Duck Breast with Fig Sauce over Grilled Asparagus and Cherry Tomatoes

I made this recipe a week or two ago and I thought I’d post about it….

Sauce:
Red Wine
Shallots
Figs
Balsamic Vinegar
Maple Syrup (only if figs are not sweet enough for you)
Black Pepper
Rosemary

Reduce.

[ps. if you haven’t noticed, I tend to cook by taste, feeling and not by measurements – unless I cake, so sorry… I also do not add salt to my food because I tend to have a bad reaction to too much salt, so I only eat it when it’s unavoidable outside of my house/cooking, but I promise you the flavor is there… that’s why I always use a lot of spices and herbs.]

Duck:
Take the duck breast and score diagonally and sprinkle with Black Pepper
Cook with extra duck fat (always start skin side down on a cold pan)
When you flip it (after skin is crispy) add xxx and xxx in pan (can’t give away all my secrets right?)
Add rosemary, [or thyme] cook to liking.

Veggies:
Use duck fat to coat asparagus and my beautiful multicolored cherry tomatoes.  Cook until asparagus is still firm, not limp with a bit of char.  The tomatoes should have a bit of char as well and will burst by themselves. Pop!

Garnish with a freshly sliced fig! Oh I so fancy yo. LOL.

End result: Yumzers! ENJOY!

New Years Eve Dinner 2016 at Duexave

FINALLY I’m GONNA POST THIS!!!!!!!!!

So I’ve been backlogged… I have half written blogs up all in this shizz and it doesn’t seem to be coming out (ha! – Sorry dirty mind!) I keep having ideas and then writer’s block… my current obsession with watching Frozen and Tangled and seeing their soundtrack 24/7 isn’t helping either… haha “hashtag dork”… and I also started obsessing (yeah a few seasons… like 6, late) with 2 Broke Girl$ (hastag ILOVEMAXSHEISMYHERO) so yeah.  Work, Disney, iTunes is ruining me…. in a wonderful way.

So let’s catch up on 2017… Let’s start off with my last night of it…. NYE 2016 :) which sadly I had a stomach bug so I threw up all night with my date.  Which was funny cuz my date and I went to watch college football first, and me being over-underdressed  puked a few times at the bar.  My stomach finally calmed down on the way to Deuxave (owned and cooked by one of favorite chefs Chef Christopher Coombs) And while I was being careful with my tender tummy… I am NOT about to throw up any good food… I didn’t eat my usual overstuffed way, but all the food was amazing!!!! I haven’t been in forever!!!

We started off with delicious warm sourdough (great crust and fluffy middle) with a ribboned creamy butter.

Funny story [sidenote] about sourdough bread.  This total bully that lived across the street from me when I was a kid in New Mexico, LOVED sourdough bread. I played with her because 1. She lived across the street from me. 2. She was a bully. 3. She had no friends. 4. I am overly nice even though she did horrible things to me…. etc. etc. ANYWAYS, she loved it, I hated it and she even held it against me. She also forced me to watch Child’s Play which I ran home crying after. I was like 7. Bitch. Her, not me. She also grabbed my arm and bit it once because I said I didn’t want to play with her anymore… #whyineedtherapy [/sidenote]

Then came the complimentary amuse bouches…. All topped with microgreens!!!…

Crap, I forgot what these balls were.. they were fried balls of yumminess though… I think it was crab… When in doubt just shove it all in your mouth (ha!) when in a spoon… especially if shaped in little balls (double ha!)

Some Creamy Lobster Bisque. (HA! The lady next to us even asked for spoons… LOL duh you sip it, it’s a tiny little cup… and if anything just freaking eat your balls and use that spoon… LOLOL.. she complained a lot all night LOLOL!) Anyways.. tasty, thick and rich.

And some duck liver terrine with pomegranate seeds on cute little crostini…. I could never turn down anything duck liver… or things on a crostini.  I admit it. I love the trend… it shall never grow old… anything on toasted bread (preferably buttery… even more buttery and garlicky) will forever be delicious!!!!!

