My sister Phooey is pretty amazing. Actually, all of my sisters are quite extraordinary, but Phooey in particular is downright ridiculous in the kitchen. Other than tricks from experience passed down from the family, Phooey is self-taught through her copious amounts of research, books, and watching endless cooking shows.

People are typically in awe by her creations, wondering why this pharmacist doesn’t go pro. Heck, I wish she would too so I could play in her bakery kitchen. However, she insists it would lose the fun of it all and prefers to “experiment in the lab” (as she refers to it) without pressures. She produces dishes that are downright cookbook-picture-perfect and follows the same philosophy that our mom passed down to each of us—–use the freshest and best ingredients you can get a hold of.

It goes without saying that this Foodie-Wanna-Be attributes a lot of her interest and drive to her sis who first introduced me to the San Francisco Ferry Building Farmer’s Market, Hog Island Oyster Company, Frog Hollow Peaches, Bonny Doon Wines, AG Ferrari’s Caesar Dressing, Rigolo’s Almond Croissants, Mama’s in North Beach—and so much more. Each, holding a significant love in my culinary heart. I will also only briefly mention how she quasi-tortured the bf and I last Turkey Day by making us peel fresh chestnuts. O-M-G. Did I have the cuts and shell shanks to prove that battle!!! And why? Because she said we HAD to try to do it at least once. 🙂 She, of course, was right.

And because my kitchen tools were pretty junk back in the day, Phooey has also outfitted me over the years with the best kitchen gadgets–a 14 cup Cuisinart being the latest (Hey–I’m the baby of the family!).

So, in honor of my sister Phooey who would never show off her culinary skills, please allow her little sis to brag to the cyber world with a sample of her delish experiments.  Please note that all items are hand made from scratch—she takes no store “short cuts” that I would have no problem doing 🙂

Needless to say, the family (and her co-workers) are a good extra pounds heavier as a result to her yummy care packages she sends every so now and then. But trust me, it’s worth the calories. 🙂

And if you would like to have some of Phooey’s delish creations, leave a comment to this post. Through mass persuasion, maybe we can all coerce her into a side catering career. 🙂

Thanksgiving is a great holiday….it’s a reminder to give thanks for all aspects of your life while gorging on good eats.  🙂  It was one of my favorite holidays growing up–waking up to the delicious aromas of my mom’s cooking in the kitchen. With all of our extended families congregating at my folks’ house with all of their dishes, Turkey Day was an epic eat-fest from morning to late night.

This year, Turkey Day consisted of a small party of three: me, the bf, and older sis (and our pup Bella!). And although we were only cooking dinner for 3–it was no excuse for us not to GO BIG to truly celebrate our Thanks and loved ones.

Here was our delicious–and ambitious–menu 🙂

Pomegranate Lime Mojitos. Sure, the colors reflect more of the December Holidays but the sis brought down some freshly “shucked” pomegranates and I wanted to incorporate them somehow in the meal. 🙂

Freshly shucked Pacific Oysters on the half shell. (Sorry for the bright flash–I was having issues!) Since my sister’s dressing called for oysters, she opted to get a few more than the recipe listed so we could enjoy them fresh. Earlier this year, I threw a surprise birthday party for the bf at Tomales Bay Oyster Company. After shucking over 80 or so oysters, we sure got the technique down. 🙂 We enjoyed these simply with diced shallots, fresh Italian parsley, a squeeze of lemon, and a ton of Tabasco sauce.

This appetizer was purely my sister’s brainchild–and it totally exemplifies everything she loves and believes in. This “Decadence Tower” (that I affectionately dubbed) contains:

• Brentwood Sweet Corn (she shucked & froze herself when it was at the peak of the season)
• Blanched Fava Beans (same deal as the sweet corn)
• Thinly Sliced Haas Avocados
• Dungeness Crab (1st of the season that she steamed and peeled–thank Buddha, I hate peeling crab!)

