Happy St. Patty's Day!

Oh Ireland...how I miss you...

Hands down, I could move to Ireland in a heart beat. At the last minute I decided to put together an Irish meal for a few friends...some bailed so there was quite a bit left over...but mmm so good.

First off - I had Beef and Guinness Stew EVERYWHERE in Ireland, I ordered it any place I got a chance to. The above picture is the first I had of it at fantastic pub in Doolin. Next to it is Deep Fried Brie..if you've never had it...I can't even begin to describe how incredble it is..I could probably eat that by the pound...mmm....(View a few pics of the places I went and the food I ate there here)

I got the recipe for tonight's dish off of Food Network. It seems relatively easy enough. I did all my food prepping the night before since I only had a couple hours before dinner once I got off work and needed every minute of it!

After reading the recipe it sounded like it would be incredibly thick, and I just didn't think there would be quite enough Guinness. I also thought it was odd there was no beef broth. So I modified it by adding beef broth, potatoes, and more Guinness. I'm glad I did. It came out perfect. Extra hearty.

In addition to this delicious stew, I made Corned Beef and Cabbage...I browsed a few recipes and then sort of put some together. I bought uncured cook Corned Beef Brisket from Trader Joe's because they were sampling it and it was great. Seemed easy enough. I prepared it with a head of cabbage, applewood smoked bacon (HIGHLY recommended),potatoes, carrots, celery, all purpose seasoning, a little bit of beef broth. Mmmm it was delightful. I've never had corned beef and cabbage but my friends who have said it was very tasty. So that's good.

Last but not least. Beer Bread. A simple mix from Trader Joe's (that they also sampled...) that you just mix with any 12 oz. beer. I first made this for Ben in addition to the homemade chicken noodle soup one day. And I've discovered it tastes much better with a stronger beer. The don't remember what I used the first time but it was a dark beer. This time, I used a Belgian beer (it was all I had until everyone came over with Irish stouts...). Either way - this bread is DELICIOUS! It is incredibly hearty - dense and is crispy flaky on the outside (due to lots of butter you pour on the out side when you make it.

And voila, and Irish meal (I wasn't sure how many people were coming or that I could afford to feed, so I kept this simple). I'd like to try Shepard's Pie sometime...I've heard so much about it but have never eaten it. Sounds tasty.

After dinner we jetted over to Kell's, which is a great secluded Irish pub in Downtown Seattle in an Alley by Pike Place Market. I had never been before, but for a first time visit - I was very pleased. The place was packed (well for a $20 cover - I expect it to be great). Everyone got a free t-shirt - apparently Kell's throws a week long celebration, so I'm glad I was able to experience the heart of it. I was very excited to have some Magner's Irish Cider. Not as great as Bulmer's, but I have yet to find that in the states...I miss it so much. The night quickly evaporated into hours of crazy Irish jigs with a live irish band that was actually from Ireland. Real accents and all. Eamon Maguire, is apparently a famous drum maker in Ireland. I befriended him last night when he tried to set me up with his nephew who was also in the trad group. They were really quite fantastic. It really made me miss Ireland...one day..I'll be back.

Until then - I guess I'll just keep going to Kell's.

Tasty triumphs (and half a food fiasco) for weeknight dinners

It's been quite a while...I apologize. But here we go!

I've been on a health food binge lately since I'm training for a half marathon and tryin got make a couple lifestyle changes. This healthy version of a soft taco was really simple, and tasty. I don't believe in coounting calories so if you're already looking for that, just stop. But here are the ingredients (which were all from Trader Joe's by the way)! Try to imagine this folded up (sort of hard to fold it up and take a picture at the same time).

- Corn and Chile Tomato-less salsa

- Whole wheat flatbread (I thought it would be a healthier choice than a flour tortilla)

- Avocado and lettuce

- Ground Turkey sauteed with onions, mushrooms, and taco seasoning (A much better alternative to ground beef)

- No cheese, because I wanted to see what it would be like without it. Normally I would say I always need cheese, but I think the avocado and chile salsa made up for it. It was delish.

Then of course, because I had been eating so well, I ruined it by making a crazy awesome vegetarian lasagna.