For appetizers (thankfully my date was happy to go with my (get two of everything we would eat so we can try more foods) we got the Wagyu Beef Tartare with Forbidden Rice Chips, Green Papaya Salad, Avocado Puree and Crispy Shallots!

And the Hamachi Crudo with Fennel Dill, Pickled Shallots, Rye Crisps and Smoked Aioli… which is fresh and delicious…. simple and perfect! And gorgeously plated…. and oh oh oh how I love the roe :] Roe roe roe!!!

And then came the seafood plates!  With Seared Nantucket Bay Scallops with Maitake & Black Trumpet Mushrooms, Brodo, Fines Herbs and a Chili Oil….. hehe I always love when they table side pour for you… I had to whip out the camera in time to catch it in action.

Look at those beautiful cute things.  Now, date doesn’t do seafood, but he did for me :] And liked it!!!! —- Although he did pass on the hamachi crudo… still need to ease him into sushi…. (bad experience, supposedly)

And obviously anything with pork belly.. am I right?  Crispy Spanish Octopus(sy) & Pork Belly with Chorizo, Choucroute, Potato, Parsley and Aiji Amarillo.  Octopus on point with crispy ends… and a melt in your mouth pork belly :] NOM!

And then comes our main courses!!!!! Which contained the highlight of the night… Prime Beef Tenderloin & Perigord Black Truffles with Egg Yolk Raviolo, Celery Root and Bordelaise.

This Raviolo was the dish I was waiting the whole night for, especially since Chef Chris posted the instagram online.  Yeah, you should follow his instagram.  I stalk it religiously for amazing food porn and cute baby pics :]

Spiced Long Island Duck Breast & Housemade Sausage with Romanesco, Baby Shitake Mushrooms, Foie Gras & Cipollini Vintrigrette and Persimmon.

Perfectly cooked and I adored the small chunks of all the foie and sausage.  It didn’t overwhelm and the duck was amazing.  You know I’m a duck girl, if there is duck on the menu, I am sure to get it.

We were nearing close to midnight……..

We got complimentary bites nibbles whilst waiting for our desserts…. nervously so, since it was nearing midnight.  They weren’t a hit…. Not to be a party pooper but the other customers around us didn’t seem to enjoy them either…..

And the desserts came…..

“Cafe Chocolate” with Coffee Biscuit, Cardamom Cremux, Caramelized Vanilla Glace…. Super yummy!!!!!!!!…. I loveeeee cardamom in sweet desserts…!!!!

And I, being a lover of Chestnuts, I picked “Chestnuts Roasting On an Open Fire” with Chestnut Cream, Vanilla Meringue, Kalamansi and Banana Glace.  The Ice cream was delicious but unfortunately the citrus inside the ball was just way overpowering so I ended up getting no chestnut flavor. :[

We sipped on glasses of a delicious Rose bubbly the whole night and had such delightful conversations… (I think I might be a bit loud and embarrassing to him) —-and even got to chat with my buddy, Chef Chris for a bit [yes! Hang soon! And I’ll be in for the waffles & foie ASAP]… unfortunately we were rushing to our venue at the W Hotel to countdown to the New Years so I couldn’t squeeze in a pic with him :[ WAA WAA… It’s okay… it’s not like I’m far from this place.  Adore this place!!!!!

 

Vegetarian No Meat Burgers!!!… and other yummies from the past few days!

Today I tried something new… while I had a beef burger…. oh so yummy, I tried out a special recipe for my mom and her vegetarian friend…. no-meat burgers for them using Beyond Meat product! I prefer Yves non-meats but couldn’t find any at Whole Foods today :[ Bummer.

For 2 Burger Patties:
1 bag of Beyond Beef Beefy Crumbles

1/4-1/2 onion
A few cloves of garlic
Paprika
Salt
Black Pepper
Dried Basil (fresh is probably better and if so, minced)
2 eggs
flour

I first sautéed the minced onion and garlic til caramelized and starting to be transparent and browned slightly. I mixed it with the beefy crumbles. Added S&P, paprika, dried basil and perhaps a few more secret ingredients. I added two eggs and a few pinches of flour to help it bind better – I probably should have added more flour since it was a little too wet. And I grilled them.

