Well Hellooooo! :)
Another Foodie Blog out on the virtual press and the good eats continue.
Topics for this issue will include:
~ GOOD GRILLIN'
~ RESTAURANTS OF THE WEEK
~ ETHNIC EATS
~ KOREAN FOOD UNDER PRESSURE
~ WINNING THE BET
~ CATCHING YOUR OWN FOOD
~ DESSERTS
==GOOD GRILLIN'==
Let's cut the intro and cut the tape because the grilling season has officially begun! Potato salads, cold drinks and fixins are amidst the pounds of meat! Steaks are being tossed across the black grilling bars and the grilling bars are leaving their marks of good times and the disappearance of winter!
So the first BBQ for the season was a TRAILER CREW BBQ. My husband Kee and my brother in law Sung(leader of trailer crew) are both invovled in setting up the sound equipment for our church. They wake up at 6:30 in the morning andtransfer the equipment from storage to the church site to make the service happen. So for all their hardwork, they had a BBQ together with the other Trailer Crew Members and though my friend Mihae and I don't wake up early and push heavy things around, we got to tag along!
So let's start with some good ole BBQ! On the grill went more meat than we could eat. It was a men's BBQ planned by men so of course, they cut out the vegetables almost completely and ate all meat. They had a box of spring mix salad, but it did as much for the BBQ as a rolly polly walking by in the bush across the yard.
The marinated chicken wings lead the bbq grill parade. This was the first time I've experienced chicken wings on the grill and it was seasoned two different ways. One was an sweet asian marinade and the second one...get this...was marinated with something called a "Slap Yo Mama!" sauce which was pretty spicy! Then we had some tequila shrimp and we learned that that the tequila actually gives the shrimp a slight crisp texture when it's done. Then of course, we had beef in the form of flank steak and to dig deep into our heritage, we slapped on some "jeepoh" which is cuttlefish in korean. For those who haven't had it, it's like the beef jerky of the sea. It's chewy, sweet and originates from Deliciousland.
So here are some snapshots of the shabang:
The beef-ribbon cutting ceremony by Mihae, Phil and Chul. Chul was actually attending his second BBQ of the day! A BBQ pro!
This is the grilled chicken wing with the "slap yo mama" sauce. Spicy!
Shreeeeump on the barbie
Jeepoh
The Kwak brothers and Chul diggin' in
Mihae's and my gateways to the BBQ
==RESTAURANTS OF THE WEEK==
Restaurant #1
Charthouse
Lincold Harbor Pier D-T
Weehawken, NJ 07086
(201) 348-6628
The parents in law were in town for a Pastor's conference and it was the first time they came to visit our house! So while they were here, we went out to eat once and ate at our house. Sung chose the Charthouse for the dinner which was an excellent choice! My parents in law, Sung, Tammy, Kee and I got to chit chat over a great dinner and a wonderful view of the Hudson and New York City. We were there when the sun was still up and after eating, the view turned completely different. The view was amazing.
Sunset
Post Sunset
The food was pretty good and we were able to order off a prefix menu. Sung found out that you can't get the prefix menu if you just walk into the restaurant and use the regular menu, but if you go online and print the online prefix menu, you can order from it. I ordered the clam chowder appetizer, prime rib and the chocolate mud cake for dessert.
The clam chowder came in a nice presentation. Do they actually hang each one of these over a mini fire?! ;0) The serving size itself was generous portion and chowder was some of the best clam chowder I've had.
The prime rib. It was good but in this photo, there is a big emphasis on the patch of fat from the flash. It looked less threatening on my plate though. :)
And our dessert - Mud Pie! I thought the serving of whipped cream was actually two scoops of vanilla ice cream!
Restaurant #2
Taqueria
236 Grove St
Jersey City, NJ 07302
The next restaurant we went to was in Jersey City. We went to meet up some friends in the area for a celebration for NYG, and before we stopped by at TAQUERIA. We heard a lot of good things about this little place and now we know what the hype is about. The place is small, but very festive and we were greeted by this Host and Hostess. They were a very robust and fun couple and they showed us to our seats in about 10 minutes.
