Braised short rib with penne pasta

 

This one is my husband favorite. It may take a bit of time to prepare, but the ending result is very satisfying. When I first saw this recipe prepared by Giada on her Food network cooking show, I knew that my hubby would love this. Since it's not a quick fixed weeknight meal, I only make an effort to cook it on my day off so I can give it my full attention. The homemade flavor is very comforting and enjoyable in this dish. Look for a good bottle of red wine such as Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot, use half for the dish and save half for yourself to enjoy with the pasta later. To enhance the depth and boldness of the dish, you can always use some homemade beef stock. But don't sweat it if you don't happen to have that extra time to make it, because any good brand beef broth will also work just fine. Give it a try and you won't be disappointed!

Spaghetti and meat balls

My boys' favorite dish of all time! A classic, comfort food that can always easily satisfy any hungry appetites. Although I am not a fan of high carbohydrate foods, I love to watch my oldest son gulping down 4 pieces of meat balls along with his spaghetti without taking a breath. He told me "Mom, these are some great meatballs", and just that alone made my heart smiled. 

Nothing fancy or extravagant about this simple dish, but yet it made such a satisfying meal. I made the meatballs from scratch, but cheated a little on the sauce :). Well I guess I could say semi-homemade instead of cheating to make it sound a little better. It's semi-homemade because I used store-bough tomato sauce then added some more fresh tomatoes along with onion, garlics and some herbs to create my own taste. My husband loves the sauce while my oldest son raves about my meatballs, so all in all it's a success! And I hope you will enjoy it too!

Prosciutto and baby arugula salad

Don't feel like anything heavy or soupy in this scorching hot weather? I got just a perfect dish for you in this wilting heat! Yes, a salad! Refreshing, light, simple and equally delicious. 

My husband, "a meat and potato" kind of guy, who thinks beers and fries belong to the vegetable food group, actually loves this salad very much. It is his favorite green dish beside the homemade Ceasar salad. And the best part is that it takes no time to prepare. So when I feel like it is time to squeeze some greens into his system, this is the dish that I will go for. 

Shrimp carbonara

I hope everyone enjoyed their Father's Day weekend, especially all the Fathers out there. As for me, it was a beautiful weekend to get away from the world for a while. Actually, it wasn't away from the world, just from my two little princes for a short while. The holiday weekend coincided with our anniversary, so we decided to head up North without the boys to celebrate our little moment of 11 years. The three-day weekend trip seemed to be so short while we were having so much fun, but at the same time seemed so long to be away from the boys. I was torn with my predicament, but now I am glad to be home again. 

While visiting Napa and San Francisco, we indulged ourself with an incredible amount of food. Not just any food, but various variety of delectable gourmet food ranging from French, Japanese, Italian-Japanese fusion to Thai cuisine.  Beside the food, the wine tasting was also an incredible experience. I learned a thing or two about wine that I was oblivious about before. The weather in Napa was a bit....hmmm.... ok, ok... a BIG.... bit to the extreme where our car thermometer read..... 116 degree on our second day there. But to make up for the heat, the scenery was incrediblebly  romantic and relaxing. At one point, I wish I could afford a place there and get ready for my early retirment:). 

Well, enough with my rambling. If time allows later, I will do a separate post about our trip with full details. Anyway, back to business, today dish is an inspiration from a delicious Japanese-Italian fusion dish that we had a chance to try at the new Morimoto Napa restaurant (yes... the Iron chef Morimoto if you are wondering). The dish we ordered was uni (sea urchin) carbonara, where the Japanese ramen-like noodle was coated in the creamy carbonara sauce and topped with uni and shredded seaweed. It hit the spot!  I really liked the creamy, slightly salty and savory flavor of the sauce in this pasta dish giving the fact that I don't do sea urchin.  I tried to duplicate the dish, and although it was not exactly what I tasted at the restaurant, it is very yummy indeed.

Scallop and lobster tail Rigatoni

How is Monday treating you all? As for me, the heat is scorching unmercifully today, especially where I live because it is very near the mountain. It could get very hot during the day, to almost triple digits today. My poor AC is really being overworked :(.

It was such a busy day for just staying at home. I was on my feet the whole day, cooking breakfast, doing several loads of laundry, cleaning the house, mopping the floor, vacuuming the carpet, packing for the trip next weekend, feeding my little son, picking up my other son from school, giving them bath, cooking dinner, baking a cake.... Oh my, I think I'm way busier than when I am at work. Well, that's how I usually spend my Monday anyway. Why even bother to complain now, right?

Anyway, yesterday we went to Nordstrom to look for a pair of sandals for me. We had brunch at the Nordstrom Cafe. My husband tried their today-special menu which was jumbo shrimp and scallop penne pasta. He loved the taste and flavor, but the portion was quite small, so I think it didn't really satisfy his appetite. So I went to Trader's Joe and got some of those jumbo scallops, mushroom and a box of rigatoni. We got some lobster tails in the freezer, so I substituted it for the shrimp (even better right?).

Creamy dishes are usually not my cup of tea. But I have to say this pasta dish today got me and I had to make an exception for it. My little son can't stop eating it. He finished all of his portion (although with none of the scallops or lobsters). As for my husband, of course, he loved it!

Super supreme Pizza

    I have to confess, my experience for pizza is very limited, unless you count heating up the frozen pizza in the oven as  making pizza.  I guess that is because I've never been a fan of pizza. I know, I know, I'm just weird like that. But since it is many people's comfort food including my own son, I will introduce a quick and easy way to make this comfort food fresh and delicious without the sacrifice of time.  Maybe one day when time allows, I will try to make one from scratch, until then we will have to rely on the pre-made pizza dough.

    As you may know, I'm a full-time working mom, so I need to find ways to prepare meals as quickly as possible yet flavorful to feed my growing boys.  Since making pizza from scratch is quite time-consuming, so I thought maybe if I can get my hands on the ready-to-bake dough then I can produce my dinner more readily to my hungry crowd.  Once you get that dough part down, the rest is like a breeze. You can pretty much throw in any toppings that you have on hand, use your imagination, the sky is the limit. You can also get your kids involved in the preparation process, I'm sure you all will have fun making and enjoying it together.

     

Shrimp pasta

    The boys requested pasta for dinner tonight, so even though I've been trying to avoid Carbs for my diet, I have to fulfill their request.  In my opinion, pasta or spaghetti is the easiest thing to cook. If you need a quick, simple yet delicious meal in a constraint time frame, this is the dish to aim for. 
    I always keep a jar or two of the marinara sauce in my pantry just in case when there is a craving for a spaghetti night like this. And when I have more time, I'd like to simmer down the sauce from scratch myself. Either way, they turn out very satisfying and yummy!
   This semi-homemade dish is simple enough for the kid's palate but also flavorful for the adult's taste buds.  Dress it up with some pearl onions, basil leaves, Parmesan cheese and voila.... you have a gourmet dish of pasta. And of course when served with a couple pieces of cheese toast, it completes a perfect meal. Let's see if anyone agree with me!