The Best of Champaign Part I

Last weekend, PSA hosted their annual Filipino American conference, FACT. Because of that a lot of UC Irvine Alums were in town, and of course, we had to show them the best of champaign.

I labeled this entry as "Part I" because, despite Champaign being a small town, it has a lot to offer in terms of eating adventures. No doubt, I will be writing more about food in Champaign.

After the conference, Anna took us to Papa Del's my second favorite deep dish place in the state of Illinois (second to the Lou Malnati's with their awesome butter crust). Anna is in love with Papa Del's. Prior to moving to Champaign, when she would travel here to visit August, she would always immediately request Papa Del's. And we couldn't argue with her.

We ordered a stuffed spinach pizza with pepperoni and mushroom. What I like about Papa Del's pizza is their pizza dough! They bake it so that the crust is crunchy but the middle part is nice and chewy. I love the contrast in the textures.

Here's Tessa expressing her joy on camera. Hooray for left overs!
For dessert, we all went to Jarlings, also referred to as Custard Cup. OK, I really cannot express my love for this place adequately with words. Just thinking about Jarlings puts the biggest smile on my face and literally warms my heart. If someone mentions it, I start to run through the menu in mind, and contemplate what flavors I should try. Oh, Jarlings, I love you so.

Here's August, Anna, and first-timer, Chris, staring in wonder at the menu.
Doesn't Kimmy (another first-timer) look so happy and content with her cup of chocolate frozen custard?
She should look happy because, in my personal opinion, they have the best chocolate frozen custard ever. My New York friends would say that Shake Shack has the best custard. But they are liars. Shake Shack is good, but their custard just doesn't have the same light, creamy, deliciousness of Jarling's frozen custard. Don't even bother with Culver's, unless your desperate.

I tried something new - a grasshopper which is mint flavored custard and oreos. DROOOOOL.Unfortunately, the day before Thanksgiving, Jarlings closes for the winter and doesn't open again until the Spring. So this sign is very appropriate. I most definitely will take a pint or two home.

In the morning, we went to breakfast at the Original Pancake House (I referred to this restaurant in my post on Le Peeps). My Californian friends, you are in luck, there are OPH's in southern Cali - I think in Anaheim and Aliso Viejo. Go there, immediately!

I know that I previously said that if one were to go to OPH, that you should order a sweet type of breakfast food. However, I saw that they had a Eggs Benedict type of food on their menu, and I am always a sucker for Eggs Benedict dishes. It's a part of my crazy mission to rate Hollandaise sauces across the country.
Whatever you decide to order, I promise, you'll love it.
I also have to mention that the service is great! My coffee cup never ran empty.
Maybe that's why I was so hyper at the end of my meal.

Baked Chicken and Pasta

I have a lot of catching up to do. Beware, this blog is about to bombarded with lots more food and pictures!

This particular post will focus on my awesome home cooking. woo!

Last week, I called Glenn and asked him what he wanted for dinner. As per usual, he replied, "Chicken!" Standard Glenn. Luckily, I had chicken (broiler-fryer) in the freezer. So I decided to bake the chicken and make the pasta I always make when I'm too lazy to try something new.

I found a simple recipe on cooks.com for Lemon and Garlic Baked Chicken and only had to make a few modifications. Here's the recipe, including my own changes to the recipe.

Ingredients

1 (2 - 2 1/2 lb.) broiler fryer, quartered
1 lg. clove garlic, crushed (I LOOOOOOVE garlic, so I put 5 cloves of MINCED garlic)
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. rosemary leaves
Several twits freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp. grated lemon rind
1/3 c. lemon juice
1/2 c. water

Directions

1. Rinse chicken; pat dry. Place chicken skin side down in a shallow baking dish.

2. Combine garlic, salt, rosemary, pepper and lemon rind. Sprinkle over chicken. Pour lemon juice and water over all. Bake, uncovered in preheated 400 degree oven for 30 minutes.

3. Turn chicken quarters. Baste with pan liquids. Continue baking about 25 to 30 minutes or until chicken is tender. Makes 4 servings, approximately 196 calories per serving. (I skin my chicken for less calories.) I left the skin on because Glenn loves crispy chicken skin. How can I deny him such small pleasures?

Because the pieces of chicken were cut up as opposed to baking a whole chicken, it was easier to make sure that each piece was cooked just right. I took out the smaller pieces, such as the wings and drumsticks, before the larger pieces, preventing the meat from drying out or burning.