For toppings I sautéed onions and mushrooms. Topped the patties with cheese as they were about to be done cooking and put a lid on the pan to melt the cheese. I added a few slices of rings of red onion, sliced tomatoes and some avocado. Some other options (which I put on my beef burger) were jalapeños and cilantro.

And to make the dinner even better.. some kale chips… just kale… drizzled in evoo, s&p I added cayenne pepper… or whatever flavorings you want :]

BTW, this was my BEEF burger haha

Sorry, being “healthy”… even tho the burger was rare *MAD COW DISEASE* haha but I ate my in lettuce wrap….”sort of” ok some of it with fork and knife….

More stuff I made this weekend..

Vegetarian Soup… there’s kale, corn, leeks, mushrooms, onion etc etc… topped with some cheese and cilantro and a “garlic bread” croissant

There were more veggies but I don’t remember

And our pre-Masquerade Harvard Ball dinner

Duck Confit with Leek/Mushroom Risotto and Spicy Broccoli

Just used a tiny bit of white truffle butter, topped with parm and scallions in the risotto, had fresh white truffles.. but forgot to top it… duck confit cooked in lots of duck fat for awhile so super crispy… and then just steamed broccoli with hot pepper flakes :]

Duck Breast “Confit” Dinner with delicious sides….. and hilarious Taylor Swift “music video” dance by Miss Tiffie at the end

July 4th Dinner Cruise with Odyssey

Screw the Hurricane… Odyssey Cruises

Pre-gaming at Copley Square Hotel FER FREEEE… they had beers, and burgers and hot dogs… NOM

Was craving burgers.. so had a cute little slider.. NOM NOM.. usually the hotel has free wine happy hour but since it was July 4th they had specials!

All dressed up and ready to party

Yea I ordered like 3 bottles of wine/champagne… oops

Creamy salty butter… NOM

Cheese tray… prob a little too much

Cuz I also added on an extra shrimp cocktail/ceviche

Watermelon Salad
Arugula, Romaine, Goat Cheese, Watermelon, Sugared Pecans, Balsamic Vinaigrette

Screw Hurricane Arthur… still got my modeling on, on deck

Gorgeous View, even in the stormy weather

Roasted Chicken
Heirloom Potatoes, Thyme Demi-Glace, Fried Leeks

And of course I got the

Odyssey Short Ribs
Fontina Scalloped Potatoes, Roasted Brussel Sprouts, Carrots & Squash, Cabernet Demi-Glace

Desert was some of everything…

Bread Pudding, Chocolate Cake, Berry Galette and Sorbet… with more bubbly

Actually ended up taking short ribs and cheese home.. OK FINE I ordered too much… but it was delicious, fun and amazing. Probably don’t wanna spend that much on a July 4th again tho… hahahha – and we didn’t even get fireworks. BOOOOO…

阿嬌海產店 – Deliciously Fresh Seafood

Headed to Hsinchu to pay respect to my grandparents’ alter in the old house and to visit my uncles…. we were expecting to get there around 2 but since I woke up super early we ended up there around 1130 or so…. and my uncle & aunt know me to well (4th) so they made us my favorite dumplings!!!!!

I visited all of my uncles and then after looking at some amazing condos in the area to possibly purchase, we headed out to dinner… at 阿嬌海產

Sashimi…. Delicious Red Snapper…

Salt & Pepper Shrimp

Pan fried/Deep Fried Fishies, 竹夾魚… which is basically Mackerel… sooo delicious!!!!

Basil & Clams

Chinese Celery and Squid

山蘇 aka Asplenium….. SOOOO GOOOOOOOOOOD

Yummy Noodles

A modernized 蚵仔煎 … Oyster Pancake… without the gooey corn starch… and some shrimp…. but just fried oysters in batter which you would dip in the traditional red 蚵仔煎 sauce.

