Scavenger Hunt Potluck - Part II

The entrees began to arrive at around 7pm. It worked itself out as the appetizers ended up arriving earlier than the entrees, though the people who brought the entree didn't get the appetizers at their freshest. I suppose they have no one to blame but themselves. I got there at 6pm and we waited a little while before we started to actually dine.

(Houston's - Hawaiian Ribeye)

(Houston's - Stuffed Potato)

It's been a while since I had dined at Houston's steak house. Ironically there is one very close to my brother's new home. I remembered Houston's as a very good steak house, much better than Outback and slightly more expensive. The Hawaiian Ribeye was perfect today. Three guests brought three pieces, two at medium and one at medium well. They were actually family so they went together. It also worked itself out as the guests who preferred their steaks at more well done got the slices closer to the edges of the steak while the guests who preferred their steaks medium got the slices from the middle. I ended up being the one to cut up the steak into thin slices. It was definitely beneficial to have one person cut all the steaks to make sure everyone got a chance to get a taste. We had enough food to fill everyone's stomachs, but it could have been very easy for guests to unknowingly cut up too much of one dish and ending up with not everyone having a chance to taste all the foods.

The steaks were very tender. Even though it was a Hawaiian style steak, it didn't taste Hawaiian. There was only a hint of sweetness to it to help enhance the meat. I personally like Hawaiian style foods, but too often restaurants overly sweeten the food to make it hawaiian, covering any other flavors in the meat or whatever else it's flavoring. Houston's did a fine job in keeping the flavoring under control and letting the meat still speak on their own. The stuffed potato were stuffed with a ton of sour cream, butter, cheese, chives and bacon. It could easily be someone's entire meal all on its own. Fortunately we had plenty of people to split them up.

(Lawry's The Prime Rib Beverly Hills - Prime Rib Slices)

(Lawry's The Prime Rib Beverly Hills - Prime Rib Half Rack)

The highlight of the entire night was the half rack of prime rib from Lawry's The Prime Rib at Beverly Hills. This was actually something that had to be ordered at least 48 hours in advance and cost $150. One of our friend George was in charge of ordering and making the trip to Beverly Hills to pick up the rack. He was also in charge of collecting all the money from the people who decided to chip in on the food. Most of the guests had already rolled in and we were all waiting for the Prime Rib. He finally arrived at the party at around 745pm. Apparently Lawry's had an issue and George had to wait for an hour to get the half rack. Lawry's ended up giving him ten percent off, which amounted to no tax for his trouble.

The half rack was beautiful and it was a perfect centerpiece to a holiday birthday party. I again ended up being the cutter. I just felt like doing it that night. Usually our friend Tim would be the one who ends up doing all the cutting and serving. He was there, and he was glad I ended up doing it that night. I actually really enjoy cutting into that half rack. It isn't everyday that I get to slice prime rib from a half rack. Again the edge of the sides were slightly more well done than the middle, so those who preferred well done meat got the edges while those who preferred their meat more red ate the middle. Lawry's prime rib was perfect. Since we bought the prime rib ala cart, we didn't get any au jus. I didn't miss it though. I thought the prime rib was so juicy and flavorful that no other enhancement was necessary. I'm also one of those foodies who likes my food taste like the food themselves and not be smothered in juice, sauce and everything else and completely overpowering the main ingredient.

(Tofu Squares)

(Porto's Bakery - Cheese Rolls)

We also had some vegetarians who were there and Christine kept that in mind. One of the vegetarians brought some tofu which I don't remember where they were from since it wasn't on the list along with cheese rolls from Porto's Bakery. The tofu was spongy and had a good flavor to it. It's really amazing how vegetables could be made to mimic meat like products. Of course it's never the same, but it was still delicious and enjoyable.

Porto's cheese rolls were also a fantastic addition to the meal. It almost functioned as the dinner bun of the night since we didn't really have bread. We had a couple slices from Blair's, but that was no where near enough for the whole group. These cheese rolls had a bit of sugar on top with cheese melted into the rolls inside. It was flaky and crunchy. Combined with the cheese the rolls were just simply delicious. Porto's is definitely one of my favorite bakeries in the area. After this, dinner buns just seem so blahsay.

(Cheesecake Factory - Godiva Chocolate Cheesecake)

No birthday party is complete without a cake. Christine ordered a Godiva chocolate cheesecake from Cheesecake Factory. With all the planning, no one actually brought candles. I suppose we could blame it on the ones who bought the cake, but then to their defense, they didn't realize that it was the actual birthday cake. Instead we used fake battery operated candles and iPhone candles from the iTunes app store. They didn't work very well but it's the thought that counts.

The cake itself was very chocolately, very rich. By that time of the night everyone was stuffed. Though many of us were chocolate lovers, it was very hard for us to devour even half of a slice of this uber rich cheesecake.

