her baking & his cooking

she bakes. he cooks. we eat.

His: Lobster Pasta

If you don’t know by now, I love making fresh pasta and fresh pasta dishes! This is just another one to add to the list.

Simple once again.

For the sauce:

  • One 8oz. (roughly) lobster tail
  • some cherry tomatoes of various colors
  • scallions
  • garlic
  • basil
  • heavy cream
  • salt & pepper

That’s it!

On medium heat, toss all the garlic, scallions, and tomatoes in the pan with a bit of olive oil. Let it cook for a couple of minutes until soft. Be sure to salt and pepper it and then add a tablespoon or two of cream to your sauce. Bring it to a quick boil, add the cooked and chopped lobster and then let it simmer for about 5 minutes. Easy! Once the sauce is done, divide it amongst the pasta and eat! Top with some freshly grated parmesan cheese and fresh basil.

*Here’s a tip. Cook the lobster in the shell first before you take it out. It helps trap the natural flavor and juices.

‘Til the next dish!

His: Arroz ala Cubana; Filipino Style

This one is an ode to my Lola (grandmother). She used to make this one for me when I was still in grade school when they lived with us for a bit. And she would stack it just like this. She’s pretty awesome. 

I’ve actually never made this before and was pretty jazzed to make it on my own. It’s quite simple. I tried to make a small portion just for two but it still turned out to be a lot. 

I used:

  • medium red potato diced
  • tomato
  • carrots
  • raisins
  • garlic
  • green pepper

Sautee those ingredients in a medium pan. Once everything has sweated down and the potatoes are tender, toss in about a tablespoon of tomato paste, give it a quick stir and then throw in about a pound of ground beef.

I then fried a couple strips of plantains and then fried an egg.

Easy.

This one definitely brought me back.

Thanks, Lola! Salamat Po!

‘Til the next dish!

her: farewell to summer

one last hurrah before fall takes over and i’m completely captivated by pumpkin, crisp air, light layers, and changing leaves.  

blueberry lemon poppy seed minis 

yield: 24-26 regular cupcakes 

  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tbsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 4 large eggs, room temperature
  • 1 tbsp of fresh lemon zest 
  • 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
  • 1 cup buttermilk
  • 2 tbsp of fresh lemon juice 
  • 1 tbsp poppy seeds 
  • 2 cups fresh blueberries (tossed in 1 tablespoon of flour) 
  1. heat oven to 325 F.
  2. in a medium sized bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.
  3. in a standing bowl mixer, with the paddle attachment, cream the butter & sugar until light and fluffy (3-5 mins).
  4. add eggs one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition.
  5. beat in the lemon zest & vanilla extract. 
  6. with the mixer on low, add the flour and buttermilk, in 3 additions, beginning and ending with the flour. 
  7. mix in the lemon juice.
  8. fold in the poppy seeds and blueberries. 
  9. bake for 20-22 minutes (rotating pans halfway through) 
  10. cool & frost with your favorite cream cheese frosting 

recipe source: adapted from the baker chick 

ps. if you’re feeling frisky, add a little limoncello to your frosting.  punches up the flavor a bit. 

pss. bake time for minis was 12 minutes. 

<3

His: Pork and Potatoes

Another dinner that I’ve prepared. I was inspired by my boy Gordon Ramsay and one of his cook books that I bought when we went down to Portland. One of his recipes was a stuffed saddle of lamb. I didn’t really feel like finding a super expensive saddle of lamb so I decided to go with a more affordable pork loin. And from there, my palate took over!

Sage smashed potatoes:

I took about a pound and a half of red potatoes and wrapped them in foil, put them in a baking pan and then put a bit of water in the pan. I cranked the oven up to 450 degrees and softened them up in about 40-45 minutes. Once super soft, I took 3 cloves of freshly chopped garlic and a good bunch of sage leaves, mixed it with about 2 tablespoons of olive oil and then cover the potatoes. Still in the foil, wrapped it back up and then slightly smashed them with the back of a pan. I then put them back in the oven for about another 15 on the top rack, took it out and then tossed some butter on them and then on the bottom rack for another 15.

