February!

It's been a doozy of a month. There was Tet (Vietnamese New Year), the Superbowl, and Valentine's day for hoildays. I had a good friend visit from the East coast and babysat the little cousins on my territory! Let's not forget the cooking and food. Enjoy!

Superbowl Sunday - after party is a Dance-a-thon!

Babysitting ventures with Jack. He's a better artist than me!

Hiking the Bronson caves, where the original Batman TV show is filmed.

Pizza part at the office, we made 8 pies that day.

Lemon Ricotta Pancakes

Moroccan Chicken

Deviled Eggs with Bacon

Egg-in-da-hole with Basil Oil and Bacon

Yep, freshly dipped Corn Dogs for the Superbowl

Sloppy Joe Egg Rolls - why not?

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!

GUEST BLOG: Southern Boy Goes To Cali

What could a guy from Orange Virginia look to find in the laid back town of Pasadena, California? My initial answer would be good food, good friends and good wine. I would have to take my friends word that the wine was good, but the food was a tapestry of flavors and textures that both stimulate the palate and satisfy the soul.

I recently traveled to California to visit my friend Tammy Tu. Knowing that she is a culinary artist; I looked forward to one of her famous home cooked meals and I can honestly tell you I was not disappointed. Early in the afternoon, we went to the farmers market to pick out fresh vegetables. Being from Orange, VA, I am used to farmers markets, but this one was pretty unique. It reminded me of a fiesta. The streets are closed down and the local artists played music and the numerous farmers sold their California produce. In addition to the fresh produce, there were also local vendors that came out to delight the local community with their smorgasbord of ethnic delights.

After we sampled from the local farmers market and Tammy picked up the fresh grown produce she needed for her meal, we made our way back to her apartment to begin. I say we, but the cooking was totally her. I just sat back and watched an artist at work.

The meal started with some wine, cheese and salami. This was complemented by an assortment of mustards that made the cheeses and meats pop. Heirloom tomato brushetta followed which was a French baguette topped with heirloom tomatoes and a sprinkling of fresh basil. This light, but satisfying appetizer really brought out the local flavor of the tomatoes and basil.

As we sampled the appetizers, we were delighted to see the main course almost done. This was a chicken marsala. This included chicken pan seared in olive oil and baked to perfection. The chicken was then topped with a light Marsala sauce that was made with caramelized onions, garlic, Marsala wine and olive oil. The chicken was paired with fresh seasonal peas and broccoli. From the moment we took the first bite to the end of the meal, each bite revealed a different seasoning and brought to life the textures and flavors of the complementary meats and vegetables. Everything was accompanied by garlic bread brushed with a light butter and fresh garlic. What meal would be complete without a good Napa Valley wine? A cabernet was chosen to complement the food selections.

At the end of the meal everyone was delightfully pleased with the complementary food, drink, and conversation.

I would like to thank Tammy Tu and her friends for inviting me to sample the local California culture and also the delicious fresh food that could only be prepared and grown in sunny California.

-Jason Davison
(Tammy's old roommate at VT)

GUEST BLOG #2

9 girls, 4 flights up, 4 trips to the Fairway, 18 bottles of wine, 1 nostalgic slideshow, 5 dishes, years of friendship and lots of laughter!!!

Welcome to SET and Meg’s guest blog account of Tammy’s gourmet rooftop spectacle in honor of her cousin and our dear friend Hien.

SET: Luckily, Hien had not consumed more than two drinks before climbing four flights of very unpredictable stairs, blindfolded. Also luckily, none of the savory, satisfying pizzette (rounds of fresh baked dough smeared with baked brie, English peas, and caramelized onions) cascaded to the floor on their way to or from the oven. Did you see any spills, Meg?

MEG: No, dude, but I just learned that pizzette is the plural of pizzetta by trying to spellcheck you. Nice to have someone who studied in Florence as a blogging partner. In fact, I thought Gerlyn and Kierstin did an expert job of helping prep Tammy’s gourmet fare (and were pretty damn cool to offer the use of their most excellent Upper West Side apartment). I am amazed that Tammy Tu from back in the day has learned how to turn supermarket items into art. By far the most amazing dish of the evening IMHO was the “milk-fed” veal with those trumpet looking greens. What about you SET??

