MIA for the Next Seven Days

I am going to be MIA for the next 7 days (not that anyone would really care).  Time for some well-deserved escape from the daily grind and into the world of relaxation, exploring new cities, sun-baking, buffet-eating... so in another words, ship cruising!  Tomorrow, we are bound for LA for a 7-day Mexican Riviera cruise to Cabo San Lucas and Puerto Vallarta. 

Norwegian is known for their "Freestyle Cruising", which allows passengers to eat and dine whenever and wherever they want!  If you have cruised before, most cruises provide set times and dress codes during dinner.  For our first vacation together, we went on a cruise to the Eastern Carribeans via Royal Carribean cruise line, and experienced this restricted type of set dining.  It wasn't my favorite part of the trip because we always had to eat at 6:30 pm, sit with the same people, and dress a certain way each night.  I am looking forward to freestyle cruising!

I know this is a bit unusual from my typical posts, but I'm just too darn excited to care!  I hope to be back with many Just Pictures posts! 

Blog to you all soon!

Slow-Cooked Salmon Fillets

Getting ready for the hot weather, try these refreshing salmon fillets accompanied with a variety of different vegetables and fruits.  The green, the orange, and the red... this dish is popping with color and, of course, taste!  If you are not one liking to eat hard and dry salmon, the way to go is slow-cooking which leaves the texture and flavors tightly stored in the salmon.  You can basically eat salmon raw (sashimi, yeah!!), therefore this method of cooking will not harm your body.  I love this dish.

Slow-Cooked Salmon Fillets
from Steamy Kitchen

I used the following ingredients and sauce mixture on these salmon fillets.  The rest of the steps can be found at the link!

Ingredients

- 2 salmon fillets
- 1 orange, thinly sliced
- 1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced
- 1 small carrot, diced
(I actually had 3 fillets so I just cooked them all, but the ingredients listed are adjusted for 2)

Sauce:
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1 Tbsp brown sugar

 

Just Pictures: A Trip Down Memory Lane... to Paris

I really want to go back to Europe.  I got a small nibble of it two years ago on a whirlwind 2-week trip throughout Europe, starting from London, to Paris, to Geneva, to Nice, then Florence, Venice, and Italy.  Oh My God.  Loved loved loved!

We stayed in Paris for two days.  We visited the Louvre, walked down Champs-Elysees, stood underneath the Eiffle Tower, crossed the Siene River multiple times, and explored the streets of Montmartre at night. On the last night, one of the hubby's friend was in town for work, so we met up with her at a restaurant of her pick.  The meal?  Incredibly amazing...

Menu; French water... delish

Feast of duck and goose (foie gras, goose gizzard, duck wings, goose rillettes, smoked goose fillet)

Special of the day: Braised beef with potato, egg, and herbs.

Dessert: cheese plate sampler (Roquefort, Saint-Marcellin, Ibargui, Chanterelle);

Peach, strawberry, and raspberry sorbets

l'Ecluse // Paris, France

Yummus Hummus

It has only been a couple of years since I was introduced to hummus, and now I can't stop making it for any occassion!  It is hearty, healthy, and full of flavor.  Truly, hummus is yummus!
Artichoke Hummus
adapted from Simply Recipes

Ingredients
- 1 15-oz cans of garbanzo beans (chickpeas), drained and rinsed
- 1/3 cup of roasted tahini
- 1 cup marinated artichoke hearts
- 2 garlic cloves, finely minced
- 3 Tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1/4 cup water
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 tsp salt (or salt to taste)
- sprinkling of cayenne pepper

Tools
- food processor

Steps
1. In a food processor, combine the minced garlic, garbanzo beans, tahini, artichoke hearts, lemon juice, water, and olive oil. Process the combination until smooth (should be quick, about 3-5 minutes). Add salt, and if not enough, salt to taste.

2. Spoon into serving dish and sprinkle with cayenne pepper (lightly, if you don't want too much heat).

3. Serve with bite-size vegetables that can be eaten raw (cucumbers, radishes, baby carrots, celery), pita bread, anything you like to dip with.

Makes about 1 1/2 cups.

Chicken with Capers Sauce

This entree is a typical meal I would cook on a weekday, given limited time I have to prepare a grand and glorious meal after work hours and after an intense workout (seriously, by the time I can cook, it is close to 8 already...).  I prepared this meal within 30 minutes and we scarfed it down within 10.  The capers sauce really added a special touch to the grilled chicken breasts, which can be dry and flavorless if not prepared correctly.
Chicken with Capers Sauce
from Simply Recipes

A few tips...
...do not overcook the chicken breasts!!  I've learned this lesson over and over again, but since these breasts are sliced thinner, cook it just enough so that it is not pink in the middle and take it off the stove immediately!
...although the recipe called for cooking off most of the liquids in the capers sauce, I found that it left you without much "sauce" to pour over the chicken.  The liquid was actually quite flavorful with the onions and capers (I choose chicken stock instead of white wine, although I think the white wine would have been that much better), so I would suggest not to burn off that much liquid.  Also, the extra liquid would make your chicken more juicy!

Battle of the Brrrr... Cold Noodles (Lian Mien)

Disclamer: this is solely my own opinion, and may differ from yours. Really, I recommend to try it out for yourself!

Liang's Village Cruisine // Cupertino, CA

mixture sauce that makes you go "OMG!", perfect noodles, coldness to the right temperature

noodles in sesame paste sauce and special soy sauce mixture, with sliced cucumbers and crushed peanuts

Mama Chen // Santa Clara, CA

refreshing, huge portion, cool addition of ham

noodles in special sauce mixture, with sliced cucumbers, ham, carrots, topped with cilantro

Winner: Liang's Village Cuisine

Chicken and Mango Chutney

To me, mango is a precious and delicate fruit that only on occassion, I treat myself to it.  This big chunk of flavorful, sweet, and juicy goodness makes me happy every time I take a mouth-filling bite.  To quote my three-year-old nephew today at dinner, after he slurped down some oily and salty juices from a vegetable dish, "the fairies in my stomach are very happy now!"  He doesn't make a lot of sense sometimes (lord knows what goes on in a three-year-old's head...), but it was beyond hilarious, and true!  The fairies in my stomach really loves mango!

Chicken and Mango Chutney
from Simply Recipes 

Not much was altered from the original recipe, so please click on the link above for ingredients and steps.  The only items I didn't have were candied ginger and mustard seeds, so I just didn't add any.  It still came out tasty.

Sweet and tangy... delicious!