And then a delicious fish skin, 紅紺, soup… 

Ended the night at 09 Whiskey Bar with lots of wine…. :] and here is one of the drawings one of my nieces drew for me today :]

Craigie on Main – 8 Course Tasting Menu

The one and only Woo Bear, my favorite NYPD PoPo/Detective/Bodyguard/Bestie came to visit me in Boston and being so busy with work lately we FINALLY got a chance to meet up, rant, chat, laugh and just have a jolly awesome time.  I picked him up from his hotel and even though we got there early they had a table for us already set for us.

Woo Bear & Peep Peep unite!!!!!

AKA

He’s the Gru to my Agnes

I told him we had to go to Craigie on Main.. it’s farm to table and seasonal and just one of my favorite places MUST GO TO EAT AT places in Boston… well it’s in Cambridge but same difference. I adore their open kitchen. And everyone there is SO friendly and awesome. PLUS every time you get the tasting menu you get different and new things it’s NEVER the same.

After careful, not so careful thinking we decided to order the everything 8 course tasting menu.  We started off with a champagne for me and a “manly” scotch drink for him. I think the waitress said it was a scotch rimmed with absinthe?!… I thought it was delicious!!!!

We also ordered a bomb ass bottle of French Burgundy Pinot Noir – mad $$ but soooo worth it

I asked for them to write out the menu for us so I could have it when I went home… obviously so I could blog!!!

And then it began….. as we sipped our yummy drinks, the food started flowing….

Trio of Amuse Bouche

Citrus Cured Striped Bass, Avocado, Red Onion, Pickled Pine Nuts

This was Woo Bear’s favorite… mainly cuz of the avocado he said.  It was good and reminded me of tuna tartare, I think mainly cuz of the color, would’ve never thought it was striped bass – but I guess it was cuz of the citrus cure.  You couldn’t really taste the citrus but it was a good bite.

Razor Clams, Uni Vinaigrette

Texturally wise, this was my favorite of the three. It was obviously clams… and I LOOOOOVE razor clams.. I’ve never had it sliced before and it was amazing.  Need to start taking my razor clams not whole on a shell… hehe…

Smoked Bluefish Rillettes, Hackleback Roe

Taste-wise this was y favorite. It was a beautifully soaked fish… and with the caviar and everything it was pretty divine.

The waitress loved that I had a champagne glass tattooed on me haha..

Sea Trout Pastrami
Winter Chicories, Blood Orange, Pistachio Vinaigrette

I actually expected a smokier tasting salmon, from the looks of it, but the taste was impeccable.  The texture of the salmon was of smoked salmon but it definitely had that “pastrami” kick to it.  With the added crunch of the chicory and pistachio it was heaven in each bite.  It actually would’ve been an amazing salad with more chicory and pistachios but deeeeeelish!!!!!!!

Roasted Sturgeon à la Poêle
Camargue Red Rice, Red Onion Soubise, Beurre Rouge

When the last dish came out we finally finished our first drinks and got to get into the the wine, which paired PERFECTLY, as waitress said it would, with the food… It was salty was soooooo gooooood.  Not sure what the greens were but the rice was just barely el dente and chewy and amazing, I almost thought it was wheat berries…the surgeon [this was the first time Woo Bear ever had it, but I have] was soooo buttery and beautifully cooked.  Like I said, it was salty but it still tasted awesome….

Delicious wine with an amazing friend!!!

Spice-Crusted Striped Bass Kama

Wait. What? KAMA? UM, I LOVE YOU CRAIGIE.   I love Fish Collar Bone [aka Kama]

Even the waitress told me to make sure to take a pic – I think she saw me taking pictures before… and probably assumed since I was asian HAHA

It’s all about this:
the Tuscan Olive Oil, Citrus Vinaigrette

And cuz we were “her friends” she poured it on for us. AWWWWW I felt so loved….!!!! She even said “Of course Tiff, you’re my friend” hahahaha… maybe she remembers me from my past eatings there…. LOLOLOL… I always eat SO much here

This was my piece… Woo Bear and me both picked our pieces CLEAN!!!!!… We ASIAN YO.  We waste NOTHING!!!

