Overworked. Underfed.

Lemon Ricotta Cookies with Lemon Glaze

I like baking, but I’ve realized lately that I only like to bake 2 things, brownies and chocolate chip cookies. So this was my attempt at stepping outside my comfort zone and doing something new and different. I figured I could do no wrong with a highly rated recipe from Giada De Laurentiis. The dough…

Batali’s Basic Tomato Sauce

Who knew making your own tomato sauce could be so easy and tasty! When I bought Mario Batali’s cookbook, Molto Italiano, I was excited to get down and dirty with some of his recipes. But first, I’d have to make my own sauce. I was surprised at how such few basic ingredients could make a subtle…

Du Kuh Bee

Aside from dumplings, Portland is also lacking good Korean food. I’m sure nothing compares to LA’s Koreatown except Korea itself. It’s amazing how Korean food used to be something so foreign and weird tasting to something I really love. I guess it’s cuz I have a penchant for stinky things and Korean food is full…

Din Tai Fung

Portland is a nice place to live. The people are nice. There’s not much traffic. Most everything you want is here sans tax (there’s a Target and/or Trader Joe’s every which way you turn!). The very obvious thing it is lacking is great Asian food, especially good dumplings. Lucky for us, the world famous Din Tai…

Picca

Oh Picca, why did you have to disappoint me so? I had such high hopes for this place. Blogger after blogger extoled the culinary accomplishments of the modern Peruvian fare here. It was top on my list of “to-try” LA restaurants. I even recommended this restaurant to my Triple F and Running Man during their…

Vietnamese Chicken Curry

Dumpling Man likes his curries, specifically Thai yellow curries. I’m not such a fan, but I’ll eat it. It’s just a bit too creamy and sweet, but that’s exactly how Dumpling Man likes it. I prefer Vietnamese curry instead which is more fragrant from lemongrass and ginger and saltier from a good helping of fish…

101 Noodle Express (Lu Wei Ju)

We all know Irvine is missing a solid dumpling and noodle house. A&J makes a decent attempt, but it still leaves a big void. I mean, if I knew how to make awesome dumplings, I would totally open up a joint in Irvine because I knew it would win big. I’m talking lines out the…

Cinnamon Sugar Donut Muffins

I don’t know what inspired me to suddenly try this recipe. I’d been in a chocolate chip cookie mode, but I just got the inspiration to finally see what all the hype was behind the “donut muffin.” I guess it’s muffin that tastes like a cake donut. How is that possible?!?! It seems like a…

Galbijjim

So after discovering the deliciousness of galbijjim at Seongbukdong, I had Korean savory fall-off-the-bone tender meat on my mind. It was never anything I thought I could recreate at home. The Pouter and I discussed that a pressure cooker was probably involved in making such a culinary treasure. But I actually came across a pretty manageable…

Mom’s Steak Salad

You won’t usually hear me say things like, “Oh my mom makes the best…” or when I’m at a restaurant you won’t hear me say “Oh my mom’s version is better.” My mom isn’t that kind of mom. The type of mom who loves to be in the kitchen, perfecting recipes that have been handed down generation after generation. …

Roman Style Chicken

So after a couple days of eating rice, I got a little tired. I wanted to mix things up and try out an Italian recipe from Giada De Laurentiis, who is turning out to be my favorite and most reliable Food Network chefs. I’ve found her recipes to be pretty simple and tasty to boot. …

Ikko

After a very long and exhausting morning/afternoon of smiling, posing, chit chatting, and sweltering in the heat, Dumpling Man, some friends, and I headed out for some fun and entertainment at the center of all that is hip, cool, and Asian in the OC…Diamond Jamboree! For those of you unfamiliar with Irvine, you should know…