After we assembled the tower, we drizzled it with some olive oil and a touch of lime juice. Seriously, this was TO DIE FOR and exemplified how simple ingredients used in season can be amazing. 🙂

The sis found a recipe for Boccalone‘s Oyster-Sausage Dressing. Omitting the lard, this recipe was fairly easy and does not contain eggs or any dairy. We think that perhaps the oysters (freshly shucked) added moisture to this yummy side dish.

We’re in charge of bringing our Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes to an upcoming Friends Thanksgiving Dinner. To change things up, I wanted to make a different potato side dish. I found Chef Bruce Aidells recipe of the Potato Mushroom Gratin. The recipe is super easy and the gratin turned out yummy! I made it the night before and warmed it up prior to dinner. The parmesan added such a delicious earthy and “nutty” flavor to the creamy gratin. YUM!

After much research, we decided to use Tom Colicchio’s Herb-Butter Turkey recipe. It was pretty simple to prepare the turkey but the gravy base was a bit laborious. The turkey turned out beautiful–golden, SUPER juicy, and the gravy was delish. That Tom Colicchio, no wonder why he’s on Top Chef. 🙂

I wanted something “Autumnal” for dessert and the sis suggested Poached Pears with Zabaglione. We “winged” the poaching liquid, throwing a bit of this and a bit of that into the pot……cinnamon sticks, cloves, etc. The lightness of the pear matched the rich, creamy Zabaglione sauce so well! It was a perfect “lighter” dessert to end our decadent Thanksgiving dinner.

Needless to say, we thorougly enjoyed our day cooking together and feasting on our dishes. In my opinion, there are few better ways to enjoy time with loved ones than in the kitchen. Truly, I have a lot to be thankful for. So to you all–HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!!!

Anyone catch the season finale of the Next Iron Chef America with Chef Mehta versus Chef Garces ?

Well, if you are anything like me, I wasn’t SUPER stoked on either of the finalists. Yes, both are quite talented and had some high points in the season but in my book, they were no Iron Chef Sakai or Iron Chef Morimoto. Though, let’s be honest, that didn’t stop me from watching the competition every week. 🙂

However, what really peaked my interest was a commercial they showed during the finale for an upcoming 2-hour special of Iron Chef America that will be shown on January 3, 2010. A chef duo battle with Iron Chef America Mario Batali & Emeril Lagasse versus Iron Chef America Bobby Flay & White House Executive Chef Cristeta Comerford is scheduled to take place. The commercial not only promised that the secret ingredient would be amazing but a guest would also be of “national security”.

Of course, that peaked this gal’s interest……and after a little snooping around, I found that First Lady Michelle Obama will challenge the Chefs to use the White House Kitchen Garden’s to create 5 courses to showcase ULTIMATE American meals. I LOVE ME SOME MICHELLE OBAMA!

I’m equally excited to see more of the White House Kitchen Garden’s as it falls directly in line with President Obama’s charge to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to combat child hunger and improve the health and nutrition of children across the country.

According to Emerils.com:

“Installed in the spring of 2009 under the Obama Administration, The White House Kitchen Garden measures approximately 1100 square feet and is located on the west side of the South Lawn. The four-season herb, fruit and vegetable garden features 75 varieties of seeds planted in slightly raised beds using succession planting methods. Cultivated by White House staff and volunteers, produce from the garden and honey from the adjacent beehives are available to the White House Chefs for preparing meals for the First Family and for official functions, and all extra food is donated to Miriam’s Kitchen, a soup kitchen near the White House.”

EXCITING!!! You know what this gal will be doing January 3rd at 8pm. 🙂

In all honesty, I think I may be a Foodie-Poser. Through media accounts and various forms of information, “foodies” are depicted as individuals with a high acceptance of all types of gastronomy. And although they may not have a certain affinity towards a particular dish, they will still appreciate its beauty, consume it, and discuss its finer points.

And that’s where this Foodie-Wanna-Be draws the line.