Pork loin:

Easy. Pork loin. I took a knife and then cut a cross all the way through the center of the loin to make an opening. I stuffed it with sauteed mushrooms and spinach and then wrapped the loin with prosciutto! Then I wrapped it in foil and baked it for about 30 minutes. Once done, I finished it off in a hot pan and seared all sides in olive oil.

Fennel salad:

This salad was super simple. One fennel bulb. Solid handful of grape tomatoes. One avocado. I dressed it up with lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper. Simple.

Red wine reduction. 

Done.

Another one for the books.

‘Til the next dish!

her: itty bitty cake

just something simple with sprinkles. cause they make everything better, right?  spinkles and glitter? sign me up! i would be a walking disco ball if that was acceptable. instead i try to keep things subtle with just a little bit of sparkle all the time.

really, this was just an excuse to try and use the 6” pans that i picked up.  next time, i think i’ll add few more layers. 

<3

her: vanilla bean snickerdoodle cookies

i’ve been making a lot of snickerdoodles lately.  some plain snickerdoodles. some with chocolate chips. and these, with vanilla bean. oh vanilla bean. you know how much i love vanilla bean. evidence=vanilla bean cupcakes and creme brûlée.  i also tossed some vanilla bean in carrot cupcakes not too long ago.  vanilla bean adds a different dimension of flavor, a little bit more sophisticated and grown up.  

i usually don’t eat a lot of the sweets that i bake, i bring them to work for those folks to enjoy.  but, school is out and we don’t have a ton of students on campus right now. so, i ate about 12 of these today. maybe not actually 12, but something close to 12 and i have no shame in that, because they are so soft and fluffy. 

vanilla bean snickerdoodle cookies (Joy the Baker Cookbook) 

  • 2 3/4 cup flour
  • 2 tsp cream of tartar
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter
  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/2 vanilla bean, seeds
  • for dusting: 1 tsp cinnamon & 1/3 cup sugar
  1. heat oven to 350 F. 
  2. in a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt.  
  3. in an electric mixer, with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy (3-5 minutes).
  4. add in the eggs one at a time, scraping down the side of the bowl after each addition.
  5. add in the vanilla extract and vanilla bean.
  6. slowly add the flour mixture to the bowl.
  7. beat until the flour is lightly incorporated.
  8. finishing mixed with a rubber spatula.
  9. refrigerate the dough for 30 mins.
  10. roll ice cream scoop sized cookies into the dusting mixture and bake for 12 to 14 minutes, until golden brown. 
  11. remove from baking sheet and cool on a wire rack. 
  12. cookies will last in an airtight container for up to 3 days. 
<3

ps. check out siriously delicious for the chocolate chip snickerdoodle recipe. 

pss. the boy is making a bolognaise sauce right now. get excited people!

her: banana & dulce de leche cake

more bananas. and, a cake!  an even, pretty, tasty, cake! the last cake i made. well, i already told you it was an uneven cluster*?!@ … the layers weren’t straight and the whole thing weighed like 10 lbs mostly, bc there was 10 lbs of frosting on it.

this cake?

check out those layers! check out that frosting action. hollllla. 

i still have some work to do… baby steps. but i’m making progress.

you’ve seen this recipe before in cupcake form. not surprising. since it’s obvious how much we love bananas around these parts. 

<3

recipe source: bakers royale 

His: Sticky Lemon Ginger Chicken

So we have a friend, Kate, she’s awesome. Long story short, she’s teaching at a semester-at-sea program and she moved all of her belongings to Jenn’s while she’s gone. In those belongings she also gave us her food, seasonings, and such.

This dish was inspired by some frozen gyoza that she left as well as a Gordon Ramsay dish. 

It’s pretty simple to make and relatively cheap! And the chicken was organic!

