Hi 2011... and some of this year's Kitchen Goodies

I have been MIA lately... another pause in the blogging world as my life insanely vortexes around work, and what I should be doing every 9-5 on weekdays turns into every 8-5, and then 7-11, and sometimes also on weekends.  Although this website is a great escape from my every day work life, sometimes it's just too damn busy to escape! 

In addition, another reason for my lack of words is possibly due to an earlier experience with my teeth this year.  As a happy new year and happy birthday to myself, I took out all 4 of my wisdom teeth in early January.  While the experience of the tooth extraction itself was quite pleasant (more nitrous oxide gas and anesthesia, pu-lease!), the healing portion of this entire ordeal was quite excruciating and painful.  One of the most serious side effect of this surgery was the lost of enjoyment for eating, as each small, tiny bite of jello or KFC mashed potatoes did not taste as good as it used to.  And after a few weeks, when I can chew on much tastier and solid food, each bite came with a stingy reminder that someone had pried open my gums and took out 4 bigass teeth.  My jaw did not heal as fast as I had hoped, and having to open my mouth to stuff food in and then attempting to chew was just not fun anymore.  During this time, I could not bare to watch the Food Network or Travel Channel, or even read some of my favorite food blogs.  I was just too hungry and too unsatisfied to deal with anything about food.

It's almost the end of March, and lately I am getting some of my cooking groove back.  Work is starting to calm a bit down and I am fully healed.  And yes, I finally have a desire to update this blog!  Needless to say, I have a small backlog of recipes and experiences to share.

To start off, this past holiday season was great for me to grow as an amateur cook and blogger.  My family and friends know I am always looking for ways to jazz up food and the pictures I take, so I received mostly cook-and-food-related presents.  They know the way to my heart... :))

 Food plating options; handy machines and tools

Look at these pretty plates... colorful ones from Anthropologie (courtesy of sis Subs);

classic white ones, a must-have for every household, from Crate and Barrel (courtesy of EC)

I'm A Rebel For Dim Sum

It's going to be exciting from now on as I've just purchased a new camera, the Canon EOS Rebel XSi DSLR.

Beautiful isn't it?

I took this camera out for the first food-taking trial on a dim sum outting with the hubby's family for the 7th day of Chinese New Year, which I've just learned that it is the Common Man's Birthday, the day where everyone gains another year to their age.  Such a great thing to celebrate eh... (do you sense my heavy sarcasm?!!  I don't want to be closer to 30 just yet!!)  Regardless, I will consume dim sum for any reason, any time.  Dim sum to me is the equivalent of what comfort food is, delicious hot food that everyone loves and gathers around for any occassion at any time.  If you want to go out for lunch on a weekend with your family, friends, or generally a big group, dim sum is the first thing, and usually an unanimous vote, for the lunch place to go.  Each dish typically gives you about 3-4 bites to share, so coming with a big group and ordering a variety of items is the way to go.  The other important thing is the tea, as dim sum is to be enjoyed with hot brewed tea and long conversations.  There is no rapid eating and then leaving the table!  People use this time to enjoy company, enjoy tea, and enjoy sharing all the different dishes.

This day, we went to one of our favorite dim sum places in Daly City called Dim Sum King.  Two reasons: it's cheap and good quality!

Hmmmm... looking at these pictures... I am think this Saturday will be a dim sum lunch!

New Toys For The New Year

Since the holidays and my birthday are usually wrapped into one, I get tons of new things (from myself also, hehe) by the second week of January.  This time around almost everyone got me something kitchen-related, which I was very happy to receive.  I <3 new toys!

KitchenAid Classic 250-Watt 4-1/2-Quart Stand Mixer, beautiful white.  This gift was courtesy of work, because of the many MANY trips I've been on in the last 6 months, I was able to accumulate enough BofA credit card points to get this baby.  Remember, hard work has its rewards. :)

The first time I christened this machine was last night, when I made pizza dough.  It was wonderful!  I barely got my hands dirty or gooey from the dough, and didn't have to pant and sweat from kneading the damn dough.  Amazing!  More products to come from this machine...

Oneida Round Pizza Stone from Bed Bath and Beyond, $14.99 (but 20% cheaper from using their coupon!)

So what's the best thing?  Playing with TWO toys in one night!  I used this pizza stone the first time last night also, baking a Tuna, Onion, and Mushroom pizza and a Margherita pizza.  I have to say this is one of the best things I have bought!  The stone completely changed the texture and taste of the dough, as it evenly cooked the pizza and added a great crunch to the crust.  Amazing amazing.

Panasonic Rice Cooker (carried by my relentless Dad all the way from Taiwan!).  A great Christmas gift from the parents... as they've been over the house many times and laughed at my dinky and old 2-cup rice cooker and shook their heads everytime.  I was content with my small rice cooker, but am now spoiled with this bigger one, so there's no going back.  Surprisingly, I haven't cooked any rice from it yet, but I've steamed many meat buns and dimsum in it.  It made my steaming life so much easier!

Martha Stewart Red Enameled Cast Iron Round Pot.  A Christmas gift from sister L.  I hugged this pot (really, I did) after opening it, so happy to receive something I've been wanting for a long while.  Although I'm not sure if this is a gift for me or for the family, because soon after L stated that she wanted me to make Julia Child's Beef Bourguignon, and wanted it fast, I am happy either way!  I will be happy to make it (and post, I hope) and adding the cast iron pot to my collection.

Garlic Press, a Christmas stocking gift from sister S.  If you hate mincing, get this baby.  No arguments.

Paella pan!  A birthday gift from EH.  I actually gave a friend a paella set (included paella pan, rice, seasoning, and olive oil) from World Market over the holidays and really wanted one myself, and EH read my mind!  I hope to use this sometime soon.

Chinese Food Cookbooks (all in Chinese!), a gift  from Mom's recent Taiwan trip.  You can hope that I will soon actually cook rice in my new rice cooker and making some of the delish dishes from these books!