Dogs Have To Share, Too

A bin full of dog toys

We have a storage bin for the dogs to keep their precious toys. Out of all these toys, sometimes there is only one toy they both want to play with, and they have to wait for their turn to play.

Our dog waits patiently for his turn...

This monkey has seen better days....

Click if you like this post

Today's Snack Attack!

Glico makes pretty good chocolate. These little biscuit sticks are about the size of very slim pencils and covered with strawberry flavored chocolate, and they are today's snack attack.

Glico's snacks are yummy in general.

They were so good it took me three minutes to eat the whole package.
I was pretty happy while it lasted....

Click if you like this post

Breaded Pork Cutlet Sandwich

A simple, classic Katsu-sando

The fried pork cutlets I made a few days ago are still in the fridge. You can get quite a few mileage out of these things! This time, I made a sandwich with it. We call it Katsu-sando in Japanese.

I like the simple white bread for this sandwich.

Coat the cutlet with worcestershire sauce and add mayo on top.

I didn't have lettuce or tomatoes in the fridge this time, but that would make it an even nicer sandwich.

White bread soaks up the sauce. Yum. 

Click if you like this post

James Bond Craze

I have never been a 007 fan until I saw Skyfall. After seeing it, I went to the store and bought the other two 007 movies with Daniel Craig and watched them right away. How did I ever miss this movie franchise? In Casino Royale, Bond came up with the drink and named it after the woman he fell in love with. I am probably the last person on earth to hear about the Vesper Martini. But now that I caught up with the movies, I have to concoct this drink on my own. Let's see if Bond's favorite drink lives up to my expectations!

Vesper Martini

James Bond's Vesper Martini 

3 measures Gordon's gin
1 measure vodka
1/2 measure Kina Lillet (Lillet blanc)
Shake it over ice and add a large thin slice of lemon peel

Broken-hearted and sleepless, James Bond had six of them on a flight! I don't recommend having that many drinks, he is a fictional character after all.

Click if you like this post

Thanksgiving Day

In the theme of non-traditional, non-bustling Thanksgiving Day this year, I made another rice-bowl dish. It has a fried pork cutlet and eggs over cooked rice with sweet tempura sauce poured over it. It may not be something you see at a fancy restaurant, but every family knows how to make it in Japan. It's a family comfort meal. 

Small frying pan works best for this.

Pour eggs over the cutlet also to bind the whole thing.

Steam-cook it for 20 seconds or so.

Ta da!

Fried Pork Cutlet Bowl
(For two people)

2 cups cooked rice
2 pieces fried pork cutlet, cut in bite sizes
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 onion, sliced
1 cup tempura sauce
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp sake
Dash Japanese chili pepper
Nori for garnish

Meat stays tender when you use cubed cutlets.

Cook onions in tempura sauce with sugar until the onions are translucent, about 5 minutes. Add some water if the tempura sauce gets too thick. Add half of the beaten eggs into the onion mixture. Lay pieces of pork cutlets on the eggs. Pour the rest of eggs on the cutlets. Put the lid on the pan for 20 seconds or so until the eggs are sort of set but still soft. Lay the cooked cutlet/egg mixture on the bowl of rice with the sauce and all. Sprinkle Japanese chili pepper and garnish with nori. Serve warm.


Here is how I made fried pork cutlets. Recipe here.


Click if you like the post

Fried Pork Cutlets

These fried pork cutlets are called Tonkatsu in Japanese. They are delicious with worcestershire sauce, mayonnaise, mustard, ketchup or just about any sauce you can think of. You can make a sandwich out of them, a rice bowl or just eat them as they are with a slice of lemon. I make a bunch of them when the cubed pork cutlets are on sale.

Fried Pork Cutlets

2 lb cubed pork cutlets, you can use regular pork slices
1 cup flour for dredging
2 eggs, beaten
4 cups Panko
Salt and pepper
Canola oil for frying

Lightly salt and pepper the port cutlets. Dredge with flour, coat with eggs. Coat with Panko and fry them in oil. 


Click if you like this post

Espresso Pumpkin Pie

We've decided that we are going to have a somewhat untraditional Thanksgiving meal this year. My hubby and my sister who lives away are both working on Thanksgiving day, and it's going to be just the two of us and the dogs, so it seemed fitting. We are not doing any of the turkey-gravy-stuffing-cranberry sauce business. When I was relieved from the pressure of cooking, I suddenly felt like making something. Isn't that interesting?

Good for drinking, great for cooking.

Looks like an ordinary pumpkin pie.

Espresso Pumpkin Pie

1 can (15 oz) pumpkin
1 can (14 oz) Eagle Brand sweetened condensed milk
2 eggs
1 Tbsp instant ground espresso 
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1 frozen pie crust
Chocolate, shaven for garnish
Reddi Wip, as much as you like!

Nicely tanned and waiting to be devoured...

