... Chicken Dinner

It's the start of a new year and yes, I haven't posted in a long while in between almost having three jobs and paying off bills whilst still in school, and trying to balance a social life: life gets hectic. Although from time to time I take a deep breath, take a step back and just relax. Well, it's close to midterms week and I thought I'd find a recipe that was full in nutrients and protein that will fuel my body to study this weekend. I decided to go with the one I used at my friend's housewarming party: a Lemon Chicken Mushroom Alfredo Pasta. Last time we used rotini and this time we decided to go with penne.

We started off going to Vons to get some chicken, being on a very tight budget, I'm always looking for the right bargain. Since chicken breast wasn't on sale, I opted for a large packet of chicken thighs for $5.31 (about 8-9 pieces), button mushrooms, and lemon. We also went with Classico's Creamy Alfredo  for the sauce. David cut the bone out of the thighs (we used about a piece each) and while he did that I sliced up the mushrooms and lemon that will be tossed in a wok to be stir fried.

These are the seasonings that we used to rub through the chicken. After we gutted out the bones, we put in some ground black pepper on both sides with some pink salt, and a few shake of parsley. Then we added Lawry's seasoning salt. Before putting the pieces onto the grill, take the lemons and squeeze out the juice over the chicken, let it sit for about 2-3 minutes. Once the chicken is cooking, stir-fry the mushrooms until brown, it's okay to use a box for two as once they cook they will dramatically shrink in size. After, we added in the sauce and let it simmer before taking it off the stove. Don't forget to set a pot aside with boiling water for your pasta. Boil your pasta to al dente as you will be cooking it twice with the sauce so that it'll be soft by the time you serve it.

Grill the chicken until it's golden brown, make a little slice if you want to to double check if it's cooked thoroughly. Take it off the grill and plate it. Next, we took the pasta, strained it and mixed it with the alfredo sauce in the wok turned the fire to medium and stirred it. After plating we added a dash of parsley on top of the penne as garnish for that finished look. :) Hope everyone that drops by or sees this, tries this home- it's super simple to make and a lot of fun! Until next time~!

Ciao!
Kitty~

Just Another Day...

I give you another easy recipe to work with for those weekend mornings with your loved one. :) Maybe even a bed and breakfast would sound lovely! It's a simple and tasty breakfast choice: Cinnamon French Toast with Powdered Sugar.

You only need a few easy ingredients from your local supermarket: eggs, cinnamon, maple syrup, white toast (try and find thick toast if you can), and powdered sugar.

We cracked the eggs into a separate bowl and added in a few dashes of cinnamon, then mixed them until it's slightly foamy. We then dipped the bread into the mixture and placed them on the fryer. Give it about 3 minutes on the stove before flipping it over (Make sure it's like this golden brown before flipping). Repeat process and place it on the plate after making however many you want. Lastly, shake powdered sugar onto the toast with another light addition of cinnamon. Drizzle the syrup and voila! :) Done! Nice and easy~ Hope you guys enjoy this one too. ^__^ Until next time!

Ciao!
Kitty~

Winter Dinner!

It's getting rather chilly out these past few days in Socal- I had a rather strong hankering for a bowl of soup that wasn't too heavy on flavor. Something light enough to warm the body and Di was craving pasta. After a few minutes of discussion and going out to get groceries, we decided to make Seaweed Egg Drop Soup and Creamy Chicken Marsala Pasta for dinner!

First up, I made the Seaweed Egg Drop Soup since it was so cold and really needed something warm. I boiled a pot of water added a speck of chicken bouillon, tossed in dried seaweed (not available in just any supermarket- I suggest going to a Chinese market) let it simmer until it softens then crack in the eggs. I like to use two, one to break the yolk, one so I can boil the yolk as a whole. Let it simmer again on low heat until serving time. Prep time: 2 minutes, Cook time: 5 minutes.

The main dish was the Creamy Chicken Marsala Pasta of course, Di boiled the pasta to al dente before mixing the chopped mushrooms, garlic, onion, and chicken with melted butter, 3/4 cups of Marsala Wine, chicken broth and heavy cream. We let the sauce boil in a pan until it was lightly thick then we mixed the two together then topped it off with Parmesan cheese and Voila! Dinner! Prep time: 10 minutes, Cook time: 15-20 minutes. Here's a link to a more detailed recipe: http://blogcritics.org/tastes/article/creamy-chicken-marsala-pasta/

Hope you guys enjoyed this dinner entree as much as I did as it did warm up my body from head to toes! :3 Until next time!

Ciao!
Kitty~

Six Two Six

I live in an area which many people refer to as the San Gabriel Valley, also known as the "626" within our community. It's given itself a reputation for good and authentic Chinese food, boba milk tea, and large Asian neighborhoods. It's a bustling jumble of culture! I'm what anthropologists called: "parachute kids", but instead of being a child shipped from Asia living in the United States, it's vice versa for me. For a good part of my childhood I've resided in different areas of Asia, Guang Zhou, Shang Hai, Hong Kong, you name it. I was then brought back to the United States to attend grade school when I was older. So, I was lucky enough to be brought up with a palette for Asian and American food. But I find that living within these two cultures, I'm still more amazed at the versatile use of ingredients within my own culture. Here's just a few of the dishes that I enjoy the most when I go out to eat:

First, we have the famous, Minced Pork over Rice or sometimes referred as the Pork Stew over Rice. Whenever I went back to Taiwan I was notorious within the apartment building as the girl who inhales bowls of these! It's relatively cheap, usually $3-$4 within the SGV. It's just your basic marinated pork pieces drizzled deliciously over white rice with a side serving of tea marinated egg and slices of yellow pickled radishes.

