Mongolian Beef

Hallelujah, it's Friday. 

It's about time you dine like a leader of the free world. 

This Mongolian Beef recipe comes from Executive White House chef, Ariel De Guzman who ran the White House kitchen when George Bush Sr. was in office.  

According to Guzman, Asian cuisine is a favorite of the Bush family and this Mongolian Beef was often requested for dinner parties that the President was hosting.  

Dear President and Mrs. Bush (Senior),

I bet you dream about eating Ariel's mongolian beef in the White House.  Seeing as we both live in Houston, I'd be happy to come over and prepare some for you.  I totally see why you like it so much.  It's pretty fantastic.  I am open most weekends over the summer so let me know what works for you.  My kitchen or yours... I'm easy. Yours is probably nicer though, so I can definitely bring my wok to your place.  

Oh and before I forget,  I played you, President Bush, in my second grade Parade of Presidents at my school.  I did my best to represent.  I'll catch you up on the details over dinner.

Sincerely,
Ashlea

Are any Chinese dishes in your repetoire? 

If not, you are probably going to dismiss this immediately because you need a couple of key sauces. 

Don't do it!

Use this as your opportunity to load up your arsenal for Chinese cooking.  You will need only a few things and the ingredients are pretty interchangeable for other stir frys, dumplings and rices.  Here's what you need that you might not have.

This Mongolian beef has such great flavor and you just won't believe how quickly it comes together. 

From my little kitchen to yours... Enjoy. 

Mongolian Beef
Recipe adapted from The Bush Family Cookbook by Ariel De Guzman

Recipe Notes
If you are not familiar with the term "cutting against the grain," check this out.  Cutting your meat correctly is key to making a good stir fry with tender meat.  This recipe makes 4 small portions, but the leftovers are fantastic so it's worth making the whole recipe just for two people.
Ingredients
For Marinade **needs to marinate for at least 2 hours and up to overnight 
1 teaspoon rice wine or dry sherry
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon corn starch
1/2 teaspoon sugar
2/3 pound flank steak, sliced across grain on an angle into thin strips
For Seasoning Sauce
1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
1 tablespoon hot bean sauce (or bean sauce)
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1/2 cup water
Other Ingredients
5 tablespoons vegetable oil
8-10 scallions, cut into 1 inch lengths
Step by Step
In a large bowl, combine rice wine, soy sauce, vegetable oil, sesame oil, baking soda, cornstarch sugar. Add beef strips and toss to coat.  Marinate for at least two and hours and up to twenty four hours.

Make the seasoning sauce.  In a medium size bowl, combine hoisin sauce, hot bean sauce, cornstarch and water.  Mix to combine.  This seasoning sauce can be prepared up to twenty four hours before cooking.  Refrigerate until ready to use.

Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet or wok over high heat.   Add marinated beef and stir-fry until very lightly browned, about 1 minute.  Remove beef with slotted spoon; set aside.

Pour off all but 2 tablespoons of oil.  Reheat oil in skillet or wok and add seasoning sauce.  Bring to a boil. Return beef to pan and add scallions.  Stir-fry for 30 seconds.

Makes 4 servings.

eating in: Cozumel, Mexico

Oh, hi there.

To give you a visual, I am sitting on the couch, wearing a pair of Soffe shorts.  You know, those soft cotton way too small shorts that were just all the rage when we 20 somethings were in middle school?

I didn't even know I still owned a pair, but it is amazing what you can find when absolutely everything you own is in the dirty clothes pile.

So here I am... in my Soffee shorts, catching up on what Bethenny Frankel has been up to lately.  Oh, come on.  Admit it... she's hilarious and I'll be the first to admit that I'm hooked on Bethenny Ever After.  If you are not, start watching so we can be on the same page.

But no matter what I'm wearing or what I'm watching, it is all a bit of a blur.  My mind is still floating its way through that little beach up there.  Sitting underneath a hut and sipping a margarita.

My unbelievably kind and sweet parents sent Mr. Hungry and me on a cruise as a graduation present for the both of us.  Mr. Hungry graduated from law school in December and took the bar two weeks ago.

Gosh, did we need a little vacay.  I totally agreed with them when they said that I needed a graduation present too. Three and a half years of supporting your husband through law school is present worthy in my book.

We were in Cozumel for the day and this being our fourth trip to this place, I deemed it about time for me to give you my expert opinion on where to eat.

You are in Mexico... we will be eating Mexican!

Let's start with fajitas.  If you are looking for the best fajitas in all the land, check out La Choza.  

Oh man, everything about this place is legit.  But I still dream about the fajitas.