In a bowl, mix all of the ingredients except for the last three on the list and pour it in a pie crust. Bake at 420 degrees for 15 minutes, bake another 35-40 minutes at 350 degrees. Insert a knife in the filling and make sure it comes out clean. Let it cool. Serve it with Reddi Wip and shave chocolate on top with a vegetable peeler. 



Click if you like this post

Midtown Holiday Lights

It is nice to get out of the suburb every once in awhile to see what's happening in the city. We went to see the latest James Bond movie and had a blast. The best Bond movie ever! We walked out on the lit streets of Atlanta. Christmas is coming, y'all!. 

At the Midtown Promenade

A moose or a reindeer?

The theme from the James Bond movie was stuck in my head while we took a little stroll on the streets with the Christmas lights. Great background music!


Click if you like this post

Stuffed Pepper Dim Sum

When I made buffalo chicken meatballs, I reserved half of the meat mixture to make this dish. These are bite size peppers that you can eat in one or two bites. I decided to use the Ponzu dipping sauce to go with the dim sum theme. The citrus tangy sauce goes well with the cilantro and compliments the edamame in the stuffing. You can experiment with different sauces. Teriyaki sauce would be another good sauce if you like a sweeter sauce. And there is always ketchup....

They are like a little dim sum dish.

Stuffed Pepper Dim Sum
(I used half of this mixture for this recipe.)


1 lb ground chicken
1 egg, beaten
1 cup cooked edamame
1 Tbsp cilantro, chopped
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 ginger, grated, optional
Dash onion powder, optional
Dash garlic powder, optional
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
Dash paprika

4-5 small bell peppers, halved
1/4 cup Ponzu sauce

Use smaller peppers to create the dim sum look.

A great sauce for many dishes!

Stuff the halved peppers with the meat mixture and bake at 400 degrees for 40-45 minutes until the internal temp reaches 165 degrees. Serve warm with Ponzu on the side.

Click if you like this post

Buffalo Chicken Meatballs with Edamame and Cilantro

I have been picturing in my mind variety of unusual meatballs to make. When you don't want to eat a full meal but just small bites, meatballs are convenient and fun to eat. You can make a bunch of these on one weekend, and freeze them so you can just warm up a few when you are ready to eat. I happened to have some edamame from the other day, so I decided to put them in the meatballs. Lots of protein in these guys.

Don't forget the celery sticks!

Buffalo Chicken Meatballs With Edamame And Cilantro

1 lb ground chicken
1 egg, beaten
1 cup cooked edamame
1 Tbsp cilantro, chopped
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 ginger, grated, optional
Dash onion powder, optional
Dash garlic powder, optional
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
Dash paprika
1-2 Tbsp buffalo chicken sauce, I used Texas Pete Buffalo Style Chicken Wing BBQ Sauce

Time for a new bottle...

Cilantro adds a nice touch

Preheat oven to 400. In a bowl, combine all of the ingredients except for buffalo sauce. Make small balls (about the size of golf balls) and lay them on the parchment lined cookie sheet. Bake for 40-45 minutes or so until they are slightly brown and the internal temp is 165 degrees. Mine took longer because they were bigger, but if they are small, it shouldn't take more than 30 minutes to cook. Toss cooked meatballs in another bowl and coat with buffalo sauce. Serve with blue cheese or ranch dressing. I reserved half of the meat mixture to make another dish. But if you are making the whole 1 pound worth of meatballs, you will need more buffalo sauce. 

Zesty!

Click if you like this post

Kevin's Special Cocktail

TGIF! This place is our special hangout. It's a little far from where we live but nothing that any Atlantans can't handle. Our guy Kevin, the bartender made us special drinks outside their drink menu. He made all of our drinks himself, and they were perfection. Bartenders are a little bit like sushi chefs. When you find a good bartender or a sushi chef, hang on to him, stalk him, follow him wherever he works. Because you know it's all in his special touch!

Orange scent with nutmeg, makes you think of holidays

  My hubby found an article talking about our guy! Check it out!



Click if you like this post

Chocolate Whiskey Pecan Pie

The food police on duty...

What? Me? Bake a pie? It's usually my hubby's department to bake pies, but I got this wonderful recipe from our friend Laura. My hubby is going to be surprised to see a pie sitting on the kitchen counter when he comes home. What? Chocolate? Whiskey? Pecans? Got your attention, didn't I?

Georgia Pecans

Chocolate Whiskey Pecan Pie

1 cup light corn syrup
3/4 cup light brown sugar
4 Tbsp melted unsalted butter
3 eggs
2 Tbsp whiskey
1/4 tsp kosher salt

2 cups pecan halves
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

My pie crust was a little too shallow....
You can imagine the mess I made on the cookie sheet.

Preheat oven to 350. Whisk together the first 6 ingredients. Fold in the pecans and chocolate chips. Pour into unbaked 9 inch pie crust and bake until the center is set but still slightly wobbly, 40-50 minutes. Let cool.
Recipe adapted from Real Simple magazine.
Special thanks to Jim and Laura. 

Click if you like this post