A Very New York French Toast in a Very New York Kitchen with Regina Chan

On a random summer evening, I was lucky enough to have french toast with Regina Chan. Made with fresh mint and topped with peaches and raspberry puree. **Recipe and Q & A below.

Recipe:

Steps to make french toast:

Old bread non-molded bread you are about to throw away.
Peach, a box of raspberry, sugar, mint, basil, 1 egg

Chop mint and basil
break the egg, whip, dip the bread in and pan fri the bread with tons of butter and basil

puree the whole box of raspberry with a touch of water and sugar

chop peach in to segements and cook with little water and sugar tils it gets soft and sauce thicken

plate all together and garnish with chop mint.

DONE

Q & A :

Name and Age?   Regina Chan, 28

Where are you from? Hong Kong SAR, China

Where do you live? Manhattan.

What do you do for money?  Waitress and styling assistant.

What do you do for YOU?  I cook a good meal after a hard day of work or a day away to the beach.

What is your current food obsession?  Making all sort of terrines.

What was the best meal you can remember ever having?  Meals I have with good friends at my apartment but if you mean by eating at restaurant, the best things I’ve ever had as follow: Indochine’s seabass, Dieci’s foie gras steamed egg custard and shrimp terrine, Northen Spy’s kale salad with poached egg, Fat Radish’s pot pie and braised short rib, Prime Meat’s steak, Henry Public’s grilled cheese with granny smith apple, The smile’s sugar snap pea with mint, Al almacen’s lamb chop, and Congee Village’s crab congee.

 If you could have dinner with one person, who would it be? An alien, maybe he won’t use utensils.

What can a guy cook for you to get into your pants? Thats a tough one, most guys can’t cook.  But if you insist, I would say a nice steamed seabass or med rare roasted duck breast would make me drop my pants.

 Are you currently working on anything exciting? Yes, on my food blog and working my way into moving to Denmark.

**Also, check out Regina’s blog: http://shesatauraus.blogspot.com/

Coming Soon: French Toast with Regina Chan! x

The Best Summer Salad: Corn Salad with Avocado

Recipe:

4-5 Ears of Corn

2-3 Ripe vine tomatoes (chopped)

3-4 Cloves of Garlic (approx. depending on preference)

1 Avocado (chopped)

1 1/2 cup of chopped baby portobello mushrooms

1 Zucchini (chopped)

1/2 Onion (Chopped)

1/2 to 1 Cup of fresh shredded parmesan cheese

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Balsamic Vinegar

Prep:

Using a large bowl to catch the kernels, cut the corn off the cob into a bowl and set aside. Now chop all of your vegetables and set aside. Now heat a large skillet and add olive oil. Over medium heat, add the onions and garlic. Then add the corn, zucchini, and mushrooms. Stir this mixture regularly and cook until corn yellows and other vegetables are tender and browned a bit. Remove from heat, and place in a large glass bowl. Place this mixture in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes to 1 hour. After, add chopped tomato and avocado. Pour over the olive oil and balsamic mix (about 1/2 cup of oil and 2 tbs of vinegar and mixed). Using hands or spoon, mix everything together. Serve topped with parmesan and grilled meat or alone. It’s the best!

Cranberry Walnut Pumpkin Bread: Looking forward to fall.

Recipe:

• 1- 3/4 cup canned pumpkin (one small can)
• 2/3 cup butter, melted
• 3 cups sugar
• 4 eggs
• 3-1/2 cups flour
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2  tsp cloves
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 /2 tsp salt
• 2/3 cup water
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
• 1 cup chopped fresh or dried cranberries

Prep:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine the eggs, pumpkin, butter, and water in a large bowl. In another bowl, combine all of the dry ingredients, plus the nuts and cranberries. Add the dry ingredients to the wet, and mix with a wooden spoon by hand. Mix until the batter is combined, but don’t over mix. Grease the pans, and distribute the batter equally in the pans (should fill each about half way up). Bake for 1 hour. Let cool or enjoy hot with a little butter. xo

 

Don’t buy stir-fry from a A bag…

Ingredients:

