use real butter

We had some noodles to celebrate Mom’s birthday. Long noodles for long life. It is a Chinese tradition. These are Japanese (don’t tell grandma!) somen noodles in my homemade soy sauce chicken broth.

happy birthday, mom!

We made pizza tonight. The key to making our favorite pizza is to have fresh dough for the crust, thinly sliced pepperoni (I like it almost crunchy), a very hot oven, and my personal favorite:

garlic and broccoli cheese

I like to mix minced garlic and minced blanched broccoli with the shredded mozarella. Be sure to squeeze out the excess moisture of the broccoli otherwise you will be taking a swamp out of the oven.

For dinner I made gi pien guo ba tang (chicken sizzling rice soup) and chinese stir fried rice. Now, I want to point out that I don’t like the typical stir fried rice that has ham, celery, peas (peas! the horror), and other crap that white people like in their fried rice. My chinese stir fried rice is good stuff. I dice lean pork loin and mix it with cornstarch, soy sauce, and sesame oil. I sauté diced onion (for the love of god, don’t use sweet onion), scramble some eggs, and julienne chinese preserved mustard green. [Note: Chinese preserved mustard green is like this magical salty, crunchy ingredient that makes a number of authentic chinese dishes – only in asian grocery stores]. Steam short grained white rice and stir fry these babies together:

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choosing carefully, choosing well
I made it out to Williams-Sonoma as I was ready to shop for a new addition to my cookware. I got to use the certificate that Michelle gave me – which makes it all the more special. I have been slowly acquiring The Array of Cookware that suits my needs. I hate cooksets. Here is why: No serious cook will ever find the ideal pan for every need in a cookset. It is impossible. Cooksets don’t come with a cast iron skillet for one thing. Secondly, none of the surfaces are all-purpose enough if your repertoire spans more than three styles of cooking. I have an excellent sauté pan for searing. I have an excellent double boiler for pastries and confections. I have a lovely non-stick griddle pan… What I wanted was a high quality non-stick pan for stir fry. I have plenty of workhorse non-sticks, but few can withstand the high heat without warping for more than two or three years.

getting technical about chinese cooking
Some people are intimidated when they walk into Williams-Sonoma because the staff are very knowledgable. I wish REI employees knew as much about the gear they sell as WS employees know about the equipment they sell. These people COOK. So I inquired about the 8.5 quart non-stick dutch oven. The lady didn’t understand why you would want one non-stick. I explained that I wanted it for chinese cooking – that woks are only useful under flames that few domestic ranges can produce and that the high sides of a dutch oven and the wide base allow for clean tossing and even heating for all ingredients. She was intrigued and we discussed the technique at length. She asked if I would invite her over for dinner sometime! In the end, the race between Calphalon and All Clad has been tied in my kitchen. I came away with this:

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