I’ve been quite busy and it’s been a while since my last post! My husband and I recently moved into a bigger (for NYC standards) apartment. 🙂 The past few weeks have been hectic with packing, unpacking and trips to furniture stores…so I’ve been cooking quick and easy meals every night at our new place. Here’s one of my favorite Chinese take-out dishes that’s easily prepared in your own home!
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Pan-Fried Pork Dumplings with Mushrooms
The Lunar New Year, or Chinese New Year, is only a week away. It’s a wonderful time of year for family and friends to get together and celebrate. So for this post I wanted to showcase pan-fried Chinese dumplings. The best part (besides eating of course) is assembling them around the table with a good group of friends!
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How to Make Bacon Salt
Ahh I love bacon…OK, only on occasion and primarily to add flavor to dishes like pancake syrup (yes, seriously!) and homemade gelato (yes, seriously!!). My bacon salt recipe is one of Wishful Chef’s most popular posts, and I think for good reason. It’s easy to make and allows you to have a little taste of bacon on things like chips, popcorn, tater tots or even cookies! Just in time for Superbowl Sunday!
If you love the taste of bacon and wish everything tasted like it, then this recipe is for you! Bacon salt is a simple seasoning that can bring so much flavor to a dish. And sorry to mislead you with the title but I actually used prosciutto to make the ‘bacon’ salt. I prefer using prosciutto slices because of their delicate and intense flavor. They’re paper thin, not as fatty and get extremely crisp and flaky after they’re baked. But if you don’t have prosciutto, bacon works just as well.
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Asian Pork Meatballs with Oyster Sauce and Sesame Oil
I love meatballs but most traditional recipes leave me somewhat unsatisfied. I need bold flavors and these Asian-inspired meatballs deliver. A delicious mix of sesame oil, oyster and soy sauce turns these unassuming meatballs into the star of your next dinner party.
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Healthy Italian Winter Soup with Turkey Sausage
I can’t believe it’s November already, it really snuck up on us! So in a similar fashion to my October pumpkin posts (1, 2, 3, 4 and 5), let’s ring in the holiday season and break out the turkey recipes! To start, I made a hearty Italian winter soup. Sliced turkey sausage and cannellini beans are added making it satisfying enough to be a filling and healthy meal.
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Baked Vietnamese Pork and Mint Meatballs with Dipping Sauce
When my husband and I lived in San Diego, we ate Vietnamese food pretty much every week. There was a popular Pho restaurant we would frequent for their delicious (and cheap!) Pho noodle soups, vermicelli noodles and Summer rolls. When I ordered vermicelli noodles I always had it with grilled pork or pork meatballs. The meatballs were so flavorful and juicy, made with fish sauce, sugar and mint, a popular Vietnamese combination. Here is my version of Vietnamese meatballs paired with a sweet and tangy dipping sauce.
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Filipino Bistek – Beef Marinated in Soy Sauce and Kumquat Juice
Bistek, derived from the Spanish word bistec meaning beef steak, is a Filipino dish my mom typically made on the weekends. She would thinly slice a lean piece of beef and then marinate overnight with a mixture of soy sauce, garlic, black pepper and calamansi, a citrus fruit indigenous to the Philippines. Since calamansi is hard to come by, I used the juice from a few kumquats I had left over from my kumquat pomegranate cocktail. The sour fruit acts as a meat tenderizer along with adding a hint of citrus flavor.
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