caramel flan

For custard

• 8 egg yolks
• 4 whole eggs
• 4 cups of whole milk (not reduced fat)
• 2 tablespoons vanilla extract 
• 2/3 sugar

For caramel

• 6 tablespoons water
• 1 cup sugar, for caramel

1. Pre-heat oven to 340 degrees
2. In a saucepan, heat the milk, sugar and vanilla and to dissolve the sugar. Do NOT bring the milk to a boil.  
3. Whisk the eggs. 
4. Slowly pour the heated milk into the egg while slowly whisking/mixing.  The milk should be warm (not hot) so as to not cook the eggs.  
5. In a saucepan, combine water and sugar for the caramel.  Heat on med/high heat.  Do not stir otherwise sugar will crystallize and clump
6. When sugar mixture becomes caramel, quickly pour into baking dish or ramekins to line the bottom
7. Pour custard mixture into baking dish or ramekins.  I like to pour over a strainer to remove any egg bits 
8. Place banking dish/ramekins into a water bath.
9. Bake 40 min for ramekins, 55 min for large baking dish or until toothpick comes out clean.

ghirardelli chocolate chip cookies

Another great recipe from the Ghirardelli website. A favorite of Nathan's because he gets to adorn these cookies with M&M's. For a super soft cake-like cookie (pictured below), I substituted some of the granulated sugar with instant vanilla pudding.

YIELD:

24 large cookies

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 cups Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
• 1 cup butter or margarine, softened
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 2 1/4 cups unsifted flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup walnuts or pecans, chopped (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

1. In large mixing bowl, beat butter with sugar and brown sugar at medium speed until creamy and lightened in color. 
2. Add eggs and vanilla, one at a time. Mix on low speed until incorporated. 
3. Sift flour with baking soda and salt. Gradually blend into creamed mixture. Stir in nuts and chocolate chips. 
4. Cover, and chill dough for at least one hour.
5. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Roll into 2 inch balls and press down with a fork.
6. Bake for 12 to 13 minutes in the preheated oven, or until edges are golden. Allow cookies to cool for 1 minute on the cookie sheet before removing to wire racks to cool completely.

Note: If you like cookies with a more cake-like consistency, substitute the 3/4 cup granulated sugar with a 3.4 ounce package of instant vanilla pudding mix and 1/4 cup granulated sugar. Add the pudding mix and sugar (in step 1) and follow above directions.

 

gullivers cream corn

This creamed corn is thick and sweet. This is not a low-fat side-dish, but once in a while, live it up! Very tasty with a holiday prime rib or turkey dinner.

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 (20 ounce) packages frozen corn kernels, thawed
• 1 cup whipping cream
• 1 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• white or cayenne pepper
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted

DIRECTIONS:

1. Place corn kernels, whipping cream, milk, salt, flavor enhancer, sugar, and white or cayenne pepper in a large stockpot. Bring to a slow, low boil beginning on medium heat, stirring frequently. Simmer for 5 minutes on low heat.
2. Melt butter in the microwave, or in a small saucepan on low heat. Whisk in flour until smooth. Stir into the corn until well blended. Enjoy!

xiu mai

Most people think of Chinese dim sum when they think of siu mai. Vietnamese xiu mai, however, simply means meatballs. My mom used to make this for breakfast on the weekends. It's best served with fresh french bread, which I would dip into the xui mai broth...yum! Since my mom gave me this recipe, I eyeballed everything and don't have exact measurements. 

INGREDIENTS:

• ground pork butt
• tomatoes, diced
• yellow onions, diced
• olive oil
• fish sauce
• oyster sauce
• ground black pepper
• soy sauce

DIRECTIONS:

1. Combine ground pork, olive oil, fish sauce, oyster sauce and pepper to taste. Mix in a generous amount of diced onions.
2. Form 2 inch sized meatballs and place in ceramic rice bowls (3-4 meatballs per bowl) or any bowl that can withstand being in a steamer.
3. Saute diced tomatoes and remaining diced onions with a little bit of soy sauce. 
4. Steam the meatballs until they are halfway cooked (approximately 8 minutes). Add a generous amount of the sauteed tomato/onion mixture on top of the meatballs and finish cooking (an additional 8 minutes).
5. Serve with french bread.

Note: With the same pork mixture, you can also make stuffed tomatoes. Cut a tomato in half and remove the seeds to create a "tomato bowl". Fill the bowl with the pork mixture. Heat a little bit of canola oil in a saute pan and pan fry the stuffed tomato (meat side down) on medium heat until the top is browned. Flip the tomato over and continue cooking until the pork mixture is no longer raw on the inside. Serve with a side of rice and a dash of soy sauce.

Franks RedHot buffalo chicken dip

This dip goes great with beer and is perfect for that superbowl party.