SET: Think orchestra, not band. Fiddleheads, I believe those delectable greens were called. And I agree; the veal (wrapped around fresh spinach leaves) was indeed flavorful. My own favorite dish, though, was the crostini with oil, roasted avocado (way to man the grill, Meg!), and goat cheese. Not only was it really tasty, but I liked the fact that there was a command from Tammy to put one roasted cherry tomato in your mouth before taking a bite of the bread/avocado/cheese combo.

MEG: Yes, the crostini were divine. Also to be mentioned was the speck and fava beans dish. Who knew you could just eat the whole bean like that! TASTE! (as the Nguyen-Tu cousins would say). Nice job on the cheese grating for that dish, SET. By the way, perhaps Tammy’s readers would like to know how you got your nickname and more about the party’s honoree, Miss Nguyen.

SET: Well, S, E, and T are actually my initials, as you would probably know since you have been calling me that for about ten years now, and I believe you and Hien coined the term yourselves. Oh, and Miss Nguyen. You mean my sophomore-year Chemistry lab partner? Fun times, fun times. Some of our Chemistry concoctions (main ingredient: H2SO4 concentrate http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sulfuric_acid) were as complicated as Tammy’s bluefin crab ceviche with cucumber, yogurt, Thai basil, and cornnuts. That last unexpected ingredient sealed all the unique flavors together. Speaking of crabmeat, Meg, don’t you remember frantically rushing around the Fairway (while you held Tammy’s freshly ironed white outfit delicately on one arm), searching in four different aisles for a “tin” of "jumbo lump” crabmeat? www.fairwaymarket.com

MEG: Oops, I kind of felt like Jessica Simpson with the fish of the sea thing. Who knew that Tammy didn’t mean canned Bumblebee lump crabmeat!! Clearly I am not a very good sous-chef, but was certainly honored to watch the expert at work. We will be waiting for your Top Chef appearance, Tams!

FIRST Guest Blog!

The words of an anonymous photographer describe us best: CLOWNS.

Usually wherever Carly, Gerlyn, Tammy, Maria and I happen to be at any given moment turns into a circus ring.

Tammy has asked me to “guest blog.” In my blogging debut on Seeking the Good Life I am going to recap a recent party we so graciously attended. Picture a party in a gorgeous house in the Hollywood Hills, formerly-owned by Virgina Madsen. Visualize a circular foyer (are they always circular? I’m real sophisticated, I should know this), where a pair of beautiful male/female bartenders serve vodka/pomegranate juice. Primordial dwarf Mexican housekeepers scurry around to fetch empty plates of Brie cheese and dried apricots. Cosmopolitan Hollywood-ites chat about Mutual Funds. Now picture 5 girls with fake british accents in the center of it all, immersed in capturing the moment by taking hundreds of digital photographs. There were Model-esqe photos, action photos, gnome kissing photos; still-life photos of earrings, soy nuts and Tammy’s underwear. The background was similar but the facial expressions and poses were not. There were bed-eyes, puckering lips, hugs, Jenna Jameson positions all in the midst of a millionaire’s living room at a well-attended party.

Another energetic photographer fluttering about the party snapping photos for a scrapbook or I’m hoping a magazine happened to compose a picture of us in the act. She brilliantly titled it Tammysfriends_clowns.jpg

1. What do sophisticated clowns do when they get together?
2. Sleep on air mattresses blown up by hair dryers.
3. Go to Ralphs like it’s the new Fred Segal.
4. Get in fights over whether you bake in a stove.
5. Eat delicious breakfasts.

The morning after the Hollywood escapade, Chef Tu served the most delicious breakfast a vegetarian could ask for. FYI, Maria and I are vegetarians, we both have braces and we wear matching outfits. Basically we are brothas from anotha motha. Ger, Maria, Tammy and I dined on French toasts made of French baguettes (it’s so brilliant, who would have thought about using French bread for French toast? That Tammy is going places), toasted fake bacon and cheese sandwiches and a swiss-chard, onion and fake bacon frittata. It was like butter. If I were a millionaire I would hire T Tu to cook all my meals.
-Sarah
xoxoxo