Layer one: A tomato basil marinara and spinach
Layer two: I used a homemade cream sauce with sundried tomatoes, spinach and mushrooms
Layer three: The marinara with zucchini, ricotta and carrots
Layer four: More marinara and mushrooms
Topping: A spicy Arrabiatta marinara sauce topped with fontina, asiago, parmesan, provolone and mozzarella cheese (and some basil and oregeno)

Eaten with cream cheese garlic cheese bread...it's a good thing I've been running.

I had some crazy times at work and the day all the stress went away I wanted to make something awesome to celebrate.

I wanted to do a teriyaki salmon, but salmon was too expensive. Then I was going to do chicken, but then I noticed the steak was on sale. So that's what I bought instead. And then I just sort of threw together what I thought would sound good. I marinated the steak cubes with some oil, rice vinegar and black pepper. Then I sauteed some onions and mushrooms. Heated up some honey, mixed it with some soy sauce and sugar, and threw in the steak and cooked it all up. What went wrong was that the steak overcooked and ended up being too tough, and I think some pineapple would've been really good. I threw in some green onions which were definitely a good choice. Sesame seeds probably would've been good too. But oh well. Not bad for a cheap meal - and a good learning experience.

My favorite part was the chicken rice. Which is my mom's recipe. I cooked regular white rice with chicken broth instead of water and tossed in some deep fried onion bits when it was ready. Mmmm it smells fantastic and I highly recommend it. Usually really good with other chicken dishes.

Chuc Mung Nam Moi & Kung Hei Fat Choi!

That is to say...Happy New Year in Vietnamese and Chinese (my two heritages). This entry comes about a week too late...but I figured better late than never.

February 14 was Chinese New Year this year...if you want to learn more about how this is the Year of the Tiger, I'm sure you can Google it. There are plenty of amusing sites out there with all the same superstitions and stipulations that my mom still keeps very much alive to this day.

Any way - this is hands down my favorite holiday (that is - until the day I get married). It's all about food..and receiving "lucky money". Lucky money is money in special red envelopes that "adults" give to "kids" to share their wealth and hope to bestow upon them some luck as well as some luck for themselves. At least that's my understanding of it. I wouldn't totally trust myself since I am pretty much a banana/twinkie, whatever you want to call me. So the day I get married is the day I'm considered an "adult" which is fine by me, because this makes up for the lame taxes I have to pay after college!

I thought I would share some highlights from my Chinese New Year..because food...is ooohhhh so good.


My mommy's slightly modified version of a Beef Chow Fun. She's still using rice noodles, they are just in little funny shapes. It reminds me of asian noodles trying to be Italian and bite size.

Mmmmm so delish! It's greasy but so good. And that's what tea is for right? (My mom always says that jasmine tea is supposed to help "melt" the grease away)


This is my mom's modified version of Drunken Noodles, or Pud Kee Mao...depending on what Thai restuarant you go to. It's a blend of rice noodles, garlic, basil, onions, bell peppers, egg, beef, and lots of sauces and spices. Mmmmmm...


So on Chinese New Year's Eve, my mom makes a bunch of food, and we offer it our ancestors as a prayer sort of thing. We're not allowed to eat it until we've finished praying multiple times, and it's very difficult with so much delicous smelling food! And yes...that is a whole chicken with the head still on. My mom says that things are meant to be whole on Chinese New Year, like we can't cut things off or it's bad luck. I'm not really sure where this superstition comes from but she also won't cut hair or sweep the house or do laundry on the day of the new year and for 3 days following. I'm not sure why really...I just do what she says.

The table is set!


On the day of Chinese New Year, my mom and I went to a temple some close family friends own and started a long morning of cooking...lots of lots of food. Those noodles aren't even all the noodles we used!

Lots of food preparations underway...



Deep frying delicous-ness and my mom's sweet sticky rice w/ taro and sesame seeds.

Kevin cookin' up a storm! Mmm chow mein!

Mixed veggies...on the day of New Year's we're not allowed to eat meat...not sure why other than you're just not supposed to.


Then the chinese dragons came out! Traditionally, these dragon dances are done at all temples to bring the temple good luck in the coming year.

Apparently the dragon eats lettuce and throws it into the temple. My dad says it's for good luck. Apparently anything you do for this day is all about luck. So back to food...

Well I guess there isn't much else to show. We continued to cook and cook and cook. It was a wonderful morning/afternoon.

How to Make Wine (Part 4): Bottling

One word: MESSY

Sanitizing and cleaning 30 bottles of wine...is definitely not a good time. So i procrastinated. And ended up bottling the wine three weeks after stablising and clearing (one week later than instructed)...I was just crossing my fingers. Especially since I lost the top that goes on the bung to keep all the oxygen out...