This is what you need...

Fajitas Mixtas (shrimp, beef & chicken) 

Guacamole 

Classic Margarita  

You will love the sauce that comes with the chips.  If you love it as much as my father did a few years ago, you can go home with a bottle of the stuff.  He swears it lasted him for years.

Next up, let's go with the freshest seafood around at La Mission. 

This is what you need...

Ceviche Mixtos with Fish & Shrimp

Side of Avocado

Sol Beer  

(recommendation from our waiter Miguel... perfect combo)

Optional Addition:  Queso Fundido

Great mariachi and if you're lucky, you just might get to don a sombrero for part of your meal.

Recap:  

La Choza!  The very top of my list in lovely Cozumel.

La Mission!  A close second, but skip the fajitas and go with the fresh fish and seafood.

Oreo Truffles

Do you eat cake balls/ cake pops? 

I don't. 

From the moment of their conception, I have never been interested.  The texture sounded weird and the process in which people smash cake and icing and roll it in a ball  simply grossed me out.  And what about the effort?  You bake a wonderful cake, but then mash it with icing and dip it in coating? Blew my mind. 

Naturally I wasn't thrilled when oreo balls were requested for a party I was catering.  Might as well have ordered cake balls in my book. But hey, I wasn't going to eat them so it didn't totally rock my world. 

I wasn't happy about it, but I felt like I needed to take a wee bite of one just to make sure I wasn't serving a disaster.  To my absolute shock and surprise, they were amazing.  Seriously, so good.  You get a nice little crunch from the semi-sweet chocolate and then you are met with a velvety chocolatey ball of goodness.

Cake ball people, I know you are out there and I know they are all the rage, but here's the deal...whirling up oreo crumbs is a thousand times faster than baking a cake  so get on the band wagon and let's do this. 

These went fast... lightning fast.  They were served on a dessert bar with Sprinkles cupcakes and other tried and true favorites and they were gone first. 

That's statistics.  You can't argue with statistics. 

From my little kitchen to yours... Enjoy.

Oreo Truffles

Adapted from allrecipes.com

Recipe Notes

You use the whole cookie for this recipe.  Leave the icing in the middle when you place them in the food processor.  Dipping in chocolate can be a little tricky.  The method I prefer is to dunk the oreo ball in the chocolate, roll around to coat and then using a fork in one hand and your fingers, scoop the ball out and place on baking sheet.  

Ingredients

1 (16 ounce) package Oreo Chocolate Sandwich Cookies
1 (8 ounce) package Cream Cheese, softened
2 (8 ounce) packages Semi-Sweet Baking Chocolate (I like Baker's brand)
Directions
Crush 9 of the cookies to fine crumbs in food processor; reserve for later use. (Cookies can also be finely crushed in a resealable plastic bag using a rolling pin.) Crush remaining 36 cookies to fine crumbs; place in medium bowl. Add cream cheese; mix until well blended. Roll cookie mixture into one inch balls. 

Cover a baking sheet with wax paper or parchment paper.  Heat chocolate according to directions on packaging.  Dip balls in chocolate and place on lined baking sheet to harden.  (Any leftover chocolate can be stored at room temperature for another use.) Sprinkle with reserved cookie crumbs.

Refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour. Store leftover truffles, covered, in refrigerator.

Makes about 42 truffles.  

How To: De-Seed a Pomegranates

I'm sorry... what?  Excuse me?  Did you just say it's the middle of February?  

Please, stop.  Just stop. 

I didn't make it through my list of soups to make... oh great, it's already 70 degrees outside. 

I went to San Francisco and haven't even told you about it yet. (one word for now... Tartine)

I didn't get a chance to get crafty for v day this year.   

At least I'm trying to be proactive... I'm trying to wipe the cobwebs off this place. 

Sure, it's only been a couple of weeks but there has been a lot I want to share.  Time will come back one day... I can feel it. 

For now, I must talk about pomegranates and I must do it quickly.  These exotic puppies are already at the end of their season.  They are getting noticeably smaller and a bit sad on the grocery aisles... not nearly as plump and cheap as they were during the height of the season in December and January, but alas, it is still not too late.  

Grab a pom and let's get the seeds out of that sucker.  

Throw them in Greek yogurt, toss them in a salad or eat spoonfuls all on their own.  They are great.... and apparently super healthy... bonus points. 

