Greece - Athens and Santorini

view from hotel, Aegean Sea black sand beach in Santorini stray cats all over! moussaka fava bean puree marinated octopus sea bream tomato keftedes tzatziki saganaki baklava more moussaka theater of dionysus the partheon ouzo and raki chicken stuffed pastry and Pizza

Alright, it's time for me to share pictures with you from my trip. I've been a little traumatized since I came back, caught some sort of stomach virus and am finally off the anti-biotic and most importantly can eat normally, woo-hoo!!!

Greece was awesome, from the old ruins in Athens to the Santorini hospitality, it was all very beautiful. The only gripe I have was the weather in which we endured torrential downpour and a bit of flooding. Nonetheless, we took advantage and ate and drank well. My favorite dishes were Tzatziki, no where else can you beat the fresh quality yogurt and then there's the authentic moussaka. Of course, every restaurant had Eggplant salad and Spanikopita but surprisingly no hummus instead a fava bean puree which was mediocre at best. The Seafood was extremely fresh but when it came to the table, was poorly executed, either overdone or undercooked. One of my favorite dishes was fried kefalotiri cheese with bacon and honey and another neat cheese dish was the popular saganaki.

Most of the amazing views were from our Hotel rooms; looking off the cliffs onto the Aegean Sea with 'active' Volcano in the background in Santorini and the sun setting behind the Acropolis in Athens, truly breath taking.

The Greek love to drink Ouzo, a licorice tasting liquor that I could not seem to swallow. I enjoyed it's cousin, Turkish Raki much better. As for the wine, they claim that Santorini has the best of the best, I disagree, any California table wine is way better.

This was just the first half of my trip, an Istanbul post is up next!

Burgers Galore!

Bison Burger! Turkey Burger Salmon Burger

Got on this kick where I just wanted to make all sorts of burgers! So, a few weeks ago, I dedicated a weekend to inviting friends over and cooked up Salmon, Turkey and Bison Burgers. Let me start off by saying Bison meat is AWESOME. Lean but yet flavorful with a hint of gaminess. My new favorite meat, I used it the next day to make bison sausage for a pizza. I highly suggest buying bison meat ASAP, it is fairly inexpensive too.

I used a new recipe for the Salmon burgers. Instead of grinding up (processing via Kitchen Aid) raw salmon, I baked it first, then added scallions, onions, breadcrumbs, egg and pan fried. For a little flavor, I added dill, mustard, and chickpeas for a little crunch. The burgers came out good and the texture was great and not as mushy compared to my usual technique. All and all, it was fun times in the test kitchen and I've decided to start selling Bison meat as another side job. Just kidding, seriously, please try it!

Here's my recipe for the Salmon Burgers, serves 4:

Salmon, cooked 6 oz

Breadcrumbs, regular 1/2 cup

Onions, diced, cooked 1/2 cup

Scallions 1/4 cup

Dill, finely chopped 2 T

Mustard, dijion 2 T

Chickpeas 1/2 cup

Egg 1

Salt and Pepper to taste

Garnish greek yogurt or Tzatziki

1. Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees F. Bake Salmon for 15-17 minutes or until done.

2. Meanwhile, sautee onions, scallions, and dill until fragrant, 3-4 minutes.

3. Break up and mix cooked Salmon with onion mixture, mustard, chickpeas, breadcrumbs, salt and pepper.

4. When the salmon mix is cool or at room temperature, add in egg.

5. Form about 4-6 patties.

6. On medium high, add oil to sautee pan, pan fry each patty for 2 minutes on each side.

7. At 375 degrees F, bake patties for 12-14 minutes.

8. Garnish with yogurt or Tzatziki if desired.

Mom visits!

Morning Glory and Ginger Chicken Beef and French Fry Stir Fry Egg and Pork Omelette Church and State Bistro Hamachi Crudo Escargots Roasted Farmer's Market Vegetables Loup de Mer Duck Confit



I love it when my mom visits. Vietnamese food, family dinners, good retaurant eats, and of course I get to spend time with her. She cooked one night for my friends, a plethera of my favorite dishes. Morning Glory, Egg and Pork Omelete, Ginger Chicken, and Beef French Fry Stir Fry.



One night we went to eat at Church and State in downtown. Very cute restaurant with good food. Hamachi Crudo, Escargots, Roasted Chicken, French Onion Soup Duck Confit, and Loup de Mer.



During her visit, I took her to eat Sushi and we also enjoyed a few meals in Little Saigon. We had great time and she even bought me a housewarming gift...a flat screen TV. Thanks Mom for being you and for everything!

V.I.P. Dinner

Last weekend I kicked off my 1st dinner party at the new LOFT. Kind of like a 'grand opening' for friends and family! I invited my closest peeps over and dedicated a course to each one of them. The dish was designed based on a little history between me and the other person. For instance, my old roommate Sarah was in attendance and her dish was Peroguies. She introduced them to me back in Philly. She'd saute them in butter and finished up with sour cream. It was our late snack! So for the dinner a little twist and filled them with purple potato and sweet potato!



I won't bore you with everyone's dish but we had a great time! I'm so lucky to have the best friends ever. And to all my other friends out there....you guys definitely deserve a special dish in your honor too. Let me know when you are coming to visit!!!

BBQ Ribs

Ribs are a real treat for me just cause I am surrounded by non pork eaters so if I do eat it, I’ll have to eat mass quantities by myself. So, for a BBQ one night, I found me some pork lovers and tried my hand at ribs.

BBQ experts like to use a rub and a sauce with the Ribs. The rub penetrates the meat overnight, the next day the meat gets slow roasted and the sauce is slathered on as the meat finishes up on the grill. There are many techniques to cooking ribs but I find the best is to slow roast in the oven at 250 degrees for 4-6 hours. Then finish on the grill with barbecue sauce for 30 minutes. I could only slow roast for 2 hours this time. The meat wasn’t as tender but was still full of flavor. After reading multiple recipes, I came up with a Barbecue sauce. It turned out pretty decent and had a little of of sweet, sour, and smokiness. Here’s the recipe:

1 cup Ketchup

1/4 cup Dijon Mustard

3/4 cup Cider Vinegar

½ cup Water

2 T Honey

2T Brown sugar, dark

2 T Garlic, chopped

3 T Yellow onion, chopped

Chipotle spice

Salt

Pepper

Chili Flakes

1. Combine all ingredients into a sauce pan and whisk until incorporated.

2. Simmer sauce for 15 minutes, add salt and pepper as needed and chili flakes if desired.

3. Use as sauce on side or brush on ribs.