Meghan and I drew some wine out to check for clarity...we were told to go into a dark room and shine a flashlight but it was pretty clear. Probably the lightest red I've ever seen next to a white zinfandel. We even snagged a taste. It was surprisingly sweet with a bitter zing at the end, which we think is from the fermentation.

We had to siphon the wine out which was tricky since we were trying to avoid the sediment on the bottom...and we didn't really think the process through about how to cut the wine off when we wanted to switch bottles....we ended up with lots of wine ll over the kitchen floor, on my pants and on my slippers. :( Eventually we got the process down...but it was pretty tricky and I know we accidentally sucked up some cloudy wine...some wood chip pieces could be seen floating around in the bottle....Troy says good wine has some sediment on the bottom of the bottle. I don't know about that...but if anyone asks, that's what I am going to say. :) It was definitely a tricky process.

Thanks to The Cellar Homebrew, a small brew shop in Greenwood, I was able to find a simple corker, some corks, sealers, and blank labels to finish my bottles. The corker was about $35...which isn't too bad. After the soaking the corks (by recommendation of the guy at the store), we proceeded to take turns corking.

After we finished corking, I placed the bottles in our "secret room" since it was dark and cool there. Now that I am writing this...a good week after bottling...I realized I read the directions a little backwards. I was supposed to leave the bottles upright for three days before laying them down on their sides to allow the corks to seal. Well...I thought I was supposed to lay them down for three days before standing them upright...so I just went to check on them and the corks seems to be popping out a little... OOPS! Live and learn I guess...I really hope it doesn't affect how the wine will taste. :(

It's recommended that we wait a month before tasting the wine...so in the meantime, I am brainstorming names for my wine and the design of the label...so far I want a tree theme with a name in Italian...and something along the lines of "new beginnings" since this wine has a lot to do with a making a fresh start for me. But italian phrases tend to be a little long so...I'm still brainstorming. After I finish making labels, I'll seal the bottles, and have some wine!

So whatever you do, don't do what I did above right after you bottle...

After I label the bottles and crack one open for taste, I'll write a conclusion about this whole experience, which seems more like a fiasco...but it was still fun. Hakuna Matata!

Review: Toulouse Petit

I must say before this review that I am not very familiar with creole cooking...but when I was in New Orleans this past fall, I fell in love with it. Like Ben says to me, "If you were to ever move to New Orleans...that would be the end of Sandy Lam." Comfort foods to the max. Since my return I have been craving some tasty southern cooking, a bit weary of being able to find something as wonderful in Seattle. Fried chicken here is NOT like fried chicken down there...even at Ezell's. Although if someone were trying to drag me to KFC, I would pick Ezell's handsdown.

Any way, my good friend Ben suggested Toulouse Petit for an early dinner for us. All he had to say was cajun and I was hooked. Upon arrival, I was a little taken back by how classy the place looked. Candlelight glow seemed to be the only source of light, until I noticed the glass blown light fixtures above every table and booth. Which was equally as dim. To quote one of my favorite bands (enter shameless plug), The Senate, there was definitely some "sexy ambiance" going on. Actually, the mention of The Senate, isn't so random for this entry, if it weren't for one of the members, Nick Drummond, I would've never gone to New Orleans to experience all its majesties. So check them out, if you're lucky you can hear their reunion on Feb. 6 at The Triple Door (my favorite Seattle music venue...I'll probably write a review after I go in a couple weeks so you can hear how wonderful it is).


Ok - back to food. So the "look" of the place was impressive. There was a moderately casual level of noise that was a mix of conversations and kitchen clatter, which I liked. Really quiet restaurants tend to creep me out. We were seated right away, as the happy hour/dinner rush was just about to start. As soon as I sat down though, I immediately knew what was missing. Music. The best part of New Orleans is the music. And when I realized what was playing in the background, I was a bit confused. The Shins. The Shins? Really? Don't get me wrong, I love The Shins, but not in a creole restaurant. After that, the music choice didn't get much better...so it might just be me (a music lover) being picky, but that part didn't score any cool points.

