2 MINUTE CHOCOLATE MUG CAKE RECIPE

Okay, food confession time. When I was a kid, I LOVED McCain’s Deep ‘n Delicious chocolate cake. My mom never baked chocolate cake, so Deep ‘n Delicious is the chocolate cake that has all my warm and fuzzy nostalgic childhood memories. I’m pretty sure it’s a Canadian thing, so if you have no idea what I’m talking about, I don’t blame you. Basically, DND (as it shall now be known) is a frozen chocolate cake with star shaped chocolate frosting piped on top.

2 MINUTE CHOCOLATE MUG CAKE RECIPEvia Lucky Peach

serves 1-2

• 1 EGG
• 3 TABLESPOONS MILK
• 3 TABLESPOONS NEUTRAL OIL
• 3 TABLESPOONS FLOUR
• 1/4 CUP SUGAR
• 2 TABLESPOONS COCOA POWDER
• 3 TABLESPOONS SEMI-SWEET CHOCOLATE CHIPS
• SMALL SPLASH VANILLA EXTRACT
• PINCH SALT
• 1 MICROWAVE SAFE MUG
• ICING SUGAR, IF DESIRED

Stir together the egg, milk and oil in your mug. Add the dry ingredients and mix well. Stir in the chocolate chips and vanilla. Microwave for 2 minutes. The cake will rise above the mug, so place a plate underneath if it makes your nervous. Cool in the mug and then enjoy, either straight from the mug, or tipped out onto a plate. Sprinkle with icing sugar, if desired.

EARL GREY TEA LATTE PANCAKE RECIPE

EARL GREY TEA LATTE PANCAKE RECIPE

Are you willing to line up for food? I’m not talking about a quick 20 minute line up that moves at a brisk pace, I’m talking about waiting in line for hours just to get a taste of something you’ve heard is good. I’m pretty much a sucker for hype and have totally waited in lineups not knowing what I was getting into. Even with my history of patient waiting, I’ve found that the line ups here in Tokyo put me to shame. There are literally queues for anything and everything that has a whiff of hype.

enough for 2

• 1 CUP FLOUR
• 1 TEASPOON BAKING POWDER
• 1 TEASPOON BAKING SODA
• 1/4 CUP SUGAR
• 1 EGG
• 1 CUP MILK
• 1 EARL GREY TEA BAG
• 1/2 TEASPOON VANILLA
• 1/4 TEASPOON EARL GREY TEA LEAVES, OPTIONAL (IF YOU REALLY LIKE TEA!)
• BUTTER AND SYRUP TO SERVE

Preheat the oven to 225°F. In a small saucepan, bring the milk and tea bag to gentle simmer. Remove from the heat and let seep for 5 minutes. Mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and sugar in a bowl. When the milk tea mixture is cool, remove the tea bag, making sure to squeeze out as much liquid as possible. Whisk the milk with the egg and vanilla. Add the wet ingredients to the flour mixture. If desired, add 1/4 teaspoon Earl grey tea leaves. Stir until just combined. Let batter sit for 10 minutes.

Heat up a non-stick frying pan over medium-low heat. Brush a thin layer of butter or oil on your pan. Drop the batter 1 1/2 tablespoons at a time into the pan. Cook until tiny bubbles appear on the surface, about 2-3 minutes. Flip and continue cooking for 1-2 minutes. Keep the pancakes in the warm oven until you’re finished pancaking. Enjoy warm with butter and syrup.

KATSU SANDO – TONKATSU SANDWICH

KATSU SANDO – TONKATSU SANDWICH

It seems that most of the world has a version of schnitzel: cutlet-style meat, breaded and fried. I love meat, I love bread, and I love anything deep-fried, so it’s a no brainer that I love schnitzel-like foods. If we’re talking breaded meat, tonkatsu, hands down, is one of my favourites. Tonkatsu, like many things Japanese, runs from low-end comfort food to high-end perfection. You can make it at home, get it at a fast food joint, or have white gloved waiters bring it to you at a Michelin starred Tonkatsu-only restaurant.

makes 2 sandwiches

• SALT AND PEPPER
• 2 BONELESS PORK CHOPS, ON THE THIN SIDE
• 2 TABLESPOONS FLOUR
• 1 LARGE EGG, LIGHTLY BEATEN, IN A SHALLOW BOWL
• 1 CUP PANKO
• OIL, FOR FRYING
• 4 SLICES BREAD
• KEWPIE MAYONAISE, TO TASTE
• JAPANESE MUSTARD, TO TASTE
• TONKATSU SAUCE, TO TASTE

Lightly season both sides of the pork chops with salt and pepper and sprinkle with flour. Dip the chops into the lightly beaten egg and then into the panko, making sure that all sides are coated. Heat up half an inch of oil in a large frying pan over medium high heat. Fry the chops until golden brown and cooked through, flipping once, about 2 minutes per side. Drain on paper towels.