Earlier in the month, I baked an entire chicken and I found it to be not as tender or tasty. Also, I was completely grossed out by the process of stuffing the chicken. Ewwwwwwwww.

I think I will stick to using cut up broilerfryer chicken and this recipe.

On to the super easy pasta that I ripped off Giada's Everyday Italian

In the original recipe, from what I remember seeing on TV, Giada uses penne pasta. I never have penne pasta on hand, but almost always have whole wheat spaghetti. Plus, in my personal opinion, penne pasta should be baked.

Ingredients

Whole Wheat Spaghetti
Ricotti Cheese
Olive Oil
Cherry or Grape Tomatoes (I like to cut the tomatoes in half)
Spinach
LOTS of garlic (minced)
salt
pepper (for taste)

Directions

1. Boil Spaghetti
2. While Spaghetti is boiling, heat up olive oil in a large pan on medium heat. Be generous with the olive oil as it will serve as the sauce for the pasta.
3. Add garlic. Once you can smell the garlic, add the spinach and tomatoes. Add some sea salt.
4. Lower the heat to medium-low flame. Add spaghetti and ricotta cheese. Mix well so that the mixture of the cheese and olive oil makes a sauce and coats all of the pasta.
5. Add pepper for taste.
6. If the pasta seems a little dry, simply add pasta water.

DONE! Easy, no?

Once again, I have no measurements for you folks because I'm too lazy to measure while I'm in the kitchen so it's all about eyeballing the ingredients.

Weekend Update: Seared Ahi Tuna, Poki, Grilled Cheese, and Chicken & Wild Rice Soup

This past week I spent most of my time in Champaign, cutting my cooking time at home short. However, I still made some pretty tasty dishes.

Seared Ahi Tuna & Salad and Salmon Poki

Grilled Goat Cheese Sandwiches

Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

Making the seared ahi tuna and poki:

I had to start at the very beginning because Glenn looks so cute picking out avocados. Typically, when we're at the grocery store, Glenn and I try to split up the list in each section and we split up. But I followed him in the produce section to take a picture of him picking out avocados. He's really good at picking out the ripe avocados. And usually, he happens to pick out the least bruised ones. How? I have no idea.

At home, I made the marinade for the tuna. Which included sesame seed oil, low-sodium soy sauce, salt, and pepper. I don't have any measurements available because I just throw the ingredients together and taste to see if somethings lacking or too overpowering.
Here are the tuna steaks from Costco. It's a ridiculously good deal.
So I pour the marinade all over the tuna steaks and place them in the fridge while I prepare the rest of the ingredients.
Next, I prepare the salad. I cut up cherry tomatoes in half, peel and slice a cucumber, and cube some avocado.

While Glenn rinses and dries the mixed greens in our awesome salad spinner (see below) I make the salad dressing.
For the salad dressing, i whisk together some sesame seed oil, fresh lemon juice, salt and pepper. I think next time I'll put some honey to temper the acidity. Although, Glenn says the more lemon the better.

After marinating the tuna steaks, I heat up my grill. While the grill is heating up, sprinkle some black sesame seeds on both sides of each steak. Place on the hot grill. I only cook the tuna for a couple of minutes on each side so that the middle is left raw. Not everyone likes raw foods, but trust me, the tuna turns dry and gross if overcooked. bleh.



However, mine turned out perfect and delicious!


Ok my fifteen minute writing time limit is up. I have to get back to studying. But I promise to finish this entry as soon as I study for a bit. It's called time management! woo woo!

Weekend Update continued:

I don't have time to put up the step by step pictures for making Poki or the soup, so I'll just post the recipes.

Salmon Poki:

• sashimi grade salmon
  
• minced green onion
  
• soy sauce
  
• sesame seed oil
  
• black sesame seeds

Cube the salmon. Place in a bowl. Pour in soy sauce and sesame seed oil. Mix. Add green onions and black sesame seeds. Mix. Done!

Some recipes called for red pepper flakes but I didn't feel like having any spice that night.