The menu however - scores many cool points. Or delicious points actually. Here's a couple things I managed to scribble down:
* Seared duck confit salad with endive, radicchio and poached egg ($9.50)
* Louisiana blue crab over fried green tomatoes with Tarragon Chive Ravigote ($15.00)
Their seafood menu included four different types of oysters and many other delicious dishes. I spent forever pouring over the menu trying to decide what to eat and learning about the restaurant's origins. The back of the menu included great interesting facts and thank yous for people who helped put the restaurant together.

One thing that is noticeable about the place is the attention to detail the place has as far as constructing a vibe and atmosphere to the place. Which I think is something I noticed when I was in NOLA. Each store, restaurant and bar I visited had it's own vibe. Their own creative twist - like each store was a reflection of it's own distinctive personality. Perfect example: Coops. Which really deserves another entry of its own so I'll have to explain that one another time. According to the menu, there are 85,000 moasiac tiles on the body of the floor of the restaurant, 712 panes of glass in the windows, and 40,000 glass tiles in the platforms of the booths. Toulouse Petit employees have tasted tested over 3,000 wines during the year it was in construction to hand pick an impressive selection of wine. Being the wino that I am, I was about to order a glass, but noticed Abita Amber on the menu. I immediately ordered one, since I seemed it was so fitting. My second drink in New Orleans was an Abita Amber, which came recommended by my friend Nick. I'm not a beer drinker at all (in fact it's only within the past couple of months I have come to somewhat like the taste of it, and even then I can only stand a pint of it), so the fact that I like this New Orleans brew says something to others like me.


So that was an easy pleaser. We started with some Spicy Deep Fried Alligator with white and red remoulade sauce. I've never had alligator before, but I liked it! It was like a cross between chicken and seafood. Sweeter and lighter than chicken, but with a similar meat consistency. I've also never had remoulade sauce, but it's wonderful! The white sauce had a creamy, buttery, green onion base and the red was similar to a spicy, but chunky hot wing sauce. Ever had a 7-Alarm wing? Well it looked like that, smelled MUCH BETTER, and was no where near as spicy as that horrid thing. We also nibbled on some french bread with honey butter before our food came. The honey butter wasn't the greatest, but hey - it's honey butter and it's hard to complain about honey butter.

For dinner, Ben ordered Crawfish Etoufee (dark roux French Quarter classic, served over creole basmati rice with scallions and Parsley). For $14.50 you could have what's seen below!


I had a Buttermilk-fresh Herb Fried Game Hen with a Black Pepper-Tasso Gravy (A sexed up version of the ubiquitous southern favorite with pureed potatoes and mini buttermilk biscuits) $14.00


Taste: Definitely hearty - definitely creole. The gravy sauce on the hen had just the right spices. The potatoes were pureed but not to the point where I was wondering if this came from a powder in a box, they were just slightly buttery, and balanced out the incredibly flavorful hen and gravy. Oh man - it was delish. The mini biscuits were hardly flaky, in fact they were quite moist with almost a cake like consistency. I wish I had saved some honey butter for them. From the bite of Ben's Crawfish Etoufee that I had, it was pretty intense, but probably can't say much more than that.

Overall, I liked the place. The food was good, service was prompt, and the atmosphere was great. Those are my essentials for restaurants. However, what scores cool points in my book are authenticity, creativity, and price. While I enjoyed the classy but casual atmosphere, I didn't really feel like it was a southern resturant. The atmosphere reminded of a place that Nick and I were literally hoodwinked into. I can't remember the name of the restaurant but somehow Nick and I got talked into from the streets to dining at this snazzy looking place - only to find the food was incredibly disappointing and pricey. Lucky, Talouse Petit has MUCH BETTER food and I didn't feel so cheated when I left the place. Maybe I'm just expecting too much, but I was hoping the vibes I would get from the restaurant would match my feelings for NOLA. I guess it might be too much to expect to have the same experience, but it is how I feel.

It definitely runs on the pricier side, but I've paid more, for food that wasn't as fabulous as this. The portions are large, but not too large. The service was prompt, but not genuine. The overwhelming menu and attention to detail scores many points in my book though.

*One thing to note though, make sure you are not seated by a window next to the street. A street light kept flickering on an off and since the place had such low lighting, it was really irritating to have your eyes adjust so often while you're eating.

Rating: ***.5 (I don't want to quite give it a 4 since I haven't really tried any other Seattle creole places)
Toulouse Petit
601 Queen Anne Avenue North (at the junction with W Mercer Pl.)
Seattle, WA 98109-4013
(206) 849-3602