This was a BYOB place so we brought a few bottles of beer and I brought Verdi to accompany the goodness. From the menu, we ordered three types of tacos. Pork, beef and the fish tacos and there was no sour cream, guacamole and other made-american toppings; only perfectly seasoned and cooked meat and fresh toppings. We added some homemade salsa that was full of flavor and SPICY! It had me ssshp ssssshp-ing through the second taco since I over did it on the first one! Fire died down on the second taco so the salsa went on again, and the ssshp ssshp-ing continued on the third. The salsa was ex-shhhp-ellent! Out of all three tacos, we concluded that the contest is between the pork and the beef. This is the picture of the beef and fish tacos. My first was inhaled due to the deliciousness of the pork taco with salsa.
=ETHNIC EATS=
Let's take a trip down the ethnic isle to Brazil!Brazil is in South America and to pinpoint it on the map, it is here:
The idea of visiting one day is irresistable, but as of yet, I've never been to Brazil. The cuisine from Brazil is said to be a mix of native and immigrant populations,a big influence being Portugal. Their national language is Portuguese and their national sport, for you sports fans, is "football", or soccer!
I tried a recipe for a popular dish called Moqueca which is a fish stew. Basically, it uses a mix of fresh vegetables, coconut milk and salmon. Jieun, who is the head chef at Whole Foods in Chelsea, was helpful and told me that even when you're cooking the salmon in a soup, you shouldnt' cook it for too long or else the flavor wouldn't be at its best. I listened to the pro. It's not one of those meats you can cook a really long time to make it more tender and flavorful. Dont' do it!
So in went colorful fresh veggies with the fish:
And the final product?
BAM!!
Served with Jasmine Rice.
= KOREAN FOOD UNDER PRESSURE=
Since the first time that my husband and I got married, my parents in law came over to our house for dinner. I felt a lot of pressure to do well so they could have a peace of mind that their husband is well taken care of. So when they came over, the table was set with Naeng Myun, Kalbi (my mom marinated this in Texas for us), Gogi Jun and other korean fixings. What a relief that the dinner went well! I was so exhausted after and got a little sick. I think it was the pressure I was putting on myself because my parents in law are so nice! Thank you to my husband, Tammy and Sung for all your support last week. :)
=WINNING THE BET =
And what is better than a home cooked meal won off a bet??
About a year ago, Jenn and I won a game off our husbands Dan and Kee and our prize was a homecooked Paella dinner. We finally cashed in...with interest! Instead of feeding two mouths, they had to feed three this time. Why? Jenn is pregnant! :)
Paella, as most of you may know, is a seafood Spanish Rice dish. I haven't made it myself though Jenn can make a pretty great one and now the guys can too! They shopped for the ingredients while Jenn and I chilled at home, and they whipped up an incredible meal of Paella and bacon mashed potatoes.
During the prep, Jenn and I recorded a cooking show for them, occassionally making comments on what they were doing and making. They were much more entertaining than any Foodnetwork TV show host! For starters, Kee was imitating Julia Child in her high voiceand started with "Bon Appetiiiite!" instead of "Bonjouuuur!"
And the food during it's incubation period:
Food Photography Courtesy of Jenn
And the final meal:
Appetizer of tomato tarts made of fresh vine ripe tomatoes (from the Kwaks' house)
Food Photography Courtesy of Jenn
Side of delicious bacon mashed potatoes:
And the star of the night, Paella with shrimp, scallops and chorizo (porizo!) :
The meal was excellent! There was no other criticism except that we wouldnt' change anything and it was a perfect 10. The Paella great; the seafood and chorizo were cook through well and not over/under cooked and the mashed potatoes were substantial with bacon infusing the spuds amongst other ingredients. So how did that make Jenn and I feel?