The night was fun and everyone enjoyed the wide variety of food. It's hard to go wrong with such a fun selection of food and a beautiful half rack of prime rib as the centerpiece. It was for the most part a fair way to get together where everyone shared the expense. Of course inevitably a few people managed to get into the party without actually bringing anything or paying for any of the foods. It happens. People take advantage of things and bend the rules for themselves with the notion of it really doesn't matter. I suppose we just can't get too worked up over something like that. We just have to brush it off and move on. We ended up playing Monopoly Deal and singing karaoke for the rest of the night. In fact four of us ended up staying with Christine till 8am in the morning playing Monopoly Deal where she managed to not win a single game in seven hours. It was that addicting.

Next time if you are in charge of planning a get together with a group of people, it may be time for you to give scavenger hunt potluck a try. Most potlucks ends up with people not wanting to bring meat dishes while expecting others to bring them. They end up going for a salad that's cheaper or a simple plain desert from a local supermarket. But if you want to have some serious foods and also help alleviate the burden of your guests trying to figure out what to bring, try actually writing the specific dishes to get. It will give them something to do before the party and the party will be guaranteed to be filled with actually good foods. You just need to do a little bit of research on what you want on the menu beforehand.

Read Part I...

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Homemade Chocolate Dipped Fruits

Last week I started making a few batches of chocolate dipped fruits. I wanted to do a little post specifically on them.

I'm all about giving things a try. One of my best friend this Christmas received a batch of chocolate dipped chilled dried mangos from a friend of his and said they were fantastic. So I immediately went out to make a batch of this for someone I was dating. The things I would do for my dates. Truth be told I would do this for any friend if they happened to be there and they are willing to be my guine pig.

(Chocolate Dipped Frozen Bananas and Apples)

I figured it would be pretty simple, just like chocolate dipped strawberries that I already know how to make. My chocolate dipped creations aren't as fancy as the ones you can by at the store yet, but I plan on getting them better looking as I do this more. But even without all the fancy stuff, these little creations are easy to make and turns out to be quite delicious.

(Chilled Dried Mangos)

(Melted 72% Dark Chocolate)

(Chocolate Dipped Chilled Dried Mangos)

My first batch were chocolate dipped chilled dried mangos. I kept them simple without adding walnuts or pecans. I plan on using those in the future. But even without the little crunch, these chocolate dipped creations make for a surprisingly tasty treat. The chilly gave the chocolate a little bit of a sting, intensifying the bitterness of the chocolate. I used a 72% dark chocolate from Trader Joes. It's their store brand called Pound Plus. I actually only used about half of it on this batch and used the rest on the next batch two days later.

I melted the chocolate by steaming in a small pot over a boiling wok of hot water. I find steaming them the most effective way to melt chocolate without burning them either by directly placing them on an open fire or inside a microwave. The chocolate melted in a very consistent manner and I didn't have to stir at all and worry about burning it. Just remember not to cover the pot to avoid water from being mixed in the water.

After melting the chocolate, it was just a matter of dipping the mangos in the chocolate and taking them out, placing them on parchment paper to let dry. I experimented by dipping them in a little bit of sipping chocolate. I think next time I would sprinkle them on instead of dipping. It didn't quite work out the way I thought it would. But it still tasted pretty good.

(Chocolate Dipped Frozen Bananas)

(Chocolate Dipped Frozen Bananas Drying)

(Chocolate Dipped Frozen Bananas)

I made the dried mangos on December 23. On December 25, I had the big family dinner. I went snowboarding in the morning. I wasn't planning on making anything. But when I got home, I felt like I should make a contribution to the dinner aside from the the bottle of Riesling I got. So I decided to make some chocolate dipped fruits. We didn't have any more chilled dried mangos and Trader Joes was closed on Christmas Day. All I had were a couple of bananas and apples at home. So I decided to cut up the bananas into smaller chunks and dip them in chocolate. I figured since they sell chocolate dipped frozen bananas at the beach, so they must be good. I actually have never had one in my life. I did also dip a banana while making the mango batch and it tasted pretty good. So I decided to give it a shot.

I melted the chocolate the same way by steaming. I actually used leftover chocolate that was already melted during the first batch but I kept it in the pot and set it aside afterwards. The chocolate was still perfect after this second remelting. It was mixed with the remaining bar of chocolate I had and the consistency of the chocolate was great.

I dipped each piece of banana and apple slices inside the chocolate and then picked it out with a toothpick. I deliberately poked the toothpick on the top of the banana which resulted in a little dimple. It was actually quite cute. I left them on a parchment paper to solidify for about an hour. After the chocolate hardened, I placed the pieces on a plate and then placed it in the freezer to freeze them. I served them about four hours later.

