crushed with a garlic press, or minced

1 tsp finely grated fresh ginger

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

2 pounds skinless chicken thighs (I get boneless and skinless thighs)

2 tsp sesame seeds

Directions

Combine the soy sauce, sugar, sherry, vinegar, garlic, ginger and red pepper flakes and stir until sugar dissolves. Transfer to a resealable plastic bag and add the chicken. Seal the bag and marinate the chicken in the refrigerator, turning once, for 1-4 hours.

Heat the broiler to high. Arrange the chicken on a broiler pan skin side down and broil until brown and crispy, 8-10 minutes. Flip the chicken and broil until almost cooked through, about 8 minutes longer. Sprinkle with seeds and cook until the seeds turn golden brown and the chicken is done, 1-2 minutes longer.

Food Tips

1. Fresh ginger is the best, but it can be annoying because you have to buy a huge piece of it, to only use a tip. Fortunately it freezes great, so just place in a zip lock and throw in the freezer until your next use.

2. If you are not a fan of cooking with wine or sherry (I can't stand it, I've tried so many times and just ended up dry heaving from the smell), it's usually an ingredient that can be omitted, or substituted with whatever broth or stock is most appropriate. Of course, some recipes are "wine based" so you may just want to forget about cooking those completely.

Cheddar Chive Muffins

These were great because they are quite versatile. They have chives in them, which makes them a savory muffin for dinner, but still are just as delicious if you smear honey on them for breakfast. They are also potato based, which makes them so tender and delicious hot out of the oven, sheesh, now I'm craving them again!

1-1/4 cups milk

3/4 cups mashed potato flakes (or pearls)

1 egg

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1 cup (4 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese

1-2/3 cups all purpose flour

3 TB sugar

2 TB minced chives

1 TB dried parsley flakes

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1. In a small saucepan, bring mild to a boil. Remove from the heat; stir in potato flakes. Let stand for 2 minutes. Whip with a fork until smooth; cool slightly. Transfer to a large bowl. Beat in the egg, oil and cheese. Combine the flour, sugar, chives, parsley, baking powder and salt; stir into potato mixture just until moistened (batter will be thick).

2. Fill greased muffin cups three-fourths full. Bake at 400 for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack. Serve warm.