Here we have Hainan Chicken with Rice. Tender chicken with lightly oily rice, oil that originates from the chicken itself when they prep it. I really like the one from ABC Cafe and one from Savoy Kitchen whom are quite famous for them. This dish usually ranges from $7-$9 depending on which restaurant you go to.

For more dessert-like dishes, my favorite would have to be the Brick Toast (cinnamon or the coconut butter flavors are my favorite). The one from Tom n Toms is the best from the ones I've tasted so far and it's super close to my house so there's no fuss on how far I have to drive to get one. Although TnT is usually located in DTLA Korea Town... The closet one near the Walnut/DB area is on Goldensprings. These usually range from the $5-$7 give or take.

Those are only just the tip of the iceberg from the massive list of my favorite dishes but drop by the SGV if you're ever in the area or if you're craving good Chinese food! :) Until next time!

Ciao!
Kitty~

Change of Scenery

There was always this little hiking trail that I've passed by quite often on the way to school. It's located on Steep Canyon Road in Diamond Bar and there was a trail that lead to somewhere... I just didn't know where. Apparently, it lead to Sycamore Canyon Park! It was because Di and I decided to walk the dogs this evening and we walked from home to Sycamore Canyon Park, one that I had often visited when I was a child. It's dog friendly with plenty of dog bag posts all along the park and freshly filled with the scent of Mother Nature. :) It used to be filled with more trees and the creek ran all the way across the lower half of the park, but they've paved it and created a secondary playground for kids. A part of me was a little sad, but hey, more space for the kids to run around. The general hiking area is beautiful, just as gorgeous as I remembered it. Luscious green foliage covered by thick dark brown trunks and the sound of running water.

If you walk a little farther in, there's a place where you can walk down to a miniature waterfall. It's quite the scenic route to take if you're doing a after dinner walk with your husband or boyfriend. ;)

The dogs absolutely loved it, they were running around the baseball field and up the trail, it wasn't until we reached the steep stairs that our youngest baby, Adrian had trouble getting up the stairs, so just be wary of each of your pets, kids, and family members' ability to hike! The trail itself is a worthy exercise routine, from Di's house to the park to the trail and back was almost a total of four miles!

Happy Adrian! :D Hope you guys enjoy the park if anyone ever does decide to hop on by, it's definitely a hidden gem that should be preserved and visited! Until next time!

Ciao~
Kitty!

Sweet Tooth!

I'm not a big on sweets but here's a few places that I actually like to frequent when the cravings do come. I go to some more than others depending on the level of sweetness. Perhaps you've been to these places before, if you have please leave a comment below letting me know what you thought of the places!

Everybody seems to be on the cupcake hype and bandwagon, I personally find them too sweet- but Sprinkles in Newport Beach is a really popular place with the locals to grab a few on the way out. :)

I picked out the Coconut one, which I thought was pretty good. Here's a tip: Grab a bottle of milk while eating this. It balances out the sugar.

I'm a big fan of sweet waffles versus the savory ones. There are two places I'm just in love with, one is called Love To Go in San Gabriel and the other is Cafe Haus in Walnut. Both very good places!

Chocolate Toffee Waffles from Love to Go! Great pick and very popular. :)

Here's to ice cream sandwiches! Diddy Riese in Westwood sells relatively cheap cookies and ice cream for $1.75- It used to be $1.25. The price has been jacked up the last few years, but it's still cheap compared to other places.

My favorite: Cinnamon cookies with Cookies n' Creme!

And finally snow ice, it's been popping up everywhere these days, but the only place I like the best still is Class 302 in Rowland Heights. Although I like Class 302, Ten Ren's (Also in Rowland Heights) has some pretty snow, it's decent enough to eat with plenty of condensed milk. :)

Strawberry Mango Snow Ice from Ten Ren's-

Here's to all the sweet lovers out there! Cheers! Until next time!

Ciao!
Kitty~

Romantic Foodie

Decided it was time that we took some time out of our busy lives to go out and have a nice, romantic dinner. After much research (Di being the picky eater that he is) we both settled on La Bohème. It's a cute little French restaurant in West Hollywood off of Santa Monica Blvd. We made our reservation on Opentable through Yelp for 6:00 pm the past Saturday. It's a good thing they have a 15 minute grace period seeing as LA traffic is pretty much terrible! But we managed to get there with two minutes to spare. :) They valet there for $5.00 so no need to find parking~

The place is simply gorgeous with deep dark red tones, beautiful chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, and glass mirrors draping the walls. We sat up stairs, facing the center and this place was just so magical in itself. Gorgeous ambiance that makes you feel FANCY. :)

We had the Herbed Fries for an appetizer and my god, it was delicious- it was definitely worth mentioning. It's light, crispy and it didn't feel like those greasy, oil-drenched fast food ones.

Had us a few cocktails, the Maribel and Golden Mojito for dinner. Golden Mojito, very good: bubbly, minty and citrusy.

I ordered the Rich Mushroom Risotto for dinner. It's a very good for vegetarian eaters. :) Thick slices of mushroom and sauce with long grain rice.

And Di ordered the Herbed Steak Hanger. This one was... Beyond what I can say. The meat was tender with a vinaigrette like sauce that complemented the meat very well. The mashed potatoes, ohhhh! So soft and creamy and dericious! I think it was one of the best of the night next to the steak.

Lastly, dessert: Vanilla Bean Creme Brulee!

One of the most romantic dinners I've been to, next time I really want to try and get a seat outside. It's equally beautiful with small lights surrounding the sky and plants and candlelit tables. All guys should take their girls for dinner here, definitely won't be disappointed. ^__^ Until next time!

Ciao!
Kitty~