Frozen chocolate dipped fruits are really easy to make and much healthier than other frozen treats. The frozen banana tasted almost like frozen ice cream balls while the frozen apples tasted like a frozen icicle. Personally I think these are much better and healthier alternatives than having actual ice cream and icicles. I am definitely going to be doing a lot more dipping in the future. Next time though I will start decorating the chocolate with nuts and white chocolate swirls to "fancify" them.

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Christmas Day Dinner Extravaganza: Vietnamese Style

Wow, where do I begin?

I have a lot of uncles and aunts around the world. My parents' siblings and their descendants span across four different continents. My Dad's parents actually live right here in Los Angeles. On occasions some of his siblings would come in town and visit. One aunt of mine from Canada visit quite frequently since she's rather close. I always look forward to her visits because I know I would get some really good homemade Vietnamese foods. The irony is that I generally do not crave Vietnamese foods, though lately I ate a lot of Vietnamese foods because I dated a Vietnamese-Chinese guy for a short while. This year since my aunt is in town for Christmas, we decided to do a half Vietnamese and half Chinese meal for our big family Christmas day dinner.

(Shrimp and Vietnamese Cold Cuts Spring Rolls)

(Shrimp and Vietnamese Cold Cuts Spring Rolls with Fish Sauce and Vinegar Dipping Sauce)

One of my absolute favorite Vietnamese dish is the Spring Rolls. I am a big fan of rice products, especially thin rice noodles. Rice paper is used as the skin to the wrap. The content varies from person to person making it. My aunt uses rice vermicelli mixed with a little oil and chive to keep the strands from clumping, shredded lettuce, shrimp and Vietnamese cold cuts as the main ingredients. Half of the batch had an assortment of mint inside while the other half had a long strand of green onions. My Dad made the dipping sauce with fish sauce, vinegar, garlic, chilly pepper and a little bit of sugar. This is by far one of the best appetizers on the planet. It's light and I can eat this all day long. I stuffed down at least six of them since 4pm in the afternoon.

(Taro and Pork Eggrolls with Cloud Fugus)

To compliment the spring rolls, my aunt made egg rolls. I found out the secret to a good and non-oily egg roll is in the skin. My aunt bought some amazing egg roll skin and it was the least oily egg roll I have ever had in my life. There was no need to use a paper towel to soak up excess oil. It was perfectly crunchy without oil dripping everywhere.

The egg rolls were stuffed with taro and pork as the main ingredients with shredded carrots and black fungus, cloud ears in Chinese. It's always fascinating how weird foods in Chinese always have pretty names. I wouldn't order black fungus off a menu, but I would consider a cloud ears. I actually love black fungus. It's a jellylike substance that is similar to a jellyfish, only much flatter. Most of the stuffings are normal egg roll ingredients with the exception of the taro. The taro made the egg rolls just a bit lighter than a all pork egg roll, while still retaining a similar texture to an all pork egg roll. An tasty egg roll with fiber inside is definitely not something you can easily find in stores or restaurants.

(Crabmeat and Fish Stomach Soup)

Of course no Chinese or part Chinese meal would be complete without a soup. My family absolutely adores a good crabmeat and fish stomach soup. I have had this so many times in restaurants but this one was fresh and light. The crabmeat were hand shredded from live crabs. The fish stomach was very high quality presoaked and cooked before cutting it up to put into the soup. Fish stomach is also a jellylike substance but with a much less crunch than a jellyfish. Add to the soup a bit of vinegar and it's perfect. However my parents bought the light vinegar which wasn't strong enough to really bring out that vinegar sting. Still the soup was just fantastic and we have plenty of that leftover.

(Pork, Beef and Shrimp Bun)

Bun is another one of my preferred Vietnamese dishes. I generally prefer bun than I do Pho. It's actually pretty simple to make. We used the same rice noodles with oil and chive and shredded lettuce as the spring rolls. We actually had some shrimp and cold cuts left from the wraps so we tossed those in. Then we just add sprouts, pan stirred beef and onions and pan fried bar-b-que pork. Toss a sprinkle of grounded pan fried peanuts and the same fish sauce and vinegar sauce and it's a nice dish. I would say though this wasn't one of the best buns I've had in my life. But it really was almost made as an afterthought while the spring rolls were the main event. The appetizer and the entree really were flipped backwards in terms of emphasis. The whole family ate more soup and appetizers the whole night than the bun and the vermicelli noodles.

(Pan Fried Beef Vermicelli Noodles)

This was our other entree that really wasn't eaten the whole night. Partly it's because we eat this dish way too often as a family than we do the spring rolls and egg rolls. A good beef vermicelli noodle is hard to make at home because it really requires a stove that has a really big flame. We sometimes actually use a special stovetop that can be hooked to a small tank of natural gas to cook this dish. But we didn't do that tonight. I totally understood since the rest of the meal was so much work, it was just way too much trouble to break out that stove to make this dish. The dish basically is composed of vermicelli noodles, beef and spouts. It was good, but the other dishes totally out shined it.