Toast the bread and spread Kewpie mayo on one slice and Japanese mustard on the other. Drizzle the bread or chops with the tonkatsu sauce, place on a slice of bread and top with the other slice. Slice off the crusts, if desired and enjoy immediately.

LONDON BURGER BASH

LONDON BURGER BASH

I have a mild obsession with burgers. I think that —when executed right—they are a perfect food. Juicy, chargrilled beef; soft, yielding buns; and savoury toppings come together in a glorious explosion of flavours and textures.

When I found out that I would be in London just in time to check out a round of Young and Foodish’s London Burger Bash, I jumped at the chance to go. There are 4 rounds wherein 6 burgers are pitted against each other in a fight to win a Golden Patty Award. The four winners then go on to the finals to compete for the ultimate award: Best London Burger.

The competitors ranged from dedicated burger makers (Bleecker Street Burger) to established pubs (The Drapers Arms). I’m not sure if the crowd had favourites going in to the judging, but for me, I had no expectations—I’ve never had burgers in London. Then all of a sudden I had six half burgers.

The burger rundown:

Chris Golding’s UnBEETable Burger: Golding is the head chef at Apero, a Mediterranean brasserie. I’m pretty sure he’s a little obsessed with beets considering the bright red beetroot bun and beetroot mayonnaise. I like beets, but this burger was overly sweet and had no textural contrasts. I thought the pink bun was beautiful, but I overheard some people who were slightly turned off by the colour.

Q Burger by The Quality Chop House’s head chef, Shaun Searley: This was definitely a step up from the UnBEETable burger, but I didn’t get that super juicy, flavourful beefiness I was looking for. Instead the truffled Tunworth cheese overwhelmed the whole burger.

Bleecker Street Burger’s Double Cheeseburger: This was a classic American-style burger: two aged beef patties, American cheese and special sauce on a toasted bun. It was quite good – Zan Kaufman is a NYC native and she knows how to make a burger. It was my favourite of the night so far, but I still had three other burgers to try.

MINI BURGERS WITH SMOKED MOZZARELLA, CARAMELIZED ONIONS AND ARUGULA RECIPE

MINI BURGERS WITH SMOKED MOZZARELLA, CARAMELISED ONIONS AND ARUGULA RECIPE

I’m obsessed with Trader Joe’s. I love how friendly they are, how they have samples all the time and their large variety of cheeses. The other day I even found tiny brie wheels! I’m not quite sure what it is about miniature food, but call me obsessed because I love it! If all food came miniaturized I would legitimately use those tiny shopping carts meant for kids and fill them up with more than just two items.
I don’t actually use the miniature shopping carts. Sometimes when it’s super close to closing time, I’ll longingly stroke one, but only when there’s no one else in the store. The other day, after I surreptitiously petted a mini-cart, I picked up some smoked mozzarella, ground chuck and arugula for another one of my miniature obsessions: sliders.

These sliders are simple super simple: just pat ground chuck into tiny patties and fry them up. Top them off with caramelized onions, smoked mozzarella and arugula and call it a day. I love the slight bitterness of the arugula next to the sweet caramelized onions. If I can’t use miniature carts at least I can make miniature burgers. Win!

makes 12

• 1 TABLESPOON OIL
• 1 LARGE YELLOW ONION, THINLY SLICED
• 1 LB GROUND BEEF
• SALT AND PEPPER
• 12 SLICES SMOKED MOZZARELLA CHEESE
• 12 SLIDER BUNS
• 1-2 CUPS ARUGULA

Heat up the oil over medium-low to low heat in a medium sized pot. Add the sliced onions and caramelize until deeply golden brown, 20-30 minutes. This is pretty hands off, all you need to do is stir it every so often.

