Jul 31, 2009

For Your Viewing Pleasure...Food Porn!

Last night I had a good friend come over for some girl-on-girl time. Wait - that didn't sound right. I mean, last night I had a good friend come over for a girl's dinner...that sounds better.

I made an Anytime Vegetable Salad and Ga Ro Ti (Vietnamese Roasted Chicken) - these two really easy & simple recipes are great when hosting a friend or two for dinner. Although I will warn you that the chicken does require to be marinated for at least 24-hours, so prepare the night before.

Anytime Vegetable Salad
(adapted from Giada DeLaurentis)
INGREDIENTS - SALAD
- 2 cups shelled edamame (can buy them frozen)
- 8 oz thin green beans, trimmed
- 8 oz thin yellow wax beans (aka: yellow green beans), trimmed
- 1 1/2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
*steph note: i couldn't find yellow wax beans for the life of me, so i just doubled-up on green beans
*steph note: also, i found it easier to eat if you halve the green beans, so you're not stuffing entire green beans in your mouth


INGREDIENTS - DRESSING
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
- 1/3 cup red wine vinegar
- 2 tsp fresh basil, chopped
- 2 tsp fresh thyme, chopped
- 1 tsp salt
- 3/4 tsp ground black pepper

PREPARATION
Cook the edamame in a large pot of boiling water until crisp-tender, about 3 minutes. Drain. Rinse with cold water, then drain well and pat dry. Repeat with green beans (and yellow wax beans, if you can find them) - it's the same cooking time of 3-minutes, drain, and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking.



Add the vinegar, oil, herbs, salt, and pepper to a screw-top glass jar (or a dressing dispenser, if you have one), shake well.

When you're ready to serve, shake the jar again to re-mix the vinegarette and pour over the vegtetable salad. Season with more salt & pepper, if desired.
*steph note: OMGEE, how easy is this?!??!

Ga Ro Ti (Vietnamese Roasted Chicken)
(adapted from SundayNiteDinner)

INGREDIENTS
- 2 1/2 lbs chicken thighs
- 1 1/2 tsp granulated sugar
- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
- 1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 1/2 tablespoons fish sauce
- 1 1/2 tablespoons canola oil or vegetable oil (plus some more for frying)
- 4-5 cloves of garlic
*steph note: chicken thighs with bone-in, skin-in is the best; the skin adds the crispiness when frying
*steph note: i LOVE garlic, so i add a little more. GARLIC GARLIC GARLIC!!!


PREPARATION
Trim excess skin and visible fat from chicken thighs with kitchen shears, set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together sugar, pepper, soy sauce, fish sauce, and oil until well-combined. Stir in garlic. Add the chicken thighs and evenly distribute the marinade between thighs. For extra flavor, stuff a little garlic and marinade under the skin. Cover and let marinade for up to 24-hours in the fridge.
*steph note: it is MANDATORY for you to add more marinade and garlic under the skin, no ifs, ands, or buts.

Adjust oven rack to middle position; heat to 350-degrees F. Heat 1/2 tbs of canola/vegetable oil in a large, nonstick, oven-safe skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken to the skillet, skin-side down, reduce heat to medium and fry until skin is golden brown, about 6-8 minutes.
*steph note: pay attention to your chicken or else this happens:

i accidentally left it on medium-high and on for too long, make sure to check it every 3 minutes to see the coloration

Flip chicken and brown other side 2-3 minutes; set chicken aside. Don't overcrowd the chicken, work in batches if necessary
*steph note: i do about 3 thighs per batch; this is how it should look:

Drain rendered fat and remove any burnt garlic, leaving a thin film of oil in the skillet. Return all the chicken to the skillet and roast for 30-40 minutes. To check doneness, poke chicken with a knife to see if the juices run clear. You could also check by temperate if you had a thermometer: bone-in = 170-degrees internal temp; bone-out = 165-F internal temp.
I may or may not have forgotten to take a picture of the finished product, but just see the picture with the gold star next to it - that's what it should look like, but cooked. Ha. Hey, I'm new to this "food porn" industry, I'll have better pictures as I go on.

I served it with plain white rice & some chopped green scallions. That's all!

Good luck & Enjoy!!


P.S. If you have any "MUST-DO" recipes, feel free to leave them in the comments section or email me directly at: steph.t.huynh@gmail.com...of course you would get full credit!

P.P.S. That goes for make-up too - any ideas, suggestions, etc. would be greatly appreciated!

12 comments:

  1. i have got to try that anytime salad! looks simple enough! i'm a horrible chef. hahaa.

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  2. That looks really yummy. Thanks for the recipe.

    Enjoy your weekend!

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  3. Yea, so here I am sitting at work and haven't eaten lunch yet. I think I just heard my stomach growl after seeing your pics. And yea the pic of the chicken you crossed out is how mine would turn out. :) Will have to def. try these when I eventually get off my lazy bum and learn how to cook!

    xo, Becs

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  4. *droools* that salad looks mighty refreshing.. perfect for this type of weather!! and i actually like my chicken/meat slightly charred. hahaha! im weird that way! have a great weekend steph!

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  5. you culinary goddess! i like the idea of having people over for dinner, but i don't like the idea of making anyone eat anything i cook. hmm...

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  6. I really like this post! & I love all of the pictures that you took of the food ;D

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  7. Hi! I found your site though Carlene's site. I have some MUST-DO recipes you can try out since I'm always looking for someone to test them out for quality assurance.

    Drop by my site at: http://foodiefinder.blogspot.com and look under the "homestyle cooking" section. Most of the recipes are Filipino/Asian inspired. Bon Appétit!

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  8. Mmm, food porn. Makes my day haha. I definitely want to try out that chicken, it looks scrumptious!

    As for make-up looks, hmm ... you might have already done an 'everyday' look, but I'd love to get more tips on how to get a look done quickly. And then maybe a look inspired by the beach? :) Or you could share your favourite go-to products? Either way, I love reading your blog!

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  9. I must make that salad! My little mean is so into beans right now!

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  10. i love that you are posting food stuff on your blog now! i've been wanting to find recipes for new dishes to eat for dinner.

    also, i finally posted the award you gave me a looong time ago, haha. :)

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  11. Ooo, those look scrumptious, Pep Pep!

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icanhascomments? yes please.