Two boneless skinless chicken breasts

3/4 cup of shredded carrots

1 Chopped red bell pepper

1 Chopped green zucchini

1/2 Chopped sweet yellow onion 

1 Chopped head of broccoli

1 Package of chopped shiitake mushrooms

Extra virgin olive oil (evoo)

2 cups of brown rice

Either soy sauce or balsamic vinaigrette

Prep: 

Chop broccoli, zucchini, onion, and red bell pepper. Heat a medium-large sized frying pan and add about 2-3 capfuls of evoo. Turn fire to medium heat and add vegetables. Stir occassionally. Now chop chicken breasts into small pieces and lightly season with salt and pepper. Heat another frying pan and add about 2 capfuls of evoo.  Add chicken and shiitake mushrooms. Stir occassionally. Now you can cook your rice. I use Uncle Ben’s 10 minute brown rice. Otherwise the rice will take another 40-45 minutes. Once vegetables are cooked to desired tenderness and the chicken is fully cooked, add the chicken and mushrooms to the vegetables. At this point you can stir in some soy sauce. I personally used about a 1/4 cup of balsamic vinaigrette. Once rice is finished, add a bit to a bowl, top with vegetable/chicken mix, stir, and enjoy 🙂

Chocolate Cupcakes, Ganache, and Eliza Wexelman!!

• CUPCAKES
• 2 cups Sugar
• 2 cups All-purpose Flour
• ¼ teaspoons Salt
• ½ cups Buttermilk
• 2 whole Eggs
• 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla
• 2 sticks 1 Cup Butter
• 4 Tablespoons (heaping) Cocoa Powder
• 1 cup Water, Boiling
• GANACHE
• 8 ounces, weight Bittersweet Chocolate
• 1 cup Heavy Cream
• 6 Tablespoons Corn Syrup
• 2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract

PREP

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 18 muffin cups with baking spray. To make the cake batter, combine flour, sugar, and salt. Set aside. In a separate container, combine buttermilk, eggs, baking soda, and vanilla.  Stir to combine and set aside. In a saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add cocoa powder and stir to combine. Add boiling water, allow to bubble for a few seconds, then turn off heat. Pour chocolate mixture over flour mixture. Stir a few times to cool the chocolate. Pour buttermilk mixture over the top and stir to combine. Pour 1/4 cup cake batter into each muffin cup. Bake for 20 minutes. Allow to cool for 5 minutes in the pan, then remove cupcakes. To make the ganache, heat cream and corn syrup over medium heat. Chop chocolate and add to a bowl. Add vanilla to cream mixture, then pour cream mixture over the top of the chopped chocolate. Whisk together until melted, smooth, and glossy.Dunk cupcakes in ganache. Allow to cool and set before serving.

Q & A  :

Name and Age?

Eliza, 25

Where are you from?

St. Louis

Where do you live?

It’s called East Willamsburg.

What do you do for money?

Working on things…in the mean time selling clothes at lovely Mick Margo.

What do you do for YOU?

Make sure I get my money’s worth from Netflix, obsessively fix up my apartment, read, and planning for a trip across the US.

What is your current food obsession?

Uh mashed potatoes, winter soups, and grilled cheese.  Soup and grilled cheese together obviously, but didn’t I make cupcakes though?  Oh yah, those too I guess.

What was the best meal you can remember ever having?

Trattoria Der Pallaro with my sister.  All other food in Rome was heinous for the record.

If you could have dinner with one person, who would it be?

I choose dead:  Emily Bronte, though we probably wouldn’t eat, rather we would see who could hold out the longest…this might be the longest / last dinner of my life.

What can a guy cook for you to get into your pants?

Prawns with ratatouille and sweet and sour sauce.

Are you currently working on anything exciting?

I’ll keep you posted.

Coming Soon: Cupcakes with Eliza Wexelman!!

Pizza Made Easy with Chicken, Spinach, And Portobello Mushrooms

RECIPE:

1 GRILLED CHICKEN BREAST

WHOLE FOODS MULTI-GRAIN PIZZA DOUGH

WHOLE FOODS PIZZA SAUCE (AMAZING!)

EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL

SHREDDED MOZZARELLA CHEESE

SHREDDED PARMESAN CHEESE

BABY SPINACH

PINE NUTS

PORTOBELLO MUSHROOMS

A COOKIE SHEET

Prep: In a sauce pan, cook sliced chicken breast and sliced portobello mushrooms in extra virgin olive oil (EVOO). Then set aside.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat cookie sheet with EVOO. Take about half of the amount of dough. Press with your hands and begin to stretch out on cookie sheet. If you have a dough roller (which I didn’t) this is even better. You can powder the roller and dough with flour and roll it flat. Now lightly coat dough with EVOO and spoon desired amount  of sauce on dough and spread it around. Sprinkle parmesan cheese over sauce. Now lay down baby spinach leaves and top with chicken, portobello mushrooms, and pine nuts. Now sprinkle mozzarella and parmesan cheese. Place in oven and bake for about 25 minutes. Remove from oven and let stand for about 5-8 minutes then slice and enjoy! xo

Spaghetti in a Tomato Butter Sauce with Spinach and Chicken

WHOLE WHEAT THIN SPAGHETTI PASTA

1 CHICKEN BREAST

2-3 VINE TOMATOES

1 CLOVE OF GARLIC

2-3 TABLESPOONS OF BUTTER

1 BAG OF BABY SPINACH

EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL

SHREDDED PARMESAN

To prepare to cook noodles, boil water in a large pot. While water is boiling, rinse and dice chicken breast. Dice garlic clove thinly. Coat a medium size skillet with evoo. Heat skillet on medium heat and add chicken and garlic. Sprinkle a little salt and pepper over chicken. Allow chicken to cook for about 5 minutes, tossing periodically. Dice tomatoes and add to skillet. Now add desired amount of baby spinach by breaking it into smaller pieces with your hands over skillet. Stir this mixture. Now add noodles to boiling water and cook for 5-6 minutes (thin spaghetti takes a much shorter time for al dente). Lower the heat under skillet and allow mixture to simmer. Stir and add butter. Continue to simmer on a very low heat. Drain noodles, rinse with cool water (to remove starch and avoid noodles to stick together), and toss with a capful of evoo. Remove skillet from heat. Place desired amount of noodles in a bowl. Scoop chicken and tomato sauce with a large spoon and pour over noodles.  Sprinkle a little parmesan chesse on top and enjoy! xo

FISH TACOS!!!

A phenomenon that I was a spectator of until recently, fish tacos! As a Recovering Picky Eater, the title I have given myself, I was always astounded by how many people ordered and completely finished the fish taco dish at the restaurant I served at in college. I didn’t understand the idea of having the consistency of fish in a taco. My simple and clean palette didn’t go beyond beef or chicken in a taco. I didn’t even eat guacamole until I was 21! On a recent trip to Los Angeles, all of this changed at a little place on the beach in Malibu called Paradise Cove Beach Cafe. It was there that by the aggressive encouragement or what could have also been called sheer bullying I ordered their lobster tacos. Like most times when one steps out of their comfort zone, I had the best experience! Hands down the best meal I’ve had in a long time. I was tempted after eating those tacos that I would have this waiter sit down with me and make other life decisions for me that would hopefully lead to the same joy I found in those tacos. Back home in NYC  I was still reeling from my new favorite summer dish. I decided to try and make my own at home. I then peer pressured a friend to order a fish taco at the Diablo Taco Truck at Union Pool in Brooklyn. I may need professional help.

My Simple Fish Tacos Recipe

1 fillet Tilapia

1 bag of baby spinach

1 vine tomato

1 cup of brown rice

1 capful of balsamic vinaigrette (I like Newman’s Own Light Balsamic)

1 avocado

Shredded parmesan or sharp cheddar cheese

Whole wheat medium size soft tacos

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

After rinsing off the tilapia, rub it down with olive oil and season lightly with salt and pepper. Wrap fish in aluminum foil and place in toaster oven or conventional oven at 350 degrees. Bake for 10 minutes. Take cup of rice and stir in a capful of balsamic dressing. Dice tomato and put aside. Cut avocado in half and slice. Place tortilla on plate and heat in microwave for 10 seconds. Sprinkle a little cheese on tortilla. Now add a spoonful or two of rice. Top rice with a little baby spinach, a spoonful of diced tomatoes, and fish. Finally top fish with cheese, avocado, squeeze a little lemon over it, and enjoy! xo