Try AnQi, in Costa Mesa, in the South Coast Plaza Shopping Center. This Vietnamese fusion bistro is the new hot spot in town. It serves delicate dishes, tapas style servings. I will go and try it soon myself. In the meantime, go on ahead and let me know what you think. I will be glad to post some of your pictures on my blog. Email them to me.
Since it is the heart of a hot shopping spot, you might even meet some of the Vietnamese singers from Paris By Night!
A few weekends ago, I decided to make some fried butter frog legs. My boys went to the restaurant one day, and ordered them as appetizers. We had about 6 pieces in our dish….Needless to say, I did not get my frog leg. So I decided to make them, and have some at home. Easy like pie. And delish like the restaurant. The only thing I wish was a stronger stove top to have a crunchier texture. It is an A on my list!
I also made periwinkles sauteed with coconut and basil leaves. It was the frozen kind, I couldn’t find the fresh version. Of course, it is nothing to compare to the fresh ones, but you gotta do with what you have! Periwinkles were drenched a tasty coconut sauce….yum. I am drooling as I am writing you this post, aren’t you?
Check out my pictures!
Banh Cuon is a Vietnamese thin rice crepe, filled with ground pork and black mushrooms. It is usually served with pork sausage (Cha Lua), steamed bean sprouts, fresh mint, cilantro, and julienne cucumbers. Sweet fish sauce accompany the dish. Sprinkle some dried fried shallots as well! Add some shrimp fried yams, and there you have it. I made mine simple without the shrimps yams. It was super good since I have no leftovers for lunch tomorrow!
I love Brazilian food. This restaurant is located in Irvine, by the John Wayne Airport. It is open table dinner style. This means you pay one price, you have a two sided card, green and red, green means it is a go, and servers dressed in gauchos can come and serve some juicy meats at your table. Turn the card to red to take a break and enjoy a sip of your favorite wine. On top of the open table dinner dishes, you also have a buffet spread that includes top hors d’oeuvres. Buffet includes smoked salmon, mozzarella cheese with tomato slice and basil leaf, salami and prosciutto, clams, mussels, Brazilian black bean soup, garlic mash potatoes, artichoke hearts, baby palms, and the list goes on and on. Needless to say, the buffet items will fill your stomach on its own! Adults for dinner is $41 each. Visit their website for more details http://www.agoranow.com/
See my mouthwatering pictures!
Salami and smoked salmon!
Our bottle of Hartford Zinfandel to start our dinner
The famous Agora card, one side is green and the other is red!
Green means “keep bringing me the food”, red means “stop, I need a break!”
Bryan waiting patiently as his server dressed in gauchos is trimming
a slice of leg of lamb! You can also see a banana
drenched in sweet sugar and sprinkled with a dash of cinnamon!
Up close and personal leg of lamb!
Some of the items here were from the buffet!, tabouleh, salami,
smoked salmon, hearts of palm, mozzarella cheese, capers
Beef Ribs!
We are cheering for our first lamb chops!
We finished my birthday celebration with Blood Orange sorbet.
It was so refreshing, and the true flavor of the blood orange.
Blowing my candle with a Brazilian Flan. Yum!
Abalones have been rather affordable for us to approach. back in the days, abalones used to be $30 to $50 a piece! Now, it was a major splurge if you ever had a chance to put your mouth in one of those!
In today’s market, abalones have been found at $2.99 a piece. We found this beautiful jewels at our local Asian market. With the help of Jackie, a food fanatic like me, is showing us how to clean them. Abalones are in the snail family. The flesh of the abalone is tough, therefore it takes 2 hours to poach them in low heat. Once poached, the flesh is tender. But why don’t you watch our recipe tutorial and see for yourself.
Enjoy!
Ingredients: (depending on guest numbers)
Preparation:
What is endive? Endive is in the lettuce family. Endives are best when they receive less light, unlike other vegetables and fruits. By getting less light onto their leaves, this will control their bitterness. The greener the leaves, the bitter it is. No wonder, you only see yellow leaves endives in the market, sometimes you see red leaves endives. With all this extra care, the endive does cost more than any other vegetable in your grocery store. Endives have lots of fiber. Eating endives can help you regulate your bowel movements. I usually prepare my endives as part of an appetizer dish. In fact, being raised in France, we actually eat a lot of endives in Europe as a lettuce. We mix it in the salad, use the leafy spoon like leaf to dip it in a mustard dressing.
Here’s a recipe you can make , and serve along with your endives.
Watch us on Youtube for recipe tutorial. Remember to subscribe with us through youtube for additional recipe tutorial. Let us know your comments.
Spoonful shrimps endives:
Ingredients:
Preparation:
Enjoy a healthy Delight Dining appetizer.
This is our first show. We hope this will make it easier for you to follow our recipe.
Here’s the way I make tiramisu.
Our first show is “How to make tiramisu?” This is a rather simple recipe. Tiramisu originated from Siena, Italy. Tiramisu literally means “Pick Me Up” in Italian. Back in the days, the courtesans were known to eat tiramisu to courtship their next woman. Tiramisu was used to replace what is called today “Viagra”. Yes, ladies!
Maybe it was the rum, maybe it was the coffee, or maybe it was the egg yolk! Whatever the reasons were, tiramisu has definitely work its way in today’s culinary recipes. You may find tiramisu in most restaurants around the country.
Tiramisu
Ingredients:
2 eggs
1/4 cup sugar
30 lady fingers
8 oz Mascarpone cheese
1 tbsp rum
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 and half tsp brewed espresso, 2 cups for dipping
dark cocoa powder
Preparation:
In a separate bowl, whisk egg white until stiff
Add vanilla, rum, and coffee into the egg white mixture, whisk until smooth
With a spatula, fold gently the egg white mixture into the Mascarpone cheese mixture
Start with a small amount of egg white first, then add the rest. Adjust egg white accordingly as the mixture should be soft and not too watery
Dip lady fingers in the brewed coffee and lay flat side down at bottom of pan
Spread a layer of Mascarpone mixture
Repeat with another layer of lady fingers and mixture
Dust with cocoa powder
Refrigerate for 4 hours prior to serving.
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Here are a few pictures….Video on how to make it coming soon.
Final product! This is the single portion!
Let’s dig in!
Mouthwatering bite!
Here it goes in Bryan’s mouth!
Had to scoop up from the big tray now! One single portion was not enough!
YUM!
It is a done deal….yummy!
This strange fruit has a rough, dry, and thick skin. But once it is ready to be harvested, it is as good as candy. The sweet luscious red seeds are shiny and juicy. Be careful because it stains your fingers and clothes if you are not careful. Beside the stain side effects, it has many healthy facts for you. Pomegranate is low in fat, is a good source of Vitamin C. I eat pomegranate as is, fresh out of the fruit itself. You can also add the beautiful red seeds to your salad, or grind them into a blender. Make sure to sift the seeds for the juice.
Freshly pomegranate seeds! This is my breakfast this morning!