So happy ^_^. As if this wasn't enough, the guys proposed we play more games to see if they could win this time! We played a series of games and one team had to win 3 of 5 to win it all: Wii tennis, Egyptian Ratscrew, Slap Jack, Speed Scrabble and Jenga. The ladies one the first three games! :)
Results of the win: 1 shrimp tail up each nostril for the men. They were the ones who thought of this punishment!
Courtesy of Jenn
Courtesy of Jenn
and the results of the results? A series of nose blowing to get the shrimp smell out of their nose! The smell was everywhere (for them)!
= CATCHING YOUR OWN FOOD =
Something we believe in our house Proverbs 31. Proverbs 31 speaks in the character of a woman, but if can be applied to men, women and couples as well. It says:
Proverbs 31:14 She is like the merchant ships, she bringeth her food from afar.
Now like the merchant ships is held to mean which imports goods from distant lands; similarly, she does not depend for her supplies from sources near at hand, but seeks them from afar, to obtain the choicest obtainable. Of course, the symbolism is quite clear. Our salvation comes from afar, through the Holy Spirit. So our food comes from afar. Our food is to do the will of Him who sent us (Jn. 4:34).
As we try to apply this to our life, sometimes doing what the scripture says without really understanding but obeying, we find gold nuggest of wisdom in small ways. After attempting to "bring food from afar", the gold nuggest we found were that the extra mile you spend to find the food from afar:
1) brings new things into the house. It slowly, but constantly changes the dynamics of the house that keeps it from getting monotonous. Keeps the house engaging, in good fun, high spirits and constant learning. Gives the house "a little sugar on top".
2) the journey there accrues blessings and memories that makes bonds stronger
3) appreciation of the food you bring back because of the time that went into obtaining the food
So in light of that, we took an adventure again to the Atlantic Highlands for some deep sea Striper Bass fishing for some food and fun. The weather was a big chily in the morning, but we warmed up later from the sun and the exercise from reeling in our fish!
So in went our lines as our boat followed around birds to find where the fish were. We dropped our lines here and there, hand some lunch of sandwhiches, and dropped them again. Here, we are in the middle of lunch of roast beef sandwhiches on Portuguese rolls with my special sauce, our drink of choice for the boatride, and on the hook is the bait I'm using to catch a whale, if not..a big fish!
Well unfortunately, the line with the Roast Beef did not last long in the ocean waters and when I reeled up, it was gone. (Dang, I just missed the whale!) But luckily, we were able to catch some intended Striper Bass! Kee caught about 6 and I caught 2. It was a great day of fishing and everyone went home with some fish, including us. The fish had to be at least 28' to take home. Mine were under, but our keepers were all Kee's! Kee's my KEEpr so I got to take him home. =P Here is a good picture of the keepers! ;)
and here are our winnings of the day:
and later at home here are the filets before and after:
and Kee's attempted the bacon mashed potatoes again served in man portions:
= DESSERT =
And to wrap up all our good eats, we have desserts.
I made some strawberry lemonade cupcakes for an Excellent Wife class that I'm taking with Anna and Christine lead by Julia. It's been great hearing about what married life is like for others and what to expect in the future. Since it was a ladies thing and spring time, I made a little dessert to take to the class; Strawberry lemonade cupcakes. I put a whole cup of pureed strawberries in the cake and fresh squeezed lemon juice and lemon zest in the glaze to give it a healthy, sweet and tart taste. Cheers to our leader and our future as excellent wives!
And finally, to wish my friend Nayoung a very happy birthday, I made a cookie cake!..well accidentally made a cookie cake. The plan was to bake sugar cookies and decorate them with pretty royal icing designs I had collected. To my dismay, when I pulled the cookies out of the oven, they all baked together into one big mass! It was passed midnight, the cake was for the next day and I didn't have any more cookie dough left. It was time to bust out the creative thinking cap.
On goes the cap... *@&@#*#*#$*&#^&$^!*@#*@&*..... and wallah.
Happy birthday, Nayoung! :)
And with that, we wrap up this post. If you would like any recipes in this blog, send a line and the recipe will be headed your way.
Until next time, Bon Appetit everyone!
Y
