A Vietnamese Moment

Another tried and true recipe by Ina Garten! I will never use store bought vinaigrette again because it is so much easier and faster making it at home! For our two year wedding anniversary, Will and I went to Pasadena for the weekend and he took me a lovely French bistro where we had the most amazing dinner! I ordered a beet and goat cheese salad and it was so delectable that I wanted to roast beets later that week.  I found this recipe from Ina Garten's Beets and Balsamic Vinaigrette recipe. The balsamic vinaigrette is the perfect balance of tart, spicy, and tang you want for your salad. This probably makes enough dressing for 4 salads. Ingredients: -  2 teaspoons dijon mustard - 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar - 1/2 cup olive oil - 2 teaspoons kosher salt - 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 1. Whisk together balsamic vinegar, olive oil, mustard, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper and you're done! 

This is a simple recipe for corn on the cob that makes it so flavorful and juicy! Ingredients - 3 ears of corn, peeled - milk (about 1/2 cup to 1 cup) - butter (1/2 stick) 1. In a pot, fill half way and bring to a boil. 2. Add butter and milk 3. Add corn and turn down the heat - simmer for 6-10 minutes 

This is a very simple, quick weeknight dinner that can be made in 15 minutes! It's adapted from a NY times recipe I found and just did everything to taste. You can also substitute snap peas for snow peas. Adapted from https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/7036-stir-fried-shrimp-with-snow-peas-and-ginger Since you are using pretty salty ingredients (soy sauce, chicken bouillon) you don't need to use salt. Ingredients: - shrimp - pepper - sugar - garlic - ginger - chicken bouillon - chili garlic sauce - sugar - Chinese cooking wine - soy sauce 1. In a small bowl, marinate shrimp with some chicken bouillon, pepper, and a dash of soy sauce. Let sit for 10 minutes. You can add a sprinkle of sugar if desired. 2. In a wok, add oil when hot and then add garlic and ginger. Then add shrimp and stir fry for 2-3 minutes until just starting to get pink. 3. Add snap peas. Season with Chinese cooking wine, soy sauce, sugar, garlic chili sauce, more chicken bouillon, and ...

Adapted from NY Times INGREDIENTS   Butter, for greasing pan 1 ¾   cup all-purpose flour, more for pan   Zest of 3 lemons (original recipe called for 2 lemons) 1   cup sugar ½   cup buttermilk (swapped out for sour cream 1:1) 4   tablespoons (original recipe called for 3 tablespoons) 3   large eggs 1 ½   teaspoons baking powder ¼   teaspoon baking soda ¼   teaspoon fine sea salt ⅔   cup extra-virgin olive oil 1.5-2   tablespoon poppy seeds (original recipe called for 1 tablespoon) ½   cup confectioners’ sugar PREPARATION Heat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour an 8-inch loaf pan. In a bowl, combine lemon zest and sugar and rub with your fingers until it looks like wet sand. Whisk in buttermilk, 3 tablespoons lemon juice and eggs. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Whisk dry ingredients into the batter, then whisk in oil and poppy seeds. Pour b...

Ina Garten is a genius at taking a simple recipe and elevating it - her instructions are clear, and include many things you already have!  4 to 5 pounds broccoli 4 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced Good olive oil 1½ teaspoons kosher salt ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 2 teaspoons grated lemon zest 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice 3 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted 1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese 2 tablespoons julienned fresh basil leaves (about 12 leaves) 1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. 2. Cut the broccoli florets from the thick stalks, leaving an inch or two of stalk attached to the florets, discarding the rest of the stalks. Cut the larger pieces through the base of the head with a small knife, pulling the florets apart.  Place the broccoli florets on a sheet pan large enough to hold them in a single layer.  3. Toss the garlic on the broccoli and drizzle with 5 tablespoons olive oil. Sprinkle with the salt and pepp...

I got this recipe from bonappetit.com and it was completely delicious! I like the extra crumbly pie topping crust which gives it nice texture. For the bottom pie crust, I used my friend's vodka pie crust recipe. You can make the topping and crust ahead of time, preferably a day before if you can. https://www.bonappetit.com/RECIPE/BERRY-STREUSEL-PIE CRUST 2 and 1/4 cups of all purpose flour 1 tablespoon sugar 1/2 teaspoon salt 7 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch cubes 1/3 cups chilled solid vegetable shortening, cut into 1/2 inch cubes *I actually used my friend's crust recipe so haven't tried this. TOPPING 6 tablespoons (packed golden brown sugar) 6 tablespoons whole almonds 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) chilled, unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch cubes 4 and 1/2 tablespoons of old-fashioned oats 4 and 1/2 tablespoons all purpose flour 1. Combine all in a food processor and process until moist clumps form . 2. Cover topping and c...

I got this recipe from a friend of mine who has been baking pie in his family for years. He definitely makes one of the best pies I've had so I FaceTimed him when making this crust. I believe it's based off an old Cook's Illustrated pie crust recipe from over a decade ago. Ingredients - 2.5 cups of flour (separated into 1.5 cups and 1 cup) - 1 teaspoon table salt - 2 tablespoons sugar - 12 tablespoons of cold, unsalted butter, cut into 1/4 inch slices (this is 1.5 sticks of butter) - 1/2 cup cold vegetable shortening, cut into small bits (if no shortening, you can exchange for butter 1:1, which is what I did) - 1/4 cup vodka - 1/4 cup cold water (can do a little less) Some things I learned from this recipe for an ideal crust: #1 Cold, cold cold - have all the ingredients cold - including the butter, water, and vodka. Prior to starting, place the water or vodka in the freezer or fridge. #2 Visible butter = visible flakiness Flecks of butter when melted wi...