I love Thanksgiving. It might be my favorite holiday due to the fact that I get to cook for a couple days straight. Last year I was planning 2 months in advance! This year, I only had 2 days but I managed to pull it off. We had the usual fixings turkey, stuffing, green bean casserole, mac n cheese, cornbread and pumpkin pie.
Our fridge is packed to the brim with leftovers. Last year I made a Turkey Fritatta with our Thanksgiving dinner leftovers. Vini has been looking forward to that fritatta the whole year! This time, not only did I make that fritatta but I also came up with a Thanksgiving leftover pot pie…kind of a Shepard’s Pie as well. It’s got turkey, gravy, stuffing, and mashed potatoes all baked under a flaky puff pastry. If you still have some leftovers, you’ve gotta try this!
(more…)
Posted by: Maggie Ha
Category: baking, food, mmmm
Tags: american, baking, cooking, food, pie, recipe, recipes, thanksgiving
{8 comments}
Yes it’s holiday season again. I feel like it hit really early this year. I heard Christmas music at Bloomies before Halloween! This year I’m so happy to be surrounded by all the amazing holiday paraphernalia. Pumpkins all over the place! Turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, hams, you can’t miss it at any grocery store. Everyone gets into it. Starbucks with their special drinks, Dunkin Donuts with special holiday flavors so I figured it’s time for me to experiment with some pumpkin goodness.
We all love pumpkin pie. Those spices mixed with that rich pumpkin puree, mmmm mmm just reminds me of Fall. After 3 batches, I finally perfected the recipe for these scrumptious spiced pumpkin cookies. They’re more like muffin tops. Cakey and spongey like a moist muffin with a delicious maple icing on top. Perfect to fill the cookie jar for this holiday season!
(more…)
Posted by: Maggie Ha
Category: baking, food, mmmm, recipes
Tags: baking, cookies, cooking, desserts, food, holiday, recipe, recipes, sweets, thanksgiving
{18 comments}
Momofuku Noodle Bar in the lower east side of Manhattan is one of those places that actually live up to the hype. I’ve read about it, heard about it and now witnessed the amazingness that is Momofuku. You tend to forget about the hour long wait and over anxious crowd after you sink your teeth into one of those pork buns. Or so I’m told, I had the vegetarian friendly shiitake mushroom buns and yes they were definitely worth the wait. Guess a couple of soju cocktails help as well!
Another reason why I love this place, they are vegetarian friendly and more than happy to accommodate my non-pork-belly eating ways. But carnivores, don’t worry, the pork is amazing. Vini absolutely loved his pork belly ramen… in fact, I think his exact words were, “I think this is better than the one I had in Japan.” Now that says a lot!
(more…)
Posted by: Maggie Ha
Category: NY Eats, Reviews
Tags: asian, food, Japanese, New York
{3 comments}
I used to think Mexican rice was this completely magical and impossible dish. Every family has a slightly different recipe and I seem to keep mixing the wrong ingredients in all the different recipes I’ve collected over the years. I just couldn’t perfect it. Sometimes I put too much spice, sometimes it’s too much broth and sometimes it’s not enough water. Really it took me a while to get it right and I cook Mexican food a lot! More so than any other cuisine, even Chinese actually. So after years of experimenting, here is my version of Mexican rice. It’s incredibly simple and incredibly delicious.
I found out where I was going wrong all these years. I kept trying to make a mix of Mexican rice and Spanish rice… two totally different dishes. Mexican rice, as I have known it growing up, has always been a tomato based rice that is pretty mild in taste compared to Spanish rice. It’s buttery and flavorful alone, but the key is how well it pairs with beans and the rest of your Mexican meal. I generally cook enough Mexican food to feed the block so this rice recipe makes a whole pot. Hope you like it!
(more…)
Posted by: Maggie Ha
Category: food, mmmm, recipes
Tags: cooking, food, Mexican, recipe, recipes, rice, vegetarian
{8 comments}
People have been saying you can’t really find great Mexican food in New York. Actually, let me rephrase, you can’t find cheap good Mexican food. There are a few taco trucks around and some Chipotle’s here and there but that’s not the same. So I decided to make carne asada!
Carne asada is usually skirt or flank steak. I usually ask the butcher to trim off the fat and cut into 6 inch sections. It’s basically marinated and then grilled. For a good carne asada, it is ALL about the marinade. In LA you can find grocery stores with your skirt steak already marinading. A little tougher to find here. But I have a blend of flavors that are so delicious you’ll want to drink it! You’ll want to marinade the meat for at least 6 hours (best overnight!) to make sure the flavors are all in there. Grill it and there you have it, carne asada. Enjoy!
(more…)
Posted by: Maggie Ha
Category: food, mmmm, recipes
Tags: cooking, food, meat, Mexican, recipe, recipes
{13 comments}