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 8-oz. packages cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup Franks RedHot buffalo sauce
• 1 cup ranch dressing
• 2 cups cooked chicken, shredded
• 1 cup shredded cheese

DIRECTIONS:

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Place cream cheese into a baking dish. Stir until smooth.
2. Mix in salad dressing, Frank's RedHot buffalo sauce and cheese. Stir in chicken.
3. Bake 20 min. or until mixture is heated through; stir. Garnish as desired. Serve with tortilla chips, crackers or vegetables.

 

pistachio chocolate chip bundt cake

Very moist pistachio cake recipe that I got from my co-worker.
 

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 box of french vanilla cake mix
• 1 box of jello instant pistachio pudding
• 8 oz. sour cream
• 4 eggs
• 1/2 cup oil
• 1/2 cup warm water
• 2 tablespoons almond extract
• 1/2 bag mini chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Mix all ingredients, except chocolate chips, with an electric mixer. Stir in mini chocolate chips by hand.
3. Spray bundt pan with Pam and add cake batter. Bake 50 minutes.
4. Cool and remove cake from pan. Sprinkle with powdered sugar (if desired).

hong's potato salad

A favorite amongst my family and friends. This recipe is super simple and great for any barbeque.

INGREDIENTS:

• 5 lbs potatoes 
• 12 eggs
• mayonnaise
• 1/4 onion, very finely minced
• salt
• granulated sugar 
• ground black pepper 

DIRECTIONS:

1. Wash potatoes thoroughly. If the potatoes are large, cut them in half to speed up the cooking time. Boil the potatoes with the skin on. In a separate pot, boil the eggs.
2. Once cooked, peel the eggs and potatoes. Cut the potatoes and eggs into approximately 1 inch size pieces.
3. In a large bowl, combine the potatoes, eggs and minced onions. Sprinkle in salt, pepper and sugar. I find it easier to mix these ingredients together before adding the mayonnaise.  This ensures everything gets incorporated evenly.  
4. Add mayonnaise to achieve the desired consistency. Add additional salt, sugar, pepper to taste.

Note: I like to mix everything when the potatoes are still hot, so I don't wait for the potatoes to cool before peeling and cutting them. Be forewarned, this is not easy on the fingers. 

banana muffins

A super easy recipe that I can quickly whip up when I have overly ripe bananas. 

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 large bananas, mashed
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/3 cup butter, melted
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Coat muffin pans with non-stick spray, or use paper liners. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
2. Combine bananas, sugar, egg, and melted butter in a large bowl. Fold in flour mixture, and mix until smooth. Scoop into muffin pans.
3. Bake in preheated oven. Bake mini muffins for 10 to 15 minutes, and large muffins for 25 to 30 minutes. Muffins will spring back when lightly tapped. 

peanut butter truffle brownies

Chocolate and peanut butter all wrapped up into one indulgent bar. Start with a no-fail brownie mix, then add layers of peanut butter and melted chocolate chips. This brownie is ultra rich, so a small piece goes a long way. 

INGREDIENTS:

Brownie Base

• 1 box brownie mix
• Water, vegetable oil and egg called for on brownie mix box

Filling

• 1/3 cup butter, softened
• 1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1 1/3 cups powdered sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons milk

Topping

• 3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 3 tablespoons butter

DIRECTIONS:

1. Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pan). Grease bottom only of 8-inch or 9-inch square pan with cooking spray or shortening. (For easier cutting, line pan with foil, then grease foil on bottom only of pan.) Make brownies as directed on box. Cool completely, about 1 hour.
2. In medium bowl, beat filling ingredients with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Spread mixture evenly over brownie base.
3. In small microwavable bowl, microwave topping ingredients uncovered on High 30 to 60 seconds; stir until smooth. Cool 10 minutes; spread over filling. Refrigerate about 30 minutes or until set. Cut into desired size.

chewy peanut butter chocolate chip cookies

If you like peanut butter, this cookie is soft and oh so peanut buttery.

YIELD:

24 cookies

INGREDIENTS:

• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 1/4 cup shortening
• 1 cup peanut butter
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 tablespoons light corn syrup (optional)
• 2 tablespoons water
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, shortening, peanut butter, brown sugar, and white sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the corn syrup, water, and vanilla. 
2. Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt; stir into the peanut butter mixture. Fold in chocolate chips.
3. Cover, and chill dough for at least one hour.
4. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Roll into 2 inch balls and press down with a fork.
5. Bake for 12 to 13 minutes in the preheated oven, or until edges are golden. Allow cookies to cool for 1 minute on the cookie sheet before removing to wire racks to cool completely.

Note: If you don't have shortening, substitute the shortening for 1/4 cup butter. I also used less than 2 cups of chocolate chips (quantity and type of chips depends on your liking). For extra peanut butter flavor, substitute some of the chocolate chips for peanut butter chips.