Divide the beef into 12 equal portions and gently form into patties. Heat a cast iron pan over medium-high heat and add several patties, making sure not to over-crowd. Cook until golden brown and then flip, add the cheese, cover continue to cook until the burger is cooked through.

While the burgers are cooking, toast the buns. Assemble by placing the burgers on the buns and topping with caramelized onions and arugula. Enjoy hot!

MISO PASTA SALAD

MISO PASTA SALAD

Miso is one of those super versatile ingredients that I find myself using more and more. Miso is like Pink. Not pink the colour, but Pink the artist. It seems like she’s never in the spotlight, drama-wise, at least, but in the last ten years, she’s had countless hit songs. I’m not a Pink fan, but somehow when I hear her songs, they kind of sound sort of familiar. Miso is just that like that — in the background, but always lurking, always familiar and always delicious.

I think of miso paste as super ubiquitous, but I actually did have a hard time finding it once. It was when we were living in Palm Springs. I asked at Ralph’s (the major grocery store chain) and the clerk asked her manager, but they only had instant miso soup — not exactly what I was looking for, but a good try. What I learned: if you’re looking for miso paste and you live somewhere with a lack of Asian grocery stores or Whole Foods, head to your local health food store, they usually have a pretty good selection.

It’s totally worth it to seek out and buy a tub of miso paste. It stays good for quite some time in the fridge and it’s for so much more than just soup! Here, I stirred some into oil and rice vinegar for a quick salad dressing with a umami-filled kick

serves 2, generously

• 1 CUP OF YOUR FAVOURITE SHAPED PASTA
• 1 CUP SLICED RED PEPPERS
• 1 CUP SLICED CUCUMBERS
• 1 CUP SHREDDED CHICKEN (OPTIONAL)
• MISO SALAD DRESSING, TO TASTE
• SLICED GREEN ONIONS
• SESAME SEEDS, BLACK OR WHITE

MISO SALAD DRESSING

• 1 TABLESPOON WHITE MISO PASTE
• 1 TABLESPOON RICE VINEGAR
• 2 TABLESPOONS NEUTRAL OIL
• 2 TEASPOONS SESAME OIL
• SQUEEZE OF LEMON JUICE
• PEPPER TO TASTE

In a small bowl, whisk together the miso dressing ingredients. Taste and season with pepper.

Cook your pasta according the package instructions. Drain and set aside to cool. In a large bowl, mix together the pasta, peppers and cucumbers. Add the miso dressing a bit at a time, tossing and tasting. Top with green onions 

Chicken Pasta Recipe

CHICKEN PASTA

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain. Cook spinach according to package directions; drain.
3. In a medium bowl, combine chicken and one jar of Alfredo sauce, stir together. In a separate bowl, combine ricotta and drained, cooked spinach, and stir.
4. In a 9 x 13 baking dish, place one layer of lasagna noodles, edges overlapping. Pour chicken and Alfredo sauce mixture over noodle layer and spread evenly. Sprinkle 1 cup of shredded mozzarella over chicken mixture. Top with another layer of noodles. Spread spinach mixture evenly over noodles. Pour 1/2 of remaining jar of Alfredo sauce over spinach mixture, spread evenly. Sprinkle another cup of mozzarella over sauce, lay on the final noodle layer and top with remaining 1/2 jar of Alfredo sauce, 2 cups of mozzarella, and salt and pepper to taste.
5. Bake 50 to 60 minutes, until top is brown and bubbly.

Marinated chicken club sandwich Recipe

                                          Chicken Club Sandwich 

                                                  

1. Step 1
   Whisk oil, lemon juice, lemon pepper and salt in a ceramic bowl. Using a mallet, pound chicken until 1cm thick. Add chicken and turn to coat. Cover. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
2. Step 2
   Cut six 1.5cm-thick bread slices from loaf. Toast. Heat a non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Cook chicken for 3 minutes each side or until cooked through. Transfer to a plate and cover. Wipe pan clean. Cook bacon for 2 minutes each side or until crisp.
3. Step 3
   Spread 2 toast slices with half the mayonnaise. Top with lettuce, tomato and chicken. Top with toast. Spread with remaining mayonnaise. Top with bacon, cheese and remaining toast. Cut in half. Secure with toothpicks. Serve with chips.