I actually just modified this recipe for Ahi Tuna Poki:

• 4 cups ahi (yellowfin tuna, sashimi grade) diced
• 1/2 cup onion, minced
• 1/4 cup green onion, minced
• 1 cup soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons sesame oil
• Hawaiian salt and pepper to taste

Chicken and Wild Rice Soup:

• 2 quarts chicken broth
• 1/2 pound fresh mushrooms, chopped
• 1 cup finely chopped celery
• 1 cup shredded carrots
• 1/2 cup finely chopped onion
• 1 teaspoon chicken bouillon granules
• 1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/4 cup butter or margarine
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
• 1/2 cup dry white wine or additional chicken broth
• 3 cups cooked wild rice
• 2 cups cubed, cooked chicken
• Nonfat Half & Half (my addition to the recipe)
  

Directions:

1. In a large saucepan, combine the first nine ingredients. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 30 minutes.
2. In a soup kettle or Dutch oven, melt butter. stir in flour until smooth. Gradually whisk in broth mixture. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Whisk in soup and wine or broth. Add Half & Half Add rice and chicken; heat through.

** I added the Half & Half because I wanted a creamy soup and it just wasn't creamy enough.
The other recipes for "Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup" called for 1/2 a cup or more of butter. That's just way too much butter for me. So instead, I just added milk.

Turned out pretty good, except I put too much rice. Still tasty though.

Serves 12.

breakfast at le peep's

Because it had been such a long time since both Glenn and I were in Champaign, we decided to eat at one of our favorite breakfast places in town. There's actually only two good ones, The Original Pancake House and Le Peep Restaurant. OPH has better pancakes, of course, and any of their sweet breakfast foods are amazing! However, if your looking for tasty savory breakfast foods, such as omelets and skillets, you should go to Le Peeps. Unfortunately, their Eggs Benedict is tasty but nothing to be excited about (I'm always on the hunt for good Eggs Benedict. I probably should write about that in another post).

It gets pretty packed on weekends and on game days it seems as if everyone is wearing orange. As for ambiance ... well I guess, to be nice, it's quaint country.


Usually, I order the Eighteen Wheeler, combination of French Toast, Bacon, Eggs, and Peasant Potatoes (which I replace with a cup of fruit). However, I decided that I should try to be healthy and ordered the Spinnaker. It's a omelet made out of egg whites, mushrooms, lite cheddar cheese, spinach and green onions. For my sides, I ordered a whole wheat English muffin and a cup of fruit. The meal turned out really good!

Glenn ordered a skillet called The Nomad, which had chicken, broccoli, potatoes, basted eggs, and hollandaise sauce. Although their skillets have somewhat offensive names, such as, The Wanderer, The Hobo, and The Gypsy, they give you decent size portions and are tasty.


Here's Glenn trying to be sneaky and taking a bite of my omelet. But I caught him on camera.


Glenn has been known to steal other people's food. Just take a look at this picture from when we were at a Ramen House by Tokyo University. When Anna went to the bathroom, Glenn swooped in and started eating her left over Ramen. Sneaky Glenn.

kashi frozen dinners: the lamborghini of frozen dinners

My roommate, Tessa, introduced me to Kashi frozen dinners. She called them the "lamborghini of frozen dinners."

I have to admit that they are pretty good - especially with the 7 whole grain rice. They are practically godsend to grad students like us, who during the week, barely have time to cook in between classes, grading, and studying.

Plus, they are super cheap! woo woo.

Here's Tessa enjoying her meal:


Pictures taken with Iggy the iphone.

chicken and wild rice soup?

I'm on the hunt for a good chicken and wild rice soup recipe.
One recipe calls for 1/2 a cup of butter! Eww! Doesn't that seem like a ridiculous amount?

Is that a stick of butter or more? I told my roommate about this and she said she just imagined shoving a whole stick of butter in her mouth. yuck.

frittatas and left over ingredients

i had all these left over ingredients over the weekend. the type of ingredients that need to be eaten right away, such as asparagus, feta cheese, and grape tomatoes.



so my mom suggested making an omelet. i suck at making omelets so i decided to make a frittata instead.

The recipe I use from www.foodnetwork.com says to use 6 eggs. However, I only used 3 and added egg whites. Trader Joe's sells egg whites in a carton. Genius!

I then added my cooked asparagus, tomatoes, and feta cheese to the eggs and placed in an oven safe pan. Sprinkled some salt and pepper on top. I cooked it on a stove for about 2 minutes.


Afterwards, I placed the pan in the oven (375 degrees) for about 7 minutes.


And that's it! This whole cooking thing is getting easier. I never would've thought that I'd enjoy it. I thought I'd only enjoy eating.

The pictures are from my iphone. I think they came out pretty good!

birthday cakes

Because today my adorable goddaughter, Jadenne, is celebrating her 2nd birthday, birthday cakes have been on my mind. I thought about what it would be like to have a kid and celebrate their birthdays. I decided that if I have children, I would like to what Ashley Judd's character in the Secrets of the Yaya Sisterhood did, waking her children up on their birthdays with a birthday cake and candles.

