YumYumDeb's Profile
Private Chef
I'd like to bump this up again, I'm looking for a private chef for a birthday dinner for 2. My husband and I love to visit great restaurants, but he always ends up driving, paying, etc. I'd like to get him a really nice dinner at home for us both. He loves steak and French cuisine. We live in Encino, CA. Any suggestions?
What side dish with pasta e fagioli soup?
Thanks for your suggestions. We had garlic bread with the soup last night... but it was this store-bought Gelsons kind that was swimming in butter... definitely not whole wheat baguette. Kinda gross...
Also, wouldn't ya know it, but my husband hates tomatoes. I love them... but I guess I can't blame him, I too hated tomatoes until about 10 years ago. And now I'm IN LOVE with them - eat them raw, cooked, whatever all the time. So, I'll definitely keep the roasted tomats recipe for myself sometime!
Maybe I'll just take the chicken leftover from making the broth to make the soup and throw together a light chicken caesar salad or something. Or maybe I'll roast some other veggie - like fennel or something, where I can *disguise it* with parm cheese, etc.
What side dish with pasta e fagioli soup?
I made big pot of this soup yesterday and plan to have the leftovers for dinner tonight. Any suggestions for a (relatively healthy) side dish that would go well with this? I was going to make a salad, but my husband is not a big salad/veggie eater. Thanks for your suggestions.
Dinner for one, what should I make?
For something quick and simple, I would suggest a nice sando - a panini maybe? And if you're feeling up to it, whip up a side salad and/or soup. Oh - and I def. agree on a glass of vino.
Brunch menu ideas, please
Ina Garten on her Food Network show has done a number of episodes about brunch with some pretty yummy sounding items that look great! Some of the recipes I know she also stressed that she made them ahead of time so she would be able to enjoy the time with her guests. The link to the list of brunch recipes she has made follows:
http://web.foodnetwork.com/food/web/searchResults?searchType=Recipe&searchString=ina+garten+brunch&site=food
Hope the day turns out nicely!
Help with Vietnamese-style Recipe
Since these seem to be ingredients that will top the dish, I'd agree that either or both would be just fine. To make it taste more authentic to Vietnamese or Thai cuisine, I would add Thai basil if I had it, but would probably leave out regular Italian basil.
Have you used Ranch 99 fresh clam meat?
Has anyone used the store-packaged "fresh clam meat" found in the Ranch 99 or other such Asian market in the refrigerated fish section? How does it taste? I'm planning on using it to make Italian linguine and clam sauce, but didn't want to deal with buying the live clams (cleaning them, buying them on the day I prepare the meal, etc.).
Thanks for any comments, suggestions.
Golden Bird vs. Popeye's vs. Church's?
Def agree with Monkuboy - Golden Bird is sooo good! My piano teacher when I was a child used to live by one so on Saturday's after a LONG 5 hours of me and my Chinese sistren all had our lessons, my Mom would let us go get GB! yey! We used to chant "GOLD-EN BIRD! GOLD-EN BIRD!!" in the car on the way home ('cause you NEVER eat there). I've found in my adulthood, however, that I can only eat there 1-2x/year because it's suuuper fatty! Also, don't try to get the sides, IMO they are NOT good... stick with the chicken! Resist the urge to get sides or anything other than the chicken.
Fried elbow macaroni?
Alton Brown did this one recipe where he made baked mac and cheese and took the leftover squares and deep fried them. I've not tried making it myself - but It looked pretty good, pretty fattening, but what isn't made better by frying it?!
Interesting pot luck themes?
funny! I wonder how many ways you can do black-eyed peas?
Interesting pot luck themes?
LOL - last meals Death-Row Dinner... a little bit morbid - but great too! :)
Interesting pot luck themes?
I had one of these and I also have to agree that coming up with the white trash dishes and creativity was really fun. The only bad part I didn't anticipate was that all of that processed food cannot sit out for more than 1/2 hour before it starts getting hard and gross on the outside (like wonder bread sandos and twinkies). Fun time though!
Elegant appetizers
Giada made these phyllo dough "cigars" with smoked mozzarella and a sun-dried tomato in them... I haven't tried them yet but I want to - they looked delish! (She cut them into thirds and put them on top of a simple salad, but she said you can just serve them as an appetizer.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,1977,FOOD_9936_36095,00.html
I want Fried Chicken
Golden Bird is definitely the BEST! But it's SO FRIED... you can only eat that like, once a year - maybe twice. Plus, they are always located in really horrible neighborhoods, but if you can brave it - it's SOO good.
What "Asian" cuisine to start with?
You might try starting with Asian dishes that are more forgiving in the prep/cook time - perhaps something like a Thai/Indian curry or Chinese BBQ chicken/pork (you can just bake it). Those are pretty easy, many times there's a curry paste, sauce, or marinade that's pretty much already mixed up for you in the store. That way you can take your time with it in the beginning while you're learning, and it doesn't matter too badly if you leave the stove on too long!
Watery egg salad - what to do?
You might try using something with less water, but still with onion flavor - like green onion or chives (though that's milder) - you could try shallots maybe.
Watery egg salad - what to do?
I agree that celery that isn't very well dried will ooze water when cut and left sitting in the salad.
Asian Steamed Fish - okay to use frozen?
Thank you all for your input. I think sometimes if shrimp for instance are flash frozen right when they are caught, they can taste better than the limp, not-that-fresh "fresh" shrimp you can get in the supermarket.
It looks like maybe a stronger prep like black-bean sauce might work well with frozen fish... I love that sauce with clams and spareribs, but haven't cooked with it for fish. Though, I know they definitely have it in the restaurant. I'll have to try cooking it at home.
What to make with my scallops in mushroom sauce...
Seems like a starch would go well with this... maybe linguine or rice... or risotto. That would be delish. You could also do a veggie side dish like baby bok choy or broccolini or something like that.
Light lunches for warmer weather - your ideas?
I like to make lettuce wraps on warm days. You can also try to make those non-fried Vietnamese spring rolls if you are in a locale where you can get all the ingredients. Cheese and fruit is good too.
Asian Steamed Fish - okay to use frozen?
Does anyone know if it still tastes okay to use frozen fillets of fish for Chinese/Asian style steamed fish with ginger and green onion? I know fresh is better, but not as easy to come by. Does anyone have suggestions on the specific type of frozen fish that works best for this recipe? Tilapia? Rock Cod?