Heat some oil into a pot, medium heat, and then throw chicken legs and thighs skin down into the hot oil. Let that crisp up and then flip them over to cook the other side. Once you’ve seared the chicken on all sides, season them with salt and pepper and then toss in about 2-3 tablespoons of soy sauce right in. 

Let that coat the chicken and then toss in some fresh cloves of smashed garlic. I love garlic so I tossed in about 7 sizable cloves. I also tossed in some fresh cut ginger, about two inches of it. I just sliced the ginger into large pieces because I like the flavor of ginger, I just don’t like biting into it. It’s a bit strong for me. 

Once it’s been sitting in there for about 2-3 minutes, I threw in a whole lemon that I sliced up and then about 2 tablespoons of honey. I then turned the heat down to medium low and let it cook for about 7-10 minutes. Right before I took it out I threw in some freshly chopped chives and gave it a good stir before plating.

It turned out pretty awesome actually. I think I’ve been spoiling Franco (Jenn’s little brother) with tasty meals because he didn’t like the gyoza because it was “microwaved” even though I made it in the pan. Apparently we have some upper echelon taste buds…

-‘til the next dish

her: retro icebox cookie cake

remember that other icebox cookie cake?  the one i said could totally be semi-homemade and no one would know?  BOOM!  check it to wreck it and let’s begin. party on party people let me hear some noise? no… maybe that’s just me then. 

no big deal.  anyways. this cake. easy peasy. buy cookies+make fresh whipped cream+stack+more stacking+ refrigerate overnight=cake. 

deb has the history of the icebox cookie cake on her blog. it’s an interesting read and she has a link to her homemade chocolate wafer cookies. i say, next time.  this time, store bought stuff totally worked for me.

ps. i found the nabisco chocolate wafers at my local fred meyer. they’re a little on the pricey side. but, they’re so tasty and crispy!  

recipe source: smitten kitchen 

<3

His: Pork Belly & Leek Risotto

Boom! So I’ll say this. The first time I made it risotto didn’t end up too well, at least in my eyes. I didn’t like it at all, not risotto in general, just the risotto that I prepared (the last time a tried to make risotto was about a year ago). I didn’t like it because I didn’t take care of it. That’s what a risotto needs. TLC: Time, Liquid, a Chance. I say this because like all of my other dishes, risotto is easy but in a different way. It’s easy in the sense that all you are really doing stirring and adding. It’s a bit harder because you’re stirring and adding. Here’s how I made the magic happen the second time.

I prepped the pork belly by slicing it into small cubes and then sauteing it in a large pot.  Once crispy I took it out and then saved the fat in a bowl. I took the leeks and sauteed those separately in the pork fat. Then I took them out after about a minute.

In the mean time I have about 5 cups of chicken broth simmering in another pot.

Then here’s where the TLC comes in. I sauteed shallots in the fat as well as about a tablespoon of butter. Once sauteed I added about a cup and a half of the risotto with the shallots and sauteed those together. I then poured in about 3/4 of a cup of white wine right in there. 

*The trick to risotto is to add liquid in small amounts and then stir it until the risotto soaks it up. And you repeat this process until cooked through. This means you should be standing over that risotto and stirring for about 30ish minutes.

Once the risotto soaks up the wine, you can go ahead and start adding the broth right into the pot about 3/4-1cup at a time. Pour and stir. Pour and stir. It’s easy but a bit tedious. 

Once you’ve added about 4 cups you start to taste it and see if the texture is correct. It shouldn’t be hard and it shouldn’t be mushy. Somewhere in the middle. 

After everything is just right, I then add:

pork belly

leeks

a pinch of fresh cracked pepper

parmesan cheese

italian parsley

I didn’t salt this risotto because the pork belly was salty enough. 

To add that extra level of flavor and texture, I placed a perfectly poached egg right on top. 

It really is a super tasty meal! Jenn says it’s on her top five list!

-‘til the next dish