My mom gets pretty creative when it comes to our dogs', Wallace and Gromit, birthdays. Every year, she gives them a different kind of cake. It was only one year, when they could actually eat the cake - for the most part the cake is for picture taking purposes only.

Here are pictures from the past two years:

grilled goat cheese sandwhiches. yummm!

As promised, here is the recipe for the grilled goat cheese sandwiches.

Who could resist this recipe when the headline describes the sandwiches as "Tangy goat cheese, tomatoes, and a crispy coating of grated Romano cheese set these sandwiches above the rest."

Thanks to the random person who made up this awesome recipe.

And it's true, the sandwiches were delicious and incredibly easy to make.

INGREDIENTS (Nutrition)

* 2 eggs, beaten
* 1 1/2 cups grated Romano cheese
* 1 (8 ounce) package fresh chevre (goat) cheese
* 8 slices bread
* 8 slices tomato


DIRECTIONS

1. Place the beaten eggs in a wide, shallow bowl, and set aside. Place the grated Romano cheese in a wide, shallow dish, and set aside.
2. Spread the goat cheese onto one side of each slice of bread. Sandwich two tomato slices between two pieces of bread, then dip both sides into the beaten egg. Allow the excess to drip off, then press the sandwiches into the grated Romano cheese, coating well on each side; set aside. Repeat to make 4 sandwiches.
3. Heat a large, nonstick skillet over medium heat. Cook the sandwiches until golden brown and crisp, about 3 minutes per side.

I'm disappointed in Yu (Yu's Mandarin)

Today, I had this sudden urge to eat Walnut Shrimp (sans Walnuts - I'm allergic, so I tend to just nudge them to the side).

I asked Glenn to bring home some take out, requesting Honey-glazed Walnut Shrimp and Stirfried green beans. He told me that he heard that Yu's Mandarin in Schaumburg was a pretty good Chinese restaurant close to his work.
I felt like it was the final countdown - watching the clock tic until Glenn came home after work with our dinner and my delicious Walnut Shrimp. I pictured it to be just like the shrimp at Mandarin King in Granada Hills.

When I took my first bite, I was sadly disappointed. The glaze was watery and lacking flavor and the shrimp was obviously frozen and not fresh. I could smell the remnants of that fishy icy smell of unfresh seafood.

Everything else was good - along with the green beans, we ordered sesame chicken.

Ultimately, I felt disappointed and homesick. it's not like back home where you know exactly which places are the good Chinese restaurants. I guess I'm still on the hunt.

Oh, Yu's Mandarin, you disappoint me.

oops! it's been awhile

ok so, i haven't written in this in maybe 2 years. oops!

so i decided to blog about food in general, including, food i've cooked.
it's more for me to keep track of what i've tried to cook, what was good, what wasn't so good, etc.

Here's a list of things i've made. When i'm not so lazy, I'll also post the recipes.

Last Month (I can't remember what I made each week, so I'll just make a monthly list)

- Baked Chicken with Artichokes and Mayo (Glenn's new favorite Chicken dish)
Argentinean Steaks with Chimichurri (sp?)Sauce (I finally got to use my food processor! woo woo!!)
- Salmon with Wasabi Mayo - this one was good, but I put too much of the Trader Joe's Wasabi Mayo for the amount of Salmon
we had. I think it'll be better next time.
- Whole Wheat Spaghetti with Garlic, Chicken, Ricotta Cheese, Grape Tomatoes and Spinach (basically, it was whatever I found in
my fridge that I needed to use before things expired)
- Banana and Chocolate Chip Whole Grain Pancakes
- Blueberry Whole Grain Pancakes

Last Week:

- Grilled Goat Cheese Sandwiches
- Minestrone soup with Mild Italian Sausages
- Roasted Lemon and Rosemary Chicken
- Spaghettini with Sundried Tomatoes and Goat Cheese
- Baked Salmon (Glenn made this. Good job, Glenn!)
- Grilled Peaches with Honey and Oats

I pretty much liked everything I made last week. I have to say that the grilled goat cheese sandwiches were my favorite. we ate it with tomato bisque from trader joe's.
thanks to tessa who helped me cook everything. and my mom for helping over the phone. my mom is super happy that i'm getting into cooking. we bond now. hahaha
After if this weekend, I'll post the latest menu.