There are certain foods I just can’t get down with. Ironically enough, many of them are items that “Foodies” wholly praise and can be found on acclaimed eateries around the world. Just goes to show that this gal can’t be swayed by peer pressure. 🙂

In my defense, other than how something tastes, I have narrowed the rationale down to two factors. The first is that I have a real problem with texture.  If something possesses a consistency that is unappetizing to me, it’s over. No matter how “tasty” it may be, I can never get over the feeling of it in my mouth. The second issue is purely psychological. If I visually see something that my mind registers as “BLEH!”, there is no way that I can get over the hurdle no matter how hard I try. As soon as I put it in my mouth, my gag reflexes instantly kick in and it’s all over from there.

So in light of this, I’ve created my Top 10 “It Ain’t Going In THIS Mouth” List. Sure, maybe in 50 years I may change my mind. But until then, I stand firm in my food-discriminations. And yes, many items on this list are quite ingrained into the food culture of my Vietnamese Heritage. Eh, it’s not a self hate thing….just a Gastronomy Preference. Hey-at least I’m being honest. 🙂

In no discerning order, they are:

1. Cottage Cheese

This is COMPLETELY a texture thing because if memory serves me correct, Cottage Cheese doesn’t really have a taste. But it’s the LUMPS that trigger a sense of curdled milk. And not in a good way.

2. Blood Sausage

All kinds of meat, mixed with blood (pork or beef) and shaped into a sausage link. The spongy consistency, and yes, the images of blood are “no bueno” for me. Incidentally, I can’t eat coagulated blood cubes (we call it “huyet” in Vietnamese) either.

3. Bitter Melon

The name says it all. It’s VERY bitter. Vietnamese use it often in stir-frys but my Mom used to stuff them with ground meat to make a soup. Needless to say, I never acquired a taste for it.

4. Head Cheese

Nope, not the yummy dairy stuff. But instead, you’ll find parts of meat pieces from the head of a calf or pig that has been flavored with spices and shaped into a loaf or sausage form. Often times, it will have a gelatinous layer to hold the items together. Gelatinous. Even the word is unappealing.

5. Durian

A spiny fruit found in the tropics of Asia, Durian can be smelled MILES away! They often won’t even let you bring Durian into hotels in Asia. That speaks volume in itself.

6. Squash

Yes, some think this is somewhat odd that I don’t like squash—particularly since there are so many varieties and flavors. I blame this on being traumatized as a kid when we used to have to eat kubocha squash that had been pureed and scooped over a bowl of rice. For a 5 year old, it was like a death sentence and I haven’t been able to recover since.

7. Fetal Duck Egg

This is COMPETELY psychological because I haven’t even tried a Fetal Duck Egg before. In Vietnamese, we refer to it as Hot Vit Lon and the Filipinos call it Balut. And although it’s served with all different types of aromatics, there is still a little baby duck inside with a partially formed skeleton that maybe crunchy when I bite into it. Then it’s not only a psychological thing but also a texture thing. Either way, I can’t do it 😦

8. Oatmeal

I call it “goatmeal”. Yes, the gloopy texture is the turn off point for me. But I can enjoy it as an ingredient such as in an Oatmeal Raisin Cookie. Now those are tasty.

9. Offal

From my understanding, there is no EXACT definition of what Offal is. Depending on where in the world you may be and who you are, this can change.  But for all intense purposes (and for my tastes), Offal are all the parts of an animal that are often called “innards”. They can include the sweet breads, lungs, intestines, heart, and all other types of entrails and internal organs. The closest this gal can get to Offal is Foie Gras or Pate in my Banh Mi.

And lastly…

10. Brussel Sprouts

I join millions of kids across the country in a united BLEH to Brussel Sprouts. Bitter, bitter, bitter.

I hope I haven’t offended you if you like any of the aforementioned items. And if you do enjoy them, don’t worry, I’ll still like you 🙂   I can only imagine how many refined palettes must turn in disgust when I exclaim that I love McDonald’s “Chicken” Nuggets and Mexican Pizzas from Taco Bell. 🙂