House-Made Red Beet Conchiglie Pasta
Boudin Noir Ragoût, Fava Leaves

This was beautiful. Fucking beautiful. BEET PASTA? It’s like taking a veggie I love with a pasta I love and combining the two.  When I first looked at it, I was like UHHH.. meat? blah? WHAT? But it was delicious.   The sauce didn’t overwhelm the beet taste in the pasta and the lava leaves added a nice green freshness to it.   Will definitely try to make a beet pasta in the future… altho I’ll probably make pappardelle or gnocchi.

Slow-Roasted Veal Sweetbreads
Wild Mushrooms, Farm-Fresh Egg, Chorizo Sauce

This may have been my favorite dish of the night, minus the bone marrow later, but I can never not LOVEEEEEEEEEE and orgasm with bone marrow.  But the poached egg was SOOOO beautiful.  The sauce, the mushrooms and of course SWEETBREADS.  I really need to find a place that sells sweetbreads so I can start cooking them.  They’re one of my favorite delicacies.. even more than bone marrow and foie gras cuz I can never find them to cook them myself… and because of that, I ALWAYS ALWAYS have to order sweetbreads when it’s on the menu.. well I guess the same with the other two but still….

And then when we thought it was all over….

Axis Venison Two Ways: Spice-Crusted Leg, Crepinette
Mustard Spaetzle, Hakurei Turnips, Red Cabbage Purée

And obviously we got it with the BONE MARROW!!!!

Can you believe they asked us if we would rather have duck fat roasted carrots OR bone marrow? UMMM… we didn’t even look at each other and Woo Bear and I both screamed BONE MARROW!!!

It was all so freaking delicious….  the crepinette was SOOOOOOOO delicious. It was a yummy venison meatball!!!… and the venison leg, sliced and cooked rare was just SOOO tender and delicious.  I ended up eating the marrow on toast and then the rest of the marrow all over my veal dish and licking it up. The spaetzle was crunchy and divine and while it was from “mustard” it had almost a delicate “cheese” taste to it.  Definitely some of the yummiest spaetzle I’ve had.  The turnips were great.. I thought it was daikon – which I guess is basically a turnip/carrot – and just all of the items combined was ORGASMIC. We had SOOOOOO much bone marrow it could feed a family of 10.

Palate Cleanser
House-made Lime Frozen Yogurt
Basil Seeds

Delicious. Refreshing. YUM.

We got this amazing Bourbon:
Michter’s 20yr Cask Strength Single Barrel 114.2°

At 67$ a glass it better be fucking amazing and it was… smelled like caramel and was soooooo tasty. Yeah disgustingly expensive but also disgustingly delicious.

Dessssert time.. so it was definitely more than just 8 courses….

Moroccan ‘Upside Down’ Carrot Cake
Goat Cheese Sorbet, Dates, Caramelized Almonds

I told them no goat cheese but they gave me some anyways.  I ate it anyways.  But the cake was super dry, even though I loved the look/concept of the cake.  Next time I make carrot cake I’ll have a beautiful slice of carrot on top.  It didn’t go with the goat cheese even tho I tried it together to make it “wetter” and neither did the sauce.  It was kinda sad to see such a fantastic meal end so badly.

Chocolate-Fernet Branca Crémeux
Roasted Lemon Puree, Tarragon Ice Cream

I don’t really think that was what we got… it tasted like mint ice cream on chocolate mousse and crunchy sticks hahahaha…. it was good but didn’t feel like a FULL dessert, like a side to a dessert…

BUT AT LEAST THIS SAVED THE NIGHT

We had a special complimentary Hot Cocoa to warm us up… there was definitely some chilies and cardamum in it <3

Everything was talked about, we definitely spent a good few hours there… and in the end we realized:

Love you Woo Bear. Can’t wait to play again soon!!!!! Miss you dearly already!!!!

Car Accident after delicious Duck

I had quite the traumatic experience last nite.. on my way back from a delicious fun night at Harvard Sq with an old friend…..