(Pork Ribs, Sea Cucumbers and Portobello Mushrooms)

The pork ribs, sea cucumbers and portobello mushrooms was the final of the three main course of the night. It also had dried scallops inside to add to the flavor. I generally love this dish when my Dad makes it and would eat a ton of it. But the truth is it really didn't fit with the rest of the meal. This dish really required rice for me to eat it. but I had a bit and it was very tasty as usual. Sea cucumbers are best made this way for me. It totally absorbs the juices from the pork and the mushrooms and is just dynamically flavorful. It did take an extremely long time to soak and cook so that the sea cucumber turns into a really soft jelly. I know, the entire night was full of jellylike foods. We love jellylike foods. That and also my grandmother is only willing to eat soft foods. She doesn't like to chew on food because of her teeth. She did eat a few of the sea cucumbers tonight.

(Deep Fried Shrimp Crackers)

Since we were frying egg rolls, my dad decided to fry some shrimp crackers. I really try to avoid this dish because it's super oily. The crackers really do absorb a lot of the oil. I ended up actually not eating any of it at all. 

(Oyster Pancakes)

The oyster pancakes is one of my Dad's best secret little recipe. It's actually hard to find good tiny oysters. This is a very popular Taiwanese dish that can be found at a lot of night markets. But most places smothers it with a ton of sauce and the flavor of the oyster and everything else gets lost. My dad makes it without any sauce and it's just divine. When made right, the edges of the pancake is a little crunchy while the center and the oysters are still gooey. The blend of his secret recipe just makes it a perfect little finale to a great meal.

(Lemonade with Brown Sugar)

Of course no dinner at my house is completely without our homemade lemonade with brown sugar. By using brown sugar, which is slightly healthier than refined sugar, the color of the lemonade almost looks like tea. We generally blend the sliced lemon with the sugar first by crushing the sugar with the lemon before we pour in the hot water to melt the sugar. Then we add cold water and ice to it to make our light and easy to make instant drink. The lemons are also from our backyard.

We also had a bottle of my favorite bottle of Chateau Ste Michelle Riesling that I mentioned in another post a week ago. Riesling and I suppose various white wines do go well with lighter types of Asian cuisines. A lot of Rieslings are pretty sweet but this bottle was dry enough so that it didn't intrude in the flavor of the foods. It really worked very well with especially the wraps and the other lighter items. Of course it didn't work as well with the pork ribs and the beef, but then most of us who drank the wine actually didn't eat much of any of that. So we really did enjoy the bottle very well.

(Pumpkin and Taro Sweet Soup)

This was actually the first time I had my aunt's pumpkin and taro sweet soup. There were also a little bit of small tapioca balls inside to give it a little thickening. The soup was lightly sweetened served warm. It was definitely a very delicious way to follow a generally light meal.

(Frozen Chocolate Dipped Bananas and Apples)

(Frozen Chocolate Dipped Bananas)

To finish the entire dinner, I decided to make a little frozen treat for everyone. I actually first did this two days ago. One of my best friend Tim was telling me about how another friend of his made him a batch of chocolate dipped spicy dried mangos. Immediately after that I made a batch of that myself and it turned out interestingly good. I'll actually blog about that experience and the making of this treat in a separate post soon. While I was making the batch of chocolate dipped mangos, I had a lot of chocolate left. I saw some bananas on the table and decided to throw it in and see what happens. I didn't freeze that batch, but it was still pretty good and enjoyable.

I then remember seeing all those frozen chocolate dipped banana stands all my life and never actually buying one. So when I made them earlier today, I decided to freeze them and hope for the best. It actually turned out very well and my family did enjoy them tremendously. I discovered that frozen bananas aren't rock solid It was semi-flaky. Well I only froze it for about four hours. Next time I'll experiment with how the duration will affect the banana. I am also going to add some nuts and even white chocolate swirls to future batches.

All in all the dinner was a great success. Everyone was happy. We had a lot of great food and had a fantastic time. The best part was that this meal actually was light enough that I didn't feel completely bloated. Either that or I just didn't eat enough. Still with so much food intake lately, now it's time to start my New Years resolution early and get all that fatty stuff off my tummy before it latches onto me permanently.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

===UPDATE===

I was asked here in the comment about what the brand of the egg rolls skin were. Here's the picture. It's called Spring Home.

(Spring Home Egg Roll Skin - Small)

(Spring Home Egg Roll Skin - Large)

Egg rolls often are very oily. I was told that the key towards having non-oily skin is in both having a good skin to begin with as well as to deep fry them in fresh vegetable oil; do not reuse old oil. After removing the egg rolls from the oil, lay them over a sheet of paper towel to absorb some of the excess oil before serving. There will always be some oil whenever something is deep fried, but this combination will help keep that to a minimal and keep them from being oily.

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