What you need...

a pomegranate

a sharp knife

plastic cutting board (or anything you don't mind staining red)

a medium sized bowl, filled halfway with water
Warning:  Pomegranate juice will stain everything! Wood... clothes... white dish towels.  Unless you want everything a tinge of pink, make sure you are careful with this guy.  I like to use a plastic cutting board on top of my wooden board and I wouldn't be wearing my favorite white shirt... those seeds can spit. 

Lay your pomegranate on a plastic surface (or something you do not care about staining).
Slice off the top. 

Oh, now we are talkin... what a piece of art.

Using a sharp knife, cut along the white stuff... also known as the membrane.

Gently break apart the segments of the pomegranate.

Place each segment over the bowl of water. Submerge the segment and loosen the seeds.

The seeds will sink to the bottom and the white stuff will float to the top.

  Skim the white parts off, drain the water...

and there you have it... a bowl full of gems.
I had quite the plump pomegranate so I did not go after every seed.  If you want to get every last one, continue to submerge each piece in your bowl of water a loosen the seeds.

Candy Centered Chocolate Cookies

I have become quite the cookie monster as of late.

I never really thought I would turn out this way, but one by one, the most amazing cookies seem to be finding their way into my mouth, which sends me hunting for their recipes.

I work at a school {in the Development Office of this great place}.

It is a special place.

There are a lot of amazing (and important) reasons why it is so wonderful, but this might not be known as one of them.

Every Wednesday, parents bring treats for the faculty and staff.  Yep, that's right, every Wednesday.  It is quite the treat.

These showed up one day and I have to admit, I would have easily passed by a chocolate cookie, but a coworker let me in on the secret that there was a candy center.

That was enough to intrigue and one bite in, I knew I had to have the recipe.

First bite... a little bit of chocolate and crunchy pecans.  Second bite, you find yourself smack dab in the middle of a Reese's (or Rolo) and oh, are you happy to be there.

From my little kitchen to yours... Enjoy.

Candy Centered Chocolate Cookies
Recipes

*dough needs to be refrigerated for an hour before baking
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
2 1/4 cup flour
3/4 cup cocoa
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. vanilla

1 cup chopped pecans
35 Rolos or Reese's Peanut Buttercups (or a mix)

parchment paper

Step by Step
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  Beat butter until creamy and fluffy, gradually add sugar and eggs, beat well.  

In a separate bowl add flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt. Gradually add to butter mixture.  Add vanilla and pecans.  Cover and refrigerate for an hour.

Using a tablespoon, roll balls of cookie dough.  Smash into a small circular disk.  Place desired chocolate candy on the middle of each disk.  Wrap cookie dough around candy, covering candy completely and roll into a ball.  Add a little extra dough to cover the candy if necessary. 

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  Place dough balls 2 inches apart.  Bake for 8 minutes, until edges are set.  

Makes 35 cookies.

My favorite was the Reese's, but given the choice, I will always be a chocolate & peanut butter girl. 

parties: A Baby Shower.

Oh boy, do I have something fun to share with you.  Last weekend, I had the privilege of helping to cater a baby shower in Dallas and oh, what a privilege it is when you are working with friends who put so much love and work into the party.  My friends Abby and Katie (with the wonderful help of sister Hannah, mother Karen and Katie's mom Barbara and her wonderful home) threw a lovely shower for Abby's sister, Emily.  These girls know how to throw a party, but more importantly, how to decorate. I happen to meet sweet Emily this summer on our trip to Italy and let's just say that I could have never imagined I would be helping with this darling shower for a baby that will be born exactly nine months from the week I met her {Oh, Italia}.  I put together a few shots of the food, but every detail of the party is worth mentioning so here it goes...

(scroll to the bottom for notes about the menu)

This January Shower was a mix of comfort food + bright pops of color.

The photo booth captured everyone's predictions as to whether a baby girl or baby boy was in the works.  The mom to be is unsure, but grandmothers have good instincts and this one is going with boy. 

There was a table with packets of sweet peas for guests to plant for favors and a jar to shower the mom-to-be with advice. 

And by the end of a lovely shower, the three of us had a little fun with the photo booth. 

Menu Notes...

• Click here for the tomato basil soup.  
• The grilled cheese were made with buttermilk sourdough bread from Central Market with sharp cheddar cheese and olive oil to crisp the bread. 
• Click here for Avocado Chicken Salad. 
• Click here for Pesto Pasta Salad recipe.  I substituted these marinated mozzarella balls for the feta ... not sure I will ever go back to feta. It was delicious.
• Click here for chocolate chip cookie recipe.
• And the Oatmeal Cake Cupcakes with buttercream frosting were amazing! I am going to do a little begging to see if I can get the grandmother to be to share this perfect recipe.