CHICKEN-MANIA
During the day today, Mikyong, Shirley (ameliemoments.blogspot.com), little Amelie and I got together out in Harrington Park to cook some Samgyetang. Here's what a lot ofchicken looks like...
Since Shirley was taking some home, we put the hot pot outside on the snow to cool it off. And wallah, ready to transport. During the time I was there, Mikyong kept telling me something like "time to eat, stop that, and eat first so you can play" during random times of the day. It turns out, one of her little daughters and I have the same name! Somp came over later and when we were leaving, the whole troop gave us a round of multiple hugs. That has to be one of the best goodbyes. It's such a loving home and thanks for having us over Mikyong. :)
COUNTRY PANCAKE HOUSE
So to some finds for this week, we'll start with the Country Pancake House. On tuesday, many places around town were closed or closed early as we had another sweep of snow plow through Jersey. It kept us in for most activities...except eating. We saw a place called COUNTRY PANCAKE HOUSE on the Foodnetwork and decided to have some pancakes. On our way there, the snow got worse, but that didn't keep us and many other people from trekking out to get some pancakes. There was even a 10 minute wait when we got there.
The restaurant was very cozy with huge murals covering most of the walls and some silly signs on the wall that said something along the lines of, " Seniors over 100 eat free, but must be accompanied by their parents". We were surrounded by kids who didn't have to go to school with their parents, families and HUGE pancakes. They started by bringing out a basket of cornbread both original and chocolate chip cornbread. They were warm and slightly sweet. To help get a better feel of everything in the restaurant, it'll be illustrated in .... huge pictures.
When our food came out, we were overwhelmed by how much food there was! Kee ordered a plate that had 3 eggs, 3 slices of ham, 5 slices of bacon, 1 sausage, hasbrowns and 2 pancakes. I ordered some strawberry, blueberry and banana pancakes with a side of hasbrowns.
The pancakes were good. I ordered the hashbrowns and glad I did because 4 huge pancakes alone is overload. In between, I was included in a self-initiated taste testing on Kee's plate too because you have to try one of everything on the table. The hashbrown was some of the best I've ever had. Speculation of secret ingredient? BUTTER!
140 East Ridgewood Avenue
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TRY IT.
GAMJA TANG- POTATO SOUP
And for cold weather, good ole kamja tang really hit the spot yesterday. Piping hot and hearty. My husband likes gamja tang so I thought I'd give it a try and I haven't had it many times so I referred again to maangchi.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pT5_tkC7p9M
I used her recipe for the most part. I changed 2 things. I didn't want to buy a whole bechu and Miss Maangchi said I could use kimchi. So I did. I have the kimchi that was made a few weeks ago that doesn't have the strong fermentation flavor yet so it was perfect for the recipe. Iit was also cut into fourths just like I needed so this worked out doubly perfect. The other thing I changed from this recipe was taking the beansprouts out. Beansprouts just seemed like overload according for us, but if you feel you'll like them, by all means please try.
The new concepts for this recipe were perilla leaves and perilla seeds. What is a perilla plant? I googled it and it turns out a parilla leaf is something I've been eating all my life!
KENEEP! I guess I never heard it in English before. :)
Now that I had perilla leave figured out, what does a perilla plant's seed look like and which isle do I get it in?? I asked the HMart lady and we went back and forth to the grain isle then to the korean spice isle twice. SO!.... Incase you try this recipe and are in the same shoes, the perilla seeds are in the sesame seed isle and they look like light colored peppercorns.
THAI SPARE RIBS
And the menu for dinner tonight was Thai Spare Ribs. This took a little longer for prep and cook time, first processing various fresh ingredients, marinating for for about 6 hours and cooking for 1.5 hrs. For serving, I prepared a zesty green topping, served it with blue-cheese smashed potatoes and a mix of peas, tomatoes, avacados with a cold "dressing".
Though it took a long time, it was totally worth it! On my husband's rating scale, I got a first ever standing ovation. Literally! Makes me want to cook a second dinner tonight to see if I can score another one of those. A happy diner, makes a happy cook.
Bone Appetite!
FY