But before I get into that…. back to my story. I got in a hit & run just like 10-15 minutes away from my house.  Witnesses behind me said they saw a hit and run… I just heard a boom, freaked out, swerved, hit the curb and mailbox.  Entire right side TOTALED.. windshield shattered… front right part of car GONE… front right tire FLEW off, back right tire flattened… and it just looks horrible.

The tire that flew off

Fucked up

Bye bye my baby…

No worries I passed all the sobriety tests [def wasn’t drunk] just had to deal with insurance and police reports, ugh.  A bit sore and possibly bruised from the seatbelt… neck is sore… but other than mental distress I think I’m OKAY right now.. just want to keep on sleeping.. woke up super late today to file insurance report and then made some scrambled eggs and had it with a whole avocado with chulula hot sauce.

Bye bye my baby red Matrix XS. I did love you so.

Altho I am annoyed and kinda glad my airbags DIDN’T GO OFF.  And to the guys who came and helped me and was my witness.. thanks thanks so much for being amazing and sweet.

[https://socialcam.com/v/PoC7cW7h?autostart=true]

So I guess onto the good parts…

Old friend showed up late…..  so I had was at Chameleon myself.

I got a touch up on my ankle… and a new addition to my collection.. actually dedicated to my mother. There’s a little story behind it… my mom, when I was little, used to ask me all the time “How much d you love me?” and I’d open my arms as wide as I could and say.. “for infinity…” :]

If you ever want a tatt at Harvard Sq’s Chameleon ask for Rueben.. he’s my man!!! He’s the shit!!! :]

Anyways finally met up with my friend for a few drinks before dinner…. got him the most awesome book “How to tell if your car is plotting to kill you”… [he has two cats] thanks to Oatmeal.  A few Garden Saison beers at John Harvard’s Brewery

And then a delicious dinner at Upstairs on the Square

Dinner time… with bubbles..

He got the grilled salmon on top of pearl onions and saurkraut and broccoli….

My roast duck with blood orange and other yummy flavors…. so fatty meaty and delicious. JUICY TO THE CORE!!!

Dessert was a Napoleon… with the most amazing chocolate chip vanilla bean ice cream.  The Napoleon definitely wasn’t what I expected, more cake than flakey. No flake at all.

And then a champagned induced addition….

Mayahuel, tequila and beers…

My first trip back to NY in over a year and J picked me up from Penn Station the day before Valentine’s Day, I already found my way to a bar, vodka tonic please, we went back to the apt, drank some delicious wine and headed out to Mayahuel, one of his favorite go-to places. WHAT A CUTE LITTLE PLACE.  I adore the decor here.

We started off with the chips with salsa and guacamole.  While I’ll unshamefully flaunt that I make amazing salsa verde and guacamole – which J agrees with me, they’re red smokeyyyyy salsa was SOOOO FREAKING GOOD.  Time to buy some liquid smoke and try making some :]

J ordered a spicy cocktail.. and I definitely ordered something super strong and yummy….

He got chicken and pork tacos… we both agreed the chicken ones were better, the pork was a bit dry… [which isn’t usually the case according to J]

I got the special, a whitefish or some sort of fish ceviche…. there was quinoa, pineapple, sooooo many flavors and textures, sooooo goood….

After a great simple delicious dinner we headed to J’s favorite bar, Proletariat for a few beers :]

<3

A simple steak dinner tonight…

I’ve been in recovery… and been totally vegetarian and on a liquid diet…

but while I’m supposed to be in bed rest, I craved some meat…. beef… rare beef to be exact.  So simple steak dinner it is.

Filet Mignon [rare for me, medium for mama] sprinkled with salt, pepper, cinnamon and cayenne…

with a reduced red wine, butter, chicken broth, shallots, garlic, mushroom, shallot sauce from the pan drippings….

I steamed some green beans… and poured me some Merlot from bottle and voila!  A delicious dinner tonight for mama and me.

OKAY. More updates from Taiwan, Frisco…… and of course stuff that I’ve cooked and eaten at back in the States, ASAP!!!!